1110 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. May 31, 1918. THE FREIGHT MARKET. Business in the outward coal tonnage chartering market has been conducted on the usual small lines during the past week. On the north-east coast transactions have been confined to fixtures for Scandinavian ports, excepting for the taking up of two small steamers for the carriage of coke to Dieppe at scheduled rates. Christiania has been done at 160 kr., which is on a parity with last week’s price; Gefle at 195 kr. and 205 kr., rates which show a stronger market; and Gothenburg at 175 kr. and 180 kr., figures which denote additional strength. The supply of tonnage for these directions is rather smaller, hence the advances in rates. In all other directions the market is very strongly upheld, but although orders are numerous, neutral tonnage is conspicuous by its absence, and no chartering is being done. At South Wales the French Atlantic rules the roost, practically no business being done for any other direction. An interesting fixture is that of a small steamer from London to Bilbao at 425 pesetas. Homewards the River Plate is firm at 225s. from Buenos Ayres or La Plata to the United Kingdom, and 250s. for French Atlantic discharge. Virginian coal freights are steady at 80s. to the Plate and 84s. to Brazil. The grain tonnage market at the United States is well maintained. Eastern rates are strong, but business is impeded by the many restrictions. There is a well-sustained demand for ore and phosphate tonnage at Mediterranean ports, and rates rule firm. Tyne to Christiania, 1,250 kr.; Dieppe, 150, 56s., coke; 450, 72s. 3d., coke, neutral; Gefle, 2,700, 195 kr. ; 2,500, 205 kr.; and Gothenburg, 1,600 and 2,400, 175 kr.; and 2.300. 180 kr. Cardiff to Bordeaux, 3,000, 69s., neutral; Brest, 1,650 and 1,700, 45s.; neutral; Caen, 900, 48s., neutral; Hon- fleur, 700, 48s., neutral; Mortagne, 200, 140s., sail; and Rouen, 1,000, 1,100, 1,500 and 1,700, 48s. 9d., neutral; and 900, 50s. 3d., neutral. Swansea to Trouville, 680, 700 and 900, 48s., neutral; Rouen, 1,250, 1,300 and 1,500, 48s. 9d., neutral; Dublin, 280 and 320, 17s.; and Caen, 900, 48s., neutral; and 1,100, 1,200 and 1,300, 46s. 6d., neutral. Newport to Rouen, 1,700, 48s. 9d., neutral. London to Bilbao, 400, 425 pesetas, Spanish, Later.—The following additional fixtures have been arranged :— Tyne to Gothenburg, 1,650 and 2,250, 1.85 kr. ; and Stockholm, 2,400, 205 kr. Cardiff to Caen, 600, 48s., neutral; and St. Malo, 1,100, 21s., Allied. Swansea to Rouen, 1,000, 48s. 9d., neutral; and Caen, 1.300, 46s. 6d., neutral. ABSTRACTS OF PATENT SPECIFICATIONS RECENTLY ACCEPTED. 114779. Manufacture of Wire Hopes. F. A. Bullivant, 72, Mark-lane, London, and G. M. Selby, West Ferry- road, Millwall.—The object of this invention is to provide an improved manufacture and production of ropes of the kind which consists of metal wires in combination with fibrous material, the ropes in accordance with this inven- tion being stronger, more flexible, and more durable, than such ropes as hitherto proposed, or made. According to this invention the rope is made by laying metal wires upon a core of fibrous material (such, for instance, as hemp, preferably saturated with some lubricating material) and then laying around the said metal wires fibrous material alternating with metal wires, these being applied in the process of manufacturing the rope in such a way that the fibrous material, as regards this portion, practically envelops the metal wires and separates them completely from each other and from the metal wires of the adjacent layers, an outer layer made entirely of metal wires, held close together without fibrous material, being applied to the layer of metal wires alternating with fibrous material. Such layers of metal wires alone, and of alternating fibrous material and metal wires, may be repeated any required number of times between the core and the outer layer, according to the diameter of rope required, and, for economy of manufacture, the layers of alternating fibrous material and metal wires may be applied by cords, or lengths, of the fibrous material alternating with the metal wires in the rope-making machine, so that the cords, or lengths, of fibrous material and the metal wires are laid together just as, in ordinary rope making, layers consist- ing of wires only are laid. (Two claims.) 114794. Cement from Blast Furnace Slag. A. A. J. Deckers, 45, rue de la Tour, Paris.—The process which forms the object of the present invention has essentially the object of rendering practicable the manufacture of slag cement by furnishing the means of reducing to a normal amount of from 4 per cent, to 7 per cent., the water contained in the crushed slag before admixture with lime. The invention comprises firstly the grinding of the granulated slag under water, in order to break up the granules and to liberate the water which they contain, and secondly the removal by mechanical means of the excess of water; after this there is effected the admixture of the ground slag, freed from excess of water, with quicklime which has also been previously ground. The present process consists essentially of the following opera- tions :—(1) The grinding under water of the slag granules, so as to liberate the water which they contain, and at the same time so to divide the material as to render it better able to combine with the quicklime. (2) The drying mechanically of this crushed slag, which after the operation must not contain more water than from 4 per cent, to 7 per cent. (3) The preliminary grinding of the quicklime in order to increase its power of absorbing water when it is brought into contact with the partially dried slag. (4) The mixing of the two constituent elements, namely, the slag and the lime, in the proportions required, which can then be determined absolutely. (5) The grinding of the mixture until it attains the degree of fineness requisite for a good cement. If the two operations, Nos. 1 and 2, were not carried out previously, the grinding of the mix- ture of granulated slag and of quicklime could not be effected, because the water held in the granules, if it were liberated in the grinding machine in presence of the quicklime, would cause the cement to set hard in the grinding machine itself and bring it to a standstill. By grinding the granules of slag under water, it is possible to make use of a machine of known construction, such as a ball mill, or otherwise, the construction of which admits of the introduction of water. For the drying of the ground slag an apparatus of any kind provided with a centrifugal drying receptacle can be employed, the envelope of which consists of a netting of sufficiently fine mesh to retain the ground slag whilst permitting the excess water to escape. 114809. Tool for Splitting Blocks of Coal. J. H. Chesshire, Oakwood, Hagley, Stourbridge.—This invention has for its object to provide a new or improved tool for splitting up blocks of coal and other hard substances. Coal hammers as usually provided have a pick point end and a blunt or hammer end, and in practice the blunt end is usually employed by the persons carrying out this work in domestic households, with the result that a large amount of coal is broken down into slack or dust. In some cases ordinary picks with a point at each end are used, and then commonly the side of the tool is used instead of the points, and with the object of avoiding this it has been proposed to provide such a pick with two additional arms or points at right angles to the principal arms or points. With such a tool, owing to the points being at right angles to each other, each point must be used singly, and the disadvantage of the liability of a glancing blow which applies to the ordinary pick when used on substances with an irregular hard surface, like coal, is not removed by this known arrangement. In tools of this class this invention provides a head having a series of five or more relatively short pointed projections from a central mass or boss ; the projections being radial to the axis of the handle, and substantially equidistant about the central mass or boss, so that however the tool may be held to strike a blow it cannot glance off the surface struck, as a second point always comes into action in such circumstances, and prevents the sideways glancing or turning of the tool. By reason of a substantial central mass and the short projections, a hammerlike blow may be given without the smashing effect of using a blunt hammer head. (Two claims.) 114935. Centrifugal Compressors. The British Thomson-Houston Company Limited, 83, Cannon-street, London/E.C.—The present invention has for its object to provide an improved apparatus for preventing the pulsa- tions of the column of air or other gas flowing through the machine. Pulsations in a centrifugal compressor are found to occur under certain conditions of light load, and it is known that they may be prevented by throttling the intake of the compressor, or by wasting air from the discharge side of the compressor, as by letting it discharge to atmosphere or by-passing it to the inlet. It is found that the point at which pulsations occur in any machine depends upon the volume of air which the machine is handling and the pressure of the discharge. In other words, for every volume there is a critical discharge pres- sure above which pulsations are liable to occur, and vice versa for every discharge pressure there is a critical volume below which the pulsations are liable to occur. The critical pressures and volumes in different machines vary consider- ably, and for any particular machine they can only be determined by experiment. The present invention pro- vides a suitable valve, termed a pulsation valve, and which may be placed in the compressor inlet or in a by-pass lead- ing from the discharge side of the machine, this pulsation preventing valve being actuated, regulated or set in accord- ance with the volume which the machine is handling and the discharge pressure. For certain uses centrifugal com- pressors are equipped with constant volume governors, which operate to keep a constant volume of air per unit of time passing through the machine. (Three claims.) HEW PATENTS CONNECTED WITH THE COAL AND IRON TRADES. Applications for Patents. May 21 to 25 (inclusive). [Note.—Applications arranged alphabetically under the names of the applicants (communicators in parentheses). A new number will be given on acceptance, which will replace the application number.] Anderson, W. Apparatus for production of oil fuel. (8409) Babcock and Wilcox and Kemnal, J. Steam superheaters. (8486) Baker, H. H. Superheaters. (8701) Bottomley, W. B. Treatment of peat for making useful products. (8434) British Thomson-Houston Company (General Electric Company). Electric furnaces. (8509) British Thomson-Houston Company (General Electric Company). Electric motor control. (8574). Brown, T. T. Heating devices for starting heat ex- changers. (8429). Chambers, E., and Holmes, W. Air-cooled self-compress- ing internal combustion turbine. (8403) Clerget, Blin, et Cie. Explosion engines. (8667) Cochrane, D. A. Steam engines. (8488) Cochrane, D. A. Steam generator. (8489) Crofton, W. B. Internal combustion engines. (8598) Crowther, J. Steam generators. (8485) Davidson, J. Internal combustion engines. (8389) Davis, F. W. Treatment of flue gases. (8440) Dear, H. A., and Wright. W. Q. Manufacture of fire lighters. (8499) Fonderie Officine Frejus Automobili Diatto. Direct motor- driven air, etc., compressors. (8656) Fonderie Officine Frejus Automobili Diatto. Pneumatic hammers, etc. (8657) George, J. W. Rotarv internal combustion engines. (8668) Grange Iron Company and Hoyle, H. P. Apparatus for washing coal, etc., and for separating it from its impurities. (8539) Hackford, J. E., Pearson and Son, S., and Smith, J. S. Treatment of coal, coal products, etc. (8470) Hamer, W. Steam generators. (8383) Head, Wrightson and Company. Blast furnace stoves. (8586) Heathcote, C. A., and Turton, A. J. Coal face conveyors for mines. (8686) Helps, G. Gas manufacture. (8569) Henry, J. Steam superheaters. (8486) High Speed Engine Corporation. Rotary engines. (8418) Holmes, T. E., and Stewart, D., and Company. Controll- ing gear for rolling mill, etc., steam engines. (8600) James, F. A. Rotary pumps. (8367) Kane, W. H. Internal combustion engines. (8370) Kuehnrich, P. R. Furnaces. (8611) McClements, T. Internal combustion engines. (8370) Morison, D. B. Water-tube boilers. (8563) Niblock, J. Internal combustion engines. (8368.) O’Donnell, J. P. Apparatus for use of powdered or atomised fuel in furnaces of locomotive, etc., boilers. (8503) Pickup, H. Fire-grates. (8478) Rew, R. J. Carbonisation of coal, etc. (8438) Ringquist, J. M., and Wrighton, T. G. Blast-furnace stoves. (8586) Shillito, B. J., and Wallwork and Company. Direct- current and dynamo-electric machines. (8621) Soc. Franco Beige de Fours a Coke. Horizontal coke ovens. (8583) Soc. J. and A. Niclausse. Mechanical furnace grates. (8588) Tierney, J. W. Pneumatic hand hammers. (8595) Vigano, C. Boring apparatus. (8565) Walster, J. and S. Generating coal gas in retorts. (8479) Willey, S. J. L. Steam generators. (8406) Worthy, W. H. Furnace doors, roofs, and arches (Lan- cashire boiler bridges, gas producers, roofs, etc). (8645) Complete Specifications Accepted. (To be published on June 13.) [Note.—The number following the application is that which the specification will finally bear.] 1917. 5090. Redrup, C. B. Internal combustion and other engines. (115656) 6741. Small, C. W., and Goodhead, B. Internal com- bustion engine. 115665) 6751. Baumann, K. Steam turbines. (115666) 6825. Hailwood, E. A. Burners for miners’ safety lamps. (115669) 6850. Cochrane, W. Internal combustion engines. (115673) 6887. Stuart, F. L. Conveying and loading apparatus. (106495) 7993. Sylbe and Pondorf Maschinenbauges. Rotary engines, motors, pumps, and the like. (107375) 8233. Pozzo, A., and Colonnetti, G. Apparatus for test- ing iron. (107759) 8478.. Sahlin, 0. Electric furnaces. (115719) 8875. Anthony, A. H. Float valves for boiler-feed appa- ratus. (115725) 10000. Rowlands, P. O. Liquid fuel internal combustion engines. (115735) 10283. Toogood, H. J., and Dempster and Sons, R. Con- struction of vertical retorts. (115738) 10730. Wilson, W. Coke discharger. (115742) 11002. Jones, D. J., and Bollard, T. J. Colliery trams. (115,749) 11269. Bolton, C. H. Signalling apparatus for use in con- nection with winding engines at collieries, mines, and other places. (115752) 17988. Foster, L. L., and Ruehmling, J. H. Air com- pressor. (115773) 18772. Foster, L. L., and Ruehmling, J. H. Internal combustion engines. (115776) 1918. 1048. Wilson, J. C. Control of dynamo electric ma- chinery. (115786) 2059. Pearson, E. N., and Meredith, L. Manufactured fuel. (115790) 2957. Gill, H. A. (American Steam Conveyor Corpora- tion). Ash-conveyor systems. (115792) Complete Specifications open to Public Inspection Before Acceptance. [Note.—The number following the application is that which the specification will finally bear.] 1918. 2379. Quinton, J. J. E. Poisson-. Explosion engines. (115806) 5690 Fonderie Officine Frejus Automobili Diatto. Com- bined engine and compressor. (115821) 5691 Fonderie Officine Frejus Automobili Diatto. Appa- ratus for regulating the pressure of and cooling compressed, air, etc. (115822) 7235. Elgin Gas Motor Company. Internal combustion engine. (115836) 7313. Bosch Akt.-Ges., R. Double-current dynamo ma- chines. (115839) 7473. Aubert, A. M. Furnaces. (115840) 7591. Aktiebolaget Vaporackumulator. Steam accumu- lators. (115842) 7603. Blomquist, J. V. Steam plants. (115843) GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS. %* Any of the following publications may be obtained on application at this office at the price named post free. Dominions Royal Commission.—Final Report (Printed in Book Form). (London : Printed under the authority of His Majesty’s Stationery Office). Price Is. 6d. Postage extra. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. “ Mensuration Made Easy; or, The Decimal System for the Million—with its Application to the Daily Employ- ments of the Artizan and Mechanic,” by Charles Hoare (London : Effingham Wilson, 54, Threadneedle-street, E.C. 2), price Is. net; “Ionian Bank Limited—Annual General Meeting Monday, May 13, 1918”; “Trans- actions of the Mining and Geological Institute of India (Vol. 12, Part I.), January 1918, price 4s. per part. The late Mr. G. T. Jones, manager of the Clarence Blast Furnaces and Steelworks of the Middlesbrough firm of Bell Bros. Limited and Dorman, Long and Company Limited, left estate valued at £16,303. Miners’ Relief Societies and the Whitley Report.—At the annual conference of the Central Association of Miners’ Permanent Relief Societies, held on Friday in London, Mr. J. Darlington, who presided, introduced the subject of the Whitley Report and its bearing on the relief fund movement. He asked if the work of these societies could not be brought within the scope of the objects contem- plated by the Whitley Report ? There was no more suit- able subject for mutual action between employers and employees than the dual objects of the Workmen’s Compen- sation Act and the Miners’ Permanent Relief Societies. Plainly, the adjustment of benefits and the methods of administration formed a problem deserving the close, intelligent, and sympathetic consideration of a joint com- mittee of employers and employed, instead of the present stupid method of wasting time, money, and effort in fighting cases in the County Courts. If the members of the Whitley Committee considered, as they did, that important questions as to wages, hours, etc., should form suitable subjects for deliberation by the joint councils and committees proposed, surely the lesser object of pro- vision for accidents might with equal appropriateness be referred to them. After a short discussion, the conference unanimously passed a resolution declaring that the whole problem of the disablement of members was one peculiarly suitable for the consideration of the committees and councils proposed to be set up under the Whitley Report, and empowering the consultative committee of the Central Association to bring the subject before the Mining Asso- ciation, the Miners’ Federation, the Home Secretary, and the Minister of Reconstruction.