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By James Norman, O. C. Ralston, John Dasher

MOST mineral products are used in the finely divided state, but some are sold in larger sizes. Coal, gravel, metallurgical fluorspar, phosphate rock, hematite, chromite, and other products are sold in sizes coarser than can be treated by many mineral-dressing methods. Gravity separation of coarser sizes by log washing and jigging is probably as ancient as any process now in use. The performance of jigs on a feed with sufficient difference in density of the minerals is excellent, but many families of minerals are too similar in density to be separated effectively by this method. The use of heavy suspensions of fine solids to separate coarse coal from bone and slate has been in use for some years. This separation by sink-and-float was limited until recently to light minerals. Development of galena and ferrosilicon as suspension media, by Minerals Beneficiation, Inc., at Mascot, Tenn., Pitcher, Okla., and Crosby, Minn., under patents granted during and since 1938, has permitted excellent results to be obtained on minerals of very similar densities up to 3.3. This process has been put in the hands of American Cyanamid Co. for exploitation, and further research now in progress may increase the density of suspension obtainable so that separations at a density of 4.0 may be practicable before this is published. The Huntington-Heberlein dense-medium process, developed in England, is also being commercialized in the United States by Sink and Float Corporation. Du Pont has developed a sink-and-float separation using halogenated hydrocarbons as parting liquids; at this writing, the method is used commercially only on coal but has been successful in the pilot plant on many other minerals using tetrabromethane at densities up to 2.95. While these processes were being developed to extend the range of separation by difference in density to the coarser sizes, the Bureau of Mines was engaged in developing a process that will extend the range of separation by difference in wettability up to 2-in. size. War work has pushed aside its further development indefinitely. The results are published here with the hope that some use may be suggested that will justify post-war development, and so that readers that may be able to make immediate use of the scheme may have the information. EARLIER WORK It has been known since the time of Herodotus (B.C. 484(?)-425) that water-repellent particles will adhere to sticky surfaces. That early historian reports the

Jan 1, 1942

By J. A. Bownocker

The existence of petroleum in the rocks of Ohio and Indiana seems to have been first shown by wells dug for salt. The fuel, however, was objectionable owing to its odor and inflammability. Not until the Drake well was drilled in 1859 did the people appreciate the value of rock oil, and then they at once began plans to secure the coveted fuel. The first successful well in these two states was near Macksburg, in southeast Ohio, where at a depth of 59 ft. (17 m.) oil was found in commercial quantity (1860). A year later this fuel was secured on Cow Run, in the same county, and at about the same time in Noble, Morgan and perhaps other counties in that part of Ohio. The second great step in the production of oil in Ohio and Indiana was taken in 1884 when the reservoir of natural gas in the Trenton limestone of northwest Ohio was tapped, and where a year later oil was secured in the same formation. Petroleum in this limestone was obtained in Indiana in 1889.' The third step in the production of oil in Ohio and Indiana is associated with the Clinton sand of Ohio. Natural gas in large volume was discovered in that rock at Lancaster, in 1887, and the area has been extended until it has become the largest individual producer in the world. The presence of natural gas in such great volume all but demonstrated to the driller that oil lay hidden near by. Soon the search for it was started but not until 1899 was petroleum in commercial quantity found in the Clinton sand, and a large pool was not located in it until 1907. The fourth step in the developrllrnt of the industry was taken in 1913, when the pool in Sullivan County, in western Indiana, was opened. The producing rock is the Huron sandstone, which is the topmost member of the Mississippian system.²

Jan 1, 1921

By W. Geo. Waring

The winning of zinc and lead ores from the comparatively shallow deposits of the Joplin district presents few such problems for the mining engineer as are encountered in deep ore mining and in the handling of complex ores. However, for those who are interested in the origin and nature of ore deposits in general, there is much here to investigate, and upon studies in this direction will depend, in no small measure, the future of an industry that has produced during the year 1916, in southwest Missouri, lead and zinc ores to the value of $26,319,383; adding $46,022,164 to the metallic wealth of the nation. Including the adjacent mines in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, and Cherokee County, Kansas, which are really continuations of the Joplin district, the total value of ores produced reached the sum of $34,089,503, and that of the metals, $58,927,941.l The ores produced in the Joplin district are remarkable on account of their almost uniformly high metal content in both lead and zinc. Their superiority in this regard is unparalleled, and is doubtless due to certain geological conditions that are now possibly explicable, provided that the artesian circulation = ascension hypothesis of the origin of the ore deposits is proved beyond question to be the only tenable explanation of the facts. These, as well as other valuable zinc-ore deposits, are bound to be exhausted in time, for ordinary mining purposes, and it concerns the mining engineer that the conditions under which ores of this character were actually deposited in the form in which they occur, may, if possible, be ascertained, in order that he may learn where to look for similar deposits in other regions, or even how to reproduce artificially such condi-

Jan 1, 1918

By R. E. Wade

THE Butte, Anaconda & Pacific electrification is of peculiar interest, in an incidental way, to the entire mining fraternity, and especially the engineering branch, not only in this great Northwest country but throughout the entire Western mining country, which is rich in minerals and water power. It is probably fair to say that the prime object of mining and smelting engineering is to reduce the cost of production, and in the case in hand the relative location of mines and smelter brings the cost of transportation of ore to the front. While some might assign this item to the railway people, it is inseparably a part and parcel of the general scheme of the production of metal from the ore. In considering the electrification of the B., A. &. P. railway the mining and smelting engineer, above all, wants to know what saving will be effected by the change in motive power. Unfortunately the new power has been in use during a very limited period and on the Smelter Hill section of the road only, and no reliable data, from actual service conditions, can be obtained until the entire electrified section has been in service for a reasonable length of time. Any remarks on this subject at the present time, therefore, must of necessity be general in nature and more or less descriptive. The railway, electrical and mining worlds and the country in general are indebted to the B., A. & P. railway for the pioneer work it is now doing, as it undoubtedly marks the beginning of the electrification, within the comparatively near future, of all transcontinental roads between the Missouri river and the Pacific coast. Together with this goes the development of an untold wealth in water power and all natural resources within the same territory. For the first time in the history of electric railway work, in this country, direct current at a potential of 2,400 volts is being used. With this potential there is a great saving in transmission of energy to the locomotives and there are only two substations, one at. either end and 26 miles apart, for supplying the power for the movement of trains of heavy tonnage over the main line and for switching movements at terminal and intermediate yards, and comparatively little feeder copper is required.

Jan 11, 1913

By Lester C. Uren

It is realized that the depth of fluid maintained in a pumping well is sometimes influenced by other considerations than the quantity of fluid that will enter the well: the prevention of sand incursion, prevention of waste of natural gas, and the maintenance of a suitable submergence for the pump, for example. These latter factors have an important influence on the productivity of the well, so that otherwise unwarranted fluid levels must sometimes be maintained to offset them; but where the handling of unconsolidated sands is not a problem of consequence and where water has been properly excluded, the principles developed here and the practices recommended should apply. The principal objective of the producer should be to produce the maximum quantity of oil in the shortest possible time. Any method or equipment that will increase the rate of production during the early years of the life of the well, when gas pressure is high, will greatly augment the ultimate production. The maintenance of a proper fluid level in the well at all times will go far toward accomplishing this desired result. For a given set of conditions surrounding the flow of oil into a particular well, in which the viscosity of the oil, the porosity and grain size of the sand, and the diameter of the well appear as constants, two variables determine the quantity of oil that will flow from the sand into the well. These are: the effective pressure behind or within the oil in the reservoir sand, and the fluid level maintained within the well. The former is the expulsive force that causes movement of oil from the sand into the well, while the latter determines the magnitude of a resisting force opposing such movement. The first of these factors is largely beyond the control of the oil producer, but it is in his interest to reduce the opposing force to the lowest economic limit.

Jan 1, 1925

By Allen Garrison

A PREVIOUS paper1 reviewed some of the properties of clays and shales and presented some data on the nature of the gelling phenomenon. It included a brief discussion of origin of clays and shales, their com-position, structure, retention of water, ionization, base exchange, and the nature of the gelling of water suspensions, Other publications of the Institute2-8 have discussed the properties of clays and their relations to drilling-fluid behavior and control. It is the purpose of this article to present some new data obtained and arranged in a different manner and making possible a better understanding of the chemical reactions involved in the control of drilling-fluid characteristics during the normal drilling operations. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The difficulties involved in the measurements of the flow character-istics of plastic fluids are too familiar to recite, The possible applications of some of the well-known instruments to this problem have been ade-quately discussed by Hobson9 and he has given an excellent bibliography. Although there are many viscosimeters of varied design, none of them appear to fulfill the most obvious demands of accuracy in the measure-ment of clay or shale suspensions, Since the fluid characteristics are dependent on the rate of flow of the fluid, and the viscosity usually falls off very rapidly as the rate is increased, it is clear that the first require-ment is that the instrument shall be capable of a wide variety of speeds. The viscosity of the fluid at any fixed and constant rate of flow is also a function of time, so that the second demand is that the instrument shall be capable of a constant and continuous motion for a prolonged period of time.

Jan 1, 1939

By Howard Hughes

IN drilling for water and oil to reasonable depths through the generally soft yielding clay and sand formation of the Coastal Plain of Texas, . Louisiana, and Mississippi, the rotating method of drilling was adopted, principally on account of the easy and quick penetration, and the low cost of the drilling plant. In favorable ground, free of heavy gravel and rock strata, as much as 1,000 ft. has been drilled in less than 36 hr., although such performances were of course rare. Hydraulic rotary drilling, or, as it is now called, rotary drilling, was used in the above States as early as 1880. The plant consisted of an ordinary derrick, a 25-h.p. boiler, a small hoist, a steam pump, and a water swivel with hose attachment, and an ordinary flat diamond-pointed bit. The successful drilling in of a phenomenal oil well by this process on Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1901, and the ascertained impracticability of drilling subsequent wells in the same locality by other methods (owing principally to heavy quicksand under pressure from below), brought rotary drilling into great prominence, practically to the exclusion of any other process throughout the Coastal Plain, and later on elsewhere. The method, as its name implies, involves the rotation of a pipe by means of machinery placed on the derrick floor. A drill bit attached to the lower end cuts a clearance for the drill pipe, with much the same motion and effect as an auger. Water forced through the drill pipe by means of a pump, and escaping through the bit, removes the cuttings and returns to the surface outside the drill pipe. In this manner the hole is kept open, permitting the drill stem to rotate freely. The pressure of the column of muddy water holds up the walls of the hole until it has been cased. Practically all the wells of the Gulf coast region, numbering nearly 10,000, have been drilled with this system. During the last five years its use has been extended to many other States and countries.

Jan 3, 1915

By G. R. Mansfield

THE third year of Government exploration f or potash by the U. S. Geological Survey and-the U. S. Bureau of Mines under the authorization of the act approved June 25, 1926 (Public 424-69th Cong.) is drawing to a close. The results thus far obtained are thought to be sufficiently interesting and satisfactory to justify the presentation of a brief preliminary account of the work. REVIEW OF EARLIER EXPLORATION The general geologic similarity of the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico to the potash field of Germany had long ago suggested the possibility of the presence of potash salts somewhere in that basin, but petroleum exploration was then making little headway there and the necessary data could not be obtained. The discovery by Udden in 1912 of potash in brine from the Spur well in Dickens County, Texas, was the first direct evidence of its presence. In 1915-17 the U. S. Geological Survey drilled a test well with standard tools at Cliff side near Amarillo, but failed to find potash. Nevertheless, an observer has been kept in the field, at first in cooperation with the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology but since 1922 by the Survey alone, to `secure data and samples from oil and gas tests. Since the discovery of oil in Reagan County in 1923 exploration by drilling has been rapidly extended to many parts of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The identification of the potash-bearing mineral polyhalite was first announced by the Geological Survey in June, 1921, the material having come from cuttings from the Bryant well in Midland County and the Burns well in Dawson County, Texas. Successive discoveries and announcements of similar purport aroused widespread interest in potash exploration, which culminated in the action by Congress already noted.

Jan 1, 1929

By C. M. Haight

THE mine blacksmith and drill-steel sharpening shop at the Franklin mine of the New Jersey Zinc Co. is on the surface, adjoining the main shaft. It is a brick building, 51 by 30 ft. inside dimensions, with a corrugated iron roof and concrete floor. About two-thirds of the steels used are brought up through the main shaft; the remainder through two auxiliary shafts. The latter are carried to the shop by team or truck. At each shaft sufficiently large stocks of sharp drills of various types are kept to replace all the dull steels that may be sent up; while at the shop enough sharp drills are kept to replace the dull steels in the stocks kept at the auxiliary shafts. Though this entails keeping a larger number of drill steels in service than might be required by other methods, there is less hurry in the sharpening shop and the steels have a longer period of rest. If a rest from use enables steel to recover from fatigue strains, this method secures that rest. The forms shown in Fig. 1 are supplied to each shift boss in books of 100. These are used to requisition sharp drills from the shaft stocks and enable the men at the tops of the shafts to sort out the required sizes and to have them ready to be sent to the various shaft stations. At one of the auxiliary shafts, the dull drills are placed on a platform from which they are dumped into the body of the wagon that takes them to the shop.

Jan 2, 1926

THE Institute assembled in the Court-House, on Tuesday evening, May 22d, and was called to order by Vice-President E. B. Coxe. After announcement by the Local Committee of the programme for excursions, the Secretary read the following annual report of the Council The Council, in presenting to the Institute its annual report, has to record a most eventful year in the history of the Institute. Three meetings, as usual, have been held, two in Philadelphia and one in New York. At the Philadelphia meetings in June and October, there were present many distinguished foreign engineers, some of whom contributed communications to the Institute, and took part in its discussions. Sixty-seven papers have, in all, been presented to the Institute, which will be published in the fifth volume of Transactions. There has been an accession to the membership of 1 honorary member, 11 foreign members, and 162 members and associates; -8 have resigned, 6 have died, and 30 have been dropped from the roll, after due notification, for non-payment of dues. The membership now comprises 5 honorary members, 60 foreign members, and 644 members and associates, in all 699. As worthy of especial mention in the work of the year are the Discussions on Technical Education in connection with the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the report of the-International Committee appointed by the Institute to consider the nomenclature of iron and steel. The Discussions on Technical Education have been published in a separate volume, and comprise a valuable and suggestive collection of the views of practical engineers and educators. The report of the International Committee, composed of Messrs. Akerman, of Sweden; Bell, of England; Tunner, of Austria; Gruner, of France; Wedding, of Prussia; and Holley and Egleston, of the United States, has received the careful attention of engineers and metallurgists of all countries, and has met . with very general acceptance. Of the work of the Centennial Committee in Philadelphia the members are generally familiar, from personal experience, and from the detailed report of the committee at the last meeting of the Institute. But the record of the service rendered by this committee would he incomplete without mention of the numerous letters of thanks and formal expressions of obligations received by the Institute from individuals, societies, and governments abroad. The wise and generous spirit in which the work of the committee was planned, and the laborious and self-sacrificing manner in which it was carried out, call for emphatic expressions of thanks from the Institute. The gifts of Centennial exhibits to the Institute, largely as testimonials for services rendered, has necessitated the appointment of a Museum Committee for

Jan 1, 1878

By Hoyt Stoddard Gale

Recent work on borate deposits near Kramer in the extreme southeast corner of Kern County, California, is of special interest because of the information it seems to give concerning the mode of origin of the borate minerals colemanite and ulexite, especially when considered in conjunction with the valuable clue to the mode of origin of colemanite in its present known deposits given in a paper by W. F. Foshag,1 of the United States National Museum. Colemanite is found in or near original deposits of ulexite, from which it is supposed to have been derived by a change in the character of the ground water or rate of its movement or both. Indications that an alteration of this sort had produced colemanite were first recognized by the writer2 in specimens collected in the Kramer district in 1920, and sent to W. T. Schaller, at U. S. Geological Survey, for identification. The identity of the two borate minerals in these specimens was suspected when collected but not at once determined, but the relations of the minerals as seen in the specimens seemed to afford a manifest clue to the origin of the deposits. Similar specimens were obtained by the writer from deposits in Death Valley soon after he had examined the deposits near Kramer. After studying the specimens submitted to him Dr. Schaller wrote as follows: " I have finally positively identified the boron minerals you sent me with your letter of Sept. 27. The 'white fibrous mineral like ulexite, is ulexite; the 'harder nodules' in the clay are colemanite, apparently formed from the ulexite as a result of leaching, with recrystallization in place—a theory that Foshag is working on." The present paper is a report on the facts observed at the depo its near Kramer, and some general observations on the geological relations noted, which, unfortunately, still form only a very incomplete record. The intimate association of deposits of colemanite and ulexite in California and Nevada with certain volcanic rocks affords a strong pre-

Jan 1, 1926

By Ben L. Seegmiller

Roof, pillar and floor stability is a most important requirement in underground coal mines because it represents the leading cause of fatalities. In future coal mine planning the geotechnical aspects must often be minimized owing to unavailability of data. It is, therefore, very important to include a geotechnical investigation as part of the coal exploration program. Data which should be collected basically include the geological discontinuity characteristics, the rock strength characteristics and the groundwater aspects. Many times the only source of such data is the exploration boreholes. Therefore, an emphasis must be made to extract the maximum information from the core and the borehole. Data collection methods can include the preparation of detailed geotechnical logs for the roof, coal and floor. Laboratory strength testing will provide estimates of the mechanical properties of the various lithologic types. Slaking and swelling tests provide an insight into the stability characteristics of the rock materials immediately enclosing the coal seam. The boreholes may be used to provide permeability and pressurization data. Having developed a suitable geotechnical data base allows various stability prediction methods to be used. These include a geotechnical appraisal of the roof and floor units, depositional environment methods, multiple overlay techniques, hazard analysis techniques and classification/rating systems for roof and floor. The basic geotechnical data and the stability prediction methods form a basis upon which preliminary rock mechanics designs may be developed. Of particular importance to future coal mining are those designs relating to longwall mining because most companies are thinking in terms of the greater safety and greater productivity offered by longwalls. Items which should be ad- dressed when considering a longwall system include the panel layout in terms of a total mining plan, strata mechanics, roof/floor bearing capacities, face support requirements, face length, entry and pillar

Jan 1, 1983

By R. S. Dean

THE numerous theories of hardening which have been advanced in recent years are all satisfactory in accounting for some of the phenomena observed in hardening metals, but none so far presented account for all of the facts observed. Some years ago one of the authors, R. S. Dean,1 presented a theory to account for some of the properties accompanying work hardening. The present paper develops this theory further in the light of recent experimental, work and extends it to other forms of hardening. Many of the ideas included have come from the writings and personally communicated thoughts of others. We have attempted to give proper credit in every case, but it is possible that we have not always done so. As an historical basis it is desirable here to review very briefly the hardening theories which have been current. The first comprehensive theory of work-hardening phenomena was due to Sir George Beilby.2 He contributed the idea that with cold work part of the structure of the metal was rendered amorphous and that it was to this amorphous material that the cold-worked metal owed its difference in properties. According to Beilby's theory this amorphous material was a super-cooled liquid and, therefore, had the characteristics of a vitreous material. That such a theory is not capable of explaining the property changes in metals has been repeatedly pointed out. This theory also allowed a slip to take place only once on a given plane, which, as has been pointed out by Jeffries and Archer,3 is not consistent with the observed length of an individual slip and the amount of elongation which can be obtained by wire drawing. The modifications, which have been proposed to this hypothesis to make it coincide with the experimental facts, have to a considerable extent robbed the theory of its clean-cut characteristics. The commonest of these modifications replaces the amorphous phase with an

Jan 1, 1927

By J. F. Myers, F. M. Lewis

THE crushing of ore, as defined by Taggart,1 is "usually a stage process, utilizing . . . machines especially suitable for the reduction of particular sizes... . down to a final stage, employed for the reduction of the finest sizes. . .. In contradistinction, comminution to 20-mesh or finer is called grinding. There is a twilight zone in which the product is 6, 10, or 14mesh limiting size which is either crushing or grinding. . .. " Since the data in this paper pertain to a rod-mill operation, comminuting a particular ore size of ¾ in. to a final stage, coarser than 20-mesh, the rod mill is designated as a "fine crusher machine" in this paper. The published literature discloses a wealth of data regarding a rod mill as a fine-grinding machine but relatively little as a fine-crushing operation. Typical of the latter operation is: (I) a description by F. J. Tuck2 in which a fine-crushing rod mill replaced crushing rolls and (2) a description by the present authors3 in which a fine-crushing rod mill was installed instead of a conventional fine-crushing machine. The experience of the authors is that a definite distinction must be made between the rod mill functioning as a fine crusher and as a fine-grinding machine. As a fine-crushing machine it prepares * relatively large amounts of ore for a subsequent fine-grinding operation; as a grinding machine, it grinds relatively small amounts of ore to some predetermined finished product. PULP MOVEMENT AND ACTION IN MILL In considering the work performed by a fine-crushing rod mill, it seems important to understand just what takes place within the mill. We were inspired to study this matter by a paper by E. W. Davis,4 which indicated that definite water classification of ore particles took place in a ball mill. However, in thinking of the rod-mill action from this point of view, we were confronted with the fact that our rod-mill discharge product showed no evidence of action by water classification. The Tennessee Copper Co. ore is relatively high in sulphides, and the gangue rock and the sulphides are of about the same hardness. In the presence of any action by classification, the coarser sizes are definitely very lean in sulphide minerals. [ ]

Jan 1, 1946

By H. S. McQueen

The insoluble-residue method for the examination and correlation of limestones and dolomites, or other sedimentary rocks containing calcium and magnesium carbonates, originated and was developed in the laboratory of the Missouri Geological Survey. The numerous and ever-increasing problems in the field of applied geology, and the need for a tool or aid in the solution of them, led to experimental work with samples collected from deep wells, in the early part of 1924. The success attained, almost at the outset, with this method was so great that the method has now been developed from the state of the experimental to the realm of large-scale, every-day routine. In a previous paper the writer1 described the procedure in detail and the characteristics of the residues obtained from certain Paleozoic formations in Missouri. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the economic application of the insoluble-residue method. Developmental History Within the Ozark region of southern Missouri the geologic column consists of Lower Ordovician (Canadian of Ulrich) and Upper Cambrian formations, which are composed mainly of dolomite with subordinate amounts of sandstone, shale and limestone. Chert is found to some extent in all except one of the dolomite formations. The stratigraphy of the region is complex because the dolomites have lithologic similarities, fossils are few and often poorly preserved, and identifiable horizons within the comparatively thick formations are not common. Although considerable stratigraphic work of an areal nature had been done for a period of many years by the Missouri Geological Survey, the detailed geologic succession had not, until a few years ago, been systematically worked out. The problems of subsurface stratigraphy were even more complex. This region constitutes the main ground-water province of the State of Missouri and within it wells of varying depths are drilled in order to obtain supplies of ground water. In the work of the State Geological Survey in connection with the drilling of water wells for public supplies * Published with the permission of the Director, Missouri Geological Survey and Water Resources. Manuscript received at the office of the Institute Feb. 20, 1936. Assistant State Geologist of Missouri; Missouri Geological Survey, Rolla, Mo. References are at the end of the paper.

Jan 1, 1937

SAN FRANCISCO SECTION Roy H. ELLIOTT, Chairman - T. A. RICKARD, Vice-chairman W. H. SHOCKLEY, Secretary-Treasurer, 959 Waverley St., Palo Alto, Cal. D. A4. RIORDAN C. F. TOLMAN, JR. A joint meeting of the local sections of the several national engineering societies represented in San Francisco was held at the Engineers'. Club on Thursday evening, Sept. 26, 1918. The subject for the evening, "Fuel Conservation," was ably discussed by a-number of representatives of the Federal Administration and by engineers interested in the generation and utilization of all kinds of power on the Pacific Coast. The following extracts from papers presented at this meeting have been selected as being of the greatest interest and value to members of this Institute. Problems of the Fuel Administration ALBERT E. SCHWABACHER.-America's war needs call for 100,000,000 more tons of coal this year than in 1917, and 200,000,000 tons more than in 1914, when the war started, and this increase must come from a weaker man-power than that of 1917. It must be transported by a railroad system that has not been improved since the war started, and has been burdened with inconceivably greater demands than were made upon it before the war. This tremendous increased demand must be met by most intensive work in three directions; increased production, efficient conservation, and a distribution system which will insure against lost motion. While every European country has decreased its coal production since the war began, the United States has mined 50,000,000 tons more coal, during the first year of the war, and will increase this by another 50,000,000 the present year. Every 8 days there are being mined and transported as great a weight of coal as of the entire wheat crop of the United States. Of the 735,000,000 tons of coal which must be made available for consumption by our railroads, ships, war industries and people, 100,000,000 tons will come from the anthracite fields, the remainder from the bituminous fields. In 1917 there were produced about 330,000,000 bbl. of oil, and this year an additional amount over last year's production, of approximately 23,000,000 bbl. will be required. Water power developed 5,000,000 hp., the demand greatly exceeding the available supply.

Jan 12, 1918

By Carl O. Theime

Industrial specialization has rapidly created a demand for new and better alloys. A more thorough understanding of the requirements of specific industries and the discovery of processes by which it has been made possible to utilize certain metallic elements in larger quantities, together with greater purity in most virgin metals, has resulted in a great increase in the number and variety of alloys. This increase in the number of elements entering into non-ferrous alloy manufacture has increased the contamination in secondary metals, as received by the smelter. In order to successfully refine scrap of a much more complex nature it has been necessary for the smelter to install new equipment and to constantly search for new methods of refining as well as to improve the methods already in use. In some instances it is largely responsible for specialization in the secondary metal industry. It is usually necessary to remove the contaminating impurities in scrap or eliminate to a degree not objectionable, no matter how introduced. In order to know what metals or elements are of an objectionable nature, the smelter must make a study of the effect of single elements and combinations of elements on many of the physical and mechanical properties, such as strength, ductility, color, hardness, casting soundness, etc. The smelter of secondary mctals must be able to utilize scrap materials of all kinds, for, sooner or later, most fabricated metal parts and the waste products formed during the process of manufacture find their way to the smelter. In addition, the smelter, in contracting for salvaged material from the producer, gets some undesirable and unusual materials. The value of secondary metals and the importance of their recovery has increased in recent years and it is no longer sufficient to recover the base metal only, such as copper from copper-bearing material, but it is essential that other elements present be recovered and converted into useful form. This paper will deal not with the smelting and refining or separation of impurities from secondary metals but an attempt will be made to show the increased value of metal scrap when properly segregated and in a less contanlinated condition. There are five principal reasons for contamination in secondary metals: New and unusual alloys, productive methods,

By A. W. Ambrose

THE underground losses of oil exceed by hundreds of thousands of barrels all the oil that has been lost in storage, transportation, or refining. The quantity lost is, of course, indeterminate; but when it is considered that the contents of an entire oil field have been excluded from recovery by invading waters, some idea of the amount wasted may be gained. Similarly, enormous quantities of gas have been lost underground. Conservation of the oil, therefore, should start before it is brought to the surface rather than after it is placed in storage tanks. Water is one of the most important causes for underground losses and the operator should give as serious consideration to an underground flood of water as he would to a destructive surface flood. The best insurance, of course, is to have the wells drilled in such a manner that water has no access to the productive oil and gas horizons, and on abandonment the wells should be properly plugged. The encroachment of edge water and the occurrence of water in the base of an oil sand present a very serious problem to an oil company; sooner or later these waters are bound to cause considerable damage, if they do not entirely destroy the possibilities of further production. Too often, however, a field has been considered to be in a hopeless condition, whereas wells in as bad a condition in other areas have been repaired and the life of the field appreciably lengthened. The corrections are very often suggested by technical study. Very successful results have been accomplished by detailed underground work in the California oil fields, in Cushing, Oklahoma, and in other areas.

Jan 9, 1920

By William Metcalf

It is the object of this paper to oppose unnecessary changes, and the introduction of new and confusing terms. From the earliest times of which we have ally record on the subject, iron has been divided into general classes. Whether iron was first known in the form of wrought iron or of steel, is a matter of no importance; but at the time when cast iron first became a prominent article of commerce, wrought iron and steel were old products— steel, at that time, being generally made from wrought iron by the process of cementation. As steel was then properly defined as iron containing more carbon than wrought iron, so cast iron was appropriately defined as iron containing more carbon than steel. Until the year 1776, when Huntsman first began the manufacture of a new kind of iron by melting wrought iron and steel in crucibles, the above definitions were all that could be desired. At first, probably, owing to imperfect appliances, only a highly carburized iron was melted in crucibles, and this led to its being called cast steel. If our ancestors had found a name for this material not involving the use of the word steel, we would have been saved the trouble of the present discussion. As the arts developed, new uses were found for steel, and the products of the crucible were varied, until at the present day it is quite common to find steel containing no more carbon than average wrought iron, and other steel containing nearly or quite as much carbon as some cast iron. All of these various products of the crucible have retained, or received, the name cast steel, usually abbreviated to the simple word steel, without caus-ing any confusion among producers or consumers in regard to terms or their meaning. In 1865, twenty-one years ago, the Bessemer process was introduced ; this was followed in a few years by the Siemens-Martin process, and the products of both were at once, and have ever since been, called steel, from the fact that they were identical in chemical and physical properties with crucible cast steel. At the present time, then, we have three subdivisions of cast steel, viz.: Crucible cast steel, Bessemer cast steel, and Siemens-Martin,

JULY was a month of great turmoil, both economic and political, in many parts of the world. Instead of conditions improving, they seem to have been getting worse. In Ireland, civil war is still in progress. Germany was in the throes of a political upheaval. The meaning of the assassination of Rathenau became clear. It evinced the development of a class struggle between the bourgeois and socialistic parties which may rock the country to its foundation and will increase the difficulties of arranging things with the French and solving the reparations problem. In Poland, a similar contest is developing. Austria is already so completely contaminated by the socialist element that it is unable to get outside assistance and is thus falling into a state of despair but little short of what prevails in Russia. The conference at the Hague came to an abortive end for the reason that it was impossible to discuss affairs with the Russians in any reasonable way. The Germans declared their inability to meet the reparation payment that fell clue on July 15 and the Commissioners for the Allies granted them an abate-ment of a portion thereof and are listening attentively to the supplication of the Germans for a moratorium of one or two years. In the United States, July was a month of widespread labor troubles, accompanied by a great deal of disorder and violence, which led to detachments of the National Guard being called out in several states. The railway shopmen, about 400,000 in number, struck on July 1. The road maintenance men decided not to strike, but many thousands of them quit work without the sanc-tion of their union. There were more strikes in the textile industry in New England and in similar industries all over the country. Early in July, it was estimated that about 1,250,000 men were out on strike. The coal strike continued. Early in the month the President summoned operators and miners to Washing-ton and submitted a plan for the compromising of disputes. After a week's consideration the miners re-fused flatly to agree to anything. The majority of the operators consented to accept the proposed arbitration, but a minority refused. Following this abortive at-tempt the President dismissed the conference with the injunction "to return to your mine properties and resume operation." Production has not increased.

Jan 8, 1922