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

Auc. 16, 1901.]

THE CONSTRUCTION AND SYSTEMATIC MANUFACTURE OF ALTERNATORS.
By 0. LASOHE, Berlin.
( Crmtinued from page 174.)
SECTION

~or

2. TRE BIZE

AN U ARRANGEMENT OF THE
C.ENTRIFUOAL MASSES.
c~lculation of the necessary flywheel

the
wetght, the d.tagrams of tangential pressure (Fig. 13)
form the bas1s. They show what work is periodically taken up by .the flywheel and again given out.
T.he first ~f these 1s a four-cycle gas engine, with its
htgh .requtrements, ~aving one cylinder, the one
workmg stl:oke of wh10h has to provide power for
two r evolutiOns. The figures are considerably more
favourable when two such cylinders are joined up

are av~ilable o~ both sides of the piston in double

cycle, ~. e., durtng the return after the acting stroke
the products of cornbustion are exhausted and also
a new m.ixture is drawn in and compres~ed. The
~o~k w~10h the fly'!heel must take up and deliver
IB, m sptte of ~he per1ods of 90 deg., still considerably
large~ than w1th the two-crank steam engine, as the
ro.ta~mg moment due .to the pressure on the piston
wtthm the separate dtagram shows a areater variation. In all these constructions it has been possible
to avoid auxiliary flywheels and to locate the entire
flyi!lg m~ss in t~e inductor itself. The advantages
wh1~h thts speCial c~nstruction possesses, and the
parttcular constructiOns due to higher peripheral
speed, will be dealt with later on.
Taking into consideration the work which the
flywheel has to ta~e up (Fig. 13), the followin g
formulre are obtatned for the flying masses

Fig. 13.

T"" following fi;Jinsmasses are "

nece.sso.r_v when
d -db the e oa.

-------- +------__._--~

how the constructor must change or transpose these

mathematical quantities in order to obtain flywheels and inductors of an economical construe
tion. Different diameters will be found to result
in accordance with the choice of the most suitable
circumferential speed for the flying masses. The
construction of the wheels, as well as the admissible circumferential speeds, will be treated later.
The degree of uniformity applies to the working
m~ss. a~ the radius of gyration of the centrifugal rim,
a~d 1~ IS thus ~ost natural to arrange or form this
rim, ~. e., t~e 1nductor itself, as a flywheel, and, as
far as p~seible, as the only flywheel (Fig. 19, page
206). Ftg. 20 shows an arrangement in which the
standard dynamo was employed, but in which the
necessary flying masses were located in special fly:
wheels, which again necessitated shaft ends and
bearings. 'l,hese efforts were prompted by the

MoJhematicoJ FaciQrC for

Fl!f1119 ma.sse.s tilt fofTTitJio

Per1od 2x.36o

----------

20C\

Fig .11h

forD~m.

()n!/tflo'tr f'ourc!fcle
G11smotor

- -C64

On~

ReYolu t10n

- -- --- - - ----- ---------)!

1(- -- --------------- -

C D~-678.000 am~ for o -,~o

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

J60 '

S4cond Rrolul/on

180'

I/J0

180.

/80"

------ --- -'>k -- --- -- - -- - -~ - - - -- ---- ~(-- - --- ----

IO.OfOkg
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t::~:S=:::~L~~====::L~~::;:::::::;;::r~~::::::=::::::::J
,

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180
180'
180'
tab
f<i- - - - - -- ----w.t----------- ->~- -- -- - - --- - ~!<----- ------->
I

600

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fAg

E xcess : A1 = M v2

o = ~y v~ o=

..: D

2
7T

602

A 1 = x or A 1 = x A 2,

.A2

or, if

2n2

602
n
= 60 x 75 x 602 x 9.81 N xy = 100 x 16 2 N x
n ,2 n 2 o
n 3 li

on 3

G D2 = 1000 o N in tm.2

on 3

G n2 = 1.000,000 c Nin kgm. 2

(l)

(2)

The constant c is found for a certain machine as

the mean figure of the separate cylinder diagrams.
Figs. 14, 15, and 16 show in a geometrical form,
by the square surfaces, the flying masses for an equal
number of revolutions and equal output at equal
speed of gyration. The sketches at the side show

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desire to obtain a standard type of dynamo; this

is, however, a wish which cannot be fulfilled .
Further, it was found also that the limit of the
safe stress with regard to bearings, the shafts and
deflection, had been reached.
SECTION

o _ 60 75 N x y

16.2 X y

75 N V

'

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n2

19

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F' 16

60

r - --;- - - - -

necessary for the purpose of insuring the desired

degree of uniformity.
Work per period of y revolutions = A 2

-y

D2,

-li..E:il~--t-~;st_

Z4l1D irg.

- -- ...,...CIS..

to one unit, as in the case of two-cylinder engine,

where the working strokes follow each other at intervals of 360 deg. Fig. 11 on page 174 ante shows
a Deutz engine of this construction. Jlig. 12 on
the same page shows a further joining up of two such
sets so that the working strokes follow each other
at intervals of 180 deg. The flying masses are then
easier to control, more especially as the speeds of
Deutz engines are high, which, as is known, affects
the amount of the flying mass in the third power.
Fig. 8 on page 177 ante represents a gas engine of
this description manufactured for the Gute Hoffnung
Hi.U te in Oberhausen.
In Fig 17, page 206, a gas engine of the V ereinigten Maschinen Fabriken in Augsburg and Maschinenbau Gesellschaft Ntirnberg is represented; two
of these engines are now being erected in the
Phc.enix Foundry. The working strokes of the two
cylinders, arranged one behind the other, take
place at intervals of 360 deg., the cranks are at
180 deg., and thus the explosions follow each other
at every half revolution.
The double-acting two-cycle engine of Korting
(Fig. 18) has the two cranks coupled together at
90 deg. Thus the working strokes follow each
other in the same order as with the usual
two-crank steam engine. The explosion cylinders

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Triple expon'sion
S t eam Engme
Cranks underiUJ'

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Stedm Engme
Cranlc under so

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Steam En!]mO

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180'___ _ ........,____ too
- ------- /

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G o38.600 kgm' fOr o 4o

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Cosmolor

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3.

THE INDUCTOR FOR HIGH SPEED.

The requirement of large flying masses and small

weights for tandem steam engines and gas motors
necessitated an increase of the circumferential
speeds. It was usual in engineering not to allow a
circumferential speed for cast-iron flywheels beyond
6000 ft. per minute. This limit was the result both
of experience and calculation under the presumption that no higher load than 2200 lb. per square
inch could be regarded a~ safe. This limit must
be observed, firstly, on account of the strength
of the material, even in sound pieces ; secondly, on
account of the unequal initial tensions in cast iron,
which can n~ver with certainty be avoided ; and,
lastly, on account of the impossibility of following
by calculation the strains or load produced in the material by the centrifugal and circumferential forces.
Still more unfavourable are the conditions in the

AuG. 16, 1901.]

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

pur_e tensile strain. When mounting the chain, it

1s b ghtened by wedges against the rim, and against
the spoke.s of. the induct~r (Fig~. ~~and 23). This
cons_truct10n 1s patented In all ?tVIbsed states.
Ftg. 25 shows that the lamtna~d segments are
held together by bolts, four of whiCh are located in
each s~gment; thus three-qua~ters bear the whole
sheet-uon p~cket.. Should ~t be desirable, on
ac~ount of htgh Circumferential speeds and loads,
to mcrease t~e number of bolts of each laminated
segment, thts can be done. According to the
nu~ber of the packe~, the b~lts may b~ tested a~y
opt.10n~l number of times agatnst s~ear1ng, a stratn
whtch 1s decreased by the dovetail connection of
the pole pieces with the rim. On this basis, it is
an easy task f?r the c~nstructor to keep th~ s_train
on t~~ material co~tderably bel?w the ltmtt of
elastt~Ity. The quahty of the material and the strain
upon It are. a?ourately known. .
-t\.;' a strt~tng contrast to th1s ~reely ex~andi~g
laminated . r1m stands a constructl?n .descrtbed In
the followmg par~graphs, t~e .realisatiOn _of which
had often been desued, and whiCh was proJected for
a 4000 ho!se-~ower dynamo (~ee Fig. 26, page 2~9).
The leadmg tdea was to obtam the greatest flymg

The starting point of the characteristic of the

1
rim is at a distance of about 0.5 millimetre from
1
the zero of the characteristic of the spokes. At
this point the connection, or the reciprocal influence,
was not yet effected; the rim was enlarged as if
v = 30 m. per sec.; the rods were still without
tension. Both points approach each other, until
eventually in the point of intersection of the two
characteristics, the link can be closed. The tension in the material or the entire necessary force
is about 12,500 kilogrammes, i.e., in other words,
from v :::. 0 at v = 30, the stress per intersectional
point increases from 0 to G = 12,500, with which
force the free expansion of the laminated rim is
prevented by the rods. Fig. 29 shows an increase
of thi$ stress for the amount of the mounting stress
of 4000 kilogrammes, through which mounting
stress upon starting the dynamo any unloading
and loosening of the upper rods- not strained by
the weight of the rim-is avoided. Fig. 30 shows
a further increase of about 10,000 kilogrammes
by the influence of the higher temperature of the
rim over that of the machine-house this excess
amounting to about 10 deg., which' difference in
temperature corresponds with the maximum output

R,"m assumed fo b~ f'red_lf rolalrng when

Y30m per sec. Rods l'l'llhout sfiffenmg.

~------------~:-----~~

.~

mm

207
ably fallen off; and yet we may say that uow-adal s the constructing engineer is, as far as
"economy" is concerned, surely not less r~spon
sible t han for questions regarding construction
and material.

For a given figure G D 2, ?-certain circumfel'ential

speed is the most practical with r eference to the
requirements of construction material. In the case
of an inductor contrary to a flywheel, however, the
further consideration holds good that the dynamo
is usually cheaper when the same has a smaller diameter, but an incre9.sed width. This changing conditivn, small diameter for the dynamo and a large
diameter for the flying masses, leads, when GD2 is
high, to a separation, i.e. , a flywheel is placed separately at the side of the inductor, or an inductor of
small diameter is screwed at the side of a flywheel,
the flywheel having the greatest circumferential
speed admissible. Fig. 32 represents an inductor
ring of this construction placed against the spokes
of the flywheel. Fig. 33 shows the before-mentioned
sheet-iron rim located at the side of the flywheel,
and connected to it by long bolts. These bolts are
for the purpose of permitting the sheet-iron chain
to expand independently of the cast-iron rim,

F'9.2B.

/Jefc7tmd!ltotJ, as under (1 hut talritrg_ intofQns.tfert.rttOn

ltne Movntmg stress rif4000 Hg.
m.m

Hat/tal Rototlonofthe frul4 rolalin RimwllenY.J()m

'SeC.

()-4

0..1

Rods In State ofRest wtihout fen.sl'on.

0 1

fspOflSIOtt.S

Oo

'-...

Fig.28.

/Jeformotion of the Rim held

8
~

by tire

..

Tie Rod3

and CQrre.spondlng &pansions of the Rods

mm when YJOm per .sec.

Fig.3o.

C m.m.
lo

..

Deformat/on.J as under Cand

&ponsion qf the Rim by the htat

oa

- - - -' .

0 7

.
))))) p

)'

'

mass with the smallest possible total stress on shafts

and bearings, and of a design suitable for both home
and shipping trade. Here, also, the rim consists of
laminated sheets, which carry the pole-pieces ; the
cast-iron rim is dispensed with in this construction
too, and, still further, the cast-iron arms are
avoided and replaced by tangential spokes. As
material for these arms, very elastic ingot iron or
ingot st~el was. assumed. An ample number of
intersectiOnal pomts were presumed m order to keep
the bending stress of the rim as low as possible,
and to endeavour to obtain solely tensile strain on
the rim. Each of these intersectional points is
connected with the boss by 4, or 2 by 2, rods ;
all connections or joints, of course, assumed as
being effected by bolts, therefore movable. At
eighty-three revolutions per minute the inductor
had an outer peripheral speed of about 34 metres
per second (6700 ft. per minute), the speed in the
gravity circle v is thereby about 30 metres per
second (6000 ft per minute). If in this construction the rim were freely expansive (Fig. 27), the
latter would, at this full speed, expand radially
about 0.5 millimetre ; in other words, if one assumes
for the purpose of carrying th~ough the calculati?n
the link loosened, then the hnk centre of the rim
would stand off to the extent of 0. 5 millimetre from
the centre of the rod eye.
In order to again connect the rim with the rods,
on the one hand, separate forces must be brought
to act upon the sa.me fro.m the. outside at the .li~s,
which carry the r1m agatn to Its former pos1t10n ;
and, on the other hand, the rods must be stretched
by suitable forces.
.
This action is geometrically represented m
Fig. 28. In this fig~re, in a reot~gular sy~tem
of co-ordinates, the smgle forces of IntersectiOnal
points are entered as abscissoo, and as ordinates
the expansions of the rods corresponding to these
forces and also the deformations of the rim. The
straight lines hereby .o~ta~ed give a synoptic
picture ; a '' characteristic, so to speak, of the
reciprocal action of the rim and the rods~

0 /

;/

,O o

of the inductor or of t he dynamo. To this is to be

added as a furtherstrain on the material bytheweight
of the rim itself, a stress which constantly varies
during the rotation, whilst the remaining figures
of stress are constant.
There was a further uncertainty existing with
regard to erection ; it was indispensable to find
out an absolutely reliable system of measuring the
stress on the rods, which would give the surveying
engineer and the fitter the certainty that both the
work and t he testing were carried out satisfactorily,
and permit them to repeat such test at any optional
time. The uniform stress in the four rods per intersectional point, or in each of the many intersectional
points, could not be left to the discretion or to
the often-mentioned constructional instinct of the
fitter. As a reliable and not too expensive measuring medium, springs were inserted, which were
gauged for the mounting stress, and on the basis of
this stress, the length of a similarly gauged ring or
sleeve was likewise assumed (Fig. 31, page 209). The
rods were to be stretched to such an extent that this
ring could only just be turned; any excessive stress
on the rods due to an always possible measuring
error appeared out of question. Neither could the
springs introduce any unreliability in the running,
as, in the event of the springs breaking, the
ring would take up the stress without any considerable alteration of length or tension taking
place.
N otwithstandiug, this inductor was never carried
into practical execution, as in the meantime the
construction of the aforementioneg cast spoke
system had proved to be excellent nearly equal
as regards weight and price, and yet in every
respect more advantageous; moreover, the economical importance of the tangential spoke construction for the inductors had also consider-

althoug.h the ~heet-iron oh.aiu by its own centrifugal

force, mcludmg the weight of the pole-pieces
and the coilij, is expanded to about the same
degree, that is to say, its diameter increases to
a corresponding extent to that which the oast-iron
rim becomes enlarged by its own weight.
(To be oontinued.)

LITERATURE.
Oonftribu.tion

a l' Etude

des Alliages, par MM. H . W.

BAKRUis - RoozEnooM, An. CARNOT, G. CRARPY

&o., sous la direction et le controle de la Commis:
sion des Allia~s. 1896 - 19_00. Paris: CbamerotJ et
Renouard, 19, Rae des Samta-Perea. 1 voJ. (Price
30 francs.]

THE "Societe d'Encouragement pour l'lndustrie

Nationale '' has just issued in book form a series of
reports on '' Researches on Alloys." This is a
quarto volume, of 520 pages, containing contributions from Messrs. H . \V. Bakhuis-Roozeboom, A.
Oarnot, G. Charpy, H. Le Chatelier, H . Gautier
Ed. Goutal, Guillaume, F. Osmond, Sir. Willia~
Roberts-A.usten, and Madame Sklodowska Curie
and published under the direction and control of
the '' Committee on Alloys."
As stated in the volume, metallic alloys are very
largely used in industry, their special features as
regards hardness, malleability, fusibility, and inalterability, rendering them better suited for special
purposes than pure metals. Notwithstanding, however, the very frequent use of alloys, their properties and constitution were not known with any
degree of accuracy until a comparatively recent
date. For while other branches of industry were
given a great impulsion through the progress made

208

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

[AuG. 16, Igor.

THE CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF ALTERNATORS.

(For Description, see Page 203 .)

:Fi::J-21.
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in chemistry from the commencement of last century, the manufacture of alloys escaped the forward
movement and remained stationary through the
old empirical methods continuing to rule. When,
by chance, some slight improvement could be
obtained, it was not achieved as the result of
scientific methods, but of numerous trials and
errors.
Not that interesting publications on
the subject of alloys were lacking; these have,
on the contrary, been written by learned scientists of several countries, but their conclusions, owing to apparent contradictions, had been
ignored by chemists, and not considered worthy
of attention by manufacturers. These publications,
though incomplete on many points, esta~lished
some important facts-among others, the extstence
and the chemical formula of compounds defined in
several of the most common alloys, such as bronzes
and brasses, and gave reliable data concerning a
number of methods of investigation applicable to
all similar cases. They established plainly that all
the properties of the alloys experimented upon,

-24.

-
FIG.

'' 11I

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,._

that is to say, their useful qualities for given purposes, depend directly upon two main factors:
a. The chemical constitution of the metallic
bodies, namely, the proportion of allied metals,
the chemical combinations which the metals form
together and under varying proportions.
b. Their physical constitution, or structure, being
the form and dimension of the crystals, their various
kinds of agglomeration, which form a whole.
After full consideration of the subject, and bearing in mind the work already carried out by preceding investigators, the "Committee on Alloys, laid
down that researches should be carried out on the
following points :
Ohemistr'tJ of .Alloys.-The determination of combinations in alloys.
Mechanical .J!roperties of .Alloys.- Resistance,
hardness, brittleness, malleability of alloys ; way
in which they are affected by cold-hammering,
quenching, and annealing.
Electric Prop~rties of .Alloys.- Conductivity and
electromotive force of dissolution.

F usibility of Alloys.-Effects of impurities on

metals and alloys.
Magnetic P1ope1ties of I ron .A.llO'ys. -Specially as
regards the manufacture of permanent magnets.
In order to fulfil this large programme, the Committee secured the assistance of the technologists
whose names are mentioned above.
Owing to the vast field covered by the reports in
question, it is not possible to do them full justice
in a brief notice, and we are compelled to limit our
present review to a few data concerning some
only of the subjects dealt with .
The first is entitled '' Researches on the .Alloys
of Copper and Zinc," and the author deals wit.h the
previous researches made, and explains in detail
his own experiments on alloys of copper and zinc
of various compositions, and cold-rolled or coldhammered to the highest possible degree. Testpieces were cut from the cold-worked alloys, and
were heated to gradually increasing temperatures,
the microscopic structure and mechanical properties
being determined for the alloys under the different
states. The conclusions arrived at are the following : When comparing alloys of copper and zinc
completely annealed, and in testing the influence
which the chemical composition has on the mechanical properties, it is found that the latter vary
in a regular manner with the percentage of zinc ;
and when considering alloys containing from 0 to
50 per cent. zinc - the only ones which can be
made a practical use of-the mechanical properties

may be stated to be as 'follows :

a. The elastic limit under traction, the resistance to penetration, and the stiffness increase
regularly with the percentage of zinc. The curve
is straighter when the proportion of zinc varies
from 30 to 45 per cent.
b. The elongation under traction, tho proportional elongation and that of the structure increase
with the proportion of zinc, t he maximum figure
being reached with the alloy containing 30 per
cent., from which the curve descends rapidly.
c. The breaking strains under traction increase
with t he percentage of zinc, the maximum strain
being for t he alloy containing 45 per cent. zinc,
from which the curve then descends rapidly.
d. Resistance to compression decreases as the percentage of zinc increases, the minimum figure being
for the alloy with 30 per cent. zinc.
For practical purposes it is recommended not
to exceed a proportion of 43 per cent. zinc owing
to fragility setting in ; on the other hand, there is
no advantage in using alloys containing less than
30 per cent. zinc, which are more costly, and in
which there are both less resistance and less malleability. By causing t he proportion of zinc to vary
bet ween 30 and 43 per cent., a whole series of
different alloys is obtained, the most malleable
yielding as much as 60 per cent. elongation,
with a breaking-strain of 17.5 tons per square
inch, and the most tenacious more than 40 per

Auc;. 16, Igot.J

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

209

THE CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF ALTERNATORS.

(F01 Description, see Page 205.)

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F ro. 32.
cent . elongation , with a breakin g strain of 24
tons per square inch, t he testpieces being
fully annealed in both cases. By a judicious combination of cold- working and annealing, the
breaking strain can be carried to 38 tons for bars
and plates, and higher still for wire.
On t he other band, a careful inspection of the
microscopic structure allows the classification of

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FIG. ::$3.
the alloys under three heads, which correspond
with well-defined mechanical properties :
a. Th'e first kind would be the alloys that are
malleable to a high degree when cold.
b. The second those of high re3istance, less
malleable than the first, but which can be forged
hot.
c. The third would contain alloys \'ery diff~rent

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in quality, but the feature common to all of them

would be fragility.
lnspecti?n of the s~rucbure will make it possible
to determ1ne approx1mately the work carried out
on the alloys, especially as regards those of clllss a;
also whet her they have been cast, and, according to
the grain, whether at a high or a low temperature,
and in sand or chills; and whether cold-hammered,
or annealed at a high or low heat ; or burnt. This
examination thus completes the results of chemical
analyses in a most satisfactory manner~
The other chapters deal with ''Microscopic
Metallography," "Researches on the Structure
of Metals : Its Genesis and Transformations ;"
" Researches on the Fusibility of Alloys ;" " Microscopy of Alloys ;" '' Magnetic Properties of Tempered Sbeel ;" "White Alloys, or Antifriction
Metal ;" " Influence of Temperature on the Properties of Alloys," &c .
The foll~wi_ng reports will be found of interest by
many spe01ahsts-namely, one on the " Electric
Resistance of Alloys,'' by Le Ohatelier, in which
the author passes in review various experiments of
his own with iron, nickel steel, manganese steel,
German silver, &c. , and states the results of his
researches as to the influence of carbon, silicon,
manganese, nickel, and other metals on the electric
resistance of steel.
The same scientist has contributed a paper on
the '' Technics of Microscopic Metallograpby," in
which he describes at length his methods for thEl!

FIRING TRIALS OF SCHNEIDER-CANET QUICK-FIRING GUNS AND HOWITZERS.

..

tv

(For Description, see opposite Page.)

TIME-FUSE FIRIIiG WITH SHRAPNEL, ON TROOPS AT A
5 TitNCE OF

Fifl
-'26.

As

4NELS

6 425

5000 M {5470YARDS)RANGE'.

4 724 !'! Q . F. SIEGE GUN.

.
,

>360 YARDS
5400
..

VE HfT
EA D ..

HELL
UE-FUSE '8HOT
" RCUSSION

BzS3S6
835389

-=-=-

...

Pif}.:l8.

A,

0
7'0TAL48

..'
.

105
I
4
TOTAL 110

e'

-~

.f

Fig.29.

..

SHELL .,
HITS.

'

L I VE HITS
DEAD .,

0~

8e
s_~

~60

JPSI!:.. IJ)

4 700

' I

LTVE HIT
DEAD

..

j
'

SHELL
+ TIIIIE-FUSE 'BHOT
:. PERCU 66JON ..

I ' .J I
i I I II

l I

I ~ 11

.f
I' .

8LJVE H I TS
8DAO

l1 I

4- SHELL "
TOTAL~ HITS.

NUMBER OF FILE.S HIT :zo

c,

Fig.36.

1111 1s111 11111111 1HIll. IiNllUMBER

ll ll ll lllll
ll
llll
ll
llllll
llltlllllllllll
ll
ll
lllll
ll
lllll
O F FILES HIT : J
TOTAL
Fif:J. 37.

t!

a.

J.l

HITS .

TOTAL NUMBER OF HITS : 46

NUMBER OF ROU NDS

( RANGI NG INCL U DED }

o$382.C} 4500

~ ~~C;s

4000

4 '700

4800 4833 4868 48~

4896

B.

I. . .. .... .

t:t1

4926

()
~

..I . .

t:t1
t:t1

'

....

CO...&.

. . .. . .

C'oi

..

. . ... . . . . . .

1 . . . . . .
jO.

q . 724 IN.GUIJ

..

..

()

--

: L

...

. .

I . .
.
.

".
J .

'

"

'

(sm o)

taking of samples, th eir preparation, etching,

microscopic examination, and photography; giving
t he processes he follows, the various operations,
and the chemicals and apparatus he uses. Inte-

B,

4866

Fig.35.

........

-==

NUMBER OF FILE.S HIT :S

B,

I . . I.
.

.
. . .
. .

.
.
. . l- ---. . ,...~ . ... ... a
!--;
. .. . .
-
. ---. .. ..
. . .
. . .. :-----;..

.
~
.
.
.
,.
~
....

1
.
]}:

~
.
.
.
.
.
.
-

. .
r

.
.
. . . . . . .. . ..... . .. I . . . -. -. . . ......
.

. .

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
~
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
~

.
.
.
.
.
r
.
;
r
.

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

-:J .. I

6 L I VE HI TS
2 OEAD ..
I SHELL a
T OTAL 9 HITS .

D I MENS I ONS
OF PANELS

o:

..

/6 _,. F T ." 5 F T. 11/N ,

<;, .SZSO YARDS

tCz 5320
,

t/M -FUSE FIRING WITH SHRAPNEL. ON TROOPS AT A 5 000 M (5 470YARDS)RANGE.

.......

TOTAL NUMBER OF HITS : /37

M : MI!AN POINT '()F ROUNDS 370 9 .

Fi1) 38.

. ..

"
,.

Tl ME -FUS FIR/ NG Wl TH SHRAPNEL ON TROOPS AT A 500011.(5'170 YARD) RANG!.

'

........

V '

..

c2

......

/1 DEAD
.J!.
SHELL
~HITS

NU118ER OF ROUNDS PIRED:IO

480()

. . l

C3 5353

SSLIVE HITS

I I' l

PANELS

( RANGING INCLUDE.O,I

c3

1 I Ill I I I I I I I I Il l I 11 I I CI 1 M I I
l lOll 1 1 1I I I I I I I I tol I I I
NUMBER OF FILES HJT :So
TOTAL

F tg.83.

.......

4-133'!' HDWITZER.

I I I I I I I I f I I l I I l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 I 1 1 rr

SHELL "
HITS.

...

..

~
Z SHELL "
7'0TAL 42 HITS

Fig .32.

8,

A.:J
4830

3SLIVE H I TS

NUMBER OF FILE.S HIT:37

l11S TANCE OF

5 DEAD

Fig. 811.

'~

4!300

..

Fi.g.31.

IUNDS I

lS9 iJU.)

4DEAD
4SHELL

TOTA l 31 HITS .

TOTAL NUM'BER OF HITS : 166.

- --7"'-

I I 1 I

23L IVE HITS

NUMBER OF ROUNDS FIR0 : 10.

( RANGING INCLUDED)

"

NUMBER OF FILES HJT : 5o .

10

DEAD

164 FT, 5 FT. /1111

DEAD "
. SHELL
TIME-FUSE BHOT
J< PERCUSSION "

4S LIVE H I TS

el I I I I f I

LIVE HIT

NUMBER OF FILE.S HIT :36.

480 0

NUMBER OF FILES HIT : Z6

DIMENSIONS
OF PANELS

4 724 1'! HOWITZER .

PANELS

B2

DISTANCE OF

Fif1.2 7.

Az

'Pi9.30.

d3 -

8 , 5324 YARDS

6 L I VE HITS
0 DAD .,
0 SHELL D
TOTAL 6 HITS .

TIME-FUSE FIRING WITH

SHRAPNEL. ON TROOPS AT A 5000 M (5470YARDS)RANGE,
'
.

DIMENSIONS
OF PANELS
164- FT !' 5FT. /IIN.

NIJMIJER OF FILES HIT : 6 .

..

..

Z,o;9SZ IN GUN

4 189 IN. HOWITZER

resting particulars ar e aleo given as t o the preparaOther papers giYe data concerning nickel steel
tion of special alloys- apart from those industrially and the chemical const itution of various qualities
used- in order to investigate the various combina- of pig iron and steel.
tions which metals form together.
The book is, in short, a compendium of inte-

4 724 JH.HOWITZER

resting informat ion regarding alloys, t heir several

characteristics, and t heir composition for different
purposes, and should prove of value both to studente
and to professional men .

;:t>

c
0

--

0 '\

\0

HOWITZERt>.

FIRING TRIALS OF SCHNEIDER-CANET QUICK-FIRING GUNS AND

LONG-RANGE FIRING.

1 TABLE III.-105-MILLIMETRE (4.133-IN.) S c HNEIDER-CAN.&T QoroK-FTRING FIELD H o wiTZER.

T IMEFuzE FIRING
WITH SHRAPNEL, ON TROOPS AT A 5000- MILLUIETRK (5470 YARDS) RANGE (FIGS. 34 TO 37}.
On.~CTI\"E: Panels 164ft. lon~t and 5 ft. 11 in. high, placed perpendicular with the flrio~ line, and 4833 metres (5290 yards) ;
4863 metres (5320 yards); and 4893 metres (5353 yards) distant re:Jpectivt ly from the muzzle.

TABLE I.-120-MILLtMETRE (4.724-IN. ) S oHNEIDER-CANRT QUICK-FIRING SIEGE GuN. TnrE-Fus x FIRING WITH
SHRAPNEL, ON TROOPS AT A 5000-METBB (5470-YARD) RANGE (FIGS. 26 TO 29).
OunCTtTE: Panels 50 metres (164 ft.) long and 1.80 metres (5 ft. 11 in.) high, placed perpendicular with the firing line and
4900 met res (6350 yards), 4930 metres (5600 yards), and 4960 metres (5425 yards) distant respectively from the muzzle.
\ Weight Weight of ~fuzzle
~ound
of
Powder
Velo~ear
N umber Projec - Charge.
city. ' Slght.
tile.

4
6

I(

10

3.813
8.813
3.813
3.8t3
3.813

46
46
46
46

lb.

46
46
46
46
46
46

2
3

3.

lb.

II

4.

Disc.
6.

6.

ft.

DEFLECTION.

2.

I Barrel.
7.

Setting
Height
.
of
of
Range.
Fuse.
Bursting.
8.

286

3 813

3.813
3.813
3.813
3.813

1P40
1640
ltS40
1640

295
295
295
295

299
299
290

295
295

9.

I yards

10.

tt.

RANGING.
0
20
8 5!
5045
39
. 164
0
24
8 6.\5080
246
0
28
8 6t
5100
0
28
9 1
6110
49
0
28
9 2
5258
65
0
27
9 2
5269
49
CONTINUOUS FIRING.

27
5'l22
0
9 2
perc~.sston
0
27
9 2
5335
0
2i
9 2
5279
59
I
27
5279
65
0
9 2

Time of
Firing.

Direction.

1640
1640
1640
1640
1640
1640

Round
Number

11.

ft.

Durat.ion of
Firing.

12.

13.
-

lllln. sec.

IWeig~t
of Weight of I .Muzzle
Pr?Jec
Powder Vdooity.
t1le.

6
7

8
9

35
35

10 3
10.3

9.13
9.15
9.18
9.21
9.26
9.26

18
53
50
22

di.r.

9.28
9.28
9.28
9.29

15
30
58
19

,
,
,,

min.
20 seo.

1~

1 mio.

4 sec.

ft.

984
984
9d4

+
+
+
+
+
+

36~

382
376

894
984
984

376
376
376
376

984
984

376
376

984

'

RANGING
9.6
10
1l.O

11

Direction. ' Tim.e of

Fll'tng.

Duration of
Firiog.

ft.

4910
4910

147
262

s ~so
239
11)
10.2
6000
328
1U. 2
10
5170
26
10.2
10
Not aQGertaiued
10.4
10
Ditto
10.3
+ 10
CoNTrNuovs FrniNG.
+
10
10.3
4920
22Q
+ 11)
10.3
4920
:!62

1-4

9.46 lt
9.50 5

T.:> left

,
,

,
,

9.52 10
9.54 11 l
9.54 59
9.57 44

,
,

9.59 26
9.59 48

9.59

~ 12

m. 5/l sec.

} 22 sec
.

Weight
Weight 1 Muzzle
Round \
of
of Powder Velocity.
Number Projectile. Charge . .

~--ft.

lb.

lb.

1
2
3
4

46
46
46
46

1.32

98!

1.32

984
981
98i

46

1.32

98i

6
7

46
46
46
46
46

1. 32
1.32

981
P84

min. sec.

tr1
Muzzle Rear
Veto Sigbti.
cit} .

- - -11- - -1- - -- - - lb.

14.3
14.3

14.3

14.s
14.3

0*

14.3

lb.

I
1

140
1.40
1.40
1.40

1 40
1.40

DEFLECTION.
Disc.

Barrel.
I'

ft.

1640
1640
1640
1640
164o
1640

Setting I
Height
of
Range.
ot
Fuse. I
Bursting.

322 I
339
356 I
356 ,.
351J
356

90
90
90
90
90
90

R ANGING.
73
7. 3
63
7.5
62
7. 7
60

60
60

7.6!
7. 6~

7. 7

Direction.

Time of
Firiog

I____

-----~

yards

ft.

4860
5050
5070
5160
5100
5080

39
32
..

344 left
65 ,,

42
32

dir.

55
1

,,

Dllration of
Firing.

1.32
1.32

1.32
1.32
1. 32

984

984
984
984

IDirection. I Time of
Setting
Height
of
Rear 1Deflection
Firing.
Sight.
of
.Range. Bursting.
J
Fuse.
1
---- - 1
1 - - -1
I min. sec.
yards. I
ft.
RANGnlG.
To right 1 9.33 14
5080
246
!
865
-13
10.7
9.li6 28
167
5240
-13
11
365
,
I
Direct
9.38 40
5270
65
- 20
11
364
,
I 9.39 23
6240
Not ascer11
-20
364
tained
I 9.41 27
,
154
I 20 I
11
I 6220
364
CoNTINuovs FIRING.
,
.4
197
2 6
9
6150
11
- ~0
364
5200
161
,
9.42 25
ll
- 20
364
5200
19ll
,,
9.42 52
11
364
- 20
11
364
-20
5300
151
,.
9.43 16
1 36!
- 20
1
u
1 Premature burstin2' throu~"~'h
9.43 44
u
36! 1 -20
1
Prror in sPtr.ing of tu ~e. b

( Oontinutd

fr~

page 110.)

ToE annexed Tables and diagrams give the

results of the trials carried out with the mat6riel
described in our preceding issues. (See pages 72
and 107 ante.)
Long- Range Firing.-Tbe trials opene~ with
long-range firing at 6000 metres (5470 yards) with

0
~

min. eec.

10.1
10.3
10.6
10.7

tr1

58
62
15
24
10.8 69
10. 10 36

8 m. 38 sec.

r.

Duration
<;f Firing.
'------

t"I1
~
.........

z
0

min. eec.

8 13

I
l

1 39
.I

See note to Table I.

SCHNEIDER- dANET QUICK- FiltiNG

GUNS AND HOWITZERS FOR FIELD
SERVICE.

z
..___ -____.

10

"'

0'.

See note to T~~oble I.

I TABLE IV.-75MILLIMETBE (2.952.IN.) ScHNEIDER-C.a.~.ET QuicK-FIRING FIELD GuNs. TIME-FusE FIRING, WITH
SHRAPNEL, ON TROOPS AT A 5000METRE (5470 YARDS) RANGE (FIG. 38).

TABLE II.-120-MILLII\IETBE (4.724-IN.) S CHNEIDER-CANET QUICK-FIRING FIELD HOWITZER. TllHEFUEE FIRING

WITH SHRAPNEL, ON TROOPS AT A 5000-METRB (5470-YARD) RANGE (FIGS. 30 TO 33).
OB.TECTIVE : Panels 16i ft. long and 5 ft. 11 in. high, placed perpendicular with the firing line, and 4866 metres (5324 yards),
I
4896 metres (5356 yards), and 4926 metred (5389 yards) distant respeotively from the muzzle.

8
9

1-4

yards l

1-4

Hei~t~t
of
Burdtlog.

Deflec- !Setting of l Ran e.

t.ion.
Fuz~.
g

38

Rear
Sight.

- -- -t

lb.
10.3
10.3
10.a
10 8
10.3
10.3
10 3

...)

85
35
35
35
35
35
35

147 right
72 rlght
dir.
dir.
16left
dir.

Charge.

lb.

NoTE.- Figures in Column 5, ' Rearsight," are ten-thousandths of the circumference.

Columns 6 and 7 give the extent of displacement in the horizontal plane which it is necessary to give the sighting line in order
to correct the aiming of the gun, both as regard.s the natural deflection of the projectile and the deflection due to the action of the
wind. The "disc" is that part of the aiming device with horizontal graduation ; while the "barrel" is the graduated part of the
knurled button placed on the right of the aiming device, and whioh gives the subdivisions of the disc graduations (see Figs. 9
and 10, page 75 ante).
Column 8 gives the figures used in c-.onjunotion with a table of variations in the timing of the fuses, which table shows at a
glance the division in the movable ring to be placed in front of the adjusting mark for a determined duration. The graduation is
in divisions-eight h divisions and half- ei~hth divisions. The first figure gives the number of divisions, the second figure gives
the eighth dhisions, and the third the half-eighths.
In Column 11, "147 rig-ht" means that tbe projectile felll47 ft. to the right of the picketed line on the ground, while" dir. "
means that the point of fall of t he projectile is in the vertical plane formed by the target and the gunner's eye (t hus being in the
prolongation of the sighting line).

---1

c:

::t>

the 4. 724-in-: siege gun, which fired ton rounds in 14

mins. 24 secs.
The 4. 724-in. howitzer followed
afterwards, firing ten rounds in 9 mina. 52 secs. ;
then the 4.133-in. howitzer, with nine rounds in
13 mina. 17 secs., and the 2. 952-in. field gun, with
ten rounds in 8 mina. 48 secs., ranging inclusive.
Long-range firing lasted from 9 . 13 mina. 18 secs. to
10.11 mina. 19 secs., the time taken including , besides actual firing, the ranging practice, communication with the loo k-out shelters as to the height of
bursting of the shells, and the necessary corrections

in the setting of the fuses. Details o f these trials

are given in the accompanying Tables I. to IV. ;
li,igs. 26 to 37 s how the results obtained wit h each
gun, while Fig. 38 is a diag ram of the total effect
obtained on the long-range firing.
. As will be seen, the tiring with the ~ 724-in.
s1ege gun was rather short.
The ma.terta.l, as a.
whole, however, made good practice, especially
h
h fi Id
h.
per a.ps t e e
gun, w 1ch fired at the rate of
i 24 rounds a minute in continuous action.

(To be continued. )
PALl\rER's CoMPANY AT THE GLASGOW ExRrBITIO~.ThA Palmar's Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Limited,
of Jarrow-on-Tyn~. have an interesting collecoion of ship
models at the Glasgow Exhibition. and in connection with
them have issued a. small pamphlet giving a. brief desoription of the works, a.nd details of the ships represented a.t the Exhibition, including the battleship Rut~s~ll,
the cruiser Pique, and the torpedob oao d estroyer Star,
with severallargd m er chanti ~reamers.
SouTH AMEBICAN RaiLWAYS -Th~ construction ofline.~
to connect the Buenos Ayrts a.nd Rosario and Central
Argentine Railwass with ~he site of a. new grain elevator

to be erected at Buenos Ayres has been commenced.

Surveys and plans have been completed for a branch of
the Central Argentine in Cordoba. The branch will
lEave the main line at Leones, and will run to Sastre
Monte Grande. An extension of the Buenos Ayres and
Rosa.rio in the south of the province of Cordoba. is being
energetically pushed forward. The extension runs from
L!i. Ca.lota to Rio Cuarto.
CoALING SHIPS AT SEA.-The Lidgerwood Manufacturing Company has secured a contract to fit the
Russian line-of-battle ship Retvizan, building at the
Cramps. with the Lidgerwood-Miller marine cable-way
for coaling a.t sea.
This is the first marine cableway worked by electricity, and it is expected that the
winches will be a.ble to handle the cable-way from
a. sailing ship in tow, and will also take coa.l from a. steam
collier towing the lineof-battle ship. The winches are
placed on wheel~, so that they ca.n be moved ro'!lnd the
deck of a. ship, nob only to operate theca.ble. wa.y a.t sea, bu 'i
also for coating alongeide in harbour. The capacity of
the pla nt will vary from 20 to 40 tons per hour, accord1
1 to weather condition!?.
Shear poles a.nd chute, as in stalled on the line of-ba.ttleehip Massachusetts, are di~p ensed with in the new construction, the arrangement
being such that wh~n a l oad of coal is brought abotird, the
cable is depressed so that the coal is immediately landtd
on deck.

tv.

......

212

t:Q
E-4
~

~
~

A
A"
r:z:1

E-4

"

9
0
0

zA
<Q

"'

zA
<Q
H

~
0

E-4

(f.J
~

(f.J

~
~

.....

-~

~
~

Cl:>

s..

:s

~
0

Cl:>

f:::l

'-"

::s
~

H
(f.J

(f.J

(f.J
(f.J

r:a:1

~
~

P=l

r:z:1
H
0

p
~

zw
0
0

Q,

:t

t\1

~:::::

------__:=:
__:___
-____...

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

--------

'

Q,

:t
(\j

'\

d)

[A uG. 16, 1901.

AuG. 16, I901.]

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

2 13

THORNYCROFT AND THORNYCROFT-CROSS WATER-TUBE BOILERS.

CON, TRUCTED BY :MESSRK

SI MPSON, STRICKLAND,

AND 0 0 ., LIMITED, DARTMOUTH.

----,---
Fr{J.5

!\ ~ .llJ
C"'

........ - ---]

- - -

I I
'I

I
I I

"
I'

I
I
I
I

'
I'

I
I

'

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

\.
\

''

'

..._

I
I
I

:11I

I
I
I
I

'II
I

''

__

I
I
I
I
I
I
I

'I

''
I
I
I

'
I

Fig.8.
Fig. 7.

.._-.;_-

-:-,.

---- -.... _.......

- ..
~-

11 11 11111111111

:
I

"" """"""""""' " '' '""!' '' " ' ""

II

"

~~

~~

:Ul

~---u
--------~~------------~~j~
t
~
--------~tj1~1--------~
I MPSON, STRWl(L.~ND, AND

Co., Limited,
Ore interesting feature is that t he engine is fitted
Dar tmout h, have a.n interesting show at the Glasgow with Cross's patent valve gear, shown clearly in the
Exhibi tion, the most noteworthy of the engine set s sections of t he engine (Figs. 1 and 3). It consists of two
being a Cross patent fourcrank quadruple-expansion eccentrics and a link of the usual type ; but the valve
engine a.nd water t ube boiler of the Thornycroft-Oross spindle has a. yoke, from which two piston valves are
type, ar ranged toget her, as they will be, in a. launch, carried. These work in liners a.nd have a common
and these we illustrate on t he present and opposite steam chest, one t aking steam on the outside and the
pages. The engine has cylinders 3~ in., 5 in., 7-! in., other on the inside of the valve. The valve spindle is
and 11 in. in diameter by 4! in. stroke. With a work- guided by a dummy-gland and the valves can find
ing pressure of 375lb., a.nd running at 1200 revolutions, 1 their own centres. Thus, two sets of valve gear only
it gtves 140 indicated horse-power.
1a.re needed for the four cylinders, and as the valves are
}.t!ESSRS.

at the sides of the cylinders, much less fore-and-aft

space is taken up. The crankshaft has balance-weights,
but the valves are all exactly balanced, a.nd the
pistons are of equa.l weight. Centrifugal oiling gea.r
is fitted throughout the crankshaft, as shown in detail
by Fig. 4.
The piston rods a.nd connecting rods are of nickel
steel ; the second intermediate croPshead has a. forged
arm projecting in front and working the air pump.
The engine is built entirely on the columns. Combined
drain and relief cocks a.re fitted to the top a.nd bottom

214
of the cylinders. The engine has ample bearing
surfaces, the main bearings being white metal. The
engine occupies a space 4ft. by 2 ft 2 in., and is 27 in.
high from the bearera. Its weight is 7 cwt.
Messrs. Simpson, Strickland, and Co. are also
showing a casting of the cylinders for this engine. The
c1.sting is of a very intricate nature, having receiver
belts throughout. Forty-six core boxes are required
for its construction, and it is ! in. thick. Its weight
is 2 cwt. 1 qr.
The boiler, lagged like the engine in polished aluminium, is of the Thornycroft small-tube type, as
modified by 1Iessrs. Simpson, Strickland, and Co.
is shown by Figs. 5 and 6. It is fitted with solid-drawn
steel tubes. The circulation is from a small lower drum,
through the t ubes, into the big top drum, a.nd down
the down-takes. It has water-walls on each side. The
boiler has been tested to a pressure of 750 lb. The
working pressure is 375 lb., and the forced draught is
mainta.1ned by a. fan, 14 in. in diameter, inside the
casing. The ashpan is closed in, and the draught
reaches the fire from under the fire bars. A lever
opening and shutting the fan shutters, is so arranged
as to prevent the forced draught being on when the fire door is opened. A separate engine wi th a 1f -in. diameter
cylinder, and a piston valve with a spring valve
spindle, works the fan at 3000 revolutions, and, if
req uired, will give 2 in. to 3 in. of pressure. Two of
Klinger's water-gauges a.re carried off distance-pieces
from the big drum, and a double Scha.ffer and Budenberg pressure-gauge is fitted. A branoh fitting carries
the main stop vahe and all the auxiliary steam valves.
The total dry weight of the boiler and fan gear is
13 cwt.
For larger sizes ~Iessrs. Simpson, Strickland, and
Co., Limited, prefer to use their own patent" Thornycrofti-Cross " water-tube boiler, as illustr ated in Figs. 7
and 8, which explain themselves, Fig. 7 being a halfcross sect ion, showing the generating tubes on t he
lefti-hand side, and the water-wall formin g the bn.ck on
the right-hand side. A t ten t ion may be called to the
fact that all the tubes a re kept below the surface of
the water in the top clrum, as it is found t hat this
tends t o very much reduce the liability to pitting.
The boiler illustrated is one which has been built for
350 indicated horse-power, the working pressure being
350 lb.
~Iessrs. Simpson, Strickland, and Co. are also showing a 6-in. by 12-in. compound, with receiver belts, a
triple-expansion engine with cylinders 4! in. by 6! in.
by 10 in. in diameter, and a "Kingdon " quadrupleexpansion engine, all of which types are well known
to readers of ENGINEERI NG . They have also a large
number of photographs, and a. portfolio of yachts,
l aunches, and machinery. A very small engine and
dynamo for about twenty lamps complete their
exhibit.

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

more important items being: installation of complete

electric light plant; installation of laundry plant;
installation of refrigerating plant, including coldstorage rooms for 90 tons of beef; installation of
evaporating plant; installation of complete ventilating
and heating plant; new wooden decks; addition of
one deck amidship ; practically rebuilding ma.in
engines, steering engine, winches, windlass, &c. ;
renewing longitudina.ls and bracket frames in wake of
boilers and engines ; fitting bilge keels ; ex tending
forecastle and l?oop decks; building complete set of
boats; fitting fire main, Hushing main, fresh-water
service, and plumbing; building officers' and troops'
quarters complete, together with wash-rooms, galleys,
pantries, &c. In short, a complete passenger vessel of
the very best accommodation was built from the bare
hull, in addition to many rep!l.irs being made on the
hull itself.
Ventilating cuzd H eating A n angements.- The 'ship is
thoroughly ventilated by means of four large Sturtevant blowers, located on the spar deck, two forward
and two aft, the forward and after systems being
separate and distinct . In connection with each blower
there is a. series of steam coils through which, during
cold weather, the a.ir is d rawn. This method of heating
is extremely satisfactory, the entire vessel having been
kept at an even temperature of 70 deg. during zero
weather.
L azmd1y.- The ship is equipped with a complete
laundry plant, furnished by the American Laundry
Machine Company. The plant consists of a. washer,
extractor, steam drier, and steam mangle.
B erthing and M essing of Solclie1s. - The troops,
instead of sleeping in hammocks, to which they are
not accustomed, are gi ''en gas-pipe berths with canvas
bottoms (Fig. 6). These berths are in '' standees," each
standee being three berths high. The standees arc
portable, and can bo easily taken down and stowed
very compactly. Over the berths, underneath t he
beams, are fore and a.ft slats, the space between these
elats a.ncl the deck being utilised to stow a life
preserver for each berth, and also to stow part of the
soldier's kit. Eaoh berth is a.lso provided with a
large overhead hook, on which the soldier bangs his
haversack, canteen, &c. The one disadvantage of
berthing men in this manner, instead of swinging them
in hammocks, is the necessity of giving up considerable
space for messing arrangements. On the umner the
soldiers are messed on the main deck forward, this
space being extremely well lighted a nd ventilated.
It is provided with Navy type portable tables and
benches, which s tow in racks when not in use, wire
mess lockers, galvanised iron wash troughs for washing
dishes, &c., and on it is located a large scuttle butt
with refrigerating coils. In the after berthing space
there is another scuttle butt fitted with coils, for the
Y a.nk ee soldier cannot do without his ice water.
Cooking A r>angernents fo1 1'roops.- On the port side
of the spar deck amidships is the soldiers' galley (Fig. 11 ).
THE UNITED STATES ARMY TRANSPORT All of the cooking is done by steam, there being located
in t his space three large soup kett les, three large
"SUMNER."
DuRL'iG the Spanish-American war the transporta - vegetable cookers, two large coffee urns, and four
tion of troops by means of chartered merchan t vessels large steam ovens or r oasters. Just across the port
was found to be far from satisfactory, and as the passage-way, opposite the galley, is the bakery, in
acquisition of the Philippine Islands by the United which a re the baking ovens, proving ovens, puddiog
States demanded t he establishment of a more or less ket.t le, &c. On the starboard side of the ship, opposite
permanent transport service, it was decided to esta- the bakery, is the bakery mixing-room (Fig. 9), fitted
blish a. regular Government servic~, which was de- with kneading troughs, tables, bins, and a dough mi xer,
scribed on page 56 ante. T~ th~s end ~erchant run by an electric motor. The capacity of this mixer
vessels suitable for conversiOn mto satisfactory is a barrel of flour every eight minutes. The butcher's
transports were purchased and sent to the various shop, fitted with meat machine run by an electric
shipyards to be fitted out. It was found that there motor, is just abaft the galley; and the coffee-room,
were really very few satisfactory vessels on the with mill run by an electric motor, is just forward of
market, and consequently a. large a.mouut of work had the scullery.
L avato1y Facilitie.s.-There are two large lavatories;
to be done to con vert t~he ,,.easels purchased. As a
matter of fact the cost of converting these vessels one located on the main deck, forward of the soldiers'
was not much' less than new ships would have cost; mess-room, and one on the main deck aft. In the forbut time was the important factor, and the old vessels ward lavatory there are thirt y-nine wash-basins, thirtycould be refitted much more quickly than new vessels four water-closet seats, two long urinal troughs, and
could be built. At the shipyards all of these ves~els four shower-baths. In the after lavatory there are
received practically the same treatment-everythmg fifty-six wash-basins, twenty-six water-closet seats,
d own to the bare steel was torn out and the interior of one long urinal trough and two shower-baths. The
the ship rebuilt.
. wash basins are of solid porcelain with nickel-plated
The Sumner, though one of ~he. smaller vessels, 1s fittings. For the water-closets, brass troughs are
considered the best filited-out sh1p m t he fleet, and a used, with wooden seats, each seati being isolated by
short description of the work done ~n h~r, together meaus of gahanised iron bulk heads. The troughs
with a description of the completed slup, wtll, perhaps, are Hushed by a constant stream of water through the
be interesting. Engravings prepared from photogra1?hs bottom of the trough, in addition to a rim flush
are published on t~he two-page plate accompanymg extendin~ all around the trough. The urin al troughs
this issue and on page 220, and these illustrate the in- are also fitted with a constant flush both through the
bottom and around the rim. The entire floor space of
ternal fittings adopted..
.
.
Prior to the Spanish-American war th1s _vesse~ wa:s both lavatories is covered with gray and white vitri.
.
.
in the Hamburg-New !ork tra~e a.s a combmed Jmnu- fied tiling.
H ospital A?Tangeme11ts .- The mam hosp1tal ward 1s
grant a.nd frei ght ca.rr1er. Durmg the early part of the
war she was purchased by the Navy Department and on the spar deck aft, under the poop, and will accomused a.s a. collier; and in November, 1899, she was modate 32 patients. The deck in the hospital is teak
transferred to the War Department and fit~ed out at finished in hard oil, with rubber tiling runners in all
theNorfolk Navy Yard a_s a transport(FJg.1, page the passage-ways (Fig. 7).
The operating-room, surgeon's-office, nurses' -room,
220). This work took a llttle over four months, and
dispensary, and diet kitchen are in the forward end
was done in the most thorough manner.
All of the woodwork in the vess~l ~as removed, ~nd of the ward, while two large bath-rooms are in the
the bare bull thoroughly scaled 1ns1de and 0 1 ttstde. after end. The operating-room floor and walls from
The work of rebuilding was then begun, a few of the deck t o deck are tiled with white glazed tiling (l?ig. 8).

[AuG. 16, 1901.

The room is fitted with porcelain lavatory, hota.nd cold
water, and portable operating-table. The diet kitchen
is fitted with st eam pans, steam cereal cookers, steam
coffee urns, electric stove, porcelain sink, with hot and
cold water, dish racks, dre~sers, &c. The floor is tiled
with vitrified white tiling.
The dispensary (li'ig. 2, page 220) is fitted with nickelplated brass bottle racks, mahogany lockers, drawers,
&c., and porcelain sink, with hot and cold water. The
floor is tiled with interlocking rubber t iling.
The two bath-rooms (Fig. 3) a re fitted with solid porcelain bath-tubs, porcelain lavatories, with special foot
treadles for operating supply and waste; nickelplated
shower-baths, plate glass mirrors wi th nickel-plated
frames, nickel-plated toilet fittings, and water-closet.
Hot and cold, fresh and salt, water is supplied to bath,
shower, and lavatory. The floor is tiled with vitrified
tiling.
In th~ main ward there are porcelain sioks and
porcelain wash-tubs, all supplied with hot and cold
water.
On the poop there is an isolated ward for contagious
diseases, with accommodation for six patieuts io ward
and two patients in a single room. 'rhis ward is
fitted with bath, water-closet, sho wer, lavatory, &c.,
in the same manner as the lower ward.
A ccornmodation for O?ew.-The quarters for the
firemen and seamen are forward under the forecastle,
and on the forward part of the main deck. These
quartera are large and well arranged, and are entirely
separated from the soldiers' quarters.
On the spar deck, j ust abaft the forecastle, are two
lavatories, one on each side of the ship, for firemen
and seamen. These lavatories are fitted up in the
best possible manner, with tiled floor, porcelain wa'3hbasins, shower baths, plate-glaes mirrors, waterclosets,
urinals, &c.
Deck petty officers, euch as boatswain, carpen ter,
masterat-arms, &c., are prodded with comfortable
state-rooms under the forecastle. Engine petty officers,
such as oilers, water-tenders, deck engineers, &c. ,
have sta te-rooms on the main deck abreast the
engine-room hatch. All of these r ooms are fitted
up in exactly the same style and finish as rooms for
first-class passengers. Adjoining these rooms, and for
the use of the petty officers, are tiled bath-rooms fitted
with porcelain tubs and basins, showers, water-closets,
&c. , all plumbing work being exposed and niekclplated.
There a re two large mess-rooms for the petty officers,
one on the main deck aft for tho~e of the eugine
d epartment, and one on the spar deck aft for those of
the deC'k department.
The stewards, mess-bo.v s, pantry-men, cooks, &c ,
have large and comfortable quarters on the main deck
amidships, just forward of the engine petty officers.
A large tiled lavatory fitted with showers, porcelain
basins, water-closets, &c., is provide dfor these men
adjacent to t heir quartera.
AccoMMODATION FOR SniP's OFnCERS.
The quarter s for the quartermaster-captain are in a
deck-house on the bridge-deck just abaft the engineroom skylight. They consist of a. large state-room
(8 ft. by 15ft. ), private bath-room , large office (7~ ft.
by 12 ft. ), and state room for clerks. All of these
spaces are fitted and finished in the most luxurious
style. The insides of the r ooms are panelled in
mahogany, and all of the furniture is solid mahogany
elaborately carved. The bath -room is the perfection
of the plumber's art ; the floor is tiled with small
vitrified tiles, and the walls are tiled with embossed
Majolica tiles. Opposite the door is a large porcelain
lavatory, surmounted by a plate-glass mirror in a
massive nickel frame; surrounding this mirror are
cut-glass tumblers and water bottles in nickel-plated
holders, nickel-plated comb and Lrush tray, nickelplated soap dish, nickel-plated towel rack, &c.
To the right of the door is a. solid porcelain bathtub fi tted with adjustable seat, and within easy reach
of which are nickel-plated soap-dish, nickel-plated
sponge-holder, and a shampoo-brush having water
connections. Over the bath-tub is a nickel-plated
shower, with canvas curtains. Hot or cold, sa.lt or
fresh, water is supplied to the lavatory, shower,
bath-tub, and ~hampoo-brush. Behind the door is a.
water-closet . The quarters for the captain, deck
officers, and surgeon are on the bridge deck for ward ; they are large, well-lighted , and fitted with
every convenience. As compared with similar quar
ters on the large Transatlantic liners, these quarters
are luxurious. The engineer officer s are quartered on
the main deck amidships, a breast the engine-room,
and their rooms are fitted up in the same manner as
those of t he deck officers. A ll of the above officers
mess in the saloon dining -room.
A CCOl\ll\'lODATION FOR

F1RST-0LASS P ASSENGERtl.

State-Room.s.-There are three single rooms (Fig. 5)

and 29 double rooms, located on the bridge, spar and
main decks, providing accommodation for 61 firstclass passengers. The rooms are large and are most
comfortably and elegantly fitted out ; all of the

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

AuG. r6, 1901.]

furni ture is mahogany, highly f:inis hed. As the
voyage from New York to .Manila is a long one, a
great amount of stowage space has been provided for
clothes ; to t his end, in addition to lockers and
drawera underneath the berths, in each room there is
a large chest of drawert;.
The navy type nickel-plated lavatory riogs with
basins, slop jar, and water pitcher, are fi tt ed in each
room. Above the basin is a plateglass mirror in
nickel-plated frame, around which are the nickelplated toilet fixtures. In rooms where space would
allow there is a leather upholstered transom seat.
Bath-R ooms.- Scattered about the ship, convenient
to the state-rooms, there are nine bat.h -r coms. All
of these rooms are, of course, t iled, and are fitted up
in the most complete manner wi t h porcelain tubs and
lavatories, showers, mirrors, wa ter-closets, toilet fixtures, &c.
Smoking-Rooms.-There are two smoking- rooms : a
large one on the spar d eck forward, and a small one
on the bridge deck afli. These rooms are tiled with
interlocking rubber t iling, and are fitted with handsome mahogany furniture, such as sideboard s, cardtables, &c.

215

doubtful if th e tables will ever be full, unless, perhaps,

when the ship is in port.
Principal Di?nensions :
Length over all ...
.. .
. ..
.. . 363 ft. 1! in.
L ength, fore side stem to after side
rudder post . ..
. ..
.. .
.. . 362 " 0 "
Breadth, extreme
.. .
. ..
. .. 42 ,1li ,
Depth, under aide keel to top spar
.. .
...
.. . 32 ' . 1 ''
deck plating .. .
418 tons
Permanent ballast
...
...
. ..

Coal :
Coal bunker capacity, 42 cubic feet
per ton
...
.. .
...

880 tons

Fresh, Water :
. .. 13, 948 gallons
1'
2,
'J
...
.. 64,2!)6 ,,
26,684
,,
,,
3,
,J


"
"
4,
"
. ..
. .. 8, 139
T ank A, forward coal bunker, s tarboard . . .
. ..
...
. ..
. .. 3,100
"
3,000
Tank B, forward coal bunker, port
, c, engineer's store-room, aft.. . 3,600 "
Tank No. 1, double bottom ...

Total

...

...

... 112,666

"
"

THE ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT

OF SHIP BUILDING WORKS.*
By MR. J AMiilS D UNN, of London.
(Concluded from pa.qe 186.)
Work done on Various T ypes of Ships before and after
Lawnchir~u.-Aa to the cond ition of the work ab the d~te
of launch, some dn.ta applicable to various types ~f ships
have been collected from works where the practice does
not materially differ. T he data are given in Table I.
su bjoined. This Table gives ~he total. number of m~n
hours invol ved in the constr uctnon of vanous types of ship,
divided between the shipyard and engineeriz:tg d ep!l'rtments, and although not germane to the 1mwed1ate
subject in ha.nd, it is interesting to note that, whereas
with armoured war vessels the number of men-hours per
ton of totalled finished weight of the ship varies from 678
to 722 the proportion in the caee of bh~ fastest of the
merch~nb steamers carrying a large n~mber of passe~gers
is only 401 j- men-houn per ton weight of the fims~ed
ship, while in the case of the purely cargo - carry1~g
steamer it is 240 men-hours per ton weight of the sh1p.
In other words, for a first-class ironclad the number of
men-hours is about six millions, whereas in the case of a
passenger steamer of the same total weight wh en she

TABLE I.-LABOUR INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCriON OF VARIOUS TYPES OF VESSELS; AND THE PROPORTION OF LABOUR
DONE BEFORE, AND AFTER LAUNCHING, IN SHIP AND ENGINEERING WORK RESPECTIVELY.
I.

II.

W ARS IIIP K O. 1.

Dimensions
Gross tonnage

..
..

.
..

..
..

.
..

..
..

Crew

..

..

..

..

..

..

Passengers
..
..
..
Indicated horse power . .
..
A ggregate WorkmenHOtlr8
Shipyard department . .
..
Eogiaeeriog department
..

..
..

..
..
on Ship.
..
..
..
..

Total . .
..
..
..
..
.
Percentage of &bipyord department to total
..
en~inee rin g department to tot al..
?tlenho~rs per ton of builders' fini shed {Hull. . .
E ogmes
weight
Work

le r>_g-t h brean tb depth

435' X 69' 3" X 39' 9"
7,056
677

..

len.rth l>rr ndth depth

435' X 69' 3" X 3&' 9"
7,066
677

18,200

16,800
4,344,147 hours
1,023,837
"

- -- -

W AUSillP KO. 2.

6,967, {184 ..
72.8 per ctut..
27. 2
''
620!
19t!t

111.
ARMOUR RD WARSIIIP
No. 3.

leuKth bl'eadth depth

390' X 74' 3 " X
8,700
750

4~'

M E n C IJA~T

44 (/ X

6,182.06! Jl
bOA per cen t.
30.6
"
f01
221

6.8i7 820 "

75. 9 p er cent.
24.1
,
fi1 6
163

54'

~,51 4

84
17
2,000

13,600
5,224,309 hours
1 ,653,011 "

Smr.

lengt.h brt>ad r b dept.h

4,290.1 68 hours
1,891,893
"

-----

IV.

7~ n. 105

hou rs

353,5H

1 139,446
08 9 per Ot'u t.
31.1
..
16~!

74!

36'

V.

VI.

MKRCIIANT SIIIP.

M ERCUA NT Sill[>,

-lcnl! t h

brea1lb tiepLh lengt h bre:1dth depth

3 15 ' X 421 X 2~ 1 8''
600' X 56' X 371
3,080
62

7,946
200

7t

692

2,270

9,140

582 752 boura

219,217
,

2,382,353 hours
928,2117
''

,,
801 ,969
72.6 per cent.
:l7.4
'

3,311),050
"
72 per cent.
28
,
288l
112}

227

85!

---

Done IJP{oTe Laun chi11g.

Total number of men-hours, in both ship and

3,159,684 mmhours
8,705,537 men-hours
engine works . .
..
..
..
-.
. . 8, 083,348 men-hours
68~,881 men-hours
660,932 men-hours
1,273,175 men-hours
Total number or hours on engine and boiler 53, ?26 hours
room work prior to launch
..
..
..
06,439 h ours
44,627 h ou rs
16,156 h ours
28,862 hours
36,418 hours
Percentage or engine and boiler work to the
1. 7 per cent.
total work befor e launch . .
..
..
..
1. 4 per cent.
2. 5 per cent.
2. 7 per oen t.
4.3 per cent.
2.8 per cen t.
Percentage to total of engine and boile r - roo~ work
r equ ir ing to be done to complete machmery . .
6. 7
JJ
2.7
"
28
"
4. 5
"
10.9
"
3.9
11
6520
Launching- we1ght
..
..
..
..
..
tons
6370 t ons
'i 160 tons
3750 tons
2 l 20 tons
5440 t ons
Builder&' finished weight (including machinery) ..
IJ
10,
HO
,
8660
8350 "
2666 ,,
4740 "
8260 "
Percentage of Jauncbiog weight to builaers'
fin ished weight
..
..
..
..
..
'iO 3 per cent.
76.2 per cen t .
73.6 per cent..
'i9.1 per cent .
82.6 per cent.
06.9 per cent.
Oondition of ebip at launch . .
..
..
. . lro!l and steel work prac Iro!l and steel work prac lro!l and steel work pr~c lro!l and s teel work prac Iro~1 a.nd steel work prac [ron and steel work
t1cally complete. All t1cally complete. All t10ally complete. ~1de hcallyeomplete. Wood t1cally complete. All mos1l.v compl~tP exa rmour
complete. armou r complete ex- a rmour on both Sides d ecks with exception decks laid ana joiner cept huildm" of 'boat
Deckscompletl'. Joiner cept conning tower. complete. Scr een bulk- of fly ing bridge and work three . fourth~ deck
flying brid~e
work ba.lt complete. Decks complete. Join et b ead forward and aft deckhouse tops all complete. P ropeller.. ma t'.. at1d t hart house'
Plumber wor k three work half complete. and lower portion of laid. J oiner work ver) and t u nnel shattmg Detks' sevt-n . eigh tt>~
fourt hs complete. Pro Plumber work three- barbette a rmour for - little done. Propeller~ and thrust blocks ano complete, and j oiner
pelle~a and t unnel fourt hs complete. Pto ward and aft c~m and tunnel sbafting, m ost of the auxiliar)
work about half comsbaftmg on board.
pelle~s .and
tunnel plete. Upper portton thrust shaft., thrust machinery on board.
plete. Propellere and
sbaftmg ID place.
of ba~bet.te a rmour and blo<:k.s, and mos~ of tb(
s hafting,
including
conmDp: tower not auxthary machinery OD
thrustsbaftsand blocks
fitted. Oasemates Nos. board.
and most
of the
1, 2, 1;\nd 5 on each side
auxiliary machine ry
not 10 plac~. Decks
on board.
Plumber

complete. Jomer work

work about half oombalf complete. P lu m
plete.
ber work tbreefourthp
complete. Propeller
a nd tunnel sbaft.ing OD
lYork Done aj te1 .Launch.
board .
1,183, 760 men-hours
Total number of m en h ours } Shipyard
.. 1,305.326 men-hours
1,614,211 men-hours
217,6!:!0 men-hours
56,672 menhours
1 , H5,596 men-h our3
alter launch
Engine works 1,579,310
11
1,838,667
"
1,b57,572
"
837,386
"
195,865
,
801,879
"
Percentage of ship work to total wor k done
..
45. 2 per cent.
89.1 per cent.
60.8 per cent.
31.2 p er cent.
22.2
p
er
cen
t.
66. 2 per cent.
Total number of hours of shipyard men after
1,305,326 hours
l , 183,760 hours
launch . .
..
..
..
..

1,614,211 hours
217,580 hours
66,672 hours
1,146, 596 hours
Percentage to total of sh ipyard hot.~ rs . .
..
30.0~ per cent.
27.6 per cent.

30.9 per cent.

27.0 per cent.
9.5 per cent.
48 p er cent.
A r~angements. -The galley for the firstclass passenger~ is on th.e spar d~ck forwa rd of the
boiler casiog (F 1g.lO). It IS fi~ted w1t h t he usual range.s,

Messing

kettles broilers, dresser s, smks, &c. On the mam

deck j~st below the galley, and connected with it by
mea~s of a dumb waiter, is the pantry. This pantry
is just abaft the eal.oon dining-room, and is fitted
with every convemence, such as steam table~,
bain marie tables, coffee and tea urns, automat ic
egg-boilers, sinks, dresser s, he.aters,. &c. qn the ma~n
deck, just forwa;~d of the ~a1n stauway, Is the roam
dining-saloon (E 1g. .4) .. I.t ts an extremely hand~o!ne
r oom the wainscotmg IS m mahogany, and the celltng
and ~pper part of t he walls are finished in wh ite and
gold. On each side of the saloon and running its entire
length are transom seats upholstered in morocco
leather. At t he after end t here is a large mahogany
sideboard; opposite. this there is a large mahogany
bookcase; on each std e of the bookcase are handsome
mahogany serving tables, while between the bookcase
and each serving table there is a nickel-plated drinking
fountain supplying ice water. T he tables and chairs
are of solid mahogany and are very handsome. T here
are s~ating arrangements for sixty, which is slightly
less than the total number of passengers and officer s,
but with the class of passengers to be carried, i t is

A.ccommodation.-Oomplement of Ship.

leaves the builder's yard the number of hours involved is

only about one-half, or 3,310,660 hours .
The propor.tion of work done by the engineering department vanes but slightly- from 24 to 30 per cent of
t~e total. ~he ~~e of No. 2 warship, where the proportiOn of engmeer~ng '~ork i~ 30.6 p~r cent., is exceptional,
as h~re .an engmeermg d tspute mfluenced the figuree.
Ag~m, I? the pure~y ~rgo. steamer, column IV., the
engmeermg pr~por~10~ lS high-namely, 31.1 per cent.,
beca.use ~be sh1pbut~dmg work does noo involve any extens~ ve mt~rnal fitttogs, owmg t<? few p assengers being
carrte~, while the engme power JS as great as in the sh1 p
No. 5 m the T~ble.
As to ~ork done before launching, engineers and boilermakers, m the case of five of the si x vessels did leas than
2 per. cent. of the total; the other instanc~-that of the
ship .It;l column .V.-approximatea more closely to the
conditlOn that w11l prevail f?r the future ab the Barrow
Works ; for here, as shown m the "condition of the ship
at! launch," the propellers and tunnel shafting thrustblock, and mo.st of the au~iliary machinery, 'were on
board.; but, bemg a cargo ahtp, the amount of auxiliary
!Dachmery was not! by any means so great as is the case
L o c oM01'I\'ES ON '11R E SouTHERN PAouno RAILROAD.:rhe So~thern Pacific Qompa.ny has now 829 engines upon m w~r vessels, and thus the proportion is less than it will
Its Pamfic aystHm, while orders are outstanding for 103 be wtth war vessels. In the case of this vessel in column
more. The company has now 95 engines bumin~ petro- No. V., however, 10.9 per cent. of bhe total engineering
leum as fuel, and all its engines are to be ulttma.tely
* Paper read before the Institution of Mechanical Engi
adapted for using petroleum.
neers.
1 quarterma.steroa.ptain.

2 clerks.

1 captain.
4 deck officers.
1 surgeon.
1 ohief steward.
5 engineers.
13 petty officers, deck denartment.
14
,
engine
,
32 seamen,
32 firemen.
33 stewarde, mess and pantry men, steam cooks and
butchers.
2 nurses.
Passengers.
61 fir8t class passengors (29 two-berth rooms, and 3
one ber th rooms).
32 berths, main ward, hospital.
10 berths, isolated ward of hospibal.
96:~ berths for soldiers.

[Ave. I 6,

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

2!6
work invol ved wa~ completed before t he ship was
launched, whereas in t he warships t he percent age was
about 2~ per cent. There seems no reason why this p ercentage should not be brough t u p to aboub 20 per cent. ;
for alohough t he main machinery cannot b e " lined up,"
owing to possible alterations in t he form of the ship when
a float. there are many details and loads which come
within the carrying weight of t he cantilever crane.
The Table also shows t he extent of the shipbuilding
work done prior to the launch and also after the ship has
been floated. It is important to reduce the amount that
requires to be done after launching, because then the ship
is further from t he shipworkers' base. !Vlucb of the work,
it is t rue, involves little or no weights, so thab t he question of crane a ccommodation is not so imp ortan t. It will
be seen that with armoured warships t he proportion of
shipyard work remaininfZ to be done after the launch is
b etween 27.5 and 31 per cent. of all the sbipwork; but i t
varies very considerably in the merchant work, the direct
cause being t he quantity of joiner and cabinet fi ttings
involved in the completion of t he passenger accommodation. Thus, in the case where only 9.5 per cent . of shi pwork remained t o be done (in the ship given in column V .),
the joiner work was three-fourths completed, and all the
decks were laid before the launch, whereas in the ship in
column N o. V I ., where 592 passengers are carried, t he
joiner work was only half-completed, and thus 48 per cent.
of the shipyard work remained to be completed after the
launch.
Portable Tools Used on Ships, QIIU], Methods of Supporting
Thettn (Figs. 27 to 29).-T o expedite work on t he ship when
on the slip and also out in the fitt ing-out dock, a large
amount of portable mechanical plant is used, including a
p ortable electric light ing equipment, an installation of
pneumatic riveting and caulking t ools, and various electrical drills, &o. It is nob necessary t o describe these
tooJs in view of t he paper recently contributed to the
Institution. * A portable t ool which may interest the
members is the machine for planing the gun-roller paths
on barbettes for 12-in. and 9.2.in. guns ; this is clearly
shown on F ig. 27. It is rotated by a 5 horse-power
electric motor, and, with a feed of ! in. per revolution,
the machine cuts at a rate of 15 ftJ. per minute, equal t o
20 squarA feet p er hour. Figs. 28 and 29 show a similar
machine for dealing with the roller pa ths of smaller guns,
of 6-in. and 4. 7-in. calibre. This machine is driven by a
3 horse-p ower motor.
Orwnes at the Fitt;i;ng-Out Basiln (Fige. 30 to 34).Another question which ha~ had to be considered by
those responsible for the equipment of shipbuilding works
is the type of crane necessary for placing heavy weights
on board the ship in the fi t ting-out basin, and, in addition to showing the general arrangement of t he Naval
Construction W orks' 120ton crane operated by hydraulic
p ower (Fig. 30, page 217), there are reproduced general
elevations of four other t ypical cranes. T he heaviest
weight lifted in mercantile work within t he author's
experience is a boiler of over 110 tons weight; with the
adopbion of water-tube boilers, gun moun tings and guns
now provide the great est loads in naval work, and these
range from 50 to 60 tons.
T he modern tendency is in favour of a derrick crane
in preference to sheerlegs, because t he latter are slow in
their movements, work only in one pl~tne, and t hus
necessitate frequent movement of t he ship, while the
foundation usually involves t rouble because the weight
carried is concent rat ed at two points, each of limited area..
Again, the overhang is nob greater t han with j ib or swing
cranes, and now that t he t endency is all towards an increase in the beam of ships, this latter becomes of primary
impor tance. F or instance, in three of t he largest works
the overhang is 60 ft., 57ft., and 47~ ft. In this country
there are several types of splendid j ib cranes, and reference may be made to t he t wo 130-ton steam cranes by
Messrs. Cowans, Sheldon, and Co., used by Glasgow ship b uilding firms for fitting engines on board t hei r ships,
and having an overhang of 45 ft. from t he face of t he
q uay with the maximum lift.t At the dockyards there
is a splendid hydraulic crane by Messra. Tannett W alker
and Oo., of 160-ton carrying power, with a n overhang
from t he face of t he quay of about 50 ft.:t Again, quite
recently Messrs. Doxford, of Sunderland, inst alled a jib
crane which can lift 120 tons when the j ib is commanding
a radius of 50 ft , 70 tons for 80 ft. radius, and 30 t ons
for 100 ft. radius. But it is of special interest to not e
whab has been done abroad during the past t wo or three
years. Nearly all the works in Germany ha ve been
erecting p owerful jib-cranes in anticiPation of the construction of great cargo steamers. Fig. 31 and F ig. 32
illustrate t wo cranes, t he one of 100-ton capacity and t he
o ther of 150-ton cap acity. Both these cram~s are of t he
horizontal revolving type, which enables the jib to turn
~complete circle ; so that with a jib of about 180 ft. in
length (or 120 ft. from the central pivot ) the radius is very
extensive. On t he ot her hand, the clearance above a
ship is limited, especially for what are known as t he
s torm-decker steamers, witJb immense funnels.
The crane shown by F ig. 31 has been constructed by
the Benrath Company, of Dtisseldorf, for t he B remen
Vulcan W orks, and consists of a tower which tu rns on
t welve carriages, each running on four rollera, and for
rotating p urposes fo ur of these carriages are fitted with
electric motors of 12 horse-power. The lifting mechanism
is also drivAn by electric p ower.
T he Benrath Company have also constructed a crane
for the Imperial D ockyard at B remerhaven (Fig. 33,
p age 217}, wit h a stationary tower, the vertical axis of

which is formed by a revolving pillar, having its bearings load a b a speed of 4! ft. per minute, and in addition has
in the foundations, and above in the bead of the t ower. sep ara te hoisting machinery for dealing with loads uo t o
This pillar beard the horizontal jib, which is itself sym- 30 t ons, the hoisting speed b eing 13 ft. p er minute. The
metrical as regards right and left; t he one a rm supp orlis great overhang is secured, as in Messrs. Doxford's crane,
the crab, the other a counterweigh t. The whole turns by arranging that the jib, not withstanding the great power,
through 360 deg., and the crab moves at the same time, so can have its inclination altered to a very considerable exthat the area covered by the crane is equal to a circle whose tent, but in A ppendix I I. a. full descripbion of the crane is
external radius is 72ft. and internal 26 fb. The rotating given, so t hat here it is nob necessary t o enter into deta ils.
power is an electric motor of 26 horse-power; the crab traThe author, in conclusion, wishes to express his inversing motor is of the aa.me p ower, and t he two hoisbing , debtedness to several fi rms wh~J have granted facilities for
.F\1].2'1
M ACHIN E FOR PLA NING
Ch.t6 15FtJ.pe:r mArv.
Fe.R.Ai/ !li perrw.
20SqY o.pi..ariA!dlpu1wur

_....

nc:- ;~""J - - - -- - -

~-

--- -

CUNROLLR PATH S ON BA RBETT5.

--..... -- -....., ..
...

--- ~-

....- --------,-----------------i
... ___________ -- ----+---------------.
--- ------- --- . .
- --------

..... -..

~----~-

\ ... - t.-

Fur12W'tfY9Z GU1t8.

.... /..

---------

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

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

------

:--..

.. .....

'

',

l_

-.
..
L - ---.!ao-...-::::~~;_
--~.
- - - ... - - - I
, _

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

----------

')

---- -

--tt
.:1,..-

0
... d

c- Cu.J::ter$ .

''

:Fig.28. MACHINE FOR PLANINC flOLL11

II

PATHS OF 6 /N. CUN MO UNTIN G~.

c~

\~':'l1l;:!:-;;~
I

'

"

MildJSreeL

.'

Thrcrul,f_De.ep.
.Mi.ldJ St:.eW Spur
Wheell10~ Jiw:Ju. ~-H---++--r-1
A -..

'0

V:::/

.
I

motors of 40 horse-power, working a steel rop e 2.4 in. in

diamet er wi th different ial pulley and double capstan.
Messrs. K rupp's crane, built by the D uisburger Company, shown in Fig. 32, pa.ge 217, differs in thn.o i t has a
pyra midal structure whicp occupies less of the quay's
space t han t he usual crane, as bet ween t he legs railway
carriages or large loads may easily be passed, as shown in
F ig. 32. The chief structure has t he form of a th ree!egge~ equila teral pyrn.mid, t wo of whose legs are placed
10 a. hne parallel to the quay's edge ; the three chief legs
are connected ab the t op by a closed frame, within which
t he roller path of the crane pillar is fixed ; t he pillar forms
the central axis of the pyramid ; it rests on a roller path
ab the q uay level and is provided with a ~iv ot ; this roller
pa.tb has a special bearing. T he mechamsm which effects
the turning of t he horizontal jib is placed on t he upper
roller path, and the jib projects 125 fb. irom the central
::1xis., and _is fitte~ with tw<? independent winding. gears t ravelling w1th their respecb1 ve crabs; t he outer gea.r lift s 45
tons, t he other 150 t ons ; there is a third small lifting
crab. The total height is 150 ft. 11 in. to t he upper edge
of t he horizontal jib.
A remarkable derri ck crane has been constructed for
* "Portable P neumatic Tools," by Mr. Ewart C. Amos, Meesra. Blohm and Voss's works by the D uisbur~er Comroceedingt1, 1900, page 119.
pany ; it deals with loads of 100 tons, and t he radius from
ENGINEERING, vol. Jv. page 819.
1lhe cent re of t he crane for such load is 93 ftl. 5 in., giving
Ibid , voJ. 1vii. , page 259.
an overhang in front of the qua.y of about 65 ft. This
Ibid., vol. lxxi., page 604.
crane, which is shown on Fig. 34, page 217, lifts i bs full

190 1.

1:- r.'b: zqf=:.::::::::

:'l
=='~~=-===:!::'-:.Jp!M.
d~aling with the subjecb, and to many of the members of
hts staff who have prepared the illus trati on~.

Lrsr

APPEND I X I .
AT N AVAL Co ~sTn uorroN WoRKS,

01!' M AC BINES
WlT H P OWER 0 1-' ELRCT'RlO M OTOR

In Mechanici Shop.
23 dr illing machines to d r111 from smallest up tl) 6in. d ia\
meter holes . .
.
20 lat hes (v~rio.us) . fl'om small~at up' 'to 30. n. iong
4 ft. 6 m. tn dtameter
.
a>
5 scre'Yiog mnc~ines, from small~st up t o 2!:i'n. sc~ews :: g
1 tiapptng mnc~tne, t o tap holes up t o 1! in. in d iameter .. E
2 bora~g mnoht'?es, 9 ft. long by 3 tt. 6 In. in d iameter . . till
4 plamog machmes, u p to 20 f li. long by 9 f~. h igh by 10 tt. ~
wide
..
..
..
..
..... 0
2 slotting ffilChines, 10 ft. long by 6. ft. wide and. 14 i~: ~ 8
st roke . .
..
..
m s..
2 sh.a~ing mac~ines, 7 ft. long by 6 ft. ~ide a.;d 13 i~.' strol~~ I S ;
2 mtlhog machiDea, 3 ft. in diameter of t ables
>- 2 8.
1 g r!nder for mi~liog ~achine ou tters . .
..
::
:: j ';; ~
1 ~ rlOder fo r twtst d rtlls . .
..
..
..
~ e
2 band saws for metal out up to 17 in. thiok

;::: .8
1 mo.ohine for setting teet h of saws
..
.:

:: -o o
1 sawsharpeoing maohine
..
..

~ CQ
2 pairs of 20-in. emery wheels . .

~
2 grindstones
..
..
..
..
..
~
1 small blo\~inb~ fan for tool-smi t,h arJ..
..
::
::
~
1 emery po ts tng machin e
..
..
..

1 ~as tem per in ~t stove and fan . .
..
..

..
..
2 2ton t ravelling cranes . .

by

..

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

A ve. 16, 1901.]

217

On Board Ships.

1 doublebeaded Rca.rflng machine for overlaps of Motors.

sbipplates (F ig. 9, page 170 ante)
..
. . 5 H.P.
Motors.
112-in. barbette roller-path facing; machine .. { Fig. 27, }6 H.P. 1 hydraulic channel cul:iter, Fig. 11, page 170 an te.
9 drilling machines. .
..
..

..
. . 3 , , each
1 9.2-in. barbette roller -path facing machine.. page 216 6 ,
8 countersinking machines
..
..
..
.. 3 ,
,
Motors.
1 double-beaded screwing machine
..
..
{ 6 , and
1 6-in . gun-seat facing machine }
{ 3 l l. P.
,
,
Figs. 28 and 29
1 six-spindle nut-tapping machine
..
..
shaft
1 4. 7
3
"
1 12-pounder facing machine
1 double-geared lathe.
1
"
1 boring machine for protective deo,ks up to 1~ in. in
1 band saw for metal
2 H.P.

diameter
..
..
..
..
..
. . 2 ,,
1 oirculat saw for metal ..

6 boring machines for armour backing and shells up
6 griodstones
..
..
10 . , and



to 4 in. in diameter.
shaft

2 shaping machines
..
..
..
..
. . 1 , each 1 pair of emery wheels ..
4 blaat fans for smith fires

2 band saws for metal ..

..
..
..
.. 1
11
2 circular saws
.
..
..
..
..
.. H.. 11
"
11 hydraulic cranes.
1 10 cwt. hydraulic ash hoist at main boilers.
4 drilling machines .
.
..
..
.
. . 0! ,
"
2 emery g rinders . .
..
..
..
..
. . 2 11 "
1 hydraulic pumping engine with double cylinders,
12 in. by 24 in. , and accumulator; working pres
4 grindstones
..
..
..
..
..
.. 1
"
1 grinding machine for armour-plates..
..
.. 1 ,
"
sure 1650 lb. per sq uare inch.
R otary g rinding wheel dri"en from motor by belt
1 pneumatic power hammer, 1 cwt.
..
. . 6 H.P .

a nd held to armour by ha nd .
1 5-owt. steam hammer.

I n Plwmbers' Shop.
6 drilling machines..
..
..
..
..
..
6 pipescrewing machines to screw pipes up to 4 in.
in diameter
..
..
..
..
..
..
1 pipe-cu tting mnohine to out pipes up to 12 in. in
diameter
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
1 ba n i saw tor iron . .
2 punching and shearing mach ines
..
..
2 beading and shearing machines, 3 ft. gap : .
. ..
1 sheet iron rolls to take plates up t o 5 ft. 6 m. W1de
J t insmiths' roHs to tak e plates up to 3 ft. wide
..
1 tin-folding machine
..
..
..
..
.
1 t ilt hammer
..
.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.
..
. . 5 horse
2 blowing fans
power eaoh
1 boiler and fu rnace for lead.
1 hydraulic boiler tester.

Boilers, Winches, &:o

6 patent fl anges flu e ma in boilers, 28 ft. by 8 f t. in

diameter, 160 lb. "'"orking preesure.

~. -

'

Pig.33.

Ftg.30
1ZO l.oTV f!Jdra.l.la CraJ'fS
(vi.ck.Ers.)
DO'IOM!ti.r~ Dock,

If.------------- 82' ---- - --- -- ~ --- --------- 112~

-- ~..._____ _

Barrow.

...

I
j
I

11

'

iI '""" rlI

M-----------------~~~
-.- - - - - . - . "f/1,0
IT

--

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

.I

I.

:-4

.k.
_,
. ~-,
,.1=----

,--- -

---~

I
I'
I

---.

- - --t OO T
If :JT

'

--------

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

r
!

84-.5~--

I
'
I
I

. .... 28 -)'

100-tiJn-Derrick Cr~. (JJuisbu.rg), f or Blo~ & J!27ss.

Fig. 34.

Flg. 32.

150 ~ lfq;olfl~ CraiW. (Duisbvrg),KieL.

0'-vJ_ .. .

'

~ - ~ - --- 73 "

1-

-------- ..

t<
-------

~ ----- -- - - Jr--- 1: -115 0 - - - - - - - - 1

I

CQ

{-:.r..:.~

__ _ ,

- - -

)-- ---- - ..... _

__ 1

---.

I
I

,
I

I
I

--.' , --,'
I I

;;;;
1.: __ _
~~;;:;;;;;;;~~~~f5~fe1~~---- -;--i

- -~,--

--Y i

I
I

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

'".,;;:"'"'"-"="""-.,.!
-..:.. - ----- - ---- - ---- -

-------:&
-- - -,

= == ~

____

---'---------r
----------------------- - - - -- -- ------ - ----- -~

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

.,- - -

---- - -~

(5!191 R)

ISO Ft.

-~

0
J .. - 3

50
i

I n Machine Shed.

100

fj0Ji'cr

a _ _ Jes
M
e:.:=
. ====::=::c==l=.l

1 rumbler for cleaning old eervice bolts.

1 cokeorusblng maohine
..
..

1 oylindrioe.l, with Galloway's patent flues, SO ft. by Motora

6 plate-planing machines to take plate up to 38 ft. Motors.
.
.
1!
H.P.

8 ft., for saw mill .
by 2 in. thick . .
..
..
..
..
.. 10 H-P. each
1 four-furnac e marine boiler, 16ft. by 12 ft. in dia
I n Ya-,d.
1 large. plate-bending rolls, SOft. long, to take up to
meter, for smithy.
Motors.
.
2m. plate
..
..
..
..
..
. . 45
4 can t t 1ever ?ran~s (Figs. 20 to 26, pages184 and 185) . . 86 H P. each 3 d on key boilers.
1 smaller plate-bending rolls, 20 ft. 6 in. long to
"
6 combined winches and boilers.
2 ~ver shtpbuildtog berths, 190 ft. span.
take up to l !in. plate
..
..
. . ' .. SO
4 steam locomotive travelling cranes.
1 m plate yard, 818 ft. span.
1 smaller plate-be.ndiog rolls, 14 ft. 6 in. long, to
"
4 steam winches.
1 in t imber yard, 318 ft. span.
take up to 1tn. plate
..
..
..
..10
2 25 H.-P.ea ch
1 large .mangle rolls, to take plates up to 6 ft. wide
"
I
n
Smiths'
Shop.
..
..
..
. . 20
11 electric winches ..
4 8 "
,
(Ftg. 6, page 169 ante)
1 6-ton steam hammer.

Motors.
1 6 ,
"
1 small man~ le rolls, to take plates up to 5 ft. wide .. 5 ::
1 1-ton
,
,
4 20 ,
"
3 small bendmg rolls
..
..
..
..
. . 6 , , each 3 10-cwt. ,
,
3
donkey
feed
pumps.
86 punching and shearing machines, to punch up to
1 8owt. ,
,
1 doubl.e-aoting salt-water test pump for testing
l~~n . boles in 1!-in. plates. .
..
..
.. 6
4 6-cwt. ,
,
sbtps' compartments.
1 puncbmg and shearing machint>, to punch up t o
"
"
6 drilling machines.
2 portable cenl:irifuga.l pumps, 6000 gallons per hour 3
,
2-io. ~olea in 2 in. plates . .
..
..
. . 20 ,
1 grindstone.
,
1
Merryweather
fire
engine.
"
7 bar-bending maohines, to bend up to 7-in. by 4!-in.
1 blast fan ..
..
..
..
..
1 portable fire engine for att achment to locomotive
.. 40 H. P.
angles ..
..
..
..
..
..
. 6
each 76 fires and fu rnaces.

cranes.
'
2 hydraulic pla~e-bendere, to bend plates up to 32 in.
"
Heaviest forgin gs-Rudders up to 1'7 t ons.
long by i m. t hick (Fig. 8, page 169 ante).
I n Joiners' Shops.
Motors.
Stern frames up to 14 tons.
1 moulding machine
..
..
..

10 H .P

218

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

gines, a~d it i~ carried through a stuffing-box into the

geometr10al axlS of the jib, where it is well insucircula r eaw

c ircula r saws

The one machinist who attends t o the crane

..
6 , each lated.

sand-paper ing machine ::

has his stand in the front p a;rt of the j ib, at a height of
. . 10 H. P.

CrOSSCUt saw

about 23 fb. ab?ve the floormg. F rom his stand he can

. . 3 11

t urning lathes
::
::
. . 6 H.-P. and follow the .motions of the hooks, and attend to all his

shaft
lev~r~, wht ch are . duly marked, without changing his
pneumatic installation for removioa- r efuse sawpos~tton . . The engmes, gears, a nd attendant's stand are
dust, &o.l from machines to boiler stok~hole
al! m an Iron ca.b, which is fitted with windows. The
two fa ns for above .
..
..
' 2 20 H p
circular saws

t npod structure forms, with its box connections, placed
e~ery grinding m~ohin~s
::
::
::
Shafting
under the floor, an exceedingly strong and rigid sysoem
spmdle and holecuttin~ mach ' ne3 . .
..
and on e
and the loads a.re well distributed. The central founda:
band saws . .
..
SO H p
tion block, under the jib table, is exposed to vertical
g rating machine . .
::
::
::
::
mot~r
pressures only ; the two others receive either vertical
dowelling, mor tising, dO\' etn.iling, &c., mnch ines
pressures or aob as counterweights for the load.
InSaw M ill.

1 mouldrng ma.oh \ne

1
2
1
1
4

S
6

3
2
1
9

Motors.

.. 6 H.P.
. . 10 "

6 cir cular sawe.

4 band and frame saws.
2 saw-sharpening machines.
1 saw-setting machine.
2 t ravelling benches.
1 boring machine.
1 planing machine.
1 emFry g rinder .
1 blast fa n for taking eawdu&t to boiler stokehold.
1 douhle compound tandem engine.
All the machines in saw mills driven by a..bove engine.

I n Blook and Spa1 Shed.

2 c ircular saws
..
..
..
1 batad saw . .
..
..
..
2 tu r oiog lathes
..
..
..
S b 1ring, dowelling, &c. , machines
1 g rindstone ..

..
..
I steam drying stove wi~h two fa us

Motors.
. .10 HP. each

5 H-P. and
shafr;

..

20 H.P.

APPENDJX II.
THE DEscRIPTION OF 100. ToN D ERRICK CRANE
Fig. 34, Page 217.
'
This crane, constructed by the Duisburger Company
late Bechem and, Keetman, of Duisburg, for Messra:
Blob m. and Voss s W orks, H amburg, was designed to
deal w 1th loads of 100 tons, but in order to obtain econo
mical working for smaller loads, the crane has been fitted
with t~o separating hoisting machines and rope tackles
for maxtmum loads of 100 and 30 t ons resp ectively. Eaob
hoisting gear is fur ther constructed for two load speeds
as the following data. show :
'
Large H oisting Gear.
L oads up t o 50 tons, lif~ed at 2.6 metres (8! ft.)
p er mmute.
Loads from 50 to 100 tons, _lifted a b 1.3 metres (4! fb.)
per mmute.
SrnaU H oisting Gear.
Loads up t o 10 tons, lif~ed at 12 metres (39 f b.)
per mmute.
L oads from 10 t o 30 tons, lifted at 4 metres (13 ft.)
per minute.
The two hoisting gears are driven by a two-cylinder engine with cylinders 9.5 in. in dia meter and 17.7 in. stroke.
T he speeds above mentioned correspond to 180 revolu tions
of nhe engine. F or the trials, maximum loads of 150 and
75 t ons respectively were applied. In order to secure the
highest efficiency for the hoisoing machines worm-gearing
has altog~ther been dispensed ~ith; of bevel wheels a
limited use has been made, and the main work is done
by high-speed spurwheels with out t eeth. The steel-rope
drums and sheaves are of exceptionally large diameters.
Each single rope, of both tackle systems, has a guaranteed
breaking stlren~th of 100 tons, and the load is in the large
gear held by mght, and in the small gear by four, such
ropes. The large gear comprises two winding drums, on
which two ropes are wound simultaneously; the rope
strains a re thus equalisPd. The two books tnrn on glass.
hard steel balls, and t wo joints f urtlber permit of their
being moved in any direction. As Fig. 34 shows, the jib
is not fixed, bun itis range oan be varied within the limits
shown. lb should be noticed than the small ropes may
be loaded wioh the full 30 tons, and the 45 tons of the
trials ab the maximum range, whilst the loads of 100 and
150 tons are the maximum for a range limited t o 20 metre3.
A s the centre of the moving jib is only 2.5 metres from the
quay edge, the useful radius of t he crane is 32 5 2.5 = 30 metres (98 fb. ). At a the upper part of the
jib turns about a horizontal pin, and the whole
jtb turns horizontally aboub b and c. These pivots
are borne by a tripod structure. T he power for both
m ovements is derived from a second t'vo-oylinder engine, 8.3 in. in diameter, 11.8 in. stroke, which is
placed in the plane x y, and t he jib inclination is varied
with the aid of two screw spindles of S iemens-1\t!artin
steel which ha.ve their bearings in the tie a, of the upper
pin b. The pitch of the screwd and the gearing .Prevent
any unintentional sinking of the jib; an automatic brake
has further been added lest the j ib should yield to concussion. The horizontal stresses of the jib are taken up by
the two pins on the tripod structure. The transference
of the vertical stresses was a more difficult problem. The
frequently applied sup.Porb of the jib by rollers or balls of
steel was inadvisable In considera tion of the large forces,
and the relatively small basis whose diameter is 4.5 metres
{16ft.). A ciroula.r path has been adopted which recalls
t he construction of t he guides of a planing bed. The
path base is made of steel, a nd its. oircu~ference is fitted
with exchangeable steel bolts, with whtob the toothed
wheels of the two r evolving gears engage. These parts
are made of great strength on account of bhe huge masses
to be moved and of the wind pressures. When the engine
runs ab 180 revolutions flhe jib turns through 30 mebres
(almost 1~0 ft.) p ex: minute, measured C?n the small hook
with ma.xtmum rad1us. The steam engme does nob need
a boiler of its own, as the boilers of the wharf are close
by. The main steam pipe is common to both the en-

NOTES FROM THE NORTH.

GLASGOW, W ednesday.
Glasgow Pig-Iron Market.-A moderate amount of
business was don~ in the {lig-iron warran t market on
Thur~day, and a httle realismg was engaged in and prices
closed lower, Scotch dropping 4d. and Clevela~d 5d. per
ton. The settlement prices were: ~cotoh 54s. Cleve!and, 46s. 1! d.; hematite iron, 603. 3d. p er t~n. The pig.
Iron m arket was moderately active on Friday forenoon,
but the tone was fiat. Scotch warrants lost 4d. at 533. 6d.
per ton cash, wi th buyers over, and Cleveland wasl~d. per
ton down ab 453. 6~d . cash buyers. The turnover
would be about 10.000 tons. In the afternoon only 1500
tons of Cleveland iron changed hands, and quotations
left off as in the forenoon ; and t he settlement pr1ces were :
533. 7~d. , 45.3. 7! d., and 60.3. 3d. per ton. A small amount
of busm.ess was done in the. forenoon market on Monday,
and pnoes were firmer m sympath y with American
advices. Scotch roee 2d. and Cleveland 2! d. per ton,
and the sales amounted to about 2500 ton~. In the afternoon 2000 tons were dealt in. Scotch reacted 1d. while
Cleveland gained 1d. The closing prices on Monday
were: 533. 11d. for Scotch and 453. 10d. for Cleveland; hematite iron was nob mentioned. There was more
business done on Tuesday forenoon than for a oons~dera.ble time past. The dealing was almost excluSl vely confined to Cleveland iron, of which some fairly
good lines changed hands ; indeed, abou t 20, 000 t ons
were dealt in, one broker alone p urchasing 17,000 tons
bub the business was practically completed before th~
prices became affected. At the close Cleveland showed a
gain of 3~d. per ton, and Scotch was !d. per ton
easier. In the afternoon only one lot (500 tons)
was done out a.nd out, but 2500 tons of Cleveland
changed hands ab 453. 10~d . three months. The cash
price closed 3~d. up on the day, !l.nd Scotch made 1d. per
tdn. The setblement prices were 53:~. 9d., 46s., and 603. 3d.
per ton. Business was inactive on the warrant market
t his forenoon, and only some 3000 or 4000 tons changed
bands. A good business was done in the afternoon in
Cleveland iron, about 10,000 tons of which were dealt in,
but prices were a litnle easier. On the da.y Scotch
declined 3d. and Cleveland 2d. per ton. The settlement prices were 53s. 9d., 463., and 603. 6d. The market
quotations for makers' No. 1 iron are: Clyde, 66s. ;
Ga.rtsherrie, 66s. 6d. ; La.ngloan, 67s. ; Calder, 67s. 6d. ;
Summerlee, 703. 6d.; Coltness, 72s. 6d. p er ton-all the
foregoing shipped ab Glasgow; Glengarncck (shipped at
Ardrossan), 66s.; Shotts (shipped ab L eith), 70s.; Carron
(shipped ab Grangemouth), 67s. 6d. p er ton. Scotch and
West Coast hematite irons have been almosb entirely
neglected, the " bear " in these wa rrants having evidently been pretty well adjusted, a.nd as their respective
prices a re relatively too high, their neglect by investors
is natural. The American strike gives rise to a great
amount of d iversity of opinion as to its effecb on
the trade of this country. M eanwhile reports point to its
causing an active demand for manufactured iron and
steel in our home markets; but it is certain that this
demand will be heavily competed for by Germany and
Belgium, where orders are very scarce, Consumers here
still buy freely, encouraged b.v the amount of new work
being placed, and makers' prices are again stiffer. The
number of f urnaces in blast is 72, against 76 last week
(four having been damped down ab Carnbrae Works), and
81 at this time la-st year. The stook of pig iron in 1\Iessr~.
Connal and Co. 'a public warrant stores stood at 59,110
tons yesterday a fternoon, as oompared wi th t he same
a mount yesterday week, thus showing no change.
Finished, Iron and, Steel.-Malleable iron has been
advanced in price d uring the week 5s. per ton, and the
steelmakers are asking more money for their products.
Ship-plates could n ob ab the present time be placed under
6l. 5s. per ton, less the usual discounb, and some fair lines
have been booked in the course of the week ab this figure.
Angle-bars .are quoted at 5l. 123. 6d. to 5l. 15s. per t on,
and land bOiler-plates have been raised to 6l. 153. per ton,
while plates for marine boilers are strong ab 1t. l Oa. per
ton. All these prices are less 5 per cent. During
the past week, M essrs. Donaldson's new steamer
Almora has come to ba.nd from N ewporb News wi th
700 tons of tramway rails consig ned to the Glasgow Corporation Tramway Departmen t ; and the Katendrdreoht
has arrived from Ne w York with 893 tons. Other vessels
with equally large cargoes of t ram rails are now due.
These rails a re required for extensions of the corporation
tramway lines to Annia.sland, Paisley, Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Shettleston, B ishopriggs, &c.
Sulphate of Amm,onia.- There is a fairly active demand
for this commodity at prices nearing lOl. 153. p er ton.
L ast week's shipment for Leith amounted to 673 tons,
nnd for last month 2201 tons, against 2220 tons in the
month of July of la-st yenr.
New Shipbuildting Cont1acts.-It is reported that 1\Iessrs.
Willia.m Beardmore and Co. (late R. Napier and Sons)

[AuG.

16, 1901.

ha.ye contracted with Sir Donald Currie, G.C.M.G., to

bmld for him a new screw steam yacht of about 900 or
1000 tons, and of high-speed power.-Messrs. Gourlay
Brothers and Co., Dundee, have received an order to con
~tru cb a. steamer of about 400 fb. in length for Messrs .
IIudder, Parker, and Co., Melbourne.- Laat Fridav ib
was announced that Messrs. Willia.m Kinnear and bo.
Dundee. ~a~ placed with the Dundee Shipbuilders' Com:
pany, L1m1ted, an order to build for them a. coastiog
s~ea:mer of a.bou ~ 500 tons, a.nd there is a. prospect of a
Similar order bemg booked in the near future.
T wo Big Gasholders for Provan Gas Works. - Tenders
are b~ing asked fC?r by Mr. W. Foulis, the Glasgow Cor.
porat10n gas engmeer, for the erection of the two biggest
gasholders yet erected in Scotland, and probably the
largest yet erected any where, except that belonging to
t~e South. Metr?po~ita.n Gas Company ab East G reenw10h. I t IB a. Six-llfb holder, but the two in question
which are intended for the Provan Gas Works of th~
Glasgow Corporation, a re to be of the three-lifb type.
They are to be 280 fo. in diameter, and each lift is to be
50 f.t., the total capacity of the holders being 8~ million
oub1c feet.
!Jinirlg. I nstitute of Sc_otland.-A general meeting of
tbts Insti tute was held m the ball of the Institute ab
Hamilton last evening, In the absence of the P resident
M r. J . S . Dixon, owing to the sudden death of his mother'
Mr. J. T. Forgie occupied the chair. New members t~
the number of 22 were elected. Mr. R oberb Broom rea.d
a paper on "Un watering and Developing a. Lanarkshire
C<:>lliery with Modern Appliances." The colliery dealb
wttb was Heatberyknowe, adjoining Cuilhill Station, on
th e North British R!l.ilway, aboub 6 miles from Glasgow.
The author of the paper said tba.tl th e Kirk hill Coal Compa.ny, finding that their colliery a t Kirkwood was becoming rapidly exhausted, decided to open up another field
Drumpark, adjoining, but separated by a 540ft. dyke:
The minerals in the field had not been wrought except a
parb of the upper seams, which bad been ab!l.ndoned on
account of water difficulties upwards of eighteen years
ago. The Cornish hydraulic pumps employed were
d e~cribed, together with the successful resQlb~. Several
questions were asked and answered, and the discu~sion
ad journed. The " Methods of P reventing Falls of Roof
adopted ab the Courrieres Collieries," by Dr. C. L e N eve
F oster, was further discussed, and also adj ourned, while
t he discussions on papers describing the sinking- of two
shafts through heavily-watered strata ab Maypole Colliery,
Abram, near Wigan, by .lH r. Jarues Keen, and the
" H epplewhite Tapered Pit props and Bars, " by ~fr. W .
Hatton Hepplewhite, were closed. A paper by Mr. John
M. Cairncross on "South L esmahagow Coalfield " was
cont inued for discu ~sion.
T he N ickel Ore F leet.-During the past week t wo vesseh
of the nickel ore fleet trading with New CaledoniR. have
co.me to hand-the sailing ship Presiden t Felix Fa.ure,
w1th 3669 tons of the ore, and the steamer Maroe with
1668 tons. The extraction of the nickel from the ore
seems to be specially carried on in the neighbourhood of
Glasgow.
A New Firth of Forth L ighthouse.-On and after
October 1 next a lig~tl will be exhibited from a new light
house, erected on East Barnsness, near Dunbar in the
Firth of Forth. The light, which is of 78,000 'OR.ndlepower. will be gr9up flashing, white, showing three fla-shes
m qmok successiOn every 30 seconds, a nd will in clear
weather be visible about 17 nautical milee.
Death of Si1 W illiant Laird.- T he afternoon papera today announce the death of S ir William Laird. of JHessrs.
William Baird and Co. and who allowed himself to be
made chairman of the North British Railway Company
when L ord Tweeddale resigned.

NOTES FROM SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

SHEF~'IELD,

Wednesday.
P roposed, Rotherharn and L aughton Light Railu;ay.On Monday the Earl of Jersey, G.C.B., and Colonel
Boughey, C.S. I ., Light Ra.ilway Commissioners, sab a.t
Rotherb~m ~o inquire as to the. expedieJ?CY of granting
the apphcat10n for the constructiOn of a hght railway bet~een. Rotherham and ~augh~on. The.re is a second apJ?hcatiOn dowll: for hea.rmg,. v1z... th~t m re~pect of t~e
R otherham, Tmsley, and Tickh11l Light Ra1lway, but 1b
was mentioned t hat this would not be proceeded with. I t
was stated that the promoters of tbeRotberham and L aughton Light Railway were Mr. Thomas Marrian, of Thurorof
Ha.Il, and Mr. Waiter Binns a railway contractor, and
the lessee of the minerals of about 4000 acres in and about
the Laugh ton end of the line. The chief object of the line
was to develop the mineral estate. It was proposed to
start from a junction with the G reat Central Railway ab
Rotherham, and the line would be about 7 miles 2 forlongs
in length. The estimate was just over 80,000l., including
every thing, and they proposed a oa.pibal of 90,000l., with
the usual borrowing powers. The principal op-position
was from the Great Central Railway, and the Sbueoaks,
L a.ughton, and Malbby R!l.ilway. After a lengthy bearing,
L ord J eraey stated that the commissioners were nob pre
pared to recommend the line. The coalfield was a. very
small one in comparison with that for which the big
railway companies were competing, and undoubtedly
there would be competition with the Shireoaks line.
L ocal Companies' .Reports.-The gross profit on the
J?astl twelve months' t'l'ading of the Sheffield Forge and
R olling Mills Company amounts to 8506l., and aher paying interest and all obber charges, there remains a neb
profit of 6719t. The directors recommend a dividend of
6 per cen b.i free of income-tax. The accounts of the Hul
and Barns ey Railway for the half-year ending June 30
after payment of the fi .ed and other charges, sho\V

'

AuG. 16,

1901.]

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

219

toe bands of competent workmen, instead of bein~ left

NOTES FROM CLEVELAND AND THE
in the bands of ordinary engine-room artificer~. Some
NORTHERN COUNTIE .
difficulty has been experienced in deciding the precise
MIDDLE nnouo n, W ednesday.
rank and pay of t he new branch and the que.lifications for
The Olcl'Cla;nd I ron T1a.de.-Yesterday there was only entry; bub this is now seb at rest, as the L ords of the
a thin attendance on 'Chan ge, and hardly any business Admiralty have deci(led to give the n ew branch the same
wns transacted, but the t one of the market was very rank, rates of pay, and uniform as th~se of en_giner~om
cheerful a nd quotations were firm. The quieter feeling artificers. The Admiralty has authortsed the tmmed tate
was nob more than was expected after the briskness re entry of 100 electricians, and a pr_eference is t o b~ given
centl y experienced. Prospects for the future were regarded to candidates who have bad expen ence as fitters m eleo
as encouraging, and makf:lrs of pig iron pred10ted that the trical shop!!.
autumn months would bs characterised by activity. ProCardiff Tranncays.-Tbe tramways committee of t he
Iron and Steel.-The loca.l iron trade, as a whole, is
reported t o be in a slightly improved condition. Buyers ducers were in no hurry to sell iron, as they are well Cardiff Town Council has d ecided to recom mend the
supplied with order~, and believe that by holding off for a council to purchase the undertaking of the Cardiff Tramhave come to regard prices as having touched the lowest while they are likely to be able to Jo business on better ways Company, Limited, for 40,000!., such sum including
point, and some of them are buyin~ slightly ahead,
causing a brisker demand for all kmds of pig and t erms tha n are at present obtainable. The poor ehip an allowance for compulsory purchase nnd goodwill. The
ments to the Continent were commented upon, and it was commibtee has provi sionally accepted a tender of 1\-les~rs.
finished qualities. There is some li ttle difficulty already generally
admitted that they were very disappointing. hub D ick, Kerr, and Co. for new tramoars ab the follo wmg
in obtaining forged qualities of pig iron. The followthe heavy clearances t o S cotland and th e large local prices: D ouble-deck bogie, 650l. ; single ditto, 610l. ; and
ing prices rule: ' Vest Coast h ema.tites, 67s. 6d. to consumption
were pointed t o as satisfactory features . double-deck four-wheel, 640l.
68s. 6d. per ton; East Coast hematite, 63s. 6d. to B obh maker~ and merchants sold No. 3 g. m. b. Cleveland
64s. 6d . per ton; Lincolnshire No. 3 foundry, 48s. to pig iron at 46s. for prompt f.o.b. delivery; and the
49~. -per ton; forge, 46s. to 47s. per ton; Derbyshire ruling quality could not be bought under that figure.
B uENOS .AYHES GREAT SouTHERN R AILWAY. -TheBuenos
No. 3 foundry, 51s. to 523. per ton; forge. 46s. per ton ; No. 4 foundry pig was 44~. 7~d., g rey forge 433. 7~d., AyresGreab ~outhern R~ilwa.y Company has had in use
bars, 6l. 163. to 7l. per t on ; sheets, 8l. 12s. Gd. to mottled 43~. and white 42~. 6d. A very good demand was re- for a short time, on its Ingeniero White mole ab Babia.
Sl. 17s. 6d. per ton. 'here is rather more activity at some ported for East Coast hematite pig iron, and, in facb, the Blanca., an electric conveyer of a. type which is being
of the rolling mills and forges, and prospects are more output was not sufficien t to fully meet the requirements. used successfully in the U ni ted States for bhe rapid loadencouraging than they were a month ago. There is little Buyers were ready enough to pay 57s. 6d. for early delivery ing and unloading of steamer.i'. The conveyer used ab
change to notice in the lighter industries of the city, but of Nos. 1, 2, and 3, hub ib was difficult to find sellers pre- the Bahia Blanca mole handles 1000 bags of wheat, weighin many of them the dullness is more marked than is p ared to enter into contracts for deli very within the next ing about 2 cwb. each. per hou r. Passenger t rains were
usual even at this p eriod of the year.
few month ~. Rubio ore was strong ab 15s. 9d. ex-ship to be rnn over the Rio N enquen bridge of the Buenos
Sou th Yorkshir e Coal T1ade.- Business continues in a. Tees. T o-day t here was little or no alteration in quota. .Ayres Grea t Southern Railway on July 1 to the new terminus, about 1~ miles beyond the southern bank of the
listless condition, and the pits are averaging very little tions.
Manufactured Iron and Stcel.-The manufactured iron river. All seven spans of the main bridge, each 173ft. in
more than half bime. The railway companies are not
consumin~ as much as usual, consequent on t he heavy and steerindustries are in a very healthy state, producers length, have been in position for some time, and th e rivet.
decrease m the mineral traffic. E xp ort trade is very slow, being well supplied with orders and nob ab all necessi- ing up and other necessary work has been practically
and orders are difficult t o S3cure. Prices, however, are tated to seek fresh contracts just at present. Quotations completed. W ork on a trestle-approach to the main
apparently firm, Barnsley h ardA making from 93. to 103. have nob been advanced, but they are very firm, and they bridge from bhe north is being pushed forward wi bh
p er t on. The first quality of house coal was on M onday may be raised ab any time. Common iron bars are rapidity.
advanced 6d. per ton, but the inferior sorts remain un Gl . 5!. ; b esb bars, 6l. 15J.; iron ship-plates, 6l. 17s. 6d. ;
O uR CoAL .ABROAD.-We have now another month's
changed. In this cla~s of fuel a better demand is being and steel ship-plates, 6. 5s.- all less 2~ per cent. disdata. as to the course taken by our export coal trade, and
experienced from distant markets, but locally sales count.
are very light. Ba.rnsley softs are quoted at 10s. 6d. to
T ees.side Rails for Oard~tt'.-Some weeks ago the Ca.r4iff the figures certainly do nob show tha t the demand has
11s. 6d. p er ton, and Silkstones 12s. 6d. to 13s. 6d. per Corporation asked for tenders for the su pply of steel ratls, been at all materially oheoked by the exporb duty of ls.
ton. Smud ge is somewhat dearer in consequence of a. &c., for their tramway dep a.rtmen ~, and we now under recently imposed by P&rliament. Including coke, cinders,
small supply, hub there is no change in bhe other sorts of stand that the tender of M essrs. B olckow, V aughan, and and patent fuel, 4,107,422 tons of coal and other combustismall coal.
Co., Middlesbrough, has b een accepted. The prices are bles were shipped from the United Kingdom in July, as
for 45-ft. ra ils, 6l. 103. per ton; fishpla tes, St. lOJ. per ton; compared with 3,981,021 tons in July, 1900, and 3,993,9!2
tons in July, 1899. Coal, &c., was also shipped in July for
60-fb.
rails,
7l.
per
t
on.
The
E
ston
firm
were
successful
TnE ELECTRIC LIGHTING OF T ouLoN AND Br~ERTE
the use of sbeamers engaged in foreign trade to the extent
in
spite
of
the
fact
that
1\Iessrs.
P.
and
W.
Maclellan
AnsENALS.-It has been decided to light by electricity
of 1,311,438 tons, as compared with 979,097 tons in July,
offered
rails
and
plates
of
Continental
manufacture
a.t
tbe Toulon and Bi7.er te (Tunis) Arsenals, belongin&" to
1900, and 1,029,360 tons in July, 1899. In one way or
6l.
5~
.
and
6t.
10s.
per
ton
ret!pec
~
i
vely.
the French Navy. The electric generators and the btgh.
another, accordingly, cornbustibles le fb the U nited K ingsoeed engines will be sui?plied by Messrs. pelaunayCoal and Coke.- The coal prices are steady, with a dom in July to the extent of 5.418,860 tons, as compared
B elleville the other elecbrtc apparatus and fittmgs are to tendency to fi rmness. Messrs. Pease and Partnera have with 4,9GO, l18 tons in July, 1900, and 5,023,302 tons i a
be manuf~ctured both by the Societe l'Eclairage Elec decided to erect ab Crook coal-washing planb of a. capa. July, 1899. The quantity of coke, -cinders, and patent
trique and the Anciens E tablissements D eoa.uville.
ciby of 1000 tons p er day. The contract has been given to fuel included in las t month's total wa-s only 167,349 tons,
Mr. Ewence Coppee, of Cardiff. Coke is in very good so that the substantial fa.cb is undoubtedly established
demand, and average blast-furnace qualit ies are realising that our coal exports remain practically unaffected by the
T HREEPHASE CURRENT TRAMWAY IN FRANCE.-Three- 15s. 6d. delivered here.
new export duty. .As this duty came into effect on April
pha.se current is going to be used on a comparative _long
19, 1901, it has now been in force for more than three
French line-that which runs from Grenoble to U rtage,
months, and we begin to be in a. p osition t o form some
and which now works with steam trA.ction. The necesNOTES FROM 'l'HE SOUTH-WEST.
thing like a definite opinion up.m the subjecb. The
sary e nergy. at a pressure of about 30~000 volts, will be
CarditJ'. -Quotatioos for steam coal have continued principal exports made in July compared as follows with
taken from the works situated on the Laffrey lakes. If firm for prompt shipment, but business for the close of July, 1900, and July, 1899 :
this scheme meets with succes~, other lines of the district the month has oeen done upon sli~hbly easier terms. The
will be transformed in the se.me manner.
best steam coal has made 18~. 6d. to 19a. 6d. per ton,
Couotry.
July, 1901. July, 1900. J uly, 1839.
while seconde.ry qualities have brought 17s. to 18s. per
ton. The house.coal trade has exhibi~ed a quiet tone ; - --tons
tons
tone
THE GREAT STRIKE IN THE .AMERICAN ST&BL TRADE. No. 3 Rhondda large has realised 15s. 9d. to 16s. 3d. per Russia
..
..
406,:i80
49:>,376
635,898

- There are signs th~t th e union.s are in for . a severe ton. Coke has continued in fair request at about lat e Sweden and Norway
43 l ,606
432,1 7
460,495

defeat in the great stnke from which the Amence.n steel rates, foundry qualities making 183. to 19a., and furnace Germany . .
..
6115,791
4 9,01:'>
536,051

trade is now suffering. Only about one-half the numb.ers ditto 16e. to 17s. per ton. Patent fuel has been in pretty France
606,7 15
..
..
705,646
660,202

..
..
b72,271
43! , 02
43fi,937

expected have left work, the '\_Vestern steel. workers bemg good demand. .As regards iron ore, the besb Rubio has Italy ..
well paid, have no personal grtevances to at~, and ~re also made 14s. 6d. per ton, while T afna has been. quoted a b
ho~ful that if the Eastern men are suffi01ently urecon- 15s. to 15s. 6d. per ton.
The aggregate exports of coa.l, coke, cinder~, and patent
oihable the ~entre of the American steel industry may be
in the seven months ending July 31, this year. were
G1eat West c1n R ail'lcay.- Of the more important works fuel
transfe;red to the neighbourhood of Chicago. .As mattera
25,077,469 tons, a-s compared with 26,044,227 tons in the
which
the
Great
Western
Rail
way
Company
ha-s
now
in
stand some 65,000 men are se.id to have lefb work.. The
corresp onding period of 1900, and 24,984,572 tons in the
strikers have gained ground a.b M a.okeesport, whilst ab band, the South 'Vales and Bristol Direct line, the .Acton corresponding period of 1899. Coal wa-s also shipped
Pittsburgh the Steel Corporation have succeeded in re and Northolb line, the Truro and Newquay line, the Roabh for the use of steamers engaged in foreign trade to the
branch, and the Bristol Harbour lines have been well ad ~xtenb of 7, 736,137 tons in tlie first seven months of this
opening two mill~.
va.nced during the half-year. The Wrington Vale light year, as compared with 6, 7G1,582 tons in the correspondline, bhe Easb Usk extension, and bhe Rhos lines, near mg period of 1900, and 6,988, 912 tons in the correspondTH E L ARGEST vVATER W oRKS BORING IN };~GLAND. Wrexharu, are approaching completion. The widen- ing period of 1899. The qua.ntity of oombustibles which
It will no doubt be remembered tha t up to t he present ing of various lines in South Wales is being also pro- lefo the United Kin~dom in the first seven months o f
time t be record for lar~e water borings has b een held by ceeded with, and contracts have been let for the this year was accordmgly 32,813,606 tons, as compared
Gainsb orough, in Lincolnshire, and it is ~herefore ~abural remainder of the doubling of the Banbury and Chelten- with 32,805,809 t ons in the corresponding period of 1900,
to find that the first attempt to beat t his record IS to be ham line between Cheltenham and Andoversford. Works and 31,973,484 tons in the corresponding period of 1899.
made by the capital city of t he sa~e county. The. Cor- for adapting the Ely Valley line for passenger traffic have The principal shipments in the first seven months of this
p orat ion of Lincoln h&VI?g, l;>een advise~ ~y many e~~nent been completed, and the line has been opened for such year compared as follows with the corresponding shipgeologists as to the feastbiht y of obtammg an addttlOnal traffic. A contract has been leb by the Great W astern ments in the corresponding p eriods of 1900 and 1899
supply of wa~er from the n ew red sandstone, consulted and Great Central joinb committee for th e construction respectively :
Mr. Percy Grtffi th, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E._, F. G. S ., of West of th~_porbion of the joint undertaking between Northolt
minster, who, having acted for the Gamsb~rough U:rban and High Wycombe. During the first half of this
Coun t ry.
1901.
1900.
1899.
Dis tric t Council was considered to have special exper1ence year 13 new locomotives were built, and 110 recons~ruoted
in this class of \~ork. Specifications having been prepar~d, with ne w boilera at the charge of revenue. The dtstance
tons
tone
tons
tenders were invited for a boring 2176 ft. d_eep,_hned mth run by trains was reduced during the pasb half-year by Russia
..
..
1,399 23:3
1,767,552
1,886,893

435
186
miles.
The
exp
enditure
made
on
capital
account
30-in. tubes for a depth of 400 ft. and termmatmg .nob lees
Sweden nnd Nor way
2,207 970
2,465,129

' 2,474,497
..
than 12 in. in diameter. Seven tend~rs were rece1v~d for during the firsb half of this year was 929, 733l. The aa-gre. Denmnrk . .
1, Hl9,556

1,129,334
1 ,H3,4H~
..
..
2'"88 ,1~1
....
3,275,990
3,240,808
this difficult work, and the corporatlOn, on the adv1ce of gate expenditure on capital account to the cl~se of J un~, Germany

4,593,3 18

4,936,426

3,9 0,989
their engineer have now accepted that of }.!essrs. C?arles 1901 was 94,100,481l. The cost of locomotive power tn France
..
1,629,483
1,480,573

1,3il,S37
Cba.pman and Sons, Limited, of Salford,_ amountmg to the first half of this year was 1,169,118l., as compared Spain
I taly ..
3,259,5S4

3,060,715

3,389,509
with
990,964l.
in
the
corresponding
period
of
1900.
14,605l. The time~ll~wed for thE' compl~t~on of the work
Egypt ..
1,215,518
1,112,570

1,238,817
is four years, hub 1b .1s confi?enbly .antiotpated thab by
The Swansea Valley.-Tbe market for tin bars has been
taking amrle precau tlODS agat~St ~CClden.ts a much shorter firm, and prices for tin bars have been going.up. Stooks of
period wil suffice. The fo11owmg lS the h st of the tenders tin plates at Swansea docks are only _one-third what they It will be well, perhaps, to wait a little longer before
received: Thomas !vlatthews, Pendleton! ~ l,646l. ; _W. were in .August, 1900. The foundrtes are s ta.ted to be speaking confidently upon the subject; but as ab
present advised, we are certainly of opinion that the
Hill and Co., Westminster, 19,630l. ; V1v1ans Bo~n.lg, doing somewhat better.
probable effects of the new export duty were over&c., Company, Limited, Whitehaven, 18,471l. _; Bnt1sh
E leoflrioians for the Navy.-It was recently announced estimated hy its opponen~. Whab is probably more
.American Well Works, L ondon, 18,000l.; Stourbndge 'Vell
Boring Company, Stourbridge, 17,947l. ; Charles Chap- that the L orrls of the Admiralty had decided to create a. likely to affeob British coal exp orts is the growth of
man and Sons, Limited, Salford (accepted), 14,605l. ; new artisan branch for the Navy, so that t he repair of Europe~~ production and the development of Americ~n
the extensive electrical apparatus now in use mi~ht be in compet1t1oQ.
,Jphp Thom, Patricroft, 11, 9701,

an available balance of 26,778l. , including 9H7l., being

the amount of 14,147l. brought forward from the
previous half-year, less 5000!. transferred to the engine
repairs and renewal account. The contingent nddi
tion a.l interest on the second debenture stock for the
half-year at the rate of 1 per cent. p er annum, amounting
to 10,000l., was duly paid on Jul y 1, leaving 16,778l. to be
carried forward. The full dividend chargeable t o revenue
for the half-year on the 3~ P.er cenb. preference stock has
been earned, bub the distrtbution will not be made until
the accoun ts for the whole year are before the proprietors.

.. I

[AuG. 16, 1gor.

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

220

THE UNITED STATES ARMY TRANSPORT "SUMNER."

(For Desc1'iption, see Page 214.)

'

\'

II

'I

. . .. . . . .

FIG.

1.

THE "SuMNER," BEING FITTE D o u T .FOR TRAN SPORT S ERVICE AT THE N AVY Y ARD, NoRF0L K,

YA .

..

'

. . .
.

L.
i!"'ltltr.mr.r

,J

- -~~H

,~ I

FIG.

2.

THE DISPE SARY.

FIQ.

3.

Hos PITAL BATHROOM.

ENGINEERING,

A uGUST

16, 1901.

T I-!E

UN IT ED

S T A T ES

A R l\11 Y

T R A N SP0 R T

" S U l\II N E R."

(For Description, see Page 214.)

'

Fw. 4.

SuooN D I.NINo-RooM, LOOKI Nc: A1:vr.

Fro. 5.

SrNCLE STATE-RooM.

FIG.

6.

SOLDI ERS' BBRTHlNG

F1o. 7 .

DECl\

THE

HosPITAL.

- '

r
11:---l

..

.,

FIG.

FIG.

8.

OPERATING-ROOM.

10.

OFFIC~RS' G ALLEY.

F m. 9.

F IG.

BAKERY M IXING-RooM.

11.

STEAltl GALLEY.

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

AuG. 16, 1901.]

22 !

AGENTS FOR "ENGINEERING."

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ona noc
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TF.LEORAPIIIO ADDRESS- ENGINEBRING, LONDON.
TBLEPUONF. NUMDER- 3663 Gerrard.
--

CONTENTS.
PAOF. I
PAGE
The Construction and Syste
The Position of tbe Arsenic
m'tic Manufacture of
Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Alternators ( l llustmted.) 205 Foreigners on British Sbips 223
Literature ....... ......... 207 Technical Education ..... . 224
Scbneider-Canet Quick-Fir
Notes ...... .......... .. .. 224
ing Guns and Howitzers
The Motor Trials at TJiver
for Fit:ld Service (lltus. l .. 211
pool .................... 225
HighSpeed Quartru ple En:
The .Messageries .Maritimes 226
~ines and
Water-Tube
Submarine Telegraph Enter
Boilera for Launches ( ll
I prise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
lustrated) ........ . . .... 218 The Ni ppon Yusen l{aisha .. 227
1 Notes
The Uoited States Army
from the United
Transport " umner " (ll
States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

oompreBSors " ...C)2-t

- ., " A mmoma
l ustraterl ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91'
The Arrangement and
The Annealing of Iron .. . . 227
Equipment of Shipbuild
HighPressure v. LowPres
ing Works (Jllustrated) .. 2L5
sure Steam in the Sugar
Notes from the Nortb . ... 218 Refinery .. . . ..... . ... . .. 227
Notes from South Yorkshire 218 Explosives for Projectiles .. 228
Notes from Cleveland and
Mhcellanea ..... ..... ...... 228
the Nortbern Counties .. 219 , 1ndustrial Notes ......... . 229
Notes from the .south-West 219 Naval Ord nanoe(l llus.).. . .. 23l
0'rman Ohem1cnl Indus
Lannohes and Trial Trtps.. 236
tries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22l " Eo~ineering" Patent Re
Indian Coal ...... .. .. .. .. 222
cord (IUttat>ated) ..... . .. 237
With a, 'Iwo-Page E ngraving oj T HE UNJTED STATES
ARMY TRANSPORT " S Uft/NJt:R."

No. 5 NOW READY.

Pn.tos 28., Net i PosT FR.ss 2s 4d.
Published at the Offices of ENOINBBRlNG, 86 and 86, Bedford Streeb,
Strand, London, W.O.
CONTENTS OF No. 6.
OoMPLETtNo VoL. I. Pn.ICE 12s. 6d.
]. Notes on the Gln.sgow Corpom~AO Elect.rlo Power nt Bnrrow.ln~AOK
t.lon Tmmwn.ys. lly J ohn Young ,

Gonernl Mn.nnger ............ 2-10

2. .MunloiJlnl Tmnlng:
(l'l) Uy the l~d l t.or of the Jluni
clpatJormraL

(b) Uy Sydney Morse

(cl By E. o. Smith ......... W
3.

QI. \ >'(I(I W

CO Rl'OI\A, ION

Tnur-

~~~~ },\~~t~~~~~ ~i-;;1lx::~~~: 2.'~3

IrurneSR ........................ 287

The Lnucnshlre Eleotrlo P ower
Conw:~ny ... ....... ............ 28!1
ELt:M'ltW Powen SuPrr.v o!f 'l'n11o:

srv~.

(P lntes

.TXeCxVt)H .. . a.n.d

LXXXIX.

to

. ~~u.~~~t.~~~~ .. ~

290

Notell frill\ eouth Stnfforc.lllhire

30 3
nntl Dllltrlct .................... :

INDEX 'ro VOL. 1

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======-==:-----====--=

EN GIN E E RING
FRJDA. Y A. UGUST 16 1901
'

'

GERMAN. CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES.

THOSE who have any doubts as to the results of

scientific education on industry, should study with
care a report which has j ust been published by the
F or eign Office on chemical instruction in Germany
and the growth and present condition of the German
chemical industries, and we have little hesitation in
saying that t heir doubts will be dispelled. The
report does not contain much t hat was not already
known to those who had studied t he different
aspects and grades of German education, but it
presents, in a very convenient form, a mass of informlltion of a most con vincing k ind, which could
only be otherwise obtained by searching in a large
number of publications, many of which are not
very accessible, and all of which are t oo lengthy
and elaborate for all except special students. His
Majesty's Consul at Stuttgart, Dr. F rederick R ose,
has t herefore done very good service in compiling
t his report. To some of the chief points we will
direct attention .
The object of the writer is to sho w to what
extent t he German chemical industries have benefited by t he sums expended by t he German States
on chemical instruction. To this end the number
of chemical laboratories founded since Liebig's
t ime at German universities and technical high
schools, and t he expendit ure incurred by t he
German States for t his purpose, have been compared with the amount of national wealth-as far as
this could be ascertained in figures-created by t he
consequent rise of the chemical industries. Special
attent ion has been devoted to the statistics of the
Prussian universities and technical high schools,
as Prussia possesses t he largest number, and as t he
limited scope of the report prevented a. detailed reference to t he remaining German States. A revie'v
is given of the methods and extent of t he inst r uction in the subjects bearing on chemistry, and the
direct results of that instruction and the r ise and
expansion of new branches of chemical industry
have been indicated, as far as t he fig ures were
available, by the values of the production and
export of chemical products and the import of t he
necessary raw materials ; in most cases t hese
figures have been supplemented by a short historical account of the rise of the various iudustries.
Details, of course, must be studied in the report
itself.

With t he exception of Berlin, B onn, and Breslau,

t he German universit ies were founded from 200 to
500 years ago. These universities were principally
situated in small provincial towns, and as they commenced to devote attention to the study of chemical
technology about the middle of the seven teenth
century, t hey may be considered as having laid the
foundation of the German chemical indust.ry of the
present day. The advance in industries and trade,

however, rendered necessary the creation of special

technical schools, and these were accordingly
established, at first as p oly technic schools, and
1 h 1' g h seh oo1s. They were
a.ft erwa.rds as t ech mea.
founded, without exception, durin~ the nineteenth cent.ury, and are situated, With the sole
f A h
1
th
exception o
ac en, In a.rge t owns or In . e
capitals of the variouR German States. At the t tme
of their foundation they were principally intended
for the study of architecture, engineering, and
mechanical chemical technology. Since t hen t he
""
d d
study of chemistry has been} greatly develope
an
specialised, and various ot 1er courses 11ave b een
added- such as forestry, surveying, electricity,
photography, naval architecture, and pharmacy.
Chemistry was t aught as far back as t he beginh U
't'
ning of the seventeenth century at t e ntversi tes
of J ena. and Marburg. To t he University of Gott ingen is due the honour of having introduced the
first regular lectures on technical chemistry and
technology, and it was here t hat the first German
manual of technology was written. The study of
pure and technical chemistry and technology \Vas,
during this time, by no means neglected at t he
other German universities. This is amply demonstroc-ted by t he number of chemical man uals issued
at J ena, Erfurt, Berlin, Eslangen, Tubingen,
H e1'delb erg, B res1au, an d 0 th er t owns.
The first public chemical laboratories for t he
general use of students were opened at Gottingen
in 1809, by Professor Strohmeyer, and at Giessen,
by Dr. Justus von Liebig. Later on, however,
it was clearly perceived that the scientific foundst ion laid during t he scientific courses at t he tech
h
nical high schools formed t he soundest basis for t e
practical experience to be gained during professional
life. As far as chemistry is concerned in this r espect,
t he effort s of Karmarsch, Krapp, and Wagner have
been of the greatest value' in effecting the necessary
reforms in chemical instruction. The circumstance
t hat the technical high schools are mostly sit uated
in the capitals of t he German States, and are t hus
brought into immed iate contact wit h the r espective
Governments, has without doubt greatly assisted
them in their rapid development. The universities
have, as a rule, only one principal chair of
chemistry ; t he technical high schools have sometimes t wo or three, with corresponding large laboratories and chemical collections. There are those in
Germany who are of opinion that chemistry, physics,
and other branches of natural science should be
altogether removed from t he universities t o the
technical high schools, and only as mbch left as is
necessary for the elementary requirements of students
of medicine and others. On the other hand, it is
held that as the universities have been of assistance
t o the growth of the chemical industries, their
further services ought by n o means to be dispensed
with.
The r eport gives very complete information
regarding t he curricula in the universities of Berlin
and Heidel burg, and in the technical high schools
of Berlin, Darmstadt, Karlsruhe, and Stuttgart ;
and statistics relating to the students, professors,
finances, &c., into which, however, we need not
enter. The universities had at the end of 1899
33,477 fully immat ricula.ted students and 6701
" hearers , or " hospita.nts, , amount ing to the
total of 40,178 students. The numbers for the
technical high schools were 10,896 fully immatriculated students and 2536 " hearers,, or altogether
13,432 students. The total for universities and
technical high schools amounts therefore to no
less than 53,610, and does not include students at
agricult ural and veterinary high schools, and at
mining and forestry academies.
As to expenditure, t he following Table shows the
sums paid by the Prussian Government for t he
support of technical higli schools, the total expendit ure per student, and the amount borne by the
State per student for various years from 1871 to
1899 :

'

,
Total Expen~i- Financial Aid Total. Ex Amount Borne
'\' ear. tur~ ofTechotcal from State pendtture by State per
H1gh Schools.
per Scudent
Student.

- -1- - - -------:----------.

1871
1888
1892
1897
1899

25. 4~0

70,289
-,0,786
97,603
lL 7,316

14,601
61,966
68,462
6L,140
65,360

12
46
33
23
23

36
24

14

12

--The expenditure of the universities per student

is much high er. In 1897 it amounted to 563,584l.
for 13,306 st udents, or, in r ound numbers, to

222
about 42l. per student. Of this amount the
Prussian State contributed by far t he greater
amount-J.bout 4 l 2, 683l., or 31l. per student.
According to the eminent chem ist, Professor
Fischer, Germany possessed in the year 1897
4000 thoroughly-trained chemists, who had passed
through the full courses of t heuniver sitiesor technical
high schools. Taking into account unavoidable omissions, and the further increase for the last three years,
t he number for the present year may be estimated
at 4500. This estimate applies to ch emists r esiding
in Germany ; the number of German chemists in
foreign count ries ranges p rob1bly from 700 to
1000 ; it d oes n ot include, further, professors, lecturers, and assistants a.t universities, technical high
schools, &c., and private chemists. If all t hese
were included, it is estimated t hat the number
would be abo ut 7250.
During the past twenty-five years the number of
chemical works in Germany has doubled itself, and
the nutnber of tr~ined chemists in chemical works
h as increased from 1700 to 4500. Still, withall,
ch emical industrial circles in Germany are by no
means satisfied with the great progress and meas ure
of success already attain ed, and are actively
endeavouring to increase t he present facilities
for technical education. A visible result of the
success of their efforts is shown by the decision of
the Prussian Government to erect two n ew technical
high schools in Prussia-at Dantzic and Breslau,
and the German Society for Applied Chemistry are
urging that 1nore attention be paid to chemical
t echnology at the universities. The same quest ion occupied a prominent position during the
transactions of the Gern1an Society for t he protection of Chemical Industries, and it forwarded a
very strong represen tation to t he Ministers of
Education and Finance on the subject. His
Majesty, the Emperor William II., has always
manifested a deep appreciation of the vital impor t ance of technical education, and t he progress of
science and chemical and technical industries,
and both h e and the King of Wiirtemberg
have practically recognised t he new technical
high schools as being on the same level as
the old universities, so that German educationalism has now attained a certain measure
of success in t he last of its three great historical
periods : The appearance of the universities . as a
living protest against t he d reary and fru1tl~ss
scholasticism of t he Middle Ages ; the foundatiOn
of acad emies with t he principle of experi111ental
r esearch as t he basis of natural s ciences ; and,
finally, the creation of te?hnical . hi~h schoo~s w~th
t he principle of systematte appltcat10n of SCientific
methods to th e s ervice of mankind.
The growth of the German chemical industries
h as advanced hand-in-hand with the progress and
discoveries made in chemical science, and the increased facilities for chemical instruction. The annals
of industrial prog ress show few examples of s~ch
an intimate relationship between pure and apphed
science. The chemical industries in Germany, in
common with other industries, were slower in t heir
d evelopmen t during the first half of the ~inetee.nth
century compared with France, t he United Kmgd om and the United States ; but they recovered the
lost 'ground with great rapidity during the latter
half of the century. The progress made at first
was very slow, as the com~etition of the British
acid soda and other chemiCal works was keenly
felt.' Aid~d by the availability. ?f cheap raw
materials, coal, and cheap condtt10ns of tr~ns
port the United Kingdom was for a long t1me
enabled to undersell German chemical .products
on their own markets. In the meanttme new
d evelopments in pure chemist~Y. had taken place
through the rasearches of Brittsh, French, and
German chemists, and they were fully taken
advantage of in Germany. For the last twen ty-five
years Germa?- ch~mical industries ha:ve ad val?ced
irresistibly In sp1te of many grave Inner crises,
until they' have attained at the present day t he
foremost place in t he w?rld. ~he work of expansion and completion st11l co.n~tnues, and all t~e
latest discoveries are fully utihsed. Expressed. In
figures the importance of the German chemteal
indust;ies at the present day is best shown by ~he
fact that in 1897 the total annual productiOn
amounted to 47,391,132l.
We cannot follow the report throu~h the p~ragraphs which show t he progress made In the vart?us
branches, but t hese should .he carefullr studied
by all who are specially Interested In. the~.
They include every department of chem10al 1n-

E N G I N E E R I N G.
dustry and a car eful perusal of the r eport sufficiently demonstrates t hat t he sums expended by
the German States upon chemical instruct ion have
been amply repaid by th e creation and rapid growth
of most important chemical industries and the addition of large sums to the total of national wealth.
Germany has been enabled, by means of the
thorough chemical instruction afforded by her universities and technical high schools, and the
sound preliminary scholastic education of her
studen ts, to rise within t he last fifty years to the
front r~nk in chemical industries, and not only
to render herself independent of many impor ts
from foreig n countries, but also to deprive the latter
of many lucrative branches of chemical manufacture, and to subshitute her own in t heir stead.
Having attained the highest position in the world
in chemical .industries, she is not abating her efforts,
conten t with t he measure of reward which has
fallen to her share. On the contrary, it is universally r ecognised that the efforts made hitherto must
be increased, and m ore ca.refully and judiciously
applied, if the German chemical industries are to
maintain and strengthen t heir p osition in the future.
We commend the report, of which we have g iven
some of t he most salien t points, to t he attent ion of
those who are engaged in the higher technical
education and to all interested in the progress of
our chemical manufactures.

INDIAN COAL.
I T appears front the annual r eport of Mr.
O'Conor~ Director-General of Statistics to the
Indian Government, that the high prices of English coal' l'ave led to a great curtailment in imports, and that what was lost to E ngland was
gained by the Indian p roducers. Imported fuel
is consumed chiefly in the Bombay spinning mills,
and no do ubt the depression in t hat industry
had something to do with the decrease, but
Mr. O'Conor asserts that it was the high range
of prices that in the main stimulated the production and consumption of t he native article,
the cotton mills t hemselves increasing their takings. The coal output was 6,095,000 tons, of which
541,445 tons were exported, chiefly to Colombo,
though consignments were sent also as far as Suez,
the East African Coast, Java, and S umatra.. The
imports were no more than 127,318 tons ; whereas
in 1893, when the Indian mines yielded 2,530, 000
tons, they reached 540,000 tons. I t is stated that
the shipments abroad would probably have been
considerably larger if the carriage of coal from the
mines to Calcutta had not been impeded by the
want of railway trucks. Moreover, the facilities
at Calcutta are not adequatl3, though it must be
allowed that they are being increased. With the
two new berths under construction, i t will soon be
possible to deal with 1,800,000 tons per annum by
manual loading only. I t is proposed, however, to
provide mechanical appliances, which, if used at the
two berths only, would then enable six ber ths to
ship 2,100,000 tons per annum. If installed at all
t he six berths, the export capacity will riso to
3,600,000 tons a year. This is looking some way
ahead, to be sure, but t hat is a policy not without
its recommendat ions.
The Indian rail ways are the largest consumers
of native coal, and every year they are using
more and m ore, the annual increase being quite
out of proportion t o the g rowth of new mileage.
In t he past five years their consumption has
gone up by about 750,000 tons. According to the
existing programme, over 1000 miles of new line
will be opened annually for some time to come, so
the demand for coal must increase. Indian collieries
therefore may expect to be called upon to increase
their output very largely, especia!lyas t he ex~o~tdu~y
in Engln.nd on all coal p roduced In Great Br1tain wtll
affect shipments. Some oft he rail ways actually control mines in their r espective spheres of influence,
and t hough the steaming quality of the English article
is much superior to even the best Indian, it is
found t hat by an adaptat ion of furnace bars, the
latter comes much the cheaper. How very important the matter of cheap fuel is to t he economical working of a railway may be gauged from t he
fact that t he East Indian Railway, which has the
advanta.ae of a very cheap coal supply, can work
its t raffic at an average expenditure for fuel of
0. 71 ann a per t rain-mile, while the North-Western,
the Bombay-Baroda, and t he Madras railways
cannot keep this expenditure at less than 4 annas
per train-mile. Ten years ago the only coal ob

[AuG. r6,

1901.

tained outside Bengal came from the Makum mines

in Assam and t he Singareni mines in Hyderabad.
Since then new fields have been exploited in the
Punjau b, in the Central Provinces, in Baluchistan,
and in Burma; and t hough the total yearly produc.
tion from these sources does not at t he present time
reach big figures, t he record is one of steady progress.
This opening out of coal mines in different
parts of India is taken to be a very hopeful sign for
the future working of Indian railways. Further,
new discoveries are being made, and deposits
already k nown are being rendered easily accessible
by the extension of rail ways. Only a few days ago
the reported discovery of coal in Eastern Bengal
was confirmed, and, according to t he opinion of an
expert who has recently ret urned thence, it
"should have a great effeet upon the prosperity
of t hat country. " In the Daltonganj coalfield,
r eported upon for the Government by Dr.
Saise, is a large quantity of good useful fuel
.fib for locomotive and steaming purposes, and
thera is a much larger quantity of good brickburning and lime-burning coal in t hese coalfields
at comparatively shallow depths. Moreover, t here
are several million tons of cv~l suitable to take the
place of wood and charcoal as fuel, but which has
not yet been admitted to be suitable for general
ste1ming purposes, although Dr. Saise considers
that when t he drivers of locomotives have studied
his coal and learned the best method of burning
it, it will also be found to be an excellent steaming article. Altogether, Dr. Saise estimates that
there are about 95 million tons of good workable
coal available in the Rajhera, Mirae, and Singra
seams (50 million tons in t he Raj hera seam being
excellent locomotive, general, and steaming coal),
besides about 20 million tons of inferior coal
between Dargaoti and the Jinjoi rivers.
The coalfields which have furnished t he main
supply hit herto are situated in the region bounded
by the Ganges on the north, extending beyond t he
Godavari on t he sout h, and from east to west
stretching from the neighbourhood of Calcutta to
some distance from the Narbada. Nearly all the
coals have come from one geological formation,
called Damuda, from the name of the ri ver
(Damodar), in the valley of which the principal
seams occur. I t is the same as that of t he Australian beds, and differs very little from the carboniferous groups of beds in Europe. But the coal is
very different in consequence of its excessive
laminat ion, and it contains from 10 to 30 per cent.
of ash, the proportion of fixed carbon rarely ex
ceeding 60 per cent. and averaging 52 per cent.
The fields may be classed in four groups. First
come t hose of the Rajmahal Hills and Damuda
V alley. This field commences about 120 miles northwest of Calcutta, and is 18 miles by 40 miles ; the
coal available has been roughly estimated by Dr.
Oldham at 14,QOO,OOO tons. The seams vary in
thicknrss from 4 ft. to 35 ft . The coalfields in
the Damuda Valley, including R aniganj, form a
belt of coal-bearing rocks extending 150 miles, and
occupying 15,000 square miles of count ry. Over
at least half this area workable seams of considerable
thickness occur within 1000 ft. of the surface, but
there is a gradual dimin ution in thickness of the
coal-bearing formations t o the westward. \Vhere
the Damuda format ions attain their greatest thickness they consist of two groups, the upper one
5000 ft . and the lower 2000 ft . thick, each containing several seams of coal.
The Kurhurbari coalfield, in the valley of the Barakar, a
tributary of t he Dam uda, and covers an area. of
18 square miles ; the collieries belong to the East
India Rail way. The second group of coalfields
consists of a number of basins scattered thinly over
an in1mense tract of t he wildest country in India,
and few have been t horoughly explored-Rewah
Sirgujah, Chota Nagpur, Talchir, &c. The seams
are in some districts thin, presenting coal of
poor quality. The t hird group is included in the
Narboda Valley and the Satpura. Hills. I t is
believed t hat a large quantity of coal exists there,
and t hat the quality of much of it is little inferior
to that of Raniganj. The fourth group comprises
the fields in the valleys of t he W ardha and Godavari. Workable coal is known to exist in several
localities- inferior to that of R o.niganj, but good
enough for rail way purposes. It is estimated that the
W arora beds, in the Chanda district, con tain
5,000,000 tons available. More exhaustive surveyR
in recent years have resulted in the discovery of
other deposits, and now the only parts which do no~

'

AuG. 16, Igor.J

contribute to the supply are Bombay, the North"\Vest Provinces and Oudh, Rajputana, Mysore, and
l(ashmire. Coa.lmining is carried on in India.
under conditions very different f rom those prevailing in England. In the first place the depth of
Indian mines is insignificant when compared with
those with which English people are familiar, while
in many cases the so-called mine is nothing more
than a tunn el running up into the side of the hill.
Firedamp is also very seldom encountered, and
accidents of a futal or serious nature are of singularly rare occurrence.

THE POSITION OF THE ARSENIC

INDUSTRY.
THE hand of fate seems about t o fall somewhat
heavily upon an industry which during the last
thirty yearA or so has established itself as one of
importance in one corner of our island-Cornwall
to wit. In the spring of last year we gave a description of the rise and progress of t he manufacture of white arsenic, special reference being made
t o th e imporbant mine known as the Devon Great
Consols, and situated a few yards out of Cornwall
proper. The rea~on why we revert to the subject
again is becau~e of the changed condition of atfairs
which ha<J come about owing in the main to foreign
competit ion, a f:;~.ctor which, though long reckoned
with in the copper and tin industries, has only
quite r ecently become of the first importance in connection with arsenic. Time was when Cornwall and
Devon supplied a very large fraction of the r equirements of t he civilised world in arsenic, but this can
no longer be asserted. One important market, that
of the United States, has been almost closed owing
t o home production, and further American exports
may be confidently anticipated, if, indeed, they are
not already a fact. Nor is this by any means the
only source of British imports of arsenic, for t here
recently arrived in the Mersey a cargo from Portugal, while Spain and Be1gium may now also be
added to the list of producers for home requirements, if they are not about to enter the arena of
exporting countries. This state of affairs having
occurred, it will not cause surprise when we state
that the price of white arsenic haa steadily declined
within the ]ast year or two from 24l. to under 16l.
per ton, at which figure it no longer remains a
profitable business to carry on. A partial res ult is
to be seen in t he recent closing of a mine, and we
can hardly be accused of undue pessimism in predicting that the directors of other concerns will
have to take the existing condition of aff~irs into very
serious consideration. The n ew competition is so
real, and ita potentialities so great and alarming,
that it would be fatuous in the last degree to attempt
to minimise it or to place it in the same category
with that which has so long existed in Saxony, but
which the difficulties attending transport have acted
so largely in rendering nugatory. It might be
thought by the academic reader th at the increase of
population and of t rades and manufactures would
necessarily m ean an increased demand for products
such as arsenic; but, unfortunately for t hose chiefly
interested, t h e f~cts do not bear out this surmise ;
indeed, we think we are perfectlv correct in saying
that in proportion to t he increases referred to
above, the consumption of arsenic is in a diminishing ratio. Manufacturers who at one time employed it as a chemical agent h ave ceased doing so,
having taken advantage of t he advances which
chemical science has placed at their disposal to use
in its stead bodies which are at the same time
cheaper and non-poisonous. T o meRtion only one
case where a substitute has been found for white
arsenic, we have the manufacture of magenta from
aniline. So far t he use in the pottery trades shows
no signs of diminution, but it would be too
much to expect that patriotism will show itself
here to t he extent of paying a higher price for
the British article if a material of similar quality
can be brought from abroad. This idea may be
given up at once as chimerical, and t he arsenic
m~nufacurer must recognise t his and look in other
directions for a means of escape from the disaster
that is threatening. It is outside our present
purpose to attempt the giving of advice to those
who are themselves from long personal acquaintance
with t he s ubject able to call up the reserves of t heir
own knowledge to minister to present needs; but
all the &ame, it may not be deemed too presumptuous
to refer to one or two points in the manufacture which
have a distinct bearing upon the situation, and the
Jl'lOdification of which might ~o a long way to w&rd

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

223

off the threatened blow. One such point is con- N ot that t he efflux of time may not bring about a.
cerned with the n eed for a more equitable adjust- brightening in the sombr~ clou~ ~ow exi~tent over
ment of mining royalties and other landlord righ ts, this region of the Corn1sh m1n1ng horizon ; our
which, in an industry which has perforce to struggle opinion, as expressed, is based on the ~acts of tofor its continued existence, should, it seems to us, day ; with what the future has in store 1n the way
undergo modification from time to time, so as to of changes we are n ot, . of cour.se, here concern~d,
harmonise with changed conditions. The subject is nor are we disp osed to Indulge In prophecy. Existtoo wido, of course, to be more than cursorily r eferred ing facts are sufficient for the moment, and in the
to here, but that it is of importance with regard to the face of these facts we are quite unable to draw as
success or failure of more than one Cornish industry, no bright a picture for t he future as those who are
one who has listened to what those primarily affected interested in the maintenance of Cornish industries
have to say on the subject can have any doubt.
would fondly desire.
With t he present r eduction in selling price and
the extreme improbability of a return to old figures,
it becomes a matter of th e first consequence to see
FOREIGNERS ON BRITISH SHIPS.
whether the present cost of production cannot be
As the British mercantile marine is to a large
reduced. We imagine we are not far wrong in extent manned by sailors from abroad, it is somegiving 16l. per ton as the coat of production at t he t imes importnnt for the shipowner to consider the
present time, where the arsenic is the principal, if, stat~ts of the foreigners in his employment. It
indoed, not the only body produced. In the early seems that an English ship on the high seas is redays of the industry it was always a by-product of garded by the law as a piece of English territory,
t he tin industry, and in this case, as well as in and that the Lascar, or the Norwegian stoker, can
such cases where the o1e arsenical pyrites was claim the protection of laws which have been
ready to hand, having been thro wn on waste heaps made for the protection of our own sailors. It may
as useless dross, a much lower selling price than be that the very existence of this protection is one
that which obtains now yielded a profit. Indeed, of the causes which operate to fill the forecastle of
it has been sold at as low as 6l. per ton, with yet the British trading vessel with alien crews. The
a margin of profit. At the present day, when all following cases seem to indicate that, whereas in
the waste heaps have b een utilised, and when the some instances protection is only afforded to foreign
production of tin has so sensibly declined, it would sailors when similar advantages are offered to our
be quite impossible to produce and sell at a profit seamen in other ports, in others advantages are
at anything like t he low figure just quoted, though conferred upon for eigners without any corresponda r eservation ought, perhaps, be made in r egard ing privileges being assured to British subjects.
to t he possible resuscitation of the tin industry on
In t he case of Poll v. Dambe, which came before
lines more consistent with modern developments the Divisional Court on June 13, the question was
in metal mining. The attempts to bring Cornish whether i t is an offence under the Merchant
mining up to date have not so far proceeded rapidly Shipping Act of 1894 to persuade a foreign sean1an
or given r esults which may be taken as a sure basis to desert from a foreign ship, while such ship is
for prophecy, but an optimistic tone prevails in lying in an English port. It appeared that in
some quarters as to the possibility of r eopening December, 1900, a Russian vessel named t he Lennox
certain abandoned properties with advantage.
was lying in the West Dock at Cardiff. A boardingEfforts in this direction, having for their main master named Poll induced one Pilder, a. foreign
purpose the production of tin, may prove to be a seaman lawfully engaged on the Lennox, to leave
powerful factor in arresting t he decay of the arsenic th~t vessel and to join another ship, where h e would
industry ; a decay which the stern logic of facts be in a position to earn better wages. Pilder
compels us to consider as imm inen t . We under- having deserted, Poll was arrested and brought
stand that though only one works has actually before the stipendiary magistrate at Cardiff, charged
closed its doors owing to the current depression, under Section 236 of the Merchant Shipping Act,
others are keeping open not because of t he profit 1894, with having unlawfully persuaded Pilder to
they are milking, but from the existence of causes desert from his ship. It was argued b efore the
which appertain in like cases to many industries. magistrate that he had n o jurisdiction to try
Prominent among t hese are a hope that better the case, inasmuch as Section 236, being within
times may speedily arise, and the difficulty of getting Part II. of the Act of 1894, was r estricted
together again the requisite skilled labour when in its application to seagoing ships regis tered
such has been allowed to disperse, either to seek in the United Kingdom, and seagoing British
similar employment elsewhere or to expend its shifS registered outside t he United Kingdom.
energy in more congenial spheres. With r egard to The magistrate was of opinion t hat Section
this last remark, it is needless to emphasise the fact 236 was applicable ; that he was bound by the
that the lot of the arsenic worker, and more par- decision of t he Divisional Court in Reg. v. Stewart
ticularly of those whose du ty it is to re1nove the (1899, 1 Q.B . 964), and he accordingly convicted
irritant powder from t he condensing flues, is not by t he man Pilder, who appealed to the Divisional
any means a desirable one from a hygienic stand- Court. It is provided by Section 236, sub -section
point. Modern faceory legislation has certainly 1, of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, as follows:
done a good deal to minimise evils which were "If a person by any means whatever persuades,
n otoriously prevalent in former years, but even or attempts to persuade, a seaman or apprentice to
with the most efficient means of protection which neglect or refuse to join or to proceed to sea in or
are available, immunity from disease cannot be de- desert from his ship, or otherwise to absent himpended upon. I t is only fair to say that t he self from his duty, he shall for each offence in
masters have entered very t horoughly into the r espect of each seaman or apprentice be liable to a
reforms which legislation has imposed, and it is a fine not exceeding 10l." It will be seen t hat t h ere
common observation that failure to use preventa- are n o words in t his section which limit its a.pplitive means to their full exten t has very frequently cation to British ships. In another part of the
to be attributed to the workmen who, in matters Act, however (Section 238), where it appears to the
almost of life and death, are frequently the very per- Crown "that due facilities are or will be given by
sonification of carelessness. Repressive legislation the Government of any foreign country for reis frequently urged nowadays as a prominent cause covering and apprehending seamen who desert
of depression in our industries, and comparisons to from British merchant ships in that country,
our detriment are often drawn in respect to condi- the Crown may, by Ordinary Council, diiect t hat
tions prevailing abroad, but in t he case of the arsenic this section shall apply; and where it applies, and
indus try this contention does not seem to have been a seaman deserts when within any of the King's
put forward, and we are glad to see that this is dominions from a merchant ship belonging to a
t he case. In presence of the dominant factor of subject of t hat country, " steps will be taken to
foreign production it would certainly seem futile assist in the apprehension of that deserter. In
to seek for other causes for the present depression. other words, it is provided t hat unless the GovernThere can be no useful purpose served by blink- ment of a. foreign country shows a disposition to
ing the facts which are so faithfully reflected in the aid in t he apprehension of an English deserter, the
current market quotation, and, albeit it would be laws of this country will afford no protection to the
much to our pleasure to do so, we are quite unable owners of vessels flying the flag of that foreign
to join hands with those who profess t o see n othing country in our ports. In t hese circumstances,
r eally alarming in the fact that a recent con tract Alverstone, L.C.J., Phillimor e and La.wrance,
for white arsenic was placed at 15l. 10s. per ton. J.J., came to t he conclusion that the conviction
This pessimism may possibly be ill-founded, but could not be supported. Mr. Justice Phillimore,
it is undeniably based on indisputable facts, which who delivered the judgment of t he Court, said :
do not seem to afford any loophole by which t hose '' We come to the conclusion that the offence of
who would think otherwise can effect their escape . . desertion from a foreign ship is punishable only

'

224

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

und~r Section 238, and only in cases where that in the course of his j udgment in that case, said :
sect10:a has been applied by Order in Council. "There can be no doubt that had the deceased
We ground our decisi~n ?POD the fact that been an English subject this action would have
P~rt II. of ~he Me~c~ant Shtpptng Act, 1894, con- lain, notwithstanding that the negligence and death
ta.1ns a sp~01al p~ovislOn for the case of desertion l both occurred upon the high seas.,
from foreign shtps, and has thus shown that its
general provisions are limited to desertion from
British ships.,
TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
There is not likely to be much controversy as to
FoR many years past t here has been a conflict of
the wisd01n of the law which, by a somewhat round- opinion in t his country as to the best way in which
about 1?-ethod, has forced the j udges to the above we c~n secure a. fit ting technical training for those
con?lus10~. It would be in .the highest degree in- who are to direct our great i ndustrial enterprises.
equitable If 1nen of other nat10ns could entice mer- The contempt for scientific knowledge which was
chant seamen from their employment in British characteristic of the majority of factory proprietors
ships with impunity, while foreign shipowners in the past is being gradu~lly modified, partly becalli.ng at Eng~ish ports '!"ere afforded ample pro- cause they have learnt not to expect too much from
tectiOn : espe01ally at a time when the dear th of the student fresh from college, and partly, we
capable seamen is a constant source of trouble in trust, because the latter is less certain than his
the mer?hant service. The principle laid down is predecessors that a training in applied physics is,
not entirely due to the Merchant Shipping Act. pe) se, sufticient to constit ute him an expert in the
In the. old case of Leary v. Lloyd (29 L.J.M.C. management of a workshop. In the one case the em194) It was decided that the sections coming ployer no longer considers a. youngsber a fool, beunder the head of "Discipline " in 17 and 15 Vict. cause in certain everyd ay details of the business his
c. 104 (being the Merchant Shipping Act of 1864) youngest apprentice knows more than his
have reference to British ships alone; and that new hand, whilst the latter is less given than
Section 257, which is parallel to Section 236 of the his fellow of some years ago to assume that
present Merchant Shipping Act, renders liable to a grey-haired foreman is an u tter ignoramus
a penalty every person who wilfully harbours or becausa he may be unable to comprehand a
secretes any seaman or apprentice who has deserted simple algebraical formula. In f~ct very few
from his ship; and in order to convict an offender would now declare technical education to be the
under this Section, it must be shown that the vessel useless, or, indeed, pernicious luxury that it was
deser ted from is a British ship ; and inasmuch as not uncommonly considered some fifteen or twenty
by Section 19 every British ship must be registered, years ago ; but we h~ve npwadays rather to fight
and no ship thereby r equired to be registered shall, against a tendency to over value it, at least amongst
unless registered, be recognised as a British ship, t he general public. In certain departments of
p~oof that the ship is registered must also be given, industry it is probably impossible to overrate the
either by the production of the original register, importance of scientific direction. The chemical
or by an examined or certified copy of it.
trade is most assuredly a case in point. In other
In Davidson v. Hill, which was heard by I<:en- directions, ho wever, such as, for example, the
nedy and Phillimore, J J ., on June 18, i t was design of machine tools, the essen tial to t he
decided t hat the provisions of Lord Campbell's introduction of important improvements is a
Act, which, as is well known, give to a widow t he large experience in the shops and a taste for
right to sue t hose through whose negligence her experiment ; whilst even an extensive knowhusband has met with his death, apply to the case ledge of theoretical principles adds little, in
of a. foreigner who is k illed on board a British ship this case, to the efficiency of the designer.
on the high seas by the negUgence of the servants Considering in how few cases draughtsmen are
of the sh ipowner, a British subject. Mr. Justice given facilities for experiment, and how seldom
Kennedy, in deliYering the judgment of the Court, t hey have had a really intimate acquaintance with
said : '' It seems to me, in all the circumstances of the management of tools, they have, on the whole,
the case, and looking at the subject matter, more done remarkably well ; t hough we fancy we are
reasonable to hold that Parliament did intend to correct in stating that practically all the important
confer t he benefit of this legislation upon foreigners new departures have originated in the shops, and
as well as upon British subjects; and certainly that not in the drawing-office. Maudslay, Nasmyth,
as against an E nglish wrongdoer foreigners might vVhitworth, and Bodmer were all most capable
maintain an action under t he statutes in question workmen, and the same is t rue of Spencer, the
. . . If she cannot enforce her claim, we should man who produced the first satisfactory automatic
have this anomaly, as it seems to me- if a foreigner screw machines. In other fields of industry revoand an Englishman serving on the same ship were lutions have frequently been the work of outsiders,
both drowned on the high seas by the same colli- but in the special department of machine-tool manusion, negligently caused by an English vessel, the facture they have assisted b ut little.
Chemical engineering and toolmaking stand
widow of the one could, and the widow of the other
could not, obtain from the owners of the ship in therefore at opposite poles so far as the value of a
fault that reparation which our legislation in these training in theoretical principles is concerned ; but
between these limits there is a wide field, in which
matters has declared to be just."
W hile therefore the representatives of a foreigner the advantages of such a training are manifested
who has met with his death on a Rritish ship may in a greater or lesser degree ; but opinions differ
claim compensation in English Courts, it is by n o widely as to what its character should be. For
means certain that the relations of: a British sub- many years the major portion of the public has
ject who has been killed on board a foreign ship held the belief that the workmen were the ones
will be t reated in the same way. At any rate, no needing technical instruction, and we have conseaction of this kind can be brought in the English q uently seen the institution of a system in which
nearly 1! millions sterling are annually applied to
Courts.
In the case of Se ward v. the 0 wners of the the maintenance of a vast array of second grade
Vera Cruz (1884), 10 A. C. 59, the plaintiff was polytechnics and science classes, whilst at the
a. B ritish subject resident in Lancashire. The de- same time there has been the greatest difficulty
fendant was a. subject of the King of Spain, and in wrenching from the Treasury the highly inresident in Spain. He owned a Spanish vessel adequate annuity with which the National Labonamed the Vera. Cruz, upon which the husband of ratory has at length been endowed. It is not
the plaintiff met with his death on t he high seae. ilnpossible that as time goes on matters may imThe V era Cruz being subsequently in the port of prove in this regard. Some 30 years ago America.
Liverpool, an attempt was made to obtain dam3.ges was overrun with an enormous number of badly
in an action against the ship. The House of Lords equipped and mos~ i.nadequately s~affed un.iv.erdecided that the then Court of Admiralty had no sities, since the maJOrity of the ea.rher generat10n
of ' ' pious " founders and benefactors loved to
jurisdiction to entertain the claim.
The above-named decision of the Divisional spread their mun~ficence over a wide area an.d
Court in Davidson v. Hill has the effect of re- to estimate the Intellectual standard of their
versing Adam v. British and Foreign Steamship country rather by the number of its schools and
Company (1898, 2 Q .B. 430), where it was de- colleges than by their importance. In one case a
cided that the representative of an alien, whose fortune of 40,000l. was bequeathed for equal divideath on the high seas has been caused .by sion between t he schools of New England, so t hat,
the negligence of a British subject, cannot man:~ if our recollection serves us, each benefited to the
tain an action for da mages under the Fatal Acci- extent of some 403. Of late years we find more sendents Act, 1846, known as Lord qa.!llpbell's Ac~, sible views prevail, so that few even of the leading
when such representative was domiCtl~d and ~esi European universities can no~ compare in wealth
dent in a foreign country. Mr. .T ushce Darh ng, with the bette1 endowed of theu compeers across tho

[AuG. 16,

1901.

Atlantic. Signs are not wanting that similar views

are beginning to prevail here. In \Vales several of
the counties have had the good sense to unite in
the suppor t of a single central institution in place
of each having its own county college.
The present waste of fund s originates to a large
degree in political and social considerations. The
passion for equality has gathered strength of late
years, whilst the love of liberty has correspondingly lessened. Many people feel a certain resentment in a finely-equipped building being reserved
for the use of a few talented individuals, which
would disappear were it given over t:> the teaching
of a s warm of elementary students. I t is probable
that with timo and knowledge this feeling will be
modified, and, indeed, it is just possible that the
smattering of elementary science, which is now
being distributed broadcast, may ultimately prove
to have been a necessary preparation to the proper
appreciation by the p ublic of t he value of advanced
work. The curriculum of our schools has hitherto
dealt with words, rather t han with the facts of
nature, with the result t hat not one man in ten has
known anything of the material world around him.
Even at the present day clever boys are constrained
by the heads of our public schools to work on the
classical side, whilst the more stupid are shunted
to t he modern departmen t, and the world is then
gravely informed that the best results are obtained
from an education on the traditional lines. Whilst
the reverend gentlemen at t he heads of these
schools are endeavouring to delay education reform
by manreuvres of this somewhat discreditable
character, the polytechnics, though all b ut useless
so far as any direct benefit to the industries of the
country are concerned, are at least doing something
to spread some knowledge of elementary science,
which ultilnately may lead the population at large
to gradually recognise t he importance of providing
facilities for more advanced work.
I t ma y t hen become possible to persuade our
Treasury officials that a War Office chemist is not
wasting the patrimony of the nation should he
devote quite a large proportion of his t ime to
theoretical research in place of devoting the whole
of it to routine aQalyses.

NOTES.
THE NEW CAR

OF THE p ARI
RAILWAY.

M ETROPOLITAN

THE cars now running on the Paris Metropolitan

Railway do not meet the requirement~ of the
service; among other points of detail the doors are
found too narrow to allow t he rapid entrance and
exit of the passengers, and the doors of t he cars
now being built will be double the width, and
formed of two sliding panels. With regard to the
comfor t of the passengers, however, the new cars
will n ot contain any improvements on the old type ;
the number of seats is the same, and a great many
passengers will still have to travel standi ng. Moreover, owing to the alteration in the doors, part of
the seats at the ends of the vehicle near the entrance
will be bracket -seats, made to rise up automatically, and the persons who will occupy them will
even then often be compelled to stand up to allow
the entrance and exit of passengers on crowded
occasions. One advantage of the new cars is their
shorter length ; this will allow the forming of trains
with eigh t cars.
MoNIER CYLINDERS FOR BRIDGE F oUNDATIONS.

Amongst the selected papers published in a

recent issue of the minutes of Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers is one by Mr. E . M.
de Burgh, M. Inst. C.E ., describing the use of
cylinders of armoured concrete for bridge foundations, which constitutes, we believe, a new departure in the development of t he Monier system.
Cast-iron cylinders, Mr. de Burgh states, have been
very largely used in New South Wales for brid~e
foundations in salt water, but a great advance In
the price of cast iron led him to consider the possibility of replacing this material by armoured concrete pipes, which was successfully accomplished
at a great saving in cost-the Monier cylinders
costing but 24s. per foot, in place of 3l., the cost
of cast-iron ones, although the conditions were not
specially favourable to the former. The cylinders
used were 4 ft . in diameter outside, and were
2! in. thick. They were constructed in lengths of
3 ft. 7 in., and were made up of one layer of steel
wire netting of lt mesh and N o. 16 gauge wire,
and two spirals of No. 8 gauge steel wire wound

Auc. 16, 190 L]

completely r ound the cylinder at a pitch 1 in . A
cast-iron cut ting edge was provided. With a vie w
to facilitating t he connection s of t he d ifferen t
lengths longit udinally, st eel bard 1J in. by ! in.
were em bedded in the concrete between t he spirals,
sockets being left at each end, so t hat t he ba.ra in
s uccessive lengths could be coupled up by a s mall
fishpl~te and steel wedges. 'l'he cylinders thus
constructed. wer e sunk through gravel, sand, and
clay to a depth of 36 f t. belo w water level. Mr.
de B urgh states t hat were it necessary to use an
air lock there would not be the sligh test d ifficulty
in attaching it to the cylinders.

225

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

E LECTROLYTIC p RINTlNG.
An account of t he interesting process of electrolytic p rinting d evised by Mr. F riese-Greene was
given in a lecture by Mr. C. R. D arling to the
R oyal Art illery I nstit ution last year, and is published in t he proceedings of t hat Society.
The
object of t he inventor is the super session of
printing ink with its accompanying complications. (rhe same presses and type can be used as
heretofore, but instead of ink ing the t ype, the
latter is connected to t he n egative line of some
source of electricity . The paper used is imp regnated with suitable chemicals, whilst t he pressure rollers are connected to the posit ive line.
A current accor d ingly t raverses t he paper as it
passes t hrough the press, and the chemicals being
d ecomposed thereby, a sharp imp ression of the
type appear s on t he surface of t he paper. The
amount of chemicals n eeded to give a good
impre.:;sion is small.
Thus in one experiment
with a silver nitrat e paper t he curren t used
was measured, and on d educting t herefrom the
amount of silver liberat ed, it appears that an
eight-page newspaper could be printed with the
liberation of 0.134 grain of silver. Of course silver
nitrate, though convenient for experimental work,
is unsuitable for practical use, since a paper impregnated with t h t.S salt turns black on exposure to
light. The chemicals originally euggested for use
in t he industrial develop ment of t he scheme was a
m ixture of manganese sulphate, and nitrate of
soda, both of which are very cheap. This yielded
an impression of a very dark brown, which t ends to
become blacker wit h age. Other sa.lts, have, how
ever, been discovered which g ive perfectly black
prin ts, the impression, it is stated, being sharper
t han can be obtained with ink. The rate of prod ut t ion is very great, t he experiments going
to show that some 36,000 impressions p er
hour are q uite feasible, and ib is possible t o print
o n both sides of the pap er, which is, of course,
essen t ial if the process is to compet e wit h the
older methods. By suitably selecting the impregnating salts, prints can be obtained in a great variety
of colours. It has fur ther been suggested that t he
method migh t be applicable t o the typewrit er,
t he inking ribbon being done a way with, and
t he prepared paper used in conjunction with
metallic type connected to the n egative main of an
electric lighting circui t. A modification of this
scheme has been suggested by Mr. Wren, of the
U nit ed States W eather Bureau. In this a litt le block
t he size of an ordinary type replaces t he type wheel
or keys. This block is built up of a very great
number of very fin e wires, each insulat ed from t he
other. These wires are connected in groups t o t he
k eys, the arrangemen t of each group being such
that on put ting it in circuit, t he letter corresponding to the k ey depressed is printed on the pap er.
R AILWAYS .
The average increase to the length of r ailways
t hroughout the world is about 11,000 miles per
ann um, equal to nearly 2! per cen t . of t he total
lines existing, which at the beginning of t his cent ury extended to n early 480,000 m iles. Of the
increase d uring recent years, 4100 miles per annum
ar e added to t he E uropean system, 3500 miles per
an num to th e A merican system, while t he addition
in Asia is at t he r ate of 2250 miles, in Africa 1100
miles, and in Australia 160 miles per annum . In
Asia par ticularly, an d in Africa to a less exten t,
t here has been p rogressive movemen t ; but the
financial crisis in A ustr alia has affected t he developmen t of the rail way system considerably dur ing t he
past decad e. Of the 44,570 miles added t o the world's
rail ways during t he past four years, 9000 miles have
been constructed in Asia, Siberia accounting for
3424; while British India added 3020, Japan 1395,
and China 180 miles. Although t his last- men tioned is a small addition relatively speaking, it is
THE WoRL D's

satisfactory t o know that wit~in the fou! years t~ e

in crease is from 124: t o 401 miles. The 1ncr ease In
E urope is b y n o m eans gr eat, although t h e total
is 16, 342 miles ; t his is equal to 10! p er cen t . of
the existing system, or about 2k per cen t . per
annum. As in Asia, Russia accounts for abou t a
third of t he additional E uropean m ileage- for 6146
miles ; Germl\ny has laid 2647 miles, A ustriaH ungary 3350 miles, while t he English q uota is
only 503 mile~ . But it must be r emembered t hat
th e pr oportion of rail way mileage to the un it of area
i 3 greater in England th an in any other country,
excepting only B elgium ; and in t he case of B elgium the addition to mileage is only about 300 miles.
Another elemen t affect ing the q uestion is t he capital
involved. T he cost per mile in E ngland is double that
of any other E uropean country. The increase in
the American mileage, including both continen ts, is
14, 100 miles, of which rath er more t han half has
been laid in t he U nited S tates; but the incr ease
t her e is only about 1 per cent. p er annum. The
mileage per unit of area is now considerably in
excess of that of t he whole of E urope, although
it is only one-third t he length p er 100 square miles
in G reat Britain. In Africa. t here has been a very
satisfactory developmen t during r ecent years, t he
t otal mileage added in fou r years being 4330 miles.
In other words, t he addit ion has been at t he rate of
over 12 per cent. per annum. It is an indicat ion of
the beneficen t nature of British rule in E gypt t hat
the additions t here have been 65 p er cent., or 826
miles ; while in British Sout h Africa the addition
is 494 miles ; in t he Transvaal, 586 miles ; in the
Orange Free Colony, 596 miles ; and in Algeria
and Tunis, 690 miles. As we have said, t he
extension of t ran spor t facilit ies in Australia has
not been great. The four years' increase is 640
miles, equal to bar ely 6 per cent. of t he mileage
exist ing at t he beginning of 1896.
THE ALUMI N I UM COMBINE.

I t was announced from Germ~ny a few days ago

t hat negotiations are proceeding between the N euhausen Aluminium Company, the big wiss prod ucer, and the Pittsburg Aluminium Compan y,
which is said t o d ominate the American n1ar kot,
wit h a view to the est!lblishmen t of a con vention
' ' for t he impro1:emen t of t he indust ry," which is
a euphemis m for raising prices. The negotiations,
we ar e told, p romise t o be successful, and if t hey
should t urn out so, n o secret is 1nade of the intent ion to put up val ues immediately. Nothing is
said abo u t the inclusion of t he English company, or about t he F rench and the other
S wiss p roducers, but n o d oubt on e and all
wi1l give at least moral support to any efforts
t owards the end designed . The production of
aluminium being limited, and in the hands of a
very fe w individuals, a scheme t o r egulate p rices
is easy, given active or passive sympathy on t he
par t of t he componen ts, th e m ore especially as
the den1and is about up to t he output. Au thoritative figu1es for last year are n ot yet available, but
the compilat ions of the Metal Gesellsch aft of
F rankfort show t hat for 1899 the aggregate was
5, 748,380 kilogrammes, of which t he U nited States
furn ished 2, 948,380 k ilogrammes, S witzerland
1,300, 000 kilogrammes, F rance abou t 1,000,000
kilogramm es, and England about 500,000 kilogrammes. The Swiss fi gures include t he pr oduction
of t he Rheinfelden Works, as well as of t heNeuhausen, but not that of the L ead-Gestein, which had t hen
been but a shor t time in operation . I t would be inter esting t o know if anythi ng has been d one to secure
t headhesion of theRheinfelden and t heLead -Gestein
as members of t he convention . In t hat case, and
assumi ng that the Pittsburg Company r eally does
dominate the American market, con t rol is assured,
irrespective of the rest, who, as we ha ve already
said, will probably support the movement. I f t he
rate of increase of previous years was n1aintained
in 1900, t he total production must have exceeded
7,000,000 kilogrammes. Certainly t he producers
have don e t heir best hiLh er to to keep pace with
the d emand.
In 1898, 4,03:3,704 kilogrammes
wer e r eported ; in 1897, 8, 394,400 kilogrammes ;
in 1896, 1,659,676 k ilogrammes ; in 1890, 175,388
kilogrammes, and in 1895 13,292 k ilogram mes.
Germany is t he largest consumer, dra wing most
of its sup plies from S witzerland and smaller
measure f rom France. I t imported 922,000 kilogram mes in 1899. The American in dustry has
mad e t he most strik ing progress. In 1893 only
14 1,336 kilogrammes were produced. B y 1896 t he
quant ity had increased t o 689,676 kilogrammes;

by 1897 to 1,8 14,400 kilogra1~1mes, and by 1899 to

2 948 380 k ilo(/ram mes . Switzerlan d has ad vanced
~ith ~ore del~beration from 650,000 kilogr ammes
i n 1895 to 800,000 k ilogrammes in 1898 and
1,300,000 kilogran1mes in 1899.

THE lVIOTOR TRIALS AT LI VERP OOL.

WE have received the following statement giving the
judges' awards in -he recent t rials of motor vehicles conducted under the auspices of the Liverpool Self-Propelled
Traffic Associa.tioR :
THIRD TnrAr..s Olt' 1\rioTon VEJ uOJ~Es l!'OR H xA vY
'f RAFJ!'lC, JUNE 3 'fO 7, 1901.
J uDGEs' AwARDS.
Gold Medals :
Class A.-Load, 1~ tons; maximum tare, 2 tons;
minimum level platform area, 45 square
feeb ; minimum width of driving tyre~,
3 in.; speed, 8 miles per hour.
Official Number :
George F . Milnes and Oo. Limited, Motor
~
Department, "Motoria," 17, Ba.lderton-streefl,
Oxford-street, W .
Class B.-Load, 5 tons ; maximum tare. 3 tons; minimum level platform area, 75 square feet ;
minimum width of driving tyres, 5 in.;
speed, 5 miles per hour.
Offi cial Number:
B 1.- The Lancashire Steam Motor Company, Leyla.nd, near P reston.
Class C.- Minimum load, 5 tons; no tare li mib;
minimum level platform area, 95 equate
feet ; minimum width of driving tyres,
6 in.; speed, 5 miles per hour.
0 fficial Number :
C 1.-The Thmnycroft Steam Wagon Company,
Limited, Chiswick and Basingstoke.
Class D . -~Iini mum load, 4 tons; no tare limit;
level platform area not specified ; minimu m width of driving ty res, 4 in. ; speed,
5 miles per hour.
Official N umber:
D 1 'f he Thornyorofb Steam Wagon Company,
Limited.
D 2 T. Coulthard and Co., Limited, Cooper-road,
Preston.
Silver 1\ri edal :
D 3 The Mann P11.tentStea.m Cart and Wagon ComD4
p:1.ny, Lmited, C11.nning Works, Dewsburyroad, Leeds.
Vfe have confidence in recommending the vehicles to
wh1ch gold medals have been awarded for adoption where
haulage of goods by mechanical means is contemplated .
We also draw attention to vehicle No. B 1, the performance
of w~ich, in r~spect of load and consumption, wa-s highly
cred1ta.ble, wh1lsbthe tare was below the !!_resent legal l imi t
of 3 tons. In class D the vehicles Nos. D 1 and D 2 bad
severs.! poin~ in which they were pracbicaily equal, and
some m w h10h each excelled the other. We therefore
had no alternative, where each had high merits, but to
award two gold medals in this class.
(Signed) EVERARD R. CALTUROP, 1\ri. I nst. C.K.,
M. Inst. Mecb. E.
S. B. CoTTRELL, M. Inst. C.E , 1\I. Inst.
Mach. E., E ngineer and General
Manager, Liverpool Overhead Railway.
H . s. HELE-SHAW, LL. D., F.R.S.. M.
Inst. C.E. , M. Inst. 1\'I eoh. E., Harrison P rofessor of E ngineering, Liver
pool U niversity College.
BovttRTON .RxowooD, D. Se., F .R.S.E,

F. I.C., F.C.S .
H ENRY H. WEAT, 1\'I . I nst. C.E., M. Inst.
N. A., M. Ins b. Meah. E .
T he report on the trials will be iesued later in the year.
E. SHRAPNELL SMITH, H on. Secretary.

THE A~t~Rl CAN I RON TRAD~. -Consumption continues

large, and 1s expected to con tmue so well into the winter
months. There are good ordera on hand for steel rails
and railroad equipment generally.
PERSONAL.-Mr. F . W. Nor th, F .G.S., mining engi~
neer, who reported for the Government of Natal upon
the coalfields of that Colony, has lefb for the Pyrene&~
to report upon the coalfield of L'Esa.ra in the Provinc~
of H uesca, Spa.in.-:Messrs. W itting B;others inform us
~hat they have con~erted their eleotrica.l departmen t>
mto a separate. busme~s, under the style of Witting
H~others, Electrtcal E ogmeers and Contractors, Limited,
W1th offices at 49, Cannon-street, E . C.
MERS~Y DocK. EsTATE.-T he annual report of Mr.

A. G. Ltsber, engmeer to the Mersey Docks and H arbour

Board, refers to the completion of the new tobacco warehouses at Stanley Dock, the largest of their kind in t he
world, having 14 flo?rs, with an aggregate area of 36 acre~,
and ca.pabl.e of stormg 60,000 hogsheads. The amoun t of
work earned oub under t he cont rol of t he engineer'a
depa.rtme.nt has, Mr. Lyster states, been exceptionally
large durmg bhApast year. The wages bill has at t imes
been nearly 11,600l. per week, and the number of men
employed has be~n upwards of 7800 ab one time. T hese
tigur~s are exclus1ve uf payments to contractors, and do
nob m~lude . the men. employed by them. The total
expend1ture m the engmeer s department for the year has
been 1, 230, 949l.

'

THE MESSAGERIES MARITIMES.

great French company worked out a dividend
for 1900 at the rate of 4! per cent. per annum. This
was perhaps no great result ; but accou nt must, of
course, be taken of the dearness of coal and the disorganisation of the world's affairs which has resulted
fro~ the wars in which th e United K.ingdom and the
U mted States have unfortunately become involved
during the last three years. We must not forget also
the troubled condition of the Extreme East throughout 1900. The company continues to steadily develop
its carrying resources. In the course of last yea.r the
fine steamer Atlantique was added to its fleet. The
Atlantique is of 6907 tons burthen, while her engines
work up to 7200 horse-power effective. In the
course of the pa.st twel ve months the Ava, a
ship of 3361 tons burthen and 2400 horse-power,
was withdrawn from t he company's ser vice; but
notwithstanding this withdrawal, the effective burthen of the company's fleet was increased by the
addition of the Atlantique to 246,277 tons, and the
effective force to 207,550 horse-p ower. 1'he company have now only one vessel in course of construction
at La Ciota.t. This ship is int ended t o be employed
on the Indo-China commercial line, which requires
additional carrying resources. As a r esult 6f the
changes made in the course of 1900, t he cost of the 62
steamers which the compa.ny had in ser vice at the close
of the year was carried to 6,647,888l., or 133,40ll.
more than the corresponding cost at the close of 1899.
The furnishing, equipment, &c., stood at the close of
last year at 428,900l., or 27, 167l. more than the corr esponding cost at the close of 1899. The construction account was, however, reduced last year
to the extent of 139,4Q5l. Altogether, t he expenditure on capital account made by the company
upon its fleet a nd t he necessary equipment amounted
at the close of 1900 to 7,623,442l., reduced by allowances for depreciation, &c., to 4,024,534l. This latter
total represents, of course, the net book value of t he
fleet at the close of 1900. The stor es account stood
at the close of last year at 373, 735l., as compared with
340, 131l. at t he close of 1899, showing an increase of
33,604l. This increase was largely attributable to t he
dearness of coal, although the council of administration
has been endeavouring t o reduce coal stocks within
the narrowest possible limits. The expenditure made
for buildings, tools, apparatus, &c., stood at the close
of last year at 508,511l. , as compared with 509,078l.
at the close of 1899. T he share capital of t he
company remains at 2,400,000l. The obligation
debt bad been reduced at t he close of last year to
2,331,960l., as compared with 2,332,340l. at the
close of 1899. The deduction made from the profits
of 1900 for depreciation of the fleet was 83,003l.
These allowances represented 2! per cent. upon the
proportionate value of the fleet still to be redeemed,
after allowing for the cont ribution made for the year
to the sinking fund, formed for the redemption of the
obligation debt. The depreciation dotation for 1900
was smaller t han the amount which the company
usually sets apart under this head, the council of administration considering that, in view of high coal
prices and other exceptional circumst ances, a little
abatement might fairly be made for t he twelve months.
The allowance for depreciation has gener~lly been
calculated at 5 per cent. of the initial value of the
ships and plant remaining to be redeemed. ~h~ strict
application of this rule has t.he effect of proVldmg for
the original cost of the fleet 1n 20 year~, but the co.mpany's experience shows that the penod of effeotlVe
ut ilisation is really from 25 to 30 years. The t otal
allowances which t he company has made out of
revenue from t ime to time for the depreciation of its
fleet, premises, and plant, amounted at t he close of last
y ear to 3,597 ,908l. The insurance. fund was nea~ly
maintained at its former level durmg 1900, showing
a reducLion of only 128l., as compared with 1899. The
statutory reserve fund stood at the close of last year
at 240,000l. , or 10 per cent. of the company's share
capital.
.
The company has now pass~d its. fift1eth year
of working, having been orgarus~d 1n July, 1851.
The original idea was to carry ma1ls and p assengers
from France to Constantinople, and t he company
commenced its operations with thirteen woode!l paddle
steamers built between 1836 and 1841, wh1ch were
transferr~d to it by the French Government, and three
iron paddle steamers acquired fro~ t.he Rosta.n~ Co~
pany which bad carried on sh1ppmg operatiOns m
the ~Iediterranean. The fleet of 1851 accordingly
comprised 16 vessels of an aggregate burthen of 13,264
tons, and fitted with engines of 2980 horse-powe~.
The total annual distance to be traversed by th1s
fleet was 105,216 marine leagues. As we have recently
sho n the company's fleet at the close of 1900 compris:d' 62 vessels of an aggregate burthen of 246,277
tons, and an aggregate force of 207,550 horse-powe;.
The distance traversed annually by t he compan1 s
shi s had also risen last year to 1,014,464 manne
leapues. Further, the average speed of the compa;y's ships, which did not exceed 8 knots per hour
THI

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

in 1851, has now been carried upon the chief lines to

from 14 to 15 knots per hour. The progress made
in t he development of the company's undertaking
in 1900 is shown by the fact that t he distance
traversed by its steamers showed an aggregate
increase of 56,696 miles, as compared with 1899.
This increase was due, to some extent, to some supplementary voyages made in connection wit h the
Paris Exhibition ; it was also attributable t o voyages
made for t he conveyance of troops and war rnatd1iel to
China. These latter voyages represented altogether
49,552 marine leagues. Responding to an appeal made
to it by the French Government, t he council of administration did not hesitate to follow its t raditional
practice, and to place at the disposal of the State all
its available resources, at t he r isk even of having to
reduce the n um ber of voyages made in other directions.
The obligatory post al voyages made by the company
last year represented altogether 536,997 marine
leagues; while the voyages made without any State subvention represented 477,467 marine leagues, or 38,706
marine leagues more t han in 1899. A service was commenced n few months since upcn the African coast
between Zanzibar and Beira, t he steamer Mpa.nja.ka
having been employed; the results obtained not having
been . satisfactory, the experiment has been discont inued. As regards the speed realised by t he company's
steamers, they attained, and even exceeded, last year
t he obligations imposed upon them, upon all the lines
provided for by conventions with the State. As
regards the passenger movement last year, it was particularly good to and from Brazil and Argentina; but,
on the other hand, an epidemic of yellow fever, which
prevailed at Senegal, exercised a very depressing influence in that quarter. The general result of the
year's working was an increase of 29,280l. in the
revenue derived from passengers, as compared with
1899, while the company's whole revenue for last
year increased to t he extent of 249,317l. This
increase was, of course, largely attributable to the
gr~ater distance run by the company's steamers ;
and it was also neutralised by the greater working
expenses resulting from the dearness of coal, a dearness aggravated by the higher freight rates charged
for t he transport of coal to t he company's depots.
The council of administration did what it could to
meet the coal difficulty, by reducing its consumption
of English coal and relying more upon Asiatic coal.
The quality of the latter was found to be unfortunately inferior, although its cost was relatively
moderate; it was used, however, last year to the
extent of 163,000 tons. Ame~ican coal was alsq
used last year to the extent of 33,000 tons ; this
latter coal was first used in 1898 and 1899. A
larger quant ity was burnt in 1900, and it may be
used to a greater extent in future. During the
last four years, the cost of the combustible used
by the company has increased to the extent of
no less t han 400,000l. These figures are, however,
of course, explained, to some extent, by t he greater
distance now run by the company's fleet. The
increase in the cost of the fuel consumed last year as
compar-ed with 1899 was 90,150l. Upon t he whole,
the operations of t he company last year resulted in
a profit of 271,40ll. After provision had been made
for t he obligation service, a dispoeable balance of
192,506l remained; in dealing with this balance, the
council of administration decided to d ivide it into two
nearly equal parts,- one to be devoted to the payment of
a dividend at the rate of 4i per cent . per annum, and
the other to be applied in writing down the cost of
the fleet.

SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH ENTERPRISE.

THE accounts of the Globe Telegraph and Trust
Company for the financial year ending J uly, 1901, are
of a highly satisfactory character, the company being
enabled to announce a dividend of 51 per cent. upon
its ordinary shares. The company was formed nearl y
30 years since for t he purpose of investing in the
stocks and shares of various telegraph undertakings,
1,800,420l. being raised by 6 per cent. preference
shares, and 1,802,270l. by ordinary shares. Thanks
to the company having been enabled at the time of
its forma tion to purchase submarine secur it ies at very
low prices, it has realised a good return upon its
capital, while t he securities which it holds have, upon
t he whole, considerably appreciated in value. Of the
telegraph companies in which "TheGlobe,is interested,
the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, Limited, has
long been exposed to severe competition; and now
the Eastern Telegraph Company, and the Eastern
Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company
are also t hreatened with a competitor in the Pacific
cable. To meet this competition, the Eastern and
Eastern Extension Companies have wisely made great
reductions of rates, so that they will be in a position
to deal effectively with the opposition with which
they will have to contend. " The Globe" has confined its in,estments principally to British undertakings; but it holds at the .same ~ime shares in .five
American telegraph enterprtses, Y t z . : The Amenca.n

T elegraph and Cable Company, the Centllal and South

American Telegraph Company, the Commercial Gable
Company, the Commercial Un10n Telegraph Company,
and the famous Western Union Telegraph Company.
The investments made in these five undertakings are
of the following amounts : American Telegraph and
Cable Company, 110,500l. ; Central and South American T elegraph Company, 90,874t. ; Commercial
Cable Company, 12 ,2131. ; Commercial .Union Telegraph Company, 7194l. ; and vVastern Union Telegraph Company, 97,354l. The heaviest investments
made by "The Globe" in British telegraph undertakings are : Anglo-American Telegraph Company,
Limited , 277,987l. ; D irect United S~ates Cable Company, Limited, 113,233l. ; Eastern Telegraph Company, Limited, 990,662l. ; Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Limited, 716,387[.;
I ndo-Europeau Telegraph Company, Limited, 104,877l.;
and Western Telegraph Company, Limited, 443,267l.
The company is also interested in the Submarine
Cables Trust (a concern of p ractically the same
character as itself) t o the extent of 89,550t , while it
has placed 131,663l. in the Telegraph Construction and
Maintenance Company, Limited.
The Eastern Telegraph Company, Limited, bad an
unusuall y good half year's busine~s during t he six
months ending March, 1901, the revenue for that
period amounting to t he large amount of 624,340l.
The company adheres t o its sound and prudent
policy of making the largest possible add itions to
its reserve funds. The addition to the maintenance
ships reserve for the past half year was l O, OOOl., while
the general reserve was also augmented to the extent
of 205, 000l. Although larger dividends might be paid
upon the company's ordinary stock, the stockholders
have no reason to complain of their position, as
t hey r eceived an actual distribution of 7 per cent.
for 1900-l. The directors have had two objects
in view in forming heavy reserves-first, the securing
general stability to the undertaking; and, secondly,
the providing reserves out of which new worlts can be
undertaken without any increase of capital. Alto
gether, the company held reserves at the close of
March, 1901, to the aggregate a mount of 1,165,905l.
- viz. , general reser ve, 721,152l.; maintenance ships,
fund, 169,044l.; marine insurance fund, 114,885l. ;
fire insurance and guarantee funds, 88,474l.; land and
buildings depreciation fund, 44,25ll.; removal of head
offices fund, 20,9lll.; and insurance of goods in
transit fund, 7188l. It is difficult to see bow the
ingenuity of the Board could be exerted in developing
any further reserves. The general reserve was, however, somewhat reduced in the half-year under review,
having been brought down from 1,042,488l. at the close
of Sept ember, 1900, to 853, 702l. at the close of March,
1901. The reduction occurred in the face of a direct
allocation of 205,000l. from revenue for the purpose of
maintaining the fund, while 11,558l. was receiYed for
interest and dividends on investments during the
half-year, a p rofit of 8878l. being also realised from the
eale of cer tain reserve fund investment s. In view of
these additions, the general reserve would, of course,
have shown a large increase had it not been charged
with 402,459l. for the cost of new cables, &c. To deal
as effectively as possible with the threatened competition of the Pacific cable, the company has been duplicating and triplicating certain sections of its r oute
bet ween Great Britain and Australasia. The last
section dealt with has been that between Durban and
the Mauritius, and this new section is likely to be of
considerable value, as the E!l.ster n Extension, Australasian, and China Telegraph Company will have
brought into working in October a cable between the
lVIauritius and Western Australia. The Eastern Company had five repairing ships at work in the six
months ending with March, 1901, viz., the Chiltern,
the E lectra, the Mirror, the Amber, and the John
Pender. The expenses of these vessels, including
25,404l. for cable used, and sundry charges at stations,
amounted to 84,352l. for the half-year, reduced to
46,056l. by charges made to other companies for services rendered in connection with the repair of their
cables.
THE LAST FrsoAL Y EAR oF THE EuiSON Co?tiPANY.-

The Edison E lectric Com:{>any, one of the most! jmportanb

electric companies of PariS, have jusb published their report! for 1900. The results shown ate mosb satisfactory,
and are attributable partly to the Exhibition, which
caused a marked increase in the consumption of current.
U nfort unately, bhis company, like all the other electrio
sectors of Paris, have bob a. ahorb concession, which terminates in 1907, and a. large margin of the profits have
to be written off for redeeming the plant. On March
31, 1900, the company were supplying currenb for
207,182 lamps of 10 candle-power each, owned by 3092
subscribers; while on March 31, 1901, the figures were
respectively 253,989 lamps and 3188 subscribers. The
electric energy sold in 1899 aggregated 1533 horse-power
and 1709 horse-power in 1900. In December, 1900, the
works bad an efficiency of 5100 kilowatts; since then bwo
new sets of 1000 kilowatts have been ordered. The gross
receipts reached 4,861,000 francs (194,000l.) in 1899, and
5, 629,000 francs (225, OOOt.) in 1900.

AuG. r6, 1901.]

THE NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA.

AT the last general meeting of the Nippon Yusen

Kaisha.- the National Steamship Company of Japanthe report presented to the shareholders was of a very
favourable nature, and showed that the Japanese mercantile marine is making rapid progress. Before
entering on the business proper of the meeting, Mr.
K.ondo, the president , gave some interesting partiticulars of a tour of inspection which he had made in
Europe and America, chiefly wit h t he vie w of making
himself more thoroughly acquainted wi th shipping
matters. He exp1ained t hat his objects were to s how
whether the foreign service inaugurated by the company could be successfully accomplished at present
or not ; secondly, to ascertain the position held by the
company in relation to similar corporations elsewhere
t hroughout t he world; thirdly, to determine the present and future prospects of vessels engaged in the
maritime enterprise3 of the world, and, fina lly, to express his views as to t he manner in which the comp any ought t o conduct its business in future. We
h ave n o doubt th at a digest of his observations will
interest those of our readers who are engaged in shipping business, as it will indicate the Japanese way of
looking at such matters.
With regard to t he first point, Mr. K.ondo reviewed
t he history of the foreign service of the company and
explained its development and progress. I t commenced
with the Bombay line short ly before t he war with
China.
That war afforded a unique oppor tunity
of accomplishing the object for which the company bad laboured during many y ears, and a pro
po3al submitted at a general meeting of the share
holders about that time for the opening of three great
r outes of navigation met with their unanimous ap
proval. Despite the serious diffic ult ies experienced
by t he company, the new enterprises made steady
progress. It was, indeed, not an exaggerat ion to
assert that the four lines- European, America,n,
Aust ralian, and Bombay- have made greater development than was anticipated by the original
scheme. Not only has the number of vessels on
these lines been increased, but also ships of larger
dimensions are now used. On the American line
t hree ships were increased t o (six, and likewise
in t he case of the E uropean line a fortnightly voyage
is now undertaken . It is worth while, Mr. Kondo
s!Lid, to remark that since the inauguration of the
foreign services the results have been so satisfactory
that every line has virtually consolidated its credit .
As to the European line, the freight of raw silk was
diminished by 30 p er cent. d uring the year under
review. Indeed, the company did everything in its
power to restrain t he enhancement of freight and to
decrease rates, wit h the object of encouraging exports
from Japan. The Government used the ships of t he
company for the import of naval and military
stores; and the transport of the large number of
officers and men appointed to bring home war ships from abroad by the same means, and in
ot her ways the company ha~ received ample protection and assistance from t he Government. At the
same time Mr. Kondo believes that it is certain that
if the d ifference in freight paid by the Governmen t and
t he public to the various foreign steamship cor porations, and to the Nippon Y usen Ka.isha since the inauguration of its foreign service be calculated, t he
amount will come to really striking figures. This is
partiunlarly true of the Bombay line. When the
foreign service was opened by the company the rates
of freight for raw cotton stood at 17 rupees per ton,
and these were not only reduced to 12 rupees, but
other companies engaged in similar business agreed to
adopt them . Indeed, the progress which the spinning
industry in Japan has made during t he past few years
owes much to the benevolent effor ts thus made by the
company. No doubt the plans of the company were
favoured by the unique opportunity for their execution; but Mr. Kondo did not hesitate to assert that
it had succeeded in a ttaining the objects which it
originally desired to accomplish. Moreover, he believes
that, from the p oint of view of national policy, the
protection and encouragement given by the Govern ma.nt has been amply j ustified.
With regard to the position which the company holds
among foreign corporations condu cting similar business,
in point of capital it holds t he fi fth r a,nk , a nd in tonnage the seventh, as compared with the t wo steam
ship companies of Germa.ny- the Hamburg-American
and North Ger man Lloyd-and four others, viz., the
~I. l.VI. Company of France, t he British India, the
P. and 0., and t he Union-Castle of England. In the
matter of fortni ght ly ser vice between J apa.n and
E urope the company is in no way inferior t o the P.
and 0., the Hamburg-American, and the North
German Lloyd. In its American ser vice it is on an
equal footing with the Pacific ~fail 'teamship Corn
pany and the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Corn
pany, while in respect to the Australian line it is even
super ior, and certainly by no means inferior to any of
the corporations pursuing the same business. In short,
the company has now secured a proper footing and a

E N G 1 N E E R I N G.
proper degree of influence among large marine corporations of various nationalities.
~Ir. Kondo entered into an examination of t he
present and future prospects of vessels employed ~n
t he maritime enterprises of the world. Our space w11l
not allow us to follow him in his facts, fig ures, and
speculations ; but these show most clearly an intimate
knowledge of e xisting conditions, and also a very
clear appreciation of the possibilities of the future.
He believes that it is certain that the marine enterprises of the world are destined to engage in great
competition in the future. Each nation will, with a
desire to outrace others, endeavour to construct ships of
larger dimensions and of greater speed, with more perfect equipment, and with every convenience that rnay
be conceived of. This sort of competition is certain t o be
accompanied by an increase of the capital employed,
an extension of maritime sen rices, and an augmentat ion of the gross fleet. Recognising these facts, and
t he stipping development s which are certain to take
place in connection with t he Siberian Railway, !VIr.
Kondo clearly perceives that some serious changes
will take place in future in regard to means of transport a nd communication between E urope and America.
Japa.n has, to a cortain extent, attained ma.riti:ne
ascendency in the adjoining seas of the Orient, yet
there is cause for apprehension that her present
poRition may, some day, be encroached upon by other
nations. The tendencies of the times and t he forces
at work are clearly recognised by the directors of the
Nippon Yusen Kaisba , and they are evidently determined to spare no effort not only to maintain their
present position, but also to extend their work and
influence.
During the half-year under review the gross receipts of the company amounted to 11,490,127 yen,
and t he expenditure to 7, 6~7, 772 yen, showing a
balance of 3,852,354 yen in favour of the former. Of
this amount, 1,034,565 yen was set apart for various
reserves, in confor mity with the regulations, and
various sums fo r depreciat ion of buildings, leaving
a net profit of 2,804,530 yen. Out of this total,
140,226 yen were set apart for t he reser ve prescribed
by the Commer cial Code, 500,000 yen for the equa.ljsation of dividends, 733,729 yen as a ship's fund,
78,526 yen as special allowances for directors and
auditors, 1,100,000 yen as dividends to shareholders
(at the rate of 2.50 yen p er share, which gives
10 p er cent. per annum on the 50- yen shares),
and 631,969 yen to be carried over to next account.
These fig ures not only show that the business is being
carried on with good profits, but also that the directors
by building up their reserve and depreciation funds
are putting it on a thoroughly sound basis. I n order
to make it still more secure, arrangements are being
made to adjust t he valuation of the ships and make
good their maintenance, and thus permanently consolidate t he foundation of the company's assets.

NOTES FROM THE UNI'l,ED STATES.

August 7.
THE most important development outside of worae
complications in the steel strike was the heavy purchases of Bessemer and basic pig- 75,000 tons-by the
United States Steel Corporation, which took all producers had. The other kinds of pig iron are quiet for
the present, and large consumers refuse to say what
couree they will probab1y take in covering or not
covering future requirements. The remarkable expansion of capacity has not as yet made any impression on
prices in t he iron and steel markets of t he United
States ; but t he careful observer cannot fail to note that
there has been a trifle more anxiety during the past
few days among la.rge interests to .hear from buyers
and to enter into arrangements for future delivery.
This is worth something t o buyers, and they will not
be slow to take advanta.ge of the anx iety. The refusal
of Mr. Morgan to modify t erms of strike settlement
brings the matter to an issue, viz., will there be a
general strike? That is the alternative offered by the
Amalgamated Association. The market cannot stand
a strike. There would have been no strike had the
old heads remained, as they know their workmen.
The new ones do not.
The next few dayR will develop t he policy of a large
number of iron and steel consumers who have very
moderate supplies on hand, and who have not contemplated the prospects of a suspension of production.
Both iron and steel bars are in very active request at
prices ranging from 1! dols. to 1.60 dole. Light hoops
are all bought up, mill stocks of sheet s are all absorbed,
and jobbers' stook s cannot last long. The manufact urers of cast pipe are out of the fracas, but their mills
are loaded down with orders. Steel bars are h igher, and
sheet bars are scarce. Large orders for structural
material. Some 30,000 tons were placed this week,
and inquiries for plates are now before the manufacturers, but concessions are den1anded. P utting the
matter in a nutshell, t he st eel industry is stronger
than it ever has been, and every liranch is oversold.
A good deal of apprehension is expressed over t he
outcome of the present unfortunate disagreement.
PrriLADELPHIA,

'227

" AMMONIA COMPRESSORS."

T o THE EDITOR O.l!' ENGINEEnrNo .
.
Srn,-I s there anything to be gained by compoun~mg
ammonia. compressors~ We have o~r compound, triple,
and quadruple expans10n steam engmes _; then why no~
compound, triple, or quadru_ple ammoma compressors.
I should think there is a S'a.m to be got s~mewhere. I
own the most complete h sts from America and the
Continent, &'J. , and have never come across any compressors as above mentioned by any maker.
H onACE E. CouLsoN,
L ecturer on Machine Construction :
The Birkbeck Institution.
The Goldsmiths' Institute.
Fores~ Hill House School.
238, Wandsworbh Bridge-road, Fulham, S.W.

THE ANNEALING OF IRON.

To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
SIR,-By the special rules established UD:der the Co~l
Mines Regulation Act, amongst other duties, the engineer is required " ab least once in every three months to
anneal the working cage chains." I have recently ~ad
occasion to look into this question, the reasons for domg
it and the supposed benefits derived from ib.
'some tell me that it enables them to see the state of
the iron and to detect any flaws; others, that after these
chains have been subject for a length of time to the
shocks repeated hundreds of times per day, in the lift
away from the bot.tom of the pi~, ~hat the ir_on becomes
fatigued, and that m such a state It IS crystall.me, and, a.s
it were, rotten, but that the process of annealing removes
and remedies than condition.
Under this uncertain state of the case I have referred
t o a good many authorities, few o~ whoD?- deal with the
question, but from all I can find It certamly appears to
reduce the original strength ; thus, in D. K . Clark's
''Manual of Rules and Tables," page 623, "the ultimate
tensile strength of rolled bar iron varies fr0m 22! to 30
tons, this strength is reduced more than 1 ton by annealing." The tables of tests be gives show this; but it would
be very interesting to know whether this reduction of
strength continues to occur each time such chains are put
through the process ; and also whether the cryst~lline
condition is remedied. It seems to me altogether unhkely
that a fibrous state is restored.
In confirmation of this, I have found that (since writing
the above) Professor Kennedy, in an address be gave
some years ago to the London Aesociation of Foremen
Engineers and Draughtsmen, said : " I do not believe in
the popular theory that contmuous work in the material
brings a.boub a crystallised <:ondition. I believ~ t?at
nothing whatever happens to It, and that crystallisat1on
is caused by sudden fracture. For instance, a plate
having holes punched across its section when pulled in the
testing machine yields first in one of the outer connecting
pieces slowly, and gives a beautiful silky fibrous appearance; the remainder of the connections give way suddenly
from overload, and a crystallised fracture is the result."
I am quoting from ENGINEERING of March 8, 1889 ; ib
would be both useful and interesting to know whether
later experience confirms t his view of the question.
Youro faithfully,
Durham, August 10, t901.
A. L. STEAVENSON.

HIGH-PRESSURE v. LOW-PRESSURE
STEAM IN THE SUGAR REFINERY.
To THE EDITOR OF ENGINEERING.
Sin,-The letter on this subject from Mr. Francis
N. G. Gill in your issue of June 14 deserves notice. Mr.
Gill is well known in the sugar trade of Southern India,
has read a. paper before the Society of Arts, and ha.s in
other ways placed himself before the public as one who
speaks with authority on sugar. It is well, therefore,
that his conclusions should be examined. He prefers a
low pressure of steam in the boilers of a sugar-house on
account of losses when using high-pressure steam, which
be examines in detail under four heads.
"1. Lo~s in Greater Flue Gas Temperatures." Mr.
Gill takes the difference of boiler temperatures at 115 lb.
absolute and 35 lb. absolute, or 78.65 deg. Fahr., then
allows 200 deg. Fabr. above boiler temperature as the
flue gas temP.erature, and debits high-pressed steam with
the whole dlfierence. This completely ignores the action
of the economisers, which should be more efficient at the
higher temperature.
' ' 2. L oss in Greater Radiation." In his calculation
under this head Mr. Gill, for 115-lb. sten.m, makes 337.87
minus 100 equal 327.87, instead of 237.87, and continues
the error all through. Corrected, his result would be a
loss of 566 heat units against 1075, as stated. As the
35-lb. steam, by Mr. Gill, loses 626 units, 115-lb. steam
really gains 62 units instead of losing 450, as calculated.
This reverses the whole argument.
We have here an expert conclusion based on a. mistake
in simple subtraction.
"3. Loss through Excessive Expansion and Consequent
Excessive Condensation of the Steam." Mr. Gill makes it
that 115-lb. steam loses 2.26 per cent. more than 35-lb.
steam under these heads, in being expanded to the pan
worms at 25lb. and 20 lb. respectively.
In the sugar-house this expansion takes place in two
ways- through a reducing va.lvewithoutwork, and through
engine cylinders doing work. The latter is, of course,
the principa.l method.
If the high-pressed steam is expanded through a
reducing valve, the wire-drawing superhel).tS bhe resulting
low-pressed steam, so that heat units are, theoretically,
nob lost. If Mr. Gill denies this, will he be good enough
to show where the missing heat goes to
If the steam is expanded in a.n engine cylinder, the

228

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

[AuG. 16,

1901.

heat goes in work and m ore advantageously than in the

case of low-pressed steam, owing precisely to the greater
expansion used. If it does nob, we had better go back to
the original W atb en~ine, at about atmospheric pressure.
The fact is that M r. Gill has misled himself by using
only differences of latent heat. If he would use total
h eat, as he ought to do, he would find his little sums work
out the other way. The total heat is all there in the
high-pressed steam, and represents available hea t units
for expansion purposes just as much as the laten t heat.
' ' 4. L oss in G reater T emperature of the Condensed
Steam from the Pan Worms." If the steam traps are in
proper order, the steam is fully use d in the worms, and
the ultimate temperature of the condensed water is
regulated by the temperature of the contents of the p n.n
A.nd not by the init ial t emperature of the steam. The
lower part of the worm and tail-pipe will cool t he water
to a temperature somewhat above that of the liquor in
the pan, the margin being determined by the area. and
thickness of the copper through which the heat is
transmitted.
Mr. Gill apparently calculates that the 10-lb. gauge
st eam discharges, as water, ab a temperature of 240 deg.,
and the 6-lb. st eam a.t a t emperature of 228 deg., as he
again reokon s only laten t heat unit.~ as available. The
temperature can evidently nob be over 212 deg., or the
traps would discharge steam and not water. Practically
the water is 212 deg., and Mr. Gill should have t aken
total heat, less 212 deg.
His calculation would then have been:
10L b. Steam. 6.L b. Steam.
T ot al B.T.U.
1151. 5
". 1155.2
' ''
212.0
IJess ...
. ..
...
...
~12.0

Britain have recently been revised. Those maps may be country was so different from what i b was in the States,
ordered and indexes inspect ed ab head post offices in that it wa.s impossible t o imitate American methods in
towns where there are no specially acored tted agents for this regard. In France, he remarked, a cerbain amount
their sale. The charge for a sin~le map or sheet ordered of time was legally allowed to all the railways for the
through a head post office will, m addition to the actual delivery of goods. H e had ascertained accurately what
cost of the map itself, be in future 3d. instead of 4d., as those t1mes were, and on the same basis the L ondon and
has hitherto been the case, and an additional ~d . will be North-Western Company would be allowed for carrying
charged in respect of each additional map or separate goods to Birmingham four days, t o Manchester five
sheet ordered ab the same time. On orders for Ordnance days, to Preston five days, to Carlisle six days, to
Survey ma ps of the value of 103. and upwards, no charge Glasgow eight days, and to Dublin six days. English
to the public will be made beyond the price of the ma ps merchants, he maintained, would nob stand such
themselves.
delays, but in other ways he claimed that t he company
Th h
"1\,r A
S C E had done a great deal in the matter of increasing
I n ~ recent pap~r, E d~m
ao er, J.Y.L. m.. oc. train loads, and bad with this object in view recently
describes a case m wh10h s~nd-boxes .used, m place of erected a large transshipping warehouse at Crewe.
wedg~, to support the ~entremg of a bndge proved to be 1 Transshipments, he expla.med, were small parcels of
unreh able. The . centremg settled much more than was goods. A package had to be loaded to some large
~xpeo~ed, and thrs ~as traced to the sand -bo:ces, the plugs station where packages of a similar nature were sent for
m wh10h had S!Jnk m some o~~es fully1~ m., although what was called transshipment in the hope that there
they fi_tted a~ trghtly a~ pract1oable. To further. test the would be enough to make up a through load, but this did
matter, a sand-box was packed ?arefully, the plug mserted, nob always happen, and there was delay. This double
and two m~n set t o wor~ With sledge hammers. The handling was a source of great expense to the company,
plug ~as drtven down 3 m ., and the foreman reported and the more a. package was handled the more likely
that It could have been sent to the bottom of the box had it was to get damaged. T o improve the general workhe ke~b the men long enough. ab work. Mr. ~hacher ing of these packa_ges, which were very numerous,
a.ccor~mgly suggests ~hat whtl~t very convement for they had built at Crewe a lar~e transshipment shed,
levelling up and lowermg centremg, there should, .w hen where they expected to deal with the bulk of these
sand-boxes are used, also be a good wedge on each stde of consignments from all par ts of the line, and by
them.
concentrating the work a t a central place like Crewe
F ollowin g the report of the J oinb Committee on London insure prompter deliveries to the public and better
Underground Railways, the H ouse of L ords ha~ passed a loading for thei r trains. T o show the magnitude
resolution to the effect that the promoters of the eleven of the traffic he might state that they were only at prtlBills mentioned in that report have leave to suspend sent dealing with the transships hitherto dealt with ab
further proceedings thereon in order to proceed with the Manchester. The relief to the lVIanchester stations bad
Bill~, if they should think fib, in the next Session of been very great, and he hoped that even better results
Nett B. T . U . available in
Parliament, provided that notice of their intention to do would be a.ahieved when Birmingham, Preston, and their
943.2
939.5
Pl\ D
...
...
. ..
so be given within a certain time. Ib has now been other transship stations were relieved and the work tranaor a difference in favour of 10-lb. steam of 3. 7 units, officially intimated that notice had been given in the ferred to Crewe.
inRtead of Mr. Gill's 8.54 the other way.
Private Bill Office of the House of L ords of intention to
The fact that a number of Russian engineering works,
In regard to the penultimate pa.ragragh of the letter, proceed with the eleven Bills in question. These mea- more especially in St. Petersburg and its neighbourhood,
the i ncreased leakage from joints and packing is no sures are as follows: Brompton and Piccadilly.circus still show a preference for foreign pig iron, although
argument against the higher pressures. Loeses of the Railway, Central L ondon Railway, Charing.cross, E uston, Russian can be had ab 10. 20 kopek per pood less, is
kind can be a voided, in India as elsewhere, by proper and Hampstead Railway, (No. 1 and No. 2), Cbaring- causing some surprise and disappointment in certain
care. Rust joints and similar makeshifts will not stand cross, Hammersmith, and District Electric Railway, City quarters. One of the reasons is, no doubt, old habit.
100-lb. pressure, but proper workmanship and good and North-East Suburban Electric Railway. I sli ngton The engineers are accustomed t o the imported iron, and
packing will do so. Two cotton mills in Madras, with and Euston Railway, King'd-road Railway, North-East prefer to work in the old groove; but in addition to this
which I have been connected for years, are using 180-lb. L ondon Railway, Piccadilly and City Railway, and the foreign irons are properly classified according to
steam ; and what is successfully done there can be done West and South L ondon Junction Railway.
quality and percentage of ingredients, whilst Russian
in any sugar-house in India , and, I suppose, in the
pig iron must always be sampled and analysed, U nder
An
important
series
of
tests
have
been
made
by
a
oom.
colonies.
these circumstances works that do not produce their own
mibtee
of
the
M
aster
Car
Builders'
Association
on
the
Mr. Gill's conclusion against higher steam is not
pig iron, a~d which wish to use.R~sstan pig iron 1 mu~b
brake-shoes
used
by
the
different
American
railroad
comwarranted either by theory or practical experience, and panies. The problem to be solved is to provide a brake- confine their purchases to one drstmcb firm, provided 1b
when it is considered that its adoption means ab least shoe which will wear well and at the same time be effec- always supplies the same quality, or they run the risk
doubling the size of boiler3, engines, pans, and ste~m tive. Chilled shoes will, they find, last a very long time, of getting iron that does not suit their requirements.
pipes for a given out-turn, at, of course, a grea~ly .m - but excessive pressures are needed to secure reasonable This unsatisfactory state of affairs has recently been discreased capital cosb, your readers need have no hesitation braking power. Soft casbiron shoes, on the other hand, cussed at a meeting of Russian ironmast E>rs, and is
in rejecting it.
altogether receiving a fair amount of attention. It has
capitally
as
brakes,
but
wear
out
in
the
course
of
a
act
Yours fai thfully,
been stated in this connection tha t, with the extension of
few
t
housand
carmiles,
and
during
this
short
life
require
J . "\V. CHAMBEllS.
frequent adjustments, which cause delays and are other- the railway facilities in the Ura1, both so far as the iron
. Bangalore, India, Julv 3, 1901.
wise objectionable. The committee recommend that works and the mines are concerned, the former have
blocks used on chilled wheels should show a coefficient of been enabled to improve their supply of ore, whereby the
' peculiarities, of several brands of pig iron more and
of
22
per
cent.
at
speeds
of
40
miles
per
hour,
and
friction
EXPLOSIVES FOR FROJECTILES.
mote disappear, a more equal quality becoming more
under
a
pressure
of
2808
lb.;
with
a
pressure
of
4162
lb.
T o THE EDITOR 0.1!' ENUINKERING.
In addition, a large number of new bla~b
general.
the
coefficients
should
be
20
per
cent.,
and
with
a
pressure
SIR,-Sir Hiram Maxim makes a statement in last
furnaces have of late years been erected both in the U ral
6850
lb.,
16
per
cent.
With
steel
tyre
wheels
the
shoes
of
week's ENGINEERING, that he has tried ''to use common
and elsewhere, which send their produce to the same
show
a
frictional
coefficient
of
16
per
cent.
at
65
should
terms ,, every class of guncotton, cordite, and lyddi te,
markets, whereby it becomes impossible for the buyer to
miles
per
hour,
and
under
a
brakingpressure
of
2808
lb.;
and has proved that 5 per cen~. of vaseline i~ suf?cienb t o
individualise the qualities of all these goods. U nder these
with
4152
lb.
pressure
the
coeffi01ent
should
be
14
per
resist shook or damage to the loaded pro)ecttle when
circumstances it seems really to have become a neces
cent.,
and
with
6850
lb.
12
per
cent.
fired. What needs he more ?
sity to fi x a certain number of types, to which the
A F oreign Office report, by Mr. Consul-General different makers of pig iron can conform ; so that the
For common and shrapnel shell the present primers
seem t o be sufficient : Why n on develop the explosive Sohwabach, on German trade, has bhe following : " No buyers no longer need learn from bitter experience that
branch of industry during the last decade has shown what they have bought does nob suit their purpose. This
p ower of these shells.
With armour. piercing projecti.l es th~ difficulty begi!ls, such ma.rvellous development as electricity. The German cla!!sification ought to be as simple as possible; the folnob with H otohkiss, nor the 4.7m. q u10k-firer, b ut With electrical plants have considerably enlarged their works, lowing has been proposed: 1. Silicon over 1.5 per cent..
and one may reckon that a capital of about 700,000,000 phosphorous nob over 1 per cent. 1*. Silicon over 1.25 per
shells of larger calibre.
L et us hope that Sir H . Maxim having proved such, marks (35,000,000l.) is interest ed in this industry. The cent., phosphorous not over 1 per oenb. 2. Silicon not over
is on the point of giving to the world of arms and explo- increased export trade consists largely of the export of 1.25 per cent., phosphorous not over0.25 per cent. 2*. Silielectrical appliances. Exact statistical details are con nob over 1.25 per cent., phosphorous between 0.25
sives an essential primer for resisting shook.
wanting as to the number of these appliances, but and 0.50 per cent. 2**. Silicon not over J. 25 per
A PROJECTILE GAUGER.
the Bundesrath has decided upon a more thorough cent., phosphorous between 0,50 and 0. 75 per cent.
and special classification of these articles in the list 3. Silicon nob over 1.5 p er cent. ; phosphorous 0. 75 to
MISCELLANEA.
of statistics. But an enormous field of work is opening 1.25 per cent. Although the percentage of manganese
THE traffic receipts for the .week ending A~gust ~ on before the electric technical trade in the construc- is of importance, it would complicate mabtera too much
thirty-three of the principal hnes of the Umted Kmg- tion of railways. At present, it is true, there is only if this were to be included in the above classification.
dom amounted to 2,370,435l., which w.as earned on 20,~63~ a modest experimental railway ab Wannsee, which Besides, it is only for foundry purposes that a greater
miles. For the corresponding week 1n _1900, t?e receipts connects B erlin with that suburb. U p to this time percentage of manganese is objectionable; but with a
of the same lines amounted to 2,302. 2o6l., wrth 1~,885~ it is only working as far as Zehlendorf, a place in higher percentage the pig would nob be grey, and consemiles open. There was thus an ~crease ~f 68,180l. m the the neighbourhood, but the rates are ab present favour- quently nob come under the classes suitable for faun
receipts, and an increase of 267! m the mileage.
able. Two large firms -the Allgemeine Electricitats dries. The percentage of sulphur will remain withonb
The Central L ondon Rail way ~arried 20,395,739 pas- Gesellschaft and M essrs. Siemens and Halske-have importance as long as the U ~al pig iron iR sm~lted down
sengers during the first half of this year. The earnu?gs taken the affair into their own hands, and, with certain with charcoal, except for spe01al purposes. Thsl?rOp<?sed
have averaged 950l. per mile per week. Th~ workmg financial and technical help, have called into existence a classification has now been submitted to the v anous 1ron
expenses were 54 p er cent. of the gross recetpts . The German' Sbudien G esellschaft' for electric quick railways. works, and the question will be dealt with at the next
lifts have been responsible for abou t 4 pe~ cen~. of ~hese Soon afber the formation of this society, the Prussian meeting i but t he plan is sure to meet with a fair amount
working expenses. "\Vith a ~iew. to reduc~ng vt.bratlOn a Minister for W ar placed at their disposal the Military of opposition.
ne w type of electric locomottve 1s now bemg t r1ed on the R~ilway, BerlinZossen, a disflanoe of 32 kilomet.res (20
miles). Quick trains .dri ven by steam at present a_verage
THE Fmmou TELEPno~E CoMPANY.-Tbe Societe In
line.
a.
speed
ot
60
to
70
kilometres
per
hour,
and
occas10nally
The Trade and Navigation Retu:ns for Ju ly show ~m of 80 to 90 kilometres : the company, however, hope to dusbrielle des Telephones were com pelled, some time
ports amounting to 43,028,822l., an 10:crease of 2,764,65ot., achieve a speed of 200 to 250 kilometres per hour. The back, to ha nd over to the Governmen t their telephonic
or 6 8 per cent. on the correspondmg month of 1900, plan is not unattended with di fficulty. T he construction system, and they gave all their attention to t he manufa.othe exports amounting to 2!,385,77ll , a deo:ease of of the lines must fall principa lly on private capitalists, ture of the apparabus and various types of cables require.d
164,786t., or 0.6 per cenb. Th~ value of the u on and for the State, as p ossessor of the steam railways, will not for telephonic service, lighting, and tramways. Their
steel exports was 2,233, 72Ll., agamst 2, 558, 116t., a decrease be very likely to foster a scheme which will compete with last year's balance-sheet showed a. profit balance of over
2, 700,000 francs (180, OOOl. ). They have .now s~arted bl1e
of 12.6 per cent. ; and of the coal and coke exports
construction of autocA.rs, on a patent wbtch theu consul~
2, 830,490l., against 3,346,490l. , a dec: ease of 16.3 per cent. the existing lines."
'b'or seven months ended July 31, Imports amounted to
Ab the general meeting of the L ondon and North- ing engineer had taken out, and hope to d~velop th~s
305 506 327t an increase of 9,607,224l., or 3.2 per cen t. ; W estern .Railway Company held last Tuesday, L ord branch of industry. T he present value of thet~ works .ts
export~ to 1.S3,182,169l., a decrease of 5,745,1~2t. , or 3.4 Stalbridge referred to the suggestion frequently made above 11~ million francs (~60, OOOl.); t hey own besides~ sht.P
p er cen t.; and re-exports to 39,608,709l., an Increase of that E nglish railway companies Rhould endeavour to keep for the laying of submarme cables, the value of wb1ch 1s
down their costs by running heavier and less frequent about 1 million francs (40, OOOt. ), and their bill-case con1, 405, 374t., or 3. 6 per cen b.
tains amounts for a total exceeding 3! million franc
trains
a-s
is
the
practice
in
the
U
nited
States.
L
ord
The arrangements made for the sale of Ordnan~e Sur vey
(140,OOOl .).
m a.p 3 through th9 me'Hum of head p ost offices In G~eat Stalb~idge assErted t hat the Pystem of trade in the

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

an aggregate of 409,849 members, One exclusion is

reported in the year- the Labourers' Union, at Swansea, the cause being disagreement as to policy. The
report has articles on labour movements in other
co~ntries, on trusts, and one on a proposal by a
shipowner of D evonport as to a scheme of federation
fo~ employers' .as3ooiations and trade unions, the object
~emg t_o negotiate and avert s trikes wherever possible,
1n the Interests of all parties.
The report of the ironfounders for the current
month states that trade generally has taken a more
favourable turn. The volume of business has shown
little actual expansion, but there has been more confidence, and consumers show a more active des ire to
place orders. The improvement in the shipbuilding
md~stry ha.~ exli?nded to ot~er branches, especially in
marine engmeermg and alhed trades. In this trade
union there is a decrease of 65 on donat ion benefit and
the outlook is hopeful. The number in receipt of b~nefit
was 2619; last month 2666- decrease 47. Of that total,
1033 were on donation benefit-decrease 65; on sick
benefit 418- increa.se 21 ; on superannuation benefit 942
- decr ease 10 ; on other funds !50- decrease 3 ; on dispute benefit 26 - increase 10. The expenditure for these
benefits was 853l. 11s. 4d., or llid. per member per
week. The total balance in hand was 105,00ll . 7s. 8d.,
or a decrease of 55ll. lOa. lOd. The returns as to the
state of trade show that in 108 places, with an aggregate of 14,444 members, trade was from very good and
good to dull; last month the corresponding figures
were 106 places and 14,234 members. From short time
to very bad the description applied to 19 places, with
3786 members ; last month to 23 places, with 4035
members. The changes are not great, but they are all
in the right direction. Attention is called to the large
amount of a rrears of members, the total due being
2767l. 14s. 7d., or an average of over 3s. per member
in the union. In one case, that of the Retford branch,
the a rrears due by certain membera are so large that
notice of exclusion is given unless they pay up.

The report of the Amalgamated Society of Carp emters and Joiners shows th~t out of a total membership of 66,869 there were on unemployed benefit 1587;
on sick benefit 1153; and on superannuation benefit 1002.
In Cape Town, Durban, Ea.st London, and Pieterma.ritzburg trade was good, fair, or improving; t~.t Port
Elizabeth moderate; from other branches bad- war
still on. In the United States and Canada employment was generally good, fa ir, or moderate ; in Australasia it was variable-from good to bad in some places.
Wages and other movements in this country, so far
reported, show that strikes are in progress or disputes
unsettled in 141 towns; in 14 other towns members
seeking employment have to see the branch secretaries
before accepting work; and in three other towns
certain firms ar e indicated as having disputes with
their employee. In six towns advances in wages have
been secured, with other advantages. Correspondence
with the Admiralty is published as to wages in the
Government Dockyards at Devon port, with results not
favourable to the society. The members are urged to
have patience in this matter.
~he report of the Cotton Spinners' Association indi-

cates some improvement in trade; 5.52 per cent. were

unemployed as compared with6.25 per cent. in the pre
vious month, and5. 86 per cent. in the same month of last
year. The united members stood at 13,654, a decrease
of 156 as compared with the month previous, and of
448 as compared wit h 81 year ago. The decrease of
full members was 14 and 28 respectively at the periods
named, the others being piecers. There were 24 disputes in the month as to piecework prices, all of
which were dealt with by the officials.
The report of the Associated Blacksmiths covers
what in Scotland is termed the holiday month. The
returns as to unemployed are not unfavourable as compared with other years. There was an increase of
fourteen signing the vacant book, representing t emporary suspensions, but a decrease of nineteen in t he
number in r eceipt of unemployed benefit, which is a
favourable sign. Some complaint is mad e that certain
employers ex tended their holidays over the fortnight
us ually observed, to the loss of the employes. Trade
is still reported to be good; the amount of new work
placed on the Clyde is said to have been 45,000 tons,
and "there are a. number of r eplacing orders to be
booked," so that the outlook is encouraging.
The late dispute at Barrow, in which this union and
the Smiths and Strikers' Union were sa.id to have
come into conflict, is referred to in the report, and
with it is published full correspondence with the Parliamentary Committee as to the arbitration and a ward.
The Associat ed Blacksmiths repudiate the claim. It
is sa.id that the Smiths and Strikers' Union also laid
the matter before the Committee of the ]'ederation of
Trades, but no decision is reported. The Blacksmiths
declare that they had nothing whatever to do with the
dispute of the smiths and strikers at Barrow, and
that they declined to interfere in the case of piece-

[AuG. 16,

1901.

work prices; therefore they d ecline to pay their share

The Penrbyn Quarry dispute continues wir,hout
of the e~penses of the investigation by the Parlia- much change. Another batch of summonses was heard
mentary Committee.
at Bangor last week, when t en persons, one a woman,
were committed for th e assizes, bail beiog accepted for
The report of the Durham Miners gives an account of their appearance. The troop3 have been withdrawn.
their recent grfa t annual ga.la.da.y- the greatest ever Trade unions continue to send gtants of money for the
held. It was the thirtieth; the first was held in 1870. men who are out, but the amounts are far from what
The Compensation Committee had to deal with sixteen is required to keep the men and their families. In
ca.ses of accidents-f~~otal and non-fatal. All cases the whole history of strik e3 few are more sad than the
were settled except one, in which the claim was, a.ftor annals of the Penrbyn dispute.
full consideration, withdrawn. There were two cases
The tramway men's strike at Bristol continues, and
of compromise- commutations they are called in the
report. The work of this committee goes on smoothly, great inconvenience has been felt by the public through
the discontinuance of the tramway service. Several
litigation being avoided.
men have been fined for molestation; but, on the
whole, the intimidation hag not been very seriouP.
The Ame1ican Federationist puts quite a. different Still, feeling runs high, and great care is taken of the
interpretation upon the steel strike in America to that men who have gone in- some from L eeds, others from
g iven in the newspapers by the various telegraphic Hull- to supply the places of those vn strike.
agencies. It states that one of the conditions imposed
The London tramway men in the employ of the
by the Trust during negotiations was that the men L mdon County Council have been abusing some of
in wha.t was called the "non-union mills " should their friends on that body for not doing an that the
refrain from joining any union. The unions claimed men think they ought to have done on their behalf.
the right of inducing such men to join the union if But to this complaint there has been, or will be, a
they could.
reply to the complainers.
The Fccle1ationist declares that the workmen of
America. are threatened with two dangers- the conThe Scotch miners have refused to comply with the
centra.tion, by combinatioo, of wealth and productive
power in the bands of a fe w, under the dtreotion of request for a. reduction of 12! per cent. in wages.
a single controlling management; and the possible The Scottish Miners' Federation support the men in
overwhelming of the American workers by hordes of their refus1-l.
A dispute in the printing trade at Frome led last
Asiatics. The Federationist is not opposed to men
because of difference in race or colour; but it seeks week to a serious disturbance, some property being
for fair play as between the races, not that one sh!l.ll destroyed. Some of the men impor ted refused to
resume
work
after
the
disturbance.
be pitted against the other by huge combinations.
The Chinese Exclusion Act terminates on December 8,
The New Zealand Compulsory Arbitration Act is
1904; but the law providing for the enforcement of
now acknowledged, even by its author, to have Leen
th e treaty stipulations expires on May 5, 1902.
a complete fail ure. Employers and workmen alike
The position of the iron trade in the Wolverhampton denounce the Act, and the people are growing sick
district is somewhat stronger than it was.
The holi of it. Both the Premier and the Press endorse this

days last week interfered with production and general view.

business ; but it is said that ironmasters have a
sufficiency of orders on their hooks to keep the mills
UNIVERSAL DIRROTORY Olt' RAU.WAY 0b'FIOIALS, 190L
and forges in steady operation. Merchants with
heavy contracts on hand for export had been press- -This is the seventh year of publication of this directory,
which is compiled from official sources, under the direction
ing and hoping for further concessions, but the action of
Mr. S. Richardson BJundstone, editor of the R ailway
of the employers' section on t he Midland Wages Engineer, and is issud at 5J. to subscribers and at 10.s.
Board in not insisting upon lower wages has had the after publication, by the Directory Publishing Company,
effect of strengthening quotations. The employers Limited, 3 Ludgate-circus-buildings, London, E. C. With
have thus nobly returned the concession of the opera- the assistance of this book, which has close upon 600
tives when the latter refused to press for an advance pages, it is possible to ascertain for any railway company
to which they were entitled. This reciprocity of feel- in the world, the mileage, the rolling stock possessed,
ing is an excellent guarantee for peace and prosperity. and the na.mes of the officials, all such information being
Marked bars are firm at quarter-day quotations, while given under the respective names of each railway, which
arranged in alphabetical order under the respective
unmarked bars have advanced 5s. per ton, fairly good are
countries of the world; but, in addition, the names of
trade being done at the higher figure. The engineering the railways are arranged in an index irrespective of
and allied trades continue generally to be fairly well nationality, and there is also a personal index of officials.
employed, and also most of the hardware and other There is a list of manufacturers and suppliers of railway
iron, steel, and metal industr ies. In very few are material, machinery, stores1 and appliances given; but it
there complaints of actual slackness ; some are busier is not by any means inclosi ve of the best firms. The
than others; the general d escriptions are, as regards basis on which this list was compiled oos-ht to be stated,
trade, good, fa ir, or moderate, a few are slack or de- even albhough it is a p:.ymentJ for insertiOn; as it is, the
list is mislen.ding.
clining.
In the Birmingham district the holidays had the
effect of diminished product ion, limited attendance at
market, and slack business. Makers of best bars are
busy, mainly for naval and engineering purposes. The
advance of 5s. per ton last week in unmarked ba.rs
has not interfered with business, the hig her rate being
well maintained. Sheets have declined. For steel
there is increased d emaucl, but German and Belgian
competition is keeping prices low. In the engineering
and allied indus tries employment, on the whole, is
fairly well ma intained. In the other iron, steel, and
metal-using industries no very serious d ecline is reported, though some sections are rath er slack.

OuR L ocoMOTIVE ExPORTS.-This appears likely to be

a pretty good year for our loco'Uotive export trade. The
va.lue of the engines exported in July was 157, 997l., as
compared with 76, 488t. in July, 1900, and 122, 937t. in July,
1899. The large increase in la.st month's figures is attributable to a greatly augmented demand from British
South Africa, British India, aud Australasia, the value
of the shipments to those colonies and dependencies comparing as follows with bhe corresponding value in July,
1900, and July, 1899, respectively :
Country.

British South Africa

British India
..
..
In the L!l.nca~Jhire districts reports vary as to the Australasia . .

position of the engineering trades. A slackening-off

is reported amongst machine-tool makers, most of
whom, it is said, are completing orders more rapidly
than they are being replaced. On the other hand,
some firms engaged on heavy machine tools, chiefly
for marine requirements, admit that they have been
securing a fair amount of business recently. This
probably is due to the increasing activity in shipbuilding centres. There has been more doing also in constructive sections of the engineering trades. Enginebuilders for electric lighting installations are busy,
but for heavy engines for mill-driving few orders
are now being given out. Electrical engineers, locomotive and railway carriage builders, continue to be
exceedingly busy, and boilermakers are well engaged.
:Moulders are also fairly employed. In the t extile
machine-making industry there has been some slight
improvement in some sections, but generally it is still
depressed. In the iron and steel trades a healthier
tone is noticeable, but the fluctuations in warrants
tend to make prices in certain cases uncertain. On
the whole it may be said tha.t the outlook has im
proved

July, l OOt.

July, 1900.

July, 1899.

22,810
60,209
6J,079

8,040
12,52 4
6,265

884
74,462
2,184

The aggregate va.lue of the locomotives exl?orted to Jo!Y

31 this yea.r, was 1,00l,540l. , as compared wtth 849,531t. m
th~ first seven months of 1900, and 787,428l. in the first
seven months of 1899. The principal exports in the first
seven months of this year compared as follows with the
corresponding value in the corresponding periods of 1900
and 1899 respectively :
_;_

Country.

South America.

Brit ish India

British Soutb Africa

Austrnlaaia . .

1901.

1900.

180;}.

167,747
285,805
112,055
176,793

146,653
284,341
65,851
96,158

119,855
888,280
20,469
54,364

It may be well to observe that the values have probably

been increased this year by t~e dearn~ of som~ of the
materials used in the oonstruct10n of engmes. Still, u.pon
the whole the results disclosed are clearly encouragmg,
as they show that the demand for British locomotives
is nob affected at present by foreign, and especiaJJy
American, competition.

AuG. 16, 190 1.]

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

NAVAL ORDNANCE.*
By Lieutenant A. T REVOR DAWSON, of L ')ndon.
(Conclu ded from page 202.)
C(,n tre-Pil'ot .Jllownting.~Reference mn.y next be made
t o _the centrep1vob mountmg, largely adopted for quickgru~ guns, a.n d of which a typical ~xample, constructed
Y essra. Vtckers, Sons, and M ax im Limi ted for the
J apanes1 Go_ver;Dmenb, is illus tratd by Figs.
and 29,
page 229, wh1le m F1~. 30, 3t, 32, and 33, p:1ges 229, 231,

28

detail on ~igll. 28 and 29, page 229, is typical, and may bs

fully descn be.d.
.
.
.
The mountt_n g cons1sts of a _steel top carnage A, wh10h
r~sts on a horn~~:mta:l ba.ll-bearmg on top of a hollow steel
ptvo~ B, on .wh1 ch 1~ ~ay bs ! evo_lved. The g un i~ free
to shde du nn~ rec01l 1~ a c~lmdr~cal cradle ,c, w~1ch is
b~la~ced on Its t runmons m smtable bearmgs m the
oar~tage. U nderneath the cradle are. attached three
cyhnders-one, D , to overcom~ the rec01l, an~ the_ other
t wo, ~ ~nd F {one_ on each side. of the reco1l cyhnder ),
contatm og the sprmgs for runnmg the gun up to the

23 1
1le fo-hand &ide of the mou nting; but an auxiliary training
hand-wheel M is provided on the right-hand side, so that
two men may be employed to brain the gun if desired.
The training gear is arranged so that ib may be easily
and quickly thrown in or out of action.
The rec~il cylind e~ D is of usual construction to give
an approxtmately umform pressure during recoil, and to
control. t~e S,Peed of r unning ~ut of the .gun after .recoil.
. Provtston IS made for readtly mou ntmg and dJsmounttog th e ~un, and to allow for this the trunnion bearings
Na nd N are made in the for m of circular ca ps, being

F lC.

32.

6 -I N

ANI>

7. 5-: .r--T.

Qui CK-FIRING

GuNs ON

PEnE~TA.L MooNTINC: ~

so arranged that a. part ial rotation of the caps frees the

trunnion of the cradle, so that the gun and cradle together may be drawn directly to the rear without any
lifting being necessary.
'rhe shi eld 0 is of the usual ca.semate type.
An electric contact P is fixed on the cradle, and is so
arranged that unless the gnn is fully run out to the firing
position, it is impossible to fire the ~u n electrically.
Sights Q Q a re provided on both sides of the mounting.

G u Ns TO REPEL T oRPEDO AND SuBMARINE BoAT

A T!'AOK.

-...:

. -

. ..

.., -

F io .

31.

6- I N. Qui CK-FIRING GuN ON CENTRE PlVO'l' M ouNTING .

and 232, there are reproduced photographs t aken of several

g uns during the firing trials ab the Vickers ranges atJ E skmeal~. Figs. 30 and 31 show the 6-in. g un on the centrepivot mounting, Fig. 32 affords a comparison between th e
6-in. and 7.5-in. gun~ tJhe la.bter having double the power
of the former, while ~ig. 33 s hows one 9.2-in. gun.
The 6-in. quick-fi ring pedesta l mounting, illustrated in
-----------------.,..,----* PRper read before the Institution of JYiechanical
EnginHrs.

firi ng position after the recoil. T he connection between

these th ree cylinders and the gun is made by arms G and
H projecting from the breech-ring of the gun. T he
whole weight of bhe revolvin g par ts, gun-cradle and
carriage, is balanced on the ball bearing, thus t he training is very easy. The elevating and training operations
are performed by the rotation of bwo hand wheels, J and
K, conveniently arranged with regard to a. shoulder-piece
L, agains t which t he g unner may lean.
These bwo hand-wheels J and K a re situated on the

T he 14-Poundcr Semi -A utomatic Gun .-0 the type of

naval ordnance specially used for repelling submarine and
torpedo attacks, including weapons firing 3-pounder,
6-pounder, 12- pound ~r, or14-pounder shot, the 14-pounder
now adopted by the U nited States Government is a
typical example. T orpedo or submarine boats attacking
sh1ps or fleets at anchor would do so ab very . long range,
and would probably commence to fire theu t orpedoes
from a range of nearly 2000 yards. T he guns for repelling
such attack would have to be of vower sufficien t to stop
the boats before they came withm s triking distance of
their quarry. The United States Navy have therefore
done the rig ht thing in uti li sin ~ a shell of at least 14 lb .
weight. Such a shell is cer tamly superior for dealing
with high ballis tics at long ranges, and is about the
weight generally adopted as a minimum by most countries
for their land service artillery.
. ':'his 3-in. {14-po.u nder) S'3mi-au tomatic quick firing gun
ts Illustrated by F1gs. 34 and 35, page 232; the semi-automatic breech mechanism is shown on Figs. 36 to 38,
pnge 233.
'l'he mounting consists of a pivot A, which works in a
steel cone or naval s tand B, and has its upper part formed
into a crosshead C. The cone is proVIded with gun~eta.l liner~, and the pi vot is secured to it by means of a
p1 vob nut D. The cylindrical cradle E, in which the
~u n is free to dide in recoiling, is supported by trunnions
F, in bearings fon ned in the crosshead ; and it is provided
with two hydraulic buffers G, in which work pistons
attached to a lug on the underside of the breech end of t he
gun. The elevating and training are effected by means of a
shoulder-piece H attached to the cradle. The crosshead
is fitted wit h a clamping screw, and a traversing clampin~ segment which fits into a groove K in the liner.
vVhen tightened by means of the handle L, this segment
secures the gun in any req uired position of braining. A
similar handle at M clamps the gun at the desired deg ree
of elevation.
.
Protection is afforded the gunner by a shield N,
which is bol ted to flanges P, forged on the croEshead jaws. The cylinders of t he hydraulic buffers are
provided with tapered grooves, which allow the oil to
escape round the pis ton beads, and so regnlate the flow

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

232

NAVAL

[AuG. 16, 1901.

0 R DNA N 0 E .

Fig.84.

__ ............
~

_.... .... --....

.., , . -

'I

_,.,. "'

.-

. <::)

\
I

------1-- ...._,.
.,..., __ - - -----
\

- - - ....... ----- - -- - - -- - - ---- - - -::::::

...- .

Pig.36.

- ----- -- -- "'-+-++-

----+--4--- ------ - --- . I

- - ~ --- ----+ -

- - -- - --- - --- - ---------- - - ---..------------------+

Fws. 34

AND

35.

3-TN.

( 14.-PouNDER) AuTOl\IATIC Qui CK- FIRING

GUN.

that a constant pressure is maintained during recoil.

Inside the cylinders are strong spiral springs surrounding
the piston-rods, which, being compressed by the rear
motion of the piston beads, cause the gun after firing t~
return to its former position.
The breech mecbaniem for 3-in. (14 pounder) semiautomatic quick-firing gun is shown on Fige. 36 to 38,
page 233, and may be described in detail.
The gun rests in a cradle provided with two combined
hydraulic and spring buffers, the piston-rods of which are
connected to a projection at the breech end of the gun.
In the rear of the cradle A is a pistol grip B which contains the trigger C, and on the right-band side is a detachable 16ver D, by the movement of which the breeoh-blo< k
E ca.n be lowered or raised. The breech-block is oapahJe
of vertical movement', a.nd contains the main spring F,
firing-pin G, sPar H , and cooking-lever I. Situn.ted
between the buffers, underneath the cradle, is a powerful
flab spring K, the action of which works the breech
mechanism.
To prepare the gun for firing, the breech is opened by
the movement of the band-lever D, the handle of which is
made to rest in a. crutch prepared for its reception. By
the movement of the band-lever a. crank M is turned,
the action of wbioh brings down the breech-block E, and
compresses the powerful flat Ppring K, situated between
the buffers. At the same time t.he main spring F is compressed, and is kept in this condition by the action of the
sear H. The breech- block E, in moving down, strikes
the lower extension 0 of the extractor, and causes the
upper portion to move out from the face of the end of the
barrel, and brings two sms-11 projections P over the upper
ede-e L of the breech-block E, thus p reventing ib from
rismg by the reaction of the spring K. The oa.rtridge is
smartly pushed into the bore, and as it goes forward into
the chamber its rim strikes against tlie extractor, and
forces back the projections P, which prevented the
breech-block from rising. The flat spring before referred
to acts and rotates the crank M, thus raising the
hreech-blook until th e breech is closed. The bail end
R of the sear is now engaged with the toe S of the
trigger, and by pulling the trigger p~ll C. to th~ rear the
trigger releases tha s~ar, aud the firmg pm G 1s thrown
forward bv the action of the main spring F. On the pttlling of the trigger the gun is fired, and recoils jn the cradle;
the recoil, which is controlled by the hydraulic buffers,
compresses the powerful springR round the piston rods,
and the reaction of these springs ab once returns the gun
into ib3 original position in the cradl~. As the gun
r eturns, the action pawl T engages the hook U on the
crank M which causes the crank to rotate, and thereby
bring do~vn the breech-block. Tbe extractor is actuated
upon by the fall of the block; ill first loosens the cart-

FIG. 3~.

9.2-IN. WmE GuN.

attached to a. lug on the breech end of the gun. On the

cradle are forged the trunnions G, which are supported
in bearings H formed in the jaws of the crossbea.d.
The elevating and training of the gun are performed by
means of the shoulder-piece K whicb is attached to the
cradle. Attached to the croashead is the elev&bing segment
N grooved to receive the clamping-bar P which is attached
to the cradle. This ba.r being tightened in the groove by
means of the wheel R, the gun is fixed at the required

ridge by a. slow movement, which, rapidly increasing,

finally ejects it to the rear.
The 3-Pownder Automatic Gum..-Another type of gun
for resisting torpedo-boat attack, namely, the 3-pounder,
is one which at the present moment calls for much study.
The gun selected for general description is one now being
extensively used in the U nited States Navy, although the
automatic device is at the present time only under experimental trial. The naval mounting for this 47-milliruetre

Fig.3G.

233

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

AuG. 16, I901.]

pressed by. ~he roooil, causes the gun to return to its

former pos1t1on.
The hopper feed m~chanism _of this .47,-mi~imetre gun is
of great interest. It IS shown m detatl m F1gs. 42 and 43,
page 234, and is thus d~crib~d : .
.
Directly the gun reo01ls, 1t brmgs the ca.rr1er rest A
under the lug B on the carrier q, and ?oes no~ .leave it
until the gun has returned to 1ts ~r!ng pos1tion, th~
carrier C can therefore under no cond1t10n descend unt1l

Fig.88

----+-

~~-- - - -

-- - -

-- -

f-1--

--4 - ~ -

--4 --1-

-H- -

+ - 4 - - - ~- - - - -

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

Fig.3?.

\ I

o I

I I
I I

I :I

I I
I I

Io II

..-J

36 To

38.

t'"' " \

'\

.-~
I

+--.... - - --++--- -

\ ..
1
- -gaa I
r.
JlI f\:
~=c..~
.....~~-""""-- ----~8
' L. -, . 'C
T
..... -
-t::u;-;--
u

:
\

F1os.

I
'
I';

------1---+- - 0

/ ~,

_.., ,

,-

.\' - . ----- .
'

- - - - - ...

I '
<
~

,,
~"'
1-)-

MEOHANI Sl'ti FOit 3-IN. (14-PouNDER) SEMI-AUTOMATIC

QmcK-Fmrno

GuN.

the gun is home. During the recoil, the face of the barrel
breech forces the plunger D, with its pawl and feeder E,
ba.ok until the book F on the pawl G passes the lug H on
the shoulder-piece I. The pawl is raised by its spring K,
and the hook F engages with the lug H, thereby cocking
the plunger piston D. The gun returns, and at a. certain
distance from home the action pawl, coming into pJa.y,
opens the breech, and the ejection of the empty case begins.
When fully home, the carrier C descends, being clear
of the carrier support A, and after being moved a. certain
diAta.nce it engages with the part of the pawl forming the
feeder E, depressing it, and finally disengaging the hook
F from the lug H on the shoulder-piece I.
The plunger piston spring K re-acts and returns the
plunger D, with its pawl and feeder E, to its original
position, the feeder forcing the cartridge in the carrier
torwa.rd, shooting it into the chamber.
The breech-block L, during its ascent, raises the lifting
leveT M, and through it the carrier C. When this latter
is nearly home, it engages through the projection with the
tail N of the escapement, and moves it out of the path of
t~e oa.rtridg_e in the hopper 0 . The <?&rtridge being thus
hberated, slides through the hopper mto the carrier, its
pl&?e i~ the h~pper being taken by the next cartridge,
which m turn 18 looked by the escapement as the carrier
descends, and is Jiberated on the return of the carrier.
To load the gun the following operations are necessary :
Open the breech by depressmg the hand-lever P, and
return io to its original position. Insert a. loaded cartridge in the breech beneath the ca.rriert and send it home
in the chamber by a. quick forward pusn, as in loading an
ordinary semi-automatic gun. The breech will then close
a.utoma.tica.Jly. Charge the hopper, and the gun is ready
for firing.
T he '' Pom-Pom."-Guns to resist torpedo or submarine boat attack must also include the "Pom-Pom "
now almost uni versally adopted as a high power a.u~
matio firearm specially applicable as a personal deterrent
when searching out for gun crews or others doing impor:
tant duty on board torpedo vesseJs, or any warship,
~nd not protected by arm~ur. The rate of fire of the gun
IS about 250 rounds per mmute1 and each shell, wei~bing
about l ! lb., bursts on impact mto about thirteen pieces.
Such a gun, it will be recognised, is specia.lJy suitable for
attacking gu~ cr~ws_in the. fighting tops, &c., the hail of
shell rendenng Ib tmposstble for the men to remain
exposed at their guns. When the German ships were
recently attacking the Chinese forts at Taku, the " PomPom " drove the gunners away from the fort weapons,
leaving them to be pub out of action by the heavier
calibre quick-firers on board the ship. Our Admiralty
would therefore be well advised to have a few of these
"P~m-Poms" on board every ~~ip for such .special duty,
p!Lrticu!a.rJy as they can .be utilised on la.ndmg carriages,
m a.ddttto~ to sea. ~ervtce or attack on coast defences.
The experience durmg the Transvaal War has specially
demonstrated t heir value as naval landing guns. Tbe
general arrangement of their mechanism is similar to the
rifle calibre Maxim gun.*
PROJECTILES AND PROPELLING POWDERS.

T~e.question of projectiles. for ~odern naval artillery is

receivmg the greatest attention m all countries. Nearly

ten. years a.g? the Russian Government commenced exper~ments With capped projectiles, and demonstrated
then advantage~ rec~nt developments in this country
have led to theu bemg ordered for use with guns of
12-centimetre oalib~e. and up~a.rds. ~or many years
the French have utthsed caps m conneot10n with armourFIG. 39. 3 -PouNDEB. AuTOMATIC GuN WITH HoPPER FEED.
piercing shell, and the United States have generally
adopted a. cap of the J ohnson system for armour-piercing
and Se,!Di-a.rmour-piercing projectiles. Recent develop(3-poonder) au t< ma.tio quick-firing gun is illustrated by elevation. A clam ping screw is a.Jdo provided in the ments m Germany show that they are also about to use
}'g. 39. anoexed, aod by Ftg~. 40 and 4t, page 234, and socket B which holds the pivot at any point of training. capped projectiles, and M~ssrs. Krupp, of Essen, are
A pair of arms L L, forming extens1ons of the orosshead, recommendmg one of thetr own construction which
thA following is a. detailed description :
.
To is mounting consists of. the. crosshead A form~d I.n carry the shield M which protects the man work in~ the gun. greatly improves the armour-piercing capacity' of the
The cylinder of the hydraulic buffer is provided with
one piece with a pivot turnmg m the socket B wh10h 18
* [Illustrations of the "Pom-Pom " appeared in ENGI~upported by a cylindrical base C, and is secured thereto grooves which allow the oil to escape round the piston
head, and so regulate the flow tha.t a constant pressure is NEERIJ>:lG, vol,. lxv. p~ge 387, ~nd ':ol. lxix., page 278.
by A. holding-down ring D.
The cradle E, through which the gon recoils, is .pro- maintained during recoil. Inside the cylinder is a strong The rifle-ca.hbre Ma.xtm gun JS as tllustrated in ENGIvided with an hydraulic buffc: r F, in which works a. ptston spiral spring surrounding the rod, wbioh, being com- NEERING, vol. lxix., page 375.-Eo. E.]
I

[AuG. r6,

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

234
shell: The author, from experience, greatly favours the
application of a cap to all armour-piercing projectiles for
use against modern armour, although thA advantages of
the capped projectile against comparatively soft armour
are not realised to any serious extent.
The types of armour-piercing shell are so numerous
that no attempt can here be made to enter into details ;
but the author believes so much in the importance of the
rea.Hy armour-piercing shell from a naval point of viewthe p.netration of a. ship's side when the projectile hits
being so supremely important-that no money should be
spared to secure the very best obtainable. Really regular
and reliable results are only to be insured by the best

In reg.u d to propelling powders for gun~, there is not

much difference of opinion, except in Great Britain, as
to the most suitable compound; most countries have
adopted or are a.bout to adopt a nitrocellulose powder.
For use with rifles, England, Italy, and Norway may be
said to be the only countries now using a nitro-glycerine
compoaition of powder, whereas Germany, Austria,
France, Russia, the United States, Spain, Denmark,
Roumania, and the Spanish American States utilise
entirely a nitrocellulose compound. In regard to the
explosives used for heavier artillery, Great Britain, Italy,
and Austria are the only countries which have per.
manently retained the nitroglycerine form, whereas G ?r

Fig. 40.

1901.

of a properly manufactured nitrocellulose powder, whereas

none of these conditions can be said to be met by any
powder containing nitroglycerine.
At the present time the Russian Government manu.
facture the largest quantity of nitrocellulose powder.
Up to about two years ago all the oJnditions enumerated
were not fulfilled, owing to the nitrooelJulose used for
the powder nob being quite satisfactory ; but since then
they have obtained the best results by using the system
employed by the Cologne Rotweil Companv at their
factory ab Sohluselburg. In France snd .Russia also
great difficulty was experionced ab the outset in obtaining
a. really suitable nitrocellulose, and in carrying out the
necessary operations to render the powder really homo.
geneous and safe. Indeed, it is only by careful study and
much experiment that the manufacture of nitrocellulose
powder has now become really reliable and stable. The

... t.g./J4.

CURVES 5HEW1NG CoMPARATIVEENERGIES

OF VARIOUS 6/NCH GUNS.
18

--~-J-- +--

-- - - --

.- - - -

FOOT

ro."'S

-4--

6000

5000

D .I

47"f,.(3P"~) AUTOMATIC Q. F. GUN.

HOPP R FEED .

</000

3000

t\

'

Fig. 41.

" "\

\
2 000

------ -----........................... - .
..........................
--- --------.
--------- .......
1----1'
--------- ----- -------..
... --- - ...... --......... ....... .: ------":."::.:... -:.:.
1----1--------- . . . ---- ..
~~
--~
--;
~:
-tj
~
--- - ------ --------- -------- --
....
1----t ............
.,.... ...... . ........ - ......... -~

- - j- -E-1--4-- ---- -.

';:. ---~~-- ....

"':.

(S16S.t.),

l y1 I

'

:JC.:>cJ

1000

4000

5 000

YARDS.

I/ i

forged steel, and nob from shells made from castings

unforged.
The experiments carried out against H.M.S. Belleisle
prove the destructive effect ol bhe high explosive shells if
they penetrate through the armour, or otherwise get into
the interior of the ship, as described in this year's Brassey's
Annual. The value of such shells against superstruo.
tures and the non-protected upper works of ~he ship
is very great; but the attack on such parts of a sh1p would
nob be in any way decisive, and the best way to really
put a ship out of action is to perforate the armo~r n~ar
the water-line, or to get a large number of proJectiles
behind the armoured protection. Such results are only
possible by perforating the modern har?faced a.r~our,
and it would therefore seem supremely 1mportant m all
armour-piercing shells which are now being utilised that
they should be made of such material as to ensure their
being able to perforate the most modern hard-fa_oed
armour without breaking up, as . is ab the present t~me
more usual. This the author behaves to be only posstble
by armour-piercing projecbil~ fitted with caps, and there
is exhibited a 6-in. shell whtch a few week~ ago passed
without injury through the latest type of 6-m. hardened
plate with the very moderate vel<;~city of 1950 ft. A pro
jeobile so constructed and fitted wtth a. cap would be able
not only to pass through a 6-in. plate, but thr~ugh a
12-in. plate should the necessary energy be _g1~en to
the projectile, and the author has already_ md1ca.ted
how such increased energy may be atta~ned, even
in our existing naval artillery. A sem1 armo~r
piercing shell properly constructed and fitted w1bh
a cap would also ha.~e .much g~eater po~ers. of pene
tration than the exiSting sem1-armour-p1ercmg shell
without a cap and it would appear desirable that the
largest port1~n of the projectiles carried on board
all ships should be constructed of sufficient sbren~th
and fitted with caps so as to be capable of p~rforat~ng
modern armour such as will be found on the shtps
of all our {>OSBible opponents. As from 70,000 ~ 80,000
tons of thiS armour is made annually ~or the nay1es ~f the
world ab a cost of from 9 to 10 milhons sterhng, 1b be
comes' of very great i~portance that. every afforb should
be made in constructmg our shell to msure the ~d v~nta.ge
in favour of the a.rtillerist that has just been 1~d1oated.
Only in this way can the gunner succeed agamst the
armour-plate maker.
. .
.
Next in importance to the a.rmour-p1eromg_ or semiarmour-piercing shell _come the l!l'rge.oa.pa{}lty shells
carrying a high explostve. For thts ~u~pose. Germany
and France like Britain, make use of p1ono a.~1d, but the
Russian Go~ernment are utilieing gun-cotton m shells up
to 11 in. calibre.

Fig.42.

--.-

.... -----

---.r(

)-

...

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

I
\

. I

t------; . :

.,..__...,.. !

47 ~ AUTOMATI C

GUN

HOPPER FEE D

Fin.43
t7

~..!6.,.

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

the U nited States ~pain and moat serious experimen tul work in conn eo~ion w1 th t.l i ~
many, .r~noe,_ ussta,
de
'
,
l matter has been carried oub by the Cologne ltob wt-tl
Jafh~ :~~:i!~~~~=~~l~~:s'i:i:.a.ti~ns in determining the 1Company, at wh9se est ablisbmeTnbt eft n3~ve Ghemio"'l N'~
r f
d to be adopted are firably its search is always m prC'Igress.
e ussmn overnmt-n
best ~omposl ~~no ~d~a~~t under normal oiimatio ~on- realised this some years ago, and in conseq~enc~ g:.w e ~his
F

~tU~~:~ ~~~~!';. itsgapablitby ort1obt:~~i~~,:!'s", b;f..~:~ ~~~~:~ ,~ !::;~tft:hmJ~~~:~z;~:~~ R~:S1!'f:,gtb! !..~S:i~~~

possi?le ~alf:-tdj' aU3 ~~;~i2ii:; i~ results, so tba.t the
torY, ' .an
II ~~b
o sly affected by change of tem.
ba~~~~~: ;::a.? ~~e :e:~f~gu away of the gun due to E>xces~~e eros:e n. y All these qualities are seourdd by the use

ment a.nd manufacture of thls htgh~y !DPClrta~t arttl.tery

necessity. Thus thea.verageproduotton In Russt~ of mtro
l oeJl ul 1Se powder, ma.nufllcttlf ed upl n a R otweil a~ ate.n,
1 amounts now to about 400 tons per anut~nt.

AuG. 16, 1901.]

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

Ib may not have been quite appropriate to introduce

the subject of powder into a paper on the mechanical
engineering details of ordnance, hub the reference made
is probably justified by the important results following
from the use of pror.lling- powder of the nitrocellulose
composition. Indee , it 18, in the author's opinion, the
only suitable compound for use with high-power artillery,
and a.s experiments have convinced the author that
powders containin~ even a. small proportion of nitroglycerine are unsUlted to g,uns develo{>mg high velocity,
he believes that the Bribt8h authorities would be well
advised in adopting the nitro-cellulose compound. Difficulties, no doubb, would attend such change ab the outset;
hub the wear of the guns ab present, with all attendant
disadvantages, mlllkes the alteration almost imperative,
especially when great power and rapidity of fire are
sought for, a.s erosion increases at a much higher percentage with nitro-glycerine, and necessitates an exceptionally large. reserve of guns being kept. So long,
however, a.s we have in position of influence men of such
perspicacity and judgment, actuated by the true progressive spirit, a.s Sir Henry Bra.ckenbury, with such
eminently practical and experienced advisory engineers as
Sir BenjtitminBaker, there is no reason for any despondency
or any lack of faith in the future. This VIew JS, ab the
same time, quite compatible with an earnest advocacy of
the reforms diotated by personal experience; that is hub
the duty of the citizen.
THE VELOOITIES ATTAINED BY MODERN G UNS.

And this raises the question of the velocities and ballistics ~enerally of guns, and on page 234 and below are
three diagrams; Fig. 44 shows the velocitiBE~, energies, and
ran~e of various types of 6-in. gun; Fig. 45 gives a. comparison of the dangerous Bpace of the Rervice 6-in. guns,

'0 100

of cordite. This simple modification would result in the the same way as the p orpoise. They are capable of
main armament of the majority of our battleships and coming up and disappearing instantly, so tha b they can
thus determine exactly the mark to be aimed at before
cruisers being greatly improved.
discharging ~he torpedo. The quality of being able to
S UBMABINE B OATS.
dive in a. few seconds renders them much less vulnerable
Submarine boats bear on the subject of naval ordnance to attack by artillery.
The dimensions of the submarine boats, which are being
- not so much in association with gunnery, but with
torpedo armaments, which constitute a. most serious factor constructed for the British Navy, are: L l ngth over all,
in connection with our future naval history, Up to the 63 h. 4 in.; beam, 11 fb. 9 in.; with a displacement when
present time the torpedo has been carried by mosb of our submerged of 120 tons. One torpedo-expulsion tube is
ships of war, butJ the maximum serviceability of the formed ab the extreme forward end of the boat, and four
weapon must be obtained from such specially designed of the 18-in. Whitehead torpedoes are carried, the gear
ships a.s the torpedo-boat or torpedo-boat destroyer. being arranged so that the torpedo may be discharged
Now~ however, a new field for the torpedo is opened oub with the boat stationary or running at any speed, and
by tne introduction of submarine or semi-submerged when the vessel is awash or submerged. The scantlings
boats. Torpedoes are inopera.ti ve at a. greater range than of the hull have been designed to withstand the pressures
2000 yards, and must be discharged within closer dis- consequent on submergence at a. de{>bh af lOO ft. from the
tance, so that in the case of two vessels even otherwise surface, the double-bottom tanks ~mg utilised for ballaRb
unequal, but armed with torpedoes, the chances of success and storing purposes. Ingress and egress are through a
will be equal, and thus it would be impolitic under most conning tower of armoured steel 4 in. thick and 32 in. in
circumstances for the superior vessel to take the risk of external dia.metier, fi bted with observation ports. The
being torpedoed. For this and other reasons mechanical propulsion of the vessel awash is by a. gasolene engine
torpedoes should be utilised by specially constructed with four single-acting cylinders water-jacketed, actuatvessels, and particularly by boats capable of remaining ing pistons of the trunk type, with long surfaces, the
unseen except for momentary reaP.pearances to take connecting rods being attached direct to the pistons. The
observation. This is a. condition ea.s1ly fulfilled by a sub- inlet and exhaust valves are of the poppet type, and are
marine boat much more efficiently than by torpedo-boats in the cylinder heads, the levers by which they are
of the ordinary ty_{)e. Attack by daylight would make operated being actuated by hand, mounted by sleeves
them almost certa.m victims of any ship armed with a keyed to the camshaft running alongside and near to the
moderately heavy quick-firing gun, escape being impos- top ef the cylinder. The camshaft makes one revolution
sible; whereas the submarine boat, if discovered when for every two of the main crankshaft, and the motion is
porpoise-like she comes to the surface, can immediately transmitted by two pairs of skew gears through a vertical
dive, cruise under water for a. few miles, and make her shafb. The electric ignibors are actuated by eccentrics
escape, to fight another day.
also from the camshaft ; the movable and fixed electrodes
At the present time the French have thirty-four boats are fitted with platinum points. There being four cy-

ISO 200 2~ 3 00 3 50 400

COMPARISON

OF

DANGEROUS

- INCH

SPACE

SERVICE.

GUN

..,..---
---------------------t;-JNCH B .L . GUN . M.V.IBB:J.F.S .

450 -'OOYDS

----

Fig.46.

SCALe

2 35

O.F. GUN.

MARKII M.

2 t60.F.s.

USING

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

.1.-orEF:T
lOO

80

~ 3000.F.S.

---
--
-
-

110

---- - ----- -- _
- - ......
--

...

......

---~;-.;,._~---

......

...

WATER

LINE.

t:.OU

1000

1300

1600

(5?S'I I)

k--~----- ------------- --------------:z::;oo \',1 .':'.!J~ RANGE;

Fig.46.
60F e,

35

Mv~ ~.soo F.
Nv~

80

16
10

o ,~~~~----nbI

----------- a.v
..oo .,tnn
....Dy.........
~ n111"Jv
0

!'<- - - 182 YDS. -... ~ -------- ------- -- --- ---- - -- - - 523 YDS ,.----- ----- ------1-f
-------------------- ------- 686 VDS:----- -- ---- -------- -------- --- --- -- - ~

- - - -------------- -------------------------- -------- --- --------- --- - ----- ---- +1'

6lJ

100

160

!100

.260

and of the Vickers' weapon of the same calibre, and

Fig. 46 a similar comparison for 12-in. breech-loaders.
The diagram of the 12-in. gun (Fig. 46) shows well the
value of increased velocity, the dangerous space of an
object 30 ft. high at a. fighting range of 2500 yards being
increased by 162 yards in 523 yards when the muzzle
velocity is accelerated from 2500 ft. to 2700 ft. per second.
The former velocity is obtained with cordite (a nitroglycerine compound), and the latter with nitro-cellulose
powder. In the diagram of 6-in. guns, the velocity of a
llUD firing at 3000 footseconds is compared with the
British gun now in most of our warship~, rather than
with the latest type which is now being put into all the
new ships. In this case the dangerous space at 2500
yards distance from the gun is increa.Sed from 226 yards to
465 yards for a. target 30 h. high, which would represent
the freeboard of a warship or merchantman. These
Sfeoial oases establish the importance of high velocity in
modern naval artillery, for at sea. it is quite imi>Qssible to
accurately judge distances at once, and such errors in
range need nob involve the missing of the ship if the guns
were of the highest possible energy, which means low
trajectory, and consequently an extended danger zone.
As to the diagram showing the curves of comparative
energies of various. t.y pes of 6-in. guns (Fig.. 44}, it indicates that if the Brittsh gun makes use of a. nitro -cellul~e
powder giving a. velocity of about 2800 foot-seconds, Ib
will be well ahead in energy of the 6.4-in. French gun, to
which ib corresponds. The 6-in. gun installed in tha
majority of our ships, however, is not nearly so powerful
as this particular weapon, as evidenced by the diagram.
Tbis great discrepanoy in power could be eliminated even
with these o!d.f~~osbion~d guns by slightly enlarging the
chamber and b:y utilit)ing a nitr0-celluloso powder instead

soo Yard4.

!f- -

- -

--- -

465Yo.f - j

45
110

Cl)

I
~- 163YD,. 1
I( - - - 228 Y~ - ~

---- - - - - - - - - - - - - --L--- - -- -- - ---~

12 INCH 8 . L . MARK . IX .
COMPARISON OF DANGEROUS SPACE
WI TH MVf 2~00 ~IYD 270 0 F.S.

,.

II

--

2000

in various states of manufacture, twenty-nine of which

are electric submarines and five subm ersibleE~, and they
are now carrying out important trials and SJ:ending
large sums of money in the1r development. Before many
years have passed France will have not thirty-four but
hundreds, with which she wonld be able not only to
protect her ports, but to make attacks on our Fleet in
much the same way as the bands of Boars are making
guerilla attacks on our regular army in the Transvaal.
Of the continuous stream of ships passing up and down
the English Channel-the busiest steamship track on the
globe-quite 90 per cent. are British vessels, and upon
them our mercantile greatness depends. Let us su.ppose
that in time of war 100 French submarines were let loose
in the Channel at ni~hb. Theae boats have sufficient
speed and radius of a.ct10n to place themselves in the trade
routes before the darkness gives place to day and they
would be capable of doing almost incalculable destruction
against unsuspecting and defenceless victims. The same
applies to the Mediterranean and other of our ocean highways within the danger zone of the submarine.
The submarine boat has thus increased the value of the
mechanical torpedo tenfold. To the United States of
America the submarine will be of inestimable benefit, as
it will render the coast practically secure against attack
from any country excepting tho~e having naval bases
within easy striking distance of their littoral. The boat
now universally adopted by the United States is built on
the Holland system, and the new British boats building
by Messrs. Viokers, Sons, and Maxim, Limited, at
Barrow-in-Furness, are of similar d~ign. They are to be
almost equal in speed to the French boatEa, but have other
qualities not attained by these boat~, the principle of
which is that thef will be capable of behaving much in

lindera, it follows that there is an impulse for each revolution, and the speed may be varied from 200 to 360 revolutions per minute, giving a. maximum power of 190 brake
horse-power. The boat has one propeller with blades,
and the speed awash is expected to be 8 knots. Fuel is
to be earned for a radius of 400 miles at this speed.
Propulsion when submerged is by an electric motor,
which, like the gasolene engine, drives the shaft from ~he
propeller through gearing with clutch connection. This
gearing enables both gasolene engine and motor to be at
a. lower level than the shaft, which is on the centre
line of the boat. For diving the boats are fitted with
horizontal as well as vertical rudder, while at the same
time a simple system of automatically arranging the disposition of water ba.Ha.st is fitted to overcome any lack of
horizontal stability consequent upon the divine" action.
Automatic means are also provided for determming the
angle of diving or of rising to the surface, and to obviate
submergence to excessive depths. At the same time
hand gear for most purposes is fitted.
As to the periscope, of which the French speak so much,
there is no doubt that when cruising submerged in the
proximity of the enemy it will be very useful. It is an
arrangement whereby a. view of the surface through from
30 to 50 degrees can be obtained, and enables the boat
when submerged to be steered directly for a. visible point.
The Holland boat has a. special arrangement for effecting
this purpose while enabling her to run at a distance
below the surface, so thatJ no visible trace of her can be
seen. Such an arrangement places this country quite on
a. level with the French nation, notwithstanding the fact
that we may not have given the same amount of attention to submarine warfare.
To some extent the Marconi system of telegraphy
affects the range of utility of the submarine, as the operation of blocka-ding no longer entails the use of so many
vessels, because the distance through which a. message can
be signalled at sea has so much increased that one of our
ships off the French coast may communicate direct with
its base in Britain. It is true the speed of the submarine
boat is not great, hub progress is certain. When the
Whitehead torpedo was first introduced it hRd a low
S(>eed, and generally speaking was very uncertain as to its
duection, depth, and applied utility. Now, however, it
is capable of running within a. a. few inches of the required
depth ab a. speed of over 37 miles an hour for a rango up
to 2000 yards, and hitting the point aimed ab with almost
the same precision au a gun. In the same manner there
is no doubt the submarine boat will be improved, while
there is a great field for development in connection with
the secondary battery. Here, mdeed, as in many other
respects, one finds that close interchange of interests between the mechanical engineer and the a.rtillerist, which
affords some justification for bringing before this Institution a subject of such grea.b interest to the profession,
fraught as it is also witli such vital importanee to every
citizen:

[Auc.

E N G I N E E R I N G.
LAUNCHES AND TRIAL TRIPS.
ON Tuesday, the 23rd ult., the steel-screw cargo
steamer Nor, built by the L axeva.a.gs };ngioeering and
Shipbuilding Company, Bergen, Norway, went for her
trial trip, and after compasses bad been adjusted, pro
ceeded to the measured mile, where a series of trials were
run, and a. mean speed of 10~ knots attained. The trials
were thoroughly satisfactory, everything working well,
and the owners, Messrs. Horloff and Boe, Bergen,
expressed their entire satisfaction. The Nor is of the
following dimensions: Length extreme, 244ft. ; breadth,
36 ft. ; depth moulded, 19 ft.; deadweighb carrying
capacity, 2200 tons. The engines, which have also been
construoted by the La.xevaags Company, are of the triple
expansion type, having cylinders 17! in., 29 in., and 48 in.
in diameter by 33 in. stroke. The working pressure is
175lb.

On Wednesda.y, the 2!th ult., was run the trial trip of the
ss. Monomoy, which ha.s just been completed by Messrs.
Joseph L. Thompson and Sons, Limited, of the North
Sands Shipbuildmg Yard, Sunderland, to the order of
~Iessrs. T. Hogan and Sons, of Bristol and New York.
The principa.l dimensions of the boat are 405 ft. long by
51ft. beam by 31 ft. 4 in. depth moulded. The propelling
machinery has been constructed by Messrs. Blair and Co.,
Limited, of Stockton-on-Tees, the cylinders being 25! in.,
44 in., and 75 in. in diameter, by 5L in. stroke. They are
supplied with steam by three boilers working at 200 lb.
~ssure. A number of full-speed runs were made on the
Whitley measured mile, and a. mean speed of over
11 knots was obtained.
On Fridar., the 26th ult . the large steel screw steamer
Selsdon, built by Messrs. William Gray and Oo., Limited,
for Messrs. Houlder, Middleton, and Co., London, had
her trial trip. The vessel takes Lloyd's highest class.
Her princi pa.l dimensions are : L ength over alJ, 352 ft.;
breadth, 49 ft. 6 in.; depth, 28 ft. 3 in. She has a long
bridge, poop, and topgallant forecastle, and is fitted with
all the requuements of a firat-cla.ss cargo steamer. The
engines have been built a.t the Central Marine Engine
Works of Messrs. William Gray and Co., and have
cylinders 25~ in., 40! in .. and 67 in. in diameter, with a
piston stroke of 45 in. The boilers are two in number,
working at a J?r~ure of 160 lb. per square inch. The
trial wa.s a sat11sfactory on~, 11 knobs average being fully
maintained. The vessel afterwards proceeded on her
voyage to Cardiff, where she loads for Port Said.
The s.s. Baron Driesen. recently launched by the
Irvine's Shipbuilding and Dry Docks Company, Limited,
West Hartlepool, was built to the order of the Northern
Steamship Company, Limited, Sb. Petlersburg, of which
Mr. Paul Morch is the managing director; she proceeded
on Saturday, the 27th ult., on her trial trip. She is of
the following dimensions: Length, 360 ft.; breadth,
47 f b. 9 in.; and depth, 30 H. 2~ in.; and of a. large measurement cargo capacity. E ogines of the triple-expansion
type have been supplied by Messrs. Ricbardsons, Westgartb, and Co., Limited, Sunderland, with cylinders 25 in.,
41 in., and67 in. in diameter, with a stroke of 45m., steam
being supplied by two single-ended boilers, constructed to
work at a pressure of 165 lb. A mean speed of 11 knots
had been maintained during the trial.
The s.s. Rome. was successfully launched on Tuesday,
the 30th ult., by Messrs. J oseph L . Tbompson and Sons
Limited, of the N0rth Sands Shipbuilding Yard, Sun:
derland; she has been built to the order of Messrs. Rowland and Marwood's Steamship Company, Limited, of
Whitby, and is the tenth vessel M essrs. Thompson have
built for these owners. She is built to Lloyd's highest
class on the three-deck rules, but with only one deck laid
and the principal dimensions are 342 fb. between perpen~
diculars, 49ft. 6 in_. breadth extreme, and ~7 ft. 6 in. depth
moul~ed. S~e wtll ?e a. lar~e deadweight and cubic
capa01ty earner, and lS fitted wtth all the latest improvements. The propelling machinery has been constructed
by Messrs. John Dickinson and Sons, Limited, of Sunderland; the sizes of cylinders are 24! in., 40 in., and 66 in.
in d1ameter by 45 m. stroke, supplied with steam by
three large multitubular boilers working ab 160 lb. pressure.
The new s teel screw steamer Marsden had a. successful
trial triJ?off the Tyne on Wednesday, the 3lst ult. She has
been bUilt by Messrs. Wood, Skinner, and Co. Limited
Bill Quay-on-Tyne, to the order of the Burn~tt Steam:
ship Uompa.nr, Limited, of Newca.stle-on-Tyne and is
of the followmg aimensions: Length, 210 ft. ; brea{}th
31 fb.; and depth, 18 ft. The main engines have bee~
supplied from the Northumberland Engine Works of
th_e North- Eastern Marine Engine~ring Company, Limtted, Wallsend-on-Tyne, and cons1st of a set of their
la~st type. of triple-expan~ion _engines, having cylinders
17 m ._, 28 ~n. , and 46 m. m diameter by 33 in. stroke,
supphed wtth steam by one largt} steel boiler.

16, 1901.

and Co., Limited, Middlesbrough, bad a. very sa.bisfactory members, and by !vir. \Vood~, the secretary. The Espiegle
is a sloop designed by Sir W. H. White, and built at
trial trip.
Sheerness Dockyard, of steel with wood and copper sheathThe twin-screw steamer Ga.licia, which has been con- ing. Her length is 185ft., beam 33ft., and at a. draught
structed by MessrA. Wigha.m-Riohardson and Co., Limited, of 11 ft. 3 in. she displaces 1070 tons. Her engines,
N eptun Works, N ewcastle-on-Tyne, for the Pacific Steam which have been constructed by the Wallsend Slipway
Navigation Company, of Liverpool, went for her trial and Engineering Company, Limited, from the designs of
trip on Thursday, the 1st inst. The steamer is built of Mr. Andrew Laiog, the engineering manager there, are
steel; she is 413 h. in length by 50 ft. beam, and is fitted of the triple-expansion type, to develop 1400 indicated
with triple-expansion engines, which, as well a.s the horse-power, and to give the vessel a speed of 131 knots.
boilers, have been constructed by Messrs. Wigham- The armament consists of six 4-in. quick-firing and four
Richardson and Co., Limited. The trials, which were 3-pounder quick-firing guns. The trials, which were
very thorough, went off satisfactorily, and a. speed of carried through \Vithout a hitch, consisted of a. 30-honrs'
run at about 330 indicated horse-power, 30 hours at 1000
13! knots was attained.
indicated horse-power, and eight hours at the full power
of 1400, and the results are tabulated:
The new steel screw steamer Inkum, built to the order
of Sir Christopher Furness, 1vi.P., for Messrs. J . H.
Welsford and Co., Liverpool, by Messrs. Alex. Stephen Date . .

..
July 24.
July 27.
July SO.
and Sons, Limited, of Linthouse, ran her trial trip in the Nature of t rial
{ 30 Hours' qoal 30 Hours' qoal
8 Hours

ConsumptiOn. Conaumptaoo. Full Power.

Firth on Thursday, the 1st inst. She is a. steamer of
8000 tons deadweight. wibh a measurement ca.pa.ciby
port
203
Steam
198
lb.,
of about 13,000 tons. Her dimensions are 400ft. by 50ft. Pressure star'd ,.
203
198.9
198
.
by 39ft., and she carries 8000 tons dead weight on a modeport
an
26
Vacuum
rate draught. She has accommodation for captain,
star'd ,.
26!
~~
~~
125
179.4
200 6
officers, and a limited number of rat-class passengers in Revolu- {port ger min.
124.7
197.6
178.'i
deckhouses amidships. She has triple.expansion engines, tions. star' ,
.Nil
Nil
.2
having cylinders 26 in., 41 in., and 67 in. in diameter by Air pressure . . in.
162
516
705
ndicated} port
..
51 in. stroke, with very large boiler power and Howden's I Horsestarboard
175
614
720
forced draught. There are special arrangements to take
Power
total
..
337
1029
uu
a. large quantity of water ballast in the event of shifting Coal consumption, lb.
1.63
1.64
1.69
from port to port without coal. Portions of these com- per horse-power hour
partmentls can also be utilised for cargo, and the holds
are fully fitted up for grain cargoes and ventila.ted for
cattle carrying. On the mile a speed of 12i knots per There were present from the Admiralty Mr. Ha.ll and Mr.
Ma.rwick; from the Dockyard, Mr. Andrews and Mr.
hour was obtained.
Rider; while Mr. Andrew La.iog represented his company a.s the contractors. Mr. Murray attended in the
On Thurada.y, the lab inst., the new steamer Pembroke- mterest of the Babcock and Wilcox Company.
sbire, built by the Sunderland Shipbuilding Company,
Limited, proceeded on her official trial. Slie is a. steel
screw steamer, 360 fb. between perpendiculars by 48 ft.
On Tuesday, the 13th inst., the shallow-draught twinbroad by 31 ft. deep, and will carry 7150 tons dead- screw gunboab Moorhen, built to the order of the British
weight upon Lloyd's freeboard. The main engin:s Government, wa.s succe..'\Sfully launched from 1\-lessrs.
are by the Norbh-Eastern Marine Engineering Company, Y arrow's new works ab Poplar. The Moorhen and also
Limited, Sunderland, and have cylinders 26 in., 42~ in., the Teal (a sister ship) are constructed on a system which
and 69 ~ in. in diameter by 45 in. stroke, steam being sup- enables a large propeller to be used in combination with
plied by three large boilers, working at a. pressure of a very shallow draught, of which type of vessel Messrs.
180 lb. per squa.re inch. A mean speed of 10;'t knotS was Yarrow and Co. have made a. S,Peciality. The draught of
obtained.
these gunboats fully equipped IS 2ft. 3 in., and the speed
13 knobs. All the vulnerable parts, such as the machinery
Messrs. Robert Stephenson and Co, Limited, Heb space, &c., are completely encased by chrome steel rifle.
burn-on-Tyne, launched on Thursday, the 1st insb., proof plates. The vessels are constructed in floa.table
a. large ateel screw steamer, builb for the Elswick sections, a system introduced by the Poplar firm many
Steam Shipping Company, Limited, of Newcastle. yeara ago, by which mea.ns the tedious process of ri vetiog
The vessel is of the following dimensions : 340 ft. together and launching abroad is enttrely avoided, the
bet~een perpendiculars by 47 ft. ext~eme by 29 ft. various sections being lowered into the water and bolted
10 m . moulded depth. The propelhng machinery, together afloat.
~hich _is to Lloyd:s high~st class. consists of. a set of large
Size trtple-~xpanston engt!les The stea!ll will be supplied
O_uR RA:ILS AnROAD.--The exports of rails from the
from two smgle-ended bmlers, the workmg pressure being
165 l b. per sq_!Iare inch. The machinery is being supplied Umted Kmgdom contmue to be pretty well maintained
by Messrs. Richardsons, Westgarth, and Co , Limited, there having been some improvement of late in both
S underland. The vessel Wll.S named the Elswiok Grange. the Indian and Australasian demand, to say nothing
of ~he rally which appears to be taking place in South
There was launched on Saturday, the 3rd inst., at A~nca:. There ha.s also bee!l 9: better inquiry for British
Irvine (Clyde), by the Irvine Shipbuilding and Engineer- rB.lls m Oa.nada.. The pnnmpal rail exports in July
ing Company, Limited, a steel screw steamer of about ?Ompare as follows with the corresponding shipments
800 tons dead weight, to the order of Kalmar Angkva.rns m July, 1900, and July, 1899 :
Aktiebolaget, Sweden. The vessel measures 180 ft. by
29 ft. by 13 h. 6 in. moulded. Triple-expansion engines
Country.
July, 1901. July, 1900. July, 1899.
ha~ing cylinders .15 in., 25 in., a.nd .40 in. in diameter by
27 m. stroke, With large steel bOiler, 160 lb. working
tons
tons
tons
4,461
7449
pressure, are being supplied by Messrs. McKie and Sweden and Norway
6,548

..
..
2, 148
627
1,046

Baxter, engineers, Gl~gow. The steamer was named Brazil..

Argentina . .
..
4,137
4738
6,798

J oh. J eansson.
British South Africa
British India
The L ondon and Glasgow Engineering and Shipbuild- Australasia . .
..
ing Coll!pany, Limited, Govan, launched on Tuesday, Canada

the 6th mat., a steel screw steamer for the Indo-China

Steam. Navi~a.tion Company's trade in the Eastern seas.
The dtmens10ns of the vessel are : 290 ft. by 42 fb. by 25 fb.
moulded, and about 2350 tons gross. She is designed to
ca.rry about 3500 tons deadweight on a comparatively
small draught of water. The saloon and accommodation
for captain, officers, engineers, &c., and a. limited number
of ~rst-?lass passengers, are ':lnder tb~ brid~e deck. The
sht~ wtll be ~tted ~y the builders w1th tr1ple-expa.nsion
engmes, havmg cyhnders 21 in., 34 in., and 56 in. in dia.!llet~r by 42 in. stroke, and one single-ended boiler 16 ft.
m dtameter by 11ft. 6 in. long, fibted with Howden's
system of forced draught, the working pressure being
170 lb. The vessel was named the Hop S:~.og.

..
..
.

---

Country.

Russia
..
..
Sir Ra.ylton Dixon and Oo., Limited, Middlesbrough, Sweden and Norway
have launched a large steel screw steamer built to the Denmark . .
..
..
..
order of. Messrs. Scaram.an~a Brothers, for the Calliope Egypt..
..
..
Steamship Company, Limited, of London. Her prin- Obina..
..
..
cipal dimensions are 352 ft. by 47 ft. by 27 ft. 6 in. Japan..

The Harelda., which is being built for the fleet of the

Cork Steamship Company, Limited, of Cork was
launched from the Neptune Shipyard, Newcastle onTyne, by Messrs. Wigbam-Richardson and Co., Limited
on \Vednesday, the 31st ult. The steamer is 255 ft. i~
length by 33~ _fb. beam, and _will ~tbain Lloy_d's highest
class. She will be fitted With triple-expansiOn engines
and boiler~, also by Messrs. Wigham-Ricba.rdeon and
I;f.M.S. Espie~le h_as just .completed a series of trials
Co., IJimited.
w~h are sp~01ally mterestmg,_as this vessel is the first
B rtttsh warship to be fitted w1th Babcock and Wilcox
On Thursday. the 1st inst., the s.s. Cockerill, built by boilers, since these were experimentally tried in H. M.S.
the John Cockerill Company a.b their Antwerp ship- Sheldr~ke, and as a. consequence the Water-Tube Boiler
yard, and engined by Messrs. RichardEons, W estgartb 7 Oomm1ttee Wl);S represented by Mr, John List, one of the

1,613
8,660
10,896
9,158

1133
6577
3858
96

744
1l,699
7,097
8,266

In the seven !D~>nths . en~ing July _31, this year, the

demand for llr1t1sh ralls Improved m Russia, Sweden
an~. Norwa.f, Chili, Ar~entina, Bribish South Africa,
Br1t1Sh lndta, Australa.s1a, and Canada.; hub ib feU off
more or less c~nsidera_bly in Denmark, Egypt, Cbioa,
J apa.n, and ~leXIco. ThiS 18 s hown by the following Table
illustrating the principal f'xports for the rat seven
months of this year, and the corresponding periods of
1900 and 1899 :

moulded,and a ~eadweight carrying capacity of about

60_00 tons on ~ hght draught of waber. The machinery
w1ll be supp~1e~ by the Central Marine Engineering
Compa.ny, L1m1ted, West Hartlepool and consists of
a s~t of triple-expa:nsion engines, 25 in.: 41 in., and 67 in.
cyhnders by 45 m. stroke, supplied with steam at
180 lb. pressure by three large single-ended boilers. The
vessel was named Euterpe.

Mexico

..

..

Chill ..
..
..
Brazil
..
..
Argentina . .
..
British South Afrlo~
British India

Auetr&Ja&ia ..

C~inada
..

T~e

1901.

to us

9,1153
34,04~

1,136
14
1,798

4,434

3,013
9,667
6,357
43,865
28,176
94,700
43,4i9
22,686

1900.

1899.

tons
1,633
22, 70J
7,616
13,6 14
6,707
10,211
12,M3
773
6,i97
23,1121
20,118
63,181
83, 657
7,325

tons
12,U3l
65,009
7,121
10,958
~.2ol

1,740
6,686
2,100
12,859
12,256
12,669
102,438
30,008
12,786

--

prices current for. rails have been good of late, the

264,045 tons exported m the first seven months of this
year being valued at 1,631 260l., while the 26 240 tonA
shipped in the firsb seven months of 1899 were ooiy valued
atJ1,283,177l. On t~e other ban~, the cost of production
h~, no doubt, been 1norea.sed this yE'ar by the high rat~
oarrent for combastiblee,

Auc. 16, 1901.]

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

~' ENGINEERING "

ILLUSTRATED PATENT
RECORD.

COMPILltD BY

w.

LLOYD WISE.

.SELECTED ABSTRACTS OF RECENT PUBLISHED SPECIF101TIONS

UNDER THE ACTS OF 1883-1888.
T~e numb8) oj views given in the Specification Drawings is stated

ut e~oh case ; where none are m entioned, the Specificatio?t is

not tllustrated.
Where inventions a1e commu?l'icated Jtom abroad the N ames
&~., o.f the O~mm~nicatO"rs a;re given in i talia.
'.
'
Coptes of Specijicatums may be obtained at the Patent OOlce Sale
Branc~ , ~6, So~tthampton Bu:ildi?tgs, 0/uvn.cery-lane, lY. 0. at
the tllln{orm pnce of 8d.
'
The d~te of. th~ ~vertisement OJ the acceptance OJ a Complete
Svecijicat-wn t8, tn each case, given afte,. the abst?act, unless the
Patent has been sealed, when the date of seali'n{J i11 given.
A ny person '!lay, at any ti?ne ~()ithin two m onthsfrom the date of
t~e adv~rtuement of the acceptance of a Complete Specification,
g1.ve not1.u at the Patent O.Dlce of ovposition to the grant of a
Patent on any of the grou:nd,s mentioned in the A cts.

2 37

elastic _j~?-cket for the electr.ode: .The jacket, it is stated, requires sisting of g raph~te , ka?li!l, and f~lspar may be u sed- the ~aolin
!10 aux11tary means for holdmg 1t m place, but end <'r other r etain and felspar for mmg a v1tr1fia.ble mlXture. The scope of t he 1n ven10g rings may be used upon it if desired. (A ccepted Jttly 3, 1901.) tion is limited in t he claim to beaters for electrolytic incan
descence lamp!f. (Accepted June 19, 190 1.)
15,473. A J. Boult, London. (E. A ndreas, D1esden,
Ge1'1na.ny.) Storage Batteries. August 80, 1900. - A
GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES.
process of forming lead peroxide electrodes of extended surface
for storage batteries is, according to this invention, a9 follows:
14,261. A. Reichwald. London. (Pried. Krupp, Essen,
The pla~es are flrst t reated electrolytically as anodes in dilute Germany).
Wedge Breech Mechanism. [8 Figs. ] August 9,
sulpburtc aoid, a.nd ar e then immersed in dilute nitric acid until 1900.-According
t o this invention, apparatus is provided by
the bro.wn peroxide coatiag assumes a grey colour, t he plates are means of which recoil
utilised to actuate the breech mechanism
t hen w1thdrawn and thoroughly washed, after which the process of large guns. To theisconveyor
screw (auoh, for example, as is
may be r epeated until the full capacity la attained. (Accepted
Jttly 3, 1901.)
14~723.

[5 lltgs.]

. . I.

L. Andrews, Hastings. Magnetic CutOut.

Au~ust

16, 1900.- Tbis invention relates to magnetically released "mousetrap" switches of the kind described in
P~tent .S peci~catiou. No. 26,733 of 1897, and with t he object of
d1spen~10 g w1t~ flexb.le conneo~ions the ser ie3 winding is made
~s a coil, ~ ppos1 te p01t1ons of wh10h ar e par tially surrounded with
~ron forn;un g t wo horseshoe electromajl:nettJ, whose free ends point
m one du eotion. The shunt winding is in two coils, through each
of which projects (so as to be located between the ends of one of t he
aforesaid magnets) one end of an approximately borsesboesbaped

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS.

11,264. B. B~r!Jt, L~ndon.. Switchboards. (1 F ig.]

J' ~ne. 21, ,1900. - Tht~ mven t10n provtdea a switchboard for elect ric

d strtbutton, wherem t he number of ways, switches fuses or cu to.u ts can be var ied according to t he number of ci;cuita it is d e-s ~r ed to cont rol. Each switch , fuse, or cu t -out and fittin~s is
m~mnted on a separate base or slab, preferably of wh ite porcelam, and these are arranged side by aide or ad ~o.cent to each
-other and connected up by the usual omnibus bar J the number of
flla~s and fitti ngs correspondin~ to t he number' of ways it is
<i~s1 red to contr ol. A double p ole switch board with switches only

e ~ ~ e ~ e
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14,262. A. Reichwa.ld, London. (F'ried. K ntpp, Essen,

Gennany. ) Recoll Brakes. [11 F igs. ] August 9, 1900.- In

I'

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( 14 7Z.JJ

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piece of iron which forms part of the armature of the apparatus

and is secu red to a. pivotally-mounted body adapted t J control
the movement of t he switch. The connection of the windinga
and the arrangement of th e iron pieces are such that whilst when
one of the currents is flowing in t he proper direction in r elation t o
the other there may be a slight tendency to rotate the armature
so as to force it against a stop and to keep t he switch clos!!d t he
r eversal of t his r elative direction of flow causes the armature
to rotate in the opposite direction and relee.se t he switch.
(A ccepted July 10, 1901.)

()

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~~
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a ~
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16. ~44.

on one pole is illustrated , but by select ing ot her slahs it might

be a double pole board with switches on each pole, or some other
combination. The claims are as follow : "1. In an improved switch
board the means for and method of adjusting and arranging
switchboard connections on separ ate slabs to meet the exigencies
of variation, substantially as herein described and shown by the
drawing. 2. In o.o improved switchboard the combination of
bases, cut-outs, switch es, and terminals upon separate be.ses, with
.single or double pole cut -outs, with an omnibus bar and permanent base substant ially as and for t he purposes h er ein de
scribed and shown." (A ccepted J uly 3, 1901.)

s. Z

de Ferranti, London. Electricity Meters.

[1 F~.] September 18, 1900.- In meters of the kind described in
P.atent Specification N_o. 31~2 of 1892, in order to prevent o.ltera
t10n of the rate of r eg1strat1on of the meter by reason of any abnor mal and considerable flow of current which may occur, and t o
compensate for start ing friction, according to t his invention t he

Storage Batteries. [5 Figs.) June 22, 1900. - A storage

battery electrode, according to this invention, comprises an inner
cor e of lead wound spirally and having around it a moulded or

,....L.,-L..,

...

...

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J. ,.'"'
...

~
3 .

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

cylinder, and this alteration of area may be obtained by a gradual

lessening of the depth or width of the passages when t hey ar e
in t he brake cylinder, or by an increase in t he size of a rib on
t he cylinder protruding into the by-pass passages when th e passages are on the piston. Several kinds of valve device suitable for
t he purpose are described and illustrated. In the arrangement
illustrated herein there are two by-pass passages in the cylinder,
decreasing in depth toward the r ear, and there are spring-cont rolled valve flaps on the piston adapted to practically close the
pe.ssages when the ~un barrel is moved in a forward direction.
(Accepted J uly' 3, 1901.)

21,891. P. Jensen, London. ( K1ag-Jii1gensen Compan y,

CJMUitia.nia, NO?-way. ) RUle Magazines. [13 Figs.] De

11,358. B. U. Wollaston and T. U. SherriD, Slough.

.F0.1

order to prevent gun-carriage fluid friction r ecoil brakes from

allCiwing a too rapid r eturn motion of the gun to the tiring position, according to this invention, a device in the natur e of a
valve is applied to eaob of t he by-pass passages for the fluid, in
such manner t hat whilst allowing a more or less free passage for
the fluid during recoil, on t he return stroke t he area of the
passage or pass a~es is considerably reduced . The by-pass p assages for the liqmd are of decr easing area towards the r ear of the

'

(0

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'

described in Patent Specification No. 1793 ofl898) is attached a gear

wheel adapted to engage with and to be turned by a rack moving
with the barrel, bu t at a lower speed than that with which the barrel
r uns out, thus effe cting t he opening of the breech on the recoil of
the weapon. Apparatus according to t he invention is described
and illustrated in detail. (Accepted J uly 3, 1901.)

'

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Fig.2.

cember 3, 1900.- A KragJ~ rgensen magazine of the kind which

can be charged at the aide, and for use on t he British service
rifle, comprises a hinged door which opens towards one side, and
down which the cart ridges can be rolled, and wbioh carries means
for automatically depressing t he feed spring when it is br ought to
t he open position. In order to prevent t he feed spring from coming
into operati<_>n too quickly on .the. closing of the door, the log on
the door wbtch aots on t he sprmg 1s constructed as a part separate

Ft~ .3 .

I
I

.4-

'

electromagnet is formed complete with an iron oor e, giving a ma~

netic circuit entirely within t he ir on except for t he narrow air
gap in which the moving parte of t he meter rotate, and ther e is
arranged symmet rically within or around one of the poles of the
electromagnet a permanent magnet for effecting t he r equired correction of t he meter. (Accepted J uly 10, 1901.)
from the binge, and having a face contacting with the hinge or
9919 J. B. Stone, Worcester. Mass., U.S.A. Light- door, so t hat in opening the latter t he lug is taken along and
ning Conductors. [3 F igs.] ?lhy 13, 1901.- ln order to acts as before described, till it comes beyond the vertical line,
form a hollow c~ble for lightning conduction or other use, a when t he contact between th e hinge and the lug is broken so
that the door ruay be fully open without being u nder t he influence of t he spring . Upon closing the door it will first move a
cer tain distance without acting upon t he lug, but afterwards the lug
is taken along with the door, and at the moment before t he door
closes the lug is brought back over t he dead point, whereupon
the spring is freed. (A ccepted July 3, 1901.)

9398. A. Gutensohn, London.

-plastered layer of active material, the whole forming a cylindrical

rod with t h e ends of the lead core projecting t~erefrom. T.be
rod thus formed is enclosed in a perforated sbeatbiDg of vulcam t e
or other insulatin mater ial, and the said sheathing ma~ be a
tube split longitudmally , with butt or lapped edg es and formmg an

s erving of wire is wrapped around a twisted strip, preferably

in a dir ection opposite t o the twist of tbo str ip. (Accepted Julv
10, 1901.)
10,940. J. Swt.nburne, London. Resistance Beaters.
June 16, 1900.- ln order to in some degree protect electrical
resistance beaters comprising oxidisable and ear t hy constituents
from the oxidising action of the atmospher e, the eart hy constituent is vitrified , or the beaters are glaz!d. A mixtur e con

Picric Acid Manufacture. May 6, 1901.-Tbis invention provides improvements

applicable to the process of piorio acid (tri-nitro phenol) manufacture described in Patent Specification No. 16,628 of 1900, in which
it is stated that instead of adding the phenol to t he nit ric acid ae
a sulphate, with the objer.t of diminisbi n ~ t he suddenness of react ion, the inventor dissolves the phenol m mineral oil, and adds
t he solution to nitric acid, on the surface of which is a layer of
mineral oil. According tCJ this invention, to eaob part of phenol
to be converted 3! to 4 parts of st rong nitric acid (sp. g r. 1420) is

E N G I N E E R I N G.
alldwed, and to t his is added some .12 per ce.nt. of sulphuric acid
an . 30 per cent. of water, the miXture bemg placed in a deep
<'rhndr1cal ves~el. immersed in .a wat~r bath ~a\ntained at 80 deg.
~ahr. The a01d 1s ~overed wtth .mmeral 011, and a cover is proVlded for t he vessel m order that httle acid fume may be liberated
or ~scape uncondensed. The phenol, dissolved in four t imes its
we1.ght .of hot paraffin oil, is divided into two portions, one of
whtoh 1s added to the acid , and the bath kept warm tor about
tv.:elve hours, after which t he oil and acid are poured off the picric
a01d crystals a~d ~he ~ther half of t he pheno~ is ~hen similarly con
verted. ~he P!Cnc a01d separates from the hqUld as a solid, and is
recry.stalJ!sed 10 hot water containing about 2 per cent of sulphunc a01d. (.Accepted July 3, 1901.)

[AuG. I 6, I 901.

of the b yd ~auli~ kind. The cylinders of the upper presses are set befor~ ~entione~. In fixing the tap to the bottle or vessel , he
on converg mg l:nes according to the angle of the radiating flan ged stem 1s 10serted 1nto t he horizontal way and the nut or ferrule ;a
edges of tbe plate to be produced, the plate being fi xed upon bhe screwed on to the projecting end. To 'p revent le!l.kage betwee'"
lower set of preeses. When extro.cting the plate from the press the tap and the bottle, washers of indiarubber are interposed
between the boss and the shoulder on the tap at the one end and

MACHINE AND OTHER TOOLS, SBAFTING, &c.

11,152. B . Biedmann, Berkenwerden, German y .

ytc~s.

[4 F tgs. ] May 30, 1901.- In t his parallel vice the fron t

Fifj.J.

JaW 18 fixed and t he back jaw slides, and is brought into contact

(1 75 85)

______ ..,
0

0 \
0

\
0

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I

between t he boss and screw nut or ce.p at t he other end. It is

the upper rams draw t he pressure block~ away on t heir radlatin~ stated that taps fitted in accordance with this invention cannot be
conv~r8 ing lines, ~nd the lower ones are opened by means of blown out by pressure within the vessel, and t hat as t hey rlo not
tapermg wedges w1t h a screw attachment. (.Accepted July 10, project far from t he vessel t hey are less liable to damage than
such taps on t hese vessels as now made. (Accepted Ju ly 10. 1901.)
1901.)

12,937. W. E. Maddock, Wolstanton, Staffs., and

RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS.
W. Orme, ~urslem, Staffs. Clay-Moulding Appa11,519. B. G. Nicholson, Bellevne, Ireland. Trolley ratus. [4 Ftgs. ] July 18, 1900.-In moulding pla.stic clay for
Wire Frogs. [6 Figs.] J une 25, 1900.-ln order to provide a t he manufacture of hollow ware, according to this invention the

trolley-wire frog in which a movable point or switoh can be ad- clay in sheet form is interposed between a mould and a core or
j usted by the trolley arm so as to bring the point or switoh into
position to coincide with t he line on which the t rolley wheel is to
travel, according t o this invention at the end of t he line from
~. Z.,.......L---L.....,
with t he work to be held or with the front jaw by means of a which t he trolley-wheel runs is hinged a tongue or point which
w_ed g~ action lever pivoted to t he back jaw, and to a block run can be t urned to coincide with either of t he lines on to which t he
nmg 10 a curved slot on an extension from t he fron t jaw. (.A c- t rolley wheel is to proceed. Secured to the movable tongue or
cepted July 10, 1901.)
point are arms extending downwards and provided at their lower
ends with pieces extending longitudinally, between which t he

.P0.1.

MINING, METALLURGY, AND METAL

WORKING.
6639. R . C~ Strefel, Elwood, Pa., U.S.A. Tube

~olling.

[~Figs.]

~a~ch

29,.1901-For rollin~ tuhes from t he

billet, accordmg to th1s 1nvent1on, reversing rolls are provided
and a double-faced mandrel. The tube is reduced in a number of

FU] .1.

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,
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~01

.......

F0.f.

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FU].3.

chum, and the latter is expanded so as to force t he clay to take

the s~:tape of tbe former. Toe core or chum may have an e!astioexteno! wall so t hat it can be expanded by fluid pressure. The
mould IS preferably separable and mounted on slides. (Accepted
J u ly 10, 1901.)

15,245. J . Everard, Waltham Cross, Herts. Porta~le Hanger. [3 Figs.] August 27, 1900.-This han~er com-

--.. , ,
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( II. S /11)

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0

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pnses a toggle lever, from t he pivot of which the weig ht is suspended. The toggle is connected to serrated shoes. and the
whole apparatus is arranged in such wise that when a weight is
hung upon the toggle pivot by means of a hook provided for that
purpose t he shoes are caused to separate or close and to grip into

t rolley head or pole, or some part connected with it, passes,

so that when the t rolley wheel reaches the movable tongue or
point the longitudinally extended pieces are acted upon in such
wise as to ce.use them to set the tongue or point to one or the other
line, according to t he direction of tbe sideways pull of the vehicle.
Tbe longitudinally extended pieces are preferably capable of
yielding sideways hy being made, for example, of spring metal, in
order thnt the tongue or point may be held securely over and
injurious strai n upon the parts a\oided. If desired, t he ton~ue or
point can be mnde so as to be kept normally in one posit1on by
the action of a spring or weight , in order t hat it may be moved
by or from the t rolley heaJ or pole in one direction only. (Ac
cepted J 1.tly 3, 1901.)
passes, t he direction of rotat ion of the rolls being reversed at t he
end of each pass. At the end of each pass the tube and mandrel
are rotated part of a revolution, the rolls in some ca.ses being
brought nearer to each other for the next pa.ss. (A ccepted J uly 3
1901.)
'

13.949. B. F. Spencer, London, and H. Brunlees, or onto t he surfaces against which t hey bear. The distance
Ltndtleld, Sussex. Single-Line Railways. [8 F igs.] between the shoes is made ad justable, preferably by the provision
August 3, 1900.- In a single-line railway system in which the

vehicles have the bulk of their weight brought on to a central line,

a wheel or wheels bearing on the ~round carry in~ the remainder ;
9903. The British Aluminium Company. Limited and with the object of minimismg t he amount of wei,:rht to be
London. (.A. H. Oowles, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. .A.) Electricai borne by the g round wheels, t he truck is provided with means
Smelting. [2 Figs.] May 1S, 1901.-In order to obtain elements
of a volatile character from ore or a compound containing them
the ore or co~~o}lod is. fus ed and maintained at a temperatur~
above the volatih smg po1nt of the elements, and electrolysed in
contact with a porous cathode, t hrough which the element as it
becomes elect rolytically separated cnn pa~s to a condensing vessel,
+

of a series of holes at t he inner end of each of the toggle links,

into any of which boles the toggle pivot may be placed. Means
(for example, a sorew) may be provided whereby an artificial strain
may be initially brought upon the toggle to cause the banger to
g rip with sufficient fi rmness, to retain it in place when not loaded.
(.Accepted J 1.tl11 3, 1901.)

8691. F. Boenke Wiesenberg, Germany. Build

ing Materials. [2 Figs.] April 2'7, 1901.-A building block

or t ile for heat insulation purposes comprises according to tbid

invention a number of lengths of bamboo bound together or
united into a fabric or mat by means of cord or t he like ; the

Fig .2.

I
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...

~~

(.~

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,~

;..;:
.

'

whereby the vehicle body may be moved laterally to obtain a

balance, and wit h n pendulous device to indicate verticality.
When intended for military purposes, the oar bodies a re constructed so as to be water-tight , in order that they may be used as
pontoons. In t he complete specification is described and claimed
"a vehiole having at each end a bogie truck whose wheels run on s~id fabric being embedded into the material of the block or tile
where it is collected. In the apparatus illustrated for use in sodium a central rail, and at each side spring-controlled balance wheels in the process of manufacture. A cement tile is proposed nod
may be made from materials comprising wood ash, sawdust,
reduction the porous cathode is of carbon and covers the bottom thnt run on t he ground., (A ccepted July 3, 1901.)
burnt magnesi te, heavy spar, and chloride of magnesium in
of the cell. Although both the anode and cathode are of carbon,
specified proportions. (.Accep ted J uly 10,19JW
it is stated t hat" the ener~y of the combination of carbon and
MISCELLANEOUS.
oxygen is alone about sufli01eut to decompose the oxygen sodium
compound being operated upon, for this combustion of the carbon
17,585. B. L. Doulton and s. M. Chapman, London. UNITED STATES PATENTS AND PATENT PRAOTIOE.
anode tends to produce an electric current in the same direct ion Tap Jar. [4 F igs.] October 4, 1900.-An improved tap j nr,
Descriptions \Yith illustrations of inventions patented in theas t he electrolysing current employed, and thereby reinforces according to this invention, has an external boss or projection
such current." (Accepted J uly 3, 1901.)
on the side of the jar at or near the bottom, having a horizontal United States of America from 1847 to the present t ime, and
way communicating with the interior of the jar. Transversely reports of t rials of patent law cases in the United States, may be13,582. G. W. Green, Little Chester, Derby. Bend to this way, and communicating with it, is another horizontal consulted, g ratis, at the offices of E~ot~EERtNG, 35 and 36, Bedlordtng Metal elates. [6 F igs.] July 28, 1900.-Tbis invention way which continues completely t hrough t he boss or projection, street, Strand
1elates to forming from wrought iron, tunnelling or tank plates a nd the object of which is to receive the tap or cook, which has a
of the kind which have generally been cast. In order to get the stem or stalk made or a smaller diameter t han the horizontal way
SPANISH IRON MINERALS.-The production of iron ore
compression blocks to properly form t he radiating flan~ed edges nnd of somewhat greater length, so that when it is inserted into
of tbe plates, to enable the ready extraction of the plates the way its end projects. Tbe proj ecting end is screwed to take in Spain declined last yea.r to 8,480,246 tons, as compared
from the blocks when bent, and to extract the pressure blocks a nut. Where the stem or stalk joins t he barrel of the tan there with 9,397,733 tons in 1899. The exports were 7,823,270.
from the inside of the plate, two sets of prP.ssure blocks are used, is a shoulder. Tbe stem or stalk of t he tap is hollow and has a tons, as compared with 8,613,137 tons in 1899. The
the lower set being worked by an hydraulic ram and having a bed transverse way, and t he end which projects through t he hori- greater part of last year's exports went to Great Britain,.
of the same shape ns the plate to be produced and adapted to be zontal way of the projecbing boss is preferably closed; but if
screwed up or otherwise secured tight~y to each otbe~ during left open, has a closed cnp or ferrule 1nstead of the screw nut bub the United States took 195,961 tons.
the pressing. The upper set of blocks ts actuated by s1de rams