554 CgpCg>C£pOgiC%iq&q&D&C®q&CglCgfD%tD%>^ SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8> * * * * * §3c&c&i>?<]^(>^cS)c^oc&c&c>?<)&?ot83C&^ GPO 16—53001-1 Cassier's Magazine An Engineering Monthly Volume XXXVIII May-October, 1910 The Gassier Magazine Company New York ■ i TA i ;6 34 Copyright, 1910, BY THE CASSIER MAGAZINE CO., New York. *.. « INDEX TO VOLUME XXXVIII. n PAGE Accidents, Mining, T. Good, .... 368 Achievements in Aviation, Recent, 258 Action, Gyroscopic Q4 Administration of Government, 187 Aeroplanes, Recent Progress in Motors for, . . . W. F. Bradley, ... 45 Illustrated. Air, Mechanical Purification of, C. L. Browne, . . . 564 Illustrated. Air-Pump Design, 93 Alternators, Synchronizing, S. G. Winn, .... 153 Illustrated. Appliances in Cotton Mills, Protective, . . . . H. M. Crawford, . . . 49° Illustrated. Art of Laying Out Cities, The, F. Boettge, .... 483 Illustrated. Aviation, Recent Achievements in, 283 Balancing of Reciprocating Engines, R. J. Grimshaw, . . . 348 Illustrated. Barnaby, Chas. W. : Methods of Laying Out Cities, 400 Battleships, The Fighting Power of, Archibald S. Hurd, . . 8 Illustrated. Betterment, Industrial, H. F. J. Porter, ... 303 Biographical Sketches: McFarland, Walter M., 95 Collins, A. Frederick, . > 191 Langley, Samuel Pierpont, 288 Zeppelin, Count Ferdinand von, 383 Woolson, Ira H., 480 Kapp, Dr. Gisbert, 575 Boats, The Propulsion of Cargo, . . . ... . R. M. Neilson, . . . 215,373 Illustrated. Bock, Fr. : The New Harbor Works at Constanza, 243 The Steam Turbine in the German Navy, . 333 Boettge, F. : The Art of Laying Out Cities 483 Boiler, An Old-Time, . . . ' 573 Boiler Feed Water, - 189 Bradley, W. F. : Recent Progress in Aeroplanes 45 Brattleboro Hydro-Electric Plant, The, .... Lauriston Fredericks, . . 39 Illustrated. Brazil, The Railways of, I., Lionel Wiener, ... 83 Brazil, The Railways of, II . . Lionel Wiener, ... 99 Brazil, The Railways of, III., Lionel Wiener, . . . 195 Brazil, The Railways of, IV., Lionel Wiener, . . . 339 Brazil, The Railways of, V., Lionel Wiener, . . . 456 Brazil, The Railways of, VI., Lionel Wiener, . . . 553 Illustrated. Browne, C. L.: Mechanical Purification of Air, 564 Brussels Exposition, The Fire at the, 478 Brussels International Exposition, The, . . . . J. O. Newman, . . . 387 Illustrated. Canals to Railway Transport, Relation of, . . , , S, Whettal, .... 79 IV INDEX es, Cargo Boats, The Propulsion of, . Illustrated. Car Wheel Turning, Modern, Illustrated. Chalkley, A. P. : Electro-Mechanical Locomotiv Cities, The Art of Laying Out, Illustrated. Cities, Methods of Laying Out, . Illustrated. Clark, Walter L. : Modern Car Wheel Turning, Collision, An Interesting Marine, . Concrete, Engineering Works in, . Illustrated. Concrete Work in New Zealand, Reinforced, Illustrated. Congestion, Problems of Municipal, Constanza, The New Harbor Works at, Illustrated. Conveyors, Illustrated. Cotton Mill Efficiency, Modern, . Illustrated. Cotton Mills, Protective Appliances in, Illustrated. Cotton Picking Machinery, Electric Driving of, Illustrated. Crawford, H. M. : Modern Cotton Mill Efficiency, Protective Appliances in Cotton Mills, . Illustrated. Crowds of Humanity, Handling, . Demand and Supply, .... Design, Air Pump, Development of Inventions, The, . Developments of Shipbuilding, Recent, Diack, William: The Scottish Granite Industry, Driving of Textile Machinery, Electrical, Illustrated. Edsall, Henry J.: Conveyors, Efficiency, Modern Cotton Mill, . Illustrated. Electricity on Shipboard, .... Electric Driving of Cotton Picking Machinery, Illustrated. Electrical Driving of Textile Machinery, Illustrated. Electric Railway Traction Electro -Mechanical Locomotives, . Illustrated. Emerson, H. D.: Long-Distance Gas Transmi Engines, Balancing of Reciprocating, Illustrated. Engineering, Ordnance, Engineering Structures, Painting, . Engineering Works in Concrete, Illustrated. Equipment, Replacement of Railway, . Exposition, The Brussels International, Illustrated. Exposition, The Fire at the Brussels, Feed Water, Boiler, .... Fighting Power of Battleships, The, R. M. Neilson, Walter L. Clark, F. Boettge, Chas. W. Barnaby, D. A. Willey, B. W. Wilson, Frank Foster, Fr. Bock, Henry J. Edsall, H. M. Crawford, H. M. Crawford, Albert Walton, Arthur Pestel, Benjamin Taylor, W. B. Woodhouse, H. M. Crawford, J. M. Heslop, Albert Walton, W. B. Woodhouse, A. P. Chalkley, R. J. Grimshaw, D. A. Willey, J. O. Newman, Archibald S. Hurd PAGE 215,373 209 Illustrated. INDEX insj Encrines, ttleships Foster, Frank: Problems of Municipal Congestion, Fredericks, Lauriston: The Brattleboro Hydro-Electric Plant^ Gas Transmission, Long-Distance, Illustrated. Gear Driving for Machine Tools, . Illustrated. German Navy, The Steam Turbine in the, Illustrated. Gibbs, William E. : Vanadium Steel, . Good, T.: Mining Accidents, Government, The Administration of, Granite Industry, The Scottish, Illustrated. Grimshaw, R. J.: Balancing of Reciprocat Gyroscopic Action, Handling of Small Materials, Mechanical Illustrated. Handling Crowds of Humanity, Harbor Works at Constanza, The New, Illustrated. Heinsohn, Gustave: The Present Situation of Rubber, Heslop, T. M. : Electricity on Shipboard, Horse Power, The, Humanity, Handling Crowds of, Hurd, Archibald S. : The Fighting Power of Ba Hydro-Electric Plant, The Brattleboro, Illustrated. Industrial Betterment Industry, The Scottish Granite, Illustrated. Interesting Marine Collision, An, . International Exposition, The Brussels, Illustrated. Inventions, The Development of, . Jones, Lucien: Reports, .... Laying Out Cities, The Art of, Illustrated. Laying Out Cities, Methods of, Illustrated. Locomotives, Electro-Mechanical, Illustrated. Lokhtine, V.: The Mechanism of River Beds, Long-Distance Gas Transmission, Illustrated. Machinery, Electric Driving of Cotton Picking, Illustrated. Machinery, Electrical Driving of Textile, Illustrated. Machinery, Packing, .... Materials, Mechanical Handling of Small, Illustrated. Machine Tools, Gear Driving for, Illustrated. Marine Collision, An Interesting, . Mechanical Handling of Small Materials, Illustrated. Mechanical Purification of Air, Illustrated. Mechanism of River Beds, The, Illustrated. Methods of Laying Out Cities, , , Illustrated. H. D. Emerson, Thomas R. Shaw, Fr. Bock, William Diack G. F. Zimmer. Fr. Bock, H. M. Phillips Lauriston Fredericks, H. F. J. Porter, William Diack, J. O. Newman, Arthur Pestel, F. Boettge, Chas. W. Barnabv A. P. Chalkley, H. D. Emerson, Albert Walton, W. B. Woodhouse, S. Whettal, . G. F. Zimmer, Thos. R. Shaw, G. F. Zimmer, C. L. Browne, V. Lokhtine, . Chas. W- B^rnaby PAGE 182 39 19 408 333 174 368 187 323 348 94 54 479 243 3 252 361 479 8 39 3°3 323 283 387 75 472 483 400 130 427,5*4 19 114 25 476 54 408 283 54 564 427,514 400 vx INDEX Mills, Protective Appliances in Cotton, Illustrated. Mining Accidents, Modern Car Wheel Turning, Illustrated. Modern Cotton Mill Efficiency, Illustrated. Motors for Aeroplanes, Recent Progress in, Illustrated. Municipal Congestion, Problems of, ... Neilson, R. M. : The Propulsion of Cargo Boats, New Harbor Works at Constanza, The, Illustrated. Newman, J. O.: The Brussels International Exposition, New Zealand, Reinforced Concrete Work in, Illustrated. Ordnance Engineering, Packing Machinery, Painting Engineering Structures, Pestel, Arthur: The Development of Inventions, Phillips, H. M. : The Horse Power, .... Piling, Steel Sheet, I., \ Piling, Steel Sheet, II., Piling, Steel Sheet, III., Illustrated. Plant, The Brattleboro Hydro-Electric, Illustrated. Porter, H. F. J. : Industrial Betterment, Portraits: McFarland, Walter M., Collins, A. Frederick Langley, Samuel Pierpont, Zeppelin, Count Ferdinand von, . Woolson, Ira H., Kapp, Dr. Gisbert, Power, The Horse, Power of Battleships, The Fighting, Illustrated. Present Situation of Rubber, The, Problems of Municipal Congestion, Progress in Motors for Aeroplanes, Recent, Illustrated. Propulsion of Cargo Boats, The, . Illustrated. Protective Appliances in Cotton Mills, Illustrated. Purification of Air, Mechanical, Illustrated. Railways of Brazil, The, I., . Railways of Brazil, The, II., . Railways of Brazil, The, III., Railways of Brazil, The, IV.' Railways of Brazil, The, V., . Railways of Brazil, The, VI., Illustrated. Railway Equipment, Replacement of, Railway Traction, Electric, Railway Transport, Relation of Canals to, Readjustments, Transportation, Recent Achievements in Aviation, Recent Developments of Shipbuilding, Recent Progress in Motors for Aeroplanes, Illustrated. H. M. Crawford, PAGE 49° T. Good, Walter L. Clark, H. M. Crawford, W. F. Bradley, Frank Foster, Fr. Bock, B. W. Wilson S. Whettal, J. F. Springer. J. F. Springer J. F. Springer 182 215,373 243 Lauriston Fredericks, H M. Phillips, Archibald S. Hurd Gustave Heinsohn Frank Foster, W. F. Bradley, R. M. Neilson, H. M. Crawford, C. L. Browne, Lionel Wiener. Lionel Wiener Lionel Wiener, Lionel Wiener. Lionel Wiener Lionel Wiener S. Whettal, Benjamin Taylor, W. F. Bradley, 215,373 INDEX vii PAGE Reciprocating Engines, Balancing of, R. J. Grimshaw, . . . 348 Illustrated. Reduction of Wastes, The, 188 Reinforced Concrete Work in New Zealand, . . . B. W. Wilson, . . . 291 Illustrated. Relation of Canals to Railway Transport, S. Whettal, .... 79 Replacement of Railway Equipment, 382 Reports, Lucien Jones, . . . 472 River Beds, The Mechanism of, I., V. Lokhtine, . . . . 427 River Beds, The Mechanism of, II., V. Lokhtine, .... 514 Illustrated. Rubber, The Present Situation of, Gustave Heinsohn, . . 3 Scottish Granite Industry, The, William Diack, . . . 323 Illustrated. Shaw, Thos. R. : Gear Driving for Machine Tools, 408 Sheet Piling, Steel, I., J. F. Springer, . . . 160 Sheet Piling, Steel, II., . . J. F. Springer, ... 258 Sheet Piling, Steel, III., . . J. F. Springer, . . . 315 Illustrated. Shipboard, Electricity on, J. M. Heslop, . . . 252 Shipbuilding, Recent Developments of, .... Benjamin Taylor, . . 64 Situation of Rubber, The Present, Gustave Heinsohn, . . 3 Steam Turbine in the German Navy, Fr. Bock, .... 333 Illustrated. Steel Sheet Piling, I., J. F. Springer, . . . 160 Steel Sheet Piling, II., J. F. Springer, . . . 258 Steel Sheet Piling, III., J. F. Springer, . . . 315 Illustrated. Steel Vanadium, William E. Gibbs, . . 174 Structures, Painting Engineering, 574 Supply, Demand and, 190 Synchronizing Alternators, S. G. Winn 153 Illustrated. Springer, J. F.: Steel Sheet Piling, .... 160,258,315 Taylor, Benjamin: Recent Developments of Shipbuilding, 64 Textile Machinery, Electrical Driving of, . . . . W. B. Woodhouse, . . 25 Illustrated. Tools, Gear Driving for Machine, ..... Thos. R. Shaw, . . . 408 Illustrated. Traction, Electric Railway, 381 Transmission, Long Distance Gas, H. D. Emerson, ... 19 Illustrated. Transport, Relation of Canals to Railway, . . . . S. Whettal, .... 79 Transportation Readjustments, 92 Turbine in the German Navy, The Steam, .... Fr. Bock, .... 333 Illustrated. Turning, Modern Car Wheel, Walter L. Clark, . . . 209 Illustrated. Vanadium Steel, William E. Gibbs, . . 174 'Walton, Albert: Electric Driving of Cotton Picking Machinery, 114 Wastes, The Reduction of, 188 Water, Boiler Feed, 189 Whettal, S. : Relation of Canals to Railway Transport, 79 Packing Machinery, 476 Wiener, Lionel: The Railways of Brazil, 83, 99, 195, 339, 553, 456 Willey, D. A. : Engineering Works in Concrete, 138 Wilson,. B. W. : Reinforced Concrete Work in New Zealand, 291 Winn, S. G.: Synchronizing Alternators, 153 Woodhouse, W. B.: Electrical Driving of Textile Machinery, 25 Works at Constanza, The New Harbor, Fr. Bock, .... 243 Illustrated. Works in Concrete, Engineering, D. A. Willey, . . . 138 Illustrated. Zimmer, G. F. : Mechanical Handling of Small Materials, 54 WALTER M. McFARLAND The Babcock & Wilcox Company See page 95. INDEXED. Cassier's Magazine AN ENGINEERING MONTHLY Vol. XXXVIII MAY, 19 10 No. THE PRESENT SITUATION IN RUBBER By Gustave Heinsohn THE price of crude india-rubber, which of late has advanced to an unprecedentedly high level, is a matter of concern not alone to the manufacturers of rubber goods ; it touches the pocketbooks of the con- sumers of such goods, whose name is legion and who are scattered in every country on the globe. For it must be considered that practically all civilized persons to-day require, in some shape or other, more or less rubber in connection either with some business or industry or their personal convenience or comfort. The growth in the use of rubber — a practically valueless commodity prior to the discovery of the process of "vulcanization" less than seventy years ago — has been unique in indus- trial history. Not that the quantity of the material has become so large, in comparison with some others which serve as bases of manufacturing. It must be kept in mind, however, that the use of the principal metals, tex- tile materials, leather, and so on, antedates history, whereas there are men now living who were doing im- portant work in the world before Charles Goodyear patented his vul- canizing process. It is probable that no other com- modity ever came into such varied use within so short a period as india- rubber. First employed practically for footwear and other waterproof apparel, rubber has come to be em- ployed in electrical insulation, hose pipes for the conveyance of water, steam, air, and so on; pneumatic and other tires for all sorts of wheeled vehicles, balloons and the planes of aerial machines, innumerable articles for the comfort of invalids, house- hold conveniences, and what not. A point of interest in this connection is that, thus far, rubber has never come into use to an important ex- tent for any given purpose to which it is not still devoted ; in other words, its advantages are so marked in many uses that, when once introduced, no substitute can be found for it. These considerations help to ex- plain the present high cost of india- rubber. More than twelve shillings, or three dollars, lately has been paid per pound for rubber in important quantities, and the best informed opinion in the market is that a lower level of prices is not to be looked for in the near future. What such a price means is better understood when it is mentioned that the best rubber cost only one-fifth as much twenty years ago, while up to 1855 rubber was at times a drug in the market at not over a shilling a pound. Of course, all rubber does not fetch the Copyright, 1910, by The Cassier's Magazine Co. CASSIER'S MAGAZINE same price. The market custom is to quote the highest grades, it being un- derstood that when these realize any given figure lower grades may be ex- pected to cost relatively lower prices for differences in quality commonly understood. It will readily be understood that at times the consumption of rubber exceeds the world's production. Such was the case during the last year, for which complete statistics are avail- able. Of course, there exist at all times stocks of rubber of various grades scattered through the markets of the United States and Europe, not to mention the primary markets of the tropical rubber - producing countries ; and it seldom happens that it is impossible for a manufacturer to obtain any grade of rubber de- sired so long as he is able ' to pay the price demanded. But it may be said with accuracy to-day that the production of rubber is falling be- hind the consumption. The rubber goods manufacturer does not first take account of the stocks of raw material and plan his operations accordingly. On the con- trary, he considers the orders placed with him for goods and buys the raw material necessary for filling the or- ders. One of the most important factors in putting up the cost of crude rubber in recent years has been the rapid growth of the auto- mobile industry. While it is true that the ingenuity of the pneumatic tire inventors and builders has been the basis of the increase in automo- biling, the increased demand for rub- ber has come more directly from the makers of motor cars than from the makers of tires. The rubber manu- facturers, however, do not want to be found wanting, and in their efforts to supply the ever-rising demand for tires they buy rubber at whatever cost and turn it into equipment for motor wheels. Rubber is unique also in the re- spect that, whereas its place has been established among the world's neces- sities— and no longer among its luxuries merely — and whereas its production and consumption grow steadily, its cost as steadily advances. Most other commodities have de- clined in price in the face of in- creased demand and an established rate of consumption. It is necessary to refer only to steel as an illustra- tion. The difference is to be found in that rubber is a natural product, brought into a serviceable condition by hand labour in tropical regions unsuited for residence by any peo- ple yet known as civilized. Not the least remarkable fact in connection with the output of rubber is that so many pounds of the mate- rial come out of the Amazon valley annually, gathered by the constant application of the work of ignorant natives, cutting into the bark of the trees day after day, with the gain from such trees daily of a few teaspoon- fuls of latex, which, by the la- borious "curing" process, yields perhaps half of its volume in the rubber of commerce. In other rub- ber countries the yield per man's work is smaller and the money value less, since no other rubber is com- parable to that obtained from the Amazon species of trees. Here it may be mentioned that commercial rubber is derived from no less than 300 or 400 species, as classified by botanists, scattered throughout the world's equatorial belt. Most of these species are not persistent in their yield, so that many regions in Africa colonized by Eu- ropean Powers, once opened up to the production of rubber with promising results, have gradually de- clined in yield. This has been true, for example, of the Congo Free State, the rubber interest of which has been discussed so widely. Already the merchants reputed to have profited so largely from rubber under the former regime on the Congo are di- verting their investments to other regions, as now offering larger re- turns from rubber. It is recognized that the world's chief reliance for rubber is upon the Hevea species. THE RUBBER SITUATION native to the Amazon valley, the trees of which may be "tapped" perenni- ally, with an undiminished yield, and the product known commercially as "Para" rubber, from the port of that name, realizes a permanently higher price. Para rubber, by the way, is the only grade that can be used in the better classes of goods, such as tire inner tubes, rubber threads, elastic bands, first-grade rubber foot- wear, and many other articles. Cheaper rubber enters into garden hose, door mats and rubber goods in general in which elasticity, for one thing, is not a requisite. The rubber trees in the Amazon region, scattered among dense for- ests over an area nearly as large as the United States, are accessible only during part of the year, owing to the annual rise in the rivers. For the most part, there is no settled popula- tion in these regions, and such popu- lation as does exist is extremely sparse. The climatic and hygienic conditions have been most unfavour- able for the introduction of other labourers than natives of tropical South America, and those do not in- crease rapidly. It may be said that the labour conditions alone have been sufficient to prevent the supply of Para rubber from reaching a rate comparable with the world's de- mands. Yet the situation is not hope- less. Nearly forty years ago the British Colonial Office, through the agency of the Kew Gardens, intro- duced specimens of the Hevea rub- ber tree from the Amazon into the Far East, with the result that it has become acclimatized, particularly in Ceylon and the Federated Malay States. The local botanical gardens having demonstrated the practicabil- ity of cultivating this rubber in re- gions where rubber is not indigenous, planters of tea, cocoa, and the like, have taken up the new crop enthusi- astically, and with unexpectedly good results. During the past year nearly 10,000,000 pounds of plantation rub- ber was exported from Ceylon and Malaya at prices higher than were realized for any other rubber in the world, for the reason that it was marketed in a cleaner condition than the "forest"- rubber shipped from Para. The favourable results from Hevea in the British East Indies led to ex- periments in planting the same species in the Dutch East Indies and in many of the European colonies in Africa. From many of these planta- tions rubber is received regularly in the markets of Europe and the United States. Manufacturers show a pref- erence for the new type of rubber, and the extreme high prices reported nowadays in the daily press relate to the product of plantations. The financial results attained by some of the planters have attracted wide- spread attention, dividends as high as 100 per cent, having been paid by some of the first companies formed ; but these doubtless were capitalized very conservatively. The rapid increase in the rate of yield of rubber plantations already productive and the extensive new planting which such results have en- couraged have led to the expression of fears of over-production within the next decade or sooner. In re- spect of such fear it may be sug- gested that — 1. All the plantations formed to date can hardly be expected to realize such results as in the case of the best that have been reported. 2. A considerable part of the plantation product is required an- nually to offset the falling off in for- est rubber in various colonies in Africa and elsewhere. 3. There is no prospect of a de- cline in the consumption of rubber ; on the contrary, a vastly larger de- mand is reasonably to be expected. There remains to be considered a new regime on the Amazon — the home of Hevea rubber. Hitherto the normal conditions of rubber gath- ering in the hinterland of Para has been work on a small scale by in- numerable independent operators — but not independent financially. These CASSIER'S MAGAZINE were furnished with food and other supplies by provisioners at the mouth of the Amazon, who had a first lien on any rubber produced. The small operators referred to sent their col- lections of rubber downstream when- ever a chance opportunity offered, and it was sold by the provisioner to whom consigned at whatever the day's price might be. There was little system involved except that a condition of indebtedness was gen- eral. In view of the risks involved, every middleman had to figure on large book profits, and in very many cases these were the only profits realized in the business. Gradually a new condition has come about in South America, due in no small degree to the successful planting in Ceylon of Hevea rubber — a variety of which the Brazilians once believed themselves to hold a monopoly. But, in view of the com- petition of the Far East now recog- nized, the necessity for better busi- ness conditions on the Amazon is now seen, and of supplying rubber to consumers at lower prices than were thought possible formerly. The larger profits in Ceylon, by the way, are due to the fact that the "mar- ket" for rubber is still made by the Amazon product, which is eight or more times as large as the Eastern plantation output. As the planta- tions yield more, and at a minimum of cost, due to scientific management, it is the hope of the planters that they can sell to consumers at a good profit, but at figures which would spell loss on the Amazon. Whatever in reality may be the situation as between Ceylon and Amazon, an awakening has occurred in the latter region, embracing gov- ernments, merchants, financiers, ship- ping interests and the newspapers, as well as the rubber handlers, and already definite results are in prospect. The new normal condition on the Amazon will embrace : I. The ownership in fee simple of large rubber-producing areas, where- as formerly such ownership did not exist. 2. The operation on a large scale of rubber collection by the land owners, with ample capital, who will "provision" their own camps without the aid of middlemen. 3. The clearing out of forests and the planting of rubber between the Hevea trees already standing and productive, just as virgin jungle in the East is cleared and planted to rubber. 4. The transportation of supplies up and down the streams by means of boats owned by the rubber pro- prietors. 5. The exportation by the pro- ducers of their own rubber, possibly to consumers in Europe and North America. 6. Arrangements whereby branches of State banks will finance such oper- ations as have been outlined above — something not provided for by law in the past. Recently the Brazilian banks have begun to make advances on rubber in storage. To sum up : There is little prospect of more forest rubber being produced as a whole, though here and there a new district may be opened and for a while yield liberally, offsetting a decline in production in a new colony. Meanwhile, the world will constantly demand more rubber. One hope for the consumers is based upon the in- troduction of rubber cultivation in the Far East. The people of the Amazon have accepted the challenge of the East, and in the competition of the Old World and the New in the supplying of Hevea rubber con- sumers of this grade may ultimately obtain more regular supplies, in bet- ter condition, and at much lower prices ; but all of this will take time. The development of the world's rubber industry is best illustrated by the volume of production of the raw material, for the reason that at no time has the production largely ex- ceeded the immediate consumption. To take the Amazon region alone, the official figures of production for THE RUBBER SITUATION the different years stated have been : Year Tons Year Tons 1827 31 1875 7,730 1836 156 1880 8,679 1845 561 1885 11,782 1850 1,469 1890 15,355 1855 2,197 1895 19,310 1860 2,672 1900 26,748 1865 3,546 1905 35,393 1870 6,602 1909 39,452 For a long time the production of other than Amazon rubbers was negli- gible, but finally it equaled the amount exported from Para, and then the out- put of forest rubber other than Hevea began to decline, though the figures for some other countries are un- official. A recent approximate esti- mate of the sources of rubber from a reputable source is as follows : Tons The Amazon River 39,000 Other Brazilian sources 2,800 Mexico and Central America 1,500 Africa 18,800 Asia (other than plantations) 1,200 Plantation rubber 4,600 Total 67,900 The absolute stocks of rubber in the world at any time, outside the hands of manufacturers, cannot be stated ; but the best authorities of late years have reported them lower than formerly. Thus, a leading Lon- don firm lately reported the total visi- ble supply at only 5,000 tons, as against 8,000 tons one year previ- ously, and to-day the figures are be- lieved to be lower than 5,000 tons. And now may be introduced the estimates, by a leading Antwerp firm, of the world's production and consumption of rubber in tons : Year Production Consumption 1895 34,277 33,952 1897 39,890 38,719 1899 49,790 48,251 1901 51,892 50,490 1903 55,948 54,195 1905 69,507 65,727 1907 68,646 64,528 1909 69,372 70,075 In every comment upon such fig- ures it must be considered that, un- like metals, the tendency of rubber is to shrink in weight from the hour of production, and that no cargo of rub- ber ever yet crossed the sea without a heavy loss in avoirdupois. A thou- sand tons may be the accurate weight of a cargo of rubber in the country of production ; what it may show on the scales in the consuming countries is a different question. Note. — The preceding statistics state only what has become recog- nized as standard grades of rubber. In recent years some gums of a lower standard have appeared in the market from different countries, which are available in the rubber factories, and which are likely to be improved to an extent which will entitle them to fig- ure in the statistics of rubber ; but to include them at this time would confuse the study of rubber statistics on any basis now customary. Some such gums are marketed at prices as low as eight cents a pound, and the total production in this class is prob- ably 20,000 tons a year. THE FIGHTING POWER OF BATTLESHIPS By Archibald S. Hurd SINCE the British battleship Dreadnought, embodying the all-big-gun principle, was de- signed and the familiar auxiliary arm- ament was abandoned, an old contro- versy has been revived as to the fight- ing power of battleships of various nationalities, for there are very important variations in design be- tween the ships building, for instance, for the British fleet and those under construction for Germany and be- tween those on the stocks in the United States and the contemporary vessels of Japan. There is a tendency to judge the power of a ship by the amount of metal which can be thrown if all the guns were fired simultaneously and without regard to whether they could be brought to bear upon an enemy or could be fired as fast in war as they can be fired in theory — on paper. This method of judging a ship of war is somewhat analogous to the cannibal's idea of effective music. To an untu- tored savage the most effective piano would be one in which the loud pedal was always On, and the player in order to produce the greatest volume of sound struck all the notes at once. To the practiced ear the result would not be music. In the same way to the ex- pert gunnery officer the idea of mounting as many guns as possible in a ship — it may be crowding them to- gether so closely as to become a danger to the crew rather than the enemy — and firing them all at once is not effec- tive gunnery. Naval shooting is no longer a matter of discharging a num- ber of shells haphazard in the hope that a proportion of them will hit the ' enemy. It has become an exact science. A battleship, or battleship-cruiser of the Inflexible type, is merely a floating gun platform. It is the child of the modern gun, and the modern gun is of a very different character from the weapon which was mounted in the navy even forty or fifty years ago. It is now a weapon of precision and of very high power. Some years ago Sir Andrew Noble gave some most interesting particulars of the guns which in 1850 formed the prin- cipal armament of British frigates or line-of-battleships, and we thus obtain material for comparison with the weapons carried by the newest ships being built and of the strides which the science of gunnery — of hitting an enemy first and hitting him hardest — has made. The progress of gunnery has been due to the marvelous series of triumphs achieved by the gun makers of the world, spurred on to further effort by a spirit of emulation, and by recurring improvements in armour manufacture. As a result strategy and tactics count for nothing if the ship's officers and men cannot use the guns so as to hit the enemy. The only object of a man-of-war and of all the laborious training of the crew is to hit first, to hit hard, and to keep on hitting. Within a short period of 1850, the long peace which succeeded the Na- poleonic wars was broken and at the time, within the vivid recollection of thousands of persons, the principal guns with which the ships were armed were old 32-pounders. They were, as Sir Andrew Noble recalled, weapons of rude construction, being mere blocks of cast iron, the sole machinery spent upon them being in the forma- tion of the bore and the drilling of the vent. The carriage upon which THE FIGHTING POWER OF BATTLESHIPS IO CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Photograph copyright by Stephen Cribb, Southsea. THE BOW OF H. M. S. ST. VINCENT this rude gun was mounted was even more rude. It was made entirely of wood. The recoil was controlled by the friction of abnormally large wooden axles and sometimes by wedges, the gun being finally brought to rest by the rope breeching which attached the piece to the vessel's side. The elevation was fixed by quoins resting on a quoin bed, and hand- spikes were used for training and ele- vating. In 1858 the committee on rifled cannon recommended the intro- duction of the rifled Armstrong gun, the advantage of this weapon in re- gard to range, accuracy and penetra- tive power being conspicuous. The increase in accuracy was, however, the point that attracted most attention. At a range of 1,000 yards half the shot from a rifled gun fell in a rect- angle of about 23 yards long by one yard wide, while in the case of a smooth-bore gun the corresponding rectangle was about 145 yards long by 10 yards broad. After this period im- provements made in powder enabled velocities of 1,200 and 1,300 foot-sec- onds to be raised to 1,600 foot-sec- onds, although the maximum pres- sure in the gun was considerably re- duced. Certain experiments carried out at Elswick soon afterwards led to the velocities of rifled projectiles be- ing at once raised from 1,600 foot- seconds to 2,100 foot-seconds, the maximum pressure remaining the same. The consequent increase of pressure by nearly 75 per cent, ren- dered necessary the reconstruction of guns and their mountings. In 1877 experiments destined to have import- ant bearings on the progress of naval artillery were being made. For nearly seven centuries — since the days of Roger Bacon — gunpowder had had no serious competitor, but at last it was replaced by cordite, the advan- THE FIGHTING POWER OF BATTLESHIPS ii tages of the newer explosive being the absence of smoke and an increase of energy of about 50 per cent, without a higher maximum chamber pressure. Such was the early history of artil- lery as applied to men-of-war. It was a slow movement forward at first, but in the last decade or so it has ad- vanced with extraordinary rapidity. The latest type of British naval gun of 50 calibres weighs 65.8 tons, will pene- trate eight inches of armour at thir- teen miles, and costs about £ 100 every time it is fired ; its rate of fire may be as high as two rounds a min- ute, so quick is the method of loading and firing". This is the weapon mounted in the latest British battle- ships. Its length with the breech chamber added is 617.7 inches. The projectile, of 850 pounds in weight, has a muzzle velocity of 3,010 foot- seconds and a muzzle energy of 53,- 400 foot-tons. The fire delivery pos- sibilities of this new gun are remark- able. During the proving tests two guns of the British battleship Colling- wood mounted in one turret got off eight rounds in two minutes, and four guns in two turrets got off sixteen rounds in two minutes forty-five sec- onds, full service charges being used. As an illustration of the progress of naval ordnance it may be added that in the former Collingwood — one of the old Admiral class — was mounted the first 12-inch breechloading gun and this weapon weighed forty tons, was 25.25 bores in length, and threw a projectile weighing 850 pounds, with a muzzle velocity of 1,914 foot- seconds and a muzzle energy of 18,- 130 foot-tons. It had a penetrative power equal to sixteen inches of wrought iron at 3,000 yards. The newest gun will penetrate 32.9 inches of wrought iron at the same range, the projectiles being identical in each case. The Navy Department of the United States has recently perfected an even more remarkable weapon and experiments have been made in Eng- land with a new 13.5-inch gun. The American gun is of 14 inches and weighs 64 tons, or 10 tons more than the weapon which has just been placed in the battleships North Dakota and Delaware. Its extreme length is 53^2 feet and it uses a projectile of 1,400 pounds. The shell will issue I fit M !.' ,;,/ ; 1 ' -It' rliilf1 — i MfclB 1 >** ■ , y ^ ■■■:■ ■ taBI L/^M ■ Photograph copyright by Stephen Cribb, Southsca. st. Vincent's 12-inch guns starboard 12 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE from the muzzle — after traveling in the bore a distance of 542 inches — at the rate of 2,600 foot-seconds and its muzzle energy is 65,606 foot-tons, or 13,000 more than the North Dakota and Delatvare guns. Its penetrative power is given as 22.7 inches of best Krupp armour at the muzzle and 13 inches at 9,000 yards. This brief review indicates the strides which have been made in naval artillery since the old 32-pounder gun was regarded with something of won- will have traveled 120 yards if steam- ing at 20 knots, and that it is useless for another shot to be fired until the degree of accuracy of the first has been judged by the splash or the dam- age inflicted and connections have been made, it will be understood that mere rapidity of possible fire is a matter of less account than is sometimes imag- ined, since there is a limit beyond which it may prove merely waste of ammunition, of which the supply in a modern ship is restricted by reason of Photograph copyright by Stephen Cribb, Southsea. vanguard's aft 12-inch guns and observation platforms der sixty years ago, but it conveys no adequate conception of the wonderful degree of accuracy in hitting which is now possible, and it is this which ex- plains the attention which is now be- ing paid to the training and practice of the gun's crews in all the navies of the world. The whole theory of gunnery has been changed by the development of the gun. These new weapons must be used scientifically — range, direc- tion, wind, light, the speed of the enemy and of the firing ship and many other points have to be considered. When it is remembered that an 850- projectile even from the latest gun takes 12 seconds to travel five miles, that during that time an enemy's ship its heavy weight and the space which it occupies. These problems have led to the de- velopment of modern naval gunnery, of which Vice-Admiral Sir Percy Scott was the pioneer. In the British and American fleets the gunnery sys- tems adopted are very similar. The reason is not far to seek. Commander W. Sims, of the United States Navy, was serving in the Far East at the time when Sir Percy Scott was de- veloping his system of gunnery train- ing. The result of this association of ideas may be seen in the designs of British and American battleships to- day, and the absence of this associa- tion of ideas accounts for the differ- ent mounting of guns adopted in other THE FIGHTING POWER OF BATTLESHIPS 13 O 3 ■"u o S 2' 2U -5 H CASSIER'S MAGAZINE navies, of which the German may be regarded as a typical illustration. All the world is now bent on the construc- tion of battleships of the all-big- gun type, but the principle first introduced in the British fleet is being carried out in various ways. The variations in design are revealed in the following very brief particulars of the battleships building for British, Amer- ican, German, French, Brazilian, Ital- ian, Russian and Japanese navies : American vessels are of inferior fight- ing power. It is impossible, however, to judge the1 relative merits of various ship de- signs by such an easy method of rule- of-thumb calculation. Many import- ant factors must be taken into con- sideration before judgment is passed. Fighting efficiency, which is another word for ability to hit, does not de- pend on the multitude of guns mounted in a battleship, because the Navy Name of Ship Tons Knots British. . . . Orion 22,500 21 U. S. A. . .Wyoming 26,000 20'A German. . . Ostf riesland . . . 22,000 2oy2 France. . . .Danton 18,300 22 Brazil. . . . Minas Geraes. . 19,250 21 Italy . Dante Alighieri. 18,300 23 Russia. . . . Sevastopol . . .. 23,000 23 , . Kawachi 20,800 20 y2 Armament X., 12 in., 50 cal.; XX., 4 in. XII., 12 in., 50 cal.; XXII., 5 in. XII., 12 in., 50 cal.; XII., 5.9 in.; XVI., 3.4 in IV., 12 in., 50 cal.; XII., 9.4 in., 50 cal.; 24 small quick-firers. XII., 12 in., 50 cal.; XXII., 4.7 in. XII., 12 in.; XVIII., 4.7 in. XII., 12 in.; XVI., 4.7 in. XII., 12 in.; X., 6 in.; XII., 4.7 in. It will be seen that the designs adopted in the British and American fleets closely resemble each other, while in Germany and Japan some re- duction in other fighting qualities is held to be compensated for by the mounting of 6-inch guns. It is a moot point, all things considered, which is the best anti-torpedo weapon, the 4- inch gun of the British service, the 4.7-inch gun of Italy and Russia, the 5-inch gun of the United States, or the 6-inch weapon adopted in Japanese and German battleships. In British and American designs only two types of gun are carried — the 12-inch, of which there are ten, and the 4 or 5- inch. In Germany, on the other hand, on a smaller displacement, which means a smaller deck space, they mount a large number of 12-inch guns in association with a secondary arma- ment similar to that carried before the all-big-gun principle was introduced, as well as a number of quite small anti-torpedo weapons. The result of these variations in design is that the aggregate amount of metal which could be thrown by a German ship, for instance, is very much greater than the amount which could be discharged from a British or American if all the guns were fired simultaneously. The amateur critic is apt therefore to rush to the conclusion that the British and guns may be either of the wrong types or may be so crowded together as to interfere with one another. In judging the fighting efficiency of this battleship or that it is important to ascertain which has the highest facili- ties in hitting first, in hitting hard, and in keeping on hitting. The fac- tors which enter into the consideration of this somewhat complicated subject were recently admirably summarized by an expert writing in the Daily Telegraph of London. In the first place, there is the build of the vessel. She may be a lively ship which rolls, or she may be a fairly steady platform when at sea. The Royal Sovereign rolled over 30 de- grees before she was fitted with bilge keels, and as a fighting unit of a fleet she and her seven sisters were conse- quently at a great disadvantage, as, in- deed, are many foreign battleships to- day. It must be apparent that a steady ship is the desideratum of the gunnery officers ; steadiness facilitates accuracy in laying the guns, and accuracy in laying the guns means more probabil- ity of hitting the enemy. The gun- layer is very much in the same position as a photographer. If the latter is mounted on an Irish jaunting-car with a fast-trotting cob he will find it diffi- cult— indeed, impossible — to secure a picture. The steadier the camera the THE FIGHTING POWER OF BATTLESHIPS iS i6 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE better defined the photograph, other things being equal. Another consideration is the nature of the gun carried. With equal veloci- ties, the heavier the gun the flatter is the trajectory, which again means more possibility of hitting. The aim of the gunnery officer is always to fight with a gun with a flat trajectory — that is, which fires the projectile so that it goes as straight as possible which the officer or officers up above on a platform or platforms, with the advantage of a wider range of vision than can be obtained from the deck, "control" the actions of the gun's crews in the turrets by some system of mechanical signaling. There are vari- ous methods, some of which are radi- cally unsound as a means of ensuring hits. In some cases the method is too complicated in its principles ; in others Photograph copyright by Stephen Cribb, Southsea. st. Vincent's 12-inch guns amidships from the time it leaves the muzzle un- til it strikes an enemy's ship — it may be three, four or five miles away. Then there is a third important point which cannot be ignored — the disposition of the armament. The guns may be badly placed in relation to one another or to the ship's struc- ture. It follows as a matter of course that if one ship, owing to the wisdom with which the guns have been dis- posed, can bring more guns to bear on an enemy than another, she has more probability of hitting. A further factor, comparatively new, but none the less of immense moment, is the method which is used for "controlling" the fire of the guns. This consists of some arrangement by the installation of the instruments may not be good. Much depends also upon the ability and experience of the officer control- ling the fire, and upon the ability with which the gunlayers perform their duties. The marked superiority of some ships of the British navy over others of the same type at target prac- tice illustrates this only too fre- quently ; some fire many times as well as others. Lastly, the nature of the armament will greatly affect the facility of con- trol and the consequent hitting power. None of these factors can be ig- nored in attempting to reach a solu- tion of the relative merits of different battleships. By way of illustration we THE FIGHTING POWER OF BATTLESHIPS J7 may consider the development of British battleship design, and with slight variations the development has been similar in the United States navy. Ten years ago the typical ship was of 15,000 tons, mounting four 12-inch guns and twelve 6-inch weapons. Greater power was desired, so as to give to the British fleet ships of the line markedly superior to those being built in foreign navies. The Admi- ralty consequently laid down the King Edward VIII. class, carrying three de- scriptions of guns — four 12-inch, four 9.2-inch and ten 6-inch. Each descrip- tion of gun required a separate officer aloft to control the group and a sepa- rate installation of instruments. Con- sequently in those days there were three distinct parties of officers and men in three distinct "stations" to control the three distinct descriptions of guns. In these circumstances it was soon discovered that confusion arose, and the hitting power of the ships was thereby reduced. An improved design was forthwith prepared, and the British navy ob- tained the Lord Nelson and Agamem- non, in which the 6-inch guns were eliminated, leaving only two types of guns, and consequently only two "con- trol" stations and two groups of con- trol officers aloft. Thus we get this summary of naval development: Formidable King Edward VII. Lord Nelson (15,000 tons) (16,350 tons) (16,500 tons) 4 12-in. 4 12-in. 4 12-in. 12 6-in. 4 9.2-in. 10 6-in. 10 9.2-in. The Lord Nelson was hailed as the ship of a new epoch, and foreign navies almost immediately commenced to reconsider their designs — the French laying down six somewhat larger vessels embodying an armament of two types of guns. Experience, however, showed that this dual control, though an improve- ment on that of the King Edzvard VII. class, was not satisfactory, particu- larly as in training the gun-layers — as would have been the case in battle — it was difficult to distinguish be- tween the splashes made by the 850- pound shells of the 12-inch guns and 1-2 the 380 shells of the 9.2-inch weapons, and therefore it was not easy to cor- rect any error in the range. Thus it came about that leading gunnery ex- perts, such as Vice-Admiral Sir Percy Scott in the British service and Com- mander William Sims in the United States fleet, decided that the only sal- vation was one type of big gun for battle and one fire control installation for the whole armament. Such a ship offered better facilities for obtaining a high standard of hitting power. In this manner the British and American fleets came to adopt the all- big-gun principle as embodied in the latest types of men-of-war. In both navies an effort was made to secure the maximum hitting capacity on a limited displacement. This could be obtained only by the adoption of a new principle in association with the all- big-gun idea. Hitherto the big-gun battleship had carried two turrets each mounting two guns of the largest calibre able to fire on either broadside. Associated with this main armament there was a port and starboard battery of secondary guns. In these circum- stances when such a vessel went into action, she could bring a broadside to bear of four big guns, but only half her secondary armament. Thus at a given moment in an action she carried a number of secondary guns, repre- senting dead weight and unemployed guns' crews, which did not affect the momentary hitting power. The new principle which has been adopted in the latest English and American bat- tleships is that with the elimination of the secondary armament the in- creased number of big guns shall be disposed as to enable all of them to be fired on either broadside. The result is that at a given moment of battle British and American ships will be able to concentrate on either broadside the whole of their main armament, and at the supreme moment there will be no weight carried or guns' crews of the main guns unemployed in the main business of war. In the German navy the designers have still clung to the old principle of multiplicity of i8 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE TWELVE-INCH GUNS OF THE DREADNOUGHT CLEARED FOR ACTION guns, and consequently a proportion of the weight allotted to the main ar- mament of the ships is ineffective at every moment during the period of action. For instance, whereas the British and American ships which are now being completed for sea can "bring ten 1 2-inch guns to bear on ■either broadside, the German vessels, although they carry two more guns, can only bring the same number to bear on either broadside, and they suffer from the disadvantage that, owing to the introduction of the extra two guns, the weights assigned to ar- mament are not only greatly increased, but, owing to the closer disposition of guns, there is liability to greater in- terference, and the strain upon the structure of the ship at the time of firing is also probably increased. Now that a further increase in ship displacement is taking place, probably the battleship of the future will have sufficient deck space to enable twelve large guns to be mounted on the axial line so as to bear upon either broad- side, but in any case it is certain that British and American constructors, in association with officers of the respec- tive fleets, will evolve designs of their own— effective designs, which may not necessarily be in line with those of other constructors. In a technical matter of this kind, each navy must act up to its light and in accordance with its own predelictions and with the con- ditions obtaining; at the time. LONG-DISTANCE GAS TRANSMISSION By Harrison Dexter Emerson The possibilities of the transmission of fuel in the gaseous state by forcing it through pipe lines have been discussed at various times, and the question of cost, leakage, and general practicability examined. One phase of the subject involves the feasibility of generating ■ fuel gas at the coal mines and the delivery of the gas to distant cities. So far as the operative problems connected with the actual pumping of gas are concerned, these have been taken out of the scope of conjecture and given practical demonstra- tion in connection with the delivery of natural gas from the wells to the city of Pittsburg from points several hundred miles distant. Mr. Emerson gives some of the facts connected with the long-distance pumping of natural gas through pipe lines from the fields of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the data thus available will be welcomed as representing actual and efficient practice. — The Editor. POWER is transported in many- ways. The principal method and the oldest is the shipment of coal or other fuel by rail or water lines from the point of production to the point of consumption. Electrical development has added another im- portant method, in which the power is generated and carried or trans- ported over transmission lines to the consumer. A third and very efficient method of handling power has been developed in the Pittsburg district, in Pennsylvania, by which ' natural gas is transported through pipe lines from the point of production to the con- sumer. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the comparative efficiency of these three methods at the pres- ent time, but to outline the history of the development and the present state of the art of gas transmission, and point out possible future eco- nomical development. It is of interest to note that these three methods of transporting power are radically different in one respect. The coal as it is shipped is energy stored, and the daily production and consumption have no direct relation to each other. In the transportation of gas the pipes act as a reservoir and the daily consumption and pro- duction must be equal, but the stor- age capacity of the pipes equalizes and reduces any temporary demands or temporary lull. With electricity consumption and production are equal and instantaneous, and the productive capacity must be equal to the tem- porary maximum demands of the consumers. The natural gas industry in the Pittsburg district started first as the utilization of a waste or by-product from oil wells. Subsequently wells which were drilled for oil but failed therein and developed "gassers," were connected together to supply com- mercial and domestic fuel. Then longer pipe lines were built and there uprose the industry of supplying nat- ural gas, competing with artificial gas and coal for light and fuel. In the early days the natural pressure from the wells was sufficient to force the gas through the pipes. But ex- perience demonstrated that this nat- ural pressure was unsatisfactory and unreliable, because it fluctuated widely under variations of consumption and under climatic conditions. When the demand became greatest — that is, in cold weather — the pressure decreased and the volume of gas flowing through the pipes diminished, and the supply was unsatisfactory. The pressure on any particular well also diminishes as the well grows older. This decrease in pressure does not follow a regular rate, but is peculiar to each well. These conditions led to the build- ing of pumping plants, taking the gas from the wells and putting it into the transporting or supplying mains at a different pressure. The first plants constructed were steam com- pression plants, the gas being burned 19 20 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE GAS PUMPING STATION AT WAYNESBORO., PENNSYLVANIA under boilers as a fuel and steam used to drive compressors very sim- ilar in design to those used for com- pressing air. Some of these plants, as installed near Pittsburg, were quite efficient. In one instance it is re- ported that it produced an indicated horse-power with 16 cubic feet of gas which was equivalent to about 8 per cent, of the gas compressed. This plant raised the pressure from atmosphere to 300 pounds. Within the past few years, follow- ing the development of the gas or internal-combustion engine, large and very efficient plants have been con- structed in which the natural gas is used directly to produce the motive power. Speaking of the results of the operation of one of these plants, the manager of one of the largest companies supplying Pittsburg with gas says : "Among modern gas- pumping machinery are some of the finest' specimens of mechanic art. Probably nowhere has a greater amount of work been done with the same expenditure of fuel than has been accomplished in gas compres- sors ; in fact, it is doubtful if the re- sults have been equaled in any other power plants. An indicated horse- power has been maintained for one hour with less than the equivalent of two-thirds of a pound of coal. Thirty cubic feet of gas have been com- pressed with the expenditure of but 1 cubic foot of gas in producing the power." Gas engines in units as large as 5,000 horse-power have been installed for this service, and an example of such a gas-power gas-pumping plant is shown in the accompanying illus- trations, which represent the station at Waynesboro, Pa. These engines are provided with ingenious devices for starting and for regulation, in order to maintain a pre-determined uniform pressure in the delivery pipe H2'*- POWER GAS TRANSMISSION 21 Sc„U o/ Al.fes GENERAL LOCATION OF GAS-PUMPING PIPE LINES ENTERING PITTSBURG LIBRARY !. S. PATENT OFFICE 22 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE INTERIOR OF GAS-PUMPING STATION AT WAYNESBORO, PENNSYLVANIA Showing tandem gas-ptimping engines in units of 5,000 horse-power, built by the Snow Steam Pump Company, Buffalo; also power traveling crane by the Whiting Foundry Equipment Company, Harvey, Illinois. line, regardless of the volume pass- ing through the pumps. The labour employed by a plant such as that illustrated is ridiculously small when compared with the power generated, and is comparable only to the small amount of labour neces- sary to operate a hydro-electric plant, and it is questionable which form has the advantage over the other. In pumping oil through pipes it is usual to pump it a certain distance and then use a relay pump for the next stage. In handling gas this is not as efficient a method as to com- press the gas at the first station to a maximum density. The amount of gas that can be passed through a line between given points depends upon the difference between the squares of the initial and discharge pressures. It is much more eco- nomical to pump the gas with one high-stage compression at the initial end than to relay it with several low- stage compressions. The practical result of this experience is that the compressor plants are placed in con- venient locations to the wells and the gas is forced through the transport- ing lines to the immediate vicinity of consumption, where the pressure in the city distributing lines is regu- lated by equalizing valves. The principal cost of transporting gas — or, as it really is, power — through pipe lines is evidently the interest on the capital required, depreciation and maintenance. That there are many instances where this is much lower than rail or water haulage of an equal amount of power is unquestion- able. Whether it is less than the electric methods is a mere guess, as POWER GAS TRANSMISSION 23 ANOTHER VIEW OF THE WAYNESBORO GAS PUMPING STATION the companies which own the pipe lines have been very secretive about costs and maintenance charges. That it has been, and is, extremely profit- able, is proved by the earnings of the companies which supply many cities in the territory served by the Pitts- burg and West Virginia district. Conservative investors have re- frained from advocating the securi- ties of these gas companies, not be- cause the efficiency of the method of transporting was questioned, but be- cause they were skeptical as to the continued supply of the natural fuel. As early as 1888 an English engineer, in a monograph on the then infant natural gas industry, called attention to the fact that, should the natural gas fail, the companies could erect coke ovens and send the artificial gas through their lines in place of the natural gas. It is immaterial whether the coke or the natural gas be con- sidered the by-product of the mod- ern improved oven, because either would pay all expenses and leave the other as a net clear profit. Modern mechanical engineering is responsible for the fact that cities such as Cincinnati and Cleveland, lo- cated several hundred miles from the gas fields, are able to enjoy the ad- vantages of a convenient low-priced and abundant gas fuel for commer- cial and domestic uses. The two principal elements which should be mentioned in this connection are the economical and efficient gas com- pressors as here illustrated, and riv- eted pipe lines which can be con- structed at a reasonable rate, but which will stand high pressures with- out undue leakage. It is reasonable to predict that plants will be constructed in the future to handle artificial gas alone, and when this is done a part of the now tremendous cost of handling and delivering coal in large cities will be eliminated, and a large economic sav- ing will result. THE ELECTRICAL DRIVING OF TEXTILE MACHINERY By W. B. Woodhouse MUCH of the discussion as to the relative merits of me- chanical and electrical driv- ing of textile machinery would have been avoided had it been possible to determine accurately the losses in me- chanical transmission in a steam- driven mill, and it may be said that the practical difficulties in the way of doing this have largely tended to pre- vent a true appreciation of the effi- ciency of electrical driving. Comparisons between different mills are of little value, and the electrical engineer is compelled to rest his claims for improvement on tests of individual machines and an inductive reasoning therefrom. That the claims of advantages are none the less true the following article is intended to show. The principal claims made for electric driving are : Lessened losses in transmission of power. Increased steadiness of speed and output. Improved financial results by the adoption of the electric drive. MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY The first point of importance is to decide the relative mechanical effi- ciency of the two methods. On the electrical side it is a matter of extreme simplicity to determine not only the total friction and elec- trical losses, but to separate the losses in each department as tests may be made under actual operating conditions from day to day, and the effect of climatic conditions and wear observed with accuracy. Unfortunately, with mechanical transmission it is impossible by prac- 24 tical methods to determine the losses to any degree of accuracy, and this inherent fault has had much to do with the comparatively slow adoption of electric driving. The established method of estimat- ing friction losses by indicator dia- grams taken when the engine is driv- ing only the shafting and belts is an inaccurate one for the following rea- sons: All friction losses so recorded in- crease with load ; the engine itself has smaller pressures in every part and less friction ; the total pull in belts and ropes, due to their elasticity, and the loss of power increases with the load, and the pressure on shaft bearings increases also ; gearing losses vary in the same way, and, except as a means of comparison from day to day, "friction" cards are valueless. Mills vary so considerably in their equipment that it is difficult to state a figure of losses which is of gen- eral application ; it may, however, be safely said that the electrical trans- mission from switchboard to machine is more efficient than the mechanical in practically every case. The efficiency of a modern mill en- gine under load, after deducting the power required for pumps and auxiliaries, is of the order of 90 per cent. That is to say, the horse- power given out by the engine is 90 per cent, of the indicated horse- power. The average efficiency of electric motors (of the sizes generally used) when running with from three-quar- ters to full load may be taken as the same, viz. : 90 per cent. That is to say, the useful horse-power given out by the engine is equal to the useful ELECTRIC DRIVING 25 frwintrf^- .4iiiiiuiiitiiiiiiiiuitti(ijuAMiMMUii FIG. lA. RECORD FROM FIRST MAIN SHAFT AT 80 R. P. M., DRIVING TOTAL MILL LOAD horse-power given out by the mo- tors; this being so, there are left to be considered the losses in belts, ropes, bearings and gearing in the mechanical drive as against the smaller amount of shafting losses in the electrical drive and the very small losses in wiring. If, therefore, the installation of motors reduces the amount of shafting and number of belts in a mill to any appreciable ex- tent, the electric drive will be more efficient, and the amount of the gain will depend entirely on the reduction of shafting effected. As an example of the amount of electrical losses, the following figures may be taken as representative for a 1,000 horse-power cotton spinning mill with group driving: Per Cent. Losses in wiring 2.5 Losses in motors 9-0 Losses in shafting and belts 10.0 Total 21.5 ■iz. ZZl 'tiittiinvte P^3 IJn/f n-TS Si, WtirtttH FIG. lC. RECORD TAKEN AT MIDDLE OF SHAFT These results are not "paper" esti- mates, but are deduced from a num- ber of exhaustive tests made by Mr. F. B. Perry and presented in a paper before the American Cotton Manu- facturers' Association in 1906. The no-load losses are, of course, much lighter in the case of electrical driving than mechanical ; as an ex- ample, tests made by the writer in a woolen mill driven by motors of a total of 300 horse-power gave a no- load loss of 13 per cent. The writer has tested a large num- ber of mechanically-driven textile mills, and has rarely found the fric- tion card to indicate less than 30 per cent, of the maximum power. In many cases it rises to 50 per cent. The conversion to electrical driving is accompanied by a very consider- able reduction of the shafting and gearing and a corresponding reduc- tion in the power used. The electrical drive has one con- tingent advantage which may be men- tioned here — the efficiency of that f>°/ liiy.iii rr m n ^ J-. mihTxfc- TBlZZ FIG. IB. RECORD TAKEN AT DRIVEN END OF SHAFT ON FIG. ID. RECORD TAKEN AT FAR END OF SHAFT, 120 FOURTH FLOOR OF MILL, WEAVING DEPARTMENT FEET AWAY 26 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE shafting which is left may be main- tained at its highest level by observ- ing the power taken by each motor from day to day. This is an advantage of no small value, as the adjustment of bearings, the working of lubricators, the ten- sion of belts, and the wear of gear- ing may add considerably to the power required. With mechanical transmission even the most careful supervision cannot keep the gearing up to its original efficiency. ward by electrical engineers for in- creased output and improved quality of material due to steady driving. The evidence of mill owners on this point is, of course, of the greatest value, but there is a natural disin- clination on the part of most users of power to publish their results. That the claims are borne out the writer has ample evidence of a con- fidential nature ; but, fortunately, in addition the claims can be readily corroborated by means of speed records taken from the textile ma- ■+ \o%- lhl.'IIViM-"-'IM|il .1 IM7I " ' i\ \\i '-I! rl -T a.-'fJ It.1 '-llM! I I- II I imt'.ik'iiu mi 1 1 1 inn : i.'i il,lllllJI*IIIIIJi,'i/!U Jl iiJLIJIUiiaUlI )I!U 1 '.'■Ji.i iiii'im iir iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirniniiitiiinii ' H'Hi Hill ii ill ,(111111111111111 i.iiiriiii.diiii'iiniiiitiiiii . i'"iifiini.ii;r rtuiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiH i.i i :, "H.rr . ii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiirniiiiiiiiiiiv ■ § ^ & \® 5J K $ /?? irjvssnjr t wf ***** //A03> %? $fr Pfe^ "C-. " -*• XX pse** s *->/> fs? + !*>% FIG. 11. RECORD FROM MAIN SHAFT, NO LOAD, ALL MULES STANDING. DIRECT-CURRENT DRIVING -o- tWflWffiWMYl;nlun«VlT■^Tf'Ww^^r*l'W^^'>'■'W^^W!W ~-ioA FIG. 12. RECORD FROM MAIN SHAFT, NO LOAD, ALL MULES STANDING, ALTERNATING-CURRENT DRIVING * *°z KaA^W"'^ ^KT%- FIG. llA. RECORD FROM MAIN SHAFT, ALL FOUR MULES RUNNING, NORMAL WORKING CONDITION, DIRECT-CURRENT DRIVING 3H*3g= I y t-u*\w^r^tM(,Myr — V^r FIG. 12A. RECORD FROM MAIN SHAFT, ALL FOUR MULES RUNNING, NORMAL WORKING CONDITION -N^v5- 3I"£ Sees ■ Grcle ■ ^^ ^&w ^/^Vy *: FIG. llB. RECORD FROM COUNTERSHAFT OF ONE . MULE. ALL MULES RUNNING. DIRECT- CURRENT DRIVING 1-3 ^r f-^ym^^^^ te¥>^ FIG. 12B. RECORD FROM MULE COUNTERSHAFT, ALL FOUR MULES RUNNING, ALTERNATING-CURRENT DRIVING 34 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 13. KING SPINNING FRAMES DRIVEN INDIVID- UALLY BY VARIABLE-SPEED A.-C. MOTORS DIRECT COUPLED TO TIN ROLLER SHAFTS. SIEMENS BROTHERS, LONDON tirely unsuitable for driving such machinery. The speed curves referred to were taken from the same mules in all cases, and it is interesting to note the marked superiority of the induc- tion motor over both the mechanical and direct-current methods. THE FINANCIAL ASPECT Many wild statements have been made on the subject of power costs in textile mills, and they have, for many reasons, been difficult to check. The enthusiast who, from a test of a new engine lasting but a few hours and carried out under the most fa- vourable conditions, calculates the an- nual cost of running by mere multi- plication of the coal account, takes no notice of the deterioration that every machine must suffer, and makes no allowance for the numerous trifling losses which, over a period of time, amount in practice to a con- siderable figure. The careful analysis of costs kept and published by the public electrical generating stations in England are, perhaps, the most instructive comment on this sort of estimating. These results have shown that the difference between test figures and actual results ac- counts for increases of coal consump- tion of from 20 to 50 per cent. But perhaps the greatest difficulty the electrical engineer has had to meet has been due to imperfect and in- complete accounts kept of the power bill. There are still manufacturers who are content to regard the coal bill as representing their total power costs. An analysis of a power account should include the following items : Interest on capital expended on power plant, dam, chimney, build- ings, engines, boilers, piping, main shafts, belts and ropes, and all auxiliaries. Depreciation on the same. Coal costs, including cartage and disposal of ashes. Wages of enginemen and stokers. Stores and sundries, oil packing, etc. Water, or cost of pumping. Repairs on engines, boilers, etc., boiler cleaning, maintenance of belts, ropes and shafting. Rent, rates and taxes chargeable to the power plant and insurance. These items will vary according to the local conditions in each case ; but, generally speaking, the propor- tion remains fairlv constant. Capital charges are about one-half and coal from 25 to 35 per cent, of the total. The proportion depends upon the running hours and the variations of load during these hours ; for textile mills have not, as is sometimes as- sumed, a constant load throughout the day, and the load varies day by day, due to conditions of trade and climate. The load factor, to use an elec- trical phrase, is rarely greater than 80 per cent, during running hours, and over the year the load factor of most mills lies between 18 and 25 per cent. That is to say, though ELECTRIC DRIVING 35 FIG. 14. RING-DOUBLING FRAMES INDIVIDUALLY DRIVEN BY CONSTANT SPEED A.-C. MOTORS DIRECT COUPLED TO THE TIN ROLLER SHAFT. (BRITISH THOMSON-HOUSTON COMPANY) the working hours may be one-third of the year, the current used in that time is less than that due to a per- fectly steady load. A neglect of this important fact has accounted for many unfair estimates of the cost of electrical driving. The annual cost of steam driving per I. H. P. varies from £3 to £5, depending on the size of the mill and the hours of working. The equivalent electrical cost per unit can only be stated when the nature of the load is known; but, as an example, the costs of a 700 I. H. P. steam plant are given and the equivalent cost per unit of elec- tricity calculated. 36 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 15. ALTERNATING-CURRENT MOTOR DIRECT COUPLED TO THE TIN ROLLER SHAFTS OP TWO RING- TWISTING FRAMES. (BRITISH THOMSON-HOUSTON COMPANY) Note the friction clutch for each frame Capital cost of plant, £7,500. Equivalent Pence Annual Cost Per Unit Interest and depreciation at 12 y2 per cent £937 0.224 Coal at 10 shillings per ton. 700 0.168 Wages 250 0.060 Repairs 150 0.036 Stores 50 0.012 Rates, insurance, etc 150 0.036 £2,237 0.536 The final test of the value of elec- tric driving is its effect on the bal- ance sheet, and it is here that the value of increased output becomes most apparent. The cost of equipping a mill with motors, assuming a public supply of power be taken, is less than the cost of boilers, engine and main drives by usually one-half. If this saving be invested in productive machinery, the earning capacity of the mill and of the capital invested in it is in- creased. An extra output, due to steady speed, will be obtained in addition to this, and without any addition to the standing charges. The balance sheet will, therefore, show a two-fold improvement. The proportions of the items con- sidered above will vary for each par- ticular trade, but the general prin- ciples stand, that money expended on productive machinery is earning the profit, all other expenditure is a dead weight on the business, and that extra output, due to improved driving, will enable a greater profit to be earned without any increase of capital or standing charges ; "dump- ing," of which so much has been heard recently, is only possible on account of this principle. Electric driving can justify the claims made for it, and, this being so, the problem for the mill owner is no longer an engineering but a finan- cial one. It has come to stay, and no mill owner can afford to neglect the lesson of the figures given above. ELECTRIC DRIVING 37 In conclusion, a few notes on the methods of electrical driving may be of interest. The low working costs obtained in modern mechanically-driven textile mills are very largely due to the ex- cellent millwrighting put into them, embodying, as it does, the results of many years of experience. Electrical driving may give unsat- isfactory results if the importance of the millwright's work is not realized, and although the results of any par- ticular method of driving may be readily measured, foresight in the first case will save disappointment. Mechanically, the best method of driving spinning frames is by direct coupling the motor to the tin roller, as illustrated in Figs. 13, 14 and 15. The fear that such an arrangement would cause too severe a stress on the yarn and bands when starting has been found in practice to be un- justified, and for a frame spinning one particular count of yarn at all times the method of driving is 11 n- equaled. In converting existing frames de- signed for mechanical driving, it is an advantage to increase the speed of the tin roller in relation to that of the spindles ; the ratio of the speeds is usually of the order of 10 to 1, and a reduction of this will give a more satisfactory drive and enable a high-speed motor to be used. Where, as in the woolen trade, spinning frames are regularly work- ing on different counts of yarn, di- rect coupling can only be applied if a chang-e speed gear is part of the frame, otherwise the most satisfac- tory arrang-ement is to fix the motor to the ceiling in the place usually occupied by the gallows pulleys and . . .;_•* r . ,-1 f ri 1 f i { fflffltwt i mtm § i mam i mat i rr 1 1 in; 1 ^mmwmimimmniimi \mMMmm\ •iif 11 ifi; rrnitHmrrjjiVr kVi'i t W^mmmiiimi " - i ?•*'♦.»"«■«- '*»'•/' ■^Hihinrnmh. ^^mmmmm^ FIG. 16. GROUP DRIVE OF MULE SPINNING ROOM IN A LANCASHIRE MILL. ALTERNATING-CURRENT MOTOR OF 90 HORSE-POWER DIRECT COUPLED TO MAIN SHAFT 38 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE to drive by a belt. An excellent ar- rangement, which allows of larger and proportionately cheaper motors being used, is to drive two or four frames from one motor ; in the lat- ter case the motor is provided with a double-width pulley at each end and the belts work side by side. Mules are usually driven in groups of two or four by one motor, this being found to pay better than ap- plying a motor to each mule. A group drive is illustrated by Fig. 16. The load on each mule is, of course, extremely variable ; the grouping tends to equalize it. The load factor of a single mule is less than 50 per cent, during working hours; that is to say, the current consumption per horse-power is one-half of that due to a steady load. In addition to the cyclical variation of a mule load, there is a notable increase in the power required for the first hour after starting in the morning. The individual driving of looms has proved successful in many cases, particularly in silk weaving-, where extra cleanness, due to the absence of belts, is a great advantage. Me- chanically, the method is most satis- factory ; commercially, the advantages are, in most cases, not sufficient to justify the extra expenditure. The output from a loom varies so much with the skill of the weaver that mill owners can hardly be blamed for neglecting an increased output of 2 to 3 per cent, when the output due to the human element may vary by as much as 30 per cent. The usual method of driving is in groups of ten to sixteen from a mo- tor-driven line shaft, the motor being fixed at the middle of the shaft to reduce torsional oscillations, and the results obtained are highly satisfac- tory. Preparing machinery, such as cot- ton openers and woolen willeys and shakers, is somewhat variable in its load. Carding and scribbling machines are very steady, and for this reason are usually group-driven ; electrical driving shows an interest- ing increase in the power required by such machines after "fettling." In woolen mills the milling de- partment requires a large and variable amount of power, and group driving usually presents advantages over in- dividual. This department is fre- quently worked overtime, and the advantages of a public supply of elec- tric power in such case are consid- erable. Many figures have been published of the power required by textile ma- chinery, but unless very full details are given of the machines, a state- ment of horse-power is not of great value ; the importance of knowing the average consumption of energy as well as the maximum power is to be borne in' mind. The steady ac- cumulation of data by electrical en- gineers is daily making the task of estimating the current consumption easier, and it is now possible to do this very closely, and to predict ac- curately the lessened consumption due to variations of load. THE BRATTLEBORO HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANT By Lauriston Fredericks In the issue of this magazine for September last, the possibilities of hydraulic-power development from streams of moderate fall and large volume of flow were discussed, and it was shown that there was no necessity to search for great waterfalls to secure abundant power for industrial operations. _ In the present article there is given a concrete example of the extent to which hydraulic power is being developed upon the Connecticut River, at Brattleboro, so that 20,000 horse-power is taken from the river, utilizing a head of about 15 feet. — The Editor. WITH the completion of the great hydraulic power plant upon the Connecticut River, at a point just below Brattleboro, and not far from the boundary line of Massachusetts, it will become pos- sible to deliver power by electric transmission to two-score cities with- in a radius of 60 miles. The power plant has involved the construction of a dam 650 feet long and 34 feet high above low-water mark, requiring the labour of 700 men, in alternate gangs, twenty hours a day for two years, and costing about three million dollars. In view of the advantages offered by hydraulic power and by electric transmission, together with the op- portunities for utilization of power within reasonable distances of the site, the greatest hydro-electric plant in the United States east of Niagara has been constructed at Brattleboro. The dam is built upon a rock formation which reaches clear across the river at a point about opposite the Vernon station of the Central Vermont Railroad. This ledge is jointed by Nature right into the out- cropping rock upon either shore, while the high land beyond afforded the necessary protection from the stream at all times. Between Bellow's Falls, in Ver- mont, and Turner's Falls, in Massa- chusetts, there is a reach of some- thing like 50 miles, in which the river has a fall of 55 feet. There were no dams in this stretch ; indeed, the big watershed of the Connecticut had never been used for commercial pur- poses at all except for direct water- power at Holyoke, Windsor Locks and Turner's Falls. It was in July, 1907, that the first section of the coffer-dam cribbing was sunk at Cooper's Point. Long before that time a suspension bridge had been swung across the river, offices, storehouses, shanties and a hospital had been built, a spur track from the railroad put down, a saw- mill erected, and a power plant for furnishing electric light and moving cranes and hoists had been com- pleted. In September, 1907, the full current of the river was deflected to the west of the rocks that were in the middle of the channel. The bluff was washed away at the rate of 1,000 cubic yards a day by a 4- inch stream of water driven by a 50 horse-power engine. The rock for the concrete for the bed of the per- manent dam behind the coffer-dam was taken from the New Hamp- shire end of the ledge, where a luckily-located quarry was found; it was crushed on the spot and mixed and delivered with a very small amount of labour. In each yard of concrete there were mixed 24 cubic feet of loose broken rock, 4 cubic feet of cement and 12 cubic feet of sand. The width of the concrete bed in the deepest parts of the river was 65 feet at the base and on shore it was 20 feet. First the eastern half of the dam was built up from the river's bottom and then the western, stretching, from foundation to crest, 70 feet. • The power house is on the western 39 4o CASSIER'S MAGAZINE washing away the bluff on the new Hampshire shore by a 4-inch water jet side. It stands on the dam itself, yond is the water spillway, wider and is 50 feet in height and 250 feet than was the width of the river when in length. The logway for the the building of the dam was begun, yearly log crop is next to it, and be- There are ten large flood gates. disastrous effect of a flood occurring during the early construction period of the dam THE BRATTLEBORO HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANT 41 each measuring 7 feet by 10 feet, and capable, together, of carrying off .25,000 cubic feet of water piercing the dam. They will be used in times of ordinary flood to prevent ex- cessive damage to land upstream and to regulate the level of the pond which is created by the dam. They move in a steel framework embedded in concrete. Through the solid ma- sonry of the dam there has been In the power house there are eight vertical water-wheel units which de- velop 20,000 horse-power. Each of these units is connected directly with an alternating-current generator which has a capacity for generating 3,000 kilowatts of electrical energy. In addition to these main units, there are also two exciter units and five transformers ; each of the latter is capable of transforming 5,000 kilo- VIEW DURING CONSTRUCTION, SHOWING SECTION OF THE DAM made a tunnel or foot passage, through which a man can pass with 6 feet of concrete between him and the river above his head. Thus he will have access to the hoists which oper- ate these gates. The dam creates a 22-mile reser- voir, on the upper 4 feet of which the storage capacity has been com- puted to: be 250,000,000 cubic feet of water. Thus the level of the stream is raised about 15 feet at Brattleboro, and where once there were rapids two miles above the city there is now still water. watts from 2,300 volts to 66,000 volts. Cables carried on steel towers transmit this power. The transmis- sion lines are run on private rights of way, 100 feet wide; the towers are about 60 feet high, and they stand 400 feet apart. Upon each tower there are stretched six heavy trans- mission cables, a telephone circuit and a guard wire. The towers, it is es- timated, would require a pull of 11,- 000 pounds applied to their tops to overturn them ; they are intended to stand the heaviest strain that will 42 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE THE 600-FOOT SPILLWAY BELOW BRATTLEBORO, MASS. ever be put upon them. The in- These transmission lines will carry sulators are 16 inches in diameter 20,000 horse-power with a loss of and 3 feet high, and each of them energy of less than 10 per cent. In has a weight of almost 10 pounds. order that mills may use the electric VIEW OF THE POWER HOUSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND OF THE INTAKES THE BRATTLEBORO HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANT 43 44 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE STEEL TOWER CARRYING THE CABLES WHICH TRANSMIT THE ELECTRIC POWER energy that is thus brought to their doors, it is necessary to lower the high line voltage by means of sub- stations, of which four have been erected on the transmission line that runs to Worcester, at Gardner, Fitch- burg, Clinton, and at the Worcester terminus. The stations on this one line offer 75,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy a year at a rate which is held to be comparable with that for steam generated from coal costing $2 per ton. In the two years that were re- quired for the building of this dam the engineers had more than once to face serious difficulties. One flood washed away what was called El- more's Island and carried it down the river. The crib was filled with ice and water several times. The first sus- pension bridge was swept away, and again the waters climbed to the planking of the floor of a new bridge which was built higher still. When the current was deepest it was esti- mated that there were 100,000 cubic feet of water swirling every second over the dam. Once the machinery had to be hoisted out of the coffer- dam at night. Within reach of this dam by means of the transmission lines there are a large number of towns and cities : Worcester with 130,000 people, Springfield with 74,000, Lowell with 95,000, Manchester with 60,000, Fitchburg with 30,000, Pittsfield with 25,000, North Adams with 32,000, and such smaller places, ranging down to 5,000, as Brattleboro, Ware, Keene, Orange, Palmer, and others. The engineers who constructed the dam were M. G. Chace and H. I. Har- riman ; the enterprise was financed by Baker, Ayling & Co., of Boston. RECENT PROGRESS IN MOTORS FOR AEROPLANES By W. F. Bradley It is now conceded that much of the progress which has been made in aviation is due to the development of the light-weight, high-power gasoline motor. The experiments of the Wright Brothers in gliding, in America, and of Santos, Farman, and others, in France, could have resulted in little real progress had there not been available the motor which had been produced as a result of the work of Daimler and his followers in the production of motors for automobile service. Since the success of the aeroplane has been assured, the efforts of the motor constructors have been directed toward still further improvements as respects reduction in weight, greater assurance of reliability, and further efficiency in performance. Mr. Bradley discusses some of the latest developments in aeroplane motors, with illustra- tions of the productions of makers whose reputations are already assured. — The Editor. DESPITE the conspicuous suc- cess of one totally unconven- tional type of motor for aero- plane work, the decided tendency among European builders is towards the standard type of gasoline motor lightened where the loss of metal cannot possibly entail loss of strength. The Wright brothers undoubtedly be- gan the tendency with their four-cyl- inder motor of standard design in all its general features. Up to that time European makers had been en- deavouring to obtain lightness by what they now term "jewelers' work," or by radical departures in design from what had previously been considered the most satisfactory type. Despite its indifferent work- manship and defects in detail, the first Wright motor introduced in Europe answered the purpose re- quired of it, and the second series, built on the same design, but with all the facilities of a modern shop, together flew, it is calculated, about 6,000 miles with only three involun- tary stops. Convinced that there is a future for a medium-weight motor capable of running for hours under full load without any signs of weakness, prac- tically every European automobile constructor has begun experiments on the lines indicated by the Wright brothers. Taken collectively, four- cylinder motors are in the majority for aeroplane work, though to obtain this majority about a score of different firms are involved. The greatest number of motors of any one make now being used on aero- planes is undoubtedly the Gnome, a seven-cylinder, revolving, air-cooled type. This, however, is a prominent exception, for of all the attempts to obtain lightness and reliability by a distinct departure from standard lines the Gnome is the only one that has really succeeded. The portion of the motor which has been most generally attacked as furnishing useless metal is the water- jacket. When cast with the cylinders it gives an amount of metal the weight of which is altogether dispro- portionate to the work it has to do, and, owing to the difficulty of accu- rate verification, necessitates leaving- a greater thickness in the cylinder walls than safety demands. The Mutel is a good example of weight- reducing without impairing efficiency, the four cylinders being cast sepa- rately, turned inside and out to a uni- form thickness of metal, mounted on an aluminum crank-case, and fitted with a one-piece sheet-metal jacket. A flange is fitted around the base of the cylinders and another one above the valve pockets on the heads, and it is to these two that the one-piece water-jacket is welded. The de- sign, of course, gives a perfect cir- culation of water around the cylin- ders as well as around the valve chambers. On the Buchet six-cylinder vertical motor the castings are in pairs, with onlv a framework water-jacket on 46 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE GNOME SEVEN-CYLINDER RADIAL MOTOR, AIR COOLED. THE ONLY FRENCH PROVED SUCCESSFUL FREAK MOTOR WHICH HAS each side and the two ends. A suit- able copper plate is screwed onto this frame, thus completing the water- circulating space. The reduction of metal is not quite so great as on the Mutel, but the system has the advan- tage of being one that conforms to standard workshop practice and offers no difficulty of realization. As in the previous case, the valves are carried side by side in the cylinder head. The new four-cylinder motor man- ufactured by the Clement-Bayard - Company is absolutely standard, with the exception of the water-jacket. The four cylinders are in one cast- ing, with valves on one side in an outstanding port, but without a water-jacket. This is added after- wards in the form of copper cover- ing profiled to the shape of the mo- tor and ribbed to allow of dilation. It is riveted in position along the base of the combustion chamber, the two sides and along the head, just be- hind the valve pockets. Seen from, the valve side, the motor has entirely the appearance of the ordinary type with valves in a pocket on one side. Seen from the opposite side, only a one-piece copper jacket is presented. Panhard, one of the latest French firms to produce an aviation motor, has adhered to a design that has had the test of years of hard automobile racing experience. The four cylin- ders are of steel, with separate cast heads, and each equipped with a cop- per water-jacket. They are placed so close together on their crank-case that a continuous water-circulating space is formed, the only connection being a fibre-lined collar between each two cylinders. The distinctive feature of the motor is the valve mechanism, which will be described later. Darracq and Clement-Bayard, both producers of two-cylinder horizontal motors for the Santos-Dumont and other similar types of small mono- planes, use a cast-steel cylinder with a welded-on copper water-jacket, valves being in the head. The AEROPLANE MOTORS 47 CLEMENT FOUR-CYLINDER MOTOR MOUNTED ON SANTOS-DUMONT S DEMOISELLE MONOPLANE, SHOWING ALSO THE PROPELLER AND A PORTION OF THE PLANES Mercedes, a four-cylinder motor in- spired on the racing car type, is one of the few adhering to a cast water- jacket integral with the cylinders. Mors has a V-type four-cylinder mo- tor, the water-jacket of which is dis- tinctive by reason of the unusually large core openings, enclosed by light aluminum plates secured by six or eight bolts, according to their size. 48 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE There is a tendency to employ a hemispherical combustion chamber, carry large-diameter valves in the head, increase the ratio of stroke to bore, and augment the compression. The Mutel, Buchet and Mercedes are examples of this. On the Mutel the vertical push rods are light steel tubes and the rocker arms are as light as possible, while an advantage- ous feature is the entire accessibility of the valve mechanism. The Buchet, not new, there is a good deal of orig- inality in the way it has been worked out for the Panhard aviation motor. It consists of an outer cylindrical ex- haust valve, which also forms a guide for an ordinary large-diameter mush- room type inlet valve. The cylin- drical stem of the exhaust valve is in two diameters corresponding with the borings of the separate head in which it is guided, and the space be- tween these two diameters is cut RENAULT EIGHT-CYLINDER AIR-COOLED MOTOR WITH ENCLOSED BLOWER FOR ASSISTING COOLING AND HEAVY CAMSHAFT MADE TO RECEIVE PROPELLER although similar in general features, differs by the manner in which the rocker arms are mounted. Being de- signed after racing car models, there is nothing about the Mercedes valves that calls for particular attention. The valves are in the head side by side, the four rocker arms being mounted on a common shaft for a pair of cylinders and carried in two vertical steel brackets drilled for lightness and bolted to the top of the cylinders. Although the concentric valve is away to form an entrance for the mixture to the inlet valve. The ex- haust valve is guided at two dif- ferent points, the lower large diam- eter portion and the upper and longer portion, within which is the guide for the inlet valve stem and the spring which operates it. The base of this longer cylinder is closed by a 'cap, offering a seating for the in- let valve spring, and the top is closed by a flanged cap receiving the upper end of the exhaust valve spring. On this cap is mounted a AEROPLANE MOTORS 49 THE NEW MERCEDES MOTOR, ONE OF THE FEW USING A CAST WATER JACKET second and smaller rocker arm, at right angles to the main one, and em- ployed to operate the inlet valve only. The main rocker arm has a forked end, the branches of the fork being of unequal length. On the rocker arm being raised by the operation of 1-4 the cam, the exhaust valve is opened in the usual way, the inlet, of course, being carried down with it. On the return of the rocker arm, as the tap- pet follows the profile of the cam, the specially shaped forked end operates the second and smaller rocker from 5° CASSIER'S MAGAZINE PANHARD CONCENTRIC INLET AND EXHAUST VALVES, AND ROCKER ARMS MOUNTED ON THE CYLINDER HEADS beneath, thus causing the opening of the inlet valve. A distinctive feature is a special Y-shaped head casting, water cooled, and screwing into the head of the cylinder. One arm of the Y is bored out to receive the intake manifold, the opposite arm forms a bracket in which the specially shaped rocker arm is pivoted, and the centre or stem of the Y is bored out to receive the cyl- indrical stem valve. The mere fact that this type of valve has been adopted by a firm, of the standing of Panhard should remove the suspicion of unreliability that has so long been attached to it. Pressed steel pistons, made as light as possible by reducing the thickness of metal, by limiting the length to the lowest limits compatible with proper guiding, or by drilling the lower por- tion, are to be found on nearly all the modern aero motors. An ex- ample of this is seen in the Buchet motor, in which the piston is both short and drilled. A similar design is emnloved on the Mutel. and in both cases the connecting-rod is designed to give • the lowest weight possible. A certain amount of weight has been saved on the Mutel and the Mors motors by employing an aluminum crank-case without the usual lon- gitudinal division, the only opening being at one end, through which the crankshaft is passed. As for aero- plane work, the dismounting of the motor generally entails total dis- mantling of the power plant, and the advantage of a detachable crank- case is not so great as in automo- biles. The extra rigidity, with a smaller amount of metal, justifies the change. Ignition is invariably by high-ten- sion magneto only, without the use of accumulators as a stand-by for starting. Light-weight magnetos have been produced, but in most cases the ordinary car type is employed, the ■ saving of a few ounces of weight in this direction not being advisable at the loss of efficiency. Carburetors. on the other hand, are of the stand- ard design, but built of the lightest AEROPLANE MOTORS 51 metals obtainable, aluminum being largely employed. In view of the fact that an aviation motor is con- stantly called upon to develop its full power, lubrication cannot be neglected. In the majority of cases this is of the forced-feed type to the crankshaft bearings and through internal channels to the connecting- rod ends, with the wrist-pins and cyl- inder walls supplied by splash. ployed, each throw receiving two con- necting-rods corresponding to two cylinders diversely inclined. On the Mors a four-throw shaft is employed, as on an ordinary motor, with the difference that instead of the throws being in the same plane they are off- set in relation one to the other just the same amount as the cylinders. The lack of balance thus set up is rectified by the use of internal bal- PANHARD MOTOR WITH FOUR SEPARATELY-CAST STEEL CYLINDERS AND PRESSED COPPER JACKETS Cases in which the connecting-rods are made hollow to feed the wrist-pins are comparatively few. It is hardly correct to place the Mors motor in the standard design class, for the four-cylinder V type is not common for automobile work. The difference, however, is more in details than in essentials, despite the unusual appearance of the motor. The cylinders are in pairs, mounted on an aluminum crank-case, and in- clined only 30 degrees from the ver- tical. Usually on a motor of this type a two-throw crankshaft is em- ance weights. The advantage of the method is that it allows the motor to be fired by a standard type of four- cylinder, high-tension magneto. The valves are not in the angle of the cylinders, but at each end, the ex- hausts being operated from below and the automatic intakes mounted above them in a dome chamber. As variations of speed are not required for aeroplane work, the only real ob- jection to automatic intakes does not hold here. Owing to the slight in- clination of the cylinders, it is im- possible to employ a camshaft within 5 2 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE MORS DISTINCTIVE V-TYPE MOTOR WITH INTEGRAL JACKETS AND LARGE CORE OPENINGS CLOSED BY ALUMINUM PLATES BUCHET SIX-CYLINDER MOTOR, WITH CYLINDERS CAST IN PAIRS AND COPPER PLATES SCREWED IN PLACE. TO FORM WATER JACKETS AEROPLANE MOTORS S3 the angle and parallel with the crank- shaft. In its place are two small camshafts, one at each end of the motor, each driven from the crank- shaft with the usual reduction. A fly-wheel of large diameter and comparatively low weight is em- ployed on the Mors. In a number of cases, however, the four-cylinder motors are run without any fly-wheel other than that provided by the pro- peller mounted on the main shaft. This is the case with the Clement motors, whether used on the firm's biplanes or the small "Demoiselle" monoplanes which Clement-Bayard are now manufacturing. The Mutel is generally run without a fly-wheel, and the six-cylinder Buchet is fitted with one only, if desired, by the builder of the aeroplane. Mors is one of the first to fit an aeroplane motor with a starting crank and clutch, this latter being of the band type used on the Mors tour- ing cars. The Clement Company em- ploys a starting handle and clutch for use on its biplanes, but dispenses with both when the motor is used on the small monoplane. Voisin, who has recently brought out a four-cylin- der motor with concentric valves, also uses a starting crank, without clutch and without fly-wheel. Except the two-cylinder Darracq and the Clement-Bayard, especially designed for small monoplanes, all the motors described are intended to develop from 45 to 50 horse-power, this being the most durable power for the majority of biplane flying machines. The greatest ratio of stroke to bore is found on the six- cylinder Buchet, the dimensions of which are 100 millimetres by 150 millimetres. The others, all four- cylinder motors, are: Mutel, 120 by 166; Panhard, no by 140; Clement, 100 by 120; Mors, no by 130, and Mercedes, 100 by 140. Attempts to find a suitable reduc- ing gear between motor and propeller have not been very successful, if ex- ception is made of chain drive. The only French machine of any impor- tance using a chain is the No. XII. Bleriot, in which the motor is on the lower portion of the framework and the propeller shaft is carried in bear- ings nearly 4 feet above it. Farman experimented with a reducing gear in connection with a Gnome motor, an internal spur gear being mounted to the revolving crank-case and meshing with a pinion on the propeller shaft. The attempt had to be abandoned, however, owing to the difficulty of properly lubricating the gears. For its new type of biplane the Clement- Bayard Company transmits from the motor through a propeller shaft with universal joint at each end to a gear set mounted in floating bearings. The small gear box is carried in an out- built triangular frame to the rear of the wings, and is purposely left with a certain amount of freedom. It appears to be satisfactory, but a suffi- ciently long trial has not yet been made to warrant a definite pronounce- ment. The Renault firm has em- ployed very successfully the camshaft for carrying the propeller, thus ob- taining a two-to-one reduction with- out the use of additional gears. The camshaft is of equal diameter to the main shaft ; it is mounted in three bearings, and the timing gears are, naturally, of a size and strength altogether unusual in this portion of the motor. Maurice Farman has made a number of long flights with a 7-foot wooden propeller mounted on the camshaft without any weak- ness developing in the mechanism of connections. THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF SMALL MATERIALS By George Frederick Zimmer, A. M. Inst. C. E. CONVEYORS of almost all known constructions are suit- able for the mechanical han- dling of such materials as minerals, coal, coke, stone, clinker, gravel, seeds or cereals and oil seeds and nuts, but small materials such as cement, plaster of Paris, fine sand, and the powders produced by grinding or crushing of the first named substances, as well as other powders such as flour, sugar, salt and spices, are all more or less difficult to handle, and indeed only a limited number of conveyor types can be used for this purpose, and then often only with indifferent success. The reasons why fine material is so much more difficult to handle than coarse are various, and one of the principal is the production of dust at the slightest agitation, so that a con- veyor which moves the material by a stirring, pulling or pushing device must be enclosed, so as to prevent dust and loss. Even with conveyors which perform their functions without this agitation and in which the material is carried as it is on a belt conveyor, the usual high speed at which these con- veyors work will create dust by the resistance of the air to the passage of the material. There are also other difficulties, caused by the great difference in the consistency of fine materials. Some are of a lively nature and run through your fingers if you try to get a hand- ful, and this class of stuff wants a close-fitting conveyor, say of the push- plate or worm type, for its handling, as on a belt conveyor there is a great tendency for it to run off, unless the belt is well troughed. Other fine ma- terials are of just the opposite con- sistency, almost dead as, for instance, cement, which if conveyed in a push- plate conveyor have a tendency to lie at the bottom of the trough and let the scrapers travel over the top. Then, again, there is a difficulty in handling fine materials on account of the tendency of fine particles to enter the working parts of the conveyor, and if the material is of a sharp and cutting nature this is one of the prin- cipal drawbacks, as such parts are soon destroyed by wear and tear. It will thus be seen that for the con- veying by mechanical means of fine materials the utility of the existing types of conveyors is considerably re- stricted. Belt conveyors can be used if the material can be fed on and off without causing dust and also if the belt travels sufficiently slowly. Whilst all conveyors with agitators can only be used when running extremely slowly or when completely covered in, this is sometimes difficult, particularly with push-plate conveyors, the gen- eral construction of which would not permit of covering without complica- tions. The Zimmer conveyor of recipro- cating type appears to be very suit- able for handling fine material because the trough can easily be covered with a dust-tight lid, and there are no stir- ring or pushing elements to create dust or which are subject to wear; but again there is an objection, and that is that with this type of conveyor fine material can only be conveyed satisfactorily in a very thin layer or stream, and then preferably on a slightly downward gradient, so that here the same objection holds good as with the belt conveyor. Both can be made to do the work, but the capacity is small on the belt convevor on ac- 54 MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIALS 55 count of the slow speed, and on the Zimmer conveyor on account of the thin feed, so that both these types if used for fine material would have to be made rather wider, and, therefore, more expensively, for capacities which could be conveyed on smaller con- veyors if the material was coarse. As a resume of the foregoing, push- plate, belt and Zimmer conveyors can- not be looked upon as the best means of handling this material under gen- eral conditions, so there is only the worm conveyor left. This can be fitted with a dust-tight lid and inlets and outlets, and it has a moderate ca- pacity. It does the work well if the material is not of a cutting nature, and is inexpensive in first cost, but for long distances and large capacities it presents drawbacks which make it not much better than the other types. The driving power consumed is higher than that of any other conveyor, and with sharp and cutting stuff the wear and tear on the ordinary intermediate bearings, which must of necessity work surrounded by the material to be conveyed, is tremendous. The worm or Archimedean screw is undoubtedly the oldest type of con- veyor, and it has been the only ap- pliance for the mechanical conveying of such fine materials, and this simple mechanism, with all its good and bad points, has been practically unsur- passed till quite within recent years. The history of the worm conveyor is difficult to trace, and it is probable that the flour miller was the first user of this labour saver. Whatever pur- pose the worm conveyor might have served in earlier times, we know for certain that a crude form of it was employed in flour mills over 250 years ago. The nature of the worm conveyor is such that only comparatively fine ma- terial can be conveyed satisfactorily, and at the time when this conveyor was the only appliance for conveying, all materials consisting of pieces too large for this type of conveyor were debarred and had to be moved by hand labour. Worm conveyors are of the simplest possible construction. They consist of a continuous or broken-bladed screw fixed to a revolving spindle, and the whole is mounted in a suitable trough, so that the revolving screw propels the material fed in at one end of the trough to the other end. There is a small space between the screw and the trough ; this should be either as small as possible, or just a little larger than the size of the largest piece con- tained in the material to be conveyed, as if fractions of the material are larger than the space they become wedged between the screw and the trough and thereby may cause stop- pages. Well-made worm conveyors, with well-fitting troughs, i. e., not too tight, of sufficient rigidity so as not to re- quire too many intermediate bearings, with the latter of a design so as not to obstruct the flow of the material, are undoubtedly good and serviceable conveyors for all flour-mill products, meal, seeds, cereals, cattle food, crushed seed cakes, etc., material used in the manufacture of linoleum, such as cork powder, and sawdust, and as a matter of fact for all fine materials which are not gritty or cutting, always provided the worms are not too long and are not required for too large a capacity. Worm conveyors of the continuous, paddle or spiral types are made with diameters of from 4 inches to 18 inches and even more, but those of 12 inches and over, except for short dis- tances, of, say, not exceeding 40 to 50 feet, and for the materials just men- tioned, can hardly be called satisfac- tory. As to the worms of the smaller diameters and for the same materials, lengths not exceeding 150 feet for 4- inch to 8-inch worms, and 100 feet for 9-inch to 10-inch, should be the limit of their practical utility. It is true that there are installations to be found in which these limits are exceeded, but they cannot be called economical. In the end it comes to this, that for really heavy work of this class there has not been a suitable con- 56 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 1. CROSS SECTION OF WORM CONVEYOR BEARING veyor and worms were used because there was nothing better. With reference to the pitch of worm conveyors, this differs very much, say from one-quarter of the diameter to a pitch equal and even greater than the diameter of the worm. The pitch is determined by the na- ture of the material to be conveyed and by the construction of the worm. For materials such as cement and other specifically heavy and cutting substances a small pitch is most essen- tial, and for such substances it is most advantageous to employ continuous or close-bladed conveyor of a pitch of, say, equal to half the diameter. The following table gives the sizes and ca- pacities of such small pitched con- tinuous or close-bladed worms. Close-bladed or continuous worms are also made with a larger pitch for lighter material, generally with a pitch of about two-thirds their diameter. These answer their purpose well, as the capacity of these continuous con- veyors is nearer the theoretical capac- ity than is the case with open spirals or with paddle worms. The reason why closed-spiral worms are not often made with a pitch more than two- thirds to three-quarters their diame- ter is that it is difficult to bend or roll the blades to a large pitch, but even then their relatively large capacity bring these up in capacity to nearly that of paddle and open spirals of a larger pitch. The driving power required for worm conveyors depends mostly upon the weight of the material to be moved and the distance to which it has to be conveyed. The type of the worm, its diameter and speed, enter to a smaller degree into the calculation. It will, therefore, be a sufficient guide to give two tables, one for light and one for heavy materials, from which the ap- Diameter of worm in inches 4 6 8 9 10 12 14 16 18 Pitch of worm in inches 2 3 4 41/2 5 6 7 8 9 Outer diameter of hollow spindle in ins. l3/s ll5/u lis/n 2Vi» 2Vl« 2Vte 215/1. 2"/l6 2" Diameter of internal bearings and end gudgeons in inches 1 11/2 11/2 tyi 2 2 21/2 21/2 »/> Revolutions per minute 130 120- 100 100 90 90 80 70 60 Capacity in cubic feet per hour 30 60 180 250 300 600 900 1000 1300 FIG. lA. LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF WORM CONVEYOR BEARING MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIALS 57 TABLE GIVING APPROXIMATE HORSE-POWER REQUIRED TO DRIVE A WORM CONVEYOR FOR GRAIN OR OTHER EIGHT MATERIAL Tons Lengt 1 Of COIH eyor in Fe et. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 0.19 0.38 0.57 0.76 0.95 1.14 1.33 1.52 1.71 1.90 10 0.38 0.76 1.14 1.52 1.90 2.28 2.66 3.04 3.42 3.80 15 0.57 1.14 1.71 2.28 2.85 3.42 3.99 4.56 5.13 5.70 20 0.76 1.52 2.28 3.04 3.80 4.56 5.32 6. OS 6.84 7.60 25 0.95 1.90 2.85 3.80 4.75 5.70 6.65 7.60 8.55 9.50 30 1.14 2.28 3.42 4.56 5.70 6.84 7.98 9.12 10.26 11.40 35 1.33 2.66 3.99 5.32 6.65 7.98 9.31 10.64 11.97 13.30 40 1.52 3.04 4.56 6.08 7.60 9.12 10.64 12.16 13.68 15.20 45 1.71 3.42 5.13 6.84 8.55 10.26 11.97 13.68 15.39 17.10 50 1.90 2.80 5.70 7.60 9.50 11.40 13.30 15.20 17.10 19.00 FIG. 2. DUSTPROOF CONVEYOR BEARING MADE BY THE CONVEYOR & ELEVATOR CO., ACCRINGTON, ENGLAND proximate horsepower can be found. Worm conveyors for fine cement and similar materials are frequently built on somewhat different lines, and the tendency is to use more particu- larly the continuous or closed spiral. The principal differences are the use of a rather larger trough, for instance, an n-inch trough for a io-inch worm. This allows of a y2-'mch space be- tween the movable worm and the sta- tionary trough, so that the cement in the worm will form its own trough within the iron trough, and that there is no wear on the trough itself at all. This arrangement causes, however, more wear on the periphery of the worm spiral, which thereby gradually becomes smaller in diameter. In one of the largest cement works on the lower Thames, where miles of these worms are in use, the practice is as follows : Ten-inch continuous worms fitted in n-inch troughs with the bearings io feet apart and with a pitch of 7 inches and a speed of 8o revolutions. These worms convey J, 14 and sometimes even 21 tons of fine TABLE GIVING THE APPROXIMATE HORSE-POWER REOUIRED TO DRIVE A WORM CONVEYOR .FOR HEAVY MATERIAL Tons Leng th of Conv evor in Feet. per Hour. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 0.33 0.66 0.99 1.32 1.65 1.98 2.31 2.64 2.97 3.30 10 0.66 1.32 1.98 2.64 3.30 3.96 4.62 5.28 5.94 6.60 15 0.99 1.98 2.97 3.96 4.95 5.94 6.93 7.92 8.91 9.90 20 1.32 2.64 3.96 5.28 6.60 7.92 9.24 10.56 11.88 13.20 25 1.65 3.30 4.95 6.60 8.25 9.90 11.55 12.40 14.85 16.50 30 1.98 3.96 5.94 7.92 9.90 12.28 13.86 15.84 17.82 19.80 35 2.31 4.62 6.93 9.24 11.55 13.86 16.17 18.48 20.79 23.10 40 2.64 5.28 7.92 10.56 13.20 15.84 18.48 21.12 23.76 26.40 45 2.97 5.94 9.81 11.88 14.85 17.82 20.79 23.76 26.73 29.70 50 3.30 6.60 9.90 13.20 16.50 19.80 23.10 26.40 29.70 33.00 58 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE FIG. 3. SUESS CONVEYOR, 250 FEET LONG, CONVEYING FINE CEMENT TABLE GIVING DIAMETER, PITCH AND CAPACITY OF THE CONTINUOUS OR CLOSE- BLADED WORM OF THE MORE USUAL CONSTRUCTION Diameter of Internal Diameter Pitch Outer Diameter Bearings and Capacity Length of Worm of Worm of Hollow Spindle End Gudgeons Revolutions in Cubic Feet Between in Inches. in Inches. in Inches. in Inches. per Minute. per Hour. Bearings. 4 4 1 S/l6 1 130 70] 5 5 iy8 l'/( 120 100 1 6 6 IV 8 l1/ 2 120 175 1 Sfeet 7 6 IV 8 IV 2 110 250 J 8 6 i'/i IV i 100 3001 9 8 2Vs 2 100 400 I 10 8 2'/i 2 90 500 ( 10 feet 11 10 2Vs 2 90 650 J 12 10 2V 8 2 90 850-> 13 10 215/16 2V2 80 1,000 14 10 21S/l6 2V2 80 1,200 I 15 12 2IV,6 2 V2 70 1,350 [ 12 feet 16 12 2i.y,6 2 V2 70 1,550 18 12 2"/l6 2V2 60 LSOO-1 cement per hour. As these conveyors are all driven by electric motors the actual power consumed can easily be ascertained, and from a number of readings the average power was I brake-horsepower for every 35 feet of conveyor when handling 7 tons of cement. The intermediate bearings are simi- lar to Fig. 1, from which it will be seen that the space between the differ- ent sections of the 10-inch worm is very" small, only i}A inches; this is a great advantage, as the break of the blades at the junction is very small, which prevents accumulations. These bearings have also the further advan- tage that the working portions are quite away from the injurious influ- ence of the cement. MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIALS 59 TABLE GIVING DIAMETER, PITCH AND CAPACITY OF THE OPEN-BLADED OR SPIRAL CONVEYOR FOR HEAVY, AS WELL AS FOR LIGHT, WORK Speed Capacity Speed Capacity for Heavy* for Heavy for Lightf for Light Diameter Pitch Diameter Section Materials, Materials Materials. Materials of Spiral of Spiral of Solid Shaft. of Spiral. Revolutions in Cubic Feet Revolutions in Cubic Feet n Inches. in Inches. Inches. Inches. per Minute. per Hour. per Minute. per Hour. 4 4 V/4-V/2 IV4 xVie 100 40 130 60 6 5 l'A 11/2 X3/l6 90 120 120 150 8 6 1V2-2 Wt x v 4 80 230 110 300 10 7 2 -2V 2 21/4 X 1/ 4 70 350 100 500 12 8 2 -21/2 21/4 X 1/ 4 60 550 90 800 14 9 21/2-3 21/2 X V 4 60 700 80 1,100 16 10 2V2-3 3 X1/ 4 50 950 70 1,400 18 11 2V2-3 31/2 X V 4 40 1,100 60 1,700 20 12 21/2-3 31/2 X 1/ 4 35 1,300 50 1,900 22 13 3 -31/2 31/2 X 1/ 4 30 1,500 40 2,100 24 14 3 -31/2 3V2 X V 4 25 1,600 35 2,300 TABLE GIVING DIAMETER AND CAPACITY OF PADDLE WORMS Diameter of Outer Intermediate Speed Capacity Speed Capacity Diameter Bearings Diameter for Heavy* for Heavy for Lightf for Light Diameter Pitch of Hollow and End of Shank IV at- rials. Materials. Materials. Materials. of Worm. of Wcrm. Spirdle. Gudg"o-s. of Blade. Revolutions in Cubic Feet Revolutions in Cubic Fe Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. per Minute. per Hour. per Minute. per Minute 4 4 iy> 1 Vie 85 26 120 40 5 5 IV 8 IV4 Vu 85 65 120 90 6 6 iVlS IV2 3/8 80 110 110 170 7 7 P'/ie IV2 Va 80 175 110 260 8 8 llf/l6 lVs Vi 70 220 100 330 9 9 2 -Vie 13A Vl 70 320 100 470 10 10 2Vs 2 1/2 60 400 90 600 11 11 2V4 2i/4 1/2 ■ 60 500 90 750 12 12 2»/l6 2i/2 5/8 60 600 90 900 14 14 2»/n 21/2 Vs 55 1,000 80 1,300 16 16 31/2 3 Va 50 1,350 70 1,800 18 18 31/2 3 5/a 50 60 * Heavy materials include fine coal, cement, sand, ground minerals, fine gravel, plaster of Paris, oxide of iron, etc. t Light materials include grain, seeds, sugar, flour, meal, bran, ice, sawdust, rice, etc. BIG. 4. PERSPECTIVE VIEW AND PART SECTION OF SUESS TUBE CONVEYOR 6o CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Fig. 2 is a similar type of bearing, for which it is claimed that it is per- fectly dustproof. It is the design of the Conveyor & Elevator Company, of Accrington. These bearings are lu- bricated by a viscous grease which is forced right through the bearing sur- faces, so that the grease forms a dust collar round the surfaces a a. The first step in the direction to provide a more economical and serv- iceable conveyor for fine material has been the introduction of the tubular or internal worm. This consists of a cylindrical tube with a continuous spiral fitted to its inner periphery. pulsion, which is by gravity. It is thus obvious that the greater the pitch of the screw the greater the tendency of the material to cling to the inside of the tube, which tendency is still further encouraged when the centrif- ugal force begins to exert itself, so that a point is reached where the ma- terial is carried too far up the side of the tube, and there is then a tendency for it not to slide forward in its ap- pointed channel but to fall, more than slide, back from its higher position, and so some of the material may fall back into the previous thread of the screw, which reduces the capacity FIGS. 5 AND 6. CROSS AND LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF SUESS TUBE CONVEYOR When at work it revolves bodily round an imaginary axis, being supported outside by suitable rollers. The conveying action is not, as with the ordinary worm, a pushing for- ward, but the material is propelled by gravity, inasmuch as through the revolution of the tube the material contained in it is carried up the side in the direction of the revolution until it is compelled to fall back, when it is guided in a slightly forward direc- tion by the spiral attached to the in- side of the tube. The capacity of this tube conveyor is not very large, as the pitch of the screw must be smaller than with most ordinary worms, say about one-third of the inner diameter of the tube, and the number of revolutions is also lim- ited, as the centrifugal force, which comes into action as soon as the speed limit is exceeded, counteracts the pro- more and more as the speed is in- creased, and eventually the centrif- ugal force being greater than the gravity, the material revolves round and round on the inner periphery of the tube and conveying ceases alto- gether. The speed at which tube conveyors should run may therefore be slightly slower for a larger pitch of the screw and vice versa. The following table gives the most suitable pitch and speed, also the capacity of cylindrical tube conveyors of different diameters. A decided improvement on the tube conveyor is the Suess conveyor. It consists of a tube of rectangular sec- tion made either of sheet steel or wood. To the four inner sides of this tube are attached oblique blades form- ing an unbroken sequence of oblique channels on each side and for the whole length of the conveyor. These MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIALS 61 Most Most Suitable Diameter Suitable Speed Rev- Capacity of Tube Pitch olutions Cul ic Feet in Inches. in Inches. per Minute. per Hour. 6 2* 80 40 8 3 75 100 10 4 70 200 12 a 60 300 14 5i 55 350 16 ei 50 550 18 7 45 700 20 8 40 900 22 8i 35 • 1,000 24 9i 20 1,100 blades do not extend across the whole sides of the tube, but are only half as wide as the sides, so as to keep four longitudinal channels quite unob- structed by blades in the corners of the tube. For example, a 12-inch tube (inside measurement) has blades on each side 6 inches wide, so as to leave a space of 3 x 3 inches in each corner to make such a worm of the ordinary continuous type, which can not be done on account of the difficulty and expense to bend the blades to such a pitch, and for that reason a square tube like the Suess has a much larger capacity than a round cylinder of the same diameter. With the Suess conveyor a single internal screw formed of four blades would not give a very positive result, as only part of the material would fol- low the oblique path, and in order to get the highest efficiency, the oblique blades are placed at such a distance apar": as to form a five-fold or five- threaded screw, so that practically FIG. 7. ENCLOSED CONVEYOR OUTLET FIG. 8. END OUTLET and for the whole length of the con- veyor. When- at work, the action is as fol- lows, supposing the whole of the ma- terial in the conveyor rests all along one of the corners. As this corner slowly moves upwards, the under side of the tube changes its horizontal po- sition for a slanting one, and as soon as the angle is sufficiently steep the whole of the contents of the corner is forced by the law of gravity to slide across the oblique channels into the next corner, and in doing this it travels forward by the pitch of the channels or blades. This process re- peats itself four times in every revolu- tion. The very considerable slope of 45 degrees can be given to the blades, so that with each quarter revolution in a 12-inch tube the material moves theoretically 6 inches forward, or 2 feet with every revolution. This is practically equal to a 12-inch worm with a 24-inch pitch, if it was possible every particle is forced forward in its appointed channel. The conveyor is made in lengths of from 15 to 20 feet and joined together with flanges. These are turned on the face and are used as supports for the conveyor, which rests on a series of pairs of rollers. The rollers are pro- vided with flanges so as to prevent end movement. There is also a flexible packing ring between each pair of couplings, so that a slight variation from the straight line in the erection is not detrimental. The driving pulley is made in halves with a square opening to fit the square tube, and this can be attached at any point in the length of the con- veyor, whichever may be most con- veniently situated in relation to the driving power. Conveyors of this design have been built and are successfully at work in lengths of 250 feet. Fig. 3 shows such a conveyor in a cement works. 62 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE ri i. y^/^-^^s. if W ■& \ Rpt*1 Pi >' !i pdi V '■''"■■ n K i! FIG. 9. INTERMEDIATE INLET As this tube conveyor is very rigid, it can also be used for transmitting a limited amount of power, so that at the extreme end, or in any desired po- sition, power may be taken off by fix- ing a pulley, similar to the main driv- ing pulley, concentrically on to the tube, for driving small auxiliary con- veyors, or even elevators. This is sometimes of great convenience. Fig. 4 represents a perspective view and- part section of such a conveyor, and Figs. 5 and 6 show cross and longitudinal sections of the same. The illustrations show a wooden tube with metal channels, d represents the ob- lique blades, e e1 e2 e3 show the longi- tudinal channels in the four corners as described above. The spaces / / can be covered over with sheet iron, g is the filling' apparatus which revolves with the tube and has lifters which scoop up the material fed into the fixed inlet i and deliver it into the con- veyor tube, k and kx show the slope at which the material is delivered into the tube, b are the ring supports to be used when further supports are desirable in addition to, or instead of, the flange coupling supports. * These ring supports b are also employed in such positions where at times a por- FIG. 10. INTERMEDIATE OUTLET tion of the conveyor has to be thrown out of work. For instance, if a con- veyor of 100 feet total length has to deliver for a lengthy period at a point 50 feet from the feed end, half the conveyor can be disconnected simply by taking the four bolts out of the nearest coupling, and in order to do so a ring b should be near to such a point so as to carry the tube ends, c are the rollers on which the ring b or the flange coupling are supported. The delivery at the opposite end can be either open, so that the material simply drops out, or it can be enclosed, which is preferable, so as to prevent dust. Such an enclosed end outlet, as well as intermediate inlets and outlets, are shown in Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. These intermediate inlets and outlets are easily understood from the illus- trations, the former having four lifters which collect and deliver into the tube any material fed into the in- let, and yet when there is no material added at any of these intermediate in- lets the flow of the material passing by is not obstructed. The intermediate outlet is a little more complicated, as it contains a loose piece of the tube with its chan- nels, which must be removed before it FIG. 11. END IN'LET MECHANICAL HANDLING OF MATERIALS 63 will act as an outlet, but the change can be effected in a very few minutes. The loose piece is shown in the illus- tration. It will thus be seen that the Suess tube conveyor can be fed from any number of points, and that the ma- terial can be withdrawn at any con- venient point or points. It is there- degrees to their base at the side of the tube. Size Number. 1 2 3 / k I m 7 \\ 2£ 20 7 20 20 6 18 7 16 6 9* 2'i 3 20 7 20 20 8 20 7 16 6i 12" 3 3f 24 8 24 24 10 24 8 18 7 The following table gives the capac- ity of the Suess conveyor for the FIG. 12. SUESS CONVEYOR, SHOWING METHOD OF DRIVING BY MEANS OF GUIDE PULLEYS fore most useful, for instance, for feeding rows of silos or bins either one at a time or simultaneously. Fig. 12 shows another Suess conveyor driven by a pair of jockey pulleys. The lettering of Figs. 7 to 11 corre- spond with the dimensions given in the table for Suess conveyors of the three principal sizes in inches ; the let- ter c in the table represents the pitch of the oblique blades, which stand at an angle of 45 degrees to the axis of the conveyor and at an angle of 75 three sizes in tons per hour of Port- land cement, at the different speeds : TABLE GIVING CAPACITY OF SUESS TUBE CONVEYOR. Revolutions per Capacity in Tons of Portland Cement per Hr Minute. No. 1 No. 2 No. 3. 10 1.2 5.4 8.37 15 2.04 7.2 12.555 20 2.88 9. 16.74 25 3.72 10.8 20.925 30 4.56 12.6 25.11 35 5.4 14.4 29.295 40 6.24 16.2 33.48 45 7. OS 18. 50 7.92 19.8 55 8.76 .... 60 9.6 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SHIPBUILDING By Benjamin Taylor THE production of new vessels in the world in 1909 was 2,605 ships, of 2,287,752 tons and 2,616,752 I. H. P. This, comparing with 2,883 vessels, 2,275,354 tons and 2,131,214 I. H. P. in 1908, shows so small an increase in tonnage that we may call it stationary. The product of the United Kingdom in 1909 was 1,181,528 tons, of the British Colonies 6,419 tons, and of foreign countries 1,088,799 tons. These figures are taken from makers' returns and they differ from Lloyd's. Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping reports that during 1909, exclusive of warships, 526 ves- sels, of 991,066 tons, were launched in the United Kingdom. The war- ships launched at Government and private yards numbered 42, and were of 126,230 tons displacement, making a total for the year of 568 vessels of 1,117,296 tons. The output of mercantile tonnage shows an increase of 61,397 tons on that of the previ- ous year ; but, with the exception of that of 190S, it is the lowest recorded by the society for twelve years. Prac- tically the whole of the tonnage was of steel, and 98^ per cent, was steam. Of the total, 75 3-5 per cent, was for United Kingdom registry, and the net increase on the United Kingdom tonnage as a result of the year's additions and deductions was about 27,000 tons. The smallness of the increase as compared with previ- ous years is accounted for by the breaking up of a large amount of old tonnage. There was launched for other countries 241,845 tons of new shipping- — about 24 3-5 per cent, of the total, as compared with 40 per cent, in 1908 and 34 per cent, in 1907. British 64 colonies, as in 1908, provided the largest amount of work for home yards, 70 vessels, of 60,027 tons, hav- ing been launched for colonial own- ers. The Glasgow district occupies first place among the principal ship- building centres of the country, show- ing an output of 204,451 tons. Then follow Newcastle, Greenock, Sunder- land, Belfast, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in this order. Among other countries, the United States is first, with 209,604 tons ; Germany second, with 128,696 tons; Holland third, with 59,106 tons, with Japan, France and Italy following in this order. The returns show a consid- erable decrease as compared with 1908 in the case of nearly every country. This is especially noticeable in France (over 49 per cent.), Ger- many (nearly 40 per cent.), and the United States (over 31 per cent.). On the other hand, the tonnage launched in the United Kingdom shows an advance of 61,397 t°ns (or 6.6 per cent.) on the output for 1908. Of the tonnage launched, the United Kingdom acquired nearly 47 per cent. Of the total merchant tonnage out- put of the world during 1909, nearly 62 per cent, was launched in the United Kingdom ; but, if only sea- going merchant steamers of 3,000 tons gross and upwards be taken into account, out of the total of 180 such steamers of 892,078 tons launched in the world nearly 75 per cent, of the tonnage has been launched in the United Kingdom. The total output of the world during 1909 (exclusive of warships) was, according to Lloyd's, 1,602,057 tons (1, 537,570 steam and 64,487 sail), and the net increase of the world's mercantile RECENT SHIPBUILDING DEVELOPMENTS 65 tonnage at the end of 1909 was about 734,000 tons. Sailing tonnage has been reduced by 199,000 tons, while steam tonnage has increased by 933,- 000 tons. Of the vessels launched during 1909, 398, of 790,541 tons (including 63 vessels of 160,760 tons launched abroad), were built under the society's inspection with a view to classification in Lloyd's Register. It is to be noted, however, that Lloyd's tables retain vessels as under construction so long as they remain in builders' hands, but they do not include unclassed vessels under 100 tons each. As to the volume of the work pro- duced, it is worthy of note that, in spite of keen competition, the Clyde remains the only compact British dis- trict that takes a place above any other country. It produced a great deal more tonnage than either the United States or Germany, more than double that of the Tyne or of any foreign country except the two already referred to, and only some 40,500 tons short of the output of the whole Northeast Coast of Eng- land. In the making of marine en- gines of the most powerful type the Clyde also takes first place, with a total of 200,000 indicated horse-power higher than the next best figures, viz., those of Germany. The follow- ing were the leading districts : Vessels Tons I. H. P. The Clyde 354 403,187 610,985 United States 201 281,271 213,770 Germany 289 277,155 411,647 The Tyne 112 199,307 262,996 Holland 413 174,920 72,901 France 40 132,877 186,860 (We take these figures and many of those which follow from the annual statistics of "The Glasgow Herald.") The Liverpool Underwriters' As- sociation report that the number and gross tonnage of vessels lost during December were as follows : British, 4 sail, of 7,338 tons, and 7 steam, of 24,044 tons; foreign, 6 sail, of 7,278 tons, and 14 steam, of 23,871 tons — a grand total of 31 vessels of 62,531 tons, as compared with 17 vessels of 35,104 tons in December, 1908, and 24 of 39,631 tons in December, 1907. The following table shows the num- 1-5 ber and tonnage of vessels lost dur- ing each of the past three years : BRITISH , 1909— , Number Tons Sail 19 30,460 Steam 60 174,967 Totals 79 205,427 , 1908 , Number Tons Sail 22 33,663 Steam 74 185,609 Totals 96 219,272 , 1907 , Number Tons Sail 20 33,386 Steam 61 150,960 Totals 81 184,346 OTHER COUNTRIES , —1909 > Number Tons Sail 66 76,787 Steam 105 195,734 Totals 161 272,521 Grand totals 240 477,948 , 1908 , Number Tons Sail 72 89,319 Steam 107 200,922 Totals 179 290,241 Grand totals 275 509,513 , 1907 v Number Tons Sail 82 94,145 Steam 105 219,721 Totals 187 313,866 Grand totals 268 498,212 Of the British ships lost during the year, 19 sailing vessels were total losses, 140 partial losses, 60 steam- ers total losses, 2,378 partial losses ; and of the foreign vessels, 56 sailers were total losses, 298 partial losses, 105 steamers total losses and 2,635 partial losses — a total of 240 total losses and 5,451 partial losses, and a grand total of 5,691 losses, as com- pared with 5,949 in 1908, 6,131 in 1907, and 5,557 in 1906. This leaves a wide margin for pro- duction, but Lloyd's figures do not include the tonnage broken up as obsolete. The returns from the English ship- building districts show a condition very different from that at the end of 1908. There has not been any- thing like the revival in trade that is necessary to bring the industry back to normal, but there has been a grati- fying recovery from the depression 66 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE which ran throughout 1908. There is a further decrease of tonnage on the Tyne — from 336,000 in 1907, 210,000 in 1908, and now to 199,- 000 — but the Wear has advanced from 85,000 to 132,000, the Tees and Hartlepool from 96,000 to 122,000, the Mersey from 39,000 to 85,000, and the Humber from 21,000 to 24,- 000. There is a slight decrease in the English Channel district, making its output practically the same as that of 1907. The net increase is 19 ves- sels, 115,500 tons, and 194,200 indi- cated horse-power. The improving condition on the Wear and Tees is gratifying, as these districts were hit more badly by the depression than any others. They depend almost en- tirely on the building of cargo steam- ers. The advance of nearly 200,000 indicated horse-power marine engines constructed in the United Kingdom may be traced to the Tyne, Barrow and Birkenhead. The increase of 84,000 on the Tyne will be found in the destroyers built by Palmer's Com- pany, the cruiser turbines by the Wallsend Slipway Company, the warship work done by the Parsons Company, and the increased number of steamers built at their own yard which Messrs. Swan, Hunter & Wig- ham Richardson have engined. At Barrow and Birkenhead warship ma- chinery is also the great feature of the engineering returns. The following shows the line, with output : , 1909 , Vessels Tons I. H. P. The Tyne 132 199,307 262,996 The Wear 57 132,633 95,556 Tees and Hartlepool . 46 122,733 69,025 Mersey to Solway 92 85,228 164,950 Royal Dockyards 6 46,612 The Humber 72 24,414 35,375 English Channel 104 9,920 68,101 The Thames 96 7,053 11,618 Bristol Channel . '. 57 5,399 762 Totals 642 633,299 708,382 , 1908 , Vessels Tons I. H. P. The Tyne 115 210,110 178 The Wear 40 85,851 82 Tees and Hartlepool .. . 38 98,061 60 Mersey and Solway. . . . 95 39,232 68 Royal Dockyards .... 5 43,060 The Humber 98 21,714 27 Inglish Channel 106 10,237 66 The Thames 112 9,881 23 Bristol Channel 14 2,106 Totals 623 517,752 614 In spite of hopes of improving trade would tell on tonnage statistics all over the country, the Tyne failed to improve on its output for 1908, and the tonnage for that year was a good deal less than that of 1907. Messrs. Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson once more lead the dis- trict with an output of 71,000 tons gross — somewhat less than their to- tal for 1908, but sufficient to give them second place for the world in the year. In the tonnage of the dis- trict there are a cruiser, two scouts and six torpedo-boat destroyers, while there is now a large amount of naval work on hand. In engineering, the Wallsend Slipway Company lead, with 55,800 indicated horse-power, included in which are turbines for a cruiser built by the Armstrong Com- pany at Elswick. The Parsons Com- pany constructed only warship tur- bines durng the year, for the Bra- zilian scouts built at Elswick and the Battleship St. Vincent, built at Ports- mouth. On the Wear the majority of the builders did a good deal better last year than in 1908, though there seems to be a falling off in the demand for turret steamers. Messrs. Doxford launched the self -discharging collier Emma Sauber, which is equipped with belt-discharging appliances to deliver coal into barges. An inter- esting vessel is the Monotoria, built by Messrs. Osbourne, Graham & Co. on a new principle of longitudinally grooved sides, which enable the ves- sel to steam at a given speed with less horse-power than would other- wise have been required. The Wear tonnage for the year showed a marked improvement over that of 1908, which, however, was less than a third of the year before. The prospects are improving to such an extent that Messrs. Laing's yard is being re- opened. Quite a number of orders were booked in the autumn and win- ter, and most of the yards are now busy. The anticipations of a revival which was held on the Clyde at the RECENT SHIPBUILDING DEVELOPMENTS 67 beginning of 1909 have not been quite realized, but there has been enough actual improvement to show that these anticipations were based on knowledge of trade and on shrewd forecasting of the future. Most of the vessels then on the stocks have been launched, and many other or- ders have passed into actual work; a new situation has been created. The position is now very encouraging — more than it was at this time last year. The new year opened in cir- cumstances to justify the belief that the amount of tonnage in the yards will continue to increase this year. The warship building just now is immensely interesting. The Clyde obtained only one of the "contingent" battleships, but it received a large share of the work which the Ad- miralty allocated during last year. A battleship went to Beardmores, who are completing the second class cruiser Gloucester and laying down an improved sister-ship. At Clyde- bank Messrs. John Brown & Co. launched three of six destroyers, and have other three, as well as the cruiser Bristol, on hand. At Fair- field the cruiser Glasgow is complet- ing, one destroyer has been launched, and there are five to come for the home Government and two for the Commonwealth of Australia. The London & Glasgow Shipbuilding Company have on hand the destroyer Rattlesnake and an improved Bristol cruiser. The engines for the former have been made by Messrs. Yarrow & Co., and those for the latter will be made by Messrs. John Brown & Co. A destroyer was placed with Messrs. A. & J. Inglis & Co. Messrs. Yarrow & Co. have two of ten Bra- zilian destroyers and some other light craft on hand. At Dumbarton Messrs. Denny & Bros, have the large destroyer Maori, and have other three still to complete, as well as one for Australia. At Greenock Scotts' Company are making progress with the battleship Colossus, placed with them last summer. At the beginning of this year there were not many merchant vessels of importance building on the Clyde. The Fairfield Company had only de- stroyers on the stocks ; the London & Glasgow Company had no mer- cantile work; at Pointhouse Messrs. Inglis had a MacBrayne line steamer, an Italian railway steamer, and a passenger steamer for Australia. Messrs. D. & W. Henderson & Co. had three vessels, each of 7,000 tons ; Messrs. Mackie & Thomson two trawlers and one Booth Line steamer ; Messrs. Alexander Stephen & Sons, three steamers of 19,000 tons aggre- gate ; Messrs. Barclay, Curie & Co., three ; Messrs. Charles Connell & Co., a Donaldson liner and one other vessel, and Messrs. John Brown & Co., Harwich and Hook of Holland boat and a large steam yacht. At Renfrew Messrs. Lobnitz & Co. had a rock-cutter, a large hopper barge, a stern-wheeler, a gold-dredger, and a small barge, and Messrs. Wm. Simons & Co. two dredgers. Messrs. Napier & Miller, Old Kilpatrick, had four steamers of about 11,600 tons. At Dumbarton Messrs. Denny had on hand a steamer for the New Zealand Shipping Company and a large vessel for Messrs. P. Hender- son & Co., and Messrs. McMillan & Son had two on the stocks and two to lay down, making altogether for the town a total of about 34,000 tons. Greenock and Port-Glasgow had orders representing over 100,000 tons, but the work was not well dis- tributed, as, while several of the shipbuilding firms have well-occu- pied berths, others are but sparsely served. Until a recent order for a P. & O. steamer, Messrs. Caird & Co.'s three yards were empty. H. M. S. Colossus was all the work in progress in the yard of Scotts' Company. The busiest firms within the radius are Messrs. Russell & Co. and Messrs. William Hamilton & Co., more than half of the above estimated tonnage being in these two yards, and in both cases the vessels are cargo steamers for serv- ice in various parts of the world. 68 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE Quite a number building by the lat- ter firms are on the Isherwood sys- tem. Altogether the work on hand on the Clyde amounted at the begin- ning of the year to about 250,000 tons of merchant shipping and 73,000 tons of warships, a total of 323,000 tons, as compared with a little over 300,000 at the ^nd of last year. But since January 1, a good many new orders have been booked, and many are still coming in. A feature of recent development of the destroyer is that while Britain in- clines to heavier vessels of large dis- placement and moderate speed, other Naval Powers are building light ves- sels of comparatively small displace- ment and high speed. Britain thinks more of sea-going qualities and radius of action than others do. In rough seawork 27-knot destroyers have proved faster than the lighter 30-knot vessels. We now have dis- placements of 1,100 tons, while the biggest German craft are no more than 700 tons displacement, with speeds of over 30 knots. The same tendency to weight is not seen in the Australian destroyers now on the stocks, but weight is the safe side on which to err, if it is not deterrent to speed. In the matter of propel- ling machinery the destroyer is in a transition stage. There are de- stroyers building with different kinds of turbines, and some with recipro- cating engines. A British destroyer is to be propelled by Curtis tur- bines. In Germany the Parsons, the Curtis, the Melms and Pfenninger, and the Zoelly are to be found in vessels of the type ; and there are French vessels with the Parsons, the Rateau, the Schneider-Zoelly, the Briquet, and a combination system. In one case Parsons turbines drive wing shafts, and a triple-expansion engine is on a centre shaft for cruis- ing speeds. The submarine, again, is developing in size, radius of ac- tion and safety. British vessels now can go about anywhere and make quite long voyages on the coast. A recent development is in com- mercial motor vessels — especially in> the marine-motor fishing fleets. The total number of auxiliary powered drifters pursuing the industry in the North Sea a year ago amounted to a dozen, while now there are over 50= craft of this type, all fitted with heavy- oil, internal-combustion engines of 35 to 75 brake-horsepower. The majority of the engines are of the Gardner make, which was first in the field, but Kelvin, Beardmore, Thornycroft, Alpha, Fairbanks and' Wear engines are also now in serv- ice. The steam drifter was intro- duced some six or seven years ago' into Scottish waters in great num- bers, practically putting the sailing lugger out of the market. At that time many owners of luggers sold them for a trifle or hauled them up, and, clubbing together, pursued the fishing with the modern steam- drifter. Two years ago scores of good, serviceable luggers were upon the Scottish shore for good. With the introduction of the internal-com- bustion heavy-oil engine, however, conditions assumed a different aspect. It was soon seen that the old sailer, fitted with a 50 brake-horsepower in- stallation, giving a calm-water speed of 7 knots, was much more profitable to run than a steam-propelled boat. In general commercial motor craft, last year also produced a number of barges, tugs, ferries, pilot-cutters, harbour service launches, lifeboats,, etc., etc., all craft of under 70 feet in length, in which marine motor in- stallations are fitted. Boats have been built for use in all climates and under all conditions, and whether for African rivers or water-carrying barges for harbour use, or high- speed pinnaces, the internal-com- bustion engine is taking the place of the reciprocating machinery. There were, it may be remarked, no important developments during 1909 in the application of the steam turbine to marine propulsion, which certainly is capable of improvement, and the past year was a period of marking time, showing that the en- RECENT SHIPBUILDING DEVELOPMENTS 69 gineering world is not sure what the next development is to be — whether the recipro-turbine combination is to prove still further its economy and efficiency, or whether it and the sys- tems more generally used are to be superseded by a turbo-electric or other form of propulsion. It is now more than a dozen years since the problem of ship propulsion by steam turbines was solved, and by the efforts of the Hon. Charles A. Par- sons the turbine was given a place along with the reciprocating engine as a prime mover for marine pur- poses. The progress made during that period has been very great, but we have now reached a time when we may assume that the immediate future will hold either further prog- ress along the lines of the past or some radical development that will •open a new chapter in turbine en- gineering. The first Atlantic liner to be pro- pelled by steam turbines was the Allan Line steamer Victorian, built and engined by Messrs. Workman, Clark & Co., Belfast, and launched in August, 1904. This vessel was soon followed by the Allan liner Virginian and by the Cunard liner Carmania. In 1903, the Cunard Company entered into an agreement with the British Government to build two large, high-speed steamships. The directors appointed a commis- sion to report on the best means of propelling these vessels. Mr. James Bain, the marine superintendent of the Cunard Company, was chairman of this commission, which, after pro- longed consideration, reported in favour of turbines. The Cunard Company, adopting the commission's recommendation, placed orders for two quadruple-screw turbine-propelled steamships of 760 feet length and about 70,000 horse-power — one, the Lusitania — to be built and engined by Messrs. John Brown & Co., Ltd., on the Clyde ; and the Mauretania, to be built on the Tyne by Messrs. Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richard- son, Ltd., and engined by the Wall- send Slipway & Engineering Com- pany, Ltd. About the time when work was commenced on the con- struction of the Lusitania and Mau- retania, the Admiralty decided on turbines for the propulsion of the new battleship Dreadnought and the new cruisers of the Invincible class, so that within nine years of the suc- cess of the Turbinia the turbine was adopted for the largest war and merchant ships in the world. Ever since the success of the Turbinia there has been much con- troversy as to the relative merits of reciprocating and turbine-propelled ships. The extent to which the tur- bine will be employed in the future remains an open question, but recent developments give some idea of what may be expected. The divergence of views among engineers and ship- ping men is less pronounced now than formerly. The turbine is gen- erally admitted to be preferable for warships, and not suitable, used alone, for propelling slow-speed cargo vessels. Much interest is now taken in propelling vessels by a combination of reciprocating en- gines and turbines. In this recipro- turbine combination the steam is first used to drive two sets of ordinary reciprocating marine engines, and is then passed on to a centrally-dis- posed turbine. This arrangement is an old idea of Mr. Parsons', and is based on the advantage of the tur- bine over the reciprocating engine in point of economy, wherein lies its practical ability to expand the steam to a large volume and at low press- ure. In the recipro-turbine combin- ation, reciprocating engines may be employed for that portion of the ex- pansion in which they can extract from the steam as much useful work as a turbine ; and a turbine is then employed to complete the work-ex- tracting. Comparing the recipro- turbine combination with the ordi- nary reciprocating drive for a cargo steamer in the former, the engines and shafting require more space than in the latter. But owing to its 7° CASSIER'S MAGAZINE greater steam economy, less boiler power is required with the recipro- turbine combination, and a saving in weight in this respect is effected. The better economy also reduces the bunker weights, so that the recipro- turbine combination has its greatest advantages for vessels going long voyages without recoaling, while a high vacuum is as necessary with the recipro-turbine combination as in the case of a vessel propelled by turbines only; the conditions in the former are much more favourable for air leakage than in the latter, so that the maintaining of a given vacuum will be a more difficult matter. There has been much discussion as to the relative merits of propulsion by Parsons turbines driving three or four shafts and impulse turbines arranged on two shafts only. In the usual ar- rangement of Parsons turbines either three or four main-ahead turbines are employed, two of these being low- pressure machines and one or two high pressure. Each turbine drives a propeller shaft, so that there are either three or four shafts. In the four- shaft arrangement the turbines con- sist of two independent units, each comprising a high-pressure and a low- pressure turbine. These units are run independently of each other. In the three-shaft arrangement both low- pressure turbines receive steam from a common high-pressure machine, and there are not two distinct units ; but either low-pressure turbine can be taken out if desired and the other two turbines continue working. In the usual arrangement there are only two main-ahead turbines. Each of these undertakes the complete expansion of the steam and is quite independent of the other. Each drives a shaft. In both arrangements only prolonged ex- perience can determine which is the better. The two systems are fitted on the United States scout cruisers Chester and Salem, the former having four- shaft Parsons and the latter two-shaft Curtis turbines. These cruisers are the first United States warships to be turbine-propelled, and may not con- tain such good machinery designs as could be adopted later. In both ves- sels there are two engine-rooms sepa- rated by a cross bulkhead, a high and a low-pressure turbine and a con- denser being in each room in the case of the Chester, and a complete turbine and a condenser in each room in the case of the Salem, so that the disabling of the whole propelling machinery by a single projectile is unlikely in the two ships. As to the number of naval ships to be laid down, the programme of 1910 has been bequeathed to Sir Arthur Wilson. The number of ships must necessarily depend upon their char- acteristics. If important changes are necessary in the design of ships, the rate of construction may be altered to reap a greater advantage. In Germany the changes involved by the construc- tion of the Dreadnought imposed a suspense of nearly a year. The Cawdor programme of 1905 proposed the beginning of four big armoured ships per annum. It was reduced in the following year. The latest ships will be more powerful than if they had been laid down at the rate of four per annum from 1906. Taking into ac- count the four "contingent" ships of 1909, the same number of ships will have been begun within the four years as the Cawdor programme contem- plated, viz., sixteen. Sir John Fisher favoured six capital ships each year. His programme for 1910-11 included the commencement of four "capital" ships, super-Dreadnoughts or Invinc- ibles. This number is made possible by the fact that, including the four "contingent" ships, eight were in the programme of 1909-10. Thus twelve will be put in hand within two years. The present rate of shipbuilding is based largely upon that of Germany, and the German Government, which from 1908 to 191 1 includes four big ships per annum. Of destroyers the programme of 1909-10 includes twenty, which num- ber will suffice to maintain and in- crease the British lead. Germany is RECENT SHIPBUILDING DEVELOPMENTS 71 building twelve per annum, the com- plete programme including 144. Brit- ish builders can turn out a destroyer ready for sea within twelve months. The Germans allow two years. In the matter of turbines a question much discussed of late is the turbo- electric system of propulsion. There is a "best speed" of rotation for the screw propeller, at which speed maxi- mum propeller efficiency is obtained. As the speed of rotation is increased above this "best speed" the efficiency falls off. In order to get reasonable propeller efficiency with turbine-pro- pelled steamships the turbines have to be run at considerably lower speeds than are adopted in the driving of electric generators. High-speed tur- bines are lighter and cheaper than low-speed machines of the same type for a given maximum effective horse- power, and can be built to give a greater overall efficiency. To obtain high propeller efficiency combined with high-speed turbines, it is pro- posed to transmit the whole or part of the power electrically from the tur- bine to the propeller shaft. One or more high-speed turbines could be em- ployed direct-coupled to electric gen- erators, which would supply current to electric motors on the propeller shaft or shafts. The propellers could rotate at a low speed, and the turbine would be small, light and economical. The advantages of such an arrangement have been discussed, and a tender for a United States battleship involved a drive of this nature. As an alterna- tive to electric transmission of power, gearing has been proposed, the total engine power or part of it being trans- mitted by chain or spur gearing from a high-speed turbine to a low-speed propeller shaft. The objections to gearing have probably been overrated, but it is not, for large vessels, impos- sible. The use of superheated steam in turbine steamships is also being con- sidered. Steam turbines on land are commonly supplied with superheated steam, but no turbine-propelled ships built in Great Britain have yet been provided with superheaters. The abrupt admission of high temperature steam to a turbine without previously heating up the machine is attended with risk of injury to the engine. Saturated steam at a pressure of 180 pounds per square inch has a tempera- ture of 380 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sudden admission of steam at this temperature to a cold turbine is bad. If the steam is superheated to 150 de- grees, the case is worse. Reversing on board ship has often to be accom- plished suddenly and without warn- ing. It is not surprising that super- heating is regarded with disfavour from the turbine point of view. Many engineers advocate astern turbines constantly heated up by intermittently passing blasts of steam through them. Mr. Parsons has a patent for the em- ployment of a heat "buffer" between the turbine and the boiler to shield the former from abrupt changes of tem- perature, and to reduce the risks in- volved in the employment of super- heated steam in turbine steamships. The employment of superheaters on steamships is now looked on with less disfavour than formerly. The idea of jet propulsion has been revived, and the functions now ob- tained by centrifugal pumps directly coupled to steam turbines, with light- ness, simplicity and moderate cost of the machines, suggest factors of con- siderable inportance in favour of the advantages of jet propulsion. Im- provements, moreover, have been made both in the pumps and in the method of discharging the jets. Fail- ure which resulted before these im- provements were effected need not now be anticipated, and does not pre- vent success in the future under more favourable conditions. The German Society of Naval Architects recently discussed the subject, and experiments will be welcomed. Steam turbine pro- pulsion is in an unsettled state at pres- ent. Much difference of opinion exists as to the relative economy of turbine and recipro-propelled vessels and there is no doubt about the various schemes for increasing the economy. 72 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE There is still a chance that a type of screw-propeller may be found which will work efficiently at high speeds of rotation. The Vulcan Company, of Stettin, have produced hydraulic re- duction and reversing gear whereby to run a marine steam turbine at a high, and the propeller shaft at a low, speed of rotation. The transmission gear, whether for ahead or for astern running, comprises a primary water turbine mounted on the steam turbine shaft, and a secondary water turbine mounted on the propeller shaft. The primary water turbine converts the steam turbine shaft power into hy- draulic power, which latter is recon- verted into shaft power by the secon- dary water turbine. An efficiency of transmission of over 80 per cent, is said to have been obtained by this gear. The severity of the depression in building in 1908 and 1909, which pro- portionately was very much greater than in any previous period of depres- sion during the last twenty-five years, must have a reacting tendency, and signs are not wanting that the building in 19 10, while not exceptional, will be considerably in excess of the low fig- ures of the last two years. At the pres- ent time builders have quite a number of orders on their books for merchant tonnage to be delivered during the year 1910. It is the output for 1909 which will have the greatest effect on freights during the earlier part of 19 10, and an additional tonnage of 750,000 tons would require an additional annual trade of about 5,000,000 tons to keep it in employment throughout the year. At the present time there is a cer- tain amount of tonnage laid up, but these vessels are mostly of the older type, which, under severe competition, are unable to be run at a profit. Any improvement in freights would bring these vessels into the market to com- pete with the present employed ton- nage. It will be seen that with the existing tonnage in employment, the laid-up tonnage and the new tonnage being built, an addition of something over 5,000,000 tons of cargo will be required in 1910 over that carried in 1909, to keep freights even as good as they have recently been. If the cargo required to be shipped across the seas is much in excess of this figure, it can only result in an increase in freights. If on the other hand the cargo requirements are considerably below this figure, the demand for ton- nage must continue below the supply, and the freight market still remain in a low condition. The world's mercantile marine dur- ing the past twelve years has been in- creased by 18,000,000 tons added to the tonnage on the seas. The greatest addition was in the year 1906, when, after allowing for wastages, more than 2,000,000 tons were added. In 1906 and 1907 the supply and demand for tonnage reached a point at which the one pretty well balanced the other, but in 1907 the expansion in trade reached its highest point, and at the end of that year a crisis occurred in the United States. The builders of shipping had orders on their books, and they put on the water a consider- able amount of tonnage in excess of what is annually lost. The depression in shipping, which commenced in 1907, continued throughout 1908 and the early part of 1909. In February, 1909, it was estimated that the number of vessels laid up at ports in the United Kingdom and on the continent amounted to 1,065, v^ith a total ton- nage of 1,500,000 tons. Since then there has been some improvement in shipping, and enough to attract a con- siderable portion of this tonnage back to ordinary trading. At the end of December, 1908, there were 112 ves- sels laid up in the Tyne, and by August, 1909, this number had been reduced to 53. At a recent meeting of the Scottish staff of Lloyd's Register of British arid Foreign Shipping, Mr. F. G. Gardiner, shipowner (chairman of the Glasgow Committee of Lloyd's Regis- ter), said he could not find in Lloyd's any indications of senile decay. He thought it was very much alive. There RECENT SHIPBUILDING DEVELOPMENTS 73 was something like 21,000,000 tons of shipping on its register, and no less than 7,000,000 of foreign tonnage. Between 1900 and 1909 they classed over 12,000,000 tons of shipping. Last year, out of the whole of the tonnage built in British for British classifica- tion, no less than 84 per cent, was classed with Lloyd's. At the present time some 920,000 tons are building in Great Britain to be classed by Lloyd's and 300,000 tons abroad. The British tonnage was 40 per cent, more than for the whole of last year. Mr. J. H. Heck, of Lloyd's, says that British ships and shipping have done much to build up the great Brit- ish Empire and to foster the British characteristics of probity and self-re- liance. We are indebted to merchants and seamen for much of our food. The welfare, even the existence, of the country is bound up in its shipping in- terests. Many years ago Sir Walter Raleigh said that whosoever com- manded the sea commanded the trade, whosoever commanded the trade of the world commanded the riches of the world, and therefore the world it- self. Some years ago, when the Com- mittee of Lloyd's Register was first formed, shipping was in a bad way. The average daily loss was high. We had not only lost much of the carry- ing trade of the foreign merchant, but even the British merchant found it to his advantage as an individual to em- ploy a much greater proportion of for- eign ships. British shipbuilders were behind the times, each had his own ideas about scantlings and strength, there was very little real supervision in construction, and our ships were so slow that foreign vessels could make their voyages in about a third less time. Contrast these conditions with the present day. All classed vessels are now built under survey, and under rules which are the outcome of tech- nical knowledge and experience. Every time such vessels are dry- docked in any part of the world they are examined by a Lloyd's surveyor, who reports on their condition. The information thus supplied by trained technical men enables the rules of the society to be adjusted from time to time in the direction either of reduc- tion or increase of local strength. Shipping interests, however, can only flourish when they have a strong navy to look after them. Confidence de- pends on it, and confidence is the first law of commerce. Strength, whether in a navy or in the character of a ves- sel, always pays best. A good- ship makes good voyages, burns less coal and costs least for repairs, while a poor ship makes a poor return for the outlay incurred. Mr. Lawrence Glen, shipowner, said that one of the marvels of the age is the extreme cheapness of ocean car- riage. The modern tramp steamer could carry her cargo 1,000 miles for 9d. per ton and make a profit of 10 per cent. The only drawback is that the shipowners never got the 9d., and they are therefore tc do without the 10 per cent. A modern tramp steamer could leave England and go round the world by the two Capes, and even then carry cargo at £2 8s. per ton. These are marvelous figures, and they show to what extent the world is indebted to the carrying trade. A great deal of credit is due to the shipbuilders and steelmakers for producing ships that can be run at these rates. Many owners besides Mr. Glen think it a pity to see so much "top hamper" as there is now on many liners. There is also far too much luxury connected with liners. It is not necessary for shipowners to model their arrange- ments on the style of London West End hotels. There is something of the same tendency towards top ham- per among tramp steamers, and some of them are not much more than glori- fied lighters with forests of derricks. There is too much discharging and loading machinery on the deck of a ship. The proper place for such things is on shore. To some people a ship is only something that would carry a certain amount of cargo, and it is a pity that the British tramp ship should be manned by the dregs of hu- manity. Something might be done 74 CASSIER'S MAGAZINE to raise the status of the British sailor. Progress in marine engineering in the production of power with economy is due to increase of steam pressure, increase in the number of cylinders and increase in the number of cranks. The rise in steam pressure makes possible a greater expansion of the steam, and more o