April 20, 1917.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

767

CURRENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

Low Temperature Carbonisation in Illinois.

The following is extracted from a recently published
statement of the work of the Engineering Experiment
Station of Illinois for the past two years: —The work
of the Engineering Experiment Station possesses
special significance in its relation, to the coal resources
of the State. Illinois coals are high in volatile matter
and relatively low in carbon. The presence of the
volatile matter accounts for their being classed as
smoky coals, and their low carbon content groups them
with the non-coking coals. The Engineering Experi-
ment Station, through the activities of Prof. S. W.
Parr, has endeavoured to devise methods of carboni-
sation which would be applicable to Illinois coals, and
with such success that an entirely new process, desig-
nated as the low-temperature process for coking coal,
has been developed. It is distinct from the processes
of coking previously employed, from the fact that tem-
peratures of approximately 600 degs. Cent, suffice,
whereas in the established processes double this tem-
perature is involved. It is distinct also in the pro-
ducts obtained. The established or high-temperature
process breaks down and destroys many of the most
important elements in the products of distillation,
whereas the new method, as devised by Prof. Parr,
conserves the value of such elements. The volatile
constituents, in wffiich Illinois coals are especially rich,
are thus all made available. The practical result is to
be seen in the fact that the process serves to convert
the raw smoky Illinois coals into coke which is smoke-
less and wrell adapted for use as a domestic fuel, and
into by-products of very considerable value. These
by-products include light oils which are recoverable to
the extent of 8 or 10 gals, per ton of coal treated,
which are the basis of important materials required
by dye industries, and which may be used as fuel for
internal combustion engines; heavy oil distillates
which include the creosote oils that are of value for
wood preservation, to the extent of 25 gals, -per ton
of coal treated ; and a certain amount of ammonia and
ammonia salts. The total value of the manufactured
products derived from a ton of raw coal as measured
by the value of the gas, the coke, the light and heavy
oils, and the ammonia, may easily be from three to
five times the mine value of the ton of raw coal.
Herein are possibilities for the coal producers of
Illinois, which are being revealed to them through the
operations of the Engineering Experiment Station,
and in which the producers are already showing a
lively interest.

Locomotive Fuel Test in Sweden.

Some tests were recently made on the Swedish State
Railways with peat powder as a fuel for locomotives
in comparison with British coal, in which it was shown
that greater efficiency can be obtained by the use of
powdered peat. The peat had a heat value of 7,740
British thermal units, and the British coal of 12,600
British thermal units, and it was found that 1-45 lb.
of peat powder will produce the same quantity of steam
as 1 lb. of the British coal. The peat powder was
blown through a nozzle into the firebox by compressed
air from a steam blower. The firebox was sub-divided
into an ignition chamber, two side passages and an
upper chamber through which the products of combus-
tion are led to and fro before they enter the tubes.
Under the nozzle, through which the peat is blown, a
small grate parrying a coal fire is provided for
igniting the peat. The consumption of the coal for
this purpose averages 3 to 4 per cent, of the weight
of the peat powder used. Firebox temperatures of
3,040 degs. Fahr, were obtained with the peat powder
and 2,750 degs. Fahr, with the British coal. A greater
degree of superheat was obtained with the peat powder
and the smokebox temperatures were generally less.
The tests, says Engineering, were made over a 60-mile
division, with a load of approximately 785 British
tons. The engines used in the test were of the same
type, having 19f by 25 in. cylinders, 54 in. driving
wheels, and 170 lb. steam pressure. It was calculated
that the efficiency of the boiler was 73 per cent, with
the peat-fired engine, and about 65 per cent, with
the coal-fired engine.

Recovery of Stream Coal.

Mr. P. A. Roche, writing in the Scientific
American, January 27, 1917, describes plants now in
operation to recover from river beds by sub-aqueous
mining the fuel that for nearly three generations has
been buried under water in many of the streams that
flow through the extensive anthracite coal .regions.
The smooth surfaces worn by attrition, it is true, have
not the glitter of the freshly-mined “ black diamond,”
but the combustion value is in nowise impaired, for
it happens that the product is the best coal of the
mines. These deposits of coal, found in deep layers'
just above dams, and in pockets where small river
whirlpools existed, are easily reached ; and the centri-
fugal pump, travelling bucket conveyor, and even the
Archimedes screw, are now winning between half a
million and a million tons yearly of this previously
ignored valuable material. In the Schuylkill region
a move was initiated towards a systematic modern
handling of coal-laden river bottoms, and it -may be
remarked that the past half-dozen years has seen a
great increase in the number of dredging plants
throughout the anthracite coal country. No land need
be purchased as for surface mining; no driving of
shafts, etc., and in many cases no payment of royalties
—an investment of 2,000 dols. in a pumping plant,
second-hand canal boats, and like equipment, and the
river operator is equipped for work. At the most
liberal estimate, the cost of getting the coal out of the

water is 12c. per ton. The price paid by one con-
sumer who uses nearly the whole output of two of
these plants, each consisting of one battery of pumps,
is 1-35 dols. per ton at the point where shipment
begins. The Susquehanna and Schuylkill, as well as
the Lehigh, are surrendering the buried coal. With
closer and more scientific working up of the coal as it
comes from the mines, the ugly, disfiguring culm
dumps spread over a naturally picturesque landscape
will be a thing of the past, and perhaps the small river
industry, too, but hardly for a generation or more.

Progress of Portable Electric Lamps in. America.

According to the Director of the United States
Bureau of Mines (Mr. V. H. Manning), at the close
of the year 1916 there were approximately 90,000 por-
table electric lamps in use in the United States,
70,000 of which have been approved for safety and
practicability by the Bureau of Mines. This is an
increase of about 60,000 over the number in use in
1915, and 75,000 more than the number of lamps in
use in the mines of this country during 1914. At the
present time, mine operators are purchasing about
2,000 approved lamps per week. It is understood, of
course, that a suitable number of approved flame
safety lamps for gas testing should be used in all
mines generating firedamp or blackdamp, but for
general use the electric lamp is safer, more convenient,
and more effective as a source of light. It is believed
that the use of approved portable electric lamps in
combination with safety lamps for gas testing has
decreased the coal mine fatalities during the past
year, and it is certain that where electric lamps are
used men will no longer lose their lives as the result
of the ignition of gas pockets, or as the result of fires
started by open flames, both of which causesJhave pro-
duced many fatalities in the past. It is also pro-
bable that the class of acidents which are due to insuffi-
cient illumination will be decreased on this account.

The Flow of Gas in Pipes.

Mr. Kenneth Norton, writing in the Gas World
(March 31) says that a large proportion of the data
referring to the flow of gas in pipes is worked out
on Dr. Pole’s formula—

Q = 1,350 d- A 4
V s I

where q = quantity of gas in cu. ft. per hour,
d = internal diameter of main in inches,
p = pressure of flow in inches of water (excess
inlet pressure over outlet pressure),

1 = length of main in yards,

= specific gravity of the gas (air = l).

Examination of this formula shows that increase of
p or d causes increase of Q, whereas increase of s or I
causes decrease of flow; and, in fact, Q varies directly
as d2 y/d and as ^/p, and inversely as x/s or V/Z.

Starting with the formula as given, and taking
nominal values for p, s, and I, it is quite a simple
matter to determine the value of Q for a series of
values of d.

A graph was thus plotted from these results, and
gives the flow of gas (specific gravity 0-40) for all
pipes up to 6 in. diameter under a pressure of 1 in.
through a main 100 yds. long. To avoid the incon-
venience of large figures, it was decided to express the
flow of gas in feet per minute, rather than in feet per
hour. Charts were worked out which allow for cor-
rection to be made for alterations in the specific
gravity of the gas and for differences in pressure or
head. Another shows the effect on the flow due to
length of main. The use of the charts will greatly
simplify calculations of this nature.

BOOK NOTICES.

The Town Plan and the House : An Opportunity for
National Economy. By F. L. Thompson and E. G.
Allen.	41pp.	9|in. x 7|in.	23 figs. Paper

covers.	London : The Garden Cities and Town

Planning Association, 3, Gray’s Inn-place, London,
W.C.; 1917. Price, Is. 6d. net.

One of the most pressing problems which will con-
front the nation at the conclusion of the war is the
housing question in both its urban and rural aspects.
Lack of proper housing accommodation was stated by
Sir Thom’as Barlow the other day to be the root cause
of the social evil, and it is known that many of the
troubles of our big towns arise from the squalid con-
ditions under which so many of the population live.
At the same time, it has been forced upon the notice
of the nation that the deficiency of cottages in rural
districts is one of the reasons why we are backward in
the matter of food production, and that if only more
attention had .been paid to this problem a few years
back, we should not have found ourselves in the posi-
tion that now confronts us. Some idea of the magni-
tude of the task may be grasped when it is stated that
in England and Wales alone the shortage of houses at
a rent of 10s. a week or less is estimated at 400,000.
The mere number of cottages which will have to be
built is, however, by no means the chief considera-
tion; the necessity for economy and the provision of
attractive homes in healthy surroundings is of para-
mount importance. Upon the method by which these
conditions can be attained the testimony of the whole
world is clear—that the best results can only be
secured by housing on garden city and town planning
lines.

The town plan is the foundation of proper housing,
and it is therefore opportune that when all minds are
directed to this great problem, the Garden Cities and

Town Planning Association should have published a
book upon The Toron Plan and the House : An Oppor-
tunity for National Economy.

The authors have not endeavoured to present an
exhaustive treatise on the technical side of the subject;
their intention has been to indicate the economic
advantages and practicability of the methods advo-
cated. The argument for town planning is set out
with brevity, but, at the same time, with clearness,
and with the objective distinctly pointed out; and
possibly the most satisfactory feature is that it is not
merely theoretical. The examples of development
schemes are from plans that are actually being carried
into effect, and the cottages illustrated have already
been built. It is the first time that the relationship
between the town plan and the house has been pro-
perly set forth, and the authors are to be congratulated
upon the way in which they have dealt with the pro-
blem. The town plan and the house are dealt with in
separate parts, and the illustrations of a civic survey
of the city of York will be of interest to all those who
realise the growing importance of survey work, while
the examples of cottages which have actually been
built will prove of value to many who are contem-
plating building. Plan and perspective are given in
each case, together with details as to locality,
materials, accommodation, and cost.

Welfare Study : What It Is. By C. Walton. 24 pp. 8 in.

X 6^ in. 5 illus. Glasgow : Maclure, Macdonald and
Company. Price, 6d. net.

At this moment of need for the fullest organisation
of our national resources, any methods by which the
maximum productivity are being obtained from exist-
ing material are of paramount interest. Mr. Cecil
Walton, in his pamphlet, Welfare Study: What It Is,
claims with apparent justice to have discovered such
means with regard to the human element in the large
industrial concerns with which he is connected. As
manager of a large national projectile factory, and as
one who has been intimately associated with many
great schemes for speeding-up of our munitions output,
his conclusion, “Welfare! it pays, sir! every time,”
cannot be lightly dismissed.

By “ welfare work,” Mr. Walton does not imply
alone the protection of the interests of women
employees, and he is emphatic in his disclaimer that
welfare “ does not merely mean canteens, chairs, and
pianos.” These things, he maintains, are rightful
adjuncts, the fringes, as it were, on the garment of
proper supervision, but welfare work, embracing such
matters, implies the provision of suitable surround-
ings for the task in hand. It means, says the author,
the creation of an “ atmosphere ” by wfliich the old-
time barrier between employer and employee disap-
pears; “it is the surest way to speed-up output”;
“ swift praise, swift blame and punishment,” are
among its essential parts. Incidentally, the recrea-
tion and food of employees, as well as ambulance work
in the factory, are touched upon in this brochure, and
the reader is reminded that he may obtain further
information upon the subject by applying to the
Ministry of Munitions, Welfare Section, 6, Whitehall-
gardens, London, S.W.

LAW INTELLIGENCE-

HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.

KING’S BENCH DIVISION.—April 18.

Before the Lord Chief Justice and Justices Ridley and
Rowl ATT.

Matches in a Colliery

Jones v. Lewis.—This was a case stated by the Aberdare
justices, who had dismissed an information against a
haulier employed at the Tower Colliery, Hirwain, charging
him with a breach of the Regulations of the Coal Mines
Act, 1911. Mr. Disturnal, K.C., in support of the appeal,
stated- that the respondent, who was engaged on the day
shift, was searched, and a match found in his coat. It
appeared that before going down the mine the respondent
had searched himself and did not succeed in finding any-
thing about him which would contravene the provisions of
the Act? After going down, the respondent took off his
coat and hung it up. Ten per cent, of the workmen at
the colliery were searched every morning by the under-
manager or the foreman, the latter being the person
appointed to make the search. Before the magistrates, it
was contended, on the part of respondent, that the search
was unauthorised, inasmuch as the man was not searched
before entering the mine, and that the appellant was not
the proper person to make the search. On the other hand,
the appellant submitted that he had the right to make the
search. The justices found in favour of the respondent,
and dismissed the information. Counsel contended that
the magistrates had gone wrong in law, and that the actual
offence contemplated by the Act was the possession of a
match in the mine. By whom the search was made, and
at what time, was immaterial.

The Lord Chief Justice, after argument, said the sole
question for the court was whether the man having a
match in his possession was sufficient to constitute an
offence. The magistrates apparently thought it did not,
and refused to convict. In this they were wrong, and the
case would be remitted to them. The appeal would be
allowed, with costs.

A cable message announces that the Panama Canal
Authority will now allow steamers of Allied nations bound
for Europe to take at Colon sufficient bunker coal to enable
them to reach their destination. Previously the regula-
tions permitted steamers only to take enough coal to reach
their nearest coaling port after leaving the Canal.

The iron and metal merchants of South Wales and the
West of England have decided to form a Waste Trade
Association in connection with their industries. Mr. H. E.
Rose, of Bristol, has been appointed president. A deputa-
tion is to wait on the Ministry of Munitions to ask that
the trade in waste shall be placed on the essential list.