NEIMME Transactions
Volume 24
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
TRANSACTIONS.
VOL. XXIV.
1874-75.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: A. REID, PRINTING COURT BUILDINGS, AKENSIDE HILL.
1875.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE : ANDREW REID, PRINTING COURT BUILDINGS, AKENS1DE
HILL.
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXIV.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Report op Council............... v Ordinary
Members.............. xvih
Finance Report................. viii Students
........................... xl
Account op Subscriptions ... x Subscribing Collieries ......
xliv
Treasurer's Accounts ......... x-xiii Rules
................................. xlv
General Account ............... xiv Barometer Readings, Appen- ]
Patrons .............................. xv dix
I...............................( El^
Honorary and Life Members xvi Patents, Appendix II..........f
Vol.
Officers. 1875-76.................. xvii Index
.................................)
GENERAL MEETINGS.
1874.
PAGE.
Aug. 5, 6.—Meeting AT Cardiff.—Paper by Mr. J. B. Simpson " On the
Coalfields and Mining Industries of Russia" ............ 3
Discussed ........................... 18
Paper by Mr. John Daglish and Mr. R. Howse " On the Beds of Ironstone
occurring in Lincolnshire" ... ... ... ...
... 23
Discussed ........................... 31
Paper by Mr. W. Walker "On Walker's Detaching Hook"...... 35
Paper by Mr. R. F. Martin " On the Publicity or Secrecy of Examinations"
........................ 39
Discussed ........................... 42
Oct. 3.—Paper by Mr. R. S. Newall " On supplying Newcastle and District
with Water from Lake Ullswater" ............... 49
Discussed ........................... 54
Nov. 7.—Paper by Mr. William Galloway " On Safety Lamps and Shot-firing "
63
Discussed ........................... 67
Dec. 5.—Paper by Mr. G. A. Lebour "On the 'Little' Limestone and its
Accompanying Coal in South Northumberland" ......... 73
Discussed ... ........................ 80
(iv)
PAGE.
Paper by Mr. T. J. Bewick "On a Project for supplying Newcastle-on-Tyne,
Gateshead, and other Towns and Villages in Tynedale,
with Water from the Northumberland Lake District" ...... 85
Discussed ........................... 90
Paper by Mr. Henry Aitken " On Coking Ovens as erected at Almond Iron Works,
near Falkirk" .................. 97
1875. Mar. 6.—Paper by Mr. Theo. Wood Bunning " On the Present Form of
Marine
Engine used in the Commercial Navy of Great Britain"...... 105
Discussed ........................... 124
Description of Denayrouze's Apparatus for Exploring in the presence
of Dangerous Gases ..................... 129
April 3.—Paper by Mr. G. A. Lebour "On the 'Great' and 'Four-Fathom'
Limestones and their Associated Beds in South Northumberland" 133
Discussed ........................ ¦• "5
Further Discussion of Mr. J. B. Simpson's Paper " On the Coal-fields
and Mining Industries of Russia" ............... 150
Paper by Dr. David Page " On Selenitic Plaster" ......... 152
Discussed ........................... 153
Paper by Dr. David Page "On Miner a Firestone" ......... 154
Discussed ........................... 154
May 1.—Further Discussion of Mr. John Daglish and Mr. R. Howse's Paper
" On the Beds of Ironstone occurring in Lincolnshire" ...... 157
Paper by Mr. William Lishman "On Electric Signals on Underground Engine
Planes".....................165
Discussed ...........................166
Further Discussion of Mr. W. Galloway's Paper " On Safety-lamps and
Shot-firing" ... ... ... ... ... -••
••• ••• 167
Paper by Mr. Edwin Gilpin "On the Submarine Coal of Cape Breton, N. S."
........................173
Paper by Mr. Wm. Routledge " On the Sydney Coal-field in the Island of Cape
Breton".....................191
Paper by Mr. W. T. Mulvany " On a Projected International Communication in
the North and East of Europe, through the New Harbour of Flushing, at the
mouth of the Scheldt in Holland" ... 217
June 5.—Paper by Dr. H. Alleyne Nicholson " On the Mining Districts on the
North Shore of Lake Superior" .............•• 237
Discussed ...........................248
Further Discussion of Mr. Theo. Wood Bunning's Paper " On the Present Form
of Marine Engine used in the Commercial Navy of Great Britain"
........................250
Aug. 7.—Election of Officers for 1875-76..................255
Further Discussion of Mr. Theo. Wood Bunning's Paper on Marine Engines
...........................256
§Lepil
The Council, in presenting their annual Beport to the members, have again to
announce the continued prosperity of the Institute. The total number on the
register, after deducting losses by deaths, resignations, &c, is 850, being
a net increase of 71 over the preceding year—considerably above the average,
and within a very few, of the largest number that ever joined in one year.
It is with great satisfaction that the Council regards the continued success
of the College of Physical Science, as it proves that the efforts made for
so many years by the Institute rested upon a well-grounded assurance of the
necessity of such an establishment in Newcastle; indeed, the success of the
College has been so great, that the last Eeport presented to the Governors
states that the principal cause of anxiety now is, how to obtain suitable
premises for its permanent accommodation, and recommends that immediate
steps should be taken to provide funds for the erection of the various
laboratories, class-rooms, museums, &c, required for successfully carrying
on so large and important an undertaking.
The Institute having from the first taken an active part in the promotion of
the College, and so many of its members having liberally supported its
endowment, has led the Council carefully to watch its progress ; and they
are fully of opinion that the time has arrived for extending its operations
and providing for its permanency, and would earnestly recommend the members
of the Institute, both as individuals and as a body, to assist in finishing
the work so happily commenced.
The Council considers that the Institute has reason to congratulate itself
on the quality of the papers read before its members since the last annual
meeting. Mr. Forster Brown's paper on the South Wales Coalfield, and the
carefully prepared map that accompanied it, will prove of great use to all
gentlemen interested in mining operations; also Mr. Simpson's paper on the
Coal-fields of Eussia, Messrs. Daglish and Howse's paper on the Lincolnshire
Ironstone Beds, and Mr. Bassett's on the Diamond Boring Machine, are
deserving of notice as being replete with valuable information. The
present volume will also contain two very
(vi)
interesting and valuable papers on the Coal-field and Industries of Cape
Breton; the first, entitled the " Submarine Coal-field of Cape Breton," by
Mr. E. Gilpin, and the second on the "Sydney Coal-field of Cape Breton," by
Mr. W. Routledge, give a complete description of the various formations,
seams, and collieries of this important district.
It is with deep regret that the Council has to record the loss of more than
the average number of members by death during the past year. Mr. Thomas
Emerson Eorster, one of the original founders and a past president of the
Institute, born at Allenheads in 1802, died on the 7th day of March, 1875.
This gentleman was intimately connected with the mining interests of Great
Britain, and was everywhere known by his ability, indefatigable industry,
shrewdness, sagacity, and large-hearted generosity. He was an ardent
supporter of the Institute, and a kind and benevolent friend; and his loss
has been felt by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. A memoir of
his life is in course of preparation, and will be read before an early
meeting of the Institute.
Mr. Joseph Love, many years one of our members, was born in 1796 and died
21st February last. He was long and intimately connected with the coal
industries of the North. From 1812 to 1815 he worked in the pit, at West
Moor, where Nicholas Wood and George Stephenson were then employed. Like
these remarkable men, he employed the whole of his leisure hours in
self-improvement and study. He afterwards worked for a short time in the
pits at Percy Main and Jarrow; but in 1821 he left pit work and turned his
attention to commercial pursuits. Beginning in a humble way, he, by his
indomitable perseverance, soon met with considerable success. His ventures
gradually took a wider scope, and one of his earliest important speculations
was the building of some workmen's houses, by which he netted what was then
to him a considerable sum. Shortly after this he unfortunately suffered a
heavy pecuniary loss by the failure of one of the North of England Banks;
but, undeterred, he laboured with fresh activity, and soon reimbursed
himself. He became connected with the Messrs. J. & J. Straker & Co., and
with them purchased the royalty of the Brancepeth coal. This coal promised
to be almost useless for ordinary purposes, but Mr. Love conceived the happy
idea of making it into coke, which proved of such excellent quality that it
soon obtained a prominent place in the market, which it still retains. After
this, success attended all his enterprises, which enabled him to amass
considerable sums. He was most liberal and generous both in his commercial
and private connections, and won the esteem and affection of all who came in
contact with him. He was especially earnest in his endeavours to
(vii)
spread religious instruction, and munificently assisted all sects of
Christianity in their endeavours to promote public worship.
The Council, in conclusion, cannot refrain from alluding to the very great
success of the meeting at Cardiff, and the very gratifying reception the
members met with during their visit. Reverting to this visit, and to the
other very successful ones held in Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow, it
would seem that these meetings, if not made too often, greatly add to the
success of the Institute, increase its members, add interest to its
transactions, and generally extend its scope and usefulness; and the Council
would recommend that a meeting should be held in the autumn of next year, at
a place to be fixed at as early a date as possible, and that, seeing the
importance^of the vast mining and engineering operations now going on
abroad, the desirability of having such meeting either in France or Germany
should be carefully discussed.
$hxmtt §lepri
The Finance Committee have to report that the income for the past year shows
an increase, as compared with the preceding year, of £88 17s. 6d.; the
receipts from all sources in 1873-74 being £1,944 17s. 8d., and this year
£2,033 15s. 2d. The expenditure has been £231 4s. 2d. less than the income.
In accordance with the recommendation of the Council, agreed to at the
general meeting held last August, the sum of £620 has been invested in
shares of the Institute and Coal Trade Chambers Company, Limited, and the
Committee recommend that from time to time, as occasion offers, the surplus
funds of the Institute be invested in the same manner.
The Institute now holds 133 of these shares, representing £2,660.
JOHN DAGLISH.
ADVERTISEMENT.
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 at the Meetings during the Session.
(x)
Dr. THE TREASURER IN ACCOUNT
£ s. d. To 703 Old Members, as per List, 1874-75...............1,476
6 0
To 76 New Members, as per List, 1874-75 ........... 159 12
0
To 76 Old Students, do. do. ............
79 16 0
To 5 Do. paid as Members ............... 5
5 0
To 27 New Students, as per List, 1874-75............... 28 7 0
To 1 Life Member's Subscription.................. 20 0 0
To 14 Subscribing Collieries..................... 71 8 0
1,840 14 0
To Arrears as per last Balance Sheet ......... 199 10 0
Deduct— Irrecoverable Arrears not inserted in 1874-75 List (Dead,
Eesigned, &c.)............... 88 4 0
Actual Arrears to Collect, 1874-75 ......
Ill 6 0
£1,952 0 0
(Xi)
WITH SUBSCRIPTIONS, 1874-75. Cr.
PAID. UNPAID.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
By 639 Old Members paid...............1,34118 0
By 5 Do. dead...............
10 10 0
By 3 Do. resigned ............
6 6 0
By 56 Do. unpaid ............
117 12 0
703
By 68 New Members paid............... 142 16 0
By 7 Do. unpaid ............
14 14 0
By 1 Do. paid as Life Member ......
2 2 0
76
By 70 Old Students paid............... 73 10 0
By 1 Do. resigned ............
110
By 5 Do. unpaid ............
5 5 0
76
By 5 Old Students paid as Members ......... 5 5 0
By 26 New Students paid............... 27 6 0
By 1 Do. unpaid ............
110
27
By 1 Life Member................. 20 0 0
By 14 Subscribing Collieries ............ 71 8 0
1,682 3 0 158 11 0
By Members'Arrears ............... 38 17 0 69 6
0
By Students' Arrears.................. 110 2 2 0
1,722 1 0 229 19 0 1,722 1 0
Audited and Certified,
BENSON, BLAND, k CO.,
Public Accountants.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, August 6, 1875.
£1,952 0 0
(xii)
THE TREASURER IN ACCOUNT WITH NORTH OF ENGLAND Dr.
For the Year ending
£ s. d. £ s. d.
To Balance at Bankers ............... 927
1 1
,, Balance in hands of Secretary............ 79
2 10
„ Balance in hands of Liquidators of District Bank ...
12 7 3
„ Bequest of the late R. Stephenson, Esq., invested in Shares of the
Institute and Coal Trade Chambers
Co., Limited .................. 2,000 0 0
3,018 11 2 „ Dividend of 6 per cent, on the above Shares ... ...
159 12 0
Less paid to previous holders ......... 19 0 6
-------------- 140 11 6
„ Rent of College Class Booms, less Borough Rate ...
48 17 4
„ Subscriptions for 1874-75, from 639 Old Members ... 1,34118 0 Ditto
ditto 68 New Members ... 142 16 0
Ditto ditto 70 Old Students ... 73 10
0
Ditto ditto 5 Do. paid as members 5 5 0
Ditto ditto 26 New Students ... 27 6
0
Ditto ditto 1 Life Member ... 20 0
0
„ 14 Subscribing Collieries, viz. :—
East Holywell ......... 2 2 0
Haswell ............ 4 4 0
Hetton ........ ... 10 10 0
Lambton ............ 2 2 0
NorthHetton............10 10 0
Rainton ............ 6 6 0
Ryhope ............10 10 0
Seghill ............ 4 4 0
South Hetton and Murton...... 8 8 0
Stella............... 2 2 0
Throckley ............ 2 2 0
Wearmouth............ 4 4 0
Whitworth ............ 2 2 0
Ashington ............ 2 2 0
------------ 71 8 0
„ Members'Arrears.................. 38 17 0
„ Students' Do................... 110
-----------1,722 1 0
„ Sale of Publications per A. Reid ......... 135 14 0
Less 10 per cent. Commissio n ......... 13 8 8
------------ 122 5 4
£5,052 6 4
(xiii)
INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
August, 1875.
Cit.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
By paid A. Reid, Publishing Account ......... 716 13 7
Ditto Covers for Parts, and Stitching ... 48 13
6
Ditto Binding and Sewing Volumes...... 57 7 9
Ditto Postage ............... 46 1 8
Ditto Stationery and Circulars ...... 171 710
Ditto Library ............... 10 19 0
--------------1,051 3 4
„ Secretary's Incidental Expenses and Postage ...
102 1 6
„ Sundry Accounts.................. 13 11 6
„ Travelling Expenses and Expenses of Cardiff Meeting
C4 14 2
„ Secretary's Salary ............... 250
0 0
„ Assistant's do. ............ ...
62 10 0
„ Reporter ... .................. 13
13 0
„ Purchase of 31 Shares in Institute and Coal Trade
Chambers Company, Limited, @ £20 ......
620 0 0
„ Payments on account of Furnishing......... 12
17 9
„ Rent........................ 72 11 0
„ Rates and Taxes................. 14 17 10
„ Fire Insurance .................. 3 12
6
„ Coals and Gas .................. 19 3
0
,, Subscription to Natural History Society ......
20 0 0
„ Prizes for Papers.................. 14 2 6
„ Library ..................... 22 8 5
„ Law Charges .................. 65 4
6
„ Bequest of R. Stephenson, Esq., invested in Shares of
Institute and Coal Trade Chambers Co., Limited ...
2,000 0 0
„ Balance in hands of Liquidators of District Bank ...
12 7 3
„ Balance at Bankers ............... 569
7 5
„ Balance in hands of Secretary............ 48
0 8
Audited and Certified,
BENSON, ELAND, & CO.,
Public Accountants. Newcastle-on-Tyne, August 6, 1875.
£5,052 6 4
(xiv)
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¦r-t TO
His Grace the DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
His Grace the DUKE OP CLEVELAND.
The Most Noble 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 OF 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.
EJECTED.
Oedy. Hon.
WILLIAM ALEXANDEE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ...
1863
* JAMES P. BAKES, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Wolverhampton ... 1853 1866
LIONEL BEOUGH, 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
Eoad, Derby ..................... 1855
* EALPH MOOBE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ......
1866
* THOMAS E. WALES, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Swansea...... 1855 1866
* FEANK N. WAEDELL, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Wath-on-Dearne,
near Eotherham..................... 1864 1868
* JAMES WILLIS, Esq., Inspector of Mines, 73, Westmorland Eoad,
Newcastle........................ 1857 1871
THOMAS WYNNE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Manor House,
Gnosall, Stafford..................... 1853
E. P. PHILIPSON, Esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne .........
1874
WAEINGTON W. SMYTH, Esq., 28, Jermyn Street, London ...
1869
The Veey Ebv. Dr. LAKE, Dean of Durham ......... 1872
* Prop. A. FEEIEE-MAEEECO, M.A., College of Physical Science,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne .................. 1872
* „ A. S. HEESCHEL, B.A., F.E.A.S., do. do.
... 1872
* „ W. S. ALDIS. M.A., do.
do. ... 1872
* De. DAVID PAGE, LL.D., do. do.
... 1872
M. DE BOUEEUILLE, Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur,
,
Conseiller d'etat, Inspecteur General des Mines, Paris ...
1853
Dr. H. VON DECHEN, Berghauptmann, Eitter, etc., Bon am
Ehine, Prussia ..................... 1853
M. THEOPHILE GUIBAL, School of Mines, Mons, Belgium ...
1870
Ordy. Life.
E. B. COXE, Esq., Drifton, Jeddo, P.O., Luzerne Co., Penns., U.S. 1873
1874
H. J. MOETON, Esq., Garforth House, West Garforth, near Leeds 1856
1861 W. A. POTTEE. Esq., Cramlington House, Northumberland
(Member of Council) .................. 1853 1874
E. CLIFFOED SMITH, Esq., Parkfield, Swinton, Manchester ... 1874
1874
* Honorary Members during term of office only.
OFFICERS, 1875-76. §tpijfytti
LINDSAY WOOD, Esq., Southill, Chester-le-Street.
WM. AEMSTEONG, Sen., Esq., Pelaw House, Chester-le-Street.
I. LOWTHIAN BELL, Esq., M.P., Washington Hall, Co. Durham.
T. J. BEWICK, Esq., Haydon Bridge, Northumberland.
WM. COCHEANE, Esq., St. John's Chambers, Grainger Street West, Newcastle
JOHN DAGLISH, Esq., Tynemouth.
(tonsil
WM. AEMSTEONG, Jun., Esq., Wingate, Co. Durham.
C. BEEKLEY, Esq., Marley Hill, Gateshead.
S. B. COXON, Esq., Usworth Hall, Washington Station, Co. Durham.
S. C. CEONE, Esq., Killingworth Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
WM. GEEEN, Jun., Esq., Thornelly House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
THOS. HAWTHOEN, Esq., 98, Eye Hill, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
W. H. HEDLEY, Esq., Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
H. LAWS, Esq., Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
GEO. MAY, Esq., Harton Colliery Offices, Tyne Docks, South Shields.
D. P. MOEISON, Esq., Collingwood Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne. JAMES NELSON,
Esq., King's House Engine Works, Sunderland.
E. S. NEWALL, Esq., Ferndene, Gateshead.
W. A. POTTEE, Esq., Cramlington House, Northumberland. J. A. EAMSAY, Esq.,
Washington Colliery, Co. Durham. J. T. EAMSAY, Esq., Walbottle Hall,
Blaydon-on-Tyne. J. B. SIMPSON, Esq., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
JAMES WILLIS, Esq., 73, Westmorland Eoad, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 'Sir W. G.
AEMSTEONG, C.B., LL.D., F.E.S.,^ Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
/
E. F. BOYD, Esq., Moor House, Fence Houses. \ pas^ Presidents. Sir
GEO. ELLIOT, Bart., M.P., Houghton Hall, f Ex-officio \ Fence
Houses. j
G. B. FOESTEE, Esq., M.A., Backworth House, ]
near Newcastle-on-Tyne. I
Eetiring
JOHN MAELEY, Esq., Mining Offices, Darlington. ( Vice-Presidents. _A. L.
STEAVENSON, Esq., Durham. J
ji^rriatiu and ^asttt^r,
THEO. WOOD BUNNING, Neville Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
C
AUGUST, 1875.
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, Hall Garth, Carnforth.........Aug. 7,1869
5 Aitkin, Henry, Falkirk, N.B.............Mar. 2, 1865
6 Allison, T., Belmont Mines, Guisbro'.........Feb. 1, 1868
7 Anderson, C. W., Kirk Hammerton Hall, York ... Aug. 21, 1852
8 Anderson, William, Bainton Colliery, Fence Houses ... Aug. 21, 1852
9 Andrews, Hugh, Eastfield Hall, Bilton, Northumberland Oct. 5, 1872
10 Appleby, C. E., Whitehall Club, Parliament Street,
London, S.W................Aug. 1, 1861
11 Archbold, James, Engineer, Byton-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, ......(ItZ^TcZ?!) May 3,1866
15 Armstrong, William, Senior, Pelaw House, Chester-le-
Street .........(Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
16 Armstrong, W., jun., Wingate, Co. Durham
{Member of Council) 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 Atkinson, W. N., Chilton Moor, Fence Houses ... June 6, 1868
21 Aubrey, B. C, Astley House, Woodlesford, near Leeds Feb. 5, 1870
22 Austin, C. D., 40, Mosley Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... 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
(xixj
ELECTED.
28 Bagley, Chas. John, Tees Bridge Iron Co., Stockton ... June 5, 1875
29 Bailey, C, Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle......Nov. 9, 1874
30 Bailey, G., St. John's Colliery, Wakefield ......June 5,1869
31 Bailey, Samuel, The Pleck, Walsall, Staffordshire ... June 2,
1859
32 Bailey, W. W., Kilburn, near Derby .........May 13, 1858
33 Bainbridge, E., Nunnery Colliery Offices, Sheffield ... Dec.
3,1863
34 Barclay, A., 54, St, Vincent Street, Glasgow......Dec. 6, 1866
35 Barkus, Wm., Tynemouth ............Aug. 21,1852
36 Barnes, R. J., Atherton Collieries, near Manchester ... Sept. 13,
1873
37 Barnes, T., Seaton Delaval Office, Quay, Newcastle ... Oct. 7,
1871
38 Bartholomew, C, Doncaster, Yorkshire ......Aug. 5, 1853
39 Bassett, A., Tredegar Mineral Estate Office, Cardiff ...
1854
40 Bates, Matthew, Cyfarthfa Iron Works, Merthyr Tydvil Feb. 1, 1868
41 Bates, Matthew, Bews Hill, Blaydon-on-Tyne ...Mar. 3,1873
42 Bates, Thomas, Heddon, Wylam, Northumberland ... Mar. 3, 1873
43 Bates, W. J., Bews Hill, Blaydon-on-Tyne ......Mar. 3, 1873
44 Batey, John, Newbury Collieries, Coleford, Bath ... Dec. 5,
1868
45 Beacher, E., Chapeltown, near Sheffield ......
1854
46 Beanlands, A., M.A., North Bailey, Durham ......Mar. 7,1867
47 Beaumont, James, M.E., Oughtbridge, near Sheffield ... Nov. 9,1874
48 Bell, I. Lowthian, Washington, Washington Station,
N.E. Railway ...... (Vice-President) July 6, 1854
49 Bell, John, Normanby Mines, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... Oct. 1, 1857
50 Bell, J. T., Wolsingham, w* Darlington ......May 2,1874
51 Bell, Thomas, Jesmond,Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Sept. 3,1870
52 Bell, T., jun., (Messrs. Bell Brothers,) Middlesbro' ... Mar. 7,
1867
53 Benson, J. G., Accountant, Newcastle ......Nov. 9, 1874
54 Benson, T. W., 11, Newgate Street, Newcastle ... Aug. 2,
1866
55 Berkley, C, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead
{Member of Council) Aug. 21, 1852
56 Bewick, T. J., M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., Haydon Bridge,
Northumberland...... (Vice-President) April 5, 1860
57 Bidder, B. P., Duffryn Collieries, Neath, Glamorganshire May 2,
1867
58 Bidder, S. P., 24, Great George Street, Westminster,
London, S.W................Dec. 4, 1869
59 Bigland, J., Bedford Lodge, Bishop Auckland ... June 4, 1857
60 Binns, C, Claycross, Derbyshire .........July 6, 1854
61 Biram, B., Peasely Cross Collieries, St. Helen's, Lan. ...
1856
62 Black, James, jun., Portobello Foundry, Sunderland ... Sept. 2, 1871
63 Black, W., Hedworth Villa, South Shields ......April 2, 1870
LLECTEt).
64 Blagburn, 0., King Street, Quay, Newcastle......Sept. 2, 1871
65 Blandford, Thomas, Oorbridge, Northumberland ... Feb. 14, 1874
66 BoJam, H. G., Little Ingestre, Stafford ......Mar. 6, 1875
67 Bolckow, H. W. F., M.P., Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... April 5,
1855
68 Bolton, H. H., Newchurch Collieries, near Manchester Dec. 5, 1868
69 Boot, J. T., M.E., The Orchards, Hucknall, near
Mansfield..................April 1, 1871
70 Booth, R. L,, South Tyne Colliery, Haltwhistle ...
1864
71 Borries, Theo., Lombard Street, Quay, Newcastle ... April 11, 1874
72 Bouch, W., Shildon Works, Darlington ......June 4,1870
73 Bourne, Peter, 39, Eodney Street, Liverpool...... 1854
74 Bourne, S., West Cumberland Hematite Iron Works,
Workington ...............Aug. 21, 1852
75 Boyd, E. F., Moor House, Fence Houses (itmbSlt cS) Aug. 21, 1852
76 Boyd, Wm., 74, Jesmond Road, Newcastle ......Feb. 2,1867
77 Bradford, Geo., Newbottle Colliery, Fence Houses ... Oct. 11,
1873
78 Breckon, J. B., Park Place, Sunderland .. ... Sept.
3, 1864
79 Brettell, T., Mine Agent, Dudley, Worcestershire ... Nov. 3, 1866
80 Briart, A., Ingenieur en chef des Charbonnages de
Mariemont et de Bascoup, Mons...... ... Sept. 2,1871
81 Brogden, James, Coldringham, Cardiff ......
1861
82 Brown, E., 79, Clayton Street, Newcastle ......Mar. 7, 1874
83 Brown, John, Littleworth, Hednesford, near Stafford ... Oct. 5,1854
84 Brown, J. N., 56, Union Passage, New St., Birmingham
1861
85 Brown, Thos. Forster, Guildhall Chambers, Cardiff ...
1861
86 Browne, B. 0., Assoc. M.I.C.E., North Ashfield House,
Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Oct. 1, 1870
87 Bruton, W., Whitwood, Methley Junction, and Street-
house Collieries, near Normanton ... ... Feb. 6, 1869
88 Bryham, William, Rosebridge, &c, Collieries, Wigan Aug. 1, 1861
89 Bryham, W., jun., Douglas Bank Collieries, Wigan ... Aug. 3, 1865
90 Bunn, R. T., Grey Street, Newcastle.........Dec. 6,1873
91 Buoting, Theo. Wood, Neville Hall, Newcastle-on-
Tyne ... ••• ... {Secretary and Treasurer) 1864
92 Burn, James, The Avenue, Sunderland ......Aug. 2,1866
93 Burrows, James, Douglas Bank, Wigan, Lancashire ... May 2? 1867
94 Cabry, J., Blyth and Tyne Railway Offices, Newcastle Sept. 4, 1869
95 Caldwell, George, Moss Hall Colliery, near Wigan ... Mar. 6, 1869
(xxi)
ELECTED.
96 Campbell, James, Staveley Works, Chesterfield ... Aug. 3, 1865
97 Carr, Matthew, Scotswood, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... May 3, 1873
98 Carr, Win. Cochran, South Ben well, Newcastle ... Dec. 3, 1857
99 Carrington, T., jun., Kiveton Park Coll., near Sheffield Aug. 1, 1861
100 Catron, J., Tyne Main Colliery, Gateshead ......Nov. 3, 1866
101 Chadborn, B. T., Pinxton Collieries, Alfreton, Derbyshire
1864
102 Chambers, A. M., Thorncliffe Iron Works, nr. Sheffield Mar. 6, 1869
103 Chambers, H., Tinsley Collieries, Sheffield ......Dec. 2, 1871
104 Chapman, M., Plashetts Colliery, Northumberland ... Aug. 1, 1868
105 Charlton, E., Evenwood Colliery, Bishop Auckland ... Sept. 5, 1868
106 Charlton, F., C.E., Moot Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2, 1871
107 Charlton, George, Washington Colliery, Co. Durham... Feb. 6, 1875
108 Checkley, Thomas, M.E., Lichfield Street, Walsall ... Aug. 7, 1869
109 Cheesman, I., Throckley Colliery, Newcastle......Feb. 1, 1873
110 Childe, Rowland, Wakefield, Yorkshire ......May 15, 1862
111 Clarbour, Fountain, 11, Mark Lane, Withy Grove,
Manchester ...............Nov. 1, 1873
112 Clark, C. F., Garswood Coal & Iron Co., near Wigan Aug. 2, 1866
113 Clark, G., Ravenhead Colliery, St. Helen's, Lancashire, Dec. 7, 1867
114 Clark, G., jun., Monkwearmouth Engine Works, Sun-
derland ..................Dec. 6, 1873
115 Clark, N., South Tanfield, Chester-le-Street......June 6, 1868
116 Clark, R. P., 22, Windsor Terrace, Newcastle ... Nov. 7,
1868
117 Clark, W., M.E., The Grange, Teversall, nr. Mansfield April 7, 1866
118 Clark, William, Victoria Engine Works, Gateshead ... Dec. 7, 1867
119 Clarke, T., Ince Hall Collieries, Wigan ......Mar. 2, 1872
120 Coates, C. N., Whitefield House, Acklington......May 3, 1866
121 Cochrane, B., Aldin Grange, Durham.........Dec. 6,1866
122 Cochrane, C, The Grange, Stourbridge ......June 3, 1857
123 Cochrane, H., The Longlands, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... Mar. 4, 1871
124 Cochrane, W., Oakfield House, Coxlodge, Northum-
berland .........(Vice-President) 1859
125 Cockburn, G., 8, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle ... Dec. 6, 1866
126 Cockburn, W., Upleatham Mines, Upleatham, Marske Oct. 1, 1857
127 Coke, R. G., Tapton Grove, Chesterfield, Derbyshire May 5, 1859
128 Cole, H. A. B., Willington Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne Mar. 3, 1873
129 Cole, Richard, Walker Colliery, nr. Newcastle-on-Tyne April 5, 1873
130 Cole, Robert E., Willington Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne Nov. 2, 1872
131 Cole, W. R., Broomfield, Jesmond, Newcastle ... Oct. 1,
1857
132 Collis, W. B., High House, Stourbridge, Worcestershire June 6,1861
(xxii)
ELECTED.
133 Cook, John, Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Wigan ... Nov. 9, 1874
134 Cook, E. F., Esh Colliery, Durham......... 1860
135 Cooke, John, North Brancepeth Colliery, nr. Durham Nov. 1, 1860
136 Cooke, J., jun., "Washington Iron Works, Gateshead... May 8, 1869
137 Cooksey, Joseph, West Bromwich, Staffordshire ... Aug. 3, 1865
{
138 Cooper, P., Thornley Colliery Office, Ferryhill ... Dec.
3,1857
139 Cooper, R. E., C.E., 1, Westminster Chambers, Victoria
Street, London, S.W.............Mar. 4, 1871
140 Cooper, T., Park Gate, Rotherham, Yorkshire ... April 2, 1863
141 Cope, James, Port Vale, Longport, Staffordshire ... Oct. 5,
1872
142 Corbett, V. W., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour Sept. 3, 1870
143 Coulson, F., Shamrock: House, Durham ......Aug. 1,1868
144 Coulson, W., Shamrock House, Durham ......Oct. 1, 1852
145 Cowen, Joseph, M.P., Blaydon Burn, Newcastle ... Oct. 5, 1854
,
146 Cowey, John, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... Nov. 2, 1872
147 Cowlishaw, J., Thorncliflfe, &c, Collieries, nr. Sheffield Mar. 7,
1867
148 Cox, John H., 10, St. George's Square, Sunderland ... Feb. 6, 1875
149 Coxon, Henry, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... Sept. 2,
1871
150 Coxon, S. B., Usworth Colliery, Washington Station,
Co. Durham ......(Member of Council) June 5, 1856
151 Craig, W. Y., Milton House, Alsager, Stoke-upon-Trent Nov. 3,1866
152 Crawford, T., Littletown Colliery, near Durham ... Aug. 21, 1852
153 Crawford, T., Bishop Middleham Colliery, nr. Ferryhill Sept. 3, 1864
154 Crawford, T., jun., Littletown Colliery, near Durham Aug. 7, 1869
155 Crawshay, E., Gateshead-on-Tyne ... ... ... Dec.
4, 1869
156 Crawshay, G., Gateshead-on-Tyne ... ......Dec. 4, 1869
157 Creighton, C. E., 10, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne May 6, 1871
158 Crofton, J. G., Castle Eden Colliery, Castle Eden, Co.
Durham...... ............Feb. 7, 1861
159 Crone, J. R., Stanhope, Darlington ... ......Feb. 1, 1868
160 Crone, S. C, Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle-upon-
Tyne ...... ...(Member of Council) 1853
161 Cross, John, 78, Cross Street, Manchester ......June 5, 1869
162 Croudace, C. J., Brayton Domain, &c, Colliery Office,
Maryport..................Nov. 2, 1872
163 Croudace, John, Baron House, Gilsland, N. E. Railway. June 7, 1873
164 Croudace, Thomas, Lambton Lodge, New South Wales 1862
165 Croudace, T. Dacre, Clay Cross Colliery Offices, near
Chesterfield ...............Mar. 7, 1867
166 Cuthbert, W., Beaufront Castle, Northumberland ... Aug. 1, 1874
(xxiii)
ELECTED.
167 Daburon, Mons., Ingenieur aux Mines deNceux, pas de
Calais ..................May 1, 1875
168 Daglish, John, F.G.S.,Tynemouth (Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
169 Daglish, W. S., Solicitor, Newcastle.........July 2, 1872
170 Dakers, J., Old Durham Colliery, Durham ......April 11, 1874
171 Dakers, W., Thornley Colliery, Ferry Hill ......April 7, 1866
172 Dakers, W., jun., Birtley, Co. Durham ......Oct. 3, 1874
173 Dale, David, West Lodge, Darlington ......Feb. 5, 1870
174 D'Andrimont, T., Liege, Belgium .........Sept. 3, 1870
175 Daniel, W., 37, Camp Road, Leeds .........June 4,1870
176 Darlington, John, 2, Coleman Street Buildings, Moor-
gate Street, Great SwanAUey, London......April 1, 1865
177 Davey, Henry, C.E., Leeds ............Oct. 11, 1873
178 Davidson, James, Newbattle Colliery, Dalkeith ...
1854
179 Davis, David, Coal Owner, Maesyffynon, Aberdare ... Nov. 9, 1874
180 Davison, A., Hastings Cottage, Dudley, Northumberland Feb. 4, 1858
181 Day, W. H., Eversley Garth, So. Milford ......Mar. 6, 1869
182 Dees, J., Whitehaven...............Nov. 1,1855
183 Dees, R. R., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ...Oct.
7,1871
184 Defty, E., Wombwell Main Colliery, Barnsley ... Dec. 5,
1874
185 Delgobe, Emile, 52, Wharncliffe Street, Newcastle ... Mar. 6, 1875
186 Dickinson, G. T., Wheelbirks, Northumberland ... July 2, 1872
187 Dickinson, R., Coalowner, Shotley Bridge ......Mar. 4, 1871
188 Dickinson, W. R., Priestfield Lodge, Lintz Green, Co.
Durham..................Aug. 7, 1862
189 Dinning, Joseph, Langley Smelt Mills, Northd. ... April 5,1873
190 Dixon, D. W., Brotton Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Nov. 2, 1872
191 Dixon, George, Lowther Street, Whitehaven......Dec. 3, 1857
192 Dixon, R., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead June 5, 1875
193 Dobson, W., 16, North View, Heaton, Newcastle ... Sept. 4, 1869
194 Dodd, B., Bearpark Colliery, near Durham ......May 3,1866
195 Dodds, J., M.P., Stockton-on-Tees .........Mar. 7, 1874
196 Donaldson, P., Alipore, Calcutta .........Nov. 1, 1873
197 Douglas, C. P., Consett Iron Works, Gateshead ... Mar. 6,
1869
198 Douglas, T., Pease's West Collieries, Darlington ... Aug. 21,
1852
199 Douthwaite, T., Merthyr Vale Colliery, Merthyr Tydvil June 5, 1869
200 Dove, G., Portland Square, Carlisle.........July 2,1872
201 Dowdeswell, H., Butterknowle Colliery, via Darlington. April 5, 1873
202 Dunlop, Colin, jun., Quarter Iron Works, Hamilton ... Sept. 3, 1870
203 Dyson, George, Middlesborough .........June 2,1866
(xxiv)
ELECTED.
204 Dyson, 0., Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........Mar. 2, 1872
205 Eastern, J., Nest House, Gateshead ......... 1853
206 Eaton, J. R., 5, Saville Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Dec. 4, 1869
207 Eaton, W. C., Saltburn-by-the-Sea ........June 6,1874
208 Eland, J. S., Accountant, Newcastle.........Nov. 9,1874
209 Elliot, Sir G., Bart., M.P., Houghton Hall, Fence
HOUSeS ... ... ... ...
(Member^SCoundl) Aug. 21, 1852
210 Elliott, W., Tudhoe House, Durham......... 1854
211 Elliott, W. D., Pemberton Street, Hull ......Oct. 11, 1873
212 Eltringham, W., West Shield Row, Chester-le-Street Oct. 3, 1874
213 Embleton, T. W., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds ... Sept. 6, 1855
214 Embleton, T. W., jun., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds... Sept. 2, 1865
215 Eminson, J. B., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour Mar. 2, 1872
216 Everard, I. B., M.E., 6, Millstone Lane, Leicester ... Mar. 6,
1869
217 Farmer, A., Westbrook, Darlington.........Mar. 2, 1872
218 Farrar, James, Old Foundry, Barnsley ... ... July 2,
1872
219 Favell, Thomas M., 14, Saville Street, North Shields ... April 5,
1873
220 Fearn, John Wilmot, Chesterfield .........Mar. 6,1869
221 Fellows, J. H., Great Wyrley, nr. Walsall, Staffordshire Dec. 5,
1874
222 Fenwick, Barnabas, Team Colliery, Gateshead ... Aug. 2, 1866
223 Fenwick, George, Banker, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,
1871
224 Fenwick, Thomas, East Pontop Colliery, by Lintz Green April 5, 1873
225 Fidler, E., Piatt Lane Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... Sept. 1, 1866
226 Firth, S., M.A., 16, York Place, Leeds ......
1865
227 Firth, William, Burley Woods, Leeds.........Nov. 7,1863
228 Fisher, R. C, The Wern, Ystalyfera, Swansea ... July 2, 1872
229 Fletcher, G., Trimdon Colliery, Trimdon Grange ... April 4,1868
230 Fletcher, Geo., Hamsteels Colliery, near Durham ... Aug. 1, 1874
231 Fletcher, H., Ladyshore Coll., Little Lever, Bolton, Lan. Aug.
3,1865
232 Fletcher, I., M.P., Clifton Colliery, Workington ... Nov. 7,
1863
233 Fletcher, W., Croft, Windermere ........Feb. 4, 1871
234 Foggin, Wm., Pensher Colliery, Fence Houses Mar. 6,
1875
235 Forrest, J., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Pentrehobin Hall, Mold,
Flintshire.................. Mar. 5, 1870
236 Forster, G. B., M.A., Backworth House, near New-
castle-upon-Tyne ... (Member of Council) Nov. 5, 1852
237 Forster, George E., Washington, Gateshead......Aug. 1, 1868
238 Forster, J. R., Water Co.'s Office, Newcastle... - July
2,1872
(xxv)
ELECTED.
239 Forster, Richard, White House, Gateshead ......Oct. 5,1872
240 Forster, R., Trimdon Grange Colliery, Ferryhill ... Sept. 5,
1868
241 Foster, George, Osmondthorpe Colliery, near Leeds ... Mar. 7, 1874
242 Fothergill, J., King Street, Quay, Newcastle......Aug. 7, 1862
243 Fowler, G., Basford Hall, near Nottingham ... ... July
4,1861
244 Fowler, W. C, Stanton Iron Works, near Derby ... Aug. 6, 1870
245 France, W., Lofthouse Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... April 6, 1867
246 Franks, George, Victoria Garesfield, Lintz Green ... Feb.
6,1875
247 Frazer, B., Quay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ¦ ......Oct. 4,1866
248 Frazer, W., 5, East Parade, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Oct. 4, 1866
249 Frazier, Prof. B. W., Lehigh University, Bethlehem,
Penns., U.S................Nov. 2,187 2
250 Fryar,M.,C.E...................Sept. 7,1867
251 Furness, H. D., Whickham, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... Dec. 2,1871
252 Gainsford, T. R., Whiteley Wood Hall, near Sheffield Nov. 5, 1864
253 Galloway, R. L., Barmoor, Ryton .. ......Dec. 6, 1873
254 Gardner, Walter, M.E., The Stone House, Rugeley ... Feb. 14, 1874
255 Garforth, W. E., Lord's Field Coll., Ashton-under-Lyne Aug. 2, 1866
256 Garside, John, Plashymaston Colliery, Ruabon ... Nov. 9,1874
257 Gerrard, John, Westgate, Wakefield.........Mar. 5, 1870
258 Gill, Harry, Consulting Engineer, Newcastle......May 2,1874
259 Gillett, F. C, Midland Road, Derby.........July 4, 1861
260 Gilmour,D., Gilmilnscroft Colliery, nr Auckinleck,N.B. Feb. 3,1872
261 Gilpin, Edwin, 26, Spring Gardens, Halifax, Nova Scotia April 5,1873
262 Gilroy, G,, Ince Hall Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... Aug. 7, 1856
263 Gilroy, S. B., Assistant Gov. Inspector of Mines, Stone Sept. 5, 1868
264 Gjers, John, Southfield Villas, Middlesbro' ......June 7,1873
265 Goddard, D. H., Newcastle-on-Tyne.........July 2,1872
266 Goddard, F. R., Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 9, 1874
267 Goddard, W., Golden Hill Coll., Longton, No. Stafford Mar. 6, 1862
268 Gooch, G.H., Lintz Colliery, Burnopfield, Gateshead... Oct. 3,1856
269 Goodman, A., Walker Iron Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne Sept. 5, 1868
270 Gott, Wm. L., Redheugh Colliery, Gateshead-on-Tyne Sept. 3, 1864
271 Grace, E. N., Dhadka, Assensole, Bengal, India ... Feb.
1,1868
272 Grant, J. H., care of C. Grant, 69, Lower Circular
Street, Calcutta...............Sept. 4, 1869
273 Gray, Thomas, Underhill, Taibach, South Wales ... June 5, 1869
274 Greaves, J. O., M.E., St. John's, Wakefield......Ang. 7, 1862
d
(xxvi)
ELECTED.
275 Green, J. T., 5, Victoria PL, Newport, Monmouthshire Dec. 3, 1870
276 Green, W., jun., Garesfield Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Feb. 4, 1853
277 Greener, John, General Manager, Yale Colliery, Picton,
Nova Scotia ...............Feb. 6, 1875
278 Greener, Thomas, Benton Lodge, Darlington......Aug. 3,1865
279 Greenwell, G. C, F.G.S., Poynton and Worth Collieries,
Stockport..................Aug. 21, 1852
280 Greenwell, G. C, jun., Poynton, near Stockport ... Mar. 6, 1869
281 Greig, D., Leeds ............ ... Aug. 2, 1866
282 Grey, C. G., 55, Parliament Street, London...... May 4, 1872
283 Grieves, David, Brancepeth Colliery, Willington, Co.
Durham ..................Nov. 9, 1874
284 Griffith, N. R., 13, Grosvenor Road, Wrexham ...
1866
285 Grimshaw, E. J., Cowley Hill, St. Helen's, Lancashire Sept. 5, 1868
286 Grimshaw, W. J., Stand Lane Coll., Radcliffe, Manchstr. Nov. 1, 1873
287 Ground, H. N., Tyne Main Colliery, Gateshead ... July 2, 1872
288 Guinotte, Lucien, Directeur des Charbonnages de
Mariemont et de Bascoup, Mons.........Sept. 2, 1871
289 Haggie, P., Gateshead............... 1854
290 Haines, J. Richard, Adderley Green Coll., nr. Longton Nov. 9, 1874
291 Hair, T. C, Shire Moor Colliery, Earsdon, Northumld. Feb. 1, 1873
292 Hales, C, Nerquis Cottage, Nerquis, nr. Mold, Flintsh.
1865
293 Hall, Edward, 24, Bigg Market, Newcastle......Oct. 3, 1868
294 Hall, F. W., 23, St. Thomas' Street, Newcastle ... Aug. 7,
1869
295 Hall, George, South Garesfield Colliery, Lintz Green ... Mar. 6,1875
296 Hall, Henry, Rainhill, Lancashire .........Aug. 2, 1866
297 Hall, M., Pease's West Collieries, via Darlington ... Sept. 5,
1868
298 Hall, M. S., M.E., Woodlesford, near Leeds......Feb. 14, 1874
299 Hall, W., Springhill Mines, Cumberland Co., Nova Scotia Sept. 13, 1873
300 Hall, William F., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses ... May 13,1858
301 Hann, Edmund, Brotton, near Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Sept. 5, 1868
302 Hargreaves, William, Rothwell Haigh, Leeds......Sept. 5,1868
303 Harkness, A., Birtley Iron Works, Fence Houses ...Dec. 5,1868
304 Harper, J. P., All Saints' Chambers, Derby......Feb. 2, 1867
305 Harper, Matthew, Whitehaven .........Oct. 1 1863
306 Harrison, R., Eastwood Collieries, Nottingham ...
1861
307 Harrison, T., Great Western Railway Co. Limited,
Pontypridd, Glamorganshire .........Aug. 2,1873
(xxvii)
ELECTED.
308 Harrison, T. E., C.E., Central Station, Newcastle ... May 6,
1853
309 Harrison, W. B., Brownhills Collieries, near Walsall... April 6, 1867
310 Haswell, G. H., 11, South Preston Terr., North Shields Mar. 2, 1872
311 Hay, J., jun., Widdrington Colliery, Ashington ... Sept. 4,
1869
312 Hawthorn, T., 98, Rye Hill, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Dec. 6, 1866
313 Hawthorn, W., C.E., 92, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle ... Mar. 4, 1853
314 Head, J., Newport Rolling Mills, Middlesbro' ... Oct. 2,
1869
315 Heckels, Matthew, Boldon Colliery, Durham......April 11, 1874
316 Heckels, R., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... Nov. 5,
1852
317 Hedley, Edward, Osmaston Street, Derby ......Dec. 2, 1858
318 Hedley, J. J., Consett Collieries, Leadgate, Co. Durham April 6, 1872
319 Hedley, J. L., 3, Elm Yale, Fairfield, Liverpool ... Feb. 5,
1870
320 Hedley, T. F., Valuer, Sunderland ........Mar. 4,1871
321 Hedley, W. H., Consett Collieries, Medomsley, New-
castle-on-Tyne ... ... (Member of Council) 1864
322 Henderson, H., Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street ... Feb. 14, 1874
323 Henderson, John, Leazes House, Durham ......Mar. 5, 1870
324 Heppell, T., Leafield House, Birtley, Fence Houses ... Aug. 6, 1863
325 Heppell, W. Brancepeth Coll., Willington, Co. Durham Mar. 2, 1872
326 HerdmamJ., Park Crescent, Bridgend, Glamorganshire Oct. 4,1860
327 Heslop, C, Upleatham Mines, Marske ......Feb. 1, 1868
328 Heslop, Grainger, Whitwell Colliery, Sunderland ... Oct. 5, 1872
329 Heslop, J., Hucknall Torkard Coll., near Nottingham Feb. 6, 1864
330 Hetherington, D., Coxlodge Colliery, Newcastle ...
1859
331 Hetherington, Robert, Coanwood, Haltwhistle ... Nov. 1,1873
332 Hewitt, G. C, Coal Pit Heath Colliery, near Bristol... June 3, 1871
333 Hewlett, A., Haigh Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... Mar. 7, 1861
334 Hick, G. W., 14, Blenheim Terrace, Leeds......May 4, 1872
335 Higson, Jacob, 94, Cross Street, Manchester...... 1861
336 Higson, P., jun., Hope View, Eccles, near Manchester Aug. 3, 1865
337 Hilton, J., Standish and Shevington Colls., near Wigan Dec. 7, 1867
338 Hilton, T. W., Wigan Coal & Iron Co., Limited, Wigan Aug. 3, 1865
339 Hodgkin, T., Banker, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 2,1871
340 Hodgson, R., Whitburn, Sunderland.........Feb. 7,1856
341 Holliday, Martin, M.E., Peases' West Collieries, Crook May 1, 1875
342 Holmes, C, Grange Hill, near Bishop Auckland ... April 11, 1874
343 Homer, Charles James, Chatterley Hall, Tunstall ... Aug. 3, 1865
344 Hood, A., 6, Bute Crescent, Cardiff.........April 18, 1861
345 Hopton, James, Killing-beck Colliery, near Leeds ... Dec. 5, 1874
(xxviii)
ELECTED.
346 Hornsby, H., Whitworth Colliery, Ferryhill ... Aug. 1,
1874
347 Horsfall, J. J., Bradley Green Colliery, near Congleton Mar. 2, 1865
348 Horsley, W., Whitehill Point, Percy Main......Mar. 5,1857
349 Hoskold, H. D...................April 1,1871
350 Howard, W. F., 13, Cavendish Street, Chesterfield ... Aug. 1, 1861
351 Hoyt, J., Acadia Coal Mines, Pictou, Nova Scotia ...May 8,1869
352 Hudson, James, Albion Mines, Pictou,Nova Scotia ... 1862
353 Humble, John, West Pelton, Chester-le-Street ...Mar. 4,1871
354 Humble, Jos., jun., Pemberton Collieries, near Wigan June 2, 1866
355 Humble, W. J., Forth Banks West Factory, Newcastle Sept. 1, 1866
356 Hunt, A. H., Quayside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Dec. 6, 1862
357 Hunter, J., jun., Silksworth and Worsbro' Park Col-
lieries, near Barnsley ............Mar. 6,1869
358 Hunter, W., Cannock, Staffordshire.........Oct. 3, 1861
359 Hunter, Wm., Charlaw Colliery Office, Quay, Newcastle Aug. 21, 1852
360 Hunter, W. S., Moor Lodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Feb. 1, 1868
361 Hunting, Charles, Fence Houses .........Dec. 6, 1866
362 Huntsman, Benjamin, West Retford Hall, Retford ... June 1,1867
363 Hurd, F., Grove House, Walton, near Wakefield ... Dec. 4, 1869
361 Hurst, T. G„ F.G.S., Riding Mill, Northumberland ... Aug. 21, 1852
365 Hutchings, W. M., 5, Bouverie St., Fleet St., London Sept. 5, 1868
366 Hutchinson, G., Howden Colliery, Darlington ... July 2,
1872
367 Hybner, Josef, Mahrisch, Ostrau Moravia, Austria ... Aug. 1, 1874
368 Hyslop, J. S., Belmont Mines, Guisboro' ......April 1, 1871
369 Jackson, C.G., Wigan Coal and Iron Co. Limited,Wigan June 4, 1870
370 Jackson, W., Cannock Chase Collieries, Walsall ... Feb. 14,1874
371 Jackson, W. G., Lime Street, Saltburn ......June 7, 1873
372 Jameson, John, Printing Court Chambers, .Newcastle Nov. 6, 1869
373 Jarratt, J., Broomside Colliery Office, Durham ... Nov. 2,
1867
374 Jeffcock, T. W., 18, Bank Street, Sheffield ......Sept. 4, 1869
375 Jenkins, W., M.E., Ocean S.C. Collieries, Ystrad, near
Pontypridd, South Wales............Dec. 6,1862
376 Jenkins, Wm., Consett Iron Works, Consett, Lintz Green May 2, 1874
377 Johnasson, J., Leadenhall Street, London, E.C. ... July 2,
1872
378 Johnson, Henry, Dudley, Worcestershire ......Aug. 7, 1869
379 Johnson, John, M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., Osborne Terrace,
Jesmond Road, Newcastle .........Aug. 21, 1852
380 Johnson, John, Ruabon Coal Company, Ruabon ...Mar. 7,1874
381 Johnson, R. S., Sherburn Hall, Durham ......Aug. 21, 1852
(xxix)
ELECTED.
382 Johnson, W. J., W.B. Lead Works, Allendale ... April 6, 1872
383 Johnston, T., North Fenham Colliery, Newcastle ... April 6,1872
384 Joicey, E., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne......April 6,1872
385 Joicey, John, Newton Hall, Stocksfield-on-Tyne ... Sept. 3, 1852
386 Joicey, J. G., Forth Banks West Factory, Newcastle... April 10, 1869
387 Joicey, W. J., Tanfield Lea Colliery, Burnopfield ... Mar. 6,
1869
388 Jones, John, F.G.S., Secretary, North of England Iron
Trade, Middlesbro'-on-Tees .........Sept. 7, 1867
389 Jordan, Robert, Ebbw Vale, South Wales ......Nov. 9, 1874
390 Joseph, D. Davis, Ty Draw, Pontypridd, South Wales April 6, 1872
391 Joseph, T., Ty Draw, near Pontypridd, South Wales... April 6, 1872
392 Kasalousky, Josef, 11, Kaiser Josefs Strasse, Vienna Aug. 1,
1874
393 Kelsey, William, 2, Grange Crescent, Sunderland ... Mar. 7, 1874
394 Kendall, John D., Roper Street, Whitehaven ... Oct. 3,
1874
395 Kendall, W., Blyth and Tyne Railway, Percy Main ... Sept. 1, 1866
396 Kennedy, Myles, M.E., Hill Foot, Ulverstone ... June 6, 1868
397 Key, Thomas, Gate Fulford, York .........Nov. 2, 1872
398 Kimpton, J. G., 40, St. Mary Gate, Derby ......Oct. 5, 1872
399 Kirkby, J. W., Pirnie Colliery, Leven, Fife......Feb. 1, 1873
400 Kirkwood, William, Larkhall Colliery, Hamilton ... Aug. 7, 1869
401 Kirsopp, John, Team Colliery, Gateshead ......April 5, 1873
402 Knowles, A., High Bank, Pendlebury, Manchester ... Dec. 5, 1856
403 Knowles, A., jun., The Poplars, Hope Eccles, near
Manchester..................Dec. 3, 1863
404 Knowles, John, Pendlebury Colliery, Manchester ... Dec. 5, 1856
405 Knowles, Kaye, Little Lever Colliery, near Bolton ... Aug. 3, 1865
406 Knowles, R. M., ...............Aug. 3, 1865
407 Knowles, Thomas, Ince Hall, Wigan.........Aug. 1, 1861
408 Kyrke, R. H. V., Nant-y-Ffrith, Wrexham, No. Wales Feb. 5, 1870
409 Lackland, J. J., Port Mulgrave, Saltburn-by-the-Sea... Mar. 7,1874
410 Lamb, R., Cleator Moor Colliery, near Whitehaven ... Sept. 2, 1865
411 Lamb, R. O., Gibside, Lintz Green, Newcastle ... Aug. 2,
1866
412 Lamb, Richard W., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne... Nov. 2, 1872
413 Lambert, M. W., 9, Queen Street, Newcastle ... July 2,
1872
414 Lancaster, John, Bilton Grange, Rugby ......July 4, 1861
415 Lancaster, J., jun., South Bank, Milverton, Leamington Mar. 2, 1865
416 Lancaster, Joshua, 4, Leaf Sq., Pendleton, Manchester. Aug. 3, 1865
417 Lancaster, S., Heath End Coll., near Ashley-de-la-Zouch Aug. 3, 1865
(xxx)
ELECTED,
418 Landale, A., Lochgelly Iron Works, Fifeshire, N.B.... Dec. 2, 1858
419 Lange, 0., Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 5,
1870
420 Laverick, J., West Rainton, Fence Houses......July 2,1872
421 Lawrence, Henry, Grange Iron Works, Durham ... Aug. 1,1868
422 Laws, H., Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Feb. 6, 1869
423 Laws, John, Blyth, Northumberland......... 1854
424 Lawson, Eev. E., Longhirst Hall, Morpeth......Dec. 3, 1870
425 Lawson, J. P., Vale Colliery, New Glasgow, N. Scotia Dec. 3, 1870
426 Lay cock, Joseph, Loav Gosforth, Northumberland ... Sept. 4, 1869
427 Leather, J. T., Middleton Hall, Belford, Northumberld. Aug. 6, 1870
428 Lebour, G. A., Weedpark House, Dipton, Lintz Green Feb. 1, 1873
429 Lee, George, Liverton Mines, Lofthouse, ......June 4, 1870
430 Leslie, Andrew, Hebburn, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... Sept. 7, 1867
431 Lever, Ellis, West Gorton Works, Manchester ...
1861
432 Lewis, G., Imperial Chambers, Derby.........Aug. 6, 1863
433 Lewis, Henry, Annesley Colliery, near Mansfield ... Aug. 2, 1866
434 Lewis, William Thomas, Mardy, Aberdare ...... 1864
435 Liddell, G. H., Burnhope Coll.,Lanchester, Co. Durham Sept. 4, 1869
436 Liddell, J. R., Nedderton, Northumberland......Aug. 21, 1852
437 Liddell, M., Prudhoe Hall, Prudhoe-on-Tyne ... Oct. 1,
1852
438 Lindop, James, Bloxwich, Walsall, Staffordshire ... Aug. 1,
1861
439 Linsley, R., Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland July 2, 1872
440 Linsley, S. W., Whitburn Colliery, Sunderland ... Sept. 4,
1869
441 Lishman, John, Western Hill, Durham ......June 2, 1866
442 Lishman, T., jun., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses ... Nov. 5, 1870
443 Lishman, Wm., Etherley Colliery, Darlington ...
1857
444 Lishman, Wm., Bunker Hill, Fence Houses......Mar. 7, 1861
445 Livesey, C, Bredbury Colliery, Bredbury, Stockport... Aug. 3, 1865
446 Livesey, T., Prestwich Park, near Manchester ... Aug. 1,
1861
447 Livesey, T., junr., Hatherlow House, Romilly, Cheshire Nov. 9, 1874
448 Llewellin, D., Glanwern Offices, Pontypool, Mon. ...Aug. 4,1864
449 Llewelyn, L., Aberaman, Aberdare, South Wales ... May 4, 1872
450 Logan, Wm., Langley Park Colliery, Durham ... Sept. 7, 1867
451 Longbotham, J., Framwellgate Colliery, near Durham May 2, 1868
452 Longridge, J., 3, Westminster Chambers, Victoria
Street, Westminster, London, S.W.......Aug 21, 1852
453 Low, W., Vron Colliery, Wrexham, Denbighshire ... Sept. 6, 1855
454 Lupton, A., F.G.S., Bagillt, North Wales ......Nov. 6,1869
(xxxi)
ELECTED.
455 Mackenzie, J., Tamworth House, 16, Whiteladies
Koad, Clifton, Bristol ............Mar. 5, 1870
456 Maddison, W. P., Thornhill Collieries, near Dewsbury Oct. 6, 1859
457 Maling, C. T., Ford Pottery, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 5,
1872
458 Mammatt, J.E., C.E., Beechwood, Bramley, nr. Leeds 1864
459 Maeley, John, Mining Offices, Darlington
(Member of Council) Aug. 21, 1852
460 Marley, J. W., Mining Offices, Darlington ......Aug. 1, 1868
461 Marshall, F. C, Messrs. Hawthorn and Co., Newcastle Aug. 2, 1866
462 Marshall, J., Smithfold Coll., Little Hulton, nr. Bolton
1864
463 Marston, W. B., Leeswood Vale Oil Works, Mold ... Oct. 3, 1868
464 Marten, E. B., C.E., Pedmore, near Stourbridge ... July 2, 1872
465 Martin, Joseph S., Bury New Boad, Prestwich, near
Manchester ...............Mar. 3, 1873
466 Martin, B. F., Colliery Office, Whitehaven ......April 11, 1874
467 Matthews, R. F., South Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses Mar. 5, 1857
468 Maughan, J. A., 6, Sandhill, Newcastle ......Nov. 7, 1863
469 May, George, Harton Colliery Offices, Tyne Dock,
South Shields...... (Member of Council) Mar. 6,1862
470 McCreath, J., 138, West George Street, Glasgow ... Mar. 5, 1870
471 McCulloch,H. J., Moat House, Wood Green, London, N. Oct. 1,1863
472 McCulloch, Wm., Cympermar Mountain Ash, So. Wales Nov. 9, 1874
473 McGhie, T., Cannock, Staffordshire.........Oct. 1, 1857
474 McMurtrie, J., Radstock Colliery, Bath ......Nov. 7,1863
475 McMurtrie, W. G., Llwynypia Colliery, near Ponty-
pridd, South Wales ............Sept. 4, 1869
476 Meik, Thomas, C.E., 6, York Place, Edinburgh ... June 4, 1870
477 Menzies, W., King Street, Newcastle.........Sept. 13, 1873
478 Miller, Robert, Strafford Collieries, near Barnsley ... Mar. 2,
1865
479 Mills, John, Forth Street, Newcastle.........July 2, 1872
480 Mitchell, Charles, Shipbuilder, Newcastle ......April 11, 1874
481 Mitchell, Joseph, jun., Worsbro'Dale, near Barnsley ... Feb. 14,1874
482 Mitchinson, R., jun., Pontop Colliery, Lintz Green
Station, Co. Durham ............Feb. 4, 1865
483 Moffatt, T., Montreal Iron Ore Works, Whitehaven ... Sept. 4, 1869
484 Monkhouse, Jos., Yeat House, Frizington, Whitehaven June 4,1863
485 Moor, T., North Seaton Colliery, Morpeth ......Oct. 3,1868
486 Moor, W., Engineer, Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.., Oct. 3, 1874
487 Moore, T. H., Smeaton Park, Inveresk, Edinburgh ... Feb. 2, 1867
488 Moeison, D. P., 21, Collingwood Street, Newcastle
(Member of Council) 1861
(xxxii)
ELECTED.
489 Morris, W.,Waldridge Colliery, Chester-le-Street, Fence
Houses ................. 1858
490 Morrison, Jas., 34, Grey Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Aug. 5, 1853
491 Morton, H. T., Lambton, Fence Houses ......Aug. 21, 1852
492 Moseley, Walter, 9, Parr Street, Liverpool ......Nov. 9, 1874
493 Muckle, John, Monk Bretton, Barnsley ......Mar. 7, 1861
494 Mulcaster, W., jun., M.E., Croft House, Aspatria, near
Carlisle ..................Dec. 3, 1870
495 Mulvany, W. T., Pempelfort, Dusseldorf-on-the-Ehine Dec. 3, 1857
496 Mundle, W., Bedesdale Mines, Bellingham......Aug. 2, 1873
497 Murray, George, Engineer, Sandhill, Newcastle ... Nov. 9,
1874
498 Murray, T. H., Chester-le-Street, Fence Houses ... April 18, 1861
499 Nanson, J., 4, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Dec. 4, 1869
500 Nasse, Herr Bergassessor, Louisenthal, Saarbrucken, v
Prussia ..................Sept. 4, 1869
501 Naylor, J. T., 10, West Clayton Street, Newcastle ... Dec. 6,
1866
502 Nelson, J., C.E., King's House Engine Works, Sun-
derland...... ... (Member of Council) Oct. 4,1866
503 Nevin, John, Mirfield, Yorkshire .........May 2,1868
504 Newall, B. S., Ferndene, Gateshead
(Member of Council) May 2, 1863
505 Newby, J. E., Usworth Colliery, by Washington Station,
County Durham...............Oct. 2, 1869
506 Nicholson, E., jun., Beamish Colliery, Chester-le-Street Aug. 7,1869
507 Nicholson, J. W., Greenside Colliery, Milton, Carlisle Oct. 11, 1873
508 Nicholson, Marshall, Middleton Hall, Leeds......Nov. 7, 1863
509 Nicholson, B., Blaydon-on-Tyne .........July 2,1872
510 Nicholson, T., Park Lane Engine Works, Gateshead ... Dec. 4, 1869
511 Nicholson, W., Seghill Colliery, Newcastle ......Oct. 1,1863
512 Noble, Captain, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Feb. 3, 1866
513 North, F. W., F.G.S., Kowley Hall Colliery, Dudley,
Staffordshire ...............Oct. 6, 1864
514 Ogden, John M., Solicitor, Sunderland ......Mar. 5, 1857
515 Pacey, T., Bishop Auckland............April 10, 1869
516 Page, Wm., 10, Grove Street, Newcastle ......Mar. 6, 1875
517 Palmer, A. S., Wardley Colliery, Durham ......July 2, 1872
518 Palmer, CM., M.P., Quay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Nov. 5, 1852
519 Palmer, John B., Jarrow-on-Tyne .........April 1,1871
(xxxiii)
ELECTED.
520 Panton, F. S., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland ... Oct. 5,
1867
521 Papik, Johanne, Teplitz, Bohemia .........Feb. 5, 1870
522 Parkin, Charles E., Perran House, PerranPorth, Truro,
Cornwall..................June 5, 1875
523 Parkin, John, Duchy Peru, Newlyn East, Grampound
Boad, Cornwall ...............April 11, 1874
524 Partington, M. W.,WearmouthColliery, Sunderland... Dec. 1,1864
525 Parton, T., F.G.S., Ash Cottage, Birmingham Boad,
West Bromwich...............Oct. 2, 1869
526 Pattinson, John, Analytical Chemist, Newcastle ... May 2,
1868
527 Pattison, John, Engineer, Naples .........Nov. 9, 1874
528 Pattison, W., Westminster Colliery, Wrexham ... Oct. 11,
1873
529 Pattison, W., jun., FfrwdColl. and Ironworks, Wrexham Oct. 11, 1873
530 Patton, John, Vine Lodge, Sunderland ... .. April 6,
1872
531 Peace, M. W., Wigan, Lancashire .........July 2, 1872
532 Peacock, David, Horsley, Tipton .........Aug. 7, 1869
533 Pearce, F. H., Bowling Iron Works, Bradford ... Oct. 1,
1857
534 Pearson, J. E., Golborne Park, near Newton-le-Willows Feb. 3, 1872
535 Pease, J. W., M.P., Hutton Hall, Guisbro', Yorkshire Mar. 5, 1857
536 Peel, John, Wharncliffe and Silkstone Collieries,
Wortley, near Sheffield............Nov. 1,1860
537 Peile, William, Oakfield Street, Boath, Cardiff ... Oct. 1,
1863
538 Penman, J. Hugh, Clarence;Buildings, 2, Booth Street,
Manchester ...............Mar. 7, 1874
539 Perrot, S. W., 39, Kronprinzen Strasse, Dusseldorf ... June 2, 1866
540 Philipson, H., 8, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7, 1871
541 Pickersgill, T., Waterloo Main Colliery, near Leeds ... June 5, 1869
542 Pickup, P. W., Dunkenhalgh Colls., Accrington, Lane. Feb. 6, 1875
543 Piggford, J., Bisca House, Bisca, near Newport, Mon. Aug. 2, 1866
544 Pilkington, Wm., jun., St. Helen's, Lancashire ... Sept. 6,
1855
545 Potter, Addison, Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 6, 1869
546 Potter, C. J., Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 3,
1874
547 Price, J. B., Standish, near Wigan .........Aug. 7,1869
548 Priestman, Jon., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,1871
549 Bamsay, J. A., Washington Colliery, near Durham
(Member of Council) Mar. 6, 1869
550 Bamsay, J. T., Walbottle Hall, near Blaydon-on-Tyne
(M'ember of Council) Aug. 3, 1853
551 Bamsay, T. D., So. Durham Colliery, via Darlington Mar. 1, 1866
e
(xxxiv)
ELECTED.
552 Redmayne, J. M., Chemical Manufacturer, Gateshead July . 2, 1872
553 Seed, Robert, Felling Colliery, Gateshead ... ... Dec. 3,
1863
554 Reefeen, ¥m, Teplitz, Bohemia .........Oct. 5,1872
555 Rees, Daniel, Glandare, Aberdare ......... 1862
556 Reid, Andrew, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ......April 2,1870
557 Reynolds, J. J., M.E., Leigh Road, Atherton, near
Manchester ...............April 3, 1875
558 Richards, G. C, M.E., Woodhouse, near Sheffield ... June 5, 1875
559 Richardson, E., 2, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne... Feb. 5, 1870
560 Richardson, H., Backworth Colliery, Newcastle ... Mar. 2, 1865
561 Richardson, J. W., Iron Shipbuilder,Newcastle-on-Tyne Sept. 3,1870
562 Richardson, M., West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-St. April 3,
1875
563 Ridley, G., Trinity Chambers, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Feb. 4, 1865
564 Ridley, J. H., R. and W. Hawthorn's, Newcastle ... April 6, 1872
565 Ridyard, John, Walkden, near Bolton-le-Moor ... Nov. 9, 1874
566 Riska, Franz, Machinen Fabrik, Prague, Bohemia ... Aug. 1, 1874
567 Ritson, U. A., 6, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7, 1871
568 Robertson, W., M.E., 123, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow Mar. 5, 1870
569 Robinson, G. C, Brereton and Hayes Collieries,
Rugeley, Staffordshire ............Nov. 5, 1870
570 Robinson, H., C.E., 7, Westminster Chambers, London Sept. 3, 1870
571 Robinson, R., jun., Howlish Hall, near Bp. Auckland Feb. 1, 1868
572 Robinson, R. H., Staveley Works, near Chesterfield ... Sept. 5, 1868
573 Robson, D. W., Ouston, Chester-le-Street ......Nov. 9, 1874
574 Robson, E., Cassop and Tyne Main Colliery Offices,
Middlesbro'-on-Tees ............April 2, 1870
575 Robson, J. S., Butterknowle Colliery, via Staindrop,
Darlington.................. 1853
576 Robson J. T., Cambuslang, Glasgow.........Sept. 4,1869
577 Robson, M., Coppa Colliery, near Mold, Flintshire ... May 4, 1872
578 Robson, Thomas, Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses ... Oct. 4,1860
579 Robson, W. C, Walbottle Colliery, near Newcastle ... Sept. 4, 1869
580 Rogerson, J., Weardale Iron and Coal Co., Newcastle Mar. 6, 1869
581 Roscamp, J., Rosedale Lodge, nr. Pickering, Yorkshire Feb. 2, 1867
582 Roseby, John, Haverholme House, Brigg, Lincolnshire Nov. 2, 1872
583 Ross, A., Shipcote Colliery, Gateshead ......Oct. 1,1857
584 Ross, E. A., Tondu Coal Works, Bridgend, Glam. ... April 11, 1874
585 Ross, J. A. G., 34, Collingwood Street, Newcastle ... July 2, 1872
586 Rosser, W., Mineral Surveyor, Llanelly, Carmarthensh.
1856
587 Rothwell, R. P., 27, Park Place, New York......Mar. 5, 1870
(xxxv)
ELECTED.
588 Routledge, T., Lorway Coal Co., Limited, Sydney,
Cape Breton ...............Dec. 3,1870
589 Routledge, Wm., Sydney, Cape Breton ......Aug. 6, 1857
590 Rusby, W. J., 99, Cannon Street, London, E. ... Aug. 1,
1868
591 Rutherford, J., Halifax, Nova Scotia .. ......
1866
592 Rutherford, W., Marden House, Whitley, Newcastle Oct. 3, 1874
593 Rutter, Thos., Blaydon Main Coll., Blaydon-on-Tyne May 1, 1875
594 Saint, Geo., Llangennech Colliery, Llanelly, South Wales April 11, 1874
595 Sanderson, R. Burdon, 33, Westgate Road, Newcastle 1852
596 Scarth, W. T., Raby Castle, Darlington ... ... April 4,
1868
597 Scott, Andrew, Broomhill Colliery, Acklington ... Dec. 7,
1867
598 Scoular, G., Parkside, Frizington, Cumberland ... July 2,
1872
599 Seddon, J. F., Great HarwoodCollieries, nr. Accrington June 1,1867
600 Seddon, W., Lark Hill Terrace, Edge Lane Road, Old-
ham, Lancashire...............Oct. 5, 1865
601 Shallis, F. W., 16, Redcliffe Street, South Kensington,
London, ..................April 6, 1872
602 Shaw, W., jun., Wolsingham, via Darlington ... June 3, 1871
603 Sheppard, F. C, 71, Maple St., Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 2, 1872
604 Shiel, John, Usworth Colliery, County Durham ... May 6, 1871
605 Shield, H., Lamb's Cottage, Gilesgate Moor, Durham Mar. 6, 1862
606 Shone, Isaac, Pentrefelin House, Wrexham...... 1858
607 Shortrede, T., Park House, Winstanley, Wigan ... April 3, 1856
608 Shute, C. A., Westoe, South Shields.........April 11, 1874
609 Simpson, J., Heworth Colliery, nr. Gateshead-on-Tyne Dec. 6, 1866
610 Simpson, John, West Stanley Coll., Chester-le-Street... April 3,1875
611 Simpson, Jos., So. Derwent Coll., viahmtz Green Station Mar. 3,1873
612 Simpson, J. B., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) Oct. 4, 1860
613 Simpson, R., Moor House, Ryton-on-Tyne ......Aug. 21,1852
614 Slinn, T., Radcliffe House, Acklington ......July 2,1872
615 Small, G., Kilburne Colliery, near Derby ..... ... June
4, 1870
616 Smallshaw, J., Westleigh Coll., Leigh, nr. Manchester Nov. 9, 1874
617 Smith, C. J., 16, Whitehall Place, Westminster,
London, S.W................July 2, 1872
618 Smith, E. J., 16, Whitehall Place, Westminster, London Oct. 7, 1858
619 Smith, G. F., Bridgewater Offices, Manchester ... Aug. 5,
1853
620 Smith, J., Bickershaw Colliery, Wigan ......Mar. 7, 1874
621 Smith, R. A., 74, Osmaston Street, Derby ......Nov. 9, 1874
(xxxvi)
ELKCTKD.
622 Smith, T. E., M.P., Gosforth House, Dudley, Northd. Feb. 5, 1870
623 Smith, T. E., Phoenix Foundry, Newgate St., Newcastle Dec. 5,1874
624 Smith, T. M., 1, Chapel Place, Delahay Street, West-
minster, London...............Sept. 2, 1871
625 Sneddon, J., 149, West George Street, Glasgow ... July 2, 1872
626 Snowdon, T., jun., West Bitchburn Colliery, near Tow-
law, via Darlington ............Sept. 4, 1869
627 Sopwith, A., Cannock Chase Collieries, near Walsall... Aug. 1, 1868
628 Sopwith, T., F.G.S., etc., 103, Victoria Street, West-
minster, London, S.W.............May 6, 1853
629 Sopwith, T., jun., South Derwent Coll., near Annfield
Plain, Co. Durham ............Nov. 2,1867
630 Southern, R., Burleigh House, The Parade, Tredegar-
ville, Cardiff ...............Aug. 3, 1865
631 Southworth, Thos., Hindley Green Collieries, nr. Wigan May 2, 1874
632 Spark, H. K., Darlington ............ 1856
633 Sparkes, C, care of J. Dunning, Esq., Southfield Villas,
Middlesbro' ...............Sept. 5, 1868
634 Spence, G., Coltness Iron Works, New Mains, N.B.... June 7, 1873
635 Spence, James, Clifton and Millgramfitz Collieries,
Workington ...............Nov. 9, 1874
636 Spence, John P., Borough Surveyor, Tynemouth ... Dec. 5, 1874
637 Spencer, John, Westgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne... Sept. 4,1869
638 Spencer, M., Newburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 4,1869
639 Spencer, T., Ryton, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... Dec. 6,
1866
640 Spencer, W., Cross House Chambers, Westgate Road,
Newcastle..................Aug. 21, 1852
641 Spooner, P., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses......Dec. 4, 1869
642 Spours, J. L., Pensbury Street, Darlington......April 11, 1874
643 Steavenson, A. L., Durham ... {Member of Council) Dec. 6, 1855
644 Steavenson, D.F., B.A., LL.B., Barrister-at-Law, Cross
House, Westgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... April 1,1871
645 Steele, Chas., Bolton Colliery, Mealsgate, Cumberland June 7, 1873
646 Steele, Charles R., Ellenborough Colliery, Maryport... Mar. 3, 1864
647 Stenson, W. T., Whitwick Coll., Coalville, nr. Leicester Aug. 5, 1853
648 Stephenson, G. R., 24, Great George Street, Westmin-
ster, London, S.W. ............Oct. 4, 1860
649 Stephenson, W. H., Elswick House, Newcastle ... Mar. 7, 1867
650 Stevenson, Archibald, South Shields.........Sept. 2,1871
651 Stobart, H. S., Witton-le-Wear, Darlington......Feb. 2, 1854
(xxxvii)
ELECTED.
652 Stobart, W., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... July 2,
1872
653 Stokoe, Joseph, Houghton-le-Spring, Fence Houses ... April 11, 1874 ¦
654 Straker, John, Stagshaw House, Corbridge-on-Tyne... May 2, 1867
655 Straker, J. H., Willington House, Co. Durham ... Oct. 3,
1874
656 Stratton, T. H. M., Seaham Colliery, Sunderland ... Dec. 3, 1870
657 Sutherst, Thos., Cleveland Iron Works, Guisbro' ... Nov. 9,1874
658 Swallow, John, East Boldon, Co. Durham ......Aug. 6, 1863
659 Swallow, John, East Castle Collieries, Annfield Plain,
Lintz Green ...............May 2, 1874
660 Swallow, R. T., Springwell, Gateshead ......
1862
661 Swan, Charles, Wallsend, Newcastle ... ... ... April
11, 1874
662 Swan, H. F., Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,
1871
663 Swan, J. G., Upsall Hall, near Middlesbro' ......Sept. 2,1871
664 Taylor, George, Brotton Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea... June 5, 1875
665 Taylor, Hugh, 8, Queen Street, Quay, Newcastle ... Sept. 5, 1856
666 Taylor, John, Earsdon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Aug. 21, 1852
667 Taylor, John B., The Mount, Clent, Stourbridge ... May 3, 1873
668 Taylor, T., Chipchase Castle, Northumberland ... July 2,
1872
669 Taylor-Smith, Thomas, Urpeth Hall, Chester-le-Street, Aug. 2, 1866
670 Terry, E., M.E., 269, Castle Street, Dudley ... ... Sept. 13,
1873
671 Thomas, A., Bilson House, near Newnham, Glouces. Mar. 2, 1872
672 Thompson, Astley, Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire ...
1864
673 Thompson, James, Bishop Auckland ... ... ... June 2,
1866
674 Thompson, James A., So. Derwent Colliery, Annfield
Plain, Lintz Green ............Oct. 3, 1874
675 Thompson, John, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ... Oct. 4, 1860
676 Thompson, John, Boughton Hall, Chester ......Sept. 2, 1865
677 Thompson, J., Norley Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... April 6, 1867
678 Thompson, Jos. F., Manvers Main Coll., Rotherham Feb. 6, 1875
679 Thompson,R., jun.,NorthBrancepethColl., nr. Durham Sept. 7,1867
680 Thompson, T. C, Milton Hall, Carlisle ......May 4, 1854
681 Thomson, G., Manager of Ironworks, Pen-y-Bryn,
Ruabon ..................Nov. 9, 1874
682 Thorpe, R. S., 17, Picton Place, Newcastle......Sept. 5, 1868
683 Thubron, N., Merthyr Dare Colliery, Merthyr Tydvil Oct. 3, 1874
684 Tinn, J., C.E., Ashton Iron Rolling Mills, Bower
Ashton, Bristol ......' .........Sept. 7, 1867
685 Toller, J. E., Royal Engineers .........July 2,1872
686 Tone, J. F., C.E., Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Feb. 7, 1856
(xxxviii)
ELECTED.
687 Truran, M., Dowlais, Glamorgan .........Dec. 1, 1859
G88 Turner, W. B., C. and M.E., Sella Park, via
Carnforth.................Dec. 7, 1867
689 Tylden-Wright, C, Shireoaks Coll., Worksop, Notts....
1862
690 Tyzack, D., Taensin, Formosa, care of the Commis-
sioner of Customs, Amoy, China ... ... ... Feb. 14,1874
691 Ure, J. F., Engineer, Tyne Commissioners, Newcastle May 8, 1869
692 Vaughan, Thomas, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ...... 1857
693 Vaughan, W. S., 10, Broad Chare, Newcastle-on-Tyne Nov. 1, 1873
694 Vondracek, Vladimir, Mahrisch, Moravia, Austria ... Aug. 1, 1874
695 Wadham, E., C. and M.E., Millwood,Dalton-in-Furness Dec. 7, 1867
696 Wake,H.H., River Wear Commissioners, Sunderland... Feb. 3,1872
697 Waldo-Sibthorp, M. R., Saltburn-by-the-Sea......June 6,1874
698 Walker, G. W., Bulwell, Notts..........Sept. 7, 1867
699 Walker, J. S., 15, Wallgate, Wigan, Lancashire ... Dec. 4,
1869
700 Walker, T. F., 58, Oxford Street, Birmingham ... April 11, 1874
701 Walker, W., Saltburn-by-the Sea .........Mar. 5, 1870
702 Wallace, Henry, Trench Hall, Gateshead ......Nov. 2, 1872
703 Wallace, J., 3, St. Nicholas' Bldgs., Newcastle-on-Tyne Sept. 13, 1873
704 Wand, B. W., Cliff House, Southwold, Suffolk ... Dec. 5,
1874
705 Ward, H., Priestfields Iron Works, Oaklands, Wolver-
hampton ..................Mar. 6, 1862
706 Wardale, John D., M.E., Redheugh Engine Works,
Gateshead... ...............May 1,1875
707 Wardell, S. C, Doe Hill House, Alfreton ......April 1, 1865
708 Warrington, J., Worsborough Hall, near Barnsley ... Oct. 6, 1859
709 Watkin, Wm. J. L., Pemberton Colliery, Wigan ... Aug. 7, 1862
710 Watson, H., High Bridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Mar. 7, 1868
711 Watson, M., Shildon Lodge Colliery, Darlington ... Mar. 7, 1868
712 Webster, R. C, Ruabon Coll., Ruabon, Denbighshire Sept. 6, 1855
713 Weeks, J. G., Bedlington Colliery, Bedlington ... Feb. 4,
1865
714 Westmacott, P. G. B., Elswick Iron Works, Newcastle June 2, 1866
715 Whaley, John, Coanwood Colliery, Haltwhistle ... Feb. 1,
1873
716 Whaley, Thomas, Orrell Mount, Wigan ......Aug. 2, 1866
717 White, H., Cassop Colliery, Trimdon Grange...... 1866
718 White, J. F., M.E., Wakefield .........July 2,1872
719 Whitelaw, A., 168, West George Street, Glasgow ... Mar. 5, 1870
(xxxix)
ELECTED.
720 Whitelaw, John, 19, London Street, Edinburgh ... Feb. 5, 1870
721 Whitelaw, T., Shields and Dalzell Collieries, Motherwell April 6,
1872
722 Whittem, Thos. S., Wyken Colliery, near Coventry ... Dec. 5, 1874
723 Whitwell, T., Thornaby Iron Works, Stockton-on-Tees Sept. 5, 1868
724 Widdas, C, No. Bitchburn Coll., Howden, Darlington Dec. 5, 1868
725 Wigram, R., Steam Plough Works, Leeds ......Feb. 6, 1875
726 Wild, H. F., Stockport, Columbia Co., New York, U.S. Oct. 3, 1874
727 Wild, J. G., Monk wood and Barlow Lees Collieries,
near Chesterfield...............Oct. 5, 1867
728 Wilkinson, W., 1, Joseph St., Kyo, via Lintz Green ... Mar. 3, 1873
729 Williams, E. (Bolckow, Vaughan, & Co.), Middlesbro' Sept. 2, 1865
730 Williams, J. J., Holywell, Flintshire.........Nov. 2, 1872
731 Williams, John L., Mold, Flintshire.........Nov. 2, 1872
732 Williamson, John, Chemical Manufacturer, So. Shields Sept. 2, 1871
733 Williamson, John, Cannock, &c, Collieries, Hednesford Nov. 2, 1872
734 Willis, E., Clarence House, Willington, near Durham Sept. 5, 1868
735 Willis, James, 73, Westmorland Road, Newcastle
(Member of Council) Mar. 5, 1857
736 Wilmer, F. B., Duffryn Collieries, Aberdare... ... June 6,
1856
737 Wilson, J., 69, Great Clyde Street, Glasgow......July 2, 1872
738 Wilson, J. B., Wingfield Iron Works and Coll., Alfreton Nov. 5, 1852
739 Wilson, J. S., Moorfield, Coxlodge, Newcastle-on-Tyne Dec. 2, 1858
740 Wilson, Robert, Flimby Colliery, Maryport......Aug. 1, 1874
741 Wilson, T. H., 26, Sandhill, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 6, 1869
742 Wilson, W. B., Cannock and Seacroft Collieries, Can-
nock, Staffordshire ............Feb. 6, 1869
743 Winship, J. B., Newcastle, Australia.........Dec. 4, 1869
744 Winter, T. B., Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7,
1871
745 Wood, C. L., Freeland, Bridge of Earn, Perthshire ...
1853
746 Wood, J., Flockton Collieries, Wakefield ......April 2, 1863
747 Wood, Lindsay, Southill, Chester-le-Street
(Peesident) Oct. 1, 1857
748 Wood, Thomas, Rainton House, Fence Houses ... Sept. 3, 1870
749 Wood, W. H., West Hetton, Ferryhill ......
1856
750 Wood, W.O., East Hetton Colliery, Coxhoe, Co. Durham Nov, 7, 1863
751 Woodgate, A., Chemical Manure Manftr., Newcastle... Feb. 3, 1872
752 Woodhouse, J. T., 3, Westminster Chambers, Victoria
Street, Westminster, London, S.W.......Dec. 13, 1852
753 Woolcock, Henry, St. Bees, Cumberland ......Mar. 3, 1873
754 Wright, G. H., Heanor Hall, Heanor, near Derby ... July 2, 1872
(xl)
ELECTED.
755 Wight, R., Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle ... Oct. 11,
1873
756 Wrightson, T., Stockton-on-Tees .........Sept. 13, 1873
757 Young, Philip, Deckham Hall Colliery, Gateshead ... Oct. 11, 1873
^twtote.
1 Atkinson, F. R., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses ... Feb. 14,
1874
2 Atkinson, J. B., Chilton Moor, Fence Houses...... Mar. 5, 1870
3 Avery, F. S., Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle ... May 2,
1874
4 Ayton, Henry, Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley, Northd. Mar. 6, 1875
5 Bain, Donald, Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley, Northd. Mar. 3, 1873
6 Barnes, A. W., Grassmore Colliery, near Chesterfield... Oct. 5, 1872
7 Barrett, Charles, Harton Colliery, South Shields ... Nov. 9,
1874
8 Bell, C. E., 31, Old Elvet, Durham .........Dec. 3, 1870
9 Berkley, R. W., Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ... Feb. 14,
1874
10 Bewick, T. B., Haydon Bridge, Northumberland ... Mar. 7, 1874
11 Blackie, R., Litherland House, Seaforth, Liverpool ... Nov. 9,
1874
12 Boyd, R. F., Moor House, near Durham ......Nov. 6,1869
13 Bragge, G. S., Nunnery Colliery Offices, Sheffield ... July 2,
1872
14 Brough, Thomas, Seaham Colliery, Seaham Harbour ... Feb. 1, 1873
15 Brown, M. W., Hamsteels Colliery, Durham......Oct. 7, 1871
16 Bruce, John, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead......Feb. 14, 1874
17 Bulman, G. H., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses ... April 11, 1874
18 Bulman, H. F., Killingworth Colliery, Newcastle ... May 2, 1874
19 Bunning, C. Z., Neville Cottage, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Dec. 6, 1873
20 Burnley, E. F., Hope Cottage, The Common, Normanton April 11, 1874
21 Burrows, J. S., Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 11, 1873
22 Byerley, R. Reed, Houghton-le-Spring ......Mar. 5, 1870
23 Caldwell, John S., The Grove, Westhoughton, near
Bolton Law ...............Nov. 9, 1874
24 Candler, T. E., East Lodge, Crook, Darlington ... May 1, 1875
25 Chambers, W. Henry, Birchwood Colls., near Alfreton... Dec. 2,1871
26 Clark, R. B., Burnopfield, Lintz Green ......May 3, 1873
27 Clough, James, Seaton Delaval Colliery, near Newcastle April 5, 1873
(xli)
ELECTED.
28 Cobbold, C. H., Harton Colliery Office, Tyne Dock,
South Shields ...............May 3, 1873
29 Cockburn, W. C, 8, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle ... July . 2, 1872
30 Cockin,G. M.,BishopwearmouthRectory,Sunderland... Nov. 2,1872
31 Corfield, F. C, Butterly Park, Alfreton ......Aug. 2, 1873
32 Crone, E. W., Killingworth Hall, near Newcastle ... Mar. 5, 1870
33 Darlington, J., Springfield, Wigan ........Nov. 9, 1874
34 Dorman, Frank, Stanley Colliery, Crook ......May 1,1875
35 Eden, C. H., Sedgefield, Ferryhill .........Sept. 13, 1873
36 Edge, J. C, Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Co. Lim., Wigan Dec. 5, 1874
37 Elliot, W. S., Thrislington Colliery, nr. Ferryhill Station Sept. 13,
1873
38 Fletcher, J., Kelton House, Dumfries.........July 2,1872
39 Forster, J. T., Washington, Gateshead.........Aug. 1,1868
40 Garthwaite, T. Y. B., Greenside, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... Feb. 1, 1873
41 Gerrard, James, Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Co., Wigan Mar. 3, 1873
42 Greener, T. Y., Pemberton Collieries, near Wigan ... July 2, 1872
43 Hague, E., Endcliffe Vale, Sheffield .........Mar. 2,1872
44 Hallimond, W. T., Etherley Coll., Escomb, Bp. Auckland May 2, 1874
45 Hamilton, E., Rig Wood, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Nov. 1, 1873
46 Harris, W. S., Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead ... Feb. 14,
1874
47 Harrison, Robert J., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland... May 1, 1875
48 Heckels, W. J., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... May 2,1868
49 Hedley, E., Rainham Lodge, The Avenue, Beekenham,
Kent ..................Dec. 2, 1871
50 Hedley, George..................Aug. 2, 1873
51 Hodgson, J. W., Dipton Coll., via Lintz Green Station Feb. 5, 1870
52 Hughes, H. E., Bowers Allerton Collieries, Limited,
Astley, Woodlesford ............Nov. 6, 1869
53 Hutton, J. A.,..................Sept. 4, 1869
54 Jepson, H., Harton Coll. Office, Tyne Docks, So. Shields July 2, 1872
55 Johnson, W., Strangeways Hall, &c, Collieries, Wigan Feb. 14, 1874
56 Jordan, J. J., South Derwent Colliery, via Lintz Green Mar. 3, 1873
57 Leach, C. C, Bedlington Collieries, Bedlington ... Mar. 7,
1874
(xlii)
ELECTED.
58 Liddell, J. M., Nedderton, Northumberland......Mar. 6, 1875
59 Lisle, J., "Washington Colliery, Co. Durham......July 2, 1872
60 Mann, A. C, Seaham Colliery, Seaham Harbour ... Feb. 6, 1875
61 Marsh, T. G., Burnt Tree House, Tipton, Staffordshire Sept. 13, 1873
62 Miller, D. S., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ... Nov. 9,
1874
63 Mills, M. H.,Weardale Iron & Coal Co., Towlaw, Darling-
ton.....................Feb. 4,1871
64 Moor, W., jun., Lanelay Coll., Llantrissant, Glam. ... July 2,
1872
65 Moore, R. W., Colliery Office, Whitehaven ......Nov. 5, 1870
QQ Moreing, C. A., Hay don Bridge, Northumberland ... Nov. 9, 1874
67 Moses, W., Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses ......Mar. 2,1872
68 Mundle, Arthur, 7, Hawthorn Street, Newcastle ... June 5, 1875
69 Mundle, Eobert, Eedesdale Mines, Bellingham ... Mar. 6, 1875
70 Ornsby, R. E., Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley, Northd. Mar. 6, 1875
71 Pamely, C, Radstock Coal Works, near Bath......Sept. 5, 1868
72 Place, Thomas, Newbottle Land, Houghton-le-Spring,
Fence Houses ...............April 2,1870
73 Pocock, Francis A., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland ... Mar. 6, 1875
74 Potter, A. M., Heaton Hall, Newcastle.........Feb. 3,1872
75 Potter, E. A., Cramlington House, Northumberland ... Feb. 6, 1875
76 Prest, J. J., Belmangate, Guisbro'........... May 1,1875
77 Rathbone, Edgar P., Duke of Norfolk's Colliery Offices,
Sheffield..................Mar. 7, 1874
78 Ritson, W. A., Wylam Wood Colliery, Wylam-on-Tyne April 2, 1870
79 Robson, J. M., 11, Belhaven Terrace, Glasgow ... Dec. 5, 1868
80 Sawyer, A. R., Towneley Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne ... Dec. 6, 1873
81 Scott, C. F., Monk Bretton, near Barnsley ......April 11, 1874
82 Short, James T., Assoc. Coll. of P. S., Bedlington Col-
liery, Bedlington...............Dec. 5, 1874
83 Southern, E. O., 5, Fenwick Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle Dec. 5,1874
84 Southern, W. J., Tanfield Lea Colliery, by Lintz Green Aug. 1, 1874
85 Stobart, F., Cocken Hall, Fence Houses......Aug. 2, 1873
86 Stones, T. H., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Wigan ... Nov. 9, 1874
87 Telford, W. H., Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland Oct. 3, 1874
(xliii)
ELECTED.
88 Thompson, William, Washington Colliery, Co. Durham May 2, 1874
89 Vernon, J. O., Villa de St. George, Newcastle......Sept. 7, 1867
90 Walker, G. B., Osgathorpe, Sheffield.........Dec. 2,1871
91 Walton, J. C, Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle ... Nov. 9, 1874
92 Williamson, J. E., Harton Colliery Offices, Tyne Docks,
South Shields ...............Nov. 9, 1874
93 Wilson, J. T., Thornton Fields, Guisbro' ......Nov. 9, 1874
%v&\ of $nb»itribittjg %Ufarijt8.
Owners of Ashington Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
„ East Holywell Colliery, Earsdon, Northumberland.
„ Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.
„ Hetton Collieries, Fence Houses.
„ Lambton Collieries, Fence Houses (Earl Durham).
„ North Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.
„ Eainton Collieries (Marquess of Londonderry).
„ Eyhope Colliery, near Sunderland.
„ Seghill Colliery, Northumberland.
„ South Hetton and Murton Collieries.
„ Stella Colliery, Hedgefield, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
„ Throckley Colliery, Newcastle.
„ Wearmouth Colliery, 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 also be entitled for each £2
2s. subscription to have a copy of the Proceedings of the Institute sent to
him.
(xlvi)
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 of the Meeting, so as to
be received before the hour fixed for the election of
(xlvii)
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-officio 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
(xlviii)
communication 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 Regulations 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.
[FORM 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.
J~ ) Signatures ----------------------¦----------------- >- 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 j 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 obligation.
Witness my hand this day of
18
9
(1)
[FOEM 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 Eule 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 ain also directed to request that
you will cause the same to be 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.
[FOEM 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 Eule 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 Eegister, 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.
[FOEM F.]
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
Eegulations 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.
(H) [FOEM G.]
BALLOTING LIST.
Ballot to take place at the Meeting of 18 at Two o'Olock.
President—One Name to be returned, ¦j- _---------- Ketiring President.
^ J-----------I New Nominations.
Vice-Presidents—Six Names to be returned.
The Votes for any Members who may not be elected as Vice-
J>
Presidents will count for them as other Members of the Council.
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Eule XII.—Eelative to the Election of the Officers of the Institute.
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ZZZZZZZZZZZHZZZIZZZZZHI £
t These Gentlemen are ineligible for re-election.
* These Gentlemen are not on the Council for the present year.
Names substituted for any of the above are to be written in the blank spaces
opposite those they are intended to supersede.
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OF
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
GENERAL MEETING, AUGUST 5th, 1874, AT THE CARDIFF ARMS,
CARDIFF.
Me. W. COCHRANE, Vice-President in the Chair.
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 and Mining
Industries 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."
Mr. Brown's and Mr. Wallace's papers have been published in the last Volume
; and Mr. Simpson's paper, on "The Coal-Fields and Mining Industries of
Russia," forms the commencement of Volume XXIV.
XXIV.—1875.
^
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF EUSSIA. 3
ON THE COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OP
RUSSIA.
By JOHN BELL SIMPSON.
The writer having recently visited Russia and collected information and
statistics relative to the mining industry of this great country, has
thought that some remarks thereon might not be uninteresting to the members,
especially as there appears to have been so little published on the subject.
I.—GEOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE COUNTRY.
As far back as 1848, Sir R. Murchison, Edward de Verneuil and Count
Keyserling, made a geological survey of Russia under the auspices of the
Imperial Government, and produced an elaborate and valuable description of
the same, together with a detailed geological map. Since then, several
observers have been at work and have made more detailed examinations of the
different districts. Among these we may mention General Helmersen, Valerian
de Moller and Captain A. Autipoff. These further explorations have, as was
to be expected, rendered considerable modifications necessary in the
original map, but it has, nevertheless, served as the basis of all that have
since been published. The Government Administration of Mines, it may be
mentioned, is now contemplating, and has almost decided upon, a geological
survey similar to that of the United Kingdom.
From what is to be seen at St. Petersburgh it is quite evident that the
Government is fully alive to the importance of the study of geology, and
already there are no fewer than 300 pupils attending the course of
instruction given by the Corps des Mines, where there are two chairs—one for
mining, and the other for manufactures. There are also mining schools at
Ekaterinbourg, Barynaoul, and Lisitschansk.
The museum of St. Petersburgh, if judged by the variety and value of its
mineral specimens, is, probably, not surpassed in any country. A visitor to
it is at once led to feel that this country must be exceedingly rich in
minerals, and certainly a personal survey of any of the districts through
which the writer passed does not tend to alter this opinion.
4 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
From the geological map of General Helmersen, from which Plate I. has been
reduced, it will be seen that the carboniferous limestone formation has a
very extensive range. It appears south of Moscow, occupying an enormous
area, and extending northwards in considerable breadth to the White Sea.
Thin bands of it also flank both sides of the Ural Mountains at intervals.
It again occurs over an extensive area in the Donetz district near the Black
Sea. Sir Eoderick Murchison says that—"The upper member of this system,
which is so copiously developed in Western Europe under the name of the coal
measures and terrain houiller, has not any decided representation in
Russia," and it would appear from present knowledge of the subject, that the
chief coal-fields of Central Russia and of the Donetz belong to the lower
carboniferous series, having their parallel in point of age in the
Scremerston Coal-field near Berwick, and the lower coal series of Scotland.
The coal-field of Poland, on the other hand, is supposed to belong to the
upper or regular coal measures.
It will also be observed from the map that the Permian formation occurs over
an immense tract of Central Russia, and there is a reasonable probability
that seams of coal may one day be found at workable depths over large areas
under these more recent deposits. In fact the coal-bearing strata are
already known to pass under cretaceous rocks in the Donetz district; but the
writer is not aware of any attempt having been made to sink or bore through
the Permian beds in Russia to prove the existence or non-existence of coal
measures underneath.
II.—DESCRIPTION OF THE COAL-FIELDS AT PRESENT BEING WORKED.
The following are the most important coal-mining districts now in operation,
viz.:—
1. Central Russian or Moscow Coal-Field.
2. Donetz and territory of the Don Cossacks, near the Black Sea, or
South Russian Coal-Field.
3. Ural Mountains.
4. Poland.
1.—CENTRAL RUSSIAN OR MOSCOW COAL-FIELD.
In this district the coal-bearing strata extend over a great area, probably
about 13,000 square miles. At present there are a few collieries at work,
but only in a limited way, their total output scarcely reaching 140,000 tons
per annum. Many explorations have been made in other places, in positions
marked on Plate II., but the writer has been unable to
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 5
get much information respecting them. Absence of demand, and the great
distance from the railway system of the country has hitherto no doubt
operated against their development, but now that lines of railway are being
made across the district, collieries will be gradually opened out. Several
seams have been found, but, generally, it may be said that there are two
workable seams in this district lying near each other, and only a short
distance above the Devonian or old red sandstone.
At Towarkowo, about 150 miles south of Moscow, the following is a section of
the strata:—
l.—Soil.
2.—Loam.
3.—Yellow clay.
4.—Gray sand.
o.—Hard stratified mountain limestone.
6.—Gray clayey sand.
7.—Quicksand.
8.—Coal, 3 feet 6 inches.
9.—Blue clay. 10.—Coal, 7 feet—chief coal seam. 11.—Gray clay. 12.—Devonian
formation.
There are not many large faults, but the coal being near the surface, and
having in many instances no covering of rock, has its continuity
occasionally interrupted by denudation. This will be seen from the
accompanying sections of the district, Plates III. and IV., reduced from
that given by Mons. Emil Leo, in an interesting and valuable work, " Die
Steinkohlen Central Russlands," which illustrate the irregular and
undulating-character of the seams.
The following is a section of a pit in the Tchulkovo district, about 180
miles south of Moscow, which the writer visited in May last.
Loose sand and semi-solidified sandstone, about 10 fathoms.
Coal ............... 5 ft. 6 in. to 7 ft.
Stone ............... 6 ft.
Coal ............... 3 ft.
The soft nature of the beds immediately above the upper coal, which is the
one now being worked, necessitates a large amount of timbering. In this case
the seams were lying nearly horizontal, but often varied in thickness. This
colliery is the largest in the district, and is working at the rate of about
50,000 tons per annum, and Plate V. is a sketch of the exterior of the
colliery. The pits are seldom more than 10 or 12 fathoms
6 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
deep. They are little troubled with either water or fire-damp. The shafts
are generally rectangular in form, and the produce is sometimes raised by
horses, and in other cases by means of small steam-engines of 8 to 10
horse-power.
The system of working the coal is a very good one, being that generally
known as the block system, or modification of bord and pillar. The pillars
are left about 20 yards square, and after a time are worked off. Tubs of the
ordinary kind are used, and carry about 6 cwts of coal. The shafts are
fitted with guides and cages, wire ropes being used for raising the load.
Altogether the arrangements for bringing the coal to bank are better than
might have been expected.
In the methods of hewing and putting, however, there is much room for
improvement. Three men generally work together in a place. The coal is
forced from its bed, not with picks and by blasting, but by means of a
crowbar, which is about 4 feet 6 inches in length and 1^ inches in
thickness. This implement two of the men drive into the mass of coal by
striking repeatedly near the same spot. By this means they manage to bring
down pretty large pieces. When the tub or wagon has been filled, the third
man takes it away to the shaft, whatever distance this may be. The
application of picks and blasting to loosen the coal, and the introduction
of horses and ponies to haul it to the shaft, are improvements which time
will no doubt effect. The men work long hours, commencing at 6 a.m. and
leaving off at 6 p.m., with an intermission of an hour in the middle of the
day, when they come to bank for dinner.
The wages of the different classes of labour in this district are as
follows:—
Hewers lOd. per ton, including putting to the shaft, making them an
average of ...............Is. 8d. per day.
Smiths............... Is. 4d. to Is. 7d. „
Carpenters ............ Is. Id. to Is. 7d. „
Enginemen ............ 2s. Od. „
Firemen ............ Is. 5d. „
Banksmen ............ Is. 6d. „
Labourers ............ 9^d. to Is. Id. „
These wages are rather like what was paid in the Newcastle district in olden
times, when an old chronicler states, "that horses were £Q or £7 each; score
price lOd. to Is. for 15 peck corves, or about 2^d. per ton ; shift work Is.
per day ; overman's wages 8s. per week ; and lastly, the viewer well
deserves his 15s. or 16s. per week, if he has care and parts." The men
generally live at a great distance from the pits, and go to
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 7
their homes only occasionally, chiefly at Easter, when there is a
fortnight's holiday. At the mines there are lodging-houses, which contain
perhaps 100 men in one place, not a very comfortable manner of living, but
doubtless in course of time improved dwellings will be necessary to insure a
better class of workmen. The men seem industrious and exceedingly civil.
They are considered not very ingenious, but very willing and apt in carrying
out the wishes of those over them.
With respect to the quality of this coal, as compared with English coal, it
is very impure and pyritous, and has all the appearance of what may be
termed a good lignite. Occasionally occurring in this bed of coal is a band
or layer about an inch thick, of what is called in Germany " paper coal."
This consists of vegetable matter, probably lepidodendron, with its original
structure wonderfully preserved. The following are analyses of samples of
coal from several localities :—
Carbon ... ......... 59-75 68-04 60-48 48-01
Hydrogen ...... ... 5'12 9-06 6-27
5-63
Nitrogen............ -80 1-64 ¦ -63 1-06
Oxygen........... 14-73 11*13 19*49 26-56
Sulphur............ 5*15 2-11 1-89 2*31
Ash ............ 14-74 8*02 11-24 16-43
100-29 100*00 100-00 100-00
The average of 35 analyses of coal, given by Monsieur Leo, gives 18 per
cent, of ash.
In locomotives, as also in some of the sugar and other manufactories, this
coal is coming into partial use, but at present wherever wood (which comes
to nearly the same price as coal in this locality) can be obtained, it is
always preferred.
As to the occurrence of coal northward of Moscow, in the carboniferous
limestone formation, it is stated that very thin seams have been found, but
it is believed that in this, as in many other districts, there has not yet
been anything worthy of being called a thorough exploration. This coalfield,
situated as it is in a region where the price of wood is rapidly rising, and
through which railways are either in course of construction or projected,
will no doubt shortly prove to be of fresh value to Central Eussia.
Monsieur Leo, in the work previously referred to, gives a list of the
fossils found in the carboniferous limestones and associated coal beds, from
which it will be seen that a similar class of remains have been found as
those in the same formation in England.
Calamites are rare, as also seeds and fruits. Ferns are found in enormous
quantities and endless varieties.
8 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
2.—THE DONETZ OR SOUTH RUSSIAN COAL-FIELD.
In this district, the carboniferous formation extends, it is said, over an
area of at least 11,000 square miles, or 11 times the area of the great
Welsh coal-field. More recent calculations put the area at a much higher
figure. It contains numerous seams of coal, some of which are much superior
in quality to that of the Central Russian district. This coal-field is the
one most extensively-worked at present, and possessed of great advantages in
the way of railway communication, and in its proximity to sea ports.
Dislocations of the strata are of somewhat frequent occurrence, in
consequence of which and of the undulating nature of the country, coal has
been brought to the surface in many places; but, on the other hand, the
angle of dip being sometimes high, the beds soon attain considerable depth.
In this region, anthracite coal is found as well as bituminous, the seams
which are bituminous in one district becoming anthracite in another. In
regard to this, Sir R. Murchison says, "this phenomenon is analogous to that
which exists in the South Wales coal-field, where at one extremity of the
tract anthracite coal prevails almost exclusively in beds of precisely the
same age as those which bear bituminous coal a little distance to the east.
In the Russian example, indeed, we see the mineral character of the coal
beds change gradually as we foUow them from west to east."
Mr. T. Forster Brown, of Cardiff, has furnished the writer with the
following information, which he obtained recently. He says:— " There are
sixty seams of coal found in this district, of which forty-four are
workable, and represent a total thickness of about 114 feet. The best seams
are about 3 feet 6 inches, 3 feet 7 inches, and 5 feet 7 inches in
thickness. The average, depth of pits is from 50 to 80 yards. The following
is said to be an analysis of a fair sample of Khartsisk coal:—
Carbon........................ 89-74
Hydrogen ........................ 3-66
Nitrogen .................. ...... "31
Sulphur ....................... 1-25
Oxygen ........................ 2-84
Ash ........................ 2-20
100-00
And this may be taken as a general example of the anthracite of this
coal-field.
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 9
The price of labour varies much. When hired, as is customary, for several
months, a collier receives about Is. 3d. per day of 12 hours, and has good
lodgings furnished him. In case, however, of casual engagements, he receives
Is. 6d. per day
The coal is carried to the railway from some of the pits in carts or
sledges, and in some cases as far as 80 miles, on the backs of oxen."
The most valuable part of the Donetz district is said to be at Lugan and
Lissitchia Balka, at which latter place, in a vertical depth of about 900
feet, there is an aggregate thickness of 30 feet of coal.
At Grouschevka, which is rather an extensive colliery, there are two seams
of coal—one 30 inches, at a depth of 37 fathoms, and another 36 inches, at a
depth of 48 fathoms. In 1871 the Donetz district supplied 330,018 tons of
coal.
The Coal Commission state that, in the year 1865, the Donetz district worked
6,350,000 tons. This is evidently an error, and should be pouds instead of
tons. (A poud is about 36 lbs.) Thus corrected, the report would give the
year's yield at 100,000 tons.
In the course of the present year (1874), contracts for the supply of this
coal to the extent of many thousand tons were offered for delivery at
Taganrog; and it is doubtful whether these were, or are soon likely to be,
at such a price as to supersede the over-sea supply from England. In time,
no doubt, especially if cheap labour can be secured in any great quantity
and the railway facilities continue at anything like the present rate of
development, South Russian coal will command the trade of the Black Sea, and
even that of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Looking at the general
interest of the world's commerce, this relief of the strain on the English
coal market will be a decided advantage.
3.-URAL COAL-FIELD.
The carboniferous formation extends in a narrow strip along the . eastern
and western sides of the Ural Mountains over a length of about 1000 miles
(Plate VI.). The strata generally dip at a high angle towards the west, and
soon become concealed beneath the Permian formation. Sir R. Murchison is of
opinion that the coals in the Ural district are of more recent age than the
lower carboniferous limestone, and that coal is never found here subordinate
to or below the limestone.
Mr. J. W. Marley, of Darlington, who visited this district in 1872, has
kindly furnished me with some notes on a productive part of this range of
carboniferous rocks between the latitudes 58° and 60°. The fol-
YOL. XXIV.—1975.
r.
10 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
lowing is a section of this formation in the neighbourhood of Lithwinsk and
Kiselowski, between Permian rocks above and Devonian beneath:—
1.—Fusilina limestone, principal characteristic Fusilina cylindrica.
2.—Quartzose slate and quartz rock, sometimes with ordinary red and
white sandstones unstratified. 3.—Coal. 4.—Sandstone, with Stigmaria,
sometimes containing shale beds, and very
often coarse conglomerate. 5.—Shale, grey to black in colour. 6.—Limestone,
thin bedded with spirifer mosquensis. 7.—Shale, black, cherty, with iron
pyrites.
8.—Limestone, thick bedded and dark, with Productus Giganteus. 9.—Lower
quartzose sandstone, shales and limestone.
Coal has been worked by means of both drifts and shafts in this
neighbourhood for a considerable time.
A few miles west of Lithwinsk a large coal-field has been opened up, from
which the iron works at Alexandrowski are supplied with fuel. The coal is
won both by drifts and shafts, the deepest of the latter being 180 yards.
The seams worked in this locality are of considerable thickness. Mr. Marley
was informed by Herr Grau, the chief director for the proprietors of the
Alexandrowski works, that three seams were being worked at the time of his
visit, one of which was 32 feet, one 42 feet, and one 31 feet in thickness,
and that in the 42 feet seam there were only two small bands, the remainder
being clean coal. The inclination of the seams is from 12° to 18° eastward.
Analyses showed the coal to contain about 15 per cent, of ash, 5 per cent,
of sulphur, and 65 to 70 per cent, of carbon. The coal is a good, bright,
glazy coal, and is used for the boilers and puddling furnaces, as also for
household purposes, in the district. A portion of one of the seams is coked
in small ovens, and makes a fair, useful article.
At Kiselowski, further south, is a coal of slatey appearance, and containing
30 per cent, of ash. It is used for boiler purposes at the iron and coal
mines of the district, for general furnace work, and even for puddling. On
the eastern slope, where the dip is about 80°, two seams are worked 3^ feet
and 5 feet thick respectively. On the western slope, about a mile distant,
these seams are each 7 feet thick, the intervening strata being of the same
thickness in both cases, viz., 14 yards. A 2 feet seam also was found
fourteen feet below the 7 feet seams.
Coal is again worked near Gabucha, fifteen miles south of Kiselowski, on
both sides of the anticlinal axis, by means of drifts from the river side.
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 11
On the eastern slope the inclination of the strata is about 41°, and the
section near the outcrop is as follows :—
Ft. In. White sandstone.....................0 0
Shale and sandstone .................. 2 11
Coal........................... 5 2
Shale and sandstone .................. 8 0
Coal........................... 8 0
"White sandstone..................... 4 7
Coal........................... 3 5
Shale and sandstone .................. 4 10
Coal........................... 4 3
Making an aggregate thickness of more than 20 feet of coal. This coal is
soft and friable, but burns with great heat. It contains a considerable
quantity of ash, but very little stone. On the western slope, five or six
miles from Gabucha, the beds have an inclination of 45° to the west, and the
following is said to be the section :—
Slatey coal............... 2 ft. 4 in.
Coal.................. 7 „ 0 „
Sandstone............... 2 ,, 4 „
Coal.................. 7 „ 0 „
Shale ............... 33 „ 0 „
Coal.................. 2 „ 8 „
Sir E. Murchison mentions two seams of coal, one of middling quality and
about 3 feet thick, as occurring in the Tchussovaya district. Here the
limestones and accompanying strata are not less than 1,000 feet thick, and
dip towards the west at an angle of 70°. Some of the beds contain spirifer
mosquensis which unquestionably refers them to the white limestone of
Moscow. The limestone beds are overlaid, surmounted by millstone grit, and
the beds of coal are subordinate to this latter formation. Mr. Marley states
that convicts work in some of the mines of the Ural district, as also women,
and that in 1872 the workmen received from Is. 2d. to Is. 5d. per day.
The quantity of coal worked in this district is about 13,425 tons.
This coal-field will, no doubt, rapidly increase in importance when the
projected railway to Perm is completed.
4.—COAL-FIELD OF POLAND.
This coal-field, as has been already remarked, differs from those of Central
Russia and the Donetz, since it belongs to the upper or true coal measures.
The writer is indebted to Mr. T. J. Bewick, of Haydon Bridge, for the
following notes, and also for the map having reference to it, Plate VII.
12 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
This coal-field is merely an extension of that of Upper Silesia. It is about
80 square miles in area, but is partially obscured by a thin development of
upper Buntersandstein and Muschelkalk, which overlies some portions of it.
There are not less than nine seams of coal of something like the following
thicknesses, beginning with the uppermost:— •
1.— 6 ft. 11 in., but in places much less.
2.— 3 „ 6 „ to 6 ft. 3 in.
3.— 3 „ 8 „ to 6 „ 2 „ but sometimes thin.
4.— 3 „ 2 „ to 3 „ 9 „
5.— 5 ,, 0 „ to 5 „ 6 „
6.- 3 „ 3 „ to 5 „ 0 „
7.- 4 „ 1 „ to 6 „ 3 „
8.— 6 ,, 6 „ but in one place believed to be from 9 ft. to 11 ft.
9.—20 „ 0 „ to 21 ft.
The lowest seam is free from band, but some of the other seams have : one or
more bands in them, of a few inches in thickness.
All the seams do not occur together, except over a small portion of the
centre of the basin, where they make up an aggregate thickness of about 60
feet of workable coal. The strata associated with the coals are shales and
whitish fine-grained sandstone, and the coal measures are believed to rest
on the Devonian formation. The quantity of ash in the coal varies from 1*9
to 14 per cent., whilst the amount of sulphur varies from "82 to 6*40. In
1871, the output of this district was 296,940 tons. •
The following is a list of the wages paid :—
Hewers ......2s. 7d. per day of 10 hours of actual work.
Putters ......2s. Od. do. do. \
Women and girls, Is. 3d. to Is. 3d. per day do. /
Wori^Winter
Fitters ......3s. 5d. to 4s. 3d. do. do. f
K.^tS^fi
Blacksmiths ... 2s. 7d. do. do.
( ™dothe?rS
Joiners ......2s. 7d. do. do.
1 haTe°fhoum
Masons ......2s. 3d. to 2s. lOd. do. do. J
ngmemen. _gg ^^ 10^ ^ monttlj or a^out 2s. 4d. per day.
Brakesmen... >
Enginemen and brakesmen have house-rent free and are found with coal. All
others pay a nominal rent for their houses, but have to keep them in repair.
For the most part all the workpeople have coal free, but have to seek it
from the pits.
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 13
III.--OTHER COAL FIELDS.
There are several other districts in which coal is being worked on a small
scale, viz :—In the Caucasus, at Kief Elizabethgrad, in Tourkestan, in the
island of Sagalin (formerly belonging to Japan), and in Siberia, but the
author regrets that he has no detailed information respecting them.
Dr. Peez and J. Pecker, in their Report of the Vienna Exhibition, state that
the Siberian coal basin, on the northern slope of the Altai Mountains, in
the government of Tomsk, is probably the largest coal-field in the world,
and possesses seams of greater thickness and good quality.
Before leaving this part of the subject, it may be interesting to advert to
the phenomenon of distinct classes of coal co-existing in one and the same
bed, or being found in beds of the same age. For instance, in the Moscow or
Tula field, as also in the Donetz district, there are really three distinct
kinds of coal—lignite, bituminous and anthracite. How such difPerence of
texture, density, and even composition are to be accounted lor, is still an
unsolved problem. Several hypotheses have been advanced in aid of the
desired solution. In the first place, it has been suggested that differences
in the vegetation prevailing over particular portions of the area
subsequently submerged, might account for the differences now observed in
the coal. Another supposition is, that the variable thickness and texture of
the overlying strata may have effected the rate and extent of the escape of
gas during the carbonization of the vegetation beneath. A third theory
attributes the phenomenon to the inequality of the heat by which the gases
were evolved.
IV.—STATISTICS RELATING TO THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF COAL IN
RUSSIA.
From the statistical tables published by the Department of Mines at St.
Petersburgh, and edited by C. Skalkovsky (Tableaux Statistiques de
LTndustrie des Mines en Russie, 1871), it appears that the rate of
production since coal was first raised in this country has been as follows:—
Tons.
1830 ...... ............ ......
1840 ...... ... .......... 8,064
1850.................. 48.366
1860 .................. 129,032
1868 .................. 444,067
1870 ... ............... 697,267
1871 ..................817,008
During 1871, the different districts contributed as follows:—
14 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
Tons.
1.—Moscow or Central Russian district ......... 139,958
2.-Kief Elisabethgrad ............... 16,129
3.—Donetz district (Southern Russia) ......... 330,019
4.—Ural........................ 13,426
5.—Poland ..................... 296,940
6.—Basin of Tomsk .................. 3,677
7.—Territory of the Kirgheses of Siberia......... 7,765
8.—Sea coasts of Siberia ............... 4,772
9.—Basin of the Caucasus ............... 3,112
10.— Do. Tourkestan ............... 1,210
Total ............817,008
Of which quantity 28 per cent, is said to be anthracite, and obtained from
the Donetz district.
From the latter table it will be seen that the production of Poland amounts
to a quarter of the whole, and from the former that although the total
production throughout Eussia is still very limited, yet during the eleven
years ending 1871, it increased about seven-fold.
In regard to the quantity of coal imported into Eussia, the Eoyal Coal
Commission Eeturns provide us with the following account of the imports from
England:—
Tons.
1856 ..................213,553
1860 ... ...............327,282
1865 ..'. ...............465,989
1870 ..................761,781
s 1871 ..................872,588
There are also some imports from Germany and Belgium, which the returns
issued by the Government put at about 227,412 tons, making a total of
imported coal of about 1,100,000 tons. In 1872, Eussia actually exported
4,400 tons, but the returns for 1871 are not yet to hand. Probably these
relate to the South Eussia coal-field—the Donetz. If we add the quantity
worked in Eussia to that imported, and deduct 4,000 tons for estimated
exports, we have for 1871 a total of 1,913,000 tons of coal actually
available for home use. This is about the same as the produce of England in
the year 1660, which the Coal Commission estimated at 2,148,000 tons.
Comparing the quantities of coal consumed in Great Britain and Eussia, with
their respective populations, we have:—
Population. Home consumption
*^e/0efr
ot °oal- Population.
Tons. Tons. Cwts.
Great Britain ...... 31,000,000 ...... 105,152,008
... 3 7
Russia ......... 76,000,000 ...... 1,917,000
... 0 a
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 15
The abundance and cheapness of wood fuel in Eussia has hitherto rendered the
working of coal a matter of secondary importance. With a people so
progressive as Eussians, however, time alone is required to reverse this
order of things.
The establishment of manufactories, and the construction of lines of railway
worked by locomotive engines, together with the increasing development of
the iron trade, which will be more particularly adverted to presently, has
occasioned an enormously increased drain upon the wood resources of the
country. In some districts, especially in Central Eussia, scarcity is
already beginning to be felt, and prices are said to be increasing at the
rate of about 10 per cent, per annum. The railways actually at work in
Eussia are of no less an extent than 10,000 miles. Their progress since
their introduction is as follows :—
Miles.
1838 .................. 16
1850 .................. 308
* 1860 .................. 980
1865 ................. 2,429
1868 .................. 4,332
1872 ............... ... 9,022
1873 .................. 9,900
The lines for the construction of which Government sanction has already been
obtained will bring the total mileage up to about 12,000, while many other
lines of great length are projected. When the fact of the enormous quantity
of fuel necessary to work these railways is considered with the facilities
which lines of railway supply to coal-working, it must be evident that this
branch of trade in Eussia must soon become of prominent importance. The
railways of Great Britain are about 15,000 miles in extent, and they consume
for locomotives, &c, about two millions of tons per annum. Considerable
pressure is no doubt invariably required to alter the customs and overcome
the prejudices of any people, but it seems safe to predict that coal must
soon take the place of wood as fuel, and, once fairly introduced, its
development will doubtless advance with rapid strides.
V.—OTHER MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.
From the Government Eeturns we find that the progress in ironstone mining
has been as marked as in coal mining ; indeed the rise of both industries
must have been nearly simultaneous, and the rate of extension is at several
stages notably similar, as will be seen on comparing the
16 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
table already given for coal with that now given for ironstone, which is as
follows :—
Tons.
1830 ........................----
1840 ........................ 112,419
1850 ........................ 161,282
1860 ........................ 180,768
1868 ........................ 651.452
1870 ........................ 786,502
1871 .................. ...... 819,736
It will also be seen that an immense increase took place, both in coal and
iron, shortly after the Crimean War.
In 1871 different districts contributed as follows :—
Tons.
Poland........................ 104,879
Ural .................. ...... 437,008
Finland ..................... 40,689
Moscow ..................... 135,192 $
Caucasus ..................... 866
Siberia........................ 8,692
Sundry places..................... 22,105
Crown mines............ ......... 70,305
819,736
The writer regrets that he is unable to give any details as to the
geological formations in which this ironstone is found, but he may say that
it is the general opinion of persons competent to judge that in the Ural
Mountains, and in the northern part of Russia, there are immense deposits of
ironstone, both of magnetic and other good qualities, which in due time will
be largely developed.
The following is a statement of the total mineral production of Russia n
1871 compared with that of Great Britain :—
Russia. Great Britain.
Tons. Tons.
Lead ......... 34,514 ...... 93,965
Copper.........100,367 ...... 97,129
Cobalt......... 10 ...... 3
Tin ......... 369 ...... 16,272
Zinc ......... 42,411 ... ...
17,736
Gold ......... 38-7 ...... ------
Platinum ...... 2 ......
Salt .........455,718 ...... 1,505,725
Iron .........819,736 ...... 16,334,888
Coal .........817,008 ...... 117,352,028
COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 17
1
From these figures it will be observed that in some branches of mining
enterprise Russia will compare favourably with other countries, and it may
be stated that the gold washings of Siberia are almost as extensive as
anything that is going on in either California or Australia.
It may not be uninteresting to add that in connection with the mines of the
country there are employed about 515 steam engines, representing 14,477
H.P., and that there are 2,224 water wheels, representing 39,938 H.P.; also,
that in the mining industry of the country there are employed the following
persons :—
Mines and manufactures ... ......... 158,446
Gold washings.................. 40,000
In connection with salt works ......... 67,854
Total.........266,300
From what has been said it will be seen that the coal and iron trades of
Russia are still in their infancy, reminding us in many points of the early
history of the same trades in this country.
At the present time, according to Monsr. Skalkovsky, in addition to the two
millions of tons of coal, or thereabouts, there are consumed in the
manufactories of the country 2,216,885 cubic fathoms of wood and about a
million and a half tons of charcoal. Wood is used for every purpose that it
can be applied to, but, as its scarcity increases, coal will be looked upon
as a necessity; indeed, we cannot see how the iron trade can be developed in
proportions at all commensurate with the legitimate requirements of the
country unless coal be resorted to. This is made more plain by the remarks
of the late Thomas John Taylor, in his Archeology of the Coal Trade, when
alluding to the iron manufacture of Great Britain :— " "We cannot perhaps
form a clearer conception of the value of our coalfields," he observes,
"than by estimating how much of another description of fuel might be
required for this great national manufacture, which was
so nearly extinguished a century ago.......It
has been calculated that a ton of coal yearly is equal to the produce of at
least four acres of growing wood, supposing the wood fit for cutting as fuel
every sixteen years. Twelve millions of tons of coal yearly are therefore
equal to the produce of 48,000,000 acres of wood. But the entire surface of
Great Britain is about 56^ millions of acres ; therefore nearly the entire
surface of our island would be required to grow timber sufficient for the
consumption of the iron manufacture alone."
The great practical question which now presents itself is as to the
probabilities of the future development of the coal and iron trades of
VOL. XXIV.—187*.
„
18 COAL-FIELDS AND MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
Russia. From personal observations, and from what can be learned from others
who have visited the country, there is evidently an abundance of ironstone.
It may safely be predicted that with the extension of railways and the
development of mining, Russia will be, before the lapse of many years, in
such a position as to be almost independent of foreign countries for
minerals, although at the present time largely dependent on them, receiving
as she does in addition to her imports of coal, which have been already
mentioned, the following quantities of other minerals, viz.:—
Tons.
Iron ............... 224,045
Zinc ............... 3,493
Lead ............... 9,451
Copper ............ ... 7,062
Salt ............... 190,844
Stec: ............... 13,102
It seems rather uncertain whether Russia will ever be entirely independent
of English coal, for it is probable that—at any rate in the Northern portion
of her vast dominions—England may be able to command a market for coal of a
quality which Russia may find profitable for certain purposes,
notwithstanding its greater cost.
The actual extent of the coal-fields is yet a matter of uncertainty, but
there is no doubt that those already adverted to are of such magnitude, that
they will supply coal for an immense period; and if the coal measures should
be found underneath the Permian formation at any reasonable depth, the
supply would be, to all intents and purposes, inexhaustible.
In conclusion, it is surprising that the Russian Government, who, under the
reign of the Emperor Alexander II., have pursued such liberal policy in
giving every facility for the extension of the railway system, as evidenced
by the great lengths of lines now in operation, have not extended the same
to the development of the wonderful coalfields of the country. Individual
efforts have not been sufficient to develop coal-mining as it ought to have
been, and it is probable that if the Government were to make proper
explorations in places where coal would be most useful, and make railways
thereto, the result would be most advantageous, and would hasten the arrival
of that commercial prosperity which we know in our own country has its
mainspring in coal.
The Chairman was sure the meeting would feel very much indebted to Mr*
Simpson for his paper, as a source of information upon the coal
DISCUSSION—MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA. 19
trade of Russia for future reference, and also as a general account of the
geological formation of a country of which there is little or no record in
this kingdom. He thought the paper was very valuable, and the Institute was
particularly fortunate in having such a paper to form part of its
transactions. He presumed that it was, only the local demand which would
ever cause these coal-fields to be largely developed. No doubt, the failure
of the supply of wood fuel must compel the manufacturers in the district to
enlarge their supply of coal; but it can scarcely be expected that such
coals will ever become formidable competitors with those of this country.
There appear to be only about two seams which contain less than from 15 to
20 per cent, of ash, and these would be of no value in competition with such
high class coals as can be supplied from the South Wales and Newcastle
coal-fields.
Mr. Bewick stated that in the autumn of 1873, he had an opportunity of
visiting the coal-field lastly referred to by Mr. Simpson, which was an
extension of the very considerable basin of Upper Silesia, and which
probably in outward appearances more closely resembles our English fields
than the others mentioned by Mr. Simpson, inasmuch as the general outline of
the country is similar, and the arrangements about the pits are more or less
in the English style. The engines, whether for pumping or winding, are
similar, and the workmen too are somewhat of the same type. Many are
Poles, but the Prussians pass over the frontier and readily find employment.
The strata are believed to form a basin, having towards the centre
anticlinal and synclinal axes, similar to those Mr. Brown pointed out
yesterday, as occurring in the South Wales coal-field. In fact, taking the
Upper Silesian and Polish basin in its entirety, it may be said to consist
of a series of small basins, all connected and forming one large field.
The coal strata here rest upon the Silurian rocks, the mountain limestone
and old red sandstone being, so far as is known, absent. Overlying the coal
formation are dolomitic rocks, in which are embedded large quantities of
calamine and some lead ore. Prom the former, much zinc is manufactured in
the neighbourhood, the production, in fact, being nearly double that of
Great Britain. Much of the coal raised in Poland is used for smelting the
calamine. The principal markets for the remainder are northwards towards
Warsaw, and at that city. A portion is sent over the frontier into
Austria, while in addition to the coal raised and used in Poland, Prussia
(the district of Upper Silesia), in spite of a small duty, sends about
150,000 tons a year into Russia. The lowest seam in the series is about
21 feet thick in Poland, where it is not worked except at the outcrop, "
quarry fashion," in the same way as ironstone is worked in
20 DISCUSSION—MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
" patches " in South "Wales ; not far off in Prussia what is supposed to be
the same seam, is 26 feet thick, in one bed of pure coal, and is much
wrought, the whole seam being worked away at once without loss. The upper
seams are also good coal, some of them six feet and upwards in thickness.
The coals in this basin are similar to those of the Northumberland and
Durham field, but of a slightly higher specific gravity. A portion of the
Polish field has been recently developed, with a view to an increased
output. Large shafts have been sunk in pairs, powerful pumping and winding
machinery erected, and every arrangement made for facilitating the
operations. Some ordinary clay-band ironstone seams occur in the coal
measures, which up to this time have been worked only to a very limited
extent, but it is in contemplation to erect blast furnaces, and raise
ironstone in larger quantities. There are good reasons for this ; wages are
lower in Poland than in Prussia, and the arrangements of the Russian
Government tend to the increased development of the iron and coal trades in
their own country. The working classes are, as a rule, industrious and
steady. They commence work at six in the morning, and, except an hour for
dinner at mid-day, continue until six at night, all the year round. The only
exceptions are the miners employed in sinking shafts and driving stone
drifts, who work eight instead of twelve hours per day. His attention was
called to the employment of women underground. They are mostly occupied in "
putting," and in such work are preferred to strong lads. One cannot but
regret that women should be so employed, and this is more strongly impressed
upon us when we see them in the dark recesses, and besmeared with the black
dirt of the mine. In Prussia women are, by the laws of the country, not
allowed to be employed underground, but many of them are so at bank, tipping
coals, &c. In the neighbourhood of Konigshutte and Kattowitz, towns which
have sprung up like our own Middlesbrough, and similar places in England,
there is a vast industry being carried on. In passing from Berlin by
railway, on entering the coal-field of Upper Silesia, pits, blast furnaces,
rolling mills, and almost every kind of coal and iron works—a veritable
"black country"—suddenly appear before the traveller, and carry back his
thoughts to the sights at home. Further on come the zinc factories, which
have a less imposing appearance, but are nevertheless numerous, and add much
to the importance of the district.
Mr. T. Forster Brown asked Mr. Simpson whether he made any inquiries as to
the uses to which English coal imported is applied 5 because, as regards the
future, it is an important question whether Russian coal is adapted for the
purposes to which English coal is used in Russia? Of course,
DISCUSSION—MINING INDUSTRIES OP RUSSIA. 21
before any opinion as to the quantity of coal required can be arrived at, it
will be necessary to get at the amount of wood used as well as coal. With
respect to the Donetz coal-field, the Sea of Azoff is so shallow that it is
necessary to carry the coal out in barges over long distances to the ship,
which cannot approach the shores for many miles, and that will always
operate as a drawback to any great development of over-sea trade. At the
same time there can be no question about this, that the eastern part of the
Donetz coal-field will be developed for the supply of steamers that navigate
the Black Sea ; in fact, one of the lines of Russian steamers in that sea is
exclusively supplied with coal from the eastern portion of this field.
Mr. J. M'Murtrie said, with regard to that small Polish coal-field, it
occurred to him that it might form a part of the belt of coal-measures which
begins in South Wales and passes through a part of Europe. Prestwick, who
has gone into the question somewhat fully, says:—"There is an anticlinal,
beginning somewhere in Ireland, which passes through South Wales somewhere,
the southern part of England, and Germany, to this district; and if so,
there may be some comparison made between the course of this coal-field and
that of Central Russia, and those of Scotland and Berwickshire, which in
both cases lie to the east of the true coal measures of England."
Mr. Bewick would ask if there is any prospect of railway communication with
those coal-fields in the Ural? Because, no matter how thick the seams may
be, or how good the quality of coal, it may be said to be of no use, except
for local purposes, without facilities for transit.
Mr. Simpson stated, in answer to Mr. Brown's question as to the use of
English coal, that at Moscow, English gas coal costs about 60s. a ton, and
the lignite which occurs 200 miles south of Moscow comes to about 25s. a
ton, whilst the anthracite from the Donetz coal-field, 1,000 miles distant,
cost about 38s. a ton. The English coal is generally used for making gas,
and for other manufacturing purposes. To St. Petersburg the freight is not
so great, and the price of English coal there is not out of the way; but in
other parts of the country the carriage would be a material consideration,
and that would induce the people to put up with an inferior quality of coal
of a less evaporative power than English coal. With regard to the Ural
coal-field, he understood a line of railway is being laid out or made from
Moscow or Mgni Novgorod to Perm, and in that case it will enable that field
to be more advantageously opened out. It may be broadly stated that the cost
of railway carriage in Russia is about half-a-penny per ton per mile.
There is a difficulty in getting the Donetz
22 DISCUSSION—MINING INDUSTRIES OF RUSSIA.
coal to port, but it will be of value for local purposes. The sugar
factories are commencing to use it, and are having boilers fitted up
specially for its consumption; and the railway companies are paying
attention to it for locomotive purposes. But until recently the saving
between the use of wood and coal was divided—half going to the railway
companies and half to the stokers, as an inducement to the latter to burn
coal. Mr. McMurtrie had touched upon a great question. No doubt, from their
general appearance, it is evident that whether in Eussia, on the Continent,
or in this country, all those coal-fields are referable to a particular age.
Mr. Bewick—With reference to what Mr. McMurtrie had mentioned, in addition
to those fields there are those in Westphalia, Saxony, and Bohemia, in the
same range, and all being developed. The whole of those are stone coals as
distinguished from lignite. He had visited those fields, and there is a
great similarity between them, but there is in each of them—except the
Westphalian—an entire absence of the mountain limestone and the old red
sandstone, as both the Saxon and the Bohemian rest upon the Silurian rocks.
In Saxony they have a thick seam, which in places is worked 27 feet thick,
at 2,000 feet depth, where the temperature is 104° P.; and in another place
it is said to have been bored through 40 feet thick, and many pits are being
sunk to it. In Bohemia, which is only just across the border, they have a
good bed of coal 33 feet thick, but with some bands in it; in Saxony and
Poland the best seams are entirely free from band.
The President said, he was sure it would be a pleasure to those present, to
pass a vote of thanks to Mr. Simpson for such an important paper, which
conveyed information which was perfectly inaccessible from any other source.
Papers of this kind have their special value, and the same observations will
apply to Mr. Bewick for the information which he has supplied.
Mr. Daglish then read a paper " On the Ironstone Beds of Lincolnshire," the
joint production of Mr. Howse and himself.
BEDS Otf IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 23
SOME REMARKS ON THE BEDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
By Me. J. DAGLISH and Mr. R. HOWSE.
As not much information has been published on the various beds of ironstone
now being extensively worked in Lincolnshire, a few remarks, based upon
observations made during one or two visits, may not be out of place at this
meeting.
The ironstone beds, which are quarried or mined in this county, are situated
in very different geological formations. They occur in the Lower and Middle
Lias, in the Lower Oolite, and in the Lower Cretaceous or Neo-comian rocks.
The general map of North Lincolnshire (Plate VIII.) and the following
section will illustrate this more clearly :—
i White chalk.
1 Hunstanton Red rock or Red chalk.
I Red or brown sand. Limestone. Blue clay. Claxby ironstone. (1)
Coarse green sand. Upper Oolite ... Kimmeridge clay.
Middle Oolite ... Oxford Clay.
Cornbrash. J Lincoln limestone. Lower Oolite ... < Lincoln
ironstone (2)
I (Coprolite bed).
Upper Lias ... Blue clay.
r Caythorpe ironstone. (3") Middle Lias ... \ ' *
* w
( .Blue clay.
/ Top ironstone. (4)
T \ Blue shale.
Lower Lias ... ¦>
J , Frodingham ironstone. (5)
\ Beds of clay and limestone.
Trias ... ... Keuper Marls and Sandstones.
24 BEDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
Thus the lowest bed of ironstone (No. 5) in this series, which has been so
extensively worked for many years near Frodingham station, on the Trent,
Ancholme, and Grimsby Railway, is situated in the Lower Lias rocks. The thin
bed (No. 4) seen in section near the same locality, is also in the Lower
Lias.
Above this, another bed occurs (No. 3), and is at the top of the Middle
Lias; this bed, which is not rich enough for smelting purposes in the north
of the county, becomes very rich and is widely spread out and extensively
quarried at Caythorpe near Grantham.
The next ironstone (No. 2) in the ascending series occurs in the Northampton
sand, the lowest member of the Lower Oolite, and is the equivalent of the
valuable ironstones worked in the neighbourhood of Northampton. At Lincoln,
and in that neighbourhood, it is also very well developed, appearing in the
escarpment of the hill on which part of the city is built; and on the
opposite side of the valley where it is easily worked and of considerable
thickness and good quality.
And lastly, another ironstone bed (No. 1) occurs in the escarpment of the
chalk wolds in the neighbourhood of Claxby and Caistor, and is extensively
mined near the former locality. This bed is situated in the Neocomian or
Lower Cretaceous series of rocks.
LOWER LIAS IRONSTONE.
The Frodingham bed (No. 5), which appears to be placed about the middle of
the Lower Lias, has a maximum thickness of 25 feet. It is, however, much
denuded, and the top beds are, therefore, not on throughout the existing
open workings ; it is generally covered with a very variable thickness of
loose sand, which shifts about with strong winds, and belongs to the
superficial covering of the district. This bed is, and has been for ages,
much exposed to the action of water, which rapidly passes through the sandy
covering, and affects, as stated hereafter, the weight and quality of the
ore. In its present form it is a calcareous hydrated oxide, with occasional
traces of beautiful oolitic structure. It is composed of bands of poor and
rich ore, the richest layers or bands containing nearly 40 per cent, of
metallic iron, and the poorer hard shelly and calcareous bands as little as
12 per cent. Much of these poorer bands is thrown aside in the workings :
practically the average proportion of metallic iron may be taken at 25 per
cent, from the marketable stone.
This bed following the general dip of the district inclines gently to
BEDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 25
the east; it is not much disturbed by* faults or foldings, and being only
thinly covered with sand over a very large portion of flat country, is very
favourably situated for open working or quarrying, the only mode yet adopted
for obtaining the ore (see Plate IX.). The barren warrens and unprofitable
lands under which it passes also serve to render this method of working not
objectionable. The rapid development of this ironstone field is due in great
part to these favourable conditions, which enable a large output to be
obtained at a very low cost, large contracts having been made to supply
ironstone at 3s. per ton delivered at the furnaces over a period of years.
At the present date an area of nearly one square mile has been more or less
opened out. Two pits of considerable depth have, however, been bored and
partially sunk to this ironstone bed, near Appleby, at a distance of nearly
three miles to the east of Frodingham ; a third pit has been sunk much
nearer, and it is intended to mine the ironstone at these pits. The section
and relative position of the strata at these shafts is shown on Plate IX.
The characteristic fossils consist of very large Ammonites, GrypJma incurva,
which latter occur in very great abundance in some of the beds, and several
species of Cardinia. Numerous individuals of these, sometimes with species
of Lima, Pecten, and other bivalve mollusca, compose almost entirely some of
the bands, and render them, on account of the superabundance of lime and low
proportion of iron, unserviceable for smelting purposes, and possibly to the
presence of these is due the proportion of phosphorus contained in this
ore.* In consequence of the large quantity of lime contained in this
ironstone, no further addition is required as a flux to the furnaces : it is
in fact found advantageous to mix with it a portion of silicious ore, such
as that worked near the city of Lincoln, hereafter referred to.
In some of the beds the traces of oolitic structure are very distinct, but
much decomposition has taken place between the harder bands, and the
original structure of the rock has been destroyed and reduced to a brown
powder. Many of the shells had been much rounded by the triturating action
of water previous to their deposition, thus indicating the formation of this
deposit in a comparatively shallow estuarine sea. Further south, as at
Kirton Lindsey, where the ironstone bed has been proved at a depth of fifty
yards, it is said to be too calcareous to be profitably worked for iron.
* A large tooth of Ichthyosaurus corn/munis, much rounded and water-worn,
and several large pieces of wood were obtained from this ironstone bed.
VOL. XXIV.—1874
J)
26 BEDS OP IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
The first blast furnace was erected at Frodingham, in 1864, by Messrs.
Dawes, and there are at present thirteen in blast and six others building,
viz.:—
Working. Building,
Trent Iron Co. (Dawes and Co.) ...... 3 4
Frodingham Iron Co............. 4
North Lincoln Iron Works (Adamson and Co.) 2 2
Lincolnshire Smelting Co....... ... 2
Redburn Iron Co. ............ 2
13 6
The furnaces recently erected by the two latter Companies are 75 ft. high,
and 21 ft. in the bosh ; but those built and building by Messrs. Adamson are
only 50 ft. high, and 19 ft. in the bosh ; both are stated to work well. The
maximum yield of each furnace being 50 tons per 24 hours. During dry weather
the quantity of ironstone required for the ton of pig-metal falls as low
(under favourable circumstances) as 3 tons 15 cwts., rising to more than 4
tons in wet weather. In some of the furnaces coke only is used from Durham
and from South Yorkshire ; in others coal from South Yorkshire is mixed with
coke in the proportion of one-sixth of coal.
The authors are indebted to the kindness of Daniel Adamson, Esq., and Gr.
Tosh, Esq., of the North Lincoln Iron Works, and to John Eoseby, Esq., for
the following analyses, in addition to much other information connected with
the ironstone field.
ANALYSIS OF IRON ORE FROM THE MAIN BED OF IRONSTONE NEAR FRODINGHAM.
First Sample (Rich). Second Sample (Poor).
Peroxide of iron ... 42-24 )
¦r, , ., n . . ,„ \ Ferric
oxide ...... 18-85
Protoxide of iron ... 4-16 )
Oxide of manganese ... 1*37 Manganic oxide
... 3-50
Alumina ...... 4-88 Alumina.........
3-75
Lime.......... 15-75 Lime ......... 35-39
Magnesia ...... 1-57 Magnesia
...... 0-90
Phosphoric acid ... 0-46 Phosphoric acid
... 0-27
Sulphuric acid...... 0-02 Sulphur.........
0-05
Carbonic acid and water 22-76 Carbonic acid and water
34'82
Insoluble and silicious Insoluble and
silicious
matter ...... 5'28 matter
...... 2-80
98-49 100-33
Metallic iron ... 32-93 per cent. Metallic iron ...
13-20 per cent.
This ironstone, therefore, may be classed as a calcareous ore.
REDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 27
ANALYSIS«/)F FORGE PIG IRON.
Iron .................. 90-387
Manganese ............... 2-374
„ , (Graphite............ 2-897
Carbon as < .
AO
(Combined............ 1-024
Silica .................. 1-375
Sulphur................... 0-038
Phosphorus ............... 1*232
Vanadium ......... ...... 0-146
Titanium ............... 0-167
Cobalt and Nickel ............ 0-360
100-000
The output of this ironstone field (Plate X.) is expected to reach 500,000
tons during the present year (1874).
A bed of blue lias shale 80 feet or more in thickness, overlies and
separates this bed from a thin bed of ironstone four to five feet in
thickness (No. 4, Plate IX.). It is not considered of workable value ; where
exposed near Frodingham, and at Cleatham, near Kirton Lindsey, seen it is
full of large Pectens, Pholodomya, etc., and other shells characteristic of
the Lower Lias. The shale below is also characterized by a large variety of
Gryphcea incurva and below the ironstone occur numbers of Plicatula spinosa,
a well-known Lower Lias fossil.
Another thick shale with large cement-stone nodules intervenes between this
pecten-bed ironstone and the next ironstone bed (No. 3). This shale has been
proved to be about 160 feet in thickness, and it is much used as a valuable
brick-clay along its whole line of out-crop to the south. The cement-stone
nodules do not appear to be much utilized, and are thrown aside as useless
by the brick-makers. So far as can be observed this bed is singularly devoid
of fossils. The writers saw only portions of a large Ammonite, and they
cannot decide whether this bed should be grouped with the Lower or Middle
Lias, though on account of the absence of Gryplma they incline to place it
with the latter.
MIDDLE LIAS IRONSTONE.
Near Frodingham, this ironstone bed (No. 3) has been proved in the sinking
of the pits, but is not considered rich enough for smelting purposes. It may
be seen also in the neighbourhood of Kirton Lindsey, and in two or three
places further south following the line of the escarpment of the Cliff Eange
of hills; but in the more southern part of Lincolnshire, a bed in the same
relative position, and without doubt identical, becomes considerably thicker
and richer in quality, and has an extensive spread
28 BEDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
with only a thin alluvial covering. It has been largely quarried, both
• as a building stone and for iron ore lately, at Caythorpe, near Grantham.
The section of a pit near Caythorpe station is as follows :—
Ft. In.
Soil and rubble.................. .. 4 0
Inferior ironstone (screenings and waste) ......... 2 0
Good ironstone..................... 3 0
Limestone band (slightly silicious) ............ 0 9
Good ironstone ..................... 10 0
Sandstone impregnated with iron ............ 0 6
In this section, the covering of the top beds and the bottom beds were not
seen. The beds undulate a little, and dip nearly due east under the
escarpment of the Cliff Range.
The Brachiopods, Rhynchonella tetraedra and Terebratula punctata, well-known
and characteristic fossils of the Middle Lias, were very abundant in this
bed. Both these shells occur at Skinningrave and in Cleveland.
A thick bed of blue lias clay or shale containing Ammonites communis, and
other ammonites and fossils peculiar to the Upper Lias, separates this
ironstone from the Northampton sand series, which latter is the lowest
member of the Lower Oolite.
The main bed of ironstone, so extensively worked in Cleveland, may perhaps
be correlated with that at Caythorpe, being in the Middle Lias. The
following is an analysis of the Eston Mine ore :—
Peroxide of iron ............... 3-55
Protoxide of iron ............... 39-01
Alumina..................... 10"62
Lime ... .................. 1-70
Magnesia ......... ........ 3-19
Phosphoric acid ...... ......... 2-08
Silica ..................... 10-90
Carbonic acid.................. 25-26
Water ... .................... 3-69
Metallic iron ...... 32*83 per cent.
This iron may, therefore, be classed as a silicious carbonate of iron.
IRONSTONE OF THE LOWER OOLITE. To point out the exact geological position of
the ironstone bed worked at Lincoln, and to show that it is the equivalent
of the ironstone quarried near Northampton, it will be best to describe the
outcrop of the important bed of oolite limestone which forms the most
striking feature of the rocks immediately overlying the Northampton sand
series in Lincolnshire.
BEDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 29
There is an old Roman road known as the Ermine Street, which runs nearly due
north and south through Lincolnshire from near Winteringham, on the Humber,
to Ancaster in the south. To the west of this road, a mile more or less,
runs a line of escarpment called the Cliff Range, which seems to be broken
by faults only to the north of Frodingham, at Lincoln, where the Witham
passes through a valley of denudation, and at Ancaster; from this latter
point, the range becomes less distinct, and deviates to the west, and
further south than the district to which these remarks are limited. This
Cliff Range from the Humber nearly, and with only slight exceptions,
indicates the line of outcrop of the lower portions of a thick series of
beds of oolitic limestone, which, being so strongly developed in
Lincolnshire only, is frequently called the Lincolnshire limestone. It thins
out as it runs south, and is only feebly represented in Northamptonshire,
and entirely disappears further south. Underneath this limestone, and
following its line of outcrop, occurs a series of beds known as the
Northamptonshire sand, in the central and lower portion of which the bed of
ironstone worked at Lincoln is situated. This ironstone, so valuable in the
neighbourhood of this city, appears to thin out in its northerly range, and
to entirely change its character in the north of Lincolnshire ; but, as
before stated, at Lincoln and to the south, it forms a valuable bed of iron
ore.
The writers have been favoured by Mr. John Pattinson, Analytical .
Chemist, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with the following analyses, of the "
Lincoln " and " Northampton" ores :—
ANALYSIS MADE ON SAMPLES DRIED AT 212° FAHRENHEIT.
Northampton- Lincoln shire Ironstone. Ironstone.
Per cent. Per cent.
Peroxide of iron............... 51-00 47*71
Protoxide of manganese............ 0-30 0-32
Alumina .................. 8-50 6-20
Lime.................. 2-00 4-39
Magnesia.................. 0-56 0-41
Silica .................. 24-20 25-53
Sulphur ................. 0-06 0-46
Phosphoric acid............... 1'32 1-50
Loss by calcination ... ......... 12-10 13-40
100-04 99-92
Metallic iron ............... 35-70 33-40
Moisture in samples as received ...... 4*90
7'50
Metallic iron in samples as received ...... 33-95 31-45
Metallic iron in calcined stone ...... 40-61
38-57
30 BEDS OF IRONSTONE OCCURRING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
At Lincoln, this bed of ironstone is quarried under favourable circumstances
on both sides of the Witham, at Greetwell, and at Washingbrough and four
miles south, at Waddington. It is here about 8 feet thick, and is separated
at these localities by a thin bed called the coprolite bed from the Upper
Lias shale. It may be termed a silicious oxide containing nearly 40 per
cent, of metallic iron, but in some of the trial pits north of Waddington,
and in some sinkings to the dip where it has more covering, it is stated to
take the form of a carbonate. The authors hope to lay before the members of
the Institute specimens of this bed of ironstone showing the passage from
the carbonate into the oxide. At Waddington it is separated from the oolite
limestone by a bed of sand containing layers of sandstone with annelide
markings on their surface. Further north than Lincoln, along and under the
Cliff Eange, this ironstone appears to deteriorate in quality, and to be
represented by ferruginous sand or sandstone, and blue shale containing a
few fossils, but not sufficiently well preserved to allow of strict
identification. These sandy beds appear to belong to the Lower Estuarine
series of the Government Geological Survey.
The following analysis and the section given in Plate XL were supplied by
the kindness of Mr. T. Clench. The latter will give a very correct idea of
the constituent parts of this bed of ironstone and the quality of the ore :—
Peroxide of iron ...... ......... 58'06
Protoxide ........................
Protoxide of manganese ............ "02
Alumina ........... ...... 6*10
Lime ..................... 2-94
Magnesia .................. '89
Carbonic acid.................. 1'87
Silica ..................... 13-17
Sulphur..................... Trace
Phosphoric acid ............... '80
Water combined ... ..-.......... 1T86
Moisture..................... 4-29
100-00 LOWER CRETACEOUS OR NEOCOMIAN IRONSTONE. At Claxby, near Caistor,
about fifteen miles east from Frodingham, a bed of ironstone is extensively
worked. This ironstone is also a calcareous hydrated peroxide, containing 25
per cent, of metallic iron. On referring to the section given previously, on
page 23, it will be seen that this bed is situated in the Middle Neocomian
series ; the part workable to profit is about 7 feet thick, and abounds with
the shells of Peden cinctus; fifty
DISCUSSION—IRONSTONE BEDS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 31
thousand tons of the ore were worked last year entirely by mining, and
exported from the Holton-le-Moor station, of the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire Eailway, to the blast furnaces of the West Yorkshire Iron
Company, near West Ardsley, in Yorkshire, and the writers are indebted to
the courtesy of the managing proprietor, Mr. W. Firth, for kindly permitting
an examination of the mine, and for affording much valuable information.
The section of the cliff near the entrance to the mines presents the
following series:—
Feet. Lower Cretaceous Hunstanton red Rock or Red Chalk.
i Brownish sand ............ 20
Hard limestone ............ 10
Blue clay ............ 50
Ironstone bed .. ......... 10
Coarse sand ............ 12
Upper Oolite ... Kimmeridge clay. Dark bituminous laminated shale.
In a paper on these rocks, contributed by Mr. Judd to the Geological Society
(Vol. XXYL, page 329), he mentions " the existence of fragments of iron
slag, calcined ore, and charcoal, associated with Roman pottery, indicating
that these ironstones were known and worked at a very early period." He also
alludes to " the similarity in every respect of this ore with that which has
been worked for so many years at Steinlahde and Osterholz, near Salzgitter,
and at some other points in North Germany in the same series of rocks."
Explanation op Plates.
Plate VIII.—General Geological Map of North Lincolnshire, showing outcrop of
ironstone beds. Plate IX.—Section shewing the contour of country East of
Frodingham Ironstone
Fields. Plate X.—Plan of the Frodingham Ironstone Fields.
Plate XI,—Section of the Lincoln or Northampton Ironstone, in the Coleby
Shaft, South of Lincoln.
Mr. Forster Brown stated that he was exceedingly interested in getting
information as to the difference of the percentage of iron in the stone
worked from the shafts as compared with that taken from the outcrop. The
secret of the success of the present working was that the stone was got at
easily and cheaply, and he would like to know what is the precise nature
32 DISCUSSION—IRONSTONE BEDS IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
of the underground stone to make its working more profitable when it is so
much more expensive to get; is it more compact in itself and more easily
smelted, as is the case in the Cleveland district.
Mr. Greenwell said, in Wiltshire the ironstone is, in the coral rag changed
in colour to a reddish brown—a sort of hydrated peroxide containing 34 per
cent, of iron. The same beds in the district where covered by Kimme-ridge
clay, were a compact green ore containing 31 per cent, of iron. In that
condition it required to be calcined before being put into the furnace, but
where it is found in the oxidized state it is put into the furnace raw. He
made these statements in order to ascertain whether the same relative
condition of things was found in Lincolnshire that they found in Wiltshire.
He should like to ask a question as to the exact position of the
Lincolnshire ore. He observed in the section that it is above the Kimmeridge
clay. At Westbury it is lying immediately under the Kimmeridge clay.
Mr. Bewick thought it would be of interest to know the relative proportions
of ironstone worked in this district from underground and surface working,
and whether the former has been sufficiently developed to determine what is
the nature of the stone. The oolitic ironstone at Towcester, which is
further south than the district Mr. Daglish delineates on his plan, has been
opened out extensively by quarries. Where not denuded, it is from 6 feet to
8 feet thick, and, being close to the surface, is worked cheaply, and if
mixed properly, is understood to work with great advantage in the
Staffordshire furnaces ; but while the oolitic is thus worked, the lias can
only be wrought by underground operations. Messrs. Lloyd are opening out
extensive fields of the former kind and sending it into Staffordshire, where
large quantities are likely to be required. It is of the oxidized character,
and sometimes in the centre of a piece a heart of green stone is found,
something similar to that of Cleveland.
Mr. W. Cochrane thought it necessary to call particular attention to a point
which Mr. Daglish had brought out, and that was the large percentage of lime
in this stone. It is not so much a question of the stone being of inferior
quality at the outcrop due to mechanical condition or the infiltration of
water, but to the fact that the limestone is present to such ah extent as to
render the ore too calcareous for profitable working. That is the difficulty
with the Lincolnshire ironstones and the difference between them and the
Northamptonshire ironstones. In Northamptonshire, near Thrap-stone, they
work the ironstone quite at the outcrop; sometimes they have simply to turn
up the soil and find hard solid rock from 8 feet to 10 feet thick, the iron
yielded being from 30 to 40 per cent. He would ask
DISCUSSION—IRONSTONE BEDS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 33
whether Mr. Daglish had known "Shy instance of a bed of ironstone passing
gradually into limestone. The percentage of iron in some of the stones Mr.
Daglish describes being only 13, is so small, that it would be perhaps more
correct to call the stone not an ironstone but a ferruginous limestone, and
he would be obliged if Mr. Daglish could state the quantity of coke and coal
necessary to produce a ton of iron.
Mr. Daglish—With regard to the observations of Mr. Brown, who asked a
question as to the condition of the ore at the outcrop and of the ore that
would be taken out by mining, he would state that at present it is merely a
matter of opinion, and that would answer the question of Mr. Bewick also,
because none of it is mined at present, all being worked at the outcrop. The
top bed now being quarried is a disintegrated sand, and contains 40 per
cent, of iron; he was told, however, by a blast-furnace manager that they
could not get any iron out of it, and that that particular part of the bed,
nearly two feet in thickness, was of little or no value in the furnace.
Perhaps Mr. Cochrane did not quite understand the observation which he made
about the different parts of the seam; it is in alternate layers or bands,
which, in fact, are cast out in the working, and not put into the furnaces
at all. The difficulty mentioned as to the superabundance of lime is well
understood, but they mix with the Lincoln and other ores, which are
silicious. The quantity of ore expected to be worked this year at Frodingham
is 500,000 tons, and at Claxby 50,000 tons. Mr. Cochrane asked whether those
ores passed into a pure limestone. Now he was not aware of any case in which
it did so in the district now referred to ; on the contrary, the line of
separation between the rich and poor ironstone is distinctly marked. In
Teesdale, however, he had met with instances of the limestone and ironstone
changing so that the eye cannot tell where it contains 50 per cent, of iron
and where it does not contain any at all.
The President—Would you kindly say what proportion is rejected, whether from
this sand cause or any other, because the mere picking makes some additional
cost in utilizing the ore.
Mr. Daglish—The part they throw back in the quarries is not very great, but
there would be some difficulty in determining the exact proportion.
The President moved that a vote of thanks be awarded to Mr, Daglish and Mr.
Howse for their paper, which was cordially responded to.
Mr. Walker then read a paper on " Detaching Hooks."
VOL XXIV.-187*.
¦_
walker's detaching hook. 35
WALKER'S DETACHING HOOK.
By W. WALKEE. Patent, Wo. 1,571—1871.
On referring to Plate XII., it will be readily observed that the principle
upon which this hook is constructed is of such a simple character as to
render it especially applicable to the ordinary work of sinking pits, as
well as to the process of raising any load, whether loose, like the kibble
at the end of the rope, or secured in its travelling position, as cages are
with skeets in ordinary working pits.
The chief feature of this hook is, that the load to which it is attached is
made great use of in working, both when it is running in the pit, and when
it is required to free the rope from its load, and yet it is so formed that
it will work equally well without any load at all, and is thus possessed of
a two-fold source of safety.
Fig. 1 is a front view of the hook.
Fig. 2 is an edge view of the hook.
Fig. 3 is a front view of the whole apparatus, with the supporting ring and
clamp in section, showing the hook before the lifting rope is liberated.
Fig. 4 is the same, showing the hook just after the liberation of the
lifting rope.
The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.
The lifting rope is attached to the shackle A, and the load to the
connecting link B.
The supporting ring C (through which the rope is constantly working) is
fixed in a baulk of timber, or iron girder, as near to the pulley as
possible, and must be thoroughly secure.
The hook consists of a pair of jaws, D D, working on a centre pin, E, in
such a manner that the weight of the load has a tendency to open the upper
limbs, which clip the strong centre pin of the shackle A.
36 walker's detaching hook.
The upper limbs are formed externally with jaw hooks, F F. The jaws are kept
together, and made to retain the shackle pin by means of the elamp H, which
is held in position by the pins 11.
In case of overwinding, the jaw hooks (held together by the clamp) pass
freely into the ring C, but the projections K K of the clamp coming in
contact with the bottom flange of the said ring hold the clamp stationary,
while the jaws are being pulled through, the result being that the pins 11
are sheared off, and the jaw hooks released from the restraint of the clamp.
The internal diameter of the ring being the same as the width across the jaw
hooks F F, the rope remains secure until the jaw hooks reach the top of the
ring, when, by the action of the weight of the load, they are forced open,
and so hook on to the top of the supporting ring C, as shown in Fig. 4, the
released rope passing harmlessly over the pulley.
The recess 0 in the ring C is intended to meet an imaginary case that
experiment shows to be almost impossible, namely, that if the engine is
reversed after the pins I I are cut, and before the hooks reach the top of
the ring, the jaws will then hook into the recess, and the load remain
suspended in perfect safety.
It will be observed that the upper edge of the ring C is curved to match the
sweep of the jaw hooks when opening. By this arrangement all shocks are
avoided.
Fig. 5 shows the apparatus applied to a pit in course of being sunk ; and
Fig. 6 the case of a regularly working pit, with the cage suspended by the
detached hook, in consequence of overwinding.
The internal diameter of ring C for carrying three tons is 4§ inches; for
carrying four tons, 5^ inches; for carrying five tons, 6^ inches; for
carrying six tons, 1\ inches; and for carrying eight tons, 8f inches. Whilst
the length, including the shackle A and bottom link B, for a three-ton hook
is 18 inches; for a four-ton hook 1 foot 9 inches; for a five-ton hook, 2
feet; for a six-ton hook, 2 feet 2 inches ; and for an eight-ton hook, 2
feet 6 inches; and the weight of the whole apparatus for carrying a load of
six tons only amounts to 84 lbs.
This hook is applied to the ropes of deep sinkings, extensive working pits,
and high blast furnace lifts in the north, and has also been thoroughly
tested in this immediate locality, at one of the Llynvi Tondu and Ogmore
Coal and Iron Company's pits, when their Mining Engineer (Mr. Birbeck), who
was present, reported " that it placed the overwinding of any load beyond
all possibility, and that it was also so simple as to recommend itself to
every practical man, and its adoption would be readily embraced by every one
interested in mining." Mr. E. Robson, of Middlesbrough, the
walker's detaching hook. 37
managing partner of several colli«ries and mines, where there are fifteen of
these hooks at work, also speaks highly of its value and success.
Though all hitherto done to prevent the loss of life and destruction to
property, resulting from accidents by overwinding, has been adopted only at
those pits which have become so complete in their development as to be
classified as " ordinary working pits," yet, any one practically acquainted
with sinking, will readily admit the risk of accidents during this process
is very much greater than in the everyday working of a pit yielding coal.
In the absence of any appliance to the ropes of an ordinary working pit, in
case of overwinding, the rope will either give way at the socket and the
cage fall back on to the keps, or the cage will mount and go over the
pulley. While in the case of a sinking pit, where the men are working in the
pit bottom, immediately under the load, which has no keps to fall on or
skeets to secure its position, in an accident of this nature, the kibble
would either fall back into the pit bottom, or, if taken over the pulley,
the stones might fall out of the kibble within the pit mouth, and almost
certainly cause loss of life.
Serious and often fatal accidents from overwinding are so frequently
occurring at pits in all stages of progress and work, that it is hoped the
bringing before this meeting of an invention which has .already been
introduced successfully for their prevention in the mining districts of the
North of England may not be considered undeserving the attention of such an
important scientific assemblage as the present.
' .
On the motion of the President the thanks of the meeting were awarded to Mr.
Walker for his paper.
Mr. Wright, in the absence of Mr. Martin, read that gentleman's paper on "
The Publicity or Secrecy of Examinations."
PUBLICITY OR SECRECY OF EXAMINATIONS. 39
- *;
THE PUBLICITY OR SECRECY OF EXAMINATIONS.
By R. F. MARTIN. Read at the Joint Meeting at Cardiff, July, 1874.
The writer would wish to draw the attention of the Institute to a question
which appears to him to be of great importance, especially to the younger
members.
It is now more than a year ago since he learned for the first time, with
some astonishment, that it was not possible to obtain a copy of the
questions which had been set at the examinations for certificates, under the
Mines Regulation Act. Such a proceeding appeared to be arbitrary and
altogether without precedent. Knowing how utterly impossible it is to
control a large body of candidates in this respect (so large a body that
even if they were effectually prevented from making any notes, they would
usually have to remember scarcely one question each, in order to produce
afterwards the whole paper), he could not believe that it was seriously
intended to carry this out, but thought that the hands of the examiners must
for the time be tied by some regulation which they could not avoid.
It now appears that this is the case, for all the Boards of Examination have
received the following circular from the Home Secretary, through H.M.
Inspectors of the respective districts:—
Whitehall, April 15, 1874. Sir,—The attention of Mr. Secretary Cross having
been called to the fact that questions set in examinations under the Mines
Act, 1872, have frequently been made public, I am directed by him to
request, that at the next meeting of the Board of Examinations for your
district, you will call the attention of the Board to the impolicy of
allowing such papers to be published, and suggest that, as in the case of
the Civil Service examinations, a note should be appended to all examination
papers, that they are to be considered as confidential, and are not to be
copied or taken away; thus making the publication of the paper a breach of
confidence. I am. Sir, your obedient servant,
Henry Selwyn Ibbetson.
40 PUBLICITY OR SECRECY OF EXAMINATIONS.
It is difficult to imagine the reason for adopting such a course, unless it
be that which was lately stated in public by the members of the Board at
Derby. It appeared that this Board desired to avoid, as far as
possible/the'passing of candidates who have been specially " crammed " for
examination, and that they considered that this end would be best attained
by maintaining the utmost secrecy in the examination itself. The writer will
presently attempt to demonstrate the fallacy of this opinion.
He would here suggest that the proper bodies to discuss this question, and,
if necessary, to take it up, are our Mining Institutes; for this rule would
appear to strike at the very root of the objects they have at heart. They
are, above all things, educating bodies. Their chief aim has always been to
disseminate technical education amongst their members; and one most
effectual means to this end is the publication of comprehensive examination
papers upon engineering subjects.
It is, moreover, hardly fair to the members who wish to pass these
examinations that no better guide should be given them than the fact that
they will be examined in such and such subjects. It is a course pursued, so
far as the author is aware, in the case of no examination of any eminence
except that for the Civil Service. Even in this case it will be remembered
that, a few years ago, some splendid papers on general engineering were
published by the examiners for India.
It is scarcely necessary to point out, that the case of the Civil Service is
by no means parallel to the one we are now considering. A person who wishes
to enter the service of the Government will conform to any rules that
Government may choose to make as a condition of such service; but those, who
do not seek employment at their hands, may fairly object to the imposition
of rules hitherto applied to the case of their candidates alone.
The Memorandum which is to be signed by all candidates (in one district, at
any rate), would appear to be tantamount to telling them that "They shall
not have a chance of succeeding in their business; they shall not even be
allowed to manage a mine, however competent they may be, unless they choose
to conform to a certain arbitrary regulation, for which no good reason has
ever been given, not prescribed by Parliament, but proceeding from the Home
Office."
The unfairness will become more apparent still, when it is considered that a
large number of those who enter will have been in for the examination
before—some more than once—and that a larger number still will be able to
learn many of the particulars through their friends.
PUBLICITY OR SECRECY OP EXAMINATIONS. 41
The publicity which has now for so many years been customary at all our
Universities and great schools, as well for pass as for competition
examinations, appears to be even more necessary in those for the managers of
mines.
Again, in the case of an examination such as this, it is most impolitit to
maintain any secrecy which is not absolutely necessary. There is no more
effectual way of setting up the prejudices and exciting the suspicions of
English working men, and probably Welsh as well, against any proceeding,
than by observing any mystery in the mode of carrying it out.
It is, moreover, due to the examiners themselves, in all public
examinations, that they should be able to show that there is a certain
standard maintained by their papers, to which all who pass must have
attained. It has always been found that this has been best secured by the
papers being rendered public as far as possible.
The only reason which has been assigned for maintaining this secrecy, is
that it will have the effect of checking "cram." Here the writer feels that
he cannot too strongly bring before the notice of the Institute the grave
mistakes which have resulted from not clearly considering the difference
between true education and mere instruction, which is almost another word
for "cram." Many of the most noble endeavours towards improving education
have been marred by the office of the educator having been gradually usurped
by the crammer, or by considering the test of results alone, instead of the
training and habit of mind induced by the process of education. But to
return to the point; —there is little doubt that if it were possible to
maintain the perfect secrecy which is sought for, and if there were not
other grave objections to this course, it would render difficult the office
of the crammer. It is hoped it has been shown that such secrecy is utterly
impossible, for " you may command men's bodies, but you cannot command their
minds," and also that, if enforced, it would produce a greater evil than the
one sought to be avoided; for, having shown that more or less information as
to. previous examinations will inevitably creep out—thus affording those who
can get it the unfair advantage of "cramming" in the narrowest and most
hurtful manner—the question arises whether the alternative method of extreme
publicity (though giving, also, undoubtedly, certain opportunities for cram)
does not, at the same time, by its very openness and impartiality, and by
its guarantee of the judicious variation of the questions, also supply the
most effectual corrective for that" cram " which must more or less be
present in all such examinations.
This question has been all but universally decided in practice in
VOL. XXIV.—1R74,
1?
42 DISCUSSION—EXAMINATIONS.
favour of publicity. What valid argument, then, can possibly be urged for
going back to those enemies of progress—Mystery and Secrecy ?
The writer now begs to submit this important matter to the serious
consideration of this influential Institute, trusting that, after having
come to a mature decision upon it, the members will not rest until some
practical step is taken by them with the view of delivering the mining
community of our land from what he cannot but regard as a serious evil.
Before the discussion commenced the Secretary read the following letter from
Professor Marreco :—
College of Physical Science,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, July 24th, 1874.
My deab Sie,
It will be out of my power to attend at Cardiff, having to be at
a Conference in London at the time. I observe, however, that it is
proposed to
petition in re " Examination Papers." So far as we are concerned, it
would be
certainly desirable that they should be published. We are at present
entirely
ignorant of how far our teaching bears upon these examinations. Were the
other
teachers of the College here, I feel sure they would endorse this opinion.
I may
just add, that even supposing it to be desirable to prevent their
publication, I know,
as a student, that it is impossible to prevent practically accurate copies
from being
circulated.
I am, yours very obediently,
A. FREIRE-MARRECO.
The President thought it hardly a subject that could be discussed with a
view to any decision.
Mr. Cochrane was of the same opinion as the writer, that nothing but evil
can arise by preventing those papers from being made public. It is quite
clear that if any advantage can be got from a knowledge of the previous
examination papers, such information will get out. Those who undergo the
examinations can certainly carry away nearly the whole of it, and it would,
he thought, be better to publish it. He moved that the matter be referred to
the Council for consideration as to what steps shall be taken.
Mr. E. P. Boyd thought that the question was of most vital importance. He
would ask whether the word " cram" is applied so largely and so
DISCUSSION—EXAMINATIONS. 43
differently to the questions ofmining engineering as it is to that of
literature. It seemed to him that a man so examined could hardly "cram" with
information upon the questions that are likely to be put before him, and if
publicity were to be given to them, the necessity of preparing for the
answers to those questions would go beyond " cram," and a man must go to
such trouble to get the information to answer the questions of the Committee
as would entirely supersede the " cram."
Mr. Simpson said he had great pleasure in seconding Mr. Cochrane's motion,
and thought it a very important subject which ought not to be overlooked.
The examination should be one of a very particular character, because there
ought to be no chance that a man who has never been down a pit in his life
shall be able to pass it. He quite agreed that it is necessary that the
subject upon which the candidates have to be examined should be known, but
it required great consideration whether all the questions should be made
known which have been put by former examiners. It had been discussed at the
Northumberland Board, whether examinations should be public or not, but no
decision had been come to upon it. Now that the question had been referred
to the Council of the Institute, some definite conclusion may be arrived at.
Mr. John Daglish, as an examiner under this Act, stated that the question
now under discussion had been often before him. He had no opinion in the
matter either way, but would say that the feeling of the majority of other
Examiners was that the subject should be kept private. Candidates do
certainly " cram," at present.
Mr. Wright remarked that there are many men who go in for an examination,
and do not go through it. Those men carry away as much as they can for their
own use next time, and, even if they tell nobody else, they have it in their
own heads. This cannot possibly be prevented. He had heard of a recent
examination under the Mines Act, in which a large proportion of the students
failed, and they would have an unfair advantage over the others in the next
examinations. With regard to Mr. Simpson's observations as to this being
comparatively a narrow subject, so that there might be a difficulty in
varying the questions so as to keep up the paper test, he could scarcely
conceive anything more varied than mining engineering. It embraces almost
all branches of engineering, as well as of science, and a man ought to know
a little of everything to be a mining engineer; and therefore it is capable
of great variety. Then there is still the viva voce examination to
supplement the paper— which nobody can publish, and that will do away with
all possible objection to the suggestion of publishing papers.
44 DISCUSSION—EXAMINATIONS.
The resolution was carried unanimously by the meeting, and a vote of thanks
was given to Mr. Martin for bringing the subject forward.
The President said, that before they parted, he proposed that they should
recognise the great kindness exhibited to them in this place by passing a
resolution expressing their warm thanks to Mr. Thos. Forster Brown, the
President of the South Wales Institute of Engineers, and the various
gentlemen who had shown such hospitality, and who had so facilitated their
proceedings.
This vote having been carried by acclamation, the meeting terminated.
PROCEEDINGS. 45
m PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3RD, 1871, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Me. A. L. STEAVENSON, Vice-President, in the Chaik.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and they were confirmed.
The Secretary stated that at the Cardiff meeting Mr. R. F. Martin brought
forward a subject with respect to the examination papers for those who had
been examined for their certificates being kept secret. It seemed that the
Home Secretary had issued a circular stating that the whole of these
examination papers were to be considered confidential, and not to be
published in any way ; this was discussed at the meeting at Cardiff, and it
was unanimously decided that the question should be left to be re-discussed
before the Council, and this had been done to-day. Mr. Martin had very
kindly attended, and the Council had now decided that Mr. Cochrane, Mr.
Dees, the solicitor to the Institute, and the Secretary, should draw up a
memorial to the Home Secretary, praying that this secrecy might be
discontinued.
The Secretary then read the minutes of the Council meeting.
The following gentlemen were elected members of the Institute :—
Members—
Mr. Wm. Eltringham, Clavering Place, Annfield Plain, Lintz Green.
Mr. C. J. Potter, Heaton Hall, Newcastle.
Mr. W. Moor, Engineer, Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.
Mr. James A. Thompson, Engineer, South Derwent Colliery, Annfield Plain.
Lintz Green. Mr. W. Rutherford, Milkwell Burn, etc.. Collieries, Lintz
Green.
40 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. J. D. KENDALL, Roper Street, Whitehaven.
Mr. J. H. STBAKEB, Willington House, Co. Durham.
Mr. H. F. Wild. Rhinebeok, New York.
Mr. W. Dakers, Jun., Colliery Viewer, Birtley, Co. Durham.
Mr. Nathaniel Thubron, Merthyr Dare Colliery, Merthyr Tydvil.
Student— Mr. W. H. TELFORD, Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland.
The following gentlemen were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Honorary Member—
Dr. H. Alleyne Nicholson, Professor of Biology, College of Physical
Science, Newcastle.
Members—
Mr. George Murray, Engineer, Sandhill, Newcastle.
Mr. John Pattison, Engineer, Naples.
Mr. James Beaumont, M.E., Oughtbridge, near Sheffield.
Mr. John Ridyard, M.E., Walkden, near Bolton-le-Moors.
Mr. Thos. Sutherst, Cleveland Iron Works, Guisbro'.
Mr. David Davis, Coal Owner, Maesyffynon, Aberdare.
Mr. PiOBT. Abram Smith, 74, Osmaston Street, Derby.
Mr. Richard Blackburn, Bronwhlfa Colliery, Mold.
Mr. John Cooke, M.E., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Wigan.
Mr. David W. Robson, Ouston, Chester-le-Street.
Mr. David Grieves, Brancepeth Colliery, Willington, Co. Durham.
Mr. Robert Jordan, Ebbw Vale, South Wales.
Mr. Christopher Bailey, Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle.
Mr. G. R. Palmer, Jesmond High Terrace, Newcastle.
Mr. J. Richard Haines, M.E., Adderley Green Colliery, near Longton.
Mr. Wm. McCulloch, Cympermar Mountain Ash, South Wales.
Mr. James Smallshaw, M.E., Westleigh Colliery, Leigh, near Manchester.
Mr. F. R. Goddard, Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. J. S. Eland, Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tync.
Mr. J. G. Benson, Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. James Spence, Manager, Clifton and Millgramfitz Collieries,
Workington. Mr. Walter Moseley, Electrical Engineer, 5, Strand Street,
Liverpool. Mr. John Garside, Colliery Manager, Plashymaston Colliery,
Ruabon. Mr. George Thornton, Manager of Iron Works, Pen-y-bryn, Ruabon. Mr.
Thomas Livesey, Jun., Albert Lodge, Heaton Chapel, Stockport.
Students—
Mr. Dugald S. Miller, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland. Mr. Robt. Blackie,
Litherland House, Seaforth, Liverpool. Mr. John S. Caldwell, The Grove,
Westhoughton, near Bolton, Lancashire.
PROCEEDINGS. 47
Mr. Chas. A. Moreing, -Haydon Bridge, Northumberland.
Mr. J. C. Walton, Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle.
Mr. J. E. Williamson, Harton Colliery Offices, Tyne Dock, South Shields.
Mr. James Darlington, Springfield, Wigan.
Mr. J. T. Wilson, Thornton Fields, Guisbro'.
Mr. T. H. Stones, Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Wigan.
Mr. Chas. Barrett, Harton Colliery, South Shields.
The Secretary stated that he had a letter from Mr. Lebour, stating that he
was obliged to go to South Wales, and was therefore unable to read his paper
that day.
Mr. E. S. Newall then read a paper " On Supplying Newcastle and District
with Water from Lake Ullswater."
WATER SUPPLY FOR NEWCASTLE. 49
- *;
ON SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE AND DISTRICT WITH WATEE FROM LAKE ULLSWATER.
By R. S. NBWALL.
The vital importance of an adequate supply of pure water for the inhabitants
of Newcastle and the neighbouring towns is so self-evident, that no excuse
is required for taking the initiative in bringing the matter before the
Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. It is unnecessary to go into
the history of the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company, further than to
state that they began work in October 1848, on the principle that the
drainage of 4,340 acres, or less than seven square miles of land near Harlow
Hill, was better than pumping water from the Tyne at Elswick, which their
predecessors had done. They dammed the Whittleburn, and made reservoirs
capable of holding 215 million gallons. The pipe conveying water to
Newcastle was 2 feet in diameter, and capable of carrying about 4^ million
gallons per day. They ascertained that the rainfall was 24 inches per annum,
and they estimated that half of that would find its way to the reservoirs,
and produce 3^ million of gallons per day, or equal to ten months'
consumption at the then rate of 700,000 gallons per day.
In the dry year of 1850, they were obliged to resort to pumping from the
Tyne to supply the demand—a practice which is continued to this day—but
whether the new pumping station at Newburn has improved the quality of the
mixture of water cannot be ascertained, as there are no analyses of the
water taken at different times.
Some five years ago they constructed the reservoir at Hallington, which is
capable of holding about 600 millions of gallons of water derived from
drainage, but it is not clear that this has ever been filled. However, it is
stated in a paper read by Mr. Main, the secretary of the Company, before the
British Association, when it met in Newcastle in 1863, that in 1845 the
number of persons supplied with water was 10,275 (representing a population
of 100,000), and that they consumed
VOL XXIV.—1874,
q
50 ON SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE AND DISTRICT
about 700,000 gallons a day. Now that the population has increased so much,
and so many large manufactories use the water, the demand is about seven
millions a day.
The water required for the supply of towns ought to be of the purest
description, because pure water is necessarily soft. Soft water is more
wholesome, it is more economical, and is more easily dealt with in household
and manufacturing operations.' Hard water is apt to produce calcareous
diseases ; it renders washing of all kinds difficult and expensive, and it
is a well-known cause of complaint in household and manufacturing operations
that vessels and pipes for boiling water become furred up by deposits of
lime, &c, which are difficult and very expensive to remove.
Comparing the water supplied by the Newcastle and Grateshead Water Company
with that from Ullswater, the Newcastle water has about 20 degrees of
hardness according to Clarke's scale, while Ullswater has 1*9 degrees • so
that, to produce the same effect in washing, Newcastle water would require
ten times the quantity of soap, and even then, owing to the deposit of curdy
matter at the beginning of the operations, it would entail much more labour,
and the result would not be so satisfactory. Water containing nitrogenous
matter is unwholesome. Ullswater contains no organic nitrogen, and only a
very small percentage of nitrates and nitrites.
The whole of these points were fully discussed by the Royal Commission
appointed to examine into the water supply for London, and a reference to
the Blue-books on the subject, containing reports of the analyses of the
various waters proposed, made by the first chemists of the day, shows that
Ullswater appears to be the most desirable source from which to obtain such
supply. The fact that it has been proposed to take • its waters to London,
at enormous expense, is the strongest proof of the good quality and quantity
of the water. It was found impracticable to carry it over Shapfell, and
therefore the alternative of tapping it at its southern extremity, by a
tunnel, under Kirkstone Pass was proposed. This in extent and expense would
well compare with the tunnel through Mont Cenis, except on one point, the
one was only a proposal and the other is a reality.
Objections have occasionally been raised to Ullswater on account of the lead
works near it. It has been, even lately, asserted that the waters are so
poisonous as to kill the fish in the lake, and that therefore the water is
unfit for human drink. This, however, is not founded on fact, and the writer
will now discuss that part of the subject, because it is important to clear
away at once and for ever such unfounded reports.
WITH VATER FROM LAKE ULLSWATER. 51
At the upper end of the lake, in the Grlenridding Valley, are situated the
Greenside Lead Works. The ore is extracted and washed on the spot, and the
washing water runs down into the lake near to the Ullswater Hotel, where it
forms in the lake a delta of considerable extent; so much so, that in August
last, men were engaged in digging a trench through the mud brought down from
the washings. That this lime mud may deter fish from frequenting the
neighbourhood is conceivable, but that they are poisoned by lead dissolved
by the water is quite incapable of proof; for galena is not soluble in water
except it be perfectly pure, and even then in such very small quantities as
to have no effect on human life.
The result of observations on the action of soft water on metallic lead when
scraped bright, prove conclusively that the action ceases when the surface
is tarnished (this is more especially the case when the water contains a
considerable amount of carbonic acid), and that therefore no fear whatever
need arise on this point.
The following analysis will show the purity of the water which it is
proposed to bring to Newcastle.
Total solid residue in 100,000 parts of water evaporated, 3'626.
Mineral substances in 100,000 parts of water—
Lime ... ......... ... 0-730
Magnesia ... ... ... ... ...
"200
Potash ............ ... -267
Soda ... ... ... ... ...
... '356
Sulphuric acid ... ... ... ...
'879
Carbonic acid ... ... ... ... ...
"310
Silica............ ... -160
Chlorine ... ... ... ...
... "604
Ammonia ... ... ... ... ...
'003
Nitrogen, as Nitrates and Nitrites ... ... '00.3
Organic substances in 100,000 parts of water—
Organic nitrogen ... ... ... ...
'000
Organic carbon ... ... ... ...
'067
Gases in 100 vols, of water—
Nitrogen ... ... ... ... ...
1*551
Oxygen ... ... ... ...
... '747
Carbonic acid ... ... ... ...
'185
Total gases ... ... ... 2-483
Hardness in 100,000 parts of water before boiling ...
1*9
Do. do. after boiling ...
... 1'4
Action on bright lead ... ... ... ...
Considerable
Do. tarnished lead ... ... ...
... None.
52 ON SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE AND DISTRICT
There are several very important points to be considered in establishing any
water-works. The first is the nature of the surface on which the rain falls.
If this be of such a kind that a considerable amount of rain must fall
before any water is deposited in the reservoirs, then a great part of the
rainfall, whatever its amount may be, is retained in the soil and is not
effective. Whereas, if the surface be hard rock, such as forms a large
portion of the Ullswater district, then a fall of rain produces an immediate
effect on the reservoir. The second point is the quantity of rainfall.
Comparing the two cases of the Newcastle water-field, and that of the
Ullswater : in the Newcastle district, one of the driest in England, there
falls about 24 inches of water per annum, and only about one-fourth of this
finds its way to the reservoirs of the Company: in the Ullswater district
there falls from 60 to 100 inches per annum, which rapidly descends to the
lake.
In looking round for a supply to take the place of Whittle Dene, it is
natural to seek the nearest sources, and Eothbury has been suggested over
and over again, but the quantity to be obtained from that place is not
enough to supply this district with all its towns and manufactories. Mr.
Bateman lately proposed that Tynemouth should spend £170,000 in bringing
water from Eothbury to that town.
From frequent visits to the lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland,
the writer's attention was called to the splendid deposit of water in
Ullswater j but at first sight it appeared impracticable to bring the water
to Newcastle without pumping.
A very careful and laborious examination of the Ordnance maps, on the 6-inch
to the mile scale, showed that a canal could be made between Ullswater and
Newcastle without incurring any very expensive engineering difficulties, the
greatest in fact being about a mile of pipe in crossing the River Eden, and
another in crossing the North Tyne. These, of course, in this age would be
made of iron, but in ancient times they would have been beautiful aqueducts
of stone. The general course of the conduit is indicated by a line on Plate
XIII.
Ullswater, according to the Ordnance survey, is 477 feet above the datum
level of mean water at Liverpool, and the highest part of Newcastle is 400
feet above datum. The distance measured is 78 miles to the Town Moor, which
gives a fall of one foot per mile, which is more than sufficient for the
purpose of water flow. In the Loch Katrine and Glasgow waterworks the fall
is 10 inches per mile, and in Mr. Bateman's scheme for carrying water from
the Severn to London by open water-course, he proposed a fall as low as 6
inches per mile.
WITH WATER FROM LAKE ULLSWATER. 33
It is proposed that this scheme should be carried out by a Commission
appointed by the various towns interested, who will undertake the management
of the water supply for the district, and it is presumed they will have to
buy the existing Water Companies at valuations.
The writer has not gone into an estimate of the cost of this scheme,
because, until a survey is made of the line, this cannot be satisfactorily
done. That is a work which should be undertaken by the towns on the route,
and as it is absolutely imperative that steps should be immediately taken to
ensure a supply of water, it is hoped that it will be done so as to enable
plans to be deposited in time for the next Session of Parliament.
As to the expense, there is reason for believing that the canal will cost no
more than £6,000 per mile at the most, or say £500,000. This would convey 20
million of gallons per day.
The Loch Katrine aqueduct cost £468,000 for 25f miles, but that was a most
difficult piece of engineering ; 13 miles of it were tunnelled ; 3f miles
were iron pipes ; and 9 miles of open cutting, mostly through rock, at an
average cost of £18,000 per mile.
The Ullswater canal will encounter no such difficulties, and if it
terminates at the Whittle Dene reservoirs near to which it passes, a
distance of eleven miles is saved ; but it is doubtful whether this is
advisable until the state of the pipes is examined.
Mr. Bateman's estimate for 4 feet diameter cast iron pipes is £10,800 per
mile laid down ; and for an open water-course in brick and concrete, capable
of conveying 108 million gallons per day, with a fall of only 6 inches per
mile, his estimate is £12,000 per mile. While for the Dun-treath section of
the Loch Katrine water-works, which included four tunnels and eight
aqueducts, besides stream crossings, drains, &c, the cost was rather less
than £7 per yard; and as there are 140,000 yards in 80 miles, this would
amount to £980,000, which is far beyond what the . present scheme ought to
cost.
But suppose that the canal and purchase of the Water Company's works did
cost a million, and that there are 400,000 inhabitants to benefit by it, the
whole amount would be paid in two years by a contribution of 6d. per week
from each.
It is now well recognised that all great projects of this and similar
natures should be the property of the communities to whose necessities they
minister, or in other words, that the consumers should be the proprietors of
their own works, and guardians of their own interests.
54 DISCUSSION—WATER SUPPLY FOR NEWCASTLE.
Mr. Newall, in reply to Mr. J. M. Eedmayne, stated that the Eden was 100
feet wide, and, in August last, had an average depth of three feet at the
place whence it issued from the lake ; its velocity was as near as possible
a yard a second, which would give some 500 millions of gallons per day. He
had not made any minute survey or estimate, as he thought that duty devolved
upon the local authorities interested.
Mr. J. Daglish asked Mr. Newall if his attention had ever been directed to
Eothbury as a source of water supply ?
Mr. Newall said, of course he had been at Eothbury several times. As he had
stated in his paper, the supply of Eothbury was quite inadequate to their
wants. It might be enough to supply Morpeth or some of the neighbouring
towns, but it was not nearly enough for Newcastle. There were springs at
Eothbury issuing out of the millstone grit at an altitude of about 600 feet
: the ground fell rapidly down to about 150 or 200 feet, therefore it would
be necessary to bring the water from that district in pipes.
Mr. J. F. Tone stated that he had gauged the Tosson spring and found it
yielded a quarter of a million gallons a day.
Mr. E. Buedon Sandeeson said he was sorry he had not been present at the
beginning of the meeting, but it was not owing to any fault of his own, but
to the fact that the express train was forty minutes late, and had kept him
back. He understood that Mr. Newall had stated that the Hallington reservoir
had not been filled. He would assure the meeting that gentleman had been
misinformed, for the reservoir had been filled twice over at least. It was
true that it was at the present time practically empty, as it was certain to
be at the end of the season. Any one at all acquainted with water-works knew
that this was the month in which the reservoirs ran down, not to emptiness
absolutely, but proximately to emptiness.
Mr. E. F. Maetin, Whitehaven, would like to ask Mr. Newall one question. He
was himself living in the extreme west of Cumberland, and there they had the
advantage of the water supply from the Lake Ennerdale, the water of which
was as nearly as possible perfectly pure. The whole of the town of
Whitehaven was supplied from it; and he could only wish there was more of it
available—not because there was not plenty of water in the Ennerdale lake
and plenty of water running out into the river, but because the water which
they could take from the lake was limited in quantity. He might state that
at Whitehaven the water which came from the Ennerdale Lake was so
beautifully soft that nobody cared for rain water ; in fact, the use of a
water tub was quite exceptional, since everybody washed with the Ennerdale
water, which was as good as rain water
DISCUSSION—WATER SUPPLY FOR NEWCASTLE. 55
but unfortunately the Ennerdale Lake had a proprietor, and he limited the
supply which the town of Whitehaven might take to a certain number of
gallons a day. The water at the end of the pipe was jealously watched and
recorded, from time to time ; and they could not exceed their proper
quantity. He had no doubt there was also a proprietor of Ullswater Lake.
Most of the lakes, so far as he knew, had proprietors ; and no doubt this
person would have power to act in the same way as the proprietor of the
Ennerdale Lake. If this state of things existed in the case of the water
supply to a West Cumberland town, he did not think Newcastle would be likely
to be better treated. But he was stating lightly that which was really a
most serious matter. In modern times, the question of individual rights and
the convenience and necessities of the public at large became every day a
more and more serious question. There was no difficult question of
engineering in this scheme ; it appeared to be remarkably straightforward.
He must congratulate Mr. Newall upon producing such a satisfactory plan in
this respect. But really the question was— What would the proprietor of the
Ullswater Lake say if the water were abstracted by Newcastle ; and what
scheme would Mr. Newall advise to be adopted with regard to the private
rights which he must necessarily interfere with ?
Mr. Eichard Cail said, he was old enough to recollect when the only water
supply of Newcastle was from the ponds on the Town Moor ; and when the
waterman went round twice a week and rapped at the door of such people as
took the water, which was then allowed to run into their tubs for the space
of about an hour. Companies had one after another succeeded each other. The
one which was started to pump water from the Tyne at Elswick was thought to
be of very great advantage, and an immense boon to the town ; at least so
they were advised by the leading engineers of the day. The next place tried
was the Whittle Dene ; and from time to time that company had been advised
by engineers, some of whom stood at the very highest point in their
profession, and they had expected to get a good supply, and with some
reason, but in this year the supply had certainly failed very seriously, and
the company had not been able to meet the demand, which was a great
disappointment to them after receiving and paying for the best advice they
could obtain. So far as Mr. Newall's scheme was concerned, when he heard of
it he thought it was a desirable one, if it could be accomplished. He made a
small tunnel for the old company of about two miles and a half in length
through the Northumberland whinstone rock; and he knew that tunnelling was
very expensive and difficult. When Mr. Newall proposed
56 DISCUSSION—WATER SUPPLY FOE NEWCASTLE.
that scheme, and had shown by the contour lines on the large scale Ordnance
maps that water could flow by gravity from TJllswater, he certainly must say
he was astonished ; and he thought the greatest possible credit was due to
Mr. Newall for the pains and labour he had taken in finding out those
continuous levels. He thought Mr. Newall's estimate (£500,000) for the works
would not be exceeded in practice, for he had carefully examined the maps,
from which he considered ample data could be found to enable any practical
man to give a shrewd guess at the cost.
Mr. C. G. Grey asked if Mr. Newall's attention had been called to what were
called the Northumberland Lakes, which received a considerable area of
rainfall, and were of large capacity for holding water.
Mr. Newall said, his attention had been called to them for some little time
; but, seeing that the supply to be obtained from them was so small compared
to what they were able to get within a very short distance of them, and,
believing the quality of the water was not so good as it ought to be, he had
not troubled himself much about them.
Mr. Grey said, the lakes themselves had a constant quantity of water; and
from his own knowledge of them he was able to affirm that the area of some
of them might be increased from 30 or 60 acres to 100 acres ; and their
depth from 10 or 12 feet to 60 or 70 feet, which would, of course,
materially increase the quantity of water they would contain. Some years
ago, Mr. Bewick, engineer, of Haydon Bridge, had initiated a project for
utilizing the water.
Mr. Sanderson said, it might interest gentlemen to know that the company had
in their possession at the present moment an estimate drawn by Mr. Bateman
for bringing the water of the Northumberland Lakes to Hallington, at a cost,
as far as he could recollect, of about a quarter of a million. Mr. Bateman
said that the drainage there was not, in his opinion, sufficient; and he had
now before him a scheme for bringing water from a nearer point, at an
estimated cost of about £300,000. It involved the construction of a new
reservoir, at about twelve miles from the present reservoirs. He might
mention, also, with reference to what another gentleman had said, as to
riparian rights, that these rights were with all water companies a serious
matter, and would very largely add to any estimate that was formed. He knew
that the Glasgow Water Company purchased at a Very considerable sum their
rights to take water from Lock Katrine ; and he had reason to know from
private information obtained since, that, if they were now to go to the Duke
of Montrose and the other proprietors, the sum they would have to pay to
take the quantity of water which they now obtain from Lock Katrine, would be
a very
DISCUSSION—WATER SUPPLY FOR NEWCASTLE. 57
different one from the elevew or twelve thousand pounds they paid some years
ago. He might also mention that the same restriction was put upon them as
was put upon those who take water from Ennerdale—they were limited to a
certain quantity. He believed it was 50 millions of gallons. The storage in
the lake was calculated for a period of 120 days ; but he thought a storage
of 160 days would have been more satisfactory. "With reference to the survey
which Mr. Cail had mentioned, it would be well to remember that in the
present state of the law with reference to matters involving expenditure, it
was wise to be cautious before any very great expense was incurred. In
Edinburgh the trustees there four years ago determined to bring the water of
St. Mary's Loch to Edinburgh. They went to Parliament, and backed by the
three Town Councils of Edinburgh, Leith, and Portobello, whom they
represented, they applied for their Bill, and first of all lost it. They
applied a second time, he thought in 1870 ; they then gained their Bill in
one of the Houses and lost it in the other. They thus involved themselves in
an expenditure of £16,000 or £17,000 \ and the inhabitants, who knew it
would impose a rate of from 6d. to 8d. in the pound upon them, not only beat
them in the House, but prevented their imposing that £16,000 upon the rates
which they had in hand for water supply purposes ; and from that day until
last session, 1874, they had this sum of money standing at their personal
cost. He believed they had now got powers by another Bill to pay it. The St.
Mary's Loch scheme was found to be very expensive, the estimate being about
£400,000; and the rateable value of Edinburgh was not only greater than that
of Newcastle but nearly equal to that of both sides of the Tyne ; and they
had to abandon St. Mary's Loch and to go to a much inferior scheme. He
mentioned these matters because they distinctly indicated — first, that the
consent of the corporations of three or four towns together was not
sufficient if the inhabitants found that they were likely to have an
additional taxation put upon them, and opposed them ; and, secondly, that
those who go into these schemes and opposed them must be prepared, as he had
no doubt they were, to pay out of their own pockets some £15,000 or £20,000
if they were unsuccessful in their undertaking. The experience of the
directors of the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company was, that at a time
when it would have been very necessary not only for the Company, but also
for the interests of both towns, to have had an extra rate of twopence in
the pound, which really was a rate of 2d. upon perhaps lOd. or lid., that
rate was refused to them. The Company thought they had shown ground for its
necessity; and this had been one of the difficulties they had had to contend
with,
VOL. XXIV.—1874
„
58 DISCUSSION—WATEE SUPPLY FOR NE CASTLE.
and was his reason for supposing that even though Mr. Newall's estimate,
which had been mentioned as a million of money, was correct, it was
improbable that an extra taxation of £50,000 could be obtained from the
district. The first step was to buy up the other companies at present in the
field; there was not one instance either in England or Scotland of two water
companies supplying the same district—Parliament always requiring that the
old companies shall be first of all bought up. He did not know whether the
Sunderland Water Company was included in Mr. Newall's scheme ; but supposing
it was not, there were three-quarters of a million which would have to go in
this shape in the first instance, and the taxation must of necessity include
payment of the interest upon the sums awarded to those companies. As a
question of engineering, he had never had the slightest doubt that Mr.
Newall was right. He had not the slightest doubt, also, that his estimates
would be greatly exceeded, from the knowledge he had of the various
incidents belonging to water-works, which were only known to those who had
practical experience of such matters ; and he had not the slightest doubt,
on the other hand, that the public in this part of the world would not pay
for the necessary taxation, even for so important an article as water. The
greater part of the difficulties which had arisen not only in this district
but in all other parts of England this year (which difficulties had been far
beyond anything which most persons were aware of), arose from the
indisposition to be taxed. Manchester had been short; Liverpool, if not
short at the present time, he believed had been short, and was constantly in
a state of shortness ; and both these towns had municipal water companies.
Other places had been short, partly from their disinclination to pay rates,
and partly from the fact that certain circumstances in connection with the
weather last winter • had arisen and had thrown engineering calculations
quite out of the way. They were advised that in going to Hallington
reservoir they would always have power to fill it. They could fill it with a
very moderate rain-fall—a rain-fall, he believed, under four or five inches.
They were advised that the calculation of rainfall was so small that
although the district was undoubtedly not a wet one, they would always be
enabled to fill it. The circumstances had been that during last winter—the
six months during which all water companies depended to fill their works,
they were only able to fill their old reservoirs to 500 millions —leaving
themselves exactly in the same position as if they had not had Hallington at
all. They acted on the best advice. He need not mention to any gentleman
present that Mr. Bateman not only stood at the top of his profession in this
country but at the top of his profession all over the
DISCUSSION—WATER SUPPLY FOR NEWCASTLE. 59
world. His practice in South • America and his practice on the Continent of
Europe was nearly as large as his practice in this country; and he thought
that when the Company acted by Mr. Bateman's advice, and had gone wrong when
the seasons certainly had been most adverse to them, he hardly saw how they
could be blamed in the matter. Some day or other, even at Glasgow, they
might find themselves short. He had seen that in some seasons they had run
very close upon the quantity they were empowered to take, which was measured
by impounding the water up to a certain height. They calculated that they
never would be 120 days without a moderate rain-fall. If the city drew too
heavily, and the rain failed, and they drew down below the inlet to the
works, then Glasgow would be in the position of having certainly a lake, but
with the water at a lower point than that at which they could take it in.
These were contingencies which might happen ; and he had heard Mr. Bateman
say with reference to Glasgow that unless they were more moderate in their
demands upon the water, they would find some day or other that wilful waste
made woeful want. He did not wish to say anything further ; but according to
the rules of the Institute this paper would be printed, and then they would
have the opportunity of fully discussing it.
Mr. Newall said that Mr. Martin had put a question to him as to compensation
for private rights. He was not able to answer that fully; but he put the
question to the captain of the steamboat on the lake the other day as to
whether he paid anything for the right of navigating the lake, and he said "
No, it was a public lake, and he paid nothing." Whether that would apply to
the water which was passing out of the lake by the Eden, a small part only
of which they proposed to take—whether or not they would have compensation
to pay for that—he was not prepared to say. There were two mills outside the
lake, and he did not think that the quantity of water, even if it should be
twenty millions a day, which he proposed to take by and bye from that
district, would interfere with their rights in any way ; there was plenty of
water without it.
The Chairman said, the paramount necessity of having good water was quite
apparent to every one ; how it was to be got at was of course more for the
town to decide than for any one else; but he thought they must all agree
that they were very much obliged to Mr. Newall for the trouble he had taken
in making the preliminary examination of the Ordnance map, and they could
not do more now than propose that Mr. Newall have their best thanks for
bringing this subject before them in the first instance. No doubt it would
go to a larger and more
60 DISCUSSION—WATER SUPPLY FOR NEWCASTLE.
powerful audience than they were; but Mr. Newall had done them the honour of
bringing it before them, and he felt very much obliged to him, and trusted
the members were of the same opinion. He then put the motion, which was
carried unanimously, and the meeting separated.
PROCEEDINGS. 61
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, NOV. 7th, 1874, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Mb. WILLIAM COCHRANE, Vice-President, in the Chair.
The minutes of the last meeting and of the council meetings were read.
The following gentlemen were elected members :—
Honorary Member— Dr. H. Alleyne Nicholson, Professor of Biology, College of
Physical Science, Newcastleon-Tyne.
Membees— Mr. George MURRAY, Engineer, Sandhill, Newcastle. Mr. John
Pattison, Engineer, Naples. Mr. James Beaumont, M.E., Oughtbridge, near
Sheffield. Mr. John Ridyard, M.E., Walkden, near Bolton-le-Moor. Mr. Thomas
Sutherst, Cleveland Iron Works, Guisbro'. ¦ Mr. David Davis, Coal Owner,
Maesyffynon, Aberdare. Mr. Robert Abram Smith, 70, Osmaston Street, Derby.
Mr. Richard Blackburn, Bronwhlfa Colliery, Mold. Mr. John Cooke, M.E., Wigan
Coal and Iron Co., Wigan. Mr. David W. Robson, Ouston, Chester-le- Street.
Mr. David Grieves, Brancepeth Colliery, Willington, Co. Durham. Mr. Robert
Jordan, Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Mr. Christopher Bailey, Heworth Colliery,
near Newcastle. Mr. G. R. Palmer, Jesmond High Terrace, Newcastle. Mr. J.
Richard Haines, M.E., Adderley Green Colliery, near Longton. Mr. W.
McCulloch, Cympermar Mountain, South Wales. Mr. James Smallshaw, M.E.,
Westleigh Colliery, Leigh, near Manchester. Mr. F. R. Goddard, Accountant,
Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr. G. S. Eland, do., do.
Mr. J. G. Benson, .do., do.
Mr. James Spence, Manager, Clifton and Milgramfitz Collieries, Workington.
62 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. Walter Moseley, 5, Strand Street, Liverpool.
Mr. John Garside, Colliery Manager, Plashymaston Colliery, Ruabon.
Mr. George Thomson, Manager of Ironworks, Pen-y-bryn, Ruabon.
Students— Mr. Dugald S. Miller, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland. Mr. Robert
Blackie, Litherland House, Seaforth, Liverpool. Mr. John S. Caldwell, The
Grove, Westhoughton, near Bolton, Lancashire. Mr. Thomas Livesey, Jun.,
Manchester. Mr. Charles A. Moreing, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland. Mr. J. C.
Walton, Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle. Mr. J. E. Williamson, Harton
Colliery Offices, Tyne Docks, South Shields. Mr. James Darlington,
Springfield, Wigan. Mr. J. F. Wilson, Thornton Fields, Guisbro'. Mr. T. H.
Stones, Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Wigan. Mr. Charles Barrett, Harton Colliery
Offices, South Shields.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members— Mr. John Philip Spencer, Borough Surveyor, North Shields. Mr.
Emanuel Defty, Viewer, Wombwell Main Colliery, Barnsley. Mr. Richard
Clifford Smith, Bridgewater Trustees' Collieries, Parkfield,
Swinton, Manchester. Mr. F. E. Smith, Engineer, Phoenix Foundry, Newgate
Street, Newcastle. Mr. T. Sibley Whittem, M.E., Wyken Colliery, near
Coventry. Mr. JAS. Hopton, Colliery Manager, Killingbeck Colliery, near
Leeds. Mr. Brian B. Ward, M.E., Cliff House, Southwold, Suffolk. Mr. James
Fellows, Great Wyrley, near Walsall, Staffordshire.
Students— Mr. John Crowder Edge, Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Co. Limited,
Wigan. Mr. Edmond 0. Southern, 1, Maple Street, Newcastle. Mr. James T.
Short, Bedlington Colliery, Bedlington.
The meeting adjourned to the Theatre of the College of Physical Science.
The Chairman said, they were met there to hear a communication through
Professor Marreco, written by Mr. Galloway. Perhaps as Mr. Galloway had done
them the honour of being present there himself, it would not be out of order
to ask him to read the paper, and then it would be left to Professor Marreco
to conduct the experiments. This having been agreed to by the meeting, he
called upon Mr. Galloway to read the paper and upon Professor Marreco to
illustrate it.
Mr. W. Galloway then read the following paper " On Safety-Lamps and
Shot-Firing."
ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING. 63
-*¦
ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING.
« --------
By WILLIAM GALLOWAY.
The projection of a point moving uniformly in a circle upon a plane
perpendicular to that in which the circle is described, executes simple
vibrations in a straight line. The whole distance moved through by the
projected point in one direction is called a semi-vibration; and the
distance from the middle point to either extreme of a semi-vibration is
called the amplitude of vibration.
When a piston makes one complete vibration of this kind in a tube of
indefinite length filled with atmospheric air, it forms what is called an
undulation (sound-wave, gas-wave, &c.) on each side; but for the sake of
simplicity, it is proposed to consider only the wave formed on the side
towards which the first movement is made. As the piston begins to move, it
compresses the layer of air immediately in front, but the compression passes
from the first layer to the next, and so on along the tube with the velocity
of sound. So long, therefore, as the velocity of the piston is less than
that of sound, it is plain that the same degree of compression to which the
first layer is subjected at any instant, will at the next instant be found
existing in one of the other layers, at a certain definite distance from the
piston, along the tube.
The piston moves from rest, increases in velocity until it has reached the
middle point of its course, and then decreases in velocity until it comes to
rest at the end of the forward semi-vibration. When it is at rest in any
position, the layer of air immediately in front of it (which may be
conceived to be indefinitely thin) is uncompressed—that is to say, it is at
the normal pressure existing in the tube before the vibration began; and
when the greatest forward velocity has been reached, the same layer is in
its state of maximum compression. When the piston moves in the opposite or
backward direction, a rarefied wave is formed in a similar way to the
condensed wave just described; but in this case the first and successive
layers undergo a rarefaction which is greater or less at different points,
according to the velocity of the piston.
64 ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING.
The condensed wave, immediately followed by the expanded wave, traverses the
tube, and each keeps its position relatively to the other.
In the following diagram, which illustrates the state of pressure in front
of the piston after a complete vibration has been made, the piston may be
supposed just to have reached the point A:—
<---------- ---------->
E
I)
The line A 0 represents the normal pressure in the tube; the length of
ordinates drawn to the curve ADBEC corresponds to the pressure existing in
the wave at the points from which they are drawn. For instance, E G-, at a
distance of three-fourths of the wave length from A, gives the greatest
compression or positive pressure, and D F, at one-fourth of a wave length,
gives the greatest rarefaction or negative pressure. The lengths of the
ordinates also give the relative velocities of the particles of air in
different parts of the wave, and the arrows above the diagram indicate the
direction of these velocities. At the points A, B, and 0, the pressure is
normal, and the particles of air are at rest.
The length of the abscissa, A C, depends on the time occupied by the piston
in making a complete vibration, and on the temperature of the air. Suppose,
for example, the time or period of vibration to be ^ of a second, and the
temperature 50° Fahr.; then, since sound travels with a velocity of 1,110
feet per second in air of this temperature, the wave length, AC, = tytf —
5'55 feet. In a second after the vibration has been completed, the end A of
the wave will be at a distance of 1,110 feet from the piston ; the values of
A 0, F D, E G, &c, will not be sensibly changed; each particle of the 1,110
feet of air between the wave and the piston will be in exactly the same
position that it occupied before the passage of the wave, and have the same
pressure and temperature; the air at the points A, B, and 0, will also be in
a normal state as regards pressure and temperature j but as regards
position, the particles at B will have moved through a space equal to twice
the amplitude of vibration, and every other particle of air in the 5-55 feet
between A and C will be undergoing a change of position, pressure, and
temperature.
As regards change of position, we have seen that the layer of air in contact
with the piston was carried forward and backward when the
ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING. C)5
- »¦
vibration was made—it had, perforce, the same velocity as the piston at
different parts of its course, and its amplitude of vibration was also the
same. But the different conditions of the first layer were immediately
imparted to the second, and then to the third, and so on; and these
conditions include a complete vibration, with a certain amplitude during the
time required to produce a wave of the length A C. It is therefore obvious,
that as the wave passes along in the tube, each layer of air through which
it passes in succession, however distant from the piston, will vibrate to
the same extent as the first layer, and its amplitude and period of
vibration will also be the same. It is almost unnecessary, perhaps, to state
that the tube is understood to be non-conducting, perfectly rigid, and
perfectly smooth, and we need not here enter into the subject of a gradual
dissipation of energy from other causes.
As regards change of pressure and temperature, each layer in succession is
compressed, and consequently becomes heated above the normal temperature in
the condensed wave. It is also rarefied and cooled below the normal
temperature in the expanded wave. At the instant, however, when it emerges,
so to speak, from the expanded wave, it resumes its original state in every
respect.
The length of the wave is, within certain limits, independent of the
amplitude of vibration j and the greater the amplitude of vibration, the
greater is the amount of energy in the wave. In fact, the energy varies as
the square of the amplitude of vibration.
When a blown-out shot is fired at the end of a gallery in a mine, a body of
highly-heated gas rushes from the shot-hole, compresses the air in front and
round about, and then condenses, producing a rarefaction. An irregularly
shaped wave is formed: part of it is probably soon destroyed by dashing
against the roof, sides, and floor, and being reflected again and again; but
another part, meeting with no obstacle, proceeds along the gallery with a
velocity depending for the most part on the temperature, and soon leaves the
local eddies and indirect waves behind. This part, which is audible for a
considerable distance, is the report of the shot; it has all the properties
that have been described as belonging to a wave formed by the vibration of a
piston in a tube. It will be remembered that one of these properties is to
cause each layer of ail through which it passes in succession to make a
simple vibration, or rapid forward and backward movement, without permanent
displacement.
Now, every one who has paid any attention to the subject must have observed
that the flame of a lamp is instantly extinguished by an intense sound wave,
while a less intense wave, or one coming from a great dis-
VOL, XXIV.—1874.
_
66 ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING.
tance, causes it to dip, as it were, for an instant. In the latter case,
however, it may be observed that the apparent dip is caused by an almost
instantaneous deflection away from the origin of the wave, followed by as
quick a return to the original upright position. From what is known, then,
of the nature of a sound wave, it can only be concluded that the flame is
deflected from and restored to its position while the layers of air, of
which it forms a part, are being traversed by the wave.
As an illustration, we shall consider the case of a wave whose entire length
is one foot, while the amplitude of vibration is one inch. Then, supposing
the temperature of the air to be 50° Fahr., the whole wave will pass through
each layer in xrni °f a second. The condensed wave, however, passes through
any given layer in -g--^ of a second, and during this period the whole of
the particles of air of which the layer is composed have made a forward
movement to a distance of two inches from their original position. The mean
velocity of each particle of air in the condensed wave is therefore r% x
2220 = 370 feet per second; and the maximum velocity is 581*2 feet per
second. During the next yfajj of a second, the layer is restored to its
former position and condition by the passage through it of the expanded
wave.
The celebrated physicist, Eegnault, made some experiments to ascertain the
distance from its origin to which a sound-wave will travel through air. He
found that the report of a pistol charged with 1 gramme (15"43 grains) of
gunpowder traversed a distance of 10,000 metres (6*21 miles), in the great
conduit of the St. Michael sewer, before it became inaudible. The diameter
of the conduit islm.l0(3#6 feet); the length was obtained by reflecting the
wave, and thus causing it to pass over the same ground repeatedly. In
conduits of smaller diameter the report from the same charge was much more
quickly dissipated.
It is undoubtedly well known to every one present that when safety-lamps are
exposed to a current of explosive gas, moving with a velocity of 8 to 10
feet per second and upwards, the flame is passed through apertures which it
cannot penetrate under ordinary circumstances, and communicated to the
external atmosphere. It has been proved, moreover, by the experiments of a
committee of gentlemen appointed by the members of this Institute, that the
more the velocity of the current is increased the shorter is the time it
requires to act in order to pass the flame. In this case it appears that a
preliminary superheating, as it were, of the substance in which the
apertures are formed takes place, and that this circumstance partly accounts
for the phenomenon.
Nearly three years ago the idea suggested itself to the writer that a
ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING. 67
vibration of the explosive mixffnre in which a safety-lamp was burning, if
its amplitude were considerable and its period small, might also cause flame
to pass through wire gauze without the necessity of its being superheated
beforehand. He was led to form this opinion from a consideration of the
fact that a number of colliery explosions were known to have happened
simultaneously with the firing of heavily-charged or blown-out shots.
Accordingly a number of experiments in connection with the subject were
made, and it was found that this hypothesis held true in the circumstances
under which some explosions appear to have occurred, so far as these
circumstances could be reproduced experimentally. Perhaps the most
conclusive of all the experiments were those made in part of a new sewer in
North Woodside Eoad, Glasgow. The section of the sewer is oval• it is six
feet high, and four feet wide at a height of four feet from the sole. It
may, therefore, be accepted as the representative of a small gallery in a
mine. A safety-lamp with gas flame was placed on a board, fixed at a
height of 2 feet 8 inches from the floor. The distance from the
safety-lamp at which shots could be fired was limited to 109 feet in one
direction, and 96 feet in the other. The shots were fired along the axis
of the sewer, at the various distances indicated below, and the flame could
usually be passed by the report or sound-wave of a pistol-shot, when the
charges were as follow :—
At 27 feet from the Lamp ............ 1-365 grammes.
54 feet .................. 2-184
81 feet .................. 2-730
96 feet .................. 3-276 „
109 feet .................. 3-822 „
One shot was fired with the barrel of the pistol pointing towards the roof
at an angle of 70° to the axis of the sewer ; the charge was 5*4:6 grammes •
the distance was 109 feet; the flame was passed through the wire gauze and
ignited the explosive mixture which surrounded the lamp.
For a more complete description of these experiments and most of the others
that the writer made in connection with this subject, he would refer to No.
154 of the Proceedings of the Eoyal Society for 1874, where drawings of the
apparatus employed and sections of the sewer are given in the plates that
accompany the paper.
The Chairman said he was sure they would all agree with him in the
importance of the paper that had just been read, and would be very glad to
see all the proposed experiments tried. Did he understand that they
68 DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING.
never had the Davy lamp in the sewer experiment at a further distance than
109 feet from the shot ? Mr. Galloway—Yes.
The Chairman said, that being the greatest distance at which Mr. Galloway
had tried it, how could he draw the conclusion that the same result would
follow in any part of a mine where the report could be heard ?
Mr. Galloway said, they would observe that the charge was very small; and
the wave was not dissipated except very slowly. If they fired with a charge
of 20, 30, 40, or 100 times the quantity, they might safely conclude that
the sound wave would retain sufficient energy to pass the flame at
relatively greater distances. The sewer experiments were simply
illustrations of what might be done, just as this experiment was an
illustration on a still smaller scale. The quantity of gunpowder used in
this experiment was infinitesimally small.
The experiment which was now made, consisted in simply firing a pistol into
two tin tubes about 3 inches diameter and 10 feet long ; these pipes were
placed in the same line, but separated from each other by a space of about
l£ inches. The barrel of the pistol was passed through a hole in a circular
piece of wood, which exactly fitted one end of the first tube, the other end
was open ; the end of the second tube, which was brought to within an inch
and a quarter of the first, was provided with a diaphragm of thin
India-rubber, protected by a metal guard, to prevent the wadding of the
pistol from striking against it. The other end of the second tube was placed
close to a lighted gas flame protected by a safety gauze, around which
numerous jets of gas were escaping, and the object of the experiment was to
show that the motion of the air produced by the pistol-shot and propagated
in the second tube through the diaphragm was sufficient to drive the flame
through the gauze and cause it to fire the external gas.
Mr. Galloway said, that the experiment did not succeed if the charge of
gunpowder was not exactly the quantity required; an overcharge put out the
flame; and an undercharge did not pass the flame from the lamp. It
required a certain quantity to do it.
Several experiments were tried; one with a small charge of powder and the
tubes close to each other, and a second with a larger charge, and the tubes
separated by about an inch and a quarter, both of which caused the external
gas to fire; in the latter case the India-rubber diaphragm was observed to
yield to the extent of about two inches. A large charge was then fired with
the tubes close together, and the external gas was not
DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING. 69
fired. This experiment was repeated in the dark with the same result; all
the experiments, therefore, were satisfactory illustrations of the paper.
The Chairman asked, if the powder was increased very much, whether the flame
would be communicated to the external atmosphere and be subsequently
extinguished?
Mr. Galloway said, there appeared to be only a certain quantity which would
pass it through. If they used above a certain amount the flame was
extinguished.
The Chairman—Does it pass the flame and cause explosion, and then put it out
?
Mr. Galloway—It appears to do so.
Mr. Nelson asked if it was possible that the wadding might strike the
diaphragm ? This might cause a concussion of the air in the India-rubber
diaphragm.
Professor Marreco said, the guard was put in expressly to prevent such an
occurrence.
Mr. Nelson said, that although the wadding was prevented from striking the
diaphragm, he should imagine that it would, owing to its size and the speed
it must travel at, carry a considerable amount of air with it, and also
propel an amount of air violently in front of it, and that might deflect the
diaphragm to a considerable extent, and cause the air to travel in front of
it. The wadding would, he imagined, act as a piston.
The Chairman asked Mr. Nelson if his observation would not be answered by
the fact that when the pistol was directed, as in the sewer experiment
referred to in the paper, at a considerable angle to the axis of the sewer,
the same effect was produced; and that therefore, although the observation
might apply to the present experiment, it could not apply to the large
experiment in the sewers ?
Mr. Wallace would like to ask the lecturer if he could offer any ex- '
planation of the mechanical effect of the movement of the air upon the
flame, either to extinguish the flame or to pass it through the gauze ?
There were probably two ways in which the explosion might affect the flame ;
one was probably mechanical, and the other chemical. It had been explained
that one of the effects of the explosion was to condense the air; and they
knew that the effect of condensed air was a very remarkable one upon flame
in general. Then again, there was the movement of the air, which might
possibly have the effect of simply carrying the flame of the gas during
combustion away from the position where the gas was being produced, that was
the wick : and his question was whether it was
70 DISCUSSION OK SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT-FIRING.
principally due to removing the flame from its source of maintenance, or
whether it was the compression of the air which effected it. Of course the
compression took place before the rarefaction ; and it might be that it was
the compression, if the air was compressed, which had this effect upon the
flame. Of course, the question naturally followed, what was the best form of
lamp to prevent an explosion having this action upon the flame ?
Mr. Galloway said, as to the flame being removed by the compressed air, the
former part of his paper was intended to show the effect the shot had upon
the air; and he considered this an answer to the question of Mr. Wallace.
The Chairman confessed that the paper was too elaborate for him to
understand at a mere reading, and required careful study. Probably other
gentlemen had not fully comprehended it.
Mr. Galloway said, the Chairman had answered Mr. Nelson's observation with
respect to the diaphragm by saying that the experiment in the sewer entirely
proved that the wadding had nothing to do with passing the flame.
Professor Marreco—Besides, it was perfectly easy to produce all these
effects with an explosive mixture of gases where there was no wadding at
all. The earlier experiments detailed in the Eoyal Society's Proceedings
were made with an explosive mixture contained in a soap bubble.
The Chairman said, they were glad to have seen the experiments illustrative
of a paper showing so much original research, and throwing so much light on
the important matter of explosive gases. It was only by such scientific
research that they could obtain these valuable results. He could not,
however, refrain from the observation that there must necessarily be a great
difference between the result of such small experiments as those they had
witnessed here, and the somewhat larger ones made in the sewer, and the
conditions obtaining in actual practice in a mine. They were all much
obliged to Mr. Galloway for his paper ; and he begged to move a vote of
thanks to him.
The motion was carried by acclamation, and the meeting terminated.
PROCEEDINGS. 7L
¦ #;
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5th, 1874, IN THE WOOD
MEMORIAL HALL.
R. S. NEWALL, Esq., in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were elected :—
Members—
Mr. John Philip Spencer, Borough Surveyor, North Shields.
Mr. Emanuel Depty, Viewer, Wombwell Main Colliery, Barnsley.
Mr. Richard Clifford Smith, Bridgewater Trustees' Collieries, Parkfield,
Swinton, Manchester.
Mr. Thomas E. Smith, Engineer, Phoenix Foundry, Newgate Street, Newcastle.
Mr. Thomas Sibley Whittem, M.E., Wyken Colliery, near Coventry.
Mr. James Hopton, Killingbeck Colliery, near Leeds.
Mr. Brian W. Wand, Cliff House, Southwold, Suffolk.
Mr. James Fellows, Great Wyrley, near Walsall, Staffordshire.
Students—
Mr. John Crowder Edge, Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Co. Limited, Wigan. Mr.
Edmund 0. Southern, 1, Maple Street, Newcastle. Mr. James T. Short,
Bedlington Colliery, Bedlington.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members—
Mr. Joseph Thompson, M.E , Manvers Main Colliery, Rotherham.
Mr. Peter W. Pickup, M.E., Dunkenhalgh Collieries, Accrington, Lancashire.
Mr. John Greener, Albion Mines, Nova Scotia.
72 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. Keginald WlGRAM, Steam Plough Works, Leeds.
Mr. John H. Cox, 10, St. George's Square, Sunderland.
Mr. George Franks, M.E., Victoria Garesfield, near Blaydon.
Mr. George Charlton, Washington Colliery, County of Durham.
Students—
Mr. Arthur C. Mann, Seaham Colliery, Seaham Harbour.
Mr. Edward Aubohe Potter, Cramlington House, Northumberland.
Mr. G. A. Lebour, F.G.S., read the following paper:—On the " Little
Limestone and its accompanying Coal in South Northumberland."
THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 73
- *'
ON THE "LITTLE LIMESTONE" AND ITS ACCOMPANYING COAL IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
By G. A. LEBOUR, F.G.S. London and Belgium, F.R.G.S., <fcc.
The coals of the Carboniferous Limestone series in the North of England must
eventually acquire a much greater commercial importance than they have
hitherto had. As the Coal-measure seams become exhausted, the thinner and
inferior, but by no means always bad, coals of the West of Durham and
Northumberland will be sought after and worked ; and the writer ventures to
say, that it will be found that they are more numerous, thicker, and of
better quality than they are usually supposed to be. It is as a small
contribution to a more extended and accurate knowledge of these lower
carboniferous seams that this paper is brought before the Institute. It is
based entirely on personal observation and on authoritative documents, and
so far as it goes, may, it is hoped, be found useful in future
investigations.
The coal seams in the Carboniferous Limestone are too numerous to be all
mentioned here, and many of them are too unimportant for detailed notice ;
they can, however, be conveniently divided into five, groups (as far as the
southern half of the county is concerned), which for convenience are named
as follows in ascending order :—
1. The Lewisburn Coal Group.
2. The Plashetts Do.
3. The Redesdale Do.
4. The Shilbottle Do.
5. The Acomb Do.
It is with the most important seam of the last, or Acomb group, that the
writer is now engaged. In a former paper,* he gave a brief account of the
third group.
The position of each seam in the series of shales, sandstones, and
limestones of every thickness, which constitute the Carboniferous Lime-
* Trans. N. of England Inst. Min. Engineers, XXII., p. Ill, 1873.
VOL. XXIV.—1874.
K
74 THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
stone series in the North of England, is best determined by ascertaining its
relation to some well-known or easily-traced bed of limestone, either above
or below it. By coal miners in the west this is so well understood that in
many cases the seam takes the name of its " guiding" limestone. Thus the
coal seam about to be described is often known as the " Little Limestone
coal." This "Little Limestone" is a very constant stratum, recognizable over
a large extent of country, from the Alston mining district to Coquetdale,
and no doubt still further north, Plate XIY. In Westgarth Forster's section*
it is described as being the second limestone of his " Lead Measures," the
first being the " Fell-top Limestone," and the third the " Great Limestone."
This arrangement holds good for a great portion of the south-westerly extent
of these beds, but on reaching the Tyne a great change is discoverable ;
not, it is true, in their relative positions, which are tolerably constant
throughout their known course, but in the appearance, between the "Fell-top"
and the "Little "limestones, of three other calcareous beds, quite as
important in thickness and in quality as the best of our Northumbrian
limestones. The writer does not know these interpolated beds south of
Corbridge, but from that place to as far north as the Wansbeck at least,
they form conspicuous characteristics in the geological features of the
country—more especially is this the case with the two upper beds, which
appear to be more constant than the third . and lowest one. The latter
varies exceedingly in thickness, from twenty-five to five or six feet in
three or four miles in some places. This putting in of additional limestones
in a well-known series has been, probably, the cause of much of the
misapprehension which has often prevailed with regard to the identity of the
beds below them. The three limestones in question are well seen in the
neighbourhood of Belsay, where the upper two are, or have been, largely
quarried—the highest in the South Park, and the next in the North Park ; the
third and lowest is very thin here, but can be seen cropping out in the
Belsay Burn, west of the park, just south of the Military Boad ; however,
near Matfen Moor, this bed is fairly thick, and has been quarried. Before
leaving the subject of these, so to speak, extra limestones, the occurrence
of two thin seams of coal, in connexion with them, should be mentioned, with
the continuity of which the writer is not acquainted; both have been worked,
however, on a small scale—the upper one, about twenty inches thick, and
lying immediately below the second of these limestones, at the Callow Hill
Quarry, near Bolam, and the lower, about eighteen inches
* "A Treatise on a Section of the Strata," etc., by Westgarth Forster, 1821,
p. 165.
THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 75
thick, and about forty feetf below the third limestone, near the spot
mentioned above by the Belsay Burn.
A considerable but varying thickness of strata occurs between the lowest of
the intercalated limestones, and the " Little Limestone," not less than
1,250 feet in the Matfen and Inghoe district. The thickness between the
Fell-top and the Little, would here be about 1,450 feet. In the Alston
region this great mass is reduced to little more than 330 feet. This
important thickening of this set of beds, together with the addition of the
calcareous elements above described to the north-west, does not seem to have
been pointed out before ; but it agrees thoroughly with the gradual change
of the entire lower carboniferous series from south to north. Accompanying
this general thickening of the mass of strata above the " Little Limestone,"
there is a very obvious disproportion between the increase in thickness of
the shales and that of the sandstones, of which this mass consists :—in the
south-west, the total thickness of the sandstones is nearly equal to that of
the shales, the latter predominating slightly, while on the other hand to
the north-west, the shales form scarcely one-fourth of the entire mass. The
sandstones moreover grow more and more gritty to the north-west, and are in
places almost conglomerates. Thus at Inghoe Crags, Shafthoe Crags, and
Kothley Crags, quartz pebbles are commonly found in the coarse grit larger
than pigeons' eggs. Practically, indeed, from the Tyne to the Wansbeck the
beds overlying the "Little Limestone" may be considered as one great deposit
of sandstone, varying in texture from fine flagstones to the coarsest grit,
and divided by bands of shale of no great thickness. One seam of coal at
least there is in this series of grits, which in the Alston district is
about four feet thick, and lies about half-way down between the "Fell-top"
and the "Little Limestone," and which the writer is inclined to identify
with the Oakwood Coal of St. John Lee, and Fallowfield, with some little
doubt however. At the latter places the depth from the Oakwood coal to the "
Little Limestone" is about 260 feet.
In the district under consideration, which may be roughly defined as
extending from the South Tyne about Haltwhistle, to the Wansbeck about
Wallington, the grit series can be easily studied, dipping at a low angle to
east from the "Wansbeck to Matfen, thence bending round towards Stag-shaw
Bank, and (except in faulted areas for short distances) keeping a westerly
strike with a somewhat higher and southerly dip to beyond Blenkinsopp Castle
on the borders of Cumberland. The isolated Warden Hill, and the long slope
from the Eoman Wall to the Tyne extending from Acomb to Corbridge, are
formed of them, as are also (with a northerly
76 THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
strike) the broad areas between Matfen and Stamfordham, and between
Capheaton and Belsay. The whole range is marked by step-like lines of scarps
and crags, the escarpments of course all facing the west. Between Matfen and
Stamfordham the craggy nature of the series is least shown, owing to the old
valley of the Pont being filled up by a very considerable thickness of drift
clay and sand.
The "Little Limestone" is usually separated by a bed of shale from the
last-mentioned grits, the thickness of which shale varies from 8 to
occasionally over 30 feet. The limestone itself is very constant in its
thickness, being 9 feet at Alston, 9 to 13 feet at Blanchland on the
Derwent, 16 feet at Acomb, 17 feet at Matfen, and 16 feet at Inghoe.
Considering the distance, these variations are very insignificant, but even
with regard to this bed, the rule seems to hold of new beds wedging in .
towards the north for, as will be seen in the sections in Plate XV., a thin
parting of shale makes its appearance in the Stagshaw Bank section, which
gradually increases in the Matfen section, and in the two given of the
Fenwick borings. The character of the limestone is that of the average
fairly good calcareous beds of the district; it is seldom burned for
agricultural purposes, but is frequently quarried for road metal. It is of a
blueish grey colour when newly fractured, and weathers a reddish brown, but
not so red as many of the other limestones. In the Alston district, it has
been found very productive of lead, but the author is not aware that north
of the Tyne this has ever been in any degree its character, unless it be so
to a very limited extent at Fallowfield, where it reaches its greatest
measured thickness, 18 feet. The line of outcrop of this limestone . is so
intimately connected with that of its accompanying coal, that the range of
both will be considered together after describing the characteristics of the
latter. Immediately below the " Little Limestone " in the Alston district,
comes a shale some 20 feet thick which is, however, anything but constant;
in the Derwent district it dwindles to 2 or 3 feet, it is absent altogether
at Bardon Mills, is represented by about 25 feet of "grey beds" or
arenaceous shale at Acomb, thinning to 12 feet at Fallowfield main shaft,
and to scarcely a foot of shale a mile further ; at Stagshaw Bank Colliery
it is replaced by a sandstone 8 feet, with a shale below it 7 feet thick ;
at Matfen it has again disappeared altogether, but it reappears a little to
the north-west as a slowly increasing band of shale in the Fenwick sections
; at Inghoe it is 45 feet thick.
Below this shale in the Alston section there is the upper seam of the
"Little Limestone Coal,"about 3 feet thick; at Shieldon, Bardon Mills, and
Matfen, it lies directly below the limestone ; in the other sections given
THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 77
it lies below the shale as at Alston or below its representative, the
distance between the limestone and the coal varying from nothing to 30 feet.
This top seam is, it is believed, invariably present in the south-western
sections, and as far north and east as Bardon Mills at least. It is absent
at Acomb as a separate bed, and likewise at the westernmost Fallowfield
section ; thence it is again found separate at the second section near that
place, at Stagshaw Bank and at Matfen; at Fenwick, Inghoe, and as far north
as the writer knows it, it is absent.
Except at Matfen, where a shale bed underlies it, the top seam is succeeded
either by sandstone or by that arenaceous kind of laminated rock known by
sinkers as " Grey beds ;" the arrangement at each place will be seen by
referring to the sections in Plate XV. The thickness of these intermediate
beds varies from nothing (as at Acomb, Fallowfield shaft, and Fenwick), to
about 25 feet (as at Stagshaw Bank).
The lower seam, where it is separated from the upper, is in some cases (as
in the Alston district) thinner than it, but it thickens a little to the
north-east, when it is generally about double the thickness of the top coal,
as at Bardon Mills, Stagshaw Bank, and Matfen. Where the top coal is absent
as such the thickness of the lower seam is much increased as at Acomb and
Fallowfield ; west of the latter place, however, where the top coal is
present as a separate seam, the bottom seam is divided by five or six feet
of shale into two parts, the lowest of which is the thinnest. This is the
only place the writer knows at which three seams are found on this horizon,
though such an arrangement may very probably obtain elsewhere.
There are two ways of accounting for the various relative positions and
thicknesses of the seams : the one being that the top coal is an independent
bed frequently thinning out altogether for a space and reappearing. Although
this opinion may be held by some, yet it is submitted that a glance at the
sections placed in juxtaposition, as in the diagram, will show that the real
explanation is that the "Little Limestone Coal" as a whole, is split into
two seams very usually, and into three seams sometimes by the intercalation
of beds of shale and sandstone of no great thickness. That this is so is
supported by the fact that where the seams are separate the sum of their
thickness is pretty nearly equal to the thickness of the seam where it is
single. Unfortunately no sections are known which show any of the actual
points of junction of the upper and lower portions of the seam.
It does not come within the purposes of this paper to describe in detail the
beds lying below the " Little Limestone Coal," between it and
78 THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NOETHUMBEELAND.
the well-known " Great Limestone," bnt it should be noted that the thickness
of these beds is quite as variable as that of those above, perhaps more so.
Among these beds shale greatly predominates in almost every locality known
to the writer, the chief member being a bed of black shale which immediately
overlies the " Great Limestone," and which is very well developed and
exposed in the large Fourstones quarries. Above this shale-bed, between it
and the coal is, in the Acomb and Haydon Bridge districts at least, a thin
bed of limestone which, where it is known, may serve as a guide to the coal.
This little stratum was pointed out to the writer for the first time by Mr.
Benson, of Allerwash, and might be very easily overlooked, as it is too thin
to form a feature on the surface, and very few pit sections or borings range
to below the coal. The only places where the writer has seen this limestone
are the bed of the South Tyne, below Allerwash, and that of Silly Burn, on
the north side of the main river east of Haydon Bridge.
The run of the outcrop of the " Little Limestone" and its coal is not
difficult to trace in the district to which these remarks refer. From
Blenkinsopp to Beamwham (faults of no very great throw being here unnoticed)
the strike is nearly east and west, near the latter place a large fault,
having a very considerable downthrow to the west, throws these beds up to
the south side of the South Tyne, whence the dip and the shape of the valley
bring them once more on the north or left bank, just at the east end of
Haydon Bridge ; thence to a little below Allerwash the outcrop keeps clear
notwithstanding large accumulations of clay and gravel. At the latter place
the beds are exposed by the river, which they cross, and with a
gently-curved line on the south side come once more, for the last time, to
the north bank at Fourstones. From Fourstones, skirting the northern flank
of Warden Hill, the crop wends its way, crossing the North Tyne close to
Wall Mill, following the base of Wall Crags, and reaching the Military Eoad
at Planetree. Just north of St. Oswald's chapel our line is stopped by a
dyke of basalt, which, being a filled-up fault, throws the beds up to the
east some 50 feet; this brings the " Little Limestone" on to the road again,
where it forms a great spread running to the south (the ground being here a
dip-slope) between the whin-dyke and Hill Head ; at the latter place a small
fault running at right angles to the dyke again throws the beds a little up
to the east, that is still more south of the road, between Coldlaw and
Greenfield ; the strike now begins slightly to bend to the north-east, and
the "Little Limestone" is again brought on to the Roman road, where it forms
another spread along the western side of the Great Fallowfield vein, which
THE LITTLE LIMESTONE IN SOUTH NOETHUMBEELAND. 79
¦ #• is here nearly at an end both as to length and throw.* This vein or
fault
throws down to the east, and the outcrop of both coal and limestone now runs
a little south of east (but with a S.S.E. dip) between Grottington and
Stagshaw Bank. A little to the east of the toll-bar a fault again throws up
the limestone to the south side of the road at Halton Shields, where it is
largely quarried, and half a mile further yet another fault, with a throw
the reverse of the last, throws the beds down to the east due south of Great
Whittington. Here the dip is south-easterly, and as it very soon changes to
almost due east, the strike from this point may be said to be due north as
far as the Wansbeck. The outcrop through this district is, as has been
noticed previously, very well marked, lying as it does at the foot of the
bold encarpment of the overlying grits, which are rarely interrupted in that
distance. No fault of importance crosses its path, and one basaltic
whin-dyke only slightly throws it down to the north-west, about a mile south
of Capheaton. The amount of dip between the Pont and the Wansbeck is on an
average about four degrees or less, seldom rising to five degrees, and not
unfrequently being not more than three degrees.
The "Little Limestone" and its coal are both of them known in that portion
of South Northumberland which lies to the south of the Tyne, but the writer
has purposely abstained from entering into that part of the subject, as he
would have been unable to speak authoritatively with regard to it, his
acquaintance with that much-faulted and very difficult part of the country
being but limited.
He has thought it unnecessary to give the range of the strata described in a
map as this will be found delineated with great care in the published maps
of the Geological Survey. However, such diagrammatic horizontal sections
have been given as may help to a clearer view of the strati-graphical
relations of these higher beds of the Lower Carboniferous series as they
appear in a large portion of Northumberland.
Besides the local details which, however dry and uninteresting, will it is
hoped be found valuable by mining men, the chief points which the writer has
endeavoured to bring forward in this paper are :—1st. The exact position of
the " Little Limestone" and its coal with regard to the
* This crossing and recrossing of the site of the Eoman way by the " Little
Limestone" has puzzled former observers who were unable to make an extended
examination of the country to the north and couth. Thus the late Mr. George
Tate, in his " Geology of the Eoman Wall," appended to Dr. Bruce's
magnificent work, has mistaken the reappearances of this limestone for the
outcrops of different successive beds, and he has drawn them as such in the
map which accompanies his memoir.
80 DISCUSSION ON THE LITTLE LIMESTONE.
"Fell-top Limestone" on the one hand and the "Great Limestone" on the other.
2nd. The great thickening of the mass of beds lying above the "Little
Limestone" which takes place from south to north and is accompanied by the
interpolation of at least three new beds of limestone which are unknown in
the Alston district, and by an increase in the coarseness of the grits
themselves. 3rd. The division of the "Little Limestone Coal" commonly into
two and occasionally into three seams.
The Chaieman said, he would be glad to hear any remarks on that very
interesting paper.
Mr. T. J. Bewick said, it must be satisfactory to the members of the
Institute to find a gentleman in Mr. Lebour's position, coming forward to
give information, and aid them in their investigations into the geological
features of the district. Mr. Lebour, he believed, up to a recent date, had
opportunities which few of them enjoyed, and had been at liberty to go where
he chose and leisurely scan the ground. It was rarely the lot of any of
them, as mining engineers, to have that opportunity, and, therefore, Mr.
Lebour was what might be called a link between one professional man and
another j and, personally, he was extremely glad that Mr. Lebour had come
forward with that paper. Parts of the district and the coal seam to which
Mr. Lebour referred, were well known to him, and with most of what Mr.
Lebour had said, he entirely agreed. It was not -a remarkably uniform bed of
coal; for, as Mr. Lebour had mentioned, it was occasionally divided, and not
unfrequently was very puzzling to those who had to develope it. The same
thing occurred with reference to the other strata to which Mr. Lebour had
alluded, which were found, in one part, thickening, and, in other cases,
thinning and dividing, and until a series was obtained, or perhaps one or
two beds of different rocks which could be well identified, it was most
difficult to recognise them. He had, at that moment, in his own experience,
a case in that very field, in which he could not say he was quite satisfied
that he knew in what bed of limestone he was working. The investigations of
Mr. Lebour were probably extended to fields beyond his (Mr. Bewick's)
observation, and, therefore, perhaps he would be able to define it better
than he (Mr. Bewick) could do. So far as he had been able to make out these
several rocks, even the " Great Limestone" itself, which was one of our most
uniform beds, he knew from actual experience, were divided in the northern
part of the field. In Alston Moor, in Allendale and Weardale, in
Teesdale,
DISCUSSION ON THE LITTLE LIMESTONE. 81
and into Yorkshire, it was one uniform bed, seldom less than nine fathoms,
and rarely, if ever, more than twelve fathoms thick, and, therefore, a bed,
which of all others, could be traced, and it had a peculiarity in it which
few of the others possessed, and that was, that at about 20 or 24 feet from
its top, there was what was called the " black bed," a stratum of shale.
This applied with remarkable exactness over the field he mentioned ; but in
Tynedale, the same peculiarity does not occur; and his impression at that
moment was that this black bed, which was rarely more than two feet in the
lead-mining districts proper, increased in thickness north from Allendale.
At "Whitfield Hall, for instance, it was, he believed, about 20 or 24 feet;
perhaps Mr. Lebour could correct him if he was wrong, but certainly it was
more than 18 feet. Farther north, the thickness increased; and he should not
be surprised to find in Tynedale, that, in addition to the shale, there
might be sandstone, or what, in mining phraseology, may be called a grey
bed, which is an arenaceous shale. He thought they would find in Tynedale,
all round this very district which Mr. Lebour had described and illustrated,
that the great limestone of the lead-mining districts is divided, and does
not maintain the same characteristics which it has in Alston, Allendale,
Weardale, and Teesdale. He had had some opportunity of judging of these same
mountain limestone beds in the north, towards Little Mill, and in that
neighbourhood, and also in some of the intervening places, but he had not
traced them right through; yet he might say that he was - unable to
recognise the beds of Little Mill and those in Tynedale. Another point, he
might mention, occurred with reference to those same limestones further
south. In the southern part of Yorkshire, Wharfdale, and towards Skipton,
they are found just exactly the reverse of what occurs here. Here, in the
north, the shales and sandstones predominate; in the south, at the places he
had mentioned, the limestone does so. He believed he was correct in saying
that in the southern part of Wharfdale, in the neighbourhood of Coniston and
Kettlewell, there is a thickness of about 2,000 feet of limestone—almost
continuous—with mere films or thin divisions of shale. There was no doubt
these were the same limestones which are here, and which pass through all
the mining districts— the mountain or carboniferous limestone. There was a
gradual change in passing from one part of the island to another, although,
geologically, they were the same formation.
Professor Page said, that this gradual thickening of the carboniferous
limestone to the south and south-east, and its thinning and breaking up into
several beds to the north and north-west, had been long ago
VOL. XXIV.—1874,
t
82 DISCUSSION ONT THE LITTLE LIMESTONE.
noticed, as Mr. Bewick was aware, by Mr. Hull, who attributed the fact to
the deep sea water being to the south and south-east, while towards the
north and north-west, the shoal or shallow water was approached. Another
reason which Mr. Hull did not sufficiently allude to was, that in
Northumberland, and particularly in the Scotch coal-field, there were a
great many limestones occurring, interpolated and broken through by the
trap-rocks increasing to the north-west and north, showing that volcanic
action had been going on, interrupting the continuity of the calcareous
beds, while no change was taking place towards the south and south-east to
interrupt that continuity. Hence the sudden transition from a thick
limestone to a thin one, and from that to these thick shales, which made it
extremely puzzling to identify the beds, as he dared say both Mr. Lebour and
Mr. Bewick were well aware. In these various beds, however, whether five,
eight, or ten, there were certain fossil forms peculiar to each, and if
these were carefully examined, they would be found occurring in certain
beds, dying out, and from time to time re-appearing in other beds; and these
formed much better tests for distinguishing the limestones than any purely
lithological one. This was a very important fact, and he thought if Mr.
Lebour or Mr. Bewick were to devote close attention to the recurrence of
these special fossils in the various beds, there would be little difficulty
in identifying them, even at thirty or forty miles distance. There was
another point: he should have liked very much if Mr. Lebour had given some
information respecting the argillaceous nature of these limestones. They
were aware that Great Britain was now becoming a great cement-making
country. Cement is made from chalk and clay, an artificial mixture, while it
is very well known that in Scotland and Northumberland, there were many beds
of argillaceous limestone which required only to be burnt in peculiar kilns
and converted at once into hydraulic limestone. Within the last year, Stuart
and Co., of Edinburgh, had tried seven different varieties of the
argillaceous limestones of Scotland, and found them answer their purpose
equally well with the artificial cement, and they are now making a selenitic
mortar from the Scotch limestones, and not buying a single ounce of Portland
cement for their manufacture. It would be worth while, economically, to
direct attention to the argillaceous nature of these limestones—for many
were highly argillaceous—to see how far they would be found to be adapted
for hydraulic cement instead of falling back on artificial mixtures such as
is the practice on the banks of the Tyne.
Mr. Lebour said, with regard to the power of these limestones to be used for
cement, he might say that some of the upper limestones had been
DISCUSSION ON THE LITTLE LIMESTONE. 83
tried ; he did not know whether this Little Limestone had been, but the
Great Limestone had been tried and found wanting altogether without
admixture. But when the lower series are reached many of the limestones are
very well adapted for cement making, especially those of the Calciferous
Sandstone or Tuedian series. There are, doubtless, a large number of these
argillaceous limestones, which no doubt make very good cement, but the
limestone which was the special subject of this paper had never, he thought,
been tried in that respect, nor did he think its argillaceous character was
sufficiently marked to make it yield good cement.
Mr. Bewick might mention, that he believed Mr. Benson, of Four-stones, was
at this moment erecting cement works with a view to utilize some part of the
products which he had at that place, and which consisted of limestone,
sandstone, and shale. What Mr. Benson's plans were, he did not know ; but he
was erecting a very large manufactory at Fourstones, and he believed with
this object. If even these limestones exist in a state in which they can be
converted into cement, they would not be commercially valuable, unless near
a railway.
The Chairman asked if any other member had any remark to make ? If not, he
hoped they would pass a vote of thanks to Mr. Lebour for his paper, and then
adjourn the discussion until the next meeting.
The vote of thanks was then put and carried unanimously.
Mr. T. J. Bewick read the following paper on "A Project for supplying
Newcastle-upon-Tyne and other Towns and Villages in Tyne-dale with Water
from the Northumberland Lakes District."
PROJECT FOK SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE WITH WATER. 85
A PROJECT FOR SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, GATESHEAD, AND OTHER TOWNS AND
VILLAGES IN TYNE-DALE WITH WATER FROM THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES DISTRICT.
By T. J. BEWICK.
The interest recently created and the consideration necessarily given to the
question of an adequate supply of pure water to this and other towns in
Tynedale may be deemed sufficient reasons for the introduction of such a
matter to the members of this Institute.
It is admitted that to secure cleanliness, maintain health, and add to the
wants and comforts of the people, especially when collected in large masses,
an ample and constant supply of good wholesome water is absolutely
necessary, and it is not denied that this and other towns, and the populous
districts by which they are surrounded, are in need of additional sources of
supply.
With these points, therefore, as well as regards the merits of other
projects, existing or otherwise, having the same object in view, it is not
the writer's intention to interfere, confining himself as much as possible
to facts and simply describe the engineering circumstances of the project
submitted for consideration, which is now pretty well known as the "
Northumberland Lakes Scheme."
In the western part of this county, lying between the North and South Tyne
rivers, and distant from Newcastle, in a direct line, about thirty miles,
are the Northumberland Lakes, the three principal being Greenlee Lough,
Broomlee Lough, and Crag Lough, Plate XYI. The remarkable ' configuration of
the ground at each of these places renders it well adapted for the easy
formation of storage reservoirs of large capacity, and at an elevation
commanding the whole valley of the Tyne, as well as Carlisle and towns to
the west.
86 PROJECT FOR SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE WITH WATER
The natural drainage area of the lakes is limited to about six-and-a-half
square miles, but by a system of catchwaters no less than sixty square miles
of gathering ground is available, and even this is capable of augmentation.
The gathering ground extends into Cumberland, and comprises the upper
portions of the rivers Irthing and Tippald on the west, and Warks Burn-head
on the east, Plate XVII.
This area is exclusively in the geological formation, known as the
carboniferous or mountain limestone, which here consists of a series of
beds, alternating with more or less regularity of order, of sandstone shale
and limestone, with an occasional thin seam of coal, which, with one or two
exceptions, are unworkable, and even when so, to an extremely limited
extent. The prevailing rocks are sandstone and grits, which are estimated to
comprise sixty-six per cent, of the whole surface strata, while the shales
may be taken at twenty-eight per cent., the limestone forming a small
proportion, not exceeding six per cent.
A considerable proportion of the area has a surface covering of peat, but
there is a total absence of towns, villages, hamlets, manufactories, and
mines, other than the coal workings before referred to, and which, except
that it is desirable to put all the facts before you, are scarce worthy of
mention.
There are within this gathering ground only thirty-two places of habitation,
and the entire population thereon cannot exceed 200, being 3^rd persons to
each square mile.
One of the most important elements of consideration, in selecting a drainage
area, is its rain-fall. In this case there are not, according to the
published records known to me, any gauges, and we are therefore driven to
draw comparisons.
Rain-fall, upon which all calculations in such cases are based, is more or
less influenced by elevation, and taking the nearest stations of which
records are published, and altitudes ranging between 600 and 2,000 feet,
which is 160 feet below the lowest (760 feet), and 300 feet above the
highest (1,700 feet) point within the limits of the proposed gathering
ground, we have the following, viz. :—
PROM THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES DISTRICT. 87
__
Eain Fall, as per Mr, Symons' Returns.
Altitude________________________________________
Name of Station. above
Average.
Sea. 1869. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873.
Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches.
Wolfelee ......... 604 40-57 33-50 37-30 57'04
39-29 41-54
Kielder ......... 673 ...... 43-67 64-67
45-74 51-36
Gunnerton Burn ... 676 29-90 ... 29-24
44-57 25*26 32-24
Byrness ......... 700 34-35 28-12 ... 54-21
... 38-89
Kirkton ......... 759 29-60 25-30 31-00 52-80
35-60 34-86
Saughtree......... 760 ...... 39-76 60-18 42-03
47-32
Green Crag ...... 800 30-59 ... 31-49
45-82 27-13 33-76
Dean Head, No. 1 ... 800 ......... 50-06 ...
50-06
Dean Head, No. 2 ... 800 ......... 49-87 ...
49-87
Borthwickbrae...... 800 44-10 29-40 37-80 60-00
40-90 42-44
Whitfield......... 806 45-84 ............ 45-84
Riccarton ......... 853 ......... 63-38 48-17
55-77
Allenheads......... 1,353 54-44 44-27 ... 65-86
36"64 50-30
Deadwater......... 2,000 50-30 37-50 42-80 82-70
63-00 55-26
Mean......... 885 39-96 33-01 36-63 57-78 40-37
43-60
Thus an annual average gross rain-fall of 43*6 inches is arrived at; but
taking the year in which was the least, namely, 1870, 33 inches might be
considered as a minimum at an average elevation (including only the six
stations recorded that year) of 1,036 feet, which, it may be assumed, is the
mean height of the gathering ground.
Making the usual deductions for what runs to waste during floods, and for
compensation to mill-owners and others, and allowing for evaporation and
absorption, the gross fall of rain is reduced to a nett available fall of
nine inches, and this on a gathering ground of sixty square miles gives
7,841 million gallons per annum, or over twenty-one million gallons per day,
a quantity far in excess of the requirements of the entire population of
Tynedale.
These are the results derived from the gross drainage area of sixty square
miles shown on the plan, but of this forty-two square miles are commanded by
the formation of the catchwaters on the south-west side of the gathering
ground, and, assuming this only to be utilized, the result is, according to
the rain-fall of 1870, the driest of the last five years, &
88 PROJECT FOR SUPPLYING NEWCASTLE WITH WATER
total of 5,489 million gallons, or at the rate of fifteen million gallons
daily, sufficient of itself for 450,000 people.
Although the usual reduction for compensation to mill-owners is allowed, in
this case the number of mills and their importance are of such trifling
moment that probably the question might be met by the purchase of the mills
or the construction of compensation reservoirs, the cost in either case
being comparatively unimportant.
According to the census of 1871 the population of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was
128,443, and of Gateshead 48,627 ; and if to these is added the other towns
and districts extending from Hexham on the west to Tynemouth on the east on
the north side of the river ; and from Blaydon to Jarrow on the south, there
are probably at the present time, allowing for increase of population, not
less than 300,000 people requiring water, and that, in the year 1901, or
twenty-seven years hence, when the first census of the twentieth century is
taken, the population may be half-a-million.
For these numbers it is necessary to provide, or, at any rate, be prepared
for the larger figures, and, taking the consumption at thirty gallons per
head per day, the present requirements are nine million gallons, and by the
commencement of the next century we may calculate on a consumption of
fifteen million gallons daily.
Thus, allowing for 170 days continuous drought, it is necessary to provide
storage for 1,530 million gallons to meet the present requirements of the
population, and keep in view, as the necessities of our successors thirty
years hence, storage for 2,550 million gallons.
The Northumberland Lakes, enlarged as now proposed, are ample for the
purposes required, as is shown by the following figures, without taking into
account their present capacity, with which it is not proposed to interfere:—
Height Elevation Estimated Estimated
proposed to be ?„°!e bea. ot Area when Capacity when
raised. aSd raised- raised-
Feet. Eeet. Acres. Million
Gallons.
Greenlee Lough...... 80 761 ±64
3,000
Bromlee do....... 25 855 186
1,000
Crag do....... 20 800 68
350
Total ......... ... 718
4,350
The figures in the last column are approximate only, but the margin is so
large that they do not materially affect the question, and by raising
FROM THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES DISTRICT. 89
the embankments a few feet higher the capacity of each of the reservoirs may
be augmented to keep pace with the increase of population probably for
centuries to come.
The highest part of the district to be served may be taken as under 400 feet
above sea level, hence there is not any difficulty in supplying water by
gravity without the intervention of pumping machinery.
Greenlee Lough, as the most important of the three, is ample fcr present
requirements, and this, it is suggested, may be utilized in the first
instance, while, as need arises, Crag Lough and, eventually, Broomlee Lough
could be made available, and this at the mere cost of embankments and
connection with the canal or pipes, the elevation and position of the two
latter not rendering necessary other works.
The altitude of the storage ground being so much above all the points of
supply, renders it comparatively easy to deliver the water either into the
existing reservoirs of the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company, at
Hallington, which is 500 feet, or at the Whittle Dene Works, which are 400
feet above sea level; or, on the other hand, it may be taken direct to an
elevated point near Newcastle (say at Fenham), and there discharged into a
service reservoir at an altitude commanding the highest houses in the towns
proposed to be supplied.
By way of epitome it may be explained that the first works contemplated
comprise :—
1.—Catchwaters on the south-west side of the gathering ground about fourteen
miles in length.
2.—(a) An embankment across the valley west of Greenlee Lough for
impounding, say, 3,000 million gallons of water therein, (b) A short
embankment at the east end of Crag Lough, by which about 350 million gallons
of water may be impounded at that place.
3.—A tunnel between Greenlee and Crag Loughs about one mile in length.
4.—A channel for conveying the water from the lastly-described work to
Hallington, Whittle Dene, or Newcastle. To the first the length would be
fifteen miles, to the second sixteen miles, and to the last
thirty-and-a-half miles. This channel would be partly formed as an open or
covered aqueduct, to save long circuits on the contour there would probably
be two or three short tunnels, and the remainder would be cast iron piping.
Of the latter the principal part would be in crossing North Tyne river,
where about three miles of piping would be needed. With this exception the
entire distance to the point of discharge into the Whittle Dene Works would
be accomplished by a channel having a uniform fall of eight or
VOL. XXIV.-18M.
M
90 DISCUSSION ON SUPPLY OF WATER TO NEWCASTLE
ten feet per mile. If the water was conveyed direct to Newcastle twelve
miles of additional piping would be required from Matfen Piers to
Fenham.
The cost of the works contemplated in this project it is impossible to
estimate with any degree of exactness without correct plans, sections, and
other data, which to prepare would necessarily occupy much time and incur
considerable expense.
Approximately, however, it may be taken that, to store and deliver into the
existing works an abundant supply of water to meet the requirements for some
years to come, £150,000 would cover everything, but to continue the piping
to Fenham, and thus secure a constant high pressure service, a further sum
of £130,000 may be reckoned upon as necessary.
Not having an analysis of the water the quality is not attempted to be
described. That it is peat-stained in floods is a fact, but inasmuch as it
is derived from a gathering ground where the rocks are favourable, where
mines and manufactories do not exist, and where, from the sparse-ness of
population and the absence of cultivation, contamination from these causes
is absent, it will bear comparison with almost any water, abundant in
quantity, in the United Kingdom.
The Chairman said, they were very much obliged to Mr. Bewick for this
important paper, and they would be glad to hear the remarks of any
member present.
Mr. Bewick, in answer to Professor Page, said that 33 inches was the lowest
fall in the last five years gaugings, as was shown by the tabulated form,
and that in his opinion there was no likelihood of any great drainage or
improvement of the land there for agricultural purposes, or the cutting down
of any woods which might exist, within, perhaps, the next forty or fifty
years that would in any way lessen the rain-fall. He could not say
exactly what was the nature of the surface he proposed to use as a gathering
ground, because he had not walked over every point where he proposed to put
catchwaters, but he knew the ground generally, and felt sure it would not
have a tendency to pollute the water. If there was peat it would have to
be cleared away till a sufficient foundation was reached, or the catchwater
would be lined with masonry and, if necessary, cemented. There was very
little cover upon the rock on the south side, and the peculiar formation was
caused, as probably Dr. Page knew, by the presence of the whin sill which
crops out along the line of the Roman "Wall. All
FROM THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES DISTRICT. 91
the different strata there, and also.<*m the north side, are at a high angle
rising to the north, and form a series of ridges and depressions at right
angles to the beds—in fact, a series of steps or stairs. The rock crops out
at the surface on the south side, forming an escarpment more or less steep ;
but on the north side, and at the west end of Greenlee Lough, there is
alluvial or peat land.
Professor Page said, this was a very important consideration. In several
American water-works where they had extended the area of lakes, they had
given rise to a new growth of aquatic vegetation, which had been the means
of polluting water which was otherwise pure; and this was always to be taken
into account in extending the area of any lakes. Then it was not only the
growth of aquatic and marshy plants that had to be guarded against, but as
these flourished, the growth of entomostraca and other minute animalcules
increased, and those had a tendency very much . to pollute any water supply.
If the new ground over which Mr. Bewick proposed to extend these lakes be
of this character, it would have a very injurious effect upon the ultimate
quality of the water. In one instance, in America, so numerous did
entomostraca become, that they had absolutely to empty the reservoir, and to
excavate five or seven feet out of the bottom soil in order to get quit of
the nidus, which gave rise to the aquatic growth, and animalculse. It had
been proposed by many civil engineers to put screens to screen off these
living creatures, which were very minute, to prevent them passing through
into the water pipes ; but while living animalculas could be screened off,
there was no means of screening off the decayed animalculEe which gave rise
to a peculiar fishy kind of oil. Then with regard to peat: he was strongly
of opinion from having examined a good many water-works, that peaty water
was not injurious to that extent which was generally supposed. They would
observe that peaty water arose from dead and mineralized vegetation, the
injurious effects of which had long since been discharged. It was only
the solution from decaying vegetation they had to guard against, and not
peat; so that he would not be deterred from this scheme even although the
water had a peaty discolouration. The colouring matter was harmless, and
could be got rid of by filtration.
Mr. Bewick said, in reply io Professor Page, there was no doubt that in
proposing to take this increased area it was of consequence to ascertain to
the quantity of peat and vegetable matter within the limits to be covered by
water. But he might say that it was the practice of water engineers to
absolutely remove from the bed of the reservoir which they intended to be
used for water for domestic purposes all vegetable and
92 DISCUSSION ON SUPPLY OF WATER TO NEWCASTLE
other objectionable matter either on to the bank or to the outside of the
lake altogether, so that the water might rest entirely upon the sand, clay,
rock, or whatever might be there, and be perfectly free from vegetable or
animal contamination. The observations of Dr. Page with reference to peaty
water were, he believed, borne out by every chemist and engineer of the day.
It was true that peaty water was objectionable to the eye; but he was
advised by those who had gone fully into the matter that with this exception
there was nothing deleterious about it. He believed that if they searched
all the schemes which had been proposed, from Mr. Bateman's for supplying
London from the Welsh Hills downwards, they would not find a single case in
which more or less peat had not been ascertained to exist in the water which
it was proposed to utilize ; and the celebrated Loch Katrine works
themselves, which were held up as a pattern, and he believed deservedly so,
were supplied by peaty water. It was stated by Mr. Bateman and others, who
were competent to form an opinion from their large experience in these
matters, that by storing this water in the reservoir for a considerable
length of time, or in the course of passing it through a long canal, a great
deal of this discolouration might disappear either by settlement or by some
chemical action ; and that therefore this water, on being delivered at a
town a long distance off, like Glasgow from Loch Katrine, which was about
thirty miles distant, was not so objectionable even to the sight as when
first collected in the reservoirs.
Prof. Page—To make an artificial foundation or artificial ground, would add
very materially to the expense of increasing the area of these lakes ?
Mr. Bewick said, he did not propose to form an artificial foundation: he
proposed to do what was always done. Eeservoirs were formed on moorlands,
amidst heather, peat, and plantations; but no engineer of position would
allow any part of those reservoirs to be filled and utilized with water for
domestic purposes with this vegetable matter upon it. What he did was to
clear off and remove it outside of the reservoir altogether 5 and he would
not call that making an artificial foundation, it was the natural
foundation, the artificial matter having been removed.
Prof. Page said, there was another question: leading the water from these
lakes into the Whittle Dene or Hallington reservoirs, would require several
tunnels and embankments. The embankments would not pollute the water or
interfere with its purity as it flowed from the lake ; but if it had to pass
through tunnels, and those tunnels were
FROM THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES DISTRICT. 93
not bricked or concreted, and so orr,*the passing water might be receiving
supplies from calcareous or chalybeate, or sulphuretted springs, which might
interfere very much with the purity of the water as it was ultimately
discharged into the Whittle Dene and Hallington reservoirs. He did not know
if this was a question which Mr. Bewick had looked at.
Mr. Bewick said in this case, the only tunnel of any moment was from the
Green Lee Lough ; and this would pass almost entirely through sandstones and
shales. As he mentioned in his paper, there were two or three short tunnels
to avoid long contours, but these were comparatively insignificant. From his
experience in mining works, in tunnels and drifts, he did not think that any
quantity of water could get into any tunnel proposed by him, or even a
longer tunnel, that could preceptibly affect the large quantity of water
which was being taken through such tunnel. Should they get any calcareous
matter, it would be so minute as not to affect it. The strata was such that
there would not be anything to contaminate the large body of water flowing
through the tunnels.
Professor Page said he only made this observation, because in the great St.
Mary's Loch scheme, at Edinburgh, they had to pass through several miles of
soft schists, in which were the Moffat waters ; and if any large solution of
sulphuretted hydrogen or copper were to be found in drinking water it would
be very objectionable ; and the question was whether Mr. Bewick's scheme
would pass through strata which might throw any mineral impurity into the
water.
Mr. Bewick—Not in this particular case. There is not any schist, and he was
not aware of even a Gilsland spa in this neighbourhood; neither did he think
that there was anything that would affect it. But at any rate, taking again
the example so often referred to, the Loch Katrine works, there they had a
large number of tunnels, which he believed were partly driven through the
schist and primitive rocks.
Professor Page—Chiefly through the trap-rocks.
Mr. Bewick—But he was not aware that there was contamination, nor had he
ever heard of any contamination arising from water conveyed to towns through
tunnels. It might be, but he thought it would be so very small indeed,
considering the large quantity of water that had to be passed through, that
if even all the Moffat springs were put into the nine millions of gallons of
water passing through this tunnel per day, it would he thought be so
extremely small, as to be perfectly inappreciable at the end. He saw the
force of Dr. Page's observation, and was obliged to him for mentioning it.
94 DISCUSSION ON SUPPLY OP WATER TO NEWCASTLE
Mr. Lebour said, it might be worth while mentioning that some time ago, on
hearing of this scheme for the first time, he went into the question of the
rain-fall of the district; and from all the information he could then get—of
course from quite independent sources—he came to the conclusion that about
35 inches would be about the average. But since that time there had been
some bad years which would lower the average. This seemed to confirm what
Mr. Bewick had said.
Mr. Bewick said, as already explained, he had taken the driest of the last
five years ; and if he had taken, what was not uncommon with hydraulic
engineers, the three driest consecutive years, it would have given
considerably more than he put it, inasmuch as the driest three consecutive
years would have been—in 1869, 39*96 ; in 1870, 88;01 ; and in 1871, 36"63.
They would then have had something like 36 to 37 inches instead of 33 ; so
that he did not think he had exaggerated the case. He would be very sorry to
do so. He had endeavoured, if possible, to keep within rather than beyond
the mark. If any gentleman had experience in the rain-fall of these hills,
perhaps he would enlighten the members and state what his views were. He
believed he was quite within the mark. He thought the actual realization
would be, even in the very driest years, an excess of what he had stated.
The Chairman thought that until the paper was published they should adjourn
the discussion, and, probably, by that time he would have something to say
about it.
Mr. J. M. Eedmayne would like to make one remark. The Chairman, being a
member of the Tyneside Naturalists Field Club, would be aware that, when
they went in search of animalculas, they were recommended first and foremost
to go to these loughs ; and this had always been a stumbling block with him
in this water question, and he was afraid that even although a large
quantity of this soil and the vegetation about it might be removed, still
the water must deserve the same reputation it enjoys at present.
The Chairman would make one more remark. He was sorry he could not concur in
the remarks as to the wholesomeness of peat water. They were always
cautioned by the gamekeepers when they went shooting to beware of peaty
water, and he knew that it was not very wholesome. He could not conceive
that any drainage from peat soil could be made wholesome by allowing it to
stand in a reservoir for any length of time. The thick part of the
contamination might be separated, but that which was dissolved would remain.
Any other remarks he Would reserve till
FROM THE NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES DISTRICT. 95
the next meeting. He simply*'had now to propose a vote of thanks to Mr.
Bewick for his paper.
The motion was carried unanimously.
The following paper by Mr. Henry Aitken, on the " Description of Coking
Ovens, as erected at Almond Iron Works, near Falkirk, KB.," was considered
as read and ordered to be printed.
The meeting then concluded.
COKING OVENS AT ALMOND IRON WORKS. 97
n 0
DESCRIPTION OF COKING OYENS AS ERECTED AT ALMOND IRON WORKS, NEAR FALKIRK,
KB.
By HENRY AITKEN.
The object of this paper is to describe these ovens and the results obtained
from them, and not to treat of coking generally. Nor will they be compared
with other ovens, except in so far as may be unavoidable. The ovens will be
described and the results given, while those interested will be left very
much to draw comparisons for themselves.
The drawings show three ovens of the new type, the novelty of which consists
in forcing either heated or cold air into the space above the upper surface
of the materials being coked so as to turn the gases and promote the coking
process.
Plate No. I. is the ordinary Beehive oven with the blast applied. A cross
section of the oven is shown on Plate XVIII. A is the chamber of the oven, B
the outlet for the gases, C the pipe round the top of the oven containing
the blast from the fan or other forcer, D D are the small air-holes for
admitting the air into the oven, and E is the doorway by which the coke is
drawn out. Fig. 2 shows to the right, a section of the air passages D
connecting with the pipe C, and to the left, a plan of the top of the oven.
The working of this oven is as follows :—
When the oven has been properly dried and heated, it is charged either
through the doorway E, or the outlet B, and so soon as the heat has evolved
and ignited sufficient gas, the blast is turned on and the air forced in
through the apertures D, and the blast is continued and regulated so long as
gas comes from the coal, the outlet B being partially closed, and the air
being regulated, so that the mixture of gas and air, till near the end of
the charge, shall always have in it some unconsumed carbon. The quantity of
air required is always largest at the beginning of the charge, and gradually
diminishes to the close. So soon as the gas is all evolved, the coke is
either allowed to cool down, or is watered out, and drawn.
Plate XIX. shows the novelty applied to horizontal through-and-
VOL. XXIV.—1874.
X
98 COKING OVENS AT ALMOND IRON WORKS.
through ovens, to enable the material to be drawn out with the engines or
cranes. Fig. 1 shows on the right a part longitudinal section. The letters
A, B, C, D, and E represent the same parts as in Plate XVIII. Fig. • 2 shows
a cross section of the same. Fig. 3 shows on the right a section of the top
of the oven at the air inlets, and on the left a plan of
the same.
The following are the results obtained in working the oven No. 1 (Beehive)
for about twelve months with the different coals specified :—
Average yield by Average yield of Retort, breezes Oven, free
from Loss,
included. breezes.
Blackbraes Semi-Caking Coal, free ]
from breezes, 17 charges conse-1 66-48 0/o 65-27 °/0
1-18 °/0
cutively ............I
Weardale Iron Co.'s Hedley Hill or 1
Medburn Coal, 14 charges con-1 73-94 ., 69-46 „
4-48 „
secutively ... ... ... ... J
Messrs. Newton & Chambers' Thorn-1
cliffe Coal, Staffordshire (Silkstone > 65-63,,
62-65 „ 2-98,,
seam), 4 charges consecutively ...) Watson's Binniehill (Scotch), splint |
T6-52 65*18 1-34
ground, 1 charge ... ... ... j
Do. Soft or Coxroad Seam, ground, } C8-75 65-19
3"56
2 charges consecutively ... ... )
The average charge put into the oven was 3 tons 4 cwts. of coal, and the
average time from charge to discharge 62 hours. With the same coal in
ordinary Beehive ovens, the time required is 80 hours. The time varied,
however, according to the nature of the different coals. The quality of the
coke produced is pronounced by all the parties who have seen it to be
first-class—equal to any made from the ordinary Beehive oven. The weighing
was done with the greatest care, and, with the exception of Blackbraes, the
weights were checked by representatives of the parties whose coal was being
coked, and may be depended upon as correct. The losses with Medburn coal and
Binniehill soft are exceptionally high, owing to the large amount of dirt in
them, causing a great quantity
of breezes.
The results from the oven No. 2 cannot be given in such detail as those from
No. 1, as the oven has only been for a few weeks in operation; but the
yields are equally good, and the amount of breezes less. The charge is about
the same, and the time taken rather less. The quality is even superior. At
present the oven is drawn by crane in the old-fashioned way, but it is
purposed to take it out with a large shovel, with or without sides, worked
by a steam engine or hydraulic machinery (Plate XX.)
COKING OVENS AT ALMOND IRON WORKS. 99
As the coal in coking shrinks about*an inch from each side of the oven, it
is thought no difficulty will arise in working in this way. The coal is also
to be charged by machinery.
It will be seen from the novelty adopted in these ovens that the temperature
maintained is very high, and that the gases as they leave the oven not being
charged with a great quantity of air can be utilized either for heating the
air or for driving the fans for the blast. Even after this is done there
should be a large surplus of available heat. With most coals, particularly
those of a dull, semi-coking or partly-burnt nature, hot blast is to be
preferred, but with a quick coal, cold blast does equally well. Although the
ovens are subjected to a high heat, it is not found that the brickwork
suffers. There being almost no waste of coke, and therefore almost no ashes
formed, there is no fluxing of the brickwork with the iron, lime, &c, of the
ashes as in ordinary ovens. Few coals have more tar in them than is required
to make good coke, but where such a coal is made into coke these tars may be
drawn off by a pipe or pipes at the bottom of the oven, the gas exit being
partially closed, and thereby creating pressure sufficient to force the
gases through the pipes. Several pailfulls of tar and ammoniacal water have,
in some cases, been taken from a single oven, but the quality of the coke
has always suffered.
Owing to the high heat got in these ovens, coal that could never be coked
before has been converted into good coke. The Plean Coal Company, near
Stirling, has four ovens of their No. 2 coal tried, from which they never
had been able to make coke, and the result was 66 per cent, of very fine
coke. With these ovens the coke may be watered out as in an ordinary Beehive
oven, and in this respect are unlike all descriptions of fined ovens where
the gases are burnt in chambers separate from the coal.
The only extra expense that would be incurred in adopting this novelty is
the cost of the pipes, fan, and engine. It is thought that one man could
attend to the fans and engine and the regulation of air to 100 ovens.
PROCEEDINGS. 101
- #•
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6th, 1875, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
J. T. RAMSAY, Esq., in the Chaie.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last General Meeting, and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were then elected :—
Members—
Mr. Joseph Thompson, M.E., Manvers Main Colliery, Rotherham.
Mr. Peter W. Pickup, M.E., Dunkenhalgh Collieries, Accrington, Lancashire.
Mr. John Greener, Albion Mines, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Reginald Wig-ram, Steam Plough Works, Leeds.
Mr. John H. Cox, 10, St. George's Square, Sunderland.
Mr. George Charlton, Washington Colliery, Co. Durham.
Mr. George Franks, M.E., Victoria Garesfield, near Blaydon-on-Tyne.
Students—
Mr. Arthur C. Mann, Seaham Colliery, Seaham Harbour.
Mr. Edward Aubone Potter, Cramlington House, Northumberland.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—¦
Members—
Mr. George Hall, South Garesfield Colliery, Lintz Green. Mr. William Page,
10, Grove Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr. William Foggin, Pensher Colliery,
Fence Houses. Mr. H. G. Bolam, Little Ingestre, Stafford. Mr. Emile Delgobe,
Royal Greek Iron Works, Wallsend.
VOL XXIV.—187S.
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102 PROCEEDINGS.
Students— Mr. J. M. Liddell, Nedderton, Northumberland. Mr. Robert Mundle,
Redesdale Mines, Bellingham. Mr. Henry Ayton, Seaton Delaval Colliery,
Dudley, Northumberland. Mr. Robert E. Ornsby, Seaton Delaval Colliery,
Dudley, Northumberland. Mr. Francis A. Pocock, Silks-worth Colliery,
Sunderland.
No papers were read.
PROCEEDINGS. 103
¦¦#•
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, MARCH 6th, 1875, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL
HALL.
E. P. BOYD, Esq., Past-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting, and reported the
proceedings of the Council. The following gentlemen were elected.
Members— Mr. George Hall, South Garesfield Colliery, Lintz Green. Mr.
William Page, 10, Grove Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr. William B^oggin,
Pensher Colliery, Fence Houses. Mr. H. G. Bolam, Little Ingestre, Stafford.
Mr. Emile Delgobe, Royal Greek Iron Works, Wallsend.
Students— Mr. J. M. Liddell, Nedderton, Northumberland. Mr. Robert Mundle,
Redesdale Mines, Bellingham. Mr. Henry Ayton, Seaton Delaval Colliery,
Dudley, Northumberland. Mr. R. E. Ornsby, Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley,
Northumberland. Mr. FRANCIS A. POCOCK, Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :__
Members— Mr. J. J. Reynolds, M.E., Leigh Road, Atherton, near Manchester.
Mr. George Southern, 17, Wentworth Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr. Matthew
Richardson, Jun., West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street. Mr. John
Simpson, West Stanley Colliery. Chester-le-Street,
The Secretary then read the following paper, entitled " The Present Form of
Marine Engine used in the Commercial Navy of Great Britain."
MARINE ENGINES. 105
tr
THE PRESENT FOEM OF MARINE ENGINE USED IN THE COMMERCIAL NAVY OF GREAT
BRITAIN.
By THTCO. WOOD BUNNING,
It was not until the successful adaptation of the screw by Smith, about the
year 1842, that steam could be fairly said to be in use in the Mercantile
Marine of this country. Paddle steamers, it is true, were used for
transporting passengers and cargoes for limited distances with considerable
success, but the screw soon showed its superiority over paddle-wheels for
ocean navigation, and a new era commenced. Steam ships, moderately but
effectively rigged, which could sail, as well as steam, and keep the sea in
heavy weather, began to be employed in taking cargoes long distances ; and
now screw steamers are fast becoming the recognised carriers of the ocean.
Paddle-wheel steamers, however, will always continue in use where
extraordinary speeds are required, or where the water to be navigated is too
shallow for the proper immersion of a propeller suitable to the size and
speed of the ship.
But for all the practical purposes of navigation, the screw has now proved
itself so superior to the paddle, and is so much more universally applied,
that the writer will confine his observations entirely to the present class
of engine used in screw steamers.
With the information now available, it seems strange that at first it was
judged necessary to employ spur gear to obtain the requisite number of
revolutions of screw, and the first forms of screw engines were either
oscillating or some other type that was then in use for paddle-wheel
engines.
The spur gearing employed was, of course, very ponderous. For 120 horse
power nominal, made by Messrs. John Penn and Son, of Greenwich, in 1845, for
the Queen's yacht, the spur wheel on the engine shaft was 9 feet 6 inches
diameter, and the pinion about 1 foot 11 inches ; the spur was geared with
hornbeam, its total width on the face was 20 inches, and there were three
sets of teeth 6 inches wide placed side by side, each set
106 MARINE ENGINES.
being placed in advance of the other by one third the amount of the pitch,
which was 3 inches. This arrangement was to prevent back lash as much as
possible. The pinion was of cast iron in three pieces, each piece keyed on
the propeller shaft, so that the teeth were in advance of each other to suit
those of the spur wheel.
It was soon seen that the screw ship was very superior to the paddle-wheel
steamer as a fighting vessel, especially as it was found practicable to
arrange the machinery horizontally, with no portion of either the engines or
boiler standing above the water line ; to a certain extent the horizontal
engine got introduced into the merchant navy at the same time.
The disadvantages attendant upon this form of engine, notably the extra
friction and wear caused by the weight of the pistons and rods upon the
lower surface of the cylinders, speedily caused it to be abandoned, except
in cases where it was absolutely necessary that the whole of the machinery
should be below the water line, and the upright form of engine became
finally that which was most usually employed.
Steam had not long been used as a motive power when the advantage of
expansion became apparent, and efforts were made in several directions to
extend the benefits to be derived from expansion to marine engines almost as
soon as the first solution of the problem of navigation by sea was made.
The following table shows the theoretical gain to be obtained by expansion,
premising that no loss of power takes place during the stroke from
condensation. This, however, in practice, is rarely the case, and a
considerable reduction of the theoretical results must be made in
consequence.
Table No. 1 is calculated from the formula that the hyperbolic log. of the
number of expansions, plus 1, expresses the work done at each grade, the
work done when not expanding at all being 1.
From this it will be seen that, by expanding steam ten times in a low
pressure engine, a saving of 69-7 per cent, is effected.
This in a well-constructed marine engine with suitable boiler can be
explained as follows:—
The ultimate calorific value of 1 lb. of good steam coal is 14 lbs. of
water, ten of which can be realized in a good boiler of the type now put on
board ship.
10 lbs. of water = 277 cubic inches.
277 x 2,427, volume of steam to water at 10 lbs. pressure above zero =
672,279 cubic inches of steam at 10 lbs. pressure above zero in 10 lbs. of
water.
Equal 1 square inch x 672,279 inches, or 56,023 feet; or 1 square
108 MARINE ENGINES.
inch x 10 lbs. pressure x 56,023 feet = 56,023 foot pounds, for a
consumption of 1 lb. of coal.
„ 560,230 ,_, Or^000 =17 horse power,
produced for a minute by 1 lb. of coal ;
-. 1 lb. x 60 minutes „ „ ..
Or-------——---------- = 8*5 lbs. of coal
per indicated horse power per hour, and this may be taken as the ultimate
theoretical value of coal in a low pressure engine when using no expansion.
In practice, in well-constructed engines and boilers, this has to be
multiplied by 1*7.
Or 3-5 x 1-7 = 5*95 lbs. or nearly 6 lbs. of coal, &c, required for each
horse power indicated by the cylinder when the engine is exerting its
maximum force.
Now, an expansion of ten times gives by the table 3"3 times the work done by
the same steam not used expansively, which is equivalent to a saving of
nearly 70 per cent.
6 lbs. x 70 = 4-2 lbs. saved, Or 6 - 4-2 = 1-8 lbs. used,
and this may be taken as a fair expenditure per indicated horse power per
hour for ten expansions in a good ordinary expansive engine.
Seeing the very large saving to be effected by expansion, it is not to be
wondered at that efforts were made from the very first to extend the
principle to steamers.
There were two causes, however, which, more than any others, prevented the
adoption of high rates of expansion to marine engines. One was the
difficulty in finding a suitable valve gear, and the other was that the
earthy particles in salt water, notably the sulphate of lime, are deposited
at a temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit, which corresponds only to a
pressure of 66lbs. above zero, which would prevent steam of more than 55
lbs. above zero being employed, as of course a good margin would have to be
allowed between the working and the depositing temperatures.
In spite of all the talent and ingenuity that has been displayed in scheming
valves and gear, the slide valve has never been equalled as a simple, safe,
and effective mode of distributing the steam, and, coupled with the double
eccentric and link motion, may be unhesitatingly stated to be the only safe
mode of working steam engines that have to go at high speeds under all
difficulties.
MARINE ENGINES. 109
Of course all the advantages tljat could be derived from the ordinary valve
and link motion, combined with a moderate pressure, were speedily obtained
by the well-known expedient of lap ; but no greater economy was ever
permanently attained which exceeded the amount due to an expansion of the
quantity of steam admitted to 1^ times its bulk. This gives an economy of
1*4, and reduced the 6 lbs. by something approaching 30 per cent., or to
about 4*2 lbs. per horse per hour, which for many years was the average
consumption of fuel per indicated horse power per hour for first-class ocean
steamers.
Irrespective of the difficulty of making any arrangement of slide valve of
suitable simplicity to work at a higher rate of expansion than that
indicated above, the great difference there would be upon the pressure on
the pistons between the commencement and end of the stroke was also a
difficulty, which seemed to point to the necessity of multiplying the number
of engines to obtain anything approaching an equable torsional strain upon
the screw or paddle-wheel shaft.
There was also another very serious difficulty in the way of improvement in
the marine steam engine. Marine engines are expensive to construct, and if
they are of any size their value is very great. When once, therefore, any
given form of engine had been proved to be fairly successful, it was
continued in and copied by all around. Besides, large firms had their
expensive patterns, which they were unwilling to alter ; and small firms
were frightened to make any but those classes of engines that had already
proved successful. If any person not a manufacturer proposed a new and
economical form of engine, he was not listened to by the large houses, even
if he came with an order in his hand ; but was told that as in case of
success the honour would be his, so in case of failure the loss would come
on the builder, and if he persevered he was obliged to have his order
executed by some indifferent firm who could not do him justice ; and so it
came that marine engines were made for years of precisely the same type,
with a little more or less Gothic architecture in the side frames.,
according to the taste of the builder.
Some thirty years ago it did seem, however, that one of the chief
difficulties in the way of using high-pressure steam would have been
conquered by the invention and introduction of Hall's surface condensers.
These were a success from the very first, good vacuums were obtained, and
they seemed at the time to be likely to come into universal use ; but they
were expensive, and there was a supposed difficulty in keeping them clean.
Besides, the saving they effected, unless used with high-pressure steam of
some 75 lbs. to the inch, could never exceed that due to the
VOL. XXIV.—187S
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1.10 MARINE ENGINES.
stoppage of the waste caused by blowing off, which really never was more
than from 10 to 15 per cent. From all these reasons, and from the fact that
they set up a chemical action in the boilers which was more or less
injurious to them, they were consigned to the limbo of oblivion for twenty
years or more, till about the year 1860, when they again occupied the
attention of the engine builder.
It must not, however, be forgotten that intelligent efforts were
continuously being made during this period to introduce high-pressure steam
and surface condensation, and amongst the most successful of these efforts
may be reckoned those of Mr. Eowan, in 1858.
Several engines on the compound principle were constructed by Messrs. Eobert
Stephenson and Co., of this town, to the designs of this gentleman, and they
were eminently successful. An economy of fuel, unsurpassed at present, was
the result; and had it not been for some unfortunate complication in the
style of boilers adopted, there is no doubt the success would have been so
great as to have ensured the universal adoption of the principle.
In reviewing this portion of the history of the compound marine engine, it
seems strange that down to, say 1863 or so, it was always considered
necessary to adopt more or less complicated forms of engine, gear, or
boilers to arrive at high expansion ; in fact, " expansion" and " expense"
were at one time synonymous terms. And this should be a warning to all
inventors, for there was the well-known fact that a saving of from 60 to 70
per cent, of coal could be—nay, even had at times been —effected ; but,
unfortunately, the many who strove to secure success to their own peculiar
modes of obtaining it were barred by the complicated nature of their
advances, and it was not till the present engine, which may be said to be
the invention of nobody in particular, stood forth in all its simplicity
that perfect success was obtained.
This present type of the compound marine engine (Plates XXI. XXII., XXIII.),
may be described as a modification of the vertical or " hammer" form of
screw engine, in which the screw shaft runs in a bed plate below, and the
cylinders placed side by side, with the valve gear between them, are
supported by brackets that are made to act as condensers, hot wells, &c. Two
air pumps, worked by beams from each engine, are placed at one side, and the
piston and connecting rods work direct downwards on the cranked axle, which
forms the forward portion of the propeller shaft; and the modification may
be broadly described as making the forward cylinder a high pressure one,
exhausting into the slide case of the larger or low pressure cylinder, using
a surface condenser, and
MARINE ENGINES. Ill
working one small air pump and one small circulating pump, by a beam
attached to the high-pressure engine.
Plate XXIV. shows how the two cylinders, X and Y, are connected together,
and the mode in which the steam is made to pass from one to the other. Fig.
1 is a vertical section through the line A B, Fig 2 ; and Fig. 2 is a
horizontal section through the line C D Fig. 1.
It will be seen that both the high and low pressure cylinders, X and Y, are
encased with jackets into which the steam enters through the pipe E on its
road to the engine, communications are also made so that steam is admitted
both above and below, and both cylinders are completely encased with steam.
From the jacket of the high pressure cylinder X the steam enters into the
high pressure slide case F, and by means of the slide G is made to enter
both above and below the piston I, exhausting into H, whence it passes by
the side passages K K into the low pressure slide chest L, which distributes
it above and below the piston N, and afterwards through the exhaust pipe N
into the condenser.
The pistons I and N are connected to cranks, which in this instance are at
right angles to each other, and it will be seen that the valves G and M have
already, for some inches of the stroke, allowed the steam to pass from the
small cylinder X to the large cylinder Y before the pistons arrived at their
present positions. The slide of the large cylinder as shown in the plate is
moving downwards, and before the piston has moved to within a quarter of the
end of the stroke, it will have cut off the steam, and there will then cease
to be a communication between the cylinders X and Y. This will take place
after the piston I has descended rather more than a quarter of its stroke,
and the slide M will continue to close both parts of the large cylinder till
the piston I has reached about half its stroke. During the whole of the time
the ports of the large cylinder are closed compression takes place in the
small cylinder, the piston I compressing the steam remaining below it and in
the passages K K and steam chest L L. This compression is shown very plainly
at F, Plate XXVII., Fig. 1, D.
When the piston N gets to the end of its stroke the valve M opens the
communication once more between X and Y, and the first downward impulse is
given by the remainder of the steam left in X, and that contained in the
passage and steam chest L, and this will enter Y at a slightly increased
pressure to that at which it was cut off below N, owing to the compression
before explained. When I in its turn comes to near the bottom of its stroke,
the slide G will cut off the communication
112 MARINE ENGINES.
between the two cylinders, and the piston N will descend by the force due to
the expansion of the steam already contained between it and the cylinder
cover, and when N has arrived about half way on its downward stroke,
communication is established between the top of the cylinder X and the top
of the cylinder Y, the fresh influx of steam sensibly increasing the
pressure on the piston N, as is shown at G, Plate XXVII., Fig. 1. E.
It will be understood that by this arrangement there will be, during the
time the steam in X has free access to the steam Y, an equality of pressure
in the two cylinders, which will retard the motion of the piston I, while it
gives motion to the piston N. This retarding pressure in X, however, is no
loss, since the steam causing it is not losing its pressure so rapidly as it
would have done had the small piston been stationary. The real effect of the
steam being that due to the number of times the contents of the cylinder Y
are greater than the contents of that portion of the cylinder X that is
filled originally with steam from the boiler. A close examination of the
diagrams will show also that practically there is no inconvenience or loss
from this compression whatever.
There is, however, a certain loss due to the steam dispersed in the passages
connecting the two cylinders and the slide case of the large cylinder, for
experiments abundantly prove that by reducing their size to a minimum a
decided saving is effected. It is very advantageous to give a great amount
of lead to the slide of the large cylinder. For engines of the size of that
represented in the Plates XXI., XXII., and XXIII., about | inch lead is
given to the high pressure slide, and §¦ inch to the low pressure slide.
The lap given on the high pressure cylinder will regulate the amount of
steam it is desired to admit to carry out the required expansion. The steam
used is measured, as it were, in the small cylinder, and the lap to the
slide of the large cylinder does not vary the amount of total expansion, but
it can be so arranged as to make both cylinders give out nearly equal power,
which is desirable for regular working and equal wear. During the time the
valve is traversing that portion of the stroke where both ports are shut,
there is no communication between the two cylinders, and the compression
which ensues in the small cylinder maintains the pressure and heat of the
steam which is beneficial to its action in the large cylinder.
In starting, no steam can get into the large cylinder Y without first going
through the small cylinder. It might so happen that with the piston I in
such a position, either that its crank is on its centre or that its steam is
shut off by the lap of the valve G, the engine would not
MARINE ENGINES. 113
start. To obviate this inconvenience a small starting valve is used on each
cylinder, that can be worked by hand; and by this means high pressure steam
can be admitted at will, both to the high and low pressure cylinders, until
the regular flow of steam from one cylinder to the other is effected and the
engines are fairly under way. The rapidity with which the engines can be put
in motion is also much increased by letting the donkey pump through the
condensers, thereby causing a vacuum, which very much assists the first
motion of the pistons.
The mode of settling the sizes of cylinders per nominal horse-power has,
after much haggling between buyer and seller, ceased altogether to be a
matter of calculation, and has settled down to 30 circular inches of piston
(high and low pressure both combined) per nominal horse power. The relative
contents of the high and low pressure cylinders seem to vary from one to
three-and-a-half or four, and these proportions enable 30 circular inches of
piston to realize four indicated horse-power, which is considered the
ordinary value of one nominal horse. With the usual form of ship, it may be
broadly stated that one nominal horse-power will carry ten tons of cargo at
a speed of eight knots ; for ships carrying above 1,000 tons the speed
gradually increases say up to about 11 knots for the largest, and for ships
carrying less than 1,000 tons the speed gradually decreases to about 6 knots
where the proportion of one nominal horse of engine to ten tons of cargo is
maintained.
It will readily be seen that this arrangement of engine possesses many
advantages over the common form. For instance, the high pressure cylinder is
never in direct communication with the condenser, and escapes its cooling
influences ; and there must be less leakage, as the steam to escape finally,
must pass two pistons. O and P are two small cylinders working, in which are
two pistons connected to the top ends of the two slide rods. The steam from
the two steam chests has free access below these pistons, and the weight of
the slides, rods, and eccentric gear is balanced.
There is nothing particular to remark on the general arrangement of the
several working parts shown in Plates XXI., XXII., XXIII., further than to
state generally that the whole machine is self-supporting, and rests upon a
cast iron bed-plate A, the two main parts of which run fore aft, and are
connected together athwart ships by four cross supports b b b b, in which
are the four bearings that carry the cranked angle, which is usually forged
in one piece in engines up to 120 nominal horse power. At the aft end of
this shaft is a collar, on to which is bolted the line of shafting leading
to the screw. The thrust block is usually now made
114 MARINE ENGINES.
independent of the foundation plate ; it is simply made to fit a series of
projecting rings, turned in that portion of the screw shafting that is near
the engine room, and is easy of access.
The foundation plate is securely bolted down to sleepers built into the
ship.
As most of the arrangements of the working parts are similar to those in use
in all ordinary engines, no special allusion will be made to them unless to
point out some modern modification suggested by practice : for instance, the
use of piston rod guides on both sides has been in many cases abandoned.
These guides were usually affixed on each side the piston rod to cast iron
columns that supported the cylinders ; it was found, however, that the
expansion of the cylinders under steam increased the distance between the
columns, and consequently made a certain amount of clearance in the guides
which caused a " knock" on the engine; a single guide to each piston rod is
now preferred similar to the one shown on Plate XXV., Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
"With this arrangement of guide, wrought iron columns are often substituted
for metal columns to support the front side of the cylinders.
The surface condenser marked C, in Plates XXI., XXII., and XXIII., and which
is specially shown in Plate XXVI., stands upon a raised portion of the bed
plate D, Plate XXI. The water from the circulating pump Gr, passes through
passages cast in the bed plate, into D, and thence upwards through the tubes
in the direction of the arrow, Plate XXVI., Fig. 2, and afterwards through 0
to a pipe that conducts it through the ship's side. The steam from the low
pressure cylinder passes through the exhaust pipe N, enters a sort of jacket
B on the side of the condenser, and passes through the holes A among the
tubes. The condensed water passes through E and F, Plate XXII., into a
passage in the bed plate that conducts it to the air pump H. S is the
projection to which the piston rod guides are bolted. The tubes are
generally made of brass, one inch to three-quarters of an inch in diameter,
about 18 wire gauge thick, and from 5 to 14 feet long.
The external surface of tube given is about 10 to 12^ square feet per
nominal horse power. There are several modes of fastening them in the tube
plates. One, Fig. 3, Plate XXVI., is the mode originally proposed by Mr.
Hall when the surface condensers were first invented, and consists in
forming a little stuffing box a in the tube plate, and screwing down
compressed cotton rings in the space round the tube by means of a screwed
ferrule b. Another mode is shown in Fig. 4. A compressed and highly-dried
wood ferrule d is driven in over the tube, and the hot
MARINE ENGINES. 115
water and steam swell it out wh#n the engine is working, and make a
perfectly tight joint. A third method is to recess the tube plate on the
side where the water circulates, and insert in the recess an india-rubber
ring which encircles the tube, and is kept tight by the pressure of the
water on the one side, and the want of atmospheric pressure on the other.
The circulating and air pumps Gr and H are usually made the same size, about
one-eighth the contents of the high pressure cylinder, are usually placed
side by side, and worked off the low pressure cylinder by a beam Gr1. The
water, as has been before stated, is forced through and not among the tubes,
and that this is the better mode of cooling the tubes has been confirmed by
experience.
It is usual to make the high pressure cylinder, which is generally placed
forward of the low pressure cylinder, lead, and to place the cranks at right
angles. A number of very instructive experiments were made some years ago by
Messrs. Palmer Brothers with a pair of engines that had the crank shaft
forged in two pieces, joined in the middle by two flanges bolted together,
so that the cranks could be shifted from 90 to 120 and 130 degrees.
Economically no difference was found in the results, but the facilities for
setting in motion and handling the engines were much greater when the cranks
were at an angle of 90 degrees, and this angle has consequently been
universally adopted.
Plate XXVII. contains a number of diagrams showing the action of the steam
in the cylinders and on the shaft with the cranks placed at an angle of 90,
120, and 130 degrees from each other.
Fig. 1 A shows the relative position of the pistons ; Fig. 1 B that of the
cranks ; Fig. 1 C shows the combined effect of both pistons on the shaft;
the irregular line a showing the variation of the torsional strain on the
shaft at the aft end of the bed plate.
This irregular line recedes from the centre in proportion as the effective
torsional strain on the shaft is increased.
The writer has been favoured, through the kindness of Mr. Frank Marshall,
with indication cards taken from the steam-ship " St. Osyth," during a
voyage to Melbourne, and these having been admirably reduced to diagrams
representing their individual and collective action in the crank shaft by
Mr. W. Sisson, are given to illustrate more thoroughly the action of the
compound engine.
Fig. 1, Plate XXX., shows the cards taken from the top and bottom of the
high pressure cylinder surrounded by a circle representing the stroke, and
Fig. 2 shows the low pressure cards dealt with in the same way, the lines
4—12 and 0—8 being the atmospheric line of the cards.
116 MARINE ENGINES.
The mode of constructing the table is as follows :—The low pressure crank
leading is taken first at its bottom stroke d o, Fig. 2, and the
high-pressure crank follows d o, Fig. 1. It is evident that in this position
the low-pressure piston is doing no work, but the high-pressure piston is
descending, its crank being at do = 2*125 feet in its most effective
position (the angle made by the connecting rod being disregarded), and its
pressure on the crank being r o' = 36 lbs.
The torsional strain on the shaft will therefore be represented by 36 X
2-125 = 76'5. (See Table II.)
Let the cranks now move on to d 1 in both figures. The strain on the shaft
will be made up by o Tc, Fig. 2 ; the pressure at that point into a 1, the
effective leverage of the crank from the low-pressure piston, and by z n,
Fig. 2, the pressure, and c 1 the effective leverage of the high-pressure
piston. It should be here remarked that the total effective effort of the
low pressure piston must be multiplied by 3'4 as the low pressure piston is
3*4 times as large as the high pressure piston.
By taking all the other positions of the crank in succession in the same
way, the Table, No. 2 has been constructed.
It will be observed that there are certain minus quantities given in the
table, and these require some explanation.
A large amount of level, it has been observed, has to be given to the
valves, and this of course produces a certain amount of cushioning, which
has its advantages in checking the piston at the end of each stroke, but
which nevertheless acts against the pressure on the shaft.
If the position d 3, Fig. 2, of the crank is taken it will be seen that the
propelling pressure i h is counteracted by an impeding pressure j h on the
other side of the piston, the total impeding pressure being ij, which equals
in this case 18 lbs.
For the same reason when the crank is at d 2, Fig. l,pm must be considered
the pressure, and not p 1,1 m being a retarding pressure.
In Plate XXXI. all these various pressures are measured off on radii
subtending sixteen equal divisions of the circle to a scale of one inch for
every 36 units, given in column 8 of the table.
The curved strong line shows the varying effort made by the engines to turn
the shaft, the dotted line shows what that effort would have been had there
been no compression through excessive load, and the circle shows the average
effort.
118 MARINE ENGINES.
Mr. Holt, of Liverpool, has constructed many engines with the high pressure
cylinder over the low pressure one, the pistons of which are connected
together with one piston rod, thereby giving but one impulse to a single
crank, and has obtained some very good results with the arrangement; but the
torsion diagram, Fig. 4 C, Plate XXVII., is not a desirable one, and the
difficulties that attend starting engines so constructed render the
arrangement unadvisable.
The writer was asked to name the quantity of water required to condense the
steam required for such a class of engine using surface condensers. The
usual practice is to allow a quantity equal to one-eighth the contents of
the small cylinder, and this seems sufficient under ordinary circumstances
at sea.
Theoretically, a little over half this quantity of water at 60 degrees would
reduce all the steam used at 75 lbs. above the atmosphere, and cut off at
three-quarters of the stroke in the high pressure cylinder to water at 110
degrees.
Steam at 75 + 15 lbs. above zero has a visible temperature of 322 degrees,
and a volume of 323 (latent heat, 888).
Take the contents of the high pressure cylinder at 8 cubic feet, and
the steam used as 6 cubic feet, this would equal ^f-g- x 2 = -0371 cubic
feet of water per double stroke reduced from 322 degrees + 888 degrees
= 1,210 degrees to 110 = 1,100 degrees, which is equivalent to raising
1,100 degrees „ ,. . , '
„„ -, --------ttj------- = 22 times the bulk of water (110° — 60°)
110 degrees — 60 degrees v
J
= 50° ; -0371 x 22 = '8162 of a cubic foot, which is nearly the
cubic foot, the proportion of one-eighth the low pressure cylinder
would give.
Plates XXVIII. and XXIX. show the usual form of boilers employed for this
class of engine. They are necessarily of very large diameter, and require
great care in their construction, to enable them to carry such pressure as
80 to 90 lbs. above zero.' The plates of the shell are usually made to butt
together, so as to keep the shape of the outside perfectly circular. These
butt joints are secured by straps on each side the plates, double rivetted
to each plate.
The fire tubes are usually made in two plates, the top plate being brought
well down below the fire, but sometimes they are welded up into rings, and
these rings are flanged and a piece of plate rivetted between the flanges.
The doors to the fire tubes are generally perforated and provided with a
sliding plate to regulate the admission of air for the prevention of smoke,
MARINE ENGINES. 119
and very often arrangements are made for admitting air at C, behind the fire
bars for the same purpose. Th'eWall tubes are about 3£ inches outside
diameter and about £ inch thick, and are often only man-drilled into the
tube plates. A fair average heating surface is 20 square feet per nominal
horse power, this includes the fire tubes above the bars, the whole of the
back take-up, and the whole of the small tubes and front of the boiler
inside the smoke box to water line. The smoke box is dry, that is not
surrounded with water ; it is distinct from the boiler, and is made of thin
plates so arranged that a current of air may pass between them and keep down
the temperature.
Superheaters are sometimes placed in the take-up through which the steam
passes to the cylinders.
The worst feature in these boilers is the want of circulation, which
prevents the water from becoming heated at the bottom between the furnaces,
this has a tendency to destroy the boiler by the unequal expansion that it
causes. To obviate this as much as possible, only one fire should be lighted
at a time in first getting up steam, and then as the other fires are
lighted, and steam partly raised, a quantity of the cold water should be
blown out to be replaced by the warm water above the fire tubes. Even when
the engine and boilers are in regular work, it is desirable to blow out the
boilers at least twice a day, to keep up the heat at the bottom.
The effects of the galvanic action between the boilers and the condenser
tubes is obviated either by allowing the boilers to become slightly crusted
over with deposit at first, or by coating them over with lime-wash before
they are used. A better mode, however, is to introduce pieces of zinc Z Z,
Plates XXVIII. and XXIX. ; about two cwt. of zinc being sufficient to keep a
large boiler free from injury for two or three months.
THE STRENGTH OF MARINE BOILERS.
These boilers, if for use in steamers carrying the British flag, have to be
built under the inspection of the Board of Trade Surveyors.
There are no generally recognised rules for the guidance of these gentlemen,
and before building a boiler the manufacturer would do well to show the
design to the surveyor of the district and obtain his approbation of the
mode in which it is proposed to stay the boiler and the thickness of plates
to be used.
Although there are no general rules adopted by the Board of Trade, yet it is
generally considered that the following memoranda contain, to a certain
extent, the data upon which the passing of the boiler by the surveyor
depends s—
120 MARINE ENGINES.
When boilers are made of the best material, with all the rivet holes drilled
in place, and all the seams fitted with double-butt straps of at least
five-eighths the thickness of the plates they cover, and all the seams at
least double rivetted with rivets having an allowance of not more than 50
per cent, over the single shear, and provided that the boilers have been
open to inspection during the whole period of construction, then 6 may be
used as the factor of safety. But the boilers must be tested by hydraulic
pressure to twice the working pressure, in the presence and to the
satisfaction of the Board's Surveyor.
But when the above conditions are not complied with, the additions in the
following scale must be added to the factor 6, according to the
circumstances of each case :—
A *15.—To be added when all the holes are fair and good in the
longitudinal seams, but drilled out of place after bending. B *3.—To be
added when all the holes are fair and good in the longitudinal seams, but
drilled out of place before bending. C #3.—To be added when all the
holes are fair and good in the longitudinal seams, but punched after bending
instead of drilled. D *5.—To be added when all the holes are fair and
good in the longi-
tubinal seams, but punched before bending. E* *75.—To be added when all the
holes are not fair and good in the
longitudinal seams. F *1.—To be added if the holes are all fair and
good in the circumferential seams, but drilled out of place after bending.
Q- *15.—To be added if the holes are fair and good in the circumferential
seams, but drilled before bending. H *15.—To be added if the holes are
fair and good in the circumferential
seams, but punched after bending. I '2.—To be added if the holes are
fair and good in the circumferential
seams, but punched before bending. J* *2.—To be added if the holes are not
fair and good in the circumferential seams. K '2.—To be added if
double-butt straps are not fitted to the longitudinal
seams, and the said seams are lap and double rivetted. L *1.—To be added
if double-butt straps are not fitted to the longitudinal seams, and the said
seams are lap and treble rivetted. M *3.—To be added if only single-butt
straps are fitted to the longitudinal seams, and the said seams are double
rivetted. N *15.—To be added if only single-butt straps are fitted to the
longitudinal seams, and the said seams are treble rivetted.
MARINE ENGINES. 121
0 *1.—To be added when any description of joint in the longitudinal seams is
single rivetfied.
P -1.—To be added if the circumferential seams are fitted with single-butt
straps, and are double rivetted.
Q '2.—To be added if the circumferential seams are fitted with single-butt
straps, and are single rivetted.
R -1.—To be added if the circumferential seams are fitted with double-butt
straps, and single rivetted.
S "1.—To be added if the circumferential seams are lap joints, and are
double rivetted.
T *2.—To be added if the circumferential seams are lap joints, and are
single rivetted.
U *25.—To be added when the circumferential seams are lap, and the streaks
or plates are not entirely under or over.
V ' 3.—To be added when the circumferential seams are not fitted with
double-butt straps and double rivetted. When the boiler is of such a length
as to fire from both ends, or is of unusual length, such as flue boilers.
W* -4.—To be added if the seams are not properly crossed.
X* *4.—To be added where the iron is in any way doubtful, and the surveyor
is not satisfied that it is of the best quality.
Y 1*65.—To be added if the boiler is not open to inspection during the
whole period of its construction. Where marked thus* the allowances may be
increased still further if the workmanship or material is very doubtful or
very unsatisfactory. The strength of the joints is found by the following
method :—
(Pitch-Diameter of Eivets) x 100 (Percentage of strength of plate
*-----------------.p. i------—---------- = -j at joint as compared with
ntch ( the solid plate.
i Percentage of strength of rivets as compared with I the solid plate.f
Then take iron as equal to 23 tons, and use the smallest of the two
percentages as the strength of the joint, and adopt the factor of safety as
found from the scale given in this circular :— (51,520 X percentage of
strength of joint) x twice ^Pressure to be
thickness of the plate in inches ______ __ \ allowed per
~^Inside diameter of the boiler in inches x J square inch on
factor of safety v safety valves.
f If the rivets are exposed to double shear, multiply the percentage as
found by 1-5.
122 MARINE ENGINES.
Plates that are drilled in place must be taken apart, and the burr taken
off, and the holes slightly countersunk from the outsides. Butt straps must
be cut from plates (and not from bars), and must be of as good a quality as
the shell plates, and for the longitudinal seams must be cut across the
fibre. The rivet holes may be punched or drilled when the plates are punched
or drilled out of place. When single butt straps are used, and the rivet
holes in them punched, they must be one-eighth thicker than the plates they
cover. The diameter of the rivets must not be less than the thickness of the
plates of which the shell is made, but it will be found when the plates are
thin, or when lap-joints or single-butt straps are adopted, that the
diameter of the rivets should be in excess of the thickness of the plates.
STRENGTH OF FURNACES.
If butt straps are used, 90,000 x T2 f working L + 1 (diameter of
furnace in inches) — ( pressure. L = Length of furnace in feet. T =
Thickness of plate.
For ordinary overlap joints the co-efficient is 70,000 instead of 90,000.
The length of furnace is measured at the bottom to end of combustion
chamber, or to tube plate if the bottom of furnace is stayed.
STAYS.
5,000 y area of stay _ j product of distance of stays both Working
pressure. ' \ ways from centre to centre.
The following are examples of the mode of carrying out these data :— Take a
boiler 13 ft. 6^ in. diam., with 1 in. plates, double rivetted with inch
rivets spaced 2£ in. from centre to centre, the transverse strength of a
square inch of the plates being 51,520 lbs. Then the boiler to be
constructed of the best material, and in all respects entitled to the factor
6, as explained above.
(24-1) x 100 fln
Or the strength of the plate through the joint will be 60% of the solid
material, and,
•7854 x 2 x 100 fl~ 0
------2Tx-l-----= 628
Or the strength of the rivets will be 62*82 °/0 of the solid material.
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 123
Then
51,520 lbs, x -60 x 2 _ 63#6
13-5 x 12~x 6
A boiler of these dimensions and strengths would be allowed by the Board if
made to carry a pressure of 63*6 lbs. to the square inch.
Referring to Fairbairn's " Useful Information for Engineers," Page 34, it
will be seen to be there stated that the strength of double-rivetted joints
is 70 per cent, of the solid plate.
The ultimate strength of the boiler will be according to this —
51520 * -7Q X 2 = 445 lbs. 13-5 x 12
According, therefore, to the Board of Trade regulations, the working load of
the boiler would be one-seventh of its ultimate strength.
With regard to the strength of the furnaces, the application of the rule of
the Board of Trade for a furnace 38 inches, diameter, 7-16ths thick, and 6
feet 9 inches long, would give
90,000 x -4375a = 5g.5 6*75 + 1(38) As the pressure.
Referring again to Fairbairn, Page 45, the following formula for boiler
tubes is given :—
K919 P = 806,300 t D
Where P is the collapsing pressure in lbs., K thickness of plates in inches,
L length of the tube in feet, and D diameter in inches, and this applied to
the above case gives
806,300 x -437^ = M 6-75 x 38 As the ultimate strength of the tube.
According, therefore, to the Board of Trade regulations, the ultimate
strength of this tube would be 8*7 times its working pressure.
The writer would suggest in conclusion that the compound engine seems
peculiarly suitable for winding coal. Mining engineers are often heard to
express a preference for the single Crowther engine over double horizontal
engines, because the whole pressure of the steam can be put on the larger
area of the piston of the single engine when that engine is at the most
advantageous part of its stroke, whereas the only one of the double engines
is in a position to give out its full power at the commencement of the lift.
The Crowther engine
124 MARINE ENGINES.
is considered, therefore, more rapid in its action. For this reason, when
two engines are used for winding, the united areas of their pistons should
be more than the area of one piston to do the same work. Now, the compound
engine would have a gross area of piston about equal to the single engine,
and could be easily arranged so that the low pressure piston should be at
half-stroke when the lift commences, and the brakesman could with the
starting valve put the full force of the high pressure steam upon the larger
piston to commence with. This would at once put the load in rapid motion,
and the engine would immediately after commence its expansive action.
The writer, in his anxiety to prevent a second postponement of a general
meeting, imposed upon himself he fears too heavy a task. The subject is so
vast and so important that it should have been handled with an amount of
reflection that he has been utterly unable to give to it in these exciting
times of arbitration.
He would express his most sincere thanks to Mr. Frank Marshall, of Messrs.
E. & W. Hawthorn & Co., whose very kind and intelligent assistance in
getting up the drawings and diagrams alone made the attempt at producing the
paper possible. The author is also indebted to Mr. Thos. Hawthorn, Mr. Jacob
Wallau, Mr. A. GL Schaeffer, and Mr. W. Sisson, for much valuable
information.
Mr. Simpson said, he would like to ask Mr. Bunning or any gentleman present,
conversant with marine engines, if they had tried any experiments as to the
benefit, or otherwise, of jacketing the cylinder ? He believed there had
been a great deal of discussion on that point, as to whether there was
advantage in it or not. Some said there was great advantage and others that
there was none. He was very much interested in the subject, for he had tried
on colliery engines jacketed cylinders, but he had never yet been able to
demonstrate to his own satisfaction how much benefit was due to the
jacketing of the cylinder, although practically, the result of the work of
the engines was most satisfactory, but whether that was due to other parts
of the engine or not he was not prepared to state. He would like very much
to know whether any experiments had been made definitely to show whether
jacketing was of the great advantage which some people stated it to be. He
believed it had been stated to be as high as 20 per cent. He would also like
to ask a question as to the friction of a marine engine, or of a double
engine, as compared with a single engine.
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 126
Mr. Bunning said, with regard to jacketing the cylinders, of course they all
knew there was a positive advantage in using steam expansively. They knew
the law which governs expansion ; and they knew that the more they expand
steam theoretically, the more economical would be the effect obtained. The
old fashioned engines—used in Her Majesty's Navy—were always fitted with
expansion valves. These expansion valves were arranged so that they could,
if they liked, give them a very high amount of expansion. But they very soon
found that when they gave them more than a certain amount of expansion, they
actually got a worse effect. Now that simply arose from the fact that the
cylinders were not jacketed ; consequently, when the expansion brought the
steam down at the end or towards the end of the stroke, a considerable
amount of pressure was lost by condensation, and the benefit of the
expansion was done away with. He thought he could not answer Mr. Simpson's
question better than by simply stating this fact, that these engines were
unable to take advantage so fully as they otherwise would have done of their
expansive valves, because of the condensation which took place from their
unjacketed cylinders.
Mr. Simpson said, he could quite understand that in an expansive cylinder
when steam was expanded, heat was lost, and that, therefore, the jacket was
beneficial; but he would like to know if the same thing happened in a high
pressure cylinder when the steam was not expanded, whether any practical
economical result from the jacketing was obtained.
Mr. William Boyd said, he understood that the discussion on this paper was
to a certain extent premature. Mr. Bunning announced the paper as being a
few notes put together, which he hoped to present to them in a more
elaborate form in the next part issued. With the view of promoting what he
thought might be a very interesting discussion, he proposed that it be
adjourned to some future day. With regard to the question Mr. Simpson had
just asked, without going into the theoretical advantage or disadvantage of
jacketing cylinders, he might mention one case which had come within his own
experience, and which he thought pretty well answered the question, though
he had no doubt other gentlemen could produce other examples of a
diametrically opposite result. The case was this:—A pair of 200 horse power
engines made a voyage to India and back again, with high pressure cylinder
jacketed. The jacket was used the whole of the voyage for this reason, that
it formed part of the steam pipe through which the steam must pass on its
way to the steam chest. These jacketed cylinders, he might tell them,
VOL. XXIV.—1875
tj
126 DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES.
were very difficult to cast, and during the voyage part of the casting
cracked, and the high pressure cylinder had to be replaced at the end of the
first voyage with another one. The owners were so alarmed at the idea of
having another cracked cylinder, that they determined to abandon what they
believed to be then the advantage of the jacketed cylinder, and a second
cylinder was cast without jackets. The ship made a second voyage to India,
carrying the same cargo, and presumably meeting on the average with much the
same sort of weather. She made the voyage in exactly the same time, burnt
exactly the same quantity of coal, and carried the same cargo the whole of
the way. In one case she had a jacketed cylinder, and in the other case she
had not.
Mr. Simpson would like to ask Mr. Bunning another question. They were very
much interested in the kind of boiler to use about collieries. Mr. Bunning
was proposing to use marine engines for mining engines with regard to
economy ; and he would like to know what was the life of one of these
boilers, supposing of course it did not get drowned ?
Mr. Bunning said, if they adopted the engine they might adopt any class of
boiler they thought most suited to their peculiar purposes. The Lancashire
boiler was almost identical with the marine boiler described, except that
flues were substituted for small tubes ; the internal firing and circular
fire tube were the same in both. He thought the Lancashire boiler was the
most perfect boiler for colliery and for other purposes on land. Of course
it could not be used on board ship, for it would necessitate the use of
brick work, but it would work well with the compound engine for all pit
purposes. It would not be always necessary to use surface condensers if the
water was suitable without.
Mr. Simpson said that Mr. Bunning had made a statement as to applying one of
these marine engines for the winding engines of collieries. The great
difficulty he (Mr. Simpson) saw about them was in starting from the bottom
of the pit. The full power of the engine would not be on, so that a much
greater engine would be required than was necessary to lift the load than in
an ordinary engine ; and with the compound engine the smaller cylinder would
have to be sufficiently powerful to do the work to begin with.
Mr. Bunning—On the contrary, the drum could be so arranged that the large
piston would be at half stroke, and, therefore, in its most powerful
position, when the load was first lifted and the high pressure steam could
be applied direct to it by means of the starting valve, then as soon as the
load was in motion the expansive process would immediately commence.
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 127
Mr. Simpson—But that would require the brakesman to have some particular
handle to do it.
Mr. Bunning—Certainly it would ; but the handle would require only one
simple movement, which could be instantaneously given to it, for it would
only be required to put steam once either above or below the large piston to
put it into rapid motion, and there would then be at the command of the
brakesman three or four times the power the engine usually exerted.
Mr. William Boyd hoped it would be understood that the discussion of this
paper was not to be allowed to drop, for he thought it was too interesting
to close there.
A vote of thanks to Mr. Bunning for his paper was moved by Mr. A. Potter,
and seconded by Mr. Simpson, and unanimously carried.
Mr. Bunning thanked them for their very great kindness in passing a vote of
thanks to him. He could not but express his pleasure in seeing so many who
were old friends long before he joined that Institute ; and he thanked them
most cordially for coming to hear him describe what they were so well
acquainted with. He trusted that this attempt of his would induce other
mechanical engineers to write papers on mechanical subjects. It was a most
happy idea, having mechanical and mining members interchanging their ideas,
for a mining engineer should know something of mechanical engineering ; and,
on %e other hand, now when fuel was of the utmost importance, a knowledge of
mining was of the utmost value to the mechanical engineer, because if fuel
failed he could not sell his wares. He was dependant upon his coal for the
use of his boiler, and therefore he, to a certain extent, was interested in
the welfare of mining apart from his connection with the Institute. Not only
was he interested indirectly, but he was interested directly, because he was
called upon in the great development of the mining interest in this conntry
to introduce machinery for all classes of work ; and the deeper the pits
became, and the more difficult coal was to get, the more would his brain be
taxed to find new ways and new modes of getting coals from greater depths.
Therefore, he had always considered that the two professions should go
together—that one was necessary to the other—and that by introducing the
mechanical element into that Institute they were really doing a great good
to all concerned ; and the more the mechanical element developed itself, the
more pleased, he was sure, would the mining members of that Institute be ;
and he only trusted that some arrangement might be made with the students of
mechanical engineering so that a large number of them would join the
Institute, and still further extend the mechanical element therein.
APPARATUS FOR EXPLORING DANGEROUS GASES. 129
APPARATUS FOR EXPLORING IN THE PRESENCE OF DANGEROUS GASES.
DENAYROUZE'S SYSTEM.
Mr. Applegarth attended the meeting for the purpose of showing the members
how dangerous gases could be penetrated by men protected by an apparatus,
the invention of the brothers Denayrouze.
The apparatus, which is in some respects similar to that invented by Mr. T.
Y. Hall, and described in Vol. II. of the Proceedings, p. 87, is constructed
in three ways to meet three classes of emergencies.
1. To enable a man to enter a room or space that is not far from pure air;
this consists simply of an India-rubber tube some 50 feet long, attached to
a mouth-piece fixed to the mouth of the operator, the other end remaining in
the pure air; the eyes being protected by glasses affixed to a mask partly
covering the face, padded with inflated rubber, so as to adjust itself to
all the inequalities of the face and remain perfectly air-tight round the
eyes, and at the same time clip the nose. The air after having passed
through the lungs of the operator, is forced out through a valve which
prevents foul air finding its way to the mouth after the expiration is
effected.
2. When the distance from the fresh air is too great to enable the operator
to draw the air through the tube by his lungs, a pump is added which forces
the air to him. This necessitates the use of an apparatus which the operator
carries on his back, and which is very ingeniously constructed so as to
regulate the pressure at which the air is supplied to the lungs.
3. When the operator has to explore mines at great distances from the pit
mouth, and when continuous work has to be done where it is impossible to get
a pump applied, highly compressed air is taken down the pit in portable
steel reservoirs, and supplied to the regulating apparatus which forms the
distinguishing feature of the second mode described.
It being impossible to describe those portions of the apparatus (such
130 APPARATUS FOR EXPLORING DANGEROUS GASES.
as the regulator, the pump, and the reservoirs,) which constitute its chief
merit, without beirig able to give detailed drawings, it has been considered
desirable to delay any further notice of the invention till such perfect
drawings can be obtained.
Mr. Applegarth, in the presence of the members, descended into a cellar
connected with the Institute, filled with noxious gas, in company with one
of the firemen of the town, provided with No. 2 apparatus, and they remained
there some time without inconvenience.
t
The meeting then terminated.
PROCEEDINGS. 131
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 1875, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
E. F. BOYD, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last general meeting, and reported the
proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were then elected :—
Members—
Mr. J. J. Reynolds, M.E., Leigh Road, Atherton, near Manchester. Mr. George
Southern, 17, Wentworth Place, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Mr. Matthew Richardson,
Jun., West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street. Mr. John Simpson, West
Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members—
Mr. Thomas Rutter, Blaydon Main Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne. Mr. J. D. WARD
ALE, Redheugh Engine Works, Gateshead. Mr. Martin Halliday, Peases' West
Collieries, Crook.
I
Students—
Mr. Frank Dorman, Stanley Colliery, Crook.
Mr. J. J. Prest, Belmangate, Guisbro'.
Mr. Robert J. Harrison, Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland.
Mr. Thos. E. Candler, East Lodge, Crook.
Mr. Gr. A. Lebour, F.G-.S., read the following paper:—
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
g
ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 133
ON THE "GREAT" AND "FOUR-FATHOM" LIMESTONES AND THEIR ASSOCIATED BEDS IN
SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
By G. A. LEBOUR, F.G.S. Lond. and Belg., F.R.G.S., etc.
This paper must be looked upon as a continuation, to a certain extent, of
that of the author on the "Little Limestone,"* recently read by him here.
The geographical area treated of is the same in both, viz. :—the district
between the South Tyne and the Tyne proper on the south, and the Wansbeck on
the north. In the last paper, however, the breadth of the area was somewhat
considerable, as it comprised the whole of the country formed by the outcrop
of some 1,500 feet or more of strata, dipping at a low angle. In the present
case, the thickness is very much less, and the dip is as a rule greater, so
that the region to be described is a very narrow one, a mere strip of
country, in fact, which may be roughly said to extend from Haltwhistle to
the west to Elf Hills on the Wansbeck Valley line to the north-east, and the
lines of trend of which may be broadly looked upon as making an obtuse
angle, the apex of which is at Great Whittington, near Matfen. Although many
of the names of localities mentioned throughout this paper are necessarily
the same as those referred to in the "Little Limestone" paper, yet there
will not be any real repetition since the beds treated of now are all below
those previously described, although they are contiguous to them. By taking
the limestone series as he is doing, bed by bed, the writer is actuated by
the conviction that this mode is the best for classifying clearly the local
details, on the proper arrangement of which the value of such papers
depends.
Beginning immediately below the bottom seam of the "Little Limestone " coal,
in the Alston section, according to Westgarth Forster, we have the following
beds in descending order, f the thicknesses being given in feet:—
* Trans. N. of England Inst. Min. Engineers, Vol. XXIV., p. 73.
f "A Treatise on a Section of the Strata," etc., by "Westgarth Forster,
1821, p. 167.
134 ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
Ft. In.
1.—Low Coal Sill..................... 10 0
2.—Plate ........................ 18 0
4.—Third Tumbler Beds, Black Bed, and Great Limestone... 63 0
5.—Tuft or Water Sill ...... ............ 9 0
6.—Plate....................' ... 21 0
7.—Small Limestone .................. 1 6
8.—Quarry Hazle..................... 30 0
9.—Plate ........................ 33 0
10.—Till Bed ..................... 7 6
11.—Four-Fathom Limestone ............... 24 0
12.—Nattriss Gill Hazle.................. 18 0
13.—Plate ... ..................... 33 0
14.—Three Yards Limestone ............... 9 0
Total............... 277 0
It is the range and changes of these beds within the boundaries mentioned,
which it is the object of this paper to describe. The Three-Yard Limestone,
however, is only referred to here so as to give a tangible base to the
series under consideration ; it will not be described at present.
In many respects, the beds included in the above section are among the most
important of the Carboniferous Limestone series in Northumberland, for
building, agricultural, and mining purposes. They comprise two of the best
building stones, two of the best limestones, both for burning and for
road-making, and at least one thick bed of shale, with black band and
nodular clay ironstone. The two limestones are the best known of the series
in the lead districts, and Westgarth Forster's description of them may
properly be given here. He says of the "Great Limestone,"* " This is the
most predominant stratum of limestone that we find throughout the whole
section, and has been nearly as productive of lead ore as all the other
strata taken together, in the extensive mines of Weardah and Teesdale in the
county of Durham, East and West Allendale^, in the county of Northumberland,
and Alston Moor and Gross Fell in the county of Cumberland. About sixteen
feet of the upper part of this stratum is called the Tumbler Beds, which, in
some places, contain entroche and other organic remains. Between the Tumbler
Beds and body of the limestone, is a soft argillaceous substance, about a
foot thick, commonly called the Black Bed."
Of the "Four-Fathom Limestone" he says, "This is a strong close stratum of
limestone, keeping pretty regular in its thickness wherever it has been sunk
through." A little further on, he adds, "It may be
* Op. Cit., p. 102.
ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 135
observed that limestones in geaeral are more regular in their thickness than
any other stratum throughout this [his] section." *
Mr. Sopwith, in his excellent little book on the mining districts,! confirms
all that Forster says respecting these two beds, adopts his section, and
adds some interesting information as to the mining peculiarities of each
stratum.
Both these authorities, however, describe the series as it is known at
Alston and at Allenheads, and no attempt has, to the author's knowledge,
been made to follow the changes undergone by it in its extension to the
north and east, except that of Mr. T. J. Bewick, the results of which take
the form of horizontal sections of great interest to local geologists,
showing very clearly the author's view as to the arrangement of the beds in
question at four different points between Haltwhistle and Fourstones, in
South Tynedale.J
All the beds under consideration can be well seen in the upper part of the
Haltwhistle Burn, near the military road; the general dip is here rather
high (8° or 10°), and is southerly in its direction. At Low Fogrigg,
according to Mr. Bewick's plate, the section is as follows (the thicknesses
being approximative only):—
Ft. In.
1.—Beds between the "Little" and "Great Limestones" ... 50 0
2.—" Great Limestone ".................. 38 0
3.—Quarry Hazle..................... 77 0
4.—"Four-Fathom Limestone"............ ... 20 0
5.—Sandstone ..................... 15 0
6.—Shale........................ 25 0
7.—Sandstone ..................... 55 0
Limestone (" Scar Limestone" of Mr. Bewick) Total ...280 0
This section is doubtless a little generalized, but still it is a very good
typical one of the series north of the Tyne. The changes which are seen to
have occurred in the passage of the beds from Alston to Haltwhistle
are—First, a marked thinning of the " Great Limestone " from 63 to 38 feet,
and the total disappearance of the Tumbler Beds and Black Bed as such. These
Tumbler Beds consist of thin beds of rubbly impure limestone, divided by "
famp " beds, or earthy shales. They are very characteristic of the "Great
Limestone" in the Alston district, and the black bed, a band of very
unctuous earthy shale, is also very well known there. North
* Op. Cit., p. 105.
f " An Account of the Mining Districts of Alston Moor, Weardale, and
Teesdale," etc., by T. Sopwith, Alnwick, 1833, p. 90, etc.
% Trans. N. of England Inst. Mining Engineers, Vol. XVIIL, Plates 42, 43,
44.
136 ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
of Tyne, however, this portion of the " Great Limestone " is always absent,
but whether it has thinned out altogether, or whether it be represented by
the upper "posts" or layers of the main limestone, there is no evidence to
show. Either of these contingencies is possible. This change has been the
cause of some errors in the identification of the beds, some miners,
accustomed to the constant presence of the " Tumblers," having taken the
"Great Limestone" itself for them, and imagined the "Four-Fathom Limestone"
to be the "Great"—the thin black bed being, as they thought, represented by
the 70 or 80 feet of sandstone to be found here between the two. The
confusion thus arrived at can be imagined. The so-called "Tuft or Water
Sill" of the Alston section is not recognisable as a separate bed here ; the
shale below it is, however, represented by a series of "grey beds"
(alternating thin shales and sandstones) which pass below into the thick
sandstone known as the Quarry Hazle, under which name the whole is included
in Mr. Bewick's sections. The very thin "limestone post" of the Alston
section, which is, notwithstanding its thinness (about 18 inches),
unpleasantly familiar to miners in that district, where " in sinking through
it great inconvenience is often found from the quantity of water in it," *
is fortunately also absent to the north. The Quarry Hazle, which in the
Alston district varies from 12 to 30 feet, is considerably thicker here, and
the " plate " or shale bed which is usually found immediately underlying it
seems, according to Mr. Bewick, to be absent, although it soon reappears.
No. 10 of Forster's section, the " Till Bed," is a curious bed of
astonishing constancy. In places it is a cherty, brownish-black shale in
structure, but with exactly the facies of an altered bed. It is, of all the
beds known to the writer in Northumberland, that which most closely
resembles the beds of "Phthanite " or "Kieselschiefer," which play so
important a part in the Carboniferous rocks of the Continent. This bed is
too thin to be recorded in Mr. Bewick's section, but it is no doubt present
at Fogrigg, since the writer has nowhere yet found the " Four-Fathom
Limestone " without this overlying bed. It is remarkable that in places this
silicious band is remarkable for the quantity of fossils it contains, being,
in fact, the most prominent trilobite bed in the series. The " Four-Fathom
Limestone" itself is here much about the same thickness as at Alston,
perhaps a little thinner; but, as will be seen presently, it soon thickens
again for a space to the east. Nos. 12 and 13 of the Alston section are both
somewhat thinner here, but are clearly to be distinguished and followed on
the surface. The beds below this do not come within the scope of this paper.
* Sopwith, Op. Cit., p. 91.
ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 137
From the foregoing statements*it will be seen that, beyond the disappearance
of the "Tumbler Beds," no great change has taken place in this set of beds
from Alston to Fogrigg—that is, from south to north, a distance of about
twenty miles.
A little to the east of Fogrigg and to the south of Sewingshields, Mr.
Bewick's sections show the following alterations:—The beds between the
"Little" and "Great Limestones" have more than trebled in thickness, oeing
here 170 feet. The " Great Limestone" has thinned slightly from 38 to 30
feet. The "Quarry Hazle" (which it will be more convenient north of Tyne to
call by its local name of the "Prudham Stone," by which it is well known as
a building stone) is of exactly the same thickness; but the shale below it,
which was absent at Fogrigg, puts in an appearance, being here about 12 feet
thick. The "Four-Fathom Limestone" has thickened a little, being now 25 feet
thick, the beds below it remaining much the same as before.
Proceeding eastwards, the hitherto regular outcrops of the beds become
disrupted for some distance between Grindon Hill and Newbrough by the system
of faults which forms the well-known mining district of Stonecroft and
Settlingstones. To describe the direction and throw of these numerous faults
and veins would entail an elaborate discussion of the dislocations of the
district, besides treading on disputed ground which would have no ' direct
connexion with the subject of this paper. This area had, therefore, better
be passed over with a few necessary notes only. All the north-east and
south-west faults of this region affect the outcrops of the beds under
consideration, the effects of the throws being heightened by the form of the
ground, which, being generally a rapid slope to the South Tyne, at an angle
not very dissimilar from that of the dip, causes the exposed edges of the
beds to cover a much greater area than would otherwise be the case ; thus,
at Lipwood there is a great spread formed by "Four-Fathom Limestone," which
is here about 40 feet thick, while both that and the "Great Limestone" give
rise to similar spreads at several places to the north of Hay don Bridge.
The various faults (or at least the more important ones) and their effects
will be found laid down in the maps of the Geological Survey. It is probable
that to some extent the great thickening of the " Four-Fathom Limestone" at
Lipwood is due to the rolling of that bed in close proximity, as it is, to a
fault of some magnitude. Boiling is by no means an ordinary characteristic
of this limestone, whereas it is very marked in the "Great Limestone." (See
Fig. 2, Plate XXXIL). This fact, and the increased thickness, have no doubt
contributed to the belief held by some that the Lipwood
138 ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
limestone is really the " Great Limestone." The stratigraphical relations of
this bed, however, and its fossil character, which will be adverted to
presently, can leave no doubt as to the propriety of identifying it as the
"Four-Fathom."
The faulted area referred to is at an end at Allerwash, on the South Tyne,
and thence to the northern limit of the region under consideration, none but
unimportant breaks interrupt the continuity of the outcrops of the beds in
question.
The thicknesses, as far as the limestones are concerned, are not from this
point subject to great variations: the "Four-Fathom Limestone" has resumed
its accustomed appearance and thickness, being between 20 and 30 feet.
A little lower down the river the "Great Limestone" is very well seen,
dipping into its bed and turning thence inland towards the great Four-stones
Quarries, which afford perhaps the best section of the entire series. The
limestone is here extensively worked, and a considerable thickness of the
black shale above it is bared in the quarrying operations, while below it is
the great Prudham Stone Quarry, and below that again the " Four-Fathom
Limestone" is worked on a small scale and well exposed in a small quarry in
the south-east corner of the Newbrough grounds. (See Fig. 1, Plate XXXII.)
The rocks are here free from drift, and having a dip of about 10° decreasing
towards the east, are very easily traced to the North Tyne, which they cross
about Walwick Grange, the " Great Limestone " being marked by small workings
almost all along its course. From this point to Brunton, where the "Great
Limestone" is again extensively quarried, the outcrops are again quite
clear. At the latter place, the sandstone lying above the " Great Limestone"
shale (the "hazle" of the Fallowfield section) is quarried under the name of
the " Black-Pasture Stone." This bed is here a good strong building stone,
nearly as thick as the Prudham Stone; and from the evidence afforded by the
Fallowfield shafts, it appears to continue massive and thick some distance
to the south ; to the east and west, however, it breaks up into a series of
thin sandstones of various qualities interbedded with micaceous shales,
making, in fact, a set of "grey beds." This is a good instance of the
inconstancy of some of the more marked sandstones of the Carboniferous
Limestone series, which is so usual in the northwestern part of
Northumberland, but which is comparatively rare in its southern portion.
Continuing to the east as far as Grottington, close to the Watling Street,
the line of our beds is unbroken save by the St. Oswald's Whin
ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 139
Dyke, which being a filled-up fault, throws them about fifty feet; beds and
dyke being both beautifully exposed on the long hill side, which forms the
southern flank of the Erring Burn valley. At Grottington, however, a
somewhat puzzling stratigraphical arrangement of the beds obtains. There
(see Fig. 3, Plate XXXII.) the " Great Limestone " curves to meet the
north-easterly continuation of the great Fallowfield fault and vein, and is
cut off by it, whereas, the "Four-Fathom Limestone" and the lower beds hold
on their parallel but lower course without interruption. The explanation of
this apparently anomalous state of things is that a small east and west
fault running just to the south of Bewclay meets and stops the Fallowfield
vein, and having an inconsiderable downthrow to the south, leaves a kind of
denuded peninsula of " Great Limestone " (B in the sketch) which at first
sight seems to be unconnected with the western main-mass, Another small
fault associated with the last, but having a downthrow in the opposite
direction, nearly doubles the apparent thickness of the "Great Limestone" at
Bewclay, which is, however, not really above 30 feet thick.
A little beyond Bewclay, to the east, the great elbow or bend to which all
the beds of the district are subject, causes the strike to alter from nearly
east and west, to nearly north and south, and for some miles, as far as the
Wansbeck indeed, their trend is perfectly regular. The greatest heights are
here formed by the " Great Limestone " which, with dip-slopes to the east,
forms a series of fan-shaped expanses on the map, the apices of which face
the west. A steep crag face of Prudham stone below brings one to a ledge of
" Four-Fathom Limestone," and a similar slope, including the " Natriss Gill
Hazle " to the next limestone below it. This arrangement is well shown at
Mootlaw, Kirkheaton, and Ryall, along the line of basset. Near the road from
Bavington to Capheaton, the Bavington or ¦ Bolam "Whin Dyke runs through the
beds in a north-east and south-west direction, and faults them, but only
very slightly.
Close to the Wansbeck edge a somewhat greater fault, running nearly east and
west, throws the beds down to the north, but again only to a small extent.
About a mile north of this point, however, a new element of disturbance
comes into play, namely, the intrusion of two masses of basalt at Broom
House and Elf Hills, which are, as it were, the easternmost off-shoots of
the eastern branch of the great Whin Sill.
The Broom House mass comes up through the outcrop of- the " Great
Limestone," bursting through it and tossing it suddenly at a high angle on
its northern flank, and causing a high dip, which is, however, only
observable near to the whin, and soon diminishes to the north.
At Elf Hills, it is the " Four-Fathom Limestone " which is affected
VOL. XXIV.—1875
„
140 ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
by the whin. Here both the limestone and the whin are quarried, and
beautiful and most instructive sections have been thus from time to time
exposed, which have fortunately—Sir Walter 0. Trevelyan being their
proprietor—not been allowed to disappear unobserved. The basalt has here
divided itself into sheets running through the limestone, not only parallel
to the bedding, but also upwards along lines of joints and fissures into the
limestone. The sections showing this arrangement have been described by
Mr. W. Topley, F.G.S., and the writer, in a joint paper read in 1873, at the
Bradford meeting of the British Association, of which unfortunately an
abstract only has yet been published, but which, it is hoped, will soon be
issued in an extended form.* These sections, of one of which a
diagrammatic sketch is given (see Fig. 1, Plate XXXIII.) can, the writer
believes, leave no doubt whatever as to the fact, which was formerly hotly
contested by Hutton and others against the late Prof. Sedgwick, that the
"Whin Sill is most certainly a purely intrusive and non-contemporaneous
sheet of basaltic trap. This Elf Hills section alone would prove it, were
its evidence not confirmed by the study of the Whin Sill at almost every
point of its course in Northumberland. This fact is a good example of the
small value attaching to merely local observations of a negative character
in geology, since out of Northumberland, an examination of a great portion
of the course of the Great Whin Sill might lead (as it has led) to exactly
opposite conclusions.
Keturning from this necessary digression, to the beds under consideration,
the writer would especially note that at some points of their course within
the district between Tyne and Wansbeck, thin local seams of coal occur; as,
for instance, at Great Whittington, where immediately below the " Great
Limestone " the section is as follows :—
Ft. In.
1.—Great Limestone
2.—Dark brown shale...............about 2 0
3.—Coal........................ 0 4
4.—Band.....................about 1 0
5.—Slaty coal..................... 0 10
6.—Sandstone..................about 15 0
7.—Shale ..................about 10 0
8.—Coal..................... 1ft. to 2 4
9—Shale .................. 10 ft. to 1 0
10.—Prudham stone The appearance of these limited seams, which borings have
proved to be of bad quality and small area, is occasionally a
stumbling-block to miners
* See Reports Brit. Ass., 1873, p. 92.
ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 141
in this district, since they are ant to be mistaken for the really workable
" Little Limestone " coal above.
In the "plate" or shale underlying the "Natriss Gill Hazle," is a thin black
band which has been from time to time worked in the southern part of this
district; and also a very irregular (so far as quality is concerned) deposit
of ironstone nodules, which has also been wrought along the outcrop of the
shale from Haltwhistle Burn to Chesterholm, but not very profitably. This
shale is geologically the same as the Brinkburn ironstone shale in the
northern half of the county.
With regard to the identification of the beds here described with those in
the northern parts of the county, the writer will not hazard an opinion at
present. The labours of Mr. Topley in that district have already thrown much
light on this subject, and the true relation of the beds will not fail,
sooner or later, to be known. At present all that need be said is that the
Ebb's Nook Limestone of the Alnwick district, is certainly the same as our "
Great Limestone."
As a contribution to the work of identification, the writer adds a list of
the fossils hitherto found in the "Great" and "Four-Fathom" limestone, which
he has compiled from every available source, including his own collections,
and the late Mr. George Tate's lists.
In this long list,* only one can be fairly called a characteristic fossil.
That is the small organism now known as Saccammina Carteri, a foraminifer,
which was found a few years ago for the first time, by Sir W. Trevelyan, in
the "Four-Fathom Limestone" at Elf Hills, and described by H. B. Brady,
F.E.S.f Since that time, wherever this limestone has been searched in
Northumberland, this organism has been found forming either one or two
regular " posts " or beds within it, chiefly towards its base: in this
county, therefore, it is a very valuable help towards the identification of
the "Four-Fathom Limestone," for it has never yet been found in any other
bed here. In Durham, Mr. Howse has discovered it in the " Great Limestone,"
but not in any mass or number. In Scotland and in Yorkshire, it has also
been found since its discovery in Northumberland, but the exact relative
horizon of the beds containing it is not known yet. A lithograph of the
Saccammina is appended to the present memoir. Although new to science, it
has long been known to the Alston Moor miners, who have for years called the
bed containing it, the "spotted post." (Fig. 2, Plate XXXIII.).
* Long as it is, it is the result of very desultory collecting, and a
systematic search in these beds, would doubtless reveal a much larger number
of species.
f See Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ser. 4, Vol. 13, p. xii.
142 ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
LIST OF FOSSILS FOUND IN THE "GREAT" AND "FOUR FATHOM"
LIMESTONES.
The stars denote the presence of the fossils in the strata under whieh they
stand.
Great Four Fathom
Limestone. Limestone.
Saccammina Carteri. Brady............ - ... *
Trochammina incerta. B'Orb. ......... * ...
*
Tr. gordialis. P. $ J................ - ... *
Tr. annularis. Brady ............ - ...
*
Textularia (?) .................. - ... *
Chastetes tumidus. Phill............. * ... *
Aulophyllum prolapsum. McCoy ......... * ... *
Cladochonus bacillaris. McCoy ......... - ...
*
Favosites parasitica. Phill............. * ... *
Lithostrotion irregulare. Phill. ......... • ...
-
Griffithides Farnensis. Tate............ * ... *
Gr. sp....... ............... - ... *
Leperditia sp................... *
Spirorbis carbonarius. Murch. ......... * ...
-
Archasocidaris Urii. Flem............. * ... *
Poteriocrinus crassus. Mill............. * ... *
Glauconome pulcberrima. McCoy ... ... ... *
... *
Gl. pluma. Phill. ............... *
Fenestella plebeia. McCoy ............ *
F. membranacea. Phill. ............ *
Lingula mytiloides. Sow............. - ... *
L. squamiformis. Phill. ............ * ...
*
L. sp, ..................... - ... *
Productus fimbriatus. Sow............. * ... *
Pr. punctatus. Mart............... * ... *
Pr. scabriculus. Mart. ............ *
Pr. Flemingii. Sow............. ... * ... *
Pr. Martini. Sow. ............... * ... *
Pr. semireticulatus. Mart............. * ... *
Pr. Cora. Bi'Orb. ............... * ... *
Pr. catissimus. Sow............. .., * ... •*
Pr. giganteus. Mari................ * ... *
Orthis Michelini. Lev. ............ * ...
*
Or. resupinata. Mart................ * ... *
Streptorhyncus crenistria. Phill.......... * ... *
S. arachnoidea. Phill. ............ * ...
-
Rhynchonella pleurodon 1 Phill.......... * ... *
Spiriferina Caminosa ............... *
Sp. octoplicata. Sow................ *
Spirif er pinguis. Sow................ - ... *
ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND. 143
Great Four Fathom
. ,^._ Limestone.
Limestone.
Sp. lineatus. Mart....... ¦........ * ... *
Sp. Urii. Flem....................*
Sp. glaber. Mart................ * ... *
Sp. sex-radialis. Phill. ............ »
Sp. bisulcatus. Sow................ * ... *
Sp. trigonalis. Mart................ * ... *
Athyris ambigua. Sow. ............ - ... *
A. plano-sulcata. Phill. ............ - ...
*
Astarte tremula. De Byck............. - ... *
Solemya primasva. Phill............. * ... *
Area cancellata. Mart. ............ * ...
*
Leda attenuata. Flem. ............ * ... *
Ctenodonta undulata. Phill............. - ... *
Ct. gibbosa. Flem................ * ... *
Leptodomus costellatus. McCoy.......... * ... -
Sanguinolites striato-lamellosus. Be Kon. ... *
S. constrictus. King................ *
S. angustatus. Phill................ - ... *
S. transversus. Port................ * ... -
S. tridinoides. McCoy... ............ *
S. variabilis. McCoy............... * ... *
Edmondia rudis. McCoy ............ - ... *
E. sulcata. Phill. ... ... ... ... ...
* ... *
E. oblonga. McCoy ............... * ... *
Myophoria depressa. Port............. - ... *
Lithodomus dactyloides. McCoy ......... - ...
*
Pinna membranacea. Be Kon. ......... *
P. flexicostata. McCoy ............ * ...
-
P. flabelliformis. Mart. ............ *
Aviculopecten variabilis. McCoy '......... - ...
*
Av. tabulatus. McCoy ............ - ...
*
Av. micropteris. McCoy ............ - ... *
Av. duplicostatus. McCoy ............ * ... -
Av. interstitialis. Phill. ............ * ...
*
Av. concentrico-striatus. McCoy ......... - ...
*
Av. cancellatus. McCoy ......... ... - ...
*
Av. ccelatus. McCoy............... - ... *
Streblopteria pulchella. McCoy ......... - ...
*
S. lasvigata. McCoy ...... ......... - ...
*
Pteronites persulcatus. McCoy ......... - ...
*
Amusium deornatum. Phill............. * ... *
Am. Sowerbyi. McCoy ............ *
Pecten sub-elongatus. McCoy ......... * ...
-
Conularia quadrisulcata. Sow. ......... *
Macrocheilus acutus. Sow............. - ... *
M. spiratus. McCoy ............... * ... »
M. ovalis. McCoy ............... - ... *
144 ON THE LIMESTONES IN SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND.
Great Four Fathom
Limestone. Limestone
M. sigmilineus. D'Orb. ............
M. limnseformis. McCoy ............ *
Loxonema elongata. Ve Kon. ......... *
L. tumida. PMll................ * — *
L. rugifera. PMll................ * ••• *
L. sulculosa. PMll.............
Naticopsis plicistria. PMll............. *
N. spirata ..................
Euomphalus tabulatus. PMll. ......... - •••
*
E. Dionysii. Gold/. ............... - ••• *
E. costellatus. McCoy ¦ ¦¦ ......... *
E. carbonarius. Sow................ *
E. catillus. Mart................
Murchisonia quadricarinata. McCoy ...... * •••
*
M. angulata? PHU................ ~ ••• *
M. gp...................... "" ¦•• *
Pleurotomaria monilifera. PMll..........
PL decipiens. McCoy............... *
PI. atomaria. PMll................ *
Capulus trilobatus. PMll............. *
Bellerophon Urii. Flem............. *
B. striatus. Flem................ *
B. decussatus. Flem................ *
B. navicula. Sow................ *
Actinoceras giganteum. Sow. ......... *
Poterioceras cornu-vaccinum. McCoy ......
Orthoceras undulatum. Sow............. *
O. sulcatum. Flem................ *
O. attenuatum. Flem. ............
O. cylindraceum. Flem.............
0. inequiseptum. "PMll. ............ *
O. pyramidale. Flem. ............ *
0. Goldfussianum. Be Kon............. - ••• *
Nautilus ingens. Mart. ............ *
N. globatus. Sow................ *
N. bilobatus. Sow................ *
N. costato-coronatus. McCoy ......... *
N. subsulcatus. PMll................ *
N. biangulatus. Sow................ *
N. sulcatus. Sew. ............... *
N. perplanatus. Port................ * ••• *
Psammodus cornutus. Ag.............
Bbizodus Hibberti. Ag......... ••• *
For the Foraminifera which head this list, the author is indebted to his
friend H. B. Brady, F.R.S. It may be here noted that the litho-
DISCUSSION—LIMESTONES IN NORTHUMBERLAND. 145
graph of Saccammina Carteri wftich accompanies this paper is somewhat
lacking in the accuracy of detail which characterized the original
drawing—it is, nevertheless, a fair general representation of a piece of the
weathered surface of the rock.
The Chairman said he was sure they would join him in a vote of thanks to Mr.
Lebour for the extraordinary pains and labour he must have bestowed upon
that paper. He himself had had the honour of reading a paper before the
Institute, describing a portion of the district, namely, from Belford to
Alnwick. There seemed to be a long link yet required to join the districts
described together, but this paper, by Mr. Lebour, would very much
facilitate any endeavour which might be made to complete a detailed
description of the limestones in the county of Northumberland. He was quite
sure the meeting would agree with him that there were a very great number of
interesting points which Mr. Lebour had brought before their notice. The
fact of the thickening or thinning of the great limestone was very
important, and also the thickening or thinning of the great scar limestone.
Any one who had travelled through the county of York, in the western
district of Craven, must remember that there, the great scar limestone takes
an average of 100 fathoms in thickness, and when Mr. Lebour describes that
he has not remarked much more than thirty feet of the Great Limestone here,
in any one bed, it seems a very curious freak of nature. At Aix les Bams, in
Savoy, which he happened to visit, there were the same series of limestones
to 4,000 feet thick, and varying their beds as in Northumberland He would
have been very glad if Mr. Lebour had given some little further description
of the metallic veins which extend through Northumberland, and which they
believed to be a continuation of the metallic veins of Alston, for he should
like to know why these veins are comparatively so unproductive in the former
county. It seemed to be a very anomalous and difficult subject of inquiry
why this change should take place, and why there should be so few lead mines
in the county of Northumberland, where the same lead veins go through, which
are so productive in the southern parts of the county of Durham. The
question of the intrusive character of the whin sill he thought of extreme
interest. He happened himself to visit the quarry described, which belonged
to Sir Walter Trevelyan, and Sir Walter was particularly interested about
it, and would, no doubt, appreciate the labours of Mr. Lebour in the event
146 DISCUSSION—LIMESTONES IN NORTHUMBEELAND.
of his deciding the question of the intrusive character of the basalt
through these existing beds as they stood prior to its intrusion. At the
meeting of the British Association in the year 1838, the question was very
ably discussed by Professor Sedgwick, Professor Buckland, and other great
geologists of the day. He thought that Mr. Lebour had quite clearly proved
to-day from his very instructive diagram that the basalt did come
through—that is, intruded itself between the layers of the limestone and the
sandstone at certain points in its inclination through crevices, cracks, or
small dykes, and had had the opportunity of extending itself through these
layers in this particular fashion.
Mr. Bewick said he joined with the Chairman in expressing his satisfaction
at Mr. Lebour's paper, and in thanking him for it. He thought he would best
consult the interests of the Institute by contributing in writing a
supplementary or additional paper upon some of the points referred to by Mr.
Lebour rather than go into a discussion at the present time. With the
permission of the members, he would take an early opportunity of committing
to paper the few remarks he had to make upon this interesting matter.
Mr. Howse said the only point he felt interested in just now was the very
satisfactory manner in which the section at Elf Hills had cleared— or ought
to clear—up the doubts of every sceptical mind as to the true character of
the whin dyke. Professor Sedgwick was the first field geologist who
investigated our district. He, in a very elaborate and very
clearly-expressed paper, published in the "Cambridge Philosophical
Transactions," came to the conclusion and expressed the decided opinion that
it was an intrusive rock, from the survey he took of it at the head of the
Tees, in Teesdale, and also from the examination he had made of some portion
of the Cockfield Whin Dyke which travels the Egglestone Moor. Mr. Hutton,
formerly secretary of the Natural History Society, had published a paper in
the "Natural History Transactions," advocating an entirely different view,
viz., that it was a regular layer, and had been poured out as a lava over
the other strata ; and since that time several other local geologists have
advocated the same opinion. But no person who looked at it properly, and who
had examined the section and seen the masses of shale enclosed in the bed of
basalt at Falcon Cliffs, could have any doubt about its being an intrusive
rock, and as to raising the difficulty that it had to force itself through
so many hundred thousand feet of strata above it, that was just the very
thing that would favour its intrusive power. But this section which the
chairman and Mr. Lebour had mentioned to him a long time ago before it was
exposed in the manner
DISCUSSION—LIMESTONES IN NORTHUMBERLAND. 147
it is now, he thought satisfactory cleared up even to the most fastidious
person the intrusive character of the rock.
Dr. Page said, with respect to the disappearance of the lead veins in these
limestones, he had traced the formation to Scremerston and throughout the
whole of the Scottish coal-field, and noticed that in no place except two
had they any exhibition of lead : one was in Fife and the other near
Bathgate. The lead veins at Bathgate were very early worked, and he believed
were still working. The one at Blebo, in Fife, was frequently tried, but was
never so productive as to make it worth while working. At these two points
the limestone was closely associated with trap eruptions, and it might be
worth Mr. Lebour's while to see how far the same conditions might hold good
in Northumberland. In all thin limestones of 10, 15, 20, and 25 feet in
Scotland, there was not a single trace of lead except at these two places,
and these occurred in connection with the trap eruptions.
Mr. Lebour said, with regard to the Alston district, most of the lead, as he
mentioned in his paper, was found in the Great Limestone, but he thought not
in connexion with any eruption of the whin. In Central Northumberland he was
not aware of any lead being in the Great Limestone. On this point, he
thought the meeting had better hear what Mr. Bewick had to tell them.
Mr. Bewick said, lead ore was found in Tynedale principally—but not
exclusively—in the whin sill. He was himself now working it in what is
believed to be the Four-fathoms limestone, and in some shale beds at a place
easy of access, only two miles from Haydon Bridge, and the mine could be
examined by an adit. He should be happy to see any of the members who might
wish to observe the vein in its natural position in the limestone,
sandstone, and shale beds. The Chairman—But not in the basalt ?
Mr. Bewick—No, the workings are not yet deep enough. The basalt is lying
underneath; but at the adjoining mines of Settlingstones, and Stonecroft,
the principal products are from veins in the whin, but not confined thereto;
and the same thing occurs in Weardale, and Alston Moor. The lead ore is
found to exist in all the different rocks including the whin sill. There is
one mine in Alston Moor now being wrought in the whin sill—the vein passing
through the whole of the overlying strata. At Mr. Beaumont's celebrated
Burtree Pasture Mine, the whin sill is forty fathoms thick, and the vein is
worked there through its entire thickness, and in that stratum is generally
productive. Again, at the Slitt Mine, within a few miles of Stanhope, the
same thing occurs. In fact, lead ore
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
u
148 DISCUSSION—LIMESTONES IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
veins are not affected or interrupted by the basalt. He did not mean to say
but that the view Professor Page had propounded, that it was in the vicinity
of the basalt that mines were most productive, might not be correct. He
thought it probable, but the veins had evidently been formed subsequently,
and passed through that rock without any interruption or hitch actually the
same as in the sedimentary rocks. The Stonecroft and other mines were
working in strata below the whin sill. As an additional reason for thinking
it probable that there might be something in connection with the presence of
igneous rocks so far as regarded the production of lead ore and minerals
generally, he might mention that in some other countries he had visited, the
most productive mines in the stratified rocks occurred in the immediate
vicinity of porphyry or basalt. Veins of contact, as they are called, are
where the porphyry and limestone or other rocks unite and form a vein, or
dislocation in which, not unfrequently lead ore and other minerals are
found, with limestone on one side, and porphyry on the other.
Mr. Lebour said, that since sitting down he had remembered one case in
Northumberland, at Kirkwhelpington, where a lead vein was discovered many
years ago, at the point of junction or contact between the whin sill and a
limestone. But he thought that was the only instance that he knew. Some
others might at first sight be thought to be connected with it; but it did
not seem to be really so. Like the Bavington Mine, and others of that kind,
they were found in lower beds and not directly connected with the whin.
The Chairman thought he was correct in saying that there was one lead mine
in Scotland entirely confined to the whin sill—at Lead-hills, in
Lanarkshire.
Dr. Page said, if they took their most experienced authorities— Forsyth, who
writes on the Alston veins, and Henwood, who writes on the Cornish—it was
clear these veins were filled up chinks or fissures, and the two modes of
producing them were either by trap eruptions or by contraction in the
limestone. Now, where there are thick beds of limestone, there will be
thicker veins, because there will be greater contraction in those beds than
in the thin ones, and if there are not thick beds to contract, then there
will be the trap eruptions in order to produce the chinks and fissures in
which the veins are deposited. His remark was that, while thin beds of
limestone did not allow sufficient contraction to produce veins, trap
eruptions must produce them in greater abundance, to be subsequently filled
by the infiltration of the lead and other ores generally found in the
mountain limestone.
DISCUSSION—LIMESTONES IN NORTHUMBERLAND. 149
Mr. Howse said that the wjun-sill terminated a little to the south of the
Tees, and he thought that, between that locality and Derbyshire, there were
no trap eruptions in the intermediate districts which were occupied merely
by the sandstones and limestones. There were lead veins as at the head of
Swaledale, and two or three other places, without trap eruptions. He did not
say they had at no time been connected with underground igneous agencies,
but that there was no trap at the surface in the district of North
Yorkshire, between where the whin-sill terminates and the Derbyshire
toadstone begins ; and yet, between these two districts, there are lead
mines, so that, if they are connected with the trap eruptions or volcanic
eruptions, they are at a great depth below; and he mentioned this, because
there was no doubt they had been connected with some volcanic agency, but
whether it was nearer or further removed from the surface he could not say.
Mr. Bewick had fully explained what any one could observe up in Weardale by
going down the Burtreeford Mine, that the lead veins are of later date than
the intrusion of basalt in this district.
Mr. Bewick—This is clearly exemplified at Stonecroft, in Tynedale, and
several other places. With reference to the remark of Mr. Howse, respecting
the head of the Swale, there were no workings in any of the Swaledale or
Wensleydale mines deep enough to reach the whin sill. The deepest working in
any of these mines was somewhere about what is called there the fourth set
lime—which he believed to be the Scar limestone, and the whin-sill was below
the Tyne bottom limestone. There was no place in those dales where
denudation had gone so deep as the whin-sill. The nearest was Gunnerside on
the Swale, and there it is believed to be within a few beds. It was an
extremely interesting point, and he hoped that in the course of time the Old
Gang mines would penetrate to this depth, and prove whether the whin-sill is
in the same position geologically as it is in the North of England; at the
present time we are in the dark as to this.
The Chairman would ask Mr. Lebour one single question more: that was with
regard to the identification of each bed of limestone. Was it Mr. Lebour's
opinion that the fact of the existence of certain specimens of shells and
remains, and the occurrence of that phenomenon in one particular bed, an'd
not in another, would be sufficient to identify that particular bed
throughout any length of country ?
Mr. Lebour said—Well, if the only evidence of the identity of two beds was
the occurrence of similar fossils in each, he should say the evidence was
not sufficient in this district if that was really all; but
150 DISCUSSION—ON THE COAL-FIELDS OF RUSSIA.
if there was even very slight stratigraphical evidence in addition, he
should say that would complete the evidence, and make' the whole thing
certain. At the same time, if there should be found a shell in enormous
quantities— a shell exceedingly common in one sill and always common in it,
then when you found a second sill with that shell again very common, he
thought it would be right to consider it the same. But if the shells were
rare in both, they might very likely be distinct beds.
Mr. Howse said, in illustration, there was a fossil, Grypfam incurva, which
was characteristic of the Lower Lias from Redcar to Lyme Regis.
The vote of thanks was then put and carried unanimously.
The Chairman said, Mr. Simpson's paper on the Coal-fields of Russia was open
for discussion.
Mr. Lebour said, that Mr. Simpson noticed that a very large coalfield formed
part of the Altai' chain of mountains. He said it was in the government of
Tomsk, and that he had no information respecting it. He might call Mr.
Simpson's attention to a very elaborate paper, by a Russian Mining Engineer,
Mr. Nasterowski, which had been published within the last month or two
(since Mr. Simpson's paper was read) in the Annals of the Belgian Geological
Society, and which gave very full particulars as to this coal-field. He
mentioned beds of coal more than fifty feet thick, so that this coal-field
must be of wonderful capacity.
Mr. Simpson said, there were two gentlemen appointed by the Vienna
Exhibition to examine all the coal-fields of the world, and they give some
account of this coal-field. They state it broadly to be the largest
coalfield in existence. It was in Siberia, and the beds were of the
thickness which Mr. Lebour had indicated, but he had no detailed information
of it—simply what they said about it.
Mr. Bewick supposed that being in Siberia it could not be worked.
Mr. Simpson—There are no railways to it. It was worked at present by people
banished there. He had been unable to get the statistics since 1871, as to
the production of coal in Russia ; but he had the report of the Vienna
Exhibition, which stated that the quantity of coal now worked in Russia,
including Poland, was one million tons a year, which was an increase of 25
per cent, upon the previous year. He mentioned this simply to show that they
were making steps to develope their country; and he heard the other day,
from Moscow, that they are now enabled to increase the price of their coal
about 20 per cent., which also indicated that the railway companies and
other people are beginning
DISCUSSION—ON THE COAL-FIELDS OF RUSSIA. 151
to look upon coal in a more favourable light. Of course, previously, as long
as their forests would last, they preferred burning wood to coal, especially
in the neighbourhood of Moscow, where they had large forests, which were,
however, beginning to fail.
Mr. Howse asked if the members had heard of a bed of coal 100 feet thick, to
the south of the Circassian range ?
Mr. Simpson had not heard the thickness of it, but knew there were some beds
there.
Mr. Howse knew of a gentleman who walked from the bottom of the bed up a
burn to the top of it, and who stated that it dipped into the side of the
hill, and was about 100 feet thick.
Mr. Simpson—Vertical thickness ?
Mr. Howse—Vertical thickness. Of course he walked more in walking up the
burn, and he said his great surprise was that it had never taken fire as it
was surrounded by woods, which were very frequently on fire.
The Chairman said, if Russia became noted for its production of coal, some
great change in the coal trade must be expected here.
Mr. Bunning would like to ask Mr. Simpson if in his journeys in Russia and
Germany, he had time to study the trades' organizations which existed in
those countries ? With the knowledge they had of the organizations here, it
would be very interesting if they could compare them.
Mr. Simpson had not given his attention to the subject. He fancied, however,
that our Northumberland men did not work such long hours as they do there.
In Russia they work about twelve hours, except an hour in the day for meals,
and in Germany generally he thought they worked pretty nearly the same time
: at any rate about ten hours a day; but he thought our men worked harder
than those men. He might say he did not think there was a Joint Committee
either in Germany or Russia.
Mr. Bewick said he never heard of any organizations in Austria or Saxony in
connection with the coal miners.
Mr. Simpson said he had heard of a strike in Russia ; it was not in
connection with the coal mines, but the cotton mills. It went on for three
or four weeks. The parties at last could not get the people to go to work,
so the Government thought it time to interfere, and they sent every tenth
man to Siberia and that very soon settled the strike.
Mr. Marley writes in reference to Mr. Simpson's paper, that he understood
the amount of ash in coal of the Lithwinsk district to be about
152 ON SELENITIC PLASTER.
8 per cent. With regard to the section of the coal at Gabucha, he observes,
that according to his information the following is the section :—
Ft. In.
White sandstone .................. 0 0
Shale sandstone ............ ...... 2 11
Coal ........................ 8 2
Shale sandstone ............ "... 10 ft. to 12 0
Coal ........................ 14 0
White sandstone .................. 7 7
Shale sandstone .................. 3 5
Coal ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... 1 o
Shale sandstone .................. 7 10
Coal ........................ 7 3
making an average thickness of more than 30 feet of coal.
Mr. Marley states, also, that he does not think women work in the mines, but
only at the surface of the mines in this district.
The Chairman said, the paper by Mr. Daglish and Mr. Howse stood next for
discussion.
The Secretary said he had a letter from Mr. Daglish, saying that from an
unfortunate circumstance he had been unable to attend. Some of the iron
manufacturers of the district promised to attend the discussion when it came
on, and he thought Mr. Daglish would wish it to be adjourned.
Mr. Howse said he would rather postpone the discussion until Mr. Daglish
could be present. He would be very glad to show the fossils to any one who
wished to see them.
Dr. Page then read the following paper on— SELENITIC PLASTER.'
Dr. Page exhibited specimens of Selenitic Plaster as prepared by Stuart &
Co., Edinburgh. This new mortar or cement, consists of an intimate admixture
of hydraulic lime, gypsum, and silicious sand. Any hydraulic limestone of
fair quality is calcined and mixed with five per cent, or thereby, of
detydrated gypsum ; the two are thoroughly incorporated by being ground to a
fine powder, and then worked up (by hand or by machinery) with five or six
parts of clear sharp sand into a mortar. Portland cement and Dorset
limestone were originally employed, but Messrs. Stuart & Co. find that
several of the Scottish argillaceous or
ON SELENITIC PLASTER. 153
hydraulic limestones answered eqwally well, and can be procured at a much
cheaper rate. When laid on as a plaster, the cement sets, dries, and hardens
in the space of twenty-four hours, and can be finished off with a fine
smooth " floating " in course of the following day. It thus presents great
advantages over the slow drying ordinary plaster and its successive
coatings, and can be applied to brick and stone walls without any admixture
of hair. As the " floating " can be coloured to any tint, the interior walls
of a house can be rendered pleasant, dry, and fit for habitation immediately
after construction—a thing impossible under the system of two or three
coatings of common lime plaster. The selenitic plaster is also impervious to
moisture, and never breaks or blisters as in the case of imperfectly slaked
limes. Its cost was not greater than that of ordinary mortar. Dr. Page had
witnessed its application in several large buildings in Edinburgh, and
thought it admirably adapted for absorbent walls, and in all cases where
speedy occupation of a new tenement was desired. Had it been used in the
Mining Institute, for instance, access to that building could have been
attained several weeks earlier ; and instead of the unsightly efflorescence
on the staircase, the walls could have been smooth and shining as marble.
Mr. Bewick asked what was the cost ?
Dr. Page said, it was about the same as the ordinary mortar.
The Chairman asked if it had been applied to the building of the exterior
dwellings of a house structure ? He saw that lately some had been built
entirely of composition.
Dr. Page did not think it would stand the weather: it was more suitable for
inside work. In the event of erecting a colliery row of sixty or eighty
houses, it would be an advantage to use this, as it would be perfectly dry
and impervious to wet in the course of three or four days.
The Chairman asked what thickness it would require to be put on ?
Dr. Page said, it could be put on any thickness—a quarter or half an inch ;
it was then floated over to perhaps the 16th of an inch, and presented a
fine smooth surface like marble.
Mr. Bewick—The thicker it was put on the longer time it will take to dry.
Dr. Page explained that the composition had rapid drying power. They used to
have the blue lias from Lyme Eegis; but Stuart & Co. were now using the
hydraulic limestones of Scotland.
154 MINERA FIRESTONE.
Mr. Bewick asked if the specimens were made from the blue lias
limestone ?
Dr. Page—No; they are made from the Scotch limestones—the
carboniferous blue limestones.
MINERA FIRESTONE.
Dr. Page also exhibited specimens of the Minera Firestone—a medium-grained
sandstone from the millstone grit of the Berwig Mountains, near Wrexham,
which had obtained a high reputation in the midland and western counties as
a fire-proof material for glass, chemical, and iron furnaces. Natural stones
capable of resisting intense heat, and especially intermittent heats, were
very rare (potstone, asbestos, leckstone, &c.); and hence the frequent
manufacture of such substitutes as ordinary firebricks, silicated bricks,
Dinas bricks, and the like. Natural stones, however, had many advantages in
point of size, facility of being shaped to any form, &c, and were generally
preferred, when obtainable at a moderate cost and of sufficient durability.
The following is an analysis of the Berwig stone, by Mr. Bamber, of London;
but the refractory nature of such sandstones depend more, perhaps, on their
texture than on their chemical composition :—
Silica ....................... 85-05
Alumina........................ 8-25
Iron oxide........................ 2'30
Lime ........................ 1-00
Magnesia........................ 0-75
Alkali ........................ trace.
Water and organic matter ............... 2*22
!)9-57
The Chairman said the Aid Crag, on North Tyne, was very remarkable, it being
a very fine freestone.
Mr. Simpson said, there was a bed of freestone underneath the fell top
limestone, which was used in smelting works.
Dr. Page said a natural sandstone had always the advantage over silicated
bricks and the like, as it could be shaped to any form. Naturally firestones
were not very abundant, and it might be worth while in the
DISCUSSION ON MINERA FIRESTONE. 155
carboniferous workings of Durhaw* and Northumberland to look out for beds
possessing this quality.
Mr. Howse said he believed the good quality of sandstone arose from the
quantity of soda and potash in it.
The Chairman—Forming the surface Dr. Page speaks of ?
Mr. Lebour said, another very excellent flrestone was found not many years
ago at a place called Cotter Heugh Crag, Clarebough. That was higher than
the Aid sandstone—to the north of Bellingham, near Hareshaw.
The meeting then separated.
PROCEEDINGS. 157
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1875, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Mr. STEAVENSON, Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and of the Couneil
meeting.
The following gentlemen were then elected :—
Members.
Mr. Thomas Rutter, Blaydon Main Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne. Mr. Martin
Halliday, M.E., Peases' West Collieries, Crook. Mr. John D. Wardale, M.E.,
Redheugh Engine Works, Gateshead. Mons. Daburon, Ingenieur aux Mines de
Nceux pas de Calais.
Students.
Mr. Prank Dorman, Stanley Colliery, Crook.
Mr. J. J. Prest, Belmangate, Guisbro'.
Mr. Robert J. Harrison, Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland.
Mr. Thomas E. Candler, East Lodge, Crook, Darlington.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members.
Mr. Charles E. Parkin, Perran House, Perran Porth, Truro, Cornwall. Mr.
Charles John Baoley, Tees Bridge Iron Co., Stockton-on-Tees.
Student. Mr. Arthur Mundle, 7, Collingwood Street, Newcastle.
The Chairman said, Messrs. Daglish and Howse's paper would now be open for
discussion, and Mr. Adamson, who had come from the Lincolnshire district,
would be very glad to afford any information in his power to the members ;
they were also indebted to Mr. Howse, who was one
158 DISCUSSION ON IRONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
of the readers of the paper, for various specimens of fossils in
illustration. This was almost the only iron-producing district of the
country which he himself had not seen, and therefore he could not say very
much about it. He had read the paper, though not so carefully as to be able
to cross-question Mr. Daglish or Mr. Howse upon it; but perhaps they could
tell the members whether there was any trace of the Cleveland beds in that
district, or whether they had been tried for, at any time. As he understood
it, the ironstone of that district was of such a peculiar nature that it was
an advantage to mix with it the iron ore of other districts. That, of
course, was somewhat of a drawback j but up to the present time, the very
cheap cost at which it had been raised had assisted it so much as to enable
them to produce iron of marketable quality, and at such a price as to enable
them to carry on the works. In Cleveland, in 1852, when they began to open
out the mines, they worked very much from the outcrop, as they appear to
have done in Lincolnshire ; but he imagined that in the time to come, in
Lincolnshire, as in Cleveland, this would be otherwise. Perhaps, if he was
mistaken in that view, the writers of the paper would be kind enough to
explain it.
Mr. Daglish said, in the short discussion there was on that paper at
Cardiff, there were some questions raised as to the operation of the
limestone on the ore; and Mr. Adamson, who had worked that stone very
extensively in the furnace, was not present at the meeting, otherwise he
thought he would have been prepared to have given some facts about the large
quantity of lime in certain parts of the bed.
Mr. Adamson said, he had not the honour of being a member of the Institute ;
but promised Mr. Daglish to explain anything which experience might have
taught him appertaining to the peculiarities of that bed. It was composed of
ironstone and limestone 22 feet thick : the limestone was fossiliferous and
consolidated, and the ironstone was an ore of a rotten or unconsolidated
class, fortunately containing few fossil remains, and hence but little
phosphorus. The iron from the selected stone could be made with as little as
-08 per cent, of phosphorus. Taking the fossiliferous stone and using it as
flux, would raise this to 1-27 per cent., not very far from the measure of
phosphorus found in the better beds of the Cleveland stones, and hence in
that particular it had nothing to boast of as regarded quality. But it had
some exceptional conditions or ingredients which were valuable for the
manufacture of pig iron for forge purposes, as the lower class of stones
contained from 2 per cent, up to nearly 8 per cent, of manganese ; and in
cases where great
DISCUSSION ON IRONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 159
attention at selection had been j»ade, even speigeleisen of a moderate
quality could be manufactured. He believed he was speaking the exact truth
when he said that it had not been a profitable iron-making bed. Those
gentlemen, who had invested their money, from Middlesbro' and other
districts, where the minerals were much more uniform had not succeeded as
they had done at home. Two or three feet of the upper part of the bed was in
appearance a sandy ironstone of a high class quality, containing fully 89
per cent, of metallic iron, while its earthy base did not exceed 14 per
cent., and this was found on the top of the quarry. It also carried with it
some 28 or 29 per cent, of water, and hence, so far as the working of the
ironstone was concerned, it would be easily comprehended that it was rather
difficult to manipulate in the close topped furnaces of the Cleveland
district, and to utilize the gases while such an enormous quantity of steam
was being driven off; for this steam and a probable over-dose of carbonic
acid, from using an excess of limey stone, would scarcely support
combustion. The bed had clear distinguishing characteristics as he had
named, and some few were present through the whole of its depth. The first
portion of the sand-like ironstone contained about 40 per cent, of iron, the
next band not more than 12^, and then came the question whether this bed,
where the iron only amounted to 12| per cent, to 68 per cent, of carbonate
of lime, should be called an iron bed or not. He believed the cause of the
great losses that had occurred in the Lincolnshire iron-field was making
iron at random, and using the stone promiscuously without the slightest
consideration as to the results, and filling in at the top of the furnace
minerals of a variable, mechanical, and chemical character, from which it
was thought a uniform result could be obtained from the bottom. The third
bed might be considered a very fair ironstone, as it contained with its
enormous quantity of water 33 per cent, of metallic iron, and carried with
it exactly the amount of lime requisite for smelting. Stated broadly, the
difficulty of making-iron in Lincolnshire was the amount of slag produced.
There was an enormous quantity of earthy matter to be dealt with, and then
came the fact of what was to be the proportion of the several sections of
the bed to be put into the furnace to get a result sufficient under all
conditions to produce a fluid cinder. He had to thank Mr. Mushett, a
gentleman whom he believed most of them knew as being one of the most
eminent metallurgists in this country, for his advice in reference to the
manufacture of pig iron in Lincolnshire, and to the neutralization of the
large quantities of lime by the use of the silicate of alumina or ordinary
brick clay. The resulting slag produced from working that stone would
often
160 DISCUSSION ON IRONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
show as much as 20 per cent, excess of lime. That, in his opinion, would not
give a fluid cinder; and he arrived at this conclusion, that whatever were
the elementary properties of the minerals which they had to manipulate, the
lime must be equal to the whole of the alumina, plus half the silica, as
long as there was an absence of magnesia; and he believed that the
ironmasters, either at Middlesbro' or elsewhere, had to act on a formula
very nearly approaching this, to make the whole of the foundry iron produced
in this country; and it would be easily seen from this, that where a
professedly called ironstone contains as high as 68 per cent, of carbonate
of lime, and only 12 or 8 per cent, of metallic iron, it became serious,
unless there was a neutralizing element to combine with the lime in the
furnace. He fancied their chairman would be better acquainted with this
matter than he was; but he spoke practically from his own close observation.
The furnaces when receiving a fair charge of limestone worked rapidly for a
few hours, then an enormous generation of carbonic acid was produced which
appeared to almost extinguish the fire. In the first case, when working hot,
they got lime at a high temperature seizing hold of the fire bricks, forming
silicate of lime, burning out the tuyers, destroying their hearths, or
playing havoc with the working practical condition of the furnace. Then
after that, when the excess of lime came down, the cinder would not separate
from the iron, and they were again in difficulties. The hearths filled up,
and like the rest of their neighbours, they got into that very undesirable
condition of rapidly losing their money, and hence their great iron ore
district, exposed as it was over several square miles and merely covered
with sand, was a mere rabbit warren, and had not been worked with that
efficiency which sensible, scientific men, at any rate, ought to have
attained, and heavy losses had been sustained. He had pointed out to them,
to some extent, the difficulty that arose from this great excess of
limestone, a difficulty which ought not, in his opinion, to arise if the ore
was properly selected. When this had been done the resultant iron had been
beyond their expectation; as a rule it contained at any rate one to two, and
he thought the paper gave two to three per cent, of manganese, and hence
they had been able to sell their iron for metallurgic purposes, and more
especially for the manufacture of wire, hoops, and as a mixture for tin
plates, and he believed this had arisen in a large measure from the
manganese it contained. He need hardly say that being of a manganiferous
character, the iron itself was not so useful as a foundry iron alone, as
manganese always existed in it to such an extent as to make it work with
difficulty under the file. For instance, a
DISCUSSION ON IRONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 161
second-cut file used upon a piece of.§ast Lincolnshire iron, would lose its
power of filing in three or four minutes, and he thought that this must
arise from the manganese in the iron. The gentleman who made the
thief-proof safes at Bolton, in Lancashire (Mr. Chatwood) filled the spaces
between the plates with broken-up spiegeleisen, and those gentlemen more
especially engaged in mechanical engineering would no doubt have had it
before them that it was utterly impossible to drill spiegeleisen. The
hardest steel he had ever seen would scarcely touch it. Hence, if
spiegeleisen containing, say from eight to twelve or fifteen per cent, of
manganese, could not be either drilled, filed, or cut at all, it was only a
rational conclusion he thought to arrive at, that the Lincolnshire iron
containing two or three per cent, of maganese should have some of the
characteristics that were connected with the incorporation of manganese; and
certainly on that point it did possess that steely hardiness which makes it
unfit for use as a foundry iron alone. Nevertheless it had some good
mechanical properties in this way — for, if a solid, polished, and
slippery surface was required, it had all the properties which produced an
exceedingly close, dense, and durable iron, which might be used for
locomotive cylinders for example, and thus became of very considerable
importance. He was not quite sure whether it was due to the manganese
which was in it, but it also ran with a slightly greater fluidity than the
Scotch irons, and in that particular it was mixed occasionally with the more
sluggish irons of Cleveland to run into small castings. It polished
exceedingly well, and became very bright, and for purposes of that sort it
was also useful; but for any purpose where the file had to be applied it was
not wise to use Lincolnshire iron in large quantities. He did not know
that he need say any more on the peculiarities of the Lincolnshire iron as
iron. He was quite sure from his own experience that the paper itself was
exceedingly truthful. The ironstones referred to, both in Frodingham and
north of the cathedral of the city of Lincoln, were most accurately
described. He could hardly say so much for those at Caythorpe; and he
was somewhat at a loss to understand, or to fully comprehend the
position of bed No. 4, as described in the paper. He had not had an
opportunity of examining the pit at Coleby at all, neither was he aware,
until the paper was sent him the other day, that such a pit had been sunk on
the edge of the cliff, in a central position between the city of Lincoln and
Grantham; but he had had frequent opportunities of examining the district
around Grantham, and also the whole of the lias outcrop there, down to the
new red sandstone which forms the plateau between Grantham, north of the
tunnel
162 DISCUSSION ON IRONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
on the line of railway to Nottingham; and in some remarks which he made
before the Iron and Steel Institute, at Barrow, he called attention to the
fact which, he believed, would be fully borne out, that the lias ironstones
near G-rantham were the nearest to the south of Nottingham coals, of any
mineral for making iron that exists in this country, exclusively, of course,
of those belonging to the coal measures so largely found in North
Staffordshire—he meant those of the lias or oolitic classes. Those who
knew that district, standing anywhere in the neighbourhood of the city of
Lincoln, might trace the line of outcrop by the village of Normanby, and
past Market Rasen of a large field of this class of stone, whatever its
quality might be. He had the opportunity some years ago of examining it,
and he concluded it was of a fair average quality; but again there would
be, in working it, some of those difficulties which were common to the
Lincolnshire lower bed, which was interstratified with fossiliferous
limestone. He did not know that he could say any more which would
interest them. If he could say anything appertaining to the minutiae of
the iron, and could give any such information, he would be glad. He
might just remark further that at one time they worked the upper ironstone
bands in the main Frodingham bed, those more especially clear of phosphorus;
and the resulting iron did not contain more than -08 of phosphorus. He
sent a few tons of that to a Bessemer manufacturer, and with a small
admixture of west country cast iron, he got, he thought, something like
three or four working ingots out of eight or ten made; but it could not be
sufficiently depended on to be of practical value, although with more
care, in the selection of the ironstone and flux, iron might be made to use
as a mixture in the Bessemer connector.
The Chairman said, the paper, combined with Mr. Adamson's remarks, gave a
very fair account of the district of Lincolnshire, and he thought that such
additions to the papers of the Institute were very valuable, as most of the
members were frequently called upon to go into strange districts and observe
and speak upon them, and to them such a guide as the paper and the remarks
of Mr. Adamson, must prove very valuable. Although it was almost the only
iron making district he had never seen, yet still he thought from what they
had heard, some of them might be induced to go and see it for themselves
during the next summer, and it would certainly be a district which would
repay them for going. He suggested that the least they could do was first to
ask Mr. Adamson to join their Institute, and next to pass him a vote of
thanks. He was quite sure that if Mr. Adamson would allow his name to be put
upon the list of members, he would be a very valuable acquisition.
DISCUSSION ON IRONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 163
A Member asked if Mr. AdHmson had used any admixture with the Lincolnshire
ore ?
Mr. Adamson—Yes. In the first part of his statement he said they used
silicate of alumina, and it was ultimately found very desirable to use
natural silicate of iron, and for that purpose they obtained some of the
outcrop stone north-west of Malton from Mr. Walduck, but this contained a
certain amount of lime which neutralized some of its good qualities. They
then fell back upon the ore that was worked in what was called Monks' Lane,
close to the city of Lincoln, which was nearly of the Northampton
composition, and was found on analysis to contain never less than 42 per
cent, of metallic iron, and from 12 to 20 per cent, of silica. They used
one-eighth or one-tenth of that stone at present, and since they used it
they had much less care and anxiety in throwing out the rough or
consolidated phosphoriferous limestone from the natural bed, besides which
the silica neutralized the lime, and they had now got a fair running cinder
with an iron-producing material, and he might also say that since that
operation was performed they had been much steadier and much more healthy in
the furnace. Had it not been for obtaining this ironstone with a very large
amount of silica, he was quite sure the works he had the honour to represent
as chairman, and which principally belonged to himself, would hardly have
been in existence at present. It was a bed of valuable iron ore, but
interstratified with limestone. If the gentlemen present would like during
the summer to go and see it, and would apply to him, he would have very much
pleasure in giving them an introduction to the gentleman who managed the
works, and who would show them the furnaces and the ironstone bed.
The Chairman asked if he understood Mr. Adamson to say the Kirk-ham
ironstone did not suit ?
Mr. Adamson—Not so well. It contained some considerable lime and alumina,
while they wanted more silicate ; and then it only contained about their own
measure in Cleveland of metallic iron, say 32 per cent. The other on
analysis they never found to contain less than 42 per cent, of iron, very
little alumina, not much lime, and a large measure of silica.
The Chairman said, he happened to know something about the Kirk-ham
ironstone, and had occasionally been there himself; but the great difficulty
there was, it was too siliceous. It appeared to him that if the two were
used conjointly and with a certain amount of skill it might be successful.
Mr. Adamson said, they had used it with success, but they found that the
other gave them a better result commercially. Had they not found a better
stone, it would have been the one selected as a mixture.
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
164 DISCUSSION ON IEONSTONE IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
The vote of thanks to Mr. Adamson and the readers of the papers was then
put, and carried by acclamation.
Mr, W. Lishman, Etherley, read the following paper on "Electric SignaWvm
Underground Engine Planes" :—
ELECTRIC SIGNALS ON ENGINE PLANES. 165
ELECTRIC SIGNALS ON UNDERGROUND ENGINE PLANES.
By MR. WILLIAM LISHMAN.
Considerable inconvenience was felt at the Etherley George Pit for want of
some mode of signalling other than those in use at that time, owing to the
length of the underground engine plane.
The writer consulted Mr. John Henry Greener, of St. Swithin's Lane, London,
who put down an electric signal in 1866, which consisted of one of
Muirehead's Batteries, with twenty-four cells; the outer cells were
porcelain, the inner cells were porous and made of fine common clay,
sulphate of copper (blue stone) being used as an exciter ; the plates were
made of zinc and copper. This battery was placed in the engine-house at the
foot of the shaft. A bell or gong was substituted for the dial plate, and
signals were expressed by striking one, two, or more successive blows on the
bell or gong, simply by pressing down a knob at either the terminus or other
station. The insulators were made of earthenware, and were affixed and so
shaped on the exterior as to admit of a stretcher being applied at pleasure
to stretch the long circuit wires from insulator to insulator. Two
galvanized iron wires ran the whole length of line from the underground
engine-house to the engine station, a distance of two miles, where a
transmitting apparatus was fixed to signal out-bye.
There is scarcely anything which facilitates the transit of coals from the
workings of a colliery so much as an easy mode of signalling from the
hauling engine to the terminus of the plane.
The advantages claimed for this mode of signalling are—cheapness ol
construction, great simplicity, and non-liability to mistakes and
disarrangements ; the signals can be given at any point on the line, either
by rubbing the wires together, or by connecting them with a piece of clean
wire, a metallic rule, or by any good clean conducting substance.
Thinking that, owing to the importance of the subject, a short account of
other two electric signals in use at this colliery might be of interest to
the members of the Institute, the writer will give a brief account of them.
They are L6clanche patent batteries, specially adapted for the purpose, and
such as are largely employed by the Continental and English Rail-Ways, and
the Post-office. This battery arrives quickly afterwards at
166 ELECTRIC SIGNALS ON ENGINE PLANES.
its maximum strength, and its electro-motive force is 75 per cent, greater
than the Daniel Battery, whilst its resistance is 90 per cent. less. For
constancy, durability, and cleanliness, it is unequalled.
The following directions for charging should be carefully adhered to:— Fill
the glass about half-an-inch high with powdered sal-ammoniac, put the porous
cell in its place, and half fill the glass cell with water, pouring a little
water into the porous cell also through the holes on the top. The battery
will remain in working order so long as the solution is clear and in contact
with zinc. When the solution becomes turbid or milky, add sal-ammoniac, and
in a few hours the battery will be as powerful as ever. It may be placed
aside for months without deteriorating. Special care should be taken that
the porous cell never stands more than half its height in the liquid.
In 1872, one of these batteries was placed at the surface near the engine,
and two coated wires were run 76 fathoms down the shaft; from the bottom of
the pit two ordinary galvanized iron wires were taken in-bye to the
terminus, a distance of about 800 yards. There are three stations where
bells are attached to this battery; one at bank, another about 400 yards
in-bye at the top of a steep bank, and the other at the terminus or station.
Signals can be given from either end of the line, or at any point as before
described.
Last year another of the Leclanche batteries was put down by one of our own
men, who has had the management of these electric signals, and is capable of
keeping them in proper order. It consists of a battery placed at the surface
in the engine-room; from thence two galvanized iron wires are taken down a
slope drift 400 yards to the working shaft, where a bell is placed for
signalling to bank. From thence wires are run along the line to the bank
top, a distance of 1,600 yards, where the tail-rope is knocked off. A bell
is also placed here for signalling both in and out-bye; two wires are taken
from thence to the bottom of the engine plane, a distance of 500 yards; a
bell is also placed here for giving and receiving signals direct to and from
the engineman at surface or bank top, or vice versa. These signals work very
regularly, unless any mischievous person tampers with the wire. When they
were first introduced much inconvenience was felt from this cause; but now,
since the workmen had become accustomed to them, and the novelty has died
out, they do not interfere.
A Member asked if this system had ever got out of order ? Had it ever failed
to act ?
Mr. Lishman said, it was like all other systems, it got out of order
DISCUSSION ON SIGNALS ON ENGINE PLANES. 167
occasionally; but it had been fo*nd that the great point was to attend to
the batteries. They had no other means of signalling on three very long
planes.
The Chairman asked if Mr. Lishman would say as a rule, how often they
required to attend to the batteries ?
Mr. Lishman said, about every six months they had to be charged in the
charge-room.
Mr. Daglish said, batteries something similar to this were in operation in a
colliery in which he was interested in Wales, and seemed to answer
remarkably well, and they had been there for two or three years. In going
down the deep angles of the plane, the wagon rider, if there was anything
the matter jumped off, put the two wires together, signalled . immediately,
and stopped the engine.
Mr. Lishman said, they could do the same if anything occurred with the set.
Mr. Hedley asked whether, as they used the same set of wires connected in
one case with three or four different stations, similar signals were not
communicated to all the stations at one time ?
Mr. Lishman said, they could stop the set if anything was wrong, and then
they must put themselves right afterwards by giving the proper signals.
The Chairman said, it was a branch of engineering to which they had not yet
had their attention called, although he imagined there were several
instances in which underground telegraphs had been resorted to. He himself
had done it in one case already, and had proposed that day to do it in
another case before coming to the meeting, but when he first arranged to
have a telegraph underground at one of the collieries—Page Bank—it appeared
to him that there was so much risk of its being interfered with if the two
wire system was used, that he adopted the single wire, and that had worked
very well, and if they were able to get a communication with the engineman,
could be immediately restored in case of accident, and could not be so
readily tampered with; but of course, as Mr. Lishman said, after a time the
boys gave up playing tricks with it, and then he had no doubt the two wires
would have advantages. He supposed they would defer the discussion until the
paper was printed.
A vote of thanks was then passed to Mr. Lishman.
The Chairman said, Mr. Galloway had come here from a considerable distance
to be present at the discussion on his paper, " On Safety Lamps and Shot
Firing."
168 DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT FIRING.
The Secretary said, in reference to this paper, he had a communication from
Mr. Greenwell, which that gentleman had asked him to read. Mr. Greenwell had
written a paper for the Manchester Geological Society's Transactions on the
use of gunpowder in mines, which possibly Mr. Galloway might have read.
Mr. Greenwell wrote as follows :—
POYNTON, November '60th, 1874.
Dear Sir,—As I shall be unable to attend the next meeting of the North of
England Institute, I shall feel obliged if you will be good enough to say
for me what I should have said if present, with reference to Mr. Galloway's
paper on sound waves in connection with colliery explosions.
I am entirely unconvinced that the passage of flame from the interior to the
exterior of the Davy lamp was due to a " sound wave."
I think it was simply due to the forcing forward suddenly of a current of
air through the gauze, by the action of the air propelled against the
diaphragm placed in the tube, by the pistol shot. That such action actually
took place would have been abundantly proved by a valve opening inwards,
placed on the tube between the pistol and the diaphragm.
To assimilate the case to that which it is endeavoured to be proved is
analogous to colliery practice, let the pistol be fired in the open room
without the tube, and then if the sound wave causes the flame to pass I will
(but not till then) believe there is something in Mr. Galloway's theory. Of
course the pistol must be fired, not at the lamp, and at a reasonable
distance from it.
The concurrence of explosions of fire-damp with shot-firing, is in my
opinion to be accounted for, but on a very different principle.
I remain, dear Sir,
Yours very truly, T. W. Bunning, Esq.
G. C. GREENWELL.
It was to be regretted that Mr. Greenwell was not present, because he saw by
his paper that he accounted for the passage of the flame in another way.
Mr. Wallace said, the subject of the paper was no doubt one of the greatest
importance to mining engineers, and he was very happy to have the
opportunity of making a few remarks upon so interesting a subject. The
question which had just been raised concerning the causes which extinguish
the light after explosions, seemed to be divided into two distinct parts —
one which referred to the explosion and the movement of the air produced by
expansion and contraction, and the other which was due to the passage of the
sound wave. He believed that according to Tindall's explanation of the
transmission of sound there was no movement in the air, and the light would
be first affected according as it stood in the air between the nodes
representing
DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT FIRING. 169
the beginning and the end of the'^veral vibrations which carry forward the
sound. Suppose if the light were in the node at the beginning of the wave it
would not be affected. If it were at the middle of the node it would be most
affected, and so on at each node the light might escape the effect which in
another place would extinguish it. That was irrespective of the distance
from the centre of the explosion. The opening sentence of the paper seemed
to be capable of more than one interpretation ; probably the author of the
paper would explain it. Upon the whole he found it very difficult to know
what was the drift of the paper, and what it suggested. If safety-lamps were
dangerous, there was no alternative offered, and the actual cause of the
explosion of a safety-lamp under the conditions seemed almost as remote as
before. However, a subject of that sort he thought was too important to fall
into abeyance, and he had no doubt some useful information might be elicited
at the present meeting.
Mr. Galloway, in reply, firstly in regard to Mr. Greenwell's remarks, might
say, that gentleman did not seem to have perused the paper sufficiently,
otherwise he would have seen there were certain experiments made in a sewer
in which the shot was fired at a distance of 100 feet from the light. There
was no diaphragm in that case. Besides, if the diaphragm causes the sound
wave, it came to quite the same thing as if the pistol-shot caused it. It
was only a wave sent along the tube either by the pistol shot or the
diaphragm. The diaphragm transmitted it; but did not cause it. In regard to
Mr. Wallace's remarks, he would say that when Prof. Tindall talked of nodes,
he referred to a succession of sound waves of equal length ; but between the
nodes the air had a movement, and at the central point between two nodes the
movement was greatest—a backward and forward movement. The object of the
paper was simply to show that lamps which continued to burn in an explosive
mixture, and were liable to have the flame driven through them by sound
waves, were not safe when placed in explosive mixtures when shots were fired
in the neighbourhood, and he thought the object was quite evident without
any necessity for explaining it.
Professor Marreco said, he had worked a good deal since Mr. Galloway's paper
was read, and one thing which had struck him was, that he had very great
difficulty in getting uniform results with the tube experiments. They had
satisfied themselves as to how very little made a difference between success
or failure, and, therefore, he thought the experiment in the sewer, which
Mr. Galloway had just referred to, where the pistol was not pointed at the
lamp but at the roof, was far the most satisfactory of the series.
170 DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT FIRING.
The Chairman—In that case you approve of the sound wave theory ?
Professor Marreco—Well, that is rather a question for mathematicians, I
think.
Mr. Daglish asked if this theory could be tested in a tunnel or long drift
as well as in a sewer ?
Mr. Galloway thought it would come to the same thing.
Mr. Daglish said, because it would be exceedingly interesting to a large
number of members if they could see it. There was perhaps in the mind of
every one, the doubt raised by Mr. Greenwell as to whether it was not the
force of the explosion rather than the sound wave ; but if they could see it
done in a sewer, he was sure it would be very convincing —not gratifying,
but the reverse—but still if they had to elicit the truth, the sooner they
knew it the better.
Mr. Galloway said, of course Mr. Greenwell called it " the force of the
explosion," and that was simply another way of expressing the phenomenon
which accompanied the sound. The "force of the explosion" and the " sound
wave" were simply one and the same thing.
Mr. Wallace said, referring to one of the experiments made during the
reading of the paper, a difficulty suggested itself to him in the
application of the lesson learnt during the experiment. At one time the
explosion from the pistol ignited the gases escaping round the lamp ; at
another time the explosion of the pistol was sufficient to extinguish it.
They might take that as an expression of a varying force acting (without
having to define the force particularly) at a fixed distance ; or they might
represent it as the same force acting at different distances. Now it would
appear from that experiment, that if the lamp were placed at a certain
unknown distance from the explosion the flame of the lamp would ignite
inflammable gas outside the gauze ; but at all other distances no accident
would follow, whether the lamp were extinguished by the force of the shot or
not. With such results before him, a miner of average recklessness would
regard the chance of being hurt so small, when compared with the many
chances of escape, that he would be rather encouraged to run the risk if he
thought it would save him any trouble.
The Chairman said, the question was also mixed up with the effect of
blown-out shots ; and was the subject to which Mr. Greenwell called the
attention of the Manchester Geological Institute in 1870. He remembered
reading the paper ; it rather attracted his attention, because he had had
some experience of the effect of blown-out shots several years ago. The late
Mr. Atkinson, whose opinion he always very much esteemed, differed from
himself as to the effect of such shots. He (the
DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT FIRING. 171
Chairman) happened once to be i« a bord which had just been turned out to
headways ; he examined the place carefully, and satisfied himself there was
no gas ; and then lighted up a very heavy shot. He happened to be standing
at the bord end. The shot was fired, and the flash coming away, burnt a man
who was standing close to him. Now the question arose whether there had been
any gas, or whether it was a blown-out shot ? Upon a careful examination it
was found that there were the marks of the pellets of the gunpowder on the
sides of a tub near him, and he was also burnt in a manner which led him
(the Chairman) to think there was no gas. But Mr. Atkinson would never agree
with that opinion. He seemed to be inclined to think that eight or ten yards
from the shot was too far off for the flame to have affected him. Since
then, he had always inquired into any case of the sort when it occurred, and
he had found very often that the flame from the shot had been seen to the
distance of thirty yards. Whether the lamp was ignited by the wave from the
sound, or was ignited by the concussion in the air did not matter
practically, although it did perhaps scientifically. The question put to
them to solve was, whether from the wave sound or from the concussion of the
air, the common Davy lamp which they used was unsafe. He certainly thought
no case had yet been shown which would induce him to do away with the Davy
lamp in favour of the more complicated lamp with a glass, because the glass
itself introduced an element of danger. It might crack, or break, and cause
an accident at any time. However, this question of blown-out shots was one
which either now or at some future time, he thought the Institute ought to
pay attention to. He thought that whether Mr. Galloway was right or wrong
they were very much obliged to him for having brought the subject before
them, and it would always form a matter for their consideration when
occasion brought it to their notice.
Professor Herschel thought it a pity that any doubt should hang over Mr.
Galloway's paper, as regarded his view of the nature of the sound wave, that
it contained all the motion of the shot in itself, whatever the nature of
that original motion was. The statement of Mr. Greenwell that he was able to
account for it on another principle was one that he was sure would engage
their interest very thoroughly. If such a paper were read, it would give a
new occasion to renew this question, and to make it clear to all the members
present. But the result would only prove, as Mr. Galloway had endeavoured to
show them, that the escape of the gas from a free shot was very much more
violent than when the shot was damped, and that the motion from the former
might be sufficient to produce the ignition of inflammable dangerous gases.
The principle upon
VOL. XXIV.-1875.
2
172 DISCUSSION ON SAFETY-LAMPS AND SHOT FIRING.
which Mr. Galloway had proceeded was, he thought, irrefragable, and they
could, without reservation, thank Mr. Galloway for the pains which he had
taken to show them the experiments he had made, and their dangerous effect
in certain cases ; and the caution which Mr. Galloway gave was, he thought,
a sound and very valuable one. He should hope that Mr. Greenwell's views on
the question might be introduced at some future time.
Mr. Bunning asked Mr. Galloway if he had seen Mr. Greenwell's paper.
Mr. Galloway said he had not.
Mr. Bunking said, it would be very interesting if Mr. Galloway were to read
it through, and on some future occasion favour them with his presence, and
give them his opinion as to the other causes suggested by Mr. Greenwell.
Mr. Cook had great pleasure in moving a vote of thanks to Mr. Galloway,
which was carried unanimously.
The following paper by Mr. Edwin Gilpin, M.A., F.G.S., " On the Submarine
Coal of Cape Breton," was then considered as read and ordered to be printed.
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 173
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
By EDWIN GILPIN, M.A., F.G.S., Etc.
The object of this paper is to describe the extent and accessibility of that
part of the Cape Breton coal-producing strata which extends under the
Atlantic and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
At the present date in the history of the Cape Breton coal trade, when the
large deposits known to exist inland are scarcely opened out, this may
appear a premature speculation. The subject, however, is exceedingly
important, for it will be shown that the best seams, the highest in the
series, extend but a comparatively short distance inland, and as far as
present research extends, the submarine areas must furnish the finest coals
of the future.
The data furnished by the reports of Professor Lesley, Dr. Dawson, and
others, on Mr. J. Rutherford's " Coal-fields of Nova Scotia," as well as the
private reports of the writer, will be used for the basis of this paper. The
clauses of the Provincial Law relating to submarine workings will be given ;
and the systems of working at present pursued will be described as fully as
possible.
Mr. Rutherford's paper on the Nova Scotia Coal-fields, read before the
Institute in 1870, describes graphically and carefully the three
undulations, called the Sydney, Glace Bay, and Cow Bay synclinals, which
form the most striking geological features of this district ; and all the
leading points in the various seams worthy of notice. Few, if any,
coal-fields present finer natural sections than those exposed in the cliffs
of Eastern Cape Breton, or have had the advantage of being more carefully
examined ; this has permitted a precision and certainty in the
identification of seams not generally attainable. This coal-field extends
from Cape Dauphin to the metamorphic rocks of Mira Bay, and presents the
form of an irregular triangle, the eastern edge of which is jagged and
uneven, while the outcrop of the underlying millstone grit forms the western
boundary. The area of the field may be calculated at 200 square miles, the
greatest width being five miles in the Sydney and eight miles in the Glace
Bay district.
174 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
Plate XXXIV. shows a line drawn parallel to the shore at a distance of one
mile, as indicating the probable limit to which the coal could be
advantageously worked. Did the measures of the district everywhere preserve
the moderate dip of 5 to 7 degrees, and were the seams under water
accessible at all points, a line of two miles from the shore would be a
truer boundary. At some points workings could be easily extended over two
miles from the coast line in the upper seams, but there are places along the
shore where the submarine coals are practically inaccessible, and the line
marked will be found to present a fair average for the purpose of
calculation. This estimate of the subaqueous coal adds to the land area at
least 55 square miles ; an important increase, and one that may justly be
allowed, as at some points operations are in progress under the sea, and at
other places, preparations are being made for undertaking similar works.
The former extent of this coal-field to the eastward is now a question
beyond the reach of solution, and the conviction is forced on the mind of
even the most casual observer that it is but a remnant of the measures
deposited at the coal-producing period of the carboniferous era, that the
rim only is left of an immense district, now lost, under the Atlantic. The
progress of the denudation which has been going on for centuries is still
visible, and geologically speaking, at no distant epoch in the present
course of events, the Cape Breton coal-field will be totally swept away. The
old French fort at Glace Bay has furnished a means of measuring the annual
waste. From plans preserved in Paris, of the position of the fort at the
time of its erection, it would appear that the removal of the coast has been
going on at the rate of two feet every year. At other points the annual
waste has not exceeded six to ten inches. Flint Island was evidently at one
time part of the mainland, and the millstone grit of the Bird Islands, off
Cape Dauphin, shows that the waste of the Atlantic has been equally great at
that point.
In an attempt to describe subaqueous areas the question of dykes and faults
becomes of great importance. The latter are quite unknown in the Cape Breton
coal strata, and there is but one set of faults. These dislocations follow
the general run of the bays, pursuing a general east and west course—as at
Sydney, Lingan, and Cow Bay, leaving wide intervals of undisturbed coal. The
exceptional freedom from faults which characterises this coal-field has been
strongly dwelt upon by all who have been engaged in exploring it. Professor
Lesley, in reporting on the Little Grlace Bay coal-beds, says :—" The water
level lines of the beds are now seen to be parallel, and the whole country
wonderfully level and free from
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 175
faults." This remark applies eqftally to the other districts, and adds
materially to the confidence with which mining operations are begun.
The only troubles of any consequence met with, are occasional lagoon or dirt
beds, and-in some places the tilted-up beds of brooks, causing what are
locally known as " nips."
The direction of the cleat in the flatter seams may be averaged as varying
within twenty degrees of a line drawn at right angles to the strike ; the
steeper seams have the cleat running roughly parallel to the line of strike.
The first district to be considered is the narrow neck of land forming the
south side of Cow Bay. The Block House seam, the highest of this series, is
considered by Professor Lesley the equivalent of the Harbour seam of dace
Bay. Its land area is 240 acres, and it is to be feared that it may not be
possible to utilize its seaward extension economically. Below this seam, at
a depth of 350 feet, is the McAulay bed, generally considered to represent
the Phelan seam.
From the map it will appear that these uppermost seams, the Block House and
McAulay, pass to the east of South Head, and are lost to the miner's reach
unless won by expensive drifting. Opinions are divided whether the South
Head or Wilson seam should be identified with the Spencer or McRury. As
there are 50 feet of strata between the McRury and Spencer, the latter being
200 feet below the McAulay, and over 60 feet of strata exposed between the
Wilson seam and the end of the Head, it is probably the Spencer seam and not
the McBury, as Mr. Lyman suggests. The seams therefore underlying the
Spencer bed, and best known as the Long Beach seams, are all found crossing
the South Head with a regular dip to the north-east at an average angle of
five degrees.
Equivalents of the Long Beach seams found on South Head :—
Ft. In.
Spencer or Wilson seam ......... 6 0 Stone parting.
McRury.................. 4 4
Seam .................. 3 0
Seam .................. 2 0
Long Beach seam ............ 3 0
Tracey seam ............... 4 6
Included in about 2,600 feet of strata.
This narrow strip of land has preserved the means of winning a large extent
of coal otherwise lost under the sea. The seams above given, cross it
successively at right angles, and a series of pits can be sunk to win these
coals in a district of 12 square miles on the north side of Mira Bay,
176 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
as well as under part of Cow Bay. The quality of these coals does not appear
to be quite equal to that of those found further north. Openings were made
some years ago on the Wilson and Tracey beds, but were abandoned as the
shipping facilities were not good. Now, however, the building of the
Louisberg Railway will afford an outlet to a safe and commodious harbour.
Passing to the opposite side of Cow Bay we find the above seams, as well as
the overlying McAulay and Block House seams, thrown up against the
anticlinal axis of Cape Granby at angles approaching 45 degrees. A sudden
bend of the coast line cuts across the northern crop of the seams just
given, which then pass into the ocean on a course parallel to the line of
upthrow. It is not probable that any attempts will be made for some time to
win the submarine coals at this point unless in conjunction with the land
areas at the point where they leave the shore.
North Head or Cape Granby has played an important part in preserving Cow Bay
from being completely swept away by the Atlantic. A series of beds of very
hard sandstone were brought up along the line of anticlinal, and have stood
the action of the sea better than the overlying measures holding the coal
seams. Had the Pictou coal strata, containing in places 500 to 1,200 feet of
soft shale, without sandstone or other indurated beds, been similarly
exposed, we would have had to deplore a still more serious denudation.
On crossing to Schooner Pond we find the measures lying once more at an easy
angle, the dip being N. 25 degrees E. angle 7 degrees. The value of the
submarine areas may now be gathered from the fact that the various seams are
accessible under water from this point to Cape Dauphin, a distance of over
thirty miles.
About one and a half miles from the shore of the north head of Cow Bay are
two small islands containing the crop of a coal seam dipping N.E. Another
seam was said to be at one time visible at low water, but the writer is
unable to furnish any particulars of its size, &c. These islands were
formerly, in all probability, part of the mainland, and the coal seams a
continuation of part of the Glace Bay series. Their value, however, is the
proof afforded of the important fact, that there are no disturbances of
moment affecting the measures, now covered by water, between them and the
shore.
The Schooner Pond seams are the equivalents of those already described under
the various names given at the time of their discovery. The highest cropping
on the shore is the Three-foot seam, underlying it at a thickness of 300
feet is the Back Pit seam, then the Phelan, 8 feet 3
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 177
inches, and the Ross 5 feet. Alfcthese seams can he attacked and followed
under the sea as is being done at the Schooner Pond Colliery. Below these
seams and within workable distance are the Gardner, Lorway, and other less
developed seams. No obstruction can be foreseen to prevent workings being
carried to any practicable distance from the shore at this point.
The seams run parallel to the shore till the north side of Glace Bay Lake is
reached, when the coast line takes a turn to the north, and exposes the
crops of two overlying seams. These seams, known as the Harbour and Hub
coals, are respectively 243 and 763 feet above the Three-foot seam of
Schooner Pond.
Professor Lesley, in his careful and elaborate survey of Glace and Cow Bays,
states the equivalence of the latter to the Block House seam. Its form
therefore would be that of a horse-shoe passing to the east of Cape Granby,
and entering the land again near the mouth of Little Glace Bay Brook. Its
land area here is 2,000 acres, containing 16,000,000 tons of coal; the sea
area of accessible coal is about one-half larger.
The Hub seam overlies this 520 feet, and is considered, as its name implies,
the highest known coal seam of Eastern Cape Breton. Its excellent quality
and superior mining facilities render its comparatively small area a matter
of much regret. Its accessible sea area may be estimated at 2,500 acres,
yielding 35,000,000 tons. Both these seams are within reach of a shaft of
moderate depth at Table Head. The opposing sweeps of the coast line and of
the strikes of the strata afford unusual mining advantages, it being
possible to drive levels from the pit bottom, giving rise coal on each side
of the shaft.
Beneath the Harbour seam, the Three-foot, Back Pit, Phelan, Ross, and McRury
seams successively basset on the shore of Indian Bay, with a general strike
a little to the east of north, and with an average inclination of five
degrees, which uniformity is preserved from this point to the shore of Glace
Bay Lake.
Lingan Basin, again, is underlaid at workable depths by the Lorway, Gardner,
and less known seams, and at no distant date the operations of companies
working on the shore will be extended under it.
On the north shore of Lingan Basin is an anticlinal fault, similar to that
mentioned as occurring in Cow Bay, and producing an almost identical effect
on the measures, so that an interval is formed in which the seams appear
inaccessible. The district lying to the eastward of a line drawn from a
point near the head of Lingan Basin to McPhee's Ferry on Sydney Harbour
belongs to the General Mining Association, and is not
178 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N. 8.
yet well known, mining operations having been confined to the seams on the
shore.
The Lingan Main seam is generally considered the equivalent of the Phelan,
as worked to the south. The Mining Association also holds two sea areas,
each containing five square miles, and extending from North Head to Low
Point. The thickness of the main seam is 8 feet 8 inches. Workings have been
extended under part of these areas, which yield, to use the words of Mr.
Brown, late manager, "a quantity of coal practically illimitable." Above
this seam are five others, cropping on the shore and running under the sea
at angles averaging ten degrees. At the Barrasois this company has driven a
slope under the sea on an 8 foot 8 inch seam, for a distance of 120 yards.
Work is, however, suspended at present. The following is a section of the
Lingan series (Plate XXXV.) :—
Ft. In. Ft. In.
Carr'sseam............... 4 0 ... —
„ strata ............ — ... 220 0
Barrasois seam ............ 8 8 ... —
„ strata ............ — ... 54 0
Dunphy's seam ............ 4 0 ... —
„ strata ............ — ... 81 0
David's seam ............ 7 0 ... —
„ strata ............ — ... 240 0
North Head seam............ 3 0 ... —
„ strata............ — ... 82 0
Lingan Main seam ........ 8 8 ... —
There are several seams below this section, but their position is not well
ascertained. The lowest is found three miles to the west of the crop of the
Main seam. The value of this district will be gathered from Mr. Brown's
estimates, given further on.
The above series of seams pass to the west of Low Point, and crop again on
the south shore of Sydney harbour, where within a width not exceeding one
mile measured across the strike, all the coal seams of the district crop
with a dip to the north at angles varying from thirty to forty degrees. This
locality has been fully described by Dr. Dawson, and a summary of his report
is given in Mr. Rutherford's paper. An area of four square miles has been
acquired to cover the subaqueous extension of these seams. At least six of
them, representing thirty-six feet of coal, are of good quality and of
workable size. The breadth of the area is such that with their high dip all
the coal that could be extracted from these seams will be included within
the area.
The seams of the southern part of the coal-field having been noticed
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 179
as regards the feasibility of theij* being worked under the sea, that part
of the district extending from Sydney Harbour to Cape Dauphin remains to be
described. The General Mining Association owns the greater part of this
section, their land area being 11,700 acres; they hold also a sea area of
3,200 acres at Oraneberry Head, now being worked for the main seam. The
seams of workable size found on the north side of Sydney Harbour, are four
in number, namely, the
Ft. In.
Lloyd's Cove seam .................. 6 0
Sydney Main „ .................. 6 0
Indian Cove „ .................. 4 8
Stoney „ .................. 8 8
Included in 1,860 feet of strata.
These seams can be traced to the Little Bras D'or, and are found to increase
in thickness as they go to the north. Mr. Brown, who had charge of the
Sydney Collieries for many years, considered the Mill Pond seam the
equivalent of the main seam. Professor Hynd, however, in his report on the
Point Aconi submarine area in 1872, proved the presence of a fault following
the course of the Little Bras D'or, which throws the main seam 400 feet up
into the position on Bouladrie Island, marked on the plan. This upthrow,
while considerably diminishing the land area of the seam in this locality,
adds to its accessibility for subaqueous working. This valuable seam, highly
esteemed for domestic use in Nova Scotia and Canada, is therefore accessible
at all points of the shore from Sydney Harbour to the Big Bras D'or. At this
point there are found below the main seam—
Ft. In. Ft. In.
The Crawley seam ......... 7 6 ... —
„ strata ......... — ... 560 0
Mill Pond seam............ 4 0 ... —
„ strata............ — ... 400 0
Black Rock seam ......... 4 0 ... —
These seams have not been worked to any extent, their size and quality being
known chiefly from trial pits confined to their crops.
Crossing the Big Bras D'or the coal seams of Campbelton remain to be
noticed. Two seams are known here, covering an area of about one and a half
square miles. The dip at the Bras D'or is to the east at an angle of 12
degrees, but rapidly becomes almost vertical, owing to the protrusion of the
syenitic ridge of Cape Dauphin. The effect of this disturbance can be traced
out to sea in the Bird Eocks, which are evidently on the axis of an
anticlinal pursuing a course parallel to those of Lingan and Cow Bay. The
reverse or northerly dip is shown by the presence of carboniferous strata at
St. Ann's Harbour.
VOL. XXIV.—1876.
^2
180 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
At Inganish and Astry Bay are found similar patches of carboniferous strata,
just enough being left to prove the immense extent of these measures at a
former period, and the wonderful denudation which, in Cape Breton, has
almost completely stripped the carboniferous from the underlying silurian
and older rocks.
SUBMARINE COAL OF WESTERN CAPE BRETON. In this connection the coal-field of
Western Cape Breton claims attention. The law requiring reports of the work
done by lessees of the Crown not having been always complied with, details
of coal seams, their size, position, etc., cannot be easily obtained. The
present dulness in the American coal trade has tended during the past few
years to discourage exploration, and to prevent the investing of large
amounts of capital in coal mining. Mr. Rutherford's summary in his paper on
the Coal-fields of Nova Scotia, gives a good idea of the district as known
at that time. In order that the continuity of this paper may be maintained
it is proposed to give a brief description of the coal-measures of this part
of the island, and include the latest discoveries.
An idea of the district may be formed by imagining a large coal-field with a
gentle dip to the west, folded in repeated undulations, running east and
west, and then the crowns of the anticlinals denuded with great part of the
intervening coals. This represents the present condition of the seams; their
strike is either parallel to the shore with westerly dips under the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, or they are found with north and south dips on the sides of
small synclinals running out at no great distance inland.
The district lying between Mabou and the Bras D'or is occupied by
carboniferous measures, and quite recently there have been statements of
workable coal being found there. Should this prove true, still more
important discoveries may be looked for.
At Port Hood the highest known seam crops on the beach with a dip W. angle
20 degrees. Below this, at a vertical depth of 360 feet, is another seam,
six feet thick, extending about two miles along the shore. Below this are
found two others, one three feet thick, and another of workable size, of
which the writer has no particulars.
At Mabou another series of seams is found in a synclinal form,' occupying a
basin one mile wide, and somewhat longer, from east to west. The relative
positions of the seams in the series are—
Ft. In.
1st seam........................ 5 0
2nd „ ........................ 7 0
3rd ,, ........................13 0
4th „ ........................ 4 0
Included in 500 feet of strata, both north and south crops being known.
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 181
The reverse pitch of the north cr«p is exposed a little distance to the
northward. From this point the seams are known to range for some distance
along the shore with seaward dips, but no detailed examinations have yet
been systematically carried out.
At Broad Cove Professor Hynd divided the seams into two groups, the lower
containing two seams, one two feet six inches thick, and one 60 feet lower,
of which no details are known. Within a few weeks the crop of a 16 feet seam
has been found underlying these, at a vertical depth of 100 feet. The
upper group contains—
Ft. In. Ft. In.
Coal .................. 3 0 ... —
Strata.................. — ... 340 0
Coal .................. 5 0 ... —
Strata.................. — ... 100 0
Coal .................. 7 0 ... —
Strata.................. — ... 240 0
Coal .................. 3 6 ... —
These seams are found in a similar synclinal form to those at Mabou. Their
range inland is much more extensive, and it is believed that this district
will shortly prove very valuable.
This group can be traced as far as Chimney Corner, about ten miles to the
north. At this place the lower group contains several seams, but no work has
been done to settle their size.
The upper group gives the following section :—
Ft. In. Ft. In.
Coal .................. 1 6 ... —
Strata............ ...... — ... 300 0
Coal .................. 3 0 ... —
Strata.................. — ... 88 0
Coal ............... ... 5 0 ... —
Strata.................. — ... 200 4
Coal .................. 3 6 ... —
Strata.................. — ... —
Large coal seam ............ — ... —
There are no details of the lowest bed, operations having been confined to
the 3 feet 6 inch seam.
The similarity between the Broad Cove and Chimney Corner seams is very
striking, and points to the identity of the 5 feet seam of the latter place
with the 7 feet of the former. At Chimney Corner a colliery was opened on
the 3 feet 6 inch seam, which dips north-west, at an angle of 40 degrees,
but is closed at present. The slope was started in what appeared at first to
be almost dangerous proximity to the shore, but the measures, consisting of
massive bedded sandstones, proved perfectly
182 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
impermeable to water. The quality of this coal was considered
admirably-adapted for steam purposes, and a small quantity has been shipped.
Until careful and connected surveys have been made, it is difficult to give
any estimate of the amount of accessible coal lying under the sea. There can
be no doubt, however, that there is an immense amount, and that at some
future date very valuable sea areas will be worked on this side of the
island.
The great drawback is the absence of any suitable harbour on this coast
within easy reach of the coal. The carboniferous measures are rapidly
wasting in consequence of the prevailing westerly winds which have the full
breadth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to sweep across. These winds, aided by
the tides, choke the rivers and harbours with sand bars which are
continually shifting, and render navigation unpleasant. Professor Dawson, in
his Acadian Geology, gives the following instance of this :—" Owing to the
waste of the coast, a sand bar, which connected Port Hood Island with the
mainland, has been swept away, and a safe harbour has thus been converted
into an open roadstead, exposed to northerly winds, and encumbered with
shoals. This will prove a serious drawback to any attempt to work the
coal-beds of this locality."
The following estimates collected from the reports of various engineers show
what an immense amount of coal is accessible outside of what are usually
called the limits of the Cape Breton Coal-field.
The average specific gravity of the Cape Breton coals may be taken at 1*8.
The ordinary formula based upon this gives 1,580 tons as the weight of an
acre of coals one foot thick, the Nova Scotia coal ton containing 2,240 lbs.
In the following estimates the round number 1,500 is taken.
At the Schooner Pond area the only seam opened is the Ross, 6 feet thick,
underlying, in addition to the land area, a sea area of 640 acres, in which
are contained 5,850,000 tons. In addition to this, however, the whole of the
submarine area is underlaid, probably under workable conditions, by the
Great Phelan seam ; and both land and sea areas by the Lorway, Gardner, and
other less developed seams.
SWORD PROPERTY—GLACE BAY. This area, containing 2,250 acres, is more or
less underlaid by four workable seams, yielding—
Acres. Tons of Coal.
The Hub Seam ...... 9 ft. 6 in. ... 798 ...
11,371,500
„ Harbour „ ...... 5 ft. 6 in. ... 1,466 ...
12,094,500
„ Black Pit,, ...... 4 ft. 6 in. ...1,782 ...
12,028,500
,, Phelan „ ...... 8 ft. 8 in. ...2,215 ...
27,576,750
Total ...... 63,071,250
THE SUBMARINE COAL OP CAPE BRETON, N.S. 183
VICTORIA SUBMARINE AREA. The Ross seam only has been opened here ; its
thickness is 5 feet 6 inches. The quantity of coal within the area in this
seam to a depth of 4,000 feet is 15,500,000 tons. The total amount of coal
in this area, calculated from the six workablejeams, proved above and below
the Ross bed, cannot be less than 90,000,000 tons.
THE POINT ACONIPROPERTY Contains over 20,000,000 tons of the Sydney main
seam coal, according to Professor Hynd, who was for some time engaged in a
geological examination of the locality, and according to his calculations
would be underlaid at that spot by
Ft. In.
The Sydney main seam.................. 6 0
,. Crawley „ .................. 7 6
„ Mill Pond (formerly considered the Sydney main seam) 4 0
„ Black Rock seam .................. 4 q
Contained within 1,180 feet of strata.
Professor Hynd also estimates the quantity of main seam coal in the (New)
Sydney Colliery to be 91,000,000 tons. The following are Mr. Brown's
estimates :—
CRANEBERRY HEAD AREA (SUBMARINE.)
Acres. Tons.
In the Lloyd's Cove seam ...... 1,650 ... 14,950,000
» Main „ ...... 3,200 ...
28,800,000
„ Indian Cove „ ...... 3,200 ...
22,400,000
Tons ...... 66,150,000
1ST LINGAN SEA AREA.—5 SQUARE MILES.
Acres. Thickness. Tons.
The Carr seam ...... 3,100 4 0
18,600,000
Barrasois „ ...... 3,170 8 8
41,210,000
Dunphy „ ...... 3.200 4 O
19,200,000
David » ...... — 7 0
33,600,000
Main » ...... — 8 8
41,600,000
154,210,000 2nd LINGAN SEA AREA.—5 SQUARE MILES. The Carr, Barrasois, and
other seams, yield, according to the same authority, no less than
141,895,000 tons of coal of good quality.
NATURE OF STRATA. The measures enclosing the Cape Breton coals are largely
composed of sandstones, frequently occurring in massive beds, sometimes
intercalated
184 THE SUBMARINE COAL OE CAPE BRETON, N.S.
with shales and thin girdles of ironstone. A few beds of limestone and
conglomerate are met, but their thickness is insignificant. The layers of
ironstone balls vary in thickness from two inches to three feet; the quality
is reported to be sometimes suitable for iron making, but, as far as the
writer is aware, no practical tests have been made. The following is a
summary of the measures between the Back Pit and Phelan seams.
Ft. in.
Sandstone........................ 91 1
Shales—Fireclay..................... 17 4
Ironstone—Coal..................... 2 6
110 11
This may be taken as an average of the proportions of the various strata of
the Glace Bay district.
The section of the north side of Sydney Harbour contains a much larger
percentage of fire-clay and shales.
Summary of measures overlying the Sydney main seam :—
Ft, In.
Lloyd's Cove seam .................. 5 0
Sandstones and shales.................. 209 0
Sandstone........................ 11 0
Shales ........................ 37 0
Sandstone........................ 31 0
Shales and sandstones.................. 112 0
Sandstone........................ 47 0
Shales and sandstones.................. 97 0
Sandstone.................. "...... 21 0
Shales ........................ 72 0
Sandstone.................... 24 0
Shale, 2-6 feet ..................... —
Main seam ..................... 6 0
The beds of sandstone are very firm and massive. The shales and sandstones
are in alternating layers from 2 inches to 10 feet in thickness—the result
of the workings in the main seam being that the roof is very easily managed.
The shales are to a great extent arenaceous, few being bituminous.
SYSTEMS OF WORKING.—SYDNEY COLLIERY. The bord and pillar system is the one
employed at this mine, both in the land and sea areas. Until the completion
of the new winnings the dip coal is drawn to the bottom of the Queen Pit by
two inclines, each over 1,000 yards long, 7 feet wide, and 6 feet high.
These inclines are driven ne arly on the full dip of the coal, which is N".
60 degrees E. at an angle of 4 degrees 45', or one in twelve ; one supplies
the northern and the other
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 185
the southern section of the workings. They are laid with suitable tracks of
two feet gauge, with wrought iron rails weighing 32 lbs. to the yard. The
tubs hold 10 cwts each, and twenty form the usual load.
From the inclines, main levels or way-gates are turned 6 feet wide and 5
feet high, and laid with rails similar to those in the inclines. Gate-roads
or headways 6 feet wide are driven from the main level at regular intervals
of 40 yards obliquely to the rise, at about 20 degrees off the full pitch of
the seam. At every 14 yards the bords are broken off 16^ feet wide, and
driven parallel to the main level, leaving pillars 40 yards long by 14 yards
wide. The coal is mined by holing in the bottom and nicking one side, the
fall and bench being taken out by wedge or powder. The proportion of slack
is one-fifth, and is generally left in the mine. The coal is banked out
during the suspension of navigation in winter, and is found to contain
twenty-five per cent, of slack on being lifted again. The submarine workings
are being pushed north and south from Craneberry Head, with 480 feet of
cover between them and the sea bottom. No pillars have yet been drawn under
the sea, although there is every reason to believe that the unusual firmness
of the overlying strata would permit of a much smaller scale of pillarage.
VICTORIA COAL MINES.
This colliery is nearly opposite Sydney, on the south side of the harbour.
At this point the seams dip N. 30 degrees W., angle 38 degrees 30'. The seam
worked is 6 feet thick, with roof and floor of unusually good description, 6
inches of bottom coal are left, being of inferior quality.
The submarine coal is won by a slope 300 yards long, 15 feet wide, and 9
feet high, beginning about 60 yards from the shore, and driven on the full
pitch of the seam, with parallel smaller slopes for ventilation. There are
three main levels driven 8 feet wide, and the full height of the seam. The
bords are turned to the rise, and continued from level to level, forming
pillars 23 yards long and 8 yards wide. The coal is run to the lowest level
either by its gravity or by means of counter-balances similar to those
described by the writer in a former paper on the Pictou Coal-field. This
lowest level is laid with a permanent track of 2 feet gauge, on which the
tubs, of one ton capacity, are drawn to the slope by horses. On arriving at
the slope, which is laid with a double 4 feet 6 inch gauge track, two tubs
are pushed on to a platform with four wheels, on the nearest track, and made
horizontal by having the diameter of the upper pair of wheels much smaller
than that of the lower pair, and drawn to bank by a wire rope of l£ inch
diameter. The engines are of 120 horse-power, having two 22 inch
186 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
cylinders, 4 feet 6 inches stroke, working direct on drums 10 feet in
diameter. These arrangements are equal to a daily output of 500 tons.
A pump working at the rate of 40 gallons per minute drains the mine in
twelve hours, most of the water being from the surface and old workings.
LINGAN.
The submarine workings at this colliery are pursued on a similar system to
that in use at Sydney. The coal is worked through a slope 8 feet wide and
700 yards long, driven on the pitch of the seam, and drawn by a high
pressure engine of 40 horse-power stationed at bank. The pillars are 22
yards long and 5 yards wide ; the working places 15 and 18 feet wide, are
turned to suit the cleat of the coal. Although workings have been extended a
considerable distance under the sea, there is but a trifling amount of water
made, the accumulation not exceeding one ton per day.
At Schooner Pond similar arrangements are in progress for working under the
sea.
GAS AND VENTILATION.
The early workings in the Cape Breton coals being confined to the vicinity
of the crop, trifling amounts of gas were met, and the ventilating
appliances were of the simplest description.' It is found that gas increases
considerably as workings go to the dip ; as yet, however, safety-lamps are
carried only by firemen. The ventilation at all these collieries worked by
slopes is through furnaces generally placed near the crop, and provided with
high wooden stacks. The amounts of air passed in the above-mentioned
collieries vary from 20,000 to 30,000 cubic feet per minute. No mechanical
ventilators are used in Cape Breton, the only one at present in the province
being a 30 feet Guibal fan at the Albion Colliery, Pictou.
SHIPPING FACILITIES.
Some of the Cape Breton collieries have artificial shipping places, the
remainder ship at Sydney Harbour. Among the latter are the Sydney, Victoria,
International, and Eeserve Mines. The Lingan, Little Glacey Bay, Caledonia,
Block House, and Gowrie, have constructed independent loading grounds,
connected by short railways, with their works. The Block House and Gowrie
ship at open wharves in Cow Bay protected by a breakwater. These structures
are very expensive, being necessarily of great strength to resist the sweep
of the ice and the Atlantic gales.
At Glace Bay, Caledonia, and Lingan, docks have been excavated at the mouths
of brooks or land-locked lagoons. These places are small,
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 187
frequently inconvenient of access, and require, moreover, a constant
expenditure for dredging and repairs.
The following description of the shipping place of the Caledonia Colliery
will show their usual character :—" Port Caledonia is formed by an
artificial cut at the corner of Glace Bay and Lake, with piers of crib work
loaded with stone, 80 feet apart at the mouth, and 120 feet at the wharf or
shipping place, and extending 400 yards from the wharf into the sea. The
wharf is provided with three shipping places, two loading shoots, and a
steam crane, and is capable of accommodating vessels drawing up to 17 feet
of water. A small propeller tug of 45 horse power, and a steam dredge of
about the same power, are employed in connection with this harbour."
These independent little shipping places have each a complement of wharfmen,
tugs, dredges, etc., besides a railway for each colliery ; all these things
unite as a great source of expense. In addition to this, all the present
wharves are virtually closed during the winter months.
When there can be no coal shipped, each colliery banks out the coal that is
extracted, or lessens the number of men employed. This bank coal is exposed
to the alternate snow and rain, storms and frosts which characterize the
winter in the Lower Province, and when raised in summer is found to have
formed a proportion of slack, sometimes exceeding one-fourth of the original
amount.
In regard, to the alteration of coal by prolonged exposure to moist air, M.
Vanenstrass finds that the loss of weight due to slow oxidation and to the
escape of gases rich in carbon may amount to one-third of the original
weight. The calorific power sustains in this case a loss of 47 per cent. He
finds that in closed storehouses the loss of heating power is less than 10
per cent.; bituminous coals of the varieties most generally found in Europe
undergoing the most rapid alterations.
This remark applies with even more force to the bituminous coals of Cape
Breton, which are exposed to more rapid and extreme changes of temperature,
and to a climate containing an equal amount of moisture. The slack coal is
frequently made from the more tender and bituminous part of the seam and the
reputation of the coal made to depend on the inferior parts of the bed.
When shipping is resumed this bank coal is sent away mixed in various
proportions with the fresh coals. No comment is needed on the effect
produced on the market price of the coal by the addition of such a
deteriorated material. It is to be hoped that the completion of the
Louis-burg and Cape Breton Kailway from Sydney to Louisburg will introduce
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
B2
188 THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S.
a more satisfactory state of affairs, and that the collieries generally will
avail themselves of the chance of avoiding the unfavourable conditions
stated above.
Louisburg Harbour is one of the finest of the many good ports of Nova
Scotia. During the present winter, one of unparalleled severity, when New
York, Baltimore, and even Halifax Harbour, were blockaded by ice, there was
not one day in which coal shipping could not be carried on at Louisburg.
This harbour, during the early history of the colony, was selected by the
French as their naval head-quarters in North America, and has frequently
held their flotillas for weeks in perfect safety. The more inland
collieries, such as the Lorway, Gardner, and Reserve, will be directly
benefited by the extension to Louisburg, as they will be enabled to ship
fresh coal during the whole year, and to effect what is very seldom attained
in Nova Scotia under the present state of affairs, namely, working full time
during the winter months.
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE REGULATIONS AS TO WORKING SUBMARINE AREAS IN
NOVA SCOTIA :—
1.—No coal shall be wrought under a less cover than 180 feet of solid
measures, provided that the owner or lessee of such area may drive
passageways to win coal under less cover than 180 feet, but not under less
than 100 feet of solid measures.
2.—A barrier of not less than 150 feet must be left unwrought between the
boundary lines of every lease in the workings of every submarine seam.
3.—The working of every such submarine area shall be laid off in districts
of an area not greater than half of one square mile, and the barrier
enclosing each separate district shall not be less than 30 yards thick, and
shall not be pierced by more than three passage-ways, having a sectional
area not greater than six feet by six feet.
4.—No district shall have its length, when parallel to the general trend of
the adjoining shore, greater than one mile.
5.—A proposed system of working the coal in each submarine area shall,
before work is commenced, be submitted to and approved of by the Inspector ;
and no change shall be made in such approved system without the written
sanction of the Inspector. The opening of a new level or lift in a mine
already working in a submarine area shall be deemed the commencement of a
new winning in the meaning of this clause. The penalty to be inflicted for
transgression of the above regulations is 1,000 dollars, or £200 sterling ;
if the offence be continued, the works may be stopped by order of the
Government.
THE SUBMARINE COAL OF CAPE BRETON, N.S. 189
SECTION OF THE CAPS* BRETON COAL MEASURES. Feom Reports of Drs.
Dawson, Lesley, and others.
Strata. Coal.
Ft. in.
Hub seam. Not found except at Tabic head ...... —
9 9
20 0
Cannel coal ..................... — 2 0
Strata containing thin seams of Cannel coal ...... 480 0
—
Harbour seam. Supposed Block House seam of Cow Bay — 5
6
247 0 —
Brutheters seam .................. — 2 0
82 0 —
Black Pit seam • ¦• ............... — 46
100 0 — Phelan seam; known also as the Lingan Main and
McAulay..................... — 8 3
210 0 — Ross seam of Cow Bay and Glace Bay, Wilson seam of
South Head ............... ... — —
58 0 —
McRury........................ — 4 4
100 0 —
Coal seam ..................... — 3 0
50 0 —
Coal seam ..................... — 2 0
200 0 —
Long Beach seam ... ... ... ... ...
... — 3 0
50 0 —
Coal seam ..................... — 2 3
209 0 —
Coal seam ..................... — 6 0
330 0 —
Gardner seam..................... — 4 9
35 0 —
Coal seam ..................... — 4 0
600 0 —
Cannel seam ..................... — 6 0
Coal seam .....................1000 0 —
From this table the various equivalent seams may be collated. The total
thickness of the coal formation is variously estimated.
The Sydney seams are supposed to be represented by the lowest beds
known at Mira Bay. There is, however, much doubt that any seam can be traced
from end to end of the coal-field, the present theories presenting many
difficulties. It is to be hoped that the labours of the Geological Survey of
Canada will be able to settle this very important point.
190 PROCEEDINGS.
The following paper, by Mr. Wm. Routledge, " On the Sydney Coal-Field in the
Island of Cape Breton, British North America," was considered as read, and
ordered to be printed.
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 191
NOTES ON THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD IN THE ISLAND OF CAPE BRETON, BRITISH NORTH
AMERICA.
By WM. ROUTLEDGE, M.E., Sydney, C.B.
There is probably no part of the British Empire that contains such a vast
extent of coal formation in proportion to its size, as the Island of Cape
Breton, in British North America. Situated at the mouth of the Saint
Lawrence, the northern shore of this island forms the southern shores of the
Saint Lawrence ; to the west this island is cut off from Nova Scotia proper
by the Straits of Canso, an important navigable channel connecting the
Atlantic with the Bay of Saint Lawrence. The southern and eastern shores of
this island are bounded by the Atlantic Ocean. In looking over the
geological map of Cape Breton there will be found no less than four coal
districts, one of which, the Sydney Coal District, on the eastern shores of
Cape Breton, is of very considerable extent. The land area occupied by the
productive coal measures in the eastern or Sydney coalfield may, so far as
is now known, be estimated at 200 square miles, being about 32 miles in
length from the mouth of Big Bras D'or, on the north-west, to Mira Bay, on
the south-east, by about six miles in width. It is limited to the east by
the Atlantic Ocean, and towards the west by the outcrop of the underlying
lower carboniferous rocks. The land area of the Sydney coal-field forms the
western margin of troughs or basins of coal, which are for the most part
hidden under the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The whole coast is deeply
indented by bays and rivers, affording in the rocky cliffs numerous natural
sections of the strata and exposures of the coal seams. Some of these bays
also constitute excellent harbours ; first among which stands Sydney
Harbour, which ranks among the finest and most commodious on the Atlantic
coast. Other harbours are also on the coast which afford considerable
facilities for the ready shipment of coals at a short distance from the
mines of production. Lingan, Glace Bay, Port Caledonia, and Cow Bay, are not
in any case more than two miles from the working collieries ; such natural
advantages, combined
192 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
with its highly-favoured geographical position, point to the Sydney
coalfield as probably the most important in the Dominion of Canada for the
supply of fuel to the numerous steam-ships crossing the Atlantic. Cape
Breton being as it were the key to the Saint Lawrence, steamers from
Montreal and Quebec to Europe, with slight deviation from their usual
course, could call at Sydney for coals. Sailing vessels from Europe, bound
up the Saint Lawrence in ballast, are always sure of a cargo at good rates
up to Quebec and Montreal from. Sydney and outports, without at all
going-out of their usual course ; and with the extension of the railway
system to the old harbour of Louisburgh, it is expected that during the
winter months, when most of the harbours are closed by ice, steamers will be
able to coal at Louisburgh. Opinions differ as to the possibility of
steamers coming so far north in winter, but there is no doubt when some
enterprising steam-ship company sets an example by using the port, it will
be found of great convenience, for steamers can purchase coal there, on this
side of the Atlantic, at a much cheaper rate than at Halifax.
The aggregate thickness of coal in workable seams in the several basins
(hereafter named) in the Sydney coal-field is from 25 to 60 feet, and as a
rule the seams dip at a low angle, and, so far as is known, are not affected
by faults or dykes ; as all the strata dip seaward, much of the coal will be
available in the submarine as well as in the land areas.
The seams of coal in this coal-field are of the bituminous or soft variety,
all of which yield a coal well adapted for general purposes, while the
produce of some of them is specially applicable for the manufacture of gas.
Much of the mineral will compare very favourably with the best English
coals.
Although, as before said, the Island of Cape Breton possesses considerable
area of coal-bearing strata, very little has been done beyond explorations,
except in the Eastern or Sydney coal-field, in which there have been a
number of first-class mines or collieries opened out, fully proving the
extent of the coal-field, and also the approximate depth of the coal
measures.
From explorations and the opening out of collieries in the Sydney coalfield
it would seem as if it were divided into four different and distinct coal
basins or troughs. See Plate XXXVI.
No. 1, extending from the mouth of Big Bras D'or River southward, a distance
of eight miles, to Sydney Eiver, and comprising what is generally known as
the Sydney Mines section.
Basin No. 2, extending from Sydney River south, about five miles to the
shore of Lingan Bay, and usually termed the Lingan tract.
Basin No. 3, extending from the southern shore of Lingan Bay, a
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 193
distance of about eleven miles southward to the northern head of Cow Bay,
and generally known as the Grlace Bay section.
Basin No. 4, extending from a point marked N on the map, about four miles
westwardly inland, from the shore of Cow Bay, and southwardly under the
waters of Cow Bay, called the Block House section.
On reference to the plan, map, and section, it will be seen that the several
basins comprising the Sydney coal-field are entirely different one from
another in the line of coal crops, thickness of seams, angle of dip,
thickness of strata between coal seams, number of seams, and depth of coal
measures. The only similarity is that all the coal seams have fire clay
floors or thills, which it is well known is usual in all seams of coal.
No. 1 Basin, as will be seen from the section, Plate XXXV., contains four
valuable seams of coal and a number of other smaller ones lying at an easy
angle of about seven degrees. The coal seams in this basin are much thicker
southward on Sydney River than to the north on Bras D'or, but from openings
that have been made, the quality of the coal remains uniformly the same. The
southern termination of this basin is generally supposed to be about the
middle of Sydney River, the seams of coal being broken off by what may be
termed a submarine anticlinal, known as Petrie's Ledges, a dangerous reef of
rocks running nearly the same course as the river.
On referring to the section of strata (on line A B) this basin will be found
underlayed by the following important seams in descending order :—
Feet. In.
No. 1 Seam 21 feet down Cranberry Head seam ... 4 0
2 ,, 302 „ Lloyd's Cove seam ...... 6
0
3 „ 665 „ Chapel Point seam ...... 2 0
4 „ 1,030 „ Sydney Main seam ...... 6 0
5 „ 1,500 „ Indian Cove seam ...... 4 8
6 „ 1,690 „ Shaley seam ......... 3 0
Total thickness of workable seams .....-. 25 8
With the exception of Chapel Point seam and Shaley seam, all the seams in
this section or basin have been worked to some extent; the mam seam at the
Sydney Mines has been worked for more than forty years, and is considered
the best domestic coal; at all events, in spite of severe competition, this
coal maintains the highest selling price in the island. Lloyd's Cove seam
has been partially worked by the owners of Sydney Mine, but operations
ceased in this seam about nine years ago, owing to the company being able to
supply all the demands from one pit. This seam has a stone-band about two
feet from the top, which does not seri-
194 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
ously damage the character of the coal. The Indian Cove seam has also been
worked in this district by the General Mining Association of London (owners
of the Sydney and Lingan Mines) at their No. 3 Pit at Sydney Mines, on
Ingraham's coal area, on the Bras D'or road, and by parties owning mining
areas on Little Bras D'or Eiver, but owing to the character of the coal not
being such as to bring a paying price in the various home and foreign
markets, all workings on this seam have been abandoned, except by the
farmers for home consumption. The only colliery at present working on this
section is the Pioneer Colliery of Cape Breton Sydney Mine.
On crossing over Sydney Eiver to the south, No. 2 Coal Basin, or section on
the Lingan tract, is reached ; it extends southwards from the southern shore
of Sydney Kiver, a distance of five miles, to the northern head of Lingan
Bay, and is underlaid by valuable seams of coal, only one of which is under
three feet thick. The angle of dip in this basin is very peculiar. At the
Lingan or southern end the seams lie at an angle of 12 degrees j whereas at
the northern end on Sydney Eiver the angle increases to 45 degrees.
Speculators and others interested endeavour to make out and identify this
basin or tract with No. 1 or Sydney Mines section, but taking into
consideration the great disparity in the number of the seams, the difference
in the quality of the coal, and the great angle at which the coal lies at
the northern end of this basin at Victoria Mines, and the different
thickness of the coal measures, complete identification seems impossible.
From the extreme angle of the Victoria slope and the distance driven down
(about 1,000 feet) it would place the workings at the Victoria Mines much
lower than any point reached at the Sydney Mines on the opposite side of the
river. Moreover, the course of the coal crop on the south side of the river
is almost at right angles to that on the north.
The following undermentioned seams in descending order will be found in this
basin or section on the line C D. See Plates XXXV. and XXXVI. :—
Feet. In. No. 1 seam, 30 feet down, Carr's seam ......... 4
0
2 „ 260 „ Barrasois seam ...... 8
0
3 „ 300 „ Dunphy's seam ...... 4
0
4 ., 360 ,, Davy's Head seam ...... 7
0
5 ,, 650 ., Northern Head seam ... ...
3 0
6 ,, 700 ,, Lingan Main seam ... ...
8 6
7 „ 750 „ Laffin's seam......... 2 8
8 „ 860 „ Small seam ......... 2 3
Total thickness of coal......... 39 5
All the above seams have been proved to some extent by the farmers and
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 195
fishermen on the shores of Sydney Eiver and Lingan Bay. The Lingan Main seam
has been worked to a great extent by the General Mining Association of
London, at their Lingan Mines, and is found to be an excellent gas coal. In
this seam workings are extended under the sea for some distance, where the
coal seems of its usual good character. Three feet from the top of the
Lingan Main seam, where it is exposed in the cliff on the northern side of
Lingan Bay, there is a stone band one inch in thickness. This band continues
to increase in thickness until about 1,000 yards from the shore (on water
level line) to north-west, where the seam is divided by a band 14 feet
thick, from which point the band gradually decreases till the seam nearly
becomes united again. The Eoss or Davy's Head seam is being extensively
worked by the Victoria Coal Company at the Victoria Mines on the southern
bank of Sydney Eiver. The coal from this seam is largely used for domestic
purposes, and is much appreciated in the various markets. The Barrasois
seam, cropping out at the surface, about half-way between Lingan and
Victoria Mines, has been proved by a slope by the General Mining
Association. As no sales of any moment have been made from this seam, the
character of the coal is not known, but from appearance it will probably
prove a good domestic or house coal. So far as the slope has gone down the
dip is very slight, and not in any way approaching the amount of dip at the
Lingan or Victoria Mines.
At the southern or Lingan end of this basin or tract is the anticlinal I K,
which, without doubt, terminates this basin. The thickness of coal measures
proved is about 1,000 feet. On the other side of Lingan Bay to the south, is
Basin No. 3, which is the largest in extent, and contains the greatest
number of coal seams and the greatest depth of coal measures. In this basin
are no less than fourteen seams, eight of which are over three feet in
thickness. The depth of coal formation is already proved to 3,000 feet. In
extent of area, number of seams, and quantity of coal, this is the most
valuable of the several basins comprising the Sydney coal-field, it yields
coal of the best kind for the manufacture of gas, domestic and steam
purposes, and possesses the largest number of going collieries and the best
railway facilities, which give access to the famous harbours of Sydney and
Louisburgh, for two important - railways intersect it, both running within
easy distance of the several coal areas at present at work, and also of
areas owned by speculators with license to work in the future.
On reference to the plan, Plate XXXVL, and section of strata (on line E F),
Plate XXXV., the great size and importance of this basin, as well as the
thickness and depth of its various coal seams and intervening
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
(f
196 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
strata, will be readily understood. The names of seams already proved are
as under in descending order :—
Feet. In, No. 1 seam, 240 feet down, Hub seam ......... 9
6
2 „ 770 „ Harbour seam ...... 5
6
3 „ 1,030 „ Boutilier seam ...... 3
0
4 „ 1,080 „ Back Pit seam ...... 4
6
5 „ 1,190 „ Phalen seam ...... 8
0
6 „ 1,330 „ Ross or Emery seam...... 4 6
7 ,, 1,420 „ Small seam ......... 2 6
8 ,, 1,830 ., Lorway seam......... 4 0
9 „ 2,290 „ Gardiner seam ...... 4
9
10 „ 2,400 „ Gardiner new seam..... 5 6
11 „ 2,850 ,, Clark's seam......... 2 0
12 „ 3,100 „ Martin's seam......... 2 0
Total coal thickness......... 55 9
All the above seams have been proved and tried to some extent (down to No. 6
seam) from small workings in the cliffs from Glace Bay Head round to Lingan
Sand Bar, which conclusively show their thickness and angle of dip. Below
No. 6 the several seams have been fully proved by sinkings, borings and
working slopes. The upper or Hub seam has been extensively worked by the
Glace Bay Mining Company. At the Boost Slope and McLay Pit this seam is a
very tender and friable coal, and is probably the easiest and cheapest
worked seam in Cape Breton, nevertheless it has the reputation of yielding
the best gas coal in the island, which also stands well for domestic
purposes. The Harbour or International seam has been extensively worked by
the Glace Bay Mining Company at their Harbour Pit, and by the International
Mining Company at Bridgeport. At both places the coal has given great
satisfaction, the seam working fine large blocks, much appreciated for gas
and domestic purposes. The next working seam is the Phalen, which has been
more extensively worked than any other in this section, at the Old
Bridgeport Mines, owned by the General Mining Association of London, where a
considerable amount was worked over thirty years ago ; at present it is
largely worked at the Reserve Mines, owned by the Cape Breton Coal Company
of London. At Caledonia Colliery, owned by the Caledonia • Mining Company,
and at the Clyde or Ontario Mines, owned by Messrs. Campbell, of Halifax,
the mineral from the Phalen seam turns out well, and gives general
satisfaction gas and domestic
coal. At the Old Bridgeport and Reserve Mines the Phalen seam is rather
of an undulating character, but maintains an average dip of five
THE SYDNEY COAL-JFIELD. 197
degrees. The next working se#m in descending order is one partially worked
at Schooner Pond, and there known as the Ross seam ; it is also worked at
the Emery Mines, and known as the Emery seam. This coal is very friable, and
easily worked, but does not make large coal; it has a loose shale roof, and
takes a good deal of timber, and from the appearance of the workings at
Emery is well adapted for long-wall working. The coal, though small, gives
great satisfaction, and is much looked after for domestic and other
purposes.
Below the Ross or Emery seam comes the Lorway seam, four feet in thickness,
of good clean coal. This seam has only been worked to a small extent at the
Lorway West Pit, owned by the Cape Breton Company. Unlike any other seam in
this section, the cleavage in the coal is very close and numerous at the
face; the section presents a firm, solid appearance, and with careful
blasting makes good large coals; but from its thin cleavage this coal is not
adapted for banking during severe winters—in fact it is one of those seams
that would prove most remunerative by being only worked during the summer
months or the season of navigation.
Below the Lorway the next working seam is the Gardiner seam, which is the
most westerly seam worked in this section. Within the last two years, this
seam has been fully proved by the sinking of the Gardiner Pit, by the
Gardiner Coal Mining Company of Montreal, and has been worked to some
extent. This is probably the hardest seam of coal in this section, very much
resembling in compactness and strength the low mam seams on the Wear and the
yard coal on the Tyne. This coal bears a good and increasing reputation as a
steam coal, and is much sought after by Atlantic steam-ships.
About 130 feet below the Gardiner seam, another seam 5 feet 6 inches has
been proved at the crop, which from the appearance of the coal would seem
well adapted for gas purposes.
To westward of the above New Gardiner seam are two small seams named the
Clark and Martin seams, of very fine coal, but not of sufficient thickness
to work profitably in competition with the larger seams. So far as is known,
these seams define the western limit of the Glace Bay Basin.
As will be seen from the map, basin No. 4 is separated from basin No. 3
by'the anticlinal L M, running nearly east and west, and forming the range
of hills between Cow Bay and Schooner Pond, over which the road from
Schooner Pond to Cow Bay is made through a most formidable-looking lot of
conglomerate boulders. This basin, from the fact of most of the seams being
cut off by the waters of Cow Bay Harbour, is of limited ex-
198 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
tent, nevertheless it contains coal seams of a very valuable character. This
may be said to be the only basin in the Sydney coal-field that has been
thoroughly proved. In the Block House seam, slopes have been driven from
the southern crop down through the lowest level of the basin and out again
(at a greater angle) on the northern crop near the anticlinal, and again at
the point, and the extent of the basin has been proved to the westward of
Cow Bay. The thickness of coal measures proved in this basin is about 1,300
feet, containing seven seams of coal, five of them more than three feet
thick, the highest and the most valuable, the Block House seam, being nine
feet thick, but unfortunately in point of surface area this is the most
limited in extent, and is almost entirely covered by the area of the Block
House Mining Company. American geologists have endeavoured to identify this
basin with that of Glace Bay, but the fact of the anticlinal intervening,
the positive proof of the basin in the workings of the Block House seam, and
the great disparity of the number of working seams in the two basins,
practically discourage such a supposition. On the map, Plate XXXVI., is
shown on the eastern side of Cow Bay Harbour a continuation of the seams
running through the point of land between Cow Bay and Mira Bay. At False
Bay Beach, the most southern point of Cow Bay, is found the Tracey seam.
Up to this time this seam has not been found at any other place in the
Sydney coal-field, and in all probability it curves round to the north in
conformity to seams in the Block House basin, and is broken off by the
anticlinal at or about the point. From its isolated position this seam
has not been included in this paper among the seams in the Block House or
Cow Bay basin.
As will be seen from the map and section of strata (on line G H) this basin
contains the least surface area of coal and the smallest number of workable
seams of any of the basins comprising the Sydney coal-field.
The first seam in descending order is the Block House, which has been worked
very extensively by the Block House Mining Company of New York. This seam,
like most seams yielding gas coals, is in some parts of a very friable
character, but on the whole it yields coal of an average appearance, which
for some years has been in great demand in New York and Boston as a gas
coal. One strange and singular peculiarity in this seam is, that in many
parts of the workings it is found for a distance of ten or twelve yards,
thickly mixed with lumps of fire-clay like raisins in a plum pudding. In all
cases where this disturbance occurs, the angle of dip remains the same. The
workings in this seam have proved conclusively the basin formation of the
district.
The only other seam working in this basin is the McAulay seam ; it
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 199
has been extensively worked by *the Messrs. Archibald and Co., at the Gowrie
Colliery, and has been found to be a good domestic coal, and has a good
demand in the various provincial markets. This is about the only seam in
Cape Breton that can be worked without blasting powder, owing to the
existence at every four or five inches, of what is known in the north of
England as "slippy backs." All the coal can be worked by wedging, or when
good juds are made it comes down of its own weight.
None of the other seams in this section have been proved by workings, but
their existence, depth and angle of dip, have all been undoubtedly proved by
trial pits near the several crops.
From the foregoing limited description of the Sydney coal-field it will be
seen that the small island of Cape Breton is destined at some future day to
take an important position in the coal-producing countries of the world. In
order to show how capitalists are taking advantage of its mineral wealth,
the writer purposes concluding this paper with a short account of the
present working collieries, commencing with the pioneers of our Cape Breton
coal trade
THE SYDNEY MINES Which are located on the northern side of the Sydney or
Spanish River, about one mile inland from Cranberry Head, the northern
entrance of the river. This establishment is probably more like an English
colliery than any other of the Cape Breton mines. Owned by the General
Mining Association of London, a wealthy English Corporation, the whole of
the equipments of this colliery are purely English. A stranger arriving at
Sydney Bar from England after a long sea voyage, and seeing the
old-fashioned chaldron or 53 cwt. coal wagons on the G. M. A. wharves,
would, fancy he was near one of the Newcastle collieries. The mining areas
of the Gr.M.A. at the Sydney Mines consist of sixteen square miles of land
area and seven square miles of submarine area. Several shafts have been sunk
on this property to prove it satisfactorily. Their present working
establishment consists of the Queen Pit coal shaft and Furnace Pit for
working the land areas, and a pair of new shafts in course of sinking to
work the Sydney Main seam, in the submarine area, the pumping shaft of which
is down to the coal, a distance of 680 feet. The present plant at Queen Pit
is equal to an output far exceeding any quantity that has been called for up
to this time, and with the completion of the new winning, the Sydney Mines
will be in a position to treble their heretofore highest sales. This
colliery is connected with one of the best shipping places in Cape Breton by
a short line of railway three miles long, (1) Plate XXXVI.,
200 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
leading from the colliery to the shipping place at North Bar on Sydney
Biver, where extensive wharves are erected for shipment of coals to vessels
of an average draught of 18 feet. New wharves are in course of erection to
accommodate vessels of a larger draught; the highest annual shipments from
these mines have never much exceeded 110,000 tons. The mechanical plant in
actual operation for raising and shipping coal is—one English hoisting
engine, one English pumping engine, and two underground hauling engines, at
Queen Pit; and a pair of English hoisting engines and one powerful English
pumping engine, at the New Winning ; besides five English locomotives and a
number of other smaller engines for various purposes. Crossing over
Sydney Biver to the south is the
VICTOKIA COLLIERY, Or, as it is usually called, Yictoria or Bosse's Mines,
owned by Frazer and Co., of Halifax. This colliery is located on the
southern bank of Sydney Biver, about two miles from Low Point lighthouse,
and was established for working four square miles of coal underlying the
waters at the mouth and entrance of Sydney Biver. With the exception of that
portion of the underground works comprising a pair of slopes passing through
the G.M.A. coal, all the works in this colliery are under water; the seam is
about six feet of clean coal, dipping at an angle of from 40 to 45 degrees.
The colliery is connected by four miles of railway, (2) Plate XXXVI.,
leading to a shipping place owned by the company at South Bar or Sydney
Biver (opposite North Bar), where wharves are erected in a sheltered
position, with a good draught of water, for shipping coals. The working of
this colliery is by a slope driven at the full dip of the seam, and coal is
raised by a pair of 16 inch cylinder (colonial) engines. The water from the
mines is forced by Cameron steam pumps up a separate pumping slope ; for
working the railway, one of Neilson's (of Glasgow) tank locomotives is
employed. The annual output, so far, has not been large, but it is capable
of considerable extension. Five miles further south are the
LINGAN MINES, Owned by the General Mining Association of London, and working
the Lingan Main seam in No. 2 basin. For thickness of seam, quality of coal,
and facilities for shipping, (3) Plate XXXYL, this colliery will compare
favourably with any others in Cape Breton. A snug little harbour, with about
14 feet draught of water, lies about one mile from the slope, where coal can
be shipped in all kinds of weather. The coal is raised from these
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 201
mines by a slope extending fron* the crop of the coal to the full dip of the
seam, more than half-a-mile down under the sea. This colliery is well laid
out, and capable of doing a large amount of work if required. Of late years
the output has not been large, the highest number of tons sold previous to
the abrogation of the Beciprocity Treaty, being about 52,000 tons. The coal
from the Lingan Mines is purely a gas coal, and the produce is mainly
dependent on the United States for a market; during the writer's management
of these mines a good trade was done in Boston and New York. Wharves are
laid out capable of shipping 800 tons per day, and if required, the channel
into the harbour could be deepened to admit of larger vessels. The
mechanical arrangements for working this mine consist of one old single
cylinder English engine (the oldest in Cape Breton) for hauling coals and
pumping water ; and one of Black, Hawthorn, & Co.'s locomotives for hauling
coals to the wharf; a pair of new engines are in course of erection for
hauling out of the slope. During the last two years a portion of the
underground works in this colliery has been damaged by fire from the flues
of a boiler placed underground to work steam pumps, but it is satisfactory
to know that the fire has now been put out, and that the works will soon be
in their usual good order. The extent of coal area at Lingan Mines is about
sixteen square miles land area, and eight square miles under the sea.
Following the shore line and crossing over Lingan Bay, are the
INTERNATIONAL MINES, Owned by the International Coal and Bailway Company of
New York. In extent of coal area these mines are the next largest to those
of the General Mining Association of London, and contain five square miles
of coal underlaid by nearly all the seams in the Glace Bay or No. 3 basin—
of course many of them at great depths. The seam, at present worked by a
shaft 80 feet in depth, is called the Harbour seam of Glace Bay, and is six
feet in thickness. The coal from this seam at the International Mines is
sold for gas purposes in the United States, where it has a good reputation.
All of these works are comparatively new, having been erected during the
past five years. The mines [are connected by twelve miles of railway, (4)
Plate XXXVL, to a splendid shipping place on the west side of the southern
branch of the Sydney Biver, where an extensive pier, 1,000 feet long, has
been erected for shipping coals to the largest class of vessels, having a
draught of water varying from 16 up to 30 feet. The railway and wharves are
all owned by the International Company in common with all the collieries
that have a gas
202 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
coal dependent on the United States for a market. The output of these mines
has fallen off on account of the present almost prohibitory duty on coal
entering the United States; their highest sales have, however, been 82,000
tons. The mechanical arrangements for working these mines are one pair of 16
inch engines for hoisting coal, two Cameron steam pumps for raising water,
three capital English locomotives and the usual number of coal cars. About
three miles south-east from the International are the
GLACE BAY MINES,
Owned by the Glace Bay Mining Company of Halifax, and one of the first
mining properties opened out after the abandonment of the mining rights in
Nova Scotia by the General Mining Association of London. As one of the first
parties taking up areas at this time, this company would seem to have been
short-sighted in taking such a small area. Their mining rights extend over
an area of two-and-a-half square miles, underlaid by the whole of the seams
in the Glace Bay basin, the greatest number of them lying at great depths.
This property has been fully developed in the two upper seams, viz., the Hub
and Harbour seams, to both of which, pits have been sunk and extensively
worked. The produce of both seams has an excellent reputation as a gas coal,
and is largely consumed in the Boston and New York markets. The Hub seam is
one of the highest seams in the Sydney coal-field, and probably the easiest
coal to work. As will be seen from the map, the Glace Bay Company own the
whole of the coal in this seam, which is only of a limited extent, and their
present pit and openings are sufficient to work all the coal. The produce
from this seam is brought to the shipping place by a short line of railway
one mile long, (5) Plate XXXVI. The Harbour seam is worked by a shaft 40
feet deep, so near the wharves that the coal is shipped direct from the tubs
coming out of the pit, the heapstead forming the wharf, and the coals being
riddled in the pit. This company has great facilities for shipping coal,
owning the entire rights and privileges of Little Glace Bay Harbour, and
having sufficient depth of water to load vessels down to 18 feet draught.
Like Lingan and Cow Bay, this harbour is useful for shipping coals later in
the season than is practicable at wharves situated on the upper part of
Sydney Biver, but owing to their being on the sea-board, they are all
somewhat more exposed. The mechanical arrangements of these mines are all of
American manufacture, and much lighter than our English mining machinery.
The railway is worked by a small tank locomotive, made by Neilson, of
Glasgow. Two new pits are at present being sunk to a depth of 250 feet down
to the
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 203
Harbour seam, which, when finished, will considerably increase the
facilities for raising coal. The largest output from these mines has been
somewhat over 70,000 tons. Owing to their coal being principally disposed of
in the United States, their sales are considerably reduced by the duty
recently imposed on all coals going there.
CALEDONIA COLLIERY Is also located in Glace Bay, about one mile from Little
Glace Bay Harbour. This colliery is owned by the Caledonian Coal and Bailway
Company of Boston, who own two square miles of mining area, underlaid by all
the seams in Glace Bay basin, under the Harbour seam. This colliery is,
comparatively speaking, newT, having only commenced to ship coal about six
years ago. Two pits are sunk to the Phalen seam, which is the only coal
mined by this company. Like all the mines producing a gas coal, this
colliery is dependent on the United States for a market, and is seriously
affected in its sales by the duty imposed on coal going there. The
mechanical arrangements are of a first-class character, the hoisting engine
being of American make, and very powerful. The colliery is connected by a
railway two-and-a-half miles in length, (6) Plate XXXVI., to the shipping
place, which is a dock made by the company at the southern end of Big Glace
Bay sand bar, at a very great expense, and called Port Caledonia. The mouth
of the harbour is much affected by north-east gales, which have a tendency
to cause the entrance to fill up with sand ; otherwise, it is perfectly
safe. As at Lingan and Glace Bay, this company keep a powerful tug-boat to
tow vessels in and out of harbour. The railway is worked by a powerful
locomotive, built by Neilson, of Glasgow. On the south side of Caledonia
Harbour, about one mile along the shore, are the
CLYDE MINES,
Or, as they are sometimes called, the Ontario Colliery, owned by the Messrs.
Campbell, of Halifax. This is a splendid property of one-and-a-half square
miles, but, so far, very little work has been done. The seam has been opened
out by a slope to its full dip. The coal worked here is the same as at the
Caledonia, being the Phalen seam of 8 feet 6 inches in thickness. On account
of the small quantity worked, the produce of this mine has not extended much
beyond the Halifax market, where it has the reputation of being a good
domestic coal. No plant of any consequence has been erected here, there
being only a small American hauling engine for drawing coals up the slope.
The tubs are hauled a distance of about a
VOL. XXTV.—1875.
f>
204 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
mile to Caledonia Harbour, (7) Plate XXXVI., and shipped to vessels direct;
coal worked during the shipping season being riddled and cleaned in the pit
(as at Glace Bay Harbour Pit and also at the Block House Mines). In
proportion to the extent of the mining area, this is probably as fine a
property as any in the Sydney coal-field, and but for the serious drawback
on our coal trade, caused by the abrogation of the Beciprocity Treaty in
1867, would ere this have been extensively worked. About two miles further
south along the shore is
SCHOONER POND COLLIERY, Owned by the Cape Breton Coal and Railway Company of
London, having a mining area of two square miles, the principal portion of
which is a sub-marine area extending from the shore (outside of the Clyde
area), some distance under the waters of the Atlantic. Very little has been
done here beyond driving a pair of slopes through the coal in the Clyde area
to reach the coal under the sea owned by the Schooner Pond Company. No plant
of an extensive character has as yet been put up here except the heap-stead,
a small engine, and some screens. Owing to the depression of the trade last
year, the company deemed it advisable to suspend operations and supply
demands from their other collieries. The Boss seam, or, as it is now called,
the Emery seam, is worked at these mines. The coal is much thicker than at
the Emery in some places, but of about the same quality. A splendid narrow
(three feet gauge) railway, of 18 miles in length, (8) Plate XXXVL, connects
this mine with the shipping port in Sydney River, and its limited produce
has been shipped there. A portion of Schooner Pond area lies to the
north-east (under the sea), and another portion lies to the south-west
(under the land) of the Clyde area, and it would seem one of those cases
where an amalgamation of two properties would be immensely beneficial to the
owners of both, especially as they could be both worked with one plant.
Crossing over the Anticlinal L. M., are the
BLOCK HOUSE MINES, Forming one of the most extensive of the new collieries,
opened out during the past twelve or fourteen years. These mines are owned
by the Block House Mining Company of New York, and have a mining area of two
square miles. The seam worked here is the upper seam in No. 4, or Block
House basin, and called the Block House seam, which is not in any other
area. The coal from this seam is mostly sent to New York and Boston, where
it has the reputation of being a first-class gas coal.
THE SYDNEY COAL-EIELD. 205
From circumstances before nnmiih the sales of this colliery have fallen off
considerably during the last few years, although an extensive plant is
erected for doing a large work. The seam is about nine feet in thickness,
and in this area are all the seams in the Block House basin. The coal from
Block House is worked by both a pit and a pair of slopes. In winter time,
when the coal is banked, it is all worked by the pit. During the shipping
season all the coal is worked by the slopes coming out at the crop of the
coal in the cliffs, tubs going direct on to the wharf are teemed direct into
the vessels, the coal having been previously riddled and cleaned in the pit.
This colliery enjoys many facilities over others in having no surface
hauling, and vessels being able to moor close alongside the mouth of the
slope, (9) Plate XXXVI. The progress of these Avorks is greatly retarded by
the present uncertain character of the shipping place. When the wind is
blowing from certain quarters no coals can be shipped, owing to a heavy
swell coming in from sea, and gales often cause serious damage to the wharf
and shipping property. This is one of the mining properties that would be
greatly benefited by a connection with the Glasgow and Cape Breton Railway
leading into Sydney, for the regularity of work ensured by shipping in a
safe harbour would more than compensate for railway dues on the coal
carried. About a mile to westward of Block House are the
COWRIE MINES, Owned by the Messrs. Archibald and Company, of North Sydney.
This mine works what is termed the McAulay seam, which is the second seam in
the Block House area, and is 4 feet 10 inches in thickness. The extent of
mining area held by this company is two square miles, underlaid by all the
seams under the McAulay. The coal from this seam works small, and makes a
considerable amount of slack, but owing to no blasting powder being used,
the coal stands the severe Cape Breton winters. Unlike any other of the new
collieries, this one, up to the end of 1873, has year by year largely
increased its sales. This is in a great measure owing to the Messrs.
Archibald giving their attention almost entirely to placing their coal in
the neighbouring provincial markets and in the West Indies, which makes them
to a great extent free from the changes and fluctuations of the United
States markets. From trials in the American Gasworks, this coal has a fair
reputation for making gas, but it is principally used as a domestic and
steam coal. The McAulay seam at this colliery is worked by a shaft of 200
feet deep, but a pair of shafts are in course of sinking to win the coal
further
206 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
to the dip. The mechanical arrangements for hoisting coal and pumping water
are of an old-fashioned character, one engine (^on the second motion) doing
both the hoisting and pumping. The pit is connected to the shipping place by
about a mile of railway, (10) Plate XXXYL, steeply descending and worked
nearly the whole distance by a self-acting incline. The shipping place here
is much safer than at Block House, being inside a strong breakwater first
erected by the enterprising proprietor for the protection of the coal wharf,
but since purchased by the Dominion Government as a general shelter for
shipping seeking business in Cow Bay. Even with this protection heavy gales
cause great destruction in some seasons. Taking a stretch across the country
inland, and again crossing the Anticlinal L. M. in a northern direction, to
a distance of about eight miles, the collieries of the Cape Breton Coal
Company of London are reached, the first of which is the
RESERVE COLLIERY, Ho called from the tact of this area being set apart by
the Provincial Government as a mining reservation to encourage the building
of a railway from Sydney for the conveyance of coals. The mining area is one
square mile, and contains all the seams in the Glace Bay basin, below Back
Pit, or No. 4 seam. This colliery is working coal from the Phalen seam by a
pair of diverging slopes, hauling coals out of each, and is well laid out
underground for doing a large amount of work, the plant and mechanical
arrangements being of the best and most substantial character. The coal from
this seam has been sent to various markets, and will no doubt on trial be
found suitable for gas and domestic purposes. From analysis it yields a fair
proportion of gas, and has given great satisfaction as a steam coal. The
coal from the mine turns out large and looks well, and makes about the usual
amount (10 per cent.) of slack on fresh mined coals. About one mile to
westward is the
EMERY COLLIERY,
Also owned by the Cape Breton Company. This colliery is worked by a slope in
the Ross seam of Schooner Pond, or the Emery seam, as it is called here.
These works are comparatively new, 1874 being the year they commenced
shipments. The Ross seam is here about five feet thick, and of a much more
tender character than further south ; it has a loose roof, indicating its
suitableness for long-wall working. Coals from this seam are not worked
large, owing to its thin cleavage. From the short time the works have been
in operation the character of this coal is not yet generally known,
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 207
but from appearance there is no .doubt of its being useful for gas and
domestic purposes. The extent of mining area is two square miles. The
mechanical arrangements are of the same style and character as those at the
Reserve Colliery, and the mines at both places are. kept free from water by
Cameron's steam pumps. Adjoining this area is the Lorway Mining area of two
square miles, owned by the Cape Breton Company. One pit has been sunk down
to a depth of about . 70 feet, but beyond being holed round, nothing has
been done in working ; a pair of pits have also been in course of sinking
for three years, but as yet are only down about 130 feet, and no sinking has
been done at them for more than twelve months. All the mines in operation
owned by the Cape Breton Company are connected to their shipping place on
Sydney River by a private railway of three feet gauge, about twelve miles
long, (11) Plate XXXVI. The railway is worked by three English locomotives
(two of them are Fairley's twin engines), and the usual number of coal cars
for doing good work. A branch railway is being built to connect the several
collieries with the old French harbour of Louisburgh. The length of this
branch will be about 22 miles, and it is hoped on its completion it will
give an outlet for coals during winter when the rest of the coal ports are
closed. The shipping wharf owned by this company is of a most substantial
character, and capable of accommodating vessels of great draught, and
shipping the coals with every facility; being about two miles further up the
southern branch of Sydney River than the International wharf, it is liable
to be sooner frozen up, but this makes no difference with regard to the
opening of the navigation, as the ice generally moves from all places at
once, Two miles further to the north of Lorway, on the shores of the Lingan
basin, is
GARDINER COLLIERY, Owned by the Gardiner Coal Mining Company, of Montreal.
The mining area is two square miles in extent, and is underlaid by the
present working Gardiner seam and another good seam five feet six inches in
thickness, besides the smaller seams known as Clark and Martin's seams in
Glace Bay, or No. 3 basin. This colliery is admirably situated, (14) Plate
XXXVL, being close alongside of the International Railway, and only eight
miles from Sydney River, where the produce is shipped from the International
Company's pier. This colliery is the only one having a pit sunk at the
extreme dip of the area, and having all the coal to work to the rise. The
works are comparatively new, for sinking only commenced in July, 1872.
The pit
208 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
is about 160 feet deep. The mechanical arrangements are of the most
substantial character, the hoisting engine being made by the Messrs. Coupe,
of Wigan; the pit is drained by two of Cameron's steam pumps, made-in New
York, which give great satisfaction. This pit, although not deep, made an
immense deal of water during sinking, and was the first pit sunk in Cape
Breton with steam pumps. The seam at present worked is about four feet nine
inches in thickness, of a good strong-coal, said by miners to be the hardest
in Cape Breton, and is, so far as experience has proved, the only real steam
coal there. Having only been a short time in operation, the coal has been in
great demand for steam purposes, and has found a ready sale to the Allan and
other steam ship companies. The works underground are well laid out, and in
case of increased demand, could raise a large quantity of coals. This is the
only colliery in Cape Breton that has as yet taken advantage of other
railways for the purpose of shipping coal. An agreement is made with the
International Company to carry and ship Gardiner coal, finding cars, &c, at
a fixed rate per ton on a sliding scale of five cents, (about twopence
halfpenny) less on each 25,000 tons shipped.
UN WORKED MINING ABEA8.
Besides the mining areas worked by the before-mentioned collieries, a number
of excellent mining rights are held by various parties under lease from the
Provincial Government, in close proximity to the Cape Breton and
international railways, and in case of a good demand for coal in this
island, could be soon opened out to advantage. Among those on the line of
railway, leading to Schooner Pond, are three areas of one square mile each,
owned by Messrs. Brookman and Moseley, of Sydney, and another owned by a Mr.
Protheroe, these four areas will be underlaid by the Gardiner seams, and the
two small seams, called Clark and Martin's. The Schooner Pond branch of the
Cape Breton Kailway could be made available for these areas by a very short
branch to each. On the line of the International Kailway are three
first-class mining areas, first is the G-.M.A. Bridge Pont area of two
square miles, a splendid property, underlaid by all the seams in Glace Bay
basin, below Back Pit or No. 4 seam, the Phalen seam being fully proved by
some acres of workings j to the west again is the mining area owned by Mr.
Kirby, of Halifax, and one square" mile in extent, underlaid by seams under
the Phalen in the Glace Bay basin. Between this and the Gardiner area is
about one square mile, owned by Dr. Jennings, of Halifax, underlaid partly
by the Lor-way and Gardiner seams, all these three areas could be won by
sidings in
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 209
connection with the International Kailway. Between Glace Bay mining area,
and those held by the International Company, is a triangular mining area,
owned by a Mr. Campbell, of Ottawa, it is about one square mile in extent,
but cut off from direct railway and harbour facilities. This is capital
property, and would be a good acquisition to the Glace Bay, or the already
large mining area of the International Company. In either case it could be
won from their present pits without any outlay of consequence.
From the before-mentioned slight description of the collieries, it will be
seen what efforts have been made to utilize these vast stores of coal.
Perhaps it may be said not much has been done in order to take advantage of
such a large provision of this almost indispensable mineral; but it must be
borne in mind, that previous to 1858, all the minerals (with but few
exceptions) were owned by a wealthy London Corporation, who in that year
abandoned nearly all their claims, retaining only those in which they had
collieries established, and thus throwing an immense area of mining property
into the hands of the Dominion Government, who, in order to properly
regulate and manage the same, had to wait until the requisite legislation
could be passed through. Up to the year 1862, the time was spent in
prospecting, making harbours, and forming various companies for working the
new mining properties, after which year the new companies may be said to
have got fairly into harness. The following table will show the progress
made up to the end of 1874 :—
THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD. 211
From the foregoing tabular-#tatement it will he seen that the Cape Breton
coal trade began to expand after the abandonment of the monopoly by the
General Mining Association. From 1861, to and including 1865, the production
of coals was considerably increased by the demand for provincial coals in
the United States markets, consequent on the war between the Northern and
Southern States, during which time very little coal was carried in American,
or, more properly speaking, United States vessels, owing to the fear of
capture by Southern cruisers. Provincial shipowners, as well as coal-owners,
reaped a good harvest during the continuance of the war. This good fortune
was not destined to last long. The enormous demands on the United States
treasury during the war compelled that Government to put a duty of 1*25
dols. or 5s. sterling per ton on provincial and other coals in 1866, and
consequently a decrease of shipments is shown from 1865 up to and including
1868. Circumstances having arisen to warrant the United States Government in
making a reduction of 50 cents, or 2s. sterling per ton in the duty in 1868,
the shipments again began to show an improvement; and in 1873 they more than
doubled those of 1869; but this increase was assisted by the high price of
coal in England, which enabled steamers to buy bunker coal at a much cheaper
rate in Cape Breton. There was also greater demand for Cape Breton coal up
the Saint Lawrence, from the fact of sailing vessels not bringing so much
coal out for ballast as was done in former years. As will be seen from the
table, this was only a temporary increase, for in 1874 the produce of coals
was reduced over 230,000 tons, the falling oif in the shipments to the
United States being 135,599 tons, caused, to a certain extent, by the
overstocked markets of 1873 and to the sudden financial panic in the fall of
that year, which unsettled the commercial machinery on the whole of the
Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Much as Cape Breton coal-owners may
deplore the loss of trade in the United States in 1874, it is very
gratifying to find the demand for coal so much increased in the neighbouring
provinces as to bring the production nearly up to that of 1865, the year in
which over half the production of the Cape Breton mines was shipped to the
United States. This shows that in the last nine years there has been a
steady annual increased demand in the provinces for Cape Breton coal
approximating to 85 per cent. Should ever the time arrive for the Dominion
Government to follow the example of America and place a tax on all coal
coming into the dominion of Canada, there will then be almost a sufficient
demand for the whole of the coal produced in the Nova Scotia collieries.
Generally at present the coal interest has to contend with coal coming to
VOL. XXIV,—1875,
»
212 THE SYDNEY COAL-EIELD.
Canada from the United States duty free; coal from England, brought out as
ballast by the large vessels coming for grain and timber, and generally sold
ex ship at a price to cover first cost, without allowing anything for
freight—this is a sad arrangement for the colonial coal-owners, as the
quantity imported is so great as in a measure to fix selling prices;—and
lastly, the almost prohibitory duty on coal going to the United States. The
following tabular statement is intended to show the economic value of the
several seams in the Sydney coal-field :—
216 THE SYDNEY COAL-FIELD.
the Sydney coal-field. The primitive mode of working by generally taking
advantage of the coal nearest the crop, and improperly leaving small pillars
(in most cases never intended to be taken out), together with the formation
of large wastes, was no doubt, in a great measure, the result of one wealthy
corporation being, previous to 1858, owners of all the coal in the province,
enjoying an absolute monopoly, completely debarring any competition on the
island, and having an unusually large royalty to work, with no check viewer
to consult as to the modes of working, scale of pillarage, or waste of coal.
Sydney and Lingan mines being the only ones in operation in 1858, when the
General Mining Association abandoned the monopoly of coal in the province;
when new mines began to open out, proprietors generally availed themselves
of the services of the most intelligent colliers from Sydney and Lingan as
overmen, who usually adopted the mode of underground working there, as a
model, irrespective of thickness of seam, quality of coal, nature of roof or
thill, or thickness of overlying strata, and hence caused the perpetuation
of the small useless pillars and immense waste of good coal, and the
formation of extensive and unventilated wastes in the mines generally, until
the introduction of men having practical training as colliery managers and
mining engineers caused a change.
The system of paying for coal hewing, or coal cutting as it is called,
varies at nearly every colliery. Some pay by the ton on all coal not passing
through a half-inch riddle (slack left in pit), others pay by cubic yard,
some by running yard, and again, others pay by the tub; but in all cases the
holings and shearings (kirving and nicking) are passed over a half-inch
riddle, and the slack is left in the pit. The amount of slack taken out from
screening over a half-inch screen is, on an average, about 20 per cent.
Taking a six feet seam as a basis, the cost per ton for coal hewing (with
coal riddled in pit as above), is about 50 cents, or 2s. sterling per ton.
In conclusion, it is hoped these few notes will give the members of our
Institution some idea of the valuable coal-field in the island of Cape
Breton.
The Secretary was desired to convey the thanks of the members of the
Institute to Mr. Gilpin and Mr. Eoutledge for their valuable contributions.
Mr. J. A. Ramsay then read the following paper on " Projected International
Railway Communication," communicated by Mr.W.T.Mulvauy:—
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 217
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN THE NORTH AND EAST OF EUROPE,
THROUGH THE NEW HARBOUR OF FLUSHING, AT THE MOUTH OF THE SCHELDT, IN
HOLLAND.
Communicated by WM. T. MULVANY.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
The ceremonial of opening the New Harbour and Docks at Flushing, to which
the writer was invited, induced him to put hastily together for the occasion
the views and opinions which he had long entertained on the subject of
international communication.
The writer would not have presumed to propose such large measures as are
herein contemplated had he not felt that, having no local interest in the
question, and at his time of life no personal objects to serve, impartiality
on the part of the proposer might render the project worthy of some
consideration by all those who, though deeply concerned, may have different
and conflicting interests involved, and who may, through the suggestions
herein offered, at least find a basis or starting point for the useful
discussion and determination of the measures to be adopted.
To the projectors and engineers of railways who may find fault with his
criticism, he can only plead that his object is simply to help in perfecting
the plans upon which their future progress depends; and above all to show
that in the interests of the railways themselves each portion should
constitute as far as possible a suitable part of the great whole, which will
remain to be criticised by our successors and by history.
Finally, he wishes to add his humble mite to that great progressive movement
which is daily breaking down the barriers of separation between nations, and
which, by facilitating frequent and easy intercommunication, will by degrees
tend to such a reciprocity of interests as may be best calculated to ensure
friendly relations and peace.
RAILWAYS. In order to obtain the maximum of advantages and the utmost speed
consistent with safety in the personal and postal communications between
218 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
nations, well laid out railways by land, and deep harbours accessible at all
times for the most powerful steamers by water, both in the nearest practical
direct route, constitute plainly the first essentials of success.
The great mission of railways cannot, however, be fulfilled until they are
made perfect in design, construction, and use.
Even now it can be plainly seen how completely all old world maxims, all
theories and experiences in great political war and commercial questions,
are altered or nullified by the progress and extension of railways and
improved modes of communication, especially when these are not confined to
any one country, but extend over the boundaries of several countries,
constituting, by degrees, a net-work over vast continents, combined with
steam navigation all over the world.
Mankind is surprised at the results of recent wars,—at the sudden great
influx and reflux of money, and the other rapidly occurring crises in money
matters,—at the sudden flood of prosperity following the establishment of
peace, and last, not least, at the rapid spread of enlarged and sounder
views on religion and education ; but the moving and immediate mechanical
causes of these results—steam and electricity, railways, steam-ships, and
the telegraph—with their daily accumulative results on the whole life and
business of man, must be palpably plain to all calm reflecting minds.
Those nations which have not yet obtained the advantage of these mechanical
means of progress cannot longer hold their place without them ; unknown
countries, deserts and wilds must be slowly but surely opened up and
rendered available for mankind and civilization by the importation of these
invincible conquerors, these, in reality, most suitable though slow means of
secure discovery and development, and it cannot be doubted that ere long the
very heart of Africa, which has so long been hidden from civilized man, will
by these means be traversed and made accessible to civilization.
But if it be a want or a duty to extend these benefits to countries which
have not hitherto enjoyed them, how much more is it essential for the
Governments of old countries to make their systems of communication perfect
and adequate, not merely to their present wants, (as was the economic rule
in old times, " to let the necessity or want beget the improvement") but
also for those rapidly and surely coming increased wants which it is the
peculiar feature of these improved systems themselves to beget.
The traffic consequent upon, or actually created by, railways, far exceeds
that which ever existed or could be calculated upon before their
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 219
construction, and within reasonable limits this may fairly be expected to be
the consequence of new lines.
The old railway nations of Europe, if they will maintain their status and
the superiority which they have hitherto obtained by their works, must go
on, must improve and complete their systems of communication; and each is
especially bound in its own interest to do so in connection with the
progress of its neighbour.
In this great question of communication, little or no attention appears to
have been given to any general or international plan. Each country has
adopted its own plan, or, perhaps, more properly said, no plan, for if one
examines the railway maps of Europe there is, even in each separate country,
little evidence as yet of a carefully, previously devised, general plan, of
which each line, as constructed, was to form a part; with perhaps the
exception of France, where centralization and radiation from Paris as a
centre (on the principle that Paris was France) forms a clear and prominent
feature of a previously-devised plan.
In England, as is well known, no general plan, not even a general railway
law was originally made, railways were initiated by joint-stock companies as
each thought most advantageous, and rectification of plan took place
subsequently under the pressure of a stimulating competition between a great
number of companies.
In Belgium there is no other evidence of a plan up to any recent date,
except a general net, as it were, by which towns are connected with each
other.
In Holland there is much more evidence of a plan, no doubt because with two
exceptions the railways were only recently undertaken, and because so large
a portion was constructed by the Government.
From Germany, taken as a whole, with its numerous states and their separate
systems, and even from Prussia, separated as it was up to a late period in
different parts by intervening small independent states, it was not expected
that much uniformity or singleness of plan could be carried out, and this is
sufficiently evident in the result.
Still in Prussia, notwithstanding its mixed system of State railways,
private railways managed by private companies and private railways managed
by the State, there is still evidence of the perpetual struggle, as it were,
which the Government has, under such disadvantages, been making to carry out
a plan upon given principles, of which the late main object seems to be to
maintain the mixed system, and to counteract the effect of some of the evils
which arise perhaps inevitably from investing the monopolies of public
highways of communication in private interested
VOL. XXIV,—1875
p"!
220 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
joint-stock companies, and once recognized and established, by granting to
them large and extended lines and districts, thereby producing ab initio the
position which the joint-stock companies of England are now seeking to
obtain by amalgamation.
The writer will not here discuss the vexed question whether the granting of
public railways or private companies is right or wrong ; he proposes to deal
for practical purposes with the facts as they are.
But whatever system is to continue, he submits that it is now full time when
the whole of G-ermany is to be united into one Empire, that the organization
of its means of communication and especially of its railways into one
uniform system, and the making them as perfect both in administration of the
present and the designing, laying out and construction of new lines as it is
practically possible to do, should be undertaken, as being not only expected
by the world from the genius of German statesmen and the talent of their
engineers, but as essential— in the first degree—to the future industrial
and commercial interests of the Empire, and to the establishment of those
great international lines of communication which must naturally take their
course through Germany owing to its central geographical position.
Similar observations are clearly applicable to Holland and Belgium, which
countries will enjoy in the highest degree the first and accumulated fruits
of the international communication to which this paper refers ; and to
Russia, Austria, Hungary, and Turkey, to the quick development of whose best
interests in every respect the completion of the improved communication here
contemplated would be of vital importance.
The wants of civilization and of the world demand in this age the shortest
and quickest—and therefore the straightest and best—lines of communication,
and all experience in railway construction tends to the abandonment of
circuitous routes for those which are direct. Eor through-going traffic and
postal communications between distant countries these principles are
becoming daily more essential, and all the improvements hitherto obtained,
as compared with the slow coaching of old times, only render the public more
sensibly alive to the absence of that perfection in the present lines of
communication of which they are palpably capable. Notwithstanding the very
great improvements made in the present year, the time occupied, for example,
even with express trains between, say, Berlin and London for passengers and
letters is at the shortest thirty hours, and between Dusseldorf and London
twenty-two hours, (whilst the shortest between London and Dusseldorf is
sixteen hours) is far too long, and can as hereinafter shewn, be most
materially reduced.
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 22L
The writer opines that it wjnld be folly to hesitate for these international
lines at least (if not for all passenger and postal lines) to decide that
they shall be constructed and worked wherever new lines are required, or
that they shall be altered in construction and worked wherever existing
lines can be adopted into the system, on principles by which the mission of
railways can be truly and perfectly fulfilled.
It is not expected that any experienced railway practitioner or authority
will contend that this cannot be clone, but many will exclaim against the
additional cost or expense involved.
If it can be done, then it is contended that it is the duty of the
Governments and of the Legislatures of Europe (at least as the birth-place
of railways) to insist that it should be done, and done too with the least
possible delay.
As regards the additional cost of construction, the writer has no hesitation
in stating that he has seen as yet no place in Europe where, for such
purposes as are here contemplated (provided the funds be truly devoted under
judicious management to work, and not wasted in preliminaries, as in some
countries, or in share and exchange speculations as in others), the
necessary works for a perfect system of railway cannot be executed with
results commensurate, on the whole, to the expenditure, and insisting that
the first cost of a perfect system however apparently high— if confined to
useful, not ornamental work—rarely fails to be remunerative, owing to the
greater economy in the working for the long ages the railway has to endure.
The writer premises the above, as he anticipates there will be still found
some to oppose, or at least to express alarm at the extent to which he would
propose to go, in order to make these international railways as complete and
perfect as it appears to him they should be for such a purpose.
For these international lines, and especially for the main trunks of the
system, the railways should pass over or under every other line of
communication. No level crossings of railways, roads, navigations, or even
of footpaths should be allowed, and the railway should be completely fenced
on both sides. The railways should be constructed with double lines in the
centre for all passenger and postal trains; the passenger traffic separated
from the goods and mineral traffic ; arrival and departure platforms and
buildings provided at the stations; no facing points allowed on the
passenger fines under any circumstances, no head stations except at termini,
and those constructed with abundant length beyond the arrival platform, and
in short the whole construction should be
222 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
adapted for running express trains at the highest attainable speed without
risk of collision, whilst sleeping carriages and all the means of
living-should be provided in the trains themselves for the long journeys
which under such circumstances, and with such improved accommodation, would
be then freely undertaken by thousands who at present prefer to remain at
home.
International lines to be so worked should, as far as their earth and
masonry works are concerned, be designed for four lines of rails for the
greater part of their length, though of course the two additional lines
would only be laid down when necessary; but there is little doubt that in a
very few years a great through traffic for long distances in goods, cattle,
&c, would arise, which would render these additional lines necessary and
remunerative. As a general principle the main stations for such a system
should, according to circumstances, not be nearer than forty to fifty
English miles, and should for the passenger and mail traffic be on a high
level, so that the railway should pass through or by the towns, whilst the
side or goods lines should be passed under the so raised central express
lines of rails, and lead to quite separate goods stations, say out side the
town on the level of the country, or as nearly so, as circumstances will
permit.
In the mean time, the existing crooked and cross lines of railway of the
country, which would not admit of adaptation into the international system,
would be abundantly occupied in the local passenger, goods, and and mineral
traffic of the country, and at the important fixed stations above mentioned,
would join into the international lines, for the transfer of passengers,
letters, and goods.
On the principles above enumerated, many great and important international
lines of communication can, and, doubtless, will, soon be devised for
passing through Europe in various directions. The writer's residence in the
Ehine Province for eighteen years, and his personal experience of the want
of improved communication, has naturally turned his attention to the
connection of the steam navigation of the Atlantic through the natural
entrepot of the English Channel, to the North and East of Europe, and the
often mooted question of the best line of communication between England and
India, and he wishes to illustrate the views he has long entertained on
these subjects by the sketch of a project for international communication
through the new harbour of Flushing, described in this paper, and delineated
roughly on Plate XXXVII.
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 223
HARBOURS.
The first consideration was to determine on the harbour, which would be most
suitable for the terminus of the international railway, and with this view
the writer, at various times, visited and inspected all the harbours along
the North Sea from Boulogne to the Elbe, with the exception of the Helder
and Harlingen, the positions of which rendered them of comparatively little
interest to the object he had in view.
The investigation of these various harbours, and the charts of the adjacent
sea are full of interest to the engineer, exhibiting along this long-stretch
of low coast, with its peculiar delta formation the great efforts which
different nations have made to contend with nature, and overcome
difficulties of no ordinary kind. At the same time it opens a great field
for the exercise of the talents of the engineer who carefully studies the
delta forming rivers and estuaries where they exist, and who avails himself
judiciously of the forces of nature, in the flood and ebb of the sea tides
and the discharge of the rivers, to carry outplans in aid of nature for the
improvement of harbours and the attainment of deep channels of access to
them at all times of the tide.*
This is not the place to discuss such questions, or to enter into a detailed
description of all these harbours. It will perhaps be sufficient for the
purpose of this paper to say, that the roadstead of Flushing has ever had by
nature deep water at all times of tide, and is rarely, if ever, incommoded
by ice ; whilst the harbours to the west, including Calais and Ostend,
notwithstanding the most judicious and effective works of art there
constructed, offer by nature little if any hope of ever having deep water ;
and the harbours to the east are either bar harbours, not accessible at all
times of tide—as Eotterdam,—or are impeded by ice in winter and for the most
part lie, as will be seen by the map, too far east to suit the line of
international communication under consideration.
After careful study of the harbour and the marine charts, it would seem that
if Flushing harbour were properly improved,—or rather, if a harbour and
docks were constructed and properly connected with its own deep water
roadstead,—and connected by railway with the continental net of railways, it
was by nature suited, owing to its projecting position into the sea, and
must necessarily become the great harbour and entrepot of the future
international communication for this part of Europe.
Holland has during the last ten or twelve years made, steadily and
* Emden is a case in point having great natural capabilities, requiring no
doubt considerable expenditure, but promising great success as an efficient
harbour for a large district and back country requiring such a harbour and a
great maritime trade.
224 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
quietly, immense progress in her Public Works, which are executed by the
State directly, in her system of State railways and great bridges
constructed under very difficult circumstances,—and in her large harbour at
Eotterdam and the " Hook of Holland"—in the very extensive work of the new
harbour and canal at Amsterdam, all matters of considerable engineering
difficulty, and all so far successfully carried out, or progressing to
completion. These, taken together, afford a very brilliant example of how
much a State can accomplish in that class of Public Works, which is the
proper object for State expenditure, when this expenditure is judiciously
made and properly controlled.
Much has been lately done at Flushing to fit it for the important position
it is proposed that it should occupy. It is connected by railway with the
whole continental system, and by its docks and deep water channels with the
navigation of the world. It has an admirable and capacious deep water
roadstead fully adequate to the commercial wants of the port at present and
for some years to come, and deficient only in one respect, and that is in
the size of the outer harbour in which, according to the project, the large
and powerful passenger and mail steamers to and from the Atlantic, and those
required for very high speed to and from England, should be enabled to come
at all times of tide, day and night, without difficulty or delay—deliver
their passengers and mails direct off their decks into the railway
carriages, on an ample pier in the centre of the harbour, and then warping
round to the departure platform at the other side of the pier, or to one
side of the harbour as the case might be, hold themselves prepared to leave
the harbour when necessary. For such purposes the outer harbour is too
small, and even the entrance rather too confined. Plate XXXVIL, shows the
extensions and alterations which are considered necessary to be made in the
outer harbour, and shows the central arrival and departure pier (A) for the
large steamers, designed on the principle which has proved eminently
successful in the harbour of Kingstown, where such a pier was constructed
(by the harbour commission, of which the writer was a member,) for the
arrival and departure of the mail steamers between England and Ireland.
Fortunately there is little difficulty in thus extending the outer harbour
at Flushing, and it is hoped that these remarks may lead to the reservation
on the part of the Government of Holland of all adjacent lands which may be
required for the future extension and improvement of this important port.
Nature has done everything for the roadstead to entitle it to be selected as
the great terminus for this international communi-
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 225
cation, but to fulfil its mission the*artificial works must be constructed,
so as to admit the largest Atlantic and mail steamers as above described.
The writer has again visited the harbours, and in reply to many remarks,
begs to observe as follows :—
Antwerp, with its docks extended to the north of the present docks, and the
completion of the direct line of railway to Gladbach,—to the great
industrial district of Westphalia—will, contrary to the fears of some, be
importantly benefited in its exports and general trade by the new position
which Scheldt will now take in the intercommunication of the world.
Eotterdam and Amsterdam, with their improved harbours, their direct
communication by water, and their still more direct and shorter established
communication by the Dutch-Rhenish railway, (and by new railways now being
constructed), with the coal and iron district of Westphalia, and the middle
and south of Germany, will not only maintain but increase their commercial
traffic.
Finally, the industrial progress of central Europe will afford business
enough for all the available and well managed harbours of the North Sea, and
it only remains for all parties interested in these harbours to expedite
their improvement, and increase in every possible way the accommodation to
the public, for the exports and imports which the commercial necessities of
the world will naturally lead to their ports and the railways terminating in
them.
THE PROJECT For international communication, which the writer takes the
liberty to submit for the consideration of all interested, and as
illustrative of the principles set forth in this paper, is as follows:—
The terminal harbour being once fixed, it becomes next of importance to
decide upon the direction of the first part of the Main Trunk line of
railway which shall best suit the diverging branches of the system it is
intended to serve.
Venlo, on the frontier between Holland and Germany, is by its geographical
position as well as by its relations with the existing great lines of
railway, clearly indicated as the best common or medium point from which a
proposed international system of communication, with Flushing for its
terminal harbour, should diverge.
Venlo is, for instance, very little to the south of a direct line from
Flushing to Berlin, through which will naturally pass the traffic to St.
Petersburg; and very little to the north of a direct line from Flushing
226 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
to Vienna, through which will naturally pass the traffic to Constantinople
and India, whilst it forms a link in the lines from the capitals of France
and Belgium to the north and east of Europe.
Finally, Venlo is at present connected not only with Flushing harbour, but
is also connected, or in course of being so, with all the great routes
contemplated in this project, by railways, which it is proposed in many
cases to utilize or adopt for the present, with the alterations proposed in
the first part of this paper; and in some others (where the existing lines
are more suitable by their construction for local traffic) to replace from
time to time by more direct and more suitably constructed lines.
Thus, then, without much delay after the opening of the harbour of Flushing,
by suitable international organization, a considerable improvement in the
transmission of passengers and mails between the east and west of Europe
might be effected; but to attain the speed required, and to make the system
complete—to make it worthy of the great objects and the great nations whose
interests are involved—it will, at the very least, be necessary to carry out
the works and effect the objects described in this paper.
ENGLAND, THE ENGLISH CHANNEL, AND FLUSHING.
Assuming the outer, or entrance harbour of Flushing to be extended as
proposed, to fit it for the reception of the powerful steamers referred to,
then, without doubt, the time will come when the mail and passenger traffic
between London and Flushing can be effected in about six hours.
The harbours of Dover and Harwich are now available for such a
communication, whilst the writer has little doubt that, by suitable works,
Margate could be made available for this purpose. Sheerness, Queens-borough,
and other points of departure within the Thames, afford ample facilities
through their railway connections for passenger, cattle, and goods traffic,
and will no doubt in time also be made available.
The following are distances from Flushing, to
Ramsgate ... ... 20| Prussian miles of 7407 metres, or
84£ knots.
Margate ... ... 21J „ „
„ 86^
Dover ... ... 22^ „
„ ,, 91
Harwich ...... 24$ „ „ „
994
London ... ... 36 „ „
„ 146 „
One of the great advantages to Holland and Belgium, and all the nations to
the east of them, is that all the passengers and mails destined for these
countries from all parts of the world, which come by sea through
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 227
the English channel can be land«i here and transmitted to their destinations
with the least possible delay, and, of course, equal facilities can be
afforded to the outgoing passengers and mails.
FLUSHING TO VENLO.
The newly-completed railway from Flushing, through the islands of Walcheren
and South Beveland to the main land near Bergen-op-Zoom, is in the right
direction, and can easily be increased in its dimensions and fitted with
four lines of rails to suit the great main trunk line of this international
system; but from Woensdrecht on the main land, where the line turns to the
north to Bergen-op-Zoom, the circuitous routes of the railway to Venlo, and
the local character of their construction, will call for the construction of
a new, straight, main trunk line between Woensdrecht and Venlo, with a short
junction to Antwerp, to ensure a direct connection to Ghent and Ostend on
the one hand, and to Brussels and Calais on the other.
This straight line will pass chiefly through Holland, and for a short
distance through Belgium, the commercial interests of both which countries
will be so materially promoted, by having the Scheldt used as the great
entrepot of this part of Europe, that without doubt their Governments will
agree to perfect this part of the proposed international communication.
It is unnecessary, here, to enter into detail as to all the passenger and
postal arrangements which can be perfected in Holland and Belgium by the
establishment of this communication between Flushing and Venlo; they will be
self-evident to every observant person.
VENLO TO BREMEN, HAMBURG AND DENMARK.
From Venlo, the newly-constructed, almost direct line, by Wesel on the
Rhine, Munster, Osnabriick, Bremen, and Hamburgh approaches completion, and
when regulated as above proposed, for the reception of international
traffic, by the removal of all level crossings or other impediments to the
safe working of express trains, will form the most suitable northern branch
of this international system to Hamburg and Denmark, and all the intervening
and adjacent countries, whilst on the other hand it forms a part of the most
direct line from Paris to Hamburg.
The enormous advantages of the saving of time for passengers and mails by
the adoption of this route and the express system proposed, requires—at
least for the parties interested and resident in the cities and towns along
it—no comment.
YOL. XXIV.-1R75.
q2
228 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
VENLO TO BERLIN AND ST. PETERSBURG.
From Venlo to the Rhine and Dortmund, in the direction of Berlin, and from
Venlo to the Ehine at Diisseldorf, there exist a great number of railway
lines, made by various parties, for various objects, but without any great
or national plan in view, and by a strange fatality scarcely any of them
suitable for the great international and express traffic contemplated in
this paper.
In the great mineral district, between the Ehine and Dortmund, it is true,
express trains have been recently, and are now daily running (through all
the coal and goods trains, the miserably insufficient stations, and level
crossings of railways and roads,) over railways suitable, now at least, only
for local traffic; but this is a risk of such magnitude as nothing but the
most absolute necessity and the want of a suitable line for this express
traffic can justify.
Fortunately the Prussian Government has recently decided upon a most
suitable site for a bridge over the Rhine, between Ruhrort and Duisburg; and
doubtless Government will, with a view to the great international traffic,
arrange that this bridge shall be constructed to carry at least four lines
of rails, and to suit the wants of the coming future as well as the present.
For the great international traffic to Berlin, St. Petersburg, and the
North-East of Europe, no petty difficulties, or narrow and mistaken views of
economy, should stand in the way of the formation of the most direct and
most perfect railway which can be constructed, and that in devising such a
line, the wants of the future, the enormous increased traffic which that
future will certainly develope, should be fully weighed and considered.
The writer's study of the country, for some years, in furtherance of this
view, leads him to propose a straight line from Venlo to the proposed bridge
between Ruhrort and Duisburg, and thence, in the same straight direction,
through the middle of the Westphalian Coal District between Essen and the
line of the Emsher valley, a little to the north of Dortmund, and a little
to the south of Hamm, direct through the valley of the Lippe, and in the
best practicable line through or near Detmold and Hannover to Lehrte, from
which the Lehrte-Stendal line with the necessary modifications can be
adopted to Berlin.
From Berlin the best existing direct railway route suited for express trains
will be adopted to St. Petersburg, and the traffic to the many important
intermediate places easily arranged according to the peculiar circumstances
of each.
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 229
VENLO, DUSSELDORF, ELBEfcEELD TO MIDDLE GERMANY AND
RUSSIA.
Although lines exist from Venlo to Diisseldorf which suit the present
traffic, yet, for the purposes here contemplated, a direct line from Venlo
to Diisseldorf, crossing the Rhine below the town, combined with a very
ample harbour there, will become an absolute necessity for the greatly
increasing manufactures of the district between Venlo and Hagen.
Such a line will be not only necessary for the branch to Middle Germany, but
even still more for the completion of the most direct line to Vienna and
Constantinople hereinafter referred to.
From Diisseldorf, the Bergish-Miirkish system, with considerable alterations
or a greatly improved line, can be used to Hagen and thence the Ruhr valley
line and other existing railways would form the branch under consideration,
but with many important ameliorations, to Cassel, Halle, Leipsic, Dresden,
Breslau, Warsaw, and ultimately, no doubt, to Moscow, serving at all these
stations for the east and west traffic of the great districts connected with
these cities by existing railways.
VENLO TO SOUTH GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND.
The Rhenish railway on the left bank of the Rhine, which is at present
connected with Venlo, will naturally take up this traffic, and, with the
other existing railways, maintain the express communication with the capital
towns of South Germany, Carlsruhe, Stutgart and Munich, and with
Switzerland.
The Rhenish and Hessian Ludwigs railway by Darmstadt to Asschaffen-burg,
will, with the Bavarian railways, as at present, serve for a considerable
time for the express traffic between Venlo, Vienna, and the East; but it is
scarcely necessary to repeat that to fully adapt these existing railways for
the express traffic for passengers and mails contemplated in this project,
many important alterations and improvements, of the nature referred to in
the first part of this paper, will be indispensable.
VELNO, VIENNA TO CONSTANTINOPLE, ENGLAND TO INDIA.
Inferior perhaps to none of the branches of this project of importance to
Europe and Asia, or at least to the nations of both continents immediately
concerned, is the great line of international communication designated by
this title.
All authorities who have contemplated a railway communication between India
and England have, almost of necessity, regarded Constantinople as a fixed
point in the line ; and it will be readily seen that
230 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
Vienna, which lies nearly in the direct line between Venlo and
Constantinople, becomes, even independently of other great considerations,
geographically another fixed point in this part of the project.
The writer has stated above, that for the present the traffic can be carried
on by the existing route, Venlo by Mayence, Darmstadt, Nuren-burg, Passau,
Lintz to Vienna, but even if we measure the importance of this line by
considerations limited to the passenger and mail traffic of Austria,
Hungary, Rumania and Turkey to Constantinople, irrespective of the more
distant prospects of communication with Persia and India by the Euphrates
valley, it is clear and incontestible that the most perfectly devised trunk
railway should be constructed in the most direct line which the country will
admit of, between Venlo and Vienna, whereby a great saving in distance and
time would be effected.
Such a direct line would pass from Venlo direct to Diisseldorf, as already
proposed, and thence to Siegen, and so far it is required even at present by
the local wants of the district. How the straightest line can be practically
made from thence to Vienna is yet to be shown; but the main points in the
straight line, judging from the map, are Fulda, Beuruth and Budweis to
Vienna, and there can be little doubt that a suitable line, much nearer to
the straight direction than that by Bingen and Darmstadt can be found.
From Vienna the existing line to Pesth, and thence to Piski and Petroseney
in the Carpathian Mountains, near the Borders of Rumania can be easily made
suitable, for the extension in the desired direction of this international
system.
From Pesth to Constantinople, or into Rumania, another line might be
selected, as, for example, by Czegled, Szegeden, to Temesvar, and thence by
the existing line to the Danube at Baziash, from which place a line has been
projected to Constantinople; or from Temesvar by a line already projected,
and which must, for the mineral and agricultural interests of this rich
district, be constructed along the valley of the Temes to Karansebes, and
thence by Mahadia near the famous and delightfully situated Hercules Baths
to the Danube at Orasova, whence by the "Iron door" it could proceed through
Rumania either to Varna or possibly more directly to Constantinople.
But the writer prefers the line by Petroseney because it is more direct and
is already constructed and open to that town, where, at a height of 2,000
feet above the sea, it enters a stone coal district with existing
collieries, worked by the " Kronstiidter Verein" and the Hungarian
Government (who have both established excellent colonies of workmen)
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 231
which produce an almost inexhaustible supply of admirable locomotive and
manufacturing coal.
Such a supply of coal on the direct line of railway, in a country where some
of the richest and purest iron ores not only exist in abundance, but are
being worked in blast furnaces erected by the " Kron-stadter Verein" at
Kalan (where the best Bessemer steel rails can be produced), would be of
almost incalculable value to Rumania and Turkey if this line were carried
through, instead of stopping, as at present, at Petroseney.
Fortunately, even in this great mountain district, the little river, the
Shill, which takes its rise in the coal valley referred to, breaks directly
opposite Petroseney, through the mountain range, in a grand chasm, with a
regular fall into the plains of Rumania, close to the so-called Vulcan Pass,
which, though it may elicit all the energy and talent of the engineer
(perhaps by the adoption of a combination of short tunnels and side cuttings
in rock), presents in these days of engineering skill, no great difficulty
for the construction of this most important line of railway.
In concluding this sketch of the railway part of the project, the writer
wishes to remark that it contemplates the trunk and two of the great
branches of the international communication, namely, Flushing, Venlo,
Berlin, St. Petersburg on the one hand, and Flushing, Venlo, Diisseldorf,
Vienna, Constantinople on the other hand, remaining in the hands of the
Governments of the countries passed through; whilst the other three would be
worked by private companies—namely, Venlo-Hamburg by the Cologne Minden,
Venlo-Dusseldorf to Cassel, &c, by the Bergish Markish, and Venlo-Bingen
towards the south of Germany and Vienna by the Rhenish railway company,
which arrangement would afford an opportunity for competition and for
testing the best systems of working railways at high speed.
ANTICIPATED RESULTS.
With the deep water harbour of Flushing completed, and connected by rail
with the main land,—and assuming that the simple principles of railway
construction, improvement, and adaptation to the necessities of safe and
quick transit referred to in this paper are adopted, so as to make these
lines examples to the world, what would be the effect on the passenger and
postal traffic over these international lines if properly organized and
carried out ?
Assuming only the rate of speed at present attained by express trains
232 PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
in Germany, and express steamers between England and Ireland, it is
contended that passengers and mails can be carried from—
London to Hamburg in 16 hours,
Do. Berlin, Dresden, or Munich, in 18 hours,
Do. DUsseldorf, Elberfeld, or Cologne, in 10 to 11 hours,
Do. Vienna, in 24 hours,
Do. St. Petersburg and Constantinople, in 48 hours,
and, of course, on the return journeys in the same time.
It may also be safely anticipated, that for such a traffic
through-going-trains and suitable carriages for sleeping and living will be
constructed and used ; that from and to the port the passenger will be made
nearly as comfortable as in his own house : that the inconveniences of
customs' investigations on the frontiers will be completely avoided by
suitable international arrangements at the starting and arrival stations;
and that, in a word, the true mission of railways as the most perfect,
rapid, and safe mode of transit, will before long be fulfilled.
With reference to the proposal for extending the outer harbour or
"Buitenhaven" of Flushing, the writer has received reports as to the
harbours and mail service between Holyhead and Kingstown, from which the
following extracted informatidn and facts will doubtless be interesting to
all concerned in developing the project herein proposed for Flushing.
The pier at Kingstown is a free end pier (with semicircular end) it is 900
feet long, 80 feet broad, having a covered-in railway station thereon, with
arrival and departure platforms, by which means the transfer of passengers,
their luggage, and the mails from the steamship to the railway carriages,
and vice versa, is effected in the most perfect order in a very short time
indeed.
There is a depth of 20 feet of water alongside the pier at low water of
spring tides, and steamships lie in still water.
Similar erections and arrangements exist at Holyhead.
So complete is the whole system, that the Postmaster-General of Great
Britain and Ireland is enabled to contract with the railway and steamship
companies, for the delivering of the mails from London to Dublin, and Dublin
to London, including the sea passage in a fixed time —every day four
journeys—under heavy penalties for any breach of contract as to time,
extraordinary storms excepted.
For the sea voyage between Holyhead and Kingstown (about 65^ English miles
between the light-houses) four splendid steamships were built by different
firms nearly on one model, and the service commenced in 1860.
PROJECTED INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION. 233
These four ships, named G«maught, Leinster, Minister, and Ulster, are each
about 2,000 tons burden, have a length between the perpendiculars of 334
feet, and 35 feet breadth of beam; a depth of 21 feet, and draw about 12
feet 9 inches to 13 feet 2 inches of water. The paddle wheels are 31 feet
diameter, with feathering float boards 4 feet broad and 12 feet long. The
nominal horse power of the steam engines is 720 horses.
The following registry of the numbers of voyages made by these four ships in
the twelve years ending September, 1872, speaks for itself as to their speed
and the wonderful accuracy of the time kept by each ship respectively,
during that long period.
TABLE.
AVERAGE TIME (INCLUSIVE OF ALL DELAYS PROM STORMS, FOG, ETC.) OF PASSAGES OF
THE FOUR MAIL PACKETS BETWEEN KINGSTOWN AND HOLYHEAD (DISTANCE ABOUT 65^
ENGLISH MILES) FOR 12 YEARS ENDING SEPT. 30, 1872.
The accuracy as to keeping time and the certainty of the voyages (in a sea
exposed to much stormy and bad weather) shown by the forgoing table, can
only be obtained by the means indicated, namely, deep water harbours at both
ends, straight piers easily approachable in all weather and state of the
tide, day and night, and powerful steamers constructed on the best
principles for the attainment of high speed, combined with the safety and
comfort of the passengers.
A vote of thanks was unanimously awarded to Mr. Mulvany, the author of the
paper, and to Mr. J. A. Ramsay, the gentleman through whose instrumentality
it was communicated to the members.
The meeting then separated.
PROCEEDINGS. 235
¦-*
PKOCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1875, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
A. L. STEAVENSON, Esq., 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. Charles E. Parkin, Perran House, Perran Porth, Truro, Cornwall. Mr.
Charles John Bagley, Tees Bridge Iron Co., Stockton-on-Tees. Mr. Robert
Dixon, Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead. Mr. George Taylor, Brotton
Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. G. C. Richards, M.E., Woodhouse, near Sheffield.
Student. Mr. Arthur Mcndle, 7, Collingwood Street, Newcastle.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members.
Mr. C. G. SWANN, 52, Old Broad Street, London.
Mr. Daniel Adamson, Newton Moor Iron Works, Hyde Junction, near Manchester.
Student. Mr. W. A. Rowell, Jesmond Gardens, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Dr. H. Alleyne Nicholson then read the following paper " On the Mining
Districts on the North Shore of Lake Superior."
VOL. XXIV.—187 >.
jj2
MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 237
ON THE MINING DISTRICTS ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR.
By H. ALLEYNE NICHOLSON, M.D., D.Sc, F.R.S.E., Professor of Biology in the
College of Physical Science, Neweastle-on-Tyne.
In the following communication, the writer proposes to lay before the Mining
Institute a general sketch of the mining districts of the north shore of
Lake Superior, which he has visited upon several occasions. It is not
proposed to enter into minute statistical details, but rather to give a
general idea of the position of the metalliferous areas of the mining
regions in question, their chief geological features, and their present
aspect and future prospects considered from a practical point of view.
Lake Superior is well known as the largest of the great chain of American
Lakes ; and as its longest diameter runs east and west, it has become
customary to speak of the " North Shore" and " South Shore" as forming the
margins of the entire lake. The political boundary-line between Canada and
the United States, after pursuing a devious course through Lakes Ontario,
Erie, St. Clair, and Huron, enters Lake Superior at the town of Sault Ste.
Marie at the eastern end of the lake, and should naturally have left the
lake at the town of Duluth at its western extremity, Plates XXXIX. and XL.
The boundary line, however, takes a northerly trend, and passing between the
main land and the large and valuable island of Isle Royale, finally leaves
the lake at the mouth of the Pigeon River, at a point on the north shore
situated about 140 miles to the east of Duluth. It follows from this that
whilst the entire " South Shore" of Lake Superior belongs to the United
States, only the easterly two-thirds of the " North Shore" is in possession
of the Dominion of Canada, Isle Royale and the western third of the "North
Shore" forming part of the State of Minnesota.
The shores of Lake Superior are bold and rocky, and for the most part
covered with primeval forest or " bush" down to the water's edge ; so that
they offer little attraction to a purely agricultural population, whilst the
mineral wealth has not been understood or appreciated until of late years.
238 MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OP LAKE SUPERIOR.
For these reasons, amongst others, communication with the greater portion of
the shores of Lake Superior is still a matter of considerable difficulty. On
the north shore there is only a single town (Prince Arthur's Landing), a
couple of Hudson Bay settlements (Fort William and Eed Eock), and a few
mining and lumbering stations, only one of which attains to the dignity of a
village. Prince Arthur's Landing, on Thunder Bay, may be regarded as the
commercial centre of the north shore, and it can be reached during the
summer months by several routes, of which the easiest and most preferable
are here mentioned. The visitor may, in the first instance, start from
Toronto, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and proceed a distance of
ninety miles by the " Northern Railway" to Colling -wood, a thriving little
town at the north-eastern extremity of the Georgian Bay. Here he gets on
board one of the Lake Superior steamers, which run twice a-week between
Collingwood and Duluth. The trip between Collingwood and Prince Arthur's
Landing occupies about three days in favourable weather, and may be regarded
as an exceedingly pleasant one if not undertaken too early in the season,
the accommodation on the steamers being good, and the scenery passed through
in many instances highly picturesque. The above route may be varied by
taking another excellent line of steamers which run from Sarnia, on Lake
Huron, to Duluth, on Lake Superior, and which also ply twice a-week. It is
also possible to reach the north shore of Lake Superior by means of the
American Railroads, via Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul's, and Duluth. • From
Duluth the traveller proceeds by steamboat to Thunder Bay, a distance of
about 190 miles. The south shore of Lake Superior is easily reached by
various lines of steamers running from Chicago or Detroit to Marquette.
So far as the transportation of goods of different kinds is concerned, a
large number of steamers now ply between Lake Superior and various ports on
the lower lakes, and vessels of several hundreds of tons burden can proceed
uninterruptedly from any point on Lake Superior to Montreal or to Quebec.
When the Welland and St. Lawrence canals are enlarged, as is now being done,
a considerably heavier class of vessels will be able to run, without
transhipment or breaking bulk, between Lake Superior and the ocean.
During the winter months navigation on all the great lakes is completely
stopped, owing to the closure of all the ports by ice. At this period of the
year, therefore, no communication between the north shore of Lake Superior
and the outer world is at present possible, except by means of snow-shoes or
dog-trains. The times of closure and commence-
MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OP LAKE SUPERIOR. 239
ment of navigation, as a matter oicourse, vary greatly in different seasons.
As a rule, however, the steamers cease to run about the end of October or
the beginning of November, and re-commence about the end of April or
beginning of May. The port of Duluth has, however, been known to be choked
with ice up to as late a period as the middle of June. As a rule, therefore,
it may be considered that all traffic with Lake Superior is closed during
six months of the year. This state of things, however, it is hoped, will in
the course of a few years be put an end to by the construction of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, with a branch line to Thunder Bay or Nipigon. It
may also be mentioned that though shipment of ore is not possible during the
winter months, the climate in no other way interferes with mining
operations, all of which are carried on at least as actively during the
winter as in the summer.
With regard to the general geological features of Lake Superior, the whole
of this vast sheet of water is hollowed out of rocks of Palaeozoic age. Much
yet remains to be done before the geological structure of Lake Superior can
be spoken of with the positiveness of detailed knowledge. Four well-marked
groups of rocks have, however, been recognised as entering into the
composition of its shores :—
1st.—The Laurentian Rocks.—The main body of the rocks of this age lies to
the north of the Lake Superior, only occasionally appearing on the shore
itself. The series consists almost entirely of gneiss and mica-schist, with
occasional masses of syenite, but apparently without any calcareous bands.
The lodes in this series consist usually of quartz or felspar, and sometimes
carry the sulphides of copper, iron, lead, or zinc ; but nowhere in this
region have they ever been shown to contain deposits of economic value.
2nd.—The Huronian Series.—These rocks are largely developed on the north
shore of Lake Superior, and consist essentially of greenish-grey felspathic,
talcose, micaceous, or siliceous schists, with numerous interstratified
traps, and occasional isolated masses of granite or syenite. The schists
vary almost indefinitely in their lithological characters, and generally dip
at high angles. The rocks of this series are intersected by numerous mineral
veins, some of which carry notable quantities of gold and silver, along with
the ores of other metals. There are also occasional bands of magnetic iron
ore and haematite.
3rd.—The Upper Copper-bearing Series or Nipigon Group.—The rocks of this
series are largely developed in the Nipigon basin and around Thunder Bay,
and consist in their lower portion of beds of chert, dolomitic sandstones,
and black argillaceous shales, and in their upper portion of
240 MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR.
sandstones, conglomerates, and indurated marls, with beds of interstratified
traps, and crowned by a.great thickness of compact and amygdaloidal traps.
The whole of the upper copper-bearing series is intersected by numerous
mineral lodes, containing silver, lead, copper, &c. Two sets of lodes are
recognisable, the one set striking about N.W. and S.E., or N.N.W. and
S.S.E., and the other set striking N.E. and S.W. The richest of the known
mineral deposits on the north shore of Lake Superior occur in the upper
copper-bearing series; though it seems very probable that the mineral veins
which intersect the Huronian series will ultimately prove to be at least
equally rich. It is also in this series of rocks that the celebrated
deposits of native copper, on the south shore of Lake Superior, occur.
The precise relationships between the upper copper-bearing or Nipigon
series, and the Huronian rocks, are still a matter of opinion. The evidence
afforded by the north shore would seem to show that the former repose
unconformably upon the latter ; but the sections on the south shore would
seem to prove that the two series of rocks are conformable (Brookes and
Pumpelly, American Journal of Science and Art, June, 1872). It seems, upon
the whole, most probable that the upper copper-bearing series correspond
with some portion of what we term the Cambrian formation.
Mh.—The Sault Ste. Marie Sandstones.—These are a group of sandstones of a
soft friable character, and mostly red or poikilitic, which generally have a
horizontal or only slightly inclined position, and are very largely
developed on the south shore of the lake. A few fossils have been found in
these sandstones, but are unfortunately not such as to settle their age,
which is still a matter of opinion. They have usually been regarded as
corresponding with the " Potsdam sandstone," which forms the base of the
Silurian series in the state of New York ; but Professor Bell has suggested
that they may be of Permian or Triassic age, an opinion which is certainly
to some extent borne out by their lithological characters.
MINES AND MINERAL LOCATIONS OF THE NORTH SHORE.
The chief mineral deposits on the north shore of Lake Superior that have
hitherto been worked, or which promise to prove of permanent value, comprise
silver, gold, lead, nickel, iron, and the ores of copper. Native copper is
present in considerable amount in Isle Boyale, which geographically belongs
to the north shore, but the writer is not aware that it has hitherto been
found in workable quantity on the Canadian side of the boundary line. In
the following brief account of some of the chief existing
MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 241
mines and mineral properties m the north shore of Lake Superior, his remarks
refer almost entirely to locations as to which he can speak from direct
personal knowledge :—
1.—Silver Islet Mine.—By far the most celebrated mine at present existing on
the north shore of Lake Superior is the so-called " Silver Islet Mine."
Silver Islet lies just outside the easterly entrance of Thunder Bay, is
overlooked by the beetling precipices of Tunder Cape, and was discovered in
the year 1868. When first found, and in its natural condition, it was simply
a little mass of rock, about 75 feet long, rising six or eight feet above
the level of the lake, and situated about half a mile from the main shore.
Though discovered in 1868, and known to contain a well marked argentiferous
lode, no systematic mining operations were undertaken till 1870, and the
history of the Islet is far from creditable to the foresight and energy of
the Canadians. The Islet belonged originally to a Canadian Corporation, the
" Montreal Mining Company," and desultory workings were carried out in the
autumn of 1868 and the spring of 1869, by this company, with the result that
a quantity of exceedingly rich silver ore was taken out, and the value of
the vein conclusively proved. In the face of these admitted results, and
apparently influenced by fear of the practical difficulties connected with
the working of the lode, the Montreal Mining Company, in the summer of 1870,
sold the whole of their extensive properties on the north shore of Lake
Superior, including Silver Islet, to certain American capitalists for the
sum of twenty-five thousand pounds. The Americans, with characteristic
energy, immediately commenced work, and having considerably enlarged the
Islet by crib-work, were enabled to begin actual mining in October, 1870.
Before navigation had closed, that is to say before the middle of November,
1870, they had actually shipped from Silver Islet, ore which yielded over
twenty-one thousand pounds worth of silver ; thus, in the first two months
of work, very nearly paying the price which had been given for the whole of
the lands owned by the Montreal Mining Company on Lake Superior.
From this time onwards the history of Silver Islet has been one of
uninterrupted success, in spite of the quite exceptional practical
difficulties and the equally exceptional expenses connected with the working
of the mine. The area of the Islet has been increased by strong and
expensive crib-work to two acres, and more than a dozen good buildings have
been erected on it; whilst a thriving mining village, with extensive docks,
a church, school, &c. has been erected on the main shore. The number of men
employed is between a hundred and a hundred and fifty, and they are carried
backwards and forwards between the Islet and the main-land
242 MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OP LAKE SUPERIOR.
by tugs. On more than one occasson, large portions of the crib-work have
been carried away by the furious storms which rage in Lake Superior in
autumn and spring, thus causing great expense to the company. The difficulty
of working the mine was also much increased by the fact that there was only
room to sink a single shaft.
Upon the whole, few mines have ever been worked under greater difficulties,
or have had greater disadvantages and expenses imposed upon them by their
peculiar position. In spite of all this, however, the main shaft in 1874 was
down to a depth of over three hundred feet below the the level of the lake,
and between the autumn of 1870 and the spring of 1874 ore yielding more than
a quarter of a million sterling had actually been shipped from the mine. It
should be added in connection with this that the Silver Islet ore is sent
from the mine to the Wyandotte Smelting Works in Michigan. There are thus
heavy charges for transport, and the cost of smelting itself appears to be
exceptionally and very unnecessarily high. At present, only the richer
qualities of ore are shipped to Wyandotte, as these alone will repay the
expense of freight and smelting; but large quantities of low-class ore have
been accumulated on the Islet, and it is purposed to render these available
by the erection of smelting-works on the main shore. Should this be carried
out, the expenses of the company will be very materially lessened.
The sketch (see Fig. 2, Plate XXXIX.) is taken from an interesting paper on
the Lake Superior Mines, by the writer's friend, Mr. P. McKellar, of Fort
William, and is a section of the Islet along the strike of the vein, showing
the extent of the underground workings up to February, 1874.
The Silver Islet lode is situated in rocks of the age of the upper
copper-bearing series, and crosses the island in two branches, which are
about twenty feet apart, and from four to six feet in width. The lode
strikes about N.N.W. and S.S.E., and its hade is nearly vertical. The
vein-stuff consists mainly of calc-spar, and occasionally of quartz ; and
the silver, instead of being disseminated through the mass, is mostly
confined to a streak which varies from two inches to a foot or more in
width. The silver occurs sparingly in the form of sulphide, but mainly in
the native form, usually in dendritic growths or threads. Besides the
silver, the vein-stuff also contains a good deal of granular galena, and
occasionally zinc-blende, with small quantities of nickel and cobalt. Fine
specimens of the ore are almost unequalled in richness, assaying as high as
between one and two thousand pounds to the ton. The Silver Islet lode has
been traced on the mainland, where it is large and well-defined, and carries
galena and zinc-blende. So far, however, the result of trial-shafts has
MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 243
not been such as to raise any sajjguine expectations about the prospects of
the vein in its extension northwards.
2.—Thunder Bay Mine.—Leaving Silver Islet, a sail of sixteen miles brings
the visitor to Prince Arthur's Landing, a thriving little town on the north
shore of Thunder Bay, the present terminus of the " Red River Route," and
the centre of the whole mining region. In the immediate vicinity of
Prince Arthur's Landing, or within a few miles of it, are several old or new
mines, some of which deserve more or less notice. The first of these is
the so-called " Thunder Bay Mine," situated about five miles from Prince
Arthur's Landing, and about three miles from the mouth of the deep and rapid
Current River. The lode Avas discovered in the year 1866 by Mr. Peter
McKellar, and its superficial characters warranted the most sanguine
anticipations. It cuts through rocks of the age of the upper
copper-bearing series, having a N.N.W. and S.S.E. direction, and it varies
in width from twelve to twenty feet, the vein-stuff being quartz, enclosing
large masses of the country-rock. At the surface the ore was extremely
rich, containing large quantities of native silver, , and silver-glance,
with some galena and zinc-blende. A company was formed to work the vein,
the shares being mostly taken in England j and a good deal of expense—which
might well have been spared—was incurred in erecting a fine stamping mill at
the mouth of the Current River, in making roads, in building a dock, and in
other preliminary matters. Three shafts were sunk, and a depth of between
sixty and seventy feet had been reached, when the vein apparently " gave
out," and all operations were stopped. Nor has any attempt been made
subsequently to continue sinking. It is difficult to get at the exact
details of matters of this kind, but the writer is satisfied that the view
promulgated by Mr. Peter McKellar, an experienced mining geologist, is
correct—namely, that the vein had been pinched out in that particular place
in consequence of passing from the harder superficial strata (dolomites and
beds of chert) into the much softer strata beneath (black shales), and that
it would certainly be found at a greater depth to resume its original
strength and richness. The total depth actually proved by sinking was very
trifling, and the amount of money expended in actual mining operations was
extremely small, whilst the attempts made to recover the vein appear to have
been of a far from scientific character. Upon the whole, therefore, both
from what he saw himself, and from what he gathered from others competent to
judge, the writer would conclude that the Thunder Bay Mine may yet rival, or
even surpass, Silver Islet, if a sufficient amount of capital and energy be
devoted to its development.
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
Ts
244 MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR.
3.—The Shuniah or Duncan Mine.—The Shuniah Mine—so called from "Shuniah,"
the native Indian name for money—is situated about three and a half miles to
the north-east of Prince Arthur's Landing, from which it can be reached by a
good road. The vein, like the two preceding, intersects strata belonging to
the upper copper-bearing series, but its strike is nearly east; and west,
and its hade is nearly vertical. Its width is on an average not less than
twenty-two feet, and it is composed almost wholly of coarsely crystalline
calc-spar. Like almost all the Lake Superior veins, it is of a brecciated
character, and contains numerous fragments of the country-rock. Here and
there are immense " vugs," containing many fine minerals, amongst which huge
crystals of dog-tooth spar, and fine specimens of green fluor spar are
conspicuous. The metallic contents of the lode consist mainly of
iron-pyrites, galena, zinc-blende, native silver, and silver-glance; the
three latter being usually associated with one another, and being
irregularly and locally distributed throughout the vein-stuff in the form of
small bunches. The vein has been proved by trial-pits over a distance of
over half a mile, and a considerable sum of money has been spent in its
development. The main shaft was down last spring to a depth of over one
hundred and seventy feet, and silver has been found at various points in its
course, some of the ore being exceedingly rich. So far, however, it is
understood that the mine has not proved a remunerative undertaking ; and its
prospects, owing to the great width of the lode, are not as favourable as in
the case of some of the other known veins.
4.—The Silver Harhour or BecJc Mine.—This mine is situated about fourteen
miles to the east of Prince Arthur's Landing, on the north shore of Thunder
Bay; and its history is almost precisely the same as that of the Thunder Bay
Mine, the physical features of the two being very similar. The Silver
Harbour vein intersects strata of the age of the upper copper-bearing
series, and bears about E.N.E. and W.S.W., with a nearly vertical hade. The
lode is brecciated, and the gangue consists mainly of quartz, with more or
less admixture of iron-pyrites, zinc-blende, and galena. Near the surface,
the vein cuts through beds of banded chert and dolomites, and here it has a
width of from eight to ten feet, and contains considerable quantities of
silver-glance and native silver, these, however, occurring in bunches and
streaks. At a distance of about thirty feet the lode passes into softer
argillaceous beds, and becomes extremely irregular. A good deal of money was
spent in commencing to work this lode, but the mistake was committed of
mining at the surface instead of sinking, and operations were suspended two
years ago.
5.—The 3 A Mine.—About a mile and a quarter to the north-east of
MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 245
the Silver Harbour Mine is situated the so-called 3 A Mine. This mine is
especially interesting in the fact that it is situated in the Huronian
rocks, whereas all the other silver mines on the north shore of Lake
Superior (with one or two trivial exceptions) are situated in the rocks
belonging to the younger formation of the upper copper-bearing series. The 3
A lode strikes about E.N.E. and W.S.W., in conformity with the general
strike of the stratified rocks of the district, and it intersects a series
of diorites and greenish-grey slates. It has been traced for a distance of
nearly a quarter of a mile, and possesses well defined, slicken-sided walls,
so that there can be no doubt as to its being a genuine " fissure-vein." The
lode varies in width at the surface from six to eighteen inches, the
hanging-wall being an exceedingly indurated slate, whilst the foot-wall is a
fine-grained greenish diorite. The hade of the vein is nearly perpendicular,
but with a slight inclination to the north. The vein-stuff is brecciated,
and consists of quartz, often amethystine, with a considerable intermixture
of calc-spar in places, and with more or less of iron-pyrites and galena.
There are also extremely rich bunches of ore, containing native silver,
sulphide of silver, gold, and copper-nickel. The silver is present in very
large quantity in some specimens, and picked examples would assay about a
thousand pounds sterling to the ton, or even more than this. In similarly
picked specimens, the value of the nickel, as yielded by actual assay, is
about £200 per ton, calculating the price of nickel at about six shillings
per lb.; whilst the amount of gold would be about £80 per ton of ore. It
would thus appear, as the result of several analyses, that picked ore from
the 3 A lode would be worth £1,280 per ton, or thereabouts. In the face of
these undeniably truthful results (obtained by the United States Mint, and
by the writer's former colleagues, Professors Chapman and Croft, of
Toronto), the 3 A Mine has hitherto not proved a commercial success ; and
the reasons for this are not far to seek. These reasons— without entering
into special details—are, firstly, that the vein is irregular in thickness,
and that the rich ore is capriciously distributed in bunches ; secondly,
that the operations hitherto carried out by the proprietors of the mine have
been altogether insufficient to prove its character, none of the shafts
having been sunk to a greater depth than one hundred feet; and, thirdly,
that the mine was very much overstocked in the first instance. If
scientifically and systematically worked, however, there is not the smallest
doubt but that the mine would prove a remunerative undertaking. 6.—The
Silver Lake Locations.—There are many other argentiferous lodes already
known to exist on the north shore of Lake Superior besides those which have
been mentioned; but the writer does not speak of these in
246 MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR.
this place, either because he has no direct personal knowledge of their
characters, or because they are still in an undeveloped condition. He may,
however, give a short account of a mineral property which he had the
opportunity of examining the summer before last, and which presents some
phenomena of special interest. The property in question consists of three
mining locations bordering on the little sheet of water known as Silver
Lake, which is situated about midway between Thunder Bay and Black Bay, in
the Township of Mac Tavish, on the north shore of Lake Superior. Nearly in
the centre of Location I. is a great mass of stratified haematites,
intercalated amongst siliceous and argillaceous beds belonging to the "
upper copper-bearing series." These haematites are beautifully bedded, and
strike about N.N.E. and S.S.W. Portions of the mass are more or less impure,
containing a greater or less proportion of earthy matter with occasionally
nodules or strings of chert; but the central portion is a thick bed of
exceedingly pure and fine haematite ore, roughly bedded, and apparently
almost or altogether free from any intermixture of extraneous matter. This
mass of ore is splendidly displayed at the surface, where it is beautifully
polished and striated by glacial action. Owing to the fact that the entire
location is heavily timbered, it was not possible at the time of the
writer's visit to estimate accurately the thickness of these beds; but it
may be safely concluded that the entire thickness of the ferruginous strata
was about 200 feet. This conclusion has been shown to be about correct by
some stripping of the ground which has since been carried out with a view to
mining operations. The dip of the ferruginous beds varies from 15 degrees or
20 degrees to as much as 40 degrees or 50 degrees. The results obtained by
analysis of the ore (not of picked . specimens) proved these haematites to
be of extraordinary richness and purity. The amount of metallic iron ranges
from 68*88 to 69 per cent, in different samples, leaving only from 1*12 to 1
per cent, of foreign matter to be accounted for. The ore has also the great
advantage of being entirely free from sulphur and titanic acid, and in
containing a merely infinitesimal quantity of phosphorus.
Locations I. and II. also carry large and extremely promising deposits of
lead. Those which the writer examined personally consisted of two
well-defined lodes of calc-spar and quartz situated about 100 yards apart,
and about six feet wide each. Both of these lodes carried a large quantity
of galena, average specimens yielding by assay from sixty to sixty-six per
cent, of metallic lead, and the quality of the ore would almost certainly
improve below the surface. Following these lodes westwards they appear to
join, and run into an immense vein-mass, about 250 feet in width, composed
of
MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OE LAKE SUPERIOR. 247
quartz with included masses of .jjhe country-rock, and having more or less
of iron-pyrites, galena, and zinc-blende disseminated through it, along with
small veins of heavy-spar. This large vein is undoubtedly situated on a line
of fault.
Finally, in Location III., there is a well-defined copper lode, striking
about E.N.E. and W.S.W., and intersecting indurated marls belonging to the
upper copper-bearing series. The vein-stuff is penetrated by numerous
strings and irregular masses of carbonate and sulphide of copper, but the
lode was not sufficiently uncovered at the time of my visit to allow of my
forming a very accurate opinion as to its extent.
The three mineral locations just spoken of comprise altogether about 730
acres, and they constitute one of the most promising mineral properties on
the north shore of Lake Superior. The haematite is present in extraordinary
quantity and of quite exceptional quality, and there are no sufficient
reasons why it should not be worked to a profit. The iron-deposits are
situated about five miles from the shore of Thunder Bay, the intervening
country being flat, and readily admitting of the construction of a tramway.
Once brought down to the water, the ore could be shipped directly either
across the lake to the great iron-smelting region of Marquette, or by
uninterrupted water-communication to Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, or
Buffalo, or, if desirable, to Montreal. Nor, indeed, does there seem to be
any insuperable difficulty in smelting the ore upon the spot by means of
charcoal. The lead-deposits, also, promise to pro to extremely valuable, the
supply of good ore being apparently almost unlimited, whilst there is a
reasonable probability that these lodes would be found on sinking to contain
the precious metals. This, at any rate, has been proved to be the case in
other similar lodes in the immediate neighbourhood, and in the same
formation.
7.—The Auriferous Lodes of Shabandoivan and Jack-Fish Lake.—In conclusion
the writer would briefly notice certain auriferous lodes which have been
discovered in a region lying near Lake Shabandowan and Jack-Fish Lake, and
some of which he had an opportunity of examining in the summer of 1872. The
region in question lies about seventy miles to the N.W. of Prince Arthur's
Landing, and, pending the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is
not reached without some difficulty. Starting from Prince Arthur's Landing,
the traveller is conveyed by wagon along the " Dawson Road," which is the
commencement of the " Red River route," for a-distance of about 47 miles.
This brings him to the foot of Lake Shabandowan, a beautiful sheet of water
about 28 miles in length, and of a width of usually two or three miles.
Here a small steamer conducts him
248 MINING ON THE NORTH SHORE OP LAKE SUPERIOR.
to the Kashaboivi Portage, a point about ten miles from the head of the
lake, and from that point the journey must be completed by birch-bark canoe
and on foot. The whole of Lake Shabandowan is hollowed out of rocks
belonging to the Huronian series, consisting of a vast series of bedded
traps and greenish slates, the latter often more or less of a talcose
chaiacter. The strike of the Huronian beds is usually about E.N.E. and
W.S.W., and they are intersected by numerous metalliferous lodes, which
generally conform in direction with the strike of the beds. Those which were
specially examined varied in thickness from two to four feet, and consisted
uniformly of quartz, with larger or smaller quantities of copper-pyrites
scattered through it. Assays show that these veins contain gold to the
extent of from £5 to £20 to the ton, but it is only very rarely that free
gold can actually be detected by the eye in the vein-stuff. On the contrary,
the gold appears to be disseminated through the copper-pyrites in particles
too small to be made out by a hand-lens.
About thirteen miles westwards of the head of Lake Shabandowan, in the
neighbourhood of Jack-Fish Lake, is situated a large and important
auriferous lode, usually known as the " McKellar Vein." This vein intersects
slates and diorites belonging to the Huronian series, and has an average
width of seven or eight feet. The vein-stuff consists of quartz, and is
richly metalliferous, containing copper pyrites, iron pyrites, galena,
zinc-blende, sulphide of silver, free gold, and a notable quantity of
tellurium. Assays have proved the vein-stuff to yield about £100 worth of
the precious metals to the ton, the great proportion of this being derived
from the gold, and only a small proportion from the silver.
Very little has hitherto been done in the way of developing the auriferous
deposits just spoken of, partly because the difficulties of transport are
still very great, and partly because it is only quite lately that the
district has been finally acquired from the Indians by the Canadian
Government. There is no doubt, however, but that this region will ultimately
prove very productive when fairly opened up.
Mr. W. Cochrane said, he had not heard the whole of the paper read, but he
had been in Canada, and he would like to ask whether Professor Nicholson had
studied the commercial question of being able to produce iron on the spot,
with charcoal as a fuel, and that at a profit, which, he believed, was the
great point which had not been established. When he was in Canada he made
enquiries, and he found that the only way was to bring all the iron down
from Lake Superior; and he believed it
DISCUSSION—MINING DISTRICTS OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 249
was a fact that at the present ti*ne the existing Government was taking
steps to prevent the use of timber to the extent that would be necessary in
the system which Dr. Nicholson had mentioned, namely, the production of
charcoal iron, by restricting the use of the forests. He thought that Dr.
Nicholson, in saying there was an unlimited supply of timber, did not know
the absolute fact on this point, that as the consumption of timber was so
enormous they were beginning to be frightened about their forests, and the
expense in consequence of going into the interior to fetch the timber was
making it a very serious matter indeed as to the economical use of it.
Dr. Nicholson said, Mr. Cochrane was quite correct about the timber; it was
pine Mr. Cochrane was alluding to. The districts of red pine and white pine
in Canada had been so reduced that, undoubtedly, unless very strong measures
were taken, the timber forests of Canada would be absolutely defunct in the
course of twenty years. As Mr. Cochrane said, many of the good trees had
been destroyed, and they had to go further and further every year into the
interior, so that it had become difficult to supply the wants in Canada
itself But he did not think that for smelting iron they would use the kind
of timber that was used for the timber trade. In many parts of Lake
Superior, forests, occupying thousands of square miles, contained hardly a
single red or white pine. They consisted chiefly of spruce, tamarack,
hemlock, birch, &c, which were useless for timbering purposes generally, but
could be perfectly well employed in the manufacture of iron. He did not
pretend to be an authority on the the commercial aspect of using charcoal
for the purpose of smelting iron; but his colleague, Professor Chapman, had
studied the question more than he had, and he had always been strongly of
opinion that it could be done at a profit.
Mr. Cochrane said, at the Hull Mines, near Ottawa, he knew it was abandoned
because it could not be used at a profit.
Dr. Nicholson—Yes, but the largest quantity of iron they ever made in a year
was a thousand tons, and he did not think they could expect that to pay.
Mr. Cochrane said, he was certain, from the little of the paper that he
heard after he came into the room, that it must have been a very valuable
one, and contained a great deal of the personal observation of the
Professor; and he had great pleasure in proposing a vote of thanks to Dr.
Nicholson for his valuable contribution to the Society, which was
unanimously carried.
250 DISCUSSION—MAKINE ENGINES.
The discussion on Mr. Theo. Wood Bunning's paper on "The Present Form of
Marine Engine used in the Commercial Navy of Great Britain," was then
proceeded with.
Mr. W. Boyd said, he thought it would be extremely advisable to adjourn the
discussion on Mr. Bunning's paper. They had had the volume in their hands
for only a very few days, otherwise he felt sure there would have been a
large attendance of mechanical members, and they would have had a very
interesting discussion on the paper, which was full of matter for a very
interesting debate. He thought that if Mr. Bunning would hold over any
additional remarks which he had to make until a further meeting, it was
possible for the council to arrange to find a place for the discussion on
some future day.
Mr. Bunning said, he would be very happy to meet the wishes of the meeting
in any way.
Mr. Cochrane said, that after what Mr. Boyd had remarked, he thought the
paper had better be made a prominent subject of discussion at the next
meeting before any papers were read.
Mr. Boyd said, they must take his opinion for what it was worth. They would
remember when the paper was announced in the first instance, there was a
considerable attendance of engineers, and a considerable amount of interest
was shown. He was sure that the paper was so good in itself that the
discussion could not fail to be interesting. He would not like the
arrangement to be made upon his assertion merely; but that was his own
feeling in the matter.
Mr. Bunning said, he would like to make one remark to-day. The question of
whether these compound engines could be successfully used for winding was
mooted in the paper, and he had drawn up a few figures to further illustrate
this proposition; and as this additional matter if given to-day wTould
probably be published before the discussion could come on, it might assist
in the discussion of the question of compound engines being used for
winding.
Mr. Boyd thought it a very good idea; and if Mr. Bunning could publish any
additional information, by all means let it be included.
Mr. Bunning stated that he would endeavour to make a comparison of three
modes of drawing coal—
1st, by a single Crowther engine ; 2nd, by a pair of horizontal engines;
3rd, by a single compound engine.
There are two efforts a winding engine has to make, supposing the rope to be
balanced :—
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 251
1st.—It must be powerful enough to rapidly overcome the vis inertia
of the load. 2nd.—It must be able to bring the coal rapidly to bank after
the first
effort of overcoming the vis inertia has been made. In all the cases let the
drum be taken at 24 feet diameter, and the stroke of the engine at six feet.
First mode, by a Singh Engine.—If the engine is so arranged that it takes
its first lift at half-stroke, the engine will have a leverage
24
of — = four to one against it; and as the usual pressure on colliery boilers
6
is about 30 lbs. per square inch above the atmosphere, with an outside
available pressure on the piston of about 24 lbs. per square inch, there-
24 fore — = 6 lbs., the weight each square inch of piston would statically
balance in the shaft.
In running, the leverage becomes six instead of four to one against the
engine, for the drum takes up 3 x 24 feet of rope ; and the engine only
makes 6x2 feet of stroke per revolution, while the average pressure
on the piston would not exceed 18 lbs. per square inch ; therefore, each
18 square inch of piston would, when running, only balance — = 3 lbs. in
the shaft.
Second mode, by Two Engines.—If one of these engines is at right angles at
the commencement of the lift, it is evident that it can obtain no assistance
from the other, which will be on its dead centre, and therefore if the
united area of the pistons is equal to that of the single piston, there will
only be one-half the power available for the first lift.
But the most advantageous position for these en- ^/-" ~^\ gines
to be in at the lift will be a b, a c in the sketch. / \
\
Both cylinders will then be in a position to give / *---t\>
\
out their power, but only to the extent of • 7 of X ~/
J
that which they would have were both at right \/ J
angles.
\--------^
In this position each square inch of the united area of pistons would
24 balance as above, only — x '7 = 4*2 lbs., whilst the subsequent effect
in running, per square inch of pistons, would be the same as with the single
engine.
Third mode, with a Compound Engine.—Steam in boiler 70 lbs. above the
atmosphere, of which 50 lbs. could be readily made available in both
cylinders, proportions of cylinders 3'4 to 1, that is, each inch of the
united
VOL. XXIV.—1875.
K2
252 DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES.
area of both pistons to be made up of *77 inches if large, and "23 inches
if small piston ; average indicated pressure in large cylinder 9 lbs., and
in small cylinder 31 lbs.
Now if the compound engine is arranged to commence the lift when
the large engine is at right angles, its power over the load
will
•77 x 50 be------------= 9*6 lbs., which can be balanced in the shaft,
while
for running purposes its power is 9 lbs. x "77 = 6*93 comparative
average pressure on large piston plus, 31 lbs. x "28 = 7'1 comparative
pressure on small piston, i.e., 6*9 + 7*1, or 14 lbs. per inch of the united
14 area of both pistons, which would balance —- = 2*33 lbs. in the shaft.
The following table will sum up the comparisons between the engines:—
Single Crowther. Double Horizontal. Compound.
At lift ... 6 4-2
9-6
Running ... 3 3
2*33
This seems to show that the compound engine would have most command of the
load at the commencement of the lift, and the horizontal the least, while
the compound is slightly deficient in running power; but whether its great
superiority at the commencement may not more than counterbalance the
deficiency afterwards is a matter that will require future consideration.
With regard to first cost the expense of the compound engine, which in
itself would be somewhat more than the single or horizontal engines
requisite to do the same work, would be more than compensated for by the
much smaller amount of masonry that would be required.
The old Crowther engine is simple and inexpensive, but it requires a very
large house, and the strain comes upon the masonry of the walls at a
considerable height from the base of the foundation ; the expense of the
house is therefore very great.
With horizontal engines the elevated and solid engine-house is dispensed
with, and the strain is on the foundation where it ought to be, but the
foundation extends in one direction a great distance outside the drum to
support the cylinders and foundation plates, and is in consequence very
massive. The engine-house is also very large, although it can be constructed
of either wood or brick, and need not be either expensive or substantial.
With the compound engine the foundation is all massed round the point of
strain, and can be much reduced in size, and is therefore much
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 253
less liable to unequal settlements which are so often the cause of the
broken bed plates of horizontal engines. The engine-house can be made of
wood or some inexpensive material, and need be no larger in its ground area
than the Crowther engine-house.
The meeting then adjourned with the understanding that the August meeting
should be especially devoted to the discussion of Mr. Bunning's paper.
PROCEEDINGS. 255
I
PROCEEDINGS.
ANNUAL MEETING, SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1875, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Sir W. G. ARMSTRONG, President, in the Chair.
The election of officers for the ensuing year was proceeded with. Messrs. J.
Gr. Benson, J. Wallace, W. H. Hedley, and Frederick Gosman being appointed
scrutineers of the voting papers.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, which were confirmed and
signed, together with the proceedings of the Council, which were also agreed
to.
The reports of the Council and Finance Committee were then read.
The President complimented the meeting on the extremely satisfactory reports
which had been read, and proposed that they should be adopted.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson, in seconding the adoption of the reports, stated that
it had occurred to him that, notwithstanding the great prosperity which had
attended all the movements of the Institute, they might yet make themselves
more useful and more prosperous by periodically visiting works of interest
in the neighbourhood. He did not suggest that they should go to any great
distance, or that the excursions should at any time exceed the limits of a
day, but he thought that within such limits there would be many new
arrangements and works of interest to members of their profession which it
would be well to visit. The subject was more particularly pressed upon his
attention at this time from his having met at Leeds several members of the
Staffordshire Institute who were inspecting the works of Messrs. Fowler and
Company, together with the exhibition now open in that town. He thought
also that the
VOL. XXIV.—1873.
^2
256 PROCEEDINGS.
time had arrived for reconsidering whether it might not be advantageous to
change their day and hour of meeting. So many of their members had now to be
in Newcastle to attend Coal Trade meetings both on the Fridays and
Saturdays, that he thought it possible some other day might be more
suitable, and he would wish the subject to be fully considered by the
Council.
The following gentlemen were then elected members :—
Members— Mr. G. C. SwANN, 52, Old Broad Street, London. Mr. Daniel Adamson,
Newton Moor Iron Works, Hyde Junction, near Manchester.
Student-Mi-. W. A. Howell, 1, Jesmond Gardens, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The following gentlemen were nominated for election at the next meeting :—
Members—
Mr. Joseph Routledge, Viewer, Ryhope Colliery, Sunderland.
Mr. John F. Lloyd, M.E., Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
Mr. Thomas Nuttall, M.E., Broad Street, Bury, Lancashire.
Mr. A. J. BARRAT, Kuabon Coal Company, Buabon.
Mr. Thomas W. Bourne, 18, Hereford Square, London, S.W.
Mr. "William Ramsay, Tursdale Colliery, County of Durham.
Mr. James Fletcher, Manager, Co-operative Collieries, Wall send,
near Newcastle, New South Wales. Mr. Maurice Deacon, M.E., Bath Colliery,
Somersetshire. Mr. William Beswicke, M.E., Waithland House, Rochdale. Mr.
Simon Tate, Kimblesworth Colliery, County Durham.
Students—
Mr. William Pickstone, Oak Bank, Black Lane, near Manchester. Mr. James
Holme, Crewe Coal and Iron Co. Limited, Madeley
Collieries, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Mr. Thomas 0. Robson,
Lofthouse Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Mr. Robert Clark, 22, Windsor Terrace,
Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr. John D. Wilson, 15, West Street, Gateshead.
The discussion on Mr. Bunning's paper " On the Present Form of Marine Engine
used in the Commercial Navy of Great Britain," was then resumed;—
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 257
Mr. William Boyd said, trr^fc he thought it would add very much to
the interest of Mr. Bunning's paper, if that gentleman could still further
illustrate the diagram C, represented in Plate XXVIL, Figs. 1, 2, and 3,
which gave the various torsional effects produced on the shaft of similar
engines, with cranks at three different angles. If the areas of these
figures could be represented by a circular line, it would show by its
diameter
at once if there was any development of power to be gained by the adoption
of any particular angle of crank under similar circumstances of expansion.
On page 120 there was a list of the data upon which the passing of a boiler
by the Board of Trade Surveyor depended. These data assumed that, before
the given factor of safety of "six" can be employed, the boilers are to be
made of the best materials, with all the rivet holes drilled through both
plates, while they are cottered up in their places, and all the seams fitted
with double butt straps. He thought that the desirability or not of
enforcing some of these conditions was open to considerable question.
For instance, he thought drilling the rivet holes through the plates when
cottered up was not necessary. He understood that the holes were
" drilled " to insure that they should be perfectly fair one with the other;
and it was certainly true that the old fashioned way of punching holes—
where the plates were marked off from a template, and carried by a number
of men to the punching machine which was running tolerably fast, and were
pushed along so that the punch came as closely down upon the mark as
possible—could scarcely be considered satisfactory ; but with self-acting
dividing punching machines, such as were now in use, the distance from
hole to hole was determined with mathematical accuracy, and the tables
of these machines could, by a very simple adjustment, be made to vary the
distance between hole and hole to suit the inside and outside plates of
curved surfaces. It, therefore, became possible to punch holes that
should
be as accurately true one with the other when the plates were put together,
as they would have been had they been drilled. Again, he thought that
drilling the rivet holes allowed the employment of inferior iron. Boiler
plates are now used so thick that it required a very excellent quality of
plate to stand being punched without cracking, whereas, of course, a hole
could be drilled in any quality of plate. Then again, a drilled hole put
through both plates together was perfectly parallel, and had no taper or
counter sink in it whatever; now, the heads of rivets in marine boilers
are very much subject to corrosion, and when these heads are eaten away
the rivet itself has no hold whatever if the holes are parallel, whereas,
if the holes are punched and the plates are properly put together, there
would be a counter sink on each side in opposite directions, which counter-
258 DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES.
sink would to some extent hold the plates together even after the heads of
the rivets were eaten away. Under these circumstances, he ventured to
express his opinion that the principles laid down by the Board of Trade, and
which he knew were adopted by many eminent engineers, were not in all cases
sound.
Mr. Lawrence thought that Mr. Boyd had lost sight of the fact that although
holes could be divided and punched accurately, even to suit the outside and
inside plates of a curve, the thick plates now used must be very severely
strained even when made of the best iron. With regard to Mr. Boyd's remark
that drilling offered an inducement to manufacturers using an indifferent
plate, he thought that those who did so would very soon lose their
reputation if they ever had any, and that practically, parties ordering
boilers only entrusted their construction to firms in whom they had
confidence so far as to be sure that no inferior plate would be used. For
his part, he thought the Board of Trade was quite right in allowing a less
thickness of plate for a given pressure where drilled holes were used ; and
he thought the three grades set out by the . Board of Trade—first, for
punched holes ; secondly, for holes drilled through the plates singly; and
thirdly, for drilling both holes through both plates after they were fitted
to their places and bolted together— were based on a sound appreciation of
the necessities of the case. He noticed that there had been a very great
improvement of late in drilling-machines for this purpose. The holes were
made to converge towards the centre of the circle to which the plates were
bent, and every pains was taken to obtain perfect mathematical accuracy, and
he was sure that boilers so made must be better than those in which the
holes were punched. He did not agree with Mr. Boyd that the taper holes
produced by punching were better than parallel holes, for when the rivet
heads had corroded he thought it was time the boiler should be repaired, and
if the rivet fell out it would be all the better because it would insure
that repair being done at once. He did not think that after the head had
fallen off the irregularity or taper of the hole produced by punching would
materially assist in keeping the plates together. He noticed that Mr.
Bunning advocated the application of compound engines for the purposes of
winding at collieries on account of the very much greater power they would
develop in starting, but he could not exactly follow Mr. Bunning as to the
way in which the extra power was obtained. In fact, this want of high
initial power to make the lift had always seemed to him a difficulty
attending the introduction of compound engines to the purpose proposed, for
at the commencement no pressure could be got out
DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES. 259
of the large cylinder until a stroke had been made by the high-pressure
cylinder and the steam had passed through it to the large cylinder. And he
thought there would be another difficulty attending the introduction of
compound engines, for if they were applicable anywhere it would certainly be
to deep pits, and these pits, in this district at all events, had very
little water to spare for a condenser, without which the compound engine
would have very little, if any, advantage over the single cylinder engine.
Mr. Bunning stated that he would be very happy to illustrate the diagram
referred to by Mr. Boyd in the way proposed if he had in his possession
sufficient data to do so accurately. With regard to Mr. Lawrence's remark on
the difficulty of starting the compound engine, he had expressly stated in
his paper that he proposed not only to remove that difficulty but to give
the compound engine an even greater initiative force than that of an
ordinary engine, by introducing steam direct for the first stroke or so into
the high pressure cylinder. With regard to the difficulty of obtaining
water, it should be considered that the reason a compound engine is so
economical is on account of the small amount of water in the form of steam
which it uses to develope a given power, and this, of course, requires a
proportionately small amount of water to condense, and renders the compound
engine peculiarly suited to pit work where water is not abundant. He should
very much like to have the opinion of their President on the much vexed
question of drilled as against punched holes. That gentleman had had great
experience, and had no doubt made many experiments on which he had founded
that experience. In conclusion, he would remind the meeting that the
formulae given in the Table were drawn up from suggestions of, and were not
general rules adopted by, the Board of Trade, and were chiefly useful as
embodying the views of the surveyors; they did not free the maker from
responsibility even if they had been complied with in every respect, should
circumstances, in the opinion of the surveyor, render the boiler unfit to
stand the pressure proposed.
Mr. Lawrence said he did not think Mr. Bunning's proposition of putting high
pressure steam direct into the large cylinder was either a satisfactory or
safe mode of overcoming the difficulty of commencing the lift. He thought it
would be a very dangerous thing to give the engine-man power to put high
pressure steam into the large cylinder whenever he chose, but still the
difficulty might be got over by perhaps increasing the size of the high
pressure cylinder, or by some arrangement of expansion gear. Again, if
steam were admitted direct into the large
260 DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES.
cylinder, the engine would cease to be a compound one, and as each lift
often required but a few revolutions of the engine, the high pressure steam
would be used in the large cylinder during an important percentage of the
lift, and therefore much of the advantage of the compound arrangement would
be destroyed, and much more water would be required to condense the great
additional amount of steam employed.
Mr. William Boyd did not see that allowing high pressure steam to pass
direct into the low pressure cylinder for a stroke or so, would prevent the
engine from realizing all the advantages of a compound engine during the
sixteen or twenty strokes required to finish the lift. Neither did he think
that any danger or inconvenience would accrue by giving the colliery
enginemen the means of admitting at will, high pressure steam into the low
pressure cylinder.
Mr. Bunning said, that at present the engines on board ships were always
provided with means to allow the engineer, at will, to put high pressure
steam into the low pressure cylinder, and this arrangement was found to
produce no inconvenience whatever, but, on the contrary, made the engines
much more easily handled when first put in motion.
Mr. Lawrence thought that no comparison whatever could be made between
marine and colliery engines. The one worked continually when once set in
motion, while the other had to be stopped for each lift, the duration of
which rarely exceeded a minute, and all this would require an amount of
complication, especially if the engineman had to interfere with the usual
gear of the engine by occasionally applying high pressure steam to the low
pressure cylinder, that would render its use for winding purposes in that
form unadvisable.
Mr. John Daglish said, that the question of using expansion in winding
engines was one of the greatest possible interest to the district generally.
Up to the present time, to the best of his belief, expansion had not been
used in winding engines anywhere in England until quite lately at Silksworth
Colliery, but there are several appliances for using steam expansively on
the Continent, and he had recently visited France and Belgium for the
purpose of examining these engines. One of the difficulties of applying
expansion to winding engines, was the necessity of having the expansion gear
entirely and at all times under the control of the engineman, so that he
could at any time, when the gearing of the engine had closed the valves,
have the power of immediately introducing steam and obtaining control of the
engine, and more particularly should he have this power when the tubs were
being changed, and when the engine was making the first strokes of its lift.
This, with the necessity
DISCUSSION—MAEINE ENGINES. 261
that the engine must make so many strokes in one direction, and then so many
in the opposite, at frequeritintervals, seems to require complication of
gear. At Silksworth, however, the expansion is regularly carried out, the
engine is perfectly under control, with an amount of gear little more
complicated than that usually employed—at this engine, during the whole time
the tubs are being changed, the engineman could, by a motion of the link,
give the engine full steam at any portion of the stroke; when winding, the
first two revolutions were made with steam acting during the whole of the
stroke, the engine then commenced cutting off at one-third of its stroke,
and continued to do so until the end. The principle in operation at St.
Etienne, in France, was that of M. Audemar, who employs a valve outside the
valve chest, which, by a very simple appliance, was worked by a cam. There
is also another much more complicated but very admirable appliance of M.
Gruinotte, son-in-law of Professor Gruibal, whose name they knew so well in
connection with the ventilating fan. In this arrangement, increased
expansion was made to counterbalance the weight of the rope, the steam being
cut off gradually, more and more from the commencement to the end of the
lift, so as to balance the decreased weight of the rope as the load was
lifted. Personally, he did not think this principle an entire success, and
probably they would have, ere long, a paper before them in which this
question would be raised, for, he believed, there was at present an engine
being erected in the Midland Counties with this appliance. He believed that
with a compound engine, the parts necessary for working expansively would be
very much less complicated than with an ordinary engine; but otherwise, he
did not see any advantage a compound engine had over a single engine
constructed like the one at Silksworth.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson thought economy was hardly the first thing to be
considered in a winding engine ; at all events it should never interfere
with simplicity and strength. At one time, in the collieries he was
connected with, they were using a ton of coal to raise 12 tons ; but now, by
the application of heat from the coke ovens, they were drawing 160 tons of
coal for every ton used under the boiler by the simple application of heat
which otherwise would have been wasted from the coke ovens.
The President said, that not having read the paper or attended its first
discussion, he felt unable to take any part in the present conversation.
With regard to the particular question as to the comparative efficiency of
punched and drilled holes, he might observe that it had for many years
occupied the attention of the Elswick firm, and the general opinion was that
where the punching and the rivetting were thoroughly well done, the
262 DISCUSSION—MARINE ENGINES.
work produced was stronger when the holes were punched then when they were
drilled. But there was more liability to want of coincidence of the holes in
punching than there was in drilling, for of course the holes must be fair
one with another. There was, therefore, on the whole, a better chance of
making good work when the holes were drilled, although there was greater
holding power when the holes were punched.
The scrutineers having returned, the Secretary read the names of the
officers elected for the ensuing year, and the meeting terminated.
APPENDIX No, I.
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS
FOR 1874.
By the SECRETARY.
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 *150 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 happened.
At the request of the Council the exact readings at both Kew and Glasgow
have been published in figures.
APPENDIX No. II. A DESCBIPTION OF PATENTS
CONNECTED WITH
MINING OPERATIONS,
TAKEN OUT BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1874, AND DECEMBER 31, 1874
BEING A CONTINUATION OP APPENDIX TO VOL. XXIV.
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.
EIRST DIVISION. LIFTING AND WINDING, INCLUDING SAFETY-HOOKS.
1874. No. 157. Hughes. The weight of the parts is made to assist
springs in forcing claws into the guides.
1874. No. 358. Johnson. An arrangement for preventing accidents in
raising and lowering by causing the weight of the load to constantly and
automatically apply a brake to the rope through the medium of a lever and to
thus arrest its own motion, the removal
VOL. XXIV,—1875.—APPENPIX No. II,
fo
10 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
of the brake requiring the constant attention of an operator, any
inattention on the part of whom can only result in the reapplying of the
brake and the stopping of all movement. 1874. No. 2435. Hughes. An
improvement on No. 157.
1874. No. 3186. Haseldine. Elevating coal from the ground and out of
boats into trucks, &c.
1874. No. 3500. Taplay. Levers pressing outwards when the rope breaks.
1874. No. 3588. Taylor. Safety apparatus, chiefly applicable to cranes.
1874. No. 3785. Enright. A disconnecting hook which disengages the
weight when it touches the ground.
1873. No. 4042. Davis.
The cage is suspended by means of differential pulleys, provided with breaks
; the description is unintelligible without a drawing.
SECOND DIVISION. MINING, BORING, AND SINKING.
1874. No. 206. Ball.
Making the cross section of the bars from which drills are made in form of
the cutting face of the drill. 1874. No. 563. Terrey.
Setting diamonds in drills, by providing the drill with a cap, in one piece
or several sections, following exactly the form of the drill; the holes for
the reception of the diamonds are made in this cap, tapering from its inner
to its outer surface, so that when the diamonds are placed in these holes
with their greater diameters in the inner side of the cap, and the cap is
screwed or otherwise fixed on the body of the drill or tool, they cannot
possibly fall out unless the diamond or the tool be actually broken, and in
such case can be replaced by a diamond of the same size, instead of
necessarily by a larger one, as required in case of ordinary setting. 1874.
No. 503. Dunn.
Improvements in machines of that class in which the drill or perforating
implement is carried and operated by a piston driven to and fro by the
pressure of steam or other elastic fluid. 1874. No. 680. Bouspield.
A machine in which the front portion, with the tool carrier and tool, is
fixed to a hollow piston rod from a cylinder forming the rear portion. Air
or other fluid under pressure is admitted into the back of the rear cylinder
and tends to constantly press forward the hollow piston rod and front
portion of the machine, and at the same time passes through it to a cylinder
in front and gives to its piston a reciprocating motion, thus giving a
jumping motion to the tool.
A DESCRIPTION OE PATENTS. 11
1874. No. 1149. Beaumont. Relates to percussive rock drills, wherein the
motion of the drill piston is effected by fluid pressure, admitted and
exhausted by means of a piston valve, which is also moved by fluid
pressure, controlled by the motion of the drill piston. 1874. No. 1162.
Heaton. Cutting chases in face of work, and breaking away the intermediate
portions.
1874. No. 1181. Warsop. A reciprocating rock drill, where the tooi is
kept constantly against the surface to be cut. 1874. No. 1183. Belsham.
The use of an internal stationary core tube, which is pivoted to the socket
of the ordinary boring tube. A current of water passes between the two
tubes. As the crown cutter of the boring tube revolves and descends
through the strata of coal or other mineral, a core is left in the internal
tube, and this core is held in by steel wedges fitting in slots. 1874. No.
1278. Brydon and Davidson. A carriage for holding their patent rock drill,
No. 1991, 73.
1874. No. 1438. Werdermann. Application of intense heat to the rock to
be perforated.
1874. No. 1489. Brydon and Davidson. The combination of a pump with a
boring chisel, so that the borings may be carried off and the chisel kept
free. 1874. No. 1603. Manson. Percussive rock drill, driven by air.
1874. No. 1676. Clark. The distinguishing features consisting, first,
in the application of one or more diaphragms in the atmospheric hammer
cylinder, whereby a very powerful machine is produced for boring rocks.
1874. No. 1724. Darlington. Percussive rock drill, in which the piston
passes portways in the cylinder, or vice versa.
1874. No. 1714. Macintosh. The use of chilled cast metal nibs or cutters
applied to rock borers, the object being to substitute cutters of hard metal
for the diamond cutters at present in use. Mortices are formed in the boring
tube, and these cutting teeth are inserted therein. 1874. No. 1718.
Johnson. Percussive rock drill and stand.
1874. No. 1738. Greathead. A shield through stuffing boxes in which
tools are protruded, the disintegrated material being suspended in water
and forced back into suitable receptacles behind the shield. 1874. No.
1767. Jordan. Percussive rock drill in which the elastic fluid is supplied
through the centre of the piston without the use of tappets. 1874. No.
2085. Sturgeon and White. Percussive rock drill.
12 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
1874. No. 2501. JOHNSON. A rotating ring, having cutters on its
periphery.
1874. No. 2728. TREGAY. Improvements in boring rods.
1874. No. 2741. Haseltinb. Percussive rock drill.
1874. No. 2760. Hosking and Beakewell. Percussive rock drill. The
piston-rod has two pistons, and between them an annular piston forming the
slide valve. There are no springs, ratchets, or tappets. 1874. No.
2790. Huntriss and Swinburn. A central rotary cutter bar and outer cutter
bar or bars, combining a rotary and lateral or circular motion of the outer
bar with a longitudinal or backward motion of the frame containing the
cutter bar. 1874. No. 2945. Macintosh. Using hardened glass as a
substitute for diamonds in boring machinery.
1874. No. 3038. BARLOW. The boring apparatus consists of a cylinder
with an annular piston, which is separate from the piston rod, but they
move together when giving the blow, the cutter is fixed to the piston rod,
and the position of the boring cylinder is governed by a piston in a
hydraulic cylinder. The boring cylinder is supplied with compressed air
or steam. 1874. No. 3299. Walker. A rock drill, driven by small
compressed air engines.
1874. No. 3299. Edwards. Eeciprocating and percussive rock drill.
1874. No. 3386. Wubbel. The application of a free-falling rope or jumper
movement to a novel arrangement of mechanism or apparatus composed of a
central rod, an inner tube or hollow rod, and an outer tube or larger hollow
bar for earth boring. 1874. No. 3397. Thompson. Driving rock drills by
connecting the drill spindle directly to the engine without intermediate
gear. 1874. No. 3490. WlRTH. A rotary steel implement working under
high pressure, and by means of which hard rocks, as basalt and the like, can
be bored without any appreciable wasting of the bit of the said implement.
1874. No. 3836. Munro. A cutter made in the form of one half of a
hollow truncated cone, held in a conical socket. The cutter fits a
recessed part of the conical head of a spindle, and is prevented from
turning by the shoulders of the recess, whilst the spindle itself is
prevented from turning by a projection, on its entering a groove on the side
of the socket. 1874. No. 4402. BEAUMONT. Working rotating slides for
percussive drills, by an auxiliary engine worked by the fluid which is
employed to work the drill piston, the movement of the slides being thus
rendered independent of the strokes of the drill. The tool is also
advanced by a separate piston.
A DESCRIPTION OP PATENTS. 13
THlftft DIVISION. PUMPING AND KAISING- WATER.
1874. No. 58. Bouseield. Rotary pump to use steam expansively and
secure the tightness of the packing.
1874. No. 84. Brookes. The plunger is made hollow and fitted with a
valve at its foot. This valve opens out from the interior of the plunger
and forms the suction valve of the pump. A suitable distance up the hollow
ram there is a through slot of length corresponding with the stroke of the
pump, and of width corresponding with the diameter of the suction pipe which
enters the barrel of the pump opposite the slot. The plunger is fitted
below the through slot with spring packing rings which are placed round the
plunger and between the valve at the foot of the plunger and the through
slot. The delivery or discharge valve of the pump is fitted at the foot
of the pump, and may be of any suitable form. 1874. No. 121. Benson.
Constructing pump valves of elastic material.
1874. No. 203. As far as it relates to pumping it consists in making the
valves and seats so that they can be separately examined. 1874. No. 239.
Broadeoot. Attaching a slot between the cylinder and pump for giving
motion to the crank.
1874. No. 327. Budenberg. Improvements in injectors.
1874. No. 403. Lumley. Changing the steam valve by steam admitted to a
valve cylinder by the action of the main piston. 1874. No. 404.
Cherry. A loaded valve is placed on the suction pipe for the purpose of
producing a vacuum into which the exhaust steam is discharged. 1874. No.
840. Cook. Rotating pump.
1874. No. 873. Newton. The invention consists in a valve box fitted to
turn on or around its axes within the pump case and in suitably shaped
passage in said case and around the valve box, whereby in all positions of
the pump a free communication is established with the under or inner side of
the valve, while its upper or opposite side is closed to such communication.
1874. No. 932. Pickering. Direct-acting steam pumps, the valves of the
engine moved by steam pressure without the use of tappets. 1874. No.
972. Mirrlees. The combination of the engine known as Robertson's engine
with the air pump, constituting a new pumping engine for forcing liquids.
1874. No. 979. Prall. Using compressed air for elevating water.
14 A DESCRIPTION OP PATENTS.
1874. No. 1043. Colebrook. Making pump valves of several pieces of
canvas or leather in such a way as to form a figure of a X in cross section.
1874. No. 1106. Bremme. A gear for working the slide valves of steam
pumps, and consists in actuating the valve spindle by means of a combined
lever and disc. The lever is so arranged and combined with the disc that
its fulcrum is changed and its action reversed during the same stroke.
The lever may be worked by a link connecting it to the piston rod of the
engine or otherwise. The peculiar feature of novelty in the combination
of the lever and disc is that the lever changes its action during the same
stroke; that is, in the first part of the stroke it is a lever of the second
kind, that is, the weight is between the fulcrum and the power. During the
same stroke it becomes a lever of the first kind; that is, the fulcrum is
between the power and the weight. This change reverses the action of the
lever during one stroke. 1874. No. 1135. Webb. An improved construction
of injector, in which, instead of making what are termed the
discharging and receiving " cones" in two distinct parts with a space or
break between them to form an overflow, the two nozzles or cones are made
continuous and without break or overflow orifice or chamber. 1874. No.
1189. Pattison. Hydraulic pumps of common construction convey water
pressure to a distance to an improved apparatus for pumping air or water,
fitted with automatic valve gear. Means described for regulating
fluctuations of pressure in pipes. 1874. No. 1256. Sapfield. Making
pump barrels of several slabs of glass held together by bands.
1874. No. 1286. Lake. In arranging the air-vessel over and between two
pumps, to form the fulcrum for the lever, in combination with a water way
connecting the open ends of the pumps with the delivery pipe and check
valve, the piston rods passing through stuffing boxes at the top of the
water way, and connected by slots and friction rollers with the brake or
lever. 1874. No. 1360. JOHNSON. A right and left handed screw fixed on
the same axle and revolving in a cylinder, the ends of which are open or
partly open, and with another opening in the centre of the cylinder
corresponding to the line where the two screws meet. When the double screw
is turned round, it either draws fluid in at each end and forces it out at
the centre, or vice versa. 1874. No. 1490. Lee. In putting the barrel
close to the blast holes at the bottom of the pump. In contracting the
top part of the barrel. 1874. No. 1707. Kennaed. Improvements connected
with the construction of sand pumps.—Cannot be described without a drawing.
1874. No. 1711. Beale. Two or more vanes or pistons are carried round
the interior of a cylinder by the action of an eccentric axle or drum, such
vanes or pistons being maintained in
A DESCRIPTION OP PATENTS. 15
their course by guide blocks fi^d thereto, and working in annular grooves
formed in the end plates of the cylinder and concentric therewith. 1874.
No. 1815. Kennaed. Improvements in sand pumps.
1874. No. 1868. ORAM. An arrangement for liberating the motive power
from pressure when it is not required. 1874. No. 1957. Hazlehurst. This
invention relates to pumping liquids by the peculiar use of a diaphragm, or
collapsable bag or pipe of any suitable form. 1874. No. 2078. Tipping.
Dispensing with the present spears and substituting pipes up which the fluid
is pumped. The lower end of the pipe so used as a spear is enlarged to
form a plunger bucket of the diameter of pump required. 1874. No. 2185.
Gamboni. Consists of pistons having bags on one or both faces working
loosely in cylinders containing liquid or air under pressure to avoid
surface friction. 1874. No. 2267. Muephy. Consists of the employment of
an inlet and outlet pipe inserted into the receptacle containing the fluid,
and by atmospheric pressure through the inlet pipe forcing the fluid up
through the outlet pipe. 1874. No. 2315. Bentley. Consists in raising
water by means of a spiral being made to revolve by suitable gearing within
a cylinder, the internal circumference of which being the same size as the
spiral before mentioned, whereby a continuous stream is delivered. 1874.
No. 2361. Beemme. Actuating the valve spindle or rod by means of a lever
which is attached at one end to the valve spindle by means of a link or its
equivalent, and at the other end to the piston rod of the engine by means of
a link. 1874. No. 2371. Walker. The inventor employs a double ended
piston having a cylindrical part working in a partition piece. The steam
is admitted into the annular space around the said cylindrical piece, and is
then expanded into the larger steam space. 1874. No. 2428. Mackenzie.
The steam cylinder is placed between the blowing cylinder and pump cylinder,
the valve gearing of the steam cylinder being worked by plugs or rods, which
are struck by the piston of the said steam cylinder. A condenser is
combined with the pump cylinder, which condenser is put in connection with
the exhaust , pipe of the steam cylinder. 1874. No. 2563. Clakk. The
invention consists in the combination with a main cylinder having steam
ports and a piston rod carrying a middle piston and two pistons of cylinders
placed at opposite ends of main cylinder, having respectively water inlet
and outlet, and connected by a channel way, a continuous flow of water at
the exit being produced. 1874. No, 2666. Mushet. To the lower end of
the barrel of an ordinary suction pump is attached a suction or
16 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
feed pipe, the united lengths of which barrel and pipe must not together
exceed the height to which in practice a suction pump will raise a column of
water. The lower end of the suction pipe passes into a covered reservoir or
chamber and extends nearly to the bottom of the same. A second length of
suction or feed pipe is inserted through the bottom of the reservoir or
chamber and passes upwards to within a short distance of the top thereof. A
similar arrangement of pipes and reservoirs or chambers is continued until
the source of water is reached. The reservoirs or chambers are respectively
supplied with water by any convenient means, a stratum of air remaining at
the top of each reservoir or chamber. The pump is set in action in the
ordinary manner, and the water is raised from the source of supply and
discharged from the outlet of the pump barrel. A check valve or valves is or
are placed in the suction pipes for the purpose of sustaining the column or
columns of water, and thereby rendering the discharge from the pump more
uniform than it otherwise would be. 1874. No. 3069. Druce.
Consists of two cylinders open at the top and having in them pistons
connected by rods to a beam or jointed to main frames or standards. At the
bottom of each cylinder there is a disc valve working in a valve box, and
the two cylinders communicate with each other by a horizontal tube having in
the middle a covered chamber, the tube having at each side seatings for a
disc valve. 1874. No. 3164. Barker.
A valve formed of two or more India-rubber rings around a perforated metal
tube. 1874. No. 3193. Holden.
The application of telescopic tubing to raising water, and in the fitting of
appliances thereon for making the joints water-tight. 1874. No. 3361.
Benson.
The improvement consists in the structure and arrangement of the main and
auxiliary steam valves and their connections with steam ports and passages
for admitting and exhausting steam from the auxiliary cylinder for working
the main steam valves of pumping engines. 1874. No. 3545. Johnson.
A right and left handed screw fixed on the same axle, revolving in a
cylinder, the ends of which are open. 1874. No. 3549. Hamilton.
This invention relates to the valves of the steam or compressed air
cylinders of direct acting pumps, and consists in automatically working them
in the following manner:—The valve consists of three parts, two short
pistons at opposite ends of the steam chest, and a cylindrical hollow valve,
with two ports in it, between the short pistons. By the reciprocating motion
of the middle valve its ports are made alternately to convey steam to or
permit of the escape of exhaust from the same end of the cylinder. Two small
ports near the ends of the steam cylinder open into the steam chest, and
admit steam at the proper times behind the end piston valves. As the steam
piston makes its stroke, it opens one or other of the small ports, and steam
entering the steam chest acts upon the end piston valve, and the latter
advances the middle cylindrical valve and reverses the position of its
ports, the entering
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 17
steam forcing in opposite directions the said middle valve and end valve so
as to completely open both the steam and exhaust ports. 1874. No. 3567.
Ashworth and Ashworth. Making ram pumps double acting by employing a single
ram, which works in two ram chambers, each provided with a gland or stuffing
box. 1874. No. 3621. Wilks. The arrangement of the ports in a
cylindrical slide valve and valve casing, for causing the valve to change
from one end of the valve chamber to the other, so as to direct the flow of
steam to alternate ends of the main cylinder, and cause the desired
reciprocation of the piston and rod. 1874. No. 3658. Parker and Weston.
Constructing the valves of pumps and engines in the following manner :—Two
exhaust valves, two steam valves, and two pistons are arranged on a rod
working in a steam chest furnished with seats for the steam and exhaust
valves. One piston, one exhaust valve, and one steam valve are arranged
on either side the middle point of the rod. The exhaust valves are of
greater area than the steam valves. Small ports are made in the ends of
the steam chest, in addition to the steam and exhaust ports. As the piston
approaches one end of the steam cylinder, the small port is opened and steam
is admitted to the back of the exhaust valve, and the exhaust valve at that
end is thereby closed and the steam valve opened, the exhaust valve at the
other end of the steam cylinder being opened and the steam valve closed.
The same action takes place when the steam piston approaches the opposite
end of the cylinder. The movement of the valve is produced by the action of
the steam on the exhaust valve, the area of which is greater than that of
the steam valve. 1874. No. 3661. Hooker and Brown. The construction of a
direct-acting steam engine working on the compound principle, which will
measure its stroke, start at any point in il s stroke, and waste no steam in
any of its functions. Also an apparatus for regulating the supply of
steam to an engine. Also an improved pump valve actuated by a steam
engine, and a novel means of lining the cylinder of a pump worked by said
engine, which liner can readily be removed and replaced. 1874. No. 3719.
Paget. Improvements in centrifugal pumps.
1874. No. 3807. JOHNSON. This invention relates to raising water or
other liquids to the height of ordinary pumps, or the height of a column of
water balanced by the atmospheric pressure, and to the "fetching" or
charging instantaneously with such water or other liquid of injectors,
suction apparatus, liquid elevators, and the like. 1874. No. 3917.
Preston, Prestige, Preston, and Fowler. This consists in fitting one or more
pistons combined with one or more buckets in a pump barrel, so that each
piston has the effect of a double-acting pump, and each bucket the effect of
a single-acting pump, without the intervention of any fixed covers between
the pistons or between the pistons and buckets. 1874. No. 3938. Evans.
The pump valves are actuated from the same eccentric or equivalent as is
used to actuate the steam valve, or in the case of two pumps working
opposite to each
VOL. XXIV.-1875,—APPENDIX No. IL
_
V
18 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
other, actuating the valves for both pumps from the same eccentric or
equivalent on the revolving shaft. 1874. No. 3960. Hulme and Lund.
This invention refers to " donkey pumps," and consists in an application of
an air chamber to the bed plate. 1874. No. 4129. Walker and Pplaum.
Improvements in pumping, employing a heavy weight running on wheels or
supported by levers, and attached to the piston rod of the engine (which is
horizontal) and also to the plunger of the pump. 1874. No. 4164.
DAVISON.
This invention relates to the removal of dead centres in crank shafts, and
is effected by keying on to a straight longitudinal shaft, supported in
journals, a hollow barrel with solid ends. This barrel is divided diagonally
and spirally into two portions, and so set apart from each other as to
permit a pin to travel to and fro on the shaft and between and along the
divided edges of the two portions. Connected to the external end of the pin
is an upright arm fixed to the cross-head that works on a centre below the
barrel. When the pin is driven to and fro along the shaft by the revolution
of the barrel, the pin carries with it the upright arm of the cross-head,
causing the same to oscillate, and by that means giving motion to the
pump-rods attached to the two horizontal arms of the cross-head. 1874. No.
4212. Wolstenholme and Thorpe.
The steam valve is moved by a lever which slides in a sleeve which is
carried by the piston rod. Small pistons acted upon by the pressure of the
water are employed to regulate the throttle valve and break, and thereby to
govern the piston speed.
1874. No. 4213. ASHWORTH AND ASHWORTH. The inventors employ a
double-acting ram working in two chambers separated by a stuffing box.
The gland is tightened by means of bolts or screws passing through stuffing
boxes. 1874. No. 4297. Binnie. Discharging the steam into the suction
pipe of the pump through an annular passage, for bringing the whole of the
steam as much as possible in direct contact with the water. 1874. No.
4490. ANDERSON. Improvements in centrifugal pumps.
FOURTH DIVISION. VENTILATION.
1874. No. 840. Cook. Two moveable rotating pistons, mounted on separate
shafts, but rotating round the same axis, and acting independent of each
other. To each of these pistons an alternate fast and slow motion is
communicated, so that while one piston passes rapidly eleven-twelfths of a
circle, the other slowly passes over the other twelfth,
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 19
1874. No. 1360. Johnson. See pumping.
1874. No. 1711. Beale. Two or more vanes are carried round the interior
of a cylinder by the action of an eccentric axle or drum.
1874. No. 1749. Ball. Compressing air by an arrangement of steam engine
driving a crank pin upon a heavy fly wheel, upon which crank pin also works
a connecting rod which drives a piston in a pump arranged at an angle to the
steam engine. This pump is single-acting having one end open, and is fixed
in a cistern of water which has access to the inside and outside of the
pump. The pump piston is adjustable so as to work close down to a cover to
which are fitted inlet and outlet valves. The inlet valve is connected to a
tube into which water in the form of spray is driven by a jet of air.
1874. No. 3047. Johnson. In drawing at every stroke of the actuating piston
a fresh quantity of water which forms a cooling medium for the air whilst
being compressed. In entirely obviating injurious spaces. In the employment
of a body of liquid which is maintained at a constant level at the joints
for the purpose of preventing any leakage.
1874. No. 3134. Morrison. This invention refers to ventilators, fans, and
blowing machines, which consist of a casing having one or more inlets and
outlets, and of blades made to revolve in the casing, so as to draw in air
at one part and discharge it at another part. The Provisional Specification
describes the construction of blades so that they widen out towards their
periphery, and are slightly curved in a forward direction ; also the making
of the inlet or inlets of funnel shape or conical; also where there are
inlets on both sides of the casing the employment of a disc in the middle «f
the fan to prevent the opposite currents interfering with each other.
1874. No. 3135. Nelson. One part of this invention refers to those
ventilators, fans, or blowing apparatus, which consist of a cylindrical
casing having an outlet or chimney of evase form provided with a regulating
shutter, and of a revolving fan, the blades of which are fixed to a series
of reciprocally crossing arms. The Provisional Specification describes a
mode of constructing these ventilators, fans, or blowers, in portable form.
The engine for driving the fan is mounted on the casing which forms the bed
plate thereto, and the fan is driven by spur or frictional gearing. The
whole is mounted on wheels. The inlet or inlets to the fan are of funnel
shape or conical, the wider end being outermost. The fan can thus be made
either to blow or to exhaust. Another part of the invention consists of a
novel arrangement and disposition of fans or blowers for blowing smiths' or
forge fires. The Provisional Specification describes the employment of a
small separate fan for every fire, the blast or outlet pipe being inserted
directly into the tuyere; these fans are driven by small straps from pulleys
on a shaft placed as close as convenient to the fire. By these means the
waste caused by leakage and otherwise when the blast for
20 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
all the fires is produced by a single blowing machine, as in existing
arrangements, is avoided ; the breaking of one strap does not throw more
than the one fire out of work, and when one or more fires are out of work
the power required for driving the shaft is diminished in proportion. The
Provisional Protection also describes the manner in which it is preferred to
construct the fans or blowers. 1874. No. 3471. KoRTiNG.
A jet apparatus is worked by steam or other agent by means of differential
or graduated mixing nozzles combined with a diverging tube. A regulating
valve is used. A perforated pipe or a false bottom is used and a
connection made to produce a partial vacuum. 1874. No. 3505. KoRTiNG.
Worked by a jet of steam and provided with graduated mixing nozzles and
a diverging tube. The nozzles are conical, so that the space between
consecutive nozzles is largest at the air inlets. 1874. No. 3719. Paget.
Guiding the fluid into the vanes of a revolving wheel by means of a curved
central directing plate. 1874. No. 4084. Newton.
This invention relates to the compression of air by and in the presence of
water, whereby it will, while undergoing compression, be robbed of a great
part of its latent heat, and in consequence will on liberation be applicable
for cooling and ventilating. 1874. No. 4190. Lake.
An arrangement which permits of giving large sections to the suction valves
to obtain a considerable wet surface in the interior of the compressor with
a minimum quantity of water and thereby permit with safety a maximum
velocity of the piston.
FIFTH DIVISION. SAFETY LAMPS.
1874. No. 699. Pilkington and Addison.
Consists principally of a spring bolt or latch working inside a small
cylinder or tube, and locking the lamp automatically when the lamp top is
screwed down into its place, which spring bolt cannot be withdrawn excepting
by a person in possession of a special key adapted for the purpose. 1874.
No. 768. Landau.
Lamps with annular chambers and perforated rims for circulation of air,
parts being without perforations, and openings being made in the ch amber
for circulation of air. A removeable oil chamber is used in miners' and
other lamps. Bayonet joints or similar contrivances are used for connecting
the upper and lower portions of lamps together. Extinguishing plates and
other arrangements are described.
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. '21
1874. No. 2579. Clark. ^
The object of this invention is to provide a lamp or lantern for miners'
use, and consists of a lamp provided with a mica chimney or casing, at the
upper and lower ends whereof are sections of wire gauze or finely perforated
metal of corresponding shape, and in so Uniting or connecting said sections
and casing to each other and to the lamp that the union shall be very tight
and secure.
1874. No. 2914. Teale. To provide greater security against the opening of
lamps while a light is burning therein by means of an extinguishing tube
which is brought over the light before the lamp can be opened. To light
lamps after being securely fastened by a current of electricity being passed
through the inflammable vapour used in such lamps.
1874. No. 4254. Armitage. The 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.
1874. No. 132. Morris. The machine is made with rotating compound
cutters, so constructed together in rows as at a single operation to cut in
the coal to be operated upon a groove as long as the row of cutters
measuring in a line cutting the axes of the whole of the cutters at right
angles to such axes. The machine is actuated by a handle or hand wheel
carried by a quadrant adjustable to any angle, so as to facilitate working
near the sides of a gallery. 1874. No. 1554. Wilde. Consists in
substituting for the force of compressed air or other power now employed for
excavating coal and other minerals, the motive power produced by magnetism
and electricity. 1874. No. 1741. Hunter. The arrangement and combination
of the improved excavating machine with or without the use of a " monkey."
The ram for driving or forcing the shovel-like blades into the soil to be
excavated. 1874. No. 2171. Eaglesham. The framework of the machine with
driving gear is mounted on frames or runners on each end mounted on wheels,
and is attached to said frames or runners by longitudinal bars from end to
end under machine, to which are attached screws, wheels, or pinions, for
purpose of setting machine at any angle required. Applying revolving cutters
fixed to a revolving disc or plate, or attached to an endless chain, so as
to reduce friction. 1874. No. 2501. Johnson. The mining of coal by means
of a rotating ring having cutters on its periphery, such
22 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
ring being carried by frame work so constructed and so adapted to ways that
the ring may be raised and lowered, turned laterally, and moved in a
horizontal plane in two directions, one at right angles to the other, and be
thus caused to penetrate and cut channels in the rock or coal as desired.
1874. No. 3000. Wilde. A portable machine in which a pick is moved to
and fro by a capstan wheel to form the groove or undercut; the pick is
raised and lowered to increase the depth of the cut by a screw ; the whole
machine is moved along a bed fixed to the floor of the mine. 1874. No.
3009. Alexander. This invention relates to mineral cutting machinery
operating on the principles of that described in patents, Gledhill, No.
3063, of 1866, Gledhill, No. 3759, of 1869, and Alexander, No. 3438, of 1871
; and comprises improvements in details and in the manner of arranging and
combining the parts, the object being to simplify and strengthen the parts,
and to render the machinery efficient and less liable to get out of order.
A coal-cutting machine of the kind referred to operates by means of a
series of cutters carried by an endless chain, this chain being stretched by
a gib and moved by means of a cylinder or cylinders worked by compressed air
or otherwise. 1874. No. 3237. HlGGS. Hydraulic coal-cutting machinery,
the return stroke of the piston or ram being effected by the resilience of a
spring or of air which has been compressed by the forward or cutting stroke
of the piston itself, a suitable valve arrangement being employed for
releasing the water at the end of the stroke.
SEVENTH DIVISION. EXPLOSIVE COMPOUNDS.
1874. No. 1275. Clark. The manufacture of cartridges of skin or gut
treated with special preparations of collodion to render the same hard and
impervious. 1874. No. 1558. Daddow. A fuse tube immersed or coated with
soluble glass ; in an adjustable match adapted to a mining squib; in a
mining squib having one end contracted to form a vent; in a squib with a
match permanently attached thereto ; in an artificial straw squib capable of
being used as a rocket or former squib; in a miner's squib charged with
explosive shells, or balls ; and in a hollow match having one end open for
the insertion of the squib or fuse, and provided with a slow
match. 1874. No. 1566. Gottheil. This invention consists in the
employment of an explosive compound consisting of a solution of a
hydro-carbon and an acid hydro-carbon in nitro-glycerine. 1874. No. 2062.
Mackie, Faitre, and French. Incorporating nitre or other oxidising
substance with gun cotton.
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 23
1874. No. 2385. Lloyd. ....*¦
The invention consists in increasing the disruptive power of an explosive
substance by confining it within a resisting envelope, by which means a
complete combustion is secured from the entire bulk of the contents being
turned into gas before the envelope is ruptured, and a corresponding economy
of explosive material is obtained. 1874. No. 2641. Davey and Watson. In
saturating gunpowder with hydro-carbons, such as a parafine in a liquid or
gaseous state ; and in compressing it into cartridges for mining purposes,
chiefly by means of a special machine, the leading feature in which is a
number of moulds wherein the hydro-carbonated powder is compressed by
pistons actuated automatically and simultaneously from one source of motion.
1874. No. 3612. Mackie, Faure, and French. Using less acid than usual in
the manufacture of gun cotton. After the conversion, the nitric acid of
the waste acid is saturated with a base, thus forming a nitrate, the
quantity of which is that just required to give the best effect when mixed
with the gun cotton. 1874. No. 3781. Faure and French. Incorporating
together charcoal, nitrate of baryta, and nitro-oellulose, and making the
same into discs or other forms supplied with a detonating charge ; and some
other means of producing and using a powder very strong when properly fired,
but otherwise comparatively harmless. 1874. No. 3920. Eoby. An improved
means of storing powder.
1874. No. 3934. Gray. A new compound to be used as a blasting powder,
and to be known by the name of carboazotine.
eighth division. MISCELLANEOUS.
1874. No. 34. Forbes.
Artificial fuel.—Combines the foul lime of gas-works, or its equivalent,
with coke, with or without chalk or limestone, with or without bituminous
substance, and with or without hydro-carbon oil or spirit. 1874. No. 57.
AlTKEN.
Forcing or blowing 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. The arrangement or construction of
coke ovens or kilns with a moveable bottom or top, or with both the top and
the bottom being made moveable. Forcing or blowing carbonic oxide or other
neutral gas into coke ovens or kilns whilst the coke is cooling, in order to
prevent waste of coke. 1874. No. 326. Lowe.
Artificial fuel.—The dry sewage of the streets ground in a mill and mixed
with a proper proportion of gas tar, charcoal, coal slack, and clay
washings.
24 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
1874. No. 360. Hahn. Artificial fuel.—The coal dust or small coal is
first mixed with a small percentage of ground pitch or other like material
and put into pans which pass into the oven, whence the mixture is taken to
moulds connected to endless chains, which pass over wheels one above the
other, and compress and deliver the material. 1874. No. 568. Coebett.
Artificial fuel.—The fuel is composed of 5 lb. by weight of powdered
charcoal, 6 lb. clay or clayey earth, 1 gallon of liquor into which 6 or 7
lb. dried cattle dung or peat have been stirred. 1874. No. 800. Forbes.
Artificial fuel.—A combination of chalk or the refuse lime of gas works, or
its equivalent, with a mixture of common salt (chloride of sodium) and sa
ltpetre (nitrate of potassa) or nitrate soda, or its equivalent, or (instead
of the above mixture) with common soda (carbonate of soda) or its
equivalent, with or without tar or similar bituminous substance. 1874. No.
857. Lake. This invention is designed for use by firemen and others in
having access to or in escaping from burning buildings, or in the
extinguishment of conflagrations when it is desirable to closely approach
the flame, also by miners and others exposed to noxious gases, to a high
temperature, or a dusty or noxious atmosphere. 1874. No. 889. TAYLOR.
Cleaning small coal or slack and for separating ores from then gangue.
1874. No. 976. Marriott. Artificial fuel.—Mix ashes and other refuse
from dust-bins or such like with small coal and peat, which are
incorporated with pitch, tar or other bituminous matter. 1874. No. 1280.
PAGE. Artificial fuel.—Mixing clay, lime, peat, starch, potatoes, or
potato matter, nitrate of potash, carbonic acid, and Condy's fluid, or some
of these substances, with the culm or coal-dust, and incorporating the
mixture in a mortar mill. 1874. No. 1315. Healey. Machinery for
moulding and compressing patent fuel, iron ore, and bricks.
1874. No. 1408. Williams. The manufacture of artificial fuel, whereby
coal, coke, peat, or similar substances, when in a state of powder or fine
division, or dust or duff, is heated so as to produce solid waterproof fuel
of great commercial utility, particularly for steam purposes. 1874. No.
1567. LOWNE. Improvements in anemometers.—Consist in making the
communication from the fan, not by means of one axis as usual, but by two
axes placed in a line separated by a diaphragm of metal, the communication
of motion between the two being effected by means of a magnet revolving with
the first axis, which carries the fan and a piece of soft iron placed on the
second axis immediately behind the magnet, which is thereby caused to
revolve with the fan, the axes are placed in jewels, the motion from the
second axis conveyed by worm and wheels to the indicating apparatus as
usual.
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 25
1874. No. 1689. Alsing. pm Utilizing sewage deposits, night soil,
and other dry and moist manurial matters, by mixing it with other
carbonaceous, deodorizing, bituminous, and other suitable material, for the
purpose of making it into a useful and cheap artificial fuel. 1874. No.
1826. GoODALL. This consists—first, in the employment of certain
chemicals to precipitate the solid matter of sewage ; secondly, in the
employment of lime and chemicals ; and, thirdly, in the employment of the
chemical precipitants, lime and small coal, to render the precipitate
available for fuel. 1874. No. 1857. Casartelli. Applying the graduated
scale of miners' dials in the form of a semicircular arc or limb across the
face of the compass box of the dial on swivel joints, in such a manner that
it can be turned or folded down when not in use, and when raised to a
vertical position for use, it does not obstruct the view through the sights.
1874. No. 1874. De Nomaison. This invention relates to a process for
purifying coke from sulphurous and other detrimental compounds. The
combustible is heated to redness with exclusion of air, whereby the
pyrites or bisulphide of iron which it contains is converted into
protosulphide. It is then received in tanks containing water to which is
added hydrochloric acid, which dissolves the protosulphide of iron,
disengaging sulphuretted hydrogen, and also dissolves others of the earthy
matters present. The coke is then washed with water and dried. The
process is most readily effected upon small coke or dust, and it is
therefore in some cases preferable to pulverize the material in the first
place, and to agglomerate it into blocks after purification. 1874. No.
2142. Kingsford. Mixing slacks of various coals, coke, or other
carbonaceous materials with Portland or other hydraulic cements in suitable
manner and proportion. Also to treating artificial fuels with coal tar,
common pitch, asphalte, or other bituminous substances dissolved in
hydro-carbon or mineral oil. 1874. No. 2287. Breckon. In manufacturing
coke it has hitherto been customary to use only bituminous coal ; this
invention consists in manufacturing coke of a mixture of bituminous coal
anthracite coal in about equal proportions, or in different proportions,
according to the quality of the coals used or to the purpose for which the
coke is required. 1874. No. 2396. DODDS. Improvements in picks.—The
pick head is made of iron somewhat shorter than the pick head is intended to
be, the deficient portions at each extremity (not pointed) being supplied by
steel points welded on to the body of the pick head constructed as above
stated. 1874. No. 2494. Aitchison. Artificial fuel.—Combining peat with
charcoal and the chlorides of calcium and sodium, which will combine with
the phosphorus, sulphur, and other impurities contained in the ore or which
may be found mixed with the iron. 1874. No. 2512. Johnson. This
invention relates to coke ovens constructed on the principle of what are
known
VOL. XXIV.-1875.-APPENDIX No. II.
J
26 A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS.
as muffle furnaces, and consists essentially in a peculiar arrangement of
the flues and other parts of the oven, whereby the emission of smoke during
the operation of coking and the consequent inconvenience and annoyance to
the neighbourhood in which the ovens are erected are entirely obviated.
1874. No. 3085. Penrose and Richards.
This invention relates to the production of coke, and consists in the mixing
or incorporating of anthracite or stone coal, or free burning steam coal, or
coal known as Staffordshire slack, or other non-coking coals with bituminous
coal, or any other coal capable of making coke, with pitch or tar, or with
any form of tar or bitumen, mineral oils containing bitumen, petroleum, or
any of the waste products of petroleum, such coal or coals being in a state
of division. The mixture thus produced is to be placed in any well-known
form of oven or retort commonly used for coking, and the surface is then to
be covered with a layer of bituminous coal or other bituminous matter. (See
also No. 3251.) 1874. No. 3200. Punshon.
Artificial fuel.—Petroleum is passed through perforated chalk, to which heat
is applied. A condenser is employed between the reservoir of petroleum and
chalk, to keep the petroleum in a liquid state as required. 1874. No.
3232. Forbes.
Artificial fuel.—Increasing the proportion of the saltpetre (or the nitrate
of soda) employed with the common salt. Sometimes using a solution of
nitrate of potash or nitrate of soda instead of common salt. Employing a
compound of chalk and common salt and saltpetre for the production of lime.
1874. No. 3560. Obmiston.
The arrangement or construction of the apparatus for coking coal or other
carbonaceous substances and working the same, so that economy is effected by
collecting the volatile substances. 1874. No. 3795. Hackney.
The production of an improved quality of coke, and consists in effecting the
reduction to a fine state of division, by means of a " Carr's
disintegrator," or by other means, of the materials from which the coke is
to be made, namely, bituminous or caking coal, or any free burning coal or
anthracite, or coke refuse, or other non-caking fuel (to be made into coke)
after mixing it with powdered pitch, or with tar, or other binding material,
and incorporating the same, or any mixture of them with lime, also in a fine
state of division, and then submitting the mixture to a coking process,
either in a retort or oven. 1874. No. 3880. Dixon.
The use of dextrine, fusil oil, and soda alum in the manufacture of
artificial fuel composed of coke, peat, or small coal disintegrated. 1874.
No. 4148. Leech.
This invention relates to the construction of a signal apparatus for
collieries, mines, and other underground works, the object of the invention
being to combine visible and audible signals from the persons at the bottom
of the shaft to the engineer at the pit mouth, such signal remaining visible
until the engine has commenced to wind up and then returning automatically
to zero. 1874. No. 4215. Ireland.
Distilling carbonaceous matter, and producing coke and charcoal by means of
A DESCRIPTION OF PATENTS. 27
modified apparatus of a kind^described in the Specification of a Patent
granted to J. Imray, on the 14th June, 1872, No. 1795, a communication from
T. S. Blair. The material to be treated is fed by double valved hoppers at
the top of a vertical retort, and descends therein subject to heat applied
externally till it reaches a cooling zone at the bottom, whence it is
discharged. A pipe from the top of the retort conveys the inflammable gases
and vapours to a gasometer or other receptacle where the vapours are
liquefied by condensation. A jet of steam is introduced at the lower part of
the retort to extinguish fire in its contents. Iron ores containing oil and
carbon treated by this method give off their oils, and have their iron oxide
at the same time reduced to metal, so that the mixture of metallic iron with
carbonaceous matter discharged from the retort can at once be melted in a
furnace for the production of iron or steel.
INDEX TO VOL. XXIV.
Accounts, x to xiv.
Adamson, D., On the Ironstone of Lincolnshire, 158.
Advertisement, ix.
Aitken, Henry, Description of coking ovens as erected at Almond Iron Works,
Falkirk. (See Description.)
Almond Iron Works, description of coking ovens erected at, by Henry Aitken.
(See Description.')
Analyses : Coal from several localities in Russia, 7.—Khartsis coal, 8.—Iron
ore, Frodingham, 26.—Forge pig iron, 27.—Eston Mine ore, 28.—Lincoln and
Northampton ores, 29, 30.—Ullswater water, 51.
Apparatus for exploring in the presence of dangerous gases, Denayrouze's
system, 129.
Appendix No. 1, barometer and thermometer readings for 1874, end of volume.
Appendix No. 2, Patents connected with mining operations for 1874, end of
'volume.
Appendix to rules, xlix.
Applegarth, Mr., Explanation of Denayrouze's apparatus for exploring in the
presence of dangerous gases, 129.
Armstrong, Sir W. G., On rivetting boiler plates, 261.
Balance Sheet, xii.
Barometer and thermometer readings, 1874, with diagrams, Appendix, No. 1,
end of volume.
Bateman, Mr., Estimate of cost of water-pipes per mile, 53.
Bewick, T. J., A project for supplying Newcastle-on-Tyne, Gateshead, and
other towns and villages in Tynedale with water from the Northumberland Lake
Districts. (See Project.)
Brown, Thomas Forster, President of the South Wales Institute of Engineers,
vote of thanks to, 44.
Btjnning, Theo. Wood, On the present form of marine engine used in the
commercial Navy of Great Britain. (See Present form.) Barometer and
thermometer readings,
1874, end of volume. Patents connected with mining operations, 1874, end of
volume.
Cape Breton,submarinecoalof,by Edwin Gilpin. (See Submarine.)
Cape Breton, Notes on the Sydney coalfield, by William Routledge.
(SeeiVote?.) Caythorpe, section of a pit at, 28. Coal (submarine) of
Cape Breton, by
Edwin Gilpin. (See Submarine.) Coal-field of Sydney, notes by William
Routledge. (See Notes.) Coal-fields and mining industries of Russia, by J.
B. Simpson, 3.—Geological knowledge of the country, 3.—Description of the
coal-fields at present being worked, 4.—Central Russian or Moscow
coal-field, 4.—Sections at Towarkowa and Tchulkovo, 5.—Wages, 6.—Analyses of
coal, 7.—Donetz or South Russian coal-field, 8.—Analysis of Khartsis coal,
8.—Ural coal-field, 9.—Sections, 10, 11.—Coal-field of Poland, 11.—Thickness
of seams of coal, 12.—Wages, 12.—Other coal-fields, 13. —Statistics relating
to the production and consumption of coal in Russia, 13. —Rate of
production, 1830 to 1871, 13. —Imports from England, 14.—Quantities compared
with populations. Great Britain and Russia, 14.—Mileage of railways,
1838-1873,15.—Other mineral productions of the country, 15.—Production of
ironstone, 1830 to 1871,16.— Total mineral production of Russia in 1871
compared with Great Britain, 16. —Gold washings of Siberia, 17.—Number of
hands employed, 17.—Consumption of wood, 17.—Import of minerals,
18.—Discussed, 18, and 150.
Plates. 1. Geological map of Russia.—2. Map of the central Russian
coal-field.—3. Section across a portion of the central Russian
coal-field.—4. Section of strata, Tula district.—5. Exterior of a
Russian colliery.—6. Map of a portion of the Ural coal-field.—7.
Coal-field of Poland. Coking ovens, description of, as erected at Almond
Iron Works, by Henry Aitken. (See Description^) Coleby-shaft, plate
2. Contents of Volume, iii. Council, members of, xvii. Council report, v.
Daglish, John, Some remarks on the beds of ironstone occurring in
Lincolnshire. (See Some remarks.)
Dangerous gases, Denayrouze's apparatus
for exploring in, 129. Denayrottze's apparatus for exploring in the presence
of dangerous gases, 129. Description of coking ovens, as erected at Almond
Iron Works, near Falkirk, by Henry Aitken, 97.—General description of the
ovens, 97.—Results obtained, 98.—Expense, 99.
Plates. 18. Plan and cross section of the Beehive oven, with blast
applied.—19. Application of improvement to horizontal through-and-through
ovens.— 20. Application of hydraulic machinery for drawing. Detaching hook,
Walker's. (See Walker.) Donetz coal-field, 8.
Electric signals on underground engine-planes, by William Lishman, 165.—
Discussed, 166.
Engine planes, electric signals on, by William Lishman. (See Electric.')
Eston Mine, analysis of ore, 28.
Examinations, publicity or secrecy of, by R. P. Martin. (See Publicity.)
Exploring in the presence of dangerous gases, Denayrouze's system, 129.
Finance report, viii.
Firestone, Minera, by Dr. David Page, 154.
Flushing, projected International communication in the north and east of
Europe, through the new harbour of, by W. T. Mulvany. (See Projected.)
Fossils (list of) found in the "Great" and "Four-fathom" limestones in South
Northumberland, 142.
"Four-fathom" and "Great" limestones and their associated beds in South
Northumberland, by G. A. Lebour. (See Great, &c.)
Frodingham, ironstone at, 26.—Section of country east of, plate 9.—Ironstone
field, plate 10.
Galloway, W., On safety-lamps and shot-firing. (See Safety-lamps})
Gases dangerous, Denayrouze's apparatus for exploring in the presence of,
129.
Gateshead, project for supplying water from the Northumberland Lakes
District, by T. J. Bewick. (See Project.)
General meetings, iii.
General statement of accounts, xiv.
Geology of Russia, 3.
Gilpin, Edwin, On the submarine coal of Cape Breton. (See Submarine.)
" Great" and " Four-fathom" limestones and their associated beds in South
Northumberland, by G. A. Lebour, 133. —Beds and thickness, 134.—Section at
Low Fogrigg, 135.—Tumbler beds, 135. —Tuft or water sill, 136.—Quarry hazle,
136.—"Till" bed, 136.—Black pasture stone, 138.—Section at Great
Whitting-ton, 140.—List of fossils found in the "Great" and "Four-fathom"
limestones, 142.—Discussed, 145.
Plates. 32. Diagram section, showing lie of beds at Prudhamstone. —
Section at Brunton quarry, showing rolling of " Great" limestone. — Sketch
plan, showing lie of beds at Grottington.— 33. Diagram section, showing
shoots of basalt protruded into the joint at the "Four-fathom"
limestone.—Elf Hills' Quarry, Northumberland, and sketch of block of "
Four-fathom" limestone. Greenwell, G. O, Letter on safety-lamps and
shot-firing, 168.
Home Secretary, letter from, on examination papers under the Mines
Regulation Act, 39.
Honorary members, xvi.
Hook, Walker's. (See Walker.)
Howse, R., Some remarks on the beds of ironstone occurring in Lincolnshire.
(See Some remarks?)
International communication (projected) in the north and east of Europe,
through the new harbour of Flushing, by W. T. Mulvany. (See Projected.)
Ironstone beds in Lincolnshire. (See Some remarks.)
Lake Superior, mining districts on the north shore of, by Dr. H. A,
Nicholson. (See Mining districts?) Lake Ullswater, supplying Newcastle and
district with water from, by R. S. Newall. (See Supplying.) Lamps (safety)
and shot-firing, by W.
Galloway. (See Safety-lamps?) Lebour, G. A., On the " Little limestone"
and its accompanying coal in South Northumberland. (See " Little
limestone.")
On the " Great" and "Four-fathom" limestones and their
associated beds in South Northumberland. (See " Great?'' &c.) Life
members, xvi.
Limestones (" Great" and "Four-fathom")
and their associated beds in South
Northumberland, by G. A. Lebour. (See
" Great" &c.)
Lincolnshire, ironstone beds in. (See Some
remarks?) Lishman, William, On electric signals on underground
engine-planes. (See Electric?) " Little limestone" and its accompanying coal
in South Northumberland, by G. A. Lebour, 73.—Grouping of the coal-seams
in the carboniferous limestone, 73.— Formation in various parts of the
district, 73-80.—Character of the limestone, 76.—Outcrop, 78.—Discussed, 80.
Plates. 14. Diagram showing changes occurring in the Upper or " Acomb coal
group" of beds.—Sketch section of country from Mootlaw to Belsay. — Sketch
section from Hillhead to the Tyne.— 15. Sections showing the varying
thickness of the " Little limestone" and the beds below it. Loch Katrine,
cost of viaduct, 53.
Marine engine used in the commercial navy of Great Britain, On the present
form of, by Theo. Wood Bunning. (See Present form.)
Marreco, Professor, Letter from, on examination papers under the Mines
Regulation Act, 42.
Martin, R. F., On the publicity or secrecy of examinations. (See Publicity.)
Members : Patrons, xv.—Honorary, xvi. —Life, xvi.—Officers, xvii.—Ordinary,
xviii.—Students, xl.—Subscribing collieries, xliv.
Minera flrestone, by Dr. David Page, 154.
Mining districts on the north shore of Lake Superior, by Dr. H. A.
Nicholson, 237.—General description, 238. — Geological features, 239.—The
Laurentian rocks, 239 —The Huronian series, 239. —The upper copper-bearing
series, or Nipigon group, 239.—The Sault Ste. Marie sandstones, 240. — Mines
and mineral locations of the north shore, 240. —Silver Islet mine,
241.—Thunder Bay mine, 243.—The Shuniah or Duncan mine, 244.—The 3 A mine,
244.—The Silver Lake locations, 245.—The auriferous lodes of Shabandowan and
Jack Fish Lake, 247.—Discussed, 248.
Plates. 39. Sketch map, showing the relations of the Lake Superior mining
regions to the inland navigable waters and chief railway lines of Canada and
the United States.—40. Sketch map of Lake Superior, &c.
Mining industries of Russia, by J. B. Simpson. (See Coal-fields.)
Moscow coal-field, 4.
Mulvany, W. T., projected international communication in the North and East
of Europe, through the new harbour of Flushing. (See Projected?)
Newall, R. S., On supplying Newcastle and district with water from Lake
Ullswater. fSee Supplying.)
Newcastle, project for supplying water from the Northumberland Lakes
district, by T. J. Bewick. (Bee Project.)
Newcastle, supplying water from Lake Ullswater, by R. S. Newall. f See
Supplying.)
Nicholson, Dr. H. Alleyne, On the mining districts on the north shore of
Lake Superior. (See Mining Districts?)
Northampton ores, 29.
Northumberland Lakes district, project for supplying water from, to
Newcastle, Gateshead, &c, by T. J. Bewick. (See Project.)
Northumberland (South), "Great" and "Four-fathom" Limestones, and their
associated beds in, by G. A. Lebour. (See Great, &c.J
Notes on the Sydney coal-field, in the Island of Cape Breton, British North
America, by William Routledge, 191.— General description, 191.—Seams in No.
1 Basin, 193.—Seams in No. 2 Basin, 194. —Seams in No. 3 Basin, 196.—Seams
in No. 4 Basin, 197.—The Sydney Mines, 199.—Victoria Colliery, 200.—Lingan
Mines, 200.—International Mines, 201. —Glace Bay Mines, 202.—Caledonia
Colliery, 203.—Clyde Mines, 203.— Schooner Pond Colliery, 204.—Block House
Mines, 204.—Gowrie Mines, 205. —Reserve Colliery, 206.—Emery Colliery,
206.—Gardiner Colliery, "207 — Unworked mining areas, 208.—Tabular statement
of coals raised annually at the several collieries in the Sydney coalfield,
Cape Breton County, up to year ending 1874,210.—Comparative tabular
statement of the analysis and economic value of the coal seams in the Sydney
coal-field, 213.—Comparison of various bituminous coals, 214.
Plates. 35. Sections of strata.—36. Coal area map or plan of the Sydney
coal-field.
Officers, xvii.
Ordinary Members, xviii.
Page, Dr., On Selenitic plaster, 152.— On minera firestone, 154.
Patents connected with mining operations, 1874. Appendix, No. 2, end of
volume.
Patrons, xv.
Plaster, selenitic, by Dr. David Page, 152.
Poland, coal-field of, 11.
Present form of marine engine used in the commercial navy of Great Britain,
by Theo. Wood Bunning, 105.—Table showing the theoretical saving effected by
the expansion of steam, 107.—The slide valve, 108.—Hall's surface
condensers, 109.—Compound engines, 110. —Table showing pressures in both
high and low pressure cylinders, and torsional strains at 16 portions of the
stroke, 117.—Strength of marine boilers, 119. —Data upon which the passing
of a
boiler by the Board of Trade Surveyor depends, 120.—Strength of furnaces,
122. —Stays, 122.—Suitability of the compound engine for winding coal, 123.—
Discussed, 124, 250, and 256.—Comparison of three modes of drawing coal,
250.
Plates. 21. General elevation of engine—end view.—22. Ditto, front
view.—23. Plan of engine.—24. Sectional elevation of cylinders and
sectional plan.—25. Guide clip for piston rod.—26. Sections of condenser
and tubes.—27. Diagrams illustrating the torsional strain on shaft with
cranks placed at different angles. — 28. Section of boiler, looting on
side.—29. Ditto, looking on front.—30. Diagrams representing the action
of the two cylinders on board the s.s. '• St. Osyth." 31. Crank effort
diagram. Project for supplying Newcastle-on-Tyne, Gateshead, and other towns
and villages in Tynedale with water from the Northumberland Lakes district,
by T. J. Bewick, 85.—The Lakes, 85.—Drainage area, 86.—Rainfall,
87.—Population of Newcastle, Gateshead, &c, 88.—Estimated capacity of
the Lakes, 88.— Approximate estimated cost, 90.— Discussed, 90.
Plates. 16. Map showing lakes with proposed enlargements.—17. Map
illustrating the scheme. Projected International communication in the north
and east of Europe through the new harbour of Flushing, at the mouth of the
Scheldt in Holland, by W. T. Mulvany, 217.—Introductory remarks,
217.—Railways, 217.—Harbours, 223.—The project, 225.—England, the English
Channel, and Flushing, 226. —Flushing to Venlo, 227.—Venlo to Bremen,
Hamburg, and Denmark, 227. —Venlo to Berlin and St. Petersburg, 228.—Venlo,
Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, to Middle Germany and Russia, 229.— Venlo to South
Germany and Switzerland, 229.—Venlo^Vienna to Constantinople, England to
India, 229.— Anticipated results, 231.
Plates. 37. Harbour of Flushing, showing projected enlargement.—38.
Railway routes from Venlo, &c. Publicity or secrecy of examinations,
under the Mines Regulation Act, by R. F. Martin, 39.—Letter from the Home
Secretary, 39.—Letter from Professor Marreco, 42.—Discussed, 42.—Decision
of the Council, 45.
Regulations as to working submarine areas in Nova Scotia, 188.
Repoets : Council, v.—Finance Committee, viii.
Rivetting Boiler Plates (see discussion on Marine Engines, 257), Sir W. G.
Armstrong on, 261.
Rotjtledge, William, Notes on the Sydney coal-field in the Island of Cape
Breton, British North America. (See Notes.')
Rules, xlv.—Appendix to Rules, xlix.
Russia, coal-fields and mining industries of, by J. B. Simpson. (See
Coal-fields.)
Safety lamps and shot-firing, by William Galloway, 63.—Result of
experiments, 67.—Discussed, 67, and 167.—Letter from Mr. G. C. Greenwell,
168.
Secrecy or publicity of examinations, by R. F. Martin. (See Publicity.)
Sections : Across a portion of the central Russian coal-field, plate
3.—Strata, Tula district, plate 4. — Towarkowo, 5.— Tchulkovo, 5.—Lithwinsk
and Kiselow-ski, 10.—Near Gabucha, 10, 11.—Lincolnshire ironstone beds,
23.—Pit near Caythorpe, 28.—Country east of Frod-ingham, plate 9.—Country
from Moot-law to Belsay, plate 14.—Hillhead to the Tyne, 14.—Varying
thickness of South Northumberland "Little limestone," and the beds below it,
plate 15. —Section of coal at Gabucha, 152.— Various sections at Cape
Breton, 178 et seque.—Strata, Sydney coal-field, plate 35.—Strata at Low
Fogrigg, 135.— Strata at Great Whittington, 160.
Selenitic plaster, by Dr. David Page, 152.
Shot-firing and safety lamps, by W. Galloway. (See Safety lamps.)
Siberia, gold-washing at, 17.
Signals (electric) on underground engine-planes, by William Lishman. (See
Electric.)
Simpson, J. B., On the coal-fields and mining industries of Russia. (See
Coalfields.)
Some remarks on the beds of ironstone occurring in Lincolnshire, by Mr. John
Daglish and Mr. R. Howse, 23.—Section of beds, 23.—Lower lias ironstone, 24.
—Characteristic fossils, 25.—Blast furnaces, 26.—Analysis of iron ore from
the main bed of ironstone near Frod-ingham, 26.—Analysis of forge pig iron,
27.—Output, 27.—Middle lias ironstone, 27.—Section of a pit near Caythorpe,
28.—Analysis of Eston mine ore, 28.— Ironstone of the lower oolite, 28.—
Analysis of Lincoln and Northampton ores, 29.—Analysis, 30.—Lower cretaceous
or nescomian ironstone, 30.—Section, 31.—Discussed, 31 and 157.—Remarks by
Mr. D. Adamson, 158.
South Northumberland," Little limestone"
of, and its accompanying coal, by G. A. Lebour. (See " Little
Limestone.'''')
Plates. 8. General geological map of North Lincolnshire. — 9. Sketch showing
contour and section of country east of Frodingham.—10. Frodingham ironstone
field.—11. Coleby shaft.
South Wales Institute of Engineers, vote of thanks to, 44.
Steavenson, A. L., Visits to works of interest in the neighbourhood of
Newcastle, suggested by, 255.
Students, xl.
Submarine coal of Cape Breton, by Edwin Gilpin, 173.—Extent of the
coal-field, 174.—Faults, 174.—Troubles, 175.— Equivalents of the long beach
seams found on South Head, 175. — Cape Granby, Schooner Pond, &c,
176.—Description of various seams, 177-180.— Section of the Lingan series,
178.— Thicknesses of seams on north side of Sydney harbour, 179.—Submarine
coal of Western Cape Breton, 180.—Sword property, Glace Bay, 182.—Victoria
submarine area, 183.—Point Aconi property, 183.—Craneberry head area, 183.
—Lingan sea areas, 183.—Nature of strata, 183. — Systems of working : Sydney
colliery, 184.—Victoria coal mines, 185.—Lingan, 186.—Gas and ventilation,
186.—Shipping facilities, 186.—Regulations as to working submarine areas in
Nova Scotia, 188.— Section of Cape Breton coal measures, 189.
Plates. 35. Sketch map of Sydney coal-field.
Subscribing collieries, xliv.
Subscriptions, x.
Supplying Newcastle and district with water from Lake Ullswater, by R. S.
Newall, 49.—Analysis of the water, 51. —Probable expense, 53.—Cost of Loch
Katrine viaduct, 53.—Mr. Bateman's estimate for pipes per mile,
53.—Discussed, 54.
Plates. 13. Map of the district between Ullswater and Tynemouth. Sydney
coal-field, notes on, by William Routiedge. (See Notes.)
Thermometer and barometer readings,
1874, end of volume. Treasurer's accounts, x.-xiii. Tynemouth and Ullswater,
map of district
between, plate 13.
Ullswater, On supplying Newcastle and district with water from, by R. S.
Newall. (See Supplying?)—Map of district between Ullswater and Tynemouth,
plate 13.
Ural coal-field, 9.
Visits to works of interest in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, suggested by
Mr. A. L. Steavenson, 255.
Wages in various parts of the Russian coal-field, 6, 12.
Walker's detaching hook, 35.—Description of hook, 35.
Plates. 12. Showing the hook in various positions.
Water, project for supplying Newcastle, Gateshead, &c, with, from the
Northumberland Lakes, by Mr. T. J. Bewick, 85.
Water, supplying Newcastle and district with, from Lake Ullswater, by R. S.
Newall. (See Supplying).