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By Arthur C. Simmons

The Pennsylvania-grade oil industry suffered a serious decline in 1938, which can be largely accounted for by the decrease in the use of lubricating oil. Production was considerably lower than in previous years and prices were very much lower. Operating profits undoubtedly were lower than the year 1933, for the average price of Bradford crude in 1938 was $1.898 as compared with $1.86 in 1933, and the difference in average price of $0.04 per barrel was more than offset by increased operating costs and taxes. Bradford Field Production in the Bradford field in the state of Pennsylvania averaged 36,759 bbl. per day in 1938 as compared with 41,300 bbl. in 1937. The decline in average daily production of 4541 bbl. can be attributed to low market price and pipe-line proration rather than to the actual physical capacity of the field. Pipe-line proration was in effect for the last eight months of the year and the daily average production per month fluctuated between a maximum of 41,852 bbl. per day in March 1938 and a minimum of 33,649 bbl. per day in November. Production figures for Bradford field have been corrected to include only the parts of the Bradford field that arc within the state of Pennsylvania, but the well-completion data for the Bradford field cannot be segregated and include those of the entire Bradford field, part of which is in Sew York state. Production from the Bradford field was obtained almost wholly by water-flooding and no radically new methods or practices occurred. Intensive research work was carried on both by individuals and companies and as a cpooperative enterprise, and minor improvements are gradually occurring in spacing, shooting, application of pressure and water conditions. Drilling Central and Southen Pennsylvania.—Pennsylvania production in central and southern Pennsylvania was obtained largely by air and gas repressuring together with the usual amount of natural production, and the repressuring operations in other than the Bradford field have not

Jan 1, 1939

By Arthur C. Simmons

The Pennsylvania-grade oil industry suffered a serious decline in 1938, which can be largely accounted for by the decrease in the use of lubricating oil. Production was considerably lower than in previous years and prices were very much lower. Operating profits undoubtedly were lower than the year 1933, for the average price of Bradford crude in 1938 was $1.898 as compared with $1.86 in 1933, and the difference in average price of $0.04 per barrel was more than offset by increased operating costs and taxes. Bradford Field Production in the Bradford field in the state of Pennsylvania averaged 36,759 bbl. per day in 1938 as compared with 41,300 bbl. in 1937. The decline in average daily production of 4541 bbl. can be attributed to low market price and pipe-line proration rather than to the actual physical capacity of the field. Pipe-line proration was in effect for the last eight months of the year and the daily average production per month fluctuated between a maximum of 41,852 bbl. per day in March 1938 and a minimum of 33,649 bbl. per day in November. Production figures for Bradford field have been corrected to include only the parts of the Bradford field that arc within the state of Pennsylvania, but the well-completion data for the Bradford field cannot be segregated and include those of the entire Bradford field, part of which is in Sew York state. Production from the Bradford field was obtained almost wholly by water-flooding and no radically new methods or practices occurred. Intensive research work was carried on both by individuals and companies and as a cpooperative enterprise, and minor improvements are gradually occurring in spacing, shooting, application of pressure and water conditions. Drilling Central and Southen Pennsylvania.—Pennsylvania production in central and southern Pennsylvania was obtained largely by air and gas repressuring together with the usual amount of natural production, and the repressuring operations in other than the Bradford field have not

Jan 1, 1939

By J. L. Weeks

THERMAL conductivities of several samples of uranium and uranium alloys were determined using an apparatus previously described.' The value previously reported for uranium,' 0.035 cal per sec per cm per "C at 70°C, is in error due to the failure of a thermocouple during the determination on uranium. The defective thermocouple was detected after a reanalysis of the data obtained during the run and since has been replaced. Subsequently, runs on several samples of uranium show the thermal conductivity of uranium to be 0.069 cal per sec per cm per 'C at 70°C. The accuracy of the determinations was checked by measuring a sample of synthetic sapphire whose thermal conductivity was previously reported and found to be in agreement with other values."-" The values given in Table I are believed correct to % 3 pct or 0.003 cal per sec per cm per "C, whichever is larger. The samples were provided by J. H. Kittel of the Argonne National Laboratory, Metallurgy Div. References J. L. Weeks and R. L. Seifert: Apparatus for the Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity of Solids. Review of Scientific Instruments (1953) 24, pp. 1054-1057. J. L. Weeks and R. L. Seifert: Note Regarding the Thermal Conductivity of Synthetic Sapphire. Journal American Ceramic Society (1952) 35, p. 15. :' J. Francl and W. D. Kingery: Thermal Conductivity: IV, Apparatus for Determining Thermal Conductivity by a Comparative Method; Data for Pb, Al2O3, BeO, and MgO. Journal American Ceramic Society (1954) 37, No. 2, Part 11, pp. 80-84. (Part 11: special issue on thermal conductivity.) ' W. D. Kingery, J. Francl, R. L. Coble. and T. Vasilos: Thermal Conductivity: X, Data for Several Pure Oxide Materials Corrected to Zero Porosity. Journal American Ceramic Society (1954) 37, No. 2, Part II, pp. 107-110. (Part 11: special issue on thermal conductivity.) Edwin Ruh: New Jersey Ceramic Research Station, Rutgers University. Private communication.

Jan 1, 1956

By E. H. Griswold

The efforts of petroleum production engineers during the past year have largely concentrated upon ways and means of reducing operating investments and expenses in order that the industry may survive a period of low crude oil prices. Major progress was made in outlining and solving the technical problems pertinent to unit operation in order that executives and legal staffs may actually arrange operating contracts to effect unit operation. Consequent savings in development and operating costs, accompanied by increased recovery, will thus be obtained. Well spacing has received considerable constructive thought and study, from which practical results are assured in the near future. The control of edge and bottom waters has advanced in technique through the engineering work done in Yates, Hobbs and East Texas, and there is evidence of greater cooperative efforts between engineers to increase recovery from pools by mutual gas conservation. The use of pressure control by surface and bottom-hole chokes has become general practice to reduce gas-oil ratios. The study of bottom-hole pressures has led to new conceptions of proper utilization of reservoir energy and maintenance of pressure by natural means. Pressure gradients of flowing wells have been measured in practice and strides made to develop workable formulas for the flow of oil and gas mixtures through vertical pipes. The information thus obtained will permit the intelligent design of flow tubing combinations. Gas-lit and repressuring advancements have been few, due to overproduction from naturally flowing wells. Satisfactory unloading valves for gas-lift wells have been developed and consistent progress made in gas-lift displacement pumps. The necessity for producing wells at high rates of flow while producing large quantities of sand has resulted in radical changes in Christmas tree and separator designs for the Oklahoma City pool. The opening of wells to obtain potential production for proration purposes has been eliminated in the Yates and Hobbs pools by the application of engineering principles.

Jan 1, 1932

By David B. Morris, Paul I. Eimon

Computer-assisted data storage and retrieval in the geosciences is coming of age. A growing awareness of the need of the geological and mining community for effective access to existing data has triggered studies and development programs on many levels; governments, professional societies, industrial concerns, and the academic world are all active in this field. Developments in the past decade in computer hardware and software lend hope to the geoscientist searching for a means of expediting the flow of data. The new concern of the earth sciences coming together with the blossoming child of technology, computing, has led to serious study of the geoscience information problem. Active system development is under way in several areas. The papers presented at this Symposium effectively sample the spectrum of present day activity in machine-based geologic data storage and retrieval. These papers show the reader where the action is in this field today. Both long-range studies and plans and operational systems are discussed. Several studies and research efforts have been undertaken on a national or international scale. Robinson discusses the activity of the international geological community in these Proceedings. He speaks from a position of authority as Chairman of the International Union of Geological Sciences' Committee on Storage, Automatic Processing and Retrieval of Geological Data. A study of a "coordinated information program for geological scientists in the United States" documented by Smith, et al.1 proposes a "long-range information program ... responsive to the entire geosciences community . . . (to) draw on the best of large-scale information systems technology." The European geologic community is embarked on project Geosemantica 70, started at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris. Dixon discusses some results of this work in a following paper. The Canadian study of geological data storage and retrieval on a national scale is reported in a volume edited by Brisbin and Ediger.2 The Canadian report presents detailed recommendations for recording and coding geologic data for automatic process-

Jan 1, 1969

In many lines of engineering, much excellent standardization work had been done before the war but the war emphasized its importance and showed most clearly the need of cooperation to prevent the confusion caused by the promulgation of overlapping standards by independent bodies. The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and American Society for Testing Materials, recognizing the value of what had been done, invited the Government Departments of War, Navy and Commerce to appoint representatives to act with them to continue this work; the body so formed is the American Engineering Standards Committee. It has required time to definitely formulate its objects and to arrange methods for accomplishing them that would be effective without interfering with the many organizations that have been doing such excellent work in this line. The American Engineering Standards Committee has just completed and adopted a revision of its Constitution, which has been sent to the Governing Boards of all the Departments and Societies represented on the Committee with a request for its ratification. The new Constitution changes the name to American Engineering Standards Association as more fittingly indicating the wide scope of the interests involved. The objects of the association are stated as follows: 1. To unify and simplify the methods. of arriving at engineering standards, to secure cooperation between various organizations and to prevent duplication of standardization work. 2. To promulgate rules for the development and adoption of standards, 3. To receive and pass upon recommendations for standards submitted as provided in the Rules of Procedure, but not to initiate, define, or develop the details of any particular standard. 4. To act as a means of intercommunication between organizations and individuals interested in the problems of standardization. 5. To give an international status to approved American engineering standards. 6. To cooperate with similar organizations in other countries and to promote international standardization.

Jan 7, 1919

By Milton Lissberger

MILTON L. LISSBERGER, ? New York, N. Y.-Solder is a mechanical mixture of tin and lead, a fact which is susceptible of very simple demonstration. A bar of solder of a grade even as low as 30 per cent. tin and 70 per cent. lead, passed through a buffing machine, will show a surface practically identical with that of a bar of second-quality or reclaimed tin. The buffings, on chemical analysis, will prove to be almost pure lead. According to the best practice, solder is made in the following manner. Virgin pig lead is first melted, and when it is thoroughly liquefied, virgin pig tin is added, together with a small amount of flux; the latter is for the purpose of bringing to the surface the so-called "liver," consisting of impurities that may have remained in either the lead or the tin as a result of incomplete refining. The combined material, when completely liquid, is thoroughly stirred for some hours, and is then cast into small pigs. Just before casting, and continuously during this operation, the molten metal yields dross, consisting largely of the oxides of lead and tin; this should be carefully skimmed off. After the pigs have cooled, they are taken to a smaller kettle, remelted, and cast into the desired shape for use; or if wires, ribbons, etc., are to be made, the solder is cast into slugs suitable for extrusion and rolling. During this second operation, the skimming of dross should be even more carefully done than at first. Hand mixing has proved to be the only reliable method for the production of the best quality of solder, irrespective of its percentages of lead and tin. The best quality of solder is not necessarily that which contains the highest percentage of tin, but rather is that composition which performs best on the required piece of work. In order to produce

Jan 12, 1918

By W. W. Scott

The application of engineering methods to the problems connected with drilling and producing in the oil industry has led to the development of the science that is variously termed "petroleum engineering," "production engineering," "petroleum production engineering," and even Itpolitical engineering." It would require much detail to enumerate the qualifications of a petroleum engineer, just as it would for an engineer in any major industry. For those who have a genuine liking for the oil industry, there is a wide selection of pathways to achievement. The oil industry is now highly specialized. Its products are necessary to all civilized people and are indispensable in the security of our nation and also in the well-being of our families. The business structure of our country depends in a large measure upon oil, and the welfare of this group as individuals is certainly linked with the welfare of the oil industry. What Is the Trend of Engineering? The oil industry offers a fertile field of opportunity for engineering; probably more so than any other industry. The sciences of geology, physics, chemistry and mathematics are all used in some phase of the oil industry and to a very considerable extent in the production division, which embraces the geological, drilling and producing departments. In drilling and production alone, research programs of considerable magnitude are being carried on at this time, and no doubt the future will see a great deal more of this kind of work. Through the cooperation of the engineer, the equipment manufacturer, and the American Petroleum Institute, immense savings have been made by the standardization of drilling and production equipment. Drilling equipment in itself offers a wide scope for study, in that continued efforts are being made to improve the equipment so that it can be made to drill faster and to greater depths. The improvements in drilling equipment are required because new reserves of oil are being found at progressively greater depths. In order to produce such oil in competition with oil now being produced from reservoirs

Jan 1, 1937

THROUGH the courtesy of the Southern Appala-chian Coal Operators' Association, a joint meeting of the Southern Appalachian Efficiency Associa-tion and local members of the A. I. M. E. and A. S. M. E. was held at Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 12. In introduc-ing the subject and stating the object of the meeting, H. Foster Bain, speaking for the. Institute members, said "Shoveling coal is the largest job of hand labor re-maining in this country, with the exception of the mis-cellaneous work on the farms, and even there nearly all the big jobs are now performed with the help of machines. The men in the coal mines, by hand labor, dig, each year, more cubic yards than were taken out of the Panama Canal. It has been a natural ambition of engineers, operators and men alike to follow here the characteristic lead of American industry and to substi-tute as far as possible the work of machines for the work of men; to promote the latter to the position of con-trolling and directing mechanical power rather than being themselves the machines that lift the coal from the floor of the room into the mine car. "Handling materials is one of the regular jobs of mechanical engineers, and the American Society of Me-chanical Engineers maintains a Materials Handling Division for discussion of the technical problems con-cerned. Having in mind the excellent results that had flowed from application of mechanical power and de-vices to these problems in factories, port terminals, warehouses, and other above-ground plants, the Me-chanical Engineers began to consider the possibility of introducing similar methods underground. Individual-ly, many were called upon to design, erect and operate machines for such use and at once they found them-selves faced by many novel conditions and difficulties. The Division thereupon planned a general meeting in New York in March, 1926, for consideration of problems and progress in this field. The Mining Engineers. and representative coal operators were invited to attend and

Jan 12, 1927

By K. Huessener

Discussion of the paper of K. HUESSENER, presented at the New York. meeting, February, .1916, and printed in Bulletin No. -110, February, 1916, pp. 443 to 474. KARL NIBECKER, Youngstown, O.-It has been contended that the method of measuring the operation of a blast-furnace boiler plant by means of the amount of steam generated per pound of coke used in the blast furnace is not of any value and even that it is quite misleading. It has been found, in the plant with which I am connected, that, in general, a blast furnace will operate during a month so close to average. conditions that the average monthly measure of the plant efficiency is indicated by the number of pounds of steam made per pound of coke put into the furnace, neglecting the amount of iron made and the amount of gas used for heating the stoves. For some time, it has been our custom to keep a record of this figure and use it as a general indicator of the operating practice. In comparing this figure from two different plants we have found some difficulty, due to differing conditions. It is conceivable but not altogether probable that a slight difference in burden, kind of ore or coke, would account for this difference. The method of using the gas, whether washed or unwashed, and the plant arrangement, may affect this number. For several plants on which we have worked up this number, we have found that most of the ordinary running irregularities are eliminated during a run of a month or more and that the number is, therefore, satisfactory. In connection with a plot of the number of pounds of steam generated per pound of coke, we are also plotting the production of the furnaces and the pounds of coke used per ton of production. With these three curves plotted on the same sheet, we believe that the operating man has sufficient information to judge of the efficiency of his plant' for any month.

Jan 5, 1916

By George W. Doffing

Numerous contradictory statements have been made in the past regarding the importance of the seasonal influence of demand for motor fuel on prices of oil securities. It has often been said that the time to buy oil securities is in the spring, or just prior to the heavy consuming season for gasoline. The fallacy of this argument is brought out in the following paragraphs. Seasonality of Oil-security Prices The indexes used in this paper as indicators of prices of oil securities and general industrials are those compiled by Standard Statistics Co. The oil producing and refining stock index includes 14 representative petroleum companies, while the all-industrials index is made up of 347 issues. All figures are stated as relatives, with 1926 = 100. The primary basis of the index, and one that gives a good weighting of the relative importance of the company within the industry, is the total market value of the stock issue outstanding; i.e., the market price times the number of shares outstanding. Adjustments are made for the addition or elimination of issues from the group index, for stock dividends, split-ups, stock rights, et cetera. At the present time the oil producing and refining index includes the following companies: Atlantic Refining Co., Consolidated Oil Corporation, Continental Oil Co., Gulf Oil Corporation, Humble Oil & Refining Co., Ohio Oil Co., Royal Dutch Co., Shell Union Oil Corporation, Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Standard Oil Company of California, Standard Oil Co. (Indiana), Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey), Texas Corporation, Union Oil Company of California. In calculating the seasonal for oil-security prices several periods have been selected as indicat,ive of major changes in the industry, as follows: 1. 1918 through 1936. This gives an over-all picture of the industry during the motor-vehicle, motor-fuel era. 2. 1927 through 1936. This period includes the control stages, both voluntary and coercive. 3. 1927 to September, 1933. This is the pre-code period of control.

Jan 1, 1937

By W. E. Coxe

In 1857 the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, whose main line extended from Philadelphia to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, with branches into the coal regions of Schuylliill County, made a contract with the Fairmount Rolling Mill, at Philadelphia, for the rerolling of some four thousand tons of iron rails. The essential features of the agreement were that the old rails should be piled with puddled iron and rolled into flats for the rail pile, which latter was • to be of a section seven inches square, and after being heated, and reduced, by rolling, to a bloom of a section about fire inches by six inches, was to be reheated, before being finished into the rail of the T pattern, four inches high, weighing sixty-four pounds per yard. Great care was exercised in the execution of this contract, and the rails being distributed over all parts of the road, gave general satisfaction by their excellent wear. Five years afterward, the principal proprietor and manager of the Fairmount Rolling Mill was elected President of the Reading Railroad, and very many of the rails made under his supervision were still in use in the tracks of the company, of which he had just assumed the management. His first efforts were, therefore, directed to the procuring of more rails of the same quality wherewith to replace those worn out. Here he encountered some trouble, makers refusing to bid because of the details in the specification, the required reheating being the objectionable feature, for which it was generally intimated they would not be sufficiently remunerated for the increased labor, extra coal consumed, and the changes necessary from the established methods of working. Most of the new rails were, therefore, bought, and the old rails rerolled without regard to any particulars as to the manner of piling, heating, etc., each manufacturer furnishing what he deemed the best article possible for the money. As a consequence, rails of all imaginable grades were placed in the tracks, some giving out in six

By M. C. Messner, L. P. Davidson

The Giesche Spas Akcyjna, in Polish Upper Silesia, produces zinc, lead and coal, together with many byproducts emanating from the zinc-lead ores. The development of the concern in the 230 years of its existence has been influenced not only by metallurgical improvements but also to an unusual extent by political and economic factors. The company was founded by George Giesche, who was born in 1653 and died in 1716, and who in 1704 received from Emperor Leopold I the exclusive privilege of mining and selling galmei1 in Silesia. His children, who retained the business, gave the name to the firm—George von Giesches Erben. After 1802 modifications in the Prussian mining and corporation laws limited the rights formerly enjoyed. The family concern became a corporation and expanded its activities, building smelters and opening new mines. The establishment of the present eastern boundary of Germany resulted in the transfer of nationality of a large part of the mines and surface plants to Poland, which, in turn, necessitated the formation of a Polish company, the Giesche Spólka Akcyjna. The first concentrators at the Bleischarley mine were built between 1854 and 1860 and owing to dual ownership were two in number. They were used only for the treatment of galena. In 1873 a concentrator was built for the treatment of sulfide ore preparatory to treatment in the Recke roasting plant, which was the first to have an acid plant for recovery of the sulfur gas. This concentrator was replaccd by a larger one in 1888, when the present orebody was opened up. At the same time, a mill was built for the treatment of the galmei. The concentration of the sulfide ore resulted in a much higher grade of feed for the zinc plants after the first troublesome steps of the roasting process had been worked out. Consequently, the oxide ore in its primitively concentrated state was no longer highly valued as a retort charge. and steps had to be taken to increase its zinc content.

Jan 1, 1935

By W. E. C. Coxe

IN 1857 the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, whose main line extended from Philadelphia to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, with branches into the coal regions of Schuylkill County, made a contract with the Fairmount Rolling Mill, at Philadelphia, for the rerolling of some four thousand tons of iron rails. The essential features of the agreement were that the old rails should be piled with puddled iron and rolled into flats for the rail pile, which latter was to be of a section seven inches square, and after being heated, and reduced, by rolling, to a bloom of a section about five inches by six inches, was to be reheated, before being finished into the rail of the T pattern, four inches high, weighing sixty-four pounds per yard. Great care was exercised in the execution of this contract, and the rails being distributed over all parts of the road, gave general satis¬faction by their excellent wear. Five years afterward, the principal proprietor and manager of the Fairmount Rolling Mill was elected President of the Reading Railroad, and very many of the rails made under his supervision were still in use in the tracks of the company, of which he had just assumed the management. His first efforts were, therefore, directed to the procuring of more rails of the same quality wherewith to replace those worn out. Here he encountered some trouble, makers refusing to bid because of the details in the specification, the required reheating being the objectionable feature, for which it was generally intimated they would not be sufficiently remunerated for the increased labor, extra coal consumed, and the changes necessary from the established methods of working. Most of the new rails were, therefore, bought, and the old rails rerolled without regard to any particulars as to the manner of piling, heating, etc., each manufacturer furnishing what he deemed the best article possible for the money. As a consequence, rails of all imaginable grades were placed in the tracks, some giving out in six

Jan 1, 1877

By R. E. Zimmerman

WITH coal-preparation plants becoming more complex and containing widely diversified types of equipment and processes, it is necessary that considerable control be exercised in their operation. Rising mine costs make it imperative that close check be made of plant efficiencies to assure a minimum loss of coal to the refuse bank. Further, much of the coal sold today is sold on a competitive specification basis, and this makes it necessary to provide frequent analyses and inspections. Many ' plants are required to operate on a two or three-shift basis, and as a con- sequence an efficient organization is required to eliminate down time and provide for smooth low-cost operation. ORGANIZATION Probably the most important item for successful operation of a preparation plant is a capable, properly organized staff, with the individual workers properly informed and well trained for their particular jobs, clear-cut lines of authority among the supervisors and in general a standard operating procedure for most conceivable conditions that may occur. The idea of placing the older, partially disabled and generally incompetent coal miner in the cleaning plant, as was the practice on the earlier tipples, is entirely inadequate in a modern complex cleaning plant. The new plants require intelligent, alert, and reasonably educated men. With perhaps millions of dollars invested in an installation, it is poor business to use other than a well organized, well trained, and properly supervised force. Organizations naturally must vary with the size of the plant and local conditions; whether it is a central cleaning plant at a distance from the mine organization or one of several cleaning plants operated by the company. Smaller operations can be operated by a washery foreman, under the supervision of the mine superintendent or perhaps the "outside" superintendent. Large installations should have a plant superintendent either responsible to the mine superintendent or preferably, where possible, responsible to a preparation manager or engineer. A typical organization chart for companies operating in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania is shown in Fig. 1. Breaker (preparation plant)

Jan 1, 1950

By E. R. Phelps

A determination of feasibility of a new surface mining project requires a study in orderly fashion through the procedures outlined in Section 2 and the previous two chapters of this section. The information and data collected as described in Chapters 3.1 and 3.2 must be correlated, and the many variables that affect the venture must be reviewed. This review will furnish the mining engineer with the information required to make a preliminary evaluation of estimated profit in the venture. It is at this time that management must make yet another decision whether to drop or continue the project. 3.3-1. Maps. For the purpose of collecting, outlining, and correlating a large portion of the data required for a surface mining feasibility study, maps are essential. A map to a mining engineer is like a sheet of music to a musician, or a blueprint to a designer. It provides a pictorial method of presenting mining information not only for practical application in estimating and planning, but also for demonstration of physical relationships to those charged with decision-making responsibilities. GENERAL AREA MAP. The first step in the process of graphic information assembly is the preparation of a "small scale" general area map. Such a map may cover a mining district, a market area, a watershed area or district, or the whole or a section of a geologic feature such as an iron formation or coal seam. An example of such a general area map is shown in Fig. 3.3-la which outlines the various coal mining areas in the vicinity of a proposed "mine-mouth" power station, the Liddell Power Station Project. If Quadrangle Maps of the United States Geological Survey, or their equivalent, are available for an area, a common and very effective technique is to superimpose mining data on these maps, either directly or by means of transparent overlays. Valuable topographic information

Jan 1, 1968

By Oswald J. Heinrich

The deposit of rock salt along the shores of Lake Huron, in Canada, has been brought before the public during the last six months, in consequence of the developments made by the diamond drill at Goderich. It is likely to be of more than common interest in the future, since now actual operations have been commenced to exploit the deposit and work it by regular mining. The methods of mining rock salt being but little known in this country, it may be of interest to make a few general remarks in regard to them before entering, upon the description of this new mining enterprise. According to the conditions under which salt is .found in nature, various methods have been resorted to, in course of time, to make it available for the human race. They consist in: A. Natural or solar evaporation. B. Artificial evaporation, either exclusively or in connection with the former. C. Mining the rock salt in its natural state, and converting it to a marketable product, if need be, by simply pulverizing it. Without going into the details of the various methods of making salt available in an economical point of view, dependent on its degree of pority, or on various local influences, we cannot refrain from alluding to the general principles which influence the mining and manufacturing of salt in countries where they have been carried on for hundreds of years. ECONOMICAL CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS. Salt being one of the articles of prime necessity, and one universally distributed throughout nature, it must always be sold at a comparatively low price. It would even be quoted in the market at prices far below those now ruling, if it were not for the high duties generally imposed upon it, for purposes of state revenues. But looking closer into the subject, it will be found that this duty is probably one of the least oppressive, although in some countries it exceeds sixfold the cost of profitable production. To produce the article at the lowest possible cost requires, therefore, a

Jan 1, 1879

By John M. Crowl, L. E. Sawyer

5.3-1. General Public Resistance to Strip Mining. Surface (strip) mining is the oldest recorded method of extracting coal and other minerals from the earth. This method of mining completely alters the topography of the earth's surface, leaving an area of more or less parallel ridges or of peaked mounds of the materials which overlay the mineral seam. It destroys all original vegetation and provides materials for new type soil. During the early years the acreage mined by this method was small, land was plentiful, and with a growing young nation no thought was given to the restoration of the disturbed areas to some form of productive use. Early in the present century the development of steam shovels and drag-lines made it possible to remove thicker overburden to recover the products. With the deeper digging, the size of the disturbed areas increased. With this increase in the size of equipment and the improvement of blasting techniques, mining was expanded into more prominent locations and to areas of more valuable land. The more progressive operators became aware of the need to reclaim those areas for some productive use. Electric shovels with capacities of up to 200 cu yd and draglines with capacities of 145 cu yd, capable of uncovering products over 100 ft below the surface, are now in use. Combined with the increase in the size of equipment, the expansion of contour mining or rim stripping in the mountainous areas has focused public attention on the need for a sound reclamation program for all disturbed areas. APPEARANCE. After mining, the areas consist of varying percentages of rock, shale, slate, and soil material devoid of all plant and animal life. Unless a definite reclamation plan is carried out, many of the mined areas will remain bare for a period of years. The topography of the area is completely altered. What may have been level to rolling land in cultivation, in grass, or in timber is thrown up into a series of ridges or mounds.

Jan 1, 1968

By T. H. Aldrich

The Aldrich Mining Go. holds under lease from the Illinois Central R. R. Co. about 14,000 acres, in the east half of Township 12, Range 12 W., in Marion county, Alabama, and owns other lands, of which about 1,000 acres adjoin this leased tract, making a total area of about 15,000 acres, all of which is underlain by the coal-seam upon which the company is operating. This seam is nearly horizontal; and a ravine, diagonally crossing the tract, exposes the outcrop on either side for about 2 miles. The territory has been so divided that nearly the whole of it can be worked out by two collieries. The mines at Brilliant were opened in the fall of 1898, and shipments began in the following spring. The original plan was to furnish steam-coal for locomotives to the Illinois Central R. R. Co.; and upon this expectation the investment of capital was made. The field was entirely new; and the softness of the coal at the outcrop induced the belief that it could be very cheaply mined. A contract for the delivery of a large quantity of coal to the railroad was accordingly executed. But with the advance of' the entries to increasing distances from the outcrop, the coal proved so hard that it could no longer be drilled with a breast-auger; and the expense of mining became so great that the contract for cheap steam-coal had to be canceled. It became evident that the work must be done with machinery and explosives, if it could be profitably done at all. On the other hand, the excellent quality of this coal opened, at the same time, a possible market not specially contemplated at the outset—namely, that of a first-rate coal for domestic and general uses. Since no other deposit of such coal was known to exist on the line of the Illinois Central, or any other railroad

Jan 1, 1907

By E. P. Polushkin

The object of this paper as to show that the structural composition of an alloy may be found by the planimetric measurement of the total area occupied by each of the constituents on a few representative photomicrographs of this alloy. When the area is determined the volume and the proportional weight of the constituent may be calculated. This method has been used for the determination of the structural composition of binary eutectics and other binary alloys with known constituents; also the composition of unknown constituents in binary alloys. The accuracy of the method is. high enough to justify its application to metallographic problems instead of the chemical analysis. THIS work has for its purpose the establishment of a new method for determining the structural composition of alloys. The area occupied by a constituent on a few representative photomicrographs of the alloy is measured, by a planimeter, especially designed for metallographic work, and the volume and proportional weight of the constituent calculated. Experiments have shown that 'the results are accurate enough to justify the application of the method to many problems in metallographic research instead of chemical analysis. The advantage of the method is the possibility, of determining the amount of the constituents with-out separating them from the alloy; their composition may also be determined if the ultimate chemical analysis of the alloy is known. DESCRIPTION OF PLANIMETER Suppose Fig. 1 represents a part of a photomicro-graph on which the total area of the black figures is FIG. 1?-PART OF PHOTOMICROGRAPH ON WHICH TOTAL AREA OF BLACK FIG- URES IS TO BE FOUND. to be found. By a system of parallel lines drawn short equal distances apart all figures may be divided into trapezoids. As the area of a trapezoid is equal to its median multiplied by its altitude, the relation between the total areas of the black and the white figures comprised within each strip is equal to the relation between the sums of medians for these figures respectively.

Jan 12, 1924