Search Documents

We note with sincere regret the death of H. T. Chen,, who was killed by forest fire in the mountainous re-ion of Kokiu-Chang where he had been operating as Engineer in Chief of the Yunnan Tin Trading Co. Mr. Chen graduated in 1911 from the Department, of Mines, .University of California, being the first Chinese Government scholar in mining to attend that institution; and one of the first in America. He came of a distinguished family, many members of Which are in official life in Peking and in his native province of Hunan, all of whom are noted for their classical scholarship. He was himself a Hsiao-tsai or Bachelor of Arts, a coveted degree of the old literati class, Which he won under the Manchu regime when he was still a stripling. His mining work in Yunnan was carried on with only the most primitive facilities and in a distant province, but was, nevertheless, attended with great success and profit for his company. The region is infested with brigands and rebellious troops. who frequently turn marauders and prey upon the countryside, and Mr. Chen has had to go to the mines always with a large armed guard sometimes aggregating 150 men and some hundreds of miners, also armed. Two armed squads of men keep in touch with his base 'at Kokiu-Chang every day to get supplies and food, and it is feared that the brigands who have thus been prevented from plundering and mobbing his parties have started 'he fires to burn him out, with the disastrous result reported. Mr. Chen has thus given his life to his country in the attempt to win for modern China and Chinese civilization the raw materials of her new industrial life. He did so cheerfully and with full appreciation of the dangers that beset him, and China regards this as one of the most noble sacrifices of her young sons on the altar of patriotism. He is survived by a daughter of two years and by his widow who was also a graduate of the University of California and will be remembered by her classmates as Lucy Kong, 1912.

Jan 7, 1917

On. Tuesday, Apr. 8, the Rocky Mountain Club held its 12th annual dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York. In reporting the dinner the Evening Telegram says: "General Coleman du Pont was sort of master of ceremonies, and he conducted the affair at the end of a Colt .45. It was the General's `forty-five' which filled the banquet hall of the Waldorf-Astoria with the brand of smoke which Uncle Sam showered so generously upon Germany's hordes. It was General du Pont's `forty-five' which bellowed and thundered and echoed through Fifth avenue, scaring horses and shell shocking pedestrians: But no one was hurt or badly shocked except those who could not discern the artistry of Miss Doraldino's dance. "There were Western men around the table who have just come hack from over there. For instance, there were Brigadier General G. H. McManus, General Shanks and a score of others. And there were Thomas H. Watkins, who is said to own half the State of Pennsylvania and is known as the `Coal Baron'-of Pennsylvania,, and Alba B. Johnson, president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, each one a Westerner, with personality and type suggestive of some of the wonderful men Bret Harte wrote so much about. "It seemed as though General du Pont, who was chairman of the Reception Committee, tried to eclipse all former meetings, and he succeeded if congratulations are a criterion. " General du Pont startled the management of the Waldorf and surprised the diners by staging a three-round bout between Frankie Fay and Phil Wagner. The clash between these two featherweights made Waldorf history, because it was the first boxing contest ever held in the hotel. Tex Rickard, who is going to chaperone Jess Willard and Jack Dempsey in a fight in the near future,-was scheduled to referee the contest, but at the last moment, for some obvious reason, M. E. Schermerhorn was sent in as third man. The bout was a slashing one. Miss Amparito Farrar, lately returned from France, where-she sang for the 'dough-boys;' Eleanore Wetmore, the Rath Brothers and Phil Baker were among the others who entertained.

Jan 5, 1919

Robert Carl Sticht, member of the Institute since 1886, an American metallurgist of world-wide reputation, died in St. Margaret's Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania, on April 30, 1922, after an illness of eleven months, against which he fought with the highest courage and characteristic fortitude. The news of his passing came as a great shock to a host of his friends and former associates here, but on account of his long absence from the United States, exact biographical details have been heretofore lacking. Throughout Tasmania, the expressions of public sorrow were many and impressive, and the flags were flown at half-mast in Queenstown, Zeehan, and the entire Mt. Lyell district, in honor of the man who had won his place in the community as a great captain of industry and a man universally admired and loved. Sticht had been connected with the Mt. Lyell Mining & Railway Co. in Tasmania throughout its entire productive period. He had originally been induced to go to Tasmania through the good offices of the late Dr. E. D. Peters, then professor of metallurgy at Harvard University, who after personally examining the undeveloped Mt. Lyell properties, recommended Sticht as the best possible man to work out the complex metallurgical problem which that great orebody presented. Sticht had already made himself the leading authority on pyritic smelting, having taken up the idea as suggested and partly worked out by Lawrence Austin and carried it through to a certain degree of perfection in the case of limited tonnages of special ores. After studying the situation at Mt. Lyell, Sticht found the conditions there to be almost ideal for pyritic smelting, and he had the courage to adopt as the basis for a permanent, and eventually successful, solution of the metallurgical problem, a process that was then little more than a theoretically interesting possibility. The thorough studies and remarkable results attained at Mt. Lyell were published as chapters in Doctor Peters' various publications on the metallurgy of copper, Doctor Peters giving full credit to Sticht for their authorship. These chapters by Sticht practically constitute the: best literature of the art of pyritic smelting. The accuracy of observation,

Jan 1, 1923

By James Douglas

An address before the Meeting of the New York Section, Nov. 4, 1914. As life advances one is inclined to look backward instead of forward, and the vista over which my memory carries me has been filled with such a shifting panorama of changes in metallurgy that the whole practice of the art seems to have been re-created. The first cupola furnace that I saw in operation was at one of the group of mines at Capelton, Quebec, from which the Nichols company still draws some of its sulphur supply. At that time it was operated by a Hartford, Conn., company, under a General Adams. When its small brick furnaces made a campaign of a week and smelted 10 tons a day, the feat redounded to the credit of the operator. The introduction of the water-jacketed cupola dates forward to the next decade. I was using one in Pennsylvania, making copper matte, to the horror of a noted metallurgist, who could not conceive it possible that you. could bring fused sulphides in contact with steel without rapid corrosion. In our ignorance we were doing what seemed to be an impossibility, and it is just that recklessness and disregard for precedent which has characterized so much of the work of American metallurgists, and carried us forward at such headlong speed. Once the water jacket was accepted as the type of the. copper cupola, its almost unlimited expansion in length, but not in width, was a matter of convenience rather than of skill. In Butte the cupolas have been enlarged by adding furnace to furnace. The first reverberatories which I saw in operation were those in Professor Hill's Black Hawk establishment, where the concentrates from the Gilpin County gold mills were run down into matte for separation in England. Sixty dollars per ton was the usual deduction in those days before gold and silver was paid for. Smelting was done with wood as fuel, and the capacity of the furnace was about 10 tons per diem. Shortly after this Professor Hill formed an alliance with Richard Pearce, who was running what, if I recollect aright, was called the Swansea Works, at the bend of the river approaching Georgetown.

Jan 4, 1915

By Best W. N.

Discussion of the paper of W. N. BEST, presented at the San Francisco meeting, September, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 104, August, 1915, pp. 1527 to 1537. WILLIAM A. WILLIAMS, San Francisco, Cal.-I would like to ask whether .Mr. Best ever had any experience with an oil burner that used neither air nor steam? W. N. BEST, New York, N. Y.-Yes. This type is commonly known as the "mechanical spray burner" and uses oil heated under high pressure to above its vaporizing point. These burners are not as efficient as the atomizing type for the following reasons: 1. They produce a round flame which; as with any other type of burner, must pass over a flat surface. A round flame cannot fit a flat surface. 2. They do not evenly distribute the heat, resulting in localized heat. 3. The outlet through which the fuel passes is very small; so all gravities of oil, especially oil containing sand, cannot be burned. 4. Their construction is such that they must be cleaned frequently, as the residuum in the fuel clogs the burner. 5. The oil opening being small, the capacity of each burner is small, so that many burners must be used in a boiler or furnace. (The fewer burners there are, the more accurately they can be regulated.) In marine boilers, these burners are largely used, because they do not require either steam or air for atomization. However, there are other methods by which this objection to other types can be eliminated, such as by the use of a rotary blower and steam turbine engine, the exhaust front the engine passing into the engine condenser, thus obviating loss of water. Mechanical burners are rarely used in shops. I know of but one power plant using them. With mechanical burners, the fuel must be maintained at a high pressure. On board naval vessels, some mechanical burners demand an oil pressure of from 100 to 6001b. It is advisable to reduce the pressure as much as possible, as fractured pipes or fittings are particularly dangerous, for the heated oil escapes as a vapor. In such cases there is liability of an explosion caused by spontaneous combustion.

Jan 12, 1915

By H. W. Camp

In attempting to summarize and pick out the outstanding development,s in refinery engineering during the past 12 or 13 months, one is immediately impressed by the great strides that have taken place. It is, of course, difficult to obtain the proper perspective with the old year so fresh in our minds, and if relatively minor improvements seem to be given equal recognition with those of magnitude, it will be because the nature of the human mind causes us to place the trivial incidents of today with the important things of yesterday. For instance, the Twenly-Second Semiannual Motor Gasoline Survey (December, 1930) of the U. S. Bureau of Mines shows that the total gasoline yield per barrel of crude increased from 39.6 per cent.. in 1929 to 41.99 per cent. in 1930. This latter fact may appear rather confusing since the production of high-gravity crudes has been steadily increasing. However, during the past yew there has been a reduction in gasoline end point of approximately 8" F. which roughly corresponds to about 1.0 per cent. yield from the crude oil. It appears, therefore, that, if the gasoline mere based on a corresponding distillation basis 1930 would show better yields from the crude than 1929. Cracked gasoline increased from 14.83 per cent. in 1929 to 17.46 per cent. in 1930. Percentage of total gasoline from cracking stills has doubled since 192.5, thus indicating the extent to which this phase of refining has advanced over past years. Replacement of the old shell still batteries by a pipe still and single flash system, with an efficient fractionating tower, has proved advantageous both in fuel consumption and in decreasing space required for the installation. Considerable activity has been shown in the field of vapor-phase cracking, with the development of several new types of units. The production of a product with a high antiknock value makes the vapor-phase processes particularly attractive. Cracking equipment has shown a marked advance with the development of corrosion-resisting alloys. Nickel, chromium and vanadium have shown interesting possibilities, but as yet are fairly expensive. Ceramic material for lining reaction

Jan 1, 1931

By E. Baker, David Donoghue

Legal and legislative matters constituted the outstanding features of proration in Texas in 1932. From East Texas emanated most of the political, legal, technical and industrial activity. Conroe and Thompson developed into fields of major importance. Proration orders were issued by the Railroad Commission on many of the producing fields of the Gulf Coast and West Texas not covered in previous years. In Yates, Penn Pool, Winkler, Van, the Panhandle, North Texas and West Central Texas there were 110 changes of importance, except in allowables. New proration schemes were introduced in East Texas, Conroe, Thompson, Saranosa, Government Wells, Tuleta and Howard-Glasscock. Little progress was made in administration or technical development. Legal and Legislative Matters Proration first began in Texas in 1927 as a voluntary attempt to divide the market outlet of a field on an equitable basis. The statutes then in existence were considered somewhat archaic and the Railroad Commission's authority was limited. Subsequent efforts to strengthen the laws were not wholly successful. The 1929 Conservation Act made no mention of market demand but declared that the term "waste" did not mean " economic waste." With the passage of the Pipc Line Act of 1930, providing for ratable purchasing, it was the opinion of many lawyere that a legal means of proration had been found. The 1931 law had ths same provision as that of 1929 with respect to economic waste but specifically prohibited limiting of production to market demand. The law passed Nov. 12, 1932, omitted reference to economic waste and specifically provided for limitation of production to reasonable market demand. Vigorous attacks were being made in State and Federal Courts on the constitutionality of the laws and the validity of the Commission's orders. In Peoples Petroleum Producers, Inc. et al. vs. Lon A. Smith et al., which had been heard before a three-judge U. S. District Court in Houston on May 28, 1932 and again on Sept. 19, the Court's decision for plaintiffs, released Oct. 2, influenced in a large measure the calling of the Legislature and the passage of the Market Demand Law on Nov. 12.

Jan 1, 1933

By Sidney Powers

Discussion of the paper of SIDNEY POWERS and ALFRED C. LANE, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 535 to 548. N. L. BOWEN, Washington, D. C. (communication to the Secretary*). -This detailed study and. complete demonstration of differentiation as a result of the sinking of crystals has a great general significance in petrogenesis. If this action can be demonstrated in an effusive body, even though a very thick one, how can one doubt its possibility in large intrusive bodies? The authors speak of the sinking of augite and the rising of plagioclase but I should consider that they should depend entirely on the former action to obtain their results. It is true that in my experiments, to which the authors refer, a floating of crystals was in one case obtained, viz., in the case of tridymite crystals, but it must be remembered that tridymite has an exceptionally low density. Plagioclase crystals, on the other hand, are of nearly the same density as basaltic liquid. Under magmatic conditions they might be a little heavier than the liquid or a little lighter, we do not know which, but the margin would be exceedingly small and any motion resulting, whether upward or downward, would be correspondingly small in the usual case. For this reason I should think that the sinking of pyroxene should be considered probably the sole factor in producing the observed result, for which purpose it appears to be entirely adequate. The measurements of grain have also a certain significance in this connection. In the experiments referred to a difference of grain was obtained in different parts of the charge, which was entirely independent of the rate of cooling but connected with the fact that a sinking crystal does not depend entirely upon diffusion for the collection of its material from the surrounding liquid. The crystals which sank a considerable distance were therefore exceptionally large. Now in the Cape Spencer flow the augite crystals are normally (top and bottom) somewhat smaller than the plagioclase crystals, but in the layer somewhat below the middle,

Jan 5, 1916

By F. N. Speller

Interest in the corrosion problem seems to continue without abatement and is bringing practical results. At least four important conferences on this subject have been held during the last 5 months. Those interested in steel-frame structures are taking steps to study vulnerable points on account of the failure of some minor parts in certain buildings after 35 years of service. The steam power-plant group, including the railroads, realize the importance of a better knowledge of corrosion, especially under modern high-temperature boiler operations. The chemical and refrigerating industries have already conducted a systematic study of depreciation of metals by corrosion, for which they have spent considerable money and time during the last 2 years with encouraging results. More has probably been done to control corrosion in the atmosphere and in closed water systems, because the work on these phases of the problem started over 15 years ago and the important factors are now fairly well understood. As a result of all this work, there is now little excuse for corrosion in water conduits, recirculating condensers and cooling systems, since economical means of prevention have been worked out to meet nearly all situations where such corrosion occurs. The entire Baltimore water supply was treated with lime at a cost of only 35 c. per million gallons and the rate of attack on the pipes has been reduced to not over 20 per cent. of what it was before the treatment. Yearly damage to water mains in Baltimore is estimated at $300,000, and in New York City at $5,000,000, not including damage to water conduits in buildings. In some cities corrosion is now recognized by water works' engineers as a major problem. In the oil industry, there are evidently three general classes of corrosion, relating to: (I) Production, (2) transportation, and (3) refining. (1) Production.—Some fields, those of California for example, have little corrosion trouble in the wells. In others this is a major problem and should be a strong incentive to the development of more resistant metals at a reasonable cost. E. G. Woodruff,' consulting geologist, has pointed out that more of the oil of the future will probably come from the

Jan 1, 1927

Robert Carl Sticht, member of the Institute since 1886, an American metallurgist of world-wide reputation, died in St. Margaret's Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania, on April 30, 1922, after an illness of eleven months, against which he fought with the highest courage and characteristic fortitude. The news of his passing came as a great shock to a host of his friends and former associates here, but on account of his long absence from the United States, exact biographical details have been heretofore lacking. Throughout Tasmania, the expressions of public sorrow were many and impressive, and the flags were flown at half-mast in Queenstown, Zeehan, and the entire Mt. Lyell district, in honor of the man who had won his place in the community as a great captain of industry and a man universally admired and loved. Sticht had been connected with the Mt. Lyell Mining & Railway Co. in Tasmania throughout its entire productive period. He had originally been induced to go to Tasmania through the good offices of the late Dr. E. D. Peters, then professor of metallurgy at Harvard University, who after personally examining the undeveloped Mt. Lyell properties, recommended Sticht as the best possible man to work out the complex metallurgical problem which that great orebody presented. Sticht had already made himself the leading authority on pyritic smelting, having taken up the idea as suggested and partly worked out by Lawrence Austin and carried it through to a certain degree of perfection in the case of limited tonnages of special ores. After studying the situation at Mt. Lyell, Sticht found the conditions there to be almost ideal for pyritic smelting, and he had the courage to adopt as the basis for a permanent, and eventually successful, solution of the metallurgical problem, a process that was then little more than a theoretically interesting possibility. The thorough studies and remarkable results attained at Mt. Lyell were published as chapters in Doctor Peters' various publications on the metallurgy of copper, Doctor Peters giving full credit to Sticht for their authorship. These chapters by Sticht practically constitute the: best literature of the art of pyritic smelting. The accuracy of observation,

Jan 1, 1923

THE Institute assembled on Tuesday evening, October 24th, in the hall of the Franklin Institute, Mr. Frank Firmstone, VicePresident, in the chair. Mr. J. Price Wetherill, of Tremont, Pa., read a paper on An Outline of Anthracite Coal Mining in Schuylkill County, Pa. The paper was discussed by Messrs. Coxe, Rothwell, Heinrich, Harden, and Symons. The second session was held on Thursday evening. Mr. A. L. Holley, Chairman of the International Committee, appointed by the Institute to consider the nomenclature of iron and steel, offered the following report of the committee, signed by all the members: WHEREAS, The recent production of soft, cast, malleable compounds of iron by the Bessemer, the Siemens-Martin, and the crucible steel processes appears to demand a new nomenclature of iron compounds, for the following reasons: 1st. The term "steel," by which these soft products are commercially and professionally designated in England and in the United States, does not completely distinguish them from previously existing "steel which would harden and temper. 2d. A nomenclature recognized in all languages seems desirable, as well for commercial as for scientific purposes, especially as lawsuits, already commenced, depend on the meaning of the term " steel." 3d. Although homogeneity, due to fusion, is usually recognized, and is by this committee recognized as the most definite characteristic of both hard and soft steel, this quality may be equally well expressed in other terms, thus leaving the old term, " steel," to define the malleable compounds of iron, which will harden and temper. Therefore, resolved, That this committee recommends the following nomenclature : 1. That all malleable compounds of iron with its ordinary ingredients, which are aggregated from pasty masses, or from piles, or from any forms of iron not in a fluid state, and which will not sensibly harden and temper, and which generally resemble what is called " wrought iron," shall be called Weld Iron (German, Schweisseisen; French, fer soudé). 2. That such compounds, when they will from any cause harden and temper, and which resemble what is now called puddled steel," shall be called Weld Steel (German, Schweiss stahl; French, acier soudé).

THE Institute assembled on Tuesday evening, October 24th, in the hall of the Franklin Institute, Mr. Frank Firmstone, Vice-President, in the chair. Mr.. J. Price Wetherill, of Tremont, Pa., read a paper on An Outline of Anthracite Coal Mining in Schuylkill County, Pa. The paper was discussed by Messrs. Coxe, Rothwell, Heinrich, Harden, and Symons. The second session was held on Thursday evening. Mr. A. L. Holley, Chairman of the International Committee, appointed by the Institute to consider the nomenclature of iron and steel, offered the following report of the committee, signed by all the members: WHEREAS, The recent production of soft, cast, malleable compounds of iron by the Bessemer, the Siemens-Martin, and the crucible steel processes appears to demand a new nomenclature of iron compounds, for the following reasons : 1st. The term "steel," by which these soft products are commercially and professionally designated in England and in the United States, does not completely distinguish them from previously existing "steel" which would harden and temper. 2d. A nomenclature recognized in all languages seems desirable, as well for commercial as for scientific purposes, especially as lawsuits, already commenced, depend on the meaning of the term "steel." 3d. Although homogeneity, due to fusion, is usually recognized, and is by this committee recognized as the most definite characteristic of both bard and soft steel, this quality may be equally well expressed in other terms, thus leaving the old term, "steel," to define the malleable compounds of iron, which will harden and temper. Therefore, resolved, That this committee recommends the following nomenclature : 1. That all malleable compounds of iron with its ordinary ingredients, which are aggregated from pasty masses, or from piles, or from any forms of iron not in a fluid state, and which will not sensibly harden and temper, and which generally resemble what is called " wrought iron," shall be called WELD IRON (German, Sehweisseisen; French, fer soudé) 2. That such compounds, when they will from any cause harden and temper, and which resemble what is now called "puddled steel," shall be called WELD STEEL (German, Schweiss stahl; French, acier soudé).

Jan 1, 1877

By David Donoghue

The efforts towards curtailment in Texas have been successful, despite the great area covered and the wide variety of oils offered. There are, of course, examples of noncooperation, perhaps of absolute indifference, but of such it can at least be said that they have benefited from the restrictions imposed elsewhere. The prevention of waste is the legal background for proration in Texas. The legislature in 1899 passed the first laws to prevent waste of oil and gas. Subsequent legislatures, especially those of 1905, 1913 and 1917, undertook to regulate the development and transportation of oil and gas to the end that waste would not occur. In 1917 a constitutional amendment was submitted to the people, providing that natural resources of the state should be conserved and requiring that the legislature pass appropriate laws. This amendment was adopted, and the Acts of 1919 and 1929 have been passed, and these have had the effect of making a rather elaborate plan for the conservation of oil and gas and their protection against waste. In 1930 the new pipe line act, designed to provide for ratable purchases, was passed. The administration of these laws has been placed under the Oil and Gas Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas. The Commission can only consider actual waste, not economic waste. The various proration plans in use in the state, while differing in efficiency, are based on engineering principles. In the proration of flush fields, the limiting of drilling and the steady production of oil under restriction are the principal points involved, and these methods are entirely different from those which prevailed until recently in the Oklahoma City Pool, where apparently nothing beyond the restriction of production on a time basis was attempted. There is little to say in defense of proration in the older and smaller producing areas in Texas, except that, inasmuch as the market outlet has been reduced, proration distributes the market ratably among the producers. Work of Central ProRation Committee In the early part of 1930 the overproduction situation became acute, and, at the request of the Railroad Commission, a committee was formed composed of representatives of the Texas Division of the Mid-Continent

Jan 1, 1931

By Valentin Garfias

ALTHOUGH Mexico still ranks second in importance as produce for petroleum, the output in 1924 was 7 ½ per cent. less than in 1923 and 30 per cent. less than the peak production of 1921. The decrease may be partly accounted for by labor troubles and revolutionary activities early in the year, although undoubtedly the main factor was the continuous rise of the salt-water level in the South Fields, causing a decline of 24,000,000 bbl. in the production of light oil. Since the middle of 1923, the production of heavy crude has been greater than that of the lighter grade and, in 1924, the output of heavy crude was 2 ½ times that-of the light oil. DEVELOPMENT Drilling operations in the Mexican fields were probably more active in 1924 than in any other year, the greatest activity taking place in the Cacalilao and neighboring fields; toward the end of the year there was an added number of wells drilling in wildcat areas. The number of wells drilled in proved territory was almost twice that of the previous year, the increase taking place in the heavy-oil fields north of Panuco, as only 78 of the 710 wells completed were drilled in the Southern Fields. The percentage of successful completions decreased from 45 per cent., during 1923, to about 38 per cent., during 1924; there was also a noticeable decrease in the average flush production of the new wells. It is interesting to note that notwithstanding the increased drilling activity, the total production declined over 10,000,000 barrels. In the heavy-oil district, 632 wells were completed but only 231, or 36 ½ per cent., were commercially productive. The develop-ment in the Cacalilao area reached its peak in April and May, or about the time the first serious salt-water encroachments took place. Development in the old Panuco and Topila fields was more active than during the previous year, although the salt-water level continued to rise, the high price of crude making such development advisable especially for companies having to protect large-investments.

Jan 3, 1925

By Eugene McAuliffe

THE mining press, as well as certain federal and state bulletins, refer from tine to time to. the relative hazards that attach to loading bituminous coal by hand when compared with the so-called "mechanical loading" process. Much of the coal coming under the head. of hand-loaded coal is won in part by the use of machinery; the coal-cutting machine is in general use, the electric power drill employed to a lesser extent. Therefore it may be said that the principal difference in the process employed, mechanical loading versus hand loading, lies in the fact that some type of loading machine is employed in the mechanical loading process to lift the coal from the face of the room, place or entry, after it is mined, placing it in the pit cars for transport to the tipple. It is a common practice to compute accident records on the basis of tons mined per fatal and per nonfatal accident, disregarding the fact that it is possible to produce by the aid of coal-loading machines the same daily, monthly and annual tonnage with a much smaller force than is required where the coal is all shoveled by hand. Inasmuch as the men who are released by the substitution of machinery for hand labor must find employment elsewhere, suffering some measure of hazard in their new occupation, we are of the opinion that the true relative hazard that attaches to the processes of mechanical loading and hand loading can be determined only by using as the basis of comparison "man shifts worked" or "hours of exposure" experienced per accident. The Union Pacific Coal Co., beginning with the year 1929, undertook to maintain a true record of man shifts worked per compensable accident, giving equal weight to fatal and nonfatal accidents. Accidents lacking sufficient severity to come under the compensable terms of the Workmen's Compensation Act were not included in the compilation, the Act providing that "no compensation, except the expense of medical attention, shall be allowed for the first seven (7) days of disability, unless the incapacity runs beyond the period of twenty-one (21) days,' in which case the compensation shall run from the time of the injury."

Jan 1, 1931

By H. J. Wasson, L. W. Mayer

The existing large stocks of raw materials have induced misgivings in the minds of many as to near-view prospects for a return to higher commodity price levels. Until stocks are materially reduced—and this operation will probably extend over a protracted period—a buyers' market will continue. Meanwhile the matter of production cost becomes more and more a factor of consequence to industrial management, finance and the investing public. With many commodities a general level of costs exists with which the public has been made familiar. Certain conditions surround these industries which, at the outset, determine whether there is a basis for sound commercial results. In other words, it can generally be determined in advance whether or not the cost of production is sufficiently below the normal average price to return a reasonable profit over the years. With all domestic agricultural products there are available exhaustive Government studies in the field of production costs. Such figures as the average cost of wheat, cotton, sugar, etc., are reiterated constantly. There are many products of foreign origin such as coffee, rubber, raw silk, etc., the production costs of which are to most of us matters of deep mystery. Forest products also are so diversified that few but specialists know what a thousand feet of lumber really cost at the mill, especially where remotely located. However, with respect to products of mines, production cost information has been widely disseminated. The literature is replete with such data. Here we find that without any special help from outside agencies the industry itself has given publicity to a large variety of cost figures. For example, we know, or know where we can ascertain, the cost of producing a pound of copper from Chile, Arizona or the Lake Superior district. In many cases we can secure from the company reports a vast amount of detail leading up to the cost per ton of ore and the cost per unit of the metal yield. These records are of great assistance to the mining industry as a means of estimating on new exploitations. This industry has been production-cost-minded almost from the beginning.

Jan 1, 1931

By D. M. Bondurant

AT the present time, the coal industry is greatly interested in any method or machine that will cut the cost of producing a ton of coal, while at the same time producing a product of quality and grade suitable to the customer. Comparatively new and, as yet, little known, auger mining is proving a profitable method of coal recovery. It may be used for the production of low-cost, high-quality coal with equal success from both the hard-to-mine seams, those with banded impurities and bad roof conditions, and the more easily mined seams as classified according to conventional mining methods. A number of units are now in operation and production information is available that should be of particular interest to coal operators and of general interest to anyone associated with the coal-mining industry. Auger mining refers to coal extraction with large size augers capable of drilling to great depths and having a high capacity. Consideration of the equipment and methods used in drilling an ordinary shot-hole will give a picture of auger mining on a smaller scale. At present, auger mining is used largely for recovery of coal from the highwall after strip mining becomes uneconomical because of the type and the thickness of the overburden which must be moved. Coal augers have many of the advantages of present continuous mining machines, along with many more. The four distinct operations of conventional mining-—cutting, drilling, shooting, and loading— are eliminated and replaced by the combined operation of boring and conveying of the coal. The coal recovery auger is an adaptation of the horizontal rock drill used for drilling shot-holes to shatter and loosen overburden in strip mining operations. During the war the Becker County Sand and Gravel Co. of Summersville, W. Va., experimented with drilling coal with 6 and 9-in. rock augers. The results led to the successive development of the 20, 24, 30 and the 36-in. machines, the latter having appeared in the coal fields within the past six months. Because of the great success of the smaller size

Jan 1, 1952

By A. Beeby Thompson

ALTHOUGH the exclusion of foreigners and private owners from participation in the development of the Russian oil fields prevents first-hand information being obtained, both official and private news indicate a growing appreciation of the value of the country's oil resources. Notwithstanding the suppression of that initiative and energy which only ambition can adequately stimulate, the industry is progressing and exports of products are assuming an importance that cannot be disregarded as an economic factor in the world's oil business. The following notes and observations must be regarded mainly as the views of one who has closely followed the fortunes of Russian oil, when considering the changes that have taken place in geological knowledge and oil-field technique, which have so profoundly modified oil-fields methods. Russia is fortunate in having retained the services of a few scientists and technologists whose devotion to science has superseded their personal inclination, and to these few men must be attributed the slow, but nevertheless striking, progress that has been made. The productive oil fields of Russia are centered around the Caspian Sea which, with its connected river system, constitutes such an ideal means of internal distribution for products. From the group of oil fields of which the city of Baku forms a center, oil is pumped to Black town, a suburb of Baku, where all the refineries are situated. The next important group of oil fields is located in the Terek district near Grosny, where refineries are erected and the products are piped or carried by tank cars to Petrovsk for the internal Russian market, or sent to the Black Sea by rail. A third oil field is spread over the province of Uralsk, north of the Caspian Sea, the main port of outlet being Gourief, at the mouth of the River Ural. In Trans-Caspia there are two oil-field centers, one near. Krasnovodsk on Chelekan Island, and one in Central Asia at Ferghana. The product of the former fields is transported to Baku for treatment, while the output of the Turkestan field is refined and consumed locally, mainly by the railway.

Jan 3, 1925

By H. B. Small

The Ottawa river, the northeastern boundary of the Province of Ontario, and the dividing line between the latter and the Province of Quebec, has long been famous for the rafts of timber floated over its waters from the depths of the forest, and other poets besides Moore, have immortalized its beauties in verse. But with the ad vent of the railway which now pierces the forest solitudes, the days of rafting were numbered ; and the boat song is now heard no more on "Ottawa's tide," or at such long intervals only, that, when heard, it seems an echo of the past. The lumber trade is fast leav ing Ottawa City, the old headquarters of the business; and such square timber as is now cut is gradually finding other outlets than shipment to Great Britain, and other channels of transportation than the Ottawa river. Skirting the northern shore of this great river runs a vast chain of hills, assuming at times the altitude of mountains. Their geological character marks them as remnants of the earliest land of this conti nent. Following the course of the St. Lawrence from the Gulf of that name to the confluence of the river with the Ottawa, the course of which latter they then pursue, the range has been styled " the Lau rentians." Rolling in long undulations, with rounded, rather than rugged or pointed summits, they leave a margin of 8 or 10 miles, dipping in a gentle slope to the water's edge, rich for agricultural use, and dotted here and there with farms and settlements. Beyond this margin bold hills stretch northerly to blue mountains, rich in iron, lead, plumbago, and other minerals. The Apatite District.—One of these minerals is apatite, or phos phate of lime, the use of which as a material for the manufacture of superphosphate as a fertilizer has become the basis of the industry bidding Fair to prove ere long one of the chief elements of Canadian trade. So rapid has been the growth of this new industry that if the lumber business were to disappear from this mineral district, its void would be filled by that which has sprung up in connection with phosphate.

Jan 1, 1893

By T&apos Ke, ing-sui

THE subject of recrystallization and grain growth has been much studied and the literature on this subject is numerous. Such studies have been mostly carried out by metallographic examination of X ray methods. Since recrystallization and grain growth involve elementary atomic processes, their mechanism can best be elucidated by a study of some properties which can be readily traced back in terms of such atomic processes. Prior to a detailed quantitative study, however, it is necessary to explore first the possibility and practicability of utilizing any particular property for obtaining the desired information. We have pointed out in a preceding article' that the internal friction of cold-worked metals is extremely high during recrystallization and it drops abru~tlv once the recrystallization is complete. ~reviois work has also shown that the viscosity of grain boundaries in a recrystallized specimen at a given temperature is raised by grain growth.' It seems thus that the measurements of internal friction may furnish a useful tool for the study of the mechanism of recrystallization and grain growth in terms of elementary atomic processes. The purpose of this paper is to report results of a study along this line. We will demonstrate that the internal friction method does give results in agreement with those furnished by conventional metallographic examinations. Once such a correlation has been established, we will be in a position to take further steps to achieve new information which cannot be achieved by conventional methods. The measurements of internal friction were made using apparatus and procedures similar to those used in the preceding article. All the measurements were made under such a small stress level that the internal friction is independent of stress level. The frequency of vibration is, unless mentioned otherwise, about one cycle per second in all cases. Internal Friction and Recrystallization Complete Recrystallization Temperature: Fig. 1 shows the internal friction curve during annealing of a few metals: aluminum, alpha brass and iron. These curves were determined in the following manner. In the curve for aluminum, internal friction measurements were performed upon. 99.991 aluminum subjected to 95 pct reduction area. The internal friction was first measured at room temperature. The specimen was then annealed at 50°C

Jan 1, 1951