The Iron Age 1888-02-02: Vol 41

~ ri F, The Hushavel Direct Process. The main features of the Hushavel fur nace consist of a movable hearth fitted to a blast-furnace constructed partly of cast- iron, and partly of wrought-iron plates, the latter forming a double skin to the body of the furnace, the space between the skins being used to heat the blast. The latest furnace was erected in 1886 at Count Strogonoft’s Dobriansk Works. It is 26 feet high from the top of the movable hearth; 4 feet diameter at the top, and 5 feet at the widest part. The upper, or fixed portion, rests on four columns, and consists of a double boiler plate structure tapering slightly toward the top. COAL CONVEYING PLANT The | serted into any set of RON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 188s. emptied ; two sides each having four tuyere openings in two rows: and two sides with four slag-holes arranged in a_ vertical row, These pieces ine connected by means of bolts and nuts The upper set of tuyere openings are surrounded by a water-space cast in the plates, and intended to keep the opening cool, and, finally, a pair of trunnions is provided for the pur pose of tipping the hearth over and dis charging the ingot. The hearth runs on toa platform, placed immediately under the furnace, and is raised or lowered by Three hearths are required for each furnace. The tuyeres are arranged so that they can be readily in means of a balanced lever. ipertures provided Fiq. 1 General View OF THE KNICKERBOCKER ICE distance between the two skins is 7 inches; | for them. A complete furnace is composed they are connected at top and bottom by horizontal rings, and a spiral partition, making about nine turns, forms an air-pas- | sage winding round the inner case. The lower part of the furnace is of the usual form of an inverted truncated cone, and is | formed partly of boiler plate and partly of a cast-iron ring, bolted upto the lower horizontal plate which unites the double skins. varies from 4-inch to ,’,-inch. The lower end of the cast-iron cone is formed into a square with rounded corners about 2 feet 6 inches across, and the whole is sur- rounded by a sheet-iron case, forming an air-space, which is in communication, by means of two pipes, with the space between the two skins of the upper part of the furnace. From the top of the cast-iron ring upward to a hight of 5 feet, the furnace is lined with fire-brick from 14 to 2 inches thick, the cast-iron cone and the body of the furnace above the fire-brick is not pro- tected in any way. The movable hearth is composed of six parts. A bottom casting fitted with four wheels and their axles, a movable false bottom attached to a stalk projecting through the bottom of the hearth, and provided for the purpose of starting the ingot when the hearth is being The thickness of the boiler-plate | wood-charcoal. of about 15 tons of cast-iron and 7 tons of boiler-plate. The furnace was started at the end of June, 1886, but did not begin to work regularly till August in the same year. By the middle of November, 127 tons of mgot had been produced direct from magnetic ore, the’ ingots, in most cases, having been taken straight from the hearth to the hammer. The fuel used is From magnetic ore con- taining 58 per cent. of iron, 52.4 per cent of forge steel is obtained, and the loss in producing wrought-iron is stated to be no ereater than it is in a puddling furnace. The last issue of the Journal of the United States Association of Charcoal Iron Workers contains a more extended illus trated account of the furnace. ~sipialanasitatatiitias One of our foreign exchanges illustrates and describes « machine for testing steel railway tires by percussion, in use at the works of the Chemin de Fer du Nord, at La Chapelle, Paris The object of the machine is to give a succession of blows, like those of a sledge hammer, but in quicker succession, more regular in point of interval, and more uniform in intensity. To this end a pair of wheels with their tires shrunk on and ke yed on their axle is made to revolve slowly on live rollers, while COMPANY, i} whole length of the AGE a couple of sledge hammers are brought down on the tires at re eular intervals by a motion like that of the old tilt hammer, a pair of hammer springs being interposed for giving elasticity to the blow, a Coal Conveying Plant of the Knieker- bocker Ice Company. During the past few years developments in the line of hoisting and conveying ma chinery have been followed with special attention, the economic and rapid handling of materials of all kinds having become a subject of very 1] venerali\ rec ognized im- portance. The engraving which we pre- PHILADELPHIA, PA sent on this page, showing the coal pockets of the Knickerbocker Ice Company, of Philadelphia. Pa.. together with the de tails on the next page, is therefore of some interest. The plant was built after designs by Messrs. Borden, Selleck & Co., of Chicago, Ill. Briefly described, the coal, after having been delivered in the hoppers on the banks of the river, is carried by means of what is known as the Harrison conveyer over the railroad tracks to the top of -the main building, where it is discharged into another line of conve vers that extends the building, nearly 200 feet. This latter line distributes it into the different pockets to be spouted into wagons as it runs over the screens. Immediately behind these pockets are bins which ex- tend from the ground to the top of the building, 38 feet. Coal can be drawn from the bottom of the bins, elevated and placed into any pocket desired by the When coal is re ceived by cars it is carried by a line of same line of conveyers, conveyers located underground which con nects with the elevator and main line, thus being distributed to any bins in the building. of the por kets or The entire system is so complete in this plant that after coal is taken from the vessel r car it is not touched by a= shovel intil after being a ee ee Lao all oti ao =o Me ee Se te ens Sea ee 178 placed in customer! wagon for delivery to the In order to prevent the break- age of coal which would naturally follow in falling from the the top of the build- ing, Messrs. Borden, Selleck & Co. de- signed a simple but effective device. con- sisting of shutes so placed that the coal will zig-zag down to the bottom. The proper consists of a wrought iron or steel chain, in sections of from 13 to 25 inches in length, firmly joined together by a special form of link, shown in Fig. 4, for holding push _ plates, as represented in Figs. 3 and5. The type of chain is such as to prevent any pieces of coal lodging on it to be carried beyond the desired point of delivery, or to be crushed between the chain and sprocket- wheel (Fig. 6). When coupled together, the chains, with push plates, are operated convevel over these wheels at each angle or change | of direction, and run through a wooden or composite trough, made necessarily to con- form to the shape of the push plates. <A general view of one of these troughs is given in Fig. 2. The natural drift of ma- terial being toward the center or lower point of the trough, it is swept along by the conveyers as cleanly as though done with a broom. The trough lined. The engine used by the Knickerbocker Company is is rated at 20 horse-power, of which only a portion is required for driving the conveying plant, - ee ~ West Burling- ton, Lowa. Machine Shops at The West Burlington Railway machine shops consitute one of the most valuable and important pieces of property in the Mis- sissippi basin, and any statistical account of industries in the State of Iowa, especially of the city of Burlington, would be incom- plete if thes shops which are located within the city limits were omitted. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railway Company own about 1000 acres of land on which are located the shops, the city of West Burlington, Murray Iron works and the C., B. & Q. reservoir. The shops have on their pay-roll the names of about 1400 men,. and the Murray Iron Works, 200. The principal buildings, with dimensions in feet, are: The erecting shop, 320 x 130; Murray Iron Works, 310 x 108; storehouse and offices, two stories, 56 x 302; blacksmith and boiler shops, 203 x 130; engine and boiler shops, 141 x 56: wood machine shops and planing mill, 200 x 76; freight car erect- ing shops, 222.x 91; passenger car erecting shops, 222 x 91; paint shop, 250 x 91; dry kiln, 150x775: round house for 10 engine stalls. There are many other minor de- partments, particulars of which we cannot now give. In the second story of the storehouse, 56 x 302, is a large and complete dry goods store containing the various tex- n 9» ~~ tile, rubber and oiled goods used in car upholstery. The buildings are all heated by steam and connected by telephone. Tunnels be- low and cranes above are so arranged as to readily and easily move even the heaviest locomotives to any part of the shops. The motive power is furnished by one 370 horse- power engine. The blacksmith shop pre- one of the busiest In the boiler shops are many pieces of machinery worthy of notice, one in particular for the rivet-work in boilers. In the engine erect- ing shops are now being built seven new engines, two of which are for the Hannibal and St. Jo Railway. do work for the C., sents scenes, The shops not only B. and Q., but for many railway companies throughout the West. One of the most powerful pieces of machinery is the overhead crane in the en- shops, by which any of the largest be picked up and moved to any part of the The frame-work gine engines can building metal THE IRON AGE. was built in the shops and the lifting paratus came from Philadelphia. One of the most extensive departments | of these shops is where the freight cars are built or repaired, another where the fine passenger coaches are erected, or repaired, } Of the lesser may be mentioned the cabinet shop, where all the patterns are made, the | upholstery, the telegraph shops, where ap- paratus belonging to the telegraph is man- ufactured, The planing mill or carpenter shops are large and complete. From them ap- the shavings are taken through pipes by | air suction to the furnace. - —_——— - Emmensite, In view of the growing interest attached | to explosives, it may not be amiss to direct attention to a new compound of this kind, | the peculiarities of which we had occasion to examine a short time ago. It is called Emmensite, after the name of its inventor, | Dr. 8S. H. Emmens, of New York. The explosive, in its simplest form, con sists of two ingredients, one of which is a new nitro-derivative of certain hydro car- Fig 3.—Chain ( f Fig. 4 Link foo Plates. Fig. 5.—Section of Trough. DETAILS |}emmensite over a number of other |of well-known explosives. February 2 ary <, 1888. A number of firing tests which we saw made seemed to demonstrate very striking) the superiority in point of destructiveness of forms Its explosiv: power is estimated as equivalent to a press ure of 283 tons per square inch. This, w believe, is considerably in excess of thi figures claimed for other leading explos ives. The estimates for these have been given us as follows: Nitro-glycerine....... 24 tons per square inch Explosive gelatine... .255 tons per square inch PEERS rckeheas scene 250 tons per square inch SENG. Sek ebeveseese 249 tons per square inch. _ eS i hill A aad with Push Plates Attached. Fig. 6.—Sprocket Wheel. OF COAL CONVEYING PLANT OF THE KNICKERBOCKER ICE COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA, PA. bons of the aromatic series, and can be pre- | Panclastite... ........ 203 tons per square inch. pared by the distillation of coal at a low | %Un cotton...... . . 198 tons per square a ; eatune hile the other is a mineral | Dynamite No. 1....... 144 tons per square inch. temperature, aon we ee oe og), eee 133 tons per square inch. salt found in certain localities in vast | Rackarock........ _..117 tons per square inch. quantities. Perhaps the most singular | Roborite.............. 24 tons per square inch feature of this new explosive is its capa- | bility of being fused. It may be melted and cast into any desired form. thus treated a lump of emmensite will burn quietly, producing a very brilliant and smokeless flame which may be made to as- sume a vivid crimson, blue, purple, green or other hue by the addition of ordinary coloring ingredients to the fused mass be- fore cooling. For pyrotechnic, theatrical and signal- ing purposes the compound thus seems to offer readily apparent advantages. By in- creasing or diminishing the size of the grains a powder of any desired quick- of action may be secured, thus enabling its use in firearms and also for the ordinary purposes of high explosives. Subjecting the explosive to hammer blows ness on an anvil and passing it through a rock- | breaker when in a caked form, due to melt- ing and subsequent cooling, produced no disastrous effects, incredible it may seem, Dr. Emmens explaining that a ful- minating action only can bring about an explosion. Hence, it that the explosive can be handled with entire safety. There is no danger what- ever of accidental explosion as When | will be understood | Blasting gunpowder... 23 tons per square inch It is of interest to note here also that Dr. Emmens has produced what he calls a neutralizing powder. One of the most 'serious objections to the use of dynamite and other high explosives in mines and tun- nelsis the production of noxious fumes and gases. This neutralizing powder is a |chemical compound, which we are told |may be added to the explosive without any } diminution of strength, and which, when fired, generates certain vapors that neutral- ize the dynamite fumes. Work may thus be resumed in a much shorter time than usual, and the health of the laborers is pre- served. The explosive is under the control of the Emmens Chemical and Explosives Company, of New York. ne The Wheeling and West Virginia Nat ural Gas Companies, of Wheeling, W. Va.. have consolidated with a combined capital stock of $2,000,000, each corporation put- | ting in $1,000,000. Five directors from each will be elected. The consolidated com- | pany will be known as the West Virginia | Natural Gas Company, and will have 28 | wells, all in the Taylorstown district. february 2, 1888. pisks for Increasing Cooling or Heating Surface of Pipes. In the description of the De La Vergne refrigerating machine published in our issue of January 19, we referred. among other things, to an arrangement of cast- ron disks which the builders used on their expansion coils for increasing the effective cooling surface. We take pleasure in pre- senting now two engravings, one of them showing a disk as applied to a pipe, and the other representing one of the halves of which each disk is composed, The manner of attachment to the pipes is made perfectly clear in the illustrations. Each half of a disk has cast on two lugs pro- | jecting laterally on both sides and having slightly inclined surfaces. When the two parts are put together, as shown in Fig. 2, the lugs in both correspond, and a firm union is effected by slipping over each pair of lugs an iron cap, shown on the left side of the engraving. The gripping press- ure capable of being exerted in virture of the slanting sides of the lugs and caps is sufficient to keep the disks in proper posi- tion on the pipes. The efficiency of these disks is shown by the fact, mentioned by the De La Vergne Refrigerating Machine Com- pany, that since applying them to their cool- ing pipes they need only 1 foot of pipe where formerly they required four. It is per- fectly evident that a corresponding effect can be secured by their use on heating The transmission of heat in such a case could be increased or diminished ac- cording to the number of disks applied to each lineal foot of pipe. We understand that three sizes of disks made, two round, 10 inches and 14 inches in diameter respectively, and one of oval shape, 10 x 15 inches, in order to accommodate them to the room and pur- pipes. ure poss be accomplished, I — — The American Ocean Marine. Shall our mercantile marine be revived ? This question is now fairly before the whole country, through the persevering efforts of the American Shipping and In- | dustrial League, and all eyes will be fixed upon Congress for an answer before the close of the present session. It is seen that while our Lake commerce is prospering as never before and calling into existence a splendid fleet of steamships, wholly the product of American skill, our ocean com- | merce is wholly under a foreign flag, to which American shippers are paying in the | shape of freight money more than $100,- 000,000 per annum. Our industrial estab- lishments secure from this expenditure no impetus ; our seamen derive from it advantage. A member of one of the oldest and most successful shipping firms in New York re- marks that ‘‘it is clear with the routes of commerce in the hands of our competitors, that for some time to come bounties and no subsidies for mail service will be necessary | to induce capital to embark again in what for years past has been an unprofitable | business.” In truth, it is notorious that American shipping under the present ex- isting conditions offers no inducements whatever to investors as compared with other forms of property. It is equally well known that what little remains of our | ocean marine is for sale at prices below those of foreign countries. It is ohvious from the discussions which have taken place in the conventions of the American | Shipping and Industrial League that the great body of shipbuilders and ship own- ers in the United States, men of the largest practical experience, are now agreed as never before that the ‘‘ free ship” remedy proposed is wholly inadequate if not posi- tively absurd. On this point there is a powerful concensus of opinion. Arthur | their merchant marine and THE IRON AGE. Sewell, of Bath, Maine, one of the most eminent shipbuilders in that State, may not inaptly be quoted as representing the true American idea. He says: ‘* Our ship- ping has to face the overwhelming in- fluence of England, the subsidized shipping of France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The question, as it simply whether it is better to expend a certain sum of money to this industry, or whether it is better to save the money and part with the industry. There from this country a fabulous volume now stands, is Sive goes out of Fig. 2. DISKS FOR INCREASING COOLING goods of every description. These goods are exported in the ships of our competi- tors. Such representation as we have in | foreign markets depends upon them, and their interest is to turn trade in their own countries. The French, the Spanish, the favor of the have Germans, Italians | had free trade in ships for many years, but still found themselves obliged to resort to some plan which would prevent the loss of all that is im- plied in its loss. The fatal mistake which they all make is in continuing their free trade in ships; subsidy or bounty must not be associated with free trade. It is a narrow view which considers alone the ship own- ers’ interest in this question. far wider interests. It concerns The relief of the ship | shall be Half Se 179 }owner has not been the primary object of foreign governments in coming to his re | lief.” What is known as the Nagley tonnage bill, now before Congress, is strongly sup ported. This bill provides that every ves- sel, sail or steam, built and owned in the United States, trading with foreign ports, allowed 30 cents per ton for each 1000 miles sailed or steamed for a period of 20 years, one-third reduction of said lrate to be made at the end of the first 10 years from the date the act of Congress tion of Disl \ \ = | -Disk Attached to Pipe. AND HEATING SURFACE OF PIPES. shall take effect. Although the Govern- ment aid asked for is much less than is conferred by similar measures approved by foreign powers, the belief is entertained that it will prove sufficient to place Amer- ican shipping on a basis, for a specified term of years, where it may contend suc- cessfully with foreign rivals until perma- nently established. While Americans hesitate in regard to their maritime policy Great Britain is mak ing gigantic strides, until, as remarked by the London ‘*the shipping su- premacy of England remains to-day greatet and more manifest than it has ever been before.” The statements of the growth of the merchant navy of the United Kingdom, prepared by the British Board of Trade, Times, wa oe é Sr RM TTT _— én pas om OT 180 presents some startling facts: In 1880 the total tonnage on the British register was 6,519,772 tons. In 1886 the total registered tonnage was 7,321,335 tons, a gain during the interval of about 800,000 tons, a gain equivalent to two-thirds of the entire ton- nage of the United States engaged in what is termed over-sea trade. The Germans, too, are thoroughly aroused to a sense of the importance of extending their ocean trafic and are becoming a strong maritime power. While in 1875 61.8 per cent. of the tonnage that entered and cleared at German ports was foreign, and only 38.2 per cent. na- tional, in 1886 42.2 per cent. was national and 57.8 per cent. foreign tonnage. The United States, which in among the great commercial nations, dropped to the fourth within the following decade. ~_—EE—~_— in the Trade. Wages Paid English A large Blue Book has been issued in Great Britain which contains a return of the wages paid in the iron and allied trades during the last half century. The Jron and Steel Trades Journal reviewing it tinds that the wages of iron founders in Man- chester were 31/3 per week in 1810. They rose to 35/10 in 1818, and in 1832 they stood at 28/to 30/. It appears that in 1883 it was possible for skilled hands to earn somewhat higher wages than they had earned 50 years before. In several instances the difficulty of making a com- parison between one year and another is in- creased not a little by the contradictory figures given in different parts of the book. We are told, for example, in one table that the wages of colliers in South Wales were 18/ per week in 1844 and 19/ per week in 1845. Thenext table reduces these figures to 13/ and 16/2 respectively. In the statements made about the wages of miners some like discrepancies occur. In Staf- fordshire, in 1846, colliers were earning 19/10 per week; in 1849 they were earning 16/3. The wages of miners at the later period had more than proportionately fallen off from the rate of 1846. But more recent tables show that in these depart- ments of industry there has been a sub- stantial advance made. In 1883 the wages of colliers at Swansea and in the neigh- borhood were 26/ per week. In North Staffordshire in 1880—the latest year about which particulars are given—the wages of coal hewers were 4/ per day, and those of colliers were the same. Glasgow wages were a little above these, coal hewers re- ceiving 25/3 per week, but for 60 hours of labor, whereas in the North Staffordshire district the working week consisted of 54 hours. The tables about the building trades take us down only to 1834, and do not refer to many centers of the building industry. We learn that at Manchester carpenters earned 25/ per week in 1810, bricklayers 22/6, and painters 22 In 1825, after various intermediate fluctua- tions, carpenters earned 24/, bricklayers had risen to the same sum, while the wages of painters had remained through- out at the 22/ with which they started in 1810. In 1832 we find carpenters still earning 24/ per week, but bricklayers only 17/ to 20/, and painters only 18 Some of the most important industries of the country have come into being at a later date than that from which the tables start. In iron shipbuilding shipsmiths received in 1859 3/8 per day at Liverpool ; joiners received 4/54} in each case for a day of 10 hours. In 1880 shipsmiths earned 34/ per week for 54 hours’ work, and join- ers 34/6, a very substantial advance in each case upon the wages of 1859. In Sunderland, in 1883, some of the work- men in iron shipbuilding were more highly paid still. The workmen employed on piecework could earn as smiths 52 1875 stood third | Iron | | hardly pe r IRON AGE. week, 1 correct, as we are aware that shipsmiths This we know personally to be in- and fitters earned as much as 90/ per week during the last ‘*boom.” On the whole the details given in this government return are misleading, and practical men could put their finger on many inaccuracies. Sheffield saw-makers received in 1840 27 per week, 29/6 in 1850 and 32/ in 1860 for48 hours’ work. In 1874 they received 30/, but the working week was then but 36 hours. Grinders in the three earlier years earned 54 per week, only 40 In the wages of file-makers, and, indeed, in very many of the depart- ments of the iron and steel industry, the | Sheffield rate of 1840 is above that shown for 1871. About gun making in Birming- ham we have two tables, one referring to 1866 and the other to 1880. The headings |in the two differ very considerably, but the general conclusion to which they point is that the average rate of wages has not changed much in the 14 years’ interval. The book is a bulky volume, but it can repay perusal, and those most familiar with the wages paid in the iron and engineering industries will largely dis- | count its utility. EEE Rapid-Firing Arms. Lieut. W. W. Kimball, United Navy, writing on ‘‘ rapid-firing arms,” in Engineering, says that the desire for ob- taining in a given time the discharge of the greatest number of projectiles from the least number of guns was co-existent with the invention of firearms. It has even been asserted that, before , Friar unexpectedly begun trajectory through the startled air of Mayence, the good monk had grasped the idea that, if a great many mortar-pestles could be quickly thrown among groups of men, a long step in ad- vance would be taken in the investigation | of the always interesting, but never satis- factorily solved, problem of how, in battle, to destroy the greatest number of human lives in the shortest possible time. -The early attempts at the solution of this prob- lem resulted in ribaudequins, orgues, orgels, tube and many other muzzle-loading multi-barreled guns; of the crude breech-loading small arms and artillery, of the revolvers, pistols, shoulder-pieces and artillery ; and of the re peating muskets, devised for loading with several charges superimposed upon each other; all of which kinds of arms appeared in the period extending from early in the fif- teenth to the middle of the nineteenth cent- uries, when metallic-cased cartridges came to the fore and rendered practicable breech-loading and other devices for in- creasing rapidity of fire. I The residents of the northern peninsula of Michigan are very much interested in | the completion of the international bridge over St. Marys River, between Michi- gan and Canada, which was opened with appropriate ceremonies on the 18th ult., By means of this bridge uninterrupted rail communication across the continent through the northern peninsula has been secured, It will be used jointly by the Canadian Pacific, the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic and Duluth, South | Shore and Atlantic roads, which center at Sault Ste. Marie, on the Americau side of the river. In the fall of 1886 the erection of this bridge was definitely decided upon. Work on the masonry was begun in May, 1887, and December 31 the first train the structure. Inside of three months this great superstructure of ten spans, each of which is 242 feet in length and weighs about 250 tons, was begun and completed. There are two spans of 105 feet across the main channel. The draw is next to the largest in this country. cr¢ yssed The | style of the bridge is a ‘‘ pin truss.” 116 feet above the water, while th: jextend upward of 40 feet. | the structure, swing, In 1874 they earned | Schwartz’s | famous mortar-pestle had completed its | like a February -* he The m bridge is 2420 feet in length, is joined 2000 feet of trestlework across the is and then two spans of 105 feet each a the north channel. The entire main bridge, tr and all from abutment to abutment on mainland on either side is 5400 feet. ‘| engt! | bridge proper cost about $700,000. Tj engineers of the structure were G. | Massey and R. G. Reid, both of Mi treal. — EE Gias Engines for Street-Car Pro- pulsion. Various attempts have been made to s stitute gas and electricity for steam an horses. With the first no success has her obtained, for it is necessary to an e) gine of at least 20 indicated horse-power | run an ordinary street car, because Jes will not suftice for brief violent efforts starting the cars and ascending steep i: clines. A pair of good horses can exert pull of quite 1300 pounds for a short dis tance, At a speed of only three miles use hour this amounts to 10 indicated hors power, and is actually often exerte | horses being able, for short periods, to | States | forth at least five times more than th normal power. But 10 horse-power woul not suffice for a gas-impelled street car, |» cause it will weigh much more than the ¢ dinary street-car. Still there does no appear to be any insuperable dittculty the way. The gas engine mounted on thi tram car must run continuously gas engine cannot be stopped and starte« steam engine, and form gearing must so couple it to the wheels opecaust some ithe car that the engine running with: change of speed may be able to prope! car at velocities rising from a per hour to eight miles. Cone pulleys an belts will not do. The storage lew leet of sufi cient gas for long runs is quite an eas) matter, that can be accomplished, say Pintsch’s system, without trouble. Co | cerning electricity it is enough to say that the production of the | the storage battery is as yet unable to con pare favorably in working expenses wit! | horses, to say nothing of steam a —— The large car built at the Lehigh Valley railroad shops at Packerton, and transport the heavy machinery which thy Bethlehem Iron Company imported fron England for use in the new steel forging works, is now at the Lehigh Valley yards }at South Bethlehem, Pa. The car weighs | 264 tons, and has a carrying capacity of 100 tons. It is supported by six fou | wheel trucks, and all the material used ir its construction is iron, except the floor, which is of heavy oak. used ti A new form of street rail and car-whee! which, it was thought, would overcom many of the objections now urged against those in general use, was shown us a few days ago at the establishment of Mr. Eugene R. Peyser, 383 Broadway, New York. The rail and wheel are the inven tions of Mr. 8S. M. Jacobs and in some re spects present commendable features. The rail is of the grooved type, and is to I» laid flush with the pavement, and the groove, which is of Y-shaped section, is to be made of such scant width that it will be impossible for any of the wagon or car riage wheels now in use to be caught in it The wheel-tread naturally is V-shaped als and is slightly serrated with the view of cleaning out the groove in the rail should this become clogged with dirt, snow or ice. In a modified form of Mr. Jacobs’ rail, the groove is slotted at different points, so that any accumulations in it can drop into a trough arranged after the manner of > conan February 2, 1888. The Interstate Commerce Law.—lIV. PUBLICATION OF TARIFFS. The section of the law which provides that all tariffs and classifications of our railways shall be made public, and that the rates therein contained shall not be de- parted from either for or against any ship- per or shipment, is one which has the ap- proval of all students of our transportation problem, however much they may think the pooling and other sections unwise. Under a form of government and customs which depend so largely upon public opinion, compulsory publicity of all cor- porate and quasi-public affairs is often the only step necessary to effect any needed reforms. The grossest forms of personal discrimination, whose wrongs appeal most clearly to our sense of justice, are pre- vented. Some doubt having been ex- pressed whether joint rates as distinguished from through rates were covered by this section, Senator Cullom’s proposed amend- ment clears up any possible obscurity. The question of what constitutes a through rate may yet have importance. If we define the term as meaning a rate in which all the carriers participate according to a percentage, then for example the export rates from Chicago to Liverpool are not through rates, since only the charges from Chicago to New York are prorated, the tixed ocean rates being added thereto. If this definition be true, then under any complaint of violation of the short haul section by the seaboard cities, not the Chi- cago-Liverpool, but the Chicago-New York charges on exported grain or provisions must be compared with the Chicago-New York domestic rate. As these domestic freights are higher, a clear case would be made out. It all depends whether the words ‘‘ greater compensation in the ag- gregate”’ do or do not include the ocean charges of carriers not covered by the act. THE COMMISSION, Governing by a commission is peculiarly an Anglo-Saxon idea, and so far in En- glish and American history its advantages have overbalanced its defects. On the Continent of Europe the management of great matters is committed directly to the hands of government. But when the wish is to putas few of the instrumentalities of trade as possible out of private control, the commission is a compromise by which is attempted to combine the advantages of this latter plan with such an oversight of government as will secure justice in dis- puted cases. There is no question that the plan is, under our political condi- tions, better than any yet devised. In ad- dition to the powers of the commission as defined in the original bill, Senator Cul- lom’s amendments make it also competent to name the amount of damages where such are claimed, the decision being prima facie evidence before any competent court where such award may be sought to be enforced. The powers of the commission are also somewhat enlarged as regards subpoenas, and in other minor points. In section 13 it is provided that no complaint shall be dismissed because no direct damage can be shown. If this principle should be by degrees adopted into our statute law, it would naturally modify the position of carrier and shipper in some important points. The rule of the court compelling the proving of direct damages has often operated to defeat the ends of justice. The railroads have often escaped payment of damages in cases of delay for example when they were clearly negligent, and the loss of business and annoyance to the merchant equally clear, though not easily stated in exact dollars and cents. EXCEPTIONS. Section 22 excepts from the operations of the law the issuance of mileage, ex- cursion or commutation tickets, providing, THE IRON AGE of course, that such tickets be sold to all alike. Our railroads, at first inclined to exact full fares without deviation, are now issuing special tickets which can be used by commercial travelers and others. It is probable that passenger fares will — be graded, as they should be, according to frequency of travel and numbers in parties, the only effect of the law being that such reduced fares shall be appli able to all en titled to them. CONCLUSION. The constitutionality of the law is no longer called in question. The general principles upon which it is based aré such as commend themselves to all interested. We do not need at present any radical changes or amendments beyond those neces Asit stands, the law practically repre sents the experi- ence of the English commission with that of our own history, and hence is not merely an untried experiment. What im- provements can be safely introduced must be left to time to determine. sary tosecure vreater clearness. _ TT Our Production of Pig Iron in 1887. Through the continued courtesy and more than ordinary promptness of the manufacturers we were enabled in the Bulletin of the 18th ult. to give to our readers the full particulars of the produc- tion of pig iron in the United States in 1887, together with a detailed account of the stocks of pig iron which were unsold in the hands of makers or their agents at the close of the year. We now recur to these statistics for the purpose of pointing out a few of their significant features. Our production of pig iron in 1887 was 6,417,148 eross tons, against tons in 1886 and 4,044,526 tons in 1885. Our increased production in 1886 over 1885 was over 40 per cent. ; in 1887 over 1885 it was over 58 per cent., and in 1887 ove! 1886 it was about 13 per cent. Such ex traordinary and amazing progress could not, of course, be maintained, and the year 1888 will witness a decline in our pro- duction to a point somewhere near the figures of 1886. The total production of pig iron inthis country since 1880 has been as follows: 5,683,329 Years. Gross tons. | Years. Gross tons. RGN «aiwtnic kes 3,830,191 | 1884..........4,097,868 RO ockdr aes 4.144.254 | 1885. ......... 4,044,526 BE iad cldce one | ROU easccedae 5,683 829 Sa eee 4,505,510 | 1887.......... 6,417,148 The production of pig iron in the last half of 1887 was very much larger than in the first half, as the following figures will show ; Production. First half of 1887...... Second half of 1887 (zross tons. -3,049 205 Re6.es e's . 0,007, 853 Our production of pig iron in 1887, classified according to the fuel used, was as follows, in net tons, compared with the production in 1885 and 1886: Fuel used. 1885. 1886, 1887. Bituminous.........2,675,685 3,806,174 4,270,685 Anthracite ........ 1,454,390 2,099,597 2.338.389 CRP OOEE .ciencccese 399,844 459,557 578,182 The anthracite figures include all pig iron made with mixed anthracite and coke, as well as that made with anthracite alone. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, made a great stride forward in 1887 in the pro- duction of pig iron, making 897,849 net tons. The Lehigh Valley also eclipsed its previuos record, making 722,939 tons. Ohio came very near making a million net tons of pig iron in 1887. Pennsylvania, of course, still keeps far in the lead of all the States. New York largely increased her production in 1887 over 1886, while New Jersey, Illinois and Michigan mad¢ creditable progress last year. Missouri and Wisconsin each about doubled their production, and Colorado with but on furnace shows a good record of 25,291 net Q] tons. Only one furnace Pacitic Coast, located in Washineto ritory, was in blast during 1887 : The production of pig iron in t South ern States in 1887 was as follows, in net tons, compared with ¢] yroduction i IS85 and 1886 We duction ot Missouri, which w ISS as Vester state: States SA sa Alabama 297 438 283,85 Tennessee . . 161,19 iy, Ltt Virginia 163,782 156,250 West Virginia 69,007 S618 Kentucky 37 5d 1 S44 Georgia a2, 4) 42M) 410), 9474 Maryland 17,200 O502 37,427 Texas.... 1 S45 2H) $8 North Carolina . 1.70 2,200 3,040 Total . 612,835 875,170 929,456 The produc tion of pig the South- ern States in 1887 did “qual the gen eral expectation, being on ibout 50,000 net tons in excess of th yroduction in 1886. But the fact is not so fully consid ered as it should be that South, during the past two years, has reall my been getting ready to greatly increase its pro- duction of pig iron. It has within that time undertaken the erection of more than 30 large’ blast furnaces, but f these only eight were completed down to the close of 1887—namely, tw irginia. four in Alabama and one in each of the States of Kentucky and Tenness Nine teen furnaces are now under struction in Alabama, three in Tennessee. two in Marvland and one in Virginia. Many of these will be finished in 1888 Our production of spiegeleis n 1887, included in the fivures alread siven ot the total production Ol Dix 1 in that vear, was almost exactly the same as in 1886, when it amounted 17,982 net tons, and in 1887 to 47.598 ne ns The stocks of pig iron which were un sold in the hands of manufacturers 01 their agents at the clos if LSS87, and which were not intended for th tion of the 337,617 net tons, against 264 7 net tons on the 30th of June, 1887, and 252,704 net tons on the 31st of December, 1886. In addition to unsold stocks in the of manufacturers nsump manufacturers, amounted to hands at the clos 1887, there were also about 28,000 net tons of unsold pig iron in the hands of various other parties in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan. The number of furnaces which were in blast at the close of 1887 was 339: the number out of blast was 244.° Others have since been blown out. Sulletin, Tron and Steel Association. - a Herr J. Puling, of Vienna an ingenious method of rendering the form of a stretched string set in vibra- tion, by having one of its extremities at- tached to one prong of 4 tuning-fork, which was kept in motion electrically, and gave a definite note, the pitch of which was carefully determined. The vibrating string was lighted up by a vacuum tube connected with a Rumkortf coil, the rate of discharge through the tube being alter- able at will, and when this was made equal to or some aliquot multiple of the number of vibrations made by the string, the latter was only illumined when occupying some Das GevVise d visible one definite position, and, owing to the persistence of its image on thi retina, ap peared as if at rest. In this way the shape of the string and the positions of the modes and vertical seyment A t ren- dered clearly visible. In Supreme Court, Part York, before Judge Barrett, a jury gave a verdict of $13,255.88 against Hugh (zrant, sheriff, in a suit brought by imes H. Lefferts & Co. i bond UJ en bp Fay, assignee of Marsha! The sheriff is secured by A. K. Lissberger A lin aan —— sa aati cl em es ee a hate chee =o Sere ry : ~ % M 2 es = é) s ~ Heating of Buildings by Foreed Cir- culation of Warm Air. ’ In view interest which has been evince n connection with the heating and ventilating of various forms of build- ings, we take pleasure in referring more partic rly to the accomplishment of these byects Dy a forced circulation of warm alr This system has already been commented upon, and has, very tavorably i number of cases, yielded highly In a iaree satisfactory results In large buildings the furnace has generally been found in- adequate either a number being re- quired or, more frequently, it being im possib e { - ire a proper circulation of the heated air. The same difficulty arises with the ordinary methods of steam heat ing by ine radiation; and, for this 4 = — = i oh . F Fig HEATING OF reason more than any other, the direct steam-heating system has been generally adoptec It has, however, the disadvan- tage of snapping and hammering in the pipes, constant danger from leakage, freezing or fire, and of great expense, both inthe original lay-out and in any necessary repairs In neither of these methods, moreover, Is any adequate provision made for the proper ventilation of the rooms heate The disadvantages of all of these sys- tems may De ided by making the cir- culatior tT the heated air positive by means a fan blower In any building titted for steam heating it is obvious that the motive powcr is already at hand for driving the far In many cases it may be that there are sufficient arrangements of shaft make connections with a pulley far But, all things considered; will be four preferable, as a rule, to drive the Ty \ cairect-connected steam engine BUILDINGS THE IRON AGE, It then becomes independent of any other source of power, may be run at any speed, and at any time. The ordinary objection raised to this means of fan propulsion is, that it costs too much to run the engine. Primarily it is evident that much unneces- sary loss by friction is avoided when the engine is directly connected to the fan shaft in place of driving the fan through a system of belting and shafting. But, above all, it costs practically nothing to drive the engine when the exhaust steam from it is utilized (as it always should be) in the steam heater connected with the fan. ° The heating power of live steam, of 70 pounds pressure, is only slightly greater than that of exhaust steam; hence, pound for pound, it makes but little dif- ference in the expense which is employed. For this reason the engine cylinder may February 2, ture of power. The heater, however, is the most distinctive part of the apparatus. It consists of a series of hollow cast-iron sections or bases divided by a diaphragm midway of their length, and into which is screwed a triple vertical row of wrought- iron pipes, which, by means of horizontal connecting pipes at the top (seen in the cut of the heater), serves as a means of communication between the ends. Steam is admitted to one end of these sections by independent supply pipes, and finds its way up, over and down through the pipes to the other end of the section, whence it is removed by means of a steam trap This arrangement insures a positive circu lation of the steam through the entire heater. In hot weather, cold water or re frigerating liquids may take the place of steam, thereby cooling instead of heating 1.—The Sturtevant Steam Hot Blast Apparatus. BY FORCED CIRCULATION be considered as simply an enlargement of of the steam pipe on the way to the heater, and the exhaust steam leaving it practi- cally as efficient for heating as live steam direct from the boiler. The fan for propelling the air should be of the type which delivers the air around its periphery, for the disk or propeller fan cannot force air against any consider- able pressure. The heater, fan and engine, for this work, are usually made by the manufacturer into a combined apparatus. Mr. B. F. Sturtevent, of Boston, Mass., was, we believe, the first in this country to put such an article on the market. Through his courtesy, a cut of his steam hot blast apparatus is here presented. The direct connected engine is stiff and sub stantial, of good workmanship, and capable of running at high speeds. The fan meets the requirements of a ventilating fan namely, ability to handle large volumes of ‘ir at low nressure with the least expendi OF WARM ATR. the air. The entire apparatus is compact and occupies but little space, and may be placed in any convenient position in the basement. Air from out of doors is led by means of suitable passages to the end of the heater (or air, when pure enough, may be taken from the apartment in which the apparatus stands), through which it is drawn by the suction of the fan, the inlet of which connects with the heater. The steam pipes are so arranged that the air is compelled to take a more or less zig-zag course in passing between them, being thus brought into intimate contact with every foot of pipe. This results in one of the marked characteristics of this method of heating. The constant bringing of cooler air in contact with the pipes causes a condensation of steam much greater than that which takes place in an open radiator The amount of heat given out is measured by the weight of steam condensed; hence the greater the amount condensed pet February 2, 1888. square foot the less the number of square feet required to do a given amount of heat- ing. In the hot-blast apparatus which we | illustrate this efficiency is increased three to five fold—or, in other words, 66% to! 80 per cent. of the pipe is saved when this system is adopted in place of one of direct radiation by means of steam coils strung | around the rooms. Furthermore, instead of having air cocks and valves all over the | building, and steam pipes liable to leak, | ‘freeze or cause a fire, there are re quire din this system only a few valves on the engine | and heater, and these are but a few feet apart. An item that often pays for the introduction of the apparatus is that of reduced insurance rates, the amount saved | being sufficient to pay the interest on the | cost of the plant, for the heater is entirely | inclosed in a steel plate jacket and only | air of a moderate temperature is conveyed | through the flues to the various parts of the building. The heated air discharged from the mouth of the fan is conducted to the dif- ferent apartments by a system of ducts and flues, dependent in their arrangement upon the construction of the building and the use to which it is put. The manner of | distribution for stores and office buildings | is much like that employed for distribution of furnace heat—by means of metallic pipes. | However, when possible in the construc- tion of such buildings, particularly when of brick or stone, it is advisable to build | the vertical flue into the walls. If desired, | the fan may be constructed to discharge | the air into a series of underground hori- zontal ducts connecting* with the various | vertical flues. These flues should be of ample size, and here it may be said that, although it appears simple enough to lay out such a system, it in reality re quires the experience vained by one who has been extensively connected with such work. If made too large the fiues nearest the fan are apt | } } | | _\ to take more than their A. ° f ete intended share of the air, or, if too small, : Wh the air seeks a readier —— delivers elsewhere. They should be as straight as possible, having no great or sudden expansions and contractions, and in brick or stone structures they should be smo thiy plastered or lined with tin or special tiles. The velocity of the air through them should be moderate, in order not to cause unnecessary loss of power and pressure by friction. In buildings of the construction here indicated it is generally advisable to bring these flues up in the in- terior walls. The air, like that froma fur- nace, may be admitted to the various rooms through registers in the walls or floors. But these outlets must be placed