36 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. January 4, 1918. IMPROVING PRODUCER CAS. In the course of a paper on “ Fuels and Their Uses,” read before the Societe Technique du Gaz, M. Versepuy, manager of the Toulouse Gas Works, advo- cated the coking of all suitable coal instead of washing it in heating gas retorts. He also criticised the use of special coal on mechanical stokers in central elec- trical stations. ' The monthly output of one district with excellent coking coal was recently distributed as follows: For gas and electricity, 20,000 tons; railways and other transport, 40,000 tons; metallurgy, 80,000 tons. A very large proportion of the metallurgy consumption was in connection with open-hearth furnaces, the gajs producers for these being fed with coal containing 25 per cent, of volatiles. The continuous gas producer furnishes gas for indus- trial purposes with a heating value of 800 or 900 calories per cubic metre. The injection of steam raises the heating power to 1,300 calories, but the decomposi- tion of the water cools down the combustion zone, thus preventing further progress in this direction. This difficulty, however, could be surmounted by replacing the injection of steam in the producer by alternate injections of air and steam in a water gas producer generating a gas of 2,600 calories. The two gases could be supplied to the producer furnace by different pipes, so that a double advantage is secured, since one pipe would serve as a stand-by for the other in case of accidents. This system has been adopted in the Toulouse gas- heated furnaces, and is entirely satisfactory. A very small amount of water gas is sufficient to maintain the furnaces at working temperature, which it would be difficult to do with cold gas at 1,300 calories. M’. Versepuy, who has proved this method, is con- vinced that if metallurgists would experiment with the two individual gases of 1,300 and 2,600, and use water gas as auxiliary, many of them would be able to utilise lean coals (mined locally) in place of bringing richer coals from a long distance. In Germany, open-hearth furnaces are often heated with lignite, and as lignite is to be found in the South of France, especially in the Mediterranean dis- tricts, this fuel could be used without any preliminary treatment. In Germany, earthy lignites have been made into briquettes suitable for feeding the gas producers of steel furnaces. Both German and French lignites are high in sulphur, but this impurity is immaterial if the lignite be previously gasified. COAL, IRON AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES. REPORTS AND DIVIDENDS. Beyer, Peacock and Company Limited.—Dividend at the rate of 5^ per cent, per annum on the preference shares. British Coalite Company Limited. — The report for the year ended September 30 states that the past year has witnessed the starting up of the plant of the Barnsley Smokeless Fuel Company Limited at Barugh (in which the company holds two-thirds of the ordinary shares and 39,500 of 50,000 6 per cent, participating preference shares); the conclusion of an agreement between the Barnsley com- pany and Low Temperature Carbonization Limited for the working of the Barugh plant; and the negotiation of an agreement, now in course of completion, between the British Coalite and Low Temperature Carbonization for ths exploitation of the process in the United Kingdom. This latter agreement the directors consider favourable, and it has received unanimous approval of the debenture holders. The agreement between the Barnsley company and Low Temperature Carbonization (of which Mr. F. L. Davis, the president of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners’ Conciliation Board, is chairman) constitutes the latter company manager of the Barnsley company’s works for 10 years from October 1, 1917, on terms which include the erection by the Carbonization Company of by-product recovery plants at Barugh. The loan of £12,200 to the Barnsley company has since been liquidated by the allot- ment of 16,250 participating preference shares of £l"each. The 108 acres of land owned by British Coalite at Wednes- field, near Wolverhampton, remain as last year. Bullcroft Main Collieries Limited.—The directors have declared an interim dividend of Is. per share, free of tax. Glencoe (Natal) Collieries Limited.—A dividend has been declared of 2^ per cent. (6d. per share) in respect of the half-year ending December 31. Guiseley and Yeadon Coal Company Limited.—At the annual meeting of shareholders, profits of £1,899 for the past year were reported, and after allowing 5 per cent, interest on share capital, a bonus of Is. 3d. in the £ on shareholders’ purchases was sanctioned. Haggle (R. Hood) and Son Limited.—The report for the year to October 31 states that; including the balance of £30,481 brought forward, and after making provision for estimated liabilities for special taxation, there is an avail- able profit of £89,881. The directors recommend a divi- dend on the ordinary shares at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum, free of tax, of which 5 per cent, was paid on July 5, also a bonus of 2s. per share on the ordinary shares, free of tax; to transfer to reserve account £10,000, making it £110,000; write off capital expenditure on buildings and machinery £10,000, making a total of £52,614 written off as depreciation; and to carry forward against contingencies £49,881. Manor-Powis Coal Company Limited.— Net profits for the four months ended February 28, including £5,715 brought forward, were £11,584, and a dividend of 5 per cent, was paid. The next accounts will be made up for the year ending February 28, 1918. Vulcan Motor and Engineering Company Limited.— Further interim -dividend is declared of 10 per cent., tax free. Wood (Edward) and Company Limited. — The report states that the net profit, after allowing for depreciation, is £22,550, and £7,483 was brought forward. The directors announce a dividend of 10 per cent, on the ordinary shares for the half-year ended November, and have placed £7,000 to reserve, £1,000 to the investment reserve, and carried forward £13,783, subject to excess profits duty for 1916-17. NEW COMPANIES. Bloxham and Whiston Ironstone Company Limited.— Private company. Registered office, 115, Colmore-row, Birmingham. Registered December 22. Nature of busi- ness indicated by title. Nominal capital, £80,000 in £1 shares. Directors : A. Wassail, R. R. Le Mare, N. W. Kidner, and A. C. J. Wall. Qualification, 500 ordinary shares. Craiglyn Colliery Company Limited.—Private company. Registered office, 7, Wind-street, Swansea. Registered December 24.’ Nature of business indicated by title. Nominal capital, . £6,000 in £1 shares. Directors: T. S. Bevan, H. Owen, and G. Charles. Qualification of directors, £100. General Engineering Company (Salford) Limited.— Private company. To carry on the -business of electrical, mechanical, constructional, sanitary, and general engi- neers, etc. Nominal capital, £500 in £1 shares. Directors : R. Duxbury (Salford), D. Davy, and I. Fielding. Quali- fication of directors, £100. Mitchell’s Mines Limited. — Private company. Regis- tered office, Parrs Bank Chambers, Waterloo-street, Birmingham. Registered December 21. To carry on busi- ness of colliery, proprietors and agents and exporters. Nominal capital, £250,000 in 100,000 £1 preference shares, and 150,000 £1 ordinary shares. Director, C. T. Mitchell (Birmingham). Northumbria Motors Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered December 21. To commence and carry on the busi- ness or businesses of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and general engineers and contractors, etc. Nominal capital, £25,100 in £1 shares. Directors to be appointed by the subscribers. Qualification of directors £200. Subscribers (one share), W. O. Sykes (Horbury, near Wakefield) and S. Cox. Reece (J. Graham) Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered December 27. To carry on the business of engineers, etc. Nominal capital, £2,100 in £1 shares. Director, J. G. Reece (Liverpool). Qualification of directors, £100. Skurray (Clement) Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered December 27. To carry on the business of engineers, etc. Nominal capital, £2,100 in 2,100 £1 shares. Director, E. C. Skurray (Swindon). Qualification of directors, £100. Smith and Ewen (Aeroparts) Limited. — Private com- pany. Registered office, 42, Frederick-street, Birming- ham. Registered December 27. To carry on the business of iron founders, boiler makers, etc. Nominal capital, £5,000 in £1 shares. Directors shall be appointed by the subscribers. Subscribers (one share) : A. C. Orton and E. E. Osborn. Svedberg (C. and J.) (London) Limited.—Private com- pany. Registered December 21. To acquire as a going concern the business of iron, steel, and general merchants. Nominal capital, £5,000 in 50 £100 shares. Subscribers (one share), C. Svedberg and W. Holmes. Wellington and Mackenzie Limited. — Private company. Registered office, 24, Empress-avenue, Ilford, Essex. Regis- tered December 21. To acquire and carry on the business of engineers and millwrights. Nominal capital, £2,000 in £1 shares. Subscribers (one share): D. G. and J. R. Mackenzie. This list of new companies is taken from the Daily Register specially compiled by Messrs. Jordan and Sons Limited, company registration agents, Chancery-lane, E.C. CONTRACTS OPEN FOR COAL AND COKE. For Contracts Advertised in this issue received too late •or inclusion in this column, see Leader and Last White pages. Abstracts of Contracts Open. Plymouth, January 14.—Coal and coke (12 months) for the Corporation: Forms (£1) from the borough engineer, Municipal Offices. Sleaford, January 25.—250 tons of best hard steam coal (six months) for the Urban District Council. Particulars from the clerk, 27, Carre-street, Sleaford. r . Warrington, January 8.—15,000 or 7,500 tons (or por- tions thereof) of slack. Particulars from the tramways engineer, Town Hall. The date given is the latest upon which tenders can be received. CONTRACTS OPEN FOR ENGINEERING, IRON AND STEEL WORK, Ac. Chelmsford, January 16. — Tar. — Refined tar (12 months) in barrels, delivered free at station, for the Town Council. Price per gallon to Municipal Offices, Chelms- ford. Hampstead, January 17.—Pitch, tar, etc.—Pitch, tar, creosote oil, iron castings, etc., for the Hampstead Borough Council. Forms from the town clerk. Hounslow, January 9.—Tar and Pitch.—Tar and pitch for the Isleworth Urban District Council. Forms from the engineer, Council House, Hounslow. Keighley, January 9.—Induced Draught Plant.— Induced draught plant to deal with the gases given off by 10 tons of coal per hour when burnt on chain grate stokers in use with water tube boilers of Babcock and Wilcox manufacture. Forms from the borough electrical engineer, Electricity Offices, Coney-lane. London, January 7.—Pitch, etc.—Pitch, tar, creosote oil, carbolic powder, and coke (12 months) for St. Pancras Borough Council. Forms from the borough engineer. London, January 8. — Spare Parts. — Spare parts of carriages and wagons (cast steel horn plates) for the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Forms from, and tenders to. the secretary, 48, Copthall-avenue, London, E.C. Madrid, March 22.—Railway.—Secondary railway from Villaodrid to Villafranca del Bierzo. Estimated cost, 51,165,079 pesetas. Tenders to Direccion-General de Obras Publicas, Ministerio de Fomento, Madrid. Plymouth, January 14.—Materials.—Iron, steel, car- bolic powder, lubricating oils, tar, pitch, creosote, etc. (12 months) for the Corporation. Forms from the borough engineer, Municipal Offices. German Coal in Switzerland.—According to the report of an interview, Herr Muller, the Swiss Under-Secretary of State for the War Nutrition Department, states that Switzerland never receives from Germany the full 200,000 tons of coal monthly agreed upon, and in November she received only about two-thirds of this amount. The Swiss authorities are considering all kinds of new measures to restrict consumption. It appears to be a question of send- ing Swiss trains to the German mines to fetch the coal. THE FREIGHT MARKET. During the period under review, the outward freight market has been even more inactive than has recently been usual, the Christmas and New Year holidays having inter- vened to prevent business. Added to this, there has been an all-round scarcity of “ free ” tonnage, although orders in all directions continue to be as numerous, and, except for the holiday season, as pressing as before, and rates, generally, on as high a level as ever. On the north-east coast, the only business recorded during the week has been the fixture of vessels for Swedish ports from the Tyne, at from 180 kr. to 195 kr. to Gothenburg, and 195 kr. to Stockholm. At the time of writing, the quotations for these ports are respectively 180 kr. and 190 kr., a decrease of from 7^ kr. to 10 kr. to Gothenburg, and 2| kr. to Stockholm. Coasting rates, too, are easier, 20s., Tyne to London, being the current quotation. In all other direc- tions, however, figures are well maintained, Bilbao being listed at up to 180s., Gibraltar at 100s., Port Said at 200s., and Barcelona at 300s. To Portuguese ports, owners are asking 15s. advance, Lisbon being quoted at up to 115s., and Oporto at up to 125s. At South Wales, business has been wholly confined to chartering for French Atlantic destinations at scheduled figures, although there is a large demand for tonnage for neutral destinations. Homewards, the River Plate is steady. At the United States, coal freights from Virginia to the Plate are quoted at 80s., with 84s. for Brazilian discharge. On Committee account for heavy grain cargoes, Northern Range to the United Kingdom or French Atlantic continues to be quoted at 50s., with 75s. ruling for West Italy. Tonnage on net form basis is steady, at 260s. from Northern Range to French Atlantic, and 360s. for West Italy. At the Far East, Saigon-Haiphong to the French Atlantic with rice is firm, at 500s. Bombay on d.w. to West Italy is firm, at 400s., with United kingdom discharge at 275s. Kurrachee on scale to the United Kingdom is unaltered at 250s. Madras Coast to Marseilles with kernels is unaltered at 550s. Tyne to Gothenburg, 2,500, 195 kr.; 2,600, 180 kr.; and 1,900, 185 kr., option Stockholm, 195 kr. Cardiff to Bordeaux, 2,200, 69s., neutral; Brest, 1,100, 45s., neutral; St. Malo, 900 and 1,000, 22s.; and St. Nazaire, 1,400, 61s. 6d., neutral. Newport to Rouen, 1,500, 48s. 9d., neutral; and St. Nazaire, 1,400, 61s. 6d., neutral. Swansea to Caen, 500 and 600, 48s., neutral; Nantes, 2,400, 61s. 6d., neutral; Trouville, 670 and 700, 48s., neutral; and Rouen, 1,500, 48s. 9d., neutral. Port Talbot to St. Malo, 670 and 700, 22s.; and La Rochelle, 1,250, 61s. 6d., neutral. Barry to Brest, 1,100, 45s., neutral. • Messrs. Cairns, Noble and Company Limited, the New- castle ship owners, show, in their annual freight list, how rates of freight from north-east coast ports have varied over the last four years. The record is instructive. The firm states, incidentally, that neutral vessels have been chartered for Mediterranean ports at rates, passed ‘ by British authorities, considerably over limitation figures. The following are a few typical averages of rates for neutral destinations in 1917, as compared with the previous four years ,(we have included 1913 as being the last full pre-war year) : Barcelona, 202s. in 1917, 63s. 8|d. in 1916, 32s. Hid. in 1915, 10s. 0|d. in 1914, and 9s. 7d. in 1913; Valencia, 175s., 63s. 9d., 28s. 4d., 9s. 7|d., and 9s. lOd. respectively; Carthagena, 180s., 63s. 6d., —, 9s. 5£d., and 10s. 7^d. respectively; Malaga, 180s., 66s. 2^d., 31s. 8d., 9s. 2d., and 10s. lid. respectively; Lisbon, 82s. 6d., 44s. 2id., 24s. l^d., 7s. 7d., and 7s. 3d. respectively; Bilbao, 150s., 44s. Ofd., —, 6s. 2d., and 7s. 3^d. respec- tively; and Canary Islands, 56s. 3d., 40s. 8|d., 24s. 9d., 8s. 7^d., and 9s. 0|d. respectively. The average rate for Gibraltar last year was 81s. 10id., as compared with 43s. 8id., 24s. 7|d., 8s. Oid., and 7s. 9^d. respectively. That to London was 18s. 9id., as compared with 13s. 8Jd., 10s., 3s. 10id., and 3s. 5d. respectively. Of course, nowa- days, British tonnage is so tied up by Government requisi- tioning, that British ship owners’ opportunities of partici- pating in these colossal returns for transport services are very limited; nevertheless, few will gainsay the fact that, if the neutral ship owners needed any instruction in the gentle art of freight inflation, they got it from our own ship owners in the earlier days of the war. Institution of Civil Engineer?.—On January 2 the Insti- tution of Civil Engineers completed the 100th year of its existence, having been established in 1818 at a meeting of eight engineers at the Kendal Coffee House in Fleet-street. At the next ordinary meeting of the institution on January 8, before the discussion of papers, a statement commemorative of the founding of the institution on January 2, 1818, will be made. Present conditions pre- clude a more formal celebration of the centenary. Coal Saving.—In a letter to the Press, Mr. W. H. Casmey (of Milnthorpe, Wakefield) suggests to steam users the desirability of reducing the grate areas of all tank boilers, -such as the Lancashire, Cornish, Yorkshire, etc., until the proportion of grate to that of outlet from the furnace flues is 2 to 1, and this can be done by merely covering over the back portion of the grates with two layers of good fire- brick. He states that this simple alteration will supply steam from 10 to 12 per cent, cheaper than the present boiler grates 6 ft. long, and as a Lancashire boiler 30 ft. by 8 ft. 6 in., working under normal conditions, uses about 1,200 tons of coal per year, 10 per cent, of this means a saving of 120 tons of coal per boiler per year at the minimum figure. Electric Truck in Coal Haulage.—Since the beginning of 1917 the Canton (Illinois) Gas and Electric Company has employed an electric truck for hauling coal, with very beneficial results. The distance from the railway station to the company’s electricity works is about three blocks, to the gas works about 1-5 miles. Over this distance the truck makes a round trip to the electric plant in about seven minutes, and can convey the contents of a 50-ton car of screenings to the station in about three hours. The round trip haul to the gas plant requires about 30 minutes. The speed of the- truck loaded is about seven miles an hour, and in ordinary operation it will cover from 15 to 25 miles a day, depending on how many trips are made. The truck is equipped with a dump body, which enables the driver alone through the use of it to unload 10,000 lb. of coal into the hopper in two minutes. The driver, who operates the truck exclusively, is responsible for its entire care, both as to charging and maintenance.