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By J. F. Wolff, Anson A. Betts

The following correspondence relating to a paper bearing the above title, presented by J. F. Wolff, at the New York meeting in February, 1917, and published in the Transactions, Volume LVI, page 142, has passed between the author of the paper, and Mr. Anson G. Betts, and is interesting, although it was received much too late for incorporation in its proper place in Volume LVI. Anson G. Betts, Asheville, N. C.—1. I should like to ask Mr. Wolff if he finds from analysis of the iron formation and of the iron ore, and from the relative amounts of each in each unit area of the formation, unleached and after leaching, that the iron remains entirely insoluble and the total quantity still remains present; or whether he finds that some of the iron is removed, or possibly even added by deposition from the water passing through the formation. 2. The water that passed into the iron formation had to go somewhere; was it absorbed by underlying formations through hydration, or, after passing through the ore formation, did it come to the surface in springs at a lower elevation, or how did it escape from the ground? 3. I should like to ask Mr. Wolff whether he finds that the iron formation in the sedimentary series does not come next to the quartzites and generally between the quartzites and slates. J. I?. Wolff, Duluth, Minn.—1. In common with others, you appear to have some hesitancy in accepting the fact of the removal, by solution, of the enormous quantity of silica which has been leached out of portions of the Biwabik iron formation, thus forming orebodies of merchantable iron ore. I believe that even Dr. Waldemar Lindgren once hesitated to accept this fact. However, the evidence is so simple and absolutely conclusive that the fact is established beyond all question. At the contact of orebodies with their rock walls, the bands of iron ore in the orebody can be seen in contact with the corresponding bands of original iron oxide in the rock wall, and the chert layers in the rock wall can be seen to give place to fine granular material (fine silica and iron oxide) and pore space. This is especially noticeable where slumping at the rock walls has not been so great as to displace the layers in the orebody from their contact with their corresponding layers in the rock wall. Although complete analyses of the entire original rocks in the iron series have not been made in any place, to my knowledge, from the best data at hand as to the average analysis of the Biwabik series and the

Jan 1, 1920

By Albert Sauveur

AT the New York meeting of the Institute, February, 1914, Professor Hopkinson and Sir Robert Hadfield presented an important paper entitled Research with Regard to the Non-Magnetic and Magnetic Conditions of Manganese Steel.1 Any contribution on manganese steel by its discoverer necessarily carries with it much weight and is entitled to serious and close consideration. The momentous discovery of that alloy by Sir Robert Hadfield some 30 years ago was the signal for great activity in the field of alloy steels; and the remarkable results obtained in the last two decades probably constitute the most important modern advance in the metallurgy of steel. The authors of the paper referred to above are unable to reconcile with the allotropic theory the interesting results obtained by them in heat treating manganese steel. When they speak of the allotropic theory, however, I understand that they have more especially in mind the existence of beta iron. It is not my understanding that they question the occurrence of iron in the two allotropic varieties known as gamma and alpha. If I am wrong, I trust they will correct me. A careful consideration of the experimental results reported and discussed by the authors leads me to believe that on the contrary they can be very satisfactorily explained in terms of allotropy and that, in the light of our present knowledge, they cannot be accounted for in any other way. The physical properties of non-magnetic manganese steel described by the authors are those pertaining to iron-carbon alloys in which iron is present in the gamma condition, or, in other words, to austenite. The metal is then characterized by great tenacity and ductility and low elastic limit, while its hardness, mineralogically speaking, is not excessive, but of a special kind termed "tough hardness" by the authors. Even when subjected to the restraining influence of a large amount of manganese and of considerable carbon, however, relatively rapid cooling

Jan 9, 1914

By Thomas M. Drown

The use of bromine as an oxidizing agent, particularly for sul phur, has become very general in analysis, replacing the stronger oxidizing acids. The object of this paper is to describe briefly the experience which we have gained with this reagent in the laboratory of Lafayette College in the oxidation of metallic sulphides. Most of the simple sulphides, as blende, pyrite, etc., when exposed to the combined action of an alkaline hydrate and bromine, and finally to hydrochloric acid, are completely and promptly dissolved. The procedure is as follows: The very finely pulverized mineral is first treated, in a beaker, with a solution of sodium hydrate of a spe cific gravity of 1.25, and heated ; bromine is then cautiously added to supersaturation, and finally hydrochloric acid to acid reaction. If any of the sulphide is not taken up, the same operation may be re peated. It is necessary, however, that the mineral be very finely pulverized. Instead of using the pure bromine, a saturated solu tion of bromine in potassium bromide may be used with equally good effect. The process is advantageously simplified by making a saturated solution of bromine in the concentrated alkali. This is done by pouring bromine into a solution of sodium hydrate, of the above given specific gravity, until no more is taken up, and then adding a little of the sodium hydrate solution until the liquid does not give off free bromine. The procedure with this solution is as follows: The pulverized mineral is moistened with, say, 10 cc. of the solution, and heated, then hydrochloric acid added to just acid reaction. Two more additions of the alkaline solution, in amounts of 20 cc. each, are added at intervals of about ten minutes, each addition being followed by hydrochloric acid. The total amount of the alkaline solution (containing the bromine) used is, therefore, 50 cc., and the amount of hydrochloric acid should not exceed that necessary to make the solu tion acid after each addition of the alkali. The mixture should be kept hot. After the final addition of acid, the contents of the beaker is taken to dryness and heated in an air-bath to 110° to 115°C., to render silica insoluble. The dry mass is then taken up by hydro' chloric acid and water and, after filtration, the sulphuric acid is pre

Jan 1, 1880

By Robert M. Betts

The Cornucopia district is situated in northeastern Oregon 25 miles from the Snake River branch of the Oregon Short Line R.R. and 75 miles northeast of Baker City, in the Wallowa Mountains. The formation is principally granodiorite, which has intruded much older rocks locally known as greenstone, and which are probably altered schists. In the upper horizons of the veins, greenstone is found as inclusions in the granitic mass. Both of these formations have been cut by numerous basalt, aplite, and porphyry dikes. Veins of the district are the result of faulting and the consequent crushing of the wall rock. The ore has been deposited irregularly along these faults and formed a lenticular type of vein. The ore varies in width from a few inches to 20 ft.; the average stoping width is about 5 ft. As the basaltic dikes are subsequent to the ore deposition, they are at times a hindrance in development and mining operations; on the other hand, a dike which has followed a vein as a line of least resistance often serves as a good mall in place of the crushed, rather loose granite. The veins generally strike northeast-southwest and dip about 35" to the west. Orebodies are from 100 to 300 ft. in length and about the same in height. The lenses are irregular; inclusions of wall rock are common in the ore and are a factor in reducing the grade. The ores are quartz, carrying some free gold near the surface, but the metals for the most part are in iron sulfides, sometimes associated with chalcopyrite. The gold and silver are in a mechanical combination with the iron, which requires find grinding to liberate them. The ratio of silver to gold is 5 to 1, by weight. Development The Cornucopia Mines Co. owns, and operated until 1920, two mines and two mills of 100 tons capacity each. The sustained high costs and labor shortage, however, necessitated the abandoning of the Union mine, the oldest in the district. Two crosscut tunnels were then started, first, to cut the Last Chance vein at a much lower horizon and, second, to prospect two parallel veins. The ore from the Last Chance vein will go to the old Union mill and the ore from the new veins to the Last Chance mill.

Jan 1, 1925

By Henry G. Granger

It still rains in the Choco! I well remember one evening a dozen years ago, while traveling toward the town of Negua in a small champa or dug-out canoe, the rain fell so heavily that I had to work my hardest to bail out the water with a large totuma or gourd in order to keep the canoe afloat, the native boatman meanwhile plying his paddle in the stern. If any one thinks bailing is easy work, let him scoop out a quart or more at a stroke, 40 times a minute for half an hour, and I venture that he will change his opinion. These small canoes required only one paddler to make the 3 miles an hour which is the standard rate of aquatic progress on the Choco. Another time, on the Atrato river, about six o'clock in the afternoon, the rain fell so heavily that an empty gourd, 9 in. in diameter and 4.5 deep, was filled to the brim in 90 sec., timed by a watch. Such downpours are typical, but unless caught in one it is not specially noticed. These downpours seldom last more than an hour, and frequently cover only a limited area, occasionally falling on one bank of a river and not on the other. During the night-time, the rain, if gentle, will usually last until dawn, and sometimes an intermittent drizzle will keep up all day as well, although, as a rule, it rarely rains during the day. The rise of the rivers, due to the rain-fall, varies from a few inches to several feet. One night in August, 1899, the spuds of the dredge Margaret, operating on the Atrato river, showed a rise of 16 ft., and for 3 days thereafter occurred the greatest flood known in that district for 32 years. The dredge had all three spuds down, and the 2-yd. shovel dragging 011 the bottom. A 0.75-in. cable fast to a stout tree, 700 ft. away, stretched tight

Jan 1, 1909

By A. L. Holley

THERE are regularly manufactured in the eleven Bessemer steel rail mills of the United States, 119 patterns* of steel rails, of 27 different weights per yard. This list does not include patterns which, although still largely inn use, are regarded by experts as obsolete, and which would swell the number to nearly 300; nor does it include all, the patterns for which rolls are kept on hand to fill a possible demand; nor does it include extra pattern,- rolled in one finishing groove by opening or closing the rolls so as to get different weights with the same contours. The list embraces only those separate patterns which are subject to current orders. How thoroughly modern these patterns are, is shown by the fact that of the whole 119, there are but five patterns of conspicuously bad shape; all the rest more or less completely illustrate the standard features,-a heavy bead,. light web and flanges, and a good angle :to hold the fish-plate. Sixty-two per cent. of the patterns have the "Chanute" head, which was not designed until 1874.† Sixty-four per cent. of the 119 patterns are embraced under five weights per yard,; three only of these vary from standard type; there am thus 76 patterns, all of them modern and standard, to represent five different weights, for which five patterns would perfectly answer. Of the 60-lb. rails, there is only one of the pear-head type, while a dozen of the bevelled head templets cannot be distinguished from each other * From all the works 188 patterns were sent to me as standard. Of these I found 119 different shapes and 69 duplicates. † Since this paper was read I have seen at the Bethlehem Iron. Works the templet of a 68-pound Lehigh Valley rail, with the bevelled head, usually called the "Chanute" head, and marked "Templet of 1872." This is shown on Plate II. I learn that iron rails, with bevelled heads, were rolled at Bethlehem prior to 1870.

Jan 1, 1881

By T. Egleston

The origin of gold both in placer deposits ancl in veins, and especially the origin of nuggets, has been the subject of repctated discussions and investigations, which have been recently brought to my attention by several extremely interesting specinlens sent to me for examination, and mare especially by the one exhibited at the meeting of the Institute in February, 1880.* In the year 1874 I made some exan~inations of the hydraulic mines of California, and was very nluoh struck with the distribution of the gold throughout these deep placers, which were almost invariably poor on'the surface, while gradually growing richer towards the bedrock. The constant presence of fossil wood, and the large quantity of organic matter contained even low down in these beds, was also remarkable. Not being satisfied with the various theories advanced to account for the formation of these deposits, I began an investigation early in the pear 1879 on the conditions of solubility of gold and the causes of the loss in working gold ore in a large way. The researclles which I have undertaken show that gold must be considered a soluble rather than an insoluble metal, and that the conditions of solution are such as will be found anywhere where gold is likely to occur, and the solution may take place even under the ordinary circumstuncee of surfiace drainage, and may be going on freely even where the presence of gold has never been suspected, and that there are causee enough in nature to produce the solution of the gold in sufficient quantities to account for all the phenomena of both the vein and placer formations. The general theory with regard' to the formation of these placer deposits and nuggets has been that they were the result of the deatruction of pre-existing. vein-matter, which does not accord with the fitcts as sholvn in the deep placer deposits. The gold in such case would be distributed in layers of unequal richness throughout

Jan 1, 1881

By P. W. Bridgman

It is a commonplace that experimental physics in the last few decades has discovered manifold complexities in the atomic and subatomic levels, where it was thought for hundreds of years that no structure existed, as is witnessed by the derivation of the word "atom" itself. The field of exploration opened by the discovery of the electrical structure of the atom was so fundamental, rich and stimulating, that it has been almost exclusively cultivated by physicists since they obtained their first intimations as to the nature of the basic facts. Only within the last few years has it begun to dawn on us that we have overshot an enormous domain in which are situated many phenomena of fundamental importance for all the practical uses to which we put matter in our daily lives; the domain, that is, of most of the phenomena of interest to the biologist and the metallurgist. Furthermore, we are beginning to find that this intermediate domain is not entirely simple, but that it contains unsuspected complexities, some of them derived from the complexities of structure on the atomic and subatomic levels, and some of them emergent as matter collects itself into large aggregates, which often offer the key to the explanation of hitherto baffling large-scale properties of matter. Today I want to describe and consider some of these newly discovered complexities in the behavior of matter in bulk. The application to metallurgical problems is not always direct, but I hope to be able to suggest that such general notions as to structure as those here discussed must have important reactions on our attitude toward the problems of metallurgy. Three different sorts of phenomena of this kind to which I shall direct your attention are (1) the so-called structure sensitive phenomena, (2) complexities of such a nature that they are masked by the presence of extraordinarily small amounts of impurities, and (3) complexities depending on internal molecular rearrangements which can be understood only from the point of view of the quantum theory.

Jan 1, 1931

By P. H. Dudley

A quarter of a century of service of steel rails on our oldest railroads, many of which have changed their standard sections three or four times, has furnished, and is furnishing, excellent opportunities to study their wear and behavior in the track. Such experience is valuable for the design of new sections, now required to meet the constantly increasing severity of railroad service. Before presenting the new sections for consideration, I will briefly call attention to some features of past experience. For convenience of study, rails may be separated according to their weight and height into four groups, viz.: 1. Hails weighing per yard from 52 to 60 pounds, and 34 to 4 inches high. 2. " " " " " 60 " 72 " " 46 to 44 " " 3. " " " " " 72 " 90 ' 41/8 to 5 4. " " " " " 85 or more " " over 5 " I Experience in this country is confined mainly to sections in groups Nos. 1, 2 and 3. • During the past few years I have had the opportunity to run my car over many thousands of miles of railway laid with the principal sections in use, and to obtain diagrams showing their deflections, permanent set, and, in a great measure, their manner of wear. The First Group.—The first steel rails imported, and those manufactured here, were light sections—included in the first group—and many of them, being rolled in rolls used for rolling iron sections, have pear-shaped heads, 2 3/8 to 2 1/2 inches wide, the base being heavy and from 1/4 to 1/2 inch narrower than the height. These rails were laid upon ties of solid timber, at least 8 inches face, spaced 2 feet from center to center. The moments of inertia of these rails were low, only ranging from 8 for the lightest sections to 12 for the heaviest. The deflections were, of course, great; but the quality of the metal was excellent. It was physically hard and

Jan 1, 1890

By R. W. Raymond

The tidings of Mr. Hewitt's death, cabled to me at Rome, Italy, brought me a great shock as well as a sincere sorrow. I had left him, a few weeks before, not indeed in vigorous health, but still quite able to command recognition as a continued power in public affairs; and I thought him destined to enjoy for many years that final stage of a long, active and honored career, in which, having passed beyond the struggles and rivalries of business and of politics, his life and character could be justly appreciated by all men, like some noble work of art, already crowned, and marked henceforward "hors de concours." Moreover, he was, and would be to the end, not merely the passive recipient of admiration and esteem, but the source of iuspiring appeals, effective warnings and wise counsel. His rich and varied experience he had placed at the service of his fellows. His lightest word was weighty, and those who contradiEted him only injured their own cause thereby. Great trusts (true " trusts," in the old and proper sense of the term), like the Cooper Union, the Carnegie Institution, and others, still commanded his disinterested services. Great principles of liberty and of justice continued to be reinforced in perilous crises by his powerful advocacy; great measures were daily receiving from him a decisive impetus. No wonder it seemed to. us that this happy period of reward so well earned, and of beneacence so welcome to innumerable recipients of its blessing, must continue yet awhile. We did not expect the night instailtly to engulf the full-orbed sun. Nor, indeed, has this been our experience; in this instance, the sunset has left an afterglow more luminous than many a noonday. For the principal data contained in the following brief sketch of Mr. Hewitt's life, I rely upon memoranda personally approved by hirn, some months before his death, for my use in

Jan 1, 1904

By Günter Petzow, Siegfried Steeb

DURING an investigation of the U-Co-A1, U-Ir-A1, and U-Ni-A1 ternary systems, three previously unknown phases have been identified which correspond to the phases UCoA1, UIrA1, and UNiA1, and which be- long to the C22 (Fe2P) type (P 6 2m). In the following the structure determination of the new ternary phases is reported. The alloys have been prepared in an arc furnace under purified argon from 99.97 wt pct U, 99.83 wt pct Co, 99.99 wt pct Al, 99.95 wt pct Ni, and 99.97 wt pct Ir. The pellets obtained were bright and brittle; chemical analyses agreed with the nominal compositions. To obtain equilibrium, the samples were annealed in evacuated quartz capsules at 950°C for 30 hr and then quenched in water. Guinier photographs were processed and evaluated according to a method already described previously.1,2 The hkl's, measured and calculated sin2 6 values, and in the case of UCoAl only calculated and estimated intensities, are given in Tables I to 111. Lattice parameters refined according to the least-squares method and the respective mean-square variations are presented in Table IV. Lattice parameters, especially the c/a ratio, lead to the assumption that the three phases are crystallizing in the C22-type structure. For the calculation of the intensities given in Table I, the atomic positions recently reported by wyckoff3 have been accepted for the C22 (Fe2P) type. The uranium atoms were assumed to be in phosphorus sites; furthermore the scattering amplitudes of the boron atoms have been averaged in the stoichiometric formula UB2 according to atomic percentages; i.e., for these atoms a statistical distribution on the iron sites was assumed. The two smallest distances between a uranium and

Jan 1, 1967

By E. P. Mathewson

THE experiments described in this paper were made at the Washoe Reduction Works, Anaconda, Mont., for the purpose of determining the relative speed of elimination of the iron, sulphur and arsenic during the process of bessemerizing copper-mattes. The samples were taken from a horizontal "barrel" converter, 8 ft. in diameter and 12 ft. 6 in. long, having an average charge of 9 tons of matte, and blown with a 16-1b. air-pressure. All samples were taken with the blast on, turning the converter from its normal blowing-position to nearly verti¬cal, so that a conical mold, with a long handle attached to a horizontal rod, could be introduced from a platform above the converter into the mouth of the converter and a sample taken. The difficulties of taking a sample with the blast on are appar¬ent, and the irregularities of the lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 can be readily accounted for by the amount of slag in the samples. On the whole, the plotting of the results gives comparatively uniform lines, considering the conditions. The samples were taken by the regular sampling-force of the works at 10-min. intervals, as shown in Tables I., II and III, which also give the chemical analysis of the samples so taken. The test shown in Table I. was made with a new converter; that of Table II with a converter that had made three charges and had been cleaned out; that of Table III with a converter that bad blown one charge to white metal, and had then been " washed " out and used for the test. In plotting these results, it was necessary to take, as a basis, the percentage of copper in the samples. This basis does not exactly represent the true condition, since the volume is constantly decreasing and a certain quantity of copper passes into the slag, but it is as near as can be obtained in practice. Take, for instance, in Table I., the sample No. 5, which shows : Cu, 59.9;

Jan 1, 1907

By Robert B. Fulton

It is a pleasure to talk to you about the world economics of industrial minerals on this occasion of AIME's 100th anniversary. In order to fit this topic into the time and tenor of such a session as this where you are hearing subjects equally broad in scope one after the other, I will deal with the subject through the medium of eight minerals selected to illustrate import- ant economic factors. I must admit to some bias in the selection, since I picked personally familiar ones to elucidate facts of life in the industrial minerals business. It is a very interesting field, different in many respects from metals and certainly far different from petroleum. The minerals chosen are celestite, diamond, fluorspar, salt, sulfur, ilmenite, rutile and zircon. Celestite The market for celestite is mainly in the U. S. where it is consumed in the manufacture of strontium compounds for red-colored flares and other pyrotechnics, for the production of electrolytic zinc, for glass manufacture, and for the manufacture of ceramic ferrites. Smaller markets exist in Europe and Japan. Production comes from England, Mexico and Spain, and a new mining operation is being started in Nova Scotia. There is no significant production in the U. S. nor in the other principal consuming countries, except England; so it is mainly an international commodity. Celestite illustrates many of the factors important in the economics of industrial minerals. To have a marketable product, grade and freedom from deleterious elements are important for materials used by the chemical industry. In the celestite used to make strontium nitrate, calcium is the most objectionable of the commonly associated cations. Selling price is adversely affected because nitrate manufacturing costs are greatly increased if calcium is pre sent, hence less can be paid for the raw material. Meeting specifications can add significantly to the vendor's cost; hence a balance must be struck between the producer's capability and the consumer's requirements, permitting a reasonable profit for both. Sizing of industrial mineral products is often important to the consum-

Jan 1, 1971

By T. C. Mendenhall

All persons, actively engaged in your profession, must have a natural interest in the subject of weights and measures. All members of the engineering profession have to do with operations of weighing and measuring—some with measuring more than weighing, and some with weighing more than measuring—but all with both of these processes to a greater or less degree. Methods of weighing and measuring have improved constantly from the earliest times and have kept pace with the advance of other technical processes. It is, therefore, believed that you will be interested in a few remarks concerning some of the more recent advances in relation to the establishment of decimal standards of length and mass in this country. Before speaking of this, I will refer very briefly to some facts which may not be very generally known regarding our customary system of weights and measures. Although the yard is universally accepted as the unit of length, and the pound as the unit of mass, it is not generally understood, I believe, just in what respect the yard is the unit of length, or the pound the unit of mass. That is to say, it is not generally known in what degree these units have been legalized by Acts of congress. Doubtless, many of you are familiar with the facts which I will briefly recapitulate. The Constitution of the United States authorizes Congress to establish a system of weights, measures and coinage. The establishment of a system of coinage, as you know, was one of the first acts of the government, and the system then adopted is certainly one of the most perfect, if not the most perfect, that the world has yet seen. But, although Congress had the power to establish a system of weights and measures, it has never yet seen fit to exercise this power; that is to say, Congress has never yet

Jan 1, 1890

By J. E. Johnson

Discussion of the paper of Mark A. Amnion, presented at the Cleveland meeting October, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 70, October, 1913, pp. 1167 to 1 79. J. E. JOHNSON, JR., Ashland, Wis.:-Mr. Amnion's paper is of great value and it is not with any desire to reflect. on it that I wish to make some comments on the use of the scleroscope. We obtained one on trial some months ago and made very extensive tests with it, but without getting very satisfactory results. The readings on good car-wheels and bad ones were just about the same, but the factor in its use most likely to produce erroneous results is a variation in the thickness of the specimen being tested. In order to find out something on this subject we cut a thin disk, about -1,: in. thick, off a brass rod; then one 0.25 in. thick, and another about 1 in. thick, put the surfaces of all in about the same condition and tested them with the scleroscope. The readings varied widely; the resilience of the anvil evidently entered to a very high degree on thin pieces. By putting a soft cushion between such a thin specimen and the anvil, and forcing it up against the tube, the softness of the cushion cut off the resilience of the anvil and the results were more like those of the thick specimens. After a thickness of 1 in. was passed, the specimen seemed to have mass enough so that the resilience of the anvil no longer played an important part, and above that thickness results on different materials would be comparable, even though the thicknesses differed. But in order to get comparable results on thin specimens the thickness of those being tested should be the same. I should like to ask how the variations introduced in this way were overcome, so as to get strictly comparable results. Mr. AMMON :-.I have not had much experience in that, but the scleroscope is simply an indication of the surface harden-

Dec 1, 1912

By J. A. Retty

HOLLINGER CONSOLIDATED GOLD MINES LTD., through two subsidiary companies, has the exclusive right to prospect in two contiguous areas in central Labrador. This paper presents the results of the mineral exploration that has been conducted in these areas to date. One of the subsidiaries of Hollinger. the Labrador Mining and Exploration Co. Ltd., under an agreement with the Newfoundland Commission of Government, holds an area of approximately 20,000 sq.mi., which comprises the western portion of Newfoundland-Labrador and includes the upper basins of the Hamilton and Naskaupi Rivers. (The main area of the deposits so far discovered may be located on a map at about 67° west longitude and 55° north latitude.) The other subsidiary of Hollinger, Hollinger North Shore Exploration Co. Ltd., has licensed from the Province of Quebec an area of approximately 3900 sq.mi. lying directly north of the Newfoundland-controlled area at the headwaters of the George, Whale, and Swampy Bay Rivers. The M. A. Hanna Co., large iron-ore operators of the Lake Superior region, are participating in the project. With the exception of the years 1940 and 1941, field work has been conducted in the Newfoundland area since 1936, and in the Quebec area since 1939. Hollinger assumed the management in 1942. The field base is at Hollinger Lake, some 300 miles north of the tidewater base at Seven Islands, Quebec, which, in turn, is just west of the mouth of the Moisie River, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Air transportation is used exclusively to service the operation.

Jan 1, 1945

By W. R. Ingalls

I WAS led some time ago to draft a statement of economic principles immediately affecting our national welfare from the standpoint of the engineer. It was the intention to offer this to the American Engineering Council as a resolution to be adopted, or a declaration to be made, of course after suitable con-sideration and debate. The presentation has not been . formally made, but I have been asked to let it be made to the mining engineers through the medium of MINING AND METALLURGY, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers being a constituent part of the Federated American Engineering Societies. I shall welcome any expressions of opinion that this statement may inspire. The statement follows: The engineers of, the United States, functioning through the American Engineering Council of the, Federated American Engineering Societies, feel it their duty to advise the American people respecting the present state of economic affairs in the nation, just as an individual engineer would his client. The people of the United States constitute a great corpora-tion, whose business affairs are analogous to those of a commercial company -multiplied many times. The engineers feel constrained to offer their opinion owing to the responsibility to do things which rests upon them. Confronted by the steady impoverishment of natural resources and the operation of the economic law of diminishing returns it devolves upon management, functioning through the engineering profession aided by scientists, to make such improvements leading to increased production and such elimination of wastes as to offset the increasing adversities of nature merely to hold our own; and to do more than offset them in order to improve the scale of living of the people. The engineers accept this responsibility, but in so doing they demand attention to their advice respecting fundamental economic matters, lest they be unduly hampered in the performance of the professional duties, which they acknowledge. The American Engineering Council therefore declares the following as the advice of engineers to the American people:

Jan 8, 1923

By G. G. Biggar

A MATERIAL contribution to the success of our Armies in the field has been the portable pipe-line system. These are the words of Brigadier General R. F. Fowler, chief of the supply division of the War Department. The portable pipe line is one of the "secret weapons" the American forces employed in their swift advances through Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy. Constructed of a light steel so flexible it can be snaked around trees, it can be laid at a rate of ten to thirty miles daily right up to the fighting fronts. It has played a major role in supplying combat troops with products varying from petroleum to water.

Jan 1, 1943

By R. A. Young

Zinc metal production in the operating plants in the United States during 1948 was approximately equal to that of the year 1947, although new developments during the year assure higher output in 1949, if economic conditions are favorable. In the Western plants, the man-power shortage was almost completely overcome and new capacity has been or is in the process of being added to three plants; thus by December of 1948 daily zinc metal production had risen to the highest point since May of 1944 despite strikes in one large primary smelter and in one secondary plant.

Jan 1, 1949

J. S. UNGER,* Pittsburg, Pa, . (written discussion?).-The author of the paper has given an excellent description of the appliances used to cool parts of an open-hearth furnace, and some of the reasons why the refractories fail in service. Personally, I favor water-cooling, but to a limited degree. At one time I advocated more universal cooling than is now practised, but believe I must change my mind. Water-cooled, thin-lined blast furnaces have not proved as satisfactory as anticipated. While this may retard the building of many such furnaces, it will not prevent the use of regular tuyere- and bosh-cooling appliances. Water-cooling any furnace may be easily carried to the extreme. In an open-hearth furnace, excessive port or roof cooling, or cooling the working floors may preserve the lines of the furnace, lower the cost of refractories, acid to the comfort of the workmen, and necessitate fewer shutdowns for repairs, but it may not be good economy on account of the high first cost, the cost of cooling water, maintenance of cooling appliances, and the immediate reflection in a higher fuel cost. The question becomes a financial one, and is answered by using water-cooling devices up to the point at which they cease to show true economies. Open-hearth furnace bulkheads, roofs, and ports fail rapidly in about the order named. If they could be made to last indefinitely by water-cooling, the furnace would still have to be shut clown periodically for cleaning the slag pockets, regenerator chambers, and flues. Extra, or spare, pockets and regenerator chambers have been advocated to permit of continuous operation, but the space required, the cost of installation, and the fuel required to initially heat such cold chambers will largely prevent their adoption. Some particular fuels, as high-ash powdered coal, require frequent stoppages for cleaning, but for this particular fuel a special provision can' be made.

Jan 5, 1919