D Ec. 29, r8g3.]

A NE\V PERU. (F R 0 l\I A 0 0 R RE .· J:> 0 N DENT.)

(Concluded from page 752.) NEW R AI LWAY PROJEC'l'S.

AT present t he Department of Piura, which is r eckoned as the richest agricultural department in the Republic, has but one railway- that between Paitl\ and Piura (33 miles), with an extension to Catacaos of a. few miles. The latter portion is operated by a separate corporation, but may be considered as forming part of the longer road. The distance of 33 miles is travelled in t he alarming t-ime of four hours ! Thus the Paita.Piura Rl.ilway may lay j ust claim to the title of a '' record­br eaker"-oxen teams barred.

The Port of Paita is the third most important in the Republic, and is called at by all t he mail steamers, as well as those plying between Europe and South America cia the Straits of !\I agellan. The harbour is well sheltered on the north-east,

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£ N G l N £ E R 1 N G. 777 the fissures have increased in siz~ . The road-bed, I but for the existence of t he Pongo de Manserich~, a rails carriages and engines of the line would be narrow gorge cut out of the solid rock by the actwn very' much improved if they were all re-made, as of the water (see Fi~s. 3 and 4). . . . they are in a wretched state of dilapi~ation. If the Th.e Maraiion Rtver, after bemg JOined by t~e proposed new road is to be worked with any degree Sanhago, suddenly contracts, and through this of success, the present line must be thorough1y over- ' ' gut " t he whole vo~ume o~ wat~r has . to paes. hauled, as it forms the connecting link between The Pongo de ManserlChe (~tg. ~) IS 7l mtles long, Piura and the coast. and averages about 250 ft. In w1dth, Its narro~e.st

The line for which the righ t of way has been part being l~ss t han ~50 ft. When rains prevail In obtained is to run from Piura to Tambo Grande, the mountams formmg the great watershed of the and thence to Morropon . This line will tap a very Upper M arafion valley'· the fl~od of water thro~gh good district, that will increase in value as the the narrow r ocky p~s~ Is terrific,. and ev~n durmg work of irricration procrresses but its real value will the "dry " season It IS only navigable with bolsrus lie in the tact t hat it form~ the first section of a or rafts under the control of Indians, who are the road, the importance of which has not been eq uallcd only people who can !1an~le t hef!l in such a dangerous in Peru, or, indeed, one could safely say, in western locality. At SanBorJa(FJg. 2), ~Ituated at t.heeaste~n South America. For some time past several pro- end of the Pongo de Manseriche, the nver aga1n minent men have been trying to obtain the conces- widens out, and becomeg navigable for all clas.ses of sion for a railway from Piura to Huancabamba, and vessels. About eleven leagues from San BorJa the thence to the R io Marafion on the eastern side of 1.\-Iarafion is joined by the Rio Morona, from the the mountains (see map, Fig. 2). No one has yet north, and by the Rio Pastaza, also from the north,

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east, south, and south-west, by a high bn l'I'Ctlnca or bluff, and is unaffected by any strong winds t hat may blow from those quarters, while t he west and north-west winds ar e generally light. The water is deep close to shore, enabling the large P acific ' team Navigation Company 's vessels to anchor within about 200 yards of the small pier opposite the Custom House. A new pier, to extend to deep water, so that vessels may lie alongside, is con­templated, and would do much to enhance the importance of the port.

The town itself is small, being confined to the beach, and backed by the high bank on all sides. It is also not over-clean, as there are no sewers, owing to the absence of any water supply, and to the existence of a " go-as-you-please" sanitary system. I t is wonderfully healthy, however, as is evidenced by the fact that. not one in twenty of t he inhabi­tants could tell you where the graveyard is located.

The port is the only gateway through which the exports and impor ts from and to the Provinces of Piura and Ayavaca pass, except, it may be added , an occasional cargo that finds its way ashore at night a short distance away, in order to avoid any dispute with the Custom H ouse authorities as to the correctness of the duties.

The railway station is in the town, and trains have to climb a rather stiff gradient along the face of t he bluff before arriving on th~ tablazo, where the surface of the ground is perfectly level as far as Huaca, a distance of about six leagues. The per· ma.nent way between the town and the top of the t((blaz.o is uot such as will engender enthusiasm for t ravelling of ten by the line, for t he first impres­sion is- and it is apt to be a lasting one- that some day the vibration <Jf the moving t rain will be too much for the clay shelf upon which the sleepers are laid, and there will be a fall in railway stock (rolling) that will be attended by most disastrous consequences. As it is, the clay is cracked in many places, and one imagines, when passing the place for the second or third time, that

succeeded in securing the righ t, which, wi thout doubt, will open up a part of Peru vastly superior to the portion now occupied, both as regards natural resources and geographical position. The north­eastern department of Peru, known as Loreto, has an area almost equal to that of all the other depart­ments taken together, and throughout this vast dis­trict is a network of rivers that render it capable of producmg unlimited quantities of all kinds of grain, fruit, and vegetables. The territory is as yet covered by a. virgin forest, containing all classes of trees, from the rubber tree on the Brazilian frontier to the hard wood on the slopes of the Andes. In mineral wealth it is also very rich, gold and copper being discovered in many places by travellers who had the courage to pass through its trackless forests. But all these are inaccessible. The journey from Lima to the capital of the department, Moyobamba, can be made by hard riding in about 30 days, and the journey to I quitos, the important Government station on the Rio Marafion, in not less than 80 or 90. By the accompanying map it will be seen that the only gateway to the district is from the direction of P iura, and it is for the privilege of opening this path that so many are now seeking.

The west.ern chain of the Cordilleras is broken at two points on the boundary line between the Department of Cajamarca and the Department of the Amazonas. Through the most southerly de­pression the Rio Tamborapa flows from the foot­hills west of Tabaconas, thus forming an easy crossing of the Cordilleras to the Maraiwn, where the count ry is level, in the direction of the ~Lream. 1'he other depression is near the head waters of a small river that also flows into the Marafion, and if this route were adopted the line would pass through Chirinos, as shown on the map. There are but two difficult portions on the line : the first, t he ascent to Huancabamba, and the other the crossing of the Rio Santia~o, which has a strong current, and is of considerable width. The terminus of the road would have been located in the town of Santiago

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at about 20 leagues. Those two rivers are fed by nine lakes, besides d raining a considerable water­shed which ex tends into Ecuador. Thirty leagues from San B orja the Rio Huallaga enters the l\1arafion from the south. This tributary has its source in the mountains of which the famous Cerro de Pasco is the principal point, and it thus drains a territory extending over six degrees of latitude along the eastern slopes of the western Cordilleras. From the junction of the Huallaga the Rio Maraiion becomes a noble river, in which vessels of large tonnage could n avigate, and as it flows eastward its volume is further increased by the Rios Ucayli and Napa. The Ucayli is the longest river in the Republic, r eaching as far southward as the Depart­ment of Arequipa, where it is known by the local name of Epurimac. The Napa, on the other hand, is a large river, flowing from the north, where it taps the watershed of the mountains in southern Ecuador, and drains the enormous district to the south -west of t he mountains on the borders of N ueva Granada.

At the junction of the Napa, the !\iaraiion merges its identity with that of the Amazon, of which very little need be said here, except that it would form a connecting link between the Peruvian territory of L oreto and the Atlantic Ocean, the Marafion being both deep and wide enough to admit of vessels of large tonnage reaching even the town of San Borja.

But it is from the Pacific side that the import. anco of the rail way proposed can be seen. Through· out the west coast the Republic is dependent for timber upon California and the extreme south w bile in the Department of the Amazon as alon~ t here is sufficient to enable her to enter into com­petition with all the lumber-producing countries. Not only that, in the Department of the Amazonas the coft·ee plant is found in abundance, and the samples of wild rice that have been brought from there are equal to a great deal that is imported.

The railway, allowing for all curves, would be

less than 350 miles, and the gradients, even in the ascent to Huancabamba, would not exceed the limit of 3 per cent. Ample timber for sleepers is close at hand, and the climate, if the fevers met with in all thickly-wooded districts are excepted, is healthy. The Indians of the district are known to be of a very peaceful temperament, totally unlike those of the southern Andes, who have a very unfriendly habit of introducing their rnachete::; to strangers before they go through the ceremony of making their acquaintance themselves. They live in bliss­ful ignorance of the efforts that are being made to obta1n permission to open up their country, but when that is accomplished, t hey will perhaps be the means of developing the land for the benefit of their western brethren.

The following is a summary of the two routes by which a road can be built :

1. From Piura the line would run directly east­ward to the bank of the Huaramaca River, when it would change direction and follow the west bank of that stream. It would then rise by easy gradients toward the town of Huancabamba, but it is ques­tionable if the construction of the line would not be rendered less difficult by crossing the river at Seran and gradually working into the valley of the Rio Huancabamba south of the town of S6udor, keeping San Filipe on the east. The gradient at this point would reach the maximum, as a ridge of comparatively high mountains would have to be crossed before the valley of the Tarn borapa could be reached. Once the ridge is passed, the gradients would become light, as the slopes on the eastern side are easy. Passing through J aen la Viega, the line would follow the course of t he Rio Marafion, crossing the Rivers Parcasa and Turumbusa about two leagues from their j unction with the main stream.

2. The line after leaving Huancabamba would cross toward Chirinos, and thence through the pass at the head waters of the Parcasa River to the eastern slope, where it would join the first line.

A third line, although longer than either of t he above, is one which, on reaching the valley of the Huancaba.mba, follows it until near Pimpingos, a.nd then turns northwards along the side of the river. This line can be carried across the Marafion at Yam on, close to where the Huancabamba joins, and then over practically level country along the east bank of the l\1arafion . By this route the crossing of the Rio Santiago can be avoided, and that would mean a large item of expense, as the bridge for such a river would have to be a very impor tant structure, and the foundations alone would prove more costly than the side-cut necessary to pass the P ongo de Manseriche.

It is stated that an estimate of 2,000,000l. has been made, but that is a rather low figure for the work considering the difficulties in the vicinity of Hua~cabamba. Anyhow, the matter is now being discussed with great interest, and no doubt the present .)ongress at Lima wil~ take some . action in definitely settling the q uestwn of openmg up a territory whose riches are known, but at present unattaina.bl e.

THE AMERIOAN SOCIETY OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS.

(FROM OUR NEW YORK CoRRESPONDENT.)

(Concluded f rom page 755.) STEEL SHIPS OF THE UNIT~D STATES NAVY.

THE next paper was one of genera~ importan~e, and presented by a man well .kno~~ 1n the s~ee1al line treated of. It was entitled, Steel Ships of the United States Navy," and was prepared by Theo. D. Wilson, late Chief Constructor U.S.N. This was the most elaborately illustrated of any paper presented, and was sai~ by. many. to be one of the most impor tant; certawly it ~as hstened to with though tful attention and discussed at

length. 'b d h The distinguished author dcscr~ c t e con-ditions under which the constructwn of the new navy of t he United States was undertaken, and stated that as we had no plant suitable for hea~y forgings or guns, the development was ~t first. 1n the Jirection of construction most readily carrte.d on. To-day conditions were .changed,. and th1s country can produce eve~yth1ng requ~ed for a man-of-war, and in quant1ty and quahty ~ns.ur­passed. He held that to-day t~ere were no. hmlta­tions on designers in producmg a warsh1p, not even that of cost. Since 1883, forty-three vessels and two torpedo-boats have been added to our

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

navy. The first class of navy vessels considered was cruising gunboats. These are protected only against the fire of ligh t guns, and at present we have nine ships of t his class, which have proved eminently satisfactory, although t heir speed is not to-day equal to the requirements due to a develop­ment in the line of torpedo-boats. In regard to protected cruisers, Mr. \Vilson st:J.ted as follows :

''It is in the protected cruiser class that the greatest progress has been made. ln all sixteen vessels have been built or are building. Their size varies from 2000 tons in vessels of the Detroit class to 7350 tons in the Columbia and her sister ship, the Minneapolis. The Olympia may be re­garded as a developmen t of the design of the San Francisco, the horse-power being relatively in­creased, and the first step being taken t oward the more complete protection of the heavier guns of t.he main battery by placing them in pairs in turrets. The military value of the vessel is much greater than of any of the ships of this class that have preceded her. "

In respect t o armoured cruisers, Mr. Wilson said :

" The earliest design of armoured cruisers was that of the Maine. The New York, whose design followed that of the Maine, contains all the features of protection , buoyancy, and stability embodied in the designs of the later protected cruisers. In the Brooklyn the displacement was increased for the purpose of allowing a heavier battery to be carried, and additional protection was given to all of the guns of the main battery. The Brooklyn has more free board forward than the N ew York ; but the principal differences consist in the increase of battery and its additional protection against high explosive she11 fire. "

Speaking next of battleships, Mr. Wilson re­marked :

"Five battleships have been begun. The Texas may be considered as an isolated type, whose fea­tures have not been repeated in more recent ships. She was followed by the three vessels of the Oregon type, which, it is believed, may be regarded as t he most powerful additions yet made to our navy, or, for that matter, to any navy. Both t he 13-in. and the 8-in. guns are p rovided with complete armoured protection. The I~wa, the last battleship designed, differs from the vessels of the Oregon class in having improved nautical qualities, due to an in­crease of freeboard forward. The calibre of the heavy guns is reduced from 13 in. to 12 in., and the armour is generally reduced in thickness, the side armour being 14 in . thick on the I owa, as against 18 in. on the Oregon."

The next class was the monitors, of which there are six, with a displacement of 26,020 tons; five of these were built nearly ten years in advance of the time under consideration, although work on them was suspended for a number of years. In 1885 to 1887 their designs were so modified that they may be considered as belonging to the new navy. Of these but one is completed, viz. , the Miantonomoh. The Monterey, the last monitor under construction, is modern in design, and has greater speed, thicker armour, and heavier guns. She also has large water ballast tanks, so that her freeboard can be materially reduced. There are four special service boats and two first-class torpedo-boats, but Mr. "\Vilson did not go into details. As to torpedo gun­boats he was emphatic, and declared:

"In the class of torpedo gunboats absolutely nothing has been accomplished, and when the marked development which this class of vessels has received in all foreign services is considered in con­nection with the great military value that may be given to these small and comparatively inexpensive vessels, their total absence from our fleet is greatly to be regretted. Taken in connection with the want of torpedo-boats, t he absence of any torpedo gunboats in the list of our new vessels must be re­garded as a serious we8:kness, a!ld one t~at should be remedied at the ear hest poss1ble date.

Considering the protected and armoured cruisers together, the Commo~ore considered them larger, faster and more heav1ly armoured than any t hey would have to encounter, and complimented the United States on their possession. H e thought, however in what is known as fleet service, our navy w~s very weak, and this was d ue to the facts already stated, of the inability to construct such ships at t~e t~me. the new navy :vas und~rtaken, but that oLJectwn iS now removed; 111 fact, Ius state-men t was as follows :

"In continuing in the immediate fu t ure t he de­velopment of our nat ional policy of naval construc­tion, the classes of vessels of which we have the greatest need are battleships, torpedo gunboats, and torpedo-boats. With the material resources now available, there is no longer any limitation to the results that may be accomplished other than that which the wisdom of Congress and the Executive may place upon the naval designer through the limita­tion of cost."

The author then concluded thus : '' I t is impossible to conclude this brief summary

of the work accomplished towards the construction of a modern fleet wtthout referring especially to the manner in which t he private shipyards of the country have contributed to the success of the re­sults obtained. When it is remembered that all but four of the new steel ships have been built by contract, the aid rendered t he country by private shipbuilders will be appreciated, and higher praise to the thoroughness of t heir work cannot be given than is implied by the simple s tatement of fact that in no c~tse has the contract speed of any vessel failed to be obtained on trial. "

THE ENOHiES OF UNITED STATES w AR VESSEL .•

The next paper, being by the Engineer -in-Chief of the United States Navy, naturally dealt wit·h the topic he knows so much about. It was entitled, " Notes on Machinery of the N ew Vessels of the United States Navy," by George \V. Melville, Engineer-in-Chief U. S .N.

This distinguished author considered that our new navy began with the construction of the Roach cruisers Atlanta, Dolphin, &c. As horizontal engines were used coming below the protective deck, no vertical armour is required. In the days when the speed was 12 knots, it was not a problem to run at 8. But now, when 18 to 20 knots is de­manded, a reduction to 10 knots is a different matter. The friction alone is an enormous factor, and the immense cylinder condensation is another, when the question of running 16,000 horse-power at a greatly reduced speed is considered. The earliest method to solve this was that of having two sets of engines on one shaft, and throwing out one when reduction was desired. Anoth er method suggested by triple-expansion was to t hrow out the lo w-pre~sure ·cylinder , and running as a compound engine with the two smaller cylinders, which, although not economical, was yet more so than running a large triple-expansion engine with reduced power.

" The next method which suggested itself is the subdividing of the very large power among three engines instead of two, giving us the triple-screw ship, so that ~t very low speeds only the central engine need be used, t he propellers of the side engines being disconnected and allowed to revolve freely. Of course, in this case there is the loss due to the work necessary to drag these propellers through the water, and to offset this is the gain from saving the friction of running two large engines in a t win-screw ship. The experiments by Chief Engineer Isherwood, at the Mare I sland Navy Yard in 1874, on the power necessary t o turn screw propellers, when disconnected and allowed to revolve freely, show that the loss in this way is very slight, and there can be little doubt that this will by no means be equal to the power which would be absorbed in the friction of the large mov­ing parts of two large engines. Then, as has already been pointed out, we shall have a single engine working up to pretty nearly its full power, when the steam economy would be good, while in the case of the two large engines working at very reduced powers the steam economy reduced by condensation would be very low. Tho first of our triple-screw cruisers, the Columbia, has just had her official trials, which have been a great success as far as working at maximum power is concerned. Of course, there has been no oppor­tunity yet to determine the economy of working at reduced powers by the use of a single screw, but by a study of the logs of the New York and the Columbia for a couple of years, we shall be able to form a very clear idea as to which of these methods is the better one for economy.

" Still another very ingenious method of combin­ing an engine which shall be fairly economical at full power with one which shall have good economy at moderate powers is the engine which we have just designed to go in Gunboat No. 7 of our navy. The primary conception of this idea is due to Pro­fessor Hollis, of Harvard University, until recently

•

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

T ABLE SHOWING ExPENDITURE~ o .P C OAL o N U.S.S. "CrrA RLE TON " AT V ARI OCS SPEEDS.

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10 960 2.5 26.5 11 1290 2.4 27.6 12 1710 2.3 29.0 13 2220 2.2 3<'. 7 H 2820 ~. 1 32.7 15 3550 2.0 35.2 16 4370 1.!) 37.9 1'i 5220 2. 1 40.7 18 6120 25 43.7

19'4 2.5 20.1 2.8 20.8 3.1 2 l.7 3.6 23.2 4.2 24.6 6.0 27.3 6.2 30.6 7.5 35.9 9.3 41.1 11.4 47 .5 14.0 58.0 17.1 70.0 20.6 84.8 24.0

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17.6 36.8 69.6

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26.5 79.0 26.6 80 2 26.5 81. 6 20.5 83.3 1 26 6 85.9 26.5 8a.7 26.5 93.4 26.6 99.1 26.5 107.G 26.5 116.6 26.5 130. 1 26.5 1F0.1 26.5 179.5 26.5 219.7 26.5 288.7

I

one of my assistants in the Bureau of Steam Engi­neering, and the subsequent working out has been under my direction, and modified to suit all the circumstances of the case.

' 'In this case it was desired to combine as m«tny desirable features as possible, so that the machinery was not only to be economical, but to be very light. vVith this latter end in view, more than two-thirds of the boiler-power is in the shape of tubulous boilers, whose weight, as is well known, is, roughly speaking, only half that of the ordinary cylindrical boiler. The special novelty in the design consists in having the engine designed as a quadruple· expansion engine for full power, taking steam to the high·pressure cylinders from the coil boilers, while the remainder of the boiler-power, which consists of two cylindrical boilers, will furnish steam to the first receiver, a reducing valve being fitted so that the pressure in the receiver will be just equal to the pressure of the steam discharged from the high·pressure cylinder. Of course, while this is entirely novel, it is really an extension of the idea which has obtained for some time of exhausting from the auxiliaries into the receivers. "

The Table given above shows the comparative consumption of coal at various speeds, as well as the amount expended for t he auxiliary engines, which was treated at length by Mr. Melville in his paper.

He then considered the question of detaching all auxiliaries from the main engine, and evidently did not consider it an economical plan. He alluded in this connection to the paper of Mr. Dickie, an ab· st ract of which appeared in ENGINEERING, among those of the Marine Congress, in which he ad vo· oe.ted making the air pump an integral part of the design of the main engine, and spoke of Mr. Frank H. Baileis plan for an air pump run from the main engine of a torpedo· boat, or other fast· running engine, where , under ad verse circumstances, a vacuum of 21 in. was obtained, at a speed of 1000 revolutions per minute. As the boilers are the heaviest parts of the machinery, an effort has been made to reduce their weight by the use of forced draught. He commented on the fact that we had followed recent English practice when Colonel Stevens had introduced it during the early part of this century, and the Hudson River steamers had used it for years; and, further, that Chief Engi­neer Isherwood built, during our war, nineteen gunboats fitted with ashpit forced draught. The practice, having fallen into disuse, is now revived, and all the various navies are employing it. He then stated his own views as follows :

"As between the two methods of forced draught in most common use, that by closed fire-rooms and by closed ashpits, I am decidedly in favour of the latter when it can be applied. I make this proviso for the reason that some may a.t once ask why, if I a.m a believer in ashpit forced draught, nearly all of our large vessels recently designed have forced draught on the closed fire· room system. It is simply because in a war·vessel, with a protective deck and minute watertight subdivision, it is extremely diffi­cult, where there is a number of large boilers, to so arrange the blowers for closed ashpit forced draught as to ventilate the fire·room thoroughly. This is a point which is sometimes forgotten, but, if it is, the fire-room would simply become intoler· ably hot, and while the boilers themselves will work admirably, the men will simply be killed by the heat. The San Francisco, of our navy, has ashpit

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

474 481 489 499 615 632 660 5S>5 646 700 781 90L

1077 1318 1732

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100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 IOU 100 100 100 100

42S 1,3?; 14.75 17.76 5.41 630 1,58e 16.99 19 99 6.oo 878 1, 4 2 19.76 22.76 6. 33

1,140 2, ll 4 22.65 25.65 6.65 1,466 lt,446 26.22 ~9. 22 6.67 1,820 I 2,827 30.30 33 30 6. 48 2,400 3,1;60 38.13 41.13 5.83 3,096 4,291 45.96 48.96 6.39 3,933 6,30 l 56.79 59.79 4 82 4,88 l 6,434 68.94 7UN 4.34 6,922 7 553 so 94 83.94 4.00 7,100 8, 51 91 83 Sli.83 3.68 ~. 303 10,230 109 62 11~.62 3.41

10,962 13,130 l40.68 143.68 2.84 15,300 17,S821191.60

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forced draught, and all who have had experience on her and on other ves~:~els speak in the highest terms of praise of the greater facility, convenience, and comfort which attend this method.

''It is to be noted, also, with this method of forced draught, that when there is any care at all taken in the fire.room to keep the grate bars covered, leaky tubes in the combustion chamber are unknown, while, with the closed fire-room forced draught, they are not at all uncommon."

H e then treated of high chimneys, which he decidedly favoured, and told how he had nearly been thwarted in putting them in the Brooklyn by some gentlemen in the Navy Department, whose resthetic ideas were shocked by their appearance. As to tubulous boilers as an expedient for reduc· tion in boiler-weight, he considered the only objec· tion was their possible failure to last long, on account of the thinness of their tubes, although he knew of some which had been in use six years without deterioration, and some used for over ten years with fresh water. They were being tried on a large scale on the l\fonterey. As to reducing the weight of the engines, this had been done to a con­siderable extent by the use of forged steel for certain parts, and of cast steel for others ; but he eaw no immediate prospect of replacing cast iron for cylinders. When this could be done, a. material difference in weight would be attained, and by the use of nickel steel, if that could be employed. a great reduction on all parts could be reached, As to coal consumption on full-power trials, while 1! lb. per horse·power is frequently quoted, he had not found results better than 2 1 b., and in some cases 2.6 lb. He alluded to the difficulties encoun­tered in standardising the indicators. This is an ex· tremely important subject, especially where a pre· mium is paid on horse-power above the contract r a­q uirement, and a fine imposed where it falls below it. 'fhe navy had taken this matter up, and devised the most elaborate testing apparatus for this purpose in existence. As an evidence of the effect of this on instrument-makers, he stated that 72 springs were purchased from one maker under a guarantee that the error should not exceed 3 per cent., and only seven springs were rejected.

This paper, so full of interest, may be closed by the following quotation, your correspondent ventur­ing to remark that the task of condensing Corn· modore Melville's remarks to their present size has been one of great difficulty, because of their prac­tical character.

"Jt may possibly not seem strictly germane to the title of this article to bring in t he matter of speed trials, but I do so merely to call attention to a method which I had the honour to bring to the attention of the N ~wy Department, and which was unanimously approved by the Board of Construc­tion of that department, and was used with great success in the trial of the Ba.ncroft early in this year. It consisted in a series of progressive trials for the purpose of Rtandardising the screw and determining accurately the number of revolutions corresponding to a particular speed. Then, having laid a curve to show the relation of speed to revo­lutions, the vessel could be taken to sea anywhere, and the continuous endurance trial run ofl', and the speed at once determined as soon as the average revolutions for the entire period were known. Doubtless many of you are a.war~ that the fast Argentine cruiser, the Ninth of July, was tested in this way, and I believe several other foreign vessels

779 also have been. This method enabled the speed to be accurately determined with leas difficulty than any other which had been suggested. Patent logs are out of the question, and. the run. ove~ a lon')g course, which the department 1s now usmg, 1nvolv~s the attendance of a. very large staff .of ?bserv~rs, and several ships besides the ship wh1eh 1s ma~mg the t rial. In the case of trials by the standardised screw method, no other observers are needed than those on the ship itself.

" The objections to the trial over a long cou!se occur at once to any one who gives much attentiOn to the matter, in the difficulty of laying out the course accurately in the first place, and then t~1e fact that everything which may go at all amiss operates against the contractor. One of th~ great advantaaes of the standarised screw method 1s t hat in case the performance of the vessel improves from the very beginning, the trial may be prolonged an hour or two, and thf.n any consecutive four hours taken as the one on which the record will be based. Of course, it goes without saying that, if the last four hours of the trial are bett~r than the first four, the Government is getting a ship whose excellence has been demonstrated more conclusively than by the performance of the first four hours. An addi­tional advantage of this standardised screw method is that the progressive trials over the measured mile enable data. of great value to the designers of both hull and machinery to be obtained in getting the relation of horse-power to speed at the various speeds run.

" Ags.in, at the risk of being considered some­what away from my subject, I think it may not be amiss for me to say a word which is based on the matter of economy of machinery at low powers, of which I have already spoken. This is a design for an economical peace cruiser. I think all who have studied the matter carefully cannot fail to be struck with the idea. that it was a mistake to build small vessels of very high speed for duty as cruisers. I mean vessels of, say, 1500 to 1800 tons displace­ment, designed to make 17 or 18 knots. The machinery necessary to produce this power occupies so much available weigb.t that the amount left for coal is relatively small, atrd the radius of action very limited. These vessels very rarely in peace time are called on to run at a speed anywhere near their maximum, so that, n.s a matter of fact, during their entire lives, barring a war, they are simply carrying around a. large weight of engines and boilers which would be useful in an emergency, but which, as things actually go, are entirely useless.

" In case of war these vessels are not sufficiently powerful to fight any real war-vessel, and they are not fast enough to capture any very valuable mer­chantman, even leaving out cf consideration the fact that no vessel would remain under the flag of one of the belligerents in time of war.

"It would seem, therefore, that it would be an economical thing for the Government to l?uild a number of vessels which should be intended en­tirely as peace cruisers, and which, in timO of war, would be laid up. The office of these cruisers would be to go around and show the flag, to look after the interests of American citizens abroad, and, in case of necessity, as happened recently at Hono· lulu and elsewhere, to land troops. Consequently, they should be able to carry a relatively large crew, and should have as large coal capacity as possible.

"It seems to me that a. vessel of about 2500 tons displacement, with engines of, say, about 1500 horae-power for full power under forced draught, would fulfil these condition~ admirably. This would give us a speed of about 12 or 13 knots at full power under forced draught, so that with natural draught at full power she could steam with great economy at 8 or 9 knots. The coal capacity would be about 675 tons ; and, as the arrangement of auxiliaries could be designed with special refer­ence to economy, she could be safely put down for a radius of action of about 13,000 knots at a speed of 9 knots. I would by all means have such a vessel sheathed, echoing most heartily the efforts which my good friend, Chief Constructor Hichborn, of the Navy, has been making for so many years. The boilers and engines of this vessel would be specially designed with regard to the maximum economy at cruisiug speed, and I believe that a. dozen- euch vessels would save enough during their career to more than pay for themselYes. "

THE S UPERI ORITY OF AMERICAN CARGO SHIPS.

The next paper must not be considered a piece of "spread· eagleism," although the author claimed

E N G I N E E RI N G.

FIFTY-TON ELECTRIC TRAVELLING CRANE AT NIAGARA FALLS. CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. WILLIAM SELLERS AND CO., PHILADELPHIA.

(For Description, see Page 782.)

Fig. 1.

superiority for America. It was enti~led, "Com­parative Performances of Americ~n and Foreign Freighting Ships : Our Superiority. " The author was Captain W. W. Bates, late Commissioner of Navigation, United States Treasury Department. Captain Bates's paper was given up entirely to a discussion of the different ships engaged in the ~rain-carrying trade from the Pacific ports of the United States to Europe, was largely supplemented by tables giving data of performance, and conclu- i sively proved the superiority of the American­built ship in each particular department of per­formance considered, notwithstanding which, Cap­tain Bates informs us, the underwriters of Great Britain, and other European nations, discriminate against the superior American ship in favour of the inferior foreign ship, which gives them an advan­tage in freight carriage, and thus perpetuates the control of foreigners upon this large branch of our foreign carrying trade. Captain Bates's argument is unquestionably in favour of the present prac­tices in American shipyards of building nothing but first-class ships, and he contends, as he always has, that our ships need protection in employm,ent more than in any other way, believing that., this once accorded, our superiority would once more put our ships in demand. He concluded as follows:

"Thus it results that the comparison may assume the following shape :

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3.418

''It has n ow been shown that American ships built of wood have no superiors in the CaJifornian trade, nor is it likely they have in any other. When compared in fleets with the best. of .the fore~ost nations, they are found to excel 1n s1ze, capactty, value of cargo, cheapness of freight, safe delivery, speed in sailing, c!ficiency in work, esca.12e from disasters, preservatiOn. from loss. b.oth of hfe a~d property, and in reducmg to a mm1mum the pertls of the sea. ' Vhat could we have more- what could we have better, by g iving up our own super.ior building and becoming dependent upon for~1gn countries for inferior tonnage of any ma.t~nal 7 Manifestly, we would not get from Great Britain the equals of the wooden fleets that her under-

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

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writers have driven out of trade by their discrimi- or abandonment of the sea. Our shipbuilders and fence of our rights on the sea as on the land. nations. There is not a single benefit to be gained, our navigators have done their duty as mechanics Wisdom, justice, and patriotism in Congress will but several sure to be lost, by substituting imported and seamen. They have well pressed the button, restore our fleets to the ocean and fill our shipyards for domestic ships in American commerce. The and our Government must do the rest. The only with work, rush our counting-houses with business problem of the American ship is one of protection thing wanting is protection to employment- de- crowd our ports with our own ships, and open ne~

careers to our architects and engineers in the inte­rest of the people of our Republic."

WETTED SURFACE AND SKIN FRICTION. "The Wetted Surface of Ships," by D. W.

Tc:~.ylor, Naval Constructor, U.S.N., was the next paper. It cannot be condensed, as it was of the nature of an argument. It treated of designs and methods, and cont~ined many tables of great value to naval architects.

MARINE ENGINES AND SHIPS' DBSIGNS. "The Influence of Speed and Weight of Machi­

nery on t he Determination of the other Elements of Design cf Steam Vessels, " by James J. O'Neill, was read by title. The paper proposes to show "that the weight of t he propulsive element, coupled as it is with the speed desired, will play an important part in the fixing of the elements of the ship in which the machinery is placed." The author thought high speeds could only be attained by more carefully considering the propeller problem. He then compared various types of vessels, and showed what could be done. He thought in the case of t he Paris, with high-speed machinery fitted, accepting the dimensions, the conditions are that on her length she should easily reach 2 knots greater speed. He also noted the Campania and other fast vessels. This paper had numerous dia­grams and tables.

FRICTIONAL RESISTANCE OF VESSELS. The next paper was read by title, "On the Law

of Frictional Resistance," by Professor W. F. Durand. It was a discussion of this law, and illustrated by diagrams.

FIGHTING YACHTS. A very interesting paper was read by Mr. Wm.

Gardner , entitled, " The Steam Yacht ag a Naval Auxiliary in Time of War." Mr. Gardner, as a very successful yacht builder, had full command of his subject ; but the paper is unfortunately not avail­able, although in general it may be said the author advocated an arrangement by which steam yachts should be modified in design, so that they could be readily adapted for use as torpedo-boats, small cruisers, or despatch vessels, in case of war, the Government inducing owners to adopt such modi­fications by the payment of their cost and by attending to the inspection of the vessels during constructior. and service. S0me of the fastest boats, it may be noted, are from the designs of Messrs. Gardner and Moshier, such as the N orund and the Feisoen, already described in E NGINEER-ING.

NEw YoRK FERRYBOATS. The concluding paper was by Colonel Ed win A.

Stevens, president of the Hoboken Ferry Com­pany, an able engineer and astute t hinker, as this paper showed. The title was, '' Some Thoughts on the Design of New York Ferryboats. " A few extracts will serve to show its character.

The requirements and limitations of designs v. ere noted, as follows :

hAs to the hull, it must have rigidity to carry its shaft in line ; it must have a longitudinal stability to resist burying with a. large load on the bow and must steer well even when t rimmed by the 'head; it ought to have a fair manreuvring power when fore-reaching with the ~ngines stop~ed; it must carry heavy teatn loads wtthout stra1n1ng, should be of good shape to fight ice with an easy form ; its weight should be kept as small as p~s­sible ; its rlraught not to exceed 11 ft ., and tts stability should be enough for safety and n? more ..

"The engine must start and reverse qutckly; ~t should be capable of g reat va~iations of po.wer without sacrificing economy ~t 1ts usual workmg, or say two-thirds power ; its balance should be as go'od a~ can be secured ; but, abov~ all, it m.ust be simple, strong, and easy of opera.t10n, repatr, and inspection, and, let me repeat, must reverse most promptly. The boilers should be fre~ fr?m any suspicion of priming, and shou~d be able w1th least possible waste to meet the varytng demands. Steam has t o be stored at each stop, or some other method of att3.ining the same. object rnu~t be devised.

''As fired in servtce, the boilers do not supply enough steam to run the e~gi~e continuouslY:. The result is that a t the begmntng of each trip the steam pressure is above the average, and at the end of the same below. Skilful firing, while most desirable is hard t o secure, as it demands more than a\'e~age intelligence, while the work is dis-

ENGINEERING.

couraging because of t he impossibility of meeting all demands without some waste through the escape

• ptpe. ' ' The auxiliary machinery of modern ferryboats

consists of an air pump, circulating pump, feed pump, fire and bilge pump, steering engines, elec­tric light engines and dynamos, and with an engine and fan used for ventilating and blowing heated air into the cabins.

"The designs of New York ferry boats divide themselves generally in to two classes-paddle­wheel vessels . and screw propellers. The paddle­wheel engines have been mostly of the beam type, with jet condensers, carrying pressures ranging from 30 lb. to 50 lb. The wheels in these engines are radial. This engine was really very well suited to its work, and still retains its place beside its most modern competitors. Low-pressure inclined engines have been buil t and used to a certain extent, but have not n1et with t he same favour as the beam engine."

Paddle wheels do not stop the boat as efficiently as the screw, and occupy more space, and while the boat is more easily steered when forereaching it is at the expense of manreuvring power at low speeds. He considered the beam engine simple and economical as to coal comsum ption, and as the wheels could not be placed in the midship section, the ends steered differently. He added that on crowded ferries the screw propeller was better than the paddle wheel. All the screw propeller boats built for New York are modifications of one type, and have a rigid shaft running from end to end, driven by one or two engines, with a screw at each end . The necessity for prompt reversing has led to the adoption of two engines, with the object of securing two high pressure cylinders with crankpins at right angles to each other. The Bergen, described in ENGINEERING, vol. liii., pages 223 and 253, was t he first screw ferryboat inN ew York !!arbour. All sorts of misfortunes were predicted, but never did she break propeller blades in the ice ; her shaft stayed in line, and the bearings did not heat, and she stopped quickly. He then con­trasted the Bergen with the latest boat on t he H oboken F erry, the Netherlands, and showed what improvements the latter possessed.

In conclusion, Colonel Stevens expressed a belief in the future adoption of coil boilers with a proper design for a forced draught. He is also consider­ing t he working of auxiliary machinery by hydraulic power, and closed with this suggestion :

''I have studied the following plan for the motive power of ferryboats. It involves a large driving engine of the marine type coupled directly to a dynamo and carefully governed. The dynamo is to supply all the power necessary for the driving, lighting, and ventilating of t he vessel, the main shafts being as short as possible, thus doing away with the present long and rigid shaft. I may add that, while this plan is eminently interesting, I do not believe that electric science is as yet sufficiently advanced to allow of its application to this branch of marine design."

After the usual courtesies between this Society and i ts various hosts, the meeting adjourned, all feeling enthusiastic over the prospects of the new organisations, and receiving on all sides congratu­lations and good wishes for this most successful gathering.

FIFTY-TON TRAVELLING CRANE FOR THE CATARACT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.

TrrE central power-house for the Niagara Falls P ower Company, erected by the Cataract Construc­tion Company, is designed for ten 5000 horse-power generating dynamos on vertical shafts, each driven by a separate t urbine situated at the bottom of the wheel-pit. The large size and weight of the various par ts of the machinery, as well as the great dept h at which the wheels are placed, make a quick· acting power crane a necessity for prompt installation and successful subsequent operation. Not only is such a crane required for handling machinery, water­wheels, shafts, girders, dynamos, &c., before and after installation, but also to continue the excava­tion of the grea t wheel-pit beyond its present limits. The house, as fi rst erected, will accommodate only four dynamos, and it is proposed to close one end with a temporary wall provided with doors through which the crane can pass to t he outside, and t here serve to hoist broken stone from the excavation, and lower brick, cement, and other materiab as

required. The importance of securing a quick­Inoving crane, easily handled and thoroughly adapted t o the somewhat unusual conditions of t he case, was early recognised by t he company, and in asking bids a wide latitude in design was permitted in order to bring out a variety of constructions. The crane illustrated on pages 780 and 781, we learn, was selected as most nearly fi lling the required conditions, as well ' as being the cheapest of those submitted, in first cost. The designers and builders of t his crane are Messrs. William Sellers and Co., Incorporated, of Philadelphia. The size and capacity of the machine may be stated as follows : Span of bridge, 60ft. between centres of carrying wheels ; maximum load, 100,000 lb. ; maximum hoist of lift, 164 ft. ; t he full load is to be lifted at 5 ft. or 10 ft . per minute, proportionately lighter loads at 20 ft. and 40ft. per minu te ; the travel of the carriage across t he bridge may be at 50ft. or 100 ft. per minute, while the bridge itself is geared to travel along the runway at 100 ft. and 200 ft. per minute. The highest position of the hook above the floor of the power-house is 24 ft., the rails carrying the crane being 29 ft. above the floor, and supported by longitudinal girders on columns which are connected with the columns carrying the rafters of the roof. The supporting rails are 5 in. high, 85 lb. per yard, held to the girders by bolts and clamps. Attached to these rails on the inner side on both run ways are cast-iron racks, into which gear t he pinions which serve to drive and square the bridge. These racks ar~ of 2-in. pitch, 3-in. face, made in 5-ft. sections, bolted to the rails and resting on the runway g irders. Racks for driving and squaring were obligatory in the original speci­fication to shorten the length of wheel base.

Fig. 1 shows the crane as i t will appear looking from the south towards t he north in the power­house, the platform carrying the operator being at the end which comes over the wheel-pit, in order to permit him to see the hook at its lowest position. The crane bridge is composed essentially of two plate girders, about 5 ft. deep, strongly cross-braced together across the top and near the centre, and carrying t he trolley wholly within the bridge girders below the bracing, upon the shelf angles near the lower flanges (Fig. 8), the eccentric load on the latter being provided for by heavy vertical stiffeners at short intervals. This form of construction , uniting as it does the two plate girders into one compound beam, gives great lateral stiffness to the bridge, with a comparatively light s tructural weight. The bridge is carried upon four 37 -in. wheels with turned steel tyres, double flanged. These wheels are suppor ted in bearings on either side, the axles being 6 in . in diameter in the journals. It will be noted that this crane is one of those in which the hoisting apparatus is stationary at one point on the bridge, and t he trolley (Fig. 11) is simply a sheave carriage or upper block on wheels. This type seems to have marked ad vantage for this particular case over the arrangement in which t he hoisting drums and mechanism are mounted in the carriage itself. The great height of lift and consequent size of drums would necessitate a large carriage of great weight, giving command of much less floor space than is covered by t he hook in the crane shown. I t is, we believe, usual in such cranes to put tho drum at one end of the bridge. In this case it was deemed best to place the drums, which are two in number (Figs. 6 and 7), in the centre. They are each 48 in. in diameter by 6 ft. 3 in. long, and have securely bolted to one end a spurwheel 66 in. in diameter. These wheels are driven by the same steel pinion of thirteen teeth about 3 in. pitch on a shaft which extends across the bridge, and is driven by a bevel wheel also of 66 in . diameter. The drums are provided with right and left hand grooves ; two l A steel ropes are used, being con­nected to t he drums at each end, the course of each of the ropes being as follows : From the drum to which it is attached it passes to the end of the bridge, around a sheave, back to the carriage, down around the block (Figs. 13 to 15), back to the carriage, around another sheave, down to the block again, thence back to the carriage, thence to the opposite end of the bridge around a sheave, and back to the end of the other drum. There are thus four strands of rope, two on each drum winding towards the centre of the drum, and the load is carried on eight SJtrands of rope. To pro­vide against unequal stretching, one of the sheaves at the end of the bridge is made adjustable horizon­tally by means of a 3-in. screw, and is provided with clamps for securing i t in position (Fig. 3).

•

The operating mechanism is carried upon a cast­iron frame (Figs. 4 and 5) secured to t he side of t he bridge girders, and it receives its motion from a constant-speed electric motor of about 45 horse­power capacity, situated upon a platform upon the opposite side of t he bridge, and connected by a belt with the r eceiving pull~y. This f rame work, or housing, carries three sets of friction clutches on parallel shafts, which operate as many spurwheels running loose upon the shaft (Fig. 3). These spur­wheels gearing together, receive their motion from the pulley through another clutch shaft connected with the pulley shaft by gears of two ratios, thus providing a fast or slow movement for the whole train. An idler, or an intermediate shaf t, is em­ployed to reverse the motion of one set of clutch gears. By this al'rangement it will be noted that the clutch wheels on any shaft run in opposite d irections, and that by engaging one or the other of the clutches the shaft may be made to rotate in either direction desired ; t hus, without reversing the motor, which runs continuously in the same direcbon at the same speed, any motion of t he crane can be effected in either direction and at a variety of speeds. These three operating clutch shafts are coupled respectively by r: uit­able trains of gearing to t he bridge t ravelling mechanism, the trolley travelling mechanism, and to the hoisting machinery. In the hoisting train we find, after leaving t he operating clutches, first, a reduction through another pair of clutches of a larger size, giving two additional speeds of hoist. They operate a long horizontal shaft running parallel with t he bridge, and carrying a bevel pinion which gears into the large bevel wheel before men­tioned. To prevent the overhauling of the l0ad, a \Veston clutch upon a long pinion shaft is com­bined with a self-acting brake, which permits rotation in one direction only. The load may be driven up or down at will, but the r eaction of the load causes the friction clutch to clasp the brake disc, which is p reventing from rotating by t he self-acting brake. The load is therefore au to­matically sustained at all times, and the operator is freed from the responsibility of working a hand brake.

A third shaH extends across the bridge, directly coupled at one end to t he traversing clutch, and at the other carrying a pinion gearing into a wheel on the shaft of the rack pinion. A similar reduction is made at t he other end of the bridge. By this means the bridge is squared and traversed posi­tively and regardless of the wheel base, which need be no longer than actually required for the width of the bridge. The carriage, or tr olley, is drawn back and forth by two ~-in . steel wire r opes, alter­nately coiled upon a 2-ft. d rum at one end of the bridge, one rope passing directly over the under side of the drum to the carriage, and tbe other being taken off the top of the drum, around a sheave at the far end of the bridge, and thence to the carriage. As the drum shaft is rotated in one direc­tion or the other, the carriage is t hus drawn back or forth as desired. The levers for operating the various movements are four in number, and are conveniently grouped for handling by the operator. Three of these operate the three trains of mecha­nism. One operates t he stopping and starting clutches, by means of which the whole t rain of mechanism is put in motion at a slow or n.pid rate. \Vith these levers a central position means that the clutches are out of gear, and no motion r esults. The fi fth lever op erates the change of speed clutches in the hoisting train, and, of course, must be in gear with one or the other re­duction at all times. In order to prevent t he operator throwing any clutch too suddenly in to operation, all of the connecting-rods are compelled to act through stiff springs locked up in cases, so that t he motion of a lever in either direction must fi rst compress a spring before i t can move the clutch. The clutches are all operated by a rod work­ing through the centre of the shaft and connected to the sliding sleeve by a transverse pin. The car­riage (Fig. 11) consists of a framework of 15-in. channel beams, attached by Ion~ bolts to two trans­verse box-girders of 10-in . beams and plates. The axles, 6 in. in diameter, are carried in these trans­verse girders, and the carrying wheels, 26 in. in diameter on the t read, are provided with double­Banged steel tyres. The siK hoisting sheaves are carried upon a 6-in. steel pin, passing through and supp9rted by the 15-in. channels. They are bushed with bronze, and oiled through the centre of the pin. The engraving also shows the method of

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

attaching the t raverse ropes and the Aye-bolts by w hi eh they can be ad j usted.

The lower block (Fig. 13) consists of a forged beam, 10 in. by 14 in. in the centre, with 7 -in. trunnions upon which are carried t he rope sheaves. An open hook with 4!-in. shank is carried upon 250 g-in . hardened steeJ balls between hardened and ground plates, a ball washer being also pro­vided to insure an equal distribution of weight. These balls are made with great care, ground accu­r ately true1 and of exactly the same diameter. They are not guided by any grooves, but are allowed to move at will under the load. The makers of the crane claim to have had great success with hooks of this construction, and they regard the ball bearing, while not essential, as at all even ts very desirable, since accidents to workmen occasionally occur on account of the difficulty of t urning the hook when loaded, and the difficulty of s topping when once in motion. With the ball bearings it is said that there seems to be but little difference between the power required to start t he load and that required to continue the motion after it is started. The ideal condition is, of couse, a uniform resistance from rest to motion and during motion to avoid the sudden star ting before mentioned. A hook was selected by the engineers in place of a. clevis as being more convenient for rapid adjustment of hoisting slings. A I though it was recognised by the engineers in charge that the present tendency of crane-builders is to apply a separate mot0r to each _movement, which is stopped, started, or reversed, as required, and that such an arrangement permits t he me­chanical details to be somewhat simplified, they at the same time regard it as q uestionable whether t he electrical complication involved is not more to be dreaded. In the many-motor crane, each motor must be star ted from a condition of rest under the full load, and at a considerable speed. This is the condition under which the tramcar motor works, and it is ~ecognised as severe work for t he motor. In fact, such motors are designed to have an enormous starting torque, and absorb in starting an amount of curren t entirely out of proportion to that which is required to keep the load moving. In the crane under consideration, the motor may be any ordinary constant-speed motor, direct or alter­nat ing current. When the crane is in service the motor is running light and at speed ; when the load is added , the inertia of the motor is ready to assist in maintaining its velocity, while with proper clutches t he work is applied so grad ually that no extravagant demand is made upon the generator, an important matter where the same machine is also used to supply lights. Of course it is realised that the success of such a crane depends upon the kind and size of clutches used. They must be of a character tbal will allow an occasional slip wi thout too great an amount of heat, and also without such an expan­sion of the parts as would affect the amount of holding power of t he clutch. There are friction clutches of various makes t ha.t fully answer these requirements, and it is deemed better to alter the speed of hoisting by a change of gear readily applied than to alter the speed of the motor w hi eh i~ driving the crane. Extreme slowness of hoist at any one time in such a case as this is limited only to the moment of starting or s topping. When once started without shock, motion may continue, without slipping the clutch, at whatever speed may be deemed advisable. The crane under considera­tion is capable of hoisting, by proper manipulation of the clutches, at an infinitesimally slow speed, and also at any increase of velocity up to the full speed of the gearing which may be in operation at the time.

THE U.S. POST-OFFICE EX HIBIT AT CHICAGO.

THE Post-Office Department of the United States Government had a most interesting and instructive exhibit in the Government Building at the Colum­bian Exposition. In order to provide for the handling of postal matter addressed to persons at the Exposition, the exhibit of the Department was made in the form of a working post-office, through which all mails addressed to the Exposition grounds passed, thus giving visitors an opportunity of eeeing the details not only of post-office equipment, but also the active and actuai working of a very busy office.

It was the intention of the Government to make this post-office not only a working office, but also a

model in design and detaiJ, thus exhibiting the latest and best-arrangements in use in the Dep~r~­ment. The organisation and conduct of the exhtb~t were, t her efore, placed under the direct supervi­sion and control of General A. D. H azen, formerly Third Assistant Paymaster-Gener~J, t hus obt~ining the benefit of his experience and JUdgment 1n ~he preparation and execution of t he work. A destgn for the office was prepared under the direction of the P ost-Office Department, but was subsequen.tly laid aside, and in its place there was adopted a des~gn submitted by the Yale and Towne Manufacturmg Company, of Stamford, Conn., and con~ainin~ many details devised during its long expertence 1n the construction of post-office equipments.

The development of special equipmen ts for post­office work in the U nited States is closely connected with this fi rm. As long ago as 1869. shortly after the commercial introduction of the Yale lock, the manufacture of post-office lock-boxes was com­menced by this company, the imm~ns~ numb~r of permutations of the ~ale.lock r.endermg 1t especta:lly applicable to a serVlce tn whtch not only a h1gh

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degree of security, but also absolute non-inter­changeability of keys was essential. Since that time the Yale lock and lock-box haYe been adopted for post-office service, and the department of the company 's works in which post-office equipments are made, has grown to important dimensions in the twenty-.tive years that have elapsed since its in­ception.

The handsome post-office which was one of the principal objccte, of attraction in the Government Building at J ackson Park, was therefor e representa­tive of the latest developments of t he work of the most experienced builders in the United States ~nd as sue~ was worthy of careful inspection by ali Interested 1n methods of post-oftice administration. In order to permit an unobstructed view of the interior of the office t o the public, those portions of the partition work usually made of panelled wood were, in this office, made of plate glass and ornamental copper grille work. The post-office was provided with ten wickets for eale of stamps, both wholesale and retail ; for "Inquiry Depart-

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COMPOUND SIX-WHEEL COUPLED LOCOMOTIVE: COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. CONSTRUCTED BY THE RHODE ISLA~D LOCOl\IOTIVE 'YORK , PROVIDENCE, R.I.

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ment, " where information was given regarding post-office service; also for "General Delivery " service, where letters were delivered which had been addressed t o visitors in car e of the " World's Fair Station," without other address. Drop boxes for mailing letters, papers, and parcels were also provided, t hese being designated ''North, " '' East, " ''South " '' West " '' City " '' Foreicrn " The

' ' ' 0 • central section of the office was devoted t o the " Money Order " and "Registered Letter " divi­sions, occupying a floor space of about 200 square feet, fitted with desks, closets, spaces, and pigeon­h oles to accommodate the var ious forms of blanks, books, &c. The total length of the office was 100ft ., the central part, containing the money order divi­sion, bearing the name " W orld's Fair Post-Office," and being surmounted by a handsome clock, this being embodied in the design.

The post-office was also provided with a section of Yale brouze front lock-boxes, these showing the latest improved form of box, with the new Yale paracentric lock , with heavy bronze door and front, and metal grated bottoms, t he latter to prevent accumulation of dust. The Yale lock-boxes are arranged in three sizes, proportioned so as to n est in combinations of three, two, or one in width. This enables various combinations to be made from tne standard sizes to meet the r equirements of any office without involving the construction of a special size. Other interesting features of the equipment were: The carrier delivery windows, designed for delivery of mail by the carriers after the hour of r egular delivery ; distributing cases through which carriers received the mail for their districts ; stamping tables ; distributing cases for sorting letters to outgoing points, and many other essentials for use in handling the mails rapidly and correctly. While this important exhibit was of especial value t o all connected with matters asso­ciated with post-office administration, i t was also of universal interest. Visitors t o the World's Fair from foreign countries found in this post-office a clear exposition of American methods, and also a most interesting exhibit of the most recent pro­duction of an important department of the Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company.

The corner stone of this department of the com­pany's business is the Yale lock, which , from t he beginning, has been pre-eminently adapted to post­office use, lock-boxes being a peculiarly American institution , and in use in every important post­office throughout the U nited States. For t his reason the characteristics of the Yale lock itself are interesting in this connection. Its newest and latest form, the " paracentric," has only this year been perfected and placed on the market.

As before mentioned, the "Yale" lock is the base

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of the whole equipment; it has many advantages over the old form of lock, and is not too well known in England, but that a description may be acceptable. Before the invention of Linus Yale, Jun., a round key was in gen eral use, and the idea that its size should be proportional to the size of the lock was generally accepted ; its length was necessarily such as to enable it to reach through the thickness of the door, and it was clumsy and heavy in proportion ; th is large old­fashioned key is well known in England, and largely used at the present time. The original Yale key that t ook its place is shown in F ig. 1 ; it is a small flat key, the same size for all sizes of locks, the key­hole being reduced to a small narrow slit. This was rendered possible by separating the key mechanism of the lock from the case which contains the bolt, and inclosing it in a separate cylinder inserted from the front of the door, and connected perma­nently through it with the lock case behind. The details o£ the construction of the cylinder are shown in Fig. 2. The security and key changes are obtained by means of pin tumblers. The small flat key is inser ted into a slit in a cylindrical plug, and, as shown, adjusts the height of the pins so that divisions in them coincide with the line of division between the plug and the body of the escutch eon, thus permitting the plug to be rotated and the bolt mechanism to be operated by any suitable cam con­nection with the end of the plug. The number of t umblers and freedom from play and lost motion make an enormous number of key changes possible. The next change was the introduction of the corru­gated key, removing all tendency to tilt, greatly in­creasing the inaccessibility of the tumblers, and extending the possibility of the key changes almost indefinitely. A still further improvement was the int roduction of the Yale paracent ric lock and key, Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The new form of key way is shown in Fig. 3, and it will at once be seen th e projections extend far beyond the ver tical axis of the keyway, and are of such a shape as utterly to preclude the ver tical movement of any instrument which might be introduced with the intention of lift ing the pins, and so surreptitiously opening the lock. The new key differs absolutely from every predecessor, so that no key heretofore made can ever enter on e of the new paracentric locks, this making it of peculiar ad vantage for p ost-office work. Where a man has to carry a great number of keys, the small fla t key forming so great a feature of this equipment is of special interest, and its use cannot be too highly r ecommended.

WATER SuPPLY OF KntBERLEY. -The quantity of water sold by the Kimberley (South Africa) Water Works Com­pany last year was 121,171,564 gallons. The revenue oollected was 49,879l. 12s. 6d.

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COMPOUND SIX-WHEEL COUPLED LOCOMOTIVE.

ON the present o.nd opposite po.ges we give another example of the locomotives exhibited hy the Rhode Island Locomotive Works, which are sit uated in Pro· vidence. This engine (see Figs. 1 and 2) has six coupled wheels; a four-wheeled truck in front and a two-wheeled radial truck at the rear of the engine. The following are some of the leading particulars of this engine :

Gauge .. . . .. . .. .. . 4 ft. 8~ in. Diameter of cylinders ... 21 in. and 31 in. Length of stroke . . . . . . 26 in. Diameter of driving wheels ... 78 in. Number , , .. 6 Number of front truck wheels 4

, back , 2 Diameter of boiler .. . .. . G2 in. Size of fi rebox . . . . . . . . . 120 in. by Mi in. Number of tubes ... ... 272 Outside diameter . . . . . . 2 in. Driving wheel base . .. ... 13 fb. 6 in. Rigid wheel base . . . . . . 13 ft. 6 in. Total wheel base ... ... 29 ft. U.i in.

, wheel base engine and tender .. . .. . . .. .. . 50 ft. 6i in.

Total weigho ... ... ... 150,000 lb. Weight on dri vera .. . .. . 90,000 lb.

, front truck ... 41,000 lb. , rear truck .. . .. . 19,000 lb. , of tender .. . .. 75,000 lb.

Tank capacity ... ... ... 4,000 gallons Number of wheels in tender... 8 F uel employed ... . .. .. . Bituminous coal

The formal specification to which this engine was built is appended.

BOILER. Made of homogeneous steel, g in. thick; riveted with

1-in. rivets placed not over- in. from centre to centre; all horizontal seams and junction of waist and firebox double ri.veted,; all longitud~nal seams pro''!ded with lap welt, w1th rwets alternatmg on both e1des of main seams, to protect caulking edge~, and all parts well and thoroughly stayed; bo.ck head a perfect circJe, butt joints. ~11 plates .Planed o_n ed~es and cau~ked with round.-po_mted caul km~ tools., msurmg plates agamst injury by ch1ppmg and caulking wtth sharp-edged toole. Boiler tested with 220 lb. to the square inch steam pre£sure and 260 lb. warm water, to carry 200 lb. '

Waist, G2 i~. in diam~ter at smo~e-box end ; extended wagon top, w1th extens1on arch, w1th one dome 30 in in diameter placed on wagon top. ·

Tubes of charcoal iron, 272 in number, 2 in. in outside diaDJeter, and 12 ft. 8g in. in length ; with copper ferrules on firebox end.

Firebox made of best fi rebox steel, 120 in. long and 33~ ~n. wi?e; a~l plates thoroughly annealed after flangmg; s1de y'fr m. and back sheets ~ in. thick · crown sheet ~ in. thick ; flue sheet ~ in. thick. ' Wa~r space .3! i~. wide at sides, 3~ in. wide at back-,

and 3~ m. to 4~ m. Wide at front; stay-bolts ~ in. and 1 in in. diameter, screwed and riveted to sheets and not ove~ 4 10. from centre to centre ; fire-door ~pening formed by Banging and riveting together the inner and outer sheets, Engine furnished with firebrick.

Crown supported by radial stays 11 in. in diameter,

Cleaning h ole3 in corner of fi rebox, and blow-off cock with convenient handles. Smoke-stack suitable to fuel. Grates, cast -iron, suitable to fuel. Ashpan wrought iron, dampers front and back.

Ba.lanced Poppst throttle valve of cast iron in vertical arm of dry pipe.

FRAMES.

l\Iain frames of best hammered iron, forged solid. Ji'ront rails bolted and keyed t o main frame, and with

front and back lugs forged on for cylinder connections. Pedf\stals protected from wear of boxes by cast-iron

gi \;>s and wedges, secured by thimbles and through bolts.

M ACTIINERY.

Cylinders 21 in. and 31 in. in diameter, and 26 in. stroke, of best close-grained iron as hard as can be worked. Each cylinder cast in one piece, with half saddle placed horizontally; right and left hand cylinders reversible and interchangeable, accurately planed, fitted and bolted t ogether in the most approved manner ; valve face and steam chest seat ra.ised 1 in. above face of cylinder to allow for wear; cylinders oiled by double sight feed placed in cab, and connected with steam chest~ by copper pipes running under jacket; pipes proved t o 200 lb. pressure. Balance valve in steam chest.

Piston heads and followers of cast iron, fitted wi th cast­iron "pring ring packing; piston-rods of hammered iron k eyed to cross heads, forced and riveted to piston.

Guides of hammered iron. Crossbead of cast -steel, ba.bbitted. Valve motion of ruost approved shifting-link motion,

graduate::! to cut off equally at all points of stroke (all working joints provided wi th removable hardened bush­ings to facilitate repairs) ; links, sliding- blocks, pins, lifting links, and eccentric-rod jaws made of the best hammered iron, well case-hardened ; sliding-blocks with long fia.nges to give increased wearing surface; rocker shafts and reverse shaft of wrought iron, with arms forged on .

D riving wheelR, s ix in number, 78 in. in diameter ; centres of cast iron, with hubs and rims cored out and turned to 72 in. in diameter to receive tyres.

Tyres of Krupp crucible steel 3 in. thick; first and third pairs ftanged 51 in. wide; second pair plain 6~ in. wide. Axle~ of hammered iron ; journals 8 in. in diameter and

~; in. long; driving boxes of s trong close-grained cast -iron wi th wide fhnges and heavy brass bearings.

Spring; of best cast steel, tempered in oil, made by -Equalising beams of wrought iron, and of most approved

arrangement, with steel gibs and keys. Connecting and parallel rods of hammered iron forged

solid, with solid ends on parallel rods, back end of main rod forked, all panelled. Crankpins of steel.

Feed water supplied by two injectors.

ENGINE T RUCK.

Centre bearing swivelling four-whPel swing motion truck (front).

Centre bearing swivelling two-wheel swing motion truck radial (back).

Truck frame and braces of wrought iron, with cast-iron cross spider fitted with swinging bolster and cast-iron pedestals.

'Vheels, four, steel-tyred, 33 in. in diameter (front). 'Vheels, two steel-tyred wheels with retaining rings,

42 in. in diameter (back). Axles of best hammered iron, with inside journals 5} in.

in diameter and 10 in. long (front). Axles of best hammered iron, with inside journals 6 in.

in diameter and 10 in. long (back). Springs of best cast steel tempered in oiJ , made by ­

connected by equalising beams, resting on tops of boxes.

ACCES ORIES.

C .. b of good pattern, built of ash, well seasoned and finished ; fitted together with join t bolts. Pilot of wood.

Cylinders lagged with wood and neatly cased with No 14 iron.

Cylinder head casings of cast-iron, polished bande. Steam chest casings of cast-iron top, sheet iron centre,

polished bands. Dome lagged wit? wood and cased with ca:st iron. . Boiler lagged w1th asbestos, wood, and Jacketed w1th

p1 anished iron and secured by _planisbed iron band~. Handrails of iron pipe. Running board nosmgs of

fla.t iron. 'Vheel cover nosin~s of iron. Engine to be furnished w1th sand-box, brackets, and

shelf to receive head-lamp, bell , whistle, blower, and two 3 in. Poppet safety valves, heater, steam gauge, ?ab lamp, gauge cocks_; a lso a. complete set of tools, consist­ing of two heavy Jack screws and levers for same, ~ne h eavy pinch bar with steel point and heel, one 18-m. cas ~- hardened monkey wrench, one 12-in. case-hardened monkey wrench, one 2-lb. machinist~' hammer, one soft hammer, one flat chiseJ, one cape ch~sel,_ one poker, one scraper, one slice bar, one set of packmg u ons, one set of hardened double-ended wrenches for all nut_s and bolts on engine larger than_! in. in diax_neter, inoludmg two pack­in '7 wrenches (duphcates) for ptston and val vestem glands, on°e 16-in. fllt bastard tile, one 16-in. half-round blstard file, one 16-in. round bastard file, two padlocks and keys for tender boxes, two cab seats with c:overs and l?c~s, twocab seat cushions, one clamp for pulhng d own drtvmg box oil cellar, one stud for same, one eye-bolt ~or sa~e, one gal vanised iron water-p~il, one steel_ screwdr1_ver wtth 10-in. blade, five oil cans, v1z.: one sgUlrt cat?- w1th brass b Jttom two 1-quart long snout cans w1th casb-uon bottom, one 2-g~llon can with cast-ir on bot~omr one? quart tallow pot with cast-iron bottom; one 23·10;- neadhght. .

Engine and tender t o be well pa.mted and varms~ed, with the ro.1d mark, number, a.nd name put on as specified by purchaser.

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

GENERAL FEATURES OF CONSTRUCTION.

All principal parts of engine accurately fitted to gauges and t emplates, and thoroughly inter changeable.

All movable bolts a.nd nuts, and all wearing surfaces m1de of steel or iron, case-hardened.

All wearing brasses made of ingot copper alloyed with tin as hard as can be worked.

All threads on bolts cut to U.S. standard. Driving box linings and connecting rod bearing a of

Dd.mascus bronze. T ENDER.

T/l.nk strongly put together, of steel, well braced with angle-iron corners. Bottom plates, :} in. thick; side plates, i in. thick ; top plates, ! in. thick ; inside of legs, !in. thick; riveted with 1

7a-·in. rivets 1~-in.pitch ; capacity, 4000 gallons.

Tender frame substantially buil~ of white oak, strongly braced.

T ender trucks, two centre bearing trucks, made with wrou~ht iron side-bard and cross-beams of wood with addit10nal bearings at sides of back truck.

Springs, two cast steel springs in each truck, made by ­Chilled wheels of approved make 33 in. in diameter.

Brakes on both tender trucks. Axles of besb hammered iron; outside journals 4} in.

in diameter and 8 in. long; oil-tighb boxes with brass bearings.

Three tool boxes of bard wood. Brake front of all dri vera and for tender truck. Metallic piston and valve rod packing.

STANDARD ROLLING STOOK F OR THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS. Tnl!: rolling stock of the V ictorian Government

Rail ways is in the transition stage, as the older- and it may be said antiquated- t ypes are being rapidly replaced by stock to designs by the locomotive branch, embodying the most modern practice, and suitable for Victorian requirements. 'teel underframes are used exclusively, for cars and wagons alike, and the Y\T estinghouse brake is fitted to all classes of stock.

The standard type of first-class carriage is shown in Figs. 25 to 27, page 788, and the second class (excepting the upholstery) is exactly similar. This is also the case with the first and second composite cars, and suburban brake vans; but in the latter case the end comp:Lr tment has a monitor roof for guards. The suburban traffic is worked with simi lar vehicles, but the carriages are divided into seven compartments instead of six.

Long-distance l uggage vans have the same type of underframe, but have a raised monitor roof in the centre. For long runs, and intercolonial express, s leeping cars are being introduced, and several of these are now in course of construction at Newport. They are 75 ft. long, b nilt on steel underframes, mounted on six-wheeled bogies, and c.re replete with every convenience. The internal fittings are of black­wood and mottled Kauri (native woods); the sides and ceilings are "Lincrusta 'V a.lton, " combined with mirrors and hand-painted panels; the cars are lit by electricity, supplied by storage batteries replenished by a Crompton dynamo, driven by a high-speed motor on t he locomotive. These vehicles will be supple­mented by dining-room and palace cn.rs later on.

Coming back to the first-c)ass cars, that illustrated on page 788, Figs. 25 to 27, is of the compartment type. The divisions between the compartments are not carried up full height. As will be seen , it is a bogie car, and it may be ta ken as typical of the standard adopted for passenger stock. A second class, first u.nd second class composite, and combined smok­ing carriage and ,·a.n are manufactured for use on suburban roads; the ca.rs are all identical so far as body, underframe, and bogies are concerned, and clif!er in internal fittings only, though in the vans a raised compartment is provided and fitted for the use of the guard. The stock for the country roads is also similar, the only change made being that the cars are divided into six instead of seven compartments, thus increasing the space a llotted to each passenger. The mail vans are constructed with a sorting-room in the centre, with second-class passenger compartments at either end.

Throughout the bogies and underfra.mes, iron and mild steel have been used wherever practicable, to the almost entire exclusion of timber, t he result being a structure not subject to climatic influence, stronger, l ighter, and mor~ durab!e that?- the various forms of tim her construct10u prev10usly 10 use.

The bogies are each mounted upon four 3ft. 1 ~ in. wrought-iron wheel~, with s teel _axles, running i_n Bl.bbitt metal bearmgs The we1ght of the car 1s t !'ansmitted to each set of wheels t hrough six double elliptical springs a~d cradle links, ~d is fur ther di~­tributed and equalised by compensatmg bars and cml spring~. This mode of suspension-combined with the comparatively long car-gives very equaule and smooth running. .The underframe is wholly of mild st eel (having an ultimate tensile strength of 28 tons, with an elongation of 25 per cent.); the side bars are of channel section, 9 iu. by 3 in. by j in., trussed to withstand vertical loads, and s trongly braced, by

[DEc. 29, I 893. d iagonals, &c., to resist transverse fiex ure, ami the other and varying stresses to which they are subjected on the road. All wheels are provided with cast-iron brake blocks, connected to, and actuated by, a 10-in. d iameter \Vestinghouse cylinder placed under the centre of the car; the brake power used is calculated to equal 90 per cen t. of the total weight of the vehicle.

The body of the carriage is quite distinct in its con­struction from the underframe; the only connection is the holding-down bolts, passing through ulocks of rubber inserted between the sole bars and longitudinals to minimise vibration. The long itudinal bottom sides, diagonals, and framework generally, as well as most of the internal fittings, are of blackwood ; this is a native t imber, strongly resembling teak in appearance, but closer in structure, and possessing a greater trans­verse strength ; it is susceptible of a high degree of polish. Kauri pine is used for outside panels, roof sticks, lining flooring, &c. ; this is a New Zealand timber, close-grained, hard, and t0ugh, and procuraule in almost any size, free from knots or defects. This timber is used almost exclusively in the const ruction of a ll kinds of goods stock . Oregon is introduced for cant rails and longitudinals, where it is necessary to have the whole length in oue piece. New Zealand white pine (varnished) is used for Yene tians ; glass fra.mes a re of teak. The external woodwork is painted with dark chocolate "hematite" paint, relieved with chrome lines, and varnished. The running gear and ironwork is japanned black. Internally, the second­class cars are fitted wit h polished wood seats and fittings. The first-class Ct\.rs are upholstered in dark green split buffalo hide, each seat or back consisting of a single piece, without seam or join. The roof, sides, and panels are of "Lincrus ta. 'Valton, , mounted on straw board, and suitably decorated in Yarious coloured bronzes. L arge be,·el-edgerl plate-glass mir­rors are placed on the div isions; this gi ,-es a depth of effect, and also serves to reflect the light from t he lamps at night, to facilita te reading. To assist in this, na rrow m irrors are also placed at suitable angles on the cant rail in the elevated r oof. T he mouldings, cornices, mirror-frames, &c. , are in polished black­wood. All metal work is either nickel-plated or gilt­lacq nered. Ample an<l adjustable ventilation is ob­tained by means of movable sashes, glazed with opal glass, opening from the elevated roof. This system to a great extent obviates draughts.

A high standard has been a imed at in the production of this s tock, the specifications requiring the very best quality of material and work manship; and to insure the specifications being adhered to in t heir entirety, a st rict system of inspection has been ini tiat ed and mainta ined.

The bog ie brake-van (Figs. 11 to 14, on our two-page pla te) is, in it3 running gear and unclerframe (except in length), almost identical with that already described­in fact, all bogie stock has been made to dupl icate as fa r as possible. eats are provided for drovers accom­pany ing mixed or cat tle trains, and other details of construction will be gathered from the engravings.

The double bogie milk-wagons (Figs. 20 to 23) were constructed to supply a long-felt wn.nt, by pro­viding for the rapid conveyance of milk from the country districts to Melbourne, especially in the hot season , when special precautions are absolutely neces­sary to insure the delivery of the milk in a wholesome condit ion. The loading is conducted eit her i.tt the cool hours of the night, or from cool storage chambers, at a moderat e temperature, and the trucks are so con­structed as to guarantee the arrival of the milk at its destination in the same condition. In addition to the usual outside panelling, there are two inside )inings, separated by n.ir spaces, and further r endered n on ­conducting by insulating layers of felt.

Air is admitted through suitable openings into the space between the outside panels and the tirst lining; the effect of this is t o lower the t emperature of the outside of the first lining to the shade tempern.ture, rarely exceeding 90 de g. Fahr., wbitst the outside of the boards may he above 160 deg. Fahr. The full load is 252 cans, equal to about 17 tons. As extreme case or smoothness of running is not requisite in this class of stock, the bogiP. previously described is replaced by one of simpler and stronger construction. In this the equalising beams and elliptical springs are omitted, the entire weight being sustained on "Timmis, coil

• sprmgs. The bogie meat-wagons are very similar to the

above, except that the partitions are omitted, and that receptacles for ic~ are provided at each end. l\Ieat slaughtered in the country is conveyed by t hese wagons to Melbourne, where it is stored in cool air chambers, and delivered as required. Extensive s torage chamber&, cooled by ' ' Hnslam" and "Bell­Coleman" refrigerators, form part of the railway plant at Newport.

The bogie horse- box, shown in outline in Fig. 1, page 726, of our issue of December 15, is built to carry twelve horseE~, with compartments and seats for attendants. This class of wagon is chiefly used for the transit of the more valuable classes of stock. Ea.ch

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STAND A RD ROLLI N G STOCK FOR TH E VI C TORIAN MR. A. D. SMITH, LOCOMOTIVE SUPERINTENDENT, NEWPORT, NEAR MELBOURNE.

(FM Description, u e Page 786.)

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computment is ca~·c_fully padded with stufT~d leather cushions, and proviSIOn 1s made for fodder, &c.

The bogie fla t t ruck, shown in the ame diagram, is constructed to ad mit of the expedi~ious handling and conveyance of long timber and rails.

The sta.ndard "f.Iedium, wagons are made in two varieties, viz., bogie and four-wheeled. The former (Figs. 28 to 31, page 7 9} is a.daptcd for long load­ing, alsc, for gnl>in, or TJ·herevcr large quantities of merchandise have io ' ' dlt:d, "<\ the hogic system m:1.terially reduces J umnng load. \ \T here it is necessary t o spltt l o .1.d~, or where the quantity carried does not jus ti fy the use of large wagons1 a four­wheeled car is used.

All open trucks arc provided with t arpaul ins, dressed with waterproof compounds, and secured when in use by lashings. To pre\·ent the canvas resting on t he goods in wet weather , the t arpaulins are supported by chains threaded t hrough wooien balls, and stretched betw~en iron stanchions at the truck ends. This arrangement has the effect of causing the covering t o l.l>ssume the fvrm of a corru­gated roof, and effcctua1ly prevents damage from rain. In the four and six-wheeled standard vehicles, as in the t .>gies, iron and steel are used as fa.r as possible to replace timber.

The live-stock trucks (Fig. 2, page 726 of Ollr issue of December 15} are four-wheeled wagons, with partly open sides, protected by iron bars. The sheep wagons, shown iu the same diagram, arc similar t o t he pre­ceding, but are constructed with an upper and lower floo . The sheep are drafted from the sta~ion yards to the .1pper and lower floors simul taneously, from suit ­ab} ramps, at different levels. The fish and fruit tru'-ks are built with side_s and ends doubled , with t w distinct systems of louvres, wire gauze being interposed in such a way as to ventilate freely, by giving access to air currents, but preventing the entrance of dust. The six-wheeled goods van, shown in Figs. 15 to 19, is intended for goods or mixed trains, or for short dis tances, where the traffic does not warrant the use of t he bogie goods vans. This stock is similar in details and materials of construction t o the bogie vans already described.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES. TilE year 1 93 will long be remembered by

reason of the general depression in trade in a variety of industries, intensified by several g igantic labour disputes. Altogether, th e industrial world has been in a state of unrest up t o near ly the close of the year. But at its close, just before Christ mas, most of the di~putes of any consequence had been arranged, so that no dark cloud overhangs the land in se far as these are concerned. But the outlook as regards exports is by no means encouraging. Dowu, down down, these have been trending month by montl; except t hat machinery and some iron and steel manuf~ctures have taken a favourable t urn , and in some respects also t he cotton_ trade. The one fea~ure which gives encouragement 1s that st ocks of all kmds appear to be unusually low, as production has de­creased with demand, so that when trade looks up there will possibly be a spurt in order t o supply ~hat is short and also current demands at the same tlme. From a parliamentary and national point of view, labour had made an advance. A L n.bour Department has been instituted by the Government. The ques­tions of a fair wage and a living wage have been advanced considerably by concessions both by the fiovernment and by various municipal councils, county councils school boards, and other local bodies. The eight-ho

1

urs system has been introduced as an experi­ment by several engineering and other firms, and on the whole t he experiment seems t o have given satisfac­tion. The right of combination, in connection with Government establishments, has also been conceded where hitherto it had been withheld. Then the

1 Employers' Liability Bill seems within the bounds_ of probability of becoming law. The on~ great c~uest~on remains, of the unemployed, but th1s also 1s hemg made a subject of experiment in various parts of the country. The feeling is becoming general that for willing and able workers useful employment should be found without the ta int of pauperism. This is a healt.hy sign, and will eventuate in good if directed with prudence.

The Employers' Liability Bill came before the House of Commons again last week, when the Lords' amend­ments were discussed and disposed of. The real fight was over the " contracting-out clause." :Mr. Asquith, the H ome ecretary, mo,·ed to disagree with the Lords' amendment, and was supported by a majority of fi fty-two. Those who form erly supported Mr. McLa.ren's amendment now supported th e Govern ­ment on the ground t hat the Lords' amendment went furth~r than that proposed in the House of Commons. This accounts for the large majority of the 'ovent­ment. But it was also noticed in the House that several of the Conser Yative Lancashire members abstained from voting, the feeling in that part of the

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

country being strong for the Bill of the Government. The motion to disagree with the Lords' amendment as regards seamen was agreed to without a division and a Committee was appointed to draw up reasons fo~ dis­agreeing wi th the Lords. The fate of the measure now rests with the Honsc of Lords; but it is thought that possibly some other form of amendment may be propo~ed , giving time to certain companies t o see the workmg of the Act and decide as to the insurance funds. Subsequently to the disposal of the Bill in the H ouse of Commons, Lord Salisbury received two imp :>rtant deputations- one from the Lancashire and Cheshire miners, mainly on the question of the desire of the latter to have the Bill as it stands, notwithstanding a. declaration by previous deputations in favour of the contracting-out clause from those districts. The second deputation was remarkable from the fact that repre­sentatives from the great n.ffi liated orders of friendly societies, consisting of over 1, 700,000 members, as well as the representatives of some 1, 750,000 trade unionists, were unanim ous in their desire that the Bill should be passed as it stands. The conjunction of these two forces as regards this question is most important, and will, it is thought, greatly influence the Peers in their fin al decision. It is generally expected that some rnorlu.s l'il:emli will be found, so that the measure will not. b~ lo~t, especially in the face of such a large maJonty m the Commons as fifty -two. It is also agreed on all hands t hat there is no solid reason why the insurance fund s should be dissolved.

---1\ fr. Bousfield, the honourable and learned member

for North Hackney, has introduced into t he House of Commons a Bill affecting industrial organisation in this country. His proposals are : "The establishment by law of trade societies, consisting of employers in a trade, and of workmen in t heir employ, with district councils, provincial councils, and a grand council. The district councils are to be composed of an equal number of representaii ves of employers and employed, with a chairman chosen by such body. The provincial councils are to comprise a group of districts, with representatives from the district councils. 'Ihe grand council is t o consist of represen tati ,•es chosen by the provincial councils, one representative for every 2000 memLers. :Membership is to be purely ,·olun­tary until five-sixth~ of the t otal e1uployers and workmen in t he district are enrolled, when mem­bership of the society shall be compulsory. The grand council is to be specially constituted for certain purposes by t he addi tion of trade union dele­gat es, one delegat e for every 2000 members in the particular union, and by delegates from the em­ployers' unions in an equal number. Six months' notice is to be given by public advertisement to enable trade unions and employers to elect delegates. 'Vhen thus constitu ted, the grand council shall have "(>Ower to make bye- laws as to the settlement of trade dis­putes, hours of labour, regulation of the admission of apprentices and of others who may desire to work at the trade, the formation of registers of workmen seek­ing employment, the t emporary relief of unemployed members, and such other matters as may be authorised by the Board of Trade. Such bye-laws shall bind all members of t he trade, both employers and workmen. " For the special purposes of this section the grand council is to be streugthenecl by t he addit ion of dele· gates from friendly and benefit societies, having mem­bers in the t rade, at the rate of one delegate fo r every 2000 members, and a like number of delegates from employers' associations, so as to make the t otal number of delegat es equal, both of employers and employed, on the grand council ; due notice of elec­tion to be given by public advertisement prior t o the election.

In addition to the powers to make bye-laws in sec­tion 6, as given above, t he grand council is to have power to make bye-laws in relation to the formation and administration of a fund for compensat ion for in juries to workmen ; of sick funds, old-age pension fun d, and other matters authorised by the Board of Trade. The~e bye-law s shall be binding upon all members of the trade, both employers and workmen. The unions and societies to be admitted into the grand council, as before specified , are to be called affiliated unions and societies, and are to be enti tled to certain privileges. \Vhen members are in receipt of sick allowance or old-age pensions, the hoard s of guardians are to pay to the fund 2s. 6d. per week for each such member. The district council to supply to boards of guardians a. weekly stat ement of all claims for such weekly allowance in sickness or old age. In t he case of affiliated unions or societies t he nmoun t of 2s. 6d. per week payable by t he guardians is t o be handed over to such societies. If the allowa,nce is less than 5s. per week, boards of guardians are to pay one-half of such sum. The contributions t o the council are to be an equal amount by the employer and workmen. The employers to collect the contributiens at specified times, and pay the same to the district council. District councils may be constituted for any trade, and the provisional council may draw up a scheme to regulate the constitution of the former ;

such scheme to be sanclioned by the Board of Trade. The grand council shall ha \'e power to make bye · laws, which shall be binding upon all members of the society, relating to the several subjects in section 6 and section 7, and which are recapitulated in section 14. The necessity for l\lr. Bousfield's Bill i~ not very apparent. All the objects that he has enumerated in his Bill eau be attained now, under existing Act s, save and except one-namely, the compulsory powers to bind all the men in the trade by s tatute. Employers and workmen may combine and register under the Trade Union Acts. They may form boards of arbitration and concilia­tion under the Acts of George I Y., or subsequent Acts down t o the Act of 1 72. If the principal object of l\lr. Dousfield is to give the power of legal compulsion to such corporate bodies, he will fail. The Act is in direct antagonism to the Employers and \Yorkmen Act, the Conspiracy a nd Protection of Proper ty Act, and to several other Acts, all of which would have t o be repealed. Bu~ he has not eYen at tempted to repeal them by his Bill.

Though there is quietude generally in the engineer­ing trades in all the chief iudustrial centres of Lanca­shire, yet there is a disposition t o take a rather hopeful view of the prospects for the new year. Yery little has been stirring during the holidays, and t he lack of pressure has had t he effect of prolonging the holidays in some instances. Generally speaking, the engineer­ing establishments are ouly indifferently supplied with orders, and those to hand are not of any great weight. Many of the establishments have been really run.uing, as i t were, from hand to mouth, especialJy since the coal dispute began, nearly six months ago. The most for tunate thing in connection with the engineering branches of trade, and all the cognate industries, is that there has been a remarkable absence of serious labour disputes throughout Lancashire during t he whole year, except in regard to certain reductions at Bar row, and these were settled without any prolonged resistance, mainly by the prudence and moderu.tion of the great unions t o which the men for the most part belonged. There were rumours of intended or suggested reductions in wages in the earlier months of the year, but t hese appear to have been either unfounded, or the employers preferred to wait hopefully rather t han begin a. struggle which might end disastrously to all concerned. And it is very satisfactory to know that generally cordial relations exist bet·ween t he workmen in the several engineering branches of trade and the em­ployers. The iron market has beeu quiet generally, the inquiries beiog limi ted, with no material change in prices, except that foundry qualities of pig iron are said to be rather easier in price. Forge qualit ies, on the contrary, arc scarce, the finished iron works having some d ifficulty in getting sufficient supplies to keep them well going. District makers are well sold for some t ime forward, and only quote for foundry qualit ies of iron at present. Makers of finished iron appear to have little to offer, and what they have stands at the full recent rates. N ut and bolt makers report only a moderate amount of busine~s, and orders of any weight are cut down to very low figures. The steel trade is very quiet, little business being done. But as makers have Yery little to offer, and consumers are not buying to any large extent, the quoted prices are but nominal. The general metal market is quiet, but prices are firm at the recently advanced rates. The cotton trades continue to be pretty active, and the building trades have slackened down very little considering the season of the year, the open weather being favourable.

In the , heffield and Rotherham district trade has not undergone that material change for t he better since the coal strike ended which was expected, but the prospects are more cheering in scver~.l depa rt­ments. The year is ending rather favourably for the steel trades, December havin g been the busiest month of the year, and the prospects a re very hopeful, except that fuel is still much above what is regarded as the normal price. The heavier indus tries have been much depre sed for some time, but there is a hopeful fC'eling on account of the decision of the Government t o strengthen the N Mry. More activity is also apparent in the shipbuild ing and railway branches, consequent upon t he turn of the tide in those trades. The large armour-plate ,,·ork s expect to be busy during the coming year. Among the lighter industries of the district, the makers of cutting tools are kept busy with orders from Rus~itt. These h<we been diverted from Germany by the recently established preferent ial tari ft's iu fayou r of England by Russia.

I n the \Yoh·erhampton district acti\·ity has b een manifest in the manufactured iron departments more than for weeks past. This may be attributable to the desire to execu te all the orders possible before the holidays had set in, and to clear the books as far as possible before the close of the year . In most instances operations have been either partially or wholly sus­p ended this week, in view of the gP-neral quietude of trade. The export demand ha.~ fallen off considerably

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FIRST-CLASS CARRIAGE FOR THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.

MR. A. D. SMITH, LOC0}.10TIVE SUPERINTENDENT, NEWPORT, NEAR !\!ELBOURNE.

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during the last few weeks, and makers report that, with the exception of some few orders of a limited extent, very little buying is being done at present. But some ordera have recently come to hand for sheets and the commoner qualit ies of wrought material for Australia and South Afric~ ; Russia has been a good customer for certain kinds of material for some time past. Beyond this t he shipping orders have not been very active of late. Some buying for home con ­sumpt ion has been going on, in which the smaller firms have largely participated . It appears that a large amount of business has been done for forward delivery, so much so that ironmasters feel rather anxious about t he course of trade in the early spring, especially as prices are now lower than they were at the beginning of the present year. The complaint of makers is that at t he present price of iron and fuel very l ittle margin is left for manufacturers. Some of the st eel works are busily engaged on large rounds, squares, and angles, at fairly good prices. A good deal of steel girder and boiler plates have, it appears, been obtained from the

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-north of England and Scotland, much of which material has been returned to those districts in the shape of finished goods. Generally the district has had a good run of late, and the prospects for the new year are not bad.

I n the Birmingham district there was considerable activity in the iron and hardware branches during t he past week, manufacturers being anxious to clear off as much as possible ere the year closes. The general con­dition of trade in this district has not been so satisfac­tory as it was this t ime last year. Business has been of the hand-to-mouth character for some t ime past in most branches. Moreover, competition ha s been keen, leaving only a small margin for profit. Never t heless there is a hopeful feeling with r espect to the coming year in many departments. In most branches the works will not r esume t ill t he new year, but some of the busier tra.des, such as bedst ead makers, tube makers, brass­founders, especially for cabinet-work, resumed work on Thursday. In the iron trade there is a general stop-

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STANDARD BOGIE WAGON FOR THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT RAILV\TAYS. MR. A. D. Sl\tUTH, LOCOMOTIVE SUPERINTENDENT, NE,iVPORT, NEAR ~IELBOURNE.

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page for the week, for the demand is not very pressing just now. j

At a conference of the South 'Vales and Monmouth­shire miners, held at Cardiff on ~aturday last, repre­senting about 51,656 miners in favour of t he sliding scale, out of a total of about 100,000 in the districts, some strong objections were raised to the operation of the scale, and especially to the practice by coalowners and merchants of long cont racts extending over a year or more, the price including cost of transit by rail or sea., or both, thus making it next to impossible for the repre­sentatives of the men to ascertain the exact pr ice paid for the coal, exclusive of all charges. These contracts, it seems, are not taken into the audit, and the men think that they might influence the scalP- wages. The chairman, Mr. W. Abraharn, M.P., stated that the total did not exceed about 2i per cent. of the whole, and therefore could not, to any appreciable extent, influence wages. But t he conference resolved to invite the auditor to attend the next meeting of the conference to explain the matter, and also how the wage rate for the colliers was really arrived at. The men appear

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to be a little restive under the scale, and it will be wise 1 held at Swansea on Saturday last, representing some to give full explanations. 160,000 hands, and attended by over lOO delegatt>s, a

resolution was passed \lrging the Government to stand At a conference of the Tinplate \Vorkers Union I firm by the Employers' Liability Bill as it originally

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passed the Commons. The conference also finally adopt ed the revised code of rules, as recommended by the Cardiff council meeting t hat took place three months ago. The state of t he tinplate trade was re­ferred to in the course of the discussions, and the men were urged to stand fast by the union, in view of possible eventualities arising out of the state of trade in that industry, caused by the effects of the American tariff and other ad verse influences .

At a special meeting, representing l:Ome 50,000 South ' Vales and Monntouthshire colliers, a deputation was appointed to wait upon Lord Salisbury to assure him t hat of the 60,000 miners in the :Miners' Permanent Provident Society the majority were not aware when they joined that society that by so doing they were contracting out of the Employers' Liability Act., and that they were in favour of the Bill of t he Government, and a.\·erse to t,he contracting out clause. It is feared that the attempt to use the permanent relief societies in favour of the contracting-out of the Act will have a d isastrous effect on those societies, as the m em hers generally resent the action of the officials in Lanca-

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shire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumberland, and now South \Vales and other d istricts wh ere such relief soc~ot~es exist. T his will be a great misfortun e, for t he soc1ettes have done a vast amount of good.

The. unemployed question s till agitates local bodies ~he Government, and the general public. The meet~ 1ng, however, called in Trafalgar-square on Sunday last was only attenued by a score or two of demon­strators. The.se were addressed by a new organiser, wh.o spoke :Vlldly, and then the meeting dispersed 9u1etly. It 1s d readfully sad to see willing workers 1d le when able to work, but these organised a-ttempts to us~ the unemployed for political purposes a re even more sad. If, however, the Tower Hill scenes, the Trafalgar·square me~tings , and the p arades t h rough the streets o.f the Ctty and the ' Vest E nd can stir up the loc~l bod1es to find employment at useful la.bour, good w1ll be done to the community . London is never so clean as it ought to be for a great and wealthy metropolis, a nd much can be effect ed for comfort anu heal th if the vestries do their duty .

NOTES FROM THE NORTH. GLASGOW, W ednesday.

Glasgow P ig-b·on M arket.-Only a small amount of busmess wa~ done in the pig-iron warrant market on T~ursday forenoo? . . Prices, however, were well main­t a med, and hemat1te 1ron was in special r equest. Scotch warrants were dealt in at 43s. lO~d. and 433. lOd. cash the market closing with buyers at the latter . Cleveland changed hands at 353. lOd. cash, closing buyers ld. per ton less, the same as on the preceding afternoon. Cum­b~rland · hematite iron was done at 45s. lO~d . and 4os. 9~d. cash, t~e finish being 453. 9d. cash buyers, and. sellers wantmg ld. per ton more. While little busmess was done, a very firm tone prevailed in the afternoon. Business was done in Scotch warrants at 43::~. lld. cash, at which there were buyers at the close. Only one or two lots changed hands. Cleveland was done a_t 353. lO~d. cash, closing buyers at 353. 11d. Hemat1te iron was again in demand and a moderate amount of business was done at 45s. it!d. cash also at 463. ld. t o 463. ~d. per ton on~ month, closing b~yers at the latter 9uotal10n. The closmg settlement prices were -Scotch 1ron, 43s. lO~d. per ton ; Cleveland 35s. lO~d. · Cumberland and Middlesbrough hematite iron respec~ tively, 4G~. and 43s. 7~d. per ton. A moderat~ amount of business was transact ed on Friday forenoon. About 10,000 tons were dealt in- 5000 tons of Scotch 2500 of Cleveland, and 2500 tons of hematite iron. ' Most of the Scot ch iron sold at 44~. 2d. and 44s. 3d. per ton one month fi xed, with l s. forfeit in buyer's option. Prices were easier all round to the extent of l~d . per t on. V ery little support was extended t o the market in the afternoon, and _prices were easier than in the morning, Scotch and Cleveland each dropping ld. per ton, and Cumb_erland hematite iron l i d. About 10,000 t ons would agam completely cover the transactions-5000 ton~ of Scotch, 4000 tons of Cleveland, and 1000 tons of h ematite iron. The settlement prices at the close were­Scotch iron, 43s. 9d. per ton; Cleveland, ~5s. Bid.; Cumber · land and Middlesbrough hematite iron, 45s. 9d. and 43s. 7!d. p sr ton respectively. Owing to the Christmas holidays, business was not resumed till to-day. It was very re­stricted this forenoon, when Scotch warrants chang~d hands an 43s. 8d. to 43s. 6d. cash, the close being even lower. Cleveland was done at 35s. 9d. to 35s. 8d. one month. A fair amount also changed hands at 35s. 6~d . F riday. In the afternoon a large business was done, and prices were lower all round. At the close the settlement prices were- Scotch iron, 43j. 4~d. per t on ; Cleveland, ~5s. Gd. ; Cumberland and Middlesbrough hematite iron, re3pecti vely, 45s. 3d. and 43s. l!d. per ton. The following are the current prices of a few special brand~ of No. 1 makers' iron : Clyde, 49s. 6d. per ton ; Gartsherrie, Summerlee, and Calder, 52s. 6d.; L angloa.n and Coltnes~, 56s. 6d.-the foregoing all shipped at Glasgow; Gleugarnock (shipped at Ardrossan), 51s.: Shotts (shipped at L eith), 54s. 6d. per ton. Since the close of the strike of the Scotch miners, 13 blast fur­naces have been fired up afresh, making a total of 2S in active operation, as compared with 76 at this time last year. Last week 's shipments of pig iron from all Scotch ports amounted to 3017 tons, as compared with 3589 tons in the corresponding week of last year. They included 200 tons for It.1.ly, 175 tons for Germany, 427 tons for Holland, 100 tons for Spain and P ortugal, smaller quantities for other countries, and 1927 tons coastwise. The stock of pig iron in M essrs. Connal and Co.'s public warrant stores stood at 321,111 tons yester­day afternoon, against 321,597. tons yeste~day week, thus showing for tbe week a reductiOn amountmg to 486 tons.

W est of Scotland Coal Trade.-In the coal market the demand for all classes continues ~ood. Some producers are experiencing difficulty in keepmg their men fully em­ployed on account of the s~arcity of w~gons, but so far no serious delay has ooourred m the loadmg of vessels, and by the end of the week all orders arranged for should be p retty well run off. Th~ min~rs will stop ~ork on Friday, and it is expected the ptts will be open agam on Thursday of next week as the men, it is thought, will not be anxious for a prolonged holiday so soon after t~e strike. For the opening of next year the prospects are fauly good, and if the men show inclination to work, there need be no fear of keeping the pits going at about the present prices. In some quarters hints are being thrown out that work may be suspended about the beginning of February, but looki ng to the result of the recent struggle, it is thought t he men

•

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

will not be eager to renew the conflict at so early a date. To-day 's quotations at Gla~gow Harbour are as under :

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Glasgow Coppe1· Market.- Coppe.r on Glasgow Exchange was quoted at the opening last Thursday at 43l. l s. 3d. per ton, but in the afternoon the quotation ran up to 43l. 3s. 9d. On the following day there was an ad vance to 43l. 5s. per t on, and to day there has been a decline to 43l. per ton cash .

Th e L ocal Steel T rade in 1893.- T o the manufacturers of ?pen_-heart? steel in the W est of Scotland, the year whiCh 1s closmg has been one of great anxie ty, almost without a single ray to relieve the gloom of the deep depression which has been cast over all the business. The improvement, small though it was, which had set in shortly before the termination of last year, proved very short -lived, and very early in the new year died out. Prices of ship plates, which had advanced to the extent of something like 7s. 6d. per t on, gradually fell away, until by the month of June they were as low as at any previous time. Since then, however, a slight improvement has again taken place, and the year closes with prices just about the same as at its commencement. These remarks also apply equally to boiler plates ; but with regard to angle~, the year has witnessed the commencement of keen competition from t he North of England in these products such as had pre· viously been experienced in plates, and as a consequence angles were recently at the lowest price ever known. The steelmakers of the west of Scotland are now quoting angles 4l. 15s. , ship and bridge plates5l. 10s., boiler plates 5l. 17s. Gd. , all with extras and for delivery at Clyde or equal, but in all likelihood business could be done at 2s. 6d. per ton under the prices named for ship plates and angles. During the year there has been a considerable shortness of work in the diRtrict.

Malleable I ron T1·ade.-The makers of finished iron are in some cases very busy-so much so, indeed, that they will stop their works for only a. very short t ime at the forthcoming New Year holiday season. P rices show prac­tically no change of any importance. l'he past year in this branch of the iron trades has been one of compara­tively level prices; indeed, the range of quotations now ruling is almost exactly the same as that which existed at the beginning of the year. On the whole the works have been fairly well employed, although the business done through the year has been much of a "hand-to-mouth " character. During the first half of the year prices gradual1y came downwards, owing to the severe competition amongst both the manufacturers and the merchants ; during the latter half of the year, however, prices gradually crept up again to the former standard, mainly on account of the ad vancing price of coal before and during the colliers' strike. So far as profits are concerned, the year's work has brought very poor results.

M essrs. James H owden and Oo. amd Forced D1·aught for Boiler Fu1·nru:es.- lt is stated that Messrs. J ames How­den and Co., of this city. have booked orders during 1893 for the application of their system of forced draught under royalties to 52 steamships, mostly of large size, including the large passenger steamers now building at Philadel­phia for th e American L ine, by Messrs. Cramp and Sons. The aggregate power of thase 52 steamships amounts to 145,600 indicated horse·power.

T he Glasgow Locomotive Trade.- Th is branch of local trade is more destitute of good prospects than it has been for many years. During the past year locomotive engines have been supplied from Glasgow for railways in India, Japan, Cape Colony, Australia, China, Ceylon, and Assam in the East, and Mexico and Argentina in the western hemisphere, as also for many railways at home, includ ing the Glasgow and South-W est ern, the Great North of Scotland , the Highland, the Midland, and Irish railways. Prices have been reduced to a very low level.

T he L ate M r. David H enderson, of M eadowside Ship­yard.-This well·known gentleman, who was the senior partner of Messrs. D. and W. Henderson and Co., engi­neers and shipbuilders, Glasgow, died yesterday morning somewhat suddenly, at his residence on Gareloch, at about 76 years of age. In early life, like his brothers, he was a shipmaster, and was a captain both of sailing ships and eteamers. During the Cri mean War he had command of the troopship Clyde, which was employed in the transpor­tation of troops between this ~oun try and the scene of opera­tions in the Black Sea. Shortly after the close of the war he retired from t he sea, and together with his brother William h~ established the marine engineering business at Finnieston Steam Engine Works, frequently called the Anchor Line vVorks, from the fact t hat they did all the engine repairs. &c., for the Anchor Line steamers, owned by Messra. H enderson Brothers. About twenty y~ars since the firm acquired Me~srs. Tod and Macgregor's famous shipyard at Meadowside, where they carried on a large shipbuilding business for the Anchor Line and many other owners. They also built some of the most notable yachts afloat, including the T histle, Valkyrie, and Britannia.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE NORTHERN COUNTIES.

MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday. T he Cleveland I ron Trade.- Th e absence of bu~:~i ness

renders it somewhat difficult to report on the t rade of the district this week. Few transact ions, indeed, have

occ.urrf'd, and ~everal blast _furnaces are damped down owmg to scar01ty of matenal caused by the holidays. Yesterday no market was held here, and to·day very few people were seen on 'Change. It is said that No. 3 g. m. b. Cleveland pig iron can be bought just now at 35s. 6d. for prompt f.o.b. delivery, but few sellers would dispose of much at that price. Makers have a good few orders on hand, and are not anxious for new work at present rates, believing that quotat ions are li kely to improve before long. The lower qualities of pig iron a.re rather quiet, and No. 4 foundry pig might be bought at 34s. 6d., whilst 34s. m ight be accepted for grey forge, both for prompt delivery. Hematite pig iron is steady, and Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of makers' east coast brands may be pu~ at 43s .. 6d. ~or early f.o.b. delivery. Spanibh ore keeps qUJet, rubto bemg quoted 12s. ex-ship Tees. Yesterday Middlesbrough warrants closed 35s. 5~d. cash buyers.

Manu .. jacturccl!?·on and Stecl.- There is little or nothing doing in manufactured iron and steel, but prospects on t he whole look somewhat better. It is expected that next year establishments will be kept more regularly going. Common iron bars are 4l. 17s. Gd. ; best bars, 5t. 7s. 6d. · iron ship plates, 4l. 15s. ; steel ship plates, 5t. 2d. 6d. ; iron ship angles, 4l. 12s. 6d. ; and steel ship angles, 4l. 15s. all l~ss the usual ~~ per ce~t. discount for cash. Heavy sections of st eel ralls are qmet at 3l. 12s. Gd. net at works.

T he Fuel Trade.-~"'uel continues dear, and prospects for the future are encouraging. Good blast-furnace coke is between 13R. and 14s. delivered at works here over the next three months.

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE. SHEFFIELD, Wednesday.

Grimsby Trade Council and Government Work. - The Grimsby Trade and Labour Council have unanimously adopted the following resolution, and SE'nt a copy of it to the Secretary of S tate for War: "That this meeting is of opinion that the Governmen t can grant an eight-hours day without reduction of pay to all employes at work in Government factories without loss to the State, owing to the cost of production being far less than that done by pd vate contractors." It is understood that further measures will be taken to agitate this question.

H ea,ting R ailu:ay Oarriages.-The Great Northern Rail­way Company have recently conferred a boon on their passengers in some parts of the \Vest Riding by providing the_m with trains heated with Haycock 's apparatus. A cyhnder filled with a non-freezing liquid is placed in each compartment, and heated with steam by a pipe from the engine. When once charged, sufficient heat is generated to maintain an even temperature of 70 deg. Fahr. in the cold est weather for four or five hours. A heat regulator is provided in each compartment, by which means pas­sengers can lower or raise the temperature as desired. The trains thus fi tted were constructed in the company's shops at Doncaster.

Y orkshire Miner~ Stilt Out of Work.-The miners re­cently employed at East Gawber and \Vharncliffe S ilk­stone Collieries, near Barnsley, are out of work and are appealing to tbe public for support. They state that they are unable to resume employment because of a dis­pute bet ween the colliery owners and the ground land­lord. About a thousand miners are idle, and as they are members of the union, some assistance is to be given from it3 funds.

T he Fo1·thcoming Coal Contracts. - It is understood that the Yorkshire owners of steam coal have held a. meeting and decided on a united course of action with respect to the new contracts with the railway companies for steam coal. The following figures show the course of prices during lhe past few years: 1888·9, 8s. 6d. per ton ; 1889·90, 8a. Gd. ; 1890-1, l Oa. 6d. to ll s.; 1891·2, 10s. 6d. to 10s. 9d.; 189:l·3, 9.3. 6d.; 1893, J anuary, 9s. 6d.; June, 7s. 9d. It has been agreed that tenders shall be at an aci vance of about l s. 6d. on the last ·mentioned figures.

I ron, Steel, a;n,d Engineering.-Prospecta, so fa.r as the iron and steel trades are concerned, are of an encourag­ing character. L ocal smelters find a ready market for their output at higher prices than ruled previous to the coal stoppage, and they arQ not disposed to commit themselves to lower figures in forthcoming contracts. Local made forge pig realises 40s. to 42s. per ton, and foundry 42s. to 44s. Orders and inquiries are coming in thickly for best and medium qualities of bar on home account and for export, and it is probabJe that the mills will be put on full time at an early date. Probably India, Australia, and South A frica will supply the earliest heavy orders for bar for export. Sheet-rollers are receiving som~ fair lines on colliery account. Circumstances point to a heavy trade super­vening in the steel departments, both in rail way and marine material, particularly in heavy forgings, and as there are many pressing orders on the books, business will be resumed as rapidly as possible. Coke is likely to re­main at its present comparati vely high price. Bessemer billets find a ready sale at 5l. 17s. 6d. to 6l. , and Siemens at Gl. 5s. to 6l. lOo. per ton. Armour-plate manufacturers are kept fully going on all-steel work. The engineering trades throughout the district are all benefiting by the partial revival, and promise to be busy before the spring months are reached.

•

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST. G-reat Western Rail1uay.- Th e Brent and Kingsbridge

extension of the Great W estern Railway, which has just been opened for traffic, has involved an outlay of a bout 250,000l. Its length is twelve miles. It is a single line branch, falling into the previously existing Great Vvestern

system at the South Brent station. lb runs virl Avon­wick, Gara Bridge, and Loddiswell, and there are stations at each of those places.

The "Hw·ricr."- The lla.rrier, gunboat, now building ab Devonport, will be ready for launching by Tuesday, February 20. It was at first arranged that the Halcyon should be the ne:\.t vessel launched ; but as the Lords of the Admiralty are anxious that a starb should be made with the new cruiser 'falbot, instructions have been given for expediting the construction of the Harrier, as it is upon her slip that the Talbot is to be builb.

The Electric L ight at Cardiff. - The Lighting and Elec· trical Committee of the Cardiff Town Council has accepted tenders for 250 lamp columns, lamps, and lampholders. It is proposed to erect 40 additional lamps in various parts of the town.

The T inplate T?'ade.-Prepa.rations are being made for layiog down four extra. mills at the Gwendraeth Tin· plate \Vorks, Kid welly. The mills are to be laid down in the parb known as the New Works.

Barry R ailway.- Tbe directors of the Barry R9.ilway and D ock Company will let in the course of the next six weeks a contract for the first section of the new dock with which they are about to proceed. Th~ section will cover aboub 20 acres. Accommodation will be provided for ten additional coal tips.

Cardiff. - Tbe coal trade has maintained a firm tone; steam qualities have, however, been somewhat more plentiful for prompt shipment. The best qualities have made 16s. to 16s. Gd. per ton for immediate shipment, while 15s. to 153. 6d. per ton has been the quotatiOn for deli varies in January. H ouse coal has continued in good demand; No. 3 Rhondda large has been making 14s. 6d. per ton.

The "Car ysjort. "-The Carysfort, cruiser, which is to be brought forward for service with the train ing squadron, is to Le fit ted with two 14·in. Whitehead torpedo tubes. The vessel will not be supplied with quick· fir ing guns at present, and it is also nob intended to make any altera· tion with her a rmament of machine guns or her 7-pounder and D·pounder muzzle-loading guns.

Welsh Coal Contracts.- M easrs. Elder, Dempster, and Co., of Liverpool, have concluded a contract with the U mted National Collieries (Limited) for a su pply of abont 70,000 tons of Newport-Abercarn steam coal. The contract price is stated to be 12s. per ton, free on board. The coal thus contracted for is to be shipped ab Newport. The Cambrian Coal Company h as secured a contract for the supply of 75,000 tons of coal to the Campania Trans­a tlan tica, of Ca.diz and Barcelona. The contracb price in this case is about 13s. per ton.

T he " T allJot." - The Li verpool Engineering and Con­denser ConJpany has received instructions to supply a pai r of diRtilling condensers, S!Dare tubes, and circulating engines for the Talbob. A tender of Messrs. J. and G. \Veir has also been accepted for the supply of two evapo­rators for the Talbot.

A Harbour Tru st for Cardiff.-A special meeting of the Cardiff Harbour Trust Committee was held on :l!'riday, ab Cardiff, under the presidency of the Mayor. The members were instructed at the lasb meetin~ of the genera l committee to communicate with the vanoua inte­rests involved, stating t hat the T own Council had adopted the principle of a harb0ur trust, and asking those interests whetheor they were willing to receive a. deputation upon the subject. Favourable replies have been received from • i r W. T. Lewis, L ord Tredegar, and others. • 'ir \V. T. L ewis has, however, asked for further particulars.

A Welsh I ndustrial Exhibition.-A proposal has been made for holding a n industrial and fine art exh ibition at Cardiff. The managers of a similar exhibition at Bristol will shortly be in a position to dispose of their buildings, and this, of course, is a consideration. Mr. H. J. Spear, Aecretary of the Bristol exhibition, had an inter view on }i' riday with the Mayor of Cardiff, wi th the view of arranging terms of sale.

The "Cambrian."-The trial of the el ectrical fittings and the search lights of the Cambrian took place on Tuesday nighb. The gear was worked under the d irec· tion of Messrs. J. Border and ,V. Proub, electrical fitters, from D evonport. The trial was generally successful, the earch light being very effective.

The " Sharpshoote1·."-The Sharpshooter, gunboat, will be ready for her steam trials by the middle of February. To insure this, it has been neceesary to put nearly 100 mechanics from K eyham factory t o work. With new Belleville tubulous boilers it is expected that a. speed of 19 knots per hour will be attained by the Sharpshooter.

Death nf Sir George Elliot.- The death of Sir George Elliob, which occurred on Sunday, has depri ved Newport of a powerful friend. S ir George provided the necessary capital for the completion of the Newporb Dock works ; and when the first Alexandra D ock was opened in 1875, he was regarded as the hero of the occasion. In 1874 the exports from Newport amounted to 1,000,000 tons annually; now they have risen to nearly 4,000,000 tons annually. Sir George E lliot also lent powerful aid to the Pontypridd, Caerphilly, and Newport Railway, which brought the Rhondda and Aberdare Valleys into closer communicat ion with Newport.

CO.\L tN THE UtHTRD STATES.-Theoutput of coal in the U nited States last year is officially returned at 179,000,000 t onA in round figures. In this total Pennsylvania figured for 99,000.000 tons, or more than one-half. The value of the American coal raised la.qt yea.r is officially computed at 207,566,381 dols.

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

LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS . T nE steel screw steamer Snowflake was taken to sea. on

T uesday, the 19th inst ., for her t rial trip. She ha:s been bui lt at the Walker yard of Si r W. G. Armstrong,1\l1tchell, and Co. for the Bear Creek Oil and Shipping Company, of IJi verpool, of which IYlessrs. C. T. Bowring and Co. are the managing owners. ller prin~ipal dimensions a.~e: L ength, 305 ft. ; breadth. 39 ft. G m.; depth, 27 ft. 9 m. She is capable of carrying about 4000 tons dead weight on a moderate draught of water. The propelling machinery is on the triple-expansion system, manufactured by ~be Wallsend Slipway and E ngineering Company. Owmg to the rough state of the sea, no speed r uns were made on the measured mile, but during the few hours the vessel was on trial the machinery gave every satisfaction.

---There was launched on the 23rd inst. by Messrs. C. S.

Swan and liunter, shipbuilders, Wallsend, a. s teel screw steamer, named Indralema, of the following dimensions: Length over all, 341 ft. ; breadth, 41ft. 6 in. ; with a moulded depth of 28 fb. 1 in. The vessel has been built to the order of Mr. T. B. R oy_den, Liverpool. H er engines are by the Central Marine E ngine vVorks, W est H artle­pool, with cylinders 24 in., 38 in., and 64 in. in diameter by 42 in. stroke.

A steel screw steamer, named Stefania, was launched on the 23rd inst. by Messrs. \ Vigham, Rie:hardson, and Co. , Newcastle-on-Tyne. The \'easel is for the Royal Hun~arian Sea Navigation Company "Adria," L im ited, of lf1ume and Budapest, and is 293 f b. in length by 39 ft. 9 in. beam. The engines. whichtor!"ith the boi lers, are also being constructed by Me~srs. wigham, Ricbard­eon, and Co , are intended to drive the vessel at a good speed.

It may be remembered that, about two years ago, the National Lifeboat Institution placed on t rial ab H arwich the first mechanically-propelled boat intended for life· saving purposes. This vessel, named the Duke of Northumberland, was constructed by Messrs. R. and II. Green, the widely known shipbuilders of Blackwal l, and engined by Messrs. Thornycroft, of Chiswick. She is 50 ft. long, 12 fb. beam, and her loaded displacement at 3 ft . 6 in. draught is 23 tons. H er propelling machinery consists of a horizontal compound surface-condensing engine of about 170 horse-power, driving a nearly hori· zontal turbine of 30 in. in diameter, which deli vera its water through two outlets in the sides of the boat, and draws its supply through a vertical scoop-shaped inlet amidships. 1'he boiler is one of Mr. Thornycroft's patent water-tube type, with a heating surface of 606 square feet, and grate surface of 8~ square feeb. This boat, after going through an exhaustive series of trials, making during one of them the passage from H arwich to H oly· head, a distance of 1000 miles, without the least mishap, was eventually placed on the station ab Harwich, and has since done excellent service in the saving of many lives and much valuable property. The success attained sug­gested the construct ion of two other boats by Messrs. Green, one for the Royal National L ifeboat Institution, and the other for the Lifeboat Institution of South Holland. These vessels have the following principal dimensions : L ength, 53 ft. ; beam, 16 ft. ; de,Pth, 5! ft. ; and their load€:d displacement is 30 tons, gtving them a draught of 3 ft. 3 in., at which they will carry from 30 to 40 passengers, four tons of coal in the bunkers, and half a ton of fresh water in their reser ve tanks. l'be fi rsb of them- or that intended for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution-lam•ched some months ago, is nearly ready for her official trial ; the ~econd-that for the kin­dred institution in South llolland-waslaunched on Fri­day of last week. Instead of propulsion being dependent, as in the case of the Duke of Northumberland, upon one turbine and inlet to feed ib, the new vessel is fitted with two vertical centrifugal {>Umps placed on the starboard and port sides, driven duect from the crankshaft - to which they are coupled and co-axial-of an inclined com· pound direct ·action engine of 200 horse-power. For for ­ward and backward motion, go-ahead and go-astern, outlets-the former in the bottom, and the lat ter in the sides of the vessel- are connected by p i pes to each of the pumps, and to give a lateral propulsion to the boat a spemal side outlet has been arranged- which has been patentEd by M r. J . F. Green both in England and abroad­the advantage of which when man<.euvring round a wreck is considered invaluable, as the water can be discharged through the outlet nearest the wreck, and thus act as a buffer or fender in keeping the boat and the wreck from colliding, and assisting it by sideways propulsion in getting clear away when desirable. The buoyancy of the new vessel has been very carefully considered, and to add to her safety she is d ivided into no less than 1~ water­tight compartments; but should one of these be stove in, provision is made to connect it with the centrifuga,l pump inlets in such a way that the inflow of water would be utilised for the boa.t'e propulsion. The boiler for supplying steam to the compound engine of the V(')ssel is of the water-tube type, and will, together with the whole of the propelling machinery, be fitted by Messrs. J ohn Penn and Son£~, of Greenwich. It is expected that the official trial of the first of the improved type of steam lifeboats will shortly take place.

The official machinery trials of her Majesty':J first-class cruiser Theseus, built by the Thames Ironworks and S hip­building Company at Blackwall, and engined by Messrs. Maudslay, Sons, and Field, of L ambeth, were completed last week off the N ore. The preliminary trial of the ship- which was a progressive one-was under~one on D ecember G, when a maximum of 10,300 indicated horse­power was developed by the engines with a mean boiler-

•

•

pressure of 150 lb. and an air-pressure of . 35 in. The trial, although a successful one as far as developed .power was concerned was marred by the troubl~ expertenced with the impu: e Sheernefls water with which the boilers had been fi lled before starting . 1'he ship left the Nore for the preliminary tlial at 7.15 a.m., and pro_ceeded to sea for the officinl eight hours' full p0wer tnal und€:r natural draught. A fter sh:e had been running for sor:ne time, during which the engmes developed a mean of ?GOO indicated horae-power, it was found that ~he after· b01le~s were priming, the impure water no~ havn~g been ~ot rtd of- and that it would not be poss1ble, Without n sk, to run the engines at a. hi~her SJ?eed. It was ~herefore decided to postpone the trial unttl after the b01lers had been thoroughly cleansed and fil~ed with fresh water. The final official trial of the machmery w!ls r.ompleted la t week when a continuous seven hours' run under na tural draught gave the following mean resul ts: With an ~ir­pressure of .43 in. an ample supply of stea:m was l!lam­tained at a. boiler -pressure o~ 149.4 l b. p~r _square u~ch, and with vacuums of 27 2 m. and 27 m. the engmes attained a speed of !)6.18 and 96 3 revolutions per minute, and developed 5:315 and f?293.4 horse-po~er, .in starboard and port engines respect1 vely, or a totalmd1cate~ po~er of 10 608.4 horses, the resultant speed of the sh1p bemg 18.66' knots her draught at the time being 22 ft . 3 in. forward and 24 fb. 4 in. aft. The power is 608 above that stipulated by contract . The Theseus, whi<.:h has al ready been described in thie volume (pages 180 and 330 ante), is 360 ft . long , GO f t. beam, and at a mean draught of 23 ft . 9 in. has a. displacement of 7391 tons. H er pro­pelling machinery cons.ists o~ two . independent. ~hree­cylindered triple-expans10n twm engiDes, each dr1 vtng a three·bladed gun-metal screw propeller l G ft. 9 in . in diameter . S team is supplied by eight single-ended circu­lar tubular boilers, designed for a working pr eRsure of 155 lb. per square inch, capable of generating ample steam, when under forced draught, for the development of 12,000 indicated horse-power by the engines. The The~eus is armed wi th two 9.2 in. 22-ton breechloading guns, ten 6-in. lOO-pounder guns, sixteen quick-firers, two 9-pounder field guns, and five .45 in. Nordenfeldts; she has also four 14-in . torpedo-tubes, two of which are submerged and two above water.

Instructions have been received at Chatham D ockyard that the new gun-vessel Dryad is to be prepared for her machinery trials in February, so that the vessel may be ready for sea during the preseut financial year.

Th 9 official trials of No. 93 torpedo-boat, the first of the nE: w type of boat ordered in 1892, and the only one fitted with twin screws, were completed on the 21st inst. off Sheerness. At the trials the A dmiralty was represent£d by Mr. Pledge and Mr. E ll is, of the Constructive D epart­ment, and Mr. Hard in g. The trial on the mile was under­gone on the 14th inst., when the following mean results were attained : With a steam pressure of 225 lb. per square inch, the engines made 472 revolutions per minute, and the ship attained a speed of 23.846 knots. On the continuous three hours' trial which took place on the 21st the mean revolutions of the engines per minute were 467, and the speed of the ship 23 5 knots. This new type of torpedo-boat has a length of 140 ft. and an extreme breadth of 15 ft. 6 in., and her loaded draught is 5 ft. 4 in. S he is fitted with triple·oxpansion three-cylinder engines, driving twin screws capable of developing 2000 indicated horse·power, steam for which is supphed by two Thorny­crofb water-tube boilers. H er armament consists of three 3-pounder guns, and she has three 18-in. torpedo tubes . The craft was constructed and engined by ~Iessrs. Thornycroft.

The Rona, recently launched by Messrs. D. and W. Hendereon and Co., of Partick, is a notable addition t o the steam division of the British yachting navy. Sbe has been designed by Mr. G. L . W atson, and has been built for Mr. A. II. E. W ood, of Rugb~ who last year boughb the racing 20-rater Chiquita. The Rona, wh ich will measure about 1000 tons B. M ., is upwards of 270 ft . over all, with a. beam of 30 ft . 3 in., and a. moulded depth of 19 ft. 8 in. She has been built under special survey, and is classed 100 A 1 in Lloyd's yacht register. The engines, which have been made by the builders, are of the tri.J?le-expansion type, with cylinders 23 in., 38 in., and 64 m. in diameter by 36 in. stroke, horse-power about 380. In regard t o accommadation the R ona will be quite a model vessel, and when complet ed she will start on a voyage round the world.

H er Majesty's ship H ornet, which is the sister vessel to the Havock, was safely launched from the works of Messrs. Y arrow and Co., of Poplar, ori Saturday. The Havock has recently been described fully in previous issues ( voll v., page 848 ; page 5~5 ante), while the tubulous boilers of the llorneb have also been described (page 612 ante). This is practically the only ditferdnce in the two vessels.

CAPE GovERNMENT HAlLWAYS-At the close of last year, 2171 miles of railway bad been constructed in the Cape Colony, at a cost of 19,770,000l. The revenue acquired per mile last year was 1035l. , while the working expenses were 631l. per mile. The movement of goods laab year over the system was 713,521 tons, the average amount collected being 2l. 4s. per ton. The number of passengers carried laE~t year was 2,258,234, and the fa res collected amounted to 748,10ll. The working expenses amounted last year to 1,370,904l. , viz. : Maintenance of way and works, 406,83::Jl. ; locomotive power, 606,470l. ; traftic ex­penses, 242,851 ; and general charges, 32)8G9l .

I

792 E N G I N E E R I N G. : •

TRIPLE- EXPANSION ENGINES OF THE s. s. '' CONDOR." CONSTRUCTED BY THE FORGES ET CHANTIERS DE LA MEDITERRANEE, HAVRE.

THE Condor, the engines of which we illustrate 1 struction ; the hull is composite, with copper sheath­above, is a small composite schooner, built some ing over the wood and steel frames; it is divided t ime since at Havre by the Forges et Chantiers de la into five watertight compartments by four trans­Mediterranee, for the Chilian Government. The fol- verse bulkheads. The forward compartment con­lowing are her principal dimensions : tains the sail and cordage stores; in the next

are the sleeping quarters of the men; the centre compartment contR.ins the engines, boilers, and coal bunkers ; the fourth and fifth are devoted to the ammunition and general stores and officers' quarters.

Length between perpendiculars 88 ft. 7 in. Breadth ... . .. ... ... 18 ft. 8 in. D~pth . . . .. . .. . ... 9 ft. 10 in. Mean draught of water .. . 8 ft. 1 in. Displacement ... ... ... 145 tons 'Engines ... .. . ... .. . 250 horse-power Speed on trials ... . .. .. . 10' knots Approximate tonnage... ... 115 tons

This little ve3eel presents no special features of con-

The engine, of which we publish an illustration above, is triple-expansion, with t he three jacketed cylinders placed side by side, and an independent condenser with brass tubes, tinned inside and out; the circulating pump is driven by a separate motor. The boiler is cylindrical, with two corrugated fur-

naces and return flues; the shell is of Siemens--Martin steel , and t he furnace plates are of iron. The following figures give some pa.rticu]ars of the engines and boiler:

Diameter of high-pressure cylinder , intermediate ,

12.20 in. 17.72 in . 26.77 in. • , low ., ,

Length of stroke . . . . .. Numbar of revolutions .. . Diameter of boiler .. . .. . Length , ... .. . Internal diameter of furnace Area of grate . .. .. . .. . Total beating surface . . . . .. Authorised working- presaure

.. . 17.72 in. .. . 130 .. . 9 ft. 6 in. ... 8 ft . 7 in. .. 2ft. 7~in. ... 30.14 sq . ft. . .. 807 sq. ft.

142 lb. per sq. in,

7

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CONTENTS. PAGE

A New Peru (I llustrated) .. 777 The American Society of

Naval Archi tects ...... . • 778 60-Ton Travelling Crane _for

the Ca taract Construct1on Company, Nia.gara Falls, N. Y. (i llustrated) ...... 782

The U.S. Post Office E xhibit at Chicago (l Uustrated) . . 783

Compound Six-Whet:! Co u­pled Locomotive (lllus. ) 785

Standard Rolling Stock fo r the Victorian Government Railways (lUm trated) .. 786

Industrial Notes . . . . . . . . . • 787 Notes from t he N o rt.h . . . . . . 790 Notes from Cleveland and

the Nor thern Counties .. 790 Notes from Sout h Yorkshire 790 Notes from the South-West 790 La unches and Trial Tri ~s .. 791 Triple-Ex pansion Engines of

t he S. S. "Condor" (lllus-trat ed) . . . . .. . . . . . • • . . .. 792

Defective P atent Specifica-tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798

Warship Build ing ... . ... ... 794 Electr ical Signa lling by t he

TeJepbot os . . . . . . . . . . . . 795 The Late Sir Geor~e Berkley 796

PAOK Notes (i llustrated) . . . . . . . . 796 Notes from t he United

States . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 797 Royal Meteorologica l So­

ciety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797 " A New Chapter in t he

H istory of Labour ". . . . . . 797 Steam Jets . ....... . ... .. . 797 The Distribution of Power

from Niagara .. .. .... .. .. 798 The Indet erm ina te Cases in

Graphic Statics (fllus. ) . . 7P8 A Catena ry Problem (l llus.) 798 Economical Speed of Steam·

ships . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . 798 Low v. High P ressure :oas-

hold ers ... .. . . .. .... ..... 798 Miscellanea .... . ..... ... ... 790 Diagrams SbowiDg F luctua ­

tions in t he Prices of Metah, from Ohr :s tma.s, 1892, to Christmas. 1893 • • 800

Tho Sand Dtedger " Dranc-ker " .. . .•• ... ..... . .. . .. 800

Some Practical Examples of Blasting .. . .. ... .. . . .. • • 802

The Working ot Mild Steel 803 ' ' Engineering" Patent Re·

cord (Illmtrated) . . . ... •• 805

With et T'Wo- P age Engraving of ST AN DA.RD ROLLIN(;} STOCK FOR TilE VICTOR I.4. N R A.IL JJ'AYS.

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

~ SPECIAL NOTICE. The Publish er begs to s t a t e tha t he h as recently

receive d a number of communica tions having r e ­fer ence to a specia l number of the " Engin eering R eview," for which a dvertisem ents a re being soli­cit e d. Ma ny t e legr a m s h ave apparently b een s ent ou t by the publtsher of tha t p er iodical s o worded a s to unintentionally convey the idea tha t the a dvertisem ents w er e b ein g solicit e d for ENGI­NEERING. The Publish er b egs to state tha t the two p er iodica ls above m entioned h a ve no connec· tton whatever with each ot her .

·--NOTICE.

The New Cunarders "CAMPANIA .. and u LU­CANIA ;" and the WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION OF 1893.

The Publlaher begs to announce that a Reprint 1s now ready of the Descriptive Matter and Illustra­tions contained 1n the issue of ENGINEERING of AprU 21st, comprising over 130 pages, with ntne two -page and four single· page Plates, printed t hroughout on special Plate paper, bound 1n cloth. gUt lettered. P rice 6s. Post free, Gs. 6d. The ordt­nary edition of the issue of AprU 21st 1s out of print.

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NOTICE. The a ttention of R eaders and Advertisers is

dra wn to the altera tion in the name of the Publish er .

Owing to the r et ir ement of Mr. Charles GUbert, communications for the Publishing Dep a r t ment should now b e a ddressed to Mr. C. B. JOBNSON, Publish er and Ma n ager .

.-NOTICES OF MEETINGS.

GBOLOOI8T8' ASSOCIATION, LONDON.-The next m eeting will be held in the Botanical Theatr e, University College, Gower-sereet, W.C., on Friday, J anuary 5, at. 8 p.m. , wh en t h e following paper " ill be rend, and 1lluserated by t he oxy-hydrogen lantern, " The Oeneeis of the Chalk," by Dr . W. F r azer H ume, F.R.S.

T HE J tJNlOR ENOlN~EB.INO SOCIRTY.-Frida.y, January 5, at8 p.m., at t he Westminster Palace H otel, lecture on 41 tioiler Incr us· t ations and Deposits," by Pr ofessor Vivian B. Lewes, F. I .C., F .C.S. , Honora ry Member.

E NGI N EERING. FRIDAY, DECEMBER ~9, 1893.

793

Yet he cannot have supposed that men of or~inary common sense would run the risk of _trustmg to their own inexperience in the draftmg of t~e documents upon which the value, to them, of their invent ions must so largely depen~. But a fe';, fussy persons of the " every man ht~ _own lawyer stamp had, presumably, to be co~Cll~ated ; so the thing went on, and a grand deception: It has proved. P ersons of a certain class, who tmagme themselves to be inventors are very much like those busy­bodies who are ' prepared t o prescribe a cure f_or every ailment. Just as one of t~e. latter feels satlS­fied that his knowledge of medictne exceeds_ th~t of any doctor , and t hat the _medical professiOn IS represented by quacks and Impostors; so do. so­called inventors of the class referred t o behave themselves t o be more capable than t he _most. ex­perienced patent agent to draw the spee1ficatwns for a patent. If the mischief went no further, no great loss would ensue t o any one. But, unfor­tunately a system such as t hat inaugurat ed by the Patent Act of 1883 causes disaster to many unwary inventors who have not the requisite knowledge to prevent their being misled by the plaus~ble pro­visions of the Act. It does not enter their heads that the Legislat ure and the Govern~ent can have laid a trap for them. A man of educatwn- alt hough not a patent agent-may often be able to draw _a good title, provisional specification, complete speci­fication, and claims. As a rule, however , the more competent he is to do the work himself, the more likely will he be t o seek advice; because his kno~­ledge and experience will have enlightened htm as t o the many difficulties and dangers a paten~ee is liable to encounter with a successful In­vent ion - difficulties and dangers that do not usually crop up until a period of commercial success has been entered upon ; difficul ties and dangers which, if due (as is frequently the case) to defects in the specifications and claims, it may then be too late to surmount. But these points are not realised by the average inventor, who is induced to o1tain forms at a post-office, t o apply straigh tway to the Comptroller for a patent, and is lulled into a false feeling of security when (it may be after corre­spondence with t he Comptroller , and various amendments in the documents, suggested by the officials or otherwise) he receives, first, offi cial

==========-----:-=---- -----=====::-:::- notice of acceptance of his provisional specifica­

DEFECTIVE P ATENT SPECIFICATIONS. MR. CHAMBERLAIN must have laughed in his

sleeve when introducing the Bill t hat ultimately developed into the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act, 1883. H e is far too astute ever to have imagined t hat the institution of preliminary examination and comparison of provisional and complete specifications would enable the average inv~ntor to obtain a va1icl patent on specifications of his own draft ing. Before t he Act in question, the practice was t o grant a patent on a provisional specification, making it a condition that the patent should become void unless within six months the grantee filed an instrument in writing, under his hand and seal, fully describing and ascer taining the nature of the inven tion, and in what manner the sa;me was to be performed. I t was, however, not essential that a provisional specification should be lodged in the fi rst instance. Then, as now, a complete specification might be deposited with the application . Objections urged to t he old practice were, that there was no proper control over the specifications ; tha t the patent ee could never t ell, until he got into a court of law, whether his speci­fications were in proper form ; whether what he described and claimed in his final specification would be held to be cover ed by his provisional specification, or whether his claims were sufficien t . F urthermore, it was urged that , in consequence of the absence of control, specifications were lodged with claims the meaning and extent of which it was often impossible to determine. All these dif­ficulties were to be swept away by the new measure, as many people fondly imagined ; and the inventor would only have to fill up some blank forms, ob­tained from a post-office, in order to secure a valid paten t without any professional assistance. I ndeed, so satisfied did Mr. Chamberlain appear to be with his draf t Bill, that notwithstanding a memorial pre­sented to him, and bearing the signatures of over 4000 persons, from the most eminent scientific men of the age down to the artisan (of w horn thousands had signed), he did not condescend to make provi­sion for the registrat ion of patent agents, and their removal from the register in case of misconduct.

tion ; and, secondly, official notice of acceptance of his complete specification. Now, how is it that an applicant is thus deceived ~ I t is because the law holds out to h im two apparent safeguards, each of which is in reality as unreliable as a broken reed. The applicant, having deposited a provisional specification, is misled by its acceptance, because the application has been referred to an examiner, who has ascer tained and repor ted to t he Comptroller whether the nature of the invention has been fairly described, and the application, specification, and drawings (if any) have been prepared in the pre­scribed manner, and the t itle sufficiently indicates the subject-matter of the invention. Having sub­sequently deposited a complete speci fi cation, the applican t is again misled, when he receives official notice of its acceptance, by the circumstance (to which he, in his ignorance, not unnaturally at taches undue weight) that it and his provisional specifica­t ion have successfully passed the ordeal of reference to an examiner, for t he purpose of ascertaining whether the complete specification has been pre­pared in the prescribed manner, and whether the invention part icularly described in the complete specification is substantially the same as that which is described in the provisional specification.

Warnings avail but little. Thousands of inven­tors never see them- many because journals of the class they read are silent on the subject, and many more because, from one cause or another, it is not their habit to read technical journals, much less treatises on patent law and practice, reports of commit tees, or reports of patent cases. 'Vera it other wise, it is probable that the proportion of applicants comparable t o the man who is his own lawyer would be much smaller t han is at present the case. Soon after the passing of the Act of 1883, Mr. Theo. As ton, Q. C., in his t reatise on the law, said it ought. not t o be assumed by pat entees that they were, under the new system, relieved from the responsibility Qf filing specifications which must be legally sufficien t . Notwithstanding any assist ­ance and guidance that might be afforded under the new system of official examination, specifica­tions would (he said) probably st ill have to undergo j udicial criticism when taken in to a co1.1rt of law.

•

•

794

~t the .same time, it might be hoped that specifica­twns, 1f prepared, as they should still be, under proper and experienced care, would, after passing official examination and approval, be better able to withstand criticism t han they had, as a rule, been theretofore.

Subsequently, Mr. Morton Daniel wrote that the critical examination of the Act and Rules, which the preparation of his work thereon had required him to make, had convinced him, notwithstanding all that had been said to the contrary, that skilled assistance was as necessary as ever to the patentee, !o guide him safely through the process of acquir­ing the exclusive privilege he desired to obtain.

In 1885 the Board of Trade appointed a Patent Office Inquiry Committee, which, as enlarged in 1886, consisted of the Lord High Chancellor (Lord Herschell), the E arl of Crawford, Baron H enry de Worms, :1\'I.P., Sir Bern hard Samuelson, Bart., M.P., Sir Richard Webster, Q.C., M .P., and Mr. C. T. D. Acland, M.P. No doubt, in its way, this was a strong committee ; but its recommeudations would have had more weight had it included one or two experienced members of the profession most concerned in the tn.king out of patents, and, therefore, in a position to indicate, with authority, weak points of a kind about which men such as those of whom the committee was actually com­posed would be likely to know little or nothing. However, it is not with the conclusions (some of them ridiculous enough) of the committee that we are now concerned, so much as with some of the evidence given before it. Amongst the wit­nesses was the Deputy Comptroller of Patents, who said : ''There is the poor inventor, with whom we have to frequently communicate, and eventually we have to pass what we know to be a. very inferior specification ... An ignorant inventor very often puts in a specification describing abso­lutely no invention whatever. We return the specification to him and ask for a fair description. He then puts in a descript ion that may or may not be a description of the invention he had in his mind at the time he made his application, and there is very great danger there of our giving an unfair advantage to the applicant. Also, in asking for a fair description there is this danger, that he m~y put in more than the provisional speeification is required to do, and thereby possibly invalidate his patent by putting in something at variance with what he does eventually describe as his invention in his complete specification." The witness went so far as t o recommend that the examiners should be relieved of the duty of corn paring the provisional and the complete specifications.

In these columns, and elsewhere, it has been repeatedly pointed out that the examination which takes place is misleading ; it has been held to be no bar to the adverse decision of a court, where validity has been denied on the ground of discon­formity between the provisional specification and the complete specification ; the examination, though costly, is practically a dead letter, especially in refer­ence to the claims; and judges have commented upon the character of the specifications that have passed muster ; as, of course, insufficient specifications are bound t o do, notwithstanding any attempt to cure defects by a system of preliminary official ex­amination. A recent case in point is that of Alien ve'r.sus Duckett and Son, in which Mr. Justice Hawkins made some amusing remarks, albeit his judgment would be very much the revers~ of am us­in()' to the unfortunate patentee. The act10n was for infringement of a patent, ~nd his lordship co~­menced his judgment by saymg he had made up h1s mind that upon every ground the defendants were entitled to his judgment. First of all, he tho_ught that both the provisional and complete speCifica­tions were bad. This in itself was a pretty strong commentary on the futility of the examination for which the Act of 1883 provides. His lordship,. in the course of his judgment, furthermore said : '' The provisional specification is in these t~rms : 'The invention consists of an earthenware p1pe of any required section divided into t~ree parts, tw_o of which contain air chambers leading t o a venti­lating shaft, and the r emaining part forms a cham her for the excreta to pass through from the closet seat to the main drain.' . . .

"It should be said that the provlS10nal speCifi­cation purports to be f~r an imp_roved form of basi~ and pipe of any requtred sectwn, and the comb~­nation of the same with air chambers and venti­lating shaft for use in self-flushing water-closets or otherwise.

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

'' I may state, at the outset, that it was distinctly stated to me- and the case was tried before me on this supposition-that thel'e was no alleged infringe­ment of the combination , and that all that was alleged to have been infringed was the patent for ' an improved form of basin and pipe of any re­quired section.' The invention, I have already said, and I repeat i t , consists of 'an earthenware pipe of any required section divided into three parts, two of which contain air chambers leading to a ventilating shaft, and the remaining part forms a chamber for the excreta to pass through from the closet seat t o the main drain. '

"The complete specification really is but little more than the provisional specification. It practic­ally gives no further information. It alleges that it is an improved form- that is, following the description of the invention as stated in the pro­visional specification. Then the plaintiff says : 'I, William Thomas Alien, declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is t o be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement : It consists of an earthenware pipe of any required section divided into three parts,' exactly as in the provisional specification. Then he says, ' two of which contain air chambers marked A A' on certain figures which are on the complete specification, 'and flues marked BB,' which are upon the figures, ' leading to a ventilating shaft marked C C '-all that description is utterly immaterial to the present case-' and the remaining part marked D D '­which I do not find at all upon the figures-' forms a chamber for the excreta to pass through from the closet seat to the main drain.' There is no figure marked D D, and even if I could say that one D was to be found on one figure and another D on another, there is a little ambiguity about this part of the case, because there are three D's, and I do not know to which two it applies. That is merely a minute criticism of it; but there it is. ' Fig. 1 in annexed drawings is a plan of the basin and pipe horizontally fixed.' This gives me absolutely no information whatever. It is about as rough a figure as one can very well imagine. It shows literally nothing, except what purports to be the interior of the basin with an elongated opening denoted by two parallel lines running from one end of the basin to the other ; but I can get no information from it. 'Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the basin and pipe. ' That is abso­lutely useless for the purpose of showing what is claimed. 'Fig. 3-longitudinal section of the basin and pipe.' That does show, it is true, a basin with the sloping sides, but that does not show the opening itself. Figs. 4 and 5 are very much the same thing, and Fig. 6 giveR no informa­tion of any sort or kind. The patentee goes on to say : 'Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is (1) the use of a basin and pipe of the above form, constructed of earthenware or other suitable material, and I also claim (2) the combination of the same with air chambers and ventilating shaft for use in self-flushing water­closets or otherwise. ' I have already said that the claim for the combination is not made the subj ect of the present action, and therefore all I have to ask myself is whether the claim for the use of the basin and pipe 'of the above form 'is a sufficient description of the invention to satisfy the requirements of the statute. I am of opinion that it is not. Looking at this description, and looking at these figures, I fail absolutely to be able to appreciate what was the invention therein which is said to have been the invention. I fail to see it. I do discover from tho evidence, what is a totally different thing, that what he claims is a basin with sloping sides. I do discover from the figure that there is to be an open­ing, a hole, at the bottom of the basin, but there certainly is no novelty in having a hole at the bottom of the basin of a water-closet, nor is there any novelty at all in having sloping sides- that is per­fectly certain.

" Well, then it is said 'Oh, but you must look at this Fig. 1,' and looking at Fig. 1- I really will not say what it is like, because I cannot tel~, b_ut I do know that it gives me not the smallest Intlma­tion of the object of thCi' invention, or what this invention is supposed to carry out. We were t?ld in evidence that the object was to have an openmg at the bottom communicating with the drain below, which is intended to carry off the soil. We were told, moreover, that it was to present this form of

opening, and the hole was to be of such dimensions as to prevent the possibility of a dead cat being thrown through it, or an old jacket, or a pair of boots, or something of that sort. Of course, whether it would prevent the cat, or the old bootil, or the jacket going through would depend very much indeed on the size of the cat, the boots, and the jacket. An old tom-cat who died~in agony with his tail spread uut, and his legs also, would probably find a difficulty in getting through a hole 2! in. wide; a little kitten just born would probably find no difficulty in it. So a child's boots would find no difficulty in getting into the drain if they were thrown down the water-closet, nor would probably a little jacket such as some babies do wear, and, pro­bably, will continue to wear so long as there are babies to go on wearing them.

"Speaking seriously, can anybody reading this specification form any judgment as to what the object of this invention is ? If it is said merely that the form of basin is more elegant than any other, that it is more fit for particular houses than any other, and more convenient, and in what way it was so, one might see something in it; but it is not claimed as having any particular object in view."

After further comment, his lordship said : "I feel it would be absurd to go on commenting upon this in detail. I could make a thousand objec­tions to it. The more I look at it, the more satis­fied I am that both the provisional and the com­plete specifications are absolutely wanting in the essential features which ought to present them­selves upon both provisional and complete specifi­cations ; and I therefore hold that it is bad for that reason. . . . It is not necessary to go further than to say the specification is bad to entitle the defendants to the verdict. I therefore give judg­ment for the defendants, with costs."

We have quoted fTom the learned judge at con­siderable length, and we have done so advisedly. Many persons who will not listen to advice will recognise the grave import of such a judgment as the one in question, because every patent specifica­tion is liable to have to undergo criticism in a court of law ; and the judgment emphasises the fact that the circumstance of a speciti cation having been passed by the Patent Office officials in no way indi­cates that it will be capable of withstanding the test to which it must inevitably be subj ected should the patentee have to enforce his rights against an infringer.

The Deputy-Comptroller, to whose evidence before the Board of Trade Committee we have already refGrred, having pointed out that under the Act, owing partly to the reduction of the fees, and, he thought, partly to the examination system, many ignorant inventors applied direct without the assistance of an agent, and having expressed the opinion that a benevolent examination would tend to lead the public still more to apply for patents t hemselves, went on to say, "That I t hink is a bad thing, because their specifications are so badly drawn. Very often the ~pecifications we have t o pass we know are not such as could be maintained in a court of law."

In the face of such evidence, confirmed as it is by the judgment of Mr. Justice Hawkins, can any inventor doubt that when he has occasion to apply for letters patent it will be prudent (notwithstand­ing the official examination, which experience has repeatedly shown to be so ineffectual) to think twice before trusting to his own unaided efforts in t he preparation of those documents upon which his exclusive rights must ultimately stand or fall?

WARSHIP BUILDING. D uRING the year which is now closing, operations

at the Royal Dockyards have been confined mostly to t he completion of vessels launched in the pre­ceding year, when the tonnage floated was consider­ably above the average, but there were, in addition, nine vessels of 31,64.0 tons corn bined displacement floated from the five Dockyards. Adding the ton­nage of vessels completed and commissioned, or ready for commission, the total becomes 123,000 tons, and the estimated value of these is 6. 9 millions sterling. Out of this sum, 2i millions were dis­bursed in the Dockyard for wages alone, the re­maining 4. 4 millions being spent in material, machinery, armament, and fittings. But this does not by any means represent all the money spent on warship building during the year. There are a number of vessels which have not been launched,

,

DEc. 29, 1 893.]

?ut h~ve been advanced towards completion, and If we 1nclude these, the total is greatly augmented. The value of ships and engines and armament complete~, or advanced during the year, in con­nectwn w1th the Naval Defence Act is 13,680,000l., and to this may be added 5,400,000l., the value of work ordered during the year apar t altogether from the Naval D efence Act. This includes the battleship Renown, of 12,350 tons, started at Pem­broke several months ago, while the en()'ines of 10,000 indicated horse-power under natural drau~ht

b ' were ordered from M essrs. Maudslay; the 14,500-ton battleship Magnificent, just laid down at Chat­ham, and to be engined by Messrs. Penn, and the sister ship Majestic, laid down within the past day or two at Ports~outh, and to be engined by the ~aval ConstructiOn Company, Barrow. In addi­twn there are three second-class cruisers of 5500 t ons, a:nd four ~loops of .960 tons. The only work, excepting mach1nery, gtven out to contract since the Naval Defence Act ships of three years ago, are tho torpedo-boat destroyers of the Havock or Daring* type, and of these about thirty have been ordered, the prices ranging from 33,000l. to 38, OOOl. each.

We have said that the vessels launched from the R oyal yards during the year numbered nine, and aggregated 31,640 tons displacement. This is very much less than in the two preceding years mGre particularly in view of the small number of ~essels launched by private firms. The total tonna()'e launched for the British Navy is about 33,700 to~s displacement, including torpedo-boats, which is very much less than it has been for several years. The follo,ving indicates t he t otal for five years without taking cognisance of torpedo-boats : '

Vessels. T ons. 1889 .. . • •• • •• • •• 31 52,110 1890 ... .. . • • • • • • 20 64,260 1891 ... • • • . .. ... 19 107,985 1892 .. . • •• • •• .. . 22 14l,200 1893 ... ... • • • ... 14 33,330

It will therefore be seen that the average is about 80,000 tons. But, as has been pointed out, great progress has been made during the year with the vessels previously launched. In several cases vessels built by private firms have had improve­m ents made after delivery at the D ockyards, as the result of experience gained in the trials of the first vessels of the various types. All the ten battleships built under t he Naval D efence Act have been completed, and the re.sults were analysed by us in ENGINEERING a fortnight ago. Of the nine first-class cruisers of the Edgar type, only the St. George remains to be tried, and she has been delivered to the D ockyards by t he contractors. All the 21 second-class cruisers of the Apollo class are completed, the last, t he Brilliant, having been launched in January of this year . The results sug~e~ted an. improved type, the Astrrea class, the bUlldmg of e1ght of which has been practically accomplished this year ; six of the nine vessels launched belong to this class. All the 11 torpedo gun boats of the L eda class have been launched, and the only one launched from the Dockyards, the Antelope, this year remains to be tried. The only vessels of the Naval Defence Act fleet to be launched, therefore, are the F lora, of the Astrrea class, and four of the five vessels of the Dryad class. This latter class, of which on e has already been launched, are improved Ledas or Bharpshooters ; and here it may be suggested that the vessels of the Naval Defence Act have been completed, all things considered, within a very small margin of the estimated cost. It is true the cost is very much greater than contemplated ; but this is in large measure due to the increase in wages in the Dockyard ~ranted by the Boar d of Admiralty, sundry changes In armament, but more particularly to the adoption of improved classes, as in the Astrrea and Dryad classes. The changes are clue princi­pally to admit larger boilers than were originally designed, the necessity for greater spacing of tubes &c., having made this, or some other improvement' almost essential to permanent success. The exces~ in cost, however, has been well earned, for not only has the efficiency of the vessels been added to, but, as a rule, also the coal endurance, and not un­frequently opportunity has been taken to increase the freeboard.

In the ca~e of the Astrrea class, for instance, t he length is 320 ft., t he beam 49 ft. 6 in., and the

* S ee ENGINEERING, vol. lv., page 848; pages 545, 612, (mte.

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

draught 19ft., at which the displacement is 4360 tons. The Apollos had a length of 20 ft. less and the beam 5 ft. 10 in. less, the difference in draught being 18 in., and in displacement 760 tons. This difference is made up mostly by adding to the machinery, the general construction being similar. The protective deck is the same, 1 in. on the hori­zontal and 2 in. on the slopir.Jg parts. Two more 4. 7-in. guns are carried, the armament of the n ewer class being two 6-io., eight 4.7-io., and eight 6-pounder quick-firing guns, one 3-pounder quick­firer, and four machine guns. The diff~rence in price is from 35,000l. to 40,000l. There was not much difficulty in getting the power and speed with the Apollos, but there are those who contend that the maximum or forced draught results cannot well be 5 ~ vn ordinary occasions. Of this improved class, as we have hinted, eight are building. One- the Bonaventure-,vas launched in 1892, and the last­the Flora- remains yet to float. She is building at Pembroke, and is nearly ready. The six vessels included in this year's output are the Astrc.ea and Hermione, built at DE-vonport; the Cambrian, at Pembroke; the Fox, at Portsmouth ; the Charyb­dis, at Sheerness ; and the Forte, at Chatham. It is interesting to note that while the machinery of three of the vessels was constructed in the D ock­yards, the engines, &c., of the others were given out to contract. The result of the experiment, from a financial point of view, will be carefully noted at the Admiralty when the work is completed. The F orte's engines were constructed at Chatham, the Fox's at Portsmouth, and the Astrrea's atDevon­port. Messrs. Thomson, Limited, Clydebank, s upply the engines of the H ermione ; Messrs. Hawthorn, Leslie, and Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne those of the Cambrian; and Messrs. Earle, Hun: those of the Charybdis. Of the improved Sharp­shooters of the Dryad class, five were ordered, one of which has been launched-the Dryad- from the Chatham yard. These are considerably larger, being 1070 tons displacement. Their l~ngth is 20 ft. more, or 250 ft., beam 30 ft. 6 in., and draught 9 ft. They cost 76,000l. each, against 62,000l. each for the Leda class, although the arma­ment is the same. But greater weight ha~ been given to the machinery, and the resul t should be more satisfactory and more to be depended on. The Dryad gets her machinC':ry from Maudslay's works in London, and will be ready for trial in six or seven weeks. T.he other four vessels, too, are almost ready for launching. Messrs. Hawthorn, L eslie, and Co. will fit the machinery into three of them, while the fourth is already being s upplied with her propelling machinery by the Fairfield Company. The other vessels launched were the Brilliant- the last of the Apollo class built at the Sheerness yard, and already tried-and the Ante­lope, t he last of the Leda class, from the same works. This latter is of 810 tons displacement and has been supplied with machinery by Messrs~ Yarrow. She will undergo trials in a week or two. The output of the Dockyards may thus be tabulated:

-1893. 1892. 1891. 1890.

No. Tons. !No. Tons. No. Tons. -

No. l Tons. ----- !'---

1 4,360 1 3,600 3 12,500 4 3,240 1 3.600 2 1,4';0 1 10,500 3 24,900 1 3,400 2 18,300 2 21,850 1 2,575 1 14,1EO 1 1 14,150 1 2,575

Devonport . . 3 9,630 Sheerness . . 2 7,960 Chatba.m . . 2 5,430 Por tsmouth 1 4,360 Pembroke.. 1 1 4,360

1-

9 I Sl,6i0 3 5o,s5o I 8 68,100 8 22,520

-

vVhile in the previous year there was, as incidentally st~ted, a large J?-Umber, of vessels launched by pnvate firms, this years total only includes the torpedo gunboat Speedy, by Messrs. Thorny­croft, and already fully described, one torpedo-boat destroyer of 27 knots speed by the same firm, two by Messrs. Yarrow, and one by Messrs. Laird. These firms have also launched several torpedo­boats. All the Naval Defence Act vessels have been launched, and the great majority have been tried. All built by contract have been delivered. Only two or three of the Astrrea and of t he Dryad types will r emain to be completed after March 31 n ext when it was arranged t hat all the vessels were t~ be completed. This performance r eflects credit not only on the Naval Constructor's department but upon the Director of D ockyards, and upo~ t he superintendents and their assistants and officials at the various establishments. Of the promptitude in carrying out work, the best indi-

795 cation was in connection with th e repairing of the Howe at Chatham, which we described at length (pages 19 and 3~0 an~e), aJ?d the Admiralty specially expressed t heir satisfactiOn. The ot~er repairing work was extensive, several vessels being almost entirely reconstructed. At Portsmouth there were the Devastation, Sultan, Warrior, and Cordelia; at Chatham, the Howe, Monarch, and Agincourt; at Devonport, the Northumberland, Warspite, and Phaeton ; and at Sheernoss, the Vanguard. In quite a number of instances new machinery was supplied.

ELECTRICAL SIGNALLING BY THE TELEPHOTOS.

THE-RE was exhibited at the R oyal United Service Institution, on Friday, the 15th inst., an invention by Mr. C. V . Bough ton which he has called the tele­photos. It is designed for si~nalling by night or day, at sea or during military tactics on land. At the same time a paper was read on the subject by Col. G. E. Gouraud, late of the United States Army. The object aimed at is to signal by the Morse alphabet, displaying simultaneously all the ~ymbols which go to make up a letter or signal, instead of flashing them from the masthead in succession, as in t he present system of Admiral Colomb. This latter system has been found to work well, but, as Lord George Hamilton, who presided, r emarked, all present tendencies are towards concentration, and the mobility of a fleet depends in large measure on the success with which means can be adopted for facilitating co-operation and combination. An e.ssential !eature, ther efore, is rapidit.y of signal­ling, and It seems possible to attain higher speed in showing all the symbols simultaneously, than in flashing them in succession. It is claimed that 100 letteriJ were sent per minute by the telephotos. The theory of the telephotos is the production of the symbols by electric light in lamps mounted on a long shaft, ten lighted lamps in a line of 5 ft. length representing a dash, and one lioht a dot. There is an unlighted interval between e~ch dot or dash of at least 5 ft. in length. The number of lamps required is 53, and these are mounted on a shaft 27 ft. long. The switch-board is only 11 in. by 14 in., and may control lamps for two shafts. I t is fitted in a case moun ted on a pedestal. At one e~d of the pedestal is fitted a keyboard corre­spondnlg to that on a typcwriting machine, and the keys have raised on their under sides the Morse characters, for the respective lettera, in brass with platinum points. The crossbars, 106 in number are flexible and imbedclecl in hard rubber . Th~ pressing down of the k ey makes contact with such cro~sbars as are immediately opposite to the platinum-p?inted brass projections on the k ey correspondmg to the Morsc syn1bols which repre­sent the particular letter. 'Vires are led from each ?rossbar to a lamp on the shaft, and thus the s1gnal corresponds with the sytnbols. A groove under the keys contains a number of fine steel balls similar to those used in the bearinO'S of cycles, with y\ in. of lost motion-the thickn:ss of the key. The pressing down of the key causes ~hese ball~ to lock all. the other keys. 1'he lamp 1s of spec1al constructiOn. It is flatter in the face tha~ the usual incandescent globe, resembling an ordmary door knob, and the £lament of 10 coils iCJ placed crosswise in order to secure the O'reatcst light surface. Each lamp is fitted into a especial bell-mouthed casing with a parabolic metal re­flector, and in front there is a lens screwed on. This latter, it is said, has the effect of screening the expiring incandescence of the fi lament of the lamp. Of course it will be understood that the lamps may be used for any or all successive letters, for the lamps used are deter­mined by th e spacing necessary for t he symbols in th e letter, and here it may be stated that where practicable the symbols are as far divided as pos­sible. Thus "m," equal to two dashes would require ten lights at either end of the 27-ft. shaft to be lighted ; while "i," equal to two dots would require the extreme end lights on the shaft to be illumined.

An iii?portant consideration is that by auxiliary mechanism a permanent record in writin()' of the signal g iven is kept. Above the key~ for making the electrical contact with the cross­bars is a cylinder with an adaptation of the ordinary typewriting machine, and thirty - six double magne~s for throwing th e Roman type of the symbol d1splayed on to a. paper ribbon. This

•

•

recording apparatus may be kept under seal. There a~e a great variety of means of applying the inven­twn. Several Navy officers, while recognising the ingenuity displayed, seemed inclined to regard it as much too intricate, and therefore liable to get out of gear. Admiral Colomb, who is a great authority on the subject, expressed a desire for a more int.imate acquaintance with the mechanism, ~hich he seemed to regard as unique in concep­twn. Indeed, he urged the necessity of a prac­tical trial. and indicated a belief that modifications

•

might be made. The direction of these modifica-tions he did not indicate ; but satisfaction was expressed at the probability of the working of the telephotos being demonstrated from one of the buildings on the London Embankment. At present it is in use at Rio de J a.neiro, on an elevated part of the city, La. Gloria., overlooking the bay. But clearly the best tnethod of testing its efficiency would be to fit it into some of the vessels of the Fleet now in commission.

As to its application in the field, a light horse­wagon has been designed for military use, the shaft being easily erected and ,worked on a swivel­ling joint, while the electric power is provided by an oil engine and dynamo, the weight of the whole apparatus when complete being 1000 lb. ; but this, as one of the chief signalling officers in the Army pointed out, is a great increase to the impedi­menta of a force in open country.

As to the penetrating power of the lights, Mr. Boughton, the inventor, states that at 2! miles, in bright sunshine and clear sky, the signal has been read with the aid of an ordinary glass, while at night the distance is 10 miles.

THE LATE SIR GEORGE BERKLEY. BY the sudden death from heart disease of Sir

George Berkley, ICC.M.G., on December 20, there has passed away, ere yet he had completed his ~eventy-third year, one more of those engineers to whose energy and skill we owe the efficient rail­way system, not only in Britain, but in the colonies. Curiously enough, however, Sir George was, when fourteen years of age- in 1835-apprenticed to Messrs. Samuda. .Brothers , at a time when shipbuilding was a great industry on the Thames, and when engineering was experiencing the impetus due to the conviction of the utility of steam as a. propelling force.

There are evidences that in these early years Mr. Berkley made a. special study of the pro­perties of iron and steel, in addition to continu­ing his education in other useful directions, and thus was acquired a habit and an experience which manifested itself when he in later years contri­buted, as he frequently did, to the discussions at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

While at Samuda Brothers' also, Mr. Berkley worked at the designs of the atmospheric railway system, which may be said to have directed his energies in a new direction. This work, doubt­less, brought him into contact with R obert Steph~n­son and he was engaged with the great locomot1 ve engineer in 1841 and 1842 in .an extensive s~ries of experiments o~ the workmg of .lo~omot~vea, while it may be s~ud that for the rema.m1ng tlurty­two years of his life his work was almost exclu­sively associated with railway development. In 1843 he superintended, with Mr. \V. P. M~rshall, the alteration of the gauge from 5 ft. 0! m . (an exceptional gauge, for t~e adoption of '!hich Mr. Braithwaite was respons1ble) to 4ft. 8t 1n. of the Eastern Counties .Railway, extending to about 90 miles, and adapting the locomotives to the altered condition. In the next few years he was engaged almost entirely un~er Stephenson. ~e was connected with the workmg of the atmospheric system at Dalkey in 1~44,, and the result of .the in­vestigation was embod1ed 1n a report to the d1rectors of the Chester and H olyhead Railway, and in a paper read before the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1845 (vol. iv., pages 251 to 272). In 1.846 .he contributed his experience to the gauge mqmry held by a Royal Commission. He subsequently laid out several rail ways in various parts of England and on the Newcastle and Berwick and London and North- \Vestern systems. In 1849 he com­menced business on his own account, and amongst the works subsequently carried out was the Fen­church-street station, the line of the. Black wall Railway of which company he was engmeer, Hull and South-Western Junction Railway, br~nch ra~l­way to Hammersmith, Hampstead ,J unct10n Ra1l-

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

way, Stratford and Loughton, Wimbledon and Croydon, East Suffolk systems, Wells and Faken­ha.m, and other lines.

But withal the most extensive work carried out, and the one which had the most far-reaching influ­ences, was that executed in India. Early in his career, he became a strong advocate in favour of railways as a means of developing our vast Eastern dependencies, and his work testifies to the accuracy of that contention. It was in January, 1851, that he became defini tely asso­ciated with rail way development in India, being appointed that year, as Robert Stephenson's repre­sentative, consulting engineer of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and on the death of his col­league in 1859, he became the sole consulting engi­neer, continuing in that position until his death. In 1866, and again in 1867, he visited India, and took occasion then to study on the ground the requirements and possibilities of the railway system. The result was not only efficiency, but several con­tributions to the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, particularly valuable when they referred to the new works in colonial and tropical countries. He was strongly in favour of good work, even in the case of pioneer lines, believing that in t he end it paid best. He advocated, too, more consideration before the adoption of gauges, and in this connection it may be stated that he was strong in the belief that 4ft. 8! in. was the happy mean, 5 ft. 6 in. being too great, and the metre only suitable for very little traffic at low speeds. The difference in cost between 4 ft. 8! in. and the metre was an important element, and the small margin in the case of India would, he con­sidered, have j ustified the substitution of the former for the latter. The w bole question and his views on the matter were given in a discussion on a paper read before the Institution in 1870. Re believed in cast-iron and steel sleepers as com­pared with wood, and on the Great Indian Penin­sula Railway there are 2.6 millions of the former, as compared with 848,000 of the latter. He was adverse to longitudinal sleepera, as they were in­convenient where heavy rains were experienced. In 1874 he was appointed consulting engineer to the Natal Railways, and for viaducts in the Cape Colony, to which some detailed reference was made in our recent series of articles on South African Rail ways. In August, 1885, he was appointed con­sulting engineer to the Indian Midland Railway, so that in later years be was responsible for one-fourth of the standard-gauge system of India. He acted in a similar capacity for the Argentine North­Eastern Railway in conjunction with his son, Mr. George Berkley, who is also a member of the Insti­tution. It will, therefore, be appreciated that the subject of our brief memoir did good work in deve­loping the resources of several colonies, and in this way immensely improved the foreign trade of his native England.

In the midst of his railway work Mr. Berkley undertook operations in other directions of engi­neering. In 1850 he thoroughly examined, with Mr. Phipps, on behalf of R obert Stephenson, the water supply of Liverpool, and later in life carried out several water and other works in India. He became associated with the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1845, when yet it was in its early years, and in 1854 he became a member. Although he only read two papers, one on the atmospheric rail way system, in 1845, and the other, in 1870, on the strength and elasticity of iron and steel, with particular reference to the sizes which ought to be worked into structures, he received \Vatt and Telford medals and prizes, and after being !:1everal years on the Council, he was elected Presi­dent for 1891-92. H e was one of the board of managers of the Royal Institution, and on the occa­sion of the last Queen's Birthday he had conferred upon him the well-merited honour of knighthood of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. As to the man, the strong cast of countenance, ~he keen but genial flash . of the eye~ a~d the firm hp, were but indices to his character1st1Cs.

N 0 TES. BELGIAN METALLURGIOAL I NDUSTRY.

THE province of ~iege produced .last year .88,686 tons of refining p1g and mangan1ferous p1g, and 227 953 tons of steel pig, or 316,639 tons in all. Thi~ total showed a considerable increase upon the output of any former year, and last year's experi­ence also afforded another striking proof of the

progressive substitution of steel for iron. Thus in 1876 the production of steel pig was 34,379 tons, and that of other pig 131,936 tons. In 1878 steel pig was made to the extent of 54,164 tons, and other pig to the extent of 118,158 tons. In 1880 the output of steel pig was 69,022 tons, and that of other pig 104, 73!.) tons. In 1882 the production of steel pig advanced to 119,928 tons, while that of other p ig was 119,04.0 tons. In 1884 142,926 tons of steel pig and 123,966 tons of other pig were made. In 1886 the recorded output of steel pig was 141,337 tons, and that of other pig 93,201 tons. The production of 1888 comprised 15!-}, 743 tons of steel pig and 129,308 tons of other pig. In 1890 the totals were 168,390 tons of steel pig and 124,800 tons of other pig. Last year, as we have already s tated, the output of steel pig was 227,953 and that of other pig 88,686 tons. As regards finished iron, there were nineteen iron works in activity last year in the province of Liege ; these works comprised between the1n 110 pudJling furnaces and 153 rolling mills, and they produced 128,478 tons of iron, of t he aggregate value of 766,863l. Rails figured in this total for 349 tons, and plates for 61,766 tons. As compared with 1891, the output of finished iron in the province last year showed a decrease of 2 per cent.: but the value declined to the ex­tent of rather more than 9 per cent. As re­gards the course taken by prices during the six years ending with 1892 inclusive, quotations for iron have experienced a very appreciable decline since 1891 ; bu t they still showed some improve­ment last year as compared with 1888 and 1887. The production of finished steel in the province of Liege last year was 177,131 tons. Rails figured in this total for 110,044 tons, tyres for 9103 tons, and plates for 16,355 tons. The value of the 177,131 tons of finished steel made last year was 941,202l. Although the production of steel rails was heavy last year, the out-turn showed a reduction of 7 per cent. as compared with 1891. The production of plates was, on the other haud, very appreciably larger in 1892 than it was in 1891.

HARBoun. AND DocK FINANCE.

Information of considerable interest is avail­able with reference to the finance of some of the leading harbour and dock trusts. The debt of the Clyde Navigation is gradually increasing; it stood in 1888 at 4,547,547l. ; in 1889, it had risen to 4,558,107l.; in 1890, to 4,614,748l.; in 1891, to 4,690,162l. ; and in 1892, to 4,843,228l. Notwith­standing the gradual increase in t he debt, the trustees are perseveringly redeem1ng a. portion of it year by year out of surplus revenue. In 1888, the amount thus redeemed was 3424.l.; in 1889, 12, 766l.; in 1890, 3554.l.; in 1891, 14, 070l. ; and in 1892, 21,852l. The amount available for the payment of interest upon the debt of the Clsde Navigation in 1888 wa.s194,040l.; in 1889, 206,315l.; in 1890, 202,482l.; in 1891, 203,515l.; and in 1892, 216, 704l. Th«f' revenue of the Trust is thus more than keeping pace with its liabilities. The debt of the River Tyne Commission is also gradually increasing, but not to any great extent. In 1888, it stood at 4, 186,402l.; in 1889, at 4,203,402l.; in 1890, at 4,193,879l.; in 1891, at 4,220,161l.; and in 1892, at 4,214,156l. The commissioners do not appear to be setting apart any revenue for the redemption of the debt. The revenue available for the payment of interest in 1888 was 195,484l.; in 1889, 206,922l.; in 1890, 209,227l.; in 1891, 208,267l. ; and in 1892, 183,170/. The Mersey Dock and Harbour Board surpasses ~n its contem­poraries in the amount of its indebtedness and revenue. The board is setting apart 100,000l. per annum out of its income for the purpose of keeping down its bonded indebtedness. This annual alloca­tion prevents the debt from increasing; but it can scarcely be said to be attended with any other result. In 1888, the bonded debt of the board stood at 17,152,146l.; in 1889, at 17,088,683l.; in 1890, at 17,085,121l.: in 1891, at 17,211,334l.; and in 1892, at 17, 129,630l. The balance of revenue ava:ilable for the payment of interest upon this huge bonded debt was in 1888, o80,909l.; in 1889, 734, 187l.; in 1890, 731,690l.; in 1891, 731,060l. ; and in 1892, 74.8,338l. The indebtedness of the Dundee Harbour authorities stood in 1892 at 371,385l.,· as compared with 354, 95] l. in 1888. An annual allocation is made for the purpose of keep­ing down the debt ; this allocation ranged from 9430l. in 1892 to 10,008l. in 1889. The bonded debt of the Greenock Harbour Trust is not in a

particularly good plight, and it has been found necessary t o compromise matters by r educing the amount of interest attach ed to some of the b onds. S ubject t o this remark, the debt of the Trust had b een brough t down in 1892 to 1,683,670l. , as com­pared with 1,688, 280l. in 1888. The balance of r evenue ~va.ilable for the payment of interest was 40, 008l. 1n 1892, as compared with 33, 535l. in 1888, so that the position of th e Trust is now improving. The Swansea Harbour Board had a. b onded debt of ~ ,409,204l. in 1892, as compared with 1,377 ,010l. 1n 1888. The balance of r evenue available for the payment of interest had increased in 1892 to 50,975l. , as compared with 45,742l. in 1888.

T HE ORI-G I N OF THE SPRING B ALANCE. Very little information appears to be available as

t o th~ origin of th~t si mple and widely-adopted contn vance, the spnng balance, but the invention is cer~ainly. at least tw~ hundred years old, as it is descn bed 1n Ozanam s "Recr eations M athe ma­tiques et Physiq ues," publish ed at P aris in 1694. The accompanying illustration is reproduced from plate 46 in the second volume of that work . The figure on the left-hand side shows a balance wit h an inclosed spiral spring, which is stated to have been ~nvente~ eome little time before in Germany, and it 1s descn bed thus : "On a inven t e depuis peu en Allemagn e un n ouveau peson , qui se p eut aisement p orter a la p oche, & d ont on se ser t tres-commode­ment p our peser promptement & facilemen t un Poids d' une grandeur mediocre, comme du Foin , des marchandises, and autre ch ose semblable, d epuis une livre jusqu'a cinqua.nte livres, & davantage. Cette machine est composee d 'un

IJ2

A.

l

t!J ? l

tuyau ou canon de cuivre A B, fon ce par les deux b outs, long d 'environ six p ouces & large a peu pres d e h uit lig nes, dans lequel il y a un ressort d 'acier A D , fa it en vis comme un t ire-bourre d 'Arq uebuse. I1 y a par le b out d 'en haut, c'est·a­dire, vers A, un trou quarree par oil passe une verge de cuivre CAD, aussi quarree, qui traverse le r essort, dans laquelle sont les division s des livr es qu'on y a marquees en appliquant successivemen tau crochet E un poids d ' une livr e, d e deux livres, &c." The construction is, h owever, q u ite clear from the engraving. The other figure r epresents a form of spring balan ce devised by L e Sieur Chapotot, Jngenieur du R oy et Fabricateur d es I nstruments de Mathematiq ue a P aris. The two p ulleys, on e secured to the suspension eye and the other to the hook, are connected by a cord fixed a t one end, and at t he other attached to the upper p ulley, which incloses a cl ock spring, and has a scale on its r im. The ''Encyclopedia Methodiq ue," in 1782, states that the invention of t h e spring balance is attributed to the Germans, but that som e people say i t belongs to the artisans of Besan gon , from which town those articles were first brought to Paris. One of the forms described in t h e ''Encyclopedia" consists of a metal bar b en t to an acute angle, and two smaller curved bars- on e, fixed in the extremity of on e of the limbs of the b ent bar, and passing through a elot in the other, carries the hook at its free end ;

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

the other, fixed in t he se<;ond l imb and passing out through the first, has secured to it the sus­pension eye, an d h as a scale cut on its face.

NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES. PHILADELPHIA, December 18, 1893.

No improvement has yet appeared in the iron trade. One big failure was announced last week , and as i t is known that several large concerns are t hreat ened wit h financial trouble, the possibility of additional failures is spoken of. Consumers of bo~h crude and finished iron are s till bnying the least possible supplies. Mills and furnaces are starting up here and there, but the aggregate production is increasing very little. Great distress prevails in all iron and steel centres, because of t he large numhers of unemployed. Railway com ­panies have not yet begun t o place orders for rails, engines, rolling stock, or equipment s. ~1anufacturers are canvassing actively for business, and anticipate some good orders in January. The tariff agi tat ion is attracting intense interest in manufacturing circles, and the possib ility of an early adjustment is not so bright now as t wo weeks ago, because of protests of interests t hreatened. It is probable that no more ships will be built unt il t imes improve. Great distress pre,·ails in the iron ore regions. Coal-mining has suffered very little as yet. In the anthraci te regions, production this year is over a million tons in excess of the same time last year. ' Vhile all reports of industrial depression throughout the Stat es a re true, it is well to remember that ups and downs come suddenly; and a reaction may occur within sixty days, which will fill shops and mills with orders. This depression may possibly be a last ing one ; but, whether long or short, manufacturers are pursuing a conservative policy, and will not be caught with large stocks. S ~eel rails are quoted at 24 dols. ; billets, at tidewater points, 19 dols. 50 cents.

ROYAL METEOROL OGICAL SOCIETY. THE m on tbly meeting of this Society was held on

W ednesday evening, the 20th inst., at the Institution of Civil E ngineers, 25, Great George·street, Westminster ; Dr. C. T heodore Williams, President, in the chair.

Mr. C. Harding, F .R. Met. Soc. , gave an account of the" Great Storm of N oveml>er 16th to 20th, 1893." This storm was the most violent of recent years, and, so far as a.nemometrical records are concerned, the wind attained a greater velocity than has previously been recorded in the British I slands. The velocity of the wind was 9G miles in the hour from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m., N ovember 16, in the Orkneys, where the hurricane burst with such suddenness that it is described as like the shot of a gun; and the wind aftbrwards attained the very high rate of 90 miles and upwards, in the hour, for five consecutive hours. At Holy head the storm was t errific; the anemometer recorded a. wind velocity of 89 miles in the hour, and it was 80 miles or above for 11 hours ; while the force of the whole gale, 65 miles an hour and upwards, was maintained for 31 hours, and for 4! days the mean hourly velocity was 54 miles. Many of f;he gusts were at the rate of 115 miles an hour, and at Fleetwood a squall occurred with the wind at the rat e of 120 miles in the hour. The storm was felt over the entire area of the U nited King­dom ; and the wreck returns show that disasters occurred with almost equal frequency on all coasts. Four weeks after the storm the official records gave the t otal loss of life on our coasts as 335, w bile there were 140 vessels which had been abandoned, or had foundered, stranded, or met with other severe easualty, involving either loss of life, or saving of life by some extraneou~ assistance. There were 600 lives saved on our coasts by aid of the Lifeboat Institution and other means. The author has tracked the storm from the neighbourhood of the Bahamas on November 7, across the Atlantic, and over the British I slands to Central E urope on November 20.

The other papers read were " Rainf all and E vaporation Observations at the B ombay Water Works," by Mr. S. Tomlinson, M. Inst. C. E .; and "On Ch anges in the Character of Certain M onths," by Mr. A. E . Watson, B.A., F.R. Met. Soc.

================~·

" A NE"'vV CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF LABOUR."

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING. Sm,-Perhaps you will kindly allow me to reply to the

letter published in your issue of the 15th inst., and signed on behalf of the employes of Messrs. S. H. J obnson and Co., engineers, Stratford, E ., in which my name appears so prominently. When these gentlemen credit me with using the words quoted, viz., "Messrs. J ohnson, of L ondon, followed, " &c., in my speech to my employes at Arbroath in January last, when announcing my inten­tion to adopt the forty-eight hours' weekly labour in my establishments at the same pay as others were giving for fifty-four hours, they make a mistake, as I am not aware of having used any such words. Neither do I find any such words reported in the broch!ure referred to, entitled "A New Chapter in the History of Labour," in which a rt:cord of the whole proceedings and correspondence in the press which ensued is given. I nevar even men· t ioned the name of Messrs. J ohnson in my speech, and the only reference therein to them was the following : "while one other engineering firm in L ondon has, I believe, acted on the prinoiple on which I have made up my mind to act. " True, in a letter to the Dund ee

797 Advertiser and which is also published in the brochure mentioned: 1 pointed out that "Messrs. Mg.ther ~nd Platt" (who had also latterly adopted the forty·elght hours' weekly labour) "are merely following in the foot­steps of men like Mr. William Allan, Sunderland, Messrs. J ohnson, L ondon, and myself, all of us engineers who had already successfully adopted the same arrangement, under perhaps better condit ions so far as the employes are concerned." And again, in another part of the same let ter I further stated that "to Mr. Alla.n belongs, per­baps 'the principal credit of advocating by pamphlet, on the platform and before the L abour . Commission, . the adoption in England of . a shorter wo.rklDg day f?r sktlled mechanics." A ll of whteh appeared m the press 1n Febru­ary last, and to which I am sure not the slightest excep ­tion can be taken.

The t itle of the brochure, " A New Chapter in. the History of L abour," is in my opinion most a.ppropna.te, seeing the brochU're faithful1y records at least a chapter in the history of labour so far as my eml?loyes and I are concerned· and, notwi thstanding the rather cheap s~eer at the said title by those signing the letter in quest10n, in their seeming ignorance of the real facts, I quite agree with the concluding remarks of the editor of the brochure proper when he states: "Customers and correspondents from all parts of the kingdom are asking what is the change which Mr. K eith has made, and what will be its efff'cts. Its nature is fully explained in the report and correspondence included in this brochure. Of its effects it is too early to speak; but it is not too much to say that for the Scottish engineering tradfl it is a crossing of the Rubicon, and the opening of a new chapter of labour history."

I am, Sir, yours, &c., J AMES K EITH, Assoc. rvr. Inst. c. E.

57, Holborn-viaduct, E. C., L ondon, December 1G, 1893.

STEAM JETS. To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

S IR,-With reference to the letter upon this subject published in your last issue, as the proprietor of the duplex nozzle, and forced draught system with which it is used, I should wish, with your permission, to correct the errors of your correspondents. So far, then, from dis­paraging the efficiency of the ordinary solid steam jet, I am a stronger advocate of such jets than your correspon­dents imagine- as they will presently discover-and my last specification aotuaUy includes at least three varieties of adjustable solid jets. Any remarks that I have myself made regarding such jets have been with respect to the difficulty of varying or adjusting their size and power, otherwise than by throttling the steam supply.

Coming now to the particular duplax nozzle to which Messrs. Meldrum refer, it is the only one of that type ever sold (as I was dissatisfied upon testing it afterwards), nor is there another such one in existence. I will, how­ever, take it just as it is, because even with its imperfec­tions it is amply sufficient for the present purpose. A s early, then, as in the provisional specification of the first patent, I stated that "the duty of the second jet is to supplement the effort of the first (or solid) one, to a greater or less extent as may be necessary from time to time and under varying condjtions." In other words, for the normal or ordinary work I rely upon the central solid jet (in this respect Messrs. Meldrum and myself are in agreement), and when fitted to the complete forced draught apparatus I proportion it accordingly, while the second one is used as an auxiliary to assist the first when the latter is no longer strong enough for any extra or temporarily greater work which may come upon it, or when, for mstance, the steam pressure may have fallen too low to give the requisite power with the solid jet alone. It will be clearly understood, then, that the object of the design is to overcome the difficulty of actually ad­just ing the solid jet itself, by bringing in an auxiliary one of variable strength to supplement it.

Turning now t o Messrs. Meldrum's figures, what do we find were the proportions of the two jets as adjusted for their experiments ? Well, the aggregate areas were .035 square inch, while the solid one was barely .007, thus leaving fully .028 for the second or auxiliary jet. In other words, t he auxiliary was set to fully four times the strength of that which should have been the primary, upon which J?rimary, as already explained, I re1y for effici ently domg the burden of the work. Messrs. Mal­drum, then, having failed to grasp the very elements of the principle upon which the nozzle is base-d, it is not sur­prising that they should have worked it under improper conditions, and consequently have obtained poor results.

In the present type of nozzle the side jets have about the same effi ciency as a ! -in. solid jet, and, therefore, the proportional extent of their opening is of less consequence than in the above design.

I come now to a remarkable passage in Messrs. Mal­drum's letter, in which they refer to a nominally annular jet not being really so, unless provision be made for ad­JI!i~ting a:ir to the at;lnulus through t he centre, which pro­VISiOn bemg absent m the duplex nozzle, " the annular jet acts as a shield to prevent access of air to the central one.11

To this I reply, I s it conceivable that your corre­spondents, after ten years' special study of steam jetP, believe that their action is in any material degree due to the friction of the jet against the adjoining air, causing that air to be dragged along with it '? And further, do they not understand that the objects of the hollow or tubular annular nozzles are: (1) T o prevent the body of the nozzle (more es{>ecially when of large size) offering mechanical obstruction to the flow of air ; and (2)-as, for example, in Adams' vortex blast pipe -to cause the air drawn through the hollow interior, by the general

•

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•

action of the jet, to act upon a space distinct from that exposed to the current flowing around the outside of the nozzle. It may be stated that the body of the duplex nozzle is too small to cause any perceptible obstruction. Finally, have they not yet discovered that a jet working in a. pipe acts therein just as a piston would do (only with less solidity), by sweeping out the column of air which is in front of it, and thus producing a partial vacuum behind the jet, into which flow fresh volumes of air, t o be in their turn swept out ? If the action were materially due to surface friction, then annular jets would be greatly superior to solid ones, by reason of the greater surface they expose for the exertion of that f riction, and, more­over, solid jets of medium pressure would be as effective as similar sizes at hi~h pressures, seeing that the velocities of the two are pract10ally the same, and their perimeters identical. I will now pass on to the subject of the com­plete blower, that is to say, of the combined steam jet and tube in which it works. It is well known that a tube having a. rounded or coned inlet of the form of the "contracted vein" offers bub very small resistance t o the outflow of fluids . Professor Rankine states in at least one of his works that the efficiency of such tubes is as high as from 97 t o 99 per cent. Now I employ this form of mouthpiece (the cun·ed inlet being struck out in the pattern so that the subsequent casting has the desired shape) attached to a short cylin­drical or slightly converging tube some five diameters long. This minimum length is necessary for c ircum­ferentially confining the column of air upon which the jet exerts its impact, and it is within this tube that the blast or current may be said b o be made or produced. After its production ib should obviously be passed at once to its work with the least possible resistance, and I accordingly leave the end of the tube freely open to the full area of the asbpit. Messrs. Meldrum, I understand, employ a. similar tube, but having in addition a diverging extension of about the same length as the original tube, and gradually increasing in area till its outlet is about three t imes that of the tube. Your readers can form an opinion as to the value of this ext~nsion attached to a tube which already possesses an efficiency of about 98 per cent. Such diverging extensions ar~ un­questionably useful in blowers of the Korting type, which are fixed at some distance from the furnace, and in which, therefore the blast has to be conveyed through mord or less length of piping, but they then act merely as enlarged pipes for giving greater freedom t o the travel o! the blast. With blowers put direct into a closed ashp1t the conditions are, however, essentially d ifferent.

In conclusion, I think the t erms "combining tube" or " mixing tube, J1 as applied to these air l>ipes, are mis­leading, and t end to the confusion of 1deas, because, a lthough the steam and air do " mix" within thei?, this mixing is a mere incidental to the process of makmg the blast. If my view is incorrect, then the chimney of a locomotive might, with almost equal propriety, be known as a " combining tube."

Yours faithfully, w. A. GRAN GF.R.

102, Brooke-road, L ondon, N., D ecember 26, 1893.

To TTIE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING. SIR,-The information contributed by your correspon­

dents M essrs. Meldrum, would have been more Yalu­able had it been disinterested. Sir \Villiam Siemens used forced draught under firebars with closed grates twenty­one years ago, and, after most careful in vesti~ation, d~­cided in favour of the annular nozzle. There IS no vahd patent in steam jab applications of this kind, so that this mformation may he useful to those who care for a ready means of producing forced pressure ~nder grates ; all th.e same, the efficiency of steam jets '':111 not bear compa:n­son with a well ·designed fan, especially one worked w1th a high-speed engine. li'or using dust or common fuel all that is required is a elosed grate and a ~ood fan such as the Sturtevant or Root's blower; this IS worth all the different steam jets ever designed, and anyone can apply ib without payment of fancy prices.

D ecember 23, 1893. CACTUS.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF PO\VER FRO~I NIAGARA.

To TH~ EDITOR OF E NGINEERING. . SIR,-With .reference to. your report of t.he proceedmgs

of the institutwn of Electr10al Engmeers, w1ll yo~allow me to explain that in referring t o the parallel workmg of my alternators th~ experiments to which Professor Forbes alluded co~sisted in placing- between two ~000-volt alter­nators a resistance that, w1t.h about one- thi.rd of the out­pub of one machine, was capable of absorbmg nearly ~alf Its volts? Even under these circumstances the machmes did not actually break oub of ste{>.

Considering the bP.aring of th1s test. on ~he problem of working a distant synchronous motor, It w11l be s~en that the r esistance interposed between the two machmes was considerably more than would have absorbed t.he whol~ of the output of the generator at full load, leavmg nothmg for the motor.

These experiments afforded a very strong proof of the very powerful . synchr<?nising effort exert~d by these machines, and It was wt th the greatest astomshm~nt that I heard them cited by P rofessor F orbes as showmg the contrary. Yours tru1 y t .. w. lVl. M ORDEY.

THE INDETERMINATE CASES IN GRAPHIC STATICS.

To THE EDITOR Olt' ENGINEEIHNG. SIR,-In your issue of December 8 (page ?90) Y.our

reviewer refers to a class of framed structures, m wh1cb,

E N G I N E E R 1 N G . at certam steps in the process of drawing a stress dia-

f am, you are confronted by three unknown quantities . do not know if the following graphical method of

solving these has ever been published. Take for illustration the same truss-as shown in the

annexed figure. Proceed as far as possible in the usual way, i.e. , draw P A, N A; AB, Q B; BC, N C. Then draw C d of indefinite length ; also R e and S f Now take any assumed value for one of the unknown stresses, say R El: draw El F I, El Dl, and F1 D 1• Take again R EH, and draw EH F ll, E H nn, and Fll nn. Then the

0

• Fig.2

A

8

N

0

p

T

u

V

w

X

line joining the two points Dl and D ll thus found wlll interllecb the line C d in the true point D, and we can then proceed to complete the diagram.

In this particular case it is obvious that we might at once draw D I D parallel to eR, but in other cases it is necessary to take two assumed values as above described .

I am, Sir, your obedient Eervant, J . L .

D ecember 14, 1893. [Our impression is, though we are not certain, that the

neat device set forth by our correspondent has been previously g iven by Professor H enrici in his lecLures on graphic statics, though whether it has been previously published or not we do not know.-Eo. E.l

A CATENARY PROBLEM. To TRE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

SIR,-! shall be much obliged if one of your readers will kindly assist me in the solution of the following problem:

Suppose a steel wire rope of a given length, say 450 ft., a given area, say 1 square inch, making a given angle with the hori~ontal, say 30 deg. , subjected to a known tension, say 16 tons (80 tons being the supposed ultimate strength per square inch), by a suspended weight W.

T o find the sag of the wire and the extra tension caused by its own weight.

• Yours faithfully, H. G. S.

December 4, 1893. [Our correspondent's problem amounts to this: Given

the points A, B, and C, to draw a. .catenary through the points A and C, such that the vert10al component of the

c

c \

J'rl •

w

.Pig.1.

0 I Jz

--------x, -----------------X2 ----- -----------

1993. p Q R

tension in the catenary ab A is equal to W where \V= 8 tons and to find out the maximum tension in the cate­nary ~nd its departure from the line A C. The load on the catenary is 3~ lb. per foot run.

Referring to the annexed diagram. Let 0 be the vertex of the curve; 0 P =axis of y, P R = axis of X .

Then the equation to the catenary is:

y=a cosh x ; a

where a and x1 are unknown and have to be determined so that the curve passes through the points A and C, and the tension at A is such that its vertical component is 8 tons at A, i.e., from the equations :

. h X 1 8 X 2240 a sm -= -a 3.333

and

a ( cosh x1 +a~~ - cosh : 1 ) = B C.

These equations do nob admit of direct solution, but by Newton 's method of approximation the following results are readily obtained :

a = 9703 fb.

!'1 = .52915 a

sinb x, = .55!20 a

cosh x, = 1.14330 a

X!?= .5G930 a

sinh :=2 = . 60054 a

cosh ~ = 1.16649 a

Maximum tension on the rope is at C, and is equal to 16.85 tone.

The sag could be determined by . plotting. down .a number of points on the cur ve from .It~ equat10n, or. tt may be directly calculated by determmmg the equatiOn to the line A 0 in the form x cos a+ y sin a-p=o, and substituting for x and y the values ~, p., where~, JJ. are co­ordinates of the catenary. If the curve is assumed to be a parabola, it is easy to see that at the mid point of A C the perpendicular distance between this line and the rope is approximately 2.025 ft. - Eo. E.]

ECONOMICAL SPEED OF STEAMSHIPS. To TH E EDITOR 011' ENGINEERING.

Sm,- I quite agree with all that M. R. de Villamil says in his letter of November 24, published in your last issue. The assumption that the indicated horse-power of a vessel varies as the cube of her speed may be described as somewhat old-fashioned, and is certainly incorrect.

Mr. Millar, however, in the article which called forth my letter, asl<~d his readers to ' ' let the power be 7ons~d.ere~ as varying wttb the cube of the speed for simphC1ty, and I allowed this assumption to pass uncorrected in his equations in order to show the effect of tho more serious error of principle involved in the statement that the work done will vary as the product of power exerted and space traversed.

I shall therefore not attempt the impossible task . of giving M . R. de Villamil any good examples of sh1ps whose power varies as the cube of thei r speed, and would certainly never dream of giving him examples that had any "nonsense" about them.

P artick, D ecember 25, 1R93. B. So.

LOW v . HIGH PRESSURE GASHOLDERS. T o THF: E DITOR Ol•' ENG I NEERING.

Sm - I do a lot of travelling by rail, and when I look at the g~s-l igh~i~g of the c~rriages on our r~ilways, and con­sider where 1t 1s stored, m the small cyhnders under the carriages, sometimes under a pressure of 150 lb. to the square inch, .I wonder w~en. some ?f our enli~htened gas engineer~ wtll turn thetr 1mmed1ate a.ttent10n to the importance of applying this principle (of gas under pres­sure) for our city and town supplies, and abolishing for ever those large, ugly, and dangerous low· pressure holders which have been, and are being, erected at the present day.

I feel certain in my own mind that whereas, as under t.he present system, it costs 20,COOl. to m.ake a gas tank and erect a bolder for a storage capacity of 1 800 000 ft . of gas, the same amount of storage could be provided under pressure in one-tenth the area. of land and at one-tenth of the cost of plant; and, furt~er, !lS .a. question of safety, and also appearance, everythmg 1s 1~ favour 0f gas being stored under pressu.re, and all that IS required is that some of our engineers wtll take the matter up, so that ~e may thus inaugurate a:n improvement which will brmg about a new state of thmgs and a great national benefit.

Yours respE-ctfully, D ecember 13, 1893. A GASHOLDER B urLDKR.

L IC RTHOC ·~sIN BAss' STRArrs,-H has been suggested that a conference should be held at H obart early next year in order t o settle difficulties which havt~ arisen between the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania respecting t.he maintenance ?~ lighthouses in Bass' Straits. There 1s every probab1hty that the suggestion will be acted upon ; and to make th.e con­ference more important it is proposed to refer to 1b al~o the vexed question of whab consti tutes coast a:l trade m connection with the issue of certificates to colontal masters of vessels.

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DEc. 29, 1 893.]

MISCELLABEA. Sl:'E.\K£NG recently ab the E ngineers' Club at Phila­

delphia, Mr. J a.mes 9~ ris tie st~ted ~bat in ~losing ve_ry long rivets, snob as .q 10. or 1 m . n vets, 5 m. or 6 10. long, he had found it best to use a plain bar and form a bead at both ends at the same time.

Me3srs. Scott Brothers, of the W est M ount W orks, llalifax, are taking up the manufactu~e of a new. typ~ of g tS engine. W e learn, also, that the K etghley Engmeermg Company, of Keighley, Yorkshire, are about to undertake the manufacture of gas engines, and are extending their p :-emiseJ a.b Waddington-street for that purpose.

The Imperial Court of Appeal at L eipsic has just decided in an action b_rought by the llagen Accumulator Co~pa~y against certam manufacturers of secondary battenes 10 Germany, that the employment of lead in the state c.f super-oxide, oxide, or insoluble salts as a. fi lling material for accumulator pla tes comes under Faure's patent.

It is proposed to erect a cantilever brid_ge over the Hudson River ab Jew York. Mr. T. C. Clarke is the engineer to the scheme. The main span is to be of 2000 ft., and there will be two flanking spans of 900ft. ea.ch. A clear head way'of 150 fb. will be given above the wd.ter level. Tbe cost of the structure is estimated ab 8, 000, OOOt.

The new hauling-up slip for repairs to vessels and machinery which !viessrs. Blackwood and Gordon have laid down a longside of their shipbuildin~ and engineering works situated to the east of Newark Ca3tle, Port Glasgow, was occupied on D ecember 26 for the first t ime by the tug steamer F lying \Vizard, one of the Clyde S bippmg Com­pl.ny's fleet of stf\amers. The vessel was placed on the carriage in the foranoon, and in a short time was hauled up to the bead of the slip.

As an indication of the p robable effect cf the open ing of the l\Iancbester S hip Ca.nal on the engineering trade of the district, we may mention that the well-known fi rm of Galloways, L imited, engineers and boilermakers, ~1anchester, have arranged to receive on the day of the opening of the canal, namely , J anuary 1, a cargo of 500 tons of steel pla tes. bars, angles, &c., by a specially chartered steamer, the Beryl, from Glasgow. There is no reason to doubt that the canal will be equally convenient and economical for outward deli veries of fini~hed engine and boiler work .

!vir. T. P arker having resigned the position of loco­motive carriage, and wagon superintendent of the Man­chaste; Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Rail way, the loco­motive'and carriage departments have been made sepa­rate and Mr. Harry Pollitt, formerly works manager at the ~ompany's works at Gorton, has been appointed loco­motive engineer, Mr. Parker, j un., being made carriage and wagon superintendent. S ir Edward Watkin appears to have been unfortunate lately in losing his locomotive su perin tendents, Mr. Hanbury having also resigned from the !v!etropolitan Railway.

\Ve are informed that Messrs. R obey and Co., engineers, of the Globe Works, L incoln, have converted their busi­ness into a limited liability company, with an autho­rised share capital of 300,000l. in preference and ordinary shares, 272, 710l. of which are taken by the partners and holders of capital in the old firm, no issue of any of the company's share capital having been offered to the p~blic. In addition to the above capital of 300, OOOl., there w1ll be an issue of 125,000l. four-a:nd 3 a-quarter per ce~b. deben­tures making a total cap1tal of 425,000l. Tbts change has b'een made in consequence of the deaths of partners, and to facilitate family arrangements, leaving the present management of the business unaltered.

The last issue of L e Yacht gives a full description of the ra~ing two-rater, V: en~enesse, which has been constr.ucted on quite a novel prm01ple, the frames and beams bemg of steel, and the :plating and decks of aluminium. She has been buih at St. Denis for Uount J . d e Cbabannes L a Palice from designs by M. Victor G illoux, and is almost identi~al in model with the E ncore, ten· rater, built by Fife, of Fairlie, in 1890. Owing to the experimental nature of the undertaking the cost has been abnormal, but a!l d_iffi­cult ies have been successfully overcome. In the prm01 pal dimensions the displa-cement is given at 15 tons, and of this amount 11 tons is accountPd for as lead ballast, the saving in wei~bt through using aluminium being, there­fore, somethmg remarkable. Illustrations and experi­ments in respect to stabili ty are given, and it is claimed that the results are highly satisfactory. The Vendenesse is now at Havre, and her owner intends to test her sea­going abilities by sending her, vu~ Gibraltar, to the Cannes and ~ice R egattas.

E N G I N E E R I N G. 799 3

3

hE>ld at the \Vestminster r alace H otel, !vir. Percy \Valdram in the chair, a paper was read by Mr. S. Cutler J· un. on "Coal Gas Manufacture, and R ecent

be taken into account that matters ha ye been steadily worse since the date under not1ce :

becoming

' ' Th . " C Improvements of the Plant Employed erem. om-mencing by showing how rapidly the demand for gas had increased since ita introduction, the author proceeded to briefly describe the usual processes of gas man~fa.cture, passing on to a detailed accoun t of t~e r~cent Improve­ments which had been adopted. Tbe 10chned s~stem of retorts, to obtain automatic charging and drawmg ; t~e latest forms of condensers and purifiers; compre.ssed a1~, hydraulic, and rope-power machinery for drawmg hori­zontal retorts; water-seal valves; water gas plant; and other features bein~ dealt with. Of gasholders, that at K ensal Green, of 8 million cubic feet capacity, and another of 300 ft . diameter, semi-columnless, a.b East Greenwich, were described. In conclusion, the cost of manufacture, by-products, the future of gas conside~ed in respect to electricity, and gas employed as a heatmg agent were touched upon. A discussion followed the reading of the paper .

At a. meeting of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Professor Robert H. R ichards described a form of stadia telescope, in which one-half of the object glass is cove~ed with a prism ground at an acute angle. On lookmg through the telescope. two images of any given object are seen side by side. Using a stadia rod with two targets, two of the four images of these targets seen in the tele­scope may be made to coincide by moving the targets closer together or farther apart, as the case may be, and when this is accomplished the d istance between the obser ver and the stadia rod is a definite multiple of that between the targets, and depends only on the angle to which the prism is ground. An ad vantage of the instrument is the fact that io can be used without a stand, and repeated experiments have shown an accuracy of from 1 part in 1000 parts to 1 in 3000, some of the sights being over a mile long. F or such long sights the stadia rod is replaced by a 100-fb. steel tape, fitted with two light cardb0ard targets sl iding in it. 'l'he tape was set square to the line of visicn by means of an optical square. I t will be ~een that the accuracy of the new instrument apparently exceeds that of careful chaining.

The fifth ordinary meeting of the L iverpool Engineering Society was held at the Royal Institut ion on W ednesday evening, D ecember 20, l\Ir. H. P ercy Boulnois, M . Inst. C. E., p resident, in the chair, when a paper entitled "A Tour 10 South Africa, with Reference to Engineer ing W ork, Past and Present," wasread by Mr. U. L. Burton, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E. A fter a brief outline of the history, and a. short reference t o the towns, harbours, and ri vera, the author devoted his remarks to the railways, the diamond fields, and the goldfields. The first Act for railways, it seems, was passed in 1857, and the first l ine opened in 1863. The original gauge of the lines, as built by private enterprise, was 4 ft . 8~ in. After the purchase, however, by the Government, this was altered, and all further extensions made to 3 ft. 6 in.- a fact which is now much regretted by all leading men in the colony. In Natal the railways have been pushed forward with greater difficulty, owing to the fact of its being a Crown colony, and, therefore, not master of its own destinies. T ouching the goldfields the author referred to the system of recovering the gold, but more particularly to the cyanide process for treating the tailings after leaving the stamp batteries, which showed that, while the average of gold obtained from the batteries was 50 to 60 per cent. of that contained in the ore, the cyanide process added another 30 per cent. to this, making a total yield of about 90 per cent. of the gold contained in the ore.

A n interesting account of the widening of the St.

N eilson and Co. . . . . . . . .. Dubs and Co. . . . . . . . .. Bey er, Peacock and Co.,

Limited . . . . . . . . . . .. S harp, Stew art and Co.,

Limited . . . . . . . . . . .. Kitson and Co. . . . . . . . .. Vulca.n Foundry Company,

Limited ... ... ... . .. R. Stephenson and Co., Limited N asmyth, Wilson, and Co. . .. Manning, \Vardle, and Co. . .. llunslet Engine Company ..

1800. 2505 1960

2159

1336 1255

670 530 474 403 262

1802. 2:~07 1GU7

1292

1507 1268

561 455 377 267 240

1893. 1896 1775

1359

1246 1079

486 344 320 293 245

11,654 9071 9043

The falling-off in numbers of men employed-928-'!ould probably have to be doubled if statistics wer~ avatlable for December31 current and the first pay-day m January, 1894 would show a still 'larger falling away. If the above num'ber of men employed this year-viz., 9043,_ be com­pared with the tota.~ of 1~.654 men _employed 10 1890, a more approximate Idea ~1ll ~e obta10ed of the pres~nb condition of the locomottve mdustry. The amount of work pub into the publicmarket during_the last year ~nly about equalled one-third of the capaCity of product10n, and it will be safe t o state that the total amount of orders booked publicly or privately, does not exceed one-half of the po~ers of production.

Is~IAILIA AND P ORT SAID RaiLWAY.-The Khedive of Egypt has just inaugurated this line, which belongs to the Suez Canal Company. The line is to be devoted solely to passenger traffic.

BRITisu, F RENCH, AND R ussiAN T onPEDo-BoATS.­The followiog are particulars of all the first -claos torpedo· boats, as distinct from torpedo-boat catchers and torpedo­boat destroyers, tha t have been built, ordered, or autho­rised by Great Britain, France, and Russia since the passing of the Naval Defence Act of 1889 :

28-knot boats 26· knot boats 25-knob boats 24-knot boats 23-knob boats 22-knot boats 21-knot boats Slow boats

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•••

•••

•••

•• •

• • •

•••

Great Britain. France. Russia. . . . 2 . . . 2 . . . 7 . . . 10 11 53 . . . 4 . .. 20 . . . 3

11 101

3 1

3 14

4

25

AWARDS TO \ VORKMEN l•'OR INVENTION.-The report has been issued as to the awards scheme by which Messrs. Denny grant to the workmen in their shi_Pbuildin~ y~rd at Dumbarton a sum of money for suggest10ns for the Im­provement in plant, &c., likely to facilita te or cheapen production. D uring the year ffl new claims have been considered, and of this number 38 have been successful, 15 rejected, and 4 postponed. The total sum expended during the year was 144l.; of this sum 96l. was paid in ordinary awards and 48l. in premiums. The number of a wards and the amount of money expended are not only much greater than those of last year, but are the third highest in any year since the scheme was started. Fully two-thirds of the total number of claims received were successful, as against an average of 52 per cent. for the fourteen years the scheme has been in operation. The workmen in the iron department have this year suc­ceeded, for the first time, in sending in more claims than those of any other department, while the electrical de­partment ha~ been successful above all ~thers, consider­ing the number of workmen connected w1th the branch. Since the introduction of the scheme, 602 claims have been received, 313 being successful and 289 rejected. The total sum expended is 1480l. , of which 1034l. was paid in awards and 446l. paid in premiums. The sum of 908l. has been gained by 18 claimants.

In a report by the Imperial Sanitary Commission of Berlin appointed to inquire into the water sup_ply ~o towns from rivers and streams, after the recent epidemiC in Hamburg, it is recommended that all streams from which a water supply is taken should be free from sewage pollution, and that no barges should be allowed to anchor near the intakes. Sand filtration does nob parfectly free the water from microbe~, and hence the rate of filtration should not be forced, and the velocity of the water through the fi lter should n ob exceed 10 centimetres (4 in.) per hour. The tbioknes~ of sand i;D the filters sbo?ld never be less than 30 cent1metres (12 m .). Aftez cleanmg a filter, the first water passed through after the operation should be run to waste, as it will contain a considerable number of germs. The efficiency of the fi ltration should be tested daily by the bacteriological method. If the above points are carefully attended to, it is asserted that there is \·ery little danger of cholera microbes passing the filters.

Gothard Railroad for a second pair of rails- a work com­pleted in May last-has been recently published in the Schwcizerische Bav zcitung. In the original construction of the line, the question of future widening was carefully considered, and the work laid out to facilitate this. The main tunnel and four of the smaller ones were made sufficiently large for a double track in the fi rst instance, but on other parts of the line this was nob so, and in these cases the single-line tunnels bad been built to the Pressel­Kaufmann section, which can easily be enlarged. The work of double tracking was commenced in 1887, and it was intended to complete ib by 1896, but the traffic grew so rapidly that it was necessazy to hasten the pro­gress of the work. The contracts were let in short sections only, in order to insure the personal super ­intendence of the work by the contractors. All plant, such as cars, rails, fastenings, turntables, &c., was supplied free, and the explosives were alEo supplied at cost price. The most di fficult portions of the work were undertaken by the company itself. The }Videning of the tunnels was done almost exclusively at nigl1t, during which the train intervals were longest and the smoke least troublesome. In general, two blasts were fired during the night, and the debris completely removed before the first morning tr:tin passed. In widening masonry structures, the rock faces of the stones were dressed off, and the new masonry built up abutting the old ones. Amongst the work thus done was a bridge p ier 170 ft. high. Tbe method ·proved perfectly satisfactory. T o insure the safety of the traffic during the work, special signal cabins were fitted up, and other precautions taken. The total cost of the widening work was nob very large, being but 500, OOOl. , whilst the original cost of the line was about 9,600,000{., of whichtbegreattunnel alonecosb 2,500,000l.

The following returns of men employed ab the end of September by the chief locomotive builders is given in the Glasoow H erald as a fair indication of the state of trade at ~that date, as compared with the same date in 1892,

At the last meeting of the Junior Engineering Society, hub unfortunately, in formulating deductions, it must

NEw BRITISH GuNDOATS.-The D ockyard authorities at Sheerness have commenced the construction of the new station gunboats A lert and Torob, which are l?rovided for in the Navy Estimates of the current tinan01al years The Alert and T orch are to be ready for commission early in 1895. They are the first of a new type of gun­boats for foreign service, designed by Mr. W. H. White, Director of Naval Construction, and are to have a di~­placement of 960 tons. Their length will be 180 fb., with a breadth of 32 ft. 6 in., and a mean load draught of 11 ft. 6 in. The upper and lower bunkers of the ship (which will be unarmoured) will be separated by a. light steel watertight deck of j .in. plating. The shell will be of 10 lb. plating, covered with teak 3~ in. in th ick­ness to a height just above the water-line. The stem and stern posts are to be of phosphor bronze. The engines of the T orch and Alert are to be made in the engineering department of Sheerness D ockyard, which has just completed the fittin g of the machinery of the new fast gunboat H ebe. The T orch and Alert will be fi tted with engines of the triple-expansion type, supplied with steam from two boilers. \ Vorking under forced draught their machinery is to indicate 1400 horse­power, with a speed of 13.25 knots, and under natural draught 1050 horse-power, with a speed of 12.25 knots. Their armament will consist entirely of quick-firing guns, six 25-pounders, and four 3-pounders. The Admiralty have sanctioned an expenditure of 25,000l. upon the Torch and Alert during the present financial year.

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SAND PU~1P DREDGER "BRANCKER" FOR THE RIVER MERSEY. CONSTRUCTED BY THE NAVAL CONSTRUCTION AND ARMAMENTS COMPANY, LIMITED, BARROW-IN-FURNESS.

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cylinder compound engine with the usual double-acting pumps.

'!'he propelling machinery consists of three-stage expan-sion engines working separate screws. The working pressure is 180 lb. per square inch.

There are on deck a couple of steam winches and a. powerful steam windlass for the anchors.

The vessel is fitted with a. rudder at stem and stern, both of which can be worked by steam or hand.

The vessel is divided into three watertight compart­ments forward and three aft of the hoppers, exclusive of the peaks, and the hoppers are independently built within the bull of the vessel, thus forming between themselves and the outside and the bottom other eight compart­ments ; the after part of the double bottom beneath the hoppers is used a.s a fresh-water tank for the boilers.

Quarters are provided for the officers and crew in the poop and forecastle.

On the triale on the Mersey Bar the hoppers were for some time filled at the rate of 100 tons per minute, or

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equal to 6000 tons per hour . In another trial the time from the start to charge the tube until the hoppers were full was 39 minutes, or at the average rate of 4620 tons per hour. On the official trial the hoppers were filled with 3000 tons in 43.4 minutes, or a.t the rate of 4150 tons per hour. In this case, however, the character of the sand was very differen t from the average, the result of which was a loss of 10 per cent. in the overflow against an ordi­nary loss of not over 2 per cent.

In so gigantic a.n experiment as this it was not looked for that success would be immediately secured, conse­quently during the progress of the design the way was very carefully felt, and a considerable number of experi­ments were made with hoppers of different sizes, so as to determine the most satisfactory proportions of valves and the necessary quantities of water for sludging, with the result that when a pair of the hoppers were ultimately fitted up with such arrangements as our experience with models suggested as suitable, it was found, on trials made from May 18 to May 27, that practically no modifica-

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8o2 E N G I N E E R I N G. tion was found needful. Ib will, however, be unnecessary was rapidly set ablaze at, at least, a hundred different to say that, although the machine has been pronounced points. The harrowing details which have been given of most successful, there will doubtless be points discovered the occurrence mark it as the most frightful catastrophe !n continued working . which may suggest improvements of its kind that has ever happened. The loss of life is 1n case of a reproduct10n of the machine. One might be estimated at over five hundred persons, and that of pro­the policy of reproducing so large a. hopper dredger, as party at many thousands of pounds, perhaps approach­~here are many arguments, and of a powerful charact er ing millions. The absolute number of those who have 1n favour of a separate dredging plant with hopper ten~ p9rished can never be known whilst the wounded form a ders. The~e we~e, ho~ever, ~iven full .consideratio~ by heavy list o! over two tbousa~d persons. the Board s advisers m the hght of theu past expertence · The parttculars of the disaster have been variously before the Branoker was con~racted for, and the balance stated, for at firsb there was great difficulty in obtaining of advanta~e '!as held to be m favour of t~e one vessel; definite information, owing to the circumstances that whether th1s IS upheld by further expenence remains many of the public functionaries ara amongst the victims, to b~ seen. as well as 'those who had charge of the ship. As far as

SOME PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF BLASTING.*

By Mr. PERRY F. NuRSEY, Past President. (Concluded from page 77 4.)

Danger Risks.-In carrying out blasting operations it is of the first importance to have a reliable colleague. H e should possess a cool head, a steady hand, and a quick judgment. Both in his work with lithofracteur and carbo-dynamite the author has been fortunate in having the co·operation of gentlemen possessing those desirable qualities. In the former instance, be bad for a eo-worker Herr J aoob En gels, the inventor of lithofracteur, and in the latter 1Yir. Walter F. Reed, the inventor of carbo­dynamite. To the latter the author is indebted for several practical suggestions as regards details of the operations. It is hardly possible for those who have not had experience in the class of work described in this paper to realise the thousand and one points that present themselves for careful consid&ration during the organisa­tion of a. blasting operation, nor the deep anxiety that pervades the mind when the supreme moment of its exe­cution arrives. The most thoughtful care and the keenest watchfulness have to be exercised throughout, lest at any moment a trifling slip should be the cause of failure, or worse, of dire diRaster. Such being the general mental condition antecedently to the event, it may be imagined what a grateful sense of relief is experienced upon the attainment of a successful result.

Nor are risks of accident absent during the actual exe­cution of blasting operations, either through the stupidity or the want of nerve on the part of workmen. For instance, when carrying out some torpedo experiments at Quenast the author had a couple of boats conveying to mid-stream a light raft under which was a heavy charge of litho­fracteur, with the exploding gear attached. The raft was resting on the gunwale of each boat, and the author's instructions to both crews were to lift and lower it gently into the water, a work very easily performed. The raft was lifted gently enough, but at the author's signal to lower, it was simply dropped down on the water, and the boats' crews took to their oars and rowed away for their lives. The author at length got one man, who had a little more courage than the rest, to pull him quietly out to arrange the charge and light the fuze. Another in­stance occurred in the Isle of Man, where the author was doing some blasting in connection with the Douglas Harbour Works, for Sir John Coode. He bad charged two big holes in a 16-in. ledge of rock with about 1lb. of explosive each. The ledge was his platform, and he bad a 10 ft. or 12 ft. vertical wall of rock before him, and 18ft. of water behind him. The water was just up to the level of the ledge of rock, and having lighted his two fuzes he put his bands on the gunwale of the boat to embark, when the boatmen instantly pulled off, although they were well aware that they bad five minutes in which to clear out. As a consequence, the author with a heavy pair of jack boots on, slipped into the 18 ' ft. of water. As he did nob release his hold of the boat he was quickly got inboard, plus a gallon or two of ;ea water stowed away in the jack boots. In other cases the author has encountered riskE~, not from fear, but from sheer recklessness.

The Santander Explosion .- It was not the intention of the author t o touch upon the subjt:lct of involuntary or accidental explosions, for the reason that they have been recorded by him in previous papers. If even they had not been so dealt with by him, they would hardly have been admissible in the present communication, as they cannot rightly be classified under the head of practical examples of blasting. The unprecedented character, however of the awful calamity that has recently befallen the busy port o~ Santander .in Spain,, and the de~p and widespread mterest mamfested wtth respect to It, will the author feels assured, justify a record of thtl lam~ntable occurrence on the present occasion. A re­ference to it here, moreover, affords the author t.be oppor­tunity of expressing th~ deep symp~thy :WhiCh every member of the Society, m common wttb himself, must feel for the sufferers by that terribly sudden visitation. And this sympathy may be appropriately extended ~o the sufferers from the diabolical outrage perpetrated m the Liceo Theatre, Barcelona, by the explosi~n of a _bomb in the midst of the unsuspecting and unoffendmg audtence, on November 7, only four days after the Sant~nder cata­strophe. Fearful havoc has been cauR~d by acc:Iden~al ex­plosions, which have occurred fro~ time to t1me m ~he past but none so far as the authors memory serves h1m, hav~ been so ~alamitous as that at Santander, when a dense crowd of human beings, .who h~d ~een a~tracted by the unwonted sight of a burmng ship m the1~ harbour, were in an instant rf'..duced to a heap of matm~d and writhing creatures, mingled with disfigured and dismem­bered corpses, besides the crowds who wer~ blow~ from the surrounding shipping into the water, whtle the1r town

* Paper read before the Society of Engineers.

can be ascertained, however, it would appear that on Friday, November 3, 1893, the steamship Cabo Machi­chaco was discharging her cargo alongside a quay in the Port of Santander. That cargo consisted of 2000 tons of iron, 12 tons of sulphuric acid, a number of casks of petroleum, some casks of spirit, and 1720 cases or 43 tons of dynamite. We here have a heterogeneous collection of materials, constituting a cargo of the most dangerous character conceivable. It appears tha.b the dynamite was not contraband, as at first supposed, but that the whole cargo was duly cleared by the Custom House authorities when the ship left Bilbao. At 3 p.m on the day m~ntioned a fire broke out in the coal bunkers, and as soon as the alarm was given, care was taken to at once land twenty cases of dynamite which were consigned to Santander, the remainder being consigned to other ports. As the firA could not be got under, it was determined to tow the Cabo Maobichaco out into the Bay of Biscay, and let her burn out there. A tugboat was made fast to her for this purpose, but the effort to get her away from her moorings was unsuccessful. It was now an hour and a half since the outbreak of the fire, aod alth ough every effort was made to extinguish the flames, without success, it does not appear to have occurred to any one during that time, even to those who knew the nature of the cargo, to scuttle the vessel, and thus prevent a disaster which they must by degrees have known to be in­evitable. But nothing of the kind was attempted, and at 4.30, with crowds of spectators and swarms of busy helpers around, the fire appears to have reached the petroleum, which then exploded. This was rapidly followed by a second explosion, said to be the ship's boilers, and this again with equal rapidity by a third explosion of a terrific character, which was un­doubtedly the dynamite. The burning ship, with the tug alongside, on board of which were a number of towns­people, curious to ses a burning ship towed out to sea, at onc(l disappeared. The quay was completely wrecked, and the crowd of human beings which thronged it were blown into the air and scattered around on sea and shore, while flaming fragments of timber were projected over the town, setting more than a hundred houses on fire. Numerous ships and small craft in the vicinity of the Cabo Macbichaco, together with their crews, were blown to pieces, whilst others were set on fire by the burning fragments. The distance to which pieces of wood and iron were hurled is shown by the fact that a man was killed by a fragment at Penancestillo, about a mile from the harbour. A local railway train which entered the station at the moment of the explosion was wrecked and ignited, and many of the passengers are reported to have perished. When darkness set in, the sky was lurid with the reflection of uncontrolled fires in various parts of the town, no attempt being made to cope with the conflagra­tion, but everyone abandoning the city for the fields and outlying villages. A night of terror was passed, during which hundreds were searching amongst the dead by the glare of the burning city forlost relatives and friends, and on Saturday morning SantandPr, which twenty-four hours previously had been counted among the most flourishing towns in Spain, resembled a city of the dead.

Quitting these horrors, which the author would have passed over more lightly but for the magnitude of the dis­aster, let us see see what the quantity of dynamite was that caused this havoc. The total quantity stated to have been on board the ill-fated vessel was 1720 cases, of which 20 cases were landed upon the outbreak of the fire. This leaves 1700 cases, which, reckoning the usual quantity of 50 lb. to the case, gives 85,000 lb., or 42~ tons. the ton of explosives being 2000 lb. It appears, however, that 600 oases, or 30,000 lb. = 15 tons, were subsequently found by divers to be unexploded, and were afterwards recovered, loaded in barges, towed ont, and discharged in deep water in the Ba,y of Biscay. This reduces the bulk to 1100 oases = 55,000 lb., or 27i tons, a quantity capable of producing appalling results. In an ordinary blasting operation, such as so~e of those c~rried out ~y the author in J ersey, this quanttty of dynamtte should dtsplace about 200 000 tons of rock, reckoning the work done on the basis of the author's experience, which is 3~ tons per pound of explosive employed.

It is a matter for thankfulness that the whole of the 1700 oases were not exploded, or the results, bad as they were must have been much worse. How it was that the 600 c~ses escaped explosion the author cannot understand, except upon the hypothesis that the explosions prior to that of the dynamite, so broke the ship's back that the 600 cases dropped away into deep water,. before ~he explo­sion of the remainder took place. It Is oertamly mar­vellous that these cases were not exploded, ronsidertng the magnitude of the explosion and their proximity to it. The author has already expressed his surprise that it did not occur to those in charge of the vessel to scuttle her, when they found they could not subdue the confl~gration on board, seeing that they must have known the risk they were running. But, altbou~h they ma:y bav~ ~nown the risk, they may not have reahsed or beh.eved m 1t, for, un­fortunately, in the early days of <lynamtte, and even later on, the often fatal doctrine was promulgated that that

compound would only burn under the influence of fire, and that nothing would explode it except a proper deto­nator. Endeavours have been made in later times to cause people to unlearn this foolish doctrine, but it still lingers, and only a year or two since the author was pre­sent when this doctrine was preached and practised by one who should have known better, but fortun ately with­out disastrous results. The doctrine invariably preached and practised by the author is that E:'xplosives are only comparatively safe as long as they are treated as abso­lutely dangerous. There is no reliance whatever to be placed in the theory that dynamite and many other high explosives can be burned without exploding. Dynamite will explode and has exploded when subjected to the necessary temperature, or to certain conditions other than those of explosion by a detonator. This point has been illustrated over and.over again with fatal results, and the ignorance, crass stupidity, and recklessness occasionally shown by those who are accustomed to the daily use of high explosive~, appears so incredible that the author hopes it will prove both both interesting and instructive if he gives two examples under the not inappropriate head of Th~ Rorna'l'/ ce of Dynarnite.- W ere the writer of a

"shilling shocker" to introduce into his plot the instan­staneous death of a young newly married couple by an ex­plosion of dynamite in the stove of their sitting-room, the explosion being brought about by the bride~room's brother leaving the dynamite baking in the oven of that stove for three days, he (the writer) would be deemed guilty of going a very long way beyond the bounds of human possi­bility in his search after the sensational. And yet, in introducing such an incident, that writer would in no way overstep the limits of possibility, but would be strictly witbm the truth. Such an occurrence, incredible as it may appear, took place in the village of Sootbay, SilvE:'rdale. N orth S taffordshire, aboutamonth since. Ab half-past five in the afternoon of Monday, November 6, Charles Poulton and his wife, to whom hA bad only been married a few days, were sitting in their cottage together with an elder brother of Poulton'tt, who also resided there. Without the slightest warningn, terrible explosion took place, which nearly wrecked the house, literally blew the young- wife to pieces, fatally injured the husband so that he dted a few hours afterwards, and t::eriom~ly injured the brother. Upon being questioned as to the cause of the explosion, the elder P oulton stated that on the previous Saturday be bad placed a charge of blasting gelatine in the oven to thaw, and bad forgotten all about it until the explosion took place. Truly truth is stranger than fiction, and this adage has often been present to the author's mind in connection with dynamite accidents.

The annual reports of her Majesty's Inspectors of Ex­plosives, which the author consults from tim e to tjme, lift the veil from dynamite "accidents, " so called, and reveal instances of recklessness and suicidal ignorance which appear incredible, and would nob be believed were they not officially authenticated. Not the less do acci­dents arise from sheer stupidity, which still goes blunder­ing on in spite of the many warnin~s it receives. The most fruitful source of accidents with dynamite is the thawing of the cartridges, which solidify and become inert at a comparatively high temperature, namely, about 40 deg. Fahr. To thaw the cartridges, tin warming pans are, or should be, provided, and if used with ordinary care they form a safe and t-ffioient means of carrying out this operation. They are constructed on the principle of the glue-pot, the cartridges being placed in the remov­able portion and covered up, the bottom part being fill ed with warm water. So reasonably safe is the use of this contrivance, that the author can only recall one instance of an accident occurring in its use. On the other hand, a very large number of persons have been k illed, and a still larger number seriously injured, and much property destroyed, through the improper thawing of dyna.mi~e. Taking into consideration the fact that users of dynam1te must all be more or less aware of the danger of carelessly trE>ating it, and they are all aware of its enormous power, the history of the steps taken for courting accident- the author might almost say, the precautions taken to insure accident- reads almost like a romance. H ence the head­ing of this section of the author's paper.

The ingenuity exercised in devising means for thawing dynamite in the most unsafe way pos~ible, is certainly very remarkable. The favourite methods of effecting this object have generally been frying, boiling, toasting, and baking the cartridges, as in the case already referred to, and these processes are sometimes carried out in vessels of the most fantastic character. It, however, remained for human ingenuity - grossly misdirected - to devise yet another method besides those just enumerated, of render­ing an explosion inevitable. This method consisted in steaming the cartridges over hot water in the same way that potatoes are steamed. The case which is recorded in the report of H. M. Inspectors of E xplosives for 1890, is so unique that the author cannot refrain from sum­marising it upon the present occasion. The explosion occurred at the Colwill Quarry, near Egg Bucldand, Devonshire. The method adopted by the ranter, Edward Gullett, was to take an old 28-lb. paint drum, half fill it with water, and stand it on a eledge·hamm~r head which re&ted on the smithy fire. Over the top of the paint drum was tied a piece of canvas sacking. and on this the oart­rid~es were steamed. "You eee, " said Gullett, when gi vmg his evidence at the inquest, "the nitro-glycerine will leak through the bag if overheated, " thereby implying that it was an excellent arrangement for getting rid of any exuded nitroglycerine. And this was the method he and his men bad adopted for thawing frozen cartridges ever since be bad used dynamite. A t last the inevitable ,explosion ?a~e, and killed two of Gullett's workmen. 'I he only var1at10n in the process appears to have been tbat devised by one of

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the deceased men, who, before be d ied, stated that he bad sometimes thawed cartridges in an old straw hat, which he suspended in the top of the pot in place of the sacking. Aooording to this unfortunate sufferer, he wa.s heating the water when it-i.e. , the water, exploded, and he attributed the explosion to the fact that the !'nourishment " had gob into the water from previous cartridges. Nothing here is wanting to point conclu­sively to the cause of the explosion. It was a. simple case of abs.tra.ction of nitro-glycerine as carefully arranged for as It could have been in a chemical laboratory, with the exception of the excess of heat applied. The nitro­glycerine would, by the action of the steam, exude from the cartdd.ges, and would fi lter through the canvas or the straw bat mto the pot. H ere, with its specific gravity of 1.6, it would accumulate ab the bottom of the water, which latter would act as an effective tamping to the charge. The pot being placed over the smith 's fire, the nitro-glycerine would speedily reach its exploding tem­perature, and the whole apparatus would form a water shell precisely on tbe sarue principle as that which Sir Frederick Abel some years ago advocated for artillery purposes. The shell was filled with water, in which was a small charge of gun-cotton, and the explosion ·was effected by a primer and fuze. The author saw some of th~se shells tried with good effect in the artillery experi­ments a b Okebampton in 1875.

A great -deal of misapprehension and misplaced con­fidence has been caused by the fact that small quan­tities of unconfined nitro-glycerine, and explosives con­t aining it as their chief constituent, will sometimes burn quietly away when ignited by direct contact with a flame. It has, therefore, been thought that if thid was the case, no ill effects could .arise from simply heating it. This idea, as the author has already observed, is a terribly mistaken one. If a cartridge of dynamite or its congeners is lighted or placed in a fi re, it may burn harmlessly away. But if a similar cartridge is placed on the hob of a. stove or an oven, and gradually heated up to its exploding point, which is from 360 de~. to 400 deg. F ahr., a violent explosion will almost inevitably result, and before that point is reached the explosive will become extremely sensitive to the slightest shock. Nobel states that when dynamite is heated to 440 deg. Fahr. , it is liable to ex­plode. But Nobel is the apostle of dynamite, and is liable to look a little too favourably upon its faults . Colonel Cundill, one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of E xplosives, gives 360 deg. Fahr. as its exploding point, and Eissler, in his work on explosives, states that when dynamite is heated to [S50 deg. F ahr. a dime falling upon it will ex­plode it.

It is only fair to point out that the causes of some of these wretched occurrences are to be sought for beyond the poor miners or quarrymen. It sometimes happens either that the agtm1l for the explosive fails to impress upon a purchaser its dangerous nature under certain con­ditions, and t o supply him with a proper thawing appa­ratus, or that the purchaser, from parsimonious motives, fails to provide his men with one. Again, it has occurred that a manager, although he has provided the men with warmers, fails to see that they are used by the men in place of their own reckless methods. It is well, then, that the H ome Office authorities should look keenly beyond the unlucky ignorant labourer to some responsible person, a verdict for manslaughter against whom might act as a salutary warning t o those who care little beyond selling explosives and pocketin~ the profits, or conducting their business on the most parsimonious principles. Such reprehensible conduct as the author has indicated, and which has actually occurred, can only pass without censure when it passes without observation.

In conclusion, the author would observe that, although he has travelled somewhat outside the scope of the title of his paper, he trusts that the wide public interest which attaches to the subject of the latter portion of it will justify him in his departure from the programme laid down in his opening remarks. To all either the use or the misuse of explosive compounds must form a matter of interest. \Vhile their accidental explosion is to be deeply deplored, and their employment by misguided fanatics in the execution of diabolical outrages against society as deeply deprecated, it must not be forgotten that, used for the legitimate industrial purposes for which they are intended, they rise to the dignity of an important factor in the material progress of nations.

THE WORKL~G OF MILD STEEL. The Dangerous W orking H eat of M ild Steel, and the E.ffect

of A n neali'Tl{} ctnd A ir Cooling. • By J osEPH N oDDER.

THE more general use of Siemens· Martin steel for boiler purposes is, perhaps, limited by fifteen years. In its early days it was looked upon with considerable mis­gi vings, which even to· day exist in the minds of not a few boilermakers and engineers, and the references ~o ~be "iron plates of years ago, " and the fitful quest10nmg about "high tensiles" and "low tensiles "-the ques­tioner meaning by the first 30 tons tensile, and by the latter 26 t ons tensile- all go to show that the knowledge of the failures of Siemens steel are matters of wider acquaintance than the causes of such failures, the steel and the steelmaker frequently receiving the blame that should be given to other people.

The most reliable and satisfactory results from Siemens­Martin mild steel are obtained from material of 26 to 30 tons tensile, and not less than 20 per cent. elongation in 8 in., the distinction between high and low tensiles within

* Paper read before the North-E ast Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders.

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

TABLE I.- E x PERI MENT WI TH SIRMENS S TEEL AT MEssRs . J oHN BROWN AND Co. 's, LIMITED, 1892-3.

Orieinal Section Breaking At Poio t of - . Eloogat i on. • o ..:> ..,. of Test Piece. Stra in. F racture . c

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Size. Area. Size. Area . ::Sa. ... Tons. p H -o ... 8 In. Cent. C!S

Sq. Io . Ql < ;;a IX

A 5 l.52 X .65 .988 27.00 27.3 1.08 X .42 .453 54 ., 29 B 5 l.52 X .6~ . 972 126.00 26.7 1.05 X .41 .430 56 , 30

c 5 l.52 X .66 1.003 I 37.00 37.1 1.20 X .61 .G12 38 " 14

' D 5 l. 52 X .62 .942 131.00 3·> 9 1.18 X .45 .531 43 8 ... ' , ,

E 5 1. 52 X .64 .972 27.00 27.7 1.0~ X .41 .442 64 " 28

F 5 1.62 X .3i .C62 16.CO 284 1.12 X .26 .2Ql 48 , 18

0 5 1.52 X .37 . 562 16.50 29.3 1.12 X .23 .257 54 , 27

H 5 L.52 X .37 .562 16.00 28.4 L.lO X .25 .275 51 , 29

2s so I 26.2 I 6 L. 52 X .6J .972 1.05 X .421 .441 54 " 32

J 6 1.52 X .64 .972 26.60 27.2 1.13 X .42 .474 51 , 26 K 6 1 fi2 X .61 .972 25.50 26.2 1.05 X .42 .441 54 "

29

I L 6 1.52 X .6~ .972 26.25 27.0 54 30 l.C6 X .421

.445 "

M 6 1.52 X .65 .988 28. 60 28.8 1.21 X .47 .568 42 " 22

N 6 1. 52 X .64 .972 3 t 25 36.2 l. 28 X .51 .662 32 " 14

0 6 L. 53 X .63 .957 30.00 31.3 1.22 X .48 .585 38 " 13

p 6 1. 52 X .62 .9 ' 2 30.50 32.3 L. 22 X .4C .561 40 " 10

Q6 . 788 d ia . . 500 13.00 26.0 . 56 dia . 246 60 " 2!

R 6 1.52 X . 63 .957 32.00 33. 4 ( 23 X .45 .957 42 , 9

s 6 1.52 X .6? . 9-iZ 26.60 28.1 11.08 X .41 .9-!2 52 " 28

Chemical Analysi s. Ma rk. Carbon . Silicon. Sulphur. A 5 .19 .02 .06 0 5 - .20 o-> . - .oa 0 5 .20 .02 .06 I 6 .20 .03 .08 J 6 .2() .03 .08 K6 .19 .03 .os

Treatment .

-As r eceived from mill. Heated to redness (say 1650

Annealed in ashes. llea t ed to redness (say 1550

d e g. ).

d eg.). Quenched .

Heated wit h beaters (about. 5 min.), ed). and hammered (not anneal

Hammer ed r old on an vil ( say 75 blows) (not anneal ed).

Partially heated in fire {half I and hammered (no t anneal

eng tb) ed). cess of Heat ed a nd worked as in pro

Ranging. H eated and worked as in pro oess or

d and

Heated in

breeze fire.

Heated in blast

coke lire . flo.ngiog, afterwards beate slood in shel ter ed place to cool.

urs,beatoffurnace s' gal \'anomete r).

Lef t in annealing furnace 4 b o 1500 de~. (take n by Siemen

As received from mtll. Heated to whit e bea t in bre

in shelter ed place to cool. Annealed and cooled off four

eze fire. Stood up

times in sheltered place.

Hea t ed and q ue nched. H eate d to, say, 1150 deg. " 1560 , ' • , t

H ea t ed with heaters 10 min · ' 70 Taken to blows from hammer.

• Heated with heaters 5 m10 60 prove result

. , from D 5. blows from hammer.

Jumped up and worked to breeze fire. {Annealed.)

Heat ed with beaters 4 m i

1 in. square out ot

hamme r. Hea ted with

n., 70 blows from

. , 70 blows from ale d.

hea ters 4 min hammer. Afterwards anne

Phos phorus. Ma nganese. .056 . 55 .056 . 52 .055 . 64 .05 .68 .05 .R6 .049 .65

TABLE II.-ExPERUJF.NTS WITH SIEMF.NS S TEEL AT M&ssns. JoHN Bno wN AN n C o . 's, LIMITED, 1892-3.

• Oril!inal Section Breaking - of Test Piece. Strain. Ill Ql

~ Q

Tons ! 0 .!Id In ... Size. Area. per <IS Tor. s. ::tJ Sq. In .

A7 1.63 X .64 .979 27.00 ~7 . 5

ANNEALING AND AIR C OOLING. •

At Poin t of • _ ..,. Elongation . Fracture. os::

a-Qo

~ 0 ... • .... Ql I ~ s:lo O CIII

In P er Size. Area . ::S QI -o ...

8 In . Cent. ~ <

1. 08 X .43 .464 52 , 33

•

Treatment.

- -H eated to 1100 de~ in annealing furnace. Coole d

e in exposed place in open air. Temperatur

B 7 l. 63 I X .65 .994 I 28.o > 28.1 1.10 X .43 .473 82 , 29 45 deg.

Heat ed to 1500 d eg. in annealing furnace. Cool ed e

C 7

D 'I

E 7

F7

0 7 H7

I 7

1.53

t. 63

1. 53

l. 63

1.53 l.64

1.54

No. 2\3

X .6 , .979 26. 75

X .65 .994 26.50

X .64 .979 26.50

X .64 .979 27.50

X .64 .97\l 27.00 X .63 .970 26.00

X .63 .970 26. 00

Mark . G7

1.07 X .38 .406 58 , 32 I

27.3

26.6 L.09 X .40! .436 56 " 33

27.0 1.07 X .39 .417 57 , 33

28 0 1.08 X .40 .432 55 , 27

1.09 X .39 . 425 56 "

3 1 1.09 X .4l .446 53 , 2S

1.08 X .43 .461 52 l 29

27.5 2CS.8

I 26.8

Chemical A nalysi1. Cz.rhon .

.18 Silicon. Sulphur.

.03 .06

in expose d place io open air. Temperatur 45 deg.

H eated to 1500 deg. in annealing furnace. Coole d

d

d

d

in open shop. Heated to 1100 deg. in annealing furnace. Coole

in ope a shop. H eated to 1600 deg. in annealing furnace. Coole

off in breeze ashes. Heated to 1600 deg. in coke fire. Cooled by col

blast (10 lb. pressure) in four m inutes. As received from mill . Heated to white beat.

perat,nre 41.2 deg. H eated to white beat.

Phos phorus. .06

Cooled in open air. T em

Cooled in o en sbo . p p

Manganese. .54

-

TABLE III. - ExPERIMENTAL TE Ts o F Basi c STEEL, c oNDUCTED AT MESSRS. J o HN BROWN AND Co. 's, LIMITED, 1893.

Orig inal Section of Test · Piece.

Size. Area .

.51 X . 76 1.132

.61 X .74 1.117

.51 X .75 ' 1.132

.5 1 X .7511.132

.51 X .74 1.117 51 X .7611.132

.61 X .75, 1.132

.51 X .76 1.132

487 A "\ 1 487 Bjl 1 487 D 1 487 F 1 487 G 1 487 H 1 487 I 1 487 J 1 487 K 1 487 L 1 487 0 1 487 u

.51 X • 75 1.132

.61 X .75 1.132

.5 l X .75 1.132

.798 dia . 1

No. 1

. 500

Mark . 487 A

Breaking St rain.

In Tons per Tone. Sq. tn.

27.60 24.3 31.00 27.7 27.00 23.8 27.50 24.3 32.00 28.6 33.25 29.3 27. 00 23.8 27. 50 24.3 28.00 24.7 29.00 ~6.6 27. 60 24.3 12.25 24.5

At Point of Fracture.

Size.

1.04 X .48 1.1 2 X .48 1.06 X .48 1.09 X .52 1.18 X . b5 .12 X .5.t 1 .07 X .491 .02 X .461 .1;) X . 56 .11 X .53

1 jl 1 1 1 1 .04 X .47

.47 dia .

Area.

.500

.538

.509

.667

.649

.605

.524

.469

.64!

.588

.489 • •

• ..,. -Q OG>

0

Elonga-tion.

c ... 0 Q) :;is:l. o aS

Jn Per ::SQI -o ...

8 Io. Cent. Ql < IX

63 , 28 68

" 12 62 , 30 57 , 30 47

" 13

53 , I 21! 61 , 32 66

" I 33 48 ,, 29 54- 28

" I 64 31 , 65 ,

' 28

Chemical A n alysis. Carbon.

.16 Silicon .

.01 Sulphur.

.0-i

T reatment •

Ae received from mill. Heated with beaters 6 min., 70 blows. 70 blows on anvil (cold).

, , ' ' Heated with beater 6 min ., 70 blows.

,, to white beat. Cooled 12 times in wate , , ,. , in open shop.

Left in annealing furnace 48 hours. As received from mill . Annealed 4 t imes . Left in annealing furoace 4 hours. Jumped up to It in. sq ua re (turned test).

Phosphorus. .06

Manganese. .36

NOTE. - Nos. 1, 487 A ; 2, 487 B; and 3, 487 D, were out crossway of mat erial, all the others b eing lengthwise.

this limit being a fallacy. S~eel of 26 tons tensile or 30 the same failures can be produced by mechanical treat­tons tensile can be produced from the same ingot almost roent in steel plates anywhere from 24 tons tensile strain at ~h~ will of the plate roll~r, certainly witb~ub any I to the. square inch to 30 tons per square inch. var1at10n of the cbem1cal coostttuents of the mater1al, and Ba.s1o and Bessemer steels are subject to the same

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

TABLE VI.-ADMIRALTY TESTS, 1881. Table Showing Result of Tensile and Elongation Tests of Steel and Iron after Various Modes of Tre t a men .

--Number 1. Number 2. Number 3. Number 4. Number 5.

--Normal Condition.

I Sample Heated

Three Times. Sample Heated

Eight Times. Sample Heated Twelve Times.

Sample Heated Twenty Times.

Class of Material Tested. - ~ -- Q) • -c Q Q) • -c . ::: ... Cl) o ....

· - .. (I) o .... s:l Q) • .... s:l s:l Q) • -s:~ s:l Q) • - s:~ - CIS~C CISCISC . .... .... Q) o .... .,... .... CO o .... • .... ... Cl) o .... 0 ... :::1 0 cus:l "" ::SO Q) s:l ~cSC Q)s:l CISCISC CIS~S:: ..., O'H boil 0 • ..., 0'8 boo . a.. :::so "" ::SO cu § a.. :::so cu§ • moo ..... 11) mm . .... Cl) ..., 0'8 bo.2 ... 0'8 ~ o-8 .. Q) CIS +> Q) • mm CO·-s:l .. cS ..... Cli • CIS~ • Ulrn. mm b( . ... cu - Q) .... _.CIS..S:: Q) s:l ... CIS..C .. s:: ~CIS .... CIS~ •

s~ ~p. s:l ~ Q) ..... s:l ...CIS .... s:l - s:l COo Cli Q) ..... s:;bo Q) Q) ~ - ..... cbc. Q) Q) .... - -

•

aJ?pear in the exreriments of 1881, and also that reheating wtthout "work ' will restore all the ductility that pre· viously existed.

..... ~ Q)I.J () sa 8 ..... ~ Q) Cc .D :::: .c 11) ... () o 0 c m ,. o 8 :::s= C Q) c

.... __ :::s C c:. s:;: e.£- UJ:..o

z cn Q) c.- Q)~ 00 Q)~ Q) ~ oo :::s CQis:l

Q) s:l • .D ~ e ..... .c Q) c • o os:: m ,.. o o oc 8 ... _._

:::s C Q) c ,.. __ . .... .Cl

UJ a.. o C Q1 c

COo QIC

By reference to T able I., and comparing No. 1 and No. 4, the effect of ' (work " applied at 400 deg. of beat ~btait;led from those innocent little things called heaters 1s eas1l y seen; here we have a. material that as received ~rom t~e rolling mill (No. 1, A 5) gave 27.3 tons per square m ch wtth 29 per cent, elongation in 8 in., yet by heating with a. heater for fi ve minutes to a temperature of aboub 400 deg., and then hammered, gave an increased tensile when c9ld of 32.9 tons p~r square inch and a decreased elongation of 8 per cent. m 8 m., so tha.t the t ons t ensile were increased nearly 20 per cent., g,nd the elongation de­creased 72 per cent. , or to a condition n ot much better in

o o ,.._ ci its ductility than cast iron. :;; ~his experiment was repeated upon another plate (ex-

No. 246. ' iemens or open-hearth steel

i · in. boiler plate. High ~

strain

s

No. 378. ..

i.emen~ or open-hearth steel } -1n. boller plate. Low strain

s t

.....

8

1 L 31.15 2 A 31.16

3 L 26.72 4 A 26.29

I

~ z 8 ~ z

13 L 31.06 27.34 33 26.66 14 L 30.65 28.90 34 22.65 I • 16 A30.66 25.78 35

16 A 30.85 2·J. 21 36

~" 17 L 27.11 29.68 37 28.90 18

1

L 27.91 27.34 38 2J. 43 19 A 26.94 22.65 39

"20 I A 2ti. 94 21.09 40

Q) c.- Q)~ oo :::s 8 ~ z Q) s:a.- Q)~ oo Q)~ Q)~

8 p.. z 8 ~ --L 30.45 28.90 67 L 29.86 26.56 81 L 31.18 26.66 L 30.58 26.56 58 L 30.64 29.68 82 L ao. H 26.56 A 30.89 26.78 59 A31.06 22.65 83 A 30.72 23.43 A 80.39! 22.65 60 A 30.92 22.65 84 A 30.96 , 23.43

L 26.93 29.68 61 L 27.76 28.90 85 L 26.81 30.46 L 27.28 26.56 62 L 27.22 32.81 86 L 26.69 29.68 A 27.07 26.56 63 A 27.22 26.00 87 A 27.44 28.90 A 27. 26, 25. 78 M I A 26.71 26.78 88 A 26.96 j 25.00

- -Number 6. Number 7. Number 8. Number 9. Number 10.

p~rlments No. 15, .0 6, and No. 16, PG); this plate as re· cetved from.the mtl.l (see No.lO, J .6)gave27.2 tons tensile p~r square m cb, wtth a.n elongat10n of 2G per cent. in 8 m., but after t en minutes of acquaintance with a heater, or a t emperature of about 600 deg. , and seventy blows from a 9-lb. hammer on an anvil, the result is a. rise in tensile to 31.3, and a fall in elongation to 13 per cent. = a loss of 46 per cent. of the ductility i again, repeating th.e heat of 400 deg. in No. 16, P G, wi tn a. heater for five I~nn~tes, a~d less work on the anvil, the result is a further rts~ m t ens1le to 32.3 t ons, and a furth er decrease in elon­gatwn to ~0 per cent. = a t otal loss of ductility of 61 per ~nt. lb IS bey?nd question that this serious deprecia­twn of the matertal ar1ses from the heating, for experiment No. 5, mark E 5, after seventy-five blows from a 9-lb •

- - -Class of Material Tested. .

• Sample Heated Sample Heated Sample Placed in Forty Times. Sixty Times. Flue of a. Stationary

Sample Placed in Smokebox of Loco-

Sample Placed in Annealing Furoac e hamm.er on. a;n anvil, ~i.ves b~t slightly varied results

from Its ortgmal condit10n-v1z., 27.7 tons tensile per square inch a s agains t 27. 3, elongation 28 per cent. as against 29 per cent., practically no change.

•

I - --No. 246. Siemens or open-hearth steel 105 L 30.44 25.78 129 L 31.10 & • in. boiler plate. High 106 L 30.62 28.90 130 L 3L. 61

strain 107 A31.03 23.43 131 A31.65 108 A ao.9o 25.78

No. 378. ... 132 A31. 50

Siemens or open-hearth steel , 109 L 26.37 30.46 133 L 26.60

110 L 26.68 29.68 ~-in . boiler plate. Low strain·

134 L 26.78 111 A26.94 26.66 135 A26.40 112 A 26.84 25.78 136 A 26.43

L = Length.

T ABLE IV.-Admi?·alty Exp€'rimental Tests 1881. Table gi\·ing Summary of Tests made for the purpos~ or ftodin oo

the effect of Temperature on the Tensile Strain and Ductility of Steel.

• -0

• .... Q) Description of Q) -.t:J c. Steel. 8 8 :::s CS

en z 1 /

2 3 4 6 6 7 Bessemer steel 8 > plate made by< 9 Bolton and Co.

10

11 12 13 14

.I

15 ' 16

17 Siemens steel 18 plate made by< 19 .Bolton and Co. 20 21 22 23

,J

24 Bessemer steel ' 25 26

plate made by. ~ John Brown

27 I ..

and Co. "

• .. Ql,c ,. CIS .a~ cS • "" bo Q)Cii ~A

~0 E-4 .....

60 460 400 460 350 490 490 620 490 630

60 450 520 880

60 below}

430 below}

430 430 4QO 6LO 630 630 610

60 430 660 880

s:l • 0..., • ... s:l ~Q)

~0 c .. ocu -s:a. ~

Remarks.

E longa tion >- taken in 4 In.

28.06 31.25 \ 38.9 18.76 34.3 15.62 36.6 14.06 40.0 21.87 40.8 14.06 39.6 18.75 42.0 23.43 40.8 16.62 ) 41.9 26.00

26.07 27.34 ' 40.5 14.06 38.7 17.18 24.02 26.56

29. 10 25.78 32.9 10.1 Sample defec-

tive. 32.3 7.81 Ditto. 33.45 14.06 }-E lon gation 34.5 18.76 taken in 8 In. 28.9 16.4 30.6 20.31 31.06 17.1S 27.2 21.09

28.49 21.87 38.4 18.76 33.08 17.18 18.56 25.00 )

weaknesses, though Bessemer s t eel develops faults in working out of a ~re that _make it ':ln~uitable fo_r gener~l boiler work, and Its use IS very hmtted. B aste steel, tf made on the open-hearth system, gives very similar re­sults to the Siemens-Martin st eel, as Table Ill. of experi· menta will show; but practical experience has not yet developed sufficie?t confidence in . i t s use as a substit~te for Siemens steel m external and mternal flanged bmler work.

An increased elongation, say to 25 per cent. in 8 in. of steel 30 tons t ens ile, would show greater ductility than 24 tons tensile with only 20 per cent. elongation: This a. p oint that is generally overlooked, a demand bem g made for a. lower t ensile rather than an increased elongation. Similarly, much is m ade. of a "flan~ing test," but the only reliable t eat of st eel 1s that obta.med by the actual measurement of the force applied and represented by the tons tensile and the percentage of elongation.

B ending t eats-cold, bob, and quenched-are useful aids, the latter ~specially, but unless the force used for bending is accurately measured, the test cannot be tabu· )1\.ted, and is only of service in con junction with the ten· sile t ests.

An elaborate series of over 500 experimental and com· parative tf)Sts of Siemens and B ef3semer steel and B. B. and

Boiler Sixteen Days. motive Sixteen Days Sixteen Days. -29.68 163 L 31.11 29.68 173 L 30.25 28.12 197 L 25.42 32.03 164 L 30.41

27.34 29.68 l74 L 29.81 28.12 198 L 27.39 29.68

23.43 155 A 30.60 24.21 176 A 29.97 25.78 199 A 25.87 28.90 22.65 156 A 30.78 22.65 176 A 30.01 22.66 200 A 25.73 28.12

29.68 177 L 26.36 29.68 201 L 21.60 26.66 33.59 Not sufficient of the 178 L25.47 26.66 202 L 21.42 18.75 25.78 plate to make this L 79 A 25.59 26.56 203 A 22.61 26.56 2e.6o test. 1180 A 26.64 27.84 204 A 2~.67 21.87

A == Across.

TABLE V.-.Admiralty Te~t3, 1881.

A Siemens steel plate manufactured by the Bolton Iron and Steel Company, and cut into strips, then tested with the fol­lowing results. Test pieces, 16 in. by 2 in.

-

16 16

17

18

19

20

2l

22

23

-Sample tested cold , or in its normal state .. Heated in sand to 600 deg. Tin melted freely

on sample, but not lead ; no perceptible colour on fracture. Temperature was below 430 deg. This sample broke in small defects .. .. .. .. .. ..

Heated in sand to 450 deg. Tin melted on the sample, no perceptible cc..lour on frac­ture. Temperature below 430 deg. This sample also broke in slight defect . . . .

Heated in sand to 460 deg. Tin melted on the sample ; broke without C(\lour on fracture, or below 430 deg. . . . . . .

Heated in sand t() 660 deg. Tin melted freely on the fracture, whicl:r by colour was 490 deg. . . . . . . . . . .

Heated in sand to 736 deg. Zinc melting freely on the sample, and when broken lead melted on the fracture. Temperature by colour of fra{)ture, 610 deg. . . . . . .

Heated in the same way and to same tem­perature, lead meUing on the fracture. Temperature by oolour of fracture, 630 deg.

Heated in a furnace, colour just perceptible in the dark. Zinc melting freely on the sample, and when broken, lead melced on the fraoture. Temperature by colour of fracture, 630 deg. .. .. .. ..

Heated in a furnace to a red heat ; when broken all the colour was gone, but lead melted freely on the fracture. Tempera· tu re by colour of fracture, 610 deg. .. . .

Results.

29. 10 25.78

32.9 10.1

32.3 7.81

33.45 14.06

34.5 18.75

28.9 16.40

30.6 20.31

• 31.06 17.18

27.2 21.09

B owling iron were m ade in 1881 by a very careful Admi· ralty surveyor, the lat e Mr .• J. F. Barnaby, and from his notes Tables IV., V., and VI., showing the behaviour of Siemens st eel u nder varying temperatures and continued exposure to flame, are extracted, and you will notice that a. t emperature of 400 deg., or wh&.b is known as "black hob," gives the worst results in t ensile strain and elonga­tion.

A paper read by Mr. C. E. S tromeyer, of Lloyd 's survey, before the Institution of Civil E ngineers in 1886, deaJt with the " Effects of Blue H eat on S teel and Iron, , meaning by "blue heat " 470 deg. to 600 deg. Fa.br., at which heat be concludes there is the most risk in working iron and steel.

Experiments conducted at M essrs. J ohn Brown and Co.'s works in 1892 and 1893 would place the dangerous beat nearer 400 deg., as in the experiments referred to in 1881 ; and also that Siemens or basic s teel hammered a.t tba.b t emperature retains all the brittleness resulting from tb~t dangerous beat, even wbeu oold, which did not

•

T~st No. 18, R G, compared with N o. 19, S 6, shows the heahng effects of anneahng upon this material after it has been hardly dealb with by heaters and hammering. These two pieces were subjected to identical tr~atment except· ing that No. 19, S 6, was afterwards annealed. ' No. 18 gives 33.4 tons per square inch t ensile, against No. 19, 28.~, with a n elongation in 8 in. of only 9 per cent. , as a.~amst 28 per cen~. of the annealed tes t, proving conclu· s~vely th~ restorative power of annealing, and its n eces­Sity and 1mportance as a final process on Siemens steel that has been heated and worked in any way, whether by the manufacturer or the boilermaker, if failures are to bo a voided.

The results of a long series of t ests would teach that the beating and reheating of Siemens s teel makes little or no difference to the s tructure of the material when cold, providing no work has been put upon it between 400 deg. and 600 deg., and also that st eel may be ham­mered and bent cold without detriment.

Annealing is another of the vexed questions that sur~ound st eel, and t?~ effect of air cooling has been the basiS of much theorLsmg upon the causes of failed fur · na.ces, ~ubepla.tes, &c. ' Vholesa.le deterioration by over­annealing has also been charged against this material, a.~d a reference to a. series of t ests in Tables I. and II. will be of service. T est No. 9, I 6, was left in annealing f~rnace ,four h ours, heat of furnace 1500 deg. {taken by S tamens galvanometer), a fterwards cooled in open shop, the result was a decrease of t ensile from 27.2 t o 26.2 tons and an increase of elongation from 26 per centJ. to 32 per cent. (compare No. 10, J 6, with No. 9, I 6) ; various modes of heating and cooling were tried on plate No. 7. Experiments 20 to 28, Table II., No. 26, G 7, is the original condition of plate as received from the rolling mill with a t ens ile of 27. 5 tons per square inch and an elongation of 34 per cent. in 8 in. No. 20, A 7, h eated to 1100 deg. and cooled off on the railway side-an exposed place-with the temperature at 45 deg., still gives a t ensile of 27.5 and an elongation of 33 per cent., and No. 25, }' 7, heated to 1500deg.ina coke fire, and tben cooled offinfour minutes by cold blasb ab 10 lb. pressure, gave a t ensile of 28.0 tons per square inch, and an elonga tion of 27 per cent., while the annealing, re-annealing, and cooling four times in succession of t est No. 12, L 6 (compare with No. 9, I 6), give decrease of :t ton t ensile and increase of 4 per cent. in elongation. The whole results clearly prove that air . cooling, even under extreme variations of temperature, can make no appreoiable difference to this class of material.

The same cannot be said of water cooling, and a. com ­parison of test s No. 1, A 5, and No. 3, C 5, show a marked change, and an increase of 10 tons per square inch t ensile, and a decreass of 51i per cent. of elongation after heating to 1500 deg. and cooling in water at a t empera­ture of 60 deg. , making the material quite unfit for service without again reheating.

Different kinds of work upon test s No. G, F 5, No. 7, G 5, No. 8, H 5, and No. 17, Q 6, and a comparison with original conditions in No. 1, A 5, and N o. 10, J G, will t each that whatever the class of work, whether flanging as in N os. 7 and 8, or the violent distortion of struct ure by ''jumping up , the tbickne:;s of No. 17, the material, if annealed after working, is as good as ever. No. G, F 5, was only partially heated, and in that condition worked equally over the whole of its length; the result agrees w1th the other experiments showing the value and neces­sity for annealing, for though the t ensile is only increased 1 ton per square inch, the elongation decreases 62 per cent.

Table Ill. gives a. similar series of tests and results from basic open-hearth steel of comparatively low tensilE', all cut from one plat e, manufactured by the P a.rkgate Iron Company, Limited. The whole of the test pieces were of a uniform size, 18 in. long by 2 in. wide, and, in the case of the Siemens steel, were scraps from actual plates used for the Purves ribbed furnace, and manufac· tured by J ohn l3rowo ~pd Company, Limited .

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT RECORD.

COMPILED BY w. LLOYD WISE. SELECTED A.BSl'RACTS OF REOENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS

UNDER THE ACTS 1883- 1888. The number of views given in the Specification Drawings is stated

i n each case ; where none are mentioned, the Specification is not illustrated.

Where 1 n-ventions are communicated from abroad, the N amea, ~c., of the Communicators are given in italics.

Copies of Specificatunu; may be obtained a t the P atent Ojfice Sale Branch, 38, Cursitor·street, Chancery-la/ne, E.C., at the un-iform price of 8d.

The date of the adve·rtisement of the acceptance of a complete specification is, in each case, given after the a_bstract, unless the P atent has been sealed, when the date of sealitng is given.

Any person may at any time within two mo11.ths from the date of t ll.e advertisem-ent of the acceptance of a complete specification, give notice at the Patent Ojfice of oppositi on to the grant of a P atent on any of the grounds mentioned i1~ the A ct.

GAS, &e., ENGINES. 15,405. F. J. Fryer, London. Gas Engines. [4 Figs.]

August 12, 1893.-This invention relates to t he valve ~ear of gas en~ines, and has for its object to provide means for effecting the regulation of the admission ot the gas and air, and to dispense with tbe governor slides used in the ·• Clerk" gas engines. The \'al \'e d lifts as the piston of t he displacer commences its forward stroke, the valve e remain ing closed until the end of the stroke. Air is t hus drawn in through the inlet c5 and passage g, while gas is d rawn in through the supply pipe c~ and orifices f 1, and to­gether enter the displacer through the pipe B' , wherein they be­come thoroughly mixed. When the displa.oer piston commences

Fig.3.

IJ 411J

.­••

•

its rea.rward stroke the vahrc d closes and t he valve e opens, so that the explosive mixture in the d isplacer is fo rced through the pipe Bl, passages cl, c2, c3, past the vah•e e into the compression chamber, wheJ&ein explosion takes place. When the governor is i n action both valves are at rest, and consequently a. vacuum is fo rmed in botl:i cylinders, and directly t he speed decreases the cams are thrown into action by means of the governor, and the engine takes its charge, the cams being so connected with t he governor that they are thrown out of action simultaneously, and both valves remain idle when t he speed of the engine increases beyond that for which the governor is set . (Accepted November 15, 1893).

23,323. J. B. Knight, Farnham, Surrey. Oil and Gas Engines. [9 Figs.] December 19, 1892. - Tbis invention ~elates to oil and gas engines, and coneists in makin~ a firing chamber 10 place of a hot tube. In Figs. 2 and 3 the combustion chamber and vaporiser are one, the former being made so that it can be

Fig .!.

.Fig. 3 .

Q F

lJ •. "1

heated internally. To do t his it is constructed in the form of a short tube formin~ with t he cylinder F a T -piece. A blast of flame J can be driven t hrough the open ends of t he vaporiser H, and when it is hot enough the ends are closed by clamps. Means are provided for coolin~ the water used for cooling the cylinder of engine. (.Accepted.Novembe1· 15, 1893).

RAILWAY APPLIANCES. 7416. G. E. Church, London, and G. w. Ettenger,

Barrow-tn-Furness. Brake Apparatus for Rail­way Wagons. [6 F i gs. ] April 11, 1893.- Tbis invent ion re­lates to brake appantus in which the bra-ke blocks are ap­plied to wheels on opposite sides of vehicles, t he two oppo· site blocks being connected to t he ends of a t ransverse beam suspended from the underframe. The transverse beam g is constructed of a metal tube, on the ends of which are fitted metal caps h, the extended outer ends of these caps being made square for fitting into the correspondingly formed bosses of the metal brake blocks secured to it by a screw bolt passed through a. bole in t he end of t he cap, before this is fitted on the tubular beam. On the upper and lower sides of the caps near their inner ends, are formed ol\lique lugs, through holes in which are J>t,88ed the ends of t russ rods i . These rods strengthen the tubular beam, and the ends are secured by nuts. Between the lugs and

E N G I N E E R I N G. the part of the oap on which the brake shoe fits, is left a space for the reception of the loop of a. banger strap from which the brake beam is suspended, this loop being held in position by a shoulder on t he cap at one side, and by the side of t he brake block at the other. The beam bei n~ thus held loose in the loops of the bangers, is free to revolve partially in t hem, as the brakes are applied and released.

Fig.2.

The truss of the beam is formed by the two truss rods, secUl·ed at ~he ends to t he caps of the beam, and pasein~ over a strut, which IS made of a metal band formed into a loop round the brake beam, the two halves of the band being secured together at a short dis­tance apart by distance pieces and bolts, over one of which t he t russ rods pass, while t he end bolt serves for the attachment of the brake lever. (Acupted .Novembe1· 16, 1893).

380. W. W. Born, London. (V. B. Jt'Donald, Coytee, L ondon, T ennessee, U.S.a.) Car Coupling. [4 Figs.] January 7, 1893.-Tbis invention has reference to a car coupling. The end of the oar is provided with a draw head having a flarin~ mo~tb. Wi thin this d rawbead is a block pressed for ward by a spnng, the outer end keeping the pin of the coupling in a raised

Eg.1.

Fi&.Z.

position, the pin restin~ upon the outer end of the block and being carried in guides fixed on the upper side of the dra.whead. 4 lev~r, bifur~ated at its end, engages t he upper end of the coup· l~ng pm, a~d IS fulo~umed ~elow the platform of the car, the oppo· s1te end bemg proVIded w1th means fo r operating it by hand or foot. (A ccepted .November 15, 1893).

17,651. C. M. Poulain, Vltre, France. Snow Plough for Rai~~ays ~nd T~amways. [4 P igs. ] September J 9, 1893.-Thls m~ent10n cons1sts of two principal parts (Figs. 2 and 8), t he first, A, mcludin~ t he front, havin~an angle of about 25 deg wi th the cen tre line, and fixed by two hm~es a to the transvers; stay of the engine, so that it is capable of being raised by a rod b fixe? to the_l?wer part at t:. The rod b keeps the part A in any d_es.ued pOSition, and allows the engine, when necessary, to run on s1dmgs. The second pa~t, B, which is attached to the lifeguards and footplate of the engme, fits closely upon the front part A. The

8

A

Fw . .2. _ -v_.

- -· -·-.

J ·-=

Fig . 3.

f

- · - · -B

e

sides of the part A are held at the bottom by a crossbar d aud ties, and at the upper part by a crossbar g, h, upon which are fastened the fLxed parte ot t he hinge!J et.. The rod b holds the ap­paratus steady when at work, and raises it when required. The pa.,ts 9• ql, r, r 1, are curved back to facilitate the fo rcing away and d1scharge of the snow. Upon the framing is fixed t he sheet metal t which forms the outer sides of the apparatus. At the upper part it is curved out to throw down the snow, whiob is also thrown out and prevented from falling baok between the rails. (Accepted November 16, 1893).

STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS. 6237. 0~ Carr and W. Loek~o~d, Sheffield. Pistons,

~c. [8 Fu.JS. ] March 23, 1893. - ThlS m vention relates to guid­Ing and stea~-~ight _parts of piston bl?cks, . &c. Two ang ular adjustable g mdmg rmgs a are used oonJunottvely with an inter-

mediate ring b of fiat section disposed broad wise in relation to the open angl~ of tJ:e j~xtaposed guiding ri~gs on the opposite sides, and formmg wtth 1t annular recesses m which self·expa.nsive

8os panking rin~s are placed. Any wear in t he guidin~ rings is com­pensated by set ting out the rings by inser ting lining pieces between their meeting ends, and securing them by .b~lts engaging with inner projecting lugs on the ends. The ~u1~10g rings are also made wi th inner projecting lugs adapted to fit agamst the body of the piston block, and provided with a. screw enabling t he rings to be p roperly centred in relation to the piston block, upon the rings being set out to compensate for circumferential wear by t he insertion of radial lining pieces. The intermediate ring forms a means of separation between and an abutment for t he adjacent edges of the guiding and the packing r ings. If the intermediate guiding ring be distensible, it is casb with outer projecting lugs adapted to fit against t he inner sides of the angular rings, so as to serve to support and distend them when the intermediate guiding ring is itself distended, the angular r ings not being made wi th inner proj ecting lugs in this case. (Accepted N ovember 15, 1893).

22,428. W. B. Scott, Norwich, Norfolk. Steam Engines. [6 F igs.] December 7, 1892.-The object of this in­vention is to pro\'ide means for superheating the steam and pre· venting initial condensation in the steam chest. Extended passages are proYided, into which steam of very high pressure is passed and is caused to superheat the motive steam and prevent condensation.

.2.

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Th~ superheatin~ pipes are arranged so that the fluid may freely dram off, for whiCh purpose they are made in sections connected at ~heir upper end to a chamber i into which t he superheating fi_u1~ enters , the lower en~s of tJ?e sections being coanected to a s1mllar chamber k prov1ded w1th a discharge pipe l throua-b which the fluid escapes. (.Accepted N ovember 15, 1893).'

566. R. J. Smith, Sunderland. Cutting Off Scale from Stays and Plates of Boners. [4 Figs.] January 10, 1893.- Tbis invention relates to means for cutting off scale from stays and plates of boilers. A die A, B is made in hnl ves

.Fig. 1:_. - -n--o . .2.

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\\:it~ cutters C fi~ed, and revolved round the stay by a worm. The d1e IS forced aga10st the plates by a. wedge piece, and the revolution cuts off the scale from the parts in contact. (Accepted N ovember 15, 1893).

MISCELLANEOUS. 7903. E . P . Arnold-Forster, B. Iles, G. and J.

Leach, .Burley-tn-Wharfedale, Yorks. Spinning ~nd ';('Wlstlng Wool, &c. [3 Figs. ] April 19, 1893.- Tbis mvent10n relates to spinning wool and other fibrous substance~ and co!lsists in ~he fixing into the lifter rail a vertical support fo; the ~pmdle, whiCh pr_events the "wobbling" of the spindle. The ver t1c_al ~up~ort cons1sts of a metal tube D, the internal diameter of wh!chts shght~y larger than the diameter of the spindles. This t ube lS secured mto a base E of larger diameter and deeper than

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7903

the thickness of the lifte r rail C. The lifter rail C is bored out so t bat.the top of t he base E ~ests in; a recess, whilst the screwed P.ort10n passes t hrough the hfter rall and is secured on t he under­stde by a nut. _The tu~e and its base thus secured to the lifter rail be~omes a vert1cal gUide for the steadying of the ~indle. T be he1ght. of the tube above the level of the latter rail1s guided by the he1g~t of t he bobb~n. On to the level of the lifter plate and surroundmg the tube 1s .Placed a metal washer, and 00 to this wa.sher a boxwood washer 18 placed, between which and the bottom

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of the bobbin is a felt washer. Vertical holes are drilled into the ba.se near to the tube, and a hole is bored through the tube from the outside to the inside,_ so~e distance from the base up the tube, tor the purpose of lubr1Cat10n. The vertical holes bold a small quan~ity of oil for lubricating, and the bole through the tube allows the <;>1l to pass from the outside of the tube to the inside, and thus lubr1cate the spindle. The oil from the base is carried upwards by the revolution of the spindlE'. (Accepted November 15, 1893).

670. W. Weaver, London. Furnaces. [2 F igs.] January 12, 1893.- The object of this invention is to make refuse furnaces compact, and to prevent the escape of smoke and offen­sive ~ases and the passing of tine dust into the atmosphere. Town's refuse is fed into the hoppers! andfl, and as required by the _process of burning, it is discharged into the furnaces upon the drymg hearths e, and afterwards drawn upon the firegrate c and c3, where clinkers are formed and withdrawn at intervals through the furnace doors b1• The asbpits are closed by iron doors, and a steam jet is attached to create a. draught, and the power used is derived from the steam generated in boiler hand hl. The pro­ducts ot combustion pass in the direction of arrows (Fig. 2) to the lower part of t~ condenser, and enter at n and nl ; they rise under the low6 hood ql, and then dip through the serrated edges

Fig . 7.

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and pass into and through water held upon the lower tray lp. The depth of water through which t~e. smoke a?d _products of com­bustion pass is regulated by hftmg or lo" ermg the hoods by means of the screw s lever t, axle u, and bandwheel. The s~rew s allows each hood to be adjusted separately , so that q1

di s more or less than q'!. or q3. The gases pass from lp t ray to 2 ptray and then to 3p t ray, and afterwards throug~ the perfo­r~ted plate x, meeting beneath it a shower of water falhng tbro~gb the perforations in the plate. If necessary, a. layer of matena~ such as coke; is spread upon the upper surface o~ the perforate pld.te x to still further purify the smoke bef<;>re 1t passes _out at the top of the condenser. The water used 1n C?Ddenser 1s ~up­plied through pipe w. The products of_ combust1on

1 not retamed

in the condenser pass out at the opemng Y and Y · (.Accepted November 15, 1893).

17 358. A. P. D. Leval, Meuse, France. Convert~ng BecttUnear Motion into Rotary Motion. [7 Ftgs.] ~e tember 15 1893.-This invention relates to means for conv_ert­io: reciprocating rectilinear motion into ~ontinuous rot_a.ry mohou. In a fume f a four-throw crankshaft o 1s supp<;>r ted JD bearings. To the pins r' and p ' of cranks r and p, connect1ng-rods m an~ n are respectively attached, the other ends of these rods bemg

Fig . 1. Fig.J.

Fig.2. 11,3~8

• • • • • • • • • • I :

• • ' . • • ' • • I

I ' • • • • ' . I ' • • . '

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· db ins to links! le made double, one on each side of the ~~~~ef. y ~be pins car;y rollers guided in ho';'izontal slots of the f 1 The links l le are attached at theu uppar ends by ~amte ~ b to block~ which move in. ver tical slots of t he f1"0 8 f ' To the frame side a treadle t 1s held by screws. pa.ss­i~~:hr~ugh a slot and carrying friction r<;>llers, so thatb1t ?an 1' d long the frame. Io the treadle a slot 1s forme~, em r~cmg ~~e ~rook a l ; a stud is fixed on the treadle, on whtch a trtgger

E N G I N E E R I N G . h is hinged, a peg h2 fixed to the t rigger entering a slot i inclined in the lower part which is formed in the frame f. On the pivot b a bent latch is hinged, resting upon a ledge of 1 he block bl , so that it can turn upwards, a spring being used to bold it down upon said ledge. A similar set of parts is arrao~ed in connection with the second pair of cranks on the opposite eide of the framef. (.Accepted November 15, 1893).

23,484. H. Gibbon and W. Tyrer, Prescot, Lancs. Joining and Coupling Pipes. [8 Figs. ] December 20, 1892.-This invention has for its object to provide a method of and means for joining and eoupling pipes and tubes without soldering them, and comprises a tubular union 0 which ex­ternally is slightly tapered from the middle, towards each end, and flanges D, Dt for coupling the ends together. To join the

pipes the flange is placed on the end of one of the pipes, and the union 0 pressed into the l&tter so as to expand its end and form a flaring mouth, the end of the otht>r pipe hein~ similarly treated. The two flanges are pulled together by bolts H, and as the Baring ends form stops for the flanges by which they can be pulled off, the pipes are drawn fi rmly against the conical ends of the union and a tight joint is obtained. (Accepted No-vember 15, 1893).

23,960. A. Klostermann, Cologne, German Empire. Cutting Iron Beams. [9 F igs. ] December 28, 1892.- Io this invention the iron beam to be cut. is p laced on a mat rix a, shaped to serve as a bed, and provided with a transverse slot c,

Fig. 7.

23/JUJ •

directly agajnst ~hich ~be upper die can be forced: This upper die has a projectmg pomt, wb1ch, when forced agamst the beam g, produces a hole which tb~ cutte~, on forcing the die, further enlarges, cutting away a sectiOn, which falls throug h the t rans· verse slot in the matrix. (.Accepted Novembe1· 15, 1893).

611. E. Gaunt, w. H. Cockcroft, and S. Best, Stanningley, Yorks. Drawing-Off Rollers of Noble's Combing Machines. [5 F i?Js.] January 11, 1893.-Tbis invention relates to the drawing-off rollers of Noble's combing machines. In addition to the ordinary pair of rollers A, Al, a third one Lis employed of smaller diameter, and is placed as close

Fig.1.

Fig a.

611

to the comb circle as possible, and approximately midway between the ordinary rollers, arranged just to clear one roll~r and be ~s closely in contact with the other aa the leather pass10g round tt will permi t, so that there Is a pressure betw.een them _nearly equal to that between the ordinary ones. The tht~d roller 1s flute~, and is mounted at each end io ad justable he!l.rmgs M formed m. the brackets supporting the ordinary rollers. (.Accepted Novembe1 15, 1893).

15,843. c. J. Lundstrom, D. H. and E. J. Burrell, Little Falls, Herkimer, New York, U.S.A. Centr~­fugal Liquid Separators. l7 F i{Js. ] August 21 , 1893. - Thls

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invention rela~es to centrifugal separating machines. A hollow separr.ting cone K extends diagonally through the liquid space of the bowl B from the boLtom towards the cream outlet, and terminates with its small ' etd near the lattE'r . The cover E is provided with a contre.oted neck e, in which the outlets for the cream and skim milk are arranged. Blades are formed on the outer surface of the cone and extend th rough 1he liquid spac e between the cone and bowl. A hub extends from the bottom

and is bung loosely upon the spin_dle, a. sleeve C sur!ou'!ld· ingo the latter within the lower porlton of the hub, a y1eld1og riog d being interposed between the sleeve an~ the bowl. A step bearing ex tends below the lower end . of _tb~ spmdle, a step being secured in the bearing and an antt·fnc~:on ball of lt>s~ diameter than the spindle arranged loosely 1n the chamher between the spindle and the step. (Accepted November 15, 1893).

17,843. B. Kells, Astoria, Queens, Ne~. Yot:k, U.S.A. Clamps. [5 Jligs. ] September 22,1893. - Tbts mventiOn relates to clampt~. When the two sections have bee~ drawn ap~rt far enough to permit the bea.rin~ blocks 14 and 22 tn te,g-ral wt th them to engage with the outer edges of the work to be clamped, a latch 25 is lifted and the head 23 slid forward in the direction of a fixed head 15, until the latch has engaged with the underc~t por­tion of a recess 20 nearest to the fixed bead. When the latch 1s tbus engaged a screw 26 is turned un til a ball 27 ha'3 entered the socket

Fig.4.

fi:g.2 . ~ ..,

in ~he fixed head, and the screw is then fu rther turned, thus exerting a tension in opposite directions upon the body section of the clamp through the medium of the fixed head, and upon the inner section through the medium of the 'latch and sliding bead. The outer bearing blocks 14 and 22 are thus made to bear firmly and securely upon the work, nod when sufficient t ension has beeu exerted upon the latter, the revolut ion of the screw is discon­tinued. Ooe eection is capable~of being slid into the other. (.Ac­cepted November 8, 1898).

---UNITED STATES PAT.ENTS AND PATENT PRACTIOE. Descriptions with illustrations of inventions patented in the

United States of America from 1847 to the present time, and reports of trials of patent law cases in the United States, may be consulted, gratis, at the offices oi ENoiNBBRING, 35 and 36, Bedford· street, Strand.

AJ:i~RICAN TELEGRAPHY.-Aboub 200 miles of complete telegraph mate1·iel required for the great line_ from _Cape Town to Cairo has been conveyed up the Beua Ratlway to Salisbury. A survey of the line from Salisbury to Tati has been proceeded with during the las t few weeks, and the construction of the line will be commenced im­mediately the survey has been completed.

N EW ZEALAND T ELEGRAPH EXTENSIONS.-Theexp()ndi­ture out of theN ew Zealand Public Works fund on account of telegraph construction, and for the ~xtension of the telephone exchange system throughout the colony, amounted, during the past financial year, to 29,245l. ; of this sum 5287l. was expended on telephone exchanges. Of the new lines erected during the past year for the extension of t elegraphic communication, the most im­J>Ortant are those to Toko, Awanui, Bla<:kburn, and Birmingham in the North Island ; and Banks Peninsul_a, Taipo, Shag Point, Five Rivers, and Stanley Brook m the South I sland. In the estimates for the present yE>ar an expenditure has been provided for which is intendE::d to cover liabilities of 6716l., existing at the com· mencement of the finan cial year, and sundry exten&ions, including a line to P eel ForeE. t and a telephone ex<;hange ab Matoura.

THE END OF THE FIFTY-SIXTH VOLUME.

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