\

Nov.

I,

1901.]

LITERATURE.
The La w of Contract3. A Te;ct-Book for Tcchnioal S chool3
of E11gineering and Archi tectttre. By JOHN 0AS8AN

W A t'r, M. C. E., LL. B. New York : J obn Wiley and

Sons ; L ")ndon : Cba.pman and Hall, Limited.
Tal is an Atuerica.n book, written primarily for
young members of the industrial professions, and
with a. view of cultivating a proper understanding
and appreciation of business and business relations.
It will be of int erest to English readers as showing
the sirrularity of the American laws to our o wn, and
also the wide differences which exist in spite of
that general similarit.y.
The book is di\ id~d into three parlP, which may
usef u1ly be regarded separately. Part I. dea.Js with
the law o f contracts in gen eral, and is more or less
an introductvry t ext- book: a resume of the principles
underlying all contracts. Part IL deals with more
strictly engineering and works contracts, and it is
this part which will be of most use to American
and of most interest to English students. Part Ill.
de~ls with t he duties and liabilities of engineers
and architects t o their employers.
\Vi th regard to Part I., Mr. Wait has Jittle to
say which is new to the r eader of any good English
text-books , such as tho~ e of Sir William An son or
Sir Frederick Po1lock. The American law being
founded so much on our own, it is more useful,
perhaps, to note the points of difference than
those of resemblance. In considering the contractual capacities of parties, the English law is more
stringent in regard to contracts made by infants
than the American : in England all contracts made
by infants, other than contracts for necessaries, are
made void by statute, wit h few exceptions; in
America it seems that the old common law rules
still apply, and an infant's contracts are not void,
but merely voidable unless ratified when the infant
attains his majority.
The law o f agency is d ealt with comparatively
fully, and to the English mind the American
doctrine as to implied authority seems to open the
door to ~isdealing rather widely. "Authority,"
says Mr. Wait, "cannot be implied from business
relations." (Sec. 38.) A contractor enters into
relations with the officer of a company, for instance,
at his peril, and even the combined assent of a
director, the engineer, the company's land committee and a shareholder do not make the contract
valid. The lot of the contractor to a company in
Ame-rica is an unenviable one, if the company may
throw over the contract on the ground that the
secretary had no power t o enter into it. The
English law, while giving sufficient protection to
the compa nies, has settled that where a company
holds out or permits a person to appear as t heir
agent, they are bound by his acts as such, even
though he be informally appointed, with regard to
persons dealing with him in good faith. The general
tendency in fact, of the American law seems to be
to throw less resp on sibility on corporations, especially municipalities, and more on cont.r!actors. The
object aimed at- the public good- is a laudable one,
but it may be doubted whether the means employed
will not rather tt-nd to carelessness and irresponsibility on the part of the corporations, t.han to increased economy and eJliciency.
Upon the question of the liaLility of unincorporated bodies the American law happily seems to
agree with the principles lately Jaid down by the
HouEe of Lords in the case of the Taff V ale Railway Company v. the Amalgamated Society of Rail1vay Servant~, a case which excited a good deal of
comment at the time, but which in reality only
applied logically principles which were well established in the comm on law.
Another maxim of the English common law which
seems to have recei\ed considerable extension in
America is that laid down, so long ago as 1788, by
Ashurst, J., in the case of Russell v. the Men of
Devon. "It is b etter, " said that judge, "that an
individual should sustain an injury than that the
public should suffer an inconvenience., .And this
rule has been so d e veloped that even the h one~t
mistake of a public officer m~y leave a conb actor
without a remedy ; and a duty has been imposed
on him of watching or knowing t!le deliberations
of the corporation for which he works on pain of
finding himself unable to obtain payment for his
work if there has been any irrPgularit.y in its proceedings. It may, in passing, be noticed that the
American law with r egard t o Sunday contracts is
far more stringent than our own, though whether

6or

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

it is a ny the more a dead letter is a matter of doubt. tions by the engineer, it would have its ~ood. side.
Mr. Wait does not seem to be quite clear as to the This is a point the importance of whiCh 1s. not
real doctrine of adequacy of consid eration for con- enough insisted on by Mr. Wait. Much t1me,
tracts . He says truly that, in the a.hEence of fraud, trouble, temper, and often litigation,. would be
the parlies them seh es are left to judge of the r~la- saved if consulting engineers and arch1tects drew
tive value of the considerations which they fur- up specificativns more carefuJly _and fully. r_r:he
nish ; but, he continues, if the agreement be s uch absurdity of one contractor tendermg for one-thu_d
1hat the consideration cannot possibly be eq uiva- or one-quarter the price of another, for what 1s
lent to ~ho prollJise, the contrac~ will not hold. supposed to be the same work, would ~lso . be
Now, unless tho Roman Law d octrines as to con- avoided. Again, from the form of speCificatiOn
s ideration have got gr,.fted into the American law, g iven on page 144 (13) it seems that the contra~t or
which is improbablo, this is not so. A grossly JS r equired to make personal inspection of the SltP,
inadequate consideration may be, and often iR, &c., of proposed works, so as to satisfy himself
p1'imct .fucie evidence of fra ud or duress in the of the accuracy of the specification as far as posmaking of the contract, but the common law has sible. This is not usual here, but is a legitimate
never on~rthro " n a contract simiJly on the ground development of the tendency, noted above, to
of inadequate consideration. Again, it is surely r~lieve municipalities of respon~ibility and its conerroneous to say t hat a consideration is implied sequences. The requirement o~ a cheque on a sta~e
in a contract under seal : a contract under seal or national bank accompanymg the tender 1s
without consideration is valid, not because a another instance of this, and is, of course, not the
consideration is implied, but because no con- r.ustom here, where the only deposit required from
sideration is necessary in contracts under seaL the contractor is in payment for the drawings and
An interesting point is raised in Section 76 as specification.
to contracts for patented processes. Suppose a
It seems a pity that the frequent cautions against
contractor has tendered to certain specifications canvassing by engineers, or permission by him to
and drawings which, unknown to him, are of the contractor to alter his estimate, and other acts
patented manufactures. If he is stopped by the of this nature, should be necessary. But if they
patentees obtaining an injunction while the work is are, it cannot be said that Mr. Wait insiats on
in progress, has he any retnedy against his em- them any too strongly.
ployer '? On first principles it would seem not, since
The third part of the book under notice
the contractor's work was in itself illegal ; but Mr. deals with the employment of engineers and
Wait seems to think the question doubtful.
architects; and though it does not contain much
In Chapter IV. there is again some slight con- that is novel, it yet seta forth the relations existing
fusion between the necessity of a fact's existence to between engineers and their employers, their remake a valid contract and the difficulty of proving spective rights and liabilities, clea rly and in the
such existence. Mutuality, as is well known, is main concisely. On page 200 we find the following :
necessary to establish contractual relations. The '' An employe may have a right of action against a
parties mu~t be in substantial agreement when third person who maliciously procures his discharge,
the contract is made. But it is hardly correct to though the emr,loyer violates no legal duty in dissay that the "mental state signifies nothing ; it re- charging him. ' This is directly contrary to the
quires manifestation." True, it is difficult, may be doctrine laid down by the House of Lords in Alien
impossible, to prove a mental state wi:;hout mani- v. Flood, and cannot be brought into the exceptions
festation ; but, as was said in an old case, the state to this doctrine, to speak popularly, introduced by
of a man's mind is as much a matter of fact as the the later recent case of Quinn v. Leathem.
state of his digestion, only more difficult to prove.
Briefly, the English law at present is as follows :
The mental state is the essential ine-redient of Boycotting is illegal, but a mere intimation by one
mutuality.
~
man to an employer that if a certain employe is
The difference between English and American not dismissed the rest of the employes will strike,
law is again exemplified in the difference of doctrine does not give the employe a right of action against
as to the acceptance of a contract by letter. The the first party if the employer dismisses him. It
English doctrine and that adopted in many parts of appears from the judgments of Lord Halbury and
the States is that by maJring an offer by post the Lord Lindley in Quinn v. Leathem (17 1.'i'1nes Law
offerer permits the acceptor to make use of the same Reports, 249) that if any threats had been proved,
mode of communication, and the contract is corn- or any combination shown, in Alien v. Flood the
plete when the letter of acceptance is d elivered to result might have been diff~rent. And the Amerithe postal authorities. The Massachusetts rule, on can doctrine seems more consistent with justice
the other hand, is that the contract is not complete and common sense. Mr. Wait omits to notice the
till the acceptance is actualJy communicated to th6j important case of Vegelahn v. Gauter (167 Mass.,
original offt'rer. The importance of this distinction 92).on this point.
will be manifest wh en it is remembered that a tele'r.h e author, on page 253, recommends some
graphic withdra wal of the offer might reach the rather sharp practice as to avoiding injunctions on
acc~ptor &fter he had posted his letter of accept- t~9linical~tie~, which are hardly advisable; but on the
ance, but before this had reached the offerer.t next page he enjoins fair and honest obedience to
According to English law this withdrawal would be11 .an injunction issued by a competent court. The
of no avail [Hehthorn v. Fraser, 92, 2 Ch.J; but latter course is the more profitable in every way.
by the Massachusetts rule no contract would On the point of expert evidence Mr. Wait has some
have been created.
strong views to express. These apply probably
Mr. 'Vait has some sensible rema1ks as to the more in America than in this country, where many
necessity of reducing contracts to writing, and omit- of the most eminent engineers and scientists freting nothing that is material, which are equaJly quently appear as experts. Sufficient importance
applicable to all kinds of contracts. But he intro- also is not attached to experiments which, if fairly
duces a needless confusion in Section 130 as to inde- carried out by a well-known man, have great weight
pendent parol agreen1ents. " Parol evidence will in a court of law.
be admitted of an oral agreement entered into
subsequent to the written contract if the oral conBOOKS RECEIVED.
tract is supported by new considerations, &c." In
. unde fur Techniker, B f.rgingf.nieure 'Ulna Stu
this case it is simpler to say that if an oral agree- GesteinsJ.
dierendt der Naturtoissemchaften. V on Professor Dr.
ment is made, parol evidence may be led to supF. RINNE. Hanover: Gebr\ider J anecke. [Price 9.60
port it. This has nothing to do with the written
marks.]
~fichaet and Will on the L6/UJ Belati,ng to Gas ancl Water.
contract, which cannot be varied by parol at all.
By JOHN SumE s WILL. Fifth Edition. London:
Part II. of the book, which deals more specifica1ly
Butterwor1h and Co.
with works contracts for municipalities and other Primer
of Geomt.try. By H . w. CROO?tlE s~nTH, B. A.
corporations, will be of more inters t to the ~n
London: Maomillan and Co., Limited; New York:
gineer. And the thing which will probably btrike
The Macmillan Company. [P1ice 2~.]
him as most unusual is that it seems customary in Commeroial Knowledge: A Manual of B11 sin(SS Mtthods
and Transactiom. By ALGRRNON W ARRRN. London :
the States for a municipality to be obliged by
J obn Mu ~ray. [Price ~. 6d.l
statute to accept the lowest tender to a contract,
Die Werkze'11gm.aschintn.
Von HERMANN FISOIIER.
provided the contractor is a responsible person.
Zweiter-Band die Holzbearbeitwngsmaschincn. Berlin :
This does not seem, on the face o f it, an improveJ ulius Springer. [Price 15 marks.]
ment on the Eoglif>h practice, though the lowest Electrical Engineeri11g Testing. B_y G. D. AsriNALL PARR.
London : ()hapman and Hall, Limited ; Philadelphia:
tender is, of course, most frequently accepted
J. B. Lippinootb and Co.
here. But it must 6ure1y be a serious thing to
A Poclut-Book of Electr-ical Enginttri'11g Formtdre. By
accept a tender invariably if it be the lowest, and
W. GErPRL and M. H.AlfiLTON KlLGOUB. New and
the contractor able to carry out the work. Though
enlarged edition. London : The Electrician Printing
if it lead to more careful drawing up of specifi.caand Publishing Company, Limited. [Price 7~. 6d.]

---

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

6o2
I

[Nov.

I, 1901.

THE

TOOLING OF

MACHINES.

'

'

..

FIG.

THE TOOLING OF MACHINES.

By JoHN

AsHFORD,

51.

M. Inst. Mech. E.

(Concluded from p age 542.)

will consider, are the small brass stop- valve

( Fig . 49), and the combined cover and stuffing-box
for same (Fig. 50). This is an excellent specimen
of the work that can be done on a capstan lathe
by brass valve and cock makers, on the machine ill ustrated in Fig. 51. R eferring to the sketches of
the work, it may be noted that both the inlet and
discharge openings to the valve are threaded, as is
also the part of the body to receive the cover. In
addition to the machining of those parts, the l"al ve
seating has also to be bored and faced. It is intended that the whole of this work shall be done at
one ch ucking, and in order that it may be, the
chuck is made so that it can be revolved and fixed
at every quarter revolution. The jaws for this
chuck are illustrated in Fig. 52, where it will be
seen that they are made to span the body of the
valve, and fit the hexagons at its two ends. When
t he valve has been fixed in the chuck, it is held in
position for the valve seat to be machined. The
tool (Fig. 53) is then brought up at the front on
t he cross-slide, to face the top of the valve body.
This tool is shaped so that it may be used for both
shaping and chamfering, but for the first operation
t he facing part only of the tool is used.
F or the second operation, the rough boring and
turning tool detailed in Fig. 54 is brought up by
the turret. This tool consists of a bar carrying
two cutters and a cast-iron collar, which acts as a
tool-holder for an outside turning tool. As this
does its work, it bores the valve seat and faces the
top of same ; it also rough- bores the part of the
casting which has to be screwed, and at the same
time rough-turns t he exterior of the flange.
For the third operation, the tool in Fig. 55 is
brought up by the turret, to fin ish the work

I.

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Nov.

I' I 90 I.

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

66j

these last cutters, one finish turns the exterior of

the flange, a second countersinks the inside of flange,
THE TOOLING OF MACHINES.
and a third- V -shaped- puts a little groove in the
face t o make a better joint with the insertion.
r-t-------------------------
k
"
' . 1 3'1~
-:i'"' - .----- ---- - ------------------ - - --- - ~l
The lathe, as will be seen in Fig. 61, has a chas1 ---------- - 4-t------------- ~ - - Zf-- -+j
I
....
I
ing saddle. The latter receives its motion from a
1..
;..j..---- 1: ---+!I
leader screw on the front of the machine. This
I
.
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I I ~-- 11:--..1 I
.,1 &,.
saddle was illustrated in detail in ENGINEERING for
I
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!+ '" ')!!
I March 8, 1901, page 317, Fig. 83.
I
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. '
~~~~~~~~----~
The fourth operation in machining the valve
------------- -----+-...,-----.
~
.
bady consists in cutting t he t hread for the cover ;
--------- ____{._~!1
and that is done by a chaser, held in a chasing toolholder on the back of the cross-slide.
There
is
considerable
difficulty
in
rapidly
chasing
~
an internal screw to an exact diameter, so for t he
:
I

fifth operation a sizing tap (see Fig. 56), which is

--~ ---- rt:d1

l==IJ.
---held in a sliding holder in the turret, is brought up
t o finish the thread.
...
.51/-.
The t op part of the valve body is now finished with
-------------t he except.ion of the sixth operation, which consists
I
I
in forming the shoulder at the back of the turned
flange ; and for that purpose a form tool, held on
!
the back of the cross-slide by the side of the chaser,
is brought forward.
For the seventh operation, t he chuck, together
with the valve, is rotated through a quarter of a
revolution to bring one of the ends into position.
1--- - - The tool previously used for facing the top flange

1s
t hen brought up by the cross-slide to face and
chamfer the end.
The boring bar (illustrated in Fig. 67) held by
the turret and fitted with the cutter, is next brought
up to rough-bore the part t o be threaded, and
.
~- - .. -- - - --------- ----1 ~
~
--------?; slightly countersink the end.
~ -------------------- - 4i:'- -----t--- ~------- -,.J
I
A similar tool to t he last is, in the ninth operaI 1
r-~1---f--r----...
tion, brought up to finish the boring.
-lp--..j
l
Two more operations-the tenth and the eleventh
I : ~-: 1 ---1 ~
/.-~--~- ~ ~~ ...........
I '
~
~'
-are requisite to finish the one end of the valve
i
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ff-:u ..
,
I
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body. They are to chase the interim thread with
I f
-----.r
:::_.._..,./-"'19
t he same chaser as was used in t he fourth operation,
~------- - -- ----------f:----.-----,-------..!
I: I
and to pass in a sizing tap similar to that used in
'
--------'
t he fifth, but somewhat smaller.

'' - - - -lr' ~-- . - -+

"'>\..
The chuck is rotated through half a revolution
.....

t o bring t he other end into position, when the

procedure for machining from the seventh to the
l ~st operations is repeated. Although there is con
s lderable work on the valve body of this kind, yet
a11 the tools can be held in a six-place turret, together with the front and back of the cross-slide.
---------------When the method of machining the combined
cover and st uffing-box for the same valve has been
fT
r
r
I

1''
-.-.M
I~ ---- -- .2f
,
"lJ.Z-,-.
,
e xplained, not only will the reader be familiar with
r(---- ~-+' I / : l
o

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1..\.,-~ ....
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..

t he way in which the machines on Messrs. Alfred

~ li >1
,
~
"!" I
!'
Herbert's stand at the Glasgow Exhibition have
'
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-r- ~}
:;
~ 't - - -- ~... -- -- -
- .A ...
b een t ooled, but they will also have a fair idea of
r-..
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.
,
.
-,,.----------""-
f'
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,;
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, " I
;4 -L~t:, -~
-~.-- .. --------"--,rs ome of the possibilities in machining work on
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a utoma.tic screw machines and capstan lathes.
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.

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The cover (Fig. 60) has t o be screwed at both
~)
't.f! '' . ...
I' ~
ends, in order to screw into the valve body and to
I

b.~! :
it ' ...
:
r eceive a union-nut gland for the stuffing-box.
------------------I
t
V
The flange has to be machined bright, a square
t hrea.d screw cut in the interior for the spindle, and
t he stuffing-box machined out. The job is firstly
..1
h eld by the hexagon in the three-jaw chuck, and
t he large end is faced off with a tool on the back of
P.,'n . 57
t he cross- slide. The centring and facing tool
I
'
,4-v:f
.,
FlA) . S3
Fig.
68)
is
then
brought
up
by
t
he
turret,
(
f
t o prepare the casting to receive a fiat drill
which has to follow and bore out the hole. A
I
s econd such flat drill is also used for finishing t he
-- -'~
h ole. A special tool (Fig. 69) then rough-turns
'
I
t he outside and face of the flange, and it is followed
b y a similar tool to finish the turning and facing,
_______ t_,
a nd also to cut a V -shaped groove in the flange,

and chamfer the part to be screwed. It should be

n oted that each of these tools has a steady-peg at

r+ --.---------- ------ -- 8,;;; __"'* __ ___ __ - -----------------~

its centre, to fit the hole in the casting which had
~ ---- - ------- 5 -------------------~----- --"'l----------~
p reviously been finished. A turning tool upon t he
I
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R
.
.
56.
:
r
--------------..,.__ __ ~
1
4
b ack of the cross- slide is next brought forward to
. ~
k---- --- ..2 ---- -l>l
I
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cut the recess at the back of the thread, finish face
~--- it-----,k ~~
II
- ~-nn: .:~. VvJv
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e flange, and put on a part of the radius. The
th
I
;_; ~ Li : .:.A.:'<~"---r---+--_--;--- ----- -----1 - ----- --,.- , : :
t hread upon the outside of the large end is now
+-+-----------t'-----o- --1
~
!
:
o L-----------'-r-~-------..J ; '1
cbased by a chaser held on the front of the chasing
:
t
t--,---~r--'
:
I r----------- 3 -t-------+:!1
eroes-slide. With this, the first process of machin
'i.- ~JJ
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_
_
_.
.
.

~.
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1:1~
--~:1-~~~---.
:.1il - - f - - .:~~~-A

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g is complete.
:
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y_ ______;J
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For the second p rocess, the machine has to be
... -t---"'
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l ~-~----:~:~=~~-=t~~~~~~ r
1--..~oo~~~;~I"-'-.....J p rovided with a fresh set of t ools, or else a. second
~-+--....-..;.. ..t'" t---------------~---
-.--!
machine of a similar type must be used. The chuck
~---L-----------
__! iI
fo r this second process is illustrated in Fig. 60,
I
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p age 606, and it will be seen to be of t he pull-in
.;.~
~--L------~---------.J:
- --- - - - -- ------------~
I
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4I
.
.,
I
A set of
COllet type of rather large diameter.
t-'<"--------------------- ------- 7 it' --- ~- --- -- --- ---------->i
m ild steel liners are attached to the interior of the
already roughed-out. This tool will be seen reamer to bevel the seating ; a cutter to finish-bore COllet, and they are screwed to the same thread as
t o be built upon a bar-like shank, and t o have a the par t to be screwed, and also three other tools th e large end of the valve cover. The collet must
cutter for finish-boring the valve seat; a conical held in a cast-iron holder fitted to the bar. Of ha\e a. considerable amount of spring, t o open suffiI

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..

E N G I N E E R I N G.
ciently to pass over the thread. The first turning
operation in this second process is to rough-bore
and face the diameters with a flat drill, held in a
small flat drill-holder in the tun~et. A second such
drill is used for finish-boring and facing. The
formed tool (Fig. 61), held upon the back of the
cross-slide, is n ow brought forward to turn the
collar and end of hexagon, and to cut the recess at
the back of the thread. The part to be screwed
has now to be both rough and finished-turned with
a pair of simple turning and chamfering cutters
held in two box tools (see Fig. 62, page 604).
When the thread has been chased by a chaser
on the front of the cross-slide, the second process
is complete. There is still a third process to complete the job, and for this another set of collet
liners are put into the chuck, and screwed to fit
the small end. A ch9tser with a square cutter, held
on the cross-slide, is then used to cut the square
thread in the interior for the spindle, a sizing
tap being used to get it to the right gauge. The
several jobs dealt with in thi~ article are so
very different from each other, that they cover
quite a wide range, and many machinists will no
doubt find considerable interest in examining the
details of the tools. Other things there are to be
seen of this nature at the Glasgow Exhibition,
but sufficient has been put before the readers of
ENGINEERING for the present.

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

(Continued jr01n page 576.)

THE

EDUCATIONAL SECTION.

new Section L, added this year to the British

Association, is devoted to Educational Science. It
was presided over by Sir John Gorst, M. P., VicePresident of the Board of Education, who was supported by an influential body of Vice-Presidents,
comprising Sir W. Abney, Professor H. E. Armstrong, Rev. G. C. Bell, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, Sir
Henry Craik, Profeseor L. C. Miall, Professor John
Perry, Dr. Story, Sir John Cuthbertson, and Sir
Philip Magnus. The secretaries are also all wellknown in connection with educational matters.
They were Messrs. R. A. Gregory, W. M. Hellier,
Robert Y. Howie, Dr. C. W. Kimmins, and Professor H . L. Withers, the latter being Recorder to
the Section. Most of the other sections appointed
delegates : The Mathematical and Physical Section,
A, sending Professor Forsyth; Chemistry, B, Sir
Henry Roscoe ; Geology, C, Professor Watts ;
Zoology, D, Professor J. A. Thomson ; Geography,
E, Dr. J. S. Keltie; Economics, F, Mr. L. L.
Price; Engineering, G, Professor Hudson Beare;
.A.nthropology, H, Sir John Evans ; and Botany,
K, Professor J. W. H. Trail. Section I., Physiology, does not appear to have been represented by
a special delegate.
Starting under such distinguished guidance, it is
to be hoped the new Section will maintain the high
reputation for usefulness of which its opening
session gives undoubted promise. There is a wide
outlet for its energies, and an ample field for all
the hard work it can do for many years to come.
This, however, is a matter we refer to more fully
in an article on another page, so we will at once proceed to our record of the proceedings.
THE

ADDRESS
was delivered on Thursday, September 12, the
first day of the Section's n1eeting.
As the r epresentative of a Government Department which controls "the larger, but perhaps not
the most efficient, part of the education of the
United Kingdom," Sir John Gorst thought the
most suitable subject for his opening address would
be "The proper function of national authority,
whether central or local, in the education of the
people ; what is the limit of its obligations ;
what is the part of education in which it can
lead the way; what is the region in which
more powerful influences are at work, and in which
it must take care not to hinder their operations ; and what are the dangers to real education
inseparable from a general national system." Generally the public instructor can only play a secondary
part in the most important division of t he educat ion of the young- the development of character.
The character of a people is by far its most important attribute. It has a great deal more moment in the affairs of the world, and is a much
more vital factor in the promotion of national
power and influence, and in the spread of empire,
than either physical or mental endowments.
THE PRESIDENTIAL

The character of each generation depends in the

main on the character of the generation which
precedes it; of other causes in operation the effect is
comparatively small. A generation may be a
little better or a little worse than i ts forefathers,
but it cannot materially differ from them. The
chief causes which produce formation of character
are met with in the homes of the people. The
teacher, it is true, exercises his influence among
the rest, but his power grows feebler in the enormous schools and classes. The author exclaimed
against permitting dissolute pauper parents to remove their children from public cont rol to spend
the summer in vice and beggary at races and fairs,
to be r eturned in the autumn, corrupt in body and
mind, to spread disease and vice among other children of the State. Better dwellings, unadulterated
food, recreation grounde, temperance, and sanitation
will affect the character of the rising generation.
Not until seven years of age should the work of
serious instruction begin, and that at first for not
more than two or three h ours a day. Some effort
should be made to develop such faculties of mind
and body as are latent in the scholars. U nfortunately, the various methods by which children's
minds and bodies can be encouraged to grow and
expand are still imperfectly understood by many
of those who direct or impart instruction. Examinations are too often regarded as the best instruments for promoting mental progress; and a large
proportion of the children in elementary and
secondary schools are not really educated at allthey are only prepared for examinations. The
delicately-expanding intellect is crammed with illunderstood and ill-digested facts, because it is the
best way of preparing for an examination test.
L earning to be used for gaining marks is stored in
the mind by a mechanical effort of memory. Intellectual faculties, of much greater importance than
knowledge, are almost wholly neglected.
The power of research, on which the most
advanced science depends, may by a proper system
be cultivated in the youngest scholar of the most
elementary school. Curiosity and the desire to
find out the reason of things is a natural and, to
the ignorant, an inconvenient propensity of almost
every child. The faculty of finding out things for
one's self is one of the most valuable with which a
child can be endowed. There is hardly a calling
or business in which it is not better to know how
to search out information than to possess it already
stored. Things discovered stick in the memory ;
mere acquisition of knowledge does not necessarily
confer power to make use of it. In actual life a
very scanty store of knowledge, coupled wit h the
capacity to apply it adroitly, is of more value than
boundless information which the p ossessor cannot
turn to practical use.
Advanced instruction is for the few. It is the
interest of the commonwealth at large that every
boy and girl showing capacities above the average
should be caught and given the best opportunities
for developing those capacities. It is not to the
public interest to scatter broadcast a huge system
of higher instruction of which any one, however
unfit, can take ad vantage. The broadcast education
is necessarily of an inferior character, as the expenditure which public opinion will, at present,
sanction is only sufficient to provide education of a
r eally high calibre for those whose ultimate attainments will repay the nation for its outlay on their
instruction. It is essential that these few should
be selected from the mass of the people, and be
really the intellectual elite of the rising generation. The arrangements for selecting are most
imperfect. No capacity-catching machinery had
been invented which does not perform its functions most imperfectly. Competitive examina.
tion, besides spoiling, more or less, the education of the competitors, fails to pick out those
capable of the greatest development. I t is the
smartest, who are sometimes the shallowest, that
succeed. ''Whoever thinks in an examination,,
an eminent Cambridge tutor used to say, "is lost."
The dunce of the school sometimes becomes t he
profound thinker of later life. Some of the most
brilliant geniuses in art and science have only
developed in manhood. They would never in their
boyhood have gained a county scholarship.
There are, the address continued, two 1nain
divisions of the higher education- the secondary
and the t echnical. The former is directed to the
pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, of which
the practical result cannot yet be foreseen ; the
latter to preparing the craftsman, the designer, and
f

[NoV.

l, I90L

the teacher. The aim of the secondary school is

to develop the potential capacity of each individual
scholar to the highest point, rather than to give, as
does the elementary school, much the same modicum
to all. For these reasons it is necessary to have
small classes and a highly-educated staff. In the
formation of character the old secondary schools of
Great Britain have held their own with any in the
world ; and it is not unscientific to conclude that
the gift of colonising and administering de pendencies is the result of the system of self-government
to which every boy in our higher publie schools is early
initiated. But while we boast of the excellence of
our higher schools on the character-forming side, we
must admit there is room for improvement in their
intellectual side. Classics and mathematics have
engroRsed too large a share of attention ; science,
as part of a liberal education, has been but recently admitted, and is still imperfectly estimated.
Too little time is devoted to it as a school subject;
its investigations and its results are misunderstood
and undervalued. Even in scientific studies, lack
of time, and the obligation to prepare scholars to
pass examinations, cause too much attention to be
paid to theory, and too little to practice; t hough
it is by the latter that the power of original research, and of original application of acquired
knowledge, is best brought out. In many schools
the time given to modern languages is inadeqt:Iate,
and the method of teaching antiquated.
A national system of education has its drawbacks
as well as its advantages. The most fatal danger
is the tendency to absorb all other agencies, and to
substitute one uniform mechanical system, destructive alike to life and progress.
In applied, or technological, education Great
Britain is behind most of the rest of the world ;
and the nation in its efforts to make up for los t
ground fails t o recognise t he fact that real technical
instruction cannot possibly be assimilated unless
a praper foundation has been laid previously by a
thorough grounding of elementary and secondary
instruction. In such institutions as the Polytechnics at Zurich and Charlottenburg we find the
students exclusively drawn from those who have
already co.mpleted the highest branches of general
education.
Sir John Gorst concluded his address by pointing
out that the special function of the British Association was to inculcat e a scientific view of things.
With its established philosophical character, it can
afford to reduce popular cries about education to
their true proportion. Any attempt to construct a
national system arouses burning controversies,
economical, religious, and political. If the Association can succeed in establishing in the minds of
the people a scientific conception of a national education system, such as has already been evolved by
most of the n ations of Europe, the States of America,
and our own colonies, it will have rendered a service
of inestimable value to the British nation.
At t he conclusion of t he address, the President
of the Association, Professor R\icker, moved a vote
of thanks to the author, welcoming the new Section
in the name of the Association. In England we
were, the speaker said, too often given to spending
time, which ought to be devoted to doing something,
to talking about how it should be done. He hoped
it would be the determinat ion of the Section to be
nothing if not practical. He hoped it would make
up its mind to deal not with purely theoretical
questions, and realise that it was more important
the thing should be done, than it should be done in
a particular way which this or the other person
thought best.
Dr. Story, Principal of Glasgow University, in
seconding the motion, said that during the last
few years education in England had been the victim
of religious and political parties. Scotland bad
had a happier destiny. He gathered with great
satisfaction from what Sir John Gorst had said in
regard to technical education, that he did n ot adopt
the view, prevalent in so many quarters, that in
order to admit technical education to its proper
place it was n ecessary to expel much of t h e provision for the humanities. He believed that a man
properly t.rained and developed by contact with
classical literature, and the traditional literature of
the education of the world, was t he best prepared
to assimilate all sorts of instruction, technical and
other.
ORGANISATION OF SECONDARY E DUCATION .

The first paper read in the new Section was, most

appropriately, by Sir Henry Roscoe, one who has

Nov.

I,

1901.]

been a pioneer in modern educational development,

the subject being "The Organisation of Secondary
Education., He said that, perhaps, one of the most
important deficiencies in the modern system of
oduoation was the absence of co-ordin~tion and
systematisation of our secondary education. But
b~ginnings had been made, and local authorities
had in many instances already taken the matter up.
More than three million pounds had been s pent
on the foundation and improvement of technical
and secondu.ry schools during the last decade. At
last the Oa.binet seemed to have made up their
minds that something must be done to place our
secondary education on a national and uniform
basis ; but so far, although their efforts appeared
to be on the right lines, great success could not be
said to have attended them. The measure introduced last May was found ed on the principle of
municipal action, and therefore was in harmony
with the legislation which had achieved so much
for technical instruction. The Technical Instruction Acts, which had been so useful, would have to
be repealed; but that need not cause anxiety,
provided that certain safeguards were introduced
into any future Government measnre. Another
equally important addition must be made to next
session's Bill. The one which was dropped last
July contained no compulsory clause whereby the
fund available under the Local Taxation (Oustoms
and Excise) Act, 1890, was to be devoted to educational purposes. Such a clause was a sine qud non
in any future measure. In the history of educational effort in the above direction during recent
years nothing was more remarkable than the steady
advance which had characterised the development
and organisation of technical and secondary education. There had not been any sign of reaction in
any direction, a fact which pointed to the firm
hold which the rnovement had upon our people.
The Government- which, in this country, almost
invariably followed rather than led- need not fear
now to legislate on broad and duly educational
lines, for it could now rely upon the steady support
of the country as a whole.
In the discussion which followed the reading of
this paper, Sir Michael Foster, M. P., said he
would not try to draw a sharp distinction between
primary and secondary education, as there would
be danger in the attempt. Our primary education, though capable of improvement, was good.
Our secondary education, though susceptible of
much improvement, was not altogether bad. The
great want was the provision of the lower parts of
secondary education for those who could not afford
to pay for it. Any machinery of national education
should form a complete bridge between the primary
and secondary systems. Secondary education, no
doubt, could be profitably given only to those who
were fit for it; but how was it possible to find what
children were fit for secondary education without
trying them in it ?. He hoped that Parliament
would do something for education next Session,
and that the measure would have the effect of tying
the secondary education on to the primary.
Sir Philip Magnus said that to have the education of a locality under two separate authorities
gave rise to overlapping, rivalry, wasteful expenditure, and inefficiency.
Professor Sylvanus Thompson also dwelt on the
need for continuity of authority, not only between
primary and secondary education, but between the
latter and university education. It was also to be
remembered that the area covered by the authority
for one purpose was not necessarily the area for
other purposes. There must be a primary school in
every village, but secondary schools and colleges
served for large districts. It must be realised that
the highly organised technical instruction of foreign
countries could not be provided in this country by
distributing small doles of money to village schools.
Continuity of policy was impossible as long as the
educational authorities were elected only for three
years.
SCOTTISH EDUCATION.

Three other papers were read on this day : the

first by Mr. J ohn Adams, on "The Mechaniem of
Education in Scotland ;" t he next by Dr. Jacks,
''On the Organisation of Education in Glasgow ;"
and the t hird by Dr. l{err, on "The School
Training of the Practical Person. "
Dr. Kerr, in the course of his paper, dealt
chiefly with the training of boys who were to face
industrial or manufacturing work, and in time take
high rank as practical men in the larger sense.
He sketched the changee that had been introduced,

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

6os

liberal education. Existing teachers could not a.l~ne

prepare such a programme. Their own educ~t10n
had been too one-sided, and they had neither
the knowledge nor the broad sympat.hies f~r
the task. The humanists must ente! 1nto alliance with the naturalists, and the alliance must
be upon equal terms. We are, the s~eak~r continued, on the eve of a great revoluti.o~ m education one that must lead to the recognition of the
fact that our system is entirely one-sided. We
call ourselves a practical people, and yet we allow
our schools to be conducted in such a way that
the development of the practical ~acul~ies ~ a~most
left out of account. The educat10n gtven IS In no
way a preparation for the multifarious duties of
life. Reform will come by the development of
workshop and laboratory methods. He pad ~o
doubt that the fight would be on granting Its
proper place to what was commonly c~lled science.
The British Association had exercised a most
important !nfluence in bringing a~out t~e introduction of ratwnal methods of teachmg sCience. The
schools still at best suffered science ; they did not
love it, and the universities did not even regard it
as a necessary element of culture. In this respect
we were as slow to learn our lesson and as much
behind the times as China was in assimilating
Western civilisation.
In the discussion on Professor Armstrong's paper,
Mr. W. H. Rouse, of Rugby, said that the author
had expressed himself in a liberal manner upon the
relation of the scientific and humanistic branches
of education. If others were to show the same
liberality, there would be less antagonism between
the two parties. He thought that the method of
teaching followed in the past by the humanists had,
perhaps, been faulty.
Professor Minchin gave details of the course of
study at a typical public school. English grammar,
spelling, and writing were not systematically taught.
He had compiled a diagram from details at his
disposal as to the time occupied in teaching
various branches of study. Out of 10,000 classhours, science occupied less than 300, more time
being devoted to classics than to all other subjects.
He blamed Americans for the methods of spelling
they had introduced, and for debasing the English
language. He thought the teaching of science was
advantageous even for small boys, and held that
athletics should have a place in a discussion of
education.
Sir John Gorst also expressed opinions on the
teaching of science. The present methods in the
schools did not realize Huxley's ideal ; in fact, the
only Government institution in which that standard
THE WORK OF THE SECTION.
had been reached was in the Royal Oollege of Science
The proceedings in Section L on Friday, Septem- at South Kensington; an establishment of which
ber 13, opened with an address by Professor H. E. men of science considered the country had reason
Armstrong on "The Future Work of the Section." to be proud.
As is well known, Professor Armstrong took a
'
ExPERIMENTAL TEACHING.
leading part in the establishment of the Educational Section. His paper will form a useful and
Professor L. 0 . Miall next rend a paper on "The
authoritative guide for future presidents and Experimental Method of Teaching.'' This was a
secretaries; but beyond this, it was a thought- most interesting contribution, and we regret space
ful and suggestive monograph on education for limits will only allow us to give a too brief abstract,
practical purposes.
He said it would be the The author pointed out that boys always wanted to
function of the Section to deal with the science of be doing something. Their uncontrolled activity
education, and not merely with science in education; was the first thing to be noticed, and it was called
in other words, it would devote itself to the restlessness or impatience. The boy learned by
scientific treatment of education in all its branches, doing, and besides his restless activity and energy
and its object would be to introduce scientific con- he was imitat ive. He should therefore be taught
ceptions into any sphere of educational activity. by example and by doing. The natural bent of his
Science implied a thorough and exact treatment mind could be hindered and thwarted by compressing
of a subject-a treatment involving full know- his natural inclinations, and in the course of eight
ledge. i'he power of research, the art of years he could be made into something very difacquiring information for one's self, should be ferent from what he had been destined to be. All
cultivated by all, because it was that power upon the spring could be taken out of him by thwarting
which advance in life depended. Too much was and subduing his faculties and propensities, and
said about the superiority of the German system of though a useful product might be obtained, it was
education as compared to our own. The actual not the most useful.
superiority, such as there was, depended on the
A long and animated discussion followed the
thoroughness of the work in German schools ; but reading of this paper. Mr. Fletcher, of the Departthe Germans had made research the corner-stone ment of Agriculture in Ireland, pointed out that if
of their educational edifice, and to that their science had not taken its proper place in education,
success was mainly due.
the way in which it had been taught might geneTwo great questions needed immediate considera- rally warrant its exclusion. Teachers had been
tion : firstly, the preparation of a national programme too much occupied in imparting facts instead of
of education; and, secondly, the training of teachers. cultivating the scholar's reasoning powers.
The t reatment accorded to boys in the schools
Mr. J. H. Leonard pointed out the absence of
which lay themselves out to prepare for the big public botany in the list of school studies, and blamed
schools had been exposed by a report of the Educa- the examination syllabuses for the want of success
cation Department. Such a travesty of education in science teaching. Mr. Blair spoke of the
would never have been allowed to rank as education greater value of laboratories as compared to lecture&
if a proper programme had existed and an under- rooms ; and Professor Hartog, of Owens Oollege,
standing were arrived at us to what constitutes a Manchester, said that boys who had been incontrasting the new methods with the character of
the formal knowledge with which the primary
school course terminated. The merit certificate,
which was the objective of the primary school, was
borrowed from France, but the inflexibility of the
French system was guarded against by the conditions of liberal and practical training demanded in
the schools which presented candidates for that
certificate. There was not much wrong in our
primary schools, Dr. Kerr thought. Dealing with
those who remained from 13 to 16 or 17 at schools,
he described the style of training specially arranged for youths prior to apprenticeship in the
shops. He approved of the very practical discipline of higher grade schools, and explained the
scope and aims of schools of science. He pointed.
out the difference in the duration of secondary
school education in England and Germany ; and
asked what inducements could be used to extend
the scientific and practical training of young men.
It had been suggested that well-educated youths
who could show, after a short trial, that their skill
as craftsmen was n ot likely to suffer from a reduced apprenticeship, might have the term curtailed
by a year or so, and the school life in this way ext ended. The aitn of the educational and apprenticeship system should be the discovery and training of first-class brain power, and for that purpose,
as well as in the interests of economy, there would
need to be devised prudent and skilful methods of
eliminating the unfit from point to point in a system
of progressive selection. This plan had been followed in France with ad van tag e. The suggestion
had been made to an employer of labour who said
he was going to establish classes for apprentices,
in order that they might become more skilful in
the special work of the firm.
Mr. McCracken, the Chancellor of New York
University, in the discussion on these papers,
expressed his gratification at the establishment of
the new Section. He spoke on the progress of
technical education in America, and said that the
City of New York was engaged in the erection of
a. large commercial high school which would accommodate 500 or 1000 boys. His university established a year ago a faculty of commerce. Another
speaker said that under the present code there
was provision for scientific and commercial education such as did not exist before. If properly
worked, it would afford a wide development of
higher secondary and technical education. Mr.
Barrett complained that debates on education were
lacking in definiteness. A practical curriculum
should be devised to suit the various scholars.

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

6o6

[ N0 V.

t'

I 90 t.

structed in classical studies were more success ul

as science students than those who had followed a
scientific course from the first.
Mr. McCracken, of New York, advocated
~heory and practice going hand in hand. He gave
Instances. of succdss in this direction reached by
students In New York and Chicago universities.
Sir Michael Foster said that thirty years ago
he. was appointed to teach physiology at Cambridge. When asked what lecture-room he wished
for, he had said all he needed was a laboratory.
He could understand that those who had been
prepared in the older learning, when they were
brought to science, took it up more readily than
others, because the teachers of the humanit ies
had th~ experience an~ training of generations
at the1r command, while men of science were
only beginning to learn how to teach. A lad
might go into a laboratory and perform with exa<:tness all the exercises, and yet not receive the
shghtest good; on the other hand, another might
carry .out the operations clumsily, and make his
experiments badly, and yet might profit largely,
because the work had led him to think.
One
great test of the value of any science teaching was
whether the student had been led to think.
Mr. W. H. Eve said that the humanistic method
applied mainly to the elementary stages of science
teaching. Detailed and minute observations were
well in their place, but to appreciate . the larger
conclusions of science it was necessary to read extensively and know the principles of many branches.
. Dr. Kimmins urged the necessity of moderatesized classes-40 children should not work in one
laboratory. Miss Waiter pointed out the need of
simplicity in equipment. Mrs. Shaw said the first
need was to teach the teachers. Mrs. Parker
Smith dwelt on the advant-ages of teaching girls
practical science. .
Professor Withers stated that though there had
been grave faults in the past in the way science
had been taught, yet the humanists welcomed the
influence of science. Mr. W. H. Helier considered
that much of the science teaching of the present
day might be better left out.
Professor Armstrong said that the advocates of
science teaching only claimed equality with the
humanists in the scheme of education. Hitherto
the humanists had dealt with the brain alone, and
had forgotten that there were exeouti ve powers
belonging to the human being which also required
to be trained. The humanist had never taken his
coat off and a done piece of practical work.
Sir John Gorst understood Professor Miall to
advocate the application of the method of experiment not only to scientific but to every kind of
education. He had met with a remarkable instance of the application of the heuristic method
in France. In a small French village school he
found the children in the lowest class learning to
write. Each had hand writing placed before it
and was told to imitate the hand writing. The
method was pursued through the different classes,
until in the highest class the pupils were found to
write a most excellent hand. They taught themselves.
This brought the morning's sitting to a conclusion.
THE ScoPE o F E oucATtoN.AL Scr~NoE.
On the Sect ion meeting again in the afternoon,
two papers were read and discussed together. The
first was by Professor H. L. Withers, of 0 wens
College, on '' The Scope of Educational Science ;"
and the other, by Mr. P. A. Barnett, was
entitled '' Some Considerations Bearing on the
Practical Study of Educational Science." An excellent discussion followed the reading of these
papers, but failing space does not permit us to deal
with the subject here.

THE TOOLING OF MACHINES.

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TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS.
The Educational Section was the only one, besides
Section A, that met on the Saturday of the meetI

ing, when, in conjunction with the mathematical

I

division of the latter Section, t here was a joint discussion on "The Teaching of Mathematics." This
we haYe already dealt with in our report of Sec('1011. N.)
tion A.*
SOIENOE IN ELEMENTARy S c HOOLS.
The only business relating exclusively to the
On Monday, September 16, the Educational Section was the presentation by Dr. J. H. GladSection again met in t he Students' Debating Hall, stone of the report of the Oommittee on the Teachof Glasgow University, Sir John Gorst presiding. ing of Science in Elementary Schools. This report
we shall print in full shortly.
THE

* See page 472 ante.

..

(To be c<mtinued.)

Goto I N Wxs'l'ERN AusTRALIA.-The production of gold

in Western Australia. appears to be considerably increasing, having amounted in September to 180,663 oz., as compared with 148,305 oz. in September, 1900. Of the
180,663 oz. forming the yield of September, 93,261 oz.
were exported, and 87, 402 oz. were sent to be minted atl
Perth.

Nov.

I,

1901.]

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

6o7

THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT OF carried out mm~t completely, right up from the iron independent engine fed by underground steam
mama.
MESSR .,, PAL1\1ER'S HIPBUILDING ore to the perfectly-finished ocean-going steamer.
The shipbuilding department and the engine
The greater part of the steam-boiler plant was
\VORK .

department have recently been equipped with

THE Palmer hipbuilding and Ir.>n Company is electric apparatus for all power purposes.
one of the olde t established and best known enBy t he old power-distribution methods, banks of
gi neering concerns of t he world. The extensive L ancashire boilers were located at various parts of

worn out, and the necessity for a n ew power equipment became urgent. I t was decided to adopt
electrical driving, and 1.1essrs. Clarke, Chapman,
and Co., of Gateshead-on-Tyne were called upon to

FIO. 3.

THREE-PHASE

T YPE

C MoToR CouPLED TO CENTRIFUGAL P uMPS.

Fro. 4. THREE-PHASE MoToR DRivrno

FIG.

5.

THREE-PHASE MoTOR DRIVING

works at J a rrow-on-Tyne a re very complete in t heir

arrangement and facilities for the building and
finishing throughout of all classes of steamships.
The various departmen ts of the works cover a.
field ranging from blast-furnaces to machine shops
for finishing the small work required for deck a nd
cabin fittings. Thus, the building of vessels is

WIN CH.

t he works, and fed, by an extensive system of steam

mains, a multit ude of small steam engines distribu ted
throughout the various sh ops and yards. In the
shops t he engines were mostly of the wall type,
each driving by belt a long length of overhead
shafting; in t he yards t he individual machines
were, for the most p arL, d ri ven each by an

MaCHINE

TooLs.

carry out t he new arrangement and provide the

requisite apparatus.
U nder any conditions the conversion of the
power system of works equipped as t hese were
is n ecessarily a la rge and expensive undertaking ;
to equip t h em electrically on t h e most modern
principles, whereby alon e the greatest economy
in operation is to be secured, is a task entailing
very high expense, due not principally to the
cost of t he apparatus required, but mainly t o
the n ecessity of k eeping certain parts of t he
works idle during t h e alterations. I t is when
works are busy and th e manufacturing plant
is being pushed t o its utmost capacity, that t he
need of th e best driving arrangements is most
severely felt. When t he work s are comparatively idle and business is dull, the manufacturer
keeps his expenses low and, as a rule, will not
embark on any large scheme of works improvement:
t here are doub ts as to the wisdom of this, but t he
question cannot be discussed here. The outcome
of this state of affairs has beeR that in the majority
of works where electricity has supplanted other
forms of driving, the best possible results of electric
driving have n ot been obtained, alt hough in most,
or all, cases econ omical advantages have followed
even t he changes made.
In t he case of th e ship building works under notice,
at t he t ime when n ew p ower p lant was urgen t ly required t he works were exceedingly busy, and,
naturally, a system the installation of which interfered least with the continuous output of the works
was chosen. The long lengths of shafting and t h e
numerous belts and pulleys were practically r etained in t heir entirety, the steam engines were
each replaced by an electric motor, and t he steam
plan t centralised at one p oint-th e electric generat-

6o8

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

[Nov.

I, 1901.

ing station. With this arrangement the economies rest on the crank-enclosing case, and on the placed at convenient centres in the department.
resulting from the change were at once apparent; upper flanges the steam chest rests, which also is The first distributing board is located alongside
although no definite comparative tests have yet a. single casting of simple form. The cylinders are the main receiving board just mentioned, to which
been taken, there is a considerable reduction in the double-walled to prevent condensation; they are it is precisely similar in its arrangement of switches.
q.uantity of fuel consumed for the power genera- smooth and free from ports or passages of any Thus there is a main switch receiving the current
tion.
kind throughout their lengths. The shaft of the at the board, and putting it on to a set of bus-bars,
The work in changing over the power system has engine is extended beyond the crank-case bear- from which circuits are taken to the various motors
been carried out well and methodically ; in the ing, at the opposite end to the valve eccen- in the machine-shop, each motor having a conarrangement of the electrical circuits there is a tric and governor wheel, to an outer bearing. tinuous main, and each having a switch on the
commendable simplicity which renders the chances This extension carries the flywheel and the gene- distributing board. There are in all nine motorof any breakdown very remote, and a total or rator armature, the engine and the generator both circuit switches on the machine-shop board, in
serious breakdown practically an impossibility.
being set on one cast-iron bed-plate. The generator addition to the main switch.
~h~ powe~ .P~ant is located in an independent consists of a field-ring having six laminated poleThe motors in the machine-shop are arranged as
butldtng, a d1v1dtng wall across the centre separat- pieces cast on the interior. The field ring. is follow:
ing the boiler plant from the engines and genera- vertically divided, and the two halves set on guideOne 30 horse power motor set on the ground
tors. In the boiler-house there are installed four plates on which they can easily be drawn apart, drives a 90-ft. length of overhead shafting. The
Lancashire boilers, working normally at a pressure leaving a sufficient space for the inspection or speed of the motor is 860 revolutions per minute,
of 150 lb. to the square inch. Three of these repair of any part of the machine. The machine is the drive being by a belt 9 in. wide on to a 5-ft. pulley
boilers are kept constantly in use for the power load. built on the same mechanical principles as the on the end of the shaft. Connected with the shaft
They are hand-fired. The two feed-pumps are of alternators described. The field-coils are wound are about twenty small lathes and slotting machines.
the vertical high-pressure type (Woodeson's patent) and insulated on formers before being placed on the One 15 horse-power motor, running at 570 revolumanufactured by Messrs. Clarke, Chapman, and Co. pole-pieces. The armature and commutator are built tions per minute, drives by belt a fan running at
With the exception of driving these pumps, and a upon one cast-iron spider which is pressed and 800 revolutions per minute, providing draughts for
small engine working the economiser scrapers, the keyed on the engine shaft extension. The armature the smithy hearths. A 20 horse-power motor, hung
whole of the steam generated at the power-house core is built up of annealed steel discs clamped be- on its side to a column of the building, drives a
is used fo'l" operating the electric generating sets.
tween end-plates, and is slotted to receive the arma- length of shafting in the machine- shop extension ;
The main electric supply is generated by two ture conductors, which are forn1ed and insulated this shaft transmits power to several large planers,
steam-driven alternators. Each generating set before being placed in position, where they are band-saws, and milling machines. In the maconsists of a triple-expansion open type marine secured by hard fibre wedges, driven in the slots chine-shop extension there is also a 10 horseengine of about 1000 horse-power capacity, operat- above the conductors. Both the spider and the power motor, driving a very large boring mill.
ing in conjunction with a condensing plant, and core are traversed by channels through which a This motor is hung on the wall and drives the
direct-coupled to a W estinghouse three - phase constant cooling stream of air is forced around the mill by belts and countershaft. A 25 horsealternator, yielding 750 kilowatts at a pressure of coils of the machine while it is running. The brush- power motor drives a length of shafting operat440 volts. A flywheel, 11ft. in diameter and weigh- holders are fixed to a ring supported by and concen- ing :;!Ome 30 machine tools in the middle and
ing 22 tons, is set on two bearings between the tric with the field-ring, t his form of support leaving lower bays of the machine-shop. There is also a
engine and the alternator; a flexible coupling forms the outer end of the commutator free and open for 30 horse-power motor, driving large lathes of from
4ft. 6 in. centres downwards, and one 20 horsethe shaft connection between the engine and the cleaning and inspection.
Each of the exciter generators installed has a power motor driving shafting. Two of the overflywheel. The normal speed of the generating set
capacity of 25 kilowatts at 250 volts, running at a head tra veiling cranes of the machine-shop are being
is 160 revolutions per minute.
Each alternator is of the rotating armature type. normal speed of 375 revolutions per minute, and is converted to single-motor electric cranes, and two
The field consists of a ring, bearing twenty-two capable of providing exciting current for the two other three-motor cranes are being installed. Just
internally-projecting pole-pieces. The pole-pieces main generators together. The main switchboard outside the machine shop is an electric winch, driven
are built up of thin soft-steel stampings, which are is located in the power house. It consists of by an 8 horse-power motor through a worm-andcast in the ring, thus ensuring the most efficient five marble panels: one exciter panel, two gene- pinion gearing. The winch has two warp ends and
magnetic circuit and rigid mechanical construction. rator panels, and two feeder panels. Provision is a barrel, and is used for general hauling purposes.
In the erecting-shop the distributing switchboard
Each pole-piece carries a coil of the field wind- made for the parallel running of the alternators.
ing : the coils are machine-wound on forms and Above the switch panels are twelve fuse blocks, has thirteen mbtor switches in addition to the main
insulated before being placed on the pole-pieces, arranged in four sets of three each ; they are placed switch. There are installed a 15 horse-power
where they are secured by lugs bolted to the field- in the generator circuits, and in the main feeder motor, driving a large planing machine and two
large lathes ; a 10 horse-power motor, driving a
ring. The field-ring is horizontally divided through circuits.
The switchboard is of similar manufacture to the large milling machine; another of 10 horse-power
the centre, giving ample facilities for the inspection of every part of the armature and field wind- generating plant, and the instruments, switches, driving by a length of overhead shafting several
ings. The armature is built up on a cast-iron and general construction are in accordance with large lathes; a 40 horse-power motor, driving by
spider. It is of the iron-clad type, the conductors the well-known principles of Westinghouse practice. belt and countershafting an electric arc lighting
The distributing circuits, with two exceptions, machine; and a 30 horse-power motor coupled by
being buried in slots below the periphery of the
core. The core is built up of soft-steel laminations, all branch from two large main feeders, one feeding belt to the overhead shaftin.g, extending through the
and its outer surface is slotted to receive the con- the engine department, and the other the shipyard length of the erecting shop; this drives, among other
ductors, which are of copper bar cut into suitable department. Two smaller independent circuits run machines, several large side and vertical planers.
lengths, insulated, and then passed through the from the engine department panel-one to an From t his board in the erecting shop there run also
slots or channels of the core, where they are held in auxiliary board in the power station, the other to the circuits for a 30 horse-power motor, driving the
position by the overhanging edges of the slots. a pair of electrically.driven centrifugal pumps whole of the plant in an independent shop, known
The end connections are made with copper straps situated about 80 yards away in a small shed by the as the top fitting-shop, and also a 15 horse-power
bolted to the ends of the conductor bars. This water side. These pumps are each direct coupled motor, driving all the machine tools in the brass
form of construction insures perfect and uniform to a 40 horse power alternate-current motor, and machine-shop. The pattern-shop is to be fitted
insulation for the conductors, since they are placed draw water from the river for the main engine con- with a 30 horse-power motor, and in the yard a
and secured in position without bending or hammer- densing plant. The lift at low water is about winch for metal-breaking is to be installed, both of
ing, and also gives facility for the easy removal or 15 ft., with a rise at the condenser of a further which are also to be fed from the same board.
Another distributing board is located in the
repair of any part of the armature winding, should 10 ft. One set is sufficient to provide for a maxithat ever be necessary, and that without disturbing mum load on the engines, and the practice is to foundry. It has five motor-circuit switches, together
any other part except the one actually at fault. run each one continuously on alternate days. The with the usual main switch. In the foundry proper
are
installed
t wo 50 horse-power motors ; one,
motor-starting
switches
are
arranged
alongside
of
Fig. 1 (page 618) gives a very clear idea of the
hanging from the roof, drives two blowers, and the
general form and arrangement of the main generat- the motors.
other,
on
the
ground,
drives
two
sand
mills.
A
The
auxiliary
board
in
the
power-house
has,
in
ing steam alternator sets.
For exciting the fields of the two larger gene- addition to the main switch in circuit with the 20 horse-power motor is also fitted up for driving
three
20-ton
cranes.
There
are
in
all
six
cranes,
feeder
from
the
main
board,
five
motor-circuit
rators, two small direct-current generators are installed. Each of these is a self-contained set, con- switches. One of these is in circuit with a. pa.ir of three in each bay, and all are to be fitted eventually
with
an
1nctependent
motor
fed
from
the
board
in
50
horse-power
motors,
each
operati!lg
a
dry-d~ck
sisting of a W estinghouse compound steam engine,
the foundry. Circuits are run to two motors in the
direct-coupled to a multipolar direct-current gene- centrifugal pump by a downward vert1cal belt-dnve copper
shop,
each
of
20
horse-power
capacity,
one
about
20
ft.
deep.
Another
switch
is
in
circuit
rator of the same make. The two sets, one of
a fan, the other the shafting. Another cirwhich is shown in Fig. 2, are of the same capacity, with a 20 horse-power motor, oper~ting a win~h f.or driving
cuit runs to a 15 horse-power motor, driving small
lifting
stern-posts,
&c.
Other
sw1tches
are
1n
~u
each engine having cylinders 8 in. and 13 in. in
machine tools in the jetty fitting-shop.
cuit
with
two
8
horse-power
motors,
operat1n.g
diameter respectively and a stroke of 8 in. The
The other main feeder from the power station
winches
for
lifting
material
aboard,
and
another
1
s
W estinghouse compound engine is not by any
supplies current for the whole of t he shipbuilding
in
circuit
with
a
portable
stern-tube
boring
gear
of
means conventional in design. It has singledepartment. It runs direct to a switchboard in the
about
8
horse-power.
These
pumps,
winches,
and
acting cylinders, and only one steam valve, which
No. 2 Shed, where all the platework is carried out.
boring
gear
are
all
located
near
the
power-ho~se
..
works horizontally across the upper ends of the
Here it is split by switches into five circuits, four
The
enoine
works
department
feeder,
whiCh
1s
two vertical cylinders.
of which pass direct to other boards at convenient
a
three-co~e
cable
0.33
square
inch
conductor,
runs
Introduced on the market about thirteen years
centres for the subdivision of the current to the
direct
without
break
or
branch
to
the
machine
ago, this engine has establishe~ a reputati~n for great
various motors. An ammeter is placed on the
shop
of
the
department.
The
feeder
ends
in
a
economy in steam consumpt10n over w~dely varyboard in each of these four circuits. The fifth
large
switchboard
panel,
where,
through
a
1~00ing loads, and for the excellence of 1ts mec~a
switch is in circuit with the two 50 horse-power
ampere
switch,
is
fed
a
set
of
bus-bars,
from
whiCh,
nical construction, as shown by the low mainmotors which operate shafting driving the punching,
through
five
other
~wi~che~,
branch
feeders
are
tenance and repairs expenses entailed by its
shearing, planing, bending, a;nd rolling machinery
taken
direct
to
the
distnbut1ng
boards.
There
are
use. The two side- by- side cylinders fo.rm a
in Shed No. 2, and also operate, by an extension of
in
all
five
of
these
branch
feeders,
the
boards
being
single casting; the lower flanges of the cylmders
j

Nov.

I,

1901.]

t he shafting, two sets of hot rolls 9 :n. by 9 ft. and

17 in. by 12 ft. in No. 3 Shed.
Of th e other four circuits, one leads to a subdividing b oard alongside, where current is received
through a main switch and split up into eigh t
distinct motor circuits, each with an isolating
switch on the board. One circuit feeds a 30 horsepower motor, providing power for half the plant
in shed N o. 1, where platework, such as rolling,
punching, sawing, grinding, drilling, &c., is under taken. Other motors fed direct from t his board
are two of 20 h orse-power, each driving a winch
for lifting material t o vessels on the stocks, and
four of 8 horse-power each, also driving winches
for similar work.
F rom the main distributing b oard a circuit runs
t o another board in Shed No. 3, where angleiron bending, punching, shearing, &c. , is carried
out by separately driven machines. This distributing board bears eleven switches in addition to
t he main incoming switch. The circuits from this
board are led to motors as follows : One 30 horsepower motor, driving, by b elt and coun tershaft, an
air compressor for a riveting machine; one 10
horse-power motor, operating a large combined
punch and shears-this machine shears. 1!-in.
material , and punches up to 12 in. in diameter; it
is on regular work on l in. by 3!- in. ; a 5 horsepower motor driving by b elt a horizontal angle-bar
cutters and squeezers ; t hree 5 horse-power motors,
two pinion-geared and one belt-coupled, driving
combined shears and punches; one 5 horse-power
driving by belt a portable angle-bar b eveller; a 5
horse-power driving by belt a horizontal squeezer;
and a. 15 horse-power motor driving by bel t a circular fan for smiths' fires.
A distributing board is also fixed in Shed No. 1,
having six motor switches and a main switch. A
30 horse-power ri1otor (in addition to the one previously mentioned, connected with t he board in
Shed No. 2) drives the overhead sbafting, operating
the r emainder of the plant in shed No. 1. There
are also one 10 h orse-power motor driving the
plant in t he plumbers' shop , principally pipe-cutt ing and screwing machines, and also the plant in
the pattern-sh op, principally circular and band
saws ; two 16 horse-power motors driving fans for
smiths' fires in Shed N o. 1 ; and three 8 horsepower motors coupled by worm-and-pinion gears
to winches ; one of t h ese is in Shed No. 3, and is
used for hauling heavy forgings on trucks, one is
for hoisting materials aboard, and the other is for
general lifting at the j etty side.
Two cables enter the joiners' shop and terminate
at two distributing boards ; one is fitted with three
motor switches and a main switch, the other with
two motor switches and a main switch. The
motors connected wit h the first board are two
of 30 horse-power each, drivir1g a length of overhead
shafting for operating saws, planers, &c., and one
of 16 horse-power, operating a jib crane for lifting
heavy logs of timber.
The two motors connected to the other board
are of 30 horse-power each, and they ar e coupled
t ogether, driving by belt a large frame saw and other
wood-working machinery.
A distributing board is installed for splitting up
the circuits for t he various machine tools distributed about the yard. Ther e are in all thirteen
s witches on t he board, including the main switch,
together with two ammeters, one of which indicates the t otal current coming to t he board, t he
other indicat ing t he current passe~ a.l on~ through
one of the switches to another dlBtrtbut tng board
in t he shipyard fitting-shop.
The motors of t he outside circuits consist of one of
8 horse-power coupled t o a winch for hauling v~s~els
into dock sev~n of 6 horae-power, each dnvmg
combined 'punches an d shears- two b elt-driven,
the rest pinion-geared; one of 6 horse-power,
operating horizontal squeezers ; and one of 6 h or sepower, operating a combined squeezer and angleiron cutter.

The distributing board in the shipyard fittingshop has eleven switches, including the main s witch.
Here a 60 horse-power motor is installed, dtiving
maohin~ry used in the production of rudder frames,
stern-posts, &c. A 30 hors~ power motor has. also
been installed to assist at th1s work when requtred.
A 40 horse-powe~ motor drives the ov~r~ead shafting for running cucular saws. In add1t10n t o these
t here are seven small motors used in this department- one of 6 horse-power, driving squeezers ;
three of 8 horse-power each, driving winches for
hauling purposes ; two of 5 horse-power each,

E N G I N E E R I N G.
driving by pinion- and- spur gearing combined
punches and shears ; and one of 10 horse-power,
driving t he fan for a small forge.
There are in all upwards of 80 motors in use, aggregating a total capacity of over 1600 hor se-power.
The motors used are all of one kind. The largest
siir.es-those of 20 ho1se-power each and upwardswere supplied by the B ritish W estinghouse Electric
and Manufacturing Company, and are of their wellknown '' C " type ; the rest were built by Messrs.
Clarke, Ohapman, and Oo., under W estinghouse
licence. This polyphase induction motor has two
main elements- the primary, which is fixed, and
r eceives current from the main supply ; and the
secondary, which is the rotat ing part, and is not
actually connected to any electrical circuit. The
windings of the primary are so arranged that t he
polyphase current produces in it a r otating magnetic field. The rotation of t he secondary is produced by t he induction of low-pressure currents in
its series of closed circuits by t he magnetic field of
the primary. This principle was discovered by
TeAla, and t he patents connected with it are under
Westinghouse con tr ol. The extreme mechanical
simplicity of the type "C" motor is one of its most
important characteristics.
The primary, the fixed part, or the stator, consists of a hollow cylindrical core of soft steel ring
stampings, carrying the electrical winding in slots
on its inner surface. The winding is built up of
coils, machine-wound, and thoroughly insulated
before being placed in the slots. In the larger
sizes of low-pressure machines, copper straps or
bars take the place of wire in the coils . The core
and winding, or shell, of the primary is rigidly
secured in a cast-iron enclosing cylinder, which
forms t h e frame of the motor. The enclosing endplates or brackets of this cylinder carry t he two
shaft bearings of the rotating secondary. The core
of t he secondary is built up of soft steel ring laminations on an open spider. R ectangular copper
bars are laid in slots in the core periphery, and are
bolted at each end to a massive copper ring. No
current is led to the rotating part ; t here are no
commutators, collecting rings, or rubbing electrical contacts of any descript ion ; the only frictional surfaces in the machine are at the shaft
bearings. The secondary conductor, being shortcircuited purposely in the end rings, cannot develop
any electrical fault, and the whole construction of
t h e r otating part is one which gives extr eme simplicity, rigidity, and durability. It is thus perfectly adapted for work in dusty and exposed positions, and requires the minimum of attention.
Of t he motors installed at Messrs. Palmar's works,
the smaller sizes up to 10 horse-power are started by
coupling direct to t he 400-volt mains ; the larger are
started t hrough an auto-starter, which consists of
a double-throw switch working in conjunction with
a pair of small t ransformers. With the switch on
in one position t he t wo transformers are placed between the main supply and the motor circuit, the
motor receiving current at a reduced pressure. The
transformers are arranged with a series of loop
wires from the winding so that the value of the
starting pressure may be adjusted to give the most
suitable starting torqu e. Throwing the switches
over in the other direction, after starting, places
t he motor d1rect on the supply circuit . The autostarter consists of a cast-iron box, containing the
transformers, on the lid of which the two-way
switch is fixed. These starting switches may be
placed at any distance from t he motor, an advantage
when motors are necessarily installed in places difficult of access. The various motors distributed
about the shops have, as a rule, their startingswitches or auto-starters placed close alongside.
The starting switches of the tools in the yard are
generally placed in a small galvanised iron box fixed
against t he standard of the machine tool.
The econ omies r esulting from the change in driving power have proved to be considerable. Oompared with the steam power as before used, the principal saving in the cost of energy is due to: (a) The
centralisation of the power plant; whereby the plant
operates economically in large units at about full
load; t ransport cost of fuel and refuse and also attendance and maintenance costs are r educed to a
minimum ; (b) t he efficiency of t he transmission of
electric power along wires; idle lengths of wire,
although coupled to the live s upply circuit, do n ot
use up any energy; (c) the current paesing into an
electric motor is pract ically in direct proportion t o
the load on the motor ; (d) motors are eo easily
started and stopped by the simple closing or open-

6og
ing of the switch t hat there is no excuse for leaving
on e running empty for oven a shor t space of time ;
(e) no export attendance and very little attention is
r equired by the motors or any part of the distribut.
ing apparatus.
It is inter esting to compare th ese economical
advantages with t he similar conditions of steam
engine distribution practice: (a) Several steam
boiler installations, each with its attendants,
and each r equiring fuel delivered, which fuel is
wastefully consumed in comparatively small steamgenerating units operating for t he most part under
light and intermittent loads; (b) the loss of power
due to condensation and the various long lengths
of steam piping required between the various
engines and the steam power-house; (c) the steam
consumed by the numerous small engines is not
by any means proportional to the work being
done by them; t he steam consumed at all loads
approaches nearer to t he maximum constant ; (d)
steam engines, especially of the type used for
workshop driving and fed by long lengths of steam
mains, are not quickly and easily started consequently they are usually run cont inuously through
working hours, whether the machines driven are
in use or not; (c) constant and, to a cer tain
extent, expert attendance is r equired by the steam
engines, and the running expenses of materials,
attendance, and repairs are, as a rule, very heavy.
It will be seen, therefore, that for such work as
the independent driving of the many machinespunches, shears, hoists, pumps, &c.-in the yard,
electric power introduces enormous advantages and
economy. Also, t hat in shops considerable saving
is sure to r esult by the substit ut ion of an elect ric
motor for each steatn engine previously used for
driving shaft ing and the several machines connected
thereto.
I t must not be overlooked t hat the motors labour
under the disadvantage of having the long lengths
of power-absorbing shafts and belts between them
and the machines to be driven, and it is here t hat
further improvements will undoubtedly be made
in the near fut ure. The principle, as adopted in
t he yard, of " one motor, one machine," could,
with judgment, be applied to give excellent results
in many instances in the workshops.
The probable r eason of the selection of the
method adopted has been mentioned in the beginning of this article ; at t he same t ime, it will be
gathered that, although the best results of electric
driving are not now being secured by workshops
so equipped, the step taken is t he most important
Nle in the advancement of an old-established concern to up-to-date methods, and that the future
steps to the p erfection of the equipment are comparatively small, involving very little disarrangement of the routine of work, and, what is, p erhaps,
more important still, the customary excess of
caution, almost amounting to fear, attending the
first use of electricity will not be present.
In conclusion, the writer wishes to acknowledge
the kindness of Mr. Christie, of Messrs. Clarke,
Chapman, and Co., in showing him the installation
described, and in furnishing many of the particulars included in this article. The illustrations on
pages 607 and 618 are respectively: Fig. 3, a three~
phase W estinghouse type C motor coupled direct to
centrifugal pumps; Fig. 4, a similar motor driving
machine tools; Fig. 6, a t hree-phase Westinghouse
motor coupled to a winch.
American
efforta to develop an increased exporb trade, the ship
menta of British rails to external markets were well maintained in September, the movement for the month being
returned at 45,277 tons, as compared with 30,305 tons in
September, 1900, and 47,077 tons in September, 1899.
The principal exports of last month compare as follows
with those of the corresponding months of 1900 and 1899:
OuR

RAILS

A BROAD. - Notwithstanding

Country.
Sweden and Norway
Egypt..

..

Argentina . .
British lodla

..

..
..

Australasia . .
.
British South Afrl o~

Oanada

..

Sept. 1901.

Sept. 1900.

Sep t. 1899.

tons
6,018
7,377
6,642
7,073
6,194
1,604
11,2,6

tons
8 tl
3191
2808
7439
9267
8466
1568

tons

7,33'

318
1,997
9,986
4,898
168
12,556

It will be observed that the increase in last month's

figures was due boa. rather increased demand for British
rails on foreign rather than on colonial account. The
aggregate exports for the first nine months of this year
were 345,605 tons, as compared with 277,809 tons in the
corresponding period of 1900, and 354,737 tons in the
corresponding period of 1899.

6ro

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

[Nov.

I, 1901.

VERTICAL COMPOUND AIR- COMPRESSOR AT THE GLASGOW EXHIBITION.

CONSTRUCTED BY

DUNCAN STEvVART AND 00.,

MESSRS.

LIMITED,

GLASGOW.

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WE illustrate above a compound vertical air compressor shown at the Glasgow Exhibition by Messrs.
Duncan Stewart and Co., Limited, Glasgow. The
machine has steam cylinders 12 in. and 24 in. in
diameter by 12 in. stroke, and air cylinders 13 in. and
22 in. in diameter by 12 in. stroke. The steam cylinderd
are supported at the back by strong cast-iron columns,
a.nd a.t the front by steel columns. The air cylinders
~re placed ~irectly above their respective ste~m
cylinders, bemg supported therefrom by substa.nt1al
mild-steel columns. The whole structure is mounted on
a. cast-iron bedpla.te. The crankshaft is of mild steel,
with cranks at right angles and webs forged solid.
The high-pressure steam cylinder is fitted with an
ordinary slide valve, with a variable expansion valve
of the ~Ieyer type fitted to the back thereof, and the
low-pressure steam cylinder has a similar attachment
for steam distribution. EacQh pieton rod is in one
forging, from the crosshead through the s t.eam cy lind~r
up to the air cylinder. From the detatl of t he atr
cylinders giv~n in Fig. 4, it will be ~een that the
inlet and dehvery valves are placed 1n t he covers
at both top and bottom ends. Elaborate precau-

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tions are taken to ensure that the valves

c9.nnot by any possibility fall into the
working portion of the cylinders.
The
moving parts of the valves, which are for
the sake of strength made of manganesebronze, are held in position by springs
The valve
whose tension is adjustable.
seats and guardq are made of best phosphor~
bronze. The barrel of each air cylinder
is surround ed by a water-jacket, and there
is also a tubular cooler, through which the
air pn.sses on its wa.y from the low-pressure to
the high-pressure air cylinder. The air inlet
valve on the low-pressure cylinder has an automatic adj ustment for controlling the volume
of air passing, depending on the quantity
required.
The compressor is designed for a. steam
pressure of 120 lb., and when running at
lOO revolutions per minute has a capacity of
400 cubic feet of free air per minute, which
it delivers a.t a pressure of 100 lb. per square
inch,

I.

I
I

JH 6

I
I

'

Nov. I, I9or. ]

E N G I N E E R I N G.
H. f.

CON TRUCTED

ARMOURED CR ISER "KIN

BY

--

6r r

VI CKER, ,

AND

'

ALFRED."

LI~IITED,

:M AXI M,

BAR ROW - IN - FUR E

'

... .

FIG.

armoured cruiser King Alfred, one of four

vessels building for the Navy, was launched on Monday
from the Naval Construction ' Vorks of Messrs. Vickers,
on~, and ~Iaxim, Limited. The fo ur new ships r er,emble t he P owerful and Terrible, the apparent differences being that t hey have no military tops on t heir
m ast~, and the poop has been cut away t o increase the
weight availab le for armour and guns; but great
t ha.nges have been otherwise made, and the vessels of
the King Alfred type are practically without equals.
1,be speed has been increased to 23 knots ; there are
four more 6-in. quick-firing g uns, but as each individual gun is of greater power, and attains a higher
rtlte of fire, the weig ht of projectiles which may be
discharged per minute has been increased from about
6.:1 tons in the P owerful to about 9 tons in the ICing
Alfred, while t he muzzle energy has been more t han
dou bled. The Powerful was a protective deek cruiser,
with 6-in. casema tes for her 6-in. q uick-firing guns, and
similar protection for t he bow and stern 9.2-in. guns.
THE

5.

In the K ing Alfred the armout protection is most guns, the perfection of the mechanism and mounting
effective. The main and auxiliary machinery and
boilers and the magazines are protected by a waterline belt 11 ft. 6 in. deep, extending over half the
vessel'e length, and varying in t hickness from 6 in.
amidships to 4 in. at the ends. At the after end of
this belt a 5-in. armoured bulkhead iEt fitted, and 2-in.
nickel steel protective plating is fit ted on t he bows.
Abaft the screen bulkhead is a protective deck 2i in.
t hick, affording protection to the steering gear and
after capstan, &c. Within the citadel two protective
decks are worked, the upper being l i in. thick, and
the lower 1 in. thick. The 9. 2-in. guns are protected
by 6-in. barbettes, in addit ion to gun shields. The
6-in. guns are each enclosed in a separate casemate,
these being formed of 6-in. hard-faced arm our. The
conning tower is of 12-in. armour, with an armoured
tube 7 in. t hick, affording protection to the controlling
gear, &c.
The main armament includes two 9. 2 in. V ickers

of which enables a rate of fire of four aimed round"' pf' r

minut e with 380-l b. shot, developing a muzzle energy uf
17,830 foot-tons. The improvements which the V1ckers
Company have effected in this and other departments
of ordnance were, however, fully dealt with in Litmtenant Da.wson's paper r ead at the Barrow meetilg of
the Institution of ~Iech ani cal Engineers, so that i t is
not necessary to r efer t o th e guns here. Besides t he
two 9. 2-in. guns mounted as bow and st ern chaser s, the
King Alfred has t welve 6-in. guns, which are mounted
in a series of two-storey casemates, four on either
broadside, and these 6-in. guns have on trial fired
eight aimed rounds per minute, the projectile being of
100-lb. weigh t . Four of the 6-in. guns, as well as
one of the 9.2-in. weapons and t wo 12-pounders, fire
ahead in line wit h the keel, while the same number of
guns can discharge astern, the total n umber of pro
jectiles being thus 116, with an aggregate weight of
5720 l b. per minute ahead or astern ; while the broad

612

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

[Nov.

I, 1901.

side fire totals 11,190 lb., a weight of shot which is La~hom launched and named the ship, a nd at the lunch 600-volt current. There were two main considerations
not equalled by any other type of cruiser thus far con- whiCh f~llowed the floating of the ship, at which Colonel that musb not be lost sight of: First, the system must
ceived. There is also a large number of 12pounder ~E. V1ckers, C.B., the chairman of the company, pre- be a ~afe one; and, secondly, there must l?e a ce~t~inty
and machine gtms.
stded, l\1r. 4rnold Foster, M.P., the Financial Secretary of um~terrupte? traffic. Next to loss of hfe or InJury,
The King Alfred is to mainta in a speed of 23 knots. of the Ad.miralty, referring to the admirable equipment came mterrupt10n of traffic ;. certainty of traffic, next to
The propelling machinery consists of two sets of four- of ~he V~cker~ Works, urged a fuller recognition of safety, was of the greatest Importance. This system
?Ylind~r triple-expansion engines ; each of the t wo sets thetr _nattonal1mportance; and Mr. Albert Vickers, in was perfectly manageable, as well as eafe.
The m.etho_d of regulation use~ by far the greater number
~~ ~es1gned to .devel?P 15,000 indicated horse-power, replymg, made the happy suggestion that as the law
&tvmg . a com~med 1ndicated horse-power of 30,000. of royal succession was the most cherished article in of electnc railways was the series parallel continuous current. It had been followed on the Central London Railway
Steam 1s supphed by water-tube boilers of the latest the British Constitut ion, it might not be inappropriate and
on all the important British lines, and worked welJ.
Belleville economi~er type, working at a pressure of that the _Place vac3.ted by the King Alfred should soon The difficulties in practice have been overcome, and there
?OO lb. p er square _1nch. Eac~ ~et of engines is placed be occupted by the new battleship King Edward VII. was no substantial complaint about it. Given the amount
In a separate engme-room, d1v1ded by a longitudinal
of ex~eri~nce demons~rating the ?ertainty of the system,
watertight ~ulkhead, which extends the whola length
the D1str10t were ent1bled to advlBe their shareholders to
of the enJpi?-e-rooru. Each ~ngine-room is in all THE ELECTRIFICATION OF THE METRO- make the change, the other cases giving good financial
POLITAN ANDMETROPOLITANDISTRICT results. They decided to make the alteration on their
respects s1m1lar to,. but ~ntll'ely independent of,
line.-on the 25 miles and on that part jointly owned.
RAILWAYS.
the other. The mam engtnes are of the inverted
type, supported on cast-iron columns at the back QN. Tu~day lastJ the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton commenced Owmg to the solidarity between the District and the
and inclined wrought-steel columns at the front: Slbtmg m the Lord Chief Justice's Court to decide what Metropolitan, the change must be considered as a
whole, the advantages of a uniform system being
The sole-plates or main bearing frames are of cast system o~ electri? traction shall be employed on the evident
. . But the Metropolitan showed a reluctance to
M~tropohta~
Rallways
of
London.
He
has
been
apsteel strongly bolted together, so as to form a stiff
po~nted UII~J:nre by the Board of Trade, the arbitrators adopt this system ; the system they advocated differed
fouudati?n for the engines. All the cylinders are bemg Mr. Horace F. Parshall and Mr. Thomas Parker
from this : instead of changing the current to direct curfitted .wtth separate ~iners and are steam-jacketed.
The Metropolitan Company was represented by M.r rent of 500 to 600 volts, they propoEe to keep it at threeThe dtame~er of th~ h1gh-p~essure cylinder is 43~ in., C. A. Cripps, K.C, M.P., Mr. R. W . Wallace, K.c.: phase, at 3000 volts, name!J, to use it in the cars ab threethat of the 1ntermed1ate cyhnders 71 jn., and that of and M~. ] '. G. Thomas, while Mr. Fletcher Moulton phase and 3000 volts. Now with this the danger was
the two low-J?ressure c~linders 81! in.~ all having a K.C., M.P., and Mr. J. W. Gordon were counsel fo; kept all through the traffic part of the railway. What
st~oke of 48 m. The htgh-pressure cylinder is fitted ~he District Company. Mr. Ernest Moon watched the expe~ience was there of it ? There was not one single yard
of ra1lwa.y working under this system ; it was absolutely
w_1 th one .Pis t oll: valve of t he inside type, the interme- mterests o_f the Great Western Railway.
In openmg the case on behalf of the Metropolitan Dis- untried. The system was thoroughly known, but not
dt~te cyhnder 1~ fitt~d with two piston valves, having
us~d. . It was nob a qt._Iestion _of a new discovery ; everytrict
Railway
Company,
Mr.
J.
Fletcher
Moulton
K.C.
adJ~stable packmg rmg~, whilst the two low-pressure
thmg IS known about It; but 1t has been put on one side.
st~ted
that
the
District
did
not
only
own
a.
portio~
of
th~
cylinders are fitted wtth double-ported flat slide Cucle, but a.lso a considerable section beyond it. A map T~ere is no possible comparison between the experience
valves, having a special type of relief ring.
was handed the arbi brator and the various sections were gamed in direct cnrrent, and that gained in three-phase.
Ther~ are two air pumps on each engine worked by indicated. These railways extend outside the Inner Three-phase was not used above a 750-volt pressure in
levers In the usual manner from the main engines. Ci.rcle over ab9ut 25 miles. In the Inner Circle the Dis- Switzerland, this limit having been fixed by the GovernThe main condensers are four in number, of cast gun- triCt owns 4 miles; there is a.bout 1 mile which is owned ment. It was more dangerous than continuous current.
metal, having a collectiYe cooling surface of 32,000 jointly; the Metropolitan owning about 7 miles. The The Zermatt-Gornergrat three-phase railway was a tourist
equare feet. There are two condensers to each set of traffic on all the lines is naturally very dense and on the railway, the trains crawling along at 5 miles an hour, the
being generated by waterfalls. It did not matter
. engines, one forward and one aft, bolted to the back Inner Circle especially so ; the outlying co~nections are current
whether 50 per cent. or 2 per cent. of the current was
columna and resting on a seat. At the aft end of partly feeders and partly independent traffic lin~.
wasted, or whether there were delays in the traffic.
Mr.
Moulton's
clients
had
had
under
consideration
the
each engine-room is placed an auxiliary condenser
changing of their lines from steam to electric traction There was no comparison possible between this railway
having a .c?oling surface ~f 1830 squa re feet. Unde; following in this the lead of American lines and of som~ and the Inner Circle. The Burgdorf-Thun Railway was
each auxthary condenser Is placed a combined air and of our own. But the converflion of aboub 30 miles of also a tourist line; and here also the current was
cir~ulating pump. Water is circulated through the L ondon ~raffic fr~m s~eam . to electricity was, afber generated by waterfalls. The Engleberg Railway was
ma1n condensers. by four ~i-in. centrifug~l circulating all, a ser10us cons1derat10n : 1b meanb a radica.Uy dif- also .a mountain line of 11 miles. Electricity there cost
pumps, each dnven by mdependent engmes, having, feren~ motive power an? radically different applications. nothmg; there was no need for the cost of sub-stations.
in addition to the auctions from the sea, the usual The rlBk was not comphcated by the electrical difficulties there was no trouble about loss. These lines were not
but thE\re was a financial risk, which depended on the pro: comparable to the District under any feature. Could it be
bilge connections.
dar:ed to trust this system to take the traffic of 220 Circle
bable
traffic
to
be
secured
by
the
change.
There
was
pro~'he boilers are placed in four separate comparttrams a day, and about twice the number of trains
perly
~o electrical risk, owing to (>Xperience gained.
In
ments, there being in all eight stokeholds running Amenca there were about 21,000. miles of electric lines running over a portion-say, 800 trains a day-without
athwartships. The forward group in each boiler-room not all railways, most of them of the lighter system we cali fear of stoppage and los~.
consists of a single row of boilers, and the after group here tramways, for passenger traffic. Of the21,000 miles
There was every reason to believe there would be frein each are placed back to back. There are thus 43 however, there was a large mileage of railways as op: quent stoppages and dangers and difficulties with the
boilers with economisers, viz. : Five boilers haviug posed to tramways, and Mr. Moulton referred to those ~igh-pressure cu~rent, and it would be madness to apply
lOelements, with eight element economisers; 28 boilers of Ne'! York, .Cbic~go, &c., .as comparable to this case. It to t~e Inner Cucle. There were reasons for stating that
having nine elements, with seven element economisers; All thiS electnficat10n of railways had been done during the d1rectcurrent system was far better. Ib did not
what promise the three-phase system had; it
and 10 boilers having eight elements, with six element the la~t twenty years. Largesums had been expended on matter
was a new system, surrounded with probable diffi
expenments.
Numbers
of
systems
had
been
suggested
economisers.
culties; the saving was supposititious, and it would be
and
tried
and
put
on
one
side
;
numbers
of
devices
bad
The other auxiliary machinery in the engine-rooms
folly to adopt i~. Millions have been spent in directbeen
worked
on
paper
and
lefb
alone.
There
had
been,
comprises four electric light engines and dynamos, however, a steady and gradual approach to one definite current applications; there was no anxiety with retwo steering engines, two reversing engines, two turn- type of electric traction, which had been found to answer gard to them ; and to go and give up a position of
ing engines, two hotwell pumps, four fire and bilge all requirements. Electrical engineers had unanimously safety to the pablic for fancy saving, and take a.
pumps, one drain tank pump, one latrine pump, four adopted a broadly characteristic system, with which most new experimental system, was madness; it was undertaking responsibility on behalf of the ~hareholders
feed and brine pumps, two circulating and fresh water satisfactory results had been obtained.
In a di.scussion of this nature, it was impossible, Mr. and a higher one on behalf of the public. Continuous
pumps, four sets of evaporators, two distilling conshowed a margin of profH, and the JYietropolitan
densers, two ventilating fans and engines. In the Moulton said, to avoid entirely the mention of the elec- current
wished to take an untried system.
trical
points.
In
continuous
currentthe
system
uniboiler-rooms are eight Weir's feed pumps, six air~hree-phase current required three conductors; one
versally
adopted-electricity
generated
in
one
dynamo
blowing engines for supplying the furnaces with small
mtght ~e put to earth, the others being charged with
went
through
another
dynamo,
styled
a
motor;
the
motor
jets of air under a pressure of 15 lb. per square inch, took in the current, which passes out again, and was con- alternatmg currents and placed above the cars along the
sixteen forced-draught fans with open double-acting ducted back to the generatmg station through the rails. top of the tunnels, two on each side. The space between
steam engines, and eight double-cylinder ash-hoist There were various plans utilised for driving the car; the top of the cars and the top of the tunnels was very
engines. In the outside machinery space are two coal- sometimes the motor was geared to thew heels, wmetimes small : ab parts there were girders across, and there
hoisting engines, two air-compressing engines and it was on the axle, or, again, there is an intermediate would not be more than 4 in. or 5 in. clearance. The
pumps, and four air reservoirs with valves complete; method of fixing i b, through spring connections. But all the presence of these conductors in the tunnels wou1d be
repairs would be rendered difficult and awkone ice-making machine, one workshop engine, and methods were characterised by this-the continuous cur- dangerous;
ward. At one part- Aldgate Ea-et-there would be a
rent
flowed
through
the
motor.
The
size
of
the
conductors
one hydraulic pumping engine.
special difficulty. Ab that part the trains could nob be
depended
solely
upon
the
quantity
of
electricity,
and
nob
The length of the King Alfred is 500 ft., width
sent tJuough, keeping the trolley on the line, without
on
the
pressure,
while
insulation
depended
upon
the
pres71 ft., and when in fighting trim she will displace
sure. r.rhis was the cause of a struggle between electri reveramg the current through the motorP, a difficulty
14,100 tons, the draught then being 26 fli. The vessel cians and the public: electricians wanted a small con which would not occur with direct current. With threecarries 2500 tons of fuel in her bunkers, and will ductor to save expense, while the public object to the phase. the driver would have to time the reversing most
therefore be able to steam at a cruising speed of danger, and compelled electricians to have small pressure exactly. This is a serious point which might have grave
14 knots for 12,500 sea miles, equal to a voyage from in the condu~tors. The means arrived at were practi- conseq uencee.
The danger with three-phase current was greater still
Portsmouth to Melbourne, without renewing her fuel cally universally observed and the pressure allowed was
supply. According to the Navy Estimates she will from 500 to 600 volts, a. suitable one to enable the electri- at yards and stations through the two lin&~. With
have cost when ready for sea 1,0ll,759l. Her com- cians to instal their plant at a. reasonable cost and not en. direct-current conductors in the middle, or on the side,
the track, this was not the case, as had been
plement of officers and men will be 900. She is the danger life in ordinary circumstances. A momentary touch of
proved over and over again. There were also numerous
of
current
under
this
pressure
would
not
be
dangerous.
fiftieth warship built or engined at the Naval ConIn
the
system
advocated
by
the
Distric ~, alternate- other considerations: the system of control was different
struction Works at Barrow-in-Furness.
current electricity was sent at a high pressure in very from that which was constantly in use. It t ook the conAs launched on Monday, the vessel is in a forward small conductors, insulated and buried out of the way; trolling power out of the bands of the driver ; gave the
state; all her side armour with the 2-in. nickel steel, the curre:nt was then transformed, and a low tension is train acceleration withouo his control; the driver could
had been built into the hull, and the after barbette obtained for a larger quantity. This was carried out at make up time; it was difficult to slacken in case of
and the casemates on the main deck constructed. The a sub-station, which took the place of the distant gene- danger and go on again. Ib was quite different from
launching weight was about 8070 tons, but the ways rating station; it received the current at a high tension and working on a locomotive where the driver has absolute
were of the unusual width of 6ft. 6 in., and the pres- brought the tension down. This took place with absolute control.
In the underground rail ways, delay is cnmulati ve ;
sure was thus only 1. 723 tons per square foot. We safety; the initial tension was12,000 or 15,000 volts-a fatal
have on previous occasions described the launching one; however, there was no risk of the lines being touched. there is little time margin, and delays becomes cumulative.
Traffic
working
was
particularly
com~licated,
The
current
was
then
converted
into
direct
current
by
arrangements adopted at Barrow, and need only now
rotary converters. The system was uni veraally adopted. owing to the large number of interpolated tramft, and
remark that they were again most effective. The time In
short, the current is ~enerated as three-phase, sent at the schedule must be kept to, otherwise traffic would
taken by the ship from the first movement until she a high pressure to vartous places on the track, trans- be thrown into confusion. There was no elasticity in the
was a float was 59 seconds; and the drags 400 tons of formed, and changed to direct current with a pressure of untried three-phase system.
chains-brought her to rest in 70 ft. from t he end of 500 to 600 volts in rotary converters.
Mr.l\IIoulton next gave a brief description of tbe Londrio
the ways. We reproduce this week, on our two-page
This was a great ad vantage. All the troubles likely to L ecco Railway. Its opening had been several times de
engraving and page 611, a series of photographs illus- attend high pressures w~re on the generating side; the layed, and it was nob yet open to traffic. There again
trating the la unching arrangements. The Countess of current, as far as the line is concerned, was the 500 to the motive power was water power, and economy was nob

Nov.

I,

1901.]

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

the main question. With rapid acceleration the waste of

On the ground of economy, practical workin~ and
energy was tremendous ; the system would be pa rticularly speed, Mr. Perks was convinced and so were his friends,
b&:d where there was a perspective of stopp1ges; traffic nob merely Mr. Yerkes but every large shareholder of
w~th three-phas~ should he .run always on consta.nb speed, the District, that they dare n0b take the ex perimental
w10hout neoesstty for qmckening and stopping. As sys tem advocated by Ganz. He would allow o~her
above referred to, the size of the conductors depended p sople to make ex periments. The District Com pany was
upon the amm nt of electricity sent through, and in three- losinS' 1500l. a. week by the d elay in a.dopting electric
phase the current sent through was nob all useful. The tra.ot10n, and the Metropolitan Company wa.s losing more.
conduct or h9.s to be large enough for a currant 40 p er He had no interest whatever in the Traction Company;
cent. greater than the useful current; in other words, it his interests were wholly and solely in the Dastrict
must allow for 4~ per cent. useless current. There are Railway. He had never had anything in the Traction
dozens of other dtsad vantages.
Company pecuniarily.
Mr. M oulton then proceeded t o give the history of the
Mr. Perks was further cross examined by Mr. Cripps
proposed chang~ from steam to electricity, and spoke of j as to the history of the matter, the reports made by Sir
t~e small experamental lin~ a t E:~.rl's Oourt. He men- William Preeoe and Sir ,John W olfe Barry, the appointttoned the tenders received, and stated that all tenders, ment of the Joint Committee, and the j ourney of Sir
ex~ept tha.b from Ganz, kept to the B oard of Trade regu- William P reece and Mr. Parker to Budapest to view and
lataont~. The engineers, he said, did nob realise that the test the method of Messrs. Ganz & C0. Mr. Cripps rea.d the
tender from G anz was nob comRa.rable wi th tba b from the report made by these engineers, after their visit, in favour
other firms. H e s tated thab Ganz spoke of 14,000 kilo- of the system propo3ed by Gan z and Co. According to Mr.
watts, and Thom~on-Housbon of 10,00'0; and he asked Perks, Sir William Preece had nob had any experie nce
whether the engme6rs had examined the steam plant in railways. Mr. Perks protested, at the time- at a meetproposed, t o see what wdrs called a 14,000-kilowatt insballa- ing held in Chariog Cross Hote1, ab which !VIr. Forbes,
tion.. '!'here was a disc~epancy and a difference in the Colonel Melior, and others were presen t-aga:insb the
heatmg surface of the botlers, 80,000 square feeb for the letter above referred to, signed by the secretaries of the
Thomson.H ouston Compan~,~ against 48,000 square feet Metropolitan and the District Companies, being sent to
for Gan z. The Thomson-Houston plant was a more Gan z, but he was toJd that ib contained such protective
p owerful one; they knew what was required for the in- clauses that it would be within the province of the
st~a~ion. The one of Gan~ would come to m ore. The B oards to do whatever they chose later on.
As to the
D1sbr10t Company would nob take the Ga.nz offer- would manufacture of three-pha~e machines. any firm could
not take an unbrted system. There was no p erformance manufacture them as well a.s Gani'. ; 80 per cent. of the
t o j ustify th~. ~reference for Ga.nz, and their tender had work-probably more- could be executed by any firm.
passed uncnb101sed.
In concluding his cross examination ab the meeting of
Mr. M oulton added that the confertmce was not sitting the 30th ins b., Mr. Perks stated that his sole wish was ., to
because of Ga.nz's skil1, bub solely owing to the audacity get the best thing at the cheapest price, and a thing that
of G a.nz's .tender. Sir William Preeoe could not have would work. " The Traction Company would make no
seen anythmg ab Ganz's to j ustify the adoption of th eir profit out of the cost of any installation. He told the
tender. N othing hub experience could show what scheme chairman and Colonel Mellor repeatedly tha.t the District
should be chosen. Prudence and responsibility pointed Company were not going to have an untried system; that
to the system that had been tried and found successful. he himself had no interest whatever in any electrical
'fhe ris.k would be oa.lam~tous if one were condemned to system; that the District had no interest either in any
an untned sy~tem. The direct-current system had been system. Two per cent. of shares were held by a man who
thorougJ:tly tned and was thoroughly known.
has an interest in the Traction Company, and no special
Mr. Perks, M.P., the present chairman of the District interest in either direct or alternating current.
R ailway, called upon by Mr. Moulton, proceeded to exMr. Yerkes, Mr. E. W . Rice, and Mr. James Swinplain from a map of the District and Metropolitan Rail- bnrne were next exs.mined, hub we are unable to deal
ways the wa.y in which the bwo lines stand with regard to with their evidence this week. The arbitration is being
ea?h other- as t o track held both independently and continued day by day; we shall report the further
jomtly. He gave also figures as t o traffic on both railwar.s proceedings in future issues.
and joint traffic. He stated tha t directly the District Railway m akes the j unction with the Tilbury and Southend,
ab B ow, they expect to carry a very large n ew traffic
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.
from the Tilbury R ailway over the jointly-owned railON Tuesday, the 15th ulb., the steel screw steamer IVIerway to Whitechapel a nd Bow, for distribution over
the line. The District Company are now making junc- chiston, builtl by Messrs. Wm. Gray and Co., Limited, for
tions wibh the Great Centra.! Company by a. line from Messrs. Waiter Scott and Co., of W est Hartlepool. bad
The vessel has been built to Lloyd's
Ealin~ to Harrow, which is practically finished, and her trial run.
the D1s trict propose to apply to it electric traction, even highest class, her principal dimensions being: Length over
in anticipation of the electrical working of their main all, 290 fb. ; breadth, 40 fb.; and depth, 20 fb. 7~ in. The
lines. B etween Sudbury and South Harrow, the Great engines are from the Centlral Marine Engine Works of
Central from the north are making a junction with the the buildere, having cylinders 20 in., 31 ~ in. and 53 in. in
Dis trict, and the latter expect by that j unction to carry a diame ter with 36 in. piston stroke, and two large steel
very large amount of goods traffic, but probably nob boilers working ab a pressure of 160 lb. per square inch.
much passenger traffic, from the Great Central. Mr. The average speed was 10 knots.
Perks mentioned also the connection with the Great
The new passenger steamer R ajah of Sarawak, of 1450
Western ab Addison-road and Earl's Court. They ha ve
a.lso a connection with the N orth-Western to complete tons, built by Ramage and F arguson, Limited, for the
Borneo Company, Limited, London, for their trade bethe connections for goods ab Eul's Court.
Mr. Perks gave particular-s as to the number of trains tween Singapore and Sarawak, eailed on Tuesday, the
running. He stated that the District R ailway first gob 22nd ult., direct for Singapore, after having run her
power to use electricity in 1897; in 1898 the Metropolitan offioialloa.ded trial trip, when a mean speed of 11 ~ knots
gob powers which were more extensive and in a betber form was obtained on the measured mile-a. knob more than
than those of the District. In 1900 the District obtained the guaranteed speed. This steamer has been specially
designed
for
the accommodation of native and European
fr.>m Pt1.rliament similar powers to t hose of the Metropassengers.
politan.
In the final report of the engineers, dated August 20,
On Tuesday, the 22nd ult., the s.s. Apolda proceeded
1900, they recommended the twocc1mpa.nies to choose for the from the yard of the builders-the Flensburger Schiffsbauelectrification of the Inner Circle t he same system which Gesellsohaft-for her officials trials. She is a cargo
they had tested at Earl's Court-the direct-current system. steamer, built to the order of the Deutsch Australisohe
In that same month, an advisory committee formed from Dampfschiffs Gesellschaft, having a dead weight carrying
the two companies issued an invita tion for tenders for the oo.paoity of 6700 tons. L engbh over all, 406 fb. 6 in. ;
work of electrifying the Inner Circle Railway. This was breadth, 47 ft. 8 in. ; depth, 32 ft. The engines are of
on Auguat 3, 1900, before the last report of the engineers. the quadruple-expansion type, with an indicated horseOne of the conditions was that! the Board of Trade Rules po wer of 3400; the cylinders being 26 in., 37~ in., 55 in.,
should be adhered to. Nine firms tendered. There are and 80 in. in diameter by 60 in. stroke, and have been
two reports on these tendera--one from Sir William fit ted by the Flensburg Company. On the trials the
Preece and Mr. Parker, of December 19, 1900 ; and a speed was 15~ knots.
se~ond, by the same engineers, of February 2, 19011 after
they had paid a visit to Budapest. There is no evidence
The s.s. Colonian ran her trial trip off the Tyne on
on the minu lies of the District Railway Board to show that Tuesday. the 22nd ult. She has been built by_ M essrs.
Ga.nz'd tender was ever ratified at all.
R. and 'rV. Hawthorn, Leslie, and Co. Limited, H ebburnOn ~!arch 22, 1901, the secretary of the District and on-Tyne. to the order of Messrs. F. L eyland and Co.
the secretary of the l\1etropolita.n companies wrote a letter (1900), Limited, of Liverpool, h er dimensions being
to Messrs. Ganz, viewing with favonr their proposal, sub- 450 ft. Ion~, 54 ft. beam, and 43 fb. deep. and she carries
ject t o the approval of the Board of Trade, and subject to the except10nally large dead weight of 9300 tons, but has
various reservations pub forward. Mr. Perks did not a. shelter deck which can be arranged for cargo or cattle as
approve of this letter, except so far a.s the reservations required. The main engines ha ve been supplied from the
were concerned.
Northumberland Engine Works of the N orth-Eastern
Mr. Perks next gave historical data. concerning the for- Marine Engineering Company, Limited, Wallsend-onmation of the Metropolitan District Electrical Traction Tyne, and are of their latest tripleexpa.nsion type,
Company, and stated that the District Railway Com- having cylinders 27 in., 46 in., and 76 in. in diameter by
pany had to raise anything between 600, OOOl. and a 60 in. stroke, supplied with steam from two doubleended
million of money; they could not have raised any money boilers working ab 200 lb. pressure. A series of runs
at all upon a purely experimental system. The District were made over the measured mile off Whitley, during
could not put themselves in the hands of the Metrop olitan which a mean.. speed of 13~ knots was obtained~
for the purpose of raisin~ capital for the Ganz system,
even if they had been sat1sfied that the Ganz system wa.s
On Wednesday, the 23rd ulb. the screw stea.wer H olmemore tha.u a pure experiment. They were therefore side had her trial trip. The Holmeside is another of the
compelled to raise the money themselves, and on the recent and extensive additions made to their fleet of
beat terms they could. The Traction Company would steamers by the Pyman Steamship Company, Limited,
mak~ no profit at all, either in providing the generating West Hartlepool, and is from the yard of Meesrs. William
station or equipping the road, apart from the profib they Gray and Co., Limited. 8he takes Lloyd's highest class,
would get by the stooks which they would take in payment. and her dimensions are : Length over all, 358 ft.; breadth,

==========

40 ft. 6 in.; and dept~, 28 ft .. 3 in. Her engin es ~re

from the Central Marme Engme Works of the ~htp
builders, and have cylinders 25~ in.,. 40i in., a~d 67 m .. In
diameter, with a piston stroke of 45 m. Steam JS supphed
by two large steel boiler s working ab a. pressur~ of 180 lb.
per square inch, a speed of lli knots b emg registered.
On Saturday. the 26th ult. the e.s. F ortunatus )eft the
T,Yne for her official trial. She has b een builb by ~sra.
Sar W. G. Armstron2'. Whitworth, and Co., LtmJted,
Elswick-on-Tyne, for M essrs. Arohibo.ld Currie and C?
M elbourne, Australia) and is 358 fb. long by 47 fb. 6 m.
bro1d by 33 ft. 6 in. deep. Triple-expa.ns~on engi~es h~ve
been fitted by the N orth-Eastern Manne Engmeermg
Company. L imibed, Wallsend-on-Tyne, the sizes of the
ovlinders being 24! in. by 41 in., by 68 in. in diameter by
48 in. stroke, with three large boilers working at 180 lb.
per square inch, fit ted with Howden's forced d~aught.
A See's pa tent ash-eject or is also fitted. The trial was
a most successful one, the machinery working very
smoothly and without a hitch.
On Saturday, the 26th ult . there was launched from
the works of M essrs. Short Brothers, Limited, Sunderland, a large and handsomely modelled steel screw
steamer built for the America and Japan trade, t o bhe
order of the American and Oriental S teamship Company,
Limited, of New Y ork, of which :M essrs. B arber and
Co. are the managers. The vessel, which has been constructed of steel under special survey t o the highest cla.~s
in Lloyd's register, is of the following dimensions :
Length, 382 fb.; breadth, 48 ft. 8 in.; and depth moulded,
30ft.; having a large dead weight and carrylDg capacity.
On leaving the ways the vessel wa.s named Shimosa,
the ceremony being performed by Mrs. T. Ho~an,
of New York. The vessel is to be fitted with trtpleexp:l.nsion engines by Messra. John Diokinson and Sons,
Limited, of Sunderland. These will have cylinders
26 in., 43 in., and 7l in. in diameter respectively, with a
stroke of 51 in., a.nd there 'vill be three steel boilers of
180 lb. working pressure. During construct ion the vessel
has been supervised by Messrs. Squa.nce and Ingram, and
the machinery by Mr. J. Houston, of Sunderland.
A new addition to the fleet of the P tinea line of steamers
wa~ launched on Monday, the 28th ult., from the yard of
Messrs. William Dobson and Co., Newca~tle. The new
vessel is named the Soldier Prince, and is of the following
dimensions: Length bebween perpendiculars, 330ft. 6in.;
breadth, 44 fb. 3 in.: depth moulded, 27ft. 3 in.; and she
will have a deadweighb capacity of about 4500 tons. The
propelling machinery is being built by M essrs. Blair and
Co., of Stookton, and is of the triple-expansion type,
steam b eing supplied by two large singleended boilers,
working ab 180 lb. pre3sure under natural draught.
On Monday, the 28th ult., Messra. R opner and Son,
Stockton-on-Tees, launched a steel screw steamer of the
following dimensions : Length, 383 ft. 7 in. ; breadth
extreme, 50 fb. 6 in. ; depth moulded, 31 fb. The vessel
is built to the highest class at Lloyd's, and is on the spa r
deck rule, and fitted with 9-ft. 'tween deck~. Triple-expansion engines will be supplied by Messrs. Blair and Company. of Sbookton-on-Tees. havin~ cylinders 25 in., 43 in.,
and 73 in. in diameter by 48 m. stroke, steam being
supplied by three single-ended boilers. each 15ft. by 11 ft.,
with a working pressure of 200 lb. The vessel is t o the
order of bhe Britain Steamship Company, Limited,
London, and is the third steamer of the same type built
for this company by M essrs. R opner and S on this year.
The vessel was christen ed Epsom by Mrs. R. Ropner,
of Hartburn.
On Tuesday. the 29bh ulb., M e&srs. Irvine'd Shipbuilding and Dry D ocks Company. Limited, launched, from
their shipyard a t W est Hartlepool, a steel screw steamer
named the Thistledhu, and built to the order of M essrs.
the Albyn Line, Limited, the managing directors and
managers being Me~sra. Allan, Black, and Co., S und erland. She is of t.he following dimen sions : Length,
360 ft. ; breadth, 47 fb. 9 in ; and d epth. 30 ft. 2i in.
Engines of bhe triple-expausion type are b Ping supplied
by Messr~. Richardsons, Westgartb, and Co., Limited,
Hartlepool, with cylinders 25 in., 40 in., and 67 in. in
diameter, with a stroke of 45 in., steam being supplied by
two single-ended boilers constructed to work at a pressure
of 165lb.
'
On Tuesday, the 29 hh ulb., Sir Ra.ylton Dixon and Co.,
Limited, launched from their Cleveland D ockyards,
Middlesbrough, a cargo and cattle steamer, built to the
oraer of Messre. Lamport and Holt, of Liverpool, for
their Brazil, New Y ork. and Liverpool trade, Her prin
cipa.l dimensions are 390 fb. by 50 fb. by 29 ft. 6 in.
moulded, and she has a dead weigh t carrying capacity of
about 6450 tons on a. light draught of water. Tripleexpansion engines will be supplied by M essrs. Richardsons,
Westgarth, and Co., Limited, of Hartlepool, having
cylinders 27, in., 46 in., and 74 in. in diameter by 54 in.
stroke, provided with steam by three large double-ended
boilers working a.t 200 lb. pressure. On leaving the ways
she was named Thespis.
R OYAL !NS'I'ITUTION.-The Ohristmas course of six leot ures to young p eople, ab the Royal Institution, will thia
year be d eliver ed by PrOfessor J. A . Flaming, F .R.S.,
profeseor of electrical engineering in U niversity College,
London. His subject is "Waves and Ripples in Water,
Air, and lE ther," and the first lecture will be delivered
on Saturday afternoon, December 28, a t three o'clock.
The remaining lectures on December 31, 1901, and
January 2, 4, 7, and 9, 1902.

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

PNEUMATIC TOOLS.
P neumatic Riveting, a;nd, Other Useful Applications of
Pneumatic Tools.*
By M R. J. C. TAITE, M ember, of L ondon.
TnE author, having been asked to write a. short paper
on ":fneumatic T ools," and having regard to the comparattvely recent one read by Mr. E . C. Amos t when
a. l.en~bhy discussion followed, has confined these : emstrks
prmctpally t? pne~~atic ri veting, with special regard to
the pneumatno exhtbtts ab the Glasgow Exhibition.
Shell Riveter.- With the int roduction of the '' Boyer "
long-stroke hammer for shell riveting, rivets up to l i in.

[Nov.

ha~mer with i~s casing is moun ted in a spherical bearing

whtch el?a~les 1b to be t.u ~ned about through any desired
angle w1thm .the requtstte limits. Another and later
developm ent. IS ~he N o. 9 long-stroke hammer, in which
the bngger 1s dtspensed with, and air is admttted by a
throttle valve.
Riveter .with . T ajl-Piece. -Fig. 1 shows a riveting
hammer w1th tatl-ptece l argely used in shipyards for beam
~nees ; the length of the bail-piece is suited to the spaom g of th_e fra~es. so that when air is admitted the
ha mmer J!'-ms ttself between the r ivet and the adjacent
bea~ durmg the percussive riveting operation the pneuma.tt~ ho!der-up exerting pressure in a siruilar 'manner on
the rtvet head from the other side.

t , I90J.

Railway Superintendents of Bridges and Buildings at the

A nnual C~nvet?tion, S~. L ouis, 16th October, 1900, gives
the follo.wn~g 1~terestmg figures, comparing hand and
pneumat10 rtvetmg:
"Men with pneumatic riveter will average 500 rivets
per day for 8. 12 dols. = 33s. 3d., or 1.62 dols. = 63. 7d.
per hundred.
"Men with hand power a verage 250 rivets per day for
9.20 dold.
37s. 8d. , or 3.63 dols.
15s. per hundred. "
( 3ee Aopendix I I. )
In En~land t he cost of ~-in. rivets with pneumatic
ham~er ~ 4e. 6d. per 100, as against 103. 6d. by band.
An mgemous arrangement for carrying a drill, used on
the G reab Eastern Railway, is shown in Fig. 6; a 'ld

--, .

_..

FIG. 4.

FIG.

1.

.......

Fra. 2.

A'

FIG. 6.

FIG.

3.

can be successfully knocked down, and the pneumatic

bolder-up has overcome the difficulties of the old method.
The length of this paper does nob allow of a full description of the appliance ; the most noteworthy feature, bowever, is that the riveting hammer is mounted, and has
a. travel of 3~ in. in an outer cylinder, to which air is
admitted when the hammer trigger is depressed, the
pressure acting on a collar surrounding the hammer barrel,,
shoots the tool forward on t o the rivet head, the notched
bar at the other end of the rigging being adjusted t o
provide the reaction necessary for the enap to be continuously preesed on to t he rivet, while the percussive
rivetbin g action is performed by the hammer. T he

Fro. 6.
Deck .Ril'cting.- T bese tools have been in longer use in the same arrangemenb would be equally useful for drilling

the American yards than here, but they are now being
gradually introduced, and already on the Oly de a very
considerable amount of rivets have been p ut in with tools
similar to that shown in Fig. 4. Samples of ri veting
done with pneumatic riveter3 are exhibited, and from the
fact that a longer ri vet is required than tbab used by
band, it follows that the hole must be ruore thoroughly
filled.
Bridge Work.-For this description of work pneumatic
tools (Figs. 2 and 3) are eminently adapted. inasmuch as a.
satisfactory plant for riveting in situ, easily moved from
one place to another, has long been wanted. Ab the construction of the Godaveri Bridge ab Ra.jahmundry, :Mr.
* Paper read before the I nternational E ngineering F. T . G. Walton used pneumat ic tools, a nd a n extract
from his report is con tained in Appendix I.
Congress, G laeSgow, 1901. Section Ill. : :Mechanical.
t See ENGINEERING, vol. lxix., pages 280, 304, 335, 365, Mr. A. B. M ann ing (Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway), in a report to the Oommittee of the Association of
398, 403, and 425.

holes in the long girders of bridges which cannot be drilled

under the ordinary machine.
Locomoti1.'e Wor~.-One of the most recent develop
menta in pneumatic tools is the motor shown on Fig. 7
with tube oubter.
This tool is similar to the ordinary drill, but having in addition an air cylinder and
piston, which forces oub a taper mandrel, thus preesing
the cutting ed~e of the tool against the tube. By the u~e
of this tool 2i-m. diameter steel tubes oa.n be out through
in five seconds. The reversible drill with the ordinary
tube expander is now also largely used for tube expanding.
Pneumatic rlrills are employed for drilling oub stay bolts
and re-tapping the holes, and give every satisfaction, a.
saving of 7l. per boiler having been effected in the cosb of
re-staying the fireboxes ab one of the principal yards.
R ailway-wagon floors are riveted pneumatically, a saving
nf 15s. per wagon being effected. A report from the shops

~ ov.

r, 1901.]

of one of the French railways states the 16-in. manhole

doors are out in the locomotive boiler in fifteen minutes,
the plate being ~-in. thick, and 1~-in. tubes are rolled in
27 seconds each.
General Boiler Work.- The longsbroke hammer is used
for riveting up the end circumferential seams of L ancashire, Cornish, and verbioal boilers, air recei vera and
superheaters of water-t ube boilers where the hydraulic riveter cannot be used; also on manhole rings,
Galloway tubes, combustion chambers, and rive bs connecting furnace tubes to the fronb plate; and one firm is
employing a gap riveter for the furnacPs themselves.
ThPse are also used in making large tanks (Fig. 5}.
With the extension of the use of pneumatic tools, the

615

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

day for 8.12 dols. = 33s. 3.3d., or 1.62 dols. = 6s. 7d. per
hundred. M en with band power average 250 rivets per
day for 9.20 dols. = 37s. 8d., or 3.68 dols. = 15s. per
hundred. In pubbing in staging or falsework for riveters
we find the cost is less, and by doing the work faster by
air enables ~low orders, or delays to movement of trains,
to be reduced."
Mr. Edinger, of the Southern Pacific Company, member of the committee, reports :
"Two men and a heater form a riveting gang, and they
drive double the number of rivets per day that the gang
of three men and a. heater were driving by hand. With
pneumatic tools a grea.b many rivets can be readily driven
in places which would be inaccessible to hand tools, from the

prices are usually greater, as shown below, due to the

heavier construction :
Hand. Machine.
Size of Rivet.
L ocation.

Cents Cent e.
1n.
21
3
Vertical keel

4
6
W. T. vertical keel (C. K.)
1
... 12
Keel between blocks
1
5
... .. . 8
Keel seam .. .
1
... 5
Shell on bottom ...
1
... ... 5
Shell side ...
1
1~
3
...
F
rames
on
ground
...
~
3~
... 5
Inner bottom
1

...

Floors on ground

.. .

...
...

...

~~

Fig. 7. T itbe Cutter .

(1-

{----

r~

I I

~ )

(J

,..

JJ

12 ::IGHCS
~c

____

sizes of compreesors employed ha-s been materially increased, and many works which have started with either
a Westinghouse air pump giving 40 cubic ftet of air per
minuU>, or an oscillating compressor ~i ving 60 cubic feet
per minube, have now compressors giviDg 300 to 350.
The fullest advantages in increased ouliput and economy
have not yet been reached in this country, owing to the
t rades unions nob having, up to the present, allowed
rates to be made sufficienlily remunerative to the masters,
bub the enormous saving (:ffeoted in other countrieR by
pneumatic riveting particularly mnst soon have its effect
10 this country.

facb that the rivets oa.n be driven where there is room to insert the hammer, which it5 about 20 in. long. The chipping
hammer is frequently useful in trimming and capping,
and with it all anchor bolt holes in masonry up to lm. in
diameter are drilled by simply inserting a. pointed drill
and hold in,z ib up to the work. Larger boles are drillE:d
with the heavier hammers. There is a saving of about 25 to
40 per cent. over the cosb of band work in drilling these
holes. In fitting up the work ready for riveting a. reamer
is used in the drills. which one man readily handles, and
which insurt>s a. full bearing for the rivet, and does not
burr and separate the plates as is the case where drifb pins
are used. 'fhie, while perhaps nob reducing the cost very
much, improves the character of the work. We also use
the air drills for boring all bolt holes in bridge floor timbers
by inserting an auger in place of the drill. This results in
a saving over the cost of hand boring of about 50 per cent.,
which would be further increased, I think, by using the
pneumatic boring machines, wbiob run at higher speed
and are more convenient to handle. The cost of fittin~
up and riveting on new steel b ridges (all rivets ~ in. )
averages to date 35 per cent. less than if the work had
been done by hand for all work done since we have bad
the pneumatic tools in us>. Work now being done with
pneumatic plant costs 40 per cent. less than on band
work, and we expect to still further increase this percentage as the men become more experb with the tools. The
character of the work is much better than we have been
able to do by hand. The amount of staging required
from which to drive rivets with pneumatic tools is very
much less than is required for band riveting, as it is
only necessary to provide seats or standing room for
two men, for which, ofbentimes, a. single plank suffices.
In ri veting viaduct towers, latera.ls in S.Pa.ns, &c., where
there are only a. few rivets to be dr1 ven in a place,
the saving on erection of staging alone is a very considerable item."

The hand prices given are those which would have to

be paid, but all riveting on 'these ships up to date has
been done by ma.obint s
At the Coltness Iron Works, in Scotland, where they
for merly e mployed a.bou b 90 men for dressing castings,
they now have only 20 trimmers and 23 labourena, the
latter working the tools and the former being gradually
teduced as new hammers are introduced.

ADMIRALTY WORKS DEPARTMENT.

W E learn that some important changes have just bee- n

made in the head office staff of the Admiralty Works
APPENDIX I.
Department. This Department is responsible for the
design and construction of all the engineering and a.t ohiAb the construction of the GodavE:ri Bridge ab R ajahtectural works in the naval establishments, at home a nd
mundry, Mr. T. F. G. Walton used pneumatic tools,
abroad, as well as for their care and maintenance.
and the following is an exbracb fr om his reporb :
These works include docks, wharves, slips, brea.kwa.terE',
" Riveting was J?artly done by hand and partly by
dredging, barrack~, h ospitals. magazines, stores, workBoyer pneumatic nveters These machines did mosb exshops, dwelling~, drainage, lighting, and water supply.
cellent work, and on cerbain parts of the girders did the
&o. The care and management of Admiralty lands and
work much quicker and cheaper than could be done by
property is also dealb with in this Department.
band. The riveting of the bottom booms, and the diagonal
and verbical joints in ib could be almost entirely done by the
The increase of the Fleet during recent yeara has necesma~bines ; but there was difficulty in suspending them for
sitated a. corresponding growth in the shore establishments,
and this has involved a. large increase in the staff of the
working on the top boom, and as they could be kept continuWorks Departmen.,.
ously at work on the bottom booms alone, they were shifted
With the changes lately made, the authorised permaon from span to span as those booms were riveted up, and
band riveters got to work on the upper booms. For
nent staff of the Depart ment under the Direcbor of Works
workiog these machines the air was compressed to 100 lb.
is as follows :
pressure and passed into a. receiver. Four machines
Two assistant directors of

could be worked ab one time from this receiver

works (with an addition
without reducing the pressure below 80 lb., and on
of 200l. a year to the
straightforward work from 900 to 1000 1-in. ri vE:t3 could
senior) ...
.. .
... from 850l. to lOOOl. a. year.
be pub in daily, and aboub 600 rivets when t he machines
have to be oon~tantly shifted about for joints for diagonals
Engilneering Sta.ff.
and verticals. The cost of working them p er day is 17
Eleven
superintending
rupees, or reckoning 750 rivets as a day's work, the cost
civil engineers .. .
... from 600l. to 700l. a. year.
works out to 2.27 rupees p~r 100. ThlS is nob allowing
APPENDIX II.
Twelve civil en~ineers ... , 400l. , 500l. ,
anything for the heating fuel or prime cost of the pneuTwenty-two ass1~tant civil
Mr. A. Hamilton Church has drawn* attention to the
matic installation, but only the labour and the cost of
engineerg, 1st grade . .. , , 300l. , , 400l. , ,
running the com pressorl'. As compared with this, hand- policy of the British working man.
Twentyone assistant civil
Mr. Church asks if there is no one to undertake a. camriveting wa'4 paid for at an all-round rate of 5 rupees
engineers, 2nd grade . . . , 180l. , 300l. ,
per 100, 53! p er cent. being 1-in. rivets, 9~ per cent. paign to convert the British artisan to a proper appre
~.in., and 37 per cenb. i-in., and therefore the rate for ciation of the true prinoi plea of progrE~ss? MiJlions are
Su,rveying Staff.
spent
in
the
course
of
a
few
years
in
the
strife
of
politiband riveting l in. rivets may be put ab 6 rupees per 100,
O.ne chief surveyor
.. . from 800l. to lOOOl. a year.
without cost of fuel or tools, or nearly three times the cost cal parties to decide whether A or B shall occupy a
Stx surveyors
. ..
. . . , , 400t. , , 500l.
of machine riveting. For hand riveting contractors were certain office ; bn b the far more vital question of bringing
.
"
T
en
a!!ststa.nt
surveyor~,
the
interests
of
masters
and
men
bo
one
focus,
uniting
allowed 1 lb. of coal per rivet. The loss of rivets amounted
1st grade.. .
. ..
... , 250l. , 350l.
to 0.9 per cent. of the botal issues. An excess of 10 per 11hem in defence of their own industqr, p ermeating them
Nine assistant surveyor",
"
cent. on the net quantity of rivets was s>nt from Eogland, with a desire to increa-se the effio1ency of th eir own
2nd grade
.. .
.. . 11 125l, 1 1 250l, ,
and there is therefore a. very large surplus of rivets and powerfl, meQtal, physical, and mechanical, so that they
Ooe surveyor of land .. .
t
600l, 11 800l,
,
1 i vet-rod, amounting in all to 69 tons.
Very little ri veb- may keep to the front in spite o[ all opposition and comOne surveyor of coa-sting was done over water, and therefore the usual excuse petition, is wholly neglected.
guard buildings
.. . , 500l. , 700l.
As an ex11mple of the appreciation of pne umatic tools
of "lost in the river " for rivets and tools was nob availOne clerk of works for
"
able, and, I think, with careful check on the issues, that for shipbuilding in America, the followin g is a. list of tools
in use in Cramp's Yard at Philadelphia.: 4 compressors,
coa.st.guard buildings.. . " 215l. , 300l. ,
the l.:>ss has been kepb as low as one can expect.,
The following are extracts from the report of the Oom- 43,500 ft. of hose. Throughout the yard there are 142 hose
Many of these appointments carry in addition a house
and
aboard
ships
now
ab
the
yard
t
here
are
494
connections,
mibtee of the Association of R~ilwa.y S uperintendents of
London or Colonial, allowance.
'
hose
connections
in
addition.
Pneumatic
tools
now
on
Bridges and Buildings ab t he Annual Convention, S~.
E?tries t<? ~he sta!J are made in the lowesb grades, viz. :
hand
are:
236
drills,
75
shell
riveters,
22
deck
riveters,
41
L ouis, October 16, 1900, and furnish some interesting
AsslSta.nt 01 vtl engmeer, second grade, or a.ssistan t surjam
riveters,
144
holders-on,
87
"Boyer
"
L
S.
ha.mmerP
figures for comparison .
veyor, second ~ra.de, by open competitive examination
173
"
Boyer
"
No.
1
ha.mmera,
110
chipping
machines:
Mr. A. B. Manning (Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railheld by the Civil Service Commissionerl'. The limits of
91
''
Boyer
"
No.
2
hammers,
and
39
'
Boy
er"
No.
3
way ). the chairman of the committee, reports :
a.g~ a t enb!~ a re ~wenty-three to twenty-eight for the
hammers.
"'\Vith pneumatic riveting hammers I find two men
a..sststat;lt ctvtl engmeers, and twenty-three to thirty for
F
or
comparison
of
prices
the
following
is
valuable,
as
and one heater can average daily (10 hours) 600 rivets,
the ass1sba.nt surveyors.
ib
shows
the
less
cost
of
machine
riveting
:
whereas by band 250 rivets per day was a. good day's work
Promotions are made by selection as vacancies occur
(more often le3s) for three men and one heater. One day
Rivets. Total Cost. Cost per Rivet. t~rough the successive .grades up to senior assistant
we drove 700 rivets by using an additional man to take
Machine pieceDole.
Cents.
dueotor of works and ch1ef surveyor respectively.
out fittingup bolts, &c. This was the work of one air
work . ..
... 37,428
990.49
2. 64
All officers of the staff are liable for duby either in
hammer only. In inspecting rivets I find the work far
Hand piecework 56,797 2672.72
4. 71
London, at ~ome stations, or at stations abroad.
superior to band work- less loose rivets, heads inv~ria.bly . From this it will be seen tha.b the coat per machine rivet
~ull .pa.rt1cula.rs ~f the subjects and oondibions of experfect, shank of rivet filling hole, and in every way far 1S but 50 p er cent. of that of the hand.driven rivet.
a!Dmatton ~re o):>tama.ble at the Civil Service Commissuperior to hand work done by our men or by others in
The above refers to battleship and ordinary merchant SlOn! 68, V 1o.tort~-street, ~ondon, S. W., and notice of
the past; also work can be done readily in places where work. On t he new American liners in the lower yard the commg exammat10ns are gtv~n by public advertisement.
~r_ea.t difficulty has been experienced with band tools.
'Ve.
understand
there
are
likely
to be examinations for
M en with pneumatic riveter will average 500 ri vets per
* Gassier's M agazine, Marcb, 1901.
entry m both b ranches before long.
1

G 1 NEE R 1 N G .

~ \J

[Nov.

I, 1901.

t o be firmer in demand. F or prompt d eliveries the quo- nuts, bolts, and similar a ccessories have gone up during
t ation is about 10l. 16s. 3d. per t on f.o.b. L eith, while the lagt two months from 10~t to 15s. p er t on . o..: ome of
PHILADELPHIA, Octob er 23.
business ha been d one at 11/. and 11/. 2 ~. Gel. p er t on for the heffield tradesmen would have been put in a very
THE situation in the iron and steel industry is most Janua ry to M arch next year. L a t week 's shipments awkward po ition had there been a normal demn.nd for
satisfactor y . R~ports from all sect ions dur ing the from L eith amounted t o 599 t ons.
Swedish ilon and t eel. There ha~ be~n the se,erest
p ast few days show that a la r ge vol u me of b usiness
Fini.<~hed I?on and Steel. - There i .. much complaining drought in werlen ever known, and work haYe been
is being placed. T he most acti ve feature of the steel h ere as t o the competition which makers of fini Rhed iron practically a t a st~'Lndstill for several months. There nre
trade is the demand for steel rails. Most of the nnd steel are experien cing at the htl.nds of Continental no st ocks. n.nd manufacturer~ have been q uitP una ble to
larger r a ilway systems will, i t is believed, p lace their makers, which is said t o be as k een as ever. But prices make any d eliveries. The reRult is tha t what i..~ held by
orders for n ext year's r equi rem ents before or d uring seem to b e such as to defy all foreign competition, even local importers is less tha-n has heen known for a long time.
December.
T he orders in m ost cases will be for the increasing landing of material from the Canadian
South Y o1kshi1e Coat T1ad e.- There is no p ercep t ible
ch ange in the coal trade of the district. A steady busiT he r a ilmaking competitors .
l arger qu a n t it ies t han last year.
cap acity for n ext year will b e crow d ed. P rice is still
E x ten:;ion of H yde P alrk L oc01notivc W01ks. -~Iessrs. ness, al though on the small side, is being done with
28 dols. p er ton. The great a cti vi ty in pig iron con- Neilson, R eid, and Co., of the Hyde P ark Locomotive forei!P1 marke ts, m ore p a rticularly in the M editerra.n ean,
t inues, especia lly in basic and Bessem er. T h e United Works, Springburn, are just completing some large ex- and m the inland demand is maintained, railway companies drawing full supplies under their contract . The
Sta.teR Steel Com pany h as purchased 50,000 tons for t ensions of their works which should add materially to average price for bards now being secured is 9s. 6d. per
November delivery. Rods h ave advaneed in p r ice, their capacity. Additional ground h as b een acquired, t on, but some special lots have made up t o lOR. 6d. per
but wire rails h ave declined . T h e b illet production and new buildings of the most moden1 description have ton. Although the demand for house qualities lu.ck the
is overta.xed, and urgent b u yer s a r e again obliged to been erected thereon by Sir W. Arrol and Co. That does strength of a fortni~ht back, a good business i still
n ot look much like succumbing to Lord George Hamilp ay p r emiums for prompt d eliveries.
T he extra- ton's German competitors in the locomotive trade.
being done. L ondon 1s proving a good customer for the
higher qun.lities of coal, but inferior sorts are not_fin~ng
or dinary ca.pacity is ever ywhere f ully engaged , and
Royal S odety of E clinbwrgh. - The annual meeting of such a ready market. Froml3s. 6d. to 14s. per ton lS bem g
each week w i tnesses new cap acity fa lling into line.
The volume of incoming cn.paci ty is e noug h to a l arm the Royal ocie ty of Edinburgh h as just been held, when paid for best Silkst ones, and Bunsley house stands a t
office bearers for the new year were elect ed. L ord K elvin
a ll except t h ose who are in close touch with the was elected for the fifth or sixth time as president, and 12s. to 12s. 6d. p er ton. Gas qualities are also selling freely,
both on contracts and in the open markets. Engme fuPl
phenomenal requ irements of t h e dll.y, and t h e great the vice-presidents were numerous. They included Sir is becoming a drug, there being but a small d emand with
exp!l.nsions contemplated in a ll lines. New r a ilroad Arthur ~Iitchell, LL.D. ; Sir vVilliam 'Turner, M .B. ; supplies unusually hwge. aScreened lack is quoted at
requiremen ts are la rge. I n California 500 miles will F.R.S. ; Professor Copeland, A stron omer-Royal for Scot- 5s. t o 5s. 6d. p er ton, and pit slack at 3s. to 4s. per t on.
be con structed, and a. 700-mile line is to be buil t as land ; the R ev. Professor Duns ; Professor J ames Geikie,
~oon as p ossible in the sou t h-west, b egin n ing i n Kan sas LL.D., F.R.S. ; and the H on . L ord M cL aren, LL.D.,
a n d extending to Mexico. The present expan sion of general secretary, Professor .G eorge Chrystal, LL.D.;
NOTES
FROM
CLEVELAND
AND
THE
secretarie
to
ord1nary
meetings,
Professors
Crum
Browne,
capacity cannot cer tain ly cont inue i ndefini tely. A
NORTHERN COUNTIES.
t u rni ng-p oint m u st come ; but t h ere are at present no F .R .S., and Ramsay H . Traquair, M .D., LL.D., F .R.S.;
MtDDLRSBROUGB, Wednesday
Mr.
Philip
R
.
D.
:tviaclagan,
F
.F.A.
;
cura
tor
of
librar_:y
evidences of over -production. T he gr eatest mining
The Cleveland I1on T1ade.- Y est erda y the attendance
and museumh Alexander Buchan, 1\ILA., LL.D., F.R.S.
activity prevails in every d irection. Compla ints of Twelve of t e fellows were elect ed to form the new on 'Change was fairly numerous, but there was not much
car shortage a re u n iversa.l. Vessels are in d em and a ll council, and include as new m embers Sir J ohn Mmray, business doing, buyer being backward and sellers being
a l ong Lak e and Atlantic coast p orts. The r ush of LL.D., F.R.S., Mr. R. T . Omand, :Mr. li'. Grant Ogilvie, very un.willins- t o reduce tbeil rates. Produce1. of
most descript10ns rep orted tlu~.t they were ~ell off
anthraci te is heavier than last year. P repar ations a r e :tvl.A., B.Sc., and Dr. George A. Gibson, F .R .O.P ."E.
work, and not a t n.ll necessita ted to pre..c:;s 1ron on
being entered upon t o meet t he heavi er Med iterranea.n
0 1d e1 j o1 N ew T u1bine S tea1ne1. - It is st ated by the for
dem!Lnd for bituminous . Coke production is expa.n d- Dumbarton pa_per that M essrs. D enny Broth ers, L even the market. N o. 3 g. m. b. Cleveland pig- was weak a t
ing, and there are markets for every ton that can b e Shipyard, are building, t o the order of Cn.ptain Wjlliam- 45s. for prompt f. o.b. delivery, but the oth er qualiti~
of Cleveland n on were strong in price, and the . upply
produced as fast as i t is cool e n ough to load.
son, the present manager of the turbine steamer King was not at all plentiful. No. 4 foundry wa 44s. 9d . ;
Edward, an improved steamer on the sn.me principle for grey forge, 44s. Cid. ; mottled, 44s.; and ,,,bite, 43.~. Gd.
the further d ev el~.pm ent of the passenger service t o Eas t Coast hema tite pig could not be bought for delivery
Campbeltown v id, ] airlie n ext summer. '!'he dimensions before D ecember, the whole of next mon t h' out p ut
NOTES FROlVI THE NORTH.
of the new st eamer will be considerably g reater than the having been fully di. po. ed of. 'l'here were buyers
GLASGOW, W ednesday.
Glasgow P ig-Iron .Llfar ket.- Only a small amount of King Edward's-n am el~, 20 ft. longer, 2 ft. broad er, and read y to pay high rat es for early delivery, but they
business was don e in the pig-iron warrant market on 1 ft. gr eater draugh t. The vessel is to st eam at the rate could not find any body in a p osition t o sell. N ?S 1,
Thursday foren oon, but t h e t one t owards the finish was of 22 knots. The route, in fine weather, will on the 2, and 3 were put u,t GOs. for D ecember deh very.
strong. Scotch, on L ondon buying, rose 1s. 3d. p er t on, outward journey be vi{i the sou th end of Arran, re- Rubio ore was steady a t 15s. 9d. ex-ship T ees. T o-day
whicn was one of the smartest advances that had been turning by Kilbrannan Sound. Owing to the increased there wa.s very little new in the mn.rket, and whn.t change
m ade far som e time. The settlement prices were : Scot ch, speed p assengers will have considerably longer time t o there was wM not for th e b etter. The general marke t
52s. 10~d. p er ton ; Cle vel81nd.A 45s.; Cumberland hema- sp end at Campbeltown and Machrihanish .
quotation for prompt f.o.b. delivery of No. 3 g.m.b.
tite iron, 50s. 6d. p er t on. un Friday forenoon, in the
I nst itt,tion of Ert{Jineers and Shipbt,ilckrs i n ScotlancL.- Cleveland pig was 45s., ttnd several sellers adhered veyy
warrant market, some 3000 tons were dealt in. F or Scotch The op ening meeting of the forty-fifth session of this firmly to that figure, but buyers would not pn.y 1t.
iron the d emand was quite pronounced, and with n ext Institution was h eld last night. ::Nir. William Foulis, Tr.:..nsactions were recorded a t less, and in a t least
t o n one offering, the price rose 10~d. per ton. _At the C. E ., the new president, occupied the chair. The annual one inst ance N o. 3 was bought a t as low as 44s. 9d.
afternoon market about 12,000 tons were dealt m, and report of the Council was read by the secretary (~lr. The lower qualities were st ead y at yesterdn.y's rates,
prices were easier, Scotch giving wa y 8d. p er t on, and E . H . P arker), and after some rem arks upon it by but foundry 4 was not quite o firm at 4.-ts. 9d. a
Cleveland 3d. p er ton from the forenoon quotation s. The Professor Barr, it was unanimously adop t ed. Then fol- it was yest erday, owing to N o. 3 h aving been bought at
closing settlement prices were: 54s., 45.s. 1~d., and lowed the tre~urer's financial statement, which was that figure. Grey forge wa very stiff, as it was needed
59s. 7 ~ p er ton . On M onday forenoon the Glasgow pig- also ad opted. Two premiums of book , which were for purposes for which neith~r foun~ry 4 or. N o. 3 .are
iron warrant marke t was moderately active, and from awarded last session for p ap ers read by Mr. A. B . suitable. The month closes w1th affau-s certamly qmet;
12, 000 to 13,000 tons changed hands. Scotch warrants M cD onald. :NI. Inst. C.E., and Mr. D avid Cowa n, for - but a lot of work is being turned out, and it is satisfactory
were st eady at 54s. 9d. p er t on cash buyers, but Cleve- merly of Carron, were presented to those ~entlemen. to be able to state that a good few firms have contracts
land, a fter being ld. p er ton up at 44s. 11d. p er t on cash, Subsequently the new president d elivered lus opening secured which will keep them busily employed over the
left off at 44s. Bd. p er t on buyers ; Cumberland h ematite address, which was largely devoted t o t he gas manufac- winter.
iron t o the ext ent of 59s. 8d. p er t on cash, len.ving off ture, the development of heat and light from it, the
!Yla;nuj actwrecl I 1on ancL Steel. -~lanufactured iron and
at 59s. 7d. pH t on buyers. Only 2000 t ons of iron gas e~ne, 1\tiond gas, and other forms of producer steel prices keep steady. D emand is only quiet, but prochanged hands in the afternoon , the quotation closing as gas. The address was most fa vourably received b y a ducers of ruost descriptions hu.ve well-filled order books,
in the morning at 44s. 8d per ton cash buyers. The settle- large meeting of members, who, by the way, n ow amount and they a re reluctan t t o make concession s in order to
m ent prices were : 54s. 9d., 44s. 9d., and 59s. 7~d. p er to practically 1400 in the various grades. ::Nir. A . Mar- secure new work. Common iron bars are 6l . 5s.; best
ton. A fairly brisk business was done on Tuesday morn- shall Downie, B .Sc., rea,d a p aper on "The D esign and bars, 6l. 15::;. ; iron ship-p lates, 6l . 17s. 6d.; st eel shiping, when some 10,000 tons were sold in the forenoon. Construction of Flywheels for S low-Speed Engines for plates, 6l. 5s.; st eel boiler -plates, 7l. 15s.; st eel ship angles,
S cotch was unchanged in price, but Cleveland left Electric Lighting and Traction Purposes." A paper by 5l. 17s. Gd.; iron ship angles, 6l. 5s.; iron sheets. 8l. 5s.;
off 1!d. p er ton. In the afternoon about 3000 tons ::Nlr. George Johnstone on ' 'Not es on the S erious D eterio- steel sheets, 9l .; and heavy st eel rails, 5l. 10s. - all less the
changed hands. Scot ch was st eady, but Cleveland was ra tion of Steel V essels from th e Effect s of Corrosion " was customary 2~ per cent. di count, except rails, which are
a shad e off. The settlement :Qrices were : 54s. 9d., held as read.
net at works.
44s. 7~d. and 59s. 9d. per ton. The market was quiet
The Douglas Coalfield.-It is stated that the lessees. of
The W ea1'Clale bon, S teel, ctnd Coal Company.-It is a
and st ead y t his forenoon, and only about 3000 tons were the Carmacoup section of the Do ugla~ coalfield, havmg
d~alt in.
cotch left off at 54s. 8d. p er t on cash . proved it by numerous bores, have now commenced genera.lly accepted fact that the W eardale Iron, t eel,
About 4000 t ons changed hands in the afternoon, and the sinking op erations ; and they h ave just struck the and Coal Company intend removing their Tudhoe Iron
t one was better. Scotch closed up 2d. p er ton on t he d ay valuable 4-ft. seam . This seam is a bright lustrous Works from 1p ennymoor t o Middlesbrough, notwitha t 54s. 10d. p er t on cash. Clev.eland finished up ld. better coal, a nd t est s of the samples t aken aro said t o prove it standing that the statemen t hns been contradicted. The
Cargo Fleet Iron W orks at tl~is town b~lo?g t<? the same
on the day. The settlement pnces were : 54s. 9d., 44s. 7, d., to be a coking gas coal of consirlerable value.
firm as the Tudhoe undcrtakmgs, and 1t lS rund that the
and 59s. 9d. p_er ton. The following are the quotations
works at Spennymoor will be transferred to a si te ad current for No. 1 mak ers' iron : Clyde, G6s. 6d.; Gartjoining the Cargo Fleet furnaces. The cl~rks and SOJ!le of
sherrie, 67s.; Langloan, 69s. 6d.; Summerlee, 71s.; Coltthe workmen at Tudhoe are under not10e to t ennma te
NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
n ess, 72s.-all the foregoing shipped at Glasgow i Glengar
their engagements, and t he firm are going to make Rn
SHRt-'FIELn, W ednesday.
n ook (shipped at Ardrossan), 66s.; Shotts (snipped at
N ew llfanui actwrcr of A 1"ntO'!JA'-Plates.- It is announced early start t o dismantle the works.
L eith ), 70s. ; Carron (shipped at Gra ngemouth ), 67s. 6d.
p er t on. A fain t show of inter est h as b een imparted tha t among tbe manufacturers who will submit armourM ess1s. Riohcvrdson.~ , W estga rth, wnd Co., L imited. to the m arket by the action of the London holders of plates t o be t ested shortly by the Admiralty, is a new Sir Thomas Richardson who presided at the annual
Scotch warrants, and prices have fluctua ted between 53s. maker in the person of Mr. J . B edford, of Meadow Steel meeting of shareh~lders: in th~ course of hi remark ,
and 54s. p er t on. These fluctuations are due entirely to W orl<s, Sheffield, and other local firms will be M essrs. said that the directors cons1dered that the sharem anipula tions by holders, or to the n ecessities of the Vickers, Sons, n.nd :tvlaxim, and M essrs. Cammell and Oo. holders had every reason to be ~ery w~ll satisfied
b ears and not t o trade requirem ents. D ealings in CleveI1on Q/IUL Steel.- Business in the large iron and st eel with the result of th e first year s workmg ?f tl~e
land 'wa rrants have been dull, fluctuations varying very works at the east end of th e city is t ap ering off in a very company. All the work~ had been fully occup1e~ ; m
little. W est Coast hematite iron has been scarcely m en - m arked manner, and considerable numbers of men are fact each brn.nch had had such a continuous success10n of
tion edl-nand the price remains nominally a t 59s. 6d. p er b eing discharged. Practically all t he earlier work in con- ord~rs that bu t little time had bee~ availa~le for inte,r
t on. The continued arrivals of Canadian iron are exert- nect lOn with the product ion of armour-plates ordered ome working and standardising, but tlus wa. bemg ta.ken m
ing a d epressing effect on local dealm~. The number time ago b y the Government has been complet ed, and hand as rapidly as p_ossible, and econom1c results would
of furnaces in blast is 83, against 80 a t th1s time last year. although there is still plenty t o do in the finishing shops, gradually follow. N o doubt many ba.reh~lders would
From America t he advices continue strong, a nd latest further contracts are urgently needed if t he steel furnaces, t hink that, wi t h a total profit of 84,47ol.,_ ~ larger
cabl~ rep ort active ma rket s. The stock of pig iron in forging presses, and other plant is to be kept going. The dividend might be declared, but h e wa~ of opim<?n tha t
M essrs. Conna l and Co.'s public warrant stores st ood at wood.en-wagon builders are complaining of v~ry sev~re on con ideration they would agree with th e dnectol'~
57 108 tons yesterday a fternoon, as compared with 58, 028 scarcity of orders, the run a t the present t1me bemg that the wisest course, and the one that would be the
to~s yesterday week, t hus showing for the pas t week a rather for st eel wagons.
ome excellent orders for best for the ult imat e interest of t~e company, was t_o
d ecrease a mount ing to 920 tons.
these h a ve been placed both on b eh alf of home railways begin a t once t o adopt a conservatlVe poh cy, and th1s
Sulphate of A mmonia.- Tru s commodit y is rep orted and South Africa, and the res\.llt has been tha t prices of they had d one by allowing 20,000/. for reser ve and depre -

NOTES FROM THE UNI'fED STATES.

Nov.

I,

1901.]

cia.tion, a nd carrying forward 7000!., or a totu.l of 27,000t.

The dire~ tors were very ea.tisfied wi th the prospects of
the commg year, a very large amount of work being on
ord er, 0f the approximate value of 750. OOOZ , at profi table prices.
This satisfactory p osition had been
largely brought a.boub by their close association with the
large and varied interest 1 of their chairman, Sir C brietopher FurnesQ, partioullnlr with regard to the shipyards
h e controlled. They m ighb therefore reasonably look
forward to an other prosperous year. ir Thomas concluded
by moving the adoption of the report, which recommend ed
a dividend on tlle ord inary shares for the period ending
August 25 at the rate of 6 p er cont. p er annum. calculated fron. t he dn.te s of the payment of instalments.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
MI 'CELLANEA.

T u& wedish Government have contracted with Messrs.

Yarrow and Co., of Poplar, to consbrucb for them a 31knot torpedo. boab destroyer. She is t o be of the mo~t
modern type, and will be fit ted with oil-burning appliances.
The President of the B oard of Education has appointed
P rofessor Hugh L. Callendar, F . R.S., to the Professorshi p of Physics in the Royal College of S cience, vacant
by the resignation of Profeseor Riicker, wh o ha!-\ become
principal of t he Uni versity of L ondon.
The traffic receipts for the week ending October 20
on 33 of bhe principal lines of bhe U nited Kingdom
amounted to 1, 796,465t., which wa~ earned on 20, l o3.j:
milee. For the corresponding week in 1900 the receipts
NOTES FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
of the same lines amounted to 1,873,485l., with 19, 885~
Cc.trd~tf. -Tbe demand for steam coal has been prebby miles open. There was thue a. decrease of 77,020l. in the
good. hub the market has shown n o increase of sbren~tb. receipts, and an increase of 267~ in the mileage.
Smalls have been in strong demand. and for prompt shipment la. per ton h~s been paid for the best qualit ies,
The Great Northern Railway of America is about to
while inferior have made 83. per ton. The beat steam adopt electric t raction for the working of bhe GG miles of
coal has been quoted ab 16!. to 16s. 9d. per ton, wh ile its line between L eavenworth and S kykomish. This
secondary descript ions have made 15s. to H>3. 3d. p er t on. stretch of road is characterised by severe gradients and
House coal has shown no n oticeable change ; No. 3 includes t he Cascade Tunnel, the ventilation of which
Rhondda. large has been quoted a.b 1os. 6d. per t on. has given trouble with the large steam locomotives
Foundry coke has brought l!h. to 20s. per ton, and fur- needed to operate the heavy trains passing over the secn ace ditto 163. Gd. to 17e. Gd. p er t on. As regards iron tion. Water. p ower will be used for generating the
ore. the besb rubio has made 14s. 3d. to 148. Od . per ton, eleotrici ty.
and Tafna. 153. to 15s 01. per ton.
Mr. F. J . Allen, R oa.dma.ster of tha Chicago, BurlingNewport Docks.- The work of widening the g raving ton, and Quincy R ailway, states tha.b bhey have had several
dock ab the Alexand ra D ock1, Newpor~, has been com- years' exp erience with tracks la id with "broken , joints
menced.
and tracks laid with " S<J.uare" joints. He finds that the
P embrokc.-The Navy estimates for nexb year wiJl former a rrangement is m every way superior. The conprobably i nclude a provision for the erec tion of a n elec- dition of the road is better, as tb is much easier and less
trical engine-house and storage station ab the rear of the expensive to k eep bhe track in prop er shape. This is
especially the case on curves. Mr. Alien's experience is
new electr ic shop ab P embroke.
also confirmed by Mr. Bradley, of the Aibchison, Topeka,
llfonste1 Warships.-Tbe next line-of-babble ship builb and Santa ~.,e Railway.
at Devonport will bA the largest war vessel in the world.
The Boston Elevated Railway, which is operated by
She will have a displacement of 17, 500 tons, and a. length
between perpendiculars of 425 fb. U p to the present the electric p ower, has been provided with automatic block
largesb ships builb for the Navy a re those of th e Queen signals throughout by t he U nion Switch and Signal
cla~, with a displacement of 15,000 tons and a length of Company. The signals are lowered by an electro-pneu400 f t. T he name of the new vessel has not yet been de matic arrangement, the current merely controlling the
cided on, hub she is to be one of a cl~s which will be val ves governing the supply of air to the si~nal cyknown as the King Edward VII. class, and ib is nob un- linders. The n ormal p osition of the signals 1s "line
likely that this name will be given to the Davonporll ship, clear, , but each train as i b enters a block raises the
or to a similar vessel which is to be built ab P ortsmouth. signal behind it, and these signals are again lowered when
The monster vessel will be laid down in March, 1902, on the train leaves the section. The planb has now been in
successful operation for some tim e, and the d ensiby of the
the slip now occupied by the Queen.
traffic is such that the signals are, ib is abated, each
Welsh Coal llfi nes. - F or the purpose of inspection of operated fully 660 times daily.
collieries in S outh Wales, the districb is in fut ure t o be
In a n interesting article in the Philosophioal llfagazine,
divided, and will be known as the Ca.rd~ff and .S wansea
districts. Mr. Robson, the present chief engm eer for Professor Trowbridge gives reasons for believing bhab pure
S outh Wales, will take charge of bhe latter, and Mr. F. hydrogen ga.s is an insulator of electricity, and nob a conG ray who for fifteen years has been an assistant insp ector, ductor, as has been som ewhat too readily assumed. He
has b~en appointed to be chief of the Cardiff district, holds tha.b an electrical discharge cannot be passed
which will comprise the eastern portion of G lamorgan, through an atmosphere of pure hydrogen, or, indeed,
extending to the parisbe.~ of Aberda.re, Ystradyfodw~, of a.ny other gas. In ordinary cases the spark is, he con Lla.nt risan t, Coychuroh (Higher and L ower), down t o Sb. t ends, con veyed by the ions resulting from the decomDonat'~ and t he eastern parts of Brecon (from Hirwain p osition of traces of water. Moreover, ~chumann h as
to Erw~od), and the counties of Ra.dnor a nd Cardigan. shown that pure hydrogen ab atmospheric preseure transThe resb of the cou nties of G lamorgan, B recon, Carma.r~ mits the ulbra.-rays as well as the mosb perfect vacuum
then and Pembroke will be within the Swansea. disbricb. attainable. Hence, on Maxwell's t heory, it should be an
The enormous develo~m ent of mining industry is t he insulator. Profeador De war has also shown that liquid H
reason assigned for this division. JYir. Gray has been an is a n insulator. In his researches, Professor Trowbridge
inspector for fifteen year3. In 1886 he was appointed has made use of a battery of 20,000 storage cells.
t o the Manchester district, where he r emained a fe w
The BoaTd of Trade J owr'ft.al abates bhat a dispatch has
months before being transferred to South Wale.Q, where been received from the High Commissioner for South
he has since acted as assistant to Mr. Robson. 1vir. Dyer Africa. giving bhe foJlowing particulars relnting to the
L ewis and M r. G . E. Ada.ms will acb as assistants to Mr. railways ab present being constructed in Sou thern
G ray, and M~. White will remain with Mr. Robgon. Mr. Rhodesia: (1) A line, 3 h. 6 in. gauge, from Bula.wa.l.o,
Gray will restde at Penarth.
through G welo, to the Globe and Phmni x Mine-loo:mtles
Briton Ferr y.- There ha.s been about an average out- long ; (2) a. line, 3 ft. 6 in. gauge, from Salisbury to the
put of hematite iron at the ~riton Ferry Works, and ~he Globe and Pham ix Mine-150 miles long; (3) a. lin e 2 h.
same may said of t he prod uct10n of steel bar~ ab the Albton gauge, from Salisbury to the Ayrshire Gold Mine, L oma.and Briton Ferry Steel \Vorka. The tmplate works gondi district-78 miles long ; (4) a line, 3 ft. 6 in. gauge,
have been well employed. Severa l large cargoes of from Bula wa yo to the G wanda district, MAtabelela.nd120 miles lon g ; (5) a. line, 3ft. 6 in. gauge. from BulaSpanish ore have corr.e to band.
wayo in the direction of the Wankies Coalfield and
Victoria Falls-160 miles long. The Administrator of
MANCHESTER ELECTRIO RAILWAY.-A m eetins- to con- Rhodesia states in regard to the lasb of these lines that
sider a proposed Manchester suburban electric h gh b rail - it is intended to extend this line through the W a.nkies
way was held ab Manchester on T.u~day, Mr. _C. .H . Coalfield bo t he Victoria Falls, and thence across bhe
Berry engineer of Manchester, prestdmg. Tho d1str1cts Zambesi; but as the survey has nob yet been completed,
which' would be' served by the first section of bhe proposed no contract for the extension ha.s b een given.
In a nobe published in La M erou1e Soientifique, M.
line are the southern a nd soutb-ea~tern suburbs of Manchester from Sale to Stalybridge, a distance of 26 miles. Marcel Guedra.s remarks thab petroleum should never be
Ibis proposed to la y a single line with the overhead trolley used as a disincrustanb in boilers already covered wibh
system of traction. A commibte~ was formed to p~ooeed soaleifthey are fired externally; hub wi bh internally fired
with the re~Pstration of u. sy nd10ate and to obbam the boilers there is no danger. Petroleum added to the feed
necessary Board of Trade order . The promoters hope to wat er forms an emulsion inside the boiler which prevents
commence work in about twelve months, and t o have bhe the particles of lime agglomerating, so thab ib does not
whole line completed in two years. The capital propo~ed form a. hard scale on bhe plates, hub merely a. sofb ruud,
which can be readily washed oub. If scale already exists,
t o be rai sed, in the first instan ce, is 300,000l.
the petroleu m will_ _penetrate the pores of the mass and
--reach the plate. Under the action of continued beating
YORKSHIRE COLLEGE ENGINEERING SOCIETY, LRRDS.the lighter portions volatilise, ancl the heavier decomposThe second meeting of the session was held on M onday, ing, swell and d etach the scale from the plates. The carOctober 28, 1901; P rofessor G?~dman pre~idcd. Mr. R. bonaceous deposit thus formed may, however, give rise t o
,J. Isaa.oson read a. paper descr1bmg the }Vtgi'.ell;balanced overheating in the case of an externally-fired boiler, as in
engine, which he claime d to be spemally smtable. for thab case ib tends to resb on the hottest plates. The
marine purposes on account of economy of space, hgh t petroleum can be readily introduced with bh{' feed by
weight, small amount of friction, freedom from crank - means of a. sight-feed displacement lubricat or similar to
shaft fracture, and abs~nce of _vibration, ~u~ to the those commonly used for cylinder lubrication.
balo.ncin~ properties wh10h are 1ts characten st10.
Mr.
Certain American ra.ilroa.ds have experimented with
H. M. Hallsworth contribu~e d ~ pap~r on ."The G re.ab
Nor thern Railway Locomot.tves, deahn g w~bh the das- 60-fb. rails in place of the 30-fb. commonly used. The adtingushinS, points of the v~r1ou.s types o~ engmes a dopted vantage claimed is a reduction in the number of joints. The
by this ratlwa.y company smc~ tts mcep~ton. Both papers matter has recently been discussed ab the annual meeting
of the !W~dm4'tster aud Maintenance of W ar Aasoci~tion
were illustrated by lantern shdes and dtagrame .

617
by Mr. F. R. Coa.tett, of the Chicago and Greab Western
line. He states that his experience is thab these long rails
are more costly both in the first instance and in maintenance. He quotes a ma nufacturer to the effect thab
these long rails are also troublesome in the rolling mills,
since whilst one man will straighten a 30-fb. or 33-ft.
rail. four are needed to handle a GOfb. rail, and it is
difficult in the end to say whet her it is straight or
nob. When in the track, Mr. Coa.tes states thab unless
special care is taken the " expansion will run in bunches;"
that is, ab some points there will be very wide joints, and
ab others t ight ones. In cold weather bolts are broken
by the contraction. S umming np, he states that, in the
first place, rails more than 33 fb. long cosb more per ton
to handle and more to maintain, these conclusions being
the reaulb of experien ce on 100 miles of 60-fb. rails.
In cold countries double glazing is sometimes resorted
to, in order to reduce the heat losb from a room to the
exterior through the windows. Some experiments made
by H. Schoentje3, of Ghenb, show thab there is a certain
dtsbance of separation between the glasses, at which the
heat lost is a minimum. The glass used in his ex periments was 2 millimetres (.079 in.) thick, and the loss wa.s
least when the d istance between the opposing sheets
was somewhere between 67 millimetres and 117 millimetres (2. 64 in. to 4. 61 in. ). The loss in calm air
through one thickness of the glass was at the rate of
about .415 British thermal units per square foot p er
hour for each degree Fa.hr. of the difference of the
tem perature on the opposite sides of the sheet. The
experiments were made over a range of 12.6 deg. to
40 deg. Fa.hr., and the rate of loss was somewh at greater
as the differences of temperatures increased, hub the
mean was as stated. With d ouble walls ab the best
distance aparb, bhe rate of loss was aboub halved. Wetting the outer surface of the glass increased the rate of
loss by a bout 39 per cent.; wh1lsb if, ab the flame time, a.
current of air was directed over the outer surface the rate
of lo:rs was still further increa-sed up to about. 93 British
thermal units p er square foob of glass ~r hour. The
utility of bhe second layer of glass wbtch can be kepb
dry and in still air would, in such a oa.se as this, be very
marked. Similar experiments on the rate of transmission through wood 3 centimetres (1.18 in. ) thick, showed
thab for the ordinary range of atmospheric differences o(
temperature the loss of heab by transmission was at the
rate of .23 British thermal units per degree per hour for
mahogany, .20 British thermal units for oak, and .18
British thermal units for pine.
PERSONAJ.~. -The

British Electric Car Company, Limited, announce that they have moved their offices from
18, S b. Swithin's-lane to Oxford-court. Cannon-streebMr. J. G. Fiegehen, of the Bedford E ngineering Company, informs us that be has taken into partnership his
son, Mr. E. G. Fiegehen, and M r. B. W. Preston. The
business will be conducted under the same style a.s
hitherto.
THE SUEZ CANAL.-The transit revenue collected by the
Suez Canal Company in September was 346,400l., as compared with 331,200l. in September, 1900. The number of
ships which passed through the canal in September was
307, a.s compared with 310 in September, 1900. The
aggregate transit revenue collected in the first nine
months of this year \Vas 3,019,010l., as compared with
2, 693, 270i. in the corresponding period of 1900. The
number of ships which passed through the canal from
J a.nuary 1 bo September 30 of this year was 2795, as compared with 2576 in the corresponding period of 1900.
HAMBURG.- The number of ships which entered the
port of Hamburg in bhe fi rsb nine months of this year
wa-s 9937. of an aggrfgate burthen of 6,418,593 tons, as
compared with 10,121 ships, of an aggregate burthen of
6,099,687 bone, in the corresponding period of 1900.
Steamers figured in these totals for 5, 722,246 t ons and
5,460,647 bona respectively. The number of ships whioh
cleared from Hamburg in the firsb nine months of this
year was 9824, of an a.ggre~ate burbhen of 6,355,813 tons,
as compared with 10,106 sbtps, of an aggregate burthen of
6,140,234 t ons in the corresponding period of 1900.
Steamers figured in these totals for 5,670,599 t one a.nd
5,483,174 tons respectively.
THE M oRRAY TELRGBAPH.-Mr. Douglas Murray has
j usb completed a series of experiments with his "longdistance high-speed page-printing telegraph system," with
which be has been conducting trials on an English postoffice wire between London and Glasgow. He expresses
himself well pleased with the results, having obtained
a speed of 120 words per minute under highly unfavourable conditione. This is only ten words less than
the highest speed claimed for the invention. lb was found
that the automatic typewriting transcriber, although
capable of a. speed of 110 words per minute, showed a tendency to drop letters ab thab speed ; and ib wa.s decided to
employ two transcribers workmg at 70 words per minute,
and transcribing alte rnate batches of messages. This
arrangement gave excellent results. Mr. Murray claims
that his demonstrations prove the superiority of his
system over those ab present in use, on account of the
mechanism being more simple, durable, and easy to keep
in order. There are only seven electrical contacts in the
whole receiving apparatus, including relays. In addition,
the messages are more legible and reliable, and the
amount of skilled labour is materially redu ced. The
postal engineera are said to be very pleased with the
a~pa.ratus. We understand bha.b Mr. Murray is taking
hts system to Vienna for trials on the Government wires
there, as soon as the English experiments ~re completed.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
EQUIP~1ENT

THE ELECTRICAL

[Nov.

I,

1901.

OF MESSRS, P ALMER'S WORKS AT J ARROW .

(Fo'r Desc'ription, see Page 607 .)

'

..

'

t"

Frn . 1.

~ ..

WESTI NGIIOUS E TrrREE- PHASE M AI N GENERATORS .

Fro. 2. WE. TINGHOUSE

ST.EAMDRIVEN Exci TING SET.

ENGJNEER.I NG, NovF.MRER 1, 1901.

THE LAUNCH OF H. M. ARMOURED CRU I SER " KI NG ALF RE D ."

CO N STR UC 'l'ED

AND

F.N G IN E D

BY

ME SS R S.

\ I C KER S,

SO N S,

AND

M ,!X DI , l, J.Ml'f ED,

KAYAL

CO N S TRU C T I ON

W OR K S,

BARROW- I N - FUR NE SS.

(Fo1 DesclipU()I)t, see Page 611.)

.,,
f

....

Fw . 1.

Bow CRADLF..

li'JC. 2.

Sn:nN C ltAIIL~: .

F IG. 3.

'l'uE Snm.N.

Fie. 4.

TW!

LA ~ca .

Nov.

I,

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

1901.]

AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."

TRACTION and TRANSMISSION.

AOSTJUA, Vienna: Lehmann and Wentzel, Kirntnerst rasse.

OAP&TowN : Gordon and Gotoh.
E DINBURGH : J ohn .Menzies a nd Co., 12, H anover-street.
FR.ANOB, Pa ris: Boyveau and Obevillet, Lib ra.irie Etran g~re, 22,
Rue d e la Banque ; M. Em. Terquem, 31 bla, Boulevard Haussman.
Also for Advertisemen ts, Ag ence Hava.s, 8, Place d e la Bou rse.
GBRHANV, Berlin: Messrs. A. Asber and Co., 6, Unt er d en Liuden.
Fronkfurt-am-Mai n : Messrs. G. L. Daube e.nd Co. (for
Advertisemen ts).
L eipzig : F . A . .Brockhaua.
Mulhouse : H . Stuckelberger.
GLASGOW : Wlllia m Love.
INDIA, Ca lcutta: Thncker, Spink, and Oo.

Bom bay : Thack er and Oo., Limited.

ITALY : U. H oepli , Milan , a nd any post office.
LIVERPOOL : Mrs. Taylor , L anding Stage.
MANOUESTKR: J ohn B eywood, 143, Deansgate.
N ORWAY, Ohristiania: Oo.mmermeyers, Boghandel, Oarl Jobans
Oade, 41 and 43.
N KW SOUTU WALBS, Sydn ey : Turner and Henderson, 16 and 18,
Ilunter -street. Oordon and Ootch, Georg e.st reet.
Qu&BNSLAKD (SouTn), B risbane : Gordon and Gotch.
(NoRTH), To wnsville : T . Willmett and Oo.
RO'M'BR.DAM : H . A. Kramer a nd Son .
SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Adelaide : W . 0. Rig by. .
UNIT&D STATRS, New York: W. H . Wiley, 43, East 19th-street.
Chicago: H . V. H olmes, 12671268, Monadnock
Block .
VICTORIA, Melbourne: Mel ville, Mullen, and Slade, 261/264 Oollins.
street . Oo rdon and Ootch, Limit ed, Queen-street.

(Publilhed on the first Tuuday in UJ.ch montA.)

PART VIU. READY NOVEMBER 6.

PJUOB 28., Net; PosT FB.Ea 2e. jd,

Published at the Offictl8 of ENGINBBRtNG, 86 and 86, Bed1ord Street,
Strand, London, W.O.
CONTENTS OF No. 8
Pn~ ~

PAn E
Tho Juntr Clrolu ........ ...... .. 129 Berlin Tl"'\lllWI\)'11. By .J. ZJ\oharltl.'\ 171
The lconomlcs of Street Railways.
1 Tbo J{l'l~gor J~ l~otromohllo. By

Robert P. Porter :
Comnd W. Cook e. M. r. E. E .
(P IIlto XLI. , XLII. ,und l lluatra
H . -Rnpld 'J'n:m~lt of Now
York (Pinto~ XXXIV. t.o
tlou a In 'l'oxt) .............. .. ..
XXX VJI I., nod Jll ustmtlon
Now Locom otive tor tbe <.:entm l
In Tuxt) ................ 140
I,ondou lltdlwi~Y (Plates XLil I. ,
H hthSt>rod Electric 'rn1ctlou In
XLlV.. llUd XLV.) ..............
l'h e Now Rlootrlc P nwer Plnu t for
Oonnuny (Plates .xxrx., X'L. ,
and l llustrntlons In Tex t ) ... ... 1152
t he llro<1klyn R:\phl Tm1111lt Com.Munlcl pal Trndlng:
pao y (Pill to XLV I . ) ... .... .....
(I) B.r W. Valentine Ball. ..... lGO T he Gold11ohmldt Process (I f
(}) By r\ notber B orough E ngl
Electrlo llnll Welding ( Pinto
tleet ........... ...... 1&:&
X LVII.) ..... ......
(k) Th ~ Newca.:stleon-Tynu h n
Tho Croyclou Electric 'l'11unwnys
hrogllo .................. 100
nnd Llgb tlug Sy11te111 IPinte
The hlluu:h eshr 11nd LIYerpool
XL VIll., nnd Dlu t m t lona ln
F.leotrl c ExpreM Railway .... .. JGS
T ext ) .........................

J~y t h e H on.

17!l
180

le2
1S.'5

JSS

NOTICE TO CONTINENTAL ADVERTISERS.

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ENGINEERING.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1901.

EDUOATION.

has not inappropriately been called "The

Industrial Invasion of Great Britain," which means
the increase of manufacturing activity in foreign
countries, has led to wholesome introspection and
a useful overhauling of our industrial armour.
Oftlces f "''r Publication and Advertisements, Nos. 35 On impartial examination, our equipment has been
and sa; Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C.
found to need considerable furbishing. Among
other details lacking in efficiency is the system of
TKLBGB.APmo Al>DRR.Ss-ENGINEERING, LONDON.
education pursued in Great Britain. Mr. Morley
TBLRPIIONB NUYBBR- 3663 GePrard.
said on Wednesday last, at Dundee, that we are, at
a
great
wave
of
national
the
moment,
on
the
top
of
CONTENTS,
interest in education. It is to be hoped that the
PAGE
PAGK
Literat ure .... .. .. .. ...... 601 Overhead Wires .. .. .. .. .. 620 interest will be more t han momentary, and that
Books R ecei ved . . . . ... . .. 601 South A frican Coal .. .. .... 621 the impetus given to the subject will keep it
Tbe Tooling of Machines
Notes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 621 at the crest of the wave for many years yet ;
(Jllrutrated) .. ... .. ... 602 The Llte Herr J osef Vin~g 622
for unless our educational system is much imTbe Brit ish Association .. . 604 Tractora for Military Pu rTbe E lectr ical Equipment
po3eq .... . .... . .......... 622 proved in some directions, our industry will
o f .M e~s rs. P .. lmer' tt S hip
Tbe Westing h ouae Friction
building Works (Jllus. ) .. 607
D raug ht Gea r .. .. .. .. . . 623 suffer still more than it has yet done from the
that
have
developed
more
competition
of
countries
Vertical Air Compressor at
Gyroscopio Ac tion anct t he
th*' G Japg ow Exhibit ion
Loss of the 11 Oobra" (ll
Mr.
Morley
doubtpractical
educational
systems.
cillustrated) .. .. .. . . .. .. 610
l1utTated ) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 623
less recognises this, for he later said that "all
The Elect rific at ion of t be
H . M. ArmourPd Cruiser
1\ing Alfred " (I ll us. ) . . 611
.MeLropolltan Rail ways . . 626 those who had inquired into the conditions of scienThe Eleotrifico.t.ion ol the
Testing Dowson Gas .. . .. . 026 tific training in Germany and t he United States
The Vibration of Eng ines .. 626
Metropolitan and Metr o
were reg,lly dismayed when t hey found the cornooliLan Dist r ic t Railways 611 Radiation of Heat from
Launchf8 and Trial Tripe .. 613
Polished and Dull Sur
and
meagreness
of
the
buildings
parat
ive
shabbiness
Pneuma tic T<'ols (l llus. ) . . 614
faces ...... ... . ... . .... . . 626
Admiralty Works Depart
Tbe Glasgow Autocar Trials 626 and funds and equipments in this island." Although
ment ......... . ........ .. 616 26-Ton Bogie Wo~on a t; th e
in many respects English schools are models
Notes from the United
Glas2ow Exhibition (Il
that all foreign countries might envy- and may
States ...... .. .. .. .. .. .. 616
lustr ated) .... .. .. .. .... fl27
Notes from the North . . . 616 Industrial Notes .. .. ... . 627 continue to envy until they get scholars of the
Notes from South Y o rk
Gas E ogine ResearJ h (l l
character of English schoolboys- yet it is a fact
bhire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616
lu.strated) . . . . . . . . . . . 628
Tbe Physical Society . . . . . . 631 that the country is sadly deficient in those educaNotes from Cleveland and
the Nort hern Counties . . 616 Tbe Correct T reat ment of
tional methods which prepare young men for
Notes fr<.m the South-West 617
Steel (I llu strated) ..... . 633 business life.
Miscellanea.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 " Engineering " Patent Re
It has been stated, by those who study the proEducation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 619
cord (lllustrated) . ... ... 636
With a Two-Pogt Eng,a'tJing of THE LA. U:N OH Oli' H.~l. gress of politieal events, that Parliament is likely
in t he near future to devote considerable attention
.ARJfOURBD CRUI SER "ELNG .ALFRE D!'
WHAT

to the educational problem. It is a question that

has not hitherto been attacked with any conspicuous
degree of success by the Legislature. This is hardly
to be wondered at, for educativn is a matter so
largely social- it depends so greatly on the teachers
and the taught -that laws and regulations can do
no more than supply the tools ; the value of the
product depends on their proper use.
Such being the case, it is with unfeigned satis.
faction that we notice the inaugural meeting of
the new educational section of t he British Association, a report of which we commence in our
present issue. IL is to be hoped that the guidance
it will give to the public and Parliament will result
in a much-needed improvement in educational procedure and practice. Before commenting on the
new section, however, we will refer to one or two
concrete examples of the practical value of education abroad which have lately been put forward.
The Council and Senate of University College,
Liverpool, recently invited Mr. R. B. Haldane,
M.P ., t o deliver an address on ''The Function of
a University in a Commercial City;" and in the
course of the address which was delivered the
author pointed out that we are forced to realise
that courage, energy, and enterprise are, in these
modern days, of little avail against the weapons
which science can put into the hands of our rivals.
This is true; but we would venture to point out
that even scientific weapons must be weilded with
"courage, energy, and enterprise." These are the
industrial virtues upon the possession of which
Britons have always prided themselves. We must
not, however, allow national conceit to blind us
to the fact that other nations also share these
qualities.
Mr. Haldane gave a few examples of the manner
in which higher education has enabled foreign
countries to more successfully compete with us in
branches of manufacture we once considered our
own. For instance, thirty years ago Germany
exported no beer, but to-day she ships almost as
much as Great Britain. This the lecturer attributed
to the admirabl~ instruction given in the German
technical schools, illustrating how closely the
academic training of that country is in touch with
industrial life ; a circumstance which is also true
of the United States, but, we fear, applies only
in a minor degree to the United K ingdom. 'l'he
aniline colour industry is another example. This
branch of chemical activity is founded on an
English discovery, but we had not a body of sufficiently well-trained manufacturing chemists to
enable us to hold the start we obtained, and t he
industry has almost wholly passed to German
factories. In Germany the manufacture has
been fostered by research in the laboratories of
universities and technical schools ; with the result
that great producing institutions, such as the
Badische Anilin Fabrik, can command an endloss
supply of managers and workmen trained in a
fashion which we have not been able to equal.
It is doubtless a sound doctrine that the end of
technical education should not be to teach the
student a trade, but it is none the less true that
the aim should be to so equip him with knowledge
and adaptability that will enable him to master his
trade with greatest facility, and consequently fit
him to mount to the highest position. To draw
the line between abstract principles and practical
example is one of the most difficult t asks placed
upon those who direct technical studies.
A prominent feature connected with the higher
interests of German industry in its relation to
applied science is the '' Central Stelle," of
which Mr. Haldane gave as an example that
established in connection with the manufacture of
explosives. Several years ago the rival makers of
explosives combined together and subscribed about
lOO,OOOl. to found an establishment to be devoted
to t he investigation of the scientific problems on
which the successful manufacture of higher explosjves is dependent. The work is under the
direction of one of the most distinguished professors of chemistry of t he University of Berlin,
who has under him a staff of highly-trained assistants. The establishment is maintained at a
, subs~ription of about 12,000l. a year ; and to it are
referred, as they arise, problems by which subscribers in their individual work a.re confronted,
whilst there is carried on a regular system of research, the results of which are communicated to
the subscribers.
We have heard of the institutions in Germany of
this nature before, but we must confess that we did

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

[Nov.

I, 190I.

not know they were carried to the extent which cedure has been encouraged to grow without
On page 604: we give as many passages from
Mr. Haldane tells us is the case. That a not very form or plan ; something added here, something
large,. although r.apidly increasing and doubtless there, as the fancy struck its creators, or as the Sir John Gorst's presidential address as our space
lucrattve, trade hke that of the making of explo- loudest shouting of the public insisted. An engineer permits. We think our readers will admit that
sives should be able to collect for t he purpose of who designs a ml\chine, a surgeon who performs an the views expressed are worthy of all acceptation
research such a handsome sum as 100, OOOl., and operation, or a lawyer who argues a case, has to indeed, the address throughout was so sound, and
then add the equally important subscription of consider each point in its bearing on t he rest, and, so full of enlightened sentiment, that it was a
12,000l. a yoar, speaks volumes for the liberal- to succeed, must so plan that every detail con- pleasure to listen to it. But though this is true, yet
minded enterprise of German manufacturers. It is tributes to the harmonious structure of the whole. on reading it again, with leisure to ponder on what
it indicates, .a feeling of disappointment, if not of
the more surprising because the makina of explo- That is the true scientific method.
despair, is aroused; and this is strengthened by the
sives has always been one of the most ~e01et arts
The educationists have worked on a different further proceedings in the Section. Sir John Gorst
and it might well have been expected tlat mutualj ea~ plan. They have accepted what they have inlousies would have prevented the successful forma- herited as an article of faith; patchina a nd is Vice-President of the Board of Education. The
tion of the Central Stelle. Mr. Haldane in his piecing with blind persistence, and hav: pro- vote for education, science and art for the United
Liverpool address, went on to say that ~e have duced at last that amorphous mass of procedure Kingdom for last year was over 12t millions (the
nothing of the same kind in this country. That is which we call education. The teaching of the G~r~an vote w:a.s 25 millions), and in the approtrue, but it is to be hoped that before Iona a few thoughtful men who have had visions of better priatiOn of thlS enormous sum the President
commencement will have heen made in this dir~c things has been ignored, with the result that of Section L of the British Association played
tion. No doubt our readers will remember that at educ~tion, so called, too often becomes a gift of the chief part. When one compares the sentithe summer meeting of the Institution of Naval doubtful value, and may be less of a blessing than ments expressed in the address with the actual practice
of
public
educationthe
liberal
and
scientific
Architects held in Glasgow this year'*' a proposal the reverse.
spirit of the one, and the narrow empiricism
was m~de by Mr. Yarrow thll.t an experimental
If this appears to anyone an extravagant thing of the other-one can only conclude that it is
t~nk for testing ship's models, of the same nature to say, let him consider how far the average School
as that owned by the AdmiralLy at Ha.slar, and by Board education has benefited many of its recipients, something far beyond want of knowledge on the
part
of
the
ultimate
educational
authority
that
the Dennys at Dumbarton, should be established to what extent it has helped them in their daily
by subscription amongst those interested, and task, and how largely the time spent at school has allows of such enormous sums being annually
our
imperfect
system
of
public
educawasted
by
should be available not only for shipbuilders of this hindered the gaining of handicraft skill or has
tion. If our rulers did not know, if they were
country, but for all willing to pay for the informa- checked physical development . Let t hose who
simply ignorant, one might hope t hat procedure
tion obtained, irrespective of nationality. We think that the ability to read and write is neces- would be improved ; but when one reads in the
believe the preliminary steps for puttina Mr. sarily an unmixed blessing make themselves ac- address so admirable an epitome of what should
Yarrow's suggestion- which arose out of o some quainted, by personal observation, not by hearsay,
be, and, moreover, when one finds sound educaremarks made by Dr. Elgar-into practical shape with the uses to which these accomplishments are tional doctrine common to a large number of
ha.ve already been taken, and that there is every often put; above all, let them follow the squalid persons-as appeared by the subsequent papers
prospect of the scheme being brought to a success- literature that forms the chief, if not the only, and discussions- one loses hope of amendment.
ful issue. It would certainly be a shame to us if reading of a considerable part of the lower classes. What can be done with those who are not
we could not do for our chief industry- on which,
It will not be thought, we trust, that because the even wilfully blind, but knowing the right, reindeed, the fabric of our commerce chiefly depends teaching of the primary schools is often wasted, fuse to follow it ~ No doubt Sir John Gorst's
-what the Germans have done for a relatively and sometimes harmful, that we advocate national actions are tramelled by political considerations.
minor branch of manufacture.
education should therefore cease. We have pro- There i'3 the Treasury, with its thought of the
These matters may seem a little aside from the gressed too far in ci vilisa.tion for that. No country voting mob; there are the permanent officials,
educational q uestion, but i& may be said that the that aspires to be in the van of nations can afford the reactionary schoolmasters, l"ested interests ;
German Central Stelle would be impossible were to throw away chances, and we, like others, must there is the indifference of Parliament and of
not the system of technical education in that coun- sift finely to let no considerable quantity of native the public. But surely Sir John Gorst's hands
try sufficiently well organised to give a staff of genius or talent go to waste. National education are not altogether tied. Has not the Vice-President
competent investigators and assistants. We would ought to do this, and it is not because our system of the Board of Education some influence ? Seeing
also like to further point out that the admirable is defective that we should have no system at all.
his way so clearly, has he no power to choose the
instruction given in one of the earliest and most
The task Section L, the new educational right path 1 One wonders whether he has any
admirable technical schools-the school of naval section, has before it is to so improve the teaching administrative functions, or whether he is simply
architecture-produced a class of ship designers system of the country as to make it, firotly, an effec- an amiable gentleman who makes an ornamental
that placed England in the front of nations in this tive net for gathering in those who give greatest figurehead in the Commons, with a companion
field. In a past era, it will be remembered, we assurance of usefulness in various spheres of effigy in the Lords.
were dependent on the French for our best models, aetivity; and, having secured the most promising
If its first president would have told Section L
and that, again, was due to the then superior tech- subjects, to offer them knowledge chiefly useful in where the break existed between his admirable
nical education of our neighbours.
their walk of life, imparting it in a way that will theory and his department's very indifferent pracReturning to the proceedings in t he new develop their mental faculties to the most advan- tice, he would have been rendering a. service to
Educational Section of the British Association, tageous degree.
education that could hardly be equalled.
we think that the Glasgow meeting of 1901 is
No section of the Association has a more serious
likely to be notable from the addition of this and more difficult task to perform. Prejudice,
Section, which will, if properly conducted, become self-interest, and public indifference will have to be
OVERHEAD WIRES.
one of the most valuable of all. Certainly there encountered and overcome. The last will doubtless
THE case of the Finchley Electric Light Comcan be nothing more strictly within the province of prove the chief obstacle to progress ; in fact, if the pany, Limited, v. the Finchley Urban District
an association devoted to '' the advancement of Section can enlist the active sympathy of the public, Council, which was heard by the Lord Chief
science, than the t raining of t he young; indeed, its work will be more than half done. Perhaps the Justice in the V a.cation Court on Octooer 16,
scientific investigation is so dependent on aduca- greatest danger ahead is that the Section may be raises an interesting question with regard to the
tion that one is to the other what vict uals are to a captured by a class of schoolmasters, who- right of a district council to interfere with a private
meal. Now that we have the Section, we wonder wedded to stereotyped methods- are less able electric supply company who have erected overhow the Association has gone on so long without it ; to judge of the value of ways of teaching than head supply wires across the highway. It appears
and, being wise after the event, are apt to think most other persons, for they see little of the that the plaintiff company were incorporated in
that had the early fathers been so systematic in results.
Moreover, those schoolmasters w:ho 1900 with the object (inter alia) of carrying on at
their plan as scientific methods should have made have the control of affairs are generally men Finchley and elsewhere the business of an electric
them, they would be given an educational, and not fairly well on in years, and have a natural light company, and to supply electricity. The
a mathematical, division the first place, as Section disinclination to change their methods at the company never held any license or provisional
A, in the programme. Instead of that, the Educa- bidding of others outside the profession . In addi- order under the Electric Lighting Act, 1882, nor
t ion Section follows eleven elder sisters in the tion to this they hold their office in virtue of what was it vested with any statutory powers. It
family of science, and is just 70 years younger than they have t hemselves been taught, to the educa- has, however, been served by the Board of Trade
tion they have received. To render their present with a copy of the regulations is3ued under Section 4
the seniors of the group.
If, however, we are inclined to sit in judgment knowledge and acquirements .non,-prod~ctive by of the Electric Lighting Act, 1888, and with a
on the great founders of the Association, we may be changing the course of educatwn IS equtvalent to notice to comply with such regulations. The dereminded that in t heir time education as a science taking away their occupation or sending then1 to fendants are one of the numerous local authorities
was little thought of in England; even now it barely school again. The vested interest of the class most who hold a provisional order from the Board of
exists, at any rate as a practical factor in our indus- concerned will therefore probably be often arrayed Trade for the supply of electricity in their district,
t rial system. Instead there has grown up a vast un- aaainst reform. There are, of course, many school- but have never exercised their rights ; but in this
systematic methodless method of teaching lessons, ;asters so naturally wide minded as to see these instance the local authority have not only failed to
and of late years we have spent on it millions in a. dangers, and there are very many conscientious exercise their own right of supplying electricity
to ignore personal considerations; but one in the district, but have endeavoured to prevent
haphazard at;td piecemeal fashion. Through ~he enouah
0
action of Parliament there has t hus, by the Educatwn must not expect t he combination to be over the present plaintiffs from meeting the publio
Acts, been erected an imposing enough edifice, but plentiful in a profession that does not tend to needs. Thus in an action in the Chancery Division,
it is built on no good foundation. Those who broaden the mental horizon by bringing its in which the present plaintiffs were defendants, the
have been entrusted with the carrying out followers into contact with their equals. The council sought an order to restrain the company
of the programme have been chiefly anxious teaching profession, moreover, is in close alliance from breaking up any streets within their district
to teach something of a stereotyped form, little with, and largely forms a part. of, another pr?fes- for the purpose of laying thereunder electric cables,
caring, hardly thinking, w~at would be .the value sicn in which, at times, one may fancy there Is to wires, or pipes, or for any other purpose without
of the instruction. In t hts way educatwna.l pro- be traced an echo of the claim to infallibility which their consent. The company, without admitting
is still advanced by the hierarchy frotn whence the t hat they had threatened to open up any road, undertook no~ to open up any ro~d WJthout the
Church has sprung.
See page 4 ante.

Nov.

I,

1901.]

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

council's consent in writing. Application was

SOUTH AFRICAN COAL.
accordingly made to the council for leave to lay
wires, and to open up the streets for that purpose,
BY reason of the war the coal-mining industry
but this was refused. The company t hereupon of the Transvaal has been passing through a very
commenced to ~upply electricity by means of over- t rying and unprofitable time. It depends mainly
head wires, and on September 28 last the com- for its market on the gold mines, and only a few
pany's workmen c!lrried an overhead wire across of these have been permitted to resume operations.
the Regent's Park-road from a pole already erected The consumption on the railways has been above
on private land at the corner of the East End and the average, b ut it has not sufficed to compensate
R ?gent's Park roads . to a point on private pre- for the reduction in the gold-mining requirements,
ln,ses at t he other s1do of the road, in order to and, besides, there has been a shortage of trucks,
supply eertain private premises with electricity. On owing to t he pressing of t he bulk of t he rolling
October 1 the defendants' surveyor gave orders for stock into the service of the military. Th~ reader
this wire to be cut, and it was cut accordingly. The may be reminded that t he bulk of t he coal concompany naturally sought an injunction to restrain sumed on the Rand comes from mines which are
this interference with their property. It was rdadily accessible, being sit uated in t he East R and,
argued by the defendants' counsel, in j ustifica- not more than 25 or 30 miles distant. To supplement
t ion of their conduct, that t hey were en- supplies from the East Rand district, coal is also
titled to cut t he wires as protectors of the public brought from Middleburg- a locality which, though
interest, and t hat a body without statutory powers richer in fuel, has the disadvantage of being about
cannot be in a better position than one who has 100 miles distant from Johannesburg. This didthem. The Lord Chief J ustice, in the course of ability is partially offset, however, by the superihis judgment, said : ''I must aqsume that in ority of its coal, the calorific value of two bags of
some way the pl aintiff~ have obtained the assent of Middleburg being equivalent to three bags of East
t he owners adjoining the high way to the wires Rand. The Netherlands Rail way granted the
being put up: The defendants are willing to give Middleburg mines rg,tes which were in a sense prean undertaktng 11ot t o cut any more wires; but ferential, as compared with those charged to the
t hat will not maintain the status quo. I must coal companies in t he East Rand district, and
grant an injunction in the terms of t he motion.'' whereas t he latter had to pay something like 3d.
The inj unction was as follows : "1'o restrain the per mile freight, the charge to Middleburg comd efendants, their officers, senants, ec., from panies was upon the basis of 1d. per mile per ton.
breaking, cutting, severing, or otherwise inter- But this reduction was not sufficient to neutrafering wit h, or causing to be broken, cut, severed, lise the great difference in distance t o the Rand
or otherwise interfered with, t he electric lines or market .
cables of the plaintiffs over or across the Regent's
Still, in normal times a material quantity of MiddlePark-road, or any other road or street within. the burg fuel got into the Rand, and for the rest there
urban district of Finchley, or elsewhere, or from is a sea outlet at L orenzo Marques, where it is growdoing any act whereby the plaintiffs might be ing in popularity. The East Rand mines are cent red
hindered or obstructed in erecting or carrying round B oksburg and Springs, of which, however,
electric lines or cables over or across any of such only t he last counts for much nowadays, Boksburg
roads or streets at a height not less than t hat coal being of very inferior quality. The principal
required by the regulations prescribed by the companies are the Clydesdale, Transvaal Coal
Board of Trade in t hat behalf. "
Trust, G reat Eastern, Cassell, and Springs. F or
T hose who a re interested in t he development the time being, the rail ways are the best customers
and prog ress of electricity supply cannot but for both t he East Rand and the Middleburg colrejoice at this decision. True, it is only an interim lieries. W hen peace is finally restored and the
inj unction that has been granted ; no final decision demand r eaches a normal level again, it is intended
as to the right of a private supply company to to open a number of new collieries in the lastsuspend wires over t he high way has been pro- named district, where there is plenty of coal unnounced by the Lord Chief Justice. We a-nticipate, tapped. At Balmoral, the seams reach nearly 30ft.
however, that t he inj unction will be made perpetual at Brugsprnit the Anglo-French Exploration Comwhen the case is fully heard. The Electric Lighting pany has proved 48 ft. in four seams, at '\Vitbank
Acts give a local authority no right to interfere t here is over 13 ft., while t he working thickness at
with wires suspended over t he highway ; t he the Transvaal and Delagoa collieries is quite 12ft.
Highway Acts confer no right upon the highway In the eastern part of the district the Belfast mine
authorities to interfere with any property which is has a seam the thickness of which averages 26 ft.
not an obstruct ion to the wayfaring public. Where, It must not be assumed that the coal is continuous
then, is the chart~r of the Finchley U rban District throughout the a rea. But before any liefinite idea
Council which justifies the action of their surveyor of the actual superficial extent of the coal formain the present case ? They will have to produce tion can be arrived at a great deal more exploratory
it at the hearing if they wish the injunction to work is necessary.
Natal is possessed of very extensive deposits of
be dissolved. There seems to be an impression
in some quarters that electricity cannot be sup- coal, for which the years to come are likely to see a
plied to the public except under the auspices considerably enhanced demand. E stimates of the
of a Provisional Order or Act of Parliament. This workable areas of coal under present conditions can
is quite a mistaken view. There is nothing in only include the districts from Glencoe to Newcastle,
any of the Electric Light ing Acts which renders it or about 560 square miles out of a total area of 1800
compulsory for those who wish to supply electricity square miles. ]'rom that also large deductions
to their neighbours to seek P arliamentary or other must be made for the area of coal affected by
igneous act ion, for areas from which the coal has
powers.
So long as the regulations laid down by t he been denuded, and for areas of inferior fuel, which
Board of Trade for the safety of t he public are duly would leave about 150 square miles of workable and
observed, there is nothing which can interfere with saleable coal under present conditions. With an
the right of supplying electricity for profit. In the allowance of 25 per cent. for waste, including abanpresent case the landowners on either side of the doned pillars and unsaleable dross, there is left a
road, in whom the soil of the highway is vested total of about 764,000,000 tons of available coal.
'' 1tsque ad medi1tm filum 'IYiae," had allowed the The report of the Mining Commissioner for 1900,
company to erect the posts on their lands. What recently published, shows that the output in
public interest could have been affected by the sus- that year was 241,330 tons, as compared with
Seeing t hat possespension of the cable high above t he reach of the 328,693 tons for 1899.
sion of the principal collieries was not obtraffic ?
One other matter calls for remark. In many of tained until May after the Boer invasion, and
the articles which have recently been written upon that some t ime was occupied with repairing the
the great subject of municipal trading, complaint damage done by the enemy, the decrease of
has been made that in many cases local authorities 87,363 tons is easily llccounted for ; in fact, the
having obtained provisional orders, to the exclu- Cotnmissioner thinks the result ,. speaks well for
sion of private enterprise, have placed t heir the energy displayed in reopening the mines.,,
orders on t he shalf and have made no use of them. The average value of the output was 20s. per ton ;
Here the local aut hority, not content with lying in but this was due to quite abnormal circumstances,
the manger like the proverbial dog, have adopted and it compares with 8s. 6d. per ton before the
a militant attitude towards a company which outbreak of the war. The exports to the Transvaal
has endeavoured to meet the public need. Let and the Orange River Colony in the twelve months
those who advocate municipal t11ading consider were 9984 tons, in comparison with 7758 tons in
whether the methods of their clien ts are worthy of 1899, an increase of 2226 tons ; whilst the coal
bunkered was 118,7 40 tons, as compared with
commendation.

621

156,267 tons in 1899. The amount of foreign coal

impor ted during last year was 31,582 tons.
Recent repr>rts state that the collieries cont inue to
be actively employed, and although the supply of
trucks do~s not permit of full-time working, the
output is steadily rising. Further north in Zululand are coalfields, the full importance of which
has never yet been fully appreciated. The most
importa nt measures yet discovered are those of
St. Lucia and Ntambanana, owing to their proximity to the coast . Some time ago we heard of a
scheme for connecting the St. Lucia fields with
Durban- adistance of about 170 miles- by means of
an extension of the North Coast Railway. U nder
t he terms of this railway concession, however, the
Ntambanana coal, though 40 miles nearer Durban,
would still have to pay the same rates as the St.
L ucia coal, unless ad vantage were taken of the
proximity of t he Ntambanana to the mout h of the
U mhlatuzi River. I t is said that with a comparatively small outlay it would be possible to utilise
the lagoon at the mouth of the U mhlat uzi River as
a har bour for lighters, which would be loaded with
coal and towed during favourable weather to
Durban. A good deal remains to be done, however, in connection with the development of t he
carboniferous resources of Zululand. A hydrographical surrey of the mout h of the U mhlatQzi
River and lagoons in connection t herewith should
be made. The sinking of a series of boreholes should
be undertaken, and arrangements made for the
proper testing of the quality of every seam of coal
of p ractical importance.

NOTES.
THE LIABILITY OF MoToR-CAR DRIVERS.
FROM a recent case in the Bungay County Court,
it seems t hat motor-car owners cannot be held
responsible for the remoter consequences of their
user of automobiles on the high road. It appears
that, on October 9, Robert Murton, a farmer of
Lowestoft, sued the Hon ..John Mulholland for the
sum of 19l., by way of damages ari')ing from injuries sustained by hi9 horse and cart, due, it was
alleged, to the negligent and furious driving of a
motor-car. The horse and cart were passing over
a narrow bridge across the Waveney at Oulton
Broad, when the defendant , who was in a motorcar with two ladies and a little girl, being unable
to pass the other vehicle, sounded a horn twice.
The plaintiff's horse was frightened, and broke
away from the driver, striking a gateway and up
setting t he cart. It was urged on behalf of the
plaintiff that the speed of the car was excessive,
that the blowing of the horn was unreasonable,
and that the defendant dicl not use proper care
and caution in the circumstances. Without calling
ing on the defendant's counsel, J udge Eardley
Wilmot gave j udgment for the defendant. He
said : '' Motor-cars are now recognised by the
Legislature, and they have as much right to
use the highway as any other vehicle. Horses
must get used to them. It is q uite clear that
in the present case the horse was frightened
by the horn ; but sounding the horn is exactly
what the law says drivers of motors must do, and
I fail to see any evidence of negligence. ,, It will
be noticed that the learned juclge was apparently
satisfied, in this instance, that t he speed of the
motor was not excessive.
FRENCH E NTERPRISE IN Y UNNAN.
The agent of the French Government, and also
of French capitalists, is endeavouring to push on
his pet scheme for a rail way from Laokai to
Yunnan-fu, for which he has already secured the
approval of the French Cabinet to the convention he has made with a syndicate of P aris bankers
to b uild the line at a cost of 70,000,000 francs.
At present the greater part of the export and import
trade of Yunnan is carried through the open town
of Mengtse, about 160 miles south of Yunnanfu, or Yunnan-sen-as the French call the capit~l
and quite near the Tonkin border. Mengtse is distant
from Yunnan-fu eight easy stages for pack-horses,
over a table-land sloping up to northwards. Ita
climate is excellent ; but a day and a half,s journey
to the south from Mengtse brings the traveller into
the low-lying and tropical valley of the Red River
at Manhao, whence t here is direct communication
wit h the sea. Goods are brought from Hong Kong
to Haiphing on the Tonkin coast, and thence up
the Red River in junks. Small stef\mers can reach
L aokai on t he Chinese frontier, where M. Doumer

---~

means to start his railway, but the navigation is so

uncertain that shippers prefer junks. The difficulties of navigating the Upper Red River and the
two days' mule transport, from the river valley up to
the plateau of Mengtse, are serious hindrances to
the trade ; yet Mengtse is the commercial key of
the best districts of Yunnan, and the chief town of
a district containing a population of about 2,500,000.
Its trade has been increasing rapidly. In 1897 it
was valued only at 560,000l., while last year it was
probably over a million.
Withal, the town of
Mengtse is neither large nor wealthy, being little
more than a forwarding station.
Its chief product is tin, and it exported nearly 250, OOOl. worth
of thab metal in slabs during 1899. The mines of
Kuo-chin are conveniently situated not far from
the town, so that the expense of transport is small.
When we note that the exports of tin from Singapore during 1899 were valued at 1,200,000l., while
Mengtse exported slabs valued at more than onefifth of that amount for the same period, it will be
realised that Yunnan very possibly possesses rich
mineral resources, which may render M. Doumer's
railway a commercially profitable, as well as
strategically important, venture.
.

THE

CHEMISTRY OF PRODUCER

GAs.

It has long been known that at certain temperatures carbonic acid gas in contact with carbon is
unstable, and, taking up an additional atom of
carbon, becomes carbon monoxide. It is less generally known that the latter gas is also unstable
under certain conditions, reverting to C02 with
deposition of carbon. These cases of dissociation
and combination have recently been carefully studied
by M. 0 . Boudouard, who, in a recent issue of t.he
Bttlletin of the Paris Ghemical Society, discusses the
bearing of his researches on the metallurgical industries. He has ascertained in what proportions the
two gases form stable mixtures at different temperatures when iri contact with fue1, and claims that a
comparison of his results with analyses of producer
gas, will, in any case, give useful information as to
the working of the apparatus. His results show
the maximum proportion of carbon monoxide which
can be obtained with a producer working at a given
temperature. These maximum results are in practice
never attained. The ideal producer should yield
merely CO and N in the proportion of 24.3 volumes
of CO to 65.6 of N. Owing to dissociation of the
CO, the 8QS in practice always contains 002, and in
greater proportion as the working temperature is
lower. In fact, the conditions of working can be
so arranged that the whole of the carbon is obtained
as 002 For instance~ a high velocity of the air
through the furnace is favourable to the production
of 002, since insufficient time is given for its reduction, after formation, to CO by taking up more
carbon. A porous and finely-divided fuel, on the
other hand, promotes a good yield of CO, as does also
a high tem~erature of working.. In Ia:boratory experiments 1t was found that 1n passmg 002 over
carbon at the temperatures noted below, the following proportions of CO were obtained:
Deg. Cent.

Per Cent. of CO.

600
'
23
700
58
800
93
900
96.5
1000
99.3
Thus, at 1000 deg. the 002 is practically completely broken up, but producers never work at so
high a temperature, and hence always ~ive a
certain proportion of 002 In actual prachce the
o-ases are of course, largely diluted with nitrogen,
~hich m;kes a longer time necessary for the establishment of equilibrium. Simila:r!y,. the. kind of
fuel used is of importance. Equ1hbnum IS established pretty quickly when wood carbon is used,
but with coke, and, above all, bone carbon, the
stable state is not reached after several hours'
heating at 800 deg. Cent. Su~ming up, to get a
uood yield from a producer, the air current through
the furnace should be slow, the temperatur~ ~igh,
and the combustible porous and finely dtVlded.
In blast-furnaces the carbon monoxide is formed
in the hottest part of the furnace, near the tuyeres,
since here the temperature is too great for 002 to
exist.
This CO, proceeding upwards through
the furnace, picks up oxyge~ fro~ the o.re,
forming C02, ~nd th~n, meetmg Wlth glowing
carbon, is agatn partially reduced to 09.
If
the quantity of this latter gas produced m the
neighbourhood of the tuyeres is already sufficient to reduce the ore, this second production of

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

[N ov.

CO constitutes a useless loss of heat. Hence; within

limits, the loss of heat through the comparatively
thin walls of the upper portion of the furnace may
be made up for by the lessened production of CO
in this portion of the furnace, following the reduction of the tern perature consequent on the
loss of heat.
Again, the less the time the
002 is in contact with the hot fuel the less the
carbon monoxide formed ; hence high air pressures
should be used with high furnaces, though too great
a rate of flow of the air may prevent the proper
reduction of the ore. The fuel should also be in
as large pieces as possible, so as to expose a sma.''
surface to the carbon dioxide.
THE LATE HERR JOSEF VIRAG.
WE regret to record the death of Herr Josef Virltg,
on October 24, after a very short illness. Herr Virag,
who was only thirty-one years of age, was joint
inventor of the Pollak-Virag telegraph, a description
of which appeared in E NGI NEE RING of December 7.
1900, page 750. He was born in 1870 at F oldvar, and
died in Budapest. He was educate:i in the schools of
Brasso and Kolosvar, and obtained the engineering
diploma of the J osef Polytechnic, of Budapest. Four
yea.rs ago he was assistant to Professor Wittman, and
remained with him for three years. He then entered
the service of the State as ministerial engineer, and
was appointed patent judge in the Royal Hungarian
Patent Office, in which position he was still employed
at the time of his death. In his leisure hours he occupied
himself with many experimental researches; and in
1898, at the inshnce of the United Electrical Company
of Budapest, he com~enced experiments with Anton
Pollak's telautograph. As a result of these experiments,
an apparatus was devised, capable of sending and recording 800 to 1000 impulses per second, and of transmitting mssaaes in Morae code at phenomenal speeds.
The fame of the apparatus spread abroad, and experiments of a highly F>uccessful character were carried out
between Berlin and Budapest, and later between New
York and Chicago. L9.ter on, the apparatus was so
developed that instead of Morse signals it was made
to write directly in L9.tin chara.cters ; and re.cently _a
working line has been esta.bhshed employmg th1s
system between Budapest and Fiume, a distance of
600 kilometres, upon which a speed of 40,000 words per
hour was obtained, in good legible writing. Virag
was much liked among Hungarian engineers, and is
much lamented.
TRACrORS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES.
WE have received from the War Office the following
announcement :
ItJ being essential thab tractors for military purposes
should be capable of a much greater radiu~ of action,
withoub replenishment of fue~ or water, than IS at pr~ent
abbainEd by any such eng1nes constructed for e1ther
military or commercial purposes, the Secretary of St~te
for W a.r offers prizes as under for the best tra'Jtors meetmg
the requirements mentioned hereafter:

First prize
.. .
...
...
. ..
. . . 1000
...
...
...
. ..
750
Second prize . ..
Third prize . . .
...
...
. ..
. ..
500
To eaoh prize will be adde~ ~ bonus of 10.l. for e':ery
complete mile beyond the mmimum of 40 mtles requued
by paragraph' 2 of the "Requirements," tha~ ~he tractor
awarded such prize can travel under th~ cond1t10ns therein de~cribed. The total amount of this bonos shall not
exce ed the value of the particular prize to which it may
be added.
2 The trials which will be conducted by the War
office Committ~e on Mechanical Transport, will commence
in the spring of 1903, and will extend over a considerable
period so that the tractors may be thoroughly tested.
The e~acb nature of the trials will be determiJ?-ed upon by
the above Committee. A g~neral scheme will b~ drawn
up a.nd issued to all compe t1tors, but the Committee r~
serve to themselves full powers to carry out any ad~I
tional t e3ts that they may deem necessary, w he the~ meluded in the general programme or not. The Commtttee
reserve to themselves the power of rej.eoting any tr!lotor
which does nob comply Wlth the requuements pu~hshed
herewith or of suspending, ab any stage, the. trials of
any tractor which in their opinion has proved Itself unsuitable.
.
3 The decision of the Commtbtee on all matters connec.bed with the competition shall. be final. . .
4. Forms of entry will be supplied on ~pphoa.t10n to the
Secretary, Mechanical Tranapor~ Commit.tee! Y'ar Office,
Horse Guards Whitehall. Fums or tndtv1dua.ls who
intend to ent~r must send in these forms, duly completed. to bhe Secretary, not l~ter than J anu~ry 1, 1903.
5. No tractor will be a.dm1t~ed to the tr1als .unle~ a.
fully-dimensioned seb of draWinga.. and ~ speorfioatt?n,
giving complete details, exactly as Elubmit~ed for trial,
together with a statement of the puro.hase priCe, have been
lodged with the Secretary, Meohamcal ~ransporb Commiotee before the commencement of the trtals.
6. A firm or individual may enter more than one traotor,
bub the conditions of paragraphs. 4 and 5 musb be complied with for each separate maobme entered ..
7. His Majes ty's Government to have bhe right of pur-

I' 190 J.

chasing all or any of the competing tractors ab bhe price

stated by the competitor under paragraph 5.
8. All designs and speoificattons lodged under para.
graph 5 will be c:>nsidered confidential, and those of the
tractors that may be purchased will be retained for the
purposes of the Government, hub wibhoub prejudice to
patenb rights. Thm:e of the tractors nob puroha.sd will be
returned to the competitors after the trials.
STATEMENT o~

REQUIREMENTS oF TBAOTOR FOR

MILITARY P URPOSES.
1. Nob to exceed a gro~s weight of 13 tons when fully
loaded whh all i os fuel and water, and with all store.q
necessary for its proper manipulation on the march, and
must be independent of any extraneous machinery for the
supply of its motive power.
2. To be capable of hauling a gross load of 25 tons for
not less than 40 miles over ordinary roads, having, so far
as may be possible, grades nob exceeding approximately
1 in 18, ab an average speed of 3 miles an hour wibhoub
ab any time exceeding a speed of 5 miles an boor, using
only the fuel and water that can be carried on the tractor
itself, without being re{>lenished during the journey from
einher a separate vehiCle or from any other source;
and, in the case of a steam engine, without reducing the
amount of water in the boiler below a safety level to be
fixed upon by the Committee.
3. To be capable of hauling a. gross load of 12~ tons
along a good level road for a distance of not less than 1
mile at a speed of 8 miles an hour.
4. To be o~pable of hauling a. gross load of 12~ tons up
a. slope of 1 in 6 (for this test the tractor can be full y
loaded with fuel and wate r).
5. To be so designed and constructed that ib shall be
capable of travelling on all classes of roads and over
rough ground without excessive wear and tear or injury,
either from s hock or from any of its lower portions striking obstacles projecting from the surface of the_ground,
or from the wheels s inking into the ground in sofb places,
or from other causes, and to be capable of being driven
through water 2 fb. deep without itd motive power being
seriously affected.
6. To be capable of being driven either ahead or
astern.
7. To be fitted with efficient brakes on all drivingwheels.
8. To be efficiently spring-mounted on all axles.
9. Provision musb be made..for rapidly looking together
each or every pair of driving wheels.
10. To be capable of being steered by one man, and
entirely controlled and manipulated by not more than
two men, who musb b9 placed in convenient positions for
the work they are req oirad to do.
ll. To be provided with adequate covering to proteob
the men from the weather.
12. The handles, levera, or other arrangemenbs for controlling the mechanism to be so arranged that the tractor
may be driven either ahead or astern, chang-ed from one
speed and from one direction of movement to another,
steered, have brakes applied, and have any oiling or
adjustments, necessary whilst travelling, carried out
without the driver or assistant (if employed) leaving his
normal position.
13. Proper arrangements to be made tbab no parb of the
machinery be liable to damage from mud or dust. When
casings at e used these should be dust-proof, and readily
removable for inspection and repair.
14. To be fitted with a winding gear, carrying 75 yards
of flexible galvanised steel-wire rope, 21 in. in circumference, the creaking strain of which must be not less than
15 tons, with suitable leading sheaves arranged so that a
fair lead may be obtained for the rope from the drum to
either the forward or after end of the trac()tor, and from
thence in any direcbion within an angle of 90 deg. on
either side of the fore-and-aft centre line of the tractor.
The winding gear to be arranged so ~bat the wir~ ro~e
can be paid out from the drum whtlst the engme IS
moving- ahead.
15. The driving wheels to be nob less than 6ft. 6 in.
in diameter, nor less than 18 in. wide across the tyres.
16. To prevent the tractor being stopped by its weig-ht
being taken on under surfacAS, should the wheels stnk
into the ground, the clearance between such under surfaces and the ground must nob be less than 18 in.
17. Nob to exceed the following outside overall measure
menta:
For the fi x~d parts of the
engine .. .
. ..
. . . 9 fb.
Height from the
For removablep !utS~, such
ground level
&l3 chimney, roof, &o. ... 12 ,,
...
.. .
. ..
. .. 7 h. 4 in.
Width

. ..
...
. . . 20 f b.
Length ...

18. No restricbions are placed on nature of fuel or class
of engine, whether ~team, ~nternal comb';lstion, or otherwise, except tbab 01ls havmg a flash pomt of less than
75 deg. Fahr. (Abel's clOf!e test) must not be employed.
19. As the tractor is intended primarily for hauling
purposes, ib is no.t ~senti~l that a flyw~eel should be
provided from which machinery can be dr1ven by a belt;
but if a flywheel is fibted. it must be made of steel.
20. No armouring need be arranged for.
21. In the case of steam engines :
(a) The boiler may be of any form or materia.), hub
the construction musb be such that ib will comply
with the requirements of the Manchester Steam
U sera' Aesociation. Boilers normally working a.t
exceptionally high pressur~ are not des~rable.
(b) The boiler mnso be so designed thab 1b can be
easily washed out.
(c) An efficient a~ra~gemenb must be fitted f?r preventing the emiSsion of sparks from ~he cbu~ney.
(d) The boiler feed apparatus must be m duphoate.

Nov. r, rgo1.]

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

{c) A reliable waber-lifter for filling the engine tanks

must be fitted.
(f) If coal fired, means must be provided to deal
with fuel that clinkers freely, and the grate area
must be sufficien t to enable coal of a very inferior
quality to be used.
(g) If conde nsing apparatus is employed, it must
be subsbantiallr, constructed, and nob liable to
damage from vibra~ion or to be ologgej up by
dust.
{h) If a cond enser is used, means must be provided
for properly filtering the lubricating oil. if any
used in the engine, from the condensed water
before returning it t o the boiler.
22. If internal combustion engines are used, it is desirable that means should be provided for starting the
eosine, putting it into gear, and starting the load Wlbhoub
notse or shook.
23. If friction clutches a re used, tha material forming
the working surfaces of the clutch must be auoh that io
will not require frequently renewing, and provision must
be made that the clutch can be easily adjusted on the road.
24. If liguid fuel i3 ueed. means muso be provided for
rapjdly fillmg the tanks on the tractor.
N OT.E.-In considering the merits of competing vehicles,
special importance will be paid to the following point3:
(et) Distance over which a gross load of 25 tons can
be hauled ab 3 miles an hour with the fuel and
water tbab can be carried on the tractor without
replenishment.
(b) Prime cost, havin~ due regard to efficiency.
(c) Economy in workmg and maintenance.
(d) E 1.se of steering and manipulation.
(e) Simplicity of design, a~cessibility of parts, and
the readiness with which repairs can be effected,
or worn parts replaced on the road.
{f) Ab~ence of noise, vibration, smoke, or visible
vapour.
{g) The men.ns by which the working parts are
pre vented from being d amaged by mud and
d usb.
(h) Ull.pa.bility of working with fuels varying in
desorip jion and qualiby.

1 in. by 4t in. iron. Of the nineby breakages of draught

gear on foreign oara, 25 were broken yokes. Deduobmg
this number on account of yokes being unlike, we have 65
couplers and knuokle breakages on foreign oars to three
on the Bubbe, Anaconda, and Pacific care, or more than
21 times as many. On an equal mileage basis, the breaka~es on foreign cars were 185 times as many on the ButtP,
A naconda, and Pacific cars, fitted witJh the friction
draught gear.

THE WESTINGHOUSE FRICTION

DR!.UGHT GEAR.*

IT ba<3 been generally claimed b.v the advocates of

epriog draught ges.r that the friction draught rigging is an
unnecessary expense, and that the econom1 oal results
claimed for it could only be d et~rmined afber many yeard
of experience, if ab a11, Io is interesbing to learn, tbereforP, tha~ a record has been kepb on the Bubte, Anacooda,,
and Pll.oifio R?.ilw"y, whe re an opportunity was offered
for direct co:np uison, which provas that this claim id nob
true. Should future experience continue to be the same
-and there is no a.ppuanb reason why it should not there o1.n be no quesoion a<3 to the beneficial resulti of the
use of friction draught rig~ing. If it is admitted th at the
condi t ions under which thts record wa9 made are excessively severE>, it must be aho admibted that the principles
are the same in lighter service, and it is only a. question
of bow mnoh longer it will take for the friction dra.ugho
rigging bo pay .for itself.
.
.
The subject ts one of the grea.test Importan ce, a nd mcreasing ia ~ra.viny daily as more car.i and locomotives of
great capaCity are pub into service. The report which
we give below wa9 taken with great care from the car
foreman's record and verifird by the operating officers of
the road, who vouch for its correctness. It will be
noticed that the ch.im mad~ for theWestinghouse draught
gear that ib greatly reduces the draught g~r stresses in
the direction of its greatesb weakness, pulhng or extension is fully sustained. It is evident that nearly all the
bre~kages reported were from puJJ ing stresses rather than
compre3sion strain s. For instance, about one-third of all
t he breR.kages were of the yokes, which, of course, are only
broken in pulling.

* Three (3) B., A., and P., and three (3)

forei~n

cars bad sills

damaged in a collision, and two (2) of the latter bad C)Uplers
broken.
t Friction draught- gear cylinder found oraoked two weeks
earlier.

W e are a~uming that the couplers on foreign oars were

of egua.l strength with those on the BubtP, A nnoonda, and
Pacific cars, and as all of the former bad the extra larRe
6-in. shank, and therefore were designed for especially
severe service, this a~umption seem~ ~mply justified.
The breakagea on foreign cars were dt v1ded as follows :
35 couplers, 30 knuckles, 25 yokes ; total. 90.
On Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific cars bub three couplers
were broken and no knuckles or yoke~, this comprising
the entire breakage of draught attachments in six months'
service. Compared with bhirby-five broken couplers on
foreign oar~, and allowing for the home oars making 8.6
times greater milea~e, the breakage of couplers only, on
an equal mileage ba.s1s, on the foreign cars with the doublespring draugbo gear was 100 times as great; or 300 couplers,
instead of three, would have been broken on Butte, A naconda, and P acific cars had they been equipped with the
spring draught gear.
The saving in coupler bre9.kages only in six month&'
service by the use of the friction draught gear on 155 oara,
a.s shown by the above record, was enough t o pay the
entire cosb of the friction draught gear with which they
were equipped, the saving in broken knuckles and yokes
bein~ addttional and in the nature of an increased interest
-and a large one-on the investment.
The ore service on the Butte, Anaconda, and Pll.oific is
M severe as the grades are steep, reaching 132ft. per mile,
while the locomotives are very heavy and powerful, those
used between t erminals being eight-wheeol connected
S cbeneotady compound~. Trains of fifty and sixty loads
are handled one way and empties the other, all the air
brakes on the latter rarely ever being used, resulting in
additional severe strains on the draught gear.
Ab each oerminal the powerful s witch engines employed
work on heavy grades. enabling them to handle bub few
cara ab a time, which causes a e-reat deal of switching and a.n unusually severe serv10e for the draught
attachment!. The use of heavy locomotives on steep
grades, handling cars of large c?.paci by-conditions which
are rapidly becoming common on many roads-probably
accounts for the inadeq uacy of t he spring draught gear,
although of the sbrongesb type and greatest capacity, to
protect the couplers from breaking. The record at the
same time brings out very clearly the ~reab value and
really indispensable character of the friction draught gear
under these conditions.

REOORD O~<' FmoTION DRAUGHT GEAR ON BuTT&,

ANACONDA, A~O PAOIFIO RAILWAY CABS.

GYROSCOPIC ACTION AND THE LOSS OF

THE '' COBRA."

The Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific road has 520

60-bon Pressed Steel Oar Company's ore cars, all of
which are fitted wiLh the Westinghouse friction draught
gear, and u3ed in ore traffic between the mines in Bu tte
and the smelters in Anaconda, Montana.. The comparative records given b3low are for 155 of the above 620
cars, five of which were placed in service in August,
1898 and the remaining 150 in June, 1900 ; the remainder
of the 520 oars h~ving been pla~ed in service more recently.
The couplers on these oars have 6-in. shanks, excepting
the five c1rs firab in servic9, which have 5.in. shanks.
One of the connecting lines of the Butte, Anaconda,
and Pd.oifio has a number of similar steel oars, equipped
with twin-spring draught gear, also having couplers with
6-in. shanks, and used in the coal traffic over the Bubte,
Anaconda., and Pacific Railway, to t he smelters in
Anaconda and the mines in Bubte.
The record of draught-gear failures and mileage made for
the six months from November, 1, 1900, to Msty 1, 1901,
on 50bon steel oars, both foreign and home, on the lines of
the Butbe, Anaconda, and Paoifio Railway, is given in
the Table in the next column.
It therefore appears that the average monthly mileage
of foreign 50-ton steel oars on the Butte, Anaconda, and
Pacific Road was 15,738 miles; while the average monthly
mileage of the Dubbe, Anaconda, and Pacific oars was
135,650, or 8.6 times greater.
The yokes on the foreign oars were of 1 in. by 4 in.
iron, while nearly all of those on the Bubte, Anaconda.,
and Paoifio oars 6tbed with friction draught gear were of

To THBI EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

Sta,-I do not wish to take up your valuable space
wit h useleEs discussion on the question of bhe possible
effect of gyroscopic action in the ca9e of the Cobra..
In this co nnection, however, there are already some
points brought out which are worth noting. In the
letter of Sir Hiram Maxim of October 9 we find the
essential elements of the gyroscope in question abated
concisely, as follows :
"When two gyroscopes u,re mounted in the sa.me
frame, provided that they are of the same weight, and
are rotated ab the same velocity in opposite directions,
they do nob offer any real or apparent stability or
stiffness to the frame."
To secure this desirable result all the conditions abated
must remain constant, or the resistance to changing the
plane of rotation begins to appear. The only element in
the above whioh is subject to change by the conditions in
question is that the rotation in opposite directions must
be ab the sa.me speed.
"Then a~ain, a single gyroscope spinning in a frame
offers no res1sbance to being tilted in a vertical direction,
providing that the frame is sufficiently rigid to prevent
the gyroscope from moving to the righ t or to the lefb. It
is the freedom of the angle to change in horizontal direction, which gives the stiffness or resistance against a
vertical movement."
In the above statements we have the essential conditions necessary for the development of gyroscopic a obion.
In calculating the strains to which material may be
subjected it is uoual, I believe, t0 make the ca.loulabions
for the ~orsb possible oon<iibions that may occur, and if

* From the RIJ,ilway and Engineer jng Review.

this be done in the present instance, I think the problem

will assume a phase where the equation 0 = 0, suggested
by S ir Hiram, ~ill not be an important fa~t9r. !~ :
There is a difference between the condttions 1n which
the gyroscope has been tested in the past, and the conditions of a ~vroscope floating upon a liquid, subject to
every conce1vable change .of motion and direction. Ther.e
is an equally great dtfference between the conditions of the illustration where supposing " that the
Cobra had been provided with trunnions passing transversely through the centre of gravity, and tha.t she bad
been mounted on ball bearings so as to be trained freely
in any direction, " and the a ctual conditions which must
have existed when bhe Cobra. was labouring in a heavy
sea. In the one case .the gyroscopes are moved in some
arc round a fixed pomt, and subsequently both gyroscopes are moving oub of their planes of rotation invariably a.b the same rate of speed. In the oase of a ship
afloat the point around which the gyroscopes are moved 18
a continually changing one, never fixed. The ship may
take a violent pitch, move in a borizontal_plane, and
make a heavy roll all ab one time.
Whether or
nob the moving of one gyroscope out of its plane
of rotation ab a greater speed than that of the other
gyroscope rotating in the opposite direction, would
be eq_uivalent to a ohange in speed of rotation or nob, is
a ~mb which does nob seem to be t ouched upon. I
thmk it would be quite within the possibilities to Imagine
a. movement of a ship in a heavy seaway whereby two
masses, although fixed to the same rigid frame, would
describe an aro around a moving point ab different rates
of speed. This is a hard matter to describe1 but when it
is remembered thab the centre round which the gyroscope frame moves id nob a fixed point, and that the
frame is subject, not only to a pitching motion, but to a
rolling motion as well, suob st condition of affairs is conceivable.
Another possible condition is th at where the stern of
the boat is raised, accompanied ab the same time by a
heavy roll of the ship, under which condition one set of
propellers revolving in one direction would be oub of the
water, and their rotation naturally accelerated, while the
other pair of propellers rotating in the opposte direction
would be more deeply submerged than usual, and their
speed of rotation would be correspondingly retarded.
H ow much gyroscope resistance would be developed by
this would, of course, depend upon the differences in speed
of rotation.
It can readily be understood that these various strains
might occur singly for an indefinite length of time, hub
tbatJ a. moment might occur ab any time when all the
strains might exert their maximum effect at the same
instant. For the added strains due to non-syn chronous
rotation of these heavy m~ses ab high speeds to exert a
strain upon a ship beyond that which the hull may have
been designed to resist, ib would be necessary for them to
?ccur ab the instant of tim~ when the. hull was being subJected to all the obher maxtmum sbrams. Such a strain
might occur ab the time when the stern of the boat was
being supported by one wave and the bow struck by
another. The evidence at the court-martial in this connection is interesting, as it appears therefrom that considerable difficulty was experienced in keeping up steam on
aocouut of the excessive rolling of the ship, another point
being that one captain, either of a passing boat or of the
lighthou3e boat, gave evidence that jusb before the Cobra
collapsed she was struck by an enormous wave, which
completely buried her forecastle.
From the various letters which have already appeared
in t~is dis?ussion, it is appa.re~t that the idea. of gyrosooptc a ctton may have contnbuted to the peculiarly
sudden conapse of the Cobra. has occurred to various engineers. If even the possibility be shown that such may
have been the case, one should be extremely diffident in
ex pressing any opinion that might reflect upon those upon
whom responsibility lies for the design and acceptance of
the Cobra. The introduction of the rapidly-revol vmg steam
turbine inbo naval architecture has mtroduced a. new element, in regard to the actual working of which, in practice
the naval designer has little, if anything, of value fo;
reference. When the same time and study, verified by
actual practio~, has been spent upon the steam turbine
afloat th at has been spent upon the design of the hulls
of vessels, then an error on the part of those responsible would be a9 serious a reflection in one direction
as in the other. It is plain, I think, that through
differences of speed of rotation, and, perhaps, from
other causes nob well understood, gyroscopic action to
some extent was set up. To what extent cannot of
course, be calculated by the engineers, especially practical
engineers, by whom th e whole question IS so little understood. Tbo statement is made by Mr. C~rter that with a
6-in. wheel weighing 6 lb. rotating singly it was practically impossible to move it, &a., wlien held m the
bands. In other words, the power which developed the
rotation was unable to move its plane of rotation. The
guesbion naturally suggests itself: How muoh, or how
httle, variation in speed of rotation of the tons of revolving masses of .t he Co~ra would l~e necessa~y to set up a
dangerous stram, posstbly unprovided for In the design
of the bull?
Yours faithfullL

E. F.

CASSEL,

56, Broad-street Avenue, London, E.O., Oobober 30.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

Srn, -Absorbed in other s budy just now, it seems that
I must have neglected your correspondence columns for
some weeks pasb, as I did nob know, until a friend told
me in the tea-room ab the meeting of tlhe Meohanicals on
Friday evening, that one of my clan had written euggeat.
ing that I should bake a band in th~ discussion of the poa.
sibilities of gyroso')pio aobion h aving provokeq the Cob~

'

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

[Nov.

disaster. My friend added thab Sir Hiram Maxim alone tended to represent an indefinitely small angle, the verhad replied to the letter ; ' bu b he does nob understand it." tical straight line B H is taken instead of the arc B H .
I have now read the correspondence, and I assure my Similarly, at N at the end of the intervc~.l the upward
friend that, to my thinking, the letter of Sir Hiram velocity is B J = C N, and the onward velocity is
Maxim shows that he has a very full and clear under- J M, parallel and equal to H N, and therefore the
standing of the action of the gyroscope. He does not, actual velocity at N 1s equal to t he straight line from
indeed, gratify the reader by wheeling him jn a B to M and parallel therewith.
The difference of
perambulator through a maz9 of mathematical analysis; the two velocities at B and at N is the upward velocity
but, ~aided intuitively by that remarkable "horRe E M . This is the whole acceleration for the inte rval,
sense' with which he is proud to have been endowed, and it does nob matter where the bullet is in the barrel.
he strikes out and ab once hits the right nail right on the If d t is the intercval of time, H N = u d t and the arc
head.-The gyroscopic action was in the Cobra on the EN = mud t, the acceleration is therefore E M = 2 mud t,
whole nil, because ' the two sets of screws that were em- or the accelerity is 2 mu. As u = n x we have therefore
ployed in the Cobra revolved in opposite directions at the the accelerity = 2 m n x for any point in the disc. If the
same speed," and therefore the gyroscopic couples of the weight of a particle be w, and if g = the gravitation accelerity, the upward force of the inertia of the particle
one sen would j usb cancel those of the other set>.
This statement of Sir Hiram Maxim ought to satisfy is 2 m n x '!!!, and as its point of application is where the
any one in regard to the question of gyroscopic action
g
in the Cobra. AP, however, many of your readers particle is, the arm with which ib acts in the gyroscopic
are k eenly desirous to have this, their firstl mecha- couple is also x, therefore its contribubion to that couple
nica.l paradox, explained to them-in England. "Why
2
Her~, perhaps, some reader
does a top stand whipping when spinning?" iu Scotland, has the moment 2 m n x .:!!.
g
"Hoo di z a peerie sta.und up whun itl's soondin ?" and as will be thinking the arm is y, the distance from the axis
the lack of this knowledge cost a London syndicate, prin- of tilting. He is quite righb in that thought for resistcipally engineers, a quarter of a million sterling jn 1874,
and it is probable that those of them who are still on this
PiA). 7. )>>-i"'"~
side-I cannot speak for the others-may nob even yet_
have come into possession of the knowledge for which
they paid so much, I will in this letter give a somewhat
elaborate ex,Plana.tion of how the gyroscopic couple is
set up, and 1ts magnitude.
Other remarks by me on this subject are in this
journal ab pages 307, Octobqr 16, 1874 ; 347, October 30,
1874; and 421, l\IIay 21, 1875. In the second of these,
W uv ought to read W uv.

i%
Fig. 1, let R QS T te a disc rotating in itEl own plane
in a frame mounted on gimbals, free to be tilted in any

direction. When the apindle is being inclined in any

plane there is thereby a force couple set up in a plane at
right angles to the firsb plane, tending to tilt the disc,
that edge of the disc which is moving in the same
direction as the end of the spindle is moved tending to move towards that end of the spindle. For
example, if the upper end of the spindle 0 be inclined
t owards S, the couple then set up tends to raise Q, which
is moving parallel to 0 S, and to depress T which is
moving in the opposite direction. Again, in a spinning
t op, if R is falli ng, the couple, thereby set up, raises T
and depresses Q. The rising of T, however, moves
0 in the direction in which the circumference of
the disc at R is rotating, and thereby a righting
couple is set up, tending to raise R.
The faster
R descends, the greater becomes the couple tending to
raise it. When the condition of balance is attained, the
disc having then aequired momentu?l. in the dir~~tio~ of
depression, passes beyond that pos1t10n of eqUI~Jbnum,
increasing the righting couple beyond the magn1tude of
the static couple, due to weight and overhang ; so that
the centre of. gravit~ is again elevated with a .sli.ght vel?city which 18 suffi01ent to carry the upward t1ltmg aga.m
past the position of static eq_uilibrium, and so the ~op
keeps on spinning but wavermg continually to one o1de
and the other of the position of inclined balance. I have
now to explain bow this force ~ouple is .created. .
Restrict the thought to a dtsc rotatmg as F1g. 1. but
now free to be tilted only upon the Q T axis. When
n ot tilting, the rotation of the disc is made up of
two sets of uniform rectilineal motions- one in, say, the
direction R S, and the other in the direction Q T.
Let the rotation about the spindle be n radians '(>er
second. The velocity in the R S direction in any line
parallel to R S, as in U .B o~ W V, at ~istance. x !rom t~e
centre is n x, at any pomt m these hnes. Stmlla.rly, m
lines parallel to
T. ab ~ist~nce '!I from th~ centre the
velocity in the Q T duect100 1S n '!/,at any po~nt. ~hen
the disc is tilting about t?e a.x1s Q T With. ';lmform
angular velocity. say. m. rad~ans per second, ~ r1~1~g, the
velocity-in-any-hne l[B JS unt~orm, = n x ; but th~s 1s comp ounded with a varymg velo01ty = my, perpend1cular to
the plane of the disc, and it ts not obvious how the force
effects of theee changes of velocity at different points can
be snmmed up and expressed as o~e de~nite f!Jrce co~ple.
Along UB thelartic~es are ~ovm~ wt~h um.fo'rm l.mear
velocity n x, t!'n the lme UB IS also movmg w1th umform
angular veloctty m. Observe that these are components
only of the actual motion at any point, but i b ~s necessary
to take the components se.pa.ra~e~y. .T~e mot10n parallel
to Q T, the axis of th~ tlltm~, 1s el~mm~ted altogether,
for it is uniformly n y m the Q T d~rect10n compoun~ed
with n~ y vertically without v~riation, and therefore ~1b~
out force. Substitute for this problem ~nother whJC.h 1s
yeb the same problem. Let U B J:>e a rlfle b~rrels~mg
ing in a vertical plane on a trunmon at A, w1th .umform
angular velocity m ; a bullet t~avels along t?Is barrel
at uniform velocity ?.t.: What IS the accelert~y of t~e
bullet upwards at any instant ? The answe~ 1s :. ltJ 1s
2 m u, wherever the bullet may be, ~hether ~t be 1n the
ascending portion or the descendtn~ p ort10n of the
barrel and whether near to the trunn10n or at a great
distan'ce from it, its direction is ~he same as that ?f the
part it is going to. Qn the Q s1de of R S t~at ~ upward on the T side ib lB downward. Up to tb1slomt I
have 'only enunciated what ha-s yet to be prove The
proof comes n ow.
.
In Fig. 2 A is the trunnion, A
1~ the ba.rr~l, a~d t~e
bullet is shown with an arrow to md1~ate the d1rect10~ m
which it moves. In a short interval.of t1me the ba.~relswmgs
from A C to AN, and the bulleb m the same t1me passes
from B to C, C having then reached N. At B ~he bul!et
had velocity B H upwards and BC outwards 1n the .m terval. The actual velocity was therefore B E, th~ h.ne
.00t drawn, at that instant.
As the angle N A C 18 m-

:&

a r cos ~ - h sin { = B H - F G,

At limit E M =

F0.2.
E p

-- A"
(111&8)

c
M

J.

m
~~

dz

...

.B

'

F
p

...... b.
.J.1

+ 2h ~
2

= 2 a h = d2 v, v b eing upward velocity, or

2md t.ud t
d,2 v,
.
or
2mu = d2 v2 = acceI enty,
d t
or
2 m n x = accelerity, as befvre.
For those who have the trigonometrical brain sense, it
would be simpler to take a particle in the disc in Fig. 1,
which is in the fixed horizontal plane ab time, t = o,
and which is at timet at x, y, the disc tilting on Q T only,
and, consequently,
z = y sin m t
dx
d'!J
- = -n y
d t = n x,
dt
,

--.N

Jj

::::::..

-A

tion acc)rdin~ to Fig. 3. in which the respective velocities are strictly plainly represented. In the jnterval
d t the barrel describes the angle CAN = m d t = a,
and the bulleb travels BC = u d t, arriving a~ N at the
end of the interval. Draw B D perpendicular to AB,
and equal to the arc length B H; draw D F equal and
parallel to B C. The actual velocity of the bullet ab B
for the timed t is the straight line which would join B F.
Next dra.w B J perpendicular to AN, make B J equal to
the arc length of C N, and draw J M equal and parallel
to H N. The actual velocity of the bullet at M is the
straight line equal and parallel to the line which would
join B M. We want now the difference i n upward
velocity for the two instants. Draw the horizontal lines
J L, D G, E F, and the verticalline3 B K, ME, G F. The
difference of upward velocities at B, and at N is E M
in the time d t.
Analytically Fig. 3 gives, collecting the symbols,
m= angular velecity about Q T,
n = angular velocity about spindle axis,
u = linear' v~looity of bullet m the barrel, or along UB.
x = distance from centre line R S,
y = distance from centre line 0 T,
a = indefinitely small angle CAN,
r = distance AB at the commencement of interval,
h = BC the distance travelled in the barrel in the

mtervaJ,
d t = the indefinitely short interval of time.
Then we have
a (1 + h) cos~ + h tin !! = B K + L M,

difference = ah cos~ + 2 hsin ~ = EM,

Fig.3.

I, 1901.

-0

ance to tilting; hub for every particle a.t distance y in

any line U B, there is an equal particle at - y in the
same line also actin~ upwards, these mutually cancel out
as moments about Q T, and the only gyroscopic couple is
that tending to tilt the disc about R S, the arm is there
fore x . I am treating the disc as free to tilt on the Q T
axis only, and as the forces are all upward in direction on
one side of R S, and all downward on the other side
where x is negative, and equal from end to end of any
line parallel toRS, and in pairs equally distant from the
axis of tilting, it is evideut they produce no resistance to
tilting beyond what the friction may be in the bea.ringa.
This non-resistance holds true only while the tilting is
restricted to one plane; allow the disc to tilb on both the
axes of the gimbals, and each would then produce a
for~e-couple tending to stop the other's tilting.
The contribution of each particle to the force-couple
is therefore 2 m n x2 ~ , for whether x is p ositiye or neg
gativ~, its Equare. is positive.
Bub, the force is d<;>w~
on one half and up on the other half; yes, and so 1s 1t
with a positive couple or a negative one, its force has
contrary signs at the opposite sides of the axis. To sum
these elements of the couple, it has to be noticed that the
central distance or radius for any particle is p = J x 2 + y'2.
The summation of all the m n :_u x 2 is evidently equal
g
to the sum of all the rn n ~ y 2 ; therefore if W be the
g
whole weight of the disc, we can write ~ 2 m n x 2 ~ =
g

m n p?. W where p is the mean-square radius, called

the radiu~ of gyration about the spindle axi~. Now,
m p is the lineal velocity of tilting at that radius,
n p is the lineal velocity of rotation.
If, therefore, 'lt. and v are written for these two velocities,
we geb W u v =the gyroscopic couple set up by tilting.

.
nxsmmt

ctt
d2 z
- .; = - n 2 y sin m t
d t.

+ mycoamt

+ 2.m n x cos m t- m.-" y em.

1n

As the angle m t is ~ractically nil, the sine vanishes, and

the cosine= 1, leaviDg
d2 z
d ., = 2 1n n x = accelerity
tas before.
I must leave it to tbo3e who know the weights and t he
speeds to calculate the gyroscopic couple in the Cobra.
Without pretending ab all even to guess at the right
figures, I ~ve an example of the calculation, aiming only
to be outs1de of the possible actual figures.
Say that the rotatling weight on each shaft was 5 toDP,
at radius of gyration 2 fb. It is immaterial where the
weight was along the sha.fb. Say that the pitching was
20 ft. up at one end when the other was 20 ft. down, and
take as the maximum velocity that the 40 fb. at each end
was described in one second. Say that the shafts revolved
ab 1800 revolutions per minute-I thought the speed wa-s
more, but one of your correspondents says itl was 1200.
We have then the following data :
Angular velocity of pitching = 40 ...;- 100 = . 4
,
,
rotation 1800 x 271"760=188.5
Radius of gyration
.. .
.. .
. ..
= 2 ft:.
W eight .. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. .
= 5 tons
~-=-----=-w U V 5 X 188.5
X 2 X .4 X 2
= 47 foot-tons
- -----~~----g
32
or 9! foot-tons for each pair of shafts. The forces would be
applied to the journals at more than 20ft>. distance, so that
the lateral forces might amount to 4.7-sa.y 5-tons dis tributed over the whole engine foundations. This would
be at one side and there would be the same at the other
side acting in 'the opposite direction, makin~ up one internal stress, tending to rend the engine frammg laterally,
bub less than the strength of any one bolt, even the
smallest used in the construction. These weights are,
however, absurdly in excess. I have s-iven figures merely
to take away from the mysterr wh1ch seemed to hang
over this insinuated cause of failure. Although I have
written this I ask it> to be remembered that I was called
upon to do ibo I am sure that Mr. Parsons, the inventor,
knows far more about gyroscopic ac tion .than I do, but I
think he will be better pleased to see th1s work done by
an outsider.
Yours faithfully,
J. l'v!AOFARLA.NE GRAY.
London, October 22, 1901.

. ..

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.

The u he~e is nob the u of the earlier part of the deSnt -In your issue of the 25th inst. Sir Hiram lVIaxim

monstratwn.
Some reader may dislike the liberty with which limit has given some interesting fig.ures under the ~hove headconsiderations have been applied to simplify B J and ing. Will you allow me t o pomt out the actwn of some
J M in Fig. 2. I shall therefore repeat the demonstra forces which must break the monotony of those figures by

Nov.

I, I 90 I.

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

pucting some life into the plus a11d minus quantiti~. I

base m y statements on an exhaustive experimental
nn&lysis of gyroscopic action wbioh I made in the year
1877, when the firat double gyroscope ever made was
O)nstruokd for me by ~Ieasra. Griffiths.
L et th e circles in the annexed diagram represent a
reotion of the rotating p ortion of two turbines. looking
forward s so t bn.b starboard is on the right band and larboard on the left band of the diagram. The arrows
A A A represent the direction of the action of gravity on
every p:ntiole tending t o give a velocity of 16.1 ft. per
second. L et the arrows B and 0 represent a mean velocity of rotation of 16.1 fb. per eecond, wbioh is a fraction
the actual velocities attained.
There are then two equal forces acting on the rotating p9.r tiole3.
One is the force of gravity acting
in the same direction on every particle. The other
is the mechanical force, which impresses the motion
of rotation and acts ab B in the s 1me direction as
gravity, but ab 0 against gravity.
The two forces
~herefol'e counteract each other ab 0, and combine to con
stitute a foroe equivalent to a velocity of 32.2 fb. per
second at B. Therefore, though the asgregate down ward
force is the same, whether the turbmes are ab resb or
rotating, the rotation te nds bo change the str~ss on the
A

11

V '" " '

axis ~; and, v.. i oh the direobions of rotation as shown in

the diag ram, that tendency is to force the turbines
farther apart. whilst no other motion is impressed on the
turbines ; and ab the same time the momentum of rotation counteracts that stress as long as the vessel is propelled in a straight line on an even keeJ. But every
rolling or pitching motion of the ship alters the ratio of
forces on opposite aides of eaoh turbine, and consequently
th e character of the stress on each axis .
I n the pitching motion the outward stress is intensified
as the turbine drops with the ship's motion, and is reversed to a n inward stress as the turbine is lifted with
the ship's m otion, so that there is no alternation of stresses
outwards and inwarda with each pitch; and by the
rolling motion the stresses caused by the pitching are
increased in the starboard, and diminished in the larboard
turbine as the shiJ? rolls t o starboard, and that action is
reversed as the ship recovers from the roll.
In addition to the foregoing vertical actions of force
and the corresponding horizontal stresses caused by the
pitching and rolling of the ehip, horizontal actions of
force accompanied by verbical stresses on the bearings of
the turbines, a re caused by the latter motion. As the
ship rolls to starboard the aug_mente d forces of motion at
Kin the star board, and ab H in the larbonrd turbine,
resist the rolling motion and create stresses in the direction K H in the starboard, and H K in the ll\rboard turbine, which are reversed as the ship recovers from the
roll.
I o~nnob suppose that the direob action of the force
generated in the above m~nner can be such as t o
be of any g reat importance amon~ the stres3es which
actually broke the back of the Cobra) but it seems
evident that suoh alternations of strees may gradually create mischief if nob clearly understood and
provided for when fixing the engines i n the ship. If
the stresses 1 have described were sufficient to contribute
materially t o breaking the back of the Cobra, there would
have been a. perceptible oha.nge in the character of the
vibrations of the turbines every time the ship's helm was
pub over to change her course, and also a real8ta.nce to the
change of course which could nob have failed bo be practically apparent to any na.visating officer a ccustomed to
other ship~. This latter a otaon is distinct from the gyroscopic action I have described, being due only to the
necessity for the exertion of force t o change the direction of
the momentum of the rotating turbines, whereas the gyro
scopic action above deRoribed is an effort t o force .changes
of the plane of rotation, and is due to reaction against
motion.

I a.m, Sir, your obedient servan t,

October 28, 1901.

\Vli. LKIG H'l'ON Jono~N.

'fo

'1' 11 11:

Emron

Oil' BNOINJ1:EUtNo .

SIR,- ir J:liram S. Maxim's letter in your issue c f

October 18 is nob a very eatisfactory answer to the inquiries
(iu the two previous numbers) of ' Ignoramus and ~Ir.
1~. ,V. Serrell, Jun. Sir Hi ram is quite right in saying
that two equal gyroscopes revolving ab equal speeds in
opposite directions (of course, with their shafts parallel)
have no effect in displacing the frame containing them, in
this o&Se the ship: nor do they oppose any resistance to its
motion. Bub nevertheless, large stresses are set up, n.ud I
take it thab your inquirers wish to have some idea of the
magnitude of these stress~, which they think may in some
way have helped to cause the disaster. Ibis hardly norreot
of Sir Hiram to say that there is no g1rosta.tio effect in the
case of the two oppositely -turning bod1es ; suppose the bearings heated when the frame was swung, and nob when it
was at rest, would that be a gyrostatic etfeob ? S uppose the
shafts were bent, or theframetornasunder,aswould happen
if the bodies ran fasb enough and the frame were displaced

t.hid prevents the apparatus from tumbli~g off. When

spun rapidly and placed on the ~up~rb, 1t does not faH
d own. as one might expect, eyen 1f ~etghted ab the ~uter
end of the axis, but precesses m a honzontal plane ; tf the
rotation is in the direction shown by the arrow on the
top, the precession will be as indicated by the arrow a
in Fig. 2.
Anticipating the ine vitable question, "Why d oes nob
the axis d escend in a. vertical plane, as c~~mo~ sense
would indicate ?" I will just say tha.b If It .d1d, t~e
rotation would have a component a bout a ver~cal axts,
and we have no couple about a vertical a~is. ~t is impossible to have a rotation about any ax1s w1thout a
CO\l_ple about that axiP.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the machine, 0 being the point of
support, and 0 A the position of the tlxis of the top at
any moment. It is prS?esaing, as shown by the ar~ow,
0 ,. and 0 Z are co-ordJDa.te axes of reference at r 1ght
angles to on e another.
Now we have the axis 0 A rotating at a sp eed n
radians pt-r second, and a. couple consisting. of a. dow.n
ward force ab A, and an ( q ual upwl\rd reaot1on at 0, Its
magnitude bein~ C, suoh as would, if applied to twist
the axis a.b:mt 0 A, accelerate it n rad1ans per second
every second.
Fig. t.
' Ve may resolve the rotation about 0 A into two com
ponen b rotations about 0 .. and 0 Z. If 8 be the angle
between 0 A and 0 X , the component about 0 X (call it
the 0 X rotation) is a cos 8; an d the 0 Z rotation is
a sin 8.
Also we may resolve the couple 0 into an 0 Z couple
C cos 8, and an 0 X couple 0 sin 8.
Then so far aa concerns the 0 Z rotation, its rate is
already n sin 8, and it is being increased ab the rate of
n cos 8 radians per second per second. because an 0 Z
couple in the same direction as the rotation is acting, of
magnitude 0 cos 8. Since C couple produces n rotation
c cos 0 couple will produce n cos 0 rotation.
Similarly, as concerns the 0 ... ' rotation, its amount is
n cos 8, and it is being diminished a.t the rate n sin 8,
because a couple in the opposite direction to the rotation,
Fig Z
of magnitude C sin 8, is acting.
Ab what rate then mus t the ax is 0 A swing round the
quadrant, for the component rotations to be accelerated
and retarded r espectively, at rates proportional to the
I
respective component couples? Why, ab one radian per
second ; because for uniform motion of the radius of a
l.
I
oirole the rat e of increase of the sine is the cosine , and
I
the rate of diminution of the cosine is th e sinE:. If your
'
inquirers ever learned e 'er so little of the differential caloulus, however well they have forgotten it, it will aureJy
come back to them that the differentia l coefficient of the
sine is the cosine, and that of the cosine, minus the sine ;
the minus meaning merely that the cosine diminishes as
the angle increases. If the conception is new to them,
any of their friends who know the calculus will explain
it to them. It hardly requires the calculus to eee that if
z
Fig.3.
the I?Oinb A moves uniformly round the circle, the line
A () lB lengthening ab a rate represented by 0 0, t o the
same scale as the radius represents the speed of the
point, and 0 C is diminishing ab a rate A C.
Suppose the radius is 1 ft., and at every point the
fraction of a foot, a.b the rate of which A C is lengthening per second, is equal to the cosine of the angle A 0 . . ~ ;
.707 h . per second ab 45 deg. (cosine 4Gdeg.=.707 ft.)
~ ft. p er second at 60 deg. , and so on, then the point A
must be moving ab 1 ft. per second, or one radian per
second. If instead of takmg the radius as unity, we take
it a t n feet, and if everywhere the rate of 1norease of
A C is n oos 8, then the radius swings ab one radia n per
second.
So in the case of the 0 Z rotation, n is represented
ex
by the radius of the circle : A 0 represents the 0 Z rota
tion, or n sin 8. 'Ye have seen that this last is always
increasing at a. rate 0 cos 8 ; therefore the line 0 A swings
The formula CJnnecting the rate of precession wi~h the through one radian per second.
I hope that makes the mat ter clear for the free gyrodaba of the revolving body isstab. When we come to a constrained gyrosta.t, like the
C = "'yV K2 a w,
steam turbine in a pitching ship, it is only necessary to
(/
considel\ what couple would be needed to produce the
where 0 is the couple in feet and pounds applied to pitching motion of the gyros tat if it were free and make ib
follow the motion of the ship; that is, the couple which is
chan ge the direction of the axis :
called into existence when the ~yrosbat is forcibly comW is the re volving weight.
pelled to change the direction of u s axis.
K the radius of gyration.
So, then, to give a. numerical value to the stresses in the
.n the rate of rotation aboub axis, in angular measure, Cobra, all we want is the weight of the revolving parts,
i.e., a radians per second.
their radius of gyration, and the number of revolutions
w the rate of prec~s10n, in angular measure.
per minutP, and the maximum rate of pitching. This
maximum rate of pitch is probably double the mean
The ana.lye.is of the formula is this :
rate observed by taking the number of degrees pitched
W KZa is the couple required to produce the rot u.ry through in so many seconds. While it would be interesting to know the amount of these stresses, I would ask
spoedgn in one second. I think it unnecessary to demon- "Ignoramus" and Mr. Serrell, how could stresses of this
strate that here, as it is a piece of elementary dynamics nature have caused the loss of the ship ? Their t endency
generally known. Well, this couple, if applied in a plane is to draw the forward ends of the port and starboard
passing through the axis, will, as I shall presently show, shafte together, and separate the after ends\ one moment;
cause precession in a. plane at right angles to that of the and the next to do the contrary. If tne gyrostatio
couple, ab the rate of one radian per second.
couples were great enough to disintegrate the structure,
Therefore the oou{>le necessary to produce w radians they would begin by loosening the attachments of the
per second of precess10n is w times ns great, or
turbine beds to the floors on which they rested ; or if
K ::l w
those attachments were too strong, break the floore, and
--split the ship fore and aft, like a haddock. How could
u
they possibly have helped to break her transversely, ab a
S o all we have to prove, in order to establish this for- point a long way for ward of the engine room?
mula, is thab "the couple which would produce the
Your obedient servant,
observed degree of rotation in a revolving body in one
C. A. 1\la'ITHEY.
second will, if applied to the axi~ produce precession
Rue Basseinaya 15, Kriff, 12, October 25, 1901.
1
ab the rate of one radian per second. '
P . S.-After reading over the above it occurs t o me to
To fix the ideas. consider a gyrosta.b of simple construction, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A metal ring c.ontains a top add-let your inquirers take an imaginary case, to form
running in centres, and at. one end of the. a.xts of. the top some conception of whab the stresaes are likely to have
there is attached to the rmg a. crooked p1ece which rests been in this ship. Take a revolvin~ weight of 2 tons, for
on the sharp point of a. fixed vertical support the centre instance, for one turbine, and a radius of gyration of 1 fb.
of gravity being thus brought a little below the supports This would mean a. solid cylinder of cast iron 34 in. in

angularly fast enough, would bhab ? Nay, if the stresses

induced in the bearings by the forced change of t~e
direction of the exie, prod.uced no ill resu~te, i~ n ot t~etr
very existence a gyrostat10 effeob '? Your mquuers thmk
these str~ses '11ULY have been severe enough to oaveWTeoked
the ship. I do not; 1 am sure they had nothing to do
with it. But the question is quite a legitimate one for
these ~entlemen to raise, and it should be answered satisfaotorlly. There must be no mystery, and no false
doctrine, on a. subject of suoh national importance.
What couple, then, is called into existence when a b~y
of a. given weight and radius of gyration, and revolvmg
ab a given speed, has its axis forcibly displaced angularly
ab a given rate '!
.
I ~ay disputoed angulartv, because, of coursP, bodtly
t ranslation of the axis parallel to itself produces no gyro
static etfeo~.
It facilitates the proof if we first ask the converse of
the above question, viz : At wha.b rate .will~ give':' couP,le
cause a given gyrostab t o change the dJreot1on of 1ts axas,
or " move in precession," or more shortly " precesa " ?
'\Ve can hardly do without this verb.

"r

I
I

J '

'v

n .

E N G I N E E R I N G.
diameter and 19 in. thick. Assume about 1000 revolutions
per minute for the turbine, say 100 ra.dia.ns per second
~nd a.. rate of pitching <?f about 6 deg. per second, sa.y
TlJ ra.dtan.
The gyrosta.btc couple would then be
4480 X 12 x 100
x
= 1400 foot-pound$.
32

10

If the bearings were 5 lb. apart, this would mean a.

pressure on each of 280 lb.-a mere trifle. If I ba.ve not

a.ssumed sufficient weight or speed~, let any one take

~ouble or three times ~he above weight, and two or three
trmes the spe.ed, and mcre~e the radius of gyration and
the rate of p1toh as he wlll; he will find it difficult to
show any dangerous stress.
C. A. M.

THE ELEC~RIFICATION OF THE

METROPOLITAN RAILWAYS.

To THE EDITOR oF ENGINEERING.

Srn,-We have read your interestin~ leading article on
the "Electrification of the Metropolitan Railways , which
a.p~ea.re~ in your issue of October 11, and sho~ld feel
obhged ~f YO';l would allow us apace for a. few remarks in
connectton Wlbh th~ three-phase syste!D for tra.?tion purposes. We feel entttled to say somethmg on tbtS subjecb
beca~se we, as the pioneers of three-phase traction, are
certat!llY the onl.v: firm that can speak from practical
expenence extendmg over several years. and also because
the two lines which you quote as instances, viz., the
Stansstad Engelberg, and the Burgdollf-Tbun lines were
designed and equipped by us.
,
We d J nob want! to discuss the advantages and disa.dvantag~s of the three-phase syst~m as compared with
the contmuous-current system, netbher do we wish to
exprees our opinion as to the adaptability of the threeJ?hase system to the electrification of the Metropolitan
Railw~ys; we onl;r want to raise the question whether
there IS any necessity to call the proposals which Messrs.
Ganz and Oo. made for this scheme a new system, and to
give it a special name-the Ganz system.
As a rule, a new name is only given to something
original, but we really do nob see that there is anything
new in tbe proposals of Messrs. Ganz and Co.
The adoption of a. low periodicity cannot be considered
new. Indeed, low periodicities have been in use ever
since the introduction of polyphase currents, a nd their
advantages and disad 1antages ara known to every electrical engineer. We ourst'lves bad occasion to study the
pro and contra of this question in 1892, when we adopted
a periodicity of 16 cycles per second for all the crane
motors in our works hops. One of the reasons why we
have nob adopted a lower frequency than 40 cycles for
any of our three-phase railway lines i2 simply this, that
we did nob want to exclude the possibilioy of feeding
incandescent and arc lamps from the same supply.
As regards the tension in the contact lines, we think
we have the ri~hb to claim to have done some pioneer
work in this dtrection also, seeing that we succeeded,
wibh the help of reports drawn up by Mr. Gisberb Kapp,
ProfessorS. P. Thompson, and Professor Weber, in persuading the Swiss Government to allow us to employ a
much higher tension than usual. U nforbunately, we were
nob able, here in Switz~rland to get the Government to
sg,nction the use of several thousand volts in the contact
line, which is the only re~on why we did nob employ a
higher tension than we did.*
With regard to the control of three-phase motors, there
can be no doubt that it would be mosb desirable to
have a system analagous to the series-parallel control used
in continuous current traction work. Bub we do not think
tbab the ca~oade control can be said to be the solution.
When, in 1895, we studied our first three-phase line,
the Lngano t ramway, we tested the cascade system, hub
found that ib presented no advantages, and that the total
starting torque obtained by switching two motors in
tandem was smaller, instead of greater, than that obtained
with one motoD alone. Later on, when designing the
Burgdorf-Thun Railway equipment, we repeated theee
experiments, and obtn.ined the E!ame result~. These were
not encouraging, and it is really no wonder tbab thid
should be the case when one considers the action of two induction motors in cascade. As far as we know, other
workers in the field have come to the same conclusion.
Under these circumstances, and in consideration of the complication of the apparatus necessitated by the above system,
we preferred to adhere to t~e ordinary resisba!lce control
until we could find an eqUivalent to the series-parallel
control, wbicb is sure to be invented sooner or later; indeed, we have already made successful experiments in
this direction. As regards the simple resistance control!
this is nob nearly such a bad system as some people woula
like to make out; it may be of interest to your readera. to
hear in this connection that on the Burgdorf-Thun hne
we start h eavy trains on the level wit~ an accelE~ration as
high as 1~ ft. per second per second, w1thout takmg more
current from the line than t he normal current.
Lastly, referring to another feature of the so-called
Ganz system, the flexible sus pension of the motors with
hollow axles driving direct, we need scarcely point out
that this again is nothing new. We do nob kno'! who
was the originator of this arrangeme~t, ?ut would hk~ to
mention that we adopted a very s1m1lar construot1on
many years ago for the motors of the Heih?Jann loeomottves which were so much talked of at the ttme. t
W~ began by mentioning that our firm is the only one
*The beat proof that ~Iessra. Ganz and C?. have been
guided by us is that in the early part of thlB. year they
obtained permission from us to employ for tbetr own parposes the reports of the above-mentioned experte.
t The same method of suspension was later on adopte.d
by the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest on thetr
"ligna des Invalid ea a Meudon.,

which can speak from actual experience concerning threephase traction, and we believe tbat some practical results,
although not bearing directly on the question raised by
uez, may be of interest to your readert~.
The B.urgdorf. Thun Railway has now been running on
fuJl serv10e for two years a.nd a half, and during this time
no repairs whatever have been necessary on any of the
motors. The windings a.nd slip rings are as good as new.
We have not ha.d to replace a. single bearing bush, and
the small air gap, which everybody declared would turn
out to be a. continual source of trouble, has caused none
whatever-not even a minute's stop.
In fact, the wear and repairs of the whole equipment
are so insignificant that many of the continuous-current
traction engineers, who frequently visit the BurgdorfThun Railway, are absolutelf incredulous when given
data concerning the cost of mamtenanoe.
Yours faithfully,
Aktiengesellscbaft BROWN, BoVERI, ET Cm.
Baden, October 26, 1901.

TESTING DOWSON GAS.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIB,-Referring to "Anthracite's, letter on page 589
of your last ies ue, may I ask if he will kindly describe
the simple method of testing boiler flue gases that he
refers to, or say in what book it can be found.
I am, &c.,
October 29, 1901.
STOKER.

THE VIBRATION OF ENGINES.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-! have just read Mr. H. Tecbel's letter on page
589 of your last issue rega.rdins my balanced engines, and
trust the following will be in time to be published in nexb
issue of ENGINEERING :
His criticism is correct. There is a slight difference in
the movements of the two pistons in one of the designs,
Figs. 2 to 13, given in my paper. The stroke of the
engine being 48 in., the variation has a. maximum value
of about ~ in. only. On noticing the difference a short
time ago, in order to obviate any possible doubt as to the
success of my method of balancing. I modified the design
to make the movements of the pistons exaobly opposite,
as it is in the others published in my payer.
In modifying the plan I found that al the advantages
I claimed for this form of engine could be fully retained.
I send herewith a. blue print showing the new design,
and I anticipate that a paper containing it will be published in the course of next month.
I am, yours faithfully,

[Nov.

I, 1901.

from stoppages of the locomobiles for water and fueJ, ard

from two oases in which the cara are said to have ben
frequently stopped by ignition troubles, there are about
110 a.coidenta.l stoppages on the road recorded as due to
troubles which may be classified under the following ten
beads : Brakes, 7 ; Carburettors, 3 ; Circulation, 6 ;
Fuel, 12; Engines, 21; Ignition, 23; Lubrication, 7 ;
Sundries, 23; TransmissiOn, 7 ; Wheels, 1. Thus on the
a.verag~ the cars were each stopped from all these causes
a.pproxtmately once every second day, the average length
of the stoppages being about twenty minutes; but ten
were finalbnecessitating the abandonment of the run, and
of these t ree were due to byre troubles.
One set of pneumatic tyres were entered for competition
by the Dunlop Company which failed five times through
three punctures a.nd two leakages, and alohough the
report says the tyres behaved well, the committee do nob
recommend any award in respect of them.
Mr. Sturmey, in hie reporb on the trials, estimates that
80 per cent. of all stoppages were due to byre troubles
alone, which would give about 100 stoppages from this
cause, the stoppages under none of the other heads above
given having been more than 23.
Had all the ca.rs suffered a.s many troubles with their
tyres as that with the competing set, there would have
been altogether over 180 stoppages due to this cause ;
and had all the cars been stopped as often by troubles
due to each of the above ten chief sources of trouble as
the oar using the seb of competing tyres was stopped by
troubles with them, tbe total number of stoppages would
have been about 1800. On this basis the relative efficiency or non-efficiency of the tyreez, as compared with
the other parts of the cars, may be estimated to be ab
1 ii to 18; or taking Mr. Sturmey's figure of about 100
actual stoppages due to the tyres, as compared witb tbe
very similar number due to all the ten chief sources of
trouble, this may be estimated to be as 1 is to 11.
Surely it should be possible to devise tyres which will
not be so far behind in efficiency all the other parts of
the cars, as those still in common use thus prove t o ~.
But how can efficiency be expected so long as, while all
other parts of the cara have been continually modified
and specialised to secure the high degree of efficiency
now attained with them, pneumatic tyres remain in all
essentials the crude device of 1845, which is really nob
a tyre at all, but merely an air cushion applied boa wheel,
qtiite devoid of any special adaptation for the particular
function it has to fulfil as a tyre.
Yours truly,
London, October 28. 1901.
THoMAS D uNN.

THE INSTITUTION 0~' JUNIOR ENGINEERS - The annual

general meeting of this Institution was held ab the WestJ OBN H. 1HAOALPINE.
minster Palace Hotel on October 25, the chairman, :N!r.
Viewfield, Kilmalcolm, October 29, 1901.
Percival Marshall, presiding. After the usual prelimi nary business was di$posed of, the Council's report on the
RADIATION OF HEAT },ROM POLISHED work of the pa sb year and accounts relating to that
period were presented and adopted. Tbe report stated
AND DULL SURFACES.
that there had been no fewer than 103 elections, bringing
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-Will you permit me to make two remarks on up the total membership bo 652. The names of Professor
your kind and appreciative notice {on page 511 of your G. F. Fitzgerald, F.R.8., hon. member, of Dublin, ::1\;Ir.
1ssue of October 11) of my paper to the .British Associa- L ouis F. Awde, d London, and Mr. E. H. S. Cooper, of
tion on "Radiation of Heat! and Light fro m P olished Rugby, membera, had been removed by d eath. In addition to the seven monthly meetings, an additional meetand Dull Surfaces?,
The first is this. Your reporter says : " There was ing had been held under the title of "Engineering
also a suspicion that the two platinum s trips were nob Question Nighfl," when a number of different engineerquite alike." So far M I know, there is no ground for ing questions were dealt with, this new feature in the
this suspicion. The two strips were cub from one length programme proving very successful. The Institution
of a platinum strip, specially prepared, and rolled oub premium had been awarded to l\Ir. Samuel Cutler, Jun.,
from a platipum wire by Messrt-. Johnaon and Matthey. for his paper on " C~~trburetted vVater G~. , Th e C . .mncil
My tests snowed that they were as nearly identical m bad accepted the offer of the sum of five guineas made by
every quality as platinum strips could be expected to be. Mr. W. H. Norbhcobb, hon. member, to be competed for
They had the same breadth, the same thickness, and by the m em bars in the preparation of a paper on the
almost the same electrical resistance per unit of length. "Mutual Relations of Employers and Employed;" and
I cannot think that there was any difference in quality the three adjudicators, consistin~ of Mr. Northcobb
between them. I have tried many sucb strips, all made himself, Mr. J. A. F. Aspinall, and Mr. Archibald Denny,
by Messrs. J ohnson and Ma.tthey, and in my paper, bad awarded the prize to Mr. W.illiam P o wrie. Referwhich, owing to the latene3a of the hour, was only read ence wa~ made to the opening last June of the Institution
in abstract, I expressed my thanks bo Messrs. J ohnson offices a.b 39, Victoria-street, the rooms having been
and Matthey for the great trouble which they had taken suitably furnished as library, reading and writing rooms,
in endeavouring to provide me with platinum strip of &c. There had been elev~n visits to engineering works
in London and the vicinity, and during the summer
which bhe quality could not be questioned.
The second remark that I have to make is on the meeting ab Plymouth, the Government establishments ab
criticism of Professor Bailey, who "thought that the Devonpor~, and a number of engineering and other works
resulbs were hardly compatible with the experience of had been ins pected. Acknowledgments of the courtesy
incandescent lamp makel'fl, who found no difference in meb with on all these occasions were recorded in the
the efficiency of flashed and unfiashed filament~. " I can reporb. R eference wa& also made to the Engineering
only say that I do not think that Professor Bailey is Congress ab Glasgow, which the Institution bad been
correct in this supvosition. The makers of incandescent invited to take part in, a. number of the members being
lamps naturally g~ve very little information to outsiders pre!!enb. To the provincial technical societies an invitaas to their results, but my belief is that they all know tion had been addressed, enabling any of the member~,
that there is a very great ditierencA between a properly who might be t emporarily resident in London. to attend
flashed filament and an unflashed filament in the matter the meetings of the Institution. The- council were cooperabin~ with the German Society of Engineers in the
of economical production of light.
My paper was given only m very shorb abstract, as compilatiOn of a German-EnglishFrench technical dicthe meetmg was a.boub to close for the day. I have a tionary. It was announced that the premier position
great many results, all of which confirm my conclusione. in the Wbitworth Scholarship Examinations for 1901
I hope to publish the papershorbly in a somewhat modified had been obtained by a member of the Institution, Mr.
C. E. Hardy1 of Plymouth. Allusion having been mad e
form, probably in the '' Philosophical Magazine.,
to the appombment register, the utility of which was
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
being much improved ; to the library, which, now that
J. T. BO'l"l'O~lLEY.
the Institution bad offices would be considerably deve
13 University Gardens, Glasgow, October 26, 1901.
['Dr. Bottomley, eo far as we remember, did say that loped; and to tbe accounts, which showed that t he finances
notwithstanding all precautions-be appeared to have were in a satisfactory condition. The report concluded
been exceedingly careful-there wa~ a. possibility of the with some observations as to future arrangements, intwo strips not being under identical condibione.-ED. E.] cluding the delivery, on November 1, of a presidential
address by Sir John Jaokson, F.R.S.E., to inaugurate
the new session. The election of officers was announced
as follows : Cbairma.n, Mr. P. Marsba.ll; vice-chairman,
THE GLASGOW AUTOOAR TRIALS.
Mr. Kenneth Gray i hon. librarian, ~1r. L . H. .Rugg ;
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SrR,-The official report recorda particulars of about members of Councll, Messrs. S. Cutler, Jun., Ada.m
218 day~' runs made by the competmg cars. Stoppages Hunter, C. J. McNaught, and H. C. Reid, in addition
due to tyre troubles are not recorded. Apart from these, to those remaining in office; seoreba.l'y, !vi". 'V. T. D:1nn.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
the miners' secretary. The object is t o r estrict supplies, and thus force up prices. As a matter of
abstract right, t he working miners have as much r ight
to restrict p roduction as coa.lowners have, or merchants
to produce an a r t ificial scar city in order to maintain
or increase prices. But t he policy is a very questionable one, m or e esp ecially so on the part of the men.
Others may be able t o exploit t he ma rket wit h impunity ; the men cannot d o so. If the ooalowners take
no action, the suspicion will be that t h ey wink at the
cour se t a ken. The manifesto puts it as a protest
against t he making of contracts at lower rates than
the average prices declared at the last sliding-so~le
audit. But if the coalowners and miners, as represented on the sliding-scale com mittee, endeavour to
use that committee as a monopolist organisation to
rule the markets, in what sense a re they better than
the great American t rusts, except in name? Truly,
some of the present labour l eaders take a strange
view of the situation. Their action invites legal r estraint, and yet t h ey loudly complain if r estraint is
applied. Here is a case of alleged breach of cont ract
by thousands of men, but numbers cannot sanctify
such a n act, or justify it.

--

"The Anti-Aliens Bill," the outcome of the cry for

a. "White Australia," only interests us here as a n industrial question. It.s political side may be left
severely alone. W hat strikes one as passing strange
is that with the l oud cry for the " solidarity of
labour , -only preached as an English labour policy
since th e new unionism dawned upon the land, and by
Social Democrats who pronounce in favour of the
brotherhood of man-comes this urgent demand for the
limitations of huma n rights in t h e field of labour. The
British Empire covers a vast space of t he h abitable
globe, and i t has within it races of all kinds and
colours, and yet the cit izen of the British Empire is
not to be allowed to carry his labour to all parts of it
as he may t hink fit. China. can be invaded and to
some extent dismembered, but the C hin aman is not to
be permitted to work where he wills. Japan, whose
emergence from barbarism to a civilised state has
been foster ed by England, cannot send her skilful
sons to work in parts of t he British Empire, except by
the permit of the part to which he b ends his steps.
On political grounds it might be defended, but on the
broad ground of labour we fail t o see the justice of the
demand.

The iron trades in t he Wolverhampton district continue fairly brisk in both . cr~de a nd . rolled iron.
Quotations are also well mam tamed, owmg, perhap~,
to the fact that the output a t t he blast-furnaces IS
little more than sufficient to cover existing COJ?-tracts.
Consumers find it difficult to obtain fresh supphes, and
those whose stocks are low have to ma k e an ad vance
on quoted rates to secure early delivery. Marked bars
a re firm at full rates, and the leading makers of unmarked bars can command full list rates. U~marked
iron generally is in active. demand. qa~ v~msers are
r eported to be buying h eavily. Gas stnp I S tn demand
at advanced rates. Hoops and r ods are also firm.
Steelmakers report active inqui~y, and q uotations are
somewhat higher. Generally, 1t woul~ seem, both
crude and finished iron and steel show ant~prove~ent.
In the engineering and allied trades t~ere 1s c_onttn:ued
activity. E lectrical engineers are. st1ll W?rkmg ~1ght
and day shifts. Employ~ent w1t~ engm eers, u on
moulders, boilermakers, b rtdge ~nd gtrder co~structors,
t ank and gasholder makers, sm1t~s ~nd .str1k~rs, continues good ; with motor mak er s It Is. fatr ; w1t h cycle
makers not quite so good. In the rall~ay sheds there
is con tinued activity. The malleable- ~ron ~or~ers at
Walsall are fairly busy ; but the engmeermg mdustries at Coal brookdale and Madeley are reported to
be slack. In the h a rd ware industries fourteen branches
r eport employment to be good, eleven r e port t rade to
have improved, fifteen report t rade as moderate, fo_ur
as quiet and five as slack. Nearly all the ch1ef
bra n ches' a re busy ; i t is only in ~he s~all~r that ther_e
is any complaint. In the l?ottor1es d1strwt the engineering trades report a declme. At Crewe all branch es
are busy, as are the bra~s and copper workers at Oakamoor and Froghall. On the whole, t he reports are

encouragmg.
In the Birmingha m di~tri?t busi.ness in the iron
trades is re ported to be st1ll.1mprovmg. M~kers are,
it is said, well supplied _w1th o~ders. Prtces have
been firm, new business bemg dechned at rates below
the standard lists. In unmarked bars .a k een cometition by Belgian and German makers 1s reported at
~onsiderably b elow the standard rates. There haCJ
been a steady demand for marked bars at full rates.
Good inquiry is r ep orted for . bl9:ck sheets ~nd
alvanised iron. Makers of strip Iron are bus1er,
~bile tinplate makers h a.ve orders on hand to last to
the end of the year. There has been also a moderate
demand for steel. In ~he gene~al branches of trade
employment shows a shgh t declme. In branches of
trade unions, with 18,653 members, 641, or 3.4 per
cent., were reported to be unemployed, as compared

with 3 per oent, in the previous month. In the

engineering industries the re ports are fair. Engineers
in one branch report trade as good, in eight as
moderate, in one as bad; electrical workers, smiths,
and strikers, as good ; boilermak ers as good; toolmakers, pattern makers, and iron founders, as moderate;
at West Bromwich all branches as good ; at Coventry
and Redditch as mod erate. The cycle industry is
q uiet ; the motor section at Coven try bad. The brass
and copper trades are fairly good. The fender branch
is quiet, but improving, at Dudley. T hirteen of the
other iron, steel, and metal trades are good, ten are
fair, one is moderate. In the outlying districts the
various industries are r eported to be good , fair, or
moderate. In t he lighter and more costly metals
employment is good, fairly good, or moderate. Taken
as a whole, the p osit ion is fairly good, a nd the
prospects are en couraging. There are no serious
labour disputes in t he district in any of the iron,
steel, and oth er metal trades.

[Nov.

I, I go I.

The curious colliery dispute in the S wansea Valley

has ended curiously. The dispute arose over the accidental lighting of a match by an overman, the match
being brought into the mine by a workman. The men
demanded the dismissal of the man who by accident
ignited the match, and not the man who brought it
in to the mine. The company refused, and some 1200
men ceased work. The company then paid off the
whole of the pit hands, but posted a notice to the
effect t ha.t the pit was open for the men t o return to
work. After being idle about three weeks, the men
at a mass meeting, h eld last week, accep ted t he employers' terms.

The Master Builders' Association of Swansea have

decided against the accep tance of the Mayor as
mediator between the master builders and the builders'
labourers. The dispute has been going on for a considerable time, and t he employers state that they can
obtain sufficient labour for all present requirements.
The dispute is therefore reduced to this: The men who
In the Lancashire districts it is r eported that in went out on strike are supplanted; many of them
some directions there is a decided decline in the are idle, and therefore they have to r ely upon union
engineering industries as r egards orders to replace funds and subscriptions.
those running out. At the same time many of the
The horse-keepers, yardmen, washer~, stablemen,
firms a re fully engaged upon work in hand, which in
some cases will last for some time. There is, how- an d carmen of London, have formulated a general deever, a decided slack ening off in resp ect of over time. mand for a minimum wage of 5s. per ma n per day.
This has been, in many instances, continuous d uring The London Carmen's Union has been asked to notify
t he past two or three yeare. There are also more this demand to all t h e London 'bus and t ram comunemployed, t h ough so far the list has not greatly p anies, railway companies, cab proprietors, and
extended. A good d eal of n ew work is still coming others employing horses, with the view of obtaining
forward in connection with electrical engineering for t he w ages demanded.
tramways and light ing purposes. The pressure, h owI t is said that the number of unemployed in the
ever, is mostly as regards work already in hand.
Locomotive and rail way carr iage and wagon builders Metropolita n district is increasing so rapidly that there
a re still full of work ; in most cases the orders on hand is a probability of another unemployed agitation t his
will last for another y ear. T he prin cipal toolma kers winter. A long spell of good t rad e does not n ecesa re st ill well engaged, but they are not securing any sarily mean that workmen are able to stand some weeks'
large accession of new work.
Boilermakers are idleness without help. This is especially t he case w it h
scarcely as busy as they were, and the textile machine what is called casual labour.
industry is depressed. The iron trades are inactive
A report has been published t o the effect that a
in so far as heavy orders are concerned. The general
condition of employment in the Manchester and general A narchist movement in favour of a univer sal
Salford district is even blightly better. In branches strike is being organ ised, supported by all t he Euroof trade unions, wi t h 24,677 members, only 895, or 3. 6 pean and American committees. It is eaid that a
p er cent., are returned as unemployed, compared with leading anarchist of Barcelona has, in an interview,
3. 7 p er cent. in t he previous month. The r eports of confirmed the rumour. Spain seems to be the camping
the engineering t rades describe t rade as moderate ground for the movement at present. B ut the said
generally , some good, one branch quiet, at S tockport anarchist is but a vain man if he is righ tly reported. He
only q uiet. At Oldham moderate generally, boiler- stated, so it is said, that there were 90,000 committees,
makers good, plate moulders slack. In the Bolton representing 8,~00,000 workme.n, who were only awai~
district fair, in the Bla.ckburn district slack, but not ing the fina l stgnal for a stnke. The statement 1s
in all section s. This r epresents most of t he other absurd, utterly unworthy of credence. W here are
the 90,000 committees? Where are the 8,000,000
districts.
of workmen ? It may suit some Continental Governments to exaggerate this scare, but it need not cause
I t is often extremely difficult to understand indus a flutter in Great Britain. Some anarchists seem to be
trial mo vements in Frauce. They are often dominated capa ble of any atrocity, but real working men, cra ftsby polit ical or ot her influences, so that labour dis- men, are n ot likely to be led by blood-thirsty assassins.
putes cannot at all t imes be sepa'rated from the political
movements that are for ever shifting t heir base. The
French miners had resolved by their representatives t o
GAS-ENGINE RESEARCH.
inaugurate a general strike on November 1. Then the
Second
Repo
r
t
to
the
Gas-Engilne
Researoh
Oorwmittee.
*
matter was referred to the miners as a body, and the
By Professor FnEDEBIO W. BunsTALL, Member, of
r eferendum resulted in a substant ial majority for a.
Birmingham University.
strike. But it was found that only a moderate pro(Continued jrorn page 595.)
portion of the .whole had voted ; still the \ot~ was considered suffiCient. Then the men, or the1r leaders,
THE TEl\lPERATURE T ESTS.
or p ersons who supp?rted the stri~e, contriv~d to get
ONE of the principal objects which the Research Coma considerable quanttty of arms mto t he d1saffected mittee had in view was the determination of the temd istricts. The fact of such preparations soon became peratures at all points of the Otto cycle by me~ns _of a
known to the police. \Vhether t he p romoter s of toe direct measurement, in place of by the usual mdtr~cb
movement for arming the miners were at the same method of calculation. The reporter made a. series of
t ime the spies who made known the facts, is a ques- experiments on the measurement of cyclically varying
tion which will not, perhaps, be solved. Then the temperature, and the results were published in the
Philosophical
Magazine
for
September,
1895
;
but
for
the
Government made prep a rations on a large s~ale for sake of completeness and ~n order to make clear so~e of
the maintenance of p eace. At the same ttme the the methods of working, t b has been thought adv1sa.ble
Government pursued a. moderate policy and promised to give a full account of the temperature measurements
consideration of t he men's d emands. In the end the even ab the risk of some repetition. Among the many
policy of a general strike was provisionally ab~n methods that ha.ve been employed for the practical
doned. A little later the arms, or a la rge proport10n measurement of temperature, is t?at me.thod w?ich
of them, were given up; then the t roops ordered to be depends upon the change of electr1cal res1sta.nce m a
in the l ocality were withdrawn. The ~hole proceed- metal conductor due to the change of the temperature.
ings seem like a tangle. In any case 1t would seem This electrical resistance meth?d seems to ha_ve been
used by Sir W illiam Siemens wt~h rather un~a.t1sfactory
that t he general strike is abandoned. Now_the Govern- results,
due mainly to the defe~t1ve consbructton a.nd. to
ment will have to initiate measures to paCify the more imperfect apparatus for mea.surmg the changes of resistardent of the malcontents. However brought about, ance. The method has, however, always had a great
the abandonment of the strike is to be commanded, as fascination for physicists, owing to the ease and great
violence was at least threatened.
aoouraoy with which resistance measurements can be
made.
.
d
. 1
The credit of construcbmg accurate an praot1ca.
The di$pute between the shipwrights and engineer s
resistance thermometera is due to Pr<;>fessor H. L .. Calemployed by :M essrs. Laird Broth ers, of ~irkenhe~d, lender, F.lt.S., who compared the ren.dmgs of a platmum
which a t one t ime was su ch that a ser10us stnke thermometer with that of an air thermometer 'll;P to about
was anticipated, has been settled. I t arose out o_f a 600 deg. Cent.,t and he then showed that, wtth ~roper
question aslo whom belonged t.he work ~f secur~ng precautions, temperatu~es could be measured wt th a
the electric dynamos on board sh1p, both umons clatm precision nearly tmposstble by any other the~mometer.
ing the right, as being within the scope of the ~ork For temperatures above 600 deg. Cent. no dueot oomrespectively done by the members of such. um?us.
* Paper read before the Institution of Mechanical
Fortunately, the dispute was referre~ to arb1trat10n.
The court has decided that the eng meers shall take Engineers.
t Royal dociety, Philosophical Transactions, 1887,
charge of, and be r espon sible for, the ~roper placing
p1ge 8.
and adjustment of dyn9.mos on board eh1p.

--

Nov.

I,

190 1.]

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

parison of. the pl.atinum and air scales has a.s yet been
ma?e, ~amly owmg to the almost insuperable difficulties
wh1ch a1r thermometers present when used a.b high temperature. Much indirect evidence has been accumulated
and strengthens the belief in the accuracy of Oallender'~
formula., ev~n when exterpolabed beyond the range of his
own. exp~r1ments. If th~ resist.anc~ of a piece of
pl~t~num lS measured both m melbmg 1ce and 10 steam
b01hng und~r a pressure of 760 milhmet!es of mer<?Ul'Y
and the ~es1stancea be R 0 and R 1 resp ectively, and 1f R
be the res1stance ab a.ny other temperature, than the plati..
R- R 0
num temperauure Pt =
IS defined in the same

Rt- Ro

man~er as a degree in the mercury scale. There still

rema.ms the correct~on bo be applied, beca.use the tem-

p erature on the an scale and the platinum soa.le

are n ob the same. The difference between the two
scales is expressed by the formula t - pt
D
t'J
t )
.
WO , where t IS the temperature on the air
( 1002 -

but the pressure which such a. thermometer had to with

stand was also great, and the total duration of the tempera.ture not more than on e-third of a. second. If it
~were required to measure the temperature at different
points of a. stroke, it b ecame cloar that the measuring
wire must possess a very small thermal c&paci by. A
very small thermal capacity necessitated the abolition of
any covering to the wire. Ab fi rst ib seemed probable
that to expose a. very fine wire to the erosive influence of
the burning gas wonld be likely to le&d to inaccuracy in
the measurements. Such, however, has not befn found
to be the case. The cha.nae of resistance of a wire when
it h as been exposed to several hundreds of explosions is
almost too small to be measured. The form of the bhermometer finally selected is shown in Fig. 7. Ib consists of
a. solid drawn steel t ube about 1 in. in diameter and 18 in.
in length, the thickness being about h in. The outside

the thermometer was protected from direct contaoo with

moisture by a. thin copper tube. The general principle
used in measuring the temperature was to cause the engine itself to complete the galva nometer circuit at the
particular point of the stroke a.t which the temperature
was required to be measured. This would be a. simple
matter with a steam engine, a.s all that would be necessary would be a circuit maker placed on the shaft.
With a gas engine an explosion can occur ab most hub
once in two revolutions, hence some mea.ne must be devised whereby the circuit shall be closed nob only a.b the
definite point in the stroke, but also only when an explosion has taken place. Moreover, a.s the size of the measuring wire musb of n ecessi ty be very small~ ranging from
0.0025 in. to 0.0015 in., it becomes of the h1gheat importance to expose the wire to the high temperature for as
small a number of explosions as possible. All attempts

F~ . 7.

scale and the D a. constant.

T o find D, the thermometer is calibrated by measuring
its resistance at a very high temperature, generally the

Section of PyrontR.i:er
Jtp-ll), CXJUar 3crund ih.~~

ThrecuiA/d 36 threads to tlu-., irtcJt.

kb&rlol and

rooc::u~ Cap
{UU.t

Fig 8

9/A.n.LL

Jfi,cQ, wa.rlr.~t.('W

J){ain, ~1$

F'9.10.

CcntaetMaker

Scale J4 c.\,

----

La Shaft

APPENDIX I.
TABLE I.-Analysis and P -roducts of Combustion of Coal
Gas by Volwme.
Mean of Eight Samples.

TABLE !I.-Heating Value of Ooal Gas.

The heating values are taken less the latent heat of water vapour,
and are in calories.

Carbonic Oxygen Steam

Per Cent. Aoid
Produced. Required. Produced.

HeatinEr Vo.lue of One Heating Value of

Cub1c Metre at Each Constituent i n
Per Cent.
by Volume. 15 d e~r. Cent. 760 One Cubic Metre of
Millimetres.
Coal Gas.

Carbon dioxide C02 ..

Heavy hydrocarbons,

CsHa7

Oxygen, 0
..
..
Carbon monoxide, CO
Marsh gas, CB4

Hydrogen, H ..

Nitrogen, N . .

Totals

0.16

0. 16

4.48
0.13
9.46
88.67
43.40
8.70

13.43

100.00

56.72

9.46
33.67

--

20.93
4.78
67.34
21.70

15.0

eo..

0.16
4.48
0.13
9.46
83.67
43.40
8.70

CsBi1

0
CO
CH4

67.3!
43.40

114.70

125.74

Total

100 00

calories

oalories

20,090~

900

2,878
8,030
2,440

272

2i04

4850

974

One volume of coal gas requires 6.49 volumes of air, and produces 0.5672 volumes of CO! and 1.257 volumes of steam. After
* Heating value of 1 cubic metre of C3Ba1 = 1000 + 10,500
combustion the volume dry is 4.996.
Weight of 1 cubic metre of gas dry at 16 deg. Cent. 760 milli- d = 20,090.
d = densi~y being 1.912.
metres = 0.600 kilogrammes.
Hea ~in g value of 1 cubic metre of coal gag = 4850 calories.
Weight of 1 cubic metre of air dry at 15 deg. Cent. 760 milli
,
,
1 cubic foot
.,
= 553 B. T. U.
metres = 1. 290 kllogrn.mmes.

boiline- point of sulphur being chosen, as it is one of

the h1~hest boiling points which has been accurately
determmed.
The value of D ranges from 1.3 to 1.5 according to
the purity of the platinum wire; different samples of
plabmum wire will nob in general give the same platinum
temperature when placed in the same source of heab ;
but when the correction to the air scale is applied, the
two wires will generally be found to agree. This remarkable consistency of the platinum thermometer is one of
the greatest points in its favour, and it is nob unreason
able to suppose that its consistency is real. The construction of the ordinary platinum thermometer does nob
fall within the scope of the present paper; but it may
be generally described as a. coil of platinum wire wound
on a mica croes, the ends of the wire being soldered on
stout platinum leads. A pair of dummy lead~, generally
called compensators, a.re provided to cancel the heating
up of the main leads i the whole of the wires are
enclosed in a portJelam tube to protect the wire
from possible injury which might resulb from the
nature of the heating. When the reporter commenced
the research to determine t he temperatures reached in
Lhe ga.s engine, it seemed as if the best method to
employ was that of the electrioa.l thermometer in a
modified form. The clifficulties were considerable, as
nob only were the temperatures to be measured very high,

of the tube is threaded from end to end and has upon it

a pair of nuts. This allows the measuring wire to be
placed ab any distance from the wall of the cylinder, the
nuts also serving to bold the thermometer in p osition
by means of an ord inary screwed gland packed with
asbestos. The inside of one end of the tube is bored out
for a short distance and internally t hreadEd. A circular
elate block fibs into the bored-oub portion of the tube.
The four leads, which are of platinum, pass through the
holes in the slate block ; to prevent the leads being blown
out of t he tube by the pressure, each lead is provided
with a small platinum collar which bears against the outaide of the slate block. The whole is made gas-tight by
meaus of alternate layers of asbestos and mica, wh1ch are
forced down by a screwed gland. This construction packs
itself by the pressure, and no trouble has been experienced
from the gasJea.king through the slate blook. The leads
are insulated from each other a.nd from the iron tube by
mica. washers a.b short intervals. The leads t erminate in
an ebonite head fastened to the outer end of the steel tube
and provided with suitable terminals for atba.chmenb to
the measuring apparatus. This form of thermometer has
been in use for its special purpoae for a. number of years,
and has been found to stand a.t the same time high temperatures and pressures exceeding 200 lb. per square inch.
Moisture by wetting the asbesto9 destroys the msulation,
and therefore in finding the r88istance 1n ice and steam

to use these measuring wires with an engine firing every

second revolution have resulted in the destruction of the
wire before a sufficient number of observations could be
taken. The temperatures have therefore been measured
?n ~n engine run~ing dead l.i ghb; tha.tJ is, firing about one
m SIX of the poss1ble explooton@. There is also the difficulty of insur~ng thn.t t~e wire f<;>llows the temperature
of the gas d~rmg expa:os1on. Th1s can be done provided
the gas engme does nob run at a speed much exceeding
120 revolutions per minute. The arrangement of contact
makers is shown in Fig. 8. The galvanometer circuit
was. broken in tw<? places, one of which was completed
dunng every workmg- stroke, and the other ab a. definite
point in each revolut10n. Thus rea.din~s of the galvanometer can only be obtained a.b the parb1cular point of the
working stroke for which the mechaniqm 1s set. The
contact maker, called a relay, is arranged to close the
galvanometer circuit by the movement of the gas admission valve, ab the commencement of the suction stroke,
when the electro-magnet is excited, the lever is depressed,
and the galvanometer circuit closed by means of two
mercury cups. To prevent the lever lifting before the
working stroke is over, ibis arranged that when the lever
has moved through a small distance, the break on the gas
lever is short-circuited by a third mercury cup, the relay
circuit remaining closed until broken by a contact on bhe
exhaust valve on the engine. This arrangement ensures
the closing of the galvanometer oircuib from the commencement of the suction stroke until the exhaust valve
orens. Two forms of contact makers for fixing the point
o the stroke at which the temperature has to be
measured were employed ; the first was used in the tests
marked from X to Y. It was then replaced by the one
shown in Figs. 9 and 10, which consists of a. wooden disc
a ttached to the lay shaft; let into its circumference is a
small brass block ; bearing on this block are two COJ?per
springs which are arranged so that they can be set 1n a
required p osition. To make a determination of the
temperature, all that is required is to set the lay shaft
contact maker to t he required point in the stroke; theresista.nce-measuring apparatus must then be adjusted
until the swings on the galvanometer circuit can be read.
As the temperatures vary slightly from strok e to stroke,
it is impossible to get an accurate balance. The
method employed was to put such a resistance into the
resistance-box that the galvanometer would throw constantly to one side. Ten readings were made of the
~alva.nometer throws, and then a second resistance put
mto the resistance box of such a magnitude that the galvanometer throws are all on the opposite side to that of
the previous determination. Ten throws were again observed and the resistance interpolated from the mean of
these readings, thus eg,ch observed temperature is found

[Nov.

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

I, 1901.

from o~serving the t~mperatures of twenty explosions.

APPENDIX II.
The ~1stan~e-mea-surmg apparatus consisted of an ordiTABLE VIII.
nary wue brtdge and a. resistance box (Fig. 8). The galTABLE I.-A Trials (P1ate 1, page 632).
vanometer was a 9rompton d' Araonval. The testing

ClearRatio :
...
current ~a.s supphed by a. secondary cell, with a
Stroke

Olearanoe Surface.
ance
Olea.r.
Vol.
..0
added resistance ?f about 50 ohms. The results of ~ Vol. io Vol. in
Compreesioo.
8
Ge.s per Hour.
number ?f exper1ments are shown in the three Tables Litres. Utres. Oyh. Vol. Total. Jacketed.
::s
{Appen.d1x VIII.). In those headed X the measuring wire
- - - - -sq.-om.
- - sq.
-- - - - - z.,
om. kg. per 1\b. per
had a. dtameter of 0.0025; in Y of 0.002 and in z of o 0015
sq. om. 3Q. in.
~
The length of the mea.suring wire w~ about l in th~
Absolute
compensatoro being joined by a small length of a.bou't 1in
cub. ft. cb. m.
about 1'\bout
Repeated attempts were made with wires having a dia:
27.2
1.03
35.0
1.33
18.6
1
139
3.94
3.146
6.52~
0.67
1680
1200
3 as
65
0 99
3&.8
1.32
17.4
26.1
122
meter of 0.001 in.,, but the wire wa.s always fused after
2
8 45
TABLE II.
0.96
84.7
1.32
25.3
114
3.23
17.9
3
a very few explosiOns. In Plates 5 and 6 (bo be given
0.95
1.17
110
3.11
24.9
18.7
80.9
4
l ater) the full line is a line drawn throu h th
Per Cent. of
1.25
per Explosions per
0.9.&
98
18.7
2.77
24.8
82.8
5
a~tual o~served points, while the dotted line g is th: T<st No. Revolutions
Minute.
Minute.
Full Power.
0. 9.&
1.39
18 3
36.6
24.8
105
2.97
6
hne obtamed by assuming that at some fraction of the
0.)3
1.32
24.6
3~.9
18.9
95
2.69
7
191.5
9.J. 7
stroke the thermometer has actually reached the exact
1
100
1.43
37.6
17.7
96
2.72
8
2s.6 I 0.97
2
190.3
9,.4
99
temperat.ure _of the charge. In the case of the X test
- -- --- 3
200.6
96.2
96
the fr~ct10n IS 0.3, for Y tests 0.5, and z 0.6 of the strokes
T ABLE IX.
4
201.5
95.7
95
As Will b3 expe.cte~, the lines show that for the first
87
5
207.5
89.9
..ra str<?ke the ~Ire IS probably re&ding too low, at an
96
6
197.1
9:1.3
Calories
rate With. the thwkest w.ire ; towards the latter end of th~
Weight
!
96
206.8
99.2
7
Air Exhaust RPjeoted
Weight Air +Ga.s
of
Air
91
&troke with the finer wires the coincidence between the
201.3
91.7
8
per
TemTemof Gas
to
Test
per
measured t~mpera.ture and that obtained by calculation
pera- Exhaust,
ExploperaNo. Explo per ExTABI.E
III.
sion.
tu re.
tu re.
per l!:xplosion.
on the ordma.ry gaseous laws are remarkably closE', and
si on.
Q)

Cl)

Suction
Suotion
TemperaPressure.
Pressure
ture.

Test
No.

FIG. 11.-EXPERIMENT SHOWING VARIATION OF

TEMPERATURE WITH THERMOliiETERS AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS IN CYLINDER.

kg.

per deg. Cent.

Cen~.

3
4
5

Temp. at
i'nof
stroke.
714 def'.
Cent.

153
140
130
121
111
102
99
85

1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00

7
8

n io

Tempera.- P Vn = Const.

ture.

kg. per
sq. cm.
3.82
3.75
3.85
3.98
4.07
3.67
4.32
3.67

sq. cm.

Temp. at
,:'h of
stroke.
977 deg.

plosion.

Compression.

1
2

deg. Cent.

5
6
7
8

1.322
1.3( 3
1.331
1.863
1.386

318

290
291
286
295
227
311
204

1.445
1.284

8
::s

8~

~~

~.

;:a~E

- - -1

765 dflg.
Cent.

1
2

3
4

5
6
7

Exhaust.

i>

~Cl)

kg. per deg. 0. kg. per

sq. cm.
sq. cm.
4.51
1097
3.22
4.20
982
3.04
4.00
937
3.01
3.92
947
3.1(l
3.76
932
:U4
3.82
847
2 99
3.33
857
3.04
3.50
737
2.82

litres
3.97
3.85

3.71
S.98
4.00

3.91
4.60
8.93

1.501
1.49 1
1426
1.400
1.328
1.405
1.347
1.410

.....

I .H.-P.

~z

lead to the belief that during expansion the charge

behaves approximately as a perfect gas. In addition to
measuring the temperatures during the explosions stroke,
the suction temperature was also measured; having now
b~th the pre~ sure P, volume V, temperature T, at the
end of the suction stroke, and a.lso ab various points on
the expansion curve, it is possible to calculate the product
p TV both before and after explosion (Appendix IX.).
This was done, with the result that, a.ssuming that the
suction temperatures were correct, the measured temperatures during expansion were very much too high. This is
found in the whole of the tes~, and is more strongly marked
with the very fine wire. With a view of checking th e
way in which the wire followed the temperature, the
temperatures were measured from beginning to the end of
compression, and the results are shown on the Table; they
prove that the wire actually followed the temperature
with a. very reasonable degree of accuracy. lb is also
conjectured that a.s the indicator diagrams were taken
with the indicator open, while the temperatures were measured with the indicator shut, perhaps the leak through
the indicator was sufficient to account for the higher
temperature as shown by the thermometer. An experiment was made wibh the indicl.tor open and shut, with
the result that the indicator open showed a slightly higher
temperature.
It> occurred to the reporter that possibly the discrepancy might be accounted for on the hypothesis that
the temperature throughout the cylinder was not uniform. A ll the temperatures were measured on wire
almost in the centre clearance space, which naturally
would be the hottest part. The calculated temperatures
are of course, the mean of the whole temperature
thr~ughout the cylinder.
Three experiments (Fig. 11 ab')ve) were made with the
measuring wire i~ different ~ositioos : the first case .on
a level with the mner wall, 1n the second case standmg
out some! in. and in the third case with the measuring
wire bent back as near as '{>Ossible to the steel body of
the thermometer, so as to imttate the cooling a{)tion of the
wall. The temperatures thus. obtained show a very
decided falling off as the wire IS brought closer to the
wall amounting in one case to nearly 200 deg. Ce.nt.
U~u btless the wall action in the case of a very low speed
of some 90 revolutions per minute would be much more

5 ~9.9

6 94.3
7 99. 2
8 91.7

~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~

..:

..:

Q) Q)

~Cl)~

.;

ce -

... o oce .. o oce c;IS

litres
O.f\86
0.610
0.561
0.540
0.510
0 527
0.4 60
0.493

1
2

3
4

5
6

7
8

---- -----( -~
'

litres
3. 76
3.93
4.03
4.25
4.20
4.28
4. 62
4.24

4.993
4.993
4.993
4.864
4. 864
4.993
4.861

5.5
6.4
7.2
7.8
8.2
8. 1
10.1
8.6

4 993

--

.,

s:l

Ql

1
2

3
4
6

6
7

...

Ql
~

e::s

...
Q)

~
C't

..
Q

Q)

...
Q)

.2 8
~

P! -

ce
Ql

0
~
0
0
- - - - - 1- - -1- - -1
59
5.98
5.'85
10.38 1.64
7.0
7.07
6.87
8.71 4.. 74
7.9
8 05
7.72
7.69 6.84
86
8 66
8.62
7.28 8.67
9.5
9.49
9.43
6.64 9.70
10.3
10.30
5.71 10.07 10. 22
10.6
10.79
5.83 11.11 10.58
11.8
11 96
4.94 11.64 11.73

T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T

+> ~.ci

- o

-Cl)

0
.b4
... ~

~~

'

32
29
30

XI.

calories
0.10
009
0.09
0.09
0.11
0.10
0.09
0.11

. ....

. , Cl)

+>QIO

~
4>ce>C

ce ..:.: -

=~~

...

~ ~ c:'
.... - 0

..,..,o
~~> -;:::

~~~

~~

~ ~
.........

.,

....

~ci
c:
o

0
-

. <11
....

>< Q)
~
~g

.....
Cl)

't:S Ci)
QIO

~0

~
OO><
aS -

- --

""'i

---

00 -

. , .... ,...

ce ... )(

~~

Ql.

9
...

- - -!- - -

calorie calories calories calorie calories calories per oent

0.57
1 43
1.35
0.06
3 5l
3.43
+ 2.3
0.63
1.29
1.18
0.06
3.15
3.05
+ 33
0.50
1.10
1.13
0.06
2.88
2.80
+ 2.9
0.49
0. 78
1.19
0.06
2.61
2.65
- 1.6
0.47
0.74
1.13
0 06
2.61
2 49
+ O.B
0 48
0.83
1.02
0.06
2.49
2.62
- 5.0
0.42
0.64
0 08
0.06
2.29
2.19
+ 4.6
0.44
0.74
0.8 A
0 06
2.19
2. 47
-11.3

Ql

"'

.0719
.0713
.0710
.0709
.0706

.o1o5
.0705
.0703

marked than ab the ordinary speed of 200 revolutions per

minutE>, but the experiments prove that there is a comparatively wide range of temperature in the cylinder
ttself; if it were possible to place one of the measuring
wires at 0.01 in. from the wall, it is probable that even
when the core was standing at some 1300 deg. Oent., the
temperature at the wall might nob exceed 800 deg. Cent.
or 900 deg. Cent. The exietence of even e. thin layer of

Weights.

_.,
...
o ce

!:ID .. ce~

Q)

~Q
+'10
Q) CD ...

..0

~
.1 856+ .000115
.1827 +. 000111
.1807 + .COO LOS
.1795+ .000106
.1781+.C0010 l
.177t +.C.001v2
.1767 + .000102
.1757+.000100

so

T ABLE XIII.

Kr.

1
2

...
.,... CID
c<l

.. 0

~ci
o

0...

1- - -1- - - - - -

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

~0

T ABLE VII.

z.,

...

0.768
0.675
0.609
0.668
0.529
0.549
0.438
0 520

CO
58
64
6!

42
42
39
29

TABLE XII.

Ql

- - -1- - -:- - - -

Calories
Heating
per
Value of Gas
Litre of
Calories
Mixture.
per Litre.

Per Oent

calories
1.43
1.29
1.10
.78
.74
.83
.64
.74

deg. Cent.
1497
1327
1187
1127
1052
1027
9152
897

4.68 3.49 3.61 2.62 0. 75

4.53 3.88 3.30 2.46 0.78
4.41 :3.29:3.65 2.65 0.80
3.95 2. 95 2.98 2.22 0.75
4 24 3.16 2.88 2.15 0.68
3.86 l .88 2. 72 2.03 0. 70
3.752802.f51.90l0.68

Per
Explosion.

Temperature at End of Heat Lost by Residue at

Adiabatic Expansion.
Exhaust per Explosion.

6
6

1-

VI.

Ratio
T est
Gas
Air
Number per ~xplo- per ~xplo- of Air to
Gas.
Ston.
ston.

calories
1.35
1.18
1.13
1.1Sl
1.18
1.02
1.08
0.84

Heat Given to Jaokets.

66

16
11
16

..:

w~

4.10
3.89
3.81
3.63
3. 71
3.22
3.38

TABLE

.._..,eo

s:IQI
cew
QI ::S

0.10
0.11
0.11
0.13
0. u
0.11
0.12

5
6
7

1
2

lb. p er kg. per kg. per kg. per

sq. in. sq. cm. sq. cm. sq. cm.
0.10
4.41 5.11 3.81 3.98 2.97 0.78
4.51
1 95 7 64.1
4.20
,,00
8.92
3.76
3.82
3.33
3.50

TABLE

IB.H. P. ~ ~

- -1 - - - - - - - -1- - -1- - - -1- -

59.7
66 9
56.7
63.5
54.3
47.4
49.8

-c cCl)

Ql Q)

:alii

2 94.4
8 96.2
4 95.7

deg. Oent.
63
64
62

Test No.

Mean Pressure,
Gross.

deg. Oent.
15
15
15

V.
Ql

~~c

Cl)

624 deg.
Cent.

- 11 ..

- - -1- - - -1 - -- - _ _ _ ,_ _ _ _

kg. per deg. 0.

sq. cm.
1761
10.39
1694
10.19
146~
10.10
9. 23
1394
1282
8.78
1269
9.13
1145
7.35
1119
8.67

Outlet.

CO

Temperature

sure.

TABLE

904 deg.
Cent.

......
~0

8~

Inlet.

p.$

.000299
.000265
.l00280

Test
Number.

s:l

a~O

G)8QI

S~ .
X8Q)
~ e f! - ::s~ Qlo... Pres-

~ ~

~..o
1110 deg.
Cent.

s::s~~

8 Q)
::s..

~8J4
::Sa.

.0002e9

Jacket Temperatures.

.005166
.006258
.005517
.005439
.005549
.006795
.005480

deg. 0.
1097
982
937
947
9a2
847
857
737

TABLE X .

TABLE IV.

.00j999

.000389
.000346
.000318
.000307

1.28t

,Cl)
Cl) Cl)

d eg. 0.
15
15
15
16
16
16
15
15

kg.

kg.
.00461
. Oo482
.0049!
.00521
.00515
.00525
.0055.&
.00520

>.bt.::SCI)

Air per Ga.s per\ Clear- c; ... c

.,a>o
ExExance
0 ,... .....
8
-Cl)
plosion. plosion. Residue

e~0~~

t~~

- - - - -.----1----1--- - --- - -- 1---1

2

3
4
6
6

7
8

klr.
.0046l
.00482
. 0049~

.0062 l
.00516
.00526
. 0055.
.00520

k~ .

.000389
.000346
.000818
.000307
.000289
.000299
.000265

.000280

kg.
deg. 0.
153
.00143 .006429
140
.00164 .006706
130
.0016'1 .006918
12 l
.00159 .00710':'
111
.00188 .007319
102
.00195 .007499
99
.00182 .007615
85
.002U .007890
k~.

de~.

0.
1097
982
937
947
932

8&7
867
737

1.66
1.38

1.33
1.39
1.40
1.26
1.80

1.12

comparatively cold gas on all the clearance surfaces would

be sufficient to reconcile the temperatures ca.lculated by
m~ans of pressures, volumes, a~d temperatures of exhaust
w1th those observed i bob unttl the law of variation of
temperature througnout the cylinder has been determined, such a calculation would be of comparatively
sma.ll value.
Mr. J. B. Wood has taken a very large share of the

Nov. r, 1901.]

E N G I N E E R I N G.
APPENDIX III.

THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY.

TABLE 1.- B T rials (Plate 2, page 632).

Ole"r Stroke
Ratio:
ance Vol. in
Vol. in Litres. Ole"r Vol.
Oylr. Vol.
Litres.

Jacketed. Absolute.

Total.

6.622

0 46

Eq. om.

1490
TABLE II.

kg. per lb. per

sq. cm. sq. in.

6.02
7l

1086

Revolutions per Explosions per

Minute.
Mlnute.

Test No.

8
4
6

6
7

8
9

Compression.

Suction
Test Suction
'n lD
No. Pressure. TemperaP Vu = Oonst.
Temperatu re.
Preesure.
tu re.
kg. per deg. Cent. kg. per deg. Oent.
sq. om.
sq. cm.
1
1.00
156
4.96
302
1.376
2
1.00
tl.99
143
376
1.382
8
1.00
138
4.92
860
1 36S>
4
1.00
136
4.86
347
1.359
6
1.00
123
4.90
384
1 3o6
6
1.00
119
4.86
323
1.359
7
1.00
108
6.05
329
1.892
1.00
8
99
5.29
842
1.431
9
1.00
90
5.86
336
1.443
TABLE IV.

a1:1

a a>
1:1 ...

..

-~f~

a>,.o

sp.

:s ~

kg. per deg. C.

sq. cm.
16.79 1948
14.00
1746
12.45 1567
11.87 1668
11.00 1508
12.14 1465
10.65 1364
9.92 1212
9.05 1093

1
2
8
j
5

6
7
8
9

cG

::s ...
Q)aQ)

a::
<GQ).B

~~

cG

8 ~ SQ)
p.

='

~:a~B

=
= .~

t:3:;s
0

1
2
3
4

6
6
7
8
9

...
:ag

t: ...
oo
o-

~~

.....e O
~

Ql

Q)

. <D ~

.p

Jitres
3.65
6.4
3.84
5.9
a.s9
6.8
4.07
7.0
4.22
7.7
8.1
417
8.7
432
9.8
442
10.6
4.29
TA BLE VII.

litre
0.680
0.650
0.569
0.677
0 560
0.512
0.490
0.460
0.410

1
2

8
4

6
6
7
8
9

=
0
...Q)

p.

...

<I

\)

Ql

Q)

.p

0
0

g
Q)

..

Cl)
p.

~..~8
El
0
... ,

........

fl

l:

~
1 10.55 1.06
6.47
2
8.60 5.07
6.69
8 8.00 6.26
7.04
4
7.80 6.65
7.21
6 7.40 8.11
8.89
6
6.44 9.19
8.62
7 1 6.~ Q.98
9 80
8 6.78 10.85 10.61
9 5.36 11.78 11.41
~I

cub. f t. ob. m.
135 8.82
125 3.64
115 3.26
107 3.03
108
3.06
99
2.80
2.80
99
91
2.58
84
2.88

1
2
3

'6
6

7
8
9

...

Ql

a='
z
.,
Ill
Ql

kg.
.00447
.00471
.00477
.00499
.00617
.00511
.00630
.00512
.00526

1
2
3
4
6
tS

7
8

.~ I

~"a
..
0

:s

...
0

fi
;a
Ql

~
5.6
6.64
6.7
6.93
7.46 7.2
7.4
7.6<1
8.4
8.37
8.9
9.19
9.72
9.8
10.58 10.6
11.49 11.4

kJt.
.000386
.000869
.000328
.000327
.000312
.000291
.000278
.000265

.00!86
.00508
.00509
.00532
.00548
.00540
.00558
.00567
.00549

.0002~3

Test
Number.

Inlet.

3
4

6
7
8
9

Q)Q)

~ o

19.0
18.7
19.4
20.0
20.5
20.7
20.6
20.7
21.2
-

1.31
1.20
] .07
1.19
1.19
1.29
1.17
1.2l
1.27

33.6

Calories
Air Exhaust Rejected
to
Tem- Tempera pera- Exhaust
tu re. tu re. per Explosion.
deg. C. deg. 0 .
1027
15
1007
15
922
16
9\l'l
15
987
15
829
15
877
15
817
16
747
15

calories
1.21
1.21
1.08
1.14
1.24
0.98
1 07
1.00
.86

Heat Given to J aokets

Per
Explosion.

Per Oent.

calories
1.43
1.30
1.08
1.07
0.88
0.92
0.77
0. 76
0.59

44
4l
39
38
38
37
~2

35
29

TABLE X I.
Test
Number.

Temperature at End of
Adiabatic Expansion.

Heat Lost by Residue at

Exhaust per Explosion.

deg. Cent.
1567
1402
1237
1372
1217
1187
1062
932
852

calories
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.055
0.06
0.06
0.07
0 07
0 08

1
2

.... t:3
t:3 Cl)

ce -

4
6
6
7
8
9

T ABLE XII.

...

Cl)
0

z
...,

c:l.Q

.,.,Cl)

~s
~

~i
till-)

,!d-

0 ...
_..,CI.Ic:i

0
.,...

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

~:lo o

. ... g

a>

~ c:lo

.....

- .s .... o

CI.IO

cG ,!dCl)

11)

~~~.,::se<GIG

Q)..Qr;a;l

...Q)

...
IQ)

P. .

Xp. '

c
0:si1J

~~

c;
.,
0

E-4

"0<o
a;
.,"0-a

Ql

CJ

cG

<Gt:3 ;.;

-;;

Q)Q)~

~~

calorie calories calories calorie calories calories p. cent.

3 28
3.38
+ 3.0
0.06
0.62
1.48
1.21
3.15
3.22
+ 2.2
0.06
0.69
1.30
1.21
2.75
+ 2.2
0.06
2.81
1.08
0.53
1.08
2.77
+ 4.0
2.88
0.06
0.66
1.07
1.14
2.67
2.79
+ 4.5
0.06
0.55
0.88
1.24
+ ].6
2.47
2.63
0.92
0.06
0.61
1.05
2.42 - 0.4
2.41
0.06
0.50
0.71
1.07
2.17
+ 7.8
2.34
0.06
0.45
0.76
1.00
+ 1.0
1.99
2.01
0.06
0.42
0.69
0.86
TADLE XIII.
Q)

Weights.

.,

sI
Q)

='

~
.1865+.000117 T .0721
.1834+ .000112 T .0715
.1822+.000110 T .0712
.18t7+.000109 T .0711
.1798+.000106 T .0709
.1790+.000105 T .0708
1777 +. 000108 T .0706
.1767+.000102 T .0706
.1760+ .000LOO T .0708
- --

o a.

Q)' . .

3~.0

Outlet.

...

Ku.

34.4
81.7
28 2
3L.3
31.3
3!.0
30.9

deg. Oent. deg. Cent.

16
63
14
66
17
67
15
61
62
13
15
61
13.5
66
13
62
l4
6l

le;uo;:.:,

.,

.......
- 0::s
..0

...

cG

o='Cl)~
s:l. 00~~

o s:l.

.94
.96
.92
.89
.86
.87
.86
.85
.83

:J o

I:'

..0 ... 0

Jacket Temper"ture.

1.483
1.461
1.425
1.616
1.385
1.464
1.377
1.341
1.338

0.752
0.698
0 617
0.601
0.559
0.629
0.601
0.460
0.423

;;ii ~ ~

TABLE X .

4.813
4.813
4.813
4.813
4.86j
4.813
4.864
4.864
4.864

--

;: =

0.72
0.79
0.86
0.75
0.73
0.67
0.73
0.70
0.66

() ~

...

.0 ... 0
ea>~

-~g
r:a:l

~f ~

.s~ ~

lE

... ,.bd ....

~~

Weight Weight of Air +Gas

of Air Oas fcer
per
per
Explo
Explo- Expo

si
on.
SlOn.
sion .

4.06 3.93 2.93

3.72 8.96 2.95
3.52 4.07 3.04
3.39 3.41 2.54
3.64 3.45 2.57
3.28 2.90 2.16
4.~ 3.27 3.20 2.39
4.05 3.02 2.83 2.11
3.81 2.84 2.51 1.87

Q)~

Q)l

~==

24.8
25.1
24.3
23.6
22.7
22.8
22.6
22.4
22.0

<<...,

T ABLE I X .

:.a

5.44
4.99
4.72
4.64
4.75
(.33

~0

Cl)

.0

.p

aI:'

lif-4

f~ o~.cl()
cG u!S
o o a~ 0~::: ~ Q)~
~~ .....
~
~

f ~ 0~

......
..OQ)Q)
8 c:lo c:lo

t>~

B.H.P.

lS~
a>o

ol-i ~
Oas per Hour. .,...

n+>

I Heatinl{ Calories
Gas
Air
Ratio
per
Test per Explo- per Explo- of Air to Value of Gas,
Number eion.

Calories
Litre of
810D.
Gas.
per Litre. Mixture.

~Cl)

lb. per
kg. per kJt. per kg. per

sq. m. eq. cm. sq. cm. sq. om.

69.7
4.90 I o.u
4 79
66.3
4.66
0.11
4.55
60.0
4.22
4.11
0.11
4.4l
63.1
0.13
4.3l
61.7
4.34
0.12
4.22
67.7
4.06
0.12
3.94
3 97
56.4
0.12
3.85
61.3
3.61
0.11
3.60
47.6
3.84
0.11
3.23
T ABLE VI.

93.9
90.7
95.0
87.1
92.8
90.8
94.1
95.5
97.3

I.H.P.

. ...

..
Ca>

~en

f;r:!c:lo

~z

~ ::s

Cl). .

Q)

&::o
ea>
~ ...
:::ag

Temperature.

m.QIQ)

0~
.,..
()

Pre88ure,
- c MeanGross.
.2~

.p
Cl)

'CD
mo
Q) ...

kg. per deg. C. kg. per

sq. cm.
sq. cm.
2.6j
8.04
10~7
4.90
2.85
8.08
1007
4.66
2.89
2.91
922
4.22
3.22
2.98
942
4.44
3.28
3.18
987
4.34
2.93
2.81
829
4.06
3,g7
3 21
3.01
877
3.24
2.9\l
817
3.61
2.81
3.35
747
3.34
TABLE V.

m$

., .

Cl)..:.

Ql ....

Q) o i3

litres

Pressure.

Cl)

Exhaust.

~a

s
::st

a='

CDQ)

.0
a

Per Oent. of
Full Power.

93.9
96
90.7
92
199.8
05.0
95
196.2
87.1
89
205.9
92.8
90
197.0
00.8
92
206.6
94.1
91
202.3
95 5
04
203.6
97.3
96
----------------T ADLE lii.

Q)

196.3
197.5

.,Q) 0-4.

...

Olearance Surface. Compression.

sq. cm.
2.609

TABLE VIII.

Cl)

Q)

2
3
4
5
6

8
9

Ole"r
Air per O"s per ance
Ex- Residue
Explosion . plosion. per Ex
plosion .

kg-.

.00447
.00471
.00477
.00499
.00tH7
.00611
.00530
.00542
.00526

kg,
.000386
.000869
.000823
,000327
.000812
.000291
.000278
.000256
.000238

kg.

.00103
.00104
.00116
.00099
.00104
.00122
.00127
.00137
.00176

.cl
bO
Q)

p.
a
Ql

....

Ca>
0 ...

:sE
()<G

E-t

kg.

.00589
.00612
.00626
.00680
.00652
.00662
.00696
.00'70!
.00724

:::1,..

Ql

c:lo

sQ)
E-t
.,IIIQI.
=' ...

~B
>j iG

r:a:l ...

Cl) ...
bi)QI

:;;c:lo
.cl +!>
OCD

_::s=
!GO
0

~ ;;

~~ .2

~.,g

f;r:I<G

deg. C. def C. calories

1 27
166
1.81
143
1007
1.31
922
188
1.18
135
942
1.22
987
123
1.34
877
1.16
ll9
1.20
108
877
81i
1.13
99
1.04
90
747

)&boor of both making the experiments and working out ratory of the University; the reporter desires also to
the results ; the reporter wishes to express his thanks to thank the University for plaoing a.b his disposal suitable
rooms for the work.
Mr. Wood for his valuable assistance.
(To be contmued. )
The experiment& were made in the Engineering Labo-

AT the meeting of the Physical Society, held on

October 25, P rofessorS. P . Thompson, President, in the
chair, a paper " On the V01ria.tion with T emperature of the
Therm.o-Ekotr(YJT't,otive Force, a;nd, of the Electr'UJ Resistance
of Nickel, I ron, and Copper between the T emperatures of
- 200 Deg. and + 1050 Deg. ," wa.s read by Mr. E. P.
Harrison. In this paper the changes with temperature
of the thermo-electromobive force and the resistance of
nickel and iron are traced over a. wide range, and the
singularities present in the curves representing these
changes are invf'sbiga.ted. In all expenments the same
specimens of metal were used. Previous work on this
subject has been performed by Ta.ib, Flaming and Dewar,
Holborn and Day, and Stansfield. In the author's experiments on electromotive force an ordinary potentiometer
method waa used, bhe poten tia.l difference due to the thermocouple being balanced against e. portion of that due to two
accumulators. Before each reading a standard cadmium
cell was balanced on e. definite resistance in the accumulator circuit. Readings of electromotive force of coppernickel couples were accurate to 1.8 microvolts, while
those of copper-iron couples were accurate to leas than
1 microvolt at moderate temperatures. The heating
arrangement was designed to give a uniform temperature,
which was measured by a platinum thermometer, and
recorded automatically by Ca.llenda.r's recorder. The cold
j unctions were placed in a large best-tube full af water, the
test-tube being placed in a larger vessel, also containing
water. The temperature of the cold junctions varied with
that of the room, and all observations were reduced to cold
junction 0 deg. Cenb. Finally, in each case observations
were taken by placing the junctions in liquid air, with
the platinum thermometer beside them. T o prevent
oxidation of the metS~ls forming the junctions at temperatures above 500 deg., it was necessary to exha.uf!b the
porcelain tubes which contained them. The curves for
variation of electromotive force with temperature of
cop~er-nickel and copper-iron couples are, roughly, a
sbratghb line and a parabola respectively. The differences
between the actual curves and a. selected straight line in
the former case and a parabola in the latter case ha.ve
bsen plotted against temperature. These difference
curves show that the maximum variations occur in the
case of copper-iron ab 70 deg., 230 deg., and 370 deg.
The temperature of inversion (cold junction 0 deg.
Cent.) is 536 deg. Cent., and the neutral point is 262
deg. Cent. In the case of copper nickel, maximum
variations occur ab 70 deg. and 340 deg., and there
appears to be a small hysteresis effect at the latter
pomb. The temperature of inversion does nob occur
within the limits of the experiments, and there is no
neutral point. The electromotive force curve for a nickeliron couple up to 700 deg. has been obtained from two
previous experimental curves by addition. Above this
temperature direct observations have been taken. This
curve is nearly linear up to 900 deg., ab which point a
decrea-se in electromotive force occurs. Curves of thermoelectric power have been derived from the electromotive
force curves by drawing tangents, and these show that a.
considerable range of the copper-iron curve can be represented by straight lines, but that the remainder is approximately parabolic. The copper-nickel power curve can be
represented by bits of straight lines. The Pelbier coefficient variation cur ve for iron-copper is at first parabolic, and can then be made up of straight lines ; for
copper-nickel it can be made up of bits of parabolas.
Considerable difficulty was experienced ab high temperatures in getting concordant results, owing to chemical
changes and other effects. The experiments were therefore carried oub under different conditions, and the result3
are discussed in the paper.
In the resistance experiments a potentiometer method
was employed, a manganin resistance coil immersed in an
oil bath being used as a standard. The resistance of
nickel increaees with temperature almost pa.ra.bolically up
to 370 deg., when a. change of slope ocouna, and the resistance increa-ses much less rapidly and almost linearly
up to 1050 deg. In the case of iron, the resistance curve
does nob change its parabolic form till nea.rly 800 deg.,
when it becomes linear, and remains so up to 1050 deg.
The author concludes from his paper that the thermoelectric chan~e in nickel-copper coincides appr0ximately
with the resistance change, but that no thermo.electric
peculiarity exists fol' iron-copper ab the temperature of
the iron resistance change.
Mr. A. Campbell said that with purer iron the change
in thermo-electric properties might correspond with the
change in resistance. Dr. Knotb had performed experimenba on nickel in 1886, and gob results similar to those
of the author. His results with thick wires were different
to those with thin, probably because he did nob exclude
air and prevent oxidation. Mr. Campbell said that he
had himself made experiments upon two samples of
nickel differing in res18tivity, and although thetr temperature coefficients were also different, the change in
slope of the curve connecting resistance and temperature
occurred at practically the same tempera.tllre in both
specimene. Their thermo-electric powers were identical
u~ to 300 deg. Cent., but above they differed slightly.
Dr. D. K. :tviorris pointed out that the thermo-electric
fore!:', the resistance, and the magnetic properties should
be observed ab the same time. In taking a thermo-electromotive force there must be a temperature gradient,
and in the interesting parta of the curves differences of
magnetic properties may arise and produce discrepancies.
He drew attention to the caution which must be exercised in differentiating by drawing tangents, except when
the curves are smooth. Dr. Morris said the connection
between resistance and magnetic qualities was interesting. T he temperature coefficient of resistance of a m~netic body rises with temperature so long a.s the body 18

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

GAS-ENGINE

[Nov.

I,

rgor.

RESEARCH.

(Fo'r Desc'ription, see Page 628.)

Test A_,
Trials A.
Test A
M.P.- 4 51 Kg. cm~64~. o. I.P.-381 Kw. SlliP.
MP.-420K9 cm~ 597/k.o" i .P.34eKw. 468W.

12

160
140

("ooo

10

'~120

~..,

..

150

iO

150

10

~ 100

~~ 80
60

4-

MP. tOO K9cm! 569lh$. o~ J.P.-338.Kw. 453 W

c., c.,

TestA 8

~~

PV t +Z& C

50

iO

20

56 CUar-(U'I.U, 0

'

50

Test
A4o

M.f:-392 &;. ~m! S571JJ.r. o~

.

10 ~

~Cl~

so

o~.-~-.4-~~~~~~~

19<)

! Test~

56~
<>

M.~333Agcm' ~1'4/JJs o: 1.P.-288Kw. 3~J:P.

: Test Ae

56 CUara.n.ce. 0

I.P.-280Kw. 375 H~

p V

l .P ....
Kgcm~ ""
Lbs. o,. -

~.-ro-.~;-.-~-+~+-~~~

so

(?olu)

Pereutia!J'-'

100

if Stroke

56 Ckararu;e, ~

""0

..,

(')

~..,

CQTtSta.n.b

Meatl/ Pressure,

I~ Power
Kilogram.rr~.U per square

PquruJ.s

per

cenli.metre

squ.q,re ~

!I.,

pAGE

630).

Test B 1

Tes-t Ba

~"'c;

"f

("' . '"

2 ~

10
PV t +BJ

lOO

100

80

60 ~

50

20

150

10

tqo

Test B
M.B 44 Kt. . rn}
..
631 lbs 0
J.P.- 339 Kw.
45 fP.

1'?0

&

~6

ISO

10

so

100
I

so

lOO
I

ISO

10

so

50

016

~6

of Stroke :

ISO

160
10 ~ ~ 140
c.,
120
8 c., 0)
~

Perct?.ntage

220
200

14 ~
12

Percentage (// Stroke

Trt.a "l-s B .

16

1QO

t o

50

DIAGRAMS FOR TRIALS A (SEE APPENDIX

'

M.P. -

I f. tO (;

.56 Olep:raru;e- ~

SO

100

50

MP.350.Ag.an~ 4-9;6lhs. o~

O+T-r,-t~r+-.1-.-~~~+-~

tn z

150

I G)()

50

150

mz

10

Percentage

of Stroki!/ 100
.

46
Ckuruu.ce

DIAGRAMS FOR TRIALS

10

100

lOO

f)

~6

o Percen/Q.gesoW' Stroke. 100

(SEE APPENDIX

Ill.,

PAGE

631).

ma~oetio. hub reverses when the body becomes non -mag- examine more carefully some of the curves which are mebry may arise as a second order term due to the mag

netlO. He asked for information on the subject.

Professor H. L. Oallendar said he had followed the research with interest, and referred to the experimental
difficulties, especially at high temperatures. He should
like to have said something in reply to Dr. M<?rris, but he
was afraid the subject was a large one, and mtght well b<3
discussed at some future meeting. There were several
points to clear up, and the fact that bhe curves described
cannot be represented by straight lines or parabolas
showed that the subject was beyond the range of a simple
theory.
The Obairman suggested that it might be well to re-

accepted as straight lines, and on which there is no compli

cation due to magnetic properties. He hoped the author
and others would continue working at this subject.
Mr. E. P . Harrison, in reply to Dr. Morris, said be
thought the number and accuracy of his observations
justified him in drawing tangents to form his power and
Peltier effect curves.
A paper on "Asymmetry of the Zeema;n, Effect,, by Mr.
G. W. Walker, was read by Mr. W. Watson (secretary).
Professor Voigt predicted an asymmetry of the normal
triplet which has been verified by Zeeman. The author has
considered the subject mathematically, and finds that asym.

netic field. The asymmetry would be more distinct the

greater the field, which is opposed to the theory of Voigb.
By giving numerical values to the symbols it is shown that
the effect is extremely small. The author points out that
his theory can provide an explanation of why a line may
not be resolvable.
The Society then adjourned until November 8, 1901.
ITAI.IAN MINERALS.-The value of the minerals pro
duoed in Italy last year was 3, 402, 400t. The corresponding
value in 1899 was 3,655,299t , and in 1898 2,872,163&.

Nov.

I' I 90 I.

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

THE CORRECT TREATMENT OF STEEL.*

By Mr. C. H. RIDSDALE, F.I.C. (Middl~brougb).

(Continued from page 600.)
SEOTION V.-SA~IPLES 0 1<' PROCES "ES AND TREAT MEN'l'
S r EE r, llAcs ro UNDERGO IN PRESEN'l' PRACTICE, WIT H
SUCH MOU llt'IOA'l 'IONS AS S OI:IilN'l' IFIO PRINCIPLES SEEU
'f O 8UGGES'l '.

Treatment by the Maker till i t lea11es his hamds.

RoLLING I NGOT .
(a,) For steel which is going to be reheated and worked
further exac tly as ibis sent away, without! undergoing any
preliminary . pro~ess, the limits of the temperature at
whtob work ~s fintshed ar~ not s~t by, and are immaterial
so far as thetr effect on tts ultimate properties are concerned, since whether it is finished hot or cold and the
grain is too large or two small, the resl?ective effects of
this will (as has previously been shown) be completely
removed on reheating and working further.
Bub the maker is forced for his own sake to observe
certain limits ; for if he rolls too hob or before his ingobs
are se b, he will make defectives, whilst if he rolls too
cold. he will strain his machinery, and in either case his
seobtons will be wrong, and these limits more than cover
the requirements of the properties of the finished steel.
(b) If the steel is nob going to be re-heated and worked
till it has received some preliminary treatment (suoh as
cold shearing). or if ib will be used without further trea.bmenb, the finishing temperature and rate of cooling do
C:tmpion s " limi ts for best resu lts for carbon- 0 44
per cen t . to 0 20 per cent. for reheating ( = " w ,,
markctl .
.
.

. C

Masses, such as in~ots or blooms large enough to cra.ok

by very sudden heatmg, must, of course, be heated more
cautiously, and also require proportionately more time
and musb have.
2. Sufficient T ime to H~at aU Th,rough, . otherwise w~rk
will cause unequa.l extens10n and lead to mternal tearmg
or separation (lamination and so-called "hollowness , } of
the mass. At the same time do nob soak, i.e., leave in the
furnace, any longer than is jusb necessary to heat all
through ; two to three hours at " ha.rmle~s ,, temperature
(and perha.ps less, according to mass of piece and .tempera.ture of furnace) is quite enough to make the p1ece very
coarsely crystalline,* and this, if rolled. qui~kly, so as to
finish hot, and cooled slowly, may easily g1ve e. product
which has coarse grains and is more or less brittle or
"rotten., Remember that if there is dela..y (from breakdown or other cause), damping down till ready for work
will (by allowing very gradual cooling) permit and not
prevent growth of gra.m.
The best pla.n is to draw the blooms, &o., a.nd spread
them so thab they cool rapidly, then later, when re-heating,
the grain will a.ga.in be broken up. Failing tbia, when
they are worked, finish them rather cooler than usual, to
reduce the grain more (but nob below red or blue heat),
and spread out so as to cool rapidly. This is somewhat
risky, however, a.s, if the grain has already grown large,
and the steel is worked to a.t a.ll too low a. tempera.ture so
tha.t strains are seb up, ib will be still more brittle.
The best and only certain course to determine the mosb
suitable temperatures for finishing is for each ueer to make

as standing them alternately on their flanges and heads,

this ought to be beneficia.!.
An arrangement of this nature is ado~ted ab Homestead
on the intermediate cooling bench, and 18 being introduced
ab other Amerioa.n works.
Girders and other " Secti ons., -Theee being used for
sbruotnra.l purposes or without further treatment than
drilling, the finishing temperature and coolins- may usua.lly
be regulated, mainly with reference to givmg the righb
tests, so long as the extremes mentioned in the general
directions nre avoided. This will generally be from
" low,, to bright cherry-red.
Plate1.-Muoh the same may be said 'o(these, but they
may receive breabmenb which will develop brittleness
that it will proba.bly be out of the power of the maker to
anticipate and counteract. (This to be described for users
of plates.) As these may have to be sheared, note nexb
paragraph.
Bars which have to be Cold Sheared before Re heatin g. As these should out sofb, in is very important, especially
the la.rger the mass, that they should be finished ab a good
cherry to bright red (say 800 deg. to 900 deg. Centt. ), well
above anything like blue heat, and cooled slowly, and
should nob be in any way chilled, especially ab or near
blue heat, either entirely or locally. Even chillin~ right
oub from red-hob would nob ha.ve half so injurious an
effeob.
Any chilling of a ma.ss by which a. parb is chilled for
some time may be particularly detrimental, as the hotter
parts may maintain the part being chilled ab a blue heat
fEMPERATU RE S BY COLOUR.

Connecting line.
- ------ ----------

1500
1450

Hillstlulc's t li m its for best r es ults for co.rbon - Ol G per

ccn t . to 0 '03 per cen t . fo r con t inuing wo1k dow n to

1400

mnrkccl
.
.
.
.
.
. R
H, us per H o we,::: 30 d egr<'cs 1s deduct ed (from Cam pion's
fi gu res) to give tempera t ure to contin ue work down
to, t'. e. for rnatcr io.l cooling ( =" V " ).

Conn ecttng h ne.

1350
1300

WElOINC

1250
WHIT

1200

'r h o best fi nish ing t empera ture m ay b e h igher or lower accor ding to mo ss, &c. , and not
always withi n these li mits.
r hus t he finish ing tempera t ure given by Run t for SO-lb. rails a.t Edgar-Thom psoo Are
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. ET
m ark ed
.
.
.J
T he fi n ishi ng te mperoture gi ven by Hunt for roils n.t Jolie t are marked
Th e cri t ical t etn pet-atu res (R.t which gra in begins t o be appreci o.b ly a ffected by work)
will be nbove t ho top limi t of t he " best " t em peratures, and if it corresponds wi t h

~~~;~

will probRbl y fo llow the line

* J ournal

t t t 11111111 111111

1150

?
1100
~ \' 0 50

~.
OAR~

01 ANC
UCHT Cl EARY

ja:;

'

RII.Oo

9 00

---w

BRICHT 0~ rulL
CHER~Y

850

8 70

COO O CHERRY

1-

<
a: 7.00 'K

.. .

--- ---Ce.so

.I . ; .' 'J'to.l..360 ~I1Cowl

--- ----

~~30

..

700

LOW RE

500
450

300
250

770

---

C7~
..
... ...

870

~ ..BLOOD.. RDULL RED

..
l"ooo...... ,e

K
k:

720

670

, ..... .., c
i'o... .. 1120

~0

DARV. RE " INCIPIEier' 'REO -F'IMifHINC TE1'4PERATURE SHOULD NEVER BE BELOW THIS
I

LOWEST OR "BAR LY VISI8 E REO- BlAC\4 REO

BLACK

400
350

~~o~o
111U)

--Jr - - - C~J Ionl

I
' ... .....
ao&j ~

o :lO

REO HEAT

650

IL&Jsso
lt

OAAV. OR lOW CHERRY

1- 7!>0
I.&J

1180

'

J 800

~600

RAILS.t
So long as these meet the specified tests without difficulty, it may nob be thought worth while taking any
ate~ to follow exaob scientific principles, even though the
quality of the material would be rendered still better
thereby. Medium heavy sections generally finish within
the right limits a.nd meeb the teats easily, hub it some~imes happens, with the two extreme weights, they a.re
not so readily met.
Heavy Sections, particularly double-head and bull-head,
90 lb. to lOO lb.- The tendency is to finish ab too high a
temperature and get too large a grain, especially as they
are hard (carbon, 0.36 p er cent. to0.50 percent.), and pack
on the ba.nk inoo e. close solid mass, and thus cool slowlr.
They may be quite soft to dead load, hub wanting m
toughness under ba.ll test on account of this large grain.
When they oa.nnot be rolled cool enough (say low red),
they might perhaps be a.ir-cooled more rapidly, by spreading or ot.her means.
Light Section1, particularly flange rails, 36 lb. tlo 60 lb.
- The tendency is to finish o.t too low n temperature,
especially for the fia.nges. This is the Dlore so as they
do nob pack so solidly together. They may be ver~ rig~d
under dead load and show too hard, or be wantmg 1n
toughness under ball test, owing to the thin parts being
rolled too cold, and the strain set up by the unequal
finishing temperature and rate of cooling. If they can
be finished hotter, say the heads "good , or cherry-red,
or by any means massed more, and the surplus heat from
the head ma.de to retard the cooling of the flange, such

ORANCE

I(/) 950

a..

matter. There should, of course, be sufficient work ab a

sufficiently low temperature tlo well knead the material
and reduce its grain, thus making ib bough, hub it must
also be finished at a sufficiently high temperature to avoid
inducing brittleness or undue rolling hardness. Unless
in exceptional instances, and for special purposes, a.bove
bright red 860 deg. tlo 900 deg. Cent. is too high, and
below low red 600 deg. to 700 deg. is too low. The exa.ob
tempera.ture mus b be determined for each particular case
and a.~cording to tests required. For example :

DIW'I-IT IAANCE

5""1000

of the West of Scotland l 'lutitu.te, January, 1901, "Some Experiments en

the Annealing of Steel."

t Discussion of Oampion's pa per, "Best Temperature for R eheating of Steel," 0.03
to 116 per cent. 0., 900 deg. Oent. Discussion of Stead's paper on " Brittleness in Soft
St eel produc ed by Annealin~," J ott?nal of the h on. and Steel I m titute, 1898, No. H.,
"Best Temperatures for Working down to Lower Limit, 760 deg. Cent.
t Harbord and Twynam, J ou-m al of the West of Scotland I nstitute, No. 6, Much,
1898.
Iron and Coal Trades' Review, June i, 1901, page 1186.

YEllOW

K
V

LUE
STRAW

200
ISO
lOO

so
0

COU>-A'fNDSPH~C

0
I'

TENP rRATUAE

-os

.. s

20

-25

30

35

40

45

CAR BON

'I')

all the time the mass is cooling, and the strains be intensified thereby. As a.n instance, on a wet day, a. leaky roof
letting water trickle on to a bar or plate all the time ib is
cooling-. or chilling with a. hose if in haste bo load the
matenal, may set up very great stra.ins. Cooling strains
are well recog-nised in oa-stingP, and great attention is paid
to proper str1pping, &o. However, even should the bar
cub brittle through finishing too bot or too cold, or
through chilling, the harm ends here, as once it is reheated a.nd re-worked, all injurious effects will be completely removed.
. .
The top and bottom hmtts of tempera.ture between
which work should be finished a.re shown approximately
on the accompa.nying di&ffr&m.
Ib should be borne in mmd that the lar~er the mass the
less work ib will have received (besides bemg hotter inside
than it a.ppears to be), and hence the larger its grai~ and
the more slowly it will cool; so ib should be fimshed
cooler tha.n a smaller mass. which will cool more rapidly,
or else the large sections should be sprea.d oub and cooled
* Paper read before bho International Engineering more rapidly, and small sections massed and cooled
Congress, Glasgow, 1901. S ection V. : Iron and Steel. more slowly.
t For full particulars r e rail questions, see Sauveur,
TREATMENT DY THE U SER.
"Miorosbruc bure of Steel, ,, Transactions of the American
Bolting after Re-heating.
Institute of Milning Engineers, August, 1893; Hunt,
The main points to observe are :
"Finishing Temperatures for Steel Rails," Tra.M aotions
of the American Sooiety of Civil Engineers, vol. xvi., pa.ge 1. Re-heat as rapidly tl.S possible consistent with ~he
283, and others (list of Hunt's papers in his latest). See mass in order to break up the grain. Gradual heatmg
does 'not do this so effeotuaUy.
Iron and Coal Tra.cleB' Review, June 7, 1901, page 1186.

I 0

aotua.l experiment with the various sizes be rolls, so that

when such circumstances arise be ma.y know exactly wha.t
to do. It is very little trouble to bry a few shorb pieces
of the same bar at different finishing tempera.tures and
rates of cooling, and make meoha.nioa.l bending tests, &o.,
on these. The best test, when the pieces are nob too
large, is the ehook test on a V-block-no nicking; nicks
are not uniformly deep-whilst slow bending or tensile
tests do not always show up the changes.
3. Do not Burn, if using hot furna.ee, or with thin
goods, such as meroha.nt "iron,, small sections with a lot
of work on them, &o. There is more likelihood of this
when rolled into thin deep I or 1 1 sections, and the
pieces a.re rolled very hob. It may seem superfluous to
give this caution, but instances are sometimes meb with
where only one edge out of two or more (and this perhaps
only in parts) ia cracked, the others bemg quite sound,
and yeb the steel is blamed.
4. Do not Over-wnneal, if the produob is to be a.nnealed.
If it is of large mass, &o., unless it has received plenty of
work and been finished ab fairly low temperature, sa.r.,
low red (600 deg. to700 deg. Cenb.), do not pub whileb still
hob in e. pib in t he ground, or in an annealmg furnace, or
even stook in large hea.ps, lest the very slow cooling
may cause the grain to grow. This would do good to
small sizes finished at low temperature (dull red or lower);

* Ridsdale,

'

"Brittleness in Soft Steel,,, Journal of the

Iron and Steel Insti tute, 1898, No. 1.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
but by far the best annealing is to let the steel get cold
~rat and then re-heat rapidly to cherry-red for a short
~lme, afterwards let cool again fairly rapidly ; do nob chill
if hard carbon.
THE FORGE.
Forging.-Wh~b ~as been said as to rolling of the temperatures for fintahmg work as well as of cooling applies
he~e, th~ugh even greater attention is required to these
po~nts, smce ~he shapes of the. finished forgings are re
lat1vely ~ess s1mple, and thus Internal strains may have
more senous results.
It is, of course, particularly important that the steel
should be sufficiently plastic for work to thoroughly penetrate the ma-ss and cause the material to flow evenly
otherwise separa.tion of the fibre or "hollowness" may
occur in places.
.Bear in mind .th~ lines .of flow already existing in the
p1~ce, as when 1b 18 ~sa1ble ~o get the required shape
w1thout too sudden mterrupt10n of these the forging
should be stronger a.nd tougher. For insb~nce a crankshaft bent gradually so that the lines of flow are' also bent
~ound_, as in .the. dot~ed line, should be stronger than one
1n which theu duect10n abruptly changed, or continuity
was interrupted by machining.
:When a ":hole piece .is heated, and only part of it rec~lves wo~k, 1f the ~eatmg is gradual and lasts long (~n.r
tlCularl~ If there IS more than one heating, the p1ece
not gettmg below low red each time}, a large grain may
be developed, which is not broken up in the unworked
parts.
On the other hand, if only part of the piece is heated.
as it passes thr~ma-h all gradations to cold, there must be
a place where 1t 18 at blue heat, and the jar from each
blow will reach this part. Thus in the one case the large

F'ig. 5.

'

~:

Ti'r'n
"";;! 6

- - ------- .'
' - - -

>-------------

.6.

\ \
I

/I

~---.,

I
\
\

' ..,------- ----~"

.,t---------.. . '..., ,

, .

Fig.7

'

'
..........,

-- _____
-'"'----.---,
........ ~

f.------------ _,.~,~
--

~---

- --

~ --- - -----

Pig.B.

grain, and in the other the strains set up, may result in
fracture, though perhaps not till some time after. Seeing, therefore, that there is a weakness or internal strain
in every forging, it is desirable to remove- thitt, and the
most effective way is to let it cool and then reheat from
the cold as rapidly as possible consistent with the mass
to cherry-red, taking care that either the whole is reheated or that re heating overlaps all parts which had
previously been at a blue heat, or had been re heated
whether with or without work.
E\en though the area to be so re.heated is too great to
do all at once, i b will suffice to do i b in successive portions.
Re-heating thus conducted will break up the grain, and
cooling can take place naturally in the air with no
special care to retard it. unless it contains over 0.30 per
cent. carbon, or is rendered necessary for some sl'ecial
reason (such n.s a very irregular distribution of mass). It
will be noted that although detrimental effects might
arise during forging, when, owing to the entire piece not
being heated, there was a parb at blue heat, these ill
effects would not arise in re-heating as above, although
there might then also be a part ab blue heat, because in
the latter c:1se there would be no work and no vibration
to affect such part.
From the foregoing it is obvious that work should never
be continued on any p1rt which is below fair to cherr:rred (say 800 deg. to 900 deg. Cent.}, though sometimes m
practice it is continued to or through blue heat to give it
a good finish. Any one who has by practical experiment
seen what light blows at this temperature will render a
comparatively large mass brittle will realise how unwise
such treatment is, and how very necessary an annealing
by re-heating as described becomes in cases where work
has been con~inued to these low temperatures.
Drop or Press Forgings.-The numerous small articles
which are forced into shape between dies with one or
more blows or rapidly applied pressure, whilst the steel
from which they are made is, in order that it may be
sufficiently softJ, ab .a welding ~eat, are liable to have a.
coa.rEe grain and consequent br1ttleness or "rottenness, "
because- of the high temperature at which the work on
them is finished, there being frequently no work below
critical temperature. As an instance of this, the writer
can cite one of the cranks of a bicycle of well-known good
make, which, though of excellently pure composition
Per Cent.
Oarb )n ...
. ..
. ..
. ..
.. .
.. .
0.12
Trace
S l'l'lCOn . . .
...

Phosphorus ...
. ..
...
...
.. .
0.04
Manganese . . .
.. .
. ..
.. .
.. .
0. 60
broke short off whilst he was riding en level ground, and

exhil:>ited a very coarse fracture. There was clearly

n<?thmg whatever th.e matter w~th the s teel ~tself, but <?nly
w1th the treatment It had received. Had 1t been rapidly
reheated to cherry-red a.a described, its grain would have
become fine, and touvhness been restored.
THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.
Forging3.- What has been already said as to these
applies with as much or greater force here.
P~rhap.s the practic~ of "putting a. nice finish " on
forged p1eces by keepmg on hammering them through
low red and blue heats is commoner here than in the
forge, and_ needs special attention called to it.
~be wnter has often seen eye-bolts and other articles
wh1ch had to bear cJnsiderable weight treated in this
way, and has also seen numbers of the same when they
had '' mysteriously " broken.
Welding.-Every blacksmith understanda that if he
continues to ''sizzle " a piece to be welded too long he
wil} burn it, but a. great many do not know, or do not act
as 1f.they knew, that any parb which has been raised for
a. mmute or two to welding temperature, and has not
afterwards received sufficie!lt work .at a low temperature,
has developed a coarse gram, and 1s probably brittle or
"rotten," particularly if the pieces have been cooled very
slowly.
~his applies. to iron as well as steel. Anyone who
notiCes the ~ar10us fractures that can be seen in any large
works <?f :!.rb1cles ~hat have ~een welded- pieces of rods,
bolts, hnks of chams, &c.-willsee that a. large proport ion
of them have very coarse grain, the coarseness havjng
probably arisen from this cause. But whether a piece
has been worked too hot or too cold, or has not received
work. after having beet?- at a welding temperature, the
cure 1s as already descr1bed-reheating the whole of the
parts so affected rapidly from the cold to cherry-red, and
then letting cool naturally in air.
Every blacksmith also knows that if he wants to make
a good sound weld-practically as strong as the unwelded
part-he must use sand or some other flux to cause the
mfusible scale or oxide to flow away from bebween the
faces to be welded, and let them unite cleanly.
The writer is aware that in many works, and in different
processes of manufacture, owing to the excellent nature
of soft steel and the gx:eat ease with which it welds a
flux is not used, and that notwithstanding this, on the
wh_ole, it gives satisfactory welds. For inst~nce, the
~nter has seen 3 in. by ! -in. bars being simply looped
t1ll one part lay on the other, and then welded without
any flux at the parts touching each other. But it is
easy to understand that a very slight increase in the
temperature of the piece or the len~th of time it is
exposed to that temperature (and it IS not conceivable
that these conditions are always quite uniform), may so
increase the thickness of the scale or burn the "nature,
oub of a thin piece. that, if it welds ab all, the weld is
imperfect. If this is the case, the steelmaker is probably
told his steel is ab fault. However justifiable or desirable
for convenience welding without a flux may be, it is not
treating the steel in the way to get the best results from
it, and the writer cannot think that such welds, as a.
whole, can be made with equal certainty, or be as reliable
when made, as those made in the good old-fashioned and
at the same time scientific way, viz., with a flux, and he
would like to have this point discussed fairly and squarely
by some one who does x:ob use a. flux.
Tubes.-These are generally made from slabs which
are first rolled to strip-perhaps ab a. different works to
the tubemaker's. The strip is re-heated, bent approximately to the shape of the tube, and the lap formed, after
which it is heated for a ehorb time to good welding heat,
drawn over the mandrel, and welded without a flux being
employed
None of these preliminary re beatings need be very
high, and ib is obvious that where material is heated
several tiwes and finally subjected, whilst only thin, to a
very high temperature, that great care is necessary
throughout to avoid burning the nature out of the steel.
The writer has been told by a. tubemaker of the highest
standing that the furnaces at his works in which this
final heating was received were often at a temperature of
1800 deg. Cen~., and that 1~ minutes might be sufficient,
whilst two minutes would spoil the steel; aho that the
temperature was constantly varied at the workmen's discretion, and there were generalLy several tubes in at once-.
Often steel receiving such treatmen~ is nob more than
A in. thick, and the work is done so rapidly as to be
finished above critical temperature, resulting in the grain
being coarsely crystalline, which is unfavourable for cold
expansion tests.
Such conditions, viewed in the light of all we know,
seem very severe, and the writer cannot help thinking
that whenever Eatisfactory results are nob obtained,
unlees analysis shows the steel to be decidedly unsuitable,
the cause should be unhesitatingly assigned to the treatment.
The precautions whioh seem to suggest themselves are:
First, great! attention to all the beatings to avoid the
formation of scale and burning out of carbon from the
surfaces to be welded, and unleEs the objections are
insuperable the use of a flux, as this would admit of less
beating and protect the steel ; and secondly, that either
work should be pub on the material after it is below
critical temperature (eay n.t low red ), or the tubes after
cooling rapidly should be rapidly heD~ted to cherry-red for
a minute or two and allowed to cool naturally in air.
Gas Cylilnders a11d other W elded Goods.-The same ptecautions should be observed as described for tubes, and
when only a part of the material is heated to welding, so
that another parb is at blue he~t and may suffer accordingly
(as described for forging and welding, see pages 32 and 34},
the re-hea t ing of those parts as just referred to should be
adopted to remove any harmful effects.

[ N 0 V. t '

I 90 l.

~lates.-T~e

treatment these receive which may affect

the1.r properties are.usually b~nding, pres.sing, or flan~ing
(hob or cold), punchmg, sheanng or p1ercmg, and weld1ng.
. All these may set up more or less severe strains, resultmg from work at too low or too high temperature affecting
p~rts only. Flanging by continued hand-hammering
e1ther.at a blue heat or cold, is particularly trying to th~
matertal.
All these strains may be removed by re heating rapidly
to cherry redness for a minute or two and allowing to
co?l naturally in air. When the makers know that plates
thm enough to have much rolling hardness must stand
any severe work, if they can finish them hotter, say at a
good cherry-red (say 800 deg. bo 900 deg. Cent. ), and let
them ~ool slowly in masses, they would be able to supply
them m a somewhat softer condition.
The effect which the finishing temperature and the
amount of work have on the hardness and toughness of a
plate, and on the tests it will stand, are widely understood
and can be largely controlled by regulating them. (See
also paragraph on '' Tests," Section VI.)
(To be continutd.)
THE RussiAN NAVY EsTIMATEB.-The Kronstadtslti
Viestnik publishes particulars of the Russian navy estimates for 1902. The total amount of the estimates is
98,318,984 roubles, against 97,097,666 roubles for 1901.
Th~ division of the estimates into 60,500,000 roubles for
ordmary expenses and 37,818,984 roubles is of no particular value for the purposes of comparison, as may be
gathered from the fact thab the sum estimated for the
year's expenditure on the building of Port Imperator
Alexander III. is included in the ordinary expens~, and
~he sum estima ted for the year's expenditure on the
Improvement and fortification of Port Arthur is included
~n ~h.e ext~aordh?ary expenses.
E~act c.omparison ~f
md1v1dual 1tems 18 also rendered a little d1fficulb on th18
occasion, as in several cases items which were given separately in previous years are now lumped together. Thus
the important items- for shipbuilding, 17,805,439 roubles
in 1901 ; armament, 11,965 roubles in 1901 ; and repairs of
ship~, 7, 797,676 roubles in 1901, together 37,568, 222 roubles,
appear in the 1902 estimates, now published, in one amount
as "shipbuilding and armament, 36,903,856 roubles."
Wages, clothing, and victualling, which also appeared as
three items, amounting to 10,165,190 roubles for 1901, now
appear as" wages of officers and men on shore, 10,891,845
rouble~. " Expenses of ships afloat is still a separate item.
Ib rose in the 1901 estimates to 20,31R,803 roubles, from
14,297,769 roublfs in the 1900 estimates, and the amount
for 1902 is 20,485,003 roubles. O~her single items which
permit of comparison are: Administration, 1901, 2,349,020
and, 1902, 2,402,674. roubles; educational, 1901, 1,132,767
and, 1902, 1,128,638 roubles; medical, 1,203, 777 roubl~s
for 1901 and 1,214,063 roubles for 1902; survey of mouths
of Yenissei and Obi, 54,700 roubles each year; hydrography and lighthousett, 1,307,609 roubles for 1901 and
1,215,809 roubles for 1902; yards and workshops, 5,822,669
and 5, 740,523 roubles; Porb Imperator Alexander Ill..
3,200,000 and 4,026.738; Port Arthur, 3,000,000 and
3,200,000 roubles; Vladivostok, 2,0QO,OOO roubles eaoh
year.
CATALOGUES -We have received from Messrs. Chal'les
Churchill and Co., Limited, of 9-15, Leonard-street, London, E.O., a copy of a new edition of their catalogue of
American machine tools. This catalogue is now so well
known to engineerS' tbab a description of ib is almost
superfluous. The tools listed range from heavy turret
lathes costing hundreds of pounds down to hacksaw frames
valued at a few pence. As originally introduced on this
side of the Atlantic, American tools consisted mainly of
calipers, gauges and small hand tools generally; but whilst
this department has maintained its importance, machine
tools of the heaviest description have for some years
past been imported in considerable quantiti~. Both
classes of goods are fully described and illustrated in
'IVIessrs. Churchill's capitally illustrated catalogue.Messrs. Green and Boulding, of 105, Bunhi11-row, E.C.,
have sent us a copy of their new catalogue of injectors,
metallic packing, tube cleaners, and other engineering
sundri~. This firm also supply the Shipman marine
en~ne, which has an oil-fired boiler, the sboking and feed
bemg automatically controlled. Steam can be raised, it
is stated, in ten minutes, starting all cold.-Messra.
Isa.ac Dixon and Co., of the Windsor Iron Works, Liver
pool, have issued a catalogue of designs for steel and iron
buildings of all sizes, from small single-roomed huts up to
large warehouses. A number of the designs illustrated
are for hospitals, which have the advantage of being
very quickly erected in case of a sudden emergency.-Tbe
Tandem Smelting Syndicate, of 97, Queen Victoriastreet, E .C., have sent us a price list of their anti-friction
metals. These they supply of every variety, and undertake to produce to any analysis if desired.-The International Pneumatic Tool Company, Limited, of London
and Ohippenham, who are the British manufacturers of
the Little Giant series of pneumatic tools, have issued a
catalogue describing them in some detail. Special attention is directed to their portable pneumatic drilling
machines, which are claimed to be exceptionally light in
comparison wibh their power.-The Prometheus electric
cookin~ and heating apparatus are illustrated in a catalogue 1ssued by Messrs. 0. B erend and Company, Ltd..,
Dunedin House, Basinghall-avenue, London, E.C. The
electric resistances are films of gold or platinum depositfd
on mica strips, and any strip can be readily renewed.
There is therefore very little danger of the apparatus
being spoiled afber a few days' use, an experience which
has often been found in connection with electric kettl~s
and dishes. A large varieby of apparatus is illustratd,
both for culinary and scientific purposes.

Nov.

I, I 90 I.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
cables, t he paper is P.ressed into s u.oh a. shape
J. A. Flemlng and Marconi's Wireless paperinsulated
Telegraph Company, Limited, London. Producing t hat t he wire is touched nt points or hoes only, and lA therefore
Electrical Oscillations. [2 .Figs.) October 22, 19CO.- praotioally insulated by air. Strips of paper are preferably "cross

18,865.

"ENGINEERING" ILLUSTRATED PATENT

RECORD.

'

Apparatue for t he production of Hertzian radiation& accordinsr batohed," so that on t he side to be plaoed next th~ cable the paper
to this Invention comprises a series of Tesla transformers and forms a series of closely assembled hollow pyramtds. Preferably
COMPILED BY
LLOYD WISE.
two or more of such strips are used in covering the oable. (Accepted September 11, 1901.)
BRI.JOTED ABBTRAO'rS OF REOENT PUBtiSHE.D BPEOlFIOATIONB

w.

UNDER THE AOTS OF 1883- 1888.

Th_e nunwer oj views given in the Specification Drawi?l(JS is stated
tn each C<tBt ; where 1ume ewe mentioned, the Speciflctio1~ is
t&.ot illustrated.
Where inventi<ms are communicated jrO'm abroad, the Names,
&o., oj the Commtt.micat~rs ewe giv(}n. in italics.
Copia of Specifications may be obtained at the Patent Ojfice Sal6
Branch, S6, Southampton Buiiitl(Js, Cha11cery-lam.e, W.C., at
the uniform price of 8d.
The date of the advert<Ulem..ent of the acceptance of a Complete
SJJeo-i{wat~ is, in each C<tBe, given ajter the abstract, unless the
Patent has been sealed, when the date of sealitl(J i8 given.
A ny person mav, at any time within two months fr~m the date of
t~e advertisement of the acceptance of a Complete Specification,
gtve notice at the Paten.t Ojficc of opposition to the grwnt of a
Patent on any of the grounds mentioned in the .Acts.

GAS ENGINES, PRODUCERS, HOLDERS, &c.

19,061. w. T. Sugg, London. lncande~cence Gas
Burners. [2 Figs.] October 24, 1900. -ln this mcandesoenoe

.) .

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.
15,095. A. Wright and The Reason Manufacturing
Co~pany, Limited, Brighton. Demand lndlcatora. dischargers, t he first discharg er being operated mechanically for
[4 Figs.] August 23, 1900.-According to this invention an the discharge of comparatively low-tension ourrent of great

electro-mag netically-operated demand indicator comprises an

electromagnet h aving a larger mass of iron than would be suit
able for a modern dead-beat ammeter, in order t hat the apparat us may not answer too rapidly to ourrent fluctuations, and
t hat the energy available may be sufficient for the purpose

quantity. The circuits are preferably tuned in harmonic rela

tion. Means are provided which insure t hat sig nalling interruptions of t he firs t oircuit do not occur when curren t is fl owing.
(A ccepted Attgust 28, 1901.)

17.243. L. Sterne and s. C. Cotes, London. ReD

dering Silver Untarntshable.

September 28, 1900.ln order to g ive silver the surface appParance and characteristic

of silver cadmium alloy, t he previo\lsly cleaned silver articles are

first made anodes in a cadmium bath, and t hen after a short period
of time t he ourrent is reversed and cadmium (and part of the
(11#1 1--.J
dissolved sil ver with it) is deposited. The cadmium bath may be
made either electrolytically from a solution of cyanide of potas gas burner of the injector (DJ Mare) type, an atomiser is added
sium, or ohemioatly, and should oontain 10 grammes of cyanide and and is of dome-shape, and sit uated in a rounded 'bhamber about
4 grn.mmee of metal to each 100 o.o. of water. (Accepted Septem 1 ~ in. in its largest diameter." (Accepted Au:~us t 28, 190l.)
ber 4, 1901.)
18,527. Sir C. S. Forbes, Stanatead. Essex. Air
15.920. Britlah Thomson Bouaton Company, Carburettor. [2 F igs. ] October 17, 1900.- The car burettor
Llmlted. Lond.on. (P. St~inmetz, Schenecf.ady, N . Y. , for use with vapour-burning explosion motors according to thi~
U.S.A.) Electric Furnaces. (2 Fi ,s.] Sept'lmber 7,1900. in vension comprises a metal joylinder having a series of dia~onal
A furnace tor the manufacture of artificial ruby and emerald, and slots cut in its walls and fi tted exteriorly with a similarly slotted
for other applications requiring high t~> mperatu res shor t of t he sleeve provided wit h means by whioh it may readily be r Jtated .
temperature of the electric aro, and absolutely con trollable within A vaporising wiok is mounted on an oil-supply tube within the
cylinder, and the quantity of air admitted t hereto and impinging

,....._ J::==~:=~

..._..

- 0!

- - - - - - - - - -yy

-- ---------.u::.:utr
..
d esired. The in ven t ion may be applied to an indica.tor of t he
kind d escribed in Patent Specification No. 18,371 of 1897. The
indicator pointer may be detained at the point of maximum deflection by means of a. ratohet clutch, or an aux iliary band may
be detained friotionally upon the index in the position into which
it may have been moved by t he maximum d eflection of the
indioaror pointer. The magnet preferably wor ks by repulsion ,
and a dnsh pot device can be _applied to the moving part. (Accepted ..4 ugm t 21, 1901.)

.1.

---- ...

Fig. 2.

10,505. T. A. Edlaon, Llewellyn Park, Orange,

N.J., U.S.A. Storage Batteries.

[16 .F'igs.] May 21,

1901.- This invent ion relates to storage batteries of the kind
described in Patent Specification No. 2490 of 1901. In place of
the monoeulpbide of iron used for the oxidisable electrode, and
which required " formin g" in order to produoe ferrous oxide, a
sufficiently pure ferrous oxide is made by subjecting dried ferri c
oxide to the aotion of hydrogen at a temperature of 260 deg.
Oent., flow of hydrogen being continued for some time after t he
ferrous oxide has been allowed to oool. It is stated that" the object

Fig .2.
FVJ . t.
0

wide limits, according to t his invention comprises a heat-communicating member or a wall or walls of pyroelectrolyte heated to
incandescence by passage of the eleotric ourrent. A described
form of furnace comprises a block of pyroeleotroly te having ter
of continuing to pass t he hydrogen for many hours after the oxide minal contacts of oar bon rod, a thin carbon bridging the two conhM reached atmospheric temperature is to prevent the spon- tact oarbons as a means of iniMally heating t he pyroelect rolyte
taneous combustion of the oxid e when it comes in co)ltaot with to conducting temperature. (Accepted Septembe1 4, 1901.)
t he air. The continued aotion of the hyd rogen perfor ms some
9731. S. 0. C. Coles, London. Electro-Deposition.
obsoure and unknown effeot which rend ers t.he oxide non-pyro- (3 F igs.] May 26, 1900.- In order to oause vigorous circulation
pboric." Nickel h yd roxide for the "positive" elect rode is mad e of t he electrolyte in a depositing bath, and at the same t ime
by adding to a. boiling solut ion of niokel nit rate sufficient llllli' rotation of the cathode, electrolyte is forced through a nozzle
n eaium hydroxide to throw down t he niokel as a non-colloidal
precipitate. The blocks of aotive material and graphite are

Jrripped between spring contact plates of corrugated steel. (Ac

cepted .August 21, 1901.)

13,036. B. F. Joel. Forest Gate. Field Magnets.

(20 .Figs. ) July 19, 1900.- Tbe multipolar winding of a field

magnet is according to this invention made of zigz1g or sinuously

(14WJ

-<

.,

on the wick is regulated by adjustment of the sleeve. The oil

supply tube is adjustable as to height, and pasees t hrough the
base of t he cylinder, and has a funn el pipe dipping into and connecting it with t he oil supply. A pipe leads exhaust gases into
the lower part of t he tube, which is eeparated from t he upper
part, con taining oil by a diaphragm. The flow of oil or spirit is
au tomat ically regulated by the differential p ressure wit hin nod
withou t the funnel tube. (Accepted Septembe1 11 , 1901.)

GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.

235. B. B. Grenfell, Alverstoke, Hants. Sighting
Guns. [llf!igs.] J anuary 3, 1901.- According to this invention,
and in order t hat the captain of a gun need not remove his eye
from the sights or his left band from t he O.riug key, and t hat the
utmost rapidity of fi re may t herefore be attained ; the sighting,

~.I.

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0

'

(tt.m)

annular form, the ring being either wound in t o its final shape
or afterwards pressed thereto. A four-pole machine is deflcribed
in which t be fleld magnet is divisible for the int roduction or
withdrawal of the magnetising coil. (Accepted AtL!Jti.St 28, 1901.)
15,470. A. J. Boult, London. (B . .A nd1'CM, Dresden,

Germany. )

Forming Storage Battery

Electrodes. .
11

August SO, 1900.- In order to elect lically form" storage-battery

plates wit h rapidity by a process somewhat analogous to t hat in
which dilute s ulphurous acid is used as t he electrolyte, accordi ng
to this in vention t he solut ion used is 6ne of hydroren proto
i
d~
8
s ulphide slightly acidulated "ith vit r!ol. I t
et~te .that ~be
hydrogen protoaulphide is oxidised mto sulphurac amd, whtch
nseist.a in t he electrolysis," and t hat t he solution is better t han
one ofsulphurous acid , beoau~:~e with lhe latter sulphur is precl
pitated and energy absorbed in producing hydrogen proto-sul-j
phide." (Accepted At\9U8t 28, 1901.)

d'

h i
t

pro~ru mg tntero~11Y.fro.m t e ~ de of the vat, he Jet of liq~td turning, and elevating gear are disposed in such a manner that t he

ssutng t ht!refrom 1mpangmg against vanes on the cathod e carrier .

A form of combined carrier and cat hode suspended from a ball
bearing and 0rovided wit h vanes as d escribed is described and
.
' d
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)
'
11lustrate
Accepted cptem C> 4, 1901.

gun is turned relatively to the sights when making adjustments

for range, t he gun and eigh ts be in ~ turned too:ether when al tering
the alig nment in a lateral direotton. An additional operator is
required. (.Accepted .August 21, 1901.)

G. E. Beyl Dla, Warrlngtou, Lancs.

14.339. c. P. E. Schneider, Le Creusot, and
Electric Cables. [2 Figs. ) November 6, 1900.-In order to J. B. G. A. Canet., Parls, France. Sighting Appa.
improve the insulation and decrease the inductive capa.clty of rat us. [10 Pigs. 1 July 13, 1901 - This invention is described
19,951.

'

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

[Nov.

lt;t reference to a. gun-eight apparently of t he kind in which the bar such as was described in Patent Specifications Nos. 14,124A
SJghts are const1tuted by fine wires whose axes cross at right of 1!92 and 23,872 of 1896. .By these means, it is stated, one can
angles in planes a short distance apart upon and at l'ight angles out both horizontally and vertically at the same time. When a.
saw is attached to Hurd's cutter bar, it is directed that the recipro. Z.
. f
cating motion should be made as small as possible, in order that
it may not interfere with the proper working of the saw. (Accepted
A ugu.st 28, 1901.)

PUMPS.
15,287. s. w. Bodgkin and the Pnlsometer Engi
neerlng Company, Limited, London. Direct Steam
Pressure Pumps. [3 PigB. } August 28, 1900.-Acoordlng
to this invention, and in order to prevent the bolts and nuts
used for fastening on the cover of the chamber of a. direct steampressure pump from becoming lost when detaohed from the
cbam~er cover, the co,er and the flange to which it is bolted

1
,

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I, 1901 .

16,004. W. S. Rawson, London, and R. D. Little

field, Thornton Beatb. Infusible Bricks. SeptembH

8, 1900. -Tbis invention relat('S to the manufacture of arlicles

capable of st.nndin~r very high temperatures, such as bricks and
linings for furnac~s, crucibles, retorts, and cupels. For this pur
p ose magneeite or magnesium oxide is calcined and finely J?.Ul
verised, and there is mixed with it a smaU quantity of a. fue1ble
boron compound, such as boron trioxide or boracic acid. The
mixture is preferably made by grinding the calcined magnesite
with the boron compound, the quantity of which vnriesaccordiog
to the composition of the magnesite. For m"gnesite containing
little lime about 2 per cent. of the boron compound may suffice ;
but when the ma~nesite contains a considerable proportion of
lime, t he proportion of boron compound may have to be as much
as 12 per cent. The mixture is moistened with water just sufficient to make it into a paste capable of being moulded, and it is
then shaped into the desired form, the fini shed articles being
dried and afterwards baked at a very high temperature. Furnace
lining9 and bottoms may be made by ramming the mixed material
in place and baking it by the beat of the furnace itself. (Accepted
Septembe1' 11, 1901.)

16,120. F. G. Bampson, London. Variable Speed

Gear. [14 Figs.} September 11, 1900.- This invention provide~t

modifications in the variable speed gear described in Patent

Specification No. 107 of 1900, and its objects, among others, are
to decrease the weight and increase the strength and efficiency of

15287.

to the line of sight. A level and a micrometer are included in

the device in order that angles may be accurately measured, are slotted outwards from the bolt holes, in order tha.t t he bolts,
vernier-like scales being used where necessu y for fine adjust when loosened, may be thrown rapidly out of engagement, the
said bolts having expanded ends, so that the nuts cannot be taken
mentor measurement:. (A ccepted August 28, 1901.)
from off them, and the bolt beads being all pivotally connected
16,003. A. T. Dawson and G. T. Bnckham, London. together by a. wire passing through them. The end of the
Percussion Firing Gear. [7 F igs. ) September 8, 1900.- wire can be held in a. ~ripping device on the exterior of the
In order to replace the somewhat inconvenient lanyard usually chamber wall. (Accepted .Avgttst 21, 1901.)
used for firing large guns, by an arrangement of a more safe and
convenient nature, a pistol grip with a trigger is fixed upon some
STEAM ENGINES, BOII.ERS. EVAPORATORS. &c.

--------

Bornsby and D. Roberts, Grantbam,

Lincs. Steam BoUers. [8 Figs.] June 21, 1900.- In a

steam boiler according to this imentioo, and in order to economise floor space and increase efficiency, a second furnace and ash
pit are provided below the usual furnace and ash-pit, the corn
'bustion products from the lower furnace passing into the corn

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11,276.

Pi_g.1

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the apparatus. In the complete gear illustrated, three clutch

devices actuate the driven shaft, and are set in motion from a
thr ee-throw crank arrangement on the driving_ shaft and ~hrough
links pivoted to rockers supported on a trunmon bar whtch may
be raised or lowered hy the operation of a handle. (Accepted

Augtt8t 21, 1901.)

17,119. A. Lndwlg. Bernberg. ~aklng ~~~mon~s.

September 26, 1900. - Accordmg to this m venuon,

diamonds are made under g reat gaseous pressure in hydrogen.
As carbon in the form of diamond is a non-conductor of tlec-

[1 F ig. ]

I'

I
I
'
I

I
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II

tricity, melal oondu~to r s or electrodes are used to beat the

C'at bon to its c r) stallit~ing temperature, which, it is stated , is
lower than the melting point of iron. The requisite pnssure is
imparted to the hydrogen by a series of operations. The crystallising vessel is water-cooled. (~ ccepted A.ugtut, 21, 1901.)

(6,003)
convenient n on-recoiling part, and coonect_ed by a wire .or the
like, pa.eaiog through a protecting cover, ~Jth a part wbJCh er:t
gages with the. back tri~nr:er only at .s?ch t1mes ~ the breech JS
olosed and the ~un is 10 firing posttton. A parttcular arrangement of the kind is described and claimed. (A ccepted September 11, 1901 )
1360. A. A. Common, Ealing. Gun-Sight Tele
scopes. (4 Figs.) January 21, ~90 1.-Th~ ~elescope specially
designed for u se on guns, aocord10g to this m ve~t10n, has the
eye-piece and the objeot-glass nrran~ rl at a _fix_ed dutance aJ?art,
and focussing is accomphthed therem by tw1stmg the eye-ptece,
which, by a screw motion, is adap~ed to slide the "erector"

bustion chamber of the upper furn ace, and from thence to the
boiler. Tubes arranged in one or mor~ rows over t h e . lower
furnace are connected by headers. and ntpp!e~ to the ~am part
of the boiler. In a. water-tube boiler compr1smg thee~ ~mpr~ve
ment s, the upper or main stock of tubes !llay be d1v1ded mto
two halves, between which the superheater 18 placed. (A ccepted
August 28, 1901.)

9261. E. Peterson. LoDdon. 011 and Water Sepa

rator.

[ 1 lt"'ig.)

May 19, 1900.-The t\ltt!r, according to tbiH

lnYention. is for tb e purpose of absorbing oil from water, ~nd
comprises a. roll or rolls of cotton f~bric aw~n~ed on a verttoal
axial line. When two or more coils of fabrto are used, each

MISCELLANEOUS.
17,922. T. J. McTighe, New York City, U.S.A. F~ex
ible Conduit. [2 Figs.} October 9, 1900.- In order to prov!de a

flexible conduit for fluid under high pressure, small tubes tw1sted
longitudinally when !t is turned .. An indica~r and a scale are
applied to the eyep)ece and t~ 1ts s_uppor t. In orde_r that each
gunner knowing the scale readmg suttmg hiS own stght may be
n.l>le rapidly to bring t he tel es~ope to adjustment. The telescope case is practi<'.ally bermettcl\lly S('O.\ed, a small hole covered
with filtering material only remaining open. A ccepted September
11, 1901.)

MINING, METALLURGY. AND METAL

WORKING.
18 965. Baron Masham, Masha.m, Yorktr. Coal

MtntDg. October. 23, 1900.;-:rbis inv~ntion is in.tended to provide improvements 1n ooal-mintDg and 10 coal-cuttmg apparatus.
In coal-mining, after t he d irt between the seams has. b~en scooped
out a sufficient distance (say 3 ft. or 4 ft.), ~ saw 1s J_nserted. to
cut or nick the coal at the back of the scoopmg ; an~ m pract1_ce
it is found that a certain portion of the coal (depcndmg _upon Its
character) is liable to fall and blook the saw shaft as 1t moves
al ong in the space from which the. dir~ has been rem?ved by t~e
scooper. In order to obviate t h1s rlJffioulty acco~dmg .to t h ts
in vention teeth are fixed in the saw shaft., so that 1n t heu revolution they may clear away any fallen coal that ohst.r uots Lhe
abaft. Another <and for some purposes a better) arrangement,
according to this mvention is to fix a saw aL the end of a. cutter

FifJ.1.

' J
- -..&1 I)~
.....

L'

Fig.Z.

succeeding coil in the path of t:he fluid is rolled mCJre tightly

than tbe one before and above lt. In one arrangement means
are provided for oompressing t he lower roll, the upper rolJs beln~
bound upon perforated t rays, by means of which t he roUe may be
withdrawn for cleaning. (A cctpted ..ttugtut 28,1901.)

UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOE.

Descriptions wit h illustrations of inventions patented in the
United Stntes of America from 184J to the .present time, and
or laid together and having their ends connected to junction r eports of t.rials of patent law cases m the Umt cd States, may be
chambers, are ~sed. The conduit may be j~cketed, bound, or consul ted, gratis, at the offices of ENOINBSRlNO, 85 and 36, .Bedford
covered, and may have a core of hemp or the hke when maximum
street, Strand.
.
flexiblity is desired. (Accepted August 21, 1901.)