720 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. April 4, 1913. of different projecting parts on it for moving the piston of the pump up and down a plurality of times in the complete cycle of operations; and also cam parts or the like which operate a valve or cock for alternately putting the cylinder in communication with the source of supply of the gas, and the atmosphere, the absorber, and the bell or the like device connected with the recording mechanism, and forming different communications or connections between these three parts. Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section showing the apparatus; and figs. 2, 3 and 4 are sections showing the communicating or distributing cock used in the apparatus. (Four claims.) 5170 (1912). Improvements in Portable Electric Battery Lamps. H. F. Joel, of 74, Windsor-road, Forest-gate, Essex. —This invention relates to that class of portable electric battery lamps which have metal oases for holding the battery jn combination with the electric incandescence lamp, and in which the electrical connections inside the case can only be made when the case is closed, such as describedin patent No. 4019 of 1911; and the improvements consist in a simplified mechanical construction of the casing, the method of making an effective closed joint between the cover, which may be the lantern, and the battery case, and also in registering and locking the two together, so that the battery terminals, relatively to the lamp contact and the electrical connections, must automatically come together in T’y Ant' s lip their correct position, whilst the contacts are safeguarded from exposure to the outer atmosphere, and so securing the glass of the lantern and detachably attaching the cover carrying the lamp, that a ready method of replacing a used-up lamp or a broken lantern glass is obtained thereby, the whole making a self-contained portable electric lamp strong in form and construction, absolutely watertight, suitable and safe for use in mines and such places, and convenient in practice. Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation, and fig. 2 a plan of a complete lamp constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the method of fixing the lantern and the battery case together in their correct position for making the electrical contact; fig. 4 a plan, and fig. 5 a section of the internal screw ring for securing the glass cylinder; fig. 6 a plan of the detachable support of the incandescence lamp; fig. 15 is a sectional elevation showing a complete lamp with lantern under the battery. (Nine claims.) 5199-(1912). Improvements in and Relating to Jigs for Washing Coal, Ores and Other Materials. E. J. Munby, of Hitchin, Hertford.—This invention applies more particularly to jigs in which the plunger is divided into two equal parts placed upon opposite sides of the screen for the more even distri- bution of the water pressure upon the under surface of the screen. In this invention the valve or valves are placed above the screen, admitting the crushed material into pipes or passages through the screen, the said valves being dis- tributed across the screen and differing therefore both in construction and arrangement from the discharge gates of ordinary jigs, which are placed on the edge and do not pass Ml h* s through the screen. The valve either is placed centrally in the screen or a (number of the valves are placed approxi- mately equidistantly from each other and from the edges of the screen, thereby providing a more regular discharge of a more uniform stratum of the material on the screen, elevators, pivotally suspended upon pontoons between being moved down and up to carry its lower end down Both the number and size of the valves are variable in pro- ! which barges can be anchored, are employed and provided ! through the hatch and into the hold of the vessel to any portion as the coarse heavy particles of the material to be with buckets adapted to be automatically tipped into a desired level or lift it out of said hold, and trimmer treated, which must pass through the valves, form a larger chute leading to the coal bunkers. An important feature of mechanism on the lower end of said tubular member which or smaller part of that material. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a single essential section constructed according to the invention; fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken in the middle of the section or upon the line A—B in fig. 1. (Three claims.) 5423 (1912). Improvements in and Relating to Pit and Shaft Sinking. C. Walker, of Bodwyn, Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, and J. W. Liddell, of Coventry Colliery, Keresley, near Coventry, Warwickshire.—This invention has for its object to enable sinking to be per- formed more expeditiously, safely and cheaply than hereto- fore, particularly when the sinking has to be carried through quicksands or strata very heavily laden with water to a great depth. According to the invention an auxiliary shaft termed a pilot shaft and very much smaller in diameter than the main shaft or shafts to be sunk, is excavated in the vicinity of the site for the main shaft or shafts, and may, for example, lie between or almost between the main shafts, and a borehole or boreholes is or are sunk on the site chosen for the main shaft or shafts, a tunnel or tunnels being driven from the foot of the pilot shaft to the borehole or boreholes, and means being provided for pumping up the pilot shaft the water drained through the borehole or boreholes. If it is known that the water-bearing strata have an inclination or dip in a certain direction, the site for the main shaft or shafts may be predetermined and the pilot shaft is then sunk preferably some little distance away down the incline or dip. Otherwise the pilot shaft may be sunk and the most advantageous position for the main shaft or shafts subsequently determined as will be hereinafter explained. Owing to the comparatively small diameter of this pilot shaft, the difficulties attendant upon the sinking thereof are not great, and during such sinking an accurate knowledge is obtained of the characters of the strata passed through. This pilot shaft, having been sunk through a predetermined depth so that the floor or bottom thereof is at a level known to be safe and dry, serves the following useful purposes : Firstly, it drains the earth which lies beneath the site for the main shaft or shafts, and secondly, it enables the main shaft or shafts in course of sinking to be directly drained as by sinking boreholes through the places where such main shaft or shafts is or FfC. I. o FIG.3. FIG. 2 II \ / „ " 6^ are to be sunk to the depth aforesaid, and driving tunnels or drifts from the pilot shaft to such bores. In this way all or most of the pumping plant for draining the main shaft or shafts during the sinking of the same can be arranged in the pilot shaft, or in lodgings or chambers formed therein, and the water being lifted in the pilot shaft the main shaft or shafts is or are not only rendered comparatively dry, but is or are also relieved of the obstructions which otherwise would be due to the presence of large capacity pumping plants and rising mains. Fig. 1 is a vertical section, illustrating one mode of sinking two main shafts according to these improvements; fig. 2 is a vertical section, illustrating to a larger scale a chamber or room at the foot of a pilot shaft; fig. 3 is a horizontal section; and fig. 4 a vertical section also to a larger scale through the pilot shaft. (Ten claims.) 5883 (1912). An Improved Apparatus for use in the Coaling of Ships or like Operations. J. Robertson, of 94, Windsor- road, Forest Gate, Essex.—This invention has for its primary object to facilitate the transporting of coal from barges to the coal bunkers of ships. The invention has particular reference to apparatus wherein vertically adjustable the invention consists in providing for the adjustment of ■ the discharging chutes relatively to the elevator, and I providing these discharging chutes with the bucket-tipping means so that the buckets are tipped into the chute whatever the position of the latter. By reason of thia arrangement the coal need only be carried to the desired height, and no further. This is of great practical import- ance, since it not only obviates the necessity for discharging the coal from considerable heights into the bunkers, but also- facilitates the use of the apparatus for discharging coal into the side pockets of a ship. Another feature consists in providing means whereby the elevator can be inclined te either side of the vertical instead of only on one side, as has previously been suggested. Fig. 1 is an end elevational viewr ‘ partly in section of an apparatus constructed in accordance I with the invention. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper part of the apparatus as viewed from the left of fig. i Fig. 4 is a view projected on the same plane as fig. 1, ; showing certain important details to an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is an exactly similar view to fig. 4 of a lower part of the machine. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a detail of operation. The plummer blocks or bearings 5 aro capable of being adjusted at] various positions in vertical guides 8. The driving wheel 14, which is of fixed location,, is arranged at a convenient position so as to permit of the variations of the position of the elevator wheel 11, conse- quent upon the various heights to which the supporting bearing 5 may be adjusted as previously mentioned. The lower end of the elevator 7 is provided with a gear, so that the inclination of the elevator can be varied at will and on either side of the vertical position so as to permit of the elevator working from one side of the barge to the other. This gear may consist of a chain winding on and off a drum so that the winding of the drum will cause the desired movement of the elevator about its supporting bearing, but it is preferable to employ an hydraulic recipro- cating piston machine such as indicated at 17. It is driven by a pump 44 preferably of the type described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 9402 of 1910, which circulates the working fluid through the system to a limited extent. In connection with the elevator a chute 20 ia provided which can be adjusted at any position relative te the elevator, and this chute carries a tripping gear (fig. 4)x so that as the buckets successively come into the correct position their contents are discharged into the chute and thence to the coal bunkers or hatches. The chute proper 20 has a second chute 21 pivoted at its free end, and the free end of this pivoted chute 21 discharges into a third chute 22 carried by the pontoon framework 4. This chute 22 may be rendered adjustable in position upon the frame- work 4 by any suitable means. (Ten claims.) 7570 (1912). Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Loading and Trimming Vessels. A. J. Boult, of 111 and 112, Hatton-garden, London, E.C. (A communication from the McMyler-InterstateCompany, Ohio, U.S.A.)—This invention includes as the principal novel feature the following association of parts—viz., a tower which is movable lengthwise of the dock, so as to be adjacent to any desired hatchway of a vessel tied to said dock; an elevated hopper carried by said tower; conveyor mechanism for delivering coal or other material to be loaded into said hopper regardless of the position of the tower; and chute and trimming mechanism carried by said tower, said chute mechanism comprising a member whose inner portion will always be in position to receive material discharged from said hopper, but which is movable outward and inward to carry its outer end over any part of the selected hatch of the vessel, a vertical tubular member carried by the first- named member at the outer end thereof, and capable of