The Iron Age 1888-04-05: Vol 42

j J THE TRON” AGE Blowing Engines for the Pioneer Mining and Mfg. Company. Through the courtesy of the I. P. Morris Company (Port Richmond Iron Works), of Philadelphia, Pa., we are enabled to pub- THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1888. water-jacketed. steam and water relief valves operated by Jones’s Variable Cut-off Cams. Of both of these we give details on the succeeding | pages. Some idea of the size of the en- The steam cylinders are | consists of a disk with a cylindrical lip fitted with Wanich’s single beat balanced | lish in this issue a general view and some | gines may be obtained from the fact that cast upon its circumference which is neatly bored on its inside surface. The lip has upon its lower edge the ordinary conical single face which is fitted to the seat on the steam-chest. Rising from the bottom 1 e ; ; | of the steam chest is a circular plate whose details of a pair of blowing engines re- | the fly-wheels are 20 feet in diameter and | exterior diameter is just enough less than cently completed and erected by them for, weigh about 75,000 pounds. Recesses are the bore of the lip to permit free move- | Hi nt a \ ali ah ee BLOWING ENGINES AT THE FURNACE OF THE PIONEER MINING AND MFG. COMPANY, BIRMINGHAM, ALA. the Pioneer Mining and Mfg. Company, at cast in the rims, as shown, for the insertion | ment, and whose upper surface approaches Birmingham, Ala. lof pry bars. The main shaft, beam cen- | closely to the under side of valve. Through The engines are of the overhead type, | ters, end pins, piston-rods, connecting-| the plate of the valve is a passageway with steam cylinders 60 inches in diameter, | rods, crossheads and crank-pins are made | having a conical seat closed by a small and blast cylinders 84 inches in diameter, | of the best faggoted wrought iron. The | pilot valve, formed on the valve stem, both having a stroke of 7 feet. The box | condensing apparatus is of the usual air | which has a short lift limited by a guard. bed plates were made of sufficient length | pump and jet condenser type, and ar-| The parts are so proportioned that the area to receive the blast cylinders, beam col- | ranged so as to be shut off, so that exhaust | of passageway through the pilot valve is umns, bases of steam cylinders and the | steam may be discharged into the atmos-| largely in excess of that between the edge main shaft pedestals, which are set beyond | phere, if occasion requires, through a high | of the circular plate and the inclosing lip the steam cylinder bases and directly un-| pressure exhaust valve placed upon the | on the main valve, sothat when steam is der the valve lifting rods. The beam| upper steam-chest. Galleries and stair-| admitted through the pilot valve it exerts columns are formed of truncated pyramids| ways to be provided, so arranged as to| pressure within the space inclosed by the having flan faced off and bolted| give convenient access to the cylinder | under side of main valve, its lip and the through. e beams are double 5 feet | heads, beam pin journals, guides and other | top side of the circular plate; consequently, deep at the middle, and 21 feet long be-| elevated working parts requiring frequent | disregarding the annular surface of the tween end and are prolonged on the | attention. All the material and workman- | main valve face, the pressure on the upper steam cylinder ends for the connecting-rod ship are of the bes t quality procurable. | and lower surfaces of the main valve will attachments. The blast cylinders are The Wanich valve, as shown in Fig. 1,| approach equality relatively to the areas j, the turning of which will necessarily 554 of the passageways through the pilot valve | and the fine annular space between the | edge of the circular plate and the envelop- ing lip of the main valve. The circular plate is free to move upward whenever sudden extreme pressure results from the near approach of the steam piston to the cylinder heads. In such an event the plate rises from the excess of pressure upon its lower side and carries the valve with it, thus permitting the water to flow back into the steam-chest whence it is carried off by re-entering steam, and gradually passes out after a few strokes of the engine | with the exhaust steam. This description will be more clearly understood by refer- ring to the cut. Uniformly good results have been obtained from the use of Wanich’s valves, not only upon blowing engines, but upon those of steamboats. It is also applicable to stop valves of large diameter under high pressures. The single seat can be relied upon for tightness, and in this plan the balancing feature makes its use possible for heavy pressures with- out the application of multiplying gear, thus securing a rapid closing. The Jones variable cam consists of a | plate secured to the engine shaft, or to a countershaft revolving simultaneously with the engine shaft, directly under its | respective valve lifting-rod and having a| swell upon its circumference with a rising incline which at the proper time comes in contact with the roller on the lower end of lifting-rod and moves it and its attached | valve upward and admits steam to the cylinder. On the side of chis plate is another arranged to revolve concentrically | with it and also having a swell of the same hight with a falling incline, which, at a determined point of the piston stroke, revolves from under the lifting rod, per- mitting it to descend and close the valve and cut off the admission of steam. Fig. 2 clearly explains the construction. The cam is composed of the two plates A and B, the plate A being secured to the shaft | G by a set-screw, a, passing though the | hub of the plate, and the plate B being | circumferentially adjustable on the shaft and maintained in contact with the plate | A by a collar, 6 The ‘‘swell” of the cam is partly on the plate A and partly on the plate B, and the circumferential extent of this swell may be increased or dimin- ished by the adjustment of one of the plates so that the cam may have a longer or shorter dwell on the roller p, which is fitted to the valve-rod W. This is accomplished by having a portion of the plate A cut away, so as to leave two abrupt shoulders, m x, between which a toothed segment, concentric with the shaft, is formed on the plate. On the other plate, B, is a projection, ¢, in which are bearings for a small spindle carrying a worm, which gears into the teeth of the segment d of the plate A. When the worm is turned in one direction, the swell of the cam will be diminished circumfer- entially in extent, and it will be increased in extent when the worm is turned in a| contrary direction. The worm spindle also carries a worm-wheel, g, into which gears a worm, /, on a spindle, having its bear- ing in the plate B, the outer end of this | spindle being furnished with a star-wheel, result either in traction or the circumferential con- extension of the swell of the cam, according to the direction in which the star-wheel is turned. The plate A is recessed at the back for receiving a portion of the plate’ B. The edge of the swell cannot of course be of uniform width, for it is composed partly of a projecting portion of the plate A, the thickness of which is shown in the end view in Fig. 2, partly of that portion of the plate B where the projection ¢ oc- curs, and the thickness of which (also shown inthe end view) is the same as that of the last-named portion, and partly of | thickness. It THE IRON AGE. the thin portion of the plate B, which al- ways forms a bridge between the thick portion of the swell on the plate A, and the thick portion of the swell on the plate B. In} other words, the swell of the cam has the | same continuity as a solid cam of uniform | ; understood, how- | will be ever, that to insure a proper continuity | the roller p must be as wide as the thick- est part of the swell of the cam. Mr. Wm. P. Thomas, of the I. P. Morris Company, writes us that while the en- Wrought! Iron Nut “1 1 l . ~-+—~~-e t eee Vas -s—-= ———— — | 2 KE ey KE Wy. al a | STEAM !OPENING Fig 1.—Nection of Wanich DETAILS OF BLOWING ENGI gines ure been put in operation, owing to the fact | that the other part of the plant is not yet finished, TT a It is now thoroughly understood that in the prevention of condensation in the cylinders of a steam engine lies almost the only hope of further augmenting economy. Not only is this true, but it is also certain that by preventing internal condensation not a little, but a considerable loss would be avoided. The mode of action of steam in, say, a triple-expansion engine is very curi- | ous. It is entirely different from that of RSS ! | YJ Vi + 68 VY; ‘y = 4 rey wy MS, | i; g { 4 1 | vi April 5, 1888. any other working fluid, such as gas or air, and it has little or nothing in common with the theoretical action of the ideal fluid as elaborated by the mathematician and the physicist. oo ee -_ American Foundry Iron. The following notes were suggested by the collection of a set of specimens, pre- | pared by Mr. W. J. Keep, for the metal- --—t 10 Thre ad ls =e 5 s ¢ a »® rs) _ o & = S&S mei a 2 o Valve on Steam Cylinders. NES AT BIRMINGHAM, ALA. completed they have not yet | hurgical department of the Mason College, Birmingham, England, and intended to be used for teaching purposes. The memo- randa accompanying them were not orig- inally intended for publication, or possibly irons might have been selected which would have shown American production in a some- what more favorable light. The paper was read before the South Staffordshire Insti- tute of Iron and Steel Works Managers. The irons shown were selected from the collection in the physical laboratory of the Michigan Stove Company, Detroit, of which company Mr. Keep is superintendent. The collection is not intended to show the irons actually used by the Michigan Stove Com- April 5, 1888. pany, but to illustrate average American foundry iron; these specimens are espe- cially valuable from the fact that in most cases they are samples of the identical irons | of which a most complete series of physical tests has been performed and of which the chemical analysis is known. Ores of good quality occur throughout extensive districts in the United States. The specimens now shown are intended to illustrate only the irons produced at some of the most impor- tant points, and from the principal ore | formations. These ore deposits are: 1. The great deposit of magnetic ore beginning on Lake Champlain, in Northern New York, and running southward through that State into New Jersey and still south- ward into North Carolina. Also the brown hematites which accompany this deposit. 2. The great deposit of red fossil ore, running about 100 miles west of the pre- vious deposit, beginning in Central New York, running through Pennsylvania and W yp a {Lj A Ea | | an G Gl / ‘ j — J B " bama, the best of coking coal occurs with the ore. The chain of great lakes, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, and the Hudson River, with canals and railways, give facilities for cheap transportation of Lake Superior or Lake Champlain ores to the coke of Western Pennsylvania, to the anthracite of the eastern portion of the same State, or to the coals of Ohio. On the other hand, when necessary, the fuel may be cheaply conveyed to meet the ore. Poughkeepsie Irons. —This may be taken to illustrate the irons made from the mag- netites of Northern and Southern New York, and the brown hematites on the east | side of the Hudson; the fuel used is anthra- | cite coal. Poughkeepsie is on the Hudson | River; the furnaces are of the older type, 60 feet high with 16 feet boshes; tempera- ture of blast about 1100° F., pressure 8 pounds per square inch. The ores em- | ployed are used in equal proportions, thus: | > 5 One-third magnetic ore from Mineville. | THE IRON AGE. j } | D5 Foundry, and other grades come from various changes in furnace working; mot- tled is seldom made. are Analyses of the iron as follows: Carbon. Graph- Com- Motal itie. bined. Si. No 1 Foundry. 4.24 3.01 No. 3 Gray Forge... .. sees sece 1.17 No. 1 Foundry... ..3.26¢ 3.166 0.100 2.946 No, 2 Foundry. ....3.572 3.457 0.115 1.642 ig Ss Mn. lron No. 1 Foundry 0.15 0.05 1.46 90 64 No. 3 Gray Furge...1.63 O15 1.03 91.96 No, 1 Foundry......1.242 trace 0 189 | No. 2 Foundry......1.224 0.035 0,241 The first two of these analyses were sup- plied by the furnace company. The two last analyses are of pigs from the same stock pile as that from which the pig was taken for physical tests, to be described in | our next paper. Bushong Iron.—This sample illustrates the production of the Keystone Furnace Company, of Reading, Pa., situated in the heart of the anthracite coal region. The ore mixture consists of one-third brown hematites, obtained near the furnace with two-thirds of magnetite, principally from New Jersey and Lake Champlain. The iron is graded Al, Bl, No. 2 plain, and gray forge. They run on Al, but some- times get off on lower grades. A pig from the same pile as the pig used for physical tests had the following composition : No, 1 Bushong. | ee eee ind dhe daounan 3.343 COTION © GING ois cine: Kaccwateeks . 2.879 { Combined... . 0.464 BN. | xtacreared wedeakess dented -- 1.983 WER bo cinn sem nu mane anda Geese . 1.089 | Sulphur........ 0.013 Manganese bidaéee ene ae ekundenhanesakewat 0.136 Red Fossil Hematite Irons.—The collec- | tion includes two samples intended to illus- trate the great red fossil hematite formation | —one from the Franklin furnaces, of Clin- |ton, Oneida County, N. Y., situated at the |extreme northern end of the formation: the other, from the Alice furnaces, of Bir- mingham, Ala., at the extreme southern \limit of this ore deposit. The Franklin furnaces use anthracite coal from Pennsyl- vania. The Alice furnaces are fitted with modern Whitwell stoves, and doubtless work hotter and more rapidly. At both localities two veins of ore occur, one hard |and the other soft. At Clinton the soft | ore is 1 foot thick and has been abandoned ; the hard dre now used is 2 feet thick. In Ala- Fig. 2.—The Jones Variable Cam. | bama both hard and soft ore are used, and | occur in beds from 20 to 30 feet thick. In | most cases the ores are self-fluxing, The { . DETAILS OF BLOWING ENGINES AT BIRMINGHAM, ALA. following are examples of analyses: tik le 1. | 2 | 3. | se i3 southward to the immense beds of Alabama. | Essex County, N. Y. (Lake Champlain ac 2¥ gt gt This deposit also has continguous brown | ore.) 22/22/24 /8* * > os — <4 ores. One-third magnetic ore from Fort Mont- | | =5 5 < ; 3. The carbonaceous ores of Kentucky | gomery, Orange County, Southern New | Se ea Serene eet iat s . y ele | Metallic iron. ........... ).08 | 47.5€ | 36 00 | 50.00 and Ohio. Tae ; York, : | Si'fea......... 9.72 | 11.20] 8.00 | 12.00 4. The unlimited ore deposits of Lake} One-third brown hematite ores from | Alumina. a 4.53] 48°] ... Ss i | Sylvan Lake, Buckman, and Clove Valley, | Lime.. teres 8.57 | 5.52 | 48.00 | ..... Superior. - f : — N.Y Oo | INR... < - scksnsis 0.81 | 0.1 race trace In this brief survey we cannot even speak | Duchess County,N. Y. _ Phosphorus... ost | oo | oanl ete of numerous other very important deposits,| These ores have approximately the fol-|Sulehur_........ wal op] ot. such as those of Missouri, where Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain are of solid ore, or the brown hematites of Tennessee, or the deposits of Wisconsin and other districts. In these instances the ores are chiefly smelted with charcoal. In the case of the Great Southern Ore | deposit, the ore and coal lie in the same hills, and hence need no transportion ; but very frequently in the United States fuel | is transported to considerable distances; in other cases ore is carried, while some- times ore and fuel are both transported to some intermediate locality. In Eastern Pennsylvania are the great anthracite coal fields, which are reached by a complete system of canals and railways from the Hudson River. In Western Pennsylvania are immense bituminous coal formations, from which excellent coal is made. In Ohio is found block coal, which can be used raw in the blast furnace. In Ala- lowing composition : : | The analyses of the irons were as fol- Oxide of . Metallic Phos- manga- | lows: iron. Silica. phorus. nese. No. 1. Lake Cham- | No.?. No.2. Rising plain....... 67.19 1.14 0.84 a ies Franklin. Alice, Fawn. Fort Mont- \ Total, 3.179 2.963 4,233 gomery . 61.95 7.20 0.24 Carbon <~ Graphite.... 3.064 2.742 391 Svivan Lake. 51.02 8.51 0.06 trace Combined. 0.115 0.2-1 0.252 | Clove Valley. 49 04 11.95 2.71 Silicon....... ... 3.014 4.853 1.736 i c Phosphorus.... 1.433 0.597 0.828 Buckman resembles Clove, but contains | Sulphur..... ............. . 00072 0.010% 0.0187 less manganese. The limestone used is| Manganese... .......... -. U.165 0.199 0.012 taken from the bank of the Hudson River, and the furnace charge yields about 55 per cent, of metallic iron. As illustrating the The physical tests of Franklin and Alice |iron, to be referred to in a subsequent paper, were made from the same stock pile regular working of this furnace, we may|as the above. This specimen of No. 2 mention that in 1870 Mr. Keep made aj Alice is not fair sample of the iron memorandum of what he saw charged| usually made. It was sold for, and ap- while spending a day at the works, and | peared like, a close No. 2, but both phys- this exactly corresponds with the above! ical and chemical tests show it to be a record of what is used at present. The|silveryiron. High temperature, with rapid iron is graded as No. 1 and No. 2 Foun-| running, has given high silicon and low dry, No. 3 Gray Forge and No. 4 Mottled. | carbon, while pure ores have produced a ~ | . They endeavor to make entirely No. 1' low phosphorus. An analysis is also given a 556 of iron from the Rising Fawn furnaces in the northwest corner of Georgia, said to be from a No. 1 pig. This shows more time given for carburization, hence the production of an open grain. In this case also the silicon is rather low; we should say that the silicon in Southern irons would usually run between the extremes above given, generally being nearer the lower than the higher value. The man- ganese in Southern irons is very low, and they show but slight tendency to chill. Dayton Iron.—The collection of speci- mens illustrating the production of the Dayton Coal and Iron Company, of Day- ton, Tenn., are of special interest, not merely on account of the completeness of the series exhibited, but also because a complete series of physical and chemical tests are at present being conducted on these irons by Mr. Keep and Mr. H. 8. Fleming, and of these tests we hope at a future time to give some account. The St Ss > Serecre r] 1s pecia care DY | amples were selected wit ial care by Mr. Fleming (who is now superintendent of Mayville furnaces, Wisconsin), while he was chemist to the Dayton Company. The ore mixture remained the same while the | samples were being taken, and was much | the same as that of the other Southern furnace previously mentioned, except that | a little brown ore is used. Owing to the | needs of their trade at Dayton, they make | an iron which is slightly higher in phos- phorus than most other Southern furnaces. the practice of Southern furnaces. It will be noticed that the highest grade is No. 2 foundry. This is a peculiarity of South- ern grading, though a Southern No. 2| compares favorably with a No. 1 from many Northern furnaces. In the South | the furnaces are generally of the modern type, with Whitwell stoves, and run so hot and so rapidly that the grain is a trifle close and the color light when compared with the No. 1 from the older furnaces. An old furnace at Birmingham, Ala., run- ning more slowly, but using the same ores, makes as dark and open a No. 1 pig as any of the Northern iron, and shows a high percentage of carbon. This illustrates the difference caused by various methods of furnace working. In the South there are large beds of red ore now opened, and which will shortly have railway facilities; they yield 59 to 62 per cent. of iron, 6 to8 per cent. of silica, and 0.25 per cent. of phosphorus, with practically no manganese. It will be seen that this is nearly a Bessemer ore. The Southern brown ore contains about 0.68 per cent. of manganese, with 0.27 per cent. of phosphorus. On account of this composition, brown ore is used alone in Southern charcoal furnaces to produce a chilling, car-wheel iron. Southern irons are produced cheaply, and on account of their low price have a considerable in- fluence on the iron market of the United States; hence we have given a somewhat lengthy account of them. Trons from the Carbonaceous Ores of Ohio. —These ores occur in N. E. Kentucky and 8. E. Ohio, and from a village in the center of this region, where the ores were first used, they obtain the name of ‘‘ Hang- ing Rock ores.” They are also called lumestone ores, not because they contain limestone, but because they are found on a limestone bed rock. These ores produce an iron high in silicon, sometimes as high as 6 per cent., and in the market such irons take the name of ‘‘ softeners.” We have selected two samples of such irons, ‘* Wellston” and ‘‘ Globe.” The samples of Wellston irons are specially interesting. Specimens might have been forwarded of iron from other furnaces which would have been at least as representative of the dis- trict as Wellston irons. But this collec- tion is pretty complete, and was selected by the superintendent of the furnaces, ~ | THE IRON AGE. while the ore mixture remained the same. The specimens illustrate the grading and character of these pigs, and physical tests have been performed on these irons, which will be recorded in our next paper. Special interest is attached to Ohio sili- cious irons, because for the last 25 or 30 years this class of iron has, to a limited extent, served the purposes for which sili- con pig is now used in England. Now that the reason for such practice is better understood, the use of silicious iron is spreading in America, and as Ohio soften- ers are generally low in other impurities, | the silicon is thus obtained in such a form that it acts beneficially on the other irons in the foundry mixtures. Silicious irons are not used in all parts of the United States, as Eastern irons have generally enough silicon in them already. But in those localities where silicious pigs can be easily obtained, irons can also be easily and cheaply procured, either from the rich Lake Superior ores or from the South, which have hitherto been rather too low in silicon for foundry purposes. With the newer furnaces we may expect the Southern trons to be more silicious. The fuel used for the production of much of this high silicon iron of Ohio and Kentucky is a mixture of two-thirds of raw and one-third coke. An analysis of the coal used at the Wellston fur- nace is as follows: Water, 11.26 percent. ; | volatile matter, 28.96; fixed carbon, 55.59; The grading is strictly in accordance with | phosphorus, 0.71; ash, 3.46. The lime- | stone used at the same furnace contained: Carbonate of lime, 93.03 per cent. ; silica, 1.51; sulphur, 0.02. The limestone ores, which are of the ‘‘ Hanging Rock” class, are used roasted; partial analyses of sam- ples are as follows: L “a. ty. VI. Silica... . -- 13.61 15.40 26.22 17.90 25.39 25,89 Alumina.. . 3.00 0.68 ; 5.16 Lime...... 2.90 .... 5.24 ne « eiate Sulphur .. ..... OS .... O88 ... GH Ole Phosphorus..... --- 0.36 0.18 0.29 0.17 0.488 Metallic [ron.... 39.02 27.00 42.93 49.76 41.62 Some old analyses, from another furnace | using a mixture of the identical ores men- tioned above, may serve to illustrate the | grading and characters of these irons: Al Strong. Gray Foundry mill. Graphitic carbon..... 2.576 ‘ Combined carbon... xe = itl ee 6 671 2.589 Re trace 0 Ovi Phosphorus.......... 0.508 0,798 Weak Hard No. 4 mill silvery. white. Graphitic carbon. . 2.59 me - Combined carbon ... 0.16 es 1.822 Silicon.... 3 924 5.063 6.455 ae 0.C83 0.048 0.083 Pbosphorus .. O87 0.755 0.643 Manganese not estimated, but probably under 05 per cent. The physical tests of Wellston irons are very interesting, and it is intended to perform analyses of these samples when opportunity offers. The grade of these silicious irons can of course be varied at will by alterations in the quantity of lime- | stone, and of the heat of the furnace. Globe iron is from the same district. The sample exhibited is a No. 1 pig, and has the following composition : \ ESE ene . 3.154 CE <I ce evieicsencics: .s censuses 2 852 DEMIS oo ck) coco pasion 0.302 Silicon nate iuebewkSGe: ebhe che bane sansa OT See .. 1.100 PT.) inadunnesens cheese thee sk eee . 0.02 PED. cvosetuinp. duceneneske — wbe voune 1.00 A pig from the same stock pile was also tested physically, and the results will be given in the second part of this pat Trons made from the Ores of Lake Supe- rior.—In concluding this very incomplete account of the eon irons of the United States, we take samples made from the great ore deposits of Lake Superior. Among the specimens exhibited is a col- lection of the grades of iron made at the Spearman furnace, situated in Western Pennsylvania, near to the well-known Connellsville coke district. The ore used is purchased, and is not confined to a definite mixture, but consists chiefly of hard and soft Lake Superior ore. Many furnaces in this district use some 25 per cent. of Lake Champlain ore to give a more neutral mixture. The specimens shown may be considered to fairly repre- sent the product from the large number of furnaces which are situated near the coke, and which purchase their ore; this is ob- tained either wholly or in large proportion, as the case may be, from the deposits of _ Lake Superior. There is also a very interesting collec- tion of examples of iron made from Lake Superior ores, and smelted with charcoal, at the Gaylord furnace, Detroit, Mich. Several of these specimens have been analyzed by Mr. Fleming, and his results are as follows: Silicon. Phosohorus: Gaylord No. 2 Foundry. 1.570 0.240 Gaylora No. 3 Foundry. 0.800 0.144 Gaylord white ‘ 0.186 0.263 Sulphur. Manganese. Iron’ Gaylord No. 2 Foun- dry .... a. 0.041 94.283 Gaylord No. 3 Foun- wok .<) waste 0.036 a 04.688 Gaylord white.. .. 0.092 It will be seen that these irons are of exceptional purity, and may be considered above the average for foundry purposes. They are chiefly used for special purposes, such as the manufacture of car wheels. At a future time we may be able to publish details of physical tests of these specimens. EEE The coke market has gone to pieces, and last week witnessed a further decline in prices of fully thirty-five cents per ton, or below the dollar line. On Tuesday, the 27th ult., a meeting of the operators was held in the office of the old syndicate in the Lewis Block, Pittsburgh, which was largely attended, all the operators in the region being present with the exception |of H. C. Frick, the president of the H. C. Frick Coke Company, and two or three of the smaller operators. During the early part of the meeting several plans for the | restriction of production and the advanc- ing of prices to $1.50 per ton were dis- |cussed at length, but without any action |being taken. The members of the Pro- | ducers’ Association were also out in force, and as soon as possible they presented a claim to the members of the old syndicate for $25,000 for damagesin discrimination in car supply, and also stated that unless the claim was paid that they would withdraw from the meeting and would not be bound | by any action that might be taken. This claim was discussed at length, with the result that its payment was refused and the meeting at once adjourned, and from present indications it will be some time before the operators come together again. All hopes of forming a syndicate have been | abandoned and a most bitter warfare has been commenced which may prove disas- trous to many engaged in it. It is a well- known fact that coke cannot be produced and sold at a profit of $1 per ton, and un- | less some plan is adopted at an early day | to better the situation the smaller opera- | tors will be compelled to retire from the | market and close down their ovens, while i 'the larger operators, one or two of whom have contracts on hand for $1.35 coke, will continue to run in order to fill their | contracts, and also to hold their trade, | even should they be compelled to sell their product at cost or even less. A reduction | of wages will also be demanded at once, | as the present rates of wages are based on | $1.50 coke, and of course will not be paid | when the price is fully 50 cents per ton | under this figure. The situation is indeed |a gloomy one, and from present appear- ances an improvement cannot be looked for, while every indication points to a | worse state of affairs than exists at pres- ent. April 5, 1888. Six-foot Planing Machine. The Betts Machine Company, of Wil- mington, Del., is building an improved form of 6-foot planer, shown on this page. The machine was designed for strength and rigidity, convenience and rapidity in manipulation, and accuracy in the work performed. It is powerfully geared, hav- ing a belt speed of 124 feet to 1 foot of table. The driving shafts are of unusual strength, the gearing is all cut and the} pinions are of wrought iron. To prevent the wear and tear on belts, and to do away with the usual squeaking noise, the shifters are made to throw one belt ahead of the other. The arrangement of shifter | leavers is such that the workman has complete control of the machine from either side. There are fecd motions on both sides of the machine, giving inde- pendent feeds to the saddles and side THE IRON AGE. connected with it) by means of electric switches which throw the carrier off the main line and automatically closes the switch. It is also stated that a complete working plant is now being erected in Wall street in order to exhibit the practicability and usefulness of the project. A Photography and Forgeries. Dr. Jeserich, of Berlin, has enlisted the services of photography in an important field. He employs it in the discovery of forgeries in documents. Recently he pho- tographed an entry in a ledger handed to | him by the public prosecutor as suspicious. | As the event proved, the forgeries had | been made with a bluish ink, which ap- | peared very indistinct in the photograph | taken, while the original entries, which had been written with a black ink, came out sharply defined. Subsequent chemical ex- smn SIX-FOOT heads. The cross-rail is designed for the heaviest class of work, and can be raised and lowered by power. By a device for disengaging the up and down slides in the ‘saddle, either or both of the slides can be used at pleasure. The machine has four tools, two on the cross-rail and one on each upright. It can be arranged with one or more tools, de- vending on the class of work for which it is intended. I It is thought that Wall street affords an excellent field for the employment of pneu- matic tubes by which the conveyance of messages and securities could be conducted more rapidly and satisfactorily, and it is stated that a number of gentlemen con- nected with the New York Stock Exchange have formed an organization for the pur- pose. The system under which it is pro-| posed to work is known as the Clay Electric Pneumatic Tube, the principal feature of which it is claimed is the ability PLANER, BUILT BY to send carriers through the tube to differ- ent destinations (which will be the offices | TY? THE BETTS MACHINE amination of the portions of the writing | which the preliminary photographic test had disclosed to have been forged fully confirmed the discovery made. In a sec- ond case, it was necessary to establish certain forgeries in a check. Photographic aid disclosed the fact that the month of Mai (German for May) had been changed to ‘‘ April” by converting the second down stroke of the capital letter M into a p, transforming the letter a into anv, and adding an /. The great value of these photographic determinations consists in enabling the expert to supply direct proof in support of his opinion by submitting accurate reproductions, while chemical ex- amination furnishes merely more or less circumstantial evidence. Moreover, in employing photography the exact picture of the document forged is preserved, | while by chemical examination the object is sometimes completely destroyed. _— LL Mr. James Henderson reports that he has found, in his experiments at Birming- ham, Ala., in making steel on a fluorspar- COMPANY, ~y vu + dolomite basic bottom, that phosphorus is largely volatilized. In making about one ton of mild steel from two-thirds pig and one-third scrap, carrying from 0.60 to 0.64 of phosphorus, he added 250 pounds, of ore containing 45 per cent. of iron and 0.7 of phosphoric acid. The slag produced about 200 pounds—carried 8 per cent. of iron as peroxide, 29 per cent. of silica, 0.9 per cent. of sulphur, and 1 per cent. of phosphorus. The steel had only 0.075 of phosphorus. Thus, roughly, nearly 90 per cent. of phosphorus remains unaccounted for, which, Mr. Henderson holds, {must | have been volatilized. A correspondent of The English Mechanic gives the following recipe for a curious alloy: Put into a clean crucible an ounce of copper and an ounce of antimony; fuse them by a strong heat, and pour the alloy into a mold. The compound will be very WILMINGTON DEL. hard and of a beautiful violet hue. Thi alloy has not yet been applied to any usefu purposes; but its excellent qualities, inde pendent of its color, entitle it to consid eration. The prevalent idea that wheat growing has ceased to be profitable in California is combatted by the San Francisco Journal of Commerce, which says that, ‘‘ with proper care, the soil of California can be made to produce as largely as that of Great Britain. |The usual average of California, taking g ’ g£ good and bad years, is perhaps 16 bushels tothe acre. Great Britain produces almost double. Let California, with care, pro- duce like Great Britain, and on her 25,000,000 acres of wheat lands she can have 400,000,000 bushels over and above her present acreage. At 80 cents a bushe! this would amount to $320,000,000—three hundred and twenty million dollars o. profit over and above what could under the present system of cultivation be had. it is evident that wheat growing is to bea great feature in California agriculture in the future as well as in the past.” 558 THE JRON AGE. Api ¢, 1888, Unrestricted Reciprocity and Com- mercial Union. The Dominion is just now deeply agi- tated on the subject of commercial union with the United States. The question has become conspicuous as an outgrowth of the fisheries discussion and difficulties en- countered by the great grain-growing province of Manitoba in se eking a market | for her cereal products. So familiar have these topics become through protracted | discussion that the most ordinary mind in the Dominion rises to at least a partial comprehension of the issues involved, as affecting various material interests, such as manufactures, lumber, agricultural products, &c. Most potent of all influ- ences in bringing trade relations with the Union into prominence is the position taken by Sir Richard Cartwright, the hberal leader, who lately for several consecutive days has had the exc lusive attention of the Parliament at Ottawa, and whose volumi- nous exposition of the state of Canadian | trade and commerce has occupied columns | of the newspaper press. After endeavor- | ing to show by én array of statistics that the Dominion fails to retain more than a small proportion of the immigrants who | are assisted from Eurove for colonization purpose »s—that, indeed, 900,000 of the native popul ation are to-day inhabitants of the United States, exc lusive of immigrants, and that there has been a large reduction in the price of the land as well as its prod- ucts, also in the volume of trade—Sir Richard Cartwright sees no other remedy than unrestricted trade. He points to | ‘the great and growing character of the | American market, and the plain and ob- | vious fact that we in Canada, from our | geographical position, are to a. very| great extent shut in practically to two | Fig. 1.—Elevation. markets only, the markets of England | and her colonies and the markets of | the United States.” He believed that | ‘all manufacturers who deserve to flour- | ish‘ in Canada on account of pluck, and capital, and energy, will prosper likewise ! enormously if that great market be opened to them.” Against all such views the so- | called Tory party now in power are fiercely | opposed, and the explanation is found, if}. ; i aa no PTT Ha we may believe such organs as the Mon- Hh treal Herald, in the desire to realize the on — Le 1 Y T..) at) Gi) : ad wg ed if) ‘*fad of Imperial Federation.”” Those who 7 ao + t ! ; cry loudest for federation, we are assured. | i i} } } } 1 ) ¢ yan ew) A} ve are identical with those who declaim 4 a c Th et against unrestricted reciprocity. . pr gh eg tam i J + } ) Dp a ) eal Lea! Jbeowict Jaa! facth Among the most enthusiastic advocates L —= eh of ‘‘continental free trade” is Goldwin DDS J sb Jaw) | )e ) ™ ste ' sea] Lil Smith, president of the Commercial Union , ll? Club, of Toronto, who, ira recent commu- , wR Cal } fi) = (Cp ’ i ~ a ee nication, frankly avows his belief ‘‘ that the 7 a ee: Th . day will come when the English-speaking 7 WD J pa i i ‘yD * 7 a race upon this continent will be one people, 7 | The when the great Anglo-Saxon heritage will ; j) y ‘7 = CD o- JS if eS: be amicably divided between the European 5 ~ Hani and American branches of the race, and| ~~ se De. a ah ae OQ. O ) €O' Ca lone 1 Lt England, as the parent of all, will re- . th joice in the reunton.” He contends that pe eel ‘*the party in power at Ottawa is losing all the Provincial Legislatures and Govern- ments, which will soon be arrayed in solid phalanx against it,” but in a more recent interview ir. Smith was constrained to admit that the Tory Government of Can- ada is so strongly entrenched that the movement in favor of extend- ed trade relations is sure to be defeated. In any event, this movement in its origin is ‘* popu- lar and spontaneous ” and consti- tutes ‘‘a great and memorable step” toward the end in view, especially while its advocates as sume with confidence more will be heard | 7 b ; ; ‘ when the issue is submitted to the people Fig. 2.—Elevation with Mantle Partly Removed. in a general election. As ‘reciprocity ” necessarily implies VERTICAL TUBE BOILER, BUILT BY THE VERTICAL TUBE BOILER the existence of two parties in order to COMPANY NEW YORK. FLUE April 5, 1888. THE IRON AGE. 559 purpose in support of the measure, and in| 235 feet long, 52 feet beam, 25 feet the present temper of that body it would| molded depth and has two wheels, the be rash to predict a result different from | forward one weighing 17 tons and the 'one aft 6 tons, so she can go backward or forward. It is expected she will steam 15 miles per hour and draw 7 feet of water with ten loaded cars aboard. Her builders claim she can break through 4 feet of ice. There are 18 engines aboard, one for almost everything, and six engi- neers are numbered among the crew. She is owned by the Michigan Central, the Grand Rapids and Indiana, and the Mar- quette railroads, and cost $290,000. secure mutuality, it becomes interesting to anticipate the manner in which overtures from the Dominion may eventually be re- ee aR — Vertical Tube Boiler. As an example of recent development in tubular steam boiler construction, we take ' pleasure in submitting in this issue en- gravings of a vertical boiler built by the Vertical Tube Boiler Company, 2197 Third avenue. New York. The boiler is of the tubular class, and resembles in its general characteristics the so-called ‘*poreupine” boilers which were first given prominence a few years ago, and for which important advantages were claimed in point of evaporative powers and the utilization of waste heat. The engravings which we publish clearly explain the nature of the design und re- quire but little description. The boiler consists essentially of two connected shells with a water space, W (Fig. 3), between them, and provided with inwardly and outwardly projecting water tubes T and T’, as large a number as can consist- ently be used being employed. The tubes are expanded into the shells, the inner ones, T’, having solid ends and being of a somewhat smaller diameter than the outer ones, T, so as to admit of their being Fig. 3—Vertical Section readily introduced or removed through these should renewal become necessary. The outer tubes are for this purpose also provided at their outer extremities with screw caps which can be easily re- moved. There are no diaphragms or circulating plates in the tubes, the circulation, we are told, having been found in every way satisfactory and even more efficient without them, and no trouble from deposits being experienced. It is evident that the amount of heating sur- face which can be secured by the arrange- ment of tubes, as shown, is comparatively very large, a circumstance which explains, in a measure, the economy claimed. The shells are securely stayed and may ob- viously be made of any reasonable hight, according to the requirements for power for a given floor space. The furnace is located in the inner shell G, and the hot ascending gases thus first come in contact with the tubes T’ and then pass down into the space D between the outer shell and the jacket L (Fig. 2) on their way to the chimney flue, giving up the remainder of their heat tothe tubes T. The iron jacket L and top sections L’ (Fig. 1) are made up of flanged sections, as shown, bolted to- gether, and huld in place sections of asbes- tos, thus affording ample protection against loss of heat by radiation. Steam is taken off through the pipe 8 at the top, while the feed water is supplied through the pipe F. We need scarcely point out that in the design all the good features of the radial tube boilers have been retained and additional advantages secured. With regard to the evaporative power of Fig. 4.—Plan and Section. the boiler, a test made by the American Steam Boiler Insurance Company shows an VERTICAL TUBE BOILER, BUILT BY THE VERTICAL TUBE BOILER | ¢€Vaporation from and at 212° of 12.498 COMPANY. NEW YORK. eee per pound of coal. A oiler similar in design is built for marine purposes. The works of the company are ceived in the United States. A few days that which befell the reciprocal treaty | at Ravenswood, L. I. ago the House Committee on Foreign Re- with Mexico. en lations unanimously voted to report favor- | rr | <A-recent report of the Michigan Com- ably the Hitt resolution ‘to promote A powerful ice-breaker, called the St. | mission of Labor showed that the farms of commercial union with Canada,” but Con-| Ignace, has just been finished at Detroit | that State are mortgaged to the extent of gress thus far does not betray an earnest for use in the Straitsof Mackinac. She is | 29 per cent. of their value. 560 Emery-Wheel Surface Grinder. The accompanying cut represents an | emery-wheel grinder for surfacing work, especially adapted to pieces which can be held in the hand. In many cases they can be finished in less time than would be necessary to secure them to a face plate angle iron or to puttheminachuck. The engraving shows a slide rest set edgewise for using a diamond tool for trueing the wheel. It is easily removed when not in use and the cross bar to which it is attached is useful in steadying the work. The machine is 38 inches high. The base on the floor measures 30 x 26 inches, and the table is 30 inches square. The emery wheel is 20 inches diameter and 6} inches deep. It is mounted on a 24-inch steel | spindle secured to a gibbed carriage run-! Pa., were closed down for the usual annual | to | tion and the right of way from the State THE IRON AGE. the company to extend its system into; both sides continuing obstinate, a strike Texas and to operate in that State. It is expected to acquire an act of incorpora- authorities. The capital stock of the company is placed at $10,000,000, and the limit of land asked for the right of way and privileges is 1,000,000 acres. The name of the corporation is the Journado and El Paso Reservoirs and Canal Com- pany, and the general headquarters are to be located at Las Cruces, .N. M. $$ $——ar —— ___ Mr. Carnegie’s Proposition. In the month of December of last year the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, of Car- negie Bros. & Co., Limited, at Braddock, April 5, 1888. was declared, with the result that every department of these works, including the seven blast furnaces, has been idle for more than three months. Recently a committee of three, consisting of Joseph L. Evans, B. F. Stewart and John Flannery, was appointed by the work- men to visit New York City, and hold a consultation with Mr. Andrew Carnegie, and endeavor to settle the difti- culties existing between the workmen and the firm. Week before last this commit- tee saw Mr. Carnegie, and returned to Pittsburgh with the following proposition, which however was not made public till Thursday the 29th ult: MARCH 22, 1888. Messrs. Evans, Stewart and Flannery: GENTLEMEN—It has given me great pleasure meet and confer with you freely fader. My BMERY-WHEEL” SURFACE GRINDER, BUILT BY THE SPRINGFIELD GLUE AND EMERY WHEEL COMPANY, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. ning over dovetailed track and raised by a| repairs. These repairs were completed in screw as the wheel wears away. grinder is manufactured by the Springfield Glue ard Emery Wheel Company, of Springfield, Mass. a —— Irrigating canals representing heavy in- | vestments of capital are fast becoming an | important feature in the Western States | a Territories. The latest scheme is that | of Delegate Antonio Joseph, of New Mex- | ico, who has introduced into Congress a bill to incorporate a great irrigation com- | pany for the Rio Grande Valley, and to grant the right of way for the necessary ditches, laterals and reservoirs. The com- pany is composed of a number of the lead- ing capitalists of New Mexico. The gen-| eral course of the canal will be southward through the counties of Socorro, Sierra | and Lenoa, and on the eastern border of the Messilla Valley to the State line of) Texas; thence along the eastern border of | the Rio Grande Valley to a point near or | below the City of El Paso, Tex., to enable | | Furnace A to be gone over by Mr. Gayely and The | the following month, but in the meantime | the employees were notified that when the works resumed operations it would be at a reduction of wages. the following proposition which was sub- | mitted to the workmen by the firm on February 9 last: Common labor, 15 cents per hour. Blast-furnace labor, 8 per cent. reduction. committee, but is not included in the positive 8 per cent. reduction. All engineers and water-tenders, 8 per cent. It was set forth in| | only one is that every one of our men at the Edgar Thomson works was not present to hear | every word that was said and to see what you | have seen. At your request I summarize the important points : 1. You did not need further proof on my | part to satisfy you that Bessemer pig iron could be made in Chicago quite as cheaply as at our works, and hence that cost of rails there was ter than with us only by so much as our fuel was cheaper. This difference is no greater than $1 per ton of rails—not one-third the cost of freight on rails to Chicago. 2. I showed you that rail freight from Chicago to Southwestern points was from $1 to $2 less from Chicago than from Pittsburgh reduction, but in no case shall wages be re- duced below 1886 rates. Transportation department to be untouched. Steel department, 10 per cent. reduction. Or the whole question of wages for 1888 to be submitted to arbitration. The men agreed to submit the matter to arbitration, but stipulated that the scale adopted should only continue in force till July 1, 1888, while the firm insisted that it should continue in force till February 1, 1889. After several conferences were held in an endeavor to arrange the trouble, and —such points as Cairo, St. Louis, Kansas City, &c.—therefore that we find a hard task indeed to compete for Chicago, Northwestern or Southwestern business, 8. This being so, I think you agreed with me we could no — run our works steadily unless we were placed upon an equality with Western competition as to labor. 4. It follows that we must do as our com- petitors do—viz., run two turns where and when they do so. 5. I showed you a statement of all our contracts for rails this year and also of those of all the steel-rail mills in the country up to the 1st of this month, and I believed you agreed April 5, 1888. with me after seeimg this statement that we could not hope to run our works to their full capacity this year. 6. You ask me to state my views as or what | was best for our men and for us under present | conditions—for I believe what is really best for the one is best for the other—and I give you as | my reply a copy of an article published in the Forum in April, 1886, and asked you to read | yourselves and also to relate to all our men. wish our men and ourselves to become practi- | cally partners b ying them upon a monthly | slidine seale ieealel tamer price received for | rails during the month preceding. This price to be reported by an agent chosen by the men each month at our expense. All documents bearing upon the subject to be handed over for histhorough ne to our chief bookkeeper, | and also a member of the firm to swear to the! correctness of the statement. I was asked by | Mr. Stewart if the company was not paid for a | lot of rails, whether the price to be paid the | men would be