The Iron Age 1888-05-03: Vol 42

A New Automatic Engine. An automatic engine, built from entirely new designs, has just been brought out by | the Erie City Iron Works, of Erie, Pa. | to the area of the exhaust pipe. We take pleasure in presenting on this page FS TRON THURSDAY, May 3, 1888. stuffing boxes, also a part of the bed, and the piston valve and the piston in full. The steam ports are very short, and the passages for exhaust steam are fully equal The steam chest being in the middle portion, the and the two following a general view and | exhaust takes place at each end, making a details setting forth the essential features. | quick exit for the waste steam. In form the engine is somewhat similar to the well-known Porter type, and is so The steam | ports are covered by removable plates, al- | lowing easy access for inspection of ports, designed that the centers of all moving | without removing the valve or either front parts are as low down as it is possible to | or back steam chest covers. place them, thus bringing the center of gravity close to the foundation. This fact, when taken in connection with the balancing of the reciprocating parts, re- duces the chances for vibration to a mini- As the stutf- ling box for the valve stem needs to be | packed only for exhaust steam, very little friction is produced at this place. The drips from both ends of the cylinder and from the steam chest are connected into AGE valve seat is arranged so that when the valve is cutting off steam at about one- eighth stroke, it works over the seat at each stroke, there can be no possible chance for forming shoulders, in case the travel should be constant for some consider- able time, and then increased by a demand for increased power. The valve stem is supported at the front end by the stuffing box, and at the back end by the back steam-chest head, which has an outward extension for this purpose, as shown in the cut. This permits the weight of the valve to be raised from the valve seat, and re- duces the wear to a very small amount. The cylinder is jacketed with a non-con- ducting covering, which can be readily NEW AUTOMATIC EN( mum, and the engine will be very quiet | one pipe, which should be tapped into the | removed when running. The journals are well pro- portioned, and the two combined are equal in length to nearly five times the diameter of the shaft. Part of the bed forms a re- ceptacle for waste oil, which is connected to a drip pipe at the crank end, and a large part of this waste ofl can, therefore, be filtered and used again. value for the above purpose, this receptacle also adds greater strength, as it serves to tie the sides of the bed together. At the crank end, where the work is actually transferred, the bed is made very wide, securing a broad surface bearing upon the foundation, and yiving additional stabil- ity. The top slides are made sufticiently strong to permit the engine to run under, if desired, but all engines, unless otherwise desired, will be arranged to run over, In all cases, where it is possible, the engine should run over, as all strains are then transmitted to the lower slides and bed, and there will be less liability of the en- gine getting out of line. The cylinder and the steam chest are cast together, and we show in Fig. 2 a horizontal section through them and the General View sINE, BUILT BY THE ERIE CITY ;exhaust pipe. Indicator holes and plugs jare furnished with each cylinder, and the ,|cross-head is also tapped to receive the | proper connection for indicator motion | when required. The piston valve is of |simple construction, being formed of a thin ring of proper width, and made by a Besides being of | special method, so that when it is in posi- ltion in the steam chest it is an absolutely perfect fit. Being also a sprung ring, it takes up its own wear, and 1s at all times tight. The valve ring is perfectly bal- anced, as it is round, and live steam is admitted only between the two inside |shoulders of the valve, which, being of equal area, balance each other. The ring has a small hole drilled in the port side, permitting live steam to enter only when ithe valve is admitting steam to the cylin- der. This is to counteract the tendency lof the valve to close up when it is uncov- | ered by the steam port; live steam enters ithe small hole and acts on the inside }of the valve, pressing it outward, counteracting any outside pressure. As the port is an annular space around the valve opening in the cylinder, and as the IRON WORKS, ERIE, PA when necessary. The crank jshaft is forged solid in the bell part land then slotted, and the pin turned up out of the solid metal, insuring relia- ble work and overcoming the tions to a ‘* built-up” crank, or one which is welded throughout. The crank pin is equal in diameter to the shaft, and all square corners are avoided, fillets being used to form the shoulders. The counter- balances are large in diameter, and are rigidly fastened to the crank, being bab- | bitted on and further secured by bolts. They are turned aad finished when in posi- tion on thecrank. The bearings are well fin- ished and polished until absolutely smooth. The connecting rod is heavy, and forged of the best refined iron. The adjusting | keys are so arranged that the distance be- tween centers will be maintained at all times, and are secured by hardened steel set screws. The boxes are made of cast \iron, babbitted with the best anti-friction |metal, and are well scraped on the bearing surface of the pins. The cross head is of | cast iron, and the pin is turned by aspecial ‘machine, insuring accuracy. The wings are spot babbitted, and the bearnng sur- objec- ‘ 37 7) e - - ‘4 ? fi 5 720 faces large. The bottom slides are inde-| cranks are considerably out of the perpen- pendent of the bed, and can be adjusted | dicular. for wear. The slides are of the locomotive type. The piston has three sprung rings, fitted and turned to give the best results for wear and protection against leakage of steam. is shrunk on to the head and then riveted over. The two parts are then finished in a lathe, which assures perfect alignment. The connection between the cross-head and rod secured by a forged steel key, heavy and well fitted. The governor, of which view is given in Fig. 3, belongs to the general class of shaft governors, but constructed on a new plan, and differs in some important respects from those in com- mon use. It is independent of the driving pulley, and allows a change in the latter when required without affecting the gov- ernor. The main frame of the governor has a guide cast on the hub next to the eccentric to receive the corresponding slide is an enlarged is — ~~ ‘all i) . >] Ca Ka pi Sate et The piston rod is of steel, and | THE IRON AGE. This gives the weights a certain amount of leverage, the effect of which is proportioned to the gravity exerted by the eccentric, when in the vertical position, as shown, and exactly balances the eccentric and parts. The working of the governor is described as follows: When the engine is idle the weights and eccentric have such a position that, should the engine be turned over by hand, the valve would be at its greatest travel. As soon as steam is admitted and the engine begins to turn the weights |} attain increased centrifugal force until the speed is such as to cause enough force at the weights to overcome the resistance of the springs, when they fly out and alter the throw of the eccentric and thus cut eT SAAC . off the supply of steam to the amount re- quired to perform the exact work and maintain the same speed. When the engine is required to develop more power by increased load there is a slight retard- Dao hose > RR May 3, 18 ing: Revolutions per minute, 260; scale. 60; mean effective pressure, 44.8 indicated horse-power, 55.44. yx inds: - EE The Griffin Gas Engine A new form of gas engine has recent], been brought out in England under the abov: name. It is of the three-cycle type—that is, three double strokes of the pistonare neces sary tc draw in a charge, compress it, and effectively evacuate it. Inthe larger sizes the cylinder is double-acting, the charge being received in front as well as at the back of the piston, and as this arrangement per mits of the cycle going on at both ends of the cylinder simultaneously, the result is that there is an explosion at each revolu- tion and a half of the crankshaft. the smaller sizes two single-acting cylinders are | used side by side, the explosions in the | two being separated by an interval equa) In Fig. 2.—Longitudinal Section of Cylinder and Valve Chest. NEW AUTOMATIC which is cast on the latter. extended at the top, and forms an arm to receive the links connecting the bell-crank levers to the eccentric. The latter has a slotted hole, through which the passes and permits the eccentric to be moved across the shaft in a straight line, altering the travel of the valve to correspond with the work required of the engine with- out changing the lead. eccentric side, is also extended on the lower and forms a guide which passes through a movable plate on the governor frame, which has an extension to re- ceive the guide. This forms a secondary guide for directing the travel of the eccentric across the shaft. A compression spring is placed around this guide, and has for its lower seat the projection on the movable plate through which the guide passes. Its upper seat fixed, and is formed by a shoulder on the guide on the eccentric. The bell-crank lever weights are fulcrumed on the governor frame at two projections on the upper side, through which pass steel pins forming the fulcrums. One end of each bell-crank is connected by steel pins to the link attached to the upper end of the eccentric, the other end of each bell-crank forms the centrifugal weight. It will be noticed that the arms of the bell- is ENG This slide is; shaft | The slide on the ; INE, BUILT BY THE ERIE CITY ation in speed, which instantly decreases the centrifugal force and permits the spring to adjust the eccentric to the re- quired travel of the valve to develop the proper power and maintain the correct speed. When the load is diminished the action is the reverse. The speed of the engine may be altered somewhat from that for which it is set by compressing the spring by means of the movable plate if greater speed is required, and by reducing the compression by the same means if less speed is required. The limit of change in speed should not exceed 5 percent. When a greater change is required a new spring must be used, and, probably, a change of weights also. It is claimed that the engine will regu- late with about 2 per cent. variation be- tween full load and no load. Eight sizes are turned out, the cylinder dimensions ranging from 8x10 to 15x14, and the speeds from 300 to 250 revolutions per minute. The horse-powers range from 30 to 123. In Figs. 4 and 5 we present two diagrams taken from a 10 x 12 engine re- ceiving steam through a pipe 250 feet long. The data for Fig. 4 are: Revolutions per minute, 260; scale, 60; mean effective pressure, 25.1 pounds; indicated horse- | power, 31. IRON |speed is too high. WORKS, ERIE, PA. to one and a half revolutions of the shaft. In the smallest size of all there single-acting cylinder. In the 8 horse-power nominal engine, which has a cylinder 9 inches in diameter by 14-inch stroke, there are two admission valves, one for each end, at one side of the cylinder, and two exhaust valves at the other side. With each admission valve there is combined a special ignition appa ratus. The cycle of operation is as fol- lows: The burnt gases from the last explo- sion having been discharged, the piston, on going forward, draws in a scavenger charge of air, and on the return stroke the exhaust valve is opened, so that this charge may be swept out. The piston then goes forward again, and this time draws in combustible mixture, which on the second return stroke is compressed in the usual way. The ignition eccurs at the begin- is one ,ning of the third stroke of the cycle, and the burnt gases are expelled on the return of this stroke. The same series of events takes place at each end of the cylinder. |The governor acts, as in the Otto engine, by entirely cutting off the gas when the An explosion every cycle can, however, be obtained, as long | as the engine is developing more than half For Fig. 5 we find the follow-' its power, by throttling the gas between May 3, 1888. THE IRON AGE. the meter and the engine. Tests with an; with more economy. The Consul says 8 horse-power engine are said to have given | also: ‘* Most of the vessels now on the a gas consumption per indicated horse-| stocks are of large carrying capacity, An power, per hour, of about 19 cubic feet. important fact affecting the prospects of shipbuilding is that the number of vessels now lying idle, especially steamships, is Optical Telegraphy. very small. Between 30 and 40 vessels are now in course of construction on the ‘ _ | Tyne, the completion of which is being A Parisian firm, Messrs, Ducretet & Co., lenergetically pushed forward. A fact have recently brought out an improved | which favors shipbuilding is that for som apparatus for optical telegraphy. In this | time past the tonnage of the United King- the receiving telescope, the transmitter| gom and its colonies has been diminish- and the recording gear are all combined | ing. This decrease is said to be mostly in into one piece of apparatus, which is| gsijine vessels, Of steamships there is an mounted on a tripod like a theodolite. caoheonad proportion of large-sized vessels The transmitter consists in the first place | ¢5, the creat lines _passenger rather than of an oil lamp, placed so that its flame is | caroo-carrving vessels,” in the principal focus of a large lens,| > i through which the luminous rays pass to ——— the receiving station, and, secondly, of a! Wineral movable shutter, which can be moved in| front of the lens by a key, thus obscuring | the lamp for longer or shorter periods cor- a responding to the dash and dot of the The United States Consul at Buenos Morse alphabet. The recording gear con- Ayres gives an interesting account of sists of a Morse tape, which slowly unrolls, | Tierra del Fuego, derived from the reports A _ Resourees of Tierra del Fuego. Fig. 3.—Detail of Governor, was proved long ago, but so far the coal is chiefly surface coal, and 1s too young to be of first quality. There is better coal, but those at present engaged in the business of exploring do not know how and where to reach it. My last prospectings round Cape Forward gave unmistakable evi dence of the greatest abundance of miner- als, especially antimony, bismuth, copper, lead and silver. The people of Punta Arenas have sent several expeditions into the Cordilleras to look for gold. They were inexperienced in mining, and unprovided with the necessary tools for prospecting. They brought back with them many ap- parently worthless stones, which on in- spection I found to be rich in copper and gold, and very much like the specimens I found in two different veins, both contain- ing these minerals in paying quantities. I am sure that the veins from which the samples I saw in Punta Arenas come will stand comparison with some of the best copper and silver veins in Northern Chili. The proximity of water everywhere will be of great help for many purposes, by giv- ing access to all places and reducing the Fig. 4.—Diagram from 10 x 12 Engine.—I. H, P =31. Fig. 5.—Diagram from 10 x 12 Engine.—I. H. P. = 55.44. NEW AUTOMATIC ENGINE. BUILT BY THE ERIE CITY [IRON WORKS, ERIE, PA. passing in its course under a marking|of recent explorers, missionaries, &c., wheel of the usual type. The same key | which exhibits it in a very different light that manipulates the shutter is also ar- ranged so as to work this wheel at the same time, and a permanent record of the mes- sage sent is therefore automatically ob- tained. The apparatus is of a simple character, and all its arrangements being purely mechanical are not likely to get tirely barren. There is no country which has been so persistently maligned and mis- represented, and simply because those who visited its coasts never penetrated into its interior. The climate is somewhat rigor- ous in winter, but extremely healthy and out of order. The objection is sometimes | suitable for the cultivation of cereals. The made that optical telegraphy is unsuitable | country is capable of wonderful develop- for purposes of war, owing to the ease with | ment, and possesses all the elements neces which its signals can be read by an enemy, | sary for sustaining a large population, and but by sending messages of this character | the Argentine Government is making efforts in cypher this objection can be overcome, | for its colonization and development. The and for such messages the instrument recently appointed governor of Tierra del described seems peculiarly suitable. Fuego has arranged for athorough explora- ; | tion of the most available points for settle- ments, and will direct his attention not Consul Smith, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, | only to the mineral resources of the coun- has made a report to the Secretary of the | try, but to an examination of the pasture State in regard to shipbuilding in Great | lands, with a view to establishing cattle Britain, from which it appears that the|and sheep estancias there. Mr. Julius tonnage built during 1887 was 578,000, | Schultze, a mining engineer, who has just most of which was of craft for special | returned from an extensive mining survey trades. The tonnage was 105,000 greater | of the Chilian or western portion of Tierra than in the previous year. The Consul | del Fuego and the adjacent islands, says: says that the cheapness of thecost of con-|‘‘The lands lying along the western struction helped to increasethe demand | portion of the Straits of Magellan con- for vessels, and that the vessels now be-| stitute the great mining country of the ing built are of a better type, the material future, especially in the numerous coal de- being of amore enduring character, and) posits and mineral veins on this side of on a the engines being capable of working the Cordilleras. The existence of coal | to the long prevailing one, that it is en- | cost of transport on the machinery, ores, and supplies to a very low figure com- pared with such expenses in other min- ing countries. The great abundance of good timber close at hand, and the valu- able water powers which can be easily utilized cverywhere around these places, are matters of great consideration and im- portance for the mining industry. The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Company have made a contract with the Rapid Transit and Bridge Con- struction Company, of New York, to build their elevated railway on the South Side, and a certain portion of the bonds and stock of the company are to be offered to Chicago investors on the same terms on which New York takes them. It is de- clared to be the intention of the construc- tion company to build an elevated railroad in this city that will be superior to any- thing of the sort in the United States. A committee from the Real Estate Board of Chicago are now at work making valua- tions of property along the line. This, it will be remembered, is the alley scheme. A dam of solid masonry 90 feet high, built to form a water reservoir for the sup- ply of San Diego, has just been com- pleted at a cost of $800,000. ft eS aerew, 4 ae oe I “—-, . ss LS A > ee ent aKa «FO +> one Be te ES “WSS é ae ‘ ane piers ; ae -~ wee re x ote > ese <a =e ’ s Bt Se ele ha A Ret eet ete Oe The Conley Process. There has just been completed a plant at Brewsters, near this city, for the manu- facture of iron by the Conley process. This plant, built by the Ramill Carbureted Ore Company, who have acquired the right to use the process under a royalty, was started this week, the iron work hav- ing been made by the Delamater Iron Company. Reserving for the near future a more detailed description of the methods and machimery, we may state broadly the objects of the Conley Iron Company and of William Bell & Co., of this city, who control the patent, and who give the fol- lowing summary of its features: The first steptaken is to free the ore from the impurities of the gangue to within one per cent. (1%) of clean oxide of iron, to accomplish which it is necessary to crush and granulate it to the size of the natural crystal—say, in most cases, about atwenty mesh. At this fineness, by the machine used, it is claimed that the silica, titanium or other gangue and impurities that are mechanically held are separated so as to leave the iron ore within 1 per cent. of clean material. The second step is then to relieve the cleaned ore of the chemical impurities of sulphur, phosphorus, &c., and, at the same time, drive off the oxygen. This is done by placing the cleaned granular ore with what is chemically required to free the impurities so held with the equivalent amount of carbon to take out the desired amount of the oxygen in closed retorts of a peculiar construction. In them the ore and carbon are kept continually stirred in close contact, while being heated exter- nally to a moderate degree so as not to| allow it to cake or matt. This, it is claimed, takes but a reasonably short time. The third stép is to put the chemically purified and partially deoxidized ore in a shape that will prevent it from absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere—that will | enable it to be conveniently transported, | and will make it suitable for immediate conversion in any good furnace or crucible, into iron or steel. This is to be accom- plished by transferring the partially de- oxidized ore into closed iron cases, in which, excluded from the atmosphere, it is allowed to cool down to a moderate temperature. Then it is run out and thoroughly mixed with a fixed percentage of melted pitch, or other suitable carbon —not enough to melt when again heated, but enough to coke when put in the fur- nace or crucible, to equalize the balance of the oxygen left in. Then it is molded into bricks, blocks or lumps, ready for trans- portation, being then in a condition that it will not reoxidize in any atmosphere, and when put in the furnace or crucible will retain its shape until the heat is suffi- cient to melt down the particles of iron. It is claimed that by this mode of prepa- ration iron or steel, as desired, can be made more rapidly, cheaper and of better quality than by the older modes. It is urged that by the use of the Conley product of purified deoxidized carbureted iron, having a known and fixed small quantity of oxygen left in and combined with it its exact equivalent of carbon, a pure soft iron can be produced, which, with the proper admixture in its melting, can be made into any quality of steel that may be required. It is furthermore in- sisted by those interested in the process that another factor in the Conley mode of treatment is that, by starting and using exact proportions, the same results of product will continuously follow. A The discussion of the Mills tariff bill brings out some cumous instances of ignorance. Hon. Frank T. Shaw, of Maryland, put himself on record as follows |in speaking of iron ore: THE IRON AGE. ‘*While the United States produced in 1886 28 per cent. of the world’s production of pig iron and 34 per cent. of the world’s production of steel, it was found necessary to draw on foreign countries for more than 1,000,000 tons of ore. This importation cannot be accounted for on the supposition that more ore was required than was mined in this country, but was due to the fact that American ores are too rich in phos;horus for Bessemer steel making, and in order to work American ores for this purpose they must be mixed with one-third such carbon- aceous iron ore as we import. Here is a reason and argument for putting carbon- aceous iron ore on the free list as a means of increasing the consumption of American ore. Instead of being competitors in the same market the American and certain of the foreign ores are of mutual aid and assistance, and together are necessary for the fullest development of the American | iron-ore business,” LTT The Maxim Gun. A portion of the official report of the Austrian War Office on the trial of the Maxim gun has been issued. From this} it would appear that the preliminary trials of last July established the superiority of the Maxim system over all others, both as regards rapidity of fire and ease of manip- ulation, and thereupon the Austrian Gov- ernment ordered exhaustive experiments to | be made, which included tests for range and accuracy at distances from 200 meters 'to 1575 meters, and tests for strength and durability. The results showed that the accuracy of the Maxim is superior either |to the two-barrel Gardiner or the five- barrel Nordenfeldt. For testing durability, series of 334 rounds, fired consecutively, were almost exclusively used, and an aver- age speed of ten rounds per second was ob- tained, not only with the greatest elevation and greatest depression, but also when |traversing the gun laterally through the greatest angle that the mounting would allow. In all 13,504 rounds were fired, and the report states that, on the whole, the gun behaved extremely well, the load- ing and firing mechanism operated fault- lessly, and, if certain reserve parts are supplied, and the buffer-spring made stronger, the durability of the weapon would be guaranteed under all circum- stances. After 6356 rounds had been fired the weapon was tried for accuracy, at a target 2 meters by 3.6 meters, at 600 meters range, and an excellent diagram obtained. The 11-millimeter rifle cart- ridge (model of 1877) was used, and trials of the barrel with English ‘‘ Henry” rifling did not show any advantage over that of the Werndl barrel. The report is signed by Col. H. Huffzky. — Messrs. Thomas Firth & Sons, Sheffield, state that the lot of 300 6-inch projec- tiles, which were tried at Shoeburyness on the 15th of March, were the first of this class of projectiles that have been made in England and presented to the Government for reception tests. The-unusual interest attaching to the results is owing to the opinion which has been so frequently ex- pressed that these projectiles could only be made satisfactorily by French manu- facturers—Messrs. Holtzer, St. Chamont, and the Firminy Company. It has been alleged, both in England and in France, that the process of the Firminy Company was defective, and that the shells they had presented had all been rejected. Messrs. Firth & Sons state that, as a mat- ter of fact, 200 12-inch and 200 9.2-inch shells of the Firminy type were supplied by them, although made in France, to the English Government during the early part | of the present year, and were tested with most satisfactory results. The 300 6-inch M ry 3, 1888, shells were also manufactured under th, process communicated to Messrs. Firth by the Firminy Company. Two projectiles selected from the lot of 300 by the Wool- wich officials passed entirely. through 9-inch compound ‘* Brown * plate, practi cally without any alteration in form, th second one being so little damaged that it could have been fired again. On March 29th a trial of 300 8-inch projectiles, also of the Firminy type, manufactured by Messrs. Firth, was equally satisfactory, thi two projectiles selected passing entirely through a 12-inch compound ‘ Brown” plate without breaking up or altering ma a terially in form. Messrs. Firth claim to be the only firm who have succeeded in passing two distinct lots of projectiles during the financial year which has just expired. The Engineer states that the Sheffield made projectiles are cheaper in price than those supplied from abroad, and it is satisfactory to know that the Govern ment are no longer dependent upon foreign makers for supplies. Three English firms have received orders for these armor-pierc- ing projectiles—viz., Messrs. Thomas Firth & Sons, Sheffield; Messrs. Whitworth, Leeds, and the Hadfield Steel Foundry Company, Sheffield. Three French firms have also orders for our Government—virz., the Holtzer Company, the Firminy Com- pany, and the makers at St. Chamont. A satisfactory tnal has already been made of the Hadfield steel shell, and that they are now making ready for deliveries. SS City Garbage. Some time since a number of inquiries reached us in regard to the accuracy of an item printed in The Iron Age, in which was contained the statement that New York City draws an income of $18,200 per annum for the utilization of city garbage. In reply to an inquiry on the subject, Mr. Jacob Seabold, Deputy Commissioner of Street Cleaning, has favored us with the following information : Mr. Chester M. Smith, of 127 and 129 Water street, New York City, pays this department the sum of $350 weekly for the privilege of ‘‘trimming” the city ash and garbage scows, and incidently thereto his ‘‘trimmers” glean bottles, bones, rags, &c., from the mass of ashes and garbage in a more or less imperfect manner; which articles are ian to be removed every 24 hours. The labor for trimming the scows is furnished by the contractor, Mr. Smith, which is a saving to the Department of at least $300 per week. The present contracto:, who has only recently had this privilege, proposes to make innovations on the old hand methods, and with the aid of machinery to clean and wash in hot water and disin- fect the products, that the city’s health may be preserved. At foot of East Seven- teenth street he with a number of his as- sociates has been engaged for six years, and at a stated expenditure of upward of $100,000, in perfecting a ‘‘ Separator” and ‘* Crematory,” the former of which by in- genious machinery separates the mixed re- fuse into its component parts of clean ashes, useful for filling behind bulkheads, coal and cinders, tomato cans, bottles, bones, rags, &c., and garbage, which last composes about one-half of the mass, and is automatically conveyed to the ‘‘ Crema- tory” where it is destroyed by fire and the noxious gases consumed. The experi- ment, though yet in a tentative stage, has demonstrated the ability of the plant to separate 600 cubic yards of refuse in ten hours and cremate the garbage therefrom, }and it is believed that entire success, well merited, is close at hand. Within the present month an exhaustive 30 days’ working test is to be begun, the result of which will be awaited with interest by numerous municipalities. May 3, 1888. | Recent Customs Decisions. The following general decisions have been promulgated : CROP ENDS NOT SCRAP TRON. In connection with a reconsideration of a former decision that charcoal iron bar ends or crop ends, cut off Swedish var | iron in the process of the manufacture of | the bars, were dutiable at the rate pre- | scribed for scrap iron instead of at the rate prescribed for charcoal bar iron, or | other forms less finished than iron in bars | —namely, $22 per ton—the Secretary of | the Treasury says: Since then, at the re- | quest of parties interested in such import- ations, the matter has been reconsidered, and was submitted to the United States | Attorney-General for his opinion, and the Department is now in receipt of | a communication from that officer, from which it will be seen that he advises that the cutting off the ends of the bars, which is a process in the manufact-| Ash ure of the iron bars, is not an ‘*‘ actual use ” of the ends thus cut off, as contemplated by the provision, which prescribes that ‘*nothing shall be deemed scrap iron or scrap steel except waste or refuse iron or steel that has been in actual use, and is fit only to be remanufactured,” and that this view is not inconsistent with the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Schlesinger against Beard, inas- much as the cuttings and clippings which are the subject of that decision were waste, or pieces cut off rods and plates which were actually used for the making of boil- ers and the erection of bridges. The Department concurs in the views as expressed by the United States Attorney- General, and therefore decides that such pieces of charcoal iron in bars are dutiable at the rate of $22 per ton. NO DRAWBACK ON TIN PLATES IN HALVES. The Secretary of the Treasury, in reply as to whether tin plates 10 x 10 and 14 x 10, obtained by cutting in halves im- ported plates 10 x 20 and 14 x 20, are en- titled to drawback under Revised Statutes, says that the Department concurs in the opinion that such cutting does not consti- tute a conversion of the imported plates into manufactured articles within the con- templation of the statute, and that no drawback can therefore ve allowed on the exportation of such plates. TINNERS’ SHEARS CUTLERY. On an appeal from duty at the rate of 45 per cent. ad valorem on certain ‘*‘ forg- | ings of iron and steel” returned by the ap- praiser as manufactures of iron and steel, the Department says: The merchandise in question is claimed to be dutiable * * * as cutlery. It appears from the appraiser's report that said merchandise ae ‘* consists tinners’ shears, all of which are in a condition advanced beyond that | of ‘forgings.’” * * * If the aforesaid | tinners’ shears are finished and fit for use, | they are dutiable at 35 per cent. ad va-| lorem as cutlery; if otherwise, assessment | of duty thereon will stand affirmed. POLE CHAINS NOT HARNESS Appeal has been taken from = an assessment of duty at the rate of 35 per | cent. ad valorem, as harness hardware, on certain pole-chains claimed to be dutiable at the rate of 2} cents per pound, for | ‘* chains of all kinds, made of iron or steel.” | | HARDWARE. | THE IRON AGE. of all kinds are specially enumerated. Measures for refunding the excess of duty | were ordered. BITUMINOUS COAL, The Secretary of the Treasury has placed an important construction on the quantity of volatile combustible matter in bitumi- nous Coal, on an appeal from assessment on certain imported Welsh coal. The Secre tary says that upon an analysis of the sam- | ples submitted its composition was found as follows: —Brookside Anthracite. Per cent. Sample No. 1.- EE eo ie en a eas sa ibccdarana eh 0.47 Volatile combustible matter.......... 9.54 Fixed carbon Drie tcm elas: enc derdic a eae Relea aA eran riven tags) igh acceiotatoyl 6.67 Total.... 100.00 Sample No. 2.—Welsh Anthracite. a a is alate sata ae a 0.06 Volatile combustible matter...... , 9.81 Fixed carbon i ere ie i Bre 89.35 A EO ee ee 0.78 UU. ad ad cnet acea rs Mabe neee 100.00 The United States appraiser at New York, in a report relative to the proper classification of containing volatile combustible matter, states that bituminous coal does not necessarily contain bitumen ; |that the quantity of volatile combustible matter contained in true bituminous coal usually reaches or exceeds 20 per cent. Upon an examinatien of a sample of cer- tain coal classified as bituminous coal at the port of San Diego, Cal., the appraiser at New York found it to be unfit for the | purposes for which bituminous coal is used, notwithstanding the fact that it contained 14.60 per cent. of volatile combustible matter, and he expresses the opinion that such coal should be classified as an }anthracite coal. As the Departments 'decision of the 14th ultimo affirming | assessment of duty upon the coal covered | by the above specified appeal, was based on an opinion of the United States general ap- | praiser at Baltimore, which appears to | have been rendered after a superticial ex- | amination of the samples without analysis, | and as the above cited result of an analysis made at New York shows a percentage of | volatile combustible matter considerably | below the percentage suggested by the ap- | praiser at New York as the distinguishing |}mark of bituminous coal, the Department is now of the opinion that said appeal was coal well taken, the coal covered thereby being, | } as claimed by the appellants, an anthracite coal, and you are, therefore, authorized to reliquidate the entry, exempting said coal from duty, under the provisions of the free-list. DRAWBACK ON EMBOSSED TIN PLATE. The Treasury Department has decided that on the exportation of embossed tin plates, wholly manufactured from im- ported plain tin plates, a drawback will be allowed of the duty paid on a quantity ot the imported plates used in the manu- facture equal to the net weight of the ex- ported embossed plates less the legal re- tention of 10 per cent MANGAN METAL DUTIABLE AS UNWROUGHT. METAL The department decides adversely on an |appeal from an assessment of duty at 20 |per cent. ad valorem for ‘‘metal un- wrought” on certain mangan metal. The appellants claim that the importation con- The sample submitted showed that the | sists of manganiferous iron ore, and that articles were heavy iron chains about 4} | feet in length, with a snap at each end, which were used as pole-chains for ve- hicles, and the appraiser reported the appeal well taken. The provision for har- ness hardware, under which they were classified, is applicable only to articles of that character not specially enumerated or | stances. it is therefore dutiable at the rate of 75 cents per ton. From the results of analysis of the samples of the merchandise in ques- tion, it appears that it is not an ore but a metal, containing 90 per cent. of mangan- ese, nearly 5 per cent. of iron and |5 per cent. of undetermined sub- The appraisers at New | } | provided for, while iron or steel chains} and also at Philadelphia report that ferro- York | and man” ganese in various proportions, is identical, as to the uses for which it is with spiegeleisen, and they suggest that the metal represented by the samples may be recognized as a ferromanganese of high grade, and classified by assimilation. It however, that combinations of manganese and iron, known commerce as ferromanganese, which have heretofore classified at the above-named ports as spiegeleisen, contained about 45 per cent. of manganese, and were valued at about $45 per ton, while the ‘‘ mangan metal ’ under consideration consists almost entirely of the metal manganese, and is val- ued at $1500 per ton, so that its resemblance to ordinary ferromanganese or to spiegel- eisen is restricted to the use for which it is intended—viz.: the preparation of certain kinds of iron, whereas it widely differs from both in such essential particulars as value and proportion of the metal entering into its composition, and from spiegeleisen also in the absence of crystalline structure. In view of the facts, the Department the opinion that assimilation of said metal to spiegeleisen, which would result in sub- jecting it to a duty (,', per pound) bearing a less proportion to its value (545, per cent.) than the duty imposed by the tariff on any article of commerce, should not be resorted to, and ‘lassifica- tion is correct, said metal (manganese) not being wrought or specially provided for. manganese, consisting of iron mporte d, uppears, been is of cent that the BRASS PEDESTALS NOT FURNITURE. The appellant claims, inasmuch as brass pedestals are intended to be used as furni- ture in parlors, reception rooms, &c., they are dutiable at the rate of 35 per cent. for ‘“household furniture, finished.’ From the special report of the appraiser upon this appeal it appears that the articles in question are made wholly of metal (brass and spelter), and are destined for use as stands for statues, other ornamental objects which are not themselves classified as household furniture. In the department's decision of April 16, 1887 (Synopsis 8162), relative to certain house-furnishing articles made wholly or principally of metal, the opinion was expressed that such articles do not come under the provision in the wood schedule (D) for house furniture. As said pedestals, even if they could’ properly be designated by the general term *‘ furni- ture,” are neither wholly nor principally made of wood, they do not come under the provision, and, being wholly made of busts, vases, or metal, were correctly classitied ler the metal schedule. — EEE Mr. J. B. Mackintosh, analytical and consulting chemist, until recently con- nected with Lehigh University, has changed his address to Consolidated Gas Company, Twenty-first street and avenue A, New York City. Entrance examinations for the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology will be held at Boston on May 31 and June 1, at New York, Philadelphia and Montreal on May 30, and at Chicago, St. Louis, Cin- cinnati, San Francisco, Washington. Nash- r ville, St. Paul, Pittsburgh and Santa Fé. The British Chamber of Shipping, in a tabular statement of its annual report, states that in 1886 there were 34 steel steamers commenced to over 2500 tons each. In 1877 were 72 of and over that size commenced, including 13 steamers of 4000 tons and more that were on the stocks. be built of (gross) there The electric lighting of the Opéra Co- mique, at Paris, which was inaugurated on the 15th of last month, is effected by 503 incandescent lamps. The work has been carried out by the Edison Company. eke s wmvaors * . 2 : - fF “9g ritay et Pe ot “O4 is The Ridgway Balanced Crane. Messrs. Craig Ridgway & Son, of Coatesville, Pa., have recently applied their principle of crane construction in a new form, illustrations of which we give | on this and on the opposite page. As will be plainly seen the jib is suspended at each end by two heavy chains. The two outer ones pass over wheels in the end of the brace and thence over wheels in the post, and are attached to the upper end of a cylinder. The two inner chains pass over wheels on the post, and are also at- tached to upper end of the same cylinder. The latter moves up or down as desired, BALANCED CRANE, while the piston and rod are stationary. | The lower end of the piston-rod is rigidly | secured to a horn of the bottom or foot | casting of the crane. Both the piston-rod | and this horn arehollow. From the latter | a pipe leads through a suitable packing | box in the post, down through the gudgeon and out through the foundation plate to a suitable valve. A pipe connects the valve to steam boilers or any other source of pressure, The manner of working will be readily understood. A load being attached to the trolley the valve is opened to give com- munication with the boiler. Steam passes in through the bottom gudgeon, and thence through the hollow piston-rod into the cylinder under the piston. The cylin- der is at once forced down the rod and lraws the jib and its load up, and the crane is swung and trolley and load trav- ersed to any desired point. To lower fora BUIL THE IRON AGE. {atmosphere the jib descends. The jib is hollow and it can be loaded with just weight enough to carry it down easily when empty. It is at once evident that the jib will always hang level, and no matter where the load may be upon it the re- sultant of all strains falls through the axis of the cylinder, and it always hangs | perfectly plumb and no guides are needed. | The litt of the crane may be easily in-| creased by an arrangement of idler pul- leys, multiplying the stroke of the cylin- der. The crane works very easily and rapidly, and can be set in almost any situ- ation. The chains are made unusually strong, and, as the engravings show, two Fig. 1.—General View. T BY MESSRS, CRAIG RIDGWAY & are used at each end. as a matter of safety. While the Ridgway crane is known as a steam crane, it is for many purposes easily converted into an hydraulic crane, the only | difference being that the hydraulic cranes | ordinarily employed use water at from 300 | to 800 pounds pressure, while the Ridg- | way cranes use it at from 40 to 100 pounds pressure. To obtain the same capacity in | the Ridgway crane with the lower pressures | it is only necessary to increase the diame- ter of the cylinder, and as the latter also plays the part of a counterbalance this is rather an advantage than otherwise. Be- sides, the cylinder does not have to be so much larger, as at first sight might be sup- posed, for in hydraulic cranes ga the usual type the dead weight to be Mfted often exceeds the weight to be handled, while | the Ridgway being balanced the pressure | has nothing to lift but the weight. The This is done entirely May 3, 1888, partial section of the crane as adapted to hydraulic working. In the ground at any point in the vicinity of the crane is inserted a secondary cylinder of a capacity slightly in excess of the lifting cylinder, From the bottom of this ground cylinder a pipe of large area leads up through the founda- tion plate and gudgeon to the hollow piston-rod and thence to the lifting cylin- der, On top of the ground cylinder is a suitable valve from which a pipe leads to any steam or compressed air reservoir. To operate the crane the ground cylinder is filled with water, steam being admitted upon the top of this water, it is forced into the lifting cylinder and the latter is forced SON, COATESVILLE, PA. down the rod and the jib and its load is raised. To lower, the valve is thrown to exhaust, the steam escapes and the water flows back to ground cylinder by gravity, allowing the jib to descend. The same water is used over and over again. In the works of A. & P. Roberts, at Philadelphia, compressed air is used, and instead of water the ground cylinder is filled with coal oil. The Journal of the British Society of Chemical Industry, in a recent issue, re- marks that brittleness after corrosion is exhibited by all kinds of iron and steel, and is more marked if a plate of amalga- mated zine be connected with the iron, so as to form a couple in the solution. It sannot be ascribed to accidental flaws in the metal employed. If two iron wires are made electrodes in a bath of sulphuric acid, the anode will be much attacked, but new load the handle of the valve is thrown | Ridgway is, therefore, easy upon founda- | will be scarcely affected in regard to brit- exhaust, and the steam escaping to the'tions and supports. Fig. 2 represents a tleness, while the cathode will become May 3, 1888. bright on its surface, but will be extremely brittle. Hughes and Robert ascribe this effect to the occlusion of hydrogen by the iron. After along series of researches it has been found that the character of iron and steel is always altered if exposed to influences which occasion an evolution of hydrogen upon the surface, and that con- tact of the iron with zinc intensifies this effect, so that a shorter time is necessary to produce it. The resistance to flexure, as well as the transverse strength, is always diminished, as is the extensibility under tension, while the modulus of rupture is practically unaltered, unless in some cases by the excessive corrosion itself. Heating the metal suffices to remove the brittleness, and placing it in a dry place for some time may have a similar effect, but mechanical working in the cold 1s without effect in this direction. Cast iron is not influenced, or is less so than wrought iron, by super- THE IRON AGE. Experiments with Four and Bladed Screw Propellers. rm Or isd Two From the curves of revolutions and i.h.p. the following table was composed showing the i.h.p. by regular intervals, wanted for a certain number of revolutions with the In a paper presented by Mr. J. B. An- four-bladed and the two-bladed screw of dreoe, at the recent meeting of the British the Ceram: Institute of Naval Architects, some inter- 1. Revolutioas, x0 99 100 108 1.6 123 128 esting results were given of three series of 2 Indicared horse power experiments which were made last vear on the Ceram and Flores, two vessels built for the Dutch Indian Navy. with a four-bladed screw of 9 feet diame- ter, 13 feet pitch, and 30 square feet blade surface: the second with the same screw, f -ur-bladed propelle~..200 300 400 550 600 700 800 The first was 4. Difference b-tween two 3. Indicat horse-p wer tvo-b aded prop-ller..140 210 300 375 465 545 625 an1 three , 60 90 100 125 135 155 175 5. Difference iu percent age of two DDS 3H 2 BSR From the curves of speed and indicated but with the two opposite blades removed; horse-power the following table has been the third with a two-bladed propeller of deduced, showing the indicated horse- the same diameter, but 11 feet 8 inches pitch, and 17 square feet surface. The vessels each measure 152 feet in length, 25 \ feet 7 inches in width and 15 feet 5 inches in depth. The displacement is 566 tons, the immersed midship area is 189 square BALANCED CRANE, Fig. 2 .—Elevation and Section. BUILT BY MESSRS. CRAIG RIDGWAY & SON, COATESVILLE, PA. ficial hydrogen development. Four sam- ples of corroded iron, heated carefully in pure dry nitrogen, gave off 0.0021 to 0.0052 per cent. of hydrogen respectively —numbers which, it is thought, cannot represent quite the whole of the hydrogen | actually presenc I Recent incorporations in the State of Illinois include the following: Mendota Mfg. Company, Mendota; capital, $10,000; for the manufacture of agricultural ma- chinery; incorporators, E. B. Carpenter, Philo Castle, G. H. Madden, O. D. F. Conkey and R. A. Prescott. The Louis Radig Company, Chicago; capital, $50,- 000; to import and manufacture enameled kitchen utensils; incorporators, Louis Radig, Max Koellig and Marcus Hitch. Smith-Hill Foundry and Machine Com- pany, Quincy; capital, $75,000; for the manufacture of engines, boilers, pumps, elevators, &c.; incorporetors, Smith, Thomas Hill and Pliney B. Williams. feet, and the wetted surface of the cop- pered skin 4875 square feet. }are triple compound, with cylinders, in Ceylon | |in both being 2 double-ended, work at 120 pounds press- | ure, have 65 square feet grate, and 2000 | the Ceram, of 20 inches, 29 inches and 46 inches, and in the Flores of 20 inches, 28 inches and 46 inches diameter, the stroke 7 inches. The boilers are square feet heati