FEB.

g,

goo.

173

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

THE RA EL.A.GII 'VOR,K , IP WICH.

it is but seldom that those res onsible for the arrangement of a workshop hnve
a.pperfectly free hand. In th~ case of al?- ,enlarg~
ment of existing works there 1s often a d1~culty m
securing a really goo~ site for th~ extenswn, and
even if this extension 1s fitted up wtth modorn pla~t,
the old tools so seldom expelled fro1~1 ~n English
f ctory often remain in the pre-ex1st1ng shops,
ad detract from the efficiency of the works a.s a.
~nhole. In a totally new undertaking, though there
may not be the temptation to hold fast to sue~ shopworn veterans, there is too often a strong lnd~ce
ment to purchase them, owing to a lack of ca~ntal,
comp~lling the a.dven~urous beginner to be satls~ed
"th machines "wh10h out of use and s taled w1th
wt
,
.
,
It .
d. 1
other men, begin his fa.shwn.
.Is a.ccor mg y
a. pleasure to a lover of fine machmery to pay a.
visit t o shops, such as those of MEssr~. Re~vell a:nd
Co of the Ranelagh \Vorks, IpswiCh, In wh10h
n o~'e of the above considerations have had effect,
but where the buildings have b~en ere?ted, and th.e
machinery purchased, solely .w1th a v1ew. to effiCIency, and where t he attempt 1~ n~a~e to still f~rther
increase this efficiency by a. Jud1cwus alteratwn of
the hours of work and methods of paying the men.
Thus at these works the breakfast break has b~en
entirely done away with, the hours adopted bemg
UNFORTUNATELY

the firm have adopted t h e premium plan of

paying their men, with the happiest r esults. This
syst em of paying for labour has boen described in
our columns on more than one occasion. I t differs
from piecework in t hat a time is fixed for a job in
place of a price. F or evP.ry hour the workman can
save on t he standard time fixed, he receives a
premium, which, with M essrs. Rea.vell, amounts to
one-half the saving effected. Thus, t he higher
wages t he workman makes, the less the cost of the
work per piece ; whilst with the piecework system
the labour cost per piece r emains the same, whatever the workman's rate of pay, and as a consequence t he latter does no more t han is sufficient to
earn him the maximum sum which the "office "
will p ermit him to make without being moved t o
cut prices. The natural consequence of this arrangement is that a certain rate of execution is quickly
r eached on piecework, and maintained st eadily
ever aft er. With the premium syst em, on the
other hand, the fact that the higher wages a man
may make, the less his work cos ts, checks the too
often unreasoning craving of the financial department of the undertaking for cutting down t he
wages bill.
The workman, therefor e, has every
inducement to continuously increase his output.
Coming to the arrangement and equipment of
the works, it will appear in the sequel that Messrs.
Reavell intend to meet the foreign competitor with

"

FIG.

1.

GF>NERAL VIEW oF THE RANELAGH WoRKs .

from 7 in the morning t ill 12 noon, and from

1 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., on ordinary days, whilst on
Saturdays the works close at 12 noon. There
are thus 52i working hours in the week, but
the men are paid for 54 hours, t he extra one and
half-hours being added as a bonus when no time
has been lost during the week. The system is
said to have given equal satisfaction to the firm
and to the men, and we can well believe it. A
hungry and sleepy man does not usually work any
harder than he is obliged to, and the efficiency of
the workman in t he two hours which are in this
country usually worked before breakfast, is not
particularly high. There is, moreover, a direct
loss of time on each side of the breakfast break,
which can scarcely be less than 10 minutes per day,
or one hour per week. In addition, of course,
there is a constant loss fro1n missed "quarters,"
during which the machinery is running with less
than the full output. In bad times this source of
loss can no doubt be kept down, but in times like
the present, when the demand for skilled men
exceeds the supply, it is not easy to t reat cases of
missed time with a high hand. The benefits to
the firm by t he new arrangement are therefore obvious, whilst all who have had the dismal experience
of two hours' work without breakfast in a cold shop
<'n a winter's morning will appreciate the advantages deriYed by the men. In the second place,

his own weapons. In fact the larger proportion of

t he tools laid down are of foreign manufacture,
and the methods of running t he shop are also to
a considerable extent based on over-seas practice.
The works are situated on a plot of land three acres
in extent, lying close to the Ipswich passenger
station, and bounded on one side by the Great
E astern goods line, on a second by the tidal portion
of the River Orwell, and on a t hird by the main
road. A general view of the buildings er ected is
shown above in Fig. 1, and plans and sections of
them will be found in Figs. 3 to 5, page 174. A s
there shown, the factory consists of four bays, each
coYered with a saw-tooth r oof running east and west,
and glazed on t he nort h side only. The south side
of each roof is lined with matched boarding on the
interior which reflects much of the ligh t incident on
it, contributing substantially to t he illumination of
he floor below. The two outer bays are each 25 ft.
wide, whilst the inner two are 20 ft. wide, t he
length of t hem being at present 150ft. One end
of t he building is, however, closed by a temporary
wall of galvanised iron fastened to each side of
open st udding. This wall will permit of the easy
extension of the shops when circumstances demand. The shop is 20 ft. high to the roof
springing, and the floor in each of t he outer bays
is commanded by an electric travelling crane. That
for the north bay, in which are grouped the

heavit3r machine tools, is of 5 tons capaci.ty,

whilst t hat on t he sout h s ide over t h e erecting
spans is of 8 tons capacity. The lat ter was con-:
s~ructed at t he works at a saving of nearly. 100l.
on t he lowest tender submitted by outside builders.
B oth cranes are of t he t wo - motor type, one
motor doing the lifting and th ~ other. the longitudinal traverse. The controlling switches are
operated from t ho floor. The longit~dinal traverse
is effected at a speed of 150 ft. p er mtnute, and the
lift ing at 5 ft. t o 10 ft . p er min~t.e. The cros~ .t~a
verse is effected by hand. In add1t1on to the fa01ht1es
for handling hea vy goods t hus provide.d, ther e is a
t ramway of 20-in. gauge down t he m tddle of each
bay, and, as shown, ther e are also two transverse
tramways crossing these longitudinal lines and
having the n ecessary turntables at the points of
intersection . The tramways extend int o the yard,
wher e there is a 30-cwt. pneumat ic hoist for dealing with heavy goods . The fl oor of the shop is
composed of thick planking upon a foundation
of coke breeze concr et e, underlaid by a suitable
thickness of broken brick, resting directly on the
subsoil, which is of gravel. The light er machines
are secured directly to this floor by coach screws,
whilst the heavier machines have their foundat ions carried through to the subsoil.
Electric motors are employed to drive the line
shaft ing, main belts being t hus dispensed with.
Compressed ai r mains extend all over the shops,
and every heavy tool has near it a pneumatic
hoist, one of which is shown lifting a crankshaft in
Fig. 8, page 177. The shops ar e heat ed throughout
with exhaust steam, and the offices withi steam at
10 lb. pressure supplied from the shop boiler through
a reducing valve. This attention to the ~omfort of
the shops most certainly pays in hard cash, as
everyone that has worked in a shop heated solely
by infrequent and widely scattered coke fires, mus t
realise. The shops are ligh ted by electricity, the
general ligh t ing being by arc lamps, whilst incandescent
lamps are fit ted at each machine, and fitter's

VlCe.
The stores, offices, and pattern-shop ar e situated
to t he south of t h e heavy tool shop. The stores
a re on the ground level at the south-east corner of
the building, accommodation being also found h ere
for a caretaker. The stores are arranged to receive
at one end all materials, whether rough or finished,
o bta.ined from outside firms, whilst at t he other,
a.cc01nmodation is found for finished parts of
engines as delivered from the machine-shop, the
practice being to construct these to stock, and issue
th em from the stores when requisitioned for engines
on order. Tramways and turntables connect t he
stores with the machine-shop. The general offices
are situated further along on t he ground floor of the
same range of buildings. The second floor of these
buildings is occupied by the pattern-shop and stores,
and by the drawing-office and photographic-room.
The machinery in the pattern-shop consists of a
3~-in. b~~d saw, an .18-in. circular saw arranged
w1th a nsmg and falhng table, and fitted with adjustable fences for cutting bevels and mitres, whilst
t here is also a 12-in. "Buzz" planer, a 12-in.
centre pattern-makers' lathe, 7 ft . 6 in. swing face
lathe, and a ''Faultless" d ouble emery grinder.
Nearly all of t hese tools are of American manufacture. They are driven by friction clutch es from
a line shaft coupled direct to an electric motor designed to run at 600 r evolutions per minute.
The drawing-office, which is situated above the
g?~eral o!fices, is exceptionally well ligh ted, proVISIOn be~g made on th~ roof for photo-printing,
the black-hne process being used, which gives excellent r esults wit h the bold type of draughtsmanship adopted by tho fi.rm for their shop drawings.
The ~hole of these prints are framed before being
sent 1nto t he shops, and are protected from injury
or dirt by a thin sheet of celluloid in front.
As al~eady mentioned, the heavy tools ar e
grouped 1n t he north ernmost bay of the machineshop (see Fig. 6, page 176). There are two
crankshaft lathes, one 30 in. and the other
24 in., supplied by t he Niles Tool Works Company. ~he dogs u~ed for chucking t hese cranks
are of tnter est, bemg fitted for the p roduction
of standard work.
Each dog has accordingly
several accurately located centre holes in it corresponding to the crank thro ws of the different
standard sizes of engine built, so that one pair of
dogs serves for several cranks. There are four
lathes by Messrs. Lang and Son, two being boring
and turning lat hes, one 40 in. and the other
30 in .; the others are r espectively 10-in. and

174

8-in. centres, screw-cutting gap-bed bthes. These

are of the usual English pattern and call for no
special comment. One of the hardest-worked
machines in t he shop is a J ones and Lamson fiat
turret lathe, t he capabilities of which in the production of every class of lathe work less than 2 in.
in diameter by 24 in. long are now too well known
t o r equire special notice here. Another interesting
machine is a Pit tler tool-room lathe, which for
certain special work has very great advantages.
This machine was described in ENGINEERING of
January 20, 1893. The principal peculiarity of
this tool is that the saddle can be rotated
r ound t he bed of the machine, and is fitted to
h old either a tool or a piece of material to be
operated on by a t ool carried by the headstock.
Full particulars of the machine and illustrat ions of
some of t he rema rkable work which it is capable
of turning out, will be found in tl1e article r eferred
to above.
In addition to the English screw-cutting lathes
already mentioned, there are two 8-in. cen tre
H endy - N orton lathes. These lathes were, we
b elieve, the first in which means wer e provided
for rapidly changing threads, it being sufficient
to move a small handle out of one slot and into
a second in order to alter the pitch cut. There
is thus an immense saving of time where threads
of different pitches are to be cut on a single
piece of stock, the by-no-means too cleanly job
of shifting change-wheels on and off their studs
being entirely dispensed with. Two "Universal ,
milling machines, b oth supplied by the Cincinnati
l\1illing Machine Company, are prc~vided, and are
h eavily worked. In all cases where a high finish
is not required, t he men are instructed to crowd
the machines as much as possible, it being deemed
cheaper to replace an occasional broken cutter
than to nibble at the stuff being cut. A 40-in .
Brown and Sharpe grinder is used for finishing and
trueing case-hardened work, but for little else, as,
unless hardened, all material is used in the state
the turning or boring tool leaves it ; and, owing to
the fact that all tools are shaped and ground in the
tool-room, these machined surfaces are extremely
good. So far as is practicable, all work is finished
in two cuts-a roughing and a finishing one. To
facilitate this, a pickling tank 4 ft. 6 in. square and
5 ft. deep, has been installed, as it was found t hat
the hard scale on the castings was very severe on
the roughing tools. This tank is ser ved by a pne umatic hoist mounted on a swinging jib, and capable
of lifting 25 cwt. The practice of the firm is to
bore all holes to standard dimensions, t he final cut
being made with reamers, any necessary allowance, either under for a working fit, or over, for a
forced fit, being made on the shafts or spindles, and
not in the sizes of the holes.
l\1icrometers and gauges are supplied to the
workmen from the tool-room, where a full stock of
Slocomb micrometers, ranging from 0 in. to 8 in.
is kept. The caliper gauges used are of a pattern introduced, we believe, by the W olsey Sheep Shearing Machine Company, of Birmingham, and consist
of a stiff but light frame of an aluminium alloy,
carrying t wo plugs of hardened steel, the distance between which is the standard. A full set of
these gauges is provided, t he largest having a gap
of 2 ft. The plugs mentioned are adjustable, and
the accuracy of a gauge is always checked on its
return to the tool-room by c01nparison with a
Brown and Sharpe micr ometer square, measuring
lengths up to 2ft. in thousandths of an inch.
The tool-room occupies a most important posit ion
in the firm's worksh op met hods. As already stated,
all cutting tools are ground in the tool-room, a
Gisholt grinder, which has a cup emery wheel, and
which is fitted with graduated slides, permitting
work to be ground at any predetermined angle,
being used for the purpose. The edge thus given
to a tool approaches perfection. A la.rge stock of
t ools is kept, and a workman has thus no excuse
for Ufjing a blunt tool. T o k eep track of t he different tools, gauges, micrometers, and t he like,
issued from the tool-room, each workman r eceives
every Monday morning a set of 12 pierced metal
discs marked with his sh op number. On obtaining
any t~ol from the tool-room he deposits t here one
of these tallies, which is hung in t he space appropriated to th:e tool sent out . 0~ returning the
tool his tally IS handed back to him. E very tool
issued must be replaced in stor e on Saturday, to
be reissued if needed on the Monday following.
All holes being finished by reaming, much of the
wo1k il the toul room consists of making or r e-

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

[FEB. 9,

gauging these reamers, and the necessary grinding

machines are provided for t his and for grinding
twist drills. The cylinder r eaming head finishes
about 50 cylinders before adjustment is needed,
owing to the special form and grouting of cutters
devised by the firm. We may n ote in passing that
outside of the tool-room there is n ot a marking-off
table in the whole of the shops. All work is done to
jig or template. The larger of these t emplates are of
cast iron, having holes drilled at the proper places
for the work in hand. H ardened steel plugs are
fitted to these holes, and guide the drills used. A
most important feature of t he shop methods consists
in a weekly meeting of foremen and draughts-

rgoo.

tate the setting of work on the machine tables, as

they enable the usual assortment of old nuts
washers, and the like, commonly used as packing
pieces, to be entirely dispensed with.
Returning from our digression about the tool~oom ~~d the t ool-room methods, we may note that
1n add1t10n to the two lathes already mentioned the
Niles ~ool Works Compat;ly have_also s upplied one
of theu well-known 60-In. bormg and turnina
mills or vertica~ l~thes, a type of tool particularly
useful for mach1n1ng shallow work of large diameter, since owing to the ease with which work can
be centred on the horizontal table of the machine, there is much less time lost in "setting ,

Fig.8.

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LICHT
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END

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men to discuss any new suggestions brought for- than with the ordinary lathe. In addition ~ this
ward. Further, n o standard drawing is passed there is a 6-ft. by 16-ft. horizontal boring m1ll supinto the shops until it has been in the hands of plied by Messrs. Parkinson and Co., and a smaller
every foreman concerned, for criticism and amend one havino- a 3-in. spindle built by Messrs. Lang.
ment. Slight changes in detail may greatly facili- There ar: two planing machines provided-the
tate the passage of work through t he shops, as larger admitting work 5 ft. by 6 ft . by 14ft., a:nd
very often, by a trivial r e-arrangement, it is p ossible t he smaller, work 2 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. by 8ft. Wlt~
to reduce the number of settings needed to corn- the latter of these machines the cutting speed 18
plete a particular article, and it is the business of 25ft. per minute, whilst the return is made at ~he
the for emen to criticise the drawings from this rate of 100 ft. per minute. In spite of these h_tgh
point of view before sending back to the office for speeds t here is a comparative ab~ence . of noise.
issue to t he shops. In addition to the tools and Less important tools are an 8-m. h1~h- speed
micrometers already mention ed, the tool -room also Wilkinson slotter, and an Eberhart 26-m. stroke
issues small screw jacks, of which a large stock of shaping machine A catholic ?ste has been shown
different sizes are kept. These en ormously fa.cili- 1 in the tnattel' of drilli11g mach1ne~:~. The largest of

175

E N G I N E ER I N G.
~hese is a Kendall and Gent ~aohine ~tted with an

automatic studding a_nd tappmg deVlce, there are

also machines by BlaiSdell and Snyder, as well as a
sensitive drill.
,, Q
d c ,,
Two extremely useful tools are the
. an
.
hack saws. The quality of hack saws has b~en
enormously improved of late years. The. cutting
of a steel bar by the old-type saw, which :was
comparatively soft and n eeded frequent refilmg,
. s far from a labour of love. The new s~ws,
~~roduced by our American friends, out certa:Inly
twice as well, and the excellent results obta1~ed
with them in hand frames ~as led to the pro~uot10n
of a number of power-driven frames, whiCh are
rapidly becoming extremely popular. The " Q.
and C., machine differs from most .of the others
in having a positive instead of a gravitY: feed to t he
saw. Messrs. R eavell ~nd Co. use 1t, amongst
other purposes, for cuttmg out crank checks, pr~
paratory to turning up the cranks. The work ~a
said to cost much less when thus exe?uted than If
the cutting is done at the forge supplymg the sha.ft.
Each of the machines is driven in the present Instance by a belt from t he line shaft, and nee~ no
attention after the work has once been set, s1nce
it stops automatically, when the cut h~s r eached a
predetermined depth. Among the ~ght~r tools
provided are a number of pneumat1c dnlls and
hammers.
As already stated the main drivin~ th!oughout
the works is electrical. The shop engme 1s one of
Scott,s high-speed compound engines, which . forms
one of the specialities of the firm, aJ.?-d which we
shall describe in fulJ in our next article. It h~s
cylinders 14 in. in diameter by 7 in. s~roke, an~ 1s
coupled to a. "Norwich,, dynamo, des1gned to g1ve
230 amperes at 110 volts. The st~am ne~es
sary is supplied by a Babcock and Wilcox. b01l~r
of 100 horse-power, the water for wh10h IS
obtained from an artesian well sunk on the premises, which yields an ample supply for all
purposes. There is a second boile~ of 250 horsepower designed to carry a workmg pressure of
300 lb. per square inch, and which is fitted with a
superheater with a view to facilitating experimental
work on the engines built. An excellently fit~ed
up testing-room forms an annexe on the north side
of the shops, as shown in the plan Fig. 4. There
are permanent steaming beqs, to which the engines
under test can be conveniently secured, an overhead crane enabling them to be lifted bodily into
place. The connection to the main steam pipe is
made by means of the ingenious flexible metallic
tubing, which has lately found so many important
adaptations. . It was, we believe, first used for
temporary steam connections by the late Mr.
P. W. Willans, and it saves an immense amount
of trouble in coupl!ng up an engine under test
with its steam supply.
The exhaust steam
is led to a Wheeler surface condenser of t hat
1
firm s double-tube type, in which the risk of
leakage bet ween the water and steam spaces is
greatly reduced. This condenser is used whether
the engine is being worked condensing or noncondensing, but in the latter case the air pump is
not operated, the steam being condensed at atmospheric pressure. In either case, the condensed
steam is collected in a tank mounted on a platform
weighing machine, the arm of which is placed
within a separate office. In making a test the
engine is loaded to a definite horse-power, and the
time taken for each 100 lb. of condensed steam to
collect in the tank is noted.
(To be continued .)

HAND AND MACHINE LABOUR.

(Continued frorn, page lf>3.)

CARPETS.
WE have selected two examples of this very important indust ry- the production of 1000 yards of
Brussels (Table XVI.\ and a similar quantity of
velvet pile, carpet (Table XVII.). The dates of
comparison are 1860 and 1895, and the methods of
production at the former date were, of course, far
more elementary, and the operations less than half
as numerous. To summarise a few of t he econmies in labour : scouring the yarn for t he Brussels
ce.r~et occupied 3 .hours, as compared with 30 ;
dyemg 10 hours agamst 60 ; extracting surplus dye
1 hour, and 60 hours ; dyeing yarn, 4 hours, and 60
hours. ; winding warp yarn on spools 52 hours
30 mmutes, ~nd 255 hours; beaming 4 hours, and
90 hours; fillmg cops 18 hours 45 minutee, and 108

hours; weaving 200 hours, and 16~0 hours; m~a

suring 40 minutes, and 2 hours 30 mm~tes ; roll~g
40 minutes, and 5 hours. The total time occup1ed
in making the 1000 yards of Brussels carpet was
509 hours 1 minute by machine methods, and
4047 hours 30 minutes by hand methods. The
r esults given for t he velvet pile s ummarised
in Table XVII., ar e also r emarkable, but n ot
quite so striking. A small industry auxiliary
to the foregoing is that of plan~ing and sewing carpets. The former operation does n ot
admit of mechanical aid, although, owjng douutless
to mor e skilled labour, 100 yards of carpet were cut
to shape in 43 minutes, as compared with 60 minu tes. Sewing widths together and finishing ends
ceases now to be a hand job, electrically driven
sewin<>' machines being substit uted, and doing in
1 hou~ 15.8 minutes, work occupying 27 hours of
hand labour.
It should mentioned with reference to the
carpets, that the kinds selected for comparison did
not quite correspond. The early date Brussels was
a nine-wire body carpet, warp 1300 worsted ends,
522 linen ends, linen filling, 18 picks to the inch. The
1895 type was a nine-wire carpet, warp 1280 worsted
ends, 512 cotton ends, 256 jute ends, linen filling
! lb. per yard, 18 picks per inch. The velvet pile
of 1850 was a nine-wire carpet, warp 780 worsted
ends, 522 linen ends, 790 cotton ends,
lb. linen
filling per yard, 18 picks p er inch. The modern
velvet pile was nin~-wire, warp 216 wo~sted en~s,
432 cotton ends, 648 jute ends, i lb. hnen filling
per yard, and 18 picks per inch.

TABLE

XVI.-ProdtWtion of 1000 Ya1ds Brussels

Carpet.

Mode of Production.

Date...

...

. ..

. ..

Hand.
18f>O

Machine.
1895

Number of different operations involved . ..

. ..
15
41
Number of workmen employed .. .
. ..
. ..
18
81
N umb~r of hours worked 4047 h. 30 m. 509 b. 1 m.
Cost of labour
...
... 270.010 dols. 91.250 dols.
Average rate of wages per
week
...
. ..
... 3 to 5 dols. 5 to 15 dols.
TABLE

XVII,-Production of 1000 Yards of

Velvet Carpet.

T ABLE

XIX.-ProcZuction of One S et of Carriage ;,heels

by HO!nd (1850).

...

Operat ion .

='

0~

,0~

""'

:'::l
Cl5

CISO

~0

1. Boring and turning hubs

..
2. Mo rt ising hubs for spokes
.
a. Outting out spokes
..
.
4. Rough-shaping spokes . .
..
5. T enoning hub end of spokes
..
6. Tbroating, facing, and ftnishinf!
spokes
..
..
..
..
7. Glueing and driving spokes into
huba
..
..
..
..
8. Tenon in ~ r im end of spokes
..
9. Boring rtms for s pokes . .
..
10. Rounding rims
..
..
.
11. Putting rims on spokes . .
..
12. Smoothing outside of wheels. . .
13. OverseE:ing . .
..
..
..
TABLE

2 0
3 80

dole.
2.50
2.50
2.50
2.60
2.60

d ole.
.500
2.000
.875
.600

6 0

2.50

1.500

1 0
1 0

2.60
2.60
2.60
2.60
2.60
2.60

.260
. 260

h. m.
2 0

8 0
3 30

4
1
0
2

so

0
0
80
0

.876

.625
1.000
.260
.126
.600

s.o

XX.-ProdtWtion of One S et of C01rriage

Wh eels by Machinery (1895).

..

----------------------~- -------------

='

""'as

Operation.

,0~

>.

cSO

oS

1. C utt ing hub blocks into lengths

2. Boring a nd reaming hubs
..
3. Turning hubs
..
.
..
4. Banding hubs
..
..
..
5. Beveling edge of hub bands ..
6. Mortising hubs for spokes
..
7. Polishing hub bands
..
..
H. Beading hub bands
..
..
9. Finishing hubs
..
..
..
10. Rough-turning spokes . .
..
11. Tenoning and mitring hub end
of spokes..
..
..
..
12. Throating spokes .
..
..
13. Sizin g spokes
..
..
..
14. Smoothmg throats of spokes ..
15. Finishing spokes . .
..
..
16. Tapering spokes for driving ..
17. Compressing hub ends of spokes
18. Drivmg spokes into hubs
..
19. Cutting and rim tenoning spokes
20. Bending rims
..
..
..
21. Squaring one side of rims
..
22. Dressing rims
..
..
..
23. Boring rims for spokes . .
..
24. Compressing rims..
..
..
25. Rounding rims
..
..
..
26. Smoothing rims . .
..
..
27. Pt1tting rims on spokes . .
..
28. Smoothing outside of wheels ..
29. Overseeing . .
..
..
..
30. Power
..
..
..
..

mm.
1.8
8.6
1.8
1.8
1.2
12.0
6.0
6.0
3.0
30.0

d ole.
1.26
1.25
1 25
1.25
1.25
1.75
1.00
1.00
1.75
1.75

18.0
8.6
6.0
18.0
18 0

1.26
1.25
1.00
1.75
1.60
1. 26
1.00
2.00
1.76
1.75
2.00
2.00
1.26
1.26
1. 75
1.75
1.76
1.00
2.26
1.76

so

9.0

18.0
6.0
6.0

s.o
6.0
6.0
6.0

9.0

~0

dole.
.0038
.0075
.0038
.0038
.0025
.0360
.0100
.0100
.0088
.0875
.0375
.c 076
.0100
.0525
.0460
.(!063
.0160
.0600
.0175
.0175
.0100
.0200
.0126
.01 25
.0263
.0626
.0526
.0200
.0450
.0012

18.0
Mode of Production.
Hand.
Machine.
18.0
Date. ..
.. .
...
...
1850
1895
12.0
Number of different opera12.0
0.4
tions involved . ..
. ..
21
40
Number of workmen employed ...
...
...
33
97
Number of hours worked 1978 b. 50 m. 482 b. 51 m, 13 hours 20 minutes, as compared with 50 hours
Cost of labour
. ..
. .. 171.750 dols. 81.604 dols. by hammer and chisel. Tapering and pointing the
ends of the plates was a somewhat long operation
CARRIAGE pARTS.
in both cases ; still, while it occupied 19 hours
Carriage - building is an American speciality, 20 minutes in 1895, it required no less than 200
though the ordinary road vehicles of the United hours in 1850. Making heads and eyes on the
States, differ so largely from those of Great plates took 20 hours with the help of a bending
Britain, especially in the better classes of car- machine and press, as against the smith labour of
Punching holes took respectively
riages, that no comparison between the two 200 hours.
can be made. Still, there is no question that 7 hours 30 minutes and 200 hours; fitting and temin material, finish, and durability, American car- pering, 80 hours and 400 hours ; polishing and
riages leave nothing to be desired. The report grinding, about the same t.ime for each; the r ewith which we are concerned, investigates the maining operations were completed in 58 hours
various branches of the road-carriage industry, with 40 minutes by the modern, and 233 hours
astounding detail. The data. of forty separate in- 20 minutes by the primitive method. Collectively,
dustries are analysed and tabulated. Of these, one t he time for making this 100 pairs of springs in
- that of wheels- possesses special interest, and 1850 was 1383 hours, and in 1895 it was 252 h ours
we therefore propose to follow the operations folTABLE XXI.-Production of 100 P airs 36-In. Carriage
lowed in the manufacture. The type selected is a
Sprilnqs.
set of carriage wheels, 3 ft. 6 in. and 3 ft. 10 in.
Mode of Production.
Hand.
Machine.
in diameter, with hubs 3i in. by 6! in., spokes
Date...
...
...
. ..
1850
1895
1fi in., and tread i in.; the dates of comparison
Number of different operations involved ...
. ..
are 1860 and 1895. The results are summarised in
9
15
Number of workmen emTable XVIII., and a detailed analysis of the operaplQYed ...
...
...
2
4
tion is also given in separate lists, the first being
Number of hours worked 1383 h. 20 m. 309b. 0 m.
Cost of labour ...
... 138.333 dols. 71.687 dols.
T ABI.Ii: XVIIL-Production of One Set of Four
Average rate of wages per
Cwniage Wheels.
day
. ..
.. .
.. . 1. 00 dol.
1. 94 dols.
Mode of Production.
Hand.
Machine.
DtLte...
...
...
...
1860
1895
42, the difference being in the prop ortion of nearly
Number of different opera7
to
1;
the
nun1ber
of
persons
employed
on
the
tions involved . . .
. ..
13
30
hand unit was 2, and on the machine unit, 42. In
Number of workmen emthe existing state of this trade much of t he work
ployed ...
~ .
. ..
2
27
Number of hours worked
37 h.
is done by the piece ; the head and eye makers
4 h. 23 m.
Cost of labour . ..
. .. 9.350 dols. .604 dol.
work by the set ; slotting, fitting, and grinding
is done by the 100 plates ; about 45 dols. out of
the set produced by hand labour (Table XIX.), the 71.68 dols. paid for labour on the 100 set~, go
while Table XX. shows the corresponding produc- in piecework, the remainder being for daywork.
tion with t he help of machinery.
Sprirtgs.-As will be seen from Table XXI., the
CARRIAGES AND WAGONS.
production of carriage springs has been greatly
Six classes of popular and useful vehicles are
facilitated by mechanical appliances. The examples subjected to examination: buggies, sleighs, farm
selected for comparison are 100 pairs of four plate wagons, and road wagons. The buggy is a useful,
steel elliptic springs, 36 in. by 1! in. Cutting the but not a high-toned sort of vehicle, of a type at
~tee! into lengths w&s done by steatn shears in which probably a British carriage bui!der would

E N G I N E E RI N G.

THE RANELAGH WORKS,

IPSWICH;

[FEB. 9,

INTERIOR OF

900.

HEAVY TOOL SHOP.

(Fer.- D~cription, see Page 173.)

F IG. 6.

look contemptuously ; it is, nevertheless, widely

popular in the United States. The one selected
for comparison is described as fitted with elliptic
springs, leath er tops, piano body, dropped axles,
banded hubs, and cloth trimmings. Table XXII.
shows the labour cost of such a carriage in 1865
and 1896. It may be of interest to follow some of
the operations, and the time occupied under the
different condit ions ; the modern plant was run by
water power.
T ABLE XXI I. -Production of One Buggy on Elliptic
Springs.
Mode of Production.
Hand.
Date...
. ..
...
. ..
1865
Number of different operations involved ...
...
64
Number of workmen em-

ployed

...

...

. ..

Machine.
1895
75

116

Number of hours worked 200 h. 25 m. 39 b. 8.2 m.

Cost of labour
...
. . . 45.669 d ols. 8. 095 d ols.
Average rate of wages per} 1.25 to
1.75 to
day
2.50 dols.
3.00 dols.
T ABLE XX III. -Some of the Operations in M aking One
Buggy, and N 1vmber of Howrs Emp loyed.
Operation.

1865.

1895.

b. m.

miD.

a'uttiog out material tor body, seat,

17.3
8 45

and gear . .:
..
. ..
20.0
Squaring, st10k1ng, and planmg 18 60
11.4
4 0

'Ienoning
..

7.2
1 0

Mortising
..
..
1 0
7.8
Boring screw boles . .
..
.
30.7
Shaping panels, seat frames, &c. . . 4 30
8. 6
~1i t riog panels . .
..
..
.. 2 0
Sandpapering and finishing wood
15.1
work . .
..
..
..
. . 13 so
57.6
Welding, fi t ting, a~d setting axles 4 0
3.0
Ty re bending machme (four wheels) 0 30
48.0
Welding and set t ing t yres . .
.. 3 0
7.0
Wheel-boring and hub machine .. 1 30
40 0 12 b. 37.8 m.
Painting and varnishing ..

Ratio.

17 to
66 ,
21 "
8 "
8 "
8 "
14 "

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

54 "
4 "
10 "
3. 7 ,
12.5"
3 "

There are, of course, many other operations-

1
1
1
1
1
1

75 in all- but we need not analyse them. The

length of time occupied in painting and varnishing
would probably make our carriage-builder& smile.
This operation is done by hand in each case ; but
in 1866 it was don e by four persons, and in 1895
by five, with a better shop organisation. It is
stated t hat t he finish of t he machine-made buggy
is better than that of the hand-made, but the durability is not so great.
That the labour cost of a farm wagon should be
only about 29s., and that for a road wagon- a
favourite light cheap cart- only 32s., seems surprising ; but Tables XXIV. and XXV. show that
this is so. The farm wagon is described as having
a body brake, double box, spring seat, 3~-in. skein,
wheels 3ft. 8 in. and 4ft. 5 in., with 1i-in. tread.

board, corduroy trimming , and patent wheels.

It will be seen t hat this vehicle is producecl in onethird, and the farm wagon in one-fifth the time by
t he modern methods. It is claimed that the work
is superior, and the vehicles in all respects preft:rable to those turned out by hand.
(T o be continued.)

THE STANDARDI SATION OF SCREW

THREADS.
(Concluded from page 145.)

17. K re'lttzbergeT (1876). - This system has only_a

sligh t historical interest; it was introduced m
1878 at t he French gun factory of Puteaux, an~ the
form corresponds with t hat of Sellers (see ~1g. 4,
page 143 cvnte). The series includes ~0 d1fferent
T ABLE XXIV.-Pr oduction of One Fa1"m Wagon.
diameters ; increasing by steps of 1 milhm_et~e from
Mode of Production.
Hn.nd.
Machine.
6 to 10 millimetres in diameter, and by 2 m1lhmetres
Date...
...
...
...
1848
1895
from
10 to 80 millimetres in diameter. The relaN um her of different operation between pitch and diameter was approximately
. ..
37
63
t ions involved . . .
p = .1cl + 4.
Number of workmen em5
18. I talian .il.?"tillery System (1878).- From the
N~~~~ of .hours.~ork~~i 242 48 h. 1~~9 m. end of 1878 t he I talian War Department a:dopted
Cost of labour
.. .
.. . 35.350 dols. 7.188 dols.
the Whitworth system for t heir war matenal, but
Average rate of wages per
day
. ..
. ..
. .. 1 to 1. 50 dols. 1 to 2. 50 d ols. modified to a metric base. The profile of the thread
is p ractically that of Whitworth with an angle of
TABLE XXV.-Production of One Stamdard Pla,tf orm
65 d eg., and rounded at face and root. :rhe depth
Road Wagon.
of
the t hread is not q uite so great, bemg .633. P
Mode of Production.
Hand.
Machine.
instead of .64 p. The relations between the ~~a
1895
Date...
...
...
. ..
. ..
meter and the pitch are established by the e1ght
Number of different opera62
95
tions involved . ..
. ..
following proportions :
Number of workmen em-

ployed

. ..

. ..

...

127
6
Number of hours worked 204 h. 15 m. 63 h. 28.2 m
Cost of labour
...
. .. 48.074 dols. 8.487 dols.
Average rate of wages per
d ay
.. .
. ..
. . . 2. 50 dols. 1 to 2. 50 dols.

Table XXV. refers to a "Standard " platform

road wagon, with two movable seats, leather dash-

1J

"
"
,
"
::

= .08 d

,,

+
, +
" +
, +
, +
, +
" +

, +

0.25 for

a,

0. 3
0. 4
0.5
0. 6
0. 7
0.8
1. 0

d =

"
,
,
"
"
,
,

a, =

d =
a, =
d =
d
d

5 millimetres

6
1
8
9
10
11
13

,
"
"
"
"
,
u

&c.

E: N G I N E E R I N C.
THE RANELAGH

WORKS,

IPSWICH; PNEUMATIC HOIST.

(For Desc1iption, see Page 173.)

Fig . '7.

t
I

-1'--:-

1 I

II

~+

:J.hcle

_g.____ -"'

I
I
I
I
I

---

~ --

------

I
I

~,

.......

-:s:-- rTI-r---t-:~

I
I

'

--

.a ,

FIG.

Table XII. gives the series of the different bolts sive powers of 0. 9 millimetre for the pitch. The
index of the power is used as a. convenient desigof t his system.
nating number for the f)Crews; thus the pitch of
TABLE XII.-Italia-n A 1tiUery Systern.
No. 6 screw is got by raising 0.9 millimetre to the
sixth power, the pitch being therefore 0.5i3 milliOutside
Diameter
d.

mm.
6
6
7
8
9
10
11

13
16
16
18
20
22
25
80
85
40
50
60
70
80

Pitch.
mm.
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.1
1.3

u;

1.7
2.0
2. 2
2.3
2.4
2.6
2.8
8.0
3.4
3.8
4.2
6.0
5.8
6.6
7.4

Depth of
Thread.
mm.
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.1
1.3
1.4
1.4
1.6
1.6
1.8
1.9
2.2
2.4
2.7
3.2
3.7
4.2
4.7

Diameter at
Bottom of
Thread.
mm.
4.2
6.0
6.8
6.6
7.4
8.2
8.8
10.4
12.2
13.2
15.0
16.8
18.4
21.2
25.6
30.2
34.6
43.6
62.6
6l.6
70.6

Tig.13.

THURV.

FOR WATCHMAKING.

( 1878).

i
I

~------ru1
I

------+---- -- iL

it----

....Y'

, )'

r--------.,---

T ABLE

XIII.-The Thury Sy3tem f or Watchmakir1g

a;nd other Srna.ll Work ( 1878).

-----:f-i

mm.
6.0
6.3
4.7
4.1
3.6
3.2

I
I

gTJT

---).!-.,..-~.

~' --

,;.

----*--

~--------.1----

II
I
I

I
I

lI
I

I
I
I

(~lSitl ! ~ cfp

2.6
2.2
1.9
1.7
1.5
1.3

TABLE

~------------+i

metre, and the diameter 2.8 millimetres. From

the series so obtained in decimals of a millimetre,
a series is got in decimals of an inch. , This was
the standard recommended by a Committee of the
British Association (see British Association Reports, 1882, pages 311 to 314, and 1884, pages 287

6
G

1.9

3
4

7
8
9
10

2.1
2.3
2. 6
29

Number
of
Series.

Diameter.

Pi tch.
mm.
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.4
15
1.7

0
1
2

14

16
16
17
18
19
20
2t
22
23
2!
25

Diameter.

mm.
0. 26
0.23
0.21
0.19
0.17
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.11
0.098
0 089
0.080
0.072

mm.
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.79
0.70
0.62
0.6!
0.48
0.42
0.37
0.33
0.29
0.25

XIV.- The T hu ry System; La1ge Series {1878).

Number
of
Series.

Pitch.

13

~.8

Number
of
Serie!!.

iameter.

II

19. Tfvtt-1'1J, 1878 (Fig. 13).-The Thury system is

one of very wide adoption, chiefly for watchmaking
and the finer mechanical uses, although the designer
has produced a series of larger diameters, for general
machine work. Mr. Thury proceeded under the
auspices of the Society of Arts of Geneva, and his
system is fully set forth in his book '' Systema.tique
de Vis Horlo~eres" (Geneva). The Thury standard was descr1bed by Mr. Ch. J. Hewitt in a paper
on "Screws for Watches," read before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1894 as follows :
"It is a V thread of 47~ deg., round top and bottom
th.rou~h two-elevenths of t he height, and the pitch
p 1s dtrectly related to the diameter d by the fort~lu~a. p f. ~his fo.rmula. will, of course, give an unlumted series of s1zes ; and in order to formulate a
standard series, it was decided to adopt the succes-

to 293). As stat ed above, the system is largely

used in watchmaking factories in this country and
abroad, as well as in larger classes of work. Fig. 13
shows the form and proportion of the thread. The
depth of the thread h = p ; the radius of the
curve at the root of the thread is t p, and that
at the crown t p. The following Tables give a
selection of the Thury series, Table No. XIII. belonging to the screws for finer work, and No. XIV.
those for larger purposes.

II r-~p
1..........
5
I

8.

mm.

mm.
11
12
13

6. 0
6.8
7.7
8.8
10

16
16

11

13

16
17
19
21

'

I
I

17

18
19
20

Pitch.

Dio.meter.

mm.

mm.
3.2
3.6
4.0
4.4
49
5.4

6.0
6.7
7.4

8.2

24
27
31
35
40
45
51.5
58
66
76

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

[FEB. 9, 1900.

20. Systerr: of the G~-rman Engineers' Associntion The threads increase according to the French
(18~8).-Thls system lB really nothing more than system by half millimetres, and the following
Delisle's No. I I., with the addition of an extended
.14.
series of diameters. The profile is that of a triENCH ARTILLERY.
a~gle n, b, c, inscribed on a square a, e, j, c, as in
(1881)
.
:
1
rL.
ltt+-------1
Fig. 1~ (page 145 ante); the thread has square
~runcat10ns = k p.
The height of the triangle
J!. --tlII 1~ III p
Is h0 = .p, and the thread is h = .75 p ; the
2(1 *~~I I I 10
angle b Is 53 deg. 8 min., which is more acute
I 1 I
' at
than. in the Whit'!orth t hread. The normal progresswn of the senes only extends from diameters
-+----dt.z
of 6 to 40 millimetres. From 44 to 160 millimetres, a di~erent progression is adopted, following
t~at of Deltsle No. II. The diametrical progresSions from 1 to 6 millimetres are on the normal scale
of the German Society of Mathematical Instrument
!\_1ak~rs and Optici~ns. Since the org~nised investl~aho~ of the subJect at Paris, and the preliminary
diBcus_sH~ns of the Congress at Zurich, the German
AssoCiation has mad~ new suggestions, based upon
the proposals of Dehsle and Loewe, and they presented to the Congress two fresh propositions. In
each of these the profile of the screw is similar to
that of Sellers, which appears to be very generally
ac?epted ~ the best. The following Table conI
: I
tains particulars of the whole series of Loewe and
1..
I I I
I
I
TV
Delisle, Nos. Ill. and IV. These date from 1898:
I I ~ --~ - -Z~

(French Standard . )
Diameter.

80
88
96
106
116

4.56

14

18
21
30
36
4'l
48

56
64
72

126
136
148

XV.-Delisle Nos. III. and IV., and Loewe

Systems.

~lL
1 I

j I
I

Diameter.

Number of I
Thread~ per
DecimetrE'.
mm,

100
..
80

6
7

8
9
10
11
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
27

32
3'

39
42
45

1.2

1.2
1.4
1.4
1.6
1.6

60

1.67

60

2.00

2.0

2.0

40

2. 50

2.4

35

2. 86

2.4
2.8

ao

3.33

28
32

3.2
3.6
3.6
4.0
4.0
4.4
44
4.8
4.8
5.2
5.2
5.6
5.6
6.0

4.00
..
4.44

20

5.00

17,5
..
17.6

6l
68
72
76
80

mm.
1.0
10
1.25
1. t5
1.5
1.5
1. 75
1. 75
2.0
20
2.5
9 5
....
3.0
3.0

60

mm.
1.0
1.0

1.43

22. 5

62
56

mm.
1.0

70

48

No. IV.
Pttcb.

25

S6

No. Ill.
Pitch .

1.2>

3')

P itch.

5. 71

6. 71

6.67
..
6.67

15

15

___ _-f- -------

I I

1 I
' 621!d I II I'

Delisle.

Lo :!we.

figures show the relation between pitch and diameter for the whole series :
p = .125 d for-d = 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 millimetres.
p = .1 d + .5 ford= 20, 25, 35, 40, 45 millimet~.
p = .05 d + 2. 75 ford = 45, 55, 65, 75 millimetres.
22. S yst em of the P aris S ociete d'E nc01cragem.ent
(1894) (Fig . 15).-In this, the Sellers profile is
adopted ; t he system was worked out by Professor
Sau vage, and was the first effort towards a r ecogp

FUJ 15

4. 5

45
6.0
6.0
6.5
6. 6
6.0
60
65
6.5
7.0

~ /
1)\
~

'

T
I

XVI.-French Artillery System.

Diameter.

Pitch.

Diameter.

Pitch .

mm.

mm.
0.6
1
1.5

mm.
26
30
36
40
45

mm.

8
10
12
H

16
18
20
22

--

u;

2
2.6
2.6

:~

a.s

4
4, ()

;)

56

F.6

65
75

6
1.6

From this it results that the profile of the thread

on the bolt and nut are somewhat different, and
that there is a space of .05 millimetre betw~en the
point of one and the root of the other (see F1g. 14).

:
I

'
'

()

...

5.5
6
f\ 5

..
(

7.5
8
85
9

9.5
10
10 6

.
ID

.11;z

.l:l69
.2L66
.2362
.2569
.2766
.2953
.3150
.3347
.35!1
.3740
.3937
.4133

''
'

'

1i

.. ~
.,

TABLE

3J'

.Di<h. ~m.

(SAl.JVAGE , 1894J.

~m.

4.6

STANDARD FRENCH SYSTEM

Loewe, following the English system, makes the

pitch values dependent on each decimetre of length
of bolt ; thus it happens t hat the pitch has t o be
expressed in hundredths of a millimetre. On the
other hand Delisle, following the French system,
adopts a constant for the pitch for each diameter ;
this is .4 millimetre in his system for No. Ill. , and
.5 millimetre in No. IV. In each case one pitch
serves for two diameters.
21. French Artillery S ystem (1891) (Fig.14).-The
following system was adopted in 1891 by the French
'Var Department for use in artillery. The profile
of the thread forms an isoceles triangle in which
the width h0 i9 equal to the pitch and the angle at
b is 53 deg. 8 min. The angles are truncated by
straight hnes, as in the Sel]ers system, with this
difference, that the truncation on t.he face is twice
that of the root (.1 h 0 and .05 h0 respectively).

.039!
.0!>9
.0787
.0984
.l l8l
.1378
.1 576

4.0
4.0

1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5

4.95
6.35
5 82

3.5
3.6

'1

mm.

ID.

as .5 millimetre for b olts of from 6 to 14 mi11imetres; 1 millimetre for diameters of from 15 to 48

millimetres ; 2 millimetres for bol ts over 48 millimetres in diameter. ~ol~ heads_and nuts of any shape
should be enclosed within a ctrcle having a. radiuc;
equal to the diameter of the bolt. As we have
~lready seen, but little time elapsed between the
Issue of these recommendations and their wide
adoption in France. Probably this was hastened
by the action of the Minister of Marine who in
February, 1895, strongly advocated the ~se of 'the
~tandard.. He stated ~hat'' the Navy has a special
mt~res~ m the adoptiOn of measures tending to
unify, In France, the processes of construction of
parts of machines, including screws. The different
technical departments at the Dockyards influenced
by a circular issued in September, 189S have expressed a unanimous wish that the propo~ed reform
should be carried out at once. The diameters of

TABLE

lD .

.23i
.393
.651
.708
.945
1.181
1.41 7
1.654
1.890
2.205
2 520
2.835
a 150
3.465
3 779
4.17

Pitch.

mm .
6
10

:;JJ..- -.

I I

XVII.-Part iculars of the Sa:uvage Systtm

TABLE

10

'"'

...
Q

U)

eo
.....

I:)

Cl)

V)

0)

...,
~

()

V)

:;t

0)

to

0)

U)

<Q

<?

tO

10

ID

!:"I

d/

I
<o

IQ

nised standard, that has, as we have already seen, bolts to be employed in work for the Navy, except
been accepted widely in France. Further, the in unusual classes, are those of the normal series of
latest development of this system, has, with a few principal bol ts recommended, supplemented by
modifications, been recommended as the metric intercalated even diameters up to 32 millimetres."
universal screw- thread standard by the Inter- This recommendat ion, and its subsequent adoption,
national Congress. Mr. Sauvage's later develop- was followed by the wide use of the Sauvage
ment was described in a r eport submitted by him system, and n ow that it is definitely (though not
to the Societe d'Encouragement in 1895. In it he universally) adopted in France, it is hardly probable
explains that the form of the threads is that of an that the slight modifications approved at the recent
equilateral triangle, truncated on the face and at Congress, can be found generally acceptable for
t he root by two lines parallel with the axis of the recognition as a new system. Table XVII. gives the
bolt, the proportion of the truncation being g h0 normal series of the Sauvage standard. (See ~O I
This, it will be remembered, is the proportion in NEE RING, page 360, vol. xli. )
the ellers t hread. The diameter is measured
23. T he Swi~s E x ecutive Comntittee's Sy:;tem
across the thread aft er truncation, and t he whole (1898) (Fig. 16). - This is pract ically that of Sausystem as worked out, comprises a series of even vage, with slight modifi cations. The committee
diameters, the initial pit ch commencing by one proposes to adopt all the principal diameters of the
millimet re, and increasing by half millimetres for }'rench standard with their respective pitches ; to
each successiYe size (see Fig. 15). Besides these add between t hese diameters as many intermediate
rules for the thread, t he Societe d'Encouragemen t sizes as can possibly occur in practice ; and to reduce
(through Mr. Sauvage) laid down certain recom- 1the pitch for the first series by t millimetre, intromendations for t he bodies of bolts. Thus it was 1 ducing ford == 8 and d == 9 millimetres, the value
prescribed that the bodies should be rather larger p == 1.25, and for d == 12 millimetres, the vt~tlue
than t he threaded portion. This excess was gi l en p == 1. 75 millimetree.

FEB. 9,
TABLE

series of the diameters composin~ the system, and

of the corresponding pitches, are given in the
annexed Table XX.
To the series given in the foregoing Table there
may be added othe~ exceptional size~ of i?termedia.te diameters ; m such cases the p1tch will be
equal to t hat of t he nearest r ecorded ~i ze.
.
This is t he result of t he latest mternat10nal
effort to establish a. universal standard for scre w
threads t he next meeting of the Congress will be
deYoted 'to the consideration of questions t hat will
have a special interest for nut and bolt manufact urers and railway companies.
We cannot do better than conclude these articles
by reproducing the final paragraphs of the r~port
from which we have dra wn so largely. Stgnor
Ga.lassini says, l' It must be ~ sou~ce . of much
satisfaction to all concerned 1n t his 1mportant
question t hat t he Congress should have contributed
so much good work towards its sol.u~ion. It is
true t hat this Congress was not an oftic1a.l one, but
the conclusions arrived at by so many men of

XVIII.-Particulars of the Swiss Executive

Cornnnittee's Systern.
.

Diameter d.
mm.

7
8
9
10

ll

12
14
16
18
20

22
24
27

ao

179

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

900.]

Pitoh p.

Dhmeter d .

Pitch p .

mm.

mm.
3.5

mm.
1
1
1.25
1.26
1.6
1.5

83
36

4
4.5
45
5
5
6.5
5.5
6
6
6.5
6.5
7

39
42
45
48
52

] .;6

.."2

5~

60

64

2.5
2. 5
2.5

68
72
76
80

3
3.5

24. System of the Ttl'rin Soc~et y of Eng~neers and

Architects.- The form of the thread recommended
in this modification is that of the Fr~n?h standard.
The diameters are increased by 1 milhm~tr_e from
cl = 6 to d = 12 millimetres ; then by 2 milhmetres

Fr8 16.

INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM< 19981.

'I

,
,''

fSWISS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEJ.

,,'L
V

. --

~V

.:::?

./

_,;/
z

....

'

~'%.
0

I <? ""
~~C?
.....

......

c::.

'!l'?

~C'i

1111 111

0)

oo<o~~~~~~~~ ~

~'

I
I

C)
0)

14)
Q)

to d = 32 millimetres ; by 4 millimetres up to. 4.0

millimetres, and by 5 millimetres up to 80 mlll~
metres in diameter. This scale closely approximates to that of Reuleaux ; it coincides with the
Swiss scale up to d = 24 millimetres, and with
the German scale to cl = 40. As to the pitch, it
deviates but little from that of the French standard
up to d = 40.
TABLE

c;>

Cl)

1111 11
~m
. '17>

11)

C)

0)
0)

11)

11)

~ ~ ~

14)
11)

9
t4)

<::>

14)

..,.
<o

(;)

11)

Cc

(IQ
~

('

14)

C'

d.;

C) '
Cl)

Fig.11.
tNTRNATIOHA1. (f888J.
fPROPOSED AT THE CONGRESS OF
ZIJRIC/1.)

XIX .- System of the Turin Society of Engilneers

amd Architects.

- ------------------~--------------------

DiiWleler d.

mm.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
16
18
20

22

24
26

Pitch p.

mm.
28
30
32
36
40

DlJll.

1
1
1.3
1.3
1.6
1.6
1.8

45

1.8
2.2

2. 2
2.6
26
3.0
8.0

Diameter d.

I
I

60
55
60
65
70
75
80

Pitch p.

---

mm.
3.4
3.4
8.8
3.8
4.5
4.5
5. 2
5.2
6.9
5.9
6.5
6.6
7.0

25. International System (1898) (Fig. 17).- We

now come to the last of the series-the standard
proposed at the recent Congress, and recommended
18
, ,-rsp
by that body. The profile of the thread is a.n
equilateral triangle (see Fig. 17), having the base
fu-1~~~equal to the pitch (a c = p) ; the angles are truncated (! h0) a.t the face by a. line parallel to the
axis of the bolt. This profile may be regarded as .
a mean, the dimensions being capable of modification for bolt and nut (or screw hole), according to
the clearance desired by different manufacturers. science, as well a.s by the representatives of great
The root of the thread is finished by a sharp curve, industrial associations from France, Germany,
the rounded portion not exceeding ,\- h0 The Switzerland, Holland, and Italy, have given it a.n
type adopted gives t he maximum height of the international character . I t is to be hoped that t h e
thread h0 = . 704 p. The diameter of the screw is recommendations which have been made will be
measured on the outside of the truncated thread. favourably considered by private and public adThe value of the diameters expressed in milli- ministrations, so that at last we may arrive at a
metres indicates the number of the screw. The general standard. Such a result ca1mot be achieved

TABLE

XX.-Particulars of the Internati o-nal System

(1898).

d.

p.

mm.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
1tJ
18
21>
22
24
27
30
33
36
39
42

mm.
1
1
1.2)
1.25
1.5
1.5
1. 75
2
2
2.5
2.5
2.5
3
3
3.5
3.6
4

45
48
62
56
60
64
68
72
76
80

'

4.5
45
6
5

55
5.5
6
6
6.5
6.6
7

ht .

h 2.

mm.
0.65
0.65
0.81
0.81
O.Q7
0.97
1.14
1.30
1. 30
1.62
1.62

mm.
0.70
0.70
0.88
088
1 06
1.06
1.28
1.41
1.41
1.76
1.76
1.76
2.11
2.11
2.46
2.46
2.82
2.b2
3.17
3.17
3.52
3. 52
3 87
3.87
4.22
4.22
4.58
4. 58
4.93

1.6~

1.95
1. 95
2.27
2.27
2.60
2.60
2.92
2.92
3.25
3 25
8.57
3.67
3 90
3.90
4. 22
4.22
4.55

dt.
mm.
4.70
5.70
638
7.88
8.06
9.06
9.82
11.40
13 40
14.76
16.76
18.76
20.10
23.10
25.46
28.46
80.80
33.80
36. 16
39.16
41. 50
45.50
48 86
62.86
56.20
60.20
63.56
67. 56
70.90

d2.
mm.
4. 60
5.fi0
6.24
7.24
7.88
8.88
9 54
11.18
13.18
14.48
16 48
18.48
19.7~

22.78
25.08
28.08
30.36
33.36
35.66
38.66
40.96
44.96
48.26
52.26
55 56
69.56
62.86
66.86
70.14

N OTK. - ln tbe foregomg Table :

.
d = maximum diameter measured on the outs1de of the
thread.
d .. = maximum diameter me.:.sured at t he root of thread.
di = m inimum internal diameter of nut.
lt., = maximum depth of thread measured to bottom of curve
at root.
h 1 = depth of thread measured to commencement of curve at
root.
p = pitch . (SeealsoFig.l7.)

quickly, though t he difficulties that have to be

O\ercome are not insurmountable. Thus we need
only remember that Messrs. Ducommun and Co.,
of Mulhouse, substituted at their important works
a ne' v standard for an old one (see the Bulletin da
la Societe lndustrielle de Mulhouse, 1873). France
also, who placed herself more r ecently at the h ead
of the movement, not only in a theoretical, but in
a highly practical, manner, has overcon1e the difficulties, and has, to-day, the satisfaction of knowing that she possesses a wideJy adopted and
approved sta.nclard. In this connection t he report
of the Western Railway Co1npany of France (see
the Bulletin de la. Societe d 'Encouragement, 1898,
page 85) may be regarded as of special interest .
It describes the period of transition, and shows
clearly how this difficult task can be accomplished,
and confusion avoided by the exercise of care and
discipline. As a. matter of fact, the greater number
of mechanical engineering establishments on the
Continent use two and sometimes t hree systems of
thread, and it is only a. question of using one more
until the change has become established ; what
trouble is caused is amply repaid by the great
advantages secured by a successful result. In order
to arrive at this, it is necessary for everyone interested to aid in the work by making the new system
familiar by showing its advantage::;, and by advising
its adoption. This duty devolves especially on the
great scientific associations, following t he example
of the Franklin Institute many years ago, when it
helped to establish the Sellers standard in the
"United States. In the same way the Societe
d'Encouragement in Paris, the Association of German Engineers, the M echanical Association of
Engineers in Switzerland, the Society of Engineers
and Architects of Turin, and similar bodies, should
all exert their influence to the sa.me end."
For our own part we fear that Signor Gala.ssini
is somewhat over-sanguine. The industrial situation is very different now to what it was when the
German Engineers' Association commenced the
standardising campaign in 1873; t hat Germany, as
well as Switzerland, may adopt the recommendations of the Congress is possible, though hardly
probable. France has her well-proved and widely
adopted standard, which is more than likely to be
the one generally recognised in thoc:;e countries
employing the metric system. England stands by
Whitworth ; the United States by Sellers; while,
a.s for the finer classes of mechanical work, the
system of Thury has become truly international.
We think, however, that the members of the Con.
gress, and all those who have laboured in this
good cause for so many years, may be satisfied
even if no further progress be achieved than the
establishment of a screw-thread standard for each
great mechanical country ; besides, the time may
come when, even in England and America, feet
and inches may have to be abandoned for the
current use of the metric systen1.
.

18o

E N G 1 N E E R I N G.

VICKERS'

14 - POUNDER

CON~TRUCTED

3- I N.

[FEn. 9, 1 goo.

A UTOlVIATIC

QUICK-FIRING

GUN.

BY ~1EBBRf). VICKERB, BON~, ..\.ND 1\lAXll\l, Lll\IITED, AT THEIR ERITH " ' ORKB.

Fi1J. 1.

TI - - - - - - - -

- __---

~ "I-- - -

--

-- -- -- -

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

-. ..

-..

-- .....................

,I
- - .:i...

\
\

'\

.I

"'--1---1
I
I

II

- - - - -

:
---- - - --- - - -- - +--- . . .,I. - - ,...--- --
I

- --

---~-+-++ . .....

'

T
1 _

I
I

I
I

- - - - - - - - - ......- - - - - - - - ------- _____ __ .____ .. _ .. ___ - - - - ---+-

t.

O ---------------------------------------------------- - - - - ------

161~9c..v

7
'1". ,__ 1
6Yin.:J...
..LO~
""""'""":!
uv 0

f t7'tA.1
r .... - v -. ----------------------'------- - ----- ---- ------------------------------~

~.4 .

_ _ __

---+

I
I

----------------,

I
' o

I :I

I I

o '

.
I

I
I

-
I

1---t - - ~~ - - --# 4--

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':
I

I'...

, -'"\
,_; ' ~

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'
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1J~- =~::.::.:..-.:.=...S:.0:.~8

~- 7""~-- -

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--

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-
- - ______.........

I-+- -

SoNs, AND MAXIM, LnuT~D,

who have recently introduced several impor~nt unprovements in guns and gun mou~ts to mc~e~se
efficiency, principally in the directwn of stnkmg
energy and rapidity of fire, have now passed
throuah a series of tests a 14-pounder gun, t~e
breech mechanism of which is practically automatiC
in its action. This gun, which we illustr!l'te on the
presen t and opposite pages, has been ~Uilt for the
United States Government, and should 1t succeed as
well in its official trials in America as in the preliminary but searching tests just c~~ried ou~ in t~is
country, there is every probabil1ty of 1t bemg
adopted generally in the y nited Stat_es Navy. The
gun itself does uot d1ffer mater1ally from the
M ESSRS. VrcKER ,

: t

- - -- -

VICKER ' AUTO~IATIC 14-POUNDER

GUN.

'

.....:_- -

"""C.
,

~- - --- - --

9,

FEB.

I 900.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
vented the breech-block from rising. This is pract ically the only hand movement in an otherwise
completely automatic device.
The flat spxing
already referred to, t hen acts and rotates the crank,
thus raising the block until the breech is closed.
The t-ail end of the sear is n ow enga~ed with the
toe of t he t rigger, as shown by Fig 4, and by
drawing t he trigger pull to the rear the trigger releases the sear, and the firing pin is thrown forward
by the action of the main spring, which extends
across the gun.
. The recoil of the gun in the cradle, upon firing,
~~ controlled by the hydraulic buffers aheady mentiOned, and compresses the powerful springs r ound
the piston -r ods. The r eaction of these springs at
once r eturns the gun into its original position in the
cradle. As the gun returns it so acts upon the
breech mechanism as to cause the crank to rotate
or fall, and t hereby it brings down the breechblock. The extractor is actuated by the fall of the
block; it first loosens t he cartridge by a slow
!llovement, which, rapidly increasing, finally ejects
1t to the rear.
The gun is now ready for another r ound. The
cartridge is placed in the gun as already described,
when the breech closes and is secured automatically.
The .rounds are fired by pulling the trigger when
r eqmred, and, as we have said, 2o rounds may be
fired per minute.
. The gun, it will be seen from the illustrations,
I S mounte~ on a c?ne ~th crosshead and pivot.
The elevat10n and direction of t he gun is controlled
by the man laying the g un, who stands with his
sho~lder :f>ressed a.ga.ins.t the shoulder-piece, the
max1mum angl~ of elevat10n of th~ gun being 20 deg.
a~d ? f depress10n 15 deg. In thiB way, and with
h1s r1ght hand on the pistol grip, the gunner has
full power over the movements of the gun.

\ TICKERS' 14-POUNDER AUTOMATIC GTJ N.

ARCHED BRIDGES OVER THE RHINE.

~HE t wo remarka~le iron bridges over the Rhine,

'

FIG.

12-pounder which is doing such good work with the

naval brigades in the Boer War, but is larger, more
powerful, and has greater rapidity of fire, due to
the automatic action in loading and firing and
ejecting the cartridge. It has a 3-in. bore, with a
total length of 161.95 in. During the recent trials
the gun developed a muzzle velocity of 2650 footseconds, and a muzzle energy of 681 foot-tons,
with a maximum pressure in t he chamber of 16i
tons. This energy, which iA t he more r emarkable, in view of the rapidity of fire- 26 rounds
per minute-is equal t o perforat ing 10.2 in. of
wrought iron, or 7. 9 in. of steel plate, according to
GaVIe's formula, while the g un only weighs 17! cwt.,
and its naval mount wit h shield, just over ..a ton.
Upon these results Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and
Maxim, Limited, and Lieutenant A. T. Da.wson,
their Ordnance Director, are to be congratulated.
The gun, of which a longit udinal section is given
(Fig. 3), is made of steel, and consists of a strong
barrel reinforced by a jacket and a hoop. The
chief difference, as compared with the 12-pounder
gun, is in the mechanism for closing the breech;
the older gun is of the usual t ype, in which a
lever, on being drawn forward, performs the threefold task of unlocking, rotating the block, and
swinging it free of t he breech. In this new
weapon the recoil is brought into use, as shall be
presently explained, the breech being closed by a
lock capable of vertical movement, containing main
spring, firing pin, &c. The g un is without trunnions, and fits into a gunmetal cradle; this cradle
is fitted with trunnions, which rest in the crosshead of the mounting of the usual conical form.
Two combined hydraulic and spring buffers are
attached underneath the cradle, and the pistonrods of these buffers are connected with t he rear
part of t he gun.
Before proceeding to describe details it may be
interesting to give a Table of the principal dimen sions, and some of the results obtained on trial :
Dimensions, d:c., of Vickers' 3-In. (50-Calib?cs) Naval
A UUmtatic aun.
Diameter of bore
. ..
...
3 in.
Length of bore .. .
.. .
.. .
150 ,
Total length of gun
...
... 161.95 ,
Diameter of chamber ...
...
3.01 "
~en~th of eham b~r
.,.
. ,.
~. 76 ,

..

7.

Maximum pressure in chamber

16.5 tons
Weight of charge. ..
. ..
...
3lb. 2.5 oz.
Total weight of gun, including
... 17 cwt. 2 qr. 20 lb.
breech me~hanism ...
Muzzle veloo1ty ...
...
.. . 2650 foot. seconds
,
energy ...
.. .
...
681 foot-tons
Perforation of wrought-iron plate
at muzzle by Gavre formula. .. .
10.2 in.
Perforation of steel plate at
"'/. 9 m.
.
muzzle by Gavre formula. ...
Rounds per minute
...
...
26
Weight of mounting complete
with shield
...
.. .
... 18 cwt. 0 qr. 2llb.
Weight of shield...
...
... 2 , 1 ,
9 ,
Angle of elevation
. ..
. ..
20 deg.
,
depression .. .
.. .
15 ,
Turning now to the special detail of t he gun, the
firing and breech mechanism, it will be seen from
the drawings, Figs. 4 to 6, that in the rear of
the cradle there is a pistol grip, which contains
the trigger, and on the right-hand side (Figs. 1, 2,
and 6) there is a detachable lever, by the movement
of which t.he breech-block can be lowered or raised.
Situated between the buffers underneath the cradle
there is a p owerful fiat spring (Fig. 4), the action
of which works the breech mechanism. To prepare the gun for firing i ts initial round, the breech
is opened by t he movement of the hand lever, the
handle of which is made to r est in a crutch prepared for its reception at t he side of the gun. By
the movement of the hand lever a crank is turned
(Figs. 4 and 5). The action of the crank brings
down t he breech-block, and compresses the powerful
fiat spring situated bet ween the buffers. At the same
time, the pivot on t he crank arm presses down the
cocking lever, thus pulling the striker to the
r ear and compressing the main spring. These parts
are then kept in position by t he action of the sear.
The breech-block, in moving down, strikes the
lower extension of the extractor and causes the
upper portion to move out frotn the face of the
end of the barrel and brings two small projections shown by t he dotted lines in Fig. 5 over
the upper edge of the breech-block, thus preventing it from rising by the r eaction of the spring.
In this state the gun is ready for acting automatically. The operator has to slide the cartridge
by a smart action into the bore. As it goes forward
into the chamber, its rim strikes against the extravtor apd forces bac}t the projections which pre

which
. were opened 1n the winter of 1898, are conspiCuous examples of a. type of bridges which
although very popular on the Continent for larg~
spans, has not found much .application in this
country, alt hough it originated in the cast-iron
arch of the Coalbrookda.le Bridge of 1779 over the
Severn, whic~ has .a span of 102ft. Up' to 1898,
the Dom Lu1z Br~dge over the Douro, with its
arche~ spa!l of 565 ft., was the largest bridge of
the ktnd In the world. The Bonn mild steel
bridge, with its one arch of 187.92 metres
(6.16 ft.) span, and the Diisseldorf Bridge,
w1th two a.rches of 594 ft. 8 in. span, now
ra~k first . In Europe.
But the Niagara and
Clifton Br1dge of 1898 surpasses them all with
its span of 840 ft. Through the courtesy of
Mr. H. Wedekind, C.E., representative of the
Gute Hoffnungshiitte, of Oberhausen-Sterkrade,
not far from Diisseldorf, which designed, constructed, and erected the iron superstructure of
both the Rhine bridges, we are enabled to place
illustrated accounts of these noteworthy achievements before our readers. We will first describe
the Bonn Bridge, which is illustrated on our twopage plate this week, and also on page 184.
The U niversity town of B onn, situated on the
left bank of the Rhine, which has there a width
of about 450 yards, has itself a population of
50,000 inhabitants. The adjoining mayoralty of
Poppelsdorf adds 22,000 inhabitants, and the
district is well strewn with populous hamlets and
villages on both banks of the river. Railway lines
run along both banks ; but there was no bridge
on the reach between Coblenz and Cologne, a
distance of 55 miles, and the cross traffic depended
upon ferries and further upon a railway traject,
two miles above Bonn, consisting of three ferryboats, each carrying 200 tons, worked by engines
and cables.
Cresa.r's much- disputed wooden
bridge, we may mention, is now supposed to
have been, not at Bonn, but considerably higher
up the river, near Weissenthurm, where important
Roman fortifications have recently been discovered.
The ferry-boats and the pontoon bridges of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Bonn
was still the residence of the sovereign Archbishops
of Cologne, suffered much during the frequent
wars. The French revolutionary army of 1795
requisitioned all the ships of the district and placed
a bridge over them, over which the army crossed the
Rhine-to return a few days later and to destroy
their work. When Prussia became mistress of the
whole Qf the J:thine province in 18721 the privileges

E N G I N E E R I N G.
conferred by the Archbishops upon t he Bonn ferrymen stood for some time in the way of an easy settlement of the bridge question. The municipality was
determined to have its bridge, as the drift ice occasionally interrupted all communications across the
river for weeks; but as the Government would not
give the desired promise that no other bridge would
be built in the neighbourhood, the negotiations
dragged on. In 1894 tenders were invited, and
prizes awarded to four of the 16 projects submitted,
in the models and drawings of which the citizens
took so lively an interest that the period during
which the designs were exhibited had to be prolonged. The prizes amounted to more than lOOOl.
The estimate of the cost, which has not been exceeded, was 132,500l.; the sum of 200,000l. covers
the whole outlay, including site, compensation to
the ferry companies, &c. The iron structure has
cost 53, 750l. The estimates for the different proj ects varied between 60,000l. and 300,000l. The
town selected the combined design of the Gute
HoffnungshL1tte (whose chief engineer of the bridge
department is Professor R. Krohn), and of the firm
of R. Schneider, and of architect Mohring, both of
Berlin, but changed the starting-point of the bridge
from a fashionable quarter to the Vierecksplatz, at
that time a small square in a rather dingy part.
This change reduced the span of the arch from the
195 metres of the original design to 187.92 metres,
a difference of 26 ft. ; we mention this fact as the
former figure has appeared in some notices. The
town entrusted the superintendence of the operations to Mr. R. Frentzen, who was stationed at
Holtenau during the construction of the NorthEast Sea Canal. The two firms named were t he
builders of the Levensau Bridge over this canal,
illustrated and described in E NGINEERING of August
16th, 1895, on page 210, of vol. lx.
The operations commenced at Bonn, in April,
1896. The general design of the bridge is shown by
Fig. 1, page 184, and Figs. 2, 3, and 4, on our twopage engraving. The zero line B. P. (Bonn Pregel)
refers to a Rhine metre some distance above the
bridge. The N. N. is the normal n i veau of t he ordnance survey, and the O.B.P. is 41.616 metres
(136 ft.) above sea level. During the 36 years preceding 1896, the mean water level of the Rhine had
been at + 2. 76 metres B.P. , and the le vel had varied
between + 0.09 ~nd + 9.23. The extremes of t he
two following years were + 0.73 and 7.05 metres
B.P. The width of the river on the spot is 432
metres (1418 ft. ) On the l eft, Bonn bank, the river
had a sufficient depth for a lateral channel ; on the
right, Beuel bank, 113,000 cubic yards had to excavated down to depth of - 1.1 metre B.P. The
bottom consists of gravel, mixed with many stones
and fine sand, overlying a. white clay. A spring,
effervescing with carbonic acid, was struck at a
depth of 40ft., near the Bonn shore; it supplied
the n1en with a natural table water. The total
length of the bridge, 810.69 metres (about 2660 ft.),
is made up of the central arch of 187.9 metres span,
two side arches of 94.45 metres, and further, on -the
Bonn side, of an embankment arch of 32.75 metres
and an approach viaduct with two brickwork arches,
of 13 metres span. On the Beuel side, the brickwork
cotnprises one arch of 18.55 metres span, two of
14 metres and four of 13 metres span. Taking+ 2. 76
as mean water level, the bridge affords a clear waterway 17 metres (55 ft. 9 in.) high, over a width of
186.4 metres (611ft.) reckoned up to the roadway,
and two side channels, 88.25 metres (290 ft.) in
width. The Rhine conservancy r egulations stop
all shipping when the river reaches a level of 7.50
metres B. P. At that height, the main arch would
still offer a clear waterway 40 ft. high over a width
of 155 metres (509 ft. ), and the lateral channels
would remain navigable for craft projecting 9.1
metres (30 ft.) out of the water. This h eight of
9.1 metres is marked in red on the structure.
The approach viaduct begit;ts, as is indicated in
Fig. 4, to an exag~erated v~rtteal scale, on the B onn
side with a grad1ent of 1 1n 111 at t he level 12.77
B.P: and on the Beuel side, with a rise of 1 in 50 ;
it pa~ses on both sides ~nto a gradieJ.?-t of 1 ~n 30,
and then into a quadratic parabola, wtth a rtse of
2. 315 metres (7 ft. 7 in.) This parabola commences
about 10 metres beyond the middle of the side arch.
The viaduct has a. minimum width of 14 metres(46ft.)
between the railings ; the r oadway is. paved with
melaphyr which does not wear shppery. The
footways 'have been paved with cement slabs,. in
case there should be any trouble from setth~g.
The viaduct walls are built chiefly in basalt w1th
trass mortar, on the Beuel side also in gra.uwacke;

the copings on which the railings are fixed are

basal t lava . The trass mortar employed in the
brickwork consist.s of one part of trass, two parts
of hydraulic lin1e, and four parts of sand. Trass is
trachytic tufa from the Rhine and Brode ; it does
n ot set quickly enough to answer for betonising
under water during the cold season, but gives a
good mortar for othP.r purposes.
The Bonn
viaduct was built in the dry. Figs . 5 tu 13,
on our two-page engraving, give sections through
the r oadway, and r equire no further explanation.
The brickwork and cement arches are
co,ercd with a double layer of asphalte felting. A
slot has b eeuleft in the stone arches for another pipe
sys tem to be laid in the future ; it is lined with
asphalte paper and cover ed with concrete. A
stairway, fron1 which the sitting figure of t he
builder of the firs t Rhine bridge, J ulius Cresar,
looks down, leads up fr01n the Rhine embankment.
This stairway, Figs. 14 to 17, has a width of
2.4 metres (almost 8 ft. ), and its steps consist of
cement stone from Oberkassel, distinguished by a
granite-like surface ; the same stone is used on
the stairway approaches of the Beuel side.

[FEn. 9, r 900.
again on the bar, is tossed a second time, the bar vibrating
until at rest, when it receives the hammer again which
finally rests on the bar, bending it as a. dead load. '
The results are tabulated below ; and, in addi.
tion, t h ere were some 33 diagrams taken, which
cannot be given for lack of space.
I.

T ABLE

DE ftections in Inches.

--

. I ..o
;3
~
0

0
In

10. JO. 1n.

1 x 1 x24 .0028 . 0056 I .0084

1x A-x24 .0056 .o 1 2 .ot68
t X i X 2~ .0224 .0448 .06i2
t X t X 24 0448 .0896 .1344

.0112
.0024
.0896
.1792

1 X 1 X 12 0103
l X ! X 12 .0007
! X 1 X 12 .0028
! X t X 12 .0056

.0"14

. 0007 .0011
.0014 0021
.0056 , .0084
.0112 .016~

- - - -- - - -

.fl028
. 0112
.0224

TABlE

.0336 .0148 .0560

.o6n .OS96 .1120
2688 .358 ~ .4480
.6376 .il68 . 960
.0028 .0042 .0056 .0070
.OO!i6 .0084 .O l12 .0140
.0224 , .03:l6 1 .0448 .0560
1 .0448 .0672 .0896 .1102
I

I[.

.0224
.0448
.1792
.3584

- - -- - - - -

Defiections with Swioging Hamme.

(To be continued.)

-....

Htight

ot Fall in I nches.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF

MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
(BY

OUR

NEW

YORK CORRESPONDENT.)

(Co ncluded lrom page 81.)

lliPACT.

THE final session was opened by a paper on

"Impact, " by W. J. Keep- a most accomplished
investigator, and of pre-eminence in his r esearches
in cast iron. A few brief extracts will show the
drift of this paper. The author said :
The object of this paper is to show the influence of impact upon test ba.rs of various sizes.
The test bars are 1 in. by 1 in., 1 in. by i in., ! in. by
1 in., and ~ in. by ! in. in section. One set is 24 in. long
and another set is 12 in. The bars are of tool steel having
a. uniform spring temper produced in a. gas muffle by the
Detroit Edge Tool Works. Each bar was then ground to
the exacb standard size on a surface grinder.
The recording apparatus (Fig. 11) holds the ends of the
bars in clamps whiCh rest on bearing~ exactly 24 in. or
12 in. apart., made of spring steel, so as to move laterally
RoS the test bar bends. The impulse is received by a cage
clamped to the centre of the bar, and the motion is multiplied five times by an arm which carries a pencil at its
end, which makes an autographic di~gram of the movements of the centre of the test b~r. The rear end of this
recording arm is hung by a. piece of i-in. spring steel. At
one-fifth of its length from this end, the cage, which is
clamped to the centre of the test bar, is suspended by two
iin. pieces of spring steel, one on either side of the arm.
Between this and the pencil end is a parallel motion which
causes the pencil to travel in a straight line, at right
angles to thE' motion of a flat piece of paper which slides
under the pencil point.
During &;n impulse all of the steel sus~nsion pieces of
the recorder are in tension, and as there 1s no lost motion
the pencil records the motion of the centre of the test
bar. This recorder fits three testing machines, of which
the following is a auflicient description :
Fig. 12 shows a dead load single-lever machine with a
100-lb. weight rolling out on the beam, the load being
applied to the test bar throu~h a. post which rests in the
cage of the recorder, which lB clamped to the centre of
the test bar. The crank by which the weight is moved
along the beam a.lso moves the record paper.
Fig. 13 is an impact testing machine, with its hammer
swinging on a wooden vertical arm 6 ft. long. The
weight of the hammer can be varied between 25lb. and
100 lb. A graduated arc having holes at distances equal
to i in. increase of fall, with a trip, allows a fall from
i in. to 6 in. The anvi.l against w~ich the ~ecor~er rests
weighs 1000 lb., and thiS rested aga.mst a 20-m. br1ck wall
when the tests were made.
Fig. 14 is a direct impact drop-test machine, with the
eame hammers hung on a horizon tal wooden. arm ~ ft.
long, which allows the hammer to fall pra.ct1cally m a.
vertical line without guides. The hammer is fastened by
a cord t o a. timber overhead, and is then raised or lowered
by a. thumb-screw until it is exactly the required height
above the test bar. The cord is cub by a tmner's snips
to let the hammer fall. With a ~winging hammer the
bar receives the impulse in a. horizontal direction, and
the bar bends until the motion of the hammer is stopped.
The bar then springs back and throws the hammer ~way,
when it is caught by the band and clasped to the tr1p for
the fall from the next higher point. The dead weight of
the hammer is carried by the vertical arm to which it is
attached, therefore it is the impact only which causes the
deflection of the test bar. The bar rece1ves only one blow,
and when the hammer leaves its surface it vibrates until
it comes to rest. With a direct drop the hammer acts
on the test bar as a dead load, and also by impact. When
the motion of the direct drop hammer has been stopped
by the elasticity of the test bar, in springing back the bar
must lift the hammer as a. dead load, and toss it upward
when it reaches its normal position. In both cases the
test bar, when the hammer leaves it, vibrates until it
comes to rest. The hammer with the direct drop falls

Q)

l1
lo. 1! Io. 2 In. 2! Io 3 In.
- - - - - -1- - - - - - - - - - - - - N

0 In .

en

~>.

s:i
. ........

.:; .0

.E .E:,
~~
>.>.

'
,

. ......=

,1:) ,1:)

lb.

.0
.0

25
50
75
100
25
50
75

,O,t:JQ
.....

.9 .!.:: CS

'

>.>.

.0 .0

==

~r-1
- - C'l
......

>. >.

,1:) ,1:)

26
60
75
I.

100

.20:)
.158
.201

.241

.175
.226
.271

.280

.314

.435
.550
.665

.410

.242
.314
.370

.300

.350

.385
.460

.448

.532

.225

.280

.322

.365

.332
.425
.493

.410

.470

.630

"'='n
. :>ov

.525

.670

.732

.791

.870

.069
.093
.118

.078
.107

.080

.610
.057
.080
.099

.600
.7(5

.093

.115

.138

.155

.084
.U9
.149

. 062

. 026
.101)
.120

.090

.1CO
.133
.160
.186

.110
.147
.177

.139
.182

.uo

.OH
.053
.062

.046
.058
.069

.0

.0
.0
.0
.0
.0
.0
.0
.0

.240

.270
.400
. 508
.605

.035

75
100

.172

.210

.237

.0

.175

.205

25

25
50

.15~

.165

.342

.1 26
.141

.110
.168

.150
.230
.295

.li6

.175
. 201)

.0
.0
.0
.0

.0

.162
.193
.220

.145

25
50
75
100

.0

.1H

.100
.122
.411

.260

.0
.0
.0
.0

.130

.139
.174
. 210
.241

.0

lCO

.130

. 110

.210

25
50
75

.107

.122
.150

.077

25
50
75
l OO

75
100

.105

.o
.0

50

.087

.0

.0
.0
.0
.0
.0

. ......c .

In .

.060
.075
.088
.099

.o

100
>,t.>-,.

.048
.065

.034

.080

.HO
.115

.080

.0 10

.080

.115

.138

.118
.140
.162

.110
.140
.175

.125
.161
.200

.200
.126

.234
. 148
.191
.238
. 230

. lOO
.119

.120

.070

. l OO

.091

.13 1

.ll7

. 165

.164
.207

.140

.197

.201

.166

TABLE

.19!

.250
.300
.347

.300

.133

.174

.:W3

.2'23

.200
.246

.265

.~93

.1M
.218
.270

.1 1

.315

.345

)>n

.~inJ

.~95

III.

Daft eotions with D:r ect F c~.ll Hammer.

scS

-...,
~

....0

Height of Fall in Inches.

en
a> '"'

N e:!

- I:Q

en

.d
CD '"'

Q)s

Q)

0 In. ~-lo.

11o. 1!1o. 21o. 2! l.o. 3lo.

.005

.065

.010

.080

.015
.020

.100

.162

116

. 092
.115
.135
.160

.187

.159
.181
.209

.011
.023

.087

.130

.155

.174

.112
.134
.161

.165

.196

.191

.229

.221

.145
. 24('
.30 )

- - - - -1---1- - - - ---1 - - - - - - lb.

25
50
75

100
>.>.

.0 ,1:)

. ......c

.....==
~.
c-:1
~.....,

>.~

.0 ,1:)

.....Q .....ci -
~

-~0.1

25

50
75
100

.034

25
50
75
100

.0!6
.084

.047

.126
.171

.119
.140

.130

.221

.145
.174

.150
.187

.201

.219

.230

.248

.193

.205

.24l

.265
.316

.262

.289

.266

.305

.339

.370

205

.261

.285

.340

.317

.376
.485
.56!

. 420
.531
.620

.31 5
.4 5-l

.365
.525

.418
.!578
.720
.851

.416

.070
.141

.359
.206
.332

.453

.250
.333

.453
.56

.586
.7U2

. 482
.300

.663

.790

.571
.670

.456
.618

:tM
.900

.483

.6U
.i15
.482
.652

.800
.943

The author concluded with the following statements :

Impact Tests.-There seems no better way t() determine the resilience of a. material than to support a. test
bar at the ends and deliver blows at the centre. After
a. test bar has been tested in this way, it is. desi~able to
find its resistance to impact without any d1Btort10n a.s a.
test of brittleness. To do this, a. portion of the sa~e bar
should be clamped on the anvil of the testing mach~ne
that one end shall project. Blows should be dehvere
on the projecting end.
In respect to size, he said :
Size of T est Bars for Impact.-An examination of the
diagrams shows that some one s1ze of test b.a.r must.be
selected for com:parisions. The size for cast u on, wb1.ch
would seem to give the best results, is a b~r 1 in. by liD.
Ly 24 in., struck with a 50-lb. hammer. Thl.S has the same

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

FEB. 9, I 900.]

the pressure when once obtained, if so desired, and in not pass each other in th~ capillary ~10le. Any difference
the experiments they were so held for hour,g a.t a time. in pressure, however, Will all_ow. etth.er .the mercury to
The pressure applied by the ~ress upon the piston forces flow into the bottle, or the hqmd W1thm the _bot~le to
the lead down into the cyhnder (a.<J indicated by the flow out, de~nqing upon whether t.he pressure 1s high~r
dotted lines), thus packing it successfully. The piston without or With m the bottle. The httle bottle loaded 1n
must fib the cylinder accurately and smoothly, otherwise this way (with mercury in the cup, and the liqui? whose
the lead (not the liquid) will leak out around it. The compressibility is to be determined in the bottle) lS placed
cyhndera u~ed were 5 in. in diameter and 7 in. long. The in the lead tube, which is then filled up with water and
inside diameter varied from ! in. to l~ in. W1th such subjected to pressure in the usustl way, when jusb enough
cylinders the following pressures may be obtained:
mercury will enter the bottle (and fall to the bottom) to
10
d'
t
lb t 0 150 000 lb
make up for the compression experienced br the liquid
100
000
1 r~ m.
tame er

'

'

(water) in the bottle under the pressure a.pphed. On re1

:l ''
"
~~~~~~~ " ~~~~~~~ "
moving the pressure, a quantity of the liquid (not the mer! "
"
300000 " 400' 000 "
cury) will be forced out through the stopper; but this
"
"
..
'
"
,
"
does not matter, as everything is estimated in terms of
M ost of th ese ('ylinders have been forced to higher the mercury, which is then poured oub, dried, and
pressures, but always with more or less injury to them. weighed, and from the weight of this quantity of mercury
IYiost of them were made of one piece of tool steel, and the weight of the quantity required to fill the bottle,
altho~gh .quite a. number of them were built up of con- the compressibility of the water liquid is estimated.
THE NEw SoUTH STATION, BosTON.
cent~c p1e?es shr:unk together. The best results were This, of course, neglects the compressibility of the small
The next paper was one which had not been dis- obta.l?ed Wlth c~lmders made by Brown and Sha.rpe, of quantity of mercury that found its way into the
.. h
one ptece ?f spe~1al tool steel from t~e Howe-Brown Com- bottle while the pressure was being a.pnlied. This will
. h
h
tributed in advance, b ut w lC neverv e1ess re- pany, wh.10h, w1thout much tempenng, was hard enough I have to be estimated in a special determination in which
ceived a most careful and thorough. di~cussio~, It to ~eep 1t3 s~ape; but. no ma~ter ~ow hard the ma- I a slightly different bottle is used. For this determina.was a complete and elaborate descr1pt10n of
The ter1al ID;ay oe, the cylmder will. yteld mc_>re. or less I tion the top of the stopper need not be expanded into a.
Mechanical Equipment of the New South Station under htgb pressures; and for tb1s r~ason 1t IS b~tter cup; but the lower end of the stopper must extend some
B t M ss , by Waiter C Kerr It is believed to make the plug 0 and the lower p1ece of the piston distance into the bottle which is simply filled with
os on, a .,
b
1 f
d
. _I P of softer steel, so. that under the pressure these mercury and weighed (the weight of the bottle having
to show ~ne of the est examp es 0 mo ern rat1 ma.y also . spread .. Th1~ was fo~nd t~ be absolutely been determined), laced in the lead tube, which is filled
way statwns, but the paper cannot be abstracted necessary m workmg w1th the i-m. cylmder under the up with water, anl subjected to pressure as above. In
this case the water from around the bottle enters the
bottle to take the place of any contraction experienced by
the mercury, but being lighter than the mercury rises to
__..0PNCIL
the top (above the lower end of the stopper); and so it is
a corresponding quantity of the mercury that escapes
through the stopper when the preesure is removed. By
PAPER HOLDER

relative proportions as a. bar ! in. by i in. by 12 in., and

if ~ 25.lb. ha.mm.er is us~d, the r~cord is the same a.s
with a 1 in. by 1 m. by ~4 m. bar w1th a. 50-lb. h~mme~;
but this does not take mto account the change m gram
due to size of casting.
.
bnpact with.a S winging .H alntm.cr.-On account of thlS
giving simple 1mpa.ot unmtxed with ~ead load and o~her
modifications wh10h accompany the duect fall, the swmging hammer appea.~ to be the best mode of &pJ?lica.tio.n
of impaob for ordmary test bars. Its convemence 1s
greatly in it! favour. It does not affect the surface of
the test bar. The height of fall is exact tot in. It can
be operated by hand raridly. Blows should be be6'un
with the same drop at al times, which should be less than
the lowest possible brea.~ing d.rop, and then each drop
should be increased by l m. u~t1l fracture takes place. A
reJ.>etition of the ~a~e drop will not break the bar unless
it mjures the pos1t10n.

----------

Fig.16.

DEAD

Pig./7.

Ffs.75.

Fifj.14.

IMPACT.

D1RECT FALL .

KEEP's ExPERIMENTS ON IMPACT.

on account of its length; we shall, however, higher pressures named. Indeed, with this arrangement,
refer to it in a separate article. It is a model of even higher pressures than those above given have been
Westinghouse ability, and cost not far from obtained; hub in these tests the cylinders suffered considerable injury. It will be observed that it is the con1,000,000 dols.
tinuous lead packing that is responsible for the high
pressures obtainable with this device; and ib should be
COMPRESSING LIQUIDS.
that, no matter how high the rressure may be,
The next paper was called, '' High Hydrostatic stated.
there lS never even so much as a trace o a leak while the
Pressures and their Application to Compressina pressure is being applied. On removing the pressure the
Liquids; A New Form of Pressure Gauge" by liquid, in e~panding to its original volume, wtll often
loosen the hd of the lead tu be ; and in case very high
F. H. S~illman, who said :
'
press~r~s have be~n use~. the lead tube, in stretching to
The paper is praotically divided into three headin~s:
1ts ong1!lal. capaCity, Will often be pulled completely in
.1. The method and device used in subjecting liqmds to t~o. Ltqutds are by no means "practically incompreshtgh ~ressure.
Sible" when they get in this machine. The expansion
2. The method and apparatus used in measuring the on relieving the pressure is very apparent, and so great
compressibilitr of liquido under such pressures.
th.a.t you could measure it with a rule. Even in working
3. The application of the last method to the measure- wtth s~me of the lower pressures, a column of water 5 in.
ment of the pressures themselves or a new pressure gauge. l?ng. wtll expand ! in. or more. The compressibility of
hqmds .may, ~nder these hi{fh pressures, be very accurately
The treatment was as follows :
determmed m the followmg manner: The little picThe liquid to be subjected to pressure is placed in a n?meper bottle (sho'!n in the middle of Fig. 17, and
lead tube. In work~ng with liquids thab would attack the dtffermg from an ordmary glass-stoppered bottle only in
lead (e.g., stf?ng actd~), there may be placed in the screw that the top o! the stopper is expanded into a little
~p a c~llapstble platmum tube T, Fig. 15, which is closed bowl or cup wh10h, when the stopper is in position comw1tb a l~d of the sa~e material and placed in a heavy municates wi.th the interior of the bottle by mea~s of a
sbete~l cyhnder (<;J, C, Fig. 15). The lower end of the cylinder very fine oaptllary hole through the stopper) is weighed
mg closed ~th an !lccurately fitting steel plug 0, the accurately, empty, then weighed full of mercury which
upper end With the ptston P. the pressure is applied to of course, gives the weight of the volume of :Uercury
the le&4 tube ~nd the liquid within it, by means of an necessary to fill the bot.tle. The.m~rcury is then poured out,
hydraulic maobme.
~nd the bottle ~lled wtth the hquid whose compressibility
The lead cyli~de~ are p~aced inside of a steel cylinder, IS to b.e determmed, the stopper inserted firmly, and a
such as shown.m F1g. 16, m which the black square re- quanttty of n;tercury poure~ mto the little cup. Althoup:h
presents a sohd block. of lead, r&lting upon a. narrow the mercury IS much heaVler, of course than the liquid
should~r; an~ upon tblS rests~ piston, which is supported (e.g., for example, water} in the bottle, the mercury canfrom s1de spnng by a. following screw designed to hold not enter the bottle, because the water and mercury can

COMPRESSING LIQUIDS.

weighing the mercury left in the bottle, and comparing

this weight with the weight of the mercury required to
fill the bottle, the compressibility of the mercury under
the pressure used can be determined. In this case, of
course, we neglect the compressibility of the small quantity
of water which entered the bottle while the pressure was
being applied; but from this determination, and the one
mentioned above (compressibility of water), the compressibility of both the water and the mercury may be
calculated.
As to water and alcohol, the author said that
under 65,000 lb. pressure, water was compressed
10 per cent. and alcohol more than 15 per cent.
He then described a perfect pressure gauge, thus:
By means of these little picnometer bottles, as shown
a~ove, the compressibility of the liquid may be determmed under any pressure up tha.b of the crushing
strength of steel; and having determined, once for all, the
compressibility o~ mercury and of some other liq~id, preferably water, th1s method can be used to determine with
great accuracy the pressure on the liquids in hydraulic
machinery_, &c. It woulq only be necessary to load one
of these little bottles wtth water and mercury, as described, and place it in a tube communicating with the
liquid in the hydraulic machine, say in some such arrangement as that shown in Fig. 17. The accuracy of pressure
gaug~ necessarily depends upon the elasticity of some
mater1al.
After speaking of other gauges, he said :
In this proposed gauge the accuracy depends solely
upon the ela-sticity of the water and mercury and the
balance used in the weighings, and liquids are perfectly
el.astic; and the a.nalyti~al balance has reached about as
h1gh a degree of perfectwn as any instrument known to

ACROSS

BRIDGE

ARCHED

THE

RIVER

AT

RHINE

BONN.

00

(For Description, see P age 181.)

'

11

}t

I '"4 ~

..

1 l .

.~,

. "t\f"

V'!~~-

"'.I '

~-.' Jl

&'?I CT " r :, _

--- --

. -

._

.,

..

.'

11

ti1

zC)

11

11

tr1
tr1
~
~

F IG. 1.
-sc en ~e.

The accuracy or delicacy of this gauge hinges

upon determining volumes by weighing mercury, and
there is hardly a determination known to science that
can be made with greater accuracy. The q uantities of
mercury would, of course, depend upon the size of the
bottle used ; but even when workins- with a bottle 2 in.
long by f in. in diameter, the quant1ties of mercury are
sufficient to enable a reasonably good balance to detect
differences in pressure of 1lb. throughout the range of the
several hundred t housand pounds mentioned. A gauge
that would measure pressures as great as this, throughout
anything like such a range, would, so far as I know, be
regarded as a jewel indeed ; and I cannot help thinking
that such a gauge as the one proposed should be of more
than ordinary interest to mechanical engineers; everything connected with it is so simple, and itJ would be
such an easy matter to construct it and attach it to any
hydra ulic machine. It might even be used in other lines
of work, if placed in a lead tube and cylinder (such as
above described) with a piston of definite area.

fear of libel) of t he mechanical engineers .

No
won der it "was a very pretty q u arrel. " Mr .
R ockwood is a bold man, and h e u ndertook to
review t h eir t estimony at t his t ime and in their
presence. T h e statement of one expert was :

1. A horse-power is a piece of property-a commodity

- whi ch may be considered as "on the market," and
hence as havmg a definite market value, known to those
who deal in it.
2. The owner of each of the 80 privileges has lost for
ever, by the act of the city, a certain definite number of
horse-powers.
3. The financial injury done each owner, therefore, may
be found by simply multiplying the market value of 1
horse-power by the number taken from him.
The damage for the mcro use of the water for power, as
assessed in this way by both the expert and the commercial witnesses for the petitioners, amounted in the aggregate to a sum variously estimated at from 1,300,000 dols.
H oRsE-P owER.
to 1,800,000 dols. These sums were many times larger
The final paper was called, '' On the Value of a than the amount of money admitted to be just compensaby the witnesses for the defendant. In reply to the
H orse-Power, " by Geo. S. Rock wood. I t seems tion
theory of the petitioners, they argued that, in point of
t hat t he City of Worcester, Mass., took t h e waters fact, the petitioners had not been depri ved of any ''horseof a. brook euphoniously called l{ettle ; and the mill- powers," and that really there is no such commodity
o wner s along the strea1n w er e eith er aggrieved, or known as a horse-power. The thin g which the owners
s aw a chance to pinch tl. corporation ; and from had lost by the diversion of water from their premises
not even the ownership of thE' water itself, but
t h is came a suit to determine values, and on was
s1mply an easement to their estates: namely, the
e it her side were ranged some of the intellectual right to have the water come down through their
g iants (th e word "mastodon " cannot be u sed for premises from above in order that they might make

any reasonable u ~e of it, in transitu, which should

not appreciably diminish its flow through those premises
to others below t hem. It was used largely, by each
manufacturer, for generating power at a turbine.
Counsel for the city atRued that the way to estimate
the value of this use of the water to each petitioner wa.s,
first, to ascertain the exact extent to which the water
was available for power throughout the year at each
pri vilege ; and then to estimate the cost of substituting
other practicable and economical means of generating
power to the @ame extent and at each privil~ge. This
computation should give at least th e highest possible
annual value to this use of the water, Lnt in certain cases
it might exceed the actual loss sustained by the peti.
tioner. Such a case would arise, for instance, where the
waterfall was situated in a locality ~o remote from tran sportation facilities as to make it difficult t o fi nd a purchaser of the privilege at any price, even if already
developed.
The witnesses for the defence also claimed that, as none
of the "horse-powers '' of which its owner was deprived
by the act of the city could have been sold any where
except a.t the particular place where the falling water
could be used as it fell (the only right, t hey maintained,
which the city interfered with ) t o generate power,
because that spot was the only one where the water
could be used, wheth er for power or for other reasonable
use; therefore, there can be no such thing as the market
value of a horse-power result ing from this use, equally
applicable to each unit of power wherever generat~d on
thts river. A horse-power, being a unit of activity, not
taxed, intangible, could not be a piece of property ; and
hence the theory of the ~titioners must be a piece of folly.

-.

11 ( )

After making some comments on the evidence

g iven, t h e author p r oceeded to state his own views.
Now, one point h e laid s tress on was that t h e
experts floundered on cross - examination. The
author was not cr oss-examined, so his audience
can only imagine w h at t h e possibilities were in case
h e had been subjected to this torture. He said :
H ow shall the fair mark e t value of this easement be
determined ? Generally speaking, it is impossible t o
cipher out, with mathematical accuracy, the fair market
value of an easement. " Commercial " witnesses are
called in to express theit opinions of the value of the
estate before the easement was taken, and the value left
to the estat e 8-fter being deprived of the easement. The
difference is the value lost by the estate. Tbat is to say,
it is the fair market val ue of the easement. It so happens
that in the case of the particular kind of easement we are
considering, it is possible to prove, by math ematics and
data in the possession of qualified eng ineers, that its
value cannot exceed a certain fairl y dt:finite, annually
received, sum of money. I ts actn al value may easily be
some lesser amounb than this limiting value. '.fhe reason
is, that when the work is done by Nature it must be done
in a particular locality; whilE", if done artificially-i.e.,
by the combustion of coal- a great advantage is gained
in being able to select a site for manufacturing purposes
unhampered by a lack of water for power. If each petitionet' were supplied perpetually with coal io suffi cient
daily quantities. to provide the sam ~ quantity of energy
at a steam engme flywheel as was y1elded a t the waterwheel shaft by the water diverted, he would obviously

t'rj
tJ:j

\0

\0

FEB. 9,

900.

185

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

SCllEW MILLING lVIACHINE.

CONSTRUCTED BY :MESSRS. JOHN

H OLROYD AND CO.,

LIMITED,

ROCHDALE.

Cllor De;;criptiun, see Page 186.)

.,

,r

FIG.

1.

l
'

Fw. 2.

FIG.

be fully compensated for his loss, other things being

equal, and perh!!.ps much more than fully compensated.
But other things are not equal, and he may require a
further sum before his total loss is mn.de entirely good to
him. How much this extra sum will be must depend upon
conditions, which will vary with every case, respectinB"
the amount of water diverted; the maximum and mimn;tum flow of the water before and after the taking; the
tnze of the water power, and the size of the auxiliary
steam plant. It may be that the quantity diverted is so
large a proportion of the whole as to leave no value to
what remams; or that the turbines formerly used were
too large to be used efficiently after diversion. These
are details of relatively insignificant im port. The fact

3.

is that the greatest cause of the disagreement between

the two sides, in the Kettle Brook water cases, is traceable to the lack of positive knowledge, on the part of
both sides, as to the actual available quantity of water
flowing each day in t he year at each privilege. The
petitioners claimed that the amount was 5,500,000 gallons
per day throughout the working days in the year; that is
to say, it was a fixed and invariable quantity. :But while
the civil engineer~, who testified for the city, allowed
5,500,000 as the correct figure for the average flow, they
claimed that there were frequently whole days when
there was practically no flow of water at all. Now, if
the flow was fixed and invariable in amount, before the
taking, then the average annual damage per horse-power,

50 dols., assessed by the steam engineers who worked on

t hat hypothesis, was correct, even if judged by the theory
of the 01ty's witnesses. They would admit, that is, that
it would cost, on an average, that murh per annum to develop a horse-power by steam at the average of these
privileges. The steam engineering experts for the city,
however, assumed that the flow of water at each privilege was so unsteady as to make a steam plant necessary,
if the water were to be used at all, ; hence, only coal
was saved by this use of the water.

The author concluded by urging the importance of

fixing the q uestions, since the cities were acquiring
stream after stream under legislative process. The

!86

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

[FED. 9, I 900.

gentle~en criticised ~id not emulate the Bible policy an automatic arrangement for cutting screws right up showing a. reduction for the past week amounting to
of turn1ng the unsm1tten cheek in all meekness, but to a shoulder.
6467 tons.
r~th~r emulat.ed the Old Testament process, and
The work is held down in its proper place in the V- . F inished { ron and Steel. -The satisfactory fixing of the
gu:dmg on t he1r swords proceeded to smite hip-and- block by a. lever B (Fig. 2 ), whi ch is actuated by the ~ronworkers. wage~ for another term has been a. redeemth~gh .. Then th_e discussion ran on the plan of eccentric shaft U by the handle T. The stay Q forms mg feature m the Iron and steel industries. The official
usmg 1n law su1ts pro~essional experts employed p~rt of a slide V, which carries an ordinary compound fi_gures of the Scottish M anufactured Iron Trade ConciliatiOn Board show that the selling price for November.
by the State. But th1s would never meet with shd e r est with a quick withdrawing motion.
Dece~ber was 7l. Ss. 7.73ld., a.nd it is found from
The
working
of
t
he
machine
proceeds
as
follows
:
favour from any but the experts sure to be emA_
cutter of the correct size, say abou t 2 ! in. in stat lSttcs that for t~e same two months of tbe previous
P.loyed, and t~e subject was concluded by a resolu- d1ameter , cut on three edges, is put on the spindle. year the average pnce was 5l. 12~. 7.65d. per t on, which
tiOn em:powenng the council to appoint a commit tee The cutter head is then set at the right angle, and in at once show~ the real ad vances netted by the manufac.
<;>n valuing a horse-power . . The meeting then ad- the centre of t h e work, the correct change-wheels put turers. A n se of ll. 163. per ton appears most satiefac.
tory? but ma.k~rs of finished iron state that the profits are
Journed ; and it may be said of it, that it was not on for t he pitch, t he headstock regul a ted for depth, not
m proportion to the turnover of the cost of material
only the largest as to numbers-those registered a nd the work fastened in t he chuck, resting a t the end a.nd the wages paid are small. All makers have stood
~eing 706- but that the papers were of the greatest t o be cut :m the stay, and being h eld down by the r od, out for the full prices, and , a.s a consequence, fresh conInterest, and were as a consequence, very fully dis- acted on by the eccentric. The machine is then tract s have not been booked so freely. Coal supplies
set in motion, and the work begins. The cutter takes have not been too abundant, yet the rolling mills have
cussed.
out the full dept h at one cut, the work r evolves and been run at nearer their max imum output than since the
feeds forward until the required lengt h is cut, when year was entered upon. The ~rices for finished iron
the machine automatically knock s off. The cu t t er is have not suffered any change. rhe steel trade has been
SCREW-MILLING MACHINE.
without any special feature during the week. Business
then
raised
Ly
m
eans
of
t
he
quick
withdrawing
m
otion
ON the preceding page we illustrate a machine for
continues active, and prices are as follow: Angle-bars,
milling screw s, patented by Mr. H. Liebert man ag- on the vertica l slide, and a lso the turning tool with- 85l. per ton; bars (round, flat, and square), 9l. 5s. to
ing director of M essrs. John Holroyd ~nd Co. drawn; in cases where this is being used, a nd t he 9t. 1 0-:~. ~er ton, lo'! test basis ; ship-plates, 8l. lOg. to
Limited, engineers and t oolmakers, Per~everan c~ r eversi ng clutch put in a ction, thi s causing the work Bl .. 12d. 6d.; and boiler-plates, 9l. lOa. rr ton. These
Works, Milnrow, near Rochdale.
The machine to run back from under t he cu tter . The eccentric pr1ces are generally 30s. to 40s. ahead o those ruling a
illustrated deals with screws of a.ny length and of sizes actuating the h oldiug-down r od is put out of action, ye~r ago. Makers do not look for any shading of those
up to l ~ in. in diameter, of which the sec tion of the and the rod r emoved, leaving the work held only by pnces so long as the coalowners are so extreme in their
the chuck, which is no w slack ; the work can then be 1deas as t o coal charges.
thread is not m ore than i in. sq uare.
Sulp~ate of A mnwnia.-The shipments of sulphate of
The patentee claims that screws can be cut on it at taken out and a new piece inserted.
There is also ehown in Fig. 1, at the headatock end ammoma reported for last week were 3307 tons, making
a far greater s peed t han has hitherto been possible.
The machine can be manipulated by an unskilled of the bed, a bracket Y. This bracket is used in the total t o date this year 9278 tons, or 1429 ~ons less than
operator, and one man can mind four or five ma- cutting screws of long l ength. These are cut in the those for the corresponding period of last year. The market
has bee n quiet during the past few days, and price3 have
chines. It is further stated tha t the work turned out is follo wing manner :
been inclined to ease a little.
When
the
work
has
fed
up
t
he
full
capacity
of
the
far more a ccurate in pitch and regularity of groove
Glasgow Copper Ma1ket. -Copper was not dealt in last
than if produced on a lathe. This result is a ccounted machine, the end of the work which h as j ust been cut
for by t he full depth of the thread being c ut at one project s through the bracket Y, which contains a split Thursday forenooon, but the price was marked down 5s.
per ton. In the afternoon the price was quoted 10s. per
bush
wi
t
h
a
hole
the
sn.me
diameter
a
s
the
work
itself.
operation, a nd also by t he nut on the guide screw,
ton UJ?, but no business was done. No business was done
which gives the work its forward and rotary mo tion , The lock -handle A l fixed on the brack et Y is then on ~~rtday forenoon, but the price was marked up 5s. per
being made adj ustable so that all backlash can be tightened, compressing the bush and gripping the ton, and it was put up another 2s. 6d. per ton in the
taken out. The work revolves very slowly in its own work. The chuck Pis t hen slack ened, and the cs.r- afternoon, but without any busin~s being done. Mon.
stay, and the cutter, being well lubricated, evolves no riage M run back, leaving the work held by the day'rd forenoon market was also a blank, bub the price
heat; so that expansion and contraction, which give bracket Y only. The cd.rriage !vi t hen knock s off, the declined 2s. 6d. per ton. Quotations for cash were with.
so mu ch trouble in ordinary screw cutting, are entirely chuck Pis tightened. The l~ck-handle A lis slack ened, drawn in the afternoon, but nominally the price was
about 73l. per ton. Copper was not named in the foredone away with, a nd the screws prod uced are a copy a nd a fresh length of the screw is ready for cutting.
noon market yesterday, and in the afternoon the market
of an a ccurate guide-screw. When the machine w as
was still idle. Copper was not dealt in to-day, either
first d esigned, it was made wit h the idea of d ealing
forenoon or afternoon.
NOTES FROM THE NORTH.
with cheap screws only, such as furniture screws,
GLASGOW, W ednesday.
copy ing-press screws, and possibly , if sufficient accu Glasgow P ig-Iron Market.-Business was very quiet
racy could be obtained, ra il way carriage couplingNOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
on Thursday morning, only some 10,000 tons being dealt
s cr e ws, &c.; but it w as found after t he first few trials in. There was a decline in prices all round fro m l~d. to
SHEFFIELD, Wednesday.
Mr. M a1tin llforrison.-The death has occurred some
that accuracy was one of the merits of t he machine. ~d. per ton. In the afternoon the market was firmer,
The lasting power of the cutter is a nother very im- prices recovering from !d to 1~d. per ton, and the sa1es what s uddenly of Mr. Ma.rtin Morrison, at the age of
porta.nt factor to insure the success of t he machine ; amounted t o about 7000 tons. The settlement prices at forty-seven. He was a member of the well-known
and by ex perience it has been found that the cu t t ers, t he close were : Scotch iron 68s. 4~d. per ton ; Cleveland, Morrison family of Newcastle, and lived a t F aceby, near
Northallerton. H e had a large interest in the Manvers
68s.
;
Cumberland
and
Middlesbrough
hematite
iron,
rewhen well flushed wit h a good l ubricant, will machin e
Main Colliery, was chairman of the Dalton Main Colliery
spectively,
75s.
10~d.
and
78s.
per
t
on
.
A
large
amount
as many as thirty 1-in. diameter fo ur-threads- p erCompany, and was extremely well known in coal and
of
business
was
done
on
Friday
forenoon,
about
inch screws, 6 in. long, without being sharpened, the
iron circles. When on his way t o Sheffield he wa.s taken
35,000
t
ons
changing
bands.
New
Y
ork
advices
relas t screw fitting the sa mple nut a s accurately as that
ill
at York and died after three days' illness. He ha.s
ported a drop of half-a -dollar in the price of
first cut.
1ron. and that led to a lot of sales. In the Glas~ow left a widow and several children.
The machine consist s of a short bed about 5 ft. market the losses ranged from l~d. to 6~d. per ton. The
A 1'TJUYU/r-Plate Trials. - Three Sheffield-ma.de armour
long, mounted on a tray and legs, the former catching market was st eadier in the afternoon, and on a turnover plates were tested on Friday by the naval authorities at
and returning a ll the lubricant to the pump and tank of fully 15,000 tons Scotch recovered 1!<1. per ton. At P or tsmouth. They were a. 6-in. plate made by Messrs.
situated at the back of the m achine. At the ri ght- the close settlement prices were : 67s. 1% d., 67s. 7! d ., J ohn Brown and Co. , and a 4-in. plate from each of the
hand end of the bed is a u niversal head stock B, which 75s. Gd., and 78s. per t on. At the forenoon session of the works of Messrs. Vickers, Maxim, and Co. and Messrs.
has three adjustme nts, a rota ry and cross ad justment warrant market on M onday some 15,000 tons were dealt Cammell and Co. The two thinner plates are intex;tded
which gives the cutter its proper angle and position in, and prices were a shade harder, though American for the prot ective armour o! t he new armoured c~uld6rs
for cutting e ither right or left-hand threads, and a advices were a little contradictory. Cleveland rose ~ d . now being constructed. Three shots from a 4.7-m. gun
were fired at each, and four from a 6-in. at Brown's ab
vertical adjustment for regulating the d epth of the and bematite iron 1d. per ton. Only some 4000 or 5000 the
usual distances. The result in each case was under
tons changed hands in the afternoon, but prices were very
cut. All these adjustm ent s are controlled by indexes, firm, Scotch advancing 4! d . per ton, hematite iron stood to be satisfactory, hub full delails are not yet
and the vertical movement has , in addition, a q uick :3d., and Cleveland another ~d. , per ton. The closing obtainable.
withdrawing motion E , which can be operated without settlemen t prices were : 68s. 3d., 68s., 75s. lO~d., and
H en'l'y B essemer and Co., L imited.-The annu~l meetaltering the depth of the cut. The vertical slide A 78g. per ton. A small business only was reported on
ing of the shareholders in the above Sheffield uon and
has also a sta.y C, with lock-ha ndle D to g ive it a ddi- Tuesday forenoon, when about 10,000 tons were dealt in. steel company was held on Tuesday. Mr. Charles Alien
tional support. The auxiliary spindle is driven by a Prices were very strong. Scotch rose 5!<1. per ton, Cleve- presided, and moved the adoption of the directors' report,
cone pulley with two s peeds 7 in. an d 5~ in. r esp ec- land 5d., and hematite iron D<t.1 p er ton. In the after- which stated that the net profi t for last year was
tively for a 2 in. belt, and drives by mea ns of gun- noon about other 10,000 tons changed hands, and prices 20,404l. 10s. 2d., out of which a dividend of 12! per ce:ot.
metal gears the cutter spindle, which is of steel a nd were firmer. Scotch advanced another ~d., and Uleve- was recommended. There is left 23, 182l. 83: 8d. s~a?dmg
land 2d., per ton. The settlemen t prices at the close of the
hardened, and runs in hardened conical bearings market were: 683. 9d., 68s. 6d., 76s. 7~d., and 78s. p er ton. to the credit of the net revenue received; m add1t1on to
which are adjustable fo r w ear, and are luuricat ed by Very little business was done t his morning, not more than transferring 500l. t o the workmen's compensation fund and
wiping out 3701l. standing to the debit of improvementsd
a solid fat lubricator.
about 12,000 tons changing ha.nda. Prices were very firm, and additions account. The chairman further sta~
At t he left-hand end of the bed a. bracket F is cast Scotch advancing 2d. and Cleveland 7d. per ton. The chief
tha.t the stock-in-trade- 18,793l.-included some matenal
on, carry ing a h ollow tube K, aud the two dividing feature of interest was the facti of Cleveland iron being intended to go to the Transvaal before the war broke
discs G and H for cutting multiple threads. This now 4d. p er ton dearer than Scotch. In the afternoon out in the form of gold-producing machine~y. They
arrangement, when the discs are disconnected by business was done at 68s. ll~d. for Scotch and settlemen t hoped before long it would be disposed of. W1tb regard
putting the catch Lout of use, enables the hollow t ube prices were: 69s., 68s. 7 ~d., 76s. lO~d., and 78s. per ton. to the profits, he said although the price of st~el ~ad cob:d
K to be revolved with its disc H , wit hout r evolving The following are the 9-,uotations for No. 1 makers' iron: siderably improved, the prices of coal and pt~ 1ron
Clyde, 833. per ton ; Calder and Gar tsherrie, 83s. 6d. ; been abnormally high. It would require a pamc m the st.eel
the disc G, which is keyed to the change-wheel 0.
Summerlee, 85s. ; Colt ness, 8&.- the foregoing all shipped trade for steelmakers to make excessive profits_. Fore1~
Through the di viding discs and gear-wheel 0 , con- at Glasgow ; Glengarnock (shipped a b A rd rossan), 82s. ;
n ect ed by a sliding key, runs t he hollow tube K , which Shot ts (shipped at L eith), 85s. ; and Carron (shipped competition he regarded as a constant commerctal war, a.ud
urged tha.t in machinery and ideas they must move w1th
gives the ~ork i~s rotary ~o~ion. The front e~d ~f at Grangemouth), 85~. 6d. per ton. D ay by day the the times. The motion was carried, and the 12! per
this tube 1s carr1ed by a sltdmg brack et M, wh1eh IS amount of b usiness put through hands r~rows less. cent. dividend declared. The appointment of Mr. A. AC.
connect ed by a n adjustable nut N to the guide-~crew, Prices, however, are well mainta.ined, constdering the Hollingsworth on the board was confirmed and Mr.
and r eceives from this its forwa rd motion, the two apathy shown hy the speculative public t o warrant iron. A lien was re-elected.
motions being connected with swivel fra.me and change- American reports are no longer so inde fini te, and anR'lilway Deadlock at Grimsby.-A well-attended meet
nounce
in
certain
quarters
distinct
weakness,
an
d
conwheel~ which enable the p itch of the work to be
sequently lower prices, and fore3had ow already strong ing of the merchants, shippers, and princ~pal consu~ers
altered' as desired. This guide-screw is drivtn from competition with producers on this side of the Atlan tic, of coal a t Grimsby has been held to cona1der the senous
the e nd of the bed by a con e pulley R, and has an if they are re1 iable. T wo additional hematite furnaces delay in t raffic on the local 1ine, and what steps sho?ld be
automat ic stop motion a nd a quick return by p o wer, were pu t in blast during the past week, making 40 of the taken to remedy. ~tatistics ~howed that the shtppers
a ltio a hand adjustment by hand wheel S.. The work sort, 40 ordinary, and 5 making basic iron-total 8-'5, or of coal at Grimsby were not receiving by 40 dPftF
1
which is h eld at one end by the chuck P, 1s supported two more than were blowing at this time last year. The cen t. the same quantity of coal which. was e
under the cutter by the stay Q. This sta.y Q is merely stock of pig iron in ~fessrs. Connal and Co. 'a public vered to t hem in 1896, and that an mcrease o
a V. block made of c9.st steel a.~d hardened' and v~r warrant stores stood at 223,845 tons yesterday afternoon, 3d. per ton in freights over other places was de
manded because the shipowners could not get coal de
tically adjustable by hand. It IS also provide d with as compared with 228,312 t ons yesterday week, thus

FEB.
....

9,

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

r goo.]
,,

livered to them in reasonable time. Ib was sta.te4 that

there are thousands of tons of coal for t~e Grimsby
trade standing on the lines between the ptts and ~he
p:>rt, some having been there for many day~. The. fishm~
trade representatives said they looked upon the1r position with grave concern. Alderman Dou~hty was a~ked
to oa.ll the whole of the traders of Gnmsby together
with a vie w to the formation of. a. C.hamber of Co~merce
for the protection of the tradmg mterests of Gnmsby.
Alderman Doughty also agreed to head a large deputation to the dtrectors of the Great Central Rail way Company.
Iron and Stcel.- There is still c_onsiderable compl~ining
amongst manufacturers o~ the diffi culty they ~ave ~n obtaining supplies of matenal, and more e~pecta.lly 1f t~e
mills have to deal with it. The supphes of old railway rails are much below the demand. They are required for the production of spring steel, sho v~l steel,
and similar purpose3. Old ratl~ are now selhng delivered in Sheffield a.t 6l. 103.-ratls that cost, whet?- new,
4t. per ton. There has been a ~urther ad van~e m the
prices of nuts bolts and other railway accessones of H.
toll. 10s. per'ton. 'There is a. good demand for . files and
other tools but in the best classes of cutlery, sth-er, and
plated goods business is very quiet, a.!ld the largest houses
have put their workpeople on short trme.
(Joa~ and (Joke.-There is no change to record. in the
coal and coke trades. As a. rule, pits are workmg !ull
time, and there is a market for all sent ~o ban~. Pnces
are somewhat unsettle~, but the followmg fa.uly represents them a.t the p1t now : Mort0mly, 17s. 6d: per
ton Silkstone branch, 17s.; WallSend, 16s.; ha.ndptcked
Silkstone, 16s. ; Ba.rnsley house, 14s. to 163. ; seconds
ditto, 10~. to 12~. ; Barnsley bards, 12s. to 13d. ; unsoreened ditto, 10~. to 11s. ; Pa.rkgate bards, 11~. ; steam
nuts and common coal ganera~ly, 7f!. to 10,g. 6d. "Foundry
coke, 283. per ton; steel-melt mg coke, 26~. ~o 2te. ; blastfurnace coke, 31s. 6d. F or some week.s pnces h.ave been
withdrawn, and they are only now a.vallable aga.m.
WATER AT GAINSDOROUGH.-On Monday the Gainsborough Urban Council decided to borrow, with the
sanction of the Local Government Board, a further sum
of StOOl. for artesian well purposes . 1\tir. Discon, t~e
chairman of the water committee, sa1d be hoped tbts
would be the last time they would have to come to the
Council for money for new works. They had spent on
an old bore hole 4733l., and on a new boring 5750l. ;
while land had cost 1000&., machinery for old boring
2856{.. ; and a reservoir water tower, &c. , 7490l. ; total,
21,829&. They hoped 8400t. would complete. the work.
The reports of the quality of the water are satiSfactory.

--CATALOO UES.-,Ve have received from the Cha.tteris

Engineering Company, of Chatteris, C~~bridgesh~e, a
copy of their new catalogue of ~h~ mmmg .'ffi:&Cbinery
of which the fir' . make a spemality, provtdmg complete plants for every ~nd of metal mi?ing. - Mr. B.
Richard Isaa.o, fire eng'!neer, brass and u onfounder, of
146 South J ohn-street, Liverpool, has published a calenda; for the year, which has twelve photographs of ships
of the Navy, ancient and modern. In the centre i~ a
reproduction of a. photograph of the new Central Ftre
Station, Liverpool, with the brigade turning o.u t. -The
British W estinghouse Electric and Manufactunng Company, Limited, of Norfolk-stree~, .London, W.!J., have
just iS&ued a. new pamphlet descr1bmg the Westmghouse

gas engme.

THE LATE PROFESSOR THOMAS E GLESTON.-We regret

to bear by this week's mail of the death of Professor
Thomas Eg}eston, the founder of the School of Mines of
Columbia University, and for thirty-three years Professor
of Minera.logv and Metallur~y in that school. H e was
well known "in this country also, largely through the
eevera.l series of articles he published in E NGINEERING on
mining and metallurgy, with particulaT reference to the
treatment of gold and silver and other ores. His death,
which took place at his residence in New York on January 16, was not altogether unexpected, as he had
been suffering from a complication of diseases for several
years. He was 67 years of age, having been born
m New Y ork City on December 9, 1832. He entered
Yale College in 1860, graduated in 1854, and shortly after
began his studies at tlie EcolP-a des Mines in Paris in the
domain of science which be afterwards made his own ;
and there he graduated in 1860. He remained in France
for some time connected with one of the museums, where
he could give full play to his enthusiastic study of fossils
and their influence on mineralogy. On returning to
America he was appointed to the Smithsonian Institution, setting up at the same' time as a consulting
mining engineer at New York,' n.nd it was during
this period - in 1863-tha.t he evolved the scheme
for the School of Mines, with which his name
will always be identified. He occupied the Chair of
Mineralo~y and Metallurgy until July, 1897! and his
services m the advance of the great industnes of the
United States cannot be measured, although they were
unostentatiously rendered. Outside of his ~rofessiona.l
work Mr. Egleston did ~ood service- in Government
Commissions, and in the mception and organisation of
technical institutions, whose Proceedings contain man y
valuable contributions, for in his writings he was as
p_rolific as he was informing. H e was rewarded by several
University degrees and by the French Government conferring upon him the riband of the Leion of H onour,
but much more by the success of the School of Mines
and thA spread of ecientifio knowledge as to mines
and minerals.

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE

NORTHERN COUNTIES.

Barry Smelting W ol'ks.-The smelting works which are

being established on Sully Moo~, near Barry new dock,
are rapidly approaching completiOn. A large storeh~>Use
has been completed and about 3000 tons of stlyer
ore have already b~n lodged in it. . The smel~mg
houses are under roof, and the stoc~, engme, and bOiler
houses, and other buildingd are 11?- a forward state.
The promoters of the new ent~rprue (the Armstro~g
Syndicate, Limi ted, L ondon) believe that the worka will
be completed and ready for the commencement of smelting operations by the end of March. The manager, r.
Price, has visited Birmingham for the purpose o~ engagmg
a staff of experienced men in view of the openmg of the
works.
Tafj' Vale Raitway.-The directors of this company
recommend a dividend a.t the rate of 3! per cent. per
annum upon the ordinary stoc~ (equivalent to 8i per cen~.
per annum upon the old ordmary stock). The expenditure on cap1ta1 accoun t! during the past half-year wa.s
136, 142&. In the total, lines opened for traffic figured for
99, 977Z. ; lines in course of cons truction, for 35, 033l. ; and
working stook, for 132l. The aggregate outlay made for
working stook to the close of las t year wa.s 690,818l. Ab
the close of 1899 the comt>any owned 198 engines, 89
tenders. 266 vehicles used m the coaching department,
and 2607 vehicles used for the conveyance of goods and
minerals. The cost of maintaining way and works in the
second half of last year was 36,067l., as coml'ared with
23, 280Z. in the corresponding period of 1898. The cost of
locomotive power was 78,665l., as compared with 58,081l.
The aggregate distance run by trains in the second half
of last year was 1,861,853 miles, as compared with
1, 495,966 miles in the corresponding period of 1898.
Bhymney Railway.- The directors recommend a dividend for the past half-year at the rate of 10 per cent. per
annum. The principal items of expenditure on capital.
are 6480&. for new locomoti,e sheds at Caerphilly, and
10,160&. for four new locomotiveP. For the current half-year
it is estimated that 20,000&. wi ll be expended on sundry
works, 13,600&. for new locomotives, and 16,962l. for new
carriages. The coal bill for the past half-year shows an
increase of nearly 3000&., going from 7004l. to 9998l.
B1istoZ and South Wales R ailway Wagon (Jompany,
Li1nited.-The report of the directors for the past halfyear states that the revenue a-ccount shows a disposable
balance of 8572&. 6s. 4d. The directora recommend a
dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum, free of
income tax, leaving a balance of 2691l. 2s. 1d. to be
carried to the current half-year's account. The rolling
stock of the company consists of 13,480 carriages and
wagons, and twelve locomotive engines. The contingent
fund stands ab 36.70H.
The Sou.th Wales Steel Trade.-On Wednesday a meeting of steel manufacturera and smelters was held at
Swansea. to consider a demand formulated by Mr. Ho1ge
on behalf of the men's a.s3ooiation for a 20 per cent. advance in wa~e~. The masters agreed to give the men an
immediate advance of 5 per cent.. to be followed by a
further advance of 5 J?er cent. on July 1 nexb. In view
of the present high prtces of coal and raw materials, the
men's representatives agreed to accept these terms.

MIODLESBBOUGH, Wednesday.
T he (Jleveland Iron T1ade.-Yesterday there was a.
large attendance on 'Change; the market was c~eerful,
and, contrary to w~~t has recently . been expertenced,
considerable dispos1t10n to do busmess was shown.
The transactions actually recorded, however, were
not on an extensive scale, owing to the fact that
buyers and sellers did not agree over-readily as to
values. M ost of the busineEs done was with merchants,
and as they have little iron to dispose of, i b will easily be
understood that the quantities sold were but small.
Makers were, a.s they ha":e been all t~rough the winter,
very firm in their quotat1ons, and bemg well sold, ~hey
were in no hurry to enter in to further contracts, eepe01ally
as they expect to see better rates ruling in the early
future than are at present obtainable. Merchants put the
price of No. 3 g. m. b. Cleveland pig iron ab 69~. for prompt
f.o.b. delivery, and most of th e business recorded was a.t
about that figurP. Makers ~till quoted 70s. for No. ~~
and were very firm at that figure. No. 1 Cleveland ptg
was 71s. to 72d. Foundry 4, grey forge, mottled,
and white iron were all about 68s. 6d., but there
was very li ttl~ obtainable, especially of forge. 4- go~d
few inquiries were reported for east coast ~emat1te ptg
iron but they did not lead to much busmess owtng
to the fact that there was not much iron available for
early sale and makers held out very firmly for their rates.
The gene~al market quotation for No~. 1, 2, and 3 was
80s., but several of the producers would not name below
82s. Gd. Spanish ore was steady. Rubio was bought at
20s. 6d. ex-ship T ees for prompt delivery, but there were
more buyers than sellers a.t that price. For deli v~ry a
little way ahead up to 21s. 6d. wa~ named. Fre~gh ts
Bilbao-:Middlesbrough were weak for prompt cba.rtermgs,
from 63. 9d. to 5s. 10~d. being named, hut for b~siness
over the spring months up to 7s. was q uoted. Middlesbrough warrants rose to 68s. 6d. , which was the closing
cash price of buyers. There was no quotation for
Middlesbrough hematite warrants. T oday the market
was very strong. No. 3 Cleveland pig was fully 703.,
both merchants and makers refusing to sell below that
figure. F ou ndry 4 was raised to 69s.; and grey forge,
mottled and white, to about 68~. 9d. In the early part of
the day Middlesbrough warrants rose to 69s. 2d., and by
the close of the market they were at 69s. 6i d. cash buyer:J.
There was again nothing domg in Middlesbrough hematite
warrants, of which there are now only some 5000 in circulation.
ltfaJnujactured I 1on and Steel.-In the manufactured iron
and steel industries there is continued very great activity,
and prices have a. decided upward tendency, though
they do not rise with anything like the rapidity m other
districts. Steel plates have been put up half-a-crown,
and a general opmion prevails that circumstances justify
a further ad vance. Market rates are now about as follow : Common iron bars, 91. 5~. ; best bars, 9Z. 15s. ; iron
ship-plates, 8Z. 6s. ; steel ship plates, 8l. 2~. 6d. ; boilerplates, 9l . 7s. 6d.; iron and steel shipa.ngles, each about
8Z. ; and heavy sections of steel raUs, 7t.-all less the
customary 2i per cent. discount, except rails, which are
net ab works.
Ooal and (Jokc.- The fuel trade is steady, and prices
R ELGIAN R AILS.-The exports of steel rails from Belshow very little change. The pressure for delivery of gium last year were 64,942 tons, as compared with 73,487
coke is ,nothing like so great as it was, but quotations tons in 1898. The exports of iron rails from B elgium la.stl
are well maintained. A verage bla~t-furna.ce qualities are year were 1693 tons, as compared with 996 tons in 1898.
at 26s. 6d. delivered here.
PEBSONAL.-At the last meeting of the H endon Urban
District Council, Mr. R obert H a.mmond was appointed
consulting engineer to carry out the municipal electricity
NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
supply scheme at the usual fee of 5 per cent. on the
Cct?diff.-The steam coal trade has been, if anything, executed works.- We learn that Mr. Benjamin Martell,
firmer; and should there be a good supply of tonnage, late chief surveyor of Lloyd's, has joined the board of the
the market is expected to further improve. The best new Taite H oward Pneumatic Tool Company, Limited.
steam coal has been- making 24s. to 26s. per ton ; while -A change has been made in the name of the Pullman's
l:!econda.ry qualities have brought 22s. 6d. to 23~. 6d. per Pala~e Car Company, of 26, Victoria-street, W estminton. House coal has b.aen in steady demand, No. 3 ster, which will in future ~e known a.s "The Pullman
Rhondda large has made 23s. to 23s. 6d. per ton. F oundry Company."-l\1r. W. M. Mordey, of 82, Victoria-street,
coke has been quoted at 31s. 6d. to 32s. 6d. per ton, and Westminster, informs us that he ha~ taken into partnerfurnace coke at 28s. to 30s. per ton. As regards iron ore, ship Mr. R. A . Dawbarn, and will practice with him as
the best rubio has been making 20s. 6d. to 21s. per ton.
consulting engineers under the style of M ordey and
Barry .Ra,ilway.-The amount expended last year on Dawbarn.
capital account was 185,190&. The works of dock No. 2
are pra-ctically completed. The erection of the company's
A MERICAN COAL.-The coal-supply question appears to
transit warehouse is being carried on; and the cold be fast becoming the topic of the hour. W e have bestorage warehouse, belonging to the Cardiff Pure Ice come a. great industrial nation because we have had
and Cold Storage Company, has been completEd and plenty of coal at a reasonable price ; destroy these two
brought into uee. The engineer reports that sa.tie- conditions, and th e manufacturing greatness of the
factory progress has been made with the works on the countr7 is gone. The only consolation which presents
Rhymney branch. The gross revenue for the half.year itself 1s the fact that if coal is scarce in England it is
was 25!),222l. This compares with 206,173l. for the almost equally scarce in France, Belgium, Germany, and
correspond ing period of 1898, and 208,516&. for the other parts of Europe. A piece of intelligence of great
second half of 1897. The working expenditure which importance has transpired this week. viz., that th e
equals 63 27 :{>er cent. of the gross receipts, was 1S5,953l., Paris, Lyonea, and M editerranean R n.il way Companycomparing w1th 104, 749l. for the corresponding period of the largest railway undertaking in the French Republic,
1898, and 101,949l. for the corresponding period of 1897. and upon the Continent of Europe-has ordered
As compared with the second half of 1897, passenger 75,000 tons of American coal, which ib expects to receive
receipts have increased by 7600&., goods and mmera1s by upon terms which will render it available for consumption
18,000t., shipping by 6500l., and dock receipts by 16,000l. upon its lines a.t 22s. per ton or thereabouts. The diffiThe capital expenditure during the past half-year in- culty of Europe would appear to be the opportunity of
cludes 12,146&. for new offices, 73,000l. in connection Ameri~ ; and there c~n be but little ~oub.t that if the prewith dock No. 2, 16,012&. for new locomotives, 7330l. on sent pr1ce of coal contmues, large del1venes of American
account of rail way to Barry I sland, and oO, OOOZ. on black diamonds will find their way to this country and
account of the Rhymney branch. The estimated capital W astern Europe. The United S tates have now become
expenditure for the current half-year is 269,516l, which the foremost coal-producing country in the world and
includes 23,030l. for land and works, 25,200l. for deep- th~ir P,roduction ~ould, if necessary, be greatly exte~ded.
sea lock, 20, OOOl. for warehouse and storage accommoda- It ts, mdeed, qu1te upon the cards that American coal
tion, 62,2~6l. for additional engines, 25,376l. for addi- exports may acquire as much importance as has been
tional carriageP, &C'., 48001. in rePpeot of the rail way to the attained by the exports of A merican cereals American
island, and 7o, OOOl. for the Rbymney branch.
wheat, and Ameri< a :1 cot tor .
'
~

E N G I N E E RI N G.

188

[FEll. 9, I 900.

THE PARIS EXHIBITION; THE SMALLER FINE ART BUILDING.

:MONSIE UR CH.

GIRAULT, ARCHITECT.

(For Description, see Page 192.)

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ENGINEERING,

9, 1900.

FEBRUARY

----------------------------------------------------------~l~.,

BRIDGE ACROSS r "E RIVER R II IN E

ARCHED

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(For DllKn'ptioc, e Page 181.)

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FElL

g,

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

1900.]

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I NSTITUTION OF CI\'JL ENOINEBRS.- Tuesday, Febr uary 13, at
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Worked- Deposits of t he Ores of Lend and oth er Metals.- Wedn esd ay, February 14, a t 8 p .m. Eleven t h ordinary meeting. " The
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Subject : " Life in Indo-China."- Afternoon lectures next week,
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t ion of Fishes" (Lectu re V.) On T hu rsd ay, Februa ry 15, P r ofessor H. IT. Turner , M.A., F.R.S., on "Moder n Astronomy,
(Lecture II.) On Saturday, Febr uary 17, Mr. W. L. Oour t otly,
M. A., LL.D., on "Th e Idea. of Traged y in Ancien t and in Modern
Drama" (Lecture JI.)
T ilE I NSTITUTION o~ Mh'-:JNO AND METL\LLUROY.-Wed nesdny, Feb
rua ty U, in t h e Lectur e Hall of tbe Geological Museum, Jermyo street, S. W. , at 8 o'clock, wh en a lecture will be deliver ed on :
" The GoldBenrin~ Alluvial Deposits of t h e Klond yke District,"
by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, F .G.S. The lecture will be illustrated with
a. variety of la n ter n slides.
Tm~ l NSTI'l'UTION OF
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS.- Wednesday,
February 14, a.t 7.30 p.m. Students' m eeting t o be h eld in th e
lib rary o f the Institu t ion, 28, Victor ia-str eet. The following
will be d iscussed : "Wireless Telegr~phy. "

ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1900.

We desire to call the attention of our readers to

the fact that the above is our SOLE Address, and
NAVAL POWER AND ITS COST.
that no connection exists between this Journal and
any other publications bearing somewhat similar
W ITH characteristic patriotic fire, yet with t he
titles.
dignity of weighty responsibility, the First Lord

of the Admiralty, speaking in the House of

Commons the other night, gave the country adequate assurance that our naval administration fully
recognises their duty and the immense importCONTENTS.
ance
of
the
maintenance of our sea power. The
PAQE
PAGE
occasion of this deliverance was, it is true, assoThe Ranelagh Works, I ps
Th e Working of t h e Boiler
wich (llltMtrated) .. ...... 173
Explosions Acts. . . . . . . . . . 192 ciated directly with the war whose varying fortunes
Band nod Maohine Labour 175 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
T he Standardisation of
Notes from the Un ited States 104 have so seriously taxed the habitual fortit ude of the
Sorew Threads (lllm.) .. 176 T he War in South Africa . . 194 British character ; but Mr. Goschen's utterances
Viokers' Automatic 14-Pdr.
Sh effield and t h e War ... 195 were clearly of much wider application, and one
Gun (fllu.strated) .. ...... 180 American Competition . . . . 195
Arched Bridg es over the
cannot help realising that t he ambitions so recently
T h e Steam Yacht "Com
R hine (fllustrated) . . . . . . 181
rnander Cawley " . . . . . . . . 195 disclosed by Germany and F rance were very present
The American Society of
The R ecovery of Crude
"We know the strain put upon us ;
Mech anical E ngin eers (l l
Glycerine ............ . . 195 in his mind.
lustrated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 The Maxim Mu lti-Perforated
we know the country has been drained of t roops ;
SorewMilJiog Mach ine (ll
Powd er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
l mtrated) ........... . . 186 Patent Laws ..... . ........ 196 we know that this is a position in which there
Notes from the ~orth .. . .. . 186 Miscellanea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 might be some temptation to others to take adNotes from South Yorkshire 186 The Design of Rotary Con
vantage
of
our
weakness
;
we
know
that
happily
Notes from CleveliUld and
vertors (fllmtrated) . . . . 197
the Northern Count ies . . 187 Ind ustrial Notes ...... . . .. 198 our relations with the Governments of foreign
Notes from t h e Sou t h-West 187 Water Meters (llltutrated) 200 countries are friendly, " and so on ; but, like a
Naval Power and its Cost . . 189 Wor kmen's Compensation 202
fugue in music, there is throughout it all t he everT he Legal Aspect of Con Steamers for Winter Navit racts b~ Tend er . . . . . . . . 190
This
i!ation .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. . . 203 recurring phrase, ' ' We realise our burden. "
P neumatic Eu~i neeri ng . . . . 191 Boiler Explosion at Newpor t 204
assurance, although it may not have been needed
T he Paris Exhibition (fllmLaunch es and Trio.l Trips . . 204
tratRd) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
- for in recent years t he Admiralty has well
E ng ineering" Paten t R ecord (Illustrated) . . . . . . . . 205 merited the confidence of t he country-is, neverWith aTwoPage Engra ving of an i!RCB ED BRIDGE ACROSS theless, gratifying at a time when many are racked
TB E RIVER R HINE AT BONN.
with doubts and misgivings as to Army adminisTEL.EORAPHIO ADDRESS- ENGINEERING, LONDON.
TELEPHONE NUMBER- 8668 Gerra rd.

11

tration, and especially at a time when at least two

of the great Powers, France a~d Ge~~any, h~ ve
disclosed the f ull extent of their ambitiOn to n val
us, if not to excel us, in naval power.
.
Whatever may be said of the mental attit ude
abroad as to our strength and skill in the field, our
naval power is respected, and its immense strength
is alone our security at the present moment. The
mastery of the sea has enabled us to transport our
troops across the world wit.h as m.uc~ confid~nce
as if they were being marshal.led. within a fortified
town ' but, more importan t still, tt acts as . an , all-f
powerful deterrent against '' the te.mptatt?n o
Governments of foreign countries wtth whiCh our
relations are "friendly." Naval power commands
friendship. But this lesson has been so fully
grasped, even by the ma1_1 in the street,. t hat . the~e
is no need to enforce It here ; our mtent10n IS
rather to consider the proposals for great additions to the naval strength of France, Germany,
and other Continental nations, and the extent to
which they affect us. These great progra.mmes are
fiatterin(1, if threatening, to us. Our mvulnerability at sea against any one Power is recognised,
and althouah J\ combination of two or three Powers
might t urn the balance, such union of forces ag~~nst
one P ower is a somewhat remote probability,
although one to be ever reckoned upon. We are
never now really aggressive, nor do we seek terri-~
tory- experience in China has shown t his: our
great wars are selfish only in that t hey s~ek . to
mt.tintain the stat'l.ts quo so far as comparative mfiuence or territory is concerned. Any opponent
to this aeneral policy necessarily, although noh
occultly, ~m braces a policy of aggrandisement, and
herein lies the difficulty of combination against
Britain alone. I t is not necessary to enter into
details to show that possible allies against Britain
have conflicting ambitions. But after all it resolves itself into the necessity of Britain continuing to maintain her power relative to all nations
or corn binations; for there can be little doubt that
since uncertainty as to the issue of war may beprobably is- an element in favour of embarking
upon onA, it follows t hat the certainty of our success must continue to bring to foreign nations
a patriotism tempered by reason, if not always a
calm judgment.
We are, therefore, entering into a contest which
will be waged by the financiers rather than by the
fighter. Power is the aim of all national ambition,
but it is a relative quantity. If each nation progresses at the same rate we shall ultimately only
maintain the same relative positions. The German
Emperor has said that with land and naval power
he hopes '' t o be enabled, with fum trust in the
guidance of God, to prove the trut h of the saying
of Frederick William I. : 'When one of this world
wants to decide something, the pen will not do it unless it is supported by the strength of the sword.' "
But a stronger sword may still prove an obstacle, and thus it comes to be all a question of resources. The contest we are entering upon is not of
our seeking, for our Admiralty has laid it down that
our naval expenditure is determined by tha.t of
foreign P owers. We need not be charged with
egotism because of this attit ude, our aim is tather
to assure foreign Powers that since our ambit ion is
to maintain the status quo in strength as well as
geographically and politically, the discontinuance
of the practice of adding annually to armaments
rests entirely with them.
Germany, notwithstanding this, has practically
decided t o double its Navy within t he next 16 years.
The proposn,l has passed the F ederal Council. This
will bring the n umbers to 40 battleships, 20 firstclass qruisers, with a large addition to smaller craft .
This means with docks, &c., an extra vote of 93
million sterling. An immediate increase on t he
yearly estimates of nearly 10 per cent . also brings
them up to 3, 700,000l. Thus Germany has decided
to raise at once her naval expendit ure from
3,400,000l. to 9,650,000l. per annum. The F rench
are even more ambitious, for in seven years they
propose to spend on new ships yet to be laid down
19 million sterling, and on the completion of ships
now in course of construction 9,400,000l., together
28i millions on new ships ; while harbours, submarine cables, and other immobile works bring the
total to over 36 millions. "\Vhen t his is added to
the expenditure on other uaval ser vices, we have
an annual expenditure of nearly 13 millions a year.
The new ships to be laid down include six
battleships, five armoured cruisers, 28 torpedo
destroyers (contre - torpilleurs), 112 torpedo -

190
b oats, and 26 submarine or submersible boats.
Russia has n ot yet embarked on a corresponding
program~e-not avowedly ; but apart altogether
from Bnhsh movements, she cannot b e quiescent
wit h Germany 's poRsible men ace of her position in
the Baltic, as well as in China, wher e also even
France is a. contestant, w bile both Germany and
France have even a gr eater stake than Britain in
the Mediterranean, with the Black Sea beyond.
Russi~'~ ordinary estima~e _for this year is nearly
11 milhon sterlmg. Bnta1n spends now 27 millions on her Navy, against France's proposal of
13 million s and German y's 9,650,000l., and thus
we have for four nations 61 million sterling. If
we include the expenditure on armies of t h e four
countr~es~ we hav~ f?r Russia 441 million sterling,
for Bnta1n 45 m1lhon, for Germany 41 million,
and France 42 million, in all 172 million sterling
for the four P owers. One of the French Government officials remarked in a report on his Govern m ent's estimates, "What a. disastrous weight for
modern civilisation ! , This takes no n eed of possible- almost inevitable- increases in Britain.
In t his war of war expenditure it is important to
inquire into the purchasing value of t h e outlay, for
it bears directly on the results of the contest. It
is scarcely desirable to enter minutely into details,
but it is easy to prove t hat on the h eaviest itemon t he munitions of war-we have a. gr eat advantage in the less cost of construction. Our latest
battleships, with all modern expensive equipment,
cost us, complete with guns, 71l. odd per ton of displacement, which is as fair a basis of comparison as
i t is possible to get. The battleships which the
French are now building, and those they propose
t o lay down, certainly n ot superior to our own
so far as the prospective design shows, cost 90l. to
95l. per ton displacement. Germany's earlier turret
ships cost 72l. , and Russia's n ew ships about 100l.
Taking armoured cruiser s, our Cressy class are to
cost about 64.l. 10s. per ton displacement, and the
cost of the corresponding ships of t he other
P owers exceed pretty much in the same prop ortion as with battleships.
The comparison
might b e continued to oth er classes, but it
may be taken generally that French ships are
about 30 per cent. costlier, and Russian ships
40 per cent. dearer, t han British ships of equal
power. In other words, for the money voted for a
battleship for France or .Russia, we can build a
5000-ton cruiser also; or we can build four battleships for France's three, all being equal, and six for
Russia's four. If we spend the same as both
nations togeth er, we get ten for their seven ships.
This, h owever, is a condition which time, with its
experience, is nullifying, although perhaps slowly,
so we must continue to spend more, even if we get
mor e for our mon ey.
The next question which arises has reference to
the ability to bear the burden-a most material
consideration, for Micawber's philosophy of household economy an d the relation of income to expenditure is as operative with nations as with oth ers.
France has admittedly a difficulty in making her
revenue at the present ti me k eep up wit h her oxpen diture, and the new naval programme has been promised without an increase in taxation. It is, to say
the least, difficult to understand how t his promise is
to be fulfilled ; but Britain can afford to view with
complacency the prospect of progress in the construction of French ships being delayed, owing to the absence of r evenue. We have had experience ourselves
of this- France'd besetting sin t o-day-because ere
yet our politicians were aroused to t he full value
of supremacy at sea, t his was mo~e or less. a. chronic
condition here. That, h owever, 1s long since past.
France as well as Germany, has recognised that
there is at least the prospect of con tinuity of
policy if a large addition is ~uth?rised a~ one t ime ;
but continuity of constructwn 1s not hkely to be
insured, unless there is at on ce adequate allowance of money. Sea power costs money. Our
taxpayers now fully r ecognise this, and are ready
to back the bill. It r emains to be seen how far
the Frenchman the German , and the Russian will
accept the sam~ truth. In t h is financi_al struggle
it is w~ll to consider the weapons avatlable- the
countries' resources, as measured by their commerce, their producing capacity, t heir we~lth, _and
their debts. Space forbids a~ excur~10n 1nto
minut..-e even if such were desnable ; but r ecognised staticians have r educed the fact s t_o simple
comparative units, which for roost practiCal purposes are accepted b all.
.
Britain profits by 1ts preponderating share of t he

E N G I N E E R I N G.
world's commerce, 22 per cent. falling t o her lot.
Germany has just half this portion- 10. 9; France,
9.2; and Russia, 3.5 per cent. Britain's trade
turnover, for eign imports and exports, are also
about double those of Germany, and enormously
exceed the other two competitors in this war expenditure game. Germany stands most favourably as
to her total debt, but Great Britain excels in
material wealth. The figures last available for
comparison with all countries are those of 1896,
and t hen Britain's national wealt h- first among
the nations - was equal to 290l. per capita,
France's 242l., and Germany's 150l.
When
we turn to the debit side of the ledger, France's
position is greatly affected, as her debt is
mor e t han double that of Britain's, con stituting
12 per cent. of her wealt h, against 5 per cent.
~n our case.
In other words, Britain pays
Interest to the extent of Ss. per capita; while if
she had France's debt, she wo uld have to find 20s.
from each inhabitant, great and small. Taking
t h e population of Britain at 40 millions, this difference in debt alon e should enable us to spend
24 million sterling on our Nayy with out exceeding
the average burden in Frarfee. This fact alone
should be reassuring. The French Government
official whom we have already quoted has stated
that <'the burden is heaviest on F rance, which has
not the populat ion of Germany or Russia, nor the
wealth of England, but has an unparalleled debt
bequeathed by t he blunders of former Governments. " As compar ed with Germany, our position
is not so pronouncedly favourable ; but wit h a
national wealth, after allowing for debt, of 11,170
million sterling, as compared with 7937 million
sterling, we can better afford to enter upon this
n ew contest with equanimity. The Government,
t hus forced by competitors, can easily play the
game.

THE LEGAL A'PECT OF CONTRACTS

BY TENDER.
I N a r ecent number we dealt with "The L owest
T ender," as viewed from the standpoint of the engineering contractor. B earing in mind t hat ther e
is n o more hateful phrase to the contractor t han
"the lowest tender, " it may be of interest to inquire
how far he is bound by his tender, and what is mor e
important, how far the acceptance of an offer is
binding upon the corporation or other body which
requires its work to be done in this manner.
There does not appear to be any implied term
in the offer usually made for tenders that the
lowest tender will n ecessarily be accepted, unless a
custom of the t rade t o that effect can be proved.
Thus in the case of Spencer v. Harding (39 L .J.,
C.P., 332; IJ.R., 5 C.P., 561 ; 23 L.T., 237 ; 19,
W.R., 48] the defendants issued a circular in which
they stated that they had been instructed to offer to
the wholesale trade for sale by tender the stock-int rade of E. and Co., amounting as per stock-book
to 2503l. 13s. 1d., which would be sold at a discount in one lot. They also stated in t he circular
t he day and the hour when the tender s would be
r eceived and open ed at their offices. The plaintiffs made a tender, which t hey alleged was the
highest. In an action against t he defendants for
not accepting such tender : H eld, t hat the circular
was only an invitation for offers, and t hat t here
was no implied undertaking by t he defendants to
accept any tender at all.
Although, as a general rule, the advertisers expressly state that t hey do not bind themselves to
accept t h e lowest or any tender, yet in the absence
of a term to that effect t h ey may be bound to do so
by t he custom of t he trade. Thus in the case of
P auling v. Pontifex [1 W . R . 64] t he plaintiff sent
to the defendants' agent a tender for the execution
of certain buildings. I t was held that t he Judge
was right in concluding, upon the evidence before
him, that, according to t he custom in t he trade, t he
plaintiff's being the lowest tender, had been
accepted, al though their agent had no absolute
authority to accept the lowest.
The following method is sometimes adop ted by
contractors who are anxious to procure the contracts at any cost. They send in a tender offering
t o accept 200l less than that submitted by the
lowest of their rivals. I s s uch a tender legal '? In
a recent case, e.g., the South Het ton Coal Company, Limited, v. t he Haswell, Shotton, and
Easington Coal and Coke Company, Limited (1898,
14 T .L R., 277], the principle involved came before
the Court for determination. In that case the

[FEB. 9,

I 900.

defendant company agreed by their liquidator to

accept '' the highest net money tender they
should r eceive (all other things beino- equal) from
one of two rival purchasers, for t he r~yalties'accru
ing in r espect of certain collieries." One of the
p~rti~s, a Mr. Barwick, offered 31,000l., while
his nvals, Messrs. Dees and Thompson, acting on
behalf of t he present plaintiffs, offered "such a
sum as will exceed by 200l. the amount to-day
offered for t hem by the other p roposing purchaser.,
The offer made by Mr. Barwick having been accepted, t he plaintiffs brought an action for specific
performance on t he ground t hat t heir 's was the
highest tender. In giving j udgment for the defendants, Lindley, M. R ., said : " The plaintiffs' offer
is illusory. It does not ans wer t o t he description
of the highest money tender either in the business
sense or in t h e legal sense of the words. To hold
t hat t he plaintiffs' offer answered that description
would be to encourage t rickery and chicanery. It
would be opening the door to t he grossest fraud,
n ot only towards purchasers, but towards vendors
also." From t his we may reasonably infer that a
contractor who endeavoured to secure an order by
offeri ng to undertake a piece of work for a sum
less than that named by any of his rivals would
meet with short shrift in a court of justice.
Where there is an express undertaking that tho
lowest tender will be accepted, or where there is an
implied term to that effect, it becomes important
to consider the '' offer and acceptance." And, in
the first place, it should be observed t hat an offer
may be r etracted at any time before it is accepted.
Thus, where the defendant offered to purchase a
house from t he plaintiff, and to give him six
weeks for a definite answer, it was decided that
the offer might be retracted at any time before
the expiration of t he period. [Routledge v. Grant,
4 Bin g., 653. J
In t he case of Croshaw v. Pritchard and
R enwick, w hi eh was decided by Mr. Justice
Bigham on November 20, his lordship laid it
dow n that an offer is no less binding because in
the form of an estimate, and headed " Estimate."
The facts in that case were that the plaintiff invited
tenders for the making of additions to certain buildings, not binding himself to accept the lowest or any
tender. The defendants sent in their estimate in the
following terms '' Our estimate to carry the sund ry
alterations to the above premises according to the
drawings and specifications amounts to the sum
of 1230l." At a. later date finding that they had
made a mistake in t heir figures, they withdrew
their estimate. Upon this the plaintiff had the
work don e by another builder, and sued for breach
of contract. In spite of t he defendants' contention
that they had used t he word "estimate, advisedly,
in order to prevent t hemselves being bound, judgment was given for t he plaintiff.
The offer, however, remains open until the ot~er
party has received notice of its retractatwn
(Stevenson v. McLean, 5 Q.B.D., 346], and the
letter containing such retractation must be received
before a letter accepting an offer has been posted
[Byrne t \ Van Tienhoven, 5 C. P.D., 344]. .For
t he acceptance of an offer is deemed to be received
as soon as it is posted [H ousehoid Fire Insurance
Company v. Grant, 4 Ex. D., 216].
As to what constitutes posting, it is quite s~f
ficient to drop the letter in the letter-box; reg~
tration is not necessary . In a recent case (Captam
J ones, "Weekly Notes, " November 24, 1899), ~
Cozen s-H ardy held that it is not sufficient to g1re
a letter to a postman in t he Metropolis, where the
rules forbid him from posting letters. Such a
rule apparently exists in the Metropolis, but not
in t he country districts.
Applying t he above principles to contracts by
tender, we see t hat advertisers who solicit tenders
may withdraw from t heir offer at any time before
t he expiration of the time limit, and evf:'n then
t hey are not bound to accept t he lowest unless
bound by a stipulat ion to that effect, and w~ere
they invite tenders without making any such stipulation, a party making a tender may withdraw the
same at any time before it is accepted by t he corporation or other ad vert is er .
A tender and acceptance may amount to a
contract, alt hough the acceptance refers to a
formal contract to be drawn up afterwards.
I'hus where a defendant sent in a tender to do
work' for the plaintiff, and the plaintiff's agent
replied accepting the tender, adding, ''The cont ract will be prepar0d by and by." It was held
that the tender and acceptance formed a complete

FEB.

9,

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

goo.]

contract. [Lewis v. Brass, 3 Q.B., D . 667; 37

L.T., 738; 26 W.R., 152.]
.
The guardians of the poor at Ktngston-uponHull, with a view to obtainin.g tenders for m.eat
for the use of the workhouse, Issued an ad verttsement statina that they would receive tenders for
the s~pply of the workhouse with meat for three
months from 30 to 50 stone, more or less per week
(describing the kind of meat); that seale~ tenders
were to be sent to the clerk of the guardians, and
that all cO?ttractors wo'l.dd have to sign a w~tten contract ajte? the acceptance of the tender. The defendant wrote to the guardians to say that he proposed
to supply the workhouse wi~h meat, according to
advertisement, for the ensumg three months, at
6d. per pound. This tender was accepted, an~ the
defendant was informed that he was appointed
butcher but immediately afterwards he wrote to
the guardians to say that he declined the appointment. It was decided, that as a written contract
should have been executed, the acceptance of the
tender did not form a binding contract, so as to
render the defendant liable for refusing to supply
the workhouse with meat in accordance with his
tender. (Kingston-upon-Hull (Governors, &c.) v.
Petch, 10 Ex. 611, 24 L.J., Ex. 23.]
Not only should the contractor who deals with a
.company or corpor~ti~n be careful to .do ~o under
their seal, but it IS Important for hun, In some
cases, to have a contract drawn up of a more formal
nature than a mere tender and acceptance. The
following case is a striking illustration of this :
A contractor sent in a tender to a rail way company for the exec~tion o~ part of ~he works eitl~er
with a double or smgle lme of rails. He was Informed that his tender was accepted ; and that
intimation was confirmed by the directors, upon
. his attendance at one of their board meetings, but
no document accepting the tender was executed by
the company in such a manner as to be binding at
law; nor was any conclusion ever come to whether
there should be a single or a double line. The railway was afterwards abandoned, and the contractor
then filed a bill, seeking to have a binding effect
on the company, or to recover from them the loss
which he had sustained in preparing for the works.
It was decided that an allegation that the company
had money in their hands for the purpose of paying
the plaintiff was not sufficient to enable him to
succeed in his action [J ackson v. North Wales
Railway 1 H. and Tw. 75; 6 Ra.ilw. Cas. 112;
18 L.J., Oh. 91; 13 J ur. 69.]
For their own protection contractors sometimes
find it convenient to agree together not to tender,
or for one to tender and the remainder to share
profits. Is such an agreement legal ? This appears
to be answered by the following cases. Thus
tenders for the supply of stone were invited by a
corporation. Four neighbouring quarry owners
entered into an agreement to supply the stone in
certain proportions inte? se, and that the plaintiffs
should make the lowest tender to the corporation.
The plaintiff~ entered into contracts with the other
quarry owners to purchase the proportion of stone
agreed upon from each. Notwithstanding the
agreement, one of the quarry owners sent in a
tender, which was accepted by the corporation.
The plaintiffs then filed a bill for an injunction to
restrain the defendants from supplying the stone
during 1875. It was held that the agreement was
not void either as against public policy or for want
of equity. [Jones v. North, 44 L.J., Oh. 388,
L.R., 19 Eq. 426; 32 L.T., 149.] An agreement
not to tender for the supply of a particular commodity appears to extend beyond the contract,
which is within the immediate contemplation of
the parties. Thus two dealers A and B agreed not
to te~der in competition with each other for gas
tar, m pursuance of which A sent in a nominal
Subsetender, and B secured the contract.
quently, when fresh advertisements were issued,
A s~nt in a tender which was not accepted, and B
agam tendered without having communicated with
A, ~nd retained the proceeds for himself. It was
decided that he was liable to pay da.magos for
breach of contract (Metcalf v. Bouck, 25 L.T., 539.]

PNEUMATIC ENGINEERING.

Tu~ revival of interest in pneumatically operatecl

machtnery has been a marked feature of tho last

few Y~.rs. Side by side with the development of
electriCity as a han.dy means of transmitting energy,
we ~ave seen ar1se a very considerable and increasmg use of compressed air for the same pur-

pose. Pneumatic engineering underwent a considerable development in the first half of the
nineteenth century, and the practice now often
advocated of driving heavy machine tools by independent motors in place of by line shafting, was
anticipated in the workshops of Messrs. Boulton
and Watt by a fairly complete installation of small
vacuum motors. It is interesting to note that most
of the earlier workers in pneumatic engineering
appeared to have a preference for vacuum rather
than pressure plant, though the latter would
permit of the adoption of much lighter and
more compact designs. 'J.lhis may have been
due to the lack of experience in the making
of good joints; but, be t his as it may, the preference noted cannot be disputed. Even the atmospheric railway, on which enterprising but badlyadvised directors and shareholders wasted so much
money, was operated by suction, though this required the use of a very large tube for the piston
to travel in. On the other hand, of course the low
pressure tended to reduce the leakage losses, which,
even as matters stood, proved excessive, the power
actually needed being -about 2! times as much as
the engineer's estimate. Incidentally, the fact
that these lines could be operated at all, is a
testimony to the excellent work turned out by
the early founders. It seems that t he pipes were
not bored, and it would, therefore, have been
natural to expect very rapid wear of t he piston
packings and very considerable leakage past them.
From the testimony of passengers, it is clear
that the system had certain advantages, the motion
being exceedingly smooth, and unaccompanied by
noise, cinders, or dirt. The sole reason of its failure
lay in the difficulty of securing a tight joint over
the slot which admitted of connection between the
moving piston and the train, and, deprived of this
feature, the system has, as every one knows, proved
remarkA.bly successful in the case of the small dispatch tubes adopted in London, Paris, and Berlin for
transmittingtelegraph messages between central and
sub-stations. .An attempt to conduct operations on a
larger scale failed. The tunnel constructed for this
purpose between Euston and the General Post Office,
which measured 4 ft. by 4 ft. 6 in., built in
the early sixties, failed, it is true, to meet expectations, the leakage proving much greater than anticipated ; but with some important modifications,
this plan of transmitting mails has recently been
most successfully adopted in the United States.
The first tube for conveying mail matter was laid
down in Philadelphia in 1893. The tubes used are
6in. in diameter and the carriers are 18in. long, holding about 300 letters. It had been intended to use
wrought-iron tubes, but these proved totalJy unsuitable, and resource had to be had to cast-iron
spigot and socket pipes, which were bored to size
by special tools devised by Mr. B. C. Batcheller.
These improvised boring mills proved highly efficient, and by their aid 6000 ft. of tubing were bored
in the short space of six weeks. The boring was
effected by a cutter-head fitted with six tools, and
drawn-not pushed-through the pipe to be cut.
When the feed i~ thus ap~lied, the cutter-head
tends to follow a straight hne, and behind it was
guided by blocks of hard wood fitting the finished
size of the bore. The deviation fron1 the nominal
finished size did not exceed I~'O' in., which was immaterial for the purpose in view. A second cutterhead finished the socket central with the axis of the
bore. All bends were made of brass pipe bent to
a radius of 5 ft. The great weight of the carrier
and the high velocity at which it was moved, necessitated provision for stopping it without shocks at
the receiving end. This was accomplished by an
ingenious application of an air cushion. Th e plan
proved so successful that the Post Office authorities determined to employ a similar system at
New York, and here an 8-in. tube was adopted,
the carrier for which is 24 in. long by 7 in. in
diameter. It is surrounded by two bearing rings
of woven cotton fabric which take the wear, and
can easily be renewed. This, however, is only
necessary, after 4000 to 5000 miles have been
run, by which time the wear has reduced them to
! in. less in diameter than the tube.
Three circuits of tubes have been laid down in
New York, the most interesting of which is perhaps
that from the General Post Office to Postal
Station H, at Lexington-avenue, a distance of
3! miles away, there being four intermediate
stations en route. Great ingenuity has been expended in designing the receiving and transmitting
apparatus both at the terminal and at the inter-

mediate stations. The carriers are automa.tical~y

stopped at any intermediSJ.te statio!l ~y fixmg In
front of them a steel disc of a certam size. W~en
the carrier thus fitted approaches the . statiOn
desired this disc comes m contact mth two
electrodes extending into the tube and co~pletes a
circuit the current through which then brmgs the
receivi:Og gear into operation. This receiving gear
consists in the first place of a closed chamber
forming a prolongation of the main tube, and
acting as an air cushion. Into this ch~mber ~he
carrier is shot and brought to rest, the air pasSID;g
on to the line tube through a by-pass. Thts
chamber is mounted on a wheel, and should the
carrier be destined for another station this wheel
revolves through an angle of 90 deg., bringing
the carrier in line with a tube leading to the next
station. The carrier is then blown out into this
tube, and proceeds on its journey. If, on the other
hand, it is fitted with the proper contact disc, the
current is completed through an electromagnet,
which throws a stop into the motion of the wheel,
which is accordingly arrested, and the carrier discharged on to a table. The open ends of the tubes
are closed by the broad rim of the wheel as the
latter rotates. The speed at which the carriers run
is about 35 miles an hour, the pressure used, being,
when many carriers are in progress, as much as
17 lb. per square inch at the compressor end of the
tube. In spite of the rigidness of the joints, breaks
from settlement appear to have caused but little
trouble. When they occur the position of the fracture is located by measuring the time taken for the
report of a pistol t<> reach the point where the
carrier is obstructed by the break and to return,
this plan being identical in principle with that originally adopted for the small dispatch tubes in use in
this country.
Coming to the other fields, the revival of interest
in pneumatics has been equally remarkable. As an
agent for driving portable tools in the workshops,
electricity had the start of compressed air, but now
seems likely to be completely set aside for a very
large variety of tools. The pneumatic hammer,
now so highly appreciated by all progressive manufacturers, was introduced in the first instance for
stone cutting, and only slowly made its way into
metal-working shops. The earlier types suffered,
or perhaps we should say caused their users to
suffer, from excessive vibration, but this has been
greatly reduced in the more modern types. A
later application of the hammer, and one which
vromises to take a great development, is to riveting. No doubt there is a perfectly justifiable prejudice in favour of pressure riveting, particularly
when the machine used is fitted with a plSJ.te-closer ;
but in face of the millions of rivets which have
been closed by hand in our shipyards for years
past, it is impossible to maintain that good work
can~ot b~ accomplished by. percussion. The percussion riveters have an Immense advantage in
their light ness. A portable percussion riveter
suitable for closing ~-in. rivets, and having a gap
40 in. deep, weighs about 120 lb. A portable
hydraulic riveter of equal capacity would weigh
about ten times as much. Further, the low pressure at which the pneumatic tool is supplied is a
great advantage, as it simplifies considerably the
tas~ of co~necting the. riveter with the supply
mam. .Agatn, there bemg no absolute necessity
in the case of percussion riveting for the holder up
and hammer to be connected to the same frame
it is possible to drive rivets with the percussio~
tool, that would be absolutely inaccessible to a
pres~ure .riveter.
Another valuable workshop
appliance Is the pneumatic hoist, which is it would
see~1, a di~e.ct outcome of ~he W ~stingh?~se brake,
havmg originated, "!e ~~lieve, m a railway shop,
where the ready availability of Westinghouse compressors was a po:werful i~ce.ntive to the adoption
of compressed atr for lifting purposes. These
hoi~ts are remarkably handy, and the fact that,
unhke blocks and tackle, their use calls for no
P.hysi~al exertion leads to a considerable saving of
tune 1n the shops, as a machine minder is not
tempted to wait for the assistance of a labourer
before setting or removing a heavy piece of work.
Electricity will doubtless be largely employed in
the workshop of the future, but it will be in conjunction with and not to the exclusion of compressed air. For long distance transmission work
compressed air is likely to be entirely superseded
by its. rival, t~e success of the Popp plant notwithstanding. . No reasonable increaee in working
pressure w1ll enable the compressed air to corn

. E N G I N E E R I N G.
pete in t his field with th~ electric current where
any large power is to be transmitted. With high
pressures it would moreover be difficult both t o
prevent, and to correct, serious losses from leakage
on the transmission line, to which must also be
added the necessarily low efficiency of the plant at
the compressing station and of the motors a t the
points of distribution.

THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

THE LESSER FINE ART Bun..DING.
'VE have on several previous occasions spoken of
the two permanent buildings, now nearly completed
on the Champs Elysees, to receive the French and
foreign fine arts exhibits, and which are placed one
on each side of t he new avenue that extends fr om
the Champs Elysees to the Seine, where it is carried to t he other side of the river by the Alexand er III. Bridge, and so to the Esplanade des Invalides. It has grown to be a custom that some
permanent structure shall remain as a monument
of a great International Exhibition. Thus the Government buildings of South Kensington are the
outcome of the World's Fair of 1851 ; the Palais de
l'Industrie r emained until the other day as a souvenir of th e Paris Exhibition of 1856 ; the Champ
de Mars itself became established as an exhibition
site after that of 1867 ; the Trocadero and its beautiful grounds recall t he Exhibition of 1878 ; t he
Eiffel T ower and the Machinery Hall were the permanent monuments of 1889. In like manner, the
coming Exhibition, which it is intended shall surpass all its predecessors in extent, completeness,
and beauty, will have its enduring monuments : the
t wo Fine Art buildings, the new Avenue, and the
Alexander lii. Bridge. We think that leaving permanent buildings on a site, r elat ively r estricted
like the Champ de l\1ars, is open to serious objection, for they cannot fail to be in the way of subsequent exhibitions, the temporary structures of
which should undoubtedly be swept away after the
Exhibition is over. This, however, does not apply
to the Fine Art buildings, to which we propose to
devote some space in this article. They replace a
str ucture t hat had in every sense outlasted its age
and usefulness. They will serve still further to
adorn the most beautiful quarter of Paris ; and
their existence will far more than repay t he sacrifice made by the municipality in abandoning temporarily a part of the Champs Elysees to the E xhibition Administration. We regret that, for t he present, it is n ot p ossible for us to publish drawings
of the very extensive and admirably design ed steelwork which enters so largely into the construction
of both these buildings ; we hope to do this at a
later time, when t he contractors are less pressed
than t hey are at the present moment ; but we can
give a fairly complete idea of one of the structures
as well as of its general appearance and plan,
assisted by the illustrations on page 188.
This is the smaller, and certainly the most successful, architecturally speakin g, of the two palaces ;
it is also the simpler so far as constructive details are
concerned. The architect is M. Oh. Girault, and work
was commenced in September, 1897, since which
date it has been pressed on without interruption.
The contract for the masonry was entrusted to
M. Grousselle, who has adopted many ingenious
devices for the expeditious completion of the works.
Amongst others may b e mentioned the travelling
stage employed to raise and place in position the
long series of large stone urns t hat form a special
feature above the entablature of the fa9ade ; t hese
urns are built up in several parts united by gunmetal bolts and r ods. As will be seen by reference
to the general plan of t he two storeys, th.at we publish on page 188, the form of the .palace IS that of a
trapezoid, the long base of whiCh faces the new
avenue; projecting from this fa~ade .are the vestibule in th e centre with a dome over It, and at each
angle, a rectangular pav~ion; the roofs of these constitute a decorative motive. Parallel to the fa~de,
and between these pavilions and the dome, in the
centre are two long galleries, open by wide bays
to the 'colonnade in front. I t will be seen from the
plan t hat the front portion of the building includes
a double set of aalleries, one in the basement and
one on t he gr;und floor, which is 5 metres above
the floor level of the former. Under the central
vestibule is an elliptically-shaped roo~, with its
lonaer axis parallel to the fagade ; It measures
19.25 by 18 metres (63 ft. 2 in. b~ 59 ft: 6 in.).
The cement ceilina of this saloon IS carried by a
Iarae
hollow colu~n that will be utilised for the
b

[FEB. 9, I 900.

purposes of ventilation and warming ; the ceiling, Hghted by glass plates set in the floor of
which is flatly arch ed, is made with eight openings the promenade. The plan shows the positions
filled with glass panels. As this is th e only means of the various stairways communicating between
of natural lighting, it would seem that the uses for the ground floor and basement throughout the
exhibition purposes will be very limited. Access whole of the building. I t may be mentioned here
is gained by two stairways in the thickness of t he that the galleries in the sides of the Palace to which
walls, with t he vestibule on the. ground floor. This we have just been referring, have curved ceilings
latte1' is also elliptical in p lan and measures 19 by like those in the main galleries, and framed to the
20.50 metres (62 ft . by 67 ft.). The vestibule is roof trusses in the same manner ; as we have seen,
r eached through a wide arched en try 7. 25 metres however, t he lighting is from the roof, and large
(23ft. 9 in. span), and by a monumental stairway, openings ar e made in the ceiling for this purpose.
not visible in the illustration we publish, because I n the basement, at the back of the Palace, are two
it is masked by contractors' material, and the de- galleries, t he first, which is lighted direct by opencorative work of the entry, n ot yet in place. The ings giving on the exterior, is divided in its length
front of this entry is formed of three arches super- by four columns that support a wall on the higher
posed ; hollow bricks enter largely into the con- storey ; it communicates by openings with the adstruction of t hese arches, as well as in other parts joining gallery, which is 39 metres (128 ft.) long,
of the b uilding, to secure lightness ; in the case and terminates in two small hexagonal rooms.
of the arches, stability is increased by the intro- Below these two galleries are cellars in which are
duction of tie-rods that, of course, are n ot visible. installed the heating and ventilating apparatus.
The vestibule communicates with the galleries ad- The hexagonal chambers as well as the galleries are
joining the fagade by stairways, through arched r eached by stairways placed in flanking turrets,
openings 7 metres wide (23 ft. ), and by steps access the form and positions of which are shown in the
is obtained to t he central garden, which certainly illustrations. It should be mentioned that each
is one of the successful features of the design. stair way is in one piece, of cement reinforced with
F ollowing a system largely in vogue in Paris and expanded metal, and it is as it were hung to the
elsewhere, the dome over the vestibule has been girders of.the floor above. On mounting the stairs,
built without centring, the plan being to fix a t he visitor finds himself in one of the rotWldas
sufficient number of templates, and to lay the bricks that form a chief feature in the design of the rear
to these in rings, th e cement employed being of a fa~de ; t he domed roof is constructed in the same
very q uick-setting nature; in fact, it has to be used way as that over t he main vestibule, already dewith great rapidity. When the dome is closed up scribed ; a narrow promenade will be provided
in this way, it has sufficient strength to support its below the dome. From the rotundas the visitor
own weight, with a considerable margin of safety ; enters t he galleries that terminate in the central
if it is desired further to strengthen it , additional hall, which forms a second vestibule. There is
courses are laid. The finished structure is remark- much architectural decora.tion bestowed on the
ably light ; and in the case of the building we are exterior on this part of the fa~ade.
A few words have to be said about the semiconsidering, t he covering is made with two such
brick domes, s tiffened by iron tie-r ods and con- circular colonnade surrounding t.he central garden.
nected by brick piers. In t he centre an opening is The columns are of Vosges granite, and the style
of architecture is Tuscan. The columns are arranged
left for the lan tern in the dome.
Un der the main galleries on the ground floor are in pairs, the series being interrupted on the right
similar galleries in the basement, their considerable of the porticos, giving access to the interior galwidth being broken by a r ow of octagonal columns ; leries, and also by two entries surmounted by semithey are lighted, more or less successfully, by a row circ ular arches, These positions are shown on the
of windows. These galleries communicate not only plan.
Certainly M. Girault may be congratulated on
with the basement vestibule, but also with the pavilion at the angles, and with the semicircular pro- t he admirable design he has had the opportunity of
menade at the same level. The angle pavilions carrying out without restriction; a special interest
comprise each a low-level room lighted by four attaches to the work, from the fact that to no
large bays, in one of which is a door of egress. In small extent new materials enter into the interior
these rooms, as in many other parts, the ceilings construction and decoration . The exterior is of
are made in cement, reinforced with expanded stone; but wherever it has been possible to use
metal ; two isolated columns and four pilasters are cement, reinforced with expanded metal or its
introduced to carry the floor above. The corre- equivalent, this comparatively new combination
sponding rooms on the first floor ar e 19.50 by 20 has been employed. The extensive use of this
metres (64 ft. by 65 ft. 7 in. ) ; t he side forming material t hroughout the Exhibition will afford a
part of the fagade is curved, as will be seen on the very valuable experience to constructors. ' Ve
plan and p erspective view. These pavilions con- mus t defer till another occasion our description of
stitute a conspicuous feature of the faya.de, and it the larger of the two Fine Art buildings.
will be n oticed that they are decorated with balconies. The main galleries already referred to,
THE WORKING OF THE BOILER
and which adjoin t he pavilions, are 34 metres
EXPLOSIONS ACT .(111 ft. 6 in.) long, are lighted chiefly by windows
THE r epor t on t he working of the Boiler Ex~loin the fa9ade, and ~lso by aome other windows
looking upon the central garden. I t will be seen sions Acts, 1882 and 1890, during the year endmg
from the plan that they ar.e in communication with June 30, 1899, has been recently issued by the Board
the semicircular promenade, and with the rear of Trade. It states that 52 preliminary in.q uiries
galleries. In order to give an arched roof to these and 16 formal investigations were held durmg. the
main galleries, trusses, the outer members of which period r eferr ed to, and that, by the 68 explos1~ns
are polygonal, and the inner members curved, have thus dealt with, 36 pe1sons were killed a~d 67 mbeen adopted ; this not only works in with the form jured. The average number of persons k~led.per
of ceiling desired, but also lends itself easily to the year since the Act of 1882 came into operatwn lB.Mansard type of roof adopted for the exterior , and the report states-29.5, and t he average number m
which is clearly shown in t he engraving. The ceiling j ured 61.3, per year. The numbers for the year
is made by straining can vas over the curved inner 1898-9 are, therefore, somewhat high ; but as the
members of t he roof trusses, to which suitable period includes one of the most disastrou~ of the
frames are secured; by covering the canvas with explosions which have been investigated, VIZ., that
at Barking, which killed 10 and in jured 23 persons
plaster and rendering it with a smooth surface.
The main fa~ade is connected to two series of - they cannot be regarded as indicating any general
galleries on each side of t he trapezoid ; the inner of increase in neglect or mismanagement on the part
these is lighted from above by ample skylights on of steam users.
In 26 cases the boilers were under the inspecthe inner slope of t he roof ; these galleries are inclosed by the semicircular colonnade that forms the tion of public associations, or were in steamships
boundary of the inner garden. The outer row of certified by the Board of Trade surveyors, but m
galleries are, of course, enclosed by the lateral four of these cases the explosions were not due to
fagades, which are united by the short rear frontage, defects in the condition of the boilers.
As in previous years general deterioration, corthe arrangement of which is shown on the plan.
The same system of galleries is repeated in the base- rosion, and defective safety valves, &c., were the
ment of the lateral portions of the palace. The prevailing causes of boiler explosion8 ; and~ after
ligh ting will apparent ly leave much to be desired; these, defective design, workmanship, material, or
and it is difficult to see to what useful exhibition construction, or undue working pressure were the
. .
purposes these lower galleries can be put. Beneath most frequent causes.
The types of boilers from which explosions or~gi- .
t he semicir cular colonnaded promenade already
spoken of, there is a passage 5 metres wide, and nated dtuing the yeal' are given in the annexed list.

FEB.

g, rgoo.J

193

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

Explosions. unavoidable accident, and in one case only did they find
N
0
T
ES.
that no one was to blame. . . . Many safety valves are
Marine
...
. ..
. ..
. ..
...
15
PECULIAR STEAM CYLINDER EXPLOSION.
loaded
by
means
of
a.
spring
in
tension
or
compression,
V ertioal
. ..
. ..
.. .
...
...
15
A vERY peculiar explosion occurred la~t year on
the pressure being regulated by a screw. When the presLand (cylindrical, Cornish. Lancashire,
snre at which the valve is required to blow off is ascer- board a German warship under constructwn. One
7
...
&o. . ..
. ..
. ..
...
. ..
tained, the fit~ing of a washer or ferrule, to prevent any of t h e steam cylinders burst, the cov~r was blown
9

Locomotive . . .
...
...
. ..
further screwing up of the spring, affords a very simple off, and one man was killed. The cyhnder was ~ot
16
...
Steam pipes, stop valve chests, &c.
and inexpensive method of preventing the overloading of
6

~Iiscellaneous
...
.. .
. ..
the safety valve. Absence of this fitting has resulted under steam and had at that moment no connectiOn
in numerous ex plosions; the Courts have frequently with the b~iler, which was itself cold. But the
Total
. ..
.. .
.. .
...
68
pointed out the necessity for it, but, unfortunately, this Belleville boilers had been heated that day. The
The subjoined Table shows the causes of the ex- simple precaution is not generally adopted. In three of matter came in t he course of t he inquiry before
these cases the Court has called attentiOn to the matter. Dr. Mecke, a chemist of Stettin. The boiler tubes
plosions:
Explosion3. The case (Barking) dealt with in Report No. 1173 is one
uf the most disastrous explosions which has occnrred were zinked outside, whether by the h ot or by the
Deterioration or corrosion, safety valves,
within recent years, resulting in the loss of 10 lives, injury cold electrolytic process, is n ot stated. Some zi~c
28
&c., defecti_ve
.. .
... . .. . . ...
to 23 persons, and enormous damage to surround ing rO- had got into the inside of the tubes, and formed In
Defectivedestgn, workmansh1p, matenal,
perty, and the Court obser ved that properly quahfied several instances a fairly thick coating.
or construction, or undue working
Dr.
persons
were
nob appointed to manage the works; an ob
3l
pressure . ..
. ..
. ..
. ..
. ..
Mecke
believes
that
that
zinc
m
ay
have
melted
and
servation
which
was
emphasised
by
the
neglect
of
the
8
I~Znorance or neglecb of attendants
...
1
manager to see thab a washer or ferrule was placed under formed zinc oxide by decomposing the steam .
. ..
.. .
Miscellaneous
.. .
...
flach of the compressing nuts of the safety valves, in order S uperheating did appear possible in some portions
to prevent the nuts being screwed down so as to produce of t he tubes, so that the zinc might b ecome s uffi68
... ... .. . ...
Total
an improper load upon the safety valves.
ciently hot to melt.
An
analysis of the inner
Deaths and Injuries Caused by Boile1 Explosions.
The Court found that the explosion was due to the
coating of the boiler tubes in q uestion proved
safety
valves
having
been
screwed
down
to
a.
pressure
ex'
Personal Injuries.
ceeding 200 lb. per square inch by the neglect of the that most of the zinc had been oxidised. That
mechanic who was employed to adjust them, and they would leave the tubes charged with hydrogen,
NumbeT of
held the owners responsible for his neglect, and also for which would pass into the steam cylinder and
E
<plosions.
Ye~r.
Number of
neglecting to appoint properly qualified managers of their form an explosive mixture with t he air in the
Number of Perso<~s
Total.
Lives Lost.
works. . . . .
lo jured.
A ttempts were made to prove t hat
In eight cases the Court found that no proper measures cylinder.
3::\
68
were taken to insure that the boilers were periodically assumption in two ways; the one succeeded, the
35
45
1882-83
62
80
18
41
examined by competent P.ersons. In one case the explo- other failed. Another boiler, not used previously,
1883-8!
Hl2
62
40
43
188183
sion
of
one
of
these
bmlers
was
due
to
seam
rip:
in
was heated and the steam produced after a while,
ll2
7~
33
57
188586
another
a secondband boiler was purchase:! and put to when all air might be expected to have been ex44
68
2t
37
11!8687
work at a pressure somewhere between 60 lb. and 100 lb.
62
31
83
61
1887-88
pelled by d isplacement led to a condenser. The
per
square
inch,
with
the
crown
of
the
firebox
bulged
1H
79
33
67
1888-89
21
76
97
downwards and cracked; in three cases fireboxes were gas collecting in the condenser was then examined;
77

h8990
tll
32
93
72
189J-91
worn out ; in one case there was a leak in the firebox : it exploded violently.
On r epeating t he same
82
105
23
88
189192
in another the flue was worn out; and in another the experiment, no explosion ensued, probably because
37
57
20
72
189293
tubeplate was so weakened by corrosion and wear and all the zinc, which could cause decomposition of
M
78
2!
10-1
18939!
tear that the Field tubes became loose. All these defects
86
128
114
43
189!95
could readily have been discovered if the boilers bad been the steam and liberation of hydrogen, had been
48
78
~6
79
1895-96
oxidised during the first trial. A few kilogrammes
75
27
102
examined by competent persons.
80
1896 97
37
46
83
84
1897-98 I
In the observations annexed to the sixteenth report, I of powdered zinc were introduced into t he tubes;
67
103
36
68
189899
referred to examinations by persons holding themselves no explosive gas was observed, possibly because
out as competent to examine boilers, when they have t he loose zinc did not remain in the exposed parts
6U2
10!2
1644
1189
otnls ..

neither the training nor the experience necessary to enable
of the tubes. Engineers would be interested to
them to make such an examination.
Average of 17
29.6
61.3
90.8
69.9
. In three cases the Court dealt with the employment of know more about the Belleville boilers; but the
years

mcompetent persons. In one of them a person represent- Z eitsch1ijt jrur A?tgewandte Ohernie, from which we
The Table above gives the total number of explo- ing himself as an engineer gave advice as to the safe work- quote, does n ot offer any particulars.
pressure of a boiler, but upon examination in Court,
sions dealt with since the passing of the Acts, the ing
1
be admitted that he was unable to make the necessary
BASHFORTH
S CHRONOGRAPH EXPERIMENTS.
number of lives lost, and the number of persons calculations. In another case a boilermaker was engaged
Professor
Bashforth
was
certainly
unfortunate
in the purchase of a secondhand boiler ; he found one
injured.
The number of formal investigations held into with the crown of the firebox extensively pitted, but he, in the treatment he has received from artilthe circumstances attending boiler explosions which nevertheless, ad vised the purchaser that it was in good lerists at home and abroad. In the first inst~nce,
condition,
fit for a safe working pressure of from his investigations wer e hampered, and finally
occurred during the year ending June 30, 1899, 70 lb. to 80 and
lb. per square inch. The Court found that be entirely stopped, by obstinate officials, who,
was 16. They related to :
bad neither the training nor the experience necessary to after they could no longer deny the utility and
8 verbical boilers ;
enable him to examine a boiler, and to determine its safe
working pressure. In the third case a person, also holding importance of his results, attempted in the most
4 locomotive boilers ;
himself out as an engineer, failed to appreciate the danger shameful manner to transfer the credit of them
1 Cornish boiler ;
of
working
a boiler with a worn-out firebox at a pressure elsewhere. In the end, a new generation of better1 cylindrical egg-ended boiler;
of 25 lb. per square inch. In all these cases the parties educated officers coming into power, the War
1 marine boiler ;
we~e ord~red to contribute to the expense of the investiOffice
did,
after
some
years,
recognise
Mr.
Bash1 cylinder.
gatiOns.
As in previous years, several of the explosions have forth's work by means of a small honorarium.
The explosions resulted in the death of 23 persons,
been due to ignorance; but the Commi~ioners will not This, however, did not happen till the older officials
and 45 persons were injured.
this as an excuse for neglecting to take proper had managed to close Professor Bashforth's class
In twelve cases the Oourt found the owners to accept
measures to insure that a boiler is being worked under at Woolwich.
Of course in all this they were
blame; in two cases t hey were held responsible for safe conditions, and it may be useful to repeat their dethe neglect of their servants ; in one case a .firm of cision in this respeob, viz. : "That if a person for the "technically" right. However, some recompense
e~gineers who made the b?iler were held respon- purpo3e of his business chooses to use steam appliances was finally made to Professor Bashforth and so
sible for the neglect of their servant; and in three which, if neglected, become a source of very grave this grievance may b e considered closed: After
danger, not only to himself, but to others, he must in the wards, the g reat firm of Krupp, of Essen pubcases mcompetent
persons were held to blame.
event of an explosion, be taken to have known that it was
The following amounts were ordered to be paid b_is duty to ascertain tb_at they were kept in good condi- lish ed Tables founded mainly on Bashforth's' work
to~ards the costs and expenses of the investi- h on ; and further, that if be was not able to ascertain this without making the slightest reference to th~
gattons :
himself, it was his duty to have called in a competent priorit_y of the . latter. Further, they altered t he
pe.rs~n _from time to time to examine the boiler, to ascer- coefiiments wh1ch Bashforth had establish ed by
Cases.
tam 1f 1t was fit to be worked at the pressure required."
Ownera ...
.. . ...
careful and accurate experiment, with the result
...
...
10 m 3
... .. . ... ... .. .
20 , 3
lt
that t he times of flight, as calculated from the
,
...
..
... ... ...
40 , 2
arbitrarily changed, no l onger
SOUTH
AFRICAN
POSTS
AND TELEGRAPRY.- Therevenue constants thus
,
...
... .. . ... ...
50 , 1
of the Cape Posts and Telegraphs Department last year agreed with the observed facts. Bashforth's co...
...
...

...
60
1
was 440,412t., showing a decrease of 10,14ll. as com- e~cients, on the other hand, give this time of
...
... ... ... ... 100 ," 1
11
pared with 1898.
,
...
... ... ... ... 125 , 1
flight correctly ; but unless allowance is made for
Manufacturers ...
...
... ...
20 , 1
uNxws
OF
THE Wonto " ALMANAOK AND ENOYCLO- the ~act that t he axis of. the projectile does n ot
,,
,' ... ...
...
...
50 , 1
remmn
tangent
to
the
traJectory,
they
underestiPt'EDIA.-This.
well-known
weekly
journal
has
issued
an
Incompetent persons .. .
...
...
10 , 1
almanack whiCh ~hey are well justified in describing as a mate the range. Krupp's firm observed this but in
,
,
...
...
...
15
1
11
',
storehouse of varted and up-to-date information- historic place of c_arefully re-investig~ting the question, pre,
,
11
...
.. .
25 11 1
scieJ?ti6c, and political- which although intended pri: ferred to JUmp at t h e concl uswn t hat the resistances
mar1ly as a book of reference for the newspaper reader
Total costs ordered to be paid
...
625
has. features which make it a most interesting book t~ t? motion as determined by Bashforth were too high.
Analysing the report a little more closely we wh1le away an hour profitably. The tabular chronicle of ~hey reduced these, and published tables embodynot~ that out of the 68 explosions dealt with the world's history is instructive. The student of social mg t h e same as new and original discoveries
~urmg the year, only 25 were boiler explosions ~conomy. will. find much upon which to reflect in the never noting t h at an arbitrary change of thi~
mformat~on g1 ven throughout the book. There are one
~n the generally understood sense. The remain- or two _shps. The annual cost of the British Army and nature ~an only c?rrect th~ range at the expense
~ng explosions, though in many cases they were Navy 1s not a{}o~nately_ stated (pa_ge 145); the 1898 of alt~rmg t he t1me of flight, . which the original
W1th moderate rano-es
~m_portant, and caused loss of life and personal records of the Kau~er Wilhelm der Grosse are omitted, coeffiments gave correctly.
lDJury, were due to what may be termed minor although she has made the best speed of any ship (page t he angle between the tangent to the trajectory :nd
f~ilures, a~d to the bursting of valve chests, steam ~47); the death of Prince Alfred Alexander of Coburg, the axis of the projectile has little effect on the
IS not .recorded on pa~e 49. The date of the creation of
p1pes, dry1og cylinders, &c .
peers ~ .somewhat m1sleading; it should be the date of range, and Bashforth's original results then require
At t he end of the report, the following remarks the or1gm, not t~e da~ of the last Rtep-up. Thus the no correction for this.

are made by Mr. Waiter Murton, the solicitor to Duke of W~stmmster 1s recorded (page 58) as having
RussiAN IRoN INnusTn.Y.
the Board of Trade :
been created m 1874. That may have been the date of
the dukedom, but not of ~h~ peerage ib is one of the . In.the village of Bjelogorowska, in the Bachmut
!Jl no case has the Court attributed the explosipp to oldest,
'
d1str1et7 not very far from the Lissitschansk raillt

..

194
way station, important deposits of iron ore, containing 60 per cent. iron, have been discovered.
In the same neighbourhood a Belgium syndicate
has secured an estate containing or e and coal deposits. The iron ore deposits in the neighbourhood of Kertsch, on the peninsula. of Taurus, are,
no doubt, destined to form the foundation of the
future Taurian iron industry. The deposits in
question are very extensive, but the quality of the
ore appears to vary considerably ; the average,
however, is very fair, and it is quite worth working. The Ka.terle~s ore, which belongs to the same
district, is rich in m anganese. The somewhat
recently discovered iron ore deposits in the Livny
district, government of Orel, are hardly sufficiently
extensive to warrant rational working. Not only
are successful researches for iron ore carried on
in various parts of the Russian Empire ; but the
industrial exploitation of the mineral wealth is
keeping pace with the increased supply, or possibilities of supply, of raw material. It is more
especially French and Belgium enterprise and
capital which, more or l ess directly, are interested
in this movement. Amongst the more recent
undertakings may be mentioned the Compagnie
Houlliere Metallurgique et Industrielle de Lomovatka (Donez), which is intended to work the coal
ann ore deposits on the Ssabowka estate in the
Slawjanoserbsk district. This is a Belgian concern,
with a maximum capital of 10,000,000 francs. The
capital of the Nowo Pawlewka Company is
7,000,000 francs. A still larger Belgian company
is the Societe Miniere et Metallurgique de Tambow,
which boasts a capital of 16,000,000 francs, and
which is erecting iron w orks in the neighbourhood
of the t ow n of Lipezk, in the government of
Tambow. The natural conditions are good; there
is a river, the railway is not far distant, a nd t he
necessary or e deposits are available. A Russian
company, in which, however, French interests
appear to he represented, has been formed, under
the sty le of The Russian Company for Manufacture of Iron, Rolling Mills, and Mechanical Works ;
the capital of this company is 1,125,000 roubles,
and t heir concession d oes apparently not limit
t.hem to any distinct part of the empire for their
operations. Another recent company which has commenced operations is the Societe Metallurgique du
Sud Oural. A blast-furnace of large dimensions
has been built at the Kamenskoje works of the
Dnjeprowski Metallurgical Company; it is the sixth
blast-furnace built there, and its capacity is 600
tons per twenty-four hours. A number of mining
gentlemen and Moscow capitalists have formed a
company for the purpose of constructing a new
railway line from Moscow to 'oronesk, which is
m or e especially intended for the transport of coal
and ore. The same company will also direct its
attention to mining exploits in the Donez district.
IRON DEVELOPMENTS ON THE pACIFIC SLOPE.

The Eastern States of America. have sh own very

rapid d evelopment in recent years in t he manufacture of iron and ~teel. Developm ents on the other
s ide of the Continent have been retarded, though
by no means suppressed, by the inability to produce the raw material on the spot, and the necessity of obtaining it from the Eest. The Pacific
slope has , in fact, been peculiarly dependent ~pon
the Eastern for light and h eavy hardware, agncultural implements, rail way and. bridge material~ and
everything else composed mainly of steel or 1~on.
Retail dealers in Califon1ia, Oregon, and Washmgton have for long felt sore over this fact. Between
what they regarded as the exactions of t~e east
coast merchant and the heavy transportatwn tax
of the railroads, these traders thought themsel ves sadly oppressed.
Relief was not to be
had apparently from England.
Distance and
the tariff precluded hope from that quo.rte.r,
and though something in the way of ~rade w~s stlll
possible on better t erms than dealin.gs w1~h the
Pittsburg men its volume was relatively mconsiderable. What was required, in order to place
the Western men on a fair footing, was an abundant
s upply of iron ore on the western slopes of tl~e
Rocky Mountains. I t would appear t hat t h.ts
supply exis ts. At any rate, we learn no~ that 1n
sou t h-western Utah, not more than 300 miles from
Los Angeles a large body of ore has actually been
found. Fro:O all accounts, it is no~ ~o. free from
ph,osphorus as that obtained in th~ v1cm1ty of Lake
Superior ; but the percentage 1s reported to be
small. According to the I1on Age the ore can be
taken out 't'ery easily and cheaply. Coal t hat can

E N G I N E E R I N G.
be made into a good quality of coke, and the liruestone also needed for reducing the or e, are close at
hand. The existence of these deposits was known
months ago to energetic prospectors ; but d evelopment h as been d elayed by n egotiations between
the owners of valuable claims there, and th e Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, which wanted to work
the mines. A lease has now been effected by that
corporation, with a stipulation that from 160,000
to 180,000 tons shall be taken out yearly. The
Colorado folks need to construct only 90 miles of
road to complete connection with Pueblo, their
h eadquarter s ; and the Oregon Short line and Rio
Grande are already making extension s that will
pass much n earer to Iron Mountain. The vista
opened up to the prophetic vision of some of our
American friends by this discovery is sufficiently
attractive. '' Pittsburg, " one of them reminds us,
"was not built in a day. The iron and steel industry of the P acific coast must be developed gradually. Before it is well established the Nicaragua
Canal may be an accomplished fact. Freight rates
from one coast to the other would then be reduced,
no doubt. But the manifest advantage of having a.
s upply of raw material close at hand would n ot b e lost
altogether. I t would only be reduced. Utah may
become another Alabama, and brains, capital, and
enterprise would seize the opportunity afforded by
a supply of cheap iron to convert the metal into
scores of different articles that are demanded by
the p eople of that part of the country. The construction and operation of hundreds of factories on
or near t h e coast will certainly follow the successful production of iron in Utah. " One can accept
all this as r easonable or n ot, as one pleases ; but it
should be remembered that M ontana and Arizona,
which already furnish m ore copper than Michigan,
are nearer to the Pacific seaboard t~n to the
Atlantic; and if the former be furnished with cheap
iron also, considerable manufacturing developments
may b e expecteg.
NOTES FROM THE U NITED STATES.
PHILADELPHIA, J anua.ry 31.
THE rather general anticipation of a decline in
quotations in iron and steel has a very slim foundation
to stand upon when the conditions are thoroughly
un derstood. Trade journals are talking about the
coming decline in prices owing to the rapid increase
in p roductive capacity, but they overlook some conditions which they have not the facilities for penetrating.
Quotations in most lines are firm. The
only weakness is in plate iron, and that amounts
to about 2 dols. per ton. Steel billets ha.vP. deelined
1 dol. nominal, but buyers are unwilling to place large
orders at asking price~, looking for a further concession. Bessemer pig, basic iron , foundry iron, and
forge iron are all firm for desirable brands. Southern
furnaces are all sold up, and Northern furnaces prefer
to fill orders before accepting new ones. Quotations
for forge iron are 20 dols. to 21 dols., and No. 1
foundry 25 dols. to 25.50 dols. Reports from Pittsburg, Chicago, and St. Louis, and Birmingham all
show a strong pig-iron condition, and indicate prospects
of an increasing demand during the coming two months.
Bridge- builders have presented large requirements
during the past week, amounting to about 30,000 tons.
Inquiries show that bridge - builders' r equirements
for the coming seven days will amount to fully
30,000 tons more. Large orders are likely to be
placed for plate iron, and concessions have been established and the mills are anxious for business. Quota
tions for steel rails remain the same and inquiries
now floating around the market aggregat~ a
total of about 100,000 tons, of which one-third
is for export. The conditions of the iron and
steel trades at the outsta.rt of February are
very satisfactory and every indication points to
an enlarging demand, which will absorb the entire
output for the coming year. Manufacturers p refer to
execute some of the orders in hand before loading up
heavily for the last half of the year. Gold-mining
machinery demands are assuming large proportions.
A good many smelterq and facilities for conducting
gold-mining operations are to be taken care of during
the next two months, and tee industrial establishments concerned in the supplyiug of machinery for
these purposes expect to be very busily engaged during
the coming year.
GoLo.-The production of gold throughout the world
las t year is estimated at 15,175,180 oz., of the value of
62,663,094l. The corresponding output in 1898 was
13,988,787 oz., of the e:stima.ted value of 57,829, 556l. The
check experienced by South A frican production, in consequence of the Transvaal war, exerted accordingly little
influence upon the general output of gold throughout the
world in 1899.

[F El3. g,

1900.

THE V.lAR IN SOUTH AFRICA.

T o THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-The event of the week in connection with the
war has been Mr. Wyndha.m's speech in the House of
Qommons. The country is indignaut a.t the waste of
t1me and energy caused by the wrangle now proceeding
in Parliament on purely party lines. and very few people
appear to read the ~peeches on either side. Every one
agrees that great mistakes must have been made or we
should not be in so tight a corner at the present time;
but every one also agrees that war was inevitable, and,
this being conceded, the present political censors of
the Government are not the sort of people we should
select as the political directors of a. great war.
The presecution of the war to a successful termination
at an early date fills the cup of public interest, and the
precise words, or meaning, of each prominent politician,
whether in or out of office, during the past few months, or
years, do not at the moment attract the attention of any
except those who appear to place party before patriotism.
At the same time the public is anxious to know where
our proved military weakness really exists, and whether
the sweeping charges made in the PreEs against this or
that department of State have any solid foundation to
support them.
Mr. Wyndha.m, in an exceedingly able and earnest ad
dress which riveted the attention of the H ouse at the
time of its delivery, and comforted us a.ll when we
perused it on the following morning, not only defended
each department in turn very effectively-but almost
persuaded us that the Government acted in a way that
was perfectly reasonable and just at the time of each
action, and with due consideration of its environment.
.Almost has he persuaded us ; bot the Transvaal armament question still makes us reflect on the wisdom of our
rulers. He stated facts forming an ample defence of our
IntelJigence Department, wbich informed the Government in detail concerning the arms and eg,uipment and
ammunition and men of the two Repubhcs in South
Africa. Presumably this information was given periodi
cally, and therefore when the armaments commenced.
If so, how was it that our rulers allowed such armaments
to increase and accumulate without protest-without
"warnin'." Mr. Wyndham's explanation of the Go
vernment s "warning after warnmg " policy must be
rather alarming to men of affairs who know full well
that the efficiency of a warning varies inversely a.s its
recurrence. One warning should be ample in affairs of
State; a plurality indicates weakness.
When the object of the Tra.nsva.a.l armaments, the one
now attained, became evident, both from the quantity
and quality of the arms purchased and the formation of
forts around Pretoria, why was our Government silent ?
Why was the minor quest1on of the franchise put into the
front ? Mr. Kruger, if armed, could tyrannise over the
Uitlander, and exploit him. Mr. Kruger, if unarmed,
would have acted quite otherwise, and l:iave granted the
appeals for justice and for the equal rights of the white
peoples. The development of a. hostile military Power in
the midst of our South African colonies was not only
a menace to the freedom of the Uitlander in the
Transvaal, but to the freedom of every white man,
Dutch or E nglish, French or German, throughout
the whole of South Africa ; aye, and of the Portuguese
too, for bow long would Portugal retain its ~fri~n
possessions if the Afrika.nder band we.re ruling m
E ngland's stead? The armament questiOn was con
sequently master of the franchise and every other South
African question. Yet we haggled about the latter and
never protested about the former. This was the error.
Had we insisted on no more armament directly our Intelligence Department reported the commeoceme~b of
forts round Pretoria., and the purchase of heavy artillery
and numerous field guns, we should not only_ have
avoided war, but we should have found Mr. Kruger
most willing to meeb any reasonable demand~ conc~rmng
the rights and freedom of the Queen's subJects m the
Transvaal.
Nothing has occurred for a. long time which more
con vincingly proves that freedom and justice can only~
retained, as they have been woo, by the sword. But tL1s
is a very large subject, and however fascinating, w~ must
leave this dominating kop for the lesser hills below 1t, an~
examine detail. Mr. Wyndham's defence of the Intelli
gence Department referred, inter alia, to military ~aps,
and stated that the Transvaal is a very large mountamous,
and in many parts a waterless, country, which ~nse
quently could not easily be surveyed even under fnendly
auspices; also that a proper survey would not have been
tolerated by the Boars, which cannot be doubted. But
nobody has ~rumbled a.bout7 bad ma~s of the Transvaal.
The compla.10t has been that no rehable maps are to be
found of Natal. Apparently the northern triangle '!as
surveyed by officers just before the war i~ a. manner .allied
with the military reconnaissance, but thlS survey d1d not
extend so far south as to include the country between
the Tugela. and L adysmith; a fact which locates ~he_pro
ba.ble area. of the operations in N a. tal ~ believed _m London just prior to the war. Maps, whiCh are reha.ble as
far as they go, being of the utmost importance to generals
in the field, it is curious that the whole of Natal was nob
surveyed by military experts during the years 18~8-9,
when the Government must have foreseen that war IDighb
be declared at any moment.
On the other hand, the manner in which the maps
issued by our Intelligence Department have b~en hammered especially by correspondents to the Ttrnes, h83
gone beyond the limit~ of fair trea.tme.n t, as the Del'artmentis unable to reply m the same pubhc man.ner. 1:h~
a. letter was published in the Tilmes, wherem a cer~lD
"Man in the Street" discovered that on the La.dysm1th
map, either the repr~entati ve f~action was erroneonsly
given, or the ecllle- lln, to 2 mtles-was wrong. As a

FEn. 9,

900.]

fact, the representative fraction was w~on_gly stated; ~ut

the map scale and its above descr1P.t10n were qu_1te
correct. The printing on any map of 1ts representative
fraction is a mere fad, and not understood by 99 per cent.
of the people who use it; and the odd man per cent., w~o
does comprehend it is himself quite able to calculate It
in about 20 or 30 se~onds of time. He w~uld only_ do so
if he wished to convert the scale from miles and mches
into, say, kilometres and millimetres . . a process only
likely to be attempted by some foreigner, perhaps a. foe.
~regards our own land forces, ~Ir. Wyndham clearly
demonstrated that the present Government has done far
more than many of its J>redec~ors in raising the. ~ffi
ciency of the Army and m tacklmg the gren.t recrmtmg
question.
As a nation of freeborn islanders, protected by the
most powerful fleet in the world, we have deliberately
and annually refu~ed to tolerate enforc~d service of any
kind whatever. Our land forces, a nd, mdeed, our naval
forces also, have, therefore, to be caref~lly nur3ed. The
spirit of adventure ~nd the ~ove. of e~ettement enables us
to recruit without d1fficulty m t1mes hke the present; and
the fac~ that men also volunteer for the Army and Navy
in the humdrum periods of peace, speaks well for the
treatment they now receive in the service3.
Mr. Wyndham hints at matters of imp<?rtant reo~gan~
sa.tion in t he near future, so the recru1tmg question IS
likely to b~come a. topic of earnest discussion before long.
The defence of the Government's inaction last autumn
made by t he Under-Secretary of War was very clever,
and we doubtless, suffer under certain disadvantages
from th~ dispersion of our possessions, which exist in so
many differing climates and CO?ditio?S H-enc~ it is impossible for our Commander-m-Chief t o act m a. V on
Moltke-like manner when war in any one place is declared
suddenly by an enterprising foe: as the t ransport adapted
for the site of opera.t10ns has first to be organisP.d, and
this takes time.
Possibly the campaign \V~ duly arra.m~ed on paper,
and described and docketed by our Commander-in-Chief
at the War Office. If so it was upset by t.hA foe, and we
are never likely to bear much about it ; although in its
broadest lines it is believed to have consisted in an
advance in force from Cape Town via Bloemfontein to
Pretoria.-the enemy being contained to the north of
Natal.
Hints and rumoura have not been wanting of late to
the effect thab the Orange Free Staters are sick of the
war and desire peace on their own accounb, irrespective
of their allies in the Transvaal; but President Steyn
stops the way. An enthusiastic visionary, he is even
more dangerous than the poli tica.l schemer who rules at
Pretoria. In any case, we should be foolish to make
terms with the Free Staters, except on the basis of their
perpetual disarmament, and of the free passage through
thetr country for our troops a.t any time, and especially
the present time.
By perpetual disarmament-! mean no forts, no artillery, no Maxims, Nordenfeldts, or other form of quickfiring arms, except the magazine rifle, which you cannot
bar in such a country. In addition, we should stipulate
for equal tights for all white settlers, including, of course,
the possession of rifles; a local parliament and ministry ;
a British resident (to guard the rights of the Uitlanders);
the "open door" ; and a commercial treaty. Voila! When
we arrange with Mr. Kruger something more will be
required, as the Transvaal is a wealthy country, whereas
the Free State is a. very poor one.
Yours faithfully,
February 4, 1900.
FIELD 0l!'FIOER IN '84.

SHEFFIELD AND THE WAR.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sm,-Sheffield is a. go-ahead place, and its p eoP.le have
a. strong ambition to sliine in all ther attempt. Ltke most
Englishmen, they are now bitten With the war fever, and
many of the " blades" wish to go to the front-all praise
to them!
. The Sh~ffie~d Voluntee~ Artillery is a. crack corps, and
1ts enthusu~stlc commandmg officer, Lieutenant-Colonel
C. Alien, has been trying his best to persuade the War
Department to send a. Sheffield battery to the front. He
has not succeeded; the local press is most indignant, and
those mos~ concerned are disappointed. I heartily
~ondole wtth them, and regret thab the authorities
!n ~all Mall have been unable to meet their wishes.
1nspued as they are by patriotic motives. The history of the matter is as follows : Lieut.-Colonel Alien
on behalf of his officers and men, was amongst the first
to offer their services to the Government, and subsequently when the Government decided to employ Volunteers at the front, Colonel Alien repeated his offer
(December 28, 1899) "to mobilise a.t once a complete
battery (officers and men) of position artillery from the
270. men u~def, his command who have volunteered for
actt ve servtce. He also offered to provide at his own
expense a battery of four of the most modern guns . . .
at .a co~t <?f 4000t. "They would be 4. 7-in. type, or some
thmg stmllar, on travelling carriages . . . The War Office
to complete the scheme by providing an ample supply
of the best Lyddite ammunition." On January 6 the
Secretary of State for War and the Commander-in-Chief
expressed their " appreciation of the spirit in which
~hese offers were made;" but added that "nothing further
ts at present required from the volunteers beyond what
has appeared in the Special Army Order of J a.nuary 2
19p0." Ho~ever, on January 25, a further letter was re:
cetved by Lteut .. Colonel Alien, in which the Secretary
of State for y:l a.~ accepted the offer " provided the guns
are fort~comtng . . . an~ "appreciated the spirit displayed tn the generous g1ft. . . . Capitation at the
rate of 9l. per man would be granted to cover cost of

195

E N G I N E E R I N G.
clothing, equipment>, &c." Unfortunately, the offer
made said nothin2' about equipment, the cost of which
would run into A. large amount ; and that, more unfortunately, the Government had during the interval
between the offer llnd its acceptance, placed an embargo
upon all guns which could be manufactured by private
firms in England- and Lieut. -Colonel Alien finding himself no longor in a. position to carry out his original offer,
and '' most reluctantly was compelled to abandon the
scheme by virtue of circumstances over which he had no
control. "
It a.fpeara that the guns were promised to Lieut.Colone Allen by the Elswiok firm, and were S~ctually
being manufactured for a foreign man-of-war, and General
H enry Brackenbury was asked to remove the embargo in
this special interest, but without effect.
A good deal of local feeling has been roused by this
matter, but I think it is scarcely directed to the right
objects.
It is nob the refusal of the generous offer of Lieut:. Colonel Allen to which exception can be taken, but the dissimulation displayed in fina.lJy accepting ib, when it was
known the guns could not be obtained. The Government
had laid its hands on every gun in the manufacturers' shops,
and the War Office must have known that fact. Pressure
was brought to bear upon it in several ways, and instead of
stiffening its back, and saying boldly that it had determined to employ only the regular artillery, it made a.
show of yielding with the full knowledge that its complaisance was entirely illusory. Of course this is only
one more evidence of the wave of panic which has passed
over the War Office. It has treated the volunteers as
the lady trea ted her lover : ''First she would and then
she wouldn't."
An appeal was made to the country
for help, and then other counsels prevailed. It then became a diffi cult matter to repress the patriotism which
bad been evoked, but it is being done fairly effectually
in other places besides Sheffield.
The unfortunate severance of the Field from the Garrison Artillery, which has taken effect in our ancient
regiment of Royal Artillery, practically sto~s our garrison
gunners (regulars) from the chance of seemg active service except during a great maritime war; and e ven then
their chances would be very remote so long as our Navy
holds the command on the sea. The rare eKceptions are,
firstly, caused by the p osition artillery in the field;
and secondly, by the employment of mountain batteries,
which very curiously aad illogically have been embodied
in the Garrison Artillery list. I say illogically with some
reason, for surely if any battery be a field battery pure
and simple, it is a mountain battery. But let this pa~,
and returnin~ to the subject, I think that Lieut.-Colonel
C. Alien, wlll, on consideration, acknowledge that if
guns of position are to be employed in future on active
operations in the field, it would be most unfair to
the regulars that volunteers should be allowed to take
their place at the front. Active service is the trade, the
'l'ai son d'et?e of a regular; but the same cannot be said
of a volunteer, however good, however efficient!. Moreover, a general in the field would naturally prefer regula rs
to volunteers, if only because they are more disciplined,
and more accustomed t o the ways and manners of the

service.
The present war in South Africa has demonstrated in
a most conclusive manner that guns of p osition are extremely useful, both for defence and attack. Consequently their employment in field operations will be
resuscitated. Position guns had rather gone out of
fashion, but the officers and men of Her Majesty's Royal
Garrison Artillery may in future hope by their means to
occasionally be employed on active service.
It would be a most unrigbteous thing for the Government to send volunteers in place of regulars, for any such
unworthy reason as to catch votes, or to save money.
The Militia and the Yeomanry, and the Volunteers, form
Auxiliary F orces.
The Yorkshira press of the West Riding seems to have
rather lost sight of these broad truths.
Youra truly,

G. A.
A~IERICAN

COMPETITION.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

SrR,-In your issne of the 2ad inst. I have read another
letter from "A Practical Exporter," I therefore ask you
to favour me with a little space. I will not go into the
whole of his letter as he mtroduces so much vorbiage,
apparently to hide his lack of practical knowledge of the
suoject on which he writes. According to "A Practical
Exporter" there are shops where the usual "rule-ofthumb methods hold sway," and by the wording they
seem to be common ; it also appears to be a common case
for mana~ers to be uneducated and unintelligent, as he
makes ~his an especial requirement in the suppositious
case he quotes. Will '' A Pra{ltical Exporter" come
down from his lofty eminence and tell what shops in this
country he is acquainted with where the managers are
uneducated and unintelligent, also what workmen used
those mutterings which he has attributed to them; and
where the usual rule-of-thumb hold sway?
It is a greab concession for '' A Practical Exporter" to
make thab there was one good workman. Watt Rennie
Naysmith and others took raw and ignora nt ~orkme~
~nd made mechanics of them. ''A Practical Exporter"
1s apparently under the impression that they had only
to just be shown how to do their work and behold
they became mechanics, like Moses s h:iking' the rook ; be
says N aysmith took labourers and rai3ed them to the class
o.f mechanics/and was perfectly satisfied with the productive results, &c. Now, Sir, seeing this was in the days of
band-work, there is little wonder that trouble ensued
the ~arn is a "little too thi!l, even for me." It may b~
posstble there were some oucumstances which to one of

the "Practical Exporter's" knowledge of the ma:tter may

appear to bear out his translation, but to a practical man,
why, Sir, "bosh" is an apt conclusion.
If he reads my remark correctly re developing Continents, he will find no words, to the effect that
it is of no consequence that the Y a.nkees had a.
Continent to develo~. What I wrote was "that be
was apparently oblivious of the fact that this . countr.r,
had developed the eqwl of two or three Continents;
he asks where a re they ? Well, Sir, if he looks on the
map of the World he will have no difficulty in finding
them. In our early ad va.nce in industry who helped us ?
In that time we not only developed the equal of Continents, but also to a. considerable extent supplied others
with the means of developing their Continents, America.
included, notwithstanding our English idiosyncrasies.
Intellect and intelligence being such a. negative quantity, as he depicts, he says American conditions
are rapidly becomiog similar to those here. W ell,
he need not fe!l.r American competition. Englishmen
are as keenly alive to the necessities of the case
as he can wish them to be, only, unlike the Americans
and Germans, they are not continually blowing about it.
R e the superiority of the American workman's inventiveness, the ''Practical Exporter" now writes that his
statement was that common workmen in America. overcome the difficulties ; I read his sta.tement to be that they
are assisted commonly, which is a very different thing,
besides the vastly reduced patent fees there. He credits
the Germans also with the same advantae-e over us and
credits the Americans with greater inventive powe~ and
tempera nce, yet he sayR that the Germans and Irish drink
consid~rable quantities. Has he any practical acquaintance Wl th any German teetotal apostles? Andrew Carnegie
remarks, "We have little or no trouble with drink among
our men;, it all depends on what is called trouble.
The "Practical Exporter " thanks me for informing u,s
tha~ inyention is. not the ~orkman's province. Well, I
agam mform htm that 1f he had a~ much practical
knowledge of workshop practice as he requires of practical exporting, he would know that 999 men spending their time in inventing machines and on methods
of work, instead of doilng their work, would not be
a pleasant spectacle; and in suggesting one might (not
must) be employed in watching where improvements
can be effected instead of 999 (pretty bi~ shop that) I
should think i tl is the more sensible practice. He h~re
thanks me for showing him this corner of the English intell~ct. I return the .complime?t bJ: thanking him for
letti~g us_ see the c;~ua.lity of t~e mtelhgence and intellect
~e9 uued I~ practical exportmg, and also exposing the
1d10synorasies of the cult. I wrote enough anent our
toolmakers in my last letter, and will only now remark
in regard to that portion of his letter, that I drew no
picture of a. lofty throne, bowin~ world, &c. but leave
that to his more pictorial imagmation, and' assure him
t~at when he ~as ~ransferred his creation to canvas, I
will use what httle mfluence I possess with R. A .'s to get
it "hung." Judging by the illustrated advertisements to
be seen everywhere, our t oolmakers are very well able to
take care of themselves.
In conclusion, I would recommend to the ''Practical Exp_or~,r " the per~sal of th~ letter on "American CompetitiOn (No. 18) m your 1ssue of January 19. I remind
the." Practical Export~r " that I in no sense gave justificatiOn for what he mtends as a cutting remark re
Naysmith; being a superior authority to myself. By the
tone of h1s let~er ~ guess. that better fits himself, in so far
~he so au~b.oritativel_y dictates t~ us as to our intelligence,
m~llect, Idiosyncrasies, &~ HIS letters are like others
wr1~ten by those who do not scruple to show a want of good
feehng and ev~n sen.se in usi?g remark.s in a deprecatory
manner_ anent mtelligence, m tellect, Idiosyncrasies, &c.,
!1nd which letters have appeared from time to time lately
m o~her papers, and wh~ch give the impression that they
are u~tended as advertisements of America and things
Amencan.
I apologise for again troubling you, and am Sir
Yours faithfully,
,
'
A MEMBER WootwroH 1sT BRANCH A .S.E.

THE STEAM-YACHT " COMMANDER

CAWLEY."

To THE EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.

Sm,-We note in your issue of ENGINEERING for December 29, 1899, you give drawings and particulars of
our ste~m-yacht Commander Oawley. We think ib is
only fan to draw your attention to the fact that this
v_essel has been cons~ructed to the designs and specificatiOns of our consultmg engineer, Mr. W. H. Brodrick
M. In~b. Mech. E., of Hull, who also supervised the con~
~truct10n. of. both hu_ll ~nd machinery. We shall be glad
~f you. ~Ill I.nsert this m your next issue. Thanking you
m ant1c1pat10n,
Yours truly,
.
, GEo. E. B uRN, Managing Owner.
Humber Pt.lots Steam Outter Company Limited
50, Queen -street, Hull, February 6, '1900.
'

THE RECOVERY OF CRUDE GLYCERINE.

To T_HE ~DITOR OF ENGINEERING.

"SrR,-The art10le m your _issue of J a.nuary 26 on the
Rec,~ve~y of Crude Glycerme from Soa.pma.kers' Spent
Lyes, mtg~t, we .fear, lead your readers to believe thab
Mr. _Foster IS t~e mventor of the vacuum process in con~ectiO? therewtth. I should therefore be obliged by you
msertmg the following brief history of the inventionr
My son-Ernest Scobt-being, in 1891, the bead chemist
at Measra. Lever Brothers, of ''Sunlight " soap fame and
very closely co~necte~ with the recovery of glyc~rine
from spent lyes I.n their .w orks, hit on the idea of doin
the evaporatJOn lD mult1ple effect, and the subject w~

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

196
discussed by him in conjunction with myse1f and my son,
F. Walker Scott. We designed the first apparatus, which
1v!essrs. L ever Brothers were good enough to allow us to
erect and work at their "Sunlight, W orks; the undertaking be ing that if it answered they \Vould keep and pay
for it, if not we were to remove it and bear the expense.
It succeeded, and we have since tben made the apparatus
used by far the larger portion of the soapruakers in this
country, and we may add that quite 80 per cent. of the
crude glycerine made here is by our plants. Mr. Foster
did not have to face the initial diffi culties of avoiding the
deposition of the salt on the tubes, and that of getting
the salt out without stopping the apparatus, which were
successfully solve d by us some years before h e introduced
his apparatus.
The firm of George Scotb and Son, of which I am the
head, are still making these plan ts, not only for glycerine
recovery, hub for the concentration of almost every description of thin liquors.
Y ours faithfully,
FRANK W. S ooTT, A. M . I.C.E.
44, Christian.street, L ondon, E., January 29, 1900.

THE MAXIM MULTI-PERFORATED

PO,VDER.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SrR,- The following extracb has been taken from an
article published in the May issue of the "AngloAmerican M agazinE,'' and elsewhere under the authorship
of Mr. Hucison Maxim, who quotes it as an expression
from the editor of L ondon ENGINERRJNG :
"The distinguishing feature of the gunpowder invented
by Mr. Hudson Maxim and Dr. Schupphaus is its form.
It has other characteristics of great value and originality,
but these are only rendered possible by the peculiar shape
in which the powder is moulded, and are, therefore, in a
sense subsidiary. . . \Vhatever merit tbere may bs in
hyperbolic curves in a steam engi ne, there is none in a
gun, for there the object aimed at is to impress the
greatest possible amount of ener~y on the proiectile with
the least strain on the weapon. Evidently this can best
be done by a pressure sustained uniformly from breech to
muzzle, such as would be represented by a rectangular
d iagram. The maximum pressure and the average pres-

Fig.2.

Fi{J.3

or cells, and rolled into the form of cylinders or wound

like a. volute spring; long rods or strips, either round,
prismatic, or oval, ~ having a plurality of perforations;
sheets, superimposed and cut into strips, lengths, or
pieces; multi-p erforated and waved or corrugated strips
aro also described.
It will be noticed that none of the above patents were
applied for until after 1895.
All of the foregoing subject matter, so far as form of
powder is concerned, was substantiall.v disclosed in Mr.
Hiram S . M axim's British patent No. 17,994, of 1894, in
which tubular and other forms of powder which permit
of internal ca.vities was described; it being abo statd
that the explosive may be made from tapes or thin ~beets
of material rolled up like a volute spring, long pieces
being slotted a t the side3 to allow for the passage of the
flame, it being further stated that other forms might be
adopt ed.
Figs. 1 to 11 inclusive illustrate the forms of powder
shown in Mr. Hiram S. Maxim's Patent Office d rawings
of 189!, and Fig. 12 a form of powder described by ?vir.
Hudson ?viaxim in his paten ts of the following year, and
the one most prominently employed in ill ustrating his
powders.
A very great d eal has been written and lectured upon
the advantages of progressi ve combustion as afforded by
this multi-perfora ted variety of powder by Mr. Huds~n
~Iaxim, but no reference has ever been made to th~ ear her
patent of Mr. Hiram S. Mnxim, which fully discloses all
of these advantages, and in whose patenb is shown many
forms of powder which have si nce illustrated some of the
articles written by Mr. Hudson 1Iaxim.
The theory of progressive combustion as intended for
obviating excessive variations in ballistics by increasing
the surface exposed t o the flame, as the ball advances
along the bore of the gun, has also been shown in another
way. M r. Hiram S. Maxim, in his B ritish patents
Nos. 552, 2090, 6591, 14,0.47 of 1885, and 13,534 of 18?6,
has de cri bed a progresst ve powder co~posed of grams
varying in size or quality a.nd arranged m such a manner
that the slow-burning powder would be c~msumed first and
the q uick-burning powder last; by this means the explosion was progressive and t_h e pressure in th~ ~~n
continuing a longer time, perm1tted of a very low 1Dltial
pressure.
.
This arran~ement has been fully dealt With by Mr.
H udson M ax1m in the article re ferred to, and elsewhere,
but there appear to have been no patents taken out by
him upon this form of powder, and all of the early patents
of Mr. Hiram S . Maxim were ignored.
T HOMAS A . Hn.L.
1, Devonshire.street, Portla.nd-place, L ondon, W.,
February 1, 1900.

Fig.!J.

Fig.S

Fifj. 7.

FifJ.B.

PATENT LAWS.

Fig.9.

Fig.10.

sure then become identical, and for any given ballistic

result the maximum pressure is g~eatly redu~d below
what it would be if there were sensible expansiOn of the
gases in the bore.
.
.
.
"The result is sought to be att~uned 1? the MaxtmSchupphans powder by giving to each ram such a. CC?nfiguration that the rate of burning .shal .k eel' pace with
the motion of the projectile, and ~t1ll mamtam the space
behind it filled with gases at a fa1rly constant pressure.
" If gunpowder grains be in the form ~f s_p~eres or
cubes, the rate of combustion.is gr_ea~~t a~ 1~tlon, ~nd
gradually decreases as the grams d1m1msh .m ~tze; while,
on the other band, the speed of the projectile throu~h
the bore rapidly i~creases. ~ence the .J?re~ure of t e
gases is not main tamed. The ~d~l .conditton 1s that ~acb
grain shall at the moment of 1gmtion! present sufficient
face to oombustion to give the reqUtred pressur~, and
~h~t this surface shall rapidly i?cr~~se, so as to msure
more and more vigorous combustion.
. .
. .
A ccording to the above extracb, the d1stmgmsh10g
eature of this powder is its form, and the great ad vantaues attending this form of po'Yder have ~een repel\tedly
reiterated by Mr. Hudson Max1m on var1ous other occasions In his B ritish patents Nos. 8569, 11,229, 16,861,
16 862 of 1895 16 858 of 1896; 7178, 15,499, of 1897;
an'd his United Stat~ patents Nos. 538,618, 540,326,
540 327 and 540,328, of 1895, an apparatus ~a.s been ~a
scribed' for m aking perforated rods of ~xplos1ve. . Cy.bndrical or prismatic rods having a plurality of long1tudinal
erforations; rods or strips perforated. transv.ersely to
fheir longitudinal axis; sheets of e:<plos1ve bavmg holes

T o THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

Sm. - In the fi rst paragraph of your thoughtful article
on cc Patent L aw R eform," in your issue of January 12,
you refer to the recognised principle, that. it is. not
advisable for t he Government to compete agamst pnvate
enterprise. A nd further on in ~he same article.you. mention the valuable recommendatiOn of the Instttutton of
Civil E ngineers, tha.b State examin.ers t;night cause. references to be printed on the spemfication to preVlous
patents for almost the same thmg. Now, in order to
reconcile both ideas, I would respectfully suggest that
the inventor, or his agent, might s.upply .the~e referen ces, in the first instance, on hLS apphcat10n to
t he Patent Office. This procedure would form a. check
on the proposed Government searcL, and they ~ght
accordingly, if they found the references were well ~ven,
charge a lower fee than when no references were g1ven.
I make the suggestion also because in many cases the
inventor is either master of his subjecb, or makes a
search (or has one made) to see if his invention has not
been preceded, before going on with it. It is quite app~
rent, then, that it would be ~n a~vantage to have th1s
work also recorded in the specificatiOn.
I would also call atten tion to the following difficulty as I have nevt-r seen it referred to. By the
Board of Trade rules, under the Act, " (a) F ancy
names or titles, e.g., 'The Simplex Wheel ' or ' The
Hercules Braces'
, '' are not allowable .in . the title of
an invention. Now, in many cases 1t LS not apparent without the specification, what it is which has
bee~ protected.. .the whole ?r a portion of the
article and thLS 1s more espemally so when patented
substa~ces or materials treated by special processes
are sold under cc fancy names." Should anyone be unfortunate enough in such casea to wish to see the exact
specifications, their search is ba.ffie~ ab th~ outset, for
they are given no name to look up m the mdex. O~ly
those who have experienced this situation can full y reahse
what it means. After endless labour they may ij'et what
they require. I~ is ma:nifes~ly wrong- that tb~ mform~
tion should be hidden m th1s way, smce t he m ventor 1s
hound under the Patent Acts to particularly describe his
invention to the public; and there.fore, it is 9bvio~s
that either the assumed name, 1f the article 1s
allowed to be 8old under one, should be given in the
title of the specification and index, or that the number and date of the _patent should, by law, be affixed
to such articles.
The latter course would also be
of use in those other cases where articles are sold as
"patent, after the term of protection has expired or
lapsed. I question whether 1t would not be a. perfectly
~ood defence in an infringement. action, ~ plead that the
mvention had not been fully dtsclosed m a case of the
sorb I have mentioned.
I am, yours truly,
H. DAWES CRIPPS.
Waterloo, near Liverpool, J a.nuary 31, 1900.

[FEB. 9,

900.

MISCELLANEA.
THE traffic rec~ip.ts fo~ the week end i.ng January 28
on 33 of the prmmpal hnes of the U mted Kingdnm
amounted t o 1,655,319!., whicb was earned on 19. 865i
miles. For the corresponding week in 1899 the re~ip~
of the same lines amounted to 1,580,934[., with 19,604~
miles ol'en. There was thus a.n increase of 64,385l. in
the recetpts, and an increase of 261! in the mileage.
Experiments are about to be carried out at Portsmouth
by officers of the Vernon, torpedo school, Captain C. G.
Robinson, with a view of establishing Ly means of a
balloon wirele~s telegraphic communication between the
sea and a. field force on shore. The experiments are to
be conducted by Lieutenant Arnold-Forster, who is at
present qu'l.lify ing as a torpedo-lieutenant.
According t o the R ailway Age, of Chicago, the a ''erage
goods rate on the Chicago, Milwaukee, a.nd St. Pa.ul
R ailr0ad during 1899 was 0.468d. This does net, we
bt-lieve, include any terminal charges; which, in any
case, would be relatively less important than in this
coun try, where the average length of haul is much l~s
than it IS in the States.
T he fourth annual dinner of the pasb engineering
students of U niversity College, L ondon, will be held on
Thursday, February 15, at t he Criterion Restaurant,
Piccadillycircu~, W . Professor T . Hudson Beare, P rofessor of Engineering at U ni versity Colle~e, will occupy
the chair. Tickets may be obtained from the hon. secretary, 1Ir. Archibald P . Head, 47, Victoria.street,
London, S. \V.
From the reporb of Mr. C. W. Smith, surveyor to the
U rban District Council of Sutton, it appears that not
only have the bacteria beds thero, which were the first
constructed for practical use, proved highly sa.tiafactory
in providing an innocuous E:ffiuent, but they have al.w
been found to involve a considerably smaller annual
outlay than the chemical precipitation and broad irrigation plant previously in use. The net cos~ of the latter
amounted to about 1080l. per annum, whtlst the newer
system, though dispo ing of a much larger quantity of
sewage, costs only about 62ul. per annum.
The K otlin describes some shooting experiments with
mortar batteri es recently placed in position at Kron
stadt. The target was 280 ft. long and 28 ft. high. It
wa.s fixed in a barge which was towed along .at the r~te
of 10 knots, a t a distance from t he batter1e;s vary~ng
from 2! to 4 mile's. One hundred and thuty blind
shells were fi red, but only eight hit the target. It was
calculated however, that 24 shells, or 18 per cent., were
sufficiently well aimed to have hi.t an ordinary warship.
On the other hand, it was constdered tbab a war~bip
would not maintain a fixed rate of speed and one direction. It would be possible to increase the number. of
mortars so as to rain down a storm of ~hell on a p~mg
ship. In any case the m.ortars ar.e quite. as effective as
the much heavier fort artillery whiCh until now has been
used for harbour defence.
The State Railways in Germany are experimenting
with beech as a material for railway sleepers. Whe?
laid without preserva~ive treatment1 such sleep~rs are, 1t
is said, liable to rot mternally, whtlst presentu~g a~ apparently sound exterior. On the Alsace-Lorr.ame hn~
however favourable results have been obtamed with
creosoted beech sleepers, which have shown . an aver~e
life of 19~ years, whilst others preserved w1~h _cblot:de
of zinc have proved still more sat~fa.ct?ry. their hfe bemg
2li yt-ars. Nevertheless, creosotmg 1s the pro~ ~re
ferred, the method adopted by Rlitgers, ~f. Berltn,. bemg
the one most favoured. In thts, wood is m]eoted With the
creosote a fter the latter has been raised ~ ~12 deg. Fabbr.
When the operation is thus effected, 1t LS stated, t at
prt-vious seasoning of the timber is not absolutely necessary.
Dr. Coleman ellars states that by. certain ~inor
changes in the original designs for the Niagar~ turbmes,
the output has been raised from 5300 electr1ca.l horse
power each up to 5500 electrical horsepower. As no~
constructed, the whole of the electrical and m~gne~o
losses aggrega te but 2! per cent. In a shorn ttme t eo
plant here will include no less than ten o~ ~base 500
.
horse-power dynamos, the work on the additiOns bemg
well advanced. E lectro.chemical and electro-meta.llurgical works are the principal custome~s of the power eo~
any. Thus the Pittsburg ReductiOn Co~p~ny ta. e
K550 electrical horse-power for smelting ~lummiUm. The
Car borundum Company take 1030 el~ctncal ho~epower
for making abrasi ves ; whilst the W 1lson Carb1de. Comf
pany take over 5000 horse-power for the productton o
calcium carbide.
One of the principal difficulties in using portab~e ~r~
is to secure an abutment t o take the. pr~ssure o~ t eed. t8
Of courst> where boles already extsb 1n the tmm ~a .
neighbou;hood of the perforation about to be madi, tt l.S
easy to fix an ordinary drilling P.illar,. but such h~ e~are
not always available. For electnc drills power b ~
nets have been used, which a~here to th~ .Plate emg
drilled with sufficient force to g1ve the ~qUISite pressurd
These magnets are, however, necessarilr c~mbrous v~~
heavy and consequen tly nob free from obJeCtion. A
ingenious device for securing_the same ond haM ~e no t'
been r:cently brought oub in Franc~ by 1\ll
OISSeTeh'
who obtains the necessary adhes10n by suctiOn. . e
"sucker,, consists of a gun-metal .frame supporting
leather sucker. The space below thts can be ~)nef!eis
to an exhauster and the vacuum produce~ wil, 1
stated be ma.int~ined with little loss for 15.mlr;.d~. T ~f
weight of a sucker block giving an effective
esiOD
over 1 to~ is under 20 lb.

rJ. .

197

E N G I N E E R I N G.
CoUector:

Magnet Core :

THE DESIGN OF ROTARY

CONVERTERS.
By H. F.

PARSBALL, M. INsT.
H. M. HoBART, S.B.

12 in.

Length of pole-piece along shaft ...

15a ,,
.,
pole-arc, average .. .
. ..
Pole-piece an? core co~sists o.f she~t
iron punchmgs .04 m. thtck, Japanned on one side, and built up
to a depth of 12 in. The edges of
pole - face are chamfered ~ack
3 in. by /'s in., and a copper br1dge
14 in. by i in. extending 1i in.
under pole tips is inserted
. between
,,
poles to prevent "surgmg.
Pole arc + pitch
.. .
.. .
...
.722
Length of core radial . . .
. ..
...
9i i in.
Size of magnet core (laminations) . ..
..
.. .
.. .
.. . 12 in. by 12 in.
Bore of field
. ..
.. .
.. .
.. .
84ft in.
Clearance (magnetic gap)
. ..
...
ih- ,

C.E., and

(Continued, from page 784, vol. lxviii.)

TA BULA'l'ED 0.\LOULA'l'IONS AND SPEOU'ICA'l'IONS l!'OR A
!lOO-KILOWATT TanEE-PHAsE R o'l'ARY CoNVERTEH.
DESCRIPTION.

...

Number of poles

Kilowatt outp';lt
... .
~_peed, revolutiOns per mmute
Terminal volts, full load
.. .
,
,
no load
.. .
Ampere~, output
...

Frequency, cycles per secoLd

12
900
250
500
500
1800
25

...

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

ObservetL
CORE LOSS .
arv 800 Kw. 26 Cycl..& 600 VoUs
Three, Phase Rotary CotterUr.

.. t~~ = 606 - l

.c .

lOG

soo~~--~~~~w~~;=t=Jt~~
r. t==~~~~n~~~~~

8D"t---t-~~

ri

~..~rV-r~4-+-~~-4-+-+~
I
EFFICIENCY&, LOSS8.

60
Sl

arv 800 Kw. 26 Q;cl..& 600 VoUs

Three Phase Rotary Corwerter. -

Ob8e:rV~

.
PHASE CHARACTERISTIC
07V 800 Kw. 26 Q;c:l& 600 Voltcs
1:1rr-u Phase Rotary Corwerter.

00

t:

E2~ovt--t--t--t--t--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-~~~sno

~,Mvt--r--+--T--+--+--+--+--+--+--+~~~
L_~~~

i\.

~ \

Fig.82.

'{

i\

6{}()

i.

1/

4110

1\

2IJ(J

80

GO

200
0

(6/~B)

i
.3

n!'s~v

.!1

250

'

400

800

1/

or-~-r~--r-;--+_,--r-~~/~~-4--~~

350

/
V

'"

.M~~

.5

V
6

1.1

V
7

10

11

...

18! ''

Brushes:

Alternating
Current.

Uontinuous
Current.
Number of sets
. ..
12
Number in one set...
8
Ra.diallength of brush
2 in.
Width of brush
. ..
1<f- ,
Thickness of brush...
~ ,,
Dimensions of bearing} 1. 26 in. by
s urface (one brush}
.87 in .
Area of contact (one
brush)
.. .
... 1.08 sq. in.
Type of brush
... Radial carbon

3
8

Ji in.

.6 ,

1. 25 in. by
1.1 in.

1. 35 sq. in .
Copper

Terminal volts, full load

Total internal volts ...
Number of circuits ...
Sty le of winding
.. .

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

...

500

...

513

...
1.2
. .. ~Iultiple-circuib
drum
Times re-entrant
.. .
. ..
.. .
1
Total parallel pa.ths through armature . . .
. ..
...
. ..
. ..
12
Conductors in series between brushes
96
Type construction of winding
...
Bar
Number of face conductors ...
.. .
11 52
Number of slots
. ..
...
. ..
288
Number of conductors per slot
...
4
Arrangement of conductore~ in slo t
2 by 2
Number in parallel making up one
conductor
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
1
Mean length of one armature turn ...
78 in.
'l'otal number of turns
.. .
.. .
576
Turns in series between brushes ...
48
Length of conductor between brushes
S74lin.
Cross-section, one conductor
...
. ( 5 ~q. in.
,,
12 conductors in parallel
. 60 J,
Ohrus per inch cube at 20 deg. Cent.
.0000(J068
Per cent. increase in resis tance 20
deg. Ct::nt. to 60 d eg. Cent.
.. . 16 ~er cent.
Residtance between brushes 20 deg.
Cent. . ..
...
. ..
...
. ..
.00425
Resistance between bru~he&, 60 deg.
Cent. . . .
. ..
. ..
. ..
. ..
.00493

Assuming the current in three-phase rotary converter armature to be about three-fourths of that
for continuous-current generator of same output,
and a power factor of not quite unity, we may take
current in armature conductor as 1800 x . 8 = 1440
amperes.
C R drop in armature at 60 deg.

Cent. . . .

...

...

. ..

. ..

7.1 volts

C R drop in series coiLCJ

...
. ..
1 6 ,,
,
at brush contact surfaces ...
2.1 ,.
,,
not allowed for in above 1.5 volts for
cables and connections;
figured on com
ponent currents
Amperes per square inch conductor
(armature) .. .
...
. ..
...
2400
Amperes per square inch brush bearing surface . ..
.. .
.. .
.. .
34.5
Amperes per square inch shunt
Wlndings
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
970
Amperes per square inch Eeries
wmdings
.. .
.. .
. ..
.. .
970

=.

Spool:

Diameter over all

.,.
. ..
. ..
Length over conductors
. ,.
. ..
Diameter of core at periphery
.. .
,
,
bottom of slots .. .
.,
,,
,,
lami

. ..

...

.2 square inch.
"Space factor,
2 + .55 = . 364, or 36.4 per cent.
of total space is occupied by copper, leaving 63.6 per
cent. for the necessary insulation

'

Armature :

...

...

...
...

x .44 = .55 ~quare inch.

Sect10nal area of copper in slot = 4 x .125 x .4 =

( 614C? 0)

DutEXSIONS.

nations...

.. .
...
...

...

.24 in.
3
3!- in.
1~ ,

Sect~onal area. of slot = 1.25

12

.. .

Space Factor :

Amperes in Field

FifJ.84 .

. ~ ..,~nvH--+--+
.u

...

A 1'11tature :

650

Diameter
. ..
. ..
Number of rings
.. .
Width of each ring .. .
between rings .. .
,,
Length over all...
.. .

TEOHNlOAL DA'l 'A-ELEOTRICAL.

:s

. ..

Length of core over laminations .. .

:Number of ventilating ducts
.. .
Width, each ..
. ..
. ..
.. .
Effeotive length1 magnetic iron
...
,
lengtn of core + total
length ...
...
...
...
...
Length round periphery
...
. ..
Pitch ab surface
...
...
. ..
Insulation between sheets .. .
.. .
Thickness of sheets . . .
...
. ..
Depth of slot .. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
Width of slot at root ...
...
...
,,
,
surface
...
.. .
Number of slots
...
...
.. .
Gross radial depth of laminations .. .
Radial depth below teeth ...
. ..
Width of tooth ab root
...
. ..
,
,
armature face ...
Size of conductor
.. .
. ..
. ..

84 in.
27 ,
84 "
8l~ in.
62 ,
12.5 "

in.
9.9 ,
.79
264 in.
22 in.
10 per cent.
.016 in.
1.25 ,
.44 ,
.44 ,
288
11 in.
9. 75 in.
.449,
.475,
.125 in. by
.400 in.

Length ...
...
...
...
,,
of shunt-winding space
,
, series-winding space
Depth of winding space
...

...
...

...
...

8{rr in.

4. 9 ,,
3.5 ,
2~ ,

Yoke:
Outside diameter
...
...
.. .. 123 in. & 114 in.
Inside diameter
...
. ..
. ..
105 in.
Thickness
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
4! ,
Length along armature
. ..
..
22 , ,
BPyond the 22-in. length along armature, projects on one side a ring
1! in. wide, which is grooved to
receive the brush rocking gear.

Corttlmltt,tato?' :
Diameter
...
...
. ..
...
Number of segments ...
.. .
...
,,
,,
per slot
...
Width of ,
at surface
...
,
,
at root
Total depth of segment
.. .
...
, length of segment ...
...
Available length of segment ...
...
'\Vidth of insulation between seg-

...

ments ...

...

. ..

...

...

54 in.
576
2
.24
.215
2:\ in.

17! "
14 ,

. 05 ',

COMMUTATION.

Volts between segments, average . ..

Armature turns per pole
...
. ..
Resultant current per conductor =
1800 X .8
= 120 amperes
12
Resultant armature strength ::::: 120
x 48 = 5800 armature ampere
turns per pole

10.4

48

DETEB1\LINA1'ION Oli' REAOTANOJ VOL'l'AGE Ob' COIL

UNDER CO?!UlU'fATION.

Diameter of commutator
. ..
. ..
Circumference of commutator
.. .
Revolutions per second
...
.. .
Peripheral speed, inches per second
Width of brus h surface, across sag-

men ts . . .

. ..

. ..

...

. ..

Time of one complete reversal,

seconds
...
.. .
...
.. .
Frequency of commutation, cycles
per second .. .
...
...
...
Coils, short-circui ted together per

brush . . .

.. .

. ..

. ..

. ..

'rurns per coil .. .

. ..
.. .
.. .
Turns short-oircuited together per
brnsh . ..
...
. ..
.. .
. ..

54 in.
170 "
42

708
.87 in.
.00123
407

3
1

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

198
C onductors per group commutated
together
. ..
. ..
...
. ..
6
Flux per ampere turn per inch gross
20
length arm 1.ture lamination
.. .
Flux through six turns carrying one
ampere...
. ..
...
...
. ..
1500
Inductance one coil of one turn
... . 000015 henrys
R eac tance of one coil of one turn .. .
.039 ohms
Current in one coil, amperes
... 150 (continuous current comp onent)
58 vol ~s
R~acta.nce voltage, one coil .. .

BINDING WIRE.

Amperes per shunt spool

...
63
...
Reststance at 20 deg. Cent. per
spool, ohms . ..
.. .
. ..
...
5. 7
...
912
Turns p er shunt spool
...
4i0() ft.
Total length of shunt conductor . . .
Pounds per 1000 ft. . . .
. ..
.. .
24.9
... No. 11 B. and S.
Siz3 of conductor
.. .
.. .
gauge
Dimensions ba.re
...
... .0907 m. in
...
diameter
double C)tton covered ..
.101 in. in
diameter
Cross.section .. .
.. .
.. .
. .. .00647 sq . in.
Current d ensity, amperes per square
inch . . .
...
..
. ..
. ..
970
4 in.
Available winding space
.. .
. ..
23
Number of layers
..
. ..
.. .
40
Turns per layer
.. .
.. .
.. .
))

Length of conductor between brushes

3774 in.
Uross-section of conductor between
brushes
. ..
. ..
.. .
.. .
.6 sq. in.
Weight o f armatura copp~r ...
. .. 374-l x .6 x .32
= 721 lb.
Series :
2
A s C3ntrifugal forc3 ...
.. .
= .0000142 DN lb.
Ampere turns, full load
.. .
.. .
3G30
Full-load amperes
. ..
.. .
.. .
1800
Therefore, .0000143 x 8! x 2502 = 74 7 lb.
Amperes diverted
.. .
. ..
...
350
exerted as centrifugal f orce by every p o und of
,
in ser ies sp ools
. ..
.. .
1450
c opper c o nductor on armature, and a s there a r e
Turns per s pool
.. .
.. .
.. .
2!
721 lh. weight of copper conductors, the total
Size of cotlduc tor used
.. .
. .. 2 5 in. by .075 in.
centrifugal force = 721 x 74.7 = 54,000 lb.
Nu m her in p 1.rallel .. .
.. .
.. .
8
'l'otal cross-section
. ..
...
. ..
1.5 sq . in.
Part of t h e ce ntrifugal force is r esisted by strips
Current d ensity, amperes p er square
of hard wood driven into dovetail grooves running
inch ...
..
...
...
...
970
parallel t o the length o f t he shaft at t h e tops o f the
Mean length of one turn
...
. ..
-1.83 ft.
slots , while the end proj e ctions and conne ction s are
Total length, all turns on 12 ~pool$ ... 150ft. =1800 in.
h eld in p lace by 84 s trands of No. 11 B. and S.
R e3istance of 12 spools at 20 deg.
Cent. .. .
. ..
...
. ..
.. . .000816 ohm
phosphor-bronze wire a rranged over both ends, in
2 R, watts, total at 20 deg.
S
eries
C
bands of s ix strands each, seven of these bands
Cent. . ..
.. .
...
...
.. .
1718
being employed for e a ch end.
S eries C'lR watts, p er sp~ol ...
. ..
143
2
Series
C
R watts per spool at 60
MaGNET IC CIRCUIT CALCULATIONS.
.. .
.. .
.. .
165
d f'g. C ent. . ..
~l~galine3 fro m one p ole at full load
Total weight of series copper, lb. ...
8?4
and 500 terminal volts (512 5 internal volts) . ..
...
. ..
. ..
10.4
C .\Lc uLATION o~ LossEs AND HEATING.
1
Assumed coefficient of magnetic
Arm t ltt re:
leakage
...
.. .
...
.. .
1. 20
R esistance between brushes, ohms .. . 00!93 at 60 deg.
~Iegalines in one pole at f ullloai . . .
12.5
Cent.
The m ag n e tic reluctance and the observed total
moo
C 2R loss at 60 deg. Cent.
.. .
.. .
25
F r equency, cycles per sec. = C = ...
numbe r of ampere turns per field spool required,
500 lh.
Weight of armature teeth ..
. ..
were pro bably dist ributed approximately a s follo w:
6500 ))
,
,,
core
...
...
A rmat u,r e:
Tutal weight of laminations...
.. .
7000"
128
Flux density in teeth, kilolines
...
... 9.9 X 9.75 X 2
CoJre section

54
,
,
core = D =
.. .
= 194 sq. in.
1.36
C.D. + 1000 ...
...
.. .
.. .
11 in.
...
L ength of ma~netic circui b ..
2.8
Observed core loss p er pound, w~tt 3
54
...
...
D ensity (kilolmes)
...
K = wat~core lo3s p er ponnd = ...
.. .
16
Ampere turns p er inch
2.05

(C.D. + 1000}
180
...
.. .
Ampere turns . ..
. ..
19,850
Total core loss . ..
..
. ..
.. .
T eeth :
29,550
" arma ture losses .. .
.. .
.. .
Number transmitting fiu x per pole8 ! in.
Armature diameter . ..
.. .
.. .

17
.. .
ptece . . .
...
...
. ..
,
length
...
...
.. .
27 "
sq.
in.
76
...
Section a.b face .. .
.. .
.. .
7150 sq. in.
Peripheral radiating surface.
. ..
..
80
))
,
roots
.. .
.. .
5500
,
speed, feet per mmute ...
...
78 ))
~lean section . . .
. ..
. ..
' Vatts per square inch radiating
... 1.25 in.
L eng th ...
. ..
...
. ..
4.1
surface.. .
. ..
. ..
.. .
...
13!
...
App~rent density (kilolines)
O bser ved total rise after 18i hours
.462 in.
...
'Vidth of tooth (mean) " a"
full-load heat run .. .
...
.. . 21 d eg . Cen~.
...
,44 I I
,
slot " b "
. ..
. ..
1.05
Ratio of a + u.. .
.. . ...

00MMOTATOR L OSSES AND HEATING.

128
...
Corrected density (kilolines) .. .
Commutato'r :
1160
...
A m pere turns per inch
.. .
r: l sq . m.
.
<>
Area
of
all
positive
brushes
...
.
..
1460
.
..
Ampere turns . ..
.. .
.. .
Amperes per square inoh cont~c t
Gap:
36
surface...
. ..
...
...
...
...
...
190
S ection at p ole-face . . .
Oh ms p er equare inch contact surL ength .. .
.. .
.. .
. ..
.. .
.1875
.03
face, assumed
...
...
. ..
D .msity at pole-face (kilolines)
. ..
54.5
Brush r~istance, p ositive and nega..00116 ohm
Ampere turns= .313 x 5i,200 x .1875 = 3200
ti ve . . .
...
...
...
. ..
2.1 volts
Drop at brush contacts
. ..
...
ltiagnet Core :
3700 watts
c z& loss at brush contacte . . .
. ..
135 sq. in.
Section (effectiYe)
...

Brush pressure, pounds p er square

9
~
~
in.
L ength ...
.. .
. ..

115
inch . . .
...
...
.. .
. ..
95
D ensity (kilolines )
.. .

117 lb.
Brush pressure, total . . .
...
. ..
53
Amper e turns per inch

.3
Coeffie1ent of friction . . .
.. .
. ..
530
Ampere turns .. .
.. .


3550
Peripheral speed, feet p er minute ...
Brush friction, foot-p ounds per ruiYoke:
124,000
nu te . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
136
=
272
S ection ~agnatic 2 x
2800
Brush
friction,
watts
..
.
.
..
..
.
square mch
Stray watts lost in commutator,
14.5 in.
L ength p er p ole
. ..
600
assumed
...
...
...
. ..
48
.. .

D ansity (kilolines)
7100
Total watts lost in commutator
.. .
29

Ampere turns per inch
54 in.
Diameter of commutator
.. .
. ..
430
Arupere turns . ..
. ..


14 ,
Available leng th of commutator ...
Radiating urface
.. .
. ..
. .. 2400 sq. in.
S tHL\IARY 01.-' A:M P KRK-T U RN~.
'Va tts p er square inch of radia.tiRg
180
.
..
...
Arma ture cor e ...

2.9
surface
...
.
..
.
..
..
.
.
..
1460
...
...
teeth

A ssumed rise of temperature per

3200
...
.
"
..
..
.
.
..
Gap
...
watt per square inch after 10 hours'
530
.
..
..
.
.
..
Magnet core ...
run
...
. ..
. ..
. ..
. .. 15 d eg. Cent.
430
.. . ... .. . ...
Y oke
...
T otal rise estimated on above basis 43 "
))
-5800
CoLLECTOR L os x s AND H KATING.
SPOOJ, WIN DI NGS.
T otal con tact area of a.ll brushes .. . 33. 5 sq . in.
Ampere turns per shunt spool, full
Amperes per sq uare inch of contact
5800
load . . .
. ..

150
s urface...
.. .
...
.. .
.. .
405
Watts per s pool at 20 deg. C ent. . ..
Ohms p er square inch of contac b
shunt winding at 20 d eg.
,
.003
(assumed )
. ..
...
. ..
. ..
200
Ct-n t. . . .
...
...
. ..
. ..
.00027
tance
of
brushes
p
er
ring
T
otal
resis
' Vatt :i per series windmg at 20 d eg.
.48
V olts drop at brush contacts . ...
143
Cent. . . .
...
.


850
CZR
loss
at
brUI~h contacts p er nng ...
Watts per shunt winding at 60 d eg.
1700
,,
,
in threerings
2!0
Cent. . . .
.. .
. ..

Brush pressure, pounds per square

110 lb.
Shunt copper per s p ool
.. .
. ..
1.6
inch . ..
.. .
...
...
. ..
Volts at terminals of spool at 20
54
Brush pressure, pounds, total pounds
36
d eg. Cent. ...
...
...
...

[FEB. 9, I 900.
Coefficient of friction . ..
. ..
. ..
.3
Peripheral speed, feet per mmute .. .
1,580
Brush friction, pounds per minute ...
25,500
watts lost
. ..
. ..
600
11
T otal watts lost in collector . . .
. ..
2,300
Diameter collector
. ..
. ..
. ..
24 in.
Effective length radiating surfac3 ...
11,
Total radiating surface
.. .
. .. g2o sq. in.
Watts p er square inch radiating surface . . .
...
. ..
. ..
. ..
2.8
Assnmed rise of temperature per
watt per square in ch after 10 houn1'
run
. ..
...
. ..
...
. .. 15 dt>g. c~nt.
Total rise estimated on auove basis .. . 42
Field Sp ool L osses :
Spool, CZR loss at 60 deg. Cent. p er
shunt coil
. ..
. ..
. ..
.. .
240
CZR loss at 60 deg. Cen t . per series
coil
...
...
. ..
...
. ..
1G5
405
Total loss per spool, wa.tts .. .
.. .
T o:al loss m 12 s p?ols, watts
...
4850
E!o'l!' ICIENCY.

Output:
Full load, watts
.. .
. ..
.. .
Core loss...
...
. ..
...
.. .
Commutator losses
...
...
.. .
.. .
...
. ..
Collector losse3...
Armature C2R loss a t 60 deg. Cent.
Shunt spools C2R loss at 60 deg.
Cent. . . .
...
..
...
. ..
Shunt rheos tat c~R lo~ at 60 deg.
Cent. . . .
...
. ..
...
. ..
S eries sp ools C2R loss at 60 deg.

900,000
19,850
7,100
2.300
9,700
2900
'
300

. ..

1,700

Series diverter C2R loss at 60 deg.

Cent. . . .
...
. ..
. ..
. ..
Friction, b earing3, a.nd winda.ge ...

500
6,100

Cent.. . . .

. ..

Input:

...

...

.. .

.. .

.. .

...
Fullload ...
. ..
Ma terial :
Armature cvre . . .
. ..
,
E:pider
.. .
,
condu c to r~ .. .
Commutator segments
leads . . .
spider .. .
,"
...
...
P ole-piece

...

. ..

9j per oent.

...

.. .
.. .

beet steel
Cast iron
Copper

T otal

.. .

...

949,450

CotMnercial E.tficicnc!J:

Yoke
...
l\fa.gnet core

...
...

...

.. .

Brushes ...
...
. ..
Brus h-holder . . .
. ..
Brush -holder yoke
...
Bind in~ wire . ..
.. .
Insulat10n, commutator

.. .

...
.. .
...

...

...

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

...
...

.. .
.. .

,,

... Stranded copper

. . . Cast iron
... Laminated
sheet

liOn

...
Cas~ steel
. .. Laminated
sheet
.
trOD

...

...

Carbon

Brass

. .. Gun.metal
... Phosphor-bron ze
...
Mica

WEIGHT!::).

Armatttre :

Lb.
7,000
720

... .. . ...
L aminations ...
... ... ...
...
Copper ...
.. .
...

...
Sptder ..
... ... .. .
...
Shaft
.. .
... .. . ...
. ..
Flanges .. .
Co-ntmulcttor :
Segments
...
...
...
...
Mica
...
. ..
. ..
. ..

Spider .. .
.. .
...
...
. ..
Press ring3
.. .
.. .
..
..
Sundry other parts .. .
. ..
..
Collector rings, complet e
. ..
...
Armature, commutator, CJllector, and
sbaf t complete
.. .
.. .
..

20,01)0

Maynet:
Yok e
...
...
. ..
C ores and pole-pieces ...

.... ..

13,0:>0
6,0)0

Shunt coils, copper .. .

. ..
..
Series ,
,
. ..
.. .
.. .
T otal copper . ..
.. .
.. .
..
Spools complete, including flanges
and ~tll insulation . . .
. ..
. ..
B ed plate, bearings, &c. . . .
...

Brush gear...
. ..
.. .
..
..
Sundry other parts
.. .
. ..
..

1,320
860

...
...

F ield:

3,000
3,000

800

2, 100

130
1,650
280

350 1,070

2,180
5,600
18,000
1,200

2,200

T otal weight of rotary converter

66,000
.
Curve:::; taken from this machine are given m
Figs. 31, 32, 33, and 34.

(To be continued.)
INDUSTRIAL NOTES.
.
TliE A ssociated Ironmoulders of cotland are agat~
the firs t of trade unions to furnish an annu al r epo{
9
a nd bala nce-sheet for the year that is . pa_s t, 1?9 d t~
reviewing the work of the past yea.r, lt 18 re errs t
a s one of cc unex a.mpled prosperity in the west of eo '(
0
land n ever before has there been such a. turo?~r
work' with the moulding trade, and that, too, w 1 dn'~
hanced conditions both for employer and e~~1oyeo~d
It adds, cc While throughout the year gone 18 g

FEB.

9,

1 goo.]

t r&de continued, we are pleased to say that our relations with employers all round has been of the most
cordial character." Then follow some remarks as to
the individual conduct of workmen towards employers
and towards each other as the basis of a good understanding, beneficial alike to all co~ce~ued.
"
.
The following sentences are s1g~:uficant: Dun?g
the year under review, we wer? ent1rely f~ee from dlspu~es and to this end we w1ll work wtth renewed
vigou~, so that when we come to review I900 w~ will
agd.in be able to congratulate one another on thts desirable lJOSition of affairs between u q and our em
ployers. '' Th.e report cont~nues : " W ~ have had
serious compla.mta as to lost t1me, and durmg the yeg.r
we have repeatedly urged better time~e~ping, and we
again urge this on every member, as tt 1s our duty to
give honest and consistent attention to work. " The
prospects for the future are still good; a large amount
of work is on ha.nd for I900, and numerous contracts
are said to be in the market, being only hindered from
being placed by the cost of material, and more particularly fuel, and the difficulty of early deliveries.
During 1899 wa.g~s we.re advanced all round by confereoces being held w1th employers, who are now
federated in Scotland. "All our movements are now
considered by the employers' executive in the same
manner as they would be by ourselves, which fact
points to the necessity. fo; each dis~rict keeping the
execut ive of ths asso01at10n fully mformed on all
matters that may arise from time to time in any town
or workshop. " Thus peacefully and by mutual arrangement wages have risen to the highest point ever
attained, and hopes are expressed that the rates will
never again fall to the low level of I885.
Turning to the balance-sheet we find that the income for 1899 was the largest ever realised, being
more than 3500l. above the highest recorded. The
items of income were : Dues, that is the ordinary
cootributions, 17, 968l. 4s. 2d.; levies of all kinds,
7023l. 5s. Sd.; loans repaid and overpaid benefits returoed, 12B4l. 6s. 3d.; entrance fees and pCJ.yments
for rules and schedule3, 473l. I8s.; bank interest,
1449/. I7s. Sd.; fines, I70l. I3s. 3d.; sundries,
187l. 13s. 21.; ramittances, I3,056l.; total, inclusive
of remittances, 41, 793l. I8s. 2d. Of course, remittances do not come within the term income rightfully
underatood, ttnd are therefore deducted in the net
amount, which was 28, 737l. I8s. 2!d. The " remittances " mean moneys sent by the several districts to
the centra.! funds, with which amounts the executive
pay the benefits and other expenses of the association. The bank interest is a fairly respectable
amount, considering how much money was simply on
deposit account.
The items of expenditure were as follow: Idle
benefit, that is un~mployed benefit, 8411/. 63. 6d.;
superannuation benefit, 6246l. I5s.; funeral benefit,
3043l. 6s. 8j, It will be seen that superannuation and funerals absorbed a very large proportion of the total paid in benefits, but in the total
amount one sum of IOOl. was for accident benefit.
Salaries, deputations, &c., relating to trade matters,
inclusive of conferences with employers, and attendances at congresses, &c., amounted to I22ll. I Is. Id.;
rents of offices and club-rooms, stationery and printing, postages, telegrams, and postal orders, &c.,
1198!. 43. 9d.; sundries, 9ll. 6s. 2d.; remittances
again, on expenditure side, I3,059l.
The total
amounted to 29,668l. I Os. The net expenditure, however, was 16,612l. I03. In the item of expenditure
for salaries, deputations, &c., there migh t well be a
good set off; by the conferences held wages were
raised without a strike or cessation of work. One
week's strike pay to a considerable .number of men
at the high rates paid in this union would total up to
a considerable amount, all of which was saved. In
the sundries are included two items for halls for conferences 33l. I5s. IOd., and one item of 26l. in hand,
which will probably come into this ye3.r's account.
The other payments for management expenses are
m?derate, seeing that all expenses of seYenteen distriCts a.nd the central district are included.
The total balance in hand at the close of 1898 was
50,36ll. 5s. 8d.; at the close of 1899 the total was
62,486l. I3B. IOd.; showing a. gain on the year of
12, 125l. Ss. 2d. This is the largest increase ever re~orded, the highest income, and the greatest b!l.lance
1n any one year from I841 to I900. The aggregate
balance at present is thus distributed: Invested-In
Clyde and Cart Trusts, 18,000l. ; in the Co-Operative
Bakery, 7000l.; in "in bond over property" in Glasgow
-same as mortgage, 5000l.; in the several Scotch
b~nks, 31,006l. 5s. 2d.; in districts' treasurer's hands,
1449l. 17s. 7d. ; in the central treasurers' hands,
30l. 1ls. Id. During last year the society burnt its
fingers. over~ n~wa~aper, losing 237l. 10s , as the paper
went mto llqu1dat10n. It is now admitted to have
been a bad policy.
The Tables giving the figure3 for t he p!l.st 68 years
sho~ that a. total of 319,288t. 6s. 7d. was paid on idle,
holHh.y, and suspension benefit; on superannuation
benefit, 86,512l. 12s. 4d.; on funeral and accident
benefit, 67,884l. 7s. 4d.; lent to memb'3rs, 5!84l. 4s. 3d.,

E N G I N E E R I N G.
most of which was repaid. The cost of salaries, deputations, and all other trade expenses, 35, I66t. 9d.;
rent, printing, stationery, postages, &c., 30,888l.I1s. 3d.;
miscellaneous, 42,936t. 18s.; t his includes loans, purchase of property, and grants to other trades. The
total membership is now 7363, and the balance of
62,846l. I33. IOd. is equal to St. 9s. Sd. per member,
the largest average in any trade union.
In explaining the several items of expenditure the
report states t hat the cost of salaries, deputations,
committees, &c., only amounts to about f d. per member per week. In the cost of printing is included
the expenditure for new rules, and postage of same,
the total of which was 229l. 7s. 6d., items not likely
to occur again for years .. The.n in the sundri~s 25l.
was given by vote as a test1momal to the ln.te a.sststant
secretary. The careful Scottish character renders
all such explanations of details incumbent upon the
officials. As regards idle benefit alone is there an
attempt at apology, seeing that trade was prosperous
all the year through. But that there will be some few
who will take ad vantage of benefits rather than work,
is apparently true of all nations and conditions of
men.
The report of the Na.tiong.l UniQn of Boot and Shoe
Operatives states t hat, "taking all things into consideration concerning trade, we may congratulate ourselves upon the condition our industry is in. We
have not, at least at present (end of January) felt to
any extent a slackness which we might almost have
expected after t he extremely busy months of last
year. " Referring to the reasons, it is suggested that
the very wet season, together with the fact that all
other trades are in a flourishing condition, explains
th9 continued prosperity in the boot and shoe trades.
In the chief organ of the boot and shoe industries it is
even suggested that there is a possibility of a scarcity
of labour, becam~e of the calling out of the Reserves,
the Militia, and t he Volunteers. That state of things
is not yet reached. The report gives particulars as to
the awards both at Northampton and Bristol in respect
of clickers and pressmen ; at both ph.ces the terms of
settlement were agreed to. At Bristol there was a
hitch as to the 20 years' limit, but at an interview between the president of the union and the employers the age limit was not pressed.
Disputes during the month have neither been many
nor serious. At Hinckley a case of dismissal was
investigated by the officials of the union, who induced
the employer to reinstate the man. At another firm
a wit hdra.'\val of the not ice of dismissal was not obtained, and, instea.d of a strike, the men were put on
compensation benefit. At Rushden similar complaints
were investigated in two cases. One firm agreed to
a settlement; the case of the other was still in the
hands of the officers at the date of the report. There
were two disputes in London about wages, but after
negotiations matters were settled favourably to the
men. At Stone, Staffordshire, a ease of dismissal was
investigated, the man having complained to the foremen of change~ in methods which caused reduction in
wages. As he could get no redress he appeg.led to the
firm, and was then dismissed, although he had worked
all his life for the firm. The union agreed to give
the man compensation rather than embark on a strike.
This method will tend towards conciliation in the end.
The deputation which waited upon the Archbishop
of Canterbury at L'l.mbeth Palace on old-age pensions
was a representathre one to a considerable extent. It
was organised by the committee instituted at the
Browning Hall, Walworth, formed of members of
trade unions and benefit societies, for the purpose of
spreading the movement in favour of an old-age pension scheme. But in the deputation there were other
representatives of labour not associated with the
Browning Hall committee. The speakers selected
were: Mr. George N. B.u nes, of the Amalgamated
Society of Engineers ; Mr. Charles Freake, of the
Boot and Shoe Makers' Union; Mr. Garrity, of the
R9.ilwa.y Servants; Mr. W. Stevenson, of the Builders'
Labourers' Union, &c. The keynote struck was that
the poor law had failed to solve the question of provision for old age. In this there is a consensus of
opinion. The treatment of the pauper is the same
whether his pauperism is due to his own bad conduct
and neglect of opportunity, or to causes over which
he had no control. This is the sad side of the case.
But the deputation advocated a similar principle
when the speakers said that there should be no difference in treg.tment under an old-age pension scheme;
all being equally entitled by reason of age alone-all
other considerations being put on one side. The principle is not a right one in any case, either under t he
existing poor-law system, or under a newer or better
scheme of State pensions. It is, in fact, in direct
opposition to the basis of all labour organisations;
whether of trade unions or of friendly societies, or
other similar bodies. Trade unionists repudiate equal
treatment of non-union and union men. They often
strike to enforce different treatment. They want to
force non-union men into the union, or starve them

199
out by refusals to work with them. The. argument
they use is that those men do.not fulfil the1~ duty b.J
making provision in the so01ety represe~tmg the1r
trade. Friendly societies do not do thts ;. but of
necessity the benefits ara confined to the thr1fty persons who h11.ve become and still are members. The
attitude on the proposer! pension scheme is therefore
at variance with their own principles.
The Archbishop, in reply to t~e several SJ?eakers,
stated that he took graa.t interest m the quest10n, but
that he thought we were still only in the experimental
sta.ge. Then he went on to say that he thought the
experiment advocated by Mr. Charles Booth wort.h
making of universal pensions, but he could not see h1s
way clear to go beyond that. Thi~ he un~erstood. to
require about 13,000,000l. a year 1n taxatton to gtve
the recipients 13l. per head. This he admitted was a
great sum yearly to add straight awa.y to the burdens
of this country, It is, he said, a rather serious undertaking truly. But the delegate of or from t he
Foresters quickly chimed in that 13,000,000l. would
not be sufficient to carry out t he scheme, but that
25,000,000t. would be required. The Archbishop replied that 1,000,000 of people entitled to a pension
would not take it, but then the principle of universal
pensions would to that extent be abortive. To have
capt ured the Archbishop of Canterbury is, doubtless,
a great achievement; his name will go for much in the
country. But Church dignitaries are not, as a rule,
good economists. The literature of political economy
only contains one name of solid renown in that branch
of literature, and he was anathematised by the Church
and a large proport ion of the people. Ministers of the
Church and other denominations have made splendid
reputations as historians, as poets, novelists, as mathematicians, and occasionally as men of science, but in
political economy they have rarely succeeded. It
would not be safe to follow them on a rash and farreaching principle of taxation, involving from
l3,000,000l. to 25,000,000l., or, perhaps, even
30,000,000l. when all costs of collection and administration are included. That we must have some method
of dealing with old-age pensions, other than the prasent
poor law, is certain. What the principle of the scheme
Rhall be is not yet sufficiently accepted by the taxpayers of the country. It is worth while to sacrifice
much to relieve the necessitious in their old age, in
such a way that they shall not rank as ordinary
paupers. There is, however, a section not to be
classed with the deserving poor.
The l'lonworke?s' J owrnal for t he current month re
views the course of the North of England iron trade
in I899. It gives statistics of the decreased output
of manufactured iron from I889 to the close of 1899,
a decrease from 337,535 tons in 1889 to I60,384 tons in
I899. This decrease in manufactured iron is more t ha.u
compensated for by the increase in the production of
steel. It is estimated in the article that the production of two elasses of steel mentioned will approach to
1,500,000 tons in 1899. Then the article gives consecutively the average rates in the six ascertainments
from 5l. I3s. 2.85d. per ton in January and February
to 6l. I7s. 10.27d. per ton in November and December,
I899, the latter being the .ruling price regulating
wages during the two first months of the year, being
a 5 per cent. advance from January 29. The review
deals also with the profits of the various firms, the
Consett Company reaching 33! per cent., and Sir
William Armstrong 20 per cent. Those are the
highest. The lowest quoted is 5 per cent. , up to I5
per cent. in the other companies. It appears that the
North Staffordshire district has for some time lagged
behind in rates of wages, and that the lower rates
have told against the rates of the ~Iidland Wages
Board. Now the North Staffordshire men have begun
to look up; within three months the members of the
union have been trebled. In the ~Iidlands generally
the employers favour the union, eo that the growth of
unionism in the north district will be welcomed.
There is also a first effort to more c0mpletely organise
the whole of the Midland district. The time is favourable. Wages are high, employment is exceedingly
good. The output is at high pressure. The demand
for material is great, all tending to encourage the
worker. But the J onntal, which is the organ of the
Operatives' Association, cautions the men not to be
impetuous. It ~e~recates '' i':ldustrial spasms." It
tells them that 1t 1s not sent1ment that is wanted
so much as intelligence. This shows that the new
secretary is worthily treading in the steps of his predecessor-a man who won golden opinions from employers as well as from the great body of the workers.
The P?siti?n of the en.gineering trades throughout
L'il.ncashtre Is not matenally changed, but it is reported that the unsettled state of affairs in South
Afri?9. is b~ing felt both in the engineering branches
and 1n the 1ron and steel trades. This does not mean
that any dislocation has commenced, but rather that
there ar~ some fears that it will take place if the
war continues for any length of time. Still there is a
feeling that it will only be temporary, and that peace

[FEB. 9,

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

200
will g ive an impetus to industry. Iu some branch es
of engineering i t is said that the weight of new orders
to replace old contracts running out has fallen off ;
but, except in some :sections of the t extile machinemaking indus tries, chief:ly in connection with spinning machine ry, activity is still fully maintained, most
departments having a sufficiency of work on hand to
keep them well engaged for some time to come. All
branches of structural engineering work are exceptioually brisk, a nd so also are all sections of electrice.l
and hydraulic engineering. Locomotive and railway
wagon builders are exceedingly busy, the firms in
most cases having a sufficiency of work to carry them
well into next year. In the iron ma rket only slow
business is reported. The buying of pig iron is mostly
confined to immediate requirements. It is said that
prices are not quite so firm as they were. Finished
iron is, however, firm at the advanced rates, makers
quoting special rates for prompt delivery. The steel
trade is very busy, rates being firm a t r ecent advances.
Altogether the position rema ins good, and the outlook
is not unfavourable.
The wages dispute in the cotton industry ended in
an amicable settlement le.st wee k, after a conference
between the master cotton spinners and the operatives'
represeutives. The masters agreed to an advance of
5 per cent. to the spinners and 10 per cent. to strippers
and grinders, the other card-room hands to have 5 per
cent. The advance to t he different sections will affect
some 20,000 workpeople; it comes into force on the
first making-up day after the 19th inst. Altogether
t he cotton industry is settling down to conciliation.
In some cases disputes inevitably arise as t o the
quality of material, but in the main they are dealt
with in a. friendly manner.

--

In the Wolverhampton district there has been, and

still is, a continuous demand for all classes of iron, but
th ere is some unsettled feeling with respect to prices.
\Vith unmarked bars at 10l. 10s. p er ton, the markedbe.r makers had to consider whether the rates should
be raised from lll. per ton to lll. 10s. per ton, anrl
there was some fear that the trade would n ot, or could
n ot, bear the strain. However, the advance was made
last week, causing some animation on the market.
This makes an aggregate advance of 3l. 10s. per ton
since the early part of last year. Up to the date of
the last advance, best bars were in good de mand at the
t hen rates, and unmarked bars at 10l. 10s. Black
sheets were in such good demand that prices went up
2s. 6d. per ton. The prices of all other classes of material remain firm . Pig iron continues to be in good
request, and the steel trade i~ as active as ever. The
engineering branches continue busy , including boilermakers, ironfounders, tankmakers, bridge and girder
constructors, a nd all sections in the rail way sheds.
The hardware industries also continue brisk generally,
some branches being busier than others. On the whole,
the position is favourable, and the outlook en couraging.
In the Birmingham distric t the adva nce in marked
bars caused little surprise. Indeed, it is thought that
the highest level is not yet reached. This fee~ing is
caused by the continued upward movement m t he
prices of raw material and coal, and in consequence of
the advance in ironworkers' wages next week. E ven
at the advanced rates producers a re not over-anxious
for n ew business, as their books are full of orders,
though some of t hem were booked at much lower rates.
The Associated Ironfounders have put up their rates
10s. per ton. Black sheets are in demand at enhan ced
rates, but galvanised sheets re main at rates unchanged .
The iron and steel-using industries continue busy for
the most part. But there a re signs of stagnation in
some branches, owing to the absence of orders from
South Africa. and elsewhere.

1900.

an explosive endangered human life. E very man who end of the single cylinder. The reversal of the valve is
e~ected by a tum~ling weight, which is raised by the
left his work for such a reason ought to b e fined.
p1ston-rod at both 1ts up and down strokes, and which
- -The Belgian glass cutters at the Charleroi \Vorks in falling forces down a. double-ended lever on the end
struck work last w eek for better conditions of labour. of spindle of the plug valve; suitable spring buffers
arrest its fall. As this method of reversing the
The works were not closed, but worked with a smaller finally
valve does not produce uniform len~ths of stroke, at
staff. But if the strike continues for a few days the varying speeds of the meter, an ingemous counter is em.
furnaces will have to be shut down, and all the other ployed, which by means of suitable ratchets and pawls
workmen dismissed . Probably, howe ver, a. settlement practically measures the lengths of stroke, and adds
will be arrived a t .
them up, thereby producing a. very accurate registration.
T hese meters are of large capaetty, hence their movements are slow, so that the wear and tear of the parts
The Aus trian Government have failed to put an end are
small, and f urther, they discharge large quantities
to the coalminers' strike in Bohemia, as the employers of water under small heads (or difference of pressure at
insisted t hat t he men should resume w ork p ending inlet and outlets). The rolling piston-rings are now said
negotiations. This the men refused. The Concilia- to be very durable, but hee.vy shocks will sometimes
tion Boards in the distric ts affected also failed for the cause them to slip from their proper position and besame reason. It is doubtful if the men's decision be come damaged. The meter is very bulky and rather
wise. There may be reasons why they prefer negotia- noisy. The valve when at midstroke leaves the inlet and
tions b efore resuming work. I t is not as if negotia- outlet passages momentarily open to each other, so that
tions were ente red into and broken off. Still, media- for a. very short t ime water can pa.sg from inlet to outlet
tion is best, even if the conditions are not wholly without entering the meter, and therefore without being
measured. However when the meter has been properly
favourable.
adjusted, and oiled, the interval of time is so exceedmgly
small as to not sensibly affect the registration; and th18
part of the construction has for the last few years been much
WATER METERS.
1mproved by the adoption of ~fr. Muirhead's arrangement,
W etter M eters of the Present D ay, with Special R eference whereby the valve is started from rest by the movement
to Small Flows atnd W aste in Dribbles.*
of the piston before the tumblin~ weight falls over, hence
the work of reversing the valve 1s not entirely dependent
By Mr. WILLIA:M SoHoNHEYDER, Member, of L ondon.
on the falling weight, and the action of the valve is said
( Concl'llAleil from page 170.)
to be now much more certain. According to the manu6. Positive M eters.-The aim of all positive meters is facturer's instructions, this meter requires to be cleaned,
to accurately (positively) measure and record the wa.ter oiled and generally to be seen to every month, and ib is
passing through them, hence they have each one or not r~commended to place it underground ;. bu~ the author
more cylinders (with their pistons and valves), which is well aware that the latter recommendatiOn 18 far from
are alternately filled and emptied; and of course they being followed by ~~era. He . believes this is the ?nlY
have suitable counters.
single-cylinder pos1t1ve meter m use a t the present time.
The "Kennedy " meter, Fig. 11, was brought out The number of parts and of the speci~l to~ls required for
their repair, as wel~ as .the numerous d1rect1o~ for attending to the meter mdtcates some of the disadvantages
FifJ./1. 'i< N N 0 y.''
attendant upon the general use of it.
Nearly all t?e other .types <?f J>?Sitive meter have two
measuring cylmders w1th the1r p1stona a.nd valves, and
a re of the '' Duplex " class, in which the piston o~ one
actuates the valve of the other. Some have. theu CY
linders hori zontal, and others have them vertlCal. The
" Frost " or "Manchester, , Fig. 12, has one cylinder
vertical and the other horizontal, and they &11 have fta~
gun-metal valves, working in strnight lines on gun-metal
faces. The two cylinders of this cla....<IS a.re nea.rly always

. 1'"
~. "FROST. "

--

--

'Fi[J.14.

uWORTHINGTON ;
}

FifJ.13.

11

TYI.OR

POSJTJ V ~~

The strike of carpenters and joiners at the Paris

Exhibition was a sudden fizzle. The strike was
sudden , violence commenced, which was r epressed,
then intervention followed, ending in a settlement.
The threat of wrecking the buildings was a foolish outburst of temper. France cannot afford to spoil her
great World's Fair this y~r. Workmen .know this,
in spite of their reckless wild talk on occasion.
The Scottish miners received 9d. per shift advance
in wages last week, as the result of t heir negotiations
wi t h the coalowners. The total number affected is
about 70,000 men. This is a. considerable adva nce,
and was obtained without a stoppage of work.
The Welsh coalminers have had an advan ce of 5 per
cent. in wages under the op eration of the sliding scale
still in force.
The adva nce holds good for two
months.
At Aberama n Colliery about 1000 r efused to w?rk
last week in consequence of the manage~ent havm~
issued a summons against a collier ~or u smg a prohibited explosive.
Such mad actiOn deserves the
severest reprobation. The management was bound to
take action , for if an explosion occurred they w ould
have been held to be culpa ble. Then the use of such

about 47 years ago, and it .still retain~ its high rep~tation it was described and illustrated m the Proceedrngs
of this Institution for 1882, page 42. I t has a. single,
vertical, doubleacting cylinder, with its piston pac~ed
with a. rolling india-rubber ring, ~nd a val.ve represent~ng
an ordinary plug cock, but ha.vmg a. thm plug, wb1cli
does not cover the inlet and outlet ports when at half
stroke hence little or no concussion is caused through
the re~ersal of the valve, as the water is never quite
stopped in its change of movement into one or the other

.. ,

of the same capacity, but in the. "Ty~or . Poslt~ein

Fig. 13, there is a. small difference. 1o t betr s_1ze, an in
t he " Frost " there is a. very constdera.ble. dfferen~ .
their dimensions. Why there should be thiS la.rse dlffble
ence between the cyli nder capacities the .author un~ e
to say ; and be is still less able to explam why t e v ~
~upplying t he small cylinder (or cyhnders) should be
~bnormally large, and why thab supply~n~ tb~ lar[e ~~:
l~nder with water should be of such d1mmuttve un
s1ons.
Tb " Frost "
The ba~t k nown " Dupl~x " meters are :
e
p '1
't t '
f M h 1E
Fig. 12 (P roceedings, 1882, page 42) i the. "Tylo~ ~ :
t
h
bef
I
d
P
.* aper rea
ore t e ns 1 u lOn o
ec amca n- tive." F ig. 13; t he" \V orthington u ( American), FJg. 1-s I
gmeers.
,

FEB.

9, r goo.J

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

the '.' Frager , ~Fr~ncb), Fig. 15, made by Michel (Proceedmga, InstttutlOn !lf Otvil Engineers, vol. lxxxvi.
ftage 444); ~pe ~~ Sobretber, (French), Fig. 16; the K ent
Absol?te Ftg. 17, bearmg a. strong resemblance
to the 'Frager; , and the "Goodwin , lookin much
like a "Worthington.u The " Schmid ~~ meter ~ig 18
is also of. the J?uple.x: type, but, unlike the' ge~erai
run of thts sorb, 1ts ptstons have their length of stroke
controlled by a crankshaft, orankE, and conneoting-rodea'

201

j Fi 17

fa!) ' dt ~s a combma~to~ of leather (for wearing surthe ie:~he~ :so~rugated mdta-rubber dis~ (for eKQ_anding
age 200 th
.t tt wears) . . In the Worthm~ton, Fig. 14,
e pts ons are m tended to fioa.t m the wA-ter.
t~~ t~~.autf~r l ery much doubts their ability to oontinu~
Theo i ~s,0 a er o.ng exposure to hea.vy ~xternal pressures.
(like ~h d~1 of thtr meter are further w1t hout any packing
they mus
e t bsos
&c.,fast
of tb.e
meters),
hence
e 1<?rb
ta. 1mks,
e to set
wtthvol~me
duty or
hard water

'

'

PitJ.71.

and must in all oases b~ removed to the workshop for the

purpose. Sever.a.l of th1s type of meter are crowded with
small screws, pms, a.nd.sprmgs,. which often give trouble
by brea.~age, and t_he dl8mountmg and reasse mbling are
very tedtons work m mosu of them
Next in impo~tance to acouracy, ..durability, simplicity,
and gener~l effi01ency musb .be oonstdered the quantity of
water d_ehvered ~nder a. ~1ven effective head. Judged
from thiS standpomt the ' Kennedy, ., Fig. 11, page 200

KENT "ABSOLUTE ."

Fig. 19.~

Seot~onc

14- Fu.l t

Ftg

siZe/.

20.

Fig. za.

. Cast!/: "

P~wv.

Val. vi?/

OJu:L
Seal:ing

rem.oved

A
H

~ :

ut..
4c

is far ahea.d of all others, while the "Parkinflon Lowand must become leaky with wear, and to repair them Pressure," Fig. 1, the Siemens "Inferential, u Figs. 3
and the piston of one oy linder serves a.s valve of the is an expensive process, as it involves renewal of four

other. As the pistons ha.ve no packing, the meter is even

worse than the Worthing ton meter, as both pistons and
valves must soon become leaky with wear, and are (when
new) very apt to set fast with small impurities. The
crankshaft appears to require frequent lubrication from
the outside. They are only used abroad; an attempt to
manufa()ture them Ratisfactorily in this country utterly
failed. The piston packing in this class is generally of
leather, which the author has nob found in his experience
to be the best material. In the Kent " Absolute,"

pistons.
Several of the duplex meterA ("Frost," " Frager," and
Kent "Absolute") have stuffing-boxes, which require
attention from time to time; and the slide-valves of allon account of their limi ted and rectilineal movementssoon become leaky by ordinary wear, and in even moderately hard water they often become fixed (grown) to
their sea.tinga if left at rest for a short time. All meters
of this class can only be repaired by skilled workmen,

and 4, page 169 a~te, and the "Tylor Positive, " Fig. 13
page 200, are much below thA average in this respect.
The difficulty of estimating the amount of water expected to be used in any prospective supply, or that
used in an existing service, is strikingly illustrated in the
before-mentioned paper by the late Sir William Siemens
{Proceedings, 1856, page 116). Thus of the amounts
supplied b! fifteen consumers, firstly, as estimated ;
and, secondly, as found by meter measurements, the

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

202
value of the first was G85l., and of the second 4170l.
and the author is fully convinced that it is n~t easie;
now to guess even approximately the amount of a certain
water supply than it . was fortr-three ;years a~o. Still
many water works engtneers are m favour of selhng water
by contract rather than by meter.
Early in 1884 the author's attention was directed by
one of the largest London water companies to the great
want of a good water meter, which should be free from
the defects of those already in use, and which should
above all b~ simple, and should be able to re~ster the
smallest dnbbles for long periods without liabihty to deran~ement. After considerable study and notJ a. few experiments he brought out his first meter in 1888. It was
of the t~ree-cylinder hori zontal type, having a single flat
valve wtth a double movement, which caused itJ to remain
always tight; and the three-cylinder arrangement produced a steady flow, as well as a qniet working. These
m etera were before the pt~blic ~or about seven years, and
most of those made are still domg good s~rvice but they
wer~ composed of too many working parts fo; thorough
effiCiency.
Further s tudy, a few experiments, and assistance frow
the manufacturers, Messrs. Beck and Co., of Great Suffolkstreet, Southwark, produced the present tyJ)e now called
the "Imperial," shown quarter-full size in Figs. 19 to 23
page ~01. I.n it the ~ingle-acting three-cylinder arrange:
ment lS retamed, as lS also the double movement of the
valve, now made with a semi-spherif'.a.l face ; and there is
t~e same ~bsence of small. screws and S_{>rings, while the
dlSmo~ntmg and remountmg are even s1mpler and ea.sier
t~an m the rst ty_{>e. It has, moreover, in its compoSl
tlOn ten fewer movmg parts, and therefore the force required to drive it and the wear and tear are much
reduced.
The meter consists, as will be seen, of the following
parts, nat;n~ly: The lower ~ortion or body A, Figs. 19 aud
20, c~mta:mmg the three cylinders B, and the valve seating
C . w1th 1ta three ports and passages D, communicating
w1 th the bottom of the cylinders, and there is a discharge
port and passage E. Inlet and outlet connections F and
G and straine~ H, Fis-. 23, page 201, are also attached to
the body port1on. I lB the cover with the rib K for holding down th:e ~trainer, and it has a prolongation at the
t?P for receiVIng the counter gear. The unequal diviston of the bolt holes prevents the cover frow being
wron~ly fixed to the . body. Though the counter gear
contams a few novelties, such as the entire absence of
bra?kets, E?rews, springd, and s~all pins, and has a convemently hmged glass cover, st1ll esentially it does not
differ very much from the counters of other meters. L
Fi~. 21, is the valve with its three arms, in the ends of
wh1cb are cup-shaped bushes, for receiving the spherically shaped heads of the piston-rods M, Fig. 19 ; and to
these a~e secured the pistons, composed of upper and
lower ptston-plates, nuts, and flexible piston pa.ckings.
The water enters the me~r, ~ shown by the arrows,
passes ~p through the stramer mto the upper portion of
t~e casmg and presses equally downwards on all the three
plSto~, and also on the valve. Accordin~ to the position
o.f thlfJ valve, tb~ lo~er e~d of each cylinder in succesSl.o n JS .commumcatmg w1th the outlet passage 1 and its
plSton 1s therefore forced down by the superior pressure above, and thus discharges the contents of the
CJlinde~. At. th~ sa~e time.one or both of the other cy~mders 1s havmg 1ts piSton ratsed, whereby water is drawn
m through the passages and the lower part is filled. Thus
each lower end of the three cylinders B is in due course
filled and emptied, one or two pistons always supplying
the active force, so that there is no dead p oint. The
length of the s troke is regulated by the flanged projection N, Fig. 19, on the valve L coming into rolling contact with a similar flange 0 on the valve seating C; a
slight skew of the ports causing the pistons to endeavour
to take a longer stroke than they should, and the rollerpaths restricting this tendency. The teeth in the valve
and the notches in the valve-seating p_revent the valve
from turning round on its own axis, Figs. 21 and 22,
page 201. A pin in the upper part of the valve engages
the crank of the crank spmdle P, Fig. 19, which com municates m otion to the clockwork in the usual manner.
The pins through the upper ends of the pis ton-rods prevenb the pistons from falling out of tba cylinders sh ould
the meter be turned upside down.
It will be seen from the above description that the
meter is positive in its action, that the lengths of stroke
are defimte, that the speed of water through it is practically uniform (as in a three-throw pump), so that there
is no concussion or water-hammer, that there is no backlash bet~een any of the working parts, and that the
meter can therefore be run at any convenient speed
without noise. It has few working parts, not a stuffingbox nor a spring among its deta~ and is self- lubricating. It contains no small parts, neither pins nor screws;
the three studs and nuts (permanently securing the valve
seating), the cover bolts, and piston n uts are the only
appliances of the sort used. As soon as the cover has
been removed the whole of the working parts can be
taken out, examined, cleaned, new piston cups fitted,
and other ordinary repairs effected, if necessary, even
without removal from 1ts p osition in the pipe line. The
only joint which has to be made is that between the body
and the cover, and any leakage here is at once detected ,
as it is outwards. A s to durability, the author has frequently been informed by users, who take out meters for
repair every two years, lihat it has been a common occurrence to find that they only require cleaning, painting,
and re-testing, to be again fit for service; even the piston
cups often serve two terms (of two rears each). The
valve faces never r equire any attention, as they soon
p olish themselves bright like mirrors and remain q uite
titth t.
l 0 order to te~t for bimrelf the practic~l wo1ki ng of

--

this meter, the author had one of i-in. size affixed to the
service. pipe of his private house m February, 1896, and
tested 1t for accuracy at various times with satisfactory
results. In. Ma;v, 18~, an American type " Volume "
meter of ~-m. s1ze bemg the smallest he could obtain,
was xed tandem with the "Imperial," which was first
cleaned and furnished with n ew piston cups so as to put
both on the same footing. Both meters 'were tested
befor~ fixing, at various .. peeds, and were found to b~
practically correct, though the "Volume " meter was
disinclined to register flows below about two gallons per
hour. The service is partly direct through drawn-off taps
on the ground floor and basement, and partly through a
ball-valve in the main cistern, for supply to bath lavatory, and hot-water cistern: From May 21, 18f)7, to
May 20, 1899, the "Impenal" had registered 100,248
gallons, and the ''Volume" meter 81,772 gallons, or
more than 18 per cent. less than the "Imperial " for the
two years. As the inhabitants of this house do not
allow dribbling wastes by leaky or half. closed taps
to continue, the author feels certain that for an
average house the readings of the two meters would
have shown much greater difference. W eekly readings showed the " Volume " meter to be from 10
~o 50 p~r cent. slower ~ban the "Imperial; " and
1n ~me mght of 12. h ours m ApriJ , 1898, when a leaky
fittmg had been discover ed, the "Volume " registered
only 5 gallons, while the "Imperial " registered 29 gallon s ; on another occasion the figures were 9 gallons
and 29 gallons respectively, also for 12 hours. The
meters were tested from time to time in the two years
and both were found to be correct, excepting tb~
" Volume's" objections to small flows. When the meters
were tested in May of this year, the "Imperial " was
practically correct at all speeds, down to 2 gallons per
hour (below which it was not tried ), while the ''Volume "
would n ot register 4 gallons per hour, and at 5 gallons
per h<?ur it was 1~ per cent. slow, while at 48 gallons per
ho~.Jr 1t was pract~cally correct. The rate of working in
th1s house, accordmg to a large number of obser vations
varies from a mere dribble up to 100 gallons per hour'
which has been found suffi01ent for all purposes. Th~
author would submit that these exp eriments prove the
" Imperial " meter to be in every way fitted for measuring
s upplies to private houses (in addit1on to its suitability
for general use), and that a. meter which will not measure
the ~mallest dribble is misleading and costly for such
serv1co.
As comparative tests of different types of meters are but
seldom r ecorded, the author thinks tbe.tJ the following
results of t ests of four m eters, Table II. , coupled in line
on the supply to country water works, would be of interes t. The supply was varied from time to time by hand,
and each meter was tested for accuracy before fixing, with
the results given :
T ABLE II. -Tests of Four Water Meters.
Meters.
Init ial errors
Feb. 4, 1899 ..

"Positive." " 1t~!f.~~n- "Volume.,. "Positive."t

-

3 p.c.
2,780
2,800
1,310
1,960
2,000

13, 189~ ..
" 18, 1899 ..
" 25, 1899 ..
" 4, 1899 ..
:March
11, 1899 ..
" 18, 1899 ..
25, 1899 ..
" 1, 1899 ..
April
8, 1 ~99 ..

1,880

Totals registered

21,440

..
"

2,060
2,080
2,320
2,250

+ 7 p.c.

2 p.c.
2,346
2,454
850
1,344
578
2,358
1,405
1,465
1, 02
2,040

1,990
3,260
880
1,410
1,310
1,200
1,325
1,345
1,680
1,850

- 16,250-

* This meter stopped several times.

16,642

+ I! p.c.

2,898
2,958
1,378
2,040
2090
1,980
2,150
2,300
2,346
2,3e4

22,496

t The author's first type

of meter.

Hence certainly there seemed little to choose between

an " Inferential " and a. " Volume " meter ; both w~re
practically 25 per cent. slow on the average of the ten
weeks' test.
The author trusts, in conclusion, that be has neither
claimed greater merits for the "Imperial " meter than are
due to it, or understated the advantages of other types ;
and hopes that he has n ot tired the members with descriptions and statements which may be familiar to many of
them.
T he working model on the table, f in. size, and the
other parts shown, will explain the construction and
mod e of action of the meter far better than is p ossible by
words only.
ENGINEERS: ER
the d iscussion on
:M r. Schonheyder's paper read before the Institution of
M echanical E ngineers, we regret that the name of Mr.
I saac Smith, of Nottingham, was by error given as Mr.
J. Smith.
TH E I NSTITUTION OF MECH ANICAL
RA TU M. - In our report last week of

RAILWAY.-S hips of a total

burthen of 729,996 tons entered the Alexandria D ock at
Hull during the past half-year, being a decrease of 20 27G
tons, as compared with the corresponding period of 18!.18.
In the corresponding half of 1898, in consequence of the
coal strike in South Wal~, there was a very large increase
in the coal shipments at this dock. Additional wagons
and bosies have been delivered d uring the haJf-year, and
12 engmes, which are being built, will be r eceived in
time for anticipated heavy traffic. The South Yorkshire
Extension R ailway is being actively proceeded with. The
extension of the Alexandra Dock was opened at the end
of July. The Hull Joint Dock Act has received the
Royal aSPent, and a joint committee of the North-Eastern
and t~e Hul1 and Barnslf:y Rt~.ilway Comranie$ has been
organ l:!ed,
HULL AND

BARNSLE Y

[FEB. 9, I 900.

WORKMEN'S COMPEN ATION.

Maud v. Broo~. -This w~ an appeal by the respondent
from an award gt'\en by Hts H onour Judge Greenhow on
July 21, 1899, wb~reby the respondent bad been ordered
to pay to the apphcant the sum of 29Gl. Ss. It came before the Court of 4--ppeal on January 27. The claim
arose out of an acc1dent which happened to ,Jeremiah
Maud, a plasterer, who, on November 24 1898 W8o8
employed m plastering the attic walls of two ~illa.s ~hich
~ ere ~ore than 30 ft. high. J ames Madden wa~ workmg wtth tb~ deceased. ~bile the deceased was standing
o~ the l.andmg of the a~tlC floor staircase, which was not
then railed off, and wh1le engaged in rubbing the attic
walls, he ~ell to the floor below. H e died of concussion
?f the bram at M enston Asylum on May 2. Atthehear
mg of t~e case ~y the learned County Court Judge, the
only ev1dence g1 ven was that of Madden. The defendant
(present appellant) argued that the employment was nob
on~ t? which the Act ~ppli~d, and that, although the
bUJldmg was ov~r 30 ft. m he1gbt, it was not being constructed or re patred by means of a. scaffolding as required
by the Act. Counsel for the applicant (Mr. J. A.
Compsto?}., on t?e .other hand, . argued that " plastering "
was repa1rmg w1thm the meamng of the Act.
The County C<?urt Judge held (1) that plastering the
wall s of an unfiDlShed house was part of its construction
(2) that the arrangement of brick~ trestles &c. was ~
scaffolding within the meaning of the Act. 'The ~ounds
of appeal were (a) the employment was not one to which
the Act applies; (b) the appellant was not the undertaker
within the meaning of the Act; (c) there was no evidence
in Rupgort of the findings of the County Court Judge.
Mr. Ruegg, Q.C. (Mr. A. Powell with him), for the
appellant, argued that the appellant was not the "undertaker '' within the meaning of Section 7 of the Workmen's
Compensation Act, 1897. The point was that the
appellant was not the builder of these houses, but merely
a master plasterer who did the plastering work, and
therefore, did not come within the definition of "under:
takers " in Section 7, sub-section 2, which meant, in the
case of a building, " the persons undertaking the construction, repair, or demolition." It was said that that
point was not taken before the County Court Judge.
Mr. J. A. Compston, who appeared for the respondent,
said that in his opening statemE\nt to the County Court
Judge, as appeared from the Judge's notes, he said that
the appellant was buildin~ the two houses, and as the
point did not seem to be d1sputed, no evidence was called
upon it. It was not specifically raised in the answer to
the claim for compensation, nor was it taken before the
County Court Judge. Had it been taken before the
Judge, the respondent would have called evidence to
the effect that the appellant was building these houses
himself upon his own land.
Mr. Ruegg, having replied on this point, Lord J ostice
A. L. Smith said: We d o not think that tbe appellant
can raise that p oint now. It was open to him to raife it
before the County Court Judge, but be did not do so. If
he had raised it there the respondent could have called
evidence with the view of showing that the appellant
was himself building these houses. That being so, the
point is not open now.
Mr. Ruegg, continuing his argument, said that the
building was not being constructed by means of a "sca.f
folding. " The L egislature never intended two trestles
and a. board across the top placed in~ide a room to be a.
" Ecaffolding." The word ' 'scaffolding " was used in ita
ordinary and popular sense as e. structure of poles, uprights, board8, &c., fastened together. It must, as Lord
Justice Collins said in " H oddinott v. Newton, CbamberP,
and Co." (1899, 1 Q.B., 1018), be interpreted by reference
to the nature of the work for which the Legislature con
templated that it was to be used; that was, the construction, repair, or demolition of n. building, exceEding 30ft.
in height, as a whole. No one would, in ordinary
language, say that these trestles and boards were a scaf
folding. The dangE-r contemplated was that incidental
to dealing with a. building more tban 30ft. high by means
of a scaffolding adequate to such a building. The learned
Judge was therefore wrong.
Mr. A. P owell followed on the same side. H e con
tended tba.t in order to come within the scope of the Act,
the scaffolding must be of such a. height and of such a
nature as to enable the building 30 ft. high to be constructed.
Lord Justice Collins: Would~ bo&rd placed across.two
chairs in a drawing. room be a scaffolding ? The Legisl&
ture could n ot have intended such an arrangement to be
a. scaffolding.
Mr. J . A. Compston, for the respondent, argued that
the question whether there was a scaffolding or not was
one of fact for the County Court Judge. It was neces
sary to have some scaffolding in the room to do the
plastering work, and as it was impossible to have an
ordinary scaffolding with poles, an arrangement of trestles
and boards was used. It was a mere question. of convenience which was used. A plasterer's scaffold1Dg. ~as
well known in the trade. He r eferred to the dAfin1t1on
of "trestle" in "Webster's Dictionary, " and in the
"Century " and " Imperial " Dictionaries.
Mr. Ruegg, Q. C., repl ied.
.
The Court dismissed the appeal, Lord Justice Collins
dissenting.
L ord Justice A. L. Smith said : It must be taken that
the appellant was the builder of these houses. They
were not completed, and the d eceased man was engaged
in d oing plastering work. In my opinion the qounty
Court Judge was j ustified in holding that at the ttme of
the accident the building was being "constructe~." The
next question is whether the building was be10g ~on
structed by means of a " sca ffolning. " The Act reqmrE~
that the building t: hould be 30 ft. high, but there l8

203

E N G I N E E R I N G.
nothing ia the Act requiring the sc.a ffolding to be 30 ft.
high nor anything limiting the a~Ol?~nt to a ~all off the
soa.ff~lding. Ib has been held t~at 1t 1s tm!D~tenal whether
the scaffolding is inside or outstde the butldmg. Suppose
a house was being built by means of t restles and boards
outside with u. ladder to g ive access thereto, would not a
County' Courb Judge be entitled t o find thl\.t . the hou~e
was being constructed by means of a soaffoldmg ? Th1s
Court has always refused to give a d efinition. of the word
" scaffolding., The Court can only Sfl:Y m eaoh case
whether there was 1\.ny eviden~e to en t ttle the Coun ty
Court Judge to find that the arrangement was a scaffolding. It seems to me t hn.t if trestles and board~ we.re
used ou tside a house for the purpose of construotmg 1t,
there would be evidence that the trestle.3 and boa.rdd
formed a scaffolding. I cannot say as a matter of law
tba.b if t hey are used insid e the bou.se for the pu~p~se
of completing it they a.ye n.ot a scaffoldmg. In my op1mon
the appeal should be dtsml.SSed.
.
. .
.
L ord J ustioe Rig by concurred. In . b ts opmton, m
construing the Act, they were not at liberty t o confi ne
the word "scaffolding, to the most ';lsua.l form of. scaffolding. A thing might be a soaffoldmg ~heth~r 1t was
a usual or an unusual arrangement. A th~ng. mtght well
be a scaffolding thou~h no ~ole.3 were used m 1t.
Lord .Justice Colhns satd : I r egret that I cannot
agree with the rest of the qou~~ I c~nnot d o so consistently with my judg!!\en.t m
H oddmott V: Newton,
Uba.mbers and Co." Ha.vmg carefully r econstdered the
matter, I 'adhere to what I said i~ t ha.b ca:se. T~o only
safe rule is to give to the words m quest10n thetr or?tnarr p opular meaning. The words must be r ead Wttb
the1r context. I cannot thin~ t~at a board pl~ced upon
two trestles in a ro~m co~es w1thm the wo~d scaffoldin , as used in thts seot10n. I d o not thmk that a ny
o~ina.ry uninstruoted person would call that a scaffolding. Certainly I do not think ~uch a p~rs_on would ~all
it a. scaffolding by means of w:h10h a butldmg was .beu~g
constructed, r epaired, or ~emohshed. . The con~ect10~ m
which the word "aca ffoldmg " occurs m t~e sect10n pomts
to something in the nature of !1- scaffolqmg of p oles. a:nd
supports used in the oot;ts~ruc~on, repair, or d em<?ht10n
of a. building. In my optmon, 1t was not a qu~~1~:m of
pure fact. Th~ Co urt must accept the r~sp?nsilnhty of
giving some gu1d~nce as to what. comes Wlthin ~he word
' 1 scaffolding, wit hout attemptmg
to d efine 1ts exact
meaning. In "Hoddinott v. Newton, . Cham?era, and
Co." I attempted to st ate the co.~iderat10ns wb10h s~ould
be taken into account in ascerta.mmg whether a part1cular
thing is or is not a scaffolding. It .s~ems. t~, me that
my view was supported by the de01s1on m Wood v.
Wa.lsh , (1899, 1 Q.B., 1009). There the workmen, who
were painting the outside of a house, used ladders for
the purpose, and a board was tied a t one end to a rung of
one of the ladders, the other end resting on a. window sill.
If the trestles and boards were a scaffolding in the present case, I do not see why t he arrangement in 1 ' W ood v.
Walsh " was not also a sca.ffolding. L ord Justice A. L.
Smith in that case said that the ladder was not a scaffolding and that as to the arrangement of a plank attached
to ~ rung of the ladder, whether it was a scaffolding was
a question of fact, and the arbitrator found that it was
not, and be a~d with him. In '' Hoddinott v. Newton,
Chambers, and Co." there was an arrang-ement of scaffold
boards resting on led~es secured to iron columns inside a
building. Lord J ust10e A. L. Smith thought that there
was evidence that the arrangement was a scaffolding,
though it was nob necessary t o decide the point. I was
of opinion that it was not a scaffolding, and I think
L ord Justice R omer took the same view, because be said
tbab the words construction, repair, and scaffolding should
not be considered separately, but together, for they had
a. mutual bearing upon each other. That case affords
some guidance as to what is a scaffolding. The r esult of
holding this arrangement of trestles and boards to be a
scaffolding will be strange indeed. It was admitted that
the decision will cover the case o f a workman employed
on the building away from the scaffolding. It must
follow that if a house is completed except the inside
plastering, and if only one plasterer is on a board placed
upon two trestles finishing the plastering of a room,
another workman who stumbles when going upstairs and
is injured can claim compensation under the Acb. That
would be a s trange result. The word '' scaffolding "
means, in my opinion, one system of scaffolding, capable
of being used for the whole o f the co:lStruction or the
whole of the repair of the building.
L ord Justice A. L . Smith said : ' 1 I wish t o m ake one
observation. In " H oddinott v. Newton, Chambers, and
Co." I merely said that, in my opinion, there was evi dence upon which the Oounty Court Judge was entitled
to find that the structure was a scaffoldin~. So also in
"Wood v. W alsh, " I merely declined t o mterfere with
the finding of t he County Court ,Judge.
R ees v. Powell JJuffryn Stwrn Ooal Compa~ny, Li'lnited.This case, which was also heard on January 27, was an
appeal from the decision of the Judge of the Glamor~an
shtre County Oonrt, holden at Aberdare, in proceedmga
to assess compenia.tion under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1897. The appellant, on Decemb er 28, 1898,
was working as a collier, in the respondent's pit, when he
was ordered to do hauler's work. His lamp having gone
out, he relit it and returned with the !ighted la mp towards the place where his work was. He had to walk
along an inclined plane or r oad way, up which tra.IWJ wer e
hauled by mea.ns of a rope. Ther e was no r oom to walk
between the rail and the side, the distance between the
two being only 18 in. H e therefore had to walk between
the rails. There were manholes at the side for the men
to take shelter in when a "journey of trams" passed.
When the appellant reA.Ohed the inclined road way to go
blc~ t1 the plac9 where he w~ working he was told that
the Journey of tr~~s w~s c.:>mmg, and he saw the rope in

clear the pack ice which, in the Baltio, reached to a depth

of several fathoms.

te
It had often been ob3erved that a steamer g.omg as dn
sometimes mn.de better progress then gomg a~ea
This gave Mr. Frank E. Kirby the idea. of construotm.g !1s teamer with one propeller ab each end, and .thus orig~
nated the American type of ferry-boat for wmter navtgation. The firot s teamer built on thi.s sys~em was ~he
St. Igna.s completed in 18R8 for ca.rrymg ratl way tra~ns
across th~ Straits of Mackinac. The m ethod b~ wh1ch
this new craft worked in pack ice was some!"hab dtfferent
from the European method. \Vhen an ~ce-brea.ker of
the old type was s topped by a belt of pack 10e she back ed
astern a fe w ship's lengths a~d mad~ a f~esh charge; .hub
the A merican steamer remamed w1th 1ts bo w agamst
the ice, the fore engines were reversed, and the fore J?rOpeller sent a stream of water in amon6 the pack Ice,
loosening the ho~d between th.e separate blocks ; a.nd . aCJ
soon as the eng m es were agam reversed, lumps o f 1ce
were carried aft by the stream from the ~ore propeller.
The aft engines were, during this operat10n, constantly
working forwards, and, havin~ greate~ p ower than the
fore engines, kept the boat agamst the 10e.
This boat havmg proved a success, others f_ollowerl;. and
the good results obtained with the Amer10an r ailwa y
ferries were soon appreciated in Europe. The Tra.ns
Siberian R ailway ordered one steam ferry of 3700 hor.3epower for the Baikal Ls.ke, and the Finland Governm ent
d ecid ed on having one ice-~reaking steamer f<;>r the Port
of H ango with a propeller m the fore end. Thl8 steamer,
the Samp~ had now finished her fi rs t winter's campaig n,
a nd had p;oved quite satisfactory. The most prominent
ad vantage of this new type over the old one seemed to be
that a snow cover on the ice did nob appreciably increase
the r esistance offered by the ice to the progress of the
boat.
The Ermak, of 10, 000 indicated horse-p ower, was
the latest addition to the list of ice breakers with a propell~r at the fore et;td . . 'rb is boat was inte~ded to ~ssist
m opening the navigatiOn to t . P etersburg m the wm ter,
and to the great Siberian rivera in the summer. ~er
principal dimensions were 305 ft. by 71ft. by 42ft. 6 m.
deep. The author pointed ou t the fallacy o~ gi v~g too
grea.tl inclination of the sides at the w~ter-line! thlS t;tob
being necessary, as was .proved b y experience gam~d '!1th
a number of renowned 10e-breakers. The greater m chnation could not be obtained without serious sacrifices. The
V-shaped midship section meant increase of dimensions
to compensate for the loss in midship area, and this
entailed increased initial cost a nd i nferior handiness in
navigation amongst ice, as well as Lad sea-going qualities.
Tile Erma.k had re turned from her trip t o the Arctic
Ocean; but the results did not seem to have fully realised
all expectations, and the author thought that the efficiency
would p erhap s, have been greater if the proportion of
power' on the fore engin~ had been i.nc~eased in c~:mformity
STEAMERS FOR WINTER NAVIGATION. with the la t est Amer10an and Fmmsh pract10e. The
AT th e ordinary meeting of the lnstituti<?n of Civil great inclination of the sides had, no d oubt, also conEngineers, held on Tuesd ay, January 30, Sir Douglas tributed to the disappoin t ment.
F o)(, P resid ent, in the chair, the paper r ead was on
" Steamers for Winter Navigation and I ce-b reaking," by
lVIr. R obert Runeberg, Assoc. M.Inst. C.E.
Gas AT P ARIS.-The r evenue from the sale of gas of
The author pointed out the considerable d evelopment,
during r ecent years, in winter navigation . M any harbours the Pt1.risian Company for Lighting and Heating by Gas
formerly closed for several m onths in the year, were n ow in D ecember amounted to 403,193l., as compared with
kept open by means of one or m ore ice-breakers, n.nd 383, 616l. in D ecember, 1898, showing an increase of
navigation was rendered possible, often t he whole year 19 577l., or 5.10 per cent. The gas r eceipts of the comround. It was mosb important, ho wever, that trading p~ny for the whole of last year wer e 3,305,229l., a.s
s team ers should be adapted t o the peculiar conditions compared with 3,238,869 in 1898, showing a n incr ea-se of
under which they worked. Winter navigation, which 66,360l., er 2.05 p er cen t .
--was very h~zardous with ships not suit!Lbly d esig ned. and
CUMBRAE LIGHTHOUSE.-Tbig lighthouse was e rected
also badly eq uipped, was no w becommg compa.rat1vely
under an Act of P arliament 145 years ago. It has passed
sa.fe since s pecially designed boats ha.d been used.
The gradual transformation of the lines of the Euro- through all the improvements in lig hthouse illumination
pean ice-breaker was illus trated, b~ginning with the from an open coal fire t o the apphcation of an electric
p rototype Eisbrecher I., built in Hamburg in 1871, incandescent light , which has just been est ablished by
having the bow rounded like a spoon. The lines of the Clyde Lighthouse Trustees to the d esigns of their
several ice-breakers showed how this spoon form gradually engineers, M essrs. D . and C. Stevenson, of Edinburgh.
ga.ve place to a sharper bow with S-formed wat er -lines and This is a novel and interesting application of the electric
more sloping buttock-lines. This was most p erceptible light. Prior t o this the Cumbrae light was a fixed one,
in the L edokol, built to the author's desig n in 1895. The and it has now been converted into a group flashing light,
advantage of this modification was now fully es tablished. giving two flashes in quick succession every half-minute.
The r esistance of ice was variable, d epending on the tem- The colour of the light, although electric, a.s viewed fro m
pera.ture a.nd the m anner in which the ice had been the sea resembles an oil light, as the light proceeds
formed. It was, therefore, hopeless to arrive at a very from an incandescent filament wit h a large condensing
exact formula for the ice. breaking capacity of a steamer. p an el in place of from an arc. The flash comes in instanS no w also gave great resistance, especially to a r ounded taneously, tilling the whole surface of the lens apparently
in a. m oment. Fresnel's refractor has been discarded, and
bo w.
An interesting ice formation was sometimes observed the equiangular reflector invented and introduced by the
in salt water. When the tempera ture o f the atmosphere Stevensons is adopted, with the self-evident advantage of
was low, the surface water cooled and sank, warmer water small divergence horizontally and vertically, a.nd conser ising to take i ts place, and thus cir culation was estab- q uent gain in sharpness and intensity of the beam, t he filalish ed which might cool the water below freezing point to ment lending i tself t o great focal oom paotness vertically a nd
a considerable depth, salt wa.t er having its greatest d ensity horizontally as r equired, which is unattainable with an oil
at a temperature b elow zer o.
burner. The light can be run either di reotfrom the dynamos
If now the equ ilibrium o f the p :utioles was disturbed, or from a set of cells. The dynamos, one of which is spare,
a spontaneous formation of ice took place throughout the are driven by all engines, of which th ere are three, any
whole ma.ss of water c0oled below the freezing p oint. one of which can be used t o drive the pumps for supplyThe n ewly formed particles of ice r ose t o the surface in ing air to the siren fog signa l. The lenses, with a dioptric
a mora or less thick l11.yer without a.ny solidity. Gradu- con verging mirror of an entirely n ovel de~ign which
ally this ma.ss would freeze together, but it was difficult ntilises about double the a mount of light from an ordinary
to say if ice formed in this manner ever attained the same dioptric mirror, r evolves on steel r ollers on conical steel
strength as t he surface ice.
paths, the m otive power being an electric m otor with
The tests of the r esistance of ice wer e not yet sufficiently worm gear. The oil for the gas engines landed at the
exhaustive. Frlihling, of K onigsberg, found the r esist- bottom of the cliff is pumped up to the top by an electric
ance to Vl1ry bet ween 15 kilograms and 27.26 kilograms motor pump. The whole forms an establis hment which
per squll-r e centimetre ; Ludlow, of Philadelphia, between in m any particulars is so far removed from any lig b thouse
23 and 70.7 kilograms p er square centimetre ; and Kolster, establishment in this or other countries as to be absolu tely
of H elsingfors, between 28 a nd 68 kilograms per square unique. The contractors for the work were Messrs.
cen timetre.
Lepaute, Paris, for the ovbical apparatus ; Messrs. Dixon,
With the gradual increase in the p ower o f modern ice- Glasgow, for t~e electric plant _; the Campbell Engine
breakers, it had become evident that evenly laid and uni- Company, Ha.hfax, for the engmes ; 1\r!essrs. M e Bride
form ice n o longer presented any serious hindrance to P ort Glasgow, for the building.3 ; and M essrs. l\r[ilne'
winter naviia.tion, but the greab problem w~s now how to E dinburg h, for the worm gear &tnd oh&riot.
'

motion. The appellant proceeded along the inclined

road way and was making for a manhole when the rope
" swamped, across and str uck him on the left leg below
the knee and broke hi~ leg. The Countr Oourt Judge
found that the appell!int was guilt of.senous and wil~ul
misconduct in travelhng along the m chned roadway wh tle
the journey of t rams was in motion, and made an award
in favou r of the r espondents.
Mr. Cri pps, Q. C., and Mr. W. D . . Benson, for . the
app ellant, argued that there was no eVIdence of sertous
and wilful misconduct on the part of the appellant.
There was no r ule of the colliery nor any statutory provision agains t doing what the appellant did.. There 'Yas
no e vidence given that the appell11.nt wAs d om g anythm g
unusual or wrong, even if thab wo~ld be enough to make
wbab he did serious and wilful mlSconduot. Ther e was
no other way by which he could geb to the place where he
worked and there were manholes along the inclined roadway fo~ the m en to take shelter in when the trams passed.
At the very m ost be was negligen t, but there w11.s no evid ence upon which the Judge ~as entitled; to fin~ that the
injury was attributable to senous and; w1lful mlSconduct
on his part. They referred to "LewlS v. Great W astern
Railway Company " (3 Q. B .D., p . 213).
Mr. Ruegg, Q.C., and Mr. Arthur L 9wis, fo~ the responden ts, contended that wh~ther there was serlO';IS and
wilful misconduct was a quest10n of facb upon wh1ch no
appeal lay. The appellant knew the r isk a nd d eliber ately elected to incur it rather than to wait two or three
minutes until the journey of trams passed.
The Court allowed t he appeal.
L ord Justice A . L . Smith sa.id : The only question ~
whether th~re is any evidence that the inj ury was abtrJbuta.ble to the serious and wilful misconduct of the
appellant. It seems that his lamp went out, and . he had
to go and geb it lig h ted, and then to go back to h1s work.
H e was obliged to go along a tramway which was worked
by m eans of a rope. There was not even evidence that
he could not have d one what he thought he could donamely, go a part of t h e way a.nd then get into a manhole. At any rate, he was knocked d own by the ~ram.
While he was going along the roadway t he rope shpped
off and struck him on the leg a nd broke it . Where is
there any p ossible evidence of serious and wilful m isconduct ? H e wen t the only way by whi ch he could go,
and he was walking, as he was obliged to d o, between the
rails, when the r ope struck him. The appeal m ust be
allowed.
L ord Justice Rigby agreed. For anything his lordship
knew the appellant might have been neglig;ent, and
seriously negligent. But he could see no evtdence of
serious and wilful misconduct.
L ord J ustice Oollins concurred.

204

BOILER EXPLOSION AT NEWPORT.

A FORMAL investigation has been held at the T own
Hall, Newport, Mon. , respecting a boiler explosion which
occurred on October 13 on board the steamer Snipe at
Burton's Wharf, in that town, and by which the fireman
wa.s killed and another man injured. The Commissioners
were Mr. Howard Smith and Mr. M. M ointyre, Mr.
Gou~h appeared for the B oard of Trade, and Mr. Sankey,
barnster, for Messrs. R. Burton and Son, Limited, the
the owners of the vessel.
Mr. Gongh, in opening the proceedings, gave full ~ar
ticulars of the vessel, the boiler, and the explosion. The
vessel, which came into the possession of Messrs. Burton
in 1896, was built at Campelltown in 1884. The boiler,
which was made in the same year by Messrs. Clarke,
Chapman, and Co., was of the vertical type, measuring
9 ft. in height by 4 fb. 6 in. in diameter. The vessel had
been originally classed a.t Lloyd 's, but had lost her class
in 1897, since which time the boiler had not been examined by Lloyd's surveyors. The owners followed the
practice of their predecessora and did not employ a
superintending or consulting engineer, but left the control and upkeep of the boiler and machinery to the chief
engineer of each vessel. The boiler was only used about
four times a year to work the winches when the main
boiler was at rest. The boiler on the morning of October 13 was in charge of a firemen, and steam had not
been long raised when a violent explosion occurred. The
boiler was blown through the iron deck above it, and was
carried to a distance of about 350 fb. The fireman was
unfortuna.tely killed and another of the hands was injured.
Mr. Thomas, chief engineer on board the Snipe, was
one of the witnesses examin-ed. He made an inspection
of the boiler five weeks before the explosion, but did not
detect any weak place, and the boiler he thought was in
good condition. The gauge registered 25 lb. early in the
morning of the explosion, and 40 lb. when he went away.
The feed water was that supplied by the Corporation, and
was pure. He could form no opinion as to the cause of
the expJosion.
By Mr. Sa.nkey: The boiler had worked up to 50 lb.,
and the safety valve then blew off easily. 'fhe valve,
whenever he used the boiler, was in good order.
Mr. J ames Long, second engineer, said he saw no defects when he cleaned the boiler five weeks previously,
and John G ilbert, fitter in Messrs. Burton's employ, deposed to never having received any adverse reports
respecting it.
Mr. John Boddy, consulting engineer, said he had
examined the exploded boiler, and his opinion was tha.b
when the explosion occurred there was practically no
water in the boiler, in consequence of which the firebox
plates had been overheated and rent, resulting in the
boiler being shot upwards. He thought the attendant
found that the water was low, and, therefore, turned on
the cold feed, thus causing the collapse. He could nob
say what the steam pressure would be at the time, but the
boiler, be thought, could stand 62lb.
By Mr. Howard Smith: Certainly it was possible that
the attendant did not notice the absence of water. He
(witness) wa-s engaged by the owners to assess the damage,
and held the same opinion as he n0w did when he gave
evidence before the coroner.
Mr. David Stepbens, engineer-surveyor to the B oard
of Trade, presented a report on the result of his examination. The boiler bad gone through the deck and across
the river. He considered that the cause of the explosion
was not shortness of water but overpressure of steam.
By Mr. Sankey: He could not say the precise pressure
at which the boiler burst; but it> would be something
under 65lb. The pressure must have been near the blowing-off point when the explosion occurred.
By Mr. Howard Smith : Witness did nob by any means
agree with the theory as to shortness of water or that the
replenishing produced an explosion.
Mr. Dixon, Board of Trade surveyor, Cardiff, said be
had made an inspection of the boiler and found no evidence of shortness of water. On the contrary, he thought
there had been an ample supply. The destructive element
in explosions was the water after being released.
By Mr. Sankey: He thought there was sufficient water
from the fact that the boiler had been carried the distance it had gone after the explosion.
In reviewing tbA proceedings, and in replying to the
list of questions submitted to the Court by Mr. Gough,
Mr. Howard Smith went fully into the details as to the
history of the vessel and the boiler, as well as the evidence
that had been given. The Commissioners, he said, were unable to accept the theory that the boiler was short of water
ab the time of the explosion, or that the introduction of
cold water on to hob plates would lead to a dangerous
increase of pressure. There was some scale to be seen
adhering to the firebox crown, the crown was nob distorted, .and the sta:y~ still re~ined .thei~ posit!on ~i.th; no
indicat10n of strammg or d1stort10n m the1r Vlmmty.
They considered that the boiler was worked at an altogether unfit pressure, and the wonder was that it bad
endured that pressure so long. The chief engineer wa.s
not capable, either by experience O! training, to examine .a
boiler and the same remarks applied to the second engineer.' As they were the only persons who examined the
boiler it followed that proper measuress were not taken
to in~ure that it was kept in good working order. If
such measures had been taken within any reasonable
time prior to the explosion, the condition of the uptake
alone would have led a competent person to condemn the
use of the boiler at the pressure at which it was
worked. The boiler was really not safe for even a
low working pressure ; while, further, from the evidence
that had been given the Court found that the steam
gauge wM inaccurate. In reply to the questions

E N G I N E E R I N G.
submitted by Mr. Gougb, Mr. Howard Smith said
the explosion was not caused by the neglect of Mr. Frank
Thomas, the chief engineer, who appeared to have acted
to t~e best of his skill and ability. No blame attached
to h1m or to Mr. J. I. Pritchard, the managing director,
personally. It was clear, however, that Messrs. R.
Burton and Son, Limited, were negligent in the management of the boiler, for they took no means, when taking
over the Snipe, or, subsequently, to aClcertain that it was
fit for the pressure at which it wa.s used. They did not
satisfy themselves that J\.Ir. Thomas was fit for the duty
with which they entrusted him. The Court, therefore,
found that the explosion was caused by the negligence
of Messrs. R. Burton and Son, Limited. But there was
some excuse for this negligence, inasmuch as they bad,
in the opinion of the Court, followed a vicious ~ystem
adopted by their predecessors, and considered that as
things had gone on safely before their time they would
so continue. This was an excuse that might be fairly
urged, and the Court accepted it as such, and consequently they did not find Messra. Burton so much to
blame as they otherwise might have d one. With regard
to the man in charge of the boiler, the evidence showed
him to be steady and respectable, and that he was perfectly sober when on duty. A n attempt bad been made
- perfectly bond fide- to fix, by inference, the responsibility for the explosion upon the dead man. But there
was no negligence on his part, and the Court did not
expre3s that as an opinion, but as a fact. The boiler
had not been short of water, as the condition of the firebox distinctly showed.
On the finding of the Commissioners, Mt. Gougb asked
that Messrs. Burton should be ordered to pay a portion
of the co3ts of that investigation.
Mr. Sankey, on 1VIessrs. Burton's behalf, urged that the
case would be met if they gave an undertaking that they
would forth with appoint a properly qualified en~ineer.
Mr. H oward Smith, after consultation With Mr.
Mcintyre, said they would make an order for Messrs.
Burton to pay the sum of 30l. This order was lighter
than it would otherwise have been; but the Court considered that the owners of the boiler were lulled into a
sense of false security by the action of their predecessors.

LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.

ON ,January 30 there was launched from the shipbuilding yard of Messrs. Da.vid and William Henderson and
Co., Partiok, a handsomely modelled twin-screw s teamer,
which has been built to the order of the N ippon Yusen
Kaisha, of Tokio. This vessel, which is similar, but with
increased firsb-cla.ss passenger accommodation, to the five
steamers completed by the builders some little time ago
for the same owners, has been built under the supervision
of Mr. A. R. Brown, Japanese Consul ab Glasgow, and
Mr. George M cFarlane. Her principal dimensions are :
Length over all, 463 ft.; beam, moulded, 49 ft. 2 in.;
depth, moulded, 33 ft. 6 in.; and a gross tonnage of about
6000. She is classed in Lloyd's 100 A1 three-deck rule.
A most complete installation of electric light, by lVl e srs.
W. C. Martm and Co., Glasgow, is being fitted through~
out the vessel, N a pier B rothers' capstan windlass, and
Caldwell's steam-steering gear. The machinery will be
supplied by the builders' firm, and consists of two sets of
triple-expansion engines, each having cylinders 20 in.,
33~ in., and 56 in. in diameter, by 48 in. stroke.
team is
supplied by two large double-ended and two single-ended
boilers, constructed for a working pr~ssure of 200 lb. per
square inch. On leaving the ways, the vessel was gracefully named Shinano Maru by Mrs. N egishi, wife of the
Japanese manager of the company in L ondon.
The trial triJ? of the s.s. Katie, built by the Elsinore
Iron Shipbuildmg and Engineering Company, Elsinore,
Denmark, to the order of the Russian-Bn.ltic Steam
Navigation Company, of Riga, took place on the 31st ult.,
and was considered satisfactory. The vessel is built of
steel to the highest class of British Lloyd's special survey, and her dimensions are 290 ft. by 42 ft. 6 in. by
20 fb. 7~ in. depth of hold. The engines are of the
triple.expansion type, with surface condenser. During
the trial trip the engines indioatE'd normally 900 horsepower, and the speed was 9~ knots with a reported consumption of coal of 0.61 kilogrammes (1.35 lb.) per indicated horse-power.
Messrs. Furnes~, Withy, and Co., Limited, Hartlepool,
launched, on the :3lsb ult., a steel screw steamer built to
the order of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, of Bremen, Germany. She is over 400 ft. in leng-th, and built throughout of Siemens-Martin steel, with a measurement capacity of about 12,!>00 tons. Eleven steam winches, donkey
boiler, patent steam steering gear, with hand screw gear
fitted aft, direct steam patent windlass, fourteen derricks,
six large cargo batches, and other modern appliances are
fitted for the handy working of the ship. Triple-expansion engines will be fitted by Messrs. Sir Christopher
Furness, W estgarth, and Co., Limited, Middlesbrough,
having cylinders 28 in., 44 in., and 75 in. in diameter by
48 in. stroke, steam being supplied by two boilers 14ft.
long by 12 ft., and one 15 ft. 5 in. by 12 ft., working a.t a
pressure of 180 lb. H owden's forced draught is also
ntted. This vessel is a duplicate of the Freiburg, now
being completed ab Messrs. Furness, Withy, and Co.'s
yard for the same owners. The vessel was named Marburg.
Messrs. Craig, T aylor, and Co., Thornaby-on-Tees,
launched, on the 2nd inst., a steel screw steamer of the
following dimensions, viz., 254 ft. by 37 ft. by 18 ft.
depth moulded. The vessel has been built to carry about
2150 tons dead weight on a light draught of water. T he
engines have been constructed by Messrs. Ma,.cColl and

[FEB. g, I 900.
Polloc~, of the "\Yreath 9uay ~ngine Works, Sunderland,

the cyl.mders bemg_18t m ., 30 1n., and 49 in. in diameter

by 33 m. stroke, Wlt~ two large steel boilers working at
160 lb. p~ure. This vessel has been built to the order
of t?e BJorneborgs An~fartygs Aktiebolag Porin Hoy.
rylana Osakeyhtio, and IS named Osmo.
0~ Sat~rda.y, the 3rd it;lS~, the large screw steamer

Nub1a, bmlt by Messrs. W1lha.m Gray and Co., Limited,

and owned by the Ha.mb.urg-~merioa Li~e,. Hamburg,
~as taken to sea for her trtal tr1p. H er prmetpal dimen.
s10ns are_: Length between pe~pendiculn.rs, 338 ft.;
breadth, o~ ft. ; depth, 26 ft. 11 u;t. The engines have
been suppl.1e~ by the Central Manne Engine Works of
Messrs. Wilha.m Gray and Co., and have cylinders 25! in
40! in., and 67 in. in diameter by 45 in. stroke. Tb~
b?ilers are three in .number, singleended, 13 ft. 3 in. in
d1ameter by ~0 ft. 6 m., and work -at a pressure of 170 lb.
per. square mch . A speed of ~0 ~nots was averaged
agamst a rough sea, the vessel bemg m ballast trim.
LARGE RAILWAY SYSTEMS.-Altbough the largest railway systems in existence are to be found in the United
States, the Americans have not exactly a monopoly of
monster rail way undertakings. The annexed figures show
the extent of 15 other important properties : Great Western
of England, 2599 miles ; Eastern of France, 3005 miles
Northern of France, 2374 miles; Orleans, 494t miles~
Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean, 5,858 miles; outhe~
of France, 2423 miles ; Western of France, 3464 miles
Mediterranean (Italy), 3568 miles; South Ita.lian, 3563
miles ; South Western of Rnssia, 2161 miles; Riasan and
U ralsk, 3909 miles ; South Eastern of Russia, 2396 miles;
Madrid, Saragossa, and Alica.nte, 2269 miles; Northern
of Spain, 2336 miles ; and Buenos Ayre3 Great Southern,
2976 miles.
T HE I NSTITUTION OF JUNIOR ENGINRERS.-At a. meeting of this Institution, held at the W estminster Palace
Hotel, on Friday, February 2, the chairman, Mr. Basil
H. Joy J?residing, a paper on " Arc Lamps and Arc
Lighting, was read by Mr. H. G. Cotswortb, Member.
After briefly describing the more important phenomena.
of the electric arc, including the different formations of
the carbon points working with direct alternatin~ and
enclosed arcs, the author reviewed the means available
for actuating the "striking " and " feeding " mechanism.
It was shown that the thermo-electric method offers
decided advantages over electro-magnetic; for instance,
with alternating currents an alteration in the periodicity
has no effect on the regulation, as would be the case with
an electro-magnetic control. The thermoelectrio system
which would, in fa.cb, work equally well with a.lterna.ting
or continuous currents had, however, not come into prac
tical use to any extent. The majority of lamps have
their mechanism controlled by both a. series and shoot
solenoid ; but lamps in which the series coil i~
replaced by a spring or counterweight are equally
successful, and the current> through "shunt , lamps
may be varied over a. very wide range without affecting the feed ; they are also simpler in construction,
and therefore cheaper in first cost. Lamps of American
origin are nearly all controlled by a clutch, acting direct
on the upper carbon gnide-rod, and are liable to give a
spasmodic feed, owin~ to the wear of the clutch on the
rod; but on the Contment a, mechanism having a clock
work escapement finds most favour. In England the
prevailing type has a wheel controlled by a brake, .resulting in a very sensitive and accurate feed bemg
obtained. In referring to the working of the lamps,
the antbor remarked that arcs, when run in series,. must
be provided with an automatic out-out, so that m the
event of a lamp failing, the circuit would not be broken.
For street lighting, the cut-out is best pla~ed in the
plinth of the lamp post; on a short series, howeverl the
nut-out may be d1spensed with, but means must be P.ro
vided for breaking the circuit of the shunt coil; otherWLSe,
on the failure of a lamp, this coil would be burn~ out.
Alternating arcs may be run in series across the pnmary
mains, and if provided with a small choking coil across
their terminals the extinction of one lamp does not affeob
the others. Another ingenious method provides a. means
of running alternating arcs in series with a constan~ ourrent of constant potential mains. This is a.ccomphsbed
by ha.ving a transformer so arranged that whe? the ourrent m the secondary increases, due to the cuttmg out of
lamps, it reacts on the iron core of the transformer,. causing more or less magnetic leakage across a. short au cap
between the coils of the primary and secondary. ~ter
nating arcs do nob give the same efficiency as dtrect,
and attempts have therefore been made to rec~ify alternating currents into direct, resulting in an morea.sed
efficiency of the lamps, but introducing rather co~
plica.ted apparatus ab the station. The author, m
dealing With enclosed arcs, mentioned that although
the actual efficiency was increased by their use, the necessity of having two dense opaloid globes mor~ than
counteracted any gain, and described a lamp which, to
some extent, has the advantages of the enclosed lamp,
without its corr~sponding disadvantages; it has but one
globe, works at aboub 80 volts across the arc, and burns
for 70 bourn with one trimming. Recently an enclosed
lamp, working at 160 volts across the a.ro, ha~ bee~ plac~
on the market, which is intended for runrun~ smglh. 1
parallel on 200 volt mains. In the discussion w 0
ensued Messrs. A. S. A rundel, E. C. Roobe, F. Arun e1'
A. F. Gatrill, A. W. Marshall, and others took part, and
a vote of thanks having been accorded the author, the
proceedings terminated with the announcement of the
ensuin~ meeting on March 2, when a paper on "Electrolytic Zmc as a Protective Metallic Coating for Iron an~
Steel" wou ld l::e read by Mr. \V. A. Paddon, :Member, o
Wrexham.

h
J

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

FEB. 9 1900.]

:JV
~ -

26 610. R. E . B. Crompton and E. A. N. Pochtn,

Chemsford. Arc Lamps. [3 .Ftgs.] .J?ecem~er 16, 1898. The lamp to which this invention relates IS designed to serve
"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT alternately
as a continuous or alternating current lamp either
RECORD.
open or enclosed within a ~lobe. The ba$eplate of the lamp
carries four tubes, two of wh1ch are longer than the others, and
COMPILED BY ,V, LLOYD WISE.
paRs downwards throug~ the baseplate to for!ll a guide or supIBLBOTED ABSTRACTS OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIFICATIONS port for the lower port10n of the Jo.mp ; wb1le the four tu~es
UNDER THE ACTS 1883- 1888.
above the baseplate carry the resistance, t ransformer, chok1ng
The number of uietos given in the Specifi..cation, Dratoin(lB i8 ~tate!l coil, or other regulating device. The vertical tube which con
in each case ; 1ohere none are mentto1ud, the Specijicatum t8 tains the upper carbon passes through the baseplate ~n an approximately central position, the upper end of tb1s carbon
not illmtrat~d.
.
b d h 1"'
&:
Where inventions are commm~tca te.d f1'01"!' a roa , t e .names, c.,
of the Communicators a1e gwen tn ttaltC8.
c of Specifi.catinns may be obtained at the Patent Office Sale
<J~:nch, ,6, Southampton Buildings, OhMtcery-lante, lY.O., at
the ttniform price of Bd.
let
The date of the advertise-ment ~I the acceptance OJ a comp :e
s ci/ication u, in each case, gtven aJter the .abs~rac.t, unless the
ftau-nt has bun sealed 1ohen the date of sealtng t8 guJen.
4 n erson may at any time within two months from t~ dat~ of
advertisement of the acceptance of a ~~plete Spectfication,
ive notice at the Patent Office of .oppos-~tion to the grant of a
l:>atent on. anv of the grounds mentwned tn the .Act.

205

..

: 1
.:

-#?

a modification t here is produced in the stationary wagnet an

alternating fieid, which is converted into a. rotary field bf means
of a rotor revolving synchronously therewttb ; the termm~s for
the unidirectional current being connected to the zero ~1nts of
t he circuits or to t he other fixed po~nts t~ereof, accordtog as a
constant or a fluctuating current 1s desued. There are ~ve
claims the first of which Is as follows : " Apparatus fo~ convertmg
altern~ting currentS into continUOUS CUrrent, wher~lD ~WO sera
rate winding systems, similar to the armature w1ndmgs o a

.Rg.Z.

J:/

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.
43i7. G. Westlnghouse, Plttsb.urg, U.S.A. ~ectro
Pnenmatlc Controller. [20 Figs.] (Co~vent1on date,

at 20, 1898.) February ~0, 1~.-In controlliJ?g apparatu~,

esp~ially applicable to eleotnc ra1lway ~otors, ftmd pressure 1s
em loyed to impart to a mechanical d.ev1ce which act~o.tes. the
ooJmutator, a step-by-step moveme.nt 1!1 the !orward d1J'ect10n ;
and also a complete retrograde mot1on 1n a. smgle step. ~eans
are also provided for regulating the supply of compress~ ftwd ~o
one or more sets of controlling apparatus ; ~nd the atr brake 1s
also eleotro-pneumatically OO!!troll~. .It ts s~ted. that t~?-e
general feature un~erlying the 1~vent1on 1s the u~tltsat1on ~f ftmd
pressure for notua.tmg those devtcea, th~ OJ?eration of wh1ch re
quires considerable pressure, the app1te:at10n of such pressure
being electro-magnetically or pneumatteally controlled. The
eleotropneumatic mechanism may be so arranged that some of
Au

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the steps in the forward movement of the dev i~e thereby con
trolled are larger than other~ ; and a pneumattcally operated
piston is projected from its cyhnder by the pressure of ftu1d automatically admitted after the mechanical de.vice has. been moved
forward a short distance, the stem of the p1ston aotmg as a stop
to prevent the device from being moved forward more than one
step at a time, the arrangement, however, bein~ such t hat the
mechanism can be turned backward through any number of steps
to its initial position when desired. In the example of apparatus
described, the pressure of the fluid is contro~e~ mainly by m~ns
of eleotromagnetically operated valves, 81milar means bemg
employed to operate the brake, and ~o retu~n the controlle~ to
.zero position whenever the brake 1s applied. The drawmg
illustrates an electromotor controller. (.Accepted Jan uartJ ?,
1900.)

I
I

fitting into a spring holder similar to that described in t he applicants' prior specification No. 6276 of 1897. At the bottom end of
the tube is attached a clutch or feeding device ; while at or near
its cen~re !lre fitted the cores and solenoids by which the feed
mechanism is actuated. When the lamp is intended to be u sed
with alternating currents, t hese cores consist of U shaped stampings riveted together, so that there is left iL t he centre of the
bend a space through which the central tube passes. The lower
carbon-holder is screwed into an insulated cross-piece secured to
the lower ends of the downwardly projecting tubes ; on which
cr oss-piece may also be mounted a globe which enc.loses the
lamp. (.Accepted Ja;ntuury 3, 1900.)

'

------

J.J009.

dynamo, each with a commutator provided on a statio~ary

ma~net, and connected to two separate groups of alternating
current generators produce in the magnet rotary fields common
to both windings ; while sbort-circuited brushes made to r evolve
synchronously with the fields, connect such parts of the two
commutators with each other, wbiob for the time being have
in one system the highest positive, and in the other the highest
negative, potential ; and terminals for the continuous current ,
23.533. The British Thomson-Bouston Company, each being connected to a fixed point of the two systems, sub
Limited. (P. S teinmetz, Scltenutady, U.S.A.) Elec- stantially as described." (Accepted Decembe1 27, 1899.)
trical Distribution System. [2 Figs.] November 11,
1899.- For the purpose of automatically compensating for the
GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.
fluctuations wbtch occur in the intermediate or neutral conductor of a three-wire system, and thus maintaining the balance
3464. R. Matthews, Manchester. Apparatus for
of the main conductors; t he curren~ through the intermediate con- Working
[9 .E'igs. ] February 16, 1899.-Means
ductor is caused to pass through the field and armature of an ex- are providedOrdnance.
in the event of the failure of hydraulic or
ternally-driven dynamo, a counter electromotive force being thus other power, whereby,
the gun may be run out at any angle by hand, and
set up in the intermediate conductor proportional to the current retained in position
without danger of its running back and injuring the gunners; such means, however 1 being so contrived t hat
the gun will no~ be prevented _frO!fl recotling o~ the shook .of discharge. For th1s purpose a sbppmg pawl or t r1p gear earned by

the cradle or other recoiling part of the mounting, is, under ordi
nary circumstances, held in engagement with a p rojection or
recess on r. now recoiling part thereof, by a spring so loaded as
to retain the gun in its run-out position ; when, however, the gun
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CiuollOOOO
is discharged, the spring is overcome, and the pawl or t rip gear
disengages itself and allows the gun to recoil in the ordinary
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1869. A. Orllng and C. G. G. Braunerhjelm. Stock

llolm, Sweden. Electrical Condenser and ApparatusforProduclncBertz Waves. [lFig.] (Convention

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date November 25, 1898.) January 26, 1899.- Tbe condenser comprises a hollow metallic casing enclosing a dielectric medium,
euoh as oil, which serves to insulate from each other a number of
small metallic bodies, such as shot, which practically till the
hollow of the casing. A conductor passing through, but insulated from the casing, makes contact with the conducting
bodies, which thus act as the plates of a condenser connected in
.series, while the insulating oil acts as the dielectric. For the

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purpose of producing electric waves, two such condensers are

arranged witbin a box of glass or other non-conducting material,
nt sucb distance apart that they serve as discharge knobs, and are
surrounded with an insulating liquid, such as paraffin oil. The
condensers may be suspended from the lid of the insulating box,
in such manner that the distance between them may be readily
adjusted ; their conductors being connected to the terminals of a
powerful electrical ma-chine (such as that of Holz), discharge
takes place between adjacent parts of the outer casings whenever
the condensers have received a certa.in charge, determined by the
distance apart at which they have been adjusted. (.Accepted
J anuary 3, 1900.)

manner. An endless sprocket chain passing around sprocket

wheels carried by the undercarriage of t he gun, and provided
with projections at suitable intervals, passes through a socket in
which the spring pawl is pivotally mounted, the nose of the pawl
engaging with one of the projections on the chain ; and the engaging surfaces ar e inclined at such an angle that the pawl is not
disengaged from the projection when the cradle and gun are run
out by band, but are disengaged when the cradle moves to the
rear wit h the recoiling gun. In t he event of failure of t he hydraulic or other power, the spr ocket wheels are operated by hand
through auxiliar~ gearing, the gun being thus brought into tiring
position. In a modification of t he above apparatus a rack and
pinion is substituted for the sprocket wheels and chain. (.A ccepted
J anttarv 3, 1900.)

therein. The invent ion is descr ibed by way of example,

BS applied to an alternating-current supply system, which feeds a
rotary converter, the terminals of which are connected to the
direct-current mains ; the intermediate or compensating conductor beiog connected to a neutral point on the alternatingcurrent supply system, and including in its circuit the compensat
ing generator already referred to. This generator may consist of
19,714. A. T. Dawson and L. SUverman. London.
a series dynamo, the field of which may be adjusted by means of
a shunt resistance, or by varying the number of its energisinll Machine Guns. [3 Figs. ] September 16, 1898.-For ~he purcoils, or the reluctance of the mag-netic circuit. There are 13 pose of increasing the calibre and the weight of t he charge
of Maxim guns, t he breech mechanism is combined with an
claims. (.A ccep tecl January 3, 1900.)
hydraulic buffer, which is placed within the gun casing a.t the rear
13,008. M. Derl, Vienna, Austria. Transformers of the crank, ~o as to mitigate the violence of the recoil, whiob,
[10 Figs.] June 22, 1899.-Tbis invention relates to a t rans by reason of the heavy charges, would other wise be inj urious to
former, adapted to convert alternating or polyphase currents into breech mechanism working on the Maxim principle. This buffer
unidirectional currents, eit her constant or fluctuating between comprises a metal cylinder a rranged at the rear end of the casing
gi\len limits, as may be desired. The transformation is effected of the ~n. having within it a piston from which extends through
by means of two separate windings on a stationary magnet, each the cyhnder cover, a r od having at its outer end a bead which
provided wit h a commutator , and resembling the armature wind- engages with a r ecess in the crossbar of the sliding frame. As the
mgs of a dynamo ; a rotarv field, common to both windin~s, being frame moves backward during the recoil, the piston moves toward
produced in the magnet, either by means of two separate groups the rear end of the cylinder, which is preferably tapered internally,
of alternating ourrents differing in phas e, or two groups of poly so that the liquid in the cylinder can freely pass the piston at the
phase currents b av in~ interlinked star connections. Sbort-cir- beginning but not at the end of its stroke, the recoil of the b reech
cuited l>rusbes r evolvmg synchronously with the field connect mechanism being thereby g radually checked. The cylinder is
with each other such parts of the two commutators as have for surrounded by a casing which communic.ates with the cylinder
the time being in the one system the highest positive, and in the through a port in the forward end thereof, such caaing forminJr a
other the highest negative potent ial ; while the terminals for r eservoir of liquor for the buffer.
Nea.r the rear end of the
the continuous ourrent are eo.ch connected either to the zero cylinder there IS a bole which relieves the pressure, and allows
points of t he system, or to a fixed point in each system, accord the liquid to escape from the space behind the piston, this hole
mg as a constant or fluctuating current is desired. According to being adjustable to regulate the length of the recoil. The

E N G I N E E RI N G.

206
hydraulic cylinder is eo fitted that it may re:1dily be removed
or replenished with liquid. The cartridge carrier is fitted with a
spring-controlled device, which prevents the point of the shell of
a cartridge therein from being brought against the detonator of

[FEn. 9, 1900.

with rubber or other packing rings for securing additional water

tightness, and can be furnish ed with an eye-bolt for enabling it to
be lilted out; or should the coaming be damnged, the joint of the
plug can, for further security, be caulked. (A ccepted Ja ,tua,y 3,
1900.)

synchronouely t.herewith, the springs referred to being coiled

a round the spindlf s, and ser\'ing also to keep the \'ahes normally
closed . The cam is not r igidly attached to its shaft but is mounted
on a feather, so tbat, while revoking with the shaft it mar be
!ong itudinall.r moved there~n; such ~otioo beinl imported to
1t by means of a nut. engag10g therewtth, and moving alon.,. ,
screw, which may be turned by hand or by a governor. On the
cam are a pair of projections, alternatively adapted to actuate the
~al v.es, tba~ t.be engine may be run i~ either direction, these proJecttons Le10g also so f<;~rmed as to tmpart a varying lift to the
valv~s. These l?rojections are separated by a plain cyliodric:Ll
p or tton, the en~ne, when the rollers on the valve spindles are in
contact therewtth, running without steam. Thus, by tbe shifting
of the cam along its shaft, the engine may be re,ersed, and the
supply of steam r egulated or altogether cut off. Tbe exhaust port
are uncovered by tbe pistons when n ear the ends of their outward
strokes ; the steam imprisoned in the cylinders is compressed
it may be, even to a pressure exceeding that in the generator'
during the return stroke ; no clearance, however, is requi red a.r/
in consequenca of the peculiar a rrangement of valves, tbe e;ces3
of pressure in the cylinder is stated to cause no inconvenience.
Modifications comprising more than two cylinders are referred to
but are not described in detail or illustrt\ted by drawings. (.Ac:
cepted Jaitttary 3, 1900.)

26,558. A. W. Moore Lee and J . Preston. Deptford.

Kent. Apparatus for Closing and Opentns Bulkhead Doors. [15 Figs.) December 15, 1898.- This mvention
relates to means of closing and opening bulkhead doors which
make communication between the compar tments of a vessel
being appl:cable to the system described in specifications of
Nos. 15,645 of1892, 3133 otl894, and 27,286 otl897. For this purpcse in the case of a sliding door which can be moYed ''ertically

- _____0~9-~

'P

:p

1171~

the cartridge in the feed-box ; e.nd the recoil spring is placed

uound the barrel, within the water-jacket, one of its ends r esting
against a partition in the water-jacket, while the other rests
against a eleeve ftxed to the barrel, whereby the use of a spring
of inconvenient len&"th is avoided. (.Accepted J anuar v 3, 1900.)

0
-

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GAS ENGINES, PRODUCERS, HOLDERS. &c.

31t7. W. J.llurphy, London. Buoy Ltghta. [3 F igs.)
February 20, 1899.-This invention relates to buoy liihtS, and has
for its object to improve the lights at present in use in which
acetylene is employed as the illuminant. In carryin~ this into
e1fect a circular ring is used to form the foundatton of a
circula r dome-shaped plate, in which is contained the gas
g-enerator, which may be of any form. Upon the walls of the
mner chamber is formed a downward extending flange, the flange
inclining outwards from the walls, and designed to facilitate the
distribution of the water upon the carbide, irrespective of the
angle of the buoy due to the swell of the waves. Upon one side

"'

0 ~

W . Ward, Newcaatle-on-Tyne, and B. J .

Wateraton, Sunderland, Durham. Tube Stopper.
896.

[4 Figa.J

January 14, 1899.-This invention relates to tube

stoppers, or appliances for closi o~r leaky tubes in steam generators
or other vessels subjected to pressure. A stopper is constructed
comprising a pair of flexible cupped-shaped disca and a rod
whereon the discs are arranged some distance apart with their
caYities opposite. The discs are of asbestos, and capable c.f

Fig.f .
or horizontally, an electric motor is used, a worm and wormwheel
actuating a screw spindle shaft. When t he door ie hin ~ ed an arm
or segment is used. An indicator or drop shutter is sugge ted
to show the officer in charge when eac h door i clo ed, also
alarm bells to enable anyone accidentally hut in to make known
the fact. Conductors are led to any convenient place where contact
can be made to cause t he motor to work in either direction, and
the bolts securing the doora may also be electrically operated.
(A ccepted Ja11uary 3, 1900.)

r'~-......

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. .2 .

R. MeldrutD, Glasgow. Wind-Scoop for

Ships Ports. [& F ips. J Febr uary 15, 1899. - Tbis invention
3347.

r elates to the const ructton of wind-scoops or ventilators used by

ships when sailing in hot climates ; the object being to facili tate the stor~e of the 1lentilator in a small space by making it
collapsible. The body of the scoop is made serui-cylindr icaf in
shape and of two piecea hinged together, and joined to them is a
fattening out on pressure being applied to the interi,or and a~e
retained ln position by nuts and washers. When ~ use thl.S
appliance is inserted in tbe tube to be stopped until tbe leak
therein inter venes between the discs upon which the ente~g
fluid acts to press their peripheries :lgainst the tube, tbus seahng
it. T wo or more pairs of discs may be nrrt\nged upon the same
shaft, and the abaft can be made flexible by constructing it o(
hinged sections. (Accepted Ja nua~ 3, 1900.)

Fig.Z

VEBICI.ES.
20,851. E. de Pass, London. (La So~iltt! A11&nvme dtl'
FrienR Autonwtiques "Stop," Paris, Pra nu. ) BrakeL [4

I
I

I :
t
t

Figs.) October 18, 1899.-Tbis invention relates to f0{>8 or ~nd

. IH7.

of the inner chamber is formed an opening that may be .seale~ by

a watertight door which consists of a .Plate of larger dt_me~stons
than the opening, so as to allow of a p1ece of ntbber bemg mter
posed, the plal.e bein~ held against it bv means of a dog_, t he ends
of which take into SUltable eyes secured upon the outside of the
inner chamber, the dog beine: ~rovided.wit~ a cen~ral stud bearing against the plate. A smillar dev1ce 18 prov1ded UJ?On the
dome, but the plate in this instance is hinged at o~e stde and
clamped at its edges. At the upper end of the dome 18 for med a
suitable socket, and upon the end . of the . mast is form~ a
bayonet joint, so that it may be readily unshipped when desued.
(..Acupted J an:uaru 3, 1900.)

semicircular rim which is also made in two pieces. Wben the

scoop is opened out it forms a completely circ ular top rim, and
in the interior a semicircular wind deflector. Wben it is desir ed
to collapse the scoop it is disconnected a t its joint, and t he
different parts can then be folded the one within the other .
(..AcceptedJa nuaJy 3, 1900.)

STEAM ENGINES, BOILERS. EVAPORATORS, &c.

23,898. Societe des Generateura a Vaporisation
lnatantee Syateme L. Serpollet, Parts. Steam Engines. (Convention date April 20, 1898.) November 12, 1898.

Rfl.Z.

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ventilator openings and to preventmg or mmumsmg the entry of

water in rough weather. To accomplish this the coam~ng or tube

fixed to the deck is provided with a seat for a pl~g w~10h ~!lilY be
used for the direct closure of the tube, in con)unctien With the
usual plug at the top of the coaming. The plug may be fitted

\f

26,316. B. Thompaon., Sunderland, ~ J. Glover,

London and J. Porter, Cardiff. Ships VentUato~s.
(1 Fig.) ' December 13, 1898.-T~is inven~i~n .r~lates to sbtpsl

26JI 8 .

Fi .1.

"'

pro\'tded with valve gear operated by means of o. si ogle cam, which

also effects the reversing of the engine. The invention is illust rated in the drawin~s as applied to an eo5tine of known type,
comprising two bonzont;al s m gle -acti n~ cylinders diametrico.lly
opposite each other, opening into a single centro.l cho.mber , and

aluminium and magnesmm for the purpose of nnsmg Its melting point, it being stated that the ~ensity and general t~cb
nical properties of the alloy are not 1n other r espects sens1bly
affected thereby. The manner in which the ~ll~y is to be
manufactured appears somewhat doubtful ; but 1t tS p robable,
however t hat the magnesium and aluminium a r e first fused
~ether, and the antimony then added in small lumps, the alloy
th1ckeni~g as the antimony melts, until the consistency of a stiff
paste is attained; the fluidity of the alloy being, however!
r estored when it is raised to a white heat. Tbe invention claimea
is the manufacture of an alloy composed of 100 parts of aluminium 2 to 30 parts of magnesium, and 0.6 to 40 parts of
antimo~,sub tantiall"
in the manner described. (A ccepted
,
,J
Jan -uary 3, 1000.)

[6 Fifjs.)-An engine adapted to utilise highly superheated s team is

MINING, METALLURGY. AND METAL

WORKING.
5225. A. G. Brookes, London. (L. Jfa ch, J ena , GerMany.) Alloy of Alumtntum, Magnesium, and Antimony. March 9, 1~99.-Antimony is added t~ . an .alloy of

SHIPS AND NAUTICAL APPLIANCES.

brakes, and has for object to produce a powerful braking action

by a sli~rht effort. A lever is used having a long and short arm,
the long arm being flexible nod resilient, and the short arm
having stops on either side of it to regulate the anR'Ular movemeut of the lever, the rope or band being cOUJ?led to t~e two
ends ; this nngular mo,ement puts the long spnng end. ID t~n
sion, then t ransferr ed t.hrough the rope to the drum, tts griP'

ping action tending to inc rease the resulting effect. One app 11
cation is to the stopping of vehicles, in whach case two b~ke
wheels and two ropes are employed, attached to a leaf spnog
suspended from the frc1me, a centre rod applying the brake
Wben worked automatically the ends of the spring are c~upl~d
by two ropes to a haulage link having a stop on it, _and taktng 1ts
bear ing in the fore carriage. As long as the tracttonal effect~~
drnught pull is g reater than the spring tension, the stop w!l
bear against the fore-carriage, and the vehicle will th~o be 1n
motion ; as soon as the pull is lessened the spring comes m to play
and applies the brake. (.Accepted Ja,nua ry 3, 1900.}

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRACTICE.

Descriptions with illustrations of in,entions paten~ in tb~

United States of America from 1847 to the present ttme, an
reports of trials of patent law cases in the United tates, may be
consulted, gratis, at the offices of ENo~"EERlNO, 3:i and 36, Bedford
furnished with trunk pistons, the connectingrods of which act, street, Strand.
through a common c rank, on a shaft passing centrally and transversely through the chamber. A drop lubricator maintains a
lubricant at a constant level in the chamber ; so that the c ro.nk,
Sot:TH A PRICAX T ELRGRAPHY.-The Ea.stem and outh
as it revolves, just dips therein ; t he luhricant being t hus dashed African Telegraph Company is establishing a new cable
into both cylinders. Steam is admitted through a pair of lift to Great Britain. The cable has already reached Ascenvalves having their spindles parallel to the axis of the cylinders; sion, and 130 words per minute have been for~arded .over
the ends of the~e S{>indles are furnished witb rollers which, by
means of helical spnngs, are pressed against a CJ'lindrical cam on it to that island. The speed of 130 words a. mmute ts, of
a secondary sha!t parallel to the main abaft, and revohing course, a. great acceleration.