February 16, 1917.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

343

MANCHESTER GEOLOGICAL AND
MINING SOCIETY.

A special meeting of the Manchester Geological and
Mining Society was held on Tuesday, to discuss a new
code of rules and by-laws drafted by a special committee
appointed in August 1915.

New Rules.

The objects of the society are described as the “ collec-
tion and diffusion of practical and theoretical knowledge
respecting geology and mining, in furtherance of which
original papers on geology and mining subjects, includ-
ing engineering generally, either written by the mem-
bers of the society or communicated to the society
through a member on behalf of the authors, shall he-
re ad and discussed at the meeting, and if judged to be
of sufficient interest, shall be printed at the expense of
the society in its Transactions.” The constitution of
the society “ shall consist of members, associate mem-
bers, honorary members, associates, students, and non-
federated members.”

Qualifications for Membership.

Under the old rules, the qualification for membership
was that a member “ shall be more than 23 years of age,
have been regularly -educated as a mining, metallurgical,
or mechanical engineer, or in some other branch of
engineering, according to the usual routine of pupilage,
and have had subsequent employment for at least two
years in some responsible situation ais- an engineer; or
if he has not undergone the usual routine of pupilage,
he must have been employed or have practised as an
engineer for at least five years.” The committee recom-
mended that the rule should be deleted, and the follow-
ing substituted

Members.—Every candidate for admission into the class
of members, or for transfer to that class, must be not less
than 30 years of age, and must co.me within one of the follow-
ing conditions : (a) He shad have been regularly educated
and trained as a mining engineer, and for at least five years
have held some responsible- position in regard to, and at the
time of his candidature be occupied in, practical mining;
or (5) he shall be a person holding a first-class certificate of
competency under the Coal Mines Act; or (c) he shall be,
in the opinion of the council, by reason of his position or
attainments, a desirable person to become, a member.

Associate Members.—Every candidate for admission into
the class of associate members, or for transfer to that class,
must be nob less than 23 years of age, and must come within
one of the following conditions : (a) He must be at the time
of his candidature engaged in pursuits of a character leading
up to the qualifications for membership; or (b) he must be
engaged in branches of engineering other 'than mining engi-
neering; or (c) lie shall be, in the- opinion of the council, by
reason of his position or attainments, a desirable person to
become an associate member.

Honorary Members.—Each honorary member shall be a
person who has distinguished himself by his literary or
scientific attainments, or who may have made important com-
munications to any of the federated institutes, or have con-
tributed to the advancement of mining or other branches of
technology.

Associates.—Every candidate for admission into the class
of associates, or for transfer to that class, must be not less
than 21 years of age, and must, at the time- of his camdidar
ture, be -engaged in mining or i'tis allied industries, and not
eligible to belong to the class of members or associate
members.

Students.—Every candidate applying for admission into
the class of students shall be a. person who is qualifying him-
self for the profession of mining or any of its allied indus-
tries, and such person may continue ais -a student until he
attains the age of 23 years; but a. student may be raised to
the class of associate on attaining the age -of 21 years, if
properly qualified.

Non-Federated Members.—Non-federated members must
have the same qualification as members, but, as the name
implies, are members of the society only.

No right of 'expulsion- was given to the council in the
old rules, an omission which has been remedied by the
insertion of the following comprehensive regulation :—•

The council shall have the right, by a majority of four-
fifths of those present at a meeting of the council, -specially
called for the purpose, and at which ait least 10 members of
the council are present, to expel from the society any member,
associate member, honorary member, associate, student, or
non-federated member, who may have committed an offence
which, in the opinion of the council, renders him unfit to be
a member; and in case the council shall be of opinion that
the professional conduct of any member, associate member,
honorary member, associate, student, or non-federated
member should become the subject of enquiry, with a view
c-f ascertaining whether there are grounds for his expulsion,
or in case 10 or more members or associate members shall
think fit to draw up and sign a proposal for the expulsion
of a member, associate member, honorary member, associate,
student, or nomfederated member on any ground whatsoever,
and shall deliver the same to the secretary to be laid before
the council for consideration, the council shall make such
enquiry as they may deem expedient; and if they do not
find sufficient reason for expulsion, no entry of the enquiry
shall be made cm the minutes ; but if the council, by a majority
of at least four-fifths of those present at a meeting of the
council, specially summoned for the purpose, and at which
at least 10 members of the council are present, do find good
reason for expulsion of the member, associate member,
honorary member, associate, student, or non-federated
member, on the ground that he has been guilty
of improper conduct in any professional respect, they
shall cause such person’s name to be erased from the register,
and thus expel him from the society. The secretary shall
give him notice according to form “ H ” in the appendix.

The annual subscriptions are fixed as follow :—
Members, £2 2s.; associate members, £2 2s.; ’associates,
c£l 5s.; students, T1 5s.; and non-federated members,
Tl.

Awards for Papers.

An additional rule of some interest reads as follows :—

The council, if they think fit, in any year, may ward
medals or other rewards to the author or authors of papers
published in the Transactions, or to persons who have dis-

tinguished themselves by their contribution to the ’advance-
ment of mining and other branches of technology.

The rules, having been considered seriatim, were
adopted, on the proposition of the President (Mr. AVm.
Pickup), seconded by Mr. J. Gerrard.

Notes on an Old Pumping Engine : Discussion.

The subsequent ordinary meeting discussed Mr.
W. T. Anderson’s paper on “ Notes on an Old Pump-
ing Engine (1791).” (Colliery Guardian, January 12,
1917, p. 77.)

Mr. E. G. Hiller stated that it was very instructive
to note the engineering features of the engine described
by the author which were peculiar to engines of that
class. For instance, the valve gear ‘actuated off the
plug rod was altogether on different lines from the- usual
eccentric-driven valve gear with which modern engi-
neers were generally acquainted. He had not seen any
Newcomen engine working, but had seen and indicated
one' or two c-f the Watt pumping engines with similar
valve gear, and the impression he got from watching the
operation of the gear was that there was great ingenuity
and engineering capacity shown in the design of the
various motions. The sequence of events in the stroke
of the plug nod which actuated the valve gear required
to be closely followed in order that it might be under-
stood, while the- noises which were made at different
parts o-f the engine stroke were in themselves of interest.
The clicking as the plug struck the valve gear levers,
and the sniffing as the cataracts came into operation,
together with the groaning and sighing as the engine
came to the end of its stroke, were all full of informa-
tion as to the kind of movements which were proceeding,
and suggested that in many of these old engines, if it
could be obtained, a record on the phonograph would be
almost -of as much interest- as the photographs were. The.
cast iron beam shown in one of the illustrations in the
paper had a comparatively modern appearance), and in
that connection he quoted the following extracts from
Farey’s “ History of the Steam Engine ”

The beam or lever of Mr. Smeaton’s Cha.sewa.ter Mine
engine, 1775, was composed of a number of pieces of 'timber
braced and keyed together. Mr. Wait’s engine, 1778. The
great Lever. A single beam of oak was preferred whenever
a tree of sufficient size could be procured. The difficulty of
procuring a tree of sufficient size to form the lever of a
powerful engine in a single piece rendered it necessary in
many cases to combine four er six beams into one . . . and
the beam thus formed was trussed with iron braces.

He (Air. Hiller) would suggest that in the Pentrich
engine the original beam was of wood, 'and that the cast
iron beam shown in the illustration was substituted for
the old wooden beam when the engine was moved to its
present position in 1841. It was suggested that the
unbalanced weight of the pump rod usually affected the
suction stroke, but Farey’s “ History of the Steam
Engine ” showed that the general arrangement was that
the suction was performed on the upstroke of the pump
rod. Having regard to the long period of working, and
that the engine was removed in 1841, say, 50 years after
it was constructed, it would appear probable that the
original boiler had been displaced. The general position
of the Newcomen engine »at about the time the one at
Pentrich was erected seemed to be somewhat as follows :
At that time, 1790, James Watt’s investigations had
resulted in the production of engines which showed a
considerably improved economy as compared with the
Newcomen atmospheric engine. One of the largest,
which was made to the design of Mr. Smeaton, was
erected at the Chase water Mine, Cornwall, in 1775, the
cylinder being 72 in. in diameter, and 9-J-ft. stroke, nine
complete strokes per minute. According to Farey, that
engine was, at the time it was erected, the most powerful
machine in existence. “ It worked for a few years, and
was then altered by Mr. Watt to his improved system,
which soon after superseded all the atmospheric engines
in Cornwall, where fuel was very expensive, and the
mines very deep. Since Mr. Smeaton’s time, the
improvement of the atmospheric engine has been much
neglected; the more perfect engine of Air. Watt having
the decided preference in most situations, competent
engineers have paid but little attention to Newcomen’s
engine. But in districts where coals are cheap, the
latter is still in very extensive use for such purposes as
draining coal mines.” No doubt the above was an
explanation of the adoption of the atmospheric engine
at the Pentrich and other collieries. The folio-wing
figures would indicate the approximate relative
economic performance of the early steam engines, and
would probably be of interest :—

Duty of Newcomen engine, 1778, equivalent to 27 lb. of
coal per horse-power hour; duty of Newcomen engine with
all Smeaton’s improvements, equivalent to 18-6 lb. of coal
per horse-power hour; Watt engine, 1792, equivalent to 61b.
of co-a] per hoir'se-power hour; Watt engine, 1800, after 25
years of improvements, equivalent to 3*4 lb. of coal per
horse-power hour.

These details were derived from figures given in “ The

■ Letters of James Watt.”

Air. R. B. Prosser, for some time chief engineer at
the Patent Office (London), in a written contribution,
said that Air. Anderson’s paper wia-s most valuable- and
interesting, and it was satisfactory that he had been
able to put on record some biographical details relating
to Francis Thompson. On referring to Farey’s
“ Treatise on the Steam Engine ” (1827), page. 238, cited
by Air. Anderson, it would appear that Thompson built
another engine at Yaf estoop, with a cylinder of 64| in.
diameter, which was placed underground. There were,
therefore, records of three engines erected by Thompson
—namely, the one ho had just referred to, and the two
described by Mr. Anderson in his paper. The engrav-
ing of the Dudley Calstle engine, erected in 1712, was of
peculiar interest. It was quite' unknown until 18/6,
when Air. Sam Timmins, of Birmingham, exhibited a
copy at the Loan Collection of Scientific Instruments at
South Kensington, and public attention was first directed

to its historical importance in an article in the Engineer
of Alay 26, 1876. The copy of the- engraving formerly
belonging to Air. Timmins was now in the Birmingham
Public. Library, and another was in the William’ Salt
Library at Stafford, but had been either lost or mislaid.
The. authenticity of the print had been questioned, but
without sufficient grounds, and there seemed no reason
to doubt that a self-acting pumping engine was set up
near Dudley Castle in 1712. It would be difficult llo
find a parallel to the enormous advance made in the
short period of 14 years, between Savery’s engine,
patented in 1698, which was of the pulsompter type, and
the self-acting beam pumping engine now under con-
sideration. ' He (Air. Prosser) thought that Humphrey
Potter and his “ scoggan ” might be consigned to limbo,
as there was really no room for him. If he ever existed,
he must have worked on a Newcomen engine before
1712, and there was no authentic record of the existence
of such an engine. The late Air. Farey, author of the
work on the steam engine, on one occasion met the
writer’s grandfather, Robert Potter, of Ashby-de-la-
Zouch, an old Soho man who was subsequently engineer
to- the Birmingham Canal Company, and Mr. Farey was
much disappointed to find that no members of Mr.
Potter’s family bore the name of Humphrey. The
Potter family were largely concerned in the introduction
of the steam engine in the-early part of the 18 th century,
and their wonk was described by Mr. Rhys Jenkins in
an article in Notes qnd Queries of January 2, 1915. He
also called attention to an article on “ Business Aspects
of Early Engineering ” in the Engineer of December 25,
19.08, dealing with the calculation of the duty of early
steam engines. It was from the pen of Mr. H. W.
Dickinson, of the Science Aluseum, South Kensington,
who possessed a vast fund of information on the early
history of the steam engine and the history of inven-
tions generally. If the old engine at Pentrich was
broken up, room ought to be found for some portions of
it, at all events, at South Kensington, where a new
building was in course of erection.

Mr. H. AV. Dickinson wrote that the- atmospheric
engine at Pentrich had been known to him for a number
of years; it was a privilege- not shared by many to have
heard the old centenarian at its work, and to see the
rush of the scalding condensing water into thei hot well.
The engineers of the days of the Pentrich engine were a
fine race of men, and their memory deserved to be
rescued from oblivion. The “ draught ” of the fire
engine, with its description, had a strong family resem-
blance to prints which were published from 1725
onwards; it need not be too readily assumed that the
draught represented Thompson’s own design, or that it
emanated from Smeaton. If the former were the case,
then Thompson made considerable advance between
1774 (the date of the draught) and 1791 (the date of
the engine), especially in the valve gear, unless the
latter was of more recent date. Instead of a sector-
shaped slide valve, the-steam valve wa-s, he thought, a
c-cck. The tumbling weight, for turning the valve on
and oft with a sudden positive jerk, was neater than the
old Y-lever which served that purpose. The injection
valve was no longer controlled by an F, but by a. lever
retained by a caitch. In fact, the valve gear re called
the design adopted by AVatt in his engines; perhaps the
gear was modernised at the time of the removal of the
engine from Okerthorpe to its present position. The hot
well and the sniffing’ valve were in separate connec-
tions, tallying well with the draught,” but differing
from Smeaton’s practice, which was to make one pipe
serve the double purpose. It might safely be assumed
that the beam was originally of wood, as shown in the
“ draught,” but th© present one of cast iron looked as
if ft dated from the time of the re-erection, 1841. Fie
hoped it would be possible to have an indicator diagram
from the engine, and he shared the view expressed by
other speakers that the engine should be preserved.

Air. E. C. AIills thought the very lucid account given
by Air. Anderson made the functions of alii parts of the
engine very clear, except what he called the “ sniffing
valve,” which, on a modern engine, was known as an
automatic valve, admitting a very small and controllable
amount of air to an air pump. In the Pentrich engine
there was no air pump, and the so-called “ sniffing
valve ” evidently opened outwards, not inwards, auto-
matically at ia- fixed pressure only slightly above the
atmosphere. That would serve two- separate functions.
Firstly, and primarily, it would allow a means of escape
for the air and vapour so soon as, by the. descent of the
piston, and possibly before the -steam valve opened, there
was sufficient pressure above the atmosphere to raise
that valve. Such pressure (as also the steam pressure)
must be very low, otherwise the water seal on the
“ eduction pipe ” would be blown out, there being no
exhaust valve at all between the position of the sniffing
valve and the cylinder. The second function, and
perhaps one not contemplated by the designer, wafe to
give a signal by the escape of steam to the attendant—
when the engine was being started—that the cylinder
was charged with steam. He would then close the
steam valve and open the injection cock, the engine
thereafter itself taking on the control of its valves. In
the earlier Newcomen engines without self-acted valves,
the escape of a puff of steam from the sniffing valve
would be the signal for operating the valves by hand at
each stroke-. At any rate, in the absence of any air
pump, that valve afforded the only available escape fo-r
vapour and air, whether assisted by the incoming steam
or expelled by the completion of the piston’s stroke or
by both agencies.

Air. AV. H. Patchell (London) wrote that Air.
Anderson had done good service in collecting and record-
ing the data available with regard to this old engine,
and it was interesting to hear that, in spite- of its age
and the advent of electricity, it was still to be worked
occasionally. Could the author give them information
as to the present efficiency of the engine, presuming, of