May 16, 1913.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1029

Bangkok (Siam), July 15.—Water Pipes.—The Acting
British Consul at Bangkok (Mr. J. Crosby) reports that
tenders are invited by the Bangkok Sanitary Department
for the supply of 15 000 m. (about 49,200 ft.) of galvanised
water pipes, varying from i in. to 2| in. in diameter, and
fittings, required in connection with the water supply
scheme.

Cardiff, June 4.—Pitwood, fyc.—For the supply of
pitwood, propwood and cogwood during six or 12 months
from July 1, periods being at their option, for the Nixon's
Navigation Company Limited. The quantities are as follow,
viz., about 916 tons of pitwood per week; about 332 tons of
Swedish, Norwegian, or Finnish props per week; and about
54 tons of cogwood per week.

Derby, May 23.—Motor Alternator.—For the supply of
one motor alternator, three-phase to single-phase, 750 kw.,
for the Corporation.

Devonport, May 23 —Stoking Machine.—For a stoking
machine, coke telpher plant, and the resetting of 12 beds of
retorts, for the Corporation.

Dunkerton, near Bath. — Shaft Deepening. — For
deepening a 10 ft. shaft, about 350 yards. Specifications,
&c., obtainable from the secretary, Dunkerton Collieries,
near Bath.

Johannesburg (South Africa), June 13.—Gas Retorts,
4*c.—H.M. Trade Commissioner for South Africa (Sir R.
Sothern-Holland) reports that tenders are invited by the
Johannesburg Municipal Council for the supply and delivery
of 28 fireclay gas retorts, together with steelwork and
necessary fittings for new retort bench.*

Johannesburg, June 17.—Fencing.—H.M. Trade Com-
missioner for South Africa reports that tenders are invited
by the South African Railways Administration for the
supply of 1,965 yards of (steel pale fencing, 4 ft. 6 in. high,
and 37 wrought iron corner posts.*

Leeds, May 24.—Iron Tubes, ^c.—For the supply of
wrought iron tubes and fittings, for the Corporation (Gas
Committee).

Lintz Colliery (Durham).—Staples.—For putting up
two staples, 11 ft. 6 in. diameter from the Brock well seam,
a distance of 45 ft. each ; also the driving of a stone drift
6 ft. by 6 ft., about 50 yards,

London, May 20. — Fishplates.— For the supply and
delivery of 1,800 pairs of steel fishplates, 38 lb. the pair ;
130,000 wrought iron plates, 7*22 lb. each; 260,000 rivets,
in. diameter, for the directors of the Mexican Railway
Company.

London, June 15.—Steelwork.— The Egyptian War
Department invite tenders for the supply of steelwork for
the new military cantonment at Talodi.

Lyttelton (New Zealand), May 22.— Converters.—
H.M. Trade Commissioner for New Zealand (Mr. W. G.
Wickham) reports that tenders are invited by the Christ-
church City Council for the supply and delivery, c.i.f.
Lyttelton, of two 500 kw. converters and switchboard
panels.*

Manchester, May 20.—Trolley Standards, tfc.—For the
supply and delivery of (a) canopy trolley standards; (b)
steel fishplates for tramway rails; (c) steel tie-bars for
tramway rails ; (d) pitch, for paving purposes, for the
Corporation.

Newcastle-on-Tyne, May 21.—Boiler.—For the supply
of one vertical multitubular boiler for Coble Dene Yard,
Albert Edward Dock, for the Tyne Improvement Commis-
sioners.

Perth (Western Australia), May 28.—Pumps.—The
Agent-General, on behalf of the Government of Western
Australia, is prepared to receive tenders for condensing
plant, pumps and piping in connection with an electric
power station at Perth.

Rotherham.—Cast Iron Mains, fyc.—For the supply of
cast iron mains and electric hoist, for the Corporation (Gas
Department).

Sofia (Bulgaria), June 17.—Locomotives.—H.M. Lega-
tion at Sofia reports that tenders are invited by the
Bulgarian Directorate-General of Railways and Ports, for
the supply and delivery of 12 passenger locomotives and
tenders.*

* Specifications, particulars, &c., may be seen at the
Commercial Intelligence Branch of the Board of Trade,
73, Basinghall-street, E.C.

COAL. IRON AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES.

Arniston Coal Company Limited.—The directors
announce an interim dividend of 8s. per share, free of tax,
for half-year ended March 31 last.

British Silicate Engineering Company Limited.—This
private company has been registered, with a capital of
£25,000 in .£1 shares (5,000 7 per cent, cumulative pre-
ference) to carry on the business of designers of brick, tile,
and artificial stone-making machinery, &c.

Colliery Promotions Limited.—This private company
has been registered, with a capital of .£2,000 in £1 shares,
to carry on the business indicated by the title, and to adopt
an agreement with J. Ford, 15, High-street, Doncaster.

Darwin and Milner Limited.—This private company
has been registered, with a capital of <£100,000 (5,000 cumu-
lative prefererce shares of £10 each, 5,000 cumulative
preferred participating ordinary shares of £5 each, and
25,000 deferred ordinary shares of £1 each), to carry on the
business of iron and steel merchants, steelmakers and con-
verters, &c., and to acquire the business carried on at Stock
Exchange Buildings, Sheffield, and elsewhere as Darwin and
Milner. First directors: P. R. Kuehnrich (chairman), and
V. F. J. Tlach (both permanent).

Hall (H L.), Limited.—This private company has been
registered, with a capital of £10,000 in £1 shares, to acquire
from H. L. Hall, the business of a coal, &c., merchant,
carried on by him at 100, Whitehorse-road, Croydon, in his
own name, and as W. E. Cullingford, at 7, Railway-crescent,
West Croydon. Manager, H. L. Hall. Registered office,
100, Whitehorse-road, Croydon.

Hyderabad (Deccan) Company Limited,—The report for
1912 states that the output during the year 1912 showed a
decrease of about 4f per cent, on that of the previous year.
This decrease was due to the effects of the squeezes that

occurred in 1911, the precautionary measures necessary to
safeguard the collieries against an outbreak of plague, to an
epidemic of smallpox, and to bands of stone met with in
some of the collieries. The new incline only contributed
some 5,000 tons during 1912, but it is now giving an output
of 800 tons a week. Arrangements are also being made to
open two other pits. After providing £10,000 for deprecia-
tion, £2,000 for reserve, and £500 for investment deprecia-
tion, the accounts show a credit balance of £60,064. The
board now recommends a final dividend of 2s. 6d. per share,
free of tax, making a total of 4s. per share for the year,
leaving £15,264 to be carried forward. After making the
same allowances for depreciation and reserve, and providing
£2,000 for investment depreciation, the credit balance for

1911	was £62,235, and the total dividend was 4s. per share.

Kyshtim Corporation Limited. — The board having
recently received advice from Russia, anticipates that there
will be available for distribution as a final dividend on the
ordinary shares in respect of the year 1912 a sum not less
than £200,000. From results obtained by the Russian
company during the current year, the directors anticipate
that they will be able to declare an interim dividend of 2s.
per share, payable in the early part of December.

Locket’s Merthyr Collieries (1894) Limited. — The
directors, in submitting to the shareholders a statement of
the accounts for the year ending February 28, 1913, state
that the profits, including the balance brought forward
from the last account, amount to £23,204 16s. lid. The
interest on debentures and the interim dividends on the
preference and ordinary shades paid on August 31, 1912,
together with the directors’ and trustees’ fees, amount to
£12,300, leaving a balance of £10,904 16s. lid., which the
directors recommend should be dealt with as follows :—By
payment of a final dividend of 3 per cent, on the first
preference shares, £1,500; final dividend of 5 per cent, on
the second preference shares, £2,500; final dividend of 5 per
cent, on the ordinary shares, £2,500, leaving a balance to
be carried forward of £4.404 16s. lid.

Midland Screw and Steel Company Limited.—This
private company has been registered, with a capital of
£7,500 in £1 shares, to carry on the business of manufac-
turers of bolts, nuts, screws, &c. First directors, W. E.
Bryce (managing director), and G. Broughton.

Mitchells Limited. — This private company has been
registered in Edinburgh, with a capital of £15,000, in £1
shares, to carry on business as iron and steel merchants,
engineers, &c. Managing director, John Mitchell. Regis-
tered office, 142, Queen-street, Glasgow.

Natal Steam Coal Company Limited.—The report for

1912	states that the net profit of the year amounts to £3,553
(as against £1,526 last year), making, with the amount
brought forward, an available balance of £6,585, out of
which it is proposed, in accordance with the usual practice,
to write off the year’s outlay on additional plant, &c.,
amounting to £229, so that the property account may be
maintained on the balance-sheet at the round sum of
£100,000. The output for the year 1912 was 61,784 tons,
all of which was disposed of. After considerable negotia-
tions a coalowners’ association has been formed of most of
the principal collieries in Natal, with a view to putting a
stop to the senseless competition which had been carried on
by the majority of the collieries. The directors have con-
sidered it advisable to join this association. In view of the
improved aspect of the coal trade the directors considered
it advisable to purchase an electrical plant for coal-cutting,
ventilating and lighting the mine, as this colliery is one of
the very few which has not an electrical plant at work. The
order has already been placed. The company’s available
cash resources are sufficient to defray the cost of this plant,
estimated, with a probable further expenditure for a
washing plant, at between £5,000 and £6,000, but it would
not be prudent to pay a dividend this year in addition
thereto.

Ryder (Thomas) and Son Limited.—This company has
been registered, with a capital of £20,000, in £1 shares, to
take over the business of Thomas Ryder and Son, carried
on at Turner Bridge Ironworks, Tonge, Bolton. First
directors, T. Ryder and G. A. Ryder. Registered office,
Turner Bridge Ironworks, Turner Bridge, Bolton.

Tweefontein Colliery Company Limited.—The directors
report for the year ended December 31, 1912, that the gross
profit, including miscellaneous revenue, amounts to
£28,771. After deducting debenture interest, London
charges, and allowances for depreciation, amounting to
£16,453, there remains a balance of £12 318. To this there
falls to be added the amount carried forward from last
year’s accounts to the credit of profit and loss—namely,
£4,539, less the interim dividend for 1912 at the rate of
Is. 3d. per share paid on November 1, 1912, £2,865—£1,673,
making a total available of £13,991. Out of this the
directors recommend the payment of a final dividend of
Is. 9d, per share on the ordinary shares, making up the rate
of dividend for the year to 15 per cent. This will absorb
£4,011 and leave a balance of £9,980 to be carried forward.
During the year the sales of coal have amounted to 308,231
tons, as against a total output for 1911 of 277,777 tons.
These have been made through the Transvaal Coalowners’
Association. The monthly sales have exceeded the minimum
allotment to the colliery. Arrangements have been made
for a renewal of the agreement between the members of the
Transvaal Coalowners’ Association for a period of five years
from July 1 next. The efforts of the Coalowners’ Associa-
tion to secure such an adjustment of railway rates as would
enable Transvaal coal to compete in Eastern markets have
been recognised in principle by the authorities, and a rebate
of Is. per ton has been granted on all coal for export sent to
Lourenc^o Marques. It is hoped, however, that a further
adequate reduction will be made. Two boreholes put down
over 1,000 yards ahead of the working faceshave proved the
regularity of the main as well as of upper and lower seams.
The board regret that the arrangements of the Transvaal
Hydraulic Power Syndicate for the erection of a power
station and chemical factory have not yet been completed.

At Ystradgynlais, on the 13th inst., Dd. Edmund James,
colliery proprietor, was fined £10 and costs for keeping
94£ lb. of high explosive in an unauthorised place at the
Bryngroes Colliery, Ystradgynlais. The defence was that
the colliery had been stopped, and the explosives had
accumulated without the knowledge of defendant.

ABSTRACTS OF PATENT SPECIFICATIONS
RECENTLY ACCEPTED.

1382 (1913). Apparatus for Purifying, Cooling and Washing
Gases. H. E. Theisen, of 34, Elisabethstrasse, Munich,
Germany.—Relates to a further development of the
apparatus for purifiying, cooling and washing gases
described and claimed in the Specification of Patent
No. 22433/1910—namely, to the construction of the dis-
integrator-like apparatus, which consists of rotating, or
partly rotating and partly stationary, perforated cylindrical
and conical members, described in the specification above
mentioned. Fig. 1 is an axial section, fig. 2 a transverse
section, and figs. 3 and 4 are plan views; in accordance
with this invention, the rotating disintegrator cylinders are

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formed of angle irons I1 21, arranged parallel with the
longitudinal axis (fig. 3) or at an inclination thereto (fig. 4),
and stiffened and held in place by fiat iron or the like
rings 3l, and so arranged that one of their parts I1
is directed radially outwards, whilst the other part
21 lies substantially tangential to the stiffening rings 31 and
is connected therewith. On the apparatus being rotated,
these angle irons I1 2’ act by means of the outwardly
directed parts as centrifugal vanes or blades over their
entire length, so that this centrifugal action is an extremely
powerful one, more particularly because the radial parts of
these angle irons may be of large size. (Three claims.)

2002 (1913). Improvements in and relating to the Manu-
facture of Sulphate of Ammonium. G. N. Vis, Cuise,
Lamotte (Oise), France.—Relates to an improvement in or
modification of the process described in the Specification
for Patent No. 9609/1911. In the specification of this
patent it is mentioned that ammonium carbonate in the
solid state mixed with gypsum with the addition of water—
in a quantity which is not sufficient to dissolve the amount
of ammonium sulphate corresponding to the ammonium
carbonate—is entirely converted into ammonium sulphate
if the amount of gypsum present is sufficient. On the
other hand, this conversion in an aqueous solution occurs at
any temperature, even if the solution is saturated with
ammonium sulphate. Gaseous ammonia is passed into a
saturated solution of ammonium sulphate until 40 to
45 grammes of ammonia are taken up per litre, after which
carbonic acid is passed into the liquid, and care is taken
that any ammonia that may have been carried away is
retained in an absorption vessel. When passing carbonic
acid into the liquid it is of advantage to cool same, so that
the temperature remains below 25 degs. Carbonic acid is
introduced under continuous stirring, until all the ammonia
has been converted into carbonate. After this the quantity
of gypsum corresponding to the amount of ammonia is
added in a finely-powdered condition, while taking regard
to the fact that 5 grammes of ammonia per litre of liquid
are not converted. The mixture is gradually heated under
continuous stirring to 40 degs., which temperature is kept
constant for five to six hours. The liquid is then heated
almost to boiling and filtered. From the filtrate on cooling
about 600 kilogs. of pure ammonium sulphate is separated,
which need only be drained and dried in order to give a
first-class article of commerce. The calcium carbonate is
washed out with hot water and the wash waters are concen-
trated for crystallisation. The mother-liquor filtered off
from the ammonium sulphate is used over again to be
treated with ammonia gas and carbonic acid. (Two claims.)

8514 (1912). Improvements in or relating to Ventilating
and other Fans. H. J. Trautmann, and J. L. Copping, both
of 70, Finsbury Pavement, London.—Provision is made, in
a power-driven fan, of means for automatically reversing it
or of means for causing it to create intermittent air blasts
in one direction only. Preferably the driving spindle of the
fan is rotated continuously in one direction, and automati-
cally-operated blade-positioning mechanism is employed
whereby the angle of the blades relatively to the plane of
rotation is changed during running to give either of the
effects referred to. The operating mechanism or striking
gear for changing the angle of the blades may include
means for driving the blade-carrying member at a different
speed from that of the driving spindle, such difference of
speed being utilised to determine the intervals at which the
angle of the blades shall be changed. The difference of
speed may be effected by a friction drive being provided