1140

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

May 28, 1915.

London, June 3.—House coal, hard steam coal, anthracite
coal, and small steam coal for the Commissioners of His
Majesty’s Works, etc. .Forms from Controller.

London, June 3-10. — Coal and coke for the Commis-
sioners of His Majesty’s Works, etc. Forms from the
Controller of Supplies, H.M. Office of Works, etc., 18,
Queen Anne’s-gate, Westminster, S.W.

London, June 4.—Coal and coke for the Commissioners
of His Majesty’s Works, etc. Forms from the Controller
of Supplies.

London, S.W., June 8.—Coal and coke for the Cancer
Hospital, Fulham-road, London, S.W. Forms from F. W.
Howell, secretary.

London, S.W., June 8.—For the Council of the Royal
Borough of Kensington : From 700 to 900 tons (more or
less) of Welsh smokeless coal (Aberdare). Forms from
Town Clerk, Town Hall, Kensington, W.

Magherafelt (Ireland), June 3.—About 3,000 tons of
screened coal for the Guardians. Forms from Clerk, Board-
room.

Maryport, June 9. — Gas coal for the Urban District
Council. Particulars from F. Kelly, clerk, Town Hall,
Maryport.	'

Newtownhards, June 3.—5,000 tons of good coking coal,
nuts, or slack (washed or otherwise) for the Urban District
Council. Particulars from W. H. Roberts, gas manager.

Omagh, June 2.—About 2,000 tons of gas coal for the
Omagh Urban District Council. Forms from F. J.
O’Callaghan, manager.

Oxford, June 5.—About 40,000 tons of best screened gas
coal or washed nuts for the Oxford Gaslight and Coke Com-
pany. Particulars of J. Eldridge, engineer and manager.

Paisley, June l.-^-Coal and dross for the Parish Council.
Tenders to J. M. Campbell, inspector of poor, and clerk to
District Board of Control, Parish Council Chambers, Paisley.

Pontypridd, June 7.—Coal and cannel for the Urban Dis-
trict Council. Forms from EG H. Swain, engineer and
manager, Gas Works, Treforest, Pontypridd.

Rathdrum, May 31.—125 tons of best Wigan screened
coal for the Guardians. ■ Forms from P. W. Sheehan, clerk,
Board-room.

Rhyl, June 1.—5,700 tons of screened gas coal and 100
tons of best house coal, for the Urban District Council.
Forms from L. G. Hall, Gas Engineer’s Office, Paradise-
street, Rhyl.

Rochester, June 9.—45,000 tons of gas coal for the
Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham Gas Company.
Forms from C. V. Bennett, 95, High-street, Rochester.

Roscrea (Ireland), June 3. —150 tons of best White-
haven or other suitable coal for the Guardians. Tenders to
Mr. T. Dooley, clerk, Workhouse.

Salisbury, May 31.—Best Derby brights and best Derby
cobbles for the Trustees of the Salisbury Municipal Charities.
Tenders to H. Fulton, clerk, 12, Rolleston-street, Salisbury.

Shoeburyness, June 1.—About 2,000 tons of Holmside,
New Pelton, or best Durham gas coal for the Urban District
Council. Tenders to F. Gregson, clerk.

South Shields, May 31.—Unscreened coal for the Com-
mittee of the Prudhoe Hall Colony.- Tenders to J. W.
Coulson, clerk, Poor Law Offices, South Shields..

Sutton-in-Ashfield, May 31.—9,500 tons of well screened
gas coal, free from shale and pyrites, for the Urban District
Council. Tenders to J. D. Fidler, clerk, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

Swindon, June l.=—Coal for the Guardians of Swindon
and Highworth Union. Forms from J. P. Kirby, Union
Offices, Swindon.

Taunton, June 1.—Coal for the Taunton Gaslight and
Coke Company. Particulars from Manager.

Tiverton, June 5.—4,000 tons of freshly wrought gas
coal, screened or unscreened, including nuts, for .the Cor-
poration. Forms from C. Jeffery, gas manager, Tiverton.

Todmorden, May 31.-14,000 tons of unscreened gas coal
and 1,000 tons of cannel for the Gas Committee. Forms
from F. V. Barnes, engineer and manager.

Whitehaven, June 1.—About 1,000 tons of gas coke for
the Arlecdon and Frizington Urban Disttrict Council
Tenders to J. R. Thompson, clerk.

The date given is the latest upon which tenders can be
received.

CONTRACTS OPEN FOR ENGINEERING, IRON
AND STEEL WORK, &c.

Edinburgh, June 21.—Turbo-Alternators.—Two 5,000 kw.
turbo-alternators and condensing plant for the Corporation.
Specification from the Engineer, Dewar-place, Edinburgh,
on deposit of two guineas.

Lemington-on-Tyne.—Shaft.—Sinking and walling of a
shaft at West Denton Colliery, Lemington-on-Tyne.
Particulars at the Colliery.

Llangonoyd.—Heading.—Driving a dip heading in the
No. 2 Rhondda seam for a distance of 200 yds., height
7 ft. 6 in. under collar, width 10 ft. between arms at floor,
6J ft. collars, naked lights. Contractors to find tools and
explosives. Apply to Manager, Gelliher Colliery, Llan-
gonoyd.

Manchester School of Technology : Research Scholarships.
—The governing body of the Manchester Municipal School
of Technology offer the following research scholarships in
technology tenable during the session 1915-16 at the school :
One of the value of £80; three of the value of £75; six of
the value of £50; all with fees remitted. Research may be
undertaken in any of the following departments :—
Mechanical engineering; electrical engineering; sanitary
engineering; applied chemistry—(a) general chemical tech-
nology, (5) chemistry of textiles (bleaching,, dyeing, print-
ing, and finishing), (c) paper manufacture, (d) metallurgy
and assaying, (e) chemical technology of brewing, (/) electro
chemistry, (g) photography; textile industries. The
scholarships are open to graduates of any university in the
British Empire, and to other persons possessing special
qualifications for research. The scholarships may be
renewed for a second year on the recommendation of the
Board of Studies. Applications (which must be made on
prescribed forms to be obtained from the Registrar of the
School of Technology, Manchester), must be received on or
before June 21, 1915.

ABSTRACTS OF PATENT SPECIFICATIONS
RECENTLY ACCEPTED.

6919 (1914). Improvements in the Construction and
Cooling of Internal Combustion Engines and Air Com-
pressors and the Bedplates thereof. J. B. Langford, Oil
Mill-lane, Beavor-lane, Hammersmith.—Consists in the
construction of the bases or bedplates of internal combustion
engines of the inverted type as tanks for holding the whole
of the water needed for cooling the cylinders. In the
present case, the cylinders are independent of, but fit into
the tank bedplate, and this constitutes both water jacket

3

and reservoir. In the case of engines mounted on wheels
for traction purposes the base or water tank is extended
so as to form a foot plate, and the tank is arranged in com-
partments, so that greater or less water may be carried
with a view to increasing the grip of the road wheels. The
accompanying drawing is a side elevation of a single
cylinder inverted engine coupled to a dynamo on a bedplate,
which is sectioned. (Seven claims.)

9542 (1914). Improvements in or relating to Devices for
use in connection with Motors for Providing Safety against
Firedamp or the like. A. Mond, Ph.D., of the firm of
Hubers and Mond, of 19, .Southampton-buildings, Chancery-
lane, London, W.C. (A communication from abroad by
the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, of Oerlikon, Switzerland ,
manufacturers.)—The encased motors heretofore used in
mines, where inflammable gases are encountered, have in
many cases been provided with embedded lamellar pro-
tectors for the purpose of preventing the ignition of the
gases by the sparks generated by the motor, and at the
same time for affording a means of ventilating the motor.
Hitherto the lamellar protectors were mostly made by
cutting sheet metal plates of the same length as the pro-
tecting device into strips of the required width. In these
earlier types, in which relatively long strips of plate are



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used, and in. which stresses causing the strips to warp
naturally occur, the distance between the strips is by na
means uniform throughout. Now, in order for the pro-
tecting device to achieve its purpose—that is to say, to
prevent ignition of the gases outside with absolute
certainty—the whole of the strips of plate must be spaced
with the greatest accuracy. The protecting bodies made of
plates, in accordance with the present invention, are built
up of very small plates, which are spaced apart by the
interposition of other pieces only at their ends. Fig. 1 is
an edge view, showing a set of the plates or leaves
assembled, fig. 2 is a plan of the base plate, fig. 3 is a side
elevation of a portion of the improved protecting device, and
fig. 4 a sectional end elevation of same. Figs. 5 and 6 show
in cross section and plan a modification of the device when
circular or other curved lamellar protectors are required.
(Two claims.)

9766 (1914). Improvements in and relating to Rock-
cutting Mechanism for Tunnelling and Shaft-sinking. E.
0. R. Marks, of 57 and 58, Lincoln’s Inn-fields, London,
W.C. (A communication from abroad by . the Imperial
Tunnelling Machine Company, Park Avenue Hotel, New
York, U.S.A.)—Consists in rock-cutting mechanism, in
which a head revoluble on an axis transverse to the
direction of advance of the mechanism carries a plurality of
cutters mounted, and having a reciprocatory motion therein,
the reciprocation of each cutter being automatically sus-





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pended during its bodily movement through substantially a
semi-circular zone. The invention also consists in mecha-
nism in which such automatic suspension is occasioned by
gravity-operated means carried by the rotatable head. One
embodiment of the invention, in the form of a tunnelling
machine adapted to advance through rock in a horizontal
or substantially horizontal plane, is illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings, in which fig. 1 is a side elevation of the
entire machine, fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and fig. 3
is a front elevation of the’apparatus. (Fourteen claims.)

9849 (1914). Method of Distilling Coal. W. J. Mellersh-
Jackson, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake and Company, 28,
Southampton-buildings, London. (Communication from
International Gas Development Company, 17, Battery-
place, New York, ’U.S.A.)—Relates to the manufacture of
illuminating gas by the distillation of coal in substantially
vertical retorts, with the simultaneous production of water
gas for the purpose of mixing the same with the rich
hydrocarbons as the latter are distilled out of the coal,
whereby the tarry vapours are combined with the water
gas and the rich hydrocarbons are fixed. According to the
new method, the vertical retorts, each of which is provided
with a body of coke at its base, are heated to a tempera-
ture not only sufficiently high to effect distillation, but also
to raise the coke to incandescence. The retorts are then
substantially filled with a charge of coal, and immediately
thereafter, when the distillation has commenced, steam is
admitted to the incandescent coke to produce water gas in
sufficient quantities to prevent the deposits of carbon upon
the inner walls of the retort, such admission being con-
tinued throughout the entire distillation. The result of
such process is that the lean water gas seizes upon hydro-
carbons, such as benzol, &c., and mingles with the rich
illuminants to produce a fixed gas, no adhering carbon
being formed. Moreover, naphthalene is practically absent,
its valuable constituents remaining in the gas. Incidentally,
the amount of steam admitted is not sufficient materially

to reduce the illuminating power of the gas, nor to cool the
incandescent coke to such an extent as to prevent the decom-
position of the steam, and consequently, also, only a small
quantity of coke is consumed, whereby its value as a by-
product is not appreciably impaired, as its production is.
not substantially lessened. In starting the operation, this
coke is inserted in a substantially horizontal retort, with
which the vertical retort or retorts communicate, and in sub-
sequent operations, the body of coke is supplied from the
vertical retorts themselves after the gas coal which they
contain has given up its gas. Fig. 1 represents a top view
of a single apparatus or bench for carrying the invention
into effect, fig. 2 represents a front elevation of same,
fig. 3 represents a vertical transverse section on the dotted
line 3—3 of fig. 1, fig. 4 represents a vertical longitudinal
section on the line 4—4 of fig. 1. (Two claims.)

13600 (1914). Improvements in or relating to Multi-stage
Centrifugal Pumps. Gebriider Sulzer, of Winterthur,.
Switzerland.—Relates to a multi-stage centrifugal pump,
and has for its object to prevent the admission of super-
fluous air in to the pump casing through the opening from
which the pump spindle or other rotating member. extends
without resorting to complicated stuffing boxes or the like.
This object is attained by providing one or more stages, of
higher pressure between the point at which the rotating
member enters the pump casing on the suction side and the
stage connected to the suction pipe. By this arrangement
an air-tight joint can be easily and cheaply obtained
around the pump spindle at the point where it enters the
casing on the suction side, as the pressure behind the point
at which the spindle is introduced is not the suction pres-
sure of the pump, but a higher pressure, which excludes the
atmospheric air. One construction, according to this inven-

tion, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in longi-
tudinal section as applied to a three-stage pump. (One
claim.)

15655 (1914). Improvements in and relating to Rock Drills.
W. J. Humphrey, E. L. Mills, and S. W. Jenckes, all of c/o
the Jenckes Machine Company Limited, Sherbrooke, Quebec,
Canada.—Relates to rock drills of the percussive type, in
which is employed automatic valve apparatus wherein a ball
valve is made alternately to open and close two opposite
pressure fluid inlet ports by the action of the pressure fluid,
which, whilst driving the drill piston in one direction,
presses the ball valve against the opposite inlet port until, by
the opening of an exhaust port in the cylinder, the ball valve
is relieved of such pressure, and is caused by the pressure
acting on its opposite side to close the other inlet port. The
invention has for its object to improve generally upon devices
of the above character, with a view to obtaining greater
efficiency in working and a more simple construction than
heretofore, and consists of a rock drill of the above type,
having in combination a valve chest having an inlet opening
and ring members mounted on opposite seats, and a spherical
valve disposed between these ring members; inlet ports
communicating at one end with either end of a cylinder, and