The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-17
VOTES ON SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Considerable attention has latop oeeh elFeh ~
Colorado miners to what ia known "a the soam pro
cesa. in which the furnace consists OF aserlsa OF muf.
ncs, constructed OF hrebrick and thing. Tho ore IL nrst
crushed 10 a forty. mesh and then put In the nufnes.
from which tho air has been excluded; the roasting IL
then begun and kept up until the chemical eomons-
ton takes place, when hot air. or oxygen, is intro
duced, which changes tho %sulphideS to sulphateS' ana
thus saves the value. The time occupied by the roast
runs from one to three hours, and the cost. as reported,
~ less than 30 cents a ton. Allow degree of hcat-not
more than 400, to 500 Fahreuheit-iA required; and
after tho roast the ore IA pulverized TO seventy or
eighty mesh. and Is then treated by pan Amaleama-
ton. The special advantage presented by this method
ia that, Vile the ordinary nre assay does not show
tho va'u" OF the ore, the Beam process prevents loss
by volatilizstion.
The discovery OF a secret solution By which leadon
ullets nay be coated 90 a. to render them superior
TO stecl-cHsed bullets, 10 announced by Charles w.
Bales. n chemist, and Edward Gerry, q Surveyor OF
Springfield. III. The ordinary leaden bullets. when
used In the Krag.Jorgensen rino. have been found to
be too soft. aud the lead has clung to the barrel OF
the rife until tho barrel was nnally ologged, and the
steel cartridges which have succeeded the LEAD ones
have eventually torn tho b~arrel-faults not found In
the new article. In pursuina their experiment." these
inventors. It appears, succeeded in procuring sono OF
the smokele' - powder used by the Government In the
RraE'Jorgen'cn rines, making numerous tests with
their cartridges. and with results showing the re-
markable efficiency of tho new and secret prepara-
tion. Thus. at a distance OF thirty yards, they bored
q ho,e through an axe blade. Ane also through a nat
iron; In this latter case the bullet lodged in . tree.
entering a distance Of six inches.
The question has been much discussed a. 70 the liza
bility of steam pipes to cause ignition of wood with
which they come In contact. That such liability ia
largely & matter Of time 10 obvious from tho fact that
II takes q very high temperature to ignite wood i'm
t,eftataiy an -han ~ "a n n "a - hv copt,Nt vv IN
fame; a temperature. too. Of some 400 to 600
Fahrenheit 10 required to char wood within q reason.
ably short time. and these temperatures are above
those OF ordinary steam. 1t ia q frequently observed
fact. however. that wooden logging applied TO stear,
pipes and engine cylinders becornes chnrred after .
long exposure to the heat. even at these lower tenn.
perstures. In q paper read before the Federated In
ltt;ute OF Mining Enzineera by A. L. Stevenson. au.
thorttie, arr cited showing that the lower the tenn.
peratute at which charcoal IS produced tho greater its
power Of absorption. ana the more readily 10 It com
hustible
In its work Of hydraulic dredging on the lower
Mississippi the United states Government uses u ma
ch'r, that sucks up sand AMI mrck from the bottom
Of the stream and discharges tho material one
thonsani feet away. It cnu he operated up stream or
down stram. pushing with the cutters against the
sand bar, or dragging them back ard. In tho stern
OF the dredgs arc two "spuds.' or piles. which are
driven down into the river bod TO act as pivots. per
hitting tho DIRE e to swins in the arc OF a circle.
sucking up all the sand which comes near the
cutters. and, by swinging on ono OF the spuds
as q pivot. the dredRe can remove 1900 cubic
yards % bottom without moving forward; II
can move forward at tho rate OF 5a fret a minute
and suck up sand at the rate Of 5000 cubic yards an
hour. in n short time cutting a channel tho full width
OF the battery OF cutters across = sandbar. This enor-
nous sand sucker is 179 feet long and 20 feet wide.
and with lite machinery. 1.2oo tons. II car'
ries ninety tons OF coal and has = wst"r ballast 70
eoun'iHe the draft. II ha, q battery OF four 375.horso
| power boilers. the runners OF the centrifugal pumpa
icing seven feet in diameter. The engines driving
the pumps are triple expansion. and ars Of the vore'
oal. inverted. fourcylinder tandem type.
The caionnc and evaporative value Of various ols
as fuel for steam raising has BEEN made the subject
OF much investigation nv r.. R. Wallis of South
! Shields. England. In comparing coal and oil he showi
that the value OF each varies greatly with the quality
Ar circumstances under which they arc burned, OF
doing from ono and Q half TO two and a hf I times the
work o: an equal weight OF coal. This is accounted
for on various grounds. namely, tho complete com
bustion Of oil without loss OF heat by aoot o.
smoke; there arc no hres to clan. with tn,
accompanying loss of hest and revolution o
the engines being maintained; tho boiler tuba
arc always clean and in the best condition
for the heat from sases passing through them to th
bother; and. lastly. tho temperature of the eacapin,
gases may be lowe ct than is necessary to create tn
draucht required FOR coal nrine. Then, too, thers Ar
no bars nor thick nre for the air to force its wa
through; the re quired amount Of ar can be draw
through tho furnace by n lower up-tRte &c ~ perature
and the admission Of air beinC under complete con
troll and tho fuel burned in I'm" particles IN close cor
tact with the oxygen OF tho air. only avery smal
excess Of air is required.
One OF tho fsw exclu-ive,y important imports
British products used I'm our country is chalk.
comes from the banks OF the River Thames. bein
onta.nahle nowhere else In large quantities. In II
crude form. remarkable flint ff ifs are sometira-
fornd. usually the remains OF nsh- Tho process
manufacture from the natural state to tha' of
form VIXEN It can be utilized is simple. When r.
c,ived at the mill the chalk ia put into great m,
chimes and ground in water. then nosted OF INT
watts OF water. where all tho impurities an
foreign substances are precipitated, the watt
being afterward drawn on by o series
altering operations. and tho soft resiiuum drit
by steam heat and exposure TO the air; the subStan'
is then reduced 10 . powder OF different acGre~a
nneress ~ KIindinr in burr mills and betting. VIII,
IT IS ready to be,packcd in barrels and shipped for us
among the largest consumers being tho rubber goot
manufacturers; rubber. in its crude rtatA beii
sticky, manageable. and available only for We
simple purposes. becomes vulcallzed and harden'
by adding TO It chalk while II Ia hot. thus rendering
suitable For tho various uses to which 10 Is put. Az
also we'll known. a large quantity OF chalk is 9,
ployed In the preparation of paint and putty. boil
termed whiting whom in this form.
I A usw continuation Of steam engine and boiler
proposed by W. Schmidt OF Bailenstadt. German
, tho ooni truction in this case being considered q val
able Improvement on that class in which tho cylind
, OF the engine Is either partly or wholly arranged
the boiler. The objects aimed at and believed to
accomplished 10 for = steam boiler and engine oapat
q of yielding q high efroct. requiring repaip only at We
a | lone fntFrynla and NOT naceaAitAtinR continual alta
ton. These advantages arc attained by arrangi
the cylinder Of the engine within the interior Of {
= boiler. with the lowor end projecting into the nj
= box. Tho cylinder serVoS as 4 stay 70 the GROW
sheet. Tho engine is single acting and the valve
. placed In the steam and water room Of the boil,
BtiI further to secure efncient results by means
this arrangement. there are provided, In addition
the heating surface furnished by tho nrebox, Q nu,
4 Der of drop tubes. which add very much to the stsu
generating capacity of tho boiler.
To ". Fayol. an eminent French engineer. having
charge the coal mines At commentry. IL duo ths q