JUNE 22,

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

1900.]

THE REFLECTrvE POWER OF l\IET.A.L

A ND OF l\IETAL-BACKED GLA. \ ~ E .
Two ways are open to us for d etermining t he
reflective power of a substance. The direct; method
measures the intensities of the inciden t and of t he
r eflected ray. This was first done in 1850 by
De la Provostaye and D esains 1 for the rays emanating from a heated body by means of a t hermopile, when the dependence of the reflective power
of metals from the angle of incidence was at once
recognised. The samo principle underlies the researches of L!~.ngley, ~ Rubens, 3 Nichols, 4 and Trowbridge, 5 and it may not be superfluous to r epeat
L m gley's words on the basis of the method.
Alt hough t he luminosity of any ray increases prop ortionally to the heat in this ray, being only
another manifestation of t he same energy, the
luminosity of a colour is not proportional to the
energy which produces it. Thus the sensation of
crimson requires a high expenditure of energy0.001 erg-whilst the same amount of energy in the
green would call forth 100,000 times that visual
effect.
Sir J ohn Conroy 0 applied in 1883 P otter's method
and a. Ritchie-Bouguer photometer, fixing two pieces
of paper to t he bases of two right-angled triangles
whose positions could be adj usted in such a way
that the two papers seemed to overlap one another.
His angles of incidence varied between 10 deg. and
80 deg. But his results differed so much from
the formulre of }..,resnel, Cauchy, and McCullagh,
and from the observations of P otter and of Jamin,
that he questioned the correctness of t he theory.
The effects of p olish and particularly of pola.risa-

F0.

rule, not to b e troubled wit h polarisation effects,

but the a rrangement is entirely original. In order
not to lose t he ultraviolet rays, the lenses and
prisms were made up of quartz and t he achromatic
combinat ions of fluor-spar and 4 uartz. The researches concern metals and glass backed with
metals, and so far the wave lengths between A =
450 and A = 700 f.L f.L ; particulars concerning the
ultraviolet spectrum have not yet appear ed.
The principle of the method is the following :
Tho source of light, a (diagram, Fig. 1), is placed
in front of the mirror S under examination, a
little above the principal axis, lest the heat convect ion currents should disturb the paths of the
rays . The rays, marked in the diagram, it should
be mentioned, are only explanatory and not intended as constructive lines. The source a being
in the centre of curvature in the case of spherical
mirrors-plane surfaces were also studied- the real
image {3 will fall in the continuation of a below the
axis. The lens L 1 reproduces t hese images at a 1{3 h
in the slit V of the spectrum photometer, which
comprises the lenses and prisms indicated on the
diagram. The slit is a. double Vierordt slit, consisting of an upper and a lower half, each adjustable. The arrangements are such that all the
images produced have the same size as the source a.
That side of a (an incandescent striP. of platinum,
heated electrically), which faces the.lens L 1, will b e
called the front, and the respective rays, marked
in full, the direct rd.ys ; the side facing the mirror,
and reflected by it, will be called the back, and
the respective dotted rays the indirect rays. Thus
the single arrow images a 1 a:! are direct images of the
front of a, whilst the double arro ws fJ {3 1 fJ 2 mark
Spectrunv- plwtom.ter.

7.

- ....-, ,_

_
Lt
............. . . . . . p,
___________!": ..... .....

.....

Ls

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

wllimator.
tion with large angles of incidence and other difficulties may, however, suffice t o explain the discrepancies. The other observers have avoided the
polarisation effects. L ord Rayleigh 7 confined himself to small angles of incidence, i .e., almost perpendicular rays, and devised a novel mirror arrangement for photometric observations. So far, glass,
silver, and speculum metal had been experimented
upon. Rubens studied also gold, nickel, &c., and
he as well as L angley, Nichols, and Trowbridge,
already mentioned, investigated the relation between reflective power and wave length in the
visible and also in the ultra-red spectrum.
The indirect meth ods derive the refract ive index,
the refl.ecthe and the absorpt ive power of metals
from the observation of two constants, characteristic for each metal, generally the principal
azimuth and t he principal incidence. Such determination s have been made by J amin,s Haughton, 0
Quincke, 10 and part icularly by Drude, 11 who experimented on a large number of metals. But th ere
remained and remains a good deal to be done,
especially in the quantitative examination of t he
ultraviolet rays, although the researches, which we
summarise in the present article, have greatly
added to our knowledge. This work has been
done by E. Hagen and H. Ru bens, in the Reichsanstalt, and has been described in the '' Zeitschrift
fiir Instrumentenkunde, " 12 by permission of whose
publisher, Mr. J. Springer, w~ reproduce the diagrams. The method is again photometrical and
the angle of incidence very small, ! deg., as a.
Ann. de Cbim. Pbys., vol. xxx., page 276, 1850.
Pbil. Mag, vol. r;a, pag:e 10, 1889.
3 Wied. Ann., vol. xxxv1i., page 249, 1889.
4 Wied. Ann., vol. lx., page 401. 1897.
G Wied. Ann ..z.. vol. lxv., page 595, 1898.
6 Proc. R oy. :::soc., vol. xxxv., page 26, 1883.
7 Proc. R oy. Soc. vol. xli., page 274, 1886.
s Ann. de Cbim. Phys., vol. xxii., page 311, 1888.
9 Pbil. Trans., 1863, page 123.
JO P oa-i' Ann., Jubilee Volume, page 336, 1874.
1l W1ed. Ann., vol. xx xix., page 481, 1890.
12 October, 1899, page 293.
1
2

Tele-scope .

indirect images of the back of t he source of light.

0 is the slot of the eye-piece, and the comparison is effected after Clerk Maxwell's method, described in his ''Theory of Compound Colours. "13
P is a diverging quartz prism, p a biprism with
very acute angles. If the biprism were a bsent the
rays issuing from a and {3, would be concentrated by
t he objective L 1 and lenses to two real images, falling
in the plane of the eye-piece slit 0. The biprism
bends the rays, impinging on its lower half a little
upwards, and lowers those falling on its upper half.
As a result we obtain two pairs of images, instead
of one, and the middle pair will more or less coincide in such a manner that an upright direct image
(of the front of t he platinum strip) will be supetposed on an inverted indirect image (of the back
of a). This is, in a certain respect, undesirable,
but it cannot be avoided, and because of this
circumstance t he source of light must be quite uniform ; the corresponding arrangement of the eyepiece slit will presently be explained.
A furt her study of t he diagram will d emonstrate
that if we cut off the upper and lower images at 0
by mean s of vert ical stops, and look towards the
biprism p, t he upper half of it will be illuminated exclusively by dllect rays coming from the front of a,
whilst the lower half will receive only indirect light
from the back of a, reflected from the mirror. It
further results that the rays passing through the
upper biprism into t he eye have also crossed the
lower half of L 1, and vice vtrsd., and that for the
experiments only t he portion of the mirror bet ween
i and le is essent ial ; the rest, i.e., the upper half of
t he mirror, migh t be dispensed with. The two
fi elds which are photometrically to be compared
lie closely by the side of one another ; the line of
separation disapp ears completely in the red end at
diffuse illumination of t he two slits.
The observer further sees the lens L 3, the hiprism p, the prism P, and the lenses L 2 , L., a nd
the mirror S all projected upon one another, with
13

Phil. Trans., vol. cl., page 57, 1860.

t heir scratches and strire, &c. A correction for

the influences exerted by L 1 in this respect, can be
made by t urning t his lens through 180 d eg. a~~mt
its op t ical axis . The other disturbances ansmg
from want of homogen eity can be e~imina~ed by
adjusting t he width of the Vierordt sht, whiCh can
be shifted bilaterally.
The Vierordt slit is fixed in the collimator of
the spectrum photometer. A stop with central
cross-hairs can be fitted in the place of the cap of
t he collimator. The line connecting this cross
with the demarcation line of the two slits is the
axis of collimation. In the observing telescope the
cross-hair stop is replaced by a. Maxwell eye-piec.e
slit, provided wit h t wo bilaterally adjustable horizontal jaws and two vertical jaws, singly movable.
A ring surrounds the object end of the observing
telescope; the biprism p is fixed in an arm pivoted
in this ring (Fig. 2) ; the angle of the biprism is
only 22 minutes. The source of light is a strip
of platinum foil 40 millimetres long, 2 millimetres
wide-so that the image a2 {3 2 in Fig . 1 is smaller
than the diameter of the pupil- -and 0.1 millimetre
thick, covered with a film of spongy platinum, 2 f.L
in thickness, and mounted in vertical plane, as
indicated in Fig. 3, between two columns, one of
which a grips the strip by a spring so as to keep
it taut at all temperatures. The platform on which
the plat inum is mounted can be turned about
180 dog. by the aid of the arm d (Fig. 3). The
projector lens L 1, only indicated in Fig. 1, consists
of a positive lens of fluor-spar between two negative quartz lenses. The optical bench (Fig. 3) was
formed by the bed of a lat he.
One of the chief tasks of the adjustment is to fix
the platinum strip about 60 centimetres from the
collimator slit in such a way that collimation is
attained, and that its lower edge lies about 0. 5
millimetre above the axis of collimation. The little
rider c (Fig. 3) helps in this operation. The bent
arm a is pivoted on a slide moving on the fixed foil
support b, and t he rider itself forms a n-strap,
bot h sides of which are slotted, the line connect ing
the slots being at right angles to the incandescent
strip. The rider does not touch the foil when bent
down. The adjustment of the strip is very simple.
It is only necessary to close the eye-piece slit so as to
leave an opening about 1 millimetre square, take out
the eye-piece of the observing telescope, and view
the object. If that point of the platinum foil which
is visible through the rider coincides with the
cross hairs in front of the collimator head, even
when the slate platform on which the platinum
foil is mounted, is turned through 180 deg., collimation will have been attained. The height adjustment is easily effected by means of the screws
marked. The fixing of the mirror is also easy,
with t he h elp of the micrometer screw f and the
screw e. That p ort ion of the platinum foil which
is n ot covered by the slit in t h e rider must coincide
for both the images, projected on the Vierordt
slit. When finally the biprism is turned in, two
of the four images must coincide. If the colours
of the images should not be quite the same, the
edges of the prism are not vertical. A sharper
test for this condition is to observe the sodium
line of a flame, first without and then with the
biprism in position; the line must be double in
both cases.
The w}dth of th~ ~ower Vierordt slit was genern:lly O.lo or. 0. 2 mtlhmet re, that o~ t he eye-piece
sh t about twice as much. The vertical jaws of the
latter were shifted until they cut off the outer
imag.es (Fi~. 1) entirely, without quite touching
the mner Images a 2 {32 The observing telescope
was successively fixed for wave-lengths between
450 an~ 700 p. p., at intervals of 50 p. p., and the
respec~I ve b~eadths of the two slits, which produced
equal mtens1ty of the two photomet ric fields were
derived from ten observations. The table on 'which
the incandescent foil was mounted was then turned
through 180 d eg., and the observations were rep eated. Before starting such a series, it was ascertained by the aid of the rider that the light, falling
upon the two halves of the Vierordt slit actually
did come from the front and back of the s~me portion of the incandescent platinum. Twent y more
observations were tak en at the end of each series.
in order to determine accurately the width of the
upper mo.vable .slit at which the two fields appear
of equalmt ens1ty, when the upper and lower slits
receive the same amount of light. A disc of plaster
was . for thi~ purpose oblique.ly placed about 25
centimetres m front of the Vterordt slit to serve
as a reflector for an incandescence lamp. This.

J uNE 22,

150

8os

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

1900.)

HORSE-POWER GAS ENGINE WORKING WITH " MOND" GAS.

CON TRUCTED BY ~IE

R . ,J. :K

H.

ANDREW AND CO. , LIMITED, ENGINEERS, REDDI H, NEAR STOCKPORT.

For Description, see Page 815.)

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TUMBLR RVRS0

the inshructive ways in which the present and future

state of productions, traffic by rail and boat, ita
bulk and value and direction rates, income and
working expenses, are illustrated, may not be due
to either. Mr. Sympher's volumes were first published in 1896, and afterwards replenished and reprinted. Very few data go beyond 1897, however.
Mr. Priissmann's books were published at the
beginning of last year. Transport by water receives,
of course, particular attention. Much is necessarily
speculative, and it need hardly be mentioned that
the best is made of the case. The m em hers of the
Prussian P arliament will have no reason to complain that the matter was not well put before them,

even if they confine themselves to the White Book.

Whet her it is profitable, however, to anticipate a
development of certain industries and goods transport during the next eight or ten years, that the
completion of the scheme may occupy, based on
the assumption of a continuation of the present
rate of progress, viz., 5 p er cent. for the Rhenish
districts, and 3 per cent. for the country in general,
and thence to speculate further on the years 1908
to 1918, is a question ; but some estimates of this
kind have to be offered, and objections are discussed in all fairness.
Both the Rhine and the Elbe take a northwesterly direction in their lower courses. The

... .

intermediate rivers, the Ems and the "Veser, flow

right north, Ro that the mouths of the W eser and
of the Elbe are equally distant from Heligoland,
whilst the 1nouths of the Rhine and the Dollart,
into which the Ems falls, are separated by the long
string of Dutch islands. The new canal is to supply
the missing cross-connections and to form an
artery fron1 west to east. The eastern rivers of
Prussia approach one another by their right-bank
tributaries. Through the Havel and Spree, the
Elbe comes near the Oder; and the Warthe and
N etze almost connect the Oder with the Vist ula. ;
canals completing this connection exist already.
The proposed Midland Canal would thus provide
for a waterway across the breadth of North Germany. The plan is, of course, n ot new. It occupied
the attention of Frederick II. and Napoleon, but it
would hardly have assumed definit e shape, were
it not for the great development of the coal and
iron trade, and industries in general, in Rhenish
Prussia and Westphalia. The industrial districts
of Rhineland and Westphalia cover one one-hundred and fiftieth of the area of the Empire, onetwenty-second of the total population is concentrated there, and the rA.ilways carry a quarter of
the whole traffic. In 1897, 73,000 tons passed
over 1 kilometre of rail track in the Ruhr district,
against 6800 tons in the rest of the Empire. The
three chief Rhine ports of that part- Ruhrort,
Duisburg, Hochfeld- received and dispatched in
1896 more than 10 million tons of goods. On the
coal production, which has the lion share in t his
growth, we can give a few more r ecen t figures than
t he publications submitted to us. The coalfield
forms a quadrilateral, t he basin of three tributaries
of the Rhine, the Ruhr, Emscher, and Lippe, and
stretche~ west almo t up to the Rhine. P opularly
the coal 1s known as Ruhr coal. Over 34: thousand
millions of tons of coal are supposed to be buried
in that qua<hilateral, and the most recent borings
make the basin more extensive still than this estimate assumed. Up to the present time few workings
extend furt her down than 700 metres; but good
coal lies waiting at a depth of 1000 metres. If 50
million tons were brought up every year, and the
depth of 700 metres not exceeded, the coal treasure
might last 200 years. At the beginning of this
century the annual production did not surpass
230,000 tons. By 1840 it had almost r eached a
million tons. In 1892, 176 collieries, employing
142,24:7 men-women and boys are excluded-produced 36,853,000 tons, worth about 12,000 OOOl.
In 1898, 168 collieries, employing 192,000 'men,
produced 51,000,000 tons, worth 18,600,000l. The

8o6

E N G I N E E RI N G.

[JuNE

22,

1900.

production of 1899 reached 53,000,000 tons. The Provinces, further into Russia, Austria-Hungary, average length, aud a proportionately larCYer width.
Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate, we may men- and down to the Lower Danube even, though in The Rh_ine-Herne section will overcome ~n average
tion, was established in 1893. The iron industry the Eastern Baltic British coal competes success- level difference of 35 metres (115 ft.) in seven
has grown apace with the coal production. In fully. If Silesia could really not find any market locks. The level of the Rhine at Laar may, how1897, the Ruhr district produced more than for her coal inland, Austria would probably be ever, vary by 31 ft. The canal le,el at t he
2,000,000 tons of pig, the total production of the ready to buy. The coal production of Upper Silesia Herne terminus will be 56 metres (184 ft.) above
Empire amounting to 4, 700,000 tons.
has so far beAn about half the production of the Ruhr normal mean. Fifty-three iron bridges will cross
The great capabilities of inland navig~tion can basin, about 4 million tons in 1864, and 17 million the canal section. The feed will be from the second
easily be proved. During the twenty years 1875 tons in 1894, against the figures mentioned above. section.
to 1895, the Prussian river and canal transport The lignite production is represented by approxiThis second section will be part of the Dorthas increased from 2900 to 7500 million ton- mately the same figures. The beetr oot sugar mund-~ms Canal, alr~ady open to traffic, though
kilometres, whilst the rail ways dealt with 10,900 and industry of Prussian-Saxony prospers on lignite. not qUite completed m all parts, which takes a
26,500 million ton-kilometres respectively. Twenty- The heating value of lignite is less than a third that northerly course from Dortmund, and afterwards
two per cent. of the total Prussian goods tr~nsport of coal, and transport of crude lignite does not pay. follows t he Ems River to its mouth. The total
now takes water r outes. The Rhino has become But lignite briquettes travel far. At present they length is 263 kilometres, about 100 kilometres
the most important waterway of Europe. In 1895 are the favourite house fuel in Berlin, and there is (62 miles) of which will be incorporated in the
it carried 3030 million ton-kilometres, more than little danger that the Berliner will develop a pre- new canal. This is the Herne- Bevergern secthree times as much as 20 years previous. If we ference for Westphalian coal. Coal and lignite tion with the Dortmund branch, which joins
revert to France, with her more extended net- are not r eally in direct competition. The chief the main canal at H enrichenburg, where the
work of canals, we find a similar growth in i~land objections might, perhaps, be expressed in London famous ship-lifting plant has been erected. A
shipping. The yearly increase reached in 1898, language: the East End does not see, why it should system of lock steps will be added, both to act
4.8 per cent. against a little less than 4 per cent. pay for improving the West End. It does not as a reserve for the hydraulic lifts and to
in the preceding eighteen years, and the total water appear to be asked to do so exactly, however. For quicken t he t raffic.
The main feeder from
freight amounted to 32. 5 million tons. In England the capital is to be raised by a loan, and unless t he Hohensy burg on t he Ruhr River, about 9 miles
progress has unfortunately been retrogade, and the various provinces and governments, directly in- south of Dortmund, tunnel and open course, will
opponents of the new canal scheme have not failed terested, guarantee a certain portion both of the be able to supply up to 5 cubic metres (175 lb.
to point to that example. Fifty years ago England capital and of the working expenses, the canal is foot) of water per second. Steam pump feeder
could boast of a network of canals inferior to that not to be built.
stations are further planned for Henrichenburg
The canal will consist of several sections. The and Miinster, about the middle of this section.
of the Netherlands only. We have still some canals
which may be styled modern in Lancashire and first will be the Rhine section, Laar-Herne, pro- The t unnel will not come close to any pits. The
Yorkshire, in addition to the great Manchester Ship ceeding from Laar, on the Rhine a little below new locks at Henrichenburg are expected to cost
Canal. But on the whole, the rail way companies Duisburg and Ruhrort, up the Emscher V alley in about 135, OOOl. A pair of locks will also be needed
which have gradually obtained control of most of an easterly direction. The Emscher is a small at M iinster.
the canals have neglected them, so that they can at tributary of the Rhine, which has been allowed to
At Bevergern, the Midland Canal will branch
present certainly not enter into competition with become a waste-water conduit for the busy district. off wit hout any change of level nor locks-locks
railways. The new German canal should, how- The canal will be independent of the river for this are further down on the Ems Canal-and proceed
ever, have a future. At present grain and pota- and other reasons, and keep mostly on its southern 329 kilometres (205 miles) further east, until it
toes, reaped inland, leave the Baltic ports of bank, but the lower part of the river may be joins the Elbe in two short branches. 'Ihe main
Prussia, and even Hamburg for Rotterdam, and utilised. The trace cuts through the northern part branch will end at H einrichsberg, opposite the
proceeding up the Rhine, re-enter the western of the great coalfield. The first project of 1894, Ihle or Plauen Canal, which forms a short cut
provinces of the kingdom. The Rhenish basalt indeed, proposed to k eep more to the south, over to the R avel ; the other branch will bend to
used on the North-East Sea Canal, opened in 1895, almost bisecting the basin. This project, known the south, and end at Magdeburg, a few miles
took t he opposite course, down the Rhine to as the South Emscher project-the actual project higher up the Elbe. Magdeburg is an important
Rotterdam and thence to Hamburg. The new is the Emscher Valley scheme- had to be aban- industrial town of 220,000 inhabitants. Together
canal would certainly have facilitated the trans- doned, because during the preliminary stagAs the with t he eight side canals, amongst which we
port of building materials, and in so far as it will value of property had increaEei so largely that the mention the Osnabriick, Hildesheim, P eine, and
open up new ground, cannot fail to contribute to cost would have become prohibitive. If the nego- Brunswick branches, this section will have a
the wealth of the country. But similar schemes tiations drag on much longer, that danger may be length of 414 kilometres (257 miles), and the
had been thrown out by the Upper Chamber in repeated, and there would only remain the more total length of the main canal, from the Rhine
1883, and by the Lower House in 189!. Why still northerly Lippe Valley route, longer but less ex- to the Elbe, not reckoning any branches, will be
this opposition 1
pensive, but also entirely out of the coal district, 470 kilometres (292 miles). The route selected
It is a big scheme. It will cost Prussia more whose enormous rail way traffic it would, therefore, keeps just north of all the mountains of Northun
than 13,000,000l. if the estimate be not exceeded, be unable to r elieve. Although the ground is Germany, the Teutoburger Wald, Weser Mountains,
and t he Free State of Bremen will have to bear undermined in all directions, and many of the Harz, &c., and along the southern border of the
3,000,000l. for the regularisation of the Weser- galleries have not been filled in again, no trouble north-western low plain ; the bed will, on the
an important part of the project. There are no is expected from cutting a deep canal bed. For whole, be in sandy or loamy soil. Rock will have
strategical considerations, which were a powerful a tough elastic chalk marl, which attains a t hick- to be pierced in a few short portions only, but a good
support for the North-East Sea Canal scheme. It ness of from 160 to 200 yards, overlies the coal many aqueducts will be needed. 'rhe t race cuts
is clear, moreover, t hat once the canal, which is to seams, many of which are at considerable depths. through the beautiful forests of Lippe, which are
take vessels of 750 tons, is pushed to the Elbe, There may be a yielding of the surface level, regarded as the pattern of forest culture ; this forest
some of the eastern canals will have to be widened but cracks have not been observed in places will be spared as much as possible. A more southerly
and improved, and further outlay to be faced. Then where the marl layer is 50 yards thick. The beds route, via Bruns wick and Bielefeld, would have
the well-to-do industrial north-west will profit of some small water-courses (there are no rivers to avoided the large deviation to the north, joining
directly, while t he agricultural poor east will not be crossed on this section) have sunk, and swamps t he Dortmund-Bevergern section further south ;
admit that it will benefit even indirectly. We are have been formed which have been changed into but this trace would not have touched the imnot in this country unacquainted with farmers, who polders. Bridges and railway tracks have also given, portant towns of Minden and Hanover (almost
consider that the State is bound to support agri- but t here has been no caving in, and no serious diffi- 200,000 inhabitants) and would have off~red greater
culture, whilst industry may take care of itself. The culties have been experienced, nor are any expected difficulties. Particular difficulties or novel engidifference between east and west has become accen- after a careful study of t he conditions. It is, how- neering features are hardly expected on the whole
tuated of late in Prussia. 'rhe East-Elbian aristo- ever, regarded as possible that with the extension system. The section will be fed from the Elbe and
cratic landlord- in the north-west the peasant of the collieries, t he lower Emscher Valley, that is, from the Weser; the latter river will be tapped some
farmer predominates-is against the canal, which 'Qoth the river and the canal will assume a lower 20 miles above Minden at Rinteln, and supp1y up to
he fears, will only help to bring foreign grain and level ; and not to be obliged to protect both, the 10 cubic metres of water per second.
wood into t he heart of the country, which protec- canal may be united with the river in that reach.
The Midland section will cross a number of
tive duties, for which he has always voted, and high
The Emscher Valley Canal will have a length of rivers, all flowing north, and one going south-east.
railway rat~s so f_ar have kept _off.. Thoug.h_ the 39.5 kilometres (24.5 miles). Its dimensions will This latter, the Ohre, runs for some distance
agraria.ns Will receive one of t heir chtef requisites, be those of t he whole Midland Canal system : parallel, but in opposite direction to the Aller, a
Thomas slag meal, much in demand as manure, Depth, 2.5 metres (8 ft. 2.5. in.); breadth on t he tributary of the Weser, which receives most of the
at a cheaper rate, and be able to secure more direct water line, 30 metres (98 ft.) ; and at the bottom, other rivers. The land between these two rivers
market routes for their agricultural produce, they 18 metres (60 ft.) Bridges will have a minimum used to be a swamp, known as the Dromling, which
are the chief opponents of the Bill. The r.egularisa- clearance of 13 ft. ; 10-ft. towing paths are to be has not been drained well. 'rhis Dromling has
tion of the Weser up to Hameln, essential for the provided on both sides ; the canal is intended for decided the level of that canal reach, Hanoverfuture of the canal, is regarded with particular simultaneous t raffic in bot h directions, and all locks Oebiafelde, of about 60 miles' length. The level is
suspicion. It is als_o P.ointed out tha~ the construe- will Le double. It is surprising that, so far as we the maximum of the whole canal, 56.6 metres above
tion of the canal will for years deprive the farmer have noticed, n o suggestion of electric haulage is normal mean. From thence the descent is made
of cheap labour. The Government would pro- made anywhere.
But it is, no doubt, more to the Elbe at 37.4 metres, in four steps. But we
bably rejoice if that were so, and they foun~ them- advisable to base t he haulage cost estimates on have begun at the wrong end. For from Bevergern,
selves relieved of any unemployed questwn for t he use of steam tugs, and not of electric with which we should have started, to Hanover,
ten years to come ; ca~allabourers can always be appliances about whose performance we still lack the canal mainta ins the Miinster level, so that we
imported and the ordinary farm hand does not reliable data. The seven locks will have a mini- get one reach, 130 miles in length, o~ unifo.rm leve~,
care for the work.
mum useful length of 67 metres (220 ft. ), a width of 49.8 metres, without any locks. Mmden IS on t1ns
The owners of the collieries and mines of Upper 8.6 metres (28 ft.), and a depth of 3 metres very r emarkable long reach, and there the Weser
and Lower Silesia and of the lignite basin of Prus- (9 ft . 10 in.). One lock of a pair will generally be River will be crossed by an aqueduct, about 4.0 ft.
eian-Saxony have also protested. Much Silesian llon~er, 95 metres, ~nd the terminal locks on the above mean river level. Vessels from the Weser
coal goes down the Oder and into the Eastern Rhme and Elbe w1ll have more t han double the will ascend by two locks placed on the Minden

j UNE 22,

1900.]

branch, and it is pointed out as a particular advantage that those vessels will proceed east or west
without meeting any contrary current. The side
canals are probably to help in preventing stagnation. These side canals, it should be mentioned,
are only planned on the one-vessel line, with passing places, or, at any rate, only with sin gle locks.
W e will not enter into par ticulars, which are in
some cases still doubtful.
The regularisation of the W eser cannot be discu~sed as a canal section, but it forms a most important part of the scheme. The river length
concerned is 236 k ilometres (147 miles) from
Hameln (the H amelin of folk -lore), down to
Bremen ; the L ower W eser is already regularised.
The largest paddle-wheel boats now plying on this
reach ha ve a length of 200 ft., a widt h of 36 ft.,
and a draught of 31 in. Barges are used to the
maximum draught of 63 in., and burdens of 560
tons, occasionally 700 tons. The river winds a good
deal, with awkward curves. The regularisation is
to eff~ct a width of 30 or 40 metres, and tl:e depth
of the main canal, 2. 5 metres (8 ft. 2.5 in.), with
locks 12 metres (39 ft .) wide, and 67 or 200 metres
(220 ft. or 356 ft.) long. The twenty locks are to
be placed in canals with straight approaches, 700
metres in length, needle weirs being planned for t he
river . The incline is 1 : 3200, the level between
H ameln and BremEn descending from 63.6 t o
3. 5 metres, a difference of almost 200 ft. The
r egularisation is to be completed in about five
years at a cost of 3,119,000l. ; the maintenance
and working expenses would average about 35,000l.
annually. P art of these sums (not q uite a t hird)
will be found by Prussia ; but t he main burden
will rest on Bremen.

Prussia asked last year for power to raise a

c1pital of 260,784,700 marks, estimating the maint enance and working expenses at 2, 169,100 marks.
The equivalents of these sums a re 13,039,235l. and
108,455L To cover t he current expenses, dues are
to be raised, and it is t hought that in some cases
the dues may b e fixed at even .four times the rates,
charged on the r egularised Upper Oder, for ins ~ance.
The experience gained on the NorthE ast Sea Canal, now beginning to pay with r e
duced rates, has hardly been such as to justify this
policy. To begin with high dues, t o be lowered if
necessity should demand it and circumstances
allow it, may be safer t han risking the opposite
experiment, to let the trade try the advantages of the n ew route, and raise the charges
when the route has become popular. But t he
question remains open. Meanwhile the Government, which will be its own competitor, as t he
chief railway lines are State property, is pr epared
for a decrease in the railway r evenues in the
first canal year s. F or any gr eat change in the
means of conveyance is accompanied by a shifting in the t raffic relations which general developments Cco'tn alone eq ualiso, and does as a rule
equalise. But the Government does not r eckon
upon creating new industries of much importance, though there are \aluable quarries along the
Mid land Canal, and minor coalfields may become
workable. One feature appears to be treated
r ather optimistical1y. Ice, h1gh and low water,
and Sundays interfere with river and canal traffic,
and reduce the number of useful days to 270 (on
the Rhine) and less. Frost, it is anticipated, will
close the n ew canal for about eight weeks- during
J d.nuary and F ebruary. Now these mont hs, we
r ead in t he White Book, are the quietest for the
r~il ways of t he busy Ruhr district, so that the
rail ways might t ake the whole traffic as in t he days
of old. There is something in that argument ; for
the frost would create a stagnation in the water
traffic of the whole kingdom, and would not suddenly fall upon t he n ew canal. But frosts not
r.~rely set in in December, when the railways on
t~e Rhine and in Westphalia are quite overcrowded.
The traffic fluctuates, mor eover, and fogs are by no
means unknown in the black R uhr coun try. W e
are not awar e, however, that importance has been
attached to such objections, and we, in any case,
wish the best success to so great a project which
aims at providing one of the chief factors of modern
civilisation- traffic facilities.
BRIDGE BurLDTNG .- The American Bridge
Jompany, a. combination of 28 of the largest concerns
interested in American bridge building. has just been
or~anised. The capital stock is fixed at 70,000,000 dole.,
half preferred and half common.
A MERtoAN

E N G I N E E R I N G.
XHIBITION
RAILWAYS.
.
PARIS E

a moving platform driven by a fixed motor ; this

appears to have been the first recorded idea of
the system. It is evident, however, that at that
THE TRAVELLING P LATFORM.
time, the proposal was not a practical one, for it
(Concluded from page 708 )
could not have been put to any extended use withIN our last article we dealt with one part of the out the aid of electric transmission. M. Dalifol's
duplicate system of circular railways construct ed railway consisted of a staging placed at a convenient
for the convenience of visitors to the Paris Exhibi- height above t he ground; of a fixed platform to
tion, and we published a plan of the route adopted. which passengers ascended ; and of a movable platThis plan we now reproduce ; it shows t hat, start- form on which they travelled. This last was built
ing from the lower part of the Esplanade des In- up of a number of short lengths to facilitate t urning
valides, the route runs along the Quai d'Orsay, tra- curves, each length being mounted on a small
verses one side of t he Champ de Mars, and returns truck ; t hese trucks were on wheels with rubberto the upper end of the E splanade des I nvalides by covered tyres for quiet running, and the whole was
streets exterior to the Exposition, completing t he placed on fixed rails. Such appears to have been
circle n.t the lower end of the Esplanade. The trains the origin of the movable platform ; the question
thus run continuously in the same direct ion, and has a certain interest now that t his means of transat very frequent intervals, so far as the electric port has been developed from a fantastic idea to a
railway is concerned ; the travelling platform being practical system of locomotion.
constantly in movement, no delays occur in taking
The movable platform in operation at Paris, is
on, and putting off, passengers. As is shown by the the j oint work of M. Blot, to whom the credit of
plan, Fig. 1, both means of transport follow the the original scheme is due, to MM. Guyenet and
same course, and to a large extent the cent re line of Mocomble, assisted by M. Armengaud. I t was l\1:.
each is identical. But whereas it was necessary to 1' Blot who, in 1888, obtained a patent for a moving
accept widely varying levels for the railway, involv- plat form by means of friction wheels in fixed bear-

F0.

1.

- - ELECTRIC RAILWAY

STATION
MOVING PLATFORM.

STATION

RU

R,U

RI./

'
{S4DS I)

ing t unnels and viaducts, with some 40ft. of difference between one and the other, the tra"folling
platform is practically a level line, at a uniform
height above t he ground, built, where convenient,
immediately over t he rail way, while where this latter
passes on a viaduct along one side of a street, t he
platform is continued on the other side of t he
same street. The plan shows the positions of the
ascending and descending stairways, giving access
to the plat form, uy open circl e~, the railway
stations being indicated by black circles. The
travelling platform is certainly the greatest and
most popular novelty of the Exhibition, one which
will continue to afford convenience and amusement
to many thousandR of visitors every day. It can
n ot be ~aid that this is the first t ime it has been
presented t o the public; but it certainly has never
before been put to practical public use, for the
installations at Chicago and B erlin were little
more than experiments. The platform at Paris,
moreover, is very different in design to its predecessors. A few words on this point may be
of interest, and may explain t he American and
French claims to originality. The former syEtem,
due to Schmidt and Siblee, as carried out in
Chicago and B erlin, comprised two platforms, one
of which was supported on the axles, and the other
on the tyres of the wheels of a series of t rucks
that formed an endless chain and r olled upon a
rail track. The French claim priority of invention for a M. Dalifol, who, in 1880, obtained a
patent for a new system of t rant?port, consisting of

8o7

ings, and it is this principle that has been worked

out at the Exhibition. His platform consisted of
an iron framework, to which was attached the
flooring of the moving platform, which was placed
between t wo fixed sidewalks ; to the underside of
the transverse framing, were fixed rails t hat rested
on the rollers above spoken of, t he latter forming
t he carrying wheels. The weight produced sufficient
adhesion to move the platform when the wheels were
driven. M. Blot also proposed what was much in
advance of the time, to drive the structure electrically, though it is not shown how he proposed to
carry out this important detail. I t was not intended
that the movement should be continuous ; on the
contrary, stops were t o be made every two minutes,
t he f:lpeed being too high to allow passengers t o step
off or on when the arrangement was in motion.
At that time the ingenious detail, on which the
success of the scheme depends, that of multiple
platforms, with differential speeds, had not been
though ~ of. M. Blot proposed to exhibit his device at the Paris Exhibition of 1889, but was too
late to do so. This same project was, however,
revived for 1900, with many improvements and
modifications, which we propose to describe. It
will be at once seen that the use of two parallel
(and in the case of curves, concentric) rails, fixed to
t he plat form as friction surfaces, would present
many difficulties; to overcome these, M. Guyenet
suggested replacing them by a single running
plate or central girder, fixed to t he underside of
the platform along its central line, and to connect

8o8

[J UNE

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

22, 1900.

THE TRAVELLING PLATFORM AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

(For Description, see Page 807.)
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E N G I N E E R I N G.

} UN E 2 2, I 900.]

THE TRAVELLING PLATFORM AT THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

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(For Description, see Page 807.)

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

8ro

the lengths of the platform by hinges. The sect ions of platform were also to be supported on an
underframe and wheels running on rails ; t hese
latter serve merely to suppor t the platform, t he
driving being entirely through the central girder.
I t may be pointed out t hat only each alternate section of the platform is mounted on the trucks, in
order to facilitate turning curves ; and that a special
fea.ture of originality is the introduction of two
distinct r olling systems, one supporting the platform, the other driving it.
The credit due to M. de Mocomble r efers to a
very ingenious means of elastic suspension for the
friction rollers, in lieu of the Belleville springs at
first employed. By his system the fra me carrying
the electric motor, the friction roller, and t he intermediate gear is free to oscillate around a fixed
horizontal axis. The lower part of the frame,
which is suspended on an upper horizontal axis,
r ests on the middle of a plate spring like that of a
rail way carriage ; t he ends of the spring being connected by screwed rods to t he frame Qf t he fixed
staging. It will be seen that by turning the holding
nuts on these rods, the points of attachment are
shifted, and the tension of the spring is n1odified.
Con1plications were involved by the introduction
of two platforms moving at different speeds, one of
which runs at a fairly high rate, while t he other moves
slowly enough to allow passengers to step on it
from the fixed side walk ; special arrangements
were evidently necessary to obtain t hese varying
rates of movement. In carrying out this detail
there was an entire divergence from what had
been done in Chicago and Berlin, and a very
simple plan was adopted. The two friction rollers,
each of which drives a platform through the
running plate, are direct driven by the same
dynamo ; but the friction l'oller of the slow platform is made only half the diameter of that of
the high-speed platform. The larger roller is
mounted on one end of the gear shaft driven by
the motor, wbile the smaller one is on an extension
of this shaft , jointed to the latter in such a way
as to adapt itself to irregularities t hat may exist ;
the smaller, like the larger, roller, rests on an
elastic and adjustable fram e. In the Chicago platform the rat io of 1 to 2 in the speed was a necessary one, but at Paris a different ratio might have
been chosen, had not that relat ion of speed for
the two platforms seemed the most convenient for
passengers to step from one to the other.
The authorities of the Exhibition, before sanctioning the construction of this novel work, very
properly took great pains to satisfy themselves
as to its safety and convenience, and t o this end
they insisted that a trial length of complete platform
should be constructed and submitted to tests. In
accordance with this condition, a length of 400
metres was erected at Saint Ouen, near Paris, complete in every particular, and practically similar in
all details to the actual work now in operation. I t
was built as an oval, and included in its course all
t he difficulties that would be encountered on the
Exhibition track; that is to say, it had curves of 40
metres radius, and gradients of 1 in 350 ; it was
erected about 9 ft. above the ground upon iron
stanchions ; there were 27 pairs of friction rollers.
The double platforms were calculated to accommodate four pa~sengers per square metre, which ga,o
a load of about 300 kilogrammes per metre-run for
the low-speed platform, and 1000 kilogrammes per
metre for the higher speed. Th.e tests, which were
very exhaustive, p roved satisfactory in every way
to the authorities, while the loss by friction only
amounted to 5 per cent.
We may now pass on .to con si? er the .actual ~a
tails and modes of workmg of thts very 1nterestmg
and highly successful ins~allation. . A~ has been
explained, the steep gradtents permissible on. the
railway could not be adopted, and grad1ents
as easy as possible were necessary. In terference
with t he public traffic of the streets traversed, or
with the crowds in the Exhibition enclosure, was
out of the question ; therefore it was necessary to
construct the whole line or viaduct with ample
headway. This was atten_ded by t~e in co~ven~ence
of ascending and des~endmg relat~vely lugh fitghts
of stairs, an inconvenience that m1ght, and should,
have been avoided, by t he use of elevators. Considerina this drawback, it is probable that much
of the ~uccess of the platform is due to. its novelty,
and the curiosity it excites. The vtad uct stag
ing is largely of timber, and was erected by
MM. Schmidt and Co. The iron portions were
made by the Societe des Constructions de Levallois-

Perret, who, it will be remembered, built the

viaduct for the electric railway, recently described
in ENGINEERING. All the upper parts of the
viaduct are of iron, but the trestles are of wood,
except near the P orte Rapp, where access is gained
to t he Textile Building of the Exhibition. H ere
the trestles are of iron, which gives a more decorative, or rather a less offensive, appearance to the
structure.
Even as it stands, however, the
effect is very unfortunate, the ornamental entrance being to a largo extent concealed and
blocked by the rail way and platform structures.
The height of the rails on which the suppor ting
wheels of the platform run, is 21.32 ft. above
the ground ; the viaduct in all consists of 268
spans varying fron1 29.5 ft . to 59. 0 ft. in length,
the total development of the line being 3323
metres (10, 902 ft. ). Nearly all the girders forming the spans are of the lattice type, only a few
of them being plate girders, introduced to increase headway in some of the streets. There
are 56 different patterns of girders, a number that
could not be reduced on account of curves, and of
special conditions at different points. W e publish
on pages 808 and 809 some typical details for which
we are indebted to the Societe des Constructions
de Levallois-Perret. The timber t restlework presents no point of interest, though it may be mentioned that this type of construction was adopted
to diminish to some extent the annoyance from
vibration, to the residents in houses adjoining the
platform, and which, it was considered, might be

[ ] UNE 2 2 , I 900.

dient, to be exchanged later for a larger supply

from the new electric station of the Western of
France Railway. The high voltage current when
brought to the power station of the electric platform is converted by transformers, as explained in
the article referred to above. F or the platform
bare cables suspended in porcelain insulators below
the service gangway are employed.
Figs. 9 to 11, which show the details of the
driving mechanism, are, it should be explained,
those to which the experimental length at St.
Ouen was constructed; there was, however, no difference in principle between this temporal.'y installation and the more permanent work for t.he Exhibition 1 the exact form of t he trestle work and superstructure is noli the same, and some temporary
devices were introduced for convenience of testing.
We were obliged to use this typs of drawing, for,
curiously enough, the Compagnie des Transports de
!'Exposition could not furnish us with a detailed
drawing of the work actually completed ; it wilJ ,
however, answer our purpose in describing the
arrangement. The motors are placed between the
trestles of t he spans, and, as already explained,
they can oscillate around the axis of suspension x,
carried at the ends by the iron bearers h, attached
to the beams j, j, which form, with the longitudinals carrying the travelling paths of the platforms,
a solid bearing for the motor that weighed 1.3 tons.
On the other side the frame of the motor rests on
the centre of the plate spring z, the regulating
screw rods of which are shown at y . The speed of

Pi1]. 14.

----- ~

~ --- - - -

l ____ __ ,. __ __

-- ________ ,
\

------ ....

r---less with timber than with iron. Figs. 2 t o 7

illustrate t he details of the type of superstr ucture ; generally there are three longitudinal girders
placed 1.90 metres apart (6.23 ft.), so that the
total width is 3.80 metres (12.46 ft .) from centre
to centre of outside girders ; the height of these is
1.25 metres (4.10 ft.), and the length of panels is
1. 50 metres (4. 92 f t. ), a dimension corresponding
to the distance apart of the cross-bearers that
carry the fixed platform. Fig. 9 is a transverse
section showing the arrangement of all the platforms, as well as the central girders, the friction
rollers, carrying wheels, the transverse and longitudinal bearers, and the service platform, which
is necessary for the inspection and 1naintenance of
the mechanism, conductors, ~ c. The latter are
carried beneath this inspection pl>itform on insulators. The horizontal and transverse bracing is
indicated in the diagrams, Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and in
more detail in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. These views refer
to a part of the work done at a station where the
width is naturally greater than elsewhere; thus at
the Porte Rapp the width is 7.80 metres (25.59 ft. ).
We have referred to some exceptional construction
in which plate girders are employed ; two such,
instead of three, as in the case of the lattice
girders, are used ; they are placed 3.80 metres
(12.46 ft.) apart, and are connected by transverse
girders that carry the longit udinal bearers of the
platform ways. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of
this type of construction ; it shows the arrangement
of the platforms and their accessories in relation to
the ironwork of the superstructure.
We may now pass on to consider the mechanism
by which the movement of the platforms is maintained, and the electric motors. In a. previous
article (see page 708 (Jfflte) we explained that the
E lectric Railway and Moving Platform Company
do not generate their own current, but purchase it
from one of the Paris district syndicates that supply light and power. This is a temporary expe-

{SSS-- - ~ ------ -

267

_____

.J

the motor is, of course, reduced by gearing. The

small friction roller can be raised when running, independently of the other and larger
wheel, and without affecting (on account of the
flexible coupling) the shaft on which the latter
is mounted. Theoretically t he speeds and diameters of the two rollers correspond to a movement of 4 and 8 kilometres per hour of
the platforms, but these rates were not attained
at the commencement of the tests, and are even
now scarcely realised with the platforms in
their regular work. 'rhe platform trucks are
illustrated in Figs . 12 and 13, which show th e
arrangement very clearly. Under each of them
is placed the central girder, or rolling path,
with its hinged connections ; each alternate truck
is without carrying wheels ; the ends of the frames
are respectively concave and convex, the platform
sections being similarly shaped ; by this arrangemen t close contact is assured when passing
round curves. The ends of those sections of the
platforms carried by the t rucks without wheels,
rest on the ends of the adjacent trucks by means of
s1nall rollers. The difference in level between the
moving platform and the fixed side walk is only
5 centimetres, so that the feet of passengers cannot
be caught ; the concave and convex ends of the
platforms are covered with leather so as to form
close contact. Both moving platforms are protected
by handrails, made in sections, between which chains
are hung so as not to interfere with the articulation
posts are also placed at intervals to assist passengers
to step on or oft' the travelling platfor m. A few
words should be added about the electric motors
employed to drive the friction rollers. They were
supplied by the ociote Industrielle procedcs
\Vestinghouse, who also fu r nished the plant for the
power station. This plant, it will be remembered,
was lost in the ill-fated ship Pauillac, so that the
railway company was much inconvenienced, and
even obliged to modify cons:derably the details

J UNE 2 2, I 900.

of their installation. Figs. 14 and 15 give some

idea of the gen eral arrangement of the motors of
which 127 are in sen ice for working the platfo~m.
They ar~ of the Westinghouse dust-proof type,
enclosed In a ~teel casing, so as to protect them as
!Duch as p ossibl e from 1ain and dust; ventilation
1s a.ssur~d by. t he h?les made in the casing. They
are ex01ted 1n sen es ; the poles are built up of
thin plates bolted to the frame. The armatures
are serrated; but the number of teeth is small to
reduce t he heating of the poles. On another o~ca
sion we shall describe a very interesting accessory
t o the travelling platform; this is the telephone
service which is used for communicating throughout the line between the several stations and
the offices of t he company. For the p resent
we may finish this notice with t he remarks that
the travelling platform works extremely well and
smoothly, and that it attracts enormous crowds,
who find a great delight in t his novel means of
locomotion. Often more than 90,000 persons avail
themselves of it in a day, and a-s time goes on, t his
numb~r will d~ubtless increase. As t he charge
made 1s 50 cenhmes, the revenue is considerable,
but we do not know what the working expenses are.

THE YORK SHOW.

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

8I

Cot1,ntry M eetings of the R oyal A gricultural Society of

Englamd sitncc its Establish!ment.

Year.

Place of Country
Meeting.

--

Number Number Financia l

of Im- of Persons Result.
plements
(+ = Profit
Admitted.
En tered.
- = Loss.)
,

1839
1840
1841
1842
1848
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
185t
1853
1 85 ~

1856
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881

Oxford

Cambridge ..

Liverpool ..

Bristol

Derby

Southampton

Shrewsbury

Newcastle ..

INor thampton

York ..
..

Norwich

Exeter

Windsor

Lewes

Gloucester ..

Lincoln

Carlisle

Chelmsford

Salisbury

Chester


Warwick

Can terbury . .

Leeds

Batters ea.

Worcester

Newcastle

Plymouth

No Show

Bury St. Edmunds

Leicester

'
Ma nchester

Oxford

Wolverhampton* ..
Cardiff
..
..
Hull . .

Bedford


Taunton

Birmingham

Li\'erpool ..

Bristol


l{ilburn

Carlisle

Der by

Reading

York ..

Shrewsbury
..
Preston

Norwich

Newcastle ..

Nottin~ham
..
Windsor

Plymouth

Don caster

Warwick . .

Chester

Cam hridge ..

Darlington ..

Leicester ..

Manchester

Birmingha.mt
..
Maidstonet

Yor kt

54
115
312
455
508
948
942
736
1,321
1.608
1,882
1,223

1,722
1,803
1,897
1,314
2,702
2,406
3,648
4,018
3,947
6,488
6,064
6,839
4,024
4,023
4,804
6,369
7,724
7,851
7,650
6,843
5,634
5,931
4,214
6,414
6,980
6,887
11,878
4,196
6,060
6,102
6,058
5,241
5,313
4,61\6
3,616
4,717
7,446
4,143
5,847
6,430
6,527
6,o:n
5,865
6,447
7,340
4,938
4,231
4,983

..

36,245
3'i ,635
37,633
32,982
37,342
62,589
5.0 15'",..
I I
42,304
145,788
124,828
75,807
114,683
88,036
61,837
97,138
189,102
72,053
107,519
85,185
104,722
11,989
47,768
163,413
138,3: 4
122,042
187 ,328
92,0ll
127,998
82,943
128,117
94,126
94,192
104,909
127,372
147,927
155,707
97,141
111,500
96,462
116,908
111,658
100,310
146,277
217,980
98,277
68,676

1,162
938
- 2,166
- 1,806
- 3,164
- 2,142
- 2,995
- 2,138
- 1,686
- 2,826
- 1,968
- 1,629
- 1,294
- 8,218
- 2,084
- 1,002
860
- 1,982
- 346
+ 1,119
+ 1,433
- 2,006
+ 4,470
- 3,634
- 1,279
+ 1,342
- 743

2,040
488
9,153
2,604
2,175
602
414
8,717

FoR the third time in its history the R oyal .Agri.

+
+
cultural Society of England is holding its annual
Show at York. It was t here in 1848 and again in
1883, but in all probability this is the last time it
-will visit t he capital city of Yorkshire. As already
explained in our columns (see pages 258 and 322
- 4,6i7
+ 3,424
ante), the Society is seriously considering the ex+ 8,947
pediency of always holding t he country meeting at
+ 1,667
- 16,064
one place, instead of wandering from district to
638
-+ 4,528
district. It is already engaged to go to Cardiff in
US2
1901, but for all future yeard it is free to make
20
+
1883
+ 6,190
any arrangement that commands itself to t he council
1884
+ 2,801
and members. Vve believe that the final decision
1 85
+ 1,921
1886
- 1,062
has yet to be made, but there is good reason to
18~7
- 2,029
believe that a permanent show ground will be
1ass
+ 4,229
1889
established near one of the large towns in t he
- 4,966
1890
- 2,197
Midlands. The last two years have been serious
1a91
104
+
-almost disastrous-for the Society, for they lost
1892
+ 2,055
1893
+ 2,404
1568l. at Birmingham in 1898, and 6350l. at
J 89!
+ 1,096
Maidstone in 1899. The Maidstone Show was not
1895
+ 668
1896
+ 3,600
expected to pay, although it was not anticipated
1897
+ 4,074
that the loss would be as large as it was. The
1898
- 1,fi68
Birmingham Show was a great disappointment.
1899
- 6,382
1900
I t was held some 9 or 10 miles distant from t he
capital of the Midlands, and the small attendance
Exhibition of duplicate implements prohibited after 1871.
was attributed to the unsatisfactory railway service. *t Exhibits
in special shedding are g rouped together, anrl do not
This experience will need to be kept in mind in bear separate numbers.
selecting a permanent location. There are always products of different makers. With the smaller
large numbers of p ersons ready to attend a show if it fir ms the case is different ; with them a Royal Show
is within a driving distance, who will not undertake is often an opportunity of breaking new ground.
a hot journey in a crowded train, with the possi- They come in contact with buyers whom t hey would
bility of great delays on the way. If we look at the not have seen otherwise, and they find markets
results attained during t he last twenty years, as which t hey had not the organisation or t he energy to
given in the annexed Table, it will be seen that enter in other ways. Their customers have to be
only on five occasions has the profit exceeded 3000l., sought; they wiJl not travel far in search of goods.
namely, at Derby in 1881 (4528l.) ; at York in 1883 The " Man of Kent'' who runs a chicken farm will
(5190l.) ; at N ottingham in 1888 (4229l.) ; at not go to N ottingham to see the latest thing in
Leicester in 1896 (3600l.) ; and in Manchester in hen coops; and the small farmer will buy his
1897 (4074Z. ). The number of persons admitted plough of the local ironmonger rather than make
varied from 127,996 at Derby to 219,980 at Man- a long j ourney in search of novelties. The subchester, and the lowest was n ot exceeded at any ject is surrounded with difficulties. On the one
other town during t he period except at t he Windsor hand the Society cannot be expected to face a
Show, with its 155,707 visitors. Experience of succession of losses ; on the other it generally
shows held in t he neighbourhood of London has obtains 2000l. to 4000l. from local subscriptions,
been too painful to allow of the experiment being and it is not likely that any town will find such a
tried again. Manchester is not sufficiently central sum year by year. It is now given- partly, at
as a permanent location, and probably the same any rate- as an inducement to the Society to
objection could be urged against York. I t would, came to a town because the holding of a
therefore, seem that one of the other towns we Show brings immense sums for accommodation,
have just mentioned will be the loc1ts of the Show board, and horse hire. Once the site is bought,
if it should be finally decided to keep to one place. and t he buildings erected, there will be less r eason
The views of the exhibitors of machinery and for t he townspeople to put their hands into their
implements are by no means unanimous in favour pockets. The committee who have the q uestion in
of the abolition of the peripatetic system. The large hand have no light responsibility ; already the
firms take no very decided stand ; the Show is to County Shows are competing very strongly with t he
t hem merely an incident in a very large system by Royal for public support, and the latter must do
which they seek to gain publicity for their goods. nothing to injure its prestige.
They have agents in all districts; they attend many
THE ENGINES .
of the County Shows, and in one way or another
they spend large sums in advertising themIn accordance with custom we commence our'
selves and their productions. I t matters but little report with t he engines, but there is very little to
to them where t he Royal Show is held. Furt her, say. We cannot imitate the chapter on snakes in
they know that the man ,vho is going to lay Ireland by saying that there are none, for the disout several hundred pounds on an engine will take play is both large and important. We never saw
pains to endeavour to get the best return for his better designed or better made engines, and a
money. If he depends on his own judgment, he '' way faring man, though a fool '' could not go far
will travel a considerable distance to compare the wrong in a purchase. It may be said of agricult ural

engines, as the .American said of whisky; "I never

tasted any whisky that was not good," said h e,
"although I have tasted some whisky that was
better than other whisky. " The Show is full of
good engines, although the quality is not uniform.
The present year is no time for t he introduction
of novelties ; manufacturers are sadly behindhand
with their orders, and all their energies have been
monopolised in attending to the needs of t heir
customers, and not infrequently in framing excuses
for late delivery. In the traction engine trade the
demands of the Government for transport engines
in South Africa has added very considerably to the
general congestion of orders. On all sides there
is plenty of work at remunerative prices, and
consequently no temptation to try new vent ures.
'' L et well alone " is t he motto that finds most
acceptance with engineers just now, and when
they have any spare energy they devote it to t he
improvement of workshop methods, a subject
which does not come within the scope of the
present article. The only firms who are showing
an entirely new design of engine are Messrs.
Clayton and Shuttleworth, of Lincoln. We dealt
in our last issue with their compound traction
engine, with J0y valve, and need not now speak
of it further than to praise its fine finish.
U nder t his heading we may speak of the steam
diggers, although no interest attaches to the
engines, for one of the merits claimed for them is
that t hey can be connected to any traction engine,
and that its usefulne~:~s for other work will not he
lessened there by. The Society offered prizes respectively of 40l. and 20l. for self-moving steam
diggers ; there were two entries by (a) the Darby
Land Digger Syndicate, Limited, of 6, Billiterstreet, London, and (b) by the Cooper Steam
Digger Company, Limited, King's Lynn. A very fairsized book might be written on the evolution of the
Darby digger ; it has appeared at uncertain intervals
at t hese shows, and in several different forms. Last
year it took an entirely new shape, as shown in our
illustration on page 816, and became a cultivator
rather than a digger. The Cooper machine is a
regular feature at the shows, and has made for
itself a local reputation near King's Lynn, where
the soil appears to be suited for its operation: The
competitive trials came off near York, at l{exby,
last week, with the result that the first prize was
awarded to the Cooper Steam Digger Company,
and the second prize was not awarded at all.
The Cooper steam digger is illustrated on
page 816, and its construction is readily understood
from the engraving, although difficult to describe in
words. From the engine a train of spurw heels
drives two parallel crankshafts mounted in a frame
at the rear of a traction engine, behind the driver's
platform. There are four cranks on each shaft,
and the crankshafts are coupled together by rods
on which are mounted digging tines in two rows,
there being four sets of five tines each in the front
row, and t wo sets of five and two of four tines in
the back r ow. The whole arrangement is pivoted
and can be raiRed and lowered by the driver to dig
from 2 in. to 8 in. deep. There are also slippers
to keep the tines at a uniform depth in passing
over '' lands, " and should t he tines meet with r ock
they can lift the levers and cranks. The width
dug at each course is 9! ft.
The Darby steam revolvin~ screw-action digger
is attached to the rear of an ordinary 8 horse-power
traction engine, as shown by the engraving on page
816. It does not imitate the action of a spade or
fork in the hands of a labourer, but digs by the
action of steel discs, which revolve horizontally
below t he surface of the ground, constantly lifting
and breaking up the soil as t hey move. The width
operated upon is 11 ft. 6 in., and it is stated that
the work can be done at the rate oft acre per hour,
the depth of digging being adjustable from 2 in.
to 10 in. The digging discs are arranged in pairs,
each disc being on a spindle which has a slight play
in one direction. Two spindles project from a
horizontal faceplate, and t his plate is carried at the
lower end of a vertical driving spindle. There are
ten spindles arranged on two sides of an isosceles
triangle enclosing t he rear of the traction engine.
Each pair of disc spindles has a revolving motion
about each other, like a pair of waltzers, and as the
whole machine is t ravelling, their paths are interlaced cycloids. Owing to the play t he steel discs
tilt slightly as they change from t he forward to the
backward motion, and vice versd, the result being a.
pulverising of the ground, an action which is aided
by t he spindles, which have to pass through the

[jUNE

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

812

22, 1900.

HORSE-POWER TRIPLE-EXPANSION ENGINE AT THE PARIS EXHIBI'riON.

1200

CONSTRUCTED BY THE FRANCO-TOSI COMPANY, LEGNANO, ITALY.

I

(For De:1cription, see Page 815.)

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Steam Cart and Wagon Company, of Dewsbury-road, Leeds.

-.
These are, in the main, similar
to those shown last year. It
will be remembered that the

leading feature of these vehicles

~~;:;;;:;;;~;:-r--t--r:;;;;;:;;;;;;;;;:;;~:JJ 6""-A.
is that the cart or wagon stands
astride of the engine, but desward, if any exists. The whole arrangement is tachable from it. The Act ~ays that the weight
pivoted on the last-motion shaft of the engine, of the ellgine must not exceed 3 tons, and
and is driven from it by bevel gear. An inclined that, in addition, it may draw a trailing wagon.
shaft carries the motion down to the vertical svindles, Most makers aim at making a complete moving
which are driven at about 20 revolutions per minute. wagon, with a body or platform, weighing less than
The weight of the spindles and their gearing is car- 3 tons. This is a very difficult thing to do, and
ried on a roller mounted in a frame. By means of can only be accomplished by the lavish use of highchains passing over pulleys on the frame and wind- grade steel and bronze. Mr. Mann, on the other
ing on a drum, the spindles can be raised and hand, makes a two- wheeled wagon of such dimenlowered all together. The power for this operation sions that it will stand astride of the engine. Its
is afforded by means of a pair of cone clutches on wheels are of the same size as the engine travelling
one of the driving shafts. The travelling speed is wheels, and of such a gauge that they will stand
just outside the travelling wheels, and can be
stated to be about a mile an hour.
There are three steam motor vehicles on the united to them with pins. When the two are
Show ground. Two are shown by Mann's Patent together the general effect is that of a complete

1$

Feet

single vehicle ; but, by the removal of four pins,

the wagon body can be run off on its own
wheels, which, of course, run upon studs, and
not upon an axle. In the case of the cart, the
engine follows the lines of a traction engine very
closely, except that the firedoor is at the side of
the box. Quite a considerable number of these
carts are in use drawing bricks and coals; they
will hold 5 tons of the former and 4 tons of the
latter. The steam cylinders are 4 in. and 6i in.
in diameter by 8 in. stroke. The wagon has a flat
top, like a Manchester lorry. The boiler is of the
portable type, but has the side plates of the firebox
carried backwards to form a base-plate for a pair of
horizontal compound engines, of the same size as
the above. All the gearing is of the spur type, and
there are two travelling speeds. By keeping to the
existing type of traction engine boiler, Mr. Mann
has avoided many difficulties.
The Lancashire Steam Motor Oompany, of Layland, Lancashire, entered a tip wagon and a. lorry,
but the former was not ready for exhibition. The
lorry is driven by a pair of horizontal compound

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

1900.]

JUNE 2 2,

STEAM

ENGINES

AT

'FHE

EX Hi I BI TI 0 N.

PARIS

CONSTRUCTED BY THE FRANCO-TOSI COMPANY, LEGNANO, ITALY.

(For Description, see Page 815.)

Fig . 4

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HoRsE-PowER QuADRUPLE-EXPANSION CoNDENSING ENGINE.

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HoRSE-PowEit V EttTICA.L TANDEM

Co:&IPOUND NoN-CONDENSING ENGINE.

s *

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::::=:E==t::=::::!::=::t:==~:if Fr:.U,

El

engines situated below the platform, but very

fairly accessible. The diameter of the cylinders
are 3! in. and 5f in., and the speeds 3 and 6 miles
an hour. The crankshaft is geared to a second
motion shaft on which is the compensating motion,
and this is geared to the travelling wheels by
Renolds) chains. The lorry platform is 12 ft. by
6ft., and will carry 4 tons. The boiler is of the
vertical type, and is arranged to burn coke. The
lurry is a well-designed and workmanlike vehicle.
The last year or two there has been a sudden
activity in road scarifiers-that is, in apparatus for
ploughing up a macadam road before new metal is
laid on it for repairs. The ordinary method is to
set a number of men to pick up the surface, so
that there may be no plane of cleavage between the
old material and the new. In some few cases it
has been customary for the road-roller to tow
behind it a weighted carriage with a chisel in it set
to groove the surface. The appliance, however,
was a very makeshift affair, and required a lot of
attention to make it work. The idea of affixing
the scarifier directly to the r oller, so as to take advantage of its weight and solidity, found expression
a year or two ago, and an apparatus was exhibited at
the Show, and each year since there have been one
or two examples. Of those which appear at York we
have described all in previous years, except that of
Messrs. Marshall,, Sons, and Co., Limited, of Gains. borough. This is a more complete apparatus than
has appeared before, since it can be traversed right
across the back of the roller, and will cut in any
position. All the others are affixed to one side of the
engine, and it is possible in a narrow road they
could not reach the centre, and a strip on the crown
would need to be done by hand. In Messrs. Marshall's engine a heavy cast-iron slide, like tlie 'cross
slide of a planing machine, is bolted to the back
of the driver's stand, and the scarifier traV'els on
this, there being a long screw for the purpose.
The chisels can, t herefore, be moved anywhere
over a range of several feet. These tools are
mounted in a ~winging frame, pivoted at its
upper extremity, and ca.rrying two seaments
of wormwheels, gearing into two worms~ By
rotating these worms with a handwheel the lower
extremity of the frame can be raised clear of
the ground for travelling, or depressed for scarifying.
There are two sets of tools in a rotating tool-box, one
set for forward work and the other backing work
there being a lever working in a slotted sector fo;

ENGINEERING.
effecting the change of position.
trate this scarifier shortly.

We hope to illus- one for t he ignition t ube. All three lamps are fed
from an elevated reservoir, and keep in action when
the engine is temporarily stopped. The oil supply
OIL AND GAS ENGINES.
from the cylinder is fed by a. pump. It passes
Oil and gas engines have ceased to be novelties at through a valve casing controlled by a hit-and-miss
the Show. The latter dropped out of the c.ategory motion operated by t he governor. When the enyears ago, when the expiration of the Otto patent gine is above its normal speed, the oil flows back
allowed all makers to adopt one design, and ther~ to the tank in the engine-base ; but when the
was no longer any demand on their ingenuity in speed drops, the governor closes the overflow valve
evading its claims. The oil engine is rapidly and opens a valve to the vaporiser, into which the
settling down to one pattern, the variations being oil flows. There are two air valves; one is adjusted
in the working of the valves and small matters of to the r equirements of t he engine, but if it should
that kind, and n ot in matters of principle. There prove insufficien t, the other opens to give an addiare still, however, great differences in workmanship, tional supply. This engine is a creditable piece of
and buyers need to exercise discretion in making construction. Near to them is the stand of Mr.
purchases. At the York Show these engines are John Robson, also of Shipley, wit h th ree engines.
principally grouped at the right-hand side of the Oil engines are also shown by Messrs. Olayton and
ground, and the visitor first sees the display of Shuttleworth, Lincoln ; C. F. Wilson and Co.,
Messrs. Richard Hornsby and Sons, Limited, of Aberdeen; .J. and F. Howard, Bedford; BlackGrantham, who won the Society's gold medal for stone and Co , Stamford ; and Ruston, Proctor
these motors at Cambridge. Next he finds the and Co., Lincoln.
large stand of Messrs. Crossley Brothers, Limited,
Under t his heading we must include, we suppose,
of Manchester, who show for the first time a the motor cultivator, shown by the Motor Culti1t horse-power oil engine, with a pump for the vator Syndicate (per J ohn Scott), Duddingston,
water supply of farms and mansions. Then we have Edinburgh. It might be classed as an implement,
the National Gas Engine Company, Limited, of but it is fitted with a cart body for hauling proAshton-under-Lyne, wit h a fine and imposing dis- duce on roads, so that it is also an agricultural
play of well-designed and constructed gas engines. locomotive, and as it is driven by an oil engine it
Among these is one specially intended for driving may well be dealt with among them. We can only
dynamos, with an extra large and heavy flywheel, give a superficial description of this novel machine,
and with counterweighted crank cheeks. This for many of the parts are hidden from view,
engine, which we ilJustrate on page 824, is of and t he makers are reticent about explaining
20 brake horse-power, and has an outer bearing t hem in detail as t he patents are not yet combeyond the flywheel. Special attention has been plete. The cultivator is carried on four wheels,
paid to lubrication, and brushes are provided to two being driving wheels and two steering wheels.
catch the overflow of oil from the crankshafli bear- The motive power is provided by t wo cylinders,
ings, so that none shall be thrown about. One of 9 in. in diameter by 10 in. stroke, working on to a
the large engines is fitted with a self starter. This crankshaft. A second motion shaft is driven from
comprises a hand pump fitted alongside the cy- this by means of a cotton rope wound several
linder. In using it, the exhaust valve is first times round a pair of grooved pulleys, and with a
propped open and combustible mixture is pumped part of it taken in a bight round a jockey pulley.
into the cylinder until all t he air is expelled. The From this second motion shaft t here is driven, by
valve is then closed. and a further supply of com- bevel wheels, a short vertical shaft on which there
bustible mixture pumped in. A valve at the top is another multi-grooved pulley, geared to a similar
of the ignition tube is then opened, and_the mix- pulley at the rear of the machine by another cotton
ture flows up the incandescent tube until it fires rope. The latter pulley is on a vertical shaft
and explodes the charge. The engine then gets geared by spurwheels to four other shafts, the five
away, and the ordinary cycle is taken up.
standing in a row at t he rear end, and each carryMessrs. Tangyes, Limited, of Birmingham, show ing at its lower end a pair of prongs for stirring up
their usual t ypes of both engines, and so do and cultivating t he ground. These five cultivator
their neighhours, Messrs. Thomas Green and Son, shafts, it will be understood, are kept in rotation
Li!Dited, of L eeds. At the next stand is an old as the whole implement moves forward on its
acquaintance under a new name ; the "Tru s ~.y " travelling wheels, and as they can be raised and
oil engine is shown by the Shillingford Engineering lowered, these prongs cut and pulverise the ground
Company, Limited, of Cheltenham. This engine to a depth of several inches. The cultivator was
was made origina11y by Messrs. W eyman and only just finiahed in time for the Show, and has
Hitchcock ; then the firm changed to the Trusty not yet been put to work, so it is like the young
Engine Company, and built new works at Chelten- bears-all its troubles are before it.
ham, and now it has amalgamated with the ShillingbiPLEMENTS.
ford Engineering Company, and taken its name,
In the implement department of the Show, the
which is known to most of our r eaders as the
makers of the Geipel steam trap. MesH3. Allen leading feat ure was a competition of cultivators.
and Barker, of Taunton, follow next; and then We have already dealt with the steam diggers,
come two firms who have not hitherto been seen under the head of engines. The others were
at these shows, namely, Messrs. Drake and Fletcher, grouped as "general purpose horse-power cultiof Maidston e, and Messrs. W. J . Bates and Co. , of vators, " and the prizes were of 40l. and 20l. respecDenton, Manchester. 'l'he former show two engines. tively. For the benefit of those of our readers who
The oil is contained in the base, and is raised a few are not agriculturists, we may first say a few words
drops at a time by the suction of the piston, falling as what a cultivator is. The name is somewhat uninto the vaporiser, and being swept into the cylinder fortunate, as the implement is only one of several
on the opening of the air valve. This valve is used in cultivating land. I t is a development of
operated by a hit-and-miss motion, controlled by the harrow, but instead of scratching the surface
an inertia goven10r, which is worked by an eccen- of the land, it goes into it a few inches, tearing
tric running at half the speed of the. crankshaft. it up and stirring the subsoil strongly. It does
In Messrs. Bates and Co.'s engine the oil is drawn not aim at the r egular turning-over effect of the
to the air inlet valve, which is operated automati- plough, which reverses the top layer of the soil
cally by the suction, the governing being effected and brings new mould to t he light, but it pulverises
by holding the exhaust va.l ve open when the speed the ground, shaking and stirring it, so that t he
is excessive. Messrs. J ames B. Petter and Sons, of atmosphere may gain access to it. It has a further
Yeovil, show no less than 10 of their engines ; and use in tearing out the roots of weeds and exposing
next to them Messrs. George Davies and Co., of them to the withering effect of the sun. There are
Aberg.1venny, announce that one of th.eir P aragon en- many t ypes of cultivators, and some have several
gines is used to supply water to Sandrmgham House. sets of tines, which can be changed according to the
'rhis engine is a modification of the well-known Day nature of the land and the object the farmer has in
gas engine, which has an explosion every r evolution. view. Hence it is a matter of difficulty to say deThe crank chamber is enclosed, and acts as a pump finitely what is the best pattern of cultivator , unless
to drive a combustible charge into the cylinder as it be unknown exactly under what circumstances it
the previous charge is being exhausted. It has t he will be used. The early cultivators were very rigid
advantaae t hat any leakage past t he piston does not affairs, and required very considerable power to
escape ~to t he engine-room, and hence there is draw them. Of late years there has been a distinct progress to more elastic constructions, and
much less of t he oil-engine odour t han is usual.
Messrs. Cundall and Sons, Limited, of Shipley, spring tines attached to p ivoted frames, themselves
claim that t hey have the largest oil. engine e~er held down by springs, have become common, the
seen running at a Royal Show. I t IS fitted w1th idea being to allow the tines to accommodate themthree lamps, two for t he combustion chamber and salves to the ground, and to rise over obstacles.

(JuNE

2 :2 , 1900.

Curiously, the machines which secured the approval

of the judges were rather of the older than the
newer type. The competitors were: Mr. T. A.
Meggeson, Stocktonon-Tees (five implements),
Harrison Patents Company, Limited, Stamford (four
implements), Mr. F. H. Mote, King's Lynn (one
implement), Messrs. Coleman and Morton, Chelmsford (two implements), Messrs. D. M. Osborne and
Co., 3 Hell-yard, London, E.C. (one implement),
Messrs. J. T. Larkworthy and Co., '\Vorcester (one
implement), Messrs. W. N. Nicholsou and Sons,
Limited, Newark-on-Trent (four implements).
11 he first prize of 40l. was awarded to one of
Harrison Patents Company's cultivators, and the
second prize of 20l. to one of Messrs. Coleman
and Morton 's. In lhe implement which gained
the first prize, t he tines are strong hooks which
are dragged, point foremost, t hrough t he ground.
Each hook is held down by a powerful spring,
which allows it a little play. The whole of the
hooks can be lifted simultaneously by a lever when
the end of the field is reached, while a second lever
fixes the depth to which th~y will cut when the
first lever is r eleased. The whole apparatus is
exceedingly simple and strong. The second prize
fell to an implement described as a drag cultivator.
It had seven tines, each like a solid share,
firmly fixed in the frame. The whole of t he
tines can be raised simultaneously by a lever, and
there is an adjunct by which the angles can be
varied. A broad tine needs to be set with its plane
more nearly parallel to the soil than a narrow tine ;
elRe the whole implement will tend to bury itself,
and will put an excessive draught on to the horses.
The same firm (Coleman and Morton) entered
spring tine cultivators, that is cultivators with
tines made of flat ~ar steel, having a large amount
of elasticity, which gives them a movement of
several inches relatively to the frame. They had
thus the older and the most recent patterns, and
took the prize with t he old one.
The implements entered by Mr. J. A. Meggeson
were manufactured by Messrs. Thomas Brown
and Sons, Cammo Foundry, Duns. These have
tines of finely-tempered steel, adjustable sideways,
and fitted with reversible hard - tempered steel
points. The t ines are fixed in pivoted frames held
down by springs when t he tines are in the ground.
Messrs. Osborne and Co.'s cultivator has no less
than 23 spring steel tines. Each tine is bent to
nearly one turn of a spiral, and is fixed at one end
to a r ocking shaft. There are t hree of these shafts,
which are rotated simultaneously by a lever to
bring thl3 tines into and out of t he ground. Messrs.
L arkworthy enter ed a cultivator made by Messrs.
S. L. Allen and Co. , of Philadelphia. It had 11
solid hook-shaped tines fixed to a single bar, which
could be raised and lowered. Messrs. Nicholson's
cultivators were all of t he spring tine variety.
A silver medal was a warded by the judges to
Messrs. Hugh R eid Griffin and Co., of 1, Finsbury-square, L ondon, for a harvester and binder,
manufactured by t he Milwaukeo Harvester Company, Milwaukee, U.S.A. The points of this
machine for which merit is claimed are that it is a
close cutter, wit h a widely adjustable reel ; that it
has a flexible elevator, a powerful compressor,
and a positive knotter. It is designed especially
for low cutting, to leave the stubble as short as
1 in. if desired. The flexible upper elevator floats
on the grain, rising to accommodai~ a large volume,
and falling to grasp a small amount. The upper part
discharges the grain dir~ctly into the packer. A
second medal was given to Messrs. Relsey and Co. ,
of 41 to 45, Guernsey-road, Sheffield, for their chaffcutting machine. In this the knives are kept up
to t he cut by means of springs acting against a
collar on the s haft. Hence th~ knives can retreat
to allow any hard substance to pass, while they are
always close enough to cut the straw clea~. To
prevent an accident to the attendant, by h1s hand
being caught in the feed rollers, the spindle ?f the
first leading-in r oller forms a catch to retarn the
handle of t he clutch. The forward pressure of a
man's arm against the roller t rips t he catch, and
allows a spring to disengage t he clutch. The
arrangement is very simplE', and appears to answer
its purpose perfectly.
. .
Messrs. Richmond and Chandler, L1m1ted, Manchester also show a chaff-cutter, with a foot lever
by whi~h the clutch can be instantly disengaged.
A prize of 20~. ~as award~d to t he. BartonGillette Horse-Ohpprng and Sheep-Shearmg Company, Limited, of 1~3, New Oxfor~-street, London,
for a power roach me, ani a priZe of 10l. for a

JuNE
:

22,

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

1900.]
a

:jP',:C

, 4\

e es

c a

hand-driven machine. The chief merit in this

machine lies in the method of transmitting the
power from t he shaft to the cutter h eld in the
hand of the shearer. There is a tube made of a
closely-wound wire spiral, covered with cotton
braiding. Within this tube is a chain made of
short wire links with an eye at each end. That is,
each link is a piece of straight wire about 1 in.
long, with an eye at either end. These links are
coupled together and form a flexible shaft, rotating
within a flexible stationary tube, and they convey
the power down to the clipper, which is similar in
principle to that used by barbers. There were two
other entries r espectively by Messrs. Burgon and
Hall, Limited, of Sheffield, and Messrs. Burman
and Sons, Limited, of Birmingham. These firms
use telescopic shafts, with geared Joints in th em.
D AIRY.

There is very little that is new in connection

with dairy machinery this year, and several exhibitors of former years are wanting. There was, at
first, some interest in the milking machines for
which a prize of 50l. Wc\S offered by the Society, but
when t he judges pronounced t h em of insufficient
merit to secure an award, this died away. If we
remember rightly, there was a machine of t his kind
in the 1862 Exhibition, and very little progress has
been made since. There were two competitors,
Mr. William Murchland, of Kilmarnock, and
Messrs. L awrence and Kennedy, of Glasgow. In
the apparatus of the former an air pump is conn ected by a flexible pipe to a closed pail having
four compartments. F rom each compart ment there
runs a rubber pipe to a rubber cylinder large
enough to enclose a cow's teat. The end of the
cylinder is partly closed by an elastic diaphragm
pierced with a hole which makes a joint round the
teat. Inside the cylinder there is a long metal
cup with a small hole in the bottom, t he purpose
of t he cup being to retain the "milk around the
teat for a while, and keep it immersed in liq uid.
The suction of th e pump draws the milk from the
udder into the pail. In the Lawrence and Kennedy
machine a pulsating suction is aimed at. A steam
ejector draws the air from t he pail, and a tiny
engine, worked by suction, rapidly opens and closes
a valve, which makes the vacuum vary between
5 in. and 15 in. of mercury. There are rubber
pipes and cylinders to connect t he cow's teats to
the pail. The cows themselves exhibited considerable dislike to b eing milked by machinery, but it
is stated that t hey get over the feeling in a sh ort
time. The invention of a r eally successful mechanical milker would be a great ad vantage, as
there is much difficulty in obtaining t he necessary
labour now. This is not to be wondered at, since
the occupation is a very unpleasant one. The
p oets who gush over the milkmaid h ave probably
n ever been in an average shippon.
The Dairy Supply Company, Limited, of Museumstreet, L ondon, show a new pattern of the Alfa.
L aval cream separator. This is called the Lilliput.,
and is rated at 9 gallons an hour. They have also
on exhibition a Laval steam turbine pasteuriRer.
The turbine works a pump, and t hen t he steam
passes through t he jacket to heat the milk to t he
required temperature. The process is continuous.
We may explain that pasteurising is a partial sterilisation applied to milk before it is separated. The
object is to destroy t he miscellaneous germs it
contains. The skim milk then k eeps the longer,
while t he cream can b e inoculated with the germs
producing lactic acid, to ripen it before churnin!!.
The Melotte Separator Sales Company, CounterRlip, Bristol, show a new size of th eir separator,
the general construction of which we explained
last year. A n e w type of separator, manufactured by t he S venska Centrifug, Stockh olm, is
shown by Messrs. A. and J. Main and Co., Limited,
Edinburgh. Taken altogether this has been a
very barren year in dairy applian ces, which, indeed, are already so exceedingly efficient t hat
t here is very little room for improvement. What
is wanted most of all is a refrigerating plant by
waich milk intended for market could be cooled
to about 40 deg. before it is despatched from the
farm. I t is scarcely likely, however, t hat an apparat us of t his kind suitable for the use of t he ordinary farmer, and within his means, will be produced.

L eadenhall-street E. C. The leather is cut into

'
d
strips, like laces of great length, by going r oun
and round the hide in t he well-known way. A
number of these are made into a warp, and are
woven in a loom, other strips being used for t he
weft. In this way a belt of any length and width
can be made practically without joint. 'l1hese belts
are very light, and, according to a report by
Professor Hele-Shaw, of Liverpool, they are exceedingly strong. We were informed that some of
them are in use at the Wool wich Arsenal and at
Chatham Dockyard for dynamo driving.
Messrs. Sinclair and Co., of 19, Eldon-street,
Fins bury Pavement, E . C., show a large liquid
fuel burner, suitable for a small steam boiler. In
this the oil is vaporised before it is burned wit h
admixture of air in the well-known way. It is
, 1
f h
a modification of the "Comet , amp o t e same
firm.
Mr. W. H . Baxter, Limited, of Leeds,
showed the improved stone crusher, which we
illustrated and described at length in our issue of
May 11. Near to his stand is a most interesting
circular Eaw for stone, doing splendid work. I t
was shown by Messrs. George Anderson and Co.,
of Carnoustie, Forfarshire. The saw is set
with diamonds, and cuts it-s way through sandstone at 5 in . per minute, leaving a capital
surface which needs little grinding to make it
perfect. vVe hope to illustrate t his machinery
shortly, and will t hen describe it in more detail.
For the present our space is exhausted. Our report
is much shorter then usual, and we are glad, for
t he sake of our friends the manufacturers, that it
is so, for its brevity is eviden ce that they are busily
occupied in lucrative work. Happy is the country
that has no history, and prosperous the year that
has n o novelties.

150 HORSE-POWER GAS ENGINE USING

" MOND " GAS.
WE illustrate on page 805 a gas engine recently constructed by .Messrs. J. E. H. Andrew and Co., Limited,
of Rsddish, for the Manchester works of Sir W. G.
Armstrong, Whitworth, and Co., Limited, and which
is of interest in that the engine has been specially designed to work with "Mond " gas, though ordinary
town gas can be used when de~ired. The engine is
of 150 horse-power, and has a cylinder 20 in. in diameter by 30 in. stroke, the designed speed being
160 revolutions per minute. Our engraving hardly
conveys an adequate idea of its dimensions, but
we may state that the flywheels are each 10 ft.
in diameter, 15 in. wide on t he face, and weigh
6 tons. The crankshaft bearings are 9 in . in dia meter
by 16 in. long. whilst the cran kpin is 10~ in. in diameter by 11 in. long. The crosshead pin measures 7 in.
in diameter by 8 in. long. A special feature of the
engine illust rated in Fi~s. 2 and 3 is the ignition tube
bracket. This is PL'ovided with two tubes and two
corresponding t iming valves, as shown: Should one
tube burst t he other may be immediately brought into
action without stopping the engine, by changing over
the tappet tumbler as indicated in Fig. 3, eo that the
tappet actuates the t imiog valve belonging to the
spa re tube. The engine is provided with self-starting
gear, and special attention has been paid to the matter
of securing continuous lubrication of all working
parts. The crank shaft is balanced by oast-iron blocks
secured to the crankwebs by wrought-iron straps. The
gas inlet arrc:l.ngement3 are such that the change from
.Mood to producer gas can be made instantly by
moving over a handle. This chg.nge can, indeed,
be made whilst the engine is 1 unning under its full
load.

THE P ARIS EXHIBITION ELECTRIC

POWER STATION.*
T HE FRANCO Tosi E)IOI NES.
T H E important manufacturing company of Messrs.
Franco Tosi, of Legnano, Italy, has con~ribu ted largely
to the power stat ion of the Paris Exhibition by sending three engines. The fi rst of t heee is a 1200 horsepo~er .horizontal t~iple-expansion condensing engine,
'Vh1ch Is u&ed to dr1 ve a continuous-current Schuckert
generator. The second is an 800 horse power vertical
quadruple-expansion condensing engine, driving a
conti~u.ous-cu~r?nt dynamo exhibited by the Societa
Eserc1 z1o Bac1m, of Genoa. The third is a 60 horsepower tandem compound non - condensing engine
coupled direct to a continuous-current dynamo mad~
by Messrs. Geo. Ansaldo and Co., also of Genoa.
We illustrate all three of these engines on pages 812
and 813; i1lustrations and descriptions of the dynamos
MISCELLANEOUS.
we reserve t ill another occasion.
The general arrangements of the largest of these
Among the miscellaneous art icles shown were a
nu m her of woven belts, by the Woven Leather
Machine B elting Company, Limited, of 101,
* See pages 6-17, 712, 746, and 775 ante.

three engines, the horizontal1200 horse-power engine,

8h
F' 1 and 2 page 812 There are four
lS . own m
Jgs
. ' .

cylinders of the followlDg dtameters :

One high-pressure cylinder .525 m. (20.67 in.) di&.
, intermediate-pressure
cylinder ...
...
.. .. 825 , (32.48 , ) ,
Two low-pressure cylinders .975 , (38.38 " } "
The length of stroke is .1200 metre~ ( 47.~ in.),
and the number of revolutiOns per mmute 1s 107 ..
As will be seen from the illust ration, the connect-
iog -rods are coupled to cranks at right a ngles.
All the cylinders, except the high pressure, are
jacketed, the steam passing 1Jlrough the jacke~s t o
the valves; the high-pressure cylinder is furn1sh~d
with superheated steam. Each cylinder has fou~ dtstribution valves; those for lhe high-pressure cyhnder
are double-beat valves of relathely large dia meter;
for the other cylinders four-seated valves a re used,
in order to reduce the lift and insure rapid closing
wi thou t throttling the stea m. Messrs. Tosi claim
advantages for their forms of two and four-beat valves,
especially absence of wear, steam-tight closing, and
rapid action. The admission and exhaust valves of
the mean and low-pressure cylinders, and the exhaust
valve for the high-pressure cylinder, are operated by
cams, which can be regulatt:-d by hand to vary the
amount of lead and compression. The valve gear for
t he high-pressure cylinder has a trip device patented
by the makers, and for which the ad vantage is claimed
that with a small eccentric the valve can be raised
slowly and without jar from its seat, and t hen lifted
quickly. The joints and bushings used throughout
the valve-gear are of steel, hardened and ground
true to standard gauges. The cylinder pistons are
made solid, wit h piston rings in halves, set out by
fiat springs.
The main shaft is made wi t h central cranks, to allow
of coupling two dyuamos of similar or dissimilar types,
one on each side of t he engine, a frequent requirement
in electrical plant . A dynamo could be substituted
for the flywheel shown in the illustration.
The frame is made of two symmetrical parts, right
and left banded, with a central line of junction passing
t hrough the middle bearing; each half therefore
carries one outer bearing and half the central bearing.
From each of these a deep channel section of the
frame is taken direct to the fi&nge by which the
cylinders are attached, forming a fiat guide. The
bedplate is formed by a high surrounding rib, also of
channel section, with a fiat cast-iron floor; a deep
crankpit is t hen formed, and is used as an oil tank.
The crosshead works on one guide only, this arrangement being adopted for convenience, and to avoid any
error in parallelism that may arise with a double
guide under the influence of expansion or contraction,
or from other causes. The cranks and crankshaft
are of forged steel.
The governor is of the high-speed Porter type, and
is dri~en from the valve-gear shaft by an endless screw.
It will regulate the cut off in the high-pressure cylinder
from 0 to 70 per cent . ; t he cut-off in the other cy linders is adjusted by hand. The speed of the engine
can be varied by a sliding weight on the governor
lever, and a special devi<:e has been adopted to ehift
this weight w1thout the governor lever being affected
during the operation. Instead of the attendant turning the screw that moves the weight direct, an
auxiliary shaft and hand wheel, carried on t he governor
column, is t urned, and transmits movement to the
screw through bevel gear which oscillates round the
same centre as the governor lever.
. Th~ air pump, which is dupl?x and single-acting,
IS dn ven off one of the cra.nkpms by a connectingrod and beam. The valves and other parts of thts
pump are easily accessible, and air and water passages
are of ample size to secure noiseless working at high
speeds ; the suction valves are omitted, to reduce the
resistance of t he water flowing to the pumps. All
four of the cylinders have direct internal lubrication
and the high-pressure cylinder has an additional oll
supply through the steam valve. In all there a re six
direct oil d?liveries f~om ~ sextuple pump drawing
from one 01l reservOir which, with the pump, is
mounted on the cross frame between t he high and lowpressure cylinders ; tb_e pump is driven from t he gear
shaft by two excentrtcs. All other lubrication for
jo~rnals, guides, &c., is continuous by means of a reservotr !?laced lOft. above t~e engine-room floor; pipes lead
the 01l from the reservoir to the various surfaces t o be
lubricated, the overflow being collected in pipes and
led to an. o~l filter and reservoir placed at a low level,
wheu c~ .It 1~ pumped back to the supply reservoir.
The eng1~~ 1s started by a small vertical high-speed
mot or dnvmg a wo:m and wormwheel, and a pinion
that can be thrown m and out of gear with t he toothed
rim of the flywheel.
The second Franco Tosi exhibit is the 800 horse
po'Ye: vertical eJ?gine illustrated by Figs. 3 to 5.
This Is. a fou~cy~der tandem arrangement, in which
the cy hndera m ~a.Irs are cast in one piece, with the
low-pressure cy~mder above the high-pressure, the
passage for the p1ston rod betw( en the l wo bf:ing made

[JUNE

E N G I N E E R I N G.
with an automatic metallic packing. The two pairs of
cylinders are coupled to cranks at right angles.
Some of the leading dimensions are as follow :
Diameter of first cy lin~er . . . 375 mm. (14.76 in.)
,
second cyhnder... 525 , (20.67 , )
,
third
,
. .. 675 , (26. 57 , )
,
fourth
,
... 1000 , (39.37 , )
Length of stroke
.. .
. .. 650 , (25. 59 , )
Number of revolutions
. ..
160
All the cylinders are steam-jacketed except the
high-pressure, which is designed for superheated
steam. Steam distribution for all the cylinders is
effected by piston valves ; those for the third and
fourth cylinders are mounted on the same rod, operated
by one eccentric; the valves for the first and second
cylinders have separate rods and eccentrics, that for
the high-pressure vahre being connected to the shaft
governor to regulate the cut-off from 3 to 50 per cent.
['he pistons are made of forged-steel discs, with castiron piston rings of the same type as those for the
triple-expansion engine already described. The illustrations show the a rrangement of the crankshaft,
which i~ forged in one piece, having a fianged end for
bolting up to the dynamo shaft on which the flywheel
is mounted: only one dynamo can be driven direct
by this engine, the other end of the shaft being
required for the shaft governor gear. The frame is
divided symmetrically, as in the case of the tripleexpansion engine, each half containing the vertical
guide, one outside and half the middle bearing.
The frame is strengthened by an iron strut from
the bedplate to the underside of the head frame
carrying the cylinders ; the crosshead guide is onesided, as in the case of the horizontall200 horse-power
engine. The air pump, which is single-acting, and of
the same type as that already described, is mounted
at the back of the engine frame, and is driven from one
of the crossheads. A device is employed for changing
the speed of the shaft governor, in which a heavy
fluid (glycerine) is pumped by band into the governor
weights, which are hollow. The four cylinders and
valves are lubricated by a multiple oil pump driven
from the end of t he crankshaft; the rest of the lubrication is continuous, and comprises a high-level reservoir, distributing and collecting pipes, filters, receiver,
and lifting pump.
The third engine is a vertical tandem compound,
illustrated by ] igs. 6 to 8, and representing the
standard practice of the exhibitors for high-speed
engines. The cylinders are cast in one piece, with
automatic piston-rod packing between the two ;
neither cylinder is jacketed, but both are covered with
a non-conducting material and finished with planished
sheet. Steam distribution is by Tosi patent balanced
ptston valves placed on the same rod, and worked by
one eccentric controlled by the shaft governor, the cut off varies from 0 to 50 per cent. Some dimensions of
this engine are given below :
Diameter of high-pressure cy. ..
.. .
. .. 225 mm. ( 8. 85 in.)
linder . ..
Diameter of low-pressure cylinder . ..
. ..
. ..
... 325 , (12. 79 , )
L ength of stroke
. ..
.. . 250 , ( 9.84 , )
Number of revolutions
...
325
Indicated horse-power
. ..
60
The frame is of the A type, cast in one piece with
the two bearings ; the guides are bored. It may be
mentioned that the firm make this type of engine in
sizes varying from 5 to 700 horse-power, and with
working speeds of 600 to 180 revolutions per minute.
It w11l be seen from t he foregoing description and
illuettra.tion thati Messrs. Franco Tosi and Co. have
made an admirable display in Pa.ris, and one which
suggests the rapid progress made in Italy of late years
in mechanical engineering.
CANADIAN SHIPDUILDING.-The steamer Ottawa is about
to be launched from the yards of the Bertram Engine
Works Cumpany, Toronto. In her construction about
1200 tons of steel have been used. H er carrying capacity
is 3300 tons. Five more vessels of the same kmd are to
be built for the same parties in the Bertram yards.
Besides this contract, the company has in hand the Kin~s
ton, a passenger vessel for the Ontario and Richelieu
Navigation Company, a sister ship of the Toronto,
turned out by the Bertram Company last spring. At the
Poison Iron Works Company>s yard a large freight of
barges is being rebuilt, t wo fine steam yaoh~ are near
completion, and several other contracts are bemg worked
out.

22, 1900.

STEAM DIGGERS AT THE YORK SHOW.

(For Description, see Page 811.)

----

--
THE CooPER PATENT STEili DrG(}ER. ~

- --- ----

,.,..

. .

--

.. "

--INDIAN RAILWAY MArNTENANCE.-The cost of mainten-

~nce per railway mile upon the Great Indian Peninsula

Railway in the second half of J899 was 130l. 17s. 8d., or

at the rate of 261l. 15s. 4d. per mile per annum. The
corresponding cost in the second half of 1898 was
129l. 2s. 8d. per mile of railway, or at the rate of
258l. 5s. 4d. per annum. The maintenanc~ charges on
the Madras Railway was reduced . in the second ~alf
of last year by 5826l., as coml'ared w1th the cor~espo~ding
period of 1898. This reduction was effected m sp1te of
the facb that the extraordinary maintenance charges of
the past half-year were 10,493l. mor.e, the heaviest item
being 8788l. expended on strengtheniDg the Tungabhadra

- - ---

THE DARBY LAND DIGGJ!ll\,

Bridge. The strengthening of weak girders on six

bridges of the south-west line was completed during the
past half-year. The extraordinary maintenance expenditure of the second half of 18!)9 also included a heavy out-

lay made in covering sand ballasb on portions of tihe

soutb-wesb and north-west lines with broken stone, an
operation which has proved o. considerable boon to P~
sengers by preventing dust.

}UNE 22,

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

1900.]

CHEVALET

HEATER

FEED- WATER
CONSTRUCTED BY

~rR.

AND

WILLTAM BOBY, ENGINEER,

DETARTARISER.
LONDON.

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COLD
WATER

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I NLET

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FIG.

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HOT WATER RE.C./VR

WE illustrate on this page a large Chevalet heaterdetarta.riser, which has been supplied to the Cent ral
station of the BrGmpton and Kensington Electricity
Supply Company by Mr. William Boby, of 16, Unioncourt, Old Broad-street, E.C. The apparatus illustrated is used for treating water drawn from the mains
of the West Middlesex Wat er Company, which cont ains in its crude condition 15 grains of dissolved lime
per gallon, almost the whole of which is in the form of
carbonate. Of this water the deta.rtariser in question is
capable of softening 45,000 lb. per hour, so that t he
lime remain inR is reduced t o about 3 grains per gallon.
The apparatus consist s of a number of shallow trays
superimposed on each other, as is best seen in the
sectional view, Fig. 2. Each t ray is provided wit h an
overflow at such a point that the water is maintained
at a level equal to about half the depth of the tray,
and the bottom end of this overflow pipe dips
beneath the surface of the water in the tray below.
The crude water entering through the valve-box B
flows through phe pipe L on to the topmost tray, and
filling that to half it s depth, overflows into t he
tray below, and so on through the whole nest of
trays till it is delivered in its softened state in the
bot-water receiver shown at the bot tom of the
apparatus. The softening is effected by the exhaust
steam from the engine, which enters at the inlet G,
and flows past t he baffle-plate H into the top of the
hot-water receiving tank. From t his point the steam
passes up through the pipe J, which, it will be seen,
is covered by a sort of bell jar K, the edges of which

dip under the surface of

the water in the t ray.
The steam bubbles out
through this water,
heating the lat ter, and
thus causes the excess
of carbon dioxide to be
given off, and conseHra,vruroF sotL ING
quent ly the lime depo
rARisco wAT1
sited. A certain porro ru. o PUMP
t ion of the steam is
condensed as it bubbles through t he water;
the remainder, however, flows up through
a similar outlet and
bell jar arrangement in the tray above, it s course being
shown by the arrows. Any steam which escapes oncondensed from the top tray passes away by the central
pipe shown at the top of the apparatus. Should the
water contain sulphate of lime, a suitable addition of
sodium c~rbonate is made to the water as it enters the
apparatus. As a result the lime is deposited in the
apparatus as carbonate, whilst sodium sulphate, which
is practically permanently soluble, alone passes into
the boiler. The lime salts deposited in the apparat us
require cleaning out from t ime to time. This is comparatively an easy matter, as the lime is deposited in
a very friable form. It should further be not iced that
any oil or grease carried along by the exhaust steam is
t aken up by the lime salts, so that the soft ened water
passing out of the apparatus is practically free from
such deleterious impurities.
STEEL.-The exports of unwrought steel from the
United Kingdom in May amounted to 35,155 tons, a.s
compared with 30,769 tons in May, 1899, and 22,051 tons
in May, 1898. The largest exports made to any one
country in May were those to Germany, which amounted
to 6480 tons, as compared with 4655 tons and 4804 tons.
Steel was exported in the first five months of this year
to the aggregate extent of 155,902 tons, as compared with
117,833 tons in the corresponding period of 1899, and
123,580 tons in the corresponding period of 1898. The
exports to Germany in the first five months of this year
amounted to 19,902 tons, as compared with 26,949 tons
and 19,017 tons; to Holland, to 12,801 tons, as compared

with 5240 tons and 8554 tons; to:British India to 14,922

tons, as compared with 12,141 tons and 14,010 tons; to
Australasia to 17,520 tons, as compared with 11,929 tone
and 116,684 tons; and to Canada to 10,999 tons, as compared with 2413 tons and 1928 tons.
THE NEW SOUTH wALES MINERAL 0UTPUT.-Th6
value of the minerals raised (including gold and coal)
during 1899, was 6, 157, 557l., being an increase of 1, 290, 559t.
on the previous year, the number of miners and colliers
employed being 43,000. The quantity of gold obtained
was 496,196 oz., an increase of 155,703 oz. on the year,
and making the total production of the colony since its
first discovery something like 12,862,922 oz., valued at
47,546,012l. The value of the silver output, including
silver, silver lead, silver ore, and silver sulphide, was
2,070,657l., an increase of 366,602l. on 1898. The improved methods of treatment at Broken Hill contributed
largely to the increase. The value of the copper raised
was 399,814l. The tin production represented a. value of
98,428l. In coal there was a decrease in production, but
a substantial increase in value, the quantity raised being
4,597, 028 tons, valued at 1, 325,798l., a decrease of 109,223
tons on 1898, but an increase of 53,966 in value. The
shale mines produced 36,719 tons, value 48,823l. That
the coke industry of the colony is assuming considerable
dimensions is shown by the fact that during 1899 there
were manufactured 96,530 tons, valued at 77,130l., or
14,3.18 tons ~n excess of the output of ~898, .representing
an mcrea.se m value of 12,995l. The 1ron mdustry still
belongs to the future, but an official examination of the
colonial iron-ore deposita has been continued throughout
the year in anticipation of the attention which is sure to
be devoted to them before long. The t otal production
to the close of 1899 was 4919 tons, value 9798l. The progress of th~ diamond mining industry was interrupted
by the contmued prevalence of dry weather, which prevented the supplies of water necessary for washing pur
poses fr?m being obta~ed. During the year 25,874 carats
were ratsed, representmg a value of 10,349l. The output
of precious opal on the White Cliffs field is still well
mamtained, but the output for the year was valued at
135,000l., which represents an increase of 55,000l. on that
of 1898. There ha-s been an increase in the ~roduction
of chromium and antimony, and a decrease 1n that of
antimony, bismuth, and platinum, the value of the total
quantity of the five metals raised during the year eeing
27,2!l8l., an increase on that of 1898. Limestone cobalt
fireclay, scheelite, wolfram, and other minerals ~ere ala~
obtained to the value of 62,185l. The total v~lue of the
mineral products of New South Wales to the close of 1899
was 134,064, 712l.

NOTES FROM THE NORTH.

GLASGOW, Wednesday.
Guugow Pig-Iron M01rket.-Dealing last Thursday forenoon was of the poorest sort. The ad verse reports from
North Yorkshire as to the industrial position there had
a depressing effect on Scotch iron, which sold last
Thursday d own to 66s. 7~d., being a drop of 3d. per
ton. Ab the afternoon market some 7000 tons were
sold, and prices were very fla.t, Scotch dropping
to 653. 9d. per ton. In the afternoon the turnover
was about 8000 tons. Scotch warrants closed l s. 2~d.
per ton d o wn on the day ab 65s. 8d. per ton
cash. The settlement prices were : Scotch, 65s. 9d.
per ton ; Cleveland, 68s. ; Camberland and Middles~rough h~matite iron, 7~s. 7~. ~n? 85::~. per ton. Very
ht tle busmess was d one m the pig-uon market on Friday
forenoon, but over 7000 ton~ changed hands. Ad vices
from America. again rea.d badly. Scotch lost 4~. per
ton, while hematite iron r ose 2~d. per ton. At the
afternoon meeting of the ma.rket some other 7000 tons
were sold, and prices were harder, 2d. p er ton for
Scotch iron. The settlement prices were: 66s. 4~d . 69~. 6d.,
76::~. lO~d., and 85s. per ton. Not m ore than 7000 tons
were d ealt in on Monday forenoon, when the tone was
flat. Scotch lost 5d. per ton, Cleveland 2.3. and hematite
iron ld. per tlon. At the afternoon market some 1000
tons were sold. Scotch fell other 7d. per ton, and hematite iron l~d. , and the settlement prices were 65s. 4i d,
68s. 4~d., 78::~. 4~d., and 85s. per ton. A moderate amount
of business was done on Tuesday forenoon, probably
about 10.000 tons. Prices were all easier, the amount
of the drop ranging from ld. to 6d. per ton. Some
5000 tons ohan~ed hands in the afternoon. Scotch rose
5d. and hemat1te iron lO~d. per ton. The settlement
prices ab the close were: 65~ 9d., 67s. 6d., and 79a.
per ton. Middlesbrough he matite iron was not mentioned. Only 6000 ton~ changed hands this forenoon.
There were, however, plenty of buyers about, and prices
were strong. There were several advances in price. In
the afternoon Scotch rose to 68s. p er ton, and some 5000
tons were sold. The settlement __prices were : 67s. lO~d.,
68s. 3d., and 80.3. 1~d. per ton. The following are the current prices for makers' No. 1 iron: Clyde, 86s. per ton;
GMtsherrie and Calder, 86s. 6d.; Summerleeand Coltness,
90::~.-the. foregoing all shipped ab Glasgow; Gl~ngar
nock (sbtpped ab Ardrossan), 83s. 6d.; Shotts (shtpped
ab Leith), 90s. ; Carron (shipped at Grangemouth). 88.3.
per ton. There are still 85 furnaces in full blast, being
tw~ m~re than ab this ~ime l~t year, Six are making
basic. uon, 39 are . maJung ordmary iron, and 40 are
working on hematite Ironstone. The demands for Middlesbrough and west coa-st hematite irons have been the
prominent feature of the market during the past
week, due doubtless to the constant drain on the
public stores, a drain which seem s to threaten their
extinction. Perhaps the r elief to this drain will
come from Amen ca, where the stooks of pig iron
are beginning to show alarming increases.
Germany's production is also rapidly coming abreast of
its own consumption, thos decreasing its demands
on this country. Makers' prices here still show a
melancholy tendency, and in the Middlesbrough districti the absence of fresh buying is beginning to cause
anxiety. Scotch hematite iron is quite neglected, and
is quoted .nominally at 84s. to 84s. 6d. l'er ton d elivered
at the local steel works: The stook of p1g iron in Messrs.
Connal and C o.'s public warrant stores stood at 116,412
tons yesterday' afternoon, as compared with 122,424 tons
yesterday week, thus showing a r eduction for the past
week amounting to 6012 tons. Last week's s hipments
of pig iron from all Scotch ports amounted to 9238 tone,
8.'3 against 6560 tons for the corresponding week of last
year. They included : To Canada, 406 tons; to South
America., 150 tons ; to Australia, 643 tons ; to France,
177 tons ; to Italy, 1410 tons.; to Germany, 1103 tons ;
to Holland, 425 tons; to Belgium, 140 tons ; smaller
quantities to other countries; and 3637 tons coastwise.

Finished Iron and Steel Trades : Threat to atose the

Works.-Representa.tives of firms engaged in the manufacture of finished iron and steel iri Scotland held a meeting in Gla>Sgow, on Monday, to discuss the position of the
trade in consequence of the high prices of fuel and other
material. It was stated thao many of the manufa.cturers
were finding great difficulty in fulfilling their contracts
without incurring heavy loss. At the meeting tlhe opinion
prevailed that in the conti nued absence of a more favour.
able state of matters a wholesale Rhutting d own of works
would become inevitable. A propoaal was made that the
Fair holidays should be begun a fortnisht earlier than
usual, but ib was not carried.
Ult1mately it was
decided to hold another meeting about the end of
the present month with the view of being able then to
come to some arrangement. Th e probability is that
when the G lasgow Fair holidays take place the furnaces
will not be rekindled for several weeks after the usual
period. lb is believed that this action would result in a
reduction in the prices of coal, and that it would
then be possible to resume the profitable manufacture
of iron and steel. Already works making finished iron
and steel have commenced to shut down. One on the south
s d e of Glasgow has gone on tht e~ days a week ; and there
i g the case of a large steel works to shut down from
the G lasgow Fair holiday~ for six weeks at least] d uring
which extensive r epairs will be made on the p ant and
machinery.
Effect of the Closing-Down Process on the Price of Coal.
-For a quantity of steam coR.l a buyer yesterday had to
pay la. advance on last week's price. The demand for
splint coal on outside order is so great that coa.lmasters
say they could get their wh ole output dis posed of were
works to close down to.morrow. Of course, the output
is not what is desired and should be. ':Vbe idling policy

E N G I N E E R I N G.
of the men has reduced the output of coal in Lanarkshire
by at least 10 per cent.
Glasgow Copper M arket.-This commodity still remains
in nominal demand, and the price is unchanged from last
week, 7ll. loa. per ton.
Meeting AmericMt Competiti on.-Pig- iron warrants
have fallen a dozen shillings per ton from the top price.
but at the same time coal and coke have risen ; and should
this process continue, of whi ch there is every prospect,
the question must arise as to whether furnaces ca.n be
kept m blast, and whether mills can be kept rolling. T o
meet American competition, the makers of tube strips
have out prices 153. p er ton, but steel plates, rails, and
bars makers affirm that they cannot shade prices with
oncost rates so high. Be that a.s it may, the want of
fresh orders to replace those which are running off is
still a source of concern, and merchants state that
makers are now really beginning to press for forward
orders. The cost of fuel is still the main difficulty, and
it is even said thn.b a further rllie to l5q. per ton at the pit
will be made ere long. It is now fully apparent that n.
" ring , has been formed amon~st the most powerful coal
producers in Scotland, and until these coalmasters r ecognise the unwisdom of pressing prices further, there is but
little hope for the makers of finished iron and steel in
Scotland.
.A Combine in the Bolt and Rivet T1ade.-Ib is reported
that negotiations are almost completed by which several
firms in the Glasgow district in the bolt and rivet trade
will combine their businesses, and thatl a week or so will
see the combination carried through.
Extension of the Greenock E lectrical Works. - Ab a
Greenock Police Board meeting it has been resolved to
make extensions to the electrical plant and cable ways at
an estimated cost of 8200l.
Sugar R efonery Contract.-Messrs. Blake, Barclay, and
Co., Greenock, have just received an order from the Japan
Sugar Refinery Company for a large quantity of machinery for the extension of their works at Oaaka. The
original machinery was supplied by the Greenock engineering firm in 1898.

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

SHEFFililLD, Wednesday.
.Appointment.-Mr. Frederick Brittain, steel and file
manufacturer, of Sheffield, has been appointed by the
Board of Trade a member of the Commercial Advisory
Committee.
The Sheffield Tramways.-Ab the last m eeting of the
Sheffield Oity Council, the chnirman of the Tramways
Committee reported that the total takings for the twelve
months ending March 25 were 87,767l. 14s. 9d., and the
working expenses amounted to 6!,265l. 53. 6d., the gross
profits being 23,502l. 9.i. 3d., and the net surplus
5409l. 83. 8d. The accumulated surplus to March 25 last
was 42,806l. 13s. Of this sum they had already transferred in relief of the general dis tri ct rate 12, OOOl. ;
they had advanced oOOOl. to the Health Committee in
connection with the housing of the working classes,
leaving with that asset, 30,806l. 13~., accumulated net
profit since they took the system in hand. The chairman
added that the profit they had made was more satisfactory than he anticipated, and in his judgment they had
got over the cri tioa.l time.
Messrs. J ohn Brown and Co.-The directors of Messrs.
John Brown and Co., Limited, Sheffield, in their thirtysixth annual report state that the net profit for the
year is 273,628l. 15s. 4d., which, with the balance of
33,615l. Os. 8d. brought forward from last year, gives a
total undivided profit of 307,143l. 16s. They recommend
tbab 100,000l. be appropriated out of the above sum
towards the considerable extensions which have been
made during the past year in the armour-plate and other
departments, and which render them capable of meeting
all probable demands.
The directors recommend, in
addition to the usual dividend on the preference shares, a
dividend of 15 per cent. per annum on the ordinary shares,
and to carry forward 30,204l.
Ea1le's Shipbuildilng OO'mr;wny. - The dtreotors of
Earle's Shipbuilding- and Engineering Company, Limited,
have, since the annual general meeting, held m Sheffield
in February, sought to secure an alternative to liquidation~ but their efforts have proved unsuccessful, owing
to tne present high price of m oney and to the action of
several creditors in instituting legal proceedings. They
have now called an extraordinary general meeting of the
company, with a view to the voluntary winding up of the
company. The board trust, however, that it will not be
imperative to proceed with the winding up, except so far
as may be necessary for the reconstruction of the company, proposals for which they still hope to be able to
lay before the shareholders. Another factor which is
stated to have caused the precipitation of the crisis is the
late and irregular delivery of almost every class of
material, and the tabes required for the Belleville boilers
of the cruiser L ondon are mentioned as an instance. The
last tube of an order which should have been completed
two years ago only arrived ab the works three or four
weeks s ince.
YorksJWre M iners' .A.ssooiation.-The annual demonstration of the members of this association was held at
Barnsley on Monday, when it was announced that ib has
now a membership of about 56,000, and the total funds in
hand up to date 191, 117l. 2s. 8d. The contributions for
the year reached 67,601l. 12s., and 6076l. 13s. 1d. was
re~ived in entrance fees.
The expenses totalled
32,075l. 18s., the chief items being strike J>ay
10,073l. 18s. 2d,, and look .out pay 760l. 18s. 11d. The

[}UNE

22, 1900.

association contributed 833l. 6.3. 8d. to the Miners'

Federation, and it has expended 14,910l. 123. Ud. in
legal oba~ge3, rents, sala~es, public meetings, &c. Mr.
?' B. P.LCk~rd, M.P., sa1d he had calculated with the
m creased pr1ces of coal, the owner3 were receiving a
profit of 180 millions of pounds per year, and they could
well afford to pay higher wages, and to give better
treatment to the men.

The File and Steel Trades.-Business in the iron market

is quieter now than for some considerable time. There
is a wide-spread impression that prices have reached
t~eir limit! and th~t t~e d~y is not .distan~ when they
w11l be easte~. Buymg .1s gomg on for 1mmed1ate requirements, and httle more 1s expected to be done during the
p~esent quarter. There is a well-sustained demand for all
kmds of open-hearth steel, now so largely used in the
heavy trades, but there is no improvement to record in
the. sales of c~uoible cast steel. Firm~ who have a reputatiOn for high-class steels for cuttmg tools running a
great speed are well off for orders, but in the common
brands there is much less doing. Firms in the file
trade, who have no Government orders on band
complain of a distinct falling-off in the demand. and
some are talking of reducing their output. There is little
change to note in the lighter industries of the city.
Cutlery firms who have long devoted s_pecial attention to
the Turkish markets report that busmess is practically
at a standstill, although they have been d oing more with
Egypt since the Souda.n was opened oat. The high
tariffs that have been put in force by the P ortugese
Government has very ser10usly affected some of the local
branches of trades, the tariff on certain classes of cutlery
spades, and shovels, being practically prohibitory.
Coal and Coke.- The output of coal of the South Yorkshire collieries has been interrupted this week by the
Miners' Demonstration, and it was Tuesday before the
pits were opened. The repor ts are that there is a. market
for all coal of every description that can be offered, and
at present full prices rule. The shipping season is getting
rapidly into full swing, and the demand from all manu
factunngcentres at home is exceedingly heavy. Although
the housecoal trade is r ather quieter, owners have no
difficulty in disposing of all they have to spare. The
demand for blast-furnace coke is still very brisk, but for
for steel-smelting purposes the demand ia rather
coke

easier.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND TH E

NORTHERN COUNTIES.
MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.
The Clevelam.d Iron Trade. - Yesterday there was a
fairly numerous gathering on 'Change here, bot the
market was dull, and few transactions were recorded.
An uncertain feeling prevailed with regard to the future,
and buyers were very backward. Middlesbrough warrants fluctuated in price, and this interfered with quotations for 1llakera' iron. U nfavoura.ble reports from
America and troubles in the Far East also damped the
tone of the market. Transactions that were reported
were chiefly for ~m&ll lots for early delivery, to meet
immediate requirements. There was no disposition ab
R.ll shown to enter into contra-cts for forward delivery.
No. 3 g. m. b. Cleveland pig iron sold atl69s. for prompt f.o.b.
delivery, and that was the general market quotat10n, and
one at which several merchants were prep_ared to sell, bub
makers, as a rule, put the price at 70a. The lower qualities were fairly plentiful. No. 4 foundry was about
67s. 6d., and grey forge 66s. 6d. There was not much
doing in ~Iiddlesbrough warrants, though they moved
about a g-ood deal a.t one time, touching 67s. 10~.,
and closmg 67d. oa~h buyers. East coast hematite
pig iron was practically unobtainable, and some of
the make lately has not been of very good quality.
Nominally Nos. 1, 2, and 3 were 87s. per ton. Mid
dlesbrough hematite warrants not quoted. Spanish ore
very strong, owing to high freights. Rubio was 21s.
ex-ship Tees, and freights Bilbao.:Middlesbrough were
To-day the market was very un7s . 4!d. to 7s. 6d.
settled. There was little or no alteration in prices for
makers' iron, though at one part of the day they looked
like ad vanoing. Middlesbrough warrants bounced up to
68s. 9d. cash buyers, but they had a short reign at that
figure. Later in the d ay they fell to 68s. l~d. . and that!
was the closing cash price of buyers.

Manufactured Iron and Steel. -The finished iron and

steel industries show little change, so far as quotations
are concerned, because most of the producers have still a
good deal of work on hand, and they are very unwilling
to reduce their rates. At the same time few now contracts are being entered into, and many firms would now
accept orders and guarantee fairly early delivery-an
undertaking they have nob of late been prepared to
concede. It is therefore not surprising that, though
there is hardly any quotable change in prices, the tendency
is downwatds. Common iron bars are 9l. 10s ; best bars,
10l. ; iron ship. plates, Bl. 10s. ; iron ship-angles, steel
ship-plates, and steel ship.s ngles, ea.-oh Bt. 7s. 6d., and
heavy sections of steel rails, 7l. 10s.-all less the ous
tomary 2~ per cen t . discount excepb rails, which are net
at works.
Coal and Coke.-Gas coal is firm without alteration in
price, notwithstanding that we are now at a period of the
year when gas coal is usually at its lowest point. Banker
coal was in pretty good demand at from 16s. 3d. to 16s. 6d.
f.o.b. There is no change in manufacturing coal. Household coal is very doll at the la.ndsale collieries. Large
quantities of coke continue to be taken both for export
and for home consumption. Medium bla.st.furna.ce coke
is r ealising 29s. d elivered here, and sellers will not make
contracts for less than six months.

} UN E 2 2, I 900.]

819

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

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH- WEST.

MISCELLANEA.

Cardiff:- The steam coal trade has shown firmness, and

sellers have nob been disposed to do busine3S in best
qualities to be delivered over the year for less than 223.
per ton. The best steam coal has made 223. 6d. to 23s.
per ton, while secondary qualities have brought 20::~. 6d.
to 223. per ton. As regards household coal, No. 3
Rhondda large has made 22::~. 6d. to 23s. per ton.
Foundry coke has been quiet at 36a. to 38s. per ton, and
furnace ditto 33s. to 333. 6d. per ton. In the iron ore
market the best rubio has been making 20s. 6d. to 2la. per
ton.
The Ad1niraltp (t/ni ltiiljord - The Lords of the Admiralty, having in view the establishment of a ~teamer reserve centre at l\Iilford for the western district, have instructed the authorities at Pembrolt.e Dockyard to survey
the Milford D ocks Company's docks with a view to
ascertaining their present and possible future accommodation; and the7. have also called for a report as to the
capacity of Mtlford Haven in the vicinity of the docks
for the s \fe anc3orage of w&rsbips.
M ining in the South West.-In the coorae of his report
for the past year on mines and quarries in the eouthwestern district, :Mr. J . S. Martin, Her ~Iajesty's Inspector, states that the total number of persons emplosed
below and above ground were: Breconshire, 144; Glamorganshire, 3238; and ~Ionmouthshire, 3t,844. The
quantities of minerals raised were: Breconshire coal,
25,481 tons; irons tone, 227 tons. Glamorganshire coal,
1,112,782 tons ; fireclay, 4403 tons. Monmouthshirecoal, 10,103.067 tons; fireclay, 7!>,481 tons; ironstone,
12, 7!> l tons ; ganister, 2988 tons.
Bar1y Smelting TVorks.-Two experimental furna ces in
connection with the Barry Smelting Works have been
started, and the works were visited on Thursday by Mr.
Armstrong and other members of the board of directot s.
Smelting operations will be commenced during the coming
week, and, as found necessary, others of the eight remaining furnaces will be started. The new works are situated
on Sully Moors, in immediate proximity to the site of the
proposed new commercial dry dock.
S wansea Harbour Trust.-The monthly meeting of the
Swansea. Harbour Trust was held on Monday. l\1r.
F. H. Glyn Price moved the adovtion of the report
of the finance committee, stating that in the aggrega.te
there had been a slight falling off in the trade as compared with the corresponding month of last year. The
chief decrease was 10,000 tons in coa l and coke, and 3000
tons in tinp1ates, steel rails, &c. The chairman said the
falling off in coal shipments was, in his opinion, chiefly
due to the numerous holidays which had occurred during
the month.
Wireless T elegraphy.-An expert from the Telegraph
Department, L ondon, has visited IJfracombe for the purpose of making arrangements with a view to experimentmg with wireless telegraphy between Ilfracombe and the
Mumbles, across the Bristol Channel, just over 21 miles.
A pole, 120 ft. high, is being erected. Should the experiment be suocesstuJ, Lundy I sland is expected to be included, Dfracombe forming the centre.
South Wales Coal and Iron.-The exports of coal from
the ve principal Welsh ports in May were a~ follow :
Cardiff- foreign, 1,344.356 tons; coastwise, 190,971 tons ;
Newport-foreign, 223,325 tons; coastwise, 60,352 tons;
Swansea-foreign, 152. 115 tons; coastwise, 45,925 tons;
Llanelly-foreign, 18,256 tons; coasc;wise, 5322 tons ;
Port Talbot-foreign, 37,955 tons; coastwise, 14,209 tons.
We thus arrive at an aggregate shipment of 1,778,007
t ons foreign and 316,779 tons coastwise. The exports of
iron and steel for the month were: Cardiff, 5156 tons;
Newport, 1388 t ons; and Swansea, 1049 tons; making t~.n
~ggregate of 7593 tons.
The exports of coke were:
Cardiff, 5320 tons; Newport, 2339 tons; and Swansea,
517 tons ; making an aggregate of 8 l76 tons. The exports
of patent fuel were: Cardiff, 26,256 tons; Newport,
4617 tons; and Swansea, 43,109 tons; making an aggregate of 73,982 tons. The aggregate shipments of coal
from the five ports in the firat five months of this year
were: Cardiff, 6,815,604 tons; Newport, 1,471,187 tons;
Swansea, 949,935 tons; Llanelly, 10B,459 tons; and Port
Talbot, 199,992 tons. The exports of iron and steel from
the five ports were: Cardiff, 13,701 tons; Newport, 10,512
tons; Nanse&, 1348 tons; Llanelly, nt"l; P ort Talbot. nit.
The exporl>s of coke were: Cardiff, 30,805 tons; Newport, 15,339 tons; Swansea, 6539 tons; Llanelly, nil~ and
Port Td.lbot, nil. The exports of patent fuel were: Cardiff,
160,325 tons; Newport, 39,516 tons; Swansea, 196,637
tons; L'anelly, nit; and Porb Talbot, nil.

Ta& traffic recei pts for the week endiog June 10 on

33 of the principal lines of the United Kingdom
amounted to 1,935,284l.. which was earned on 19,86f>i
miles. For the corresponding week in 1899 the receipts
of the same lines amounted to 1,790,370l., with 19,60i!
miles open. There was thus an increase of 14!. 9141. in
the receipts, and an increase of 261l in the mileage.
The Society of Arts Albert Medal for the present year
has, with the approval of His R oyal Highness the Prince
of Wales, Pres1dent of the Society, been awarded to
Mr. Henry Wilde, F .R.S., "for the discovery and practical demonstration of the indefinite increase of the magnetic and electric forces from quantities ind efin itely
s mall." This principle is the one on which the invPntion
of the modern dynamo machine i3 based, and is employed
in all modern dynamos.
The trade and navigation returns for May show imports
amounting to 43,876,427l , an increase of 2,9!>9,o99l, or
6.84 per cent., on the corresponding month of 18!>9, the
exports amounting to 24,715,930l., an increase of
1,685,690l., or 7.3 per cent. The value of the iron and
steel exports was 3,227,921! , against 2,575,155!, an incrflase of 25.3 per cent. ; and of the coal and coke exports,
3,391,179l. , against 2,029,696l., an increase of 67.00 per
cent. For five months ended May 31 imports amounted
to 213,569,770l., an increase of 15,166,42lt., or 7.6 per
cent.; exports to 119,481,429l. , an increase of 14,939,602l.,
or 14.2 per cant.; and re-exports to 27,979,137l., an increase of 23, 03~t., or . 08 per cent.
At a meeting of the shareholders of the Patent Nut
and Bolt Company, Limited, ab Birmingham on
Wednesday of this week, a resolution was passed for the
voluntary winding up of the company with a view to its
reconstruction a-s a new company. 'his new company
will in the future be completely independent, as Lord
Wimborne's Dowlais and Cardiff undertakings have been
acquired, affording coal and ore supply, as well as plant
for the manufacture of pig iron and steel, the cost being
over a miJlion and a half. The new company will have
a capital of 2 million sterling, divided equally into
ordinary and preference shares, and there will be issued
a million sterling of debentures. Mr. E . P. Martin will
join the board as deputy chairman.
The completion of the four-thousandth locomotive
turned out of the Cre\ve Works was ma<le the occasion
for a general holiday there Jast Friday. The directors
further entertained the officials and foremen at dinner ia
the evening, whilst the following day was marked by the
presentation of a medallion bust of the late Sir Joseph
Whitworth to the Crewe Mecb~tnics' Institute. This
medallion was subscribed for by the \Vhitworth scholars,
46 in number, who had gained their training at the Crewe
works. The medalJion is a copy of that executed by
l\IIessrs. Elkington and Co. for tbe Whitworth Institute
at JYianchester, and it was unveiled by Mr. W. Groves at
a meeting presided over by Mr. F. W. Webb, locomotive superintendent to the L ondon and North-Western
line. The latter gentleman, we may add, was on the same
day presented with the freedom of the borough of Crewe

GREAT INDIAN PENINSUJ.-A RAILWAY.-The receipts per

train-mile run upon the Great Indian Peninsula Railway
in the second half of 1899 were 6s. ~d . , as compared with
6s. 41d. per train-mile run in the second half of 1898.
The working expenses in the second half of last year
were 33. 10d. per train-mile run. against 4s. 2~d. per trainmile run in the second half of 1898. The total number of
train-miles run in the second half of last year was
4,579,115, or 285,256 more than in the corresponding
period of 1898. The cost of maintenance p er mile of railway was 130l. 17s. 8d. in the second half of last year, as
compared with 1291. 2s. 8d. in the corresponding period of
1898. The cost of locomotive power in the second half
of last year was 352,125l. 9s. 9d., as compared with
323,966l. 2~. 2d. in the corresponding period of 1898. The
ratio of the working expenses to the traffio receipts in the
second half of last year was 61.87 per cent., as compared
with 65.87 per cent. in the corresponding period of 1898.
The neb profit realised for the second half of last year was
5!2, 32ll. 9s. 1d.

In connection with the proposed meeting of the Iron

and Steel Institute at Paris, on September 18and 19 next,
it is announced that Mr. Henry Chapman, who acted as
honorary secretary at the m eetings of the Institute in
Paris in 1878 and 1889, has kindly placed his office, 10,
Rue Lafitte, at the disposal of the Institute, whilst his
manager, lVIr. Henri V aslin, who took a prominent part
in organising the last meeting at Pari ~, has consentE'd to
act as honorary local secretar y. Arrangements will be
made for visiting the different sections of the exhibition
of interest to members of the Institute, and Mr. Henri de
Wende~ Be3Semer gold medallist, h~ intimated his intention of inviting a limited number of members to visit
the works of his firm at J oeuf and Hayange after the
meeting. The transportation and hotel arrangements
have been J?laced in the hands of Messrs. H enry Gaze
and Sons, Ltmited, 142, Strand, L ondon, W.C.
In the course of a few weeks a powerful steam fire
float, which has been constructed by M essra. Merryweather and Sons for the Mexican Government, will be
launched from their wharf at Greenwich. Its trial run
will be to 1\llargate, where it will undergo a series of expe~imen~.
The boat,. which in many particulars is
umque, IS 78ft. long w1th a beam of 15ft., and it d raws
4 fb. 6 in. of water. It is provided with compound
twin-propelling engines fitted with separate surface condensers, so a.s to enable the vessel to proceed to sea when
requ~red. ~he boilers c~n raise. ste~m to working pressure m l 0 m mutes from tlme of hghting the fires, starting
all cold. The fire pumps are extremely p owerful, being
capable of throwing 16 jets simultaneously with fireextinguidhing force, or one jet 3 in. in diameter to a
height of ~50ft. A powerful electric searchlight is fitted,
arran~ ed to penetrate smoke to the seat of a re, thus
enabhng the water thrown to be employed to its best
advantage. There is cabin n..ccommodation on board for
eight firemen.
The cutting of the sudd on the Upper Nile and the
consequent rel~~e of la.rge volumes of stagnant water, has
bad an unant1c1pated mfluence on the condition of the
river at Assuan. From r eports received by Sir Benjamin
Baker from the engineering staff, it would appear that
the absence of free oxygen in the water has ca.used wholesale destruction of the fish. Within 100 yards of the
resid.ent. ene-ineer's o~ce at least 1,, 000,000 dead fish,
rangmg m s1ze from mmnows to 6 ft. m length are to be
found, and although the season is relatively cool (the
shade temperature not exceeding 112 deg.) the odour is
unpleasant and adherent to those who cannot dispense

with their customarr. bath. There id, of oourae, ~o other

drinking water available, . a.t;td for~una.telY. no evils have
resulted from ita use. ThiS IS consiStent wtth L ondon experience when it was usual to pour crude sewage into the
stream. The filtered water, th.ough clear and colourless,
was drunk with impunity, but, having no free oxygen,
eels plunged into it would struggle violently and fina~ly
die of suffocation; as, no d oubt, has been the case wtth
the fish in the Nile under the special circumstances resulting from the long-deferred cutting of the sudd this year.
We quote below the s~ech made by Dr. Sandys, the
Public Orator at Oambndge, on the occasion of presentin~ Sir Benjamin Baker for the degree of Doctor of
Sc1ence. Sir Benjamin shares with Sir W. H. White the
distinction of bein~ the only engineers granted this
honorary deg-ree. "Quantum miratus esset historiarum
scriptor, GalUS Cornehus Taoitus. si providere potuisseb,
fore aliquando, ut Caledoniae fretum, Bodotria.e nomine
sibi notum, duobus deinceps pontibus immensis iungeretur ! Quantum miratus esset historia.e pater ipse,
Herodotus, si audiviseet fore aliquando, ut vir quidam,
ab insulis Britannicis sibi prorsus i~notis ormndus,
fiuminis Nili aquas reduntante dupli01 mole eb aggere
magno coerceret, et Aegypti regioni immensae irriganda.e
conservaret! Operis utriusque magni conditorem magnum
hodie praesentem contemplamur, qui non pacis tantum
triumphis contentus, vel ut alter Archimedes, etiam Martis
tormentorum inventor et machinator a<lmirabilis exstititJ.
Atqui ne Martis quidem inter opera pacis ca.usam revera
deseruit; etenim scriptoris antiqui de re militari monitum
non ignotum est : qui desiderat pacem, pra.eparet
bellum.' Duco ad vos pa-cis ministrum egregium, Archimedis aemulum, equitem insignem, Benjamin Baker."
The French colonial authorities have prepared plans for
the construction of a railway from Tananarive to Aniverano, in Madagascar. The place last named is a small
hamlet on the Vohitra, an affluent of the Iaroka., and
accessible to boats drawing nob more than 3ft. 4 in. This
project, it is thought, wi11 suffice for the present traffic
r~quirements, the continuation of the line to Tama.tave
being p ostponed till the country is more developed.
The total length of the line proposed will be 180
miles, and the metre gauge is to be adopted, with
rails weighing- 47.7 lb. per yard laid on steel sleepers
numbering 2000 to the mile. The sharpest curves will be
of 164ft. radius, and the steepest gradients will be 1 in 40,
which in certain oases will be attained even on sharp
curves, owing to the very difficult character of the country
passed through. The highest J?Oint of the line will be
4850 ft. above sea level, the termmus at Tana.narive being
itself at an elevation of nearly 4500 ft. The only important bridge will be th&t across the Mangoro, which
will be 328 ft. long, but there will be a dozen tunnels,
of which the longest will be 820 ft. The plans provide
for about 390,000 cubic yards of earthwork and 327,000
cubic yards of masonry in culverts, retaining walls, and
the like. The trains will weigh about 75 tons, and be
drawn br 24-ton locot;noti ves, and a "commercial" speed
of 12! mlles an hour Js expected. About seven years, it
is estimated, will be needed for the execution of the work.
Some interesting figures as to the cost of water-waste
Pl'8vention in Cardiff have been recently published by
Mr. A. J. Jenkins. Some water works engineers have
expressed the opinion that it is in certain oases cheaper to
pump extra water.than to take the steps ne~~ry to preven t was.te. .P~ssibly when .a water works IS m {>rivate
hands thlB optmon may occasionally, all things constdered
be really well ba.s~~~ sin~e in ~uch cases neither !Da.gistrate~
nor local authont1es wtll ralSe a finger to assiSt the company; whilst, as we have seen in London, the gutterpress may actually do its utmost to encourage the waste.
When, however, the water authority is a corporation
or other public bo~y, these ~onsid.era~lO~S hav~ less force,
aJ?d the expe~se n~vol ved m. mamtammg mama, service
p1pes, and fittmgs In an effi01ent state is but small compared with thatJ of the water saved. At Cardiff the
system of iJ?spect~on in use costs about 500l. per annum,
the populat10n bemg 200,000., and the average daily consumption 20 gallons per head in winter and 25 5 in
sull?mer. Cardiff is entirely a. water-closet town ~ fact
whtch !Dust be taken into account in institu~g a.ny
companson as to consumption with certain north?Ountr~ towns ,less. advanc~d in sanitary matters. The
mspect1on serVIce, m a typ1cal year, lE'd to the detection
of two mains ~e.quiring ~pair, 93 taps needing r enewal,
and 4525 requumg repatr. Other defects in pipes, cisterns, &c., brought up the total number discovered by
the inspection to 5213, whilst consumers themselveQ reported 14,071 d efects, and turncocks 459. The l~rge
number of reports by ~onsumers is to be attributed to the
fact that the corporat10n replaced washers in leaky taps
f~ee .of charge.
Dea-con meters are used in Bix subdtstncts, tests being made every six months; and, on the
averag:e, everr other test shows the need of a house-tohouse mspect10n. The corporation insist on the use of
"out_side" stopco~ks, which much facilitates the work of
locatm.g leaky !Jbtmgs. Th~ stethoscopes used are made
of ~tra1ght-gramed ash, 24 m. long for inside work, and
36 m. long for street work, and give excellent results.
BALDWTN. Loco:aroTIVKS. -The Bald win Looomoti ve
Works ~ntmue busy. They_ have delivered 50 out of 165
locJm otive3 ordered by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Company, and they are making rapid progress with the
balance of the order.. Th~ first ins~alment of 10 of an
ord~r for 30 locomotn~es 1s now bemg shipped to the
PartS and Orleans Rallway. The engines are to go to
Bordeaux by the steamer Amazonense. The Baldwin
Works have recently bo<?ked an order from the Egyptian
Government for 29 engmes, half of which are to be passenger and half swttch locomotives

STEAM TRAWLERS " BOSTO~IA:N" AND

TRIPLE-EXPANSION ENGINES OF THE

" CA~1BRIAN."

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CONSTRUCTED BY THE SMITHS' DOCK -cOMPANY,

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J UNE 22,

1900.]

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

AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."

NOTICE TO CONTINENTAL ADVERTISEBS.

AusTRIA, Vienna: Lehmann and Wentzel, Kllrtnerstraaee.

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(See next column.)
.
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NOTICES OF MEE TINGS.

TUB INSTITUTION OF :MBCHANICAL ENOTNBERS.- London SUmmer
meeting will commence on Wednesday, June 27, a ud continue on
t he two succeeding days. An invitation to t ake par t in .the
meeting has heen sent to those members of t he Amen can Soc1ety
of Mechnnical Eogineera who may be visiting this count ry nt t he
time. The following papers will be r ead as time permits, but not
necessa rily in the order here given: Adjourned discussion on ''Road
Locomotion," a 3hor tsupplementary paper dealing with the r ecent
trials will be submitted by Professor ll. S. B eleShaw, LL.D. ,
F.R. S. , Member, of Liverpool. "Recent Locomotive P ractice in
F rance," hy M. Edouard S auva~e. Member, assistant e ogine~r-in
chief, Rolling Stook and Running Depar tment , Western Ratlway
of F rance. "Polyphase Electrio Trac tion," by Professor C. .A.
Oar us Wilson , of London. " Obser vations on nn Improved Glass
Revealer, for Studying Condensation in Stea m En~ine Cyli nders,
and Rendering t he Effects Visihle," by Mr. Bryan Donkin,
Member of Council, of London. The outline programme is as
follows: Wednesday, June 27, 9.30 a m. , Institution open.
10.30 n. m., reception of members of t he Americnn Society of
Mechanical Engineers at the I nstitution, St. James's Park , by t he
PresidE'nt, Council, and Members of t he I nstitution. Reading and
d iscussion of pa pers.
Afternoon \'isi ts t o various works.
7.30 for 7.45 p. m., lostit ution dinner in the Hotel Cecil (GJa nd
H all).-Tbursday , June 28, 9.80 a.m ., Institution open. 10.30a.m.
R eading and discussion of papers. Afternoon visits to var ious
works.- lt'riday, June 29, a lternative excursions down t he ri ver
to Southend and the Nor e ; down the river to Cory's coal tips,
Beckton Oa.s Works, and Barking sewage outfnll ; up t he river to
Stnines reser voirs, the inlet works and pumping station at Hnmp
ton, or hy rail to Willans and Robinson's works at Rugby.

ENGINEERING.

FRIDAY, J UNE 22, 1900.

Advertlsements intended for Insertion in the our
rent week's Issue must be delivered not later than
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for going to press earlywithaportion of the edition,
DEFENCE EXPENDITURE.
alterations for standing Advertisements should be
received not later than 1 p.m. on Wednesday afterIT is teally marvellous how :..pathetic the average
noon in each week.
Briton is on t he vital question of our national
defences. We are content to see our ministers
ENGINEERING can be supplied, direct from the Publisher, "muddle along "-the phrase has become stereopoet free for twelve mont hll, at the following rates, payable in t yped- well k nowing that they are muddling along,
advance:and yet we take no steps. The sums spent by t he
For the United Kingdom ........... - .et
9 2
Empire on t he maritime and land forces are enor.. all places abroad :. mous. H ow much of the money is absolutely wasted
Thin paper copies .. ........ 1 16 0
Thick
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.. .. .. .. . 2
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it is impossible to say ; we only know that it must
All accounts are payable to " ENGINEERING " Limited. boa large proportion of the whole. R outine, redCheques should be crossed "Union Bank, Oharing Orosa Branch."
tape, vested interests, P arliamentary tactics, and
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Wben foreign Subscriptions are sent by Post Office Orders, the indifference of t he public all contribute to one
advice should be sent to the Publisher.
end, t he result of which has only feebly been
Foreign and Colonial Subscribers receiving incomplete copies
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the Publisher, together with the agent's name and address.
that a few months ago wer e not t hought to be a
01Bce for Publication and Advertisements, Nos. 36 serious factor in t he military P owers of the world.
and 86, Bedford-street, Strand, London, w.c.
Where our muddling would have landed us had we
We desire to call the attention ef our readers to been opposed to t hat " possible combination against
the fact that the above 1s our SOLE AddreM, and us" of which we have so often spoken of late years,
that no connection extsts between this Journal and probably few have ventured to imagine; but of one
any other publloatlons beartng somewhat stmnar t hing we ought to be convinced, and must be contitles.
vinced if we are to keep our place in the world's
rar..ea.APmo ADnaBSs-ENGINBERING, LONDON.
esteem, t hat we must muddle along n o longer.
Tat.Rl'BONB NUlfBKR- S66S Gel"ral"d.
I t is by no means easy to gather from official
returns what is actually spent on t he military
CONTENTS.
For instance, the expendiPAOB
PAOB forces of t he Crown.
The Reflective Power of
The R oyal Society Soi r~e . . 828 ture on naval works has never reached anything
Metal~ nnd
of Metal
French State Manufactu res
Bn('ked Glasses (l llus.) . . 803
a t the Paris Exhibition . . 824 like t he sum which has been anticipated in
The RhineElbe Oanal Pro
Notes .. .. . .... . . . . . ... 826 the yearly statements of the First Lord of the Adj ect . .... .. . .... . .. . .... 804 Indian Railway P roper ty .. 826
Paris Exhibition Railways
Royal Meteor ological Society 827 miralty and of the Chancellor of t he Exchequer.
(fllmtrated) . . . ..... .. 607 Workmen's Compensation
The amount named by Mr. Goschen this year as
The York Show (l Umtrated) 811
Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827 expendit t,re of t he Mother Country on t he Navy is
160 Horse . Power OaR En
Notes from the United States 827
gine usin~ " Mond " Gas
Notes from Japan .. .. ...... 8~8 30 millions sterling. To this may be added roughly
(fllustrau4) .. ... .... ... 815 The War in South Africa . . 828 a million for naval expenditure of t he Empire, inThe Paris Exhibition Elec
Caledoninn Locomotives . . 828
outside t he United Kingdom,
t r io Power S tation ( I llusGu t tal'eroha . ..... . ... . . 828 cluding India,
t r ated) . ..... . ... . . . .. ... 816 The Cable-Laying Steamer
making 31 millions in all ; but it is possible, as
OhevaletFeed Water Heater
"Yon Podbielski " (Illm
Sir Oharles Dilke said in t he paper on ''The Deand Detartariser ( l llm.) 817
tr ated).... . .. .. ... . .. . 829
fence Expenditure of the Empire, " read by him
Notes from the ~ortb . . . . . 81 8 Triple-Expt\nsion Eng-ines
Notes from South Yorkshire 818
fo r Steam Trawlera (IUttB
at a. meeting of the Statistical Society on Tuesday
Notes from OlevelD.nd and
trate4) . .. ......... .. .. . 830
the North ern Counties . 81
Industrial Notes . . . ..... . 830 last, June 19, that tho actual expendit ure will
Notes from the South-West 819 The Openllearth Oontinu
not ultimately be found to have reached 30 millions.
ous Steel Process . ....... 832
Miscellanea. . ............ . . 19
If Mr. Goschen continues as fruitful in excuse
Deft nee Expenditure . . ... b21 Boiler Explosion at Welling
Tbe Law of Compensation .. 822
ton . . . . .. . ... ....... .. 836 for holding back contracts, it may, we thinks
The TransSiherlan Railwny 822 Launches and Trial Trips . . 836 even fall below that figure.
This, however, is a
Th>i Trarie and Industry of
" Engineering'' Patent Re
llong Kong .. ...... .. .... 823
cord (IUmtrated) ..... ... 837 subj ect we have recently dealt with at some length.
It has recen tly been stated in the French
Wi th ~ T11>0PQ!]~ Bw;ravi'll{l of THE TWINSCREW CA.BLE.
LAY J/\ G S TEA. MER " VON PODBJELS KI," FOR TIIE Chamber, on high authority, t hat the expenditure
N"RDDM r 'l'SCBE
SE EE~BELJVEREE
AJ(TJE .Y on t he British F leet was equal to that of t he ConGh'$ELLSC8 ~FT,
tinental P owers upon the fleets of Europe. - So far
SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOMB AND FOREIGN.

as t he effective fleets of Europ e go, this, Sir Charles

Dilke thinks id n early true. But, he later adds,
" we count 'our non-effective expenditure." In
foreign countries it. is n?t .easy to get at t his, and
if we t urn to our sh1pbu1lding vote, or our vote for
new construction and repairs of ships, we find t hat
our expenditure, instead of being equal to that of
the Continent, is equal only t o t.hat of France and
Russia combined. These are Important matters
bearing strongly on the question, and it is well we
have a. statistician so well versed as t he member for
Chelsea to point out t he t rue value of facts and
fiaures which, though absolutely true as stated,
a;e n~vertheless exceedingly misleading in t he
gross.
Turning to the Army figures we find other instances of a similar nature. The normal peace
expenditure-Sir Charles exclude~ .any consideration of actual warfare- on the BntiBh Army from
home estimates, wit h the allowances from other
departments, is, in ro~nd figures, 24,030, OOOl: , and
t he estimated expenditure from loan money m t he
year 1,085,000l., and on barracks 76,000l. But
here again there is a difficulty which arises t hrough
not beina able to find out what is t he amount of
expendit~re on capital account which is, or is not,
covered by annuities charged on the Estimates. If
we are not careful on this head, we are warned, we
may count works expendit ure, or barrack expen dit ure, t wice over. The above figures, however, have
been described by t he Chancellor of t he Exchequer
as being ' ' exclusive" of annuities charged on
estimates.
The question of the value of the rupee has a
considers ble influence on expenditure in India, but
it is one altogether too complicated to enter into
here. The Treasury holds t hat the rupee, spent in
India, is still worth 2s. there, and this would bring
the expenditure on t he Indian Army to something
over 25 millions sterling, in place of 16 or 17 millions counting the rupee at its average value. The
United Kingdom and India spend annually on
military services in peace 50 millions, if we accept
t he Treasury estimate of t he value of the rupee,
or 42 millions if we take the rupee at its average
value.
H ere, however, we ar e by no means at the end
of oru, difficulties, for, we are told, t here comes t he
curious fact that we spend a large amount of money
upon military services t hrough votes of t he Imperial
Parliament borne upon t he Civil Service E stimates.
The Foreign Office have the military forces in
Uganda, which are indistinguishable from forces
paid for from Army E stimates; the Colonial Office
have t he West African Frontier Force ; and it has
been officially stated, under pressure of questions in
t he House, that 20,000 to 25,000 men, costing about
a million a year, are borne on t he Civil Service E stimates. That would bring the figures above stated
to a total cost for t he land forces of either 51 millions
or 43 millions sterling, without counting t he military expenditure of the self-governing colonies and
of t he Crown colonies. Wit hout going into separate
items for t he colonies, we find t hat t he expenditure
of the land forces of the Empire in a. normal year
of peace is 52l millions sterling or 44l millions
sterling, according to t he value put upon t he rupee,
and t he total defence expenditure of the Empire
is 83i million pounds sterling, or 75! millions
sterling.
What do we get for t his enormous expenditure ?
F irstly, a fleet which Sir Charles Dilke says is
"probably at this moment the equal in war to t he
fleets of the P owers which control the Northern
Coasts of Europe and Asia from Gibraltar to t he
Behring Sea " ; and, we may add, that we get this
at a far less proportional cost than t hat paid for the
navies of any foreign Powers. It is a fleet, however
no larger than that of Continental Powets-in fact'
it is far smaller-in comparison with t he interes~
it has to protect.
As regards land forces, Sir Charles Dilke considers the results less satisfactory. The enormous
expenditure ''yields to t he Empire about a
million men, but without any common training
equipment, or command- a heterogeneous mass'
out of which it is difficult to evolve more than tw~
army ~orps i~ India for fie~d service, composed of
one-t hud whit~ and tw? thtrds native troops; and,
apart from Indta, the ktnd of force which we have
placed in South Africa, amounting on t he whole to
200,000 men, but insufficiently supplied with ar tillery and with th~ ~ount~d. branch generally, and,
moreover, wantmg 1n sohdtty of organisation.,
We agree with Sir Charles Dilke in " feeling

E N G I N E E R I N G.
certain t hat any man of business, given t he supreme
control of such gigantic funds, would produce a
better r esult;" but where the reform is to commence it is difficult for even t he best infor med to
indicate. Some say less centralisation, some say
more; b ut whichever party may be right , it is certain
mor e permanence of management is needed. What
prospect of success would t here be for a commercial
undertaking-say a big railway company- if the
b oard of directors were split up into two distinct
parties, bne of which was always trying to t rip
up and oust t h e other, so as to get in its own
chairman, manager, engineers, &c., and was always
t rying to make capital out of every mishap, or
magnifying trivial disasters, or even inventing
t hem when t hey did not exist ? It is true that the
Army and Navy are not commercial undertakings,
but t he analogy is quite sound to the extent that
in both cases success depends on a certain r eturn
in efficiency for a given sum spent.
One thiog is plain, in any case. To get t he
"better result, " responsibility must be brought
home to those responsible. There must be n o
easy condonance of duties perfunctorily carried
out; no easy excuse allowed in high q uarters for
administrators, civil or military, having allowed
i mpor tant matters to drift to inefficiency because
n o rule has been violated. I t is impossible to
provide cut-and-dried regulations for every detail
of a vast and complex organisation. Any code
must be ins ufficient. The only way to secure
naval and military efficiency is to appoint the best
men as heads of departments, to give t hem a free
hand in organisation, and make t hem responsible
for t he working of their departments. It is a
position t hat will not be accepted readily by many
who now perfunctorily fill positions in which they
ar e incapable of carrying out duties t hey are s upposed to perform.
The first point to settle would be to whom should
t he executive civil and m ilitary officials be directly
responsible; who is to judge whether t hey have
performed or neglected their real duties ? Any mere
Parliamentary figure-head, in office one day and,
perhaps, gone the next, is incapable of carrying out
the task. He is only an amateur in the hands of
r outine officials who t hink little of figh ting efficiency
and much of precedent and t he sacr ed regulations ;
and who, moreover, are safe whatever happens.
F our men have just been cruelly slain at Aldershot
by the worse t han blundering, probably not of some
one, but of some dozens of people. Who is to
blame ? '' No one ; it is the system. ,
That is
probably t rue ; we know n othing of th e details.
But, if it is the system, that is t he more reason
why the system should be altered, as altered it
must be, for the killing of these four unfortunate
soldiers in peace t ime is only an example on a. small
scale of the killing of hundreds that will take place,
and has taken place, in war-time, to say n othing of
lost battles, and dangers to the Empire.
It may be that in t he present state of public
opinion it will be found expedient to produce a
vict im to t he Aldershot disaster; if so, the
r esult will be exceptional. What we should
like to see would be a system in which t he
superior responsible for the appointment of
a man who blunders would be called upon to
g ive good r easons for the appoint ment. Was
the man's record good ? Had he made blunders
before 1 If so, why was h e not removed in
favour of some one more capable 1 We shall
never have efficiency until we establish r esponsibility, and to do t hat we must sweep away
much of t he hampering routine t hat now exists. I t
may be t hat violence must be done to what we are
pleased to consider necess~ry adjuncts to Constit utional Government, but It seems to us that the
Constit ution would be best served by putt ing the
country in the way of getting the best return in
military power for whatever t he sum may be that
P arliament votes for the forces of the Cr own.
There is another aspect to this question, to which
only a few words can be given here. The military
officer should look on his officership as a profession,
not as a means of giving him social po~ition, or
because it is the tradit ion of the family. The
British Army officer acts up to his idea of duty in
fullest measure, but his idea is imperfect; t hough
in justice it should be said, it is endorsed by the
bulk of popular opinion. His code is '' to do
his duty when the time comes " ; t hat .is to say, .he
will risk his life and undergo hardsh1p on active
service. That is not sufficient. In order to be
competent in war, t he soldier must study dili-

gently his profession in peace. Incompetence and

blunders in manoouvres must cease to be looked on
as a huge joke, and the chief feature in a field day
to get the operations over in time for dinner. Of
course, if t he profession is to become as serious as
t his, we must not expect officers to pay from their
private income for t he privilege of adorning it.

THE LAW OF COMPENSATION.

IN the recent case of Masters v. the Great Western Railway, which came before Mr. Justice
Darling and Mr. Justice Channell in t he Queen 's
Bench Division, a very curious a nd important
principle was laid down in connection wit h the law
of compensation for compulsory purchase of land ..
The facts, so far as it is necessary to state them,
were shortly these : The plaintiff was a tenant of
certain mining property, from under whieh he was
entitled to dig and remove coal . By a term in the
lease he was prevented from sinking a shaft anywhere
on a cor tain part of the land without giving notice to,
and obtaining the consent of, his landlord, such consen t, however, "not t o be unreasonably withheld."
After he had been in occupation for some years, t he
defendant rail way company gave notice to the landlord to treat in respect of part of the land, including
that portion in which the tenant was n ot to sink a
shaft, except upon the terms before mentioned.
On the same day that his landlord entered into an
agreement with the company, the tenant gave the
necessary notice. The railway company, who, by
virtue of the transfer now became his landlords,
refused to allow him to sink t he shaft ; and in the
arbitration proceedings which were instituted for
the purpose of assessing the damage to which he
was entitled, he claimed compensation for the interference with his right to carry his intention into
effect. The arbitrator awarded him t he sum of
100l. in respect of the compulsory purchase, and
8900l. in respect of the damage occasioned by t he
interfer ence with his right to sink a shaft .
The railway company appealed to t he Divisional
Court. The grounds of their appeal were (a) that
t hey were not bound by t he terms of the agreement between t he landlord and the tenant ; (b)
that even if they were so bound, they were entitled
to refuse to allow the tenant to sink a shaft upon
the gr ound in question, and that therefore he had
no right to claim compensation. The Court,
however, upheld the decision of t he arbitrator :
b eing of opinion, in the first place, t hat all the
rights and liabilities of the landlord had become
vested in t he rail way company ; and in the second
place, a refusal to allow the shaft to be s1111k might
well have been unreasonable on the part. of the
company. In t he result, t herefore, the plaintiff
obtained 9000l. as compensation for his loss.
It is not difficult to realise t he impor tance of the
principles enumerated in this case. A tenant is
entitled to exercise an option. For some r eason,
best known to himself, he delays to exercise that
option until the r eversion of his tenancy is about
to pass into the hands of a company, whose object
in acquiring the land is to use it for a purpose
wholly foreign t o that to which the tenant has put
it. For damage thus sustained, it seems t hat the
Court is willing to allow substantial recompense.
Upon the authority of the judgment delivered by
Mr. Justice Darling, it is apparent t hat t he tenant
can even declare his intention after t he actual
transfer had taken place.
Let us apply this doctrine to another case.
Suppose a manufacturer holding a lease of a mill
for a particular purpose, is entitled, with the consent of his landlord (" such consent not to be unreasonably withheld"), to extend the field of his
operat ions, or apply the premises for t he promotion
of more lucrative industry. Making due allowance
for the fact that the L ands Clauses Acts confer
peculiar benefits . upon t hose who hold land n ear
r ailways, we see n o r eason why t he principle of
Masters v. Great Western Rail way should not
apply to a manufacturer, who under the above con ditions is compelled to " t reat" with a local authority or company vested with Parliamentary
powers.
The clearing of space for a new street, t he establishment of a new waterworks, are among t he
causes which, in recent years, have often compelled
manufacturers to come to terms and '' move
on." All who are likely to be affected by municipal enterprise, or by the compulsory purchase by
a railway or other company, will be glad to
learn tha.t a new item may be added to t he

f} UNE

22,

19<)0.

bill for compensation which they are entitled to

send in.
~t might be thou~ht t~at the judges, in deciding
t h.ts_case, and t hat we, 1n t he humble capacity of
critiCs, have overlooked the fact that in the case
under review the tenant was bound to obtain t he
consent of t he landlord. True, he was bound to
obtain the landlord,s consent, but that consent was
not to be unreasonably withheld. The meaning of
these words is that, if in the opinion of the tenant
the landlord acts un reasonably in wit hholding his
consent, the tenant may do what he wants, and
allow the landlord to show that he had some reasonable ground for opposing him. This principle
has beeil laid down over and over again in disputes
between landlord and tenant. Apparently, the
arbitrator and the judges were of opinion that the
railway company could not have reasonably opposed
the tenant in his desire to sink a shaft.

THE TRANS-SIDERIAN RAILWAY.

SATISFACTORY progress continues to be made upon
this great overland route to the E ast, and t he work
at the most difficult part, in the vicinity of Lake
Baikal, is being tackled with energy. As ia pretty
well known now, the line continues the European
Russian rail way from Cheliabinsk across Siberia
to the Pacific at Vladivostock, and to the new
Russian seaboard at Port Arthur, the distance being
quite 4000 miles, and t he estimated cost, likely
to be exceeded, being 34, 700,000l. It was divided
into six sections, on which work was to be commenced simultaneously. These were Cheliabinsk
to the Obi via Omsk, 885 miles ; the Obi to
Irkutsk via Krasnoiarsk, 1169 ; Irkutsk to Listvenitchnaya and Mysovsk, on Lake Baikal (with
ice-breaker, pier, harbour, and" t rain ferry " across
lake), 195; Mysovsk to Stretensk (the Trans-Baikal
section), 673; Stretensk to Khabarovsk (the Amur
section), 1333 ; and Khabarovsk to Vladivostock
(the Ussuri section, which is completed), 486 miles.
This plan has, however, b een considerably modified;
particularly in regard to the abandonment of the
permanent " train ferry " crossing of Lake Baikal,
in favour of a line round the sout hern edge of the
lake. In r egard to section five (Stretensk to
Khabarovsk)- the longest and certainly not the
easiest of all - t he adoption of the :Manchurian
rout e to P ort A.rthur and across to Vladivostock
has r endered this northern detour by the Amur
unnecessary. The route round t he south end of
Lake Baikal involves tunnels 2! miles in length :
but with this exception t he line is completed as far
as St retensk, and there remains the length from
that place to P ort Arthur to complete, and operations are being carried out from both ends and
from the middle, so t hat the work will be completed by the autumn of 1902.
As to t he work completed, Mr. A. R. Colquhoun
gave some particulars in his paper, read at a
recent meeting of t he Royal United Service Institution. There are many bridges across the Siberian
waterways, which run in general from south to
north, at right angles to the railway line. The
four most important bridges, all now completed, are
those over t he Irtysh and Obi, each about 930 yards
long ; and over the Y enisei and Selenga, each about
1700 yards in length. The Obi bridge is a particularly fine structure, being at least 50 ft. above
t he river at times of flood, and on ordinary occasions
80 ft . The bridges ar e constructed of iron, with
stone piers supporting spans which in some cases
measure as much as 300 ft. in length, and across
which a single line is laid t hrough lattice -girder
work. The stations, built on sidings, are 25 miles
apart ; men are stationed with green flags to signal
"line clear, " but t he speed is very low, as the rails
are only laid on n otched sleepers and clamped down
on the inside. The line, too, is insufficiently ballasted, and bad material and waste have tended to
unduly increase costs. The present intention is
to re-lay t he whole of t he cen tral and Tran3-Baikali~n
sections with much heavier rails than t hose now 1n
use. In addition to t his, 1429 wooden bridges are
to be replaced by stone and iron ones. A recent
order provides for t he construction of additional
sidings every few miles, t he total additions amounting to 91.
In point of actual rate of construction, the Siberian
maximum is far behind the American one, though
it must be considered fast under the circumstances.
Three miles and three-quarters per diem is t he
highest ever reached by the Russians-a poor
record when compared with the 10! miles credited

1900.]

JuNE 22,

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

to America.n brain and Chinese labour on the San

Francisco section of the American line. But the
Americans, on the other hand, took nearly seven
years to complete a distance of 1800 miles ; whereas
in Siberia. nearly 1000 miles beyond that amount
was accomplished in less than eight years. In
sheer length the Trans-Siberian will be almost
double that of the Trans-American continental railway. The maximum altitude of 3608 ft., overcome
by very gentle gradients while crossing the
Yablonoi cr "Apple Mountains " (so called from
their rounded contours), cannot, as Mr. Colquhoun said, be compared with the giddy precipices of the Sierra Nevada, or the 6500 ft.
ascent of the Rocky Mountains. And although the
Siberian plains are, perhaps, as scantily populated
as were those of the Far West in 1860-70, they
include no such waterless tracts as the Utah and
Nevada wildernesses. Leaving Trans-Baikalia and
Manchuria out of the question, the Siberian line
was an exceptionally easy one from an engineering
point of view. Beyond the Ura.ls the rails could
be laid in straight lines over immense plains.
Between the Obi and the Yenisei there are but
gentle undulations to be overcome. After crossing
the Y enisei, a series of hills-never exceeding
2000 ft. - are traversed at right angles. In the
whole distance from Cheliabinsk to Irkutsk, Lake
Ba.ika.l- nearly 2000 miles - no single tunnel occurs,
no gradient is steeper than 17! in 1000, and no
curve sharper than a 270 yards radius. Convict
labour was found unsatisfactory ; but the Russian
peasant followed the work, obtaining short periods
of release to visit his old home. A few English
engineers are employed on the ice-breaker and
dock at L~ke Baikal ; but otherwise all officials are
Russian.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY SOIREE.

WEDNESDAY last was the "ladies' night" at the
rooms of the Royal Society, Burlington Rouse, and
the Fellows provided, as usual, a very interesting
display for the entertainment and instruction of
t heir visitors. One of the most beautiful exhibits
consisted of a series of vacuum tubes charged
respectively with samples of the various new gases
which Professor W. Ramsay and Dr. Travers
have succeeded in separating from our atmosphere.
These gases are five in number, viz., helium with
an atomic weight of 4, neon with one of 20, argon
with an atomic weight of 40, krypton with one of
80, and xenon with an atomic weight of 128. The
colours brought out by the passage of the electric
spark, in part icular the crimson glow of neon,
were remarkably rich and pure ; and, as we
have said, the collection formed a very attractive
exhibit.
The apparatus employed in separating these
gases from each other and from the air was
also on view. The process is one of fractional
distillation. A comparative large vacuum vessel is
filled with liquid air. Into this liquid dips a
narrower tube sealed at the bottom and connected
at its upper end with a mercury aspirator. In this
narrow tube impure argon is liquefied, and on then
operating the aspirator, the more volatile impurities
distil over first, and can be collected for further
examination or purification. Xenon is of interest
as being the heaviest simple gas known, its density
being 64, or about 4t times that of air. Even
amongst compound gases, t here is, we believe, but
one denser t han this, viz., hydriodic acid .
An exceedingly interesting exhibit is the X-ray
stereoscope which was again exhibited by Mr.
J. Mackenzie Davidson, M. B.
As everyone
knows, R ontgen ray photography has proved
extremely serviceable in military sur~ery, but it
suffers from the drawback that the image ob:.
tained is merely a plane projection of the limb and
embedded bullet, affording little or n o indication of
the depth of the foreign body from the surface. By
taking two photographs with the sparking bulb at
different points, and combining the two in a stereoscope, the image is seen in relief and the precise
relative position of the intruder made clear. Such
a procedure is, however, tedious and troublesome,
and to simplify matters Dr. Davidson has hit
upon the plan of using a fluorescent screen, on
which a shadow is projected alternately from
each of two suitably situated Crookes' tubes.
The screen is viewed through two eye-holes,
each opening in which is also alternately obscured.
These obscurations are synchronous with t he passage of sparks through the corresponding t ubes, so

that the left-hand eye sees only the image cast

by the right-hand tube, and vice versd.. By making
the a.lterna.tions sufficiently rapid, ste~dy vision is
secured, and the object stands ?ut 1n absolute
solidity. A leg of mutton in wh1c~ a. bullet v.:as
embedded appeared in perfect rehef, but . qutte
transparent, showing the bullet a couple of 1nches
in front of the bone. The latter, further, was broken,
and every detail of the fracture stood out with marvellous solidity. The bones of the experim~nter's
hand were equally clearly displaye~, _and the lnst.rument must prove of the greatest uttlity for many lmporta.nt surgical operatioru;. The essential feature of
the mechanism is a. new type of contact breaker, consisting of an inclined shaft carrying at its lower end
a metal T-piece, the ends of which dip into a trough
of mercury as the shaft is revolved by an electromotor. To reduce oxidation, the mercury is covered
with a layer of water or paraffin. Near the middle
o its length the shaft is provided with a commutator, which completes alternately th~ circuit
through each of the sparking tubes, and at 1ts upper
end is further coupled to a revolving shutter, which
obscures each eye-piece in turn as one or other of
the circuits is completed. This form of contactbreaker is stated to work well at all pressures from
12 to 100 volts.
An interesting collection of drawings and photographs obtained during the recent solar eclipse was
also on view, and attracted much attention from
the astronomically-minded section of the visitors.
A model of much technical interest showing how
completely it is possible to balance the inertia
forces of a four-crank engine was exhibited by
Professor Dalby. Since the more general adoption
of high rotative speeds, it has been necessary to
pay much more attention to this matter of balance.
Some of the earlier three-crank torpedo-boat engines
gave rise to such vibration that, according to the
legend, they loosened the stopping in an inspecting officer's teeth, but by the adoption of the fourcrank system the trouble has been greatly modified,
and theory shows that with a six-crank engine the
balance possible may be almost perfect. With the
four-crank there is still a certain degree of vibration arising from the secondary forces, but as
Professor Dalby's model shows, this may be made
very small.
An exhibit, which had at least a secondary
interest for engineers in view of the large amount
of pioneer work falling to their lot in fever-stricken
countries, was one by Professor Ray Lankester
showing enlarged models of the malaria-producing
mosquito, Ottlex pipien,s, and its innocent cousin,
Anopheles macttUpenm,?s. Other models exhibited
the life history of the malaria parasite after its
introduction into a white corpuscle of the blood,
which it fina.lly ends by destroying. The models
were beautifully executed in wax by Miss Delta
Emett, and say much for her patience and
dexterity.
At another portion of the principal library Professor Hele-Shaw and Mr. A. Ray exhibited applications of Professor Hele-Shaw's stream-line models
to the mapping out of magnetic fields containing
masses of iron. From a mathematical point of
view, the flow of magnetic induction through a
field of varying permeability is identical with that
of the flow of an ideal fluid through varying
resistances. In the models exhibited the liquid
used was glycerine, of which, owing to its
viscosity, the flow, when in sufficiently thin sheets,
partakes of the character of that of a perfect fluid,
all tendency to eddy being destroyed by the great
fluid friction. This liquid was caused to flow
between two parallel sheets of glass, of which one
was covered with a thin and perfectly even layer
of paraffin. In this paraffin near the centre of the
sheet, holes were cut through to the glass backing,
thus providing spots in which the resistance to flow
was much less than elsewhere. The stream lines
were mapped out by the device o( introducing into
the general flow filaments of c9loured glycerine, in
the manner which has already been described in
these columns on several occasions. The stream
lines crowd in towards these hollows, as spots of
least resistance, and thus map out the similar
crowding in of the lines of force in the magnetic
analogue.
In the archives room on the ground floor, Mr.
Richard Kerr, .F.G.S., had on view an improved
model of the clock controlled by Hertzian waves,
which he exhibited at the last conversazione of the
Society. The receiving instrument consists of a
coherer working a relay which in turn drives the

clock whilst the transmitter consists of a sparking

arrangement operated by a standard clock which
thus may be made to give the time to any number
of subsidiary timepieces.
During the evenina a very interesting demonstra
tion of most of the o'properties. of H ertz1an
wa'!es
was given by Professor Flemmg. The H ertztan
experiments have generally ~~e~ hel~ to be of too
delicate a character for exh1b1t10n w1th success to
a large audience, but the lecturer proved that he had
surmounted mosb of the difficulties involved. The
radiator used produced a wave about 8 in. in length
which was allowed to strike on a coherer, associated with a relay and an electric bell. The
passage of the radiation was proved by the
ringing of the latter. The imperviousness of all
conductors and the transparency of all nonconductors, was shown by interposing metal or
other conducting screens in the path of the beam,
in which case the silence of the bell proved the
absolute opaqueness of the obstruction. Nonconducting screens, such as wood, glass, and slate,
on the other hand, allowed the beam to pass.
Water, being a conductor, acts like metals, whereas
turpentine, paraffin, and the like prove quite
transparent. A comparatively small amount of
moisture suffices to stop the passage of the beam,
a wet brick being opaque, whilst a dry one is transparent. Similarly a package of moist tobacco stops
the radiation, whilst dry to~acco lets it pass. Re .
flection and refraction of the radiation were proved
by interposing metal plates in the path of the rays
for the former and prisms and lenses of paraffin in
the case of the latter phenomenon. The polarisation
of the radiation was shown by the fact that a
screen built up of parallel wires, if placed so that
these wires were also parallel to the direction of
the spark, proved opaque; whilst if placed in a
perpendicular direction, the radiation was unimpeded.
Another interesting lecture, though not of
technical interest, was delivered by Mr. Fred.
Enock, F'.L.S., and dealt with the life history of
the common tiger beetle, giving the results of 17
years' researches. The various phases in the life
of the insect were illustrated by a beautifully
executed series of coloured lantern slides.

THE TRADE AND INDUSTRY OF

HONG KONG.
Hong Kong was originally Chinese
territory it has for a great many years been a
British colony under the direct administration of
the Crown, and, therefore, at the present day when
so much is being said about new openings for
trade and industry in China, we must take care
that the interests of that part of Britain which is
situated in China are not overlooked, for Hong Kong
is not only important on its own account, but also
because it is an important centre of distributi<n
for the whole of the Far East. Probably Manila,
in the hands of the Americans, will become an important rival, but the increase of the trade of
Manila should not mean the decrease of that of
Hong Kong. The Pacific area, as we have more
than once pointed _o ut, is destined to become the
greatest commercial and industrial area in the
world, and there will be r oom for many important
centres of production and distribution.
Fifty years ago, or even less, to be '' sent to
Hong Kong," was to be sent practically out of the
world. The means of communicat.i on were so im.
perfectly develope~ ~~at it was, to ~ la;ge extent,
cut off from the c1vihsed world, whlle Its climatic
conditions were such, but that the chances of survival were small. Now, however, Hong Kong can
be visited in an ordinary holiday tour and the improvements in sanitation have made 'it one of the
healthiest settlements within the tropics. The
fatal effects on Europeans seem to have been
caused by the peculiarities of the surface soil which
im pro~ed drainage has to a large extent re~oved.
The climate of Hong Kong for five months in the
year is very good, though the temperature is rather
subject to sudden fluctuations. The summer
months are .trying to Euro~ea~s, owi~~ to the damp
heat, but with care there lS little difficulty in preserving health. In his last report the Governor
states that the death rate was 22.3, or excluding
deaths from plague, only 17. 7. He admits however, that the sanitary conditions are still f~r from
perfec~, and the Government were directing iheir
attenb~n to the necessary improvements.
The
tota.l ra.mfall for 1898 was 57,025 in., while in 1897
ALTHOUGH

E N G I N E E RI N G.

it was 100.03. The average monthly temperature

t hroughout t he year was 72.2 deg. F ahr. , as compar ed wit h 71.7 deg. Fahr. in 1897. The maximum
nwnthly temperature was, in July, 81.7 deg. Fahr.,
t he minimum in January with 60.1 deg. Fahr. The
highest r ecorded temperature was on May 30 with
91.5 deg. Fahr. ; the lowest on January 25 wit h
46.1 deg. Fahr.
The public finances of the colony seem to be in a
satisfactory condition, t he r evenue for the year
1898 having exceeded t he expenditure by 76,354.04
dols., but we need not enter into details of th e
accounts, as t hese can be consulted in the r eport h)
t hose who are interested in them . The fact that
H ong Kong is a free port makes it a mat ter of unusual difficulty to give anyt hing like a complete
statement of the amount of its trade. In the
absence of a Custom H ouse it is necessary to rely
upon returns which may be only approximately
accurate, but which will probably b e found useful
in giving a gen eral idea of the pr esent state of
Hong K ong commerce. The tax on opium r enders
that article of commerce the only one on which
claar r eturns can be given, but our r eaders are
n ot specially interested either in t hese or in the
q uautities of rice imported on account of t he local
fllmines in t he Kwangtung and neighbouring provinces. The incr ease in the dealings in coal was
due partly to t he ordinary increase in shipping
t raffic and the growth of manufact uring industry
in t he colony. and partly to t he large purchases
made by foreign governments during the period of
impending war. The import trade of the colony
was increased during 1898 from all parts of t he
world ; and this increase amounted in the aggregate to 659,833 tons of cargo discharged. The
cargo in t ransit was during the same period advanced by 167,860 tons. In exports generally
t here was an increase of 1205 ships and 229, 151 ton~
of cargo.
The Governor expresses t he opinion that t he
present prosperous state of the industry and
manufactures of the colony, especially of the cit)
of Victoria, seems likely to continue. A survey
of t h e industrial returns for the last five years
shows an increase in the number of workmen
employed in n10st of the colonial industries, and
the growth in the number and variety of the
manufactures themselves show that Chinamen are
not too conser vative to turn their capital and
abilities into new directions. The chief industries
are sugar r efining, t he manufacture of cement,
.
. wood
paper, bam b oo and rattan ware, carving
In
and ivory, working in copper and iron, gold-beating
and the production of gold, silver and sandalwood ware, furniture making, J. inricksha makin 0rr,
and large industries connected with kerosene oil,
cotton, and matches. But while most of t hese industries are s ubject to considerable fluctuations
from year to year, chiefly on account of absence of
capital to enable the t raders to t ide over a period
of sluggish business, one of t he forms of industrial
activity which seems to be uniformly and increasingly prosperous is ship and boat building, and
especially the building of steam launches, together
with all t he minor industries connected with docks
and shipyards, such as rope and sailmaking.
The manufacture of cotton is a n ew industry,
but one which may become among the most important.
The Ho~g J{ong Cotto~ . Spinning,
w~aving, and Dyeing Company, Limited, cornmenced the erection of a large mill in 1898, which
will provide for t he working of 50,000 spindles.
The building has now b een completed, an~ 12,000
spindles are a.lrea~y at work . . The . eng1nes and
machinery havo g1ven full sat1sfact10n, and the
Chinese have shown much celerity and deftness in
acquiring a knowledge of their work. Some of the
industries mentioned are carried on to a gr eater or
less extent all over t he colony ; many are confined
to t he city of Victoria ; and t here seems to be a
tendency towards gr eater industrial acti.vity i.n
Ko wloon. One industry- that of tannmg - Is
practically confined to K owloon. The number of
fishina and other boats frequenting t he harbour
and bays of Hong Kong ~uring the year under
r eview may be roughly est1mated at about 5000.
There are no means of ascer taining t he proport ions
in which the different kinds of fish are caught, n or
the quantities ; and i~ is therefore impossible. to
give even an appro:nmate value of the fishmg
industry.
The cosmopolitan nature of .the trade . of Hong
K ong is shown by t he follo~mg analys1s of the
shipping entered and cleared 1n 1897 and 1898 :

[} UNE 22, 1900.

GAS ENGINE AT THE YORK SHOW.

NATIO AL OAS ENGINE CO , L TD, A HTON UNDER-LYN ~.

CON T RUCTED BY TH E

(For Desc?iption, see Puge 814.)

\.

-- -.u~~a: "id .

~
1tw~n 1

British ..

,__~

Ohines;'j~~t;

1897.

1898.

- - -,-

--

Ships.

Tonnage.

Ships.

Tonnage.

6,783

8,268,'766

7,466

8,705,648

67,349
1,364
304
396
285
290

3,813,576
1,637,571
699,276
511,608
288,994
341,564
U 8,766
133,188
70,810
39,414
16,512
6,576
29,170

68,5'71

4,013,047
1,789,575
1,005,455
623,667
377,893
361,796
179,534
132,396
86,461
39,6i 8
27,710
17,678
7,796
4,348
2,694
618

German
J apanese
Ohinese
Nor wegians
French..

..

..
..
..

::

Danish . .

..

~~~~i~~

::

Dutch ..
Russian

..
..

!~~~i~n

~~~~~~

::

Siamese
Swedish
Total

..

226
64
145
28
8
8
10

11
6
26

4,816
3,242
24, 136

77,293

15,938,174

1,486
481
424
410
314
231
61
137
28

14
12
4
2

6
2

- -- 1- - - 79,629

17,266,'780

The nationalities in this Table are arranged

according to the relative amounts of tonnage carried
under t he various flags in 1898. As compared with
the figures of 1897, it will thus be seen t hat four
countries, Norway, Hawaii, Holland, and Belgium, have improved t heir relative positions, and
that France and Russia have gone down one and
two places respectively. Sweden, in 1898, deserted
t he por t altogether, taking 24,436 tons wit h her. A
very noteworthy increase in tonnage was achieved
by Japan, t he shipping of which coun try sprang
from less t han 600,000 tons in 1897 to over a million tons in 1898. The Norwegian increase is also
noteworthy. No other features call for special
remark. British shipping and tonnage preserve
t heir supremacy, the tonnage b eing nearly quiDt uple that of the n ext nationality (omitting t he
Chinese j unk trade), namely, Germany.

FRENCH STATE MANUFACTURES AT

THE p ARIS EXHIBITION.
THE French Ministry of Finance has under its
charge the Manufactures de l'Etat, t he two great
State monopolies, of tobacco and matches, which

have, the one since 1810, and the other since 1890,
been wholly Government industries in France. At
t he Paris Exhibition of 1889, t he tobacco manufacturing department, was represented by a pavilion
in which specimens of home grown and foreign
leaf were shown, together with the processes and
machines employed in treating it, and afterwards
in manufacturing it into snuff, smoking tobacco,
cigars, and cigarettes. At the present Exhibition
the same department S\gain has its pavilion, where
the processes exhibited are of equal interest. But
in addition to the tobacco monopoly, the other great
Government industry, that of the match manufact ure, is also well r epresented, so t hat the pavilion
has a wider inter est than that of t he 1889 Exhibition. We have no intention of attempting any
detailed description of the machinery exhibited,
but we think a brief review of the two industries,
and of the principal processes followed, will be
read with interest. F or our information we are
indebted to M. L aurent, one of t he chiefs of
t he Tobacco Depart ment, but who, since its
establishment in 1890, has had the control of
t he match monopoly. In connection with the
Government exhibit, M. Laurent has issued a
Government report from which we obtain o~r
information. Although, following t he usual classification of the Exhibition, tobacco and matches
would not belong even to t he same group, it was
necessary that t he official exhibit should be placed
in one pavilion, and in accordance with t his necessity both t he industries have been included in one
class-91 of Group XIV. N ot long s~nce we r~
viewed the history of the tobacco Industry m
France, and we may repeat some of the facts we
t hen gave, and which are illustrated by diagrams
.
forming part of the official exhibit .
Tobacco was int roduced into France by Jean Nicot,
Ambassador of Fran~ois II. to the Court of Portugal,
about 1560 and for a number of years after was held
in much repute for its alleged medicinal qualities.
Its more common use, however, gradually increased, and by 1629 the amo unt ~mported w~ of
sufficient impor tance to form an obJect of taxatiOn.
Nearly fifty years later the first monol?oly was
established, and the profits of m~nufacturmg were
divided batween t he French Indian Company and
t he fe'rmie'rs gene1ct.tbX. Probably to avoid this

} UN E 2 2, I 900.]

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Europe ...
... ... ... 551 million lb.
A frica
... .. . ... 110 , ,,
... ... 4~ ,, "
Australia ...
...
... ... ... 2286! , ,
Total

rate of potash, practically harmless both in manutaxation, tobacco culture was introduced into
facture and use. To-day, therefore, the Frenc~

France early in the seventeenth cent ury, and so

match industry, as represented .in the State PaVIlargely did the industry increase, to t he damage of
lion, has been brought to a satiSfactory standard.
t he revenue, that in 1720 the culture in France
During the nine years of monop~lr, the gr oss rewas prohibited ; all the same it was continued on
We have said enough to indicate the very ceipts have been over 236 mlllions of francs
a large scale in Alsace, Flanders, and the FrancheOomte, and much smuggling followed, which was interesting character of the State tobacco exhibit (about 9,500,000l.), the cost of working has been
as far as possible ch ecked by the revenue officers. at Paris that has been arranged under the super- 59,897,000 francs, so that a profit to the State of
With the Revolution came a period of free trade, vision of M. La.urent, and may now pass on to the about 6! millions sterling has accrued.
There are six match factories in France, speand in 1791 a law was pa-ssed decreeing freedom display illustrating the French Government's second
cialised mostly for certain products. Thus a.t ~ar
in the cultivation, manufacture, and sale of tobacco monopoly : that of matches.
French matches- the product of a Government seilles wax matches are produced; at Sa1ntmes
throughout France, with certain limited reservations referring to the imposition of a small tax. In monopoly since 1889- have deservedly enjoyed a (department of t he Oise), only Swedish and Vienna
1805 there were 16 depart ments in France where bad reputation, which, however, is being rapidly matches are made ; at Trelaze (Maine et Loire),
tobacco was grown ; in 1808 the number was in- improved, thanks to the con tinuous labours of M. common amorphous matches are the only product;
creased to 42 departments, in which 15,000 hec- Laurent, under whose care this monopoly is carried at P antin (Oise) only sesquisulphide matches ; at
tares were devoted to tobacco culture, the pro- on, and who is responsible for the complete and very Begles, near Bordeaux, and Aix, the products are
duction from which amounted to 22,600 tons. The interesting exhibit in the pavilion. Following the mixed. Excepting for a portion of t he wood,. pracfreedom then existing applied only to the cultivator; data. which form a part of the exhibit, we may tically all the materials employed in the ma.ktng of
the manufacture still remained vested in the hands give a very brief summary of the history of the matches come from France, contracts being made
of a few Government concessionnaires, and in the subject as set for th by M . J.Jaurent. It seems diffi- by public tender from t ime to time. The industry
comse of a. short time the consumption-at least the cult to realise t hat flint and steel were the only is broadly divided into three branches-the pretax-paying consumption-decreased considerably. means of procuring light in the days of the First paration of the wood, the fabrication of the match,
To improve matters, t he Government, in 1808, Empire. This primitive contrivance, which had and the manufacture of the box. The wood used is
placed the culture of tobacco under strict sur- been in use for centuries, was displaced as a doubt- poplar, and the sticks are ?ut int? the prop~r
veillance, and in 1810 fresh laws dealing with the ful luxury, by the hydrogen briquette of Doberein, lengths and sizes by very rap1d:workmg autom~tiC
whole question, and establishing a monopoly, were and later by the compressed air device that ignited machines, and are afterwards drted. The most Imenacted. This was the t urning point of the French tinder. About 1812 was introduced the clumsy portant par t of the work is that of p~eparing t~e
tobacco industry, and since that date the revenue cont rivance of a jar filled with asbestos saturated paste, for which the Government factones have therr
from this source has steadily increased. The total with concentrated sulphuric acid, and into which own formula. The mixt ure, although not poisonous,
receipts, which were about 62 millions of francs in the match, tipped with sulphur and chlorate of is explosive, and precautions are necessary to avoid
1817, amounted to no less than 404 millions in 1898. potash, was plunged. In 1816 came the phosphorus accident . The ~ppliances used are, besides the boilers
It is worth noting that in 1817, the total production device due to Derosne and Cagniard de Latour ; for preparing the gum, a series of reducing mill~.
was 11,600,000 kilogrammes, of which nearly half the phosphoruRwas contained in a flask usually her- The friction strips pasted on the boxes are made m
was made into snuff, while in 1898, the total pro- metically closed; into t his the sulphur-tipped match a separate department . The work of making the
duction was 38 million kilogrammes, of which less could be dipped, and on its withdrawal came into match commences by placing the splints in frames,
than 5 millions were used for snuff. Cigarettes contact with a roughined surface that caused igni- each splint being separated from the other ; they
(to t he ex~nt of 12,000 kilogrammes) were first made tion. The Congreve match was of a. later date; it are then r eady to be treated with sulphur or paraffin,
in 1848 ; in 1898 this quantity had been increased to was a splint coated at t he end with sulphur, and and for the final tipping ; they are afterwards
1! millions of kilogrammes. By a law of 1817, the then tipped with chlorate of potash and sulphate of dried. When finished they are removed from the
number of departments permitted to grow tobacco antimony. All these devices were costly, and more frames for packing either in wooden boxes or paper
was limited to eight; this was afterwards increased or less dangerous both in fabrication and use ; they cases. In France this packing into boxes used to
to 16 departments, and again in 1868 to 22 depart- were largely employed, but by no means displaced be done by machine, but now it is by handwork.
ments; at the present time the number is 25. I t the primitive flint and steel. It wa.s iu 1833 that Paper-cases are largely used in France, because
was not until 1830 that machinery was employed in the prototype of the modern match was introduced ; suitable wood is difficult to obtain ; the cases are
the tobacco industry ; and the methods that are now the splints were tipped with a mixture of chlorate made for the State factories by private industrials.
in use, and which have not only facilitated the of potash and white phosphorus. This was a dan- For making the wooden boxes, automatic machines
manufacture in all its branches, but have also re- gerous and explosive affair, modified by Presche11, are employed t hat can turn out 40,000 boxes a day ;
moved its insanitary conditions, are due almost of Vienna, in 1837 ; he substituted peroxide of by these machines t he boxes are delivered, filled
wholly to French engineers. One of the latest and lead for chlorate of potash, and thus removed the with matches. The State employs in this industry
most important modifications dates back about five explosive characteristic. This method, with gradual over 2000 workpeople, of whom 1450 are women;
years, and consists in the impregnation of home- improvements and modifications, was adopted gene- the men earn 5. 90 francs a day, and the women
grown leaf with the saturated solutions of foreign rally throughout Europe.
4. 33 francs.
tobaccos, in such proportions as to impart special
In France, prior to 1870, the industry of matchMatches are sold in France under the same r egucharacteristics and improve the quality.
making was chiefly carried on in workmen's homes. lations as tobacco; it is not possible to give
There are at the present time 20 State tobacco It was highly dangerous, and the numerous acci- statistics on t he consumption in differen t districts.
factories in France, at all of which work is carried dents due to explosion, and mortality arising The department of the Seine is, however, the
on at high pressure to satisfy the ever-increasing from necrosis, would have brought about Govern- largest consumer per head of population. The sale
demand. Between 16,000 and 17,000 workpeople ment intervention, even if financial reasons had of wax matches, made only in Marseilles, is chiefly
are employed, of whom more than 15,000 are not pointed in the direction of monopoly. The in the south ; the demand for this class is on the
women. Most work is done by the piece, and first step taken was to impose a match tax, and increase. On the other hand, the demand for
the 10-hour day is universal. The men earn this was followed by leasing the monopoly as a amorphous phosphorus matches is declining, and
5 francs 36 centimes as a maximum, and the concession to a company, which proceeded to con- was 3. 5 p er cent. less in 1898 than it was in 1896.
women 3 francs 34 centimes. The employes rank centrate 80 small works into six large factories. The The total sale of matches in France during 1898
as Government ser vants, and are entitled to retire concession expired at the end of 1889, and from was 34,481 millions, representing a total of nearly
on pensions at sixty years of age, and thirty years that date t he industry passed into the hands of the 30 millions of fran cs, and an average consumption
of service; the minimum pension is 600 francs per State, under certain conditions prescribed by the per head and per day of 2.45 matches. This is a
annum for men, and 400 francs for women ; widows Government, the most important being, that as far very low average. In Russia it is 4 matches per
and orphans also r eceive pensions, while well- as possible, all the wood used must be of French head and per day ; in Germany, 5.4; and in
organised hospitals, creches, and savings banks, origin. Great difficulties accompanied the under- Austria 7. 9. To most people it will be a surprise
exist for the benefit of the workpeople. The total taking at the outset. The companies' factories to learn that the Government match factories do a
receipts by the Treasury during the ten years 1890- taken over by the Government, were not only in- large export trade, which in 1898 reached t he
1900 have been 3 milliards 810 millions of francs, adequate, but were extremely unhealt hy and pos- figure of 326 millions of matches. In the foreand the net profits have been enormous. N early sessed primitive and insufficient plant. The in- going brief r eview we have only touched on the
all the 38 millions of kilogrammes of tobacco made dustry for supplying prepared timber did not exist important points connected with the French
in France are consumed in the country, but in very in France ; and, in short, the work had to be under- tobacco and match monopoly; far more detailed
varying quantities in different localities. Thus, in the taken, under the new regime, almost de novo. In information is available for the visitor in the
department of the Nord, the consumption per head spite of all that could be done the terrible pavilion of the Ministeres des Finance at the Paris
and per annum is about 5 lb., and in the Lozere it necrosis could not be subdued; on the contrary, Exhibition.
is only .81lb. Speaking generally, the inhabitants it increased, and a means for dispensing with the use
of the n orth-east frontier, and the Mediterranean of white phosphorus became more than ever urgent.
littoral, are the largest consumers ; those of the A first step taken in this direction was the issue
Swrss RAII.WAYS.-The dividend of the Jura. and Sim~
central regions are t he lowest. The net cost of the of a cheaper type of match made with amorphous pion Railway Company for the past year is officially recom~
tobacco leaf varies within wide limits. Home-grown phosphorus, but the public did not approve of this. ll!e~ded ~t the rate of 4 per cent. per annum, full provtston hem~, of course, made for all fixed charges and
crops realisefrom87 to90francs per 100kilogrammes. 'fhe Government engineers then devoted themselves 139,
600l. bemg also carried to the sinking fund.
'
I t is in the foreign growths where the wide differences to designing new machinery, by which greater safety
prevail. Thus, Guibec leaf is worth about 30l. per would be insured ; such machines wer e in use both
INDIAN LocoMOTIVE RENEWALS.-In the second half of
cwt. ; Sumatra, 26l. ; Havana, 12l. ; and Kentucky in the United States and Sweden. They also las~ year six new locomotives were renewed by the Madras
a little over 2l. per cwt. ; or not a great deal mor e sought. to discover some new igniting paste with- Ra.1lway Company at the cost of revenue and at an ex~
than the French-grown leaf. It is worthy of note out white phosphorus, and at the same t ime free pense of 18,553l. There was no debit to r~venue account
on account of new. e.ngines.in the correapondin~ period of
that nearly a quarter of the tobacco grown, is- from the danger of explosion. Both these pro- 1898.
It wa.s ongmally m tended that the SlX. engines
according to M. Lau1ent- produced in Europe. His bl,ems have now been solyed in France by MM. should have ~en renewed ab the rate of two in each of
figures are as follow :
Seve~e and. C~hen. Contmuou~ and very perfect the half- years ending. J nne, 1898, December; 1898 and
America. ...
...
...
.. . 661 million lb.
machinery IS m use, and the Igniting paste is a June, 1899; hub. owing to the gr:eat engineers' strike in
the engt.nea were not avatla.ble until the second
As\a (?)
...
...
... ... 960 , ,
mixture of sesquisulphide of phosphorus and chlo- Enfland
hal of 1899.
....

E N G I N E E R I N G.
NOTES.
COPPER.

WE do not believe that the stars in their courses

are fighting for t he small group of Americans who
have obtained control of the copper market, but
certainly several things have happened to aid t heir
movement. The latest is t he fire which has broken
out in the Calumet and Hecla mine, one of the
largest independent producers in the world. The.
Calumet and Hecla has steadfastly declined to
have any dealings with the copper combine,
on t he ground that the objects of that body
are inimical to the true interests of the industry, and on several occasions it has done
things which have upset t he calculations of the
trust: as, for instance, when at the beginning of
the year it sold some big blocks at a reduction on
the price fixed by the selling agents of the Amalgamated Company. I ts annual production is about
40,000 tons, and consequently it is in a position to
act independently if, and when, it so desires. As a
result of the fire the output of the mine has
fallen off by 50 per cent., and as a message sent over
this week states t hat the conflagration is still raging,
it is quite possible that the fact will be used by the
combine to strengthen its own position, which has
of late been growing very weak. For the evidences
of increased mining activity, coupled with a.
falling off in the industrial demand, have compelled
the '' corner men " to support the market to an
extent which was becoming dangerous to them, on
account of the stocks which they were forced to
lift in order to keep down the visible supply.
Their representatives have, of late weeks, in
fact, allowed the market to look after itself
pretty well. Their object may be to let t he price
go down so that they may buy on the lower level
again. On the other hand, it may be that t h ey
hold already more copper t han they can handle
with c01nfort. The quantity in sight in Europe at
the end of May showed an increase of about 2000
tons on the one month, and of 5600 tons as compared with the beginning of the year. The improvement is maintained in the mid-monthly
statistics, in spite of the withdrawals of "standard"
copper for shipment to the States ; and the price
is going down gradually, being now 7l. lower than
at the end of March.
THE TELEGRAPHONE.
The telegraphone, or magneto-telephonograph,
the invention of V. Poulsen, of the Telephone
Company, and of P. 0. Pedersen, is an instrument
which produces an invisible magnetic telephone
record on a steel band or wire, and reproduces the
sounds after the manner and with the distinctness
of the phonograph. The principle of the new
instrument is simplicity itself. The firm of Mix
and Genest, of Berlin, which is interested in t he
invention, shows the following experiments among
others. A wire of steel or nickel, 1 millimetre in
diameter, is wound spirally on a drum in rheostat
fashion, the drum being turned by an electl'ic motor.
A tiny electromagnet, with pointed iron wire cores
just embracing the steel wire, slides over the wire
as the drum is r otated, so that successive portions
of the wire are brought into the field. Before use,
t he whole wire has homogeneously been magnetised
crossways by connecting the coil with a battery.
When receiving a message, t he coil of the electromagnet forms t he secondary of an induction apparatus whose primary comprises the microphone and
a battery. The current in the magnet coil fluctuates in accordance with the sounds r eceived by
the microphone, and thus a varying magnetic stress
is impressed on the coil wire, and produces perman ent poles of greater or less strength. The electromagnet is now coupled with a telephone, and
the drum turned in t he same direction as before;
t he microphone ourrents are then reproduce~ by
induction in the coils of the magnet, and translated into sound in the telephone. The conversation may be repeated up to 1200 times, it is
asserted. When the wire has done its duty, the
ma.anetisations are deleted by coupling the electromagnet again with. i.ts own energising batt~ry,
which restores the ong1nal homogeneous magnetisation. For longer c0nversations the steel wire is
replaced by a reel of steel band, 3 millimetres w~de,
and 0.05 millimetre in thickness. The multiple
transmitter of Poulsen consists of an endless steel
band stretched over two pulleys, the recording
elect romagnet, if we may use that term, a series. of
transmitter electromagnets, and finally a delehng

electromagnet. From experiments, conducted by

Dr. K. Strecker, in the Imperial T elegraph
Department at Berlin, it would appear that the
ordinary telephone cunents are not always strong
enough to produce a sufficiently powerful field.
But the resul~s a~e ?f t he most promising kind,
and t hey . testify mduectly to .the excell.ence a~d
homogeneity of modern steel wue. The Ingenuity
of the inventors has already solved the problem
of duplex telephony, sending two messages simult~neously over the same wire.
Imagine instead
of the one electromagne~, two electromagnets,
placed the one close behind the other. When
they are coupled in series, any two consecutive
spots of the moving steel band will be affected in
the same sense; when connected aga.inet one
another, the reman ent magnetism at t he first
spot will be weakened, and t hat of the other
strengthened\ or vice versd. To separate the two
superimposed r ecords, we want two telephones,
in circuit, the one with the two electromagnets in
series, t he other wit h t he two electromagnets
in counter-connection. If we listen at the latter,
the induced currents sent from the two consecutive
spots, magnetised in the same sense, will neutralise
one another.
ELECTRIC TRAC'l'10N FOR CANALS.

Some interesting experiments on boat traction

by means of electric locomotives were made
on behalf of the Prussian Government by Messrs.
Siemens and Halske, of Berlin. The scene of
operations was a short length of the Finow
Canal, which forms a portion of the waterway
between Berlin and Stett in, and is traversed
every year by about 25,000 to 26,000 boats each
way. The craft used are in the main tow
barges, about 132 ft. long by 15 ft. 6 in. beam,
carrying about 150 to 175 tons on a draught of
49 ft. There are also a few steam barges employed
which carry about 150 tons, and can tow a second
barge. The traffic to Berlin is much heavier than
towards Stettin, and as a consequence threequarters of the barges return light from the metropolis. Traction is generally effected by horses,
there being a towpath on each bank, but on the
down journey man traction is not infrequently
r elied on. In any case the speed is low, and,
including stops, does not a,~erage more t han about
1! miles per hour. The section of canal chosen
for the experiments above referred to was selected
owing to its physical difficulties, presenting as
it does several r everse curves, whilst in one
curve of but 32S ft . radius the waterway is
spanned by a railway bridge. The line laid
down for the towing engine was of 1 metre (3.28 ft. )
gauge, t he outer rail weighing 1S.2 lb. per yard,
whilst the inner, which was fixed on the inner
edge of the towpath, weighed 9.1 lb. per yard.
These rails which were of the flange type, were
laid partly on sleepers, ballasted with gravel, and
in part on blocks of concrete, weighing 220 lb.
each, in t he case of the heavier principal rail, and
half this for the other rail. , This arrangement
cost 50l. to SOl. more per mile t han the arrangement with sleepers, but proved less expensive
to maintain. A steel rack bolted to t he web
of t he principal -rail provided the resistance
necessary for haulage, t he weight of t he locomotives used being insufficient to give this by
adhesion. Though no wharf actually existed on
the length of canal experimented on, the arrangements necessary, had such existed, were fully
tested. At one point t he line was raised to a height
of 9ft. 6 in. above the level of the towpath, being
carried on posts and brackets, this elevated portion being connected with the level line on each
side of it by gradien ts of 1 in Si. 'l'he carrying
pos ts were 12 in. in diameter, and were spaced a.t
1S ft. Sin. centres. A cap piece, S in. by 10 in. in
section, spanned the gap between consecutive posts.
The principal rail was laid directly on this cap
piece, whilst the other was carried by a. .stringer,
supported at each post on brackets. The conductor
for the current was supported on pine p ostE', 23 ft.
long, spaced at 35 to 44 yards apart. It consisted
of S-millimetre wire, CalTied by porcelain insulators. The potential used was 500 volts. The principal rail served as conductor for the return current. The source of power was a 15 horse-power
portable engine, driving a 9-kilowatt dynamo; and
a large storage battery was also provided. 'l'he
extreme dimensions of the towing locomotive were
6 ft. 10 in. in length by 4 ft. 10 in. wide. It was
mounted on four wheels, spaced at 3 ft . 6 in.

(JuNE

22,

19~. -

centres. The total weight of the locomotive was

2 tons; b~t the motor was so placed that only onefifth of this total came on the accessory rail. The
la.tter, however, has to take the vertical component
of the tension of the tow-rope. The motor provided
was ~uch tnore J?OWerful than necessary for the
'work In hand, as It was capable of working at the
rate of 14 to 15 horse-power. Since however
th~se experiments were merely preli~inary one~
intended to test the possibilities of electric tracti~n f.or la.r~e barges, this exces~ .power. was supphed I~tentwnally, and the requisite resistance to
call forth the full powers of the motor was in some
of the experiments provided by rafts. These ex.
periments showed 'the system to be capable of
meeting all needs, working, as it did, with safety
and economy.

========

INDIAN RA.ILWAY PROPERTY.

THE course of Indian railway property during the
last six months has not been entirely satisfactory, a
blow having been given to Indian rail way credit by
the cold and unsympathetic spirit shown by the
Anglo.Indian authorities in connection with the
proposed purchase of the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway by the Secretary of State for India
in Council.
The time has arrived when the
Secretary for India has a right to exercise his
privilege of purchasing the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway, if he deems it advi~a.ble to do so. The
requisite notice has been given, but the terms of
purchase proposed are regarded as so extremely
unsatisfactory that the matter is to be argued out in
the courts. The t ffect of this upon the Stock
Exchange has been nothing short of disastrous.
At one time a quotation was even suspended for
the stocks of the Grel).t Indian Peninsula, the
:Madras, and the Bombay, Baroda, and Central
India Railways, while other Indian railway stocks
were sympathetically affected. A quotation has
since been restored for the stocks, which had been
for a time unpriced ; but the quotation has not pre
vented the dealers from insisting upon a wide range.
Altogether Indian railway credit has sustained a
shock from which it will not recover all at once,
unless, indeed, the terms of purchase proposed to the
Great Indian Peninsula. Railway are revised, and revised in a liberal spirit. The Indian official world
appears to ha.Ye forgotten that the original investors
in such concerns as the Great Indian Peninsula, the
Bombay, Baroda., and Central India, and t he Madras
Railways, rendered a. service to their country in
making what was regarded at the time as something of a leap in the dark, and that their making
t he leap gives them a claim to kindly consideration. It may be rejoined, in the words of M.
Alexandre Dumas, that in business there are no
friends, only correspondents; but it is not always
advi~able to stand on the strict letter of one's rights,
and to make the hardest possible bargain. At the
eame time, the fact must not be overlooked that the
amount of stook issued by the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway, and upon which a.n interest of some kind has
to be provided when the line is taken over by the
Anglo-Indian Government, is 20,000,000l.; and . of
course the Anglo-Indian Treasury has to pr~caed wtth
caution in dealing with a total of such magn~tude..
The Anglo Indian Government some ttme smce
bought up the East Indian Railway, and the t erms .of
purchase in t hat case were regarded as reasonably satisfactory. The matter appears to depend very muc.h
upon t he manner in which t he right of purcha~e 1s
exercised. The Anglo-Indian Government can either
buy up Indian railway property right off, o~ it can pay
for it by annuities. If the annuity system 1~ adopte~,
it must be based upon the average rate of mterest I.n
London during the two preceding year~ upon pubhc
obligations of the Government of India and other
public obligations paid in London by the Secretar.y of
ta.te for lndia in Council, the rate to be ascertamed
by reference to the 0aovernor or deputy-governor of
the Bank of England for the time be~ng.. Tb~ hardship of the annuity system clearly 1s that It loses
sight of the current value of the stock of t he purchased
railway. For example, if the Stook Exchange ~as
priced the stock so that it yields buye~s . a quotatiOn
interest of, Eay, 4 per cent. per annum, It 1s e.xtremely
hard to come down all at once to an annuity based
upon t he prices of Indian Governmen t stock yielding an
effective interest of only 3 per cent. per annum. The
question is one of considerable moment, as the AngloIndian Government has a right to purchase also the
Madras systeD) in April, 1907. The "ecretary of State
for India. btJ.s also the power to take over the Bombay,
Baroda, and Central India Rail way at the close of 1905.
The Great Indian Peninsula, the Bombay, Baroda, and
Ce)l-tral India and the ~ladras Railways were constructed upon' the guarantee of interest system,-:-a
guarantee of 5 per cent. from the Anglo-Ind1an
Treasury with half surplus profits, and all surp~us
profits after the a.d va.nces made by the AngJo-Indi&D

'

}UNE 2 2 ,

E N G I N E E R I N c;.

1900.]

~reasury

in fulfilment of its guarantee w~re repaid. to provide another 1000 t ruoks to meet traffic requireThe guarantee system may have given the stocks of ments. More engines are also required by the Bengal
the three companies a slightly artificial value; but and North-Western Railway to cope with the s teadilythe question which now has t o ba solved is whether growing business of the company. The length of line
there is to be a r ude unmitigated drop from a system work ed by the Bengal and North-Western Railway at
of li berality and encouragement to the hardest pos- t he close of last .year wag 1085 miles, of which 743
sible bargaining which can l:e devised and enforced.
miles were owned by the company. The Bengal and
In connection with the impending transfer of the North-Western Railway has no guarantee of interest
Bombay, ~aroda, and Central Indian Railway to the from the Aoglo-India n Government; but it contrives,
Anglo-Indtan Government another question has arisen. notwithstanding, to earn 5 per cent. per annum upon
The Bombay,,Ba.roda, and Cen tral I ndia R1.ilway, by its stock.
agreement w1th the Secretary of State for India in
Council, works the Ra.jputana anu Malwa, the
Cawnpore and Achnera, and the Godhra, Rutlam,
NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES.
and Nagda State lines for t he Indian ' GovernPHILADELPHIA, June 14.
ment. Under t his agreement the company receives
N ow t hat Bessemer pig has been r educed to 20 dols.
one-fifth of the surplus profits of the lines remaining after the r ayment to the Secretary of at furnace, there remains only one more step to preState, out of the net earnings, of interest upon their pare the market for activity, Yiz., the reduction of
agreed capital cost, a.t the rate of 5 per cent. per b.illets to, at highest, 25 dole. The declining tendency
annum in the cass of t he R ajputana. and Malwa in prices continues, and before long bottom will be
a od _the God hra, Rutlam, and Nagda lines, and reached, when a reaction will oceur, j ust as one took
4 per cent. per annum in the case of the Ca.wn- place from the extremely high prices of last winter.
pore and Achnera line. The agreement e?CPires at the Pig iron is cheaper in Alabama, No. 1 foundry is
close of June, 1900 ; and t he question has' arisen what wired to-day, 16 dols. from 18.50 dols. T here is quite
is to be done with the lines between June, 1900, and a scramble for orders at this reduction. At Chicago
December, 1905, when the Anglo-India.n Government foundry and machinemen are buying from hand to
has t he right of purchasing t he Bombay, Baroda mouth. Several large implement factories have shut
and Centra l India Rail way. A good deal of cor re~ down. Labour troubles there have greatly depres3ed
spondence has pa<Jsed upon the subject between the demand for struct ural material in that locathe Bombay, Ba.roda, and Central India Railway and lity. Reports from Cincinnati, Ohio, indicate the
the Secretary of State for India in Council. The Sec- blowing out of a good many furnaces of small capacity,
r etary of State ul timately agreed to continue the and i t is probable they will never blow in again.
management of the thr ee State lines by the company, Vulcan n1ight as well bid them an eternal adieu.
and to a~cept a proposal made by the directors that At Pittsburg foundry irons have dropped one dollar.
the workmg expenses of the whole system, including The Republic I ron Company, which owns 40 bar
all branch and su bsidiary lines, except those of different mills, will shut down several mills to prevent any
gauge to the port ion of the main lins with which they further recession in prices. One fact must be kept in
a~e. connected, should be charged to one account, and mind to understand the American iron and steel
dt nded pro 1ata over the various component sections market, viz., t hat demand has fall en abnormally.
any material ha s been bought for two or
?f the system, in p~oportion to t heir respective shares Scarcely
m t~e g~oss earmn~a. The )ength of this group th r ee months. Stocks i n consumers' hands are nearly
of hnes 1s 1 813~ m1les, the length of the original all used up. What b uying is done is done for now.
~ystem being 461 miles.
The company also works This means that as soon as prices touch bottom,
470 m:le3 of lines for other native States or corn- and they will touch it like a b:1.le of hay falling from
a 10-storey building, there will be a r eaction i n
pames.
.
The Bombay, Baroda, and Central India. R~ilway prices. There is no help for it, because prod uction
has recently opened its Tapti V alley section to i~ being repressed, so as to prevent any accumuEverybody will want iron
Amalner, a length of 155! miles; a.t Amalner the lation of stocks.
sect~ on meets the Great Indian Peninsula. Rail way and steeJ, and th ere will therefore be another
sect10n from J a.lga.on. Several other similar branch scramb~~ !or i t . This cannot last long, unless imlines and extensions of exis1 ing branches, to be con- probabthtles should occur. The locomotive builders
st r ucted by native States or pri vatc companies, have and car builders are all overwhelmed wiLh work. All
been laid out and have been part ially cons tructed, as the great consumers of &teel a re staying out of t he
fa nine relief works. T hey include extensions of the market as much as possible. The development of oilGaekwar of Baroda, 2ft. 6 in. lines from l\tiiyagam to producing territory in half-a-dozen States, especially
Sinore, and from B9.ha.darpur to Garda, as well as a in California, is leading to a heavy demand for tubes
line of the same gauge in His Highness's territories and pipes and oil-well goods. The steel-rail mills
from Kosa.mba, near Bulsar, t o Zankavao, 25 miles have al~ t he work t heY: can do, and a telephone mesin lengt h. .Besides these, the earthwork is in progress sage thts moment r ecetved from the Cambria Steel
on branch hoes on a metre gauge from Sa.barmati to Company says there is no reduction in steel rails.
As things are drift ing manufacturers will soon have
Dholka, 33! miles, and from N adiad to Kapad vanj, 30
miles. The Great Indian Peninsula R9.ilway has been the advantage over buyers. The latter will not order
making good progress in connection with the con- largely at present, and when prices start upwards
struct ion of its Kandesh Railway extensions. Surveys they will be obliged to pay stronger figures or go
have been completed by the Madras Railway of withou~ material. The tinpla.te industry is very strong
the Tiru pattur and Krishnagiri line. The survey and active.
With the new device for using molten metal right
party . has since been transferred to a proposed
ext ens10n to Mangalore of the Calicut and Balia.- from the blast-furnace, instead of pig iron and scrap
'
pa.tam line, now under cons truction. Nearly t he t here will be a collapse in scrap prices.
whole of the land required for this latter line f All the big independent iron and steel producers
b~twaen Calicut and Tellicherrv has been handed over, are expanding capacity while the combines are standand good progress ha.s been made with the earthwork ing still.
and bridging. Serious delay in the completion of the
line was threatened by t he reduction by t he GovernROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY.
ment of India. of the authoriEed outlay on the works
THE secon? afternoon meeting of this Society for the
during 19~0-1. An increased expenditure has now
been permitted, but t he temporary check entailed the present sess10n was held on Wednesday, the 20th inst.
postponement of orders for permanent way, &c. , and at _7q, Victori~-street, .We;stminster, Dr. C. Theodor~
even now only a limited amount of work can be under- Wllba.ms, Prestdent, bemg m the chair.
Mr.
N.
Marriott read a. paper on " .RcWnfall in the
taken or materials cont racted for.
The Madras W est a1td East
of E nglctlfl.d itn Relati on to A ltitude above
Railway has undertaken the construct ion for the Sea L evel." This was a discussion of the mean monthly
Cochin J?urba.r of a .matre-gauge line from Shoranur a.n~ annual rainfall for the 10 years1881-90 at 309 stations,
to Cochm. Land m the Cochin State has been which the .authors had grouped according to the altitude
rapidly made over, but in the T ravancore State of t~e stat10ns above sea level. The western stations were
considerable delay has occurred. The network of cons1dered to be those which drained to the west and the
the Southern Ma.hratta. R.ailway has been increased eastern stations those which drained to the east of the
by the opening of the Birur a nd Shimoga Branch country: The ~iagrams exhibited showed that there is a
of the Mysore State line; tho length of line opened ~eneralmcreR.Se m the annual amount of rain as the altitude
for traffic, or worked by the Sout hern Mabratta m creases, and . that the rainfall is considerably greater in
the west ~ha.n m the ea.s~. The.monthly diagrams brought
R~ilway, has been carried in consequence to 1595!
out prommently some mte~tmg ~eatures, among wbioh
mtles. The plague has told rat her severely during ~he were (1) that the monthly ramfa.llm the west is subject
last three years upon t he passenger traffic of the My- to a much gr~ter range than !n the east; (2) that in the
sor e State line and other lines worked by t he Southern wes~ the maXIti?U~ at all alt1tudes occurs in November,
Mahratta .Railway, although goods traffic has kept up but m the e~~t 1t 18 generall,y in October; (3) that in the
well. W Hh t he exception of the Turtipar Bridge west the sprmg month~ Apnl, May, and June are very
over t~e Gogra, and the completion of certain new dry; and {4) that both m the west and east there is a. very
Doa.b hoes, the Bengal and North-Western Rail way great increase in the rainfall (row June to July.
A J?ap.er by 1Yir. J. Baxendell was also read, giving a
has not much construction work at present on hand.
In consequence of the recent op ening of the Elgin desor1pt10n of a. new self-recording rain gauge designed
Bridge, the wagon stock of the Bengal and North- by Mr. F. L . .Ha.l~iwell, of th~ Fernley Observatory,
Southporb. ThlB ram gauge, whtcb. the author believes
Western Railway now runs away for hundreds of a.pp~oa.chea.
very closely to a.n ideal standard, has also the
miles to Western India, and it has become necessary mer1t of bemg constructed a.t a. moderate price.

- .
-- .---.._--

-.... -

..

.....

WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION C.ASES.

Stead v. M oore. - Th e hea.ring of this appeal was re-

sumed on Saturday, J one 16, in the Court of Appeal. lb

appeared that the claim was originally made by Polly
Stead for compensation for the loss of her husband, who
met with an accident whilst following his trade as a
joiner in N eill-road, Ecclesall-road, Sheffield. T he man
died on J a.nuary 4, and the claim was for 260l. The respondents were Ma.lthouse and Ward, the building owners
on the property in question, and E nos Moore, contracting
joiner, who was doing the joinery work a.t the houses in
question, and in whose employ the deceas ed man
was. T he case was heard by His Honour Judge
Waddy, Q.C., at the Sheffield County Court, on
March 30, who found on the facts that Moore wAS the
l!ijdertaker as defined by the Act. Tha.t deceased was
Moore's servant a.t the time of the accident, employed by
Moore on his (Moore'd) work. That Ma.lthouse and W ard
were building owners, and not contractors within the
meaning of the Act, and that the applicants were entitled
to judgment. As against the respondents Malthouse
and Ward, His Honour dismi!-lsed the a.pplicR.tion, but
made no order as to their costs.
The respondent Moore appealed.
Mr. Danckwerts, Q.C., and IYir. Sims appeared for
IYia.lthouse and Ward; Mr. Ruegg, Q. C., and Mr. Hextall for Enos Moore; lVIr. Wilberforce for the applicant
Stead.
Mr. Ruegg, Q.C., having argued in support of the
appeal.
Mr.. Dan~kv.:erts, Q.C., argued ~s follows : The applicant, m brmgmg an appeal to this Court, so far as it
relates ~o Malth?use and Ward, my clients, is one day
ont of t1me. Th18 Court has no power to extend time
unless there is good reason for doing so.
[Va.ughan WJlliams, L .J.: You said in the Court below
that you would not press for costs if they undertook not
to appeal.] There IS something here which disentitles
the appJjcant to have an extension of time.
Mr. Wilberforce, for the applicant, said that the award
wa.s made u.nd~; r. 26 of the Workmen's ComP.ensation
Rules. Th1s award " was not perfected unttl signed
and the learned Judge's signature was not attached untii
May 1. Therefore the appeal was not out of time.
[Romer, L.!-: W e are against you on that J?Oint. Y ou
must submit that we should extend the ttme. A. L.
Smith, L J. : We are against you on that point also.]
Counsel then proceeded to argue that Moore was liable
and that the decision of the County Court Judge wa.~
correct.
M ason v. Deane.-In this c1se, Moore, who undertook
to do the joinering, is in the same position as Deane in the
c~e of Mason v. Deane [(1900) 1 Q B , 770]. The contract
with Moore was for a very considerable amount and
there was no supervision exercided over them.
'
The q uestion is, did the building owners contract to do
~he whole work. [Romer, L .J :The point in your favour
IS that the learned Judge finds, as a fact, that Moore
was an undertaker, a~d not a dub-contractor. ]
r. Ruegg, Q.C., m reply: The Judge decided the
p~nnt of law wrong on the facts. No doubt Enos ~1oore
did a large part of the work on his owu account and independently of the ~:milding__owners, but the scaffold which
he used '!a.s butlt by Ward and Malthouse. [Romer,
L .J . : Th18 contract was for the. whole of the joinero'
work.]
The Court dismissed the appeaL
A. L. Smith, L .J. : The L egislature has not left it
~o u~ to say whether the Oounty Court Judge's findn;tg 18 one a.t wliich we ~hould ourselves ba.ve arnved. ~he only q':leation we have to decide, as we have
often sa1d b~fore, 18 whether there was any evidence to
support the Judgment of the Court below. In this case
the man who met his death was in the employment of
Moore. The controversy was whether Moore was an
undertaker. ~hat was he? It is quite true that Ma.ltho~se and Wara were building certain hous~, but the
eVIdence was not conclusive that Ma.lthouse and Ward
had undertaken the construction of the whole of these
~~uses., It appears that the whole of the carpenters and
Jomers work to the value of 515l. was to be done by
Moore. In that state of facts it is impossible to say that
M9or~ was not an Ul}dertaker of a material pa.rb of the
buildu:~g, that ho~ever is a question of fact; and upon
the evtdence before the County Court Judge it is quite
clear that there wa.S some ground for his so deciding
The appeal must be dismissed.

Va.ughan Willia.ms, L .J. : I agree. The County Court

Judge .has ~ou?d . that l\ofoore was an undertaker, and to
m~ mmd Ib 1a Impossible to say that there was no
evi?ence upon whtc~ the County Court Judge could
a.rrt ve .at that concluswn. 1v1essrs. Ward and Malthouse
no dou~t put up ~he scaffolding, not only for the purpose
of erectmg.th~ br10kwor~, but for Messrs. Moore as well,
who used 1b lD connect10n with the joinery. This fact,
however, hardly enables one to say as a matter of law
that Moore was not an undertaker
Lord Justice Romer agreed.
'
FRENC~ CAN;AL .-A proposal has been made for the
constructl_on of a. canal to pass through French territory
and t? umte theScheldt and the Meuse. The canal would
practiCally red,uce ~he dist_an~e between Dunkirk and
~a.u~euge by 7~i m1les, while Ib would take 25 miles off
t e d~stance f~om Dunkirk to N ancy. The distance from
D?ua1 to Mel'.H~~es _would also be brought down from 203i
m~e:~ t? 12li mlles,- ~~d tha~ from Douai to Na.ncy from
?9i miles to 272i miles. It 18 claimed for the canal that
~ W?uld enable the c~llieries o~ the N ord and the Pas de
. ala.hlS to compe~e sertot~sly Wlbh Belgian coal and coke
In t e va.llets of the Sa.mbre, Meuse, and the Oise

E N G I N E E R I N G.
NOTES FROM JAPAN.

THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

(FROM ouR owN CoRRESPONDENT. )

SIR,-When the history of the war comes to be written

IMPORT business in Japan is once more hampered
through the high price of money here. It is hard to by some one who has access to all documents of an official
nature, and to many of the private letters of officers at
say what the ruling rates are exactly, but Japanese the front who are competent to form opinions, we shall
banks offer 7 per cent. on fixed deposits and over arrive ab a period less tainted than is the present by the
4 per cent. on daily balances. When money was high, hurried, and only too frequently the inaccurate, jeremiads
about 10 years ago, the universal pana cea was a of the average war correspondent.
foreign loan ; this was tried, and, coupled with good
He cannot be blamed. His writings are most interestsilk, tea, and rice crops, the preisure was relieved, ing-and we, the people at home, are so intensely concerned in the war that news of some kind we insist upon
but now money seems dearer than ever.
The general local opinion is that the Government and pay for.
But the history of a war should never be com_Piled from
made a mistak e in issuing a 4 per cent. loan, and
newspaper reports, if accuracy and justlCe to the
would have been wieer had t hey made it a 6 per cent. the
troops and the commanders be aimed at by the hisat par, and that a second loan would be difficult to torian. History should be similar in accuracy to a geoplace on reasonable terms at present. There seems metrical plan, drawn to scale, and from which the
to be no likelihood of money coming into the country examiner can measure the various interlacing forces which
against private under t akings, as t he security offered produce the several a9tions. Newspaper rep?rts . are
does not convey with it any rights to acquire land.
similar to bold and dashmjS' sketches rattled off m bright
The stock of metals held by the local merchants in colours, seldom drawn With any attempt at scale, and
Tokio, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kobe is more than always exaggerating points of interest unduly, and conseequal to the demand for some little time to come. In quently utterly bewildering and mischievous in their intlufact, outside of orders for the Gov-ernment and the enceon the brains of those who desire to get .at the.root of
things, and to understand the war in the real bearmgs <;m
special requirements of some of the manufacturing the
future, and especially as regards the reorganisation and
concerns, very few orders will go abroad for metals improvement of our military forces. The United Service
for th~ next six . months. There is plenty of talk Institution has offered its gold ' medal for 1900 for the
about new railways and t ramways being started, but best essay on the above subject, but we must hope that
I think ver y little will be done in this line this y ear.
the Government will have commenced the said reorganisaThen, again, a great number of professional men tion before such essays can be examined. As a fact the
have gone abroad this year, and it will not be before war itself has already reorganised our army. It has
they r eturn that the schemes in which they are in- shown that after a given tilme the military resources of
terested will materialise. Everyone who could get the Empire can be collected and harmoniously worked to
a common foe. The time required is an imaway seems to have made the Paris Exhibition an subdue
portant factor, and another of supreme importance
excuse for a trip to ~urope.
JS the command of the sea. If ab any future time we
There has been a good deal done this year in open- allow the E uropean so-called concert to own conjointly
ing out the mineral oil wells on the west coast of this naval forces against which our own Navy (assisted
island. The opinion is that oil is plentiful and the by allies on whom we can depend for naval aid) could not
mere getting of it does not need much capital, but the. hope to successfully contend, then it follows that snch
scarcity of money prevents the refining process being European concert would be able to dictate to Great
Britain whether or nob she should be permitted to wage a
gone into in a proper and paying manner.
Attention has been c~lled very strongly to the war, such as that with which we are now engaged in
Hokkaido this year through the gold and oil finds in South Africa.
Now the predominance of armed force on the sea is far
that island. The Hokkaido certainly has a future more
easily obtained and retained than any predominance
before it as a mineral and agricultural centre. For- of armed force on land. The war in South Africa demonmosa, too, is -not being lost sight of, and many J apa- strates the immense efforts, the huge cost, and great loss
nese capitalists hav~ made money there. The Govern- of life entailed by land fighting for supremacy, even
ment Railway on that island is being pushed forward where the contending forces are very unequal in numbers,
with vigour. The Formosan camphor monopoly was discipline, training and organisation.
On the other hand Naval supremacy, if already
sold by the Government the other day by public
possessed, can easily be retained, and the fighting is soon
tender.
over, and is principally bloody for the vanquished. This
was distinctly shown in the late war between Spain a.n d
STEEL IN SWEDEN. -The production of Siemens steel in the U nited States.
Sweden in the first quarter of this year was 47,600 tons,
The commencement of the South African war therefore
The corresponding production in the corresponding proved two very important requirements in order that a
quarter of 1899 was 39,500 tons.
similar war may be possible for us at any future time.
These are: 1. Naval supremacy; and 2. A standing force
GREAT GRIMSBY.-The Great Central Railway Com- in the British Isles available for immediate employment
pany has provisionally agreed, through its chairman, to pending the time required for collecting at the menaced
build a deep-water dock at Great Grimsby if a subsidy point the military forces of the British Empire.

A day or two since the pa~ers informed us that Lord

of 5000l. per annum for seven years after the completion
of the dock is guaranteed. Four-fifths of this subsidy Salisbury received the Russian, German, and other amhas been already arran~ed for, and it is proposed to seek bassadors in audience, and that Mr. Goschen was present.
the necessary constructiOn powers next session. The new I must confess that I read this announcement with great
dock will probably be built on the West Fitties, adjoin- alarm. It seeemed so evidently aimed at an attempt to
ing the present R oyal and Alexandra Docks.
try and make England agree to a reduction in the building programme for our fleet. As you, Sir, pointed out in
CALEDONIAN RAILWAY P ASSENGER LOOOliiOTIVES : a recent leader, we seem to be lagging behind already
ERRATA.-There were one or two slips in our article on in the building of battleships as compared with the prothe performances of Caledonian locomotives in last gramme of our neighbours, and, therefore, the first reweek's issue (page 771 wnte) . Thus, the train which quirement of such a war as the one in South Africa,
made the splendid run from Carstaira to Carlisle, viz., naval supremacy, may become a thing of the past.
The intense jealousy and unfriendliness in this country
described ab the top of the third column on page 771,
consisted of 10, not 20, eight-wheel bogies and three of the peoples of the Continental Powers of Europe has
twelve-wheelers ; but the weight was correctly given in been amply displayed duri ng the past few months, and
our article as 329 tons, so that the error would not mislead nothing would more certainly assist them to combine than
the reader. In Table II. on page 771 the note "Two the possession of a power to conjointly do Great Britain
miles per hour slowed to 30 miles per hour " between some overwhelming damage when the suitable time
milepost 167 and 163, should read ''Two miles relayilng. arrives. This could only occur by means of a Naval
slowed to 30 miles per hour." In Table III., page 772, coalition, and this will be possible and even probable
the last run but one was from Carlisle to Carsta1rs~ not to when, and as soon as, their combined Naval forces could
Carlisle. On the sixth line from the end of tne first defeat ours. Mr. Gosch{m pretends that the building
column of page 772 the figure ., 8" in 18 minutes 15 force of the country is already ,occupied a~d at full time.
seconds got damaged in printing, and thus in some copies If so, then we cannot keep ahead of our n vals by peaceof the paper the time may appear to read 13 minutes ful means.
15 seconds instead of 18 minutes 15 seconds.
But it is absolutely necessary for the continued existence of our Empire to maintain our Naval supremacy,
CaTALOGUEs. -We have received from Messrs. Alldays and consequently Mr. Goschen's .statement (if true) carand Onions' Pneumatic Engineering Company, Limited, ried to its logical conclusion from a British point of view,
of the Great Western Works, Birmingham, copies of spells out a great Naval war in the near future; for it is
various sections of their new catalogue, in which are incontestible that England must continue supreme on the
listed .Root's blowers, brazing hearths, portable forges, sea, and, therefore, if she cannot do so by construction
vices, stooks, and dies, and most kinds of ~n~ineers' it will be necessary for our self preservation to resort to
sundries. - Cresswell's Asbestos Company, Lumted, of destruction.
AB regards point (2) it has become evident that
the Wellingto~ Mi!Js, Bradf?rd, have. sent us pamphle~s
describing theu boiler covermgs, ~ubncators, and lu.bn - the system of linked battalions, a system whereby the
cants and their leather preservatives for use on beltmg. battallion on foreign service alone is fit for immediate
-M~ssrs. L. Smit and Zoon, of Kinderdijh, Holland, active service, is not a system which meets our requirehave recently published a small catalogue containing ments, for the simple reason that the battalions at home
illustrated descriptions of certain of the electric launches are not ready for active service until the reserves are
built by their firm.- The Canadian Motor Company, of called out: and, further, that it is not possible for a
T oronto, who are represen~ed here by S hippey ~rothers, Ministry to simultaneously call out the reserves and conLimited of 13 and 14, Kmg-street, E . C., have tSSued .a tinue ne~otiations with a vie'! t~ an amicable settle~~n~
small p~mphleb describing the " Still " type of electnc of any dtsp~te. Mr. Chambe~la.m acknowledge~ that. he
autocar of which they ~upply a. variety of patterns.- waited until he had the umted country behmd h1m.
Mr. A: A . Tatteraall, of the Mill-Hill Tool Works, Time passed during this education of the country ; the
Blackburn, has sent us a copy of his new catalogue of reserves were not called out until the education was
complete, and the British South African Colnnies would
emery grinding and polishing machinery

[JUNE 22,

1900.

have been overrun had not a force been sent from India
in the nick of time, The war came, we were not ready,
and then followed week upon week of the most intense
anxiety.
If a Minister cannot arm and negotiate simultaneously,
we must arm beforehand.
The present system does not give us an armed force
at home. It only gives us )a number of cadres on which
an armed force can be quickly grafted, but not quickly
enough for the necessities of modern warfare.
It, therefore, comes to this: that if we really require
a military force ready in England for active service at
short notlCe, it must be a long-service fe>roe-it must be
a force not requiring to be built up from the reserves.
This, however, is a very big question; and, if proved,
must figure in another letter.

General Buller's action on Sunday, the lOth inst., which

terminated his campaign in the mountainous district of
North Natal, was brilliant alike in its strategic conception
and its tactical execution. The Boers are about sick of
Buller and all his ways; and appear to have cleared out of
their very strong positions With a celerity that does not
promise any lengthened resistance now that the main
objects of the war have been achieved.
The Natal Field Force will now co-operate with Lord
Roberts in the subjugation of the Transvaal; and, no
doubt, its first Transvaal business will be to clear the
railway to Pretoria, and 't hus open up another line of
communication between Preteria and the sea.
This railway is only a narrow-gauge line-and has many
steep gradients and sharp curves-neverth~less it will, no
doubt, be very usefully employed as an alternative communication to the flea.
Mr. Kruger is said to be living in a railwa-y train on
the line from Pretoria to Delagoa Bay:. This line will
probably be a chief objeoti ve in Lord Roberts' oper~tions
in the near future. Delagoa Bay has been a thorn m ou~
side for many a day, and a British entry ab Komati Poorb
is extremely d esirable.
Yours faithfully,
June 17, 1900.
FIELD OFFICER IN '84.

CALEDONIAN LOCOMOTIVES.
To THE EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-Your correspondent on '' Caledonian Railway
Passenger Locomotives," mars an otherwise excellent
article by at tendency to travel beyond the limits of his
subjept, and to run his engines on metals for which they
were never intended.
It is expected of a locomotive super~ntendenb that he
should build the engines 'best adapted to the requirements
of his own railway. Since the requirements of every
rail way differ in some respects. fro~ those of every other
rail way, the types of locomotives m use upon different
lines vary accordingly. A comparison between these
different types would involve a consideration of all the
factors which enter into the question. To argue, however, that the Ca.ledonian engines would run better than
other engines on the Caledonian Railway, and on sms-JI
sections of other railways where the conditions a~e
similar, is to argue what most per:~ons would be content
to assume as self-evident and if the Great Northern
engines compare unfavourably in this respect, it is eQ,ualJy
obvious that ib is pr'ecisely because they were destgned
for another and a different class of work.
It is difficult to see what useful result is to be obtained
from such a method of comparison as your correspondent
employs.
I am, Sir, yours truly,

H. R.

GUTTA-PERCHA.
To THE EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.
SIR -In your article on "The Future of Gutta-Peroha"
(page'754 ante), you gave some figur~ show~ng the ininimum quantity of gutta-~rcha used for msulatmg purposes.
Now, as I recen tly, while experimenting with some of the
waste products from paper mills, found that a good prod.ucb
could be made from the paper sludge, from gum ammoma.c,
and gutta-percha, it may interest all those of your
readers who use ~utta-percha to know of .a means of
making an insulatmg compound that consists of only
about one-third of its composition of gutta-percha. So
far I have not experimented with the compound as
regards ascertainin~ its perma!lency. when used as
an insulating material for electrical wues under wa~er.
As I have already published the method of produomg
this compound (in a recent num~er ~f t~e" World's f O!pe_r
Trade R eview"), I have no .hes1tat10n m also makmg It
public to your readers, as Ib may.be of va~ue to them,
frarticularly so as the compound 1.8 most stmply m~e.
Thus, melt 2 parts (by weight) of gutba-perc~a, and while
in a molten state mix in 1 part (by weight) of gum
ammoniac, and when the gum has melted and becolll;e
incorporated with the gutta-perc~a add 1 part (or ~ore 1f
desired ) of paper " sludge.'' whtch has been .prev1ouslh
dried and pulverised, stir the mixture well until. thoroug
incorporation takes place, then the compound 1s allo~ed
to cool and is ready for use. It ~ay be rolled out m~o
sheets while still hot or pressed mto mould~, &o., or 1t
may be remelted by he~ting for use. at any time. After
exposure to the air for a week or so 1b .becomes very
and tough, yet still elastic or pliable, and can be use or
a variety of purposes.
Yours trug,
H. C. STANDAGE, onsulti~g and

Manufacturing ChemlBb.
June 13, 1900.

3rd

R ussiANM ETALLURGY.-The production of pig in Russia

in the first quarter of this year amounted to 13,327,160
poods. A pood is equal to 36 lb. English.

JuNE 22,

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

1900.]

STEAMER

CABLE-L'A YING

THE

"VON

PODBIELSKI.''

BUILT BY MESSRS. DAVID .J.

DUNLOP,

AND CO.,

PORT GLASGOW,

N.B .

--

-. -

_,_

~
- --=-~~~~e- --

--

W E illusLrate above, and on our t wo-page plate, Germany's first cable-layiog steamer, the V on Podbielski,
designed and built by Messr~. Da.vid J. Dun lop and Co.,
at the Inch Works, Port Glasgow, for theNorddeutsche
Seekabelwerke Actiengesellschaft , under which title
two of the former cable-constructing firms of Germany
amalgamated 1\l.st year. The "Land und Seekabelwerke," of Cologne, had been formed, in 1898, to take
over the increasing cable business founded by Mr.
Franz Clouth, of Cologne, with a view to laying down
a f~ctory for the manufacture of submarine cable on a
large scale. The place selected was N ordenham on
the Weser, a small town lying on the west bank of
the river, about 6 miles from Bremerhaven. The
well-known firm of Messrs. Felten and Guilleaume, of
K arlswerk, Mulheim-am-Rhein, had also intended to
build a submarine cable factory of their own; and,
to obviat e having two submarine cable factories in
Germany, it was thought desirable to combine the
two competing interests, with t he result that the
present company- the Norddeutsche Seekabelwerkewa.s founded on May 27, 1899, to continue t he building
and equipment of the factory at Nordenham. In this
company the principal int erest is held by Messrs.
Felten and Guilleaume and the Deutsch-Atlantische
Telegraphengesellscbaft, the L!Llld- unci Seekabelwerke
also having an interest in the company. The technical
control is in the hands of Messrs. Felten and Guilleanme. The bank of the river has been raised for a
length of i kilometre to a height of 3 metres, all faced
with stone, and 3000 cubic metres of sand was dredged
daily from below the river bed, so as to make a good
foundation for the factory buildings. These buildings
are n.ow being erected, and the steamer now completed
will form an important adj unct.
The Von Podbielski, propelled by twin-screws, has
been specially designed for cable-laying and repairing
purposes, and all the details of her arrangements and
construction have received the most careful considerat ion at the hands of the owners and builders, with a
view to fulfilling satisfactorily all the requirements of
the service in which she is t o be more particularly employed. The following are the principal dimensions :
Length between perpen.
diculars
.. .
...
. .. 255 ft. 0 in. (77.7 m.)
Breadth moulded . ..
. .. 35 , 0 , (10. 7 , )
Depth moulded to underside
of main deck
...
...
16 , 0 , ( 4.9 , )
Depth moulded to underside
of spar deck
. ..
.. . 23 , 6 , ( 7.2 , )
The vessel has been constructed under the rules of
Germanischer Lloyd to obtain their highest class in
steel a-s a spar-deck steamer, and when fully equipped
for sea, she has a deadweight carrying cap9.city
of about 1300 t ons on 16 ft. 6 in. draught of water.
The speed of the steamer, when laden with 500 tons
del.dweigbt, will be 13 knots. T he Von Podbielski,

as shown in the engravin~ annexed, and on the

profile on the two-page plate, has a culiwater stem
and elliptical stern, t he paying-out and picking-u p
gear fitted on the stem and stern being so arranged as
to reduce ns far as possible the rubbing of the cable on
t he hull when it is handled. The ri g of the steamer
is that of a two-masted fore-and-aft schooner, the
masts being of steel; and at each mast is provided a
suitable steam winch, with all appliances for working
the derrick when handliug buoys, grapnels, &c.
The deck arrangements will be readily understood
by a reference to the plans reproduced on the twopage plate (Figs. 4 and 6). The upper deck is flush all
fore-andaft, giving an unobstructed lead from the
different cable tank s to t he picking-up and paying-out
machines at the bow and stern. The spar deck is of
teakwood, and the main deck of pitch pine. The ' tween
decks accommodate all the necessary hands for working the steamer efficiently, and the after portion is
fitted for the cable officers, and includes a well-apportioned and handsome saloon in hardwood, French
polished, and spacious state-rooms. The entrance to
th e cable officers' apartments is approached from a
large steel deckhous~ having a double-way stair. A
teak ornamental skylight gives light and ventilation
to the saloon, and an electrically driven fan is provided
for specially ventilating these quarters. The alleyways alongside the engine and boiler space are
sui tably arranged for the accommodation of the
navigating officers and marine engineers, with all the
necessary conveniences and ~anitary appliances. Forward of the boiler -room bulkhead in the 'tween decks
(Fig, 6), accommodation is provided, in a compartment
64 ft. long, for all the cable hands, with a large testingroom for electricians, workshops, state-rooms, &c.
The quarters for the seamen and firemen are placed
abaft the collision bulkhead on the same deck, and are
suitably fitted up with a view to insure the utmost
comfort. The cable machinery, to which reference
will be mado later, has been supplied by 1iessrs.
Johnson and Phi1lips, of Old Charlton, London. The
main forward portion, comprising engines and pickingup gear, occupies the t~pace between the crew's quarters
and the rooms for cable hands. On the spar deck
forward of the boiler casing a large house is fitted
up, the after part containing a steam steering gear
by Messrs. Alley and ~cL~llan, and the fore part a
large room for the nav1gatmg officers. Overhead is
built the flying bridge, on which is placed the chart
and wheel-house.
The cable tanks are arranged as follows : No. 1
forward, 26ft. in diameter by 10ft. 9 in. deep; No. 2
forward, 31 ft. 6 in. in diameter by 10 ft. 3 in. deep
No. 3 aft, 28ft. in diameter by 12ft. deep. Each h~
cones in the centre, 6 ft. in diameter at the bottom
and 3ft. 6 in. at the top. The capa.city of the tanks is
ab:>ut 25,500 cubic feet. D3ep water-ballast trimming

tanks are fitted on the Mcintyre principle, the tops of

which form the bottoms of cable tanks in the forward
and after holds (Fig. 1). The capacity is about 300
tons. The pumping arrangements for all the several
compartments are of the most approved and efficient
description.
The outfit of the steamer includes a patent direct
steam capstan windlass, by :Messrs. Emerson, Walker,
and Thomson; six boats, complete to Seeberufs
genossenschaft requirements, hawsers, anchors, and
chains to the requirements of Germanische Lloyd ;
complete installation of electric light, by Messrs.
William Harvey and Co., together with an Admiralty type 20-in. projector; a complete installation of
Messrs. Alfred Graham and Co. 's p!Ltent loud-speaking
watertight telephones, connecting the cable gear
station forward and aft with the bridge and engine
room. A large ice-hou ~ e is fitted up aft. The nautical
instruments include a Lord Kelvin's standard compass,
and steering and engine-room telegraphs. The equi pment of cable gear, stores, and instruments will be
found elsewhere.
The propelling machinery, as shown in the crosssection (Fig. 2), consists of two sets of triple -expansion
3urface-condensing engines, having cylinders 17 in.,
28~ in., and 47 in. in diameter by 33 in. length of
stroke, each engine being fitted with Ed wa rds' air
pump and separate centrifugal pump for circulating
water through condensers. The feed pumps and
feed heaters are by Me~srs. G. and J. Weir, with all
the latest improvements. Davies' patent feed filter
and evaporator are also fitted. The propellers have
cast-iron bosses, with four bronze blades bolted on.
Steam is supplied by two large single-ended boilers
15ft. 9 in. in diameter by 10ft. 9 in. long, each having
three furnaces of Deighton's patent. The '"'orking
pressure is 180 lb. per square inch. There is a separate
funnel to each boiler, as shown on the cross-section
through stokehold (Fig. 3). A large donkey boiler
(Cocb.rane's patent) is fitt~d. to work the auxiliary
machmery when the vessel 1s m port. The machinery,
as well as the hull, has been constructed under Germanischer Lloyd Survey to obtain their highest certificate.
SuBM:.A RINE C ABLE E QUIPMENT.

The cable machinery supplied by Messrs. J ohnson

and Phillips, of London, under contract with Messrs.
Dunlop, calls for more than general notice. It comprise~ a double- combined pi~king-up and paying-out
machme forward , and a paymgout machine aft together with the necessary bow and stern she~ves
dynamometers, leads, &c. The picking-up and paying~
out machines have been specially designed by Messt s.
~ohnson and Phillip3, and contain several patented
1mprovemen ts.
Double Combined P ickinu - up ancl Payin(]- Ottt

E N G I N E E R I N G.
Machine.-Thedoublecombined picking-up aod payingout machine is erected on three steel frames, so that
the machines are side by side (Fig. 6), and it is prov~ded with two pairs of engines, so arranged that
eit her or both pairs may drive either or both machines.
The two pairs of engines enable the two machines to
be worked simultaneously in reverse directions, so
that one side could be "picking up " whilst the othe r
is "paying out;" and, again, one pair would always be
available in case of a breakdown to the other. In
g~neral working one pa ir of engines would be suffiCiently powerful, the two pairs only being required for
heavy loads. Each machine is arranged for two speeds
and powers, the picking-up machine for 25 tons Hft at
1 knot, or 10 tons lift at 2i knots, and the payingout machine for 10 tons lift at 2!- knots, or 6i tons at
4 knots. The engines have cylinders 8 in. in diameter by 8 in. stroke, developing 110 bra.ke horsepower, each at 300 revolutions per minute, with steam
at 150 lb. pressure per square inch. The crankshafts
of the engines stand parallel with the centre line of
the ship, and are geared to the first motion shaft by
means of double helical bevel gear. When it is desired
to take one engine out of gear altogether, the bevel
wheel is drawn along its shaft by means of a large
screw-nut concentric with t he shaft, and working on a
screwed shoulder, the nut being worked by means of
a tommy bar. This nut serves to take the thrust
when the machine is working.
The main drums are internally geared, and the outsides of the gear rings serve as the brake drum, so
when it is desired to pay out without the engine this
combination drum is the only part of this machine
running (except, of course, the holding-back sheave),
the speed being controlled by the brake. The drums
run loose on a shaft which is common to both machines, being fixed to the frames, and serving as a good
tie for them. The brake screws a re worked by means
of worm gear, so as to get fine adjustment and at
the same time great power ; and Messrs. J ohnson
and Phillips have made an improvement in these
brakes over the ordinary type by fitting them with
adjusting nuts which enable the brakes (after being
regulated for any desired tension) to be released as
often as may be necessary, and re-applied without \he
possibility of increasing the tension beyond the
amount desired.
This is a most important desideratum.
The brake blocks are of elm attached to steel brake
straps, and each brake band has a water-service pipe
on its periphery, with nozzles at intervals to distribute
the water round the face of the brake drum during
working, a small W orthington steam pump being
provided for that purpose. The brake bands are suspended on springs, to insure that the bands, when released, will leave the bra.ke drums equally all round.
The springs are, of course, a djustable to allow for the
wear of the blocks.
The "hauling-off " gear is driven by means of pat~nt
steel driving chain from the intermediate shaft of the
machine, the driven chainwheel being connect ed to the
shaft by means of a ratchet gear which drives it for
hauling-off when picking up, or allows it to run free
when paying out, thus making the arrangement automatic as against the usual system of throwing clutch es
in and out of ge u.
The main frames are of wrought steel, t he first and
second motion shafts are carried in a self-contained
steel frame, to which the engine bedplates and the
main frames are attached, making a very rigid job.
All gear wheels and bea.ril'lg castings are of cast steel.
The cable drums are 5 ft. 8! in. in diameter on the
tread, by 1 ft. 7 in. wide between the flanges. The
brake rings are 6ft. 5! in. in diameter by 10i in.
wide, and the total weight of the machine is 31 tons.
This machine is fitted on the main deck just aft of the
foremast, the dru m standing through hatches in the
spar deck, the starting levers and steam st op-val ves
for the engines and the brake screws being arra nged
all near together, and very conveniently for working
on the spar deck.
P aying-Out Machine. -The paying-out machine,
fixed aft for paying-out long lengths of cable, is a
single machine with only one cable drum a nd one
double-cylinder engine. This machine is erected on
heavy cast-iron frames. The drum overhangs t he
frames, and on the same shaft bstween the frames
there is a large gear wheel and two brak e pulleys.
These bra ke pulleys (as they will be subject to longer
runs than on the forward machine) run in water tanks
to keep t hem cool. The brake bands are similar to
those for the fo rward machine, but they are fitted with
weighted levers, which is the genera l . practice; but
an improvement has been made on th1s. :fnstead of
the weights being made to act always at the same
leverage, and th~ brak~ -power being. ~odified by
adding or deductmg weights, the po3Ittons of the
weights are adjustable along t he levers by means of a
ha ndwheel and scre w, so that the tension on the cable
may be varied through a considerable range without
need of adding or removing weights. The two brakes
can be released bodily by means of a hand wheel and
worm gear, and they be adj usted so that both act

simultaneously or other wise. A rod at the end of

each brake lever is connected with a dashpot to steady
the movement and obviate any jumping of the levers.
The " holding b:1ck " gear for this machine has double
jockey sheaves with brake wheels attached, and running in a water tank made of cast iron, which serve~
also as the frame of the gear.
The shaft of one of one of the sheaves is connected
to the pinion shaft of the machine by means of a steel
pitch chain and wheels, a nd a clutch, so that it will
form a hauling-off gear when it may be necessary to
haul the cable back for any purpose.
The oable drum is 5 ft. 8~ in. in diameter on the
tread, and 13 in. wide between flanges. The brake
pulleys are 4 ft. 6 in. in d iameter by 12 in. wide, and
the total weight of t he machine is 15~ tons. The
engine has cylinders 8 in. and 8 in. diameter by 8 in.
stroke, exactly same as for the forward machine, and
it developes 60 brake horse-power at 250 revolutions
per minute, with steam at 90 lb. per square inch pressure. This machine is fixed on the spar deck nea r the
stern of the vessel, and a working platform is provided
above the machine frames, so that the attendant can
watch the cable as it leaves the vessel, all the various
lever.:~ being arranged conveniently for working from
this platform.
B ow and Sten~ Gem.- Three sheaves are fitted at
the bow, as shown in Fig. 4, carried in bearings on
girders built into the vessel, and each sheave is provided with cast-iron whiskers or guards, to prevent
the cable from jumping the sheaves. The plating of
the stem of the vessel is worked up to meet these
whiskers in accordance with the practice originated
and always adopted by Messrs. Johnson and Phillips,
so as to preserve t he conto ur of the head of the ~easel.
The stern gear consists of one sheave only, the bearings being attached to girders built into the ship as for
the bow gear.
Dynamomete1s and L eads.- Two sets of dyna mometers and leads are provided forward (one for each
cable drum), and one set aft to indicate the strain on
the cable as it is being paid out or picked up. The
dynamoq1.eters are of Messrs. J ohnson and Phillips'
improved deeign, the sheave with carrier sliding on a
central turned t ubular column. This column or cylinder acts also as a dash pot, a piston working inside
the column, which is filled with oil or soap water.
Opening bellmouths are provided on each cable tankhatch t o guide the cable out of the tanks, and it is
then led to the picking-up and paying-out machine
through a series of opening bell mouths carried on small
standards about 18 in. above the deck. The tanks are
provided with the usual crinolines, but of extra heavy
construction.
The testing-room is equipped with a set of firatclass instruments for the special work, and provided with the necessary jointing tools, &c. Messrs.
J ohnson and Phillips also supplied a complete equipment of stores, including grapnel and buoy ropes,
grapnels, buoys, mushrooms, anchors, chains, &c., the
list including Messrs. J ohnson and Phillips' patent
mushrooms and rock-cutting and mud grapnels.

TRIPLE-EXPANSION ENGINES FOR

STEAM TRAWLERS.
THE illustrations on page 820 show one of several
sets of triple-expansion engines built by Meesrs.
Smiths' Dock Company , Limited, South Shields, from
the designs of their engineer, Mr. George B. Richards,
~1 . lost. N.A. , for steam trawlers. The firm, it may be
ss.id, is amongst the principal builders of high-clac;s
deep-sea trawlers on the East Coast, having built as
many as 32 in one year ; and the engines illustrated
have been very successful in their performance. ~rhe
cylinders of the engines are of the following dimensions : High pressure, 12 in. ; intermediate pressure,
19 in. ; and low pressure, 32 in. in diameter, by a stroke
of 24 in. The boiler is 11 fti. 6 in. in diameter and 10ft .
long, working at 180 lb. pressure per square inch.
The general arrangement of the engines, shown well
by the illustrations, is practically the same as designed
by :Mr. G. B. Richards, at Hartlepool, in 1887, and
subsequently adopted by the late :Mr. Blechynden ,
when at Barrow, the principal advantages being compactness, combined with lightness and ease of access.
The pistons are fitted throughout with McLaine's
patent rings which have given excellent results. The
high-pressure engine is fitted with a piston vah e, the
in termediate cylinder having a single p orted, and the
low-pressure cylinder a double ported D slide, valve.
On t he trial these engines were very easily handled,
working smoothly and well, giving 390 indicn.t ed horsepower at 112 revolutions per minute, and driving the
trawlers at a speed of 10.45 knots over t he measured
mile a t Whitby.
There are one or two noteworthy details. The
valve spindles are cottored into the saddle block eye,
so that by knocldog out this cotter all the gear drops
to the front platform, where it is easily accessible for
adjustment and overhauling. By means of an eyebolt screwed in to the tail-rod of t he valve spindle, the
valve and spindle can be lifted out together, so t hat

[JuNE

22, 1900.

when put b.ack after examination there are no workin

parts to adJust. All the valve gear is easily overhaule~
~nd takes very little adjustment for wear on the bearm~s. ~~e bed plate has six extra long bearings, viz. ,
8 m., gtvmg ample surface, and both main and bottom
~nd bea~ings are filled with white metal. The connectmg-rod ts .extra. long, being over twice the stroke, with
long bea~mgs at .each en.d. The pumps are worked
from the 1.ntermed1ate engme by means of levers rocking
on a bearn~g fixed to the column, with the usual crosshead. and hnks. The a.i r and circulating pump rode
are mterchangeable, as are also the biJge and feedpump plungers. The feed pump has a spring relief
valve. All the wearing parts are made much in
excess of the requir~ments for strength, so as to
~nable t hem to be skm~med up if they should require
It at any subsequent t tme, and still be of sufficient
strength for their work. The reversing gear is on t he
all-round principle of the worm and wheel thus
preventing any damage arising from careless ha~dling.
~he front columns are of wrought iron, diagonal and
circular, bolted to the bedplate and cylinders with
round flanges. The usual starting gear is fitted giving
liv~ steam to intermediate-pressure and low-p~essure
casmgs.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
THE general state of employment during the pas t
month, as reported to the Labour Department, has
remained good in most of the important industria<~,
and advances in wages, involving a large number of
wo;kpeople, took place during the month. In t he 138
umons specially reported upon, there were 531,608
members, of whom 12,645, or 2.4 per cent. were reporte~ to be unemployed, as compared with 2.5 per
cent. In the month previous, and 2. 5 per cent. a year
ago in 123 unions, with a total of 498,836 members,
makin~ retu~ns. This shows an increase of 15 unions
reportmg, With 32,772 more membsrs.
As regards employment in the various industries, it
has. continued good in coalmining. At collieries at
which 451,117 persons were employed, "the pits
worked on an average 5.63 days per week, in the four
weeks, as compared with 5. 64 days in the same period
a year ago. "
In ironstone mining employment was also good,
although the number of days worked was slightly less
than a year ago at the same dn.te. "The average
number of days worked by iron mines and open works,
at which 16,884 p ersons were employed, in the four
weeks, covered by the returns, was 5. 79 days per
week, as compared with 5.83 days a year ago. "
In the pig-iron industry employment has remained
good, but it shows a slight decline. At the works of
116 ironmasters reporting, 381 furnaces were in blast,
employing about 26,000 workpeople, as compared wit h
383 furnaces in the previous month, and 381 a year
ago. These slig}lt fluctuations are due to local causes
of a purely temporary character.
Employment has continued good in the iron and
steel manufacture. There is little change as compared
with the previous month. At the 209 works covered
by the return, 83,122 persons were employed ; the
total 'olume of employment, taking into account both
the number employed, and the number of shifts
worked per week, has declined by 0.6 per cent., as
compared wit h t he previous month, but has increased
by 6.8 per cent. as compared with a year ago.
Employment in the tinplate trade has shown a
furt her slight improvement over the previous month,
and is still much better than a year ago. There were
416 mills at work, including those engaged in the
manufacture of black plates, as compared with 411
mills a month ago, and 379 a year ago. The total
num her employed is estimated about 20,800 persons..
In the engineering and met al trades group of m
dustri s employment has continued good. The proportion of unemployed members in this group was
2.3 per cent., as compared wi th 2.4 per cent. in t he
previous month, and 2.4 per cent. a year ago.
In the shipbuilding group of industries employment
was good during the month. The proportion of unemployed union members was 1.6 per cent:, as corn
pared with 2.1 per cent. in the month previous, and
2.4 per cent. a year ago.
Employment in the building trades gener~lly has
continued to improve, and is now good 10 m?st
branches.
The proportion of unemployed umon
members, in the branches reporting, was 19 per cent.,
as compared wit h 2.2 per cent. in the previous mon th,
and 1. 3 per cent. in the same month a year ago. . .
Employment in the wood-working and furmshwg
group of trades has also improved, and is now good.
The proport ion of unemployed union members w~s
only 1. 0 per cant., as corn pared wit h l. 3 per cent. m
t he month previous, and 0. 9 per cent. a year ago. In
both of these groups the prospects are favour~ble.
In t he printing trades employment has declt_ned, but
in the bookbinding branches there has b~en Im~rove
ment. The propor tion of unemployed umon members
in all branches of this group waCJ 4.4per.cent., as com

} UN E 22,

1900.]

pared with 4. 1 per cent. in th e previ ous mout h, and

with 3 9 per cent. a year ago.
In the paper trades employment has not been quite
so good. The proportion of unemployea members was
2.8 per cent., as compared wit h 2.1 per cent. in the
previous month, and 2. 1 per cent. a year ago. T he
war in South Africa, it is eaid, has affected these
trades.
In the glass trades the proportion of unemployed
members of the unions is st ill very large, t he proportion being 10.1 per cent , as compared with 10.3 per
cent. a year ago. The cost of unemployed benefit has
been enormous for years past.
Employment in the leather t rades remains good.
The proportivn of out-of-work members was 1.6 per
cent., as compared with 1. 7 per cent. in the mon th
previous, and 3.1 per cent. a year ago. In the boot
and shoe branches t here has been a decline, and trade
generally is described as only moderate.
In the tailoring trades employment is reported to
be good in the ready-made branches, and fairly good in
the bespoke branches: generally it continues good.
Employment continues good both in the spinning
and weaving branches of the cotton t rade. In factories employing about 79,550 persons- women and
girls, 87 per cent . in the spinning mills, and 93 per
cent. in the weaving factories were working in t hose
giving full employment during the month, as compared
with 97 and 94 per cent. respectively in the previous
month, and 97 and 87 per cent. in the same month a.
year ago. The reason why there was a falling off in
the spinning mills was a local dispute. The woollen
and worsted trades are good on the whole, but show a.
slight decline. The hosiery t rades con!iinue good.
Dock and riverside labour. in London was not quit e
so good as in t he previous month, or as it was a year
ago. Agricultural labourers were well employed
during t he month. Labouren generally have been
well employed.
There were 44 fresh labour disputes in the month,
involving 15,931 persons, of whom 10,043 were
directly and 588S indirectly affected. The corresponding figures in the predous month were 52 disputes, involving 31,181 persons. Of t he total of 44 fresh disputes, 25 occurred in the building t rade, six in t he
textile trades, five in the engineering, shipbuilding,
and metal trades groups, four in the mining industries,
and four in miscellaneous industries. In the 36 disputes, 28,3 16 persons were involved ; of these 10
disputes, involving 2294 persons, were decided in
favour of the workpeople ; eight, involving 2581
p 3rsons, in favou r of employers, and 16, involving
23.~34 persons, were compromised. The two remaining disputes, involving 207 persons, were still under
consideration on certain points at the date of the
r eport.
The changes in the rates of wages during the month
affected no fewer than 181,200 persons, of which
number 180,900 obtained advances in wages, averaging an increase of la. O~ d weekly per head, and about
300 sustained decreases averaging 2s. O! d. weekly per
head. The net result was an average increase of about
1s. O;ld. per head in the weekly wages of the whole
181,200 persons affected. The principal increases
were in the mining and iron and steel industries. The
decreases were wholly in the building t rades in parts
of Scotland, but that policy is now reversed. Chang<s
affecting about 9900 persons were preceded by disputes
causing a stoppage of work. Changes affecting a bout
158,400 perwns in t he metal and mining groups of industries took place under sliding scales, while changes
affdcting about 800 persons were adjusted by conciliation boards. The remaining changes wer e arranged by
direct negotiation between the employers and the
workpeople, or by their reprefentatives, affecting
about 12,100 persons. It is gratifying to see how few
of the disputes led to a cessation of work. Conciliation and mutual negotiat ion has become the order of
the day in a great number of industries, and, as shown
above, the results have mostly been favourable to the
workpeople. Of cours~, presently the reverse may
take place, but le~ us hope peacefully.
The report of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers
shows that t he membership continues to increase, the
total having reached 85,908 members at the date of
issue, b9ing an increase of 348 over the previous r eturn. Of that total 1640 were on donation benefit,
a decrease of 153 ; on sick benefit 1902, decrease 170 ;
on superannuation benefit 3564. The cost of benefits
were : Donation 2d. per member per week; sick
benefit 2~d. per member per week; superannuation
benefi t 5! d. per member per week; total 9fcl. per
m em her per week. I t will be seen t hat superannuation
costs a much higher sum than the two ot her benefits,
and it is a permanent cost as compared with the otherf'.
But after all 5!d. per week to insure 9o. or 10s. per
week superannuation is not so high as is estimated for
old age pensions by t he State. The election of assistant
general secretary has resulted in t he return of ~Ir.
Cooper by 14,424 votes, as against 5144 for the other
ca.odida~e. The council of th e society has c~used to

E N G I N E E R I N G.
be drawn up a brief statement by the solicitors as to
how to proceed in obtaining compensation for accidents under t he provisions of the Compensation Act,
which statement is printed in the r eport for the guidance of members. The levies to be paid in the quarter
amount to 2s. per member as follo ws : S uperannuation, 1s.; affiliation to t he federation of trades, 6d. ;
benevolent fu nd, 3d.; and accident fund 3d. A report
is given of the exclusion of a member "for chronic
malingering. " H e is s1.id to have had a ''long-continued disinc1ination to work," a disease which is
well-nigh incurable. In the organising district delegates reports a reference is made to t he agitation on
t he question of weekly pays in the Gla3gow dist r ict,
and also to the large amount of overtime made, extra
hours for five nights in t he week having been worked
in Paisley for t wo years past. An effort is being
made to put a stop to it. Reference is made to t he
wages question ou the nor th-east coast, but matters
are in abeyance. The same question has arisen at
Keighley, Low Moor, Wakefield, Lincoln, Widnes,
and some other places. The movement is carried on
by negotiation. Similar action has been taken in the
South Wales district&, the claims for an advance are
generally under consideration.
The report of the Boilermakers and Iron Ship
Builders states that "from several districts comes
the good ne ws t hat work is still plentiful," but it adds
that" the shipbuilding returns from various districts
show a large decrease in the amount of tonnage
launched during the year, as compared with t he five
months of 1899; and what is, perhaps, of greater
moment is, t hat there has been a dearth of new order s
booked during the same period." It is evident, from
the tone of the remarks on the facts given, that there
is a fear lest a decline should set in , unless there is an
impetus by t he cessation of the war in South Africa, or
from other causes. It is encouraging to find that
" full squads of riveters are still wanted in several
yards upon the Clyde," and also that " full squads are
wanted at B~lfast. " Messrs. Pal mer and Co., of
J arrow-on-Tyne, are also in wan t of riveters ; and t he
Great Western Railway Company r equire hands in
their locomotive shops at Newton Abbott, South
Devon. This shows that employment is Etill good.
The returns as to the number on the funds show a
substantial decrease from 2919 in t he previous mont h
to 2517, a decrease of 402. Of the total, the number
on donation benefit was 479, a decrease of 198 ; member s
signing the vacant book 161, increase 14; cards granted
19, increase 9. The number on sick benefit was 1277,
decrease 175 ; and on superannuation benefit 581, decrease 35. The membership increased by 166, after
allowing for deaths and exclusious. The attention of
district auditors is called to the question of home
donation, and to the instructions sent to the branches
to prevent id lers coming on the funds when work is
obtainable. A vote has been taken as to the return of
a member 's "bonus," tlb.t is, ac~ident benefit which
he gave up in the hope of being able to re-start work,
but he became incapacitated, and then r eapplied for
compensation. Tbe matter bad to be referred to the
member s, with this splendid result: For the return of
the bonus, 26,850; againt it , 1 only. The members
know how to appreciate an honourable a ction .

is for t he better. Activity is well maintained generally

in all branches, in so far as employment is concerned.
The iron mar ket in t he Wolverhampton district has
been somewhat unsettled, and prices have been w~ak
as compared with the rates that have prevailed since
the last quarter-day. But both the marked and unmarked bar makers hold pretty firmly to t he quoted
rates. S tocks are low, and deliveries are in a rrear,
owing to t he r ecent holidays. Generally throughout
South Staffor dshire, East Worcestershire, and South
Shropshire the mills, forges, foundries, and furnaces
are running full t ime, and most branches continue
very busy.
In the Birmingham district the iron market ha.9
been q uiet, and rates somewhat easier, but bara,
marked and unmarked, fairly maintain the quoted
prices. There is little disposition t o do any large
business, in anticipation of t he quar terly meetings
which are approachi ng. It is thought that there will
be no further advance, but it is scarcely expected that
there will be any reduction in the present fixed r ateo.
General employment has declined slightly.
A strike of some 4000 cotton spinners and cardroom hands took place at the close of last week in
consequence of the employers not coming into line by
the concession of 5 per cent. and 10 per cent. re~pec
ti vely, as in South-East Lancashire. It is not
expected, however, t hat the cessation of work will be
for long.
The strike of weavers aga.inst bad material was
settled by t he employers promising to attend to the
grievances complained of.

- -

The coalminers in t he Forest of Dean have received

an advance in wages of 15 per cent. above the standard
rates c;>f t he. last f~:mr years. Thi.s 3:d vance brings them
more mto hne wtth the rates pa1d 111 other districts of
the Miners' F ederation.
The S ~. Louis strike of tramway employ6s is reported to haYe ended in the defeat of the men, t hough
no formal surrender has been as yet reported. The
strike has be ?n most disast rous in all respects. Its
close was a tragic one; th e leader of the strike and
president of the Labour Union, was assassinat~d on
the 14th instant by a local public-house keaper who
was arrested. The strikera tried to lynch him', but
he was prot.ected by a strong g uar d . . During the disturbances nme persons have been killed, six severely
wounded, and 150 otherwise injured. Five women
were stripped naked in the streets, and a good deal of
property was destroyed or injured. It is a sad record
the saddest for years in the records of labour.
'
The strike at Rio Tinto is r ap:>rted to have extended, no fewer than 10.000 are stated to be out as
compared wi lih 6000 a week previous. No seriou ~ disturbances have occurred, but precautions are taken to
keep the peace. The .gendarmeri~ _have .been posted
on t he spot , and t he a1d of the mihtary 1s a~sured if
required. The men de~!l.nd mo:-e wages and fewer
hours of work. The mmers t here are underpaid a nd
overworked in comparison with t he S!l.me clas~ of men
in most other countries in E urope.

Two L :>ndon La.bour d elegates have b '!en sent to

The dispute at the docks in London has developed America to convey the gift of a Ruskin H all in rein to a general strike, such being officially proclaimed ci procl.tion of a similar act on th'3 pa.rt of A~erican
on F riday in last week, by a circular extensively workmen.
po~ted n.round t he docks and wharves, to the following
effc:: ct : "This is to call upon all port workers on or
. COAL IN GERMANY. - The imp ' r ts of coal into Germl.ny
abou t the R iver T hames, docks, and wharves to at m
the fir3b four months of this year were 1 939 141 ton~
once cease work in support of the following claims : as C?Ompar~d with ~.63!,983 tons in the ~orr~punding
" 1. Full recognition of the trade unions. 2. A general per10d of 1899, showmg an incr~ase of 304,155 tons. The
port rate of 8d. per hour for day work, and 1s. per exports of coal from Germany m the first four months of
hour for overtime. 3. The for mat ion of a conciliation thlS ~ear were 5,203, 152. tons, as c:>mpared with 4,437,442
board. (Signed), Ben Tillett, Harry Orbell, Tom ~ns m the correspondmg period of 1899, showing an
Mann." Tee Dockers' Union has thus recognised the m crease of 765,710 tons.
strike officially, although it was not consulted as to
Soor&~Y ~F 4RTS M EDAL .-The council have awarded
the
origina.l
dispute,
which
did
not
involve
an
increase

the Somet~ 8 silver ~edal to the following readers of

m
wages.
A confe rence of the representatives of t he various papers dunng the sesston 1899-1900 :-To D. ~ Hutchins,
of Forests, Cape Town for hlS paper on
un ions, such as the D0cker~, Thames Steamship Conservator
" Na~ional Forestr~ " ; to ~ir W. Ma:tin Conway, M. A .,
Worke~s, Lightermen, Carmen, Gas Worker~, L9.bour for hl.S. J?ap,er on Some of the U ndeveloped Resources
Prot~ct1?n League, &c.~ met on t he day previous to the of Bo.h vta ; to Edmund Wilson, for his paper on " The
pu bh cat10n of the nottee, when t he posit ion of affairs H ousmg of the Poor " ; to Professor R W Wood for
was discussed. No decision seems to have been his pap~,r on "Th.e D iffraction Proceas of C~lour Photoarrived at as t o joint act ion at that mt>eting, though graph~ ; ~? Edwm. Bale, R.I., for his paper on "Artistic
the issue of the notices was known to the delegates Copyn~~b ; to Mi~s Halsey, for her paper on "Some
present. Up to that time t here was no increase in the U nfamthar Mas~erpteces of . the Italian School " ; to P ronumber on strike, but t he issue of the notices changed ~~sor W: M. Fhnde~s Petne, :p.C.L., for his paper on
A N at10nal Repc:~~ntory of Smence and Art " ; to A. R.
the situation.
The Sl:tipping Federation has been busy getting men Colquh<?un, for his paper on "Russia Persia and
Afghawstan ~' ; to Sir \ VHliam Lee-War~er, K .C.S.I.,
to fill the places of those on st rik e. The officials of the M,.A.,
for hts pape~, on Ou~ Work in India in the
un ion. state that some men who ca.me up from Ipswich N me.teenth Centm:y ; to Chns topher Rawson F r c
were mquced to return home without accepting work. for hlS.paper o~ :'The Cultivation, Manufacture,' and U~~
The stat~ment ~hat hbourer s were being imported from of Indtgo-Pos1~10n of the Industry in India. " ; to John
H olland 1s demed by the owners of th e vessel in which Ferguson~ for his paper on "Old and New Colombo".
they were ~aid to ha ve been embarked.
to the R1g~ b H on. Sir Charles W entworth Dilke B arb'
M.P ., ~or h1s paper on "the Century in Our Col~nies ,!
The P.osition of t~e engineering trades throughout to Cyril Dave.nport, for his paper on "Niello Work , ~
La.senby Ltberty, for his paper on "English F
'
La'1c 1~ h1re sh'lws ltttle change; but, small as it is, it to
tu re."
urn1-

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

[jUNE

22, 1900.

so that slag can be poured off from the opposite side to the metal and oxidisi~g reagents. The retaining of this bath
THE OPEN-HEARTH CONTINUOUS STEEL metal.
or pool of metal, m the furnace is the vital a.nd centrai
PROCESS.*
Influenced by these considerations, the writer devised feature of . the process, and is the one upon which its
the _present method of working ab Pencoyd, which is success chiefly depends. It enables any grade of metal
By BENJAMIN T ALBOT, Pencoyd, Pennsylvania.
IN September of lasb year the author was enabled to carried out as follows: The furnace in use is a basic-lined to be successfully _used, .the Pt:rcentage of such metal
put into practical work at the Pencoyd Steel Work~ tilting fnrnace of 75 tons capacity. The pig iron to be add_e~ ab any ~ne trme bemg vaned according to its compositlOn, and It ~lso enable~ any quantity of steel to be
Pen~oyd, Pennsylvania, a process for the continuous pro' converted has an approximate composition of :
dra'!D off t? sutt the requirements of the mills at the
duction of open-hearth steel, the r&mlts of which have
Carbon. Silicon. Sulphur. Phosphorus. Manganese.
part1oula~ ttme.. The htgh temperature of this. lar~e
been so ~tisfactory, both from a practical and theoretical
3. 76
1. 00
0. 06
0. 90
0.40
bat~ _rapidly raises t~e. ~emperature of smaller liquid
sta?dpomt, that they cannot, in the author's opinion, fail
to mteresb manufacturers generally.
0 wing to the absence of blast-furnaces, this pig iron additiOns, melts the oxtdtsmg and basic materials added
To-day two procf'sses for the manufacture of steel stand has to be melteci in cupolas. The furnace sliould be and t~us facilitates rapid chemical action, by which mor~
pre-eminently before the world-the Bessemer and the oha.rged on Sunday evening with about 50 per cent. beat 1s pr~duced. It may be regarded as bearing the
open-hearth pr~oess.. Both present certain. advantages, molten cupola metal and 50 per cent. scrap, and this first sam.e relat10n to the process as the flywheel does to an
and also .oertau~ d1sadvantages. The rap1dity of the (or filling) heat is worked down to steel in the usual way. engme, or the accumulators to the hydraulic press acting
Bessemer lS obtamed only by a very large mitial outlay, When the bath is good finished steel, about one-third of as a ~torehouse of ener~y, ever ready to give it o~t when
and by heavy ~aste. of metal. T?e ope~-hearth, on the it is poured off into a ladle and cast into ingots. No sla~ is requued: In ~he ordma~y open-hearth furnace, during
other hand, wb1lst g1 vmg a. far htgher y1eld per unit of run off with the steel. After tapping off this one-thud the rueltmg per10~,. one-thud of the carbon and practically
metal employed, demands a. much longer time, and, con- of the chargE:', oxide of iron, in a fairly fine state of t~e whc;>le of tb~ sil10on and manganese are oxidlSed by the
sequently, heavy labour charges. As usually carried out divi~ion, is added to the slag, and as soon as this is atr durmg meltmg, and thus they are nob available as rethe general practice in open-hearth working is to charg~ melted about 20 tons of molten cupola metal are ruu in ducing agents in the bath ; whereas in the process under
solid pig iron and scrap into the furnace, and although to replace the steel tapped out. An immediate very consideration, the whole of these are available to reduce
attempts have been made to charge the furnace with active reaction takes place, during the continuance of the~ eq?iva_len~s of iro~, and also the heat produced from
molten me.t al, it has been found that no great ad vantage which the gas is cut off from the furnace. The reaction their oxidatiOn 1s practiCally concE\ntrated in a very short
at~nd s this. method ?f working, since no refining is aooom- has all the characteristics of the Bessemer blow during spa?e of time, with an increase in temperature of the bath
phshed whtlst meltmg down, as is the case when solid the elimination of carbon, a lar~e volume of CO being similar to that produced by their combustion in the BesII?aterial is charged into the furnace. The rapid destruo- ~iven off, which immediately igmtes and burns with an semer converter. When it is remembered that taking a
tlOn ~~ the fur~ace bottot;n has also been found in practice mtense flame, the heat thus produced partly raising the metal with 3.5 oarb_on, 2.0 silicon, and 1.00 phosphorus,
to militate agam9t chargmg molten metal directly on to temperature of the bath and partly being absorbed by every 20 tons contams 14 cwt. of carbon, 8 cwt. of silicon
the hearth. Again, when solid material is charged into the regeneratora. After the metal has boiled vigorously and 4 cwt. of phosphorus, it will be seen that both tb~
the open hearth, hours of valuable time are c:msumed for some 10 or 15 minutes, the slag, which is now almost reducing and heat-giving power of these constituents is
before ~he furnace co~t~ins the necessary heat to enable deprived of iron oxide, is partly poured off, and the bath not a mere piece of theory, but a practical fact.
That this is so is clearly seen by the results obtained in
the ordmary slag add1t1ons to be made in order to purify wor~~d do~ into finisbe~ steel by the help of fresh
the charge, and convert the metal i nto steel of the desired additiOns of uon ore and hme. When the bath is ready actual ptactice. In reference to the Tables on pages 833
quality.
one-third (or about 20 tons) of steel is cast, fresh slag to 835, it will be found that the average yield extendIn ordinary practice, when the bath of steel is finished additions are made, and another 20 tons of molten ing over six weeks' consecutive working, has been more
the furn a?e is tapped and completely emptied, cooled off cupola metal run in as before. These operations are than 105, and that the percentage of added oxides, conand repaired, and has to be heated up again before a continued during the whole of the week, the furnace taining from 50 to 75 per cent. metallic iron, reduced
fresh charge can be introduced to undergo the same cycle. being completely emptied on the Saturday. The t ap- has been 25 per cent. by weight of the metal, whereas i~
. It is this p oi.nt of intermittent refining, . and the neces- bole is some few inches below the fore-plate level, so ordinary open-hearth pmctice about 10 per cent. to 15 per
stty of emptymg the furnace and operatmg over a wide that no slag is taken in the steel ladle. This is arranged cent. is the maximum which can be used.
As regards the practical management of the furnace,
range of temperature, that appears to be the one upon by stopping the hole sufficiently t o prevent metal or
which great improvements are possible in the output of ~la:g ~orkin~ into it. When the. furnace is ready to tap, and the question of repairs generally, a few words may
1t lS tilted shghtly, so that metal Is above the tapping-hole now be added.
the tnets:l obtained in open-hearth practice.
During recent years the tendency in open-hearth pracThus .m the . B~emer, what is ~ai~ed in time and a bar is plunged through, and the metal always runs first:
labour IS lost 10 yield; and the gam m yield in open- As soon as the desired quantity is obtained, the furn ace is tice ba.s been constantly to increase the size and capacity
hearth practice is largely annulled by loss in time and tilted back over towards the charging side. This causes of the f1nnaces, with the result that larger ladles, cranes,
cost of labour. Like all steel manufacturers, the author the level of the bath to fall well beneath the inside of the &c., have to be employed to deal with the increased
has ~iven much time and attention to these questions to taphole, which makes it possible for the furnace-helper to weight of the cast. Owing also to the length of time
between each cast, the mills are not kept regularly supsee 1f it we~e not poss~b~e to manuf~cture steel by s~me dry a~d clea:n ~t ra~idly, and plug it up.wit~out delay.
Whilst this 1s bemg done, the slag hne lS examined plied with ingots, being often unduly pr~sed imm~diately
process whtcb, while gtvmg the contmuous production of
the Bessemer, should also give the yield of the open . gas is turned on,. and whatever ~epairs 9:re necessary ar~ after tapping, and having to wait before the next casb
hearth. The process n ow at work at Pencoyd represents made by throwmg raw dolomite, or hmestone mixed can be tapped. One of the advantages of the process, as
the. r~ults of his labours. . To, in any way, approach the with 5 ~er cent.. pitch or resin, on the banks at ~ space carried out at Pencoyd, is the regularity with which the
r~p1d1 ty of Bessemer praot10e on the one band, and the from 6 m. to 9 m. above the level of the reduced bath. mills can be s upplied with ingots, and the weight of the
yield of the open-hearth on the other, the following con- The .s?rface of ~he .bath is very useful, as it prevents the metal cast regulated in accordance with the requirements
repatnng matenal, m a great measure, from rolling down. of the rolling department.
ditions seem to be essential to success :
1. The use of fluid metal from blast-furnace, mixer, or It acts as a floor or foundation, and tends to hold the
With re ference to the important q uestion of scrap in
cupola., to avoid loss of time and oxidation by air during dolomite in .Place. Whatever does roll down becomes connection with this method of working, solid scrap has
melting in the Siemens furnace, and to utilise the heat incorporated m the slag, and is beneficial.
been charged into the steel bath many times to observe
In an empty furnace much basic material rolls down whether any saving of time could be effected by diluting
of the molten metal.
2. The oxidation of the metalloids should be effected into the bottom, where it i3 not required, and in ma..ny the carbon and phosphorus; but its chilling effect was so
entirely by means of solid oxides of iron, and not by the cases tends to fill up the hearth.
pronounced that the heats could not be made as rapidly'
action of the air.
About 3 hour3 40 minutes is the period of time between as when the impurities were eliminated by the usual oxide
3. Maintaining by some suitable means a lars-e reserve two <Juccessive casts of steel at Pencoyd, and about 27 of iron additions. In fact, if it were possible to introduce
of heat to kee p the oxidising slags and metal 10 a fluid or 28 casts are usually made per weekt including the the basic additions in a liquid condition rather than solid,
condition, and to insure the rapid removal of the metal- filling anq emp~ying heats. T~s n~moer. of charges, the temperature of the bath would be appreciably benehowever, IS obta.med when startmg with flmd metal on fited. It is probable that the present practice of cbar~ing
loids from the molten pig iron.
In carryin~ out experiments on the refining of metal to Monday night, as having only one cupola which has to furnaces w1th cold scrap, and melting this down in an
remove the sllicon and part of the phosphorus from very be repaired ea_oh we~k e~d, it cannot be ~ob ready before oxidising flame, which results in a. large waste of iron, is
silicious iron, the author was particnlarly struck by the Monday evemng. Startmg on Sunday mght, either with wrong. The question has been put.. What is proposed to
la.rge amount of heat developed by the oxidation of cupola. or blast-furnace metal, and working at the same do with scrap when using the continuous method? The
the silicon, and the comparative immunity of the hearth rate as during the other part of the week, from 32 to 34 answer is, if it cannot be disposed of profitably, put all
from wear and tear, provided that the slag was never charges wonld readily be obtained, increasi_ng the output that is suitable through the blast-furnace. This is the
a1Jowed to come in contact with the hearth, the at l~ast another 100 tons p~r week. It IS not possible most efficient melter we have, both as regards fuel a.nd
latter being protected by a. bath of metal, in other to gtve the actual consumption of fuel, as the furnace is waste. The scrap will al<Jo be carbonised, and will become
words, provided the bath was never emptied of metal. worked from the main gas tube, which supplies several oast iron. In the lar~e bath of pure metal stored, we
So impressed was he with these results that he deter - other furn aces. It is interesting to note that from 25 to have a more than effiCient substitute for cold scrap, as it
mined to try if be could not carry the process further, and 33 per cent. less deoxidisers are required for the steel from is standardised in quality, and is in liquid condition.
so modify it as to produce finished steel continuously; as if this continuous furnace, than for the other furnaces to
If, therefore, we can melt scrap, impregnate it with
this could be shown to be feasible, he saw that he would give the same percentage of manganese (from .40 to' 50 carbon for less fuel, and with less waste, than is now
'
be able to carry into practice the three conditions neces- per cent.) in the finished steel.
taken in melting and oxidising it in the open-hearth furMany hundreds of beats and thousands of tons of steel nace, it should be more economical to put it through t~e
sary for economic production which ha ve just been enumerated. In discussing this :idea with many practical have been made by this method with very satisfactory blast-furnace. By eliminating the carbon from thts
open-hearth operators and managers, the universa opinion results, all grades of metal having been produced from metal again, more oxide of iron can be reduced, and a.
was that the hearth would be speedily wrecked. How- dead soft up to .40 carbon steel. The question of' exces- better yield obtained, than if it were simply charge~
ever, whils t these opinions were discoura~ing, it was sive wear t o the hearth, about which many doubts were direct into the s teel furnace in its decarbonised condtthought that they were based upon condttions which entertained, and upon which the practicability of the tion. The period of time will also be saved to the ste~l
would nob be encountered in the author's continuous method depenqed, has n~ver g~ven the slightest trouble, department, which is now lost in charging scrap lD
method, as the following considerations will make clear. the hearth bemg praotwally m a.s good a condition as detail, and waiting for its melt ing. This represents a
The great trouble with hearth and b ottoms of furnaces when put in eight months ago. This proves that a heavy serious loss in labour alone, as the leading men employed
which, afJ times, arises in ordinary practice, both acid and surface reaction of short duration is confined to the bath upon the furnace are skilled melters, earning large wages
basic, is brought about primarily by the a ction of the and does not affect the bottom of the hearth. As might for refining metal. They may as well be kept busy. at
slag, and not by the metal. If after considerable work be expected, the smaller the percenta~e of liquid oast this purification, rather than wait for hours before obtainthe face of a basic hearth is examined, it will be found iron added, the quicker this addition IS purified. The ing a satisfactory refining temperature.
Possibly many steel works' mana.~ers may rather object
to be nearly of the same composition as the slag prod need data obtained prov~ this conolusi_vely,. as the higher the
in the furnace. In course of time the impurities in the temperature the qmoker the punficat10n. It also indi- to what may seem equivalent to wrtting their scrap do.wn
hearth so increase that ill becomes less refractory, and cates that furnaces of 100 to 120 tons capacity are quite to pig-iron price; but, after all, this is only a qu.est10n
cannot withs tand the heat of the finished steel when hot practicable, and would be easily handled. In fact with of figures, and the actual value of the metal 1s not
enough to cast, and consequently holes are formed, and high-power gas, which does not require regeneratio~, this affected, whether it is melted in a blast-furnace cupola or
open hearth, except in so far as one is a. cheaper melter
especially is this the case if molten metal be poured size will probably be surpassed.
It will thus be seen that the three conditions which the than the other. In oases, however') where it may not be
directly upon this softened hearth. To overcome this
drawback, the slag most be prevented from washing and author considered necessary have been fulfilled. Liquid advisable or convenient to melt in a. blast-furnace, one or
imp regnating the lower portion of the hearth every time metal has been used without destroying the hearth ox ida- two ordinary fixed Siemens furnaces working 75 to 80 per
the furnace is tapped. This can only be accomplished by tion effected entirely by oxides of iron with conce~tration cent. scrap, by which means four to five heats. can be
flowing the slag off from the surface of the bath through of the beat due to chemical action in the bath of metal obtained from each furnace in 24 hours, will readily d~l
a sla~-spoub ab the foreplate level. Such a method of and also the heat developed by the combustion of th~ with all the scra p produced. In all Siemens works, with
workmg naturally suggests a tilting furnace, from which carbonic oxide evolved ; and these conditions, and the exception of large plate mills, the difficulty is not ~o much
any percentage of metal or slag can be poured out when st~r&:ge of a large reserve of heat to s ufficiently assure the to deal with scrap as to obtain sufficient quantity ab a
desired. The furnace should also tilb in both directions, fluidt~y of _both metal _and slag, a~d promote rapid reasonable price, to enable 20 to 25 per cent. to be used
ohem10al aot10n, are obtamed by the stmple expedient of in the open hearth. No doubt this is especially felb ab
maintaining a large bath of molten metal in the furnace present prices.
.
.
*Paper read before the Iron and Steel Institute.
ever ready to receive fresh additions of molten furnac~
In some oases it may b~ found convem ent to establish

J UNE 2 2, I

900.]

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

TABLE "A.,

CH ARGE.
~-

n eat
No.
131
132

T ime.

a.m.
8.00
8.30
9.15
0.16
9.20

9.30
9.96
10.16
10.15
10.20
10.30
10.30
noon
12.00
p.m.
12.25
12.50
12.no
12.66
1.01i
1.05
1.15
1.35
1.35
1.40
1.50
1.50
2.00
2.60
3.00
3.20
3.20
3.30
8.46
3.45
3.60
3.60

a m.
263

9.60

2e4

10.20
11.00
11.00
11.05
11.15

11.15
11.26
1145
11.46
11.60

neon
12. 00
12.00
p.m.
12.05
12.60
12.oo
1 20
1.20

lb.

Tapping slog left in furnace from

heat 131 ..
..
..
.
..
Charged
..
..
..
..
..
Bath before fi rst metal addition . 107,0(J0
Slog
ditto
..
..
Charged first cupola metal
. . 15,100
Calculated mixture . .
..
..
..
Bath after reaction . .
..
. . 122,100
Percentage of reduction . .
..
.
Slag after reaction . .
..
..
..
Obar~red
..
..
..
..
..
Bath before second mehl addition 122,100
Slag
ditto
..
..
Charged second cupola metal
. . 16,900
Calculated mixture . .
..
..
..
J3ath a fter second reaction
. . 139, 00~
Percentage of reduction . .
..
..
Slag after second reaction. .
..
..

Tapping slag left in furnace from

heat 263 ..
..
..
..
..
Charged
..
..
..
..
..
Bath before first metal addit ion
90,COO
Slag
ditto
.
..
Charged first cupola metal
. . 15,800
..
..
..
Calculated mLxture . .
Bo.th after first reaction . .
. . 105,800
Percentage of reduction
..
..
SI ~ after fi rst reaction
..
..
..
Charged
..

..
.
..
Bath before second metal addition 105,8CO
Slag
ditto
.
..
Charged second cupola. metal . . 14,800
Calculated mixture . .
..
..
..
Bath after second r eaction
Percentage of reduction ..
Slag after second reaction . .

lb.

lb.

11.17
11.20
p.m.
1.00
1.10
2.00
2.00
2.05
2.10
2.10
2.10
2. 10

a. m.

10.20

i OO

lb.

0.06

0.046

..
..

..

..

O. Oe6

:1.76
0.52
0.33
36

0.058

Good

2000

1500

0.08

1000

..

..

..

0.058

0.056

0.041

3.56
0. 74
0.4l
46

0.39

0.039

0.049

0.033

0.040

16.70

16.25

17.19

10.27

39.74

4.72

1.25

0. 59

20.24

11.13

23.82

0.06

0.041

0.01\}

0.15

0.049

0.656
0.040
0.016
60

1.30

..

3.50
0.17
0. 07
59

0.14

0.033

1.30

4. 350

0.06

0.046

0.08

Good

0.019
2.060
0.836
0.142
0.057
60
4.770
0.025
4.060
0.864

0.12

0.14

. . 120,600

2700

0.051

0.68

0.08

0.044

3.80
0.54

0.056

Good

0.35

35

0.052

0.069
46
4.820

1700

0.06

0. 046

0.021

0.12

0.60

0.864
0.065
0.028
49

0.12 ~

3.80
0.21
0.06
71

0.056

0.0 12

0.14

0.038

4.14
0.030

5.790

0.06

0.051

..

..

1410

0.60

13.85

25.79

18.92
18.69

9.38

13.51

11.01

9.98

33.28

6.30

4-.70

14 .98

12.58

10.94

21. 74

10.21

9.30

18.42

ll.f8

11.05

21.eo

11.42

9.49

8 11

7.00

0. 32

768

7.76

0.47

o.a4

18.03
15.87

10.49

11.68

13.26

25.57

8.68

9.44

11.87

12.10

16.46

10.39

12.62

17.05

0.89

0.08

0.38

0.056

0.111

7.4~ 0

0.14

3.80
0.84
0.49
42

..

3.80
0.70
0.71

0.082

0.053

0.26

0.43

0.07

0.025

0.035

0.17

2260

1100

1000

..

3.80
0.16
0.11

31

0.16

0.057

0. 18

0.15

0.9SO
0.194
0.144
21
6.790

2500

0.065

(1. ~4

0.16

0.026
4.120
1.012
0.226
0.132
42
7.180

11.96

12.80

400

0.32

1400

6.19

0.13

2200

9.12

0.17

0.62

3.80
0.62
0.34
45

8.69

0.20

0.088

...
0.059

6.'i8

0.19

3.440
0.020

..

0.18

ss

0.12

8.73

..

8.68

3. 60
0.90
0. 65
39

400

14.63

0.09

..

17.63

1.340
0.174
0.020

O.C43

9.21

0.36

14.13

7.40

15.91

9. 76
6.85

0.014

1400
1450

per cen t

9.60

0.09

per cent.

25.14

0.046
2 700
0.656
0.146
0.067
51
5.22

2700

Manganous
Oxide.

14.41

0.13

Phosphoric
Anhydride.

11.86

..

1500

Silioa.

1.220
0.169
0.014
91

2000

0.016
1.320
0.748
0.161
0.049
68
3.980

0.36

3600

..

41

0.05

0.023
8.790
0.680
0.103
0.061

0.009

2.960

4200

0.(9

..

0.027
2.990
0.668
0.106
0.047
56
4.020

Tapping slag left in fu rnace from

..

heat 306

3.810

Ditto
..
..
..
.
..
Ditto
..
..
..
..
..
Bath before third metal addition 125,700
Slag
ditto
..
..
Charged third cupola metal
..
3,000
Calculated mixture . .

..
..
Bath a fter third reaction . .
. . 128,700
Percentage of reduction . .
..
..
Slag after t hird r eaction . .
..

Tapping slag ..
..
..
.
..
Finished heat (Ia.dle test) . .
..
..

O.Oj4

..

slag left in furn ace from

beat 284
..
..
..
..
..
Charged
..
..
..
..
..
Bath befor e first metal addition. . 90,000
Slag
ditto
..
..
Charged first cupola metal
. . 23,700
Calculated mixture..
..
..
..
Bath after first reaction . .
. . 113,700
Percentage of reduction . .
..
..
Slag after fi rst r eaction .
..
..
Charged
..
..
..
..
..
Bath before second metal addition 113,700
Slag
d itto
..
..
Charged second cupola metal . . 12,000
Calculated mixture . .
.
..
..
Bath after second reaction
. . 125,700
Percentage of reduction . .
..
..
Slag a fter second reaction. .
..
..
Charged
..
..
..
..
..

3.76
0.63
0.39
26

4. 26

Metallic
Iron.

per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent. per cent

lb.

10.00
10.35
10.36
10.40

11.17

2000

Phoe
Man Silicon.
Carbon. Sulphur phorus. ganese.

lb.

1700

285

10.48
10.60
11.05
11.05
11.10

Renc
Lion.

2600

Tappin~t

10.48

Lime
Cinder. stone.

9.30

8)6

Ore.

Manga
nese
Ore.

ANALYSIS OF SLAG.

ANALYSIS OF METAL.

..

284

a. m.

2.15
2.16
2.15

2.15

Scale.

Tapping slag left in fu rnace from

heat 253
..
..
.
..

..
Charp:ed
..
..
..
..
..
3800
Bath befor e fi rst metal addition . . 65,000

Slag
di tto
..
..

Charged first cupola metal
. . 16,000

Cnlculated mixtur e
..
..
..

Bat h after Brat reaction . .
. . 81,000

Percentage of r eduction . .
..
..

Slag after fi rst r eaction . .

..
..
Charged
..
..
..
..
..

Bath before second metal addition 81,000

Sing
ditto
..
..

Charged second cupola. metal . . 15,900

Calculated mixture . .
.
..
..
..
Bath a fter second reaction
. . 96,900

Percentage of reduction . .
..
..

Slap: after second r eaction

..
..

Charged
..
..
..
..
..

Ditto . .
..
..
..
..
..
. ..
Ditto . .
..
..
..
..
..

Bath before third metal addition

96,900
..
Slag
ditto
..
..

Charged third cupola metal

..
3,300
..
Calculated mixture . .
..
..
..

Bath after third reaction . .
. . 100,200 . . .
Percentage of reduction . .
..
..

Slag after third reaction . .
..
..

Tapping slag . .
..
..
..
..

Finishing b eat (ladle test)

.
..

Charged
..
..
..
..
..
Ditto
..
..
..
..
..
Ditto
..
..
..
..
..
Bath before third metal addition 120,600
Slag
ditt o
..
..
Charged third cupola metal
..
5,COO
Calculated mixture. .
..
..
..
Bath after third reaction . .
. . 125,600
Percentage of r eduction . .
..
..
Slag after t hird reaction . .
.
..
Tapping slag ..
..
..
..
..
Finished beat (ladle test) .
..
..

2.05

NAME OF SAliPLB.

..

Metal.

9.30

253

We~fht

0.25

0.14

10.71

13.95

12.32

15.56

11.55

12.03

11.70

12.03

800

..

0.065

0.038

..

0.980
0.058
0.04l
29

0.43

11.59
11.81

14.29

0.25

0.18

0.060

5.250
0.086

0.50

6.250

7.83

5.12

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

[JUNE 2 2, I 900.

TABLE " A"-( continued).

ANALYSIS OF .METAL.

CHARGE.

ll e~t

N..>.

Time.

NAME OF

SA~IPLE.

Wehrh t
of
Metal.

Scale.

Ore.

lb.

lb.

lb.

lb.

lb.

lb.

0.06

Good

3.eo
0.64
0.11
80

0.07

0.057

2300

1300

2300

2'700

400

..

4000

120,000

136,400

..

a. m.
11.00
11.30
11.30
1L.35

306

11.46
11.45

noon
12.00
12.00

p.m.
12.05
12.20
12 20
12.25
2 11)
2.66
2.65
3.00

3.10
3.10
3.l5
3.15

a. m.
407

9.00

408

9.25
9. 60
9.60
9.55
10.10
10.10
10.15
10.35
10.35
10.35
10.60
10. t0
11.00

noon
12.00

p.m.
12.35
1.05
1.05
1.10
1. 15
1.15
1 .30
1 30
305

9.45
0. 45
9.50
9.56
9.56
10.01)
10.20

Charged

Bath before first metal addition: : 95,000

Slag
ditto

Charged fi rst cupola. metal

14,000

Calculated mixture .

Bath after first r eaction

109,000
Percentage of reduction

Slag after first reaction

Charged second cupola. metal 17,200

Calculated mixture..
.

B1th after second reacMon

126,200

Percentage of reduction ..

Slag after second r eaction

Charged

Ditto
..
..
..

Bath before third metal a1ditio~ 126,200

Slag
ditto

Charged t hird cupola. metal

6, 10)

Calculated mixture. .

Bath after third reaction ..
132,300

Percentage of r eduction . .

Slag after t hird rea.~tion .

Tapping slag . .
..
..

Finished heat (ladle test) . .

Ditto

..

136,400

0.0'2

4.17

21.17

11.22

10.82

23.16

9.95

9.83

..

13.05

12.0S

12.45

21.5!

10.91

12.26

5.54

10.81

0.24

0.36

0.06

0.057

l .fM

0.~6

0.36

0.052

0.1 80
0. 111
3i
6.430

0.07

0.049

0 022

3.80
0.24
0.07
71

0.067

1.004
0.067
0.030

0. 26

0.36

Good

5.18

0.047

0.14

..

per cent.

43.3i

0.05

..

per cent.

0.06

0.049
4. 290

0.08

0.08

O.LO

55
5. 350

0.050

0.03~

0.45

16.28
18.39

4. 430

9.63

14.S5

10.15

0.06

0.054

0.14

30.00

8.96

6. 20

0.032

0 82

0. 79

Good

..

3. 80
0.51
0. 25
51

9.85

15.42

12.39

1500

2,..00

0 O:l2
2 710
0.8t8
0.139
0. 067
52
5400

0. 12

..

..

0.82

14.6-1

12.22

0. 79

..

..

0.82

12.50

13.69

11.06

..

11.22

0. 82

0. 'iO

12.78

9.54

29 4'>

.J

8.80

10.18

12.48

11.41

13.08

..

..

2200

H.OO

..

..

..

150 )

900

..

..
..

..
..

Bath before t hird metal addition 104,0CO

Slag
ditto

Charged third cupola metal
9,300

Calculated mixture. .

Bath after t hird r eaction ..

113,300
Percentage of r eduction ..


Slag after t hiTd reaction . .

Charged
..
..
..

Finished heat (ladle test) . .

..

..

..

..

0. 032

0.059
6.330
0. 848

0.~46

0.051

0.034

0.051

0.13

0.054

0.06

0.051

0. 066

3.80
0.37
0.13
65

..

0.032

..

3.80
0.13
0.09
31

0.050

0 84S
0.049
0 034
3)

..

4.160
0.035

0 022
4.440
0. 992
0.102
0.053
48
5.71

0.14

0.('56

0.0!1

Bath hot enough to tap

800

Heat 264.
37,405 Weight of ingots produced ..
1,200
,
scrap produced ..

0.06()

..

0.06

..

REMARl\S.
Bath h">t en ough to tap

0.098
33
4.820

Finished pouring 9. 54 p.m.

3.80
0.53
0.47
11

..

0.053

..

Good

..

0.18

0.15

0. 17

0.17

600

Lb.

.
.

..
..

153,300

Fair

..

0 052

3. 80
0.60
40 30
43

0.045
1.820
0.976
0.165
0.062
62
4.720

per cent. per cent

Manganese
Oxide.

..

0.053

Silica.

Phosphoric
Anhydride.

..

Ditto

Bath before third metal addition 153,300

Slag
ditto

Charged t hird cupola metal

2,900

Calculated mixture. .
..

Bath after t hird reaction

156,200

Percentage of reduction . .

Slag after third reaction ..

Tapping slag . .
..
..


Finished heat (ladle test) ..

Heat 254.
Weight of ingots produced
scrap produced
,

per ce n ~ pet cent per cent per cent per cent

Metallic
Iron.

16,900

16,400

Cinder.

Ph osMan Silicon.
Carbon. Sulphur phorus. ganese.

Rea.c
tion .

3800

Bath before second metal addition 1(9,000

Slag
d itto

Tapping slag left in furnace from

heat 407 ..
..
..
.
Charged
..
..
..
..
Bath before firetmetal addition ..
Slag
ditto

Charged first cupola metal

Calculated mixture ..


Bath after first rea.otion

Percentage of reduction

Slag after first reaction

Cba.r~ed
..
..

Bath before second metal addition

Slag
ditto

Charged second cupola metal

Calculated mixture . .

Bath after second reaction

Percentage of reduction ..

Slag after second reduc tion

Charged

Manga
ne se
Ore.

Lime
stone.

ANALYSI S OF SLAG.

Lb.

Heat 285.
89,100 Weight of ingots produced ..
1,850
scrap produced
..
11

0.0 18

Lb.

0 1i

13.46
14.96

11.26

0.44
0.06

0.012

0.36

0.10

..
0 86

lleat 306.
39,085 Weight of ingots produced ..
870
scrap prod uced
.
11

~.

0.470
0 O:i9
0.010
80

Heat 408.
37,410 Weight of ingots produced ..
scrap produced ..
745
11
Lb.

Lb.
38,650
1,270

- -

. . 39,~20
Total weight of he1t
. Total weight of heat
.
38,.605 . Total weight of h eat
40!950 . Total weight of heat
. . 39 ~95 > . Total weigh t of h eat
. . 38,155
Ttme from .commencement of c~argmg Tt me from ~ommencement of chn:rgmg Ttme from ~ommencement of cb ~rgm g T1me from commencement of charging Time from commencement of obargwg
to tapping of beat, 8 h. 25 min.
to tappmg of beat, 2 b . 55 mln.
to t appmg of heat, 3 h. 10 mm.
to ta.ppmg of heat, 3 b . 25 mm.
to tapping of beat, 3 b . 40 min.

TADLE "B."
SECOND l .IQUID METAL ADniTION.

FI.RST LIQUID MBTAL ADDITTON.

Heat
N 11mber.

-132
25!
264
285
305
306
408

Calculated
.Mixture.

Analysis.

Per Cent.
Reduction.

Calculated
Mixture.

c.

P.

c.

p.c.

p.c.

0.52
0.74
0.62
0.8!

0.54
0.51

P.

c.

P.

p.o.

p .c.

p.c.

p.c.

0. 106
0.161
0 142
0.226

0.33
0.:-$9
0.34
0.49

0.047
0.046
0. 057
0.132

33
47
45
42

56

0.165
0.130

0.11
0.25

80
51

62
52

0. 062
0.067

72
60

42

Per Oent.
Reduction .

Calculated
Mixture.

p .c.

p,c.

p.c.

0. 040
0.055
0.058
0.102
0 067

0.07
0. 06
0. 11
0.13
0.07
0 09

0.016
0.028
0.041
0.053
0.030
0.034

59

P.

0.

P.

p .c.

p.c.

p .c.

p.o.

p.c.

p.c.

0. 63
0 92
0.54
0.70

0.103
0.148
0.128
0.194

0.39
0.65
0.35
0.71

0.061
6 067
0.069
0.144

27
40
35

41
55
46
21

0.60
0.53

0.180
0. 146

0.84
0.47

0.111
0.008

43
11

38
33

0. 17
0.21
0. 16
0. 87
0.24
0. 13

p .c.

Per Cent.
Reduction.

p. o.

c.

Analysis.

I P.

P.

P.

c.

c.

c.

a. storage of liquid metal between the blast. furnaces and

the steel furnaces. In this event the usual mixer used in
B essemer practice will be very suitable. If the metal
stored should be very silicious, it might be better t o perform a certain amount of purification whilst being held .
This vessel could then be a furnace, bMic lined, so that
an oxidising slag could be .oar~ied, which would hav.e a
refining influence upon the hqu1d metal added from t1me
to time.
This pre.paratory furnace. would qu,ioken the operat~on in
the finishmg f urnace, for lf the sthcon were praot10ally
eliminated, and the carbon somewhat reduced, the metal

Analysis.

TIIIRD LIQUID METAL ADDITION.

0.0~9

c.
71

:n

65

':1
31

P.

-p.c.
60
49
29
48

55

so

would be purer and hotter, and so would expedite complete purification. I t is not anticipated, however, that
this will be necessary except in special oases, as one of
the advantages of the process is the ease with which it
lends itself to the production of steel from blast-furnace
metal of irregular composition, owing to the large exten t
to which the impurities are reduced by dilution as apart
from oxidation. Thus, assuming that 20 tons of molten
pig iron containing 3.0 per cent. of silicon were teemed
into the bath of 40 tons of molten finished s teel, the silicon
by mere admixture would be reduced in the resulting
metal to 1 per cent., which is not a.n abnormal percentage

for basic Siemens work, and, as t his would be almost

immediately oxidised, the ~omewhat silicious slag could
be flowed off before it would have time to seriously attack
t he banks of the furnace, even if sufficiently acid to do
so. This continuous method should certainly be worthy
of the consideration of acid open-hen.rth steel manufac
turers, even if they discarded the acid lining, and took
up the basic, which lends itself so satisf~ct?rily to .the
process. Acid bottoms gave way to the bas1o m puddhng,
and there is apparently no reason why history should not
repeat itself in the ca~e of steel.
In this age, when on the one hand the diffi~ulty. of
obtaining hematite ores which will J?roduce a ptg w1th
less than .05 per cent. of phosphorus IS becoming grE'ater
and greater, and on the other hand engineers are more
stringent than ever in insisting upon .low ph<?Sp~o~us
material, the adoption of this proc~s w1th a ~as10.li~mg
would enable all those ores just outstde hematlte hmtt to
be used, and the steel maker might with absolute certainty
depend upon a finished steel produced with under 0.03 per
cent. phosphorus; when using hematites, iron of. present
grade, say under .06 P.er cent. of phosphorus, still lower
.
results would be posstble.
The highest desideratum of any lining is to be pa~stve,
whilst th.e metal it holds is under treatment, and when
this result is obtained with a basic hearth, it should be
nsed even if the pi~ metal is sufficiently pure not to
require dephosphorismg, providing the steel is t;na.de at
a less cost. The attached Tables (Table A extendmg over
two pages) give the history of various heats analysed.
They attempt t o give a record of materials charged,
and t ime C)nsumed in purification,

j UN E

E N G I NE ER I N G.

2 2, I 900.]

TABLE ''C."
TDJE.
CornHeat menced
Finished
Heat
No. Charging. C harging. Tapped.
248
244
245
246
247
2 18
249
260
251
262
263
25 '
255
256
257
268
259
260
261
262
263
26!
265
266
267
268
269
270
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
41:l
414
416
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425

6.00
9.45
4.35
9.45
2.15
8.35
1.46
7 . l ti
11.30
4.00
8.50
12.55
4.35
8.35
12. 45
6.00
9.55
2.50
8. 30
2.05
6.30
11. 5(1
3.20
9. 15
1.25
6.24
11.20
6. 45
6.00
11 20
5.25
11.30
5.30
Ll.15
5.45
lU.05
3.1i5
0.55
2.45
7.20
12.(J0
6.35
11.16
3.50
8.45
1.35
6.15
12.16
4.30
9.05
1.10
6.(0
10.30
5 40
7.00

p.m. 5.50 a.m. 8.00

a. m. 2.30 p.m. 8. 00
p.m. 8.16
8.36
"
1.30 a. m. 1.45
"
a.m. 6.30
7.15
" 12 46
12 26 p.m.
"
p.m. 6.50 "
6.05
10.30 "
2.45 a.m.
7.10
11.4 0 "
"
3.30 p.m.
7.00 "
tl. 20
3.40 a."m.
8. SO
"
1.30 p.m.
7.00 "
12.41 a.m.
5.20
"
9.35 ,.
2.03 p. m.
7. 20 ,.
12.05 a.m.
6.00
9 35 "
"
12. 45 p.m.

"

"
a.m.
"
p.m.
"
"
a.m.
"

p".m.
"

a.m.

"
p".m.
"
a.m.

,."

p.m.

p.m. L0. 15 p.m.

a.m. 4.00 "
p.m 10.40
"
4.1!; a.m.
"
a.ru. l0.30
"
5.05 p.m.
"
p.m. 10.25 "
,
3.10 a.m.
a m. 8.40
" .
1.10 p.m
" 6.25
p.m.
ll.15
4 30
9.05
2.0!>
7. 55
12.35
5.30
9 05
3 00
8.25
12.30
4.00
9. 16
11.36

"
a.m.
"
"
p.m.
"

a.m.

"
p.m.
"
"
a.m.
"
11

pm.
a.m.

"
"
n.m.

"
p.m.
"

a.m.

"

"
p.m.
"
a.m.
"

"

"

Total

Hours in
Furnace.
h. m.

a.m.
p.m.

14
5
4
4
4
4
4
3

"

a.m.
p".m.
"
"

10.50
3.(0 a m.
7.45
"
12.00 noon
3.50 a.m.
7. 15
Ll. 40 "
"
4.00 a.m.
R50
"
1.45 p.tn.
7.15
"
1.00 a.m.
5.35
9.50 "
"
2. 15 p.m.
8.10
"
12.25 a.m.
5. 25 ,.
9.50 ,,
645 p.m.
7.30
"
9.30 a.m.
4. 16 p.m.
L0.50 ,
4.30 n.m
11.00
"
5.15 p.m
) 3.35 "
3.20 a.m.
9.00
"
1.30 p.m.
6. 45
11.25
"
4.40 ,.
10.00 a.m.
2.40 p.m.
8.05 "
12.46 a.m.
5.45
ll. SO "
"
3.46 p.m.
8.3fi
12 40 a"m.
4.10
9.40 "
6.40 p."m.
7.00
7.55 "

3
3
3
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
4

3
3
3
1

3
4
3
7
0
15
4
5
6
5
5
4
4
5

..

3
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
5
3
4
3
3
4
7
1
0

"

Cold
Pig
Iron.

lb.

lb.

0
16
05
00
00
10
30
35
20
45
10
55
40
15
15
50
50
50
30
30
20
10
51)
10
00
25
26
45
30
55
25
00
30
20
50
15
05
35
00
05
00
26
25
15
00
10
l fi
30
05
36
00
40
JO
20
55

Liquid
Metal.

lb.

53,000 49,800
44,500

40,800

31,300

83,700

37,800

87, 501)

34,100

33,100

38,800

34,900

34,400

31,800

42,700

40,600

37,300

34,200

40,600

40,900

35,700

38,300
..
35,600

41 ,1 00

85,900

38, 400

36,700

60,000

8,000
400
600
5t 0
600
800
600
500
500
6CO
600
600
500
6(.0
500
600
600
600
600
600
600
1,000
600
eoo
eoo
coo
801
1,000
1300
1,300
1,000
2,000
1.500
1 200
800
800
600
800
900
900
9(10
1,800
t 50

..

95,700 22,750
38,600

40,600
38,700
42,600

42,100

40,000

40,500

45,600

36,200

86,100
..
41,300

40,600

39,200

38,400

37,800

41,40)

35,100

34,300

37,900

39,100

35,200

36,500

40,200

69, 400

...

soo

~ .ooo

1,000
1 ,450
850
800
1.600
2,000
1,200
1,300
1,200
500

Sorap.

Iron
Ore.
lb.
8,000
8,000
7,0CO
4,500
4, 500
5,(100
li,OOO
6,000
5,000
3, 00
2,000
2,uoo
5,000
2,000
2.000
6,000
SLO
2.000
2,000

6,000

..

2,700
4,60\)
5,000
1,000
5,000
9,000

1,580
4,800
5,600
5,8 10
5,700
4,400
900
1,700
3,200
4,400
700
2,100
1,500
1,100

2, 7!i0
5,600
6, 00
5,160
5,150
5,100

Man
Limeganese Cinder. Scale. stone.
Ore.
lb.

lb.

lb.

400
500
500
400
400
400

400

Nov. 25, Dec. 2, J an. 6.

Week ending.

Iron protoxide (cal

cul~ted

1899.

1889.

Silica ..

Co.lcium oxide

Magnesium oxide ..
Phosphor ic
anhydride

Maognneee oxide
Metallic iron ..

Metallic phosphorus

1900.

7.08
8.91
12.92
3.09

8. 0 t
11.69
14 .79
3.51

7. 85
9.70
14.17
3.42

7.56
9.75
13.40
3.29

8.63
12.40
15.72
3.64

Port Hen ry iron ore

Scale . .

Cinder


TADLE

Metallic
Iron.

Silica.

Phosphoric
Anhydride.

per cent.

p er cent.

per rent.

58.00
74.60
66.80

3 00
0.50
8.00

4.35
0.07
0.23

"E."-Swmmary of Six Weeks' Wo1king, S tarting

with Fluid lJfetal on Monday N ight.

Average
Average
Average
Average
Weight of
Weight of
Number of Number of
Metals
[ojlot & Sora.p
Heats per Hours in the O h ar~ed per Produced
Furnace.*
Week.
Week.
p er Week.
3.8

lonv tons

long t ons
27

Average Yiel d
of Iojlot and
Scrap per 100
Parts of Meta1
Charged.

488

517

105.9!

* Exclusive of fillin g a.od emptying heats.

Man:y analyses have proved thatl the silicon is oxidised

immediately, and practically di2appears during the reac.
tion, as it has never been found above .02 in the bath.
In heat No. 132, Table "A" (page 833), the silicon is determined to observe its elimination. The slag coverin~ the
steel bath left in the furna~e contained 11.86 metallic 1ron,

9,500

5,200
4,850
4,900
2,200
3,9J(J
4,300
4,150
3,600
4,400
4,300

2,300
1,000

50,5501 2,099,000 72,050 2L2,210

20.2t
12.08
88.08
5.93

17.24
16.60
38. 29
9.36

5,000
6,000

18. 23
14.52
40.69
6.45

19.02
11.42
40.62
6.01

6,000
2,500

L,250
800
900
900
800
400
900
900
400
500
750
1,250
1,100
800
900
1,600
1,200
1,000
1 ,000
1,000

16.6L
18.79
37.65
7.37

..

per cent per cent per cent. per cent per cen t

5,200
4,000
5,0GO

400
500
500
suo
400
400
400
400
400
4CO
60U

13, Feb. 17
1900.
1900. '

3,000

IJ an.

5,000
5,000

"D." -AnalJJSis of Slag at End of W eek 'When

E?nptying the Furnace.

1 ,750
4,800
7,600

30,850

Total weight of slag produced, 219,000 lb.

St arting with fluid metal on Monday night.
Pig ir on and metal charged, 500.5 long tons.
In~ ots and scrap produce, 527.4 Ion~ tons.
Yield, 105.4 long tone ingots a nd scro.p for every 100 tons of metal charged.
TABLE

3,000
8, Ll10
3,5!10
3,550
3, 500
3,500
3,600
3,500

3,000
3,800
3,50

3, 500

3,61'0
3,500
3,500
3,500
3,500
4,200
3,000
3,5)0
3,00.

5,000

3,200
3,400
3,600
4,700
4,100
3,400
4,0CO
4,000
4,000
3,500
3,400
3,600
3,700
4,( 00
3,600
4,050
3,600
3,500
3,500
3,600
3,700
4,000
3,750
5,400

ll 0,150

ANALYSIS.

PRODUCT.

CHARGES.

168700

Ferro Silico
Manga spiegel.
nese.

lb.

lb.

4,sro
4,500
4,505)
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
4 ,liOO
4,500
4,500
4, 600
3,900
4,500
4,500
4,500
4,5l0
4,800
4,800
4,600
4,500
4,500
6,300
1,000
1,600
4,700
3,400
4,650
3,500
3, 600
4,400
4,500
5,000
3,900
4,600
5.300
5,200
4,000
4,300
6,200
5,000
2,800
7,100
3,800
4,400
4.800
5,000
3,100
7,700
500

300
1 t0
125
125
140
140
125
125
125
140
140
140
125
126
125
140
140
125
125
125

241,650

--

lb.

~40

140
125
125
125
330
330
330
14C
140
125
125
140
140
125
125
140
140
125
125
125
125
125
1 25
129
125
160
160
126
125
125
350
330
330
100
8580

'

Ingots.

Scrap.

.
lb.
5 1,590
34,605
36,596
35,225
38,500
36,240
36,450
36,825
37,345
37,730
37,625
37,405
38,385
38,150
37,935
37,155
39,930
35,655
36,960
37,775

100
75
75
75
76
75
75
75
75
75
75
76
75
75
7fl
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
75
100
11 0
100
60
50
50
eo
tO
50
50
50
50
60
50
50
60
60
75
50
100
50
75
75
50
50
60
100
100
100
60

39,100
38,590
38,090
38,530
62,170
66,675
52,510
41,780
38,320
38,480
45, 040
38,280
38,080
41,270
39,120
38,835
38,650
39,170
39,480
37,850
30,025
45,966
38,260
39,406
39,375
44,785
4-1,580
39,110
38,366
38,700
66,910
69, 650
67, 310
20,500

4160

2,277,244

37, ~05

lb.
2,100
1,950
800
900
3,100
960
1,150
1,000
1,500
2,400
2,200
1,200
900
8cO
11160
2,400
1,750
2,800
2,200
2,050
1,900
1,850
1,100
1 ,150
1,100
4,850
1,000
4,200
1,250
400
2,315
2,160
1,960
675
480
950
1,250
1,270
1,340
1,030
940
6.o
950
1,010
800
525
1,235
850
1.285
2,320
1,090
350
1,610

Per
Cent.
Gain.
lb.

..

..

..

..

..

..

..

2,:~00

5,960

88,306

Phos Manga
Carbon. Sulphur phorus. nes ~.

per cent p er cent per cent per cent

0.17
0. 14
0.17
0.16
O. H
0. 16
0. 12
0. 12
0.12
0.16
0.19
0. 14
0.10

014
0 13
O.S8
0.14
0. 19
O.lY
0. 16
0. 16
0.14
0. 13
0.16
0.16
0.16
0. 17
0. 14
0.13
0.12

O.H

0. 15
0.17
0. 14
0.14
0. 16
o.15
0. 13
0. 13
0. 14
0. 16
0.30
0.41
0.20
0.20
0.14
0.17
0.24
0. 14
0. 15
0.19
0. 15
0.11
0.10
o.os

0.046

o.on

0.051
0.046
0.03S
0.050
0.061
0.053
0.054
0.046
0.040
0.038
0.046
0.055
0.058
0.057
0.036
0.055
0. 057
0.046
O.Ot O
0.038
0.036
0.034
O.Ot 2
O.OJ2
0. 051
0.049
0.059
0.060
0.052
0.055
0.055
(J 048
0.056
0.06 t
0.056
0 054
0.047
0.060
0.061
0.071
0.056
0.062
0.062
0.084
0.055
0.063
0.0 -19
0.0 49
0.0 15
0.059
0.056
0.057
0.070

0.033
0.071
0.075
0. 058
0. 063
0.050
0.073
0.033
0.045
0.035
0.034
0.020
0047
O.O'il
0.060
0.072
0.028
0.0! 7
0.05 1
0.060
0.027
0.030
0.034
0.063
0.052
o.035
0.041
0. 055
0.051
0.043
0.073
0.049
0.083
0.~

0.053
0.05
0.075
0.035
0 036
0.049
0.048
0.058
0.020
0. 029
0.036
0.037
0.043
0.069
0.0 16
0.027
0.042
0.066
0.030
0.041
0.029

0.52
0.42
0.56
0.56
0.62
0.42
0.48
0.42
0. 49
0. 44
0.57
0.52
0.31
0.57
0. 56
0. 58
0. 5!
0. 53
0.55
0.5!
0.53
0.39
0.46
0.55
0 60
0.48
0.61
0.4-i
0. 36
0.34
0. 49
0.34
0.48
0 53
0.47
0.46
0.57
0.44
0 49
0.43
0.49
0.48
0.50
0.47
0.44
0.41
0.40
0.48
0.5~

0.46
0.40
O.n l
0.62
0.47

11.4

All beats carefully weighed a nd checked.

Start ing with fluid metal on Monday nigh t.
Pig iron and metal charged, 497 long tons.
Iogots and scrap produce, 528 long tons.
Yield, 106 tons of ingots a nd scrap for e very 10) tons of mE tal charged.

An addition of 2700 lb. of scale and ore raised the metallic

iron to 25.14 per cent. The steel bath contained .009
silicon. An addition of 15,100 lb. of liquid metal con
taining 1.22 silicon was purified to the following extent in
a period of 10 ruinutes : i.e., silicon 91 per cent., carbon
36 per cent., phosphorus 56 per cent. From the second
ladle addition 88 per cent. of silicon is removed.
An investigation of Table "B " will show that the
beats are made up of three ladles of metal; the first two
contain practically all the charge, the third small addition being made after the others are purified, and is poured
in shortly before tapping. They mdicate most plainly
that the eecond addition of liquid metal is not pur1fied as
rapidly as the first. This is shown in the composition of
the metal after the first reaction, as the greatest! amount
of purification is always obtained from the first addition,
when the bath is purer, hotter, and ia also covered with
a ~hly oxidising slag.
hen the second addition is made these conditions
are nob there, as the metal is higher in metalloids, the
slag poorer in oxide of iron, and the bath cooler from
the large quantity of cold basic additions made after the
reaction. These additions, especially the lime, take some
t~me to liquefy. This can be remedted by increasin~ the
SJze of the furnace, so that a smaller percenta~e of hquid
metal can be worked in any given charge, and still have
the CJ,U&ntity poured out of the furnace at any one time
suffiCient in weight to suit the shop practice. Of course,
this question of the weight of heats dep_ends upon the
ladle and size of ingots. In our case at Pencoyd, about
20 tons is the minimum quantity we care to handle. A
furnace of 100 tons capacity, working not more than 20
t<? 25 per cenb. of liquid pig metal, in and out, would
y1eld heats in considerably less time than we are obtaining
them at present. This result mnst be obtained because
less purification would be necessary ; a smaller percentage
of basic additions would be used, and the temperature of
the bath would not be so much reduced.
This question of temperature is very vital for rapid
work. . The tests ~aken in heat No. 305, Table "A," confirm thlS. H ere IS a. bath of 104,000 lb. of metal finished
and hot enough to tap, covered with a. slag containing
22 ~2 ~etallic.iron. Into t~is bath was p oured 9300 lb.
of hq01d cast uon. Four mmutes were taken to pour this
in, and two minutes afterwards the bath was a. ({Ood

quality of soft steel, and the metal was hot enough to

ta.{>. The slag- also was reduced to 12.42 metallic iron.
This is approaching, if nob surpassing, the speed of a
Bessemer converter in purification, and we have only to
double the size of the steel bath and liquid ca~t iron addi.
tion to obtain about as large a quantity of metal as some
converters treat.
It therefore appears that every care should be taken to
keep the metal as near as possible to a satisfactory pouring beat. and this can be helped by the design of the furn.ace. Th~ capacity of the furnace ca.n. be increased every
t1me practtce has "Rl'Oved that the one 1n operation can be
safely enlarged. What the practical limit of size will be
we cannot eay with our present limited knowledge, b ut
if furnaces of 200 tons capacity come into use the
output of steel will be very large, as an addition of
10 per cenb. of liquid metal would be purified in a. few
minutes, and its temperature sufficiently raised in the
same short period of time. Working under these con
ditions would keep the temperature as near consta.nt as
possible, and the gas would speedily restore the heat.

If these Tables are consulted some interesting results

will be observed. They confirm the work a.nd deductions
of those eminent investigators, Sir Lowtbian Ben and
Mr. Snelus, who were amongstl the first to draw the
metallurgi~l world's ~ttention to the ~ducing power of
the metallo1ds of cast u on when brought m to contact with
liquid oxide of iron.
It will be noted that so long as the iron in the slag
remains above 20 per cent. the carbon and phosphorus
are eliminated together freely.
In those cases where the bath is cold and the iron is
about 12 per cent. in the slag the carbon is not oxidised
as ra:pidly a.s t?e _ phosp~10rus, wh.ich ~grees with results
obta.med by Su L owth1an Bell m hiS washing process
many years ag_o.
In Table " D " will be found the analysis of the basic
slag just before the furnace ia emptied.
Table " C" contains the weight of materials charged
and yields obtained.
In obtaining 106 t~ms of steel for every 100 tons of
m~ta~s c~arged we realise a very satisfactory result. This
gam m yteld ha<3 a beneficial effect in the cost sheet and
!eaves a ?an~some ma.r gin. after paying for the oxide of
u on wh1ch 1s UEed to brmg this about. It is a great

E N G I N E E R I N G.
contrast to the Bessemer, which wastes 13 per cent. or
more of the pig metal to do the same work. This yield
has been obtained with a low silicon metal, and will be
increased with more impure metals, so that with this
method we obtain exactly opposite results than with the
Bessemer, for in the latter the more impure the metal the
greater the loss.
The author considers that the method of working described in this p aper offers advantages over the ordinary
practice in many particulars. Amongst the chief of these
may be cited :
1. The cost and delay in charging cold material is
avoided.
2. A saving in fuel in charging molten pig iron, and
also through not cooling the furnace by charging cold
material.
3. The demand for a large and regular supply of good
scrap, so important in ordinary practice, is wholly dispensed with.
4. A re~ular supply of steel to the mills in any wishedfor quant1ty and at frequent intervals is insured.
5. An increase of output.
6. An increase of yield.
7. Less repairs to furnace.
8. Saving in labour charge.s, due to far less skilled
labour being re~uired per ~ven quantity of steel.
9. The possib1lity of usmg very large furnaces, with
conseq_uent reduction in cost of production, without the
necess1 ty for very large cranes and ladles.
In conclusion, the writer must express his thanks to
Mr. Percival Roberts, Jun., president of the Pencoyd
Iron Works, for his unfailing support, and for allowing a
special plant to be built wherein it was possible to obtain
satisfactory and commercial results from the start.
The writer is also indebted to Mr. Anson W. Alien,
chemist of the Pencoyd Iron W orks, far the large amount
of analyses which he has conducted in this research.

BOILER. EXPLOSION AT WELLINGTON.

A FORMAL investigation has been conducted at the

Town Hall, Wellington, by the Board of Trade relative
to the cause and circumstances of a boiler explosion
which occurred on March 27 at the Meeson Hall estate,
Wellington, belonging to Mr. Waiter Dugdale. By the
explosion the bailiff of the estate was killed. The Commissioners were Mr. Howard Smith, Barrister-at-Law,
and Mr. F. J. Pilcher, consulting engineer. Mr. K. E.
K. Gough appeared for the Board of Trade, and Mr.
Arthur Newman, solicitor, represented Mr. Dugdale.
In opening the proceedings Mr. Gough stated thab
the boiler, which was of the vertical type, was
made by a Mr. Poole, who had since given up business. It was sup{>lied new in 1877 by Mes.srs. Corbett and Sons, agncultural engineers, Wellington, to
Mr. .Billinge, who, at that time, was the owner of the
Meeson Hall estate. Mr. Billinge, who appeared to
have employed one of his own mechanics to effect repairs
to the boiler, died in 1887, and was succeeded by Mr.
Williams. He ooctlied the Hall until1889, when it was
purchased by Mr. W alter Dugdale, who employed Mr.
George Harper as his bailiff. It was Harper's duty to
look a.fter the boiler, and be had full authority to
call in Messrs. Corbett whenever any repairs were
required either to the boiler or the machinery; but
Mr. Gough thought that neither Harper, nor Mr.
Dugdale, were aware of the necessity of having the
boiler periodically examined by a competent person,
and, so far as be had been able to ascertain, no specific
instructions were given to Messrs. Corbett to examme it.
By this he meant that they had bad no instructions to
examine in order to ascertain the condition of the boiler,
apart from effecting any repairs which might be required
from time to time. The boiler appeared to have been
worked in the winter for an hour once a. fortnight at a
pressure of about 40 lb. on the square inch, for the purpose of supplying steam to an engine used for driving a
corn mill and an oat crusher. On the morning of
March 27 Harper had been working the engine for
20 minutes when the boiler exploded, and was carried to
a distance of about 6 ft. from its original position.
Harper was unfortunately killed. Shortly afterwards,
Mr. Hou2hton examined the boiler on behalf of the
Board of Trade, and found that the firebox had ruptured
for a length of about 22 in. in the vicinity of the firedoor.
The plates of the firebox were generally corroded until
their thickness in the vicinity of the rupture varied from
..Jt in. to -h in., and at one part of t he crown plate the
thickness varied from n in. to i in.
At the conclusion of his statemen t, Mr. Gough proceeded to call witnesses.
Mr. William Corbett said he was the senior partner of
the firm of Corbett and Sons, of Wellington. The boiler
in question was made for a working pressure of 60 lb. on
the square inch, but not more than 50 lb. was needed for
the work it had to do. His men cleaned out the boiler
when Mr. Williams took it over, and they would, he presumed, then examine i t, but nothing was reported to
be wrong as regarded the condition of the firebox
plates. Mr. Dugda:le baying purchased the. esta.te, and
the engine .and bo~ler w1th 1t, the .~rm rece1ved mstructions from t1me to time from the ba1hff, Harper (who had
the authority of Mr. Dugdale to order anv repairs when
needed) to send a man over to look at the boiler and do
whatever was required to be done. The question as to
what was necessary to be done was left in the hands of
the practical men they sent down. In March, 1898, a
bill was sent in to Mr. Dugdale for "overhauling and
repairing fittings of engine and boiler." Witness did
nob think that the man who attended to the boiler
on that occasion made a report as to its condition
at that time. He would not make any suggestions to
Harper as to what should be done to the boiler. He told

him, however, that it stood well, though he knew that it

was rather an old one. He knew that Harper had authority from Mr. Dugdale to have anything done to the
boiler that he thought necessary.
James Clay, in the employ of Messrs. Corbett and
Sons, said he served his apprenticeship as a fitter. He
had attended to the boiler at Meeson Hall estate on
various occasions. In 1892 he made some repairs, but
could not remember whether h~ then made any examination of the boiler. In 1807 he cleaned it out and fitted
to it a wrought-iron chimney, but could not say for certain
whether he then examined the boiler or not, but probably
he would tap it with a hammer as usual. In domg so he
believed he would be able to find any corrosion that might
exist on the fire side of the box. He again went to the
boiler in March, 1898, when he found sediment in it about
level with the mudholes. He had never received any
definite instructions to examine the boiler. He satisfied
himself as to its condition without any hydraulic test,
and believed it to be safe to work, judging by the uptake, which was in excellent order. He considered the
boiler safe to work at 50 lb. pressure when he last cleaned
it out. He came to the conclusion then that the boiler
was safe to work by sounding the plates, which seemed
quite strong and sound.
Mr. Waiter Dugdale said he was the owner of the
boiler, which he purchased with the Meeson estate in
1889. The boiler did not appear to him to be more than
three or four years old when he bought it, but he gave
instructions to Harper, his bailiff, to have it attended to
whenever he thought pro:per. Messrs. Corbett and Sons
had sent him bills from t1me to time, and the particulars
of these led him to believe that the firm had carried out
all the repairs that were needful.
Mr. Sidney A. Houghton, en~ineer-aurveyor to the
Board of Trade, said he exammed the boiler shortly
after the explosion occurred, and found that the plates of
the firebox bad become thin and much weakened by corrosion. There was a considerable amount of heavy scale
inside the firebox, which had been shaken off by the explosion. If it had been removed before the explosion,
and the plates examined, the corrosion ought easily to
ba.ve been detected. It might have been seen by putting
one's head in at the firedoor opening, but the view could
not have been a very satisfactory one. The firebox plate
bad ruptured through corrosion, and this was the cause
of the explosion.
Mr. Newman then addressed the Court on behalf of
his client, Mr. Dugdale, and contended that he taken
every reasonable precaution to insure the safety of the
boiler by authorising his late bailiff, H arper, to call in the
aid of a practical man whenever he thought it desirable.
Mr. Clay, asked by the Commissioners whether he
wished to make a statement, said he bad taken every
precaution in examining the boiler that he considered
necessary. Probably when hammering the boiler he had
struck that part which had proved to be ~ in. thick. He
had examined a large number of boilers, and had never
before, in all his experience, had a complaint about his
work.
Mr. Gough submitted that from the time the boiler
was laid down in 1887 to the day of the explosion it had
never been examined by any competent person, and no
steps had been taken to ascertain the pressure at which
it was safe to work it. The deceased man Harper no
doubt believed the boiler to be safe to work, but he (Mr.
Gough) submitted that he was not competent to manage
the boiler, in the sense of having sufficient technical knowledge to decide whether the pressure at which the boiler
was working was a safe one or otherwise. He wished to
point out in Mr. Corbett's favour that he had never
made a charge for an examination of the boiler.
After an adjournment, and an examination of the
boiler and premises by the Commissioners, lVIr. Howard
Smith gave judgment. He reviewed the evidence,
pointing out the defective state of the boiler, and said
that the Court held that Mr. Clay had not taken enough
pains to ascertain the thickness of the plates. At the
same time they considered Messrs. Corbett and Sons
quite justified in appointing him to examine the boiler,
though be was not capable of making calculations. Up
to the examination of the boiler in 1898, :Mr. Dugdale's
conduct in the matter was irreproachable ; but be showed
neglect by failin~ to see that the boiler was examined
subsequently. For the neglect of Mr. Clay the Court
held his employers, Messrs. Corbett and Son, responsible. They therefore made an order upon Messrs.
Corbett and Mr. Dugdale for the payment of 25l. each
towards t he costs and expenses of the investigation. Mr.
Clay also was ordered to pay the sum of 2l.

[ J UNE 22, 1900.

Riohardson and Co., Limited, from their Neptune ship.
yaf!i, Newcastleon-~ype, for the Pacific Steam NavigatlOn Company, Liverpool. The steamer is 400ft in
length by 50 ft. beam, and. 30 ft. in ~epth. She will be
fitted W1th two sets of tr1ple-expans1on engines which
wi~h the b~ilers, are also being_~onstructed by 'Messrs:
Wtgham R10hardson and Co., Limited. The vessel will
have accommodation for a limited number of passengers.
~h.e Tyne Iron Ship-Building Company, Limited, of

Wllhngton Quay-on-Tyne, launched, on Wednesday the

13th inst., a. steel screw steamer built to the ord~r of
Messrs. Societe Anonyme des Produits Resineux of
Antwe~p, and of the following dime.nsions: Le~gth,
318. ft. , breadth, 43ft.. ; depth, 27ft. 6 10. The engmes,
wh1~h ar~ to be supplied. b,r the 'Wallsend Slipway and
~ngmeermg 9ompa?y, Limlt~d, ar~ of the tri~_>le-expan
ston type havmg cylinders 24 10., 39 m., and 64 1n. in diameter by 42 in. stroke, and working at a pressure of
160 lb. The vessel was named the Clematis.
The Sunderland Shipbuilding Company Limited
launched on the 14th inst. a screw steam&r built to th~
order of Messrs. Jenkins and Co., Limited, of London
for their Shire line of steamers. The length of the vessel
is 378 ft.; breadth, 47 ft.; and depth moulded, 31 h. The
vessel's deadweigbt carrying capacity is 6500 tons. The
main engines are upon the tricompound principle, by
t~e . North-Eastern Marine Eng~neering .Company,
L1m1ted, Sunderland, and have cyJmders 25 m., 42 in.
and 70 in. in diameter by 45 in. stroke, steam being sup:
plied by two large steel boilers working at a pressure of
190 lb. per square inch.
On Thursday, the 14th inst., the large steel screw
steamer Heathcraig, built by Messrs. Craig, Taylor, and
Co., S tockton, for Messrs. Deas, F oster, and Co., London,
left the Tees for her trial trip. The dimensions of the
vessel are 372 ft. by 48ft. by 30ft. 11 in. moulded to spa.r
deck. She is constructed to carry about 7100 tons deadwei~ht, and has a bulk capacity of about 8500 tons. The
engmes have been constructed by the North-Eastern
Marine Engineering Company, Limited, Sunderland,
the cylinders being 25 iu., 42 in., and 68 in. in diameter
by 48 in. stroke. Three large steel boilers supply steam
at 180 lb. pressure. During the whole of the trip the
machinerr. worked with smoothness, a speed of 11~ knots
being easily maintained on the run from the Tees to the
Tyne.

- - -

Messrs. C. S. Swan and Hunter, Limited, Wallsendon-Tyne, launched on the 15th inst. a steel screw steamer,
built to the order of Messrs. A. C. De Freitas and Co.,
of H amburg. The leading dimensions of the vessel are:
Length over all, 392 ft.; beam extreme, 46ft. 3 in.; and
depth moulded, 31 ft. ; and she has been designed to
carry a deadweigbt of about 6760 tons on a moderate
draught of water. The engines are being built by the
North-Eastern Marine Engineering Company, of Wallsend, and will consist of a set of triple-expansion engines,
having cylinders 24~ in., 40 in., and 68 in. in diameter, by
48 in. stroke, steam being supplied by three single-ended
boilers, each 12 ft. 9 in. in d1ameter, by 11 ft. 6 in. Ion~,
180 lb. working pressure, and fitted with Howden s
system of forced draught. The vessel was named the
Macedonia.
Messrs. Ropner and Son, of Stockton-onTees, launched
on the 15th inst. a steel screw steamer of the following
dimensions, viz. : L ength between perpendiculars,
333 ft.; breadth extreme, 46 fb. ; depth moulded,
24ft. 9 in. She has been built to the order of Messrs.
English and Co., Middlesbrough, and will carry about
4925 tons deadweight on Lloyd's summer freeboar~. She
will be fitted with a set of triple-expansion engmes by
Messrs. Blair and Co., Limited, of about 1100 indicated
horse-power, the steam being supplied by two . steel
boilets 15ft. by 10ft. 6 in. working at 210 lb. She IS also
fitted with a.n evaporator and feedbeater, &c. The vessel
was named Stanhope.

Messrs. Robert Stephenson and Co., Limited, Hebburn

on-Tyne launched on Saturday, the 16th inst. a steel
~crew st~amer named Alleppo, built for Messts. Th?mas
Wilson, Son~, and Co., Limited, Hull. The machmery
has been constructed by Messrs. Sir Ohristopher Furness,
Westgarth, and Co., Limited, of Middlesbrough. The
vessel is of the following dimensions : Length betwePn
perpendiculars, 340 ft. ; breadth extreme, 47 ft. ; depth
moulded, 29 ft. 10 in. The vessel is fitted in the holds
with an iron fore-and-aft grain division from tank top
and tunnel to spar deck. The propelling machinery
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.
ON June 12 Messrs. L. Thompson and Sons, Limited, consists of a set of triple-expansion engines, a~d steam
S underland, launched a steel screw steamer1 built to the will be supplied from two single-ended steel boilers, the
o~de~ of the l?ternatio~al Line Steamship Company, working pressure being 165 lb. per square inch.
--L tmited, of Whttby. Thts vessel, named P retoria, 1s the
On June 16 there was launched ab Bergen, Norway, by
sixth vessel built by this firm for these owners. The
principal dimensions are: Length between perpendiculars the Laxevaags Engineering and Shipbuilding C<?mpany,
368 ft. ; breadth e:ctreme, 45 ft. 1q~ in,. ; and depth a steel screw steamer of about 1550 tons deadwetght, for
moulded, 28 ft. 4 m. Accommodat10n IS provided for Messrs. Job. E. von der Ohe and Lund, Bergen. T_he
a limited number of passengers in a large steel house vessel is 236 ft. long, 31 ft. 10 in. broad, and 15 fb. 8 m.
placed on to{> of the bridge at the forward end. The deck deep, and was named Carolus.
machinery. 18 supplied with steam by a multitubular
The new steamer D tl.leby, built by Messrs. Ropner
donkey boiler of 180 lb. pressure. The engines and
b<?il~ra have been c:m.structed '!>Y M68Srs. George Clark, Son, of Stock ton-on-Tees, to the order of Messrs. .
L1m1ted, of Soutbwwk Engme Works, Suuderland Ropner and Co., of West Har tlepool, made her offiCial
having cylinders 24 in., 40! in., and 68 in. in diameter by trial trip on the 16th inst. in the Tees Bay. The vAssel
45 in. stroke, supplied with steam by two large multl- will carry about 5600 tons dead weight on Llo~d's f~e
tu bular boilers working at 180 lb. pressure.
board, and her engines are of the triple-expa~s10n hrlD
ciple, by Messrs. Blair and Oo., Limite~. W1th a out
The Potosi, a steel twin-screw steamer, was launched 1200 indicated horse-power, she maintamed a speed of
on Wednesday, the 13th inst., by Messrs. Wigham about 10i knots during her trial,

a.r

JuNE

22,

xgoo.J

E N G I N E E R I N G

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT

RECORD.
CoMPILED BY

W. LLOYD WISE.

IBI.Ja""1'BD'"' ABBTRAOTS OF &BURNT PUBLIBBRD BPBOIFIOATIONS

UNDER THB ACTS 1888-1888.

!'he number of 1n'ews given in the Specification Drawings i8 stated

in each case ; where none ewe mentioned, the Specification i8
not illustrated.
Where inwnti01l8 are oommuni.cated from alwoad, the Names, &c.,
of the Communicators are given in italics.
Copt'es of Specifications may be obtained at the Patent 01/iU Sale
Branch, !5, Southampton Buildings, Chancery-lwne, W.C., at
the uniform price of Bd.
f'he date of the advertisement of the acceptance oj a complete
Spteijication is, in each case, given aJter the abstract, unless the
Patent has bun sealed, when the date of sealing is given.
.Any pergon may at any time within two months from the date of
the advertisernent of the acceptam.ce of a complete Specification,
give notice at the Patent Ojftce oj opposition to the grcvnt of a
Pa,tent on anv of the ground:s mentioned in the Act.

posal to use horizontally disposed wires with or without those ficial silk, can also be made hollow or in the nature of a. coating
which are placed vertically. (A ccepted .~.l1av 16, 19.)0.)
upon some other internal substance as a core, in the same way and
by the same process. Filaments made according to this invention
9367.
A. LebmaDn, Berlin, Germany. Storage are p roduced by the known method of allowing a 6uid or semi
Batteries. Ma.y 3, 1899.-The lead electrodes are prepared for 6uid material to pass out of a fine orifice either into the free air or
formation in an electrolyte containing or consisting of an into some hardening fluid ; but by this invention they are not
organic acid or acids of the fatty series. Electric current is passed through a. circular orifice, but through an annular orifice
passed from them till t hey are corroded and covered with a surrounding an orifice concentric with it, throu~h whioh latter
compound containing the organic acid, after which they are orifice there, at the same time, issues either a 6Uid of a prepara
thoroughly washed and then treated in an ordinary electrolyte tory or other nature, or some substance intended to form a core if
in the usual manner. (Accepted .April 25, 1900.)
a core is required. Such tluid issuing with the material of the
filament or coating through an orifice independently fed and
101301. W. Routledge, Durham. Wire-Bolder. separate from, though enclosed by the orifice through which the
[3 Figs.] May 16, 1899.-To cut otf current from a trolley line material for the filament or coating issues, enables the latter to be
cond~ctor as soon as the same becomes broken, it is proposed made tubular with or without a filling core. (Accepted Azay 9,
that 1t should be attached at the span ends to devices of the kind 1900. )

GAS ENGINES, PRODUCERS, BOIDERS, &c.

12,938. J. E. Dowson., London. Water Gas. [4 Figs.]

Fig. 7.

June 21, 1899.--This invention relates more particularlr. to apparatus for the production of water (or air) gae from b1tuminous
fuel. Currents of steam and air or of air only are first passed
upwards through a portion of the fuel re.sting on a horizontal
grate ; the said currents and the gases produced by them are
then made to travel in a horizontal or mclined direction for a
certain distance across the generator, and they leave through one
or more outlets in the lower part thereof through the back end,

EI.J:C'rRICAL APPARATUS.
5232. P. Kennedy, Brooklyn. U.S.A. Storage Bat-teries. [4 Figs.) March 20 1900:--It is proposed to provide

storage cells with compound piates composed of conductmq and

con-conducting material, the non-conducting material being

F0. 7.

illustrated, which maintain continuous contact as long as strain

is upon the wires, but which are hinged in such manner that upon
a wire breaking t he portion of the holder to which it is attached
falls and breaks contact with the remainder of t he line. (Accepted
May 16, 1900.)

5274. W. Y. Buck, Bristol. Ct., U.S.A. Electro

Plattng. [3 Figs.) March 20, 1900.-For the purpose of in-

suring that a deposit of silver or other electrically deposited

metal upon spoons, forks, or like articles which are subjected to
more wear upon one side than upon the other, shnll be produced

F4J.7.

----

(UU )

formed as an envelope perforated on both sides, and with interior

vertical passages (communicatin~r with the perforations), in which
tongues of the metallic conducting suppor t are contained. The
plates are pasted so as to fill the perforations in the non-conduct
ing material. (A ccepted May 9, 1900.)

of a. grea~r thickoass ~n t he side subject to the greater wear ;

the bath IS arrang-ed With two anode planes, and the articles to
be plated are suspended in two planes interior to the anode
planes, with their surfaces outw:uds, upon which it is desired
that the heaviest deposit of metal shall be p roduced. A form of
suspending spoon-holder is described. (A ccepted. JJfay 9, 1900.)

Fig. 2.

13,424. J. G. W. Aldridge, London. Electric Crane.

6002. J. c. Scbafer, E. Rtng, and P. Ltppold, Buda(2 F igs.] June 28, 1899. -The top of the crane pin is fitted with
an insulating plug through which the main conductors pass, and Pesth. Austria. Berzian Receivers. [3 F igs.] March
a re connected to bow-shaped brushes that are pressed out wards 20, 1899.- The inventors propose to use plates or strips of metal
by bow-shaped springs, both being fixed on the plug. The brushes
bear against insulated rings connected to the conductors from the

. . 7. t

r111 .2:_..:.======--

Fi

or through one or both sides, or they may go downwards and

escape through one or more outlets in or near the bottom
It is
stated that by u.sing a. horiz~n!.al grate and passing the durrents
of steam and atr throuJ.!h 1t 1n an upward ver tical direction a
greater uniformity is maintained in the condition of the fire over
t he ~bole of tpe grate area, at:d that there is greater facility for removmg .the choker and ash: many of the well-known advantages
of working a gas ~enerator upwards being retained. Contribu
tory and other devtces are described. (Accepted May 9, 1900.)

.2 .

--

5247. N. Vincke, M~ltDes, Belgium. Explosion

Moto~ C~Unders. [1 Fzg.] March 20, 1900.-The cylinder is

cast wtth 1ts water Jacket, outlet and inlet valve, and igniter

-" insulatedly superposed "-to form receivers for Herzian telegraphy; t he apparatus is not unlike a condenser in arrangement
and is maintained in a damp condition. (Accepted JlLay 16, 1900.)

12 879. R. Baddon, London. (J. Starch, The Bayiri$clte

11m
Gl1tt!ampen. Fabrik, E. M. Reiniger, and G. Ludeche, Munich,
Ge1many.) Hollow and Coated Filaments. [2 Fi{ls.]
June 20, 1899. - Hollow filaments such a.g are used for iocan
motors, but mounted one above the other io cylinders fixed on descent electric lamps, and in certain instances also solid filaments
the crane-cabin floor. The crane and cabin floor thus rotate
without interfering with the conductors. The brushes are made
[
()f gauze, and on th~ outside is placed a thin strip of copper.
. .
The invention is not limited to cranes, but is applicable to
similar revolving structures. (.A ccepted Jlfay 16, 1900.)

I
I

12,420. F. Brann, Strassburg, Germany. Berzlan

Telegraph Receivers. [10 Figs.] June 14, 1899.- To increase

the co11eotiog power of the vertical conductor without increasing

its capacity to such a great extent as would be the case were a

Fig . 7.

-----.,-- ... --

--

---- -.=:::::-=-

______ ...

-----

-- -

~)

plate of large surface attached to it, it is divided or doubled and

led in a number of parallel vertical paths. When the collector is
a single conductor doubled upon itself, it is proposed to screen
~ither the up or down running portion t hereof. There is a pro

which have a coating of some other substances have it is stated

seve~al advat?tages .o,er ordinary solid and u'ncoat~d filaments:
p~t1cularlr m ha,mg greater strength and resistance with a
thickness httle greater than that of an ordinary filament. Suoh
filaments also a~ are made for other purposes, for example, arti-

?B.Sing, integral, and there is a central screw-threaded 0 enin

m ~he bottom (p~eferably through a boss-shaped protuberafoe) ~
whtch a stopper 1s screwed and over which a cap is tltted
(.A
cepted May 9, 1900.)

C
13~17. Taite, Boward, and Co., I.imited, &Dd J
E. ~oward, London. Air and Gas Compressor
[5 !fgs:J June 27, 1~9.-A compre880r, having a doublea~tin
oscill~tmg cylinder wtth hollow trunnions which form the 'nl ~
and d18oharge, ~s the subject of this invention. The cylinde: h!a
double 'Yalls, w1th a. space between them, open at each end and
~wo cylmdrical valve chambers are formed in this space ' Tb
mlet and outlet valves to the cylinder screw into the ope
~
of t hese valve cha~bers, whioh, b7 a p~age, communica~ ~~th
the hollow t runmons. The cyhnder 1s provided with hollow

E N G I N E E R I N G.
covers, into which the spaces between the walls open, the whole
forming a water jacket. The cylinder being an oscillating one,
connec tions to the water jacket are made with flexible hose. The
specification states that one great advantage obtained is the easy

nion is provided with a shoulder of the same dia meter as the

annular collar . To place the gun in its bearings, retainine plates
or rings are slipped on to the shoulders of the trunnions, then the
latter are guided into the rear openin~s in the body of the bearing. When the covers have been ehdden into the body of the

Fig . 1.

. '-J .

a-~

()

[JUNE

...

1900.'

of ~be sea. is measured by ~h& adt~ission of water to a tubular

ca.smg agamst the compressiOn of atr contained within it and it
has for objec t mainly the provision of devices by means C:r which
escape of the water entering the casing is prevented whilst the
~radual outflow of. the confined air ma.}: be permitted in drawing
m~oard the sounding; appara.tus. The tmproved apparatus comprises a. tubular casmg, whtch. m~y be of unifor m bore or of
larger dtameter at one end, whtch ts closed, whilst the opposite
end has in it an orifice through which the water admitted to th&
casing may b~ p~ured out or its depth measured by a dip rod or
scale, and wh10h ts normally closed by a fluidtight cap or cover.

bearings the retaining plates or rings are pushed off t he shoulders

of the t runnions on to the internal collars on the bearing and
cover ; similar plates or rings a re placed upon the external collars,
and the whole secured by looking screws. The removal of the
gun is effected by the performance of these before-mentioned
operations reversed in order. (A ccepted M ay 6, 1900.)

,..,

t'

II

t'

MACHINE AND OTHER TOOLS, SBAI'TING, &c.

10,278. B. B. P. Powles, London. Callipers. [5 Figs.]

,...,

. l

.,I

'

1 I

I..!

May 16, 1899.- This invitation relates to measuring instruments,

and is based on the fact that t he Yersed sine of an angle varies as
the square of the chord of t he arc subtending t he a ngle. One
form of the instrument used for giving the area of a circle from
the measurement of it& diameter consists of a pair of callipers for
measuring the diameter of a cir cle. Attached to the callipers is a
system of levers and guides ananged so as to move an index,
ver nier, or scale in t he direction of t he versed sine of the angle,
whilst the distance between the calliper jaws, measure~ the chord

Ft9.Z.

22,

fig. 7
I

''

{ltp.s, I

q)

'

way in which it is possible to gain access to any part of the ma

chine, for by disconnecting the crosshead the cylinder can be
I
turned at right angles when the water jacket covers, valves, cyI I 1 I I
linder covers, and piston can be withdrawn and r eplaced. (A ccepua .May 16, 1000.)
of the a rc subtending the an~le whose versed sine is measured
by the index, vernier . or scale. One for m of this instrument
GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.
only is described, but it will be seen that it is cn.pa ble of mod ifi
It is not stated that t h e use of the in9trument should be
14.771. A. Reichwald, London. (Fried. Kr-upp, E ssen , cation.
confined to the determinine of t he areas c f circles alone, but conGermamy .) Telescopic Sights. [6 F igs.] July 18, 1899.This invention consists in so connecting the telescope with its versely it is stated that it may be used for determininll' the- diasupporting bar to the ~un that the mechanism for effecting t he meter of circles of given a reas, and also by modification of the
for determining the a reas of squar es when the side i~ given ,
lateral adjustment of the telescope is as completely isolated as scale
conversely ; or for squaring a numbet and the converse. (.Acpossible from the effects of t h e firing, the wear of the moving or
parts considerably reduced, and the accuracy of the adjustment cepted ~(ay 6, 1900.)
thus preserved. Rigidly connected to th e suppor ting bar is the
MILLING AND SEPARATING MACHINERY.
h ead which carries the telescope and encloses the mechanism for
adjusting the lateral deflection. The telescope is carried by two
8275. W. N. Bertram and S. MUne, Edtnburgh.
Paper-Pulp Machines. (2 F igs.) April 20, 1899.-Tbe
vacuum in vacuum boxes used in the manufacture of paper is
. 7.
"'"""' Fig.2 .

At any point in the casing, but preferably at the upper end, a.

small tube is connected to admit water to the casing when
immersed, the said tube terminating inside the casing in a stempiece closed at its end, but having around it a series of small
orifices which are covered by a sleeve of flexible material, such asrubber, oiled silk, or thin metal to serve as a self-closing valve,.
which, whilst allowing free ingress of water, precludes its escape.
Small air boles may be formed in the portion of the inlet tube
above the valve to allow of the gradual escape of air as thesounder is bein~ drawn up, or a special valve may be pro\ided
to release the atr after t he sounder is brought on board. {Accepted btay 9, 1900.) .

3672 J. A. Ruhdeschel, Kulmbaeh, Germany.

Brewing Apparatus. [1 F ig.] February 24, 1900.-This

apparatus for making coloured malt and for pasteurising beer,.

comprises a vessel fnr receiving the material to be treated and
having internal mixing devices, and an exter nal source or sources.

.. ---' '

,.. - - - - ....... .J

,.....

I I

to'
~~-~-- -------- I
-- --------

I!

'

:~------ -- -- t- . ,! :' I'

i1

'l-.1

,L

1
pivots, on one of which it rotates, while the other is engaged by a.
parallel(.tUided sleeve, the movement of which causes the telescope to be lateral!Y deflected .. The screwed spindle, by m.eaf?S C?f
wh1ch the sleeve lS operated, IS made hollow, and has w1thm tt
a smaller non-rotating spindle, which, upon rotation of the fi rstmentioned spindle, is moved endways ; the fractions of degrees of
rotation is r ead off on a scale applied to the first or rotating
spindle, and the whole degrees of the angle of rotation of the
telescope is read off on a scale on t he reciprocating spindle.
(A ccepted M ay 16, 1900.)

13,799. A. Reichwald, London. (Fried. Kru.p p, Bssen,

Germanu.) Recoil Brake for Guns. [6 Figs.] July 4,
1899.-According to this invention the motion of the recoiling
portion of the gun is t ransmitted to t he springs for running the
gun forward again, through a rope and pulley connection, thereby
shortening the travel of the springs. The gun slides in the cradle
as usual, and in the c radle is mounted the brake cylinder in
which works a brake piston rigidly attached to the barrel of t he
gun. The brake oyhnder and an extension thereof are sur-

produced by an ejector operated by liquor from t he pulp, whioh

liquor is forced under pressure by means of a. power-operated pump
thr ough the ejector and from t hence returns again to t he pulp.
(Accepted .bf ay 9, 1900.)

of heat, and it is so a rranged that after being tilled it may beclosed air and steam tight. In the illustrated form of apparatus,
MISCELLANEOUS.
according to this invention a reiistering thermometer, mano
12,610. J. F. Duke, London. Recovering Gold. metres, safety and shut.-off ~alves, and a sample drawing outlet
[2 F i gs.) June 16, 1899.-The inventor states that be has dis- are provided. (Accepted Jfay 9, 1900.)
covered that gold may be precipitated from solution in sea. water
5227.
Fraser, Glasgow and J. Bryson, llidby means of the calcic or a.luminic earths which are decomposed
[1. Fig.1 Mar?h 20,
by chlorine or bromine, and proposes the followin~ method of Caldar. Treatin~ Mineral
gold recovery, p resumably for use in such situations as exist 1900. - This invention ts for the purpose of cooling m~eral oils and
where chalk, in some places widely distributed from the cliffs, for enabling the ready extraction therefrom of the sobd _paraffin. A
of tubular vessels conneoted together have _rotatmgscrac\iers
has not already denuded the inshore water of its gold. A tank series
t herein in combination with jacketed casmgs surroun ng
is formed on or about the tidal level and is arranged with pipes fitted
the said vesseis. In the apparatus shown in t he drawing the tubular

w.

Oils.

--

.
~

'
(!~

rounded by the springs, which, at one end, bear _against a fixed

abutment of the cradle, and at the other en,d agamst.an annula r
pulley carrier eliding upon the b rake cyhnder or 1ts tnbular
extension. A roP.e attached at one end to lugs on t he barrel of
tbe gun and at 1ts other end to lugs on the cradle, passes o~r
each pulley mounted on the pul~ey carrier . It is s~ated that a
single rope pulley may be used mstead of two, or metead o.f a
single tackle, a multiple one may be employed whereby a?cordmg
to tbe number of pull('yS employed the length of the spnng may
be r educed. (Accepted Alay 16, 1900.)
13 965 A. Reichwald London. (Fried. Krupp, Essen,
GerrMny.) Trunnion Bearings. [5 Figs.J Jul.Y 6, 1~~.-The
body of t he bearing is integral with the gun carna~e ; 1t IS open
towards the breech end of the gun, and is closed by a cover '~hose
top and bottom edges are shouldered t o. flt the correspondtn~ly
shaped opening in the body of the _bearm!!'S, so that the ~O\ er
cannot be drawn out, but must be shd out 1aterally. On e1ther
side of the bearing is an annular collar form ed partly on the
'body of the bearing and partly on the cover, and enoh t run

..

--- --

-.
-----

- .......
- --and valves in such manner that after the tide has risen nearly to its
full height the water may be admitted along the bottom of the
tank in such manner as to thoroughly stir up a deposit of chalk
thereon. The chalk is then allowed to settle, and at low water
t he supernatant liquid is allowed to flow away slowly t hrough
pipes t~king from a level hi'ther than that at whioh the water
was admitted. Alter a number of adml88ions of water, the chalk
sludge may be drawn off and the gold therein (if sufficient in
quantity) recovered by fusion with a flux or otherwise. (Accepted
bl ay 9, 1900.)

vessels are connected by bent pipes so that liqu!d ente~ing_ at one

end flows through t he whole series. Ammoma coohng 1s preferred and the wax is removed from off the ~ubular ves~els by the
rotating scrapers and is carried along by the ?il and dep_ostted ther.efrom into filter presses for the purpose of bemg made m to cakes m
the usual way. (A ccepted Mav 9, 1900.)

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOB.

thd

Descriptions with illustrations of inventions paten~ in

United States of America from 1847 to the. present tl.Dle, an
12,658. J. C. Dobbie, Glasgow. Sounding Appa- reports of trials of patent law cases in the Uruted States,B:HY:::
o
ratus. (4 Figs.) June 17, 1899.-Tbie invention r elates to consulted, gratis, at the offices of ENOINBBRINO, S5 and 36,
navigational sounding apparatus of the kind in which the depth street, Strand.