554 SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY J UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16—53001-1 (V S Cassier's Magazine Engineering Illustrated Volume XXII May-October, 1002 The Cassier Magazine Company 3 West 29th St., New York $t„ Bedford Street, Strand, London S424 <?, Copyright, 1902, By the Cassier Magazine Co. Press of Louis c% -3 Wk ^&?x '$ M&r&j m* Cassier & Company INDEXED INDEX TO VOLUME XXII. . 652 700 Frank H. Mason, • 143 lips, 99 Axel Sahlin, • 657 92 James Johnston, . 476 PAGE Acetylene for Gas Engines, ........ 623 Accident Prevention, Notes on, . ^^- . . George W. Bissell, . 79 Illustrated. Accidents in Engineering Workshops, Preventing, . William H. Tolman, Ph. D. 525 Illustrated. Adams, A. D.: Costs of Electric Power Transmission, Air Propeller, A Boat with an, ... Illustrated. Alcohol in Germany, The Use of, . Illustrated. Alger, Philp R., U. S. N.: Armour and Guns of Fighting Ships, Illustrated. American Iron and Steel, Future Markets for, Ammunition Expended in Naval Battles, Anticipations of Modern Inventions by Men of Letters, Armour and Guns of Fighting Ships, . . . Philip R. Alger, U. S. N., 99 Illustrated. Armour Plate Making in the United States, . . Rear Admiral Charles Illustrated. O'Neil, U. S. N., . 567 Automobiles for War Service, . . . . Brig.-Gen'l J. H. A. Mac- Illustrated. donald, . . 670 Automobiles in Syria, ......... 180 Behrend, B. A., C. E. E. E.: Alternating Current Engineering, ... 6r Illustrated. * Benedict, Ernest, M. Inst. C. E : Coal Mining in India, .... 365 Illustrated. Biographies : Acheson, Edward Goodrich, . . . 1. A. J. Fitzgerald, . 93 Bli«=s, Eliphalet W., ........ 711 Brown. Alexander E., . . . . . . . . .183 Kennedy, Julian, ......... 631 Roebling, Washington A , . . . . . . . . 542 Birkinbine, John : Anthracite Coal Mining in the United States, . . . 507 Illustrated. Bissell, George VV. : Notes on Accident Prevention, . ". ,79 Illustrated. iv INDEX Bolton, Reginald Pelham : The Engineer in the Kitchen, Illustrated. Boyle, James : Municipal Socialism in Great Britain, Braschi, Victor M.: The Mexican Railway System, Illustrated. Brayton, A. P.: Water Power in Mining, Illustrated. Bremer Arc Lamp, The .... British Engineering Skill, A Vindication for, Buchanan, Robert : The Foundry Cupola, Canada as a Steel Producer, Illustrated. Cannon, A Modern Double-Barrel, Illustrated. Cars in Denmark and Germany, Accumulator, . Channing, J. Parke : Copper in the United States, . Illustrated. China, The Development of, . Illustrated. Clarke, William B. : Electricity in Mining, Illustrated. Coal Cutting Machinery, . Ilhistrated. Coal Mining in the United States, Anthracite, Illustrated. Coal Mining in India, . Illustrated. Compressed Air in Mining, Illustrated. Copper and Copper Mattes, Bessemerising, Illustrated. Copper for Overhead Electric Wire, Hard-Drawn, Copper in Steam Engineering, Copper in the United States. Illustrated. Page . . 589 . 681 457 429 87 • 536 33 A. J. Moxham, Vice-Presi- dent of the Dominion Iron & Steel Company, 278 537 • 535 253 F. Lynwood Garrison, 3 409 Edward W. Parker, Former Statistican ot the U. S. Geological Survey, John Birkenbine, Ernest Benedict, M. Inst. C. E., Edward A. Rix, Dr. James Douglas, Past President of the Am. Inst, of Mining Engineers, 291 507 365 344 Parke Channing, Cowles, W. L., C. E.: Handling Ore at a Blast Furnace, Illustrated. Difficulties, Superheated Steam, ...... Douglas, Dr. James : Bessemerising Copper and Copper Mattes, Illustrated. Duncan, H. E. : Gold Dredging in New Zealand, .... Illustrated. Dust Fuel, Using, . . . Electricity: Economies of Electric Isolated and Central Station Supply, The Relative, Electricity in Mining, ..... William B. Clarke, Illustrated. Electricity in a Modern Shipyard, . . J. B. O'Hara, Illustrated. 314 I8l 90 253 157 622 314 271 623 539 409 17 INDEX Electrical Engineers, Educating, Electrical Corporations in Germany, Electrical Progress, Rapidity of, Electrical Industries in Germany, Financial Difficulties in the Electric Insulation Resistances, Electric Light and Power in Korea, Illustrated. Electric Locomotive for Mine Haulage, The, Illustrated. Electric Motor Driving, Advantages of, Electric Power Transmission, Costs of, Electric Railways in Berlin, Illustrated. Electric Trolley Omnibuses, Electrified Houses, .... Employers' Rights, .... Engineer in the Kitchen, The, .... Illustrated. Page • 539 704 • 703 n the, 705 • 536 R. A. McLellan, 596 George Gibbs, . 323 625 A. D. Adams, . . 652 Frank H. Mason, . 547 92 Engineering, Chemistry in, . Engineering, Alternating Current, Illustrated. Evans, George H.: Hydraulic Mining, Illustrated. Example of Trades Union Foolishness, An, Failures of Condenser Tubes on War Ships, Fires from Electric Wires, .... Fitzgerald, J. A. J : Biography of, Flannery, Sir J. Fortescue: Liquid Fuel for Ships, Fleet, The British, ..... Illustrated. Foundry Crane Chains, Inspecting, Foundry Cupola, The, ..... Gairns, J. F. : The Handy Men of the Railway, . Illustrated. British Tank Locomotive Types, . Illustrated. Galvanometer, The Development of the, . Illustrated. Garrison, F. Lynwood : The Development of China, Illustrated. Gas from Peat, ..... Gas Power Plants for Mining and Smelting, Illustrated. Gas, Producer, ..... Illustrated. Gibbs, George : The Electric Locomotive for Mine Haulage, Illustrated. Gold Dredging in New Zealand, Illustrated. Gold Mining in the Transvaal, South Africa, illustrated. Reginald Pelham Bolton, 589 Wm. McMurtrie, E. M., Ph. D., • • x37 B. A. Behrend, C. E., E. E., 61 534 • 90 537 Edward Goodrich Acheson, 93 698 Archibald S. Hurd, . 635 Robert Buchanan, . J. Wright, Hawley Pettibone, F. J. Rowan, H. E. Duncan, John Hays Hammond, 628 33 22 558 601 3 707 48 500 323 271 187 vi INDEX PAGE Gould, E. Sherman, M. Am. Soc. C. E. : The Metric System, . . .521 Illustrated. "Great Eastern," The, .... Joseph Horner, . 443 Illustrated. Grierson, Thos. Benjamin : Low-Grade Iron Ores for the Smelting Furnace, . 83 Hammond, John Hays : Gold Mining in the Transvaal, South Africa, . ' . . 187 Illustrated. Handy Men of the Railway, The, .... J. F. Gairns, . . 22 Illustrated. Horner, Joseph : The "Great Eastern," ...... 443 Illustrated. Howe, Henry M.r Progress in the Metallurgy of Iron and Steel, . . .661 Illustrated. Hurd, Archibalds.: The British Fleet, . , . . . . 635 Illustrated. Hydraulic Mining, ..... George H. Evans, . 212 Illustrated. Iron and Steel, Progress in the Metallurgy of, . . Henry M. Howe, . 661 Illustrated. Iron and Steel, The Economic Production of, . Theodore W. Robinson, illustrated. First Vice-President of the Illinois Steel Co., 376 Iron Ores for the Smelting Furnace, Low Grade, . Thos. Benjamin Grierson, 83 Iron Trade, The International, . . . . . . . 7*1 Johnston, James Anticipation of Modern Inventions by Men of Letters, . . 476 Kreuzpointner, Paul: The Testing of Structural Materials, ... 617 Leffmann, Henry : Ancient Metallurgy, . . . . • 153 Lightning, Danger from, ........ 182 Light Without Heat, ... . . . . .' . .627 Liquid Fuel for Ships, . . . . . Sir T. Fortescue Flannery, 698 Locomotives, Ten-Coupled, ........ 627 Illustrated. Locomotives, Traction Increasers for, . . . . . • 710 Lumber in China, .......... 624 Macdonald, J. H. A.: Automobiles for War Service, . . . . 670 Illustrated. Marconi Patent Controversies, . . . ■ • • • 7or Mason, Frank H. : The Use of Alcohol in Germany, .... 143 Illustrated. Electric Railways in Berlin, ........ 547 Illustrated. Masurite, A New Explosive, ........ 91 McLellan, R. A.: Electric Light and Power in Korea, . . . . • 596 Illustrated. McMurtrie, Wm, E. N.. Ph. D. : Chemistry in Engineering, ... 137 Metric System, The, ..... E. Sherman Gould, N. Illustrated. Am. S6c. C. E., . 521 Mexican Railway System, The, . . ' . • Victor M. Braschi, . 457 illustrated. and E. Ordonez Mine Shaft, Peculiar Phenomenon in a Deep, ...... 7°6 INDEX vii James Boyle, H. F. Porter, E. H. Mullin, Mining at High Altitudes, . . . . T. A. Rickard, Illustrated. Mining Industries of France, The, ...... Motors, Alcohol, ......... Moxham, A. J., Vice-President of the Dominion Iron & Steel Company: Canada as a Steel Producer, ........ Illustrated. Mullin, E. H.: The Organisation of an Industrial Unit, .... Municipal Ownership of Public Utilities, . . . . Municipal Socialism in Great Britain, New Names for Wireless Telegraphy, Newspaper Science, Daily, Nickel-Steel, .... Illustrated. Nuisance, A Tall Building, ....... Odours from Heating Apparatus, Evil, ....... Odours in Electric Storage Battery Street Cars, Objectionable, O'Hara, }. B.: Electricity in a Modern Shipyard, . Illustrated. Oil Engines for Road Rollers, ....... Oil Fuel Aboard Ship, . O'Neil, Rear Admiral Charles, U. S. N.: Armour-Plate Making in the United States, Illustrated. Ordnance, Cost of Modern, ........ Ordonez, Ezequiel : The Mexican Railway System, . Illustrated. Organisation of an Industrial Unit, The, Parker, Edward W.: Coal Cutting Machinery, Illustrated. Percy, C. H , F. G. S. : Colliery Ventilating Machinery, Illustrated. Pettibone, Hawley: Gas Power Plants for Mining and Smelting, Illustrated. Porter, H. F. J.: Nickel-Steel, ..... Illustrated. Portraits : Acheson. Edward Goodrich, Bagley, Charles J., Bell, Sir Lowthian, Beresford, Lord Charles, Bliss, E. W., Brown, Alexander E., Colomb, Sir John, Cooper, Arthur, Evans, David, Dale, Sir David, Bart, Dilke, Sir Charles, Kennedy Julian, Roebling, Washington A., Radiation of Energy by Metals, Rickard, T. A.: Mining at High Altitudes Illustrated. Rix, Edward A.: Compressed Air in Mining, Illustrated . Pagk 668 631 179 278 583 704 681 88 92 480 54i 629 534 117 54o 54o 567 182 457 583 291 394 48 480 . 249 234 637 634 93 649 251 240 232 641 546 442 628 des, . . . . . 688 344 viii INDEX Page Robinson, A. W. : The Steam Shovel in Mining, ..... 608 Illustrated. Robinson, Theodore W.: The Economic Production of Iron and Steel, . . 376 Illustrated. Rock Drill as a Power Hammer, Using a, ..... . 702 Illustrated. Rowan, F. J.: Producer Gas, ........ 500 Illustrated. Sahlin, Axel: Future Markets for American Iron and Steel, . . . 657 Savings from Manufacturing Economies, ...... 706 Sheffler, Frederick A.: A Relic of Traction Engine History, ... 175 Illustrated. Simpson, Henry : The Steel Trade in the North-East of England, . . . 230 Illustrated. Slaby-Arco Wireless Telegraph System, The, . . ... . 88 Smoke Consumer Failed, Why a, ...... . 541 Smoke Stack, Novel Method of Erecting a Steel, .... 708 Illustrated. Sooy Smith, Wm. : The Modern Tall Steel Building, .... 56 Steam Shovel in Mining, The, . . . . A. W. Robinson, . 608 Illustrated. Steel Building, The Modern Tall, .... William Sooy Smith, 56 Steel Trade in the North-East of England, The, . Henry Simpson, . 230 Illustrated. Stokers, Automatic, ......... 629 Stokers for locomotives, Mechanical, ..*.... 538 Structural Materials, The Testing of, . . . Paul Kreuzpointner, 617 Tank Locomotive Types, British, . . }. F. Gairns, . . 558 Illustrated. Telegraph and Telephone Wires Underground, Putting, .... 180 Thermit Process of Producing High Temperature, The, . . . 630 Tolman, William H., Ph. D.: Preventing Accidents in Engineering Workshops, 525 Illustrated. Traction Increasers for Locomotives, . . ' . . . . .710 Trade Secrets, A French Law Against Betraying, . . . . . 625 Tricks with the Telephone, ........ 89 United States Steel Corporation, A Year's Business of the, . 179 Ventilating Machinery, Colliery, . . . CM. Percy, F. G. S , 394 Illustrated. Water Jackets, Gas Engine, ...... . . 182 Water Power in Mining, . . . A. P. Bray ton, . 429 Illustrated. Workmen's Dare-Deviltries. ........ 626 Wright, J • The Development of the Galvanometer, .... 601 Illustrated. PHOTO BY THE FALK STUDIO, NEW YORK THE INVENTOR OF CARBORUNDUM SEE PAGE 93 m^m CASSIER'S M Vol. XXII MAY, 1902 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIAL By F. Lynwood Garrison, Mining Engineer NATIVE TRANSPORTATION,— PEKING CART AND LITTER SO much has been written of late about the great mineral and other resources of China that it is, per- haps, needless to dilate here upon their value and extent. While little is known of the geological condition of the various districts in which many valuable mineral deposits are found, sufficient information has been obtained in most cases to show that China contains within her bound- aries incalculable riches in coal, iron, copper and other metals, not so much those called precious as the others more common and useful. In coal and iron resources China is second to no other country in the world, and if such vast stores of minerals are potentialities to- ward future power, China may once again become the greatest nation in Asia. The total area of the Chinese Empire is something like 4,300,000 square miles. The eighteen provinces comprising China proper, or the ' ' Mid- dle Kingdom," cover 1,298,000 square miles, while Manchuria has 390,000 and Thibet over 700, 000 square miles. Prob- ably but a. small proportion of this vast area is totally unfit for human habita- tion; most of it possesses a salubrious climate similar to that of the United States. When we hear of foreign nations, syn- dicates and individuals seeking, and ap- parently obtaining for long terms of years, exclusive mining and railway con- cessions to whole Chinese provinces, some of them nearly as large as France, one is staggered by the very magnitude of the grants and the extraordinary stu- pidity of the Chinese in making them. One syndicate alone, for example, is said to possess absolute and exclusive control for sixty years over the coal fields of Shansiand Northern Honan. These cover Copyright, 1902, by the Cassier Magazine Co. All rights reserved. CASSIER'S MAGAZINE \A 1 « A THIBETAN FARM HOUSE an area of over 30,000 square miles, and are probably the largest and richest coal fields in the world. In addition, this syndicate has railway franchises, or rights, that would be of the utmost value if effective. It seems probable, however, that the very size of these concessions will be their undoing. Such vast sums of money will be required to make them of use that it is very doubt- ful if one-hundredth part of the neces- sary capital can be obtained even under the most favourable circumstances. A syndicate or corporation cannot ex- pect in a few years to open mines and create great industries in China that in other countries have been the gradual growth of a century, and then, too, what might be accomplished in a year in Eu- rope or America may require five years or more in China. The claims of some of the loose-jointed, will-o'-the-wisp con- cerns that propose undertaking these gi- gantic development schemes are often pure humbug. Even under the aegis of the German Government in Shantung, or the flag of Russian Czar in Manchuria, it is unlikely that mining will rapidly develop into a prosperous industry. Governmental supervision and meddling are never conducive to healthy business enterprise, and are likely to be espe- cially disastrous in China, where the people are essentially democratic and THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA resent official interference in their busi- ness affairs. The Chinaman is instinc- tively self-governing, commercial, and thrives best when left to himself. It is a great mistake to attempt to crush the Chinese spirit of independence, and if Germany, Russia or France are per- mitted to do it the whole world will pay dearly in the future. Syndicates and companies that propose to operate in China with the Chinamen left out of their organisation are foredoomed to failure. The Chinese have no intention of allowing their country or its riches to be exploited only for foreign benefit; they mean to have a share, and a just share, in the bounties of their native land. Although the Chinese are well aware that they cannot themselves successfully carry on large engineering undertakings, they appear to be willing to unite with natural resources. While their ignor- ance of science and engineering is pro- found, the writer found them exceeding anxious to learn anything that might become of practical account. They ex- hibited, for instance, the keenest desire to know the value or uses of the ores and rocks brought to him from many places in Central and Northern China. It must not be supposed that the Chinese themselves make no attempts to mine. Usually wherever mineral de- posits occur, outcropping at the surface, old pits or diggings are to be found, showing that in the past, and to a lesser degree at the present, the natives were alive to the utility and value of their mineral resources. Thus coal is mined by them wherever found above water- level, and in certain localities it has been the custom from time immemorial to wash the stream gravels for gold. In a A BAMBOO POLE RAFT AT SHANGHAI the foreigner and contribute with him on equal terms to any legitimate business enterprise that commends itself to their shrewd and practical sense. It is an error to suppose that the business and commercial classes in China are not alive to the importance or value of their few cases the Chinese even mine and crush the quartz capping that forms the oxidised portions of gold-bearing veins, washing out therefrom the free gold. Considerable quantities of both copper and tin are yet produced by purely native methods in Yunnan pro- CASSIER'S MAGAZINE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA vince. In Kwei-chau province quicksil- ver was mined above water-level until the industry was completely destroyed by the Mohammedan rebellion fifty years ago. Such, at least, is the osten- sible reason; the truth is that probably all the good ore above water-level had become exhausted. Whenever the Chinese could mine without the necessity of handling any considerable quantity of water their operations reached a comparatively large scale. Thus, in the province of Che- kiang, at Wen-chau, there are great soapstone quarries that have been worked for hundreds of years, and from which comes the steatite so much used by the Chinese as imitation jade. The operations here are rather more than open quarries, for the work is often car- ried on by means of long galleries and tunnels into the hillside. Then there are the natural alum deposits, or " alum mountain, ' ' as the Chinese like to call it, between Wen-chau and San-tu-ao, in Che-kiang province. Yunnan pro- vince has been for many years noted as a copper and tin producing country; in fact, Yunnan, in a small way, seems to yield most of the common metals, be- sides some gold and coal. It is likely that the quicksilver industry in Kwei-chau province will soon be developed by the *' Anglo-French Quicksilver Mining Concession," a new organisation with a capital of ^3 1 o, 000. Arsenic sulphite is also found, and, to some extent, mined, in this sparsely populated and little-known province. The famous salt wells of Sichuen province, producing brine, oil, and gas, are worthy of special consideration, owing to the extraordinary skill and in- genuity shown by the Chinese in their methods of drilling and operating. For hundreds of years they have been using appliances which, though crude, are practically the basis from which modern methods of drilling have been developed. That depths exceeding 3000 feet have been attained by their rude bamboo ap- paratus attests to the wonderful patience and perseverance of the Chinese char- acter and the cheapness of human labour in China. Some of these wells have re- quired from twenty to thirty years in their sinking, as the only power avail- able for the purpose is derived from coolie labour, or, at the best, that of horses and water buffaloes. In common with the other orientals, the Chinese do not usually exhibit much inventive ability or mechanical skill. Their appliances, of all kinds, are to- day practically what they were centuries ago. Betterments do not seem to read- ily suggest themselves to the Chinese mind; what was good enough for their fathers is sufficient to their needs. This is the underlying principle of their reli- gious, social, and industrial life. The history of foreign intercourse with the Chinese does not show that they have always been opposed to foreign ideas or to more or less close social and commercial relations with Europeans. The fact that for the past three hundred years they have emigrated to allg parts of the world and have been eager to trade is conclusive evidence that they realise the advantages of foreign associa- tion, at least to some extent. They do not receive new ideas with enthusiasm, but when fairly shown how their ways may be improved, they do not, appar- ently, hesitate to change their views. It seems eminently proper for those who desire to participate in the indus- trial development of this great country to learn as much as possible of the ways and peculiarities of its remarkable peo- ple, to disabuse the mind of all precon- ceived notions and prejudices regarding them, and to understand at the outset that they are a highly intellectual and civilised nation. This view must not be obscured by recent barbarous events in China and popular notions regarding Chinese characteristics. They are a difficult people to understand, and the easiest way to get at the problem is to realise, in the first place, that human nature is much the same all over the world, and, in the second place, that the Chinese are a race living in the past rather than in the future. Being a free and essentially democratic people, it is highly probable that they will favour modern methods once they are made to understand their utility. 8 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE The Chinese labourer who has saved a small sum takes the first opportunity to turn to trade, exhibiting thereby his superiority of intellect, since he realises the advantages of brain over brawn. Practicality and business ability are marked traits of the Chinese character. It is of the highest importance to the success of future relations with the Chi- nese to clearly and fully recognise their intellectual calibre. They are good judges of men, and will demand the best other nations can send if success is to be achieved. The day is past when anybody is good enough for China, be he consul, merchant, or engineer. Great injury has been done to European and nation, and as China, on the whole, has steadily increased in territory, popula- tion, and wealth during 4000 years of its history, it must be admitted that the Chinese have solved some political and social problems that yet vex and strain the best of modern governmental sys- tems. In the industrial development of China within the next decade many opportuni- ties for speculation, if not spoliation, are likely to be offered, and the treaty ports will be thronged by a crowd of char- acters that are not likely to do China any good, to increase the Chinaman's respect for foreigners in general, or to reflect credit upon the countries whence GRAVES ON THE BANKS OF THE PEI HO American interests in the past by an utter disregard of this fact. No people in the world require greater tact, hon- esty, and uprightness in their business relations than the Chinese. Though the Chinese Government is at present weak and corrupt, it has not always been so, and it is well to realise that even now it controls more people than any other government in the world. Moreover, it has done this for a much greater length of time than any other they come. Such people belong to that doubtful class of foreigners that even now are so often found hanging on the skirts of rich Chinamen. Extra terri- toriality is the stock in trade of this in- dividual ; he investigates the treaties and finds he may do this and that; he may open j mines, he may go up country, potter about and terrorise the small officials. The government is bound to give him a passport, and with that and with his consul's protection, he is afraid THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA CARRYING BALED TEA ACROSS THE FRONTIER of no man. If he is punished for a drunken brawl, he will complain to his consul; his word is always accepted, for he is a noble white man ! If the open- ing up of China is to be heralded by such characters, it is not only a misfortune for the Chinese, but also is certain to be a source of endless trouble for the honest and decent foreigner who may come later. It is but natural for the Chinese to judge foreigners by their representatives. The contrast is often painful between the single-minded, unselfish missionary and the concession-hunter above de- lineated. However greatly the Chinese may resent the imposition of foreign re- ligious instruction, however much one may deplore the waste of life and effort in this respect when so much needs to be done at home, it must be admitted that the missionary, on the whole, does, and has done, a vast amount of good in China, especially when his work is as- sociated with medical dispensation and schools for children. Far be it for the writer to join in the common, ignorant cry against the missionaries in their noble, self-sacrificing work. When the Chinese find that Western civilisation will vastly improve the comforts and well-being of the body, they may, at the same time, also discover that Christianity is equally good for the soul. The prospective industrial develop- ment of China may, for the sake of con- venience, be divided into the following general classes: — i. — Transportation, including har- bour and waterway extension and bet- terment. 2. — Mining and metallurgical. 3. — Manufacturing industries through which the products of the soil and mine are converted into commercial articles by modern methods. With but slight exceptions, none of these classes of development have as yet been seriously undertaken in China. It is true that considerable railway build- ing has been carried out in the north of China, more particularly in Chili pro- vince. The Lu-han road is being con- structed to Hankow via Pao-ting-fu, and it is stated, on reliable authority, that the Germans are doing extensive work IO CASSIER'S MAGAZINE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA ii in Shantung province. The writer is not one of those who believes that un- limited and indiscriminate railway build- ing is going to benefit China; the con- ditions here are quite different from those existing in America, for example, fifty or sixty years ago. It may be said that the Western States of America have been made by the railways, the tide of population flowing steadily along the paths cut by them through an uninhab- ited wilderness. The opening of new avenues of transportation in China, how- ever, or the substitution of steam motive power on those already in existence, infringes at once upon thousands of native vested rights for which the treaties provide no compensation. Conse- quently multitudes of people will be de- prived of their occupation as boatmen, muleteers, and porters, creating justifiable discontent which it will require time and great tact to allay until other voca- tions are found. Then, too, the people in some sections of China are so poor and produce so little beyond their own needs that it will be exceedingly difficult to make rail- ways, passing through such sections, self-supporting by local business. Thus, for example, take the Peking-Hankow (Lu-han) Railway! Going south from Pao-ting-fu, it passes through what is known as the " Great Plain," and will have to cross the Yellow River (Hwang- ho) near Kai-feng-fu, — an undertaking likely to be exceedingly difficult and costly. Though the road construction itself will, in some ways, be cheap, ow- ing to the flatness of the country, expen- sive precautions are necessary because of the annual liability to disastrous floods when the Yellow River breaks through its banks. This, in recent years, it has always done. Hundreds of miles of country are thus inundated, producing an almost inconceivable degree of pov- erty among the people. The coal fields of Hunan and Shansi, which this road is expected to tap, can be reached only by branches from the main line, unless the present plans are altered. Furthermore, Peking is not a commercial mart or centre; it is a purely governmental city, having relatively lit- tle trade. The commerce of Pao-ting-fu and Tien-Tsin will probably always con- tinue to flow down to the sea through the Pei-ho, except during the winter months, when ice prevents navigation. The other cities and towns through which this road will pass reflect the con- dition of the surrounding country, which is more than likely to be deplorable. Similar conditions do not exist in re- lation to the proposed railway between Hankow and Canton, passing through the rich provinces of Hunan and Kuang- tung. It is true this road will parallel the Siang River for some distance and may consequently seriously affect boat traffic on this fine stream. After leav- ing this river at Heng-chau, the pro- posed route follows the Lei branch and crosses the Nanling Mountains near the old Che-ling pass at an elevation of less than 1 200 feet. According to the en- gineer's report, there are no grades of over one-half of one per cent, in the en- tire distance of 690 miles between Han- kow and Canton.* In projecting railway schemes in China it is of the greatest importance to give due consideration to the excellent exist- ing systems of waterways that have been extensively developed in the northern and especially the central provinces. In connection with their unsurpassed river system the Chinese have covered the country with a great network of canals wherever the topography and water supply made it possible. Thus they possess a means for transport which, though slow, is exceedingly cheap and perfectly safe. Whatever may be the conditions in China fifty years hence, modern railways cannot now successfully compete with water transportation. Branch lines of railway coming down from mountainous districts to river and canal ports would, however, pay as traffic feeders to the waterways, but not otherwise. There is probably no large country in the world where water transportation can be made so easy and effective as in China. The successful application of steam-power on the Upper Yangtse River has but just * W. B. Parsons, of China." Hunan, the Closed Province 12 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A RAFT ON THE UPPER YANGTSE RIVER begun. The betterment of this and other navigable streams through use of modern engineering methods will open up to steamers thousands of miles of waterways now fit only for the Chinese sampan. The natives are unlikely to object to the improvements of their canals and rivers, whereas they are cer- tain to throw innumerable obstacles ,_in the path of railway construction. ■0n,, A FLOATING BRIDGE IN SZE-CHUAN PROVINCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA 13 It has often been stated the Chinese are opposed to mining from fear it would injure their fung-shui, or geomancy. Although this may be true in some in- stances, the fact remains that they have themselves been mining in a small way since, or even before, the time of Marco Polo, six or seven hundred years ago. This celebrated traveller refers to the coal dug out of the mountains near Peking and burnt instead of wood.* While it is true that mining has been officially interdicted at certain times and places, the objections to it do not ap- pear to have been actuated from fear of geomantic disturbances so much as from purely personal, political or business motives. It is certain that from the earliest times the Chinese have mined and smelted iron, copper, gold, silver, lead, and tin. Yun- nan province now produces probably the bulk of the copper used in the interior of China. Reliable mining statistics are not to be had in China; hence any figures given out are certain to be simply the result of guess- work; but there can be no doubt that large quantities of some of the metals are obtained with the crudest and most primitive appli- ances. The one large modern Chinese iron and steel plant, at Han-kow, has been a failure. Large sums of native money were here invested only to be wasted by ignorant Chinese man- agement. There is only one modern colliery, or group of collieries, in all China, at Kaiping, several miles north- east of Tien-Tsin. This also was nearly a failure, although the yield is a good bituminous coking coal, and the district contains plenty of it. The Chinese En- gineering and Mining Company, Ltd. , a British enterprise, has purchased these mines, and as this corporation has a capital of ;£ 1,000,000, they will, no doubt, successfully extend the develop- ment of the Kaiping coal field and make the property pay. Legitimate corpora- tions and investments of this kind are hopeful signs for the future prosperity of China, and it is to be regretted that there are not more of them or that there should be any lack of confidence in sen- sible, sound investments of this char- acter. There are abundant opportuni- ties to obtain them in China, and it is only necessary to treat the people in an honest, fair, and straightforward spirit. The vast extent and value of China's unsurpassed mineral resources have been * Yule's Book of Marco Polo, London, 1871 page 395. A THIBETAN TRAVELLING MERCHANT AND HIS WIFE repeatedly referred to by the author. Their development will soon be com- menced on a moderate scale, but it will be many years before China's iron and steel products can seriously affect the markets in other parts of the world. With coal it may be different, for there is no reason why the entire Far East and the coaste of North and South Vol. 14 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE America should not be supplied from this source with excellent and cheap fuel. The vital factor in the industrial de- velopment of China and the utilisation of her resources is, of course, labour. Here it exists as in no other part of the world, unlimited, docile, and marvel- lously cheap. It is not cheap, however, in the same sense as the Hindu or negro labour, because it is far more vigorous and intelligent. As in other countries, the cost of labour in China is based pri- marily upon the supply, ability, and cost of food. In Central China it is estimated that something less than a quarter of a cent (gold) will procure enough coarse food to provide a full meal for a grown man ; this, at three meals per day, would amount to $2.74 per year. No doubt this is a low estimate, but even when more than doubled, making, say, $6 per year, we obtain an idea of the remark- able manner in which the coolie class have solved the subsistence problem. is unskilled. Mechanics and artisans* of course, command proportionately higher wages. On the one hand, it must not be assumed that any of this labour is as capable, man for man, as similar grades in Europe or America. On the other hand, the Chinese work longer hours, have few holidays, and do not rest Sunday or any one day of the week. Considering the quality and quantity of the Chinaman's food, it is not to be ex- pected that he can expend on his work in a given time as much energy as the meat-fed labourer; for, other things be- ing equal, the physical power derived from a human body is directly propor- tional to the food supplied. The Chi- nese have so successfully solved the problem of obtaining a maximum of work at a minimum cost that it is per- fectly useless for a European or an American to attempt competition with him and exist. The Chinese appear to be"1 totally ignorant of the Malthusian doctrine, and A CHINESE FARM YARD With such a basis one can understand how it is possible to obtain such labour at wages varying from five cents as a minimum to twenty cents (gold) as a maximum per day. It should be understood that this repre- sents the lowest grade of labour which by reason of very early marriages and a frequent legalisation of concubinage the population increases with great rapidity, so much so that the problem of the sim- plest existence is becoming of supreme moment in the densely populated sec- tions of the Empire. Did China possess THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA r5 a better system of transportation, the congestion in the northern and central provinces could be relieved by emigra- tion to the less densely populated parts of the eighteen provinces and to Man- enlightened and intelligent cultivation. For example, it is said that the tobacco grown in Sichuen province is of espe- cially fine quality, but owing to lack of care in sorting and packing, it greatly ,., ^^^wHo^^^ PLOUGHING WITH WATER BUFFALOES IN EASTERN THIBET churia, Thibet and Turkestan. It should also be remembered that at present about 95 per cent, of the population are agri- culturists and live by the soil alone; mining and manufacturing industries will, in the future, provide a means of living to a great number of people now, at times, on the verge of starvation. The development of the manufactur- ing industries of China will naturally first be the utilisation of their raw prod- ucts and a general improvement in ex- isting old-fashioned methods. Thus, even now, large, modern cotton and silk mills are beginning to appear in favoured places, like Shanghai. Modern systems of tea culture and treatment must also soon be established if China is to main- tain its tea trade in the face of the com- petition of India and Ceylon. The testimony of the best-informed authorities is wholly to the effect that the Chinese could greatly improve their agricultural and silk* products by more deteriorates before reaching the market. It is not generally known outside of the Orient that the Chinese turn out little or nothing of what are commonly called dairy products, — butter, cheese, etc. The fact is that, in the Middle Kingdom at least, there are practically no grazing lands; a few goats, many pigs, and the slow, but exceedingly useful, water buf- falo are the only representatives a of what we call " stock." ^ Of course, there are horses, or rather ponies, and mules, chiefly used in trans- portation. The farm work, such as ploughing, is done with the buffaloes. In the north and in Mongolia the Bactrian camel is extensively used, and in Thibet the yak. In Mongolia and Thibet, where there is plenty of grass and good graz- ing, large herds of cattle and sheep can be raised. The natives of these favoured regions, however, appear to confine themselves to sheep and goats, the wool and hides of which are largely exported. i6 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA 17 China has been practically denuded of timber, and, except in a few inaccessi- ble places, little or none of value re- mains. Considerable quantities are said to exist in Manchuria, parts of Thibet, Turkestan, and a little in the western section of Sichuen province. Such localities are, however, so remote that this timber is unlikely to be an indus- trial factor for many years to come, at any rate until these places can be reached by railway. Practically all the large timber now required is imported from the northwestern coast of the United States, or from the Philippines and other East Indian islands. The natural market for the excellent timber said to exist in the Philippine Islands will be China. China is commonly supposed to be so densely inhabited that much further in- crease in population cannot be sup- ported, since the soil is now made to yield its utmost and has been so doing for perhaps hundreds of years. This hypothesis is more or less correct in some localities, and were it not for the peculiar geological formation or deposit, known to geologists under the name of " loss," that covers great areas in Kan-su, Shensi, and Chili, a great part of these provinces would have long since been added to the deserts of Mongolia. The loss formation may be de- scribed as a fine-grained, homogeneous calcareous and sandy loam, penetrated vertically by root-like pores or tubes, which have the effect of producing verti- cal cleavage in the formation. When intersected by streams, this deposit read- ily develops into bluffs and cliffs. It usually contains land shells, and some- times the bones of land animals; fresh water shells are rare, while marine organisms are entirely absent. In Northern China this remarkable accumu- lation covers vast areas and attains, in places, a thickness of from 1500 to 2000 feet. Richthofen believes this peculiar deposit to have been gradually accumu- lated by the winds flowing outward from the desiccated regions of Central Asia. Vast quantities of fine sand and dust are there swept up during storms and scat- tered far and wide over the adjoining territories, which are thus ever and anon receiving increments to their soil. Such finely sifted material is highly fertile and favours the growth of grass ; every fresh deposit of dust tends to become fixed by reason of the grass, and the formation is thus gradually increased in thickness. It is this continual growth of vegetation, keeping pace, as it were, with periodical accretions of soil, that probably produces the porus capillary structure above re- ferred to as the cause of the vertical cleavage of the ' ' loss. ' ' Loss occurs in many other coun- tries, but nowhere does it attain such enormous development as in China. In Europe it is met with in the valley of the Rhine and the low ground traversed by the Danube. In America it is found in the Mississippi valley, covering quite extensive areas. In China the loss comprises a large portion of the " Great Plain," and is somewhat developed on the Yangtse above Nanking and a little on the Han River. It spreads all over the northern provinces where it has not been eroded away. In Shensi it spreads equally over tablelands, 6000 feet high, and valleys several thousand feet less in alti- tude. The southern bank of the Yel- low River consists entirely of loss. A peculiar feature of the formation is that it spreads alike over places which differ much in altitude, fills gaps be- tween hills, smooths away the uneven surfaces of mountainous districts, and creates conditions for agricultural pros- perity which would not exist without it. It is enormously developed in Shensi; it also spreads into Kan-su and Central Asia. It is the loss that gives the Yel- low River its colour and the Yellow Sea its name. It is supposed by some authorities that the word hwang (yel- low) was first used as the symbol of the earth. One of the most ancient of the Chinese emperors adopted the title Hwang-ti; that is, the Lord of the Earth, or, as Richthofen translates it, " Lord of the Loss." He contends that this word could never have orig- inated in any of the southern provinces, where the loss is absent. In de- 18 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE DRYING RICE scribing the Wei basin, in Northern Shensi, referring to the loss, he says: — " Everything is yellow, the hills, the roads, the fields, even the waters of the rivers and brooks. * * * The houses are made of yellow earth, the vegetation is covered with yellow dust, and whatever moves on the road shares, for the same reason, the general yellow colour; even the atmosphere is seldom free from a yellow haze, due to the dif- fusion of the fine loss dust. ' ' The loss is of a brownish-yellow colour, and can be rubbed between the fingers to an impalpable powder which disappears into the pores of the skin, some grains of very fine sand remaining. It is converted into a true loam by me- chanical destruction, such as is caused by cart-wheels, hoofs, and feet on a high- road. It is a very productive soil, but by reason of its peculiar tubular or root- like construction, is as porous to water as a sponge ; hence it needs frequent and prolonged rains. The sediments that constitute the " Great Plain " and ren- der the Gulf of Pechili and the Yellow Sea so shallow are derived from the destruction of the loss. The rivers which carry the loss separate it into its constituent parts, viz. , sand, loam, and carbonate of lime. The latter is, of course, carried in solu- tion into the sea, while the fine sand and loam are separately redeposited, creating in one place a poor soil and in another a deposit whose fertility exceeds that of the original loss itself. The sandy regions prevail where the rivers emerge from the mountains, while the rich alluvial loam is carried to the lower country. It is evident that the existence rof loss in Northern China makes that section distinctly different from the southern in scenery, products, and mode of agriculture. After exhaustion from prolonged cultivation this soil has the remarkable property of fertilising itself by the very simple process of spreading fresh, uncultivated earth (loss) over the land. Thus, it is credibly stated, certain valleys have been under constant cultivation for several thousand years without appreciable decrease in fertility. It is an indisputable fact that the Mongolian deserts are steadily creeping southward, and will continue to do so THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA 19 until the skill of modern engineering checks this desiccating and deadening inroad by elaborate and expensive sys- tems of irrigation. In some respects the Chinaman is an ideal agriculturist, and though it cannot be said that he pursues a course of fertilisation and crop regulation that would be dictated by high scientific principles, yet, within the limits of his practical knowledge and time-honoured habits, he succeeds in returning to the soil much of the nitro- genous and fertilising material that, in other countries, is absolutely wasted. Moreover, he makes every square inch under cultivation yield something of value, grudging even the tiny strips of land necessary for the narrow paths that in China serve as highways. The absence of roads fit for waggon traffic is a very striking feature in the central and southern provinces. In the roads it has been accurately estimated that the average cost of land transport in China, whether by carts, animals, wheel barrows or men, is between 15 and 25 cents (gold) per ton per mile. Com- pare this with the average long-haul rail- way in the United States, which, is per- haps, from 0.2 cent to 2^ cents per ton-mile! Coal, costing on an average 31 cents per ton at the mines, sells for $15.30 at a point seventy-five miles dis- tant overland; that represents a charge of about 20 cents per ton-mile, which seems to be the common overland freight rate in China. There are some sinologues who are disposed to maintain that the Chinese, in one way or another, have anticipated most of our important modern inven- tions. While this is certainly not true, there can be no doubt that for many hundreds of years they have been famil- THE CHINESE IDEA OF A SAW MILL north there are some highways suitable for vehicular traffic, but they are so rough that nothing but a Peking cart can hold together when driven over them any considerable distance. As an indication of the enormous loss and detriment to the country occasioned by the"*almost universal absence of decent iar with a few of the arts and sciences that we are disposed to regard as purely modern. Some of the ancient Chinese work of engineering character shows that they possessed a high degree] *<of skill at an early stage in their history. Take, for example, the stone «^arch bridges found here and there through- 20 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A WOODEN CANTILEVER BRIDGE OVER THE LU HO out China; some of these arches are very old, and all of them exhibit a symmetry and gracefulness obtainable onl) with a high degree of skill. Then, too, the cantilever principle of bridge construc- tion has long been known to China. In the illustration above we have an excellent type of this kind, which is de- scribed by Parsons* as follows: — ' ' This bridge consisted of six spans, with a length of 480 feet and width of 20 feet, paved with cobblestones, while over it is erected a frame to carry awn- ing mats in summer. The substructure is masonry piers, in good condition, but evidently of great age, while the super- structure is of wood and a genuine canti- lever in design. The timbers which compose it are about 10 inches square, laid in alternate layers in the direction of, and across, the line of the bridge. As will be seen from the illustration, each longitudinal layer projects beyond the next one below, and the series of such projections builds out the cantilever arms until the opposite ones are near enough together to be spanned by a single timber. The superstructure is not so old as the substructure, the tim- * An American Engineer in China. William Barclay Parsons. Published by McClure, Phillips & Co., New York. ber having been1 undoubtedly replaced, possibly many times." Suspension bridges are common in the mountainous districts of the pro- vinces of Sichuen and Yuannan. They are made of wrought-iron bars linked together, as shown in the illustration on page 12. They are sometimes as much as 250 feet or more in length by about 10 to 12 feet in width, and nearly always exhibit a remarkable degree of strength and delicacy of design. The ' ' Grand Canal, ' ' extending from Hang-chau on the south to Peking on the north, a distance of over 700 miles, is, perhaps, the greatest practical engi- neering feat ever undertaken by the Chinese. As it was never provided with locks, has been neglected, and conse- quently is in bad repair, its glory as an artificial waterway has long since de- parted. But between Chin-kiang, on the Yangtse River, and Hang-chau at tide-water, it is still in fairly good con- dition, and is the avenue for the enorm- ous traffic between those two ports. The construction of the Grand Canal was the work of the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan, who reigned about 600 years ago. The ' ' Great Wall ' ' may also be con- sidered an important engineering under- ?#*>*? THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA 21 taking by reason of its vast size. Its construction was begun in the Tsin dynasty about 220 B. C. but was not entirely completed until the time of the Mings, in the early part of the sixteenth century. This work is remarkable more as a monument of brutal human industry than as a useful, practical piece of engi- neering, resembling in this respect the Pyramids of Egypt. It is true this wall served at times the purpose for which it was designed. — as a bulwark against the Mongolian hordes. — but probably at the expense of the valour and watchful- ness of the Chinese. In the diking of the Yellow River, the Chinese in the past have exhibited considerable engineering skill; now. however, this important work receives little or no attention, with consequent disastrous results to the surrounding country irom repeated inundations. Reference has already been made to the ingenious methods in vogue with the drilling of wells for brine and gas in the Tsz-lin-tsing district of Sichuen pro- vince. Other instances might be given wherein the Chinese show remarkable sagacity and no small degree of mechan- ical skill: hence, it must be evident to those who have come in contact with them that they are just as capable of adapting themselves to modern condi- tions and in using improved machinerv as their kinsmen, the Japanese. In the metallurgical arts the Chinese show decided evidences of stagnation, not to say retrogression. Thus, they were once expert in producing both wrought and cast iron. The making of iron castings of considerable size being a very unusual accomplishment among primitive people, they must have had. in the past, better knowledge of metal- lurgy than at present. Copper, lead, and silver the Chinese still produce from their ores river gravels. They also silver bullion according to and gold they wash from the have methods of assaying which, while not accurate our present ideas, show considerable ingenuity. According to Percy, it is probable that the Chinese produced zinc long be- fore Europeans. That is. they produced the metal itself and did not make their brass by a simple admixture of copper with the mineral calamine, as did the ancient Romans. To those familiar with the metallurgy of zinc this is evi- dently a remarkable circumstance. Percy also states that they were not acquainted with the art of rolling brass, and. as a substitute, cast it into tolerably thin sheets, slightly exceeding one- sixteenth of an inch in thickness. At present almost every art and science in China is either stagnant or decadent. It would seem, therefore, that the time for a renaissance is at hand. <y THE "HANDY" MEN OF THE RAILWAY A STUDY OF BRITISH TANK LOCOMOTIVES By J. F. Gairns RAILWAY express engines have always received attention, both at the hands of writers on rail- way subjects and in the eyes of observ- ers, technical and otherwise; but tank engines and goods engines are counted as of little consequence by the majority of observers and writers, and it is with the former of these engines that the writer will, therefore, deal in the follow- ing pages. Probably no more expressive name could be applied to these tank engines than that chosen in the title of this arti- cle, for they are, in truth, kl handy" men, suitable, often irrespective of type, for working local, slow main-line, short- distance express, and goods traffic. They have driving wheels of moderate dimensions, usually four-coupled for passenger working, though there are now many six-coupled engines designed expressly for hauling passenger trains, and also for goods traffic and shunting. Consequently they are capable of "starting away" readily with heavy trains; they get into speed quickly, and are thus eminently suitable for short, between- station runs. The passenger tank engines in use are sufficiently pow- erful to take the place of goods engines on most trains; they are capable of good and fairly high speeds, and can work many fast trains efficiently, provided the runs are not too long; they occupy less siding space than a tender engine, and, of course, cost less; and they are, as a rule, equally efficient when run either chimney or bunker first. The earliest tank engines, like the tender engines, were single-driving for passenger work and four-coupled for FIG. I.— A SIX-WHEELER, KOTJR-COUPLED IN-FRONT TYPE, ON THE LONDON, BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY A. J. CHISHOLM BRITISH TANK LOCOMOTIVES 23 enemes. FIG. 2. — A SIX- WHEELED FOUR- COUPLED -BEHIND ENGINE PHOTO BY G. J. PRENTICE goods work, but the single-driving type became practically extinct long ago. In the case of tender engines that result has not yet been attained, but experience seems to indicate that it is not far dis- tant. Four-coupled engines have been the standard for the last fifty years, though it is now not unusual to find six- coupled engines employed and designed for passenger work. Six-coupled en- gines have been the rule for goods and shunting work. A few k ' single ' ' tank Wight are to be found on and some of the Irish railways, and on light railways such as the Cleve- don & Portishead Railway; but on the main lines the sole remaining representa- tives of the type are pro- vided by the inspection engines. The next type followed the lines of tender engine development, and was six- wheeled, with the driving and trailing wheels coupled. Bunker and well tanks were employed; later side tanks became general. This type now has only one real supporter, and even there its doom appears to the Isle of be sealed. This is on the Great West- ern Railway, which works almost the whole of its local trains with these Fig. 3 shows one of them. It is fitted with condensing apparatus for working on the London Underground Rail- ways, and practically the only difference between London and provincial engines con- sists in the fitting, or not, of condensing apparatus. The design is nearly thirty years old, and has been very little altered in later builds, though some of the engines are of comparatively recent date. With their 5 -foot wheels and 16 X 2 2 -inch-cylinders they are set to do some remark- able work. Many of the Paddington - Windsor and Paddington-High Wycombe express trains are worked by them, at averages of forty-five miles an hour and over, for distances of eighteen and twenty-four miles, respectively, with by no means light loads, though the road is an easy one. It is a pity that proper cabs are not fitted to more than a few of them. Fig. 2 shows a London, Chatham & Dover engine of the same type, but hav- ing outside bearings to the coupled wheels. These are old engines, but, with their 5-foot 6-inch wheels, have a FIG. 3.— GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY STANDARD TANK ENGINE, WHEEL, FOUR-COUPLED-BEHIND TYPE PHOTO BY A. J. CHISHOLM 24 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 5. — ON THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAY. AT THE MOUTH OF THE ALDGATE TUNNEL PHOTO BY A. |. CHISHOLM FIG. 4.— METROPOLITAN RAILWAY ENGINE IN OLD CONDITION. LEADING BOGIE FOUR- COUPLED-BEHIND TYPE PHOTO BY O. C. OWENS BRITISH TANK LOCOMOTIVES 25 good reputation for speediness, as, in- deed, have all the tank engines of the much-maligned Chatham & Dover, whatever may be the case with the tender engines of that line. The Metro- politan Railway also have a few engines of the type, used principally for goods traffic; otherwise, there are only a few isolated examples finishing their days on branch lines. The London & North-Western Rail- way did have a large number of such engines, some with 4-foot 6-inch and some with 5-foot 6-inch wheels; but all of these, or nearly all, have had their frames lengthened, a larger bunker fitted, and a pair of trailing wheels added. Almost concurrently with the type just mentioned ap- peared another six-wheeled type, this time having the leading and driving wheels coupled; and this, until the demand for more power im- peratively called for larger engines, has been the fav- ourite design for passenger tank engines. Fig. 1 shows " Pelham," one of the late Mr. Stroudley's famous and fig. 6.—, numerous ' ' D Class ' ' en- gines, for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. And splendid work these engines have done, and do still, though superseded now to some extent by other designs. There is an appearance of fragility about them; they are almost beautiful, when kept clean and bright, which is not usually the case now, and alongside other companies' engines they seem very small and delicate. Yet they have a reputation for speed and for good all-round work. They are not likely to disappear from London for a long time yet. The next development consisted in replacing the single carrying axle in both of the six-wheeled types described by a four-wheeled bogie, necessitated by the increase in weight and the enlarge- ment of the bunker to carry more coal and water. Thus we get, in the one case, leading-bogie-four-coupled-behind engines, and in the other, four-coupled- in-front-trailing-bogie engines. The first of these has only four real support- ers, only two of which now build such engines. These are the North London, North British, Metropolitan and Metro- politan District, or " District," rail- ways. The North London consider this their standard type, and it has been for many years. The cylinders, as in the case of the Metropolitan and District Railway engines, are outside.^.; The TRAILING-BOGIE, FOUR-COUPLED IN FRONT TYPE ON THE SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY PHOTO BY G. J. PRENTICE North London also possess two classes of older engines of the type, the cyl- inders of which are inside, one class having 5 -foot 4-inch wheels, and the other, — long renowned for speed capa- bilities,— 6-foot wheels. The North British engines are very numerous, and the type is, the writer believes, still the standard. In this case the cylinders are placed inside. The Metropolitan and District engines are near relatives, being indeed built to the same design, though dressed differ- ently. The design was introduced by Sir John Fowler expressly to suit under- ground requirements, and although all the engines are rather old, the whole of the underground traffic on both lines is worked by them, though on the Metro- politan St. John's Wood line they have 26 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 7. — A TRAILING-BOGIE FOUR-COUPLED-IN-FRONT TYPE THE LONDON & SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY PHOTO BY G. J. PRENTICE now been ousted on the best trains by new engines of other types. The District has not purchased any new engines for many years, but as they have only the one type, it is probable that, when necessary, it will be con- tinued. Fig. 4 shows a Metropolitan engine in the condition of twelve years or so ago. Fig. 5 shows one on a New-Cross- Hammersmith train emerging from the Aldgate East Tunnel, alongside Aid- gate main station, in one of the various present-day dresses. As stated previously, the coupled-in- front-six-wheeled type has been in great favour, and its development with a trail- ing bogie has been as much so. It is at the present day by far the most numerous class of engine, except the ordinary six-coupled goods engine, and there are only two of the Great ' ' railways which have nothing to do with it, — the London & North - Western and the Great Central. Fig. 6 illustrates one of Mr. ON Stirling's domeless engines for the South- Eastern Railway, and Fig. 7 one of Mr. D. Drummond's big tank engines for the London & South- Western Rail- way. Both of these classes have good characters for speed and work. The Great Eastern Railway is a very important stronghold of the type. There are old engines of several classes with 4-foot 10-inch wheels, which, neverthe- less, do splendid work still on the heavy London suburban traffic; some still older ones, with 5-foot 3-inch wheels, FIG. 8.— A MAIN LINE ENGINE ON THE GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY, A '' DOUBLE-ENDER PHOTO BY G. J. PRENTICE BRITISH TANK LOCOMOTIVES 27 now relegated to country districts; and Mr. H olden' s newly introduced, but al- ready numerous, 1100 class, with 4-foot 1 1 -inch wheels. lt,The Midland, South-Eastern & Chat- ham (both South-Eastern & Chatham and Dover sections), North- Eastern, (Fig. 8) a Great Eastern main line or big ' ' double-ender, and the other (Fig. 9) a London & North- Western engine of a similar class. Mr. Wors- dell introduced the type on the Great Eastern in 1884, his engines, thirty in number, being known as small ' ' double- FIG. 9.— ONE OF THE LONDON & NORTH WESTERN ENGINES PHOTO BY J. LAKE London & South-Western, Caledonian, Glasgow & South-Western and numer- ous smaller lines now build no other class. The Great Northern, after mak- ing it their standard for many years, has only recently discontinued it in favour of ten-wheeled engines. The Great Western not so many years ago had a good number of these engines, but, for some reason or other, most, if not all, have "been " converted," in a manner not very clear, to mixed-traffic tender engines. The Metropolitan, Lancashire & Yorkshire, North British and a few other railways also possess engines of the type. In fact, with the exceptions already noted, these engines are to be found almost everywhere. The next development to be consid- ered, and one which in some cases pre- ceded that just dealt with, produced the eight-wheeler, "double-ender" type, of which two specimens are shown, one enders." Mr. Holden built ten more of the same class, and in 1893 introduced the big " double-enders, " of which Fig. 8 shows one for main line and short- distance express work. There are forty of each of the classes, and the smaller ones have 5-foot 3-inch wheels, while the larger ones have 5 -foot 8-inch wheels. When Mr. Worsdell went to the North-Eastern locomotive head- quarters at Gateshead he brought out a class of double-ender tank engine very similar to his Great Eastern engines, and, rather curiously, several of these engines bear the same numbers as their relatives on the Great Eastern. The London & North-Western has long been famous for its double-enders. There are two classes, one with 4-foot 6-inch wheels and the other with 5 -foot 6-inch wheels, and all of them are noted for good work. The 5-foot 6-inch en- gines are very speedy. The writer has 28 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. IO.— A TEN-WHEELER ON THE LONDON & SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY PHOTO BY G. J. PRENTICE timed them with good loads, i$j4 min- utes for 12^ miles, start to stop, and actual speeds of 64 miles per hour have been recorded for them, and also for the big Great Eastern double-enders. The Lancashire & Yorkshire and the Great Central railways are also very fond of double-enders, using 5 feet 8 inches as wheel diameter; but, together with the London & North-Western, are now introducing extensively for passenger work eight- wheeled, six-coupled en- gines. At first sight, it appears as if the double-ender type should be the most suitable design for a tank engine ; but it does not seem to be borne out in prac- tice, for there is no railway, with the doubtful exception of the Lancashire & Yorkshire and the Great Central, besides the Great Western, with its one engine, which now builds them. The Great Eastern and the North -Eastern have re- verted to trailing-bogie tanks, and the other lines to six-coupled engines, as already mentioned. Scotland, to the best of the writer's knowledge, does not possess a single double-ender tank en- gine. Just as big engines have become the order of the day for express work, heavy tank engines of large dimensions have appeared in several quarters, having more than eight wheels. Of the four- coupled classes the most noteworthy are those on the London & South- Western, the London, Tilbury & Southend, the Great Northern, and the Taff Vale rail- ways. Fig. 10 illustrates one of the ten-wheelers for the first-mentioned rail- way. These engines, which are often termed " Windsor bogies," are now rather old, but they still work most "V the fast trains on the Windsor, Staines & Reading lines, besides taking their part on local work. The London, Tilbury & Southend Railway is the principal line for these ten-wheelers, for out of a total locomo- tive stock of sixty-two engines, sixty^are of this type. Of these, thirty-six have only 6-foot wheels, and, although con- sidered as the smaller engines, are yet very big machines, weighing, in work- ing order, fifty-five tons. Many of these are now confined to goods work. The remaining twenty-four engines are much bigger, and, although of three different builds, and really of two classes, all have 6 foot 6-inch wheels, the largest ever used for a modern tank engine. Fig. 1 1 shows one of the latest of these en- BRITISH TANK LOCOMOTIVES 29 gines. They are intended for working the fast Southend trains at high speeds and with good loads; but they are very efficient also with the heavy local trains, despite their big wheels, and it must be remembered that a " Tilbury Work- men's Train " is not to be despised, — twenty-two coaches, some of them six- wheeled, all "packed" in the fullest meaning of the word. It must be seen to be appreciated. The Great Northern engines, intro- duced by Mr. Ivatt a few years ago, have the cylinders inside, but otherwise they are very similar in general appear- ance ^,to the Tilbury engines, though only equal in size to the 6-foot engines of the Southend Company. The Great Northern engines have 5 -foot 6-inch Northern Counties Railway are two- cylinder compounds. Ten wheels might be deemed suffi- cient to carry even the largest tank en- gine, but on two railways still another pair of wheels has been employed. The Wirral and the Somerset & Dorset rail- ways have each one or two double-bogie tank engines; that is, engines with a four-wheel bogie at each end, and four- coupled wheels, making them practically ' ' bogie double-enders ' ' having twelve wheels. These engines are few in num- ber as yet, and it does not seem likely that they will be multiplied to any ex- tent for a few years, but the type is un- doubtedly one of the future. And now for a brief consideration of the six-coupled tank engines. Tre m ^ 1 HrraoW FIG. II. — EXPRESS TANK ENGINE. TEN- WHEEL TYPE, ON THE LONDON, TILBURY & SOUTHEND RAILWAY. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY G. J. PRENTICE driving wheels ; but there are two classes of them, one intended for London work, and the other, and older, for country and provincial lines. The Taff Vale Railway is also a prom- inent user of these ten-wheelers, — cyl- inders inside. Of other railways, there are the London & North- Western, with the old converted Metropolitan engines, already referred to, and several of the Irish lines. Those on the Belfast & writer may dismiss here, without com- ment, the ordinary six-wheeled, all- coupled tank engine used for goods and shunting work. For passenger work, however, the type is rather unusual, only two railways classing such engines as passenger engines, though all rail- ways have some fitted with a continuous brake, so as to be able to work passen- ger trains, if necessary, and occasionally. Mr. Stroudley, on the London, 3Q CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Brighton & South Coast Railway, was responsible for the first six-coupled de- sign for passenger tank engines, and his 11 Terriers" (see Fig. 12) are world- famous, though their day is almost over. Tiny engines, wheels only 3 feet 10 inches in diameter, chimneys hardly reaching to the carriage roof level, al- though rather long, — for them no more appropriate nickname could have been found than that of " Terriers," for they verily ' ' worry ' ' a train from a station as a terrier worries a rat. Many of them have been sold to light railways, but they are still numerous in and around London. They do their share of work on the South London and East London lines, and are very useful as shunters at London Bridge and Victoria. The other early user of six-coupled passenger engines is the Great Eastern Railway. Here there are more than a hundred, and they do good work with the heavy Enfield, Edmonton and Clungford trains, and although their wheels are only 4 'feet in diameter, they engines have had the front halves of the coupling rods removed. The more strictly passenger type of six-coupled engine is, however, that known as the ct six-coupled radial," that is, having a trailing axle fitted with radial axle-boxes, in addition to the coupled wheels. These are now stand- ard engines on the London & North- Western ; London, Brighton & South Coast ; Lancashire & Yorkshire ; and Great Central railways, while they have also been introduced on the Taff Vale and Wirral railways, and for goods traffic on the North- Eastern Railway, not to mention other and smaller rail- ways. One of the London & North-Western engines is shown in Fig. 13. The driv- ing wheels are 5 feet 3 inches in diame- ter. This line has. also some older en- gines of the type with 4-foot 3-inch wheels, which, although intended for goods work, are often used on passenger trains. On the Brighton line a ' ' goods ' ' -ONE OF THE SIX-COUPLED " TERRIER " CLASS ON THE LONDON, BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY PHOTO BY G. J. PRENTICE can travel sufficiently fast to run the fast trains on these services. A smaller class is employed on the Fenchurch Street- Blackwall trains. Some of these latter class of these engines, with 4-foot 6-inch wheels, was first introduced, but being- found very suitable for passenger work, a new set of engines, with 5-foot wheels, BRITISH TANK LOCOMOTIVES 31 followed, painted passenger engine col- ours, and these are now the standard tank engines on the line. The North- Eastern engines of the type are not very best broad-gauge work of the period. Later these engines were converted to tender engines, and 8-foot wheels were substituted for the huge 9-foot^wheels. FIG. 13.— STANDARD TANK ENGINE ON THE LONDON & NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY. SIX-COUPLED RADIAL TYPE PHOTO BY G. H. WILKINSON numerous, but they are interesting as being two-cylinder compounds on the Worsdell-von Borries system. Other engines of the type do not need special description. Of other six-coupled classes, the writer would simply mention, firstly, the Mersey and Wirral engines having six-coupled wheels and a trailing bogie, and, secondly, the Mersey engines hav- ing six-coupled wheels and both a lead- ing and a trailing carrying axle. But before concluding this necessarily brief summary, the writer would notice a few unusual designs which have been placed on the rails, with more or less satisfactory results. Among these the historical Bristol and Exeter 9-foot, double-bogie tank engines of the fifties must have first place. Designed by Mr. Pearson for work on broad-gauge metals, these engines were unique. Yet they were by no means failures, and to them has been attributed some of the These engines were always favourites with Great Western travellers. Mention should be made also of Mr. Webb's compound classes on the Lon- don & North-Western Railway. Some of the Metropolitan type engines already referred to were so adapted, the coup- ling rods being removed and the high- pressure cylinders being made to drive one pair of wheels and the low-pressure cylinder the other pair, according to Mr. Webb's system. Then some of the six- wheeled, four-coupled engines and some of the double-enders were similarly adapted. Finally a four-coupled, single-driv- ing, eight-wheeler goods tank engine appeared. This marvellous machine had a leading carrying axle, a single pair of wheels driven by the inside low- pressure cylinder, and then four coupled wheels driven by the high-pressure cyl- inders. It was thus a six-driver tank, or a combined single-driving and a four- 32 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE coupled engine, — certainly a strange arrangement. All of these engines have been reconverted to simple engines or ' ' scrapped. ' ' The only compound tank engines now remaining are those on the North-Eastern and on the Belfast & Northern Counties railways, already mentioned. As to the future of the tank engine, in the writer's opinion it will be a great one, unless the steam locomotive be ousted prematurely by electricity. There will be only four types, probably only three. First, the ten-wheeled, four- coupled engines of the ' ' Tilbury ' ' type for the faster work, which may be de- veloped to the double-bogie type by the substitution of a bogie for the trailing axle. Second, the six-coupled radial type for ordinary passenger work, and with smaller wheels for local goods traffic. Third (doubtful), the four- coupled-in-front-trailing-bogie class for lighter work and for general work, as long as it can hold its own against the preceding type. Fourth, the six- wheeled, six-coupled engines for use as shunters. THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA AND HOW TO MANAGE IT By Robert Buchanan Mr. Buchanan's dissertation on the foundry cupola as given in the following pages is a slightly con- densed reprint of a paper entitled as above, presented recently before the Staffordshire Iron and Steel Institute. It is an admirable contribution to the literature of an important subject —THE EDITOR. THE foundry cupola, considered as a furnace, is unique in simplicity of form. It consists of a vertical cylinder, lined with fire-brick or other refractory material, having openings, called " tuyeres," by which the blast enters; a door through which the coke, iron and limestone are charged, called the " charging door," and a small hole at the bottom through which the molten iron is drawn off, called the ' ' tap hole. ' ' There is also a door on the side at the bottom through which entrance is made to fettle the cupola and to make repairs when necessary, and through which the kindling is put at the beginning, and the debris is drawn at the end of the cast or melt. This bottom door is made up previous to the blast being put on, so as to be proof against any metal getting through. That is the cupola in its sim- plest form, as used in hundreds of foun- dries to-day. The modifications of the short, verti- cal cylinder, with two blast pipes, which have had any permanence are these: — ( i ) Heightening the cupola, by increas- ing the distance between hearth and charging door ; (2) Having a blast belt, and, connected with the blast belt, double and sometimes triple rows of tuyeres; (3) Internal modifications of the sections of cupola containing the tuyeres, by which the blast of air reaches the centre of the fuel forming the bed. Before lifts or hoists were in general use founders necessarily had to keep their cupolas sufficiently low, so that pig-iron, scrap-iron, coke, etc. , could be elevated to the charging platform by manual labour. This system obtains in i-3 many foundries to-day, and such foundries are necessarily compelled still to use short cupolas. The introduction of hoists made the lengthening of cupolas between hearth and charging door a simple matter, and so the advantages due to such lengthen- ing could be readily obtained. These advantages are principally the utilising of the heat not directly expended in melting to heat the descending charges of iron about to be melted, and in keep- ing a cool charging door for the men to work at. The increase of distance between hearth and charging door brought into effective use double and triple rows of tuyeres, with the better distribution of blast, more rapid combustion and quicker melting. Double rows of tuyeres may be used, of course, on cupolas measuring 8 feet to 10 feet between hearth and charging door, but in such the waste heat going up the stack would be excessive. Double or triple rows of tuyeres must be accom- panied by increased height, so that the heated gases may part with the greater proportion of their heat before finally going up the stack. If we consider the modifications in the interior of cupolas, we shall find that almost the only change which has taken place relates to the portion immediately above the hearth and terminating a few inches above the upper tuyeres. At this point there is an increase of diame- ter, and this is carried in a straight line to above the charging door. If any taper be given to the cupola lining, it should be in favour of an easy descent 33 34 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE of the charges; that is, the diameter of the cupola at the charging door should never be greater than it is further down. Although built straight, a grad- ual increase of diameter from charging door to melting zone takes place in all cupolas, caused by the abrasion of the solid iron upon the heated brickwork, and by the heat of the melting. There is a common belief amongst foundrymen that the contraction of a cupola at the tuyeres is primarily in- tended to reduce the quantity of coke necessary to form the bed for the first charge of iron. That is a very important function, no doubt, and not to be un- dervalued; but the greatest benefit ob- tained is that of getting the blast right to the centre of the cupola. This re- sults in a very intense and rapid com- bustion over the whole area of the circle, and not simply a local combustion in front of each tuyere. In lining such a cupola, and afterwards in fettling it, care has to be taken that the change from the small to the large diameter is made with a gradual slope and not by a sudden change from the one diameter to the other, thus forming a circular shelf on which the descending coke may hang and so leave the space in front of the tuyeres hollow. In such a case the re- sult would be a " bunged-up ' ' cupola. This is caused by the slag being cooled by the blast, with the result that it so- lidifies across just where the reduced diameter begins. For successful work the slag in all cases must retain its fluidity as it drops past, and away from, the cooling action of the blast. The reduction of diameter mentioned is really a lengthening of the tuyeres towards the centre of the cupola, and we get an intense combustion, be- ginning 4 to 6 inches above the top tuyeres, if two or more rows of tuyeres be in use, and extending over all the circular area of the cupola. A double row of tuyeres gives the necessary tuyere area for the entrance of the blast, and will melt more quickly than tuyeres of equal area congregated at one level. The higher tuyeres sup- ply the oxygen necessary for the com- bustion of the carbon monoxide gen- erated immediately above the lower tuyeres, the completed combustion tak- ing place in the melting zone. The melting zone of a 36-inch cupola, with two rows of tuyeres and blast press- ure of 8 oz. , begins at about 6 to 8 inches above the upper tuyeres, and ex- tends vertically for 24 inches and then terminates abruptly. One row of tuyeres of suitable area will melt perfectly hot iron, but will do it much more slowly than two rows of tuyeres. Two rows of tuyeres melt hot and fast. Three rows of tuyeres will also melt hot and fast, but the upper or third row cuts up the lining badly and necessitates a deep bed of coke. Some maintain that no harm is done, although these upper tuyeres have no coke in front and blow onto the iron. The idea is that the carbon monoxide which may be escaping from the melting zone, un- consumed, is met by this stream of air and is burned to carbon dioxide, thus securing the economy of complete com- bustion. But it is doubtful if complete combustion in the cupola is wholly economical. On the contrary, a margin or slight excess of free carbon monoxide will ensure that the oxidisation of the iron and the metalloids we value present in the iron is reduced to the lowest de- gree possible. If a third upper row of tuyeres is to be used, then the pipes leading to such tuyeres should be of very small diameter, — not exceeding 1 inch, and should con- nect to a tuyere of 2 ^ inches to 3 inches diameter, so that the air may enter the cupola at reduced pressure and thus minimise the cutting action of the flame at that place. The disuse of a third upper row of tuyeres does not affect the consumption of fuel adversely, retards the melting speed but slightly, and avoids a very rapid destruction of the lining. The appearance of the flame at the charging door, when melting is being done, is an excellent index as to whether the cupola is being worked to the best advantage. The cupola stack or chim- ney should be of sufficient area and height to take away all the escaping gases and flame from the charging door. THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 35 and so help to make more comfortable the charging of the cupola, which, un- der the best conditions, is always a laborious operation. The cupola should be high enough between the upper tuyeres and charging door to allow the ascending flame and products of combustion to part with their heat to the descending charges of iron and coke. Except during the final twenty-five or thirty minutes, when charging has ceased, the lining of the cupola at the charging door should not be hotter than a black-heat, or, at most. a dark-red heat. There should not be, as is so often seen, a continuous naming up through each topmost charge put on. This con- tinuous flaming-through is to be avoided as being a waste of heat. It is a com- bustion which should take place very much further down the cupola, and is indeed rendered possible only by the charges of coke being sufficiently large to stand this waste of heat and yet have enough calorific power left to do the work required in the melting zone. It is a '* consummation devoutly to be wished ' ' that the coke would descend, only gently warmed, to within 2 feet of the melting zone, there to begin to red- den up ready for the work of melting, shortly to begin. For coke to get red- hot, perhaps S feet above the melting zone, is a gross waste of fuel, heat, and money. In hot weather it also makes the position of the men charging the cupola almost unbearable. We may also attribute the naming through the upper charges to deficient blast, or blast badly distributed, and the same result will ensue with a cupola which is too short. There may be flame in the stack immediately above the charging door; in fact, there usually is such a flame, but the heat from it causes little inconvenience. This flame is the burning of the carbon monoxide, prob- ably from the incandescent coke just above the melting zone, and is char- acterised by a bluish-pink colour, the flame clinging to every little projection and ledge in the chimney stack. When the flame in the chimney is of this bluish- pink tinge, the blue predominating, the flame clinging to the chimney wall as mentioned, now and again running down and burning at an opening in the charge in a ragged sort of way, then it is scarcely necessary to look at the metal being drawn from the cupola. Such an appearance at the charging door always betokens that o:ood melting is bein^ done. A flame of a whitish-yellow colour, extending through the charge and up into the chimney, and often out at the top of the chimney, and without the ragged appearance of the proper flame, indicates that too little air is be- ing blown into the cupola. This flame may be seen in a cupola with proper blast any time the cupola-man opens a tuyere to clear away any obstruction there may be in front of the tuyere, and so allows some blast to escape, thus temporarily reducing the blast pressure. This flame is also an indication of scaf- folding or other obstruction to the free passage of the blast. When this flame appears, and the blast gauge indicates a rise of pressure, then it is well to see if scaffolding has begun. The appearances thus roughly indi- cated are such as apply to a cupola measuring 14 to 15 feet between tuyeres and charging door, and give, as indi- cated, a good idea of the general con- ditions obtaining in the cupola at the particular moment. The total tuyere area to be economic- ally employed depends upon the di- ameter of the cupola, the blast pressure available, and the density of the coke used. Whatever be the diameter of the cupola, it is desirable to have the blast effective over its whole area. If the diameter be large, then a higher press- ure of blast with a reduced area of tuyeres may be used effectively to reach the centre of the cupola; but the coke must be hard and dense to be satisfac- tory under such conditions. With a softer coke the tuyere area has to be enlarged so that the proper volume of air may enter in a given time. This stream of air being slower and having a larger surface contact as it enters the cupola, has not such an abrasive action on the incandescent coke as the stream from a small tuvere, but neither has 36 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE it the penetrating power of the latter. Should the tuyeres be set for high pressure of blast and dense coke, and coke of low density be delivered by the makers, as will sometimes happen, it is best to blow with less pressure. Melt- ing will be slower, but the cast may be got through, though later than usual. Hard blowing with soft coke results in the bottom part of the cupola in front of the tuyeres being blown hollow, a solid roof of set slag a few inches above the tuyeres, a " stuck " cupola, and a gen- eral mess. There is no single thing which can happen in foundry operations which so closely affects everyone as a " stuck " cupola. It is a serious finan- cial loss to both employer and employed, and raises a grave suspicion of the capacity of the management should it be anything but a rare occurrence. On the other hand, there is room for just a little legitimate pride when one has mastered the varying conditions attach- ing to cupola melting, and made the cupola a willing slave, answering to every call upon it. The total tuyere area to be used on a cupola is given by West as not less than one-ninth the area of the cupola. That is a rule which does not err by being too small a proportion. No general rule, however, can be given for all con- ditions of diameter and height of cupola, pressure of blast, and character of coke used. The most suitable tuyere area for a particular cupola can be obtained only by trial. The suitability of the particular tuyere area adopted is to be judged by the results as a whole, the most important features of which should be hot and fast melting with the small- est quantity of fuel. Cupola shells, unfortunately, have often much too small an opening for the passage of the air from the wind belt into the interior of the cupola. These openings in the inner shell should be amply large. It is easy to lessen the tuyere area, if it be thought well to do so, by making the opening in the brick- work less than the opening in the shell. If, however, one wants to blow with a 5 -inch tuyere, and the opening through the shell is only 4 inches, there is un- necessary trouble and expense in mak- ing the trial. The doors on the air-belt opposite the tuyeres should also be ample in size, being not less than 6 inches in diameter, with a 2 -inch opening in the middle of the large door, this opening being cov- ered by a small door conveniently hung, so that the tuyeres may be poked as oc- casion requires without having to open the large door and so allow an unneces- sary amount of blast to escape. The small door may also be used as a peep- hole to see whether the tuyeres are clean. The glass and mica usually seen on tuyere doors soon break, or become opaque through the impinging of par- ticles of dust propelled by the blast. The use of the large tuyere doors will be seen when we come to speak of " scaffolding." The height at which tuyeres should be above the bottom of the cupola is fixed by the weight of the castings to be cast in the foundry, and also by a con- sideration whether a ' ' receiver ' ' or separate hearth is used in which to col- lect the metal as it is melted, or whether the iron is collected in the hearth of the cupola itself. In the case of cupolas having receivers for collecting the iron as it melts, the lower tuyeres may be only four inches above the bottom. The metal and slag run directly out of the cupola into the receiver as quickly as melted, and so the lower tuyeres may be as low as desired, provided that the channel-way into the receiver be just a little lower. In cupolas where the metal is collected in the hearth of the cupola itself the height of the lower tuyeres, whether double or single rows of tuyeres be used, should be governed by the class and weight of castings being made, as al- ready mentioned, and also, to some ex- tent, by the duration of the cast. The writer has seen a description of a cupola having no separate hearth,, where the tuyeres were said to be only 4 inches above the bottom. With such a height of tuyeres the melt would be an exceedingly small one, as the ac- cumulated slag would speedily close the tuyeres. It has been found that melting THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 37 with a cupola 24 inches in diameter, having tuyeres 24 inches above the bot- tom, slag would sometimes appear at the tuyeres with 2 cwt. of melted iron in the hearth, 40 cwt. of iron having been melted and no slag run off. A cupola with tuyeres less than 12 inches above the bottom is suited only for hand-ladle work, and even at that height the continuation of the melt will depend on a careful watch being kept on the slag, which should be run off at the slag hole, if there is one. If there is no slag hole, the slag may be run off at the tap hole, but that is an unwork- manlike way of doing it. Every cupola should have a slag hole and it should be used. The reason for placing tuyeres only a short distance above the bottom is, of course, to lessen the amount of coke necessary for the bed. This must ex- tend at least 1 2 inches above the highest tuyere, whether single, double, or triple rows be used. It is very doubtful sav- ing to work with tuyeres so low as to be in constant danger of getting them and the air passages tilled with slag, and perhaps iron. There is also the risk of drawing off the pig-iron and scrap in separate strata, some castings getting all pig-iron and others all scrap, instead of the well-mixed iron which may be obtained from a hearth of proper depth. If low tuyeres and a restricted bed of coke be used, a fair measure of intelli- gence, skill, and alertness must be dis- played at the cupola if satisfactory re- sults are to be obtained. BLAST PRESSURE Iron may be melted as hot with blast at 6 ounces of pressure as with 12 ounces, but the speed of melting will be reduced. The greater the diameter of the cupola, the greater will be the loss of combustible gases when using a soft blast. As the diameter increases so should the blast pressure increase, so that it may reach the centre of the cupola. If there is a blast gauge, it should be seen that the cupola-man is shown its use and that he consults it Unfortunately, there are hundreds of cupolas melting to-day in charge of men who never saw a blast gauge, and who would not know what it indicated if they did see it. There should be a blast gauge at every fan or blower, and one on every cupola. The blast gauge is an excellent telltale of how the cupola is working If the cupola-man observes that the blast gauge is registering 5 or 6 ounces more than usual, he is not to conclude that the blower has become much more effective than usual. He should take the rise in the gauge as a daneer signal, and should see if, as is most probably the case, there is a partial scaffolding in the cupola, and at once take steps to clear it. SCAFFOLDING, AXD HOW TO AVOID IT Scaffolding is the term used when the charges of coke and iron have ceased following down as the coke and iron previously charged are burned away and melted, respectively. When scaffolding occurs in a cupola there is usually a fairly empty space in front of the tuyeres. Over the tuyeres, however, and extend- ing almost, if not quite, across the cupola, is a roof of solidified slag and iron. Scaffolding may be due to de- ficiency of fluxing material, such as lime- stone or fluorspar. Under such condi- tions the slag formed is pasty and not truly fluid, with the result that when it comes within the action of the blast as it enters the hearth it becomes solid. Poor coke, having low carbon, high ash , and low density of structure, other- wise a light coke, is a fruitful cause of scaffolding. The low carbon does not give that intensity of heat so desirable, the high ash gives excessive slag, and the lightness of structure allows the coke to be readily disintegrated or blown away by the blast. Faulty contour of cupola lining, possibly in conjunction with the causes just mentioned, may cause, or help to cause, scaffolding. All departures from vertical lines, or where cupola linings are being drawn in at bottom, should be done very grad- ually, and anything in the nature of a shelf carefully avoided. Blowing a cupola with too much blast may also cause scaffolding, but that is a compara- 38 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE tively rare cause where good coke is employed. The way to avoid scaffolding is to have ample fluxing material, say fifty- six pounds of limestone per ton of iron melted. If charges are all pig-iron, forty pounds of limestone per ton of iron melted is enough; but, then, few found- ers use all pig-iron. Use good coke, with carbon as much over 90 per cent, as can be got at a moderate cost. The lessened melting power of a coke at 87 per cent, carbon is very marked as com- pared with coke with 90 per cent, car- bon. It takes 27 cwt. of the 87 per cent, coke to supply as many carbon units as is contained in 26 cwt. of coke with 90 per cent, carbon. Ash usually takes the place of carbon in low-carbon cokes, and it is a very poor substitute. The only place where it is as effective is on the weighing machine. If low-carbon coke must be used, and scaffolding is to be avoided, then ample fluxing, light charges of iron and easy blowing are the means to adopt. If a piece of pig-iron or heavy scrap has got down in front of a tuyere, it forms an excellent starting point for scaffolding. The large door in front of the tuyere provides a means by which some pieces of coal may be placed in the inner end of the tuyere, against the hottest fuel or slag there, so that the coal may begin burning. If the pig- iron or scrap (it is usually a piece of pig-iron) blocks the way, then it must be poked back towards the centre of the cupola, so that the coal gets alight. The tuyere is now closed and the blast al- lowed to blow the lighted coal. Such a course has usually a magical effect in clearing the tuyere, as the flame from the coal is very hot. A large door to the tuyere allows the coal to be put into the tuyere by hand. With a small door the coal has to be thrown across the air belt, with the re- sult that about one piece in six goes where it is wanted. If the unmelted pig-iron or partial scaffolding cannot be moved back by the steel bar in the hands of the cupola-man, then the tuyere should be closed by means of ganister or other suitable material, and the other tuyeres be made to melt down the ob- struction. The blast should be eased while this is being done and not put on full until, by poking a hole in the tuyere closed with ganister, it is seen the ob- struction has gone. The tuyere may then be fully opened and the blast put on with full force, and melting proceeds as before. If several tuyeres have got black and the obstruction cannot be moved by poking, nor by adding coal, nor by stopping tuyeres, you may conclude that the cupola is in a ' ' parlous state. ' ' In such a contingency shut off the blast at once, as more air is only cooling the cupola and making it more difficult to get the coke and iron out. The cupola- men may then experience the delights of getting the coke and iron, some of it half melted, out of a " bunged ' ' cupola. Fortunately, it is a very satisfying kind of pleasure. One experience of the kind perfectly satisfies all engaged in it, and there is no longing for a renewal of the joys which always accompany a ' ' bunged ' ' cupola. Putting extra limestone or other flux on the topmost charge is of use only if the scaffolding is cleared and melting is proceeding; in this case the added lime- stone as it reaches the melting zone will render the slags being formed there more fluid, and so help to clean down the walls of the cupola. If the cupola has to be fettled next morning, the cupola-men, with anxious forethought as to how hot it will be, will sometimes, if allowed, throw quantities of water through the charging door onto the hot brickwork and thus ruin the lining. A better plan is to close the charging door for the night and allow the air to travel the whole length of the cupola from bottom to top. Leaving the charging door open in the expectation that it will let out some of the heat is a mistake; it only spoils the draught to be obtained by the unbroken continuity of cupola and chimney. It may be useful to compare the rela- tive drawbacks and advantages of cupo- las with solid bottoms, collecting the metal in their own hearths, and those with drop bottoms and separate hearths. THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 39 Cupolas which have solid bottoms and collect metal in their own hearths are less expensive to erect, less costly in upkeep of lining, etc. , and require less fettling daily. The coke has to heat up, say, 30 cwt. less of brickwork than in the case of a cupola having a receiver, and so has that heat to bestow on melting. A given quantity of coke should thus produce hotter metal at the tap hole of a self-contained cupola than will be tapped from one having a receiver, and this is undoubtedly the case. The tuyeres of a self-contained cupola, however, as already pointed out, have to be high enough to allow a body of metal to be collected in the cupola, and this causes the bed of coke to be higher than is necessary in a cupola having a receiver. Contracting the cupola in the region of the tuyeres so as to get blast penetra- tion also reduces this capacity for hold- ing a quantity of molten iron. In this respect the cupola with a receiver has an advantage. No metal being collected in the cupola, the size at the bottom may be reduced very considerably, and so the coke used for the bed may be lessened accordingly. Cupolas having receivers allow a more perfect mixing of iron, as a large quan- tity may be collected in the receiver with no risk of having trouble with iron or slag getting into the tuyeres. This collecting and perfect mixing of the iron is the outstanding advantage of the use of a receiver and renders possible the drawing in of the cupola, as mentioned. It has no other advantage. Besides, the channel-way or connection between cupola and receiver, through which all the iron and slag flow, is a distinctly tender part. A deep groove is worn in the bottom of the channel each melt. If a crack develops and the metal begins to come through, and in doing so pro- ceeds to cut up the iron casing, it is almost impossible to go on melting. The writer has found it best not to run the metal along the main connecting brick. By bedding good fire-bricks end to end along the channel, and renewing these as they are worn out, a very much longer service is got from the main brick. Should the metal get between the joints of the bricks it can get no further than the connection or main brick on which they lie. Should the connection brick be cracked, say, by a movement of the receiver (and in heating and cooling this is not unusual), then by making one of the fire-clay bricks span the crack the connection brick may be made to do service until it can be suitably replaced. To sum up in a few sentences what has been stated, a cupola which collects the metal in its own hearth will melt metal more economically than one hav- ing a receiver, but will require higher personal skill in management to pro- duce well-mixed iron. A cupola hav- ing a receiver takes more fettling to keep in order, is not so economical of fuel, having a larger body of brickwork to heat up, but gives more perfectly mixed iron. Cupolas with drop bottoms are not very common in Great Britain, most founders preferring those with solid, brick-built bottoms, the coke, slag, etc., being drawn out at the side door at the bottom at the conclusion of the cast. Some who have had drop bottoms to their cupolas have even discarded them and built solid bottoms instead. Drop bottoms are in almost universal use in the United States. Drawing a cupola by the side door at the bottom at the conclusion of a cast, as is necessary in cupolas having solid bottoms, is laborious, hot work at the end of a hot day. With a drop bottom the contents of a cupola may be with- drawn in two minutes without any effort worth mentioning. On the other hand, the drop bottom has to be made up each day, and made up carefully and well. A solid-bottom cupola requires practi- cally no making up whatever. When metal happens to make its way down through the folding doors of a drop bottom, as will sometimes happen, there is no necessity to drop the cupola. As a general rule, shutting off the wind and stopping melting permits repairs to be made and the leak stopped so that the heat can be finished. One material advantage which the drop bottom has over the solid bottom 4o CASSIER'S MAGAZINE is when more iron has been charged into the cupola than is necessary to cast the work then on the moulding floor. When all the iron required has been tapped out, the blast may be turned off and all the unmelted iron and unburnt coke in the cupola dropped, the coke being carefully quenched, to be used again the following day. In such a case when using a cupola with solid bottom the cupola-men almost always melt the iron and pour it on the floor. It has then to be broken up, is accounted as scrap , and is charged into the cupola as such. The coke used in melting this excess iron is consumed, of course, and is not again available. The cupola-man's motive for doing so is not to waste the coke or iron 'but is simply that for him the easiest way to get out of a solid-bottom cupola iron which is already in is by melting it out. Charging exactly the quantity of iron required is excellent foundry practice, but having i cwt. less than is required is very bad practice indeed, and may result in the ' ' pouring short " of an important casting. If there is any doubt of the quantity of metal in the ladle be- ing sufficient for the mould to be cast, and no more is to be had, then do not hesitate to pour the metal into pigs made in the floor. It is the stupidest of proceedings to follow an error in judgment at the cupola by turning a good mould into a very indifferent pig bed. That is what is done when a mould is poured with too little iron, and it is not at all an unknown thing in foun- dries. A few hundredweights of iron in the cupola in excess of the probable require- ments are thus used as a factor of safety, and, as already pointed out, the drop bottom allows this margin of safety to be obtained at the cost only of picking out the iron and coke from the debris of the cupola and again raising them to the cupola platform. One additional advantage of the drop bottom is the easy access it gives to the interior of the cupola for fettling pur- poses. There is thus a clear balance of advantage in favour of the drop-bottom as compared with the solid-bottom cupola for ordinary foundry work. CUPOLA MANAGEMENT Iron may be melted with a very low ratio of coke to iron and yet not be economically melted. If the iron is not fluid enough for the particular work to be cast then a small consumption of coke per ton of iron melted has been waste and not economy. Cupolas are too often left to be man- aged by practically unlettered men, to whom ' ' use and wont ' ' are the only safety, and deviation spells disaster. To look to such for an advance in cupola practice is folly. One of the things we hope the future contains is that no one shall be put in charge of a foundry who cannot himself, in some considerable degree, supply some of that higher knowledge which fate or Providence or whatever you will has denied to those under him. An important quality necessary in one who aspires to successful cupola man- agement is a knowledge of the material with which good results are to be ob- tained. For this purpose he should know the general effect of the several constituents present in pig and scrap iron, the modifications which these un- dergo during their passage down the cupola, from the solid to the molten condition, and the effect of the constit • uents upon the general condition of the casting produced. It is here that the chemist and founder may co-operate towards that desired end. Chemistry may not be an infallible guide nor may it ac- count for some of the unexplained phe- nomena seen in the manipulation of iron into the finished product, but it will cer- tainly prove of help in many instances. Is the fracture of pig-iron a guide to its quality ? The reply is ' ' Yes ' ' and ' ' No. ' ' Fracture has been, and is now, the only guide which most founders have regarding the quality of the irons they use. However, it is inevitable that judg- ing pig-iron by fracture shall give place to the more precise test of analysis. Physical structure may sometimes differ in irons of similar analyses and discord- ant results follow tests of these irons, THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 41 but the broad fact remains that in the very great majority of cases the same physical effects follow the same chemical constitution. Analysis shows the vagaries of the numbering of iron. The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 of one maker are not the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 of another maker, and sometimes to help to complicate matters one maker' s irons will change numbers. Why should there not be a chemical test for each cast and a sale on that test ? Founders have a right to expect that a pig- iron of a given brand and number should have some consistency of character, yet we all know from experience that this is not the case. Such differences may be unavoidable in blast furnace practice, but the iron founder must recognise that they exist. Knowing the chemical con- tents of the iron, the manager of the cupola is helped to produce, with a reg- ularity obtainable in no other way, a mixture of iron in which are found the qualities necessary for the work in hand. If he has no definite data, how can he produce definite results ? Coke should also be bought by analy- sis, supplemented by due attention to density of structure. Ash and sulphur should be as low as can be obtained, and -even in coke of good reputation these vary considerably. Taking ten analyses of coke, the results were as follows: — Lowest percentage .. Highest percentage . . Average percentage. Sulphur - 0.530 .. 1.068 . o 76q Ash 6.520 10.300 8.604 The coke with 1.068 percent, sulphur •caused much trouble by hardening the castings. Coke with 90 per cent, car- bon may be considered satisfactory in this respect. Carbon should not be allowed to drop below 86. 5 per cent. , as even at this percentage a marked difference in the melting power is notice- able, as may be expected. Coke with •91.78 per cent, of carbon is the highest carbon the writer has met with. Limestone used for fluxing should also be analysed, as a small difference in composition may alter considerably the character of the slag either in the molten condition or when hard and adhering to the lining of cupola and ladles. Analyses of Limestone « (2) Calcium carbonate 98.02 05.01 Magnesium... 1.05 Silica 43 4.16 Alumina .20 .40 Oxide of iron 23 .43 Oxide of manganese 07 100.00 TO0.O0 The limestone marked (2) formed a slag remarkable for the difficulty with which it was detached from the walls of the cupola and receiver when chipping down preparatory to fettling for another cast. The limestone marked (1) was superior to the other in respect of the high percentage of calcium carbonate and comparative freedom from silica. SCRAP IRON In mixing iron according to the analyses of the several irons to be used, the scrap iron coming from the foundry as gates, rejected castings, etc., is read- ily classified as to its position, being similar in analysis to the castings pro- duced. Bought-in scrap from its mis- cellaneous character forms the most doubtful part of the whole. Heavy ma- chinery scrap may be considered as hav- ing silicon 1.8 per cent, phosphorus 0.8 per cent. , sulphur o. 1 1 per cent. Mis- cellaneous light or medium scrap may be considered as having silicon 2 per cent., phosphorus 1.2 percent., sulphur o. 1 1 per cent. In the sample mixture given in the table on the next page, silicon, phosphorus, and sulphur are taken as being the constituents of greatest im- portance in the castings designed to be made. In some classes of work other constituents may rise into prominence, and one or other of these may be rele- gated to a position of secondary impor- tance. This simple mixture, by the analytical method, is chosen not because it is particularly accurate, but as an ex- act representation of what may be done in daily work. To get the average silicon divide 26.953 by 10 and deduct 0.25, being the average amount of silicon loss in the course of one melting of iron. To get the average phosphorus divide 9.596 by 10, but as phosphorus does not lose or gain anything in the course of melting, 42 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Pig Iron Cwt. Holwell No. 3 2 Stanton No. 2 2 BarrowXXX 1 Hematite 1 Scrap 4 nothing is added or deducted. To get the average sulphur divide 0.618 by 10 and add 0.038, being the average gain of sulphur in the course of one melting. The figure 10 represents, of course, the number of cwts. making up the charge. The result, as checked by the analysis, is as follows: — Estimate Analysis Difference Silicon 2.445 2.5ig 0.074 Phosphorus 0.950 0868 0.091: Sulphur 0.099 0.104 0.005 By making mixtures in this way one can usually get very near the exact con- stitution of the product so far as a chem- ist can reveal it. One could not have the same exactitude mixing irons by fracture. There is also this immense advantage to the founder. He is not tied to the use of any one make of iron, but may make his mixtures with con- fidence, whatever the name or brand, so long as the combination yields the requisite percentage of each constituent. The use of test bars is a valuable ad- junct to such a system of mixing. Both test bar and analysis will be found to have a very vital relationship, of which indeed there is abundant proof, and so require no further consideration at this time. Having begun the mixing of iron as shown, it is continued by the pig- breaker. Where several stacks of one brand of iron are in the yard, those hav- ing come in at several different times will represent very probably several casts at the blast furnace. Each day's requirements should be drawn from sev- eral of these stacks so that a truer average quality of the iron may be obtained. Another good system is to lay one long layer of pig-iron from the first car; on top of that put the pig-iron from the next car, and so on. Then begin using at one end and work from top to bot- tom. Thus the pig-iron is getting well mixed before it reaches the cupola, and Sample Mixture Total ilicon Total Phos- Phos- Sulphur Total Silicon phorus phorus Sulphur J-546 7.092 1,141 2.282 0.029 0.058 .826 7.652 1.092 2.184 0.025 0.050 '•959 1.959 0 285 0.285 0.070 0.070 2.250 2.250 0.045 0.045 Trace Trace J.ooo 8.000 1.200 4.800 O.I TO 0.440 26.953 9596 0.61s helps considerably to regulate the qual- ity. CHARGING THE CUPOLA We shall take it that the bottom of the cupola is in good order and the in- side contour of lining free from sudden changes of diameter or projecting knobs of slag, which may hinder the regular descent of the charges of coke and iron as melting proceeds. The first thing to do is to ascertain the depth of bed neces- sary to begin the melting. It is the upper part of the bed which melts the first charge of iron. The coke in front of the tuyeres does not melt the iron, unless it be indirectly. When the blast strikes the coke im- mediately in front of the tuyeres, carbon dioxide, or carbonic acid, is formed. The carbon dioxide so formed, passing up through the next layer of incandes- cent coke, is immediately reduced to carbonic oxide, which, combining with the free oygen of the blast, produces the intense heat of the melting zone and passes up the cupola as carbon dioxide. There is also some unconsumed carbonic oxide which escapes up the cupola, and is to be seen burning in the chimney or stack. The presence of unconsumed carbonic oxide in the cupola is not alto- gether an evil, as it prevents, in some degree, oxidation of the iron. The melting zone is the section of the cupola where the combustion of the carbonic oxide is practically begun and completed with the production of a most intense heat. The region of highest temperature, as indicated by the wear of the lining, is at the top of the melting zone. The posi- tion and depth of the melting zone is fixed by the quantity and pressure of blast used, but may vary to some extent as tuyere area and cupola diameter vary. It is a most important fact to remem. THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 43 ber that no actual melting takes place until the metal reaches the top of the melting zone, no matter how much coke is put on above the zone. Were it piled 4 feet high, the coke is simply burned away until the iron gets down to the melting zone, where it changes from the solid to the liquid state, and so drops to the hearth. Not any more coal than is actually necessary should be used in kindling, as ordinary coal usually contains more sul- phur than is desirable, and tends to harden the first iron melted. Many cupola-men make the mistake of over- burning the bed before making up the bottom door and beginning charging. The bed requires to be kindled as high as the tuyeres, and that only, and charging the iron may then begin. The pig-iron, which has been broken into four pieces if for a cupola of over 30 inches in diameter, or into six or eight pieces for lesser diameters, is weighed and charged into the cupola. It is a good plan to put a thin layer of scrap on the top of the bed to keep the solid pig-iron from smashing the upper layer of coke. Then, after the pig-iron, the remainder of the scrap is charged and evenly distributed over the cupola. On the scrap is now placed the charge of coke, also evenly distributed. Some limestone, to flux the ash of the coke and the sand adhering to pig-iron or foundry scrap, is now added. Some cupola-men, however, do not begin adding limestone until the first charge after the cupola is filled up, but I fail to see any advantage in this. The charges as stated are continued until the cupola is full to the charging door. It is important that the coke occupies a distinct stratum between the charges of iron, as only by this means is the bed kept level as melting pro- ceeds. Projections inside the cupola may also tilt a part of the charge, and so cause an irregular descent to the melting zone. Level charging and a level descent of the charges go a long way towards satisfactory melting. When the cupola has been charged to the charging door the blast may be put on as soon as is convenient. Some people advocate a period of one or two hours as a proper time to elapse between fin- ishing charging and putting on the blast. The writer has found no inconvenience whatever in blowing as soon as charging is finished, if the bed is kindled to the tuyeres, and no cupola should be charged unless it be kindled to the tuyeres. Blowing quickly after charging will give hotter first metal than would be obtained with a longer interval of time. When the coke is called upon to give up its heat, it should do so rapidly and with its whole vigour, and should not be employed in ' ' warming the charge, ' ' as it is termed. The quantity of coke put on between the charges should be only sufficient to keep the bed level with the top of the melting zone. When a charge of iron has been melted and the layer of coke has followed down by reason of the weight of iron and coke on top of it, if the coke be too great in quantity and more than replaces the coke consumed in melting the iron just liquefied, the result is a partial cessation of melting until the excess coke is burned away and the iron is down to the top of the melting zone. By the time the charge of iron has melted, the fuel in the melt- ing zone will have sunk a distance which depends on the weight of the charge of iron melted. The charge or layer of coke which follows should exactly fill the space vacated by the coke used in melting the previous charge. Were the important facts understood, that iron is melted only in the melting zone; that coke intervening between it and the melting zone is simply burned away; that the sinking of the incandes- cent fuel in the zone wants replacing and no more, then melting would be more rapid and very much more eco- nomical than it usually is at present. It will readily be understood how it is that charges of coke which are too large cause the melting to be slow and hot, slow because the iron cannot get down quickly enough to the only place where it can be melted; and hot because of the excess of fuel. The excess fuel, for want of something better to do, usually cuts up the lining. 44 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Each cupola may be put upon the best melting conditions only by trial. To do so, in the morning before fettling is done look for the melting zone of the previous day. Measure the distance from the top of the zone to the sill of the charging door. Saw a length of wood a foot shorter than the distance found. Charge the coke until the piece of wood, resting one end on the coke, comes just level with the sill of the charg- ing door. The coke has been weighed, of course, and it will be found that it takes more coke each day, as the lining wears, to bring the bed up to the same height as tested by the measuring stick. A thorough fettling each week brings the cupola back to the original form, and so there is soon established a sys- tem of regular height of bed. Do not let the cupola-men depart from weigh- ing the bed and all charges of coke. They may profess to know the weight they shovel on, but they don't. If the melting is hot and slow, then the charge of coke on the top of each charge of iron is too large, which will be confirmed by too much flame of a luminous character' at the charging door. Reduce the quantity so charged, say, twenty-eight pounds each charge, and continue for a day or two charging the same way. If the metal is hot, and probably faster melted, again reduce the coke by another twenty-eight pounds per charge, and so continue until the danger limit is reached. This will be indicated by the metal getting dull at the end of the melting of one charge and hotter at the beginning of the next. This will not go on long, as the bed is now being called upon to contribute more to the melting than is being replaced by the charging of coke reach- ing it. The last deduction of coke should then be replaced and so con- tinued. The metal should now be of a regular heat, quickly and economically melted. When melting down the last two charges of iron, reduce the blast to half -pressure. It does not retard the melting appre- ciably, saves the coke remaining in the cupola, ,and avoids wasting the lining. More linings are wasted in the last fifteen minutes' blowing than for hours pre- viously. The following is the system for charg- ing a 36-inch cupola, two of which, as well as a smaller one on special work, are in use at the Soho Foundry of W. and T. Avery, Ltd., Birmingham: — In- side diameter of cupola, 36 inches, con- tracted to 1 9 inches at bottom. Height, bottom plate to charging door, 15 feet. Two rows of tuyeres of 78 square inches total area. Melts over four tons per hour, and twenty and one-half tons have been melted in it in one afternoon. Each cupola has a separate hearth or receiver for collecting the iron as it is melted. From the receiver the metal is tapped into the ladles. The system of charging may be best followed by beginning at the bottom and reading up. Charge io cwt. iron Charge i cwt. coke Charge io cwt. iron Charge i^ cwt. coke Charge io cwt. iron Charge t}^ cwt. coke Charge io cwt. iron Charge \/2 cwt. coke Charge io cwt. iron Charge i% cwt. coke Charge io cwc. iron Bed 5 cwt. coke 1 and so on, until after the I second last charge of [ iron, when only 56 lbs. J of coke is put on. ] Cupola is full to charging door, when 50 cwt. of ! iron is in. I - Blast pressure 8 to 10 oz. 8 lbs. of limestone on top of each 24 to put charge of coke The average expenditure of coke over a period of one month is as follows : — Light castings 1 lb. of coke melted 7.87 lbs. of iron. Heavy cast'gs 1 lb. of coke melted 10.00 lbs. of iron. Av. for month 1 lb. of coke melted 8.49 lbs. of iron. The light castings are debited with the bed of coke. After the cupola is charged level with the charging door, the coke charged is at the rate of 2 cwt. per ton of iron charged, excepting the last- coke put on, which is only fifty-six pounds between the last two charges of iron. Metal appears eight minutes after the blast is put on, and is hot enough throughout the heat to run castings sometimes under one-eighth of an inch in thickness, moulded and cast at a dis- tance of 250 feet or thereby from the cupola. MELTING RATIOS This is a subject which probably more than any other interests foundrymen, and in regard to it there is considerable THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 45 romancing by cupola makers and some others. Some of the absurd claims as to economy of fuel would only be fitted to make one smile did one not know that they too often seriously mislead people with capital invested in foun- dries. Their acquaintance with melting is not such as enables them to judge of the case, and so they accept such state- ments as authoritative. Misleading claims cause trouble and annoyance for people who have the melting to do and disappointment for those who employ them. When absurd claims are made, say of melting sixteen pounds of iron with one pound of coke, one wonders what was done with the metal when it was melted. Did it run castings ? That is the object for which iron is melted. What was the proportion of defective castings ? It is as important to know the answer to these questions as to know the proportions of iron and coke. Metal may be melted in the ratio stated, but the writer does not believe that the cast- ings of an average foundry can be run with the metal. What, then, is a good, that is, an economical, ratio of coke to iron ? It cannot be stated in one word. What is good and economical melting under one set of conditions may be waste under another set of conditions. Con- dition of cupola, volume of blast, quality of coke and of the iron to be melted, kind of castings to be run, and distance the metal has to be carried are all im- portant matters affecting the answer. An economical melting ratio is one which, under the prevailing conditions, shall produce, with the smallest quantity of coke, metal suited for the work to be cast. Can all cupolas as now worked be considered as having economical melting ratios ? Investigation would show, we have no doubt, that the num- ber on which no improvement may be made is a small minority indeed. EFFECT OF CUPOLA MELTING UPON THE IRON That iron undergoes some changes other than being melted in its passage from the charging door of the cupola to the foundry ladle is known to most founders. Silicon always becomes oxi- dised to some extent, losing 0.20 to 0.30 per cent, each time the metal is melted. Manganese loses on an average 0.093 Per cent, each time the metal is melted. The smallest loss observed by the writer is 0.056 per cent and the greatest, o. 1 34 per cent. The manga- nese in the castings averaged 0.259 per cent. Phosphorus goes through the cupola practically unaltered in quantity. Blast and flux have little effect upon it, and one sometimes wishes they had more. The only phosphorus which passes into the slag seems to be that present in the iron which is oxidised, and which goes into the slag taking its phosphorus with it. Irons containing 1 per cent, and over of phosphorus have great fluidity and running power, so that thin castings may be easily run with them. The fluidity and running power of such iron is due to the low melting point of phosphide of iron, which is the condition in which phosphorus is present in iron. This melting point is several hundred degrees of temperature under that of the iron through which the phosphide is inter- spersed. At the moment the iron melts , the phosphide has risen several hundred degrees above its melting point. This fact supplies the reason why phosphoric irons run with such fluidity; the phos- phide has to cool down through many degrees of temperature, lower than the ' ' setting ' ' or freezing point of iron free from phosphorus, before reaching its ' ' setting ' ' or freezing point. The cool- ing action of a mould has thus an effect on low-phosphorus iron which it fails to have on phosphoric iron. Iron contain- ing o. 20 per cent, of phosphorus we may term a low-phosphorus iron; iron con- taining 1 per cent, and over we may term a phosphoric iron. Sulphur is the source of much trouble to the iron founder, hardening castings very considerably if 0.14 per cent, be present, and at 0.15 per cent, the iron is too hard to machine. Coke, with sulphur averaging 0.769 per cent., in- creased the sulphur in the castings as follows: — Minimum, 0.020 per cent.; 46 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE maximum, 0.079 per cent.; average, 0.038 per cent. The average is that of twelve meltings. As sulphur increases in the coke, so will it increase in the casting. The importance, therefore, of using coke with little sulphur cannot be too much emphasised. If the cupola is melting dull iron, a greater proportion of sulphur goes into the iron than when hot melting is being done. The first iron from a cupola, not being so hot, usually, as that melted later, is higher in sulphur, and such iron is, therefore, used for castings with little or no machining to be done on them. If the cupola melts dull all through the cast, then the iron will, from this cause, be hard all through the cast. This ab- sorption of sulphur by dull iron is evi- dently due to the slag being pasty, in which condition it has a feeble combin- ing effect on the sulphur. Slag has a higher melting point than iron. The iron on melting combines with the sul- phur, forming sulphide of iron, at a temperature under that of fluid slag. If hot melting be done, the sulphur passes into the slag in greater propor- tion, not because the iron is hot, but by reason of the slag being fluid, and thus comes intimately in contact and com- bines with the sulphur-bearing ash of the coke. Thus it is that hot melting makes soft castings. Combined carbon and graphitic carbon need not be con- sidered as being specially affected by melting. The respective amounts to be found in the castings are due more to the other constituents present and also to the cooling conditions of the cast- ings than to any action which takes place in the cupola. Carbon, as a whole, is reduced in quantity in the course of melting, but an increase of total carbon is not unknown. However, this forms the exception to the rule. The loss of total carbon in one melting will probably range from o. 130 to o. 140 per cent. CUPOLA SLAG There is a section of cupola practice which has not had the attention it de- serves. There is more iron, not visible to the eye, carried to the rubbish heap than most people imagine. So long as cupola-men get a fluid slag, the iron chemically combined with the slag does not concern them, principally for the reason that few of them know there is iron in the slag, unless it be visible. Slags may contain over 10 per cent, of iron, the lowest quantity of iron in any slags we have had analysed being 1.90 per cent, and the highest 10. 10 per cent. Taking nine analyses of slag, some of which were averages of three or four' meltings, and would thus represent about twenty meltings, the results were as follows: — Average of iron, 4.690 per cent. ; sulphur, o. 270 per cent. ; phos- phorus, 0.049 Per cent. Silica averaged 57 to 58 per cent., and was the product of sand adhering to the pig-iron and foundry scrap, and also from the lining of the cupola. Increasing the quantity of limestone charged does not seem to decrease the percentage of iron, nor to increase the sulphur and phosphorus passing into the slag in any appreciable degree. Thus, with lime at 0.60 per cent, in the slag, we found sulphur 0.219 per cent, and phosphorus 0.042 percent. With lime increased 22.61 per cent., the sulphur is increased 0.001 per cent, and the phosphorus 0.008 per cent. These are very small quantities indeed when compared with the effect one might expect with lime increased from 0.60 to 22.61 per cent. The slag, with 10. 10 per cent, loss of iron, had also the greatest amount of phosphorus (0.16 per cent.), showing that the iron in combining with the slag had taken its phosphorus with it. It has been already stated that when iron is being melted dull, that is, com- ing out of the cupola at what we may term the "red-molten" condition, a greater quantity of the sulphur goes into the iron than when hot melting is being done. This we explained as being due to the formation of sulphide of iron at a temperature at which the slag was pasty or only partially fluid. Although slag has been fluid in the cupola, and has taken up the normal quantity of sulphur, if it be allowed to cool in contact with THE FOUNDRY CUPOLA 47 iron, it will give up a proportion of sul- phur to the iron. Some iron, allowed to cool under slag during a period of 1 20 hours, had sulphur increased from 0.107 per cent, to 0.153 per cent., an increase of 43 per cent. At the same time, combined carbon had decreased from 0.508 to 0.020 per cent. There is thus a temperature which, for want of more precise data, we shall call the " red- molten " condition of iron, at which the slag has a lower com- bining power for sulphur than iron has; and also there is a temperature at which, though the slag has already combined with the sulphur, it will pass some of the sulphur into the iron if they be cooled in contact. Melting hot is thus the means to adopt for best results, both in quality of iron produced and in fluidity by which the various castings may be run, each at its proper temper. If metal is produced of equal quality and fluidity each day, with a moderate expenditure of fuel, then you may conclude that in- telligence and skill are directing the operations of the cupola. If, on the other hand, there is hot metal one day and dull metal the next, and this is almost always accom- panied by an extravagant use of coke, you may conclude that there is someone about who does not know how to work the cupola. GAS-POWER PLANTS FOR MINING AND SMELTING By Hawley Peltibone T HE large amount of power required in mod- ? ern mining oper- j ations makes the / power plant an important factor in such enterprises. With fuel costly and limited in ^51/ quantity, and water scarce and of bad quality for steaming purposes, the selection of a power plant for a par- ticular proposition becomes at once im- portant and difficult. As conditions vary with the locality, each mining pro- position has its own peculiar problems. These must be carefully studied and con- sidered in selecting the type of power plant to be adopted, and it is not safe to follow even successful precedents until assured that all conditions are similar. The successful operation of gas-power plants for mining and smelting intro- duces a new factor to be considered. A gas-power plant has been in operation about two years at Nacosari, Sonora, Mexico, operated by the Moctezuma Copper Company. All the power is generated at a central station with elec- trical distribution to motors about the works. The gas plant consists of two sets of Loomis gas generators, and each set will produce gas enough to supply power for the entire plant, one being in continuous service, with the other set in reserve, thus insuring continuous serv- ice. Two qualities of gas are made alter- nately, as the fires are supplied with steam or air. Two gas holders are, therefore, in use, one having a capacity of 5000 cubic feet, for water gas, and the other a capacity of 15,000 cubic feet, for producer gas. The two gases are mixed in fixed proportion, giving a uni- 48 form gas, which is essential in operating gas engines. With the Loomis system the fuel is charged through an open door in the top of the generator and the gas is ex- hausted from the bottom of the fire, thus converting all tarry and volatile matter in bituminous coal and wood into a fixed gas, which is then drawn through an ordinary water-spray scrubber by an exhauster and delivered to the holder. Coal is shoveled into the top doors as needed. Wood is charged in lengths of 2 or 3 feet and of ordinary cordwood diameters. The fires are cleaned twice a week. The water for the scrubber is cooled by a simple tower, and is used over and over. The dynamos are operated by eight gas engines made by Messrs. Crossley Brothers, Ltd. , of Manchester, England, rated at no horse-power at a speed of 200 revolutions per minute. Four ad- ditional engines, rated at 200 horse- power each, are now being installed. Eight tanks contain water for the circu- lating system for cooling cylinders. Each engine is belted direct to a 65 KW, 260-volt, shunt-wound, direct- current generator, built by the General Electric Company, of New York, with a normal speed of 910 revolutions per minute. The current from the eight generators is carried to a switchboard by overhead cables. This switchboard consists of eight generator panels, one main station panel and one feeder panel. The current is transmitted to the depart- ments through four circuits, each having an area of 500,000 circular mills. Two of the circuits are taken to two distribut- ing boards in the concentrator depart- ment, one for each mill, giving a total of 500 horse-power, with an overload capacity of 25 per cent. Another is taken to the furnace and converter GAS-POWER PLANTS FOR MINING 49 1-4 5° CASSIER'S MAGAZINE GAS-POWER PLANTS FOR MINING 5i room for other machinery and lighting. This plant ha sbeen operated for the past year on wood, principally white oak, with a little mesquite. The aver- age load for twenty -four hours is about 500 B. H. P. , varying from 300 to 650 B. H. P., and the consumption of wood is three pounds per B. H. P. per hour. With New Mexico bituminous or an- thracite coals, 1.5 pounds are used per B. H. P. per hour. The gas plant of the Detroit Copper Company, Morenci, Ariz., is similar to the .one at Nacosari, and is located on mill, operating three 80 H. P. Otto- Crossley engines, belted to countershaft which drives the mill. An equipment of 800 H. P. of gas engines is being added to this plant. Gas power outfits for mining and smelting plants operate to the best ad- vantage under the following conditions: — When fuel cost is high; when wood, bituminous, or anthracite coal are the fuels; and when water is scarce or of poor quality for steaming purposes. With plants of 250 H. P. or more under everyday working conditions one THE POWER HOUSE OF THE MOCTEZUMA COPPER CO.. NACOSARI. SONORA, MEXICO, CONTAIN- ING EIGHT IOO-H. P. GAS ENGINES RUNNING CONTINUOUSLY 24 HOURS A DAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR the railroad between the smelter and the concentrating mill. The gas is piped one mile to the smelters, supplying two 200 H. P. , three-cylinder, vertical West- inghouse gas engines. Each engine is belted to a 120 KW, alternating-current dynamo. These dynamos work in par- allel, supplying current to motors and for lighting. A 60 H. P. Stockport gas engine, made by Messrs. J. E. H. An- drew & Co., Ltd., of Reddish, near Stockport, England, operates conveyors and briquetting machinery, and a 60 H. P. gas engine, made by Messrs. Fairbanks, Morse & Co., of Chicago, runs an air compressor. The gas is piped 2000 feet to the concentrating brake H. P. per hour is produced with from 1.25 to 1.5 pounds of bituminous or anthracite coal, or with 3 pounds of wood. The consumption of water need not exceed 2 pounds per B. H. P. per hour. The steam from a good boiler plant represents about 70 per cent, of the heat developed by the combustion of the coal, and as a good steam engine is able to deliver about 14 per cent, of the heat of the steam as power, we have a total efficiency of about 10 per cent. The gas from a power gas plant; on the other hand, contains over 80 per cent, of the heat in the coal, and a gas engine de- livers 25 per cent, of this as power, 52 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A RECENT TYPE OF CROSSLEY GAS ENGINE USED BY THE MOCTEZUMA AND THE DETROIT COPPER COMPANIES. MADE BY MESSRS. CROSSLEY BROS., LTD., OPENSHAW, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND r *p A STOCKPORT GAS ENGINE USED BY THE DETROIT COPPER CO. MADE BY MESSRS. J. ANDREW & CO., LTD , REDDISH, NEAR STOCKPORT, ENGLAND making the total efficiency 20 per cent. The above is a fair comparison of steam and gas mining power plants where the coal consumption for steam is 3 pounds per B. H. P. per hour and for gas 1.5 pounds per B. H. P. per hour. The results mentioned with steam are obtained only with the largest and best mining power plants, the general practice being 4.5 to 8 pounds of coal per B. H. P. per hour. The invest- ment, operating expenses for labour, oil, repairs, and maintenance will be about the same for a gas-power plant as for a first-class steam plant. The amoun| of saving effected with a gas installation, by being able to get along with so small a quantity of water, or with water of an inferior quality, can- not be stated definitely, as the condi- tions vary widely in different localities. The following table shows the fuel sav- GAS-POWER PLANTS FOR MINING 53 ing per annum (8760 hours) with a gas plant using 1.5 pounds of coal per B. H. P. per hour, as compared with a steam plant using 3 and 4.5 pounds of coal, respectively: — Saving per B.H.P. per Annum. Price of Coal Gas Plant 1.5 lbs. per ton. Coal. Steam Plant u 3wbp ^r1 £o!ir Plant 4-5 lbs. per B. H. P. per hour. B>H>p> > h^ Saving per B. H. P. per Annum. Gas Plant 1.5 lbs. Coal. Steam $2.50 5.00 7-5° 10.00 12.50 $14-65 29. jO 43-95 58.60 73-25 pei $2930 58.60 87.90 117.20 146.50 A gas-power plant using wood for fuel shows the same ratio of saving as with coal, from 2 to 2. 25 pounds of wood be- ing equal to 1 pound of coal. The wood is used in 2 or 3 -foot lengths and of ordinary cordwood diameters. The heating value per pound of all varieties of wood is about the same, so that the kind of wood need not be considered when the estimates are based on weights. Gas-power plants involve two pro- cesses,— first, the conversion of the fuel into gas; and, second, the combustion of the gas in the cylinder of the engine developing the power. The cheapest gas suitable for power that can be fur- nished is made from coal, either bitu- minous or anthracite, coke, or wood, by passing air and steam either alternately or together through deep beds of incan- descent fuel. The resultant gas is passed through scrubbers, or towers with water sprays, to holders of moderate size. The apparatus is simple, safe, and easily operated. The gas must be clean, fixed, and of uniform quality. It contains from 125 to 150 British thermal units per cubic foot, and 80 to 100 cubic feet will pro- duce one brake horse-power for one hour in a gas engine. The rate of gas- making is regulated to meet the varying demands for power. The gas being fixed and clean, it can be piped any dis- tance through ordinary iron pipes, and engines can be located where desired. There is no thermal loss in piping the gas, the cost being simply the invest- ment for pipe and the power required to force the gas through the pipe. The costs for distribution by gas can be figured on the basis of allowing 80 cubic feet of 1 50 British thermal unit gas per brake horse-power and using ordi- nary pipe. In order to reduce the cost CONCENTRATING MILL OF THE DETROIT COPPER CO., OPERATED BY THREE 80-H. P. GAS ENGINES 54 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE GAS-POWER PLANTS FOR MINING 55 A 60-H. P. GAS ENGINE AND DIRECT CONNECTED AIR COMPRESSOR MADE BY MESSRS. FAIR- BANKS, MORSE & CO., CHICAGO, FOR THE DETROIT COPPER COMPANY for pipe the gas can be distributed under high pressure. The following systems have been adopted in applying gas-power plants to mining work : — Central gas plant convenient to fuel supply with gas piped to gas engines located where power is required. The gas is also used for metallurgical work where desired. Central gas plant with gas engines and electric generators convenient to fuel supply, and the electric current wired to motors directly applied for power. A combination of the above, gas en- gines used for large powers near the gas plant, and electric current distributed for distant powers, outlying mines, etc. Where there is a community of small mining plants using ordinary steam equipment, a central gas-power plant, supplying them with electric current or gas for power, would effect large savings. Local conditions govern the system of distribution to be adopted. As mod- erate-sized gas engines are about equal in price and efficiency to large ones, and as there is no loss in transmitting the gas, a complete gas installation shows the highest efficiency and the lowest cost for installation. A number of gas engines located in different parts of the plant require no more attention than as many electric motors. While electrical distribution increases the investment, it shows most excellent results in many cases, and where many changes are made in the processes and the power needed in different parts of the work varies from time to time, all requirements are quickly and easily met. Electric motors have been applied to all classes of mining work and have proved their reliability and efficiency. Properly installed, a gas-power plant will give as reliable service as a steam plant, and will meet all the demands of everyday working conditions. No more skill is required in its operation than for operating a steam plant, and the same grade of labour can be employed. THE MODERN TALL STEEL BUILDING CORROSION AND FIRE DANGERS By William Sooy Smith N all large cities the concentration of busi- ness in a small area becomes very desirable for convenience, if not quite necessary, and ~ - within the limits of the business districts rents are high and the value of the realty is greatly enhanced by this concentration. As the number of square feet of rental space that can be made available on a given area of the site of a building varies with the number of its stories, it becomes a great object to the owner to build as high as all the circumstances will permit. As steel is the strongest material used in construction, it has naturally come to the front for use in the skeletons of the so - called American ' ' skyscrapers. ' ' But it is not its strength only that en- titles it to this preference; there are to be considered the ease and perfection with which all its parts can be accurately proportioned to the strains to which it is to be subjected; its uniformity in qual- ity; its cheapness, tenacity, and light- ness; its unequalled capacity to endure shocks, vibrations, and strains varying in direction and intensity; and its dura- bility, when properly used and pro- tected. These advantages have been learned and are appreciated by engineers, archi- tects, builders, and owners; hence the wonderful increase that has taken place 56 in the use of steel for structural purposes within the last two decades. In this use the interest and safety of the public at large are both deeply involved and well secured if the material is used and taken care of as it should be, in accordance with simple requirements by means well known to competent engineers and archi- tects. With such precautions, the steel building is durable and the safest of all. Without steel the so-called " sky- scraper ' ' would be impracticable from its enormous weight and cost; and in a building of any height and of any mate- rials, neglect of correct plans, execution, and preservation is always dangerous and often fatal. The term ! ' fireproof ' ' is only rela- tive, for there is scarcely anything that will resist the highest known temperature even if applied for a few hours only, and the best and cheapest materials used in buildings do not belong to this class of refractory substances. The danger from very high temperatures that might be developed by fires may be reduced or prevented by admitting only very small quantities of the more combustible ma- terials, both in the construction of the buildings themselves and in their con- tents, and by the use of fireproofing cov- erings for the structural parts. Even in the construction of small houses a cheap wooden frame can be erected and covered, both inside and out, roof and all, with a first-class fire- proof plaster that will stand exposure to weather. Such dwellings can be made cheap, fireproof, warm in winter and cool in summer, will need no painting, and will be practically as durable as brick or stone houses. Larger buildings may be constructed in like manner, and even brick and stone structures may be so THE MODERN TALL STEEL BUILDING 57 plastered and made fireproof, and be otherwise greatly improved. The subject of buildings is of vital in- terest to all mankind. Our convenience, comfort, health and, safety depend largely upon the character of our dwell- ings and of the buildings in which our labour is done and our business trans- acted. It is especially requisite that the materials employed and the modes of construction shall be such as to make the building strong, durable, safe, and economical. They should also be as nearly as possible proof against destruc- tion by fire, or by lire and water com- bined, as they are generally exposed to the joint action of the two in cases of conflagration. But the ' ' skeleton construction ' ' now so common in the large American cities for tall buildings is about as faulty- and objectionable as it can be when exposed to this combined action. The expansion of the steel which the buildings contain is at the rate of a tenth of an inch per foot for a change in temperature of iooo degrees (red heat}. Of the other ma- terials,— stone, brick, terracotta, — each has its own rate of expansion, differing from one another and from that of steel. They all differ also in their conductivitv of heat. Even if these materials and steel are raised in temperature equally throughout their whole length, the in- crease in length will differ in each ma- terial, and taking the conditions as they occur in almost all burnings of buildines, the steel, being a good conductor, will be heated much more quickly and through a much greater part of its length than any of the other materials present. The differences in the total dimensions of the several parts of the building resulting from these causes will be so great as to bring about a destruc- tive war between them. This is not mere theory-. It has been practically proven by close observation of the effects of a number of tires. When a tire is in progress in a build- ing and its parts are heated to a high temperature the tire engines throw pow- erful streams of cold water on the heated materials, and most of those now com- monly employed fly to pieces under the joint action of the tire and water. So say all who have become familiar with the effects of tire and water on building material. This is especially true of the light integument of terra cotta built around the steel columns of a skeleton building. Iron and steel being the strongest materials used in the construction of buildings, and, in proportion to the service to be performed, two of the cheapest, have deservedly come rapidly into use, particularly in the United States, for the very tall structures that have been erected in the business dis- tricts of large cities. The experience previously gained in the construction of iron and steel bridges throughout the world prepared the way for the use of these metals in buildings, and to some extent developed correct methods of proportioning and connect- ing their parts. But it seems remark- able, in view of this experience, that such radical defects still creep into the details of iron and steel framing in build- ings as the flimsy lug and bracket con- nection of beams and girders with the columns, the eccentricity of loads on the columns, and the want of provision for expansion and contraction of the parts. These defects are, however, easily reme- died. Supposing, now, that all the metal parts of a building are properly shaped and connected, and all the loads and strains which the skeleton frame is to sustain are amply provided for, two great dangers threatening the safety and durability of the building still remain, viz. , the weakening and destruction of the metal members by corrosion or by heat. These dangers are actual and obvious. But the precise rates of weak- ening; bv heat and destruction bv cor- rosion under different circumstances are not as accuratelv known as thev should be. A column of iron or steel, such as those now commonly used in tall build- ings, would hold little more than its own weight when red-hot: and it is well known that there is a dangerous weak- ening: effect of heat at much lower tern- peratures. Tests made at Watertown, 58 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Mass., in 1890, by Mr. James E. How- ard, for the writer, led to the following conclusions: — " The modulus of elasticity of both iron and steel decreased with an increase in temperature, the change being more marked with mild steels. ' ' The elastic limit, like the modulus of elasticity, decreases with increased temperature, the rate of change being affected somewhat by the amount of carbon in the steel. With an increase in temperature there is a decrease in tensile strength, the latter, in the case of mild steels, reaching a minimum at about 200 degrees F. With a still fur- ther increase in temperature there is also an increase in tensile strength, but at about 460 degrees F. the tensile strength reaches a maximum. As the temper- ature rises above this point the tenacity diminishes rapidly." Experiments made by R. Luehmann, at Hamburg in 1888, are very instruc- tive, showing that " the breaking load of a wrought-iron column per square inch of cross-section when red-hot is only one-half as great as when the col- umn is cold (normal temperature)." From this it must be apparent that the usual method of giving to columns, beams, and girders certain loads and proportions, such as to secure ample strength with a proper factor of safety while the metal is at ordinary atmos- pheric temperature, is altogether insuffi- cient to ensure safety in case of exposure to the high heat that may attack it dur- ing a conflagration. And here let it be remembered that the metal while heated loses much of its strength to resist ten- sion and compression, and also loses in greater degree its resistance to lateral flexure, and so the entire skeleton of a building may be deprived of the stiffness necessary to its stability. It happens, too, that while the col- umns, beams, and girders are weakened, they are also expanded by heat, and unequally as the degree of heat varies to which the different members are ex- posed. The unequal expansions of the horizontal beams and girders push the columns out of vertical into buckling positions, rendering a collapse of the whole structure almost certain. This has occurred in many instances, and is likely to occur whenever fire attacks a skeleton building in which the metal parts are not absolutely protected by proper fireproofing. It also frequently happens that the horizontal expansions of the beams and girders crack and shove out the walls against which their ends abut. Many buildings having skeletons of iron and steel imperfectly protected by so-called fireproofing, have failed when heated by fire either in these buildings themselves or in some instances from the burning of an adjacent building, even at a considerable distance away, notably in the case of the Manhattan Savings Bank building, in the city of New York, which was ignited by the burning of another building 40 feet away, and practically destroyed, and also in the cases of three steel skeleton (so-called) fireproof buildings ruined by fire in Pittsburgh in 1897. The story of this fire was, at the time, summed up in a few lines in the Engineering News, as follows: — ' ' A fire starts in an old type of brick and wood, slow-combustion building filled with highly inflammable material, and before its progress can be checked it sweeps over an area of nearly two city squares, destroying property to the amount of $3,000,000. Within this area, besides the first-mentioned build- ings, there were three modern fire- proofed, steel skeleton buildings and half a dozen small shops and dwellings of ordinary brick and wood construc- tion. When the flames had completed their work, there remained of two of the fireproof structures only the outer walls and shattered floor arches, held together by the steel frame; the third fireproof building had five of its light floors swept nearly clean of their contents and their dividing walls and partitions injured be- yond repair, and the brick and wood shops and dwellings were simply heaps of masonry." This brief description clearly estab- lished the fact that the three " fire- proofed, steel skeleton buildings " were not fireproof, and, indeed, it turned out THE MODERN TALL STEEL BUILDING 59 that in one of them 50 per cent, of the columns were found, after the fire, stripped of their covering. The rate of corrosion of iron and steel varies greatly under different circum- stances. In pure water, containing no free air, with an air-tight covering of paint, or imbedded in quicklime, it scarcely corrodes at all; but when in the open air, particularly when alter- nately wet and dry, it rusts quite rap- idly, and when exposed to steam and sulphurous fumes it is eaten away by corrosion at the rate of one-eighteenth of an inch per annum, as was the case in the floor system of a viaduct in Chi- cago under which locomotives were passing frequently. Corrosion at the same rate occurred in a portion of the western approach of the Eads Bridge at St. Louis, where the same conditions exist. As the metal in a steel column is usually not more than half an inch thick, corrosion at the above rate would make a steel building unsafe in less than twenty years. In an iron or steel skeleton building the columns, starting at the basement floor, or at the floor at street level, ex- tend to the top of the building. They are hollow and are painted only on the outside, and this with paint so perish- able that it will afford no protection from corrosion after the first five or ten years. The girders are nearly as much exposed as the columns, while the beams are generally bare on the top and bottom surfaces of the flanges, and sometimes over a considerable part of the webs. "Wherever the surfaces inside or out- side are left uncovered, they are exposed to corrosion that will be more or less rapid, according to the temperature and hygrometric conditions of the air sur- rounding them. In many instances, particularly in factories, there are de- structive elements in the atmosphere, such as sulphur and chlorine, which may cause rapid wasting away of the metal, and these elements are the more dan- gerous, as they are apt to escape notice while destroying parts that are con- cealed. Corrosion may be prevented by cover- ing; all metallic surfaces, both inside and outside, with an indestructible anti-cor- rosive coating. This having been done, all the metal parts must be enclosed in a fireproof and fireproofing material that will not only resist the heat of a conflagra- tion, but so shield the metal from an attack by heat as to prevent any consid- erable changes of its temperature, and this may be best and most certainly ac- complished by having an eye to the fire- proofing of each individual structural member. Slow combustion of buildings can be secured by carefully whitewashing the inside and outside with fireproof material laid on with a brush. Fire departments claim that they can extinguish almost any fire if only it is prevented from spreading too much before they can bring their engines into play. It is of the utmost advantage to pro- tect each building from the danger of taking fire in case of the burning of its neighbours, and this can be at least measurably done by the whitewashing suggested, particularly of the roof, and by putting fireproof shutters on all win- dows and openings of every kind. Where there is an open court in a build- ing, some sort of fireproof covering should be put on all parts of such court, and the same protection should be given to stairways and elevator shafts. The essential characteristics of a fire- proofing material for buildings are: — 1 st. — It must itself be incombustible. 2d. — It must be as nearly as possible a non-conductor of heat. 3d. — It must be strong and durable. 4th. — It must endure heating to red- ness and plunging into cold water with- out cracking. While there are very many so-called fireproofing materials in use for which these qualities are claimed, there was, up to a very recent period, not one of them that was a good non-conductor of heat, and that would stand heating to redness and being plunged into cold water while red-hot without flying to pieces. The requirements of a building are that it shall be strong enough to carry all its loads and resist wind pressure and all other strains to which it mav be sub- 6o CASSIER'S MAGAZINE jected as a whole or in any of its parts, and that it shall be durable and not un- reasonably costly. Supposing that steel is used for the framework of the structure, as being pref- erable to any other material, and that proper shapes and sizes of all parts of such frames have been carefully and correctly determined and the disposition and con- nections of these parts have been prop- erly made, it only remains to provide the skeleton of the building, inside and out- side, roof included, with a covering that shall be fireproof, strong, and dura- ble, and, if possible, light, tough, and elastic, a good non-conductor of heat, and impervious to air or water. Such covering can be made of fireproof plaster of any necessary or desirable thickness, and suitable cornices and mouldings can be worked out of the same material. The great weight of tile, brick, and stone now used would thus be dispensed with and the much lighter construction described substituted. A very great saving of weight in the frame itself would be effected, and the cost of the necessary foundations of the building would be greatly reduced. Still other important advantages would be secured which need not be mentioned here. Enough has been said to invite the careful and unprejudiced study and criticism of en- gineers and architects, and out of this kind of investigation there may come a new system of building that may be the ideal one of the future. The highly inflammable buildings now erected and occupied are a disgrace to the high civilisation of our age and in flagrant violation of all the well- established facts and dictates of the ad- vanced art and science which are its dis- tinguishing characteristics. How can we better serve our day and generation than by energetic and per- sistent efforts to correct the great evils that exist ? And in the physical world, what are the conditions, capable of being corrected, that result in the fearful de- struction of life and property periodically recurring ? When a dozen or two, or even a hun- dred people, unable to escape from a burning building, or a number of fire- men, battling with the flames, are burned to death, we read a notice of the de- plorable event in the daily newspapers, exclaim, "It is horrible!" or " It's too bad!" and pass on to other news, thinking little more of it. From their very frequency these disasters cease to make a lasting impression. While such wonderful progress has been made during the latter half of the nineteenth century in the development and applications of physical science, it seems passing strange that so little has been done to mitigate these evils. What we need are tests and investigations by the best experts in the world to ascertain practical and efficient means of making thoroughly rustproof and fireproof build- ings. ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING By B. A. Behrend, C. E„ E. E. ->- T HE last decade of the nineteenth century was conspicuous for the development of electri- cal engineering in general, but its most distinctive feature was un- questionably the growth and evo- lution of the alter- n a t i n g current. and, consequent upon it, the call- ing into life of a new and large in- dustry employing thousands of men and women, and add- ing materially to the comforts and com- modities of existence, by which, in last analysis, we measure the worth of our labour. But in this age of eulogy upon the material fruits of the engfineerinor in- dustries,— to most men the be-all and end-all of their work, — it is often for- gotten how large a debt industry owes to science, and that the former is only now paying back the loan which it has received during the past century from the noblest and greatest minds of the world. Since Faraday laid the foundation stone upon which the electrical industry has been reared as a mighty superstruct- ure, since Clerk Maxwell, Kelvin, Helm- holtz. and Hertz, and a host of great physicists now living, purified the great thoughts of that prince of investigators and discoverers, electrical engineers have had a few guide-posts on their toil- some path. When, fifteen years ago, the first modest attempts at power trans- mission were made, the engineering public at large was profoundly ignorant of the laws of electricity and magnetism, and onlv a few masters in science and FIG. I.-THE POWER HOTTSE AT HOCHFELDEK, SWITZERLAND, I89I 6l 6i CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 63 engineering had some knowledge of the principles that lie at the foundation of successful design for continuous-current machinery. The realm of alternating currents was enveloped in a veil which only a few dared to lift. The dynamo - electric machine had been invented; it was improved upon by skillful mechan- ics, and while the alternator existed only in the laboratory, lighting and rail- way generators began to attract the at- tention of the people. Upon some men, endowed with that divine facultv of im- scenery, Switzerland has achieved engi- neering fame equal to, and in some measure greater than, that of its power- ful neighbours, proving that bigness is not grandeur and that territory does not make a nation. Abundant water-power, with many hotels that desire to give the stranger all the comforts of home, the country readily prompts the utilisation of the waterfalls' for giving hotels and dwelling houses the convenience of elec- tric light. Thus the natural conditions of the country stirred the faculties of an -THE THREE-PHASE OERLIEOX LOCOMOTIVE OX_THE JTXGFRAU RAILWAY agination which peers into the dark and dim future, the importance of alternating currents for industrial applications must have dawned long before actual facts justified such hopes. Among the great engineers active in the development of the art of electrical industry stand out some men in that re- markable little republic, Switzerland, most attractive by its majestic scenery and its gigantic, white, snow-clad moun- tains. A very small country, made rich by the influx of strangers from all parts of the compass to admire the natural intelligent, enterprising and hardy peo- ple into activity, leading to the develop- ment of a system of electric power trans- mission that is most remarkable for its flexibility and most conspicuous for its ingenuity. It is eleven years ago that in the Oerlikon Tool & Engine Works, at Winterthur, Switzerland, a small induc- tion motor for experimental purposes concentrated upon itself the attention of some prominent engineers, among whom were Michael von Dolivo-Dobrowolsky and Charles E. L. Brown. If, in im- 64 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE agination, we transported ourselves back into the stage of development of alter- nating current engineering at that time, we would find that even the most ad- vanced engineers had little idea of the intricacy and complexity of the phe- nomena upon which they so audaciously entered, and, perhaps, even less knowl- edge of the phenomena themselves. There is surely much truth in Dar- win' s words that l ' it is often ignorance, and not knowledge, that begets con- fidence." Thus the fortress of the men of rare mathematical genius, were almost wholly inaccessible to ordinary minds, on account of the familiarity that they premised with mathematical meth- ods of the greatest complexity. We are safe in saying that, theoretically, every- thing had been done, and any alternat- ing current phenomenon could have been explained on the principles that were known to the leading physicists; but this knowledge had not yet spread abroad among the engineering world at large. It required what might be called a popularisation of these theories to make them palatable to the builders and designers of plants, and the bulk of this by no means easy work was done by such men as John Hopkinson and Gis- bert Kapp. In their papers we find the FIG. 4. 30O-H. P. LAUFFEN GENERATOR, SHOWING THE REVOLVING FIELD alternating current was confidently at- tacked, unheeding the many pitfalls, such as " power factors," " wattless currents," " resonance effects," and a string of other peculiar phenomena that surrounded it, as trenches surround a fort. As a matter of fact, much has been done, theoretically, especially by British physicists, to clear the ground, as far as theory is concerned. Most alternating current phenomena, being explained by reducing them to the laws of dynamics, have their analogy in the theory of sound, and this theory had been elaborated by such masters as Helmholtz and Lord Raleigh. But these theories, developed, as they were, by laws of magnetism clearly and accurately stated and applied; the method of pre- determining the saturation curves of generators we owe to them ; the theories of parallel running of alternators and of synchronous motors, so important to successful large central station work; the explanation of the " resonance effects, ' ' as observed on a large scale on Ferranti's 10,000-volt cables between Deptford and London, based upon the action of capacity and self-induction in alternating current circuits; all these in- tricate phenomena, and many more, were shown to yield to elementary ap- plications of vector-analysis. And while the acoustic phenomena and their ex- ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 65 -SINGLE -PHASE GENERATORS IN THE FRANKFORT STATION planations received comparatively little attention, the interest in alternating cur- rents was greatly stimulated through the surprising success that was met with in polyphase power transmission. The integral parts of electric power transmission plants are the generating station, the transformers and the line, and the motors. The writer shall, in this contribution, deal mainly with the generators and motors, because, on the one hand, they are the most interesting part of the subject, and, on the other, they have not been treated in engi- neering literature with special reference to those details of construction that have made them practicable and successful for the hard service to which they are ex- posed. From an historic standpoint, a little plant at Hochfelden, in Switzerland, transmitting 900 H. P. over a distance of 18 miles at 15,000 volts is not with- out some interest to-day. The well- known experiment of transmitting power at 30,000 volts over no miles, between Lauffen and Frankfort, in Germany, had been made in 1891 on the occasion of the Frankfort Electrical Exhibition. The generators, both for the Frankfort experiment and for the primary station at Hochfelden for the transmission to Oerlikon, were of the type that is now known to electricians as the " Lauffen type," the design of C. E. L. Brown. Fig. 2 gives a good view of the 300- H. P., low-voltage generators, with vertical axes keyed direct to the shafts of the turbines. The exciter dynamos have vertical shafts, and are of the Manchester type, which the late John Hopkinson had in- troduced, and which were made use of by Brown in 1886 for the transmission of 50 H. P. at 2000 volts over a distance of five miles, between Kriegstetten and Solothurn, in Western Switzerland, at a time when electric power transmission was looked upon rather as an oddity than anything else. The line was sup- ported on Johnson & Phillips fluid in- sulators, and this little plant is still in operation, as are many other transmis- sion plants with series-wound machines, though their commutators often show rather fantastic shapes, being worn out through a dozen years of toil. The exciting current is led into the revolv- ing field through two slide rings, which run in bare copper wires as a pulley does in a belt. These wires take the place of brushes. In Fig. 1 a view is given of the little power house on ac- count of its historic interest. The characteristic feature of these ma- chines is the revolving part which forms the magnetic field. A very good illustra- tion of such a field is shown in Fig:. i-5 66 CASSLER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 6.— THE ARMATURE OF A 50O-H. P. OERLIKON INDUCTOR GENERATOR 4, which represents the 300- H. P. three- phase generator used for the transmis- sion5^ power from Lauffen to Frankfort in 1 89 1. W. M. Mordey's single-coil machine had the great disadvantage that the armature coils projected radially into the field, and slight displacements of the latter were apt to injure the coils through contact with the revolving field. Brown sought to combine the advantage of the single exciting coil with a substantial cylindrical armature, and he devised the ingenious construction of the staggered, overlapping poles, all excited by one circular coil, visible in the crescent- shaped openings of the magnet wheel. With all deference to the ingenuity of this design, the fact cannot be de- nied that the Lauffen field is most un- favourable for machines that have to supply current for induction motors. It is well known that the voltage of a generator is reduced materially if a load is thrown upon it. This reduction of the pressure at the terminals is called the " drop" of the machine. It is a ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 67 FIG. 7.— THE INDUCTOR OF THE OERLIKON GENERATOR peculiarity of the alternating current that the demagnetising effect of a cur- rent feeding an induction motor is greater than that of a current feeding incandescent lamps. It can be shown that condensers and over-excited syn- chronous motors have the opposite effect on the field of the generator, viz. , they strengthen it, from which follows the interesting and important fact that their action neutralises the ' ' lagging ' ' cur- rents of induction motors. These are the general facts about " armature re- action,"— that most important question in the design of alternators. The Lauffen type is most sensitive in respect to armature reaction. A gen- erator of this type does not keep the volts at the terminals approximately constant when the load is increased. The machine might be compared with a boiler made of a porous substance, or having seams which leak, losing the pressure whenever it is most needed. Such a boiler would be of little use, and so is a generator having similar prop- 68 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 69 erties. We now know that the field of the Lauflen type has an immense leak- age. Brown soon became alive to this inherent defect of his machine and he discontinued building it, while lowers, with the imitativeness species and with that inertia terising the human mind, did not even understand its seeming advantages un- til Brown had long discarded the con- struction. The tendency of the early nineties was toward the external pole type which had done such excellent service in direct his fol- of our charac- The field magnets were arranged on each side of the flat coils, and caps of ebonite were slipped over the pole tips to prevent flashing over from the revolv- ing armature to the field. But though these machines, some of which are still in operation in the Deptford central sta- tion in London, were examples of the boldness of thejr designer, they were, mechanically, altogether too unsubstan- tial. By the year 1893 the revolving field type had been adopted by Ganz & Co. , of Buda-Pest; but thev had not suc- FIG. g. — A 600-K. W. BULLOCK GENERATOR current work, and revolving armatures for alternating currents, single-phase and polyphase, sprang into existence. The generation of high voltages in the machine itself led, however, to the sta- tionary armature, as it is not feasible to have armature coils carrying 5000, 10,- 000 or even 15,000 volts revolving at a speed of 6000 feet or more per minute. A bold English engineer, a most ingen- ious designer, Sebastian Ziani di Fer- ranti, had devised his well-known alter- nator, the coils of which were fastened through insulating material to the rim of the flv-wheel of the steam eno-ine. ceeded in making machines that could hold the pressure approximately constant with a motor load. Their armatures contained immense quantities of cop- per, lodged in abnormally large slots, having great self-induction and pro- ducing tremendous armature reac- tions. Their poles stood close together, and the air gaps between armature and field were large, so that a considerable part of the magnetic flux passed from pole to pole without going through the armature coils. These are the condi- tions that favour the phenomena of " leakage," so injurious in generators yo CASSIER'S MAGAZINE intended for good regulation. It re- quired more thought and ingenuity than those who design alternating current machinery to-day can imagine to clearly see the causes of poor regulation. The Frankfort Electrical Exhibition in 1 89 1 greatly influenced the develop- ment of alternating current machinery. The city of Frankfort required an elec- tric central station for 3000 H. P. for the first installation, and the distribution of power and light over a large area in the city was earnestly taken into consid- eration. The large German electrical factories were not in a position to safely advocate any other than the direct cur- rent system. Indeed, it may truly be said that Mr. C. E. L. Brown alone had clearly conceived the possibility and practicability of an alternating current in- stallation to suit these conditions. The writer wishes to cite here the reference to Mr. Brown that the city engineer of Frankfort, Mr. W. H. Lindley, a man of no little reputation himself, addressed to the City Council, as they very well reflect the state of affairs at that time. " In the place of a batch of engineers, whose ignorance must be acknowl- edged," said Lindley, " we have before us one of the most talented engineers in the field of electrical engineering, whose constructions show the able hand of an FIG 10. — A FIELD COIL WOUND ON EDGE ingenious designer." Those who have been actively engaged during the past six or eight years in the design of alter- nating current machinery, and have themselves become capable of apprecia- ting a good design, will acknowledge the truth of Lindley' s words at that time. Fig. 5 gives a general view of the Frankfort station, showing in the fore- ground three of the four 750-H. P., single-phase, 3000-volt units running at 85 revolutions per minute and 45.3 cycles. At the rear may be seen two of the four 1500-H. P. units running at the same speed as the smaller units. At present there are running on the Frankfort mains 5000 H. P. in single- phase induction motors, the largest in- stallation of its kind in the world. A most interesting feature of this station is that not only the alternators run in synchronism, but that the cranks of the tandem steam engines are also syn- chronised. In this way the non-uni- formities in speed during one revolution, inevitable in steam engines, are simul- taneous in all machines running in par- allel, and thus the "surging" or ' ' pumping, ' ' extremely troublesome to the station engineer, is almost entirely done away with. This parallel running of the cranks could be obtained only by having the same number of revolutions for both the small and the large units. The construction of the armature with the eight- arm shields is intended for strength and rigidity. With small air gaps and large diameters, the armature frames have to be made very heavy, unless the con- struction here adopted is employed. The armatures can be revolved so that re- pairs can easily be made on any part of the machine; this, added to the other advantage of getting a lighter machine, seems to tarn the balance in favour of the shield system. The armature winding, ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 7i FIG. II.— A IOOO-K.W. THREE-PHASE BULLOCK GENERATOR consisting' of heavy rectangular cable, is lodged in closed slots. This permits the use of solid poles for the revolving field, which again contribute to steady parallel operation by the eddy currents that are induced in them if the angular velocity of the fields is subject to rapid changes. The solid pole effects the same that brass pieces, wedged between the poles and forming bridges between them, are doing, a construction generally identified with the names of the French physicists, Hutin and Leblanc. The most remarkable feature, in the writer's opinion, is the peculiar winding of the field magnets that Brown intro- duced. The magnetising coils of the field are made of copper strip wound on edge. It is obvious, in the first place, that this manner of winding permits as high peripheral speeds as are permis- sible for steel wheels without windings. In the second place, the heat developed in the wires of an ordinary bobbin near the inside has to travel through the in- sulation, which offers a considerable re- sistance to the conduction of heat. In the coil wound on edge the heat is con- ducted to the surface of the coil through the well-conducting copper, and from there it is radiated out into space. It may safely be said that it was this construction of the field winding that made the revolving-pole type an engi- neering success. The old way of wind- ing required much more room between the poles than is actually available in most machines. The field coil wound on edge can carry, as is obvious from the above explanations, much heavier currents than a wire-wound coil of the same section, and that it is most reliable and substantial appears also from the fact that we find it to-day adopted by almost all engineers who build revolving field machines. The round steel pole, encircled by the coil, offers with the shortest circumference the greatest sec- tion to the lines of induction, diminish- ing the total length of copper on the fields, and thereby the energy necessary for the excitation. It may be of some interest to note here that Brown pro- posed this winding in 1892 to Turrettini 72 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 73 for the large Niagara generators. The poles are bolted on to the U-shaped rim of the fly-wheel. The frequency of 45.3 requires 64 poles, a number that can still be well arranged on the rim of the fly-wheel. At the time the Frankfort station was built it was argued, as it still is, that a frequency between 40 and 50 cycles is unfavour- able for large single-phase installations, and that a higher frequency should have been adopted. That the best frequency of plants supplying power and light to- years ago, and he must acknowledge that, were these machines to be built to- day, they could hardly be improved upon, and he is aware that the same may be said of very few electrical de- signs turned out six or seven years ago. The Oerlikon Works after giving up the Lauffen type, developed the inductor generator invented by Mordey and Stanley. One of their most inter- esting machines is represented in Figs. 6 and 7. The machine is running in Boleo, Mexico. It is a large 500-H. P. -A IOC-K. W. GENERATOR, WITH DIRECT-CONNECTED EXCITER gether is actually between 40 and 50 cycles per second is, however, begin- ning to be conceded even by former ad- vocates of higher frequencies. As a matter of fact, if the inductive drop is considered a basis of construction, as it justly should be if motors are to be sup- plied with current, then the higher core losses connected with low frequencies are more than balanced by the diminished inductive drop. Incandescent lighting is perfectly feasible and satisfactory be- tween 40 and 50 cycles, and so is arc lighting, but generators and motors are much more satisfactory and less costly for frequencies between 40 and 50 cycles than at 6o*cycles or more. The author visited the Frankfort station several inductor generator, producing 5 200 volts and 42 cycles at 84 revolutions. It has a bore of 16 feet, the inductor serving as fly-wheel. The armature coils are laid into open slots and are easily ex- changeable. Between the two arma- tures, clearly visible in Fig. 6, lies the large circular exciting coil. It is made of copper band wound flat upon a T-shaped ring of brass. The winding of this large generator is three-phase. The stationary armature frame is made of cast iron, the armature being built up of sheet-steel. A strong rib is intended to give stiffness to the frame. It is extremely important in in- ductor generators having small air gaps and high magnetic densities in them to 74 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 75 have a rigid frame, because of the dis- torting influence on the frame by unbal- anced magnetic pulls which in such large machines are hardly avoidable. The inductor in Fig. 7 has thirty projections or pole horns. Since the flux between two such horns must be kept small, as it induces in the armature an electro- motive force opposite to that which we want to have, the clearance between " rotor " and " stator " has to be kept of the latest designs with their details are here to be presented. Fig. 9, for example, shows a 600-KW, three-phase generator for 2200 volts, operating at 900 revolutions per minute and giving 60 cycles. The peripheral speed of this generator is almost 8000 feet per minute. This high speed neces- sitates the most careful construction of the revolving part. The poles are fast- ened to the steel spider by means^ of FIG. J5 —A 500-H. P. THREE-PHASE INDUCTION MOTOR very small. The air gap in this ma- chine is only ^ inch, which could be achieved only through excellent work- manship. From a modern point of view this machine would be considered of enormous size compared with its out- put. Inductors can be made to be very good generators and synchronous mo- tors, but they are then heavy and very large, as, for instance, this 500-H. P. generator. From considerations of this kind the inductor type has been aban- doned by most engineers in favour of the revolving field type, of which some dovetails, as shown in the assembly drawing, Fig. 8. The field coils are made of copper strip, wound edgewise, as in Fig. 10. A good example of a modern revolv- ing field three-phase generator is rep- resented in Fig. 11. It is a 1000 to 1250 KW generator for 60 cycles, oper- ating at 180 revolutions per minute, at Cornwall, Ont. It was designed by the author and built and installed by the Bul- lock Electric Mfg. Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S. A. To illustrate the safety that can be obtained in these high-speed machines the writer would 76 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. l6.— ROTOR WINDING OF A SOO-H. P. INDUCTION MOTOR cite an experiment that he made at the Bullock works before the Cana- dian experts. The revolving field is 1 2 feet in diameter and runs normally at 6800 feet per minute peripheral speed. Being connected to a water-wheel and thus liable to race, the experts wished to see the machine run at 50 per cent, above normal speed. After removing the men from the shop, the generator was run up to 320 revolutions per min- ute, corresponding to 12,000 feet per minute peripheral speed. Fig. 1 2 shows the armature frame in course of con- struction, the armature punchings being laid into the frame. Fig. 13 shows a 100-KW alternating current generator for single or poly- phase circuits which embodies the most modern features of design, being besides a most compact machine. The ex- citer is direct connected to the revolv- ing field, which avoids awkward belt drives or gears. The speed of this ma- chine is 900 revolutions and the fre- quency is 60 cycles. A type of machine for direct connec- tion to water-wheels with vertical shafts, ALTERNATING CURRENT ENGINEERING 77 developed in Switzerland, and known as the " umbrella type," is shown in Fig. 14. The magnet wheel is keyed to the vertical shaft of the turbine, the arrangement of the armature being clearly shown and requiring no explana- tion. Such generators have been con- structed by Brown for speeds of 360 down to 28 revolutions per minute, and they are remarkable for their elegance and simplicity. The two types of motors best fitted for alternating currents are the induction motor and the synchronous motor. The latter is in all essentials an alternating current generator, requiring direct cur- rent for its excitation. The former type is self-starting, and requires only the two or three alternating current circuits for its operation. Some examples of the induction motor may be alluded to here. In Figs. 15, 16 and 17 are given a gen- eral view and details of a 500-H. P., three-phase induction motor designed very large to place so many poles around the circumference. The motor runs at 160 revolutions, and has a diameter of 13 feet. The winding of the stationary part is shown in Fig. 17, while the wind- ing of the rotating part is represented in Fig. 16. Fig. 18 forms an interesting contrast. It represents small one-half horse-power induction motors driving looms in a silk mill in Switzerland. Each loom is supplied with its own little motor, thus doing away with overhead belts and gearing. _ ;._ In the matter of using the alternating current for railway work it is to be noted that the first polyphase railway was built in Switzerland, in the beautiful little town of Lugano, at the foot of the pic- turesque Monte Salvatore. The plant was designed and constructed by the firm of Brown, Boveri & Co., of Baden, Switzerland. The generators are three- phase inductor machines, but they show FIG. 17.— THE STATOR WINDING for driving a large pump in Montreal, Canada. The motor is operated from a 60-cycle, 2200-volt, three-phase cir- cuit, and has, for an induction motor, the abnormally large number of forty- four poles. Its diameter had to be made an interesting novelty, as they have only one armature coil, the pole horns being staggered. The Lugano installa- tion was soon followed by the three- phase rack and pinion railroad upon the Gornergrat, 10,000 feet high, and next 78 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE -INDUCTION MOTORS DRIVING SILK LOOMS IN SWITZERLAND came the rack and pinion railroad up the snow-clad Jungfrau, that lofty peak of j the Berner Oberland, 13,700 feet high. To these bold engineering un- dertakings has recently been added by the Browns the three-phase trunk rail- way between Burgdorf and Thun. It would by far exceed the scope of this contribution to give detailed descriptions of these plants, but it will be of interest to mention some of their more distinctive features. The first two locomotives for the Jung- frau Railway were built by Messrs. Brown, the other two by the Oerlikon Works. Fig. 3 shows the Oerlikon locomotive, which possesses some inter- esting details. It is equipped with two 125 to 150 H. P., three-phase motors, operating at 550 to 600 volts, and at a speed of 750 revolutions. Between the motors is shown a large rheostat, serv- ing as starting resistance and as brake resistance when the locomotive is going downhill. A small six-pole, direct cur- rent dynamo, mounted on a bracket, is driven from the wheels, and when the locomotive is going down it generates* direct current for the excitation of the large 125-H. P., three-phase motors, which, being disconnected from the trol- leys, act as generators, throwing the energy that the descending car is pro- ducing in the form of three-phase cur- rents upon the large rheostat. As is well known, the steam, locomotives on the Righi and Pilatus railways act as compressors in going downhill, and a similar method of braking the locomo- tive is obtained by this electric arrange- ment. As the evolution of heat by the heavy trains, the locomotive alone weighing fourteen tons, is very consid- erable, a small three-phase motor, driv- ing a fan which is urging a stream of cold air through the rheostat, is mounted on the locomotive. The locomotives for hauling freight trains on the three-phase trunk railway between Thun and Burgdorf, a distance of twenty-five miles, are similar to those of the Jungfrau road. NOTES ON ACCIDENT PREVENTION IN ENGINEERING WORKSHOPS By G. W. Bissell IN Great Britain all industrial estab- lishments are systematically in- spected by the government for the purpose of examining and regulating machinery and processes apt to be in- jurious to operatives, and of detecting and prosecuting infractions of the factory laws. Tables comp:led from the annual report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for the year 1899 ac- count for a total of 70, 760 accidents, 871 of them fatal, and of the total number a large proportion was due to the use of machinery and other tools in machine shops. Thus, in one of the classifica- tions, under the head of " Machinery and Engine Building," the following figures are given: — Fatal accidents 162 Non-fatal accidents 6,929 Minor _ 16,551. Total 23,645 This is one-third of the whole number of accidents reported. The report men- tioned also contains the following in- formation : — Fatal. Non-Fatal. Accidents due to cleaning ma- chinery in motion 4 1,073 Accidents due to power presses.. o 851 Accidents in connection with lathes 2 2,011 Totals 6 3,935 This total of 6 fatal and 3935 non- fatal, or 3941 accidents in all, occurred in connection with machinery in motion, and does not include minor accidents from which no injury to persons resulted. Statistics along this line are not readily obtainable in the United States, but there is no reason to believe that the re- sults of investigation there would be any more pleasing; indeed, with the lack of government inspection, there is every likelihood that the accident list would turn out to be, proportionately, a much longer one. For convenience, accidents occurring in workshops may be assigned to those parts of machines or appliances directly chargeable therefor, thus : — Accidents due to gears; those due to belts and pulleys; to shafts and shafting; to grind- stones, emery wheels, etc. ; and to other causes. So far as the prevention of accidents from gearing is concerned, the general stand may be taken that all gearing should be arranged to permit of cover- ing every exposed gear wheel with a substantial guard, removable, if neces- sary, for inspection and repairs while the machine is at rest. Every machine de- signer knows that the above requirement can be met. In fact, in Continental Europe, where government inspection is the rule, concealed o-ears are also the FIG. I.— A PARTIALLY ENCLOSED EMERY GRINDER 79 8o CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 6 A DANGEROUS COLLAR SET SCREW A, AND ALSO A PROJECTING SHAFT WITH KEYWAY B FIGS. 2 AND 3.— THE FORMER SHOWS FIVE POINTS OF DANGER WHICH ARE AVOIDED IN FIG. 10: — L, ARMS OF PULLEY ; M, LARGE KEY HEAD ; N, PROJECTING SHAFT ; P, DEFECTIVE BELT LAP ; Q, CHIPPED FLANGE FIG. 7.— A SAFE COUNTERSUNK SCREW, C, AND A DANGEROUS SQUARE PROJECTING SHAFT-END D FIG. 8.— SAFE FORM OF SET SCREW, S, DEEPLY RECESSED AND ADJUSTABLE ONLY BY BOX WRENCH K FIG. 5.— A SHEET IRON BELT GUARD FOR USE WHERE A PERMANENT HANGER WOULD BE INEXPEDIENT FIG. 9.— METHOD OF COVERING SHAFT ENDS, AS B AND D IN FIGS. 6 AND 7, WITH A SHEET METAL CAP G ACCIDENT PREVENTION 81 rule. American machinery exporters, having to meet this requirement, are gradually reaching the point of conceal- ing all gears on machines for the home market as well, while in machinery of British make the general concealment of gears has for some time been a very noticeable feature. Good examples of such protected gearing are shown in Figs. 10 and u. In the latter, the three-jaw chuck also has a peripheral shield to protect the workman from the projecting heads of the jaw-screws. Incidentally, it should should be protected by railings of sub- stantial construction, and no unauthor- ised person should be allowed within such railings. Owing to the well-known carelessness which comes from familiar- ity with machinery, the railings should be high enough and have enough hori- zontal rails to remove temptation to pass over or under them. The dangers of small belts and pulleys lie chiefly in loose ends or flaps, im- proper lacing, pulleys with arms, pro- jecting hubs with set-screws and keys extending outward on shafts beyond the 10. — SURFACING AND BORING LATHE WITH ENCLOSED GEARS, JOHNSTONE, SCOTLAND MADE BY MESSRS. JOHN LANG & SONS, be noted that the appearance of the ma- chines is not injured by the gear casings, and the gears themselves are further protected from dirt and mechanical in- jury. In many cases, especially after acci- dents have happened, it is considered desirable to encase exposed gears of machines not originally so equipped. Sheet steel or brass is well suited for making the casings. Castings are not usually applicable as gear casings on old machines. Large driving-belts and fly-wheels 1-6 hubs of pulleys. A little thought and a little daily watchfulness will ensure belts of even surface and good joints, web pulleys, flush-keys, and flush set-screw- heads. At this point it may be inter- esting to refer to Figs. 2 and 3, the former showing a number of dangerous features, like those just mentioned, all of which have been avoided in the ar- rangement illustrated in Fig. 3. In the matter of accidents from shafts, Figs. 6 to 9 are instructive, showing some common defects in shafting ar- rangements and a few simple remedies 82 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE II —HEXAGON TURRET LATHE MADE BY ALFRED HERBERT, LTD , COVENTRY, ENGLAND. GEARS ARE ENCLOSED AND THE CHUCK IS FITTED WITH A PERIPHERAL SHIELD for them. Line shafting should be placed well above the heads of opera- tives or should be guarded to prevent attempts to pass over or under, and to prevent contact of clothing with shafts, pulleys, couplings or belts. Necessary crossings should be by passages or stairways so constructed as to make the touching of the shafting system impossible by any person or by his clothing. Belts frequently are thrown off from their pulleys for repairs or other causes. If allowed to lie on the shaft they may be gripped by it and with disastrous re- sults. To prevent this a permanent hanger should be provided for every belt leading from a line shaft, something like that shown in Fig. 4. Where this is not possible a sheet-iron guard may be placed on the shaft under the belt, as in Fig. 5, two ears being bent up to prevent lateral motion of the guard. A fruitful cause of accidents is found in grindstones, emery wheels and circu- lar saws. The safe speed of rotation should be in all cases known and duly considered. Frequent inspection should be made to detect flaws. Guards should be provided, and the operative and others should, as far as possible, keep out of the plane of rotation. Fig. 1 shows a partially encased emery grinder. Owing to the extremely high speed at which grinding machinery and saws are run, the principal reliance against accidents due to bursting from centrifugal force must be placed upon conscientious manufacture and good judgment in mounting. Accidents due to catching of the work by the grinder or saw can be remedied by providing automatic or other mechanical holding and feeding machinery, also illustrated in Fig. 1. It would be quite impossible here to consider, even briefly, all the accidents liable to occur in a shop. The fewr ex- amples which have been given of ways to avoid some of them are simply illus- trative of much that remains to be done in these directions. LOW-GRADE IRON ORES FOR THE SMELTING FURNACE CONCENTRATING AND BRIQUETTING By Thomas Benjamin Grierson HERE are two classes of iron ore which, while capable of yield- ing a good quality of metal, are unfortunately, owing to certain physical characteris- tics, unsuited to the require- ments of the blast-furnace. These two classes are mainly low - grade magnetic ores which, in their normal condition, it will not pay to smelt in lumps, and magnetic iron sand which, unless combined with a suitable material capable of withstand- ing the heat and erosion of the blast- furnace, cannot be smelted in it. For many years past, as pointed out by the author a short time ago, in a paper read before the Society of Engi- neers, attention has been directed to making these ores available for the man- ufacture of steel; but, so far, the efforts made have been attended with only a limited amount of commercial success. The objects in view have been, in the one case, to crush and concentrate the lean ores, and in the other to separate the magnetic iron sand from its accom- panying impurities and other undesirable constituents. By means of magnetic separators and cognate contrivances these ends have been satisfactorily at- tained, but at this point another diffi- culty arises. In either case the result- ing concentrate is generally a compara- tively fine powder, which is antagonistic to satisfactory blast-furnace working, even when the concentrate is mixed with ores in masses of larger bulk, ex- cept perhaps in very small furnaces. The finely divided ore and ore-dust adhere to the wall of the furnace, caus- ing scaffolding; that is, they gradually form large masses. These masses in time become detached by the pressure of the charge above them, and being thrown down below the zone of fusion, give rise to choking and other incidental drawbacks in the region of the hearth. In a paper by Professor J. Wiborgh, of Stockholm, read before the Iron and Steel Institute about two years since, it is stated that there are certain conditions which modify the results of using mix- tures of lump ores and concentrates in the pulverulent form in the blast-furnace. These are the slope of the boshes and the character of the blast. Professor Wiborgh instances some experiments made in 1898 in the blast-furnace at Vidlitz, in the government of Olonetz, Russia. There the section of the fur- nace at the boshes was such as appears to be extremely unsuitable for the use of powdered ore. But for all this, the furnace worked satisfactorily, even on concentrates alone, so long as cold blast was employed. When, however, hot blast was used, scaffolding commenced, and continued until the hearth and tuyeres were burnt out. Another inconvenience attending the use of powdered ores is the loss caused by dust in the gases of the blast-furnace. At Vidlitz from 8 to 10 per cent, of the powdered ore was carried over into the gas conduits. Rich concentrates have, however, been successfully smelted in combination with lump ores, as at the old works of Hogfors, in Sweden, as instanced by Professor Wiborgh. But at the best, the proportion of powdered ore that can be used in the blast-furnace is very small, and its employment at all depends upon conditions of fuel and working. The pulverised material, 83 84 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE especially if of high density, has a tend- ency to overrun the fuel charge and to come down to the tuyeres in an imper- fectly reduced condition, as well as to form accretions, or scaffolds, on the walls of the upper portion of the blast- furnace, as already explained. The only way to deal with these finely di- vided ores is to combine them with some suitable material which will give them cohesion and at the same time assist in the operation of smelting without prov- ing detrimental either to the furnace and its working or to the product. It would not be possible within the limits of the present paper to describe the numerous devices that have been brought forward from time to time for effecting the solidarity of powdered ores. The author will, therefore, refer only to such methods as are more or less gen- erally known to metallurgists, and to some other processes of a more special character which have been proposed by those having a practical knowledge of the subject at issue. Three principal methods have been practically tried for the purpose of bonding small ore before smelting in the blast-furnace. The first of these is agglomeration by heat, the particles being made to cohere by the action of a reverberatory furnace upon the pulverulent mass. The success of this method, however, depends upon the constituents of the ore itself, or, in the absence of the right kind of constit- uents, such as silicates, their addition to the ore. Such methods, however, are found to be costly, a high temper- ature and a lengthened period of ex- posure being required to ensure success. A second method is to form the pow- dered ore into a stiff paste with caustic or slaked lime and water, the lime form- ing a good binding material. The paste is made into briquettes, which are air- dried and become very hard, the lime, as a silicate, tending to facilitate the working of the blast-furnace. The third method is the agglomera- tion of the powdered ore with carbon- aceous material and subsequent coking. Professor Wiborgh states that this method was adopted by Weissmann, about eleven years ago, in the produc- tion of so-called ore coke which was made by mixing powdered ore with 20 per cent, of coal-dust and 5 per cent, of pitch. The compound was pressed into blocks and coked at a strong heat ap- plied slowly. This method, however, proved too expensive for practical use, but it was revived later on in a simpler form, — namely, by mixing the powdered ore with small coal and coking the mix- ture in the usual way. Although ex- perimental trials appear to have given good results, the system, so far as the author is aware, has not been adopted in practice, owing to the great cost of production on a working scale. Among other distinguished metal- lurgists who have devised methods of using finely-divided iron ore is Mr. James Riley, who proposes to take the slag produced in the manufacture of open-hearth steel, which already con- tains about 20 per cent, of iron, and to enrich it up to between 40 and 50 per cent, by the addition of finely-divided iron ore. His idea is to mix the pow- dered ore with the fluid slag as it flows from the furnace or ladle when casting a charge of open-hearth steel. The slag forms a suitable vehicle for conveying the powdery ores to the furnace in a solid state, and the iron already con- tained in it is, moreover, utilised instead of being a waste product. The possi- bility of making this conglomerate has been proved in practice by Mr. Riley, he having made and used considerable quantities of it. Special arrangements, however, are necessary before the method proposed by Mr. Riley could become part of the daily routine of a steel-melting shop. Mr. G. J. Snelus has likewise en- deavoured to solve the problem of the utilisation of finely-powdered ores. As far back as 1868 he patented a process for the direct reduction of powdered iron ore into the state of metallic iron. A long series of experiments led him to the conclusion that to obtain metallic iron it is only necessary to expose the finely-divided ore to proper reducing conditions for a very short time. Mr. Snelus considers that the Gerstenhofer furnace, which is used at Swansea for TREATING LOW-GRADE IRON ORES 85 calcining iron pyrites, will satisfactorily effect the object in view, if heated with a strong reducing atmosphere. The author, however, is not aware that Mr. Snelus has, as yet, carried his proposi- tion into practical effect. Later on, namely, in 1884, the late Sir William Siemens endeavoured to utilise the concentrates of poor ores by mixing the powder with tar and forming the mixture into briquettes. These briquettes, in practice, were gradually added to the main charge in Sir Will- iam' s open-hearth furnace. The results, however, were not satisfactory, and after reasonable trial this attempt to utilise poor ores was abandoned. Professor Wiborgh, to whom the author has already made reference, has also identified himself with the attempt to utilise poor ores by concentration and direct reduction by designing a furnace for that purpose. This was in 1899, but the author does not think that the invention has been developed into prac- tical use. So far as direct reduction is concerned, the opinion of Sir Lowthian Bell, — one of the highest authorities in metallurgical matters, — is that it cannot be economically effected. This has, in fact, been proved in two instances, one in Great Britain and one in the LTnited States, in which works were started with the object of direct production of malle- able iron, but which, in time, were both dismantled. We are thus brought back to the starting-point, namely, the mechanical reduction and concentration of the poor ore, the incorporation of the concentrates with a suitable vehicle, and the conver- sion of the mass into briquettes. In this connection the author will, therefore, in the next place, direct attention to the process invented by Edison, who has for some years past devoted considerable attention to the utilisation of poor ores, and whose process for accomplishing this has recently been the subject of a considerable amount of public discus- sion. In this process, as indeed in all others connected with the present ques- tion, the ore is first reduced and con- centrated, and then made into briquettes. As there are numerous stone-breakers and ore pulverisers, as well as several magnetic separators in the market, all of which are well known, and all of which are, more or less, suited for the purpose of mechanical reduction, the author need not enter upon this phase of the question. Suffice it to say, how- ever, that the author understands that Edison has invented certain machinery for both these operations. The most important point, to the author's mind, is the conversion of the concentrates into briquettes, and this will be admitted in view of what has already been stated. And here the author is met by a diffi- culty in not being able to state the in- gredients used by Edison in the manu- facture of his briquettes, which, he is informed, are a secret. It is, however, stated that there are one or two serious defects in Edison's briquettes. In the first place, they are said to be porous, which alone unfits them, from an iron- master's point of view, for use in the blast-furnace. Another drawback is that the material used as the conveyor appears to be insufficiently binding to enable the briquette to withstand the burthen in the blast-furnace. A third objection is that the briquettes require to be baked before they are fit for handling, as is publicly stated. The latest process for the manufacture of ore-briquettes that has come under the author's notice is of British origin. It is that of Mr. Robert F. Strong, who, like Edison and others, has for long past given much time and attention to the utilisation of poor iron ores, and par- ticularly to the manufacture of ore- briquettes. Mr. Strong has not devised machinery for the mechanical reduction or for the concentration of the ore, but confines himself to putting the ore into a suitable condition for use in the blast- furnace. To this end he makes his briquettes of 85 per cent, of concentrate, with which he incorporates 5 per cent. of powdered quicklime and 10 per cent, of pyroligneous tar. The mass is formed into briquettes under pressure, the bri- quettes being ready for use directly they leave the press, and not requiring to be baked. The tar in the briquette is of assistance in economising fuel in the 86 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE blast-furnace, whilst the quicklime forms the best possible binding material and also assists as a flux. Assuming the concentrate to contain 75 per cent, of ore, which it does on the average, the briquettes would contain 63. 75 per cent. , equivalent to about 48 per cent, of metallic iron. The briquettes would be manufactured at the mines at which the ore is produced, and delivered to iron- works in England at the market price of ore. They would, however, have an advantage over the raw ore, owing to the fact that they would be more easily reduced and with a saving of fuel. Such is the briquette which Mr. Strong has devised for employment in the or- dinary blast-furnace using ordinary coke fuel. He has, however, devised another ore-briquette for use in the charcoal fur- nace in which the ingredients are varied. In the ordinary furnace, — except in very small ones, — the charcoal will not carry the burthen. With small furnaces the production is necessarily restricted and costly. To meet this and to enable the briquettes to be used in blast-furnaces of full size in those countries where char- coal is employed as a fuel, Mr. Strong combines powdered charcoal with the other ingredients, adding also granulated limestone as a flux. By this means charcoal pig-iron could be produced in the ordinary blast-furnace at a less cost than common foundry pig, and this charcoal pig would be available for ordinary steel-making purposes with the result of greatly improved products. The pig-iron would thus be produced at the mines and no carriage or freight would have to be paid upon the ore. The cost of transport to the steel works would be that of the metallic product alone. As regards the cost of mining and concentrating the ore, ready for the bri- quette factory, the author gives the fol- lowing figures, which are those of actual working at a mine in Sweden. At the present time the cost works out at 4s. 3d. per metric ton of 75 per cent, con- centrates. This includes miners' wages, tools, explosives, crushing and concen- trating, loading and transport to the briquette factory, and management, which come to is. 8}^d. per ton of raw ore. But it requires two and one-half tons of 30 per cent, ore to give one ton of 75 per cent, concentrates. Therefore, is. 8^d. x 2^ tons = 4s. 3d. (about), which is the cost of one ton of 75 per cent, concentrates in Sweden, equivalent t° 63.75 Per cent, per ton of briquettes. Briquettes, to be of any use in the blast-furnace, should be hard, non- porous, impervious to moisture, and capable of standing rough treatment, in the same way as large raw ore. These qualities will enable them to resist the great superincumbent weight in the blast-furnace, and the slow grinding action, which tends to disintegrate them. Above all, they must be able to with- stand the gradual increase of temperature in advancing to the melting-point, al- most up to which point they should re- tain their form. This, in the author's opinion, is precisely what the British briquette will do and what the American briquette will not do. The briquettes are put into the blast- furnace and smelted in the usual way, but instead of the quality of the metal produced being largely dependent upon the attendant whose duty it is to feed the furnace, the briquettes when smelted produce, almost automatically, the proper material required, the proper proportions of the ingredients being fixed and invariable in the briquette. With the present arrangement, espe- cially during night shifts, any neglect on the part of the man in charge of the furnace in not putting in the proper re- lative proportions of materials would, and no doubt sometimes does, result in the metal not being uniform in character, or perhaps quite useless for the purpose intended. With briquettes this could not happen, as they would be composed of the exact quantities of the ingredients required to produce a specific result. The weighing of the ore, fuel, etc., in the method now in vogue, and the con- stant attendance on the blast-furnaces while the smelting is going on, involve considerable expense for labour, a large amount of which would be saved by the adoption of the briquette system. The author believes that the general adoption CURRENT TOPICS 87 of the method of making steel from bri- quettes would result, not only in large saving in cost of production, but also in a much more uniform and better quality of the steel produced. The materials for making the bri- quettes are to be found in great abund- ance in Sweden and Norway, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland, the last-mentioned country having also im- mense deposits of peat, from which a suitable tarry acid for the briquettes could be obtained. With the view of ascertaining their adaptability for the blast-furnace, bri- quettes made on Mr. Strong's system have been tested at the Leeds Steel Works, at the Normanby Iron Works, Middlesbrough, and at the Clyde Iron- works. The briquettes were tried in various kinds of furnaces for tempera- ture, and they were also tested mechanic- ally for carrying the burthen, and both as regards their behaviour at the high- est temperatures and their resistance to crushing, they were found, in all cases, to stand equal to raw ore. Although the present paper deals with the treatment of iron ores, the author may mention that Mr. Strong's system has been adopted at the Broken Hill Mines, in Australia, where it has been in successful operation for the past two years with silver ore concentrates. *It has also been in use for the last eighteen months at the Rio Tinto Works, in South Wales, where it is working upon copper concentrates. (tiuvvzut topics A new arc lamp, known as the Bre- mer lamp, brought from Germany, and for which high efficiency and an agree- able quality of colour are claimed, has recently been put on exhibition. Its efficiency is said to be about twice that of the ordinary arc lamp. It employs two carbons of small diameter, the posi- tive one about 0.27 inch and the nega- tive one 0.23 inch in diameter. The positive carbon is cored, and contains magnesia and other metallic salts, and boron in certain proportions; the nega- tive carbon is solid. The boron acts as a flux, thereby preventing an accumula- tion of a refractory scoria that would otherwise surround the ends of the car- bons and reduce the efficiency and re- liability of the lamp. The carbons ap- proach each other at an acute angle, and their lower ends are enclosed in a metallic chamber having an opening in its under side. In the operation of the lamp the magnesia is slowly vapourised and gives off a snow-like dust, which settles on the inner surface of the metal 88 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE chamber. This deposit is found to act as an excellent reflector, throwing the light downward and thus adding to its efficiency. The light can be made of any desired colour by varying the in- gredients in the cored carbon. The carbons are fed by gravity, and the length of the arc is regulated automatic- ally by the lever of an electromagnet suitably placed. Almost since its inception many well- meaning people have taken exception to the use of the term k ' wireless ' ' in connection with electric wave tele- graphy, and numerous substitutes have been offered, for instance, etherography, syntonography, and the like, but so far these suggestions have fallen flat. Etherography is quite as applicable to heliography and to ordinary telegraphy as to wireless telegraphy, and there is no good reason for the term syntono- graphy. Wireless, indeed, is as con- venient and significant as any other name that might be chosen. The ex- ception to the name is that wires are still employed in the apparatus of this system, which is true; but so they are in wire telegraphy in relays, etc. ; yet no one ever thinks of the latter in con- nection with wire telegraphy. The fact is, that the connecting wire between a sending and receiving station was looked upon as absolutely essential to tele- graphy up to the time of electric wave telegraphy, and it was the ability to dis- pense with this connecting wire that produced the profoundest impression on the public mind; hence, the term wire- less telegraphy was singularly apt. If another name be desired, it will be easy to follow the precedent already set in the case, for instance, of Morse telegraphy and Wheatstone automatic telegraphy, and term it the Hertz, Lodge. Marconi or other wireless telegraphy, as the case may be. Marconi system is not to have the world- wide monopoly that has been expected. Rumours also come from German sources that the operation of the wireless systems on the Hamburg and Bremen line steamships Kronprinz Willi elm and Deutschland during the recent trip of Prince Henry to the United States was not as satisfactory as could have been wished. The difference between the Marconi and the Slaby- Arco system is one of details. Both systems use the oscillator, the Branly filings coherer, the Lodge tapper, the vertical wire, relays, and other devices. For tuning, however, the Slaby-Arco system is based on a theory which Marconi has pronounced to be faulty. For each system advantages are claimed in the particular arrangement and con- struction of apparatus. In the mean- time, Branly, the inventor of the filings coherer, without which wireless tele- graphy, as it now exists, would be im- possible, has been at work devising an- other type of coherer which he claims to be much superior to his filings coherer. The new coherer consists of a tripod of iron or other metal, — large iron needles will do, — resting on a plate of steel. The tripod forms one terminal of the coherer and the steel plate the other terminal. The only conditions are that the steel plate must be polished, while the feet of the tripod resting on the plate must be oxidised, or rusted. It is stated that this coherer is much more sensitive, decoheres more readily, and is more durable than his filings coherer. A Parisian company has been organised to exploit the invention. The fact that the German Govern- ment has ordered the Slaby-Arco sys- tem of wireless telegraphy for its war vessels would appear to show that the Omnibuses and country road wag- gons driven electrically, from overhead wires and trolleys, appear to be the fash- ion just now. Several different kinds have made their appearance within the past year, developments apparently of an idea first advanced, as it is now re- called, four or five years ago somewhere in the United States. The short line equipped at that time involved the use of a double-trolley arrangement, two CURRENT TOPICS wires being run about 1 7 feet above the ground and about 18 inches apart. The trolley device consisted of a metal frame with two overrunning trolley wheels, with locking wheels underneath which prevented the top wheels from leaving the wire without obstructing the free passage of the frame over the supports on the poles. On the lower wire a sim- ilar device was used, and both sets of trolley wheels were connected by an in- sulated pantograph arrangement which provided for unequal tension on the trolley wires. Connection between the trolleys and the waggon was made by cables running on to an automatic reel on the waggon. This permitted the cables to run out a few hundred feet if necessary, or wound them up to a short length, giving the waggon considerable freedom in. direction of travel, enabling it to readily turn out of the way of ob- stacles and to follow twists and turns of the road without difficulty, even though the pole line took a somewhat different and possibly more convenient course. The current was led to a 2 H. P. motor on the waggon. This brief recapitulation of particulars of that early line has a renewed interest in connection with what has latterly been told of two overhead electric trolley omnibuses now in use on one of the routes in the suburbs of Paris, and which, it is thought, may help materially in solving the transportation problem in sparsely populated districts unable to support the ordinary system of electric tramways. It may be said here, by the way, that running electric omnibuses with overhead trolleys was tried at the Paris Exhibition two years ago, but failure in that instance was ascribed to the fact that the trolley with its connections had to be towed behind the bus, and varia- tions in the speed and in the line trav- ersed by the bus caused jamming and other difficulties. In the new route, which is said to have been in operation for some time, the trolley running on the overhead wires is self-propelling, being ingeniously arranged to run with a three-phase motor, the transformed current coming from the omnibus, so that the speed of the self-propelling trol- ley varies directly with the progress of the bus itself, and thus it travels at a regular distance in advance of the bus. The self-propelling trolley weighs forty- four pounds, and the connection between it and the bus, as in the earlier trials above recorded, is in the form of a cable sufficiently long and flexible to allow the bus to go at will from one side of the thoroughfare to the other. The whole length of the route on which the system is at work is over three miles, and the total cost of installation with the two buses is ^3800. The vehicles weigh, with their load, three and one-quarter tons, and carry eighteen passengers, and make the trip of three miles in twenty minutes. It is not generally known to users of the telephone, — and perhaps it is just as well for the interests of the service, — that when the ear-piece of a receiver is held to the mouth-piece of the transmit- ter a more or less shrill tone or whistle is heard in the receiver. This occurs when the apparatus is in good working condition and when the transmitter is on short circuit. This effect is seem- ingly due to a series of reactions analo- gous to, but much more complex than, those which occur in an electric bell when its circuit is closed. A movement of the diaphragm of the receiver towards its magnet tends to weaken the pressure on the carbon of the transmitter, which causes a weakening of the current, allow- ing the diaphragm to fall away, with the further result that the air column is com- pressed, increasing the pressure on the carbon again, and also increasing cur- rent strength, whereby the diaphragm is again attracted, and this action is re- peated over and over again. Recent in- vestigation of these phenomena indicate, as might be anticipated, that they are dependent upon the fundamental rate of vibration of the receiver and transmitter, the length of the air column enclosed between them, and also the oscillation period of the circuit. The above ref- erences to the attraction of the dia- 9o CASSIER'S MAGAZINE phragm and to its falling away are, per- haps, rather broad terms, when it is considered that as near as can be calcu- lated the amplitude of vibration of the diaphragm of the receiver in reproduc- ing speech is about the one twenty- millionth of an inch. Concerning the increasing fre- quency with which condenser tubes in warships are giving out, the Engineer, of London, says that experience in United States naval vessels at least ap- pears to locate the trouble mainly in the too small size of the condensers for their work. The most noteworthy defect is that the tubes disintegrate and lose strength a short time after they have been put to work. They become so brittle that they may be broken up into small fragments with the greatest ease. It is held that this result is due to the tubes being called upon to transmit too much heat, — that, in short, the passage of successive waves of heat as the ex- haust ports open and close works a molecular change. Formerly twice to two and one-half times as much cooling surface was allowed for a given power as is now available, and there was no trouble. There is practically no trouble now with condensers in the mercantile marine. How or why the transmission of heat should operate to this end is not stated. There is, however, another cause of disintegration at work; the tubes used are very long, and the di- ameters small. Tubes $/% inch in di- ameter and only 18 or 20 gauge thick are quite common. When the steam rnshes into the condenser in rhythmical beats, it apparently sets the tubes vibrat- ing, and this may go far to explain the brittleness which undoubtedly is mani- fested by the tubes, and that to a very remarkable extent after they have been in use some time. Furthermore, it is the fixed opinion of competent author- ities that simply drawing a 16-gauge tube two gauges thinner, or down to 18 gauge, notwithstanding the annealing, ' ' takes the life out of the metal, " — that, in fact, the thin tube cannot be equal in qualitv to the tube which is thicker. These facts and opinions deserve carefu consideration from metallurgists. Turn- ing, now, to other causes of failure, it is found that when corrosion takes place it always occurs on the sea-water side o the tube; the steam side remains un- affected. The tubes most likely to fail are those near the top of the condenser which receive the first blow of the ex- hausting steam. These tubes fail either because of the destructive molecular change named, or from pitting, or be- cause they split. Again, the tubes are all packed with tape and screwed glands, and with thin tubes, — Nos. 18 or 20, — it is very difficult to keep the ends tight. The tubes, it seems, will not stand up to the pressure of the packing in the tube plates, and leak. The remedy is simply to use much larger condensers, with more tube surface, and more widely-spaced and heavier tubes, — in a word, condensers more like those in the mercantile marine. The rage for keep- ing down the size and weight of machin- ery in fighting ships seems likely to be followed by a reaction in favour of more generous treatment. It is, at all events, certain that the present policy of cutting down everything seriously imperils the efficiency of warships. A few tons more in the engine room would make no per- ceptible difference in displacement, but it would make all the difference in the world in the efficiency of the ship as a fighting unit. In the same article the Engineer re- marks that copper may be said to have enjoyed the reputation of being akin to precious metals. It does not corrode like iron or steel. It is fairly flexible, ductile, and in various ways an excellent engineering material. Not until within comparatively recent years have doubts been thrown on it. These were created by certain steam pipe fractures which occurred soon after high pressures were adopted at sea. While pressures did not exceed 40 pounds or so there was no trouble; as soon as they got to 160 pounds steam pipes began to lose their reputation. Various inquiries were car- CURRENT TOPICS 91 ried out. It was early learned that it was not the higher pressure alone that was at fault. The diameters of the pipes admitted of being reduced as the press- ure augmented. The principal fact which came into prominence was that copper is much reduced in strength by being heated. But this was not all. There is good reason to believe that copper is a highly unstable metal. It is known that all metals are liable to molecular change, and that they depend for their resisting power very largely, and in some way not at all well under- stood, on their temperature. Thus, for example, a small rod of tough soft steel, which may be tied at the ordinary tem- perature of a room into a knot, will, if chilled in liquid air, fly into a dozen pieces if struck with a fitter's hammer. Copper, if heated and cooled repeatedly, appears to undergo a distinct molecular change. Hitherto it has been supposed that this change took place only at high temperatures. It has been known, in- deed, for some time that the copper winding used in electro-magnets and dynamos undergoes deterioration. This has been attributed to the action of the electric current, which operates in a way not understood, and the facts have not been regarded as of any significance for engineers. The range of temperature in wire of the kind being too small, it is asserted, to be influential, the change is attributed to electricity alone. From what has been said in the preceding paragraph, however, it may seem that this is a mistaken view, and that even at quite low temperatures a ruinous molecular change may take place in copper and in certain of the alloys of which it forms the main constituent. F. L. M. Masury, the head of the Masir rite Explosive Company, of New York, under whose supervision a number of very striking tests on a working scale were recently carried out at his country residence for the benefit of a small group of interested spectators. These tests demonstrated in a satisfactory way that masurite was insensible to shock, con- cussion, heat, or cold, as far as its lia- bility to explode by any of these means was concerned, and that it could be ex- ploded in the proper manner only by means of a double-strength exploder. One of the lests consisted in striking a quantity of the explosive with a hammer and a 16-pound sledge, both on stone and an anvil, and in allowing a 50-pound weight to fall 25 feet upon a masurite cartridge, — all without other effect than breaking up the cartridge and scattering the explosive. Masurite in cans was shot through with both steel-jacketed and mushroom bullets, and even heated by burning coal and then shot through without exploding. Red-hot irons were run through the powder, both loose and in cartridge form, the result being simply to fuse and burn it while in direct con- tact with the heated surface, the powder going out upon removal of the iron. A bundle of parlour matches ignited in masurite had their flame immediately extinguished. Black and smokeless powder were set off on top and below a heap of masurite, and merely blackened it. Electric sparks were made to play in contact with the material, and no ex- plosion resulted. For friction tests masurite was rubbed to dust between sandpaper and emery cloth. Masurite is the name of the latest high explosive put on the market. It appears to be in every sense a safe ex- plosive, failing to detonate under the most trying conditions that are ever likely to be brought about accidentally, and yet affording admirable evidence of great destructive power at the right time. It takes its name from its inventor, Mr. In a series of detonation tests it was found that a masurite cartridge on ex- ploding would explode another one placed in contact with it, but when it was 12 inches distant the unprimed cartridge was simply torn and the con- tents scattered. With a 40 per cent, dynamite cartridge exploded at a dis- tance of 12 inches from a masurite car- tridge, the latter did not go off; but with reversed conditions an unprimed dyna- 92 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE mite cartridge readily exploded. To show that masurite does not freeze at low temperature, a cartridge of masurite was placed in a freezing mixture at 6 degrees below the Fahrenheit zero for three hours. When taken out it was found to be entirely loose, and was im- mediately exploded with great violence by means of an electric fuse. To show the relative force of masurite for rock work, a large boulder, in which were placed twelve cartridges in two bore holes, was blown to pieces. The masu- rite used in all these tests had a strength equal to 40 percent, dynamite, and this can be increased or decreased, as de- sired, in making the explosive. A notable feature of masurite is the flame- less character of its explosion. This was particularly evident when dynamite and masurite were exploded together, the former giving off a vivid flare of light. In this absence of flame, accord- ing to Mr. Masury's claims, lies the great value of masurite for coal-mine work, as it will not ignite coal gas or dust in the neighbourhood of a blast. Some figures given recently by Rear- Admiral Charles O'Neil, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance of the United States Navy Department, afford interesting data as to the ammunition expended in the naval battles of Manila and Santiago during the late war between Spain and the United States. In the fight at Manila the United States ships expended 132 tons of ammunition, including pow- der; the cost was $50,044. Nearly 67 tons of metal were thrown in 5858 dis- charges. Of these, 14 13 rounds were fired by the main batteries of the fleet and 4445 by the secondary batteries. The ammunition expended in destroy- ing the Spanish fleet off Santiago amounted to 164.7 tons; the projectiles thrown weighed 114. 3 tons. Thirteen hundred rounds were fired from the main batteries, 8 1 74 from the secondary, a total of 9474 rounds. Of this number only 124, or 1.3 per cent., are known to have hit their marks. The Oquendo was struck 61 times, the Viscaya 28 times, the Maria Teresa 29 times, and the Colon 6 times. Recent target prac- tice in the British Navy has developed a very much greater percentage of hits, yet in that practice the targets were stationary, and the vessels firing were moving at a fixed speed. In the battle off Santiago, however, the targets were moving as rapidly as they could and the pursuing vessels following at constantly increasing speed. As the figures stand, the cost of ammunition to the United States in defeating Spain at sea was only about $175,000, of which $134,909.11 was spent in the two decisive battles of Manila and Santiago. Out of the number of clever people on the staff of a large metropolitan daily paper it would seem there would be one who would have the requisite technical knowledge to intercept the serious, but erroneous, conclusions on scientific sub- jects that more or less frequently appear in the columns of the daily press, and which the technical press is fond of term- ing " newspaper science." An exam- ple of what is referred to occurred re- cently in an editorial based upon the telegraphic report of what purported to be a new invention, namely, the joint use of a wire for telegraph and telephone purposes. The editorial discoursed at length on the possibilities opened up by this invention, and made the usual pre- diction that if subsequent tests bore out the results of the first experiments, it would work a revolution in the arts of telegraphy and telephony. As a matter of fact, however, it is to be noted that the joint and simultaneous use of a wire for telegraphic and telephonic purposes was invented prior to 1884, and the sys- tem is to-day in use on hundreds of miles of wire. By the use of this sys- tem, the invention of Von Rysselberghe, a Belgian, two telegraph circuits are ob- tained from any metallic telephone cir- cuit on which it is placed, without detri- ment to the operation of either system. Another instance of non-familiarity with simple scientific facts is illus- EDWARD GOODRICH ACHESON 93 trated by an article that goes the rounds of the press once or twice annually, namely, the story of the electrified house. The article usually states that some one has discovered that everything he touches in his house, the radiators, picture frames, banquet lamps, etc. , give him an electric shock. Hence, he fears there is some connection between the arc-light wires and the water pipes near his residence. The electric light in- spector is, therefore, summoned, and reports that the wires of his company are intact and that the electricity must come from some other source. It does not dawn on any of the people consulted that the discoverer of the phenomenon is unconsciously performing one of the simplest and oldest of electrostatic ex- periments, the shuffling of his shoes over the dry carpet raising the potential of his body to several thousand volts which discharge at every opportunity. One may even get electric discharges from his knuckles to the brass lock of a hand- bag which he may be carrying while walking on a stone pavement during cold, dry weather. But, dismissing newspaper science, it is somewhat as- tonishing, in view of the many ways in which in cold, dry countries electricity is unintentionally developed and mani- fested by sparking, that the first knowl- edge concerning this phenomenon did not come to the ancients in this way rather than by the attraction of light substances by amber. The explanation of this, however, may be that the scien- tists of bygone days did not reside in cold, dry countries. EDWARD GOODRICH ACHESON The Inventor of Carborundum A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH By J. A. J. Fitzgerald THE Acheson family originally came from Scotland about the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury and settled in Glassdrummond, County Armagh, Ireland. Passing over more distant ancestors, we find that about 1770 David Acheson, the youngest of seven children, was born, and at the age of eighteen emigrated to the United States, on the advice of his elder brother, John, who was then in successful business at Washington, Pa. On his arrival he was taken into part- nership by his brother, who had con- tracts with the United States Govern- ment for furnishing various supplies to the army. David Acheson was success- ful in this business and became prominent in public life, being elected three times to represent Washington County in the Pennsylvania State Legislature. He was personally acquainted with George Washington, for we find that he was honoured with an invitation to dine with the President in February, 1797. David Acheson had twelve children, among- them being- William Acheson, the father of E. G. Acheson. The former was born in 18 18, and originally began the study of medicine, but gave this up on account of serious financial troubles affecting his father, and started a grocery store. Although forced Lto take up this business, he was a man of scientific tastes, and was evidently a clever mechanic, for Mr. E. G. Acheson has told the writer that he distinctly re- members a very ingenious " buggy," or baby carriage, that he designed and built for his children. He continued in the grocery business till 1863, when he became manager and part owner of an 94 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ironworks started at Monticello, Pa. , in which he met with undoubted success, since Monticello iron became a well- known brand in the Pittsburgh market. Edward Goodrich Acheson was born in 1856 and was educated at Bellefonte Academy, Bellefonte, Pa. From an early date his mother's training devel- oped in him an unusual interest in scien- tific subjects, and we find him filing a caveat in the Patent Office at the age of seventeen for a drilling machine to be used in coal mining. It is interesting to note that one of these machines built by him was actually in use as a drill in a waggon shop at Kittaning, Pa. , in 1886. In 1872 he was taken from school and employed at his father' s blast- furnace. After the death of his father in 1873 he changed from one employ- ment to another, finally becoming at- tached to a surveying party as chain- man. He advanced rapidly in this work, and soon had charge of a transit, but after about two years he left this work and was employed by the United Pipe Line Company. During this time, however, his chief interest was in electricity and chemistry, and all his spare money was spent in making electrical and chemical experiments, greatly to the distress of those who knew him and who looked on his experiments as the height of folly. His facilities for scientific studies were very poor, but he made the most of what was at his command, and at the age of nineteen drew up a pocket chart of the elements and various other bodies, with all available information as to atomic weights, densities, electrical and heat conductivities, etc. He also de- signed and built a dynamo to be again mentioned later on. He wrote papers on various scientific and engineering subjects, one of which was on the pro- tection of oil tanks from lightning, and advocated connecting the lightning con- ductor to the oil tank instead of insulat- ing it, as was then the practice. This article was published in a Bradford, Pa., daily paper, having been declined by one of the technical papers on the ground that it was too revolutionary, being con- trary to the best engineering practice. It is scarcely necessary to remark that eventually the soundness of young Acheson' s proposal was recognised. About 1880 he determined to get a position with some electrical firm, and he therefore wrote to Mr. Weston, of Newark, N. J., asking for a place. To this letter he received an answer to the effect that employment could not be given to him; but this did not satisfy him, and having saved a little money he went to Newark to get a personal interview. He was not successful in getting a posi- tion, and after some failures elsewhere he finally went, in September, 1880, to Edison's laboratory at Menlo Park, where he fortunately got a position as assistant in the draughting room. He had brought with him the dynamo al- ready referred to, and showed it to Edison, who said it was old and directed him to a certain book in the laboratory library. Mr. Acheson was then greatly disappointed to find that his machine, which he had supposed to be original, was identical with the Siemens dynamo. Edison soon recognised the ability of his new employee and transferred him to experimental work; and presently he received the following letter: — New York, April 20, 1881. Mr. Acheson, Menlo Park, N. J. Dear Sir— You had better go into the lamp factory and learn the lamp business in all its de- tails. Yours truly, Thomas A. Edison. Two months later, or nine months after arriving at Menlo Park, Mr. Ache- son sailed for Europe, as assistant in charge of the Edison electric light inter- ests at the Paris Exposition. He remained in Europe for three years, and in that time installed lighting plants at various places, — Milan, Brus- sels, Pisa, Bergamo, Genoa, and Ant- werp, and at the end of 1882 left the employment of the European Edison companies to undertake some experi- ments on his own account. These re- lated to batteries and thermopiles, and were carried on in Paris and London until finally, in 1883, he became ill in the latter place, and on recovery found himself without any money. On com- municating with Edison, the latter cabled for him to return to America, and he was with him for a short time, but soon left to continue his own experiments. EDWARD GOODRICH ACHESON 95 Having again exhausted his resources, he accepted a position as superintendent of the Consolidated Lamp Company, of Brooklyn. Shortly afterwards he mar- ried, and, leaving the lamp company, again started experimenting, which he continued until 1886, when having once more spent all his money, he became connected with the Standard Under- ground Cable Company. Here he re- mained till 1889, and then left in order to return to his experimental work. During these various periods of orig- inal investigation he had taken up a great variety of electrical subjects, but now he devoted himself exclusively to the problem of the direct conversion of heat into electricity. In 1890 he organ- ised an electric light and power company at Monongahela, Pa. , with the object of facilitating his experiments and obtain- ing a laboratory. In March, 1891, he found himself in an unfortunate situation, for the company he had organised was not paying and those associated with him wished to abandon the business. About ten years before this, while ex- perimenting in Edison's laboratory, he had produced a small quantity of a sub- stance that was harder than emery or corundum, and this had suggested to him the great value of a harder abrasive than those in ordinary use. As a last resource at this later date, he determined to make further experiments in this di- rection. He placed in an iron bowl a mixture of clay and coke, and introduced an arc-light carbon into it. The bowl was connected to one terminal of a dynamo, the carbon rod to the other, and a current sufficient to raise the mix- ture to a very high temperature passed through it. After the experiment he found on the carbon rod a few bright- blue crystals of great hardness. He then built a small furnace of a more practical form, and for six months pro- duced this new compound, which he called " carborundum," at the rate of about a quarter of a pound a day. Feel- ing confident of the great industrial value of his discovery, he formed the Carborundum Company, and began the manufacture of the material on a larger scale. Fully convinced that the new abrasive was far superior to emery or corundum, he expected to sell it to the emery wheel manufacturers. In this, however, he was mistaken, for the emery wheel mak- ers could see no value in it, and he was thus driven to take up the manufacture of carborundum wheels himself. After much experimental work satisfactory wheels were made, the principal market for them being found in dental work. About this time the Westinghouse Com- pany undertook the work of supplying the Chicago World's Fair with incan- descent lamps of the ' ' stoppered ' ' form, a very big undertaking, which was made possible by the use of carborundum wheels for grinding out the lamps. In spite of the business thus secured, the Carborundum Company was not making money, and in 1894 Mr. Ache- son concluded that in order to make carborundum an industrial success it would have to be turned out on a large scale. He, therefore, decided to build a factory at Niagara Falls, equipped with 1000-horse-power furnaces. This scheme was bitterly opposed by those associated with him in the company, but meanwhile he had sold some of his foreign patents for a good sum and with this money he built the Niagara Falls works. It is only fair to state that the opposition he met with was apparently reasonable, for of the 52,000 pounds of carborundum manufactured in 1894 not more than one-fourth was marketed, and the estimated production of the Niagara Falls works was 1,000,000 pounds a year. The Niagara factory was started in 1895, and Mr. Acheson hoped once more that with the greatly reduced cost of carborundum the emery wheel mak- ers could be induced to take it up; but in this he was again disappointed, and was accordingly compelled to continue the manufacture of wheels on his own account. While great success had been met with as long as the wheels were used in places where their high price was of small consequence, it was found impossible to compete with emery wheels for general service. The next three years were, therefore, largely de- 96 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE voted to the problem of perfecting the carborundum wheel so as to enable it to successfully compete with the much cheaper emery wheel. Meanwhile, carborundum was being manufactured at the rate of considerably over 1,000,000 pounds a year, and a further outlet for it had to be found. In order to dispose of part of this large pro- duction Mr. Acheson put up a plant for the manufacture of carborundum paper and cloth. Considerable sums of money were necessary to carry out these plans, and were obtained by Mr. Acheson at great personal sacrifices; but this was entirely in keeping with the character of the man who, as a boy, spent all his spare time and money on his experi- ments. Finally, about 1897, the diffi- cult problems connected with the manufacture of carborundum were suc- cessfully solved and Mr. Acheson was able to turn his attention to other mat- ters. In the early days of the manufacture of carborundum Mr. Acheson had found in his furnaces a form of carbon which had all the properties of graphite. This was formed by the decomposition of carborundum, or, to give it its chemical name, silicon carbide, the silicon being vapourised and the carbon left behind as graphite. Further experiments had shown that graphite could be obtained in the same way from other carbides, and he now set to work to develop the commercial production of graphite from amorphous carbon in the electric furnace. At first he devoted himself to the man- ufacture of graphite electrodes for use in electrolytes where amorphous carbon would be rapidly disintegrated, and in 1897 he manufactured and marketed over 162,000 pounds of graphite in this form. Meanwhile, he was experiment- ing on the production of graphite in bulk, and found that the best carbon- aceous material for this purpose was anthracite coal. In January, 1899, he organised the Acheson Graphite Company, and drew up the plans for a factory with 1000- horse-power furnaces. In 1900 he organised the International Acheson Graphite Company, with control of the foreign patents for the manufacture of graphite, and then merged with this the Acheson Graphite Company. The fac- tory was started in August, 1900, and with furnaces not only for the manufac- ture of graphite electrodes, but also for the production of graphite from anthra- cite coal. The business of the graphite company has steadily increased since then, and in 1901 about 2,500,000 pounds of graphite were produced, of which 1,100,000 pounds were in the form of electrodes. This industry promises to be of great importance not alone in assisting the development of numerous electro-chemical processes, but also in providing for other purposes a graphite that is in many ways superior to the natural product. It is always interesting to find out on what qualities success depends, but it is by no means easy to do so in the pres- ent case, for here we have a combination of many different qualities that are not usually associated in the same person. In the first place, Mr. Acheson is a skill- ful experimenter and an ingenious in- ventor, and with this he combines a courage that no failures or adverse con- ditions can daunt. Above all is a re- markable personality which compels confidence from others, and which en- abled him during the years of serious business depression to obtain the neces- sary capital for building up a great in- dustry. But whatever may be the peculiar qualities that have led to his success, one cannot but admire the note- worthy career of a man who had so few advantages to start with, and has, never- theless, made for himself a great name as scientific investigator, inventor, and f ' captain of industry. ' ' VICE-PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE BROWN HOISTING MACHINERY COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND % CASSIER'S M Vol. XXII JUNE, 1902 J U. MAY 29 1802 N®- **!*■* ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGH' By Philip R. Alger, U. S. N. THE contest for supremacy between guns and armour, which began about forty years ago, has long since been definitely decided in favour of the gun. Great as have been the im- provements in the quality of armour, the power of the opposing gun has in- creased still more rapidly. In i860 the 4 V2 -inch iron plate was declared invul- nerable to any gun afloat; to-day such a plate would be perforated at any dis- tance by the 4-inch gun, and at short range even by the little six-pounder ; and when the 17-inch nickel-steel plates were placed on the barbettes of the United States battleship Indiana it was known that her own guns could pierce them at any reason- able range. The discovery, ten years ago, that the sur- face - hardening process was practicable for heavy steel plates for a mo- ment snatched the supre- macy from the gun. A 6 - inch hard - faced plate defeated the 6-inch gun, which was more than a match for 12 inches of the best homogeneous steel armour, and the 17-inch hard-faced plate seemed likely to be invulnerable. This, however, was only a temporary condition. The invention of hard- faced armour was soon counterbal- anced by the invention of the shell cap, and the introduction of smokeless pow- der at the same time more than doubled the power of the gun. To-day the pen- etrative power of the largest naval guns, even at extreme ranges, will easily over- come any armour plate ever yet made or ever likely to be made, provided the im- pact is normal, or nearly so. The latest development in armour manufacture is the so-called Krupp process. The details of this are kept secret, but it may at least be said with certainty that it is merely an improve- ment on the Harvey process, and not a radical departure from it. The results Copyright, 1902, by the C COPYRIGHTED BY W. H. RAU, PHILADELPHIA TO REPEL TORPEDOES Magazine Co. All Rights Reserved. IOO CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS IOI of tests and examination of the fractured surfaces of Krupp plates show that they have a deeper chill than is ever attained by the Harvey process, and also that they are less liable to crack under shock or when perforated. It is probable that the essential feature of the improved process is the use of a small percentage of chrome as well as nickel in the steel, such an alloy being more susceptible to chilling than is steel containing only nickel. The supercarbonisation of the face, though very likely brought about accomplished its purpose in excluding one projectile is extremely unlikely to be again struck. However, without re- gard to the question of how much better Krupp armour is than Harveyised armour, it is a fact that, though its cost is somewhat greater, it has been gen- erally adopted for European navies and will be used on the latest United States armoured ships for all armour exceed- ing 6 inches in thickness. Now as against this best modern armour, the latest type guns, using capped projec- ■ Avfll 2 rfi X/i v , pit **•**, "a. ■' HI mimt^, I a* -%^ &t^ J? E ■ A- . ra Ji. A 13-INCH GUN DIVISION ON THE UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP " MASSACHUSETTS by the use of gas, is undoubtedly the equivalent of ordinary cementation, and the usual cold water spray is still used to chill the surface. It has been claimed that the Krupp plates have 20 per cent, more resistance than Harveyised plates of the same thick- ness, but this refers to resistance to per- foration by uncapped projectiles. When the capped armour-piercing shells, now coming into universal use, are fired, the increase in resistance of the Krupp plates is but small. Their freedom from cracking remains a point of superiority, but this is not of great importance in view of the fact that a plate which has tiles, have the following power of perforation at 3000 yards range and with normal impact: — 6-inch gun 6% inches 8 " " 10% 10 " " 15 12 " " t-9% From this it is apparent that, as al- ready stated, no armour afloat, or#in sight, can any longer be relied upon to keep out the projectiles of the heaviest naval guns. But if guns now overmatch all practicable armour, and continue to increase in power, as they have in the past, more rapidly than armour increases in resistance, will they not cause armour for ships to be abandoned and become 102 CASSTER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS 103 obsolete, as gunpowder drove out of use armour for men ? The argument that armour for ships of war will, in course of time, become obsolete, is usually based upon a sup- posed analogy of the case of ships with that of men. Since the development of small arms resulted in the abandonment of armour for men, why will not con- tinued advance in the power of ordnance render it useless to armour ships ? As a matter of fact, this analogy is a false one, and for two reasons : — 1.— A man's strength is limited, while a ship's carrying power depends only upon her size and may be made as great as we please. 2. — Men, being highly organised ani- mals, are usually disabled by a wound in any part of the body, and conse- quently must be completely covered with armour to be really protected, while ships, over a large percentage of their area, may be pierced through and through without suffering serious dam- age, and so need protection only over a few vital parts. Again, even if the power of guns be so great as to render it useless to attempt to keep out their armour-piercing pro- jectiles from any part of the ship, still an enormous advantage would result from the use of armour which kept out ex- plosive shell. A solid bullet is enough if it hits a man, but a great many solid shot of the largest size may enter a ship without putting her out of action. But even recognising the fact that the best armour will no longer keep out the ex- plosive shell of the heaviest naval guns, a little consideration will show that by keeping out projectiles of the smaller calibres armour renders a service of great value. Taking, for example, the batteries of the latest United States battleships, four 12-inch, eight 8-inch, twelve 6-inch, twelve 14-pounder, and twelve 3-pound- er guns, and supposing the guns which train on both sides to be firing con- stantly while the others are only half in use at any one time, and assuming the rates of fire to be one round every two minutes for the 12-inch, one round every fifty seconds for the 8 -inch, one round every fifteen seconds for the 6-inch, every six seconds for the 14- pounder, and every four seconds for the 3-pounder gun, then a simple calcula- tion will show that of all the projectiles fired in any period of time only 1.1 per cent, will be of 12-inch calibre and only 3.9 per cent, of 8-inch calibre, while 13. 1 per cent, will be 6-inch; about 33 per cent, will be 14-pounders and about 49 per cent, will be 3-pounders. In other words, armour which will defeat the 14-pounder shell, 2 or 3 inches at fighting range, will keep out 82 per cent, of all the projectiles fired by a bat- tleship, and armour capable of stopping the 6-inch shell, say 6^ inches thick, will keep out over 95 per cent. In fact, when we consider that few projectiles will strike normally, and that fighting ranges, now great, are likely to increase rather than diminish, we may safely say that under any probable future condi- tions armour from 6 to 7 inches thick will keep out fully 95 per cent, of all projectiles which such a battery as that just referred to can fire against it. When, in 1858, France began to build the Gloire and her sister ships, which formed the first squadron of sea-going armoured ships ever seen, it was possi- ble to completely cover them with armour then impenetrable; but the rap- idly increasing power of the gun made it necessary for the naval architect to more and more restrict the area defended by armour if he desired to give it com- plete protection. In the hopeless at- tempt to secure invulnerability, armour was gradually stripped from other por- tions and concentrated over the parts considered vital. The restriction of bat- teries to a few heavy guns mounted in turrets, barbettes, or a central citadel, allowed the thickness of armour protect- ing men and guns to be greatly in- creased, with a corresponding reduction in its extent, and at the same time water- line armour was made thicker and thicker and of less and less area, until it almost seemed that the desired invul- nerability of armour belt had been secured, — not by its impenetrability, but by the impossibility of hitting it. Of late years, however, there has been 104 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS 105 a growing tendency to return to the earlier practice of expanding armour over a large area, even at the expense of reduced protection to any one part. Great as are the displacements of the latest battleships, it is not deemed wise to attempt to secure complete protection for any one portion of them at the ex- pense of other parts of less importance; it is recognised that all that armour can be expected to furnish is a reasonable amount of security to what it covers, — a protection to each part proportional to its importance as compared with other parts. It is necessary, however, to take ac- count of another factor besides the rela- tive importance, in order to determine properly the amount of protection which should be assigned to each of the ele- ments of a battleship. The chances of being seriously damaged should be taken account of as well as the relative im- portance of damage if it occurs. To put water-line protection first in impor- tance is to say that a ship is in more danger of succumbing to blows there than to an attack upon armament and personnel. But the water-line is an ex- tremely hard thing to hit; a shot which falls even a few feet short ricochets and strikes the ship, if at all, well above the water-line. The armament, on the other hand, occupies the centre of the target, where the hits will inevitably be most in number. It would be un- wise to take exaggerated care to make a ship unsinkable and to expose her to easy defeat by attack upon her per- sonnel. It must be recognised that naval vic- tories are far more likely to result from the destruction and demoralisation of an opponent's personnel than from actual injury to his ships. The Chinese bat- tleships retreated from the battle of Yaloo utterly defeated, yet neither their stability, their machinery, nor their of- fensive powers had been seriously affected. At Manila Bay, and again at Santiago, American gun fire did not in- jure the Spanish ships so much as it did their crews, and except for the fires, which an inefficient and demoralised personnel could not control, the materiel would have remained practically unin- jured. Armour, in fact, was devised as a means of protecting the personnel from the effects of shell fire, and in so far as this end has been lost sight of, and at- tention directed mainly to the protecticn of the water-line and motive power, an error has been made. The present tendency to thin water-line armour and to devote the greater part of available weight to protecting the guns and their crews is a wise return to first principles. For convenience in discussion the writer will use the term " hull protec- tion ' ' to mean all armour that protects buoyancy, stability, propelling machin- ery, and the under-water parts; and the term ''gun protection" to mean all that protects the armament and its per- sonnel. Considering, first, hull protection, it will be found that in early battleships the armour belt was made very heavy, and the protective deck had little im- portance except structurally, while in more recent designs the weight of ar- mour applied to the deck approaches that of the belt armour. Thus in all the United States battleships, the first of which, of the Indiana class, are com- paratively new, from 1550 to 1650 tons of armour are allotted to the hull protec- tion, and of this the belt takes from 8co to 900 tons and the protective deck 650 to 800 tons. In the best modern practice the pro- tective deck is worked from the bottom of the armour belt and its principal func- tion is to exclude the fragments of ex- plosive shell which may have penetrate d the belt. The belt itself is intended to exclude all small or medium-calibre pro- jectiles and all large-capacity explosive shell of whatever calibre. Should a large-calibre shell, carrying a moderate bursting charge, perforate the belt, then the protective deck should be strong enough to resist its explosion, which will be caused by its passage through the belt, and to keep out its fragments. In the case of penetration by a heavy projectile without explosive charge, and which remains whole, the deck may suffice to deflect it, but this is not to be io6 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS 107 counted upon with any certainty, and must be risked. The latest United States ships have a belt tapering from 1 1 inches at the top to 8 inches at the bottom over the engine and boiler space, and gradually reduced forward and aft to 4 inches at bow and stern. Their armoured deck is 3 inches thick on the slopes and 1 ^ inches on the flat. The British ships London, Bulwark, and Venerable have a 9 -inch belt and a deck 3 inches on the slopes; the French Suffren has 11.8-inch belt armour and becoming more and more important offensively, must have a reasonable share of armour protection. The tend- ency is well illustrated by a considera- tion of the division of the armour allotted to gun protection in American battleship designs. In the Indiana class and the Iowa the secondary battery had about 200 tons of armour to protect it, as against from 1400 to 1500 tons for the heavy guns. In the Kearsarge and Kentucky, and in the Alabama class, about 600 tons are devoted to protection A 4-INCH GTJN AND CREW ON THE UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP wIOWA" a 2. 7 -inch deck; the Russian Retwisan hasag-inch belt and a 4-inch deck; and the Japanese Hatsuse has a 9-inch belt and a 4-inch deck. All of these, being examples of late designs of battleships of from 12,000 to 15,000 tons displace- ment, show a very satisfactory general agreement as regards hull protection. ^ The history of gun protection resem- bles that of hull protection. At first it was sought to make the one or more heavy gun positions invulnerable, and all available armour weight was devoted to that; but gradually it was recognised that the rest of the battery, which was or the small, as against about 1200 ton or the large guns; in the Maine class about 800 tons go to the small and about 850 tons to the large guns; and, finally, in the Pennsylvania class, the rapid-fire guns are protected by 1240 tons, as compared with only 1070 tons allotted to the 8 and 12 -inch gun positions. Not only has the percentage of total armour weight given to gun protection been in- creased of late years, but in the division of that percentage into two classes the share allotted to protect the small guns, or secondary battery, has gradually grown at the expense of that allotted to io8 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS 109 the heavy or main battery guns, the re- sult of both movements being a great expansion in the area covered by armour and an accompanying reduction in its average thickness. The usual arrangement of the larger rapid-fire guns of battleships to-day is in an armoured casemate between the two heavy gun positions, and it is to their defence that more and more armour is being devoted. At first 4 or 5 -inch armour was considered sufficient, but in almost all recent designs the casemate is covered with 6 -inch armour. More- Over, the fear of the effects of explosive shell has led to the use of armour for covering the space above the armour belt and below the casemate armour. Thus in the Mai?ie class about half the 800 tons of armour devoted to the pro- tection of the 6-inch rapid-fire guns is used to cover the space below the deck on which they are mounted; and in the Pennsylvayiia class a space about 250 feet long and 15 feet high is covered with 6-inch armour, weighing about 1200 tons, to give protection to twelve 6-inch guns. It is not considered enough to completely enclose the deck on which the 6-inch guns are mounted with armour; but the deck below, al- though it contains little of importance, must be equally protected . lest the free entry there of explosive shell produce serious destructive effect upon the deck above. It seems to be doubtful if the result of this disposition of armour is a secur- ity commensurate with the expenditure of weight. Six inches of armour are by no means a sure defence against large- calibre shell carrying explosive charges, and one such shell, especially if it en- tered anywhere near fore and aft, might well put half, or even more than half, the 6-inch guns out of action. It is true that such a raking effect is usually guarded against by partial transverse armoured bulkheads between the guns, but the time has come when complete isolation of all guns, either singly in closed armoured casemates or in pairs in turrets, is a practical necessity. Open battery decks, giving central control of all the guns, have many ad- vantages, but the use of smokeless pow- der has minimised these by making in- dividual firing effective under all circum- stances, and they must be given up in order to gain greater protection against the ever-increasing destructiveness of gun fire. If the 6-inch guns, as well as the larger ones, were mounted in pairs in turrets, each with enough armour to protect it from anything but the direct hit of a large-calibre projectile, then no shell could do more than put one pair of guns out of action, and not only would the material damage done by a success- ful shell be localised, but so also would be its moral effect. The weight now generally devoted to protecting secondary battery guns by means of side plating would furnish them with turrets and barbettes of equal thickness, and, at the same time, armour the ammunition hoists, smoke stacks, and uptakes, which are now protected by the side armour above the main armour belt ; and should the turret system not be approved, the guns may be equally well protected from the effects of large-calibre shell bursting in the battery deck by being each placed in a closed compartment, armoured in the rear as well as outboard. More cer- tain destruction of the entire contents of any compartment entered by a shell would result, but so also would such destruction, with accompanying flames, smoke, fumes, and the demoralising effect of the sight of killed and wounded, be equally localised and confined. The foregoing discussion has had spe- cial reference to the class of battleships, and there remains something to be said of the armour of cruisers. It would be difficult to define what an " armoured cruiser ' ' is more clearly than by saying that it is an armoured ship in the design of which both gun power and armoured protection have been sacrificed to obtain great speed and coal endurance, — un- fortunately sometimes to obtain only the former. In a first-class battleship from 25 to 28 per cent, of the displacement may be devoted to armour and 10 per cent, to the ordnance outfit; while in armoured cruiser design armoured pro- tection would not be likely to reach 20 no CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS 1 1 1 per cent. , and the ordnance outfit would be only about 6 per cent, of the displace- ment. In the recent United States designs of armoured cruisers, the West Virgi?iia class, a decided tendency is shown to approach the latest battleship designs. They have a complete belt; a protective deck worked from the lower edges of the belt; an armoured casemate above the belt, covering two decks, on the upper one of which are mounted ten 6-inch guns; and an 8-inch turret at each end. Their total armour weight, exclusive of the protective deck, is 2219 tons, as against 3690 tons for the Pennsylvania class, and there is no practical difference in the arrange- ments of the armour in the two cases, the only distinction being that the thickness of the armour is somewhat less on the armoured cruiser than on the battleship. Without meaning to condemn arm- oured cruisers as a class, it may fairly be said that these ships approach too closely, in size and cost, to first-class battleships to justify their relative lack of offensive and defensive power. Speed has some value, and coal endurance a much greater value, but neither counts in actual fighting, and neither compares in importance with fighting efficiency. It is of the first importance that a ship of war shall be able to exercise a full power of offence and defence within the circle of which she is the .centre. Sec- ondary to this comes the capacity to transfer that power from one point to another with certainty and rapidity. Of course, speed is useful as a means of escaping or of forcing an engagement, and as giving the power of rapid con- centration or of striking suddenly at a distant object; but when the moment of battle arrives, superiority of speed will weigh as nothing in comparison with superior armament. There are those who look upon such ships as the West Virginia, of high speed and carrying only guns of medium size, as the coming type of battleship, but they greatly undervalue heavy guns and thick armour. Hardly by any pos- sibility even could the West Virginia whip the Indiana, though more than 3000 tons bigger and of eleven years' later design. However many 6 and 8-inch guns the former might carry, and however skillfully they might be used, they could hardly do more than demolish the unessential parts of a ship like the latter; the Indiana's 13-inch guns would almost certainly remain in- tact and sooner or later destroy her opponent. Should light guns and thin armour really come into vogue for the heaviest fighting ships, a single 10,000- ton ship, specially designed to meet them, wculd be able to whip a whole squadron of such. The experiences of late naval wars have given birth to two theories which are to the last degree fallacious and destitute of rational four dation. The first of these theories discredits the torpedo-boat; the second ascribes to rapid-fire guns an im- portant and even decisive part in future actions between armoured as well as un- armoured ships. No greater mistake can be made than to rely upon anything else but the heavy guns of a battleship to defeat another such ship, if the latter is willing to fight. You can utterly destroy and sweep away the whole secondary battery of a ship like the Kearsarge, or the Ala- bama even; but while she remains afloat and with her heavy gun turrets intact, her offensive power as against another battleship is practically undiminished. The only thing to be feared in such a situation is the demoralisation of the crew due to the killing and wounding of so large a percentage of their number, but this should rather tend to make us question the advisability of exposing so many men to destruction in order to man guns whose fire cannot injure any vital part of one's opponent except by the luckiest chance. There is good opinion in favour of sending the crews of all the small rapid-fire guns below the protective deck and keeping them there during an action between battleships, and though the writer would not advo- cate pursuing the same course with the entire secondary battery, the arguments in favour of so doing should at least lead us to recognise the comparatively unim- 112 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS "3 portant part which that battery must play in such an action. This leads us to the question of the calibre and arrangement of guns best suited to a battleship. It is, of course, esseutial to carry some guns of sufficient power to pierce the armour which covers the vital parts of possible opponents, and this led, some years ago, to the con- struction of guns of 1 20 tons weight and 1 7 -inch calibre. Of late years, however, the tendency has been towards smaller guns having such chamber capacity and length of bore as to equal or exceed in power older guns of greater size and weight. Great Britain no longer arms battleships with her 16^ -inch gun, nor even with the 13^2 -inch, but with the 12-inch, and some Continental powers have even built battleships carrying no larger guns than the 10-inch. The earlier American ships carried 13-inch guns, but on the latest ones a 12-inch gun, which, with its mounting, weighs nineteen tons less than the old 13-inch gun, and whose ammunition weighs 400 pounds less per round, but which ex- ceeds in muzzle energy and penetrating power the 13 -inch gun, has replaced the latter. The question, then, naturally arises, why not continue further in the same direction? Having replaced a 13-inch gun by a higher-powered 12-inch, why not replace the latter by a still higher powered 10-inch gun ? A 10-inch gun with 4000 feet per second muzzle veloc- ity would have greater energy than the present 12-inch gun, and such a gun can, doubtless, be made, and even with a saving of weight in the total installa- tion. In fact, we have seen exactly this same line of advance followed in the de- velopment of the modern small arm. From the days when the calibre was nearly an inch till the present time when about a quarter of an inch is generally held to be the most advantageous size, progress has consisted in a constant de- crease of calibre without a correspond- ing decrease of chamber volume and powder charge, the result being in- creasing muzzle velocities. The bullet of the 45 calibre weighs four times as much as that of the 6 m.m. rifle ; but the cartridge of the latter is almost as large as that of the former, and the muzzle velocity has risen from 1 200 to nearly 2600 feet per second. There is an important difference be- tween the two cases, however. Flatness of trajectory is equally of value in fight- ing between ships at sea and between men on shore, on account of the result- ing increased danger space. Reduction of weight per round of ammunition, while most important to the soldier, is still of great advantage on the war ves- sel. But the one disadvantage of the small calibre, its loss of destructive effect, tells against it in naval warfare far more than in land fighting. Man is so highly organised an animal that, as a rule, any wound will put him out of action; but a ship may be struck again and again, without having either its offensive or defensive powers ma- terially reduced. If rapidity of fire were inversely pro- portional to weight of projectile, the process of reducing calibre could be ad- vantageously extended much further than it now can be, but there would be no practical difference between the rates of fire of 10, 12, and 13-inch guns of the same power, and while a great deal of weight would be saved by substituting a 10-inch gun of equal power for the pres- ent 13-inch, the decrease of projectile weight from 11 00 to 500 or 600 pounds would not be compensated for by any material increase in the rate of fire, and the slight increase in the percent- age of hits resulting from the flatter trajectory of the smaller calibre would by no means make up for the vastly greater destructive effect of the larger shell. In the small arm and machine-gun field, where it is really better to wound a man than to kill him, and where any man who is hit, whether by a small or by a large bullet, is almost certainly put out of action for the time being, the greater percentage of hits due to the flatter trajectory is important, and the increase in the number of rounds carried by the soldier, due to their less weight, is a decisive reason in favour of the smallest practicable calibre. In the field ii4 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ARMOUR AND GUNS OF FIGHTING SHIPS 115 of heavy naval guns the destructive effect of each projectile becomes a mat- ter of great importance, and this con- sideration puts a limit to advantageous reduction in calibre. While, therefore, the future may see some slight further decrease in the calibre of the main battery guns of battleships, it seems unlikely that the present American and British prac- tice of using the 12 -inch gun will be abandoned. As regards the number and arrange- ment of the guns of battleships, there is now almost universal agreement that the main battery should consist of two pairs of heavy guns in turrets, on the centre line, one forward and one aft; but what the remainder of the battery would bet- ter be is much more doubtful. One im- portant consideration is this, — in modern battleship designs weight of battery counts for little as compared with space for good gun positions. If the 5 -inch rapid-fire gun could pierce any sec- ondary armour, we still could not afford to have 5 -inch guns only as a secondary battery, because good positions cannot be found for enough of them. We would still use 6-inch guns, because we can mount as many 6-inch as 5-inch, and while an equal weight of 6-inch guns would give less, an equal number of 6-inch guns would give much the greater volume of effective fire. This argument seems to lead logically to the use of a still larger calibre, say the 7-inch instead of the 6-inch; but the objection to that is that when you go beyond the 100-pound 6-inch shell two men are required to handle the heavier projectile, and rapidity of fire is at once considerably reduced. If the 6-inch gun were effective against all secondary armour, it would hardly be questioned that this calibre is the proper one for the secondary battery of a battleship. It was because the 6-inch gun was known to overmatch 5 -inch armour, and be- cause it was supposed that improved 6-inch guns would also overmatch the 6-inch armour then coming into use as the secondary armour of battleships, that the batteries of the American Alabama class were constituted as they are, with no guns between the 12-inch and 6-inch calibres. But is the 6-inch gun, even with its greatly increased power, a match for the 6-inch armour now being used on battle- ships, under service conditions ? Its armour-piercing shell can just about get through a 6-inch plate of the best qual- ity if it hits within about io° of normal at 3000 yards range; at greater ranges, or with a greater angle of incidence, the 6-inch armour will keep it out. More- over, apparently as a reply to the new high-powered 6-inch guns, Great Britain has already decided upon an increase of secondary armour to 7 inches. Clearly, the 6-inch gun can no longer be consid- ered as effective against the secondary armour of the future battleships and we must replace it by a still more powerful gun. Two plans have been proposed for future American battleships. One con- templates the use of a new calibre, the 7 -inch; the other, the enlarged use of the 8-inch gun. Which is the better plan must largely depend upon whether the rate of fire of a 7 -inch gun is greatly less than that of the 6-inch gun or not. A 7 -inch gun has been built, and its trial in comparison with the 6 and 8-inch guns should determine this point. If the rates of fire of the 7 and 8-inch cali- bres are found to be not greatly differ- ent, while there is marked superiority, in this respect, of the 6-inch over the 7 -inch, there can hardly remain any doubt as to the advisability of going at once from the 6-inch to the 8-inch ^un and not introducing a new calibre into the service. The question, however, is somewhat complicated by that of the best arrange- ment of the new batteries. One might favour the 7 -inch gun if it is to be mounted in broadside, as the 6-inch guns now are, and yet prefer the 8-inch gun if the turret system of mounting is to be adopted. As a matter of fact, it has been de- cided, for the present, to adopt as a battery for the next United States bat- tleships four 12-inch guns and eight 8-inch guns in turrets, and twenty 7 -inch guns in broadside, and though it6 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE it may be questioned whether 12-inch and 8-inch guns only would not be better, one thing at least is certain, and that is that such a battery will be far and away the most powerful that has ever yet been placed on any war- ship. It is very interesting to trace the de- velopment of the modern battleship from its first form, — to see the gradual re- striction of the armoured area and of the number of guns till two or four very large guns behind very thick armour constituted their whole offensive power, — to see the first beginning of secondary batteries in the form of a few Hotchkiss revolving cannon or i-inch Nordenfelts, intended solely for use against torpedo- boats, and their development to the present 6-inch rapid-fire batteries which weigh more and occupy much more space than do the main batteries, — to see the gradual expansion of armour, made necessary by the increased extent and thickness of the armour devoted to protecting secondary batteries, forcing us to return to the use of only large guns in turrets and small, rapid-fire guns for defence against torpedoes. And yet what an enormous advance, both in offensive and defensive power, has been made! Let a comparison between the battleship of to-day and that of twenty years ago bear witness ! The course of this development has certainly not been in a straight line; but neither has it been in a circle, finally to end where it began; rather may it be likened to a spiral whose widening coils, though seeming to return upon themselves, give a grad- ual but certain progression from the starting point. Stim ' *v... ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD THE PLANT OF THE NEW YORK SHIPBUILDING COMPANY, AT CAMDEN, N. J. By J, B. O'Hara W HERE the con- ditions in man- ufacturing have not been such as pos- itively to compel the development and use of means for quicken- ing production and cheapening cost, and where the introduc- tion of thoroughly modern methods would have involved heavy expense, it is perhaps not astonish- ing that the ' ; scrap- ping ' ' process has not been adopted with great zeal. This has been true in great measure of the shipbuilding indus- tries on both sides of the Atlantic, though there are notable exceptions of old-es- tablished plants in which some of the best improvements have been quickly turned to account. In the case of an entirely new ship- yard, however, it might be expected that the plant would be laid down along wholly modern lines, and that, in the matter of power equipment, extensive use would be made of electric transmis- sion and driving. A splendid example of American enterprise of this kind is found in the plant of the New York Shipbuilding Company, at Camden, N. J. This installation is modern in every respect; all the buildings have been put up within the last three years; the equipment is entirely new; many of the machines were designed especially for these works, and the entire organ- isation, plan of operation, shop methods, etc. , were worked out to meet the spe- cial requirements of this concern. It was a large undertaking, but the com- pany had the experience of older estab- lishments to guide it, and, moreover, the management, under the leadership of Henry G. Morse, included in its organisation many of the ablest engi- neers of the country, all of them espe- cially qualified to solve the problems of their respective departments. The elec- trical features were under the direct supervision of Prof. W. L. Robb, who acted as consulting electrical engineer for the shipbuilding company. An idea of the originality, extent and completeness of the company's system and methods may be gained when it is explained that, with the exception of the power plant and the joiner shops, the entire establishment, which gives employment to 4000 men, is under one roof; that the material which enters the plate and storage rooms at one end of the yard does not leave the build- ing until it goes out as a part of the completed ship for which it was in- tended, when the vessel is ready to enter service; that there are installed in one main building and under one roof all the material and machinery necessary for the construction of the largest ship known to commerce, and that eight sets of ship ways, built upon masonry foun- dations, covered by roofs of steel and glass and spanned by cranes up to 100 tons lifting capacity, are practically as much a part of the immense main build- ing as the boiler shop or machine shop. About 3600 feet of river frontage, a machine shop with four acres of floor space, and a storage house for 20,000 tons of plates and shapes, are features of the works. The plant has been laid out to achieve economical results in the beginning — not merely to become eco- nomical with the growth of business. 117 n8 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE to 0 H « m fi . g "J §« 3 < ^ 3 o W H W 2 6 ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD 119 It can be extended and enlarged at will, as extension means little more than duplication of the existing parts: but, in its present condition, it is complete in even- part, and may rightly be con- sidered a finished plant. The organisation and the form and arrangement of the shops and depart- ments contributed largely to the suc- cessful development of the project to introduce electricity in the operation of the plant on a larger scale than had ever before been attempted in shipbuilding. It was determined to depend mainly upon this form of power, and to utilise it in the operation of many machines hitherto driven by compressed air, steam, or hydraulic power. An elab- orate system was. therefore, worked out, providing for the generation, transmis- sion, and distribution of electricity on a large scale and in the most economical manner. As has already been men- tioned, the power house is entirely dis- tinct from the main building, and the joiner shop is likewise entirely isolated; thus, by keeping the steam plant in a separate building, the company has suc- ceeded in removing as completely as possible all danger of fire. All the power used in the works. — compressed air, hydraulic, and electric, — is gener- ated in this power house, and thence transmitted to the several departments for use. The most noteworthy feature of the power house equipment is the electrical plant, and this is particularly interesting because of the unusual character of the apparatus employed. In the selection of the system to be installed, the com- pany' s engineers were governed entirely by the special character of the service to be performed and by the local conditions that had to be met. It had been de- termined to employ direct-current en- closed arc lamps for illuminating the yards and shops, direct-current motors for operating cranes, and alternating- current motors for driving machine tools ; consequently, provision had to be made for generating both direct and alternat- ing currents, and to meet these require- ments double-current generators of the type shown in the view of the power house on page 122 were adopted. They comprise two direct-connected, 500 kilo- watt Westinghouse generators deliver- ing current at 250 volts and 3000 alter- nations, when operated at 120 revolu- tions per minute. These machines resemble standard rotary converters for transforming alter- nating current into direct current or direct current into alternating current, but were modified in this case to be operated by mechanical power as gen- erators, delivering both direct and alter- nating current at the same time, and with very satisfactory results. In ap- pearance these double-end generators resemble direct-current generators, with the exception that collector rings are added. An important feature of these generators is that the proportion of alter- nating and direct current delivered is regulated by the demands upon the ma- chine; thus, when there is a heavy de- mand for alternating current the propor- tion may be five-eighths alternating current and three-eighths direct current: or, when the demand for direct current is greater, the proportion is automati- cally reversed. In the plan of the yards and the ar- rangement of the several departments an elaborate system of electric cranes was devised, including transfer tables, by means of which ic is possible to put all departments in communication, so that from the time the material enters the yards until it leaves them as a part of the ship it is handled entirely by cranes. The material is received on the yard railway, which comprises about six miles of track within the company' s enclosure, practically none of which, however, enter the buildings. A wing of the building is devoted to the unloading of cars, and tracks have been laid in this extension for a distance of 500 feet. Experienced shop managers will appre- ciate the advantage of an arrangement which makes it unnecessary to cut up the floors with tracks, take up valuable space with runways, and obstruct the building with freight cars, besides obviating the inconvenience of hav- ing locomotives enter the buildings. The receiving station for material is 120 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE AN 88-FOOT SPAN GANTRY CRANE, WITH LIFTING MAGNETS FOR HANDLING PLATES ONE OF THE EXTENSION-ARM CRANES the plate storage shed at one end of the yard, and at right angles is the main building, which, under one roof, and that 1 50 feet above the ground, includes the machine shop, boiler shop, blacksmith shop, frame shed, plate shop, general storehouse, brass shop, pipe shop, copper, tin and light plate shop, mould loft, building ways, and outfitting slip. These have a floor space of eight- een acres, and are lighted by four acres of skylights and two acres of window surface. When the cars are unloaded in the wing the material is taken by a twenty-ton gantry crane to the place assigned it, the plates being arranged on end in racks, as shown in the view of the plate shop on the opposite page. As the plates are required they are picked up by the crane and car- ried to the straightening or bending rolls or other tools at the end of the shed. The large gantry crane shown on this page operates in the yard just out- side of the building, and, entering the ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD 121 wing, travels the entire length of the storage plate shed, crossing the end of the boiler, angle, and plate shops. It has a span of 88 feet and a lift of 22 feet. There are two ten-ton trolleys equipped with chain hoists and lifting magnets, and it can span two freight cars length- wise. Each trolley is provided with a 25-horse-power street car motor to lift the full load 20 feet per minute, and a 2-horse-power enclosed crane motor to traverse the trolley along the bridge which is moved alone the runwav bv ployed to lift an engine or boiler bodily from the machine shop and deposit it in a vessel under construction, either on the ways or afloat. The crane has two trolleys, each capable of lifting fifty tons at 8 feet per minute, and each provided with a 50-horse-power street railway motor. The height of the lift is 115 feet, and each load is carried by eight parts of wire rope. Each trolley is traversed in the bridge by a 7 ^-horse- power enclosed crane type motor. The bridge, with its 121-foot span, is carried PLATE RACKS WITH OVERHEAD CRANE SERVICE two 25-horse-power street railway mo- tors operated in series-parallel. This gantry is really a feeder for the exten- sive system of thirty-five electric over- head travelling cranes in the shops, ranging in lifting capacity from 5 to 100 tons and operated by motors aggregat- ing 2000 horse-power. The huge 100-ton crane within the shop is carried on a span of 121 feet and its field of operation covers the machine shop, ways and slip, so that it may be em- upon 24-inch steel-tired bridge wheels in equalising trucks. Two 3 5 -horse- power street railway motors with series- multiple controllers are provided for its travel. Each of the smaller cranes has its own field of operation, and an original type has been installed, which, by means of an extension arm. is able to deliver and receive material from another crane with- out rehandling; in other words, it can reach beyond its ordinary field of oper- 122 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD 123 ations into a parallel field and thus trans- fer material from one field to the other. Cranes in the department handling plates are equipped with powerful lifting electromagnets, controlled by the oper- ator in the cage. The advantage of this arrangement is that instead of having to employ half a dozen labourers to lift the plate, with crowbars while a chain is be- ing slipped underneath and then to go with it to its place of deposit and release the chain by a similar process, only one man is required besides the operator. The latter brings the lifting magnet over the plate, turns on the current, and the plate, which thus becomes the armature of the magnet, can be lifted and carried to any place in the shop, and then in- stantly released by the turning off of the current. Sometimes several plates are picked up at the same time, and the operator by quickly opening and closing the switch can drop them one at a time, the residual magnetism in the lifting magnets holding the plates nearest them. Of course, considerable skill is required on the part of the operator to perform this feat. An interesting part of the crane equipment is found in the extension-arm cranes. By means of the extension arm the crane may be made to pick up a load from an adjoining bay, return the arm with its load to a safe position under its own bridge, and carry the load along the runway without danger of striking any of the runway columns. An im- portant feature of the crane is that when the extension arm is projected, the bridge cannot be traversed along the runway until the arm is drawn back to its saef position. This is accomplished by using the same motor for traversing the bridge and projecting the arm, and having spe- cial clutches to throw out one movement when the other is thrown in. Among the men at the Camden yard the extension-arm cranes are commonly called ' ' rubber necks. ' ' The seven and one-half- ton cranes are of 38 feet 4 inches span, and have a lift of 26 feet. The hoisting is accomplished by a 25-horse- power street railway motor, the trolley is traversed within the bridge by a 7^- horse-power enclosed crane-type motor, and the bridge travel is performed by a similar machine, which, as already ex- plained, is also arranged to operate the extension arm. It was mainly in the adoption of elec- tricity for the operation of all classes of machinery and tools on a more exten- sive scale than had ever before been at- tempted that the New York Shipbuild- ing Company especially departed from the practice of other yards. Instead of confining its electrical equipment to con- ventional lines, it extended its field so as to include practically every form of apparatus employed in the building of a modern ship. Shafting was almost completely eliminated throughout the works. A few of the smaller machines are grouped under the gallery in one end of the machine shop, and some in the joiner shop and tool room, and they are driven from shafting operated by motors, but these are exceptional cases, as will perhaps be better realised when it is stated that there are 312 separate motors employed in driving distinct ma- chines. These motors range from 2 to 50 horse-power, and many of the appli- cations are innovations in shipbuilding practice. It is in the field formerly occupied by steam and hydraulic power that the elec- tric motor has made its most distinct advancement. Hydraulic power often displaces steam power, because the power delivered by a steam engine is necessarily variable through each stroke, while that delivered by the hydraulic ram or press is constant within the limits of its useful range. The steam engine cylinder receives steam during only a portion of its stroke, and for the re- mainder of the stroke the energy deliv- ered to the piston is constantly falling. With the electric motor this variation does not exist, and when the supply service is properly arranged, the motor selected of proper size, and other con- ditions are favourable, the energy deliv- ered by the electric motor is as uniform as that delivered by the hydraulic press, and all danger of the system being crippled on account of frost in the busiest time of the year is eliminated. A glance at the illustration on page 118 I24 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE PLATE BENDING ROLLS BUILT BY MESSRS. BEMENT, MILES & CO., PHILADELPHIA of the main bay of the machine shop and the boiler shop beyond will convince the observer of the wisdom displayed by the management in adopting electricity and eliminating shafting from these works. It leaves the space overhead clear for the operation of cranes, affords much better light and ventilation, and by using sep- arate motors for each machine a more advantageous arrangement in every re- spect is secured. Tools may be placed wherever it is most convenient to handle the work for which they are intended, and the flexibility of the system renders it possible to transfer these tools from one part of the shop to another if neces- sary- ' ;„, _: Throughout the plant Westinghouse polyphase induction motors have been adopted for operating machinery of every description and driving machine tools. Some of these include more than one motor. Many of the larger machine tools, indeed, require two or three motors, as in the case of a boiler shell drill and a large boring mill, both of which are subjects of special illustra- tion on pages 130 to 132. The extent and variety of operations performed by these motors and the con- ditions under which they work make the equipment an unusually interesting one. A few words about the general design of this type of motor and the features ?<f^*^ ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD 125 which commend it particularly for this work may be fittingly introduced here. The motor has two main elements, — the primary, which is directly magnetised by the current supplied from the power circuit, and the secondary, in which low- potential currents are induced by the action of the primary. Rotation is pro- duced by the action between the sec- ondary currents and the rotating field of the primary. The mechanical features of the motor are exceedingly simple, and its electrical elements are likewise free from complications. The stationary part is permanently connected to the main circuits, while the rotating part has no electrical connection whatever with any external circuit, and has no electrical contacts or adjustments. There is no sliding or working friction except that of the shaft in the journals; and the only parts that can wear, therefore, are the angle, and they may be put in out-of- the-way, almost inaccessible, places; in fact, they are often purposely put out of reach of workmen who are not familiar with their construction, but who, through curiosity, might fct tinker " with them, and thus damage them. End brackets, which are parts of these mo- tors, may be bolted to the frame in eight different positions, and the oil chambers id the brackets will still be in the proper position whether the frame is bolted to the floor, the wall, the ceiling, or at an angle of forty- five degrees. The only attention and care required by these motors consist chiefly in an occasional renewal of oil; they are thus especially desirable for continuous service over long periods of time without expert at- tendance. Motors of this type, in the sizes used in this plant, may be started by connect- A BORING, MILLING, AND DRILLING MACHINE shaft and journal boxes. The friction in these is very light, owing to the light weight of the rotating p^irt and the am- ple bearing surfaces provided. Self- oiling bearings afford liberal lubrica- tion. The motors may be suspended at any ing them directly to the circuit with an ordinary switch, but the larger motors are generally started on reduced volt- ages by a special double-throw switch, the full electromotive force not being applied until the motors have attained their normal speed. The starting de- 126 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE AN ANGLE SHEAR BUILT BY THE LONG & ALLSTATTER CO., HAMILTON, OHIO vice may be remote from the motor, and this is often the case in places where there are inflammable gases, as well as when the motors are suspended from ceilings or installed in places not easily accessible, as in the installation under consideration. It would be impossible within the limits of this article to describe in detail all of the applications in which these motors are employed, but a few of the more important and interesting combina- tions are illustrated, and they will serve as examples of their respective classes. The plate room contains several inter- esting applications. At one side is a flanging machine. The deck and bulk- head plates are taken from the laying- off tables to the joggling rolls, which bend the edges, so that wherever lapped they present plane surfaces. There is also in use in this part of the works a scarfing machine to plane off the plates to a feather edge. Beyond these are punches , shears, drills, and other tools. There are rotary shears and a 6o-inch guillotine shear, on which a 50-horse-power motor has been installed to replace the steam engine with which it was originally equipped. Two 30-foot planers are used for plan- ing the calking edges of plates. Sev- ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD 127 ONE OF THE MOTOR- DRIVEN PUNCHES cral small punches for brackets and in- tercostals are operated at the lower end of the shop; also a horizontal punch, and a combined punch and shears which can be used for cutting limber holes. There is also a notching machine and two 6-inch radial drills. At the lower end of the shed are two rolls, one of which can handle a plate 27 feet wide; the other is used for rolling mast plates. In the angle shop, as in the plate room, the tools used are of the latest de- sign for handling every class of work. Among them are channel and I-beam shears; two cold saws, one mounted on •a turn-table for cutting at any angle; punches for punching straight beams; a portable punch and countersinking press and angle shears mounted on a turn- table. The main floor of the machine shop contains probably the largest and most complete equipment of tools of all sizes for this class of work to be found in any shipbuilding plant in the world. There are so many large machines on this floor that they lose the distinction they would have in smaller plants. Among the most notable are a 16-foot vertical boring mill fitted with three boring arms, two for use when the work is revolving and one when it is station- 128 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A "COMBINATION COLD SAW BUILT BY THE NEWTON MACHINE TOOL WORKS, PHILADELPHIA ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD 1 29 ary; and a large drilling, boring, and milling machine with 8-inch spindle, equipped with steel scales and verniers for placing the work on the table and measuring it in each direction. There are two band-saws for cutting steel, such as eccentric straps, built by Messrs. Noble & Lund, Ltd., a British firm, of Newcastle. There are further a 72- inch open-side planer that will take a piece 28 feet wide; a 96-inch planer which will take work 36 feet wide; two double-headed lathes, one 48 inches and the other 63 inches, each 60 feet long, and a large array of other tools, each driven by its own motor. There is a very complete electrical repair shop in the east gallery, equipped with lathes, planers, drill presses and small tools, such as are generally found in repair shops, all electrically driven. Another shop in the west gallery is thor- oughly equipped with pipe-cutting and threading machines, lathes, drill presses, and grinding machines, all likewise driven by motors. The boiler shop naturally contains many heavy tools. The plates are first rolled in the straightening machines which are all operated by electric mo- tors, and are then put through the sev- eral processes for which they have to be heated. The shell plates are put through a vertical ten -foot roll, capable of hand- ling plates 1% inches thick. There is a 2 8 -foot planing machine, and an elliptical and circular boring machine. The plates are finally mounted on a multiple vertical boiler shell drill, designed by Mr. Henry G. Morse and built in these shops. Among other tools in this shop are four 6-foot radial drills, two shears for trimming 1 V2, -inch plates, bending rolls, horizon- tal punches, and countersinking ma- chines. The joiner shop, a two-story structure, located on the water front, is a model plant in every respect. It is equipped throughout with saws of various kinds, mortising and drilling machines, match- ing machines and planers. Each ma- chine is independently driven, except some of the smaller tools, which are driven in groups. On the second story 2 3 are benches for the lighter class of work. At one end of the floor is a separate room for grinding the saws and knives used in this shop. In selecting subjects for illustration among the machines installed in this plant the attempt was made to present types that would offer valuable sugges- tions to shop managers, as well as novel equipments designed to meet special conditions. These applications cover a wide field of operations, and may be studied with profit by managers of works of this class. Plate - bending, straightening, and flanging rolls form an important part of the equipment of every shipbuilding plant, and in this installation an excellent opportunity for utilising electric motors directly connected, geared and belted to this class of tools was presented. One of the most conspicuous features of the boiler shop is an equipment comprising large, vertical plate-bending rolls, driven by two motors of 50 horse-power each. These rolls were built by Messrs. Be- ment, Miles & Co., of Philadelphia, and are capable of handling the largest boiler plates used in these shops. The Hilles & Jones Company, of Wilmington, Del., furnished six hori- zontal roll equipments of various sizes, all motor-driven. One set of six 14-inch diameter plate-straightening rolls, 10 feet 2 inches between the housings, was designed for steam driving, but a motor was attached by the New York Ship- building Company, and the change has proved beneficial. Another set of the same general design is furnished with six 10-inch diameter rolls, 7 feet 2 inches between the housings. One set of plate- bending and flanging rolls, 27 feet 2 inches between the housings, with a top roll 27 inches in diameter, and the lower rolls each 20 inches in diameter, has a capacity equal to bending i^-inch plates the full width, or flange y2 -inch plates 20 feet wide. A 50-horse-power motor drives the lower rolls, which are geared by means of cast-steel pinions. The top roll is raised and lowered by a smaller motor placed underneath the lower rolls. Another set of plate-bend- ing rolls, 7 feet 2 inches between hous- 130 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE MULTIPLE SPINDLE BOILER SHELL DRILLING MACHINE, BUILT BY THE NEW YORK SHIPBUILDING COMPANY FOR ITS OWN USE ings, with top roll 8 inches in diameter and bottom rolls 6}4, inches in diameter, is used for light work. Several heavy plate planers are in service. These will plane plates 30 feet long at one setting, and any greater length by shifting the plate. Each ma- chine is driven by a 20-horse-power motor attached at the end of the clamp- ing beam. The motor is belted directly to the driving pulley on the machine, and special friction clutches are provided for reversing. A valuable feature of this equipment is that the machine may be reversed by the operator, or it may be set to reverse automatically at any point desired. The slide rest carries a turn- over tool-holder for planing in both di- rections with the same tool. The tool- holder is also arranged to swivel for planing bevels, and has a vertical ad- justment for planing high angles. The machine is provided with a series of pneumatic clamping jacks which may be operated all together, independently, or in groups, as desired. In an installation of this kind, as might be expected, a large number and variety of punches are used. Several of these are operated by electric motors with sat- isfactory results. The Hilles & Jones Company have furnished one vertical and three horizontal punches, all elec- trically operated. ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD *3i Of the horizontal punches two are of the type in which the punch stock is controlled by a hand gag, and the slid- ing head is running at all times when the motor is in operation. The throat depth is 1 1 Yz inches, and the tool has a capacity equal to punching i^-inch holes through material 1^ inches in thickness. The other horizontal punch has a 11^ -inch throat, and a capacity equal driving directly on the fly-wheel. These machines are operated at a speed of sixty strokes per minute. They are provided with an automatic clutch for starting and stopping the sliding head, and this clutch is operated by a foot lever, bringing the punch under perfect control, in spite of the high speed at which it is operated. Another interesting application of electric power is found in a 100-ton punch which was built by the New York ANOTHER VIEW7 OF THE MACHINE OPPOSITE, SHOWING A BOILER SHELL IN POSITION FOR DRILLING to punching a 1 1 -16-inch hole in a 1 -inch plate. Driving this punch is a motor with its pinion keyed directly to the eccentric shaft. The same com- pany also furnished a rapid-action punch, with 30-inch throat, arranged for belt- Shipbuilding Company. It is driven by a 5-horse-power motor. This machine illustrates the possibilities of electric motors operating heavy tools! when properly designed, and belongs to^a class of apparatus formerly considered entirely T32 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A 16-FOOT BORING MILL BUILT BY THE NILES TOOL WORKS CO., HAMILTON, OHIO out of the electrical held; but by utilis- ing the momentum of the fly-wheel in this combination a comparatively small motor does the work in a most satisfac- tory manner. In the line of shearing and notching machines, an excellent example of mo- tor-driving is illustrated on page 126. These machines are designed to shear right and left-hand angles, to cut them off square, or at any angle up to forty-five degrees. When mounted on turn- tables, as in the present case, these ma- chines can be turned around from side to side and made to face in any direction to avoid handling and turning the bars. The machine shown will shear 6 by 6 by 1 inch, right or left-hand angles; it is double-geared, mounted on a turn-table, driven by an electric motor, and is also provided with a friction clutch so that the motor can be run up to full speed before starting the machine. Universal shears or plate-splitting and cross-cutting shears, with capacity to cut 1 -inch plate, are used for cutting plates, angles and bars. The lower blade is adjustable to and from the upper blade, so as to make the proper allow- ance for different thicknesses of material to be cut. An interesting combination is found in the machines for cutting notches, 4 inches by 6% inches, in channels. ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD i33 These tools are turreted, so that they can be revolved, and a notch can thus be cut at any angle, without changing the position of the work. These shear- ing and notching machines were built by the Long & Allstatter Company, of Hamilton, Ohio, who also furnished a smaller angle-iron shear equipment, and is now completing a large motor-driven punching machine. Probably the most interesting machine in the boiler shop is the four-spindle boiler- shell drill previously referred to and shown on pages 1 30 and 131. This machine has three columns, each of which has a saddle with four drill spindles arranged so that three drills on each saddle can be placed in either a horizon- tal or vertical plane. This machine will handle boilers up to 20 feet diameter, and 20 feet length. The details of the machine and the application are shown in the illustrations, one view represent- ing a boiler secured in place. About it are three drill heads, each containing four spindles, which can be operated at the same time. They are adjustable in all directions. Twelve holes can thus be drilled radially at the same time, and then the drill heads can be shifted to drill twelve more holes about the periphery. Three 10-horse-power mo- tors are employed on this machine. The largest lathes in the shop are two of the double-head type, made by Messrs. Bement, Miles & Co., one 48 inches by 60 feet, and the other 63 inches by 60 feet. They are capable of handling the largest pieces of work in these shops. Several motors are used on each of these tools, one having a 7^ horse-power and a to horse-power, and the other requir- ing one 5 horse-power, one 10 horse- power, and one 20 horse-power. The motors are mounted on adjustable brackets attached to headstocks and belted to cones on the machines for ob- taining speed variations. Power tra- verse by motor is provided for the car- riages on the lathes. Two types of cold-saw cutting-off ma- chines are employed — one for cutting bars and the other especially adapted for I-beams. The combination cold- saw shown on page 128 is an interesting application. It comprises a saw 26 inches in diameter, and has a capacity on top of the table 7 inches by 24 inches, and for I-beams on a square or mitre cut on the bottom table, 1 5 inches. The machine is driven by a direct-coupled 7 y2 -horse-power motor, and is revolved on the round bed b) means of a small motor. The bar cold-saw cutting-off machine employs a 24-inch saw, and has a capacity for 7 -inch round bars and 6-inch square bars. A7/2 -horse-power motor furnishes power for driving this machine. Among the larger tools that attract special attention is a 7 2 -inch open-side planer made by the Detrick & Harvey Machine Company, of Baltimore, Md. It is the largest tool of this pattern that has ever been made. It is designed to plane a surface 72 inches wide, 72 inches high, and 28 feet long, and it will take under the beam a piece of work slightly larger than the vertical dimensions given. The supplemental rolling table with which this machine is equipped is a very valuable attachment when large pieces are handled. It is shown at the side in the illustration on page 134. When in use, this table moves simultaneously with the planer platen, and requires very little additional power. It forms the outer support for wide and heavy work, and for long pieces when planing off the ends. A 96-inch planing machine, 36 feet long, weighing 174,000 pounds, belt- driven from an electric motor, was built by the Betts Machine Company from special plans of the New York Ship- building Company for this plant. A 30-horse-power motor furnishes power for this tool. The boring mill shown on page 132 swings 16 feet in diameter, and takes 90 inches under the tools, permitting the bar to travel 48 inches. The tool is fitted with three boring arms, two for use when the work is revolving, and one for use when the work is stationary. The rim of the table runs in a groove cut in the bed and flooded with oil. The table spindle is very long and has a taper bush at the top for taking up wear; the 34 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A HEAVY OPEN-SIDE PLANER BUILT BY THE DETRICK & HARVEY MACHINE CO., BALTIMORE, MD. lower step runs in oil, and is supported by a heavy conical casting extending down from the bed. There is a wedge with screw adjustment for raising the table slightly off the annular bearing when at high speed. The driving cone is large and strongly back-geared, giv- ing ample power. It is placed at the left side, within easy reach of the oper- ator. The feeds are driven by a large, high-speed friction disk, which allows instant adjustment throughout its range while running. The gearing at the end of the rail gives an additional range of feed and allows the independent reversal of all the feeds by sliding the slip gears on the rods and screws. Three motors are employed in operating this machine. They are of 3, 5, and 10-horse- power capacity, respectively. The Niles Tool Works Company, who built this machine, also furnished several smaller tools of the same general class, including a 51 -inch and an 8-foot boring and turning mill. Another equipment furnished by the same com- pany is a heavy 18-inch shaping ma- chine. The 6-foot radial drill shown on page 135 is belt-driven, a 3-horse-power mo- tor being placed at the base of the ma- chine. The traverse of the saddle on the swinging arm, and of the spindle, which is counterbalanced, is by means of rack and pinion so placed that work- men can operate both and swing the arm at the same time to bring the drill to the work. The belt is applied to a pulley locked to the spindle. The back gears are arranged the same as on a lathe and ELECTRICITY IN A MODERN SHIPYARD i35 are as readily thrown in or out. Thus, for ordinary drilling, the smooth motion given by a belt is obtained, and for heavy drilling the power obtained by the use of back gears is applied directly to the spindle, in place of being trans- mitted through shafts and several pairs of bevel gears. The machine was built bv the Pond Machine Tool Works, of Plainneld, N. J. Two drills of the horizontal type, capable of drilling at any angle, boring, and milling, and provided with universal inches or more if desired. It may be arranged for drilling and boring only, the column having a hand and quick power movement, but automatic feeds may be attached for milling when re- quired. To the other portion of the bed-plate is fitted the universal table, which is very strong and capable of handling work of several tons. This table has a sliding movement of 30 inches to and from the column, being operated by a rack and pinion. The top, which is 48 inches by 36 inches, A RADIAL DRILL BUILT BY THE POND MACHINE TOOL CO., PLAINFIELD, N. J. tables, were furnished by the Detrick & Harvey Machine Company, for hand- ling general machine work. These ma- chines are capable of performing nine distinct operations with one chucking, and are said to be as efficient and satis- factory in each of these as separate tools would be. Each machine consists of a bed-plate, on the main portion of which is fitted a column with a traverse of 40 has a pivoted movement from a hori- zontal to a vertical plane, and can be rigidly clamped at any angle. It also has a rotary movement, which makes it possible to drill holes in any part of a hemisphere or in five sides of a cube without re-chucking the work. When extra large work is being machined the table can be lifted off the bed-plate. When used for boring, an outside sup- 136 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE port for the bar is furnished, which can be used either with or without the uni- versal table. Power is furnished by a motor at the base of the machine, one tool requiring 5 horse-power and the other 3 horse-power. The boring, drilling and milling ma- chine shown on page 125 has a spindle 8 inches in diameter. The boring head carrying this spindle has a vertical travel upon the upright of 10 feet, and the main upright has a horizontal travel along its bed of 22 feet. All movements are made by power controlled by the operator when standing on the platform attached to the boring head. The plat- form travels with the boring head, so that the operator is in the same relative position to the boring head at all times. The machine is driven by a 10-horse- power motor, with a special service switch to vary the speed. A heavy outboard support is also provided, the bearing of which has a vertical adjust- ment corresponding to the vertical ad- justment of the main spindle. The ad- justment of the bearing is made by a 2-horse-power motor. There is an ad- justable work-table upon the cross bed which carries the outboard support. This is operated by a 3^ -horse-power motor. Another tool worth noting is a special duplex milling machine, built by the Newton Machine Tool Works, of Phila- delphia, driven by a 10-horse-power motor. This machine is provided with two heads, carrying spindles 5 inches in diameter. The maximum distance be- tween the ends of the spindles is 42 inches, and the minimum distance 9}^ inches. In addition to the separate motor- driven machine equipments mentioned, electric motors are used throughout the works for many other purposes, such, for instance, as operating the heating, ventilating, and blowing systems. In the power house a 5-horse-power motor is connected with a Green economiser, and a 40-horse-power motor drives the exciter for the generators. Two and five-horse-power motors operate venti- lators. The shavings exhaust system in the joiner shop is operated by two mo- tors, one of 30 horse-power and one of 50 horse-power, and one 20 and one 30-horse-power equipment are installed for the blower system. Shafting in the machine shop and the joiner shop is driven by motors of 5, 7^, 10, 15, and 20 horse-power capacity. The ultimate point to which all these operations are directed is the completed ship, and this, like everything else about the plant, remains under cover until it is entirely finished, furnished, tested and ready to start into service. The as- sembling of parts and installation of ma- chinery are completed on the ways and outfitting slips, and this department of the plant is the destination of every bolt and nut, every bar and plate that comes into the shop to be handled, formed or finished by the machinery and appliances already described. The launching ways are at the end of the piate and frame shops, and are di- rectly opposite the machine shop. The height of this portion of the building above the water is 125 feet, and the depth of the water in the slip is 30 feet at low tide. Eight launching ways have been constructed and each will accom- modate a ship 650 feet long. A 100-ton crane travels over all the launching ways and the outfitting slip. It can pick up a completed engine or a boiler weighing 100 tons and deliver it on board a ship on any of the ways or in the slip. The lighter engines will be transferred bod- ily; those weighing more than 100 tons will be partly dismantled for removal to the ship. Two cranes of ten tons each and one crane of five tons travel over each of the launching ways and the out- fitting slip. Taking everything into consideration, the plant may be considered a model installation. CHEMISTRY IN ENGINEERING Ey William McMurtrie, E. M., Ph. D. THE service rendered by chemistry in every department of human activity has long been acknowl- edged and its relations to engineering have become so intimate that the repre- sentatives of each must go hand-in-hand in much, if not all, of the work of both. Indeed, the difference between the func- tions of the two are comparatively nar- row, for, as it is hard to find the divid- ing line between chemistry and physics, so the boundary separating chemistry as applied to human needs and engineering as practised in the present age must be more or less obscured. For the func- tion of the chemist thus considered is the application of chemical laws; the function of the engineer similarly consid- ered is the application of physical laws. Yet the chemist would be at loss with- out the aid of physical laws, even as the engineer would be sadly crippled in many ways without the very efficient aid of chemical laws. In many cases they must be repre- sented in the same person. The mov- ing spirit of many a great enterprise must be at the same time chemist and engineer, for while it is the function of the chemist to determine the work to be done and the end to be accomplished, the function of the engineer is to devise the physical means whereby the end sought may be attained with the great- est economy. Many of the great indus- tries are, after all, only the methods and processes of the research laboratory grown large. While in the latter the work is prosecuted with small quantities of material, in small containers, and with small apparatus, the same principles are applied in the great chemical works in the treatment of very large quantities of material in enormous containers and with apparatus and machinery involving the use of great power. If it be considered the function of the engineer to devise and erect the great structures and generate and apply the power needed to carry out the necessary operations, all this must be done in ac- cordance with the requirements of the chemist and in many cases under his direction. The analytical and research laboratories apply the laws of chemistry in a small way, while the great industries apply the same laws in a large way, and in modern practice the same attention to detail must be given and the same de- gree of accuracy must be attained. In a very large measure the differences between the two may fitly be expressed by the terms ' ' micro-chemistry ' ' and " macro-chemistry," respectively. In the first, the operations are carried on without regard to the expense involved in the attainment of the end sought, while in the second, as in all engineering works, this becomes all-important. And whether this is to be attained by the chemist alone or by the engineer alone the functions of each must be exercised, the skill of both be invoked. And so in these latter days, in the institutions i37 138 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE of higher education, in the great profes- sional schools and the universities special courses of study have been arranged to meet the requirements here indicated, and leading to the degree of chemical engineer. But all this applies particularly to the operation of the great industries, chemi- cal and metallurgical, so rapidly devel- oping to such enormous dimensions in all civilised countries. Analytical and research laboratories have become abso- lutely indispensable to the maintenance of the highest economy in operation and the utilisation of products otherwise waste. The management of such labor- atories must be delegated to chemists of the most thorough education and train- ing, and it is by the application of their studies that in many of the great indus- tries waste and worthless substances have been made the sources of great profit. The application of the combined func- tions of the chemist and engineer is illus- trated in very many industries. Atten- tion need simply be called to the manu- facture of acids and alkalies, the great soap works, sugar refineries, distilleries, starch and glucose works, operating daily upon millions of pounds of material in the raw state, when only a few years ago a few thousand pounds were con- sidered large quantities to be treated. It is not long since the utilisation of 400 to 500 tons of roots was considered to be the maximum economical limit of the beet sugar factory; now 3000 to 4000 tons are handled with readiness in a single factory; 2000 to 3000 bushels of corn consumed in a starch or glucose factory were once considered a fairly large daily capacity, and now these fig- ures must be multiplied by more than ten; a few hundred pounds operated upon in a single charge constituted the old-fashioned soap boiling; now hun- dreds of thousands of pounds constitute the single charge in some of the most modern works. The soda industry has grown to such dimensions that the quan- tities handled to-day would seem fabu- lous to the operators of a quarter of a century ago, while the auxiliary indus- tries, which must be carried along with it to furnish supplies necessary to it, — lime, carbonic acid, ammonia, and others, — would have been dignified by designations of individual industries a few years ago. What is true of the quantity of ma- terials to be handled and treated is like- wise true of the purity of the resulting products. Acids must be of the highest purity, free from everything which may in any way interfere with the substances to the production of which they may be accessory, and impurities must be re- duced to parts per million. Chemicals, such as copper sulphate, potassium bitartrate, the cyanides, and other crys- tallised compounds, are turned out from the works in batches of several tons each, with a purity not excelled by the synthetic preparations of the research and synthetic laboratories. To handle the large quantities of material re- quired, the engineer must provide the means, and for control of the operations to secure the high degree of purity re- quired by modern demands, the func- tions of the chemist must be invoked. And what is true of the particular in- dustries here named applies likewise to many others. But, after all, we want to consider here the relation of the chemist to the specific function of the engineer. Con- sidered broadly, it covers the produc- tion, control, and direction of force, the facilitation of motion, the utilisation of power. It embraces the means whereby these great ends are to be attained. It embraces the production of energy, the conservation of energy, and the direc- tion of energy. And these three cover the work of the engineer immediately or remotely in whatever position he may find himself. It is to the relations of the chemist to these functions of the engineer that the present discussion shall be mainly devoted. For the engineer, the production of energy includes the utilisation of natural forces and the application of heat vari- ously generated. The most important natural force available is gravity and its most familiar exponent is the waterfall, and it is the duty of the engineer to conserve and direct the energy potential CHEMISTRY IN ENGINEERING 139 in it. We shall not attempt to discuss the relation of the chemical action in the sun to the heat which carries water to the elevations descending from which it becomes a source of power. That chem- ical action, at least, does not involve the intervention of human agencies; but we might very properly consider the remote influence of the sun's energy, light, and heat, stored up in fuel, vegetable, and mineral, recent and fossil, which, after all, in the world's work, is the most im- portant source of power. In the space at command we may not enter too much into detail in the devel- opment of this thought. Chemical synthesis in vegetation and chemical decomposition or analysis effected by geologic action in the earth, producing the various forms of fuel, — coal, oil, and gas, — constitute special fields of study of entrancing interest. But it is in the study of the products of this synthesis and analysis that the work of the chem- ist not only assists and supplements, but in many particulars prepares the way for the work of the engineer. What are the constituents of these products which are of importance to the engineer, and how many units of heat will each con- stituent develop when combining with oxygen in combustion ? What are the impurities present in the crude products which may, in one way or another, in- terfere with their perfect work ? It re- mains for the chemist to answer all these questions in the analytical and research laboratories, and the balance and the calorimeter are his most valuable aids. Furthermore, after the chemist has determined the composition and value of these crude natural fuels he must also determine how they must be prepared for ultimate utilisation. The forms of coal may, in many, if not in most cases, be used directly after the mechanical preparation carried on at the mine; but it frequently happens that these forms are not suited to prevailing exigencies, and destructive distillation in coking establishments and in the gas works, and fractional distillation of oil in the refineries become the means necessary to the end in view. Fuel which is too soft for the great load put upon it in the enormous metallurgical fur- naces of this era must be subject to destructive distillation in the coke oven, producing coke on the one hand and gas on the other, which may, re- spectively, be applied as needed. And modern practice and modern necessities require the greatest economy, which, in turn, involves the recovery and utilisa- tion of the volatile liquid products of this destructive distillation. It is in cases like this that the chemist and engineer must work together and in harmony; the chemist to indicate the operations to be carried out, the engineer to devise means for effecting this in a large way. It is this co-operation which has been so effective in illustrating the wasteful- ness of the long-used beehive coke oven, and has shown the enormous economies to be secured in the substitu- tion of the by-product recovery ovens now rapidly being introduced. While the engineer cares for the great masonry and other construction neces- sary to effective operation, the means for transporting, handling, and storing the crude and finished products, the chemist controls the conditions neces- sary to the effective operation and the quality and utilisation of finished and by-products. The finished products, — coke and gas, — are of special interest to the engineer, while the tar and other liquid distillation products lead to in- dustries of more particular interest to the chemist, — the manufacture of am- monia, of cyanides, antiseptics, and dyes. All this applies equally well to the modern distillation of wood, in which charcoal, formerly the principal product, has become almost a by-product, while the gaseous and liquid distillation prod- ucts, which, in the old methods, were consumed by burning or were allowed to go to waste in the air, have become, in many respects, the principal products. The fractional distillation of crude mineral oil and the consequent separa- tion of its constituents, the good from the bad, the pure from the impure, the useful from the more or less useless, — for in these days none is absolutely use- less,— are no less important. In this 140 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE industry the enormous quantities of ma- terial treated in a single operation make such calls upon the functions of the en- gineer that co-operation is necessary whether it be represented in two per- sons or be combined in a single individual. And when the fuels have been pre- pared for use in the production of heat and light their study in the chemical laboratory constitutes a control neces- sary to every well-ordered engineering plant, for whether the fuel shall be used in the generation of steam for power or whether the gas shall be used for the production of light or the development of power in the gas engine, its chemical composition, but more particularly that of the products of its combustion under the conditions prevailing, are of prime importance, and few, if any, power plants, well organised and of the high- est efficiency, lack the aid of a com- petent chemist with all the appliances for effective work. He must determine whether the fuel used is of a composition to correspond with that specified, and, by repeated analysis of products of com- bustion, determine that everything avail- able has been consumed in such a way as to secure all the energy obtainable. It is only by such means that the highest economy can be assured. It is interesting to know that when one visits some of the great power plants recently erected for generating power for electric tramway service not the least important parts of them are the well-equipped chemical laboratories for the study of every question connected with the generation of power. What has been said regarding the preparation and utilisation of fuel for the production of power so closely relates to the requirements for the production of gas for light that the latter need not be separately discussed. The modern gas- light plant, usually of enormous dimen- sions, is simply one huge chemical laboratory, and the ramifications of the chemist's work therein is a fit subject for separate interesting discussion. In the conservation of energy the in- tervention of the chemist is little less im- portant. Attention has already been called to the importance of the composi- tion of gas to be used for generation of power in the gas engine; but notwith- standing the high efficiency of this agency the most important means thus far devised for the generation of power is through the production of steam, or the transfer of the energy developed in the combustion of fuel to water and its vapour. The highest economy and efficiency in this transfer of heat energy to water require that the water em- ployed shall be free from mineral constit- uents, which, on the one hand, separat- ing and becoming deposited upon heat- ing surface, may interfere with the proper and ready transfer of heat, and, on the other hand, may injuriously affect the material of the boiler in which steam is generated. Careful chemical study of water supplies has been of enormous advantage to the engineer, showing him what to accept and what to avoid in filling his needs in this par- ticular. And if, as unfortunately so fre- quently happens, no choice is left, and water charged heavily with troublesome and injurious impurities must be em- ployed, it becomes an important and often difficult problem to devise means for removing these impurities or for neutralising their injurious effects. So waters containing carbonates and sulphates may become destructive of economy by depositing upon heating surfaces crystalline scale which impairs the transmission of heat, and thus to a corresponding degree reduces the effec- tive heating surface in the steam gener- ator; or waters containing chlorides be- come troublesome because of their cor- rosive action upon the metal of the generator. Waters must, therefore, be subject to study by chemical analysis to determine the quantity and quality of the mineral constituents they contain, and subject also to experimental study to determine the means whereby the difficulties inherent in them may be ameliorated or removed. When the solution of this problem has been effected, the means for han- dling, treating, and storing the large vol- umes of water to be treated rest with the engineer, or the chemist must in this CHEMISTRY IN ENGINEERING 141 case be his own engineer and work out the details of construction for himself. Conservation of energy in the steam generator has been, until recent years, the most important of all in any way of interest from a chemical standpoint. But in this age of electricity, with its new means of transfer of energy, the storage battery has come to be of enormous importance in the conserva- tion of energy, and its very existence and functions depend solely upon chemical reaction. The comparatively simple device of its great inventor, Faure, failed to meet the hard condi- tions of actual use, and the commercial needs, stimulting the chemist's and me- chanic's skill, have brought forth the modified and excellent forms of bat- tery of the present day. In the direction of energy the function of the engineer has far wider range than in either of the two divisions thus far discussed. It further engages the at- tention of the mechanical and electrical engineers, but it likewise covers the work of the civil and the architectural engineers. The field of operation is, therefore, extended not only to the con- struction and operation of machines for direction of energy, — the transmission of power, — but as well to the provision of the great structures which constitute the monumental evidence of the skill of the civil and architectural engineer. For while it is the function of the mechanical engineer to reduce resistance to energy applied to machines, it is the function of the civil engineer in many ways to pro- vide effective resistance to the potential energy resident in large masses of ma- terial to be supported in structures erected for various uses. Resistance in transmission may be re- duced in various ways, and in all cases such reduction depends upon reduction of friction. This may be accomplished, or, at least, facilitated by different means, most important of which is the provision of bearings of proper physical condition. This depends largely upon chemical composition, and, in addition thereto, on the use of proper lubricants. It rests with the chemist to determine what com- bination or composition of metals is best suited to the purpose indicated and sim- ilarly what combination of oils, — vege- table, animal, and mineral, — soaps, and other substances best meet the demand. Earnest effort is constantly being de- voted to the production of anti-friction metals and of lubricants, and while the aid of the chemist is needed to build up these substances, it must likewise be in- voked to detect imposition of fraudulent and adulterated materials upon the inex- perienced and uneducated. The chemical study of the materials of engineering has always been impor- tant and interesting, and the importance of this study grows with the years. In structural materials we have mortars and cements, iron, steel, and other metals, and timber, the compositions of the best forms to insure greatest strength, as well as the deteriorations which these may suffer under atmospheric and other agencies, the substances which may, and do, prevent such deteriorations, — paints, oils, varnishes for metals, — the protective ingredients and coatings and all that goes with them. All these have had their share of attention, and it is particularly stimulated at the present time when so much discussion is being devoted to the longevity of the metal framework of tall buildings and long bridge spans. Such attention from the chemical side is always of benefit to the engineering side. How important chemistry is to engi- neering work is well illustrated in the attention given to the matter by some of the great railway systems. The value of chemical aids to the engineer was probably first recognised by the Penn- sylvania Railroad, in the United States, and the systems of study of engineering problems in the chemical laboratory de- veloped by the distinguished chemist of that railway, Dr. C. B. Dudley, have had world-wide recognition. His work has grown to such dimensions that in his well-equipped laboratory twelve educated chemists are kept constantly busy. In a private communication Dr. Dudley says: — ' ' The work done in a year involves about 35,000 determinations. * * * * It is difficult to give the total money 142 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE value of the contracts represented in the testing of material, but it is safely three to four millions per year. * * * * We have twenty purely chemical specifica- tions and eight chemical and physical specifications. A specification once pre- pared, is made by the purchasing agent a part of the contract on which materials are bought, and it then becomes the duty of the testing department to see that materials conform to the specifica • tion. This provides about two-thirds of the work. * * * * Also the demands of the country require progress in many matters, notably car ventilation, car heating, car lighting, disinfection, etc. A large amount of work is done in water analysis and coal analysis. Railroads are asked to carry dangerous materials, explosives, combustible materials, and the testing department must study rules and regulations whereby such materials may be safely transported. ' ' Not once, but a good many times, on issue of a specification, we have found that manufacturers did not very well understand their own product, and they were forced to study not only their prod- ucts, but their methods, so that in real- ity we put a good deal of pressure to- ward progress in manufactures. ' ' So Mr. C. P. Van Gundy, of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; Mr. S. S. Voorhees, of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad; Mr. Max Wickhorst, of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, as well as the chemists of many other railways, direct work similar to that of Dr. Dudley and his corps of assistants, and follow, in a large measure, the systems he has de- veloped. From the annual report of the labor- atory of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company, kindly fur- nished by Mr. F. M. Clark, Superin- tendent of Motive Power of the road, it is learned that in that laboratory there were tested during the year, among other things, and in numbers stated, samples of the following materials: — Axles, 13,259; cement, 171; copper, 34; iron, various kinds, 500; lead, 12; oil, 17; phosphor-bronze, 28; soda-ash, 2; steel, various kinds, 1863; coal, 33; glycerine, 2; glue, 2; limestone, 1; lye, 5; oils, 11; paints, 24; waters, 46. These data illustrate, in a measure, the wide range of materials to be studied, and this list does not include studies constantly being made in preservation of wood used in structures and in the ground against fire and decay, respect- ively. It would be impossible even to touch upon many of the more important appli- cations of chemistry in engineering work, and certainly out of the question to dis- cuss them in detail. Before leaving the subject, however, attention should be called to the work of the chemist in municipal engineering. In the great cities, and even in the small towns, the problems of street construction, care and repair, of water supply and disposal of sewage, the lighting of streets, and heat- ing and ventilating of buildings, and many other problems all require the in- tervention of chemistry in their solution. The leading cities of the Old World have established well-organised and equipped municipal laboratories in which the chemical work of all the municipal departments and boards is cared for. All that the railway must do and much more must be provided in the great cities. The quality of materials of en- gineering used in city works must be studied and inspected, specifications provided, problems worked out, and the time cannot be far distant when the use- fulness of the chemist's aid in most, if not all, lines of engineering work will be universally recognised. THE USE OF ALCOHOL IN GERMANY FOR HEAT, LIGHT, AND POWER By Frank H. Mason A MOST interesting and suggestive special exposition, held at Berlin last February and March, was that of the German alcohol industry. It was located in a large group of buildings erected for exhibition purposes by the National Brewers' Association in a northern suburb of Berlin, and, although remote from the business portion of the city, it attracted a large attendance, mainly of persons more or less directly concerned with the production or with of development which gave to the recent exposition a suggestive meaning for agricultural and industral economists in other countries. Germany has no natural-gas wells or native petroleum supply. When, some years ago, the question of adopting motor carriages for military purposes was under discussion, it was remarked by the officials of the War Department that kerosene and gasoline engines could be operated only with one or other of the products of A RACING AUTOMOBILE DRIVEN BY AN ALCOHOL MOTOR one or more of the many and rapidly increasing uses of alcohol for domestic and industrial purposes. In a Consular Report submitted to the United States Government at the time by the writer, it was explained that for several controlling reasons this whole subject has reached in Germany a stage petroleum, which is not obtained in Ger- many, and the supply of which might, in case of war, be wholly cut off. But the broad, sandy plains of northern and central Germany, — in fact, all agricult- ural districts of the Empire, — produce in ordinary years cheap and abundant crops of potatoes, from which alcohol is i43 144 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE HEAT, LIGHT, AND POWER FROM ALCOHOL i45 easily manufactured, by processes so simple as to be within the capacity of every farmer. The crude molasses left as a refuse product of the raw beet-sugar manufac- ture contains from 40 to 50 per cent, of sugar which cannot be crystallised, and this can also be utilised as a material for the production of alcohol. Under these conditions " spiritus," as it is known in Germany, became one of the standard liters (30,624,000 gallons) of dena- turised alcohol, on which no tax was paid. As a concrete result of these con- ditions, and the pre-eminence of the Germans in every form of applied chem- istry, the recent exposition was typical, and fairly represented the highest results yet attained in the production and utili- sation of alcohol. As such, it supple- mented and largely amplified in scope the special exposition of spirit engines A MILITARY MOTOR WAGGON. SPIRIT " ENGINE HERE, TOO, FURNISHES THE POWER and important products of agriculture, and every effort has been made by the imperial and State governments to pro- mote and extend its use for domestic and industrial purposes. Inventors and •scientists have been busy with improve- ments in the processes and machinery of distilleries. New and highly perfected motors, lamps, and cooking and heating apparatus have been devised and put in use, until crude alcohol is becoming one of the most widely utilised products of German industry. Official statistics show that during the year 1901 Germany consumed for tech- nical purposes no less than 116,000,000 2-4 and motor carriages held at Paris last year. The exhibits were grouped according to their nature in five general classes, viz.: — 1. — Apparatus for the manufac- ture of alcohol; 2. — Motors and motor carriages; 3. — Illumination by spirit light; 4. — Heating, cooking, etc., by alcohol flame ; and 5. — The uses of alco- hol in chemistry and the useful arts. They were catalogued under ninety-nine serial numbers, each of which covered the collective display of a manufacturing firm or company. Some of these com- prised under a single catalogue number twenty or more different articles, as, for 146 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE PORTABLE 2^-H. P. ALCOHOL MOTOR FOR GENERAL SERVICE instance, a complete outfit for a scientific modern distillery, with the machinery for grinding corn, macerating, ferment- ing, and distilling potatoes; or for the treatment of maize and molasses waste as raw materials. This department, al- though interesting and important to those concerned in the industry, was, for obvious reasons, the least attractive and popular feature of the exposition. Of far greater general interest was the department of spirit motors which were shown in all forms, upright and horizon- tal, stationary, portable, and locomotive, and applied to various types of motor carriages. In a lot adjoining the ex- position building a circular railway of narrow gauge had been constructed, upon which trains of ten or a dozen cars were drawn by alcohol locomotives. These were adapted for service on large farms and sugar plantations, and for mining, tunneling, and engineering operations where quantities of earth, stone, or other materials were to be transported short distances. The loco- motives were of the vertical-cylinder type, and carried a fly-wheel to balance the motion of the engine. Adjoining the railway was a large, open shed in which was exhibited, by the Daimler Company, of Cannstadt, a 10-horse-power engineer's waggon, car- rying tools and apparatus for a regiment of sappers and miners in field service. It was substantially built, had a speed up to ten miles an hour, and is said to have proved serviceable and efficient in actual use. Kiihlstein & Co., the Ber- lin carriage makers, exhibited an alcohol motor waggon and a coupe and runa- bout propelled by spirit motors, but the display in the department of vehicles fell short in extent and variety of that in Paris last autumn, which was one of motor carriages only. Owing to stringent police surveillance and many troublesome formalities, auto- HEAT, LIGHT, AND POWER FROM ALCOHOL 147 mobiles for pleasure and sporting pur- poses have found, thus far, a rather lag- ging and uncertain acceptance in Ger- many, and in this respect alcohol motor carriages have shared the general ex- perience. But it was in the class of stationary and portable engines for agri- cultural and manufacturing purposes that the Berlin exposition was profuse, keenly contested, and instructive. In this class, all the leading German gas- engine builders, — the Helios, Otto, Korting, the great machine companies of Dresden, Leipzig, and Marienfelde, — exhibited their latest and most highly lighting a camp, headquarters, or group of hospitals. It was self-propelling, and had a speed of five to ten miles an hour. Theoretically, alcohol has only three- fifths of the thermal value of petroleum, but it has been found that for motor pur- poses 28 per cent, of the theoretic energy of alcohol can be utilised against a max- imum of 15 per cent, in case of petro- leum and its products. This advantage in favour of alcohol is still further in- creased by an admixture of 16 per cent, of benzol. Another important advan- tage of alcohol, which applies specially to its use in motor carriages and in en- A GOODS TRUCK improved creations. These included caloric engines in all forms and sizes, from 1 to 20 horse-power, built specially for the consumption of alcohol, as dis- tinguished from oil, benzine, gasoline, or coal-gas engines of established types. Most of them were shown in motion, geared to rotary pumps, circular and band-saws, mills for grinding corn, or turning the machinery of distilleries. The Schuckert Company, of Nurem- berg, exhibited a 12-horse-power mili- tary field-lighting waggon, in which a dynamo, driven by a double-cylinder spirit engine, generated electricity for gines for operating creameries and small manufacturing plants in premises ad- jacent to dwellings, is its absolute clean- liness and freedom from the mephitic odours which make hydrocarbon engines so offensive to many people. At its present price of fifteen marks per hecto- liter (about thirteen and one-half cents per gallon), it competes economically with steam and all other forms of motive energy in engines of less than 20 horse- power for thrashing, pumping, and all other kinds of farm work, so that a laree percentage of the spirit produced in agricultural regions remote from coal .148 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE B O HEATt LIGHT, AND POWER FROM ALCOHOL i49 fields is consumed in the district where it is grown. The motor for farm use is tightly enclosed and free from danger of fire. Next in order of importance are the uses of alcohol as fuel for cooking, heat- ing, and a vast range of scientific and domestic purposes. Accordingly, the exhibition included a great variety of alcohol stoves for warming and cooking, and a large kitchen in operation and ac- cessible to visitors supplied the restau- rant, which is an indispensable adjunct of a German exposition. There were or six years, and dated from the com- paratively recent discovery that alcohol vapour, burned in a lamp hooded with a mantle of the Welsbach type, produced an incandescent light of intense power. In this special field alcohol leaves petro- leum behind and approaches the illu- minative power of electricity. The dis- play in this department included a large range of portable and fixed lamps and illuminators for all locations and pur- poses. All were similar in theoretic construction. There was the reservoir filled with spirits from which a wick of A PORTABLE ALCOHOL ENGINE AND DYNAMO FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTING spirit lamps of all the most improved types for household as well as scientific processes. One of the neatest of the many new devices shown was a spirit flatiron, handsomely nickel-plated and polished, and provided with a small reservoir, which, being filled with alco- hol and lighted, heated the iron for two hours' work at a cost of less than two cents. The cleanliness and economy of these fixtures, especially in summer, to housekeepers beyond the reach of a city gas supply is obvious. Not less attractive was the department devoted to lamps and lighting apparatus. This was all the product of the past five multiple strands led to the burner, hooded with the incandescent mantle and shielded by an Argand chimney. Here, as well as in the departments of power and heating, the cleanliness and inoffensiveness of alcohol as a burning material was most noticeable. Even in the galleries of the exposition building, in which hundreds of engines, lamps, stoves, and other devices were in con- stant operation, there was no trace of unpleasant odour nor any heat that was oppressive or uncomfortable on a winter day. The department of chemical prepara- tions included, among many other spe- 150 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE A PLEASURE CARRIAGE AND AN OMNIBUS, BOTH WITH SPIRIT MOTOR SERVICE cialties, solidified alcohol, — a brown, translucent mass, — which is generally used in small cubes as a convenient form for transportation. It lights readily, can be carried in the pocket, and may be employed as a detergent for cleaning textile fabrics and most other technical uses of alcohol. There was also a large display by several leading makers of vinegar from alcohol and acetic acid. This industry is mainly the growth of the period since 1887, and its extent may be estimated from the fact that there is consumed in Germany annually for the manufacture of vinegar 16,000,- 000 liters (4, 224,000 gallons) of alcohol. The display of chemical products led into the aldehydes, amyl-alcohol, the HEAT, LIGHT, AND POWER FROM ALCOHOL 151 ethers, ethyls, and other technicalities beyond the scope of this article. It will suffice for the present purpose to say that in aniline and other important branches of chemical manufacture alco- hol is a profuse and indispensable in- gredient, and one of the potent advan- tages which has given Germany her supremacy in the manufacture of coal- tar colours, as well as lacs, varnishes, perfumes, and a vast range of phar- maceutical products has been the wis- dom and foresight of the government in promoting a plentiful supply of cheap, untaxed alcohol for use in the industrial arts. The German law governing the tech- nical uses of alcohol was enacted in 1887, and, by reason of. both its underlying causes and practical results, is worthy of study as an example of intelligent, far-seeing fiscal legislation. It was at that period, — about fifteen years ago, — that German agriculture began to feel severely the effects of competition from profits of husbandry. Alcohol was a direct secondary product of the sugar manufacture, and could, besides, be made from potatoes, a spring crop of which could be planted as a recourse on ploughed-up fields of winter-killed wheat and rye. Moreover, alcohol was an in- dispensable raw material for the chemi- cal industry, and might be made to re- place, for certain purposes, the by-pro- ducts of petroleum. It was accordingly decided to make alcohol for technical uses as cheap as possible, and to pro- mote by all practicable means its pro- duction and consumption in Germany. The law was, therefore, so framed as to maintain the high revenue tax on alcohol intended for drinking, but to exempt from taxation such as should be denaturised and used for industrial pur- AX ALCOHOL LAUNCH MOTOR the cheaplv grown cereals and meats of the United States, Argentina, and Aus- tralia. The landowning class, including the influential nobility, — which had been for centuries loyal and steadfast support- ers of the Crown, — urgently demanded legislation which would save the waning poses. Denaturisation is accomplished by mixing with the spirit a small pro- portion of some foreign substance, which, while not injuring its efficiency for technical uses, renders it unfit for consumption as a beverage. The de- naturising substances employed depend 152 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE upon the use to which the alcohol is to be subsequently applied. They include pyridin, picolin, benzol, toluol, and xylol, wood vinegar, and several other similar products. As a result of this system Germany produced and used last year 30,642,720 gallons of denaturised spirits, as com- pared with 10,302,630 gallons used in 1886, the last year before the enactment of the present law. Of this amount about two-thirds were of the ordinary grade for power and heating purposes, such as costs at present thirteen and one-half cents per gallon. The remain- ing third of the entire amount was de- naturised for lighting and chemical pur- poses, or used pure under certain restrictions for the manufacture of per- fumes, extracts, and medicinal prepara- tions. The second or higher grade of denaturised spirit, such as is burned in lamps or used for cooking and heating, sells ordinarily for about twenty-five cents, or a shilling, a gallon, but on ac- count of the enormous potato crop of last year, the heavy production of alco- hol, and the stagnation in many indus- tries which are consumers of spirits the price has been reduced by the national association, or syndicate, of alcohol producers to the equivalent of 21.7 The wisdom of the by the law of 1887 be a question of de- reichsmark of reve- nue sacrificed by exempting denaturised spirits from taxation the Empire and its people have profited ten fold by the stimulus which has been thereby given to agriculture and the industrial arts. cents per gallon, system established has long ceased to bate. For every ANCIENT METALLURGY By Henry Leffmann S O import- ant a fea- ture of modern life are m etallurgical operations that the history of the develop- ment of the methods seems likely to inter- est many. Un- fortunately, however, the data for such history are scanty for all but the latest periods, and even the available mate- rial is restricted by the uncertainty of translations. As stated by the writer in a recent presidential address before the Engi- neers' Club of Philadelphia, the few metals that exist usually in the free state and are widely distributed were naturally used at an early period. Gold and silver were the best known. It is an interest- ing example of the methods of the an- cient philosopher that the discovery of mercury is not recorded. It would seem that the first obtaining of this peculiar body would have attracted great attention, and that the discoverer would be famous; yet, though the earl- iest mention of the metal is in a work by Theophrastus, about 300 B. C, we have no account of the place, time, or circumstances of its discovery, or the name of its discoverer. The metals which occur regularly in the free state are mostly quite rare. Two of them, gold and silver, have such distinct physical properties as to attract special notice, and it was natural, there- fore, that the earliest operations of the metallurgist should be largely concerned with them, and that their use for orna- mentation and as a standard of value should be widespread. As a matter of fact, as far as we can allow a scientific character to the financial methods of ancient times, silver was rather the standard of value than gold. For many centuries a ratio between these two metals was maintained, at least by com- mon consent, with little variation ; it has been only in our own day that this ratio has been so seriously disturbed as to in- troduce bitter disputes into the fields of finance and politics. Evidence of the great value and importance of gold and silver abounds in the earliest literature. " The gold of that land is excellent," was said of the region watered by one of the rivers of Eden. It is now well known to metallurgists that the native metals are rarely pure. The amount of alloy is usually such as to be subordinated to the main ingred- ient, but a native alloy of gold and silver, called ' ' electrum ' ' by the Greeks and "asem" by the Egyptians, was long mistaken for a distinct substance. A peculiar position was occupied by lead. According to the Greek alchemists, this metal was the generator of other metals. It was especially the generator of silver. We have no difficulty in understanding how this last error arose. Lead ores usually contain some silver, often very considerable amounts, and the operation of cupellation easily burns off the lead and leaves the button of silver, in which small amounts of gold are often found. The ideas of the ancient workers were naturally largely dependent on the re- sults of furnace operations. The strong acids were unknown. Some results were obtained by amalgamation, — that is, by the use of mercury, — but, as al- ready noted, this element was appar- ently not known earlier than the time of Aristotle. The use of precious metals as coins, — that is, universally exchangeable evi- 153 J54 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE dences of value, — was a natural result, but some progress in systems of govern- ment and in mechanical skill was neces- sary before a true coin could be pro- duced. The use of coined money can- not be traced back earlier than iooo B. C. ; prior to that time bars or even irregular masses of the precious metals were used, the value being ascertained by weight. As refining processes were crude and the temptation to adulterate very great, we may suspect that there was much deception in these operations. Nevertheless, we find that the coins of ancient times are of fair purity. With a view of securing some details in re- gard to the actual state of ancient coin- age, the writer enlisted the aid of Mr. Eckfeldt, of the United States Mint, who furnished the following data : — For about three centuries Roman money consisted of bronze (copper and tin), at first cast, but afterward stamped when other metals came into use. In the year of Rome 487 (286 B. C.) silver was introduced into coinage and gold sixty years later, though it is believed that the gold coinage was trifling prior to the conquests of Julius Caesar. In his time bronze began to be displaced by copper and brass. The brass disap- peared about the close of the third cent- ury A. D. , and copper alone was used for inferior coinage. The gold coin was maintained at almost purity (990 to 995) from first to last. The exceptions in the mint collections are in the instance of coin of Michael I. (A. D. 813), who, besides a coin of good weight and fine- ness, issued one very inferior in both respects, the fineness being not above 600. (It is to be noted that this coin may have been spurious.) In 1067-1081 gold coins of inferior quality were issued by Michael VII., Romanus IV., and Nicephorus III. The standard was re- stored by the next prince, Alexius I. The silver coins down to the reign of Augustus were also intended to be, and were considered, pure, and are found to be 950 to 985. In the ensuing reigns there was a constant downward tend- ency. In the coinage of Nero we find the fineness was 820; from Vespasian to Hadrian, from 780 to 850. The very base silver began with Septimus Severus (A. D. 200). The coins contained not more than 40 to 50 per cent, of silver, the alloy being copper with a portion of tin to preserve the colour. A permanent reform dates from the age of Diocletian in the early part of the fourth century. Silver of from 910 to 960 was used in all the coins from that time down through all the decline of the Empire. The above data as to fineness are from the actual tests at the United States Mint; by assay in the case of coins not valuable, by specific gravity when the pieces were too valuable to cut. The specific gravity method is very close for gold and a good approximation for rare silver pieces. For over a thousand years mankind declared and believed that gold and silver could be artificially produced, and innumerable searchers have laboured on this problem. These workers have not been wholly within the class of metallur- gists or what we might call scientists, but all ranks and callings have contrib- uted contingents. The general impulse which we designate as alchemy remained influential until the beginning of the eighteenth century, and was so wide- spread that it deserves consideration by a student of social science. While it is probable that in the more ignorant ages a larger number of people believed in incantations and ghosts than practised true alchemy, yet the public profession of the latter was much more frequent than the public profession of supernat- ural powers. The history of alchemy has indeed less significance for chemistry than for the history of culture. The belief in transmutation was pro- moted by the observation of cases in which the appearance of gold and silver could be imparted to baser metals. For example, copper alloyed with zinc as- sumes the ordinary colour of gold. Treated with certain arsenical sub- stances it assumes a silver-like appear- ance. Moreover, the doctrine of Aris- totle, that substances differ not because of different composition, but by reason of difference of properties, necessarily encouraged the transmutationists. It was in this spirit that one operator dis- ANCIENT METALLURGY i55 tilled mercury seventeen hundred suc- cessive times in hopes of driving- out from it the liquefying principle and thus obtaining the solid silver. This ignorance as to the details of chemical composition also led to another misunderstanding. Mine waters con- taining copper compounds (the existence of copper as such in the water was not recognised) would, by the action of iron, deposit the copper and the iron would dissolve. We have no difficulty to-day in comprehending the nature of the ac- tion, but there was a time when it was believed to be a transmutation, and in alchemical language was expressed as being due to Mars (iron) having laid off his armour and decorated himself with the garments of Venus (copper). In passing, it may be noted that some of the tendencies in modern thought seem to be toward the older views. The atomic theory, which has held an author- itative position in chemistry and physics for a century, has been, of late years, subject to attack from several points of view, and some work lately accom- plished may foreshadow transmutation. Within our own time one substance uni- versally considered an element, didy- mium, has been split into two compo- nents, respectively neodymium and praseodymium. Several contributions have been published lately indicating that before long one of the principal ele- ments of the Welsbach mantle, thorium, will yield up the ghost in the same way. Claims for the identity of phosphorus and arsenic, though stoutly defended by a certain chemist, have not been gen- erally allowed. A considerable manuscript literature relating to so-called ' ' alchemy ' ' exists in some of the libraries of Europe, and, as already noted, the painstaking labours of Berthelot have thrown these open to general study. One point is especially worthy of note ; the authorship of many of the manuscripts is fictitious. It was a common trick to attach to an essay the name of some great man, philoso- pher, ruler, or ecclesiastic. The sacred names of biblical literature have not escaped. One alchemist claims to give us Moses' chemistry and another as- cribes his book to John the Archbishop, possibly the same person regarded by many modern critics as the author of the fourth gospel. It has been a widespread belief among educated people for many years that the Arabian philosophers, during the period of Islam's control in Southern Europe, carried forward in many ways scientific work in chemistry, but it is now known that this view is erroneous. The man- uscripts purporting to be Latin transla- tions of works of Arabian philosophers are forgeries of a much later date; the genuine manuscripts are mostly mystical discussions of no practical value. The most ancient actual record bearing on practical metallurgy is a papyrus man- uscript now in the library at Leyden, Holland, and regarded as having been written toward the close of the third century A. D. It is not improbable that it is one that escaped the general de- struction which the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered about A. D. 290 against all works on alchemy and magic. The Emperor's object was, as he stated, ' ' that no one should be able to enrich himself by this art, nor to secure by it riches which should render possible re- volt against the Romans. ' ' I recall here the fact reported by Mr. Eckfeldt that it was Diocletian who restored the silver coinage to the highest standard. The text of the manuscript contains over one hundred receipts for operations of puri- fication, alloying, gilding, and some for fraudulently imitating precious metals. Unfortunately many terms are of uncer- tain meaning, and the translations, there- fore, are in doubt. It would be tedious to present even a moderate number of those recipes; a few illustrative ones may be quoted, and in such quotations I rely entirely on the French text by Berthelot. For example, the operation of cupellation is fairly described under the title, " How to purify silver and render it brilliant." Take one part of silver and equal part of lead, place in a furnace and keep it fused until the lead has been consumed; repeat the operation several times until it becomes brilliant. A recipe for gold solder, over 1600 years old, was, — Copper 4 parts, elec- 156 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE trum 2 parts, gold i part; melt the cop- per first, then add the electrum, then the gold. Electrum, as already men- tioned, is the term applied to a native alloy of gold and silver. All will probably be at least a little interested in Moses'