NEIMME Transactions
Volume 23
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
TRANSACTIONS.
VOL. XXIII
18 7 3-74.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: A. REID, PRINTING COURT BUILDINGS, AKENSIDE HILL.
1874.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: A. REID, PRINTING COURT BUILDINGS, AKENSIDE HILL.
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXIII.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Report of Council............... v Ordinary
Members............... xviii
Finance Report .................. ix
Students..............................xxxviii
Account op Subscriptions ... x Subscribing Collieries.........
xli
Treasurer's Account............ xii Rules
................................. xlii
G-eneral Account ............... xiv Barometer Readings, Appen-
]
Patrons .............................. xv dix
I................................../End
Honorary and Life Members xvi Patents. Appendix II..........(y^
Officers, 1874-75.................. xvii Index
.................................)
GENERAL MEETINGS.
loYO.
PAGE.
Sep. 13.—Paper by Mr. Henry Davey " On the Differential Expansive Pumping
Engine" ..................... ... 3
Discussed ........................ ... 8
Paper by Mr. Emerson Bainbridge "On a New Description of Safety Lamp"
........................... 15
Discussed ..................... ...... 20
Oct. 11.—Paper by Mr. D. P. Morison "On Fowler's Patent Apparatus for
Loading and Unloading Pit Cages ............... 29
Discussed ........................... 35
Mr. Lebour's Paper " On the Geology of the Redesdale Ironstone District,"
discussed ..................... 41
Paper by Mr. John Wallace " On the Combustion of Coal Gas to produce Heat"
........................ 47
Discussed ........................... 60
Dec. 6.—Report of the Committee as to^the^advisability of admitting
Colliery
Engineers........................... 65
Mr. John B, Simpson's Translation of M. F. L. Cornet and M. Briart's "
Notice of Natural Pits in the Coal Measures of Belgium" ... 67
Discussed ........................... 74
(iv)
Mr. Bunning's Translation of a Paper " OnEaising Coals from Great Depths by
Atmospheric Pressure, on the system of Mons. Z.
Blanchet........................... 81
Discussed ........................... 89
1874. Feb. 14.—" Notes on Further Eesearches on the Natural Pits of Hainaut,
with
Eemarks on their Probable Origin," by Mr. G. A. Lebour...... 95
Further communication on the subject by Mr. J. B. Simpson ...
102
Discussed........................ ... 104
Paper by Mr. Frederick Hurd " On Hurd and Simpson's Coal Getting
and Air Compressing Machinery" ............... 107
Discussed ........................... 112
Mar. 7.—Paper by Mr. T. F. Hedley " On the Valuation of Mines for the
purpose of Local Taxation" .................. 117
Discussed ........................... 131
Apr. 11.—Supplementary Paper " On the Valuation of Mines for the purpose
of Local Taxation," by Mr. T. F. Hedley ............ 137
May 2.—Eemarks on Mr. Hedley's Paper " On the Valuation of Mines," by
Mr. G. C. Greenwell ..................... 145
Discussed ........................... 149
June 6.—Mr. Hedley's Paper " On the Valuation of Mines" further discussed
154
Artificial Stones exhibited by Dr. David Page............ 158
Sub-Wealden Boring discussed.................. 160
Aug. 1.—(Annual Meeting)—Officers for 1874-75 elected, Eeports, &c. ...
163
Paper by Mr. W. 0. Wood " On Morton's Ejector Condenser" ... 165
Notes " On the Coal Measures and Lower Carboniferous Strata of
Western Newfoundland," by Mr. Edwin Gilpin ......... 167
Aug 4, 5.—(Meeting at Cakdiff)—Paper by Mr. A. Bassett " On the
Diamond Drill"....................... 179
Discussed ........................... 188
Paper by Mr. W. Topley " On the Sub-Wealden Exploration" ... 185
Paper by Mr. Thomas Forster Brown " On the South Wales Coal-Field"
........................... 197
Paper by Mr. John Wallace " On the Warsop Rock Drill"...... 259
INDEX AT END OP VOLUME.
Import
The Council, in presenting their Annual Report to the Members, have again to
announce the continued prosperity of the Institute, 86 new members having
been elected during the past year. The total number now on the register,
after deducting losses by deaths and resignations, is 779, being a net
increase of 56 over the preceding year, and considerably above the average
number annually elected.
The Papers read since last August, though not numerous, contain much useful
information, and will form a valuable addition to the Proceedings of the
Institute. Mr. T. F. Hedley's Paper, " On the Valuation of Mines for the
Purposes of Rating," will, no doubt, be of much interest to colliery owners,
the subject matter having been treated of only once before in the
Transactions, namely, in 1865, when Mr. G. C. Greenwell read a Paper on the
subject.
It will be remembered that in October, 1872, it was resolved that Prizes of
Books, not exceeding £50 in value, should be awarded annually to writers of
such Papers, afterwards printed in the Transactions, as the Council should
recommend; and, in pursuance of this resolution, the first distribution has
taken place, the sum of £25 having been awarded for the following Papers
which appeared in Vol. XXII. of the Transactions, namely:—
" On the Experience afforded in the Manufacture of Coke during the last
Twelve Years," by Mr. A. L. Steavenson.
"On Coppee's Patent Coke Ovens, and the extent to which their Waste Gases
can be Utilized," by Mr. Emerson Bainbridge.
"On the Geology of the Redesdale Ironstone District," by Mr. G. A. Lebour.
"On the Pictou Coal-Field," by Mr. E. Gilpin.
"On the Different Systems of Opening Bridges," by Mr. Charles Wawn.
And the compilation of the "Barometer and Thermometer Readings at Kew and
Glasgow, List of Patents," etc., by the Secretary.
It was stated in the Report of last year that arrangements had been made to
Dubhsh, in a separate volume, the Sections of Strata contained in
a
(vi)
the Boring and Strata Books of the late Mr. John Watson, and that, in order
to make the volume additionally valuable as a reference, it had been decided
that the members of the Institute should be invited to contribute such
descriptions of Borings and Sinkings as they might be willing to have
published. In reply to this invitation, particulars of a large number of
Sinkings and Borings have been received, and many more are promised. The
progress of the work has necessarily been somewhat slow, but it is hoped the
volume will soon be ready for publication.
During the past year, arrangements have been made with the following
Societies for an exchange of Transactions:— The Civil Engineers of Ireland.
The Cleveland Institute of Engineers. Les Ingenieurs Civils de France.
In December, 1873, a Deputation from the Institute of Colliery Engineers
waited upon the Council, with a view to effecting an arrangement whereby
their members might join this Institute on payment of a reduced
subscription. As it appeared such a proceeding would involve a change in the
Bules of this Institute, a Committee was appointed to give the subject
consideration. This Committee having subsequently recommended that no such
change should be made, the application was declined.
On the recommendation of the Council, it was decided last year that the
surplus funds of the Institute should be invested in shares of the Institute
and Coal Trade Chambers Co. Limited, and that the sum of £2,000, invested
with the Tyne Commissioners, should be withdrawn, and applied for that
purpose, as opportunity occurred.
Shares to the amount of £2,040 have already been bought up, upon which a
dividend, at the rate of £6 per cent., was received last March, for the year
then ending, which is a much higher rate of interest than was received when
the money was invested with the Tyne Commissioners, and a yet more important
advantage is gained by the step, in securing to the Institute the building
which it now partly occupies as offices, and of which it may thus, in the
course of a few years, become wholly possessed.
ADVEETISEMENT.
The Institute is not as a body responsible for the facts and opinions
advanced in the Papers read, and in the Abstracts of the Conversations which
occurred a the Meetings during the Session.
^urrea at me
Jfinance Report.
The Finance Committee have to report that the income for the past year shows
an increase, as compared with the preceding year, of £214 5s. 7d. The
receipts, from all sources, in 1872-3 being £1,730 12s. Id., and in 1873-4,
£1,944 17s. 8d.
The expenditure has been £510 10s. 9d. below the income of the year. In
accordance with the recommendation of the Council, agreed to by the General
Meeting in June, 1873, the Stephenson legacy of £2,000, invested with the
Tyne Commissioners, has been withdrawn for the purchase of shares in the
Institute and Coal Trade Chambers Co. Limited, and the Committee recommend
that a similar investment be made of the present surplus funds.
Signed on behalf of the Finance Committee,
WILLIAM COCHRANE.
CO
Dr. THE TREASURER IN ACCOUNT
£ s. d.
To 657 Old Members, as per List, 1873-74...............1379 14 0
To 61 New Members do. ............... 128 2
0
To 66 Old Students do. ...............
69 6 0
To 6 Old Students paid as Members ............... 6 6
0
To 25 New Students, as per List, 1873-74.......... ...... 26 5
0
To 2 Life Members'Subscriptions.................. 40 0 0
To 15 Subscribing Collieries..................... 73 10 0
1723 3 0
To Arrears, as per last Balance Sheet .........203 14 0
Deduct. Irrecoverable Arrears not inserted in 1873-74 List (Dead,
Eesigned, &c.) ,.............. 81 18 0
Actual Arrears to collect, 1873-74 ... 121
16 0
To Arrears considered irrecoverable, but since paid ......... 22
3 0
£1867 2 0
WITH SUBSCRIPTIONS, 1873-74. Cr.
PAID. UNPAID..
£ s. d. £ s. d.
By 603 Old Members paid ...............1266 6 0
By 4 Do. dead ...............
8 8 0
By 4 Do. resigned ...........
8 8 0
By 2 Do. struck off ............
4 4 0
By 42 Do. unpaid............ ...
88 4 0
By - Do. paid as Students .........
„ „ „
By 2 Do. included in Life Members' subs. ...
440
By - Do. gone, no address .........
„ „ „
657
By 59 New Members paid ...............123 18 0
By 2 Do. unpaid ............
4 4 0
By - Do. gone, no address ... ...
... „ „ „
61
By 58 Old Students paid ............... 60 18 0
By - Do. dead ...............
„ „ „
By 1 Do. resigned ......... ...
110
By 3 Do. gone, no address .........
3 3 0
By 4 Do. unpaid...............
440
66
By 6 Old Students paid as Members ......... 66 0
By 25 New Students paid ............... 26 5 0
By - Do. paid as Members ......... »>»»»>
25
By 2 Life Members.................. 40 0 0
By 15 Subscribing Collieries............... 73 10 0
1597 3 0 126 0 0
By Members'Arrears.................. 48 6 0 71 8 0
By Students' Arrears.................. „ „ „ 2 2 0
1645 9 0 199 10 0
By Arrears considered irrecoverable, since paid ...... 22 3 0
--------------- 1667 12 0
Audited and certified,
24th July, 1874,
BENSON, ELAND, & Co., Public Accountants,
Newcastle-on-Tyne.---------------
£1867 2 0
(xii) TREASURER IN ACCOUNT WITH THE NORTH OF ENGLAND
Dr.
For the Tear Ending
1873.
£ s. d.
July. To Balance at Bankers ..................483 1 8
„ Balance in hands of Secretary ............... 12 11 6
„ Balance in hands of Liquidators of District Bank ...... 12
7 3
„ Bequest of the late R. Stephenson, Esq., iuvested on Mortgage
of Northumberland Dock Bates ............2000 0 0
2508 0 5
„ Interest on the above Bequest, less Income Tax ...... 93 19
1
„ Dividend on Shares in Institute and Coal Trade
Chambers Co. Limited............ 122 8 0
Less Interest paid to previous holders 78 3 7
--------------44 4 5
„ Rent of College Class Rooms ......... 50 0 0
Less Borough Rates ... ... ... 112 8
--------------48 7 4
„ Subscriptions for 1873-74 from 603 Old Members 1266 6 0
„ Do. do. 59 New Members 123 18
0
„ Do. do. 58 Old Students 60
18 0
,, Do. do. 6 do. paid as Members 6
6 0
„ Do. do. 25 New Students 26
5 0
„ Do. do. 2 Life Members 40
C 0
„ 15 Subscribing Collieries, viz :—
Bast Holywell ......... £2 2 0
Haswell ... ......... 4 4 0
Hetton ............ 10 10 0
Kepier Grange ......... 2 2 0
Lambton ............ 10 10 0
North Hetton ......... 6 6 0
Rainton ............ 10 10 0
Ryhope ............ 4 4 0
Seghill ........."... 2 2 0
South Hetton and Murton ... 880
Stella ............ 2 2 0
Throckley............ 2 2 0
Wearmouth ......... 440
Whitworth............ 2 2 0
Ashington ... ...... ... 2 2 0
----------- 73 10 0
„ Members' Arrears ............... 48 6 0
„ Students' Arrears ............... „ „ „
1645 9 0
„ Arrears considered as irrecoverable, since paid ... 22 3 0
--------------- 1667 12 0
„ Sale of Publications per A. Reid......... 100 14 6
Less 10 per Cent. Commission ...... 9 19 8
-------------- 90 14 10
£4452 18 x
fxiii) INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
August, 1874.
Cb.
£ s. d.
1874. By paid A. Reid, Publishing Account ......£480 19 8
„ Do. Covers for Parts and Stitching ... 33 9
6
„ Do. Binding and Sewing Volumes ... 35 19
6
„ Do. Postage ............ 41 4 6
„ Do. Stationery and Circulars ... ... 105
0 4
„ Do. Library............ 16 5 6
-------------- 712 19 0
„ Secretary's Incidental Expenses and Postage...... ... 85 16
4
„ Sundry Small Accounts ............ ... ... 9
18 4
„ Travelling Expenses ............... ... 15 10 0
„ Secretary's Salary..................... 200 0 0
,, Assistant's do................... ... 50 0 0
„ Reporter's do................... ... 12 12 0
„ Purchase of 102 Shares in Institute and Coal Trade Chambers
Co. Limited @ £20 .................. 2040 0 0
„ Payments on Account of Furnishing ... ... ...
... 76 7 3
„ Rent.......................... 72 11 0
„ Rates and Taxes ............... ..... 14 4 8
„ Fire Insurance ..................... 3 12 6
„ Coals and Gas .................... 29 7 0
„ Subscription to Natural History Society ......... 20 0
0
„ Prizes for Papers ..................... 10 14 0
„ Library........................ 80 14 10
„ Bequest of R. Stephenson, Esq., transferred to Lambton & Co.,
........................£2000
„ Balance in hands of Liquidators of District Bank ...... 12
7 3
„ Balance at Bankers .................. 927 1 1
„ Balance in hands of Secretary ............... 79 2 10
Audited and certified,
24th July, 1874,
BENSON, ELAND, & Co.,
Public Accountants,
Newcastle-on-Tyne.
£4452 18 1
- ------- h
(xiv)
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His Grace the DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
His Grace the DUKE OF CLEVELAND.
The Most Nohle the MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF LONSDALE.
The Right Honourable the EARL GREY.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF DURHAM.
The Right Honourable the EARL OP RAVENSWORTH.
The Right Honourable LORD WHARNCLIFFE.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.
The Very Reverend the DEAN AND CHAPTER OF DURHAM.
WENTWORTH B. BEAUMONT, Esq., M.P.
ELECTED.
OstDT. Hon.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ... 1863
* JAMES P. BAKER, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Wolverhampton ... 1853 1866
LIONEL BROUGH, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Clifton, Bristol ...
1855 JOSEPH DICKINSON, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Manchester ...
1853 THOMAS EVANS, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Pen-y-Bryn, Duffield
Road, Derby ..................... 1855
PETER HIGSON Esq., Inspector of Mines, 94, Cross Street,
Manchester........................ 1854 1856
* RALPH MOOR, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ......
1866
* G. W. SOUTHERN, Esq., Inspector of Mines, 17, Wentworth Place,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne .................. 1854 1866
* THOMAS E. WALES, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Swansea...... 1855
1866
* PRANK N. WARDELL, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Wath-on-Dearne,
near Rotherham..................... 1864 1868
* JAMES WILLIS, Esq., Inspector of Mines, 13, Old Elvet, Durham 1857
1871
THOMAS WYNNE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Stone ......
1853
SIR GOLDSWORTHY GURNEY, Bude Castle, Cornwall...... 1853
CHARLES MORTON, Esq., Ex-Inspector of Mines ......
1853
R. P. PHILIPSON, Esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne .........
1874
WARINGTON W. SMYTH, Esq., 28, Jermyn Street, London ...
1869
The Very Rev. Dr. LAKE, Dean of Durham ......... 1872
PROF. A. FREIRE-MARRECO, M.A., College of Physical Science,
Newcastle........................ 1872
„ A. S. HERSCHEL, B.A., F.R.A.S., do. do. ...
1872
„ W. S. ALDIS, M.At) do. do.
... 1872
Dr. DAVID PAGE, LL.D., do. do. ... 1872 M. DE BOUREUILLE,
Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur,
Conseiller d'etat, Inspecteur General des Mines, Paris ...
1853 HERR R. VON CARNALL, Berghauptmann, Ritter, etc., Breslau
Silesia, Prussia ..................... 1853
Dr. H. VON DECHEN, Berghauptmann, Ritter, etc., Bon am
Rhine, Prussia ..................... 1853
M. THEOPHILE GUIBAL, School of Mines, Mons, Belgium ...
1870
fife gbmbttp.
Ordy. Life.
E. B. COXE, Esq., Drifton, Jeddo, P.O., Luzerne Co., Penns., U.S. 1873
1874
H. J. MORTON, Esq., Garforth House, West Garforth, near Leeds 1856 1861
W. A. POTTER, Esq., Cramlington House, Northumberland (Member
of Council)............ ............ 1853 1874
* Honorary Members during term of office only.
OFFICERS, 1874-75,
SIR W. G. ARMSTRONG, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
WM. ARMSTRONG, Sen., Pelaw House, Chester-le-Street.
I. LOWTHIAN BELL, Washington, Washington Station, N. E. Railway.
WM. COCHRANE, St. John's Chambers, Grainger Street West, Newcastle.
G. B. PORSTER, Backworth House, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
JOHN MARLEY, Mining Offices, Darlington.
A. L. STEAVENSON, Durham.
WM. BOYD, 74, Jesmond Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
S. C. CRONE, Killingworth Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
THOS. DOUGLAS, Pease's West Collieries, via Darlington.
WM. GREEN, Jun., Thornelly House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
THOS. HAWTHORN, 74, Rye Hill, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
W. H. HEDLEY, Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
R. HODGSON, Whitburn, near Sunderland.
Col. JOICEY, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
H. LAWS, Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
D. P. MORISON, Collingwood Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
JAMES NELSON, King's House Engine Works, Sunderland.
Capt. NOBLE, Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
W. A. POTTER, Cramlington House, Northumberland.
J. A. RAMSAY, Washington Colliery, Co. Durham.
J. T. RAMSAY, Walbottle Hall, near Blaydon-on-Tyne.
J. B. SIMPSON, Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
JAMES WILLIS, 13, Old Elvet, Durham.
W. H. WOOD, West Hetton, Ferry Hill.
'E. F. BOYD, Moor House, near Durham. )
Sir GEO. ELLIOT, Bart., M.P., Houghton Hall, I Past
¦n jr. . \ Fence Houses.
[ Presidents.
ux-ojicio < T E F0RSTER. 7, Ellison Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne. I
JOHN DAGLISH, F.G.S., Tynemouth. ') Retiring
_R. S. NEWALL, Ferndene, Gateshead. J
Vice-Presidents.
Jlen^targ and ibasttw.
THEO. WOOD BUNNING, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
ifrst of lumbers.
AUGUST, 1874.
ELECTED.
1 Ackroyd, Thomas, Berkenshaw, Leeds.........Mar. 7, 1867
2 Adams, G. F., Guildhall Chambers, Cardiff ......Dec. 6, 1873
3 Adams, W., Cardiff ............... 1854
4 Ainslie, Aymer, Iron Ore Master, Ulverston ......Aug. 7, 1869
5 Aitken, Henry, Falkirk, N.B.............Mar. 2, 18 6 5
6 Allison, T., Belmont Mines, Guisbro' .........Feb. 1,1868
7 Anderson, C. W., St. Hilda Colliery, South Shields ... Aug. 21, 1852
8 Anderson, William, Rainton Colliery, Fence Houses ... Aug. 21, 1852
9 Andrews, Hugh, Eastfield Hall, Bilton, Northumberland Oct. 5, 1872
10 Appleby, C. E., Renishaw Colliery, near Chesterfield Aug. 1, 1861
11 Archbold, James, Engineer, Ryton-on-Tyne ......Feb. 1, 1873
12 Archer, T., Dunston Engine Works, Gateshead......July 2,1872
13 Arkless, John, Tantoby, Burnopfield .........Nov. 7,1868
14 Armstrong, Sir W. G., C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., Jesmond,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ......(President) May 3, 1866
15 Armstrong-, William, Senior, Pelaw House, Chester-le-
Street, ......... (Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
16 Armstrong, W., jun., Wingate, Co. Durham ......April 7,1867
17 Armstrong, W. L., 5, Hawthorn Terrace, Newcastle ... Mar. 3, 1864
18 Ashwell, H., Anchor Colliery, Longton, No. Staffordshire Mar. 6, 1862
19 Asquith, T. W., Seaton Delaval Colliery, Northumberland Feb. 2,1867
20 Attwood, C, Holywood House, Wolsingham, Darlington May 7, 1857
21 Aubrey, R. C, Astley House, Woodlesford, near Leeds Feb. 5, 1870
22 Austin, C. D., 40, Mosley Street, Newcastle ......July 2, 1872
23 Aynsley, Wm., West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street Mar. 3, 1873
24 Bachke, A. S., Ytterven Mines, near Drontheim, Norway Mar. 5, 1870
25 Bagnall, T., jun., Milton Ernest Hall, Bedford......Mar. 6, 1862
26 Bailes, John, Wingate Colliery, Ferryhill ......Sept. 5,1868
27 Bailes, T., jun. 41, Lovaine Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne Oct. 7, 1858
(xix)
ELECTED.
28 Bailey, G., St. John's Colliery, Wakefield ......June 5, 1869
29 Bailey, Samuel, The Pleck, Walsall, Staffordshire ... June 2,
1859
30 Bailey, W. W., Kilburn, near Derby .........May 13,1858
31 Bainbridge, E., Nunnery Colliery Offices, Sheffield ... Dec. 3,
1863
32 Barclay, A., 54, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow ......Dec. 6, 1866
33 Barkus, Wm., Tynemouth ............Aug. 21, 1852
34 Barnes, R. J., Atherton Collieries, near Manchester ... Sept. 13,
1873
35 Barnes, T., Seaton Delaval Office, Quay, Newcastle ... Oct, 7,
1871
36 Bartholomew, C, Doncaster, Yorkshire.........Aug. 5, 1853
37 Bassett, A., Tredegar Mineral Estate Office, Cardiff ...
1854
38 Bates, Matthew, Cyfarthfa Iron Works, Merthyr Tydvil Feb. 1, 1868
39 Bates, Matthew, Bews Hill, Blaydon-on-Tyne......Mar. 3, 1873
40 Bates, Thomas, Heddon, Wylam, Northumberland ... Mar. 3, 1873
41 Bates, W. J., Bews Hill, Blaydon-on-Tyne ......Mar. 3, 1873
42 Batey, John, Newbury Collieries, Coleford, Bath ... Dec. 5,
1868
43 Beacher, E., Chapeltown, near Sheffield ......
1854
44 Beanlands, A., M.A., North Bailey, Durham......Mar. 7, 1867
45 Bell, I. Lowthian, Washington, Washington Station,
N.E. Railway...... (Vice-President) July 6, 1854
46 Bell, John, Normanby Mines, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... Oct. 1,1857
47 Bell, J. T., Wolsingham, via Darlington...... May 2, 1874
48 Bell, Thomas, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Sept. 3,
1870
49 Bell, T., jun., 2, Britannia Terrace, Saltburn-by-the-Sea Mar. 7,
1867
50 Benson, T. W., 11, Newgate Street, Newcastle ... Aug. 2,
1866
51 Berkley, C, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ......Aug. 21, 1852
52 Bewick, T. J., M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., Haydon Bridge,
Northumberland...............April 5, 1860
53 Bidder, B. P., Duffryn Collieries, Neath, Glamorganshire May 2, 1867
54 Bidder, S. P., 24, Great George Street, Westminster,
London, S.W................Dec. 4, 1869
55 Bigland, J., Bedford Lodge, Bishop Auckland......June 4,1857
56 Binns, C, Claycross, Derbyshire .........July 6, 1854
57 Biram, B., Peasely Cross Collieries, St. Helen's, Lan....
1856
58 Birkbeck, G. H., 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, London ...............Dec. 7, 1867
59 Black, James, jun., Portobello Foundry, Sunderland ... Sept. 2, 1871
60 Black, W., Hedworth Villa, South Shields ......April 2, 1870
61 Blagburn, C, Quay, Newcastle .........Sept. 2,1871
62 Blandford, Thomas, Corbridge, Northumberland ... Feb. 14, 1874
63 Bolckow, H. W. F., M.P., Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... April 5,
1855
(XX)
ELECTED.
64 Bolton, H. EL, Newchurch Collieries, near Manchester Dec.. 5, 1868
65 Boot, J. T., M.E., The Orchards, Hucknall, near Mans-
field ..................April 1, 1871
66 Booth, R. L., South Tyne Colliery, Haltwhistle ...
1864
67 Borries, Theo., Quay, Newcastle .........April 11,1874
68 Bouch, W., Shildon Works, Darlington ......June 4,1870
69 Bourne, Peter, 39, Rodney Street, Liverpool ......
1854
70 Bourne, S., West Cumberland Hematite Iron Works,
Workington ...............Aug. 21, 1852
71 Boyd, E. F., Moor House, near Durham (%Z*%ESKSi) Aug. 21, 1852
72 Boyd, Wm., 74, Jesmond Road, Newcastle
(Member of Council) Feb. 2, 1867
73 Bradford, Geo., Newbottle Colliery, Fence Houses ... Oct. 11,
1873
74 Breckon, J. R., Park Place, Sunderland ... ... Sept.
3, 1864
75 Brettell, T., Mine Agent, Dudley, Worcestershire ... Nov. 3,
1866
76 Briart, A., Ingenieur en chef des Charbonnages de
Mariemont et de Bascoup, Mons.........Sept. 2,1871
77 Brogden, James, Tondii Iron and Coal Works, Bridgend
Glamorganshire ... ... ... ...
1861
78 Brougham, the Hon. Wilfred, Brougham, Penrith ... May 6, 1871
79 Brown, E., 27, Cromwell Street, Newcastle ......Mar. 7, 1874
80 Brown, John, Littleworth, Hednesford, near Stafford ... Oct. 5, 1854
81 Brown, J. N., 56, Union Passage, New St., Birmingham 1861
82 Brown, Ralph, Ryhope Colliery, Sunderland ......Oct. 1, 1863
83 Brown, Thos. Forster, Guildhall Chambers, Cardiff ...
1861
84 Browne, B. C, Assoc. M.I.C.E., North Ashfield House,
Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Oct. 1, 1870
85 Bruton, W., M.E., Whitwood Collieries, nearNormanton Feb. 6, 1869
86 Bryham, William, Rosebridge, &c, Collieries, Wigan ... Aug. 1, 1861
87 Bryham, W., jun., Douglas Bank Collieries, Wigan ... Aug. 3, 1865
88 Bunn, R. T., Grey Street, Newcastle .........Dec. 6,1873
89 Bukning, Theo. Wood, Neville Cottage, Newcastle-
on-Tyne ......(Secretary and Treasurer) 1864
90 Burn, James, The Avenue, Sunderland.........Aug. 2,1866
91 Burrows, James, Douglas Bank, Wigan, Lancashire ¦ •• May 2, 1867
92 Cabry, J., Blyth and Tyne Railway Offices, Newcastle... Sept. 4, 1869
93 Caldwell, George, Moss Hall Colliery, near Wigan ... Mar. 6,
1869
94 Campbell, James, Stave!ey Works, Chesterfield......Aug. 3, 1865
95 Carr, Charles, Waterhead, Windermere.., ......Aug. 21,1852
(xxi)
ELECTED.
96 Carr, Matthew, Scotswood, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... May 3, 1873
97 Carr, Wm. Cochrane, South Benwell, Newcastle ... Dec. 3, 1857
98 Carrington, T., jun., Kiveton Park Coll., near Sheffield .- Aug. 1,
1861
99 Catron, J., Shincliffe Colliery Offices, near Durham ... Nov. 3, 1866
100 Chadborn, B.T., Pinxton Collieries, Alfreton, Derbyshire
1864
101 Chambers, A. M., Thorncliffe Iron Works, nr. Sheffield Mar. 6, 1869
102 Chambers, H., Tinsley Collieries, Sheffield ......Dec. 2, 1871
103 Chapman, M., Plashetts Colliery, Falstone, Northd. ... Aug. 1, 1868
104 Charlton, E., Evenwood Colliery, Bishop Auckland ... Sept. 5, 1868
105 Charlton, F., C.E., Moot Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...Sept. 2,1871
106 Checkley, Thomas, M.E., Lichfield Street, Walsall ... Aug. 7, 1869
107 Cheesman, I., Throckley Colliery, Newcastle ... Feb. 1,
1873
108 Childe, Rowland, Wakefield, Yorkshire ......May 15, 1862
109 Clarbour, Fountain, 11, Mark Lane, Withy Grove,
Manchester ........ ... Nov. 1, 1873
110 Clark, C.F., Garswood Coal & Iron Co., near Wigan... Aug. 2, 1866
111 Clark, G., Ravenhead Colliery, St. Helen's, Lancashire Dec. 7, 1867
112 Clark, G., jun., Monkwearmouth Engine Works, Sunder-
land ..................Dec. 6, 1873
113 Clark, N., South Tanfield, Chester-le-Street......June 6,1868
114 Clark, R. P., 22, Windsor Terrace, Newcastle ... Nov. 7,
1868
115 Clark, W., M.E., The Grange, Teversall, nr. Mansfield April 7, 1866
116 Clark, William, Victoria Engine Works, Gateshead ... Dec. 7,1867
117 Clarke, T., Ince Hall Collieries, Wigan - ......Mar. 2,1872
118 Coates, C. N., Whitefield House, Acklington......May 3,1866
119 Cochrane, B., Aldin Grange, Durham ......Dec. 6, 1866
120 Cochrane, C, The Grange, Stourbridge ......June 3, 1857
121 Cochrane, H., The Longlands, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... Mar. 4, 1871
122 Cochrane, W., Oakfield House, Coxlodge, Northum-
berland ......... (Vice-President) 1859
123 Cockburn, G., 8, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle ... Dec. 6,
1866
124 Cockburn, W., Upleatham Mines, Upleatham, Marske. Oct. 1, 1857
125 Coke, R. G., Tap ton Grove, Chesterfield, Derbyshire May 5, 1859
126 Cole, H. A. B., Willington Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne Mar. 3, 1873
127 Cole, Richard, Walker Colliery, nr. Newcastle-on-Tyne April 5, 1873
128 Cole, Robert E., Willington Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne Nov. 2, 1872
129 Cole, W. R., Bebside Colliery, Cowpen Lane, Northd. Oct. 1, 1857
130 Collis, W. B., High House, Stourbridge, Worcestershire June 6, 1861
131 Cook, J., jun., Washington Iron Works, Gateshead ... May 8, 1869
132 Cook, R. F., Esh Colliery, Durham ......... i860
(xxii)
ELECTED.
133 Cooke, John, North Brancepeth Colliery, nr. Durham Nov. 1, 1860
134 Cooksey, Joseph, West Bromwich, Staffordshire ... Aug. 3,
1865
135 Cooper, P., Thornley Colliery Office, Ferryhill ... Dec. 3,
1857
136 Cooper, E. E., C.E., York Place, Leeds ......Mar. 4, 1871
137 Cooper, T., Park Gate, Rotherham, Yorkshire ... April 2,
1863
138 Cope, James, Port Yale, Longport, Staffordshire ... Oct. 5,
1872
139 Corbett, Y. W., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour Sept. 3, 1870
140 Coulson, F., Shamrock House, Durham ... ... Aug. 1,
1868
141 Coulson, W., Shamrock House, Durham ......Oct. 1, 1852
142 Cowen, Joseph, M.P., Blaydon Burn, Newcastle ... Oct. 5, 1854
143 Cowey, John, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... Nov. 2, 1872
144 Cowlishaw, J., Thorncliffe, &c, Collieries, nr. Sheffield Mar. 7,
1867
145 Coxon, Henry, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 2, 1871
146 Coxon, S. B., Usworth Colliery, Washington Station,
Co. Durham ......... ... ... June 5, 1856
147 Craig, W. Y., Milton House, Alsager, Stoke-upon-Trent Nov. 3, 1866
148 Crawford, T., Littletown Colliery, near Durham ... Aug.|21, 1852
149 Crawford, T., Bishop Middleham Colliery, nr. Ferryhill Sept. 3, 1864
150 Crawford, T., jun., Littletown Colliery, near Durham Aug. 7, 1869
151 Crawshay, E., Gateshead-on-Tyne ... ......Dec. 4, 1869
152 Crawshay, G., Gateshead-on-Tyne ... ......Dec. 4, 1869
153 Creighton, C. E., 10, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne May 6, 1871
154 Crofton, J. G., Kenyon Collieries, Ruabon, Denbighshire Feb. 7, 1861
155 Crone, J. R., Stanhope, Darlington .........Feb. 1, 1868
156 Crone, S. C, Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle-upon-
Tyne ... ... ... {Mem her of Council)
1853
157 Cross, John, 78, Cross Street, Manchester ......June 5, 1869
158 Croudace, C. J., Tondu Iron & Coal Works, Bridgend,
Glamorganshire ...............Nov. 2, 1872
159 Croudace, John, The Priory,Monkseaton ... ... June 7,
1873
160 Croudace, Thomas, Lambton Lodge, New South Wales 1862
161 Croudace, T. Dacre, Newstead, Nottingham......Mar. 7, 1867
162 Daglish, John, F.G.S.,Tynemouth (ifember of Council) Aug. 21, 1852
163 Daglish, W. S., Solicitor, Newcastle .........July 2,1872
164 Dakers, J., Old Durham Colliery, Durham ......April 11, 1874
165 Dakers, W., Tyne Main Colliery, Gateshead......April 7, 1866
166 Dale, David, West Lodge, Darlington.........Feb. 5, 1870
167 D'Andrimont, T., Liege, Belgium .........Sept. 3, 1870
168 Daniel, W., 11, Blenheim Square, Leeds ......June 4, 1870
(xxiii)
ELECTED.
169 Darlington, John, 2, Coleman Street Buildings, Moor-
gate Street, Great Swan Alley, London ... ... April 1, 1865
170 Davey, Henry, C.E., Leeds %............Oct. 11, 1873
171 Davidson, James, Newbattle Colliery, Dalkeith ...
1854 172-Davison, A., Hastings Cottage, Dudley, Northumberland Feb.
4,1858
173 Day, W. H., Eversley Garth, So. Milford ......Mar. 6,1869
174 Dees, J., Whitehaven...............Nov. 1,1855
175 Dees, R. R., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Oct. 7,1871
176 Dickinson, G. T., Wheelbirks, Northumberland ... July 2, 1872
177 Dickinson, J. L., Belle Yue House, Shotley Bridge ... Aug. 6, 1870
178 Dickinson, R., Coalowner, Shotley Bridge ......Mar. 4,1871
179 Dickinson, W. R., Priestfield Lodge, Lintz Green, Co.
Durham ..................Aug. 7, 1862
180 Dinning, Joseph, Langley Smelt Mills, Northd. ... April 5,
1873
181 Dixon, D. W., Skelton Park Pit, Marske-by-the-Sea ... Nov. 2, 1872
182 Dixon, George, Lowther Street, Whitehaven......Dec. 3, 1857
183 Dobson,W., Baron House, Gilsland Station, N.E. Railway Sept. 4, 1869
184 Dodd, B., Bearpark Colliery, near Durham ......May 3,1866
185 Dodds, J., M.P., Stockton-on-Tees .........Mar. 7, 1874
186 Donaldson, P., Alipore, Calcutta .........Nov. 1, 1873
187 Douglas, C. P., Consett Iron Works, Gateshead ... Mar. 6,
1869
188 Douglas, T., Pease's West Collieries, Darlington
(Member of Council) Aug. 21, 1852
189 Douthwaite, T., Merthyr Yale Colliery, Merthyr Tydvil June 5, 1869
190 Dove, G., Portland Square, Carlisle .........July 2, 1872
191 Dowdeswell, H., Flour Mill Colliery, Bream, near
Sydney, Gloucestershire............April 5, 1873
192 Dunlop, Colin, jun., Quarter Iron Works, Hamilton ... Sept. 3, 1870
193 Dunn, D. G., ..................April 6, 1867
194 Dyson, George, Middlesborough .........June 2,1866
195 Dyson, O., Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........Mar. 2, 1872
196 Easton, J., Nest House, Gateshead ......... 1853
197 Eaton, J. R., 5, Saville Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Dec. 4,
1869
198 Eaton, W. C, Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........June 6, 1874
199 Elliot, Sir G., Bart., M.P., Houghton Hall, Fence
HOUSeS ... ... ... ...
(iiemberofCouncil) AUg. 21, 1852
200 Elliott, W., Tudhoe House, Durham......... 1854
201 Elliott, W. D., Pemberton Street, Hull ......Oct. 11, 1873
202 Embleton, T. W., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds ... Sept. 6, 1855
(xxiv)
ELECTEI>.
203 Embleton, T. W., jun., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds ... Sept. 2, 1865
204 Eminson, J. B., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour Mar. 2, 1872
205 Emslie, J. T.,..................Sept. 3, 1870
206 Everard, I. B., M.E., 6, Millstone Lane, Leicester ... Mar. 6,
1869
207 Farmer, A., Westbrook, Darlington .........Mar. 2,1872
208 Farrar, James, Old Foundry, Barnsley.........July 2,1872
209 Favell, Thos. M., 14, Saville Street, North Shields .. April 5,
1873
210 Fearn, John Wilmot, Chesterfield .........Mar. 6,1869
211 Fenwick, Barnabas, Team Colliery, Gateshead ... Aug. 2,
1866
212 Fenwick, George, Banker, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,
1871
213 Fenwick, Thomas, East Pontop Colliery, by Lintz Green April 5,1873
214 Fidler, E., Piatt Lane Colliery, "Wigan, Lancashire ... Sept.
1,1866
215 Firth, 8., M.A., 16, York Place, Leeds ... ...
1865
216 Firth, William, Burley Wood, Leeds...... ...Nov. 7,1863
217 Fisher, R. C, Ystalyfera, near Swansea ......July 2,1872
218 Fletcher, G., Trimdon Colliery, Trimdon Grange ... April 4, 1868
219 Fletcher, H., Ladyshore Coll., Little Lever, Bolton, Lan. Aug. 3,
1865
220 Fletcher, I., M.P., Clifton Colliery, Workington ... Nov. 7,
1863
221 Fletcher, J., C.E., 69, Lowther Street, Whitehaven ...
1857
222 Fletcher, W., Croft, Windermere .........Feb. 4,1871
223 Foord, J. B., Secretary General Mining Association,
52, Old Broad Street, London .........Nov. 5,1852
224 Forrest, J., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Pentrehobin Hall, Mold,
Flintshire..................Mar. 5, 1870
225 Forster, G. B., M. A., Backworth House, near New-
castle-upon-Tyne...... (Vice-President) Nov. 5, 1852
226 Forster, George E., Washington, Gateshead......Aug. 1, 1868
227 Forster, J. R., Water Co.'s Office, Newcastle......July 2, 1872
228 Forster, Richard, White House, Gateshead ......Oct. 5, 1872
229 Forster, R., Trimdon Grange Colliery, Ferryhill ... Sept. 5,
1868
230 Forster, T. E., 7, EUison Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne
/ Past President \ A110. 91 18^9 ^Member of Council/ Jxll&'
&*-, 1.006
231 Foster, Geo., Osmondthorpe Colliery, near Leeds ... Mar. 7,
1874
232 Fothergill, J., King Street, Quay, Newcastle......Aug. 7, 1862
233 Fowler, G., Basford Hall, near Nottingham......July 4,1861
234 Fowler, W. C, Babbington Collieries, Nottingham ... Aug. 6, 1870
235 France, W., Lofthouse Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... April 6, 1867
236 Frazer, B., Quay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ......Oct. 4, 1866
237 Frazer, W., 5, East Parade, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Oct. 4, 1866
(Xxv)
ELECTED.
238 Frazier, Prof. B. W., Lehigh University, Bethlehem,
Penns., U.S................Nov. 2,1872
239 Fryar, M., C.E., Post Office, Rangoon, British Burmah Sept. 7, 1867
240 Furness, H. D., Whickham, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... Dec. 2, 1871
241 Gainsford, T. R., Whiteley Wood Hall, near Sheffield Nov. 5, 1864
242. Galloway, R. L., Barmoor, Ryton .........Dec. 6,1873
243 Gardner, Walter, M.E., The Stone House, Rugeley ... Feb. 14, 1874
244 Garforth, W. E., Lord's Field Coll., Ashton-under-Lyne Aug. 2, 1866
245 Gerrard, John, Westgate, Wakefield.........Mar. 5, 1870
246 Gill, Harry, Consulting Engineer, Newcastle ... ... May 2,
1874
247 Gille, J., Ingenieur au Corps Royal des Mines, Mons Sept. 2, 1871
248 Gillett, F. C, 16, Tenant Street, Derby ......July 4, 1861
249 Gilpin, Edwin, 26, Spring Gardens, Halifax,Nova Scotia April 5,1873
250 Gilroy, G., Ince Hall Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... Aug. 7,
1856
251 Gilroy, S. B., Assistant Government Inspector of
Mines, Stone, Staffordshire............Sept. 5, 1868
252 Gjers, John, South Field Villas, Middlesbro'......June 7, 1873
253 Goddard, D. H., Newcastle-on-Tyne.........July 2,1872
254 Goddard, W., Golden Hill Coll., Longton, No. Stafford. March 6, 1862
255 Gooch, G. H., Lintz Colliery, Burnopfield, Gateshead... Oct. 3,
1856
256 Goodman, A., Walker Iron Works, Newcastle ... Sept. 5, 1868
257 Gott, Wm. L., Shincliffe Collieries, Durham......Sept. 3, 1864
258 Grace, E. N., Dhadka, Assensole, Bengal, India ... Feb. 1,
1868
259 Grant, J. H., care of C. Grant, 69, Lower Circular
Street, Calcutta ...............Sept. 4, 1869
260 Gray, Thomas, IJnderhill, Taibach, South Wales ... June 5,1869
261 Greaves, J. O., M.E., St. John's, Wakefield......Aug. 7, 1862
262 Green, J. T., 5, Victoria PL, Newport, Monmouthshire Dec. 3, 1870
263 Green, W., jun., Garesfield Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne
{Member of Council) Feb. 4, 1853
264 Greener, Thos., Benton Lodge, Darlington ... ... Aug.
3,1865
265 Greenwell, G. C, F.G.S., Poynton and Worth Collieries,
Stockport ..................Aug. 21, 1852
266 Greenwell, G. C, jun., Poynton, near Stockport ... March 6, 1869
267 Greig, D., Leeds ...............Aug. 2,1866
268 Grey, C. G., Dilston, Northumberland ......May 4, 1872
269 Griffith, N. R., 13, Grosvenor Road, Wrexham ...
1866
270 Grimshaw, E. J., Cowley Hill, St. Helen's, Lancashire Sept. 5, 1868
271 Grimshaw, W. J., Stand Lane Coll., Radcliffe, Manchstr. Nov. 1,1873
d
(xxvi)
ELECTED.
272 Ground, H. N., Brotton Ironstone Mines, near Salt-
burn-by-the-Sea ............... July 2, 1872
273 Guinotte, Lucien, Directeur des Charbonnages de
Mariemont et de Baseoup, Mons ... ... ... Sept. 2,1871
274 Haggie, P., Gateshead............ .. 1854
275 Hair, T. C, Shire Moor CoUiery, Earsdon, Northumld. Feb. 1, 1873
276 Hales, C, Englesea Brook, Barthomley, by Crewe, Ches.
1865
277 Hall, Edward, 24, Bigg Market, Newcastle ...... Oct. 3, 1868
278 Hall, F. W., 23, St. Thomas' Street, Newcastle ... Aug. 7,
1869
279 Hall, Henry, Westbury Villa, Swansea ......
280 Hall, M., Pease's West Collieries, via Darlington ... Sept. 5,
1868
281 Hall, M. S., M.E., Woodlesford, near Leeds...... Feb. 14, 1874
282 Hall, W., Albion Mines, Pictou, Nova Scotia ... Sept. 13,
1873
283 Hall, William F., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses ... May 13, 1858
284 Hann, Edmund, Brotton, near Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Sept. 5, 1868
285 Hargreaves, William, Rothwell Haigh, Leeds ... Sept. 5,
1868
286 Harkness, A., Birtley Iron Works, Fence Houses ... Dec. 5, 1868
287 Harper, J. P., All Saints' Chambers, Derby...... Feb. 2, 1867
288 Harper, Matthew, Whitehaven ......... Oct. 1, 1863
289 Harrison, R., Eastwood Collieries, Nottingham ...
1861
290 Harrison, T., Rhos Llantwit Colliery, Caerphilly, near
Cardiff ................. Aug. 2, 1873
291 Harrison, T. E., C.E., Central Station, Newcastle ... May 6,
1853
292 Harrison, W. B., Brownhills Collieries, near Walsall... April 6, 1867
293 Haswell, G. H., 11, South Preston Terr., North Shields March 2, 1872
294 Hay, J., jun., Widdrington Colliery, Ashington ... Sept. 4,
1869
295 Hawthorn, T., 74, Rye Hill, Newcastle
{Member of Council) Dec. 6, 1866
296 Hawthorn, W., C.E., 92, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle ... March 4, 1853
297 Head, J., Newport Rolling Mills, Middlesbro' ... Oct. 2,
1869
298 Heckels, Matthew, Boldon Colliery, Durham...... April 11, 1874
299 Heckels, R., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... Nov. 5,
1852
300 Hedley, Edward, Osmaston Street, Derby ...... Dec. 2, 1858
301 Hedley, J. J., Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... April 6,
1872
302 Hedley, J. L., 3, Elm Vale, Fairfield, Liverpool ... Feb. 5,
1870
303 Hedley, T. F./Valuer, Sunderland .........March 4, 1871
304 Hedley, W. H., Consett Collieries, Medomsley, New-
castle-on-Tyne ......{Member of Council) 1864
305 Henderson, H., Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street ... Feb. 14,
1874
(xxvii)
ELECTED.
306 Henderson, John, Leazes House, Durham ......March 5, 1870
307 Heppell, T., Leafield House, Birtley, Fence Houses ... Aug. 6, 1863
308 Heppell, W., Brancepeth Coll., Willington, Co. Durham March 2, 1872
309 Herdman, J., Park Crescent, Bridgend, Glamorganshire Oct. 4, 1860
310 Heslop, C, Upleatham Mines, Marske ......Feb. 1, 1868
311 Heslop, Grainger, Whitwell Colliery, Sunderland ... Oct. 5,
1872
312 Heslop, J., Hucknall Torkard Coll., near Nottingham Feb. 6, 1864
313 Hetherington, D., Coxlodge CoUiery, Newcastle ...
1859 ¦314 Hetherington, Robert, Coanwood, Haltwhistle ... Nov.
1, 1873
315 Hewitt, G. C, Coal Pit Heath Colliery, near Bristol ... June 3, 1871
316 Hewlett, A., Haigh Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... March 7, 1861
317 Hick, G. W., 14, Blenheim Terrace, Leeds ......May 4,1872
318 Higson, Jacob, 94, Cross Street, Manchester ... ...
1861
319 Higson, P., jun., Hope View, Eccles, near Manchester.. Aug. 3, 1865
320 Hill, P., Littleburn Colliery, near Durham ......July 2,1872
321 Hilton, J., Standish and Sherington Cols., near Wigan Dec. 7, 1867
322 Hilton, T. W., Wigan Coal & Iron Co., Limited, Wigan Aug. 3, 1865
323 Hodgkin, T., Banker, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 2, 1871
324 Hodgson, R., Whitburn, Sunderland {M.ember of Council) Feb. 7, 1856
325 Holmes, C, Kilton Mines, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea April 11, 1874
326 Homer, Charles James, Chatterley Hall, Tunstall ... Aug. 3, 1865
327 Hood, A., 6, Bute Crescent, Cardiff.........April 18, 1861
328 Hopper, John J., Britannia Iron Works, Fence Houses Sept. 2, 1865
329 Horsfall, J. J., Bradley Green Colliery, near Congleton March 2, 1865
330 Horsley, W., Whitehill Point, Percy Main ......March 5, 1857
331 Hoskold, H. D..................April 1, 1871
332 Howard, W. F., 13, Cavendish Street, Chesterfield ... Aug. 1, 1861
333 Hoyt, J., Acadia Coal Mines, Pictou, Nova Scotia ... May 8, 1869
334 Hudson, James, Albion Mines, Pictou, Nova Scotia ...
1862
335 Humble, John, West Pelton, Chester-le-Street ... March 4, 1871
336 Humble, Jos., jun., Pemberton Collieries, near Wigan June 2, 1866
337 Humble, W. J., Forth Banks West Factory, Newcastle Sept. 1, 1866
338 Hunt, A. H., Quayside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Dec. 6,1862
339 Hunter, W., Cannock, Staffordshire.........Oct. 3,1861
340 Hunter, Wm., Charlaw Colliery Office, Quay, Newcastle Aug. 21, 1852
341 Hunter, W. S., Moor Lodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Feb. 1, 1868
342 Hunting, Charles, Fence Houses .. ... ... Dec.
6,1866
343 Huntsman, Benjamin, West Retford Hall, Retford ... June 1, 1867
344 Hurd, F., Grove House, Walton, near Wakefield ... Dec. 4, 1869
345 Hurst, T. G., F.G.S., Riding Mill, Northumberland ... Aug. 21, 1852
(xxviii)
EJECTED.
346 Hatchings, W. M., 5, Bouverie St., Fleet St., London Sept. 5, 18G8
347 Hutchinson, G., Howden Colliery, Darlington ... July 2,
1872
348 Hyslop, J. S., Belmont Mines, Gruisbro' ......April 1,1871
349 Jackson, C. G., Wigan Coal and Iron Co, Limited, Wigan June 4,1870
350 Jackson, W., Cannock Chase Collieries, Walsall ... Feb. 14,
1874
351 Jackson, W. G., 3, Garnett Street, Saltburn......June 7, 1873
352 Jameson, John, Printing Court Chambers, Newcastle Nov. 6, 1869
353 Jarratt, J., Broomside Colliery Office, Durham ... Nov. 2,
1867
354 Jeffcock, T. W., 18, Bank Street, Sheffield ......Sept. 4, 1869
355 Jenkins, W., M.E., Ocean S.C. Collieries, Ystrad, near
Pontypridd, South Wales ............Dec. 6,1862
356 Jenkins,Wm., Consett Iron Works, Consett, Lintz Green May 2, 1874
357 Johnasson, J., Leadenhall Street, London, E.O. ... July 2,
1872
358 Johnson, Henry, Dudley, Worcestershire ... ... Aug. 7,
1869
359 Johnson, John, M. Inst. C.E., F.Gf.S., Osborne Terrace,
Jesmond Road, Newcastle......... ... Aug. 21,1852
360 Johnson, John, Euabon Coal Company, Ruabon ... March 7, 1874
361 Johnson, R. S., Sherburn Hall, Durham ......Aug. 21, 1852
362 Johnson, W. J., W.B. Lead Works, Allendale ... April 6, 1872
363 Johnston, T., North Fenham Colliery, Newcastle ... April 6, 1872
364 Joicey, E., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne......April 6, 1872
365 Joicey, John, Newton Hall, Stocksfield-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Sept. 3, 1852
366 Joicey, J. G-., Forth Banks West Factory, Newcastle... April 10, 1869
367 Joicey, W. J., Tanfield Lea Colliery, Burnopfield ... March 6,
1869
368 Jones, E., Granville Lodge, Wellington, Salop ... Oct. 5,
1854
369 Jones, John, F.G.S., Secretary, North of England
Iron Trade, Middlesbro'-on-Tees .........Sept. 7,1867
370 Joseph, D. Davis, Ty Draw, Pontypridd, South Wales April 6, 1872
371 Joseph, T., Ty Draw, near Pontypridd, South Wales .. April 6, 1872
372 Kelsey, William, 2, Grange Crescent, Sunderland ... March 7, 1874
373 Kendall, W., Blyth and Tyne Railway, Percy Main ... Sept. 1, 1866
374 Kennedy, Myles, M.E., Hill Foot, Ulverstone ... June 6, 1868
375 Kimpton, J. Gr., 40, St. Mary Gate, Derby ......Oct. 5, 1872
376 Kirkby, J. W., Pirnie Colliery, Leven, Fife......Feb. 1, 1873
377 Kirkwood, William, Larkhall Colliery, Hamilton ...Aug. 7,1869
378 Kirsopp, John, Team Colliery, G-ateshead ......April 5, 1873
379 Knowles, A., High Bank, Pendlebury, Manchester ... Dec. 5, 1856
(xxixj
ELECTED,
380 Knowles, A., Jan., The Poplars, Hope Eccles, near
Manchester..................Dec. 3, 1863
381 Knowles, John, Pendlebury Colliery, Manchester ... Dec. 5, 1856
382 Knowles, Kaye, Little Lever Colliery, near Bolton ... Aug. 3, 1865
383 Knowles, R. M., Turton, near Bolton ......Aug. 3, 1865
384 Knowles, Thomas, Ince Hall, Wigan.........Aug. 1, 1861
385 Lackland, J. J., Port Mulgrave, Saltburn-by-the-Sea... March 7, 1874
386 Lamb, R., Cleator Moor Colliery, near Whitehaven ... Sept. 2, 1865
387 Lamb, R. O., Axwell Park, Gateshead ......Aug. 2, 1866
388 Lamb, Richard W., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne... Nov. 2, 1872
389 Lambert, M. W., 44, Quay, Newcastle ......July 2, 1872
390 Lancaster, John, M.P., Bilton Grange, Rugby ... July 4,
1861
391 Lancaster, J., jun., Bilton Grange, Rugby ......March 2, 1865
392 Lancaster, Joshua, Mostyn Collieries, near Holywell... Aug. 3, 1865
393 Lancaster, S., Prescot Colliery, Prescot ......Aug. 3, 1865
394 Landale, A., Lochgelly Iron Works, Fifeshire, N.B.... Dec. 2, 1858
395 Lange, C, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne......March 5, 1870
396 Laverick, J., West Rainton, Fence Houses ......July 2, 1872
397 Lawrence, Henry, Grange Iron Works, Durham ... Aug. 1, 1868
398 Laws, H., Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Feb. 6, 1869
399 Laws, John, Blyth, Northumberland ... ......
1854
400 Lawson, Rev. E., Longhirst Hall, Morpeth......Dec. 3, 1870
401 Lawson, J. P., Vale Colliery, New Glasgow, N. Scotia Dec. 3, 1870
402 Laycock, Joseph, Low G-osforth, Northumberland ... Sept. 4, 1869
403 Leather, J. T., Middleton Hall, Belford, Northumberld. Aug. 6, 1870
404 Lebour, G-. A., Weedpark House, Dipton, Lintz Green Feb. 1, 1873
405 Lee, G-eorge, Liverton Mines, Lofthouse ......June 4, 1870
406 Leslie, Andrew, Hebburn, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... Sept. 7, 1867
407 Lever, Ellis, West Gorton Works, Manchester ...
1861
408 Lewis, G., Imperial Chambers, Derby.........Aug. 6, 1863
409 Lewis, Henry, Annesley Colliery, near Mansfield ... Aug. 2, 1866
410 Lewis, Lewis Thomas, Cadoxton Lodge, Neath ... Feb. 1, 1868
411 Lewis, William Thomas, Mardy, Aberdare ...... 1864
412 Liddell, G-. H., Burnhope Colliery, Lanchester, Co.
Durham ..................Sept. 4, 1869
413 Liddell, J. R., Nedderton, Northumberland......Aug. 21, 1852
414 Liddell, M., Prudhoe Hall, Prudhoe-on-Tyne......Oct.. 1, 1852
415 Lindop, James, Bloxwich, Walsall, Staffordshire ... Aug. 1,
1861
(xxx)
ELECTED.
416 Linsley, R., Hamsteels Colliery, near Durham ... July 2,
1872
417 Linsley, S. W., Silksworth New Winning, nr. Sunderland Sept. 4,1869
418 Lishman, John, Western Hill, Durham ... .,-. June 2,
1866
419 Lishman, T., jun., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses ... Nov. 5, 1870
420 Lishman, William, Etherley Colliery, Darlington ...
1857
421 Lishman, William, Bunker Hill, Fence Houses ... Mar. 7, 1861
422 Livesey, C, Bredbury Colliery, Bredbury, Stockport... Aug. 3, 1865
423 Livesey, T., Prestwich Park, near Manchester ... Aug. 1,
1861
424 Llewellin, D., Glanwern Offices, Pontypool, Mon-
mouthshire ... ... ... ......Aug. 4, 1864
425 Llewelyn, L., Aberaman, Aberdare, South Wales ... May 4, 1872
426 Logan, William, Langley Park Colliery, Durham ... Sept. 7,1867
427 Longbotham, J., Consett Colls., Leadgate, Co. Durham May 2, 1868
428 Longridge, J., 3, Westminster Chambers, Victoria
Street, Westminster, London, S. W......Aug. 21, 1852
429 Love, Joseph, Brancepeth Colliery, Durham......Sept. 5, 1856
430 Low, W., Vron Colliery, Wrexham, Denbighshire ... Sept. 6, 1855
431 Lupton, A., F.G.S., Bagillt, North Wales ......Nov. 6, 1869
432 Mackenzie, J., Tamworth House, 16, Whiteladies
Eoad, Clifton, Bristol ............Mar. 5, 1870
433 Maddison, W. P., Thornhill Collieries, near Dewsbury Oct. 6, 1859
434 Maling, C. T., Ford Pottery, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 5,
1872
435 Mammatt, J. E., C.E., Beechwood, Bramley, nr. Leeds 1864
436 Maeley, John, Mining Offices, Darlington
(Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
487 Marley, J. W., Mining Offices, Darlington ......Aug. 1, 1868
438 Marshall, F. C, Messrs. Hawthorn and Co., Newcastle Aug. 2, 1866
439 Marshall, J., Smithfold Coll., Little Hulton, nr. Bolton
1864
440 Marston, W. B., Leeswood Vale Oil Works, Mold ... Oct. 3, 1868
441 Marten, E. B., C.E., Pedmore, near Stourbridge ... July 2,
1872
442 Martin, Joseph S., Bury New Boad, Prestwich, near
Manchester ... ............Mar. 3, 1873
443 Martin, R. F., Colliery Office, Whitehaven ... ' ... April 11,
1874
444 Matthews, R.F., South Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses Mar. 5, 1857
445 Maughan, J. A., 6, Sandhill, Newcastle ......Nov. 7, 1863
446 May, George, Harton Colliery Offices, Tyne Dock, South
Shields ..................Mar. 6, 1862
447 McCreath, J., 138, West George Street, Glasgow ... Mar. 5, 1870
448 McCulloch, H. J.,Moat House, Wood Green,London, N. Oct. 1, 1863
(xxxi)
ELECTED.
449 McGhie, T., Cannock, Staffordshire .........Oct. 1, 1857
450 McMurtrie, J., Radstock Colliery, Bath ......Nov. 7, 1863
451 McMurtrie, W. G., Llwynypia Colliery, near Ponty-
pridd, South Wales ............Sept. 4,1869
452 Meik, Thomas, C.E., Sunderland .........June 4, 1870
453 Menzies, W., King Street, Newcastle.........Sept. 13, 1873
454 Miller, Robert, Strafford Collieries, near Barnsley ... Mar. 2,
1865
455 Mills, John, Forth Street, Newcastle.........July 2, 1872
456 Mitchell, Charles, Shipbuilder, Newcastle ......April 11, 1874
457 Mitchell, Joseph, jun., Worsbro' Dale, near Barnsley ... Feb. 14,
1874
458 Mitchinson, R., jun., Pontop Colliery, Lintz Green
Station, Co. Durham ...... ... ... Feb. 4, 1865
459 Moffat, T., New Mains, by Motherwell, N.B.......Sept. 4, 1869
- 460 Monkhouse, Jos., Yeat House, Frizington, Whitehaven June 4, 1863
461 Moody, John, Alipore Road, Calcutta ... ... ... Feb.
3, 1872
462 Moor, T., North Seaton Colliery, Morpeth ......Oct. 3, 1868
463 Moore, T. H., Smeaton Park, Inveresk, Edinburgh ... Feb. 2, 1867
464 Morison, D. P., 21, CoUingwood Street, Newcastle
(Member of Council) 1861
465 Morris, W., Waldridge Colliery, Chester-le-Street,
Fence Houses ............... 1858
466 Morrison, Jas., 34, Grey Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Aug. 5, 1853
467 Morton, H. T., Lambton, Fence Houses ......Aug. 21, 1852
468 Muckle, John, Monk Bretton, Barnsley ......Mar. 7, 1861
469 Mulcaster, W., jun., M.E., Croft House, Aspatria,
near Carlisle ...............Dec. 3, 1870
470 Mulvany, W. T., 1335, Carls Thor, Dusseldorf-on-the-
Rhine............ ......Dec. 3, 1857
471 Mundle, W., Redesdale Mines, Bellingham ......Aug. 2, 1873
472 Murray, T. H., Chester-le-Street, Fence Houses ... April 18,
1861
473 Nanson, J., 4, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Dec. 4,
1869
474 Nasse, Herr Bergassessor, Louisenthal, Saarbrucken,
Prussia...................Sept. 4, 1869
475 Naylor, J. T., 10, West Clayton Street, Newcastle ... Dec. 6,
1866
476 Nelson, J., C.E. King's House Engine Works, Sun-
derland .........(Member of Council) Oct. 4,1866
477 Nevin, John, Mirfield, Yorkshire .........May 2, 1868
478 Newall, R. S., Ferndene, Gateshead
(Member of Council) May 2, 1863
(xxxii)
ELECTED.
479 Newby, J. E., Usworth Colliery, by Washington Station,
County Durham............... Oct. 2,1869
480 Nicholson, E., jun., Beamish Colliery, Chester-le-Street Aug. 7,
1869
481 Nicholson, J W., Greenside Colliery, Milton, Carlisle Oct. 11, 1873
482 Nicholson, Marshall, Middleton Hall, Leeds...... Nov. 7, 1863
483 Nicholson, R., Blaydon-on-Tyne ......... July 2,1872
484 Nicholson, T., Park Lane Engine Works, Gateshead ... Dec. 4, 1869
485 Nicholson, W., Seghill Colliery, Newcastle ...... Oct. 1, 1863
486 Noble, Captain, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
{Member of Council) Feb. 3, 1866
487 North, F.W., F.G.S., Rowley Hall Colliery, Dudley,
Staffordshire ............... Oct. 6, 1864
488 Ogden, John M., Solicitor, Sunderland ...... Mar. 5,1857
489 Owen, R................... July 2,1872
490 Pacey, T., Bishop Auckland............ April 10, 1869
491 Palmer, A. S., Wardley Colliery, Durham ...... July 2, 1872
492 Palmer, C. M., M.P., Quay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Nov. 5, 1852
493 Palmer, John B., Jarrow-on-Tyne ......... April 1,1871
494 Panton, F.S., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland ...Oct.
5,1867
495 Papik, Johanne, Teplitz, Bohemia ......... Feb. 5, 1870
496 Parkin, John, Duchy Peru, Newlyn East, Grampound
Road, Cornwall ............... April 11, 1874
497 Parrington, M. W., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland Dec. 1, 1864
498 Parton, T., F.G.S., Ash Cottage, Birmingham Road,
WestBromwich ......... ...... Oct. 2,1869
499 Pattison, W., Westminster Colliery, Wrexham ... Oct. 11,
1873
500 Pattison, W., jun., Ffrwd Coll. and Ironworks, Wrexham Oct. 11,1873
501 Pattinson, John, Analytical Chemist, Newcastle ... May 2,
1868
502 Patton, John, Westoe, South Shields......... April 6,1872
503 Peace, M. W., Wigan, Lancashire ......... July 2, 1872
504 Peacock, David, Horsley, Tipton ......... Aug. 7, 1869
505 Pearce, F. H., Bowling Iron Works, Bradford ... Oct. 1,
1857
506 Pearson, J.E., Golborne Park, near Newton-le-Willows Feb. 3, 1872
507 Pease, J. W., M.P., Woodlands, Darlington...... Mar. 5,1857
508 Peel, John, Wharncliffe and Silkstone Collieries,
Wortley, near Sheffield ............ Nov. 1,1860
509 Peile, William, 6, College Street, Whitehaven ... Oct.
1, 1863
510 Penman, J. Hugh, Clarence Buildings, 2, Booth Street,
Manchester ............... Mar. 7, 1874
(xxxiii)
ELECTED.
511 Perrot, S. W., Hibernia and Shamrock Collieries,
Gelsenkirchen, Dusseldorf............June 2, 1866
512 Philipson, H., 8, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7,1871
513 Pickersgill, T., Waterloo Main Colliery, near Leeds ... June 5, 1869
514 Piggford, J., Risca House, Risca, near Newport, Mon. Aug. 2, 1866
515 Pilkington, Wm., jun., St. Helen's, Lancashire ... Sept. 6,
1855
516 Potter, Addison, Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 6,1869
517 Priestman, Jon., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,1871
518 Ramsay, J. A., Washington Colliery, near Durham
(Member of Council) Mar. 6, 1869
519 Ramsay, J. T., Walbottle Hall, near Blaydon-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Aug. 3, 1853
520 Ramsay, T. D., So. Durham Colliery, via Darlington Mar. 1, 1866
521 Redmayne, J. M., Chemical Manufacturer, Gateshead July 2, 1872
522 Redmayne, R. R., Chemical Manufacturer, Gateshead Sept. 2, 1871
523 Reed, Robert, Felling Colliery, Gateshead ......Dec. 3,1863
524 Rees, Daniel, Gwaelodygarth Colliery, Merthyr-Tydvil
1862
525 Refeen, Wm., Teplitz, Bohemia .........Oct. 5,1872
526 Reid, Andrew, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........April 2,1870
527 Richardson, E., 2, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Feb. 5, 1870
528 Richardson, H., Backworth Colliery, Newcastle ... Mar.
2,1865
529 Richardson, J. W., Iron Shipbuilder,Newcastle-on-Tyne Sept. 3,1870
530 Ridley, G., Trinity Chambers, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Feb. 4,1865
531 Ridley, J. H., R. and W. Hawthorn's, Newcastle ... April 6, 1872
532 Ritson, XL A., 6, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7,
1871
533 Roberts, Thomas ...............Nov. 2,1872
534 Robertson, W., M.E., 123, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow Mar. 5, 1870
535 Robinson, G. C, Butterknowle Colliery, Staindrop,
Darlington..................Nov. 5, 1870
536 Robinson, H., C.E., 7, Westminster Chambers, London Sept. 3, 1870
537 Robinson, R., jun., Grosvenor House, Bp. Auckland ... Feb. 1, 1868 .
538 Robinson, R. H., Staveley Works, near Chesterfield ... Sept. 5,
1868
539 Robson, E., Cassop and Tyne Main Colliery Offices,
Middlesbro'-on-Tees ............April 2, 1870
540 Robson, J. S., Butterknowle Colliery, via Staindrop,
Darlington.................. 1853
541 Robson, J. T., Cambuslang, Glasgow ... ... ... Sept. 4,
1869
542 Robson, M. Coppa Colliery, near Mold, Flintshire ... May 4, 1872
543 Robson, Thomas, Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses ... Oct. 4,1860
e
(xxxiv)
ELECTED.
544 Bobson, W. 0., Walbottle Colliery, near Newcastle ... Sept. 4, 1869
545 Bogerson, J., Weardale Iron and Coal Co., Newcastle Mar. 6, 1869
546 Boscamp, J., Acomb Colliery, Hexham ... ...Feb.
2,1867
547 Boseby, John, Haverholme House, Brigg, Lincolnshire Nov. 2, 1872
548 Boss, A., Shipcote Colliery, Gateshead.........Oct. 1,1857
549 Boss, E. A., Tondu Coal Works, Bridgend, Glam. ... April 11, 1874
550 Boss, J. A. G., Elswick Engine Works, Newcastle ... July 2, 1872
551 Bosser, W., Mineral Surveyor, Blandly, Carmarthensh.
1856
552 Bothwell, B. P., 71, Broadway, New York ......Mar. 5, 1870
553 Boutledge, T., Lorway Coal Co., Limited, Sydney,
Cape Breton ...............Dec. 3,1870
554 Boutledge, Wm., Sydney, Cape Breton ......Aug. 6,1857
555 Busby, W. J., 99, Cannon Street, London, E. ... Aug. 1,
1868
556 Butherford, J., Halifax, Nova Scotia......... 1866
557 Saint, Geo., Llangennech Colliery, Llanelly, South Wales April 11, 1874
558 Sanderson, B. Burdon, 33, Westgate Road, Newcastle 1852
559 Scarth, W. T., Raby Castle, Darlington ......April 4, 1868
560 Scott, Andrew, Broomhill Colliery, Acklington ... Dec.
7,1867
561 Scoular, G., Parkside, Frizington, Cumberland ... July 2,
1872
562 Seddon, J. F., Great Harwood Collieries, nr. Accrington June 1, 1867
562 Seddon, W. Lower Moor Collieries, Oldham, Lancashire Oct. 5,1865
563 Shallis, F. W., 1, South Villas, Camden Square, London April 6, 1872
564 Shaw, W., jun., Wolsingham, via Darlington......June 3, 1871
565 Sheppard, F. C, 71, Maple St., Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 2> 1872
566 Shiel, John, Usworth Colliery, County Durham ... May 6, 1871
567 Shield, H., Lamb's Cottage, Gilesgate Moor, Durham Mar. 6, 1862
568 Shone, Isaac, Pentrefelin House, Wrexham ...... 1858
569 Shortrede, T., Park House, Winstanley, Wigan ... April 3, 1856
570 Shute, C. A., Westoe, South Shields.........April 11, 1874
571 Simpson, J. Heworth Colliery, nr. Gateshead-on-Tyne Dec. 6, 1866
572 Simpson, Jos., So. DerwentColl.,vialAntz Green Station Mar. 3,1873
573 Simpson, J. B., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Oct. 4, 1860
574 Simpson, L., Dipton, near Burnopfield, Co. Durham ...
1855
575 Simpson, B., Moor House, Byton-on-Tyne ......Aug. 21, 1852
576 Slinn, T., Badcliffe House, Acklington ......July 2,1872
577 Small, G., Kilburne Colliery, near Derby ......June 4, 1870
578 Smith, C. J., 16, Whitehall Place, Westminster,
London, S.W....... .........July 2, 1872
(xxxv)
ELECTED.
579 Smith, E. J., 16, Whitehall Place, Westminster, London Oct. 7, 1858
580 Smith, G. F., Bridgewater Offices, Manchester ... Aug. 5,
1853
581 Smith, J., Bose Bridge, &c, Collieries, Wigan ... Mar. 7,
1874
582 Smith, T. E., M.P., GosforLh House, Dudley, Northd.... Feb. 5, 1870
583 Smith, T. M., 1, Chapel Place, Duke Street, West-
minster, London...............Sept. 2, 1871
584 Sneddon, J., 149, West George Street, Glasgow ... July 2,
1872 .
585 Snowdon, T., jun., West Bitchburn Colliery, nr. Tow-
law, via Darlington ...... ... ... Sept. 4, 1869
586 Sopwith, A., Cannock Chase Collieries, near Walsall ... Aug. 1, 1868
587 Sopwith, T., F.G.S., etc., 103, Victoria Street, West-
minster, London, S.W.............May 6, 1853
588 Southern, B., Burleigh House, The Parade, Tredegarville,
Cardiff ................•.. Aug. 3, 1865
589 Southworth, Thos., Hindley Green Collieries, nr. Wigan May 2, 1874
590 Spark, H. K., Darlington ............ 1856
591 Spence, G., Clifton and Millgramfitz Colls., Workington June 7, 1873
592 Spencer, John, Westgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 4, 1869
593 Spencer, M., Newburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 4, 1869
594 Spencer, T., Bytou, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Dec. 6, 1866
595 Spencer, W., 6, Villiers Street, Sunderland ......Aug. 21, 1852
596 Spooner, P., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses......Dec. 4, 1869
597 Spours, J. L., Victoria Colliery, Howden, Darlington April 11, 1874
598 Steavenson, A. L., Durham ... (Vice-President) Dec. 6, 1855
599 Steavenson, D. F., B.A., LL.B., Barrister-at-Law, Cross
House, Westgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... April 1, 1871
600 Steele, Chas., Bolton Colliery, Mealsgate, Cumberland June 7, 1873
601 Steele, Charles, B., Ellenborough Colliery, Maryport... Mar. 3, 1864
602 Stenson, W. T., Whitwick Coll., Coalville, nr. Leicester Aug. 5, 1853
603 Stephenson, G. B., 24, Great George Street, Westmin-
ster, London, S.W.............Oct. 4, 1860
604 Stephenson, W. H., Summerhill Grove, Newcastle ... Mar. 7, 1867
605 Stevenson, Archibald, South Shields.........Sept. 2, 1871
606 Stobart, H. S., Witton-le-Wear, Darlington ......Feb. 2, 1854
607 Stobart, W., Cocken Hall, Fence Houses .......July 2, 1872
608 Stokoe, Joseph, Houghton-le-Spring, Fence Houses ... April 11, 1874
609 Straker, John, West Plouse, Tynemouth ......May 2, 1867
610 Stratton, T. H. M., Seaham Colliery, Sunderland ... Dec. 3,
1870
611 Swallow, John, East Boldon, Co. Durham ......Aug. 6, 1863
612 Swallow, John, East Castle Collieries, Annneld Plain,
Lintz Green ...............May 2,1874
(xxxvi)
ELECTED.
613 Swallow, R. T., Springwell, Gateshead ... ...
1862
614 Swan, Charles, Low Walker, Newcastle ......April 11, 1874
615 Swan, H. F., Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,
1871
616 Swan, J. G-., Upsall Hall, near Middlesbro' ......Sept. 2, 1871
617 Taylor, Hugh, 8, Queen Street, Quay, Newcastle ... Sept. 5,
1856
618 Taylor, John, Earsdon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne... ... Aug. 21, 1852
619 Taylor, John, B., The Mount, Clent, Stourbridge .. May 3, 1873
620 Taylor, T., Chipchase Castle, Northumberland ... July 2,
1872
621 Taylor, W. N., Eyhope Colliery Office, near Sunderland Oct. 1, 1863
622 Taylor-Smith, Thomas, Urpeth Hall, Chester-le-Street Aug. 2, 1866
623 Telford, W., Cramlington, Northumberland......May 6, 1853
624 Terry, E., M. E., Dudley ............Sept. 13, 1873
625 Thomas, A.; Bilson House, near Newnham, Glouces. Mar. 2, 1872
626 Thompson, Astley, Kedwelly, Carmarthenshire ...
1864
627 Thompson, James, Bishop Auckland ... ... ... June 2,
1866
628 Thompson, John, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ... Oct. 4, 1860
629 Thompson, John, Boughton Hall, Chester ......Sept. 2, 1865
630 Thompson, J., Norley Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... April 6, 1867
631 Thompson, B., jun., North BrancepethColl., nr. Durham Sept. 7,1867
632 Thompson, T. C, Milton Hall, Carlisle ......May 4, 1854
633 Thorpe, R. S., 17, Picton Place, Newcastle ......Sept. 5, 1868
634 Tinn, J., C.E., Ashton Iron Rolling Mills, Bower
Ashton, Bristol ...............Sept. 7, 1867
635 Toller, J. E., Royal Engineers............July 2,1872
636 Tone, J. F., C.E., Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne... Feb. 7, 1856
637 Truran, M., Dowlais, Glamorgan .........Dec. 1, 1859
638 Turner, W. B., C. andM.E., Sella Park, Calder Bridge,
via Cornforth ...............Dec. 7, 1867
639 Tylden-Wright, C, Shireoaks Coll., Worksop, Notts....
1862
640 Tyzack,D.,Warkworth,Acklington,Northumberland... Feb. 14, 1874
641 Ure, J. F.,Engineer,Tyne Commissioners,Newcastle... May 8,1869
642 Vaughan, Thomas, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... ...
1857
643 Vaughan, W. S., Abbot & Co., Gateshead...... Nov. ' 1, 1873
644 Wadham, E., C.&M.E,Millwood,Dalton-in-Furness... Dec. 7, 1867
645 Wake, H.H., River Wear Commissioners, Sunderland... Feb. 3, 1872
646 Waldo-Sibthorp, M. R., Saltburn-by-the-Sea......June 6, 1874
647 Walker, G. W., Bulwell, Notts..........Sept. 7, 1867
(xxxvii)
ELECTED.
648 Walker, J. S., 15, Wallgate, Wigan, Lancashire ... Dec. 4,
1869
649 Walker, T. F., 58, Oxford Street, Birmingham ... April 11,
1874
650 Walker, W., Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........March 5, 1870
651 Wallace, Henry, Trench Hall, Gateshead ......Nov. 2,1872
652 Wallace, J., 3, St. Nicholas Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne Sept. 13,
1873
653 Ward, H., Priestfields Iron Works, Oaklands, Wolver-
hampton ..................Mar. 6, 1862
654 Wardell, S. C, Doe Hill House, Alfreton ......April 1, 1865
655 Warrington, J., Worsborough Hall, near Barnsley ... Oct. 6,
1859
656 Watkin, Wm. J. L., Pemberton Colliery, Wigan ... Aug. 7, 1862
657 Watson, H., High Bridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Mar. 7, 1868
658 Watson, M., Ibstock Coll., near Ashby-de-la-Zouch ... Mar. 7, 1868
659 Webster, R. C, Ruabon Coll., Ruabon, Denbighshire ... Sept. 6,1855
660 Weeks, J. G., Bedlington Colliery, Bedlington ... Feb. 4,
1865
661 Westmacott, P. G-. B., Elswick Iron Works, Newcastle June 2, 1866
662 Whaley, John, Coanwood Colliery, Haltwhistle ... Feb. 1,
1873
663 Whaley, Thomas, Orrell Mount, Wigan ......Aug. 2, 1866
664 White, H., So. Skelton Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ...
1866
665 White, J. F., M.E., Wakefield............July 2,1872
666 Whitelaw, A., 168, West George Street, Glasgow ... Mar. 5, 1870
667 Whitelaw, John, Fordel Colliery, Inverkeithing, N.B. Feb. 5, 1870
668 Whitelaw, T., Shields and Dalzell Collieries, Motherwell April 6,
1872
669 Whitwell, T., Thornaby Iron Works, Stockton-on-Tees Sept. 5, 1868
670 Widdas, C, No. Bitchburn Coll., Howden, Darlington Dec. 5, 1868
671 Wild, J. a., Thinford Colliery, Ferryhill ......Oct. 5,1867
672 Wilkinson, O. W................May 4,1872
673 Wilkinson, W., 1, Joseph St., Kyo, via Lintz Green ... Mar. 3, 1873
674 Williams, E. (Bolckow, Vaughan, & Co.), Middlesbro' Sept. 2, 1865
675 Williams, J. J., Holywell, Flintshire.........Nov. 2,1872
676 Williams, John L., Mold, Flintshire ... ... ...Nov.
2,1872
677 Williamson, John, Chemical Manufacturer, So. Shields Sept. 2, 1871
678 Williamson, John, Cannock, &c, Collieries, Hednesford Nov. 2, 1872
679 Willis, E., Clarence House, Willington, near Durham Sept. 5, 1868
680 Willis, James, 13, Old Elvet, Durham
(Member of Council) Mar. 5, 1857
681 Wilmer, F. B., Duffryn Collieries, Aberdare......June 6,1856
682 Wilson, J., 69, Great Clyde Street, Glasgow......July 2, 1872
683 Wilson, J. B., Wingfield Iron Works and Coll., Alfreton Nov. 5, 1852
684 Wilson, J. S., Moorfield, Coxlodge, Newcastle-on-Tyne Dec. 2, 1858
685 Wilson, T. H., 26, Sandhill, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 6,
1869
(xxxviii)
ELECTED.
686 Wilson, W.B., KillingworthColliery,Newcastle-on-Tyne Feb. 6, 1869
687 Winship, J. B., Newcastle, Australia.........Dec. 4,1869
688 Winter, T. B., Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7,
1871
689 Wood, 0. L., Howlish Hall, Bishop Auckland...... 1853
690 Wood, J., Flockton Collieries, Wakefield ......April 2,1863
691 Wood, Lindsay, Southill, Chester-le-Street ......Oct. 1, 1857
692 Wood, Thomas, Rainton House, Fence Houses ... Sept. 3, 1870
693 Wood,W.H.,WestHetton,Ferryhillfifcw&ero/Gouncil) 1856
694 Wood, W. 0., East Hetton Colliery, Coxhoe, Co. Durham Nov. 7, 1863
695 Woodgate, A., Chemical Manure Manftr., Newcastle ... Feb. 3, 1872
696 Woodhouse, J. T., Midland Road, Derby ......Dec. 13,1852
697 Woolcock, Henry, St. Bees, Cumberland ......Mar. 3, 1873
698 Wright, G-. H., Heanor Hall, Heanor, near Derby ... July 2, 1872
699 Wright, R., Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle......Oct. 11,1873
700 Wrightson, T., Stockton-on-Tees .........Sept. 13, 1873
701 Young, J., ..................July 2,1872
702 Young, Philip, Colliery Manager, Alnwick ......Oct. 11,1873
1 Atkinson, F. R., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses ... Feb. 14,
1874
2 Atkinson, J. B., Chilton Moor, Fence Houses......Mar. 5, 1870
3 Atkinson, W. N., 10, G-loucester Terrace, Newcastle ... June 6, 1868
4 Avery, F. S., Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle ... May 2,
1874
5 Bain, Donald, Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley, Northd. Mar. 3, 1873
6 Barnes, A. W., East Hetton Coll., Coxhoe, Co. Durham Oct. 5, 1872
7 Bell, C. E., 31, Old Elvet, Durham ......... Dec. 3,1870
8 Berkley, R. W., Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ... Feb. 14,
1874
9 Bewick, T. B., Haydon Bridge, Northumberland ... Mar. 7, 1874
10 Boyd, R. F., Moor House, near Durham ......Nov. 6, 1869
11 Bragge, G. S., Nunnery Colliery Offices, Sheffield ... July 2,
1872
12 Brough, Thomas, Seaham Colliery, Seaham Harbour ... Feb. 1, 1873
13 Brown, M. W., Portland Villa, Benton, Newcastle ... Oct. 7,
1871
14 Bruce, John, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ... ... Feb. 14,
1874
15 Bulman, G. H., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses ... April 11, 1874
16 Bulman, H. F., Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle ... May 2,
1874
17 Bunning, C. Z., Neville Cottage, Newcastle-on-Tyn9 ... Dec. 6,1873
18 Burnley, E. F., (Briggs, Son, & Co.), Whitwood ... April 11, 1874
Burrows, J. S., Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 11, 1873
(xxxix)
EtECTEb.
20 Chambers, W. Henry, Birchwood Collieries, near Alfre-
ton, Derbyshire ... ............Dec. 2, 1871
21 Clark, R. B., Murton Colliery, Sunderland ......May 3,1873
22 Clough, James, Seaton Delaval Colliery, near Newcastle April 5, 1873
23 Cobbold, C. H., Harton Colliery Office, Tyne Dock,
South Shields ...............May 3, 1873
24 Cockburn, W. C, 8, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle ... July 2, 1872
25 Cockin, G. M., Bishopwearmouth Rectory, Sunderland... Nov. 2, 1872
26 Corfield, F. C, Butterly Park, Alfreton.........Aug. 2, 1873
27 Crone, E. W., Killingworth Hall, near Newcastle ... Mar. 5,
1870
28 Eden, C. H., Sedgefield, Ferry Hill .........Sept. 13, 1873
29 Elliot, W. S., Usworth Colliery, Washington, Co. Durham Sept. 13, 1873
30 Fletcher, J., Kelton House, Dumfries.........July 2,1872
31 Forster, J. T., Washington, Gateshead...... ,... Aug. 1, 1868
32 Garthwaite, T. Y. B., Greenside, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... Feb. 1, 1873
33 Gerrard, James, Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Co., Wigan Mar. 3, 1873
34 Gilmour, D., Gilmilnscroft Colliery, near Auckinleck ... Feb. 3, 1872
35 Greener, T. Y., Peases' West Collieries, Darlington ... July 2,
1872
36 Hague, E., Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... Mar. 2,
1872
37 Hallimond, W. T., Etherley Coll., Escomb, Bp. Auckland May 2, 1874
38 Hamilton, E., Tursdale Colliery, Coxhoe ......Nov. 1, 1873
39 Harris, W. S., Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead......Feb. 14, 1874
40 Heckels, W. J., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... May 2,1868
41 Hedley, E., 2, St. John's Villas, Haverstock Hill,
London, N.W................Dec. 2,1871
42 Hedley, George, 3, Princess Street, Bishop Auckland ... Aug. 2, 1873
43 Hodgson, J. W., Dipton Coll., via Lintz Green Station Feb. 5, 1870
44 Hughes, H. E., Bowers Allerton Collieries, Limited,
Astley, Woodlesford ............Nov. 6,1869
45 Hunter, J., jun., Seaham Coll. Offices, nr. Sunderland ... Mar. 6,
1869
46 Hutton, J. A., Killingworth Colliery, near Newcastle ... Sept. 4, 1869
47 Jepson, H., Harton Colliery Office, Tyne Docks, South
Shields ..................July 2, 1872
48 Johnson, W., Strangeways Hall, &c, Collieries, Wigan Feb. 14, 1874
49 Jordan, J. J., South Derwent Colliery, via Lintz Green Mar. 3, 1873
(xi)
50 Key, Thomas, 57, Percy Park, Tynemouth ......Nov. 2,1872
51 Kyrke, E. H. Y., Nant-y-Ffrith, Wrexham, No. Wales Feb. 5, 1870
52 Leach, C. C, Bedlington Collieries, Bedlington ... Mar. 7,
1874
53 Lishman, C. J., Helensville West, Newcastle......June 7, 1873
54 Lisle, J., Washington Colliery, Co. Durham ......July 2, 1872
55 Marsh, T. G., Dudley ...............Sept. 13, 1873
56 Mills, M.H., Weardale Iron & Coal Co., Towlaw, Darling-
ton.....................Feb. 4, 1871
57 Moor, W., jun., Lanelay Coll., Llantrissant, Glam. ... July 2,
1872
58 Moore, E. W., Colliery Office, Whitehaven ......Nov. 5, 1870
59 Moses, W., Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses ......Mar. 2,1872
60 Pamely, C, Eadstock Coal Works, near Bath......Sept. 5,1868
61 Place, Thomas, Newbottle Land, Houghton-le-Spring,
Fence Houses ...............April 2,1870
62 Pooley, John, Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... Feb. 1,1873
63 Potter, A. M., Heaton Hall, Newcastle.........Feb. 3,1872
64 Price, J. P., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Wigan ... Aug. 7,
1869
65 Eathbone, Edgar P., D. of Norfolk's Colliery Offices,
Sheffield ..................Mar. 7, 1874
66 Eeed, E. B., Newbottle Colliery, Fence Houses ... Mar. 5,
1870
67 Eitson, W. A., Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... April 2, 1870
68 Eobson, J. M., 11, Belhaven Terrace, Glasgow......Dec. 5,1868
69 Sawyer, A. E., Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... Dec. 6, 1873
70 Scott, C. F., Monk Bretton, near Barnsley ......April 11, 1874
71 Sopwith, T., jun., South Derwent Coll., near Annfield
Plain, County Durham ............Nov. 2,1867
72 Sparkes, C, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland......Sept. 5, 1868
73 Stobart, F., Cocken Hall, Fence Houses ......Aug. 2,1873
74 Thompson, William, Washington Colliery, Co. Durham May 2, 1874
75 Vernon, J. O., Villa de St. George, Newcastle......Sept. 7, 1867
76 Walker, G. B., Osgathorpe, Sheffield .........Dec. 2,1871
Sist of ^ul^ribinjg dfolliros.
Owners of Ashington Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
„ East Holywell Colliery, Earsdon, Northumberland.
„ Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.
„ Hetton CoUieries, Fence Houses.
„ Lambton Collieries, Fence Houses (Earl Durham).
„ North Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.
„ Sainton Collieries (Marquess of Londonderry).
„ Eyhope Colliery, near Sunderland.
„ Seghill Colliery, Northumberland.
„ South Hetton and Murton Collieries, Fence Houses.
„ Stella Colliery, Hedgefield, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
„ Throckley Colliery, Newcastle.
„ Wearmouth CoUiery, Sunderland.
„ Whitworth Colliery, Ferryhill.
1.—The objects of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical
Engineers are to enable its members to meet together to discuss the means
for the Ventilation of Coal and other Mines, the Winning and Working of
Collieries and Mines, the Prevention of Accidents, and the advancement of
the Sciences of Mining and Engineering generally.
2.—The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers shall
consist of three classes of members, namely :—Ordinary Members, Life
Members, and Honorary Members, with a class of Students attached.
3.—Ordinary and Life Members shall be persons practising as Mining or
Mechanical Engineers, and other persons connected with or interested in
Mining and Engineering.
4.—Honorary Members shall be persons who have distinguished themselves by
their literary or scientific attainments, or who have made important
communications to the Society, Government Mining Inspectors during the term
of their office, and the Professors of the College of Physical Science,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, during their connection with the said College.
5.—Students shall be persons who are qualifying themselves for the
profession of Mining or Mechanical Engineers, and such persons may continue
Students until they attain the age of 23 years.
6.—The Annual Subscription of each Ordinary Member shall be £2 2s., payable
in advance, and the same is to be considered due and payable on the first
Saturday of August in each year, or immediately after his election.
7.—All persons who shall at one time make a donation of £20 or upwards shall
be Life Members.
8.—The Annual Subscription of each Student shall be £1 Is., payable in
advance, and the same is to be considered due and payable on the first
Saturday of August in each year, or immediately after his election.
9.—Each Subscriber of £2 2s. annually (not being a member) shall be entitled
to a ticket to admit two persons to the rooms, library, meetings, lectures,
and public proceedings of the Society; and for every additional £2 2s.,
subscribed annually, two other persons shall be admissible up to the number
of ten persons ; and each such Subscriber shall
(xliii)
also be entitled for each £2 2s. subscription to have a copy of the
Proceedings of the Institute sent to him.
10.—Persons desirous of being admitted into the Institute as Ordinary
Members, Life Members, or Students, shall be proposed by three Members, and
as Honorary Members by at least five Members. The nomination shall be in
writing and signed by the proposers (see Form A), and shall be submitted to
the first General or Special Meeting after the date thereof. The name of the
person proposed shall be exhibited in the Society's room until the next
General or Special Meeting, when the election shall be proceeded with by
ballot, unless it be then decided to elect by show of hands. A majority of
votes shall determine every election. Notice of election shall be sent to
each Member or Student within one week after his election, on Form B,
enclosing at the same time Form C, which shall be returned by the Member or
Student, signed, and accompanied with the amount of his annual subscription,
within two months from the date of such election, which otherwise shall
become void.
11.—The Officers of the Institute shall consist of a President, six
Vice-Presidents, and eighteen Councillors, who, with the Treasurer and
Secretary (if Members of the Institute), shall constitute a Council for the
direction and management of the affairs of the Institute. The President,
Vice-Presidents, and Councillors shall be elected at the Annual Meeting
(except in case of vacancies), and shall be eligible for re-election, with
the exception of any President or Vice-President who may have held office
for the three immediately preceding years, and such six Councillors who may
have attended the fewest Council Meetings during the past year ; but such
Members shall be eligible for re-election after being one year out of
office.
12.—All Members shall be at liberty to nominate, in writing, and send to the
Secretary, not less than fourteen days prior to the Annual or Special
Meeting, a list of Ordinary and Life Members who are considered suitable to
fill the various offices, such list being signed by the nominators. A list
of the persons so nominated and of the retiring Officers, indicating those
who are ineligible for re-election (see Form G), shall constitute a
balloting list, and shall be posted at least seven days previous to the
Annual or Special Meeting, to all Members of the Institute, who may erase
any name or names from this list, and substitute the name or names of any
other person or persons eligible for each respective office ; but the number
of persons on the list, after such erasure or substitution, must not exceed
the number to be elected to the respective offices as above enumerated. The
balloting papers must be returned through the post, addressed to the
Secretary, or be handed to him, or to the Chairman
(xliv)
of the Meeting, so as to be received before the hour fixed for the election
of Officers. The Chairman shall then appoint four Scrutineers, who shall
receive the balloting papers, and shall sign and hand to the Chairman of the
Meeting a list of the elected Officers, after destroying the papers. Those
papers which do not accord with these directions shall be rejected by the
Scrutineers. The votes for any Members who may not be elected
Vice-Presidents shall count for them as Members of the Council.
In case of the decease or resignation of any Officer or Officers, notice
thereof shall be given at the next General or Special Meeting, and a new
Officer or Officers elected at the succeeding General or Special Meeting, in
accordance with the mode above indicated.
13.—At meetings of the Council, five shall be a quorum, and the minutes of
the Council's proceedings shall be at all times open to the inspection of
the Members of the Institute. The President shall be ex-qfflcio Chairman of
every committee.
14.—All Past-Presidents shall be ex-officio Members of the Council so long
as they continue Members of the Institute, and Vice-Presidents who become
ineligible from having held office for three consecutive years shall be
ex-officio Members of the Council for the following year.
15.—A General Meeting of the Institute shall be held on the first Saturday
of every month (except January and July) at two o'clock; and the General
Meeting in the month of August shall be the Annual Meeting, at which a
report of the proceedings, and an abstract of the accounts of the previous
year, shall be presented by the Council. A Special Meeting of the Institute
shall be called whenever the Council may think fit, and also on a
requisition to the Council, signed by ten or more Members.
16.—Every question, not otherwise provided for, which shall come before any
Meeting of the Institute, shall be decided by the votes of the majority of
the Ordinary or Life Members then present.
17.—The Funds of the Society shall be deposited in the hands of the
Treasurer, and shall be disbursed or invested by him according to the
direction of the Council.
18.—All papers shall be sent for the approval of the Council at least twelve
days before a General Meeting, and after approval shall be read before the
Institute. The Council shall also direct whether any Paper read before the
Institute shall be printed in the Transactions, and notice shall be given to
the writer within one month after it has been read, whether it is to be
printed or not.
19.—The Copyright of all Papers communicated to, and accepted for printing
by the Council, shall become vested in the Institute, and such
(xlv)
communications shall not be published for sale or otherwise, without the
written permission of the Council.
20.—All proofs of discussion, forwarded to Members for correction, must be
returned to the Secretary within seven days from the date of their receipt,
otherwise they will be considered correct and be printed off.
21.—The Institute is not, as a body, responsible for the facts and opinions
advanced in the Papers which may be read, nor in the discussions which may
take place at the Meetings of the Institute.
22.—Twelve copies of each Paper printed by the Institute shall be presented
to the author for private use.
23.—Members elected at any Meeting between the Annual Meetings shall be
entitled to all Papers issued in that year, as soon as they have signed and
returned Form C, and paid their subscriptions.
24.—The Transactions of the Institute shall not be forwarded to Members
whose subscriptions are more than one year in arrear.
25.—Any person whose subscription is two years in arrear, that is to say,
whose arrears and current subscriptions shall not have been paid on or
before the first of August, shall be reported to the Council, who shall
direct application to be made for it according to form D, and in the event
of it continuing one month in arrear after such application, the Council
shall have the power, after suitable remonstrance by letter in the form so
provided (Form E), of erasing the name of the defaulter from the register of
the Institute.
26.—No duplicate copies of any portion of the Transactions shall be issued
to any of the Members unless by written order from the Council.
27.—Invitations shall be forwarded by the Secretary to any gentleman whose
presence at the discussions the Council may think advisable, and strangers
so invited shall be permitted to take part in the proceedings. Any Member of
the Institute shall also have power to introduce two strangers (see form F)
to any of the General Meetings of the Institute, but they shall not take
part in the proceedings except by permission of the meeting.
28.—No alteration shall be made in any of the Laws, Eules, or Eegulations of
the Institute, except at the Annual General Meeting, or at a Special Meeting
for that purpose, and the particulars of every such alteration shall be
announced at a previous General Meeting, and inserted in its minutes, and
shall be exhibited in the room of the Institute fourteen days previous to
such Annual or Special Meeting, and such Meeting shall have power to adopt
any modification of such proposed alteration of, or addition to, the Rules.
APPENDIX.
[FOEM A.]
Name in full—Mr.
Designation or Occupation
Address
being desirous of admission into the North of England Institute of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers, we, the undersigned, propose and
recommend that he shall become a
thereof.
f "i Signatures
Proposed by <--------------------:-------------------->- of three
(__________________________) Members.
Dated 18
• ———————
[FORM B.]
Sir,—I beg to inform you that on the day of
you were elected a of the North of England
Institute of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers, but in conformity with its Rules your
election cannot be confirmed until the enclosed form be returned to me with
your signature, and until your first annual subscription be paid, the amount
of which is £
If the first subscription is not received within two months from the present
date, the election will become void, under Rule 10.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary. Dated 18
[FORM C]
I, the undersigned, being elected a of the
North
of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, do hereby agree
that I will be governed by the regulations of the said Institute as they are
now formed, or as they may hereafter be altered; that I will advance the
objects of the Institute as far as shall be in my power, and will not aid in
any unauthorised publication of the proceedings, and will attend the
Meetings thereof as often as I conveniently can ; provided that whenever I
shall signify in writing to the Secretary, that I am desirous of withdrawing
my name therefrom, I shall (after the payment of any arrears which may be
due by me at that period) be free from this bligation.
Witness my hand this day of
18
(xlvii)
[FORM D.]
18
Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers to draw your attention to Rule 25, and to
remind you that the sum of £ of your annual subscriptions
to the funds of the Institute remains unpaid, and that you are in
consequence in arrear of subscription. I am also directed to request that
you will cause the same to paid without further delay, otherwise the Council
will be under the necessity of exercising their discretion as to using the
power vested in them by the Rule above referred to.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
[FORM E.]
18
Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute' of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers to inform you, that in consequence of
non-payment of your arrears of subscription, and in pursuance of Rule 25,
the Council have declared, by special vote, on the
day
of 18 , that you have forfeited your
claim to
belong to the Institute, and your name will be in consequence expunged from
the Register, unless payment is made previous to
But notwithstanding such forfeiture, I am directed to call upon you for
payment of your arrears, amounting to £
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
[FORM P.]
Admit of
to the Meeting on Saturday, the (Signature of Member or Student)
The Chair to be taken at Two o'clock. I* undertake to abide by the
Regulations of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical
Engineers, and not to aid in any unauthorised publication of the
Proceedings.
(Signature of Visitor)
Not transferable.
(xlviii) [FORM Gk]
BALLOTING LIST.
Fallot to take place at the Meeting of 18 at Two o'clock.
President—One Name to be returned. ¦ ----------- Retiring President.
1 <-----------> New Nominations.
Vice-Presidents.—Six Names to be returned.
The Votes for any Members who may not be elected as Vice-
o
Presidents will count for them as other Members of the Council.
^
ZZZZ3 )
^
_________
d
________V Retiring Vice-Presidents.
§
g
I J
»
-----------v New Nominations.
£
[------1 '
3 I
Council—Eighteen Names to be returned. rd
r------------>
M ^
S ^ ^
___________ -
P
co cj
____
fc « 3
~~~ M
" S -a
----------
. S K 3 q
--------
I if Q g .g
? Retiring Councillors.
° I fi D '^
---------- |
£
§ H § g
_________
.m P3 O H <»
-------- i 1 w I e
-------------
^ O co W «
------------
"g a,
------------------
+3 *a
59 ^
h! ^
______ g
$
• > New Nominations.
^ §
--------------)
«
.ule XII.—Relative to the Election of the Officers of the Institute.
^
___________:______________.________________ £
t These Gentlemen are ineligible for re-election.
* These Gentlemen are not on the Council for the present year.
ames substituted for any of the above are to be written in the blank spaces
opposite those they are intended to supersede.
i
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OF
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
GENERAL MEETING, SEPTEMBER 13, 1873, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL
HALL.
E. F. BOYD, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting-, and they were signed hy
the Chairman.
The following- g-entlemen having- been previously nominated, were elected :—
Members—
Mr. Edward Terry, M.E., Dudley.
Mr. Richd. J. Barnes, Atherton Collieries, near Manchester.
Mr. Wrightson, Stockton-on-Tees.
Mr. William Hall, Albion Mines, Pictou, Nova Scotia.
Mr. John Wallace, 3, St. Nicholas Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. William Menzies, King Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Students—
Mr. W. Stobart Elliot, The Green, Sunderland. Mr. 0. H. Eden, Sedgefield,
Ferryhill. Mr. T. G. MARSH, Dudley.
The following- were nominated for election at the next meeting-:—
Members—
Mr. W. D. Elliott, Pemberton Street, Hull.
Mr. George Bradford, Newbottle Colliery, Fence Houses.
Mr. William Pattison Westminster Colliery, near Wrexham
VOL. XXIII.—1873.
A
2 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. WILLIAM Pattison, Jun., Ffrwd Colliery and Ironworks, Wrexham.
Mr. Philip Young, Fenham Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Joseph Nicholson, Greenside Colliery, Milton Station, Carlisle.
Mr. Henry Davey, C.E., Leeds.
Mr. Eobeet Wight, Engineer, Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle.
Student :— Mr. J. S. Burrows, Pease's West Collieries, Darlington.
The President remarked that the gentleman who was to read the first paper,
Mr. Henry Davey, Civil Engineer, of Leeds, as he did not happen to be a
member of the Institute at that moment, was not quite in order; but when
they knew that he was nominated for election at the next meeting-, in all
probability they would feel complimented in having- a gentleman of such high
standing as a member, and would have no objection to receive the paper.
Mr. Henry Davey then read a paper on the "Differential Expansive Pumping
Engine."
DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE. 3
DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE.
By HENEY DAVEY.
The differential expansive pumping engine exists in two types, the single
cylinder and the compound engine, and the designs and arrangements are
varied to suit different applications. Plates I. and II. show an arrangement
of compound engine now being constructed for a north country colliery; Plate
III. shows the arrangement of valve gear; Plate IV. is an engraving from a
photograph of the expansive pumping engine at Newton Cap Colliery; Plate V.
is an engraving from a photograph of the pumping engine at the Clay Cross
Works; Plate VI. shows the adaptation of the principle to a steam pump
arranged for boiler feeding; and Plate VII. shows a reciprocating hydraulic
engine applied to work a double-acting force pump for lifting and forcing
water in dip levels, &c, and applied to working the air-pump of the
condenser of the pair of engines illustrated on Plate IV.
It will be seen that the compound engine consists of a pair of horizontal
cylinders A B, Plates I. and II., placed end to end, the bottom of the high
pressure cylinder A forming one of the covers of the low pressure cylinder
B. There are two piston rods to the low pressure piston, which pass through
tubes cast on the jacket of the high pressure cylinder, so that they come in
the same plane with the rod of the high pressure piston. These three rods
are coupled to one crosshead, to which is attached the connecting rod for
working the pumps C. The cylinders are firmly secured to a strong girder
bed, and the condenser is carried on a separate bed at the rear of the
engine, and is not shown in the plate—the air pump bucket being worked by
means of a tail rod D from the low pressure piston. Such is the simple
form of the compound engine.
The valve gear can be readily understood by reference to Plate III., which
shows it applied to a single cylinder engine. The main slide valve C
receives its motion from a lever A, to the centre B of which it is
connected. This lever receives two motions, one at the end D derived
directly from the main moving parts of the engine by another lever of the
first order, which, receiving the full motion of the piston at the long end,
imparts from its short limb, to the end D of the lever A
4 DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE.
the amount of motion suitable to the working- of the valve — this lever is
seen clearly at X, Plates IV., V., and VI.—and another motion derived from a
subsidiary piston F. This subsidiary piston receives its motion from the
steam in the main slide chest, by means of a small valve G, and gives motion
to a cataract piston H, working- in a cylinder filled with water, which
escapes from side to side through a small opening that can be regulated at
pleasure by means of the valve I. This cataract regulates the speed of the
piston F, and, consequently, the motion of the end E of the lever A, to
which it is attached. The valve G, admitting steam on the subsidiary piston
F, is actuated by means of a lever K, to which it is attached at L, and this
lever, usually fixed at M, receives motion from the lever A by the
connecting link N. When it is required to start the engine, motion can be
given to the valve G by removing the pivot M of the lever K, and moving the
lever by hand at the end 0.
The action of this gear upon the motion of the engine will be best
understood by an illustration.
Suppose the main piston to be at rest at one end of the cylinder, then to
start the engine, steam would be admitted into the subsidiary cylinder F,
and motion would be communicated to the valve C, and the engine would
commence its stroke; as it moves, however, it is giving motion to the lever
A in a contrary direction to the motion communicated by the subsidiary
piston F, and cuts off the steam. The main valve, therefore, has a
differential motion compounded of the motion derived from the direct action
of the main cylinder, and an opposite motion from the subsidiary piston. Now
the motion of this subsidiary piston is rendered constant by means of the
cataract II. Seeing, then, that the cataract end E of the lever has a
constant motion independent of the engine itself, and that the other end D
must needs have a varying motion depending on the varying motion of the main
piston, the resultant motion of the main valve being taken from the centre
of the lever, and compounded of a varying and a constant motion, must vary
as the first varying motion varies. Further, because variations of load on
the engine produce variations in the motion of the main piston, therefore
the increase-ments or decreasements of load produce corresponding
corrections in the distribution of steam. It must be understood that the
force acting on the subsidiary piston is far greater than that required to
move the slide valve, the surplus being absorbed in driving the fluid in the
cataract through a small opening, and as the resistance to a fluid increases
with the square of the speed at which it flows, it requires a very great
variation of force on the subsidiary piston to cause a very small variation
in the
DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE. 5
speed, so that the speed is practically constant for a given adjustment of
the cataract plug, although the boiler pressure may vary. It will be seen
from the description just given that the chief peculiarity in the invention
is the simple manner in which the engine is rendered safe in working against
variable loads, automatically and instantly varying the distribution of
steam with every minute increase or decrease of resistance. A pause is
produced at the completion of each single stroke of the piston, during which
time the pump valves fall to their seats, preventing slip and the shock
which occurs when pump valves close under pressure from a moving plunger.
This freedom from shocks in the pumps is an important point. There is
security also against accidents (such as bursting pipes, &c), and the
durability of the valves and seats is greatly increased. The action of the
valve gear of the engine is so sensitive and so perfect that the load may be
greatly varied on the engine when it is in full work. Engines on this plan
may be employed to pump direct into town mains without the intervention of
stand pipes, balance valves, or anything of the sort. There is great economy
in the construction of these engines, as will be readily seen from an
inspection of the plates and the following tables of dimensions and powers,
&c.:—
TABLES OF POWERS, ETC., OF THE SINGLE CYLINDER DIFFERENTIAL " EXPANSIVE
PUMPING ENGINE.
Diameter of Length of Effective Units of
Speed
Cylinder. Stroke. Horse-Power. Work.
_ .£-
12 inch 1' 8' 8-56 282500 100
feet
14 „ 2' 0' 12-82 423225 110
„
16 „ 2' 0' 16-75 552750 110
„
20 „ 2' 0* 2-17 863775 110
„
20 „ 3' 0" 30-93 1020825 130
„
24 „ 3' 0* 44-54 1469975 130
„
26 „ 3' 0" 52-28 1725425 130
,,
28 „ 3' 0" 60-63 2001025 130
„
28 „ 3' 6' 69-96 2308875 150
„
30 „ 4' 0" 85-67 2827200 160
„
35 „ 4' 6' 120-26 3968662-5 165
„
40 „ 5; 0" 161-83 5342550 170 „
I______________________I________________________1
6 DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE.
The columns headed "units of work" are for ready comparison with the work
required to be done in any given example. Thus, let it be required to pump
250 gallons of water 200 feet high per minute, then the number of units of
work to be done = 250 x 10 x 200 = 500,000, and on reference to the tables
the size of the engine required for the work is readily selected.
The calculations in the above table have been made for an effective pressure
of 25 lbs. per square inch on the piston, corresponding- to a boiler
pressure of from 35 to 45 lbs., a pressure which is very usual for such
engines in collieries. The friction of the engine and that of the water in
the column are included.
COMPOUND DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE ENGINES.
Diameter Length of Effective Units of
Sneed
of large strboke_ Horse-Power. Work.
_ £-"
Cylinder.
= \AL X 80.
20 inches 8' 0" 24-74 816660 130 feet
25 „ 3' 6" 44-61 1472400 150 „
30 „ 4' 0" 68-53 2261760 160 „
35 „ 4' 6" 96-21 3174930 -165
,,
40 „ 5' 0" 129-46 4272440 170 „
45 „ 5' 6" 173-49 5725440 180
„
50 „ 6' 0" 226-10 7461300 190 „
55 „ 6' 6" 287-97 9503200 200
„
60 „ T 0" 359-85 11875080 210 „
This table is calculated for an effective pressure or load on the larger
piston of 20 lbs. per square inch.
The single cylinder engines, shown on the Plates IV., V., and VIII., are
placed underground and are employed in pumping the water direct to the
surface. The pair at Clay Cross Colliery are to pump against 1,000 feet head
of water, whilst those at Newton Cap have 240 feet. This method of pumping
in collieries is becoming very usual, and where there is no chance of the
engine being' flooded it is probably the best and certainly the most
economical plan, as regards first cost.
No condensers are shown on Plates IV. and V., although the large pair of
engines are provided with one. It is not, however, a part of the engine, but
is entirelv distinct, the air-pump beine" worked by means
DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE. 7
of a small hydraulic engine from the pressure in the main column. In a more
recent design the air-pump has been put on the bed with the engine, and is
worked by means of a tail rod from the main piston, the pumps being placed
both in front of the cylinder, with a plunger common to both barrels. See
Plate VIII.
As regards the economy of fuel in the use of the condenser in this type of
engine used underground, nothing can be said but that which is self-evident
to all present; but in connection with the compound engine much has been
said of late; and, judging from the demand which there exists for compound
engines, there is every reason to believe that they possess certain
advantages, but as far as economy of fuel is concerned it is well known that
this is governed bythe pressure and ratio of expansion employed and the
introduction of the second cylinder is therefore purely a practical
question. By the introduction of a second cylinder the maximum strain thrown
on the piston and its attachments is greatly reduced, and a greater
uniformity of motion secured. In the present example the variation of force
between the commencement and end of the stroke is about 3 to 1 with an
eight-fold expansion, whereas in a single cylinder engine it would bejis 8
to 1. In Cornwall during the race, for economy of fuel, some years^ago, the
engineers carried expansion in a single cylinder to its utmost practical
limit. Taylor's engine, at the United Mines, worked with a cut-off of
one-tenth the stroke, and did a duty of 112 millions. Experience has proved,
however, that such high grades of expansion cannot be safely employed in a
single cylinder; and we find that the custom is, now to work Cornish engines
with a three-fold, or at most a five-fold, expansion; this partly accounts
for the falling off in the duty reports. A high degree of expansion cannot
be employed with safety in the single cylinder engine, because the variation
of force during the steam stroke is too great—therefore the reason for the
use of the second cylinder. The economy in the construction of this engine
and the buildings for it is very great as will be readily seen by an
inspection of the model before us. Power for power, this engine does not
weigh two-thirds that of a Cornish engine, although the ratio of expansion
employed is far greater, whilst the gear is of the most simple description,
and the safety secured in working by the peculiar action of the gear must
effect considerable economy in maintenance.
One of these engines has been at work for nearly two years at the Sudbury
Water Works. It is always worked with the stop valve wide open, and the load
may be changed from the high level reservoir to the
8 DISCUSSION ON THE EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE.
low level without in any way affecting the proper working' of the engine,
proving the efficiency of the g*ear; which is further demonstrated by the
fact that the engine is so unequally loaded that the steam is cut off
automatically at about one-third stroke on one side and half stroke on the
other side of the piston.
The President was sure they would all join with him in thanking Mr. Davey
for the very excellent paper which he had been kind enough to present to
them. He hoped that some of them would take the opportunity of informing
themselves upon any variations which this engine had from others used for a
like purpose. There seemed to be one or two very interesting points worth
the attention of those who had the management of high-pressure engines
applied to pumping. They very well knew what serious damage takes place in
the case of a bucket coming off, or a broken spear allowing the engine to
come rapidly into the house, and there was also the point of the action of
the double cylinder. If they had any question to ask or anything to inform
themselves upon from Mr. Davey, he would advise them to take that
opportunity.
Mr. Lawrence would like to ask Mr. Davey if he could show them a diagram of
one of those engines, because, as he conceived, the only new thing about it
was the motion given to the slide-valve or the means of working the
slide-valve, and certainly to his mind it was a very simple one, and he had
no doubt a very efficient one. But they all knew that they could judge
better as to the result and the proper working of a slide-valve if they saw
a diagram of it. He would very much like to know if Mr. Davey had the
diagram with him, and if he had, if he would show it to them. They could
then form a very much better idea of the proper working of the differential
motion which he had brought before them. He would also like to ask Mr.
Davey, seeing that the motion of the slide-valve corresponded with the
motion of the engine, which of course, as they knew, was different from the
motion given by the eccentric, how it was that he arrived at a variable
expansion. He could easily see that the differential motion gave him a
corresponding inlet of steam corresponding with the motion ; but suppose he
wanted to work with a very high pressure of steam, and cut off, they would
say, at about one-tenth of the stroke, as was done m the Corliss engine, he
wished to know how he had this at command with
DISCUSSION ON THE EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE. 9
this particular motion ; because, the commencement and end of the stroke of
the valve must necessarily correspond with the stroke of the piston, seeing
that it was worked directly from the piston; but it might be that he got a
different motion by the speed of the piston changing while the motion of the
piston working the cataract remained uniform. He did not know whether that
was so or not, but perhaps Mr. Davey would explain that to him. There was no
doubt that the first cost of the engine was considerably below that of some
of the other kinds of engines which they had in this district; but he
thought the use of slide-valves in those very large engines was an
objection, and Mr. Davey did not seem to take any measures to overcome the
great pressure on the back of the slide. Again, his slides were placed at
the top of the cylinder, and, therefore, did not allow the water to escape,
as they did in many of their engines in this neighbourhood. He understood
that the same motion could be g'iven to the double Cornish valves, and Mr.
Davey might overcome the difficulty of the great pressure on the
slide-valves in very large engines by using*, he supposed, four such valves
instead of the ordinary slide-valves. He should like to know if Mr. Davey
had applied or could apply his motion to the ordinary four valves, such as
were commonly used by the horizontal and winding engines in this district.
Mr. Davey said, in reply to the gentleman who had just spoken, he must admit
that he had not taken any diagram at all, for this simple reason that the
best engine which he could take a diagram from would be the one alluded to
in his paper, which was at work at the Sudbury Water Works, Suffolk. That
engine, as he said, was a high pressure eng'ine, it cuts off at about half
stroke on one side of the piston, and a third of the stroke on the other.
Certainly a diagram of that would be of some service • but as a question of
economy of fuel, with such a low rate of expansion, it would not be of much
value, and on that account he had not taken the trouble to indicate the
engine. He hoped when the compound eng'ine was completed, which it was
intended to erect in this district, to make some elaborate experiments as to
the economy of fuel; but while cutting off about half stroke, it would be
useless at present to do so. The next point raised was that with reference
to the cut-off. Mr. Lawrence seemed to look at the action of the gear in
this way; that the slide valve, instead of varying the cut-off, varies the
amount of opening, and, consequently, acts as a throttle valve would in an
ordinary engine. But this was not the result. There were two or three points
which he, perhaps, did not sufficiently explain in the paper to make the
action
VOL. XXIII.-1878.
B
10 DISCUSSION ON THE EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE.
thoroughly understood. It required almost to see the gear at work to
understand the exact action; hut he thought he could explain it hetter by
taking an example. He would suppose an engine employed to pump 1,500 gallons
of water per minute from a depth of 70 fathoms. Now, the dead weight to be
set in motion at the commencement of the stroke would, of course, be very
great, and, consequently, the steam piston would not move simultaneously
with the opening of the steam valve; and if the action of a Cornish engine
on the steam stroke was observed it would be seen that there was a time from
the opening of the steam valve to the time that the engine starts off. There
was a certain amount of pause which was consequent on the inertia of the
load to be set in motion. Now, in this engine, at the time that the steam
was being admitted to the cylinder, by means of the slide valve, the slide
valve was travelling at its maximum speed, and the steam piston had the
least tendency to move. The consequence was that the motion on the slide
valve was very great compared with that of the steam piston. Now,
immediately the steam piston began to move—supposing it was cutting off at a
point similar to that referred to by the speaker, an eighth or a
tenth—immediately the inertia of the load was overcome, and that this little
pause, which he had spoken of, had taken place, it was almost time for the
engine to cut off the steam. The speed then of the steam piston would be
increasing, so that at the point of cut-off, the slide valve would be moving
in the opposite direction, with an increased speed consequent on the
increased speed of the steam piston; therefore, whilst the engine is taking
the steam, the slide valve is opening to the steam quickly, and the engine
is moving off slowly. At the time that the cut-off takes place the motion of
the slide valve is very quick in the opposite direction, consequent upon the
motion of the engine, so that in reality there was a sharp cut-off, and
there was no throttling- whatever of the steam. During the time that the
valve was opening to the steam, it would seem that there was no motion to
the end of the lever connected with the piston, and that the connection to
the slide valve had a motion given entirely from the cataract. Now if the
motion were compounded of the two motions at that time, the motion of the
slide valve would be slow; but as the motion was then entirely dependent on
the second motion, the slide valve then was moving at its quickest speed.
Immediately the engine commenced to move off, and the steam piston was under
weigh, the cut-off then, they would see, would take place at the time the
steam piston was moving at its greatest speed, so that there was a sharp
opening to the steam and
DISCUSSION ON THE EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE. 11
a sharp cut-off. Then, with reference to the question raised as to whether
the gear could be used with Cornish valves, there were several illustrations
given in a pamphlet he had published; and one illustration showed its
application to the three valves, the steam, equilibrium and eduction valves
of the Cornish engine, although there was no illustration showing how it
might be applied to four valves, such as the four valves of a winding
engine; but its application in that case was precisely the same as its
application to the slide valves. Mr. Lawrence compared the motion of the
valves in this engine to the motion of the steam piston, and said he
regarded it as being dissimilar to that of the motion of an eccentric. It
was in reality not the motion of an eccentric, but that of a cam; and the
motion of the slide valve was not that of the motion of the steam piston,
but it was compounded of the motion of the steam piston and the motion of
the cataract. They knew, of course, that they could actuate double beat
valves of winding engines by means of an eccentric as well as by means of
tappits • so that this motion, applied to actuate the four valves, does the
same for the four valves as it does in its substitution for an eccentric in
the other case. Then, as regards the lodgment of water in the cylinder,
through placing the valve chests on the top : it would be observed that
those cylinders were both steam jacketed, and, consequently, he did not
anticipate that they would have much difficulty on that score. Both the high
and low pressure cylinders were steam jacketed. Had they not been so, it
perhaps might be advisable to place the working valves in inverted positions
under the cylinder, in order to get rid of the water. He thought these were
all the points which had been mentioned.
Mr. Lawrence said he was very much obliged for Mr. Davey's explanation. He
was surprised to find that gentleman make the remark that it was scarcely
necessary to give a diagram of an engine cutting off at half stroke. He
could not see how Mr. Davey could bring out a new engine before them and not
bring a diagram to show exactly what the engine was doing, and compare its
economy with other engines which they had before them. He should have
thought the diagram was the most important part of the paper; a great
portion of the power might be absorbed in working the slide valves and other
friction parts of the engine, the amount of which could be exactly
ascertained if a diagram had been taken, and the action of each valve would
be brought before them at a glance without any question. He was obliged to
Mr. Davey for his explanation.
12 DISCUSSION ON THE EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE.
Mr. W. 0. Wood might say that he had seen the engine at work at Sudbury; and
he had tried it as far as he possibly could under varying* loads. He first
tried it by pumping- the water under a heavy load, and then suddenly
released the load. He afterwarfis stopped the engine, raised the steam in
the boiler 20 lbs. above the ordinary working- point, and then suddenly
opened the throttle valve to the utmost extent. It was found that there was
the slightest possible increase of speed at the commencement of the stroke,
and then the engine settled down to its regular work, and went on to the
number of strokes it was set for. Nothing- could be more beautiful or more
regular than the working of the valves.
The President asked Mr. Davey if, in the case of the application of his
engine for the discharge of water to great elevations from the bottom of the
pit, he made use of air-vessels 1 Had he ever tried them applied to his
engines ?
Mr. Davey said he had worked them in connection with air-vessels. The one
which Mr. Wood had just alluded to at Sudbury delivers into an air-vessel.
It is employed in working two sets of pumps, one at the bottom of the well,
a single-acting 16-inch plunger pump, which delivers the water to the top of
the well. From thence it is taken by means of a double-acting* pump and
lifted up to the service reservoir or depositing reservoir, as the case
might be ; and at the top of the well, on the upper side of the
double-acting pump, was placed an air-vessel; but in the engines which had
been made for draining collieries —placed underground to force the water to
the surface—no air-vessel had been used at all. The pair alluded to in his
paper, which were now being fixed at Clay Cross, employed to pump against
1,000 feet head, had no air-vessel. Nor did he think it advisable to employ
an air-vessel in any case. There was a pause similar to that of the Cornish
engine at the completion of each stroke, and the pumping is almost identical
with that of the Cornish engine ; and as the Cornish engines were better
without air-vessels, and as they knew from experience that air-vessels in
these engines were unnecessary, so he considered that they are unnecessary
in his case. He might mention that in the last pair of engines which he
spoke of, pumping with 1,000 feet head, they put the full head of water on
the engines at the outset and suddenly threw it off whilst the stop valves
were wide open, but the pistons did not strike the covers in a single case.
Mr. D. P. Morison asked Mr. Davey if his principle was applicable to winding
engines as well as to pumping engines, because winding-
DISCUSSION ON THE EXPANSIVE PUMPING ENGINE. 13
engines would appear to offer a still more excellent field for the adoption
of the system ?
Mr. Davey believed he could quite see his way to the application of the gear
to the rotative engines. But although he had given no little study to the
subject, yet, up to the present time, he had not sufficiently satisfied
himself as to all the details as to be justified in bringing it before a
scientific meeting.
Since the above discussion Mr. Davey 'has supplied two diagrams from the
engine at Sudbury Water Works, which are given in Plate IX.
Mr. Emerson Bainbridge read the following paper, "On a New Description of
Safety Lamp."
ON A NEW DESCRIPTION OP SAPETY-LAMP. 15
ON A NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP.
By EMERSON BAINBRIDGE.
An investigation recently made by the author to discover the causes of the
chief explosions in coal mines which have occurred within the past few
years, shows, that of the most important accidents no less than 39 per cent,
were caused directly or indirectly by the use of naked lights, and the
evidence points out that the whole of this large proportion of accidents
would probably have been averted had Safety-lamps been in use. In many of
these accidents, the existence of gas could scarcely have been prevented by
other means of ventilating than those adopted, since it was due to slight
outbursts, to unavoidable disarrangements of brattices, or to carelessness
of workmen, and whilst improved discipline may cause some reduction in the
number of accidents from such causes, it will doubtless be ascertrined that
the more extended adoption of Safety-lamps will be found to be the only
preventive to any extent reliable.
The interesting records of the experiments conducted by the Safety-Lamp
Committee, appointed by this Institute, brought to light the startling fact
that none of the ordinary safety-lamps now used in English coal mines are
safe, when exposed for a period of less than a minute to an explosive
current moving at a velocity of 12 feet per second; that is, should a
current of explosive mixture of 8640 feet per minute impinge upon a lamp
hung in a working place, having* an area of 16 square feet, an explosion
would ensue in less than 50 seconds.
The insecurity of the safety-lamps in general adoption having thus been made
manifest, the members of the Committee and others, designed several lamps
which, when tested, would not explode, but nearly the whole of the lamps
which have yielded this favourable result appear to be open to the
objection, either of giving an inferior light, of being so complex as to
make their first cost considerable, or of having the admission of air so
arranged as to cause it to be difficult to keep the light burning.
16 ON A NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP.
The substitution of Lamps for Candles in a colliery lias usually met with
considerable opposition on the part of the colliers, on the ground of the
inferior illuminating' power, and whilst the cost of lighting* by lamps
causes an extra expense to the colliery owner, the bad light given by the
majority of those in use makes it, in many cases, difficult to pick the
coals free from dirt.
The importance of the considerations enumerated above has, for some time
past, had the careful consideration of the author, and after a large number
of experiments, he now ventures to bring before the Institute a Lamp which
appears to meet, for the most part, the deficiencies referred to.
Whilst assisting at a number of the trials made by the Safety-Lamp
Committee, the author had an opportunity of observing the defects causing
the several lamps experimented upon to be unsafe. In the case of lamps
having the vertical gauze surrounding the light, either wholly or at any one
part, a current of explosive mixture playing upon the lamp had the effect of
heating the gauze so much more quickly than it could radiate heat, as to
destroy the principle by which the gauze is rendered safe. The gauze, hence,
naturally and speedily attained a white heat, igniting the explosive mixture
outside. Whilst the gauze of the Stephenson lamp has only an inch or two
exposed above the inside glass, the Clanny lamp has several inches above the
glass, and the Davy lamp is surrounded by gauze from top to bottom. The use
of the gauze in the position it holds in these lamps is the chief cause of
their having proved to be unsafe.
Another point of importance adduced by the experiments is worthy of note. On
exposing lamps with a single gauze, and in which the air for combustion
entered by the gauze, like the Davy, to an explosive current, the flame was
elongated and continued burning, wholly filling the lamp with blue and
yellow flame.
With a lamp, however, like the Stephenson, which has the gauze to some
extent protected by an interior cylinder of glass, and in which the air is
introduced at the bottom of the lamp, exposure to an explosive atmosphere
causes an extra quantity of foul air to be formed in the glass cylinder;
this falls upon the light and extinguishes it, and this action allows the
Stephenson lamp to bear a current of about 240 feet per minute more than the
other lamp before explosion ensues. The Clanny lamp also goes out in an
explosive, but still atmosphere, owing to the air for supporting combustion
entering the lamp some distance above the level of the flame.
ON A NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP. 17
The observations recorded above, suggested to the author that if a lamp were
constructed with no vertical gauze, through which a current could pass, and
with the inlet and outlet of the air so delicately Balanced as to cause the
quantity of air entering the lamp to be just sufficient for complete
combustion, such a lamp would be safe. In pursuance of this idea, the
Lamp forming the subject of this paper has been constructed. The Lamp, a
sectional elevation of which is shown on Plate X., consists of a tapered
glass cylinder surrounding the wick, and surmounted by a short brass
cylinder of smaller diameter, at the top of which is a circular gauze which
is screwed up from the inside. The plate at the top for sheltering the
gauze is attached to the body of the lamp by small bars, in order to allow
the heat given off by the lamp to be easily carried away. At the top and
bottom of the glass, rings of a nonconducting material are used for the
purpose of keeping the glass cool. The ring for screwing up the glass passes
into a thread of a smaller diameter than that of the screw of the bottom of
the lamp. This arrangement saves considerable time in screwing up the
glass.
The air enters the lamp through a number of small round holes, which are
covered by gauze attached to the inside of the lamp.
The various advantages which the form of Lamp now brought under notice
appears to possess, may be summarised as follows :—
1.—A. series of experiments which have been carefully made through the
kindness of Mr. Lindsay Wood, at Hetton Colliery, to test the action of the
lamp in the most explosive mixtures of gas and air, have proved it to be
thoroughly safe, as shown by the Table No. 2, given below. Table No. 1
records the conclusions arrived at by the Safety-Lamp Committee with regard
to the three chief Safety-lamps commonly used in this country.
TABLE No. 1.
Velocity at which Length of time
the explosive the lamp was
Name of Lamp or mixture of Are- exposed to the
Inventor. damp & air passed current before
through the lamp explosion took
to the outer air. place.
Feet per Second. Seconds.
Davy...... 8 15
Clanny ... 9 45
Stephenson ... 11-2 28
VOL. XXIII—1873.
q
18 ON A NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP.
TABLE No. 2.
_ , „ ,, Velocity of Duration
Result of Remarks on appearance of
Description of Lamp. ^JJ^6 Ex eriments Experiments.
gas inside lamps.
Feet. Seconds.
New Lamp ... 4 5 Out
Davy ...... 11-8 1 Exploded
Harm ...... 11*8 10 Not out Long
yellow flame
New Lamp ... 11'8 16 Do. Low
blue flame
Do. ... 21 16 Do.
Do.
Harm ...... 21 12 Do. Long
white flame
New Lamp ... 26 21 Do. Low
blue flame
Do. ... 33 41 Out
Do.
Do. ... 54 22 Do.
Do.
Hann ...... 54 23 Exploded
TABLE No. 3.
EXPERIMENTS TO TEST ILLUMINATING POWER AND ECONOMY
OF BURNING.
Number of Hours taken
Illuminating power ; to burn 2 oz. of Oil, the
being number of lamps light being as nearly as
Description of Lamp. equal to one sperm possible the same
as
candle, as tested by when the Experiments
Photometer at the given in column 2 were
Sheffield Gas Works. made.
New Lamp ... 2-26 15
Clanny Lamp 2-68 16|
Davy Lamp ... 4-63 16
It will be seen from Table No. 2 that at a low velocity of the ex plosive
mixture, the Lamp tried by the author was extinguished, and that from a
velocity of 11 "8 feet per second, to the extremely high velocity of 54 feet
per second, no explosion in any instance ensued, but in every case the gas
on entering the lamp burnt with a low, blue flame at the bottom of the lamp
round about the air-holes, this flame only being about f inch high. Thus a
comparatively low temperature inside the lamp was maintained in each
experiment.
ON A NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP. 19
The trials were made both with the lamp referred to and with a lamp known as
Hann's, which is a modification of the Stephenson lamp, the failing point in
the Stephenson being obviated by having an iron cap placed at the top of the
gauze, thus protecting the lamp above the top of the glass. Mr. Hann's lamp
went out at each experiment till the velocity reached 54 feet per second,
when an explosion took place, as shown in the table, at the expiration of 23
seconds. The flame occuring inside Mr. Hann's lamp during the application of
the explosive mixture was a yellowish blue, long flame, becoming more yellow
and longer as the velocity of the current was increased, and thus the
liability of the glass to breakage was augmented.
2.—The manner in which the air enters and leaves the lamp conduces to the
economy of burning. The air admitted goes direct to the lower part of the
flame, and the heat of the brass cylinder above aids the draught. The
experiments given in column No. 2 in this table were made to show the
comparative economy of this lamp as compared with the Davy and Clanny lamps.
In each experiment 2 oz. of oil were used, and the time occupied by each
lamp in burning this quantity is shown.
3.—The mode of supplying the air to the lamp referred to above, together
with the description of glass (blown), the author proposes to use, effects
some improvement in the light, and experiments have been made with a
photometer to illustrate this. These are given in the second column of Table
3. They show that for an equal amount of light given by the lamps,
one-ninth, or about 11 per cent., more oil is used by the Clanny lamp than
by the New Lamp. With regard to the light given by the Lamp it may also be
observed that the height of the glass causes an increased width of the rays
of light, such extra rays in the case of the Clanny lamp being lost.
4.—The simplicity of the Lamp, both on the whole and in detail, is such that
it can be cleaned and trimmed in about one-third part of the time required
for the Davy and Clanny lamps.
6.—The ordinary Clanny and Davy lamps require, including necessary waste,
from 40 to 50 square inches of gauze for each lamp; the gauze has an average
duration of about 9 months. The quantity of gauze used for the Lamp forming
the subject of this paper, is about 51 square inches. At a colliery having
about 300 lamps the saving in this item alone would be worthy of
consideration.
6.—The manner in which the lamp is kept comparatively cool, by having the
top separated from the body of the lamp, and by having the glass protected
by two non-conductors? has already been referred to,
20 DISCUSSION ON NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP.
The two lamps submitted are locked in different ways, one on the side and
the other at the bottom. In the latter case the protuberance on the side of
the lamp is removed, and the brass is thus somewhat easier to clean.
The objection which will doubtless be brought forward to the design of this
Lamp will be that usually complained of with respect to the Clanny lamp,
viz., the flame being protected by glass pjithout gauze. As to the question
of economy, this, as is well known, is not of much consequence, as the glass
is generally broken through the carelessness of workmen, who pay for it.
With respect to the question of safety, the author submits that he has been
unable to learn that any explosion has ever occurred through the use of a
glass lamp in place of a lamp surrounded by gauze, or of any accident by
explosion which has occurred through the breakage of a glass lamp. As a
matter of fact, the manner in which, in a slow current or still atmosphere
of explosive mixture, the lamp he has described either goes out so promptly
or loses its illuminating power, may be considered an important point in its
favour in this respect.
The first cost of the lamp is not high, being about 7s. 3d. each.
It has only been since the experiments recorded were made, and since the
first part of this paper was written, that the author has discovered the
principle of the lamp he has described to be nearly the same as that of the
Belgian lamp known as Eloin's. This lamp appears to have been tested by the
Safety Lamp Committee, but only two experiments were made with it.
In conclusion, the author ventures to hope that in the Lamp he has
endeavoured to describe, the various advantages of increased safety, of low
first cost, of small wear and tear, of economical burning, and of improved
illuminating power, are such as will justify him in the supposition that the
lamp will present some points of interest to this Institute.
Mr. Southern' stated that the lamp question was one of very great interest,
and its various points could not be too much discussed. He would like to ask
Mr. Bainbridge whether he had tried it sufficiently to know whether the top
part would or would not become very much heated in an explosive mixture ;
and with respect to the Stephenson lamp, whether it was not better protected
in a wet pit than this one? He thought the writer of the paper said he was
not aware of a case where a glass lamp had caused an explosion. He
(Mr,
DISCUSSION ON NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP. 21
Southern) thought there were two or three instances of their having done so.
One was at Monkwearmouth, but was not perhaps a clear case ; another was at
Rainton, where it was quite evident that the explosion was from a crack in
the glass. The Stephenson lamp, supposing the gauze to be damaged, which was
of course of rather larger diameter than that of the Davy, would be liable
to explode ; but it would be under particular circumstances that it would do
so; and he, from the experience he had had, and which went over a great many
years, would prefer the Stephenson to any other lamp that he had had to do
with. The Davy ha would not be at all afraid of, and would use it readily;
but he recollected several cases where he had used Stephenson lamps during
sudden eruptions of gas, and they had all gone out, and he had no doubt that
a great many lives had been saved from that fact. The Davy, they knew quite
well, would burn full of flame, and they knew quite as well too, that it
would require a white heat to bring the flame outside the gauze, but he had
not been able to come to the conclusion that it would be the same with the
Stephenson—the Stephenson as used at present—where there is obviously
sufficient space for the air to be admitted for the combustion where the gas
is not too strong. The principal objection in connection with tnis lamp of
Mr. Bainbridge was the glass and the brass top, the heating of the brass
top, and the exposure of the glass to the wet.
Mr. Bainbridge said, the points referred to by Mr. Southern, of course,
would refer to every other lamp which had exposed glass sides. He might say
that he was quite prepared to hear of some accidents having taken place from
the use of a glass lamp ; but in the case referred to at Rainton, a Clanny
lamp was used, and the flame arising from the Clanny lamp when burning in an
explosive atmosphere, would doubtless break the glass and cause the
explosion. Mr. Southern appeared not to have noticed that he (Mr.
Bainbridge) had mentioned that the lamp described in the paper had the same
feature as a Stephenson lamp in its action in a slow current of gas and air
; the lamp goes out in two or three seconds. He had tried this lamp over and
over again in that way, and found it went out as promptly, if not more
promptly, than the Stephenson lamp. As to its being practically applied, he
might say that he had had it in use now for about three months, and they had
not found the heat at the top of the lamp to present any difficulty. The
lamp was in use at a pit subject to dropping of water.
The President—And the glass was known to have come in contact with the drops
of water when it was warm ?
22 DISCUSSION ON NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP.
Mr. Bainbridge was not quite sure about that; but they used the Clanny lamp
in the same pit. He might say that to anybody who thought the Stephenson
lamp was the best, it was hardly worth while considering this one, because
it had the same disadvantages, so far as the glass was concerned, that the
Clanny lamp had.
Mr. Cochrane asked if Mr. Bainbridge would explain why the lamp went out in
a current of four feet per second and did not go out in one of 54 feet ?
Mr. Bainbridge said, up to five feet per second the lamp went out. When the
velocity became higher than that, the low blue flame at the bottom of the
lamp seemed to surround the lower part of the flame, which continued
burning. When taken away from the explosive current it went out. He was not
quite sure as to the reason why the lamp should remain in with a higher
velocity than five feet per second; but, he should say, it was due to the
current impinging upon the lamp supplying sufficient air to force up the
foul air which, in a still atmosphere, comes down upon the light and puts it
out.
The President—The current which came in contact with the lamp would be
loaded with gas, the same as it was inside, and, therefore, it would not
supply any reason for the lamp not going ovi.
Mr. Bainbridge—Yes; but as the current holds a certain quantity of pure air,
such air would have the effect of pushing up the foul air.
Mr. Cochrane asked if Mr. Bainbridge had repeated the experiment at a low
velocity to see whether the same effect was repeated ?
Mr. Bainbridge said it was done a dozen times.
Mr. Morison said he had made a great many experiments with the Stephenson
among other lamps, and the same thing occurred with it as with that used by
Mr. Bainbridge ; that was, in still air, or at a very low velocity, the
Stephenson went out; but, if the velocity was above five or six feet a
second, it continued to burn round the rim, and he agreed with Mr.
Bainbridge that this was simply on account of the current passing through
the lamp.
Mr. Wallace would merely suggest what he thought was the reason for certain
changes taking place within a Davy lamp at different stages of the current.
The current within the lamp from the bottom to the top was in part due to
the temperature of the flame causing the air within the gauze to be lighter
than the air without; and the quantity of heat produced by the flame will
regulate the speed of the air through an orifice of a given size. Exposed to
a rapid current, there might be the effect of an induced current at the top
of the lamp and a direct current at the bottom assisting
DISCUSSION ON NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP. 23
the passage of the air through the lamp. In a still atmosphere, or a
comparatively slow one, this effect would not take place. The current within
the lamp would then be due to heat. When the air passing through the lamp
was of an explosive character, there was an excess of hydro-carbon and a
lesser quantity of oxygen ; consequently the temperature of combustion would
be reduced ; there would be a larger flame and a slower current. Then the
lamp would tend to be fouled by its own products and become liable to be
extinguished. The paper which had just . been read went to show that a great
many of the ideas associated with wire gauze had not been correct; that was,
as far as regards the prevention of explosions. He had made a number of
experiments in devising apparatus for burning carburetted hydrogen in large
quantities; and he found that were the meshes of the gauze finer even than
35 per inch., it would not prevent explosions. When gas is turned into the
bottom of a vessel having the top covered with wire gauze, a current
immediately begins to pass upwards through the gauze. The first part of this
current is pure air ; presently it has a small proportion of gas, and
ultimately it will be all gas. At a certain stage of the experiment the
mixture will be in proportions to form a true explosive mixture ; and if a
light has been held above the gauze from the beginning, an explosion will
take place capable of igniting the gas below the wire gauze through the
meshes. This proved beyond a doubt that under certain conditions explosions
would take place through the gauze in spite of all precautions. He would
only add that it was evident that in the design of the new lamp the gauze
was simply used at the part where the air is admitted and expelled, and
ought not to be of more surface than would admit the air that was necessary
to supply the flame, and the gauze above should be no larger than would
allow the products of combustion to escape, and thereby balance the current,
as Mr. Bainbridge expressed it, passing through the lamp ; so that instead
of using the largest quantity of gauze that can be placed over the lamp,
both for the purpose of ventilation and light, the smallest quantity was
used, and it was found to be the safest.
The President said, the point was of the very greatest interest to them all.
He begged their particular attention to this question, and hoped they would
give it their fullest consideration. They had no doubt that that lamp might
be of very great service; but they must be exceedingly cautious; he thought
there was no harm in using the expression even in Mr. Bainbridge's presence.
They must be exceedingly cautious in using the new construction of lamp
which exposed so
24 DISCUSSION ON NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP.
large a space to the action of drops of water. He had on more than one
occasion himself suffered from it, by the Clanny lamp breaking in his hand,
by a sudden fall of water taking place and dropping upon the heated glass:
it instantly cracked it; and if these cracks took place in a certain
condition, and with a large surface of glass, such as in the lamp then
before them, it might cause an exceedingly dangerous accident. Therefore he
would beg of them, before discussing the subject, to take seriously into
consideration all the points wherein the lamp differed from those with which
they already had had experiments performed. There was no doubt that this one
gave them more flame, more light, and more economy. He would feel obliged if
Mr. Bainbridge would explain that part of his paper where he said his lamp
was benefited by the effects of that peculiar metal which he used at the top
and bottom for enclosing his glass. He would like very much to have an
explanation of the principle upon which the low temperature inside of the
glass was obtained.
Mr. Bainbridge said he referred to the low temperature of the glass itself,
the temperature of which was kept down by having a nonconductor both at the
top and bottom, and by taking care that these non-conductors were so
arranged that the glass did not touch the edge of the brass.
The President asked what was the non-conducting material ?
Mr. Bainbridge said he had tried very fine felt and found it answer very
well. Of course wood might do.
The President—But suppose it continued exposed for a length of time in an
explosive mixture, even without a current, would that glass not eventually
become so hot as to be very liable to fracture on exposure to falling drops
of water ?
Mr. Bainbridge quite thought that if the lamp continued burning, if it would
burn at all, in an explosive mixture, the temperature would go lower,
because the blue flame at the bottom was so very slight.
The President asked if Mr. Bainbridge thought the blue flame would separate
from the wick ? In the Davy lamp, when placed in an explosive mixture, the
flame rises up from the wick and occupies the upper portion of the lamp.
They would say the wick itself had no longer any flame at all; but if the
flame was reduced and gradually lowered down, then it assumed its former
burning powers. Did Mr. Bainbridge think this was so in his case 1
Mr. Bainbridge submitted that the action of the new lamp in what was called
a still atmosphere of gas need not be discussed, since the lamp went out in
it immediately. He quite agreed that in a pit commonly
DISCUSSION ON NEW DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY-LAMP. 25
called a wet pit, or rather a pit which was both wet and dangerous on
account of gas, it was scarcely advisable to use the lamp described.
Mr. Cochrane said Mr. Bainbridge mentioned some peculiarity in the glass
itself.
Mr. Bainbridge—Instead of being moulded, it was blown.
Mr. Cochrane suggested that Mr. Bainbridge might vary the experiment by
burning the lamp in an explosive mixture, and throwing water upon it.
The President said that was a very necessary experiment. He hoped Mr.
Bainbridge would be able to make that addition to his paper.
Mr. Bainbridge said he might make that experiment with any lamp.
The President—Only there is here a larger surface and a thinner glass.
Mr. Bainbridge—But the principle might be applied to any lamp having the
same height of glass. In any case it should be remembered that the lamp goes
out in an explosive atmosphere.
Mr.'CocHRANE begged to propose a vote of thanks to Mr. Bainbridge.
Mr. Southern seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.
The meeting then ended.
PROCEEDINGS. 27
PEOCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 1873, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
R. S. NEWALL, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting-, and reported the
proceeding-s of the Council.
The following- gentlemen were elected, having* been previously nominated:—
Members— Mr. W. D. Elliott, Pemberton Street, Hull. „ George Bradford,
Newbottle Colliery, Fence Houses. „ William Pattison, Westminster
Colliery, Wrexham. „ William Pattison, Jun., Ffrwd Colliery and Ironworks,
Wrexham. „ Philip Young-, Fenham Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne. „ Joseph
W. Nicholson, Greenside Colliery, Milton, Carlisle. „ Henry Davey, C.E.,
Leeds. „ Robert Wight, Engineer, Killingworth Colliery.
Student— Mr. J. S. Burrows, Pease's West Collieries, Darlington.
The following- were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Members— Mr. Peter Donaldson, Alipore, Calcutta. „ W. S. Vaughan, Abbot &
Co., Gateshead. „ Robert Hetherington, Coanwood Colliery, Haltwhistle. „
W. J. Grimshaw, M.E., Stand Lane Collieries, Radcliffe, near Manchester. „
Fountain Clarbour, 11, Mark Lane, Withy Grove, Manchester. Student— Mr. E.
Hamilton, Tursdale Colliery, Coxhoe.
Mr. D. P. Morison read the following' paper on "Fowler's Patent Apparatus
for Loading and Unloading Pit Cages :"—
LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES. %$
FOWLER'S PATENT APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
By D. P. MORISON.
The winding machinery of a colliery is, in many cases, called upon to
perform an amount of work far exceeding- that for which it was originally
designed. Shorter hours of labour, comhined with an increased out-put,
render it necessary to push the engines to their greatest practical speed,
and while it is quite possible to bring large quantities of coal to the pit
bottom, the amount actually raised is often limited by the winding
apparatus, which sometimes has to be superseded by more powerful and costly
plant.
With the view of diminishing this inconvenience and obviating the necessity
for spending the time and capital required for sweeping alterations, the
arrangement about to be described has been invented and erected by Mr.
George Fowler. In addition to incidental advantages hereafter-mentioned, it
has for its objects :—
1. Increasing the efficiency of (by utilizing to the utmost) existing
winding gear without the excessive wear and tear usually accompanying high
speeds ; and,
2. Reducing the first cost of winding-engines for new works by
working them under more favourable conditions, requiring less power to
perform a given duty.
These objects are effected by the use of auxiliary on-setting and
pulling-off gear in loading and unloading the pit cages, enabling the time
of the winding-engine to be devoted more to its legitimate duty of raising
coals, and less to the unprofitable work of striking the cages.
The striking of the cages is avoided in the manner shown in Plate No. XI.,
representing the cage at bank, settled on the keps, and ready to be relieved
of its load. The platforms AAA contain the empty tubs to be placed on the
cage, and the platforms BBB are prepared to receive the loaded tubs.
The lowest of the three loaded tubs is drawn over the platform B on to the
bank rails, and the lowest empty tub is pushed on the cage
30 LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
by manual labour in the ordinary manner. Simultaneously with this, however,
the two upper empty tubs FF are thrust forward by the hydraulic rams C 0,
and displacing the two upper loaded tubs take their places on the cage. The
catches for retaining the empty tubs on the cages are then all put into
position by the movement of one rod (not shewn), and the cage is ready to
proceed on its downward journey. The time required for these movements is of
course precisely the same as would be necessary for a single-decked cage
loaded with one tub. The actual pulling off and on-setting on the part of
the banksmen now begins, but for these duties there is ample time while the
cage is running, the principal object having been attained, namely, getting
the machinery again at its proper work of winding.
The two platforms A and B are then allowed by the hoists D and E to sink
into the successive positions necessary for changing. A is ready to be
charged with empties, its decks being successively brought by the hoist to
the bank level of rails, and B, having been allowed by similar means to
bring its middle deck to the bank level, can be further lowered for the
removal of the uppermost loaded tub.
Platform B, after being relieved of the weight of tubs and coal, is
overbalanced by the counterweights WW (shewn on plan), and, steadied by the
hoist B, rises to its former position.
The whole arrangement is repeated at the bottom of the shaft, the time
available for changing being of necessity greater there than at bank, since
the cage descends at once on the keps, without waiting for the reversing of
the engine.
The rams C C for setting on the empties and pushing off the loaded tubs, as
well as the hoists D and E for altering the level of platforms, are actuated
by hydraulic pressure maintained by a small donkey engine, which pumps into
an accumulator arranged in the usual and now well-known manner. The ram of
the accumulator is about 6 inches diameter, with a stroke of five feet,
which is found quite large enough for any demands made upon it. The speed of
the donkey engine is regulated by the position of the ram, which opens and
closes a throttle valve, without needing attention, so that the quantity of
water pumped is exactly as much as is required. The same water is used over
and over again, the exhaust from all the rams being discharged into a small
reservoir; the waste is therefore extremely small, being only that arising
from leakage, and it is proposed to prevent freezing in the pipes in winter
by mixing methylated spirit with the water. About 500 lbs. pressure on the
square inch has been found most convenient for working
LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES. 31
the rams and the hoists, but the experience of each special case would
determine the pressure most suitable, which can be readily adjusted by the
weights on the accumulator.
A valve, consisting of an ordinary three-way tap, is used for admitting the
water pressure simultaneously to the rams C C, and is opened and closed by
the on-setter.
After the rams have pushed forward the tubs, they are almost instantly
brought back to their former position by the water pressure acting on the
annular space in front of the small pistons with which they are provided.
The valves for raising and lowering the platforms are at present worked by a
man conveniently placed for the purpose, but they may be arranged so as to
be under the control of the men employed in changing the tubs.
At the bottom of the shaft the accumulator and donkey engine are dispensed
with, and the hydraulic pressure is obtained directly from the head of water
contained in a pipe tapped into the tubbing. The suitable height at which
the pipe should be attached to the tubbing is easily found when the pressure
most convenient has been ascertained by trial with the accumulator. If,
however, the desired position is not available, either by reason of the
absence of tubbing, or in consequence of the head of water already in the
tubbing being excessive, any greater height may be adopted, and the
superfluous pressure negatived by turning up the exhaust pipe so as to
discharge at a higher level than would otherwise be necessary. The water,
after being used, is conducted to the sump, from which it is drawn with the
ordinary sump water. In the case of a downcast pit it will be necessary to
prevent freezing in the pipes and tubbing by the use of a steam jet or other
means.
The saving of time is more considerable than would at first sight appear. In
the case of a three-decked cage, changing the tubs in the ordinary way
occupies of course exactly three times as many seconds as would be required
for a single deck. But in addition to the time actually devoted to changing,
there are the intervals necessary to raise the cage to a different level and
settle it on the keps, during which the changing cannot proceed, and the
banksmen can only look on while the cage is being brought into position. And
these intervals are of necessity of considerable length, especially in the
case of heavy winding gear, since the inertia of a large mass weighing many
tons has to be overcome every time the winding engine is reversed. It is by
transferring the idle intervals of time from the cage to the platforms
32 LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
that the principal saving is effected, for usually as much time is consumed
in getting- the two lower decks into place as would suffice to change the
three tubs one after the other.
This will he made clearer by the following table, showing the manner in
which the time is distributed to the various movements required to strike a
three-decked cage and change the tubs.
It is the average result of many experiments made when no hindrance took
place from accidental circumstances :—
TABLE No. 1.
Three-Decked Cage.
1.—Settling on the Keps............ 1 Second.
2.—Changing No. 1 Deck............ B| „
3.—Lifting Cage 5 feet 6 inches......... 3^ „
4.—Settling on the Keps............ 1 „
5.—Changing No. 2 Deck............ 5£ „
6.—Lifting Cage 5 feet 6 inches......... 3^ „
7.—Settling on the Keps............ 1 „
8.—Changing No. 3 Deck............B| „
9.—Lifting Cage to clear Keps .........H »
. ' 28 Seconds.
TABLE No. 2.
Two-Decked Cage.
1.—Settling on the Keps............ 1 Second.
2.—Changing No. 1 Deck............ 5J ,,
3.—Lifting Cage 5 feet 6 inches......... 3J ,,
4.—Settling on the Keps............ 1 »
5.—Changing No. 2 Deck......... ... 5£ „
6.—Lifting Cage to clear Keps...... ... li „
18 Seconds.
With the aid of the hydraulic apparatus, most of the above items may be
struck out altogether, and the table then stands as follows :—
TABLE No. 3.
1.—Settling on the Keps............1 Second.
2.—Changing all the Decks .........5£ „
3.—Lifting Cage to clear Keps.........li „
8. Seconds.
This (8 seconds) is the time actually occupied in changing a three-decked
cage at Hucknall Colliery, with the apparatus described under favourable
circumstances, which, for purposes of comparison, have been assumed for all
three tables. The average time is 10 seconds, and the minimum 7 seconds.
LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES. 33
Taking the case of a pit 300 yards deep, the time of actual running in the
shaft occupies (from trial) 35 seconds. The total time for each journey,
including- the changing of tubs, would be—for a three-decked cage worked in
the ordinary manner 35 + 28 = 63 seconds, or 57 journeys per hour. With the
hydraulic apparatus the time would be 35 + 8 = 43 seconds, or 84 journeys
per hour. The efficiency of the winding engines would thus be increased
nearly 48 per cent.
Applying the same reasoning to a two-decked cage, we have in the one case 35
+ 18 = 53 seconds, or 68 journeys per hour ; and in the other case 35 + 8 =
43 seconds, or 84 journeys per hour. The increased efficiency is then nearly
24 per cent.
The advantage is, of course, less obvious in this case, but the machine is
simplified, and the first cost is less in about the same proportion.
It has been mentioned that the three tables have been compiled from
observations taken while work was being- carried on, without hindrance from
the little causes of delay which often impede the changing at the pit mouth.
They, therefore, show in all cases a quickness in the several movements
which is common enough, but does not fairly represent the average during a
day's work.
If, however, 10 per cent, were added to all the items in the tables to show
a longer time given to each particular movement, the advantages of the new
apparatus would be still more apparent, since the proportionate saving* of
time would be effected on the greater interval which would elapse while the
cage was at bank.
Careful observation of the times actually required, in special cases, to
perform the several operations, arranged as in Table No. I., can be made,
and from them a table may be made like No. 3 • a comparison of the two will
clearly show the saving- that may be expected.
The increase in the quantity of coal raised with the aid of the gear now
described and at work, amounts to about 300 tons per day, making a total of
850 tons per day.
It will readily be seen that if the winding capabilities of an existing
engine can be increased 40 per cent., the power and cost of a new one to
perform a given amount of work may be reduced in the same proportion.
Some of the incidental advantages obtained from the gear will be apparent
from the following* considerations :—
To bring a three-decked cage into the different required positions, the
winding engine has to be reversed six times, without counting the extra
complication of striking the cage at bottom, and the final
VOL. XXIII.—1873.
E
34 LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
reversing for the regular journey, which is necessary in all cases. For a
single-decked cage, or any to which the hydraulic gear is applied, two
reversings only are requisite. Thus four reversings at least are saved, each
of which would on the average consume a cylinder full of steam (more or
less, according' to the accidental position of pistons), hesides the
clearance spaces and steam ports, which for two cylinders is ahout
two-fifths more.
This space of a cylinder and two-fifths has to be filled with steam of full
pressure before any movement of the cage takes place, as the inertia of the
machinery and ropes has to be overcome. The saving being effected at least
four times each journey is an appreciable quantity, and goes far to
compensate for the extra demand made upon the boilers to supply steam for
the more numerous journeys per day which are rendered possible. The
advantage of reversing the engine and lifting the cage as seldom as
possible, applies to the ropes with still more cogency, since the repeated
snatching* strains are avoided, which do more to shorten the working life of
a rope than the regular running which is its proper duty. It is clear that
all the lifting performed by the hydraulic hoists represents so much work,
of which the ropes as well as the engines are relieved, and the economy thus
resulting is expected to be an important one, the extent of which can only
be shewn by further experience. It may, however, be suggested that an
arrangement which admits of smaller engines and lighter ropes to perform a
given duty, must also be directly conducive to economy in the consumption of
steam, as the work required to accelerate the inert mass contained in the
machinery generally is materially reduced. It should be remembered that, in
rapid winding, this work of bringing up the speed of the engines is for the
most part lost, it being absorbed afterwards by the break, and by the
resistance caused by closing the valves of the engine.
The water pressure in the accumulator may be made available for other
purposes as well as those in connection with the present subject, such as
working hoists for raising coals to the screens, actuating the break of the
winding engine when extra power is required, &c.
The economy in manual labour arising from the use of the new gear is worthy
of consideration, even with regard to the cost per day, but when estimated
in connection with the increased quantity of coal raised, it becomes
important; as, besides the banksmen, the engine-drivers and firemen are
working with better results from their day's exertions.
DISCUSSION—LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES. 35
Mr. Newall invited discussion on this important paper.
Mr. E. Bainbridge said, he had had an opportunity of seeing the apparatus
described by Mr. Morison at work once or twice, and was quite able to bear
testimony to its value, especially in cases where a single tub on each deck
is used; but he came to the conclusion that where there are two tubs on each
deck, and where the cage has two or three decks, the amount of complication
of brickwork at the bottom of the pit, and the sinking which is required to
make room for three tiers of cages, was such as made the economy of the
system doubtful. It occurred to him when he saw the apparatus at work, and
when he was deciding what kind of cages to have for a draught of 1,000 tons
a day, that the best arrangement would be to have cages holding four tubs on
two decks in preference to having them with three tubs on three decks. By
this means four instead of three tubs are drawn at one time. Instead of
having three movements for the cage at the bottom of the pit, the tubs could
be changed without being moved, two tubs being put in at one level, and two
tubs at another. At the top, he would suggest that as the weight of the
single cage only would be on the drum, it would be very easy, whilst the
bottom cage was being changed, to move the top cage twice; first, to take
out the two bottom tubs, then the two lower tubs. He thought Mr. Morison had
not mentioned one rather important point in favour of Mr. Fowler's system.
In the ordinary winding of coals, the full cage, while being changed at the
surface, is unbalanced by the empty cage; and hence the evil of the ordinary
mode of changing the three decks, the full weight of the full cage upon the
drum being unbalanced by the empty cage. A saving had been mentioned in
manual labour, but he thought there appeared to be scarcely any saving of
consequence in that respect. After the tubs were changed, by pushing the
full tubs out, the full tubs, after they came to the level ground, had, in
each case, to be pulled off by hand, and the empty tubs in the same way. It
seemed to him that this required more manual power than where full corves
are pushed out by the empty ones going into the cage. He did not know that
any other point had occurred to him, except this, that Mr. Fowler, by his
system, was enabled to get per hour the largest quantity of coal that had
ever been drawn out of any pit in the district.
Mr. T. Bailes would like to ask Mr. Bainbridge if he had had any experience
where they had been arranging the shaft for two tubs on each deck. Mr.
Morison told them, if he understood the paper correctly, that the system was
strictly applicable to a condition where there
36 DISCUSSION—LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
¦
was little room, and where the tubs must be placed relatively one
above the other, perhaps four in succession. He might mention that
some shafts were so decidedly narrow that Mr. Bainbridge's suggestion,
to place two tubs on a deck, could not be carried out. Might he ask if
Mr. Bainbridge's experience had led him to view the system favourably
under the conditions named ?
Mr. Bainbridge—Under those conditions Mr. Fowler's system was quite
applicable.
Mr. Cochrane said, Mr. Bainbridge had rather anticipated what he was going
to say with reference to the saving of manual labour, and he would be glad
if Mr. Morison would point out how the saving was effected; because the mere
fact that with this apparatus more coals had been drawn than with any other
arrangement, was not sufficient. This effect would be produced exactly the
same if there was a man at each level, pushing the tub out, and doing all by
manual labour without the application of hydraulic apparatus, which
evidently would be very expensive to work.
Mr. Morison said, he might mention in reference to the saving of manual
labour, that he did not mean that the number of men had to be diminished ;
inasmuch as the same number of tubs had to be taken out of the platforms as
would have to be taken out of the cage; but the saving in labour was that,
in the case of a pit at present raising 600 tons, 300 more tons a-day could
be drawn, with the same number of men. With regard to what Mr. Bainbridge
mentioned, viz., a double landing at the pit bottom, he might point out that
it would take twice the number of men to load and unload the cages, besides
involving the time of two changes, which he thought he had pointed out to be
about 15 or 16 seconds, and he submitted that this would greatly do away
with the simplicity of the apparatus.
Professor Herschel said, he would remark that he came unprepared with any
observations, but a very apposite subject of consideration presented itself
to him lately while reckoning up the amount of power necessary to move large
winding drums when they are in the scroll form. They are very heavy; and the
times which Mr. Morison had described as being necessary to lift the cage
through a small space would no doubt be very great in a scroll drum • and he
would like to ask Mr. Morison if the times he observed at the colliery in
question were with the ordinary winding drum or with a scroll drum ?
Because, while the paper was being read, he had computed mentally, as
accurately as he could, what would be the time necessary for one of these
large scroll
DISCUSSION—LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES. 37
drums, weighing from 40 to 50 tons, to raise a cage, weighing one ton, three
feet, and to allow that dead weight, acting on the rim, to bring the drum to
rest again in about the same space and time. The time, he found, would be
six seconds, or nearly six seconds, supposing the drum not to be started
with an unsafe speed, and that the use of the • break is not required; it
would then be nearly six seconds in rising through about six feet, with a
winding drum weighing between 40 and 50 tons. Mr. Morison told them that a
time of 3| seconds was actually obtained by trial, which would lead him to
suppose that the times which Morison observed were produced by a winding
engine, whose drum was not of the scroll but of the ordinary form, since in
the scroll form, these times would be nearly doubled for the part of the
time that the cage was in motion, although not for the time of loading it
and of the tubs moving off, which, of course, would remain the same as
before. In the next place, a point occurred to him about the use of scroll
drums, which was peculiarly affected by this question, and it was this—that
scroll drums are arranged so that in winding in or out, the two ends of the
suspended rope, by hanging from larger or smaller circles of the spirals, as
they diminish or increase in length, balance each other very nearly upon
such a drum, independently of their varying weights: the long length of
rope, hanging from the smaller convolutions of the scroll, has no greater
power to turn it round than the short length acting upon its outer
circumference. That was the principle of the scroll drum; and it made it
necessary that the drum when the cages were at bank and at the bottom of the
shaft, should have the rope upon parts of the drum which are of different
diameters. Now, in starting the cages again, if they have to be lifted up
from one deck to another at each landing, the top cage will go a long
distance while the bottom cage moves or rises only a short distance.
Therefore the winding engine has to be moved a certain distance to bring the
top cage to the landing, and then again a little distance to bring the
bottom cage to the landing; and it has to make six motions to put the tubs
upon a three-deck cage; and he had heard that, although in places where the
drums were used they were found very effective in their action, yet a
difficulty was experienced in the loss of time required to put the tubs upon
the cages—that the cages had to be stopped six times to land three tubs upon
each; and that each of these stoppages occupied a considerable time. He had
thought it might be interesting, as bearing upon the question, to
38 DISCUSSION—LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
mention this, as the scroll drums were no doubt a great improvement upon the
ordinary mode of raising coal, as giving a much greater uniformity, and at
present they seemed to be coming into notice as an improvement in winding
gear.
Mr. Southern, with regard to what Prof. Herschel had said as to the scroll
drum being so great an improvement on the old system, would say it had yet
to be proved. He was not aware that they were on the increase in this
district. The only one they had was at Boldon; and he had not heard that any
more were to be put up.
Prof. Herschel said, he would like to retract what he had said about the
advantages of the scroll drum, because its enormous weight made it a
question whether the speed with which it could be stopped and started was
sufficient to produce any great advantage in point of economy. But as the
scroll drums do exist, and that objection was brought forward by practical
working men, he thought it showed that a real advantage would be gained by
reducing a number of operations to a single one in the way Mr. Fowler
proposed.
Mr. Morison might say that the drum and round rope at Hucknall, where the
apparatus had been in operation, were of the ordinary type, and were
exceedingly light, so that the time occupied in raising the cage off the
keps, 3^ seconds, would compare favourably with the heavy drum and 6
seconds, which Mr. Herschel spoke of.
Mr. Bainbridge said, he did not know what reason Mr. Southern was going to
give for the scroll drum not being more generally used in this
neighbourhood• but he believed that there was no scroll drum yet made which
had the same advantages, so far as the economy of power was concerned, as
the best made round rope drum working with a counter-balance. All the
diagrams which he had had the opportunity of seeing, taken from engines
working with the scroll drum, had shown that the advantage of two different
diameters of drum was quite counteracted by the immense difficulty there
was, from the first, in moving the increased load of the drum itself. This
load was so heavy that, in one case, to his knowledge, it increased the
actual power necessary, to four times the calculated power required, to move
the absolute load of coal and rope. He wished Mr. Morison had been able to
show them from the indications of the six reversings, the exact loss of
power there was by reversing the engine so often. If they could have had the
whole of the power exerted in winding, from top to bottom, including the
changes, divided into 100 parts, he quite thought that the loss on the
changes would be represented by something like 30 to 35 parts. The
DISCUSSION—LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES. 39
full load of the working parts of the engine had to be moved in each case.
Mr. Newall asked if Mr. Morison would kindly undertake to obtain diagrams of
the work done. It would be a great addition to his paper if he would.
Mr. Morison said he would endeavour to do so. Mr. Lawrence said, as he
understood this was not a discussion upon the scroll drum, he would
not say more on that subject, except that he believed that
what Professor Herschel wished to convey was this, that in
changing the tubs, where a scroll drum was in use, there was a
greater difficulty than in changing two or three deck cages with
the ordinary drum; because, as Professor Herschel observed, a great
length of rope was moved at the top of the pit, and a very short length of
rope at the bottom of the pit, but there were several mechanical
contrivances to overcome this. With regard to the saving of expense with
this system, compared with manual labour, he thought that if the tubs
could be changed at the same expense as with men, and in less time, a very
valuable saving was effected, and he thought that, generally
speaking, in the introduction of anything new, or of anything that
could be done mechanically instead of by manual labour, they looked too
much at whether it could be done cheaper than by manual labour in the first
instance, without considering the saving due to the mechanical way of doing
it. But if they could do one-fourth of their work mechanically at the
same cost, and save one-fourth of the men for other duty, they would soon
find there would be a very great saving; and he thought
that this was one great point which ought to be looked to in introducing*
anything that could be done by hydraulic, steam, or compressed-air power.
The motion seemed to him to be a very ingenious one ,• and he was surprised
that no one had brought out such a thing before. He had seen places where
there were two levels at the bottom of the pit; and he knew several designs
that had been made where there would be three platforms at the top, and
three at the bottom. No doubt, in laying out a new pit, that was easily
arranged, and, of course, would answer the same purpose as the plan before
them, only a man would have to be placed to each of these tubs instead of
the rams. It appeared to be Mr. Bainbridg*e's argument that he could do
it as cheaply with men as with rams • but he thought that what he had just
stated would shew it to be an advantage, if it could be done as
economically. He had seen a drop staple at the bottom of the pit, so
contrived
40 DISCUSSION—LOADING AND UNLOADING PIT CAGES.
as to bring the tub to the right level; but the most important
advantage to be derived, was in the stopping and starting the
engine. There was more damage done in the stopping and starting of the
engines, and bringing the load into motion, than there was in any-other
operation of drawing; and, therefore, if this was only got over by two or
three decks and platforms, he did not care whether it was done with men or
with hydraulics, it would be a great advantage; but he did say that they
should, in every instance, do away if they possibly could with manual
labour. In some instances, at Monkwear-mouth, for example, he believed
there was a four-deck cage. Now, they have to move the engine four times
before they can change; whereas, in this apparatus, with four platforms, it
could be done at once. The arrangement with two or three platforms at
bank, and long screens and short screens, incurred a very heavy expense ;
but this system got over the difficulty, because everything could be on the
same level.
Mr. J. A. Ramsay said, he had recently seen an arrangement about to be
adopted by Mr. Heckels, at Wearmouth Colliery, by which the eight tubs in a
four-decked cage were changed in two settings down ; the full tubs, twice
two in each cage were pushed out by the empty ones, and vice versa, by
manual labour.
Mr. Cochrane would ask Mr. Morison how the tub is secured in
its place ?
Mr. Morison said, the apparatus for locking the tubs in the cage was
self-acting to a great extent. When the cage came to bank it was in a
position for the empty tubs to push the full ones out. As soon as the empty
tub was in place it locked itself.
Mr. Lawrence asked Mr. Bainbridge what was his objection to the tubs being
one above the other.
Mr. Bainbridge said his objection was this :—Suppose a cage 11 feet long
were employed, a large space would have to be excavated at the bottom of the
pit to make room for the hydraulic cages, and for the arrangements for
moving the tubs in and out of the cage. Therefore, when a cage 11 feet long
was employed, a space of 55 feet in length would have to be provided were
the system under discussion adopted. He would say, however, lest it should
be thought that anything he had observed that day was meant to be
prejudicial to this apparatus, that if he had a pit to lay out in which he
was going to have a three-tub cage, with the tubs one above another, he
should certainly adopt Mr.
Fowler's arrangement.
Mr. Morison said that Mr. May was preparing at present
DISCUSSION—GEOLOGY OF THE REDESDALE DISTRICT. 41
an arrangement for the very combination which Mr. Bainbridge was speaking
about, shewn in Plate XIII. • and he felt confident that instead of it being
more expensive than that with single tubs, in proportion to the work it
would do, it would be very much cheaper —probably two-thirds.
Mr. Lawrence said, when he asked Mr. Bainbridge the question, he was
thinking of the bank and not down below. He quite saw that, as Mr.
Bainbridge had stated, there would be a very great space indeed required to
be undermined at the bottom of the shaft for the changing of the cages, but
he did not see that Mr. Bainbridge had shown the space that would be
required there by his apparatus.
Mr. Newall then adjourned the discussion until next meeting.
Mr. Newall asked Mr. Lebour whether he had anjr remarks to make upon his
paper on the Geology of the Redesdale Ironstone district.
Mr. Lebour said, he had no further remarks to make; but had come there in
order to answer any questions which might be put to him by members taking an
interest in or having any special knowledge of the district, and he should
be happy to do so.
Mr. Boyd would ask Mr. Lebour if he had had an opportunity of examining the
district in the neighbourhood of Scremerston and the northern part of the
county of Northumberland, and if he was able to identify the seams of
mountain limestone which occurred there in such numbers and regularity, all
the layers well defined for a considerable distance of miles over which they
extended, and all in their relative thickness, keeping their relative
distance from each other with those of the district of Redesdale, upon which
the paper was written. The layers were so well known in the Scremerston
district, that if a man hits upon the crop or otherwise of a seam he can
tell whether it was the Bulm seam, the main seam, or any other in the
district. Those who took an interest in the geology of the district would be
very much pleased if Mr. Lebour were able to do so. The outcrop takes a very
winding course : it extends east by Bamborough, and through Dunstan-borough,
and then returns through the heart of the county up to the district of which
the paper treated. He had no doubt these seams were capable of being
identified, and would like to know if Mr. Lebour had taken the opportunity
of doing so.
Mr. Lebour said, that although he had not worked systematically in the
district of Scremerston, or even to any extent north of the
VOL. XXIII.—1878
F
42 DISCUSSION—GEOLOGY OF THE REDESDALE DISTRICT.
Coquet, yet, from having- geologized a little in that district, he thought
he was able to say that as the beds there trend to the south, in a
southwesterly course, a great change comes over them, not perhaps in the
existence of the seams of coal or limestone themselves, but in the
intervening sandstones and grits.
Mr. Boyd—Yes, and the width they occupy.
Mr. Lebour—And the width they occupy especially. Only quite recently, within
the last two or three months, indeed, it had been suggested by the members
of the Geological Survey who work this county that it is very likely that
the great sprawl of grits which form the high country west of Rothbury, near
Harbottle—the Harbottle grits, if he might call them so—thin out altogether
and come almost to nothing before they reach Rothbury; and that, therefore,
a very great thickness indeed of these beds must have intervened between at
least two of the seams which are known to the north of Rothbury. The
identification of these seams, until they are quite followed through, is,
therefore, exceedingly hazardous. But some of the seams have been carried
through to a great distance : for instance, the Shilbottle seam. He could
trace the Shilbottle seam as far as he had traced any of the higher
limestones of the county. He had it as far south as the South Tyne; and Mr.
Topley could follow it to the north of the Coquet. He did not know whether
it was south of the North Tyne ; but could trace it to the north of the
South Tyne, and to where it leaves the county altogether to the west.
Mr. Boyd—What is its name there 1
Mr. Lebour—It had no name there, and it was exceedingly curious to otserve
how it varied in working- southwards.
Mr. Boyd—These seams change their names in different districts.
Mr.LEBOUR—They sometimes lose their names altogether, and very often change
them in a remarkable way. There was no doubt that a great many of the
limestones, which are exceedingly numerous in the centre of the county, die
out as they go north; in the neighbourhood of the North Tyne he would not
say how many could be counted, but not very far from forty limestones he
should think. Going further north nothing of the sort was met with; and it
was very possible that although some of the limestones die out in going from
south to north, some of the coals might die out in opposite directions; that
might account for their not being identified to the south; but he might say
there was an enormous number of small seams in the whole of the central part
of the county which had no names, which were exceedingly regular, he
thought,
DISCUSSION—GEOLOGY OF THE REDESDALE DISTRICT. 43
and were very likely the representatives of these northern seams; but he
thought it would be a very long time before any one could pretend to
correlate them all. He certainly could do nothing of the kind at present.
Mr. Boyd said, he might add that, having written a paper on the same subject
on the district which he had named as very likely to be connected some day
with Mr. Lebour's district, his being the farthest north and west of the
county, and his (Mr. B.'s) the farthest north, he felt very much interested
in having those districts identified together; but in looking over his own
paper again, he should feel very much inclined to alter it in one
particular, as to a set of seams lying to the west of the thick sandstone
which Mr. Lebour referred to, abounding to the west of Rothbury, and
continuing north up the side of the Reedwater and to Bewick, and so on,
travelling north from that district where they are possibly underset by the
old red; he had a strong impression that this thick freestone would have
been the outburst or termination of the whole of the mountain limestone
series; but that a very deep depressing dyke taking place immediately to the
west of Rothbury, there was very likely a recurrence of the same series of
strata in the district to the west of Rothbury; and the actual seams all
came in again there; and this thick freestone underlaid it at the under side
of such recurrence. This was a theory he had got; and it was very likely
that if Mr. Lebour continued his studies in the district, that this thick
freestone would be found underlying all the mountain limestone series of
clays, freestones, and shales, and that it was the outburst of the whole of
them. This dyke was probably about 100 fathoms, or even more, and ran north
and south.
Mr. T. Bailes said, he had an opportunity a fortnight ago, of examining the
district to the west of Alnwick, near Eglingham, and also to the west of
that great dislocation of strata which Mr. Lebour spoke of; and he could see
that the Scremerston main coal and the Cowper Eye seams were there
classified and identified fully as far to the south as Eglingham, and the
features there presented outcropping in succession, were similar to those
met with further north; the strata with these beds of coal being thrown into
position again by the fault, downthrow westward, which Mr. Boyd had alluded
to.
Mr. Lebour said that in the district west of Alnwick, and also west of
Rothbury, bordering on the grits, there was a tract formed not exactly of
carboniferous limestone proper, but of the lowest member of the
carboniferous series, which is known in Scotland as the calciferoua
44 DISCUSSION—GEOLOGY OF THE REDESDALE DISTRICT.
sandstone, and which was well marked by beds of bad cream-coloured
limestone—bastard limestone, as it was called; much like the cement stones
of Scotland. These beds occur immediately below the Harbottle grits, of
which he had spoken; and the base of these grits forms the summit of this
lower set of beds; now these Harbottle grits thin out as they reach the
Simonside grits, with which they must not be confounded, although they both
come together seemingly in a line. He was convinced that they were not the
same grits, but that the Harbottle grits were at Harbottle—really the base
of the carboniferous limestone proper.
Mr. Boyd—Against the Cheviots ?
Mr. Lebour—Yes ; although about Alnwick, where if he was right these
Harbottle grits had entirely died out, the Tuedian grits, as Mr. J. Tate had
called them, were, he believed, not easily separated from the upper series.
Mr. Boyd said, the great reason why he had thought it necessary to call
attention to the subject was, that in his sections he gave a series of what
he called the upper beds. If the theory he had this day propounded, that
these upper beds happened to have been set down by a dip dyke or fault to
the west, was right, then this was merely a succession of seams and beds
identical with those occurring on the top of this depression. One gentleman,
for whom he was interested, had rather given him a hope that he might some
day or other have a borehole put down in the district of Chatton, that
being- the valley of the Breamish and the Till; and if that bore-hole should
prove anything, it might very easily determine this very difficult question.
He hoped he might get him to pursue it.
Mr. Newall said they were very much indebted to Mr. Lebour for his
attendance there that day, and for the attention he had given in preparing
his paper; he presumed the meeting would at once accord a vote of thanks to
him.
Mr. Boyd begged leave to second the motion, which he did with great
pleasure. They required a great deal of intelligence to assist them in their
explorations, and he was sure they could not be in better hands than those
of Mr. Lebour.
The vote of thanks was carried unanimously.
The meeting then terminated.
PROCEEDINGS. 45
/
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1873, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Me. NEWALL, Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously nominated :—»
Members—
Mr. Peter Donaldson, Alipore, Calcutta.
Mr. W. S. Vaughan, Abbot and Co., Gateshead.
Mr. Robert Hetherington, Coanwood Colliery, Haltwkistle.
Mr. W. J. Grimshaw, M.E., Stand Lane Collieries, Radcliffe, near Manchester.
Mr. Fountain Clarbotjr, 11, Mark Lane, Withy Grove, Manchester.
Student—
Mr. E. Hamilton, Tursdale Colliery, Coxhoe.
¦
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members— Mr. R. I. Galloway, Hebburn Colliery, Gateshead. Mr. James Hall,
Coal Owner, Newcastle. Mr. Adams, Mining Engineer, Cardiff. Mr. Robert T.
Bunn, Coal Owner, Newcastle. Mr. George Olark, Jun., Monkwearmouth Engine
Works, Sunderland.
46 PROCEEDINGS.
Students— Mr. Charles Z. Bunking, 90, Abbot Terrace, Gateshead. Mr. Arthur
Robert Sawyer, Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
The meeting- then adjourned to the Lecture Room of the College of Physical
Science, kindly placed at their disposal by Professors A. S. Herschel and A.
Freire-Marreco j and
Mr. John Wallace read the following- paper on "The Combustion of Coal Gas to
Produce Heat:"—
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 4?
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PKODUCE HEAT.
By JOHN WALLACE.
The relative intensity of the heat of combustion, may be measured by the
quantity of fuel burnt completely in a given space. This truth under various
forms of proposition, gains continually increasing- importance, with the
growing- public interest in the economy of fuel, and the efforts that are
being- made to obtain a nearer approach to the theoretical effect from the
coal we burnt, counterbalance the steadily increasing- cost of the materials
for producing heat. The fuel to be treated on in this paper is Carburetted
Hydrog-en, or Coal Gas, and the conditions under which this gas must be
burnt; and certain forms of apparatus designed for that end, will form the
principal subject-matter. For the sake of brevity the word Gas will signify
Carburetted Hydrogen, other gases will have their proper prefixes, and in
all cases the gas is to be burned to produce heat.
The reports on experiments made to determine the relative value of two
methods of burning gas, viz., with an admixture of air previous to
combustion, and without it, give the most diverse results, and yet whenever
gas has to be burned in quantity in a limited space and without forced
combustion, the latter mode is invariably adopted. Bunsen, or atmospheric
burners, may be divided into two classes :—First, the original form with an
upright jet of g-as and burner, in which the amount of air mixed previous to
combustion is due partly to the force of the escaping jet of gas, partly to
its levity, and partly to the draught caused by the heat of the burner tube.
The second class of burner has a horizontal jet; the air mixed before
combustion is due solely to the motive force of the gas, and varies more
uniformly with the quantity of gas passing than in the first class. When the
whole of the necessary air is combined during combustion, the result is a
light-giving flame, and when the whole of
48 THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
the air is mixed before combustion, the result is an explosion. The Bunsen'
flame, therefore, occupies an intermediate position, and the amount of air
mixed before combustion may vary to a considerable extent, but in all cases
it must be below the exploding- proportion, else the mixture becomes
unmanageable. Not only should the proper proportion of air be mixed with the
gas, but the mixture should be as intimate as possible. On examining- two
flames, one supplied with an intimate and the other with an imperfect
mixture, the latter will be found to produce a roaring noise, while the
other is silent. Both flames have the same temperature. The roaring is due
to the imperfect mixture of the gas and air, some parts having the explosive
proportion; and so the noise is caused by a rapid series of small
explosions. The other flame is as silent as that of a candle, and shows the
effect of intimate mixture of air previous to combustion. In a burner which
has a circular mixing chamber, into which the gas and air enter at a
tangent, and eddy round in cycloidal curves, with a decreasing velocity
towards the centre, until they escape at the burner tube perfectly mixed,
the appearance of this flame is so marked, as to be a reliable index of the
state of combustion. Immediately above the burner tube is a brilliant green
cone G, surrounded by an amber-coloured flame A (Plate XV.) This green cone
is a hollow space within the flame, and the green colour indicates the
surface of the cone where the combustion commences. It has been supposed
that this green colour is due to the carbon in the gas, the idea having been
taken from the colour of the carbon lines in the spectroscope. It has also
been attributed to the nitrogen in the air mixed with the gas.* A lucifer
match laid across the burner tube, is only burnt where the flame comes in
contact with the atmosphere, and if the head of the match be dexterously put
inside the green cone it will not ignite, although surrounded by a flame
having a temperature of 3000° F.
* Experiments on this question have not had any very definite results.
First, a mixture of gas and atmospheric air was burnt, and the flame
examined by means of the spectroscope, showing a brilliant carbon spectrum,
which increased in brilliancy as the proportion of air increased. The
nitrogen spectrum could not be recognised, even the red lines which would
appear at the lower temperature of combustion were not seen. Next a mixture
of pure oxygen and coal gas was burnt, producing a much higher temperature,
but no material change was visible in the spectrum. As the green colour only
appears where combustion begins, and where there is a deficiency of oxygen,
it is very probable that the spectrum is that of carbonic oxide.
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 49
A piece of copper wire nearly |in. thick, held just above the cone is
readily fused, and gold, silver, or brass, melt even more readily.
The amount of air necessary to the complete combustion of gas of 16 candle
power, is 6'4 volumes nearly, of which a part is mixed beforehand, and the
remainder combines during combustion. Now, as gas can only be burnt
completely by being ignited in a thin sheet, or else divided into very small
jets, when it receives all its air during combustion, it follows that in the
Bunsen flame of half an inch or more in thickness a part of the air must be
mixed previous to combustion, to compensate for the reduced surface of the
flame in relation to its bulk or volume. The surface capable of taking up
oxygen is confined to the base of the flame; the upper portion is giving off
carbonic acid, at a temperature which increases its bulk to nearly 7
volumes, and effectually prevents the further combination of oxygen from the
surrounding air, until its temperature is too low to sustain combustion.
Therefore, the greater the quantity of gas passing through a burner of a
given diameter, the nearer must the mixture approach the explosive
proportion, it being very evident that this available surface of the flame
does not increase in like measure.
It will be observed that the greater the quantity of air mixed previous to
combustion, the smaller the flame becomes, it requires less assistance from
the outer atmosphere, and is consumed more rapidly. The total amount of heat
which would have been given off by a more bulky flame, is now produced in a
space less than one-sixth of the other, and, recalling the opening sentence
of this paper, "The relative intensity of the heat of combustion may be
measured by the quantity of fuel burnt completely in a given space," it may
reasonably be concluded that the flame is much hotter, even if the total
amount of heat evolved be just the same. But before going further in this
direction, it would be well to consider the appearance of the flame, as the
amount of air in the-gas varies. Taking a burner in which the air and gas
are well mixed before combustion, it will be observed that as the proportion
of air increases, the green cone becomes shorter and its colour more
intense, and, as its outline is so distinct, it will serve to indicate the
changes which take place in the mixture. The burner used for this experiment
is similar in most respects to the tangent burner already described. The
tube is -/g-ths internal diameter, and tapered to a thin edge at the top, so
as to give the air a free passage to the base of the flame. The consumption
of gas of 16 candle power, to be at the rate of 3 feet per hour, and the
admixture of
VOL. XXIII.—1878
q
50 THE COMBUSTION OF COAL CAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
air to vary as follows, the air used being- at the same pressure as the gas;
the results only of this experiment are given below :—
EXPERIMENTS ON THE PROPORTION OF GAS AND AIR MIXED PREVIOUS TO COMBUSTION IN
WALLACE'S BURNER.
TABLE I.
PEESSUEE OF GAS AND AIE, 6-10ths OF AN INCH.
Ptcti.™™™ Height of Inner Height of Outer Volume of Gas Volume of
Air experiments. 0one Flame. per
Hour. per Hour.
1 -29" 2-75* 6-00 c.f.
8-22 c.f.
2 1-00" 2-55* 6-00 c.f.
6"00 c.f. 8 1-55"* 3-30* 5-82 c.f.
3"66 c.f.
TABLE II.
PEESSUEE OF GAS AND AIE, 15-10ths OF AN INCH.
4 -55' 3-30* 8-84"
12-72 c.f.
5 1-00" 3-30" 8.88"
10-92 c.f.
6 2-40"* 4'30' 9-00*
6-96 c.f.
• Cone almost imperceptible, with short white tail.
If the diameter of the burner tube be reduced without altering the quantity
of gas passing from T7/ to bare §", the green cone becomes .elongated and
much less distinct. The force of the gas is too small to carry sufficient
air along with it through the reduced opening, but if the pressure of the
gas were sufficiently increased, and the jet.orifice reduced so as to let
the same amount pass, the brilliant colour would again appear in the cone.
So there must always be a certain proportion existing between the diameter
of a burner tube, the quantity of gas passing through it, and the quantity
of air mixed with the gas. When the mixture of air increases beyond 1|
volumes the flame disappears within the burner tube and burns without
further assistance. By adjusting the velocity of the mixture so as to be
equal to the rate of combustion, the flame remains stationary at any desired
height in the tube. By varying the speed of the mixture, or the proportion
of air, the flame will ascend or descend at will.
The increase of pressure on the gas has no ill effects on the burner when
properly constructed. It will burn gas from f ths of an inch to 2 feet and
upwards of water pressure without producing a particle of solid carbon
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL CAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 51
The bad name it has acquired for lighting within or striking back is
entirely due to mal-construction. If the burner be an upright one, with the
jet of gas passing straight to the flame, it will, unless of very small
diameter, or of great length, be liable to strike back when turned low
unless the supply of air is reduced at the bottom. This may be done by
connecting the air-slide with the gas cock. A cam is fixed on the key of the
gas cock, and is proportioned so as to give the gas as much air as can
safely be mixed with it. When the gas is turned low, the slide closes in
proportion, and the flame is as safe as when full on. The eccentric has a
curve on the other side which gives a less amount of air to the gas and
produces the reducing flame. That is a flame with a deficiency of oxygen, so
that it will burn out the oxygen contained in a metallic oxide and reduce it
to the metallic form. By quickly reversing the cock the cam leaves the
air-slide closed, and gas passes unmixed to the flame. By constructing a
burner in which the air and gas are intimately mixed, the tendency to strike
down is greatly reduced, and as an additional precaution there should be a
piece of wire gauze fastened beneath the burner tube which prevents any
flame from passing through the mixing chamber to the jet, and to prevent any
accidental lighting of the jet from without, it also should be cased in with
wire gauze. The japanning of a burner thus constructed, and made of tinplate
soldered together, and removed only one inch from the flame, would remain
uninjured, notwithstanding that the heat of the flame was sufficient to melt
copper. This was due partly to the thinness of the metal used, which will
not conduct sufficient quantity of heat downwards to do mischief, and partly
to the currents of cool air passing over and through the mixing chamber.
Very much has been said and written on the relative heating powers of the
Bunsen compared with the light flame, but, as the reports seem to have
depended very much on the sort of apparatus used in the respective
experiments, the question cannot be settled until the construction and
proportions of the Bunsen burner are thoroughly understood and agreed upon.
From a purely logical point of view, the probabilities are in favour of the
Bunsen flame. Granted,that it gives off no smoke, and that the other does,
then the former has the advantage of so much extra carbon consumed. Again,
the smoke deposits on heating surfaces, forming a serious impediment to the
heat; here is another point in favour of the Bunsen flame. Experiments have
usually been made with vessels of water having clean bottoms; would it not
have been better
52 THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
to coat one of them with soot of an average thickness to represent the
normal condition of a vessel used over a smoke-giving- flame ?
It was noticed that the Bunsen flame was a shorter flame than the other, and
also that the more air there was mixed previous to combustion the shorter it
became, and the less air it needed to complete combustion. Bearing- in mind,
then, that the nearer a substance to be heated is placed to the source of
heat the more rapidly the heat passes into it, we find that a vessel of
water can be placed nearer the centre of the flame without interfering with
combustion, and thus it subtends a greater angle of radient heat than if it
were further off (see Plate XV.), and, consequently, there must be less loss
by lateral radiation. Besides this, there is less risk of the flame being
fouled in its own products of combustion, when the amount of air it takes
up, while burning, is reduced to a minimum.
Having gone thus far into the subject, some tangible evidence may not
unnaturally be expected. Here is the result of three trials made with the
batswing against the Bunsen burner. A vessel with a flat bottom of tinplate,
holding one pint of water, was placed over a batswing burner at a height
chosen out of three trials as the best position. A similar vessel, with the
same quantity of water, was placed over the Bunsen burner with the same
precautions. The following table shows the time taken to boil the water in
each case:—
Gas Burning at the Rate of 45 Cubic Feet pee Houe. Experiments.
1st. 2nd. 3rd.
Average.
Batswing ... 12 min. 43 sec. 12 min. 45 sec. 12min. 48 sec.
12min.45 sec.
Bunsen ... 9 min. 32 sec. 9min. 32 sec. 9min. 33sec.
9 min. 32 sec.
_______________________________________________________________m
Showing an advantage of 3 minutes 13 seconds, or 25 per cent., in favour of
the Bunsen burner.
The production of smoke, and the production of smells from gas flames, apart
from their offensive and unwholesome character, always indicate a waste of
fuel; it is, therefore, incumbent on all those who are interested directly
or indirectly in the consumption of gas to give some attention to the
subject of its combustion and the apparatus to be used for that purpose.
Never since the establishment of gas works has there been such a demand for
gas as at the present time; and every new
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 53
discovery or improvement in the use of it opens a fresh and profitable field
of industry. It is so convenient a fuel that its cost does not prevent it
from being- used in large quantities; and wherever a well-regulated and
definite quantity of heat is wanted, gas has the preference over all other
fuels. For small steam boilers it is much more suitable than coal, coke, or
wood; a small fire being the most difficult of all to regulate properly.
Indeed, it may here be a fitting- place to make some comparison between the
coal fire and the gas fire, in order to have a more exact notion of their
relative values.
A coal fire under a boiler is always in a state of forced combustion. The
friction of the flues or the smallness of the grate area necessitate the
employment of a chimney or a steam blast to carry off the products of
combustion, and to supply the fuel with fresh oxygen. The relative quantity
of air passing through the furnace depends upon the temperature of the
chimney and the area of the openings through the fire or the furnace door.
As the fuel is consumed there is a continual change in the form and area of
the openings through the fire— in some cases the bars may burn bare, and in
others be obstructed by slag-. Every passing minute brings a change which no
vigilance can correct, and stoking only aggravates the evil while the door
is open. Passing too much air through the flues is as bad in its
consequences as passing too little; and as small boilers receive much less
attention than large ones, although they require more, it is evident that if
stoking could be entirely dispensed with, and an apparatus substituted which
would supply fuel and air exactly at the rate required, a uniformity in
working would be arrived at which has hitherto been unattainable, besides
saving the whole expense of stoking, which often costs far more than the
fuel.
A furnace or burner to burn gas under a boiler, must have the following
qualifications:—
1. It must deposit no soot, and must burn gas in quantity on a
limited area.
2. It must be on the Bunsen principle.
3. It must burn equally well at every rate of combustion, and be en-
tirely free from striking back when turned low.
4. It must require little or no chimney draught to assist combustion,
as it has been shown that the gas is capable of inducing air sufficient for
admixture by its own motive force. The same law which limits the size and
form of gas-light flames, in order to avoid deposit of soot, applies to the
method of mixing air with
54 THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
gas in a furnace. The whole supply, of gas must he sub-divided into
small jets, in order to induce a sufficient admixture of air. It is the
surface of a stream of gas which enters into active combination with the
air through which it passes ; so, the smaller the jet, the greater the
surface exposed in proportion to the quantity of gas passing. This is a
matter of great nicety, for the motive force of the gas is so very slight,
that any error in proportion will at once tell in the appearance of the
flames. The sub-division of the gas supply has another good result— it
effects a more complete admixture of the air induced by the gas, and
produces a steadiness in the flames which allows them to be turned very low
without some of them being extinguished before the others. A furnace of
this kind, when placed below a boiler, requires the slowest possible
draught, just sufficient to carry off the products of combustion. Such a
furnace, capable of fulfilling these conditions, may be described as an
example. 12 (or more) burner tubes of Ty diameter, arranged in a circle,
project vertically from a cylindrical mixing* chamber, into which the gas is
introduced tangentially, drawing with it, by reason of its velocity, the
necessary quantity of air through lateral orifices in the inlet tube. A
perfect mixture is thus attained, as before described. Under the circular
row of burner tubes is fastened a piece of wire gauze to prevent lighting
down. Above, or on a level with the tops of the burners, is
fastened a disk with a row of holes, each of which is immediately
opposite one of the orifices of the burner tubes, and is just so much larger
in diameter as to leave an annular space round the top of each tube. A
rim on the edge of the disk, and projecting about 1^" upwards, supports the
vessel to be heated. The flames are thus shielded from air currents or
other disturbance, and draw through the annular spaces all the air required
to complete the combustion of the gas. By this arrangement the important
advantage is gained of introducing the air at the base of each flame.
The increase of the heating surface of boilers, seems to have had as much
thought and ingenuity expended on it as any other problem in the whole
realms of engineering. After looking through the patent records, a stranger
might naturally wonder how it was that the majority of boilers retained such
simple forms. A little practice would, however, soon show him that unless it
can be swept and cleaned out, a boiler is only the worse for an elaboration
of tubes and flues.
The deposit of tar and soot, which harden in every available corner, forming
an excellent non-conductor, has been the ruin of many a well-meant scheme
for boiler improvement. It will readily account for the
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL CAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 55
extraordinary reports on the successful working of new boilers, which
somehow never seem to be heard of afterwards. The more frequently a " boiler
fire is lighted up and allowed to cool down again, the more rapid is the
deposit of soot and tar on the heating surfaces. A small boiler is most of
all exposed to this contingency. The smallness of its parts also limits its
construction to simple forms, so as to be easily cleaned. With a fuel that
does not smoke, and from which the tar has been carefully removed, there are
fewer limitations. The original heating surface could be depended on at all
times, and the areas calculated from the results of coal or coke fuel would
be found greatly in excess of what was required per horse-power. Again,
since gas has been shown capable of being burned in quantity without forced
combustion, the quick draught may be dispensed with, and the heat allowed
the greatest time to pass through the heating surfaces into the water,
besides greatly reducing the risk of drawing cold air through the flues. The
furnace being constructed of metal, with its parts proportioned to its work,
there could be no alteration of areas or openings during the combustion of
the fuel.
By coupling the gas supply valve to a regulator, actuated by the steam
pressure, and balancing the draught in the flues, by means of a descending-
outer flue of equal length to the ascending inner one, the speed of draught
will always be in exact proportion to the amount of gas burnt; and the fuel
will always be fed just as steam is required. It is probable that on
analysis the spirit gases from such a furnace would give fewer traces of
free oxygen than those from any coal or coke furnace used for the same
purpose. It seems only now that engineers are beginning to learn how small a
quantity of coal may be burnt to produce one horsepower per hour under a
steam boiler. An eminent engineer lately astonished the public by the
announcement that he obtains one horse-power per hour from one pound of
coal. Now, recalling the experiments made by Dr. Letheby and Mr. F. J.
Evans, it appears that 13 cubic feet of gas are the equivalent of one pound
of coal in heat power. It follows that the cost of 13 cubic feet of gas is
the price of one horse-power per hour if burnt under sufficiently favourable
conditions. A small boiler would doubtless have to be very well designed and
constructed to produce the results just named; but the demand for a small
motor, which shall, at the same time, be simple and reliable, is so well
known that there is surely sufficient inducement to the mechanical engineer
to go thoroughly into the matter. Before such a meeting as the present it
will be quite unnecessary to say a word as to the probable demand for such a
boiler and furnace.
The writer has hitherto been dealing with what might be called the
56 THE COMBUSTION OF COAL CAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
natural combustion of gas in contradistinction to forced combustion, and as
it is often necessary to produce intense heat in small quantities, it is
evident that the former method is not sufficient for the purpose. It has
hitherto been customary to employ the motive force of a jet of compressed
air to supplement the weakness of the gas pressure and bring1 the fuel into
sufficiently small compass to produce intense heat. If, instead of
compressing- the air, the gas be compressed, then the same result may be
arrived at, viz., the burning* of an increased quantity of fuel in a given
space. The gas will induce more air in proportion to its bulk at high than
at low pressures, and so perfect combustion is secured. It has been observed
that when the air and gas have been intimately mixed before combustion the
flame is silent; this is also the case when gas is used at high pressures.
The roaring noise of a brazier's blowpipe is caused by the meeting of the
air and gas just below the flame. They have, therefore, really no time to
mix properly, and the result is a straggling flame, which it requires great
experience to control.
Gas has come to be so extensively used for brazing, where heat has to be
applied on limited surfaces, that a little attention to the construction of
the blowpipe would amply repay any one who has to use it frequently.
The fusing point of brass varies greatly. It decreases with the cheapness of
the metal, and very often the difference of fusing point between the metal
to be soldered and the metal used as solder is so small that the utmost care
will sometimes fail to prevent the work from melting together. This is
particularly the case when bellows are used to force the air with a
constantly varying pressure.
Plate XVI. shows an apparatus intended to illustrate the foregoing-remarks
-, it is far from perfect, but it will show that gas may be burnt at a
greatly increased pressure and induce all the air necessary for admixture
previous to combustion. The induced current in this experiment is made to do
the work of a pump or bellows, and operates in many respects similar to the
well-known Giflard's injector.
A small steam boiler A, with a gas burner below, supplies power in the form
of a jet of steam, which is made to force gas through a condenser B, where
the steam separates in the form of water from the gas. The water remains in
the receiver while the gas passes on to be burnt. To counteract the cooling
effect of the moisture with which the gas is saturated, it is made to pass
through chloride of calcium before going to the burner. The pressure of
steam in the boiler is 8 lbs. per square inch. The quantity of gas passing
through the burner is 32 feet per hour.
THE COMBUSTION OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 57
The pressure of the gas from the mains is 1-| inches; and the pressure of
the gas in the receiver is 30 inches of water.
The steadiness of the flame is in a great measure due to the regularity of
the pressure of the gas, which will remain the same as long as the supply of
steam and gas continue.
The pressure of the gas may be augmented by increasing the pressure of the
steam, and thus ensure at once a force and regularity which it would be
difficult to obtain in any other manner.
In the same way air may be compressed and dried to serve blowpipes
throughout a factory using gas at the main pressure.
It is of as much importance in most cases to control and regulate heat when
once obtained as it is to produce it. This is particularly the case as
regards dwellings, conservatories, and other buildings where comfort,
convenience, or circumstance requires a regular temperature. To have such a
power at command would, doubtless, cause many persons to prefer gas as fuel
who at present object to it for various real or imaginary reasons. A
regulator to control the temperature produced by the combustion of gas must,
as a first necessity, be automatic and reliable, and the simpler the better.
Many attempts have been made to regulate the consumption of gas according to
the temperature it produces ; some of them have, very probably, only lacked
the publicity necessary to ensure the success of a worthy invention. The
desirability of a good regulator is only too evident from the constant
complaints that are made of the waste of gas through the carelessness or
extravagance of persons who have charge of gas stoves. Too much heat is just
as inconvenient as too little, so a regular temperature at once secures
convenience and economy.
Pla/te XVII. shows a regulator which is intended to meet the requirements of
such an apparatus when attached either to a Bunsen or light burner. A change
of two degrees Fahrenheit will cause it to work, adjusting, extinguishing,
and re-lighting the burner according as heat is required for weeks or months
together.
The expansion of air gives this apparatus the controlling power to regulate
the flow of the gas to be burnt. It is preferred to other means, because of
the extreme mobility of air and the ease with which it may be adjusted by
simply opening and closing an air valve. The mode of action is as follows:—a
thin copper vessel, of a certain capacity, contains the air which is to
regulate the gas by its expansion. The vessel A is coated with a dead black
to render it the more susceptible to absorption or radiation of heat, and it
has a small valve, the purpose of
YOL. XXIII.—1873.
jj
58 THE COMBUSTION" OF COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
which will be presently described. A small pipe B leads from the expansion
chamber to one end of the syphon C containing* mercury. The other area D of
the syphon is of the same form, and a bell-mouthed tube is suspended over
the mercury, at about |" from its surface. The gas passing- to be burnt
enters the cup D, and passes over the surface of the mercury into tlie
bell-mouthed tube, and thence to the burner, in the direction of the arrows.
A by-pass takes gas to a very small constant flame attached to the burner.
As the air is confined in the vessel A, the tube B, and the cup C, any
increase of volume will depress the mercury in C, raise the level in D, and
decrease the space below the bell-mouthed tube through which the gas
escapes, and if the air continues to expand, it will close it completely.
Then the surface of the mercury around the bell-mouthed tube is acted on by
the gas pressure, while that within the tube is relieved, so the mercury
rises to a height within the tube proportionate to the pressure of the gas,
as at E. The area of the mouth of the tube is such that, until the mercury
touches it, sufficient gas may pass to give a small supply to each flame in
the burner. Otherwise if some flames went out before the rest there would be
an escape of unburnt gas. When the air in the expansion chamber contracts,
the mercury begins to leave the bell tube, although it is still at a higher
level within, as shown in shading, until - :s gravity overcomes the pressure
of the gas, when it falls clear of the tube, allowing a free rush of gas
sufficient to supply all the jets of the burner, which are simultaneously
ignited by the constant flame. All that is necessary in order to set this
regulator is to open the valve on the expansion chamber and light the
burner. When the place to be heated is brought to the desired temperature
the valve is closed, and the enclosed air has a volume due to this
temperature. Any deviation from it will affect the volume of the air and
cause a corresponding adjustment of the gas. If the gas were turned slowly
on and slowly off there would be an escape and a nuisance each time it was
lighted or extinguished; but in this case the supply and cut-off are sudden,
while the regulation is gradual.
With an apparatus of this kind a conservatory, for instance, can be heated
with the greatest nicety. As sure as the thermometer falls below a given
point the gas will be turned on and lighted; and when the sun affords
sufficient heat it will be extinguished.
It is very difficult in treating a subject of such magnitude as the present
one to bring sufficient of it within the limits of a single paper for
discussion. Each separate branch grows in importance as we examine
THE COMBUSTION OE COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 59
it; but as the object of this paper is to show that gas of any quality can
be burnt on Bunsen's principle, in properly constructed burners, with
certainty and safety, and in a manner capable of control to suit various
circumstances, the details of its application must be reserved for some
future occasion.
It will not, however, be out of place to remark that it is on the proper
combustion of gas that the fate of its application to household purposes
depends. The prejudice against the substitution of gas for coal in cooking
is not difficult to overcome, its relative economy for that purpose is
established beyond denial, its convenience is equally admitted. But the
sickening smell from badly constructed gas burners is past all endurance,
and nothing can reconcile people to it. It is a great pity that the gas
companies, who have brought the construction of the gas-meter to such
perfection, should have allowed the manufacture of gas cooking and heating
apparatus to fall into the hands of the most ignorant class of mechanics,
who are to blame for nearly all the bad repute attached to the system. There
are certainly a few exceptions to the rule, but the numberless failures,
particularly of burners constructed after Bunsen's principle, which must be
present to the mind of every one who has had any experience of them, will
bear out this statement. Gas companies are by degrees taking the matter in
hand, because they find it provides duty for their mains in the day time;
but mischief is already done, which it will take years to undo. The
increasing cost of coal and of household labour render it highly probable
that the same success awaits the domestic applications of gas, as has
already established the sewing machine; and had the gas apparatus been in
equally competent hands, there is no doubt that it would long ere this have
been one of our domestic institutions.
It is to be hoped that among the numberless schemes for gas manufacture at
present, the public may ere long be provided with a gas which shall be
sufficiently cheap and plentiful to be used both for lighting and heating in
private dwellings as well as for trade and manufacturing purposes in
workshop or warehouse. Gas is the perfection of fuel. It can be produced
from materials unfit for burning in small fires or furnaces, and when made
it can be lighted in a moment and burnt with the utmost regularity.
Instead of decreasing our resources for materials from which to make it they
appear to increase, especially as regards shale and petroleum. It may
therefore be said that the materials are already at hand, the market open,
and an unlimited demand assured for any good and cheap hydrocar-
60 DISCUSSION—COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
bon gas. The process of manufacture and the apparatus alone remain to be
decided on.
At present the system most in favour appears to be that of producing two
gases—one with an excess of hydrogen, and the other with an excess of
carbon, and then mixing them. But judging from the results it is evident
that the temperature and pressure necessary to effect a chemical combination
have been very little thought of, and the schemes have all come short of
their intention. The process of purification is also far from satisfactory.
It is expensive, and sufficiently unsettled to be the subject of the most
diverse opinions. Three or four years ago an apparatus was patented which
employed jets of steam both to draw the gas from the retorts and purify it;
but here again the combining temperature and pressure were forgotten, and
moreover the inventor seems to have lacked the mechanical ability to apply
his idea properly, so the scheme which contains all the elements of a great
invention has sunk into the limbo of failures.
It is hoped that the influence of technical education may soon be manifest
in its effects on these and similar problems which so nearly affect our
national prosperity. Now there are many distinguished engineers who are all
ignorant of chemistry, and many famous chemists who are without mechanical
education, even of the simplest practical kind. The present chaotic state of
the system of gas manufacture is due in great measure to this cause, and
nothing but the equal co-operation of the twin sciences of chemistry and
mechanics will discover the process and the apparatus which shall provide us
with a cheap, safe, and useful gas fuel.
The lecturer explained the Tables I. and II., which gave the results of the
experiments made to ascertain the amounts of air mixed with gas previous to
combustion. The appearance of the cone noticed in the paper was taken as an
index of the proportion of the mixture. The pressure of the gas in the
experiments given in No. I. Table was 6-10ths of an inch; in those of No.
II. Table, an inch and a half, and the results confirmed the previous ones.
The experiments were made to determine exactly how much air was induced
previous to combustion, and to account for the difference in the appearance
of the volumes; and the table gave it exactly. The amount of air to the gas
came out a great deal less than was previously supposed. The amount of
air necessary
DISCUSSION—COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 61
to the complete combustion of the gas varied as the amount of carbon
contained in the gas. This experiment had been made upon Newcastle gas of
low illuminating power. Lest he might be misunderstood he would state that
his paper referred particularly to small boilers below one-horse power—a
boiler which was very much in demand for large cities where a small amount
of power was required. He would never propose to manufacture coal gas to
burn under a large boiler, for however carefully constructed a furnace might
be, gas fuel was more expensive than coal. But there were circumstances
under which it was more economical to burn coal gas, even at the present
price, than coal, and in London particularly there were numbers of small
boilers working steam hoists and things of that kind, and burning coal gas
even at the London prices; and in almost every instance they gave the
greatest satisfaction. It was in cases like this where the expense of the
stoker was greater than that of the fuel.
The boilers were fitted with regulators by which the pressure of steam in
them adjusted the amount of the gas. When the pressure rose towards the
blowing-off point, the gas was turned down; the consequence was, the boiler
did not blow off. The boiler in almost every instance would require to be an
upright one, with internal flues, and hot-spent gas passing down the outside
of the boiler and out at the bottom. A system of burning gas under large
boilers would of course require to be different from this j but different
gas would have to be used. Carburetted hydrogen gas was never burnt under
large boilers, and he should be the last to propose it.
Mr. Wm, Boyd said, the comparative cost in the market of one pound of coal
and of 13 cubic feet of gas should be compared against the cost of producing
one indicated horse-power by the two systems—even extending this one pound
to two pounds, a result which was constantly obtained, the absolute money
cost of producing one indicated horsepower was of course very much in favour
of the combustion of the coal as against the combustion of the gas, putting
the question of convenience on one side altogether.
Mr. Wallace—Yes, under present conditions; but in order to have a basis of
argument they had to take the extreme capacity of both fuels. He had
endeavoured to show that gas could be burnt, in small quantities especially,
to greater advantage and more completely than coal. Of course a great deal
of work remained to be done. The shape of the boiler remained to be decided;
but they must know the capability of a fuel
62 DISCUSSION—COAL CAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
before setting- to work to experiment with it; and to him gas seemed to
offer a field well worth considerable research and attention.
Mr. Bunning said there was another and most important advantage arising from
the use of gas. In a large warehouse, worth perhaps several thousand pounds,
if a small steam engine is erected, driven by an ordinary boiler and coal
furnace, the rate of insurance is increased all over the building. Whereas,
by introducing a small steam engine, and using gas, this extra expense would
not be necessary. This would in almost all cases turn the scales in favour
of the consumption of gas, and, therefore, he considered the subject a most
important one.
Mr. Nelson thought that instead of one pound being required per horse-power,
three or four would be nearer the mark; but he should imagine that it was
more practicable to burn gas in small boilers than coal, because gas might
be regulated automatically, to a great degree, by such an arrangement as Mr.
Wallace had shown, and the stoking of coal could not be arranged
automatically, but was in a very great degree under human control.
Professor Herschel said, there was one point upon which perhaps he would be
able to get information from Mr. Wallace. It was mentioned to him (the
professor) many years ago, when he was at Glasgow, that gas had been used as
a fuel by mixing it with air in certain proportions, keeping it stored up in
gas holders, he thought with equal proportions of air, and burning it in the
same way as common gas, and that it was used in that way as a heating power,
and was a very great improvement on the ordinary gas for fuel. In the only
experiment on the heating power of gas which *he had been able to discover,
the heating power was quite as high as Mr. Wallace had stated; and he would
like to know if it was on trustworthy experiment or calculation that they
had the high heating power which he gave. The practical experiments with
Newcastle gas which he had met with, place the heating power at about 33
cubic feet, doing as much as a pound of coal, i.e., a pound of gas doing the
same work as a pound of coal: each pound of fuel evaporating 12 lbs. of
water. The experiments were a few years old, no doubt; but he would like to
know from Mr. Wallace how far they could be relied upon.
Mr. Wallace said, the only gas which he had seen mixed with atmospheric air
was gas produced from oil, generally dead oils, in the distillation of tar;
and to be able to burn it in the common burner to produce light it was
necessary to mix ten per cent, of air with it. A gas of very rich carbon
properties might require 50 per cent, of air. But in order to burn it to
give light, gas of a carbon strength beyond a
4
DISCUSSION—COAL CAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 63
certain point, could not be used, or else the carbon was deposited in its
solid form. Therefore it was well to mix about 10 per cent, of air with oil
gas, in order to- burn it even to give light. The authorities which he
quoted for the value of 13 cubic feet of gas were Mr. F. J. Evans, a man
very well known in London; and also Mr. Hartley, who read a paper on the
subject three years ago at the Association of gas managers.
Mr. Newall said, of course when Mr. Wallace or Professor Herschel spoke of
gas, they meant carburetted hydrogen. They did not refer to any other kind
of gas, such as hydrogen alone 1
Mr. Wallace—No.
Mr. Newall said, he saw a large boiler in Manchester two years ago, of about
20 horse-power, which was heated for some months by using creosote. A jet of
creosote was forced through a small tube, that tube being surrounded by a
steam tube; in fact, it was an injector. The steam drew the creosote from a
vessel which was heated slightly; and the result was a very long flame under
the boiler—a flame about 30 feet long from one tube ; and this raised steam
for manufacturing purposes. It promised good results ; but from some cause
or other the experiment became so expensive that it was given up.
Mr. Wallace said he thought that if they compared gas fuel with coal fuel
they must take into consideration the most convenient form in which the fuel
could be burnt. When coal had to be burnt in small quantities it was
impossible to get anything approaching the theoretical results from it. To
do that it must be burnt in bulk. But gas was a fuel which could be burnt
properly in any quantities. That was one of the great advantages of it. It
could not only be burnt properly but it could also be burnt at a uniform
heat; so that where heat was required in small quantities and at a uniform
rate, gas offers advantages which no other fuel could be said to possess.
Mr. E. F. Boyd proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Wallace for the ingenious
mode in which he had illustrated a most interesting subject. After the paper
had been printed they would be better able to comprehend the subject.
The motion was carried by acclamation, and the meeting separated.
Proceedings. 65
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1873, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
R. S. NEWALL, Esq., Vice-Peesident, in the Chaie.
The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meetings the minutes of the
Council, and the following- .Report from the Colliery Engineers' Committee
:—
" Your Committee, after giving* the subject of admitting- colliery engineers
as members of the Institute, upon a reduced rate of payment, a careful
consideration, recommend that no exception should be made in the Rules of
the Institute to meet their case, but that they be received on the usual
terms."
The Chairman said, before adopting- the report, he would ask the meeting-
whether they approved of it. It was a very important matter. Of course they
would be glad to add to the number of their members; but the consideration
of expense formed a very important element of the case. The cost of each
member of the Institute was about a guinea and a half, and therefore it was
not advisable to reduce the subscription below what it is—viz., two guineas;
but if any member had any remarks to make upon the report, they would be
very glad to hear them.
No one rising to reply, the Eeport was agreed to.
The following gentlemen were then elected;—
Membees—
Mr. R. L. Galloway, Hebburn Colliery, Gateshead. „ Geoege Claek, Jun.,
Monkwearmouth Engine Works, Sunderland.
„-----Adams, M.E., Cardiff.
„ R. T. Bunn, Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne. „ James Hall, Coal Owner,
Newcastle-on-Tyne.
VOL XXIII.—1873.
j
66 PROCEEDINGS.
Students—
Mr. Chaelbs Z. Bunking, 90, Abbot Terrace, Gateshead. „ Arthur Eobert
Sawyer, Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
The following- were nominated for election at the next meeting- :—
Members—
Mr. Henry Henderson, Pelton Colliery, Chester-le- Street. „ David Tyzack,
Warkworth, Acklington, Northumberland. „ William Jackson, Cannock Chase
Collieries, Walsall. „ M. S. Hall, M.E.; Woodlesford, near Leeds. „ Thomas
Blandford, Corbridge, Northumberland. „ Walter Gardner, M.E., Stonehouse,
Bugeley. „ Joseph Mitchell, Jun., Coal Owner, Worsbro' Dale, near Barnsley.
Students—
Mr. W. S. Harris, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead. „ John Bruce, Marley
Hill Colliery, Gateshead. „ B. W. Berkley, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead.
., Wm. Johnson, Strangeways Hall, &c, Collieries, Wigan. „ F. B. Atkinson,
Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.
The Chairman regretted to say that Mr. Hurd, who had been announced to read
a paper on "Hurd and Simpson's patent air-compressing- and self-acting-
Coal-Cutting- Machinery for straight work, long-wall, and pillar and stall
work/' was not present. He therefore called upon Mr. Simpson to read his
paper.
Mr. J. B. Simpson then read the following- paper "On Natural Pits in the
Coal Measures of Belgium:"—
NATUKAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASURES OF BELGIUM. 67
l
NOTICE OF NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASURES OF
BELGIUM.
By M. F. L. COBNET and M. BRIART. (Translated from the French by John B.
Simpson.)
In working- coal the miner often meets with irregularities in the strata
commonly known as "faults." These have different degrees of inclination to
the horizon, their lengths varying exceedingly, hut they generally follow a
direction more or less straight. At the point of contact with these faults,
the shales are often striated and distorted, occasionally covered with a
thin coating of pholerite, and the adjoining- coal is earthy and friable.
Faults sometimes only break the strata, at other times there is a space
between the two sides of the fault, and in that case it is filled with
debris from the coal measures. At other times these debris are mixed with
rocks differing- from the coal-formation, and identical (in Belgium at
least) with those which constitute the cretaceous deposits— such as sands,
clays of the Aachenien system, and marls, chalk, and flint of superior
strata. Up to the present time it is not on record that there have been
found in the coal faults of Belgium, sands, clays, or other substances of
the tertiary period.
Sometimes faults only interrupt the continuity of the layers for a distance
equal to the breadth of the fault ,• but this case is very rare. A fault is
mostly accompanied by a depression or upheaval of the strata—that is to say,
that on one side of the ¦ fault, each particular layer is at a higher or
lower level than it is at the other. Faults occur frequently in the
coal-formation, and generally in all primary strata. They are also met with,
though not so frequently, in secondary and tertiary rocks. On the other
hand, certain phenomena, for a long time known by and described under the
name of natural pits, although numerous in the cretaceous and tertiary
formations of Belgium, seemed,
68 NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASURES OF BELGIUM.
until the present, never to have been met with in primary formations.* These
facts have, nevertheless, been well proved by actual explorings in the
Belgian collieries, but they were only known to a few mining-engineers and
coal owners whose work had been interrupted by their occurrence, and no
description of them has heretofore been published. These phenomena seem to
have no resemblance to the ordinary faults, except in the nature of the
rocks with which they are filled. They do not seem to have been owing to any
movements of the earth, are never accompanied by an upheaval or depression
of the surrounding strata, and only appear in the same layer, their length
and breadth being nearly the same. They are in reality pits of curvilinear
section, more or less regular, traversing the various strata obliquely or
perpendicularly. The matter which fills up these cavities consists of pieces
of coal, shale, coal-grit, and cretaceous rock confusedly mixed up.
Sometimes there are spaces filled with water, and the water immediately
rushes into the workings when one of these natural pits is met with. This
encounter is always unforeseen, for nothing in the nature and condition of
the seam of coal indicates the approach of anything unusual. It has,
however, been observed that the fissures of the coal and of the rocks,
surrounding the natural pits, are sometimes thinly coated with crystals of
iron pyrites and carbonate of lime, which are also found on the debris which
fill up the pits.
Up to this time eight natural pits have been met with in the explored part
of the Hainaut coal-fields. The description of some of these can, to a
certain extent, be applied to all. It is proposed to commence with the one
most recently discovered, which has been studied in more of its details than
the others.
NATURAL PIT MET WITH IN THE COLLIERY OF BASCOUP. The coal seams worked in
this district belong to the inferior portion of the Hainaut Coal Basin.
In some places the coal-formation appears
* Natural pits are very numerous in the chalk marls of the Maestricht beds.
They are also met with in the white chalk of Hainaut, filled with green
sands analogous to those which form the base of the Landenien system. The
origin of these cavities in the limestone rock may, up to a certain point,
be explained by the action of chemical agents dissolving these rocks ; but
this explanation meets with more difficulty when it is applied to account
for the natural pits in siliceous or argillaceous rocks found in those
tertiary sands, which are worked principally for the manufacture of glass.
These pits are sometimes four or five yards in diameter, and are filled with
a very fine argillaceous sand, as white as the surrounding sand above
alluded to, but entirely useless for glass working. Their depth is
unknown.
NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASURES OF BELGIUM. 69
at the surface under a variable thickness of soil, but it is chiefly covered
with strata (mort-terrains), varying in thickness, and belonging to the
cretaceous, tertiary, and recent formations. Towards the end of 1864, the
works of this colliery had proceeded in the "Veine de TOlive" to a point
1,312 yards eastward of its drawing shaft (St. Catherine). The seam was
in a very regular condition, and nothing indicated the neighbourhood of any
derangement whatever, when, all at once, the waters rushed in at the face of
the principal heading with such violence that the workmen had hardly time to
save themselves. It was thought that they had reached some old inundated
workings. For many hours the quantity of water was very great, but the
next day the feeder had greatly diminished and they were able to reach the
point A, Plate XVIII., where the water had rushed in. To ascertain
the nature of the derangement met with, it was decided to continue in the
same direction. In this way they went throug'h the remains of coal,
shale, and coal-grit confusedly mixed up, more or less distorted, coating
them with very small crystals of carbonate of lime and of pyrites, and
leaving between them numerous hollows. After having gone through 16 or 17
yards of this debris, the regular strata were again met with. It was
shown that the derangement had not produced any throw in the coal seam.
In order to be able to re-establish the workings on the other side, the
air-way B was continued, which it was expected would have to be driven
through the debris; but this excavation did not leave the seam, and when a
communication was made between the galleries A and B, Plates XVIII.
and XIX., on the other side of the interruption, they found
that it did not extend far to the north, and was nearly semi-circular
in shape. The working of the lower portion of the seam, which took place
a little later, proved that the interruption also did not extend far to the
south. It then became evident that, instead of a fault, a natural pit had
been met with of elliptical section, the larger axis being 31 yards and the
smaller one 18 yards long. In 1866, the workings of the " Grande veine
duParc," Plate XIX., fig. 2, at a higher level than the "Veine de POlive,"
Plate XIX., fig. 1, circumscribed the natural pit again. The lesser axis
of the elliptical section was found about the same length as in the "Veine
de l'Olive," but the larger axis was considerably longer, being 52
yards. Its direction was also varied. In the "Veine de 1'Olive" it
lay sensibly in the direction C D of the greatest inclination, whilst in
the "Grande veine du Pare" it makes an angle of 25° with this direction.
The debris in the natural pit, at the level
70 NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASURES OF BELGIUM.
of the "Grande veine du Pare/' was the same as in the "Veine de l'Olive;"
but it was remarked that the seam and the surrounding- rocks were slightly
depressed near the sides of the pit. In this depressed portion, the coal and
the shales are impregnated with crystals of pyrites like those which coat
the material which form the filling- up. This depression of the stratified
rock at the level of the " Grande veine du Pare " is attributable to the
tender and flexible nature of the shales which surround this seam; the
shales of the " Veine de l'Olive," where such depression has not been
observed, being much harder and more resistant. By the working of these two
seams, it is inferred that the axis of the natural pit of Bascoup makes an
angle of 66° with the horizontal plane, and with the stratification plane an
angle of about 96°. It seems evident that this pit reaches the surface of
the coal-formation; but it is impossible to say whether it penetrates the
thickish tertiary deposit which overlies it. A great number of seams are
going to be worked below the "Veine de l'Olive," which will enable further
information to be obtained as to the depth of this derangement.
NATURAL PIT IN THE COLLIERY OF SARS-LONGCHAMPS, AT LOUVIERE.
The working shaft, "Bonne Esperance," now abandoned and filled up, was sunk
some time ago, by the Coal Company of Sars-Long-champs. After having gone
through 24 yards of recent formation and of tertiary sands, belonging to the
Landenien system, it then penetrated the coal-formation, and appeared
regularly stratified until a depth of about 102 yards had been reached,
Plate XX. At this level, a mass of debris was met with which was separated
from the coal-formation by a very distinct line of demarcation, traversing
the pit obliquely. It was at first thought that this line of separation was
the face of a fault inclining southwards, and it was hoped that, after
having gone through a certain amount of debris, the pit would reach the
other side and would again meet the stratified rock. But this hope was not
realized, for the pit, although sunk to 322 yards, was still in the same
material. Horizontal exploring galleries, directed north and south, were
then made at different heights in the pit. At a little distance they met
with the very nearly vertical sides of the coal-formation in its regular
condition. In this way they explored several seams, and demonstrated in a
satisfactory manner that the irregular ground in which the pit " Bonne
Esperance " was sunk, was
NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASURES OF BELGIUM. 71
not a fault, but a natural pit. Six seams of coal were explored round
about it.
The seam Huit Paumes ......153 yards below the surface.
Six Paumes... *.....258 „
Grande Veine ......298 „
And the seam Gargai and Joligai, united 322 „
The explorings in each of these seams are represented in horizontal
projection in Plate XXL, figs. 1 and 2, and Plate XXII., figs. 1 and 2,
where it wrill be seen that in the Six Paumes and Grande Veine the workings
have entirely surrounded and made known the natural pit, which has a rough
elliptical shape, the axes being respectively 102 yards and 69 yards in
length at the Grande Veine. The workings of the united seams, Gargai and
Joligai, have also nearly surrounded it. As to those of Huit Paumes, coal
has been worked only on its southern side. These facts have enabled the
vertical section of the natural pit to be traced as shown in figs. 1 and 2,
Plates XXI. and XXII. Below the seam, Huit Paumes, this derangement is
nearly vertical; above, it inclines slightly to the north in an opposite
direction to the dip of the coal seams. It has not been ascertained whether
the natural pit penetrates the layers of tertiary sand which cover the
coal-formation. These strata are, however, represented as having no relation
with the occurrence which has affected the coal-formation. The debris of the
natural pit in the colliery has only been observed at a single point at the
level of the seam Garg-ai, and there it is composed exclusively of remains
of coal, of sandstones, and coal-measure shales, very much broken up and
full of pyrites. The sandstones have been nearly converted into sand, and
the shales into plastic clay.
To conclude, the natural pit of Sars-Longchamps, like the one at Bascoup,
lies in the middle of a vast surface of coal of perfect regularity, in which
faults are very rare and unimportant.
NATURAL PIT AT GRAND-HORNU.
The portion of the basin, situated east of Mons, contains all the seams
known in the coal-formation of Hainaut, comprising the seams of
close-burning coal which are found in the bottom of the basin, as well as
those containing cannel coal lying at the top. It is estimated that this
deposit, so rich in fuel, attains the enormous thickness of 6,560 feet, and
that its base lies at certain points 7,872 feet below the level of the sea.
Considered generally, the direction of the seams is about from east to west.
The middle of the basin is formed by great "plateures" running east and
west, of which the northern portion.
*72 NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASUEES OF BELGIUM.
known as the " Comble du Nord," inclines southward, whilst the southern
portion, or the a Comble du Midi/' inclines towards the north. The line of
intersection of the two " dips " has received the name of "La Naye/' which,
considered vertically, describes several great bends corresponding- to
immense depressions or troughs, in which rest the beds of coal.
The level galleries, driven in to these beds, tend to describe ellipses
around these curves, of which the axes diminish as the workings in the same
bed go deeper.
Three of these troughs are actually known; and what is a remarkable fact,
they all have equally great thicknesses of unconformable strata. The
thickness of these covering deposits, however, are at a minimum above the
convexity of the Naye. One of the troughs, which is not well known yet,
seems to have its centre under the territory of the town of Mons, where the
strata, formed of cretaceous and tertiary layers, are from 437 to 540 yards
thick. Another one, covered by 211 yards of cretaceous rock, has been
perfectly explored by workings under the village Quaregnon.
The third one, at least, as far as it is explored, is situated west of the
village of Hornu, and there the upper rocks are at least 328 yards thick.
The important works to which coal mining has given rise west of Mons, have
been but little opened until the present time beyond the inclines of the "
Comble du Midi" and the folded portion which terminates this dip to the
south.
The direct working of the "Comble du Nord" has been prevented by the
enormous thickness of the watery strata which outlie it, and in penetrating
into it, by open workings from the " Comble du Midi," some little distance
south or north of the Naye, a zone of coal was met, so beset with faults,
that the workings which were made there were unsatisfactory and had to be
abandoned. This zone of dislocation extends parallel with the Naye or the
whole explored length of the basin—its breadth is still unknown.
The works of pit No. 12, of « Grand-Hornu," Plate XXIIL, have been for a
long time opened on the Naye, not far from the disturbed zone, and in the
upper series of the formation.
The cover which, at pit No. 12, is 90 yards thick, increases rapidly in
thickness towards the west. The boring, No. 3, made 1,000 yards west of the
pit, has passed through,
Tertiary Beds ............ ... 22 yards.
Cretaceous..................290 „
•512 „
NATURAL PITS IN THE COAL MEASUEES OF BELGIUM. 73
This boring' has not reached the coal-formation, but it may be presumed,
judging by the usual thickness of the marl in the working* pits of
Grand-Hornu, that at this point the cover is about 328 yards thick.
The explorations at the depths of 400 and 500 yards, Plate XXIV., fig. 2,
have been driven westward about 656 yards, and have proved and worked
several inferior seams, as well as those of Grand-Moulin, Veine a Forges,
and Veine a Chiens.
As may be seen by Plate XXIV., fig. 1, and Plate XXV., fig. 1, the workings
have circumscribed and traversed at different heights, two natural pits of
irregular elliptical section, of which one, A, Plate XXV., fig. 2, seems to
widen with its depth—the large axis of its section being 116 yards in
diameter at the depth of 489 yards, and 146 yards in diameter at the depth
of 498 yards.
The axis of this pit makes an angle of 84° with the horizontal plane. The
natural pit B, which lies 82 yards south of the first one, is smaller than
A. Its large diameter does not exceed 57 yards, and its axis forms an angle
of 86° with the horizontal plane, and seems to widen towards the south-east,
or in an opposite direction to pit A. Up to the contact with the two natural
pits, the surrounding seams of coal and shale retain their condition; but a
few yards from it their fissures are filled with imperfect rhomboidal
crystals of carbonate of lime. The material in the pits consists chiefly of
fragments of coal very much damaged, covered with efflorescences of the
double sulphate of alumina and iron and of crystals of carbonate of lime
mixed with remains of cretaceous rock, very abundant at a depth of 439
yards, but rare at 498 yards. These last remains consist chiefly of marl and
fragments of calcaro-siliceous concretions which characterise ¦ the strong
beds of the cretaceous basin of Hainaut. Large crystals of carbonate of
lime, perfectly rhomboidal in shape, have also been found similar to those
often met with in the fissures and cavities of the carboniferous limestone
and Devonian rocks of Belgium.
The two natural pits of Grand-Hornu have not been followed below the Veine a
Chiens nor above the Grand-Moulin; but the remains of rocks which they
contain prove sufficiently that they continue to the unconformable covering,
and that they have more or less affected the layers which form its base. It
would be of the greatest interest to be able to study the way in which they
penetrate these cretaceous layers, and it would be of great help in
determining their age. Unfortunately, there is very little chance of this.
Not so with the study of their depth, which may take place at a time not far
distant,
VOL. XXIII-1S73.
K
74 DISCUSSION—NATURAL PITS IN BELGIUM.
as explorations through the strata are actually being- made in the pit at a
depth of 555 yards, and in the direction of the two natural pits.
A third natural pit has been met with in the working's of the Grand-Hornu
Company, some distance eastward of pit No. 12. Others exist in a royalty
near Jemmapes ; also in the collieries at Louvi&re and La Paix, and of Haine
St. Pierre, in the central district, but there is not sufficient information
to enable them to be described. Besides, what has been said about the
natural pits of Bascoup, Sars-Long*-champs, and Grand-Hornu, is sufficient
to indicate the existence in the coal-formation of phenomena, which have the
greatest analogy to the natural pits of the second and tertiary formations
from which they only differ by their much greater dimensions.
Mr. Simpson stated that this paper was sent to him by the authors a few
years ago, after their visit to this district. The meeting- would perceive
that they had abstained from offering any opinion as to the way in which
these natural pits had been formed. He himself had not been able to form any
theory which would satisfactorily account for these curious phenomena, but
he hoped that Dr. Page, who was present, would be able to give some
information on the subject.
The Chairman said they were very much indebted to Mr. Simpson for this
interesting paper. It seemed a most difficult thing to account for such
phenomena as those referred to; probably Dr. Page would favour them with his
views upon the matter.
Dr. Page ^said, that as Mr. Simpson had referred to him, he had risen to
reply, but really he was about as much in the dark, and perhaps more so,
than Mr. Simpson. In his geological experience, he had never met with
natural pits, or filled up swallow-holes, of such depth and magnitude. He
was aware of soft dykes, composed of miscellaneous debris washed in from
above; but as Messrs. Cornet and Briart observed, soft dykes had generally a
definite direction, and therefore these natural pits, from their circular
and circumscribed shapes, could not be associated with this class of
phenomena. Then they had occasionally in the coal formation deep narrow
gorges or old stream-courses—the " wash-outs " of Nicholas Wood—filled with
boulder clay and debris from above ; but on investigation, these wash-outs
were found to be of limited depth, and often traversed the country for miles
in linear directions. The natural pits of Belgium could not possibly
DISCUSSION—NATURAL PITS IN BELGIUM. 75
be classed with these. There was a third phenomenon of this kind. Rounded
pot-holes were not uncommon in some districts, varying from 4 to 20 feet in
depth, and filled also with wash from above. On examination, however, a
rounded boulder of hard rock was usually found at the bottom, showing that
these pots had been formed, like those alongshore of the present day, by the
rotating and grinding motion of the boulder continually deepening the pot in
which it was enclosed. The natural pits of M. Briart were on too gigantic a
scale to be compared with these. Again, in the chalk formation, there were
numerous pipes or pot-holes, often of considerable depth and dimensions,
caused by carbonated waters percolating downwards, and dissolving out the
soft and homogeneous chalk rock. These pipes, however, were restricted to
the chalk beds, and never passed downward through a succession of different
strata, as in the case of these natural pits, which passed indifferently
through sandstones, shales, and coals. Fourthly, there were the
swallow-holes of the mountain limestone—such as those of Western Yorkshire
and Derbyshire. These swallow-holes were often of great depth and diameter,
and many—like that of Weathercote, for instance —received streams which
disappeared in their depths, and re-appeared several miles distant in the
lower country. If such swallow-holes ceased to receive water, and
subsequently became filled up by wash from above, they would present
appearances very similar to the natural pits described by Messrs. Cornet and
Briart. With regard to the age of these curious perforations, the fact of
their containing debris of sandstone, shale, coal, and fire-clay, shows them
to be posterior to the hardening and consolidation of the coal strata. The
fact, also, of their enclosing fragments of chalk and chalk-marl, proves
them to be subsequent to the chalk formation; but the description was not so
clear regarding the tertiary beds. The crystals of carbonate of lime
mentioned by M. Briart, could be accounted for by the percolation of
solutions from the chalk, and the iron-pyrites, by solutions of iron and
organic matter from the superficial coverings. Had there been any volcanic
phenomena described by the authors, a solution of the problem might have
been sought for in outbursts or necks of trap such as occur in the Scottish
coal-fields. Such necks might have been dissolved out, as is often the case
with felspathic dykes, and the pipe left been subsequently filled up with
debris. As there was no mention of associated traps, one could not fall back
on this explanation. The only idea that suggested itself to him was
something of this kind : if the Belgian coal-field rests on limestones of
great thickness, like those of Derbyshire
76 DISCUSSION—NATURAL PITS IN BELGIUM.
and Yorkshire, it might be possible for these limestones to be dissolved
away, as in the case of swallow-holes, and the superincumbent coal strata
and chalk beds, losing- their support, would then fall in by degrees and
fill up the cavity, thus producing a "natural pit." Such fallings-in
frequently take place when a sit or creep occurs in coal-workings 5 and he
had seen a sit many yards in diameter, and more than a hundred feet in
depth, filled xip from bottom to top, very much in the fashion of the
Belgian phenomena. If the Belgian field, however, rested upon schists or
other rocks, and not on limestones, this hypothesis would be of no avail.
Altogether, these natural pits were new to him, and, he must confess, a
great puzzle. More information, however, was needed —first, as to the nature
of the subjacent formations; second, as to the pits passing up to the
surface through the tertiary strata; and lastly, as to the nature of the
cheeks or walls of the orifices. If information on these points could be
obtained by Mr Simpson, it would greatly assist in solving the riddle.
Mr. Bewick thought the concluding- remarks of Dr. Page were very much to the
point, because until they knew what was the nature of the lower part of
these holes, and upon what the coal measures there rested, they were
completely at fault. The swallow-holes described by Dr. Page were
exceedingly numerous in every limestone formation that he had come across.
Within the last few weeks he had seen thousands of them in a limestone
equivalent to Jurassic limestone (some of which were of enormous size),
covering acres of surface which had become depressed and settled down,
forming what is not unlike a large amphitheatre ; through these the water
flowed and came out at some distant place. They had such holes in many parts
of this country—in Northumberland, West Durham, Yorkshire, Derbyshire,
Somersetshire, in fact everywhere where the mountain limestone forms the
surface rock. They had cases in Somersetshire—at Priddy, for instance—where
the waters at certain mines disappear altogether, and it is not known where
they come out again. The only way that he could suppose that the holes
described in the paper could have been formed in the coal measures without a
fissure (and as he gathered from the paper, there was not the slightest
dislocationj but the holes were simply somewhat irregular pits, properly so
called, because they approached a circular form) was that they should have
settled dovvn into the limestone which it might be supposed was underlying-
the strata, and in which were fissures. He knew of a great many cases in
which the limestone was overlaid by the newer formations such as those he
spoke of having recently seen, where
DISCUSSION—NATUEAL PITS IN BELGIUM. 77
the upper beds had settled down. The regularity with which these pits
appeared to be formed was extremely interesting, and astonished him more
than anything else; because, through such a considerable depth, he should
have expected that some of the softer beds of rock or clay would have fallen
away, and formed an irregular and somewhat zigzag hole. But that did not
appear to be so, and therefore he could only look upon the phenomena as at
present unaccountable.
Mr. Lebour. said, a case in point occurred to him—that of a swallow-hole in
West Yorkshire, which was to be found in the millstone grit about 250 feet
above the first bed of limestone in the mountain limestone; so that there
they had a case somewhat similar to this—an actual swallow-hole passing
through thick bands of sandstone or grit and ending in limestone, as Dr.
Page had suggested, and as he (Mr. L.) thought was the only explanation that
could be arrived at from the sections given. One point to be noted was, that
these natural pits were nearly all at right angles to the original line of
the coal beds. Therefore it was unlikely, he thought, that these
swallow-holes would be found penetrating the cretaceous and tertiary beds
which appear to be horizontal in these cases. He was not aware of any
swallow-hole not at right angles to the bedding. It had been said by Mr.
Bewick and Dr. Page that these pits do not coincide with faults, but in one
case a pit does coincide with a kind of fault—with a change of angle in the
dip of the beds, at all events; and it was just possible that in other cases
a fissure, or the bending down of the beds, may have been the original cause
of the swallow. But until it be shown that the sides of these natural pits
do slope inwards towards the middle of the pit, he could see no reason to
imagine that the coal measures had sunk into an underlying pit in the
limestone. It seemed quite impossible that there should be no slight dip
round the walls of the pit; and really the whole thing seemed a complete
puzzle so far as he could make out.
Mr. Bewick said, it was explained that there were really no faults.
Mr. Lebour—One of the sections shows something of the kind.
Mr. J. B. Simpson—In one sketch there is a slight change in the inclination
of the beds near the natural pits, as Mr. Lebour mentioned j but the writers
of the paper did not draw attention to the fact.
Mr. Bkwick said, the case which Mr. Lebour referred to in Yorkshire was, he
had no doubt, a swallow-hole; very likely, one of a series defining a line
of fissure or a vein, as commonly occurs in Yorkshire. In the limestone
these swallows run for a considerable distance, and the fissure extends,
perhaps, for miles in a more or less direct course.
78 DISCUSSION—NATURAL PITS IN BELGIUM.
He had never himself known the millstone grit subside as in the case
referred to by Mr. Lebour, nor had he ever met with any other similarly hard
strata becoming depressed in this manner.
Mr. I. L. Bell said he would not for one moment have it supposed that he
could afford any better explanation of the phenomena which seemed to have
puzzled so eminent a geologist as Dr. Page, but he would suggest to him if
it were not possible that gases in the water acting as a solvent might have
produced those holes—whether it were not possible that a great quantity of
elastic fluid coming up in an opposite direction, might not in time have
worked out the excavations in question. He did not know whether Dr. Page had
examined the fumarols at Ladarillo in Tuscany, from which boracic acid was
obtained, as they were all aware, in considerable quantities, and which
afforded the only source of uncom-bined boracic acid known. Now, in that
district there was an immense volume of elastic vapour, partly steam and
partly gas, constantly escaping from numerous apertures in the ground. He
apprehended that if from any particular part in the strata there was an
immense evolution of gas of this character, its first operation would be to
make a mere crevice, as it were, in the rock. As the sides of that crevice
gave way, then they might have the action described by Dr. Page, of a
boulder rock excavating its way downwards. These fragments of the rock would
be turned round and round, constituting a grinding action in the cavity
itself, and he had no doubt at all that if these rocks were examined, and
they could see clearly the size of the holes made there, they would find
cavities of considerable size—no doubt filled up, as they might expect, with
the debris of rocks through which steam and permanently elastic vapours had
passed. He would just throw out that as a hint to Dr. Page to consider
whether, under such circumstances, an opening might not be made by the gases
passing upwards from the strata below.
Dr. Page said they had undoubtedly a very good illustration of what Mr. Bell
suggested in the geysers of Iceland; in the great geyser, for example, which
Bunsen gives as 96, and Captain Forbes as about 134 feet in diameter, they
had 130 feet of a perpendicular circular cavity, through which boiling water
comes. Now, there might have been, subsequent to the coal formation,
discharges of heated water and gases from below which might work out in
course of time such openings as these natural pits. But all the sandstones,
and shales, and so on, described as filling them, would naturally be carried
away and dissolved; and the difficulty remained as to how they got filled up
with their
DISCUSSION—NATURAL PITS IN BELGIUM. 79
existing debris; besides, hot springs generally leave siliceous or other
incrustations, and, according to M. Briart's description, no such
depositions were present.
The Chairman said it appeared to him that if these sections were correct,
one fact went against the theory just announced—namely, the pit appeared to
be of a very much larger section lower down than it was next to the surface.
It was three or four times the size at the bottom that it was at the top;
and the straight sides were, as Dr. Page said, the puzzling things of the
whole affair.
Mr. I. L. Bell said that was precisely what he should have expected to have
taken place if his hypothesis was the correct one, namely, that the elastic
vapour, as it escaped, would necessarily impinge with greater violence upon
the first point, and that violence having partially expended itself, the
vapour would escape more gradually. With regard to the absence of silica in
the water itself, that depended upon a great many other circumstances. The
heated vapours might escape, without necessarily dissolving the silica. He
did not see anything which would enable the water per se to dissolve the
silica. It was perfectly well known that pure water was not capable of doing
that under any circumstances. Of course, if alkali was present, silica would
be dissolved. But, so far as the bell-shaped form of the apertures was
concerned, he would submit that it was far more likely that, if the vapour
was coming from below, and escaping, as he said before, from a condition of
intense compression, they would be more likely to find it hollowing out a
greater cavity at the point of escape than near the higher point.
Mr. E. F. Boyd would merely make a remark bearing testimony to the fact of a
crevice being sufficient to take -down a large body of water through a rock
of considerable thickness and forming cavities, and then becoming filled up.
The instances he would give were near to Hemsley, and he thought they were
in the upper oolite. There they traced some of them as far as 70, 100, and
120 feet. They followed crevices not much wider than a man's body; and these
crevices had distinct bottoms to them, which were very nearly level with the
bottoms of the rivers at the extremity of the mountain in which they were
found. Of course, it would be very easy to account for their depth in that
case; but Dr. Page's theory was one very well worthy of attention—namely,
that they penetrate so much deeper than any discharge which they could get
in the shape of a river current, that some other action must take place upon
a lower level, probably in the underlying limestone.
Dr. Page said they might get a score of hypotheses, and it would be
80 DISCUSSION—NATURAL PITS IN BELGIUM.
worth while to have as many as they could; they might thus arrive at the
truth, or at least some approximation thereof; but the moral to be drawn
from that paper was obvious enough. They had disturbing-phenomena of many
kinds occurring- in their coal-fields—dykes, faults, fissures, intrusive
traps, bedded traps, ash-beds, wash-outs, natural pits, and the like; but
these were merely local and accidental occurrences which had to be studied
and overcome, _and the more minutely they were described and studied, the
greater and more certain would be the miner's victory and triumph over them.
Mr. I. L. Bell said that at one of the collieries in which he was interested
they were at present sinking- through a whin stratum. He believed the pit
was probably within 60 or 100 feet of a spur of the main dyke, but of that
.he was uncertain; however, they were going- through the whin. They had now
gone through five feet; and it might interest Dr. Page or other members of
the Institute to visit it. Of course, if anyone wished to do so, he would be
very happy to show anything there was to be seen. But there was one
circumstance, not an unexpected one of course, namely, the entire change
which had been occasioned in the nature of the overlying' rock. He was now
having some analyses made both of the whin and of the rock lying immediately
above, portions of which, it was curious to find, consisted partly of
carbonates. He need not remind those present that earthy carbonates,
meeting- with a great degree of heat, lost, under ordinary circumstances,
their carbonic acid. When they had got through, he intended having the
sections preserved and presented to the Institute, with analyses of the
strata passed through, and he had no doubt they would be interesting.
The Chairman conveyed to Mr. Simpson the thanks of the meeting for his
interesting paper, and to those gentlemen who had taken pan in the
discussion. Before parting he would ask Mr. Bewick to give them a paper
descriptive of what he had seen during' his late visit to the coalfields of
Germany; he was sure it would be extremely interesting, and he hoped he
would do so.
Mr. Bewick said, that during his recent absence abroad, he had gained much
valuable information, and if he could possibly spare the time it would give
him great pleasure to make a communication such as had been suggested by the
Chairman.
The Secretary read the following paper, entitled " On raising coal from
great depths by means of atmospheric pressure, on the system of M. Z.
Blanchet," translated from the French :—
RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS. 81
ON RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS BY ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, ON THE SYSTEM OF
MONS. Z. BLANC HET.
(Translated from the French by the Secretary.)
The extraction of coals from great depths of 1,000 yards or more has been
for a long- time an object of study for all mining engineers.
It was one of the questions proposed by Mons. S. Griiner, in 1855, in his
recital of the object for which the Societe de l'lndustrie Minerale was
instituted and of the works it had undertaken.
Many suggestions have been made on this subject, and many systems have been
projected and tried. To this end it was proposed to place several machines,
one above the other, in the pit—to replace vertical pits by immense inclined
planes—and after the trials of the apparatus of Mehu, and the propositions
of Guibal, Schiitz and others, to utilize the pressure of the atmosphere or
that of compressed air, in a similar way to the railway at St. Germain, and
the hoist of St. Jaques a Mont Lucon. Of these suggestions, the atmospheric
system has not yet been applied to mines. This system carried out by means
of a vacuum, as in the tube of St. Germain, and provided with a slit with
valves running the whole length of the tube, did not seem to be sufficiently
safe to use in a pit. It was thought that a tube of a large diameter would
take too much space and be too expensive, and that a small tube, with a
number of tubs, one above the other, would be unmanageable from the
difficulty there would be of changing the tubs, both at bank and below; and,
also, it was thought that the tube should be bored like a cylinder from top
to bottom to enable the piston to work with the requisite smoothness, which
would render the manufacture too costly.
The atmospheric system carried on by means of compressed air presented the
same difficulties in changing- the tubs, and it was thought would also
require a bored-out cylinder.
All these points were considered without pushing the experiments further.
The question did not seem to pre^s for an immediate
VOL XXIII.-1873
j,
82 EAISING COALS FEOM GEEAT DEPTHS.
solution as it was not necessary at the time to work mines of 1,000 yards
depth. When the necessity did present itself, the question became one of
great importance and became solved in consequence. This was the case at
Epinac, where the Hottinguer pit was commenced on the 26th May, 1863, and
the seam was reached on the 17th Nov., 1871, by a gallery 120 yards long-
through the strata above the seam at a level of 674 yards. This pit is now
sunk to about 763 yards to cut the seam directly, which it had before gained
through a gallery at a depth of 374 yards. The pit is at a distance of 1,093
yards from the highest point of the workings to the rise, the level of which
is 490 yards. It has opened out an area of 988 acres and 1,400 million cubic
feet of coal, which it reached at depths varying from 530 to 1,090 yards.
The problem was, how to commence working the pit without waiting to sink a
second or upcast shaft, and yet secure the requisite ventilation which, of
necessity, would have to be considerable to reduce the temperature in the
workings, which otherwise would reach from 90 to 120 degrees, to guard
against all accident from fire-damp, and to avoid the use of ropes.
This problem has been solved by Mons. Blanchet, director of the collieries
and railway at Epinac. This engineer, carrying out the idea of using the
pressure of the atmosphere to extract coal from pits of great depth, more
especially with regard to the pit at Hottinguer, thought of substituting,
for the second or upcast shaft, a wrought iron tube, and making this tube a
cylinder in which a piston, with the cages suspended, should traverse by the
action of the air without the use of ropes. This tube was put inside the
first pit which was large enough to hold it without inconvenience, being
about 18 feet diameter. He decided upon extracting air from the tube,
because this did not produce heat, and he succeeded by exceedingly simple
means in causing the ascent and descent of the nine tubs placed one above
the other in the cage and putting them out at bank and below with facility
and ease. The whole project was tried on a model made to one-tenth the size
required for the pit. This model was sent to the Exhibition at Lyons, and
was submitted to the most severe and independent criticism. It was made in
the workshops of the Societe des Houillers.
The following is a description of the apparatus that is now being made at
Creuzot for the Hottinguer pit, the action of which is illustrated in the
diagram, Plate XXVI.
A cylindrical tube 63 inches diameter and about r5g- of an inch thick, made
of plate iron, rivetted together with butt joints and countersunk
EAISING COALS FEOM GEEAT DEPTHS. 83
rivets, runs from top to bottom of the pit. It is made in about 20 feet
lengths and joined together by means of flanges and bolts. Each length is
hammered to a perfectly cylindrical form upon mandrils passed through for
that purpose.
It was thought for some time that these tubes would have to be bored out,
but the experiments at Epinac have shown that, made as described above, the
ordinary lubrication of the tube is sufficient to render it tight at the
pressure and temperature required.
This tube is placed in a special compartment of the pit, from the sides of
which it is isolated. It is supported every 10 feet by buntings similar to
those used for supporting the pumps. These buntings are so arranged that at
any time a single tube can be withdrawn without disturbing the others.
To render the whole independent of any movement that might take place in the
pit, the buntings are not firmly built in the sides, but are free to slide
upon two smaller buntings in the lining. The piston is made in two parts,
one at the top and the other at the bottom of the cage. The top piston is
made of two platforms at such a distance apart, that, in passing by the
doors to admit the tubs, one shall always be in an uncut portion of the tube
in order that the pressure shall remain constant when the piston is passing
these doors. The lower part of the piston below the cage is made of one
platform, and, if necessary, isolates the space occupied by the cage from
the atmosphere below. A valve is placed in this platform which can be opened
when men are riding to afford them the necessary air for breathing. It also
carries a centrifugal parachute A, to prevent the too rapid descent of the
cage in case of accident.
The top plate of the piston carries a spring buffer B, which diminishes the
shock when the valve C above is struck by the ascending piston. The piston
is of simple construction. It can be made of wood protected with iron,
packed with India-rubber at the edges, and covered with leather secured by
bands of brass, or soft metal composed of a mixture of lead, zinc, tin, and
antimony.
The cage D is made in the usual way, and is constructed to hold nine tubs,
one above the other, each containing about 20 cubic feet, the whole carrying
about 4| tons of coal.
The total weight of piston, cage, tubs, and coal is 26,450 lbs., or about 12
tons, spread over the surface of the piston which has about 3,117 inches
area. This gives a pressure, per square inch, of ^lo _ 8-4 lbs.
84 RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS.
When the pumping- engine has reduced the air above the piston to 15-8-4 =
6'6 lbs per square inch, the piston will commence its ascent with a speed
dependent upon the speed of the exhausting- cylinders. These exhausting
cylinders are 108 inches diameter, or 63*6 square feet area, and nearly 10
feet stroke, the two together exhausting 2,514 cubic feet per stroke, or 430
cubic feet per second, the engine making-about 10 strokes per minute. The
load will rise in the tube, which has a section of 21*5 square feet, with a
speed of -£f£ = 20 feet per second.
With machinery of this power it would take about 52 strokes to reduce the
pressure above the piston to 6'6 lbs. per square inch, and cause the cage to
ascend, which, with a speed of about 200 feet a minute, would occupy about
2f minutes. The extracting engine would continue to work during and after
the ascent, and considerable advantage would arise from having a reservoir
of convenient size from which the apparatus could extract the air during the
descent of the piston.
When the piston has to descend, the exhaustion from the tube is stopped, and
its connection with the extracting engine is severed by means of doors or
valves E, and the air is allowed to press upon the top of the cylinder by
means of a regulator F, so that its pressure can be augmented till it
reaches the point where it will cease to sustain the weight of the cage
without the coal, or till it reaches 26,450 lbs. the weig-ht of the cage and
coal, less 10,080 lbs. the weight of coal,
-____!5?to______= 5.21bs
3117 area ol piston.
Valves and doors G are so arranged in the tube that the air is taken up from
the return air course on the ascent of the piston and delivered outside the
mine on its descent through H. Each descent, therefore, discharges a volume
of foul air equal to 70,632 cubic feet in a tube 3,270 feet long, which, of
course, is replaced by fresh air descending-into the mine.
In order to get the tubs in and out, three double doors I I I are cut in the
tube, both at top and bottom, and these correspond to three levels of the
heapstead. The full tubs go out of the doors at one side, and the emptv ones
go in at the doors on the other.
The whole of the nine tubs are changed by three movements of the cage. At
the top the first movement changes the 1st, 4th, and 7th tubs, the second
movement changes the 2nd, 5th, and 8th tubs, and the third movement changes
the 3rd, 6th, and 9th tubs. When the cage is at the bottom, the first
movement changes the 3rd, 6th, and 9th tubs,
RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS. 85
the second movement changes the 2nd, 5th, and 8th tubs, and the third
movement changes the 1st, 4th, and 7th tubs.
In order to keep the cage steady and opposite to the doors for m serting and
withdrawing the tubs, three double sets of stops are introduced so that they
can be thrust into the tube and withdrawn by means of one lever. These stops
are numbered 1, 2, and 3, from top to bottom. When the cage is confined
between the stops K 3 of the two sets, the tubs 1, 4, and 7 can be handled.
When the cage is confined between the stops K 2 of each set, the tubs 2, 5,
and 8 can be handled; and when the cage is confined by the stops K 1 of each
set, the remaining tubs 3, 6, and 9 can be handled. The top stops prevent
the cag-e ascending, and the bottom stops prevent it from descending'. The
cage with its piston is then confined between the two sets of stops during*
the whole time the tubs are being* changed, and is moved up and down with
the greatest facility by means of equilibrium pipes and cocks as will be
described.
At the bottom of the pit the equilibrium pipe L goes from the bottom of the
tube to a point sufficiently high to be above the piston during the whole
time the tubs are being changed. When the cock M in this pipe is shut the
pressure of air in the bottom keeps the piston up against the top stops, and
when the cock is open, and the main inlet and outlet valves N H shut, the
air below is rarefied to the required point to allow the cage to fall on to
the bottom stops. Between the top and bottom set of stops there is a play of
about one inch.
At the top of the pit the tube has two pipes P and O, each provided with
stop cocks F and Q. The first communicates with the atmosphere and allows
air to enter above the piston and cause it to descend. The second is in
communication with the exhausting engine and is arranged to increase at will
the amount of vacuum, above the piston, to enable ifc to rise with the cages
as each successive group of tubs is withdrawn.
By means of special arrangements, either electrical or otherwise, the
position of the cage in the tube, during its ascent and descent, is clearly
indicated both to the men at bank and below.
When the cage ascends, the doors III for changing- the tubs are shut,
together with the door on the pipe H which communicates between the bottom
of the tube and the top of the mine, and when the . cage arrives at the top
it is made to stop—first, by automatically shutting- at TJ the communication
with the exhausting engine at E; secondly, by lifting the valve R and
admitting the pressure of a certain quantity of air on the piston; and,
thirdly, if the ascent still continues,
86 EAISINC COALS FBOM GEEAT DEPTHS.
by lifting- the valve S at the top of the tube and allowing- the free entry
of the atmospheric pressure.
When the cag-e descends it forces the air from the bottom of the tube
through the escape valve H to the surface. When it comes near to where it
has to stop it automatically closes the escape valve at T, and compresses
the air in the bottom of the tube. The air can then be admitted from the
under side of the piston into the partial vacuum above the piston by means
of the equilibrium pipe L and cock M, so as to lower the cage upon "the
stops at will. The pressure above and below the piston is indicated by
pressure gaug-es.
All the movements of the cage are effected with the greatest ease. An
accident could not possibly arise unless all the doors of the apparatus were
open, which it is almost impossible could occur. In order, however, to
effectually guard against any possibility of danger, a centrifugal parachute
A is attached to the bottom of the cage. This parachute is composed of
circular hoops of steel nearly the diameter of the tube, furnished with
wooden brakes where they approach the side of the tube and are driven round
by friction wheels fixed to the piston and running against the tube. The
bands are free to move up or down upon their axes, and if their speed
exceeds a certain limit the hoops will become oval and the wooden brakes
will press against the sides of the tube, and by their friction prevent the
too rapid descent of the cage.
RESULTS OF THE EXPEEIMENTS AT EPINAC.
The experimental tube submitted to the Universal Exhibition at Lyons, was 6^
inches diameter, made of sheet iron barely one-tenth of an inch thick, and
bolted together, in lengths of 39 inches, by means of flanges and
India-rubber washers. It was fixed upon a wooden scaffold about 95 feet
high; at the bottom were two exhausting cylinders, 12 inches diameter and 15
inch stroke, worked by a steam engine indicating 12 horse-power. Under these
conditions the experiments proved that a weight of 264 lbs. could be raised
at the rate of 20 feet a
264 x 20 x 60 second, which gives a useful effect of-------qoTTqo----- = ^
norse-Power>
upon 12 horse-power expended, which is equal to 80 per cent., a much higher
result than can be obtained by using* ropes.
The depression of the barometer, while the piston was going- at this rate,
was equal to from 18 to 20 inches of mercury. This corresponds to a weight
of 294 lbs., whereas the weight lifted was only 264 lbs.— the difference, 30
lbs. is, therefore, the amount of friction produced in
EAISING COALS FEOM GEEAT DEPTHS. 87
the tube, causing- about 10 per cent. loss. This is very small,
especially as the friction increases inversely with the size of the tube.
The weight of 264 lbs. is thus divided—
Piston ..................... 32 lbs.
Cage ..................... 37 „
Empty tubs ..........,....... 9 „
Load ..................... 186 „
Total ......... 264 lbs.
With a tube of 63 inches diameter and a section of about 21^ square feet, or
3,117 square inches, the weight lifted would be divided as follows:—
Piston .................. 5,000 lbs.
Cage .................. 6,450 „
Empty tubs ............... 5,000 „
Coal .................. 10,000 „
26,450 lbs., or 12 tons. Each lift would raise 4^ tons of coals from a depth
of 3,270 feet, and would take about seven minutes, namely:—
Changing tubs at bottom ............ 0' 30"
Lift........................ 3' 0"
Changing tubs at top ............... 0' 30"
Descent ..................... 3' 0"
7' 0" This would give 8-| lifts, or 38 tons per hour, or 380 tons per day.
The quantity could be doubled by having another tube connected with the
first, without increasing the power of the engine, which would work with
much less resistance in drawing the air from the top of the ascending-
piston and letting it on to the top of the descending- piston instead of
into the atmosphere. The tubes thus arranged would also make the ventilation
more regular.
There is nothing- in this system to prevent the water being- taken from the
mine, either in the usual way, or by substituting water-boxes for tubs as is
sometimes done with ropes. These boxes could be filled by means of a pump
before being- put into the tube, or the tube might be made without a bottom
and the box lowered directly into the water.
COMPARISON OF THE RELATIVE COST AND ADVANTAGES OF THE
ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM.
With a single pit of great depth, under all systems, there is an absolute
necessity of having- some duplicate means of getting at all
88 RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS.
parts of the shaft in case of accident occurring- to the usual means of
drawing1. To effect this, there must either be a second auxiliary winding"
engine, which should have the same relation to the large winding-engine as
the old whims bore to the horse-gin, or the horse-gins to the crab engines.
This auxiliary engine should in no case be dispensed with, as an accident
migiit happen at any moment which might render it indispensable.
Besides this auxiliary winding engine, which, in the present case, it has
been decided to make of from 90 to 100 horse-power; the atmospheric system
requires an exhausting engine of about 600 horse-power, with two cylinders
39^ inches diameter and about 6 feet 9 inches stroke, working1 two
extracting cylinders of 108 inches diameter and 10 feet stroke. With regard
to the pits at Hottinguer, the relative expense of three different modes of
extracting coal may be considered—
1st.—With a duplicate pit and winding engine.
2nd.—With winding engine and a metal tube, instead of a second shaft.
3rd.— With tube and exhausting' machinery.
The expense of each system may be taken as follows:—
System. 1. 2. 3.
Staying ......... £1,000 £1,000 £1,000
Second Pit......... 20,000 ...... ......
Auxiliary Engine ...... 2,000 2,000
2,000
Guides, &c.......... 2.000 2,000 2,000
Winding Engine ... ... 6,200 6,200
......
Fan............ 2,000 2,000 2,000
Tube................. 6,000 8,000
Ropes ... ..... 4,000 4,000
......
Exhausting Engines ... ...... ......
9,000
Foundation......... ...... ...... ......
£37,200 £23,200 £24,000
The figures show that the first system, with ropes and a new pit, is hy far
the most expensive ; and the second system, which replaces the
DISCUSSION—RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS. 89
second pit by a simple tube, still using ropes, is not very much less costly
than the third, which provides for a complete atmospheric apparatus and
exhausting machinery. In fact, it requires an addition of
only £800.
The system then appears to possess the following advantages, as far as
regards the Hottinguer pit:—
1st.—It enables the pit to be worked five years sooner.
2nd.—It increases the ventilation and decreases the temperature of
the mine. 3rd.—It admits of sinking to any depth. 4th.—It saves £2,000 a
year in ropes. 5th.—It enables more coal to be raised than with ropes.
6th.—It allows the whole inside of the pit, not actually occupied
with the tube, to be free for repairs and for alterations,
making new landing stages, &c. 7th.—It utilizes more advantageously the
power required to raise
the coal.
The Chairman said it appeared to him to be a very important paper —to
himself especially, because, if all Mr. Bunning had stated was correct, "
Othello's occupation was gone." However, he thought there was still plenty
of room left for other schemes than this. As far as he recollected, he
thought the project was not a new one. He could not at that moment call to
mind where he had seen an account of a similar invention which was exhibited
some years ago in this country. The proposal bore a very strong resemblance,
indeed, to the pneumatic tube, which is now used very largely by the Post
Office. For instance, there is a line of railway in a pneumatic tube between
the Euston Station and the General Post Office, which is worked every hour
of the day, and worked, he believed, most satisfactorily: it does an
enormous traffic without any risk of accident. For coal mines he had not the
least doubt but that some plan of the sort could be very advantageously
employed; and he believed if carried out by some gentlemen who had . money
to spare for such an expensive apparatus it would answer in the end. He
would be glad to hear any remarks upon the'subject.
The Secretary said that he first heard of this mode of raising coal, at
Cardiff, in the presence of Mr. Menelaus, from M. Rubin, a French gentle-
VOL. XXIII.-1873.
M
90 DISCUSSION—RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS.
man, who was connected with the Creuzot Ironworks in Prance, who told him
that he was then employed in making1 these large 03-inch tubes for the
purpose of being- put down at the pit described in the paper, and that
although the apparatus had not been at work yet, it was actually in the
course of being- made, and a large sum of money was being expended in
producing it. Therefore, it was not a mere idea that had been begun and
would end in an idea; but it was an idea that would eventually most
certainly be carried out. Whether or not it would be successful, of course
was another matter.
The Chairman added that, some years ago, he was one of about a dozen who
subscribed £500 each to make an experiment on a large scale for sending
railway carriages through a tunnel by atmospheric pressure. The plan was
carried out at the Crystal Palace successfully. The tunnel was built of
brick, and was formed to fit as correctly as possible a diaphragm or piston
fixed to the outside of one of the railway carriages. Round the diaphragm
was fitted a sort of brush, which was supposed to prevent the air from
rushing through rapidly, and formed a sort of packing. With this arrangement
considerable speed was attained. Ultimately the apparatus was taken down
after the experiment was finished.
Mr. I. L. Bell remarked that if any gentleman had any doubt as to the power
of air under the circumstances to raise a load, he had only to go down to
Middlesbrough, and he would find (to his certain knowledge) 500 or 600 tons
a day drawn to the top of the blast-furnaces by a tube into which is fitted
a piston, from under which piston the air is drawn. The apparatus itself was
on the surface of the ground j but of course on principle it was exactly the
same as if it were in the pit. The piston, in lifting the load, travels down
the tube, and is connected with the load by ropes passing over pulleys; and
in this way the whole of the charges of the blast-furnaces were drawn to the
top. It was true, the height was only 80 feet; but, of course, what could be
done for 80 feet could be done for 800.
Mr. H. Lawrence said, in the instance which Mr. Bell pointed out, there were
counter-balancing cages, and the load had simply to be lifted.
Mr. I. L. Bell: Still, this was merely a question of size.
Mr. H. Lawrence said, in the case described by the Secretary there was no
counter-balance whatever. He certainly did not dispute that the thing was
possible; he had'no doubt it might work, but he fancied pitmen would have to
be made to suit the process. He did not think that
DISCUSSION—RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS. 91
any ordinary pitmen" would trust themselves in the cage. Again, the wear and
tear of the piston would be very expensive; the slightest wear in the tubes
would be objectionable, for they would have to be exceedingly true; the
necessary repairs to keep them in good condition would require a great
amount of money to be spent, and in a very short time they would wear to
such an extent that the keeping up of the tube and making the pistons tight
would become impossible. He felt very much interest in the invention, which
was very ingenious, and he was very much obliged to Mr. Bunning, for his
part, in bringing it before the Institute, but he certainly thought there
were a great many obstacles yet to be overcome before they could make sure
of getting-coals out of very deep pits by the process.
Professor Herschel said there was one objection which Mr. Lawrence had
pointed out, to which he would like to draw attention—namely, the absence of
a counterpoise. Now, Mr. Bunning had pointed out that something very
equivalent to a counterpoise was intended to be used with the proposed
system ; in fact, that the empty cages are balanced *and prevented from
descending too rapidly by an amount of vacuum kept above them. The vacuum
for this purpose is not so great as would be required to raise them up when
full, so that the weight of the empty cages in descending is allowed to
produce a certain partial vacuum above them. This partial vacuum has merely
to be increased in order to raise the cage afterwards with the full tubs
instead of with the empty ones, so that it is only the difference between
the weight of the full tubs and the empty cage which has to be raised to the
surface by the engines that produce the vacuum. The full pressure of the
atmosphere is not admitted to let the cage and tubs down, but just
sufficient to let them go down at the required speed with the empty tubs;
and the small quantity which is let in has afterwards to be withdrawn when
the full tubs are set on. He thought the system was especially adapted to
meet the contingencies of very deep mines. In mines of ordinary depth, he
did not anticipate the probability of its superseding the very convenient
means of raising coal which they had at present. He thought the Chairman's
apprehensive prospect in this respect might be considered as very distant.
The objection arising from the constant wear and tear of friction inside the
pipe was a serious consideration; but oil and grease do a great deal, and if
they looked at the wire rope used as guides in a very deep pil, like that at
Monkwearmouth, which he had visited that week, they would find that although
these wire-rope guides are used in the upcast shaft, where the dirt from the
furnace must certainly
92 DISCUSSION—RAISING COALS FROM GREAT DEPTHS.
be of a very destructive kind, and increase the friction very much, it did
not appear that the wear was very great.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson thought they would have to postpone the discussion
until they had the paper before them, as without it it was difficult to
follow all the figures which Mr. Bunning had given.
The Secretary said, one question arose respecting these deep pits; that was,
the rope might ultimately arrive at such a length as would preclude its
supporting its own weight. Then, he apprehended they would use taper ropes;
but taper ropes might, after all, be unmanageable, on account of the
difficulty of turning them round the pulley; so that when the time arrived
anticipated by Sir Wm. Armstrong, when coal would have to be got from
extreme depths, there would still, perhaps, be found emphrvment for such an
apparatus as that he had described.
A vote of thanks was given to Mr. Bunning for his paper, and the meeting'
then separated.
PROCEEDINGS. 93
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14th, 1874, IN THE ]
WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
I. LOWTHIAN BELL, Esq., M.P., Vice-President, in the Chaie.
The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting- and reported the
proceeding's of the Council. The following gentlemen were elected :—
Members—
Mr. Henry Henderson, Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street.
Mr. DAVID Tyzack, Warkworth, Acklington, Northumberland.
Mr. William Jackson, Cannock Chase Collieries, Walsall.
Mr. M. S. Hall, M.E., Woodlesford, near Leeds.
Mr. Thomas Blandeord, Corbridge, Northumberland.
Mr. Walter Gardner, M.E., The Stone House, Rugeley.
Mr. Joseph Mitchell, Jun., Coal Owner, Worsbro' Dale, near Barnsley.
Students—
Mr. W. S. Harris, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead.
Mr. John Bruce, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead.
Mr. R. W. Berkley, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead.
Mr. William Johnson, Strangeways Hall, &c, Collieries, Wigan.
Mr. F. R. Atkinson, Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.
The following' were nominated for election at the next meeting-:—
Members—
Mr. J. Hugh Penman, 2, Clarence Buildings, Booth Street, Manchester.
Mr. J. J. Lackland, C.E., Port Mulgrave, Saltburn.
Mr. John Johnson, Ruabon Coal Company, Ruabon.
Mr. Edward Brown, C.E., 27, Cromwell Street, Newcastle.
VOL. XXIII.-1874.
j.
94 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. William Kelsey, Engine Works, Sunderland.
Mr. Joseph Dodds, Ironmaster and Coal Owner, Stockton.
Mr. George Forster, M.E., Osmondthorpe Colliery, near Leeds.
Mr. John Smith, Boss Bridge and Douglas Bank Collieries, Wigan.
Students—
Mr. Charles C. Leach, Bedlington Collieries, Bedlington.
Mr. Edgar P. Bathbone, Duke of Norfolk's Colliery Offices, Sheffield.
Mr. T. B. Bewick, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland.
Mr. G. A. Lebour then read the following- paper, entitled " Notes on Further
Researches on the Natural Pits of Hainaut, with remarks on their probable
origin" :—
ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT. 95
NOTES ON FURTHER RESEARCHES ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT, WITH REMARKS ON
THEIR PROBABLE ORIGIN.
By G. A. LEBOUK, F.G.S., F.R.G.S., op H.M. Geological Survey.
When Mr. J. B. Simpson's valuable translation of Messrs. Cornet and Briart's
paper on the " natural pits" observed by them in the Province of Hainaut was
read before the Institute, on the 6th of December of last year, certain
surmises were made as to the origin of these so-called pits by several
members of the Institute, more particularly by Dr. Pag-e, Mr. Bewick, and
Mr. I. Lowthian Bell. The explanations suggested were avowedly of a
speculative nature, and were necessarily so from the fact that many of the
data, essential to coming- to any decided opinion on the subject, were
wanting-. Several of these g-aps in the evidence were pointed out by Dr.
Pag'e ; they were as follows :—
I.—It had not been ascertained by the authors whether the " natural pits"
continued upwards beyond the Coal-measure beds, in which alone they had been
detected, and pierced the overlying-Cretaceous and Tertiary strata, and even
the nature of these deposits was, in some of the cases at least, unknown.
This was a point of much importance with regard to the ag-e of the "natural
pits."
II.—It was not stated in the paper whether the calcareous beds of the
Mountain Limestone occurred beneath the "Coal-measures" at the points at
which the " natural pits" were situated. This, and a knowledg-e of the depth
of the limestone, if present, below the pits, was again a point of
importance as to the possibility of the " swallow-hole" theory being- the
rig'ht one.
III.—It was desirable to know whether observations, made since the paper was
published in 1870, had shown any tendency in the " natural pits" to narrow
downwards, or even to stop altog-ether.
IV.—Lastly, it was remarkable, as indicative of the difficulty of the
96 NOTES ON FTJETHEE RESEAECHES
subject, that the authors themselves attempted to give no explanation
whatever of the phenomena which thej so minutely described.
Deeming1 it a pity that the discussion of the paper should be resumed on a
future occasion under the same disadvantage of imperfect evidence from which
to argue in favour of this or that theory, the writer communicated with M.
Cornet, one of the authors of the paper in question, putting* the foregoing-
points to him, and received in answer a very full and courteous reply, an
account of which is now presented.
The answers are arranged in the same order as the questions, to prevent
undue repetition.*
I.—u At Bascoup the Coal-measures are covered by Tertiary sands and clays,
the Cretaceous rocks being- absent. At this place it is not known whether or
no the natural pit penetrates the superior deposits."
"At Sars-Long-champs," on the other hand, where "the overlying* formation
belongs also to the Tertiary period, household wells sunk in the
neighbourhood seem to demonstrate that the ' natural pit' does not penetrate
into the Tertiary beds."
"As to the two 'pits' of the Grand-Hornu, I think that they are prolonged
into the Cretaceous formation, for there have been found in them, at depths
of 1309-359 feet, 1486-248 feet, and 1666-695 feet, blocks of Cretaceous
rocks (indurated green marl, flint and white chalk), mixed with debris of
Coal-measure rocks. It is evident that if the 'natural pits' of Hornu had
been anterior to the Cretaceous formation, and if they had been able to
remain open, without falling in, until the time when the first beds of that
formation were deposited, they would have been totally filled up by the
g'reen marl, which we call Dieve, and which forms the base of the Cretaceous
formation at Hornu. There would then not have been found blocks of flint or
of white chalk."
To make this point clearer, M. Cornet then refers to a diagram, Plate
XXVII., Fig'. 1, lettered from A to G, from below upwards, and showing- the
composition and arrangement of the Cretaceous strata at Hornu.
A. is the Coal-measure series upon which lie the secondary rocks
unconformably.
B is a sandy green marl (known locally as Tourtia), from 3 to 6 feet in
thickness.
* The sentences actually translated from M. Cornet's letter are within
inverted commas.
ON THE NATUKAL PITS OF HAINAUT. 97
C is an argillaceous green marl (known locally as Dieve), 19 to 33
feet thick. D is a blue marl with chert (called locally Fortes-toises), 13
to 23
feet thick. M. Cornet remarks :—" The beds C and D are quite watertight, and
prevent the waters in the upper strata from descending- into the
Coal-measures."
E is a coarse chalk, with large nodules of flint (known locally as Babots),
13 to 19 feet thick.
F, " crate glauconi/Sre," is the equivalent of the British lower chalk
marl, and is 3 to 10 feet thick.
G, white chalk (no thickness given).
" In the 'natural pits' of Hornu," continues M. Cornet, "have been found
indurated blocks of the marl C, siliceous concretions (chert) from the bed
D, flints from E, and blocks of white chalk from G, the whole being-
confusedly mixed up with very much decomposed rocks of the Coal-measures,
and forming- a very compact argillaceous conglomerate, through which water
could not find a passag-e."
" At Quaregnon, about two miles and a half from Hornu, a large ' natural
pit' has been met with, more than 196 feet in diameter." Messrs. Cornet and
Briart did not describe it in their original paper, as they had not
sufficient details respecting it. M. Cornet, however, says :—" We know,
nevertheless, that this i pit' contains also blocks of white chalk and
nodules of flint; but the mixture of these, and of the Coal-measure rocks,
does not, as at Hornu, form a compact conglomerate impervious to water. This
is why the pit of Quaregnon gives passage to much water, whenever it is
tapped by a level, in working the coal."
This completes the answer to the first question raised.
II.—The answer to the second question is short and to the point.
" The Carboniferous limestone," says M. Cornet, " is to be found every-
- where at the base of the Coal-measures of Hainaut. At Bascoup and
. Sars-Longchamps it lies about 1300 feet below the lowest known point
in the ' natural pits.' At the Grand-Hornu it is more than from 4300
to 5900 feet below that point."
III.—The answer to the next query is shorter still :—" The bottom of none of
the ' natural pits' has yet been reached, and no narrowing of the diameter
downwards has been observed. On the contrary, one of the two 'pits' of Hornu
widens out very considerably downwards."
IV.—In reply to the last, and perhaps the most important question, M. Cornet
writes :—"After having long considered the subject we
98 NOTES ON FURTHER RESEARCHES
admit the theory of M. d'Omalius d'Halloy, who considers the ' natural pits'
as being1 canals which have given passage to matter coming' from the.
interior of the earth, and which has contributed to form the stratified
formations."
What this theory of M. d'Omalius d'Halloy is, will be perhaps more clearly
perceived from the following' quotation translated from his report upon
Messrs. Cornet and Briart's paper*:—"If," says M. d'Omalius, " [as is
generally admitted] rocks have come from the interior of the earth in a
pasty or viscous state, why should not pulverulent or gaseous matter have
come out of it also, capable of being mixed or dissolved in the waters, and
of forming precipitates in them ? This opinion seems to me the more
admissible, since we see gases and ashes as well as lavas poured out of our
volcanoes. On the other hand it is pretty generally admitted that the
materials of veins are derived from internal emanations. Now if those
emanations, when they were enclosed in cavities, were able to produce the
lime, the quartz, and the other minerals of veins, why should not those
which may have spread into the waters have given birth to a portion of the
beds which form the terrestrial crust ? In adopting this view, the diversity
of the layers and the purity of some of them is easily explained."
"One of the principal objections brought to bear against this theory is,
that the canals which might have given vent to those materials are not seen.
I answered to that objection that the ' natural wells or pits' found in the
Tertiary and Secondary formations,! may be looked upon as being some of
these canals \ but it was retorted that these pits were only pockets filled
up from above. I am far from disputing the existence of the pockets ; but,
besides the fact that there are pits of which the bottom has not been
reached,! I have had occasion to show that the terminations of pits, which
it was thought had been determined in cuttings, were only apparent bottoms,
and were due to the fact that the pits took directions different from those
of the walls of the cuttings."
" It was also said that no pits were to be found in the Primary formations,
to which I made answer that the pits must be very rare in
* Acad. Roy. de Belgique. Extr. des Bull., 2eme serie, tome xxix., No. 4 ;
1870, p. 341, etc.
¦J- If M. d'Omalius d'Halloy refers here to "Swallow" or "Pot-holes" in the
newer beds, I must say his argument is, to say the least of it, very much
strained at this point.
% Such as the famous " Neckers " in Kent, for instance, of which wonderful
stories as to the depth are told. I have never met with a fathomless pit.
ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT., 99
them since those formations being generally much dislocated and traversed by
a large number of faults and veins, the internal emanations could, without
establishing true pits, escape by the joints and spaces of the
dislocations."
M. d'Omalius d'Halloy then goes on to state that the pits described by
Messrs. Cornet and Briart furnish the link required for the completion of
his argument. "They have," he says, "announced the discovery for the first
time of ' natural pits' in the Primary formations," and the fact that they
are found to occur in a district where the Palaeozoic rocks are
comparatively horizontal and undisturbed, agrees with his hypothesis, since
it is only in undisturbed areas that special vents would be required for the
so-called "internal emanations."
Members of the Institute will not fail, if they were present when Mr. I.
Lowthian Bell gave his views on the subject, to perceive the similarity
between them and those of the eminent geologist quoted, M. d'Omalius
d'Halloy.
It is not to be supposed that any one will now uphold the swallow-hole
theory of the origin of the natural pits, a " creep " felt through more than
6000 feet being a more than unlikely occurrence. The internal emanation
theory seems to gain credibility from the additional facts submitted, but
why should the emanations have been chiefly of a gaseous nature ? What gas,
having found a vent of any kind, would or could, of itself, scour and erode
the sides of such vent to such an extent as to convert it into a canal of
100 feet or more in diameter ?
It was suggested by our Secretary, Mr. Bunning*, that plugs of trap might
once have filled these pits, but to this it may be objected that if so, the
sides of the pits or canals would show signs either of dipping towards or
away from their centres, or would appear baked or altered in their structure
from having come in contact with the molten rock. These objections, the
writer would submit, are not fatal ones, and he hopes to show briefly in the
following attempt to trace out a history of these " natural pits" which, he
ventures to think, will account for and agree -with all the facts of the
case, no agencies being called into play other than such as are sufficiently
proved to have worked, and indeed to be at the present time bringing about
geological phenomena.
It becomes necessary, first, to consider the relative age of the " natural
pits," and M. Cornet's new researches furnish us with materials sufficient
to arrive at a tolerably safe conclusion on this point.
Nowhere do the "pits" penetrate the Tertiary deposits overlying them, and
there is no evidence of even fragments of Tertiary rocks being
100 NOTES ON FUETHEE RESEARCHES
found in them. This would tend to show not only that the " pits " existed
before the advent of the Tertiary epoch, but also that they had been filled
up, and, with less cohesion perhaps, were before that time in the same state
as that in which they are now found. The fact that they contain, at
considerable depths, even debris of each one of the Cretaceous beds
underlying- the tertiaries, proves that they were open after the deposition
of these beds, and that the debris are in most cases indurated, further
showing- that the filling- of the pits did not take place until after the
consolidation of the white chalk. Moreover, M. Cornet's remark that had the
pits been open at the time of the deposition of the Lower Cretaceous marls
they would have been filled up by them, is obviously correct, supposing-,
that is, that nothing- was being' ejected from the pit. The supposition,
that the clearing- out or opening- (not necessarily for the first time) of
the pits, and that their subsequent filling- up, took place in
post-Cretaceous times, but before the deposition of the lowest of the
overlying Tertiary deposits, cannot be far wrong. Assuming this to be the
case, it will be well to bear in mind that the unconformity existing between
the Coal-measures and the base of the Cretaceous series represents an
enormous amount of denudation, and a corresponding' enormous space of time :
the time, namely, which was necessary for the deposition and removal of the
entire thickness of Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic rocks. It will thus be
seen that the "pits" are comparatively recent.
It being well known that the Carboniferous rocks are so frequently traversed
by contemporaneous sheets of interbedded trap, as well as by intrusive dykes
of later age, there is every reason to suppose that the Carboniferous rocks
of Hainaut are no exception to the rule, but that as the region is not a
dislocated one, the trap did not occur in the shape of dykes (which
invariably run in fissures and often in faults), but forced its way up
through isolated canals until it overflowed the surface of the then existing
land or sea bottom. This may have taken place at any period from the
deposition of the upper part of the Coal-measures (now denuded off) to the
dawn of the Cretaceous era. Plate XXVII., Fig. 2, illustrates the state of
things at that period ; the canals C C—which, it is presumed, were of much
smaller diameter then than the "natural pits" are now—being- filled with
trap. The next stage is reached when denudation had removed the upper sheet
of trap, probably in much later times, and the canals remained as simple
cores or plugs of trap. It is fair to assume that at the point of contact
along the walls of these cores the sedimentary beds would be baked, altered,
tilted up or down and much
ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT. 10]
dislocated, by the intrusion of the trap; but there is no reason to believe,
judging from the instances within our knowledge, that the effect of the trap
would extend more than a very trifling distance from the point of contact.
This second stage is shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen that now the core of
trap would be surrounded by a kind of ring of dislocation and disturbance.
It now remains only to find an agent capable of abstracting the trap cores ;
and this, it is submitted, was in all probability one of which there is
always a plentiful supply for all geological operations—namely, water. Water
from below acting' upwards in the form of springs, to which passage was
given by the circular lines of dislocation surrounding- the trap plugs. This
water might either come from the vast stores of the much-fissured
Carboniferous Limestone, in which case it would be highly charged with
carbonic acid, or it might come warm and charged with other gases, and as a
more powerful solvent, from greater depths. In either case, with the
enormous amount of time at disposal, the decomposition of the enclosed trap,
which even pure water might in course of time effect,* would not only be
likely, but almost a necessity. This once accomplished, the dislocation
ring' would by degrees be removed or fall in, the slight denuding action of
enclosed water accounting for the fact of the comparatively small width of
the chasm. In this manner the cleanness of the walls of the "natural pits"
is accounted for • and it must not be objected to this, that no water-formed
incrustations, &c, are found covering these sides, since, to quote Bischof,
"The impossibility of the deposition of solid matter by the water of
ascending springs may be readily conceived. The conditions under which
deposits take place—evaporation of water, escape of carbonic acid, cooling
of hot water, higher oxidation of iron and mang-anese— cannot be imagined to
take place in the channels of ascending springs. This deposition does not
take place until the water has reached the surface." t
This third stage is shown in Fig. 4, and it may be considered to last an
exceedingly long time, during' which the Cretaceous beds were deposited, the
filling up of the pit or well by these beds during their deposition being-
prevented by the existence of the spring, although doubtless all the time
the sides were falling in incessantly. Until some
* W. B. & R. E. Rogers' American Journal of Science and Arts, 1848.
f Bischof " Chemical Geology," German edit., T. ii., p. 214, etc. English
edit, vol. i., p. 141.
VOL. X.X.1II.—1874.
...
102 DISCUSSION—NOTES ON FURTHER RESEARCHES
time before the deposition of the Tertiary beds, the springs were either
choked up or found some other channel, and the falling- in of the now
hardened Cretaceous rocks of their upper walls crumbled in with the rest of
the rubbish now filling up the " natural pits." Where the included debris
are more closely cemented than in other cases, the uniting matter must be
sought in water deposits from above. The last stage is shown in Fig. 5,
where the " natural pit" is seen filled up, of its full width, and ready to
receive the covering of intact Tertiary sands and clays which it now
possesses.
In conclusion, it should be stated that the figures in the plate are merely
diagrammatic, and are not in any way representations to scale of any
particular " natural pits."
Mr. Lebour said, that since the last paper was read there had been a
communication made respecting the South African Diamond fields to the
Geological Society of London, and it appeared that in these fields there
were a great many trap-necks very similar in size to those which formed the
subject of Mr. Simpson's paper. Some were still full of trap, in others the
trap had been emptied out, but these were filled up again with fragments of
mica schist and metamorphic rock, which formed the upper strata in these
regions; and it is in these pits, so filled up with the debris of the mica
schist, that the diamonds are chiefly found.
Mr. J. B. Simpson said, that since the interesting discussion on this
subject at the last meeting, he had received a communication from M. Briart,
giving additional particulars, and it would perhaps be better that this
should be read before proceeding with the discussion on Mr. Lebour's paper.
The communication is as follows :—
" I ascertained after the publication of our notice that several new natural
pits had been discovered in our province, but I was completely ignorant of
the circumstances which characterised them. I have now, however, procured
the following information respecting them :—
"I.—A natural pit of great dimensions has been explored at the collieries of
Bien du Cceur, at Quaregnon.
" II.—Another natural pit has been discovered at the collieries of Produits,
near Jemmaffes, at the depth of 655 yards. Its section is an irregular
circle of 65 to 87 yards in diameter. It is filled with
ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT. 103
debris from the coal-measures, mixed with that from the superior
cretaceous rocks.
" III.—I have recently discovered at the collieries of Mariemont a natural
pit of lesser dimensions, but from 20 to 30 yards in diameter. It is not yet
entirely surrounded by the workings, but it offers this remarkable
peculiarity—it is composed of pieces of lignite, of sands, and clays, mixed
with debris of coal-measures, analogous to the lignites, sands, and clays,
which compose the Aachenean system, or the inferior stratum of the
cretaceous rock in our province. This pit has been found at about 436 yards
in depth. It is to be observed that the coal-measures come to the surface in
this part of the coal-field, and that the village of Baure, two and a half
miles distant, is the nearest place where the Aachenean system is met with.
" IV.—A natural pit was met with some time ago at the colliery of Haine St.
Pierre, near Mariemont. It is of somewhat irregular shape, from 31 to 42
yards in diameter, and possesses this curious and remarkable peculiarity,
that it Las not been met with in a higher seam to that in which it has been
circumscribed. At all events, the plan of the workings of this upper seam,
which was worked some time ago, has no trace of such an occurrence. This is
so strange, that I must bring it to your notice under great reserve. It
might be explained by the negligence with which pit plans were formerly
kept; nevertheless, I must own this explanation is unsatisfactory, and it is
probable that this natural pit did not extend to the seam above. Such are
the new facts which have come to my knowledge. It is rather remarkable that
none of these phenomena should have been noticed beyond the Province of
Hainaut. The reason probably lies in the want of observation on the part of
the Mining Engineers. As regards the natural pits described in our notice,
there is nothing new to say about them ; only the two pits of Hornu have
been met with at a lower level, where they exhibit no new features, but
continue to be filled as above, with debris of the coal formation mixed with
that of the cretaceous rocks.
" As regards the theory of these curious phenomena, I am not astonished to
hear that much discussion has taken place amongst the members of your
Institute, in the endeavour to arrive at some probable explanation of their
formation. The natural pit of Haine St. Pierre, which I have just mentioned,
tends to point to the interior of the earth as the cause of these geological
phenomena, and to the supposition that these subterranean excavations have
been filled up by the successive sinking of the overlying formation. The
fact that the
104 DISCUSSION—NOTES ON FURTHER RESEARCHES
dimensions of these pits increase with their depth is in favour of such a
theory, as also that the seams of coal they pass through are occasionally
depressed for a short distance around them.
" We intend to publish a supplementary notice on the subject, and will be
happy to send you a copy."
Mr. Simpson, alluding" to M. Briart's remarks as to the existence of a
natural pit which passed several coal seams but which did not pass some of
the -higher seams which had been worked over it, stated that if this can be
proved to be the case, then it is quite clear that the theory advanced by
Mr. Bell at the last meeting-, as to the excavation having- been originally
formed by gases from below, is the correct one; but, at any rate, it seems
to carry with it the most reasonable method of accounting for these
phenomena. With respect to M. Briart's remarks, he has omitted to mention
one very important matter—viz., the depth of this natural pit, and the
nature of the material it contains. It would appear self-evident that the
matter could not be the debris of the cretaceous rocks, and one would
incline to think that the excavations should have contained nothing at all,
or, if anything, something of igneous origin.
Dr. Page said, that in dealing with g-eological phenomena, the first great
point was to obtain correct observation and description; and he thought the
descriptions of the matter under review were not yet sufficiently full to
enable them to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Mr. Lebour's hypothesis
was a very ingenious one, but many difficulties lay in the way of its
acceptance. There were no examples in other fields of so many trap-necks
occurring' without some of them being left in a more or less disintegrated
state; there were no instances of so many eruptions as must have taken place
in the Belgian coal-field, without causing dislocations and disturbances
among the strata. There were also grave difficulties connected with the
dissolution of so many masses of trap. Discharges of carbonic acid from
below were out of the question, and if some energetic gases had been the
agents, they must have left traces of their operation on the surrounding
rocks. Again, if the statement sent to Mr. Simpson was correct, some of
these necks did not pass entirely through the coal strata, and how could Mr.
Lebour reconcile the action of an eruptive mass with this stopping' short in
its upward course ? One thing was clear, something had been removed from
these natural pits, and the coal-strata had fallen in downward to fill up
the space. If trap, some of it might yet be found in the deeper portions j
if limestone or
ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT. 105
other rock had been removed from below, the same appearances would have
presented themselves. Altogether, he did not think that any hypothesis
advanced in the absence • of more information could be a satisfactory one.
Mr. Lebour thought that the additional information obtained by Mr. Simpson,
so far corroborated his (Mr. Lebour's) views respecting the formation of
these natural pits. With regard to the upward stoppage of some of them at a
seam in the coal-measures, it must be borne in mind that no doubt at one
time the seam represented a land surface, and the trap might have been
dissolved out of it by water charged with gases before the deposition of the
superincumbent beds and seams. Of course, he did not advance this theory as
a certainty, but merely as an hypothesis which might be held until something
better could be suggested.
The Chairman remarked that what had been said respecting the solvent power
of water, suggested the reflection that after all its appreciation depended
very much upon the power of the human faculties. For instance, if the
solvent power of water over silica or any other substance which was
considered entirely insoluble in water had to be determined, the silica
would have to be weighed before its treatment with the water and the loss of
weight after the treatment would be the amount dissolved; or, failing to get
any appreciable result by this process, the water would be tested to
ascertain if it held any silica in solution, and this would show the great
difficulties that had to be overcome before any satisfactory solution of the
problem was aimed at, owing to the imperfection of human nature to
appreciate, and of the instruments employed to detect the more minute
operations of nature. It was well known, the assistance the spectrescope had
given to chemists and physicists, by proving beyond doubt that there may be
quantities of matter present in substances which had before entirely defied
human comprehension to discover. Under these circumstances, he would
scarcely undertake to say that there was any substance which a priori could
be stated to be absolutely insoluble in water. It might be soluble to the
extent of one billionth part of its weight in a billion of years, but this
was a quantity which, of course, could not be appreciated. Then with regard
to gases, carbonic acid would have an immediate effect upon lime, but as far
as he knew it would be utterly powerless over basalt or any other form of
silicate. But there was nothing to prevent the presence of fluorine in the
water, for they found fluoride of calcium was by no means a rare mineral.
Who could tell that the decomposition of fluoride of calcium at a very high
temperature might not have taken place ? There was
106 DISCUSSION—ON THE NATURAL PITS OF HAINAUT.
good reason for believing- that every substance they knew of—even water—if
subjected to a sufficiently high temperature, became dissociated. Now,
fluoride of calcium might follow the same law, and a sufficient quantity of
fluorine might be set free, which would at once act on the silica, and
account for the removal of the trap-rock. Again, the mere erosive power and
mechanical action of water in enormous quantities at extreme pressures and
over illimitable space of time would most probably be very considerable. He
thought, however, Dr. Page was quite right in requiring more facts before
accepting any explanation.
Mr. Bewick would ask whether the water which according to theory had
dissolved the trap would not also have had considerable effect upon the
adjoining rock 1
Mr. Lebour said in reply, that if water was the agent that had destroyed the
trap, it would doubtless also have acted upon the surrounding strata, for it
was not at all probable that the holes as they are found now, represented
the original size of the trap column, in reality they were much enlarged,
and this would account for the strata not being bent upwards or downwards as
they neared the pit.
Dr. Page remarked, with regard to the trap-rock theory, it must have been a
very quiet accommodating sort of trap to have come up without a distorting
dislocation of the strata. In the case of dykes, there were {ire-existing*
fissures; but here, there were eruptive necks of trap which had made a
passage for themselves without that disturbance of the strata which is
caused when similar eruptions take place in districts with which we are more
intimately acquainted.
Mr. Lebour replied that even near at home there were many cases of
trap-dykes piercing beds of coal without distorting them. These beds were
charred within a foot or two of the dyke, but often they had scarcely been
changed at all. One dyke especially, was touched by the coal which abutted
straight against it, and here the coal was only charred to a distance of
about two inches, beyond which neither the sandstone above nor the coal was
at all altered as far as the eye could detect.
Dr. Page added that this was simply because there were pre-existing fissures
which were filled up from the trap from below. But in the case of the pits
at Hainaut there were no traces of such fissures, and the circular
perforations must have been made anterior to the eruption of trap, or they
must have been made by the eruption of the trap itself.
Mr. Frederick Hurd then read a paper "On Hurd and Simpson's Patent
Air-compressing and Coal-cutting Machinery " :—
HURD AND SIMPSON S COAL-GETTING MACHINERY. 107
HURD AND SIMPSON'S COAL-GETTING AND AIR-COMPRESSING MACHINERY.
---------
Patents, No. 1352.—1864. No. 906.—1869. No. 571.—1870. Nos. 1036,
2106, AND 3241.—1872. No. 2594.—1873.
By FREDERICK HURD.
The author proposes to give a description of a number of arrangements for
getting coal and compressing air, that have been successfully at work for
some years at different collieries, which it is considered will be of
interest to the members of the Institute.
The general scope of the several arrangements will be better understood by
reference to the plates.
Plate XXVIII. is engraved from a photograph, and gives an outside view of
one of the coal-cutting machines adapted for undercutting the coal by means
of an eccentric wheel with cutters at its edge, driven by two specially
constructed air engines, of 6-inch cylinder and 12-inch stroke, the whole
being carried upon a suitable bogie on wheels made to run upon a tramway
line along the face of the coal.
Plate XXIX. shows a modification of the machine for cutting in any
direction. It will be seen that the arm B, carrying the cutter, is made to
turn upon the axle A attached to the frame work of the machine, this centre
can be raised up or down and the power communicated to the cutters by means
of the bevel wheels, as will be readily understood by reference to the
plate. This machine, which can cut in both the roof and thill, and can also
nick at the ends, is peculiarly adapted for narrow work.
It is thought that no very detailed description of the machine is necessary,
as its construction is so simple that the use of the different parts can be
understood at a glance. It may, however, be as well to remark that the wheel
D, Plate XXVIII., is provided with cutters which are placed eccentrically;
the wheel goes round in the direction of
108 hurd and Simpson's coal-getting
the arrow. The cutters can start from the face and work themselves into
the nick, and are so arranged that each group of three cuts the top, centre,
and bottom of the groove or nick, as at a b c. The cutter whee. is driven
by a bevel wheel, the teeth of which, in fact, are cast with it, but are
placed underneath to protect them from dirt and are not visible in the
plate. There are other means provided for driving- the cutter wheel, but
it is not necessary to describe them here. The cutter wheel is carried by
a thin but strong- steel arm JB, the hidden end of which is provided with a
wheel through which, by means of gear, motion is communicated to it by hand,
and it is made to enter the coal or to withdraw from the groove, or take a
direction in front of, or at either side of the machine. The cutters
being eccentric to the wheel they act with greater effect during one half of
the revolution than they do at the other half revolution, and while the
smaller radius of the eccentric is towards the coal, the machine is drawn
forward in the direction of the arrow by a self-acting hauling rope or chain
which is wound round a drum and actuated by the machine. The leading end
of the machine is kept in position on the rails when at work, by a roller B
fixed to a differential lever A, with self-acting adjustment to adapt itself
to the inequalities on the face of the coal, and this arrangement prevents
the machine from g-etting off the rails when under-cutting. These machines
are sufficiently portable and compact to run on the ordinary rails into any
part of the pit, and can be taken up or down the shaft in the ordinary cages
used for winding the coal.
Plate XXX., Fig-. 1, shows the method adopted for heating and expanding* the
air supplied to the machine. The air coming from the compressor is made to
pass through a retort E containing a perforated crucible C, made of saponite
or other suitable material, charged with ignited fuel (charcoal and scrap
iron); a check valve B is provided to prevent the return of the heated air,
which passes through D to the machine.
Plate XXX., Pig. 2, shows an apparatus for upheaving the bottom coal after
the top portion has been under-cut and removed, and consists of a cast steel
or metal wedge shovel X, which is forced forward by the screw Y, and the
screw is worked round by the lever Z and catch Z1 acting in the toothed
wheel Y1; the catch Z1 can be reversed, so that the wedge shovel can be
withdrawn as well as pushed forward. The end of the screw Y works in a
socket which abuts against one of the props B, and the adjustable stay C
serves to increase the resistance to the pushing of the screw.
AND AIR-COMPRESSING MACHINERY. 109
Plate XXXI., Fig. 1, shows an elevation, Fig. 2 an end view, and Plate
XXXII. a plan of the portable air-compressor, which is eo arranged as to
compress the air at the bottom of the pit by means of horse or hand labour,
or by means of steam, as may be found most convenient; a special form of
engine having been constructed for this purpose.
The arrangement described in the plates is adapted for horses, which are
harnessed to the levers 0 0 in the usual way. These levers give motion to a
vertical shaft O1, which drives the crank shaft S by means of the wheel and
pinion B and S1. This crank shaft gives motion to two pistons K1 and J1
working in cylinders K and J. The pistons work in water, which acts as a
lubricant, and insures the full amount of air admitted being forced into the
receiver or air chamber ; the compressed air is forced through the valves M
M and pipe M1 into a suitable air chamber A1, which is placed in the frame
A. To the upper end of the crank shaft S is fixed a mitre pinion, which
works the shaft N provided with tappets W for opening the admission valves L
L as soon as the pistons begin to move in the direction for admitting air to
the cylinders. To fix the machine securely in the seam, a prop or rod O2,
provided with a head T, passes through the centre of the axis 0, and at the
bottom it is provided with a screw O4 and a foot O5; by moving the nut O8
the screw fixes the foot against the thill of the mine and the head R
against the roof, thereby securely steadying the machine.
Plate XXXIII. shows an arrangement for working air-compressing machinery at
bank, that has been in successful operation for some years.
In ordinary air-compressing machinery, where the compressing cylinder is
worked direct from the steam cylinder, it is practically impossible to work
expansively, for the chief strain in the compressor is at the end of the
stroke. The present arrangement obviates this, and allows the employment of
expansion to any extent in the steam cylinder, by placing the compressor in
such a position that the steam is exerting its full pressure when the
resistance in the compressing cylinder is at its greatest. The position of
the parts in the plate shows that the air has just been delivered, and that
the engine at the moment of this delivery is at its point of greatest power.
The engine is also aided, at the moment of greatest strain in the
compressor, by a very heavy lever A, the centre of gravity of which is
falling at that portion of the stroke, but which is lifted by the engine
when it has comparatively little else to do, during the early stages of the
compression. The intake pipes for the air are conducted outside the building
and terminate in a bell-shaped
VOL. XXIII.-1S74.
j>
110 hued and Simpson's coal-getting
rotating- cowl, the opening- of which always faces the wind. By this means
advantage is taken of the force of the wind outside to increase the initial
pressure of the air.
Eecent practice in the use of these machines has proved that above 150 yards
can be under-cut in 10 hours, an amount of work which is at least 30 times
as great as an experienced workman can do in the same time; but this is a
minor advantag-e compared with, the great safety it affords the miners. By
these machines the coal is under-cut at night, and in most cases falls
without a shot or a wedg'e being* required, so that the miner begins to fill
and send out his wag*ons at once without the necessity of holing- the coal
himself, which, when the weight is on the face, is a dangerous operation,
and necessitates great vigilance on the part of the workmen. As a rule
the miners know to a few seconds, by the sound, when the coal will part, but
yet they are sometimes caught.
Again, in nearly all cases the speed of the machine is so great that the
coal can be under-cut and got before the weig-ht of the roof gets on to it.
Thus, seams formerly known for their bad roofs, are comparatively safe.
In many cases the miner (in order to prevent him from making-more slack than
is absolutely necessary) is only paid for the round coal he sends out, and
in some cases he is paid for the slack at lower rates j when this is the
case a great portion of his time is occupied in riddling his coal before
filling, which gives more time for the weight of the roof to come on the
face for the next under-cutting.
Taking the average of coal seams, the usual mode of working* involves a
reduction of one-third of the quantity gained, into slack, which, of course,
is a very serious loss; whereas by the machine the average loss in a three
feet seam does not amount to more than the one-eighteenth part of the whole.
In seams where there is a thin band of stone or dirt the machine can be made
to hole in such band—the debris of which can be cleared away before the main
coal is broug-ht down, which would enable the coal to be brought to bank
cleaner and with much less trouble.
In the perfected machines which are at present in use, the speed of work
with a pressure of air of 20 lbs. to the square inch, may be reckoned at 30
yards per hour in medium hard coal—the groove made being three inches wide
and a yard deep. Taking stoppages into account for removing and adjusting
the machine, the average may be taken at one-third less. If it is convenient
to have a working pressure of 50 lbs. to the square inch the cutting rate
can be increased to one yard per minute. This extra rate, however, is not
economical,
AND AIR-COMPRESSING MACHINERY. Ill
on account of the additional wear upon the cutters, although the machines
are of sufficient strength to resist the increased rate without breakao-e or
heating. With respect to the replacement of the cutters, it may be
remarked that they will run from six to eig*ht shifts of nine hours each,
without sharpening, in the very hard stone coal which is being- under-cut
for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company, with an air pressure of 20 lbs. to the
square inch, and the average rate of progress seven yards an hour. The
usual price charged for under-cutting a medium hard coal by contract is Is.
6d. per yard, the contractor finding the necessary machines and one workman
to each, and the miners laying the roads and preparing the faces, which must
not be less than 30 yards in length. If worked in pillar and stall, the
rates are increased in proportion to those paid to the miner j this system
is not only expensive but very dangerous, and involves costly ventilating
arrang*ements, and it may be predicted that it will certainly go out of use
by the adoption of machinery ; first, because it is much easier to ventilate
a straight face; and, secondly, because the coal, when under-cut, comes down
before the roof has had time to settle, and this to such an extent that at
many places where pillar and stall work is carried on, under the impression
that the roof is so bad that faces of 30 yards could not be maintained with
safety, it has been found that when the seams had been struck to boundaries,
and worked up half board and half endways-on and under-cut by machinery,
they have been worked with an open face of 1,000 yards in length with more
safety and better ventilation than before. In reference to the work done
by the heading, tunneling, or straight work machine, shown in Plate
XXIX., the contracts are based on different terms and with reference to
the forward yardage only. For example, the contract price for making
three cuts one yard deep in medium hard coal, that is to say, two side cuts
and one bottom cut (or if preferable a top cut) in a heading* five feet six
inches high by nine feet wide is from 10s. to 15s. a yard forward. When
these cuts are made, if necessary, an inch and a-half drill is adjusted to
the machine, and in two minutes a shot hole three feet deep is made. The
machine is then run back a short distance when a shot is placed and fired.
During the whole time ventilation is kept up by a slight outlet of
compressed air, which arrangement saves the expense of bratticing.
The average time occupied in making* the cuts, with 20 lbs. pressure of air,
in such a heading, is 63 minutes, which is about five times the speed of
driving it by manual labour, which only gives at best about 3 to 4 yards in
24 hours.
The air-compressing machinery, shown in Plates XXXI. and XXXIL,
112 DISCUSSION—COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT.
has been designed to obviate the very great expense of laying1 down the
pipes to transmit the compressed air from bank to the machines in the face.
The compressing machinery, here shown, can be placed conveniently near to
the face of the coal and can supply air to machines to undercut a large area
without being- moved. It is worked by horses, or by a specially worked steam
generator which the author intends making the subject of a future paper.
During the time that these machines have been at work, much has been done to
perfect their details and to render them adaptable to the various
requirements of getting coal. Many obstacles, formerly considered
unsurmountable, have been successfully overcome, and the most encouraging
results have been obtained. The author is glad to find that the members of
the Midland Institute of Mining- Engineers have appointed a committee of
twelve to investigate the subject and test the various machines for getting
coal now at work j and it is to be hoped that this action on the part of
that Institute will give a new impetus to the use of such machinery, and
that the time is not far distant when the danger, fatigue, and waste of
coal-getting will be thereby very materially reduced.
A short discussion followed the reading of this paper, in which various
opinions were expressed as to the percentage of power in compressed air a
certain amount of steam-power would produce when combined with the special
compressing apparatus described in the paper. Professor Herschel suggested
the necessity of having the actual work expended in steam and realized in
air tested by experiments with the indicator, and the discussion was
adjourned to give Mr. Hurd an opportunity of trying the necessary
experiments.
The Chairman then proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Hurd for his valuable
paper, which was cordially responded to, and the discussion on Mr. Wallace's
paper, " On the Combustion of Coal Gas to Produce Heat," was then resumed.
The Chairman, whilst admitting that the subject was well worth
consideration, still thought that if even small engines were constantly
working it would be found more economical to supply the steam by means of
coal fires rather than by means of gas. If, however, the engine was only
required from time to time, the gas had this advantage,
DISCUSSION—COAL GAS TO PRODUCE HEAT. 113
that it was always ready, and a considerable heat could be obtained in a
very short space of time without trouble, which could be as easily destroyed
when not wanted.
Mr. Wallace thought that there were other advantages besides those just
enumerated. Coal gas might be burnt without any solid particles, such as
soot and tar, being developed, so that the heating surfaces of the boilers
remained clean and could always be depended upon to the same extent as when
new. This was exceedingly important where small boilers were used, and where
the flues, tubes, and passages for conveying the heat to the water were
necessarily restricted in area, and, therefore, difficult to clean. Again, a
small boiler required very regular attendance in order to maintain the steam
at a uniform pressure. Now, gas was a fuel which could be supplied in
proportion exactly as it was required. He was well aware that it was only
under certain, conditions, and with small engines, that coal gas could be
used with advantage as a fuel, and it was especially adapted for large
towns, where its use enabled steam to be employed in warehouses and public
buildings with no more danger than accompanies the usual application of gas.
Of course it was utterly inadmissible for large pumping, winding, or mill
engines.
Mr. Eaton asked whether Mr. Wallace had ever studied the question of
applying unpurified gas as a means of producing heat under boilers Such gas,
for instance, as is made by Siemens' process, and brought directly, and
totally unpurified, to the place where the heat was required.
Mr. Wallace said, that the gas in that instance would be carbonic oxide,
which required much less oxygen to burn it, and was much easier burnt in
quantities than the carburetted hydrogen treated of in his paper. It would
be quite unsuitable for burners, such as he had described, and would have to
be burnt under totally different conditions.
The Chairman did not think that carbonic oxide would be in practice
applicable to the purpose named, on account of its expense, for there was a
loss of fully one-third of the heat-developing constituents of the coal in
making the gas itself. Mr. Siemens himself admitted that loss, but he
recovered it by being- able to utilize the greater part of that which
remained in the gas in his so-called " regenerator;" but, notwithstanding-
this loss in the early part of the process, he was inclined to think that
the use of carbonic oxide would be found cheaper than that suggested by Mr.
Wallace, but whether it would be moret convenient was another question.
PROCEEDINGS. 115
PKOCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, MARCH 7th, 1874, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
A. L. STEAVENSON, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chaie.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were then elected :—
Members— Mr. J. H. Penman, 2, Clarence Buildings, Booth Street, Manchester.
Mr. J. J. LACKLAND, C.E., Port Mulgrave, Saltburn. Mr. John Johnson, Ruabon
Coal Company, Ruabon. Mr. Edward Brown, C.E., 27, Cromwell Street,
Newcastle. Mr. William Kelsey, Engine Works, Sunderland. Mr. Joseph Dodds,
M.P., Ironmaster and Coal Owner, Stockton. Mr. Geo. Forster, M.E.,
Osmondthorpe Colliery, near Leeds. Mr. John Smith, Rose Bridge, &c„
Collieries, Wigan.
Students—
Mr. Charles C. Leach, Bedlington Collieries, Bedlington.
Mr. Edgar P. Rathbone, Duke of Norfolk's Colliery Offices, Sheffield.
Mr. T. B. Bewick, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members—
Mr. Theodore Borries, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Matthew Heckels, Boldon Colliery, Durham.
Mr. Joseph Stokoe, Houghton-le-Spring, Fence Houses.
Mr. John Parkin, Rosedale Mines.
Mr. T. F. Walker, 58, Oxford Street, Birmingham.
Mr. Edward Ross, Tondu Coal Works, Bridgend, Glamorgan.
116 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. C. Holmes, Kilton' Mines, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
Mr. Chaelbs Swan, Low Walker, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Chaeles Mitchell, Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Dakees, Old DurhanfColliery, Durham.
Mr. Geoeg-e Saint, Llangennech Collieries, Llanelly, South Wales.
Mr. C. A. Shute, Westoe, South Shields.
Mr. E. F. Maetin, Colliery Office, Whitehaven.
Mr. J. L. Spoues, Victoria Colliery, Howden, Darlington.
Students—
Mr. Chaeles F. Scott, Monk Bretton, near Barnsley.
Mr. Edwin F. Btjenley, Briggs, Son, and Co.'s Colliery Offices, Whitwood.
Mr. G. H. Bulman, Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.
The Chairman stated that it must be a source of great satisfaction to the
members to find their numbers increasing so rapidly, and that so many
gentlemen who had acquired distinction in the pursuit of their several
professions were seeking admission to the Institute.
Mr. T. F. Hedley then read the following paper " On the Valuation of Mines
for the Purpose of Local Taxation :"—
THE VALUATION OF MINES. 117
THE VALUATION OF MINES FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION.
By THOMAS FEN WICK HEDLEY.
The increasing importance of the question of Local Taxation, and the
difficulties which are supposed to exist in applying the statute laws in
force and the expounded law of rating to the valuation of mines for the
purpose of assessment to the local rates, has led the author to submit his
views on this subject to the members of this Institution for their
consideration and discussion, and, in doing so, he has endeavoured to divest
his observations as much as possible of all technicalities, so as to avoid
any unnecessary mystification of the subject, in which so many members of
this Institution are directly and larg*ely interested.
In considering the question reference will be made—First, to the statute
laws in force for the valuation of property j second, to the expounded law,
or the decisions of the superior courts on the statutes in force ; and,
thirdly, the writer will endeavour to apply the statutes and the decided
cases to the valuation of mines for the purpose of local taxation.
The rates for the relief of the poor are levied under the statute 43
Elizabeth, chapter 2, section 1, by which it is enacted that the " overseers
of the poor shall raise, weekly or otherwise, by taxation of every
inhabitant, parson, vicar, and others, and of every occupier of lands,
houses, tithes, impropriate proportions of tithes, coal mines, or saleable
underwoods in the said parish, in such sum and sums of money as they shall
think fit, a convenient stock of flax, &c, to set the poor on work, and also
competent sums of money for and towards the necessary relief of others being
poor and not able to work," &c.
By several subsequent statutes expenses connected with counties, municipal
corporations, the police, burial boards, registrations, &c, have been made
"legally chargeable" on the poor rate, so that the cost of the relief of the
poor only forms one of many items now levied and collected under the name of
" The Rate for the Relief of the Poor."
By 6th and ?th Wm. IV., cap. 96, sec. 1, it is enacted that, after the
VOL. XXIII—1874.
r,
H
118 THE VALUATION OF MINES
21st day of March, 1837, no rate for the relief of the poor in England and
Wales shall be allowed by any justice, or be of any force, which shall not
be made upon an estimate of the net annual value of the several
hereditaments rated thereunto ; that is to say, of the rent at which the
same might reasonably be expected to let from year to year, free of all
usual tenants' rates and taxes, &c, and deducting therefrom the probable
average annual cost of the repairs, insurance, and other expenses, if any,
necessary to maintain them in a state to command such rent. Provided always,
that nothing herein contained shall be construed to alter or affect the
principles or different relative liabilities, if any, according to which
different kinds of hereditaments are now by law rateable. This enactment
introduced no new principle of rating.
Section 3 enacts that the Poor Law Commissioners may order a survey and
valuation of the messuages, lands, and other hereditaments liable to poor
rates in any parish; and section 4 gives the person or persons appointed to
make the survey and valuation, power to enter, view, examine, survey and
admeasure all and every part of the messuages, lands, and hereditaments to
be surveyed and valued.
The 15th and 16th Vic, cap. 81, sec. 9, empowers the committees appointed
under this Act by the Courts of Quarter Sessions to order the whole or any
part of a parish to be valued, and they may appoint one or more person or
persons to make such valuations; and the person or persons so appointed may
at all reasonable times enter upon, view, examine, survey and measure all
and any lands, houses, or other property, within such parish, &c, in order
to ascertain the value at which the same "ought respectively to be charged.
And by section 45, every person obstructing a surveyor, or other person, in
the execution of his or their duty, under this Act, is liable to a penalty
not exceeding £5.
It is important to observe that the powers and authority of the person or
persons appointed to survey and value, under the 6th and 7th Wm. IV., cap.
96, and the 15th and 16th Vict., cap. 81, are limited to entering, viewing,
surveying, and measuring the hereditaments liable to be taxed, but the
person or persons so appointed have power or authority to call for or
examine any private book or books of accounts, in order to ascertain the
profits of trade.
The 15th and 16th Vict., cap. 81, sec. 7, empowers the County Rate
Committees, by their order in writing, to require assessors and others to
appear before them, and produce assessments, &c.} and to be
FOR THE PUEPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 119
examined on oath, and answer such questions as the committee may put to
them; and the 25th and 26th Vic, cap. 103, sec 13, empowers the Union
Assessment Committees to require assessors and others having the custody of
books of assessment of any taxes, parliamentary or parochial, to make or
transmit copies of, or extracts from, such books, and the committees may
require such persons to^ attend before them, and to produce books of
assessment, &c. But the 26th and 27th Vic, cap. 33, sec. 22,' enacts that
the powers conferred upon the Committees appointed under the County Rate
Assessment Act and the Union Assessment Committee Act, 1862, shall not
extend to authorize or empower the Committees to require any assessor,
collector, or other person employed in the assessment or collection of the
income tax, to make or transmit, or to permit any other person to make,
copies or extracts from any assessment or any document relating to the
assessment or collection of the income tax upon profits of trade, for or in
respect of any quarries, mines, iron works, gas works, or other concerns in
the nature of trade or manufacture, chargeable under Schedule A of the
Income Tax Act, or to attend before the said committee, to produce such
assessments or other documents, or to be examined by or before such
committee, touching or concerning the same. The committee, therefore, cannot
ascertain from public documents anything relating to the profits of
quarries, mines, trade, or manufacture.
By the 3rd and 4th Vic, cap. 89, sec. 1, it is enacted that from and after
the passing of this Act, it shall not be lawful for the overseers of any
parish, &c, to tax any inhabitant in respect of his ability, derived from
the profits of stock-in-trade, or any other property, for or towards the
relief of the poor ; the liability of any parson or vicar, or of any
occupier of lands, houses, tithes, coal mines, saleable underwoods, to be
taxed for or towards the relief of the poor, was not to be affected by this
Act; that is, that such lands, houses, tithes, coal mines, and saleable
underwoods, should be taxed under the provisions of the 6th and 7th Wm. IV.,
cap. 96, at the rents at which the same might reasonably be expected to let
from year to year.
It is important to observe that the words of the Parochial Assessment Act
are the rent at which the hereditaments might reasonably be expected to let
from year to year, and not the rent at which the same are actually let.
Although "rent paid may be prima facie evidence of value, it cannot be taken
as the one fact exclusive and conclusive of the amount from which by the
statute the rateable value
120 THE VALUATION OF MINES
is to be arrived at," as " the estimate, according- to which the rate should
be calculated, shall be, not the actual rental paid, but the rent at which
the premises might have been reasonably expected to let at from year to
year," and it is " the rent which would be paid, not by an actual tenant,
but by the hypothetical tenant which must decide the value j" and " if a
property be improved in value, it is immaterial whether the improvement be
made by the owner or occupier. The bargain between the owner and the
occupier may be varied on that account, but the occupier is liable to be
rated in respect of the improved value," as " the value of the thing- rated
must be the concurrent annual value during the period for which the rate is
made;" and although, " in point of form, there may be no rent, but a payment
of interest, the interest is in effect rent; " and " if property has a local
ascertained value, it is rateable on that value, irrespective of profits,
which may or may not be derived from it elsewhere ;" " and it is immaterial
whether the occupation be profitable to the occupier or the owner, the
occupier is rateable," and "there is a fallacy in the argument in
confounding the rateable value to the poor with the remunerative value to
the occupier ¦ " and " a party holding property, in its nature rateable, is
not discharged from his legal liability because he does it at a loss;" and
"the assessor must take into his consideration all the circumstances that
would influence the minds of the parties to a negociation, as to the rent to
be asked or given at the time of making the valuation."
" From the gross estimated rental must be deducted the probable average
annual cost of repairs and insurance and other expenses, if any, necessary
to maintain the hereditaments in a state to command such rent," but "extra
expenses occurring* in particular years for repairs and maintenance cannot
be allowed, as, if deductions were made in this way, it would open the door
to every species of fraud." But " nothing should be deducted from the rent
for tenants profits, as it is supposed that a tenant would take the profits
into his own calculation in considering the rental;" or " if the occupier or
tenant undertakes the repairs, insurance, and maintenance of the
hereditaments, the rent, if a fair criterion of the annual value, will be
the rateable value, and the probable average annual cost of the repairs,
insurance, aud maintenance undertaken by the tenant must be added to the
rent in order to arrive at the gross estimated rental."
Where, from the nature of the properties, " in practice a yearly tenant can
rarely be found, a hyphothetical tenant must be assumed and the terms of the
hypothetical tenancy are not difficult to be
FOR THE PUKPOSE OP LOCAL TAXATION, 121
conceived; the occupying tenant must be assumed to pay adequate remuneration
to a contractor for land and fixed capital vested therein, and the local
rateable value will be such a sum as would pay the rent of the land profit
of fixed capital therein."
The foregoing- are as brief extracts, from the statutes in force for the
valuation of property and several of the decisions thereon, as it is
possible to give in order to place the matter fully before the members of
the Institute, and it now remains for the author to apply the principles
laid down to the assessment of mines.
Coal mines only being mentioned in the statute of Elizabeth, all other mines
are exempt from local taxation except as hereinafter explained. The
following observations will, therefore, be exclusively confined to coal
mines.
Coals, like minerals, when severed from the seams and veins from which they
have been worked, are clearly stock-in-trade, and, therefore, the profits
and losses arising from the sale of such coals when severed cannot be
considered, as it is immaterial whether the coal mine be profitable to the
owner or the occupier • the occupier is liable to be rated. This is clearly
laid down, not only in the old case of the King and Parrott, where a mine
was worked at a loss and held to be rateable, but also by a very recent
case, the Queen and Aylesford, where the parish officers sought to ascertain
the profits of a chalk pit for the purpose of assessment, but the Court of
Quarter Sessions refused to allow the question to be put, on the ground that
it was an enquiry into the profits of trade, and the Court of Queen's Bench
decided that the justices were right in disallowing the question; and Mr.
Justice Blackburn said the rateable value of the chalk pit is what a tenant
would be likely to give who took the pit from year to year; and so it is
with a coal mine, it is the rent the tenant would be likely to give for the
coal mine from year to year that must determine the value of the mine, and
not the profits made by selling the coals.
No doubt coal mines were originally worked in the same way as lead, copper,
and tin mines are still worked, that is for a part of the produce of the
mine, but the development of the coal-fields and the experience acquired in
working coal has enabled the persons possessing coal mines, and the persons
working them, to ascertain their local money value, either to buy or sell,
mortgage, or let from year to year; and at the present day coal mines
possess an ascertained local value which enables them to be bought and sold,
mortgaged, or let from year to year with as much certainty as surface lands
or other property.
122 THE VALUATION OF MINES
In the Counties of Durham and Northumberland the coal is let at certain
yearly rents, for a specified number of " tens" of coal, with "tentale "
rents upon all coals worked beyond the specified quantities.
In Yorkshire and Lancashire the coal is let at yearly minimum reserved rents
per acre, and acreage rents upon all coal worked beyond the quantities
specified for the minimum rents.
In other parts of England and Scotland, and in parts of Wales and Ireland,
the coal is let at minimum reserved yearly rents for specified quantities,
at a price per ton, and tonnage rents upon all coal worked beyond the
specified quantities.
But in some parts of Ireland, in South Staffordshire, and in other places in
England and Wales, the coal is let for certain rents and proportions of the
selling* price of the coal at the pit's mouth, such proportions varying-
from one-sixth to one-sixteenth part of the selling- price of the coals.
It may be taken as a fact that coal mines have now well-ascertained local
values, and, therefore, coal mines must be valued and assessed in the same
manner and to the like extent as other hereditaments possessing ascertained
local values.
The author will, therefore, take as an illustration of the principles which,
in his opinion, oug'ht to be adopted in the valuation and assessment of a
coal mine, the case of the valuation and assessment of a farm, in the
valuation and assessment of which no difficulty exists.
The land per se has an ascertained local value, which is determined by the
situation of the land, the nature and quality of the soil, the description
of the crops it will probably produce, the cost of production, and the
amount of capital the tenant will have to invest to work the land.
But in order to work the land, the land must be fenced and drained, there
must also be a farm house for the farmer, cottag-es for the servants, and
farm building's suitable for the stock and crops.
The farm, in fact, consists of two parts, that is, first, the land, second,
the farm house, cottag'es, and farm building-s necessary for working- the
land. The land is the direct source of profit, but the farm house,
cottag-es, and farm building's produce no direct profit, although they
indirectly conduce to the profits of the farm.
In practice the owners of lands fence and drain the lands, and build the
farm houses, cottages, and farm buildings, suitable for the farm, and let
the land, farm houses, cottages, and farm buildings, together at one rent.
And where farms are bona-Jide let from year to
FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 123
year, the rent paid is taken as the criterion and measure of the annual
value of the farm. But if a farm is held under a lease, and the occupier
improves the farm either by drainage or other works, or adds to the farm
house or farm buildings, the rent reserved under the lease is no criterion
of the annual value of the farm, and the occupier is rateable on the
improved value ; because, if the owner of the land had made the improvements
to the farm or additions to the buildings, he would have required, and the
tenant would have been willing to pay, either more rent than the rent
reserved under the lease or interest on the capital expended in the
improvements or additions, and such increased rent or interest on the
capital expended would be the annual value of the farm, and not the rent
reserved under the lease.
So if the owner of the land leased the land in its natural state, and the
tenant fenced and drained the land, and erected the farm house, cottages,
and farm buildings, the rent of the land per se would not represent the
value of the farm, or the rent at which it might reasonably be expected to
let for in its improved condition, and the rent therefore would be no
criterion of its value for assessment.
As it is with a farm, so it is with a current-going colliery.
The coal per se, like the land, has an ascertained local value, which annual
value is, like that of the land, determined by the situation, the quality
and description of the coal, the probable amount of capital to be invested
to win the coal, and the probable cost of working the coal. But in order to
work the coal, land must be occupied, shafts must be sunk, or adits driven,
engine houses must be built, and engines erected, to bring the coal to bank.
A colliery therefore consists of two parts, that is, the coal per se, and
the land, shafts, buildings, and machinery necessary for working the coal.
The coal like the land is the direct source of profit. The shafts,
building-s, and machinery, like the farm house, cottages, and farm
buildings, produce no direct profit, but indirectly conduce to the profits
of the colliery.
If in practice the owner of the coal paid the rent of the land occupied by
the colliery, and sunk the shafts, put up the buildings, and erected the
machinery necessary for working the coal, and let the whole together from
year to year at a bona-fide yearly rent, the rents of the land and coal, and
the shafts, buildings, and machinery, would be the annual value of the
colliery as a current-going concern, but in practice the owner of the coal
seldom pays the rent of the land, sinks the shafts, puts up the buildings,
or erects the machinery necessary for working
124 THE VALUATION OF MINES
the coal, consequently the tenant of a current-going colliery is rarely to
be found, therefore a hypothetical tenancy must be assumed, and in
conceiving- the terms of such hypothetical tenancy, it is necessary to
consider how coal is usually let.
In practice the coal per se is let for a long- term of years, the lessee
covenanting- to pay the rent of the land occupied by the colliery, to sink
the shafts, put up the buildings, and erect the machinery necessary for
working- the coal. Under these circumstances it is not difficult to conceive
the terms of a hypothetical tenancy, for the occupying- tenant must be
assumed to pay, in addition to the rents of the coal and the surface land,
adequate remuneration or fair interest to the lessor, or to a contractor for
the fixed capital invested in the shafts, buildings, and machinery ; and the
local rateable value will be such a sum as will pay the rents of the coal
and land, and the remuneration or fair interest on the capital invested in
the shafts, buildings, and machinery, in the same way as the farmer pays
more rent for the land, and farm house, and buildings, than he would for the
land alone.
It is admitted, and it is too clear to admit of doubt or argument, that if
the owner of coal would pay the rent of the land occupied by the colliery,
and invest the capital required for sinking the shafts, putting up the
buildings, and erecting the machinery to work the coal, that the lessee of
the coal would willingly pay an increased rent for the coal or the rent of
the land, and also a rent for the use of the shafts, buildings, and
machinery, or interest on the capital invested in the shafts, buildings, and
machinery.
This is no imaginary or impracticable hypothesis, as it is the principle
adopted in those rare cases where a tenant of a current-going* colliery is
found; this will be seen from the following extracts from the lease of the
rents reserved under the lease of a current-going colliery.
" The parties hereto of the second part (the lessees) yielding and paying
for all coals and cannel which shall be gotten or raised in, from, or out of
all and every, or any of the mines hereby demised, three shillings and
fourpence for every twenty shillings worth of coal * * * * * * * such
quarterage to be calculated by and according to the selling price, for the
time being of the coal and cannel at the pit's mouth also yielding and
paying for, and in respect of the said pit called A pit, and the steam
engines, engine houses, and workshops, and other buildings and conveniences,
near to or adjacent to such pit, &c, the yearly rent or sum of three
thousand pounds, payable quarterly."
Other cases in support of this principle could be added, but the
FOE THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 125
author thinks no member of this Institution will contend (although it has
often been contended before) that the royalty or rents paid for the coal or
the mine rent alone can be taken as the criterion or measure of the annual
value or the rent at which a current-going colliery might reasonably be
expected to let from year to year.
This being admitted, the next point to consider is the practical application
of the principle laid down, and in doing so it must be borne in mind that in
assessing all property, it is the rent at which the hereditaments might
reasonably be expected to let from year to year, and it is not to be an
extravagant or exceptional rent, that is to be the measure of the annual
value.
It must also be borne in mind that the " great point to be aimed at in every
rate is equality. The first thing upon every rate, therefore, is to
ascertain the true rateable value of every property upon which the rate is
to be imposed." " In the case of land, the rateable value is the amount of
the average annual profit or value of the land. It cannot be said where a
farm is let, the year's profit on each particular crop is to be taken into
consideration in fixing the rate, and the value cannot be ascertained by
inquiring whether the property was more or less beneficial in a particular
year."
Certainly no prudent tenant would bargain for the rent of land from year to
year on an estimate of the crops of an exceptionally good year, nor would a
prudent owner let his land at a rent leased upon an estimate of the crops of
an exceptionally bad year, both parties would, no doubt, be influenced in
the negotiations as to the rent to be asked or given by the latest evidence
of antecedent value, not of a particular year, but over a fair average of
years in order to arrive at the probable prospective annual value of the
land from year to year.
And so it must be with coal mines, they must be valued like the land, on an
estimate of the probable produce of the mines or the quantity of coal that
may reasonably be expected to be worked at the time the valuation is made,
and on a fair average annual value of the coal, and not with reference to
the profits of a particular year; therefore, the recent exceptionally high
prices of coals and great profits of the lessees must not be taken into
consideration in determining the annual value of the coal except in so far
as such high prices and great profits would influence the minds of the
parties to a negotiation as to the rents to be asked or given for the coal.
That the recent high prices of coal and great profits of collieries have
influenced the rents of coal, and improved the value of royalties,
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
ft
126 THE VALUATION OF MINES
cannot be denied, and it is proved, not only by the large sums recently paid
for the lessees' interest in coal held under old leases at low rents, and by
the increased rents asked and given for coal recently let, but admitted by
the lessees of coal.
Mr. J. Whitwell Pease, in his evidence before the select Committee of the
House of Commons, in May last, said, in answer to questions 4,259, 4,260,
and 4,473—
" And the tendency of rent with a high price of coal has been very much to
increase."
" The royalties used to run at 4d. and 4^d. a ton, and they cannot now be
taken under a shilling a ton."
" I have just renewed one or two leases which are more than double, although
the leases have years to run ; not liking to run the risk of the price of
the coal three or four years hence, I have paid more than double the present
rents."
The royalty rents paid for coal under old leases cannot, therefore, be taken
as the present annual values of the coal, and the rent or annual value must
be estimated at the present value of the coal without reference to the rents
paid or profits made in exceptional years.
The annual value of the surface land occupied by the colliery must be
determined by the locality and value of the land taken, in arriving a,t
which there can be little or no difficulty.
This leads to the consideration of the annual value or rent for the shaft,
buildings, and machinery, which must, as before explained, be estimated on
what would be adequate remuneration or fair interest on the capital
invested.
It is important to observe here, that it has been held by the Superior
Courts that the cost or the capital actually expended on works may be no
criterion of value, as that which was valuable may have become valueless by
subsequent changes, or the capital may have been injudiciously expended.
In the case of collieries, the rent of the coal is determined chiefly by the
probable cost of sinking or winning it, and if the lessee of a coal mine
bargained for the rent of the coal on a probable expenditure of £50,000, and
the coal was won for that sum, then the rents of the coal and land, and
interest on the capital, would be the annual value; but the actual cost of
sinking or winning coal may, from various unforeseen difficulties, far
exceed the estimated cost, and in such cases the rents of the coal and land,
and interest on the cost or capital expended, would not be the fair
criterion of the annual value of the colliery; for, if the
FOE THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 127
winning of the coal cost the lessee double what he estimated, or from
unforeseen circumstances the lessee had to expend £100,000 instead of
£50,000, then the rent agreed to be paid for the coal and the interest on
the capital actually expended in winning it, would not represent the fair
annual value of the colliery; for if the lessee had known that it would have
cost £100,000 to win the coal, he would not have given, nor would the lessor
have expected, to receive so much rent for the coal; consequently in such a
case, if the interest on the capital invested in the shaft, buildings, and
machinery, be calculated on the capital actually expended, then the rent of
the coal must be reduced to the reasonable rent the lessee would have given
for the coal if the cost of winning had been estimated at £100,000.
On the other hand, if the lessee agreed for the rent of the coal on an
estimated cost of £50,000 for winning it, but from fortunate circumstances
he succeeded in winning it for £30,000, then the rent agreed for the coal
and interest upon £30,000 would not be the fair annual value of the
colliery, inasmuch as, if the lessor and lessee had known that the coal
could have been won for £30,000, the lessor would have asked, and the lessee
would have been willing to give, a higher rent for the coal, and in such
case the rent of the coal must be increased to the reasonable rent that
would have been asked and given for it if the cost of winning had been
estimated at £30,000.
In the author's opinion, the best course to adopt to arrive at the rent at
which a current-going colliery might reasonably be expected to let from year
to year, is to estimate the rent of the coal at the rent it might reasonably
be expected to let for, on a reasonable estimate of the probable expenditure
for winning the coal, and to disregard the actual cost of shafts, buildings
and machinery.
In valuing old collieries where several shafts have been sunk, and the
buildings and machinery are in excess of the present requirements of the
colliery, the capital invested should be limited to an estimate of the
present value of the shafts, buildings and machinery, to a hypothetical
tenant, taking into consideration the state and condition of the mine, and
the probable produce of the mine at the time of making the valuation, and
without any reference whatever to the actual expenditure on the shafts,
buildings and machinery, much of which may really prove an encumbrance to
the mine.
The next question to consider is, what would be adequate remuneration or
fair interest on the capital invested, as the reasonable rent of shafts,
buildings and machinery.
128 THE VALUATION OF MINES
It is contended that no contractor or capitalist would invest money in such,
hazardous undertakings as colliery shafts, "building's, and machinery, for
less than ten per cent, per annum, and that the lessees of coal would he
willing- to pay as rent, ten per cent, per annum upon the capital so
invested, but as it has been said by a learned judge, " the great point to
aim at in every rate is equality," it is necessary, therefore, to consider
how the rent of other property than mines is estimated, and what is
considered adequate remuneration or fair interest on capital invested in
other works than mines, where hypothetical tenancies are assumed.
1st.—Land and farm buildings are usually let at and rated on rents averaging
about three per cent, per annum on the capital invested, from which is
deducted about one-twelfth for repairs.
2nd.—Ordinary houses and shops are usually let at and rated on an estimate
of about six per cent, per annum of the capital invested, from which about
one-sixth is deducted for repairs and insurances, leaving about five per
cent, per annum as the rateable value.
3rd.—With regard to manufactories which are not usually let, and where
hyphothetical tenancies are assumed, the rents are estimated at from six per
cent, to seven and a half per cent, upon the capital values; where six per
cent, is estimated as the rent, one-sixth is deducted for repairs and
insurance, but where seven and a half per cent, is estimated as the rent,
the deductions for repairs and insurance vary from one-fourth to one-third,
so that, practically, manufactories are rated on about five per cent, of
their capital values.
It would, therefore, be manifestly unfair and unequal to tax or assess the
lessees of collieries for their shafts, buildings, and machinery upon ten
per cent, of the capital invested, whilst land is only taxed at less than
three per cent., and houses and manufactories on about five per cent, of
their respective capital values.
It is, however, immaterial what per centage be charged on the capital
invested as the rent of the shafts, &c, if the deductions for repairs and
insurance are only made in proportion to the risks; but the rents of
colliery shafts, buildings and machinery ought not to be estimated at more
than six and a half per cent, per annum upon the present capital values.
The reasonable rents of the coal and land occupied by the colliery, and the
fair interest on the capital invested in the shafts, buildings and machinery
being added together, will represent the gross estimated rental of a
current-going colliery as a whole taken together, and from
FOE THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 129
this amount must be deducted the probable average annual cost of repairs,
insurance and other expenses, if any, necessary to maintain the colliery in
a state to command such rent.
Here again, in order to secure "equality in the rate," it is necessary to
enquire what deductions are usually made for repairs and insurance in
assessing other property.
These deductions average about one-twelfth from the rent of land and farm
buildings, and about one-sixth from the rent of ordinary shops, and from
one-sixth to one-third from the estimated rent of manufactories as before
described.
Taking into consideration these several deductions and the risk attending
the working of coal mines, and assuming the rent of the shafts, buildings
and machinery to be calculated at six and a half per cent, upon the capital
values, the writer thinks at least one-fourth or 25 per cent, ought to be
deducted from the gross estimated rental of the collieries for the probable
average annual cost of repairs and insurance which the owner would
undertake, but no deduction should be made for the repairs and insurance
undertaken by the lessee.
The foregoing observations refer to the valuation of a current going
colliery as a whole taken together, and if the colliery " lies in one parish
or township the rate is on the whole," but if the colliery "lies in several
parishes or townships the occupier is liable for the same amount of rateable
value and no more," but the aggregate value of the coal mine, shafts,
buildings and machinery, if situate in more than one township, must be
apportioned between the townships from which the coal is worked, and the
townships in which the surface lands, shafts, buildings, and machinery are
situate.
There is one point connected with the working of a colliery, to which the
author's attention has been specially directed, and which requires
consideration, and that is, where, in working the coal, feeders of water
have unexpectedly been met with, and large engine houses and engines have
had to be erected, and pumps put down to draw off the water, in order that
the mine might be worked.
Certainly such engine houses, engines and pumps, do not increase the value
of the colliery, but on the contrary reduce it, although if the engine
houses, engines and pumps, be situate in one township, and the coal is
worked out of another, the engine houses, engines and pumps, must be rated
in the township in which they are situate, on the same principle as other
buildings and machinery, but the amount charged upon these engine houses,
engines and pumps, must be subtracted from
130 THE VALUATION OF MINES
the rateable value of some other township, as the colliery must not he rated
in the several townships in which it lies, beyond the amount at which it
would be liable to be rated if the whole was in one township, as every
addition to the rateable value assigned to one parish, must be a subtraction
from the rateable value which might be given to some other parish, as the
rateable value in the several parishes must not exceed the aggregate value
of the whole taken together.
These observations relate exclusively to the valuation of coal mines, as
other mines than coal are not rateable, except where the owners reserve
their share of the produce of the mine in kind. The author believes,
however, that the principles of valuation he has endeavoured to explain, are
equally applicable to iron stone and iron ore mines, as to coal mines, as
both iron stone and iron ore have now, like coal, well-ascertained local
values either to sell, mortgage, or let.
Lead, tin, and copper mines, from the risk and uncertainty attending the
working* of them, have not local ascertained money values, and the mines are
demised in consideration of the lessees giving the lessor or owner of the
mine a proportion of the ore gotten or raised, but there would be no
difficulty in reducing the lord's share to an annual value for the portion
of assessment.
The lessees of these mines pay the rent of the surface land occupied by the
shafts and buildings, and sink the shafts, put up the buildings and
machinery to work the mine, but up to a very recent period, the surface
lands, buildings and machinery, connected with lead, tin and copper mines
were not rated, as they were deemed to be part of the mine, but in the year
1872, the Court of Queen's Bench decided, in Guest and East Dean, that the
surface lands, buildings and machinery, connected with the iron mines in the
Forest of Dean were rateable, and that the test of value was to be, what
would the hypothetical tenant give for the surface land, buildings and
machinery.
In estimating the value of the lands, buildings and machinery, connected
with iron mines in the Forest of Dean, and the lands, buildings and
machinery connected with the lead mines in Salop, the author applied the
same principles as those he adopted in valuing the lands, buildings and
machinery connected with the coal mines, and which he has endeavoured in
this paper to explain. How far he may have succeeded in removing the
supposed difficulties which exist in applying the statute in force and the
decisions thereon to the valuation of mines is a question for the members to
decide.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 13l
Mr. Hedley, in answer to a question by Mr. E. F. Boyd, stated that in his
opinion pit cottages should be considered as a portion of the colliery, and
should be rated in the same way as the machinery and general plant, but from
the operation of the Assessment and Collection of Eates Act they had to be
separately assessed, as every one was supposed to have the franchise
conferred upon him who occupied a house. If the cottages were in a different
township from the shafts and machinery, each portion of the property would
have to be rated in the parishes in which they were locally situated. In
further reply to Mr. Boyd, Mr. Hedley thought that it had been placed beyond
doubt that until, a mine was developed and worked it could not be rated, for
it would be manifestly unfair to rate dead rents and then begin to rate the
collieries on their workings afterwards, and that the rate must be upon the
produce of the mine and the value of the produce at the time the rate was
made.
In answer to a question by Mr. W. H. Hedley, he (Mr. Hedley) stated that, in
his opinion, if the cottages were rated with the mine, as he before stated
he considered they ought to be, they should follow the same law and be rated
at six and a half per cent, upon the capital value with an allowance of 25
per cent, for repairs. Even if the cottages were let, and, from exceptional
circumstances, obtained a rental of more than six and a half per cent, on
the capital expended in their construction, he would consider it very unfair
to rate the coal owner on the increased rent. He thought in all cases the
rent should not exceed what the hypothetical tenant would give for the
colliery including the cottages.
Mr. Bewick would ask how Mr. Hedley could make a difference between a
miner's cottage and that of a farmer's, separated from each other perhaps by
a simple wall ? In the case of the farmer's cottage no deduction of 25 per
cent, was made; how, then, could such a deduction be claimed for the pit
cottage 1
The Chairman stated that it must be remembered that as soon as the coal was
extracted from the colliery the value of the cottage property was entirely
destroyed. Especially so when these cottages were built on moors or out of
the way places where a single farmer's cottage here and there would be of
value. He thought that these circumstances rendered the cases hardly
similar.
Mr. T. F. Hedley perfectly agreed with the Chairman; there the cases were
not similar. The farmer's cottage might always be beneficially occupied, but
it was not the case with the pit cottage. Nor need they go to the top of a
moor, for they would find at Ferryhill a great number
132 DISCUSSION—THE VALUATION OF MINES
of cottages built as appendages to the colliery which were all closed
directly the colliery was shut up.
The Chairman asked Mr. Hedley if it would be considered that there would be
a beneficial occupation should the colliery be laid in for a year or two ?
Mr. T. F. Hedley considered that quite another matter. He thought he had
stated in his paper that exceptional years ought not to be taken into
consideration. It had been decided in the Court of Queen's Bench that during
the time the dock gates were shut at Hull for the purpose of rebuilding the
entrance, and when the yearly expenditure from this circumstance far
exceeded the revenue, that still the docks were held to be rateable, and the
judges said:—" We cannot allow exceptional expenditure occurring in
particular years, as that would open the door to every species of fraud." If
a colliery was laid off from badness of trade, he thought the decision in
the Castleton case, where a cotton mill was off work, would rule. In that
case it was held that the cotton mill was rateable, though not as a
current-going cotton mill, but simply as a place for warehousing the
machinery until trade revived, and that in this way it was beneficially
occupied. Of course, if a colliery was laid in it could not be rated on the
output of coal, but all the surface land, together with the buildings as
warehouses for the machinery, would be liable to be rated until trade
revived and the colliery was again at work. He upheld that principle in the
case of the blast furnaces at Middlesbro', and very eminent counsel
confirmed the correctness of the principle that although the machinery and
furnaces could not be rated as a current-going concern, yet they were liable
to be rated inasmuch as they were beneficially occupied in the manner before
described.
The Chairman stated that it would seem hard that plant, under the
circumstances last mentioned, should be rateable, since the plant so
situated was actually a source of loss and not of profit.
Mr. Hedley, in reply, said, that the courts had often decided that the
question of profits to the occupier was immaterial in a question of rating.
Mr. Southern moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Hedley for his able paper, and he
thought the discussion had better be adjourned until the members had had an
opportunity of reading it.
Mr. H. T. Morton seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation.
Mr. "W. H. Hedley suggested that Mr. Hedley should kindly give them an
example of his mode of valuing a current-going colliery,
FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 133
together with some remarks applicable to cottages, following out the
discussion which had been raised. He thought this would add very much to the
interest and value of thp paper.
The Chairman stated that he had formed great expectations of the value of
Mr. Hedley's remarks, which expectations he must say had been entirely
fulfilled. The subject was one to which Mr. Hedley had devoted especial time
and attention, and his impartial views upon the subject had caused him to be
consulted by all who were interested either as assessors or assessed. At the
discussion they would have a further opportunity of considering the subject,
which, although not exactly a scientific question, was yet quite as
important a branch of study, relating as it did to the commercial position
of the colliery. In fact all their professional labours were to a certain
extent of a commercial character, for unless they could as engineers make a
colliery pay, that colliery must of course stop altogether. Therefore, any
question which treats of the commercial interests of a colliery was one of
very great interest to them. Almost every branch of engineering had been
more or less considered in the Transactions of the Institute, and it must be
a source of great gratification to the members that many subjects (and he
would allude more particularly to the very important one of ventilation) had
been for the first time treated of in their pages, and those contributions
even now constituted the most reliable information published on the various
matters touched upon, and he fully thought that Mr. Hedley's paper would
prove an original and valuable addition to their proceedings, and would add
another testimony to the great benefits the institution was conferring on
the scientific public.
Mr. Hedley said he was exceedingly obliged to the meeting for this
expression of satisfaction. In the preparation of his paper he had been
influenced solely with a desire to remove all the difficulties and
mystifications which were supposed to surround the question of rating
collieries, and to make it as clear and as practicable as possible. The
Chairman had referred to the satisfaction he had given, and he would only
add that it had been a source of pleasure to him to find he had been able in
most cases to satisfy both parties, and in nearly all the cases in which he
had not been so successful he found that he had satisfied neither party: the
one side thinking his assessment too high, and the other side considering it
too low, so that he had been able to console himself with the reflection
that he had hit upon a happy medium between the two extremes.
The meeting then terminated,
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
|
PROCEEDINGS. 135
proceedings:
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, APRIL 11th, 1874, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
A. L. STEAVENSON, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting- and reported the
proceeding's of the Council.
The following" gentlemen were elected, having* been previously nominated:—
Members—
Mr. Theodore Borries, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Matthew Heckels, Boldon Colliery, Durham.
Mr. Joseph Stokoe, Houghton-le- Spring, Fence Houses.
Mr. John Parkin, Rosedale Mines.
Mr. T. F. "Walker, 58, Oxford Street, Birmingham.
Mr. Edward Ross, Tondu Coal Works, Bridgend, Glamorgan.
Mr. C. Holmes, Kilton Mines, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
Mr. Charles Swan, Low Walker, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Charles Mitchell, Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Dakers, Old Durham Colliery, Durham.
Mr. George Saint, Llangennech Collieries, Llanelly, South Wales.
Mr. C. A. Shute, Westoe, South Shields.
Mr. R. F. Martin, Colliery Office, Whitehaven.
Mr. J. L. Spours. Victoria Colliery, Howden, Darlington.
Students—
Mr. Charles F. Scott, Monk Brctton, near Barnsley
Mr. Edwin F. Burnley, Briggs, Son, and Co.'s Colliery Offices, Whitwood.
Mr. G. H. Bulman, Haswcll Colliery, Fence Houses.
VOL, XXIII.—1874.
T
136 PROCEEDINGS.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members—
Mr. Thomas Southworth, Hindley Green Collieries, near Wigan.
Mr. Harry Gill, Consulting Engineer, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Teasdale Bell, M.E., Wolsingliam, via Darlington.
Mr. John Swallow, East Castle Collieries, Annfield Plain.
Mr. Wm, Jenkins, Manager, Consett Collieries, Lintz Green, Gateshead.
Students— Mr. W. T. Hallimond, Etherley Colliery, Escomb, Bishop Auckland.
Mr. Wm, Thompson, Washington Colliery, County Durham. Mr. Harrison J.
Bulman, Killingworth Colliery. Mr. W. Stanley Avery, Killingworth Colliery.
Mr. T. F. Hedley then read the following appendix to his paper 11 On the
Valuation of Mines for the Purposes of Local Taxation :"—
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER ON THE VALUATION OF MINES. 137
SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER ON THE VALUATION OF MINES FOR THE PURPOSES OF LOCAL
TAXATION.
By THOMAS FENWICK HEDLEY.
The writer was asked to give an illustration of the valuation of a colliery
on the principles laid down by him in the paper read before the last monthly
meeting of the members of this Institution.
The following is a copy of a recent valuation of a colliery:—•
THE VALUATION.
Capital Values. Annual Values.
Land ............... £60 0 0
Royalty........................4,105 0 0
Estimated value of shafts, buildings, ) „q, q™ and machinery
.........S '
Annual value of shafts, buildings, and )
machinery, calculated at 6| per cent. > .........6,110 0 0
on £94,000 ............)
203 houses (rents as per scale)............ ... 878 0 0
Gross estimated rental......... £11,153 0 0
Deduct for repairs, insurance, and risk ......... 2,788 0 0
Rateable value............£8,365 0 0
RATING COLLIERIES NOT WORKED. A question was asked how a colliery should be
rated when not worked. The writer answered, that would depend upon the
particular circumstances of each case, and that if a colliery could not be
worked from the "badness of trade," then the land, and the buildings as
warehouses for the machinery alone would be rateable. But if a colliery
could be worked and the lessee did not choose to work it, then the colliery
would be rateable at the rent at which it might be expected to let to
another to work it.
138 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER ON THE VALUATION OF MINES
But if a colliery is not worked for a few weeks on account of repairs, or an
accident, or a strike, the colliery will be rateable on its full value as
the allowance of 25 per cent, from the gross estimated rental is made to
provide for such contingencies.
In the case of an accident to the shaft of Monkwearmouth Colliery, and
during- the strike at the same colliery, this question was raised, and the
opinion of eminent counsel taken on the point, and counsel advised that
allowances could not be made for such special expenses of repairs to the
shaft or losses during a strike occurring- in particular years, and the
colliery continued to be rated on the full annual value during-the repairs
of the shaft and during- the strike. In fact such contingencies are the only
grounds on which a deduction can be made from the royalty rents for risk, as
the coal requires no repairs.
RATING MINERS' HOUSES.
A question was asked how the writer would rate these houses. In
Northumberland and Durham the practice, with one exception, is for the
owners to find the miners' houses. In other parts of England and Wales, and
in Scotland and Ireland, the miners find their own houses. No doubt the
practice of finding the miners' houses in Northumberland and Durham
originated from sinking pits in localities where the workmen could not
obtain houses for themselves, and this practice has been continued to the
present day.
The lessees of coal in Northumberland and Durham of course take into their
consideration the fact that they will, in addition to the capital invested
in winning the coal, have to find houses for the workmen, but the amount of
capital required to build miners' houses a few years ago was a comparatively
small item to what is now required to build them.
From the usage or practice in Northumberland and Durham of finding the
miners' houses, the houses actually form part and parcel of the colliery
plant, and are appendages or adjuncts to the colliery in the same way as a
station is an appendage to a railway; and in many places if the collieries
ceased working-, the houses would' be unoccupied and could not be let, and
would not be rateable.
The houses, therefore, ought to be rated as appendages to the colliery in
the same manner as the stations of a railway are rated—that is, on the rent
of the land and fair interest on the capital invested in the buildings.
But the capital invested must be limited to the fair value and not the
actual cost of building at the present exceptionally high prices.
FOR THE PURPOSES OF LOCAL TAXATION. 139
The writer, for the purpose of simplifying the mode of rating miners'
houses, prepared a scale of rents and deductions for the rating of the
miners' houses in Houghton-le-Spring Union, and submitted that scale to the
consideration of the Union Assessment Committee and to the lessees of the
several collieries in that union, who unanimously agreed that it was a fair
and reasonable scale for rating the miners' houses.
The same scale has recently been under the consideration of the Tynemouth
Union Assessment Committee and some of the Lessees of the Steam Coal
Collieries in Northumberland, and has been approved by them.
The following is the scale referred to :—
ASSESSMENT OF COLLIERY HOUSES.
GROSS ESTIMATED RENTAL.
* Old Houses.
Subject to a deduction of one-fifth, or 20 per cent, for repairs, &c.
Single Cottage, 1 Room.................. £2 10 0
Double Cottage, 2 Rooms.................. 3 10 0
Single House, 1 Room and Loft............... 3 0 0
Double House, 2 Rooms and Loft ............ 4 0 0
Do. 3 Rooms.................. 4 10 0
Do. 3 Rooms and Loft ............ 5 0 0
Extra-sized Houses 30s. per Room.
GROSS ESTIMATED RENTAL.
New Houses.
Subject to a deduction of one-sixth, or lGfrds per cent, for repairs.
Single Cottage, 1 Room......... ......... £3 0 0
Double Cottage, 2 Rooms.................. 4 00
Single House, 1 Room and Loft............... 3 10 0
Double House, 2 Rooms and Loft .......v. ... 4 15 0
Do. 3 Rooms ...... ............ 5 10 0
Do. 3 Rooms and Loft ............ 6 00
Extra-sized Houses 40s. per Room.
The writer is satisfied that the adoption of this scale for rating miners7
houses is fair as between the unions and parishes and the coal-owners, and
the adoption of it will greatly facilitate and simplify the question of the
miners' houses.
Mr. W. A. Potter moved-a vote of thanks to Mr. Hedley for the paper he had
read. He was absent from the last meeting, but he had
* These are the very old " Pit Cottages " built many years ago.
140 SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER ON THE VALUATION OP MINES
heard the merits of the paper much and very favourably discussed. He was
sure they were very much indebted to Mr. Hedley in this neighbourhood for
the pains he had taken in collecting- information and endeavouring- to do
justice between the owners of collieries and the public bodies for whom he
acted¦ and althoug-h it was complained that he raised the rateable value of
colliery property to an enormous extent, yet he believed it had been done on
a consistent and equitable principle.
Mr. G. W. Southern had very much pleasure in seconding- the motion. He was
sure that Mr. Hedley's supplemental paper would form a very important paper
to the original one.
The Chairman in putting- the motion, which was unanimously carried, said
that he hoped that Mr. Hedley would prepare himself against the next
meeting- to consider whether in estimating- the rental, which should form
the basis of the rating-, he had taken sufficiently into account the fact
that collieries were exhaustible, and that when the coal was worked out, the
entire sum of money which had been expended upon plant was in a great
measure lost.
Mr. Hedley said, he was very much obliged to them for the honour they had
done him, and remarked that he had fully considered the point raised by the
Chairman. It was one in which he had taken very great interest, and
in fact he had taken steps to bring the matter under the consideration of
the Legislature when it was dealing with the question of the rating of
mines. The Court of Queen's Bench has decided that the question of the
exhaustion of the Corpus cannot be considered. He advised the Coal Trade
to unite as a body, and endeavour to establish the justice of their views
upon this important branch of the subject, when the local taxation scheme,
which would no doubt be introduced either in the present or the next
session, was discussed in Parliament, and secure a reasonable allowance from
the royalty rents. He would illustrate his views of the matter by stating
that he thought no prudent man, with an income of a thousand a-year from
mineral property, would live up to it (for, if he did, when the royalty was
exhausted he would have nothing* more to live upon); he would lay aside
sufficient to enable him when one royalty was exhausted to buy another.
With regard to the buildings and shafts being- comparatively of little
value when the coal was worked out, the assumed landlord would require more
rent from the lessees, therefore the percentage for estimating the value of
the shafts and buildings oug-ht also to include a sum which a
prudent landlord would expect the tenant to pay in order to form a
redemption fund to recover his capital when the mine ceased working; but
that would
POR THE PURPOSES OF LOCAL TAXATION. 141
only affect the gross estimated rental, and not the rateable value. The
rateable value was the question which affected* the lessees who had the
rates to pay. However, he was quite prepared, if any of these questions
arose, to give them his best consideration. His only object was to make the
matter as plain as possible, and to relieve all persons concerned from loss
of money by litigation, for he was convinced that it required only a little
common sense and reason to cause any difficulties entirely to vanish that
might arise on this question.
PROCEEDINGS. 143
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, MAY 2nd, 1874, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
A. L. STEAVENSON, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following- gentlemen were then elected :—
Members—
Mr. Thomas Southworth, Hindley Green Collieries, near Wigan.
Mr. Harry Gill, Consulting Engineer, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. J. T. Bell, Wolsingham, via Darlington.
Mr. John Swallow, East Castle Collieries, Annfield Plain, Lintz Green.
Mr. William Jenkins, Manager, Consett Iron Works.
Students—
Mr. W. T. Hallimond, Etherley Colliery, Escomb, Bishop Auckland. Mr. Wm.
Thompson, Washington Colliery, County Durham. Mr. H. F. Bulman, Killingworth
Colliery, Newcastle. Mr. F. S. Avery, Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Honorary Member— Mr. Ralph Park Philipson, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Members—
Mr. M. R. Waldo- Sibthorpe, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Mr. W. C. Eaton,
Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
VOL. XXIII -1874.
T,
v
144 PROCEEDINGS.
The Secretary said he had a telegram from Mr. T. F. Hedley, from the County
Court, Durham, saying' he was engaged there with the County Eate Court, and
was sorry he could not reach Newcastle in time for the meeting that day. He
asked him to get the discussion adjourned. He had also a few notes sent to
him by Mr. Greenwell, who asked him to read them to the meeting. He supposed
that, as Mr. Hedley was not there, it would he as well to postpone both the
discussion and the reading of the notes.
It was agreed that Mr. Greenwell's notes, which follow, should be taken as
read:—
REMARKS ON MR. HEDLEY'S PAPER. 145
REMARKS ON MR. HEDLEY'S PAPER " ON THE VALUATION OF MINES FOR THE PURPOSE OF
LOCAL TAXATION."
BY G. C. GREENWELL, F.G.S., M. Inst. C.E.
In this paper, which has, generally, been carefully got up, the writer begs
to draw attention to what appears to him to be an important omission : it is
that of the word "no," between "have" and "power," in the sixth line from
the bottom of page 118. And he also thinks it is to be regretted that Mr.
Hedley does not give the authorities for the extracts from the "statutes in
force," and the "decisions thereon," which he gives in page 120. The writer
would not make any further remarks on this paper until he arrives at Mr.
Hedley's "illustration," by comparison of "Farm" and "Coal Mine," in page
122, and afterwards; and to his illustration, to which he most decidedly
objects.
Mr. Hedley says : " As it is with a farm, so it is with a current going
colliery." Should "not" be interposed between the ftis" and "with" of the
middle of the sentence 1
If the rent of the farm were to be paid in consideration of the tenant
bodily removing a certain specified number of square acres of the land, Mr.
Hedley's illustration would be unexceptionable.
The writer entirely agrees with Mr. Hedley, that no one ought to be found to
contend "that the royalty or rents paid for the coal, or the mine rent
alone" can be taken as the rent at which a current going colliery might be
reasonably expected to let at from year to year; and his reason for agreeing
with him is that the writer cannot admit that the royalty (wrongly called
rent) is rateable at all. The great mistake of calling royalty rent, is the
root of the difficulty which has surrounded the question. As in the case of
the farm, quoted by Mr. Hedley in his "illustration," would the annual
amount pay for the acres, bodily removed, be called rent ? ' In addition to
the land occupied by the colliery, it is the plant only, and not by any
means the whole of that, which ought to be rated.
It may be that in many cases of valuable collieries, there would be very
little to rate; but this has nothing to do with the question.
146 DISCUSSION—THE VALUATION OF MINES
It may be that in many cases of much less valuable collieries, there would
be a great deal to rate; but neither has this anything to do with the
question.
The coal, in the first instance, would simply be worth more royalty to the
landlord than in the latter (other things very equal), but this is entirely
apart from rateable value.
It is to be regretted, that the wise and common-sense decision, quoted in
page 125, that " it cannot be said when a farm is let, the year's profit on
each particular crop is to be taken into consideration in fixing the rate,
and the value cannot be ascertained by enquiring whether the property was
more or less beneficial in a particular year," has not governed the practice
of assessment committees, in the recent course of action which many of them
had taken. It is difficult to see the consistency between the judgment,
quoted in page 121, and the observations at the foot of page 122. A landlord
does not raise his rents because his tenants have had an exceptionally good
year of shopkeeping. If in addition to his letting shops he sells a raw
material which can be manipulated, and from which the tenants can derive a
larger profit than they could last year, he will probably (if he can) raise
his price to his tenants ; but that is not a rating question. It is a
question of profits, not rateable. (Queen and Aylesford.)
The principal object in making the above remarks is, as far as possible, to
promote such a ventilation of the subject as may assist in bringing about
some satisfactory and equitable mode of settling this much vexed question
before the impending legislation or local taxation takes place.
The above remarks on Mr. Hedley's paper will be read and discussed at the
meeting of the Institute, in June.
i
The Chairman, at the last meeting, wished to ascertain if Mr. Hedley had
taken sufficiently into account the exhaustibility of the coal when rating a
colliery ; if a sum of £10,000 was spent in putting up machinery, boilers,
or furnaces, it continued for ever, or as long as they were kept in repair.
But it was not so with a colliery. If £50,000 or £100,000 was put into a
colliery, in the course of a few years the coal was gone and with it the
capital; and he thought, therefore, that the rateability of the colliery
should be considered in reference to this.
Mr. D. P. Steavenson said, that a mining engineer had come into his chambers
that morning, and told him that at the last meeting the
FOR THE PURPOSE OF* LOCAE TAXATION, 147
question had been asked whether, in rating a coal mine, the fact that the
coal mine was exhaustible ought to be taken into account in such rating? In
consequence of what this gentleman said, he, having the books to his hand,
looked up the cases, and he found two cases which were decided in 1847, the
Queen v. Westbrook, and the Queen v. Everist, in which the question was,
whether a brickfield was rateable. Now, it would appear to him, and he
thought to the meeting, that a brickfield was more certainly a subject of
exhaustion than a coal mine. A brickfield was generally a confined space of
a few acres, and it was easy to tell from that how soon it would be
exhausted. The layer of clay lay only perhaps a few feet from the surface
downwards ; and therefore, generally speaking, it could be absolutely
calculated when that layer would be exhausted, and when no further rates
could be levied upon it. Now, this case decided the question of exhaustion,
for a brickfield cannot be taken into account. But it went further : it said
that if any tenant could be found who would give a larger rent than the
rental the person in the occupation of the field was paying, taking into
consideration the royalty as part of the rent, then that enhanced rental had
to be the basis upon which the rating had to be taken. Now, he thought this
went very far in deciding the question which the Chairman asked at the last
meeting ; because, supposing that a coal proprietor were paying a rental,
say £300, for his coal mine, and supposing he were paying also a certain
small royalty, if another tenant could be found, or if a practical valuer
were to come and say, " I estimate that, if that coal mine were rented by a
person who had to pay no royalty, he would pay a rent, not of £300 but of
£900 or £1000," then the Quarter Sessions, to whom an appeal would lie,
would at once decide that that coal proprietor was liable to be rated upon
that enhanced value of £1000. That was not his own dictum, but it was a
decision which, as he had already said, was come to by the Court of Queen's
Bench in 1847. But beyond that decision, there had been a number of other
decisions about chalk quarries, stone quarries, gravel pits, and others,
which he did' not remember, all of which were exhaustible. The bed of gravel
could be seen, perhaps, as it was deposited in the ground; and yet it was
always held that the rent which a tenant would pay for taking that gravel
away, although the taking away might exhaust the pit in a short time, was
the value upon which the property had to be rated. Now, he thought that this
answered the president's question very fully as to exhaustion. Perhaps
before he sat down he might say a word or two upon pit cottages, and he
thought that what he did say would be more by way of
148 DISCUSSION—THE VALUATION OF MINES
warning to coal proprietors for the future than anything which had been
decided. But the warning- he would give would be from decided cases upon
other matters, which were very similar to this. Pit cottages had been,
and would still become, more and more the subject of discussion as to
whether the pitmen could have a vote. Already they had votes for
boroughs, on account of pit houses. Soon, he had no doubt, if any of
these cottages could be brought up to the rental which entitled a person to
a vote for the county, they would have their votes for the county; and
therefore it was certain from the continual advance which
the country is making, this question of " Can the pitmen vote for the
county?" would be forced on; and an endeavour made, if possible, to
bring up the rental of the houses, so as to give a vote for
the county in which the houses are situated. Now, in comparing pit
cottages with such a subject as a loop line of railway, and such a subject
as a tramway, it led him to the opinion that a pit cottage was a very
dangerous thing for a proprietor to hold ; because there was a case
decided in January last, where the London and North-Western Railway Company
had a small cross line which they bought, perhaps to exclude two other
companies from running into a certain place. It came before the courts as
to how they were to be rated for that cross line. They gave the
shareholders of the loop line their full share in the general stock;
but they charged a very small percentage for the traffic indeed upon
this cross line : that was for the purposes of opposition. Well, when
the question of rating came before the Sessions, it was held that if
any person, or if the two other companies could be found—and they could be
found, they were at hand—to give a larger sum as the rental of this loop
line, then the loop line was to be rated not as the London and North-Western
Railway Company were rated, but according to the rent these other two
companies would give. A tramway was another question : in the case of a
Tramway Company, the question was raised of whether a tramway, which ran
through the street, was to be rated to the poor. In that
case the Sessions held that a tramway, which seemed to be
a very doubtful subject for rating, was rateable to the
poor. Now, what he deduced from these cases with respect to
pit cottages was this : suppose it should happen that a pit, say
at Gateshead, or lying just without the boundary of
Gateshead, had a large number of pit cottages ; that twenty of these
cottages were in Gateshead parish where the rents were high,
and that some were in an adjoining parish where the rents were low;
FOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 149
then, if it should turn out, upon the valuation of such a mine by the
learned gentleman who had read this paper, or by others, that the cottages
in Gateshead were of greater value than the cottages in the neighbouring
parish, he was afraid that the latter cottages would be rated at
the larger rentals; and therefore the coalowners might find that those
cottages were not rated as part of the plant of the colliery, but at the
enhanced value in consequence of their being in a particular local
situation. The meeting- would easily draw the conclusion he
had always drawn as to the value of pit cottages. The question would be
forced upon the courts and the Legislature, that these cottages should each
of them be rated as a separate house, as all other houses are; and then they
might find that, unless the owners were careful not to let the pitmen rent
the cottages but to keep them themselves as part of their plant, and as a
convenience to the pit, they would have pit cottages going up in a short
time to extraordinary rateable values, which would, he had no doubt, not
please the owners of the pits in this district.
Mr. Willis said, there was one little question which Mr. Steavenson had
mentioned about the rent of a mine being something- like £300. He thought
there was a little misconception on this point on the part of Mr. Steavenson
; because, in addition to this £300, he mentioned royalty. He would like to
ask Mr. Steavenson whether he meant £300 as certain rent, or rent of the
land occupied by the pit; and the engine-houses, and so on ?
Mr. Steavenson thought he could easily answer that by saying that the case
he referred to was exactly this: the person who rented the brickfield rented
it for £2 ; he also paid a royalty on every thousand bricks, of some Is. 6d.
a thousand. It was held on the valuation that a tenant without paying the
royalty would give a rental of £10 a-year ; and it was held by the Court
that the brickfield was rateable upon£10 a-year. Mr. Willis supposed he was
restricted in the quantity of bricks he made ?
Mr. Steavenson said, there was no restriction. He was not quite sure of his
figures, but he remembered the point; and he believed that the tenant had
worked some three millions of bricks in one year; and the total of the last
year was taken, he believed, as the average which could be worked with three
brick-moulding stools in one year.
The Chaibman said, the question which he raised was as to the capital put
into the concern. In a chalk pit, no capital could be put at all; and it was
the same with a brickfield.
150 DISCUSSION—THE VALUATION OP MINES
Mr. Steavenson thought this was pretty well looked after in consideration of
the profits they paid. It was hardly a matter of rating-.
The Chairman—No; but it ought to be considered as a matter of value.
Mr. Bunning said, that Mr. Steavenson had just brought vividly before his
imagination one question which had often before much exercised him—that was
the great question of whether it was advisable for colliery owners to
possess a large plant of cottages. In other districts they did not do so. In
Wales, he understood, and in Staffordshire, and in fact in almost every
district except Durham and Northumberland, the coalowners did not provide
cottages for their pitmen. Of course professional gentlemen would be more
able to form an. idea of the peculiar requirements of the district; but it
struck him, from what Mr. Steavenson had said, that this question really was
an important one, and should be considered for many reasons. Although a pit
population collected round certain localities where houses were difficult to
get, might be advantageous to the working of the colliery, yet there were
times, for instance during a strike, when the men live very quietly in the
owners' houses, and burn their coals, without doing any work for them, and
he thought such an arrangement was most undesirable. Now, the question of
getting over that difficulty had sometimes passed through his mind, and it
seemed to him it would not be a bad idea to get a limited joint-stock
company to buy up all the pit houses in Northumberland and Durham and to let
them to the colliers. Of course, the proprietors of the joint-stock company
would most likely be in a large measure colliery owners ; and the houses
would of course be let for the purposes of the pit; but they would be a
perfectly distinct plant from the pit, and would be dependent upon perfectly
distinct sources for the payment of their dividends. He might say that he
had consulted with several parties upon the subject—some legal gentlemen
amongst others—and it was thought that such an arrangement would be
beneficial, but that there would be, owing to the wording of colliery leases
and other matters, certain difficulties in the way to surmount which would
necessitate having a special Act of Parliament; but the subject was of such
importance that getting an Act of Parliament would be a very minor
consideration.
Mr. W. H. Hedley took the gist of Mr. Steavenson's remarks to be that he
confirmed Mr. Hedley's statement, that the Court of Queen's Bench had
decided that the question of the exhaustion of the corpus could not be
considered; and that, on the other hand, he dissented from Mr. Hedley in his
view with regard to pit cottages being taken as part
TOR THE PURPOSE OF LOCAL TAXATION. 151
of the whole establishment of the colliery, and credited with the same
deductions for repairs and insurance that he credited the colliery
buildings, such as the engines and the shops with. But he thought that what
Mr. Steavenson said did not at all bear upon the chairman's question as to
the capital expended in shafts, and in the winning of the colliery
generally. They simply applied to the sources of rent—of the royalty rent,
and of the coal, which was exhaustible.
Mr. Steavenson, with regard to the first point, might say that he differed
from Mr. Hedley in this—that no doubt at the present time pit cottages were,
he believed, considered in the rating- as part of the plant of the colliery.
But what he wished to point out was, that the tendency of the decisions of
late was to separate such houses from the colliery plant—not to make all the
houses rated as one batch, but to separate each individual house, first as
giving a distinct vote, and then, when it was separated with regard to that,
it would be very soon found that the Poor-law officers would be only too
anxious to separate it for their purposes ; and if it had a greater value as
distinct from the colliery, then he feared that, considering the two cases
he had quoted, the London and North-Western Railway Company, and the Queen
v. Guest, it would be held that it should be rated at the enhanced price,
and not at the price as one cottage of the corpus of the colliery. With
regard to the other question of the capital expended, he did not think that
this question, had ever been touched by any distinct case upon collieries.
But he apprehended that if the question of the capital expended was taken
into consideration in the same way in rating now, he did not think any
alteration was likely to be made in that because of the exhaustion.
Mr. W. H. Hedley said, that in Mr. Hedley's example of rating-he did not
take at all the capital expended on fixed plant, as it might be called ; the
shafts, building, and machinery ; he simply made an allowance for repairs,
insurance, and risk, which did not include any allowance for redemption of
capital; and he would ask Mr. Steavenson if he would hold that the word
"corpus " included this, or simply the coal ?
Mr. Steavenson said that the investment of capital was settled by another
case, that of Guest and Dean. There it was held that the capital which had
been spent upon buildings, -cottages, machinery, and so on (although the
-mine itself—an iron mine—was not rateable) had improved the value of the
land which was above the mine; he therefore took it that the capital
expended became really the plant, and the rent which would be derived from
that plant, so long as the mine was
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
x
152 DISCUSSION—THE VALUATION OF MINES.
worked, would be a certain rateable sum of a certain value. When the mine
ceased to be worked, then the plant would become valueless j and he thought
that no reduction could be expected or had ever been made, for redemption of
capital.
Mr. W. H. Hedley proposed that the discussion be adjourned to the next
meeting.
Mr. Willis seconded the motion ; and it was carried unanimously.
The meeting- then terminated,
*
PROCEEDINGS. 153
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, JUNE 6th, 1874, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
E. F. BOYD, Esq., in the Chaik.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting', and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously nominated:—
Honorary Member—
Mr. Ralph Park Philipson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Ordinary Members—
Mr. M. R. Waldo-Sibthorpe, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Mr. W. C. Eaton,
Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members—
Mr. Vladimir Vondracek, Mahrisch Ostran, Moravia, Austria. Mr. Franz Reska,
Machinen Fabrik, Prague, Bohemia. Mr. Josef Hybner, Mahrisch Ostran,
Austria. Mr. Josef KasalouSKY, Florenz-strasse, Prague, Austria. Mr. William
Cuthbert, Beaufront Castle, Northumberland. Mr. George Fletcher, Hamsteels
Colliery, near Durham. Mr. Henry Hornsby, Whitworth Colliery, Ferryhill. Mr.
Robert Wilson, Flimby Colliery, Maryport.
Student— Mr. W. J. Southern, Tanfield Lea Colliery, by Lintz Green.
The Secretary said, he had received letters from Mr. Hedley and Mr. Hurd,
stating that they would not be able to be present at the meeting.
VOL. XXIII —1874.
Y
154 DISCUSSION—VALUATION OF MINES.
The Chairman said, they would be very glad to hear remarks from any
gentleman with regard to Mr. Hedley's paper on the rating of mines. He
himself had one remark to make, and that was with regard to the observation
which occurred in Mr. Hedley's paper in quoting evidence as to Royalty rent.
He thought it only proper for him to draw the attention of the Institute to
the observation which was there made. If it went forth to the world
unchallenged, he thought the notion would be that their rentals for coals,
one of the most important items to be considered in the circumstance of
rating, were all charged Is. per ton. He himself fancied that the coal trade
of this country, and they themselves as largely representing' it, would not
wish such a representation to go forth as the usual rent for which coal was
now being let. It was very well known that all the leases which were dated
20, 30, or 40 years ago, and had 50 or 60 years to run, were down to 18s. or
20s. a ten, which was not more than 4|d. per ton ; and if it went forth at
all, that some of the coal in the county of Durham had actually been let for
Is. a ton, this explanation ought also to have accompanied the statement,
viz.,— that the advance took place at a peculiar period arising- from a
peculiar condition of the coal trade, that trade having come to an abnormal
state of prosperity. He did not doubt that the shilling might be fair in
some cases, but it was well known that very recent lettings had been made at
from 6d. to 9d. per ton, and it should not go forth to the world he thought,
that the standard of their rents was always and universally a shilling.
Mr. Steavenson thought Mr. Boyd's argument showed clearly that the rent was
hardly a proper basis, because those who were paying a high rent would be
rated much higher than those who were paying a low rent, and those who were
paying a high rent were so much less able to pay the rate than those who
were paying a low rent.
The Chairman said there was a question whether coal, being an exhaustible
material, should only be rated at the current value during the time of its
working*.
Mr. W. H. Hedley thought that on this point both Mr. Hedley and Mr.
Steavenson stated very clearly that the law was such that the question of
the exhaustion of the corpus could not be allowed for, and decisions of the
Court of Queen's Bench had settled this very conclusively. But Mr. Hedley in
his paper suggested that action should be taken by the coal trade to get
Parliament to alter the law, that some percentage allowance should be made
for the exhaustion of the corpus in assessing-the rateable value.
DISCUSSION—VALUATION OF MINES. 155
Mr. W. H. Hedley desired to make a few further observations, and would refer
to the points in the order in which they occurred in the paper. One or two
were in the shape of questions, not, it might be, of much importance, but
which if the discussion were not closed to-day, Mr. Hedley would perhaps
take opportunity of answering at another meeting.
At page 124, an instance is quoted of engines, shops, and other colliery
buildings having been let at a rental of £3,000 per annum. Now in connection
with a question previously raised as to the.propriety of an allowance being-
made for redemption of the capital invested in plant, he would ask Mr.
Hedley how he would treat this rental for rating purposes ; merely
remarking- that in assessing the amount the lessor would doubtless take care
that it should include, besides a fair interest, such an addition as would
serve to recoup his original capital outlay • and that, therefore, almost as
fairly might the instalments which a man repays to a building society for a
house built out of its funds be treated as rent, as that the full £3,000
should be made the basis of rating, subject to the ordinary deductions only.
At page 126, the evidence of Mr. J. W. Pease, M.P., is quoted on the
question of royalty rents, and to the effect that " Royalties cannot now be
taken under a shilling a ton." This being the only tonnage rate mentioned in
the paper as now prevailing, it might, if allowed in this discussion to pass
unchallenged, come to be accredited with the additional authority of this
Institute. The chairman has already alluded to this matter, and it may, for
obvious reasons, be desirable that there should be some expression of
opinion from other members; and he would venture to state as his view, that
in the past year or two royalty rents for new lettings in Durham and
Northumberland had varied between 4^d. and Is. per ton, the bulk and the
average rate being probably 8d. or 8|-d. per ton. In the same pag-e (126) it
is said, that "the rent of the coal is determined chiefly by the probable
cost of sinking or winning it." In many instances this doubtless_js so ; but
in others the distance from the shipping port or other market affects the
matter even more largely, and in others again the quality of the seams
enters materially into the question, differences on this account being not
unfrequently made in the same royalty.
Page 129, the author refers to a class of outlay—" Pumping unexpected
feeders"—which could not be allowed for in fixing the rent under the lease.
He thought the author indicated (but will he kindly make it clear), that he
would in dealing- with such cases, rate the additional plant, but make an
allowance or deduction for this in estimating the tonnage rent on which to
rate the coal ?
156 DISCUSSION—VALUATION OF MINES.
In connection with the example valuation given at page 137, and with
particular reference to the royalty rent of £4,105, would the author allow
him to ask what has led him to abandon (apparently) the principle enunciated
in a letter to the Hon. P. Wyndham, of date May 9, 1867, namely—in
estimating royalty rent for rating, to capitalise the value of the coal, and
then charge it with a like interest to the colliery buildings. For this
system, it may be remarked, appears, if admissable, to afford means
indirectly of compensating for the exhaustion of the " Corpus," namely, in
the difference between the higher interest usually allowed to a purchaser of
coal in estimating the capital value, and the lower interest which for
equality of rating it might be reasonable to charge for rating purposes.
For the former, 10 years' purchase is suggested in the letter referred to ;
and as interest to determine rating, that now used in the paper for plant—61
per cent.—might be fair to adopt. Applying these figures to the example
case—
Bent, £4,105 x 10 years' purchase = £41,050
£41,050 rated at 6^ per cent, interest = £2,668
Allowance for insurance, risk, &c, ith = 667
---------- £2,001
As compared with £4,105, less ^th in the paper 3,079
Being a difference in the nett result of ... £1,078
which amount of reduction would, it must be admitted, sufficiently allow for
the exhaustion of the " Corpus."
The Chairman said, he had heard Mr. Simpson make a slight remark upon the
difference in the cost of pumping in different collieries. If one pit
happened to be at the dip of another, and got the water from his neighbour,
and had all the pumping apparatus to put up, it does seem reasonable that he
should be rated in the township where his place was, for doing his neighbour
a good turn.
Mr. J. B. Simpson would put the case in this way : suppose two royalties
adjoined each other, both having the same rent and apparently at the outset
the same in every respect; but afterwards at one of them it was found that a
pumping engine wTas necessary. According to his reading of Mr. Hedley's
principle of rating, the lessee who had the extra capital to expend in
pumping machinery, &c, together with probably an annual cost of £2,000 or
£3,000, would be rated higher than the other who had not this expenditure to
encounter. Ho (Mr. Simpson) did not think this was a fair basis, and some
other system should be laid
DISCUSSION—VALUATION OF MINES. 157
down so that an equitable rating of such circumstances should be arrived at.
The same thing might be said with regard to a colliery waggon-way. Take a
colliery situated close to a public line, and another three or four miles
from it. On the present system of rating, the colliery which had the
waggon-way would have to pay a greater rate than the one which had neither
the capital nor the annual expense to provide against.
Mr. TV. H. Hedley thought that, according to Mr. Hedley's own mode of
stating the question, he would make allowance for collieries exceptionally
burdened in assessing the royalty rent, or estimated tonnage rent for rating
purposes.
Mr. Simpson thought Mr. Hedley's method was based too much on the profit
principle, as he was now increasing all the rates in the parishes in
consequence of the high price of coal. A farmer who has a lease of a farm
pays a certain rental per annum, but if there is a particularly fine season
to favour him he does not'pay more rate on that account, for as a rule the
rate is based on the rent. The same should hold good with a colliery, for it
is subject to bad as well as good years, and it was very difficult to get
the authorities to reduce rates in bad years. Putting the rate at Is. a ton,
as Mr. Hedley has it, was certainly too high for present purposes, for
although in some instances this has recently been paid, yet it is very much
above the average of present lettings.
Mr. Steavenson thought they would be very apt to get into fancy bases of
rating, unless they took care, which would probably give rise to
considerable irregularities. The question was, having a parish which had to
raise, say £1,000 a-year in poor rates, how could all classes of property,
colliery property, house property, and farm property, be equitably rated so
that they should each bear a share ? It appeared to him that the question of
what the colliery would let for annually was the most fair way of coming at
it. What would the house let for ? what would the farm let for 1 and what
would the colliery let for 1 every attendant circumstance being taken into
account.
Mr. Simpson thought Mr. Hedley's peculiar views were now increasing all the
rates in the parishes in consequence of the high price of coal. Take a
farmer, who took a lease of a farm for 10 or 12 years • he paid a certain
rental per annum ; if he had got a particularly fine year of sunshine to
favour him, he did not pay more rent on that account. It was the same with a
colliery : you might have good years and bad ones ; but they would not get
the parish authorities to reduce the rates when the colliery had a bad year;
and he (Mr. S.) thought that to put the
158
ARTIFICIAL STONES.
royalty at a shilling; a ton was far too high for present purposes, for he
believed that in this district a shilling" a ton was nothing like the
averag*e of those which were being* let even in these very high times.
Mr. W. H. Hedley did not think Mr. Hedley had taken it at a shilling a ton
on account of the enhanced profits • he did so because he supposed the
royalty would let for a higher rental than before. Indeed, Mr. Hedley
distinctly affirmed that he did not consider the question of profits had
anything- to do with the question of rating-.
The Chairman—That is one of his remarks. Then as to the question of
cottages, had any of them considered that point—as to the rate at which
cottages belonging- to an establishment oug-ht to be rated in the poor-book
? If they happened to be situated in two different townships ; if one of
them not in the township where the general plant of the colliery was
situated, it came rather hard upon that colliery to pay in each township,
according- to where the cottages were placed.
Mr. Steavenson—Yes, but it might happen that a colliery adjoined a town,
such as Gateshead, where plenty of houses could be obtained without
building- any • and therefore the colliery got free not only from the
expense of building- the cottages but also of being rated upon them
afterwards.
Dr. Page then exhibited some specimens of artificial stones, whose beauty
and delicacy of ornamentation attracted at once the attention and admiration
of the members. These were Chance's Patent Stone, at one time manufactured
near Birmingham, and Ransome's Patent Stone, now prepared on a large scale
at East Greenwich. The former was produced by melting- in reverbatory
furnaces the basalt or " Eowley Rag-" of the Rowley Hills, near Dudley, in
South Staffordshire, and then casting the molten material in moulds of sand
enclosed in iron boxes, which were raised to a red heat and allowed to cool
slowly. The rate of cooling- was an important part of the process, as rapid
cooling- produced a brittle glassy mass like obsidian, while slow cooling
(according to its rate) produced a g-ranular-crystalline stone of great
hardness and durability. The work had been discontinued for some years, but
the specimen exhibited (a chimney-head, with delicate moulding-s) showed
well the character and capabilities of the substance. One geological
advantage of Messrs. Chance's ingenious conception was the light it tended
to throw on the nature and origin of the pyrogenous rocks.
Mr. Ransome's process, on the other hand, consisted in pressing sand
ARTIFICIAL STONES.
159
or other particles into moulds and cementing them by silicate of lime into a
mass of stony hardness and consistency. A soluble silica being obtained from
the treatment of flints in caustic soda—a boiling down, in fact, of flints
and soda by highly-heated steam, this solution is incorporated with
well-washed and sifted silicious sand} and moulded to any form. The silicate
which binds the sand in this case is soluble, and the stone would not stand
the action of water, but to render it insoluble it is saturated with a
solution of chloride of calcium—the chemical results of which is an
insoluble silicate of lime and a chloride of sodium or common salt. The
silicate of lime now binds the particles of sand in-dissolubly together, and
the salt is removed by copious washings. More recently, Mr. Ransome has
succeeded without the use of the calcis-chloride and the subsequent washings
which its use involves. This he has been enabled to do by the discovery of a
silicious mineral near Farnham, in Surrey, which is readily soluble in
caustic soda at a moderately low temperature. By this latter process he
combines a portion of the Farnham stone, or soluble silica, with a solution
of silicate of soda or potash, lime, sand, alumina, or other suitable
materials, which, when intimately mixed, are moulded into the required form
as heretofore, and allowed to harden gradually, as silicate of lime is
formed by the combination of the ingredients present. The mass then becomes
thoroughly indurated and converted into a compact stone, capable of
sustaining- extraordinary pressure, and increasing in hardship with age.
This stone, specimens of which were exhibited of great beauty of texture,
and sharpness and cleanness of moulding, was suitable for all architectural
and decorative purposes, and obtainable at a very moderate price. It was
also formed into grindstones, whetstones, &c, and by substituting emery for
sand, cutting wheels of unrivalled power and durability, were now produced
at a cheap rate. Specimens of these wheels were also exhibited, the
Professor remarking- that so vast and varied were the capabilities of Mr.
Ransome's Patent, that he believed it could be brought to tub a shaft as
well as to form a grindstone.
Mr. W. H. Hedley inquired whether the substance which Dr. Page had shown was
of a porous character or impervious to the passage of water 1
Dr. Page said, it could be made porous or impervious ¦ and so porous that
the finest filters of the present day were made of Ransome's patent
material.
The Chairman asked if it was the pleasure of the members to render thanks to
Dr. Page for the trouble he had taken to introduce this very
160 SOUTH OF ENGLAND BORING.
interesting- question in applied geology to the meeting- ? He thought the
Institute as well as the College of Physical Science was interested in it;
and it might happen to be a very valuable application to some of their
mining- operations. He begged to propose a vote of thanks to Dr. Page.
Mr. J. B. Simpson begged to second the motion.
Dr. Page said, the Newcastle grindstone was supposed to be known all over
the world ; but he was not sure whether with Ransome's sharp-cutting stones
they would be able to maintain their place.
The motion was carried by acclamation.
The Chairman having asked if any one knew how the South of England Boring
was going on.
Dr. Page said, he believed that the Sub-Wealden Boring Company had now
passed through upwards of 200 feet of the Kimmeridge shale, showing that
they had got into the deep-sea side of the oolite ; and there they had an
enormous thickness of shale, which does not appear in the midland counties.
That rather went against the original idea of finding the palaeozoic ridge
which was to have been met with at the depth of 500 or 600 feet. The
entire boring was now well on to 800 feet.
Mr. Steavenson did not know whether it had yet been mentioned at the
Institute, but at some of the shafts which occupied his attention at present
they had come down upon the true basalt at 60 fathoms, 19 feet in thickness,
lying quite horizontal, the rocks, as they approached it, were all altered
by the heat; and after they had passed through it, the coal at a depth of
several fathoms showed traces of heat, although the intervening rocks ceased
to show it. In Scotland there were several cases where this basalt had been
met with in a horizontal form, apparently broken away from whin-dykes in the
neighbourhood.
The Chairman—What distance are the shafts alluded to from the whin-dyke ?
Mr. Steavenson—They are a mile at least. They met the basalt in this
horizontal condition, and of course for some time they were in considerable
alarm; for they did not know how many fathoms there might be of it, and they
might have to abandon a considerable winning. One shaft was at the Browney,
about two miles from Durham, and he would be glad to allow any gentleman to
examine it.
Dr. Page said, that these beds of basalt in the coal-fields of Scotland were
extremely capricious. In the parish of Ballingry the basalt ap-
SOUTH OF ENGLAND BORING. 161
peared as a superficial overflow which had to be sunk through to reach the
coal which lay undisturbed below. He had gone round it many times, and could
discover no connection with any neck or dyke; so that great denudation must
have taken place to sever it from the source from which it originally came.
The Chairman—As in Mr. Steavenson's case.
Dr. Page—At Sunniside, however, it evidently came from a dyke— a dyke which
had come up during the coal period, because, it must be observed, the dyke
was covered by the other strata. This dyke had over-• flowed, and they had
it for about a mile and a half, and then it. thinned out, and they were no
further troubled with it. Again, at Kirkcaldy, the basalt had flowed over
the beds when they were sedimentary and horizontal; and after the beds were
tilted up, the overflow of basalt had been tilted up at the same angle.
There they had to sink through 130 feet of whin ; and the only neck that
they could trace it to was about two or two and a quarter miles to the west.
Its abrupt edge came and cropped out exactly like the beds of sandstone and
shale. He could give a dozen cases of these basalts that had had to be sunk
through in the Scotch coal-fields ; and really they were the most capricious
and puzzling things which the miner had to deal with.
The Chairman remembered one in Ayrshire.
Dr. Page—Yes ; there were several.
The Chairman—A little to the south and east of Ayr, there were coal-measures
overlaid by basalt in the same way, and which became almost the same as
Welsh anthracite coal.
Dr. Page—Yes; and north of Dunfermline it had affected the coal materially ;
but. in the instances he had mentioned the coal was good and pure, and not
in the least affected by the overflow.
Mr. Steavenson said, the stone they went through at Browney was so hard that
with eight men a shift and three shifts in the 24 hours they only got two
inches per day for weeks ; and it took four months to get only 19 feet sunk.
They kept men drilling for six hours, and they could only drill a hole about
a foot deep.
Dr. Page—Have mechanical means of boring been tried ?
Mr. Steavenson—Yes; but they had hitherto not been able to compete with hand
labour in point of cheapness.
The meeting then terminated.
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
_
PROCEEDINGS. 163
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, AUG. 1st, 1874, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Me. R. S. NEWALL, Vice-President, in the Chair.
Messrs. Wallace, Crone, Nelson, and Laws were appointed scrutineers of the
voting papers.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last general meeting; and also the
minutes of the Council meeting of July 25 and of that day.
The Secretary read the report of the Finance Committee.
The Vice-President thought that the report of the Finance Committee was
extremely satisfactory ; and he hoped that next year, instead of £1,730 they
would have £1,875 as their income. They were going on adding to the number
of their members. There was a large number to be balloted for that day; and
their capital, instead of producing 4^ per cent, as it did with the Tyne
Commissioners, would give 6 per cent, now it was invested in the Institute
and Coal Trade Chambers Co. He thought the suggestion as to the change of
investment was a most valuable one ; because, by-and-bye, as their funds
increased, they would be able to invest in further shares, and consequently
obtain the whole building. The hall in which they then were seated being at
present their property, and the adjoining building being only partially
theirs, was an additional inducement for them to acquire the whole. They had
to thank Mr. Bunning for the suggestion ; and he thought it an exceedingly
practical and useful one. He moved that the report be adopted.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson seconded the motion, and it was carried unanimously.
The Secretary read the report of the Council.
164 PROCEEDINGS.
The Vicb-Peesident hoped that the report would meet with the approval of the
meeting. It seemed that, on the whole, they were going on very
satisfactorily. The report referred to the publication by the Institute of
Mr. Watson's borings. It was expected that the book would be published
within the next half-year. He moved that the report be adopted.
Mr. Cochrane had great pleasure in seconding the motion, which was carried
unanimously.
The following new members were elected:—
Members—
Mr. Vladimir Vondracek, Mahrisch Ostran, Moravia, Austria. Mr. Franz Reska,
Machinen Fabrik, Prague. Bohemia. Mr. Josef Hybner, Mahrisch Ostran,
Moravia, Austria. Mr. Josef KAsalouSky, Florenz-strasse, Prague, Austria.
Mr. William Ctjthbert, Beaufront Castle, Northumberland. Mr. George
Fletcher, Hamsteels Colliery, near Durham. Mr. Henry Hornsby, Whitworth
Colliery, Ferry hill. Mr. Robert Wilson, Flimby Colliery, Maryport.
Student— Mr. W. J. Southern, Tanfield Lea Colliery, by Lintz Green.
The following gentlemen were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Members— Mr. William Eltringham, Clavering Place, Annfield Plain, Lintz
Green. Mr. Charles J. Potter, Heaton Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Mr. William
Moor, Engineer, Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses. Mr. James A. Thompson,
Engineer, South Derwent Colliery, Annfield
Plain, Lintz Green. Mr. William Rutherford, Milkwell Burn, etc., Collieries,
Lintz Green. Mr. John D. Kendall, Roper Street, Whitehaven. Mr. J. H.
STRAKER, Willington, County of Durham. Mr. H. F. Wild, Rhinebeck, New York.
Mr. Nathaniel Thoburn, Merthyr Dare Colliery, Merthyr Tydvil. Mr. W. Dakers,
Jun., Colliery Viewer, Birtley, County of Durham.
Student— Mr. W. H. Telford, Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland.
The Secretary read a paper on " Morton's Ejector Condenser," by Mr. W. C.
Wood.
morton's ejector condenser. 165
MORTON'S EJECTOR CONDENSER. By W. C. WOOD.
Now that many high-pressure engines are being converted into condensing
engines, it may interest the members of the Institute to have laid before
them a description of " Morton's Ejector Condenser/' which the writer
applied two years ago to a large high-pressure pumping engine, which has
since been regularly at work with most satisfactory practical results.
This condenser is of very simple construction, the use of an air-pump is
dispensed with, and a steady vacuum of 24 to 25 inches is obtained. The
apparatus is shown in Plate XXXIV.
The injection water, which is supplied under a head of six feet through the
branch B, enters the condenser in the form of a central jet through the
conoidal nozzle A, the orifice of which is regulated by the screw and
hand-wheel H.
The exhaust steam enters at the branch D, passes through the space
surrounding the central water jet, combines with it at the nozzle A, and the
whole passes on through the conoidal nozzle F, and into the discharge tube
G-; this is trumpet-mouthed, increasing rapidly in diameter to the lower
end, where it passes away.
The engine to which the condenser is applied is a beam engine of the usual
construction. The cylinder is 66 inches in diameter, with a stroke of 10
feet, working at from 5 to 7 strokes per minute, with a steam pressure of
from 25 to 30 lbs., and raising about 150 gallons per stroke from 600 feet.
The engine is not in very good condition, and therefore no reliable data as
to the precise quantity of water required by the condenser can be given. At
present for a vacuum of 25 inches, 400 gallons per minute are used, which
leaves the condenser at a temperature of about 90°; the temperature of the
injection water being 50° to 55°.
The saving in fuel is fully twenty-five per cent., and in this case amounts
to 55 tons per week.
166 morton's ejector condenser.
The cost of condenser, including the necessary pipes and connections, was
£180.
The cold water is passed direct from the pumps to the condenser, and
although it contains a larger quantity of lime, no inconvenience has been
experienced, nor has the apparatus cost anything for repairs since it was
set to work.
The Vice-President said, that in the absence of Mr. Wood it was impossible
to discuss that paper; because there were questions which they would like to
put to the author, more especially with regard to the large quantity of
water required. Mr. "Wood said he could not give the precise quantity; and
it would be well if the meeting would recommend the Secretary to apply to
him for that information before the paper was printed and ready for
discussion.
Mr. Stevenson—Yes; and whether it was substituted for any other condenser,
and to what degree it was an improvement upon it.
The Secretary then read a paper " On the Coal Measures and Lower
Carboniferous Strata of Western Newfoundland," by Mr. E. Gilpin.
THE COAL MEASURES OE NEWFOUNDLAND. 167
NOTES ON THE COAL MEASUEES AND LOWER CARBONIFEROUS STRATA OF WESTERN
NEWFOUNDLAND.
By EDWIN GILPIN. M.A.F.G.S., Examiner in Chemistry and Geology, University
of King"s College, Windsor, JV.S.
During the summer of 1873, the writer was for some time occupied in
examining the district on the south side of St. George's Bay, believed to
contain coal seams of economic value. The beautiful sections of the
divisions of the lower carboniferous exhibited here, continually suggested
comparisons with those of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, and the following
rough observations present some slight interest as descriptive of the still
unknown eastern edge of the great Acadia Carboniferous region.
In a paper communicated to the Nova Scotia Institute of Natural Science last
December, a general sketch of the district was given, and the localities of
the more important mineral deposits named. The last report of the Geological
Survey of the island, issued this spring, contains estimates of the value of
the coal districts agreeing with this, and points to the ores of copper and
lead as the most certain sources of revenue. Up to last year the district
presented all the charm of an unexplored country, nothing being known beyond
the report of Mr. Jukes, and the vague assertions of the fishermen who spoke
confidently of coal-seams measured by the yard. The labours of Mr. Murray,
the able director of the Government Survey, have given to the world a
valuable topographical map of the shores of the bay and careful analyses of
the various sections.
In order to understand clearly the connection between the carboniferous
strata of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, the student must go
back to the time when the greater part of North America was a vast plain,
with perhaps a few low hills showing above the shallow seas; the
Appalachians were part of the the coal-making region, and the marine
limestones of the Rocky Mountains prove them to have been mainly under the
sea. Near the course of the present St. Lawrence must have
168 NOTES ON THE COAL MEASURES OF
been the drainage of that period, for the back country of New York and
Canada contained azoic rocks of moderate elevation. The sombre and
fathomless valley of the Saguenay may then have been the shallow bed of a
palceozoic brook, while away to the south and east stretched the Silurian
and Laurentian hills of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
The waters of this great eastern sea thundered against the ancient cliffs
and gradually deposited immense beds of conglomerate. When emergence took
place there spread from Maine to Newfoundland the marshes and quiet lakes of
the coal-producing age. The action was continued till above the productive
strata (6,000 feet thick in Pictou county), there came the barren upper
measures, whose thickness is given by Dawson at 3,000 feet. The section of a
bore-hole put down last summer 500 feet in these measures, gives little
beyond gray sandstones, and bluish shales with fire-clay and bands of
ironstone, two of which measured 1 foot 6 inches. The beds of this series
crop again in Prince Edward's Island, but no attempts have yet been made to
penetrate to the underlying productive measures.
The sea has renewed its dominion over a great part of this region; but its
former continuity is proved by the patches of carboniferous rocks
along-Eastern and Northern Cape Breton, and the presence of marine
limestones in the Magdalen Islands. Portions of the coal-producing measures
are left like black patches on the rim of this wide basin, relics of a
coal-field rivalling in extent that of the interior continental region, and
even surpassing it in thickness and in the value of its coal seams.
For these reasons the carboniferous strata of Newfoundland are very
interesting, as from it the conditions that governed the deposits on one
side of the Acadia region are obtained, and another link is added to the
connection of the coal-fields of Europe and America.
The lowest of the five divisions of the carboniferous rocks, adopted by
Acadian geologists, frequently contains peculiar bituminous and calcareous
shales, with fish remains and thin seams of coal, resting on beds of
conglomerate and coarse sandstone. In some districts the bituminous shales
disappear and conglomerates prevail. The formation is not invariably
present; in the section given in page 170 it does not intervene between the
marine limestones and the Silurian rocks. At Hillsboro', in New Brunswick,
the well-known Albertite vein is found in the bituminous shales of this
horizon. In Pictou the bituminous Ganoid shales do not appear, and the
conglomerates have undergone extensive metamorphism, so that the conditions
of deposit can hardly be deciphered. Taking" the various measures exposed on
the middle Barrasois Eiver, on the south side of St.
Western Newfoundland. 169
George's Bay, as well adapted for showing the best section of the productive
measures exposed in Newfoundland, see Plate XXXV. The lower carboniferous
series are found completely occupied by conglomerates, very coarse in the
lower beds, but growing finer towards the top. The beds appear frequently of
enormous thickness, and at irregular intervals contain thin beds of coarse
sandstone. The origin of these strata is clearly shown by the boulders they
contain. Many of the larger boulders, from two to three feet in diameter,
are evidently from the range of Laurentian hills to the south, for the
abundant rounded fragments of magnetite are indistinguishable in appearance
from that found in situ on the flanks of these hills. Other boulders again
contain silurian fossils, and mark a series of strata now probably buried
under these measures.
The stern Laurentian hills, which have seen the dawn and aided the progress
of so many periods in the stony history of the earth, still furnish material
for new strata. The torrents which pour over these conglomerates sweep from
the hills, boulders identical in appearance with those which ages ago were
concreted into solid rock.
The fragments of magnetic ore are frequently visible in the conglomerates of
the succeeding periods. The writer observed them scattered in the rocks of a
district at least 50 miles square, and corresponding in extent to the range
of hills to the south known to contain this mineral. This wide-spread
distribution of the ore shows the gigantic scale on which the deposits were
formed, and the amount of ore originally present, when the remains after the
waste of ages are engaging the attention of capitalists.
These strata are much disturbed by faults which in some cases do not appear
to affect the overlying beds of marl and limestone. The thickness of these
conglomerates is calculated by the officers of the Geological Survey at
1,300 feet, probably an under estimate, but the faults and uniformity of the
beds render accurate measurements very difficult.
LOWER CARBONIFEROUS MARINE LIMESTONES.
The measures of this group rest conformably on the conglomerates where
exposed on the south shore of the bay, and are magnificently developed. The
most striking feature in this horizon is the gypsum, nowhere in the Acadia
district more prominent than at the Codroy Eivers. From Hillsboro', in New
Brunswick, to Cape Breton, it forms a white rim round the coal measures ; in
some places it appears in lofty white cliffs, in other localities its course
is marked by curious funnel-shaped pits. Its horizon is confined to the
sedimentary limestones, from which it has evidently been derived.
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
^ x
170 NOTES ON THE COAL MEASURES OF
The following section, from measurements by Mr. E. Brown, gives a general
idea of the strata usually associated with it:—
Feet. Inches.
Mixed Red and Brown Shales............... 12 0
(Frequently micaceous and sometimes argillaceous.)
Concretionary Limestone ............... 4 0
Soft Blue Clay ..................... 3 0
Strong Slatey Limestone ............... 47 0
Soft Blue Marl, with Gypsum near the bottom ...... 32 0
Gypsum ........................ 8 0
Soft Green (or Bed) Marl (frequently Concretionary) ... 30
Red Marl, with layers of Limestone ............ 28 0
Coarse Limestone and layers of Red Shale......... 44 0
The shales are sometimes laminated and ripple-marked. The fossils of similar
horizons in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia are also common here, embracing
Conularia, several species of Spinifer, two of Bhynchonella, and several of
Productus, with abundance of Crinoids.
The writer is not aware of similar beds of gypsum occuring in strata of the
same age in England, and believes they are confined to the Acadia
limestones. To account for these anomalous deposits, the theory has been
advanced that during the formation of the sedimentary limestones springs of
sulphuric acid were poured out from submarine volcanoes and formed huge beds
of gypsum by expelling the carbon dioxide. The action must have been on the
grandest scale, for the beds are frequently found over 100 feet in
thickness, and at one place in North-Eastern Nova Scotia present a bold
cliff seventy yards in height. The action was to great extent simultaneous,
for they are found always about the middle series of the limestones, and the
district affected by these disturbances extends from Hillsboro' to Cape
Breton, and from the Magdalen Islands to St. George's Bay. As far as yet
ascertained these outpourings do not appear to have been accompanied by any
notable disturbance, for the higher beds follow in regular succession.
The impure earthy limestone of the Salina period in New York has in many
places been converted to gypsum, and the action is still in progress.
Sulphur springs abound there, one of which is described by Dr. Beck as over
a mile long and 160 feet deep, showing the power of the agency concerned and
the effects on the rocks below.
That the Acadia gypsum was produced under similar conditions is supported by
several facts, among which may be mentioned the occurrence in the beds of
bleached quartzile pebbles, as if the action of the acid had been spent on a
mass of calcareous matter containing sand and gravel. The planes of
stratification are also observed, but no signs of life beyo nd
WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND. 171
an occasional patch of black bituminous matter. The presence of masses of
limestones and an hydrite imbedded in the gypsum is not easily accounted
for, but as far as at present can be ascertained, does not suffice to
disprove the usually accepted theory. Little, however, is yet known about
these beautiful deposits, which are yearly becoming of increased economic
value. Over 120,000 tons were exported last year, and sold in the States for
about three dollars per ton.
Above the gypsum come calcareous sandstones, red and blue marls, beds of
micaceous red shale, and impure limestone; in general characteristics
resembling those of the southern border, with the exception of the red
marls, which do not appear in beds of equal thickness.
The comparative absence of lamination (the mixture of calcareous matter with
sand), and the paucity of vegetable remains, would show that these upper
strata were mainly formed in still waters little affected by currents. Mr.
Murray gives a thickness of 2,150 feet to the measures of this section. Sir
W. Logan, in his section of the Foggins measures, gives the thickness of the
carboniferous marine formation at 1,650 feet. He does not include the lower
beds of limestone and shale, which would swell its dimensions to at least
2,500 feet. In Pictou it appears to attain a greater size, but no detailed
examination has yet been made.
THE MILLSTONE GRIT.
These measures exhibit the conventional characteristics of this series,
being little beyond a mass of coarse sandstones with every variety of
texture. The remains of plants, with nests and seamlets of coal, are
abundant in some of the beds about the middle of the series. Sometimes the
carbonised fragments of plants have been replaced by copper pyrites.
Generally the beds are of a brown colour, with occasional bands of bluish
and red shales. In certain of the beds are layers of pebbles of limestone
and quartzite, and fragments of magnetic iron ore similar to that described
on page 169, as derived from the Laurentian hills. It is very possible that
these pebbles may have come from the underlying carboniferous rocks. None of
the limestones, however, showed any fossil remains. Some of the beds were
uniform for thicknesses of 20 to 30 feet, frequently passing by
imperceptible gradations into finer false-bedded sandstones.
The thickness is probably not far removed from that assigned by Sir W. Logan
to the equivalent strata at the Foggins mines, where he measured nearly
6,000 feet of grit rocks underlying the coal measures. This enormous
thickness is startling at first, but there can be no doubt in
172 NOTES ON THE COAL MEASUEES OF
this case, for every bed can be measured as it stands exposed in the cliffs,
cut and kept clean by the swift tides of the Bay of Fundy. Professor Dawson
does not show any rocks of the millstone grit in his sections of the Pictou
coal-field, but the researches of the Geological Survey of Canada have
proved its presence on all sides of the productive measures, not, however,
sufficiently exposed to furnish data for an estimate of its thickness.
It is largely developed in Cape Breton, and well exposed at the base of the
productive measures. In crossing from the comparatively soft strata of the
coal formation, we immediately find protruding everywhere the sharp, rough
edges of the grit rocks, which cover the ground in angular masses, leaving
scanty room for vegetation.
THE MIDDLE OR PRODUCTIVE COAL FORMATION.
The greater part of the writer's time and attention was devoted to these
measures, but slow progress could be made. The ground was covered either by
dense underwood or swamps, through which no prospecting pits could be sunk.
The following is a summary of the information obtained.
The point of transition to the productive measures could not be clearly
ascertained, owing to the presence of heavy beds of drift. The measures
first met for about 150 feet of vertical thickness, consisting of light gray
sandstones, with occasional bands of a darker colour, and light, arenaceous
shales, holding ferns and casts of trees. About eight miles from the shore
the first seam was met. Its thickness is 3 feet 10 inches, with layers of
shale in the top. It was bright with mineral charcoal; the amount of ash,
from the pieces burnt in the camp-fire, was very large. "Where exposed in
the bank of the river it appeared to be nipped out by a fault, and could not
be traced Above this come a series of coarse brown sandstones, with casts of
calamites. These strata are much broken by faults, with a general course
slightly to the north of east.
About 200 feet in ascending order above these sandstones is a 6 inch seam,
overlaid by 6 feet of fine gray post containing ferns, and 2 feet of black
shale. Above this the measures are concealed; but at about 50 feet, measured
at right angles to the planes of deposit, is a seam of very bright coal, one
foot six inches thick, resting on three inches of fire-clay, crowded with
stigmaria rootlets.
For the next hundred yards the measures are disturbed by a heavy
WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND. 173
fault which is a downthrow going south. Close to the south side is a four
feet seam pitching at a heavy angle with the following section:—
Feet. Inches.
Gray Sandstone ..................... 6 0
Brown „ (coarse).................. 2 0
Light Gray Sandstone .................. 0 6
Good Goal....................... 2 9
Ironstone .................. ...... 0 3
Coarse Coal, with thin, shaly Bands ...... ...... 1 0
Sandstone, with Ferns, &c.
The measures now become flatter, and at a vertical distance of one hundred
feet is a three feet seam of beautifully clean coal. The under-day was four
inches thick, resting on light gray sandstone, the same material forming the
roof. On breaking the coal it was clean, and divided with a cubical
fracture. No impurity was visible beyond a few thin films of calcium
carbonate. An analysis gave—
Volatile Matter .....................334
Fixed Carbon .....................59-3
Ash ........................... 7-3
100-0 Still ascending the river no more exposures of consequence were found,
tiU in about one and a half miles the millstone grit rocks crop again, and
there is nothing to indicate coal beyond that point. At a distance of 16
miles from its mouth, the river is met rushing from the flanks of the great
Laurentian plateau.
The section thus presents a narrow trough of coal measures about two miles
wide, and of unknown length. A four feet seam crops on Eobinson's Brook four
miles to the eastward, probably on the same horizon as one of the
above-mentioned beds. Still further to the east the sub-productive measures
were traced by the officers of the Survey from the shores of the bay to the
mountains. The extent of the coal-field to the west is unknown; and here the
most valuable discoveries may be made, for the measures appear less
disturbed as they recede from the heavy fault which crosses the district
obliquely. This trouble renders any estimate of the thickness of these
strata unsatisfactory. There would be about 600 feet of measures exposed on
the north side of it.
The difficulty of transport (there being no roads within a hundred miles),
and the impenetrable nature of the country, have hitherto deterred
investigators. The indications of coal, though encouraging, hardly warrant
the expenditure of large sums of money when equally remunerative
speculations can be undertaken at less risk.
174 NOTES ON THE COAL MEASURES OF
On the north shore of the bay are similar exposures of carboniferous rocks,
and at one place a thin seam crops out in connection with coal strata. As
yet, however, there has been no return for the labour of prospectors. Other
thin seams are said to occur, but if any opinion can be formed from the
measures exposed on the Barrasois rivers there is doubt if they prove of
workable size.
The writer will now compare briefly the above description of the
carboniferous rocks as they occur in St. George's Bay with equivalent
horizons in Nova Scotia, as, by this means, some light is thrown on the
value of the coal formation of the former place.
After the formation of several beds of conglomerate at the base of the
carboniferous, we find, in parts of New Brunswick, and near Windsor, in Nova
Scotia, periods of slight submergence, allowing the formation of bituminous
shales, with abundance of vegetable remains and thin beds of coal; whilst in
Pictou, Cape Breton, and Newfoundland the whole series is occupied by
conglomerates, to the almost total exclusion of such remains.
When the limestone period is reached, the conditions appear inden-tical over
the whole area of the Acadia region. The measures of North-Eastern Nova
Scotia, Cape Breton, and Newfoundland, are precisely similar in fossils and
structure. With slight variations in thickness and in composition of the
strata, owing to the nature of the underlying boundary rocks, the section of
one district will answer for all. There is the formation of calcareous
matter, and the simultaneous outbreak of volcanic acid springs converting
masses of limestone into gypsum, and then a return to periods of quiet
movement suitable for the deposition of the marl and shale.
During the millstone grit epoch the conditions in the Foggins district
appear to resemble more those of St. George's Bay than of Pictou and Cape
Breton. At the former place these strata are grouped under three sections by
the eminent geologists who have explored them. The upper series of 2,000
feet consist of red shales and red and gray sandstones, containing no coal
and few fossils. The middle group contains nine small coal-seams, and many
thick, coarse sandstones of light colour. And the lower division consists
principally of red shales, with sandstones and conglomerates. Its thickness
is stated by Sir W. Logan at 650 feet. On comparison with the equivalent
measures of Newfoundland, already described, we find a striking agreement in
the presence of vegetable remains about the middle of the series. There are
more shales at the Foggins and less evidence of the prevalence of strong
shifting currents so
WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND. 175
marked on the eastern side of the region. Jn Pictou and Cape Breton, as far
as is ascertained, the beds of this period present little beyond coarse
sandstones and shales, usually of a dark colour.
When the productive or middle coal measures come under consideration, the
conditions vary much within comparatively short distances. In New Brunswick
there is a scanty section of these measures affording hardly any prospect of
valuable seams. Mr. G. F. Matthew, in the last report of the Canadian
Survey, gives the maximum thickness of the productive measures at 200 feet.
On passing to the Foggins there are 1,269 feet of measures containing
nothing beyond rudimentary and thin coal seams. Above this is a thickness of
3,404 feet, holding a large number of thin seams, several of which are
workable. Continuing to the eastward, the beds of coal improve in thickness,
and at Springhill, fifteen miles distant, there are eight seams, each
varying in thickness from two feet eight inches to thirteen and a half feet,
included in 1,200 feet of measures. Below this is a series of barren
measures resembling those of the Foggins. There is, however, no evidence
that these seams can be identified with any at present worked on the shore,
and the probability is that local conditions favoured the accumulation of
coal in certain places.
At Pictou, again, an equally great change is found. Here the lower coal
measures are the most productive. The total thickness from the lowest to the
highest seam is 4,321 feet. Below the Pictou main or great seam, there are
830 feet of strata, consisting of fine argillaceous sandstones and shales,
holding 100 feet of coal, in seams of greater thickness than two feet eight
inches. Above the main seam come 1,200 feet of black carbonaceous and
arenaceous shales; and then the sandstones appear closing in as the courses
of the currents were gradually diverted over the quiet nook so long covered
with dense foliage. The upper beds contain seams from 3 to 8 feet thick,
with much white post, and bear considerable resemblance to the Cape Breton
measures. If the 1,800 feet of strata above the highest group of seams not
yet proved to contain workable seams be added, there are 6,120 feet of
measures included in the productive series.
At Cape Breton there are a series of seams from three to nine feet thick,
apparently well disseminated through measures little under 5,y000 feet in
depth.
On comparing the coal measures of St. George's Bay, they are found to
correspond more closely with the depauperated beds of the Foggins than with
the other districts. The first seam met on the Barrasois
176 THE COAL MEASURES OF NEWFOUNDLAND.
measured three feet ten inches in thickness ; but the writer is of opinion
that its size was owing to the fault, and that its normal dimensions were
much smaller. This would give a large extent of measures containing a few
seams of small size, which is supported by the result of explorations on the
north side of the bay.
The similarity of conditions between this district and the Foggins, the one
being at the extreme east and the other on the west border of the Acadia
region, is remarkable as far as the underlying millstone rocks and the band
of comparatively barren measures are concerned.
The immediate increase in the thickness of the seams included in the
measures south of the fault, and the fact of its being a downthrow, might
show that higher strata were brought in of more consequence in an economic
point of view. Should future research confirm this view, the field would be
confined to the district between the fault and the first outcrop of the grit
rocks, a width of one and a half miles, and gradually narrowing to the east
as the fault kept bringing up lower measures to the north. This would allow,
judging as carefully as possible from the angles of dip of the strata
exposed, a thickness of about 2,000 feet.
Several of the English coal-fields furnish instances of similar deposits of
unproductive strata beneath the coal measures. In Denbighshire they are
1,000 feet in thickness, and the Gannister beds of South Lancashire furnish
a parallel case. These, and the facts noticed at the Foggins, hold out the
hope that future researches will prove more encouraging than the prospects
offered by the Geological Survey, or by the present trials.
The Vice-President said, the paper was a very interesting one, describing,
as it did, a new country, so far at least as their information about the
coal measures goes, and a cordial vote of thanks was given to the writer.
The scrutineers returned with the result of the elections.
On the motion of the Vice-President, seconded by Mr. Wm. Boyd, a vote of
thanks was given to the scrutineers for the trouble they had taken in
examining the voting papers; and the meeting was adjourned till Tuesday, the
4th of August, at Cardiff.
PROCEEDINGS. 177
PROCEEDINGS.
SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING, TUESDAY, AUGUST 4th, 1874, AT THE CARDIFF ARMS,
CARDIFF.
Sir WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.
The President—Gentlemen, the present meeting is not one that calls for a
formal address, for it is not an annual meeting, but an extra meeting, held
in a district which abounds with objects of great interest to the mining and
mechanical engineer. With reference to the business now before the meeting,
there are numbers of very valuable papers, which will, no doubt, elicit
useful and solid discussion.
Mr. Bassett then read his paper on "The Diamond Drill."
VOL.XXIII.-187i
THE DIAMOND DRILL. 179
THE DIAMOND DEILL.
By A. BASSETT, M. Inst. C.E., and Past President op the South Wales
Institute op Engineees.
In submitting the following remarks with reference to the success that has
attended the application of the Diamond Drill in this district, it will be
unnecessary for the author to enter into any description of the mechanical
arrangements employed, as this was so fully and ably described in a paper
read by Major Beaumont, R.E., M.P., before the meeting of the members of the
Iron and Steel Institute, which was held on the 20th August, 1873, in
Belgium. He will therefore at once proceed to state, as shortly as possible,
the results that have taken place in this district.
When attention was first called to this subject, the writer was arranging,
on the part of several Lessors, for letting some extensive deep mineral coal
takings in this and the Somersetshire districts, ranging from 500 to 700
yards in depth; and as the minerals were overlaid by rocks of considerable
thickness and hardness, the question of the time that would be occupied in
sinking, coupled with the fact that a large capital is locked up for so long
a period, was naturally urged with great force by the Lessees in carrying
out their leasing arrangements. It is quite evident that if, by any means,
the time occupied in sinking deep pits could be reduced, and the progress
made to average about a yard per working day of twenty-four hours, an
important problem would be solved in connection with mining operations, and
Avliich it is thought will be attained by the application of the Diamond
Drill.
The writer was fully under the impression, when he promised to read this
paper, that the Diamond Drill would have been fairly at work in this
district at the deep pits Messrs. Harris are sinking, near Quaker's Yard,
and that he should have had the opportunity and pleasure of placing before
the members of this Institution some practical results that had been
obtained. But, he regrets to say, that in this he was very greatly
disappointed, as the
180 THE DIAMOND DRILL.
Drill has not yet commenced its work. The delay has been caused from a
variety of circumstances, consequent, to a great extent, upon the necessity
of re-arranging the machinery required for executing this particular class
of work, together with the non-completion of the arrangements at the
colliery for its reception. Preliminary arrangements on behalf of the
Diamond Drill Company have been made, for the Drill to be employed in some
other deep sinkings; consequently, the results that will be obtained at
these pits are being watched with great interest.
In letting the deep minerals at Harris' Navigation Colliery, it was
calculated that much time would be economised by the application of the
Diamond Drill, and which was fully recognised and admitted by the Company.
From the reasons given the writer is unable to refer to the value of the
Diamond Drill for shaft sinking, and fears that this paper will be sadly
shorn of any interest it may have had on this subject, as he is now obliged
to confine his remarks to the work performed by the Diamond Drill for
prospecting purposes only.
On the table, are specimens of cores produced by the Prospecting Machine,
together with crowns set in diamonds, ready for use. It may be here remarked
that the crown makes from 250 to 300 revolutions per minute. The average
value of a crown of 3^-inch diameter, properly set with twelve or fifteen
diamonds, will be from £40 to £50; and one of 2^-inch diameter, with twelve
diamonds, will be from £25 to £30.
The time occupied in this description of work, from the commencement to the
finish, is influenced by a variety of circumstances, such as drawing and
lowering the bore rods, which, as the hole increases in depth, naturally
occupies more time, together with the many contingencies incident to work of
this character; consequently, out of a day of nine hours, probably not more
than from 2^ to 3^ hours would be actually employed in drilling.
In boring through .the soft surface ground or gravel, it is found that by
boring with a 5-inch crown, a sufficient quantity of ground, with the aid of
the water supplied, is displaced to admit of lining tubes of 6 inches in
diameter being put down. These lining tubes are made of iron, from
one-eighth to three-sixteenths in thickness, but if it is found necessary to
line any portion of a hole, lining tubes can be put down to any depth.
The core tube is 16 feet in length. The necessity for drawing the rods
depends upon a variety of circumstances ; in some cases, when the boring is
in strong ground, the Drill may work to a depth of 14 or 15 feet, before the
necessity arises for the rods being lifted;' in other cases, it has been
found necessary to lift the rods even before a depth of 6 inches has been
reached. At a depth of 750 feet, the rods can be lifted up,
THE DIAMOND DRILL. 181
disconnected, a new crown put on, and lowered in less than two hours. At a
depth of 1,000 feet, the time occupied would be about three hours.
At present, the machinery is fixed immediately over the bore-hole, but an
arrangement is now being made by which the Prospecting Machine will be run
back, thereby giving extra facilities for drawing the rods, and economising
time.
The five sections on the wall show the character of the strata pierced, and
the depth bored each day is represented by the black and white spaces.
The sections No. 1 and No. 2, Plates XXXVI. and XXXVIL, represent the strata
pierced at Risca, where the application of the Diamond Drill was found to be
of immense value in liberating the water from the bottom of two large
sinking pits, each of 17 feet 6 inches diameter, into the underground
workings. When these pits were sunk to a depth of 39 yards, the large
quantity of water that was met with so greatly impeded the progress of the
sinking that not more than 2 feet per week was sunk. The quantity of water
lifted from each pit was about 96 gallons per minute. The owners were
advised to employ the Diamond Drill; consequently, one hole in each pit of 3
inches in diameter, was put down to the Rock Vein Coal Workings, a depth of
over 203 feet from the bottom of the new pits, by which means the sinkers
were relieved of the water. The hole from the bottom of the pit, shown on
No. 1 section, is 203 feet in depth, and was drilled in 99 hours (during a
period of 18 days), being the time actually occupied in drilling, lifting,
and lowering the rods, giving an average of 18'5-llths feet per day of nine
hours each, or 15*8-13ths per day over the whole time occupied. The greatest
depth bored in any one day was 26 feet 5 inches. The hole from the bottom of
the pit shown on section No. 2, was bored to a depth of 214 feet, and
occupied 78 hours (during a period of eleven days), or 24'9-lSth feet per
day of nine hours, or 19 feet 5 inches per day over the whole time occupied.
The maximum depth bored during any one day was 40 feet 5 inches through hard
clift. The two days before, 64 feet 3 inches was bored through hard rock,
consequently 104 feet 8 inches was pierced in three consecutive days, which
is probably the highest duty ever performed by the Diamond Drill. Since the
water has been liberated, the rate of sinking has been more than doubled in
the same ground.
In order to prevent, during the course of sinking, the hole being filled up
by rubbish, the top of the hole should be protected by the insertion of a
perforated pipe of from 10 to 12 feet in length.
Section No. 3, Plate XXXVIIL, shows the strata passed through (1,007 feet 6
inches in depth), which occupied 70 working days, showing
182 THE DIAMOND DRILL.
•
an average speed of upwards of 14 feet 4^ inches per day. The greatest speed
attained in any one day was over 32 feet. The cores brought up showed a
complete section of the strata passed through, and which was perfectly
satisfactory to the proprietor, who has written a letter to the Company to
that effect.
"Section No. 4, Plate XXXIX. In this case the bore hole reached a depth of
602 feet, the greatest depth bored in any one day being 30 feet 10 inches.
The time occupied was 52 days, showing an average speed of 11 feet 7 inches
per day.
Section No. 5, Plate XL. The depth of this bore hole was 604 feet, and
occupied 45 days. The greatest depth bored in any one day was 29 feet 1
inch, showing an average speed of 13 feet' 5 inches per day.
In these last three examples the author is unable to define the actual time
occupied in drilling, lowering, and raising the rods, but the time stated
includes delays arising from various causes.
Last week 51| inches were bored in 23 minutes, at a depth of 248 feet from
the surface, the revolutions made by the Drill being about 275 per minute,
the rate of progress being equal to 2£ inches per minute. Specimens of the
cores are on the table. 234 feet of rods were unscrewed in 12 lengths of 19
feet 6 inches each, and were lifted in 21 minutes—in 10 minutes after the
crown had been taken off and the core tube emptied. The rods are lowered in
about two-thirds of the time occupied in lifting them. Although the present
arrangements will only admit of rods of about 20 feet in length being
unscrewed at a time, there is no reason why a light and high framework might
not be constructed of steel, by which the rods might be lifted and unscrewed
in lengths of at least 50 or more feet. Framework of this character might be
made very, portable and easy of transit, as the various parts can be
fastened together with perfect security, and with very great facility.
From the five examples given, and which are taken from different parts of
this district, the writer trusts he has conclusively proved the value of the
Diamond Drill for expeditiously testing the character of strata.
Taking all the examples referred to, by which an aggregate depth of 2,630
feet has been bored in 191 days, it will be seen that, including all the
contingencies, delays, &c, that have arisen during the progress of the work,
the average speed has been rather over 18 inches per hour, taking six days
of nine hours each, or 54 hours as the week's work.
As several important improvements will be made to guard against a variety of
accidents and delays that have arisen in the work already
THE DIAMOND DRILL. 183
executed, the writer is perfectly satisfied that he shall be able in future
to attain a far greater daily average of duty than has hitherto been
accomplished, by which the Diamond Drill will stand unrivalled in every
respect as an instrument for boring and proving the strata, more
particularly for mining purposes, where a perfect section of the strata is
required. He has this morning been informed by Major Beaumont that a hole 5
inches in diameter has just been completed in the Somersetshire district, of
455 feet in depth, 360 feet of which was lined by 5 inch tubes. The whole of
this work was satisfactorily executed in a month.
Since this paper was written, some trials have been made with the Drill at
Messrs. Harris' Pit, of sufficient extent to prove that the working of the
Drill has been most satisfactory, and of such a nature as thoroughly to
confirm the most sanguine expectations as regards the value of the Drill for
pit sinking.
No doubt, much still remains to be accomplished in order to produce a
machine that will be in every respect all that can be desired. The reduction
of the weight of the machine, together with the further simplification of
the several working parts, all demand serious thought and consideration. The
employment of steel where iron is now used will materially assist in
carrying out the improvements needed; and as every effort is now being made
to carry out these practical improvements, it is anticipated very shortly
the Company will have at work a machine of such a weight as will admit of
its being put down the pit and fixed in its place with perfect facility, and
in so short a space of time that practically the whole of the 24 hours may
be occupied in drilling and removing the debris.
However, with the present arrangements, such a number of holes have been
bored at the bottom of Messrs. Harris' Pit of 3 feet 6 inches in depth, in
the space of five hours, as will enable the whole of the ground to that
depth to be removed without difficulty, and which work ought to be
accomplished in the remaining portion of the day of 24 hours. Consequently,
there is no doubt that the average estimate of sinking one yard per working
day of 24 hours throughout the year may be calculated upon with safety; and
when pits of 600 and 800 yards in depth have to be sunk, it will be
difficult to over-rate the great value of the application of the Diamond
Drill for deep sinkings.
In conclusion, the writer begs to say that he shall have much pleasure in
giving all the information in his power to any gentlemen who may wish to use
the Drill, either for prospecting purposes or for shaft-sinking, and give
every facility for inspecting the drills employed in this district.
184 PROCEEDINGS.
The Secretary then read the following communication from Mr. Wm. Topley upon
"The Sub-Wealden Explorations," now going on in Sussex.
THE SUB-WEALDEN EXPLOEATION. 185
THE SUB-WEALDEN EXPLOEATION.
By W. TOPLEY", F.G-.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Geological Survey op England.
The boring now in progress in Sussex cannot fail to have attracted some
attention from all who are interested in the mineral productions of our
country. In one respect, however, it especially concerns those interested in
the South Wales coal-field; and for this reason the writer ventures to lay a
short account of the scheme before the members of this Institute at their
Cardiff meeting.
Although Sussex is now a purely agricultural county, there was a time when
it ranked high amongst the mineral-producing districts of England. For
centuries it was the chief seat of the iron-trade; and, so long as charcoal
only was used for fuel, Sussex maintained its supremacy. With the
introduction of coke-fuel, however, the Sussex furnaces declined; but they
lingered on into the present century, and it was only in the year 1828 that
the last furnace, that at Ashburnham, ceased working.
Within three miles of the site of Ashburnham furnace,, and perhaps within
reach of the sound of its forge-hammer, is the site of the boring which is
now in progress. The result of this boring may be to restore Sussex to its
old position as a mineral-producing district, but such is not its main
object; what that object is will be briefly explained.
The strata occurring in the district known as the Weald, of which the north
and north-east of Sussex form part, are the Wealden and Purbeck Beds. These
are mainly of fresh-water origin, and are about 2,000 feet in thickness.
What underlies these beds has always been a question of great interest and
scientific importance to geologists. The nearest outcrop of the oolitic
rocks is so far away, and the changes which these rocks often undergo in
short distances is so great, that it is impossible to estimate what the
nature and thickness of the underlying secondary strata may be; it is a
problem which can only be solved by actual boring.
Some years ago it would have been supposed that the thickness of the
secondary rocks must be indefinitely great, and that any attempt to get
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
q x
186 THE StTJB-WEALDEN EXPLORATION.
through them by a bore-hole would be simply absurd. In 1855 Mr.
Godwin-Austen read a memoir before the Geological Society of London, " On
the Possible Extension of the Coal Measures beneath the South-Eastern part
of England,"* in which he showed that the series of secondary strata in the
south-east of England is incomplete, and that at a moderate depth from the
surface there exists a band of older or palaeozoic rocks, with which it is
possible that coal measures may be associated. Mr. Godwin-Austen based his
argument upon known facts as to the easterly range of the South Wales and
Bristol coal-basins, and the westerly range of the Belgian coal-basin. The
Bristol coal-field on its eastern side is covered up by oolitic strata,
through which pits are sunk. The Belgian coal-basins, in like manner, are
covered up on their western range by cretaceous strata, through which also
pits are sunk. Numerous experimental borings, carried as far west as Calais,
prove that the palaeozoic rocks occur under the cretaceous strata at depths
rarely exceeding 1,000 feet; whilst near Marquise, and in some valleys cut
through the chalk on the south-east of that town, the palaeozoic rocks come
to the surface.
Reasoning from these data, Mr. Godwin-Austen inferred that a band of
palaeozoic rocks stretches beneath the secondary strata of the south-east •
of England, connecting the rocks of South Wales with those of Boulogne and
Belgium, and that with these rocks productive coal measures will probably
occur. Mr. Godwin-Austen's reasonings were remarkably confirmed by a boring
at Harwich, made for water; where, after passing through the cretaceous
strata, palaeozoic rocks were found at a depth of 1,030 feet. Some fragments
of fossils brought up prove that these rocks are older than the coal
measures. A boring at Kentish Town, done at about the same time, also,
passed through the cretaceous strata, and at a depth of 1,113 feet reached
some reddish rocks, the age of which is doubtful, but which Professor
Prestwich is inclined to consider as old red sandstone.
Although Mr. Godwin-Austen's reasonings were generally accepted by
geologists, and had received such remarkable confirmation, nothing was done
towards further testing the question. The Royal Coal Commission was
appointed in 1866, and naturally devoted some attention to this subject.
Much detailed information is given in the Minutes of Evidence by Sir R.
Murchison, Mr. Godwin-Austen, Mr. Bristow, Prof. Phillips, and others; this
is carefully analyzed, and the whole subject reported on by Prof. Prestwich
in the first volume of the Commissioners' Report. The
* Quart. Journ. GeoL, 8vo,, vol. xii., p. 38, 1856.
THE SUB-YVEALDEN EXPLORATION. 187
great importance of making trial bore-holes to test this question was fully
appreciated by the Commission, but no formal application was made to
Government to help in the matter.
The question remained in this state until 1872. In that year the British
Association met at Brighton, and Mr. Henry Willett resolved to test the
question, and to commemorate the visit of the Association by boring in the
Weald. A committee of engineers and geologists was formed in London, holding
its meetings under the presidency of Prof. Ramsay, at the Geological Museum,
Jermyn Street. The site ultimately chosen for the boring was one where the
lower part of the Purbeck series is exposed by denudation at the surface,
and where the beds are horizontal. Subscriptions were solicited and
received, and in August, 1872, the boring was commenced.
A hole of 9 inches in diameter was first made ; this was carried by Mr.
Bosworth to a depth of 312 feet. At the end of 1873 the work was transferred
to the Diamond Rock Boring Company, by whom the bore has been continued to a
depth of 1,030 feet, at a diameter of 3 inches. It is essential in this
undertaking to learn as much as possible of the nature of the rocks passed
through, and from this point of view the Diamond system of boring is of
great service. It not only does the work quickly, but it brings up solid
cores of strata, in which the fossils are perfectly preserved ; by these
means the age of the beds traversed can be exactly ascertained.
The boring commenced in the Purbeck beds ; it has traversed the Portland
beds and the Kimeridge clay, and is now in the Oxford clay. Careful records
of the fossils and strata have been kept, from which the beds may be
classified as follows:—
Purbeck Beds ..................... 180
Portland Beds ......... ............ 110
Kimeridge Clay ...... ... ... ......... 670
Oxford Clay ..................... 53
LOIS
The lowest 17 feet of core (making a total of 1,030 feet) are still in the
bore-hole, owing to an accident to the rods. This also is probably Oxford
clay, but in the foregoing table only such cores arc noticed as have been
actually examined.
Two valuable beds of gypsum, 4 feet and 3% feet thick, have been discovered
in the Purbeck beds, at depths respectively of 184 and 142 feet. A shaft is
now being sunk to work them.
188 DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL.
Many thousands of specimens of fossils have been obtained from the Kimeridge
and Oxford clays, detailed lists of which have been published in the
Quarterly Eeports; other fossils have been discovered since.
Up to the present time £3,000 have been spent, the whole of which (with the
exception of small grants from the Eoyal Society and the British
Association) has been raised by private subscription. The Government has now
promised £100 for every 100 feet bored below the 1,000 feet, but the actual
cost will be nearly three times that amount. Having gone so far and obtained
such important results, it is very desirable that the boring should not now
be discontinued for want of funds.
Although public interest is excited in the boring chiefly by the hope of
finding coal, yet it must be remembered that no subscriptions have been
solicited with this object. The occurrence of coal measures at all in the
south-east of England is as yet only a theoretical question, though one
which is not devoid of good foundation; but, as the coal will probably occur
in detached basins, along a line yet to be discovered, the chance of hitting
upon coal in this boring is but small.
At the invitation of the President, Major Beaumont, M.P., said, that Mr.
Bassett had presumed that the members of the Institute were acquainted with
the substance of a paper read before the Iron and Steel Institute, at Leige,
and as possibly some present have not read that paper, one or two remarks
upon the Diamond Drill may be of interest. Now, the Diamond Drill differs
essentially in its action from such a machine as the Worsop Drill, in that
it makes the holes by abrasion, instead of by percussion. Until the use of
the diamond was recognised for commercial purposes, the only way of dealing
with rocks was by percussion, inasmuch as if it was attempted to scrape rock
with steel, it was the steel that would give rather than the rock itself.
Now, the secret of the Diamond Drill consists in the intense hardness of the
diamond, as compared with any other known substance in nature. A piece of
carbonate, of the size of a large pea, will cut a hole in sandstone, say, a
mile deep, without any sensible abrasion of its surface; when it comes into
rocks that are harder than sandstone, such as the conglomerate or hard
whinstone, then the abrasion is something more; but, in any case, there is
an enormous difference between the hardness of the diamond and that of the
hardest known strata, and, taking the various kinds of rock that have to be
dealt with, then it may be safely averred that thousands of feet may be cut
by carbonate without
DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DEILL. 189
any sensible wear. The way to use them is this :—They are fitted into a
steel crown, and this crown is kept in rotation, and supplied with water in
this way. They cut the hardest rock at rates varying from 2 inches up to 7
and 8 inches per minute, not that this is the speed at which it is possible
to cut rock, but simply because the rates named are quite sufficient for all
practical purposes. It is not necessary here to give the details of the
machine by which this drill is worked, because the members will have an
opportunity of seeing it at work, sinking at Harris' Navigation Pit, on
Saturday. In the machine in question, there are eight drills, each drill
being complete in itself, and driven by compressed air. The engine is
attached to the frame, and lowered down the shaft. The air to supply the
drills is taken down to them in a suitable pipe, the final connection being
made by a flexible hose. The water to supply the drills (because drills
running at that speed, and with such a pressure behind, will rapidly get
hot, if it were not for a supply of water which is necessary, not only for
that purpose but also for the removal of the debris) is passed down in a
pipe of smaller diameter than the drill itself, and is raised again by the
ordinary means used for raising the water out of the pit. These eight drills
would be capable of drilling twenty or thirty holes, three or four feet
deep, as the case may be, in eight hours, and it is anticipated that these
thirty holes can be blasted, and the debris removed, in another eight hours.
The value that would attach to that when done can be fully appreciated by
this meeting. But there are two ways in which it is proposed to use this
machine ; one is to put down ordinary blast holes, and the other to put down
deep holes. Beferring first to the ordinary holes for blasting, a great many
attempts have been made to utilise boring machines, both for tunnel and
shaft sinking, and so far without any material success; for, without
speaking of experimental holes put down, it may be broadly stated that in
the entire work of mine sinking up to the present time, there has been no
great benefit from the use of machinery in drilling. The reason is possibly
that the secret of success in the application of machinery for shaft sinking
consists in having a sufficient amount of holing power. It is well known
that a miner picks his places where he intends to put his holes down, so
that each shot works to the best advantage, and he carefully inspects the
shaft or heading he is working in, sees the result of the first shot, and
then he places his next shot in such a position as to produce the greatest
amount of effect, and so, no doubt, he gets the work done with the minimum
amount of holing labour. But as soon as machinery is used it should be of
sufficient power to put down 20 or 30 holes. In fact, to employ a machine
successfully in
190 DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL.
shaft sinking*, it ought to possess such an amount of holing power as
enables it to be thoroughly master of the work. It is proposed to try
another experiment which was begun in America, and has been tried there with
great success, and that is to put down with the drills a series of holes 50
or 100 feet deep, as the case may be ; then remove the machinery out of the
pits, and commence blasting, and go on till the whole of the rock has been
removed, to the bottom of the holes. It is not quite certain but that some
cutting machine would not have to be put down afterwards owing to there
being no free part to blow out; but notwithstanding this, it is more than
probable the experiment will be in favour of using the long-hole system, but
that is purely matter of experiment. When the holes are bored to the
required depth, it is proposed either to fill them up to within three feet
of the top, either with water or sand, for water forms an excellent bed for
the dynamite to act upon, and so also does the sand; the sand, perhaps, is
to be preferred, because it is easily hooked out of the hole before the
insertion of the charge, and it prevents the debris, that would be
considerably more troublesome to get out, from falling into the holes. The
Diamond Drill is also used for sub-aqueous operations. The Diamond Boring
Company have a contract for removing some rocks in Tees, and the practical
advantage of the drill in this case is owing to the fact that there is no
necessity of percussion to use it, and it is a matter of indifference how
far the power employed is from the surface. It is well known with a
percussion drill it is impossible to work it at any speed, if the drill is
at the bottom of a hole 30 or 40 feet deep, or deeper. But the Diamond Drill
being open abrasion, the depth is a matter of little importance. That being
the case, it is possible to put the drill upon a barge to support it by legs
on the top of the rock that has to be operated upon, and then by supplying
the drills with power, by means of an engine from above, a series of holes
are put down, and in a few minutes, without the use of divers, the drills
are then withdrawn and the dynamite fired by electricity. Mr. Bassett's
paper treats of the invention in reference to prospecting, and the details
he gives you show the exceeding rapidity with which the drill does its work
and gets down to the rocks specified. The reason that they could not put a
hole 1,000 feet deep at the spot named, arose from the difficulty met with
in manipulating the machinery. That is to say, soft ground was met with,
which has to be lined, and then came fissures that let the water into the
strata at the side. The time occupied in putting down those deep holes is
due to imperfections, not in the Diamond Drill or in the cutting portion of
its machinery, but in the1 . engthening and withdrawal of the drill,
together with all those difficulties
DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL. 191
common to this system of boring as well as to any other. There is one
circumstance attached to this drill which gives it a great advantage over
others. In going through soft strata, it is possible, by using a large crown
to line the bore holes with thin, yet sufficiently stout, iron cylinders. To
do this it is a matter of importance if a 5-inch bore could be made to grow
into a 6-inch one at the bottom. To do this there is a tool attached to the
apparatus ; this tool is a crown that expands as soon as it has passed down
a certain distance into the hole. At first this appears easy, but in reality
it was not found so ; in fact it was very difficult to get the drill to
expand to a certain size at a particular depth and contract to its original
diameter when withdrawn, and this more especially with reference to the
heavy amount of work to be done; for, before anything can be done with a
Diamond Drill, a pressure of a quarter of a ton must be put on. This
difficulty has, however, been overcome, and if members will only spare time
when they go out from here, they will see a heavy block of stone from the
Pennant Eock, and a hole bored into it expanding from a 3-inch to a 4-inch.
With reference to one of the latest results obtained at Chateau Wren, it is
true that a much longer time was expended in putting down a . bore hole
there than ought to have been. The reason was, that soft-running strata were
encountered, and too small lining tubes were used. Within the last four
months a large hole has been commenced; that hole, was begun 6 inches in
diameter, and has gone to a depth of 360 feet. After getting down there a
lining was required, and a 6-inch tube was put down and the boring continued
with a 5-inch crown, with which a greater depth of 455 feet was obtained.
The 6-inch hole, after the 6-inch tube had been inserted, was bored in about
a month, which may be considered remarkable evidence of the speed with which
the Diamond Drill can work.
Mr. Wright wished to know whether in any cases Major Beaumont had been able
to bring up a perfect core of a coal seam ?
Major Beaumont—Whenever the coal is sufficiently hard to enable it to be
cut, then a perfect core is brought up, but never to the same extent as
those cores which are obtained from rock, simply because the cut breaks by
its own weight. In some cases pieces of core of considerable length have
been brought up, at other times only a few inches ; but never a core which
represented the whole thickness of coal passed through. In the case of soft
coal, the action of the drill grinds it up, and then no better results will
be produced than will be got by the ordinary system. In fact, the boring
would then be continued by a shell auger, and samples of the pounded
material would be brought up ; but, if the coal is suffi-
192 DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL.
ciently hard, a sample could be obtained such as could be raised by no other
system. But, generally speaking, the cores of coal would be about 3 or 4
inches in length.
Mr. Wright stated that he had an opportunity of seeing in Cumberland a hole
1,400 feet deep, which passed through two seams of coal, one of which was
reported from the action of the drill to be nearly 8 feet thick. All the
coal actually brought up was a number of fragments which, as they lay in the
core box, made up about 18 inches, there being no perfect core except one
about an inch thick. Now, in boring through carboniferous strata, the seam
itself is the most important thing. Mr. Bassett states that at a depth of
750 feet it occupied two hours, and at a depth of 1,000 feet three hours, to
withdraw the rods $ at the hole in Cumberland, they were able to get them
out more expeditiously than that. In a 1,400 feet hole they drew the rods in
a little under two hours. The other point was the means used for securing
the cores of stone while the rods were being withdrawn. He saw them draw an
8-feet core of stone which had to be cut in half, because there was not
enough room in the quill to carry it up, and it struck him that there was
very great danger of its falling down since the whole of the core depended
upon the lip of the crown inside the core pipe, which had only about the
eighth of an inch projection, and the foreman of the work assured him that
the cores often fell from the top to the bottom.
Mr. Lewis would ask Major Beaumont whether it is possible, by his system of
boring, to go through a seam' of coal without knowing anything about it ?
Major Beaumont—First, in answer to Mr. Wright. The reason he believed that
only 18 inches of coal was brought up after the drill had travelled 8 feet
of it, was that the coal was washed out of the core by the weight of water
on the top of it. When a solid piece of rock is bored through, there is not
much difficulty in withdrawing long cores ; they catch on the lip, and if
not removed are brought up next time. Besides that, they are self-acting
clips which grip the core at the sides; and, besides, the action of the
machine indicates the nature of the rock traversed. A man has no business to
make a mistake ; on an average only about one-tenth of the cores raised are
kept, and consequently there is no great object in keeping them. In order to
take the weight of water of the whole core, a valve is placed on the top of
the core tubes, which valve relieves the core of the weight of the column of
water above it. In some coal seams that have been passed through with the
valve attached, good results have been obtained ; besides, when coal is
being proved the water
DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL. 193
is partly shut off, and only a moderate pressure applied, which ensures a
most successful and satisfactory proof of the coal seam which is being gone
through. With reference to the withdrawal of rods, that is purely a
mechanical question, and any implements that are made by different companies
working under the patent will be eventually adopted by all. Second, in
answer to Mr. Lewis, with reference to passing a seam of coal without
knowing it, he would state that with attentive workmen such a thing was
totally impossible, for there are two ways, both of which may be allowed to
be satisfactory for ascertaining the nature of the strata. The first is by
utilizing the current of water which is always passing under the surface of
the tool for the purpose of removing the debris and keeping the cutting part
of the tool clean by examining the debris which is always brought up by the
water to the surface. The second method is, when a machine passes through
hard strata into coal, the operator can tell by the action of the machine
itself the instant it has done so. The men then report to the master that
the coal has been struck, and they proceed with caution until they have
obtained satisfactory proof of the coal; then they again put the engine on
at full speed, and bore right through the coal.
The President asked Major Beaumont how they managed when sinking by means of
a number of deep holes to blast off only a certain depth at a time ? Then,
he would ask whether so considerable a demand for diamonds having sprung up,
the supply is likely to be equal to the demand ? and, also, whether any
other material is known which could possibly take the place of the
diamond—such as the mineral which forms the base of the ruby, for example,
which could be supplied in greater abundance, being a commoner substance
than the diamond ? Then, again, as to injury by wear ; for possibly those
black diamonds, like everything else, do wear eventually. Is the wear in the
nature of abrasion, or do the diamonds break away by a process of clipping?
and can the duration of the tool be prolonged by any greater protections to
the cutters against that liability ?
Major Beaumont replied that for sinking by means of a number of holes put
down some one or two hundred feet deep, exactly so much of the rock would be
blasted out as the nature of the work admitted. Water, being absolutely
incompressible, is an admirable tamping to support the dynamite in the hole,
and also a sufficient tamping above the charge. The nature of the operation
would be to put the dynamite charge when attached to the fusee down the
hole, which is full of water, to such a depth as required. The action of
the water below prevents it
VOL. XXIII.-1874.
jy x
194 DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL.
from blowing downwards, and the water above is sufficient tamping ; so that
the shot is fairly charged, just as if the holes were only of that depth :
and this would be the obvious mode of proceeding, were it not that after the
shots were fired the rubbish would fall into the holes, so that time would
be lost in getting it out again. For that reason the holes are filled up
with sand, and then, after each shot is fired, the sand is taken out to the
depth required, which can be done with great ease. With reference to the
supply of diamonds, that is an important question, and one which has always
engaged the most serious attention. The diamonds used by the Company are
supplied from the mines of Brazil, in the district of Bahia; and it is
somewhat singular that up to this time there have been no diamonds of the
same class or quality found in either of the other known diamond fields,
such as the Cape or India, but that the diamonds of Bahia are practically
inexhaustible, so that up to this time no deficiency in the supply has been
found. But, as the trade has by some means got into the hands of the diamond
merchants, it is somewhat difficult at times to get a fresh supply. The cry
is that no more diamonds are forthcoming, that the stock is becoming
exhausted, and so on, with the view of enhancing the prices; and it is found
advisable to keep a sufficient supply in hand, so as to be able to choose
the time for going into the market. The stock now in hand is large enough to
last a considerable time. It is a difficult thing to judge the proper
quality of stone; and when the material is in its rough state, it looks like
throwing away money to spend £1,000 on a lot of dirty stones that would not
fill a tumbler glass. The stones are bought by the carat. Sometimes they
will break, and sometimes they are very soft. All these things are difficult
to judge. Large diamond fields have been opened at the Cape, and it was
anticipated that carbonate would be found there ; but, although many samples
were sent home, none of them turned out to be the substance required. But
why it is that diamonds which are of gem quality should not be associated
with carbonate is unknown; but no carbonate is found in India. As yet,
Brazil is the only place in which it is found. With reference to the use of
corundum, Mr. Tennant, one of the chief mineralogists in London, and who had
written a paper on stones, suggested corundum, and produced a table of the
degrees of hardness of different stones—diamonds being placed at 100,
corundum at 86, and ruby at 75. He could supply any amount of it at 8d. a
carat; and, as carbonate was 20s. a carat, a piece was selected and put into
a suitable frame, and then held against a grindstone, which is the best
possible test that can be had. The result of the experiment with the
DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL. 195
corundum was, that whereas the grindstone was turned by the diamond, the
grindstone in its turn turned the corundum. In point of hardness, therefore,
the diamond stands probably at 100 and the other only at 5. I believe there
can be no possible comparison between the two. But though there is no
comparison between the diamond and corundum, there is a comparison between
the corundum and ordinary rocks, so that for such a thing as boring holes in
coal measure or shales, a very satisfactory result might be got from using
it. But if carbonate is used, the wear is absolutely nil, whilst the other
wears out and requires removing frequently, but still for soft rock corundum
has a certain value. The diamond seems to be carbon in its finest state of
crystallization; carbonate is the same material in an imperfect state of
crystallization, and that is just what is wanted, because it prevents the
diamond from breaking, and is as hard as the ordinary diamond. Boart, a sort
of diamond, occurs in globules about the size of a pea, it is
semi-transparent, and its hardness is about equal to the diamond, but not
being useful for gems it has only half the value of ordinary diamonds ; its
disadvantage for boring is that it is too brittle. Diamonds, which have no
value as gems, can be obtained at from 8s. to 12s. per carat. In point of
hardness these would be all that is required, but the material is too
brittle. With regard to the wear of the diamonds, nine-tenths of the loss is
owing to breakage, and not to abrasion. If a good piece of carbonate is
found, a natural stone water-worn on the surface— though whether it be so,
and whether there can be such a lapse of time as must be necessary for the
diamond to be abraded by water—the hardest thing in nature to be worn by the
softest—is a theory for speculation, but still it is said to be so ; and if
a crown is set with such stones and they have nothing but rock to contend
with, the loss on that crown would scarcely be five per cent, after drilling
half a mile ; but if diamonds are used the jarring will possibly break one,
and that causes more jarring which leads to the breakage of others, until
perhaps three-fourths of the set are lost. To avoid this as much as
possible, the projections are equalized and the stones carefully examined.
Mr. Smyth wished to know if Major Beaumont found any difficulty in dealing
with dynamite.
Major Beaumont stated that it was an important question, and referred Mr.
Smyth to the evidence which he gave before a Committee of the House of
Commons on explosive substances. He entertained the highest opinion of
dynamite, and believed, as an explosive, it will be found of great benefit
to mining engineers, and especially when they use machine drills. He used
nothing but dynamite, and its great advantage is that it
196 DISCUSSION ON THE DIAMOND DRILL.
enabled him to blast a hole under circumstances where he could not get
powder to act. If it is taken weight for weight, and the question of time
put on one side, he was doubtful whether there was any advantage to be
gained from it—that is to say, if fired in a heading or a railway tunnel,
and there are plenty of men inclined to use powder in preference; in fact,
as at Bristol, where a tunnel is being bored under the Downs, dynamite is
used only in the advanced heading, and powder for general blasting. Under
water nothing but dynamite is used, for the reason that water is the very
best tamping for it. The only danger of dynamite is when it is not pure.
Mtro-glycerine is a most dangerous material, and dynamite is nothing but
that in combination with a silicious earth, and is perfectly safe if pure,
but if from variations of temperature the oil exudes, it becomes highly
dangerous, and as soon as it assumes that shape it is time that it was
destroyed.
Mr. Forster Brown wished to know what is the usual quantity of water
supplied to each drill, because in his district it might become a very
important question that would have to be met, for if a number of drills are
used in a shaft the quantity of water may be yery considerable.
Major Beaumont, in reply, stated that the quantity of water will be
important if it has to be taken from the surface, but the water might be
pumped into a cistern and could there be used again.
The Secretary then read a paper by Mr. Thomas Forster Brown, " On the South
Wales Coal-Field."
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 197
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
By THOMAS FOR&TER BROWN.
It would be altogether beyond the scope of a single paper, to treat with
anything like the degree of importance they deserve, the points which arise
in writing upon a coal-field so extensive as this is, and in which the
physical and other conditions are so varied. The writer will therefore
merely touch upon such of the more general features as he hopes may be
interesting to the gentlemen who have paid the district the compliment of a
visit, leaving it to them, as they have the occasion or the desire to do so,
to make their knowledge of the district more perfect by personal
observation, and by referring to the valuable published information which
has been contributed from time to time.
HISTORY.
There is no doubt that charcoal was used in very early times for smelting
iron in this coal-field. The first operations are said to have been
conducted on the mountain tops in wind-furnaces, which later were removed to
the valleys, in order that water-power might be utilized.
It is stated in the Report of the Royal Coal Commission, " That in South
Wales, iron making was carried on as early as the 15th century." Although
thickly wooded in earlier days, the country is said to have become almost
deforested about the middle of the 18th century. Pit coal is said to have
been used in copper works in the neighbourhood of Neath as early as the 16th
century, and in the year 1595, George Owen, of Henllys, describes the
coal-field in his manuscript, " History of Pembrokeshire," published two
centuries later. After describing the mode of occurrence of the " Vaynes of
Limestone," he proceeds to notice the coals; of these he
198 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
describes two varieties, which he calls " Stone Coal," and " Ring or Running
Coal." The stone coal he describes as " Hard coal which is burned in
chimnies and grates of iron, and delighteth to burn in dark places," and
that the " Running coal melteth and runneth as wax, and groweth into one
clodd." He, moreover, describes the rude manner of mining in his days j and
as to Royalties, " The lords of the land have eyther rent, or the third
barrell, after all.the charges of the works are deducted." The real
development of the coal-field, however, dates from the time when pit coal
began to supersede charcoal in the smelting of iron. The substitution of
coal for charcoal was first successfully accomplished by Mr. Darby, at
Coalbrookdale, in 1735 ; and in 1755, Mr. Bacon obtained a 99 years lease of
a large mineral property in the neighbourhood of Merthyr, at a rent of £200
a year ; later on this property was sub-leased into the separate tracts upon
which gradually began to be established the very important and far-famed
iron works of the Merthyr district. According to the Royal Coal Commission,
there were in the counties of Caermarthen, Glamorgan, and Monmouth, in the
year 1788, seven charcoal furnaces, which produced 4,300 tons of pig iron,
and six coke furnaces in Glamorganshire which produced 6,600 tons. In 1790,
an Act of Parliament was obtained for constructing the Cardiff and Merthyr
Canal; the works were commenced in 1791, and completed to Cardiff in 1794.
In 1796, a further Act was obtained to the sea, and in 1798, the first
vessel entered the sea lock. In 1804, Trevitheck's high pressure tram-engine
ran from Merthyr to Navigation, carrying ten tons of iron and seventy
persons.
There appears to be no reliable statistics of the early days of the coal
trade, independent of the iron trade, but the following statement of the
quantity of coal brought into the port of London from the South Wales
coal-field in each of the following years, extracted from the Blue Book of
the Royal Coal Commission, will be interesting :—
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-EIELD. 199
Tenby and Caermar- Swansea
Total
Year. Milford. Haverford then an(i
Llanelly. Cardigan. Quantity
(West). Neath.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
Tons. Tons.
1745 1,516 298 43 ...
... ... 1,857
1746 1,308 319 9 ...
... ... 1,636
1747 2,175 448 32 ...
... ... 2,655
1748 1,864 50 21 ...
... ... 1,935
1749 2,727 124 ... ...
... 8 2,859
1750 2,439 116 ... 38
... 3 2,596
1751 2,091 287 32 57
... ... 2,467
1753 1,753 1,101 ... 119
... ... 2,973
1754 2,867 890 89 16
... ... 3,862
1755 2,517 ... 124 186
... ... 2,827
1756 3,031 453 176 21
... 45 3,726
1757 2,862 570 224 17 637
... 4,310
1758 2,020 206 ... 63
... ... 2,289
1759 1,777 151 11 11
... ... 1,950
1760 2,964 405 53 ...
... ... 3,422
1761 2,636 117 ... 21
.. ... 2,774
1762 2,221 631 13 ...
... ... 2,865
1763 3,840 369 191 ...
... ... 4,400
1764 2,544 599 151 79
... ... 3,373
1765 3,122 807 119 45 ...
... 4,003
The steam coal trade of the Aberdare and Merthyr districts began to be
developed in 1836, on the discovery of the very valuable properties of the
carbonaceous coals of this coal-field. The West Bute Dock was opened in
1839. The Taff Yale Railway was completed to Merthyr and Aberdare in 1841,
and the East Bute Dock was opened in 1859.
The following statistics, gathered from the Coal Commission and from Mr.
Hunt's returns, will be interesting, as showing the rate of development of
the iron trade :—
200 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
Tons of Pig Iron v
made in
x ea •
Monmouthshire
and South Wales.
1823 ... ... ... ... ...
... 182,325
1827 From 90 Furnaces ... ... ...
272,000
1830 From 72 Furnaces ... ... ...
277,043
1839 From 122 Furnaces ... ... ...
453,880
1840 Using 1,436,000 Tons of Coal ...... 505,000
1854 ......... ......... 750,000
1859 ... ... ... ... ...
... 985,290
1867 115 Furnaces ... ... ...
... 886,234
1868 108 Furnaces ... ... ...
... 894,255
1869 112 Furnaces ... ... ...
... 800,972
1870 114 Furnaces ... ... ...
... 979,193
1871 112 Furnaces ... ... ...
... 1,045,916
1872 115 Furnaces ... ... ...
... 1,002,623
SHIPMENTS OF COAL FROM THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
^>em" Mi'ifniVl Increase
Vmm Swansea Cardiff Newport hroke Llanelly
fi£i„ Total over the
x ears. Shipments. Shipments. Shipments. Ship- Shipments.
J?:"?" Shipment, previous
ments. ments- ten Years.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
Tons. Tons. Tons.
1816 to 1818 638,533 864,300 85,524 162,934 1,895
889,750
1819 to 1830 2,508,117 650,944 3,033,233 ... 729,607 201,394
7,123,395
1831 to 1840 3,231,538 1,014,264 3,166,256 ... 1,007,629 390,774
8,810,4611,687,066
1841 to 1850 4,458,840 4,547,574 5,670,251 ... 2,148,942 612,783
17,438,390 8,627,927
EXPORTS FROM SOUTH WALES.—Continued.
1851 ......... 2,025,998 Tons.
1852 ......... 2,110,390 „
1853 ......... 2,499,734 „
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 201
QUANTITIES OF COAL RAISED IN SOUTH WALES SINCE 1860.
I860. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865.
1866. 1867. 1868. 1869.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. I Tons. Tons. Tons.
Tons. Tons. Tons.
Monmouthshire .. 3,800,750 4,650,000] Glamorganshire.. ..
.. I 3,750,000 4,075,000 4,028,500 4,125,000 4,445,000 4,569,500
4,250,500 4,275,150
Eastern Edge .... 200,000 325,000 J
Glamorganshire .. .. .. "]
Aberdare District 1,754,813 1,790,000 2,214,455
Merthyr District.. 850,000 925,000 975,000
rn.eu.iiyi. u .. ,
6,917,0816,948,000 8,531,333 9,376,443 9,092,300 8,959,500 9,179,650
South Crop, &c. .. 1,800,000 1,875,000 2,100,000
Pembrokeshire..")
\ 1,850,000 2,100,000 1,250,000 Caermarthenshr. J
J
Totals........10,255,56311,665,000 10,289,455 10,992,08110,976,£00
12,656,336 18,821,448 13,661,800 13,210,000 13,454,800
Tons. Total for 1870 ............ 13,664,132
1871 ............ 14,035,525
1872 ............ 15,047,250
COLLIERIES AT WORK IN THE COAL-FIELD IN 1872.
Tons. Monmouthshire ............ 85
Edge of Glamorganshire......... 22
Glamorganshire ............ 237
Pembrokeshire ............ 9
Caermarthenshire ............ 38
Total ......... 391
N.B.—The above does not represent the number of single collieries. For
instance, Dowlais is put down as one colliery, whereas there are several
different and separate establishments at these works.
PATENT FUEL SENT COASTWISE TO OTHER PORTS OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM.
Ports from which Shipped. 1870. 1871.
1872.
Tons. Tons. Tons.
Cardiff ............ 4,396 12,323 3,802
Swansea............ 18,673 19,398 8,628
Liverpool............ 4 ......
Glasgow..................' 250 6,631
Sunderland ......... ...... ......
......
Total ...... 23,073 31,971 19,061
VOL. XXIII.—1874.
JjJ i
202 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
PATENT FUEL SENT TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
Ports from which Shipped. 1870. 1871.
1872.
Tons. Tons. Tons.
London ............ 3,551 4,876 3,569
Newhaven ......... 8 ......
......
Bristol ............ ...... 3
......
Cardiff ............ 52,762 57,127 58,260
Swansea............ 141,984 135,751 142,938
Newcastle ............... ...... 101
Sunderland ............... ...... 2,019
Liverpool............ 72 358 354
Total ...... 198,377 198,115 207,241
THE FOLLOWING IS A TABLE SHOWING THE COAL SHIPPED FROM SOUTH WALES FOR THE
YEAR 1872.
Coal. Total. Coke. Total.
Ports from which __________________________'
__________________________________________
Shipped.
Foreign. Coastwise. Coal. Foreign.
Coast- Coke.
wise.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
Tons. Tons.
Cardiff......2.589,575 933,328 3,522,903 9,826 4,123
13,949
Newport...... 233,164 779,798 1,012,962 2,904
1,740 4,644
Swansea...... 533,282 225,138 758,420 5,632
781 6,413
Neath ...... 69,427 239,765 309,192 ......
50 50
Port Talbot ... 1,506 19,571 21,077 267
251 518
Porth Caul ... 15,738 132,964 148,702 3,559
1,000 4,559
Llanelly...... 113,273 165,946 279,219 25
...... 25
Milford...... 388 46,271 46,659
..................
Total ... 3,556,353 2,542,781 6,099,134 22,213
7,945 30,158
Besides the above, a large quantity of coal is taken out of the district by
rail to London and other places, probably upwards of 600,000 tons per annum
; and a large quantity of patent fuel is manufactured in the district.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 203
The following comparative table of shipments from Cardiff of coal and coke,
foreign and coastwise, during the last ten years, may also be of interest:—
Foreign. Coastwise.
Year,
—------------------"
Coal. Coke. Coal. Coke.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
1864 ...... 1,481,657 5,032 839,659 1,737
1865 ...... 1,450,941 10,291 898,525
8,194
1866 ...... 1,837,161 11,672 889,353
2,189
1867 ...... 1,966,079 12,429 876,957
1,789
1868 ...... 2,099,707 9,848 819,183
1,301
1869 ...... 2.192,586 5,318 897,899
1,253
1870 ...... 2,301,761 2,694 810,684
855
1871 ...... 2,060,138 9,949 860,028
1,101
1872 ...... 2,589,575 9,826 933,328
4,123
1873 ...... 2,629,030 12,828 963,818
2,004
The shipments of patent fuel to foreign ports were:—
Tons.
In 1873.................. 68,451
As against in 1872 ............ 63,244
Showing an increase of...... 5,207
Or 8\ per cent.
The shipments of iron to foreign ports were:—
Tons.
In 1873 ............... 155,570
As against in 1872 ........... 250,221
Showing a decrease of...... 94,651
Or 38 per cent.
EXTENT OF COAL-FIELD. The coal-field occupying the greater part of the
County of Glamorgan extends into five counties—viz., Monmouthshire,
Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire, Caermarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire. (See
Plate XLI.) Its greatest length is from Abersychan on the east to St.
Brides' Bay on the west, a distance of 89 miles; and its greatest breadth,
which occurs in Glamorganshire, is 21 miles. From Abersychan, in
Monmouthshire, to the
204 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
Glyncorrwg fault, in Glamorgan, the length is 24 miles, and the average
width 13 miles; from the Glyncorrwg fault, going west, to Neath (a distance
of nine miles), the average breadth is 20 miles. At Aberafon, five miles
due south of Neath, a portion of the coal-field runs beneath Swansea Bay for
a distance of nine miles, and with an average breadth of 2^ miles, appearing
again at Oystermouth. From the latter place to Kidwelly, a distance of 14
miles, it has an average breadth of 14 miles; a considerable portion of
this tract, however (nine miles long by five miles broad), lies beneath the
estuary of the Burry and Llwchwr rivers. At Kidwelly, the whole coal-field
is lost beneath the waters of Caermarthen Bay, re-appearing at Amroth in
Pembrokeshire, the portion beneath the sea being 15 miles in length, with an
average width of six miles. From Amroth the field runs uninterruptedly to
St. Brides' Bay (a distance of 20 miles), with an average breadth of only
five miles. North of Walton, West, Pembrokeshire, at the westernmost
extremity of the field, the coal measures take a sudden bend to the north
for a distance of 5| miles, with an average width of 1^ mile. (This
portion is not taken into consideration in estimating the length of the
coal-field.) The average width west of the Glyncorrwg fault is 9^ miles.
The total extent of the field may be assumed to be approximately 1,000
square miles, distributed as follows:—
Square Miles.
Monmouthshire ............... 104
Glamorganshire ..'............. 518
Brecknockshire............... 74
Caermarthenshire............... 228
Pembrokeshire ............... 76
1,000
Of the above about 846 square miles are exposed, about 153 square miles lie
beneath the sea, and about one square mile is covered by newer formations.
OLDER FORMATIONS—MILLSTONE GRIT.
The coal-field reposes almost everywhere on the millstone grit, which
generally rests on the mountain limestone. Beneath the mountain limestone
lies the old red sandstone, and below that the silurian. The millstone grit
is of the usual lithological character of these beds ; it contains few
fossils. At its base occurs a stratum of conglomerate about 20 feet in
thickness. Its total thickness is about 220 feet. This formation is often
confounded with the Farewell rock of the district, which is a true
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 205
marine stratum lying above the millstone grit and in the true coal measures.
Westward of Swansea Bay the millstone grit disappears, and the lower coal
measures rest directly upon the mountain limestone, and still further west
the coal measures lie immediately upon the lower silurian.
MOUNTAIN LIMESTONE.
This formation, immediately underlying the millstone grit, and resting upon
the old red sandstone, is generally seen to dip, where it is exposed,
conformably with the coal measures. In a few places, as near Castell-coch,
six miles north of Cardiff, south of the coal-field, it dips south, or away
from the basin, and this fact suggests the interesting question as to
whether the coal measures did not at one time extend in a series of
anticlinal and synclinal folds over the whole district, from the south crop
of this field to the Nailsea field near Bristol—a tract now occupied by old
red sandstone, and the secondary rocks to be seen around Cardiff, and the
waters of the Severn. The enormous denudation which Professor Eamsay
indicates as having occurred in this field would at any rate afford a
sufficient explanation for their absence. On the north of the coal-field the
limestone ridge reaches a considerable altitude, over 1,200 feet above the
sea, while on the south crop their usual height is 400 or 500 feet. They are
divisible into two horizons : first, upper beds, consisting of alternating
dark shales, with bands of limestones passing downwards into massive beds of
the latter, the aggregate thickness being about 700 to 1,000 feet. A curious
physical feature in these rocks on the north crop is the cave of
Ystrad-yr-ffelte where a subterranean channel has been eroded by the River
Nedd.
OLD RED SANDSTONE—UPPER DEVONIAN.
This formation occupies a large proportion of the district under
consideration. It consists of conglomerates, red and brown sandstones, marls
and calcareous cornstones, 8,000 to 10,000 feet in thickness. On the north
of the field these beds form the highest ground in South Wales, rising to
the height of 2,910 feet above the sea in the Fans of Brecknockshire, which
Sir R. Murchison describes as " the grandest exhibition of the old red
sandstone in England and Wales." They seem to have undergone most of the
convulsions which disturbed the other Palseozoic strata resting upon them,
for the great faults running through the coal measures, millstone grit and
mountain limestone on the south crop, are to be likewise traced in the old
red to the north-east of Cardiff.
206 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
SILURIAN.
This formation consists of the upper Silurian (Ludlow and Wen-lock series)
in the east, and middle silurian (Llandovery rocks) and lower silurian
(Llandeilo flags) in the west. Their thickness probably averages between 600
and 700 feet. They form tolerably high ground on the east of the coal-field
between Pontypool and Usk. South of Llandeg-fydd, in Monmouthshire, they are
lost beneath the old red sandstone; but that they run uninterruptedly
beneath these rocks to Cardiff is proved by their cropping up around
Llanfrechfa, three miles north of Newport, and again at Malpas, Penrhos,
Llanhennock, and Christchurch— all within a few miles from Newport. How far
they extend eastwards is not known. On the west, after striking beneath the
old red sandstone for some distance, they re-appear on the surface near St.
Mellons, from whence they run uninterruptedly to Pen-y-lan and Eunrney, near
Cardiff. Almost the whole of these rocks are stained a deep red by protoxide
of iron; though in places, as at Pen-y-lan, bands of cherty limestone occur,
replete with bivalve shells.
In the west of the field, the lower silurian beds occupy a great portion of
the counties of Caermarthen and Pembroke, by far the larger part of which is
occupied by the Llandeilo flags, while the upper Llandovery rocks only occur
on the southern border, between Langwm, Pembrokeshire, and St. Brides' Bay.
HYPOGENE.
A mass of igneous rock, greenstone, &c, five miles long by three-quarters of
a mile broad, bounding the coal-field, occurs between Langwm, and Walwyns
Castle, in Pembrokeshire ; a narrow strip of the same rock thence runs
uninterruptedly along its southern border to its terminus in St. Brides'
Bay.
SCENEEY. The coal measures of South Wales frequently form beautiful and
varied scenery, consisting of bold hills intersected by numerous valleys, at
the bottom of which run rapid streams. The sides of the valleys are
frequently wooded for some distance up and above the bare and sterile
mountains rise, covered only by coarse grass, heather, gorse, and bracken
ferns, whilst the summits are capped by rugged cliffs and large masses of
debris, chiefly of pennant sandstone. In other parts of the field the
surface forms a rich undulating country. The average height of the hills is
very considerable ; and the highest ground in the coal-field is
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-ElELt). 207
Cam Fach, in Glamorgan, 1,971 feet above sea-level. The valleys are
generally narrow and deep, running from north to south, and debouching upon
the Bristol Channel, where all the ports are situated; and they afford great
facilities for winning, and afterwards carrying away, the minerals along the
railways and canals which are constructed up all the principal valleys, the
rivers not being navigable far from their mouths. Everywhere throughout the
field are indications of vast denudation having taken place, which probably
happened simultaneously with the rising of the land, when, as each portion
gradually rose above the sea, it was acted upon by marine currents. By these
operations the upper portions of the valleys were most likely formed, while
the lower parts, which alone show indications of alluvial deposits, were
excavated afterwards by sub-aeriel action, and by the streams which at
present run through them. We have no positive traces here of abrasions by
glacial action.
DESCRIPTION OF STRATA. The coal measures of this field may be assumed to
have a total thickness of upwards of 7,000 feet. They may be divided into
three principal series, viz.:—
1. Upper Pennant,
2. Lower Pennant, and
3. White Ash Series.
See the G-eneral Vertical Section for division of these series (Plate XLII).
1.—THE UPPER PENNANT SERIES. On the south rise, near Swansea, these strata
are stated by Mr. Moses, in a book published in 1849, to be 3,000 feet in
thickness, and in the south trough only 400 feet. In the eastern part of
Glamorganshire, and in Monmouthshire, the writer estimates their thickness
in the south trough at 500 feet, and in the north trough at 700 feet; but in
the neighbourhood of Neath, between the Duffryn and Ridding faults, the
thickness of this series is upwards of 1,200 feet; and at Loughor the
thickness is very much greater, and there is a corresponding addition to the
number of workable seams of coal in that part of the coal-field. The Broad
Oak, Bryncoch, Primrose, Craigola, and Hughes' free burning and bituminous
seams of the Swansea and Neath districts, and the Mynyddysllwyn, Bedwas,
Llantwit, and Bettws household coals of the eastern portion of the
coal-field, and a vein of black band occur in this series. For average
sections of the seams in this and the other series in
208 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
the western part of the coal-field, the writer begs to refer to an extract
from Mr. Vivian's report to the Eoyal Coal Commission appended. The General
Vertical Section, before referred to, gives the average thickness of coal in
the eastern portion of the field above 12 inches in thickness, as about 99
feet 10 inches in twenty-six seams ; in the western part of the coal-field,
a thickness of 182 feet of coal is locally observed, divided into eighty-two
seams.
2.—LOWER PENNANT SERIES.
These strata probably average 1,100 to 1,500 feet in thickness between the
Taff Eiver and Llanelly, but in some parts of the coal-field, nearer the
anticlinal, and in the southern basin, they attain a thickness of 3,000
feet. They may be assumed to include all the measures between the Craigola,
Mynyddysllwyn or Llantwit seams of coal, and the Cock-shute rock, a
siliceous quartzose rock. This division contains fair steam coal seams in
some districts, with valuable beds of black band, as in the Llynvi district;
in other parts of the coal-field these seams produce good manufacturing and
household coals, the small from which is converted into excellent coke, as
in the Ehondda Valley. The black band has been for many years, and is now,
extensively used for making iron at Maesteg, and the following are analyses
of these ironstones :—
Tnr. nf T nwpr Bottom Of Top Of Bottom
of
wJl pbtu! Lower Black Upper Black Upper Black
n?K™ Band. Band. Band.
±iau-&eam. Half-Seam. l-5th Seam. 4-5th Seam.
Carbonate of iron ...... 74740 76'030 40-60
64-96
Carbonate of manganese ... 3-120 2-916
3-36 3-60
Carbonate of lime ...... 4-000 2-900
2-94 3-13
Carbonate of magnesia ... 3-780 4-740
1-50 2-15
Phosphoric acid ...... 0-828 0-960
0-44 0-76
Insoluble residue ... )
> 6-800 5-000 35-20 18-00
Silicate of alumina ... J
Coaly matter ...... 6-240 '6-800
15-00 7-20
99-508 99-516 99-04 99'80
Iron °/0 in the new ore ... 3608 36'8
19-6 31-36
Do. roasted ore ... 55'4 57-4
26-8 42-7
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 209
Several of the principal seams of coal in this series are known by various
names in the different localities of the coal-field. The series includes the
Field, Wernddu, or Grlyncorrwg (probably identical with the No. 2 Ehondda),
Wern-pistill, Tormynydd, Jonah, white seam ; in other parts of the
coal-field : upper clay seam, No. 3 Ehondda, Havod seam (possibly the same
as the Albert or the Victoria seams of Maesteg), Abergorchi, Caedefyd or
Golden seam. The best known and most valuable are the ISTos. 1, 2, and 3,
Ehondda seams, Victoria and Abergorchi. The probable average thickness of
workable coal in this series is about 25 feet; the average thickness of each
seam will not exceed about 3 feet: the roofs are often rock, and with the
floors are generally strong.
3.—WHITE ASH SERIES.
These strata contain by far the most valuable coal seams, and the great
argillaceous ironstone deposits of the field. This division, like the
others, varies considerably in thickness, thinning out towards the eastern
edge of the coal-field to about 500 feet; but towards the centre of the
coal-field the thickness of the strata of this series is about 1,000 feet.
There are more seams, and of a greater aggregate thickness, on the south
than on the north crop; the same may be said of the ironstones, which are
also richer on the south crop.
It is to the coals of this series that South Wales owes its position as an
iron-making and coal-exporting district. Within a comparatively small
thickness of intervening strata, numerous seams of workable coal are found,
varying from 3 feet to 9 feet and upwards each in thickness, and extending,
with few exceptions, uninterruptedly, but of varying quality, throughout the
coal-field.
The Farewell rock forms a portion of this series, and is the lowest stratum
of the coal measures. It immediately underlies the bottom vein, or Pin-garu
ironstone, and contains the. Eosser veins of ironstone and seams of coal. It
is a true marine stratum, and contains numerous marine fossils, as mollusc
and fish remains.
The probable average thickness of workable coal in this series is about 50
feet. Belonging to this series are the coal measures of Pembrokeshire, for
the particulars of which the writer is indebted to Messrs. Daniel, mining
engineers, of Swansea, who are much better acquainted with this part of the
field than he is.
Pembrokeshire contains an area of upwards of seventy square miles,
under which seams of coal are found to exist, and which are no doubt a vol.
xxiii.-i874. .
j, x
210 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
continuation of the South Wales coal-field beyond Caermarthen Bay. The
minerals have been but partially developed, but sufficient information has
been obtained to indicate the geological horizon and the existence of large
faults and contorted strata.
In no other part of the South Wales coal-field is the strata found to be so
contorted as in Pembrokeshire. This is probably due to the large faults
known to exist, the chief ones being—first, that which may be observed about
800 yards north of Saundersfoot, extending in a west-wardly direction to St.
Brides' Bay; and, second, the fault extending about 400 yards south of
Saundersfoot to Langwm, where the greenstone appears close to the coal
formation. The last-named fault is possibly a continuation of the main
anticlinal.
The limestone lying under the coal measures on the north and south, in
Pembrokeshire, is similar to the same formation in the other parts of the
coal-field. A peculiarity of this part of the field, however, is the fact
that there is but one general dip or inclination of the coal strata to be
found, viz.—to the south. This is probably caused by the disturbances before
mentioned. The veins of coal exist at a moderate depth, the maximum being
about 1,500 feet.
The highest workable vein known to exist is the " timber rock vein," about 3
feet 4 inches thick ; next in descending order, at a depth of 76 feet, is
the " timber low vein," 1 foot 6 inches thick ; the next, at a depth of 160
feet, is the "timber vein," 6 feet 6 inches; following, is the " stinkard
vein," 1 foot 6 inches thick, at a depth of 365 feet; below the stinkard
vein, at a depth of 490 feet, is the " rock vein", 1 foot 6 inches thick ;
below the rock vein, at a depth of 695 feet, is the " lower level vein," 1
foot 8 inches thick ; below this latter seam, at a depth of 980 feet, is the
Kilgetty vein," about 1 foot 9 inches thick; below which there are several
small veins of coal too thin probably to be profitably worked at the present
time. Total depth from the "timber vein" to " Kilgetty vein," 980 feet.
All the coal in Pembrokeshire is anthracite; and, from the report recently
made to the Eoyal Coal Commission, there yet remains in this county
215,695,910 tons of workable coal.
With the exception of the Kilgetty vein the coals are considered to be
somewhat tender.
The entire thickness of the coal measures varies greatly in different parts
of the coal-field. On the south rise they are stated by some authorities to
be 11,000 feet thick; on the north, 7,000 feet; between Briton Ferry on the
west and the River Taff on the east their thickness is about 4,800
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 211
feet on the south crop ; and to the east of the Taff they still further thin
out as they approach the eastern limits of the coal-field.
IRONSTONES.
In the upper and lower Pennant series there are two beds of workable
ironstone, viz.—the Llancaich black band, and another black band occurring
over the No. 2. or charcoal vein coal, besides the black bands already
referred to in the Maesteg district.
The following is an analysis of the bed over the charcoal vein as worked at
Abercarn, by W. Ratcliffe.
Description.—Colour, brownish grey; compact, containing thin seams of coal,
and films of pyrites in some of the joints.
ANALYSIS.
Protoxide of iron .................. 43'37
Sesquioxide of iron.................. 4*10
Oxide of manganese ...... ... ... ...
1*50
Alumina ..................... 6*05
Lime ... .................. 8*00
Magnesia ........ ............ 0-25
Silica ..................... 2-80
Potash ..................... 0-32
Carbonic acid .................. 30*50
Sulphuric acid (from pyrites) ............ 1'56
Organic matter .................. 6*25
Phosphoric acid .................. traces
Hygroscopic water.................. 0*27
Combined water .................. 031
100-28 Iron (total amount) ............ 36*49
3.—THE IRONSTONES OF THE WHITE ASH SERIES.
This series contains an aggregate thickness of over 8 feet of ironstone,
exclusive of the Bosser veins. The separate veins are not persistent over
the whole field, often thinning out altogether ; but their stratigraphical
horizon can generally be known by the peculiar fossils by which each vein is
often distinguished.
Analyses of ironstones of the white ash series, as worked at Dowlais, by A.
Dick, Esq.:—
212 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
PIN-GARW ANALYSIS.
(Soluble in hydrochloric acid.)
Silica ..................... 0-14
Protoxide of iron ............... 44*29
Alumina .................. 0*45
Protoxide of manganese ............ 1-13
Lime ............... ...... 3'06
Magnesia .................. 3*73
Carbonic acid.................. 32-48
Moisture .................. 0-42
Combined water ............... 1*03
Phosphoric acid ............... 0*42
87-15 . (Insoluble in acid.)
Silica ..................... 7-77
Alumina .................. 3-75
Peroxide of iron ............... 0-41
Lime ..................... 0-12
Magnesia .................. 0-19
Potash..................... 0'74
Organic matter.................. 0*35
Sulphur..................... 0-03
13-36
4- 87-15
= 100-51
Metallic iron per cent. ............ 34-72
Traces of copper found in each 500 grains of ore.
In the Farewell rock are found the Eosser veins of ironstone. The
following is an analysis of them, as worked at Dowlais, by A. Dick, Esq:—
EOSSER VEINS ANALYSIS.
(Soluble in acids.)
Silica ..................... 0-27
Protoxide of iron ............... 41-03
Alumina..................... 0-23
Protoxide of manganese ............ 0-55
Lime ..........., ......... 2'83
Magnesia ............... ... 3-11
Carbonic acid.................. 28-49
Moisture .................. 0-57
Combined water ............... 1-36
Phosphoric acid ............... 0-70
Organic matter.................. 0-07
79-21
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 213
(Insoluble in acids.)
Silica ..................... 13-08
Alumina..................... 5-56
Protoxide of iron ............... 0-41
Lime ..................... 0-17
Magnesia .................. 0-25
Potash..................... 0-86
20-33 + 79-54
= 99-54
Metallic iron ............... ... 32-18
Hematite iron ore occurs in the mountain limestone, at Pentyrch, at the
mouth of the Taff valley. Iron ore occurs here in nearly vertical fissures
in the limestone. A bed of ironstone is also situated in the lower limestone
shales, and is made up of encrinital remains cemented together by protoxide
of iron, but it has not as yet been worked to any considerable extent.
The following is an analysis of this hematite iron ore from White-church,
near Cardiff, taken from the Memoirs of the Geological Survey.
Description.—Compact, soft, lustre, greasy, so dull; colour, dark red on
outside, on the fracture blackish red ; streak, bright red ; soils the
fingers and makes a red streak on paper; structure, oolitic, and sometimes
pisolitic.
ANALYSIS.
Sesquioxide of iron............... 66-554
Protoxide of iron ... ............ 1-131
Oxide of manganese............... 1-127
Alumina .................. 1*753
Lime ..................... 8-547
Magnesia .................. 1-116
Silica..................... 0-312
Potash............... ...... 0-190
Soda ... .:................ 0-068
Carbonic acid.................. 6*733
Sulphuric acid ............... 1-309
Phosphoric acid ............... 1-017
Organic matter ............... 0-376
Water (total).................. 2-118
Ignited insoluble residue ............ 10-356
101-707
214 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
(Ignited insoluble residue.)
Silica..................... 8-589
Alumina (with a little iron)............ 1*042
Lime..........,.......... 0-850
Magnesia .................. 0-272
Potash..................... 0-235
Soda ...... ...... ......... 0-076
11-064
Iron (total amount, soluble)............ 47-468
No metal precipitable by sulphuretted hydrogen, from the hydrochloric acid
solution of 300 grains of ore was detected.
Besides the preceding, other beds are met with in the Permian rocks. These
belong to the lower Permian, and are worked at Mwyndy, near Llantrissant,
where the ore passes down into fissures in the mountain limestone. A similar
deposit is also met with, covering an area west of Llantrissant; and again
at Quay-Coch, two miles north of Porth Cawl, where it lies immediately over
the mountain limestone, and contains a large proportion of manganese. Its
thickness here is five feet.
The following is an analysis of this ore as worked at Mwyndy, also extracted
from the Memoirs :—
Description. — Compact red hematite, easily scratched by a file; lustre,
earthy; colour, deep red yellow ; streak, brown red; fracture, uneven,
showing numerous cavities lined with crystals of quartz ; the ore contains
minute particles of quartz visibly diffused through it.
Sesquioxide of iron .................. 70-572
Oxide of manganese ... .............. 0-522
Silica ........................ 18-362
Alumina........................ 1-572
Lime ...... ......... ......... 3-562
Magnesia........................ 1*311
Potash ........................ 0-317
Sulphuric acid ..................... 0-451
Phosphoric acid..................... 0-132
Carbonic acid ..................... 1-716
Water (total) ..................... 0-660
99-177
Iron (total amount) ..................48-932
There has been a gradual but certain increase in the cost of producing the
native argillaceous ironstone of the district as the workings from
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 215
which it is obtained increase in depth, and the iron masters have
consequently given special attention to the importation of hematite ores
from other districts j the hematite deposits of the Forest of Dean,
Northamptonshire, Cumberland, and North Lancashire, Somersetshire, Cornwall,
and Foreign ores, all now contribute to the supply of the Welsh iron works,
but the great resources of the future are probably the inexhaustible
deposits of Spain; the further development of these deposits will have a
very material influence upon the iron and steel industries of South Wales,
this coal-field is so favourably and exceptionally situated for importations
from Spain, Portugal, and the Mediterranean; and having regard to the
increase in the importation of iron ore from oversea, we may expect to
observe in the future iron works established at the South Wales ports in
preference to the northern outcrop of the coal-field, where the existing
works are chiefly situate, the conditions which prevailed when the works
were first established, namely, the supply of cheap native ironstone and
coal, as regards the ironstone, exist no longer.
FIRE-CLAY. Almost every coal seam in this field rests upon a bed of
fire-clay composed in great part of stigmaria • the fire-clay underlying
several of the white ash series of coal seams is of good quality, and the
manufacture of fire bricks from it in the district will ultimately become an
important local industry.
BUILDING STONE. The Pennant sandstones afford an inexhaustible supply of
fine and cheaply-worked building and paving stones.
FAULTS.
The basin is traversed by the ordinary slip faults, many of which are of
great size. The main faults, with one or two important exceptions, range
generally north-west and south-east, and are, in most cases, nearly
parallel; the Box Bar, Garden, Duffryn, Eiddings, Gnoll, Grlyncorrwg,
Moelgilau, Bwllfa, Dinas, Cadlys, Werfa, Merthyr Church, Llanvabon, and
Eisca, may be quoted as a few of the best-known faults of the coal-field,
but there are no whin dykes.
In some of the faults the displacement increases as they pass south, and in
others the reverse is the case.
The lateral separation is inconsiderable, seldom above 8 or 12 yards. The
coal in the immediate neighbourhood of the faults is generally
216 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
affected for a few yards, and in the immediate districts where the general
character of the coal is undergoing a change the difference in
quality-becomes, in some cases, more marked at the faults.
SLIPS. In the coal seams cleavages, called " slips," occur in parallel
divisions, usually from 9 to 18 inches apart, having generally a direction
of north 30° west true meridian, or the same polarity of direction as the
main faults, with an underlie west of three-fourths the height of the coal.
Two exceptions to this usual direction of the slips are, however,
occasionally met with; first, when they underlie eastward, when they are
called "backs;" the other exception is found often in the Ehondda Valley,
where there are disturbances parallel with the anticlinal line ; the slips
here lie in a diagonal course between north 30° west, and the bearing of
these lines of local disturbance north 80° west; the "slips" having the same
diagonal relation to the main faults. Various theories have been proposed
from time to time to account for these " slips," but the most eminent
geologists believe them to be the result of pressure.
ANTICLINAL.
The coal-field practically forms two coal fields, being divided into two
elongated troughs by an anticlinal ridge running east and west in a somewhat
sinuous course from Meddart, Monmouthshire ; crossing the Ebbw, the Sirhowy,
by Velin-fach, Newbridge, Ton-y-refail across the lesser Ogmore, by
Nantyrus, and the Maesteg Iron Works, through Baglan, and beneath Swansea
Bay and Gower, and is continued through the older rocks in Pembrokeshire.
The basin is thus divided into a northern, and southern portion ; the cross
sections illustrate the influence which this important elevation has upon
the coal measures. The line of elevation is nearer to the southern edge of
the basin where the natural dip of the coal seams is greatest, so that it
has the effect of bringing near to the surface seams which would otherwise
lie at a great depth, and elevates the deepest seams to within a workable
depth.
CHANGE OF QUALITY. A striking feature in the nature of the coal of this
field is the change in different localities from bituminous to anthracite,
and vice-versa. This change is generally gradual, although occasionally
very remarkable exceptions are to be found to this rule. The intermediate
qualities are known
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 217
as semi-bituminous, smokeless and bastard anthracite ; the change in quality
operates both vertically and horizontally. In those portions of the
coal-field where the change in a vertical direction may be observed, the
upper seams are most bituminous in quality, the loss of bitumen as a rule
increasing in a downward direction ; and in many cases, therefore, the upper
seams of the lower Pennant series are found to be of bituminous quality, and
the white ash seam immediately below carbonaceous. Generally it may be
assumed that all the coals of that portion of the coal-field west of
Carmarthen Bay are of pure anthracite quality; eastwards of that bay the
coals of the peninsula of Gower, the upper seams of the Llanelly district,
and approximately the coals of the white ash series, south and east of a
line drawn from Gower Eoad to Neath, Cymmer, Ystrad, Fern-dale, Navigation,
and Merthyr, are more or less bituminous, the same seams north and west of
that line being carbonaceous in the Aberdare and Bhondda districts, changing
gradually to anthracite west of the vale of Neath.
Approximately the area of bituminous coal-field may be assumed to be about
410 square miles ; of anthracite, 410 square miles; and of coals, of a
quality ranging between bituminous and anthracite, 180 square miles.
THEOKIES FOR CHANGE OF QUALITY.
Several theories attempting to account for this change in quality have been
suggested. Friction caused by pressure, resulting either from the weight of
superincumbent strata or from lateral forces or resistance ; or from
internal disturbances ; or by combinations of some, or of the whole, have
been held to be an explanation. The phenomena have been attributed by others
to the various forms of electrical disturbance ; whilst others again seek
for the explanation in the thinning out of the old red sandstone to the
west, thereby bringing the coal measures in that direction nearer to the
influence of possible volcanic disturbances.
It has also been suggested that an explanation of the phenomena may possibly
be arrived at by analyzing the ash of the different coals which may show the
loss of bitumen to be due to the chemical changes which have taken place in
the coal seams owing to the variation in their component parts.
Mr. G. C. Greenwell, in a paper read before the Manchester Geological
Society, also refers to this subject in the following terms :—
" It has usually been considered that the anthracite condition of coal is
due to the action of heat, but I think that by a certain process of
reasoning we may arrive at the conclusion that this agency is not necessary
; and if we can find our-
VOL. XXIII.-1874.
q j
218 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
selves justified in arriving at such a conclusion, we shall, I think, have
cleared up many difficulties which have beset us when endeavouring to
account for the varied conditions in which we find the same seam of coal to
exist in different localities. In considering the origin of peat it is at
any rate acknowledged that it is in a comparatively slight degree removed
from existing vegetable matter. And what do we find to have taken place in
the process of change? We find that, in mass for mass, as compared with
wood, peat contains a greater proportion of carbon, a little less hydrogen,
and considerably less oxygen ; and we also know that the vegetable matter
has become peat from, to a certain extent, the conversion having been formed
under water, and where it was, consequently, unexposed to the action of the
atmosphere. If, then, a certain process of fermentation or chemical action
has the effect of converting what was originally vegetable matter, pure and
simple, into peat, a continuation of the same process would, a fortiori,
convert it into a mass with a greater relative proportion of carbon, a
little less hydrogen, and considerably less oxygen than those contained in
the peat before it was subjected to this further process; and, by the same
train of reasoning, we can ultimately arrive at the formation of anthracite.
All that is necessary to account for the production of a varied condition in
the result from the same origin is that, in the progress from vegetation, or
rather vegetable matter to anthracite, the progress of the change should be
arrested by the superposition of such deposits of sand or shale as would
completely check the action which has been referred to. And I think it quite
consistent with reason that as the superincumbent masses increased and
exercised greater pressure, we should have such development of the latent
heat of the compressed vegetable mass as fully to account for such phenomena
as we have hitherto attributed to heat developed by other and external
causes."
At some of the faults a somewhat sudden change in quality has been observed,
but in most cases the change is very gradual and is uninfluenced by faults.
STATISTICS. QUANTITIES OF COAL WROUGHT AND UNWROUGHT IN THE FIELD.
The following figures are obtained by an analysis of the Report of the Royal
Coal Commission upon this field :—
Workable coal at a less depth than 4,000 feet, after deducting for faults,
pillars, barriers, small left
behind, &c................... 33,285,541,245
Worked ..................... 828,375,598
To be worked at a less depth than 4,000 feet...... 32,457,165,647
Coal at a greater depth than 4,000 feet......... 4,108,996,750
Total quantity of unworked coal in the coal field ...
36,566,162,397
Present rate of working about 15 million tons or -^Vfth part per annum.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 219
WINNING.
The primitive method of mining by open patchwork at the outcrop of the seams
is still practised under circumstances favourable for its adoption,
especially in getting argillaceous ironstone. A fine example of this system
of working may still be observed at the great patch in operation on the
anticlinal at the Maesteg works.
Where the seams crop out along the hill sides, water levels are generally
driven in upon them to work the coal above the level of the valleys; below
that, pits become necessary. The practice of these several systems in
succession from the north outcrop is pretty well the history of mining in
most of the important valleys. On the south outcrop, where the inclination
is steeper, slopes driven down with the seams, or water levels driven across
the measures to intersect the different seams, are generally adopted. Pits
also are sunk where deeper ranges are required than can be obtained by
levels across the measures.
The following is a list of some of the deepest working pits in the field :—
Name of Valley. Name of Pit.
Owners. Depth.
Ebbw ...... Abercarne ... Ebbw Vale Co. ......
304
Rhymney ...... New Tredegar...! Powell Duffryn Co.......\ 418
Rhymney, Bargoed... Vochrhiw ... Dowlais Iron Co.......|
435
Merthyr ...... Castle......j Robert Crawshay, Esq. ...
332
Aberdare ...... Navigation ... Messrs. Nixon and Co.
...j 365
Rhondda ...... Dinas ......I Messrs. Coffin and Co. ...
403
Rhondda ...... Llwynypia ... Glamorgan Coal Co.......j
382
Rhondda ...... Blaenrhondda ... Messrs. Marychurch and Co. I
402
MODE OF WORKING. From the main or water levels leading to the pit bottom, or
to slope drifts, or to the surface, as the case may be, headings are driven
to the rise and to the deep, the rise headings being generally called cross
headings, and from the headings the stall roads are driven. The amount of
dip working will depend upon the quantity of water ; and the distance
between the headings will depend upon the length it is found most prudent to
drive the stall roads before cutting them off; this question, as well as the
distance between the stall roads, depending chiefly upon the nature of the
floor or roof, or both combined; the conditions varying with almost every
seam, and with the same seam in different localities.
220 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
There are three principal systems of getting the coal, namely :—first,
single road stall; second, double road stall; and, third, long-wall.
The following general sketches will explain the different systems, and the
mode of ventilating in each case. The seams of the upper and lower Pennant
series, and the 9 feet seam of the white ash series, are generally worked by
the first or second systems, or a modification, and the seams of the white
ash series are chiefly worked upon the long-wall system.
The last named system was generally substituted a few years ago for No. 1
system in working the steam coals of the Ehondda and Aberdare Valleys, and
the result has been to increase the produce of large coal, simplify the
ventilation, and reduce the labour of the workmen.
SINGLE AND DOUBLE KOAD STALLS. Single road stalls are generally turned
narrow for a short distance off the heading, after which they widen out to
their proper width. (Plates XLIII. and XLIV.) The width of single and double
road stalls will depend principally upon the quantity of rubbish to be
stowed away, and the rate at which the seam dips. The size of the pillars
between the stalls, and between the stalls and the heading, will depend for
the most part upon the nature of the roof and floor. The stall pillars are
worked when the stalls have gone their full length, and the heading pillars
when there is no longer any use for the headings, and the operation is
called " pulling back the stall," or "pulling back the heading," as the case
may be.
LONG-WALL.
This system is adopted when the roof is sufficiently strong to remain up
with only the aid of a few props ; but more generally when it is
sufficiently friable to settle down permanently behind the working face.
(Plate XLV.) On account of the friable roofs and the great pressure, it
would be almost impracticable to work some of the steam coal seams in the
deeper pits otherwise than by long-wall; and so pernicious an effect have
stumps or pillars upon the roof, that it has become the general practice to
work the whole of the coal away with the exception of the large pillars at
the shaft bottom. It is important in this system that the working face
should be kept moving on, so as not to give the roof time to break at the
face ; regard, too, must often be had to the quantity of rubbish available
for packing. The ventilation is more simple in this system than in stall and
pillar working, and the percentage of large coal is higher. It is the usual
custom in South Wales to take the horse and tram to the face of
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 221
the workings ; and when the seam is not thick enough, either the top or the
bottom has to be cut in the horse roads to give the necessary height. In
some instances, when both top and bottom are very hard, the coal is put
along the stall either in small carts or in sledges, and loaded into the
trams at short sidings, often called " spout holes," off the headings.
The following is a sketch of a system of working generally adopted on the
south outcrop where the measures are steep (Plate XLVI.) :—
The collier in South Wales has to cut the coal and fill it into the trams ;
he has to gob the rubbish, make and keep the working place safe and in order
; he has to keep his stall road in travelling order, and do all the
timbering necessary in his working place.
The mode of hewing the coal depends upon the section of the seam, and in
what degree it sticks to the top or bottom. When the seam is in one block,
the holing or kirving is done either at the top or at the bottom; and when
the seam is divided into different beds, the holing might be done in one of
the smooth partings, or in any intervening band of clod that may be suitable
for the purpose. When the slips, referred to in a former part of this paper,
are frequent, and long-wall working adopted, the operation of cutting or
securing the coal is a comparatively easy operation.
The bituminous seams are cut " through and through," but in the steam coal
seams the large coal only is sent out.
The coal is screened at the surface, over screens with longitudinal bars, on
the average l£ inches apart, and 13 feet long by 7 feet wide, angle about
20°. The small out of each tram is weighed, and, if it exceeds a given
weight, a deduction is made from the hewer. The machine, by means of which
the weight of the small coal which passes through the screens is
ascertained, was named, many years ago, by the colliers of the district, "
Billy Fairplay ;" and it is astonishing what an unpopular individual this
fellow has become, and, as years go on, his unpopularity, instead of passing
away, if anything, increases. The coal after being screened at the colliery,
is known as " colliery screened large," but, in many cases, it is again
screened at the port of shipment, and is known as single screened at time of
shipment, or double screened at time of shipment as one or both of the two
screens in the shipping shoot are open. The proportion of steam coal small
left underground is about 15 per cent.; the small taken out by screening at
the colliery averages about 14 per cent.; and double screening, at the port
of shipment, from 7 to 10 per cent.
Coal cutting by machinery has not been adopted to any *material
222 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
extent in this district, but Firth's ancTBaird's and other machines are on
trial at one or two collieries, and are said to be giving good results. A
greater percentage of large coal is undoubtedly obtained by the use of these
mechanical cutters.
In portions of a colliery where strong blowers of gas make it dangerous to
blast with powder, Ohubb's hydraulic hand machine for wedging out the coal
has given good results, and a hand machine for kirving has lately been
introduced at the Yniscynon Colliery.
Argillaceous ironstone is worked generally by the long-wall system, but in
some cases by pillar and stall ; the black band is universally worked by the
long-wall system, and the ironstone is carted along the stall roads to the
main headings, where it is loaded into the large trams.
VENTILATION.
The mode of coursing the air along the working faces has been shown in the
sketches explaining the different systems of getting the coal. G-as is
seldom to be found in collieries upon seams which crop out to the surface
and worked by levels. The most fiery collieries are those upon the lower or
steam coal seams, and, probably, no seam in any coal field gives off more
gas than the Aberdare four feet seam, especially in new districts where the
gas has not had any previous opportunity of draining off. The whole of these
lower seams are very subject to strong blowers, generally in the roof, upon
which, of course, they have a very bad effect, independent of the danger
involved in the presence of the gas itself. .The ventilating power usually
adopted is the furnace, but mechanical ventilators are now at work at
several of the collieries. The first great stride in the direction of
mechanical ventilators was Mr. Struve's air pump ; several of these machines
have been erected in South Wales, but the Guibal and the Waddle fans have
latterly come into more general use. These machines are all so well known
that it is unnecessary to describe them in this paper, but the following
list of fans at work will be interesting as indicating the progress in the
application of mechanical ventilation in the district:—
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 223
GUIBAL FANS.
Guarantee of | Present ti .
. ¦§. "H I Water
Duty. ®S-gS ci> fJ . Gauge. |
SjSaM Mr§^|| -£i--------1 ¦¦ rf,
t.------;--------
Name. Address. |||| g£ |g J ^ §
Maker. ^g! 5 J
a>*> Is aQ d|w.G.! oIi^w.g.
_ » __ « fr
__
Ft. Ft. In. In. Middle Duffryn South Wales.. 30 10
Single 24 24 .. .. Poynot & Co......... 075
Gethin .. .. {^Tre^11"} 30 10 da 2i 2i '•
•• K' Crawsnay •• 60 120,000 2 '4
Middle Duffryn South Wales.. 30 10 do. 24 24 65
3 {^u^foo.} 62 120'000 3'00*
Do. .. Do. .. 30 10 do. 24 24
65 3 Do. 62 120,000! 3'00*
Bwllfa .. .. Cardiff ..40 10 do. 36 ..
72 675 Do. ...... I ..
^CoIlCo^ } |Ms°hire0Uth"} i0 WDoubl. 36 36 72 | 6 5
Do. 68 99,000,5-0
Llwynypia .. {^SuST } 30 10 da 20 20 65 3'°
Ba- 46 82'000 i r6
Powell's Duffryn South Wales.. 36 12 do. 30 30 60 3 25
Do. 40 49,410 175
GCoppe?Mines} {° Works'1 } 30 10 do- 20 20 60 2'6
Grange Iron Co. 47 27,460 P50
Abergorkie .. South Wales.. 36 12 do. 30 30 60
3'5 Do. ........t
KhosLlantwit.. Do. .. 21 6'6" Single 18 18 60
10 Jas. Nelson ..........f
Cwmaman .. Do. .. 30 10 Doubl. 24 24 60
2'6 Grange Iron Co.........f
YIroCndCoyn } Swansea •• 30 10 do- 24 24 60
2'5 Jas. Nelson ..........
Booker & Co. .. Cardiff ..25 8 Single 20 20 60
1 "5 Do...........
* Working together. f In course of construction.
And the following is a list of the Waddle fans in operation in the
district:—
Name of the Colliery.
Feet in Diameter.
Bonvilles Court Colliery. Pembrokeshire............ 1(5
Bryndu „ Glamorganshire............ 19
Llansamlet ,. Do. ............
12
Eesolven „ Do. ......
...... 14
Llynvi „ Do. ............
22
Mynydd-Nowydd „ Do. ............ 25
Morfa „ Do. ............
40
Gorwydd „ Do. ............
20
Glasbrook's „ Do. ............
20
Gadlys „ Do. ............
40
Aberaman „¦ Do. ............
40
Nevill and Co.'s „ Carmarthenshire............ 25
Aber „ Glamorganshire............ 20
Maesteg „ Do. ............
40
Davis MaestegMerthyr,, Do. ............ —
Abercwmboy „ Do. ............
40
New Tredegar „ Monmouthshire............ 40
224 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
Name of the Colliery.
Feet in Diameter;
Rhondda-Merthyr Colliery, Glamorganshire............ 40
Cwm-Avon ,, Do. ............
25
Pentre „ Do. ............
40
Nixon and Bell ,, Do. ............
20
Lletty-Shenkin „ Do. ............
40
Fowlers'Pontypridd „ Do. ............ 25
Dinas „ Do. ............
40
UNDERGROUND HAULAGE. At most of the important collieries where the lead has
become considerable, the underground haulage is done by machinery. In the
levels the main and tail-rope system is adopted, worked generally by a pair
of horizontal cylinders. On the roads to the deep, the empty trams take the
rope after them, the drum riding loose on the shaft, and the engine hauls
the full trams up the bank. When the rise headings become cut off by new or
upper levels, the most convenient of the old headings are often converted
into self-acting inclined planes. Arrangements are frequently effected for
hauling along the dip and rise headings by spare ropes in connection with
the main and tail ropes of the principal levels. Within the last few years,
compressed air has come very much into use as a motive power for underground
engines, and although there is a loss of power at the outset in compressing
the air, this objection is more than counterbalanced by the extreme facility
with which the power may be applied, and that, too, under such very variable
circumstances. Examples of successful applications of compressed air for
hauling purposes may be observed at several of the Powell's Duffryn
Company's collieries. Steel ropes are found in the long run to be the most
economical. Electric signals are often used on the main engine roads. The
trams are brought from the face of the work to the different stations by
horses driven by men called hauliers. The main engine roads are laid with
comparatively heavy double-headed rails chaired to the sleepers; but on the
horse roads a lighter and flat-bottomed rail is used, fastened to the
sleepers by nails. In working bituminous seams where the small coal is
brought out, closed sheet iron or wooden trams are used; but when the small
made in cutting the coal is gobbed, and the large coal only sent out, trams
made of flat bar iron, with spaces between the bars, are used. The trams
vary in capacity. In some of the bituminous collieries a tram carrying as
much as 80 cwt. of coal is used. The question of large trams, as compared
with the smaller tubs used in other districts, has been very fully
discussed from time to time. Small tubs are used at
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 225
some of the collieries, but the Welsh people as a rule are more in favour of
the large tram. There is no doubt that certain seams can be worked more
economically with small tubs, whilst the particular conditions of other
seams would suggest the adoption of the large tram. In working the best
steam coals, where a cubical fracture does not prevail, and when it is
important to procure the coal as large as possible, a tram of large capacity
becomes a commercial necessity. The tram in pretty general use at the
largest steam coal collieries is made of flat bar iron, with spaces between
the bars; the tare is from 7 to 8 cwt., but the weight is often reduced by
using steel instead of iron in their construction. The load of coal is from
18 to 20 cwt. At some of the best collieries, where the roads are kept in
first-rate order, trams with fixed wheels are used.
The following are the particulars of the underground haulage arrangements at
the New Tredegar Colliery :—Air-compressing engines at the surface. A pair
of steam and air-compressing cylinders, 21 in. diameter and 5 ft. stroke;
speed, 35 revolutions per minute; pressure of air, 22 lbs., supplying the
following engines underground :—
Two single engines, 12 in. cylinder and 12 in. stroke. One single
do. 14 in. do. and 18 in. do. Two pairs of engines, 14 in.
do. and 18 in. do.
but as the underground engines are not all working regularly at the same
time, the average speed of the air-compressing engines is 25 revolutions per
minute, and average pressure of air 35 lbs. per square inch.
DIVISION OF LABOUR.
The following are the different persons employed in and about the collieries
of South Wales and their several duties :—
1. The manager, who is personally responsible to the owners for the proper
carrying on of the works, both as to the underground and surface operations.
2. The overman, and in the larger collieries the underviewer, who is
responsible to the manager for the carrying out of all instructions given by
him, and for the safety of the men, and the proper working of the mine.
3. The fireman, who makes a thorough inspection of the working faces before
the hewers enter them; to see that there is no accumulation of gas ; if the
places are all safe, he puts the date on the roof or face ; if it should
happen that there is gas in the heading or stall, cross timbers are placed
some distance back in the heading, and the word "fire" written upon them.
VOL. XXIII.-1874.
H i
226 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
4. The furnace-man, who attends to the furnace.
5. Hauliers or horse drivers, who are supposed to attend to and clean down
their horses after the day's work, and to commence at seven o'clock in the
morning.
6. Dooi-boys or trappers.
7. Timbermen, to put up the timber necessary to keep the roads and airways,
&c, in proper working order. Commence work between six and seven.
8. Boadmen, to keep the horse-roads in repair.
9. Hewers or colliers, who cut and fell the coal and drive all headings,
air-Avays, &c, necessary for the proper opening out of the mines, and set
all timber required in the working faces. The hewers commence work about
seven o'clock in the morning, and only one shift per day is worked.
10. Lampman (underground) to examine all safety lamps, and lock them as the
men pass the lamp station.
11. Hitchers or onsetters.
12. Enginemen or brakesmen.
13. Landers or banksmen, to change the trams at the top of the pits.
14. Girls, who in same cases assist banksmen in taking trams to tippers and
running trams of rubbish to tips.
15. Tippers, tipping coal out of trams into trucks over screens.
16. Trimmers or screeners.
17. Weighman.
18. Lampman (surface), to attend to the giving out of the lamps in the
morning and receiving the same in the evening, trimming, mending, and
locking the same.
Payments are made at some of the collieries once a month, with a draw on
account every fortnight. At other collieries once a fortnight, and a draw
once a-week. From the pays are deducted the amount paid on account, the
doctor, schools, house rent, coal, tools, fines, &c.
The colliers are paid so much 'per ton for cutting the coal, and a rate per
yard for driving, headings, air-ways, cutting bottom, ripping top, allowance
for soft coal, water, driving through faults, &c.
All other workmen are paid per day.
The following statement of workmen employed at two of the important steam
coal collieries of the district, producing on the average about 500 tons
each per day, will convey a correct idea of the present divisions of labour
in the Welsh steam coal collieries, with the explanation that the proportion
of hewers to other labour has been much reduced within the last two to three
years, and before that time each of these collieries pro-
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 227
duced 700 tons per day, with a less staff of underground off-hand labour
than is now required for 500 tons per day :—
No. 1 Colliery. No. 2 Co
Colliers cutting coal............ 225 200
Hauliers for coal, rubbish, and water ... 58
37
Door boys ............... 26 21
Roadmen, shacklers, & boys oiling sheaves 17 22
Wastemen and shifters ......... 164 46
Ostlers and hitchers, or onsetters...... 10 9
Timbermen and cutting for arching ... 23 15
Men ripping tops ... ... ...... 0
8.
Fluemen, ventilation enginemen, & stokers 5 3
Masons.................. 8 3
Enginemen underground ......... 4 5
Hard heading men (stone drifts)...... 8 0
Men drawing pit wood ... ... ... 2
0
Overmen and firemen ......... 9 10
— 22!) — 174
Total underground labour ... ----454 ----374
Surface.
Bankers, tippers, screeners, croppers, I 17
19
hauliers, and screen boys ... J
Lampman and boys assisting ...... 3 2
Weighers ............... 3 3
Rubbish tippers ............ 1 1
Winding enginemen... ...... ... 3 3
Water and pumping enginemen ...... 3 0
Stokers ............... 6 4
Ash wheelers............... 1 1
Pitmen, for &c.......... 3 1
Locomotive, &c., men and boys ...... 3 2
43 — 36
Grand Total ......... 497 410
WINDING ENGINES AND PIT FITTING. The class of winding engine mostly in vogue
at the comparatively shallow pits consist of one large, or a pair of
smaller, horizontal direct
acting cylinders, with slide valve, but latterly double-beat valves are
preferred. Flat and round ropes are used. Conical drums are used at a
few
of the collieries.
The following are particulars of winding engines at some of the principal
collieries :—
«, Mi, *i i
I piri si $i: i $ *
i« fi 1 i i 11 i
ii :°3iisi s i - 11. If * s
j3 ii p | i in
; m > ? « p ii
ill Ifl S S ' 1
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f 111! 1 i ill! I
s h II i I I! !
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til
, :f: !:: ,:,:: :FF
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1 mi in in if fim
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 229
The weights to be lifted in the deep pits in South Wales are exceptionally
heavy, and the increased depth of several of the new winnings in progress in
the district raise the question as to how far the best known types of
winding engines are applicable to the deeper pits of South "Wales, and the
subject of winding engines for some of these deepest winnings is now under
consideration.
The pulley frames are sometimes made of wrought iron. At some of the largest
collieries two trams are lifted at a time, either together on one deck, or
one above the other in a double-deck cage.
The cages are frequently made of steel.
The guides in the shaft are either made of wood or of wrought iron.
Bound ropes, weighted heavily at the bottom, are frequently used for this
purpose.
PUMPING APPLIANCES.
Although the lower or steam coal measures are tolerably free from water, the
upper series, especially the Pennants, are often heavily watered. Workings
that have extended continuously from the outcrop are also generally heavily
watered at the deepest point. As in other mining districts, almost all sorts
of pumping appliances—more or less perfect, or rather imperfect—may be seen
in South Wales ; but on the other hand, where real work has to be done in
the way of raising water, first-class pumping engines, generally in
accordance with the best Cornish practice, are to be found.
The following are particulars of some of the largest pumping engines in the
district:—
jilt «fr. s * 3 s 1 "-**•?.*-
fiii !ii . • : - iPli
If 11 *, S K * S : ?*«^*4»ST :
Pc5 If «j=?^:>:
If] ^TTJBT^
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^6 d d"
Ota g
SfcSfceqlziS
IP 111 15
"3S Sg>
^d d d d a 2
* If II P
* ai |ii " gil_________
s «imryg a
XTIi|-------------h---------------
I1 l| " ° " s :I
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Hi 1 If 1 ! SI 1
15 fr PPPPJf 1_____
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 23 L
BOILERS.
A great improvement has been gradually effected in the construction of the
boilers used in South Wales. The old-fashioned egg end or flash flue boilers
have been to a great extent either tubed or altogether replaced by new
tubular boilers. The double-tubed boiler is the class most in vogue, but
there are several excellent examples of single-tube or Cornish boilers.
Greater care is also observed in clothing the boilers and steam pipes, and
in firing.
COKE OVENS. Although the Bee-hive ovens, similar to those used in the county
of Durham, are about to be tested at several of the works, the form of oven
in general use in South Wales is almost rectangular, and of about the
following internal dimensions:—
Ft. In.
Width at front.................. 6 0
Width at back.................. 5 0
Length.....................14 0
Height inside, to crown of arch ......... 5 6
They are generally built back to back, with chimney between, and several
have side and bottom flues.
This oven is charged sometimes at the door and sometimes from the top. The
usual charge is 4^ tons lor first three days in the week, and for the
remaining four days (including Sunday) 5 tons. Seventy-two hours are
generally allowed for the coking of the smaller charge, and ninety-six hours
for the larger charge. The charge, which consolidates upon a wrought-iron
bar laid along the length, and another transversely to it at the back of the
oven, is drawn by means of a windlass.
The watering is sometimes done in the oven and sometimes after the coke is
drawn. At some works, the small coal is washed before being coked, and the
result is a denser and more valuable description of coke.
Thirty Coppee ovens have lately been erected at the Ebbw Vale Iron Works,
and an additional thirty are now in course of building. The ovens already
erected are said to give satisfactory results, but sufficient time has not
yet elapsed to test them effectually.
DEVELOPMENT OF COAL-FIELD.
The great development which has taken place in the South Wales coal-field
has been chiefly confined to the eastern portion of the county of Glamorgan
and the county of Monmouth ; nearly two-thirds, probably, of
232 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
the whole of the coal raised in the coal-field is worked eastward i Maesteg.
From the Merthyr, Taff, Aberdare, and Ehondda Valleys, tt great bulk of the
steam coal worked from the white ash series is i present obtained ; and on
the northern outcrop, from Hirwain on the wes to Blaenavon on the east, the
bulk of the coal required for iron-makin is raised, and the manufacture of
iron at several of the works within tr. limits named is supplemented by a
steam coal trade during depresse periods in the iron trade.
Towards the central parts of the eastern portion of the field, th upper and
lower Pennant series of coals are worked for colliery, house hold, and
general manufacturing purposes. At Maesteg, iron works havi been established
in the neighbourhood of the anticlinal, where the whit< ash series exist at
a comparatively shallow depth, and again at Owmavon in the valley next
beyond to the west. Westward of Cwmavon, the principal workings are mostly
confined to the white ash series, near tc the northern, southern, and
western edges of the basin, and to the upper Pennant series in the inner
portions of the coal-field.
With the exception of a comparatively small quantity of mining coal, and a
small proportion of anthracite shipped and sent by rail to the inland
counties, the bulk of the coal produced west of the Maesteg district is
raised for local consumption at the iron, steel, tin, copper, silver, and
other works, which have, owing to the comparatively cheap cost of fuel in
times past, attained a very large industrial development in the western
portion of the coal-field.
OUTPUT OF SINGLE COLLIERIES. In this respect the district does not compare
very favourably with some of the other coal-fields ; the average of the best
laid-out collieries does not exceed probably 600 tons of large coal per day
from one shaft; but there are some special features which, more or less,
affect the capacity for output in the district. The surface is extremely
undulating, and the coal-field is divided by a series of deep valleys with
mountainous hills intervening, hence it practically becomes a necessity to
establish the winnings in the valleys in connection with the railways, the
result in many cases being that the pits are situate on one side of the
coal-field to be worked. Again, the workmen require an excessive width of
face to work in, and they will only work one shift. Any circumstances
such as those described, therefore, which limit the area of pit room
immediately affects the quantity, and with every natural advantage the area
of pit room would be greater to produce, say 500 tons per day in South
Wales, than in a
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 233
Northumberland colliery producing double that quantity. As a set-off to
this the steam coal when produced is of a comparatively high value.
The following information, extracted from Mr. Wales' (the Government
Inspector) Eeport for 1873, may be of interest, with the explanation that
Mr. Wales' district is bounded on the east by the Rhymney Valley, and it
does not include that valley, or any part of the county of Monmouth :—
Number of male persons employed ............ 45,474
Quantity of coal raised in tons............... 11,473,152
Separate fatal accidents.................. 109
Lives lost by accidents.................. 116
Persons employed, per separate fatal accident ......
417
Persons employed, per life lost............... 392
Tons of coal raised, per separate fatal accident ......
105,258
Tons of coal raised, per life lost ............ 98,906
NEW WINNINGS. The exceptional conditions which prevailed in the coal trade
during last year and part of 1872, have had a material influence in
expediting the development of the coal-field, and the coal in the more
approved districts within comparatively shallow depths has been taken up ;
the more important new undertakings comprise large areas which involve deep
sinkings. The following are a few of the more important new winnings either
in progress or projected :—
¦No nf Probable
Name. Where situate. t>Y+0
Size. Depth.
rits- Yards.
Harris'Navigation, in progress ... Quakers'Yard ... 2
17ft. 600
Nixon and Company's, Merthyr 1 Ynigowen 2
mt m
Vale, m progress ...... j
Dowlais Company's......... Bargoed Valley... 2 17ft.
500
Glasbrook, Cory and Co., in progress Aberdare Valley 2 16ft.
6in. 500
Hengoed Company, not commenced Hengoed ... 2
...... 530
Alfred Tylor (Pendyms), in progress Khondda-fach ... 2
16ft. 400
Thomas and Riches and Co., ( No. 1 ) Cwm.cl dach ... 2 f No.l 16ft
) m progress...... ( No. 2 j J
( No.2 15ft J
Glamorgan Co., in progress......Penrhiwfer ... 2 15ft.
' 400
Great-Western Co., in progress ... Pontypridd ... 2
16ft. 400
New Colliery—Welsh Steam Coal Co. Neath Valley ... 2 16ft.
500
&c, &c.
VOI„ XXIII.—1874
j j
234 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD,
NEW APPLIANCES FOR SINKING.
These deep winnings, for a considerable portion of the upper part of their
depth, pass through the hard rock stratification of the lower Pennant
series, and the rate of progress in sinking by hand labour is excessively
slow. For this reason the Burleigh and other drilling machines have been
experimented upon with varying success ; and an experiment is now being made
at Harris' Navigation Colliery, with which the writer is professionally
connected, to apply the Diamond Boring Machine to expedite the rate of
progress, with what degree of success our visitors will have an opportunity,
probably, of forming their own opinion from a personal inspection before
leaving the district.
Dynamite has very generally superseded gunpowder for sinking purposes in the
district.
CHARACTER. &c, OF THE MEN.
A general description, such as the writer has endeavoured to give of the
coal-field, may be held to be incomplete without some reference, however
slight and imperfect, to the race of people by whom, and among whom, the
various industries are carried on. The Welsh are a brave, hard-working, and
athletic race of people ; warm-hearted and generous, and capable of high
intellectual attainments. Their numerous and highly disciplined choirs, and
the laurels won by them in the great competitions of the kingdom, prove how
passionately fond the Welsh are of music; whilst their Eisteddfodds show the
love they have for their old bardic poetry, and how proud they are of their
ancient nationality. Not interesting themselves much in politics, they are
eminently possessed with religious ideas ; and a stranger is invariably
struck with the number of their chapels, towards which they liberally and
cheerfully subscribe.
The national church has failed to keep pace with the spiritual requirements
of the district, although of late years she has made gigantic efforts to
recover the lost ground ; and it is to the credit of the people that they
have taken the question of religion into their own hands. At the present day
nearly the whole of our iron-workers and miners have become members of the
two great unions of the country. The working people are not exempt from the
faults which their class are liable to, but a favourable comparison can
nevertheless be drawn with other manufacturing and mining districts, whilst
the far better class of houses and improved sanitary arrangements which are
being provided, with the increased facilities for education, cannot fail to
bear fruit in a national improvement in the moral and physical condition of
the next generation.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 235
FITTING.
A large proportion of the steam coal raised in this district is consumed on
the -various lines of English and Continental mail steamers, the contracts
for which are almost invariably made directly between the coal-owners and
steam companies. The general export trade is carried on by means of sales,
also made direct between the producers and buyers abroad, and to some
considerable extent through the agency of merchants or " middlemen."
TURNS. The old system of regular " turns" for loading has in this district
become quite obsolete, having given place to the introduction of nearly all
forms of contract on a scale of lay days varying according to the size of
the ship. About eight days (Sundays excepted) being the basis for ships of
four hundred tons, extended at the rate of one day for each hundred tons of
cargo in excess. Special conditions are of course made applicable to
steamers ranging (for a carrying capacity of a thousand tons) from
twenty-four to fifty hours. In all cases protecting clauses are inserted
providing against delays from strikes, accidents, and other unavoidable
causes. The writer has not been able to obtain very reliable information as
to the proportion which steamers bear to sailing vessels in the mercantile
fleet of the world at the present time ; but the proportion probably may be
assumed to be about one-fourth steamers. The progress in the rate of
substitution of steamers for sailing vessels is extraordinarily rapid ; and
the question will arise at some future time whether the increasing ratio of
demand for steam coal will be maintained when the substitution of one
description of motive power for the other has been practically effected.
PORTS.
The ports of this district are Newport, Cardiff, Porth-cawl, Port Talbot,
Briton Ferry, Neath, Swansea, Llanelly, Pembrey, Kidwelly, Saunders-foot,
and Milford. Of the above Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport, are the principal.
Newport.—This is an old town, its castle having been built in 1135, but it
was not until 1798, when the Monmouthshire Canal was opened, that the town
possessed any degree of importance, although Caerleon, a once great Roman
station, is within three miles. Newport is situate on the river Usk, and
connected with the Great Western, Eastern Valleys, Western Valleys, and
Newport and Brecon Railways. The town contained 31,247 inhabitants in 1871.
The basin and lock of the present
236 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
dock were opened in 1842, and the dock itself in 1858. The following are its
principal dimensions :—Length, 220 feet; breadth, 61 feet; depth of water
(average high spring tides), 32 feet 3 inches ; floating area, 11^ acres ;
and five hydraulic coal staiths.
In 1865, the Act for the Alexandria Dock was obtained, and the works are now
rapidly approaching completion. The following are its principal particulars
:—(Outer loch) length, 350 feet; width, 65 feet; depth of water over cill at
spring tides, 35 feet; ditto at neap tides, 25 feet; width of basin opposite
entrance, 800 feet. (Dock) length, 2,500 feet; width, 500 feet; -depth of
water, 30 feet; area, 28^ acres ; and seven hydraulic coal hoists.
Besides the existing dock and the Alexandria Dock, Newport possesses a
magnificent water frontage on the river Usk, by means of which an extensive
trade is carried on.
The following is a statement of the Imports at the port, taken from the
Custom Bills of Entry in the years 1871, 1872, and 1873 :—
1871. 1872.
1873.
Goods.
-----------------------------------¦--------------------------------¦ ¦
¦----------------------------------------------------------------1----------
-----------------
Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value.
Quantity. Value.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
£ 8. d.
Iron ore .. ..' 41,500Jtons 42,128 16 0
48,554 tons 57,34114 0 76,862 tons 90,437 10 0
Potatoes .. .. 99,335 cwts. 20,753 0 0
212,906 cwts. 55,263 0 0 230,084 cwts. 65,437 10 0
Pit props .. .. 7,572 loads 7,837 10 0
12,358 loads 14,836 7 6 14,652 loads 18,853 8 4
Timber, &c..... 4,513 „ 11,678 5 2 5,354 „
12,429 11 7 8,477 „ 27,156 12 5
Deals, &c..... 9,814 „ 24,297 11 6 7,324 „
18,919 6 8 10,199 „ 39,852 10 9
Sleeper blocks & sleepers 9,099i „ 16,132 6 0 14,648 „
30,73110 0 11,741 „ 28,672 0 0
Com ......138,083J cwts. 55,416 0 0 330,123 cwts. 125,293 12
10 212,865 cwts, 98,251 0 0
Plour ...... 3,727£ „ 3,302 16 0 41,876 „
38,732 0 0 89,739 „ 86,346 0 0
Metal match boxes .. lltons2cwts. 730 0 0 ......
......
Pigiron .. .. l,257itons 7,200 7 6
86tons 564 0 0 ...... ......
Iron cinders.......... ...... ......
...... 776 tons 500 0 0
Brimstone .. .. 15,980 cwts. 5,240 0 0 19,160
cwts. 7,834 0 0 15,372 cwts. 5,958 0 0
Cider ...... 236 casks 312 0 0 ......
......
Bones, &c, for manures 210 tons 1,248 2 0 162 tons
380 0 0 143 tons 700 0 0
Lathwood, staves, &c. 435 loads 1,065 5 9 681
loads 1,67112 0 6001 loads 3,00119 2
Bines and ammunition ...... ...... ......
...... ...... 19 434 q 0
Sundries consisting of ~)
hemp, Esparto, onions, > ...... 6,250 15 0 ......
9,439 16 0 ..... 2 884 6 6
ice, and empty casks, J
&c.......
____________
487,534 17 2
Cardiff.—The history of this town has been touched upon in a previous part
of this paper. It is situate on the river Taff, and connected with all parts
of the kingdom by means of the Great Western, Taff Vale,
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 237
and Bhymney Railways. Its population at the last census was, including Roath
and Canton, about 57,000. This port possesses a splendid roadstead, and the
fine docks, all of which, with the exception of the Penarth Dock and Tidal
Harbour, and the Glamorganshire Canal Docks, have been constructed by the
Trustees of the Marquess of Bute, and are of the following dimensions :—
West Bute East Bute Penarth
Penarth
Dock. Dock. Dock.
Tidal Harbour.
Width of sea gates 45ft. 55ft.
60Jft. ......
Basin ...... 300ft. x 200ft. 380ft. x 250ft. 400ft. x 330ft.
......
r 220ft, x 55ft. ] Lock ...... 152ft. x 36ft. } 20m.x°50ft. \
27°ft-x60Jft.......
[ inner lock )
t On north side) j First reach
r, i a aaa v oaaw J 4,300 x 500ft., I „ inn
v „7ftP. J 4,600 x 600ft.,
Dock ...... 4'000 * 200it- \ on southside ( 2'100 X 370ft i
total length
( 300ft. ) I 13,200ft,
Depth of water in dock 19ft. x 13ft. 25ft.
...... j FM^ '
Depthof water on) 8ft g ^ 31ft. 8Jin. 35ft.
cill, spring tides j 2 *
Do. do., neap tides 18ft. 8Jin. 22ft. 8Jin.
25ft. ......
No. of coal staiths ] for shipment of V 16
20 12 9
coal ......)
TTT . (18 acres of Basin 3 acres Basin 3
acres ......
Waterarea......( Dock Dock 42 „ Dock 18 „
Bute New Glamorganshire Canal
Basin. Dock.
Length ..- ......... 1,000 feet 1 5,412 ft. for
discharging and
•Width ............ 500 feet ) loading small
vessels.
Area ............ 12 acres
Entrance lock ..." ...... 350ft. X 80 ft.
Junction lock .........' 370 ft. X 120 ft.
Height of water over the cill of ) or f+ gi |n
this lock at spring tides J '
Ditto at neap tides ...... 25 ft. 8J in.
No. of coal staiths ...... 8
Capable of shipping per day ... 4,480 tons of coal
Width of sea gates ...... .........
27 feet.
Length of lock ......... .........
103 feet.
238 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
Besides the existing dock accommodation, the Trustees of Lord Bute have
obtained Parliamentary powers this session to make a clock on the east side
of the existing East Dock, in connection with the new basin, with a water
area of 55 acres.
The following is a statement of the Exports and Imports at Cardiff and
Penarth for several years past:—
PENARTH DOCK AND TIDAL HARBOUR.
Statement showing the Total Quantities of the following Articles Shipped and
Imported from the Year 1865 to 1873.
Exports.
Imports.
Year. - , .— ----- - ,
- --------------.-------
Coal. Coke. I Iron. Iron Ore. g*™ Pit Wood. Loam.
(Bricks. Esparto. ^n"
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
1865 270, 681 8,208 1,511 ... BOO
51 .........
1866 557,901 342 8,502 633 ... 856
81 ...... 1,752
1867 700,872 336 4,561 1,463 36 323
150 194 3,011 561
1868 903,451 1,242 2,340 1,204 ...... 159
249 3,377 707
1869 1,123,364 1,039 3,380 2,254 1,645 ... 127
114 3,137 591
1870 1,222,088 124 2,434 2,797 ...... 266
195 2,611 1,811
1871 935.892 354 955 521 ... 1,026
609 196 2,989 2,395
1872 1,019,327 317 2,603 50,445 ... 13.700 j 1,923
45 1,574 1.409
1873 1,426,323 1,227 1,352 61,603 ... 32,499 3,076
79 992 6,221
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THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 241
The progress of the coal trade of Cardiff will be understood by reference to
the foregoing statement of traffic conveyed over the Taff Yale Railway,
which is the principal mineral feeder to the port.
Swansea.—Situate on the Swansea Bay, at the mouth of the River
Tawe, and connected with all the important mineral districts of South
Wales, and with other parts of the kingdom, by the Great Western,
Swansea Vale, Llanelly, Dunvant Valley, and Vale of Neath Railways.
The development of this port has been rapid; it only possessed in 1791
a few small wharfs near the mouth of the river. The present piers were
completed in 1800. The eastern pier is 1,340 feet in length, and the
western 580 feet. In 1827 a small harbour was established on the
eastern side of the space within the piers, called Fabian's Bay. The
new cut was finished in 1844. The north dock was commenced in 1849;
the lock and float were completed in 1851, and the half-tide basin and
locks at the upper end of the float in 1861. The south docks were
completed in 1859. The population is about 51,000. Patent fuel is
manufactured on a large scale in the neighbourhood of Swansea, and
exported from that port.
The foUowing are the particulars of the dock accommodation at this port:—
North Docks—
Entrance to half-tide basin ............ 60 feet wide.
Depth of water over cill at ordinary spring tides ... 25 ft. 6
in.
Lock entrance to dock ............... 160 ft. by 56 ft.
Depth of water over lock cill at ordinary spring tides ... 22 ft. 6
in.
Area of lock and half-tide basin............ 13| acres.
South Docks—
Entrance basin area ............... 3 acres
Half-tide or outer dock entrance............ 70 feet wide.
Depth of water over cil] at ordinary spring tides ... 24 feet.
Outer dock area .................. i nana.
Depth of water at ordinary spring tides......... 25 ft. 6 in.
Entrance lock .................. 300 ft. by 60 ft.
Depth of water over inner cill at ordinary spring tides... 22 ft. 6
in.
Dockarea ..................... 13 acres. '
There is provision at this dock for shipping coal from iron boxes, four of
which, with false bottoms, are placed upon one truck, each holding about 2\
tons, as well as from the ordinarily-used tipping wagons.
The writer has not been able to obtain reliable particulars of the annual
exports and imports at this port.
Porthcawl.—This port is situate on the Bristol Channel, and is
VOL. XXIII.-1874.
242 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
connected with the railway systems of South Wales by the Porthcawl branch of
the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway. The trade of this port is chiefly supplied by
the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway ; and the following is a statement of imports
and exports during the last seven years :—¦
Imports. Exports.
Year. Iron Ore. Pitwood. Loam. Timber. Manure. Bricks. ,jrieg
Iron. Coke dries
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
Tons. Tons. Tons.
1867 3,137 4,712 158 100 250 30 283
...............
1868 4,448 2,870 ... 130 451 ...
293 ...............
1869 3,141 6,282 443 221 181 ... 361
...............
1870 13,235 8,557 504 550 478 ...
493 9,946 156,775 1C0
1871 6,312 9,379 92 400 237 131
652 12,403 176,673 145
1872 15,679 6,959 j 100 575 390 203 1,580
13,414 164,275 120
1873 21,309 : 9,409 i ... 361 250 313
577 13,405 110,278 140
The following is the dock accommodation :—
Width of entrance to half-tide basin ............ 62 feet.
Do. do. to new dock ... ... ... ...
... 55 „
Depth of water on cill of half-tide basin—neap tides ... 16
„
Do. do. —spring tides
... 27 „
Depth of water in half-tide basin when gates are closed ... 16
„
Depth of water on cill of new dock—neap tides ...... 18 „
Do. do. —springtides ......
29 „
There are four coal tips, capable of tipping 2,200 tons per day; and three
cranes, capable of lifting 500 tons per day.
WATER AREA.
Dock .................. 1\ acres.
Basin .................. 1| „
Total number of acres ...... 9
Briton Ferry, situate on the river Nedd, in Swansea Bay. It is in connection
with the Great Western and South Wales Mineral Railways, and is chiefly
supplied with minerals from the district, served by the last named railway.
Foreign iron ore is also rather largely imported. The population is under
5,000.
Port Talbot is situate in Swansea Bay, at the mouth of the river Afon, and
is in connection with the Great Western Railway. A short line also connects
the port with the copper and tin works at Cwm-avon. Besides the iron ore
consumed at the local copper, iron, and tin works, it is the port of export
for the collieries in its immediate neighbourhood.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 243
The population of the Parliamentary borough of Aberavon, which includes Port
Talbot, is about 12,000.
Neath, situate on the river Nedd, about three miles from its mouth, is in
connection with the Great Western, Vale of Neath, and Neath and Brecon
Railways, and although having no dock, has a considerable length of river
frontage, which is used by the local collieries for the shipment of coal.
The population in 1871 was 10,060.
Llanelly—with docks—is situated on the estuary of the Burry and Llwchwr
rivers, on the east of Caermarthen Bay, and connected with the Great Western
and the Llanelly Railways. The principal coal shipped at this port is
anthracite. There are extensive copper and tin works in the neighbourhood.
The population is about 22,000.
Burry Port and Kidwelly.—Very small ports, situate a few miles west of
Llanelly. The Great Western Railway runs through these ports, and the
Gwendraeth Valley has its termini. The principal trade is in anthracite
coal. The population of Kidwelly and Pembrey is about 7,000.
Saundersfoot.—A very small port, situate on the western extremity of
Caermarthen Bay, and connected with the Great Western Railway by the
Pembroke and Tenby Line. Anthracite coal is also shipped at this port.
Milford and Pembroke.—This used to be one of the largest ports of South
Wales until the trade moved eastward, and is still of considerable
importance. It is situate on the mouth of the Daucleddau River, which here
flows into an inlet of the Atlantic, which constitutes one of the finest
harbours in the world. It is here that the South Wales section of the Great
Western Railway terminates. There is a large Irish traffic at this port, and
it is also an important naval station. The population in 1871 was 3,252, and
of Pembroke 11,530.
IRONWORKS.
Reference has been made, in an earlier part of this paper, to the large
ironworks of the district; an idea of the magnitude and importance of this
industry may be conveyed from the following statistics extracted from Mr.
Robert Hunt's Returns for 1872 :—
Furnaces using anthracite in Glamorganshire (Ystalyfera, Swansea, and
Ystalyfera Iron Co.), 11 furnaces built, 6 in blast; Brecknockshire
(Yniscedwyn and Yniscedwyn Iron Co.), 2 furnaces built, 2 in blast; total,
13 furnaces built, 8 in blast; pig iron made, 25,678 tons; total coal
returned as used in the manufacture of pig iron in furnaces using
anthracite, 72,392 tons.
244 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
FURNACES USING COAL CONTAINING BITUMEN.
———
Furnaces Furnaces Pig Iron Name of Works.
Name of Firm. Built. in Blast. Made,
GLAMORGANSHIRE—
Tons.
1. Amman-Brynamman...... Amman Iron Co. ... 3 3
......
2. Llwydcoed .. .. ) ., , T 0
3. Abernant and Taff Vale J Aberdare Iron Co. ... 5
3
4. Briton Ferry ......... Townsend, Wood, &
Co.......... 2 2 ......
5. Cwm-avon ...... j Governor & Co of I
6. Oakwood ...... ) Copper Mines, Eng-V 6
3
( land...... 1
7. Cyfartkfa (Merthyr) ... I „ u * n
8. Ynisfacb ... ... j Robert Crawshay ...
11 9 ......
9. Dowlais............Dowlais Iron Co. ... 17 16
......
10. Llynvi Iron, (Bridgend) ... Llynvi, Tondu, and
Ogmore Coal and
Iron Co., Limited ... 7 4 ......
11. Gadlys (Aberdare) ......Gadlys Coal andiron
Co., Limited ... 4 2 ......
12. Pentyrch andMelin-Griffiths... T. W. Booker & Co.,
Limited ...... 2 2 ......
it Duft;nth..(Merthyr) ::: } Fothergill & Hankey 10
4 ......
15. Forest Iron and Steel (Ponty- Forest Iron and Steel
pridd) ......... Co., Limited ... 2 1
......
16. Tondu, Bridgend ......Llynvi, Tondu,, and
Ogmore Coal & Iron
Co., Limited ... 2 2 ......
Total of Glamorganshire....., ...... 71 51 462,041
BRECKNOCKSHIRE— 1. Beaufort............J. & C. Bailey ... 7
6 28,504
MONMOUTHSHIRE—
1. Abersychan ...... \ \
2. Pontypool ...... Ebbw Vale Steel,
3. Sirhowy......... V Iron, and Coal < o., V 22
18 ......
4. Ebbw Vale ...... Limited
5. Victoria......... ) ]
6. Blaenavon .........Blaenavon Iron and 10 8
......
Steel Co., Limited ...
7. Cwmbran .........Patent Iron and Bolt
Co., Limited ... 2 2 ......
8. Nantyglo ...... j Nantyglo & Blaina)
9. Blama ......... V Iron Works Co., V 11
7 ......
10. Coalbrook Vale...... \ Limited ... j
11. llhymney .........Rhymney Iron Co.,
Limited ... ... 9 7 ......
12. Tredegar ...... .... Tredegar Iron Co. ... 9
7 ......
Total of Monmouthshire.......... ... 63 49 465,603
Total for South Wales and Monmouthshire ... 154 114
981,526
TOTAL COAL USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PIG IRON.
Tons.
Glamorganshire............... 1,172,453
Brecknockshire............... ' 88,519
Monmouthshire............... 1,117,626
Total for South Wales and Monmouthshire ... 2,450,990
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 245
Probably Mr. Hunt's estimate of the number of furnaces in blast is too high
for the whole year.
MILLS AND FORGES.
Name of Works. Name of Firm. .
Nearest Port d|| o||
Railway Station. f£t£ fc(§"
GLAMORGANSHIRE—
1. Amman .........Amman Iron Co. ... Llanelly ... 9
3
2. Clydach (New) ......J. Jayne, Sheet Wrks. Abergavenny 12
1
3. Gadlys .........Wayne & Co. ... Aberdare ...
15 2
4. Llynvi .........Llynvi, Tondu, and
Ogmore Coal and
Iron Co.......Bridgend ... 33 4
5. Abernant, Taff Vale, and
Lewydcoed ......Aberdare Iron Co. ... Aberdare ... 55
5
6. Aberaman.........Powell Duffryn Steam
Coal Co., Limited... Cardiff ... 17
7. Pentyrch and Melin Griffith T. W. Booker & Co.... Do.
..7 12
8. Pen-y-darren ......Fothergill & Hankey Do.
... 13 0
9. Briton Ferry ......Townsend,Wood & Co. Briton Ferry...
44 4
10. Cyfarthfa.........R. Crawshay......Merthyr Tydfil 72 6
11. Dowlais .........Dowlais Iron Co. ... Do.
150 14
12. Plymouth and Duffryn ... Fothergill, Hankey, &
Bateman ...... Do. 46 7
13. Cwm-avon (Taibach) ...Governor & Co., of
Copper Mines ... Port Talbot ... 50 4
14. Ystalyfera...... ... Ystalyfera Irou Co.... Swansea
... 42 16
15. Tondu .........Llynvi, Tondu, and
Ogmore Coal and
Iron Co.......Tondu ... 23 4
Total of County ............ ......588 82
BRECKNOCKSHIRE
1. Coedcae .........The Welsh Iron Works
Co., Limited ... Aberdare ... 20 2
MONMOUTHSHIRE—
1. Abersychan and Pentwyn Ebbor Vale Iron Co... Newport j
2. Victoria ......... Do. Do.
I ,„. 10
3. Ebbw Vale......... Do. Do.
f ibl ^
4. Pontypool......... Do. Do.
j
5. Blaina .........Nantyglo & Blaina
Iron Works Co., Ld. Do. 37 4
6. Nantyglo......... Do. Do.
67 4
7. Blaenavon... ,......Blaenavon Iron Co__ Do.
117 8
8. Pontnewynydd ... . ... W.Henley ...... Do.
30 3
9. Rhymney.........Rhymney Iron Co. ... Do. 92
7
10. Tredegar.........Tredegar Iron Co. ... Do.
80 5
11. Oakfields.........James Hill & Co. ... Do.
23 2
12. Cwm-bran.........Patent Nut & Bolt Co. Do. 20
3
13. Llanellv .........LlanellyCharcoallron
Co........... Do. 10 1
Total of County ..."......... ......637 49
Total for South Wales and Monmouthshire, exclusive of
Tin-plate Works..................1,225 131
246 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
STEEL WORKS.
The following are some particulars of the principal steel works :—
Dowlais.—The Bessemer works started in June, 1865. They consist of six
five-ton converters, with the usual blowing and hydraulic machinery. Besides
the Bessemer works there are four Siemens Martin furnaces at work, and two
more are being built. The works are capable of producing 1,500 tons of steel
per week. The trade consists chiefly of railway bars and railway fastenings.
Ebbw Vale.—The works were erected in 1866, and comprise seven five-ton
Bessemer converters ; six Ireland cupolas for supplying the molten pig to
the converters ; six ordinary cupolas for smelting speigelisen ; one 30-inch
train of rolls driven by a pair of 50-inch vertical engines of 4 feet
stroke, gear 2 to 1 ; six large Siemens' gas heating furnaces for ingots and
blocms, twenty-four gas producers. When in full operation the works can
produce 1,000 tons of ingots per week, and 800 tons of finished rails have
been rolled at the one mill in the week. Through the exertions of the
engineers, Mr. W. Richards, and Mr. John Parry, the chemist, Ebbw Yale was
the first place in this country to manufacture speigeleisen.
Llandore Siemens Steel Works, situated at Llandore, near Swansea, covering
about 100 acres of land on both sides of the navigable river Tawe ; the
Great Western and Swansea Yale (Midland) Railways run through the Company's
land, and a system of railways connects both with all parts of the works.
The works at present comprise :—Two blast furnaces with Cowper's patent
stoves, turning out about 600 tons a week of pig iron when in work ;
twenty-four Siemens' regenerative steel melting furnaces, with the requisite
gas producers, etc., each furnace making on an average about 65 tons of
steel per week ; six steam hammers of eight tons each, one four tons, and
one two tons, for making blooms for rails, tyres, etc., and for forgings ;
two rail mills complete with saws, straightening and other machines, capable
of making about 1,300 tons per week of finished rails—the highest out-turn
they have made in one week is 1,460 tons of finished rails from Monday till
Saturday inclusive ; tyre mill complete, Webb's patent; bar mill, for steel
bars of all kinds ; wire mill, for rolling wire rods ; thirty-three Siemens'
gas heating furnaces, for heating ingots and blooms, for hammer and mills,
with producers for making the necessary gas ; one hundred coke ovens, for
supplying coke to blast furnaces ; brick works, for making special bricks
for the melting and other furnaces. The number of steam engines of all sizes
at work in the steel works is sixty-four, besides five
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 247
locomotives, pattern shops, foundries for casting, both in steel and iron,
and fitting shops, where all machinery is repaired and new parts made as
required. The Company have purchased several coal properties in the
immediate neighbourhood of the works, comprising steam coal, coking coal,
and anthracite, ensuring an unlimited supply of fuel. When in full work the
steel works employ over two thousand men, independent of collieries, etc.
OTHER INDUSTRIES OP THE DISTRICT.
Next to the coal, iron, and steel trades, perhaps the most important local
industries are the copper and tin plate trades, to which may be added the
smelting of silver, zinc, lead, and sulphur ores, chemical and other general
manufacturing works. The principal development in copper smelting is in the
neighbourhood of Swansea, Neath, and Llanelly, and, lately, by the
establishing of the Tharsis Copper Works, Cardiff is becoming a copper
smelting district.
The following are the particulars of copper ores purchased by the Copper
Companies from June 30, 1873, to June 30, 1874 :—
CORNWALL AND WALES.
TOTALS.
Purchasers. Ore. Copper. Money.
Ore. Copper. Money.
aiCwts. Tons. Cwts. £ s. d. 21 Cwts. Tons. Cwts. £,
s. d.
Vivian & Sons.....In Cornwall 8,389 592 18 34,595 2 4 ~)
}¦ 13,012 1,325 15 [ 88,530 10 10 Do. .....In Wales .
4,623 732 17 53,935 8 6)
ascoe, Grenfell, & Sons . In Cornwall 3,174 269 6 16,849
11 0")
>- 4,946 712 16 50,971 3 4 Do.
. In Wales . 1,772 443 10 34,12112 4 J
Neville, Ducie, & Co. . . In Cornwall 7,809 527 5
30,653 10 7 ~>
y 11,886 1,172 19 77,807 3 7 Do. . .
In Wales . 4,077 645 14 47,153 13 0 J
Wm. Forster & Co. ... In Cornwall 11,350 870 17 52,238 17
7 ~)
V 19,852 2,048 5 138,876 7 0 Do. ... In
Wales . 8,502 1,177 8 86,637 9 5 J
Mason & Elkington ... In Cornwall 8,803 548 15 31,328 15
6 1
>-10,503 940 14 62,126 3 11 Do. ... In
Wales . 1,700 391 19 30,797 8 5 J
Copper Miners'Co. . . . In Cornwall 4,018 364 0
22,849 18 7 ~)
)- 7,803 1,030 10 73,128 6 11 Do. ... In
Wales . 3,785 666 10 50,278 8 4 J
C.Lambert......In Cornwall 1,957 115 7 6,725 3 3 ¦)
}¦ 3,757 540 13 38,961 5 7 Do.......In Wales . 1,800
425 6 32,236 2 4 J
Newton, Keates, & Co. . . In Cornwall 920 107 3
7,090 4 3 920 107 3 7,090 4 3
Sweetland, Tutle, & Co. . . In Cornwall 4,907 280 0 15,887
5 5")
y 6,307 530 0 34,321 18 1 Do. . .
In Wales . 1,400 250 0 18,434 12 8 J
British & Foreign Copper Co. Do. . 542 189 2
15,037 9 6 542 189 2 15,037 9 6
Ravenhead Copper Co. . . Do. . 505 164 4
13,056 0 0 505 164 4 13,056 0 0
Llandore Copper Co. . . Do. . 316 52 0
3,573 10 6 316 52 0 3,573 10 6
Total Amount ........£603,480 3 6
248 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
MANUFACTURE OF TIN PLATES.
Tin and zinc plate works are spread over the whole district. About
four-fifths of the tin and zinc plates manufactured in Great Britain are
manufactured in South Wales and Monmouthshire, and exported chiefly to
America and the Australian colonies, either direct by the line of
Transatlantic steamers which have commenced lately to sail from Cardiff to
New York, or by way of Liverpool, London, Bristol, &c.
The total capabilities of the various works for the manufacture of tin
plates are estimated to be as follows :—
Tin Plates. Boxes per Week.
Scotland ..................... 2,000
Cumberland..................... 700
Worcestershire and Staffordshire ... ......... 8,000
Gloucestershire .................. 3,700
Monmouthshire .................. 10,000
Glamorganshire (east of Bridgend) ......... 6,500
Do. (west of Do. ) ......... 30,000
Caermarthenshire .................. 16,000
76,900 Equal to four million boxes per annum; but the actual production of
1873 probably did not exceed three million boxes, which were disposed of as
follows:—
Exported from
Boxes.
Liverpool.................. 1,585,012
London .................. 251,806
Southampton ............... 117,010
Swansea.................. 73,077
Hull .................. 12,560
Glasgow ... .............. 8,059
Newcastle ............... 613
Bristol.................. 63,392
Cardiff .................. 41,948
Home consumption, estimated......... 846,523
Total ......... 3,000,000
LEAD SMELTING. The following are the returns of lead ore imported for
smelting in the year 1872:—
Tons. Value.
LlanellyPort............ 6,006 ... £87,405
Swansea ............ 1,622 ... 23,734
Total ...... 7,628 ... £111,139
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 249
Gold, Silver, and Zinc Ores Imported into Swansea in the Year 1872, and
Smelted in the District.
Tons. Value.
Gold .............. 54 ... £1,060
Silver ............... 2,239 ... 219,085
Zinc ............... 26,838 ... 118,068
Iron Pyrites and Sulphur Ore imports in 1872.
Tons. Value.
Cardiff............... 7,996 ... £17,053
Swansea .:.......... 10,645 ... 28,825
FUTURE PROSPECTS.
The future of South Wales is, of course, intimately associated with the
future industrial position of England as the manufacturing emporium of the
world. If this country maintains its position, the development of South
Wales must be rapid. The coal-field possesses large and valuable resources,
is situate parallel and near to a broad and deep estuary of the sea, upon
which several first-class ports are established, communicating, by means of
numerous railways, with the coal-field. The geographical situation of the
district is also exceptionally favourable for communicating with Spain,
America, and all our important colonies. Several important industries,
besides the production of coal and manufacture of iron and steel, have
already attained very rapidly an important development ; and with all these
advantages, it is reasonable to assume that this district will progress in a
rapidly increasing ratio for very many years to come, and it is not
unreasonable to suppose that, within the next fifty years, the Port of
Cardiff will attain the importance at present attached to Liverpool as a
port of importation.
NEWER FORMATIONS. The following formations, more recent than the coal
measures, are found occupying the comparatively low grounds on the south as
far west as Swansea Bay; but, beyond that, they are nowhere to be met with.
In one or two localities small tracts of the coal measures are overlaid by
one of these formations (dolomitic-conglomerate) :—
A.—Palaeozoic.
1.—Permian.
a.—Magnesian limestone and conglomerate.
B.—Mesozoic. 1.—Trias.
a.—D olomitic -conglomerate.
h.—Keiiper.
c,—Rhaetic beds.
VOL.XXIII.-1874.
£ j
250 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
2.—Lids.
a.—Lower lias. 0.—Cainozoic.
1.— Quaternary.
a.—Gravels and alluvium.
Permian.—The magnesian limestone and conglomerates, and the lower Permian
deposits of hsematites in the neighbourhood of Llantrissant, represent this
formation in this district. Their thickness is inconsiderable.
Trias.—Dolornitic-conglomerate.—This formation is well developed around
Cardiff, and immediately underlies the Keiiper. At Radyr it is extensively
quarried, and produces a rich warm red-looking stone, much admired for
building purposes. In the neighbourhood of Llantrissant a small portion
overlies the coal measures unconformably. It is made up entirely of angular
fragments of a pre-existing rock, cemented together by dolomite and oxide of
iron. No fossils have hitherto been found in these beds in this district.
Keiiper.—This formation consists of red marls and greenish bands, with veins
of alabaster and of gypsum intermixed. It is extensively developed on the
south and west of Cardiff, a particularly fine section being seen along the
coast between Penarth and Lavernock; near which latter place they dip
beneath the Bristol Channel, and are continued, together with the Rhaetic
beds lying immediately above them, on the opposite coast at Watchet. No
fossils have been detected in the keiiper in this neighbourhood.
Rhaetic Beds.—This formation is better developed in this district than in
any other part of Great Britain. The finest section is to be seen at Penarth
Headland, where these beds are about 90 feet thick, and pass down into the
Keiiper and up into the lower lias.
Lower Lias.—This formation is extensively exposed to the west and south of
Cardiff. It consists of alternating bands of limestone and shale, and is
replete with characteristic fossils.
. Gravels and Alluvium.—The Went Loog Levels or Plain, extending from
Cardiff to Newport, and the East and West Moors of Cardiff, are a mass of
alluvial mud, many feet in thickness. These accumulations are in most part
pure argillaceous matter, horizontally bedded with zones of recent shells,
and several species of extinct and other mammalian remains, together with
trees and leaves.
In the ancient gravel bed of the Eiver Taff, remains of cervus-elaphos have
been met with a few feet beneath the surface. On the high table lands of the
Hill district large accumulations of peat occur, and large trees are often
met with embedded in them.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 251
FOSSILS. The following is a list of the more important fossils of the South
Wales coal-field, belonging to the Museum of the Cardiff Naturalists'
Society :—
A.—Palaeozoic. 1.—Silurian.
Mollusca. Cornulites-serpularius. Strophomena, sp. Avicula-Daubyi.
Anodontopsis, sp. Orthonota-amygdalina. Orthoceras, sp.
Lituitities-articulatus. Cyrtolites-laevis.
Articnlata. Trilobites, sp. P cops, Stokeii. Radiata. Petraia, sp.
2.—Devonian.
a.—Old red sandstone. Pisces. Pteraspis- Crouchii. Cephalaspis-Murchisonii.
Pterichthys, sp. 3.—Carboniferous.
a.—Mountain limestone. Pisces. Psammodus-porosus.
Mollusca. Spirifer-striata. Leptaena-rhynconella. Euomphalus-pentangulatus.
B.—Millstone Gkit.
Plantae. Sigillaria, sp. c.—Coal measures. Pisces. Megalichthys-Hibberti.
Rbizodus-granulatus. Pleuracanthus-gibbosus. Palaeoniscus.
Pcecilodus-angustus. Schizodus-sulcatus. Gyracanthus, sp.
252 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
Mollusca.
Spirifer-glaber.
Ortbis-resupinata.
Cbonetes-Hardrensis.
Productus-scabriculus.
Discina-nitida.
Lingula-mytiloides
Aviculo-pecten gentilis
Myalina-triangularis.
Area, sp.
Myacites, sp.
Belleropbon-apertus.
Articulata. Antbracomya-Adamsii. Estberia-Adamsii. Carbonia-Evelinae.
Leaia-Leidyi.
Plantae. Aletbropteris-heteropbyllia. Stigmaria-ficoides.
Neuropteris-gigantea. Trigonocarpum-ovatTxm. Lepidodendron-corrugatum.
Knorria-minus. Ulodendron-transversum. Lepidostrobus. Calamites, sp.
Pecopteris, sp. Spbenopteris-abbreviata.
4.—Permian.—Nil.
B.—Mesozoic.
1.—Triassic.
a.—Dolomitic-conglomerate.—Nil. b.—Keiiper.—Nil. c.—Rhaetic beds.
Sauria. Ichthyosaurus-platyodon.
Pisces. Saurichthys-apicalis. Gyrolepis-Alberti Hybodus-recticulatus.
Acrodus-mininms. Sargodon-tomicus.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 253
Mollusca.
Anatina- Suessii.
Recten-Valoniensis.
Cardium-Rhaeticum.
Pleirropborus.
Avicula-contorta.
Pullustra-arenicola. A vicul a-intusstriat a.
Myacites-musculoides.
Triassic.—Lower Lias. Sauria. Ichtbyosauras, sp. Plesiosaurus, sp.
Mollusca. Ammonite-planorbis. Ammonite-Bucklandi. Lima-pectinoides.
Lima-precursor. Lima-gigantea. Lima-punctata. Ostrea-Liassica.
Modiola-minima. Unicardium-cardioides. Pboladomya-prisca.
Cainozoic.— Quaternary. Mammalia. Cervus-elapbos. Equus- antiquus.
Ursus-major. Bos-longifroas. Hyaena-spelsea. Bison-prisca.
Mollusca. Bucinum-undatum. Cardium-edule.
Plantae. Beecb. Bircb. Sycamore. Piae. Oak.
252 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
Mollusca.
Spirifer-glaber.
Orthis-resupinata.
Chonetes- Hai'drensis.
Productus-scabriculus.
Discina-nitida.
Lingula-mytiloides
Aviculo-pecten gentilis
Myalina-triangularis.
Area, sp.
Myacites, sp.
Bellerophon-apertus.
Articulata. Anthracomya-Adamsii. Estheria-Adamsii. Carbonia-Evelinse.
Leaia-Leidyi.
Plantae. Aletb.ropteris-heteropb.yUia. Stigmaria-ficoides.
Neuropteris-gigantea. Trigonocarpum-OYatum. Lepidodendron-corrugatum.
Knorria-minus. Ulodendron-transversum. Lepidostrobus. Calamites, sp.
Pecopteris, sp. Sphenopteris-abbreviata.
4.—Permian.—Nil.
B.—Mesozoic.
1.—Triassic.
a.—Dolomitic-conglomerate.—Nil. b.—Keiiper.—Nil. c.—Rhaetic beds.
Sauria. Icbthyosaurus-platyodon.
Pisces. Saurichtbys-apicalis. Gyrolepis-Alberti Hybodus-recticulatus.
Acrodus-minimus. S argodon-tomicus.
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD. 253
Mollusca.
Anatina-Suessii.
Recten-Valoniensis.
Cardium-Rbaeticum.
Pleuropborus.
Avicula-contorta.
Pullustra-arenicola. A vicul a-intusstriat a.
Myacites-musculoides.
Triassic.—Lower Lias. Sauria. Icbtbyosauras, sp. Plesiosaurus, sp.
Mollusca. Ammonite-planorbis. Ammonite-Bucklandi. Lima-pectinoides.
Lima-precursor. Lima-gigantea. Lima-punctata. Ostrea-Liassica.
Modiola-minima. Unicardium-cardioides. Pboladomya-prisca.
Cainozoic.— Quaternary. Mammalia. Cervus-elapbos. Equus- antiquus.
Ursus-major. Bos-longifroas. Hy£ena-spela3a. Bison-prisca.
Mollusca. Bucinum-undatum. Cardium-edule.
Plantae. Beech. Birch. Sycamore. Pine. Oak.
254 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
APPENDIX.
PARTICULARS OF COAL SEAMS IN THE WESTERN DIVISION OF THE
COAL-FIELD.
(Extracted from the Report of the Royal Coal Commiss on.)
UPPER PENNANT SERIES.
North Crop. North°ofhAnt?ciinal.
South of Anticlinal. ^S.
Wythien-Drewllyd ... Gelly Vein or Wythien Drewllyd ......
Ft. In.
Wythien-Spagog ... Wythien-spagog......... ...... /
Wythien-ffraith ... Wythien-ffraith......... ......
f 110
Upper Vein......Upper Vein ......... ...... )
Coal.........Glyngwernen Vein ...... ...... .
Coal.........Broad Oak Vein......... ...... /
Coal.........Little Vein ......... ...... f
1S 8
Coal.........Penscallon Vein......... ...... J
Bushy Vein......Bushy Vein ...... ... ......
Golden Vein......Golden Vein ......... ...... /
Fiery Vein ......Fiery Vein ......... ......
/ 9 °
Rosy Vein .. ... Rosy Vein............ ......
)
Coal.........Two-feet Vein ......... ......
Coal.........Four-feet Vein......... ...... /
Penbryn Vein ... Penbryn Vein ,........ ......
I 6 6
Caernarvon New Vein Caernarvon New Vein...... ...... I
Caernarvon Vein ... Caernarvon Vein......... ......
J
Coal.........Five-feet Vein ......... ......
4 6
...... Two-feet Vein ......... ......
.
Tresgyreh ......Three-feet Vein......... ...... /
Coal........Six-feet Vein ......... ...... > 10
7
Coal.........Shenkin Vein ......... ...... )
...... Hughes'Vein ..... ... BettwsFawrVein
j
...... Rotten Vein ... ... ...
...... [
> 11 2 -
William's Vein ... Sulphur Vein .........BettwsFachVein (
s
Coal.........Cistern Vein ......... ...... )
Total ... 66 5|
THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD 255
LOWER PENNANT SERIES. North Crop. North^f
Anticlinal. South of Anticlinal. ^X
„',-.•
-.Ft. In. ...... Coal ............
......
...... Coal ............ ......
Coal ............ ...... . 7 2
...... Pwll-Robin Vein......... ......
Stinking Vein ... Penrhys Vein ..........Cilddoidy Vein
Coal.........Wythien Drewllyd ......Coal
Goch Vein ......Benson's Vein ......... ...... >.
Goch Vein ......Wernpistill Vein......... ......
Goch Vein ......Wernpistill Rider ...... ......
Coal.........Werndu Rider .........Rock Fawr Vein f 12 10
Coal.........Werndu Vein .........Rock Fach Vein
Coal.........Field Vein .........Malthouse Vein J
...... Clay Vein......... ... ......
Llyngola Vein ... Rider ............ ......
Coal.........White Vein ......... ...... |>
9 2
Coal.........Jonah Vein ......... ......
Coal.........Tormynydd Vein.........Double Vein J
...... Cwmmawr Vein......... ......
I 3 j
...... CwmbyrVein ........Small Vein )
...... Coal ............ ......
1
...... Cockshute Vein......... ......
...... Golden Vein ......... ......
Coal .................. \ 12 8
...... Coal ............ ......
...... Coal ............Lantern Vein
...... Black Vein .........Bridge Vein J
Total ... 44 11
256 THE SOUTH WALES COAL-FIELD.
WHITE ASH SERIES. North Crop. ftrtfSftSSh*
South of Anticlinal. *£&
Ff orch-y- Garren Vein .........
Sooty Vein Coal ~) Ft' In'
Coal......... Balling Vein .........Bodwr FawrVein
Coal......... Silver Vein .........Vein ... ^
10 5
Coal......... Cockshute Rider.........Bodwr Fach Vein
Coal......... Coal ............ ...... J
...... Clay Vein............ ...... 1
...... Rider ............ ......
Penstwryn Vein ... Truro Vein ......... ......
Coal......... Four-feet Vein ......... ...... j>
16 5
Soap Vein ...... Sulphurry Vein.........Three-feet Vein
Black Mine Vein ... Finery Vein .........North FawrVein
...... .........
Rider ... -.
...... .........
Rider
Harnio Vein...... .........
Four-feet Vein
Little Vein ...... Five-feet Vein .........Clay Vein... '
l6 u*
Black Vein...... Coal and Mine.........South Fawr Vein |
White Vein...... .........
Three-feet Rider J
Triquart Vein ... .........
Danllyd Vein ~]
...... .........
Nine-feet Vein
Gwendraeth Vein ... Big Vein (in Wern Level) ... Eider
Bresllwyd Vein ... .........
Rider ... I iq o
Glasissaf Vein ... Clay Vein............Smoke Vein
Grasuchaf Vein ... Tusker Vein .........Rider
Stenllyd Vein ... B alance Pit Vein.........Six-feet Vein
Hwch Vein...... Four-feet Vein .........Three-feet Vein J
...... .........
CribbwrVein "*)
...... Coal ............Cribbwr Fawr do.
Rhasfach Vein ... Four and Five-feet Vein ...
...... ) 10 1
Fach Vein ...... .........
Five Quarter Vein
Pump Quart Vein ... Rider ............ ......
J
Crowsfoot Vein ... Crowsfoot Vein........, Crowsfoot Vein ...
1 10
Total ... 70 9f
Note (by the Writer of the foregoing Paper.)—The seams of the white ash
series are of a more regular and persistent character in regard to thickness
than in the two preceding series.
PROCEEDINGS. 257
PROCEEDINGS.
SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5th, 1874, AT THE CARDIFF ARMS,
CARDIFF.
W. COCHRANE, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chaie.
The proceedings of to-day comprised the reading of papers by Mr. Wallace on
"The Warsop Rock Drill;" Mr. J. B. Simpson on "The Coal-fields of Russia;"
Messrs. Daglish and Howse on "The North Lincolnshire Ironstone Field ;" and
Mr. Walker on " A New Hook for preventing Overwinding;" and the discussions
thereon. After which, the Secretary completed the reading of Mr. Brown's
paper on " The South Wales Coal-field," which, for the convenience of
printing, has been published altogether in yesterday's proceedings.
It has been found that the time required to print the very valuable map,
which Mr. Brown prepared to illustrate his paper, rendered it impossible to
publish it at the same time as the volume. In fact, to print it in colours,
in a manner worthy of the extreme care with which it has been compiled, will
take other two months. The large mass of work in this plate has also
interfered with the production of the plates illustrating Mr. Simpson's
paper, which are to be printed in colours, and it has been thought desirable
to close Vol. XXIII. with Mr. Wallace's paper, and reserve the remainder of
the papers for Yol. XXIV.
VOL. XXIII-18M.
j£ x
THE WARSOP ROCK DRILL. 259
THE WAKSOP ROCK DRILL. By JOHN WALLACE.
In the present condition of mining operations it would be needless to dwell
on the desirability of introducing steam power wherever it is possible in
order to meet the increasing cost of labour j it is one of the most
important facts of the age, and it shows plainly that future generations
must look to their fuel supplies for the force which is to execute the bulk
of the labour of their industries, and to man principally for the skill to
direct it.
The value of a foot-pound was never appreciated as it is now, although it
may safely be said that it is far from having that universal estimation
which is its just due. The enormous demand for mining machinery of all kinds
shows how thoroughly in earnest mine owners and engineers are to put their
experience into practice. At present the two most prominent novelties are,
without doubt, the Coal Cutter and the Rock Drill, of which the latter
instrument forms the subject of the present paper.
The numerous inventions which have been applied with more or less success to
rock boring by steam power directly, or through the medium of compressed
air, may be taken as a fair estimate of the value attributed to that system
as compared with hand-boring, and every encouragement has been given to
inventive ingenuity in that direction; for, it seems certain that as soon as
a machine is produced which shall be sufficiently cheap, simple, and
trustworthy, it will at once find a wide field of usefulness.
A new Rock Drill which lays claim to many valuable improvements is
shown—Plate XLYII. Its chief distinctive peculiarity is, that it strikes the
boring-chisel with a hammer, the chisel remaining in the hole as in the
manual process, instead of working backward and forward in it to deliver the
blow in the manner common to most other power drills. The
260 THE WAKSOP ROCK DRILL.
hammer follows the progress of the chisel or drill. It is equally suited to
work with compressed air or steam, and may be driven at the rate of 1,000
blows per minute.
The machine resembles a small steam-hammer with a heavy piston-rod of steel,
the end of which is hardened. The cylinder forms part of a frame having at
its lower extremity a hardened socket called the anvil, which receives the
back end of the chisel.
The force of the blow is estimated and adjusted so as to correspond, as
nearly as possible, with the quality and durability of the cutting edge of
the tool, and the weight of the cylinder and frame is made sufficient to
take the recoil of the blow which would tend to throw it off the anvil.
In this manner the hammer frame, although not attached to the chisel but
simply resting upon it, is made to follow the progress of boring at a
natural rate, varying continually with the hardness of the material to be
penetrated, never forcing the tool beyond its capacity, nor feeding too slow
when the quality of the stone allows quicker progress.
After a series of careful experiments the automatic rotating gear has been
abandoned, and the chisel is turned by hand in the following manner:—A
circle of teeth is cut around the bottom of the anvil, which are locked in
one direction by a pawl fixed to the bottom of the cylinder frame. Opposite
the pawl is a small pinion geared into the teeth on the anvil, and attached
to a rod passing inside the frame to a handle on the top, by which the
operator can turn the boring chisel at whatever rate circumstances may
require.
The valve gear for regulating the movement of the position is of the
simplest possible kind.
The cylinder has a loose lining, having ports cut in it corresponding to
those in the cylinder. This lining is closed at the top end, and has
attached within at the centre a square steel bar with a slight twist upon
it. The bar works through a steel die in the piston into the piston rod
which is bored out, and the amount of twist is such that the lining turns in
the cylinder with every movement of the piston, opening and closing the
ports and giving the admission cut off and release with the same precision
as an ordinary steam engine. Even if the anvil were removed, the piston
might be driven at its highest velocity without once striking the cylinder
covers.
The cut-off being made so close to the inside of the cylinder there is no
loss due to the contents of the ports or passages leading into the cylinder.
There are two kinds of drills or chisels employed according to the nature
THE WARSOT ROCK DRILL. 261
of the stone to be bored. Both have the cutting edge in the form of a cross,
but one is made of rolled steel of a cross section, and twisted something
like a twist drill, so that when at work and rotating slowly it brings out
the cuttings and avoids clogging when used on soft stone.
It has been found that when the cutting edge of the tool is always against
the stone when the blow is struck it does not blunt so soon as it would if
made to work like a pick; and, in addition to this, the resistance due to
friction when the chisel is made to work up and down in a hole half-full of
sand and gravel may very soon amount to more than the power requisite to
perform the boring.
Moreover, if by chance the frame carrying this kind of drill should be
shaken or jarred from its original position, the friction on the side of the
hole becomes enormous, and if not soon attended to, will soon stop the work.
All these difficulties are to be avoided by letting the chisel remain in the
hole and striking it as in the manual process.
It is not by cutting out large pieces that a small hole is to be made in
stone. The process more resembles disintegration, and is best effected by a
rapid succession of light blows, each one delivered home on the stone ; and
a much smaller cylinder is sufficient than where provision has to be made
for chance obstructions in the way of the cutting tool.
In fact, a drill working with a reciprocating motion can only strike a blow
of the proper force ly chance; for, as the cylinder has an excess of power,
a certain amount of obstruction is counted on to modify the blow, and this
obstruction is never uniform for any length of time.
Plate XLVII. represents the hammer and frame resting in a sleeve tube or
guide, supported by a tripod stand to which it is attached by a universal
joint, so that the direction of the drill may be varied at pleasure. The
legs of the tripod are telescopic, allowing of considerable elongation for
convenience of working, and each leg may be set and fixed at any required
angle.
This kind of supporting frame is well suited for sinking pit shafts and
drilling in quarries when the holes are principally vertical, but for
general mining purposes a pillar, with or without a carriage on wheels, is
usually preferred to carry the drilling tool.
The details of the frame or support best suited to the above purpose form a
matter of diverse opinion among mining engineers, and will doubtless depend
much on the style of working and the mineral sought. It will also depend to
a considerable extent upon the construction and principle of the rock drill
to be used upon it. It may safely be assumed in any case that the drill
which must be held accurately in any position will need a
262 THE WARSOP ROCK DRILL.
much heavier supporting frame than another requiring less care ; and its
attendant expenses will be greater than those of its simpler rival—other
things being equal.
Plates XLVIII. and XLIX. represent a simple form of heading frame designed
to be used with the Warsop Drill. The upright pillar is of 3-inch wrought
iron tube, with a hinged claw at one end, and an elongating screw at the
other. The pillar carries an adjusting arm which supports on a universal
joint the sleeve tube of the Eock Drill. A short line is attached below the
cylinder A and passes over a grooved pulley B to suspend the weight C, which
counterbalances the weight of the drill frame sliding in the sleeve tube D.
This apparatus weighs only 95 lbs., is easily fixed, and is sufficiently
rigid for its purpose.
The leading points to be observed in the construction of a drill of the
class in question may be stated as follows :—After having ascertained by
experiment the power of resistance and durability of the cutting edge of the
tool to be used under a rapid succession of blows, it will appear that a
blow of medium force delivered rapidly is best suited to ensure progress. A
light blow only loses time, and one which is too heavy either splits the
cutting edge from behind or breaks off the corners. Having decided on the
blow to be given, the machine must be constructed and proportioned so as to
strike as rapidly and uniformly as possible. ISTo additional work should be
put upon the percussion apparatus that can possibly offer a varying
resistance, else the speed and force of the blows must certainly suffer.
The amount of power necessary to turn a chisel at the bottom of a hole 18
inches deep is almost always greater than that requisite at the beginning of
boring. If the chisel works backward and forward in the hole, there are
imminent risks of sudden and irregular resistances which all tend to rob the
cutting point of the tool of its proper force and impede the progress of
boring. This can only be provided against by enlarging the piston or
increasing the pressure upon it—two things equally undesirable in the
economy of rock drilling. A larger cylinder involves additional weight and
waste of motive power; and increased pressure (especially when air is
employed) involves waste of fuel at boiler, as well as waste of power at
drill. The Warsop Drill will do its work with a pressure of 20 lbs. per
square inch, and this, when air is used, secures a large economy, as the
amount of heat lost from air during compression increases rapidly with
increased pressure. Again, a small cylinder allows the instrument to be
lighter, and consequently more easily handled—a most desirable property for
a tool which has to be manipulated among loose stones and in confined
THE WARSOP ROCK DRILL. 263
places. A machine to drill l£ inch holes weighs only 65 lbs. without the
tripod, which weighs 60 lbs.
The absence of external gearing and the general fewness of parts go far to
insure against those small accidents and aggravating stoppages to which a
complicated machine is liable, as well as to promise increased durability
even in the hands of men who have had no mechanical training. Such an
apparatus as has just been described must, comparatively speaking, be
cheap—a matter by itself of small importance, but which, if combined with
the advantages set forth above, should assist in bringing mechanical
rock-boring into more general use.
A light, strong, and at the same time cheap and serviceable, tool should be
eminently useful in mining and engineering operations abroad where skilled
labour is rare and expensive. The boiler supplying steam might be a portable
one on wheels, carrying a compressing engine to supply air for working in
tunnels and confined places.
For drilling under water it is only necessary to make the chisel long
enough, and place the hammer on the top. At the commencement the chisel
would need to be supported until it entered a few inches, after which it
would remain upright and only require turning or rotating by hand. This
would make the apparatus independent of support from a boat which might at
the time be too unsteady to allow of fixing any drilling tackle to it.
When a deep hole is required there is considerable advantage in having the
chisel detached from the piston rod. Every foot in length adds so many
pounds of resistance to the lifting of the piston, causing the machine to
work proportionately slower as the depth increases, even supposing there
were no friction on the sides of the holes from the rubbing of the chisel.
When, on the contrary the chisel remains in the hole and is struck by the
hammer, the speed and force of the blow can be maintained always constant,
and a more rapid rate of progress ensured.
The use of such a hammer as is embodied in the Warsop Drill is not confined
to drilling in stone ; it has been tried on a larger scale as a pile driver,
with complete success as far as the experiments went—the hammejr being
simply placed on the top of the pile and connected by means of a flexible
tube to a steam boiler.
It is also to be applied as a riveting machine on ships, bridges, tanks, and
such work as does not come within the scope of the stationary riveting
machine. The hammer will only need to be suspended by a rope over a pulley
and brought up to the rivet which has been put through the plates and held
behind in the usual way. Running at the rate of 1,000 blows per minute the
riveter is expected to do the work of several men.
264 THE WAKSOP EOCK DKILL.
Experiments are also in preparation to apply the hammer to machines for
stone-dressing at quarries, making light forgings, planishing metals, and in
fact to any process requiring a rapid and regular succession of blows.
The Chairman felt that all would agree with him as to the importance of the
paper just read, and the thanks of the meeting should be given to the author
for preparing it. The peculiarity of the machine appeared to be in the
detaching of the drill from the piston, which was something quite new in his
experience. Perhaps Mr. "Wallace would inform the meeting why the automatic
rotation was given up. It seemed to him that in this case it would have been
specially applicable, and ought to have been a success. He could quite
understand that a blow could be given to the chisel when drilling into soft
sandstone which would so far jam it into the hole that it could not be
withdrawn, if there was no provision made in the machine itself for doing
so.
Mr. Wallace stated that the reason why automatic rotation was abandoned in
favour of hand rotation was, that the resistance is not constant in any
particular stone, but varied according as flaws, cracks, or boulders
occurred, consequently a regular and unvarying system of turning did not
appear to be so well suited for working as a rate of rotation which could be
altered by the workmen. It is not a matter requiring much labour, but simply
attention, and some skill. Again, wherever mechanical complications can be
reduced, the chances of derangement are reduced as well. Mr. "Wallace said,
in answer to Mr. Bewick and Mr. M'Murtrie, that the machine was entirely
new, and that there were no statistics as to the cost of work done by it.
Note.—The remainder of Wednesday's proceedings will be found in the next
volume.
APPENDIX No. I.
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS
FOR 1873.
By the SECRET AEY.
These readings have been obtained from the observatories of Kew and Glasgow,
and will give a very fair idea of the variations of temperature and
atmospheric pressure in the intervening country, in which most of the mining
operations in this country are carried on.
The Kew barometer is 34 feet, and the Glasgow barometer 180 feet above the
sea level. The latter readings have been reduced to 32 feet above the sea
level, by the addition of T50 of an inch to each reading, and both readings
are reduced to 32° Fahrenheit.
The fatal accidents have been obtained from the Inspectors' reports, and are
printed across the lines, showing the various readings. The name of the
colliery at which the explosion took place is given first, then the number
of deaths, followed by the district in which it hgppened.
Owing to the difficulty of obtaining complete accounts of the nonfatal
explosions they have not been recorded.
At the request of the Council the exact readings at both Kew and Glasgow
have been published in figures.
The writer makes no attempt to offer any remarks, but hopes his efforts will
be acceptable, and form a data on which to build more effectual arrangements
for the safety of life.
Vol. xxiii. 1874.—appendix no. i.
a
2 BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS.
BAROMETER READINGS, &C. JANUARY, 1873.
KEW.
GLASGOW.
Tvtvt- •»,
Tbm-
Barometer. perature.
Barometer. perature.
| 4 a.m. 10 a.m. 4 p.m. I 10 p.m. SSI | 4A'M- 10A'M-
4P-M- 10rM- 5S?mS".
1 29-670 29'824 29794 i 29-607 48"2 42'0 1
29"268 29'400 29'398 29-136 42'8 39'1
2 29-450 29-447 29-553 ' 29-773 47'0 43-6 2
29-018 29'072 29'135 29-249 44"8 38'0
3 29-820 29-713 29-(i56 i 29-798 49'3 40'0 3
29-211 29-043 28'957 29-351 457 38'2
4 29-990 29-858 29710 , 29-670 53"4 43'6 4
29'505 29"459 29-195 29'255 43'3 35'8
5 29-680 29-778 29-845 j 30'015 47"6 42'8 5
29-279 29-319 29-371 29-529 43'6 37'0
6 30-025 30-034 30-U50 30-093 50'9 42-0 6
29-301 29'453 29'462 29-536 50'3 34'8
7 30-13O 30-128 30'0i5 29'975 49'0 46'0 7
29'028 29-632 ...... 29-512 50-5 45'0
8 29-885 29-811 29701 ' 29-651 51'5 43'5 8
............ 29-325 29-347 50'3 39'8
9 29-615 29-617 29-615 I 29-611 52'1 45'0 9
29-321 29-215 29-237 29-157 467 38'0
10 29-620 29-701 29789 29-812 53'1 47'9 10
29'149 29-297 29'343 29-353 487 44-2
11 29 800 29-814 29'814 29-820 52'5 48'6 11
29"343 29-661 29'487 29-549 467 43'4
12 29-820 29-904 29-970 30-054 50'0 48-1 12
29-607 ...... 29'595 29-499 457 35'8
13 30-005 30-006 30-063 30-157 52'5 43-3 13
29'343 29'547 29'556 29-634 507 41'1
14 30-150 30-193 30-138 30-H4 52-0 49'5 14
29-696 29-610 29-638 29'669 50'7 43'8
15 30-080 30-042 30-019 30-038 48-9 447 15
29'619 29714 29764 29-836 48'3 40'2
16 30-050 30-060 30-017 29-982 51-9 45 0 16
29'866 29'886 29721 29-651 457 35'0
17 29-955 30-018 29-999 29-965 47'1 40'8 17
29-663 29-663 29-568 ^9'492 457 36-3
18 29-920 29-810 29'510 29-156 467 39'5 18
29-514 29'128 ...... 28'453 43"5 j 35-1
19 28-840 28-812 28-600 28477 46'0 42-3 19
29'356................... 437 j 8V8
20 23-510 28-519 28-521 28"477 39'3 34-0 20
...... 28-183 ...... 28'475 33'0 ; 25"0
. 21 23-655 28-883 29-033 ! 29-129 41'5 32'0 21
28'60l 28767 28'810 28788 377 | 26'2
22 28-920 28-750 28-787 i 29-055 43'8 33'5 S 22
28720 28*790 28'932 29-112 377 [ 28'6
23 29-365 29-537 29-493 j 29'350 43'2 33'3 23
29'222 29'312 29-312 29'350 367 I 29'8
24 29-290 29-450 29-590 j 29'817 43'4 36'6 24
29-462 29'562 29'693 29-809 367 ; 30'0
25 29-925 30-006 29'977 ! 29'968 34-0 27'5 25
29'819 29785 29-657 29'578 38'5 ; 24'7
26 29-915 29-920 29'880 I 29-969 41-6 25'5 26
29'490 29'510 29'597 29743 457 j 37'2
27 30-030 30-102 30'071 , 30-032 39'9 28'0 27
29-833 29-903 29-921 29'919 457 i 39-2
28 30-070 30-064 30-006 | 30'033 35'9 28'6 28
29'891 29-919 29-908 29'944 42'1 ; 31'8
29 30050 30-081 30-055 30-037 367 29'5 29
30-000 30-060 30-056 30'024 357 \ 30'1
30 29-990 29-974 29"944 : 29'989 36-1 320 30
30'034 30-100 30'108 30'148 35'4 j 30-2
31 30-025 30-076 30'077 { 30'114 36-9 34'6 31
30'144 30-170 30-138 i 30-150 39'1 i 33'0
FEBRUARY, 1873.
1 I 30-125 i 30-084 29-981 29-827 I 33-7 31-8 I 1
30-106 30-068 j 30'007 ! 29'909 37'1 30'2
2 29-620 ! 29-437 29'280 29'308 33-6 26-2 ! 2
29779 29735 29733 ; 29763 327 25'0
3 I 29-425 \ 29-606 29'733 29'812 34-6 28'5 3
29'825 29-909 j 30'000 30-130 33'3 210 ¦ 4 29-815
29-912 30-017 l 30-123 37'4 32'7 4 30-194 30-162
'. 30-139 : 30'203 38'5 28'5
5 30-140 30-135 30'069 , 30-069 35'3 31-6 5
30-103 30-017 '< ...... ! 29-966 367 33/0
6 30-060 30-061 30-041 30-071 36-9 28'3 6
...... 30 061 ...... < 30'218 41-5 3V9
7 30-165 30-101 30-067 ! 30'094 40-1 30'0 7
...... 30-322 | 30-332 29-362 40'5 28'3
8 30-100 30-138 30-131 I 30'207 36-9 35-0 8
30'223 30-392 30'370 , 30-223 367 25'4
9 30-215 30-196 30-150 30-186 36-3 34-5 9
30'368 30-370 30-318 | ...... 36-7 24'0
10 30-200 30-223 30'232 30'326 42-0 317 10
...... 30'445 ....... 30-568 39'5 318
11 30-350 30-397 30'284 30'093 37'1 31-0 11
...... 30'425 30-187 ! 30'155 40-5 247
12 30-000 30-054 30-082 ; 30-181 42-1 32'5 12
30-207 30'301 30-287 30-281 43'3 336
13 30-200 30-210 30-131 30-165 41-9 33'8 13
30-^23 30'167 30-019 30151 44'1 30-1
14 30-190 30-273 30-281 30'333 45-3 34'0 14
30-151 30-201 30-110 ; 30'262 44-5 361
15 30-370 30-440 30-438 30-524 45-3 I 37'6 15
30-170 30-302 30-318 : 30-352 43-4 33o
16 30-560 30-607 30'600 30'634 40-4 I 36'0 16
30'370 i 30-420 , 30'416 \ 30'450 427 38 2
17 30-660 30-705 30-688 30743 36-9 34-0 17
30-430 30-472 ; 30'456 30-420 42-5 38'2
18 30-760 30-782 30-726 30'742 35'3 32'0 18
30'556 30-602 i 30-592 , 30-598 43'9 j 39/2
19 30-730 30-718 30-666 , 30-633 35'4 320 19
30-572 30-546 I 30'485 30-487 447 o7'0
20 30-620 30-585 30'514 | 30'498 34"8 28'0 20
30-461 30'485 I 30-450 I 30-398 46-5 41'2
21 30-435 30-347 30-202 ! 30099 323 30-0 21
30-288 30'176 29-970 ; 29'780 47'1 d9'4
22 29-975 29-886 29'821 ! 29'878 45-1 286 22
29'770 29-808 29'796 : 29-854 427 ] 26'9
23 29-900 29-879 29-740 ] 29735 39'4 29-3 23
29'814 29769 | ...... ! ...... 337 | 23 0
24 29-840 29-773 29782 ! 29'864 299 28-3 24
...... 29748 I 29"747 : 297^3 o5'3 | 21'2
25 29-810 29-653 29'482 29-301 45'5 25'6 25
29'627 29'475 29'231 29-057 36-3 25-2
26 29-960 ! 28-913 | 28'847 28'946 50'0 34-4 I 26
28-895 i 28-811 I 28'814 ! 29-032 37'8 ! 33'8
27 29-100 I 29-350 29-516 , 29"592 44'7 40-5 27
29'244 | 29-434 ! 29-533 ' 29'605 39"7 j 28-0
28 29-615 29-728 29778 ' 29'788 41'0 31-5 28
29'655 ! 29721 j 29'696 ; 29-616 36-5 23-6
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS. 3
BAROMETER READINGS, &c. MARCH, 1873.
KEW.
GLASGOW.
Barometeb. perjure. Barometer.
n2£B.
"g 4 a.m. 10 a.m. 4 p.m. 10 p.m. S" ™ I 4 a.m.'10 a.m. 4
p.m. 10 p.m. Maxi" Mini"
^ mum
mum. g 4U-
mum. mum.
1 29-620 29-343 29-099 29-170 47'4 290 1
29372 29-194 29-100 29'134 35-1 26'8
2 29-280 29612 29-800 29-973 48'6 35'0 2
29-207 29-437 29-588 29'678 437 31-0
3 29-960 29-879 29-742 29733 497 34'3 3
29656 29'626 29-525 29'513 407 35'0
4 29-720 29-753 29-739 29780 56'5 41'0 4
29-527 29-531 29-575 29-665 488 35'8
5 29-790 29-846 29-900 29'999 50*4 427 5
29769 29'927 29-984 29 990 49'3 36'2
6 30-050 30-046 29-974 29-8'»0 469 34'0 6
29-886 ; 29-710 -29-535 29-447 42-7 35-2
7 29-580 29-276 29'325 29-471 49"3 40'7 7
29'361 I 29'237 29-138 29'168 43'3 37'8
8 29-570 29-670 29-671 29723 49'5 35-2 8
29'232 ' 29-314 29-331 29'301 459 35'4
9 29-685 29-695 29-605 29'428 50'1 40'4 9
29'203 29-331 29-260 29024 437 357
10 29-470 29-403 29-384 29'358 45"1 37'6 10
29-064 29-068 23-023 28'989 42'9 32'7
11 29-270 29-190 29-170 29-176 47'9 34'0 11
28-867 29-041 29-222 29-302 42'8 32-0
12 29-200 29-353 29-388 29'436 45-2 35'3 12
29'358 29-402 29-323 29'281 40'3 31-8
13 29-450 29-525 29-554 29-641 43'2 30-6 13
29-365 29'4S1 29-543 29'659 41'7 31'3
14 29-700 29-765 29-782 29'848 41-3 282 14
29723 29'819 29-900 30-010 40'6 32-0
15 29-835 29-878 29-887 29'874 41-9 33'5 15
30-046 30'124 30-112 30'132 408 32'2
16 29-815 29-778 29-700 29'653 43-1 35-0 16
30-066 30'024 29'954 29'940 38"3 32'3
17 29-765 29-872 29-885 29'940 47'3 37 0 17
29888 29'924 29-947 30-013 39'5 33 2
18 29-930 29-898 29-875 29-908 46'1 36"8 18
30'035 30-061 30-025 30-019 425 37'1
19 29-900 29-875 29-883 29'948 42'4 36'1 19
29-975 30'071 30-097 30-165 46'7 35-3
20 29-975 29-974 29-946 29'992 44-5 367 20
30-157 30-165 30-163 29-311 | 417 28-1
21 29-999 29-912 29-826 29'908 403 34-3 21
30-197 30-195 30-105 30'067 I 407 36-2
22 29-930 29-945 29-918 29'968 487 33'6 22
30'043 30-055 30-017 30'053 I 43'8 35-0
23 29-920 29-974 29'940 30-004 51'3 35-9 23
30-025 30-053 30018 30'056 42'7 35'0
24 30-030 30-044 30-018 30'087 59'4 32'9 24
30-050 [ 30-092 30-1.62 30-098 44'8 35'1
25 30-120 30-143 30104 30-166 56-9 34'8 25
30-100-| 30-110 30-096 30-116 42-6 38'0 23 30-180
30-180 30-108 80-123 587 35'0 26 30-102 i 30-132
30-072 30-098 ! 48-5 37'2
27 30-100 30-051 29-945 29'951 59'3 35'6 27
30-068 i 30-066 29-936 29'952 ! 53-6 36-6
28 29-950 29-910 29'867 29-921 61-2 30'6 28
29'902 j 29-904 29'852 29916 i 53'9 37'2
29 29-930 29-993 29-941 30-004 63'1 38'0 29
29-940 29'978 29-923 29'975 ! 467 38'0
30 30-020 29-954 29-850 29'849 63-0 40*4 30
29'963 29'941 29'803 29-699 i 45'8 36'0
31 29-810 29-769 29'697 29"747 57'1 46'0 31
29'657 29-651 29579 . 29'647 50'6 39-1
APRIL, 1873.
1 29-840 29-957 30-011 30-130 59'6 42'2 1
29'735 29-875 29-955 30-031 54'4 36-8
2 30-160 30-224 30-206 30'285 587 37'2 2
30 033 30-059 ...... 29'934 48-6 35'2
3 30-250 30-245 30'187 30-261 57'0 37'5 3
29890 29-958 30-028 30-066 487 41'2
4 30-250 30-167 30-008 29936 547 40-0 4 30
002 29-932 29816 29759 50'8 40'1 -
5 29870 29-798 29750 29745 547 49-1 5 29
669 29'637 29 636 29-626 497 38-0
6 29-680 29-623 29-490 29'593 519 40-2 6
29576 29-588 29 597 29771 50-4 36"8
7 29-670 29-770 29'856 29-908 47'8 37'3 7
29849 29'897 29-910 30-038 50'6 35'9
8 29-955 30-056 30-078 30-176 49'8 37'1 8
30-110 30-200 30-229 30-315 517 37'0
9 30-190 30-277 30-258 30'313 486 40'0 9
30333 30'365 30-376 30'434 57'3 40-0
10 30-280 30-297 30-199 30-193 52'1 35'4 10
30424 30-422 30-347 80-277 58-0 40-1
11 30-150 30-090 30000 30-040 46-4 34'5 11 30
201 30-141 30-025 30-037 64-9 37'4
12 30010 30-071 30054 30-057 480 40'2 12
30-023 30-019 29961 29-919 47'9 36-7
13 29-980 29-998 29 905 29'920 53'3 41-4 13
29-853 29"853 29 805 29-815 507 42"4
14 29-860 29-874 29-750 29-782 67*6 38'2 14
29809 29'833 29-787 29-816 507 41-2
15 29-700 29-671 29-642 29-635 725 46-7 15 29
777 29735 29698 29700 49'8 42-0
16 29-580 29-537 29-505 29'532 74'5 47'0 16
29'668 29-656 29658 29-690 467 41" 8
17 29-510 29-509 29-501 29'583 66'4 45-3 17
29 656 29-666 29-658 29728 50-1 40-8
18 29-610 29-696 29-721 29-840 617 457 18
2978A 29 882 29-905 30-037 58'2 41-3
19 29-910 30-000 30-000 30-077 59'0 i 401 19
30-075 30-103 30-048 30-1.22 63'4 35'2
20 30-100 30-130 30-110 30'195 60 9 36 6 20
30'192 30'286 30-289 30-329 59'4 39'4
21 30-180 30-166 30'097 30 098 59-5 415 21
30-303 30-253 30-134 30-135 68'5 36'8
22 30-065 30-006 29'903 29 928 537 37'9 22
30-070 30076 30-048 30-054 46'5 37'4
23 29-905 29-899 29-884 29'930 46'8 34'8 23
30-044 30-036 29'983 30-037 48'8 36'0
24 29-895 29'907 29-911 29'996 45'4 31-6 24
30-020 30-041 30-046 30-118 45'8 30'8
25 30-035 30-123 30-134 80-235 457 31"0 25
30"142 30-206 30-229 30'264 47'8 36-8
26 30-210 30-239 30-168 30-143 487 29-5 26
30-240 30-201 30-137 30-085 517 34-0
27 30-000 29-947 29-950 30'093 47'9 37"4 27
30'028 30-115 30-128 30-133 53-6 42'2
28 30-120 30-136 30'070 30-020 54-2 i 36'5 28
30'176 30-017 29-871 29'929 53'3 42'8
29 29-990 30-069 30-121 30-193 541 i 44'9 129
29'985 30-097 30-068 30-064 587 42-9
30 30-170 30-149 30'125 30'108 58'0 i 36'8 30
29991 29'994 29'963 29'947 53'2 47'2
4 BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS.
BAROMETER READINGS, & c. MAY, 1873.
KEW. GLASGOW.
Barometer. perjure. Barometer.
nSxosu.
| 4a.m. 10a.m. 4p.m. io«.j5£:|j5t| 4a-m- 10a-m- 4— »»~2£:2K:
1 30-085 30'108 30-055 30-103 66'4 51-3 1
29'948 29'971 29-986 29'956 57"6 48'0
2 30-08!) 30-000 29'888 29-810 64'1 40'6 2
29'824 29744 29-630 29'542 52-9 45-1
3 29-750 29-663 29-608 29-689 58-6 42-8 3
29494 29'603 29-651 29709 527 41-3
4 29-700 29-742 29700 29709 51-3 40'6 4
29'679 29'617 29'520 29490 50"5 36-3
5 29-650 29-492 29-380 29-325 54'8 42'6 5
29-406 29-324 29'675 29-243 44-8 36-1
6 29-420 29-518 29'542 29'604 56-6 407 6
29-249 29-341 29'374 29'404 43'6 37'0
7 29-580 29-546 29459 29-430 567 42'8 7
29'393 29-372 29358 29-379 46'5 41-4
8 29-460 29-545 29'622 29752 58'8 43'8 8
29243 29'527 29'582 29'654 52'5 41'3
9 29-865 29-962 29-992 30-065 597 436 9
29708 29788 29'856 29'928 542 41'4
10 30-090 30-110 30-116 30-155 62'3 39'6 10
29'958 29-984 29'972 29-933 557 40-2
11 30-140 30-121 30-125 30-158 67'5 51'1 11
29'876 29'892 29'916 29-984 58-3 43 0
12 30-180 30-178 30-125 30-140 67'5 48'0 12
30-010 30-082 30-088 30-152 587 45-2
13 30-140 30-149 30'144 30-202 58-L 43'0 13
30482 30496 30-173 30-205 58-3 37'2
14 30-215 30-198 30-160 30-121 52-5 364 14
30'205 30467 30'078 30-066 59'3 352
15 30-080 30-072 30-001 30-034 56'6 41-0 15
30-050 30'056 30'050 30-014 48'2 39-3
16 29-990 29-956 29-858 29-810 55-6 38'6 16
30-016 29-966 29'902 29'892 447 376
17 29-690 29-628 29'589 29-589 57'7 437 17
29'820 29796 29788 29-810 40-8 340
18 29-550 29-584 29'585 29-708 50'8 45'6 18
29'810 29'830 29-809 29'865 467 349
19 29-800 29-910 30-015 30-181 513 42'0 19
29'905 29'96l 30'012 30-102 53'2 35-2
20 30-250 30-305 30-234 30-228 637 33-5 20
30-126 30'052 29'926 29794 54-5 35-0
21 30-130 30-097 30-013 29'976 51'8 45'0 21
29758 29788 29797 29-815 58'5 46-9
22 29-930 29-929 29'894 29-955 07'0 49 4 22
29769 29-727 29732 29737 57'8 45-9
23 29-910 29-711 29712 29'877 64-5 47'0 23
29-507 29'433 29'590 29744 56-3 44-8
24 30-030 30-083 30-114 30-189 62-3 43-2 24
29-804 29'888 29'982 30'052 544 43-8
25 30-235 30-251 30'190 30-134 64-4 41-1 25
30-092 30-112 30-062 30-006 57'3 41-0
26 30-040 29-948 29-823 29-824 707 48'6 26
29'868 29788 29-686 29-683 61-3 46-2
27 29-800 29-792 29799 29-962 64'5 481 27
29-689 29765 29-836 30-026 61-8 41-3
28 30-070 30-192 30'263 30-336 597 47'0 28
30-120 30-198 30-220 30-282 59-4 45-0
29 30-380 30-384 30'337 30-321 61'9 42'6 29
30-327 30'328 30-282 30'296 65'3 39'6
30 30-270 30-247 30-169 30-206 60'9 47'5 30
30-270 30-254 30-181 30-202 62"6 44'1
31 30-180 30-139 30'056 29'995 64'1 41'2 31
30-162 30-140 30'089 30443 66'8 44'9
JUNE, 1873.
1 29-840 29-864 29'910 30-005 557 46-0 1
30-145 30-135 30-156 30'228 64'5 417
2 30-040 30-031 29-967 29939 66'9 48'8 2
30-240 30-232 30'150 30-150 677 48'5
3 29-850 29-803 29-811 29-838 69'0 49'3 3
30-094 30-012 29'938 29-934 667 49-1
4 29-850 29-837 29795 29-793 74'1 47'2 4
29'892 29-856 29'805 29'823 64"5 49-0
5 29-770 29-810 29'809 29-891 71'2 57'2 5
29-833 29-863 29-910 30-024 71'0 48'0
6 29-950 30-004 30-041 30-158 56'8 51'9 6
30'074 30434 30-109 30-163 682 50'2
7 30-200 30-227 30-226 30-238 61-8 42'3 7
30'207 30'211 30-171 30-167 65'5 48'1
8 30-210 30-191 30-150 30-143 65'9 424 8
30441 30-129 30'073 30-033 643 47'3
9 30-120 30-038 29-945 29'896 69'9 48'3 9
29-929 29-861 29759 29'607 60'5 50-0
10 29-820 29781 29729 29-697 62'2 507 10
29'369 29-371 29'386 29'394 61'2 50-6
11 29-680 29-694 29-651 29-645 67'2 51'3 11
29'384 29436 29448 29-478 62'5 46'8
12 29-620 29-531 29476 29-512 66'6 45-6 12
29'498 29-502 29'520 ! 29'554 612 47'3
13 29-540 29582 29'635 29'726 704 48-1 13
29-556 29'548 29'565 \ 29-581 61-2 51-8
14 29-760 29-738 29-714 29-712 66'2 47'0 14
29'599 29'623 29-659 : 29-711 59'8 49'0
15 29-790 29-823 29795 29-865 687 51-5 15
29719 29733 29724 ! 29-754 60-0 43'9
16 29-910 29-920 29'931 29-970 70'6 534 16
29784 29-836 29'850 : 29-908 67'5 43-3
17 30-010 29-972 29'945 29-948 74'1 47'0 17
29-934 29-940 29'918 ! 29-902 633 45'3
18 29-975 29-990 30-103 30-075 70'6 53'5 18
29-896 29'900 29-907 | 29-921 68'5 50'0
19 30-115 30-083 30'080 30-105 674 51-6 19
29'889 29'823 29779 ! 29'867 627 52'0
20 30-140 30-201 30'177 30-223 71'4 57'2 20
29'943 29'961 29-934 ; 29'926 69'8 53-6
21 30-250 30-228 30'209 30-210 757 52'9 21
29'952 30-056 30-064 [ 30-010 674 53'2
22 30-185 30-086 29970 29-998 76'9 62'4 22
29'898 29782 29760 29'836 64'4 54'0
23 30-055 30-051 30-043 -30-100 71'6 53'3 23
29-842 29-890 29'924 29"934 607 50'9
24 30-120 30-031 29'893 29-847 65'0 49'6 24
29-810 29-602 29-573 ! 29-509 627 50-2
25 29-860 29-910 29-989 30-149 64'9 57'5 25
29-547 29721 29'947 30-049 59'5 49'8
26 30-210 30191 30-122 30-117 61'5 47'0 26
30-015 29'971 29'855 29-881 57'3 48'8
27 30-135 30-113 30-081 30-072 73'0 55'7 27
29'877 29-805 29715 29-701 597 51-3
28 30-050 30-038 29-999 30-022 73'8 57'9 28
29-685 29753 29"867 29-949 61-4 52'3
29 30-050 29-937 29790 29-719 794 50'4 29
29'913 29-881 29'820 29-836 64-0 45-2
30 29-720 29739 29795 29-863 62-6 57'6 30
29-830 29'830 29-826 29'856 66'5 48'8
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS. 5
BAROMETER READINGS, &c. JULY, 1873.
KEW.
GLASGOW. _____________BAR0METEB-_____________ peraw're.
Barometer. raS^BE.
" 1 4 a.m. 10 a.m. 4 p.m. 10 p.m. i^-™- | 4 a.m. 10
a.m. 4 p.m. 10 p.m. S'!Mini-
p mum. mum.
A mum.
mum.
1 29-920 29-963 29-896 30 022 71-6 55-1 1
29'888 29-922 29-924 29"934 687 50'3
2 30-040 30-022 30-002 30'001 71'3 52'5 2
iJ9-856 29-841 29'808 29714 63'2 51-.3
3 30-000 29-912 29-820 29728 73'2 58-2 3
29-650 29-557 29-527 29'545 60-8 537
4 29-675 29-706 29-741 29'819 68'6 56-9 4
29-501 29'473 29-532 29'048 62'3 497
5 29-880 29-800 29738 29765 66'9 48-9 5
29-662 29'654 29-553 29-366 67'9 42'8
6 29-770 29-876 29-949 30-031 71'4 564 6
29-400 29-624 29753 29'838 617 51'9
7 30-090 30-090 30-066 30-100 76-1 503 7
29'862 29-868 29-844 29'863 66'7 50'3
8 30-120 30-072 30-116 30-060 77'9 51-1 8
29-852 29 868 29'877 29'893 667 55'3
9 30-125 30-119 30"087 30-054 71'6 54'1 9
29'905 29-907 29'876 29'792 62'5 52'2
10 29-970 29-877 29'842 29'882 73-5 56'0 10
29'60^ 29-554 29'652 29-686 63'8 53'4
11 29-875 29-839 29796 29780 70-6 55'9 11
29-660 29'644 29-601 29-569 64-4 48'8
12 29-775 29-755 29707 29-705 697 53-6 12
29-531 29-511 29-501 29-491 64'5 507
13 29-715 29-636 29-400 29'494 64-5 52'2 13
29-453 29-461 29-430 29-405 65'4 50'2
14 29-.i40 29-676 29'672 29708 68'5 50'4 14
29'394 29-434 29'460 29-495 63'2 44'8
15 29-735 29-733 29'755 29-870 66-0 51-2 15
29-518 29-551 29-632 29736 61-5 42'0
16 29-970 30-045 30-080 30-139 71'9 51'3 16
29-813 29'923 29 971 29-987 61-8 46'2
17 30115 30-075 30-043 30-006 72'2 55-8 17
29-905 29752 ! 29-582 29-576 64'8 50'2
18 29-930 29-882 29'887 30-040 69-4 59'6 18
29'572 29'606 | 29786 29-876 60'2 52-0
19 30-140 30-169 30-143 30-152 697 477 19
29'899 29-918 I 29'880 29-810 58'3 50-1
20 30-160 30-138 30-145 30-160 80-1 53'5 20
29787 29-833 29'933 29-976 70'8 58'0
21 30-165 30-163 30-100 30-091 85-0 56-1 21
29'987 30'029 30011 29-981 787 ! 61-5
22 30-060 29-990 29'925 29'910 87'3 62'5 22
29'929 29'908 29862 29-837 84-4 I 60'8
23 29-920 29-876 29-921 29'988 79'8 63'2 23
...... 29'816 ...... 29-891 70'2 i 55'8
21 30-035 30-030 30-002 30-047 757 5V1 24
...... 29-848 29-796 29'782 65'8 , 47'2
25 30-045 30-009 29'955 29'934 79'1 58'5 25
29 742 29-829 29-817 29790 64-7 i 57'0
26 29-925 29-906 29-916 29-9-40 74'1 60'4 26
29759 29-774 29765 29798 68'2 ! 52-3
27 29-970 29-964 29'945 30-000 71'9 53'9 27
29792 29777 29768 29782 66'5 I 52-1
28 30-020 29-997 29-955 29-984 73-3 52-1 28
29-778 29'822 29'838 29'869 64-6 I 53-3
29 29-975 29-935 29'893 29'875 77'7 48-4 29
29-947 29'867 29'841 29'807 594 ! 482
30 29 925 29-984 29'990 30-023 76"7 58-8 30
29777 ; 29'765 29731 29'694 66'8 52-2
31 30 015 29-981 29-971 3Q-Q46 77"0 61-3 31
29661 i 29-632 29-661 29'757 64'5 j 55-9
AUGUST, 1873.
1 30-075 30-053 30-085 30450 69'2 54'6 1
29-839 29-901 I 29-924 29'982 62'3 51-8
2 30-180 30-174 30-152 30-166 70-8 524 2
29-964 29'988 29'946 29'878 60-8 524
3 30-140 30-126 30-100 30-102 71-4 51'9 3
29-914 29'978 i 29'968 29'954 63'3 51'3
4 30-110 30-043 29-956 29'938 72-3 55'1 4
29'874 29-806 29-740 29776 62'9 50'0
5 29-920 29-936 29'906 29-921 747 604 5
29-764 29'802 29779 29'63S 61-8 51'3
6 29-940 29-925 29'941 30-009 76'3 614 6
29'526 29'642 29'711 29758 63'3 56'0
7 30-090 30-122 30-100 30-093 814 60'0 7
29'819 29'859 29-822 29'779 68-6 514
8 30-085 29-969 29-861 29"853 83'5 57"4 8
29748 29766 ...... 29-777 61'5 52-1
9 29-850 29-887 29'950 30'060 66'7 56'8 9
29'729 29787 29-817 29'875 60-4 47"7
10 30-090 30-058 30-020 30'011 664 49'6 10
29'881 29'893 29-869 29'869 ' 61'7 46-3
11 29-940 29-921 29-954 30'012 66-9 53'8 11
29-849 29'841 j 29-808 29'802 62-4 40'2
12 30-065 30-074 30-039 30'010 73'9 54'1 12
29-808 29'809 29722 29-504 62-6 53'2
13 gas falls 29'890 29'970 30'039 727 61-4 13
29470 29-603 29-723 29744 61-4 53'9
14 30-050 30-081 30-081 30-106 744 574 14
29759 29-863 29-918 29-915 63'5 51-9
15 30-110 30-053 30'047 30-079 754 594 15
29'908 29'906 29-881 29'801 | 64'5 51-5
16 30-055 29-939 29-824 29'994 81-1 60'9 16
29-686 29-609 29'507 29'558 i 66-4 50-5
17 30-140 30-182 30-125 30'055 71'2 50'4 17
29'810 29'897 29'855 29'781 j 58'3 48'7
18 29-940 29-789 29'676 29"584 68'6 53'1 18
29'663 29'637 i 29-581 I 29'589 60-7 52-3
19 29-570 29-586 29-630 29743 687 524 19
29-539 29552 29'572 \ 29'583 61-4 49'9
20 29-810 29 776 29-711 29'691 64'8 51-1 20
29'587 29'579 29-523 29-513 60'3 4l"2
21 29-770 29-811 29-813 29-882 71"3 53-6 21
29-508 29'607 29-633 ' 29-668 51'9 50-0
22 29-900 29-872 29'853 29'907 70'5 534 22
29'653 29-671 29'685 | 29'748 65'7 48-2
23 29-915 29-883 29-809 29'835 74'6 52-3 23
29752 29-809 29-829 1 29-881 f 64-5 48"8
24 29-840 29-829 29-765 29'806 73'9 55-1 24
29-916 29-953 29'982 i 30-000 I 59-0 52-0
25 29-850 29-888 29'846 29-820 76'8 59'2 25
29'962 29'958 29-935 I 29'883 | 63-4 58-4
26 29-885 29'887 29-808 29-861 734 56-1 26
29790 29-732 29'663 29'599 .' 68'5 59-8
27 29-910 29-901 29'836 29'725 70"5 56-6 27
29'510 29-530 29-536 I 29-450 ! 63'3 59-0
28 29-630 29-557 29-472 29-614 65-0 58-2 28
29-301 29'322 29-311 j 29'352 | 65-1 58-6
29 29-735 29'685 29'676 29'739 62'5 494 29
29-371 29'386 29-419 i 29-505 i 61-1 46-5 j
30 29-740 29-743 29-763 29'829 67'8 50'7 30
29'499 29'587 29-632 j 29'709 ' 60-6 50'0 |
31 29-820 29 829 29"820 29'855 69'4 57'6 31
29716 29719 29-616 I 29-458 . 54'9 40'5 i
_______________________________________________________1
_________
6 BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS.
BAROMETER READINGS, &C. SEPTEMBER, 1873.
KEW.
GLASGOW.
BAROMETER. PERATORE.
BAROMETER. PERJURE.
I 4 a.m. 10 a.m. 4 p.m. 10 p.m. Maxi- Miui" I ! 4 a.m.
10 a.m. 4 p.m. 10 p.m. Maxi" Mini" ' S
mum. mum. °* ¦«.«••—
* •¦«•• mum. mum.
1 29-820 29760 29-672 29725 67'6 619 1
29"453 29170 29-438 29-470 601 ' 40-6
2 29 735 29-779 29-806 29-918 64'9 53'9 2 !
29'568 29-694 29712 29-856 61'4 48 8
3 29-9..0 29-965 29'974 30'036 63'9 47'6 3 \
29'896 29'938 29'928 30'028 56'5 471
4 30-040 30-0-12 30-055 30-094 637 471 4 ;
30'064 30-092 30-086 30-122 58'5 480
5 30 090 30077 30-026 30-031 58'5 46-3 5 I
30" 143 30-153 30-105 30-084 58'5 : 41-2
6 30-000 29-969 29-910 29-865 57'9 45'0 6
30-013 29'923 29795 29731 57'3 I 417
7 29-820 29'78! 29730 29-674 60-9 45'9 7
29'651 29'G37 29-634 29'670 57'3 I 331
8 29800 29-775 29'823 29'872 61-2 48"0 8
29'670 29'690 29'694 29-804 5S-3 I 417
9 29-830 29784 29'624 29'601 61-1 481 9
29'826 29'474 29'249 29'263 58-2 ! 40'9 10 29-620
29-679 29735 29750 649 53'0 10 29'233 29-283
29-370 29-380 587 I 50'2
II 29-555 29-771 29'819 29'869 63-3 54'3 11
29-364 29-4=>8 29-515 29-483 58'7 48'8
12 29-870 29-900 29'889 29-911 647 48'3 12
29179 29-571 29-065 29-741 577 48'9
13 29-905 29-830 29'696 29'690 61-7 40'5 13
29783 29'825 29762 29-716 58'2 471
14 29-670 29-584 29-520 29-503 61-9 49'2 14
29'592 29-496 29'3i6 29-254 51-6 47 8
15 29-252 29228 29'285 29'517 58'0 48'5 15
29'216 29'304 29 332 29-396 567 48-4
16 29-610 29-666 29-712 29-812 61'0 46-5 16
29'412 29-513 29-570 29-604 557 45-2
17 29-800 29-690 29'G41 29718 681 47'5 17
29*474 29'286 29'292 29'424 587 45 0 our. fnt.
18 29-462
29-504 29'480 29610 53'8 452
18 29-875 29-904 29'882 29'962 62-5 48'1 19
29792 29-908 29 867 29"697 557 43 9 cur. fnt.
20 29'639
29-631 29'692 29-796 607 48'0
19 29-940 30-126 30-133 30-092 63'3 48'6 21
30-044 30-258 30-312 30'427 ... I 44-2
20 30-070 30-090 30'071 30-129 677 54-6 22
30122 30-420 30-370 30'358 537 37'6
21 30-145 30 256 30-290 30-414 61-9 55'5 23
30-318 30'338 30-320 30'326 60'4 ! 48-3
22 30-475 30518 30'471 30-479 59'6 41-0 24
30 302 30-302 30 213 30-194 64'6 ! 41'0
23 30-450 30-419 30-340 30-343 62-9 41-1 25
:'0139 30-131 30'093 30-095 57'2 : 46-1
24 30-350 30334 30'264 30-266 61-9 39'6 26
30'061 30-059 29'975 29-891 631 I 51-2
25 30270 30-232 30-171 30-184 68-7 50-9 27
29783 29731 29-668 29'616 69-4 51_
26 30-175 30 173 30-105 30-091 70'3 45-1 28
29'712 29-848 29 968 30'086 58'5 429
27 30050 29-983 29'8S6 29'877 71'2 41-0 29
30'086 30-120 30066 30'070 53'2 38 0
28 29865 29-948 29-980 30-133 65'8 42'3 30
30-032 29'990 29-882 29754 51-3 41-8
29 30-165 30-192 30-116 30-132 59-1 42-3
30 30-100 30075 3Q-Q22 3Q-Q04 64-4
44'9_____________________________________________________
OCTOBER, 1873.
1 29-940 29-934 29'906 29'984 67'3 48'3 1
29-668 29'682 29-716 29-806 51-8 45-0
2 30-020 30-013 29-968 29-963 70-2 51-2 2
29'826 29'830 29'828 29-854 516 48'8
3 29-940 29907 29'821 29846 727 536 3
29792 29736 29'673 29741 527 48-0
4 29-850 29-915 30'017 30-060 60-5 55'8 4
29'851 30-021 30 037 30-015 52'8 43-0
5 30 060 30-076 30-041 30'095 60 5 50'2 5
29-889 29'801 29'859 29-925 5J-9 41-9
6 30-120 30-043 29'889 29787 62'8 39-9 6
29'901 29781 29-400 29-380 537 42'2
7 29-735 29-655 29578 29'690 60-7 53'4 7
29514 29 606 29'570 29-576 50'8 41-0
8 29-705 29-738 29-758 29-845 48'8 37'1 8
29'566 29-628 29-672 29728 49-2 34'0
9 29-870 29-892 29773 29724 543 313 9
29678 29'558 29 227 29192 54-3 29-2 appro*.
10 29-127
29-153 29 180 29-154 55-0 49 1
10 29-650 29-749 29-754 29792 64-4 44'5 11
29194 29-330 29 383 29137 53-3 451
11 29-790 29-804 . 29775 29750 627 57'3 12
29'531 29'603 29-549 29 555 50'2 42'9 gas low
13 29-533
29-535 29-477 29-491 50'8 35-2
12 29-760 29-754 29'565 29-610 57'6 49'8 14
29'569 29-649 29-708 29794 477 37'0 gas low
15 29-788
29-824 29-815 29-841 47'5 36-7
13 29-600 29-578 29-591 29-705 527 46'6 16
29'825 29-817 29 804 29-841 51'7 389
14 no trace 29887 29'894 29-951 531 39-0 17
29'874 29-908 29-873 29-797 514 47'1
15 29-900 29-974 29'944 29'965 54-5 31-9 18
29'683 29793 29-903 30 015 53 5 45 6
16 30-000 30059 30-034' 30-091 58'0 36-4 19
30-069 30111 29988 29'666 527 37'2 gas low
20 29-456
29-584 29-691 29'845 48 3 35'5
17 30-135 30-139 30'073 30-069 58-4 33-1 21
29 611 29-361 29-195 29-110 477 36-6
18 30-020 30-003 30'001 30-087 59'3 44-2 22
28-945 28765 2S-698 28-722 45'1 32-9
19 30-150 30-218 30'150 30096 52-6 48 6 23
28772 28-784 28794 28-906 46'3 31-2
20 29-880 29-813 29875 29970 53'5 48'0 24
29020 29-176 29-288 29-414 45"3 29-4 u as low
25 29508
29'574 29-614 29722 44-4 28'3
21 '29-940 29855 29'562 29-478 536 37'2 26
29-816 29-970 30-050 30-180 432 34-0 gas low
27 30-240
30 318 30-330 30372 47'2 26'8
22 29-310 29-246 29-240 29'233 57'9 46'0 28
30-332 30-314 30-216 30'214 47'3 40-8 gas low
29 30-074
30-046 29'977 29-931 48-6 42'2
23 29-070 28-966 29'950 29'134 48'4 45'0 30
29-819 29709 29-614 29'598 47'5 41-3
24 gas low 29-261 29-271 29'373 461 33'3 31
29-454 29'308 29-120 29'052 46-4 38'8
25 29-400 29-519 29'566 29 656 46-1 327
26 29720 29-854 29910 30-088 50'3 38'0
27 30-180 30-326 30'392 30'482 47'9 37'2
28 30-485 30500 30-405 30-381 487 28'0 gas low
29 30-280 30-269 30-153 30-130 37'9 26'5 gas low
30 29-980 29-971 29'851 29-811 45"9 26-0
31 29710 29-625 29-513 29-400 51'4
26"5___________.__________________________________________
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER *READINGS. 7
BAROMETER READINGS, &c.
NOVEMBER, 1873.
KEW.
GLASGOW.
Barometer. T^f™™
Barometer. ^J™',,
PERATURE. ¦
PERATTJRE.
| 4 A.M. 10 A.M. 4 P.M. 10 P.M. SS: J 4 A.M. J 10 A.M. 4
P.M. 10 P.M. J**]J**
____________________________________________________________________________
,_________________
___________________1__________________________._____________________________
__i___________
1 ft. trace 29-168 29-226 29-245 51'5 42'8 1
28-494 28'614 28-758 28'858 467 352
2 ft. trace 29-303 29-225 29'285 51-9 377 2
28'914 29'024 29-107 29213 457 34'3 gas low
3 29-249
29"297 29 322 29-356 47'3 32-2
3 29-320 29-414 29457 29-542 52-9 36'8 4
29'356 29-400 29-421 29167 47'1 35-5
4 29-540 29-553 29520 29-503 51'9 27"8 5
29-455 29'455 29-412 29'432 45'7 33-3
5 29-420 29-422 29-367 29-370 52-5 40'2 6
29-430 29'478 29'500 29'586 46'7 42-3
6 29-270 29-205 29-376 29-456 ,49'5 439 7
29-638 29-738 29-890 30'074 45'9 39 0
7 29-490 29-564 29'624 29'745 49'7 41-0 8
30-118 30-183 30-157 30 197 45'4 35'0
8 29-830 29-915 29-925 29'988 49'9 42-0 9
30'267 30235 30-315 30-301 467 371
9 29-960 30-001 29'920 29'976 48-5 457 10
30'267 30-331 30-320 30'331 44"3 38'7
10 30-010 30-113 30-161 30219 48-4 42 2 11
30-309 30-327 30'285 30-285 45-5 39"2
11 30020 30-257 30-182 30-157 45-9 417 12
30'241 30-211 30'096 30 046 41-5 29'5
12 30-070 30-070 29-986 29-955 45'3 34-7 13
29'944 29-922 29898 29-980 43-3 36-1
13 ft. trace 29'863 29'830 29-880 4t0 27"0 14
30024 30-118 30-182 30300 42*7 36-7
14 ...... 29-955 29-988 30-122 47-8 36'2 15
30-352 30-416 30-393 30 435 42'2 29'1
15 30-240 30-308 30-317 30-384 45-5 41-4 16
30'457 30-497 30-503 30'521 33 6 24'8
16 30-420 30-442 30-425 30'457 41-9 37'0 17
30-499 30-503 30-460 30'444 34'6 . 29 3
17 30-435 30-457 30-405 30-403 45'1 41-0 18
30-400 30-394 30-350 30'326 35'8 31'0
18 30-350 30-357 30'300 30'282 45-1 41-5 19
30-258 30-214 30-114 30'092 408 32'8
19 30-225 30-199 30-126 80132 47'0 41'7 20
30'058 30'078 30042 29'996 42'3 I 38-0
20 30-100 30-141 30-110 30-116 477 38'5 21
29-850 29 598 29265 29177 497 f 32'8
21 30-045 30 002 29-779 29-559 46'6 372 22
29 081 29 275 29-420 29 304 50-8 1 44'3
22 29-360 29-409 29'589 29-689 54'6 38'5 23 :
29226 29 360 29'380 29-586 52'7 41-8
23 29-570 29-607 29700 29'863 58'1 46-4 24 |
29'592 29'552 29-657 29'800 46 2 ! 40-1
24 29-895 29-901 29'891 30'027 50'9 43'0 25 !
29'850 29943 29943 29'775 46'3 40 2
25 30-090 30-177 30-147 30-108 507 34'1 26 \
29-579 29'413 29-108 28'962 52-5 41-2
26 29-970 29-885 29'597 29448 54'3 36'8 27
28948 29-090 29-285 29'579 50-8 42'4
27 29-400 29-455 29-570 29-C88 50-6 44'5 28
29-701 29707 29-606 29-618 53'2 40'2
28 29-870 29-969 29-926 29-955 537 41'2 29
29'538 29-240 29-040 29'296 51-2 42'6
29 29-930 29-827 29'569 29-563 54'8 44"0 30
29'556 29'886 30'076 30-148 45-2 36-3
30 29-675 29-905 30-120 30'388 47-9 43'6
____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________!_________________________________________________
_____________________________________
DECEMBER, 1873.
1 30-460 30-500 30-455 30'474 49'5 32'0 1
30-086 30-048 30'023 30-115 51'2 43'2
2 30-470 30-523 30520 30'543 52'4 38'0 2
30'217 30-363 30'344 30'306 50-4 43'2
3 30-560 30-592 30-576 30-603 49-3 47'2 3
30-274 30-294 30'305 30-389 49'8 47'7
4 30-615 30-625 30'567 30'532 43'6 41 "0 4
30'403 30-383 30-296 30-202 49-5 457
5 30450 30-450 30-382 30'346 40'2 40-9 5
30-076 30126 30-117 30-143 49'8 402
6 30-280 30 416 30484 30546 44'9 42'2 6
30-303 30-425 30'408 30392 417 35'2
7 30-490 30-548 30-540 30-560 46'5 377 7
30-268 30 218 30178 30'188 "48 2 32-2
8 30-550 30-599 30-571 30-592 480 42'0 8
30'200 30-266 30'230 30-251 49-1 35-0
9 30-570 30-596 30-543 30-537 37'9 23'4 9
...... 30'323 30-265 30311 49'3 467
10 30-520 30565 30-546 30-589 283 20'4 10
30-243 30'397 30'413 30'445 48-3 38-1
11 30-570 30-636 30-591 30-605 31-9 207 11
30'469 30-519 30'501 30'521 42'5 36'3
12 30-580 30-636 30-605 30-632 34'1 24'0 12
30-525 30-511 30'468 30-486 45'3 35-2
13 30-600 30-639 30'582 30-578 37'5 310 13
30-480 30-486 30'452 30'430 46'8 43'3
14 30-490 30-480 30-385 30-352 35'8 33-2 14
30-344 30'308 30'173 30'031 48'6 397
15 30-240 30-221 30-118 30-029 48'8 33'0 15
29'819 29767 29'701 29'393 48'7 427
16 29-890 29-839 29-943 30099 56'6 387 16
29393 29'453 29719 29'847 50-5 44'3
17 30-120 30-161 30-170 30-178 55'0 41-9 17
29-907 29-929 29'910 29818 50'8 43-2
18 30-150 30-192 30-190 3J-173 54-1 470 18
29'836 29972 29965 29907 51-1 41-0
19 30-095 30037 29'923 29 864 498 47'6 19
29'807 29-725 29-670 29644 45'8 40'3
20 29-850 29-959 29-963 29-996 48-1 39'0 20
29 612 29-598 29'571 29 633 44-8 39'7
21 30035 30-131 30-085 31-068 51-2 141-3 21
29'679 29-685 29'570 29 474 49'9 41-8
22 30-025 30-042 30-078 30133 507 ! 45'8 22
29-513 29'647 29-685 29765 50-4 35'3
23 30-120 30-175 30-080 30'007 48'8 I 35 2 23
29-817 29-823 29'579 29-635 49*5 35-2
24 30-005 30 212 30-300 30346 50'4 40'8 24
29'975 30 141 30-150 30-062 49'8 33'2
25 30-290 30-328 30'275 30-233 45'9 36'8 25
29'992 29978 29954 29-916 48'7 39'8
26 30-140 30-110 30-001 29919 47'2 393 26
29'850 29 788 29'687 29-765 49'2 37'5
27 29-820 29-793 29'835 29'942 41'2 37'2 27
29749 29 749 29-809 29'958 39-6 28"9
28 30050 30-201 30-165 30-178 327 28-8 28
30-048 30'074 29-973 29-873 35'4 28-3
29 30-080 30-079 29-993 29981 39'0 250 29
29-765 29-697 29634 29 562 427 33-1
30 29920 29-866 29731 29-621 45'4 27'6 30
29348 29'314 29-201 29-015 48'3 371
31 29-480 29-564 29'632 29-836 50-1 35"6 31
29017 29141 29-289 29-533 46'8 40'6
APPENDIX No. II. A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS
CONNECTED WITH
MINING OPERATIONS,
TAKEN OUT BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1873, AND DECEMBER 31, 1873.
BEING A CONTINUATION OF APPENDIX TO VOL. XXII.
By the SECRETARY.
The descriptions have been mostly given in the words of the patentee, all
matter being excluded except that which is actually necessary to give some
idea of the general principle involved. The exact details, if required, can
readily be obtained from the Specifications. The patents are classified
as before, viz. :—
1.—Lifting and winding, including safety-hooks.
2.—Mining, boring, and sinking.
3.—Pumping and modes of raising water.
4.—Ventilation.
5.—Safety-lamps and lighting mines,
6.—Coal cutting, getting, and breaking down.
7.—Explosive compounds.
8.—Miscellaneous.
FIRST DIVISION.
LIFTING AND WINDING, INCLUDING SAFETY-HOOKS.
1873. No. 428. BARNARD. For preventing the falling of cages in
shafts. This relates to cross timbers or bars working upon a common
centre or on separate centres, and with the four legs extending outwards,
the lower ones being shaped to engage into teeth or detents in or on the
side walls of the shaft or uptake when acted upon by springs. 1873. No.
508. Siddons. For preventing the overwinding of skips in the shafts of
mines. This invention consists in the construction of an improved
self-acting apparatus connected to
VOL. XXIII.—1874.-APPENr>rX No. II.
1
10 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
and worked by the engine employed for raising skips in the shafts of mines,
whereby when the skip reaches the point to which it is to be raised, steam
is automatically shut off from the engine and the brake applied, thus
preventing the overwinding of the skip. 1873. No. 886. Wilson. This
invention consists in arranging the two drums, round which the winding ropes
used in collieries and mines and for other purposes are coiled, upon
separate axles connected together by toothed wheels, so that both ropes are
coiled round the drums in the same direction as that in which they pass over
the pithead pulleys. 1873. No. 965. Mowbray. A lever on each side
of cage, one end by a bar connected to the rope : if the latter breaks, the
outer ends of the levers shoot into racks fixed to sides of shaft and stop
the cage. The suspending hooks are made to open and thus drop the cage on
coming in contact with a projection on the head gear. 1873. No. 1482.
Underhill and Snow. The prevention of accidents through overwinding or
breakage of the winding rope. We attach two diagonal suspension chains to
the winding rope, and from these we suspend the cage. The catches to
which the said chains are attached are not secured to the cage or other
receptacle employed, but are held vertically in position at each side of the
cage by means of latches turning upon horizontal pins, each latch having a
handle or tail end projecting horizontally when in ordinary use. The
guides between which the cage travels terminate at a suitable height above
the mouth of the pit, and are furnished with strong bolts, which project in
such manner as to catch and depress the tail ends or handles of the
aforesaid latches, should the said cage be overwound or raised too high.
The catches are thereby set free from the cage, and pass away with the
winding rope. In adapting our invention to prevent accidents from the
breakage of the winding rope, we make each of the aforesaid supporting
catches in two pieces, the upper piece being hinged to the lower piece.
The upper piece has an external hook or catch at its upper end, which, when
the rope breaks, is forced by a spring into gear with ratchet-shaped teeth
formed upon the inner face of each guide bar, but as long as the rope or
chain is unbroken, and the cage hangs therefrom, the tension of the diagonal
suspension chains counteracts the force of the spring, and holds the upper
catches out of action. 1873. No. 2057. Stebins, Roseneield, Mayers, and
Leon. Improvements in hydraulic hoisting apparatus, including an improved
friction clutch, an improved safety device for elevator cages, and an
improved governor or brake for regulating the descent of the cage. This
invention relates to that class of hoisting apparatus in which the pressure
of water upon a piston in a cylinder is used for elevating a cage from one
level to another, and first, to a vertical arrangement of cylinders;
secondly, to a horizontal arrangement, either of which can be employed.
1873. No. 2059. Johnson. Improvements in moving and raising coal and
other granular material, and in the machinery or apparatus employed therein,
and to save the tedious and costly
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 11
labour demanded in the moving and raising them by the aid of shovels and
wheel-barrows and the usual hoisting apparatus. 1873. No. 2376.
Scott.
Instead of the wire rope hitherto used for colliery winding and other
purposes, a belt or band is made composed of two or more layers of flat
steel, charcoal iron, or other suitable metal, and of a thickness or breadth
according to the purpose required. When practicable, the strips, layers, or
plates forming the belt or band are each made of one piece, but when
required to be of excessive length, two or more strips of metal are joined
together according to the desired length by brazing, welding, or rivetting.
It will not be always necessary to fasten the strips, layers, or plates
together, but when desired they may be secured by clips, rivets, or any
other suitable means. 1873. No. 2382. Urquhart.
Improvements in preventing accidents in the shafts of mines, and in the
machinery or apparatus employed therefor. 1873. No. 2550. Mills.
Improvements in apparatus to stop the motion of cages or loads down mines
and other places, and on inclines. This apparatus consists of claws or
clutches of a forked form with a central point, all the interior surfaces of
which are toothed, said teeth being inclined in such a way as to penetrate
by their own action more and more deeply into the guides from the moment
when they first come in contact with them. 1873. No. 3506. Owen.
Improvements in winding engines and apparatus for raising coal, stone,
minerals, and other heavy bodies. This invention relates to the use of
compressed air as a counterbalance or power accumulator applicable to
winding engines for raising coal, stone, minerals, or other heavy bodies.
SECOND DIVISION. MINING, BORING, AND SINKING.
1873. No. 679. Macdermott.
The novelty of this invention consists, as to the first part thereof, in a
new mechanical arrangement of standard to carry mechanism for perforating
rock, &c, so made that it can be fixed rigidly in position to the face of
the rock to be perforated or other material upon which the standard rests,
and take the thrust of the perforating mechanism while the process of boring
is being effected ; and, secondly, in a new mechanical arrangement of
standard, also to carry mechanism for perforating rock and other mineral
substances, so contrived that the same standard can be adjusted and fixed
rigidly in position between rock and other bearing surfaces varying in the
heights or distances between the same, thus obviating the necessity for
using standards of different heights. 1873. No. 879. Rigby.
Improvements in drill heads for rock boring and tunnelling. This invention
consists in a method of driving the boring bar and nut in drill heads of
diamond borers or others of similar character.
12 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
1873. No. 1280. Edwards.
The objects of this invention are to simplify and make cheaper and more
durable the automatic feeding gear of rock boring engines. 1873. No.
1455. Cranston.
Improvements in machinery for drilling or boring rock, and cutting coal.
This machine, like other machines of this character in use, consists of a
cylinder, piston, and slide valve, worked by either steam or compressed air,
and is mounted on a carriage when used in drifts or headings, in mines or
tunnels. 1873. No. 1638. BALL.
This invention consists in making drills for cutting rocks, tubular in their
cutting parts, and having teeth formed upon their cutting edges. 1873. No.
1734. Darlington.
Improved means of obtaining reciprocatory motion in percussive engines for
boring rocks. Piston so constructed as to open and close necessary
distributing passages in the cylinder during the stroke. . .
1873. No. 1919. Beaumont.
Improvements in rock drilling apparatus. According to this invention a
number of rock drills operating by percussive action, are all worked by one
single slide valve detached therefrom, and connected to the ports of all the
drill cylinders by flexible or jointed pressure pipes, so that by the motion
of the slide valve the air or gas under pressure is admitted simultaneously
to and exhausted simultaneously from all the drill cylinders. The rock
drills are by preference mounted on the uprights of a framing constructed as
described in the Specifications to Patents No. 1,682 of 1868, and No. 392 of
1872. The partial rotation of the drills at each stroke is effected by a
small air cylinder, supplied from the pressure pipes, actuating a ratchet in
gear with a ratchet wheel on a rod from the drill piston passing through the
back end of the drill cylinder. The forward motion of the drill cylinder, as
the boring proceeds, is effected by a curved incline or cone on the said rod
from the piston, actuating a ratchet in gear with a ratchet wheel, carried
by a bracket from the drill cylinder, and fitting with a female screw on a
fixed screw spindle. This screw spindle is provided with a hand wheel by
which it can be rotated for drawing back the drill cylinder after the boring
has been completed. 1873. No. 1991. Brydon and Davidson.
Improvements in machinery for drilling rock, consisting of a tappet, the
head of which forms the valve of a steam boring apparatus, and which is
actuated directly from within the steam chest, thereby dispensing with
external valve rods, stuffing boxes, and other parts ; of a peculiar mode of
rotating the tool at each back or return stroke ; of a clamp by which the
machine is instantly secured at any suitable angle. 1873. No. 2165.
Ainsley and Hall.
A simple and efficient boring machine, which can be readily fixed in
position and transported from place to place, and will have great scope of
action—that is to say, will be capable of working either in a horizontal,
vertical, or diagonal direction, at the pleasure of the miner. 1873. No.
2263. Lake.
Improvements in machinery for drilling rocks, consisting of a stand for
supporting
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 13
the machine, and which is capable of adjustment to permit the drill to
penetrate the rock in any direction ; the means for attaching the cylinder
thereto, so that it maybe firmly sustained thereon ; mechanism for turning
the drill upon its axis during the operation of the machine. 1873. No.
2506. Imray.
Apparatus for drilling blast holes, and consists of a drill attached to a
spindle mounted free to rotate and move longitudinally in bearings on a
frame jointed so. that the drill can be directed at any required angle. A
wheel mounted on the framing has cam-shaped ratchet teeth which act on a
pawl-lever. This pawl-lever bears against one edge of a clamp-ring
encircling the drill spindle, and a volute helical spring bears against the
opposite edge of the ring. The ring when pressed backwards by the pawl-lever
is canted so as to nip the drill spindle and to draw it back and twist it a
little round. When the pawl escapes a tooth, the spring drives the spindle
forward, and thus the successive teeth, as the wheel is made to revolve,
cause the drill to make a succession of blows which have the effect of
drilling a hole, the drill being at the same time turned and advanced a
little, as in hand boring. 1873. No. 3396. Patterson.
Machinery for boring rocks, and consists in applying the machinery for
hammering for which Letters Patent were granted to Alfred Vincent Newton on
the 24th day of March, 1866, No. 872, to impart the requisite motion to the
drills of boring machines, whereby the rocks or other hard substances are
bored more expeditiously and perfectly than heretofore. The drills are
attached to the springs with flexible connections described in the said
Patent, and motion is communicated to the driving shaft of the boring
machine by means of a small water engine ram or wheel, driven by the water
so abundant in mines and cuttings; or the arrangements may be modified so as
to allow the application of compressed air or steam or other motive power,
as circumstances may require. 1873. No. 3901. Lake.
Machinery for boring rocks, and relates to improvements in those machines
whereby drilling rocks is effected by the action of the drill carried and
operated by a reciprocating piston, which is driven more or less rapidly to
and fro within a cylinder by the force of steam, compressed air, or other
elastic fluid, admitted alternately to opposite ends of the said cylinder by
a distributing valve. 1873. No. 4283. Carr and Urwin.
The invention relates to an improved machine or apparatus for boring fire
clay, coal, or other hard substances, either on the surface of the ground,
or under ground in coal pits, or other mines or quarries.
third division. PUMPING AND RAISING WATER.
1873. No. 257. NEWTON. This invention relates to the construction
of what are known as steam vacuum
14 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
pumps, in which steam is condensed to form a vacuum, into which water is
raised hy atmospheric pressure, to he discharged either by gravitation or
steam pressure on the admission of a fresh discharge of steam.
1873. No. 933. Lake. Improvements in rotary pumps for lifting and
forcing water.
1873. No. 967. Haseltine. This invention relates to pumps in which
a reciprocating valve-piston is employed, and the said invention consists in
the combination with the valve-plunger or carrier of an independent acting
sectional ring to serve both as a packing and as a supporting valve.
1873. No. 1059. Fobeest.
This invention relates to steam pumps, in which the pump, which may be
either reciprocating or rotating, is worked by means of a special steam
cylinder or combination of cylinders, and consists in fixing in either the
delivery or suction pipe of the pump, but by preference the latter, any
suitable modification of apparatus of the kind known as "injectors" or
"ejectors," such apparatus having connected to it a pipe leading from the
exhaust port of the steam cylinder. 1873. No. 1129. Baelow.
Improved pneumatic pump, consisting of two chambers united by a bent pipe.
The two chambers must be of the same capacity, and they as well as the bent
pipe are full of oil or other suitable liquid. The lower chamber is provided
with a plunger, which is worked by a steam engine or other power, and the
upper one, in which are the valves, is in communication with the vessel in
which the vacuum or partial vacuum is to be formed. 1873. No. 1306.
Aenall.
This invention consists in constructing the spear rods of planks (say) nine
inches wide by three inches thick, with their ends scarfed one foot in
length, or dovetailed and placed on a system of break joints, each joint
being secured by a bolt or bolts passing also through the whole number of
planks composing the rod which thus bind the whole system together.
1873. No. 1596. Williamson and Paesell.
Water is pumped up or lifted by successive stages into chambers furnished
with float valves and placed at various levels. The air is exhausted from
the chambers, and the water rushing in fills them in turn. When the lowest
chamber is exhausted, the inflow of the water closes equilibrium valves
communicating with the exhaust and opens others communicating with air,
which air flows in and drives out the water from that chamber which opens a
valve in the lift pipe and rises into the next chamber wherein the operation
is repeated, and so on in each chamber. 1873. No. 1688. Lake.
Improvements in rotary pumps.
1873. No. 1732. Keen and Dence.
Improvements in machinery or apparatus for raising or elevating corn,
minerals, coal, gravel, sand, or other materials applicable for discharging
or loading vessels, dredging, pumping, and other similar purposes.
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 15
1873. No. 1745. Picking and Hopkins. Improvements in the construction,
arrangement, and working of steam cylinders for use in steam pumping
machinery and in steam engines, and in the means of governing or regulating
the supply of steam thereto. (Too complicated for description without a
drawing.) 1873. No. 1834. Newton. The machine which forms the subject
of the present invention is composed of three principal parts, which are to
a certain extent independent of each other, but act in combination. The
first part of the machine may be described as an artificial spring of water,
and is intended to raise and project the water with great force. 1873.
No. 1864. Wieth. The novelty of the invention consists in transmitting
motion to the plungers of pumps situated below ground by means of ropes,
rods, or chains, held in tension either by means of their connection with
the discharge pipes of the pumps, or by an arrangement of levers top and
bottom that in their movements will give the ropes stretched between them
the necessary tension for giving the rise and fall to the plungers of pumps,
or for other driving purposes below ground. 1873. No. 2003.
Beotheehood. This invention relates to improvements in triple engines of a
kind described in a Provisional Specification filed by the said Peter
Brotherhood on the 24th day of January, 1873, No. 287. Three single
acting cylinders arranged equally round a central chamber filled with oil,
are fitted with pistons, which act on a single crank within a chamber on a
shaft, which projects through the side of the chamber. 1873. No. 2033.
Colebeook. Improvements in steam cylinders for steam pumping machinery and
steam engines. (Too complicated to be described without a drawing.) 1873.
No. 2249. Gaefoeth and Walkee. According to this invention the steam
cylinder of a pump is fitted with a long piston, in which are formed
passages, which when the piston is near the ends of its stroke communicate
with passages in the cylinder leading to the ends of the valve chamber.
1873. No. 2281. CHAPMAN. Improvements in rotary pumps.
1873. No. 2649. Douds and Habtsuff. The invention relates to that
class of steam pumps in which the steam is caused to act by direct pressure
upon the water, and is directed alternately upon two chambers having a
common steam and delivery pipe controlled by tilting valves in such a manner
as to direct the steam alternately upon each chamber, one being filled with
water while the other is being emptied. 1873. No. 3011. Kichaedson.
Improvements in means or apparatus for ventilating and pumping purposes.
This invention has for its object improvements upon an invention for which
Letters Patent were granted to B. J. B. Mills, on the 28th day of November,
1870, No. 3117.
16 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
1873. No. 3138. Beale. An outer casing or cylinder is furnished with
an inlet and outlet as usual in rotary engines. 1873. No. 3343. Lake.
The invention consists in arranging the air-vessel over and between the two
pumps, to form the fulcrum for the lever, in combination with a water-way.
1873. No. 3478. Worth. The use of ports and slide-valves similar to
those of an ordinary steam cylinder for the admission of water to and from
the pump, the ports in the valve passing completely through it, motion being
given to the valves of the steam cylinder and pump by means of the piston of
an auxiliary steam cylinder and suitable mechanical arrangements. The use
of a piston valve to admit steam to cylinder and give motion to the pump
valve, the piston valve being actuated by auxiliary steam ports and a valve.
FOURTH DIVISION. VENTILATION.
1873. No. 395. Pettifer.
This invention relates to employing water under pressure for forcing air.
Water under pressure coming through a pipe passes through a rose, the bottom
of which is made with small holes, and underneath these holes wires are
fixed, for the purpose of cutting or dividing the water passing through the
holes ; the rose is fitted in a cylinder having air holes at the top, and a
suitable air space is left between the rose and the cylinder. Atmospheric
air coming through the air holes and space strikes amongst the divided or
cut water, and is forced by the pressure of the water through an air pipe,
and the water escapes through a discharge pipe made at the bottom of the
cylinder or air pipe. 1873. No. 1824. Vacherot.
My improved propeller or ventilator consists of a wheel or disc mounted on a
propeller shaft, having a number of vanes or blades hinged to the face
thereof, each vane or blade being caused in turn to open out from the side
of the said wheel or disc and to close inwards again to the surface thereof
by the action of either of a fixed eccentric, round which the said wheel or
disc rotates, or by the action of spur gearing or of cranks or arms on the
exterior ends of the axles of the vanes or blades acting against or sliding
over fixed surfaces round the exterior of the wheel, or by other convenient
arrangements of mechanism. 1873. No. 2863. Roebuck and Lamb.
Our improved ventilator consists of stationary and moveable vessels with
conical nozzles, between which the steam escapes, thereby causing a current
of air in the mine or other place to be ventilated; also in conveying the
exhaust steam of a steam engine into the interior of the moveable vessel to
increase or induce the current.
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 17
FIFTH DIVISION. SAFETY-LAMPS.
1873. No. 293. Bailey and Waddington. This invention is intended to
prevent the possibility of a miner opening his " Davy lamp" without
detection, and consists principally in the use of a seal in an enclosed case
or box fixed to the lamp, and so arranged that it is impossible for the
miner to unscrew the top of his lamp without breaking the seal. 1873. No.
451. Jones. This invention consists in extinguishing the flame in
Davy's safety-lamps on any attempt being made by miners and others to remove
the light therefrom. 1873. No. 1131. Landau. Improvements in
miners'safety-lamps and other lamps and apparatus for lighting, also in
furnaces, fire-places, and stoves or apparatus for heating, and in
instruments for kindling lights, part of the improvements being applicable
for ventilating. At the lower part of the lamp or lighting apparatus is a
chamber or box, into which air is forced or otherwise admitted. It
sometimes contains a fan or agitator. A bent or tortuous tube is fixed at
the top of the lamp. It may be combined with a blower. The heat is
condensed in this tube. There are arrangements for removing condensation
water. Instead of miners' lamps and the like being separate and portable,
they may be fitted in frames in the mine galleries or elsewhere, the frames
of the lamps being moveable, hence a number of lamps may be properly
controlled. 1873. No. 3076. Stone. This invention consists in improving
the illuminating power of safety-lamps by making the glass surrounding the
flame of a cylindrical figure within and a convex figure without, or convex
both within and without. By this means the light is so concentrated that
when the lamp is hung vertically the illumination is for the most part
directed horizontally at or about the level of the lamp. 1873. No. 3761.
Hyde, Hyde, and Aldis. The operation of our improved apparatus or
safety-lamp is as follows:—A lamp is suspended from the top of the roof, and
is placed near to it, and the tendency of foul air being upward, it will of
necessity act upon the lamp before affecting the lower atmosphere, and as
soon as the foul air enters the gauze it becomes ignited, the strip of lead
which is used to suspend the stalk is quickly melted, when the stalk
immediately drops, the outer casing also falls, and the lamp thus becomes
extinguished from want of combustion. We employ electricity in combination
with our apparatus, and when the said outer metal casing falls, we cause the
metal bridle before described to act upon an electric current, which in its
turn acts upon a bell or bells, causing them to ring, and to continue
ringing until they are stopped by the attendants. 1873. No. 4243.
Gardner. This consists of a cap provided with an opening through which the
wick from the
VOL. XXIII.—1874.—APPENDIX No. II,
.,
V
18 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
burner passes. The said cap rotates with the burner whilst screwing the said
burner to the protecting chamber, but is secured to the protecting chamber
whilst unscrewing the said burner. A piece of wire or suitable material is
secured over the opening in the cap to prevent the wick being raised too
high. 1873. No. 4254. Armitage and Taylor. The body of our improved
safety-lamp is provided with a perforated cover, which is soldered or
otherwise secured to it. The wick of the lamp is ignited by a fine taper
tube connected to a gas burner, and the lamp is put out by an extinguisher
which is held up by a spring lever.
SIXTH DIVISION. COAL-GETTING.
1873. No. 95. Gay. This invention consists in improved modes of giving the
cutting tools a revolving and advancing motion at the same time, for the
purpose of making slots or mortices at the sides or other parts of the seam
or gallery of the mine or rock, and also in improved arrangements and
contrivances for enabling the machinery to be comparatively light in weight,
easily moved from place to place, quickly fastened, and its parts changed as
required with ease and expedition.
1873. No. 767. Simpson. This invention relates principally to improvements
in or developments of the modes of working described in No. 1471 of 1870. In
one modification the coal or other face is undercut across between two
parallel roads by an endless chain with cutters on it and stretched across
from one parallel road to the other. In one of the roads or ways a main
endless driving rope is arranged to actuate a vertical pulley shaft moveable
along the road on a carriage, and this shaft directly actuates a toothed or
sprocket wheel for the endless chain of cutters and fixed on it as low down
as possible, or fixed on a separate shaft in gear with it.
1873. No. 910. StTJBBS AND COTTAM.
The cutting tool has a simultaneously reciprocating and rotary motion
imparted to it, and cuts preferably spirally ; framework mounted on tram,
and the tool moved forward by self-acting or other means. Motion imparted
by any suitable motive power. 1873. No. 1900. Clapp.
A number of cutters, drills, and augers, mounted in a frame made to traverse
and angle, according to the work within, or between upright standards, or a
vertical or other frame. The cutting instruments are caused to rotate
together in the same or in opposite directions, and are connected together
by wheels or wheel and pinion gearing, and worked by hand from one crank
handle, or by power from a pully or chain wheel, or by crank from a motor.
1873. No. 1936. HANSON.
In carrying out the invention, teeth or cutting surfaces are applied to the
end of a
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 19
cylinder or parts carried so as to rotate, and the desired rotatory motion
to this carrying means is given by a pair of reciprocating racks set in
motion by any suitable power acting upon a pair of tooth wheels, each of
which has connected to it a ratchet or such like wheel, and the teeth of
each of these ratchet or such like wheels is taken into by one or more
clicks or drivers carried by an arm or arms affixed to the axis of the
carrying means, by which a continuous rotatory motion to cut in a circular
direction will be obtained. The progressive forward motion is obtained by
rack and pinion, or by lever and weight, or such like means. The cylindrical
cut having been thus obtained, the cylinder of coal may be separated by
wedges driven into the cut, or by a few blows from a hammer or such like
means.
1873. No. 2732. Lucas and Nichols. In this invention a series of cutters on
a revolving bar is employed. The cutter bar has an endwise movement into the
coal about equal to the distance from one cutter to the next upon the bar.
After an endwise movement is completed the bar is advanced sideways into a
position for the next cut, and so on. A supporting bar is employed to steady
and support the revolving cutter bar.
1873. No. 3222. Warsop and Hill. In this invention a trolly or carriage,
mounted on four wheels, carries a circular frame, and on which is mounted
one or more cylinders, giving a rotative motion by connecting rods, cranks,
&c, to a cutter bar. The cutter bar has a spiral groove or grooves in the
form of a screw running from end to end. In the raised parts of the bar,
left after the groove or grooves are cut, are fixed at intervals a number of
cutters. The cutter bar carries a semicircular shield behind it to
facilitate the cuttings being drawn away. The circular frame carrying the
cutter, cylinder, and connections, is capable of being canted to a position
other than horizontal, irrespective of the outer frame or trolly, and of
being turned round in a circle.
1873. No. 3248. Stevenson, Eee, and Dunlop. This invention consists in
forming the cutting part of tools for cutting freestone and other minerals,
of short flat pieces or nibs of thin steel or iron with the front cutting
end made of a half round shape, and having an angular or square cornered
recess or projection formed behind to fit a corresponding projection or
recess in the back end of one of the griping jaws of the holder, and which
are made to project forward at about the same angle, in the projecting
griping part of the holder, that it is desired to hold the cutters in
relation to the face being cut or the motion of the cutter.
1873. No. 3637. Jones. This Specification describes modes of constructing
revolving bar cutters for cutting grooves into coal or other mineral; also
causing such cutters to be swept round in the arc of a circle so as to cut a
groove of any desired depth; also construction of machinery to be driven by
hand power, or by rotary engines when such descriptions of cutter are used.
20 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
SEVENTH DIVISION.
EXPLOSIVE COMPOUNDS.
1873. No. 926. Koberts.
This invention has for its object improved means of rendering fulminating
powders, and all fulminates that are dangerous to handle in a dry state,
comparatively safe and useful for blasting and other purposes, by mixing
them and using them mixed or combined with water or some other suitable
fluid or materials, such as hydroscopic salts, in such proportions as shall
render them non-explosive by ordinary agitation, friction, or by a'blow or
concussion, but yet sufficiently explosive to be capable of being fired by
any detonating or fulminating compound, or by some of the same material in a
dry state. 1873. No. 1570. Newton.
This invention consists in the use of paraffin, ozokerite, stearine,
napthaline, or any other fatty or sticky matter insoluble in water, as
ingredients in explosive compounds containing nitrates, hygroscopic or not,
and nitro-glycerine. 1873. No. 1830. Mackie and Fatjre.
This Provisional Specification describes means by which gun cotton in a
fibrous state, as when made from cotton waste or skeins, may be formed into
granules or lumps. Granules formed from gun cotton which has been reduced to
an impalpable powder, and either alone or mixed with other materials, are
rendered compact by causing a plunger to descend into a chamber containing a
quantity of such granules, the surfaces of the granules having been
previously powdered over to prevent their sticking together. The compressed
cake of granules so produced is afterwards broken up. Also an improved
process of drying gun cotton and other solid explosives. Also mixing various
substances with gun cotton and such like. 1873. No. 2976. Brain.
Improved construction of electric fuzes for discharging dynamite
lithofracteur and other blasting bodies or compounds. This consists in
enclosing within a paper or other tube on the end of the conducting wires a
composition which becomes incandescent under the action of an electric
current, and thereby communicates the heat or spark to the charge. 1873.
No. 2984. Brain.
Combining in certain proportions nitro-glycerine, chlorate of potash, sugar,
charcoal, ground coal, sawdust, dextrine, starch, and shumach, so as to form
highly concentrated explosive bodies. 1873. No. 3273. Haseltine.
This invention consists in the compression of the grains in sheets that are
afterwards broken up into pieces, by which means I attain uniformity of
density and comparatively great regularity of size. 1873. No. 4148.
Fenton.
A white gunpowder, composed of yellow prussiate of potash, loaf sugar, and
chlorate of potash, which are ground fine and then kneaded to the
consistency of dough, after which the compound is dried and passed through
sieves of various sizes to obtain different-sized grains.
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 21
EIGHTH DIVISION.
MISCELLANEOUS.
1873. No. 602. Jensen.
Gas retorts heated by waste heat of coke ovens, and crude lighting gas from
the retorts mixed with waste heat from the coke ovens utilized for heating,
evaporating, and boiling purposes. 1873. No. 848. Eeidy.
By the introduction of a socket head on the end of shaft of pick a taper
hole passes through the head and handle, through which a cast steel blade or
tool can be put and taken out at pleasure. 1873. No. 936. Ptjmphrey.
This invention consists of a body or case open at top within which a
rotating sifter, screen, or cage made of wire work is supported, and works
the hollow spindle of the sifter or screen taking upon a fixed spindle or
support in the axis of the body or case. A lid covers the open body or case
during the use of the sifter so as to prevent the escape of dust. This lid
carries at top a handle for rotating the screen or sifter, a projecting part
inside the lid, when the lid is fitted upon the case or body, taking upon a
square head on the spindle of the sifter or screen. The ashes being placed
in the sifter or screen, the latter is rotated or oscillated by means of the
handle on the lid, and the ash is thereby rapidly sifted or screened from
the cinders, the ash and the very small cinders falling through the meshes
of the screen into the body or case. 1873. No. 1073. Jensen.
Two or more coke ovens heat a salt pan with flues underneath, and through
it. The heat from each coke oven may be shut off from the salt pan and led
into the chimney. 1873. No. 1235. Wilson.
This Provisional Specification describes a revolving screen made in three
sections; the sections are truncated cones with a common inclined axis, the
bottom of the screen being horizontal or nearly so. The last two sections
dip into a tank of water. Partitions or lifters are fixed in the third
section, which lift the material that has been screened over the axis, and
then let it drop on to an inclined shoot which conveys it into the trucks to
carry it away. The water tank may be omitted and the screen made in two
sections. 1873. No. 1258. Jobson.
This invention consists in certain improvements upon the invention for which
former Letters Patent were granted to me on the 23rd day of February, 1869,
No. 558. I make the boiler or evaporator sufficiently long to reach over two
coke ovens, which ovens are charged and drawn alternately, so that a nearly
uniform amount of heat is supplied to the boiler or evaporator by the \^
waste heat from the coke ovens.
1873. No. 1478. Smith.
ivTy improvement consists in constructing an apparatus on the principle of
Giffard's injector, for drawing the gases from the stacks of smelting and
other furnaces
22 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
where they are generated, or coking ovens, and forcing them into smelting or
other furnaces to be utilized as fuel. 1873. No. 1751. Woodall.
The principal feature of this invention consists in constructing coal tubs
or waggons of sheet iron in an improved manner, instead of wood as
ordinarily constructed. 1873. No. 1852. Imray.
This invention relates to apparatus for supporting respiration and light in
suffocating atmospheres and under water, and consists in improvements in the
respiratory apparatus, which is fitted with inlet and outlet valves, and in
dense media with governing flexible diaphragms connected to the inlet valve,
the distension or collapsing of which adjust the pressure of the air
supplied to that of the surrounding medium; in the portable reservoirs for
containing a supply of air, which are of bellows form, that can be carried
on the back, and have nozzles fitted with valves that open only when the
pipes for respiration or light are connected to those nozzles; in the air
supply pumps, which for moderate pressures are made like bellows worked by a
crank, and for high pressures, as for diving, have two cylinders of
different sizes, the smaller of which is supplied wibh compressed air from
the larger, and still further compresses the air delivered by it; in the
supply tubes, which have valves opening inwards, so that should the supply
from the pump fail, the act of inhaling may draw air into the pipes; in the
lamps, which are encased in glass and supplied with air somewhat exceeding
in pressure that of the surrounding medium, and which for diving purposes
have a light outlet valve for products of combustion ; and in the diving
dresses used under water, and instruments for closing the nostrils, and
spectacles employed in deleterious atmospheres. 1873. No. 1927.
Evrard.
The characteristic feature of this invention is the removal from a charge of
coal, after it has been emptied into a deep vessel, the bottom of which is
moveable and perforated, of all the various components of the same, various
in size as well as in quality without any loss or waste whatever. To obtain
this result the charge is first acted on by an ascensional and intermittent
current in order to drive all the fine particles to the top, then graduated
fluctuations of the water are produced from the greatest height that can be
usefully employed down to the smallest in order to sort the qualities. The
slimy portions are next allowed to become deposited during an interval of
rest which varies from 2 to 5 minutes, according to the nature of the coal.
Lastly, the washing table is raised np to the orifice of the vessel in order
to effect the selection and removal of each quality. 1873. No. 2055.
Marley and Thompson.
This invention consists in the addition of a return flue, to the ordinary
flue, whereby the smoke fumes and gases are passed from the ovens to the
further end of the block of ovens instead of being passed direct to the
chimney as at present. The smoke fumes and gases are then returned by a
return flue either over, under, or at the side of the first flue back to the
chimney, thus forming a perfect combustion flue or chamber in which the
smoke fumes and gases are completely commingled, returned, and
effectually consumed. Suitable
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 23
dampers are applied between each oven and the first main flue for the
purpose of shutting off and excluding the air during the operation of
drawing and re-charging the ovens, the employment of such dampers being
necessary for the complete consumption of the smoke fumes and gases. 1873.
No. 2137. Fowler.
At the places at which the tubs or corves have to be run on to or off the
decks of the cage of lifts, frames having two or more decks or floors
similar to the cage are so mounted that the cage may be brought to rest
between them. The frames are connected to hydraulic presses, by which they
can be raised or lowered at pleasure. For the purpose of pushing some or all
of the corves or tubs off the floors of the frames or platforms on to the
cage, and from the cage on to the platforms, hydraulic presses are also
employed; a system of catches is also applied to the several floors of the
winding cage, which allow the off-going tubs or corves to leave the cage
freely, and lock or stop each on-coming tub or corve when it is in the right
position upon the winding cage. 1873. No. 2339. Grice.
The object of this invention is to conduct the process of gas and coke
making in such a manner as to collect all the constituents of the coal and
yet obtain them of such a quality as to command a higher market price. 1873.
No. 2669. Imray.
This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for discharging coals or
other goods from railway trucks, and loading them into vessels. The trucks,
consisting of boxes mounted on under frames, are brought on a railway on the
quay alongside the vessel. The locomotive, provided with a steam crane, is
run along a parallel line and is made to tip each box successively on to a
hopper-shaped slope formed on the quay, which can be closed at bottom by a
slide or door. From the mouth of the hopper a jointed spout conveys the
goods to different parts of the hold of the vessel. 1873. No. 3276.
Walker and Cole.
This invention has for its object to improve apparatus for screening coal,
and at the same time for facilitating the picking out from it all impurities
or dross. For this purpose we employ barrels or rolls in combination with a
series of screens. The barrels or rolls we place transversely between the
screens, there being a screening surface intermediate of the several
barrels. 1873. No. 3492. Penrose.
The invention relates to the production of coke, and consists in the mixing
or incorporating anthracite (or stone coal), free burning steam coal with
bituminous coal, or any other coal capable of making coke, with pitch, tar,
or any form of tar, bitumen, mineral oils containing bitumen, vegetable oils
containing bitumen, petroleum, or any of the waste products of pretroleum,
such coals being in a state of division. 1873. No. 3533. Bustard.
The objects of this invention are to increase the quantity of coke produced
from a given quantity of coal, to utilize the gases and heat generated in
the burning of coke, to facilitate the charging and discharging of the ovens
so as to produce a larger quantity of coke in a given time, and to improve
the construction of coke ovens without increasing the cost.
24 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
1873. No. 4227. Aitken. The feature of novelty which constitutes this
invention is the forcing of heated or cold air into the space of coke ovens
or kilns above the upper surface of the materials being coked so as to burn
the gases and promote the coking process. 1873. No. 4267. Sheppard.
This invention relates to a novel arrangement of apparatus for washing coal,
in which the same water may be used again and again to separate the coal
from the shale and other extraneous matters contained therein, and by which
means no waste of coal can occur. 1873. No. 4269. Lord. This invention
relates to the application of the waste heat from coke ovens to the
generating of steam or to the heating of water for useful purposes. In
applying it to the generating of steam, the heat is passed along a flue to
the flues of a steam boiler, after passing through which the heat escapes
into the chimney. The boiler may either be placed alongside or above the
coke oven. In applying it to the heating of water the heat is passed along,
a flue to the water-heating apparatus, and after passing in or around it,
the heat escapes into the chimney.
Accounts, x. to xiv.
Advertisement, vii.
Air-compressing and coal-getting machinery, by Hurd and Simpson. (See
Coal-getting.)
Analysis of Newfoundland coal, 173.
Analyses of Ironstones of South Wales, 208, 211, 212, 213, 214.
Apparatus for loading and unloading pit cages. (See Fowler!)
Appendix No. 1, barometer and thermometer readings for 1873, end of volume.
Appendix No. 2, patents connected with mining operations for 1873, end oj
volume.
Appendix to rules, xlvi.
Artificial stones exhibited by Dr. Page, 158.
Atmospheric pressure applied to raising coals. (See Raising.)
Bainbridge, Emerson, On a new description of safety-lamp. (See Safety
-lamp.)
Balance sheet, xii.
Barometer and thermometer readings, 1873, with diagrams. Appendix No. 1, end
of volume.
Basalt in various places, 160.
Bassett, A., On the diamond drill. (See Diamond.)
Beaumont, Major, On the diamond drill, 188.
Belgium, notice of natural pits in the coal-measures of. (See Natural
pits.)
Belgium, notes on further researches on natural pits, by G. A. Lebour. (See
Natural pits.)
Blanchet, Z., raising coals from great depths. (See Raising.)
Boilers in South Wales, 231.
Boring in the South of England, 160.
Briart, M., On natural pits in the coal-measures of Belgium. (See Natural
pits.)
Brown, Thomas Forster, On the South Wales coal-field. (See South Wales.)
Bunning, T. W., translation of Mons. Z. Blanchet's paper on raising coals
from great depths by atmospheric pressure. (See Raising.) Barometer and
thermometer readings,
1873, end of volume. Patents connected with mining operations, 1873, end of
volume.
Bunsen burner, 51.
Cardiff, meeting at, 177.
Chance's patent stone, 158.
Clanny lamp, 16, 17, 18, 19.
Coal, mode of working in South Wales, 219.
Coal, Newfoundland, analysis of, 173.
Coal-field of South Wales, by Thomas
Forster Brown. (See South Wales.) Coal-getting and air-compressing
machinery, by Hurd and Simpson, 107.— Discussed, 111.
Plates. 28. Elevation of the machine as arranged for under-cutting.—29.
Arranged for driving narrow work.— 30. Betort for heating the
compressed-air.—Wedge for breaking up the coal.—31. Portable air-compressing
machine (elevation).—32. Ditto (plan).—33. Air-compressing machine as
arranged for compressing the air at bank. Coal-measures and lower
carboniferous strata of Western Newfoundland, notes on, by Edwin Gilpin,
167.—Introductory remarks, 167,—Lower carboniferous marine limestones,
169.—Section of strata, 170.—The millstone grit, 171. —The middle or
productive coal formation, 172.—Section of a four feet seam, 173.—Analysis
of coal, 173.— Difficulty of transport, 173.
Plates. 35. Sketch of the carboniferous district of St. George's Bay,
Newfoundland. Coals, raising from great depths. (See
Raising.) Coke ovens in South Wales, 231. Colliery engineers, report of
committee
as to admission of, 65. Combustion of coal gas to produce heat, by John
Wallace, 47.—Experiments on the proportion of gas and air mixed previous to
combustion, 50.—The Bun-sen flame, 51.—Time taken to boil water with various
burners, 52.—Be-quisite qualifications for a gas furnace, 53.—Apparatus for
regulating heat, 57.
Plates. 15. Diagram of flame.—16. Apparatus for burning gas under
pressure.—17. Begulator. Condenser, Morton's ejector, by W. O.
Wood. (See 31orton's.) Cornet, M. F. L„ On natural pits in the
coal-measures of Belgium. (See Natural pits.^
Council report, v.—Adopted, 164.
Davjey, H., On the differential expansive
pumping engine. (See Differential.) Davy lamp, 16, 17, 18, 19. Diamond
drill, by A. Bassett, 179.— General description of the implement and
an account of its performances, 179 to 183.—Discussed, 188.
Plates. 36 to 42. Sections of strata bored through. Differential
expansive pumping engine, by H. Davey, 3.—Valve gear, 3.—Tables of powers,
&c. of the single cylinder differential expansive pumping engine,
5.—Compound differential expansive engines, 6.—Economy of fuel,
7.—Discussed, 8. Plates. 1. Plan and elevation of horizontal compound
condensing pumping engine___2. Cylinder for compound
pumping engine.—3. Arrangement of valve gear for the differential expansive
pumping engine.—4. Pair of fifty horse-power differential expansive pumping
engines, at Newton Cap colliery.—5. Pair of thirty horse-power differential
expansive pumping engines, at the Clay Cross works.—6. Two horse-power
differential steam pump for boiler feeding. —7. Patent reciprocating
hydraulic engine.—8. Plan and elevation of horizontal condensing pumping
engine. — 9. Diagram taken from Davey's differential expansive pumping
engine. Drill, diamond, by A. Bassett. (See
Diamond.) Drill, Warsop Kock, by John Wallace. (See Warsop.)
Ejector [condenser, Morton's, by W. 0.
Wood. (See Morton's.) Engines in South Wales—Winding, 227,
228.—Pumping, 229. Engineers (colliery) report of committee
as to admission of, 65.
Finance report, ix.—Adopted, 163. Fossils of the South Wales coal-field,
251. Fowler's patent apparatus for loading and unloading pit cages, by D. P.
Mori-son,',29.—Description of apparatus, 30. —Table showing saving of time,
32.— Discussed, 35.
Plates. 1 l^lS^Hydraulic winding gear arrangements at top of pit.—12.
Arrangements at-bottom of pit.—14. General view.
Gas (coal), combustion of, to produce
heat, by John Wallace. (See Combustion.)
General statement of accounts, xiv.
Geology of the Eedesdale ironstone district, by G. A. Lebour, discussed, 41.
Gilpin, Edwin, notes on the coal measures and lower carboniferous strata of
Western Newfoundland. (See Coal measures.)
Green well, G. C, remarks on Mr. Hed-ley's paper, on the valuation of mines
for the purpose of local taxation, 145.
Guibal fans, 223.
Hainaut, 'notes on further researches on the natural pits of, by G. A.
Lebour. (See Natural pits.)
Hann lamp, 18, 19.
Haulage, underground, in South Wales, 224.
Honorary members, xvi.
Hurd and Simpson's coal-getting and air-compressing machinery. (See
Coal-getting.)
Ironstones of South Wales, analyses of,
208. Ironworks in South Wales, 243.
Lead smelting in South Wales, 248.
Lebour, G. A., On the Redesdale ironstone district. (See Geology.)—Notes on
further researches on the natural pits of Hainaut, with remarks on their
probable origin. (See Natural pits.)
Life members, xvi.
Local taxation, valuation of mines for the purpose of, by T. F. Hedley. (See
Valuation.)
Lower carboniferous strata and coal-measures of Western Newfoundland, by E.
Gilpin. (See Coal measures.)
Members : Patrons, xv.—Honorary, xvi.
—Life, xvi.—Officers, xvii.—Ordinary,
xviii.—Students, xxxviii.—Subscribing
collieries, xli. Mines, valuation of, for the purpose of
local taxation, by T. F. Hedley. (See
Valuation.) Morison, D. P., On Fowler's apparatus
for loading and unloading pit cages.
(See Fowler.) Morton's ejector condenser, by W. 0.
Wood, 165. Plate.
34. Sectional view of condenser.
Natural pits in the coal-measures of Belgium, by M. F. L. Cornet and M.
Briart, translated from the French by J. B. Simpson, 67.—Natural pit met
with in the colliery of Bascoup, 68.— In the colliery of Sars-Longchamps, at
Louviere, 70.—At Grande Hornu, 71.—
Discussed, 74.—Further communication, by Mr. Simpson, 102.
Plates. 18, 19. Pits at Bascoup.—20, 21, 22. Pits at Sars-Longchamps.—23,
24. Pits at the Grande Hornu.—25. Section at the Grande Moulin. Notes on
further researches on the natural pits of Hainaut, with remarks on
their probable origin, by G. A. Lebour, 95.—Discussed, 104. Plate. 27.
Diagrams illustrating formation of Natural pits. Newfoundland (Western),
notes on the coal measures of. (See Coal measures.) Notes on the coal
measures and lower carboniferous strata of Western Newfoundland, by
Edwin Gilpin. (See Coal measures.)
Officers, xvii.
Ordinary Members, xviii.
Page, Dr., artificial stones exhibited by, 158.
Patents connected with mining operations, 1873. Appendix, No. 2, end of
volume.
Patrons, xv.
Pumping Engine, differential expansive, by H. Davey, 3. (See
Differential.)
Pumping engines in South Wales, 229.
Eaising coals from great depths by atmospheric pressure, on the system of
Mons. Z. Blanchet. (Translated from the French by T. W. Bunning.) 81.—
Discussed, 89.
Plate. 26. General arrangement.
Eansome's patent stone, 158.
Bating of Collieries. (See Valuation.)
Kedesdale ironstone district. (See Geology.)
Reports : Council, v.—Finance committee, ix.—As to admission of colliery
engineers, 65.
Eock drill (Warsop), by John Wallace. (See Warsop.)
Eules, xlii.—Appendix to rules, xlvi.
Safety lamp, new description of, by Emerson Bainbridge, 15.—Tables of
experiments, 17, 18.—Discussed, 20.
Plate. 10. Bainbridge's safety lamp.
Sections : Pits at Bascoup, general section, plate 18.—Sections at the Veine
de 1 Olive and the Grande Veine du Pare, plate 19.—Pits at Sars-Longchamps,
general section, plate 20.— Sections at the Gargai, Joligai and Grande Veine
seams, plate 21.—Sections at the Huit Paumes and Six
Paumes, plate 22.—Pits at the Grande Hornu, general section, plate
23.—Sections at the Veine a Forges, plate 24.— Sections at the Grande
Moulin, plate 25.—Strata at Cape Breton, 170.—Four feet seam in the middle
or productive coal formation, Newfoundland, 173.— Strata bored through by
the Diamond drill, plates 36-42.—Big and Little rock, South Wales, plate 46.
Simpson, J. B., Translation of M. F. L. Cornet's and M. Briart's paper on
natural pits in the coal measures of Belgium. (See Natural pits.)
Simpson & Hurd's coal-getting and air-compressing machinery. (See
Coal-getting.)
South of England, boring in, 160.
Steel works in South Wales, 246.
Stephenson lamp, 16, 17.
St. George's Bay, Newfoundland, sketch of the carboniferous district of,
plate 35.
Stones,artificial, exhibitedby Dr. Page,158
Students, xxxviii.
Subscribing collieries, xli.
Subscriptions, xxi.
Sub-Wealden exploration, 160.
Do. paper on, by W. Topley, 185.
South Wales coal-field, by Thomas Forster Brown, 197. — History, 197. —Table
showing quantity of coal taken into London from the South Wales coalfield,
199,—Development of iron trade, shipment of coal, exports, 200.—Coal raised
since 1860, collieries at work in 1872, patent fuel sent coastwise, 201.—
Patent fuel sent to foreign countries, coal shipped in 1872, 202.—Shipments
from Cardiff, 1864 to 1873, extent of coal-field, 203.—Millstone grit, 204.—
Mountain limestone, old red sandstone, Upper Devonian, 205.—Silurian,
hypo-gene, scenery, 206. — Description of strata, upper Pennant series,
207.— Lower Pennant series, analyses of ironstones, 208.—White ash series,
209.— Ironstones, 211.—Analyses of, 211 to 214.—Fireclay, building stone,
faults, 215. — Slips, anticlinal, change of quality, 216.—Theories for
change of quality, 217.-Quantities of coal wrought and unwrought,
218.—Winning, deepest working pits, mode of working, 219.— Single and double
road stalls, longwall, 220.—Ventilation, 222.—Guibal fans, 223.—Underground
haulage, 224.—Division of labour, 225.—Winding engines and pit fitting, 227,
228.—Pumping ap-, pliances, 229.'—Pumping engines, 230 —Boilers, coke ovens,
development of coal-field, 231.—Output of single collieries, 232.—New
winnings, 233.—New appliances for sinking, character of the men,
234.—Fitting, turns, ports and docks, 235.—Imports. 236.—Quantities
of different articles shipped at Penarth, 1865 to 1873. 238.—Trade at Bute
Docks, 1839 to 1873, 239.—Traffic over Taff Vale railway, 240.—Dock
accommodation at Swansea, 241.—Imports and exports, 242.—Iron works, 243.—
Furnaces using coal containing bitumen, 244.—Coal used in manufacture of pig
iron, 244.—Mills and forges, 245.—Steel works, 246.—Other industries, copper
ores purchased, 247.—Manufacture of tin plates, lead smelting, 248.—Other
minerals, 249.—Future prospects, newer formations, 249.—Fossils,
251.—Appendix, coal seams in western division, 254. —Lower Pennant series,
255.—White ash series, 256.
Plates. 43. Single road stall, No. 3 Ehondda seam.—44. Double road stall,
No. 2 Ehondda seam.—45. Longwall, Aber-dare upper four-feet seam.—46. Mode
of working where the measures are steep, sections of big and little rock.
Thermometer and Barometer Eeadings,
1873, end of volume. Tin plates, manufacture of, in South
Wales, 248.
Topley, W., On the Sub-Wealden exploration. (See Sub-Wealden.)
Treasurer's account, xii.
Underground haulage in South Wales, 224.
Valuation of mines for the purpose of local taxation, by T. F. Hedley, 117.—
Discussed, 131, 145, 146, 154.—Supplementary paper, 137. — Copy of the
valuation of a colliery, 137.—Eating collieries not worked, 137.— Eating
miners' houses, 138.—Assessment of colliery houses, 139.—Discussed, 141.—
Eemarks on, by Mr. Gr. 0. Greenwell, 145.
Ventilation in South Wales, 222.
Wallace, John, On the combustion of
coal gas to produce heat. (See Com-
tustion.)
On the Warsop rock drill. (See Warsop.) Warsop rock drill, by John Wallace,
259. Plates.
47. The drill on tripod stand.—48, 49. The drill on heading stand. Winding
engines in South Wales, 227, 228. Working coal in South Wales, 219.