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By L. C. Uren

Field studies and laboratory research have established the fact that the expulsive force which drives petroleum into wells, from the reservoir sands in which it is stored by nature, is primarly an expression of the energy latent within compressed natural gas dissolved or occluded in, or otherwise associated with the oil. Each barrel of oil produced is forced into the recovery well by the expansive energy of a certain volume of compressed gas, originally stored with the oil in the pores of the reservoir rock; and each cubic foot of gas so produced with the oil and expanded to atmospheric pressure reduces by so much the total natural energy available for oil expulsion. This relationship between the volumes of gas and oil produced has seemed so important that petroleum production technolo-gists have come to regard the "gas-oil ratio," or the "gas factor" as it has been more conveniently termed, as a measure of oil-production efficiency. Different methods of oil recovery and production devices are now Com pared on this basis and estimates of ultimate recovery obtainable through their use are considered by many to be inversely proportional to the values of their respective gas factors. The writer has been among those who have given support to a widcspread movement toward a proper recognition of the significance of the gas factor as a guide in the control of producing oil wells, and does not wish to oppose its more extended application. It seems necessary, how-cvcr, in view of the almost elemental faith with which the principle of the gas factor has been received in many quarters, to point out that it is a most complex factor, and one which cannot be regarded as an absolute index of production efficiency without due regard to other contributing factors by which it is influenced to an important degree. Variables Influencing Gas Factor The mere recording of a low gas factor, obtained through the use of some method or device, does not necessarily imply efficient oil production; and conversely, a high gas factor does not always signify inefficient recov-

Jan 1, 1928

By Fuller, T. S.

THE number of rare or uncommon elements in use in the electrical industry nowadays is large, their application having come about through investigational work in industrial search laboratories and ' educational institutions. Such elements, together with those whose properties are more generally known, constitute Nature's gift to mankind and make possible the intricate devices which further our modern civilization. The' quality of raiaity is one of degree, and obviously depends largely on one's point of view. From the standpoint of quantity measured in the customary units of weight and volume, the amounts of many of the elements required are extremely small, but from the of view of performing some particular function or .other in a manner more satisfactory or cheaply than can be accomplished by any other sub- stance, the use in question may be extremely important.

Jan 1, 1928

By T. B. Counselman

WHEN one thinks of Minnesota iron ore, one thinks of big open pits, where high- grade ore is simply scooped up with a power shovel, loaded into cars, and hauled away for shipment to the blast furnace. On the western end of the Mesabi range, however, are large tonnages of iron ore which contain too much silica to be used directly in the blast furnace, and these ores must first be concentrated to a purer form. The Mesabi range is about 100 miles long and a maximum of 3 miles wide. The iron formation, which in its unaltered form is called taconite: consists of a banded iron- bearing chert. Where the high-grade ore bodies occur, these have resulted from folding and cracking with sub- sequent leaching out of the silica, leaving the iron oxide behind. The big open pits and the underground mines are situated in these concentrations.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. H. Green

Recently two papers on the structure of eutectics were read before thc British Institute of Metals, one by F. L. Bradyl and the other by A. Portevin. 2 In the preparation of photomicrographs of laboratory specimens as illustrations for student work, and in connection with various researches, the writer has been working along the same line for some time and, therefore, was much interested in the results given, especially those of Portevin. He has correlated the information on the subject and has outlined a broad scientific basis for future work along this line. It is largely with the idea of adding something by way of illustration to the work already done that this paper is written. The eutectic is generally understood to mean the alloy having the lowest melting point of any alloy of the system, and in which the melt becomes supersaturated with reference to the two or more phases which separate out simultaneously or alternately. From the surface pattern, the eutectic means a structure with no primary crystals. It is not always easy to get the exact eutectic composition in making any alloy; in fact, a slight range in composition may be expected and some of the coarser particles may be richer in either of the composing metals. Even when chemical analysis shows the right composition, differences in density of the pure metals may cause segregation, or supercooling resulting from different crystallizing properties may give a surface pattern the appearance of being on one side of the eutectic point. However, the alloys on either side of the eutectic composition, showing primary crystals of one of the phases and the effect of the proeutectic form on the surface pattern of the eutectic make a very interesting study, which is slightly touched upon in this paper. The phases, or microconstituents, of a eutectic may be pure metals (Pb-Sb, Tl-Au), solid solutions (Cd-Zn), a pure metal and a solid solution (Ag-Sn), or a pure metal or solid solution with an intermetallic compound (Sb-Mg, Sb-Cu, As-Cu, Bi-Te, etc.).

Jan 1, 1925

E. C. Pechin, Buchanan, Va.: I am sorry to see the table appended to Mr. Chase's excellent paper. In the discussion at the same meeting, on "Notes on a Southern Coal-Washing Plant," Prof. Phillips very properly says: " There is no use in giving an analysis as representing a coal when it does not do so. It gives a wrong impression of the conditions under which business is conducted." The same may be said about ores. I have no personal knowledge of the ores in many of the localities given in Mr. Chase's table; but if these are to be judged by what is positively known of the Cranberry ores, the analyses are grossly misleading. The furnace-shipments from Cranberry have rarely reached 44 per cent. of iron, and any such percentage as 58 or 66 or 68 can only have come from hand-picked specimens. Indeed, with any such percentages, Mr. Chase's paper would have been superfluous, because concentration would be unnecessary. Besides, the paper itself (page 553) gives the fact that the Cranberry average is 42 to 43 per cent. Why should a table be appended, contradicting this statement of the text ? Let us always have the exact conditions under which business may be conducted. "Boom" and business analyses are widely different.

Jan 1, 1896

By P. G. Shewmon, W. M. Robertson

The derivative of the surface tension with orientation, ??/??, for copper has been measured over the entire unit triangle. This derivative or torque term was determined from the variation of the dihedral angles at the intersection of twin boundaries and free surfaces. High-temperature anneals in graphite with a hydrogen atmosphere gave torque terms of 0.097 at (111), 0.066 at (100), and 0.0257 at (110). A variation from -36oto +23oC in the dew Point of the H2 had no effect on these values, nor did a change from 99.98 to 99.999 pct Pure copper. The removal of graphite from the system decreased ??/?? slightly. Considering the surface near a low-index plane to be smooth except for occasional steps, the free-energy increment per cm of step is calculated, and it is shown that the observed variation of ??/?? is consistent with a random distribution of steps and an interaction energy between steps. Integration of ??/?? gave the relative values of y at (100), (110), and (111) as comPared to ymax: (Y111/Ymax) =0.974, (Y110/Ymax) =0.996, (y100/Ymax) = 0.983. The ratio of the surface tension of coherent twin boundaries to the surface tension of the free surface was found to be (yT/ys) = 0.027 * 0.011. In a crystalline solid the surface tension y (surface free energy per unit area) depends on the orientation of the surface relative to the crystallographic axes of the crystal. Measurements of this variation of y with surface orientation have been reported for metals only within the last few years. Consider the grain boundary groove shown in Fig. 1. Here the three surfaces are all normal to the plane of the paper, and each has a different surface tension, y1, y2, and y3. If the system is at equilibrium, the total surface free energy must remain unchanged for a slight vertical displacement of the intersection (points A, B, and C are kept fixed). As shown by Herring,' the following equation is obtained:

Jan 1, 1962

By Herbert J. French

Herbert 1. French (Member 1934), vice president of the International Nickel Co. Inc., assistant vice president of the International Nickel Co. of Canada Ltd., and AIME Howe Memorial Lecturer for 1956, died in Rochester, Minn. on Aug. 17, 1955, after a long illness. Before his death, Mr. French had laid the foundation of research on which the Howe Memorial Lecture (p. 770) was based. His associates at Inco, 0. 0. Miller and J. W. Sands, were able to complete the project, present the lecture, and prepare it for publication, following Mr. French's general outline. Born in New York on May 27, 1893, he graduated from the School of Mines, Columbia University, with a degree in metallurgical engineering in 1915. Mr. French gained his early engineering experience with the American Smelting and Refining Co., serving as a chemist and as-sayer at the company's Murray, Utah, installations. He later returned east and became a metallurgical engineer for the General Vehicle Co., Long Island City, IT. Y., a subsidiary of the General Electric Co. In 1917 Mr. French was appointed civilian inspector of materials for the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and continued this work when it was later absorbed into the Bureau of Aircraft Production. Subsequently he was appointed district inspector in Philadelphia for the Pittsburgh (Ordnance Metallurgical) office, later transferring to Pittsburgh. After World War I Mr. French became an assistant physicist on the metallurgical staff, U. S. Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C. During his years with the Bureau, he was successively associate physicist, metallurgist, senior metallurgist, and assistant chief, division of metallurgy. In 1929 Mr. French joined International Nickel as a metallurgist at the company's Bay-onne, N. J., research laboratory. Transferring to the development and research division, New York, in 1931, he took charge of alloy steel and iron development, becoming assistant manager of this division in 1943. Mr. French's appointment as an Inco vice president came in March 1947. Previously, he was appointed assistant vice president of the International Nickel Co. of Canada Ltd. in January 1947. Mr. French served the War Production Board during World War II as senior technical consultant in charge of the metallurgical and specifications section of the iron and steel branch. When this section of the WPB was organized into the steel division, he was appointed chief of the metallurgical branch. From March 1944 to September 1945 Mr. French served as assistant director. Herbert French was well known not only for his prolific contribution to the metallurgical literature, for which he received numerous awards, but also for his prolonged service to the profession through its technical societies. He was a past president of ASM, and was the Campbell Memorial Lecturer for that group in 1933. Mr. French was honored by the American Society for Steel Treating in 1931 when he was awarded the Henry Marion Howe Medal. A series of lectures he gave in 1941 before the Fourth Western Metal Congress in Los Angeles was later published in book form under the title Alloy Constructional Steels.

Jan 1, 1957

By Reinhardt Schuhmann JR

Metallurgical Engineering Volume I, by Reinhardt Schuhmann, Jr. Addison-Wesley Press. $7.50, 390 pp., 1952. -This first volume, engineering principles, of a two volume work, is intended by the author to meet a need for reorganization of instruction in extractive metallurgy. Its three main objectives are to organize the subject matter according to basic principles and unit processes; to integrate the underlying science of physical chemistry with metallurgical engineering; and to put greater emphasis on analysis and quantitative solution of engineering problems. Vol. I deals with unit processes, stoichiometry, thermodynamics, fuels, fluid flow, heat transfer, pyrometallurgical systems and refractories. Vol. II will take up the individual unit processes. Initiation and Growth of Explosion in Liquids and Solids, by F. P. Bowden and A. D. Yoffe. Cambridge University Press. $4.50, 104 pp., 1952.-The book is a study of decomposition by impact and by friction of explosive substances and deals mainly with the work of the authors and their collaborators. Research is still in progress but results thus far indicate that the mechanism of initiation is relatively simple. Findings are thoroughly discussed, and the latter part of the monograph describes the way in which a small nucleus of decomposition can grow into a large scale explosion.

Jan 1, 1952

What do you think are the major problems that the mining industry is facing? While I don't have any intensive knowledge of the various problems that plague our industry, I know that they are all part and parcel of a more complex and fundamental question: What must we do to make mineral extraction successful, safe, and profitable? Obviously, as mining people, we must continue to expand our technical know-how and to make better use of it. In today's context, however, that is not enough. We must also improve the "public image" of the mining industry. Why? Because the key word in the term "public image" is: the public. Many people in our country and in Congress, for instance, are against strip mining-and some are even against underground mining. Pressures from the public, from voters, have affected past, present, and new legislation. And government controls can be a major problem in any industry, let alone mining. At first, people ask government to intervene, act, or resolve problems, even in management and labor contract negotiations. But later, after Washington gets involved, there are clashes between departments and personalities, and eventually there is resentment against the interference with mining operations or our daily lives.

Jan 3, 1975

F. C. LANGENBERGW.*at 8ertoivn,M ass. (written cliscussiont).-I am inclined to the view that the change in physical properties encountered in the material with which the authors are working is due to the relief of internal strains. The statement, on page 1.098 of their paper, calling attention to the fact that this phenomenon disappeared when the material was rolled into 1 7/8 -in. square billets is of particular interest. It is certain that the internal strains set lip by cooling in a small billet of this size would be much less than those produced in a billet having a larger cross-section cooling under the same conditions. The statement that the physical properties of a given test bar were materially changed by standing has been brought to my attention in connection with the testing of gun forgings. I have made a number of observations on forgings produced at Watertown Arsenal to ascertain whether any change in ductility was produced by the aging of the test specimens. The results were always negative, but this can be explained by the fact that ii gun forging is generally a forging that has been quenched and subsequently drawn at a relatively high temperature.

Jan 10, 1919

By H. H. Kellogg

An invitation to address you on the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of AIME represents an honor, a challenge and an opportunity: an honor that you judge me worthy; a challenge that I present to you a picture of extractive metallurgy in the years ahead that contains some ideas of value; and finally, an opportunity for me to express some deeply felt beliefs about our profession and our industry. My topic concerns the technology of metal production in the future - the processes, new and old, that will be used to extract metals. The nature of these processes will be shaped by many forces - some technical, some economic, some political or social. A forecast of future technology must recognize the role of each of these forces, and I have endeavored to do this in the analysis that follows. In brief, my outline consists of an analysis of the forces (perhaps better called "problems") that will influence the future of our industry, followed by consideration of likely lines of technological development to meet them. Let me dwell for a moment on the nature of this industry and the profession that serves it. I have been engaged in the profession of extractive metallurgy - teaching, researching and consulting - for 30 years. I have always found the subject stimulating and rife with challenges of a scientific, engineering, economic and socio-political nature. It is a big subject - it encompasses most of the elements of periodic table; we measure the U. S. production of six metals in millions of tons per year; new plant costs range to $100 million and more. The supply of metals from our extractive plants plays an essential role in our modern industrial economy. We could do without DDT, or phosphate detergents or 300-page Sunday newspapers; we cannot do without a huge and increasing supply of metals. The Basic Goal of Extractive Metallurgy Understanding of some basic forces that shape this industry can be gained by consideration of the question: What determines the utility of metals to man? We think immediately of the inherent properties of metals - strength, ductility, electrical conductivity and so forth - but these tell only part of the story. Metal price and the available supply play equally

Jan 1, 1971

By P. H. Dudley

The present paper was suggested by the paper read by Mr. R. W. Hunt at the New York Meeting, in February last, on rail-sections (Trans., xvii., p. 778)) in the discussion of which I brought forward some of the facts and observations here stated. Professional duties having prevented me from writing out my part of that discussion in time for its publication in the volume containing Mr. Hunt's paper, I take the opportunity to present it in separate form and greater fulness. The striking features of the series of rail-sections submitted by Mr. Hunt are their shallow heads and heavy bases. In these respects they are quite similar to the section of the 80-1b. rail, which I designed in 1883 to meet the requirements of the traffic of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. Before the adoption of the 80-1b. rail, this road had modified its 65-1b. section from a shallow head with rounding sides and quite heavy base to one having a deep head and thin base. All the leading railroads had changed from the earlier sections of steel rails to those having deep heads and thin bases, conforming to the recommendations of the Committee on Rails of the American Society of Civil Engineers. It is but proper to say that the committee's investigations upon the wear of rails were made upon the rails manufactured under a practice quite different from that which obtained after the committee's recommendations were carried into effect. The results in actual service have been contrary to what was expected. Fig. 1 shows my 80-1b. section of 1883. Before designing this rail I had taken, at different times, a series of diagrams of the condition of tracks, with my car, on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, all of the New England railroads, and all but one of the trunk lines. My diagrams gave me an opportunity which could not otherwise have been obtained to see the wear of great numbers of sections of rails under widely varying conditions of traffic.

Jan 1, 1890

By John A. Church

When, in 1879,I examined the mines of the Tombstone Mill and Mining Company, at Tombstone, Arizona, I found a bed of tailings containing 12,000 tons, which had a value of 9 to 12 ounces of silver per ton and some gold. The ore had been amalgamated in pans, in which each charge had been ground for four hours, having been pre viously stamped through rough-punched screens, which gave a pro duct varying from 1-100th to 1-20th of an inch, according to the state of wear of the screen. It was certain that a large proportion of the tailings must be in fine slimes, and the question of recovering their value was difficult. Even now the concentration of slimes is . an unwelcome task, and at that day very little was known about it. Nevertheless, after considering the results of a test by repanning the tailings, I advised the company to concentrate and smelt, although they had to face the difficulty of making a smelting-product from slimes containing only 3 per cent. of lead. Limestone was abundant enough, but no iron suitable for flux was to be had for hundreds of miles. One of the company's claims con tained an argeutiferous manganese-ore, which gave but poor results by amalgamation. This was one reason for recommending smelt ing ; for if manganese would play the part of a precipitant, as iron does, the company could smelt by combining two of its silver ores, without other flux than the small amount of lime that might be needed. At that time no smelter had ventured to trust manga nese as a precipitant, though large quantities of this ore containing silver were bought and used by custom-smelters, who looked upon the manganese solely as a basic flux for silica. I believe that no other furnace has been obliged to trust this metal, and that the man ganese practice of Tombstone remains unique among the records of smelting lead-ores in the shaft-furnace. The bright side of the problem was given by the fact that the mines were shallow and that the enterprise would at least begin with oxidized ores. The tailings contained about 85 per cent. of silica,

Jan 1, 1895

By C. H. Mathewson

Discussion of the paper of C. H. MATHEWSON and ARTHUR PHILLIPS, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 109, January, 1916, pp. 1 to 50. ZAY JEFFRIES, Cleveland, Ohio (communication to the Secretary*).¬The authors are to be congratulated for this interesting and valuable contribution. The paper as a whole shows very careful experimentation coupled with rare judgment in drawing conclusions. I have been working along similar lines for the last two years with other metals and alloys. In a short conversation with Dr. Mathewson about July 1, 1915, he mentioned the fact that different degrees of cold work greatly affect the temperature of recrystallization on annealing, Later I determined the recrystallization temperatures of iron, mild steel, and copper, with different degrees of cold work and found that the greater the degree of cold work, the lower the temperature of recrystallization on annealing. In the course of these experiments, I conceived practically the same ideas regarding the reasons for recrystallization as those advanced in the article under discussion. After a metal has been reduced by cold work to about one-fourth of its original area, the differences in orientation of different parts of a given grain can be seen plainly at a magnification of about 1,000 diameters. It is interesting to note that in Fig. A, Plate I, the lines of deformation are not parallel. For example,. in the large grain at the lower left corner of the micrograph, if the lines of deformation about 3g in. from the left edge are continued in a straight line, this line will intersect a straight line drawn as a continuation of the lines of deformation on the extreme right of the grain, at an angle of about 20°. Similarly, if the lines of deformation at the extremities of the large grain in the right central portion of the micrograph are extended, the lines intersect at an angle of about 35°. The individual lines of deformation are not straight. In some of these the parts of the broken lines intersect at angles as great as 15°.

Jan 5, 1916

By Bruce W. Gonser

TIN is not yet classed as a rare metal, but it has taken a long stride in that direction in the last ten months. It is now in Group 1 of the War Production Board's critical list, along with such company as magnesium aluminum, and nickel. This is in sharp contrast with the position a year ago when the supply well exceeded demand, and tin was used when feasible in place of really scarce metals. The geographical sources of tin production in recent years are shown in Table 1. Preponderance of former production in southeastern Asia, particularly Malaya and the Netherlands Indies (but all now controlled by the Japanese). is entirely too marked to be funny. Of the 1940 known world production of 237,000 long tons nearly all was controlled by the United States, Great Britain, and their friends. Now their supply is from countries that produced only 28 per cent of that amount. This excludes China and Australia, which because of shipping difficulties and local consumption, cannot be expected to export much tin. In spite of some expected increase in production, therefore, the supply is, and will continue to stay for at least several years, way below that desired for even normal uses. Although deliveries to consumers in the United States alone

Jan 1, 1942

By J. J. Pelley

NOT being a scientist, an engineer or a metallurgist, I consider it a very great honor indeed to be asked to address the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. Your program indicates that any lack of intricate and technical knowledge on my part in the field of metals will be well taken care of by others. Therefore, I believe any remarks that I have to make might well be devoted to the practical side of metals in railroad service and to the general railroad situation as I view it today. The experiments now being conducted on the railroads with so-called streamlined, light-weight trains and cars would not have been possible had it not been for scientific and engineering research in the past that made these lighter weight metals available. The railroads now have approximately forty units of these new trains in operation. Experi-ence with them will no doubt be a guidepost for future construction in that direction. While the best known experiments are in the passenger service, they are being extended into the freight service. Within the past three years there was constructed for the Association of American Railroads a new standard box car of ordinary carbon steel, in which, by reason of superior design, weight was reduced by 3500 to 4500 lb. under that of existing cars of like capacity. The Association is now testing a box car that weighs approximately six or seven tons less than practically all of the box cars of like capacity in service today. If these tests are successful a very large field for the use of lighter weight metals will immediately be opened, provided the costs of such metals are not too high. The fact that various experiments are being carried on with other classes of equipment constructed with so-called light-weight and non-corrosive metals no doubt will have a considerable effect upon the rebuild-ing of old equipment. The question then will be: How much can we afford to spend on the rebuilding of an old car weighing six to seven tons more than a new car constructed with the latest available materials?

Jan 1, 1936

By J. J. Beeson

The second part of the paper includes a detailed account of the processes of secondary-enrichment which have been effective in producing the disseminated ores. While both parts present new features, it is hoped that the discussion on secondary chalcopyrite and bornite may be of interest to those who are engaged in the study of secondary processes in other districts. The excellent work' Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, by J. M. Boutwell, was published in 1905. Since that time the extensive development work-surface cuts and underground drifting-of the Utah Copper Co. has made possible the collecting of samples for more detailed microscopic study. The writer has taken advantage of this fact and presents the following work, not as a criticism, but as a' continuation of the work which was begun by Mr. Boutwell. b. Acknowledgments.-The present study was undertaken at the suggestion of Dr. A. F. Rogers; to him, and to Prof. C. F. Tolman and Prof. S. W. Young, the writer wishes to express his thanks for criticism in the preparation of this paper. The writer also expresses his thanks to D. C. Jackling, Vice-President and Managing Director of the Utah Copper Co., for permission to publish this paper, and to William Spencer, D. W. Wadleigh, T. S. Carnahan, J. A. Caulfield, Percy Dayer, and Edward Norsefall, for the courtesies extended to him while a co-worker in the mines.

Jan 11, 1915

By G. Horvay, J. G. Henzel

Nomograms and charts are provided which permit rapid determination of the mold-casting interFace temperature and the speed of solidification when a semiinfinite ingot is cast into a semiinfinite mold. The physical properties of the mold, the frozen metal, and the liquid metal are not assumed to be equal, but they are assumed to be temperature independent. The results are correlated with charts prepared by Paschkis and Hlinka—using Columbia University's Analog Computer—for the freezing of finite ingot slabs when a constant surface temperature is impressed, and with experimental cooling curves obtained by Pellini in sand and iron molds for 7 in.-sq steel castings. x = coordinate directed to right of zero (freezing direction) y = coordinate directed to left of zero (melting direction) e = position of freezing front (in x direction) ? = position of melting front (in y direction) $ = temperature (function of position and time) ? = fixed temperature 2L = width of finite slab Y = a fixed position in the semiinfinite mold, or the width of a finite mold (see Section 7) Properties y = density, lb per cu ft c = specific heat, Btu per lb deg F k = conductivity, Btu per ft hr deg F X = heat of fusion, Btu per lb k = k/Yc = temperature diffusivity, sq ft per hr* b - = = - heat diffusivity, Btu per sq ft deg F Vhr Subscripts 2 = pertaining to the still-liquid metal (case of freezing), or the medium which furnishes the heat (case of melting) 1 = pertaining to solidified metal (case of freezing), or to molten metal (case of melting)* 0 = pertaining to mold (case of freezing), or to the still-solid metal (case of melting) f = pertaining to fusion condition (eg.,?f - fusion temperature) i = pertaining to the location x = 0 (the mold-ingot "interface")

Jan 1, 1960

By Thomas Egleston

DURING the year 1873, my attention was called to the frequent accidents, resulting from the breaking of rails, on the different railroads in this' country, and I was requested to investigate the subject. The plan of investigation I proposed was to ascertain, in as many cases as possible, the exact hist* of broken rails, both in this country and in Europe; to collect information in Europe relating to the tests which rails used there were required to undergo, and to experiment upon the pieces of rails broken on the road, with a view to ascertain whether their fracture was due to their chemical constitution, bad manufacture, to a reduction in strength owing to temperature, or to physical changes in the constitution of the rail. The investigation was commenced by the collection of statistics, and for this purpose I spent several months in Europe, collecting information on the subject of broken rails, as well as the life of iron and steel rails generally, and inquiring into the systems of purchasing and of testing them employed by the railroads there, intending, on my return, to make a series of analyses of rails broken, both in this country and in Europe; to ascertain, if possible, how far great cold had an influence on the fracture; to examine whether the rail broken, either on the road or afterwards, underwent, at or about the fracture, any physical change, and to make a series of experiments on the strength of rails manufactured in the United States or sold in the American market. Unfortunately, the panic of 1873 came on, just before my return from Europe, and prevented the carrying out of the larger part of the plan proposed; as, however, I had collected in the meantime, a large number of statistics of different kinds from all parts of Europe, and had made a number of interesting experiments and investigations, I have thought it would be worth while to communicate some

By T. Egleston

DURING the year 1873, my attention was called to the frequent accidents, resulting from the breaking of rails, on the different railroads in this country, and I was requested to investigate the subject. The plan of investigation I proposed was to ascertain, in as many cases as possible, the exact history of broken rails, both in this country and in Europe; to collect information in Europe relating to the tests which rails used there were required to undergo, and to experiment upon the pieces of rails broken on the road, with a view to ascertain whether their fracture was due to their chemical constitution, bad manufacture, to a reduction in strength owing to temperature, or to physical changes in the constitution of the rail. The investigation was commenced by the collection of statistics, and for this purpose I spent several months in Europe, collecting information on the subject of broken rails, as well as the life of iron and steel rails generally, and inquiring into the systems of purchasing and of testing them employed by the railroads there, intending, on my return, to make a series of analyses of rails broken, both in this country and in Europe; to ascertain, if possible, how far great cold had an influence on the fracture ; to examine whether the rail broken, either on the road or afterwards, underwent, at or about the fracture, any physical change, and to make a series of experiments on the strength of rails manufactured in the United States or sold in the American market. Unfortunately, the panic of 1873 came on, just before my return from Europe, and prevented the carrying out of the larger part of the plan proposed ; as, however, I had collected in the meantime, a large number of statistics of different kinds from all parts of Europe, and had made a number of interesting experiments and investigations, I have thought it would be worth while to communicate some

Jan 1, 1875