Professional Documents
Culture Documents
JUNE I 5, I 900.]
a visit t o the Giant's Causeway a few years ago, he alternators and induction coils, the chemical effects
could not r esist the temptation of giving a passing on the system are very weak, on account of the
poke with the tip of his umbrella to the rusty rapid reversals in direction, and also on account of
sheet of iron that form ed the insulated conductor the small quantity of electricity in each cycle or disof the Portrush Railway; and he retains a vivid charge; but it is very different with their physiorecollection of t he vertical trajectory which he logical action. The nerves quiver under their ininvoluntarily described in the air, to the amaze- fluence, and the muscles contract convulsively.
ment of his travelling companion, and the surprise Commot ions of this kind,. when n ot of a violent
of the tourists who happened to be on the road. character, are often recommended by physicians as
He regrets that, for a brief period of time, he forgot a remedy for rheumatic and other troubles ; their
the wise exhortation of the Norfolk clergyman to patients settle the matter of violence for themselves
his rustic congregation, to the effect that the scin- by nicely adjusting the contact screw of their s mall
tillations of their intellects should ever be like the medical coil or by regulating the speed of their
coruscations of summer lightning lambent-and in- hand-driven miniature magneto-machine.
nocuous, for he allowed the surgings of his temper
It may here be remarked that the nerve effect
to spend themselves in an angry denunciation of of alternating currents does not go on increasing
an electric company that allowed its engineers to indefinitely with their frequency.
Experience
place along a frequented road, at a couple of feet seems to place the limit of severity at 3000 periods
from the ground, a broad conductor constantly per second. Above that, the violence of the
charged to 400 volts.
shock falls off and practically disappears at a
Shortly afterwards a cyclist ran up against this frequency of about 10,000. At this frequency and
''rail, " and received an electric shock that ter- above it, the terminals of t h e Tesla coil may be
minated fatally. The writer's experience, taken grasped with impunity, even if yielding a few
in conjunction with that of the unfortunate wheel- hundred thousand volts and spitting out vicious
man, goes to show that the physiological effects sparks at conductors in the neighbourhood. An
of industrial currents depend n ot merely on the incandescent lamp will light up when held near,
numbers by which they are expressed, but also on and a vacuum tube will begin to glow, but the
the general health of the individual, the goodness nerves of the human subject, unlike the filament
of contact, and its duration.
of the lamp or the rarefied gas of the tube, will
In the State of New York electrocution has, remain irresponsive to the pulses of energy sent
within recent years, replaced the time-honoured out by the coil. But if the rapidity of the pulses
mode of capital punishment. For this purpose, be increased many a million-fold, they will no
contact plates of large surface are closely adjusted longer pass undetected by our organism.
The
to th e head and legs of the doomed criminal ; a delicate nerve fibres of the eye will then be
continuous current of high density and voltage is affected by the radiation, and will sympathetically
then s witched on for a few seconds in order to de- respond to the rhythmic stimulus, giving rise at the
str oy instantly both consciousness and life . This same time to the sensation of vision. Light thus
is immediately followed by a weaker current for a becomes an electro-magnetic phenomenon, and the
longer t ime, so as to eliminate all r eflex action. In eye, a receiving instrument of wondrous delicacy
a recent case, a current of 8 amperes at 1760 volts* and beauty.*
was applied for four seconds ; it was then reduced
A flash of lightning is, like these pulses, an
to 2 amperes at 200 volts, and kept up for 56
seconds.
* Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that luminous vibra'Vhatever bungling may have occurred in the tions are periodic varia.ti.ons of electro-magnetic forces,
first app~ications of the ~lect~ic current to the legal an~ H~rtz showed expenmentally that electro-magnetic
destruct10n of human hfe 1n the State prison at oscillatiOns are propagated pre01sely as light thereby
Sing Sing, the extreme penalty of the law seems giving !3' sure physical.ba.sis to t~e theory of 'Maxwell.
Accordmgly the. sensatiOn of red 1s p~duced by the imn.o~ to be carried out with promptitude and pre- pact on the retma. of electro-magnet1c waves having a.
ClSIOn.
frequency of 4 x 10 1 ~ per second, that of yellow by waves
With currents of high tension, such as those from of 5 x 1014 per second, and that of violet by waves of
7 x 1014 per second. The ge~erators of such waves of
~ha.?gin~ mag?etism are of atomic-or, as we now say,
* The h orae-power used = 8 X 1760 = 19 n~a.rly.
Iomc-dJmenslons, and are to be found only in the labQ746
' ra.tory of N a.ture.
770.
oscillatory cunent of momentary duration. Its
energy, the product of the amperes by the volts,
is usually enormous, and is entirely spent along
the track of the discharge in doing work, thermal,
mechanical, chemical, or physiological, or all four
together. It will detach a block of masonry, rip
open a tall chimney, knock a hole in a gas pipe,
and fire ricks, and shatter trees just as easily as
it tears to shreds the clothes of a victim, rends his
shoes, fuses his watch. chain, or magnetises iron
articles that may be in his pockets.
So, too, it often makes our incandescent lamps
duck in response to a distant discharge ; it burns
out our safety fuses, and occasionally takes extraordinary liberties with switchboards, as the following incident shows. During the Spanish-American
War, a flash struck the switchboard at Fort Washington, which controlled the mines in the Potomac,
damaging the whole system and firing three of the
mines. Three deep-toned booms were heard, and
the water of the river shot up like huge geysers.
Luckily no boats were lying near the mine-fields at
the time of the explosion.
Persons who have had the unenviable experience
of being struck by lightning, agree that consciousness was blotted out instantly. They remembered
neither the flash nor the accompanying crash, but
had some idea of being suddenly enveloped in a
blaze. Recovery has frequently been attended by
a temporary derangement of some of the senses,
such as partial blindness, noises in the ear, and a
metallic taste. In some instances various paralyses
persisted, including severe affection of the brain.
It is a popular belief that death f.rom lightning
is caused by internal burns or by the rupture of some
vital organ, such as the heart, the lungs, the
stomach ; but though severe lesions may sometimes
occur, post-mortem examinations seldom reveal any
serious affection of the viscera, or for that matter,
anything abnormal in the physiological conditions
of the stricken person. The same also applies to
people killed by contact with live wires. A case
occurred a few years ago in Taunton, in which a
young man, being sent to oil a Thomson-Houston
alternator, had hardly begun his work when he
was seen to drop dead. The post-mortem showed
all the organs to be in healthy condition ; and as
there was no perceptible injury, internal or external, death was attributed to concussion.
In cases of lightning stroke and electric shock,
some of the chief nerve-centres are intensely stimulated. One of these, the med~tUa oblongata, situated
at the head of the spinal cord, exercises considerable control over the movement of respiration,
while the nerve which it sends out, and which is
called from its wanderings the vag~ts, has a similar
power over the action of the heart ; so that when
these nerve masses are subjected to any undue excitement, the functions of respiration* and circulation are at once interfered with. For this reason,
in all cases, whether of lightning stroke or electric
shock, the sufferer is to be placed without delay in
the most favourable position for breathing, so that
by energetically rubbing all parts of the body, and
especially by regular traction of the tongue, respiration may be restored, if at all possible. Such attentions have recalled animation more than once when
all hopes of recovery were given up.
D'Arsonval, who directed public attention to
this matter a few years ago, when accidents were
not uncom.m on in electric installations, relates the
case of a mechanic who was sent to fix up a telephone line, and who was unfortunate enough to
touch both conductors of a neighbouring alternating
circuit. The machines were feeding the line with
a current of 750 milliamperes at a pressure of
4500 volts. By promptly applying the method of
artificial respiration outlined above, th~ life of the
workman was saved. In 45 minutes he gave signs of
returning vitality, and at the end of two hours
was able to speak. He experienced no other injury
than burns on the hands and thigh.
It is not easy to form a satisfactory idea of the
destruction of life and property caused by lightning,
on account of the great paucity of statistics. The
information needed is often very charily and
imperfectly supplied by people. This is all the
more to be regretted, as such data would be of
great service to students of meteorology and also
to agriculturists generally.
From the information t0 hand, we find that in
E N G I N E E R I N G.
(JUNE I 5,
...a! ...:::sa!
>.
Year. :::s
c
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
.c
0
""ll ""a!
-........
1>,
a!
I~ -~ ::a < =a
-0 0
0 0
Cl>
1>,
...
'
..:
.0
...
.0
s .0 I S .0s
0
a..
Cl>
....Q
1>,
:::s
Ctl
:::s
t:i)
:::s
--- <
~
8 37 55 12
23 73 52 34
27 74 67 M
17 66 73 18
45 96 60 78
66 109 123 78
71 45 89 75
44 107 109 61
44 71 110 86
Cl>
Cl>
Cl>
Cl>
G)
en
Cl>
0
0
>
0
Cl>
Cl>
a!
:::s
s:l
s:l
~
120
204
201
209
336
426
341
362
367
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
4
1t
0
0
3 2496
0 0
6
13
0 2
5
6
0 0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
6
1 11
19
14
29
26
8
2
- - r - - r - - 1 - --
9
15
8
29
16
21
14
41
2
6
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
The almost complete absence of casualities during the colder months of the year is explained by
the rarity of thunderstorms during that period.
In winter, in our latitudes, the atmosphere is not
subject to sudden changes. The conditions that
prevail, thermal, barometric, electric, and hygrometric, are all more stable and uniform than in
summer. When, however, a serious disturbance
does occur during winter, it is not unfrequently
accompanied by lightning and thunder. We had an
instance of this in the last week of 1899, when
tempestuous weather prevailed in the Channel for
several days, and heavy thunderstorms swept the
western parts of France. In Brest, the trolley service
was suspended, the telegraph and telephone lines
were unworkable, and big trees were destroyed.
In the Arctic regions, where the pressure and temperature vary but little, thunderstorms are unknown ; on the other hand, in the tropics, where
the variations of thermometer and barometer are
notoriously fitful, electric storms break out with
with appalling violence. Accordingly, we find that
the most destructive months in the United States
are precisely June, July, and August, when the
mercury frequently rises beyond the nineties.
It will be seen from the above Table that the
annual death-rate is about 278, which is but little
less than 4 per million of inhabitants, if we take
the average population of the United States for the
period included as 65,000,000. For Prussia the
number is 6, for Sweden 3, for France 3, for Belgium 2, and for England and Wales 1. For other
countries statistics are wanting.
As to destruction of property, the returns for
1900.
. ..
...
...
.. .
.. .
...
. ..
. ..
.. .
.. .
.. .
...
...
. ..
. ..
...
.. .
.. .
...
...
...
...
...
...
. ..
.. .
. ....
...
...
...
...
.. .
. ..
. ..
...
...
. ..
. ..
...
1, 615, 639
1, 487, 322
3, 251,494
1, 843,872
21 5071 061
1 839 786
2:936:985
2, 187,710
* United States
E N G I N E E . R I N G.
fault is evidently due to a want of ample information which experiment and observation alone can
supply. Time will h elp to r emedy this deficiency,
We know th at th e growth of knowledge, like the
organic world, is slow and gradual, and the experience of every day tends to confirm us in t he
conviction that t here is no such thing as finality in
science. The achievemen ts of one age are t he
common places of th e next. The calculus of Newton,
for instance, has become the every-day pabulum of
t he commoner, and the q uaternions of Hamilton
never fail to be served up as dessert at mathematical
banquets.
Our advances towards a clear apprehension of
t he mechanism of t he occurrences which daily take
place in this physical world of ours, seems pretty
much like the approach of the asymptote to its
associated curve.
The further our discoveries
carry us, t he n earer we get to the coveted knowledge of the hidden workings of Nature, even
though we may never actually r each it . We fully
agree with t he late much regretted Dr. John Hopkinson when he says t hat our knowledge must
always be very limited, though t he knowable itself
is limitless. But when he goes on to add that t he
greater the sphere of our knowledge is, t he greater
also t h e surface of contact with our infinite
ignorance,* we suspect that some of our readers
will find in that statement a little too much
of th e senior-wrangler element . Be t his as
it may, another
eminent wrangler - Professor Poynting- thinks that we should abolish
t he why, the wherefore, and the cause from all
physical descriptions, contenting ~ursel ves with
just stating h ow t hings happen. This, he claims,
would be a great assistance to clear thinking. t
Even in this apparently simpler matter of saying
only how electric charges accumulate, how the
energy is stored up, and how lightning strikes, we
would experience no mean amoun t of difficulty.
Our efforts would soon bring home to us the truth
that we are still at pioneer work in all matters
relating to atmospheric electricity. Indeed, it may
be said, without much hesitation, that t he very
first and fundamental chapters of t he physics of
lightning have yet to be written. I ts normal
behaviour, as well as its many tantalising fre~ks,
t.ho length and en ergy of flashes and t heir effects
on organised n ature, are subjects about which we
need further information before we can sit down
satisfied with our knowledge of the very complex
phen omenon which we call the lightning flash.
TABLE
Stations.
mls. oh .
16 12
so
18
67 25
89 65
h. m. s.
Aberdeen ..
..
. . d ep . 10 28 20
Ston eh aven
..
. . arr. 10 60 4/i
,
..
d ep. 10 63 46
Mile post 222
..
. . pass 11 0 10
11 1 33
,
221
..
.. "
11 2 60
..
.. "
"
2201
11 4 35
"
219
..
. : .,
11 6 47
,
218
..
.. "
11 7 43
"
216
.
.. "
11 9 25
"
214
.. ,
,,
218
..
. ,
11 10 16
,
212
..
.. ,.
1111 6
,.
211
..
.. ,
11 11 68
..
.. ,
,
209
11 13 49
..
. . ,.
,
208
11 14 40
11 15 29
"
207
..
. . .,
Chronog raph registered 81.8
..
. . pass 11 17 0
Mile post 205
Chronog raph regist ered 80.3
Mile post 204
..
. . pass 11 17 50
,
203
..
,
11 18 43
11 19 48
,
202
..
. "
Dubton Junction ..
. . arr. 11 20 15
,
..
. dep. 11 23 8
Bridge of Dun Junction.. arr. 11 27 15
,
,
. . dep. 11 so 0
Forfo.r
..
..
arr. 11 49 45
,
..
.
. dep. 11 53 36
..
. . pass 11 67 s
Mile post 182
,
180
..
. . ,,
11 69 9
12 5 29
173
..
"
,.
171
..
.. "
,
12 7 u
12 8 6
..
. . ,.
"
170
,
169
..
. ,
12 8 68
,
168
..
.. ,
12 9 50
,.
167
..
.. ,
12 10 42
Two miles P.er hour slowed to
80 mtles per hour
Mile post 163
pass 12 16 40
,,
162
..
.. ,
12 16 42
,
161
.. .
. . .,
12 17 42
,
160
..
.. ,
12 18 42
"
169
..
. .,
12 19 43
.,
166
..
.. ,
12 22 20
.,
165
.
.. ..
12 23 8
,
154
..
. . .,
12 23 66
Obronograpb r egistered 80.8
Mile p ost 163
..
. . pass 12 24 43
.,
152
..
12 25 38
't
Perth
. . a rr. 12 26 S9
Speed,
bfiles per
Hour.
43.2
43.3
35.2
42.8
60.0
62.0
70.5
72. 0
70.6
69.2
6 . 3
70.6
73.4
79.4
72.0
67.9
66 4
46.8
67.1
64.6
68.0
69.2
69.2
69.2
69.2
48.9
69.0
110.0
60.0
59.0
69.0
76.0
'i6.6
76.0
65.
A verage Speed.
Stonehaven to Dubton Junct ion 23 miles 6 chains in
26 min. SO sec. = 62.2
Forfar to Perth 32 miles 40 chains in 83 min. 8 sec. = 66 1.
Load.
4 six-wheelers.
6 eight-wheel bogies.
10 c oaches = 198 tons .
Locomotive No. 776.
41 71
771
i!
'-t
'-t
CONSTRUCTED AT THE COMPANY'S WORKS, ST. ROLLOX, GLASGOW, FROM THE DESIGNS OF MR. JOHN F. MciNTOSH, LOC01\10TIVE SUPERINTENDENT.
'
....--.:"I!!UU I ~ IJ'M
--
--
TTII''-
__....
""11111 -
Eiiiiil!l
---- -
- - -
.....,JIUWI~ ~ to-:
& llw - f
l;~ ilt.V.
......
_.,_.
-'-
--
..
,.,:
.,_-I
..., .......
~ ~
---------- -
-----
- - -
?~t.
_ u,
..
,., ,#'_
~ ~- ...-. - - .=----=:::~
..
- --
'
~-,
FIG.
9.
'
t%1
C)
........
tr1
tr1
~
........
Cl
c:::
tJ:l
~
...
<.J\
~
\C
c::
z
t%j
.....
Ul
-..
.....
\()
\-li
Fifj.Ja
~
f\
1\
...............
1\
~.~~
1~ ~
I~
_('
u.\
.~~
~-
10 11 12
~ '
" c,
...,v
C,
q.;~
q.:
.f'
v
0~
o..""
A...'
c3-
"
fit"
.f'
v'"
~.
c:o
<:)
<:)
Q)
2/22 23
c:o
77ZB;
-+
,_
1\
7/819
(~
t-'t"
<:)
f'-1
\v
~':'
trl
::::
~'-;..
-1.
~
14)
\1)
C)
14)
I')
I')
I')
..
ov
~
~<f
:of
~
Q
~
~
r,_,~
c,<f
.~.
C)
C)
()
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
J
0
0 6
7
<:)
c:o
~
A.f
~~
() C)
3334 5
tO
~
~
<:) :.:
('I) " '
('I) ..,
"J;:,
~~
~
~
()~
~
$~
~l~ Al ~~
((.1
"J
"
~~0~~~:
~ "' ~o ~
~0
.~'t
{ ~Q
c,~
~ ~ v"
i'
C)
;s
\::! ~ ~ ~
c;~
"
GJ
16
18
........
~~~...,~~+)~~ ~ ~~ .s- . .
v't t;J~ I v~~)f'~ ~" J'~ ~ (, v1 ~
~f ~~~oo~ -l.Q~~~~tv!~":\~:~~t~~}~atv
:;
v~~
~~ fJ~
~
~
()
t~ v~ ~~~t$'
~~ _to~"> S'\?:f
o
o"
~'< o\c,
f<~~,- ~
Horizontal ScaLe.
~
1_:~._3~4--5'--6---7 8 8'-P"!J}1L14-~S!,C17J!1 7f F.::~.
Ouli.ns8f.. 80
~~l
~ " ~0
~ ~
~
lf.
~
v
'4. 4;~~
. s,.~OfJA}
~..,
,_~...,.
t:r1
10
........
C)
Pig.11-
~
~
~
...
o:t
!If
c;:
.\,w
t
~
~v
~"'
~() (D~
~()
/
~~
~
't
~ .:, ~"~"
't~Q ~~
~ ~~
~~
-v"
vO
~t, ;I
~~ ~()
0~ ~
"J
~ &
(( 0
.;;
~
~-
~ $-~~v $
~'f:
~~
S
ffl
(, ~
()
(;
"
ft.l"
~
<f
~'"
~~Q~ ~
() ~
~ t,v0
'vo~
~~
~
... ~
~~
v ~
~'t'
~~
~~
(t,-
"
~f
~~
()
~o
~t+:
~
~
..s
~
~
oq;
~
~
0~
.:]
i' I
v ,t()
~V
~~
Fe-100 so
100
200
.goo
~'<I
~-
...,~
~~~
"'~
f ~~ ~'t-""
~~~
,~0((,
!$3098 '
VerticaL Scale
400
500
600
100
800
800
toooFcet
with his spade but not with his head. We are all
of us very apt to grumble when time is lost on a
long journey ; but few realise the anxiety and
stress which devolves on the men, who, in fog and
in storm, in the bitter blast of a winter's day, or
the scorching heat of a summer sun, faithfully and
unobtrusively carry out their arduous duties.
OuR LocoMOTIVE ExPORTS. -The va.lue of the locomotives exported from the United Kingdom in May
showed some falling off, hub a. substantial increase was
still established to May 31. The value of our locomotive
exports in Ma.y was 112,30ll., as compared with 120,554l.
in May, 1899, a nd 143,477l. in May, 1898. The most
important exports were made to British India.. which
figured in the total just given for 40,64ll., 59,34&., and
58,397l. respectively. The value of the locomotives ex-
':t
'l'
<N
774
THE PYRITIC SMELTING OF COPPER
ORES.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
units. On the other hand, as the combustion of
carbonaceous fuel in a blast-furnace is chiefly to
carbonic oxide (C 0), the amount of heat, derived
from such fuel, in smelting may be limited to this
r eaction, and can be estimated at about 5600
thermal units. Theoretically, therefore, it would
appear that for fuel purposes :
llb. of iron pyrites
= .4 lb. of coke.
1 ,
ferr\>US ~ulphide = .55 ,
,
[JuNE 15,
1900.
\V"m:
La.urence
A.ustin. Tra.ns. Fed. lost. of 1\lmmg Engmeer~, vol.
xiv., 18!>i.
775
E N G I N E E R I N G.
P n = maximum temperature attainable before the
tuyeres.
a
= ca.lonfic power of each element.
u = weight in pounds of each element.
t
= temperature of blast.
p
weight of each product of combustion.
c
= specific heat of each product of combustion.
c 11. = specific heat of fuel.
0.2375 = specific heat of air.
Then in the case of iron monosulphide, when
only the theoretical amount of oxygen necessary
for the operation is introduced,
C t
_ 1155 + 0.237 X 400 X 2.3523 _ 2 _ d
0
87 eg. en
T 0.6683 - 0.1375
-
3000
[JUNE I 5,
ENGINEERING.
776
1900.
Fi.f!.1.
..
Qi
Fi[;.3.
""\
).
./
'
.-
O!O
~ i
I
I
- 1
I
I
I
I
I
II
I'
'
I
I
I
I
I'
I
''
!I I
'I ll)
:, c--c.o
I ll)
00 1 00 1-1~-+--1~
l p.-.u.-~...u..-.- L'J....r.~=====~:c::::::::::=:======~
'
-----------
!15:
1
-- ....ii
(-: ---
II
I
I ...
I
I
'
I
::
I
I
-- -- -
!.
."
; : ~ 2SJ
(1---
'
. ~~~.
t+
I I
'r
c-. '
.... I
I
~il---+.ffi-_!_-
'
0) 1
I I
I
I
"' I
li
'
11---HI-
..
,...
~ -- - -~
6. ?06
I
:
-----------------~
'
-----1'
:'
I
.!.
- - - - - - . . . - - -- - - - - 1 I - - - - 1 ' - - - - - - ---,I
i
I
I
I
I
I
Ftfj.S.
'
II
I'
Jl.
I I
I
I
r-
I I
I I
I I
I.
I I
- i!US
I
I
I
I
'
I
I
. ...
--'--
- -- ......
..
...
..
..,
L - - - - - - --- - - - -'" - -
_.J
bearings . . .
. ..
. . . 0.556 metre (21.90 in.)
Distance between bearings 1.067 metres (43 in.)
The indicated powers developed at different pressures, and percentages of steam admission are as
follow:
1. With effective initial steam pressure of 171 lb. per
square inch.
} UNE I
5, 1900.]
E N G I N E E R I N G.
COMPOUND
AGRICULTURAL
777
THE
AT
LOCOMOTIVE
SHOW.
YO RK
ENGI NEERS,
LINCOLN.
F I G.
1.
:o
1.--10
~~u~~~~-------~------------~
nI
0
- l - - 1- - - - - -
'!I :
i
I )
__.. ,
I
~(
~I
'LJ
.i
"
___ _
__________ .J
I
~-_../
(~\
I
I'
.. ,'
. -
r
_)
---
~ -
I ll
I
I
-. _ -.
":"==j_- .
1-.
I
I
I
I
I""""I
I
I
4..
--":.i_--- ..
,.,....
J
...L.
"\
_I
1\.
..
...... i
\.. I
V~~\\ -
~~J!)
If"
r-
..1
!
I
11
~.L - - -
------r------rI
---- - ---
...
I
- - - - . -~1-t\1i
- - - - - - J---i-t-+-t - - -- - - - 1---j
E N G I N E E R I N G.
Percentage of steam admission
to high-pressure cylinder ...
15
25
40
Correspondingindica.ted horsepower . ..
...
. ..
. .. 1330 2020 3130
2. With effective initial steam ~ressure of 142 lb. :
Percentage of steam admiss10n
to high-pressure cylinder ...
15
25
40
Corresponding indicated horsepower .. .
. ..
. ..
. . . 1105 1690 2630
3. With effective initial steam pressure of 128 lb. :
P ercentage of steam admission
to high-pressure cylinder ...
15
25
40
Corresponding indicated horse.. .
. . . 990 1530 2370
power . ..
. ..
All. parts of the engines have been designed for a
workmg pressure of 17.1 1~. per square inch, and 3000
horse-;power can be mdtcated continuously, corresp_ondmg to an out put of 1750 kilowatts on t he termmals of the dynamo. With an initial pressure of
128 lb., and a 30 p er cent. a dmission to the highpressure c>'lin?er, the required output of the dynamo
c~n be mamtamed under t he most economical expenditure ~f ~team. ~e are indebted t o Messrs. Cail
(La Somet1~ ~ra~9atse d~ Constructions Mecaniques)
for t he foregomg mformat10n and illustrations.
[JUNE I 5,
900.
structed.
require that t he bucket shall be lowered on to a heap
or brought in contact wit h an extraneous stop of som~
S?rt; but the Tem~erley bucket can be tipped in mid
a1~, and at any hetght from the ground. Details of
thts automatic gear are given in Figs. 9 to 13.
The pivots by which the bucket is carried on its
bridle are fixed below the centre of gravity of a full
bucket, and above the centre of g ravi ty of the empty
bucket, and the full bucket is prevented from tipping
prematurely by a latch in t he usual way. This latch
1s connected by a chain with a lever passing over the
s~spe nding hook, as shown in Fig. 13. This suspen~lOn ~ook 1s slotted to receive a special hook, as shown
m F1gs. 11 and 12, and this hook n is connected
by a chain with certain links in t he fall block. If
this chain i~ pulled, it- by means of the special
hook and 1ts connections-unla.tohes t he bucket
and allows it to tip. The posit ion of affairs when
a bucket has been filled ready for lifting is shown
in Fig. 11. The chain from n is connected to
TEMPERLEY TRANSPORTING PLANT AT block o pivoted on a lever p which again is pivoted to
SFAX.
the frame of the fall block. As shown in this figure
(Concluded from page 615.}
?ne end of this lever rests on a stop, whilst the othe r
THE original Temperley traveller was described in 18 connected by links with a. t hird lever q. As the
our issue of November 15, 1895, but considerable load is raised the fall block finally enters the hood of
CO:rviPOUND AGRICULTURAL LOCOMOTIVE. changes have been made in the details as now manu- the traveller, as already explained, and the hook e
AT the York Show of the Royal Agricultural Society factured, rendering the device easier of construction ~lready described, and shown again in Fig. 9, comes
of England, which op~ns to- mor~o~, Messrs. Clayton since the compl~cated cam surfaces. originally used mto contact with the short end of this third lever q,
and huttlewor.th, of Lmcoln, exhtbtt a newly-designed are done away w1th. The tra,eller 1s shown in two and moves it over into t he p osition shown in Fig. 9.
compound ag ncnltural _loco~otive possessing some po~itions in Figs. 7_and 8 on our two-page engraving The effect of this has been to turn the lever p about its
nov~l features of value 1~ thts class of engine. The thts week.
In F1g. 7 the fall block is home on pivot, and as a. result the pawl ,. carried by the block o
engme has been made m accordance with h'Iessrs. the traveller hood, the latter is unlock ed from the is brought into contact with the rim of the rope pulley,
beam on which it runs, and can be as shown in the figure. The lower end of this block,
hauled up this beam, the load during its ho wever, remains during this motion at its orig inal
travel being supported from the hook level, a nd thus exerts no pull on the unlatching chain.
With matters in this condition the traverse along the
marked e in the figures. Should, however, t he hauling rope be paid out in t ransporter beam is made, until the desired stopping
place of being hauled in, the small pawl f p oint is reached and the t raveller lock ed there a.s
will catch on the notch causing t he already explained. The load is now allowed to deblock g t o r otate on its pivot , so that scend, and the rope pulley catching in its rotation the
~he project ing t coth on it will engage pa.wl 1, moves it over to the position shown in Fig. 10,
---------------,--,.....~
-------------1n the large uotch shown. The weight so that it now points in t he opposite direction. This
motion of 1' does not s wing t he block or unlatoh the
of
t
he
trM:ellor
tending
t
o
make
it
slide
.______ _l __ ---down t he beam causes the block g to chain. If now the desceHt is stopped and the attendant
'
move round still further into tho posi- begins to haul in the lifting r ope, the rope pulley
tion shown in Fig. 8. One end of t his catches on the pawl 1, and through it forces over the
b lock is, it will be seen, connected t o a block o, and thus by means of the chain connections
system of links let t ered h, i , j, k, l. lifts the latch and allows t he bucket to tip. The relaIn the position shown in Fig. 7 the tive position of the different parts at the tipping point
links i and j are nearly in a straight is shown in Fig. 12.
We also give in Fig. 6 on our two-page engravina
lino, and thus the weight of t he fall
b lock, which is in that fig ure carried a r eproduction of a photograph of one of these trans~
by the link k, exerts very li ttle pressure porters as it stood in the yard of the Chatteris Engion the block g, and what little press ure neering Company, who were entrusted with the conthere is tends t o keep g against its st ruction of the steelwork by the patentees. This
stop in the position there shown: When, engraving gi ves an excellent idea. of t he size and
however, the tooth on{] engages with a general appearance of the towers and their equipment .
notch, as in Fig. 8, it pu1ls, by means
of the link h, the two links i and j into
the position shown in Fig. 8. The link
NOTES FROM THE UNITED STATES.
then descends, being helped by its
PHILADELPHIA, June 6.
weight and the weight of the fall block.
The hook is provided with a cam slot
REPORTS from all iron and steel centres throughout
shown at m, in which engages a fixed the United States show a more settled condition of
I
I
,.,.,.. ---- -L-pin.
This
cam
slot
is
of
such
a
shape
--------------Lthin gs, due to several causes, chief of which are t he
1
that as the hook e descends it is swung approach of iron and steel values to normal level,
to t he left , as shown in Fig. 8, t hus the probable suspension of work in most mills for a
releasing the fall block, which can now time during t he summer, and to t he fact that a great
descend freely on paying out the lift- many consumers are very low in stocks, and will be
ing rope. On rais ing the block again, forced to buy soon. The stock markets have re covered
striking pieces on it will come in contact from their scare. The downward tendency in values
with the hook e, and ra.isiug the latter, is at work, and the restoration of normal and healthful
Shuttleworth and Fletcher's patent No. 16,668, of 1899. will force up the link k, the latter by means of the link j conditions is being already discounted. An adjustThe high and low-pressure cylinders are arranged will then pull over the links h and i from the position ment has also been praotically arrived at in wages
as shown by the illustrations annexed and on page 777. shown in Fig. 8 into the positi0n shown in Fig. 7, thus of mill men for t he ensuing year, based probably on
The valve chests aud distribut ing valves are placed on unlocking the traveller; whilst at t he same time hook e an increase of 8 per cent., although the final words
top of the cylinders, and the slide valves are act uated comes again into position to suspend the load, as in have not yet been spoken. Bessemer anJ billets are
Fig. 7. In fact, the conditions shown in Fig. 7 are still considerably above what consumers believe the
by radial valve gear of t he Joy t ype.
The engine shown in Fig. I , p 3.ge 777, has recently restored, with one single exception, viz. , that the market ought to be. The outlook has not imbeen put to heavy hauling work in Franco. The engine small pawlfnow slopes up to the left in place of up proved much, but there are indicat ions of a broadenexhibited in Y ork is intended for general purposes, but to the right, as there shown. Hence, on slackening ing demand from lower prices. The president of the
is very similar to t ha t illustrated. On page 777, Fig. 2 the rope, this pawl no longer catches on the beam, and Union Traction Company of this city t old your correis a. plan of the eng ine and Fig. 3 a. side elevation of the traveller is free to r un down the latter, on paying spondent to-day h is company had put off buying a.
the valve gear. Fig. 4 a nnexed represents a section of out the ha uling rope. Generally the traveller is in great deal of material, and would not make improvethe c.vlinders showing the slide valves placed on the these circumstances allowed to run to the very end of ments that were in contemplation, simply because the
top. It will be seen from the engravings t hat t he usud the beam, where a projecting block of metal catches market was too high. The r ailroad companies are
four eccent rics on the cranksha ft for the r eversing the t ooth on the block g, which t hus locks itself con templating still g reater outlays for radical improvegear are dispensed with, the radial valve gear g iving a without any assistance from t he small pawl; but the men ts. This course has been recently determined upon
bett er dist ribut ion of the steam, but the c bief ad - traveller can also be brought to res t at any inter- because of t he continued qualifying earnings. F or years
vantages gained by the removal of the eccen tri cs is mad ia.te notch in t he following manner : The rope is past frigid economies have been exercised, and all railthe extra space on the crankshaft for the two wide paid out , allowing the traveller to move dQwn past way manager s are delighted to get away from them.
crankpins and strong crank webs ; the first motion t he notch at whi ch i t is desired to stop. It is then Rail mills are booking orders for small lots for 30 to 60
g earing can also be placed inside the box brackets ha ul ed up p ast it again, during which upward motion days' delivery. Plate iron and steel is weakening,
between the bearings without any crowding of the the small p!l.wl f catches on this notch and is moved beoause of the en ormous capaci t y. Structural map arts. The same geari ng is used t hroughou t on this over, so as to slope up from left t o ri ght, as in F ig. 7. terial beats every thing else in demand. The bridge
engine as fo r a single-cylinder t rac"ion engine, wh ich On again slacking out the rope again, this pawl will material ma.k ors havo all gotten under the same
now engage with the small notch, as in Fig. 7, and blanket, and are going to havo things t heir own way.
is an important manufacturing advantage.
From F ig. 21 it will be seen tha t tho slide valve thus cause the locking of the traveller, as a.lrea<.ly The stock papers have left off making idiots of themsolves by predicting disasters. E veryone in P hiladelfaces and valve-rods are parallel with tho cent re line described.
The self-tipping device adopted for the plant at phia. is buying cough drops to have t heir t hroats in
of t he cylinders, t he setting of the cylinder s on the
machine for tooling, t h e planing of the valve faceR, and S fax is operated on quite similar principles, and is, good order to cheer and h owl when President :McKinley
the boring of the st uffing- boxes are t hus simJ>lified 1 and we heli~ve 1 t h e only truly self-tipping dev ice yet (/Ol)- is renominat ed her~ in t wo w~eks from to-day.
I
I
cb l
I
-------m---
'
J UN E
15,
1900.]
E N G I N E E R I N G.
779
telegraphic ad~ress of th~ commercial information office in Colorado, the Pike's Peak Power Company. decided
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL
some time ago to blow up the summit of a graru~e butte
is, care of "Bntpa v," Pans.
ENGINEERS.
in the immediate neighbou.r hood of th~ dam site. A
partition,
known
by
the
t
rade
name
of
'~ gypsine,"
A
IN common with other important American t echnical
tunnel was driven into the s1de of. the hill at a level of
was
recently
subjected.
to
a
test
.at
the
stat10n
of
~he
societies, the American Society of Civi~ Engineers ha~e
75 ft. below its top. On reaohmg the centre a cross
British
Fire
Prevention
Committee.
The
matertal,
adopted the plan of holding a conventt~n every year m
tunnel extending 35 fb. each way was constructed, and
which
is
a
mixture
of
plastic
hydraulic
lime
with
coke
or
some city more or less rem_ote from th~tr headquarters,
in the one end was placed a charge of 12,000 lb .. of black
sand
and
asbestos,
was
moulded
iJ?to.
bricks,
an?
the
parthus givinf; an oppor tumty of ~e~tmg to. members
powder and in the other one of 15,000 lb. The mterventition
was
constructed
of
these
la.td
10 hydrauhc mortar,
practising lD wide!y separate~ .l<;>cahttes. o.wmg to. the
mg spa~e was tamped with rock and earth, though some
the
joints
being!
in.
thick,
and
on
the.
side
exposed
t
o
fire,
attractions of the Paris Exh1btt10n, the So01ety de01ded
3000 lb. of powder we re also distribut~d al<?ng ~he
the
partition
was
coated
with
a
thm
layer
of
fireclay.
to hold its convention this year in Europe, and have
wall adjacent to the entrance tunnel. . Thuty-stx fi.!lng
The
area
exposed
to
the
flames
was
7
ft.
9
in
..
b~
10
ft.
accordingly conferred the honour o~ Londo~. The conholes, each containing 4 lb. of dynamite, and prov1ded
The
t
est
lasted
an
hour,
and
the
temperatur~
.m
stde
the
vention, which is the thirty-second m the htstory of the
with electric fuses, were arranged f_or. The explotest
hut
attained
2050
deg.
Fahr.
The.
partlt10n
prov~d
Society, will be opened on Monday, July 2, at ~ p.I_n.,
sion proved most successful, 110,000 oub1c f~et of. rook, or
impervious
to
the
flames,
and
at
no
pertod
of
the
te~t
did
the meetings taking place in the roor~s of the Instttut10n
80 per cent. of that above the tunnel level. bemg d1~pla?ed.
the
temperature
of
its
outside
surface
become
s
ufficiently
of Civil Engineers, which the counml have P.laced at the
The dam for which this rook is needed will be 69 ft. high,
high
to
tgnite
a
match.
disposal of our visitors. The {>roceedings w1ll commence
125 ft . wide at its base for a lengt~ of 150 ft. and 16 ft .
with an address by the Presid~nt, r. J. F . ~all~ce,
Experience with the aluminium. electric tra.nsmissi_on wide at the toP., where ~ts length will be 420 ft. The up.
and in the evening at 8 p.m. a discu~ston on the Hetgbt mains erected in W astern Amenca has proved quite stream face wtll be inclined at a n a!lgle of .30 deg. ~ the
of Buildings," will be opened by Mr. T. q. Purdy, and sn.tiefactory. For a given conductivity ~he aluminium is vertical and will be made watert1ght, With a facmg of
will raise the question a.s to whether recent Improvements just half as heavy as copper, and five-etghths 8:8 strong. steel pl~te. The lower slope will be inclined at a n angle
in construction, sanitation, intercommunication, and eco- Breakages have been few, though s_ome of the li?es have of 45 deg.
nomy of administration, do not warrant a removal of all suffered from wilful damage, t~e m sulators betr;'g: used
The Liverpool Self-Propelled Tr~ffic Association. are
restrictions on these heights. On Tuesday, July 3, at as targets for gun practice, and wues have been mah01.o~sly
10 a. m. Mr. R. W. Hunt will open a discussion.on ':Recent thrown over the leads in a number of cases. The JOmts making arrangements for another trtal of motor vehicles
Practice in Rails," dealing with the progress1 ve morease between successive lengths of wir~ are not soldered, as for heavy traffic, to be oa~ried out next June. .The objecb
in weight and hardness, with the forms of sections most experience shows that such connectiOns stand badly. ~y of the trials is to provtde a means of makm~ a preused and with effect of changes in these matter3. At the pushing the ends of the wires into an oval tube,. and twl.st- liminary test of types of heavy motor wagons sm~Lle .for
sam~ meeting M~. R~dolph H ering will i?trodu;,Q the mg the latter, a joint has, however, been _obta~ned wh~oh haul age operations in Lancashire, prior to theu bemg
subject of the" Flltrat10n of W ater. for ~ubho Use, t~us is a-s strong and conducts as well as the sol1d wue. Owmg taken over by a Lancashire syndicate, which will be
affording an opportunity for the dlScusston of the prm- to the fact that aluminium expands more by heat than formed for the purpose of condu?ting road . transporb
oipal methods of purification now employed. On Tburs copper it is necessary in erecting a line to make a. g reater bebween Liverpool and manufa~turmg .t~wns ~n Lancashire The vehicles entered will be d1v1ded mto three
day July 5 the day meeting of the Society will be de allowa~ce for contraction in cold weather than usual.
vot~d to g~neral busin~, whilst in t~e evening ther.e The daily press has recently contained numerous re- class~, having the general characteristics set forth in the
will be an official reoept10n of bhe Somety by the P rest ferences to the strike of tramcar men at St. Louis, but annexed T able :
dent and Uouncil of the Institution of Civil Engineers,
at the Guildhall. A number of excursions have also been has given little information as to the origin of the disMinimum Minimum
pute.
According
to
the
St'reet
Rail'Way
Jou
rnal
the
arranged for, Her Maje.sty ha:ving granted permission for
Maximum Level
Width of
Speed.
Olnss.
Load.
trouble
arose
from
the
extravagant
demands
of
the
work
Tate.
P latfor m
Driving
a visit to Windsor Castle and Its g rounds on the afternoon
Area.
Tyr es.
of Tuesday July 5 ; whilst on Friday, July 6, an excursion men's union. These included a claim that the company
I
to Stratford.on-Avon and Warwick has been arranged for. should compel all its hands to join the union, a:nd should
t ons
tons
square
m.
neither
,discharge
nor
take
on
a
new
man
wttbout
the
miles per
We may add that members of all o~asses of the Ins~itutio~
feet
hour
consent
of
the
union
officials,
and
further
that
in
case
the
of Civil Engineers, and all AmeriCan. and. C~lomal engiA
2
1!
45
3
8
union
suF~pended
or
discharged
one
of
their
members,
the
B
neers who may be in London, are cordtally InVIted to take
6
3
76
5
5
company
should
immediately
follow
suit.
If
this
state5 (minimum) No limit
0
05
part in any of the discussions announced above.
6
5
ment of the case is correct, ib is remarkable that the
strikers should have gained as much public sympathy as
is evidenced by the press reports, but as t~e Homes~ea.d Further particulars oa.n ~e _obtained on applicatio~ to .the
strike showed some years ago, the AmeriCan pubho IS secretaries of the Asso01at10n at the R oyal Institution,
MISCELLANEA.
T HE great cantilever bridge across the St. Lawrence at much less j udicial-minded than our own in these matters. Liverpool.
Quebec, the construoti~n of which has now been comA meeting of the Society of Engineers was held at the
According to the report of the Chief of the Bureau of
menced will have a mam span of 1800 ft., or 90 ft. more Statistics of the United States Treasury Department, the Royal U nited Service Institution last Monday night,
than th~ main s pans of the Forth Bridge.
total value of the exports of domestic merchandise in the when Mr. A lgernon H. Binyon read a paper on "Electric
Traction ." He said that the London tramways-horse
first
ten
months
of
the
fiscal
year
ending
with
April,
1900,
T he seven hundredth anniversary of the com~enc~ment
and cable-carried 309,000, 000 passengers, or 45 per
a
mounted
to
1,152,990,907
d
ols.,
against
1,018,290,
718
dols.
of working the mines in the Har~ Mountam~ wtll be
cenb. of the total traffic, the underground railways
in
the
first
ten
months
of
the
fiscal
year
ending
with
April,
celebrated towards the end of tlus month With much
128,400,000, or 19 per cent. of the total traffic, and
solemnity, and the Kaiser himself has intimated his in- 1899. The total value of imports of merchandise in t he the omnibuses 248,GOO,OOO, or 3G per CE\nb. of the total
first ten months of t he fiscal year 1900, both free and dutitention of being present.
able, amounted to 717,241,544 dols., against 565,230,807 traffic. The whole population of London-6~ millions
The Association des Industrielle3 de France offer a prize dols. in the same months of the fiscal year 1899. The - travelled 124 times in a year, whilst the New York
of 1000 francs for the best insulating gloves intended for excess of domestic exports in the first ten months of the population of 3! millions travelled 210 times yearly. He
the use of linemen. Full particulars can be obtained on fiscal year 1900 over imports was 435,749,363 dols., and the favoured the overhead trolley system, used in nearly all
application to the offices of the Association, 3, Rue de exports over impor ts in the same months of the fiscal year E nglish to wns, as being the most efficient and economical,
Lutece, Paris.
1899 was 453,059,911 dols. It will thns be seen that especially the form of it known as the side trolley systeru,
In connection with the paragraph which appeared in American imports have greatly increased during the first which obviated the unsightliness of very long brackets.
Miscellanea in our issue of April 27, to the effect that ten months of the present fiscal year, the increase being The London U nited and the L ondon County Uouncil
Wells' lights were used for lighting the enclosures at Cape 152,010,737 dols. The increase of exports during the tramways would, in time, he thought, force railway companies to adopt electric traction for suburban traffic
T own in which the Boer prisoners were confi_ned, Mes~rs. same period was 134,700, 189 dols.
within a radius of from 10 to 25 miles round L ondon,
George Findlay and Co., of Cape T own, wnte us saymg
An unprecedented condition of the coal trade ab Hull that being probably the r!l.nge within which competition
that they also supplied arc lamps for thab purpose.
is disclosed in the return of the Hull Incorporated would be strongly felt, and beyond which a s.t eam locoThe traction engines which were sent to the fron.t for Chamber of Commerce and Shipping just issued. An ex- motive would beat its electric rival. In combining
t ransport purposes, are reported to hMe proved .htghly panding trade bad been anticipated, but the actual figures lighting and tramway plant, Mr. Binyon advocated the
satisfactory. Operating on the bare veldt, seven of them s how a pressure on the Yorkshire coal supply greater than use of completely separate dynamos and mains. He rehave been responsible for an aggregate wo~k of 5000 ton- had been realised by any but a few largely interested in commended the use of meters in cars, and said that from
miles per day of profitable haulage. The T_vmes says that the business. The total tonnage forwarded to the port 30 to 40 per cent. of the waste caused by the careless
at the rates paid for bullock transpo~t, viz_. . 3s. 3d. per last month, 381,872 tons, was 54,736 tons, or 16.7 per handling of controllers could be saved.
cenb., more than was forwarded in May, 1899, which was
ton-mile, an engine will about pay for Itself m 10 days.
The Northern Salv~e Company, of Hamburg, have
itself
a
busy
month.
In
the
five
months
of
the
present
It is expected th3.t the gold output !rom the Yukon
contracted t o raise the Greab W astern Company's steamer
year
1,458,944
tons
were
sent,
an
increase
of
215,392
tons,
territory will this season show ~ constdera~le advance,
I bex, which was losb in January last near St. Sampson's
or
17.3
per
cen
t.
The
quantity
of
coal
exported
coastowing to the more general adoptiOn of machinery. T~e
Harbour, Guernsey. The vessel lies at present with the
wise
last
month,
61,761
tons,
was
114.6
per
cent.
more
Canadian Government has also spent much money In
upper deck just awash at lo w tide. U nfortunately, she
than
was
despatched
in
the
previous
corresponding
month,
road building thus decreasing the cost of transport. The
is right in the tide way, and the divers can only work for
most
of
it
going
to
L
ondon,
whilst
on
the
five
months'
fact that coal' has been found within 25 miles of Dawson
about an hour at slack water. She rests on a. tableshaped
orading
the
increase
amounted
to
81.6
per
cent.
The
exCity should also do much to increase the output of these
rock, with about 9ft. of her stem and stern jutting beports
to
foreign
countries
last
month
totalled
199,638
tons,
fields.
an increase of 95,618 tons, or 9t.9 per cent., the five yond it, so that it is possible in certain places to walk
Announcements have frequently been made in the months' total amounting to 666,748 tons, an increase of underneath her. A diver reports a hole in her port bow
and injury to some of the starboard plates. While prosepress reporting the sale. of the Dowla~s Iron Company's 351,344 tons, or 89.8 per cent.
cuting his search he came upon a man's body, nearly
works and mines belongmg to Lord Wimborne. We n<;>w
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company report that their covered with seaweed and kept down by pieces of iron from
have authority to state that the whole of these properties
have been purchased by Mr. Arthur Keen, Sa.n~yford, experience shows that the traction resistance per ton is the wreck. It has been identified by the clothing as the
Ed~ba.ston, Birmingham, for the purpose of um tmg the very much less with loaded than with light cars, and, body of an able seaman named .Randal, who was seen
busmess with that of the Paten.t Nut. and B olt Company, further, that the relative resistance of a fully loaded clutching thefia~staff as the vessel went down. The remains
highcapacity car is less than that of smaller oars. At have been bur1ed in the Peter Port Cemetery. Two
Limited, of which company he lS chairman.
s peeds of 15 to 20 miles per hour, experience on the
The Canadian Pacific Railway C~mpany has this week Pennsylvania linos has led to the following formula for lighters, of a carrying capacity of 700 tons each, are
begun to r un its fast summ.er serviCe betwee~, Montr~al the resistance of a train moving on the level, and made moored on two sides of the wreck, and eight 9!-in. wire
cables are to be passed under the keel. The rock will
and Vancouver with the tram known as the Imper1al up throughout of similar cars fully loaded,
have to be blasted amidships to afford room for the passagee
Limited, " which makes the journey in 100 hours. ~he
of the cables ; and as they each weigh 5 tons it will b
R
4.0t- 0.0255 . W.
company have been encoura~ed to. resume the servtce
owing to the great success IO achieved las.t year. The In this formula R denotes the resistance per ton at the some time before all the preparations for rai~ing the vessel
CanA.dian route, being the shortest and qmokest across speed named above, a.nd W the weight of the train can be completed. When a ll is ready the lighters will be
the Continent. has attracted a large share of travel to and divided by the number of oar3 constituting it. Ib thus filled with water to Plimsoll's mark, and the cables
tautened. The lighters will be then pumped out by
from the Far East.
appears that under these conditions the resistance of a pumps raising 3000 tons of water an hour, and a:s they
A commercil).l information office has been eatablished fully loaded oar weighing 40 tons amounts to about 3.02lb. rise with the tide the vessel is expected to come off the
on the upper floor of the Bri~ish Roya~ Pd.vili~n! Rue des per ton, whilst with a larger car w~ighing 72i tons the ledge. It will be t owed into St. Sampson's Harbour.
Nations, Quai d'Orsay, Parts.. ~ngliSb ~xlubttors and resistance will be about 2.19 lb. per ton. The formula, it The final stages of the enterprise cannot be undertaken
visitora will be able to _obtam mf~r!Dat1on a-s regar~s is stated, is unreliable for oa.rs of less than 40 tons capa. before the neap tides.
tariffd duties &c., and will find writmg-rooms at the1r city. The general conclusions a.q to the relatively easier
dispo;al furn'ished with all the necessary books of refer- haula~e of large cars is independently confirmed by other
ence and a poste restante has been opened in the build- Amencan lines.
COAL IN SPAIN.-The imports of coal into Spain in the
ing ~here letters will be received, provided they are
In order to provide the 42,000 cubic feet of stone needed first quarter of the year were 438 428 tons. The cor~
llddressed to the care of the st}cr~ta.ry. T he re~istered for the construction for l\ large dam across :Beaver Creek, respon~ing imports in the correspo~ding period of 1899
were '!)11007 tone,
E N G I N E E R I N G.
BRITISH MACHINE TOOLS AT PARIS.
MESSRS. ALFRED HERBERT'S {LIMITED) EXHIBITS.
AMONG the few collections of machine tools sent by
British firms to the Paris Exhibition, that of Messrs.
Alfred Herbert, Limited, of Coventry, is conspicuous.
It comprises a vertical milling machine, turret and
capstan lathes, and screwing machines, all of good
design and excellent workmanship. The machines
exhibited are illustrated on pages 780, 781, and 784.
Fig. 1 is a vertical milling machine ; the engraving
shows that the main frame is of a massive design,
possessing great stiffness and freedom from vibration.
The sliding head moves in very long bearings, and its
p osition is regulated by the graduated bandwheel
shown in the illustration; an adjustable stop is provided .t o control the range of vertical movement, and
the locking handle on the left, clamps t he head firmly
while the machine is in operation. The head is
counterbalanced by a weight inside the frame, so that
it ?an. be easily raised ~nd lowered. The spindle,
whiCh 1s of cruetble steel, 1s made with a slotted holder
bored to. a standard (No._l1, Brown and Sharpe) taper;
the end 1s thre~ded outs1d.e for mounting large milling
beads. The spmdle runs 1n a phosphor-bronze adjustable main bearing. Tbe driving pulley is not mounted
rlirect on the spindle, but on a sleeve, the spindle being
driven by two keys. The back gear is entirely encased
as shown in the illustration. The table is massive and
stiff enough to resist deflection when heavy work is in
the machine; it has a considerable longitudinal travel,
and the tramnerse slide is guided by a wide raised
tongue in the centre. Automatic feeds a re provided
for both movements, and are instantly r eversible
sudden contact with the dead stops is prevented by
autom~tic .stops placed in ~dvance of ~be dead stop.
The followmg are som1 part1culars of th1s machine :
L ongitudinal feed of table . . .
.. .
52 in.
Transverse
,
,
.. .
.. .
15 ,
Maximum distance from table to
spindle
...
..
. ..
...
17 ,,
Size of table . . .
.. .
. ..
.. . 7 4 in. by 15 in.
Working size of table...
. ..
. . . 62 , by 15 ,
Width of holding-down slots
...
.75 in.
Distance from centre of spindle to
face of frame.. .
.. .
. ..
. ..
17 ,
Vertical movement of spindle
...
12 ,
Diameter of spindle . . .
. ..
.. .
3;!; ,,
,
driving pulley . . .
. ..
15 ,
Speed of spindle, 12 changes
... 10 revs. to 270
per mm.
Ra.tio of back gearing...
. ..
. ..
6 to 1
Speed of countersha ft...
. ..
. .. 80 and 200 revs.
Floor space occupied . ..
. ..
. .. 10ft. by 6ft. 9 in.
The automatic turning machine is one of those many
labour-saving machines of American origin which are
now finding a large use in this and other countries,
and are manufactured by some of our leading tool
makers. From its original form, that of the automatic
screw machine, designed especially for the rapid production of accurate screws of small size, it has been
developed for the manufacture of an a lmost endless
variety of small parts previously made slowly and at a
much higher cost. Thus, to take an ordinary example
of a locomotive hand-rail pillar; under the old system
this cost 1s. 9d. for labour- 6d. for forging and l s. 3d.
for turning and finishing. With automatic turning
machines, three of which are attended to by one
mechanic, the output of the three machines is nine
pillars per hour, and the labour cost of each 1d. The
general principles of t hese machines have been already
described in ENGINEERING, so that we need only point
out some of the characteristics of those exhibited by
Messrs. Herbert, in Paris. We may, however, remind our readers that the machines are practically
turret lathes, in which all the varied movements of
the cutters, the opening and closing of chucks, and
the forward feed of the bar from which the object
is produced, are obtained from more or less complicated cams, driven by gearing. Several simple
objects may be turned out by each re volution of the
set of cams, but for more complicated form s, one p er
revolutioo is the output. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the
two machines of this type, exhibited by Messrs. Herbert, the former being t he smaller, and capable of
taking bars up to ft in. in diameter. As will be seen,
the frame is a very solid casting, surrounded with an
oil t ray; on one standard is mounted the headstock,
on the other the turret slide, and between them is the
cut-off slide. At the back of the right- hand side of
the frame are two driving pulleys, one of which drives
a wormshaft, and thence through gearing, imparts a
very slow movement to the shaft on which th~ cam
drums are mounted; t he other pulley also drives t he
camshaft, but at a much higher speed. On t he right
hand end of the camshA.ft is a disc with projectmg
pieces bolted to it; the function of these is automati
cally to t hrow the driving belt off and on the slow and
fast feed pulleys ; being adjus table, any va riation : in
the number, and duration of the changes can be
effected by altering the position of the blocks upon the
disc. The slow speed is required for regulating the
(JUNE I 5, 1900.
LI~HTED.
ENGINEER , COVENTRY.
Fw. 1.
F(Q. 2.
SMAI.L
AuTOMATIC TuRNING
MACBINE.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
L
CO
' T R u c T E ])
By
l\1 E I '
~.
A L 1J.171 I)" ] ~~ D
H 1~ R B ]~' R T '
E..~ N G I N SJ
L~ ER
L I l\I IT lt
J ~ D,
"..
Fw. 5.
'
"
"c.
'
,.
'
c 0 V g N T R y.
'
"
o ..
t:a"
.~
Fxo. 6.
feed of the cutting tools ; the fast speed for drawing
back the cutters, rotating the turret, and bringing
forward the cutt er. The other cam, driven on the lefthand side of the machine, controls the automatic chuck
and the bar feed. The t ool in the slide in the centre
of t he machine fini~hes the contour turning of the
object and cuts off t he finished wor~ from the bar ; it
is opsrated intermittently by an mdependent cam.
Obv1ously for producing different kinds of work, difftrent cams are required. To form a simple object
such as a short post with rounded head and reduced
screwed end, seven operations take place, which
CaucK.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
per mm.
,
,
reverse
...170revs. per min.
The hexagon turret lathe exhibited by Messrs. Herbert is illustrated by Fig. 5, page 781, and is ada.pted for
a great variety of heavy work, such as cylinder covers
and other engine parts. The design is very massive and
compact ; the headstock is fitted with a rapid speedchanging devine, and t here are 18 different speeds provided for. The lathe may be run direct, or with either
of two sets of back gear, the r atios being 4. 3 to 1
and 15.8 to 1 ; there are two speeds to the countershaft, and three speeds to the cone pulleys. ' he
main feature is the turret, which is hexa.gonal, and
measures 18! in. across the faces, each fa.ce being
1 0~ in. by 7! in. ; tool holes 3i' in. in diameter are provided, but extra heavy tools ca.n be bolted to the
faces of the turret. The axis on which it turns is
slightly inclined, and it is turned by hand, the
makers claiming that this possesses advantages over
automatic action. T he turret is mounted on a saddle
sliding on the bed; the saddle has an automatic
feed, with 18 speed changes, divided into t wo
series, one for fine and. the other for coarse feeds ;
the feed motion can be stopped at any point by
automatic tdps.
T here is also a supplementary
turret with four tool-holders ; it has longitudinal and
transverse automatic feed with nine changes, and a
chasing d evice is addtd for cutting outside or inside
thread~.
Specimens of the work produced by this
machine are exhibited, showing it to have a very wide
range of usefulness. The following are some leading
particulars :
.. .
...
.. .
11 in.
H eight of centres
...
2~ ,
M aximum swing overhead .. .
Swing o ver supplementary saddle:..
15 ,
Diameter of hole through spindle ...
2ft .,
cone pullE-ys ...
... 13 in., 15~ in.,
,
and 18 in.
...
... ... 4.3 to 1 and
Ratio of gearing
15.8 to 1
18 in.
.. .
Greatest length cleared
...
Maximum distance from flange of
spindle to face of turret .. .
. .. 4 H. 8~ in.
Size of main turret across faced ...
18! in.
, , E-ach face of main turreb . . . 10~ in. by 7~ in.
Diameter of boles in turret . . .
. ..
3;1 in.
Speed of countershaft...
...
... 100 and 160 revolutions per
minute
... ... 4.5, 6, 7, 8.5, 10,
Speeds of spindle
14, 17, 23, 27,
32, 37, 51, 72,
100, 115, 138,
160, and 221
revolutions per
minute
Number of au tomatio changes in feed
of turret slide
.. .
. ..
. ..
18
N umber of automatic changes in feed
of supplementa,ry saddle ...
...
9
Floor space occupied ...
...
.. . 15 ft. by 4ft.
Fig. 6 shows one of Messrs. Herbert's special-type
hexagon turret lathes, which has several details belonging exclusively to the m anufacturers. Of these the
...
'F'1J. 7.
advances or recedes by an amount due to the difference in pitch. F ast on t he sleeve is the toothed wheel
L, which gears on to the pinion M on the spindle J,
and by turning the latter the sleeve is caused to rotate.
It will be seen that t he und er side of pinion M is recessed, and taper EO that one of these cones, K and
N , if advan ced can be forced into contact and fotm a.
clutch. The cone K is one wit h the pinion H, which
is loose on t he spindle J, and it gears into G, which is a
toothed extension of the chuck body B; it revolves
constantly in a direction opposite to that of the lathe,
and at a slightly higher speed. The cone N is fast
with the chuck casing, and cannot revolve. In the
central position the clutch wheel M is free of both
cones, but if the lever 0 is moved to the right M
becomes fast with the fixed cone N, and holds t he
sleeve D, but as the chuck body of B and cap E continue to revolve the oa.p E is caused to travel, and the
jaw to open. By re.veraing the lever movement, the
clutch K and toothed wheel H cause a movement in
an opposite direction, and close the jaw of t he chuck.
The whole of t he mechanism is encased, and the
various parts are strongly made. There a re various
other improvements and modifications in the arrangement of the turret, and special d etails of toolholders
and hollow turning tools, bolted to one of the faces of
the hexagon turret. Some particulars of this machine
are annexed :
Maximum capacity of automatic
2 in.
chuck . . .
...
. ..
...
. ..
27 ,
Greatest length of work completed
Largest diameter of finished work
that will pass through turning
2 ,
tools . . .
...
. ..
. ..
. ..
Maximum size of thread (Whitworth) cub ...
.. .
...
.. .
l! ,
H eight of centres
.. .
.. .
...
8 ,
.Largest diameter of cone pulley ...
12 ,
Diameter of hexagon t urret. ..
...
14 ,
... 8 in. by 5 in.
Size of each face of turret ...
Length of bed .. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
7 ft. 9 in.
Diameter of tool holes i n turret . . .
2! in.
Altogether, Messrs. Herbert are to be congratulated
on their excellent exhibit.
PIG IN GERMANY.-The production of pig in Germany
in April was 680,159 tons, as compared with 666,625 tons
in April, 18DD. The aggregate production for the first
four months of this year was 2,654,028 tons, as compared
with 2, 658,443 tons in the ~orresponding period of 1899.
I PSWIOH.-The revenue of the Ipswich Dock Commission for the year ending March, 1900, amounted to
15,657l., a.s compared with 14, 518l. in 1898-9. The
engineer (Mr. T. Miller), in his annual report, states
that dredging operations in the Orwell within the last
six years have been devoted mainly to the improvement
of the Channel outline by cutting back points, regulating
curvature, and equalising the bottom or deep.water
widths. In the early part of lasb year the Ipswich comJ?leted the improvement of the east ~ide of Freston
R oach, and the further cutting back of Pond Oo1.e Point.
The Lady Nanoy was engaged for two months in clearing mud accumulations from the New Cut and outside the
look entrance for five months in widening and deepening
along the west side of Freston Reach, and latterly in
raising gravel ballast from Hearth P oint.
[JUNE I 5, 1900.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
NOTES FROM CLEVELAND .AND THE
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
MIDDLESBROUGH, Wednesday.
The Cleveland I ron Tra~. -Yesterday the weekly
market here was pretty well attended and the t one
was cheerful. Buyers were more disposed to do business than th ey have been for some time past, but
they were still very cautious a nd would not, as a rule,
purchase anything for delivery ahead, as they. are
very scept ical with regard t o the fu ture. ~he;r P<?mted
to the state of the American market as an md10at10n . of
the way trade is tending. The general market quotat1~n
for prompt f. o.b. delivery of No. 3 g. m. b. Cleveland .Pig
was 69a., and several merchan ts sold parcels at that pr10e.
l'Ylakers still adhered to 70s. and upwards for No. 3.
No. 1 Cle veland pig was pn b at 7ls.; No. 4 fo undry,
685.; and grey forge, 67s. Middlesbrough warra~ta
closed firm at 693. cash buyers. There was some Inquiry for ea-st coast hematite pig iron, hub little or no
bt,siness was done, owing to the fa,ct that t~ere was pra<:tically no iron a vailable for sale for early deh very. Nomtnally about 87s. was the pgure for N os. 1, 2, ~nd 3. T here
wM no quotation for Mtddlesbrough hemat1te wa rrants.
Spanish ore was strong. Rubio could not very well
be bought under 21s . exship Tees, and that was
the genera l market quotation. Freights Bilbao t o
Middlesbrough were fully 7s. ; and vessels were reported rather difficult to get. To day the market was
stron~er and merchants advanced quotations for Cleveland Iron 6d. per t on, making No. 1, 7ls. Gd.; No. 3,
69s. 6d.; N o. 4 foundry, 68s. 6d. ; and grey forge, 67s. 6d.
Middlesbrough warrantB rose to 69s. 3d. cash buyers. W e
must expect only hand-to-mouth business t o be done
while t he uncertainty with regard to future prices prevails for buyers a nd sellers alike hesitate to -Jommit
the~selves far ahead. Undoub tedly confid ence i n the
market has been lost by the fluctuations which have
occurred since Easter, and i t will take a little while t o
restore that confidence. Shipments so fn.r thi s month
are pretty good, exceeding as they do 4000 tons per day.
Scotland is not taking so much iron as usual, but the
oversea clearances are fairly heavy.
Mcvwufactu1'Cd !?on and Steel.-Very little ne w can be
reported of the manufactured iron and steel industries.
In nearly all departments a very large quantity of work
is being turned out, and producers have good contracts on
hand; but ne w orders are scarce, and prices all round,
though not quotably altered, have a decided downward
tendency. Steel ship-plates, iron ship-angles, and steel
ship-angles a re each Bl. 7s. 6d. ; while tron ship-plates are
Bl. 10s.-all less the usual discount. H eavy sections of
steel rails are n. 10s. to n. 15s. net at works.
Head, W rightson, and Co., L'wnitcd.-Alderman C. A .
H ead presided at the tenth annual meeting of Messra.
H ead, Wrightson, and Co., Limited, held at Thornabyon-Tees, and moved that Sir Thomas Wrightson, Barb.,
M.P., be congratulated upon being made a baronet.
M r. C. J. Archer seconded the motion, which was
adopted, and Sir Thomas suitably responded.
The
chairman then moved the adoption of the report published in last week's ENGINEF.RING, a nd said the
value of the work in progress was 107, 946l. 2s. 2d., as
compared with 77,207l. 11s. 11d. last year. The directors
had, therefore, decided to apply to the shareholders for
power t o raise an additional sum of 105,000l., and to suggest that it be offered in the form of 6 per cent. cumulative preference shares. It was proposed, in the first
instance, to offer this ne w issue to the present s hareholders. Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart., M.P., seconded
the motion, and the report was unanimously adopted. A
dividend of 7 p er cent. free of income-tax was declared,
and Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart., M.P., a nd the Right
Hon. J. G. T albot, M.P., were re-elected directors.
engines, which are to be of 22,000 horse-pow~r, are exp ected to give her a speed of 23 knots w1th natural
draught.
A Military Contract.-A Salisbury- firm has taken a
contract for putting in the founda tions for p ermanent
hutments whtch a re to be erected for t roops at Bulford.
The huts are intended to accommodate 19,800 men.
Dockisation of the A von:- The d<?ckisation committee
of the Bristol T own Councll has rece1 ved a lengthy rep ort
from Sir J . W olfe Barry, Sir Benjamin Baker, and Mr.
A . C. Hurtzig upon that now well-wo~n theme, the
dockisation of the Avon. The rep~rt es.tima tes the cost
of the works requir<!d as follows : D 1vers1on of the Avon,
and construction of reclamation embankment, 765,oqoz.
Dock works including deep-water quays, lock -gravmg
dock appro~ch channel and piers, dam and slui~es and
smali lock, hydraulic machinery a nd dock eqmpmect,
&c. , 1,446,000l. ; allowance ~or sheds (525~oqo sqnare f_eet)
and buildings, 172,0p0l.; ra tlways and s1dmgs (12 miles)
and passenger statiOn, 42,000t. ; cofferda!lls, t emporary
watercourse diversions and com pensatiOns, 50,000l.;
capitalised ~ost of working sluices and dealing with floods,
100 OOOl. land a nd Parliamentary expenses, 100,000l. ;
sun'dry ~xpenses and engineering1 100, OOOl. ; total,
2, 775, OOOl. 'rhe report observes : '' Dockisation or do<:k
extension, unaccompanied by ample quay sp~ce a~d . rail
way facilities in the way of storage and shuntt~g std~~s,
and connections with main lines, would certa.mly fa1l1n
attaining the desired end of at.tracting. shi~ping t?, the
port of Bristol and would result ID financtal dlSast er .
Bristol Ste<Mn NallJigation.-A circular letter has been
forwarded to t he shareholders of the Bristol Steam Navigation Company, L imited, in whi ch the directors inform
the shareholders that, as ex plained by the chairman at the
last genera~ meeting, it ~aa be.come ~ecessary, owing to
the expansiOn of t he busm ess mvol vmg the employruent
of more steamers, t o increase the capital of the company;
and as several alterations a re also required in the articles
of association, the directors a re advised to form a n ew company to purchase the steamers a nd business of the present
company, giving the present shareholders shares in the
new company in exchange for their shares in the presen t
company. The ne w company h ~, accordingly, been
formed and named cc The Bristol General teamship Company, Limited, " with a share capital of 300,000l., divided
m to 40,000 ordinary ~hares of 5t. each, and 20,000 preference shares of 5l. each, with borrowing pow9rs restricted
to 50,000l.
'
---
'
EN G I N E ER I N G .
0 N S T RUC T E D
BY
!\1 E '
A L F RE U
HR R B ER T,
L I !\1 IT E D,
E N G I NE ER S,
0 V E N T RY.
.,
. I
..
. '
..
F IG. 3.
.FlG.
4.
--
'
!.<'to..
G.
-.
.. '
0 .. .
- -
,,.., .
..r
:v
.'
'
"1.
70
--.
..
,.- "">-
Ftg
'
'
....
Fig. 1.2
...
....-.
0
c
0
~
--
- - -
-- --
FUj . 8
.-.
:r---0
,.......... .........
..... ~-
-.,._. - 0 -,.._
./'
I,,
.... ,.,
F~ . 13 .
Cl
-~
C)
.)
v
0
0
'
\
I '
--~-----
J UNE I
5, I 900.]
E N G I N E E R I N G.
t.ively
slow
;
but
the
latent
impetus
has
enormously
AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."
increased in volume. The awakening is partly the
AUSTRIA, Vienna : Lehmann and Wentzel, Kartnerstrasse.
Advertisements from Germany should now be sent work of a society specially organised for translating
OAPB TowN : Gordon and Gotch.
through Messrs. G. L. Daube and Co., Frankfurt-am and publishing works on science and gonera.l subEDJNBUROU : ~ ohn Men zies and Oo. , 12, Hanover-str eet.
FRANOB, Par1s : Boyveau and Ohevillet, Lib rairie Etrang~re, 22, Main, who have been appointed our Sole Agents for
Rue de la Banque; M. Em. Terquem, Slbl11, Boulevard Haussma.nn. that country for Trade displayed Advertisements. jects, as well as on religion; and it is remarkable
Also fo r Advertisements, Agence Havas, 8, Place de la Bourse. Advertisements from France, Belgium, and Bol that, whereas in 1893, two years before the war, the
(See next column.)
books
thus
sold
were
worth
817
dols.,
the
value
in
land
should
be
sent
through
the
Agence
Bavas,
GBIUI.ANY, Berlin : Messrs. A. Asher and Oo., 6, Unter
inden .
Frankfurt-am-Main : Meaars. G. L. Daube ~ . Oo. (for 8, Place de la Bourse, Parts, our Sole Agents for 1898 was 18,467 dols. The significance of the inAdvertisements).
crease is still greater when it is noted that only
t,.. .."' countries for stmnar Advertisements.
Leipzig: F. A. Brookhaus.
10 per cent. of Chinese can read, and that the manMulhouse : H. Stuckelberger.
.mo 0ABBS. - Reading cases for containing twentysix darins and others, who are able to imbibe the lesGLA.BOOW : William Love.
uutJlc.>ers of ENOINBRRINO may be had of the Publisher or of any
INDIA, Oaloutta: Thacker, Spink, and Oo.
sons of Western civilisation, are in positions where
n ewsagent. Price 6s. each.
Bombay: Thacker and Oo., Limited.
ENGINEERING.
786
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[JUNE I 5,
1900.
is worth close study by the manufacturer who stituted for the individual order of that important
wishes to avail himself of a new and promising field official. Were it possible to codi(y the multitudiso soon as it is ready for development.
nous Factory Acts, the establishment of hard-and-fast
rules for the regulation of all factories might come
within the range of practical politics ; but it is clear
THE FACTORY BILL
that until uniformity of principle has been reached,
IN a letter addressed by the Home Office to the uniformity of detail is quite impossible. Seeing
secretary of the London Trades Council, which that the questions which are brought before him
was published in the Time$ for June 11, the Secre- for decision are not usually of a political nature,
tary of State seeks to allay certain fears which have and that any orders which he may make must be
arisen with regard to the measure which is now be- laid before Parliament for 40 days before t hey
fore the House of Commons. It appears that in the acquire any force, we think that, subject to alterareport of the conference convened by the London tions in detail in the present Bill, the administration
Trades Council, a number of objections were taken of the Factory Acts is still safe with the Secretary
to the n ew Bill, with which Sir I{enelm Digby of State for the Home Department.
deals one by one. It is suggested, in the first
place, that the alterations with regard to dangerous
trades are objected to as "quite inadequate." THE PRODUCTION OF SULPHUR IN
ENGLAND.
Turning to the text of the Bill, we find the
gist of ss. 1- 11, which are devoted to " RegulaI N view of the . fact that the Anglo-Sicilian
tions for Dangerous Trades," to be as follows : Sulphur Company is within measurable distance
Where the Secretary of State i~ satisfied that any of its determination, as far as the five years working
manufacture, machinery, process, or description of arrangement is concerned, speculation is somewhat
manual labour used in factories is dangerous, he rife as to the move which the directors may take
may certify it to be dangerous, and may then make in the way of continuing it . It is not our intensuch regulations with regard thereto as seem to be tion here to make any conj ectures on the subject;
practicable. With a view to giving persons (in- but it may not be without interest, however, to
cluding employers &.nd workmen) likely to be enlarge on one or two points prominently connected
a:ffacted by such r egulations an oppor tunity of with the inception of the company ; and we hardly
objecting thereto, t he Secretary of State must think that any apology is needed for doing so, as
publish t hem, and upon hearing the objections he the main raison d'et?e of the company has not, to
may amend the regulat ions in accordance there- the best of our knowledge, been clearly indicated
wit h. In addition to the right of lodging obj ec- in the press. No doubt the over-production of the
tions with the Secretary of State, any objector Sicilian mines a few years ago had tended to bring
may require the matter to be referred to a referee. prices down to an unremunerative level, and no
The referee then makes a report which is laid doubt the lot of t he miner was miserable in the
before the Secretary of State, who may either act extreme ; but these were facts which the consumers
upon it, or withdraw t he proposed regulat ions with- of the sulphur did not allow themselves to be
out prejudice to his right to issue fresh regulations. distressed by, and t here hardly seemed any reason
such r egulations n1ay apply to all the factories and why Englishmen should exer t themselves to put
workshops in which the manufacture, machinery, matters on a better business footing.
The question why, then, did certain prominent
process, or description of manual labour cer tified to
be dangerous is used (whether existing at the t ime Englishmen bestir themselves in the matter may
when the regulations are made, or afterwards esta- naturally be asked, and we at once make reply
blished), or to any specified class of such factories they did it for t he very good reason of selfor workshops. In order to prevent any radical interest, England having become a producer of
change being introduced by means of these regula- brimstone. The expense of the production of
t ions, it is provided (in Clause 8) that where any the brimstone, however, was such that t he proregulation
cess could not compete successfully with the native
(a) interferes with the employment or period of Sicilian product, so the scheme of consolidating
employment of adult workers ; or
the interests of the rival producers was evolved,
(b) imposes duties on owners of factories or work- and took definite root in the formation of a
"ring," under the name of the Anglo-Sicilian Sulshops who are not occupiers; or
(a) prohibits the use of any material or process; or phurCompany, which now controls practically all the
(d) modifies any regulation contained in the sulphur used in England. Now, although this concern may seem to have cornered t he sulphur market
Factory Acts ;
the regulation shall not come into force until it has to the detriment of the consumer, and may thus
been laid for six weeks before both Houses of appear to deserve the censure of those people-and
Parliament.
t hey are not a few- who are strenuously opposed
In order to see whether these alterations are to any such combination in trade, to our mind it
really inJJ.dequate, it is necessary to consider-and presents itself in quite a favourable light, and for
t his is fully emphasised in Sir Kenelm Digby's two main reasons. I t has rendered it possible, by
letter- the present state of affairs. Hitherto it regulating the output, for mining operations to be
has been necessary to inquire into the manufacture carried on in Sicily much more to the benefit of the
carried on by each employer, in order to ascer tain miners than was formerly the case; and secondly, by
whether his trade must be regarded as dangerous fostering the production of sulphur in England, it has
or not. The new proposal, founded as it has been prevented the accumulation of those unsightly heaps
upon the reports of the departmental committee of alkali waste which were in former years a source
appointed to inquire into certain dangerous trades, of annoyance, if not of actual danger, to the d weBers
has much to commend it, as it will dispense with a in the vicinity of the alkali works. This recovery
costly inquiry in cases where rules established for of sulphur, amounting t o about 40,000 tons per
one factory may be fairly and equitably applied to annum, could not have been profitably effected if the
others of the same class. In this way the new value of the article had remained at the low level to
regulations promise to effect a saving of expense which it had sunk in 1895, and after t he expenditure
and t rouble to employers; but it is not alone of a large amount of capital an abandonment of the
advantageous to the employers. Hitherto a work- process would have been necessary, as was the case
man has had but little voice in any discussion at an earlier period in the history of sulphur
relating to t hQ question whether a trade is to be recovery systems.
regarded as dangerous or no. In fact, he can only
It is the Chance-Claus process of sulphur reintervene to discuss points in at~bitration pro- covery which now holds t he field, and which,
ceedings where the actual objections have already by reason of its superiority, has caused the abanbeen taken by his employer; and this limited donment of the formerly-worked processes of
right to be heard is further restricted by the fact Mond and of Schaffner. As in many other importhat he may be required to give security for costs. tant chemical processes, the success which has been
Such restrictions find no place in the regulations attained by Messrs. Chance and Claus was due
to which we have briefly alluderl above. It is more to the perfecting of method than to theoretical
proposed to place the workman, for all purposes, considerations, because Gossage, fifty years ago,
on the same footing as his employer.
proposed t he chemical reaction which Chance
Space does not permit us to enter very fully worked out successfully ; and it is probable that
into a consideration of the numerous points dealt Gossage would have reaped 1nore benefit from his
with by Sir J{enelm Digby. There is one objec- expenditure of 10,000l. over his process, if some
tion, however, which merits attent ion. It is urged s0r t of an arrangement had existed by which
that " the autocratic power '' of the Secretary of the price of sulphur was maintained. However,
State should not be further extended ; that clearly not to spend time on matters of history, we prodefined provisions in all clauses should be sub- ceed to say that t he Chance-Claus process is now
E N G I N E E R I N G.
E N C I N E f: R. i N G.
[] UNE I
5, I 900.
a ~arge proportio~ does, and no one, we suppose, 10,000,000 dols. in the harbour, and 6,000,000 dols. despatch of ships to India, Australia, and America.
wtll deny that this trade is worth capturing, for it in th e channel, providing the east end of the bar - The number of vessels which it is proposed to conmea~s revenue t o Canada in the shape of t olls, hour with new clocks and the channel t o Quebec struct are, it is said, 15 small and 17 large ones,
and It means profit t o its citizens for carriage and with 30 ft. of wat er. The local Harbour Commis- with a tonnage of about 35,000 t ons. The dividends
handling.
sioners have arranged for piers of concrete, and declared by the Osaka Shosen Kaisha for 1899 were
As b etween the two Canadian canals-- the exist- hope that within two years the entire water front at the rate of 8 p er cent. and 9 per cent. respecing ch~in.and t he pr.ojected waterway from Georgian will be so supplied. A big company, known tively for the two half-years. The services of the
Bay- It Is a questiOn whether damage might not as the Oonners' Syndicate (composed mainly of company to and from Formosa have also been exr esult t o the former by the g reater directness of the Buffalom en who recognise the possibilities of' tended during the year.
la~ter: But that has yet t o be proved. Much of the the port), is erect ing at Windmill P oint elevaThe writer of the report says that the enterprise
MIChigan and Superior traffic would go by way of t ors and warehouses with a capacity of 6,000,000 manifested by t he J apanese in shipping matters
Georgian Bay, but there would n o doubt be a bushels of g rain, and at the east end of the brings into greater relief the apathy displayed by
r espectable p ercentage a vailable for the St. Law- harbour similar structures of a capacity only a Brit ish shipowners in Far E astern seas. Opporrence r oute, and it must n ot be forgot ten that this trif:le smaller ; and under a cont ract wit h the tunities neglected by them have been taken adlatter will still be able to glean trade from Lakes Harbour Commissioners, it undertakes to move at vantage of by others far more far-seeing and
Huron, Erie, and Ontario, which all border upon !east 25,000,000 .bushe~s of grain in a !ear. Were blessed with broader ideas and gre1ter aims,
highly productive count ry. Anyway the benefit It n ot for the winter Ice, Montreal might look for though n ot so well equipped for the purpose, either
r ests with the D ominion, and presumably the development that would compare with any p ort in money, means, or experience. He complains
federal au thorities, for that reason, will not which it would be p ossible t o name. But early that British steamers trading to J apan, vici the
g rumble, t he more especially as the ret urn winter and late spring must be reckoned with, and Suez Canal, do not give such p rompt and reliable
upon the St. Lawrence outlay cannot fail to be it is in consequence of this that the railroads, which service as foreign lines, and on t his account the
eminently sat isfactory . But the G eorgian Bay might swell deliveries tremendously, have chosen competition of the latter is much more successful
scheme has still t o b e carried out, like the new some other terminals, and carry much of their than otherwise would be the case. It would seem
Eri~ under taking.
The St . L awrence system is for eign freights to them. Ice bin ds the St. Law- as if t he British shipowne r preferred t o sacrifice the
available, ~nd the route is being improved in r ence nearly five 1nonths in the year, and for an- interests of the cargo in general for the sake of
every possible way. The completion of the St. other 1nonth or so the Gulf fogs are a source of gaining extra freight between ports en 'route, while
Clair and Erie Ship Canal, now in course of con- danger. In the remaining mon ths, however, navi- t he foreig n shipowner looks a t t he matter from a
struction, will facilitate traffic to a considerable gat ion proceeds quit e comfortably, and there is no wider point of view, and instead of attempting to
extent. It will cross the Canadian peninsula which room to doubt that the city has a good fut ure before serve a variety of ports with satisfaction to none,
lies between the two Lakes, and will have a length it, by virtue of the improved canal system, if for devotes his attention to a more limited field, a.nd
of 13 miles, with a dredged channel 19 miles long no better reason. And it is possible n ow, by the thus gains the confidence and support of shippers.
in L ak e S t . Clair to t he canal entrance- t ogether provision of better facilities, for Montreal to take The r esult is seen in the fact that the J apanese
32 miles, as compared with 111 miles over the more ad vantage than was formerly t he case of the and German lines, although carried on with vessels
cowse n ow in use by the L ake carrying trade open season ; and, any way, the full benefit of the of practically the same t ype and sp eed a.c; t hose of
through the D etroit River. The saving of time iu canals will accrue t o Canada by the establishments their British competitors, make the fastest and
favour of the canal must be a consideration , of of sailings with ports such as Paspebiac, w hieh are most regular voyages, and such is the preference
course, and t he difficulties of navigat ion in the free from ice throughout the year, and are also now given to these lines, that they could double
D etroit River are an even more p otent factor in wit hin r eady access of the canal.
their fleets and still secure all the cargo required.
the situation. The channel is a t ortuous and
It is especially to be regretted that there is n o
p erplexing one, and L ak e craft, in working
British steamship company running direct mail
through, make 34 changes of course before
SHIPPING IN JAPAN.
and passenger steamers from England to Japan.
emerging into L ake Erie. In the early clays
IN the latest British Consular report on the trade Other things being more or less equal, British
of short and shallow-draught vessels, crooked of Japan, a considerable amount of information is subjects would naturally give the preference to
channels an d sharp bends did not count for much, given with regard to J apanese and foreign shipping, their own line, but as things are at present, th e
p erhaps ; but now t he bulk of the freight is carried and as the subject is one which is of interest to a bulk of the passenger t raffic between Great
in long st eamers, many of them 400 ft. in length, considerable nu m her of our readers, we propose to Britain and J apan, by way of India, goes to foreign
and this makes a differ ence. Under the most note some of the most important facts.
lines, more particularly t o those of Germany. The
favourable condit ions, on account of shoals and
The J apanese mercantile marine is continuously P. and 0. Company, however , have now improved
b ends, the fastest freighters can scarcely make 10 gro wing, both in t he number of vessels and in th eir service from Japan to England, so that it will
miles an hour t hrough the D etr oit River; hence t onnage. The lat est published statistics are up to only be necessary to make one change, and that at
the trip consumes a little over 11 hours. The canal the end of Sep tember last, and from these we find H ong Kong, instead of to change twice as heretor oute would take fi ve hours- two through L ake St . that there are 723 Japanese registered steamers, fore .
Clair and three through the canal. This would be wit h a tonnage of 489,371 tons ; and, in arldit ion,
German shipping ent erprise was very marked in
a saving of six hours on each trip, or half a day in 2556 sailing ships, large and small, with a tonnage 1899. A new fortnightly direct service to J apan
t he r ound trip. The average number of round of 256,896 t ons. The leading Japanese steamship was inaugurated by the N orth German Lloyd
t rips from Port Art.hur, or Duluth, to P ort Colborne, companies showed great energy and enterprise during Steamship Company on October 4, and the IG>nig
or Buffalo, is in a season 22, giving from nine t o ten the year 1899. The Nippon Yusen Kaisha decided Albert, a vessel of 10,000 tons, which r eached
days to each trip. Half a day saved on each t rip to extend, from October , its ser vices to North Yok oha ma, the terminus of the line, in November,
would be 11 days saved in a season, or more than China, a field of commer ce which is more and more is the largest vessel that had ever entered a port
sufficient for an extra trip, the r eceipts for whi eh attracting the attention of Japanese traders. In in Japan. The K onig Albert represents a class
would be almost clear profi t . I t is further urged J anuary, 1900, the company instit uted a new direct of vessel by which the trade t o these waters will
t hat a very s ubs tant ial saving to shippers and owners service between Nagasaki and Hong K ong. The eventually be entirely conducted. She is a dis will result from lower insurance rat es. At any r ate, fleet of ve(;sels flying the N ippon Yusen Kaisha flag tinct advance in size and accommodation upon
every thing tells for what we may call " a more is being st eadily augmented, an important addition any British vessel ever sent t o the East, and with
excellent way " from t he L akes to t he ocean. An made during t he year 1899 being t he s. s. A wa Maru, the advant age of a journey wit hout change from
enlarged Erie system would, of course, participate a vessel of 6309 tons b urden, built at t he Mitsu Japan to Southampton, t he line is r apidly coming
in t his par ticular improvement; but, as we have B ishi Yard at N agasaki. That steamer was con- into favour with British passengers, who cannot
said, we are not likely to have an enlarged Erie structed in a shorter period, and at less cost, than secure anything approaching t o similar accommodasystem for a number of years to come, and while t he Hitachi Maru, a similar steamer, launched tion on Brit ish st eamers. All concerned in the
t he St. L awren ce canals will always be there to from the same yard in 1898, ancl of which we management of t he n e w line are using their best
eom pet e with it, t he Georgian Bay Canal may by gave some particulars at the time. Two more efforts to cater for British travellers, and unless our
t hat time be provided to prevent it recovering t he vessels of equal t onnage are shor tly to be shipowners show themselves better able to keep up
commenced at the same place for the Nippon wit h t he t imes, t hey will before long lose en tuely
ground which it will th e~ have l~st comple~ely. .
Montreal is th e port aimed at n1 connectiOn with Y usen K aisha. The company enjoys a subsidy their share in the t raffic. A lesson ought t o be
both t h e Georgian B ay and St. L awr ence canals. from the Government, and t his enabled a ret urn to taken from the fact that while a few years ago
The old n otion t hat New York was t he only p roper b e made to the shareholders for 1899 at the rat e of British st eamers carried a large proport ion of the
g rain- shipping c~ntre. has ~ong been exploded. 9 p er cen t. p er annum for t he fi rst half of t he year, cargo from Ant werp , t hey have now almost wholJy
.
Much of its t rade In t his particular has been stolen and 10 p er cent. for the second half. The lines to disappeared from t hat route.
The shipping trade across the P acific continues
by B oston PhiladelJ.Jhia, Maryland, N ewport N e ws, E urope, India , Australia, and America are in good
and other places. But Mont real threat ens. to inju.re work ing order, and command a large shar e of t he to develop. It has been subject to considerable
all these por ts as we11 as N ew York. Drffer entJa.l trade. The three new st eamers belon ging to the interruption s on account of the r egular ves~el s
r ailway traffic r ates cannot prevail against t he all- Toyo Kisen K aisha, which arrived in J apan during having b een chartered as t ransports by tho Un1ted
water r oute. And M ont r eal is 200 mil~s f.lear er to the closing months of 1898, made regular t rips from States Governmen t, but these have been r eplaced
Liverpool than is New York. . L arge sw1f~ ~IJ?-ers are H ong Kong acros~ the P acific, by way of the by other boats, and it is probable that t he tonna~e
engaged in the trade . In t erminal ~ort. fac1hties.New J apa.nese por ts in 1899. The dividend of t he com- of goods carried over this route was greater In
y ork cannot be m en t ioned along w1t h It. In direct- pany for t he first half of t he year was 10 per cen t. 1899 than ever before, and for some time the cargo
offer ed was in excess of the carrying capacity of
n ess and cheapn ess of tran~fer, .and. in t he p:o~isio.n per annu m.
The Osaka Shosen I{ aisha is expanding i ts busi- the vessels engaged in the t rade. This expa.n~ion
for getting goods from the InteriOr , Its supenor1ty IS
incalculably g reat. Montreal is. n ot co?-t.ent wit h n ess, and is reported t o have under contemplation will undoubtedly con t inue, and with the establis~
what it has already don e. Wit h a mmtmum of the raising of furt her capital, and t he addition of ment of settled rule in the Philippines, there 1s
14 ft . of water to t he gr eat L akes and 27 ft . t o a n urn her of st eamers to its presen t fleet . From ample prospect for the employmen t of much a.ddi
September 15, 1899, t he company established a tion al t onnage.
Ouebec
t
he
por
t
is
better
equipped
t
han
ever
~:~
,
G
.
Russia was not idle in 1899 in the mat ter of the
b efore for ocean business.
overnmen t Improve- three - weekly service between ICobe and N ewments ar e under way in t he harbour and in the chwang. Its expansion programme includes t he extens ion of h er shipping, and a great increase took
chan n el. They will result i n t he expenditure of developmen t of its ser vices to China, and t he place in the nun1ber of her ships visiting Japan,
'
}UNE
E N G I N E E R I N G.
15, 1900.]
Nationali ty.
British
JQ.pant'Se
French ..
German ..
Ru~tsian ..
..
United St.ates ..
Other countries
Total
Number
of
VeSBels.
Number
Tons.
3,321,246
3,079,215
282,792
560,624
290,778
1467
2724
129
81 3
I 99
1 6
876
5883
1898.
ot
Tons.
VeSBels.
4,035,743
2,10l,Sll
366,328
1916
1697
136
426
llli
127
1383
8,296,530
6799
8,033,244
394 ,5 ~ 8
287,888
696,497
181,409
276,981
463,415
N 0 T ES.
THE NAPHTHA. TANK VESSELS oN THE VoLGA.
THE tank vessels employed in carrying naphtha
in the Kasan district, from Rybinsk to the
mouth of the Volga, with all the tributary
rivers except -the Oka, were counted last winter,
and comprised 1594 wooden vessels and 82 iron
vessels, making a total of 1676. The life of the
wooden vessels is reckoned at seventeen to eighteen
years. In 1895 the age of them was ascertained,
and it was found that 25 per cent. were between
one and five years, 26.4 per cent. between five and
ten years, 26.7 per cent. between ten and fifteen
years, 18.3 per cent. between fifteen and twenty
years, and 3 per cent. over twenty years. The
maximum li~e .of the iron tank vessels is put at fifty
years, t he mmrmum at twenty years, although twelve
years are looked upon a<3 the probable life of very
shallow and thin vessels. There are not any
vessels which have seen fifty years' service the
oldest being built in 1863. In the year 1895 the
age of the iron vessels was as follows : From one
to fne years, 42 per cent. ; from five to ten years,
19 per cent. ; from ten to fifteen years, 23 per
cent.; from fifteen to nineteen years, 12 per cent.
BRITISH GovERNMENT CoMMERCIAL Ao-ENTs
ABROAD : AN EXPERIMENT.
We have had cause to refer, time and a.aain to
the small service rendered by our consula:' ser~ice
for the advancement of commerce, and particularly
to .the fact that the information obtained through
th1~ channel at g:eat cost was available by other
natwns as soon as 1t was utilisable by British firms
because it was published broadcast. The alterna:
tive was suggested of submitting all r eports first to
Ch~mbers of Commerce ; but the Government have
decided on another course, which will continue as
an experi~ent for two y~ars. Thus agents have
been appomted for Russia, Switzerland, United
790
States, and Central America, and these British commercial agents in each of these countries will be at
the ?all of any firm who desires information on any
subJect. They will inquire into the bona fides of
contracts or t he financial status of firms, report on
trade processes, and conduct just s uch investigation as a special agen t of a firm would prosecute.
Of ?ourse, c~ar~es ":ould be . made for such special
services, and It IS quite possible that there will b e
obj ections r aised to this innovation but we think
that information of S.\ commercial n~ture is usually
valued at what it costs, and that when a firm makes
a spe?ial inquiry and gets special information on
the hnes suggested, the fees will not be looked
upon as exorbitant. Thus for ordinary inquiries
5s. has to be pai~ ; for inquiries involving reports
as t o trades, a gumea ; and for extended inquiries
th~ ?harg~, to be determined by the ambassador o~
mm1ster, IS not to exc~ed five guineas. If journeys
are unde~taken, the railway charges are to be paid,
an~ a guinea a day for the agent's services, half-aguinea for every broken day, and a guinea per night
for subsistence. The amount of fees can be ascertained in advance by r eference to the Embassy or
~egati~n. The agents will also watch and report
In ordinary course on the commerce, industries
and products of special districts.
'
CONTINENTAL M ECHANI CAL INDUSTRY.
The exp erience of ~he famous Krupp, of E ssen,
At the competition for plans for the new Copenhagen Cen tral Passenger Railway station, 21 prop osals and plans were sent in from engineers in
Denmark , Sweden, Norway, and Germany. No
first prize was awarded, but a second prize with an
ex tr~ sum added, was awarded to the plan of the
city engineer, Mr. Ambt, of Copenhagen ; an
addition~! second prize and several third, fourth,
and fifth prizes were also given. Mr. Ambt points
out the unusually large development of Copenhagen since the building of the first rail ways in
D enmark. He proposes to remove the central station
from its present site to one south of the important
V esterbro thoroughfare, and to connect the present east station with the new station by a rail way
along the boulevards. The necessary area for this
arrangement has, fortunately, been kept available.
The Boulevard Railway can either be built as an
open low level line, or, if preferred, as a compl e~e underground r ail way.
.An in'"ermediate
E N G I N E E R I N G.
station in this boulevard line might be constructed
for the local traffic. Another local station is recommended nor th of the east station, and separate
local lines between Hellerup and IClompenborg .
T owards the south, connection with the south line
and the west line is effected at Hordoore, from
whence direct communication with ICoge by a new
railway might with advantage b e brough t about.
The main building of the central station is to face
the Ti voli ; the structure over the rails is to
be so mew hat light, with a large central hall.
The n orth side is to have ample accommodation
for booking, luggage, superintendent's offices,
baths, lavatories, &c. The waiting r ooms are
to be on the south side, and between the
two, staircases lead to the platforms. The two
upper storeys are intended for offices. The
expenditure is calculated at 21,700,000 kr., or
about 1,200,000l., of which about 500,000l. r efer
upon the cent ral station. The total area required
amounts to about 1,600,000 square feet, of which
the greater portion belongs to the Copenhagen
Corporation, some to t he State, and about onethird to private individuals. The removal of the
main station from its present site, of one or two
other stations, and the abandonment of some
existing railway lines, will, however, make available for building or other purposes about 2,000,000
square feet.
THE PROTECTIVE VALUES OF OIL AND ENlliEL
p .A.INTS.
[JUNE I 5, I 900.
of oil are used. After the oil is added the kettle
is replaced on the fire and maintained at a temperature of from 400 deg. to 500 deg. F ahr. for
several hours. Sam pies ar e tested from time to
time till the desired result is attained when the
kettle is r emoved, and the varnish thi~ned down
with turpentine, or for cheap work with benzine
so that when cool it will be thin enough to work
with the brush. Spirit varnishes, such as shellac are
of an entirely different nature. One of the piates
tested at B oston was protected with shellac varnish,
and ~hough the shel!ac was bleached by the immersiOn, the protectiOn proved efficient. In sea
water, however, shellac varnish will not last a
week. The enamel paints are made by addina
pigments to the oil varnishes j ust described. Thi~
addition consi~erably. incr~ases their durability,
t~ough the pla1n varnish, w1thout any admixture of
ptgment, appears to form a better protective coverincr
than any oil paint . Professor Sabin has also called
att~nti~n to the excessive t~inness of the coating
wh10h lS expected to protect rron from corrosion for
prolonged periods. Films measured by him produced by two good coats of paint proved to rancre
in thickness from ~to- in. to ~tlJ in.
e
LITERATURE.
T he Naval A nnual, 1900. Edited by J oHN
Portsmouth: J. Griffin a.nd Co.
LEYLAND.
JUNE I
5, I 900.]
E N G I N E E RI N G.
79I
jects with which they deal. It could be wished discussing and criticising at some length the pro- some length, and then d evotes several pages t o the
that those gentlemen would b e a little b older and ceedings of the Admi rl\ls . As will be remembered, question of auxiliaries, in the course of which he
more outspoken in their criticis ms . It may be fog was the prominent feature, but, under the quotes the views of Admiral Melville unfavourable
that everything is for the best in the best of all pos- experienced guidance of t he author, those inclined to electric distribution for this purpose. H e con
sible R oyal Navies, but unt il we are assured of the to follow such exercises will see that there was a eludes with a brief reference to the Parsons' steam
fact it is a hazardous position to take up. Admira- good deal to be learned from last summer's turbine, giving two illustrations of the Viper and
tion for the pe1so1vnel of the Navy, and for the manreuvres, in spite of t he barren r esults that her machinery taken from our pages.
profession al staff at ~he Admiralty, as well a.s at the seemed to follow at first glance. H e poin ts out
The remaining two chapters in the first part of
Royal Dockyards, 1s so often expressed 1n these that though Admiral Ra wson, as events proved, the volume are devoted to ' 'The R ecent Discussion
columns that we are sure our m otives will not be made a fatal choice in searching again t he area of Naval Training," the author being anonymous ;
misunderstood when we say that a little stiffening which had been imperfectly searched in the fog, and on "Naval Brigades," by Mr. David Hannay.
of the critical faculty would be a good thing in the yet " with t he data before him it was not perhaps
"Naval Annual. "
an injudicious choice- not such a choice as VilBOOKS RECEIVED.
We have recently had so serious a proof of the leneuve made when having t he opportunity of Publications of the British Fire Prevention Oommtittee.
Edited by .Eow1N 0. SAOHS. Vols. II. and Ill.
enervating effect of optimism applied to t h e sister crushing Cornwallia off Brest, and joining hands
London
:
Offices
of
the
Committee.
[Price
20s.
per
service, t hat, if we are wise, we shall carefully and, with Ganteaume, he turned away and took
vol.]
perha ps painfully, consider whether the Navy is refuge at Cadiz.
It was rather such a choice N 11neteenth A nnual Report of the United States Geological
quite that faultless wa~e-ruling instrument it is as Nelson made when he judged wrongly the
S'Wrvey to the Secretary of the I nterim, 1897-8. 0HARI,RS
D. W ALOOTT, Director. In Six Parts. Part III.
described by First L ords, music hall patriots, and Villeneuve had gone to Egypt, and decided to
Economi c Geology. Washington: Government Printpicturesq ue leader writers.
go thither in pursuit. " For our own part we do
ing
Office.
not
q
uite
follow
the
parallel
;
but
if
our
Admirals
in
The book commences wit h a record of the '' ProNineteenth An-nual Report of the United S tcttes Geological
gress of t he British N a.vy, " by Commander Robin- war time will only err in company with Nelson they
Swrvey to the S ecretary of the Interior, 1897-8. CHARLES
son, who tells us that " the British standard of need have little fear of the enemy, whilst, so long as
D. W ALCOTT, Director. In Six Partfi. Part V.
Foret~t R eserves. HENRY GAN.NETT, Chief of Division.
strength by sea is relative to something which newspapers send r epresentatives t o the manreuvres
Washington : Government Printing Office.
depends on the action, act ual or proposed, of at once so courtly and so well informed as Mr.
A nnttal Report of the Uni ted States Geological
others ;" and t hat "regarding the naval horizon Thursfield, they need have little fear of that oft- T wentieth
S'Wrvey to the Secretary of the I nterior, 1898-9. CHARLES
from this st andpoint, it has to be confessed t hat times dreaded foe of peace-time, the newspaper
D. W ALOOTT, Director. In ~even Parts. Part I.
the prospect is n ot altogether so clear as could be correspondent.
D i reoto1s' R epo1t, w luding Triangulation cvn.d Spvrit
L eveUing. Washington: Government Printing Office.
The following chapter is on " Marine Engineerwished " -in other words, "Look out for squalls!"
Tho chapter on "The Progress of Foreign Navies, " ing," and is, a.s usual, con tributed by Mr. G. R. The Techlnic of Meoha;nical D rafting. A p ractical gui de
to neat, correct, C1111d legible DrfiiWitng. By CHARLES W .
which used to be written by t he late Mr. Weyl, Dunell. The writer opens with the-just nowREINHARDT. New York: The E ngilneering N ews Pubhas b een undertak en by Mr. Leyland, who gives a inevitable reference to "the outbreak of hostilities
lishing Company.
painstaking r ecord of what has been chronicled of with the Boer Republics," the "resourcefulness Eleot1ic Wiring. By CEoiL P . PooLE. New York : The
Power Publishing Company.
the transact ions abroad. The next chapter on of the sea service," and the - at all times-appro" Comparative Strength " is also from the present priate remark about the " dependence of the Magnetic I 'Yiduotion in Iron cvnd, other Metals. By J. A.
EwrNG
,
1'I.A.,
F.R.S.,
M.
Inst.
C.E.
Third
Edition,
country
for
existence
in
a
Navy
in
which
there
is
Editor's pen.
revised. London: The E leotrioia;n Printing and PubThe special feature in this year's ''Annual" is !1. much engineering." Considering that modern warlishing Company, Limited. [Price lOa. 6d.]
chapter on "The Tactics of Fast Craft, " by Com- ships are nothing b ut "boxes of machinery " from Enolish a;nd A mer icC1/11. Lathes. By J OSEPH G. HORNER,
A.M.I. Mech. E . London and New York: Whitta.ker
mander R. H. S. Bacon, R . N. It will be re- stem to stern, tho writer mig~t better have said,
and Co.
m embered t hat the author, as a lieutenant, dis- "a Navy which is all engineering; " for hulls,
Fluor et ses CO'lnposes. Par M. HENRI MorssAN.
tinguished himself in the manoouvres of a few guns, and torpedoes are just as much engineering LeParis
: G. Steinheil.
years ago in torpedo-boat attack. His chapter as t he engines and boilers themselves. F loating Adm inist1ation R eport of the Irrigation Bra'YI.ck of the
ho wever, is by no means confined t o the handling machine-shops . H.M.M.S. From the higher
Public W orks D epart1nent in the Madras P residency,
for the Y ea;r 1898-9.
Madras: Governmenb Press.
of the m osquito fleet ; for by the term tactics of plane of his opening paragraph the author plunges
[Price 10s.]
fast craft, he does not mean ' ' any particular vessels at once into the vort ex of the boiler p roblem. We D ynannometers
and the M eastliTement of P ower . By J oHN
do
not
q
uestion
his
facts,
for
they
are
taken
chiefly
from battleship t o t orpedo-boat, but mere1y t he
J. FLATHER, Ph.B., M.M.E. Second edition, revised
from
our
own
pages
;
neither
do
we
question
his
tactics that any ship or b oat not in the line of
and enlarged. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
London : Chapman and Hall, Limited. ' [Price 12s. Gd.l
battle may have to employ when her speed is conclusions, because, like the Brit ish Fleet on a
superior t o that of her opponent." There is a great memorable occasion, they do not appear t o be yet The T heo ry cvn.d Practice of Surveyi!ng . By J. B. J onNSON. Fifteenth Edition, revised and enlarged. New
virtue in t orpedo craft t hat is evident from this in sigh t. A leaning, however, is discernable
York : John Wiley and Sons. London : Ohapma.n
towards
small
t
u
be
boilers
rather
than
to
the
chapter. I t is the respect they engender in the
and
Hall, Limited. [Price 4 dola.]
Belleville
form.
The case of the Diadem's boilers R ailway SignalUmg. By H . RAYNAR WILSON. London:
breasts of executive officers for the engineering deOffices of the Railway E ngilneer. [Price 18s. net.]
part men t . The first of the author:s "two maxi~s '' he says is '' not encouraging," -a felicitous nonis, '' that every care of the machmery and bo1lers committal phrase ; and he appears particularly Thermo-Geogra~phical Studies : Gene1al E xpos-ition of the
A nalytical M ethod Applied to R esea;rc.hes on T empe-r ashould be studied, and sp eed never unnecessarily unhappy on account of the check valves that are
ture and (Jlima te. By C. L. MADSEN. Copenhagen :
peculiar
to
that
type
of
steam
generator,
in
which
forced, and t he engine-r oom given every possible
G. E. C. Gad; London: Williams and Norg~te.
''
the
passage
for
wat
er
and
steam,
i
.e.,
the
element
notice of large changes of sp eed. " No one can get
A M an ual of Naval .JJ.rohitectwre. By Sir W. H. WHITE,
K .C.B., Sc.D., LL.D. Fifth Edition. London: John
far away from the machinery department in a or generating tubes, is long and tortuous, so that
Murray. [Price 24s.]
torpedo craft. The other '' maxim " is not plea- the natural circulation once checked is very difficult
The E lements of A lte?"YY..atilng Currer~ts. By W . S.
sant to contemplate. It is that "the warfare of a to start again. "
FRANKLIN and R. B. WILLIAMSON. New York:
In
r
egard
to
the
policy
of
adopting
the
Belleclass whose d efence may vanish as rapidly as t he
The
Maomillan
Company
;
London
:
Macmillan
and
explosion of a magazine, is one of great danger, villa boiler for ships of the Navy, we are at
Co., Limited. [Price 7s. 6d. net.]
and that whenever these vessels are used, the Ad- one wit h t he writer in t h e '' Annual " that some The Atlalntio F erry: Its S hips, M en , cvnd, Workitng. :By
AHTHUR J. MAGENIS, M. Inst. C.E. Third Edition,
miral should be prepared for their loss." Literally change was necessary from the ordinary shell boiler
revised and enlarged. London: Whittaker and Co.
that of cours e, is a truis m of any species of war- of the design fitted in Her Majesty's ships, and
[Price 7P.. 6d.]
the
Belleville
boiler
was
t
he
only
water-tube
boiler
fare ,' but the author means a little more than this .
of which there existed experience for largo oceanLater on he says :
going ships. The chief feature t hat remained to be
GoLD.-The Transvaal War has, of course, os.used a
"As surely a.s one batt!eship. would be sacri~ced in settled was that of durability, and this could only great contraction in our gold imports. The receipts of
single duel with another (m whtch, whatever mt~ht be be proved by a sufficiently lengthened period of gold from South Africa in May were only 2000l.. as comthe outcome in the bitter end, both must tempora.r1ly forpared with 1,747,406l. in May, 1899, and 1,762,449l. in
practical
experience.
.~t
is
q
uite
possibl~
~hat
.a
feit their services to the Navy for some considerable ~ime),
May, 1898. The aggregate imports of gold from all
as surely as such duels are to the advantage of one s1de. or certain lack of durab1hty would be permissible 1f quarters in May were 2,165,009t , as compared with
to the other, so surely it may be of ~dvantage to nsk other advantages were manifest, as was undoubtedly 2,538,556l. in May, 1899, and "8,241,182l. in May, 1898.
ships, nob mere boats, of a less-requtred class even ~o the case; but that view would only be sound up In the five months ending Ma;v 31 this year gold was imannihilation to deal a. blow and restore the balance m to a. certain point. Supposing t he pitting of tubes ported into the United Kmgdom to the extent of
vessels of a more-needed type . . . . Vessels will have to to be due, as is maintained by some, to the ineffi- 10,8201993l., as compared with 11,926,407l. in the correbe deliberately sacrificed and lost for objects worthy to
spondmg period of 1899, and 22,572,817l. in the correbe attained and the man who orders a. vessel on a cient circulation in the Helleville boiler, and per- sponding period of 1898. British South Africa figured in
course from ~hich there is most probably no retu~n, must haps other types with large tubes, then the time these totals for 81,346t., 7,639, 780l., and 6,984, 746l. redo so with no hesitating half-saving orders, wh1ch mosb for a trial of the further extension of the small-tube spectively. The imports of gold from British India in
probably ruin the whole plan."
boiler to larger ships has undoubtedly. arrived. the first five months of this year were 225,194l., a.s
compared with 628,814l. and 652,762l., while the
Failinatheir
success
we
see
no
alternat1ve
but
a
The author has done well in bringing forward
rece1pts from Australasia were 2,022,263l., as compared
this " new p ossibilit.y " in naval .warfare. Wi~h recour~e to mercantile practice of larger -diameter with 1, 820, 240l. and 2, 934, 192l. The imports of ~old from
the results of the Belleisle experiments fresh 1n tubes with more water space between them than in Germany to May 31 this year were 2,171,660l., as compared with 154, 559l. and 3, 206, 176l. ; from France,
our minds it brings h ome very vividly the accumu- the Navy b oilers t hat failed. That would mean 1,602,
201l., a.s eom pared with 553,281l. and 3, 037, 182l. ;
additional
weight
for
a
given
area
of
heat
ing
surlat ed hor:ors of m odern naval warfare, in which
and from the U nited States, 2,577,278l., as compared
but
the
whole
virtue
of
shell
boiler
design
face
large bodies of men will be ordered t o almost cerwith
5965l.
and
30,206l.
The
exports
of
gold
from
the
tain dest ruction for the good of the cause. ~ o doe~ not consist of crowding in heating surface, United Kingdom in May were 786,886l . as compared
prospect so terrible has existed in the whole. hls- oblivious t o the fact whether such surface is, or is with 1,288,852l. in May, 1899, and 1,598,971l. in May,
The aggregate exports in the five months ending
tory of warfare ; still, we may. be sure. that. officers not, effective in safely generating good, fairly dry, 1898.
May 31 this year were 5,302,127l., as compared with
steam
for
engines
to
use.
We
are
yet
on
the
and crews, having made the1r b.a rgam ~1th th.e
9, 746,229l. in the corresponding period of 1899, and
threshold
of
the
Navy
boiler
problem
;
but
it
is
country, will not avoid th~ recko~mg,_ t errible as 1.t
14,398,605l. in the corresponding period of 1898. It will
to
remember
~hat
prac_
tically
no
sh~ll
well
al
ways
be seen tbat the exports have also considerably declined
may be if ever the day arr1ve, wh1ch, 1n all fervoUl,
boilers are being placed 1n warsh1ps of the b1g this year ; this is explained by a greatly diminished
b
"d
I
"
,
we say "God for 1 .
movement of gold from this country to Germany and the
Mr. J . R . Thursfield renews hi~ c.omme~ts. on navies of the world .
United tates,
Dunell
discusses
the
Bullfinch
disaster
at
Mr.
the .Nf\v&l Ma.n ~uvres after a. years 1r.tterm1ss10n,
792
E N G I N E E R I N G.
RAILWAY ACCIDENT.
FORESHORE PROTECTION.
To THJjl EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-With reference to groyning, I do nob think the
advocates of special systems of groynes usually sufficiently
bear in mind the many factors which govern the form of
the foreshore, such as the force of the waves, the direction from which they come, the material and size of
such material of which the foreshore is composed,
the quantity of drift, range of the tide, position with
regard to shelter, prevalent winds, the effect of sea walls,
and many other things. Nature knows no re..qt and her
law is incessant change. If the foreshore is an elliptical
curve to-day, it will probably a couple of straight lines
or a segment of a circle, or a combination of the two, tomorrow. It is seldom two days alike. Where the
natural protection of the shore is shingle, as at Hastin~s,
groynes suitable for flab sandy foreshores, are qmte
useless. It is quite easy to raise th(:\ low-water sand or
grit, a. few feet by means of faggots placed in rows running in a suitable direction. But it is quite a different
matter to form a permanent shingle bank. This means
collecting a shingle bank some 20ft. in height, and the
groynes must be suited to a tidal range of some 24 ft.
Groynes, of the types built by Mr. R. F. Grantham,
at Lancing, by Mr. C. L . Morgan, near St. Leonards,
and groynes built on Beard's contour system, would be
useful ab Hastings. The last is a combination of a high
and low groyne with the object of doing away with scour
out on the lee-side, and it has been successful in protecting land, lying below the level of the sea, from encroachment, between Bexhill and Eastbourne. It seems to
allow the beach to accumulate on the lee-side of the
groyne, which iEI, no doubt, an essential point, in such
places, where there is no seawall or cliff, and the groyne
stands alone.
Fifty years ago there used to be a considerable number
of long low groynes near to P evensey; but, as they were
fottnd useless, they were cut down; and lately, at Eastbourne, they tried some low, long groynes, but they have
now returned to the old system. It is a mistake to r:mppose the water is getting deeper towards the Hastings
wall owing to erosion near the sea ends of existing groynes.
The difficulty is with the shingle, as the supply from the
westward is lessened by large landowners selling the
shingle from the foreshore. This ought to be stopped by
the proper authorities, as it is a great evil.
Yours faithfully,
TRA V.ELL.ER.
ELECTRICAL CONDENSERS.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Srn,-While looking over the columns of your issue of
May 4, I became greatly interested in an account therein
contained (page 590) of the difficulties encountered-and
overcome-in connection with the designing and building
of electrical condensers now playing their part in the
production of the unique electrical effects displayed on the
fa~ade of the P alais de l'Electricite at the Paris Exposition. Having myself trod the same thorny path, the difficulties enumerated had quite a familiar ring, and recalled
to me numerous experiences with "busted " and "busting " condensers, gainE-d long anterior to the work of the
French gentlemen, and while engaged assisting in the development of condensers for use with the high.tension
apparatus of Professor Elibu Thomson exhibited at the
World's Fair, Chicago, in 1893.
Every kind of material that at all suggested itself as fit
for use waa given a trial, liquid, as well as solid dielectrics, and the resulting uniformity and promptitude with
which most of the materials investigated, when of reasonable thickness, "bust up" was monotonous and depressing.
The high-tension apparatus of Professor Thomson, it
will be remembered, threw dischar~es about 5 ft. long,
and when in action persistence of vtsion made a perfect
torrent of sparks appear to be in the air at once, The
quality of the sound emitted was high pitched, rattling
and ear.splitting, suggesting the cracking of innumerable
whips. It was an abominable noise. But through it all,
soonf:'r or later, was pretty certain to be heard the sharp
crack and sputter of an expiring condenser. Then the
electrical features subsided a bit and thin~s quieted down.
Condensers having plates of best quahty bard rubber
.25 in. thick, were broken down with great ea-se. Glass
plates .5 in. thick (made up of four plates each .125 in.
thick) were a t once exploded. Oils that appeared to
insulate very well when points, or plates of limited area,
were approximated beneath the surface, proved worthleSl:l
when used as dielectrics in a condenser having about .012
ruicrofarad capacity. Not until :plates of built-up mlca
were pre3Sed into service did hghb appear, and then
trouble vanished. The sheets finally used were 15 in.
Etquare S~nd .075 in. thick; two of these J.>lates formed the
di electrics between each pair of tinfmls. These sheets
were assembled, 84 in each wooden box, which in length
and width just contained them. Boxes were then filled
with high-grade paraffin oil, to a point 1 in. or so above
the top edges of the mica sheets. No trouble was ever
experienced in the ol>eration of condensers so constructed.
The str~ngth to w1thstf\nd very gr~at oleotricA.l atre~es
(JUNE I
5, I 900.
E N G I N E E R I N G.
J UNE I 5, I 900.]
793
13
..
..
..
'
.,
'..
'
'
'
' .
"
.
'
... '
'
_
..
. . --. .........
:
- .-.
-~
. . .
~
:filii
..
all-
."
..
... .
.'
..,...
.;
'\
..
..
...
'
.... ...
.... .
..
" . .,.,.
. ....... ,..._.,.,._
. ...
~
-:-_ ..
_. - . : .
~,(
!_,...} -
..
1.
FIG.
.Ft.'g.b.
21 .4 .1800.
M~
--
Fig .2.
...
...
........
Scale-m
Cych8 p.TT1/. ?0 . '76.
,. . I
e h!-_ _....,
f S J81.8 )
Fig.?.
-
.-
1-1H
21 .4 . 1900 .
.FWLPower I.ri.aL ( 10.55 QATTV J
8cai.R, !kb
Cycle8 p.TnJ...
68.26 .
FitJ.4.
I 387 CJ
c
Fig .6.
L.
L ................
l
llz{;.O.
t r..
( &387 0)
O.'n
'\,'-
']1)
J.
21 .4. /900 .
\
CyU8 p.ITI/ o 6 5 f) f'ur both,
_,-;.
9.
... c.:t
=mu;
21. 4.1900.
Half Power TriaL ( 4.48 p.nl/)
Soole loo
Cycle8 p.rru.- ? 0 7 5.
(5387. 1
diafjraJ'n8 .
E N G I N E E R I N G.
794
THE CAMPBELL OIL ENGINE.
THE illustration on the previous page shows an oil engine of 13 brake horse-power, constructed by the Campbell Gas Engine Company, Limited, of Halifax. A most
satisfactory test of this engine has recently been made
by Mr. Richard Sta.nfield, Professor of Engineering at
the Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh. In this te3t, the
details of which are given below, the oil consumption
per brake horae-power per hour was at a maximum
power (17.8 brake horse-power), . 773 lb. ; at full
power (15.6 brake horse-power), .846 lb. ; at halfpower (8.6 brake horse-power), . 957 lb. ; at light
power, 1.111lb. per indicated horse-power per hour.
It will be seen that these are m ost satisfactory figures,
and demonstrate that the engine was both well made
and carefully designed. The oil used was of a specific
gravity of .824, and its calorific vdue may be taken at
18,630 heat units per pound. The thermal efficiency
of the engine at full load was therefore
42.63 X 60
.846 x 18, 620 = .1622 or 16.22 per cent.
The construction of the engine is shown in the
engravings. It will be seen that the engine has
only two valves- the inlet valve A (Fig. 2) and the
exhaust Vd.lve B (Fig. 3). Each valve is fitted in
a loos~ cone-shaped box ground into its seat. The
valve can, therefore, be easily removed for cleaning,
and as easily replaced. The valve A is held up by a
spring, and opens wh~n a vacuum is formed in the
cylinder. The valve B is worked through a lever
and side rod by an eccentric on the crankshaft.
When the speed exceeds the normal, a centrifugal
governor pushes down a stee} catch and prevents the
exhaust valve closing. When this valve is held open,
n o vacuum can form in the cylinder during the suction
stroke of the piston, and consequently no charge of oil
is drawn through the inlet valve A.
The oil is contained in the cistern above the cylinder. It flows by gravity through a pipe to a branch
C in a circular chamber surrounding the inlet valve A
on the top of the vaporiser. Small holes lead from the
circular chamber to the conical face of the inlet valve.
When the " alve is arawn do wn by the vacuum created
by the suction stroke of the piston, the oil can flow
past the valve into the vaporiser; at the same time air
is also drawn in, and spreads or sprays the oil against
the heated sides of the vaporiser. The vaporised
oil and the air go together into the cylinder and form
the combustible mixed, which is compressed and then
fired by the ignition tube. The vaporiser and ignition tube are kept hot by the ~ame lamp, which is fed
with oil by the pipe D.
Figs. 5 to 8 show sample diagrams taken during
the trial. The mean effective pressure given in the
report is taken from all the diagrams. The following
is a copy of Professor Stanfield's report:
[JUNE I 5, 1900.
Time.
8.52!
9.52!
11. 22!
11.47
12.21
to
"
"
"
"
Brake
Oil OonsumpHorse-Power. tion per Hour.
9.52!
11 22!
11.47
12.21
12.52!
15.10
16.00
15.08
16.01
14.6!l
lb.
lb.
13.175
12.770
12.500
12.340
11.810
0 873
0.847
0.830
0 823
0.807
ErmrNEERING LABORATORY.
Maxirtnwm Power Trial:
. 50 hour
Duration of trial .. .
. ..
...
0
Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh,
Load on brake ...
...
...
b.
1921
April 28, 1900.
ring balance reading, mea.n ...
,
15
Messr~. The Campbell Gas Engine
. ve 1oad on brak e .. .
177 ,
ff
eo
t
I
.
..
Compa.ny, Halifax.
Revolutions per minute, mean. ..
207.8
GENTLEMEN,-! have now much pleasure in submitting
Effective circumference of brake
16.029 fb.
the results of a series of tests made by me, at your reBrake horse-power
...
...
17.86
quest, on an oil engine ab your works. The tests were
Explosions per minute, mean ...
93.2
similar in every respect to those carried out by me in
... 66.83 lb. per sq. in.
Effective mean pressure...
connection with the Edinburgh Show of the Highland
Indicated horse-power ...
...
20.06
and Agricultural Society in July, 1899:
Mechanical effiCiency
... 89.00 per cent.
Date of tests
...
...
. ..
... Apri12l, 1900
Oil consumption, total ...
...
6 9lb.
13
Declared brake horse-power of engine
Oil per brake horse-power per
773
Diameter of cylinder ...
...
...
9.5 in.
Oi~o~~r in'd.icated. hor~~pow~~
O.
lb.
Stroke
.. .
.. .
. ..
. ..
. .. 18 , ,
0.687 ,
per h our...
.. .
...
...
Normal speed, revolutions per minute
210
Description of oil used during tests ... " Russolene "
S wmmary of the above Trials.
Specific gravity of oil ...
...
...
0.824
The engine was run at full load for four houra without
a stop; a trial lasting for two hours was then made at
about half power; afterwards the engine was run light for
one hour; finally, a maximum-power trial of half an hour's
duration was made.
The total revolutions and explosion3 during each test
were taken by means of counters.
The power was absorbed by a rope brake ; the spring
balance readings and all weights used were carefully
checked at the conclusion of the tests.
Indicator cards were taken at intervals of about 15
minutes.
The oil was contained in a cistern placed on the top of
the engine cylinder, being fed by gravity to the vaporiser and vaporiser lamp.
.
The oil cistern wa..Ci fitted with a float gaug.e, by means
of which it was possible to accurately determme the level
of oil in the cistern at the beginning and end of each test.
Oil was afterwards weighed in, and the amount thus
ascertained.
.
During a greater part ?f the full-powe~ tnal ~he vaporiser lamp was not burmng; the . vaportser b~mg sufficiently heated to vaporise the o~ and to brmg about
igr1ition ab the end of the compressiOn stroke.
The fol10wing are the results of the several tests:
F ull Powe/r T 1ial :
4 hours
...
Do ration of trial ...
. .. 210.26 revolutions
b1ean 8peed
per minute
...
Full
P-.~wer.
Half
I Power.
Light
Pl)wer.
M~ximum
17.86
20.06
89 00
Power.
14.96
8.58
17.68
84.50
10. 'iO
80.20
2.98
12.656
8. 22
3.313
0.846
0.957
0.773
0. 71'
0.768
1.111
0.687
13.8
INDUSTRIAL NO rES.
THE Whitsuntide holidays have become popular
with some of the large bodies of men, orga.nieed for
eocial, industrial, and other purposes, as a seasonable
period for congresse@, conferences, and other general
assemblies. Euter was at one time more generally
h
b t 't
f
d th
h
th
f
c osen, u 1 was oun
at t e wea er was o teu
unpropitious for such gatherings. Even congrefses
for social amelioration go all the more smoothly in
sunshine than in storm, for wt>ather, after all, affects
the nerves and influences the temper. The earlier Caoperative Congresses were held at Easter, now they
are held at Whitsuntide. The thirty-second annual
congress has just met at C11rdiff, and it appea.rs to
have been the largest and most influential yet held.
There were 1000 delegates present from the co-operative societies of Great Britain and Ireland, enough to
constitute a great public meeting; it was a conference
nevertheless. The president's address dealt with
poverty and thrift, and with the organisation of trading associatioos for the purpose of hindering co-operation. The conflict raged mostly in Scotland, but in
the end it failed. The delegates were welcomed by
ex-Mayor and by Mr. Alfred Thomas, M.P. Several
deputations were present, one being from the Trade
Unions Parliamentary Committee. Both the Oxford
and Cambridge Universities were represented, but the
delegate of the former was unable to attend. The
Congress resolved to erect a memorial over the grave
of Robert Owen, and to establish a library at a cost
of lO,OOOZ.
Resolutiqns were passed in favour of extending the
co-operative movement by opening branch stores of
the more flourishing societies, rather than the establishment of new but weak independent societies.
Another dealt with co-operative production, expressing regret that this branch had not kept pace with
distribution; it was therefore resolved that the distributive stores should keep prominently before the
members the goods and articles manufactured by the
productive societies. A large selection of such wares
is always a feature at such congresses, and thus the
delegates are enabled to report on them to their cornmittees.
It was further resolved to devote more attention to
educational work by the extension of educational
establishments, and the grant of funds for that
purpose. This is already a feature in the co-operative
movement; most have reading-rooms, a large number
have libraries of well-selected books. On the motion
for extending close relations with the co-operators of
other countries there was sonie difference of opinion,
as in some countries the people are not ,ripe for the
movement; but the resolution as moved was carried,
and aleo one for promoting legislation for the purpose
of establishing' co-operative Eocieties in the West
Ipndi?s. It waCs de~ided t? hstrhengt~en tfhe jeint
ar1tamentary ommittee w1t t e new o a more
1
795
E N G I N E E R I N G.
;
---
---
round figures, nearly 100,000l. The following con- all kinds and conditions of carpenters and joiners,
densed Table shows the state of trade as given in the with no prospect of work. At Walker-on-Tyne, ob,~
returns of the branch secretaries for the two months: jection was raised to the employment of "handy-men,
whose wages were stated to be 25s. p_er wee~ .only;
the men were removed, and the work g1 ven to. Jomers,
This Month.
P revious Month.
at the usual rates of wages. The advance m wages
1,260
440
2
6
where, as in Scotland, the employers sought to reduce
Not eo good
46
265
1
2
Moderate
wages .
303
1
605
Declining
5
Slack ..
Short time
Very bad
Totals
1
1
1
34
38
94
1
1
99
126
18,120
126
18,024
37
The cotton spinners report a slow but steady increase in the numbsr of members, but the number of
unemployed was large in the month of May, being ~t
the rate of 5.75 per cent.-alarger percentage than~
the previous month, and 1. 70 per cent. more than 10
the same month of last year. The outof-work claims
alone amount to nearly 8~d. per member per week.
The united membership is now 14,238 of all sections.
There were 43 accidebt cases reported during the
month, but none of a serious character. The number
of dispute cases dealt wit h by the officers of the union
was 22, the requisite assistance to the members concerned being giveJL Disputes respecting bad work
are frequent, and it is D?W pr?posed t~ draw up a.
clause so as to avoid strikes and cessat10n of work,
and also delays in settlement. The matter is to be
dealt with at a delegate meeting at an early date.
Eleven cases were dealt with under the Workmen's
Compensation Act; in no case was there any dispute.
---
E N G I N E E R I N G.
[} UNE I 5, 19<)0.
A paper on '' The Viscosities of Mixtures of JAquids and that 10 per cent. of them were accidents to propellers
Solutions" was read by Dr. C. H. Lees.
Three formulre have been suggested for expressing the
viscosity of a mixture in terms of the percentages and
viscosities of its oonstituenb parts. The first of bhese
represents the viscosity as being the sum of a number of
terms, each one of which is the product of the percentage
of any constituent and its viscosity. The second formula
represents the logarithm of the viscosity in a similar
manner, and the third one the reciprocal. None of these
formulre represent the viscosity of a mixture with closeness. The author suggests a formula in which the ?nth
power of the reciprocal of the viscosity of a mixture is
equal to the sum of a number of terms, each one of which
is the product of the percentage of any constituent, and
the mth power of the reciprocal of the viscosity of that
constituent. This formula gives satisfactory agreement,
and, moreover, leads to Slotte's formula for the variation
of viscosity with temperature.
The Secretary read a note from Professor Wood on
"An Application of the M ethod of Str ire to the ntumilnation of Objects under the M icroscope." The object chosen
was powdered glass immersed in cedar oil of the same
refractive index. The glass particles were almost invisible under ordinary conditions of illumination. The
illuminating system was then arranged as follows :
A screw bounded by a straight dge was placed
in front of an incandescent gas lamp, so as to
cut off half of the mantle and give a source of light
bounded by one perfectly straight edge. A small lens of
very short focus was placed below the stage as close as
possible to the object. The lamp was at a distance of
6 fb., and the light reflected from the mirror was brought
to a focus by this lens, passing through the object on its
way. An image of the lamp was formed in space and
viewed by the microscope. A little strip of thin brass
with a carefully out straight edge was fastened to the
stand carrying the hull's eye condenser and moved into
position between the objective and object so as to cut off
the flame image with the excepti0n of a narrow thread of
light along the straight edge. The brass screen must be
in the plane of the flame image with its edge parallel to
the straight edge of the plane. The brass was then advanced over the flame until nearly all the light was out
off. Upon lowering the microscope until the object was
in focus and carefully advancing the brass strip until
practically all the flame image was cut off, it was found
that the glass particles suddenly appeared with great
sharpness, showmg as distinctly as if in air. Two photographs of glass in oil were shown, one taken with ordinary illumination and the other by the SchlierenMethode. The meeting then adjourned until June 22.
I.
FiB'
'
.. .
--- -
:r
I
I
. C)
I
I
..
D
5Jst.A)
Shipbuilder~,
Scotland, Mr. Davidson. 1887. Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Scotland, Mr. Hector McColl.
t 1892. North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and
Shipbuilders Mr. Hirst. 1899. North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Mr. Frank Caws.
1899. North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and
* Paper read before the Institution of Naval Architects. Shipbuilders, Mr. E. Chaston.
797
ENGINEERING.
a,4)
Pa3 = 0 .
3
(1)
Rea
r~. a
RUBBER RING
- lt'UB~~ER
RING
--
- - - --
t- -
- -
1-- -
I
I
--------...--
-----
'
IRON COLLAR
OF LINER .
COLLA R FITTED
Rj.6.
OF LINER .
~. 7
WHITE METAL
-- ----f . - -
r'
--------
--------
IRON RING
----------
RUBBER RING
-- .
- - H -
1/ rJ \
MACOLLS PATENT
WHITE METAL .
r-
-------------------------
.......
-------T
'
I
t
I
... ...-
F1.fJ.11.
DIAGRAM SHOWING VARIATION OF STRESS
IN TONS PER a
. .. , .
.
''
....- --
'
(I) '
... (I)
I
'
S:
~ ~
.J 0
~
...
...
~~
u~
~ -I
~~=>
...,
Cl:ll:)
....,.
-+--------------------------I
ZDrA/.
~ ~-
r+---
H51SJ I
6 - - - - -
'
c --------------------- --------.!
dx
El
* 1897. Institute of Marine Engineers, Mr. M. W. to each of these forces taken separately, the defleotions
Aisbitt.
due to ea.c~ can be ~ound, and the sum of these defleotions
t 1897, Institutien ef Naval .ArchitieQts, Mr. G. Manuel, ail the pemil 6f aetien of 1? mus- evidently be equal to
. ..
- ' . ,
I ,
E N G I N E E RI N G.
ing mop1ent, it is clear that it must be bent backwards
and forwards each revolution, and, owing to the change
of section, the stresses attain their maximum values at
the ends of the liners, lea.din~ ultimately to fracture of
the shaft through fatigue. For obvious reasons these
calculations have been based upon still water conditions,
but it is certain that in ba1 weather, with the engines
racing, and the blades being brought into violent contact
with the wa.ter, these stresses in the propeller shaft must
be largely augmented. It is perhaps unnecessary to
point out that the a.ssumptions here made can never be
realised in practice, and in some ca.ses are far from being
correct, as the shaft is never so rigidly held at the bulkhead as to justify the assumption that it is fixed . Again,
even if the after bearing was perfectly in line when the
shaft is fitted, it would soon wear down out of line, and
largely modify the results.
In order to illustrate practieally the action of b ending
moments on revolving shafts of irregular section, a number
of experiments were carried out, of which the following
may be ta.ken as examples. It may, however, be stated
that they all bore out the general resulb of those here described.
A series of model shafts were turned out of rolled bar
steel, all being cut off the same bar, the dimensions being
one-twentieth of those of the tail-shaft for which the previous calculations were made. These shafts were held
at one end in the lathe centre and passed through a
well-fitting brass bush at A, Figs. 12, 13, and 14, also
another be~ring :l~ in. slack a.+J B , and an upward force of
X 1
X2
X 3
Sum
Melln ..
Mark.
y 1* ..
Y2 ..
Y3
..
Sum
..
Mean .
1.-.ltinered Shafts.
Mark.
}s! ,
Fig.14.
~ --------
Fig.12.
- -
---
Zk-~ 1{~
.
I
I ~ ""'T'"
f ~ .... ,;
II
......
~ ,
.
~-- -- -..j....
......
' ,
,
---.
___
-- - -.,,., .
-- - --u. "
. . ..
8{ -------"*" 1*---
.......
15, I 900.
[JUNE
r r 11
I
,.-
f-.
,.
1-
--
--------- ~1 t'>~~
r,.
...
.
.
"" _..
~
-;'I'
.+
.
t<-~
- -
--
c
--
.
-.,
-- ...-
t
-.,
'!>~
-'
."
Fig.13.
------ --------- ----- -79$1$
' -
.
I
...._
-J
'
\..
..
Fi[j.15.
DIAGRAM
- - - T
I
I
I.
,...
I
56 ~ss.
1-
'- ~+- r
1-
1-
...
1...
... . IQ
:t ' ...
'IJ
....
.....,
Fi1J.16.
l6l I i
--r
o ' ..
.
_....
I
I
~ ~-
U IIO
:t I~
Q l
:t nu
153
PERo'
"' ';:)
~ o
I
I
l-irr
.....__
__
I
-~
about 487 lb was applied at the point C, which corresponds to the centre of the propeller boss. This load is,
of course very great in proportion to the size of the shaft,
but was ~opted with ~he obj,ect of producing ~racture in
a comparatively short t1me. 1:hearrangement gtven shows
the enlarged pa.rt of the shafts J?assing through the bearings, and the method of applymg the loa~ by meanR of
a lever.
Three shafts were ma~e havmg enla.rged
partsturned on them, correspondmg to brass. hners
on tail-shafts ; and three others were made plam of a
uniform diameter throughout equal to that between the
liners.
.
5 d 16 h .
Other diagrams are given, Figs. 1 ~~
, s owmg
the bending moments and stresses . arismg_ from the!fi
under these conditions, the calculatiO~s bemg m~de 10
the way already described, only modtfi~d to ~Ult ~he
slightly different circumstances. The ch1ef modificatiOn
is the largely reduced bending moment an~ consequent
stress at the propeller end of the after hoer, due to
the absence of the force corresponding to the thrust of a
propeller.
.
d
The lathe was run at 180 revolut10ns per mmute, an a
very careful record k ept of th~ tiiD;e required to fracture
ea.eh &haft, Tbe reAults are gtven 1n the anneJEed Tables :
r--------
it - -----~
Experiment marked thus (*) shows considerable diver- was made to test model shafts with the liners shrunk on
gence from average results, and, omitting this, the re- instead of merely having them turned out of the solid.
spective averages are for linered shafts 94 minutes, and As might have been expected, the liners came loose a.n_d
the experiment had to be abandoned. .
.
.
The method of covering the shafb ent1rely w1th b~ass .Is
for plain shafts 470 minutes, giving a ratio~
5.
94
now more frequently adopted, and prevents all actt<:>n m
The analysis of these Tables and diagrams leads to the the tube, provided the liner is all in one piece. If jomted
anywhere there is a plane of w~~kness with an incr~~d
following conclusions ;
1. Every shaft broke at the point indice.ted by calcula- chance of failure, and the conditiOns are worse than w1th
the usual liners, as any fracture which might ooour oa.n~ot
tion as being most severely stressed.
2. The maximum stress per square inch, at the point be seen. This method amounts to increasing the dtaof fracture in the plain she.ft, is greater than in the linered meter of the s haft inside the tube, but leaves a reduced
diameter at the propeller where fracture would take place
shaft.
3. The plain shafts on the average ran four to five times ultimately, even when precautions were taken to prevent
.
as long as the others, indicating greater fitness for that water getting in.
Among other arrangements having the same obj_ect m
particular work.
The final result of 2 and 3 is that a shaft is weakened view, may be mentioned that of Mr. M'Ooll (F1g. 8},
by being made of irregular section, as the plain shafts which consisted in shrinking a wrought-iron band round
stood a greater stress per square inch alternating from the shaft a few inches from the end of the liner, and filling
tension to compression for a much lon&'er time. It is not, in the intervening space with white metal or an indiaof cours~, claimed that these exper1ments are exactly rubber ring. Another plan suggested by Mr. ~ud? w_as
analogous to the daily work of a. propeller shaft, but the tha.t of drawing over the shaft a closely-fittmg mdmaction is sufficiently alike to indicate that the fitting of rubber sleeve, long enough to enter on the taper ends of
brAAs line-rs on ta.il-~nd shafts is j,Ct'l.lallf a soux-oe of weak- bo5h liners. thus exol'l.lding the water oompletelf.
JUN E
1 5, I 900. )
E N G I N E E R I N G.
799
ELEVATION S HOWING
END OF STERN BUSH
OVRFL OW COCK
Fi[J. 17.
f-Et=~-- -- -- -- ----+-:.-.:-.:-:~-----_-_-:_-_-::.::_-!-_~~~;--~J!!.-~~----:_::J
I
- - - - - - - - - - -. ~- --~!~-f~~~-v_~----:-J
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---..,
1I S J il
- -
---+
ORAIH COCK
o.J
CEDERVALL:S S HArT PROTECTIVE AND LUBRICATINC BOX .
FiB. 18.
-4--1- - -H - - -
--
-- -- -- --
-+-- - - -
- - - - - -
- -
---
..
ways, v1 z. :
.
.
(a) By reintroducmg the ou ter bearmg on the rudder
post which so fa r as these stresses are concerned, would
be ~f great ad vantage, though its introduction would
bting other evils in its trai n. I t wi)l be obvious, from an
inspection of Fig. 1, page 796, that, 1f bhe end of the shaft
were supported by .a suitabl_e bear~g, t here could. be no
deflection of th e kmd considered m the calculatiOn, ag
the reaction of this bearing would supply an upward force
which would compensate for the weight and thrust of the
readily be removed to allow the gland to be packed and overhauled without disturbing the propeller. Another ~reat
ad vantage is that any propeller shaft fitted with hners
could be replaced by a. larger one, whose diameter is eq ua.l
to the diameter of the old shaft over the liners. Thus a
10-in. shaft with liners ~ in. thick could be replaced by
one 11! in. in diameter, being a n increasa of 15 per cent.
on the diameter, and over 50 per cent. in strength.
As a remedy, then, for frequent failures of propeller
shafts, the previous remarks would lead to the adoption
of one or more of the following plans :
1. Increased diameter of shaft.
2. (a) Re-introduction of outer bearing.
(b) Minimum weight for propeller.
(c) Increased water ballast.
3. Abolish brass liners, and run shaft on white metal,
with oil or tallow surrounding it.
Except for the statement that these shafts are made
of either iron or steel, nothing has been said about the
material ; and so far as this corrosion is concerned, there
does not appear to be much difference, though it is
generally considered that steel shafts are more subject
to it than iron. It is p erhaps owing to this that there
is a preference in somequat ters for propeller shafts made
of good scrap or fa.ggoted iron; but owing to the difficulty of obtaining iron of uniform quality, it is considered
preferable by the writer to make propeller shafts of
ingot steel. Especially would this material commeud
itself, if the plan last referred to were A.dopted, as a
good ingot steel shaft when turned is absolutely free from
reedRor marks, and would be likely to run sweetly on
the whi te metal bearing. Apart from this advantage,
such a. shaft is uniform in quality and much tougher than
iron, and therefore better adapted for the severe work of
driving a propeller.
In conclusion, the writer has t o express his acknowledgments to Messrs. John MeNeil and Co., Glasgow,
who were good enough to carry out the experiments on
model shafts.
This firm has had large experience with heavy sugar
mill rollers, and they state that, in the even t of fracture,
these rollers, which are subjected to both bending and
tw1sting, almost invariably break a.t the change of section
in way of the bearing.
YORKSHIRE LIGHT RAILWAYS.-An inquiry was held
in Leeds on Thursday by the L ight Railway Commissioners into applications for powers to construct light
railways from B radford to Gilderstone, Morley, and
Ardsley; and through Ra.vensthorpe, Dewsbury, Heck
mondwike, Liversedge, and Cleckheaton. After having
the proposals full y laid before them, the Commissioners
said they were prepared to recommend the granting of
the order for the first-named line, with the exception of
the portion within the borough of B radford. Wtth
regard to the second line, they approved of the scheme
with the exception of a portion relating to Batley, and
suggested that Parliament ~hould be left to decide upon
th~ whol~ schema,
8oo
~
E N G I N E E RI N G.
more than 3d. per 100 words. Here, again, it is contended that the public has gained by the great facilities
afforded for t he transmission of intelligence ; but the
s~me answer has to be give_n, viz that economic prinmples ought not to be viOlated, and that business
ought not to be carried on at a loss.
[} UNE I 5, 1900.
str,oke of 45 i.n., steam being supplied by two large steel
boilers, workmg at 180-lb. pressure.
~NGINEERING.
J uNEI5 .1900.]
8o1
================================~=================================================.
12,294. B. Oppenheimer, London. (Alix and Genest;
to t he electromagnet. The coberer may be constructed so that
"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT it can be exhausted and sealed with small chance of its sensiti\'e Berlin. ) Magneto Generators. [3 PtgB.] June 13, 1899.
RECORD.
COMPILED BY
w.
LLOYD WISE.
ness bein~ impaired by the bot blast of the glass blower , by fusing -Magneto-machines for telephonic call rinA"ing ha\'e, in the
into the bottom of a glass tube the two platinum wirts attnobed armature on the side which faces the magnets, a .. notch " and
t o t he lower portion of two metal electrodes insulated from one also .. the magnets, which face t he armature, are notched in two
Ftg.l
Il l @
Fig.2.
F~ . l
, ..-
Fi_g .:t.
~@1-----i""--~.
,s,.t)
F~ . 1.
trnment. [9 i''igs. J
F ig .1.
nate current-induction motor with short-circuited armature.
According to the present invention. the arrangement described in
the said patent, namely, the two field windings for two different
numbers of poles and the combined armature winding, are also
arranged for working with alternate current alone, by combining
in one and the same machine a collector motor, and an induction
motor, and render ing this capable of wor king with alternating
current. (Accepted May 9, 1900.)
I I 1 ~---~
DiS~D
r
.Ctf}.
,.J.
F'-9. I
I
rally two side plates and one top and one bottom plat e), joined
together by a shoe and t ransoms. The bearings on the trail for
securing the t runnions of t he gun tor r eceiving the 'a xle, and for
r ecei\'iog the trunnions of the elevating gear with concentrically
curved tahoulders, are C')nstruoted to operate in combination with
cunred studs projecting from the gun, from the axle, and from
the elevating gear respectively, for holding the parts in connec
tion. (.Accepted Jlay 2, 1900.)
E N G I N E E R I N G.
802
formly arranged around the sleeve. Each of the screws has ftxed that the apparatus is applicable to the washing of the ftbres of
on it a bevel pinion, and these three pinions gear with a bevel textile materials, such as esparto grass and wool r educed to
wheel which can be caused to revolve on the slee~e hy turning a
spindle which is parallel to the sleeve and has on it a pinion gear
ing with the bevel wheel. After the barrel with the sleeve on it
and its three E-pieces retracted is introduced into its place in the
bore of the gun, the spindle, which extends either back beyond the
--------
,, "
I
t
I
I
I
I
I
'
Pi-91.
each main group and between them and the ftre, an<! by provid
ing both groups with walls or baffles to direct the course of the
gases ftrst through the ex tra group or row into the combustion
chamber and then into the main group {which by the arrange
ment of t he walls forms a flue) and out tbrousrh the chimney.
(Accepted Jlav 9, 1900.)
w.
(4 Figs.]
------
........
F'1J
Fr{j.2.
Ftg 7.//.
Frs z.
D
. . . ---------
.............
s.
and the guy lines are attached to t he band, so that when the
band revolves one line is lengthened as th~ other shortens. The
uy ropes may be of coir. An alternat1ve arrnnge~ent c~m
g ises a separate single guy around .a. barrel, t he. dernck be~ng
&r g out of plumb with its lower p1vot by sbackhng the dernck
0~~n to c ross-trees on the upright. (Accepted May 2, 1900.)
Fi~f is
~~
. .,)
~=~~~~
[2 Figs.] June 16, 1899.-~his i~vention re~ates.to improvements r eporte of trials of patent law cases in the United States, may be
on the type of boiler descrtbed m the spectflcatton No. 14,639 of consulted, gratis, at the offices of ENGINB&RING, S6 and 86, Bedfofd..
1898. In this class of boiler a group or g roups of 11 Field " or like street, Strand.