NEIMME Transactions
Volume 32
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
TRANSACTIONS.
VOL. XXXII.
1882-88.
newcastle-upon-tyne: a. reid printing court buildings, akenside hill.
1883.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE :
ANDREW REID, PKIKTING COURT BUILDINGS, AKENSIDE HILL,
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXXII.
PAGE.
Report of Council............... v
Report of Finance Committee vii
Report of Committee on
Prizes awarded for Papers viii
Account of Subscriptions .... xvi
Treasurer's Account............ xviii
General Account.................. xx
Patrons .............................. xxi
Honorary and Life Members xxii
Officers.............................. xxiii
PAGE.
Original Members ............... xxiv
Ordinary Members............... xxxvi
Associate Members............... xxxvii
Students.............................. xl
Subscribers under Bye-Law 9 xliv
Charter .............................. xlv
Bye-laws ........................... li
Barometer Readings............ 371
Index ................................. 379
Abstracts of Foreign Papers end of vol
GENERAL MEETINGS.
1882. PAGE.
Oct. 14.—Paper "On the Channel Tunnel," hy Mr. Charles Ty Men-Wright ... 3
Discussed ... ... ... ... ...... ...... ... 16
Discussion on Mr. T. J. Bowlker's Paper, " Description of a New
Ventilating Fan" ... ......... ... ...... 21
Paper " On the Comparative Efficiency of Non-conducting Coverings
for Boilers and Steam-pipes," by Mr. W. J. Bird. (Second Paper) 35
Paper " On the Mineral Resources of the Rosedale Abbey District,"
by Mr. Charles Parkin..................... 43
Dec. 9.—Paper "On the Feeding and Management of Colliery Horses," by
Mr. Charles Hunting ..................... 61
Discussed ......... ..................Ill
Further discussion on Mr. T. J. Bowlker's Paper. " Description of a
New Ventilating Fan".....................116
Remarks on Mr. Lindsay Wood's Paper, u Experiments showing the
Pressure of Gas in the Solid Coal," by Mr. E. Mallard; translated
by Mr. M. Walton B rown ... ... ... ... ... ... 123
1883.
Feb. 10.—Paper " On the Duration of the Coal of Great Britain and Ireland,"
by Mr. G. C. Greenwell.....................135
Paper "On the Daltonganj Coal-field," by Mr. J. H. Grant...... 149
Civ)
rAU15.
Discussion on Mr. Charles Hunting's Paper, "On the Feeding and
Management of Colliery Horses" ... ...... ... ... 154
Further discussion on Mr. W. J. Bird's Paper, " On the Comparative
Efficiency of Non-conducting Coverings for Boilers and Steam-
Pipes"...........................175
April 14.—Paper " On Two Systems of Working the Main Coal at Moira, in
Leicestershire," by Mr. W. S. Gresley ............181
Paper "On Explosions of Boilers and other Vessels," by Mr. E. B.
Marten ...... ... ...... ...... ...... 19X
Paper " On Internal Stress in Cylindrical and Spherical Dams," by
Professor W. Steadman Aldis...... ... ... ... ... 201
June 9.—Discussion on Mr. E. B. Marten's Paper, "On Explosions of Boilers
and other Vessels" ... ... ... ... ... ... 216
Discussion on Mr. W. S. Gresley's Paper, "On Two Systems of
Working the Main Coal at Moira, Leicestershire"......... 221
Discussion on Professor W. Steadman Aldis' Paper, "On Internal
Stress in Cylindrical and Spherical Dams" ............ 221
July 3, 4, 5, and 6.—Meeting at Baeeow-in-Furness—
Paper " On Water-gauge, Barometer, and other Observations taken at
Seaham Colliery during the Time the Maudlin Seam was Sealed up" 225
Discussed, together with Mr. Lindsay Wood's Paper, " Experiments
showing the Pressure of Gas in the Solid Coal" ......... 311
Paper " On the Structure of the Cumberland Coal-field," by Mr. J.
D. Kendall ..................... 3^9
Discussed ... ......... ... ...... 357
Paper " On the Whitehaven Collieries," by Mr. G. H. Liddell ... 363
Excursions to Mines and Works in the neighbourhood of Barrow, and
Windermere, Whitehaven, etc...................367
Aug. 4.—Routine business only ... ............ 359
§qoxt
The Council have much pleasure in being able to report that for the
first time for five years there has been a substantial increase in the
number of members, and that in the thirty-first year of its existence the
Institute is in a well established and prosperous condition. One of
the subjects that the Council congratulate the members upon, is the
constant variable additions which are being made to the Library. The
shelves are now full of books wrhich are of great service to the members,
and it will shortly be the duty of the Council to provide book-shelves
for the constant increase in the works which are being received from
Foreign Exchanges and by purchase.
The year which has passed has been exceptionally interesting to the
members, inasmuch as they had opportunity of making two very enter-
taining excursions; one at the invitation of Sir Edward Watkin to visit
the Channel Tunnel works at Dover, when, through the kindness of that
gentleman, they were supplied with free railway passes from their several
habitations to Dover and back. The trip was a most enjoyable one,
upwards of 120 gentlemen availing themselves of this opportunity to see
the Tunnel, and the amount of information gained by an inspection of
the works was very great. The " Boring Machine," by Colonels Beau-
mont and English, and the u Air Locomotive," by Colonel Beaumont,
which were set at work by the permission of the Board of Trade for the
occasion, enabled the members to form a pretty correct idea of the facilities
which could be afforded by these powerful machines in the construction
of the Tunnel when the time arrives for practically pursuing this
interesting work.
The second visit the Institute made was to Barrow-in-Furness, through
the invitation of Mr. J. T. Smith and the Directors of the " Barrow
Hematite Steel Company, Limited." About 130 members availed them-
selves of the invitation, and were received with great hospitality, and
the whole of the mining and manufacturing industries of the district were
thrown open to their inspection.
(vi)
The papers read before the Institute have been above the usual calibre.
One on the " Channel Tunnel/' by Mr. Charles Tylden-Wright, con-
tains much valuable geological information, in addition to a very in-
teresting description of the machinery which has been specially invented
to make the borings.
Mr. Charles Parkin contributed a very valuable paper on the
"Mineral Eesources of the Rosedale Abbey District," and Mr. J. H.
Grant one on the "Daltonganj Coal-field of India." The most interesting
geological paper that has been received is one from Mr. J. D. Kendall,
on the "Structure of the Cumberland Coal-field," the illustrations being
exceedingly well delineated. Mr. Charles Hunting, who has devoted a
considerable amount of his time to the study of the most economical mode
of feeding and managing horses, and had great experience in carrying out
the results of his research in the collieries of the North of England,
contributed a most interesting and exhaustive paper on "The Feeding
and Management of Colliery Horses." This paper, together with the dis-
cussion which took place upon it, forms a most valuable addition to
the Transactions. Mr. Gresley contributed a paper on "Two Systems
of Working the Main Coal at Moira, Leicestershire."
Papers also have been read on the more mechanical departments of
colliery management; by Mr. W. J. Bird, on " Non-conducting Coverings
for Boilers and Steam-pipes," and by Mr. Bowlker, on a " New Ventilating
Fan;" and this division has further been very interestingly augmented
by the valuable paper of Mr. Marten, on the " Explosions of Boilers
and other Vessels."
A purely mathematical paper by Professor Aldis, on " The Internal
Stress of Cylindrical and Spherical Dams," has also been printed, which
will afford, no doubt, reliable data to enable the members to construct
these important erections.
One of the most interesting papers read before the Institute this year,
is the one read by Mr. Vincent W. Corbett, " On Water-gauge, Barometer,
and other Observations taken at Seaham Colliery during the time the
Maudlin Seam was sealed up," It is illustrated by no less than seventy-
one diagrams of great complexity, taken from the original drawings.
immxet §qmi
It will be seen from last year's Report that the income of the
Institute at the close of the year 1881-82 amounted to £2,176 9s. 10d.,
and it was stated that this had been, financially, the most successful year
of the Institute; it was shown, however, that a part of this increase was
accounted for by the third half-yearly dividend of £107 4s. Od. having
been paid td the Institute, through the Directors of the " Institute and
Coal Trade Chambers Company, Limited," paying their dividends half-
yearly instead of yearly.
The income of the past year has been £1,970 Is. Id., or £200 8s. 9d.
less than the preceding year; this is partly accounted for, as explained
above, by the extra half-yearly dividend obtained last year, by a decrease
of £40 17s. Od. in the amount of the subscriptions obtained this year, and a
decrease of £84 12s. 5d. in the sale of the Transactions. There has been
an increase of 14 in the number of members, and the amount of arrears is
slightly less, being £431 lis. 0d., as against £493 10s. Od. of last year.
It is to be regretted that the amount of arrears continues to form so large
a feature in the Balance Sheet, and notwithstanding the efforts that are
made to gather in the subscriptions, it seems impossible ever materially
to diminish the amount.
The income, however, has exceeded the expenditure by £157 9s. lid.,
and the Committee have to report that the year, financially speaking, has
been a fairly average one, and that the finances of the Institute are in
a highly satisfactory state.
WM. COCHRANE.
JOHN DAGLISH.
(viii)
AWARDS FOR PAPERS WHICH HAVE APPEARED IN THE
TRANSACTIONS OF THE INSTITUTE.
The Council having, in October, 1872, decided to recommend that prizes
of books not exceeding £50 in value should be awarded and apportioned
to the writers of such papers printed in the Transactions as the Council
should decide, and this recommendation having been approved by a
General Meeting of the members, and awards made at various times by a
Committee appointed for the purpose, the Secretary was requested by the
Council to report on the proceedings and present position of the Com-
mittee, and to furnish an account of all sums which had been awarded by
them, and he presented the following Report, which was ordered to be
printed, and it was decided that the particulars of subsequent awards
should be published each year :—
To the Council of the North of England Institute of Mining
and Mechanical Engineers.
Gentlemen,—As desired by the Council, I produce a list of all the
prizes awarded by the several Committees appointed for that purpose
from the commencement of the grant.
The last Committee was nominated on the 25th March, 1882, and
was charged with the distribution of prizes for papers which appeared in
Vols. XXIX. and XXX., and it does not seem to be within its province to
extend its labours. At present there is only one volume which has not
been adjudicated upon, and that is Vol. XXXI., as XXXII. is not yet
completed.
THEO. WOOD BUNNING.
September 19th, 1883.
VOLUME XXII.
VOLUME XXIII.
VOLUME XXIV.
VOLUME XXV.
VOLUME XXVI.
VOLUME XXVII.
VOLUME XXVIII.
VOLUME XXIX.
VOLUME XXX.
TOTAL AMOUNT EXPENDED.
£ s (I.
Volume XXII................ 25 0 0
XXIII................ 44 0 0
„ XXIV.......... ...... 53 0 0
„ XXV................ 36 0 0
„ XXVI................ 16 2 0
„ XXVII. ... ............ 21 0 0
„ XXVIII................ 13 0 0
XXIX................ 8 0 0
„ XXX................ 27 0 0
£243 2 0
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.
THE TREASURER IN ACCOUNT WITH SUBSCRIPTIONS, 1882-83.
TREASURER IN ACCOUNT WITH THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
patrons.
His Grace the DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
His Grace the DUKE OF CLEVELAND.
The Most Noble the MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF LONSDALE.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF DURHAM.
The Right Honourable the EARL GREY.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF RAVENS WORTH.
The Right Honourable the LORD VVHARNCLIFFE.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.
The Very Reverend the DEAN AND CHAPTER OF DURHAM.
WENTWORTH B. BEAUMONT, Esq., M.P.
_ ELECTED.
Oma. Hov.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF RAVENS WORTH ... 1877
WILLIAM ALEXANDER, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ... 1863
JOSEPH DICKINSON, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Manchester ... 1853
THOMAS EVANS, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Pen-y-Bryn, Duffiekl
Road, Derby ..................... 1855
* HENRY HALL, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Rainhill, Prescott ... 1876
* RALPH MOORE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ...... 1866
CHARLES MORTON, Esq., The Grange, St. Paul's, Southport ... 1853
* THOMAS E. WALES, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Swansea...... 1855 1866
* FRANK N. WARDELL, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Wath-on-Dearne,
near Rotherham ..................... 1864 1868
* JAMES WILLIS, Esq., Inspector of Mines, 14, Portland Terrace,
Newcastle-on-Tyne .................. 1857 1871
THOMAS WYNNE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Manor House, Gnosall,
Stafford ........................ 1853
WARINGTON W. SMYTH, Esq., 28, Jermyn Street, London ... 1869
The Veey Rev. Dr. LAKE, Dean of Durham ......... 1872
* Prop. G. S. BRADY, M.D., F.L.S., College of Physical Science, Newc. 1875
* „ A. S. HERSCHEL, M.A., F.R.A.S. do. do. ... 1872
* „ G. A. LEBOUR, M.A., F.G.S. do. do. ... 1873 1879
* „ P. PHILLIPS BEDSON, D. Sc. (Lond.) do. do. ... 1883
M. DE BOUREUILLE, Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur, Con-
seiller d'etat, Inspecteur General des Mines, Paris ...... 1853
Dr. H. VON DECHEN, Berghauptmann, Ritter, etc., Bon-am-Rhine,
Prussia ........................ 1853
M. THEOPHILE GUIBAL, School of Mines, Mons, Belgium ... 1870
M. E. VUILLEMIN, Mines d'Aniche (Nord), France ...... 1878
Orig. Life.
C. W. BARTHOLOMEW, Esq., Blakesley Hall, near Towcester ... 1875
THOS. HUGH BELL, Esq., Middlesbro'-on-Tees ......... 1882
DAVID BURNS, Esq., C.E., Clydesdale Bank Buildings, Bank
Street, Carlisle ..................... 1877
E. B. COXE, Esq., Drifton, Jeddo, P.O., Luzerne Co., Penns., U.S.... 1873 1874
JAMES S. DIXON, Esq., 170, Hope Street, Glasgow ...... 1878 1880
ERNEST HAGUE, Esq., Castle Dyke, Sheffield ......... 1872 1876
G. C. HEWITT, Esq., Coalpit Heath Colliery, near Bristol...... 1871 1879
THOS. E. JOBLING, Esq., Bebside Colliery, Cowpen Lane, North-
umberland ........................ 1876 1882
HENRY LAPORTE, Esq., M.E., 80, Rue Royale, Brussels...... 1877
NATHAN MILLER, Esq................... 1878
H. J. MORTON, Esq., 4, Royal Crescent, Scarborough ...... 1856 1861
RUDOLPH NASSE, Esq., Konigl Bergwerks Director, Louisenthal,
Saarbriicken ..................... 1869 1880
ARTHUR PEASE, Esq., M.P., Darlington ............ 1882
W. A. POTTER, Esq., Cramlington House, Northumberland ... 1853 1874
R, CLIFFORD SMITH, Esq., Parkfield, Swinton, Manchester ... 1874
T. H. WARD, Esq., Manager, Kuldiha Colliery, Bengal Coal Co.,
Limited, Giridi, East Indian Railway, Bengal, India...... 1882
* Honorary Members during term of office only.
OFFICERS, 1 883-84.
GEORGE BAKER FORSTER, Esq., M.A., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland.
WM. ARMSTRONG, Esq., Pelaw House, Chester-le-Street.
JOHN DAGLISH, Esq., Marsden, South Shields.
THOMAS DOUGLAS, Esq., Peases' West Collieries, Darlington.
JOHN MARLEY, Esq., Thorntield, Darlington.
J. B. SIMPSON, Esq., Hedgeneld House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
A. L. STEAVENSON, Esq., Durham.
T. W. BENSON, Esq., 11, Newgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
R. F. BOYD, Esq., Moor House, Leamside, Fence Houses.
WM. COCHRANE, Esq., Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
S. C. CRONE, Esq., Killingworth Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
R. FORSTER, Esq., South Hetton, Fence Houses.
W. H. HEDLEY, Esq., Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
THOS. HEPPELL, Esq., Leafield House, Chester-le-Street.
T. G. HURST, Esq., F.G.S., Lauder Grange, Corbridge-on-Tyne.
H. LAWRENCE, Esq., Grange Iron Works, Durham.
H. LAWS, Esq., Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
GEO. MAY, Esq., Harton Colliery Offices, near South Shields.
R. S. NEWALL, Esq., Ferndene, Gateshead-on-Tync.
M. W. PARRINGTON, Esq., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland.
A. M. POTTER, Esq., Shire Moor Colliery, Northumberland.
H. RICHARDSON, Esq., Backworth Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
R. ROBINSON, Esq., Howlish Hall, near Bishop Auckland.
J. G. WEEKS, Esq., Bedlington Collieries, Bedlington.
W. H. WOOD, Esq., Coxhoe Hall, Coxhoe, Durham.
' Sir GEORGE ELLIOT, Bart., M.P., Houghton Hall, Fence \
Houses. J
E. F. BOYD, Esq., Moor House, Leamside, Fence Houses. [
Sir W. G. ARMSTRONG, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., Jesmond, I Past
Newcastle-on-Tyne. ( Presidents.
Ex-officio -J LINDSAY WOOD,' Esq., Southill, Chester-le-Street. \
G. C. GREENWELL, Esq., F.G.S., Elm Tree Lodge, Duffield, )
Derby.
CUTHBERT BERKLEY, Esq., Marley Hill, Gateshead. ) Retiring Vice-
,T. J. BEWICK, Esq., Haydon Bridge,'Northumberland, j Presidents.
%mtfax% mxb ^xmuxtx.
THEO. WOOD BUNNING, Neville Hall. Newcastle-on-Tyne.
AUGUST, 1883.
Marked (*) are Life Members.
ELECTED.
1 Adams, G. F., Guild Hall Chambers, Cardiff............Dec. 6, 1873
2 Adams, W., Cambridge House, Park Place, Cardiff ......... 1854
3 Adamson, Daniel, Engineering Works, Dukinfield, near Manchester Aug. 7, 1875
4 Aitkin, Henry, Falkirk, N.B...................Mar. 2, 1865
5 Allison, T., Belmont Mines, Guisbro'...............Feb. 1, 1868
6 Anderson, C. W., Cleadon House, Harrogate............Aug. 21, 1852
7 Anderson, William, Rainton Colliery, Fence Houses ......Aug. 21, 1852
8 Andrews, Hugh, Felton Park, Felton, Northumberland ......Oct. 5, 1872
9 Appleby, C. E., Charing Cross Chambers, Duke St., Adelphi, London Aug. 1, 1861
10 Archer, T., Dunston Engine Works, Gateshead .........July 2, 1872
11 Armstrong, Sir W. G., C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., Jesmond, Newcastle-
upon-Tyne ...... (Past President, Member of Council) May 3, 1866
12 Armstrong, Wm., Pelaw House, Chester-le-Street (Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
13 Armstrong, W., Junior, Wingate, Co. Durham .........April 7, 1867
14 Armstrong, W. L., Kettlebrook Colliery, Tamworth.........Mar. 3, 1864
15 Arthur, David, M.E., Accrington. near Manchester ......Aug. 4, 1877
16 Ashworth, James, Mapperley Colliery, West Hallam, Derby ... Feb. 5, 1876
17 Ashworth, John, Hanover Chambers, King Street, Manchester ... Sept. 2, 1876
18 Asquith, T. W., Seaton Delaval Colliery, Northumberland......Feb. 2, 1867
19 Atkinson, J. B., Ridley Mill, Stocksfield-on-Tyne .........Mar. 5, 1870
20 Atkinson, W. N., Shincliffe Hall, Durham ............June 6, 1868
21 Aubrey, R. C, Wigan Coal & Iron Co. Ld., Standish, near Wigan ... Feb. 5, 1870
22 Austine, John, Cadzow Coal Co;, Glasgow ............Nov. 4, 1876
23 Aynsley, Wm., Brynkinalt Collieries, Chirk, Ruabon.........Mar. 3, 1873
24 Bailes, George, Murton Colliery, Sunderland .........Feb. 3, 1877
25 Bailes, John, Wingate Colliery, Ferryhill ............Sept. 5, 1868
26 Bailes, T., 6, Collingwood Terrace, Jesmond Gardens, Newcastle ... Oct. 7, 1858
27 Bailes, W., West Melton, Rotherham...............April 7, 1877
28 Bailey, Samuel, Perry Barr, Birmingham ............June 2, 1859
29 Bain, R. Donald, Newport, Monmouthshire............Mar. 3,3873
(xxv)
ELECTED.
^ v Nunnery Colliery Offices, Sheffield.........Dec. 3, 1863
30 r TCMi Leigh, near Manchester ............Aug. 4, 1877
31 ^piai A Caledonia Foundry, Kilmarnock .........Dec. 6, 1866
32 r^T Seaton Delaval Office, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 7, 1871
Z BARRA ' A.' J-, Ruabon Coal Co., Ruabon ............Sep, 11, 1875
5 Bartholomew, C Castle Hill House, Ealing, London, W.......Aug. 5, 1853
36*Ltholomew, C. W., Blakesley Hall, near Towcester ......Dec. 4, 1875
q7 Bassett A., Tredegar Mineral Estate Office, Cardiff......... 1854
38 B.tes, Matthew, Bews Hill, Blaydon-on-Tyne .........Mar. 3, 1873
39 Bates W. J., Old Axwell, Whickham, Gateshead-on-Tyne......Mar. 3, 1873
4,0 Batey, John, Newbury Collieries, Coleford, Bath .........Dec. 5, 1868
41 Beanlands, A., M.A., North Bailey, Durham............Mar. 7, 1867
42 Beaumont, James, M.E., Nanaimo, Vancouver's Island ......Nov. 7, 1874
43 Bell, I. Lowthian, Rounton Grange, Northallerton.........July 6, 1854
44 Bell, John, Messrs. Bell Brothers, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... ... Oct. 1,1857
45 Bell, T., Jun., Messrs. Bell Brothers, Middlesbro'-on-Tees......Mar. 7, 1867
46 Benson, J. G., Accountant, 12, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne .. Nov. 7,1874
47 Benson, T. W., 11, Newgate Street, Newcastle (Member of Council) Aug. 2, 1866
48 Berkley, C, Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead (Member of Council) Aug. 21,1852
49 Bewick, T. J., M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., Haydon Bridge, Northumberland
(Member of Council) April 5, 1860
50 Bidder, B. P., Dashwood House, London, E.C. .........May 2, 1867
51 Bigland, J., Bedford Lodge, Bishop Auckland .........June 4, 1857
52 Binns, C, Claycross, Derbyshire..................July 6, 1854
53 Biram, B., Peaseley Cross Collieries, St. Helen's, Lancashire ... 1856
54 Black, James, Jun., Portobello Foundry, Sunderland ......Sept. 2, 1871
55 Black, W., Hedworth Villa, South Shields ............April 2, 1870
56 Bolton, H. H., Newchurch Collieries, near Manchester ......Dec. 5, 1868
57 Booth, 11. L., Ashington Colliery, near Morpeth ......... 1864
58 Bourne, Thos. W., 18, Hereford Square, London, S.W.......Sept, 11, 1875
59 Boyd, E. F., Moor House, Leamside, Fence Houses (Past President,
Member of Council).....................Aug. 21, 1852
60 Boyd, R. F., Moor House, Leamside, Fence Houses (Mem. of Council) Nov. 6, 1869
61 Boyd, Wm., 74, Jesmond Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Feb. 2, 1867
62 Breckon, J. R., 32, Fawcett Street, Sunderland ......% ... Sept. 3, 1864
63 Brettell, T., Mine Agent, Dudley, Worcestershire.........Nov. 3, 1866
64 Bromilow, Wm., 18, Leicester Street, Southport, Lancashire ... Sept. 2, 1876
65 Brown, John, Priory Place, 155, Bristol Road, Birmingham ... Oct. 5, 1854
66 Brown, J. N., 56, Union Passage, New Street, Birmingham ... 1861
67 Brown, Thos. Forster, Guild Hall Chambers, Cardiff ...... 1861
68 Browne, B. C, M.I.C.E., 2, Granville Road, Jesmond, Newcastle ... Oct. 1, 1870
69 Bryham, William, Rosebridge Colliery, Wigan .........Aug. 1, 1861
70 Bryham, W., Jun., Douglas Bank Collieries, Wigan ......Aug. 3, 1865
71 Bunning, Theo. Wood, Neville Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Secretary and Treasurer) 1864
72*Burns, David, C.E., Clydesdale Bank Buildings, Bank St., Carlisle... May 5, 1877
73 Burrows, J. S., Yew Tree House, Atherton, near Manchester ... Oct. 11, 1873
(xxvi)
ELECTED.
74 Campbell, W. B., Consulting Engineer, Grey Street, Newcastle ... Oct. 7, 1876
75 Carr, Wm. Cochran, South Benwell, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Dec. 3, 1857
76 Chadborn, B. T., Pinxton Collieries, Alfreton, Derbyshire ...... 1864
77 Chambers, A. M., Thorncliffe Iron Works, near Sheffield ......Mar. 6, 1869
78 Chapman, M., Dipton, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Aug. 1, 1868
79 Cheesman, I., Throckley Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Feb. 1, 1873
80 Cheesman, W. T., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Hartlepool ......Feb. 5, 1876
81 Childe, Rowland, Wakefield, Yorkshire ............May 15, 1862
82 Clarence, Thomas, 10, Bentinck Crescent, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Dec. 4, 1875
83 Clark, C. F., Garswood Coal and Iron Co., near Wigan ......Aug. 2, 1866
34 Clark, R. B., Marley Hill, near Gateshead ............May 3, 1873
85 Clark, W., M.E., The Grange, Teversall, near Mansfield ......April 7, 1866
86 Clarke, William, Victoria Engine Works, Gateshead ......Dec. 7, 1867
87 Cochrane, B., Aldin Grange, Durham...............Dec. 6, 1866
88 Cochrane, G\, The Grange, Stourbridge ............June 3, 1857
89 Cochrane, W., St. John's Chambers, Grainger Street West, Newcastle
(Member of Council) 1859
90 Cole, Richard, Walker Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne......April 5, 1873
91 Cole, Robert Heath, Scholar Green, Stoke-upon-Trent ......Feb. 5, 1876
92 Collis, W. B., Swinford House, Stourbridge, Worcestershire ... June 6, 1861
93 Cook, J., Jun., Washington Iron Works, Gateshead.........May 8, 1869
94 Cooke, John, 3, Cross Street, Durham...............Nov. 1, 1860
95 Coiksey, Joseph, West Bromwich, Staffordshire .........Aug. 3, 1865
96 Cooper, P., Thornley Colliery Office, Ferryhill............Dec. 3, 1857
97 Cooper, R. E., C.E., 1, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, London Mar. 4, 1871
98 Cooper, T., Rosehill, Rotherham, Yorkshire ............April 2, 1863
99 Cope, James, Port Vale, Longport, Staffordshire .........Oct. 5, 1872
100 Corbett, V. W., Chilton Moor, Fence Houses .........Sept. 3, 1870
101 Corbitt, M., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead ......Dec. 4, 1875
102 Coulson, P., 10, Victoria Terrace, Durham ............Aug. 1, 1868
103 Coulson, W., 32, Crossgate, Durham...............Oct. 1, 1852
104 Cowen, Jos., M.P., Blaydon Burn, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Oct. 5,1854
105 Cowey, John, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland .........Now 2, 1872
106 Cowlishaw, J., Thorncliffe, &c, Collieries, near Sheffield ......Mar. 7, 1867
107 Cox, John H., 10, St. George's Square, Sunderland .........Feb. 6, 1875
108*Coxe, E. B., Drifton, Jeddo, P. O. Luzerne Co., Perms., U.S. ... Feb. 1, 1873
109 Coxon, S. B., 23, Great George Street, Westminster, London ... June 5, 1856
110 Craig, W. Y., Palace Chambers, St. Stephen's, Westminster, London Nov. 3, 1866
111 Crawford, T., Littletown Colliery, near Durham .........Aug. 21, 1852
112 Crawford, T., 3, Grasmere Street, Gateshead-on-Tyne ......Sept. 3, 1864
113 Crawford, T., Jun. Littletown Colliery, near Durham ......Aug. 7, 1869
114 Crawshay, E., Gateshead-on-Tyne ...............Dec. 4, 1869
115 Crawshay, G., Gateshead-on-Tyne ...............Dec. 4, 1869
116 Crone, E. W., Killingworth Hall, near Newcastle-on-Tyne......Mar. 5, 1870
117 Crone, J. R., Tudhoe House, via Spennymoor...... ......Feb. 1, 1868
118 Crone, S. C, Killingworth Hall, Newcastle (Member of CouncilJ ... 1853
119 Cross, John, 77, King Street, Manchester ............june 5, 1869
(xxvii)
ELECTED.
n T Bettisfield Colliery Co., Limited, Bagillt, N. Wales Nov. 2,1872
120 choice, a ™ Haitwh.stle ............June 7,1873
5 2S£ ™, Lambton Lodge, New South Wales ......
nanTtsh John, Marsden, South Shields ... (Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
Z ' W. S Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne............July 2, 1872
1 D Chilton Colliery, Ferryhill...............Aprilll,18 4
Dale, David, West Lodge, Darlington...............ftb , 10
27 D'Andrliont, T., Liege, Belgium ...............Sept. 3, 1870
128 Daniel, W., Steam Plough Works, Leeds ............Jmie 4, 1870
129 Darling, Fenwick, South Durham Colliery, Darlington ......Nov. 6, 1875
130 Darlington, James, Black Park Colliery Co. Limited, Ruabon ... Nov. 7, 1874
131 Daplington, John, 2, Coleman Street Buildings, Moorgate Street,
Great Swan Alley, London..................April 1, 1865
132 Davey, Henry, C.E., Leeds ..................Oct. 11,1873
133 Davis, David, Coal Owner, Maesyffynon, Aberdare .........Nov. 7, 1874
134 Day, W. H., Eversley Garth, So. Milford ............Mar. 6, 1869
135 Dee.s, R. R., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Oct. 7, 1871
136 Dickinson, G. T., 14, Claremont Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne......July 2, 1872
137 Dickinson, R., Coal Owner, Shotley Bridge, Co. Durham ......Mar. 4, 1871
138 Dixon, D. W., Lumpsey Mines, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Nov. 2,1872
139 Dixon, Nicii., Dudley Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ......Sept. 1, 1877
140 Dixon, R., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead ......June 5, 1875
141 Dodd, B., Bearpark Colliery, near Durham ............May 3, 1866
142 Dodds, Joseph, M.P., Stockton-on-Tees ............Mar. 7, 1874
143 Douglas, C. P., Parliam.nt Street, Consett, Co. Durham ......Mar. 6, 1869
144 Douglas, T., Peases' West Collieries, Darlington (Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
145 Dove, G., Viewfield, Stanwix, Carlisle...............July 2, 1872
146 Dowdeswell, H., Butterknowle Colliery, via Darlington ......April 5, 1873
147 Dyson, George, Middlesbrough ...............June 2, 1866
148 Dyson, O., Pooley Hall Colliery, near Tamworth .........Mar. 2, 1872
149 Easton, J., Nest House, Gateshead ............... 1853
150 Eddison, Robert W., Steam Plough Works, Leeds.........Mar. 4, 1876
151 Elliot, Sir George, Bart., M.P., Houghton Hall, Fence Houses
(Past President, Member of Council) Aug. 21, 1852
152 Elsdon, Robert, 76, Manor Road, Upper New Cross, London ... Nov. 4, 1876
153 Embleton, T. W., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds .........Sept. 6, 1855
154 Embleton, T. W., Jun., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds.........Sept. 2, 1865
155 Eminson, J. B., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour ......Mar. 2, 1872
156 Everaed, I. B., M.E., 6, Millstone Lane, Leicester .........Mar. 6, 1869
157 Farmer, A., South Durham Fitting Offices, West Hartlepool ... Mar. 2, 1872
158 Farrar, James, Old Foundry, Barnsley ............July 2,1872
159 Favell, Thomas M., Etruria Iron Works, near Stoke-on-Trent ... April 5, 1873
160 Fenwick, Barnabas, 84, Osborne Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Aug. 2, 1866
(xxviii)
ELECTED.
161 Fen wick, George, Banker, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Sept. 2, 1871
162 Ferens, Robinson, Oswald Hall, near Durham .........April 7, 1877
163 FiDLEit, E., Piatt Lane Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire.........Sept. 1, 1866
161 Fisher, R. C, 5, Picton Place, Swansea ............July 2, 1872
165 Fletcher, Geo., Castle Eden Colliery, Co. Durham.........Aug. 1, 1874
166 Fletcher, H., Ladyshore Coll., Little Lever, Bolton, Lancashire ... Aug. 3, 1865
167 Fletcher, Jas., Manager Co-operative Collieries, Wallsend, near
Newcastle, New South Wales .................Sept. 11, 1875
168 Fletcher, W., Lansdowne House, Didsbury, Manchester ......Feb. 4, 1871
169 Foggin, Wm., North Biddick Coll., Washington Station, Co. Durham Mar. 6, 1875
170 Forrest, J., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Witley Coll., Halesowen, Birmingham Mar. 5, 1870
171 Forster, G. B., M.A., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland (President) Nov. 5,1852
172 Forster, J. R., Water Company's Office, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... July 2, 1872
173 Forster, J. T., Burnhope Colliery, near Lanchester, Co. Durham ... Aug. 1, 1868
174 Forster, R:, South Hetton, Fence Houses (Member of Council) Sept. 5, 1868
175 Foster, George, Osniondthorpe Colliery, near Leeds.........Mar. 7, 1874
176 France, Francis, St. Helen's Colliery Co. Ld., St. Helen's, Lancashire Sept. 1, 1877
177 France, W., Lofthouse Mines, Saltburn-by-the-Sea.........April 6, 1867
178 Franks, George, Victoria Garesfield, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne Feb. 6, 1875
179 Galloway, R. L., Ryton-on-Tyne ...............Dec. 6,1873
180 Galloway, T. Lindsay, M.A., Argyle Colliery, Campbeltown, N.B. Sept. 2, 1876
181 Gerrard, John, Westgate, Wakefield...............Mar. 5, 1870
182 Gillett, F. C, Midland Road, Derby...............July 4, 1861
183 Gilmour, D., Portland Colliery, Kilmarnock............Feb. 3, 1872
184 Gilpin, Edwin, 75, Birmingham Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia ... April 5, 1873
185 Gilroy, G., Ince Hall Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire .........Aug. 7, 1856
186 Gilroy, S. B., Mining Engineer, Cheatham Hill, Manchester ... Sept. 5, 1868
187 Gjers, John, Southfield Villas, Middlesbro' ............June 7, 1873
188 Goddard, F. R., Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Nov. 7, 1874
189 Gordon, James N., c/o W. Nicolson, 5, Jeffrey's Square, St. Mary
Axe, London, E.C...................... Nov. 6, 1875
190 Grace, E. N., Dhadka, Assensole, Bengal, India ......... Feb. 1, 1868
191 Grant, J. H., District Engineer, Beerbhoon, Bengal, India...... Sept. 4, 1869
192 Greaves, J. O., M.E., St. John's, Wakefield............ Aug. 7, 1862
193 Green, J. T., Mining Engineer, Ty Celyn, Abercarn, Newport, Mon. Dec. 3, 1870
194 Green, W., Thornelly House, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Feb. 4 1853
195 Greener, John, General Manager, Vale Coll., Pictou, Nova Scotia ... Feb. 6, 1875
196 Greenwell, G. C, Elm Tree Lodge, Duffield, Derby (Past Presi-
dent, Member of Council) ... ...... ...... ... Aug. 21, 1852
197 Greenwell, G. C, Jun., Poynton, near Stockport .........Mar. 6, 1869
198 Greig, D., Leeds........................Aug. 2, 1866
199 Grey, C. G., 55, Parliament Street, London ............May 4, 1872
200 Grieves, D., Brancepeth Colliery, Willington, County Durham ... Nov. 7,1874
201 Griffith, N. R., Wrexham ........, ......... 1866
202 Grimshaw, E. J., 23, Hardshaw Street, St. Helen's, Lancashire ... Sept. 5, 1868
(xxix)
RI.F.CTED.
n H Wearmouth Patent Rope Works, Sunderland ... Mar. 4,1876
2°l^v,^,a .....................
20'*H^ce, Ernest, Castle Dyke, Sheffield ............Mar. 2, 1872
20° H\ines J. Richard, Adderley Green Colliery, near Longton ... Nov. 7, 1874
206 Hale Jc., Nerquis Cottage, Nerquis, near Mold, Flintshire...... 1865
207 ^A ' Eswton Terrace, Jesmond Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne Aug. 7,1869
qa<j T4 \ll, a• *' '
HalLj m<) Lofthouse Station Collieries, near Wakefield ......Sept. 5, 1863
2 IIviV M.S., M.E., Leasingthorne Colliery, near Bishop Auckland ... Feb. 14, 1874
911 Hall! WM.,Easfc Hetton Colliery Office, Coxhoe, Co. Durham ... Dec. 4, 1875
212 H vll! William F., Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.........May 13, 1858
213 Hann, Edmund, Aberaman, Aberdare...............Sept. 5, 1868
214 H-vrbottle, W. H., On-ell Colliery, near Wigan .........Dec. 4, 1875
" "„ TT v Tn. . ............June 2, 1877
215 Hardy, Jos. ..................
216 Hargreaves, William, Rothwell Haigh, Leeds .........Sept. 5, 1863
217 Harle, Richard, Browney Colliery, Durham............April 7, 1877
218 Harle, William, Pagebank Colliery, near Durham.........Oct. 7, 1876
219 Harrison, R., Eastwood, near Nottingham ............ 1861
220 Harrison, T., Cambria Villa, Pontypridd, Glamorganshire......Aug. 2, 1873
221 Harrison, T. E., C.E., Central Station, Newcastle-on-Tyne......May 6, 1853
222 Harrison, W. B., Brownhills Collieries, near Walsall ......April 6, 1867
223 Haswell, G. H., Messrs. Tangye Brothers, Birmingham ......Mar. 2, 1872
224 Hay, J., Jun., Widdrington Colliery, Acklington .........Sept. 4, 1869
225 Heckels, Matthew, Castle Eden Colliery, Co. Durham ......April 11, 1874
226 Heckels, W. J., Evenwood, Bishop Auckland .........May 2, 1868
227 Hedley, J. J., Consett Collieries, Leadgate, County Durham ... April 6, 1872
228 Hedley, J. L., Flooker's Brook, Chester ............Feb. 5, 1870
229 Hedley, T. F., Valuer, Sunderland ...............Mar. 4, 1871
230 Hedley, W. H., Consett Collieries, Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) .................. 1864
231 Henderson, H., Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street .........Feb. 14, 1874
232 Heppell, T., Leafield House, Birtley, Chester-le-Street (Member of
Council) ........................Aug. 6, 1863
233 Heppell, W., Western Hill, Durham...............Mar. 2, 1872
234 Herdman, J., Park Crescent, Bridgend, Glamorganshire ......Oct. 4, 1860
235 Heslop, C, Lingdale Mines, via Skelton, R.S.O., Yorks.......Feb. 1, 1868
236 Heslop, Grainger, Whitwell Colliery, Sunderland .........Oct. 5, 1872
237 Heslop, J., Hucknall Torkard Colliery, near Nottingham ......Feb. 6, 1864
238 Hetherington, D., Coxlodge Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne...... 1859
239*Hewitt, G. C, Coal Pit Heath Colliery, near Bristol ......June 3, 1871
210 Hewlett, A., Haigh Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire .........Mar. 7, 1861
241 Higson, Jacob, 94, Cross Street, Manchester............ 1861
242 Hilton, J., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Limited, Wigan ......Dec, 7, 1867
243 Hilton, T. W., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Limited, Wigan......Aug. 3, 1865
244 Hindmarsh, Thomas, Cowpen Lodge, Blyth, Northumberland ... Sept. 2,1876
245 Hodgson, J. W., Dipton Colliery, via Lintz Green Station......Feb. 5, 1870
246 Holliday, Martin, M.E., Peases' West Collieries, Crook ......May 1, 1875
247 Holmes, C, Grange Hill, near Bishop Auckland .........April 11, 1874
e
(xxx)
F.I.FCTED
248 Homer, Chvrles J., Mining Engineer, Stoke-on-Trent ......Aug. 3, 1865
249 Hood, A., 6, Bute Crescent, Cardiff ................April 18, 1861
250 Hope, George, Newbottle Colliery, Fence Houses ... ... ... Feb. 3,1877
251 Hornsby, H., Hamsteels Colliery, near Durham ... ... ... Aug. 1, 1874
252 horsley, W., Whitehill Point, Percy Main, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 5, 1857
253 Hoskold, H. I)., C. and M.E., F.R.G.S., F.G.S., M. Soc. A., &c. ... April 1, 1871
264 Howard, W. P., 13, Cavendish Street, Chesterfield .........Aug. 1, 1861
255 Hudson, James, Albion Mines, Pictou, Nova Scotia ... ... ... 1862
256 Humble, Joitn, West Pelton, Chcster-le-Street .........Mar. 4, 1871
257 Humble, Jos., Staveley Works, near Chesterfield ... ... ... June 2, 1866
258 Hunter, J., Silkstone and Worsbro' Park Collieries, near Barnsley ... Mar. 6, 1869
259 Hunter, W., Monk Bretton Colliery, near Barnsley ... ... ... Oct. 3, 1861
260 Hunter, Wm., 34, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Aug. 21, 1852
261 Hunter, W. S., 34, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Feb. 1, 1868
262 Hunting, Charles, Fence Houses ...............Dec. 6, 1S66
263 Hurst, T. G., F.G.S., Lauder Grange, Corbridge-on-Tyne (Member
of Council) ........................Aug. 21, 1852
261 Jackson, C. G., Chamber Colliery Co., Limited, Hollinwood... ... June 4, 1870
265 Jackson, VV., Cannock Chase Collieries, Walsall ... ... ... Feb. 14, 1874
266 Jackson, W. G., Loscoe Grange, Normanton, Yorkshire ... ... June 7, 1873
267 Jarratt, J., Houghton Main Colliery, near Barnsley...... ... Nov. 2, 1867
268 Jeffcock, T. W., 18, Bank Street, Sheffield ............ Sept. 4, 1869
269 Jenkins, W., M.E., Ocean S.C. Colls., Ystrad, nr. Pontypridd, So. Wales Dec. 6, 1862
270 Jenkins, Wm., Consett Iron Works, Consett, Durham ...... May 2, 1874
271 Johnson, Henry, Dudley, Worcestershire ............ Aug. 7, 1869
272 Johnson, John, M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., 21, Grainger Street West,
Newcastle-on-Tyne.....................Aug. 21, 1852
273 Johnson, J., Carlton Main Colliery, Barnsley............Mar. 7, 1874
274 Johnson, II. S., Sherburn Hall, Durham ............Aug. 21, 1852
275 Joicey, J. G., Forth Banks West Factory, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... April 10,1869
276 Joicey, W. J., Urpeth Lodge, Chester-le-Street .........Mar. 6, 1869
277 Joseph, D. D., Ty Draw, Pontypridd, South Wales.........April 6, 1872
278 Kendall, John D., Roper Street, Whitehaven ...... ... Oct. 3, 1874
279 Kimpton, J. G., 40, St. Mary's Gate, Derby ............Oct. 5, 1872
280 Kirkby, J. W., Ashgrove, Wiudygates, Fife............Feb. 1, 1873
281 Kirsopp, John, Team Colliery, Gateshead ............April 5, 1873
282 Knowles, A., High Bank, Pendlebury, Manchester.........Dec. 5, 1856
283 Knowles, John, Westwood, Pendlebury, Manchester ......Dec. 5, 1856
284 Knowles, Thomas, Ince Hall, Wigan...............Aug. 1, 1861
285 Kyrke, R. H. V., Westminster Chambers, Wrexham.........Feb. 5, 1870
286 Lamb, R., Bowthorn Colliery, Cleator Moor, near Whitehaven ... Sept. 2, 1865
287 Lamb, R. O., The Lawn, Ryton-on-Tyne ............Aug. 2, 1866
288 Lamb, Richard W., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Nov. 2, 1872
289 Lambert, M. W., 9, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......July 2, 1872
(xxxi)
ELECTED.
t \xcaster, John, Frankfort House, Fitzjohn's Avenue, London, N.W. July 4, 1861
291 Lancaster, J., Jun., Anfield House, Willes Road, Leamington ... Mar. 2, 1865
o( -> I a.ncastbr, S., Nantyglo & Blaina Steam Coal Collieries, Blaina, Mon. Aug. 3, 1865
293 Landale, A., Lochgelly Iron Works, Fifeshire, N.B..........Dec. 2, 1858
291*Laporte, Henry, M.E., 80, Rue Royale, Brussels .........May 5, 1877
295 L we rick, Robt., West Rainton, Fence Houses .........Sept. 2, 1876
296 Lawrence, Henry, Grange Iron Works, Durham (Mem. of Council) Aug. 1, 1868
297 Lvws, H., Grainger Street W., Newcastle-on-Tyne (Mem. of Council) Feb. 6, 1869
298 Laws, John, Blyth, Northumberland............... 1854
299 Lebour, G. A., M.A., F.G.S., Durham College of Science, Newcastle Feb. 1, 1873
300 Lee, George, Great Ayton, vid Northallerton ... ... ... ... June 4,1870
301 Leslie, Andrew, Hebburn, Gateshead-on-Tyne ...... ... Sept. 7, 1867
302 Lever, Ellis, Bowdon, Cheshire ............... 1861
303 Lewis, Henry, Annesley Colliery, near Nottingham ... ... ... Aug. 2, 1866
304 Lewis, W. H., 3, Bute Crescent, Cardiff ............Aug. 4, 1877
305 Lewis, William Thomas, Mardy, Aberdare............ 1864
306 Liddell, G. H., Somerset House, Whitehaven .........Sept. 4, 1869
307 Lindop, James, Bloxwich, Walsall, Staffordshire ... ... ... Aug. 1, 1861
308 Linsley, R., Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland ... ... ... July 2, 1872
309 Linsley, S. W., Whitburn Colliery, Sunderland .........Sept. 4, 1869
310 Lishman, T., Jun., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses ... ... ... Nov. 5, 1870
311 Lishman, Wm., Witton-le-Wear.................. 1857
312 Lishman, Wm., Bunker Hill, Fence Houses ............Mar. 7, 1861
313 Livesey, C, Bradford Colliery, near Manchester .........Aug. 3, 1865
314 Livesey, T., Bradford Colliery, near Manchester .........Nov. 7, 1871
315 Llewelyn, L., c/o W. P. James, Abersychan Iron Worl vs, nr. Pontypool May 4, 1872
316 LocfAN, William, Langley Park Colliery, Durham.........Sept. 7, 1867
317 Longbotham, J., Norley Collieries, near Wigan .........May 2, 1868
318 Longridge, J. A., 15, Great George Street, Westminster, London, S.W. Aug. 21.1852
319 Lupton, A., F.G.S., 4, Albion Place, Leeds ............Nov. 6, 1869
320 Maddison, Henry, The Lindens, Darlington............Nov. 6, 1875
321 Maling, C. T., Ford Pottery, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 5, 1872
322 Mammatt, J. E., C.E., St. Andrew's Chambers, Leeds ...... 1864
323 Marley, John, Thorntield, Darlington...... (Vice-President) Aug. 21, 1852
321 Marley, J. W., 7, Victoria Street, Westminster Palace Hotel, West-
minster, London, S.W...................Aug. 1, 1868
325 Marshall, F. C, Messrs. R. & W. Hawthorn, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Aug. 2, 1866
326 Marston, W. B., Leeswood Yale Oil Works, Mold .........Oct. 3, 1868
327 Marten, E. B., C.E., Pedmore, near Stourbridge .........July 2, 1872
328 Matthews, R. p., Hardwicke, Sedgefield ............Mar. 5, 1857
329 Maugiian, J. A., Nerbuclda Coal and Iron Co. Limited, Garrawarra,
Central Provinces, India ..................Nov. 7, 1863
330 May, George, Harton Colliery Offices, near South Shields (Member
of Council) ........................Mar. 6,1862
331 McCreatii, J., 95, Bath Street, Glasgow ............Mar. 5, 1870
332 McCulloch, David, Beech Grove, Kilmarnock, N.B. ......Dec. 4, 1875
(xxxii)
elected,
333 McCulloch, H. J., 4, Finsbury Circus, London .........Oct. 1, 1863
331 McCitlloch, W., 4, Finsbury Circus, London............Nov. 7, 1874
335 McGhie, T., Cannock, Staffordshire ...............Oct. 1, 1857
336 McMurtrie, J., Radstock Colliery, Bath ............Nov. 7, 1863
337 Meik, Thomas, C.E., 6, York Place, Edinburgh .........June 4, 1870
333 Merivale, J. H., 2, Victoria Villas, Newcastie-on-Tyne ......May 5, 1877
339 Miller, Robert, Beech Grove, Lock Park, Barnsley ......Mar. 2, 1865
340 Mills, M. H., Duckmanton Lodge, Chesterfield .........Feb. 4, 1871
341 Mitchell, Chas., Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........April 11,1874
342 Mitchell, Joseph, Bolton Hall, Rotherham...........Feb, 14, 1874
343 Mitchinson, R., Jun., Pontop Coll., Lintz Green Station, Co. Durham Feb. 4, 1865
344 Moffat, T., Montreal Iron Ore Works, Whitehaven ......Sept. 4, 1869
345 Monkhouse, Jos., 360, Gilcrux, Cockermouth .........June 4, 1863
316 Moor, T., Cambois Colliery, Blyth ...............Oct. 3, 1868
347 Moor, Wm., Jun., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses .........July 2, 1872
348 Moore, R. W., Colliery Office, Whitehaven ............Nov. 5, 1870
349 Morison, D. P., 23, Ellison Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...... 1861
350 Morris, W., Waldridge Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......... 1858
351*Morton, H. J., 4, Royal Crescent. Scarborough ......... 1861
352 Morton, H. T., Lambton, Fence Houses ............Aug. 21, 1852
353 Mo-es, Wm., Bannoor Colliery, Beal ...............Mar. 2, 1872
354 Muckle, John, 11, Oxford Terrace, Gateshead-on-Tyne ......Mar. 7, 1861
355 Mulvany, W. T., Pempelfort, Dusseldorf-on-the-Rhine ......Dec, 3, 1857
356 Mundle, Arthur, 7, Collingwood Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... June 5,1875
357 Mundle, W., Redesdale Mines, Bellingham ............Aug. 2, 1873
358*Nasse, Rudolph, Konigl Bergwerks Director, Louisenthal, Saar-
brucken, Prussia ... ... ... ... ... ...... 1869
359 Nevin, John, Mirh'ekl, Yorkshire ...............May 2, 1868
360 Newall, R. S., Ferndene, Gateshead -on-Tyne (Member of Council)... May 2,1863
361 Nicholson, E., jun., Beamish Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......Aug. 7, 1869
362 Nicholson, Marshall, Middleton Hall, Leeds .........Nov. 7, 1863
363 Noble, Captain, Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Feb. 3, 1866
364 North, F. W., F.G.S., Rowley Hall Colliery, Dudley, Staffordshire... Oct. 6, 1864
365 Nuttall, Thomas, Broad Street, Bury, Lancashire.........Sept. 11, 1875
366 Ogden, John M., Solicitor, Sunderland...............Mar. 5, 1857
367 Ogilvie, A. Graeme, 4, Great George Street, Westminster, London Mar. 3, 1877
368 Oliver, Robert, Charlaw Colliery, near Durham .........Nov. 6, 1875
369 Pacer, T., Bishop Auckland ... ... ... ... ... _ April 10, 1869
370 Palmer, A. S., Usworth Hall, Washington Station, Co. Durham ... July 2, 1872
371 Palmer, C. M., M.P., Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne ........-. Nov. 5,1852
372 Pamely, C, Radstock Coal Works, near Bath............Sept. 5, 1868
373 Pan ion, F. S., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland .........Oct. 5, 1867
374 Parkin, C, Hufcton-le-Hole, Kirby Moorside, York..........June 5, 1875
(xxiiij
ELECTED.
PTnv M W Wear mouth Colliery, Sunderland (Member of
375 pARR-*^ jjj ..................I)cc- X' 1864
t v a S Ash Cottage, Birmingham Road, West Bromwich Oct. 2, 1869
376 Partj*, I-, » Nov. 7,1874
377 Pattison, John, Engineer, Naples ... ...... 7 7
378 Peace, M. W„ Wigan, Lancashire ...............*HJ + ^
Peacock, David, West Bromwich ...............Aug. J 869
ocn Pe mice, F. H., Bowling Iron Works, Bradford ...... Oct. 1, 18o7
381 pv.vsB Sir J. W., Bart., M.P., Hutton Hall, Guisbro', Yorkshire ... Mar. 5, 1857
382 Peel,'John, Wharncliffe Silkstone Collieries, near Barnsley ... Nov. 1, 1860
383 Peel! John, Horsley Colliery, Wylam on-Tyne .........Mar. 3,1877
381 Peile, William, Ellerkeld, Stainburn, Workington.........Oct. 1, 1863
385 Penman, J. H., 2, Clarence Buildings, Booth Street, Manchester ... Mar. 7, 1874
386 Pickup, P. W., Iiishton, near Blackburn ............Feb. 6, 1875
3S7 Pinching, Archd. E., South Indian Mining Co., Glenock Estate,
Devala, Madras Residency, India...............May 5, 1877
388 Potter, Addison, C.B., Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Mar. 6, 1869
389 Potter, A. M., Shire Moor Coll., Northumberland (Member of Council) Feb. 3, 1872
390 Potter, C. J., Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 3, 1874
391#Potter, W. A., Cramlington House, Northumberland ...... 1853
392 Price, John, Messrs. Palmer & Co., Limited, Jarrow-on-Tyne ... Mar. 3, 1877
393 Price, J. R., Standish, near Wigan ............ ...Aug. 7,1869
394 Priestman, Jon., Coal Owner, Newcastle-on Tyne .........Sept. 2, 1871
395 Pringle, Edward, Choppington Colliery. Northumberland......Aug. 4, 1877
396 Ramsay, J. A., Langley Old Hall, near Durham .........Mar. 6, 1869
397 Ramsay, Wm., Tursdale Colliery, County Durham .........Sept. 11, 1875
398 Reed, Robert, Felling Colliery, Gateshead ............Dec. 3, 1863
399 Rees, Daniel, Glandare, Aberdare ... ...... ... 1862
400 Refeen, Wm., Teplitz, Bohemia..................Oct, 5, 1872
401 Reid, Andrew, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...............April 2, 1870
402 Richards, E. W., Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan, & Co., Middlesbro' ... Aug. 5, 1876
403 Richardson, H., Backworth Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne (Member
of Council)........................Mar. 2, 1865
404 Richardson, J. W., Iron Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 3, 1870
405 Ridley, G., Trinity Chambers, Newcastle on-Tyne .........Feb. 4, 1865
406 Ridley, J. H., Messrs. R. & W. Hawthorn, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... April 6, 1*72
407 Ridyard, J., Bridgewater Offices, Walkden, nr. Bolton-le-Moors, Lan. Nov. 7, 1874
108 Ritson, U. A , 6, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 7, 1871
409 Ritson, W. A., Tamworth Colliery Co., Tamworth .........April 2, 1870
410 Robertson, W., M.E., 123, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow ......Mar. 5, 1870
411 Robinson, G. C, Brereton and Hayes Colls., Rugeley, Staffordshire... Nov. 5, 1870
412 Robinson, John, Hebburn Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 4, 1876
413 Robinson, R., Howlish Hall, near Bishop Auckland (Mem. of Council) Feb. 1,186S
414 Robson, E., Middlesbro'-on-Tees..................April 2, 1870
415 Robson, J. S., Butterknowle Colliery, via Darlington......... 1853
416 Robson, J. T., Cambuslang, Glasgow ...............Sept. 4, 1869
417 Robson, Thomas, Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses .........Oct. 4, 1860
(xxxiv)
ELECTED.
418 Rogerson, John, Croxdale Hall, Durham ............Mar. 6, 1869
419 Roscamp, J., Rosedale Lodge, near Pickering, Yorkshire ......Feb. 2, 1867
420 Ross, J. A. G., Consulting Engineer, 13, Belgrave Terrace, Newcastle July 2, 1872
421 Rosser, W., Mineral Surveyor, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire ...... 1856
422 Rothwell, R. P., 27, Park Place, New York, U.S..........Mar. 5, 1870
423 Rotjtledge, Jos., Ryhope Colliery, Sunderland .........Sept. 11, 1875
424 Routledge, Wii., Sydney, Cape Breton ............Aug. 6, 1857
425 Rowley, J. C, Shagpoint Colliery, Otago, New Zealand ......Dec. 4, 1875
426 Rutherford, J., Halifax Coal Co., Ld., Albion Mines, Nova Scotia... 1852
427 Rutherford, W., So. Derwent Colliery, Anntield Plain, Lintz Green Oct. 3, 1874
428 Rutter, Thos., Blaydon Main Colliery, Blaydon-on-Tyne ......May 1, 1875
429 Ryder, W. J. H., Forth Street Brass Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 4, 1876
430 Saint, George, Vauxhall Collieries, Ruabon, North Wales......April 11, 1874
431 Scarth, W. T., Raby Castle, Darlington ............April 4, 1868
432 Scott, Andrew, Broomhill Colliery, Acklington .........Dec. 7, 1867
433 Scott, C. F., Gateshead Fell Colliery, Gateshead-on-Tyne ......April 11, 1874
434 Scoular, G., Cleator Moor, via Carnforth ............July 2, 1872
435 Seddon, J. F., Great Harwood Collieries, near Accrington ... ... June 1, 1867
436 Shallis, F. W., Pritchard & Sons, 9, Gracechurch Street, London ... April 6, 1872
437 Shaw, W., Jun., Wolsingham, via Darlington............June 3, 1871
438 Shiel, John, Framwellgate Colliery, County Durham ......May 6, 1871
439 Shone, Isaac, Pentrefelin House, Wrexham............ 1858
440 Shortrede, T., Park House, Winstanley, Wigan .........April S, 1856
441 Shute, C. A., Westoe, South Shields ...............April 11, 1874
442 Simpson, J., Heworth Colliery, near Gateshead-on-Tyne ......Dec. 6, 1866
443 Simpson, Jos., Springhill Mines, Cumberland Co., Nova Scotia ... Mar. 3,1873
444 Simpson, J. B., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne (Vice-President) Oct. 4, 1860
445 Simpson, R., Moor House, Ryton-on-Tyne ............Aug. 21, 1852
446 Simpson, Robt., Druinmond Coll., Westville, Pictou, Nova Scotia ... Dec. 4, 1875
447 Slinn, T., 2, Choppington Street, Westmorland Road, Newcastle ... July 2,' 1872
448 Small, G., Duffield Road, Derby,.................June 4,1870
449 Smith, G. F., Grovehurst, Tunbridge Wells ............Aug. 5, 1853
450 Smith, J., Bickershaw Colliery, Leigh, near Manchester ......Mar. 7, 1874
451#Smith, R. Clifford, Parkfield, Swinton, Manchester ......Dec. 5, 1874
452 Smith, T., Sen., M.E., Cinderford Villas, nr. Newnham, Gloucester... May, 5, 1877
453 Smith, T. E., Phoenix Foundry, Newgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Dec. 5, 1874
454 Snowdon, T., jun., West Bitchburn Coll., nr. Tow Law, via Darlington Sept, 4, 1869
455 Sop with, A., Cannock Chase Collieries, near Walsall... ... ... Aug. 1, 1868
456 Sopwith, Thos., 6, Great George St., Westminster, London, S.W. ... Mar. 3, 1877
457 Southern, R, Burleigh House, The Parade, Tredegarville, Cardiff... Aug. 3, 1865
458 Southworth, Thos., Hindley Green Collieries, near Wigan......May 2, 1874
459 Spencer, John, Westgate Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Sept. 4, 1869
460 Spencer, M., Newburn, near Newcastlc-on-Tyne .........Sept. 4, 1869
461 Spencer, T., Ryton, Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Dec. 6, 1866
462 Spencer, W., Soutlmelds, Leicester ...............Aug. 21, 1852
463 Steavenson, A. L., Durham .........(Vice-President) Dec. 6, 1855
(xxxv)
ELECTED.
nson G. R., 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, London, S.W. Oct. 4,1860
a&% ^bnsov R., Lochgelly Iron Works, Lochgelly, Fifeshire......Feb. 5, 1876
Tfi Stop yrt, W., Pepper Arden, Northallerton ......... - July 2, 1872
S 'orey Tnos. E., Clough Hall Iron Works, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire Feb. 5, 1876
!es Striker, John, Stagshaw House, Corbridge-on-Tyne ......May 2, 1867
4*9 SrRAKER, J. H., Willington House, Co. Durham .........Oct. 3, 1874
470 Stratton, T. H. M., Tredegar, South Wales............Dec. 3, 1870
471 Swallow, J., Pontop Hall, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... May 2, 1874
472 Swallow, R. T., Springwell, Gateshead-on-Tyne ......... 1862
473 Swan, H. F., Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne............Sept. 2, 1871
474 Swan! J. G., Upsail Hall, near Middlesbro' ............Sept. 2, 1871
475 Swann, C. G., Sec, General Mining Asso. Ld., 6, New Broad St., London Aug. 7, 1875
476 Tate, Simon, Trimdon Grange Colliery, Co. Durham ......Sept. 11, 1875
477 Taylor, Hugh, King Street, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 5, 1856
478 Taylor, T., King Street, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........July 2, 1872
479 Taylor-Smith, Thomas, Greencroft Park, Durham.........Aug. 2, 1866
480 Thomas, A., Bilson House, near Newnham, Gloucestershire......Mar. 2, 1872
481 Thompson, John, Boughton Hall, Chester ............Sept. 2, 1865
482 Thompson, R., Jun., Rodridge House, Wingate, Co. Durham ... Sept. 7, 1867
483 Thompson, T. C, Milton Hall, Carlisle...............May 4, 1854
484 Thomson, John, Eston Mines, by Middlesbro'............April 7, 1877
485 Thomson, Jos. F., Manvers Main Colliery, Rotherham ......Feb. 6, 1875
486 Tinn, J., C.E., Ashton Iron Rolling Mills, Bower Ashton, Bristol ... Sept. 7, 1867
487 Tylden-Wright, C, Shireoaks Colliery, Worksop, Notts....... 1862
488 TrsoN, Wm. John, 15, Foxhouses Road, Whitehaven ......Mar. 3, 1877
489 Tyzack, D., Birtley, Chester-le-Street, Durham .........Feb. 14, 1874
490 Tyzack, Wilfred, Tanfield Lea Coll., Lintz Green Station, Newcastle Oct. 7, 1876
491 Vivian, John, Diamond Boring Company, Whitehaven ......Mar. 3, 1877
492 Wadham, E., C. and M.E., Millwood, Dalton-in-Furness ......Dec. 7, 1867
493 Walker, G. B., Wharncliffe Silkstone Collieries, Wortley, nr. Sheffield Dec. 2, 1871
494 Walker, J. S., 15, Wallgate, Wigan, Lancashire .........Dec. 4, 1869
495 Walker, W., Saltburn-by-the-Sea ...............Mar. 5, 1870
496 Wallace, Henry, Trench Hall, Gateshead ............Nov. 2, 1872
497 Ward, H., Rodbaston Hall, near Penkridge, Stafford.........Mar. 6, 1862
498 Wardale, John D., M.E., Redheugh Engine Works, Gateshead ... May 1, 1875
499 Wardell, S. C, Doe Hill House, Alfreton ............April 1, 1865
500 Warrington, J., Cragwood, Rawdon, near Leeds .........Oct, 6, 1859
501 Watson, H., High Bridge Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Mar. 7, 1868
502 Watson, H. B., High Bridge Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Mar. 3, 1877
503 Watson, M., Flimby and Broughton Moor Collieries, near Maryport.. Mar. 7, 1868
504 Weeks, J. G., Bedlington Collieries, Bedlington (Member of Council) Feb. 4, 1865
505 Westmacott, P. G. B., Elswick Iron Works, Newcastle ......June 2, 1866
506 White, H., Weardale Coal Company, Tow Law, near Darlington .,. 1866
(xxxvi)
elected.
507 White, J. F., M.E., Wakefield..................July 2, 1872
508 White, J. W. H., Woodlesford, near Leeds ............Sept, 2, 1876
509 Whitehead, James, Brindle Lodge, near Preston, Lancashire ... Dec. 4,1875
510 Whitelaw, John, 118, George Street, Edinburgh .........Feb. 5, 1870
511 Whitelaw, T., Shields and Dalzell Collieries, Motherwell ......April 6, 1872
512 Whittem, Thos. S., Wyken Colliery, near Coventry.........Dec. 5, 1874
513 Widdas, C, North Bitchburn Colliery, Howden, Darlington......Dec. 5, 1868
514 Wight, W. H., Cowpen Colliery, Blyth...............Feb. 3, 1877
515 Wild, J. G., Hedley Hope Collieries, Tow Law, by Darlington ... Oct. 5, 1867
516 Williams, E., Cleveland Lodge, Middlesbro'............Sept. 2, 1865
517 Williams, J. J., Pantgwyn House, Holywell, Flintshire ......Nov. 2, 1872
518 Williamson, John, Cannock, &c, Collieries, Hednesford ......Nov. 2, 1872
519 Willis, J., 14, Portland Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Mar. 5, 1857
520 Wilson, J. B., Wingfield Iron Works and Colliery, Alfreton......Nov. 5, 1852
521 Wilson, Robert, Flimby Colliery, Maryport............Aug. 1, 1874
522 Wilson, W. B., Kippax and Allerton Collieries, Leeds ......Feb. 6, 1869
523 Winter, T. B., Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 7, 1871
524 Wood, C. L., Freeland, Bridge of Earn, Perthshire ......... 1853
525 Wood, Lindsay, Southill, Chester-le-Street (Past President, Mem-
ber of Council) .....................Oct. 1, 1857
526 Wood, Thomas, Rainton House, Fence Houses .........Sept. 3, 1870
527 Wood, W. H., Coxhoe Hall, Coxhoe, Co. Durham (Member of Council) 1856
528 Wood, W. 0., Durham .....................Nov. 7, 1863
529 Woodcock, Henry, St. Bees, Cumberland ............Mar. 3, 1873
530 Wright, G. H., 12, Trumpington Street, Cambridge.........July 2, 1872
531 Wrightson, T., Stockton-on-Tees ...............Sept. 13, 1873
532 Young, Philip, 84, Bucknali Old Road, Hanley .........Oct. 11, 1873
1 Ackroyd, Wm., Jun.,M.E., Morley Main Collieries, Morley, nr. Leeds Feb. 7, 18S0
2 Bell, C. E., Park House, Durham ............... Dec. 3, 1870
3 Bramall, Henry, M.I.C.E., St. Helen's, Lancashire ...... Oct. 5, 1878
4 Broja, Richard, Mining Engineer, Ostwall, Dortmund ...... Nov. 6, 1880
5 Butler, W. P., C.E., Cymman Hall, near Wrexham......... Feb. 7, 1880
6 Charlton, Henry, Hawks, Crawshay, & Sons, Gateshead-on-Tyne Dec. 9, 1882
7 Cochrane, John E., Con. Engineer, Hetton-le-Hole, Fence Houses... Dec. 9, 1882
8 Dacres, Thomas, South Grange, Shincliffe, Durham......... May 4, 1878
9#Dixon, James S., 170, Hope Street, Glasgow...... ...... Aug. 3, 1878
10 Ellis, W. R., F.G.S., Wigan .................. Julie i, i878
11 Geddes, George H., 142 Princes Street, Edinburgh......... Oct. 1, 1881
12 Gilchrist, Thomas, Eltringham, Prudhoe-on-Tyne......... May 4, 1878
13 Goudie, J. H., 13, Lowther Street, Whitehaven ......... Sept. 7, 1878
(xxxvii)
ELECTED.
harbottle, John, Linlithgow Mines, Columbia Co., New York ... June 10, 1882
Johnson, Henry, Jun., Sandwell Park Colliery, West Bromwich,
10 ° South Staffordshire.....................Feb. 10, 1883
johnson, William, West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street ... Dec. 9, 1882
17 Kellett, William, Wigan ............... ... June 1,1878
18 Lancaster, John, Auchinbeath, Southfield and Fence Collieries,
Lesmahagow........................Sept. 7, 1878
19 Laws, W. G., Civil Engineer, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 2, 1880
20 Leach, C. C, Bedlington Colls., Bedlington, R.S.O., Northumberland Mar. 7, 1874
21 Liddell, Matthew, Mickley Colliery Offices, Stocksfield-on-Tyne ... Feb. 10, 1883
22 Llewellin, Dayid Morgan, F.G.S., Glanwern Offices, Pontypool ... May 14, 1881
23 Martin, Tom Pattinson, Allhallows Colliery, Mealsgate, Carlisle ... Feb. 15, 1879
24 Oldham, G. H., St. John D'El Rey Mining Co., Tower Chambers,
Finsbury Pavement, London ... ......... ... Aug. 5, 1882
25 Potts, Jos., Jun., Architect, &c, North Cliff, Roker, Sunderland ... Dec. 6,1879
26 Prior, Edward G., Victoria, British Columbia... ... ... ... Feb. 7,1880
27 Rogers, William, M.E., 19, King Street, Wigan .........Nov. 2, 1878
28 Russell, Robert, M.E., Coltness Iron Works, Newmains, N.B. ... Aug. 3, 1878
29 Spencer, John W., Newburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ......May 4, 1878
30 Topping, Walter, Messrs. Cross, Tetley, & Co., Piatt Bridge, Wigan Mar. 2, 1878
31 Walker, Sidney Ferris, 195, Severn Road, Canton, Cardiff ... Dec. 9, 1882
32 Walker, William Edward, Lowther Street, Whitehaven......Nov. 19, 1881
33 Winstanley, Robt., M.E., 32, St. Ann's Street, Manchester...... Sept. 7, 1878
1 Allan, John, 607 Erbische Strasse, Freiberg in Sachsen ...... Feb. 10, 1883
2 Armstrong, Henry, M.E., St. Hilda Colliery, South Shields ... April 14, 1883
3 Armstrong, T. J., Hawthorn Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne...... Feb. 10, 1883
4 Arnold, Thos., Mineral Surveyor, Castle Hill, Greenfields, Llanelly Oct. 2, 1880
5 Atkinson, Fred., Maryport .................. Feb. 14, 1874
6 Audus, T., Mineral Traffic Manager, N.E. Railway, Newcastle-on-Tyne Aug. 7, 1880
7 Ayton, E. F., Heddon Colliery, Wylam-on-Tyne ......... Feb. 5, 1876
8 Bailes, E. T., Wingate, Ferryhill ...............June 7, 1879
9 Barnes, A. W., Grassmore Colliery, near Chesterfield ......Oct, 5, 1872
10 Barrett, Charles Rollo, New Seaham, Seaham Harbour......Nov. 7, 1874
11 Bates, C. J., Coal Owner, Heddon Banks, near Wylam-on-Tyne ... Dec. 11, 1882
12*Bell, Thomas Huon, Coal Owner, Middlesbrough-on-Tees......Dec. 11, 1882
13 Berkley, Frederick, M.E., Murton Colliery, near Sunderland ... Dec. 11, 1882
14 Berkley, R. W., Marley Hill Colliery, Gateshead .........Feb. 14, 1874
15 Bewick, T. B., Haydon Bridge, Northumberland .........Mar. 7, 1874
16 Bird, W. J., 9, Prince Street, Sunderland ............Nov. 6, 1875
17 Bowes, John, Streatlam Castle, Darlington ............Feb. 10, 1883
/
(xxxviii)
ELECTED.
18 Brough, Thomas, Seaham Colliery, Sealiam Harbour ......Feb. 1, 1873
19 Brown, M. W., 7, Elswick Park, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Oct. 7, 1871
20 Brown, W. B., Springfield, Wavertree, Liverpool .........Mar. 2, 1878
21 Bruce, John, Cannock Chase Colliery, near Walsall ... ... Feb. 14, 1874
22 Bulman, H. F., West Rainton, Fence Houses............May 2, 1874
23 Bunning, C. Z., Warora Colliery, Central Provinces, India......Dec. 6,1873
24 Burdon, A. E., Hartford House, Cramlington, Northumberland ... Feb. 10, 1883
25 Burn, John H., Coal Owner, 20, Broad Chare, Newcastle-on-Tyne... Feb. 10, 1883
26 Burnley, C. E., Aybrigg Farm, near Wakefield .........April 11,1874
27 Cabrera, Fidel, c/o H. Kendall & Son, 12, Gt. Winchester St., London Oct. 6, 1877
28 Candler, T. E., East Lodge, Crook, Darlington .........May 1, 1875
29 Charlton, W. A., Tangye Bros., 25, Lincoln St., Gateshead-on-Tyne Nov. 6, 1880
30 Clark, Robt., So. Medomsley Coll., Dipton, Lintz Green, nr. Newcastle Sept. 11. 1875
31 Clough, James, Bedlington Collieries, R.S.O., Northumberland ... April 5,1873
32 Cobbold, C. H., Mineral Office, Elsecar, near Barnsley ......May 3, 1873
33 Cochrane, Ralph D., Hetton Colliery Offices, Fence Houses ... June 1, 1878
34 Cockson, Charles, King Street, Wigan ............April 22, 1882
35 Cooper, ft. W., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne............Sept. 4, 1880
36 Dakers, W. R., Tudhoe Colliery, Spennymoor .........Oct. 14, 1882
37 Dalziel, W. G., 2, Pembroke Terrace, Cardiff .........Sept. 7, 1878
38 Davison, Charles, Cornsay Colliery, near Esh, Durham ......Dec. 11, 1882
39 Dodd, M., Lemington, Scotswood-on-Tyne ... .........Dec. 4, 1875
40 Douglas, John, Seghill Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland......April 22, 1882
41 Douglas, John, Jun., Seghill Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ... April22, 1882
42 Douglas, M. H., Marsden Colliery, South Shields .........Aug. 2, 1879
43 Doyle, Patrick, C.E., F.M.S., F.L.S., M.R.A.S., Municipal Chambers,
Charters Towers, via Townsville, Queensland, Australia......Mar. 1,1879
44 Edge, J. C, Eckington Colliery, near Chesterfield .........Dec. 5, 1874
45 Edge, John H., Coalport Wire Rope and Chain Works, Shif nal, Salop Sept. 7, 1878
46 Fairley, James, Craghead and Holmside Collieries, Chester-le-Street Aug. 7, 1880
47 Farrow, Joseph, Brotton Mines, Brotton, R.S.O..........Feb. 11,1882
48 Fryar, Mark, Denby Colliery, Derby...............Oct. 7,1876
49 Gerrard, James, Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company, Wigan ... Mar. 3, 1873
50 Greener, Henry, South Pontop Colliery, Annfield Plain ...... Dec. 11, 1882
51 Greener, T. Y., Rainford Collieries, St. Helen's, Lancashire...... July 2, 1872
52 Greener, W. J., Pemberton Colliery, Wigan............ Mar. 2, 1878
53 Gresley, W. S., Overseale, Ashby-de-la-Zouch ......... Oct. 5, 1878
54 Haggie, Peter Sinclair, Gateshead-on-Tyne .........April 14,1883
55 Hallas, G. H., Hindley Green Colliery, near Wigan.........Oct. 7, 1876
(xxxix)
ELECTED.
ttamtlton E., Rig Wood, Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........Nov. 1,1873
56 it hi-. W S Andrews House, near Gateshead-on-Tyne ......Feb. 14, 1874
Z TTedley E*, Rainham Lodge. The Avenue, Beckenham, Kent ... Dec. 2, 1871
1 Henderson, C. W. C, Coal Owner, The Riding, Hexham ......Dec. 11, 1882
H y Ge0 J., Stowmarket Gun Cotton Co., Stowmarket......Nov. 19, 1881
61 Hill, William, Carterthorne Colliery Offices, Witton-le-Wear ... June 9, 1883
62 Humble, Stephen, Uttoxeter Road, Derby ............Oct. 6, 1877
63 Jeefcock, Charles E., B.A., Birley Collieries, Sheffield ......Feb. 10, 1883
64 Jepson, H., 54, Old Elvet, Durham ...............July 2, 1872
65*Jobling, Thos. E., Bebside Colliery, Cowpen Lane, Northumberland Oct. 7, 1876
66 Johnson, F. D., B.A., Aykleyheads, Durham............Feb. 10, 1883
67 Johnson, W., Abram Colliery. Wigan...............Feb. 14, 1874
68 Jordan, J. J., Mina de S. Domingos, Mertola, Portugal ......Mar. 3, 1873
69 Laveeick, John Wales, Middridge Colliery, Shildon, via Darlington Dec. 11, 1882
70 Liddell, J. M., 21, Lovaine Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Mar. 6, 1875
71 Liddell, John, Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Dec. 11, 1882
72 Lisle, J., Washington Colliery, County Durham .........July 2, 1872
73 Maccabe, H. O., Russell Vale, Wollongong, New South Wales ... Sept. 7, 1878
74 Maddison, Thos. R,, Thornes, near Wakefield ......... Mar. 3, 1877
75 Makepeace, H. R., Calder Bank, near Airdrie............ Mar. 3, 1877
76 Markham, G. E., Howlish Offices, Bishop Auckland......... Dec. 4, 1875
77 Melly, E. F., Griff Collieries, Nuneaton ............ Oct. 5, 1878
78 Merivale, W., C.E...................... Mar. 5, 1881
79 Miller, D. S., Neston Collieries, Cheshire ............ Nov. 7, 1874
80*Miller, N............................ Oct. 5, 1878
81 Monkhouse, G. Benson, St. Nicholas' Chambers, Newcastle-on-Tyne Oct. 14, 1882
82 Moore, William, Upleatham Mines, Upleatham, R.S.O.......Nov. 19, 1881
83 Moreing, C. A., 34, Clement's Lane, London, E.C..........Nov. 7, 1874
84 Morison, John, Newbattle Collieries, Dalkeith, N.B. ......Dec. 4, 1880
85 Ornsby, R. E., Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ., Mar. 6, 1875
86 Palmer, Henry, East Howie Colliery, near Ferryhill ......Nov. 2, 1878
87*Pease, Arthur, M.P., Coal Owner, Darlington .........Dec. 11,1882
88 Phillips, W. J., Ansley Hall Colliery, Atherstone .........June 9, 1883
89 Prest, J. J., St. Helen's Colliery, Bishop Auckland ... ......May 1, 1875
90 Prichard, W., Nav. and Deep Duffryn Colls., Mountain Ash, So. Wales Dec. 7, 1878
91 Pringle, Jos., Manager, Coxlodge Colliery, So. Gosforth, Newcastle Mar. 5, 1881
92 Proud, Joseph, South Hetton Colliery Offices, Sunderland......Oct. 14, 1882
93 Rathbone, Edgar P., 2, Great George Street, Westminster, London Mar. 7, 1874
94 Ridley, Sir Matthew White, Bart., M.P., Blagdon, Northumberland Feb. 10, 1883
95 Robson, Harry N., 3, North Bailey, Durham............Dec. 4, 1875
96 Rowell, Robert, Seghill Colliery Offiee, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Feb. 10,1883
(xl)
ELECTED.
97 Saise, W., D. Sc., Manager E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi, Bengal, India ... Nov. 3, 1877
98 Sawyer, A. R., Ass. R.S.M., Basford, Stoke-upon-Trent ......Dec. 6, 1873
99 Scurfield, Geo. J., Hurworth-upon-Tees, Darlington ......Dec. 11,1882
100 Smith, J. Bagnold, Langwith Colliery, near Mansfield ......Nov. 2, 1878
101 Smith, Thos. Reader, M.E., Thorncliffe Collieries, near Sheffield ... Feb. 5, 1881
102 Snowball, Joseph, Seaton Burn House, Northumberland ......Feb. 10, 1883
103 Stobart, F., Pensher House, Fence Houses ............Aug. 2. 1873
104 Stobbs, Frank, 1, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Oct. 1, 1881
105 Stones, T. H., Wigan Coal & Iron Co., Westleigh, nr. Leigh, Lancashire Nov. 7, 1874
106 Tait, James, Estate Agent, Garmondsway Moor, Coxhoe, Co. Durham May 14, 1881
107 Telford, W. H., Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland ......Oct. 3, 1874
108 Thomas, William, M.E., Mineral Office, The Castle, Cockermouth... Feb. 10, 1883
109 Thompson, Charles Lacy, Milton Hall, Carlisle .........Feb. 10, 1883
110 Turnbull, George, Seaham Colliery, Seaham Harbour ... ... Oct. 4, 1879
111 Vitanoff, Geo. N., Sofia, Bulgaria ...............April 22,1882
112 Walters, Hargrave, Birley Collieries, near Sheffield ......June 4, 1881
113 Walton, J. Coulthard, Writhlington Collieries, Radstock, via Bath Nov. 7, 1874
114*Ward, T. H., Assistant Manager, E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi, Bengal ... Aug. 7, 1882
115 Wardle, Edward, M.E., Radcliffe Colliery, Acklington ......Feb. 5, 1881
116 Watson, Robert, North Seaton, Morpeth ............Dec. 11, 1882
117 Webster, Ingham H., Rope Manr., Morton House, Fence Houses April 14, 1883
118 Weeks, R. L., Willington, Co. Durham ............June 10, 1882
119 Wilson, John R., Swaithe, near Barnsley ...... ,.....June 9, 1883
1 Anderson, R. S., Elswick Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......June 9, 1883
2 Atkinson, A. A., Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses .........Aug. 3, 1878
3 Ayton, Henry, Seaton Delaval Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ... Mar. 6, 1875
4 Baitmgartner, W. O., East Hetton Coll. Office, Coxhoe, Co. Durham Sept. 6, 1879
5 Bell, Geo. Fred., 25, Old Elvet, Durham ............Sept. 6, 1879
6 Bird, Harry, Fawler Iron Mines, Charlbury............April 7, 1877
7 Blackett, W. C, Jun., Sacriston, Durham ............Nov. 4, 1876
8 Blakeley, A. B., Hollyroyd, Dewsbury ............Feb. 15, 1879
9 Bramwell, Hugh, 20, Beverley Terrace, Cullercoats ......Oct. 4, 1879
10 Brown, C. Gilpin, Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses .........Nov. 4, 1876
11 Chandley, Charles, Atherton Collieries, near Manchester...... Nov. 6, 1880
12 Chapman, Alf. C, Silksworth Hall, near Sunderland ...... Oct. 4, 1879
13 Child, H............................ Feb. 15, 1879
14 Cole, Collin, Simonside Cottage, Tyne Dock, South Shields ... Oct. 18, 1882
(xli)
ELECTED.
5 Cox, L. Clifford, Ravenstone, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch ......April 1, 1876
6 Crawford, James Mill, Murton Colliery, near Sunderland ... Dec. 11,1882
17 Crawford, T. W., Peases' West Collieries, Crook, by Darlington ... Dec. 4, 1875
18 Crone, F. E., Killingworth House, near Newcastle-on-Tyne......Sept. 2, 1876
19 Curry, W. Thos., Usworth Colliery, via Washington, R.S.O. ... Sept. 4,1880
20 Davidson, C. C, Ore Bank House, Bigrigg, via Carnforth, Cumberland Nov. 4, 1876
21 Davis, Kenneth M., Towneley and Stella Collieries, Ryton-on-Tyne April 5, 1879
22 Depledge, M. F., Eston, Middlesbrough ............April 7, 1877
23 Donkin, Wm.........................Sept. 2, 1876
24 Douglas, Arthur Stanley, Croxdale Colliery, near Durham ... June 1, 1878
25 Dunn, A. F., Poynton, Stockport, Cheshire......... ... June 2, 1877
26 Durnford, H. St. John, Low Stublin Colliery, near Rotherham ... June 2, 1877
27 Evans, David L., Messrs. Dalziel & Evans, Cardiff.........May 4, 1878
28 Ferens, Frederick J., 220, Gilesgate, Durham .........Dec. 4, 1880
29 Fletcher, John E., Ellesmere Park, Eccles, near Manchester ... Dec. 1,1877
30 Forster, C. W., 6, Ellison Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne... ......June 10, 1882
31 Forster, Thomas E., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland ......Oct. 7, 1876
32 Fowler, Robert, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland.........Dec. 2, 1876
33 Gallwey, Arthur P., El Callao Gold Mine, Guiana, Venezuela, S.A. Oct. 2, 1880
34 Gilchrist, J. R., Durham Main Colliery, Durham .........Feb. 3, 1877
35 Gordon, Chas., Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent............May 5, 1877
36 Gould, Alex., Cowpen Colliery, Blyth...............Dec. 1, 1877
37 Green, Francis W., Harton Colliery Offices, South Shields ... April22, 1882
38 Greig, J., Browney Colliery, Durham...............Feb. 5, 1881
39 Guthrie, James Kenneth, Ryton-on-Tyne............Mar. 1, 1879
40 Haddock, W. T., Jun., Ryhope Colliery, Sunderland......... Oct. 7, 1876
41 Haggie, Douglas, Gateshead-on-Tyne ............ April 14, 1883
42 Haig, R. Noble, Lofthouse Mines, via Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Feb. 10, 1883
43 Hare, Samuel, Gladstone Street, Crook, via Darlington ...... Aug. 2, 1879
44 Harrison, Robert J...................... May 1, 1875
45 Harrison, R. W., Public Wharf, Leicester ............ Mar. 3, 1877
46 Hedley, Sept. H., Wardley, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......... Feb. 15, 1879
47 Hendy, J. C. B., Middle Bitchburn Colliery, Howden-le-Wear, via
Darlington ........................Sept. 2,1876
48 Heslop, Septimus, Urpeth, Chester-le-Street............Dec. 4,1880
49 Heslop, Thomas, Storey Lodge Colliery, Cockfield, via Darlington... Oct. 2, 1880
50 Hill, Leonard, Carlin How Mines, Carlin How in Cleveland ... Oct. 6, 1877
51 Hooper, Edward, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland.........June 4, 1881
52 Howard, Walter, 13, Cavendish Street, Chesterfield ......April 13, 1878
53 Hudson, Joseph G. S., Albion Mines, Pictou County, Nova Scotia... Mar. 2, 1878
(xlii)
ELECTED.
54 Humble, Joicey, 17, Westmorland Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 3, 1877
55 Humble, Robert, 17, Westmorland Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Sept. 2,1876
56 Hunter, John P., Backworth Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 6,1877
57 Hurst, Geo., Lauder Grange, Corbridge-on-Tyne .........April 14, 1883
58 Kayll, A. C, Felling Colliery, Gateshead-on-Tyne .........Oct. 7, 1876
59 Kirkhouse, E. G....................., ... Aug. 3, 1878
60 Kirkup, Philip, Esh Colliery, near Durham............Mar. 2, 1878
61 Kirton, Hugh, Waldridge Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......April 7, 1877
62 Lindsatt, Clarence S., Usworth, via Washington, R.S.O.......Mar. 4, 1876
63 Lishman, Robert R,, 33, Claypath, Durham............June 9, 1883
64 Liveing, E. H., 52, Queen Anne Street, Cavend'.sh Scpiare, London Sept. 1, 1877
65 Locke, E. G.........................Dec. 2,1876
66 Longbotiiam, R. H., Ormskirk Road, Newton, Wigan ......Sept. 2, 1876
67 Mackinlay, Thos. B., West Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street ... Nov. 1, 1879
68 Marston, Frank, Bromfield Hall, Mold ............Aug. 7, 1882
69 Mitton, Arthur D., Sherburn House, Durham .........June 9, 1883
70 Murray, W. C, Weed Park, Dipton, via Lintz Green Station ... Oct. 4, 1879
71 Murton, Charles J., Jesmond Villas, Newcastle-on-Tyne......Mar. 6, 1880
72 Nicholson, Jos. C, Wear Steel and File Works, Sunderland ... Feb. 3, 1877
73 Nicholson, J. H., Cambois Colliery, Blyth, Northumberland ... Oct. 1, 1881
74 Noble, J. C, Usworth Hall, near Washington Station, Co. Durham... May 5, 1877
75 Oates, Robert J. W., E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi, Bengal, India ... Feb. 10,1883
76 Pattison, Jos. W., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour......Feb. 15, 1879
77 Peake, Charles Edwd., Sleaford, Lincolnshire .........Nov. 3, 1877
78 Peake, R. C, Highgate, Wallsall ...............Feb. 7, 1880
79 Peart, A. W., Lower Duffryn Collieries, near Mountain Ash ... Nov. 4, 1876
80 Pease, J. T., Loftus Mines, Cleveland...............June 9, 1883
81 Pike, Arnold, Kimblesworth Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......Feb. 5, 1881
82 Potter, E. A., Cramlington House, Northumberland.........Feb. 6, 1875
83 Price, S. R,, Houghton Main Colliery, near Barnsley, Yorkshire ... Nov. 3, 1877
84 Pringle, H. A., Peases' West Collieries, by Darlington ......Oct. 2, 1880
85 Pringle, Hy. Geo., Tanfield Lea Coll., Lintz Green Station, Newcastle Dec. 4, 1880
86 Proctor, C. P., Shibden Hall Collieries, near Halifax, Yorkshire ... Oct. 7, 1876
87 Reed, R., North Seaton Colliery, Morpeth ............Feb. 3, 1877
88 Richardson, Ralph, Field House, West Rainton, Fence Houses ... June 9, 1883
89 Richardson, R. W. P., Office of General Manager, Cedral Mining
and Smelting Co.'s Mines, Villa de Musquiz Coalmila, Mexico ... Mar. 4, 1876
90 Ridley, William, South Tanfield Colliery, Chester-le-Street ... Dec. 11, 1882
(xliii)
FI.ECTED.
kobinson, Frank, Norley Colliery, Wigan ............Sept. 2, 1876
Robinson, Geo., Hebburn Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne......Nov. 4, 1876
H Robson, Thos. O., Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Sept. 11, 1875
94 Routle'dge, W. H., Staveley Coal and Iron Co. Limited, Chesterfield Oct. 7, 1876
95 Scarth, R, W., Stanghow House, Stanghow, via Marske-by-the-Sea Dec. 4, 1875
96 Scott, Joseph Samuel, East Hetton Colliery, Coxhoe, Co. Durham Nov. 19, 1881
97 Scott, Walter, Cornsay Colliery, Lanchester, Co. Durham......Sept. 6, 1879
98 Scott, Wm., Brandon Colliery Offices, near Durham.........Mar. 4, 1876
99 Smith, Thos., Leadgate, Co. Durham...............Feb. 15, 1879
100 Smith, T. F., Jun., Cinderford Villas, near Newnham, Gloucestershire May 5, 1877
101 Southern, E. O., Breeze Hill, Whitehaven ............Dec. 5, 1874
102 Southern, Thomas, Cwmainan Colliery, near Aberdare, South Wales Dec. 17,1881
103 Spence, R. F., Cramlington ..................Nov. 2, 1878
104 Steavenson, C. H., Durham ............ ......April 14, 1883
105 Stobart, Henry Temple, Eton Villa, Saltburn-by-the-Sea......Oct. 2, 1880
106 Stoker, Arthur P., Birtley, near Chester-le-Street.........Oct. 6, 1877
107 Todd, John T., Hetton-le-Hole, Fence Houses............Nov. 4, 1876
108 Todner, W. J. S., 33, Beaumont Street, Elswick, Newcastle-on-Tyne Sept. 6, 1879
109 Topham, Edward C, Marsden, South Shields .........Nov. 3, 1877
110 Waugh, Charles L., The Burroughes, Cockermouth, Cumberland... Nov. 19, 1881
111 White, C. E., Hebburn Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Nov. 4, 1876
112 Wilson, J. D., Ouston House, Chester-le-Street .........Sept. 11, 1875
(xliv)
Imbscnkns xxxxbtx ige-Iato 9.
1 Ashington Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
2 Birtley Iron Company, Birtley.
3 Haswell Colliery, Fence Houses.
4 Hetton Collieries, Fence Houses.
5 Lambton Collieries, Fence Houses.
6 Londonderry Collieries, Seaham Harbour.
7 Marquess of Bute.
8 North Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.
9 Ryhope Colliery, near Sunderland.
10 Seghill Colliery, Northumberland.
11 South Hetton and Murton Collieries.
12 Stella Colliery, Hedgefield, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
13 Throcklev Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
14 Victoria Garesfield, Lintz Green.
15 Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland.
C II ARTEE
OF
THE NORTH OF ENGLAND
FOUNDED 1852.
INCORPORATED NOVEMBER 28th, 1876.
^Jixf0rittt ^7 ^race °^ ®°^> °^ tno United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, to all to whom
these Presents shall come, Greeting :
Whereas it has been represented to us that Nicholas Wood, of
Iletton, in the County of Durham, Esquire (since deceased); Thomas
Emerson Forster, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Esquire (since deceased);
Sir George Elliot, Baronet (then George Elliot, Esquire), of Houghton
Hall, in the said County of Durham, and Edward Fenwick Boyd, of
Moor House, in the said County of Durham, Esquire, and others of our
loving subjects, did, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,
form themselves into a Society, which is known by the name of The
North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers,
having for its objects the Prevention of Accidents in Mines and the Ad-
vancement of the Sciences of Mining and Engineering generally, of which
Society Lindsay Wood, of Southill, Chester-le-Street, in the County of
Durham, Esquire, is the present President. And whereas it has been
further represented to us that the Society was not constituted for gain,
and that neither its projectors nor Members derive nor have derived
pecuniary profit from its prosperity; that it has during its existence of a
period of nearly a quarter of a century steadily devoted itself to the pre-
servation of human life and the safer development of mineral property;
that it has contributed substantially and beneficially to the prosperity of
the country and the welfare and happiness of the working members of the
community; that the Society has since its establishment diligently
pursued its aforesaid objects, and in so doing has made costly experiments
fxlvi)
and researches with a view to the saving of life by improvements in the
ventilation of mines, by ascertaining the conditions under which the safety
lamp may be relied on for security; that the experiments conducted by
the Society have related to accidents in mines of every description, and
have not been limited to those proceeding from explosions; that the vari-
ous modes of getting coal, whether by mechanical appliances or otherwise,
have received careful and continuous attention, while the improvements
in the mode of working and hauling belowground, the machinery em-
ployed for preventing the disastrous falls of roof underground, and the
prevention of spontaneous combustion in seams of coal as well as in car-
goes, and the providing additional security for the miners in ascending
and descending the pits, the improvements in the cages used for this pur-
pose, and in the safeguards against what is technically known as "over-
winding," have been most successful in lessening the dangers of mining,
and in preserving human life ; that the Society has held meetings at stated
periods, at which the results of the said experiments and researches have
been considered and discussed, and has published a series of Transactions
filling many volumes, and forming in itself a highly valuable Library of
scientific reference, by which the same have been made known to the
public, and has formed a Library of Scientific Works and Collections of
Models and Apparatus, and that distinguished persons in foreign countries
have availed themselves of the facilities afforded by the Society for com-
municating important scientific and practical discoveries, and thus a useful
interchange of valuable information has been effected; that in particular,
with regard to ventilation, the experiments and researches of the Society,
which have involved much pecuniary outlay and personal labour,
and the details of which are recorded in the successive volumes of
the Society's Transactions, have led to large and important advances
in the practical knowledge of that subject, and that the Society's re-
searches have tended largely to increase the security of life; that the
Members of the Society exceed 800 in number, and include a large pro-
portion of the leading Mining Engineers in the United Kingdom. And
whereas in order to secure the property of the Society, and to extend its
useful operations, and to give it a more permanent establishment among
the Scientific Institutions of our Kingdom, we have been besought to grant
to the said Lindsay Wood, and other the present Members of the Society,
and to those who shall hereafter become Members thereof, our Eoyal
Charter of Incorporation. Now know ye that we, being desirous of
encouraging a design so laudable and salutary of our special grace, cer-
tain knowledge, and mere motion, have willed granted, and declared, and
(xlvii)
Jo by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, will, grant, and
declare, that the said Lindsay Wood, and such others of our loving sub-
jects as are now Members of the said Society, and such others as shall
from time to time hereafter become Members thereof, according to such
Bye-laws as shall be made as hereinafter mentioned, and their successors,
shall for ever hereafter be, by virtue of these presents, one body, politic and
corporate, by the name of "The North of England Institute of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers," and by the name aforesaid shall
have perpetual succession and a Common Seal, with full power and
authority to alter, vary, break, and renew the same at their discretion, and
by the same name to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, answer
and be answered unto, in every Court of us, our heirs and successors, and
be for ever able and capable in the law to purchase, acquire, receive, pos-
sess, hold, and enjoy to them and their successors any goods and chattels
whatsoever, and also be able and capable in the law (notwithstanding the
statutes and mortmain) to purchase, acquire, possess, hold and enjoy to
them and their successors a hall or house, and any such other lands, tene-
ments, or hereditaments whatsoever, as they may deem requisite for the
purposes of the Society, the yearly value of which, including the site
of the said hall or house, shall not exceed in the whole the sum of three
thousand pounds, computing the same respectfully at the rack rent which
might have been had or gotten for the same respectfully at the time of
the purchase or acquisition thereof. And we do hereby grant our
especial licence and authority unto all and every person and persons and
bodies politic and corporate, otherwise competent, to grant, sell, alien,
convey or devise in mortmain unto and to the use of the said Society and
their successors, any lands, tenements, or hereditaments not exceeding
with the lands, tenements or hereditaments so purchased or previ-
ously acquired such annual value as aforesaid, and also any moneys,
stocks, securities, and other personal estate to be laid out and disposed of
in the purchase of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments not exceeding
the like annual value. And we further will, grant, and declare, that the
said Society shall have full power and authority, from time to time, to
sell, grant, demise, exchange and dispose of absolutely, or by way of
mortgage, or otherwise, any of the lands, tenements, hereditaments and
possessions, wherein they have any estate or interest, or which they shatf
acquire as aforesaid, but that no sale, mortgage, or other disposition of any
lands, tenements, or hereditaments of the Society shall be made, except
with the approbation and concurrence of a General Meeting. And our will
and pleasure is, and we further grant and declare that for the better rule
(xlviii)
and government of the Society, and the direction and management of the
concerns thereof, there shall be a Council of the Society, to be appointed
from among the Members thereof, and to include the President and the
Vice-Presidents, and such other office-bearers or past office-bearers as may
be directed by such Bye-laws as hereinafter mentioned, but so that the
Council, including all ex-officio Members thereof, shall consist of not more
than forty or less than twelve Members, and that the Vice-Presidents shall
be not more than six or less than two in number. And we do hereby
further will and declare that the said Lindsay Wood shall be the first
President of the Society, and the persons now being the Vice-Presidents,
and the Treasurer and Secretary, shall be the first Vice-Presidents, and
the first Treasurer and Secretary, and the persons now being the Members
of the Council shall be the first Members of the Council of the Society,
and that they respectfully shall continue such until the first election shall
be made at a General Meeting in pursuance of these presents. And we
do hereby further will and declare that, subject to the powers by
these presents vested in the General Meetings of the Society, the Council
shall have the management of the Society, and of the income and property
thereof, including the appointment of officers and servants, the definition
of their duties, and the removal of any of such officers and servants, and
generally may do all such acts and deeds as they shall deem necessary or
fitting to be done, in order to carry into full operation and effect the
objects and purposes of the Society, but so always that the same be not
inconsistent with, or repugnant to, any of the provisions of this our
Charter, or the Laws of our Realm, or any Bye-law of the Society in force
for the time being. And we do further will and declare that at any
General Meeting of the Society, it shall be lawful for the Society, subject
as hereinafter mentioned, to make such Bye-laws as to them shall seem
necessary or proper for the regulation and good government of the Society,
and of the Members and affairs thereof, and generally for carrying the
objects of the Society into full and complete effect, and particularly (and
without its being intended hereby to prejudice the foregoing generality),
to make Bye-laws for all or any of the purposes hereinafter mentioned,
that is to say: for fixing the number of Vice-Presidents, and the number
of Members of which the Council shall consist, and the manner of electing
the President and Vice-Presidents, and other Members of the Council,
and the period of their continuance in office, and the manner and time
of supplying any vacancy therein; and for regulating the times at which
General Meetings of the Society and Meetings of the Council shall be held,
and for convening the same and regulating the proceedings thereat, and
for regulating the manner of admitting persons to be Members of the
Society, and of removing or expelling Members from the Society, and
for imposing reasonable fines or penalties for non-performance of any
uch Bye-lawrs, or for disobedience thereto, and from time to time to
annul, alter, or change any such Bye-laws so always that all Bye-
laws to be made as aforesaid be not repugnant to these presents, or to
allj of the laws of our Realm. And we do further will and declare
that the present Rules and Regulations of the Society, so far as they
are not inconsistent with these presents, shall continue in force, and
be deemed the Bye-laws of the Society until the same shall be altered
by a General Meeting, provided always that the present Rules and Regu-
lations of the Society and any future Bye-laws of the Society so to be
made as aforesaid shall have no force or effect whatsoever until the same
shall have been approved in writing by our Secretary of State for the
Home Department. In witness whereof we have caused these our
Letters to be made Patent.
Witness Ourself at our Palace, at Westminster, this 28th day of
November, in the fortieth year of our reign.
By Her Majesty's Command.
CARDEW.
f THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OP
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
BYE-LAWS
PASSED AT A GENERAL MEETING ON THE 16th JUNE. 1877.
1. —The members of the North of England Institute of Mining and
Mechanical Engineers shall consist of four classes, viz.:—Original Mem-
bers, Ordinary Members, Associate Members, and Honorary Members,
with a class of Students attached.
2. —Original Members shall be those who were Ordinary Members
on the 1st of August, 1877.
3. —Ordinary Members.—Every candidate for admission into the
class of Ordinary Members, or for transfer into that class, shall come
within the following conditions :—He shall be more than twenty-eight
years of age, have been regularly educated as a Mining or Mechanical
Engineer, or in some other recognised branch of Engineering, according
to the usual routine of pupilage, and have had subsequent employment
for at least five years in some responsible situation as an Engineer, or
if he has not undergone the usual routine of pupilage, he must have
practised on his own account in the profession of an Engineer for at least
five years, and have acquired a considerable degree of eminence in the
same.
4. —Associate Members shall be persons practising as Mining or
Mechanical Engineers, or in some other recognised branch of Engineering,
and other persons connected with or interested in Mining or Engineering.
5. —Honorary Members shall be persons who have distinguished
themselves by their literary or scientific attainments, or who have made
important communications to the Society.
6. —Students shall be persons who are qualifying themselves for the
profession of Mining or Mechanical Engineering, or some other of the
recognised branches of Engineering, and such persons may continue
Students until they attain the age of twenty-three years.
(lii)
7. —The annual subscription of each Original Member, and of each
Ordinary Member who was a Student on the 1st of August, 1877, shall
be £2 2s., of each Ordinary Member (except as last mentioned) £3 3s.,
of each Associate Member £2 2s., and of each Student £1 Is., payable
in advance, and shall be considered due on election, and afterwards on
the first Saturday in August of each year.
8. —Any Member may, at any time, compound for all future subscrip-
tions by a payment of £25, where the annual subscription is £3 3s.,
and by a payment of £20 where the annual subscription is £2 2s. All
persons so compounding shall be Original, Ordinary, or Associate
Members for life, as the case may be ; but any Associate Member for life
who may afterwards desire to become an Ordinary Member for life, may
do so, after being elected in the manner described in Bye-law 13, and on
payment of the further sum of £5.
9. —Owners of Collieries, Engineers, Manufacturers, and Employers
of labour generally, may subscribe annually to the funds of the Institute,
and each such subscriber of £2 2s. annually 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.
10. —In case any Member, who has been long distinguished in his pro-
fessional career, becomes unable, from ill-health, advanced age, or other
sufficient cause, to carry on a lucrative practice, the Council may, on the
report of a Sub-Committee appointed for that purpose, if they find good
reason for the remission of the annual subscription, so remit it. They
may also remit any arrears which are due from a member, or they may
accept from him a collection of books, or drawings, or models, or other
contributions, in lieu of the composition mentioned in Bye-law 8, and
may thereupon constitute him a Life Member, or permit him to resume
his former rank in the Institute.
11. —Persons desirous of becoming Ordinary Members shall be proposed ,
and recommended, according to the Form A in the Appendix, in which
form the name, usual residence, and qualifications of the candidate
shall be distinctly specified. This form must be signed by the proposer
and at least five other Members certifying a personal knowledge of the
candidate. The proposal so made being delivered to the Secretary, shall
be submitted to the Council, who on approving the qualifications shall
determine if the candidate is to be presented for ballot, and if it is so deter-
(liii)
mined, the Chairman of the Council shall sign such approbation. The
same shall be read at the next Ordinary General Meeting, and afterwards
be placed in some conspicuous situation until the following Ordinary
General Meeting, when the candidate shall be balloted for.
12. —Persons desirous of being admitted into the Institute a3 Associate
Members, or Students, shall be proposed by three Members; Honorary
Members shall be proposed by at least five Members, and shall in addition
be recommended by the Council, who shall also have the power of defining
the time during which, and the circumstances under which, they shall be
Honorary Members. The nomination shall be in writing, and signed by
the proposers (according to the Form B in the Appendix), and shall be
submitted to the first Ordinary General Meeting after the date thereof.
The name of the person proposed shall be exhibited in the Society's room
until the next Ordinary General Meeting, when the candidate shall be
balloted for.
13. —Associate Members or Students, desirous of becoming Ordinary
Members, shall be proposed and recommended according to the Form C
in the Appendix, in which form the name, usual residence, and qualifi-
cations of the candidate shall be distinctly specified. This form must
certify a personal knowledge of the candidate, and be signed by the
proposer and at least two other Members, and the proposal shall then
be treated in the manner described in Bye-law 11. Students may become
Associate Members at any time after attaining the age of twenty-three
on payment of an Associate Member's subscription.
14. —The balloting shall be conducted in the following manner:—
Each Member attending the Meeting at which a ballot is to take
place shall be supplied (on demand) with a list of the names of the
persons to be balloted for, according to the Form D in the Appendix,
and shall strike out the names of such candidates as he desires shall
not be elected, and return the list to the scrutineers appointed by the
presiding Chairman for the purpose, and such scrutineers shall examine
the lists so returned, and inform the meeting what elections have been
made. No candidate shall be elected unless he secures the votes of two-
thirds of the Members voting.
15.—Notice of election shall be sent to every person within one week
after his election, according to the Form E in the Appendix, enclosing
at the same time a copy of Form F, which shall be returned by the
person elected, signed, and accompanied with the amount of his annual
subscription, or life composition, within two months from the date of
such election, which otherwise should become void.
(liv)
16. —Every Ordinary Member elected having signed a declaration in
the Form F, and having likewise made the proper payment, shall receive
certificate of his election.
17. —Any person whose subscription is two years in ariear shall be
reported to the Council, who shall direct application to be made for it,
according to the Form G in the Appendix, and in the event of
its continuing one month in arrear after such application, the Council
shall have the power, after remonstrance by letter, according to the
Form H in the Appendix, of declaring that the defaulter has ceased to be
a member.
18. —In case the expulsion of any person shall be judged expedient
by ten or more Members, and they think fit to draw up and sign
a proposal requiring such expulsion, the same being delivered to the
Secretary, shall be by him laid before the Council for consideration. If
the Council, after due inquiry, do not find reason to concur in the pro-
posal, no entry thereof shall be made in any minutes, nor shall any public
discussion thereon be permitted, unless by requisition signed by one-half
the Members of the Institute ; but if the Council do find good reason
for the proposed expulsion, they shall direct the Secretary to address a
letter, according to the Form I in the Appendix, to the person proposed
to be expelled, advising him to withdraw from the Institute. If that
advice be followed, no entry on the minutes nor any public discussion on
the subject shall be permitted ; but if that advice be not followed, nor an
explanation given which is satisfactory to the Council, they shall call a
General Meeting for the purpose of deciding on the question of ex-
pulsion ; and if a majority of the persons present at such Meeting
(provided the number so present be not less than forty) vote that such
person be expelled, the Chairman of that Meeting shall declare the
same accordingly, and the Secretary shall communicate the same to the
person, according to the Form J in the Appendix.
19. —The Officers of the Institute, other than the Treasure! and the
Secretary, shall be elected from the Original, Ordinary and Associate
Members, and shall consist of a President, six Vice-Presidents, and
eighteen Councillors, who, with the Treasurer and the Secretary (if Mem-
bers of the Institute) shall constitute the Council. The President, Vice-
Presidents, and Councillors shall be elected at the Annual Meeting in
August (except in cases 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 Coun-
cillors as may have attended the fewest Council Meetings during the past
(lv)
year; but such Members shall be eligible for re-election after being one
year out of office.
20. —The Treasurer and the Secretary shall be appointed by the
Council, and shall be removable by the Council, subject to appeal to a
General Meeting. One and the same person may hold both these offices.
21. —Each Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member shall be at
liberty to nominate in writing, and send to the Secretary not less than
eight days prior to the Ordinary General Meeting in June, a list, duly
signed, of Members suitable to fill the offices of President, Vice-Presidents,
and Members of Council, for the ensuing year. The Council shall prepare
a list of the persons so nominated, together with the names of the Officers
for the current year eligible for re-election, and of such other Members as
they deem suitable for the various offices. Such list shall comprise the
names of not less than thirty. The list so prepared by the Council shall
be submitted to the General Meeting in June, and shall be the balloting
list for the annual election in August. (See Form K in the Appendix.)
A copy of this list shall be posted at least seven days previous to the
Annual Meeting, to every Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member; who
may erase any name or names from the 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. Papers
which do not accord with these directions shall be rejected by the scruti-
neers. The Votes for any Members who may not be elected President or
Vice-Presidents shall count for them as Members of the Council. The
Chairman shall appoint four scrutineers, who shall receive the balloting
papers, and, after making the necessary scrutiny, destroy the same, and
sign and hand to the Chairman a list of the elected Officers. The balloting
papers may 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 appointment of the scrutineers for the election of Officers.
22. —In case of the decease or resignation of any Officer or Officers,
the Council, if they deem it requisite that the vacancy shall be filled up,
shall present to the next Ordinary General Meeting a list of persons whom
they nominate as suitable for the vacant offices, and a new Officer or
Officers shall be elected at the succeeding Ordinary General Meeting.
23. —The President shall take the chair at all meetings of the
Institute, the Council, and Committees, at which he is present (he
being ex-officio a member of all), and shall regulate and keep order in the
proceedings.
(lvi)
24. —In the absence of the President, it shall be the duty of the
senior Vice-President present to preside at the meetings of the Institute,
to keep order, and to regulate the proceedings. In case of the absence
of the President and of all the Vice-Presidents, the meeting may elect
any Member of Council, or in case of their absence, any Member present,
to take the chair at the meeting.
25. —The Council may appoint Committees for the purpose of transact-
ing any particular business, or of investigating specific subjects connected
with the objects of the Institute. Such Committees shall report to the
Council, who shall act thereon as they see occasion.
26. —The Treasurer and the Secretary shall act under the direction
and control of the Council, by which body their duties shall from time to
time be defined.
27. —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.
28. —The Copyright of all papers communicated to, and accepted for
printing by the Council, and printed within twelve months, shall become
vested in the Institute, and such communications shall not be published
for sale or otherwise, without the written permission of the Council.
29. —An Ordinary General Meeting shall be held on the first Saturday
of every month (except January and July) at two o'clock, unless otherwise
determined by the Council; and the Ordinary 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 General Meeting shall be called
whenever the Council may think fit, and also on a requisition to the
Council, signed by ten or more Members. The business of a Special
Meeting shall be confined to that specified in the notice convening it.
30. —At meetings of the Council, five shall be a quorum. The
minutes of the Council's proceedings shall be at all times open to the
inspection of the Members.
31. —All Past-Presidents shall be ex-offitio Members of the Council so
long as they continue Members of the Institute, and Vice-Presidents who
have not been re-elected or have become ineligible from having held office
for three consecutive years, shall be ex~officio Members of the Council for
the following year.
32. —Every question, not otherwise provided for, which shall come
before any Meeting, shall be decided by the votes of the majority of the
Original, Ordinary, and Associate Members then present.
(lvii)
33._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.
34. —All proofs of reports of discussions, forwarded to Members for
correction, must be returned to the Secretary within seven days from the
elate of their receipt, otherwise they will be considered correct and be
printed off.
35. —The Institute is not, as a body, responsible for the statements
and opinions advanced in the papers which may be read, nor in the dis-
cussions which may take place at the meetings of the Institute.
3C.—Twelve copies of each paper printed by the Institute shall be
presented to the author for private use.
37. —Members elected at any meeting between the Annual Meetings
shall be entitled to all papers issued in that year, so soon as they have
signed and returned Form F, and paid their subscriptions.
38. —The Transactions of the Institute shall not be forwarded to
Members whose subscriptions are more than one year in arrear.
39. —No duplicate copies of any portion of the Transactions shall be
issued to any of the Members unless by written order from the Council.
40. —Invitations shall be forwarded to any person whose presence at
the discussions the Council may think advisable, and strangers so invited
shall be permitted to take part in the proceedings but not to vote. Any
Member of the Institute shall also have power to introduce two strangers
(see Form L) to any General Meeting, but they shall not take part in the
proceedings except by permission of the Meeting.
41. —No alteration shall be made in the Bye-laws of the Institute,
except at the Annual Meeting, or at a Special Meeting for that purpose,
and the particulars of every such alteration shall be announced at a
previous Ordinary 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 the Bye-laws.
Approved,
R. ASSIIETON CROSS.
Whitehall
2nd July, 1877.
(Iviii)
APPENDIX TO THE BYE-LAWS.
[FORM A.]
A. B. [Christian Name, Surname, Occupation, and Address in full],
being upwards of twenty-eight years of age, and desirous of being elected
an Ordinary Member of the North of England Institute of Mining and
Mechanical Engineers, I recommend him from personal knowledge as a
person in every respect worthy of that distinction, because—
[Here specify distinctly the qualifications of the Candidate, according to the spirit
of Bye-law 3.~]
On the above grounds, I beg leave to propose him to the Council as
a proper person to be admitted an Ordinary Member.
Signed_________Member.
Dated this day of 18
We, the undersigned, concur in the above recommendation, being
convinced that A. B. is in every respect a proper person to be admitted
an ordinary Member.
PROM FERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.
---/ Five
> j\[ein|3ergB
[To be filled up by the Council.']
The Council, having considered the above recommendation, present
A. B. to be balloted for as a of the North of England Institute
of Mining and Mechanical Engineers.
SiSned___Chairman.
Dated this day of IS
(lix)
[FORM B.]
A. B. [Christian Name, Surname, Occupation, and Address in full],
hein* desir&us of admission into the North of England Institute of Mining
and Mechanical Engineers, we, the undersigned, propose and recommend
that he shall become [an Honorary Member, or an Associate Member, or
a Student] thereof.
---/ Three*
----------[ Members.
* If an Honorary Member, five signatures are necessary, and the following
Form must be tilled in by the Council.
Dated this day of 18
\_To be filled up by the Council.]
The Council, having considered the above recommendation, present
A. B. to be balloted for as an Honorary Member of the North of England
Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers.
Signed______Chairman.
Dated day of 18
[FORM C]
A. B. [Christian Name, Surname, Occupation, and Address in full],
being at present a of the North of England Institute of Mining
and Mechanical Engineers, and upwards of twenty-eight years of age, and
being desirous of becoming an Ordinary Member of the said Institute, I
recommend him, from personal knowledge, as a person in every respect
worthy of that distinction, because—
[Sere specify distinctly the Qualifications of the Candidate according to the spirit
of Bye-law 3.~\
On the above grounds, I beg leave to propose him to the Council as
a proper person to be admitted an Ordinary Member.
Signed___Member.
Dated this day of 18
We, the undsrsigned, concur in the above recommendation, being
(lx)
convinced that A. B. is in every respect a proper person to be admitted
an Ordinary Member.
FROM PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.
•---) Two
j Members.
[To be filled up by the Council.']
The Council, having considered the above recommendation, present
A. B. to be balloted for as an Ordinary Member of the North of England
Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers.
Signed---Chairman.
Dated day of 18
[FORM D.]
List of the names of persons to be balloted for at the Meeting on
, the day of 18
Ordinary Members:—
Associate Members:—
Honorary Members :—
Students :—
Strike out the names of such persons as you desire should not be
elected, and hand the list to the Chairman.
[FORM E.]
Sir,—I beg leave 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
(lxi)
with your signature, and until your first annual subscription be paid, the
amount of which is £ , or, at your option, the life-composition
of £
If the subscription is not received within two months from the present
date, the election will become void under Bye-law 15.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
Dated 18
[FORM P.]
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 Charter and Bye-laws of the
said Institute for the time being; and that 1 will advance the objects
of the Institute as far as shall be in my power, and will not aid in any
unauthorised publication of the proceedings, and will attend the meetings
thereof as often as I conveniently can; provided that whenever I shall
signify in writing to the Secretary that I am desirous of withdrawing my
name therefrom, I shall (after the payment of any arrears which may be
due by me at that period) cease to be a Member.
Witness my hand this day of 18
[FORM 6.]
Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute
of Mining and Mechanical Engineers to draw your attention to Bye-
law 17, and to remind you that the sum of £ of your annua,
subscriptions to the funds of the Institute remains unpaid, and that you
are in consequence in arrear of subscription. I am also directed to
request that you will cause the same to 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 Article above
referred to.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary
Dated 18
i
(Mi)
[FOKM H.]
$IR?—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
Bye-law 17, the Council have determined that unless payment of the
amount £ is made previous to the day of
next, they will proceed to declare that you have ceased to be a Member of
the Institute.
But, notwithstanding this declaration, you will remain liable for pay-
ment of the arrears due from you.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
Dated 18
[FORM I.]
Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute
of Mining and Mechanical Engineers to inform you that, upon mature
consideration of a proposal which has been laid before them relative to
you, they feel it their duty to advise you to withdraw from the Institute,
or otherwise they will be obliged to act in accordance with Bye-law 18.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
Dated 18
[FORM J.]
Sir,—It is my duty to inform you that, under a resolution passed at a
Special General Meeting of the North of England Institute of Mining
and Mechanical Engineers, held on the day of
18 , according to the provisions of Bye-law 18
you have ceased to be a Member of the Institute.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
Dated 18
[FORM K]
BALLOTING LIST.
Ballot to take place at the Meeting of 18 at Two o'Clodi
President__One Name only to be returned, or the vote will be lost.
_ President for the current year eligible for re-election.
" | New Nominations.
Vice-Peesidents—Six Names only to be returned, or the vote
will be lost.
The Votes for any Members who may not be elected as
President or Vice-Presidents will count for them as other Members
of the Council.
_____I Vice-Presidents for the current year eligible for re-
__-— | election.
~ ^ New Nominations.
Council—Eighteen Names only to be returned, or the vote
will be lost.
- [Members of the Council for the current year eligible for
--re-election.
___a
____? New Nominations.
Extract from Bye-law 21.
. Each Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member shall be at liberty to
nominate in writing, and send to the Secretary not less than eight days prior
to the Ordinary General Meeting in June, a list, duly signed, of Members
suitable to till the Offices of President, Vice-Presidents, and Members of
Council, for the ensuing year. The Council shall prepare a list of the persons
bo nominated, together with the names of the Officers for the current year
eligible for re-election, and of such other Members as they deem suitable for
the various offices. Such list shall comprise the namoi of not less than thirt.\
The list so prepared by the Council shall be submitted to the General Meeting
^ii June, and shall be the balloting list for the annual election in August. (See
tomi K in the Appendix.) A copy of this list shall be posted at least scveu daya
(lxiv)
previous to the Annual Meeting, to every Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member;
who may erase any name or names from the list, and substitute the name or names of
any other person or persons eligible for each respective oflice ; but the number of
persons on the list,after such erasure or substitution, must not exceed the number t<j
be elected to the respective cilices. Papers which do not accord with these directions
shall be rejected by the Scrutineers. The votes for any Members who may not bo
elected President or Vice-Presidents shall count for them as Members of the Council.
The Chairman shall appoint four Scrutineers, who shall receive the balloting papers,
and after making the necessary scrutiny destroy the same, and sign and hand to
the Chairman a list of the elected Officers. The balloting papers may be re-
turned 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 appointment of the
Scrutineers for the election of Officers.
Names substituted for any of the above are to be written in the blank
spaces opposite those they are intended to supersede.
The following Members are ineligible from causes specified in
Bye-law 19
AS president__
As Vice-Peesident__„____
AS COUNCILLORS_____
[POEM L.]
Admit
of
to the Meeting on Saturday, the
(Signature of Member or Student)
The Chair to be taken at Two o'Clock.
I undertake to abide by the Regulations of the North of England Institute
of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, and not to aid in any unauthorised
publication of the Proceedings.
(Signature of Visitor)
Not transferable.
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OF
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14th, 1882, IN THE
WOOD MEMORIAL HALL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
GEO. B. FORSTER, Esq., President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the preceding meeting, and
reported the proceedings of the Council.
A list of persons nominated to fill the vacancy in the Council, caused
by the death of Mr. W. R. Cole, was submitted to the meeting in pur-
suance of Bye-law 22.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously nomi-
nated:—
Associate Membeks—
Mr. Joseph Proud, South Hetton Colliery Offices, Sunderland.
Mr. George Benson Monkhouse, Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. W. R. Dakers, Chilton Colliery, Ferryhill.
Student—
Mr. Collin Cole, Bebside Colliery, Northumberland.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Ordinary Membees—
Mr. Sydney Feeeis Walkee, Electrical Engineer, 195, Severn Road,
Canton, Cardiff.
Mr. Chaelton, Messrs. Hawks, Crawshay, and Co., Gateshead.
Mr. William Johnson, M.E., West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street.
Mr. John E. Cocheane, Hetton-le-Ho\e, Fence Houses,
vol. xxxii.—1882. ^
'2 proceedings.
Associate Members—
Mr. Charles Davison, Cornsay Colliery, near Esh, Durham.
Mr. John Wales Laverick, Middridge Colliery, Shildon, via Darlington.
Mr. Frederick Berkley, M.E.. Murton Colliery, near Sunderland.
Mr. John Liddell, Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Thomas Hugh Bell, Coal Owner, Middlesbrough-on-Tees.
Mr. Henry Greener, South Pontop Colliery, Annfield Plain.
Mr. C. W. C. Henderson, Coal Owner, The Riding, Hexham.
Mr. C. J. Bates, Coal Owner, Heddon Banks, near Wylam.
Mr. Arthur Pease, M.P., Coal Owner, Darlington.
Mr. Robert Watson, North Seaton, Morpeth.
Mr. Geo. J. Scurfield, Hurworth-upon-Tees, Darlington.
Students—
Mr. William Ridley, South Tanfield Colliery, Chester-le-Street.
Mr. James Mill Crawford. Murton Colliery, near Sunderland.
Mr. Charles Tylden-Wright, F.G.S, then read the following
paper on "The Channel Tunnel:"—
the channel tunnel. 3
THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.
By CHARLES TYLDEN-WRIGHT, F.G.S.
This subject, which has excited so much interest from an engineering
as well as a political and commercial point of view, has already been
discussed at the meetings of the British Association and before numerous
scientific societies; but the questions and difficulties connected with it
fall so much more within the province of the mining than of any other
profession, that the discussion which should follow the reading of this
paper will go far to prove whether the scheme is as feasible as its promoters
believe it to be, or as hopeless as it was considered five years since.
Having had special facilities for visiting the experimental works at Dover
and Sangatte, the writer now lays before the Institute some drawings
and notes on the subject.
It may conveniently be divided into five sections:—
1. —General description.
2. —Geological formation through which it will be carried.
3. —Machinery for driving the tunnel.
4. —Temporary and permanent haulage.
5. —Temporary and permanent ventilation.
1.—GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
It is proposed to carry the tunnel, or tunnels, entirely in the grey
chalk, at a depth of not less than 150 feet below the sea bottom.
For a distance of two miles on each side it will descend at a gradient
of 1 in 80, and then rise to the centre of the Channel at a gradient of 1
in 2,000; so that any water that may be cut will run back within two
miles of the shore; and pumping engines, worked by compressed air,
Will either be fixed there, or a water level carried to land and pumps
fixed over it. This arrangement would provide one of the numerous
methods of closing the tunnel at any time without permanently injuring it.
It is an open question whether it is desirable to drive a single
tunnel of, say 24 feet diameter, for two lines of rails, or two tunnels of
14 feet each, but the arguments appear to be in favour of two tunnels,
for the following reasons:—
4 the channel tunnel.
1. —Greater safety; it being impossible for any single accident to
affect both lines.
2. —Eeduced risk of disturbing the strata in the smaller tunnel.
3. —Improved ventilation: the air travelling with, but at a less
velocity than, the trains.
2.—GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.
Among the numerous papers which have been read on the geology of
the district, the most complete seems to be that by Professor Boyd Daw-
kins, before the Manchester Geological Society, and the writer is indebted
to that gentleman and to Mr. Brady, the engineer of the Submarine Railway
Company, for the geological maps and sections accompanying this paper.
Plate I. represents the English coast line, showing the different
strata cut in passing from Folkestone to Dover. The lowest bed is the
gault clay a, an impervious stratum, of which the following is an
analysis:-—
Carbonate of lime ............... 20 %
Oxide of iron ... ... ...... ... ... 15
Alumina ... ... ... ... ... ... 12
Sili«a ... .................. 46
Water ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7
100
This is at least 200 feet thick. Above this is a thin and irregular bed of
chalk marl b, called the Upper Green Sand, the greatest thickness
observed being 15 feet.
Next is the grey chalk c, 225 feet thick, and it is in this bed that it
is proposed to carry the tunnel. It contains: —
Carbonate of lime............... 7000 %
Silica ...... ............ 16-00
Alumina ... ... ... ... ... ... 5-00
Oxide of iron ............... 2*50
Magnesia .................. 2*50
Water .................. 4-00
100-00
The silica especially predominates in the lower beds, which are of a darker
colour than the upper.
On the English side it is dry, except at joints; and, though more
than 2,800 yards have been driven, chiefly below high water mark, no
pumps have been required, and the chalk is strong enough to stand in the
headings 7 feet diameter, entirely without timber.
the channel tunnel. 5
The next bed is the white chalk, without flints, d; this is much
more porous, and about 145 feet thick. Then comes the upper chalk
containing flints, about 480 feet thick. This formation is very heavily
watered, and from it London and the south east of England derive most
of their spring water.
The dip is very slight, about 1 in 70 to the north, so that the strata lie
very favourably for the tunnel to be carried under the Channel on the line
of strike.
There is very little evidence of faults on the English side, the
largest observed being one of 25 feet; but the French section, Plate IV.,
shows the ground to be very much disturbed by them, and the French
engineers have consequently had much heavier feeders of water to con-
tend against, both in their shaft and in their heading.
The works already executed on the English side consist of a shallow
shaft at Abbot's Cliff; 800 yards of heading connected with the shore by
a horizontal gallery above the sea level; No. 2 shaft at the east end of
the Shakespeare tunnel, 163 feet deep, cased with boards; and a heading,
about 2,000' yards long, 7 feet diameter.
Thus about one-tenth of the distance that would be driven in the
same stratum to the centre of the Channel has been completed without
encountering the smallest difficulty—a strong augury of success.
Plate II. is a geological map of the Channel and of the coast on
each side. What is known of the sea bottom of the Channel itself
is derived from the very complete and careful investigations of the French
Commission appointed by 1'Association de Chemin de Fer Sous-marin
entre la France et l'Angleterre.
More than 7,000 soundings were taken, and about 3,250 specimens of
the sea bottom were obtained. The line A B on the map, divided into
miles, shows the proposed line of tunnel, by which it would be carried the
whole distance through the grey chalk, with, in places, a very slight
covering of the upper chalk without flints.
Plate III. is the probable section across the Channel on the line of
the tunnel. The greatest observed depth of water is 210 feet.
Plate IV. is a section along the French coast from Calais to Ste. Pol.
The ground appears to be more faulty than on the English side, and
there is a considerable twist in the dip of the strata, but the continuity
and uniformity in section on the two sides of the Channel are very
remarkable. The grey chalk is 226 feet thick on the English and 223
feet on the French side. It appears very probable therefore that, when
the French heading has been carried into the chalk with the normal dip,
it will be as free of joints and slips as on the English side.
6 the channel tunnel.
The shaft at Sangatte is 18 feet diameter and 226 feet deep. The
heavy feeders of water have been stopped back by wood tubbing of
twenty-four sides, and a direct-acting pumping engine working an
18-inch lift with 9 feet stroke has been erected, but at Easter it was only
making one stroke per minute *
Two tunnels are commenced, each 7 feet diameter and 6 yards apart,
almost in a vertical line, the lower for drainage.
3.—BORING MACHINE.
There can be no doubt but that the success of the experimental
heading, and the sudden change in public opinion in the last year as
regards the feasibility of the enterprise, are due to the use of compressed
air as the motive power, and the employment of a machine so exactly
suited to the material as the boring machine of Colonel Beaumont, R.E.,
and Captain English, R.E.
It consists of a borehead a, having a radius of 3 feet 6 inches, and
carrying seven cutters on each arm. Plate Y. The machine that has
been wrorking on the English side is driven at the rate of 2| revolutions
per minute by a pair of engines, 12-inch cylinders and 10-inch stroke,
running at 125 revolutions per minute.
The whole machine is about 33 feet long, and its action when at work
is as follows:—
The upper bed b, carrying the whole of the machinery, including the
chain of buckets, is moved, by a screw feed, gradually forward on the
lower bed c, which is fixed to and rests on the bottom of the tunnel.
The feed is from t5¥ to f inch per revolution, and the borehead can
work up to four revolutions per minute. When the cut is done, that is,
after the upper bed has slid over the lower, a distance of 4 feet 4 inches,
hydraulic jacks lift the upper bed and machine, carrying with it the
lower bed, which is thus lifted clear of the floor. The advancing gear
is then reversed, and the lower bed made to slide under the upper, after
which the jacks are lowered, and the machine is in position to recommence
operations, the stoppage involved not exceeding five minutes.
Only two men are in attendance on the machine, one at the borehead
to shovel the debris from the bottom of the heading into the buckets d
attached to the endless strap, which deliver it into tubs at the tail of
the machine; the other to drive the machine. Two more men are
required to change the tubs and put on fresh air pipes.
* Since this was written a second and more powerful pumping engine has been
erected, and is now at work.
the channel tunnel. 7
From the above it will be seen that the tunnel, under present con-
ditions, can easily be driven at the rate of 40 yards per day at each end.
Thus a 50-inch cut can be made in 25 minutes (four revolutions per
minute with ^-inch feed); 15 minutes is ample for shifting the bed plate
forward, oiling the machine, and putting in new cutters when required,
the various operations going on simultaneously. This would give an
advance of 4 feet in 40 minutes, 6 feet per hour, or 48 yards in 24 hours.
The engines on the French side, where a newer and more powerful
machine of Colonel Beaumont's is in operation, have 12-inch cylinders
and 18-inch stroke.
As stated above, the trial heading requires no timber, and what little
water has been met with has been stopped back by metal tubbing rings
bolted together; but the permanent tunnel will no doubt require lining,
and most suitable material for making into hydraulic cement is at hand
in the grey chalk, and the flint pebbles on the beach, the two making a
strong and durable concrete.
HAULAGE.
The questions of transporting the debris during construction and the
subsequent working of the tunnel are intimately connected and may be
conveniently treated together; in both cases it may be assumed that the
steam and noxious fumes of the ordinary locomotive are inadmissible.
Where the traffic is almost continuous, as it would be in the cases under
consideration, and every engine consumed about 800 lbs. of coal or coke
in passing through the tunnel, an enormous and perfectly impracticable
ventilation would be required so to dilute the products of combustion as
to make the tunnel bearable. Mr. Morrison, in his paper on " The Ven-
tilation and Working of Tunnels,"* estimates that ventilating machinery
of 4,000 horse-power would be necessary for forty trains per day, while
Mr. D. K. Clark shows by calculation that 15,000 horse-power would be
required for only four trains per day; so that a very moderate estimate
would be engines and fans of 2,000 horse-power at each end.
Traction by endless ropes is quite feasible, as evidenced by what is
done in collieries where 100 tons per hour are frequently drawn along
engine roads from 2,000 to 3,000 yards long.
Assuming the 7 feet headings on each side to advance at the rate of
30 yards per day, the debris from each end would amount to about
232 tons per 24 hours, or 9*6 tons per hour, and in the enlarged 14 feet
tunnel, supposing 18 feet in diameter to be excavated, there wTould be
* Proceedings of_the Institute of Civil Engineers, Vol. XL1V., 1876.
8 the channel tunnel.
about 1,300 tons per 24 hours, or 54 tons per hour, to be removed, in
addition to the material taken in-bye for lining and other purposes.
The endless rope system would, however, here work under very great
disadvantage, as the position of the working face would advance so rapidly,
and necessitate the removal of the puller by-bye about twice a week.
For the permanent working of railways all systems of rope haulage
have invariably given place to the locomotive; indeed, the advantages
of carrying the power with the train in this case, leaving the roadway
clear for lining operations, are so obvious that it is not necessary to
emphasize them.
It would probably be difficult, if not impossible, to work endless or
any system of rope haulage in greater lengths than three miles (i.e. six
miles of rope), so that there would be three stations and shunts during
construction, and six in the permanent tunnel.
It remains then to consider what, if any, improvement upon this the
substitute of compressed air would make.
As now constructed the air locomotive possesses the same power and
will do precisely the same character of work as the steam locomotive.
It can be replenished with air more quickly than a tender with water,
and it can run comparatively long distances with a single charge of air.
Instead of vitiating the air the working of the engine helps to purify
it, and, as will be shown subsequently, a sufficient amount of pure air will,
under ordinary circumstances, be given off to render any other ventilation
unnecessary.
Compressed air locomotives would therefore appear to be at present
the best known and most suitable power for working tunnels of such
length, and a small one, constructed on Colonel Beaumont's system, is
now at Dover ready to remove the debris when work is resumed.
Its leading dimensions are as follows:—
High pressure cylinders ......... 2 inches diameter.
Low „ ... ... ••• 7 >> n
Stroke... ...... ...... ••• 12 » »
Leading and driving wheels......... 24 „ „
Trailing wheels ... ... ... ... 14 „ „
Weight of engine and receiver ...... 153 cwts.
Cubic contents of receiver......... 65 feet.
Gauge of road ............. 22£ inches.
There is nothing new in the use of compressed air for locomotive
purposes, but what is novel is the means by which a comparatively small
volume of air is now made to do practical work.
the channel tunnel. 9
This is brought about by :—
1. —A proper recognition of the part which heat plays in such
machines.
2. —The possibility of now using pressures which the early users of
this power have not attempted.
3. —Taking advantage of the expansion from these high pressures,
thus avoiding the loss involved by reducing valves.
Thus, in the engine here illustrated the air is admitted into the 2-inch
cylinders at a maximum pressure of 1,000 lbs. per square inch; after being
warmed by steam generated by a slow combustion stove under the foot-
plate, it is carried thence into the 7-inch cylinders, these as well as the
2-inch cylinders being steam-jacketed. It is estimated that this engine
will run five miles with a gross load of 8 tons without re-charging the
receiver.
The merits of any system of compressed air locomotion must depend
on the amount of power that can be stored and the proportion of such
stored energy that can be rendered available.
The engines of Messrs. Lishman and Young which have, the writer
believes, been working satisfactorily for some years at Lord Durham's
collieries and elsewhere, work at comparatively low pressures, say 350 lbs.
per square inch; the working gear is of the ordinary locomotive pattern,
and no attempt is made to heat the air. An ordinary stop-cock provides
the means for reducing the air from the receiver pressure to the low
pressure used in the working cylinder.
The Grange Iron Company, the makers of these engines, state that a
receiver of 70 cubic feet capacity would draw a load of 25 tons one mile
without re-charging; but, according to the figures given above of the
engine now at the tunnel, a receiver of this capacity would move 70 tons
one mile. It therefore appears that the Beaumont engine would be very
much more suitable for the haulage of the debris of the Channel Tunnel.
The Mackarski system, now working the tramways at Nantes, in
France, works at about the same pressure as Messrs. Lishman and Young's
engines, but a special ^>rm of reducing valve is used, and the air, after
passing the reducing valve, is warmed by being passed through water
highly heated; it thus becomes mixed with steam, and the engine works
with increased efficiency.
But Colonel Beaumont's appears to be the only system that admits the
air direct into the cylinders at the reservoir pressure of 1,000 lbs. per
square inch, and provides the heat necessary for isothermal expansion by
steam-jacketing; the loss from the use of a reducing valve is avoided, and
vol. xxxii,—1882. B
10 THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.
there is no consumption of steam, the steam being used only as a con-
venient means of conveying heat to the compressed air, after which it is
returned as hot water to the small boiler on the engine.
This system has been successfully employed in New York, on the New
Metropolitan Tramways near London, and in the Victoria Locks; and Mr.
Carr, the Company's engineer, has published the following results :—
Jan. 27th.—Air compressed locomotive made for tramway rail, weight about 7 tons,
working on a straight level line in the Royal Albert Dock, back of No. 35 shed, 100
yards in length, drawing an open truck weighing 5 tons, loaded with 11^ tons of
brick rubbish.
Total weight moved, including engine, 23^ tons; pressure in receiver at starting,
925 lbs.
Air LbsSUre* Minutes. Lbs.
!925 ran 1,000 yards in 9 reduced pressure to 805
805 „ „ 9 „ „ 730
730 „ „ 9 „ „ 660
660 „ „ 13 „ „ 595
595 „ „ 10 „ „ 520
5,000 yards run—loss, 405 lbs., in 50 minutes; 3 miles 73 yards per hour.
AirlLb3SUre' Minutes. Lbs.
520 ran 1,000 yards in 10 reduced pressure to 435
435 „ „ 10 „ „ 360
360 „ „ 10 „ „ 288
288 „ „ 10 „ „ 205
4,000 yards run—loss 315 lbs.
Thus a gross load of 23^ tons was taken a distance of nearly 5| miles with a dim-
inution of 720 lbs. from an initial pressure of 925 lbs. per square inch, in a reservoir
having a capacity of 60 cubic feet. This is equivalent to an expenditure of 42 cubic
feet of air at 1,000 lbs. initial pressure, which represents, for the work above-mentioned,
a duty of say 3 tons, conveyed one mile for each cubic foot of air consumed.
For the permanent traffic of the tunnel the use of compressed air is
even more necessary than for the removal of the debris.
Plate VI. is a drawing of such an engine proposed by Col. Beaumont;
its leading dimensions being :—
Cylinders, high pressure ... ... 6J inches diameter.
low „ ...... 22 „
Stroke............... 36 „
Driving wheels ......... 10 feet „
This would admit of an air receiver 4 feet diameter below the axles,
with a cubic capacity of 350 feet, another above the axles, and two of the
same size on the tender, giving a total capacity of 1,400 cubic feet, which
would be sufficient to carry a train of 150 tons gross a distance of 20
miles at 30 miles per hour.
THE CHANNEL TUNNEL. ].J.
Provision would, however, be made by means of a high-pressure main,
connected with the receivers at intervals of 4 or 5 miles, to take in fresh
charges.
An ordinary locomotive consumes about 35 lbs. per train mile, or 7'5 cwts.
for 24 miles, and the experiments made by Messrs. Greathead and Eykyn in
January last, referred to in the following report of Captain D. Galton, show
that the amount of coal required to haul one ton one mile by compressed
air engines, working at an initial pressure of 1,000 lbs. per square inch, is
0-2928 lbs., or about 9*6 cwts. for 150-ton train running through the tunnel.
Summary of Trials made with the Beaumont Compressed-Air Locomotive
at the North Metropolitan Company's Depot, Stratford, January 24th,
25th, 26th, and 27th, 1882, based on detailed Report of Messrs. Great-
head, C.E., & Eykyn, C.E., referred to in Report of Captain Douglas
Galton, F.R.S., Richard Price Williams, C.E., and William Kirtley,
Locomotive Superintendent, London, Chatham, and Dover Railway.
Air-Compressor.—The boiler of the Air-Compressing Engine was a locomotive
boiler of the ordinary type.
For compressing the air, a compound high-pressure horizontal engine with variable
cut-off was used, having two cylinders of 12 in. and 20 in. diameter and 2 ft. stroke
with cranks set opposite, and working directly four stage pumps of 12 in., 6| in., 4 in.,
and 2£ in., diameter respectively, placed in two tanks of water. Intermediate coils
between the pumps served to cool the air, so that it was barely warm on leaving the
compressor.
The air, cold, after passing through a considerable length of small iron pipes, was
delivered direct into the reservoir of the locomotive.
Locomotives.—Consisted of a pair of engines working on four cranks set in two
opposite pairs, each pair of opposite cranks being at right angles to the other, each high
and low-pressure cylinder being connected to each pair of opposite cranks.
Diameter of the cylinders, high-pressure 2 in., low-pressure 7 in., stroke 18 in.
Variable cut-off, from 0 to full. Driving done by the cut-off.
. The air was heated before entering the cylinders by being passed through steam-
jacketed coils, the steam being supplied from a small boiler on the locomotive.
The air-cylinders were also steam-jacketed. The driving-wheels were 3 ft. in
diameter. The capacity of the reservoir was 96*2 cubic feet.
Note.—The feed-water to boiler was supplied quite cold by a small donkey-engine.
The firing was done by hand, and the state of the fire was carefully observed, so as
to secure at the termination of each trial as nearly as possible the same fire as at the
commencement.
The quantity of coal used for getting up steam was 6 cwt., the boiler full of water
to begin with being too hot for the hand, but with no pressure.
The height of water in the boiler was also noted; on January 24th (trial No. 1) it
was the same at the finish as the start, but on January 25th (trial No. 2) the level was
i in. lower at the finish than at the start.
The steam-pressure was also noted time to time, and at the commencement and
ending of each trial it varied between 9^ lbs. and 100 lbs. per square inch.
The power given by the locomotive was measured by a friction dynameter, the
engine being lifted so that its driving-wheel ran freely.
Counters were fixed both on the locomotive and compressing engine.
3 2 the channel tunnel.
TRIALS.
January 24th and 25th.
To determine the quantity of fuel consumed, indicated horse-power of compressing
engines, and corresponding power given off by the locomotive, the pressure of air in
the locomotive being maintained constant at 1,000 lbs. and 750 lbs. per square inch.
January 26th.
To determine the quantity of effective power stored in the reservoir of the locomotive
as given off on the brake, capacity of reservoir being 96'2 cubic feet, the power
exerted by the engine was practically kept constant throughout the trial.
the channel tunnel. 13
The engines of " The Invicta," now running between Dover and
Calais, indicate 4,000 horse-power while crossing the Channel, and com-
pressing engines of the same power, assuming only 20 per cent, of the
power to be realised in the locomotives, would be sufficient to keep three
trains each way constantly in motion, that is, a train each way every
twenty minutes.
Obviously, if such a result can be obtained, there will be no difficulty
in working the tunnel when made.
The writer does not propose to enter into the general question of cost,
but it will readily be seen that if the rate of progress which has already
been attained at both ends of the tunnel can be maintained, say 60 yards
per day, the trial heading will be completed within two years by a very
limited number of workmen; and that if, as will no doubt be the case,
the permanent tunnel is carried on at the same time, one line might be
open for traffic within three years. The cost, therefore, of the boring will
be exceedingly small for the work to be done, and it has already been
shown that the lining by means of concrete, of which the principal com-
ponent is brought out of the tunnel as debris, must be much below the
ordinary cost of such work.
The haulage, however, has been considered by some engineers a mat-
ter of such difficulty that extraordinary suggestions have been made for
dealing with it. Among others Mr. Crampton* proposes to mix the chalk
as excavated wijj^either four or thirteen times its weight of water, which
is to be conveyed to the face, an ultimate distance of eleven miles, in
pipes; the water and chalk are then to be converted into slime in an
agitator and piped back to the shaft and pumped to the surface.
Even supposing there was no objection to carrying wrater where it is
not wanted, or to lifting four or thirteen times the weight necessary, the
writer would ask what would be the effect of a momentary stoppage of the
flow in pipes charged with slime, running at so flat a gradient as 1 in
2,000, or forced up an ascending gradient of 1 in 80 ? The pipes would
be liable to be choked by solid cores in many places which there
would be the greatest difficulty in finding.
The ordinary form of haulage either by ropes or compressed-air loco-
motives can] no doubt be satisfactorily applied, and will not exceed the
maximum cost of 4d. per ton for underground mechanical haulage, given
in the admirable Report on Underground Haulage of the Tail Rope
Committee appointed by the Institute, published in 1867-8. It will
probably be less, but on that basis, assuming chalk to weigh 150 lbs. per
* Paper read before the Mechanical Engineers at Leeds, 1882.
14 the channel tunnel.
cubic foot, the length of the tunnel to be 22 miles, and the debris to
have an average lead of 5^ miles, the haulage of the refuse from the
7-foot tunnel would cost............... £27,500
and from the permanent tunnel ...... ...... 154,000
Total ...... £181,500
VENTILATION.
If compressed air has to be the motive power both for the boring ma-
chine and haulage engines, and if no horses be employed underground,
the heading being lighted, as hitherto, by incandescent electric light, the
question of ventilation, which has been considered such a difficulty, is
at once solved.
The trial heading has been driven about 2,000 yards. The pistons of
the boring machine when running at 125 revolutions per minute, cutting
off at J stroke, have consumed about 250 cubic feet of air at 30 lbs.,
= 750 cubic feet per minute at the atmospheric pressure. About 20
men were at work, and temperatures have been taken with the following
results:—
The natural temperature of the strata was also taken by a borehole
5 feet deep carefully plugged, and was found to be 52 degrees.
When the haulage engines are running the quantity of air at atmos-
pheric pressure will not be less than 5,000 cubic feet per minute, with an
increase as the number of engines is increased.
If such engines as are here described are used for the permanent traffic,
each in running through the tunnel will exhaust ^Qcub-ffc:* 22 m. x 68^
30 m.
2,493 cubic feet of free air per minute, and this with trains each way
every quarter of an hour would give 9,972 cubic feet per minute, or say
10,000 cubic feet per minute, in each tunnel.
the channel tunnel. 15
It will no doubt be desirable to have fans connected with each tunnel
in case of any stoppage or of any large number of workmen being
employed, and assuming the required quantity to be 50,000 cubic feet
er minute, and the tunnel to be 14 feet in diameter and 24 miles long,
the horse-power necessary will be found by the usual formula.
where p = feet of air column.
Jc s= co-efficient of friction.
v = velocity of current in 1,000 deg. of feet.
a = area of tunnel.
s = rubbing surface in tunnel in feet.
0-03 x 5,575,680 x *105
*= ~w = m-
Weight of air = 114 x '076 = 8*66.
50,000 x 8'66
Horse-power = ^fi0Q- - 18 1.
50 per cent, useful effect = 131 x 2 = 26*2.
The writer has endeavoured to show that Sir Edward Watkin and the
Submarine Company have, with admirable judgment, commenced this
work, perhaps the most important railway work of the time; the
stratum, which combines all the characteristics necessary for success, and
the progress already made on both sides of the Channel point to the
conclusion that it may, by means of the boring machinery which has
been at work for some months, be carried through in an exceedingly short
period and therefore at a low cost.
The writer agrees with Mr. Morrison and the other engineers who,
in discussing his paper, maintained that the use of the ordinary locomo-
tive in such tunnels would be practically impossible; but he believes that
the further development of compressed air, which has been in use for so
many years for underground haulage, will be available for any amount of
traffic, at a cost very slightly in excess of the ordinary locomotive ; at the
same time making the atmosphere of the tunnel purer than that of any
existing tunnel.
16 discussion—the channel tunnel.
The President said, they had all listened with great interest to the
admirable paper read by Mr. Tylden-Wright, and he had great pleasure in
proposing a vote of thanks to him. The question of the formation
of the tunnel was of very great interest to them, both as mechanical
and mining engineers, bringing as it did before them so many great
difficulties for all classes of engineers.
Mr. Wm. Cochrane seconded the motion, which was unanimously
agreed to.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, the first thing which struck him in the
paper was that the tunnel was to be carried at a depth of 150 feet below
the sea bottom, which, he considered, was amply sufficient to resist the
inbreak of water from above, and the strata in which the tunnel was
driven was of such a character as to render the risk from any serious
inundation of wrater very inconsiderable. There might be, however,
what were called "backs," or "openings," which would put an end to
the work; but of course this was a point which could not be decided
without a trial. The next point which seemed to him as being good
was making the underlevel drifts so as to conduct the water which
might leak through to a given point, for it would be decidedly better
having it lifted directly by pumps, than having to draw it through
long pipes leading into the tunnel. The writer of the paper stated
that "on the English side it is dry, except at joints;" and that
was the only point which he (Mr. Steavenson) thought was likely
to cause any serious difficulty. It was stated that the tunnel
would have to be lined. That, he thought, was very probable; and the
worst feature of that was that it would take as long to line as to drive it.
With regard to haulage, it would be quite impossible to use locomotives
of the ordinary type, and the use of compressed air would be absolutely
necessary; and, in this matter, it was not a question of the results of
one system competing against another system. Colonel Beaumont evidently
had this matter all to himself, and no other system would be practicable.
As to bringing out the material from the face, it would be quite prac-
ticable to bring it out by endless rope haulage, which could be done
without any difficulty, and he should say that this mode would probably
be the cheapest. It was mentioned that in some places 100 tons an hour
were drawn by endless ropes. He had, at this moment, an endless rope
bringing 210 tons an hour; and the system was quite as practicable for
2,000 yards as it was for 1,000 yards. The writer stated that the
air, after being warmed by steam, generated by a slow combustion
stove under the foot-plate, is carried thence into the 2-inch cylinders,
these, as well as the 7-inch cylinders, being steam-jacketed. It was not
discussion—the channel tunnel. 17
sufficiently explained where the steam came from, or how the noxious
lements connected with its heating were dealt with. He had not had
time to look into the figures given in the paper; but it did seem to
him strange, at first sight, that only 26'2 horse-power was required to
ventilate a tunnel about twenty miles long; but, taking the figures given
as correct, the result stated seemed realizable. If, on investigation, the
formula be proved to be as given in the paper, there would be no difficulty
in ventilating the tunnel. He did not know whether it was within their
province as mining and mechanical engineers to consider the question
of the destruction of the tunnel; but he thought, if necessary, it could
easily be destroyed by powder, fired either from London, Liverpool, or
France, or any point that might be considered beyond the reach of
treachery.
Sir Edward Watkin, Bart., M.P., said, he had been requested
by those who had been associated with him for some time making
the experiments, in such a way as to show the practicability or other-
wise of making a tunnel under the Channel, to perform a very pleasing
duty, and that was to invite the members of this noble Institution to
take an early opportunity of seeing the work which had been done. If
the Council of the Institute would induce the members to pay a visit to the
tunnel to see the work, he would be very glad indeed to facilitate their
visit by the South Eastern Railway, and to make the journey as pleasant
as he hoped it would be profitable. All they had now to do was to look
at the practical side of the question. He had studied the matter for
about twenty years. He was first induced to give his attention to it
when he was in Paris with the late Mr. Cobden during the discussion
of the Treaty of Commerce; and at that time there were no objections
to the tunnel. Since then people arose who looked upon this
tunnel business as a very wicked thing. He would not speak of the
wickedness, but only of the possibility of the work. The possibility
rested, as all grand things did, within "a simple compass. It was
altogether a question of the stratum through which the works could
be forced. Could they have a stratification almost free from water ? The
theory of the promoters was that they had found in the grey chalk,
a non-wTater bearing stratum, and they simply followed it. The only
difference between those who worked with him and some other engineers
in Great George Street was, that he proposed to follow nature where
it enabled the work to be done, and they proposed to fight nature.
Upon the edge of the saucer of this grey chalk there were certain
little faults; but; so far as the experiment had gone, in the great
flat bottom of the Channel, there was no water at all. They had
vol. xxxii.- 882. ^
1 8 discussion—the channel tunnel.
prosecuted the heading under the sea 2,030 yards, and had never had
to pump. What little water had been found on the edge of the
saucer had been bailed out, and, it was so small that, they might say
it was, practically speaking, dry. If they could make the tunnel
in the dry it was a feasible and practicable work. The machine of
Colonel Beaumont did him infinite credit, and it would be useful for a
great many purposes besides making the Channel tunnel. That machine
enabled them to cut the tunnel cheaply and quickly; it enabled them to
make the work as they made the tunnel. Many people, who had not
studied the question, talked a great deal about the difficulties and
the enormous cost. By many the cost was put down at £40,000,000 ;
some at £8,000,000; and some assumed £4,000,000, but, for various
reasons, doubled that estimate. He would, however, confidently state
that the cost of the tunnel, including the land approaches, would be
£3,000,000 at the outside; and the time for making it would be four
years at the longest. They had got a stratum which was evidently
satisfactory to work in; they had got machines; and they had now
gained experience which led them to believe that the figures given
were correct. A distinguished north countryman, and a member of
this Institute, Sir George Elliot, had inspected the tunnel works.
Another distinguished man, Sir Hussey Vivian, who, like Sir George
Elliot, had been connected with mining all his life, saw the works with
Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone. Sir Hussey told him, as Sir George Elliot
had also, that he had seen mining all his life, and never had seen
such a material to work in as that which they were now piercing under
the sea. This work was, with him, not a labour of profit, but a labour
of love; and, whatever anyone might say about the wickedness of the
work, it would not deter him from trying to carry it out
The President said, he felt quite sure that the Council of the Insti-
tute would be very happy, on behalf of the members, to accept Sir Edward
Watkin's invitation, and the Secretary would arrange for carrying out
the visit.
Mr. Wm. Cochrane said, he would like to know whether the writer
of the paper had contemplated the occurrence of any gas—sty the or
explosive gas, probably the former. If the stratum be as described, and if
found to be so fortunately free from faults and leaders, as Sir Edward
Watkin and the writer of the paper were so sanguine as to expect, the
making of the tunnel was practically a success, he did not see how anyone
could dispute that; but they would be fortunate if they found, in a distance
of about twenty miles, that the course was uninterrupted by any such
difficulties. The great merit of the promoters was that they had been
discussion—the channel tunnel. 1<j
able to discover the grey chalk strata to be of the nature described.
When he was making a tunnel in the chalk beds under the sea at
Copenhagen, operations went on for a considerable time, until, owing to
fissures yielding heavy feeders of water, the work had to be abandoned;
subsequently, costly pumping arrangements were made, and the tunnel
was completed. He hoped such difficulties would not be met with in the
Channel tunnel.
Sir Edward Watkin said, that geologists knew that in olden times
England and France were connected together, and the bottom of the
Channel had been ground out by the passage of icebergs from the North
Sea. The grey chalk was impervious to water, because it was a mixture
of 65 per cent, of chalk, and 35 per cent, of clay, and it was entirely
puddle-hardened. That was the secret of the whole thing.
Colonel Beaumont said, that after the very exhaustive details given
by Mr. Tylden-Wright in his excellent paper, he did not intend to trouble
the meeting with any very elaborate discussion of the mechanical aspect
of this great question. He was happy to think that the subject was
now in a very widely different position to what it was three or four
years ago, when he first became connected with it. At that time people
laughed at the idea of making the Channel tunnel, and they treated it
as they did the flying-machine, as a chimerical proposal. All that had
been met by the magician's wand, waved by Sir Edward Watkin; and
now they heard no more of the impracticability or impossibility of the
work, but they did hear people say that the tunnel was not a thing which
the country required, and here he would simply remark that the tunnel
when it was made, especially so far as the land approach was concerned,
might be destroyed with perfect facility; that was to say, it did not
depend upon the will of two or three people, or upon three or four
different arrangements that might have to be made, but it was absolutely
and certainly within the power of those who had control of the operations
to destroy the tunnel when it had been made by a choice of many alter-
native means. To turn to the mechanical points that had been raised,
Mr. Tylden-Wright had referred to the air locomotive with which his
(Colonel Beaumont's) name had been connected; and a question had been
asked how the heat necessary for jacketing was supplied? It was supplied
by a small slow-combustion boiler, not much larger than a man's hat, and
the amount of heat required was comparatively small. There was no doubt
there would be an objection to the consumption of a large quantity of coal,
but that objection ceased when the quantity of coal or coke was reduced
to the extremely small amount which was required to supply the steam
necessary for the steam-jacketing outside the cylinders. Another question,
20 discussion—the channel tunnel.
asked by Mr. Cochrane, was as to the possibility of the stratum continuing
as it had been described, viz., one of grey chalk entirely unbroken.
He quite agreed that it was extremely improbable that such a continuous
stratum should exist so far as the evidence of what had already been exe-
cuted elsewhere was concerned; but he would ask them to bear in mind
that twenty or thirty miles of tunnel driving in chalk had never yet
been effected. In evidence of the probability of this stratum remaining
continuous, he might state that soundings had been taken across the bed
of the channel, 5,000 or 6,000 in number, and these soundings showed
that it was continuous and without a break. They would no doubt sny
that, though the surface of the stratum might be continuous, there might be
some breaks in it, and that the breaks would let in the water. In the case
of hard rock, such as sandstone, this would be the case, but he thought that
would not be found to be so in a substance so elastic as the chalk measures
seemed to be. In the 3,000 yards already driven they found "backs,"
clearly defined; that is the strata were raised on one side, and lowered on the
other, and yet they allowed next to no water to pass through. In further
confirmation of this, he might mention what seemed to be satisfactory
evidence of the probable success of the undertaking. On the French
side, lately, his machine had cut, from the lower measure of the grey
chalk, through the upper green sand, into the gault, and, notwithstand-
ing that, there had been no water. Consequently it appeared to him they
had perforated every sort of strata likely to be met with, and yet the
quantity of water met with had been insignificant. While the heading-
had been driven with explosives on the French side, the discharge was
one-fifth of a gallon for each metre of gallery that was opened. They
found, as a fact, as the mechanical boring continued, even when the
machine passed through the grey chalk into the gault, that the water
diminished, and became all but insignificant. As to the tunnel-
driving machine with which his and Captain English's names were
associated, and the using of it for driving in other rocks, he thought
the Channel tunnel and the whole of the works in connection with it would
be finished in three or four years, and the headings might be made to
connect in two years from the present time; and, so far as his machine
was concerned, there would be an end of it; but he thought there was a
bigger future before it. The machine had been tried in the hard sandstone
rock of the Woodhead tunnel, which passed through the back-bone of
England, between Sheffield and Manchester; and the character of the
grit rock, from the summit of that ridge of hills, was exceedingly
difficult to drive. It was not so much the hard character of the rock, as
its gritty nature which destroyed the tools. The machine had been tried
discussion—the channel tunnel. 21
there, and the result had been to show that all the rocks of the sandstone
measure and rocks up to that degree of hardness could be perforated
without explosives; and by the use of dead pressure alone applied to the
cutters, passed through at the rate of one foot per hour. He ventured to
say that, supposing the Channel tunnel were to be stopped altogether, this
one result, which certainly had been the outcome of the experiments, would
show that the machine made for the Channel tunnel would have a very im-
portant future. The action of the machine was, that a very heavy pres-
sure was put upon the tools, and portions of the rocks were punched or
forced off, rather than disintegrated by means of abrasions. The import-
ance of such a machine, which could be used in driving in fiery mines,
could not be over-estimated, but, before it could be generally employed, it
would be necessary that more experience should be obtained.
Mr. Warington Smyth said, Mr. Wright's paper opened out so
many questions that it was with some difficulty he rose to make a few
observations upon one or two points. He owed it to the courtesy of Sir
Edward Watkin that he had been enabled to examine the works of the
Channel tunnel. He believed they were quite aware of how much had
been done by the individual energy of character and perseverance
of Sir Edward. The first thing which struck him was as to the
strata through which the tunnel had been so far carried, and he must
say, writh some experience of drifts carried through different classes
of rock, some under land and some under the sea, it never fell to his lot
to see a more remarkable driving of 2,000 yards in extent with scarcely
sufficient water to wet the finger. Standing in the trial tunnel was very
much like standing in the tube of a gigantic telescope. That was due in
part to the character of the strata and in part to the excellence of the
work performed by Colonel Beaumont's machine. He need scarcely, he
thought, do more than endorse Colonel Beaumont's observations. In cross-
ing for a distance of upwards of twenty miles, it is quite certain that a suc-
cession of faults and troubles of various kinds would be met with; but from
what had been seen already, he was confident that, although they might
be numerous, and although they might be accompanied in many cases
with a throw of the strata, generally to a small extent, still the character
of the rock was such, partly from the mobility of the particles and density
of the mass, and also its water-resisting character, that one naturally
expected that these troubles would be packed so closely together as to
resist, to a very great extent, the entry of water into any work carried
out under the sea. He was sure the President, from the experience
he had had in working coal under the sea, where much harder strata were
found, would bear him out that if this were intersected by rock which
22 discussion—the channel tunnel.
stood open, a soft material would fall in and have a tendency to press
together and so prevent any danger of inundation. If any further
illustration were wanting to show the impracticability, he would say the
impossibility, of the ordinary railway locomotive being used for traction
purposes in the tunnel, he might give one in the shape of a little excursion
which he made last week in the Laxey Mine, in the Isle of Man. He
rode for a distance of a mile in a drift which was between three and four
feet wide and seven feet high on the average, and every time fresh coal
was put on, the cloud of mixed steam, reek, and smoke in which they
were enveloped was such as to show that an ordinary locomotive was
intolerable for one mile, and for a greater distance no one could dream
of using it. Hence they had no alternative but to use in the tunnel
compressed air locomotives, which had been brought forward by Colonel
Beaumont. He would not attempt to go into some of the subjects which
invited attention, but he might say that what had been stated by Colonel
Beaumont was, he was sure, of the very greatest interest to mining men,
namely, that this machine had been found capable not merely of carving
its way in the soft material through which the Channel tunnel so far had
passed, but also through harder rocks. If Colonel Beaumont could suc-
cessfully get through the millstone grit of the Woodhead tunnel he had
succeeded in what nobody else had done, and the machine would be of
the greatest value in driving through stone drifts in fiery mines without
the use of explosives.
Mr. E. F. Boyd said, that in his experience of geological questions
it had always appeared to him that the extent of the "faults" to be met
with diminished in the upper strata as compared with the lower ones;
and if that were the case they would expect the quantity of water to be
met with less likely to interfere with the work in the chalk formation
than in the lower strata.
Mr. Tylden-Wright said, he thought the only question which Colonel
Beaumont had left for him to answer was as to gas. The tunnel had,
he thought, taken nine months to drive, and he was informed that no gas
of any sort had been met with in it; but even if there had been any gas,
he was sure Mr. Cochrane would supply both lamps and ventilators that
would very soon render any danger from gas of no account at all. He
had been in the tunnel with fifty people, when the engine was standing and
comparatively no air coming from it, and, notwithstanding, the air wTas
sweet, nobody had a headache, and the people were more comfortable
than in any railway tunnel at present in existence. He was much
obliged to them for the way in which his paper had been received.
Idiscussion—THE channel tunnel. 23
The President said that, in accordance with the custom of the
titute the discussion of the paper would be adjourned until further
ice He moved a cor<^al vote °f thanks to Sir Edward Watkin, Mr.
rin°"ton Smyth, and Colonel Beaumont, for their kindness in attend-
ee meeting to tell the members about a matter which so much
crested them. He had been connected with mining under the sea for
Lumber of years, in places where the distances were reckoned by miles,
ier than by hundreds of yards ; and, having seen workings carried out
h success in the face of great difficulties, from both water and gas,
saw no engineering reason why the Channel tunnel should not be
secuted, if the data given in the paper held good, and he was sure
t the admirable arrangement of the air machines must very greatly
duce to that end. They were doubly indebted to Colonel Beaumont
bringing before them the use of compressed air in mines, which was
reasing every year. If the machine could be made to take the place
land labour they would save an immense cost in time, and it would
i enable them to work safely in places where there was fear of
ammable gas.
Mr. T. J. Bewick seconded the vote of thanks. He said Colonel
Lumont's machine had been tried at the Woodhead tunnel, in, he might
, almost the hardest sandstone rock, harder, he thought, than any in
'thumberland. He regretted that he (Mr. Bewick) had not brought
Le of the specimens which he had the opportunity of taking last week,
m he saw the machine at work. It was quite certain that the machine
capable of going through very much harder strata than that which
it had to contend with in the Channel tunnel, and which seemed in fact
to be child's play in comparison with the hard rocks occurring at many
other places. If Colonel Beaumont wTould perfect his machine, as he
(Mr. Bewick) believed he could, to drive tunnels such as that at Wood-
head, he certainly would overcome difficulties of no ordinary character
m the formation of tunnels, and it would lead to a complete revolution
m driving stone drifts in fiery mines, which, at the present time, could
not be done without the use of explosives. He had not had the
pleasure of seeing the Channel tunnel, but he hoped to be one of the
members of the Institute who would accept Sir Edward Watkin's kind
invitation to visit the works at Dover.
The motion was agreed to.
Sir Edward Watkin thanked the meeting for the courtesy with
which they had received him and listened to his explanation.
24 discussion—new ventilating fan.
The discussion of Mr. T. J. Bowlker's paper, Description of a New
Ventilating Fan, next took place.
Mr. Bowlker said that some members had remarked at the last
meeting that the fan was of the open circumference type; this was not
so, the fan was not at all of the open circumference type, but entirely of
the close type. The Guibal fan was a closed fan, and formerly it was the
the great boast that, being closed in all ways, a much higher water-
gauge could be obtained, and that its efficiency was greater than
that of the open-running fans. It was argued, and argued rightly,
that the Guibal fan, on account of the diminution of pressure which was
found in the case ought to give a greater useful effect than other fans.
In practice, however, it had been found that those other fans gave a per-
centage of useful effect differing hardly, if at all, from that given by the
Guibal. The reason of that was no doubt due to the air friction inside
the Guibal fan. The fan which had just been brought out did away with
that air friction to a very great extent, and therefore it had not that
source of loss which was inherent to the Guibal fan, while at the same
time it had got a superior water-gauge.
Mr. Wm. Cochrane said he had previously in the discussion of the
paper pointed out what he considered some of the objections to the system
proposed, and what he had to say now was only confirmatory of those
comments. It was much to be regretted that the Bowlker 8£ feet fan
was not tested with an evasee chimney of the perfect Guibal type, pro-
perly adjusted, for, in his opinion, no other comparison was satisfactory.
Mr. Bowlker omits all considerations of the difference of conditions of
the Rockingham and Byron Collieries ventilation, in which may be
involved the ten to fifteen per cent, of different useful effect, supposing
V2 1392
it is a fact, — being relatively in one case -—2 and in the other
fl \'6b
19*7372
for the importance of which he referred the members to previous
Transactions, and, for a practical illustration, he need not go beyond the
record of the Rockingham ventilator itself, where, as would be seen on
page 94, Vol. XXXI., with more favourable conditions of the mine,
1G5,400 cubic feet passed through the fan at 1*90 water-gauge, at 33
revolutions or 5,000 cubic feet per revolution, and in the experiments
for comparison with the Bowlker, tabulated on page 98, at thirty revolu-
tions, only 117,810 cubic feet were passed through, or 3,927 per revolu-
tion. It must be evident that these conditions fail to give the best
result of the forty-five feet Guibal fan, although they may record the
best results under the circumstances of Rockingham ventilation.
discussion—new ventilating fan. 25
It is noticeable also that the Guibal fan improves in useful effect from
I 37*4 Per cent* to 574 Per Cent* aS ^e sPeec^ *s increased fr°m 20 to 60.
-flThy were not higher speeds tested? He should expect a correspondingly
increased useful effect; whereas the Bowlker was nearly steady at such
speeds as 150 to 225, which was, he presumed, nearly its effective maximum.
For a fairer comparison, slower speeds of the Bowlker should have been
tested, certainly the same speeds of periphery in each case, which would
have been about 100 revolutions as the equivalent of the twenty revolu-
tions of the Guibal.
Taking, however, the useful effect of about 63 per cent., he inferred that
the Byron conditions of ventilation are very favourable, and he felt sure
the properly adjusted Guibal fan would, in this case, have attained such
results as have been yielded with 36,40, and 45 feet diameter Guibal fans
at some of the mines in this country, viz., 70 per cent., when volumes
of 5,000 to 6,000 cubic feet per revolution of the fan have been passed
through it.
The Guibal system was theoretically capable of a much higher useful
effect than is obtained in practice, but under ordinarily favourable
conditions at least 60 per cent, should be obtained. It must not be for-
gotten that the type of engine and the finish of the machinery may
vary the result at different collieries, and especially where such a
contrast is made as a fan feet diameter dealing with 20,000 cubic
feet, and a 45 feet which is proportioned to deal with 250,000 cubic feet.
Hence he failed to see that there was anything in the paper which proved
any better result from three evasdes than one, because one had not been
tried under the same conditions as the three; and as to the theoretical
investigation he considered the original basis of the Guibal system, which,
as the writer admitted, had led to the construction of a fan superior to all
other fans, was directly challenged. The whole question of re-entries of
air in centrifugal fans discharging all round into the open air had already
been fully discussed in the Proceedings, and practical results are recorded
showing how serious is the depreciation of useful effect due to this cause.
When the Guibal casing was designed it was inevitable that the
circumferential friction (if he might so define it) should be added to that of
the sides, but it was the substitution of a smaller evil for the larger one.
Another objection he had to make to the proposed three evasee outlets
was the costly construction, which would far outweigh any such improved
useful effect, even if it were established, which he thought had not been
the case, and generally he thought it preferable to have a large diameter
of fan, with a slow speed of engine, to attain a given water-gauge, rather
vol. xxxii.-1882.
2(> discussion—new ventilating fan.
than a small diameter of fan, with an engine running at high speed,
where large volumes of air are involved. If an extensive ventilation were
in question it would deter anybody from incurring the extra outlay. The
value of the adjustment by the sliding shutter had been fully proved in
the case of the Guibal system, as well as that of the evasee chimney, and
each addition to the open-running fan, by testing one and the same fan
in course of construction, and, in his opinion, any departure from the per-
fected Guibal would only lead to deterioration of useful effect.
Before leaving the subject he desired to acknowledge the careful nature
of the investigation, and the ability of the mathematical examination of
the element of friction, but the writer of the paper had only been able to
arrive at his formula and coefficients by some hypothesis, as did probably
Mons. Peclet, a very careful experimenter and an able mathematician.
Yet the writer condemns Mon. Peclet's coefficient of '0211 as utterly
erroneous and useless. He (Mr. Cochrane) was therefore led to express
the greater confidence in asking the members to suspend their judgment
until they had the thoroughly practical result of the same fan tested
under the same conditions of mine with the Guibal and the Bowlker
system.
Mr. John Daglish said, that since the last paper was read they,
through the kindness of Mr. Bowlker, had had the fan tested by
Mr. Lindsay, and in the same way as he and Mr. Liveing had tested other
fans for the Committee, and the following was the result of the
experiments:—
Experiments with Bowlker's Fan.
Byron Colliery, Kaltwhistle, October 7th, 1882.
The experiments were made at varying speeds of fan, viz.:—
Experiment A ............ 100 revolutions.
Do. B ............ 150 do.
Do. C ............ 200 do.
The air was measured in the fan drift by moving the anemometer carefully over
the whole area for three minutes, this was twice repeated with one minute interval, and
the mean velocity ascertained from these.
The water-gauge was read on the fan drift doors, there was no appreciable difference
between it and the water-gauge on the fan inlet.
During each experiment the speed of the engine did not vary more than one
revolution per minute.
AU the diagrams were taken from the right-hand cylinder, and several were after-
wards taken from the left-hand cylinder at a similar speed and water-gauge.
C. S. Lindsay.
discussion —new ventilating fan.
experiment a:z100jie^^ _
He hoped, in an important matter like this, that the Institute would
allow the discussion to be again adjourned, so that they might
afterwards be able to consider the extremely interesting remarks made by
Mr. Cochrane, and also have before them the results of the experiments
28 discussion—new ventilating fan.
made by Mr. Lindsay to contrast with those Mr. Bowlker had made.
The result of the experiments given by Mr. Lindsay did not quite reach the
figures given by Mr. Bowlker, but they certainly did represent a high useful
effect, he thought, at least, equal to those of any other fan tested, namely,
at 150 revolutions of the fan, 57*8 useful effect, and 200 revolutions,
56*6, useful effect. The whole question of fan ventilation was somewhat
mysterious. They had one fan doing excellent work in one position,
and the same fan giving very different results elsewhere. Possibly, they
would never get to the bottom of this until Mr. Cochrane's suggestion
was carried out, that the different fans should be tested under exactly
the same conditions, and all upon the same pit. All they really wanted
was the air in the pit, they did not want it on paper. Many of
them could not follow those very intricate calculations; and really, the
only practical way of testing a fan was by ascertaining exactly what
quantity of air was obtained from it. Mr. Cochrane had spoken of
the effect of the shutter. No doubt, as a matter of calculation, and under
certain circumstances, where great care had been observed, the shutter
had been found to have a beneficial effect; but he was bound to say that,
in general practice, they did not find any great benefit from the shutter, and
they were not always altering their shutters up and down. In nearly
every case the shutter was a fixture, and he could not say that, practically,
they obtained that benefit from the shutter that it was hoped they would
have done from the theoretical calculations placed before them.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said that, with respect to the results in the
experiments which had been given by Mr. Bowlker, he believed if they
went to the bottom of the shaft there would be a difference of about 50
per cent, in the water-gauge. Frenchmen were more versed in mathe-
matical theories than were Englishmen, and they had studied this
matter, and put it upon a very simple basis. He read the following
extract from a paper by Mons. Murgue:—
In theory a depressional ventilator should maintain a constant depression equal to
that which it attains when working in a confined space; in reality it is always less, a
great part of it being absorbed in the friction and loss of vis viva in the air passing
through the machine itself. The theory of the equivalent orifice of the mine has
already been explained (see Proceedings of Mining Institute. Vol. XXXI., page 24),
and a similar theory may be applied to the fan itself. The mine and fan may then be
represented by two orifices, a and o ;—
discussion—new ventilating fan. 20
the volume, depression, and orifices are represented by the formula of air flowing
through a thin diaphragm :-
V = 065 a s/ 2 g h
V - 0-65 o s/ 2 g h0
he connection between the depression and volume with the equivalent orifice cannot
b easily put in language, but may be rendered by diagram. The theoretical depres-
• n which a Guibal alone is calculated to give, can never be attained, and the initial
depression may then be represented by —y and the actual depression varies according
to the following expression :—
^ _ ku2 V2
g "0652 o2 2g
From which formula he deduces the value of o, which is a most important
feature in estimating the value of any fan.
This same idea of the loss of pressure, and consequently of volume,
was treated by a writer in the Colliery Guardian of August 25th, who
spoke of the experiments of the Mining Institute, and showed that fans by
the same maker had given various results, and the experiments, therefore,
were useless; but the fact that they gave different results showed, he (Mr.
Steavenson) thought, that the experiments were quite right, because the
conditions under which they worked necessarily varied. The writer in
the Guardian said:—" A good deal has been said and written lately that
the present system of calculating the useful effect of fans is misleading,
and probably that explains the otherwise mysterious fact that each fan
introduced has been proved to have the highest useful effect elsewhere.
The report of the North of England Committee, for instance, in its
tabulated results, shows some' striking differences between fans con-
structed on the same principle. The Guibal fan shows 40 per cent,
useful effect, and another Guibal fan nearly 53 per cent. One Schiele fan
shows M) per cent, useful effect, and another Schiele fan 49 per cent.
Any conclusions drawn from contradictory results such as these must, to
some extent, be inaccurate." That showed that the writer did not under-
stand what he was writing about.
Mr. D. P. Morison asked if, before entering into the very intricate
subject of comparative friction in different systems of centrifugal fans,
be might be allowed to make a personal explanation, so far as Mr.
Bowlker's remarks affected him; had these remarks not been published
m the Transactions he should have merely treated them as good-
natured banter to which any equally jocose reply might have been
fitting, but as they had gone out to the mining world, invested with
30 discussion—new ventilating fan.
the authority conferred by the publications of the Institute, he felt
compelled to reply to them, in order that his reply might have the
same privilege. Any Board of Examination, Mr. Bowlker said, would
cashier a candidate who would affirm that the friction due to a Guibal
casing was nil (or zero), and that he (Mr. Morison) expected the Guibal
fan to subvert the laws of nature. In the first place he would assure
Mr. Bowlker that he had every reason to believe that no Board of
Examination, on which sat any members cognisant with the principles
of the Guibal fan, would disqualify a candidate for stating what was
correct; and that he in the second place only expected the Guibal, or
any other machine, Mr. Bowlker's included, to carry out the ordinary,
though not simple, laws of nature. Leaving this purely personal matter
he now proceeded to explain the remarks which called forth Mr. Bowlker's
adverse criticism of his qualification for a certificate of competency.
In the first place he stated, more briefly and less clearly than he
should have liked, that no friction whatever was due to the Guibal casing
as a casing, and this he hoped subsequently to prove. In fact he held
that the form of casing, adopted after years of study and practice by M.
Guibal, was the only means of not only obviating friction, but of restoring
the greater portion of the tangential velocity of the air, which (unlike
the radial velocity) was entirely forfeited by every other centrifugal fan,
even by that of Mr. Bowlker's own invention.
That there was friction in the passage of the air from the inlet at the
centre to the outlet no one would deny, but M. Guibal claims, and the
speaker believes justly, to utilise even this friction by his mode of discharge.
Thus at d, Plate VII., which is the first point beyond the discharge
where depression is exerted, the water-gauge is only 5 millimetres. This
gradually increases up to a, where it exceeds 20 millimetres, still further
increasing at b to over 30 millimetres, and reaching its highest tangential
energy beyond b at the commencement of the evasee circle.
This diagram was copied from one drawn up by the Government
officials of Belgium, some twelve years since, from water-gauges placed in
the casing at the points indicated, and not made purposely to vindicate
any theory, and it would be seen that the figures which are in milli-
metres show a steadily advancing depression (or the reverse of friction)
from the back of the chimney outlet to the channel by which the air
alone escaped ; and that consequently the casing actually conduced to
render the air, should any particles by any chance be foolish enough to
take a gratuitous journey round the periphery, more and more friction-
less, if he might use such a term.
discussion—new ventilating fan. 31
The speaker then showed that the tangential energy was restored by
' ccumulation of depression, which implied want of friction by the
^ and by the form of the outlet or evasee chimney, and then con-
caSins,-l-To return tQ ^Vt Bowlker's proposal, i.e. to derive benefit from a
tmUe of similar outlets. What happens ? If he puts his number 2 evasee at
66 his No 3 at b, he loses the depression due to the casing from a to b, and
n's No 1 at c is reduced to the same or even worse condition. The air
then obtains no potential energy from the tangential force, and becomes,
in fact, treated as if in an open fan.
In other words, if three openings suit Mr. Bowlker why not six or
even one every foot? Then there was friction, not due to the casing
but to the friction of the expelled air upon the surrounding atmosphere,
inasmuch as no tangential energy could be restored.
Before finally quitting the subject of friction due to the casing, he
desired to adduce a practical proof of his assertions, which could be tested by
any member of the Institute who was unconvinced and who could spare the
time and expense, namely, to make an opening at any part of the casing and
find whether more engine power and less air was not the result. The water-
gauge would fall nearly thirty per cent., the volume of air in the ratio of
the square root, and the steam would have to be greatly increased to
keep the same speed of engine with these diminished results.
Having now, he feared, rather appeared to depreciate Mr. Bowlker's
system, he must express his opinion that, although wrong in his ideas of
practical usefulness to be derived from a number of outlets, he had struck
a good chord and one of importance in suggesting a diminution of diameter
and an increase of speed. This subject had of late occupied his (Mr.
Mori son's) attention, and the result of his inquiries had been rather to
alter the mode of driving the fan. His friend, Mr. Cockson, of Wigan, had
further amplified this by altering the section of the blade so as to obviate the
vibration due to the air passing through the outlet; if he succeeded in this he
would remedy a defect which he was rather disposed to believe Mr. Bowlker's
arrangement would tend to aggravate. He desired to say in conclusion
that the two first Guibal fans erected in England in 1865 were at Elswick
and Pelton, and they are still working, having cost comparatively nothing
beyond the engines which, from overwork and old age, have occasionally
gi^en trouble. If the weight on the main bearings could be sensibly
* educed and the twisting strain of the crank and connecting rod done
away with, the Guibal fan itself would always be found to show the
fan ^ improvements in its application. Experiments on a Guibal
an without blades and air took very nearly the same power as with
Wades and no air.
32 discussion—new ventilating fan.
Mr. Bowlker said, Mr. Morison had exhibited a diagram which
was intended to show that the air inside of the Ghiibal fan produced
no friction. He would ask Mr. Morison to say how, with the shutters
lowered down to the lowest point and the small aperture that then remained,
filled in, 54 horse-power was required, whilst with 40 feet and 45 revolu-
tions less than 59 horse-power was required ?
Mr. Morison—That includes the engine itself.
Mr. Bowlker—That includes everything. He supposed Mr. Morison
would not say that was entirely due to the engine friction, when only about
100 horse-power was spentin ventilation and everything else. Let them
suppose that in the fan in question the pressure at the outside showred
760 millimetres, and that the fan was being turned round and discharging
air, and that the vacuum was according to the estimate shown on the
diagram; then at one point of the circumference the pressure would be
723 millimetres. But supposing the shutter was lowered down and the
fan was turned round by itself, the pressure inside the fan would be
increased, and it would be not 760 millimetres, but 20 millimetres more,
it would be 780 at the periphery. The fact that there was a slight
difference in the pressure outside and inside the fan did not show in the
least degree that there was no friction. The friction would be as he had
stated in the paper, as much as 34 horse-power. The water-gauge was
got at the drift doors, and considering that the shaft was short, and that
the fan ventilated several miles of underground workings in a thin seam,
he hardly thought it likely that 50 per cent, of the water-gauge would
be due, as Mr. Steavenson stated, to the depth of the shaft.
Mr. Steavenson—Has it been tried at the bottom of the shaft ?
Mr. Bowlker—It has not been tried close to the bottom of the
shaft.
Mr. Steavenson said, that India-rubber pipes could be lowered
down, and the water-gauge obtained, and it would be found to decrease
rapidly.
The President said he had seen it done with iron pipes.
Mr. Bowlker said, some gentlemen thought the cost of the fan would
be much in excess of others. He would be glad to let them see whether
the cost was greater or less if they were desirous of having fans; and he
thought this fan would not only give the highest percentage of useful
effect, but would also be the cheapest. The experiments by the Institute
experimenter seemed to give from five to ten per cent, better effect than
with other fans; and this meant nearly ten to twenty per cent, saving
in the steam power required, and was from ten to twenty per cent, in the
size of the engine, and in saving of coals, etc.
discussion—new ventilating kan. 33
W Cochrane {-aid, as the experiments recorded by Mr. Daglish
lded only 57 Pcr cent., the ten to fifteen per cent, improvement claimed
^the writer was entirely lost. Mr. Bowlker claimed that the fan was
kfll five to ten per cent, better than the Guibal fan, but the figures now
before the Institute left no such margin.
Mr Bowlker said, that in the Rockingham fan there were special
ondit;ons. The fan made the maximum useful effect that could be got
out of the Guibal fan. The ordinary working useful effect of the Guibal
lan was about 45 per cent.
Mr. MoRrsoN—With the same engine in every case ?
Mr. Bowrlker—Yes.
The President said, it seemed to be the general wish of the meeting
to adjourn the discussion. The comparison of the useful effect of fans
was an important matter. It would be well if the fans could be tried
at the same pit and under the same conditions.
The following papers were taken as read:—
"On the Comparative Efficiency of Non-conducting Coverings for
Boilers and Steam-pipes" (Second Paper), by Mr. W. J. Bird.
"On the Mineral Resources of the Rosedale Abbey District," by Mr.
Charles Parkin.
The meeting then concluded.
won-conducting coverings for boilers and steam-pipes. 35
ON THE COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCY OF NON-CONDUCTING
COVERINGS FOR BOILERS AND STEAM PIPES.
(SECOND PAPER.)
By W. J. BIRD.
I At the February meeting of the Institute the writer submitted a paper
on this subject, and since then his experiments have been further con-
tinued. Some new materials have been tested and the results compared
according to the method previously adopted. Various thicknesses of the
same substances have been tried and thus the economical effect of
increasing the thickness of a covering has been determined; and lastly,
the saving effected has been calculated in the case of boilers as well as
steam pipes, a branch of the subject into which the previous paper did
m not enter.
The former experiments were made on the following materials—
Toope's patent covering, hair felt, Jones's patent British-made silicate
cotton, and Burnett's composition. The new substances since tested
will now be described.
The silicate cotton tested in the late experiments is manufactured
from Cleveland slag, and supplied by Messrs. F. Jones and Co., of Lon-
don. Its present price is £10 10s. per ton, and as one ton is estimated
to cover sou square feet, H inches thick, the cost per square foot may be
taken at B^d. Another variety of silicate cotton since tested is that supplied
by Messrs. I). H. Dade and Co., of Be irmondsey, London, and it has also
been tried in the form of a silicate cotton composition. This material
ls lrnported from the Continent and differs in appearance and non-con-
ducting properties from that made from Cleveland slag. Its cost is
£10 10s. per ton, and as one ton covers 1,067 square feet H inches
tniek, the cost per square foot is about 2id.
36 non-conducting coverings for boilers and steam-pipes.
However good may be the non-conducting qualities of silicate cotton,
it has always suffered from this drawback, that it is of little advantage as
regards durability, unless it is encased in an outer covering of sheet-iron,
wood, strawboard, or canvas, which of course very materially increases
the cost of its application. Consequently it is advisable that it should be
applied in the form of a cement or composition, which shall be self-
adherent to the surface to be covered. The difficulty is to effect this
improvement without destroying the porosity of the cotton and impairing
its non-conducting value. Jones's silicate cotton cement, of which the
test results were given in the former paper, adhered well and was durable,
but its efficiency as a non-conductor was very low. Dade's silicate
cotton composition is a recent patent, which is also self-adherent and
durable and possesses a high non-conducting value. It is a plastic
material whose main constituent is silicate cotton bound together with a
cementing substance. Its price is £7 10s. per ton, and as one ton is esti-
mated to cover 280 square feet 1^ inches thick the cost amounts to
6f d. per square foot.
This composition was tested at the thicknesses of 1 inch, 1^ inch,
and 2 inches. It adheres well to the surface, and possesses a very high
degree of durability owing to its being composed entirely of mineral sub-
stances. It also possesses a certain amount of elasticity which enables it
to remain closely adherent to the surface, notwithstanding the expansion
and contraction caused by repeated heating and cooling. When dry it
forms an extremely light covering, the wreight being only 1| lbs. per square
foot, 1^ inches thick.
A sample of the material manufactured by the Eagle Non-conducting
Cement Company has been tested. This cement adheres very well, sets
quickly, and makes a very hard and compact covering. It contains a
considerable proportion of fibrous material and hair. Its price is £3 10s.
per ton, and as one ton covers 213 square feet, 1^ inches thick, the cost
per square foot may be reckoned at 4d. The observations show7 that it
possesses a moderate non-conducting value.
All the observations were made on the large steam-pipe lOf inches
external diameter, mentioned in the previous paper. They were con-
ducted in the same manner as there described and the heat loss determined
in a similar way, so that it will be unnecessary to again detail the process
of deduction.
The following table shows the temperatures observed, and the conse-
quent heat loss, and percentage of efficiency. Most of the figures quoted
in the former paper are also included in this and the following tables :—
From this table may be observed the increase of efficiency obtained
by increasing the thickness of covering. To double the thickness means
of course making the cost of material a little more than double, while the
non-conducting efficiency is increased only to a small extent. The follow-
ing table compares the efficiencies at different thicknesses as far as the
observations go:—
From the average of these results it appears that if the thickness of
the covering is doubled the non-conducting efficiency is increased only in
the ratio of 1 to 1*10, or 16 per cent. Remembering at the same time that
the cost of covering is more than doubled, any increase of efficiency thus
38 non-conducting: coverings ¥011 boilers and steam-pipes.
obtained is at a disproportionate expense. Hence it may be concluded
that the most essential requisite in a non-conducting covering is that it
should possess a high non-conducting efficiency with a moderate thickness
employed.
For the purpose of further comparison it may be as well to select one
certain thickness of each material, viz., f inch for Toope's patent cover-
ing and hair felt, and 1^ inches for all the other substances tested.
It will now be advisable to state the absolute saving effected by the
use of each covering in the case of steam-pipes and boilers. Firstly,
supposing the range of steam-pipes to be 1,000 feet in length from
the boilers to the engine, a state of things not infrequent in colliery
practice, and the external diameter of the steam-pipe I Of inches as before,
and assuming that the heat loss on the 1,000 feet range to be simply 1,000
times that of one foot length; this assumption would be quite correct for
pipes in a horizontal position, although the loss on a vertical column would
be in a slightly less proportion. As 69,074 heat units per hour are equal
to one nominal horse-power, the heat loss can be stated in these
terms. The cost of each material in coating the 1,000 feet length is also
shown, and thus the cost per horse-power saved is stated. The annual
saving cf fuel is estimated, assuming the engine to be continuously worked,
at a consumption of coal of 2 cwts. per nominal horse-power per 24 hours.
The value of the fuel is taken at 4s. per ton, each nominal horse-
power thus costing £7 6s. per annum.
Comparing boilers with steam-pipes, it is evident that if the thickness
of covering, the temperature of the bare surface, and the temperature of
.0V-CONDUCTING COVERINGS FOR liOILEUS AND STEAM -PIPES. 39
, • • remain the same as in the case of the steam-pipes, then the out-
fche temperature of the covering will also be unaltered. But still, under
he similar conditions the same covering will give a different percentage
Efficiency on a boiler than on a steam-pipe.
° °The loss per square foot per hour from radiation remains the same in
both cases, since the radiation loss depends not at all on the size or shape
of 'i body, but solely on its temperature and that of the surrounding
medium. The loss from contact of air however is different, since it
depends on the shape and size of the heated body. The air contact loss
er square foot diminishes as the diameter of the body increases. Thus
the total heat loss per square foot per hour is less on a boiler than on a
steam-pipe, under equal conditions, and it is also less on a large steam-
pipe than on a small one.
In these calculations the boiler taken is one of 35 nominal horse-
I power of the Lancashire variety, 28 feet long and 7 feet 6 inches
diameter. It is embedded in masonry, only 1 foot inches of the
I vertical diameter remaining exposed. It is the usual practice in boilers
to leave the furnace end uncovered, and consequently the area to which
the covering is limited is in this case 225 square feet. With a covering
| inch thick the cooling surface is 230 square feet, and 235 square feet
where the covering is 1 ^ inches thick.
Having ascertained the heat losses per square foot on the bare and
covered boiler, and multiplied by the extent of cooling surface, the total
t heat loss in both cases is ascertained, from which the percentage of
efficiency is calculated. It will be observed that this efficiency is higher
than it was in the case of the steam-pipes. The remainder of this table
is deduced in the same manner as the previous one, and thus the effect of
the different coverings on a boiler can be compared.
40 non-conducting coverings FOR BOILERS and steam-pipes.
Having now determined the heat losses both for steam-pipes and
boilers, it will be interesting to see how much of the initial nominal horse-
power of the boiler remains when the steam arrives at the engine.
Taking the case of two boilers, each 35 nominal horse-power, of the
same dimensions as before, communicating with the engine by a range
of steam-pipes 1,000 feet long and 101 inches external diameter. The
initial nominal horse-power at the boiler is then 70, and the losses of the
two boilers will be just twice that of a single boiler, which is shown in the
preceding table. In the table the percentage of efficiency of each covering
Jbr both boilers and steam-pipes is placed in the first two columns for
the purpose of ready comparison.
The writer will next proceed to consider the question of durability. It
may be asserted that all the materials examined possess this quality, except
the silicate cottons and hail- felt, which were applied in a loose state and
tied on. An outer covering of sheet-iron, wood, strawboard, or canvas is
necessary to give them durability, and the most effective would be the
sheet-iron, which would also be the most expensive.
The chief deteriorating agencies to which non-conducting coverings
are exposed are heat and damp. Materials containing vegetable fibre and
hair are most liable to damage from heat. Burnett's composition and
the Eagle cement will thus deteriorate and become loose, to some extent,
in course of time. Toope's covering, though largely composed of organic
non-conducting coverings for boilers and steam-pipes. 41
natter is protected by an inside skin of asbestos, which makes it durable
Gainst heat. The silicate cotton composition, being entirely mineral,
resist heat best. _ ^
As against damp, the silicate cotton composition, the Eagle cement,
and Burnett's composition are all very durable. Toope's covering is very
liable fc0 damage from this cause, and requires a waterproof covering to
make it durable in wet situations.
' Having now gone through the main points of inquiry, a summary is
p-iven of their results by comparing the substances in their order of merit
as regards:—
1. —Efficiency.
2. —Saving of fuel.
3. —Absolute cost of material.
4. —Cost relative to horse-power saved.
lt_Efficiency.—The order of merit is: 1, Dade's silicate cotton
composition; 2, Dade's silicate cotton; 3, Toope's covering ;
4, Burnett's composition; 5, Jones' silicate cotton; 6, Eagle
cement; 7, Hair felt.
2. —Saving of fuel.—The coverings have the same order of merit.
3. —Absolute cost of material.—1, Dade's silicate cotton; 2, Hair
felt; 3, Burnett's composition; 4, Eagle cement; 5, Jones'
silicate cotton; 6, Dade's silicate cotton composition; 7,
Toope's covering.
4. —Relative cost.—1, Dade's silicate cotton; 2, Burnett's composi-
tion; 3, Hair felt; 4, Jones' silicate cotton; 5, Eagle cement;
6, Dade's silicate cotton composition; 7, Toope's covering.
In conclusion, the writer would remark that this list of non-conducting
coverings by no means includes all substances in the market. However,
the experiments have been made on various materials in extensive use,
which are, no doubt, as good as any at present before the public.
mineral resources of the rose dale abbey district, 43
1.,~.......-..................—
DISTRICT.
By CHARLES PARKIN.
With the exception of the ironstone, including the famous magnetic
deposit, the Roseda]e Abbey district has received very little attention, but
although the mineral described may be considered of the first importance,
the extensive beds of limestone and freestone, together with the presence
of alum shale, jet, cement stones, road metal (inferior limestone), lead,
clays, coal, and valuable peat beds, render the neighbourhood worthy of
more notice than it has attracted hitherto. The supply of ironstone and
limestone from this quarter into the Cleveland iron and steel trade will,
no doubt, in the future be considerable. It is intended in this paper
to remark on each of the minerals separately.
1.—IRONSTONE.—DESCRIPTION OF PAST OPERATIONS.
The geological formation of the ironstone has been repeatedly described,
and it is therefore unnecessary to say more on this part of the subject,
except to refer those who wish for further details to the papers read before
the members of this Institute by Mr. John Marley in June, 1857,* by
Mr. Joseph Bewick in December, 1857,| by Mr. N. Wood in February,
18594 and by Mr. John Marley again in August, 1870.||
The oolitic rocks of England extend from Redcar, near the mouth of
the Tees, to Filey Bay, on the East Coast, a distance of nearly 50 miles,
and reach westward to Stokesley, Northallerton, Thirsk, and Easing wold,
and form the surface strata of the Rosedale Abbey district.
According to Dugdale's Monasticon, Vol. I., page 507, an inspeximus
dated at York the 26th February, 1328, the 2nd of Edward III., recites
a grant made on the 16th of August, 1209, by Robert de Stuteville, of a
meadow in Rosedale, to the nuns of that place near to his forge. This
eircunistance, and the presence of numerous heaps of slag and remains of
ancient works, having the appearance of hearths where charcoal has been
burnt, afford ample proof that iron was manufactured here early in the
thirteenth century.
In the year 1859, the late Mr. George Leeman and Partners obtained a
lease of the extensive royalty of West Rosedale and Spaunton, containing
about 8,000 acres, for a period of sixty years, Plate VIII. and the portion
coloured green, belonging to Henry Parley, Esq.; and in the same year the
* Vol. V., page 165. + Vol. VI., page 15. % Vol. VII., page 85. || Vol. XIX., page L93.
44 mineral resources of the rosedale abbey district.
North-Eastern Railway Company applied for and obtained an Act of Parlia-
ment empowering them to construct a branch line from Battersby Junction
to the West Rosedale Mines for the transit of the ironstone, which was chiefly
sent to the Ferryhill Iron Works. Five years afterwards, Mr. Leeman
and his Partners became associated with the late Mr. James Morrison of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, under the style of " The Rosedale and Ferryhill
Iron Co.," and having purchased the Rosedale Abbey Estate, they opened
up the ironstone on the east side of the dale, and the Rosedale Branch Rail-
way was extended for the carriage of it, Plate IX. In 1874, the Company
further increased their output by sinking Sherriff's Pit on the west side to
the north of the magnetic workings. In 1879 the mines were stopped
owing to the depression in trade; but in 1880 Sherriff's Pit and West Rose-
dale Mines were bought by the West Rosedale Ironstone Company, Limited,
and a small output of magnetic ironstone is now being vended. Messrs.
Navery and Company opened the Farndale Mines in 1873 (adjoining the
West Rosedale Royalty), from which a considerable quantity of ironstone
has been quarried, but the mines are closed at present.
The following statistics, kindly supplied by Robert Hunt, Esq., F.R.S.,
of the Mining Record Office, show the output of ironstone from the Rose-
dale Mines since their commencement in 1859, up to the end of last year:—-
mineral resources of the rosedale abbey district. 45
This output, with the exception of about 32,000 tons from Sherriff's
pit was nearly all calcined at Rosedale, kilns for that purpose being
erected both at the east and west mines.
PRESENT AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
The magnetic ironstone, so far as present discoveries are concerned,
will soon be all worked out, so, in the absence of new discoveries, the
future working must be from the regular seam or seams. The seam now
worked at the mines in this district is what is termed in Mr. Marley's
paper the top seam of the lias formation, and overlies the magnetic
deposits; the average thickness workable may be taken at 6 feet, although
it varies very much at the different points opened up. The beds dip
south about 1 in 22, and the specific gravity of this ironstone is about
2"35, or equal to 15 cubic feet per ton. As the seam is followed to the
dip it takes off materially both in quality and thickness; this is particularly
illustrated at Sherriff's pit, where, at the drift mouth, the seam is 8 feet
thick, but at the extremity of this drift, about 460 yards in from the out-
crop, it is only 3 feet 8 inches thick, and the percentage of the stone only
29*50 per cent. The gradual falling off will be seen by the figures
below :—
Seam. Iron.
At entrance to drift ............ 8' 0" 35*44
„ 3rd bord to left ............ 33*80
„ 12th „ right ..... ...... ' 32-60
„ pit bottom (42 fms. deep)......... 29*95
„ end of drift............... 3 8 29*50
Average of the five places . ... ... 32*26
The overlying strata is principally sandstone or freestone, through
which the water rapidly passes, causing an excess of moisture in the iron-
stone during wet weather which is somewhat detrimental to the sale of it.
This drawback, however, is much less in the summer months, as the
following assays of train loads sampled as received at the furnaces prove:—
Iron in Dried at
wet state. Moisture. 212° F.
Average of three winter months ... 2953 14*08 34*37
three summer „ ... 33*20 10*42 37*07
Ihe output per man per shift of eight hours is less here than in Cleve-
land, owing, to some extent, no doubt, to the beddy nature of the seam
46 MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT.
which militates against successful blasting. The Cleveland men average
about 55 tons per shift, whilst the Rosedale miner only averages about
3£ tons per shift; consequently, it is obvious that the latter must be paid
an extra tonnage rate in order to make wages equal to the Cleveland men.
The present price is Is. 2d. per ton at Rosedale, with extra yard money
and consideration paid for working the magnetic ironstone deposit. The
cost per ton for timbering runs from 4d. to 6d., and the royalty paid
is 4d. per ton for ironstone under 40 per cent., and 6d. per ton for that
yielding over 40 per cent.
Now comes the all-important question as to what may be safely
assumed the average percentage of the Rosedale ironstone as supplied to
the market, and although the writer has no hesitation in stating that
samples taken in certain districts of any of these mines will yield up to 35
per cent, of iron, yet he is bound to add that in other places the yield
will not exceed 20 or 25 per cent. On Plate X. will be found the
percentage of ten working places in the Rosedale East Mines,
taken at points which embrace the whole area of the workings. The
average of these eight places give a seam of 6 feet 6 inches thick, and
a yield of 29*35 per cent, of iron. The seam has been analysed also midway
between Sherriff's pit and the West Mines on the west side of Rosedale,
and the result arrived at as under may be considered as a fair average of
the district:—
Seam.
Ft. Ins. Iron.
Average of ten working places -East Mines ... 6 6 29'35
five „ Sherriff's Pit ... 5 10 32'25
Midway between West Mines and ... 6 0 24'50
Average of Rosedale district ... ... 6 1 28'70
It must be remembered that if great care is taken, and the operations
confined to certain districts where the stone yields well, it is possible to
supply ironstone of a higher percentage than the average here given, and,
as it is, the Rosedale stone compares fairly with the average of the
Cleveland mines. It may not be out of place to give a few com-
plete analyses of some of the mines in Cleveland, Lincolnshire, and Rose-
dale, showing each element contained in the stone. The writer would
not wish it to be inferred that the following results are an average of each
mine, but the analyses given are from bond fide samples taken from each
place :—
48 MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT.
Midway between West Mines and Sherriff's pit, under the sub-soil, is
about 30 feet of good freestone, followed by about 70 feet of sandstone
beds intermixed with blue shale; under this is the seam of ironstone
locally known as " the top seam of the district," which is separated from
the seam now being worked at the mines by about three feet of soft
blue shale, with coal pipes, and one foot of dogger band. The " top
seam" at this point yields 29 per cent, of iron, but is very siliceous, and
contains many pure blocks of freestone, enveloped in a thin ironstone
shell; it is about eight feet thick here, whilst the seam below is only six
feet thick, and very poor, yielding only 20 per cent. It is also very
sandy, consisting of round blocks of light blue ironstone, very similar
to the Cleveland stone, incrusted in brown sandstone. It is worthy of
notice that where the " top" seam is rich, the bottom one is correspond-
ingly poor, for instance, near Sheriff's pit, the " bottom" or working-
seam yields 32 per cent., whilst the "top" seam yields only 24 per
cent.
The railway carriage to the Cleveland and other furnaces is a heavy
item, the current rates paid being as follows :—
These are high rates when compared with the carriage from the Cleve-
land Mines to the furnaces, but whether it would answer to erect furnaces
at Rosedale is questionable; the ironstone and limestone would be close at
hand, but on the other hand the coal and coke would have to be got from
the Durham district, and there would be the carriage of the pig iron
back to Middlesbro'. A rough estimate of the cost of making one ton
of pig iron at Rosedale, on a production of 800 tons per week, would be
about as follows:—
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT. 49
s. d. s. d.
3£ tons ironstone ... ... ... ... at 3 O 10 6
XI „ coke ............ at 14 0 15 9
f „ limestone............ at 2 0 14
£ „ coal ............ at 5 6 I 4k
Works, repairs, and stores............... 14
Management, etc................... 10
Labour (say) .................. 3 3£
Cost per ton at the ironworks ......... £1 14 7
The railway carriage of a ton of pig iron to Middlesbro' would be
about 3s., and to make 800 tons of pig iron per week would require
2,800 tons of ironstone per week.
In addition to the ironstone seams mentioned, the Cleveland Main
Seam crops out at several places in the dale; at one point a sample was
analysed by Messrs. Stead and Pattinson, of Middlesbro', giving the fol-
lowing result:—
Per Cent. Per Cent.
Iron ............... 25-20 11*00 oxygen.
Silica ...... ......... 30-00
Loss by calcination ......... 2D58 76*70
Iron in calcined state ......... 32*10 87*70
The seam is thin, ranging from 1 to 2 feet thick only, at the various
outcrops visible.
2.—LIMESTONE.
The limestone under observation is that which is worked at Pickering,
Cropton, and district lying south-west of Rosedale. Plate XL, Fig. lj is a
section taken from one of the largest of the Pickering quarries, where the
limestone is wrought and sent to the Grosmont Iron Works, and worked
here, and elsewhere in the district, for agricultural purposes. The working
beds are laid 8 or 9 feet from the surface, about 45 feet thick, divided into
blocks 3 feet, 2 feet 6 inches, and 2 feet in thickness, and in colour light
grey and blue black; under this is 13 feet of hard limestone of poor
quality, locally termed "road metal," and used for repairing roads and
building purposes; below which is 18 inches of cockle-shell post, overlying
17 feet of yellow sandstone. This sandstone bed in other localities is found
to be loose, dry sand. Under this again is 2 feet of very*hard blue flinty
post overlying another bed of grey limestone, the thickness of which is
not visible. Analyses of the beds wrought here give not more than 84
per cent, of carbonate of lime, but at the Deepdale quarries, situated
between Hutton-le-Hole and Appleton Common, it appears to improve in
quality. Here the beds, of similar size and colour to those at Pickering,
vol. xxii.-1882. gj-
50 MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT.
yield 93 per cent, of carbonate of lime or 9 per cent, more than the
Pickering stone. The Pickering and Kirbymoorside railway passes in
close proximity to the south end of the dale, and the West Rosedale branch
railway is situated about four miles from the north end quarries. The beds
visible on each side of the vale of Deepdale are about 150 feet in thick-
ness, intermixed with sandstone. Samples taken from six of the Deepdale
beds, assayed by Mr. Alfred Procter, Middlesbro', yield as follows:—
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Sand, clay, etc....... 9*00 6*40 5*10 3*00 4'10 6*60
Carbonate of lime ... 89*40 9240 94-40 96*20 94*50 9250
Carbonate of magnesia... '50 *75 *75 '20 '70 *50
Moisture ...... 1*10 *45 '45 -60 70 '40
100-00 10000 100-70 100-00 100-00 100-00
Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, follow successively in beds 6 feet thick; No. 5
is a sample of 20 feet of limestone, and No. 6 of 10 feet.
The limestone now used at the Cleveland furnaces contains from
96 to 97 per cent, of carbonate of lime.
The railway carriage on this limestone to the Middlesbro' Iron Works
from Pickering would be about 2s. 6d. per ton, and from Deepdale about
2s. lOd. per ton.
3.—ROAD METAL (Inferior Limestone).
The material used for repairing roads is an inferior hard flinty lime-
stone, the extensive beds in this district present the opportunity of
carrying on a successful trade in road metal, provided the necessary but
small extension of railway accommodation wras made. The only point to
which the writer would draw particular attention is the Spindlethorne
Hill beds, situated about a mile west of Rosedale bank top, on the
Spaunton Moor, where the stone has been largely quarried for highway
purposes. These beds are quite separate from the general limestone
beds of the district which have just been under notice, and are laid
above the freestone and ironstone of Rosedale. Plate XI., Fig. 2, is a
section of one of the quarries; first there is about 5 feet of isolated boulders
of the stone, of various shapes, but principally oblong, through which
may be found round water holes of different dimensions; these blocks are
embedded in brown soft sand; below these boulders is a compact bed of
the stone about 4 feet thick; under this again is 3 or 4 inches of fossilized
post overlying a bed of light blue shale. The beds crop out in Loskey
Beck on the Spaunton Moor, from the bed of which the writer took the
following observations, which will show the strata surrounding the
Spindlethorne beds.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT. 51
The water in the Deepdale beck (as wTell as others in the immediate
neighbourhood) disappears below the surface during dry weather, in some
l ces leaving the bed of the river perfectly dry for two or three miles and
flowing out again at some distance further on. The writer presumes this
is caused by swallow holes, which are of common occurrence in the lime-
stone formation in various parts of Yorkshire and elsewhere. The
discussion on Mr. J. B. Simpson's paper " On Natural Pits in the Coal
Measures of Belgium," read before the members of this Institute in
December, 1873, (Vol. XXIII., page 74) deals with this phenomenon.
Commencing at Footpath to Darley Lodge.
Feet.
1. —Freestone ..................... 6
2. —Shale, light sandy .................. 3
3. —Freestone, soft brown ... ... ... ... ... ... 6
4—Freestone, hard brown ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
5. —Shale, soft, sandy, yellow ... ... ... ... ... 6
6. —Shale, light blue with 3 in. coal pipe............ 4*
7. —Flinty limestone, compact ... ...... ...... 4*
8. —Sandstone soft ... ... ...... ...... ... 1*
9. —Flinty limestone boulders enveloped in brown sand ... ... 4*
10. —Sandstone, alternate beds of white and yellow ... ... 20
11. —Sandstone, full of small round water holes ......... 2
12. —Shale, soft blue..................... 2
13. —Sandstone, very light yellow ... ... ... ... ... 3
14. —Shale, grey and blue soft ... ... ... ... ... 6
15. —Dogger band, hard red ... ... ... ... ... ... 3
16. —Shale, strong blue ...... ... ... ... ... 4
17. —Sandstone and loose sand ...... ... ... ... 4
18. —Blue shale and sand ... ... ... ... ... ... 16
19. —Hard flinty post..................... 2
20. —Shale, soft blue............ ......... 12
Total ...............109
Left off at Loskey Bridge.
* See Section of Spindlethorne Quarries, Plate XI.
Analyses of this stone give:—
Iron............... 7*05
Silica ............ 2*15
Carbonate of lime ... ... ... 78*05
4.—FREESTONE.
The freestone and flagstone beds are laid about 70 feet above the
top seam" of ironstone; there are several good quarries of freestone in
the district presenting a face of from 20 to 30 feet thick, and the stone is
found very suitable for building purposes; the flagstone from the Rosedale
quarries is exceptionally good.
52 MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT.
5«—CEMENT STONES.
The cement stones occur in round balls; the band containing them is
immediately above the top ironstone seam and is about 2 feet thick. Up
to the present time they have not been worked here.
6.—ALUM SHALE, JET, AND CLAYS.
The writer having already read a paper on the jet and alum shale
before the members of this Institute (see Transactions Vol. XXXI., page
51) it is unnecessary to describe these well-known minerals, both of which
are found here in fully-developed beds and deposits. Above the cement
stone band is a bed of good clay suitable for brick making purposes.
Owing to a change in the manufacture of alum, Al (H4 N) (S04) 2,
has of late years been substituted for that made from the common alum
shale or alum chist.
7.—COAL AND PEAT.
Some seams of inferior coal have been formerly worked on the Rosedale
Moors, D.D. Plate IX., the deepest shaft not exceeding 30 yards.
The seams are in thickness from 1 inch up to 20 inches, those which
have been worked varying from 12 to 20 inches. Before the branch
railway was made to Rosedale a considerable trade was carried on both
for household purposes and for burning limestone. The coal is of a shaley
nature and burns to a white ash. On the moorland surrounding Rosedale
there are extensive peat beds, ranging from 1 up to 10 feet thick, and lying
usually on a loose white sand foundation. On the West Moor, at a place
known as Jewell Mere, there is a peat bed covering an area of about 100
acres, a considerable portion of which averages about 6 feet in thickness,
and the West Rosedale railway passes close to the ground, affording every
facility for conveying away the peat. That these beds might be utilized
both for steam and other purposes is indisputable, and if cut and dried by
machinery, similar to the plan adopted with the Dartmoor peat in Devon-
shire, the peat could be sold to the district at a cheaper rate than the coal
is supplied at now. The writer visited a copper mine in Wales some time
ago where peat was cut close to the mine for engine purposes; it was pre-
pared for about 6s. per ton, the calorific value of which was about 70 per
cent, of coal by weight. The only alteration which it had been found
necessary to make at this mine in using peat in lieu of coal was that the
grate surface and heating surface of the engine boiler had to be propor-
tioned for the heating power of peat, the surfaces being in proportion,
nearly inversely, as 70 to 100.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ROSEDALE ABBEY DISTRICT. 53
8.—LEAD.
The writer would remark on this subject with some degree of reserve
at present, as his investigations in the matter are as yet incomplete.
Lead ore has been found in different situations of this district, but
whether the ore exists in sufficient quantity to pay for working remains
to be proved: at some future meeting it may be possible to throw further
light on the subject.
The writer is indebted to Mr. John Campion, of West Rosedale, for
valuable assistance in preparing this paper.
VISIT TO THE CHANNEL TUNNEL WORKS. 55
VISIT TO THE CHANNEL TUNNEL WORKS,
NOVEMBER 18rn, 1882.
At the General Meeting which was held on the 14th of October, after
the reading of Mr. C. Tylden-Wright's paper on the "Channel Tunnel," it
will be remembered that Sir Edward Watkin invited the members of the
Institute to visit the Tunnel Works at Dover. Subsequent correspon-
dence with Sir Edward fixed the 18th of November as the day for the
visit, and circulars were issued to all the members inviting them to attend.
About 110 members expressed their desire to avail themselves of Sir
Edward's kindness, and, at his request, a list of these gentlemen was for-
warded to him. Sir Edward then took the matter into his own hands,
and, with his usual liberality, supplied each gentleman with a free pass
from his place of residence to Dover and back.
The party assembled on the platform of the Charing Cross Station of
the South-Eastern Railway at nine o'clock in the morning of the 18th,
and were received by Sir Edward Watkin, the Chairman, and Mr. Shaw,
the General Manager of the Railway, and conveyed in the special train
which had been provided for them to Dover. The party descended the
shaft in batches of thirty, and were taken to the face of the Tunnel in
carriages pushed by hand. Many, however, walked along the Tunnel
with a view of more particularly examining the details of the work which
had been executed.
The Tunnel was lighted by electricity, on the incandescent principle,
and as a general description of the Tunnel has been given in Mr. C.
Tylden-Wright's paper, it would be useless here to recapitulate the
particulars.
The surface machinery is of the ordinary kind for compressing air, and
does not seem to require any detailed description. The little compressed air
locomotive, however, which was described in detail by Colonel Beaumont,
elicited general admiration and was under the most complete control.
It is built of a suitable size to go into the Tunnel, and was running
vol. xxxii.-1882 • h
5f> VISIT TO THE CHANNEL TUNNEL work's.
about on a railway on the surface, laid on a curse and gradient of 1 in
80, corresponding to the heaviest duty it will have to do in removing
the debris under ground. It consists of a reservoir, or air receiver, about
9 feet long and 2 feet 6 inches in diameter, with circular ends, welded
up into one solid piece containing 60 cubic feet. The working pres-
sure is from 1,000 lbs. down to 100 lbs. per square inch, and the reservoirs
were proved by Messrs. Daniel Adamson & Co., the makers, to 1,500 lbs.
per square inch; under this pressure they are absolutely without alteration
of form. It is proposed to renew this test every year, and, at the same
time, to wash out the interior of the reservoir with boiled oil to prevent
any corrosion taking place. A large margin of safety is allowed, and at
the same time it is impossible that the working pressure can exceed
1,000 lbs. A small quantity of water accumulates in the reservoirs
during the working of the machinery and is let out occasionally by
means of a small cock at the bottom. The air is conveyed from these
vessels to two compound engines, working at right angles to each
other, each having cylinders respectively of 2 inches and 7 inches dia-
meter, and the valve gear, which forms a sjDecial feature, is so arranged
that the air can be cut off in the small cylinder at any point from zero to
full stroke. Under special circumstances, such as starting with a heavy
load, the air can be admitted direct to the large cylinder.
One of the most interesting and important portions of Colonel Beau-
mont's invention is the use of a small boiler, not much larger than an
ordinary hat, which receives its heat from a few handfuls of coke. The
steam from this boiler jackets both the cylinders, and also heats the
air before it reaches them. Working under normal conditions of load
the heat so obtained enables the air to be expanded from 1,000 lbs.
downwards without inconvenience, so that the whole, or a very large
proportion of the whole, theoretical pressure due from this expansion is
utilised, the air coming out at a temperature of from 80 deg. to 90 deg.
causing no difficulty with the exhaust to be experienced.
The length of this engine is about 13 feet, its width over all 3 feet
6 inches, and its height from road level 5 feet.
The principle on which the engine is constructed may be summed up
as one enabling high pressures to be used without the loss entailed by a
reducing valve, and at the same time keeping the temperature of the air
from dropping during expansion, without mixing air and steam together.
During the visit the Company supplied air to a couple of fixed reser-
voirs, whence it was taken, by adding a flexible hose, to the engine; the
operation of filling, including coupling, did not exceed a couple of minutes.
visit to the channel tunnel works. 57
It is this arrangement which allows high pressure to be used with
I ^e^enbic foot of air, at sixty-eight atmospheres, is produced from a
I onSUmption of one pound of coal, and it will haul a gross load of three
tons (including the engine) one mile on the level portion of an ordinary
well laid railway, a ton and a half on an ordinarily constructed tramway,
nd three-quarters of a ton on such lines and with such rolling stock as
would be used in a colliery.
Colonel Beaumont stated that with large compressors and improved
\ machinery the duty would probably be increased some 50 per cent. The
machine under inspection had been very hurriedly built for the Channel
Tunnel; but the engine Colonel Beaumont was introducing for mining
purposes, while producing the same results, was very materially simplified.
For the information of those who were waiting to go below, a number
of experiments were made with Smith's lime cartridges, and large masses
of chalk were brought down the side of the cliff. Professor Abel's
dynamite shell, in which the dynamite is encased in a water cartridge,
was also exhibited. A little before two o'clock the party left by special
train for Dover, where they were entertained by Sir Edward Watkin at
the " Lord Warden" Hotel, and returned to London by a special train
arriving at about six o'clock.
proceedings. 59
PROCEEDINGS.
< r\EKVL MEETING. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9th, 1882, IN THE WOOD
G J"' ' ' MEMORIAL IIALL. NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
GEO. BAKER FORSTER, Esq., President, in the Chaik.
Professor G. A. Lebour and Mr. Charles Z. Bunning were appointed
scrutineers to examine the voting papers for the election of a Councillor
in the place of Mr. W. R. Cole, deceased, and it was subsequently
announced that Mr. Henry Lawrence had been elected.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting and reported
the proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously nomi-
nated :—
Ordinary Members—
Mr. Sidney Ferris Walker, Electrical Engineer, 105, Severn Road, Canton,
Cardiff.
Mr. Henry Charlton, Messrs. Hawks, Crawshay, & Co., Gateshead.
Mr. William Johnson, M.E., West Stanley Colliery, Chester-le-Street.
Mr. John E. Cochrane, Consulting Engineer, Valuer, &c, Hetton-le-Holc,
Fence Houses.
Associate Members—
Mr. Charles Davison, Cornsay Colliery, near Esh. Durham.
Mr. John Wales Laverick, Middridge Colliery, Shildon, via Darlington.
Mr. Frederick Berkley, M.E.. Murton Colliery, near Sunderland.
Mr. John Liddell, Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Thomas Hugh Bell, Coal Owner. Middlesbrough-on-Tees.
Mr. Henry Greener, South Pontop Colliery, Annfield Plain".
Mr. C. W. C. Henderson, Coal Owner, The Riding, Hexham.
-Mr. C. J. Bates, Coal Owner, Heddon Banks, near Wylani.
Mr. Arthur Pease, M.P., Coal Owner, Darlington.
Mr. Robert Watson, North Seaton, Morpeth.
Mr. Geo. J. Scurfleld, Hurworth-upon-Tees, Darlington.
Students—
Mr. William Ridley, South Tanfield Colliery, Chester-le-Street.
Mr. James Mill CRAWFORD. Murton Colliery, near Sunderland.
60 proceedings.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Honorary Member—
Professor P. P. bedson, 1). Sc. (Loud.,) College of Physical Science, Nevv-
castle-on-Tyne.
Ordinary Members—
Mr. Henry Johnson, jun., Sandwell Park Colliery, West Bromwich, So.
Staffordshire.
Mr. Matthew Liddell, Prudhoe - on - Tyne.
Associate Members —
Sir Matthew White Ridley, Hart., M.P.. Blagdon, Cramlington, Northum-
berland.
Mr. John Allan, Eisernis Kreuz, Neugasse, Freiberg in Sachsen.
Mr. T. J. Armstrong, Hawthorn Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John H. Burn, Coal Owner. 20, Broad Chare, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Bowes, Streatlam Castle, Darlington.
Mr. Charles E. Jeffcock, B.A., Birley Collieries, Sheffield.
Mr. Charles Lacy Thompson, Milton Hall, Carlisle.
Mr. F. D. Johnson, B.A., Aykleyheads, Durham.
Mr. A. E. Burdon, Hartford House, Cramlington, Northumberland.
Mr. William Thomas, M.E.. Mineral Office. Cockermouth Castle.
Mr. Joseph Snowball, Seaton Burn House, Northumberland.
Mr. Robert Rowell, Seghill Colliery Office. Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Students —
Mr. R. Noble Haig, Lofthouse Mines, via Saltbiini-bv-the-Sea.
Mr. Robert .1. W. OATES, Mining Surveyor, E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi, Bengal,
India.
The following were announced to have become Subscribing .Members
under the provisions of Bye-law IX.:—
The Marquess of Bute.
The Birtley Iron Company.
The following Paper "On the Feeding and Management of Colliery
Horses," by Mr. Charles Hunting, was then read:—
THK FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 01
THE FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF COLLIERY HORSES.
By CHARLES HUNTING.
The President of the Institute, Mr. G. B. Forster, having suggested to
the writer that a paper on the management of horses would be acceptable
to the members, as, up to the present time, this important subject had
not been touched on in the Proceedings, he has much pleasure in placing
the experience he has had during the last twenty years at the disposal of
the members in the following paper.
The South Wales Institute of Engineers has often considered the
question: once in Mr. James Brogden's Inaugural Address, 1876 (Vol.
X., p. 14), and again in 1880 (Vol. XII., p. 285), in a paper by Mr.
Wight, of Cwmaman Collieries, and in the discussion thereon (p. 395).
The importance of the subject requires little insisting on, when it is
remembered that the horse department costs the Northern coal owners
close upon a million sterling per annum.
Economic horse management consists in obtaining the greatest amount
of work at the smallest cost; but here, as in every other department, true
economy depends upon careful selection and well-judged method. Good
food must accompany good work: neither should be disproportionate.
It is difficult to say whether too much or too little of either is the worst
economy. But good food and good work arc not absolute terms capable
of mathematical definition. What is excess of work for one horse is not
for another: what is excess of food for one horse may be insufficient for
another; or, again, the food required by a horse doing moderate work is
insufficient lor the same horse doing hard work. There is still another
difficulty, viz.: that equal weights of food, of equal market value, may
differ indefinitely in feeding value. These few statements will show that
careful selection of foods, and well-judged method in proportioning them
to the work done, are absolutely essential to economic management, and
this skill and judgment require some scientific knowledge and some prac-
tical experience not always thought necessary in the horse manager of an
establishment. The writer's knowledge of the subject has only been
0 tamed by long experience, by freely accepting the work of others, and
Cv2 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
by submitting each theory or statement likely to be of value to a practical
test. The subject is far from exhausted, but probably any further develop-
ment must follow the lines laid down in this paper.
Tabular statements of the cost of feeding show absolutely nothing,
save by comparison with others, and a comprehensive estimate should in-
clude not only the cost of food but the cost of horse-flesh and the amount
of work done. By keeping too many horses to do a certain amount of
work the bill for feeding can be made to look economical. By stinting the
food an appearance of economy may be effected on paper, but the condition
of the horses and the duration of their lives would soon dispel the illusion.
Both these explanations have been offered to account for the state-
ments of economy embodied in the annual reports to the various collieries
under the writer's charge, tabulated in the Appendix, page 107.
Economic horse management requires care in the conducting of the
smallest details. From the purchase of the animal onwards, every step
must harmonize and be subservient to the general object—economy.
In the selection of horses and ponies for " putting" work there is pro-
bably less discretion displayed by the managers of many collieries than in any
other department. Hundreds of ponies are sold by dealers as three years
old which have not lived twelve months, and it is quite common to find four
or five in a drove of twenty, both Welsh and Shetland, especially the latter,
not more than five or six months old, but which are always sold as two years
old, and not one horse-keeper or owner in a hundred can tell by their den-
tition whether they are five or twenty months, in both cases the ponies
having all " milk" teeth in their mouths. In numerous instances where
the wrriter has been called in to examine colliery studs, he has found the
pit ponies, not cobs, with no permanent incisor teeth visible, and when he
has stated their age has been told " that he must be wrong because the
pony had been a year and a half in the pit," but it was true nevertheless.
He has seen several hundred ponies in pits, not two years old, that have
been underground over a year. Their history is nearly always the same:
" This pony has never done well since he came down; has a poor appetite,
and has no life in him; does not work above half his time, and tires
before half the shift is over." The overmen and drivers are always com-
plaining because the new pony cannot draw the work out. The driver,
being paid by the " score," has little mercy, and so such ponies are
generally covered with scars and blemishes from ill-usage; their hocks
and knees are twice as large as they ought to be; the poor brute is made
to live in painful misery all its life, and the owners lose more than cent,
per cent, in the keeping of a useless, or nearly useless, animal. In horses,
THE FEEDING OF COLLTERY HORSES. 63
-j] in many colliery studs, is the other way; they are fine, fat, and
^rUooking, but their teeth show them to be far into their "teens,"
g°° °means about two years' work instead of ten. The rule should be
Whlall collieries that no horse should be bought under five years old nor
^er seven, and no ponies bought under three years old off. It is neces-
°ar that all animals should be examined by competent judges of age and
soundness before they are paid for by the colliery.
Pit horses are probably the hardest worked animals in the kingdom,
and hard work cannot be economically done by horses unless in condition;
yet how very often it is that both horses and ponies are bought one day
from a dealer, after being fed with boiled food and bran, and put to exces-
sive work in the pit the next. In addition to the great risk of importing
infectious diseases into underground studs, causing the loss of several
hundreds of pounds, there is always tenfold more risk of injury to limbs
and internal diseases from newT horses out of condition than there would
be from new horses wrell up to their work, which risk, in a well-regulated
colliery, is always avoided by working all new animals for three or four
weeks in the carts and wagons on the surface before going underground.
It is very remarkable that such a palpable common-sense matter should be
so often overlooked by the managers of collieries. The absurdity and
cruelty of this is only exceeded by the still more common practice of
working underground animals twenty to forty hours' shifts without their
harness being taken off. There is nothing done on a colliery that is more
expensive than overworking the pit animals double and treble shift.
Having secured a fair stud properly proportioned to the work, the
next duty is to keep them as economically as possible, and this requires
that they be kept in condition.
What is this " condition" which is so necessary ? It is that state of
the system in which nerve and muscle are braced to their full extent; that
ste.e in which the animal's body is capable of performing its greatest
amount of work, and in which alone it is capable of sustaining prolonged
efforts. If a horse is looked upon simply as a machine for work, this
state is the only one in which it can be used economically. With it, the
greatest amount of work of which his muscles are capable can be ob-
tained; without it, a certain amount of mechanism is lying idle, i.e.,
muscular structure, useless for want of tone. This state depends entirely
upon a proper balance of food and work: as soon as an animal is over-
worked this balance is upset, and a state of being is commenced in which
economy is-no longer attainable.
There are two things necessary to produce condition in horses—work
and food; or, rather, hard work and high feeding: the former is never
vol. xxxii.-1882. I
64 THE FEEDING- OF COLLIERY HORSES.
lacking in collieries, and the latter can easily be attained if cost be no
object. A sufficiency of oats and hay, with plenty of work, will produce
condition, but at a most extravagant cost; but high feeding can be
economically attained, and horses may be kept in the highest condition,
at a cost very much below what is usually incurred for animals doing
light work.
There are three conditions which render high feeding economical:—
1. —The selection of the cheapest but best food.
2. —Giving that food in a form most favourable to digestion.
3. —The prevention of waste.
The selection of the cheapest and best food is, of course, a matter to
be settled in the first place by experiment, as have been the results now
given; and in order that these results be accepted, their advantages must
be understood. An outline of the rudiments of feeding will be given,
ignorance of which reduces even the most extensive and careful practice
to blind rule of thumb.
Long before chemistry and physiology rested upon any definite prin-
ciples, experience had taught that certain foods possessed special feeding
values. By the aid of these sciences it is now known not only which foods
are most likely to be useful for any given purpose, but why they are useful;
and, in fact, they enable the exact comparative value of the various
feeding materials to be stated.
Food may be defined as a material which, when taken into an animal
body, is capable of being changed and fitted to build up or replace the
tissues of the body. Chemistry shows that these tissues consist of nitro-
genous, fatty, and saline matters. It also shows that foods present a
similar composition; so that, if the proportion of these constituents in
any food is known, a fair idea of its feeding value is obtained. But
chemistry alone is not reliable, as these constituents are not 'always in a
form capable of being digested; and here physiology is useful, showing
what is and what is not digestible, and also indicating how, under certain
circumstances, some constituents are more essential than others.
This similarity of composition between animal and vegetable bodies
will perhaps be more apparent by a glance at the following Table:—
Composition of .. .. .. Dry Muscle. Dry Blood. Dry Vegetables.
Carbon ......... 51*893 ... 51-965 ... 53*46
Hydrogen ......... 7*590 ... 7*330 ... 713
Oxygen ......... 19*127 ... 19115 ... 23*37
Nitrogen ......... 17*160 ... 17*175 ... 16*04
Ash or salts......... 4230 ... 4*415
100-000 ... 100*000 ... 100*000
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 65
Table shows very clearly, from a chemical point of view, how closely
a ^ vegetable substances resemble each other. The body does
animjl vcVer appropriate the constituents of plants in the elementary
n°^' here o-iven These ultimate elements are, in the plant, combined in
""ous proximate forms, suitable for the nourishment of the animal,
vaiious^ rp^je shows the comparative composition of animal and
table bodies in those more complex forms, and it will be noticed that
again the comparison is very similar:—
PROXIMATE CONSTITUENTS OF
animal bodies. vegetable bodies.
Water.' Water-
Nitrogenous matter— Nitrogenous matter—
Fibrine (flesh). Gluten (oats, maize, <fec.)
I Casein (milk). Legumin (beans, peas. &c.)
Albumen (eggs).
Fatty matters. Fatty matters-
Starch, gum, and sugar.
Saline matters- Saline matters-
Lime. Lime \
Potass. Potass /
I Soda. Soda f Ash'
Iron. Iron •**
In addition to water, the constituents of both animal and vegetable
substances may be arranged in three great classes, nitrogenous, fatty, and
saline.
The nitrogenous matter of the animal body is found under three
forms, varying to a certain extent in their properties, in accordance with
their derivation from flesh, milk, or eggs; but these three forms are
similar in composition with each other and with the nitrogenous matter
derived from plants, and all or any one of them taken into the body of an
animal is capable of supplying all the three varieties. The gluten of oats,
barley, and maize, or the legumin of beans, peas, and tares, supplies to
the herbivora, forms of nitrogenous matter as suitable and as valuable as
the flesh, milk, or eggs consumed by the omnivora.
^ The fatty matters of the body arc not derived from the vegetable foods
quite so directly as the nitrogenous. Animals make large quantities of
at when fed upon vegetables containing but a very small percentage of
is article. The explanation of this is that vegetables, as the Table
thefT' Cf()ntain in^redients-starch, gum, and sugar—which do not retain
stan^08riglnal Pr°PertieS when taken into fche animal's body- These s"b-
ces undergo chemical changes, which convert the starch and gum into
B*g*r,and, finally, the sugar into fat.
(->{¦> THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
These two great classes—nitrogenous and fatty matters—which are
found in all animal and vegetable bodies, are those which have the most
influence in relation to horse feeding, as the flesh or muscle of the horse
is derived entirely from the nitrogenous constituents of vegetables, which
may be designated as the flesh-forming matter. The fatty matters are
derived from the fatty and starchy constituents of the food, and as the
ultimate use of fat in the body seems to be its consumption for the pro-
duction of animal heat, this class may be called the heat-forming matter.
The saline matters of the food directly supply the saline matters of the
body, and they are quite as essential as the other twTo classes, but they are
required in smaller quantities, and they exist in more constant proportion
in each article than the other two. Of course, the composition of vege-
table foods varies, and it is this variation that constitutes the difference
in feeding value of each article.
The following Table gives a fairly correct idea of the constituents of
a series of foods:—
Starch,
Woody Gum, Nltr0" Ash or
Water. Fibre. Sugar, and ^enous Saline.
Fat. Matter.
Beans or Peas......... 145 10'0 46-0 26"0 3'5
Barley .......... 13*2 137 56'8 13*0 33
Oats . 11*8 20-8 520 12-5 3*0
Maize ............ 13-5 50 67'8 12*29 D24
Hay ... 14*0 340 430 5 0 5*0
Carrots............ 857 30 90 Do 0'8
(Gelatine.)
Flesh ............ 74D 3'0 3*0 20*0
The large amount of water present in carrots and beef increases the
comparative proportions of the other articles, all of which are in a dried
state. Again, the column showing the amount of woody fibre is impor-
tant, as this article is indigestible, and, therefore, almost useless as food.
The most important point, however, in the Table is this, that each
substance differs in composition, some containing a large percentage of
fatty or starchy matters, others containing a heavier proportion of nitro-
genous matter. This theoretically suggests that some foods are most
suitable for the production of muscle, others for the production of fat, and
experience fully confirms the correctness of this indication. It will be
noticed, however, that in every case the Table shows a higher percentage
of starchy than nitrogenous matter. This is not because more fat-forming
than flesh-forming food is wanted to meet the waste of tissue, but because
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSE.s. 67
i ro-c quantity of fat, starch, and sugar is applied in the body to
q "v01 ^jt &
keeping up the animal heat. It is, to speak properly, not only required for
the renovation of the body, but as fuel for the use of the animal machine.
To meet this double demand, it is found that the vegetable foods are always
richest in these elements. No better illustration of the truth of these
statements can be found than the practical success of the Banting system.
That system, founded upon the above data, clearly proves that foods rich
in starch, sugar, or fat will increase the fat of the body, but not add to the
muscular strength; that lean meat, which is simply equivalent to the
albuminous or nitrogenous principles found in vegetables, does not add to
the fat of the body, but does supply the waste of muscle. The demand
for these different constituents of food differs according to the state of the
animal. In very cold climates the rapid loss of animal heat demands an
excessive supply of the heat-producing foods: thus the Esquimaux consume
enormous quantities of fat. Again, whenever the muscular system of the
animal is greatly taxed a demand for the nitrogenous foods exist. Hunters
cannot do their work on hay alone, they require oats and beans to supply
the flesh-forming matter. The British soldier and workman has hitherto
excelled in physical endurance and muscular power as much on account of
his meat diet as his national qualities. The late Mr. Brassey found that
when he fed his foreign workmen on the same diet as his British navvies
the work done by the two approached an equality; previously they had no
chance with Englishmen. Flesh, of course, supplies a heavy percentage
of nitrogenous matter, but beans and peas supply even a much larger
proportion, and their feeding value was well tested in the late Franco-
German war, the German soldiers being largely dependent upon peas as
an ingredient of their food to meet the waste of muscular tissue. The
wonderful endurance of these men is conclusive evidence of the nutritive
value of such food.
The value of the foregoing Table is enhanced when qualified by
physiological knowledge, which shows that woody fibre is indigestible,
and, therefore, an excess of it in any food is evidence of, at least, one
disadvantage. It also teaches that a certain bulk of food is necessary to
healthy digestion, and that, therefore, it is impossible successfully to feed
entirely on those foods which contain the elements of the body in the
most compact form. Further, the Table conveys a warning as to the
action of different foods upon the digestive organs; thus, linseed, bran,
and maize all cause laxness, whilst beans and peas tend to produce con-
stipation.
68 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
Thus, these articles of provender possess very different properties.
Some are laxative, others constipative; but, by judiciously mixing them,
both these objections may be removed and a most valuable food produced.
To keep horses in health, when not hard worked, no mixtures are needed,
and there is one grain in which the nutritive elements are so proportion-
ately arranged that it cannot be improved upon, and practice has long
adopted it. But to keep hard working horses in condition is a very
different thing. Oats alone are not equal to it, nor can any single grain
preserve both health and condition. The fact is, either their chemical
constitution or their physiological action is defective, and it is only
by mixing different articles, and altering their nutritive value, so as to
balance physiological action, that a food can be produced which will not
derange the functions of the animal, but which will supply all the re-
quirements of the body.
Both chemistry and physiology then suggest that more than one kind
of grain is advisable if economy and high condition are required. But
the full economy of mixed feeding is only seen when considered with the
money value of the different articles of provender in relation to their
nutritive constituents, that is, when the feeding value is compared with
the cost of the article. When the chemical, physiological, and monetary
value of foods are understood, the cheapest and best food can be selected;
or rather those articles of food which, when mixed in proper proportions,
afford the largest amount of feeding material, at'the smallest possible cost,
can be recognised. Thus, and thus only, is the highest feeding com-
patible with the strictest economy.
If, in the feeding of horses, cost were of no importance, so long as
health and condition were obtained, a large proportion of the advantages
of using mixed food would be lost, as, unquestionably, oats and hay alone
are a very good diet for horses not excessively hard worked. Such
materials are, however, 30 per cent.—sometimes 50 per cent.—dearer
than other provender equally valuable for feeding. Not unfrequently,
when advising the use of a larger quantity of peas, barley, or maize, to
a proportionate quantity of oats, it has been asked "whether the change,
although the ingredients are cheaper, would make as good food? Look
at the Scotch; see what strong, healthy, muscular men they are, and
many of them subsist almost entirely on oatmeal." This argument is
easily refuted. In the first place, oats are not oatmeal; they contain
30 to 40 per cent, of husk—indigestible material, equal in feeding value
to chopped straw* This husk has to be paid for at the rate of 500
per cent, more than it is worth as food. In every ton of oats arc 7
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 69
vfcS of husk, which costs at the rate of from £8 to £12, whereas
01' 8 only worth £1 per ton, the price given at the manufactories.
lfc ^ 11 although the Scotch labourers, as a class, are fine, big men,
^re decidedly inferior in muscle and "condition" to the pitmen of
Durham and Northumberland, who eat daily from 12 to 24 ozs. of flesh
food 1 There is probably in no part of the world a class of men equal
• muscular tone and condition to the coal-hewers of Northumberland.
The "pit-heap" of a large colliery, when the men are assembled to
o-o down, is a sight worth seeing for many reasons, but nothing is more
striking than the enormous muscular development of limbs, chest, and
shoulders displayed by the majority. Change their diet, substituting
oatmeal for meat, and a diminished output of coal and a reduction in the
size and tone of their muscles would at once be apparent. To hard-
worked men oatmeal is no efficient substitute for beef and mutton, and for
hard-working horses oats are inefficient as compared with beans and
peas. Experience shows this most plainly, and science explains it by
showing that beans, peas, and tares are almost identical with beef and
mutton in the amount of muscle-forming material contained by each,
whereas oats contain nearly 50 per cent, less than either of them. Now,
in horses or other animals excessively worked, the consumption of muscle
is far in excess of the waste of other tissue, and the blood must be supplied
by a correspondingly large amount of flesh-forming material. To fulfil
this requirement, food containing a heavy percentage of nitrogenous
material must be given, otherwise the digestive organs will not be able
to supply the requisite pabulum to the blood. Beans or beef will supply
it, oats or potatoes will not, even when an extra amount of them is given;
because this entails the consumption of such an immense bulk of material,
a large proportion of which is indigestible and non-nitrogenous, and the
digestive organs are overpowered and unable to reduce the mass to a state
m which all its value may be absorbed. For these reasons, then, the use
of oats as a principal article of diet for excessively hard-worked horses is
very expensive, if not injurious. Scientific and practical observations are
thoroughly in accord as to this fact, the truth of which was forcibly
demonstrated at a colliery in Durham, which fell under the observation
of the writer some time ago. The output at this place was decreased from
fteen to twenty scores per day through the horses being unable, from
want of condition, or from positive debility, to get the work out. These
animals were miserably poor, though allowed 168 lbs. of oats and 154 lbs.
0 hay each per week. The oats were not crushed and the hay was not
° °l)ped' The llnrses were all large; none under 16 hands, many 16'2.
70 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
They worked very long hours and took heavy loads, but their appearance
was lamentable after many months of such apparently liberal feeding.
On September 1st their food was changed to the following: —
s. d.
Crushed peas, 35 lbs., at 34s. per qr. ......... 2 4
barley, 20 lbs., at 28s. „ ......... 13
„ oats, 40 lbs., at 28s. „ ......... 3 4
Bran, 14 lbs., at 7£d. per stone ............ 7J
Hay, 7 stones, at 9d. „ ...... ... ... 53
12 9^
The old plan being:—
£ s. d.
Oats. 168 lbs., at 28s. per qr. .,.......... 14 0
Hay, 11 stones, at 9d. per stone ... ... ... 83
£12 3
Showing a difference of over 9s. 5^d. per horse per week. Besides this
saving in money, the digestive organs had 56 lbs. less hay and 59 lbs.
less corn to digest, or—
Lbs. Lbs.
Mixed grain ... 109 Old oats...... 168
Hay ...... 98 hay ...... 154
207 322
Within three months this stud of horses was in excellent health and
condition, drawing out of the pit, with no application of engine power,
from twenty to thirty scores more per day than when first attended.
There were 149 horses on the colliery, so that a saving of £3,664 3s. 2d.
per annum was effected, which alone was a satisfactory result without
reckoning the increased work performed and the increased value of the
animals, which also amounted to a very considerable sum. The marvel-
lous change effected in this stud is conclusive evidence that oats can no
longer usurp the position of being the best food for hard-working
horses. If the choice is limited to a single kind of grain, experience has
shown that oats are certainly the best, and science explains it by showing
that the essential food constituents of oats are in better balanced pro-
portions and in a more digestible state than in any other grain; but there
is a degree of work sometimes exacted from horses which oats are not able
to meet, but which can be met by means of well selected mixtures of grain.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 71
N t only are these mixtures equal to the task of balancing the excessive
waste of the system induced by hard work, but they do so at a less cost
than that at which oats fail to preserve the balance.
But the system here advocated does not rest upon this one case, nor is
the question of feeding economically thus easily disposed of. A definite
mixture, which should be in all cases and at all times the best and cheapest,
is not easily to be found, for not only must the chemical and physiological
value of a food be known, but also its money value; and this changes
constantly. So that each article of food in its threefold aspect must be
thoroughly understood. Before, however, each article of provender is
considered in detail, attention will be drawn to some rough analyses of
various kinds of grain, which, it is believed, throw some light upon the
question of selection. At different times during the last six years Messrs.
Ferry's steam mills, at Easington, have been engaged by the day in order
that the grinding, sifting, and weighing of different kinds of grain, to
ascertain the proportion of husk contained in each, might be personally
inspected. The different results of each of the six years is so slight
that only those obtained in 1868 will be referred to as a fair average.
In 1869 nearly all the grain experimented on gave a slightly less
amount of husk than in any other year. It was all the produce of 1868,
and the difference was due perhaps, rather to the husk leaving the kernel
cleaner and easier, than to a positive decrease in its quantity. This idea
derives some force from the fact that the year 1868 was very fine and
hot, and corn was well ripened and well gathered.
In carrying out these experiments it was necessary to use three stones
of each kind of grain, because the miller would not allow all the grain to
run off the mill stones before adding more, which caused the grain to be
more or less mixed with that which had preceded it in the mill. To
prevent this contamination about 20 lbs. of each lot of grain was allowed
to run through; this was swept away and 14 lbs. of the pure grain
collected, which was carefully sifted through a fine sieve, and both husk
and flour separately weighed so as to prove that the 14 lbs. of the sample
was properly accounted for.
Oats. If the choice of grain is limited to one variety only, oats are
the best; and, if cost is no object, oats and bran form a food simply
unobjectionable. But, as the following Table will show, oats vary con-
siderably in value.
72 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
TABLE SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF HUSK IN VARIOUS GRAINS
Natural weight Weight of husk
per in
Imperial Bushel. 14 lbs. of each,
lbs. lbs. oz.
1. —Elbe oats ............... 41 ... 5 6|
2. —Swedish oats............... 39J ... 5 Oi
3. —Danish oats............... 40J ... 5 2
4. —St. Petersburg oats............ 40£ ... 3 14£
5. —Short Scotch oats ............ 41 ... 4 6
6. —English oats............... 41J ... 4 6
7. —Irish potato oats ............ 42£ ... 4 1
8. —Canadian oats ............ 41 * ... 4 12J
9. —English barley ............ 56£ ... 11
10. —Danish barley ............ 54 ... 15
11. —Taganrog barley ... ... ... ... 49 ... 2 4
12. —English beans ......... ... 69 ... 16
13. —Egyptian small beans ...... ... 61^ ... 18
14. —Egyptian large beans ...... ... 59 ... 1 10|
15. —Riga tares ............... 68 ... 10J
16. —Hamburgh tares ............ 57 ... ll|
17. —English tares............... 68 ... 10
18. —Canadian white peas... ... ... ... 66^ ... 7£
19. —Konigsburgh white peas ... ... ... 64^ ... 8J
20. —Konigsburgh blue peas ... ... ... 66^ ... 8
21. —Odessa maize... ... ... ...... 59J ... 5 J
22. —Italian maize... ... ......... 60 ... 5£
23. —American yellow maize ... ... ... 62 ... 5
Seeing that the husk of grain is nearly, if not entirely, indigestible, ¦
this Table shows at a glance which food contains the largest amount of
indigestible material. Oats, on an average, contain 4| lbs. of husk in
every 14 lbs.; maize, only 5 oz.; and peas, 7 oz. The percentage of husk
then is very heavy in oats and very light in peas and maize, so that if
the digestible portions of these substances are equally nutritive there is a
heavy loss in the use of oats.
But oats vary considerably in value. They should be sound, sweet, a
year old, and their natural weight should be at least 40 lbs. per bushel. In
a paper written in 1860, the writer stated that two bushels of good oats,
with a natural weight of 42 lbs. per bushel, would keep horses in condition
better than three bushels of oats at 35 lbs. natural weight. Further
experience has shown the truth of this statement, and proved that heavy
oats are really worth seven or eight shillings per quarter more than the
lighter. When the difference in feeding value between light and heavy
oats was first noticed it was considered to be due to the lighter grain
carrying the greater percentage of hnsk, but the Table shows that Russian
oats have a smaller percentage of husk than the best short oats; possibly
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 73
• o- kiln dried, they leave the husk cleaner; yet it is certain that,
belvht for weight, foreign oats are unable to sustain hard-working
^"•ils like the short potato oats. There is, too, an objection to foreign
oats ' There is something either in or on many samples most injurious to
horses The writer has frequently been called to examine and report
upon pit horses which were unable to stand their work, although allowed
an ad libitum supply of oats. The complaint is always the same:—" The
horses were all right till the last two or three weeks; since then they have
tost flesh, are always sweating, are very weak, and knocked up before the
shift is half over." Nearly all such cases arise from the use of foreign
oats, and the change in the horses follows close upon the change in the
sample of oats. The symptoms shown are: a tight, dry skin, loss of
appetite, debility, and excessive staling; much the same set of symptoms
as from feeding upon musty English or Scotch oats. These foreign oats
are, however, nearly free from smell, and, therefore, their objectionable
properties are probably due to some artificial preparation or to the
changes caused by mustiness, the smell of which has in some way been
removed. Many more cases of colic are observed when using foreign oats
than when using good home-grown grain. Only last year a lot of Tartar
oats, 341bs. to the bushel, were sent to a colliery. They were first
refused, but an owner who looked into the matter and pronounced them
very good insisted upon their being used, saying he did not believe
that a light natural weight was of any consequence so long as they
weighed 336 lbs. per quarter. The result was, they had ten times
the usual number of colic cases, with general loss of condition to the
animals.
It has long been known that musty or kiln-dried oats are injurious to
horses, but the really dangerous nature of some foreign oats is not
appreciated.
In the Veterinarian for 1862 Professor Varnell reports a case in which
a number of horses died from eating them. A Mr. Mitchell, of Leeds,
bought twelve quarters of foreign oats, and when about half of them were
used four horses died within a few days of each other. Poison being
suspected, the contents of the mangers and stomachs were analysed and
found not to contain any vegetable or animal poison. Suspicion next fell
upon the oats, and an aged but healthy mare was bought for the purpose
of testing them. She had three feeds a day; on the third day paralysis
appeared, which was followed by death. The experiment was repeated
on other horses, and a few days' feeding on these oats produced death
ln each instance. The oats had a musty smell, and when placed in water
74 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
they quickly became matted together by a filamentous structure, the
fibres of which crossed and interlaced each other. Some floated at the
surface and some remained at the bottom of the vessel.
In the same volume of the Veterinarian is another report of the death
of thirty-nine horses from feeding upon musty oats, the cause of mischief
never being suspected till the injury was done. In few cases has the
writer directly traced death to foreign oats, but he has often met with
serious illness as the result of such food, and frequently noticed the
filament just described in the cisterns attached to underground stables.
Bad oats of all kinds should be utterly avoided. Even small quantities
mixed with a bulk of good grain produce ill effects and soon spoil by
contact that which was previously good.
Eeferring to the Table showing the proportions of husk on grain, it
will be seen that oats show a very heavy amount—in fact, from 30 to 40
per cent. Now this husk has a value of less than 20s. per ton, whilst
oats at 28s. per quarter are worth £9 6s. If the five thousand and odd
horses whose feeding the writer superintends were fed, as they used to be,
on hay and oats only, there would be a consumption of 134 tons of husk
per annum. That is, a large quantity of material would be used costing
£8 per ton more than it was worth, or more than it could be purchased
for from the oatmeal dealers.
From these facts it may be concluded that the best oats are the
cheapest; that though the market value of the heaviest oats is seldom
three or four shillings higher than that of the lighter sorts, they are
really worth seven or eight shillings more as food, and therefore are
absolutely four shillings a quarter cheaper; also that musty or kiln-dried
oats are positively dangerous, and should be utterly avoided. Foreign
oats should be seldom used; they are generally light, and not unfre-
quently injurious There is, however, an objection to even the best oats
as an economical food for hard-working horses. They contain such a
large proportion of husk—i.e. indigestible matter—that their market
value is out of proportion to their feeding value. One case has already
been related showing how oats alone failed to keep in condition the
horses on a colliery, and how a mixture of grain containing a larger pro-
portion of nitrogenous matter succeeded in replacing and preserving their
condition.
Beans.—Under this head are included peas and tares, for all three
contain about the same proportion of nitrogenous or flesh-forming
matter. Tares, however, contain a bitter principle which renders them
somewhat objectionable.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 75
Between peas and beans there is no choice, providing both are in
llv <>'ood condition. Sound, sweet, hard beans, tares, or peas, con-
taining as the Table shows, 26 to 28 per cent, of nitrogenous matter, are
of all seeds the richest in flesh-forming material. They are then especially
indicated for use when the animal body undergoes great loss of flesh or
muscle, as it does with all hard-working horses. But these leguminous
eeds cannot be used alone in very large quantities; they have a heating
< nd binding effect upon the system. They must then be used either
in small quantities or be combined with some other article of food
havin°' an opposite or counteracting effect. Such articles are supplied in
bran and maize, either of which may be used advantageously in combina-
tion with beans, peas, etc.
Maize.—In 1861 the writer, whilst admitting that maize was a
valuable food for cattle, pigs, and poultry, did not think it fit for horses.
Further experience has, however, convinced him that he was in error, and
that maize is really a most valuable article of provender for hard-working-
horses. The error occurred in this way:—In 1853 maize feeding was
tried on the pit horses at South Hetton and Murton Collieries. The
experiment lasted four days, and overmen, drivers, horse-keepers, and all
complained. The food was changed immediately as about half the horses
and ponies did not eat it readily; it was left in the mangers, and it was
feared that as the animals did not seem to like it they might continue to
refuse it, and thus lose condition and be unable to do their work.
This made the writer for a long time very suspicious of maize as horse
provender. He had also heard of its being tried in Glasgow and given
up as unsuitable food. In addition, as its chemical composition showed
a large proportion of fat and heat-producing matter but a smaller propor-
tion of flesh-forming matter, he thus came to an adverse opinion of its
value. However, it is still found that horses used to the ordinary oats
and hay do not for the first few days feed freely on maize; but this is
easily overcome by commencing with a small proportion mixed with the
usual food and gradually increasing it.
The writer retained his adverse opinion of maize until 1867, when,
coming one night from London with the late Mr. John Lawson, of
Manchester, and discussing the different plans of feeding adopted in
England and other countries, he strongly advocated the use of maize for
^rses doing slow but heavy work, and gave several instances of its
^eneficial use in Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow, where thousands of
°1Ses ^vec* almost exclusively upon it and hay. Communicating with
several gentlemen who used it, and finding that they all spoke in its
76 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
favour, the writer visited Liverpool, Glasgow, and London, saw horses fed
upon it, saw them at work, and came home convinced that he had
published an erroneous opinion. Maize was then selling at sixpence per
stone less than oats, which, on the number of animals under his charge,
would amount to a difference of about £400 per week. Consequently, in
1868, the writer again commenced to use maize at South Hetton and at
Byhope Collieries. The complaints were as strong as in 1853, but having
laid all the facts before the respective managers they allowed the experi-
ment a fair trial. In a week all the animals took fairly to the feed—a
mixture of one-third oats, one third maize, and one-third beans or peas.
Varying the proportions of this mixture as any article became unusually
dear, the plan was continued up to 1870, when all the bank horses at
South Hetton and Ryhope Collieries were fed exclusively upon maize
and beans—two-thirds of the former and one-third of the latter, and this
has been continued up to the present time.
In March, 1873, talking with the manager of a colliery about the cost
of feeding horses, it was ascertained that for nearly three years no oats
had been used for the horses at bank, that they were never in better
health or condition, and with his consent the same food was supplied with
success to the animals below, and this experiment was the commence-
ment of a saving of upwards of £6,000 a year in the keep of the pit ponies
under the charge of the writer.
An important property of maize is its slightly laxative action on the
bowels. Colic in horses is nearly always dependent upon or accompanied
by constipation, and maize feeding reduces the risk of this affection to a
minimum. During three years' use of maize, the eighty bank horses at
Ryhope and South Hetton have shown only four cases of colic. The
laxative effects of maize enable the use of very large quantities of beans,
peas, or tares—so much so that equal proportions of maize and beans for
excessively hard-worked horses can be used with the greatest advantage.
Twro years ago a lot of horses were fed on maize and hay, another lot
on maize, beans, and hay, the result being greatly in favour of the latter.
Those fed on maize only showed as great bodily bulk, but not such hard,
firm muscles. They were not so fresh at the end of the day's work, and,
when excessively worked, were loose in their bowels; 3 lbs. per day more
of the maize than of the mixed grain was allowed, but 98 lbs. a week of
beans and maize kept the horses in better condition than did 119 lbs. of
maize alone.
The use of maize is almost entirely limited to horses doing heavy
work, and it has often been asked whether there is any reason why light
78 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
in larger proportions Ithan 25 per cent, of the total allowance of corn.
It was not used in 1873, the reason being that the price averaged from
twopence to threepence per stone more than maize. This difference in
price is a matter of vital importance in the selection of an economic food,
as one penny per stone on the price of grain amounts, on the aggregate
of the horses under the writer's care, to £5,000 per annum. Barley is
the staple food for horses in Spain, Turkey, Syria, and other Eastern
countries. It is about equal in feeding value to oats or maize, for which
it may be substituted when the relative price of these grains is such as to
render it economical.
Barley during 1881 and 1882.—This grain has been the cheapest
horse food in the market, and at a much lower price per stone than ever
before known. In the autumn of 1881 any quantity could be bought as low
as twenty-two shillings for 448 lbs., or about eightpence per stone, being
sixpence half-penny per stone cheaper than oats, and twopence per stone
less than maize, thus effecting a saving of many hundreds of pounds per
month, over what the use of the same grain would have effected in 1880,
showing most clearly the importance of regulating the quantity of each
kind of grain by the price per stone in the market.
Bran of itself is not a food capable of feeding any animal. As an
addition to other grains, or mixtures of grains, it is, however, of great
value. Chemically, it is rich in nitrogen, but in practice it is found that
this constituent is not in a digestible form, and bran is valued simply as a
bulky, palatable article, having a laxative effect upon the bowels. It is
then indicated as a useful agent for admixture with foods tending to pro-
duce constipation, or as a substitute for rich food when disease or idleness
suddenly puts a stop to the regular waste of muscular tissue; in other
words, when the demand for nitrogenous matter is wanting.
Hay.—ISTo matter what grains or mixtures of grains are used, some
bulky provender is required to enable the horse to properly digest his food.
Hay serves this purpose, but it also supplies nutritive material, and, as an
indispensable article of provender, requires proper attention. Considering
its price, in relation to its feeding value, hay is very expensive. Its feed-
ing value, too, is very variable, depending greatly upon its growth, the
state in which it is cut, the condition in which it is harvested, etc. Good
hay should be of quick growth, should be cut before the formation of seeds
in it—i.e., when in flower, and should be well won. It must not be stacked
wet or too green lest it ferment, as this process detracts from its nutritive
value. Even when all these particulars are attended to, hay varies in value
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 7<)
according to the grasses it contains. One ton of hay composed of such
grasses as Timothy, cock's-foot, dog's-tail, fox-tail, perennial rye grass,
etc is worth two tons of that formed of hen-pen or wild hops, mountain
flax rib grass, and other short, broad-leaved grasses that abound on poor
undrained land. Over and over again the value of these two kinds of hay
has been tested, and always with the same result—loss of condition among
the horses, and a much larger consumption of the inferior hay. At South
Hetton, the difference in cost from this cause, when the hay was £5 per
ton, amounted to £15 per week.
•New land hay has often been compared with old land hay, and 50 lbs.
of old land hay found equal in feeding value to 60 lbs. of new. In 1868,
when hay was selling at £7 or £8 per ton, the studs of two pits were put
on old land hay. At the end of a fortnight the resident viewer reported
that "the pit would soon be stopped, as the horses did not make half the
manure they used to." It was a fact that, whereas formerly two tubs of
manure were sent to bank daily, now only one and a half appeared. It
was explained that the difference was in favour of the hay; that it was due
simply to the smaller amount of indigestible matter present, and was a
convincing proof of its economy; notwithstanding this the hay was
changed. In a former paper this question was fully gone into, and the
opinion then expressed has been confirmed by an experiment of a large
coal-owner, who ordered the horses of one pit to be fed on one kind of hay
and those of another pit on the other. This was done for several weeks,
and then the experiment was reversed. In each case the result was the
same, about twenty per cent, less old land hay being used, the corn
remaining unaltered in quantity at both places throughout the experiment,
and no visible alteration in the condition of (he horses could be seen.
This practical test is more reliable and useful than any scientific analysis,
and its value is not decreased by its having been instituted for the purpose
of upsetting the opinion it has so strongly verified.
some years ago the allowance of hay on most collieries to wagon horses
was twelve stones per week: to pit horses, ten stones, or more than double
\* quantity that with due economy is requisite. The tabulated reports show
an average ol under four stones of hay per horse per week. This is con-
sit ered the amount compatible with economy, as excessive waste of muscle
1S lllet bv increased supply of corn. Some managers insist upon
feedin °1Se"keePei lmving au ad mtum BUPPlv of hav>aild tlms the Plan of
men *§ ^ mterruPte(* bv beuig in part dependent on the requirements of
^ lnStead °f horses- Hay must not be looked upon as an addition to
Provender, but as an important part of it, and its quantity must be
vol. xxxiit-188,, K
80 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
regulated according to the amount of grain given, and the relative pro-
portions of each must depend upon their respective prices, and the amount
of work performed by the animal: also hay, from its form, is liable to be
greatly wasted. An allowance of twelve stones of hay per week is never
eaten by a horse, a large portion is wasted under his feet. In removing
long hay from the rack or manger, portions are continually let fall by the
animal, trampled on, and spoilt. At one large colliery, nearly a third of
the hay sent into the pit was wasted and returned to bank with the
manure; but even with care, unless the mangers are properly arranged,
and the length of the hay altered by cutting, considerable waste is
inevitable.
When English hay is very high in price, large quantities of Dutch and
Belgian hay are imported into this country, and, probably with advantage
to some horse owners, because when thousands of tons are sent in, it helps
to keep the price of home-grown hay lower. In the early part of this
year, when best hay was selling in Newcastle market as high as £8 10s.
per ton, Dutch could be had at £4 10s. Dutch hay should never be used
unless it can be bought at half, or a little over half, the price of best
English or Irish "seed hay." One of the principal reasons why foreign
hay is so inferior to English is the fact that it is always thrashed bare
of its seeds, thus removing at least half its value as feeding material.
Whenever foreign or Irish hay is bought, it should always be stipulated
for " unthrashed," which is nearly double the value of " thrashed " hay.
There is probably nothing in foreign hay that is prejudicial to health
any more than in English hay. The chief reason why it is so much
objected to by horse owners is the fact that horses do not thrive so well
upon it as on English. It is impossible that they should do so where the
work is hard, unless an equivalent of corn is given to balance the loss
of the seeds which are taken out.
Green Food is a valuable article of provender both for bank and pit
horses, but it requires a little discretion in its use at times. Thus, in
commencing its use care should be exercised by the horse-keeper not to
allow each horse more than from six to ten pounds for his first feed,
which should be at night and after he has eaten his corn. The next
night from twelve to sixteen pounds may be allowed, and the next a full
allowance may be given without fear of colic, as by that time the green
food will have passed through the whole length of the digestive organs.
When thus commenced with caution, from fifteen to thirty pounds may
be given night and morning with advantage and economy. Green food
should not be allowed in-bye or on the wagonways, because the drivers
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 81
t be relied upon to prevent a tired and heated horse from gorging
^mself should he remain a sufficient length of time at the siding or flat.
There is too, a condition in which no green food at all is sent down the
't namely, when the foliage is soaked with rain. Neglect of this pre-
caution entails a larger proportion of cases of colic with the second
than with the first crop. At the season when the first crop is ready for
thp weather is generally fine, but the second crop comes on when the
use, lii*^ ~
weather is frequently wet and unsettled. An experience of many years
feedino- of thousands of horses warrants the remark that, mindful of these
precautions, green food is quite as harmless as any other provender;
further, no provender is so cheap and so beneficial for a few weeks every
summer. It is a splendid alterative, a restorer and preserver of health.
It may induce a freer perspiration, but it does not destroy the condition :
does not, as some suppose, render the muscles less hard and firm.
There are many men who object to it, but there is no food or mixture of
food that some men do not object to. They have objections to crushed
oats, to chopped hay, and to peas and beans, but they have none to
working a horse three, or it may be four, successive shifts. They object
to all innovations, to everything save that to which habit and association
have accustomed them.
During the last thirteen years the writer has devoted especial attention
to green food feeding. The results of his observations will be interest-
ing to those gentlemen who are free from prejudice and yet timorous as
to the use of green food. The chief points to which attention has been
directed are:—The daily consumption per horse ; the comparative cost
of green food; and its effects upon the health and condition of the horses.
This last item is the most important, as, if green food were prejudicial
to the health or vigour of the horse it would be dear at any price. The
beneficial effects it has, however, on the appearance of a large stud of pit
horses is simply marvellous: the skin becomes looser and softer, the
horses increase in size and weight, and these signs of health are not
accompanied by any loss of muscular tone. So quickly does this
improvement follow the use of green food that at times it has scarcely
been credited to this sole cause; but repeated observation has now left
no room for doubt. Those animals known as "bad thrivers," "small
eaters, etc., and those whose skins are tight or unhealthy, present the
greatest change for the better, being made literally into " new creatures."
ls true that, when feeding on green food, horses perspire more than
v en fed on hard, dry food, and probably this increased action of the
* in is the principal cause of the beneficial action found to arise from a
6W weeks' l^ of green food every summer.
82 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
These facts require more than opinions or assertions to invalidate
them; nevertheless it may be useful to reply to some of the objections
occasionally advanced by men who say they want their stud kept like
hunters—in hard condition, and who would give hunters green food ?
This desire is founded upon the false supposition that food because
it is physically hard produces hard muscles; whereas it is exercise,
and exercise alone, which gives to muscles this tone. Food is required,
not to give any specific character to the system, but simply to supply
the waste caused by exercise. The illustrations chosen to support
the argument are equally fallacious. A grass-fed horse is not in con-
dition, it is true, but it is because he is not at work — because his
muscles are not exercised; besides, he lives entirely on grass, whereas the
pit horse receives, in addition to his green food, a large amount of nitro-
genous grain. There is, then, clearly no analogy between the two cases.
Innumerable proofs of this could be produced, but the following was
supplied by one of the owners of a colliery. In discussing the use of
green food for horses during hard work, he related the following interest-
ing particulars of what horses can do on grass:—A few years since, when
travelling in South America, he rode from Buenos Ayres, all through
Brazil, over the Andes to Chile, and on to Callao in Peru. His servant
and himself had three cobs between them, carrying, with their baggage,
not less than an average of fourteen stones for each animal; and
they did thirty-six miles per day for five wTeeks; four days fifty-six
miles wrere done per day, and the last day sixty-five miles, and all three
animals were in admirable condition at the end of the journey, and their
muscles hard and firm; yet they had only an occasional feed of barley or
maize and long grass, cut as required by the groom when resting at the
various stages or halting places on the journey. Such a test is the
strongest evidence that can be given that green food is not injurious to
horses whilst doing hard work. As to hunters, when in wrork they can get
no green food, but there are few of them who do not have it. at the same
season as.the pit horses—in summer. It must be remembered also that
hunters are only in condition half the year, and that they are well groomed
and cleaned and occasionally sweated. Pit horses, on the contrary, are in
condition all the year round, are never thoroughly groomed and cleaned,
and seldom sweat except from the most excessive labour or a hot position
in the pit. Free cutaneous action is ensured in the hunter by
clothing, etc., but is retarded in the pit horse, and this important point of
difference between the two is partially rectified by the use of green food.
Pit horses, like hunters, should be kept in the highest condition, but they
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 88
0t be kept alike; both require a sufficiency of proper food and proper
Cali-k but this must be regulated by the circumstances in which the
animals are placed.
The increased perspiration accompanying green food feeding is sup-
d bv some to indicate weakness; by others to be productive of weak-
That it does not produce weakness is shown by animals fed with it,
and that it should not do so will be understood when it is considered that
-eat consists of 99 per cent, of water, and this is a constituent of the
body easily replaced at the cistern. Perspiration is not a true indication of
weakness; of course it may depend upon an animal not being equal to the
work but it also depends upon the amount of fluid taken into the system.
Green food contains a large amount of watery matter, and thus horses
consuming it perspire freely. They do so, not because they are weak or
wanting in tone, but because their systems contain an extra quantity
of water. Hunters in hard condition usually sweat but little, because
thev are fed on dry food and limited in the amount of drinking water
allowed; thus their systems contain no more water than can be easily
excreted by the kidneys.
The writer has used green food in pits for thirty-three years, and his
conviction becomes stronger with time that it is a most valuable article of
provender for hard working horses. As a rule, clover and seeds are used,
but green tares are equally good if not used till well podded, and only sent
into the pit on dry days. Nearly ripe tares are the richest in flesh forming
matter of all green provender, just as tares are the richest of all seeds used
as food for man or animals. When commencing to feed the bank horses
with tares, half the usual corn is taken off, and as the tares become nearly
ripe many of the horses require no corn, but consume about 70 lbs. per
day of green tares without visible alteration in health or condition, and
without any reduction in their work.
The daily consumption of green food and its comparative cost cannot
be better shown than by the following details. In June, 1874, acres
of clover were bought for £57; on the 17th of June the horses began to
feed on it, and it lasted thirty-one days. The weight brought to the
colliery was 97 tons 7 cwts. 39 lbs., and the number of animals fed was
328 horses and ponies, or, counting two ponies as equal to one horse, 214
horses. Thus, over thirty-one days this averaged 33 lbs. per horse per
day; but, as at the commencement from one-third to one-half the full
allowance only was given, reaching full feed on the fourth day, each horse
really had throughout the rest of the time about 56 lbs. per day. The
whole of the hay was not, however, replaced by green food, for during this
84 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HOUSES.
thirty-one days some 14 tons of hay were used, some for mixing with
the corn and some for use at the flats or sidings whilst the horses were at
work. The allowance of corn was reduced by 2 lbs. per horse per day.
The result was, the animals gained in bodily bulk and did their work as
well as usual, whilst a considerable sum was saved in the cost of feeding,
as shown hereunder. The ordinary consumption of hay was 9 tons joer
week, or, for the thirty-one days, say 36 tons, which, at £6 10s., is £234.
In place of this the following was substituted:—
14 tons of hay at £6 10s....... £91 0 0
97J „ green clover, costing ... 57 0 0
£148 0 0 = saving £86.
But 2 lbs. of corn per day less was used, and this, with 214 horses, gives
for the thirty-one days 946 stones, which, at Is. 2d., gives an additional
saving of £55 3s. 8d., a total saving of £141 3s. 8d. in one calendar
month, or little more than half the cost of hay.
Having now considered the various articles of provender in detail, and
attempted to show the feeding value of each, and to point out in what
particular each fails to afford singly an unobjectionable food, the different
mixtures of grain which contain suitable proportions of nutritive material
for the wants of an animal body undergoing excessive muscular waste
remain to be descanted upon, and a few words will be added to show
how the selection must be made dependent upon the market price of the
different ingredients.
Mixed Food.—A mixture of oats, beans, and bran, can be formed
capable of meeting any fair muscular waste. An equally good mixture
may be obtained from barley, beans, and bran. Oats, maize, and beans
may also be used, or simply maize and beans. Each of these mixtures
is free from any objectionable property, and each of them contains a
large amount of blood-forming matter. The question is, if all are good
foods, which is the most economical? Perhaps no better answer can
be given than that actually furnished by last year's prices Good old
oats, 30s. 336 lbs.; good peas, 36s. 504 lbs.; good barley, 26s. 448 lbs.;
and maize, 27s. 480 lbs.; good hay, £7 per ton.
Considering oats, maize, and barley as of equal feeding value per
stone, and looking at the amount of nutritive material contained in
each, it will be seen that horses could be fed at fully one-third less cost
by using maize, peas, and barley, with a small quantity of hay sufficient
for health, instead of oats and hay, in their usual proportions. This is
shown as follows:—
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 85
s. d. Lbs.
n f 126 lbs , at Is. 3d. per stone ... 11 3 Flesh formers 15'1
Hay> „ » 8 9 - -
20_0 221
s. d. Lbs.
trqv 56 lbs., at 10^d. per stone ... 3 6 Flesh formers 2'75
fr- sfi 9Ad. „ ... 3 2 „ „ 7'25
Maize, 5b „ „ »a"- » >
Barley, 42 „ „ 9d. „ ... 2 3 „ „ 675
Peas, 21 „ „ I*- » - J_6 » » *™
10 5 22-50
Difference in cost, 9s. 7d. per week, or £24 18s. per head per year
in favour of mixed food, and rather more flesh-forming matter in it than
in the oats and hay.
The reports of South Hetton and Ryhope Collieries for 1881 are prac-
tical demonstrations of the reliability and success of the above formula.
At the present time, September, 1882, there is not such a marked advan-
tage in the use of maize as there was in 1880, because good Scotch oats
then cost 34s. per quarter, maize only 24s. per quarter, peas 36s., and
barley 32s. Now, whilst oats have fallen 6s. per quarter, and barley
8s. per quarter, maize has risen lis. per quarter, so that the relative
cost of the feeding matter in the grains is considerably altered, but
owing to the unprecedented low price of barley, 9d. per stone, it can
be substituted very largely for maize with an enormous pecuniary
advantage.
The fluctuations in the prices of provender are constantly occurring,
far more so than one could possibly believe unless attention were carefully
devoted to the subject. Thus, in 1879, maize was only 21s. per 480 lbs.,
whilst beans and peas were 40s. to 50s. 504 lbs., barley 36s. to 40s. 448 lbs.,
and hay £4 per ton. At the present time, 1882, maize is 35s. 480 lbs.,
barley 24s. 448 lbs., peas 36s. 504 lbs., and hay £7 10s. per ton.; or, in
round numbers, maize and hay are more than one-third higher, whilst
barley is one-third lower, and peas 5s. to 7s. per quarter less money.
No definite mixture can be offered as always affording an economical
food. The cost of its flesh-forming ingredients must be calculated, and
those selected which are cheapest, but it must not be forgotten that
some articles cannot be used beneficially without another of opposite
physiological action being added. Thus, if a mixture contain beans and
no maize, bran must be added, and, therefore, in substituting oats for
Daaize, the price and feeding value of bran must be taken into con-
sideration as an ingredient of the mixture. These fluctuations in the
86 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
grain market also show that capacious granaries should exist on all
large horse establishments, so that, instead of buying from hand to
mouth, whether provender be cheap or dear, owners may be enabled to
buy largely when the markets are low, and sparingly when high.
The amount of provender allowed to a stud must be regulated chiefly
by the work done, but as this cannot be calculated exactly, the condition of
the horses must be taken as a gnide, and thus a just estimate of what is
required is soon arrived at. Every increase or decrease of work must
then be followed by a corresponding alteration in the amount of pro-
vender, so as to preserve the balance between food and work. Never,
however, should an error be made on the side of parsimony, as loss of
condition is only re-established by an extravagant use of food.
Gutting and Bruising.—Having selected the food, or mixture of food,
it is proposed to use, the form in which that food may be most advan-
tageously given has now to be considered. The form in which the food
is delivered is open to two objections. The long hay is wasted by the
animals allowing a portion of it to fall under their feet, and some of the
grain is liable to pass undigested through the alimentary canal. To avoid
these sources of loss, it is advisable that the hay be chopped and the grain
be crushed. Experience shows positively that these operations are pro-
ductive of no ill effects. The additional expense they entail is many times
repaid by the prevention of waste in the hay, and by the more complete
digestion of all the grain eaten. It has been objected to these operations
that they induce a horse to bolt his food only half masticated. To set
this question at rest the following experiment was instituted. Four
horses were fed on long hay and whole oats; four others on cut hay and
bruised corn. The prepared food required ten minutes longer for its
consumption than the whole. Possibly if the two articles, cut hay
and bruised corn, were given separately, as is the usual provender,
horses might eat it more quickly; but it is best to mix a portion of
the hay with the corn, and thus the animal is obliged to thoroughly
masticate both.
The grain is crushed, not to improve mastication, not to save the animal
the trouble of chewing his food, but simply to break the envelope. It is
not ground to powder, but simply split. No doubt horses with good teeth
wrould well digest most of the grain they are allowed, but it should not
be deemed satisfactory to lose any, and, therefore, all the corn should be
reduced to a form in which, while it may still be well masticated, it is
most favourable for digestion ; to a form in which, even should it escape
the teeth, it will not escape the stomach. The cutting of hay is advised
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 87
for a different reason. It is not supposed that this mechanical operation
affects its digestibility, but it prevents waste in the transit from the
granary to the pit, it also prevents waste in the stall when the horse
pulls a mouthful from the manger; above all,,it causes the hay to mix
better with the grain, so as to compel the horse to thoroughly masticate
the whole of his provender. With long hay, frequent portions fall under-
foot, are trampled on and spoilt; some horses, from mischief, wilfully
throw their hay on the floor, and these little bits form, collectively, in a
larire establishment, a considerable item. By cutting the hay this waste
is prevented, as the animal can only remove a mouthful at a time. The
length of cut is almost immaterial, being equally effective if cut two
inches, as if cut to half an inch.
Times of Feeding.—Almost of more importance than the form in
which food is given, is the frequency and regularity of meals. The
horse's digestive organs are not constructed for long fasts. Long
intervals without food produce hunger, and hunger begets voracity, food
is bolted, and indigestion and colic follow. This is doubly true and
doubly dangerous with horses doing hard work. They come to their
long-deferred meal not only hungry, but exhausted; not only is the food
bolted, but the stomach is in such a state as to be incapable of thoroughly
active digestion, and is overpowered by half the amount of food it could
otherwise easily digest.
Waste.—The prevention of waste is best attained when a proper
amount of food is given in a proper form; but there are two points to
which it is right to devote some attention—the form of the mangers, and
attention to the wants of individual animals. The mangers should not
be less than 3 feet long, 18 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. They
should have an upper border of wood projecting inwards for about 2
inches, and a transverse bar of half-inch round iron across the middle.
A piece of 2-inch wide hoop iron, screwed on to the top of the manger,
protects it from damage by the horse's teeth. This simple arrangement
prevents the horse from throwing out his corn, and the provender is not
eft m so thick a layer as in the ordinary narrow and shallow manger.
e second point is one which concerns the horse-keepers. Upon these
epend the equable distribution of the food, and the attention to the
thattS]°f mdividual animals- In all stables of any size it will be found
a ifferences of constitution, or different degrees of labour cause
variations in the amount of food necessary for each horse. In a stable of
5 oi 18 horses, some will be found in moderate, some in good, and some
vol. xxxii.-1882. l
8S THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
in very good condition, each having exactly the same food. Now, it is
by the condition alone that the amount of provender required can be esti-
mated, and therefore all the horses should be nearly alike as to condition.
Of course there are some old horses and some which never look up to the
mark, but setting aside these, a horse-keeper should know his work well
enough to be able to increase or decrease the amount of food for each
horse according to its wants. If all get exactly the same measure, it will
be certain that some have too little and others too much; there is therefore
waste—waste of the food left by some horses, and waste of condition in
those w7hich, it may be temporarily, require a little extra.
Horse-Keepers.—Too little attention is given to the selection of this
class of men. On many collieries it seems to be understood that any
decrepid old man who is no longer equal to the exhaustion of coal-hewing
is fit to have charge of a stable. Now, the difference between a good and
a bad horse-keeper is often sufficient to spoil the best arranged manage-
ment. Food and work being equal in two stables, the health and condition
in each vary in proportion to the skill and care bestowed by the horse-
keeper. Regularity in attendance, feeding, and cleaning are essential.
He must also take sufficient pride and interest in his work to keep his
stalls, mangers, cisterns, and harness in good order, and he must have that
knowledge of the habits and peculiarities of the animal only attained by
long association with it, which is requisite to detect any little change
betokening discomfort or disease. An old wasteman may possess these
qualifications if his youth has been passed amongst horses, but this is
exceedingly rare. Age is no disqualification for horse-keeping, but, other
things being equal, youth and activity are preferable. Owners of horses
surely know the difference between a good and bad groom. If this is felt
by persons keeping horses for private use, how much more must its truth
apply to the case of underground horses, where work is laborious and
where stables and surroundings favour the non-detection of idleness and
ignorance in the man who is supposed to attend to their necessaries and
comforts. The writer has known four bushels more corn per week
required by one man than by another, in a stable of fourteen horses, to
keep the animals in the same condition.
It is very extraordinary how little attention is given to this subject by
most viewers. Stables and stable management seem to be quite outside
their calculations, as if it were of so little moment as to be unworthy of
their special attention. Thus some viewers request a man to attend to
thirty and even forty animals, feeding, watering, grooming, gearing and
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 89
*ino- and cleaning harness and stables, besides attending to sick and
n^e horses in the pit. The result is that no part of the work is efficiently
done and the waste of provender, waste of grass, aud loss on the stud is
tenfold greater than where each horse-keeper has, as a rule, a maximum of
twelve horses or sixteen ponies to look after. This number is as great as
the best of horse-keepers can possibly attend to with efficiency and
economy.
In South Wales and in the West Coast Collieries ten horses are given
to one horsekeeper to attend to, and this is far more economical than the
thoughtless plan of giving large numbers to the care of one man.
The tabulated reports show both the actual and comparative cost of
feeding at the respective establishments. The actual cost speaks for itself;
the comparative cost shows the saving effected by the mixed food over the
old mode of feeding. The comparison is made with the feeding in use the
year previous to the writer being employed as horse manager. The old
plan of feeding is obtained from the colliery books, and is calculated on
the stock of animals kept and the total consumption of provender. The
comparison is made by taking the actual quantities of provender consumed
under the two systems at the prices paid during the year for which the
report was made and the classification of the horses and ponies as to size
is exactly as they stood in the books when the writer commenced. This
matter of size requires attention, as it has a considerable effect upon the
cost. It is one of the reasons why the absolute cost appears so much
higher at some collieries than at others. For instance, at Ryhope, what
are called " putting" ponies are as large as the animals classed as horses at
some other collieries. Again, at Stella and Towneley Collieries, animals
14 and 14'2 hands are all classed as large ponies, whereas most collieries
enter all 14 hands and upwards as horses. This matter of size, then,
although it merely requires attention to prevent error in the comparison
of two years' feeding at the same colliery, renders it impossible to accurately
compare the cost of feeding at two different collieries even for the same
year.
Attention should be also given to another point affecting the compara-
tive cost shown by the reports, viz., that some of the collieries had before
adopted a part of the plan recommended. They had used beans, peas,
arley, and bran in addition to oats, and they had crushed the grain; thus
e cost of the comparative year was already much lower than if the old
P an of whole oats and long hay had been in force. This was the case at
^owpen and at Brancepeth Collieries: at the latter, this change had reduced
6 C°St of cach hoi'se three or four shillings per week below that of the old
90 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
system. At South Hetton, Ryhope, and North Seaton, the old plan was
in use, and thus the comparative year stands higher, and a greater differ-
ence is shown in favour of the writer's plan.
The following particulars of the feeding at the principal collieries with
which the writer is connected show the practical results of the method.
The total saving in 1881 at these places was as follows: —
£ s. d.
South Hetton..................... 5,655 15 2
Ryhope............ ............ 6,031 5 5
Cowpen and North Seaton ... ... ... ... ... 3,343 7 3
Whitehaven ..................... 1,669 4 2
Bearpark ..................... 740 0 0
Backworth and Holywell ............... 2,200 17 2
Brancepeth and Brandon ... ... ... ...... 2,134 19 10
Seaton Delaval .................. 2,720 3 11
Ouston and Urpeth .................. 1,911 2 3
Haswell........................ 1,644 15 1
Towneley and Stella.................. 875 17 6
Mickley and Wylam.................. 1,988 14 10
Trimdon Grange and Kelloe...... ... ... ... 1,143 15 4
Castle Eden and Hamsteels............... 2,708 19 7
Wearmouth ..................... 1,259 16 7
Bedlington ..................... 3.833 4 3
Corporation of Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... ... 1,252 15 0
£41,114 13 4
The following is a statement of the saving effected over a number of
years at most of the collieries attended:—
Years.
South Hetton......... ... 31 ... £117.455
Ryhope ............... 20 ... 75,500
Cowpen and North Seaton......... 20 ... 63,498
Whitehaven............... 15 ... 23.511
Bearpark ............... 6 ... 3.880
Backworth and Holywell......... 21 ... 35,797
Brancepeth and Brandon ... ... ... 13 ... 29,143
Seaton Delaval ............ 28 ... 48;096
Ouston and Urpeth............ i ... 7,263
Haswell and Shotton ......... 5 ... 10,586
Towneley and Stella ......... 12 ... 9,874
Mickley and Prudhoe ......... Q ... 11,875
Trimdon Grange and Kelloe ...... 31 ... 46,079
Castle Eden and Hamsteels ...... 6 ... 11,713
Wearmouth............... 7 ... 8,920
Bedlington.............. 20 ... 66,868
Corporation of Newcastle-on-Tyne ... 4 ... 4,227
£574,285
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 91
But the saving in the cost of feeding by this method is not by any
the only advantage, or the whole economy effected, for it is claimed
do more work per annum, are in ,better condition, and last
that noista u.w j.
considerably longer than those fed on any other plan.
C° The writer has sound data to prove this assertion. To disprove some
statements to the contrary, there was drawn up from the books of the
South Hetton Colliery a tabular account extending over twenty-one years,
showing the number and cost of horses, the cost of feeding, and the
amount*of coal drawn. (See next page.)
This information was obtained from the horse books, stock books,
and from the case book wherein are entered the particulars of disease
or accident, causing any animal to be a whole day off work.
The stock is taken every year, and the name, age, colour, size, and
value of each animal entered. No animal is ever valued above the cost
price. All new horses and ponies are entered in the horse book, with full
particulars of age, colour, size, price, date of purchase, and seller's name.
Up to 1850 the only provender used at South Hetton was long hay
and whole oats, with occasionally a few beans. At the close of that year
the management was placed in the writer's hands, when crushing the oats
and cutting the hay was commenced, and a greater variety of grain used.
The difference in the cost of feeding has resulted in a saving during
the thirty-one years of £117,455, and the percentage of deaths from
disease is less than half what takes place amongst agricultural horses.
The opinion of the late Messrs. T. E. Forster and Nicholas Wood,
who in 1853 investigated the subject of length of service and annual
deterioration of pit horses, was that they lasted from four to five years at
the most, and that £5 per head should be allowed for deterioration.
The following table shows that at South Hetton the average service was
seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half years, and the yearly deterioration
amounted to £1 12s. 3d. per head. The table only extends to 1871.
The explanation is that in March, 1872, it was completed and sent to
Mr. John Forster, of London, the principal owner.
92 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
Tabular Statement, showing the Number and Cost of Horses and
Stock— ) South Hetton—41 horses, 14 large ponies, 11 small ponies.
Dec. 31, 1850. j Murton 55 do. 23 do. 70 do.
96 37 81
Value, £2,169 15s. Od.
Synopsis—
Average number kept in each year for 21 years... ... horses, 82; ponies, 169.
Do. bought do do. .... ... do. H'76; do. 24*42.
Do. died from disease in each year for 21 years, do. 0'90; do. D42.
Do. do. accidents do. do. do. 3*85; do. 5*19.
Do. destroyed in each year for 21 years (old
and useless) ......... do. 2*14; do. 1*57.
Cost for horses and ponies for 21 years, £16.006 (less,
sold and stock, £7,511) equals £8,495, or ... £404 10 6 per year.
Cost for upholding 82 horses and 169 ponies, £404 10s. 6d.
per year, equal to............... 112 3 each per annum.
Cost for provender per horse per annum for 21 years... 28 10 0
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 93
or 21 Years at South Hetton and Murton Collieries.
South Hetton—26 horses, 12 large ponies, 74 small ponies.
STo°i°Kifi7l Murton 70 do. 36, do. 101 do.
Dec oL, ' _ __
96 48 175
Value, £5,181 0s. Od.
Less cost of feeding at Kelloe, for 19 years ... 13,113 5 8
Less cost of feeding at Trimdon Grange, for 21 years 9,323 5 4
£69,027 16 10J
Difference in higher price of provender for 21
years, ever that charged in 1849 ...... 18,009 10 6
Total ......... £87,037 7 4J
Length of Service and Health of Stud.
2 horses and 3 ponies have been in the pits over 21 years each.
5 do. have been on the collieries over 14 years, and 12 others over 10 years each.
iere are 60 ponies that have been in the pits over 10 years, 15 over 14, and 6 over
20 years each.
11 years out of 21 no horse died from disease, and 10 vears out of 21 no pony
died from disease.
' 94 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
The following table will show the average duration of life of pit horses
at several collieries, which is extremely satisfactory as compared with
the results obtained by Messrs. T. E. Forster and Nicholas Wood, and
that recorded by Mr. Wight in his paper already referred to, in which he
says the average is only four years in the South Wales collieries, being
but a trifle over half the period of the lives of horses in the collieries of
the North.
Average Length op Lipe op Pit Horses and Ponies in the undermentioned
Collieries op Durham and Northumberland.
Years.
Bearpark ... ... ... 12
Backwortli ... ... ... 10
South Hetton ...... 9
Mickley ......... 10
Stella and Towneley ... 10
East Hetton ... ... 8|
Years.
Ouston ... ... ... 8|-
Trimdon Grange ... ... 8^
Castle Eden ...... 7£
Hamsteels ... ... ... 8-g
Whitworth......... 8J
Ryhope ......... 7|
The above averages are most satisfactory, considering that at least 75
per cent, of all deaths in the Northern collieries are produced by accidents
in the pits. One of the most important modes of reducing the mortality
of pit horses is the keeping of a " case book," in which every animal off
work 24 hours is entered, with full particulars of the name and colour of
the animal, nature of injury, and name of driver. This book is laid before
the " head viewer" every bill day for his inspection and signature.
The very fact of the drivers and officials knowing that every animal off
work will be brought before the head viewer is sufficient to prevent most of
the gross cruelty in the colliery, and thus prolonging the lives of the stud.
UNDERGROUND STABLES.
There is nothing on a colliery respecting which there is so great a
difference of opinion as underground stables and the ventilation of them.
They are made in some collieries at a cost of £8 to £10 per stall, whilst at
others 20s. per stall would cover them. Some have wide arched covering
with dressed stone pillars, and the partitions of the stalls closely boarded
up or built of bricks, whilst others have only two or three props, slight
boarded partitions, and no other flooring than the stone or shale of the
seam; others have them w7ell ventilated by fresh air ad libitum passing
through them and into the workings, whilst others shut off every foot of
air when the animals are out of the stables and only allow of a limited
supply when they are in, and this small supply after airing the stables is
passed into the " waste" and so lost to ventilation.
Both these extremes are wrong. A very efficient pit stable may be
made for about 30s. to 40s. per stall.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. <)f>
After choosing a spot with good roof of not less than 16 to 18 feet
ide with a S'ood fall for drainage, a w^all should be built 3 feet high,
3 to 4 feet fr°m COa* Wa^' ailC^ ^6 man»er? ma^e °f iron or wood, or
hat is better than either, brick cemented inside, placed against it. The
an°'er may be 2 feet long, 18 inches wide, and 15 inches deep, placed
on a brick or stone base 18 inches high, with three or four props or up-
rights between the manger and the end of the stall, to which two pieces of
12-inch board should be nailed along the whole length of the stall, leaving
12 inches of the lower part and all above the 2 feet boarding open to the
roof. To prevent one horse biting the other or eating out of his manger,
a prop on the brick wall in front of the manger up to the roof should
be put in, and four or five pieces of half-inch round iron put through this
and the first long prop forming the side of the stall. The floors may be
laid with bricks, or cement, or wood planking; the latter is best, but brick
floors are the least expensive. Only one horse in ten lies down on a brick
floor, two in ten lie on cemented floors without sawdust, and with plenty
of sawdust seven in ten, and the same on wooden floors. These facts have
been carefully noted in several pits, and it is a very important matter,
because horses which never lie down become leg weary in a quarter of the
time that those do that lie regularly in the stable. Scores of cases occur
where horses that never lie down have become perfectly useless for pit
work in two or three years through numbness of the legs, which causes
them to stumble over the sleepers, fall down, and so stop the work. For
such animals loose boxes should be made, and in nearly all cases horses
that were comparatively useless have in three or four months become very
valuable, doing pit work for several years after. In Eyhope pit this
was very marked, the work being extremely heavy and the horses,
sixteen hands and upwards, going with 10-ton loads. The viewer,
seeing the great advantage gained, made one, and sometimes two, loose
boxes for every stable, and this doubtless paid three or four per cent, for
the outlay. At Lord Lonsdale's collieries the viewer had done the same
thing and with the most satisfactory results. As no straw or bedding of
an) kind is allowed down pits sawdust should be used in as large quantities
a« can be had. It would be an enormous boon to the poor animals if some
cheap and useful bedding could be had for them to lie upon. Probably if
Peat moss litter" could be had for 20s. per ton it would pay for under-
giouiid litter. This is mentioned chiefly in the hope that some gentleman
to* •U} lt> !md give the coal trade the benefit of his exPeriment> b°th as
0 i s usefulness and its cost, after deducting the price of the manure sold
from the pit.
vol. xXX„^U88 u
96 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
For inbye stables at South Hetton and Murton Collieries iron props
and mangers have been used for many years instead of wood, both by .
Mr. Richard Forster and his predecessor, Mr. Matthews. The latter
gentleman adopted them after the inbye stables caught fire at Hetton Col-
liery several years ago, costing that Company many thousands of pounds.
They are constructed at a very reasonable expense, and are very durable
and very safe against fire.
Plate XII. shows a novel pit stable by Mr. Wight, of Cwmarnan
Collieries, South Wales, which can be used as a loose box or stall. The
advantages of this plan are set forth in his very excellent paper on
"Underground Horses," already referred to. The cost per stall is as
under:—
Per Stall.
£ s. d.
Posts and fixing ............... 16 0
Manger, wood and iron to]) ... ... ... 2 6
Gate with hinges ... ... ... ... ... 40
Wooden work for flooring............ 19 0
Total ...... £2 16
The novel part of the plan consists in backing the horse into the
stall, instead of backing him out. The advantages are:—First, that the
horses' heads and not their tails are of necessity always close to the
main current of air. Second, that it is much easier to feed and water
the horse when so placed than to carry the food and water to the other
end of the stall. Third, being only upright posts between each "loose
box" or stall, the free passage of air through the whole of the stable is
greatly facilitated. Mr. Wight says:—
Upon the question of ventilating stables much prejudice exists. The prevailing
method is to allow a split of fresh air to pass directly from the intake through the
stables into the returns. This is a most pernicious practice, for in the event of any
scarcity of ventilation the horses would be sure to be pinched the first, and the stables
would become unwholesome, unhealthy, and the breeding-place of disease. Besides, the
arrangement is an extravagant waste of air that might do important service in
assisting to clear away gas in some far off point, instead of going direct to the
" upcast." The only efficient way to ventilate stables is to construct them so that the
air may come from the main intake of the district, pass through the stables, and then
return back to the intake. When this mode of ventilation is adopted there is no
inducement on the part of anyone to rob the horses of any portion of the air which
they should have, for they would get the first of the air, which would be in a com-
paratively fresh and pure state. No other system of ventilation should be allowed,
and the objections made by some that the smell of the horses would be intolerable
should be met by saying boldly, that if there be not sufficient air in the district to
oarry off the smell of the horses the pit would certainly not be well enough ventilated
to make it fit either foi\horses or men.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 97
Thousands of pounds have been thrown away on horse establishments
1 great suffering inflicted upon the poor horses through the non-
ration of this simple plan, and all sorts of "tricks" have been adopted
' tjie ovenlien and master wastemen in collieries to make the head viewer
disbelieve the complaints of want of air in some of the stables. One of
these was so ingenious that it is worth pointing out. Many years ago the
writer reported to the head viewer of a colliery that the air was so deficient
in a large T shaped stable, that it would not move the flame of a candle
placed on the floor; that 26 horses in the stable were breathing five times
ns quickly as they ought and sweating as they stood. The master waste-
man and overman were sent for and both declared the ventilation good,
and the air fresh and plenty of it, and that there must be a mistake.
It was arranged that an inspection should be made, at five o'clock the
next morning, and ten times the quantity of air was found to be passing
along, that there was the night before. A lighted candle was ordered to
be put on the floor and was nearly blown out. The writer protested that
something had been done to throw more air into the stables since the
evening before; the wasteman and overman contended equally strongly that
nothing had been altered; but some months after it was discovered that
trickery had been used. The farthest outlet of the T had been choked
up, or nearly so, by a fall, thus preventing the air passing out of the
stable; this was cleared out during the night, and as soon as the viewer
had passed into the stable three or four brattice boards were placed across
the wagon way between the first opening and the main stalk of the T, thus
sending ten times the air through the stable that was passing the night
before and causing the viewer to exclaim that he was never in a better
ventilated stable. The men took care to have the brattice boards
moved to the side of the wagonway before the main intake was reached.
WORK.
At the commencement of this paper, it was pointed out that the
economic management of horses depended no less upon careful working
than upon judicious feeding. Work, of course, must be proportioned to
he strength and ability of the horse. It is evident that a horse only
a worked is not an economic machine; it is also evident that a horse
overworked is a source of loss, because the deterioration of the animal is
W*n in excess of the value of his labour.
e greatest possible economy in the management of horses is attained
w en the ^ork is level with the powers of the animal, and when these
98 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
powers are thoroughly met by good feeding. By work, the muscular
system of an animal is fully developed; by food, this state is sustained,
and when it reaches its maximum—when the muscles are firmest, when the
blood is richest, when every vital organ is most active—the point is
reached at which an animal is capable of doing the greatest amount of
work. This state is called " condition,'' and so long as economy is the
chief object, all working horses must be kept at this standard. Under-
feed or over-work an animal, and at once it is reduced below the point at
which he is most powerful, and therefore most economical.
Unfortunately, the loss and injury caused by over-wTork, does not
commonly show itself immediately and suddenly in a form to be detected
by a novice. It is no such palpable and striking event as lameness or
paralysis ; it is the gradual loss of tone and strength, which entails more
food, but no equivalent of work, and wdiich gradually, but surely, shortens
the life and destroys the value of the animal. As soon as a stud of pit
horses are so over-worked as to lose condition, so soon is the horse estab-
lishment an expensive one, and the cost per ton for horse haulage is higher
than it ought to be. Of those cases in which horses are worked till they
drop down dead, there is nothing further to be said, and the writer would
have preferred to have left the subject alone; because it is not, and can-
not be, the duty of the horse manager to regulate the work done in
collieries, as this rests with those who are much higher in authority, and
who ought to know better. Feeding and working are, however, so
intimately connected, that the economics of one cannot be considered
independently of the other.
During the last fifteen years the writer has visited most of the large
towns in the kingdom and inspected studs of horses of all kinds. He has
watched them at work, noticed the pace at which they travel, and the
weights they move; he has ascertained their methods of feeding and the
cost; has seen them in the stable, and observed their condition, and been
favoured with returns of their usual duration of service; and it may be
broadly stated that no horses work so many hours as those in collieries,
nor is the work so severe as in most of the pits visited in England and
Wales.
Since the publication of the pamphlet on" Food and Work," eight years
since, the writer has made careful notes of the relative amount of work
done by horses on different collieries, the hours they work and the loads
they draw, and the difference is incredible. Thus, at several large
collieries in South Wales scarcely a horse did over 7 or 8 miles per day,
and at no colliery did the average exceed 10 miles per day.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 99
A few years ago at one of the largest coal and ironstone establishments
South Durham, with a stud numbering 500 horses and ponies, the
111 r]stance travelled by each animal underground was less than half
average oi> (
j-j t travelled by the pit animals at Brancepeth, Mickley, Whitehaven,
Delaval Castle Eden, Has well, and many other collieries attended by the
iter The horses in the ironstone mines travelled a less distance even
than the pit horses; many of the horses took heavy loads, but none equal
to the loads of the horses belonging to the Corporation of the City of
Newcastle-on-Tyne. In fact, the latter horses have, for the last five years,
been doing two-thirds more mileage per day than the animals in the
ironstone mines of Cleveland. The cost of keeping this stud, which was
fed on hay and oats, cost more by £10,000 a year than did an equal
number of pit animals fed with mixed food in the way before described.
It is very difficult to compare the work done by horses under different
circumstances, and it is equally difficult to say what is a fair day's
work for a horse. To arrive at a definite conclusion all the circum-
stances affecting the work must be known. These are almost indefinite,
including as they do the pace, the weight drawn, the kind of roadway,
the gradient, the form and size of wheel, etc.
Perhaps no better idea can be given of what colliery horses do than
by showing what distances they travel and what weights they draw7 on a
nearly level road. At the Earl of Lonsdale's collieries, Whitehaven,
there was a horse-road If miles in length. Each horse's journey
up and down this way averaged about 19| miles per day. On the
journey out they brought about 7 tons, and on the return journey they
took in about 3 tons of empties, so that they travelled 9 J miles a day with
7 tons, and 9| miles with from 3 to 4 tons. This, however, is above the
average distance for pit horses to travel. When the pits work regularly
six days a week it is only by the greatest care that they can be kept in
good condition; frequently, however, only five days per week are re-
quired.
More than eighty years ago a Dr. Dixon wrote a book on these
Whitehaven collieries, and stated what the horses did at that time.
"They used," says the doctor, "to work nine hours at a shift, and
twenty horses drew about 42 to 44 tons. When the pits worked night
and day there were three shifts of horses each working eight hours. The
orses employed drawing coals from the face to the shaft travel where the
roads are level from nine to ten miles a day; but where the roads are up
an lncune of three to four inches to the yard they only travel six miles
100 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
per day." Compared with this the horses of to-day come out well, as in
those same pits they travel double the distance and take four times the
load they did in 1801.
Nineteen and a half miles a day is, however, too great a distance for
pit horses to average. If it were practicable to put another horse on the
road, and so reduce the mileage, there is no doubt it would be economical.
But pit work cannot always be arranged so easily as carting or ploughing.
Still there exists a good deal of false economy and not a little cruelty,
wdiich is avoided when the viewer is not only a clever mining engineer,
but understands horses. No man wilfully over-works his horses, but some
from want of special knowledge of the animal, and from anxiety to " get
the work out," do so. They make the same mistake as a captain
of a steamer, who, to obtain an extra knot an hour, burns £5
worth of extra coal per day, and saves in time about 20s. per day.
The motive is good but the result waste. The average mileage in a fairly
level pit, is about 14 to 16 miles a day. Some horses do not travel over
10 miles, others cover 20 or 25 in the shift, and even 28 miles per day in
Murton Pit has been averaged for three or four months, the horse
remaining in splendid condition. The rolleyway cobs in the C Pit,
Brancepeth, did for years 24 to 26 miles per day, and the horses in the
B Pit, Willington, for a whole year averaged 24 miles per day. This
variation in distance depends chiefly upon the level of the wagonway.
In pits where the roadway is very irregular and the gradients heavy,
the work is most exhausting. Among the many instances where the effects
of this variation in level are almost beyond belief, one in particular
may be mentioned, where, in a certain pit there was a level plane half a mile
long, over which one horse conveyed all the coal from the workings.
Beyond this was an incline 200 yards long, of 7 inches to the yard, up
which the same weight of coal had to pass. It required ten horses to draw
the weight up the shorter distance, and, even then the ten could barely
be kept in condition, by all the extra food they could consume. The horse
on the plane was always in good condition. This horse, it will be observed,
travelled four times the distance of the others, and took ten times the
weight, and consumed 28 lbs. of corn per week less. So laborious is the
work in some parts of collieries, that unless the particulars were noted no
one could believe the marvellous difference caused by gradients on the
work of underground horses.
A short time since when visiting the "inbye" workings of a colliery to
examine the horses at work, the respirations of the animals, big sixteen
hand horses, were taken, and some reached the incredible number of 145
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 101
minute the hearts action being 122 per minute, and this after stand-
?el . t for tcn minutes; whereas the breathing of a horse in health, and
^ t should be twelve, and the heart's action 40 per minute. In these
q orkino-s the gradient against the full tub was 8£ inches to the yard. The
corn consumed by the horses was 13J stones per week, and yet they were
only in moderate condition, whilst other horses working on nearly level
roads consumed only 7 stones per week, and were in splendid condition.
The above cases are mentioned to show that where horses are over-
worked the cost of horse flesh is enormous; the waste of tissue is so great
that nature seems to compel the poor animal to be always eating to
repair the loss; but it is impossible that any horse could assimilate the
amount of nutriment contained in 13^ stones of mixed food in a week,
and hence the wraste is twofold, loss in food and loss in horse flesh.
This matter of gradient is of far more importance wThen the roadway
consists of iron rails, than when it is merely a macadamized surface. On
a level way, a horse can take eight times the load in a truck running on
iron rails that he can in a cart or wagon on any ordinary road; but when
the way is inclined this is altered, and a rise of six to seven inches to the
yard, reverses the power of draught, as then a horse will take eight times
as great a weight up the road surface as he can up the rails.
This is the explanation of the enormous difference in the draught-
power of pit horses on levels and on heavy gradients. Of course there
cannot be pits without inclines, and, therefore, horses must work them;
but it behoves all managers favouring true economy to avoid very heavy
inclines, or to modify them as much as possible.
It happens occasionally on collieries that the grease is very bad, and
it has occurred that a sample of some anti-friction material has been
perfectly innocent of any such ingredient as fat. Such circumstances
render the tubs almost immovable, and increase indefinitely the strain
upon the horses. Fortunately, not only horses, but men and engines have
to move these tubs, so that the evil is soon discovered, either by the
breakage of the wire rope on the engine plane, or by its requiring two
men to move each tub on the fiat-sheets. In four or five days after the
adoption of bad grease, a stud of horses has been so reduced in condition
f8 hardly t0 be ecJual to work, each horse having lost at least four stones
m weight. The gravity of this evil must be an apology for referring
0 it; certainly the loss of horse flesh has in some cases amounted to a
depreciation of £2 per head.
1 T
11 comparing pit work with other varieties of horse labour, it must
e remembered that the wheels of the tubs are very small, and that the
102 THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
rails are not so well laid or so free from grit or dirt as the rails of wagon-
ways at bank. When going, the horse is nearly constantly in the collar,
and the pace is fully four miles an hour.
The writer has inspected and inquired into the working of studs
employed on tramways and railways, in omnibuses and drays, and the
various conditions in which wagons and carts are used. Time will not
permit all these observations being introduced, but a sketch will be given
of as much as may be necessary to give a comprehensive idea of the
amount of work actually done by horses under'different circumstances.
It is instructive to notice the difference in the length of time occupied
by various classes of horses in performing their daily work. The tramway
horses of most of our large towns are at work about three-and-a-half
hours, omnibus horses seldom more than four hours. The maximum
distance they travel is about fifteen miles per day. Cart and van horses,
doing sixteen miles a day, usually work about eight hours; pit horses
averaging twenty miles, and working twelve to eighteen hours per
day.
To compare the labour done by these different horses, the stoppages
must be taken into account, as well as the weight drawn, and the pace.
Frequent stopping and starting writh heavy loads adds very considerably
to the amount of work done, and is most trying to the muscular system
of the animal.
According to an article in the Times of December 10th, 1868, the
horses of the London Omnibus Company averaged a little over twelve
miles per day, their duration of service was four years, and the invalid and
spare amounted to seven per cent. These statements may be considered
indicative of good management.
The omnibus horses of Paris, in 1873, worked four hours per day on
the following allowance of food:—Hay, 9 lbs.; oats, 20 lbs.; beans, 1^ lbs.—
certainly in this country extravagant feeding. The average distance
travelled was about fifteen miles. The streets are very level, the horses in
very good condition, but the pace was only about half that of the Edinburgh
tramway horses.
The Liverpool omnibus and tramway horses travel over fifteen miles,
and are at work three hours. Exclusive of stoppages the pace is about six
miles an hour. In Edinburgh the tramway horses travel over sixteen miles
a day and are at work three hours. The pace is too last, and part of the
road is an incline which is a very heavy pull, although an extra pair of
horses are employed to assist each tram-car over it. The effects of the
pace, distance, and gradient are noticeable in the condition of the horses,
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 103
liich however, are fed almost exclusively on oats, and are therefore not
n a level looting with most of the others mentioned, which are allowed a
proportion of beans.
At a meeting of the British Association, held in Dublin, it was stated
that Pickford and Co., the great carriers, found they could not work their
horses more than ten miles a day with economy. Mr. Bianconi, the well-
known founder of the car system in Ireland, whose experience has been
oathered from the working and management of 900 horses, which daily
draw 67 conveyances a distance of no less than 4,244 miles, stated that,
as the result of forty-three years' experience, he had found that he could
better work a horse eight miles a day for six days in the week than six
miles a day for seven days. By the one day's rest per week he effected a
saving of 12 per cent.
The writer's own experience leads him to think that Mr. Bianconi has
understated the working power of horses, but no one can be in a
position to estimate the value of his assertion till his method of feeding
and the circumstances affecting the working of the horses are known, but
fourteen miles would seem more reasonable as an average day's work for a
horse; certainly there can be no work above ground at which this distance
could be called excessive.
There is another point to which attention should be called, viz., that
it is the latter portion of a journey wdiich tells most upon a horse. The
last half of a ten mile stage is far the most exhausting, and therefore when
it is possible to divide the daily work into two portions, separated by a long
interval of rest, an economy is effected. Some have found by experience
that it paid better, in horsing a stage-coach, to run the horses six mile stages
at twelve miles an hour twice a day, than ten mile stages at ten miles an
hour. This was an unexpected discovery, due to opposition making a fast
pace indispensable, and the short stages were adopted to try and modify
its evil effects. These horses were fed on white peas, bran, and hay. Of
course this arrangement only holds good wuth horses doing fast work.
To sum up the deductions to be gathered from these facts, it may be
remarked that more horses are under-fed than under-worked. That pit
horses are usually over-worked. That the economic regulation of food
and work is a subject requiring more attention than it usually receives,
and that when these matters are properly attended to, the cost of a horse
establishment is brought to its very lowest point—to a point much below
What is usually thought necessary.
Over or Under-horsing.—Just as the over or under-working of one
rSe ls ^se economy, so the under or over-horsing of an establishment
vol. xxxii.-1882. N
104
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
is attended with unnecessary expense. If over-horsed, the extravagance
is self-evident; but it is by no means generally understood at what point
an establishment is properly horsed. Of course it can safely be said it is
not so when a full allowance of good food is given and the horses lose
condition; bat there are many cases where, to all appearances, horses are
overworked when really they are not doing the amount of labour they are
capable of if only properly fed. Before, then, it can be concluded that an
establishment is under-horsed because the horses are unequal to their
work, it must be proved that the food is sufficiently nitrogenous to fully
meet the waste of their systems. Given that the food allowance is
unobjectionable, the horsing of an establishment may be judged very
fairly by the condition of the horses, because when once the daily
maximum amount of work a horse is capable of doing is exceeded, loss of
condition follows inevitably, and loss of condition is equivalent to loss of
money. When a pit is properly horsed the animals are kept in condition
by good economical feeding, and they do their wrork not only with ease
and comfort but without the loss from disease, injury, and death which
surely accompanies the excessive work due to under-horsing. Death
causes a loss appreciable to anyone, but disease and injury sometimes
cause even greater loss because these animals still require food and
attention without yielding any return of work.
Under-horsed establishments always show a high annual cost for food.
They always have a number of incapable, and therefore expensive,
animals on the place, and the average duration of service is much shorter
than on those establishments where the work is fairly proportioned to the
number of animals kept.
It cannot be too often repeated that a horse is only capable of a
certain amount of labour. No amount of extra food can exact work
beyond this point, because the nervous depression caused by exhaustion
so affects the functions of the body that the food is not assimilated and
the waste of tissue is in excess of the reparative powers. If overmen
would but remember this they would prevent much cruelty, trouble, and
loss.
Nothing can be more certain than that if a horse is over-worked for a
week, his powers will be so reduced that a more than equivalent loss of
work is experienced next week. On this subject Mr. Wight says in his
paper:—
What more than anything else reduces the length of life of horses is the want of
proper attention by the officials and the reckless way in which they are worked. The
custom of working horses extra shifts is a way of quietly murdering them. Extra shifts
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
105
be worked without great injury, and they should never be adopted except in cases
cannot ^ nag become a habit to do so in many collieries; however, to say
of *melg^ t"h'e inhumanity of the practice, it does not pay. An extra horse standing
not *n*> stable would pay the colliery owner much better than allowing a single
horse'to be worked overtime systematically.
The writer's first introduction to nearly every colliery with which he is
connected has been brought about by an excessive loss in the horse estab-
lishment—a loss of horse flesh and of work. In every case the cause of
this has been either under-feeding or under-horsing, and the balance has
not been restored by the most careful attention till hundreds of pounds have
been lost. The reduction of the out-put of coal has frequently been
enormous, and the loss from this cause alone was more than twenty times
the cost of the additional horse-power or food requisite to have prevented it.
In practice, the writer's frequently expressed desire for a full comple-
ment of horses on an establishment has earned for him the character of
over-horsing the pits at which he attended. This character, however, is
only given by men wTho have no practical experience of the results of
horse management. Not unfrequently, too, has it been stated that he
deliberately adopted this plan that he might show a favourable balance
sheet of feeding; in other words, accused of overstocking the pits with
horses that the amount of food required might be reduced, and thus show
a spurious economy.
It has often been suggested to the writer that he should give an oppor-
tunity to those who disagree with him respecting the management of horses
openly to state their views, and he has written this paper in the hope that
in the discussion all possible objections may be urged against his treat-
ment of horses, so that he may have an opportunity of answering them.
It is a subject upon which much diversity of opinion must exist, and the
writer hopes that the discussion may not prove the least valuable portion
of this notice, and that his views, strengthened as they are by a long
experience obtained from the great number of animals which have been
under his care, will be still further confirmed by the observations of all
those colliery managers who have given the subject the consideration it
deserves.
ith respect to the information given in the Appendix, it may be as
well to note that the whole of the information therein is taken from the
colliery books, and that every figure has been verified by the respective
officials of the collieries.
An examination of the tables will show how very much alike is the
cost of each animal, when the cost of the provender is taken at the same
collieries; the widest margin of difference being less than Jd. a day per
10G THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
horse; and this, although there is a considerable variation of the pro-
portion of the different kinds of grain at the different collieries, often
caused by the high prices charged for hay and oats off the owners' farms,
which are always higher than the prices offered by merchants.
The Mickley report is especially deserving of attention, as it shows
that horses can be kept up to their wTork and in good health where no oats
have been used.
The report from Bearpark is also especially worth consideration,
seeing that this colliery is under the special consideration of the President.
The following statement shows the cost of upholding a stud of horses
for twelve years.
Tabular Statement showing the Number oe Horses and Ponies Bought,
Sold, Died, Killed, and Destroyed at Backworth and West Cramling-
ton Collieries during the Twelve Years ending 31st December. 1881.
£ s. d.
Total cost for new horses and ponies for twelve years ... 5,080 2 6
Less for horses and ponies sold do. ... 1,040 12 0
£4,039 10 6
Equal to £336 12s. 6£d. per annum for upholding the stud, or
£1 18s. per head deterioration on an average of 177 horses and ponies.
Six years out of the twelve years no horse died from disease; six years
out of the twelve years no pony died from disease. Twelve horses and
ponies are still in the pits that have been down from fifteen to eighteen
years, and a black horse called " Star" has been twenty-two years under-
ground.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES—APPENDIX. 107
108 THE FEEDING- OF COLLIERY HORSES-APPENDIX.
THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES—APPENDIX. 100
110 THE FBKDING OF COLLIERY HORSES—APPENDIX.
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. Ill
The President said, he had much pleasure in proposing a vote of
thanks to Mr. Hunting for the paper. Although the introduction of
machinery during the last thirty or forty years had greatly lessened the
of horses, the cost must still be a considerable item in the expenses at
most collieries. Having for twenty years been acquainted with Mr.
Hunting's system of feeding, which had given him every satisfaction, he
was very glad that it had been brought before the Institute, as it was a
matter of very great importance to colliery managers.
Mr. T. J- Bewick seconded the vote of thanks; and the motion was
agreed to.
Alderman Wilson (Chairman of the Town Improvement and Sanitary
Committees of Newcastle Corporation) said that, as he was not a member
of the Institute, he was only there through the courtesy of a member, and
as he had been invited to speak on the subject he had very much pleasure
in adding his testimony to the efficiency of the system of feeding which
Mr. Hunting had brought before them. It was now about four years since
Mr. Hunting's system was brought under his notice; and as the head of
a Committee of the Corporation of Newcastle, having charge of a large stud
of horses, he (Mr. Wilson) considered it his duty to bring Mr. Hunting's
system before the Town Council. The Town Council authorized the Com-
mittee to enter into an engagement with Mr. Hunting to take charge of
the entire stud of horses—to purchase, sell, doctor, and feed the horses
belonging to the Corporation. At that time the keep of the horses cost
22s. 2d. per head per wreek, and during the first year of Mr. Hunting's
management the cost was reduced to a little over 14s. per head per week.
The result was so satisfactory that Mr. Hunting had been continued in
charge of the stud. That gentleman had the greatest obstacles and
difficulties to contend with when he first took charge of the Corporation
horses, for he met with opposition at all points. Where there was a large
number of men employed, a change of system was not very palatable;
and perhaps Mr. Hunting had more than usual opposition to contend
with; but he persevered, and was supported by the Committee, and the
result was the Corporation stud of horses were now in the best possible
condition ; and, as Mr. Hunting stated, the saving amounted to £1,300 to
£1,400 a year for the stud of sixty or seventy horses. He did not
like to boast, but he was told the Newcastle Corporation horses would
I favourably compare with any stud in the country.
^ Mr. T. W. Benson asked Mr. Hunting's opinion as to the economy of
using seed hay or old land hay? So far as his experience went, pit horses
used less old land hay, and apparently kept in quite as good condition:
ut horse keepers and cartmen generally spoke in favour of seed hay.
vol. xxxii.-1882. 0
1 1 2 discussion—the feeding of colliery morses.
Mr. Hunting said, he was pleased that this question had been asked.
He had arrived at the conclusion that the best old land hay was more
nutritious than the best seed hay. He knew that this opinion was gene-
rally opposed by many horse men, but the only reason he could arrive at
why they held that opinion wTas that horses eat more seed hay. The
strongest evidence he could produce in favour of his views as to the
value of old land hay was that of the late Mr. Cole, of Bebside. Up
to the time of the reading of the author's paper on " Horse Feeding,"
before the Farmers' Club, that gentleman was greatly in favour of seed
hay for pit horses, and instituted the following experiments for the very
purpose of upsetting the author's published statement, Mr. Cole being
opposed to the plan of feeding advocated. For three months he put one
of his studs on old land hay and the usual quantity of corn, and. another
stud, at another pit, on seed hay and the same quantity of corn. At
the end of three months he reversed this experiment, putting those that
had been eating seed hay on to old land hay, and vice versa, with the
same quantity of corn in each case. The health and condition of the
studs were exactly the same in both cases, and the work also, but in
each case 25 per cent, more seed hay than old land hay was consumed.
The great value of this experiment was in the fact that it was adopted
to prove how erroneous were the author's statements, whereas it fully
confirmed all that had been stated. He advised the introduction of old
land hay at some collieries in the north. It was very much objected
to, and a report was sent to the head viewer to the effect that, unless
some alteration was made, the pit work wTould be stopped, because the
old land hay was injuring the animals, for only two tubs instead of three
of manure were sent to bank daily since its use; this of course would
be accounted for in the smaller quantity of old land hay taken. The con-
dition of the horses was, however, proved to have been in noway affected.
There was no doubt that the best old land hay is more nutritious than
seed hay, owing to there being less insoluble matter in the former than in
the latter; but most horses prefer the seed hay, and eat more of it.
Mr. Lawrence said, that at some of the breweries in London there
was a similar process of mixed food for horses. A friend of his, who was
the partner who had charge of this department in a brewery, told him that
great advantage was found by putting maize into tubs and steeping it in
water for twenty-four hours. At the bottom of each tub or cask was a
plug, and at the end of twenty-four hours the plugs were drawn out and
the water run off; and after standing twelve hours longer in the casks, the
maize was removed to granaries and watched until it sprouted to a certain
point; and the maize so treated was found more nutritious than the
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. 113
• the form in which it is used here. At the brewery all food
^^u^and mixed before it was given to the horses; the green food
also mixed with the rest of the food. He remembered reading a
JaSUgSion which took place at Glasgow with respect to the feeding of
in which it was stated that a certain proportion of locust beans
horses, ui
was mixed with the food of the tramway horses.
1 Mr Hunting said, he knew there were some people who preferred to
have maize steeped in water before using it. He believed it was this plan
of using soaked maize which first led him in 1853 to reject it. The only
advantage which maize could have in the state of fermentation described
by Mr. Lawrence would be the converting its starchy matter into the first
or second stage of sugar—half-way on to fat. There could be no doubt
that it would be better to use maize so treated for the feeding of poultry,
pigs, or cattle, where no muscular exertion, or very little, was required,
and where the deposition of fat on animals was the great object in view.
He had the greatest possible objection, however, to the use of boiled
food for horses. In Scotland it used to be the custom to use boiled food
for agricultural horses. Every night a large pailful was given to each
horse; and the serious loss of animals which ensued from inflammatory
affections of the bowels, was considered by Professor Gamgee to be almost
entirely due to the use of boiled food. Those who understood the
process of digestion could readily understand that a horse, coming in
cold and shivering, and eating a large quantity of boiled food'—a soft,
pulpy mass—and filling up its time by eating hard uncut straw would
have a great tendency to produce inflammation; and it was shown
that the horses lost in Scotland from colic were 200 per cent, more than
the number lost in England. This subject was investigated, and it was
found that where the great loss of horses occurred, it was due to the use of
boiled food. No amount of preparation of any kind—chopping or bruising,
steaming or boiling—could add to the nutritive value of food for animals.
The constituents were there. Preparation of the food might cause the
more or less free passage of the indigestible portions of the food through
the alimentary canal; but no process of cooking increased the nutritive
value of any kind of food used by animals.
Mr. Richard Forster said, he had had experience of Mr. Hunting's
system in connection with the feeding of horses at collieries. On looking
at the figures given by him he found that the expense per horse at
e collieries he had personally worked under this system came to about
e meau average given in the paper; and if the figures were still further
considered with regard to the number of tons sent out of the colliery, it
114 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
would be found that there was not only a saving in the cost of feeding the
horses, but also upon the cost per ton raised. He alluded to the cost per
ton, because when this system of feeding was discussed it was sometimes
said that more horses had to be used to do the same amount of work.
That argument would be met if the calculations were based upon the cost
per ton of output. Mr. Hunting's sole object appeared to be to alter the
mixing of food as prices changed, so as to make the feeding, whilst most
economical for the owners, at the same time best for the horses, by taking-
care always to preserve in the mixture a proper supply of nitrogenous food.
Mr. Richd. S. Johnson said, that in early life he opposed Mr. Hunting,
but he had since become a thorough convert to his system. He had reason
to thank him for the great saving effected at the collieries he had charge
of, not only in connection with the feeding of horses but also in connection
with the case-book. He urged the managers of all collieries to carry out
the recommendations of Mr. Hunting.
Mr. W. F. Hall endorsed the remarks made by Mr. Forster and Mr.
Johnson. Mr. Hunting's system was brought under his notice in 1864, and
since that time it had been pretty generally carried out. He agreed with
Mr. Forster as to stating the cost per ton; and he had found in his practice
that the cost per ton was not so great. The case-book was, he thought,
the only means to keep evil-doers from going wrong; if it were known
that the case-book came before the manager, the driving of poor animals to
death would be put a stop to. Mr. Hunting was very fair in stating his
case; he did not favour any one. At Ryhope there were a large number
of horses heavily worked; it was perhaps what was called a warm pit, and
horses took much more harm in warm than in cold pits; but the horses
at Ryhope would compare favourably with horses in any coal-pits in
Northumberland or Durham doing similar work, both in regard to
condition and duration of efficiency, as well as economy of feeding.
Mr. T. W. Benson asked Mr. Hunting whether he considered it any
advantage to give horses the sweet-smelling condiments, which one was so
often asked by agents and travellers to purchase. His own reply to such
applications generally was to the effect that a horse in good condition
ought not to want such compounds.
Mr. William Boyd said, that many gentlemen might have seen in the
Times during the last two or three months accounts of the mode of treating
green food in what were called " silos." The green food was cut in the usual
way in the field, and then chopped up small and put at once into pits or
"silos," which were pits bricked out and lined with cement. The material
was heavily pressed down with stone flags on the top. The hay and clover
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. 115
ut into these pits irrespective of weather, climate, or condition.
Ts stated that on the pit being opened there was a certain depre-
• , tho nrmer layers for a very small distance clown, and that the
oration m uri'^ J " ¦ . , .
ainder of the contents of the pit formed a green food equal m
^ritious value to the material when it first came off the land. This
Tstem was quite new, and had not, he believed, yet been tried in the
North of England. The food thus produced was called "ensilage."
Mr Hunting, in reply to Mr. Benson's question, said that, with re-
spect to condiments or spice food, there was a " paper war" carried on for
five or six weeks between himself and Messrs. Blundell and Spence and
Mr. Thorley, shortly after he read a paper, twenty-five or twenty-six years
ao-o. Condiments were never nutritious, but were beneficial only to animals
out of health; just as a man, when he was shivering and cold, took a glass
of hot stimulant, which in a short time would warm him. To give animals
condiments or spiced food, with a view to improve their condition, was
simply to throw money away. Probably Mr. Laws, of Roehampstead,
had given most attention to this subject, and, after experimenting on hun-
dreds of animals, had come to the conclusion that he would be a great
loser by using condiments, even if given to him. All the greatest
physicians had come round to the old dietetic system recommended by
hydropathists. He w7as not a hydropathist, but he knew that nineteen-
twentieths of the success of hydropathic treatment consisted in the adoption
of absolutely perfect dietetic arrangements, only such food as the system
required being permitted. If animals are constantly given either vegetable
or mineral tonics or stimulants with their food, they become not only
useless but ill. All healthy animals take as much food as they require
and their systems can assimilate; and the food not assimilated has to be
carried out at the expense of the lungs, the liver, or kidneys; the loss was
threefold:—First, in paying for the food; second, in causing the animal to
eat more than it could assimilate; and third, the waste of tissues in carry-
ing off the food taken in by the animal, which was not required. In reply to
Mr. Boyd's question he said ensilage had been used very largely by some
Frenchmen, and also in the United States of America. He had accounts
sent to him from America by men whom he knew to be able and trustworthy
agriculturists, and they said ensilage was something very marvellous. Green
food of all kinds, in a green state, was put into receptacles or pits, and was
so pressed down as to exclude the air, and consequently prevent fermen-
tation ; and it was said that when taken out of the pit it came up to the
analysis of all the nutritive juices of the grass as when put in, and that
ey were able to keep something like 25 per cent, more horses and cattle
uPon a quantity of ensilage brought out of the pits in winter than they
lib* discussion—new ventilating fan.
would upon the same quantity dried in the field and stacked in the usual
way. By another year he hoped to make an experiment with it himself;
he intended to make a pit and test the matter. There could be no
question whatever that there were great losses in using all kinds of grasses
and cereals as dried food as against food when in the growing condition
and when maturing into seed. If grass wras cut three or four days before
it flowered in full it would contain at least 25 per cent, less woody fibre
than when ripe, and if allowed to stand until dead ripe, it would contain
50 per cent, more than when cut early. If cut soon, they got a material
that contained largely the constituents which formed blood; but those
constituents when formed into wroody fibre, wTere useless as food, and
were passed through the alimentary canal as refuse.
The discussion was adjourned.
The d iscussion on " The Description of a New Ventilating Fan," by
Mr. T. J. Bowlker, and the " Report of the Committee on Mechanical
Ventilators," was resumed.
Mr. T. J. Bowlker—At the first discussion on the subject Mr.
Morison was understood to say that there was no friction in the Guibal
fan because there was a partial vacuum inside, but at the next meeting
this was slightly extended, and it appeared that the reason there
was no friction was, that each particle of air got continually into a
region of lower pressure as it went round the fan. Let it be supposed
then that air, under either or both of these conditions, really is free
from friction, the inevitable conclusion must be that the air traverses
a mine without friction, for it certainly satisfies both of these con-
ditions; since, if a pipe be put down from the surface to any part of
the mine a partial vacuum would be found which would gradually
increase as the upcast shaft was approached, so that the air as it went
along would be continually getting into a region of less pressure, just
as the air inside the Guibal casing does, so that if Mr. Morison's
theory were true it would have to be admitted that there was also
no friction of the air in the mine. Mr. Morison went on to say that
having two or more outlets instead of one would cause the fan to
lose the potential energy saved in the Guibal from the tangential force;
to this it may be alleged that it is only necessary to point to the facts of
the case, for the water-gauge shows conclusively that the three-outlet
fan saves mere of the tangential energy than the Guibal. If there
were an outlet at every foot of the circumference, as Mr. Morison
discussion—new ventilating fan. 117
o-ested still more of the tangential energy would be saved, but not
SU8gIh to pay for the expense of having say 30 outlets instead of
eI10Ug Mr Steavenson furnished a translation of a portion of a paper
b^MM. Pernolet and Aguillon, which, however, as it did not seem to bear
on the particular phase of the matter under discussion need not be further
011ticed ' Mr. Cochrane, in his remarks at the last discussion, con-
sidered ' that the comparison between the 8 feet 6 inches Bowlker
? d Watson fan and the 45 feet Guibal fan was unfair, and this he went
on to say was owing to p or the square of the volume of air divided by
the water-gauge, being so much smaller in the ventilation with the 8 feet
6 inches fan, than in the ventilation with the Guibal; from which remarks
it must of course be inferred that the Guibal fan will give worse results
as the square of the volume increases, that is as the volume of the air
dealt with increases so long as the water-gauge remains the same. This
seems to be an admission in no way calculated to add to the repu-
tation of the Guibal as a ventilator adapted for dealing with large
quantities of air; for it appears that if with a Guibal getting 30,000
cubic feet of air at a given water-gauge a certain useful effect is obtained,
a poorer percentage of useful effect may be expected when a Guibal gets
150,000 cubic feet of air per minute with the same water-gauge. This is
a defect in the Guibal which it must be confessed had not been brought
before his notice before. After having learned that the Guibal gives its
best results when ^ is small, one is rather astonished to have as an
example of a Guibal with a large useful effect a fan alluded to in which
^ is enormously large, very much larger than in the experiment with the
.172
Rockingham fan, where ^ was considered too large. There is some
V*
mystery about this ^ which it is difficult to understand, and it is quite
certain that ^ affects the Bowlker and Watson fan in a very different
manner, for with it as j is increased the useful effect is increased
also. Mr. Cochrane's observation is so far right that,, the com-
parison between the 45 feet Guibal and the 8 feet 6 inches Bowlker
and Watson fan was unfair, and unfair to the latter fan. Mr. Cochrane
also says that the experiments in his (Mr. Bowlker's) paper do
not show any advantage of this fan over the Guibal, but to this
e demurred. The useful effect of the Rockingham Guibal is stated in
118 discussion—new ventilating fan.
the paper to be from 40 to 50 per cent. The experiment with the Guibal
which gave 57 per cent, of useful effect was an experiment under entirely
artificial conditions, the separation doors being opened, and therefore, it
would be unfair to compare the useful effect obtained in such a case with
that obtained in the experiments with the 8 feet 6 inches fan which were
under the normal conditions of ventilation. The other experiment which
Mr. Cochrane referred to and asked why it was not taken was also
under artificial conditions and did not give such a good useful effect.
There is something else in the Guibal, which is considered one of its great
advantages, and that is the shutter, and this, too, seems to be somewhat
mysterious in its action. This is sometimes referred to, almost as if it
were some source of power to help the fan when it got into difficulties. He
confessed that he understood very little about the benefits of the shutter;
but so far as his experience went, it seemed to act the part of scapegoat
to all the shortcomings of the Guibal fan; it always seems, unfortunately,
to be in the wrong place, and, therefore, a fan in which it was dispensed
with would probably be desirable. This, however, is certain, that the
shutter will not prevent any of that great loss occasioned by the air
friction in the casing; indeed lowering the shutter down, as it increases
the rubbing surface, will increase that friction slightly, therefore all it can
do, if it does anything, will be to prevent loss through re-entry, and so
on. The varied proportion of the useful effect of the Guibal fan, supposing
the shutter to act perfectly, to the power used might be illustrated by the
following diagram :—Let a b represent the power spent on ventilation and
air friction when the utmost useful effect c b was obtained, and let c b° in
a curve representing the varied effect from c b where 4,000 feet per
revolution pass to b° where no air passes, in which latter case the whole of
the power used a°b° will be thrown away, and at any other position a a"
the relation of the total power to the useful effect will be as d b' to c V,
and a!' b" to c" b" respectively; from which diagram it is evident that the
Guibal is, in spite of the shutter, ill adapted for varying conditions of
ventilation.
discussion—new ventilating fan. 119
. Cochrane admits the fact of there being friction in the Guibal casing,
considers it probable that he (Mr. Bowlker) had made a mistake in the
bU efficient- this is quite likely, although every care to prevent mistakes was
C°i" n- but as all previous experimenters have obtained higher co-efficients
6 of Peclet being about ten times as great), it is rather likely that if
there be a mistake, the co-efficient, as given in the paper, is too small rather
than too large. But the members of this Institute are not asked to believe
in any experiments except their own, and he (Mr. Bowlker) would only
be too glad if the members would make their own experiments to test
the results given; for although it may be a matter of perfect indifference
to most whether this co-efficient is right or wrong so far as it affected his
theory as to the friction of air in fans, yet surely it is desirable for other
reasons to ascertain the true value of the co-efficient of friction of air
against brick-work. Mr. Bowlker concluded by stating that Mr.
Cochrane wished an experiment had been tried with this fan at the same
periphery speed as in the experiment with the Rockingham Guibal, when
the Guibal gave 37 per cent, of useful effect. He would see that this had
been done by Mr. Lindsay, and this fan has been found to give 50 per
cent, at that low speed; and he was much obliged to Mr. Daglish for his
kindness for having had this fan experimented on in the same way as the
other types of fan had been by the Committee.
Mr. D. P. Morison said that, after such a long dissertation against the
Guibal fan, he felt it somewhat difficult to make a suitable answer,
without time for careful analysis of the numerous points raised. The
concluding portion of Mr. Bowlker's remarks was the most practical,
where he urged that some experiments should be made with the fan, and
compared with the results obtained from a Guibal fan of similar size, and
as far as possible, under the same conditions. He (Mr. Morison) was sure,
if such a comparison were made, very probably the result of the Guibal fan
would be found to maintain its usual prominent position, and Mr. Bowlker's
would perhaps not be very far -off. It was impossible to answer seriatim
the remarks and figures of Mr. Bowlker but he would take two or three
of them. It occurred to him that Mr. Bowlker had not drawn the diagram
showing the loss of power due to friction in the casing as he should
have drawn it. The diagram, as drawn, would actually represent the
power expended on the volume of air itself and not that on the friction.
Until the diagram was properly put before the Institute he could scarcely
understand it.
Mr. Bowlker said, that a b on the diagram represented the propor-
tionate total power expended for any given useful effect c b ; the space a c
vol. xxxii.-1882. P
120 discussion-new ventilating fan.
at the top represented the proportion of the power spent in friction of the
air, compared with the space c b at the bottom, representing the useful
effect or power spent on ventilation; that a'd represented the proportion
lost in friction when c' V represented the useful effect; and that a" c"was
the friction due to c" b", and so on till no useful effect was obtained,
when a° b°, the power exerted in using the fan, was all thrown away, as
no air was passed.
Mr. Morison said, that from the diagram it might be understood
that the Guibal expended as much power in passing no air at all as
it did in passing 4,000 feet per minute. Further, with regard to the
shutter, it was of so much importance that, under certain conditions, it
would make a difference of 50 per cent, in the volume of air discharged
by the fan. When the shutter was too far open there was sometimes a re-
entry, due to too much area of outlet; and when the shutter was too far
V2
down, there was throttling. As to Mr. Cochrane's remarks on , Mr.
Bowlker had exactly reversed their meaning. The larger V2 is in propor-
tion to h, the better is the result by the Guibal and by any other system.
Wherever V2 is large and h is small, either the Guibal or Bowlker, or any
other fan, would give the best results. Mr. Bowlker did not utilize the
tangential velocity; the tangential velocity could not be restored in his
system by the increase of depression or water-gauge produced up to the
point of discharge. He thought any comparison of the friction of the
air in the mine itself, as compared with imaginary friction in the casing
was erroneous, and would hardly be borne out in either the Guibal or
any other system.
Mr. J. A. G. Ross said, that so far as his experiments had shown,
the greater velocity any fluid had in passing through passages the greater
was the friction, and that to in a very much greater ratio than simply that
due to the proportionate velocity, and therefore he thought that the diagram
was wrong, as it seemed to indicate that when small quantities of air
passed, which of course meant less velocity, the greater was the amount
absorbed.
Mr. Bowlker was afraid Mr. Ross scarcely understood what the diagram
was intended to show, and, therefore, the conclusions drawn from it and
his experiments hardly bore on the point at issue. In the Guibal fan,
going round at a certain speed, the friction of the air against the casing
would, as long as it went at that speed, be the same whatever the quantity
of air was passing through the fan. If the fan was discharging very
little air and doing very little work in ventilating the mine, this
discussion—new ventilating fan. 121
• of the air would occupy a very much larger percentage of the
friction o the fan was entirely closed and discharging no
whole wor^ ^ work'would be represented by the vertical line a? b° at
^ a d oVthe diagram, which occupied the whole of the space. He was
^ad^to learn from Mr. Morison that the Guibal was no exception
to the ordinary fan, and that as j increased, the Guibal fan con-
ued tQ give better results. That was not what Mr. Cochrane said,
comparing the 8-feet 6-inches fan and the 45-feet Guibal fan. Mr. Morison
arid that "his (Mr. Bowlker's) fan did not utilize any of the tangential
velocity at all; and he would like to ask Mr. Morison how it was that it
gave such a high water-gauge? It was quite impossible, on mathe-
matical principles, to get a water-gauge equal to this fan if there was no
tangential velocity utilized. In this fan there was as much of the tan-
gential velocity utilized as in the Guibal fan.
The discussion then closed.
The following " Remarks by M. Er. Mallard on Mr. Lindsay Wood's
Experiments showing the Pressure of Gas in the solid Coal," translated by
Mr. M. Walton Brown, were taken as read :—
PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL. 123
iarks on mr. lindsay wood's "experiments
Stowing the pressure of gas in the solid coal,"
by mr. e. mallard*
Translated by M. Walton Brown.
Mr Mallard gives an abstract of those parts of Mr. Lindsay Wood's
paper describing the mode of making the experiments and the results
obtained therefrom, and remarks that Mr. Wood has modestly confined
himself to drawing the attention of his readers to the possibility of the
maximum pressure varying as the square root of the depth of the hole.
He then states that he draws another conclusion from the results of the
experiments. The following is a translation of his reasons for this
assertion:—
Among the various conjectures that have been made as to the origin of
the existence of gas in coal, the most simple is to suppose that the gas per-
meates the coal in the same way as water permeates a porous stratum, and
that a gassy seam is a gaseous horizon, in the same manner as a bed of sand-
stone is an aquiferous horizon. By this hypothesis, whatever has been, in
the beginning, the relation that has united the formation of the fire-damp
with that of the coal, there would be, between the gas and the coal, an
independence as complete as that which exists between the water and the
sandstone of the watery horizon.
If this supposition be correct, the motion of gas through coal must
follow the same laws as those which regulate the motion of water in an
aquiferous stratum. But the distribution of the pressure in the mass of
the coal, from the open surface inwards, evidently depends upon the man-
ner in which the gas distributes itself in this mass. One would suppose,
therefore, that the experiments made by Mr. Wood would allow the truth
or the error of this theory to be ascertained.
Suppose that the coal exposes in s 0 an open
surface in contact with an atmosphere, in which
the fire-damp has a pressure hos inferior to the
maximum pressure H of the gas in the coal;
fire-damp escapes continuously by this surface,
and, at any moment, the pressure of the gas in
the interior of the coal increases, beginning
from s0, from h0 to h.
* From the Annales des Mines. Series VIII., Vol. I., pp. 530-551.
124 PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL.
It can be assumed that the mass of the coal is traversed by a system
of surfaces or isobars of equal pressure.
Take at s0 an infinitely small surface, and produce from this surface
normal lines at each point to the isobaric surfaces passed through. In
the kind of tube thus formed take a piece contained between two
infinitely approached isobaric surfaces corresponding to pressures h and
h + dh. Let dr be the distance between the two surfaces, s and s + ds
the areas described by the tube upon each of them.
Between the sections s and s + ds there will be a flow of gas,
and this flow is in the direction of the section upon which the least pressure
is exerted. The weight of gas which, in the unit of time, flows in this
manner from the surface s + ds to the surface s, along the pipe dr, is
necessarily proportional to dh.
This weight can be represented by
asdh,
a being a co-efficient which measures the permeability of the coal to gas,
and which is so much the greater as the permeability is greater.
The weight of gas which traverses the unit of distance in the unit
of time is equal to
„a dh
as —•
dr
If Jc represents the delivery of gas through the unit of surface,
dh
Jcs = as —•
dr
This is, in fact, the law which has been experimentally found by
Darcy to represent the flow of water filtering through a porous stratum.
The flow Jc varies at every moment, but if the phenomenon at the end
of a given time be considered, the variations of Jc with the time are very
small, and Jc can be considered at any instant as practically constant.
Let s0 be the area defined on the surface S by the orthogonal tube,
the flow through the surface s0 is Jc0 s0, Jc0 being the flow per unit of surface
through the surface S at the point considered, then, on account of the
approached permanence of the motion,
(1) Jc0 s0 = as
dr
This differential equation discovers, after integration, the law which,
at the instant considered, connects h to r, that is the law of the distribu-
tion of the pressure in the mass of the coal.
PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL. 125
ma be mentioned that this theory is exactly that which is applied
las^having an initial temperature E, and which is supposed to be
t0 1 -d by an open surface plunged into an enclosure of the temperature
T GThe co-efficient « will then be the co-efficient of the conductivity of
h at of the mass. The quantities of heat represent the quantities of gas.
eait°may therefore be said, in a general way, that the distribution of
ure of fire-damp in the interior of a mass of coal is similar to that
of temperature in a mass of the same form, and submitted to such thermic
conditions as would be obtained by replacing the co-efficient of permea-
bility by the co-efficient of conductibility, the pressures by the tempera-
tures, the weight of gas discharged by the quantity of heat lost.
To apply this theory to some case, suppose a seam of coal, contained
between two impermeable strata, and exposed by a face of indefinite
length. The isobaric surfaces will be planes parallel to that of the face;
then s = s0, and the equation (1) becomes
dh Jc0
dr a'
whence h—h0 = — r,
a
and also h = — r,
a
if the atmosphere in contact with the face is free from gas, and if, con-
sequently, h0 = 0.
This shows that, in this case, the pressure increases proportionally to
the distance from the surface of the face. If 0 M represent a line drawn
from the face of the coal, perpendicular to the face, the pressure of the
fire-damp corresponding to any point on this line will be represented by
the ordinate of a line OA, whose angular co-efficient is ^. From the point
A, where the ordinate of the line is equal to the maximum pressure H of
the fire-damp in the coal, the pressure remains constant, and is represented
by a horizontal line.
Mr. Wood's experiments were not made at the face of a wide
working place, but at that of a winning drift; it is, therefore, under
these conditions that an endeavour must be made to compare theory with
practice.
In order to avoid rendering the problem more complex, let it be
assumed that the face of the drift, which is comprised between the roof
an ^e tnill, is a circular semi-cylinder, whose axis is normal to the
126 PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL.
stratification, and whose radius is half the width of the gallery. The
actual face only differs from this hypothetical face by the suppression of
two lateral prisms of coal of a relative small volume, and whose presence
or absence can only have a slight influence upon the distribution of pres-
sure at a certain distance from the surface.
Under these circumstances, the surface isobars are cylinders concentric
with that of the face, and the orthogonal tubes are limited by planes
normal to the stratification, and passing round the common axis of the
cylinders.
In the equation (1) the following will then appear—
s r
s0 . r0
calling r the radius of the cylinder upon which the pressure h is exerted,
and r0 that of the cylinder which bounds the surface. The equation (1)
assumes the form
dh
Jc0 rQ = ar —>
dr
whence — = ~— dh.
r Jc0r0
On integrating, it becomes
a '
nat. log. r =-- h + C.
Mo ro
Suppose that the pressure of the fire-damp in the atmosphere at
the face is h, the constant 0 may be solved by making h0 — 0, for r = r0,
which gives
r a
nat. log. — = — (h — h0).
r0 K r0
In Mr. Wood's experiments it may be assumed that h0 = 0; the
equation that these experiments should verify, if the hypothesis is exact,
is then, by transforming the log. nep. into common logarithms,
. Kr0 . r
h = —— log. —•
The verification can be made in a very simple way, by observing that
if h = y and x = log. —, the equation represents a line passing through
the vertex.
Be it understood that it is only the experiments which are made
simultaneously in the same mine, at points sufficiently near together, that
can be compared, for the co-efficients Jc0 and a can vary greatly in different
mines, as well as in different parts of the same mine.
PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL. 127
oceeding with the verification of the hypothesis enunciated
the fourth and .fifth experiments at both Eppleton and Boldon,
aljm>h were not made under circumstances to which the formula can
apply, havc bcen eliminafced*
The experiments marked with shaded figures are not included in the calculations.
The results obtained in the experiments at Eppleton and Harton seem
conformable to two straight lines passing through the vertex, and the
rences do not aPpear to exceed those due to slight errors of observation.
vol xxxii.-1888 * q
128 PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL.
Iii the Boldon experiments the differences are much greater, but these
experiments were the most difficult to make, owing to the great pressures
to be measured; and the pressures obtained, especially the higher ones, do
not appear to merit absolute confidence.
The following Table gives in another form the comparison of theory
with the experiments:—
It may be observed that in the same district of the same mine the
increase of pressure in the seam does not follow the same law when the
face is that of a narrow exploring drift as when it is that of a wide
working place. In the latter case, the rate of the augmentation of pres-
sure with the distance is necessarily less rapid, as the issue of the fire-damp
is much more easy. This is the reason why the fourth and fifth experi-
ments, at both Boldon and Eppleton, have given pressures much lower
than those that would have been obtained if they had been made under
the same conditions at the face of winning places.
* These experiments are not included in the calculations.
PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL. 121)
Mr Wood's experiments have verified the hypothesis as well as could
been hoped. It can, therefore, be considered as proved that fire-damp
tained in coal, like gas in a porous material, and that gassy seams
1S in reality gassy strata, comparable in every way with watery strata.
It follows that the gas can only be kept in the coal by a tight covering,
capable of resisting the maximum pressure H 01 the fire-damp in the solid
seam This covering, in the bowels of the earth, can only be found in
the superposed rocks. It follows then that these rocks are not porous,
and that they are maintained by upper strata sufficiently heavy to balance
pressures of 30 or 40 atmospheres, or perhaps even much greater pressures,
for it cannot be said that the maximum pressure of the fire-damp in coal
seams has yet been ascertained.
Many interesting suggestions may be made with regard to the history
of the formation of coal and the coal measures.
In the first place it would appear that the coal must have been formed
and covered before—and even long before—the formation of the gas, since
the overlaying strata must at the time have had sufficient thickness and
strength to have resisted its pressure; and if, as is believed, the formation
of coal, in most cases, is due to the burial of vegetable matter, the trans-
formation of this matter into coal had not taken place, or at least the
change had not been completed, until new strata had accumulated to a
considerable thickness above the coal seam.
Suppose that the burial of the vegetable matter took place at a very
distant geological epoch, such as the carboniferous period, and during
which it may be supposed that the earth was much warmer than it is
now, and that the temperature due to the internal heat formed an
important factor of the whole. At this epoch, when the coal was over-
laid by 600 or 800 feet of rock, it might attain a temperature as high,
or even higher, than 100° C. This temperature would be an energetic
agent in the transformation, but this agent on the contrary would have
been absent in the case of combustibles formed at more recent periods,
and this, perhaps, will explain the very important differences which
separate lignites from true coals. It would also account for lignites
being usually free from fire-damp.
When a seam of coal is found exposed to the air at its outcrop, the
fire-damp expands into the atmosphere, and the issue, at first rapid,
diminishes more and more until it becomes almost inappreciable. If the
seam was homogeneous, the fire-damp would finally disappear at the end
of a period which, however, might be very long. But the seam may be
divided into distinct and separate divisions by faults, by " nip-outs" filled
130 PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL.
with non-porous rocks, etc.; in this case, one of the divisions can be
drained without the others losing their gas. Gas can thus be found in a
seam which in closely adjacent places contained no gas whatever.
Even in the absence of these kinds of gas-tight walls, the distribution
of the fire-damp in the same seam of coal can vary from one part to
another, owing to variations of the co-efficient of permeability a. Every
consideration points to the conclusion that this co-efficient is not a fixed
constant, or more invariable, than any of the other properties of coal. This
variation would cause the pressure to be comparatively highest in districts
where the co-efficient a is of least value.
When the coal is in contact with a cavity produced by any fault, the
gas will accumulate there until it attains a pressure equal to that it
possessed when in the coal.
When the coal is found in contact with a bed of porous sandstone the
fire-damp will accumulate in it if the gas is retained by an overlaying
impermeable rock, and the sandstone will constitute another gaseous zone.
This theory offers, therefore, an explanation of the different circum-
stances and the curious variations attending the presence of fire-damp in
a seam.
It will also explain the peculiarities, not less varied, of the issue of the
gas in the workings.
Suppose a long-wall face opened in a seam of coal; at the end of a
certain time the pressure of the gas in the solid coal, behind the face, is
represented, at any given point, by the ordinate of a certain line AB,
which begins from zero at the face, and has the angular co-efficient
h
~. The ordinate of this line is equal to the maximum pressure H, at a
distance R from the face.
If the face remains intact, the superficial escape of gas k0 will go on
gradually diminishing, and at the end of a time t the line A B will lower
and take the position AB', and at the same time R will be increased.
If, on the contrary, by working a certain quantity of the coal, the face
is advanced till it reaches the point A', a new section of coal is quickly
PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL. 131
d in wh]-cn the pressure of gas is A'V; the escape of gas is made
expose , ^¦ comparatively great quantities, and at the end of a time t,
T Xtribution of the pressure is marked by the line A'B>. Such is the
in which the gas usually issues during the working of the coal. The
Tis therefore, all things being equal, greater the more rapid the ad-
°SCaP into the solid coal. It would therefore be better to have extensive
workings than to rapidly advance in a small district; and for the same
oiantity of coal worked, when gas exists under the same conditions, the
issue will be more abundant in a thin seam than in a thick seam.
In order that the dis-engagement may proceed with the regularity sup-
posed, and in order that the issue of fire-damp may remain normal, it
follows that the coal must possess a certain tenacity.
If at any moment of the working, a superficial slice of coal, of the
thickness r, is pressed at the inner side by a pressure h, and on the outer
side by the pressure of the atmosphere h0, the tenacity of the coal
must be able to resist the pressure h—h0. If r is small and h—h0 great,
which happens when the workings are driven rapidly, or when H is great
and a little, h—h0 will be great; if the tenacity of the coal is small, it may
happen that the slice of coal of thickness r will be thrown off. The next
slice, situated behind that which has been broken off, will be found
pressed by a still greater difference of pressure, and it will be detached in its
turn, and so on after the same manner. In a wrord, the coal will truly ex-
plode, and enormous volumes of gas will be suddenly set free, at the same
time that corresponding quantities of coal will be reduced to powder.
Such is an explanation of the sudden outbursts of gas which have
become so fatally developed in certain districts of Belgium. This expla-
nation has been previously made by M. Arnould, and the theory deduced
from the experiments of Mr. Lindsay Wood fully confirms it.
In mines subject to this description of accident it w7ould be most
desirable to drive galleries deeply into the solid in advance of the working
face, and to make frequent measurements of the distribution of pressure,
so as to check the advance of the workings when the rate of the increase
of pressure exceeded a certain limit. This would be, perhaps, the most
certain means of preventing these disastrous accidents.
Suppose two superposed gassy seams separated by an impermeable
strata, If the upper seam is worked whilst the other two are not, the
empty spaces resulting from the working of the coal do not leave the
intervening strata sufficient support to enable it to resist the pressure of
the gas in the lower seam. The thill of the working seam is therefore
132 PRESSURE OF GAS IN THE SOLID COAL.
raised and fractured, and gives vent to more or less considerable quantities
of gas. This may be an explanation of the sudden outbursts from the
thill observed in a large number of the English collieries.
It can also be understood how these sudden outbursts can come out of
the roof of the working seam when a gassy seam is situated above it.
Belgian miners (says M. Arnould in the paper already quoted) think
that they can facilitate the working of the coal by diminishing the air at
the working face, and thus augmenting the quantity of gas in the external
air. This odd opinion accords with the above remarks, for if there is
externally a pressure of gas equal to h0, the pressure in the interior of
the solid coal will be higher, beginning no longer from zero but from h0.
At any given depth from the face the pressure of the gas will be increased
by h09 and this pressure will be found to work wholly in favour of the
miner. If the proportion of gas in the air is augmented by three per
cent., the pressure h0 is equal to *42 pounds per square inch or to 61*45
pounds per square foot. Such a pressure cannot be neglected in con-
nection with the tenacity of the coal.
It is needless to prolong the study of the conclusions that can be
derived from the exact knowledge of the existence of gas in coal; it is
only necessary to have shown the interest of the problem.
The theory set forth is not new, and many others have more or less
clearly expressed it. The investigations of M. Marsilly have already
shown that there was indeed an actual independence between the coal
and the gas contained in it. But Mr. Lindsay Wood's experiments
confirm the theory in a strictly practical manner, and they permit the
following fact to be distinctly enunciated:—
That fire-damp is a gas contained in coal as water is in a porous
rock. It is found compressed in it, under very variable pressures,
which can attain to, and without doubt exceed, 460 pounds to the
square inch.
Questions as to the mode of existence and mode of dis-engagement of
fire-damp have thus acquired a solid foundation, upon which further
experiments can build a more perfect theory. It would seem that the
most useful thing to do now is to determine, by experiments, the value
of the co-efficients designated by the letters Jc0 and a for a number of
mines, that is, the volume of gas given off per unit of surface at the face
at any time, and the co-efficient of permeability of the coal for the gas.
These are the two data which constantly regulate, with the maximum
pressure in the solid coal, the dis-engagement of gas.
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10th, 1883, IN THE WOOD
MEMORIAL HALL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
GEO. BAKER FORSTER, Esq., President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting and reported
the Proceedings of the Council.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously
nominated:—
Honorary Member—
Professor P. Phillips Bedson, D. Sc. (Lond.,) College of Physical Science,
Newcastle-on -Tyne.
Ordinary Members—
Mr. Henry Johnson, jun., Sandwell Park Colliery, West Bromwich, South
Staffordshire.
Mr. Matthew Liddell, Prudhoe-on-Tyne.
Associate Members —
Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart., M.P., Blagdon, Cramlington, Northum-
berland.
Mr. John Allan, Eiderius Kreuz, Neugasse, Freiberg in Sachsen.
Mr. T. J. Armstrong, Hawthorn Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John H. Burn, Coal Owner, 20, Broad Chare, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Bowes, Streatlam Castle, Darlington.
Mr. Charles E. Jeffcock, B.A., Birley Collieries, Sheffield.
Mr. Charles Lacy Thompson, Milton Hall, Carlisle.
Mr. F. D. Johnson, B.A., Aykleyheads, Durham.
Mr. A. E. Burdon, Hartford House, Cramlington, Northumberland.
Mr. William Thomas, M.E., Mineral Office, Cockermouth Castle.
r. Joseph Snowball, Seaton Burn House, Northumberland.
r. Robert Rowell, Seghill Colliery Office, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Students —
Mr. R. Noble Haig, Lofthouse Mines, via Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
r. Robert J. W. Oates, Mining Surveyor, E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi, Bengal,
India.
vol. xxxii.-1883. r
134 proceedings.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Associate Membees—
Mr. Henry Armstrong, M.E., St. Hilda Colliery, South Shields.
Mr. Ingham H. Webster, Rope Manufacturer, Morton House, Fence Houses.
Mr. Peter Sinclair Haggie, Gateshead-on-Tyne.
Students— •
Mr. George Hurst, Lauder Grange, Corhridge-on-Tyne.
Mr. Douglas Haggie, Harton Colliery, South Shields.
Mr. C. H. Steayenson, Durham.
The following papers were taken as read:—
" On the Duration of the Coal of Great Britain and Ireland/' by
Mr. G. C. Greenwell.
" On the Daltonganj Coal-field/' by Mr. J. H. Grant.
duration of THE coal of great britain and ireland. 135
THE DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND.
By G. C. GREENWELL.
^Hr 1
Much has been said and written on this subject. Large expenses have
been incurred in its investigation; great pains have been taken and much
thought has been bestowed in order that some foreknowledge might be
obtained as to the period when the position of Great Britain, so far as it
depends on its coal, may come to an end.
The writer will endeavour to show in the following pages that the line
of argument which has hitherto appeared upon "the coal question" is
inapplicable to this subject:—
1. —Because it has been assumed that there will, so long as coal lasts,
be a continually increasing annual quantity of coal raised.
2. —Because it has been taken for granted that there could be locally
placed upon the coal-fields such a population as would be able
to produce the enormous quantities of coal which, on the above
assumption, would require to be worked.
3. —That as, one after another, the various local fields have become
exhausted, the still increasing quantity can be produced from
those that remain.
4-—That the manufactures peculiar to a district, and dependent on the
adjacent coal area for the supply of their requirements, will, on
the exhaustion of the coal of that district, remove to others,
and continue to flourish as they formerly did.
That notwithstanding the constantly increasing ability of foreign
countries to manufacture for themselves by means of that coal
which, all over the world, is so largely in course of being
developed, British manufactures requiring coal and British
exports of coal will not only hold their own, but continue to
advance in arithmetical or geometrical progression.
1,~~"Tne assumption that there will, so long as coal lasts, be a con-
mually increasing annual quantity of it worked, does not appear to
136 duration of the coal of great britain and ireland.
have any very substantial foundation. It is based upon the growth in
the annual output of coal which has taken place hitherto. The following
figures, taken from the best available sources, are given in illustration
of the argument:—
It is not necessary to introduce the coal resources and annual pro-
duction of Ireland into the question, the former being 155,680,000 tons
and the latter being stationary at about 130,000 tons per annum; and
in the calculations which follow there is no reference, unless specially, to
that element.
From this Table it appears that in the ten years preceding and inclusive
of 1870, there was an increase in the production of 34*498 per cent., while
in the ten years preceding and inclusive of 1880, there was an increase of
only 30*086 per cent.
In the same periods there was an increase in the export trade of 57*876
and 59*814 per cent, respectively; and, in the same periods, there was an
increase in home consumption of 32*234 and 26*529 per cent, respectively.
It will be seen from this, that in the production, there is a diminishing
rate of increase in the latter as compared with the former decade, of
4*412 per cent., and in the home consumption of 5*705 per cent., while
in the case of export there is an increasing rate of 1*938 per cent. The
results of the period of 20 years are taken as the basis of the following
Table, and are more complete and reliable than those at the command
of others who have hitherto applied themselves to the question.
Estimated Production, Home Consumption and Export of Coals, per Annum,
at the end of each Ten Years, from 1880 to 1940.
duration of the coal of great britain and ireland. 137
At the above rate the maximum of production will have been reached
1930 and 1940; and of home consumption between 1910 and
^on^The quantity left for export does not give the same result as that
Educed during the 20 years preceding 1880, and it is extremely unlikely
that the large increase in the export trade in coals should so continue.
a At the above rate the total quantity of coal produced between January
lst 1881, and January 1st, 1941, would be about 14,000 million tons.
'in the year 1940, therefore, each colliery district would be required to
roduce about double its present output; and it is probable that should
this quantity be reached, and it should prove to be the maximum, the
trade will continue at about that level for many years before it begins to
decline.
2.—It has been taken for granted that there could be locally placed
upon the coal-fields such a population as would be able to produce the
enormous quantities of coal which, on the above assumption, would
require to be worked.
In the year 1940, when by the above computation the annual production
will have reached its maximum of 314 million tons, it will, according to
the late Professor Jevons, have increased to 1,310 million tons, and in
only 20 years afterwards to 2,607 million tons, provided that the rate of
growth of 3^ per cent, per annum be maintained. In a work on " Coal,
its History and Uses," by Professors Green, Miall, Thorpe, Eiicker, and
Marshall, it is calculated that, by arithmetical rate of increase, the pro-
duction in 2150 will be 945 millions; and, by geometrical rate, that in 2000
it will be 6,000 million tons per annum; but they add that, taken
literally, both assumptions are obviously untenable, as they imply that at
one or other of the above dates an output of 945 million or 6,000 million
tons of coal per annum will come to a sudden stop; "so that in the year
immediately following and for ever after, not one ton of coal ever will be
raised more in the United Kingdom; or, at all events, not a ton be left
anywhere to be worked at a less depth than 4,000 feet."
For the purpose of the present argument the writer will take the
estimates of coal remaining unworked, contained in the Eeport of the
Royal Coal Commission, 1871 (Ireland excluded). Coal in known coal-
fields in depths not exceeding 4,000 feet 90,051,605,398. Of this quantity
32,456,208,913 tons are contained in the South Wales coal-field, being
approximately one-third of the whole. The great resources of this
coal-field will ensure its existence long after most of the others have
been exhausted, but take the favourable assumption that the coal-fields
individually are exhausted in an equal degree, proportionally to the
138 DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
quantity of coal contained in them. If then, in 1941, the total output
should reach 1,310 million tons, the output of South Wales will be 436
millions of tons. As it will be seen on reference to the coal returns of
South Wales that it requires (1881) 53,452 persons to produce 16,008,525
tons of coal, equal to 300 tons per head, the number of persons who
will be required in 1941 will be 1,453,333. Twenty years afterwards the
output would be 869 millions of tons, and the number of persons would
be all but doubled.
To produce the full output of 2,607 millions of tons would require, at
the general rate of work per head in the British coal-fields (327 tons per
head) 7,972,477 persons, or a colliery working population alone, all located
in the colliery districts, far in excess of the present population of Great
Britain:—
England and Wales .........• ...... 25,968,286
Scotland ..................... 3,735,573
29,703,859
Females, say .................. 15,703,859
Males of all ages............... ... 14,000,000
3.—That as, one after another, the various coal-fields have become
exhausted, the still increasing quantity can be produced from those
that remain.
Not including 1,500 million tons of coal added to Mr. George Elliot's
(now Sir George Elliot, Bart.) estimate of the coal remaining in the
Durham coal-field in the beginning of 1871, lying beyond a distance of
3J miles seaward (that for Northumberland and Cumberland having been
confined to 2 miles) the quantity remaining to be worked at that date
was:—
Tons.
In Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham ...... 8,941,844,028
From which must be deducted the quantity worked from
January 1st, 1871, to January 1st, 1882, namely...... 359,255,220
Remaining January 1st, 1882......... 8,582,588,808
And the production of these Counties in 1881 was ... ... 37,370,529
Without calculating on any increase of production at all, these coal-
fields would be exhausted in 230 years.
Tons.
In the case of South Wales, the quantity of coal remaining
on January 1st, 1871, was............... 32,456,209,913
Deduct the quantity worked from January 1st, 1871, to
January 1st, 1882 .................. 131,297,444
Leaving.................. 32,324,912,469
DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 139
Which at the 1881 rate of production, would not be exhausted until
f hP expiration of 2,000 years.
Whatever expansion in the demand for coal takes place will in all
bability affect in a somewhat equal manner the two coal-fields, by
1 ? f hPir similar position, and it is a fact not to be overlooked that
reason oi tutu r ,
the royalties, or coal properties, are now very largely under lease m both
fields But,' supposing the period of 230 years or any shorter period has
arrived when no more coal is to be had in Northumberland and Durham,
can it be seriously believed that a working population of 100,000 persons,
and perhaps vastly more, would be transplanted to South Wales in order
that there might be no failure in the aggregate production of the two
districts ?
4_That the manufactures peculiar to a district, and dependent on the
adjacent coal area for the supply of their requirements, will, on the ex-
haustion of the coal of that district, remove to others and continue to
flourish as they formerly did.
The Cleveland ironstone is dependent on the coke produced in the
Durham coal-field: if the coal from which it is manufactured were
exhausted, either the Cleveland ironstone (in order to be utilized) would
require to be taken to other coal-fields, or the coal from other coal-fields
would require to be transported to Cleveland. Were either of these the
effect of the above exhaustion, iron would cease to be produced from
Cleveland ironstone at anything like its present cost: the inevitable result
would (having due regard to the effect produced by Cleveland on the
trade) be a considerable rise in the price of iron generally, a conse-
quent diminution of its production, and a corresponding diminution in
the quantity of coal raised. The same would apply to the Cumberland
iron-works as well as to Scotland, in the event of the exhaustion of the
coal of West Scotland suitable for iron-making. This rise in the price of
iron, taken in conjunction with the rapidly increasing production of iron
in other countries, would probably put a stop to the export of iron, and
perhaps later, of machinery and materials manufactured from it.
Chemical works, on account of the nature of their trade, must be
situated conveniently for import and export, consequently at or near
some port of shipment, where there is ample accommodation. They,
probably as much as any other branch of British trade, feel the effect of
^reign competition. If the cheap fuel they obtain on the banks of the
yne or the Mersey, or at Glasgow, were no longer obtainable, chemical
works, on a large scale, would cease altogether.
140 DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
5.—That, notwithstanding the constantly increasing ability of foreign
countries to manufacture for themselves by means of coal which, all over
the world, is so largely in course of development, British manufactures
requiring coal and British exports of coal will not only hold their own,
but continue to advance in arithmetical or geometrical progression.
There is no doubt a great deal in a name, and with such an introduc-
tion as British manufacture possesses, it will for a long period maintain
its markets and no doubt increase its trade in those to which it has even
equal access with other countries. It is very much to be feared, however,
that the pressure of competition with them, and the consequent increased
competition at home, will not in the long run maintain the character of
the axe, " if the steel be left out." With the ability to supply the world,
how does it even now happen that English manufacturers are undersold
at home by the importation of foreign rails, girders, tools, and other
things, all of which are largely produced by means of coal, the trade in
w7hich is expected to advance as rapidly as it did previously to the im-
portation of such things from abroad ?
The writer hopes he has, to some extent at least, shown the fallacy of
the early failure of the British coal-fields, due to the estimated enormous
additional quantities of coal that they may annually be called upon to supply;
and he will now proceed to the more practical question as to how long at the
present rate of extraction the great known coal-fields of Great Britain will
last. The writer takes as a starting point the estimate of the Royal Coal
Commission, of 1871, but as he cannot accept the estimate of extension
of the Durham under-sea coal beyond an average of 3^ miles from the
Durham Coast, he rejects 1,500 millions of tons from the gross estimate
of 90,051,605,398, and as this quantity includes in some instances coal
lying between 3,000 and 6,000 feet deep, a further deduction on that
account is made. These deductions reduce the quantity left on January
1st, 1871, to 88,304,332,285, distributed among such Inspection districts,
as by railway facilities, may be considered within the limits of six great
coal-fields, as follows:—
t^at f>F THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 141
DURATION uj-
ROYAL COAL COMMISSION.
Quantity op Coal in Seams op 12 Inches Thick and Upwards,
Estimated^^ ^ depth op 4,000 Feet, Remaining to be Worked
AT January 1st, 1871.
N.B. The North Staffordshire and Cheshire Inspection District includes Shropshire,
out the Shropshire coal is included in the South Staffordshire estimates.
142 DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
The estimated quantity of coal, as above, remaining unworked at
January 1st, 1871, was:—
Tons.
Great Britain ............ 88,304,332,285
Deduct the quantity worked from January 1st, 1871, to
January 1st, 1882 ............... 1,464,020,265
Quantity remaining at January 1st, 1882 ... 86,840,312,020
Which, at the rate of production in the year 1881, will
be exhausted in ...... ...... 563 years.
The total quantity estimated to exist in Ireland, if
divided by the quantity produced in Great Britain
in 1881, would give a supply for ... ...... 1 year.
The writer will, in the next place, give abstracts from the Reports of
Her Majesty's Inspectors of Mines, showing in each year, commencing with
that of the Report of the Royal Commission, the number of persons em-
ployed under-ground and above-ground, and the number of tons raised
in each Inspection district.
The following is an account of the number of persons employed in
the coal mines of each Inspection district of Great Britain and Ireland
in each year, from the 1st January, 1870, to the 1st January, 1882,
together with the tons of coal raised:—
1.—Northumberland, etc.
URATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 143
2.—Durham.
3—North and East Lancashire (exclusive of Ireland).
3a.—Ireland.
144 DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
4.—West Lancashire and North Wales.
5.—Yorkshire.
6.—Midland, Derby, Notts, etc.
DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 145
7.—North Staffordshire, Cheshire, etc.
g—South Staffordshire and Worcester.
9.—Monmouthshire, Somerset, etc.
146 DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
10.—South Wales.
i " ;—¦--¦—¦--__
11.—East Scotland.
12.—West Scotland.
DURATION OF THE COAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 147
The following is an account of the number of persons employed in the
coal mines of Great Britain and Ireland in each year, from the 1st
January, 1870, to the 1st January, 1882, together with the tons of coal
raised : —
In order as nearly as possible to compare the six centres of coal with
the present annual production thereof, the following Table has been
constructed out of the foregoing abstracts :—
According to the Eoyal Coal Commissioners, there will be in England
a probable amount of coal (in addition to the above) under Permian and
other overlying formations at depths of less than 4,000 feet, 40 per cent,
deducted for loss and other contingencies, equal to 56,246 million tons,
and this quantity would be equal to a supply for 365 years at the present
rate of production. This quantity of coal is, however, all confined to the
148 DURATION OF THE COAL IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
Midland Counties of England, and f fths of it are in Yorkshire, at present
nearly the richest coal-field in Great Britain. The above estimates in-
clude large quantities of coal contained in seams of from 12 inches to
2 feet in thickness, which may possibly be worked for local consumption.
The object of the writer has been to endeavour to disprove the esti-
mates and calculations by which it has been shown by men of great logical
skill that the British coal-fields were, in the course of a few generations,
to be '' used up." Statistics, it is said, may be used to produce any, no
matter what, result. The only deduction now endeavoured to be drawn
from them, is that after no long period the maximum of the production of
British coal will have been attained. The basis, however, seems too
limited, but no better is to be had; also, the conclusions herein arrived
at by calculation are far too high. On reference to the Tables it will be
found that the number of persons employed underground has decreased
from 386,589 in 1873 to 379,067 in 1881; that the production has in-
creased, notwithstanding, from 128,544,400 in 1873 to 154,056,715 tons
in 1881, or, in other words, that in 1873, when there was full employ-
ment, the production per person employed underground was 332^ tons,
whereas in 1881, when want of employment was the general complaint,
the production was 406^ tons. But this must have a limit.
THE DALTONGANJ COAL-FIELD. 149
THE DALTONGANJ COAL-FIELD.
By J. H. GRANT.
D iltonganj is a civil station on the banks of the Koel, about 85 degrees
east longitude and 24 degrees north latitude, and about 80 miles south-
west of Gya, which latter is a town of some importance, being in commu-
nication, by a branch line, with the Great Indian Railway running from
Calcutta to Delhi, and about 115 miles due south of the Ganges.
Immediately to the north of this station is the Daltonganj coal-field,
a description of which, giving all the information connected with the
geology of the country which was known up to 1869, is given by Mr. Theo.
W. H. Hughes, F.G.S., in the "Memoirs of the Geological Survey of
India," 1872, p. 325. This coal-field is nearly 150 miles due west of the
Kurhurballee Coal-field, so ably described by Dr. W. Saise in Vol. XXX.
of the Transactions. ,
In the middle of the year 1882 the writer was ordered to inspect this
field, and, after arriving at Gya by rail, had to make the rest of his way
in a polkee, with a "dooly" (litter) for the luggage, and a nondescript
conveyance for his servant. This part of the journey lay through a noted
tiger jungle and was very irksome to traverse, there being only one
station, Shergatti, which lies on the mam road between Calcutta and
Benares. This part of the journey took three days, travelling being
rendered somewhat difficult on account of the rains which had set in.
In speaking of this coal-field Mr. Hughes says, p. 329 of the Memoirs
before referred to:—
"Hitherto it has been the custom to call this field the Palamaun (or
Palamow) and not the Daltonganj coal-field. There are, however, many
coal-bearing areas within the district of Palamaun, and the name, conse-
quently, of the Palamaun field, as applied to any one of them, is not
sufficiently distinctive.
"The designation would be admissible did any Coal-measures occur
near the town of Palamaun; but that town happens to be far distant
rom any locality in which Coal-measures exist.
the fi 1H llldlCate? therefore, more precisely the geographical position of
6 1 am now describing, I have thought it better to discard the title
vol. xxxii.-1688. t
150 THE DALTONGANJ COAL-FIELD.
of Palamaun, and, in seeking a fresh name, to adopt that of 'Daltonganj,'
from the civil station of Daltonganj, which lies just beyond the southern
borders of the field."
The accompanying Map, Plate XIII., will assist the reader in following
the description of the coal-field.
Palamaun is a sub-division of the district of Lohardagga, and a part
of the Chota Nagpiir district, and is situated about 80 miles nearly due
south of Gya. The suddir, or chief station, is Daltonganj, a pretty little
place on the banks of the Koel river.
The general appearance of Palamaun is that of a hilly district. A suc-
cession of hills and hill ranges meet the traveller on all sides. Cultivation
therefore is sparse, and the people depend more upon what are known as
jungle products than on ordinary crops, such as lac, tasar silk, mowah,
etc. The country is thinly inhabited, and the villages, compared to those
of lower Bengal, notably Burdwan, Beerbhoom, and Hooghly districts,
small, mean, and poverty-stricken. The population is chiefly Hindoo
and embraces the usual castes, from the brahmin (priest) to the luchtur
(sweeper).
The Daltonganj field comprises an area of about 200 square miles, but
of this not more than 25 can be taken as belonging to the Carboniferous
formation.
The general appearance of the Daltonganj field is that of an undu-
lating plain, intersected by broad and shallow streams, dry, or nearly so,
during the cold and hot seasons, but rapid and dangerous torrents during
the rains.
The principal rivers are the Koel, a tributary of the Son which flows
into the Ganges near Dinapoor, the Amanat, and the Jinjoi, tributaries
of the Koel.
Adopting the method of the Geological Survey of India, the following
is the usual sequence of the Carboniferous rocks in this country:—
III.—Pancbit, from a hill of that name.
1. —Upper.
2. —Lower.
II.—Damiida, from the river of that name.
1. —Raniganj series.
2. —Carbonaceous shales.
3. —Barakar or Lower Damuda.
I.—Talchir (at base).—This may be looked upon as the bottom bed
or "farewell" rock.
In the Daltonganj field the Talchir series, and the Lower Damiidas or
Barakars, are the only representatives of the coal-bearing rocks.
THE DALTONGANJ COAL-FIELD. 151
Of the Talchir little need be said: they are well developed, displaying
the usual lithological peculiarities which characterize the series-—boulder
bed sandstones, and shales. In the Daltonganj area the sandstones
predominate, the dip is slight, and but little faulting is apparent. The
total thickness may be about 600 feet.
To the palaeontologist this series is utterly devoid of interest.
The Damiidas series is represented by the Barakar group only.
Although true Barakars, any one acquainted with the typical rocks in and
around Barakar only would have some difficulty in recognising these sand-
stones as being part and parcel of the Carboniferous series, instead of the
dense fine-grained grey sandstones, which are so highly valued as building-
material, and the coarse micaceous sandstones, with the accompanying
conglomerate beds so well known at Barakar. There are found in the
Daltonganj field fine smooth yellow sandstones with but a faint trace of
mica, very friable, and of no economic value. Several seams, which it was
the writer's good fortune to discover, are marked on the map in red.
Taking the Barakar group (coloured sepia) and beginning at the east, the
lowest beds seen are exposed in the bed of the Amanat river, north of the
village of Kiimand. The beds are soft yellowish sandstones with several
thin and very impure seams of coal.
At Kiimand there are two seams of impure coal, one 1 foot 6 inches,
and the other 2 feet thick, they are of no economic value. Proceeding
down the Amanat a series of sandstones and shales are seen, with a low
dip, and false bedded. No coal appears for some 5 miles; but near the
village of Meral on the Jinjoi river, four seams present themselves, and at
this spot the writer had a couple of bore-holes put down, one just north-
west of the village, and the other on the opposite bank of the Jinjoi.
The sections these holes gave are as follows, and prove the existence of a
valuable and rich field :—
BORE-HOLE No. 1. ft.
Alluvium ... ... ... ...... ... 6
Yellow sandstones ........#.......28
Shale ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
Coal ..... ...... ......... §
Shale ... ... i
Sandstone ...... ... ...... Q
Shale ...... 1
I Coal 5
Sandstone ... 19
H Coal 4
Sandstone ...... 7
Coal ..... £
Shale 2
"97
152 THE DALTONGA&J COAL-FIELD.
BORE-HOLE No. 2.
Ft.
Alluvium ... ... ... ... ... ... 7
Sandstone ... ... ... ... ... ... 43
Coal..................... 6
Sandstone ... ... ... ... ... ... 11
Coal ... .'............ ... 6
Sandstone ... ... ... ......... 17
Coal ..................... 4
Sandstone ... ... ... ... ... ... 5
Coal ..................... 10
Shale ... .................. 1
Talchir sandstone ... ... ... ... ... —
110
Mr. Hughes is perhaps inclined to somewhat undervalue the impor-
tance of this coal-field; of course, if compared to the Raniganj or Kurhur-
ballee fields, it must rank as a small one, but looking to its position, situated
so far from any other source of supply, the writer considers it as a most
valuable addition to the mineral wealth of this singularly favoured land.
As regards the quality of the mineral, it will favourably compare with
many of the Raniganj coals. The following are the results obtained from
samples which had been exposed to the air during one whole tropical rainy
season:—
I.
Per Cent.
Carbon ... ... ... ... ... ... 65
Volatile matter ... ... ... ... ... 21
Ash ..................... 14
100
11.
Carbon ... ......... ... ... 67
Volatile matter ... ... ...... ... 19
Ash ..................... 14
100
III.
Carbon..................... 66
Volatile matter ... ......... ... 20
Ash ..................... 14
100
IV.
Carbon ......... ......... 69
Volatile matter ... ... ... ... ... 23
Ash ......... ............ 8
100
THE DALTONGANJ COAL-FIELD. 153
Mr Hughes in his report to the Government says:—"10 to 13 per
. nt of ash is in excess of the better kinds of Damiida coal (Raniganj),
° for ordinary purposes this amount of inorganic matter is no serious
d iwback The coal of this field is capable of performing the work
which Raniganj coal has hitherto accomplished."
The total quantity of coal actually available is put down by Mr.
Hu°'hes at 11,600,000 tons. The writer is inclined to place the total
avaTlable quantity at nearly double those figures, for Mr. Hughes has
apparently not taken into consideration the available fuel at Meral (see
Plate XIII.)' but has based his calculations on the coal at Rajhera in the
extreme north of the field.
A scheme is now before the Secretary of State for India which has
received the sanction of the Local Government for the utilization of this
field by the construction of a railway to a place called Baroon at the
head of the Son canal system, which would bring the fuel into favour-
able competition with the Raniganj or Kurhurballee coals as regards the
important trading centres of Buxar, Dinapoor, Benares, and Allahabad,
to say nothing of the local demands which a railway always creates.
The following is copied from the " Coal Resources and Production of
India:"—
COALS RAISED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1859 AND 1862.
Maunds.*
1859 ............... 28,648
1860 ............... 30,900
1861 ......... ...... 33,343
1862 ............... 43,772
The quarries have not been worked since 1862.
In addition to the coal the Talchir group furnishes a fine-grained
sandstone to the builder, and iron ores are abundant.
Kankar, or what is known as ghooting limestone, a pebbly carbonate
of lime, is to be found in large quantities in almost all parts of the field;
but although iron and sufficiently good limestone as a flux are abundant,
the writer does not think that iron smelting could be carried on in the
district with the coal; for a few years charcoal furnaces might be run,
but Indian jungle requires from five to seven years to recoup itself, and,
therefore, fuel would soon become both scarce and expensive; but as a coal-
ed, considering the position, it is one of the most important in Bengal,
and has been most undeservedly neglected by both capitalists and the
Government; indeed it is only since the advent of the present Viceroy
* 27£ maunds make one ton of 2,240 lbs.
154 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
that private enterprise has been encouraged, and the writer is in great
hopes of seeing this fine field fully developed and yielding its fair share
towards the necessities of the Imperial Exchequer.
Summing up the various facts stated in this short and very imperfect
paper it will be seen that in an area of some twenty-five square miles no
less than 28 feet of coal exists, and the writer is quite sure that a more
careful examination than he was enabled to undertake would prove the
field much richer than he has described it; and it becomes a matter of
surprise that no one has been found to take up the work and bring it to a
successful and satisfactory issue.
As before stated, a scheme is under consideration to—
1. —Work the coal deposits.
2. —To construct a light gauge railway from the mines to Baroon,
on the Son river, a distance of abouc 56 miles.
3. —To establish a system of towage on the Son canals, by means
of a submerged wire rope and clip drums working on
barges; the canal authorities objecting to the use of steam
propellers in the canals, on account of the injurious action
on the sides and slopes.
Should the project succeed, a large quantity of useful fuel would be
rendered available for the numerous and yearly increasing State Railways
of India.
Mr. Charles Hunting's paper " On the Feeding and Management
of Colliery Horses" was then discussed :— •
The President asked Mr. Hunting if he had anything further to say
on the subject of ensilage ?
Mr. Hunting said, that the question of ensilage was being discussed
in the agricultural world, and The Times, The Field, and other papers
were constantly publishing letters from men who had used it very largely,
and he did not know anyone yet who took any ground in opposition to it,
but he could not speak of the advantage unless he had tried it himself.
It had been tried in the South of England to some extent and with some
success both for horses and cattle, but he believed more especially for
cattle. There was great discrepancy between the cost of silos, and if any
gentleman wished to try the experiment he must be careful in obtaining
estimates, which varied from £40 to £600.
Mr. Green asked Mr, Hunting if he had had any experience of mules
in pits ?
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. 155
Hunting said, he bought a dozen or two mules after the Egyptian
Mf* tried them in the pits, and the result of the experiment had not
war anc 1 fa(Aory> The mnies were very hardy brutes, but were ex-
beel1 T'obltinate. Out of eight tried in Ryhope pit four were absolutely
trerae y —^ ^^.^ cunning and could not be got to pull, and
tfd not think they were likely to be of benefit to the coal-owners, and
iTost certainly not unless got very cheap.
Mr Green—In mines in the United States they use them entirely.
Mr Hunting—Yes; Mr. Routledge used them very largely when in
America, and it was on his suggestion that he (Mr. Hunting) bought the
mules No greater care could be taken of them, as Mr. Routledge was
the superintendent of their work, and, of course, saw that they received
fair play; notwithstanding, the experiment had not been successful.
Mr. William Logan said, in discussing this paper, it may be as well
at the outset to draw the attention of the members to the fact that the
greater portion of it was published by the author 'eight years ago. There
are certainly a few omissions and some new matter in the present paper,
but the author's system of feeding cannot well be understood without re-
ferring to his former publication, as in both, taken together, he seems to
claim by implication to be the introducer of a certain defined mixed system
of feeding horses, and this he (Mr. Logan) wished to call in question.
The materials used in compounding the horse food, however they may
be varied in quantity, even to the occasional omission of one of them, are
maize, oats, barley, peas or beans, and hay. The author prefaces the
publication of 1874 with testimonials to show the date at which his
mixed system of feeding came first into operation, and from one of these
it is stated as 1851. At page 75 of the present paper, however, it is
admitted that it was not until the year 1867 that he recognised that
maize was a good ingredient of horse food, and then only after it had
been proved beyond all doubt by others; and not until 1868 that he used
it. He had, it is true, tried it at South Hetton in 1853, and ascribed
its failure, as he usually does all failures of a similar kind, to the want
of co-operation of the colliery officials. But one would have scarcely
thought that such a shrewd observer as Mr. Hunting would in 1861 have
come to the conclusion "that maize was a valuable food for cattle, pigs,
and poultry, but not for horses."
It may be, therefore, observed that maize is not one of the grains that
he can claim as having introduced in the mixed system of horse feeding,
although now in his most approved formula for mixing grains, maize
forms 46 per cent, of the mixture.
156 DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
As to oats, barley, peas, and beans, it is hardly worth while taking up
the time of the members to prove that, long prior to 1851, the latter three
were, when found economical, used in conjunction with the first, and that
in all cases the peas and beans were split or crushed, bran being occa-
sionally added to give bulk to the mixture.
The author admits, at page 84, that a " mixture of oats, beans, and
bran, can be formed capable of meeting any fair muscular waste."
A good deal of the paper is taken up by an attempt to throw discredit
on oats as a horse food either alone or in combination. The author gives
a good many axioms in the paper, and the first is, that horses, to do
their work, must be kept in condition, going on to show (page 63) that
"there are two things necessary to produce condition in horses—work
and food, or rather, hard work and high feeding." It is further stated
(page 64) that " a sufficiency of oats and hay, with plenty of work, will
produce condition;" but notwithstanding this admission the author says
"the use of oats as a principal article of diet for excessively hard worked
horses is very expensive if not injurious," and, in proof of this, adduces a
case where horses, although allowed 168 lbs. of oats and 154 lbs. of hay
each per week, were " unable for want of condition, or from positive
debility, to get the work out." This excessive allowance, excessive even
to 16^ hand horses, was apparently insufficient to produce "condition."
It certainly does appear that the alteration in the horses requires some
further explanation than the mere substitution of a lesser weight of peas,
barley, oats, bran, and hay.
At Dage 66 a Table is given of the constituents of various foods, and
it is to be presumed that the Table is compiled from the best of each
respective kind, although in that relating to oats, as stated by the author
and that given by Mr. R. 0. Pringle in his work on the "Live Stock of
the Farm," there is an extraordinary discrepancy, which is shown as
follows:—
Mr. Hunting. Mr. Pringle.
Water............... 118 ... 14"0
Woody fibre ... ......... 208 ... 7"0
Starch, gum, sugar, and fat ... ... 52'0 ... 645
Nitrogenous matter ... ... ... 125 ... 115
Ash or saline ... ... ... ... 3*0 ... 3*0
He (Mr. Logan) agreed with the author that oats "should be sound,
sweet, a year old, and their natural weight should be at least 40 lbs. per
bushel;" but he did not agree in his condemnation of all foreign oats, as
DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. J 57
the immense number of horses kept in "this country could not be fed, even
if oats formed only a small proportion of their food, with the short potato
oats grown here.
It may be interesting to produce a statement showing the quantities
for six months ending December 31st, 1882, not only of oats but of all
grains used for horse food imported into and distributed by the north-
eastern ports. The statement very well illustrates the magnitude of the
subject discussed, and comprises the ports of Newcastle, Tyne Dock,
Sunderland, and West Hartlepool:—
Cwts. Per Cent.
Maize ......... 246,986 = 4411
Peas............ 137,272 = 24'52
Beans ......... 6,133 = 1'10
Oats............ 169,506 - 3027
559,897 = 100-00
This Table shows the imports of grain of the respective kinds for six
months, and while it cannot be stated that it is all consumed as horse food,
yet practical men, fully conversant with the trade, state that 95 per cent, is so
consumed, in the proportions given in the percentage column. He was
similarly assured that of the 8,475 tons 6 cwts. of oats imported, fully
70 per cent, were from foreign countries, so that foreign oats enter
largely into the composition of horse food in the two northern counties;
indeed he knew of one large firm, employing more horses than any one of
the firms the author alludes to, that, during the last six months of 1882,
used 30 per cent, of the finest quality of undried foreign oats in their
horse food, that is, oats which had not been kiln-dried or sulphured,
without having had a single case of colic in their stud. One lot of extra
fine foreign oats used by this firm was, for the purpose of information,
submitted to a thorough analytical test, and the composition of one
drachm of these oats, containing 158 corns, selected from the bulk
by the purchasers, not the sellers, was 72 per cent, of kernels and
25 per cent, of husk. There are many kinds oats, whether foreign or
ome grown; and he had been informed that very lately there had been
ought and sent to some of the collieries under the author's charge some
be? Fmland oats which were very heavily kiln-dried, so much so that
and°re bemg f°rWarded from tne dock warehouses they were winnowed
n watered to improve their appearance, and by this process they
vol. xxxii.-18s3 tj
158 DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
gained about 10 per cent, in weight.* Oats of this class, which are
bought at a very low figure, make a very cheap horse food, but he
strongly deprecated their use.
Before leaving the question of oats he need only further remark that the
author, in his Table showing the weight of husk in various grains, again
seems to put oats in a very bad light. It has been shown above that a sample
of even the despised foreign oats yielded only 25 per cent, of husk, while
here short Scotch oats are quoted as yielding 28 per cent., and Elbe oats
nearly 39 per cent, of husk. Of course, bad grain of any kind is not to
be recommended as horse food.
He quite agreed with the author that barley is a good food along with
other grains for mixed horse food, but then it ought to be of the best
quality, and members should not be led away by its cheap price in 1881
and 1882. It was only unsound non-malting barley that could be bought
for 8d. per stone in 1881, and lOd. per stone in 1882. When barley is
used it ought to be sound and good and such as a maltster would use, and
when in this condition it is really dearer than maize, whilst it is inferior
as a feeding ingredient; take, for example, the present market prices for
fair sound average grain of both kinds, say old maize at 36s. per 480 lbs.,
and barley 34s. per 448 lbs., making maize 12*6d. per stone of 14 lbs.,
and the same weight of barley 12*75d.
He mentioned this to show that it is unfair to quote unsound barley
against sound maize; and also to show that, so long as the price of sound
maize does not materially exceed the price of sound barley, maize is the
best, where condition in its best sense is looked upon as economy.
It may be taken that, in most establishments where large numbers of
horses are kept, the mixing of various kinds of suitable grains for horse
food has been long practised, so that if large savings have been effected
the savings have been pretty universal.
The only question upon which diversity of opinion may arise is as to
the chopping and mixing of hay with the grains, there being an agreement
that hay is necessary. There also appears to be a difference of opinion as
to the best method of giving the chopped hay; some preferring to mix
the grains and hay in one bag before they are sent into the mine, and
others sending them in separate bags, in which case the chopped hay is put
into the manger first and the grains then added, and slightly mixed with
* It may be as well to observe here that Mr. Hunting states that these oats were
returned as not according to sample, and that the seller had to pay the railway dues
and all the expenses attending loading, unloading, storage, etc., etc.
DISCUSSION—THFi FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 159
the hay He (Mr. Logan) had a preference to giving long hay, and that in
a separate rack from the grains, and in a carefully conducted establishment
there is as much economy with the one system as the other, but he was
fraid that ultimately it must be left to individual judgment, as it is im-
ible to elicit information from the horse as to his taste in the matter.
If however, it be taken for granted that a man had a certain quantity of
fish flesh, and pastry, with their concomitants, cooked for his dinner,
and was told that a certain proportion of each would sustain him in
condition, he would no doubt accept them without question and eat them
in the ordinary way; but if, without altering the constituents or their
proportions, they were all mixed together, he would think it anything but
a savoury mess, although in process of time he might be able to take it in
default of other means of subsistence. He entirely agreed with the author
in his remarks on the value of green food.
On pages 90, 92, and 93, the author gives some tabular statements
as to the cost of feeding and the savings effected; but, as he himself says
at page 62, "tabular statements of the cost of feeding show absolutely
nothing save by comparison with others, and a comprehensive estimate
should include not only the cost of food, but the cost of horse flesh and the
amount of work done." The amount of work done is the real test, and
this the author has attempted to show by giving the weight of coal drawn,
which is entirely misleading, as coal can be brought to the bottom of the
pit and to bank without any horses. The only thing which the Tables
appear to be intended to show is the great saving effected by a mixed
system of feeding, but this is illusory. If a system of mixed feeding
had been adopted at the collieries under the author's charge and at no
other, then he could have understood this saving; but as he (Mr. Logan)
has shown the system of mixed feeding is nearly universal, there can be no
saving at any of the collieries enumerated over other large collieries. As
well might a colliery viewer prepare a Table showing the difference between
the method of leading coals underground now and that prevailing 60 years
ago, and claim that at the collieries he managed he had effected an ex-
ceptional saving of thousands of pounds, ignoring the fact that others had
adopted the improved haulage also.
If the author had given the average cost per week, or per year, of the
various sizes of horses and ponies, averaged through the whole of the
collieries under his charge, it could have either been admitted or contro-
verted that other large establishments with their management could or
could not do equally well.
160 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
There are plenty of other large establishments where the system of
buying, of feeding, and of working their horses and ponies will compare
with any the author quotes.
It is the usual practice, as the author will allow, wrhere large numbers
of horses are owned by one firm, to employ competent veterinary surgeons,
and buyers, and inspectors of their stud, and the highest attention is given
to the purchasing, preparation, and distribution of the food ; and they
will learn with astonishment and doubt the assertion that there "are
several hundred ponies in pits, not twro years old, that have been under-
ground a year."
The author, on page 63, remarks on the practice of buying horses and
ponies from a dealer one day and putting them to excessive work the
next. This, so far as he (Mr. Logan) knew, was not the practice, and
others of more experience would agree with him. The author then goes on
to wonder that "such a palpable, common-sense matter should be so often
overlooked by the managers of collieries;" he also wTondered, and wrondered
where it occurred ?
This is followed up by a statement on the same page, to which he must,
as a colliery manager, give his unqualified contradiction, and he hoped he
wrould be supported by every colliery manager worthy of the name. The
statement is—" the still more common practice of working underground
animals twenty to forty hours' shifts without their harness being taken off."
He had known the Northumberland and Durham pitmen for over
twenty years, but he was not aware that they "ate daily from 12 to 24 ozs.
of flesh food." About 8 ozs. would be found a very fair and liberal average.
In conclusion, he had to draw attention to a Table on page 94 as to the
average length of life of pit horses, which he thought might be valuable
for comparison. He was, however, astonished by the first given, viz.,
"Bearpark, 12 years," knowing that this colliery was not commenced to
be sunk until 1872.
The paper might or might not be valuable as a contribution to the Pro-
ceedings of the Institute, but he thought the author ought to have recorded
the fact that to a very large extent it had been already published; and,
in his opinion, the whole of the previously published paper might have
been given to the Institute with the preface and testimonials, and the
new matter added as an appendix, even if it had required a few more
testimonials of more recent date.
The President thought Mr. Logan had misunderstood the figures
about Bearpark. Mr. Hunting did not mean that the horses had been
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. 161
there twelve years, but that their average length of life had been twelve
rs Whenever the colliery commenced the horses must have had some
age when they were brought there.
& My A. L. Steavenson asked whether it was not better to give hay
. tjie g|-ake |n which it could be selected, and the bad taken out and
thrown away, rather than give it chopped up, when its quality could
not be so easily ascertained? As to the woody fibre mentioned in the
ca«e of oats, was it entirely useless as food ? His impression was that it
mi°'ht keep other food open, so as to allow secretion to take place, and
so was good, although not of a feeding character. Some horses in Cleve-
land had been referred to; they were large powerful horses, and would
fetch in the market about £70 each. Pit horses were going 8 hours, but
these horses were going for 1\ hours; although they did not go so fast
or travel the same distance as pit horses, he had no doubt they did
as much work. His impression as to feeding was that crushed English
oats mixed with beans, and good uncut hay, formed a class of food im-
possible to beat. A veterinary surgeon said that maize given to horses
was injurious, and that in fact several horses had died from the effects of
it. That was the experience of Mr. Barker, of Middlesbrough, who had
charge of perhaps all the horses in Cleveland. Oats alone were not good
feeding, but mixed with beans and peas they formed a kind of food that
could not be surpassed.
Mr. May said, he agreed with Mr. Hunting in regard to the chopping
of hay. At his place there were between 300 and 400 horses. Formerly
the hay was not chopped, and there wTas great waste. Anyone who had
observed the uncut hay go down the pit in bundles on a wet day, and now
saw the cut hay go down in bags, would appreciate the difference, and if
they examined it in the hay-board would be satisfied that chopping hay
was as great an advantage to the horse as the saving in cost at the end
of the year was to the owner. He was formerly a non-believer in the
chopping of hay, but after three years experience he thought it a great
advantage to the horses and a great saving to have hay chopped.
Mr. E. F. Boyd—Is the chopped hay given separate from the other
food, or is the food all mixed together ?
Mr. May—A little of the chopped hay is put among the oats to
prevent the horses bolting their food.
Mr. Birkett (Farm Manager to Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan, and
Co.) said, that after twenty years experience they found it best to mix
the chopped hay with the corn. He would like to have more informa-
tion about the average life of colliery horses. Mr. Hunting stated that
162 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
in some cases it was twelve years. If that period was divided by
four, it would, in his opinion, come nearer the mark, unless one-
third more horses to do the same work were employed. At their col-
lieries maize had been used for a great number of years, although Mr.
Barker, the veterinary surgeon in Cleveland, always condemned maize.
Maize was best mixed with other food. One speaker had said that
because hay was chopped all the bad hay would be used. That was not
the case, as the hay was sorted before it was taken to the cutter.
Mr. Steavenson—Mr. Barker's opinion, after opening a horse which
had been fed on maize, is that maize is not the best food; and this
opinion from a man like Mr. Barker is valuable.
Mr. Birkett—Maize mixed with other food has been the cheapest
and best food for horses, but in the past year it has been too dear.
Mr. Burnett said Mr. Hunting, in his paper, stated that in order for
hard work to be performed by horses food containing a heavy percentage
of albuminoids must be used. He agreed with Mr. Hunting's system of
feeding. He could not say that he (Mr. Burnett) spoke from ex-
perience ; but from the theoretical instruction he received he learnt that
the food of young growing animals should contain a sufficient quantity
of. nitrogenous matter in order that new tissues might be formed ; but that
animals of mature age should, to perform work, be fed, like a steam
engine in proportion to the work done, and then fat and starch were
required in the food. He had corresponded with a gentleman on this
subject who was intimately acquainted with Bockhampstead, where Mr.
Laws had conducted the most valuable experiments of the age in con-
nection with the subject, and that gentleman seemed to be of the same
opinion as himself in regard to the theoretical part of Mr. Hunting's
paper. He agreed with Mr. Logan that Mr. Hunting seemed to be
rather hard upon oats. Mr. Hunting gave 25 per cent, of fibre in oats.
The works he had consulted and the lectures he attended at Cirencester
gave between 10 and 11 per cent, of fibre. It was possible, however,
there might be some misunderstanding as to what fibre was. In the
books he had consulted it meant the undissolved fibre after treatment
with acid. He might mention that in the German experiments it had
been found that a considerable percentage of albuminoids was required
to keep an ox in condition.
Mr. Clement Stephenson, Veterinary Surgeon, said he did not come
to the meeting prepared to say anything upon the subject, as he had not
read Mr. Huntings paper. He believed all hay ought to be chopped,
and he was quite sure it would be a great saving. He did not know
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. 168
that there was much nutrition in the hay, but it was useful to fill the
large intestines; and he even thought it would be a proper thing to mix
a certain quantity of straw with the hay in chopping. No bad hay should
be chopped, and all dirt and dust should be taken out of the hay before
p-ivin0* it to horses. He had not much faith in maize. When maize was
cheap it would do to mix. Horses for colliery work wanted a large
amount of beans and peas; they wanted a large quantity of nitrogenous
food to help them in doing hard work; and he did not think they got
that in maize. For hard work oats were required. Oats, beans, peas, and
especially bran, were a good mixture.
Mr. T. W. Benson said, that in regard to Mr. Hunting's statement as
to ponies under two years old being sent underground, he came across a
paper by Professor Brown, of the Veterinary Department of the Privy
Council, which confirmed much that Mr. Hunting had said—that rough
forest ponies lost their aspect of colthood very soon, and it often
happened that a yearling was mistaken for a five-year-old, and a two-
year-old for a six-year-old.
Mr. F. Stobart said, that at the colliery he had been connected with
he had had some experience of cutting and crushing. Previous to five
years ago the hay was sent down uncut, and the horses were fed on oats
and a few peas. At that time a new system was started with consi-
derable difficulty, in the face of much prejudice. Under the new system
the hay was cut, and the horses were fed on maize and beans or peas, and
sometimes both; and he found that pretty equal if not greater work was
got out of the horses. The overmen started the new system as non-
believers ; but they were believers in it now. The stud was in a better
condition, and there was a great saving in cost. "When maize got to a
higher price they discarded using so much of it; and he found that he
did not get from the horses the work he had previously got. He then
put on nearly the amount of maize he had used before, and he got good
work again. About 45 per cent, of maize, 30 per cent, of oats, and 25
per cent, of peas or beans, as the case might be, was the present food,
M thr°Ug,hfc the besfc results were £°fc from that mixture,
i. W. F. Hall said, that six weeks or two months ago Mr. Hunting
commenced to feed the horses at the colliery on oats, beans, and peas, as
^w*e was at too high a price. He (Mr. Hall) complained to the colliery
sincTtl ,that.thej Were nofc S'etting the work out, and the officials said
could n^T™ discontinued the horses had lost condition, and
He wrote ^ hefove; tbe^ were less livel^v and energetic.
lXJturrTf 6 t0 Huntillg thafc> whatever the cost might be, he must
° maize and keep the horses in proper condition.
104 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
Mr. Hunting said, that his system had been strongly opposed by
many men, and frequently by those who should have encouraged and
supported him. Two or three statements had been made by Mr. Logan,
which he (Mr. Hunting) wrould have been pleased if he had left out,
since they were unaccompanied by any references which would allow their
accuracy to be tested. He was glad to see, however, that he had alleged
nothing against the three leading principles laid down in the paper, viz.:—
(1) The importance of nitrogenous foods. (2) The quantity of each
ingredient used, to be governed by the price per stone in the market.
(3) The absolute necessity of using large quantities of corn for feeding,
instead of hay, for all horses heavily worked: three points that explain
nearly all the advantages of economical feeding. Again, Mr. Logan says,
" the mixing of suitable grain for horses has long since been practised, and
was not suggested at the places over which the author had control, and that
the saving pretended to have been effected is (illusory,' because other large
collieries had adopted mixed food feeding, or implied that they had done
so, before his system was published." In 1851, he took much trouble
to find one place in the counties of Durham and Northumberland, where
they used cut hay and mixed food feeding, but he did not succeed in
finding it, either amongst collieries or any other large horse establishments,
and he visited nineteen-twentieths of the whole. If Mr. Logan knew where
it was used, why did he not give the name of the place, the quantities used,
and the cost per annum of the stud ? That would have been useful infor-
mation, which could be tested. In 1853, 1856, 1860, and 1872, he (Mr.
Hunting) w7as permitted to publish the results of the feeding at South Hetton
and Murton Collieries. Up to the first-mentioned date, he did not believe
it was done anywhere in the North of England, and he challenged Mr.
Logan to give an instance of it. Even had it been so, it only touches the
fringe of the subject, the three important principles laid down in his paper
being:—(1) The selection of the kind of grain used. (2) The relative
price of each per stone in the market. (3) The quantity of each kind that is
most economical and gives the most blood to the animal for the least money.
Again, Mr. Logan says, "if the author had given the average cost per
week, of the various sizes of horses and ponies, it could have been compared
with other collieries." This was done in every case referred to in the reports,
and the saving effected in every case is given upon the same sized animals
as were on the colliery the year before he took charge, as is fully explained
on page 89. He could give twenty cases in which he had seen ponies
in pits, not two years old, every tooth in their head milk teeth, and yet
they had been twelve months underground. Viewers and others should
take more care to see whether horses were young, as a matter of economy.
discussion—the feeding of colliery horses. 165
jje was glad to have heard what Mr. Benson had said; for it was a
peculiar fact that ponies of twelve or fifteen months old had often been
mistaken for older animals by him until he saw their mouths. When he
examined their mouths carefully he did not find a single permanent tooth
in them; and some of the incisor teeth were scarcely out of the gums.
The oreatest novice knew whether an animal was one year, or four years,
or three off; but good judges of horses had often been deceived by taking
a two-year-old for a five-year-old, and a five-month-old for a two-year-old.
At two vears old the mouth was full; there were the twelve incisors all alike.
At five years old there were twelve incisors, and all alike; but in the one case
they were milk teeth, and in the other case they were permanent teeth. If
the animals had been fed on heather, as many animals were on mountains,
the teeth became brown in colour, and it was sometimes difficult to say
whether they had permanent or temporary teeth. Mr. Logan was deceived
in supposing that any man could tell a five-year-old mouth. No man could
be mistaken in a two years off or three years off, or four years off, or rising
five, because in those periods the mouth was never perfect. Mr. Logan
had spoken about oats, and had pointed out a seeming inconsistency in the
percentage .of husks given by him, although the amount given, 25 per
cent., in Petersburg oats of 40^ lbs. natural weight, accords with that in
the test quoted by Mr. Logan. This gentleman evidently supposes that
the best oats should have the smallest proportion of husks, which is not
so, as in no case can the same amount of husks be obtained from the
light Russian oats as upon the shortest Scotch potato oats, supposed to
be the best oats grown. Mr. Burnett and Mr. Logan had each spoken
about the husk of oats. He thought Mr. Burnett's remarks were
apparently contrary to the statement in the paper, because that gentleman
had taken the woody fibre as separated from the oat husk. If they
referred to his paper it would be found that he gave the result of
experiments with various grains with the entire husk, not chemically
separated. Mr. Logan seemed to think that he (Mr. Hunting) had
absolutely put down the husk of Scotch oats as something enormous,
but it was a fact that foreign oats gave less husk than the best Scotch oats.
Ihe St. Petersburg "needles," as they were called, were the lightest oats,
and had the smallest amount of husk. This was tested by him more
an a quarter of a century ago. But that proved nothing as to the value
the 0r61gn English oats as a feeding material. Mr. Logan thought
e oats were not kiln-dried. Everyone knew that nineteen-twentieths
far °atS that °ame t0 En£land were kiln-dried. Since the
aimers on the shores of the Baltic, from whom a large portion of
vol, XXXlI.-l88:j. y
164 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
Mr. Hunting said, that his system had been strongly opposed by
many men, and frequently by those who should have encouraged and
supported him. Two or three statements had been made by Mr. Logan,
which he (Mr. Hunting) would have been pleased if he had left out,
since they were unaccompanied by any references which would allow their
accuracy to be tested. He was glad to see, however, that he had alleged
nothing against the three leading principles laid down in the paper, viz.:—
(1) The importance of nitrogenous foods. (2) The quantity of each
ingredient used, to be governed by the price per stone in the market.
(3) The absolute necessity of using large quantities of corn for feeding,
instead of hay, for all horses heavily worked: three points that explain
nearly all the advantages of economical feeding. Again, Mr. Logan says,
" the mixing of suitable grain for horses has long since been practised, and
was not suggested at the places over which the author had control, and that
the saving pretended to have been effected is ' illusory,' because other large
collieries had adopted mixed food feeding, or implied that they had done
so, before his system was published." In 1851, he took much trouble
to find one place in the counties of Durham and Northumberland, where
they used cut hay and mixed food feeding, but he did not succeed in
finding it, either amongst collieries or any other large horse establishments,
and he visited nineteen-twentieths of the whole. If Mr. Logan knew where
it was used, why did he not give the name of the place, the quantities used,
and the cost per annum of the stud ? That would have been useful infor-
mation, which could be tested. In 1853, 1856, 1860, and 1872, he (Mr.
Hunting) was permitted to publish the results of the feeding at South Hetton
and Murton Collieries. Up to the first-mentioned date, he did not believe
it was done anywhere in the North of England, and he challenged Mr.
Logan to give an instance of it. Even had it been so, it only touches the
fringe of the subject, the three important principles laid down in his paper
being:—(1) The selection of the kind of grain used. (2) The relative
price of each per stone in the market. (3) The quantity of each kind that is
most economical and gives the most blood to the animal for the least money.
Again, Mr. Logan says, "if the author had given the average cost per
week, of the various sizes of horses and ponies, it could have been compared
with other collieries." This was done in every case referred to in the reports,
and the saving effected in every case is given upon the same sized animals
as were on the colliery the year before he took charge, as is fully explained
on page 89. He could give twenty cases in which he had seen ponies
in pits, not two years old, every tooth in their head milk teeth, and yet
they had been twelve months underground. Viewers and others should
take more care to see whether horses were young, as a matter of economy.
discussion—the feeding of colliery 1IOKKKS. 165
jje was glad to have heard what Mr. Benson had said; for it was a
liar fact that ponies of twelve or fifteen months old had often been
'taken for older animals by him until be saw their mouths. When he
examined their mouths carefully he did not find a single permanent tooth
in them- and some of the incisor teeth were scarcely out of the gums.
The greatest novice knew whether an animal was one year, or four years,
or three off; but good judges of horses had often been deceived by taking
a two-year-old for a five-year-old, and a five-month-old for a two-year-old.
At two Years old the mouth was full; there were the twelve incisors all alike.
At five years old there were twelve incisors, and all alike; but in the one case
they were milk teeth, and in the other case they were permanent teeth. If
the animals had been fed on heather, as many animals were on mountains,
the teeth became brown in colour, and it was sometimes difficult to say
whether they had permanent or temporary teeth. Mr. Logan was deceived
in supposing that any man could tell a five-year-old mouth. No man could
be mistaken in a two years off or three years off, or four years off, or rising
five, because in those periods the mouth was never perfect. Mr. Logan
had spoken about oats, and had pointed out a seeming inconsistency in the
percentage' of husks given by him, although the amount given, 25 per
cent., in Petersburg oats of 40^ lbs. natural weight, accords with that in
the test quoted by Mr. Logan. This gentleman evidently supposes that
the best oats should have the smallest proportion of husks, which is not
so, as in no case can the same amount of husks be obtained from the
light Russian oats as upon the shortest Scotch potato oats, supposed to
be the best oats grown. Mr. Burnett and Mr. Logan had each spoken
about the husk of oats. He thought Mr. Burnett's remarks were
apparently contrary to the statement in the paper, because that gentleman
had taken the woody fibre as separated from the oat husk. If they
referred to his paper it would be found that he gave the result of
experiments with various grains with the entire husk, not chemically
separated. Mr. Logan seemed to think that he (Mr. Hunting) had
absolutely put down the husk of Scotch oats as something enormous,
but it was a fact that foreign oats gave less husk than the best Scotch oats.
The St. Petersburg "needles," as they were called, were the lightest oats,
and had the smallest amount of husk. This was tested by him more
than a quarter of a century ago. But that proved nothing as to the value
of foreign and English oats as a feeding material. Mr. Logan thought
the oats were not kiln-dried. Everyone knew that nineteen-twentieths
of all the oats that came to England were kiln-dried. Since the
farmers on the shores of the Baltic, from whom a large portion of
vol. XXX 11.-1833. V
166 DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
the oats came to this country, had been growing their oats from Scotch
seed, the oats had been greatly improved, especially in weight. A few
years ago the weight was about 35 lbs., and now it had come up to
40 lbs. and 42 lbs. per bushel. The reason why they got so much
more husk in good Scotch oats than in Russian "needles," he (Mr.
Hunting) thought, was the fact that foreign oats were kiln-dried,
and when the husk was separated they got the internal film separate
from the foreign oats, but it adhered to the husk of the Scotch
oats. Another gentleman had said he (Mr. Hunting) was hard on oats.
In his paper he said "if the choice of grain is limited to one variety
only, oats are the best." That did not seem to be very hard upon
oats. "If cost is no object oats and bran form a food simply unobjec-
tionable." That was not very hard upon oats. "But, as the following
Table will show, oats vary considerably in value ;" and he (Mr. Hunting)
then showed the weight of husks. His whole paper was based on cost, and
not upon what was best. If they could get a material at 8d. or Del. a stone
which would answer their purpose and enable their horses to do the same
amount of work, where would be the policy of using materials which would
cost 14d. or 15d. a stone? Mr. Logan said all collieries used mixed food
fifty or sixty years ago. In 1849 none in North Durham, and not a
single colliery in Northumberland used mixed food. Let Mr. Logan
name the colliery which used mixed food fifty or sixty years ago. He
(Mr. Hunting) did not know one, and he had made as many inquiries
into the feeding of horses as anybody. There were no large establish-
ments, collieries, or other works in the North of England which used the
mixed system of feeding fifty or sixty years ago. Now, in 1850, it was
common enough when he was a? boy to use cut food and mixed food in the
South of England, but not in the North.
He was in the presence of a large number of colliery managers and
viewers, and he would ask them whether it was common or uncommon
to purchase horses and ponies and put them down the pit the next day,
or within two or three days ? And whether a score, or even one hundred
cases could not be given to establish what he had seen with his own eyes.
Then again, with respect to excessive over-working, it would be clearly
out of place, in a discussion like this, to name places where cruelty had
been practised, but he distinctly averred that he knew a case in which
two cobs had been worked from Monday morning till Saturday night
without having had their gear taken off or having been brought to their
stables. He admitted that these things were not done now to anything
like the extent they were a few years ago; but any one who knew anything
DISCUSSION-THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 167
colli eries knew it was common. They paid to the extent of hundreds
ft1T thousands of pounds loss often from the stupidity of purchasing
^ als off soft food and putting them to the heaviest muscular work in
allima v four clays. As to the decreased number of deaths of horses, he
^Tited most of the advantage, not to feeding or management, but to the
impU . lr » if iie took no more notice of the deaths of horses than by
"case hook. 11 i .1
merely speaking about it, the horses under his charge would be the same as
others he had no doubt; but there was not a colliery with which he had to
do but had a book in which were entered the name and colour of the horse
or pony and the name of the driver, and the reason why it was off work;
and they could understand what the effect was. Every man, from the
resident viewer down to the putters and trappers, knew that the
case of every animal abused would be brought before the head viewer and
be investigated. That was why the losses in his studs were so small.
Some member had said that cutting hay was objectionable, because they
might cut the bad hay as well as the good, and the man would not
be very wise who did not separate the bad hay from the good before it was
cut. He thought Mr. Logan, like Mr. Steavenson, did not much approve
of maize.' Nobody could be more opposed to maize than he formerly
was; he was opposed to it at first, and had good reason for it. Mr. Logan
thought there was not much credit due to him because he only followed
the example of others. In his paper he told them that maize was used
by everybody. He did not claim that all that he had stated came from
his own head; he had used the labours of others. If any man had any-
thing to tell him he was extremely glad to hear it, and to try whether
it was true or not; if true he was thankful for it, and if untrue he
discarded it. In the Cleveland district, there were a great many persons
who had an objection to maize, and if asked why, they did not know.
It was said that Mr. Barker had found that maize killed the horses, but
horses died before maize was introduced, and the President had a colliery
where there had not been a death from disease of any kind for five
years. That did not very much look as if maize killed horses. At
Prudhoe pit there had not been a death from disease of any kind for
seven years come April. Mr. John Liddell asked, if all the horses at
bank could do without oats, why they were necessary for those in the pits?
He (Mr. Hunting) said he did not dare to make such a change, because if
a stone i'ell from the top and killed a horse, it would be said the maize did
*t. For six years come April there had not been oats bought for the three
collieries at Prudhoe and Mickley until six or eight weeks ago, when
maize was up to 44s. It would not have been wise to have bought maize
168 discussion—the feeding of colliery horses.
at 44s. when oats could be got at 26s., and hence for a time he almost
discarded maize at the collieries; reducing it from 40 or 50 to 10 per
cent., and then there were complaints from Ryhope, Haswell, South
Hetton, Ouston, and Cowpen that the horses did not do their work so
well. No one who had tried it could arrive at any other conclusion
than that, as an adjunct to oats and beans, there was no food so
cheap, and no food more calculated to correct the digestive function
of animals, ever used in Britain than maize. The percentage of colic
cases was 200, 300, and often 500 per cent, less when maize was used
in the proportion he recommended than when not used. Inflammation
of the bowels was almost unknown at collieries where 40 or 50 per
cent, of maize was used. Twenty or thirty years ago, when maize
was not used, there would be hardly a colliery which did not lose one or
two horses a month from colic, and now they did not lose one in a year.
And yet it was said that maize was objectionable ; and when people were
asked their objection to it, they replied that it produced a tendency to
greasy legs. If it had that tendency it would be a strong objection.
Out of two hundred animals at a colliery where maize was largely
used only one animal had greasy legs. He did not think it necessary
publicly to name the colliery, but he would tell it to any person who wished
to investigate the truth of the statement. There was no absurdity, no
thoughtless statement, that was not grasped at and supported at collieries
in the North of England about this system of feeding. There was a
colliery he had never been on and the stud of which he had never seen,
and all he had to do with it was to purchase the maize and peas, the
colliery owner and viewer regulating the feeding. He (Mr. Hunting) was
very anxious to know how these gentlemen would succeed in carrying out
the system of feeding without his (Mr. Hunting's) assistance or over-
sight ; but afterwards the gentleman gave him the result of three
years' feeding, and he (Mr. Hunting) was very much astonished to find
that, with all the economy and saving he had stated, his (Mr. Hunting's)
cost was £2 to £3 a year higher than the highest year of that gentle-
man's cost; also for three years this system of feeding was carried
out in a large stud under a viewer at a colliery, with which he (Mr.
Hunting) had nothing to do, and the cost never reached the sum of £20
per head. He apprehended that Mr. Logan would have some difficulty
in finding a colliery in Durham or Northumberland where they could
feed their horses on less than £20 a year. That was not his (Mr.
Hunting's) doing, but it was the result of his system, tried by some one
else; and this was the strongest proof he could give them of its value.
DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 169
Mr Clement Stephenson agreed with him as to cut hay, and so did every-
b a who had tried it; but Mr. Stephenson did not like maize. A great
,a„0 a\a not like maize. He had stated the results of the use of
many moio ui^ <^
maize and had given the names of the collieries and of the owners, and
-one could ascertain whether what he had stated was true or not. What
was their objection to maize ? As he had already said, some people thought
it'had a tendency to cause greasy legs; and if it was proved that it had
not that tendency, then they would object that maize intensified the odour
of the fasces, which he admitted ; and so did wheaten bread. If the
use of maize produced sulphuretted hydrogen instead of carburetted
hydrogen, then why not leave off eating wheaten bread? The odour did
not however, come from the skin of the animals, but from their fasces.
This was about on a par with all the objections to maize: they did not
know why or what they objected to, and the worst they could say against
it was that it smells. If the collieries of England could -ave £70,000,
£80,000', or £100,000 a year by the use of maize, they surely could
put up with this. Had it not been for the introduction of maize into
this country colliery horses would have cost £12 a head more a year to
keep. When oats were scarce, as they were two years ago, and at a high
price, about 5,000,000 qrs. of maize came into this country, the greater
pare for horses' food; and horse owners not only gained in its cheapness
for feeding horses, but also because it reduced the price of every other
material used for feeding horses. As to barley, it was not its quality, but
the working of the Beer Act that had to do with its low price. Up to the
time of passing this Act, nineteen-twentieths of all the barley grown in
England was used for malting; but now sugar, treacle, foreign barley,
maize, or anything could be used by brewers. Mr. Logan told them that it
was because the barley was bad that it was used for feeding horses. Formerly
4,000,000 or 5,000,000 qrs. of barley was used for malting purposes, and
not a quarter part of that quantity was used now ; the result was that
barley was reduced in price, and good feeding barley came down to 24s.
a quarter, a price never before known. Men who are accustomed to the
trade know that barley, not suitable for malting, is not necessarily one
penny worse for feeding purposes than a good sample of malting barley,
P of the same natural weight, because it would give quite as much food
to the horses, yet frequently costing 8s. to 12s. per quarter less money.
- n malting, the essential part is that all the grains should germinate
at the same time otherwise a large portion of the "saccharine" matter is
lost m the brewing, but in feeding it is a very different matter and of no
moment, so long as the barley is in fair condition, clean and sweet, and if
170 DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES.
the same weight, it is of equal value to that used for malting, and yet Mr.
Logan recommends his hearers to give 9s. to 12s. per quarter more for one
kind than the other. Mr. Burnett had referred to the theoretical part
of the subject. Up to 1866 Liebig had shown it was essential to use
highly nitrogenous food to replace the consumption of muscle used up in
hard work. This theory was generally accepted all through Europe and
America both by chemists and physiologists up to 1866. In that year
Fick and Wislicenus disputed it; and in 1866 these two Germans,
made the ascent of an Alpine mountain in order to test it. They
emptied their bladders at six in the morning, and carefully analysed the
urine; they preserved every drop of urine made in the eleven hours route
up to the mountain peak, and abstained from any kind of nitrogenous
food whatever. They said that, if Liebig's theory was right, they
must undoubtedly have an increased excretion of nitrogen from the dis-
simulation of the tissues of the body. They analysed carefully the urine
taken from each during the ascent, the analysis being within a few
decimals, and found there was almost an imperceptible increase of
nitrogen. They did that on the day following their descent from the
mountain, and the result gave rise to a great discussion among chemico-
physiologists. Dr. Fick thought it upset Liebig's theory ; and they said
also, " what can be clearer than the fact that there was no increase of
nitrogen in the urine from the dissimulated tissues during that time."
Many in Germany and in England became delighted, and every scientific
institution was exercised by this discovery that Liebig was wrong. An
American, Dr. Austin Flint, perhaps the greatest living physiologist, was
however, in favour of Liebig's theory, and, with others, spoke on his
behalf. In 1870, Weston, the great pedestrian, commenced in New
York his great walk of 400 miles in five days. Several members of the
medical profession and chemico-physiologists thought that was an
admirable opportunity to test, beyond doubt or cavil, whether Liebig's
important theory was correct, and a Committee of ten or twelve of the
greatest scientists in the medical world was formed to test the new theory
when Weston was performing this great muscular exertion. By this
time it had been discovered that it was not the day that the exercise
took place that the nitrogen in the urine was so largely increased, but
that it extended over two 'or three days some time after; and that if
the two Germans had taken the result of the disintegration of the
tissues and the development of nitrogen after the ascent, they would
have found that absolutely 42 per cent, more of nitrogen had been
eliminated than had been taken into the system. The result was verified
DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 171
d ring Weston's muscular exertion, 45 and even 50 per cent, more of
itro°*en being eliminated from the body than was taken in the way
" food For five days before the experiment every particle of food that
was eaten by Weston was weighed to a grain, and every particle of faeces
and urine made was carefully analysed, both chemically and microscopi-
cally During the five days of his walking the same thing was done,
and the experiment was continued for five days after the walking ; and the
result proved beyond doubt Liebig's theory that the consumption of
• muscle was absolutely going on, in a way contrary to Mr. Burnett's theory.
Dunne four days 100 grains of nitrogen were given in the food, while 197
orams of nitrogen were extracted from the urine, or nearly cent, per
cent, more deterioration of tissue took place than had been taken into
the body, proving that the theory of Liebig was perfectly correct. But
putting aside theory, chemistry, and physiology, practise gave quite as
decisive results. Brassey probably knew nothing of nitrogenous or
non-nitrogenous foods, of albuminoids or hydro-carbons, but he knew
that men fed on beef and mutton could do more work than when fed on
bread, rice, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, radishes, onions, etc., as
were his French and Italian " navvies," and within three months of these
men getting beef and mutton, he (Mr. Brassey) found that they could do,
and did, as much work as his "English navvies." Colonel Apperley, or
"Nimrod," used constantly to say, when they were in a twTo hours run
without a fault, "Now we shall see who has the odd beans." Probably he
knew nothing and cared less about the chemistry of foods, but he knew
where violent muscular exertion was long continued, that those who had the
beans wTould last the longest in the run. Again, whoever heard of great
"athletes" whilst training, living on hydro-carbons, as rice, sago, bread,
potatoes, carrots, turnips, and fruits; but why should they not if Mr.
Birkett's theory is correct? Everyone knows that, to get men fit
for great muscular exertion, plenty of beef and mutton are essential;
whilst fruits, pastry, and light vegetables are little used; and he con-
tended that this mode of feeding all great "athletes" and "hunters"
shows conclusively, that in hard work nitrogenous foods are more essential
than hydro-carbons, so that both in theory and practise, the principles
laid down in the paper are correct. With regard to ponies being put to
pit work directly after being bought he would remark that there are
many things which might be said and proved too, but which it would not
be wise to print. He preferred to leave the matter where it was, except
to say that the person who so strongly objected to this statement of
his at the meeting, did, within the last year, buy six ponies off grass
172 DISCUSSION—THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HOUSES.
feeding, and within a week put the whole of these three or four year
old ponies down the pits, although they had never seen or tasted
hay or corn up to the day of purchase. So much for inconsistency.
Mr. Logan says the amount of work done is the real test. He granted
that this was the important question, and in that portion of his paper on
"Work," he attempted to show this by giving the distances the horses
and ponies travelled at several collieries, and by the horses in this city,
purposely that others might compare the work of their horses with that
of those under discussion. Mr. Logan ignored this portion of the paper
altogether, and says the weight of coals drawn, which was given as a measure
of work done, was entirely misleading. The fact is, he had nowhere in the
paper mentioned one word about the quantity of coals drawn, but at page 99
he gave the miles travelled by many of the horses at six or seven collieries,
but not a word as to the quantity of coals drawn. The only place where
quantity is mentioned is in the 21 years' tabular statement relating to
South Hetton, which has nothing whatever to do with "Work," and was
given only at the request of the owners, who asked for the return to be
made. Had he wanted to shelter himself as to the economy of his feeding,
under such returns of coals drawn, he should have made use of it, by
showing that the South Hetton and Murton Collieries drew over a million
tons of coal last year; but he could have gone further than that, for
he had a letter from Mr. Heckels, viewer of Castle Eden Colliery, infinitely
stronger. Mr. Heckels, in a letter of September 27th, 1882, says :—"The
health and capacity of our stud for work will be best shown by informing you
that we drew 100,000 tons of coal more last year than has ever been drawn
at this colliery, and with no increase in the number of the stud. The health
and condition of the animals has been all that could be desired." As work
done is Mr. Logan's test of the value of feeding, he would briefly show
what had been already done, and in both cases by figures not his own,
by which the members of this Institute could, for themselves, test
the accuracy of the comparison, because the distances in Cleveland,
weight of loads, and the gradients were taken by the managers of
three of the principal stone mines in that district, and in the case
of the Corporation horses in this city, the streets were measured and
gradients and weight of loads taken, by the Corporation officials. In
Cleveland most of the horses were 16*1 to 17'0 hands high, and the
loads were a little under 2^ tons, drawn over a gradient, averaging under
2 J inches to the yard, on iron rails. The greatest distance any one of
them travelled per day was under seven miles, and the average under six
miles. The Corporation horses of this city travel seventeen to twenty-
DISCUSSION-THE FEEDING OF COLLIERY HORSES. 178
five miles per day, their loads are 2\ tons to 3£ tons, the former with night
soil the latter with the water carts. They are the largest and heaviest
breed of horses in this district, weighing from 14 to 17 cwts., standing
16-2 to 17*0 hands, and working 10 hours per day. Many of the streets up
which the loads have to pass are 4 to 5 inches to the yard gradient, and
so excessive is the labour of these "night horses," that there is not a single
man in the whole city, who lets horses for hire, that will allow his horses
to be put on the " night work." He had made minute inquiries in nearly
all the large towns and cities in the kingdom as to the work of horses,
and had never found any horses doing within "one-third" of the work
that the horses of this city have been doing during the past six years£yet
the cost of all provender consumed in 1881-2 was only 12s. 2d. per horse
per week, or 9s. per week less than when fed on the old system of long
hay and whole oats, bran and a few beans; and, he might add, that not a
single death took place in the whole stud, numbering 06, during that year,
whilst in the Cleveland stud there were 22 deaths out of 92. The Newcastle
horses had 50 per cent, of maize with their other food, the Cleveland horses
had none. A finer or more healthy stud of horses than those belonging to
the Corporation of Newcastle cannot be found in Britain. This does not
look like maize killing, or being unfit food for hard-working horses. This
" work test," as given above, ought to be interesting to Messrs. Logan,
Barker, and Steavenson (of Cleveland), showing that the food of the Cor-
poration horses costs little over half the money, and that for years they have
done, and are doing still, more than twice the distance and twice the work,
because the Corporation horses draw their loads over granite-laid streets and
macadamized roads, as against those in Cleveland on iron rails. As this is
an extremely interesting test case, and can be proved by any gentleman who
cares to take the trouble, he would give the names and figures to the
President and Secretary for the information of any gentleman who
might require them. He had purposely chosen the horses of Cleve-
land to compare with those of the Newcastle Corporation, because
they were nearest in size, the latter, however, being much the larger and
heavier of the two. Great as is the difference between the cost, work, and
losses of these two studs, it is not any greater than what is found in com-
parisons he had made amongst colliery horses. In conclusion, he would
ask Mr. Logan to give him any instance of two collieries, where the old
system of feeding is carried out, equal to Prudhoe and Bearpark Collieries,
where, in the former pit, not a single death has taken place from disease of
any kind for seven years come the 18th April this year, and where no oats
have been used for six years of that period. At Bearpark Colliery, not a
vol. xxxii —1883. * W
174 discussion-the feeding of colliery horses.
horse or pony has died from disease of any kind for 4J years ending 1882.
It does seem marvellous how such men as Mr. Steavenson, Mr. Barker, and
Mr. Logan can believe cut hay and maize to be injurious to horses with
such results as these, results which any of them can test by simply writing
to the viewer, or asking permission to see the "case book" in which every
death is recorded, and what produced it.
Mr. Birkett said, that as representing the largest coal-producing firm
in Great Britain, his experience caused him to deny in Mo Mr. Hunting's
very sweeping assertion that generally horses were sent into the pit direct
from being purchased from dealers or farmers.
The President did not understand Mr. Hunting to say it was the
universal custom, but that it was very often done; ten or twelve years
ago it was a more general custom. Where horses are managed on a
system like Mr. Birkett's it would not be likely to be done.
Mr. Logan assured Mr. Hunting that- there was nothing personal in
his (Mr. Logan's) remarks. He to a great extent agreed with Mr. Hun-
ting's system. He would repeat what he had already said, that in 1881 and
1882 barley, owing to its unsound condition, was sold cheap. The same
cause that brought down the price of barley in 1881 and 1882, according
to Mr. Hunting, was in force yet; and good malting barley was being sold
in 1883 in the North of England at 34s. That was the basis of his cal-
culation. Let them have the cost of feeding ponies and horses of various
sizes, and then they would know what they were doing. He was not so
ignorant as not to understand the difference between woody fibre and
husk, and in his remarks he was careful not to mistake one for the other.
Mr. Steavenson proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Hunting for his
paper.
Mr. Boyd seconded the motion, which
Mr. Logan cordially supported.
The President said, that having had all his horses under Mi'.
Hunting's system for many years he could bear testimony to its practical
utility, and he suggested that those who did not believe in it should
try it for a year. He believed he was right in saying no colliery had,
after trying it, given it up. It was not the case that horses selected good
hay. If a lot of hay was put into the manger the horse would throw out
good with the bad. If they supplied a horse with the very best hay he did
not think the horse would eat it all, but would throw some of it out;
and if they gave it bad hay, the horse would eat some of it.
The motion was agreed to.
discussion-non-conducting coverings for steam pipes. 175
Mx. W. J. Bird's papers on "The Comparative Efficiency of Non-
conducting Coverings for Steam Pipes" were discussed.
The Secretary stated that he had been requested to ask Mr. Bird if
he had ever tried to utilize air as a non-conducting medium. He asked
if Mr Bird had tried to what extent air acted as a non-conductor, and
could state the result of any experiments he had made ? If a current of
air passed through the space between the pipe and its covering, the air, of
course, would be anything but a non-conductor; but if they could obtain
any knowledge as to how and to what extent it could be made a suitable
material as to cheapness and utility, it would be very valuable information.
Mr. Bird said, they knew that air was a pretty good non-conductor,
at all events in a dry state; but heat was easily transmitted from the air.
He failed to see how an air-course round steam pipes could save heat.
The air would get hot, and the pipe and the air would give heat to the
outside. Since the date of his paper, the subject of non-conducting
coverings had occupied his attention a great deal, and he had not come to
any conclusions other than he had already advanced. His further
experiments had only confirmed those previously made by him. On com-
paring his last paper on the subject, some discrepancies would be found in
the tables of cost, which was due to the revised table of prices; but there
was no discrepancy in the effect and the heat loss, and the consequent
loss of horse-powTer. In prospectuses and advertisements very much
larger savings of heat were claimed than could be relied upon. In one
case, no less than 25 per cent, of saving was claimed. That was
impossible. In the case of a vertical boiler, entirely exposed to the air,
the loss due to the radiation of the service was about 15 per cent. The
best non-conductor he had tested saved 14 out of that 15 percent.,
leaving only 1 per cent, of loss still remaining, which 1 per cent, he
thought they would allow to remain, as they could not very well get
over it.
Mr. J. A. G. Ross said, that Mr. Bird had sufficiently answered the
suggestion thrown out by Mr. Bunning ; but there was no doubt that air
was the best non-conductor, very much better than anything Mr. Bird
had tried experiments with; but the substances that had been tried, more
particularly silicate cotton, had the power of resisting that action which
Mr. Bird spoke of, namely, the convection of the gases. Silicate cotton
had the power of retaining a very small quantity of air, divided by a very
thin covering of that material, and hence in this way the heat was
interrupted, not only by preventing the circulation of the air, but by the
repeated resistances from one surface to another, and this was borne out
176 discussion—non-conducting coverings for steam pipes.
by the experiments. As to the remarks of Mr„ Bird about 15 per cent, of
heat being lost, they must not forget that a very large proportion of heat
passes away, not merely by radiation, but by conduction. He remembered
the case of a boiler at the Tynemouth Exhibition; when the shed was open,
and the wind blew in from the sea, they could not get steam up ; and this
continued to be the case till the place was boarded up. That was the
effect of the wind blowing upon the boiler. He thought it would be more
satisfactory if the persons who were interested in these various substances
had some opportunity of seeing the experiments when they were going on.
He thought it was scarcely fair to a proprietor of any substance to try
it without his having an opportunity of being present. He believed
Mr. Bird had not done justice to silicate cotton, because he tried it only
by tying a string round it. That was not a fair way, as it wanted
a thin covering to keep the air out. He had been informed that Mr.
Bird had been acting in some wray as agent for one of the substances;
and they should have had an opportunity of joining with him in the experi-
ments, as a matter of justice to those interested in the other substances.
This was an important subject, not only as regards economy in boilers,
fuel, and labour, but also in supplying dry steam, which was perhaps most
important, for although there was a percentage of loss indicated by the
temperature, yet condensation carried water to the engine, which was
more injurious to the working parts. He recommended everybody wrho
had boilers to have them, and the pipes also, covered.
Professor Lebour said that when the first paper was read he made
some remarks regarding conductivity upon certain substances, which he
believed had been misapprehended. He would like to put them in
another form. Upon the table were some specimens of so-called silicate
cotton, and they would illustrate his remarks very well. Silicate cotton
was an artificial form of pumice. They knew that the conductivity of
pumice was among the lowest; and the looser the pumice was, the worse was
the conductivity, and that came from the extreme division of the air. In
one specimen the material was packed tight and glazed, and there was not
the least doubt that by so doing the conductivity was increased, the
power of non-conduction was, to some extent, obliterated, to what extent
he did not know. What was the difference in the conductivity of the
loose silicate cotton of one specimen, and of the hard material which he
understood was the same stuff, or something like it, cemented over? He
would expect to find, if his views were correct, that the conductivity was
higher in the harder substance than in the looser form.
discussion_non-conducting coverings for steam pipes. 177
Mr Bird said he thought Mr. Boss was under a mistake when he said
the (Mr Bird) did not in the experiments do justice to silicate cotton.
He^tied it on; but if it was to be packed on and have an iron tube round
it^hat would' increase its conductivity and would increase the cost. He
thought if anything, he had done more than justice to silicate cotton.
Mr Ross and other gentlemen were quite at liberty to come and co-operate
in the experiments, and he believed he gave Mr. Ross an invitation. He
(Mr Bird) was acting for one of the materials, but that was not the cause,
but the effect of his experiment, and he had acted only since the reading
of his paper. He estimated the possible loss from an uncovered vertical
boiler at 15 per cent., 9 per cent, radiation and 6 from other causes.
In answer to Professor Lebour he said that prima facie there was every
reason to suppose that the loose cotton would be better than the cemented
cotton as a non-conductor. The conductivity fell from 67 per cent, in the
silicate to about 40 per cent, in the cement. If Mr. Lebour examined the
cemented composition he would find that its pores were multiplied more
than in the silicate cotton.
Mr. J. A. Gr. Ross said with regard to some remarks as to the
desirability of using very thick coverings of non-conducting material,
that he had the result of some experiments tried at an Exhibition in
London which showed very conclusively that a thin coating would char
in a short time. One inch thickness of silicate cotton, covering a tem-
perature of 500 degrees, was sufficient to char a piece of soft wood as an
outside covering in If hours; when 2 inches thick, two hours over the
same temperature did not char the wood so much; when 3 inches thick,
2 hours in the stove at the same temperature caused but a very slight
discoloration of the wood; with 4 inches thickness, 4 hours in the stove,
at a temperature of 700 degrees, caused neither charring nor discoloration;
and with 5 inches thickness and 700 degrees, it took 12 hours in the
stove to obtain the same result. Although there might not be a
corresponding advantage from an inch of thickness, yet it was an
advantage in some cases where there was so much heat passing as would
set fire to anything. He knew a case where a boiler set fire to wood
cleading in a vessel when near the Orkney Islands; the ship was nearly
lost, and perhaps another inch of thickness would have prevented the
disaster and saved additional expenses.
Mr. Bird said that in his experiments he only had a temperature of
between 200 and 250 to cover. It was quite usual on a steam pipe to
double the thickness of a covering, and, no matter what Avas used,
doubling the quantity increased the cost. In no case in his experiments
178 discussion—non-conducting coverings for steam pipes.
did the increase of efficiency from doubling the thickness come up to 20
per cent., the average was only 16 per cent. That was only what was
expected, considering the laws of heat. If the first inch stopped 70 per
cent, of heat then another inch would barely stop the remaining 30 per
cent. He thought a material had no right to be called a non-conducting
material if it had to be made thicker than l£ inches.
The President said that, as somewhat supporting the Secretary's
theory of utilizing air as a covering for steam pipes, he might state that at
his pit the boilers had a covering of fire-bricks or quarls, supported on
iron rails, which was found efficient in preventing the radiation of heat
from the boilers, and, at the same time, the boilers could be got at without
any difficulty.
The meeting then concluded.
proceedings. 179
PROCEEDINGS.
LfNERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, APRIL 14th, 1883, IN THE WOOD
MEMORIAL HALL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
GEORGE BAKER FORSTER, Esq., President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting. The minutes
of the Council meetings held on March 31st and April 14th were also
read, including the Reports of the Committees appointed respectively to
deal with the Hutton Collection of Fossils, and to consider the circum-
stances in connection with the recent explosion of an Air-receiver at
Ryhope Colliery.
On the motion of the President the minutes and reports wTere
confirmed.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously nom-
inated:—
Associate Members—
Mr. Henry Armstrong, M.E., St. Hilda Colliery, South Shields.
Mr. Ingham H. Webster, Rope Manufacturer, Morton House, Fence Houses.
Mr. Peter Sinclair Haggie, Gateshead-on-Tyne.
Students—
Mr. George Hurst, Lauder Grange, Corbridge on-Tyne.
Mr. Douglas Haggie, Harton Colliery, South Shields.
Mr. C. H. Steavenson, Durham.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Associates—
Mr. William Hill, Colliery Agent, Carterthorne Colliery Offices, Witton-le-
Wear.
Mr. John R. Wilson, Swaithe, near Barnsley.
Mr. W. J. Phillips, Ansley Hall Colliery, Atherstone.
Students—
Mr. Ralph Richardson, Field House, West Rainton, Fence Houses.
Mr. Arthur D. Milton, Sherburn House, Durham.
Mr. Robert R. Lishman, 33, Claypath, Durham.
Mr. R. S. Anderson, Elswick Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
vol. xxxii.-1833. X
180 notes on the strength of wrought iron in compression.
The following notes relative to a paper by Mr. Wigham Richardson
"On the Strength of Wrought Iron in Compression" which appeared
in Vol. XXX. of the Transactions, were read:—
It will be within the recollection of many of the members of the
Institute, that Mr. Wigham Richardson read a paper on April 7th, 1880,
which was discussed at the time it was read, and in which that gentleman
seemed to infer that the inference from Fairbairn's experiments was that
the strength of pillars in compression increased as the sectional area
increased, but at a very much greater rate. When the mattei was discussed
on December 4th, 1880, Mr. Richardson stated that he intended to make
some experiments on this subject, and he desires now to make known to
the members, that he intrusted them to be carried out by Mr. David
Kirkaldy, and that the first twelve gave the following results : —
EXPERIMENTS ON THE STRENGTH IN COMPRESSION OF 12 PIECES
OF TUDHOE CROWN IRON BY DAVID KIRKALDY.
^. Stress Elastic
Diameter. Length. perSq. Inch.
Inches. Inches. Mean Tons.
li ............ 2 ............ 14-895
1 ............ 2 ......... ... 13-958
t ...... ...... 1J ...... ...... 14-047
£ ............ i ............ 13-988
As therefore these results were so unmistakeably in direct opposition to
the theory which was set up in his paper, he thinks it only right to
publish them in the Proceedings, and, with the information thus afforded,
give the members a further opportunity of discussing the undoubted
discrepancies in the formulas given by Fairbairn and others on this
subject. Mr. Richardson had sent up the actual specimens tested, and
they could be examined by members at any time.
The following paper by Mr. W. S. Gresley, "On Two Systems of
Working the Main Coal at Moira, in Leicestershire," was then read :—
two systems of working the main coal at moira. 181
TWO SYSTEMS OF WORKING THE MAIN COAL AT MOIRA,
IN LEICESTERSHIRE.
By W. S. GRESLEY.
The following observations may be considered as supplementary to the
paper contributed to this Institute by Mr. George Fowler, at the
Birmingham meeting, in 1861, and published in the Transactions, Vol.
X., page 161. They aim at giving a description of the further develop-
ment of the methods of working the seam of coal therein described, viz.,
the "Main" coal of the Moira, or western division of the Leicestershire
and South Derbyshire coal-field.
This paper is intended to be more of a descriptive than an argumen-
tative one, though any questions put will of course be replied to.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN COAL.
This is the principal bed of coal in the district. See Map and Sec-
tions, Plate XIV. Its thickness varies between 10 feet and 14 feet.
It is, taking it as a whole, a hard coal—some bands being exceedingly
hard and tenacious; others are soft, commonly called dice. The enlarged
Section, Fig. 3, shows the different beds or divisions of which the coal
seam is made up, their thickness, and leading characteristics. It is
a valuable house coal; the inferior parts make a useful manufacturing
fuel; the upper divisions, when burnt, leave a white ash, the lower ones a
ied ash. The specific gravity of the over coal is about 10 per cent,
higher than that of the nether coal.
Although containing no parting in the southern portion of the coal-
field, the seam is, in the northern district, divided into two distinct beds;
a dirt-bed setting in, in the middle of the seam, about the centre of the
basm, which thickens out in a northerly direction until near the outcrop;
the two beds are separated by no less than 00 feet of measures. It is also
somewhat remarkable that, whereas in the south the upper half of the
seam is the best in quality, the reverse is the case in the northern end, so
182 TWO SYSTEMS OF WORKING THE MAIN COAL AT MOIRA.
that about the centre of the coal-field both divisions, or in other words,
the whole seam, is, taking it altogether, of much the same quality
throughout. It is in this locality that the systems to be described have
been adopted. See X on Map, Fig. 1, Plate xiy. The main coal is met
with at a depth of about 350 yards where deepest, which is in the neigh-
bourhood of Moira. Section, Fig. 2. At this point it w^as worked
in much the same manner, as will be explained under No. 1 System, the
nether coal being left. See Mr. Fowler's paper before referred to. The
depth at which No. 2 System is now being carried on is about 290 yards.
The coal lies almost flat, but it is much broken up by faults (about
as many downthrows as upthrows), varying between a foot or so up to
14 yards, running nearly east and west. The cleat of the coal in one
portion of the seam is no criterion as to the direction of it in the other;
for instance, the over coal may be much subject to slips (smooth slippery
joints running in several directions), when the nether coal is often entirely
free from them. The coal contains a good deal of pyrites or stone, which
occurs in small patches, strings, and crystals, and as thin plates in the
cleat or joints.
Naturally the seam is very liable to spontaneous combustion, even
small heaps of slack lying upon the gate roads, and the slack within the
brattices, shown in Plate XVIII, have been known to heat and take fire.
The roof is naturally a bad one. The big Eider coal is a moderately
vhard seam, and burns to a white ash; it is never worked. Occasionally
it is found lying immediately upon the main seam, when an aggregate
thickness of something like 18 feet of solid coal is the result. Again, it is
here and there altogether absent, and the roof, instead of being composed
of clay, is replaced by bind and occasionally by sandstone.
No workings of any description have been carried on either above or
below the main seam in the locality to which the following remarks refer.
To those who are acquainted with the working of thick seams, an
inspection of the plans, sections, and tabular statement of results in
working given, will at once show the great contrast which there is, and
the improvement No. 2 System must obviously be over No. 1 System; but
for those who are not so well up in the subject, each system will be
described somewhat in detail, supplemented with a few observations in
support of, or prejudicial to, the one or the other.
The remark made some time ago by Professor W. W. Smyth, in
reference to the wasteful system of getting the ten-yard seam of South
Staffordshire may here be quoted as certainly applicable to the Moira
district. He says:—"The acknowledged requisite for the most advan-
TWO SYSTEMS OF WORKING THE MAIN COAL AT MOIRA. 183
method of working, viz., the combination of the cheapest mode
^toctino- the greatest possible quantity of mineral, with the safety and
mfort of the men, has in this district been greatly modified by the
circumstances of position, and an adherence to long established customs.
Ina few rare instances only have any attempts been made to substitute
a new system for the old routine."
NO. 1 SYSTEM.
This was, up to within the last few years, the only method of working
ractised. The one object in view being to extract the hardest or so-
called best divisions, which are chiefly confined to the upper half of the
seam led to the adoption of this system to the almost entire exclusion of any
other. Plates xvii. and xix. show the usual manner in which the under-
ground workings were carried on, viz., a modification of the Long-wall
method on the Gob-road system, i.e., commencing to work out the coal
at or near the shaft, pillar, or main-road pillar side, and extending out-
wards towards the boundary. The mode of operating was as follows:—
The face of workings, which averaged about 6 feet 3 inches in height,
was generally started out of the side of an opening off head (the headings
being driven partly in the over and partly in the nether coal, say 6 feet
high by 8 feet wide, thus avoiding timber for roof). The holing was
3 feet 3 inches in depth, the bottoms (grounds and scalps) were
first benched up with hammer and wedge, and stacked up on one
side out of the way for loading. The next operation was to draw the
sprags and to break down the remaining coal, which was done by a set of
men called drivers, 12 or 14 in number. They commenced work at
4 a.m., following the holers, who began several hours sooner, placed them-
selves along the wall at intervals of about 6 feet, and went through the
laborious work of forcing off the coals by means of hammers and wedges
up to the back of the holing, though very frequently much of the holing
was left on. The coals were seldom if ever brought down in a mass,
but were much broken up, and of course much slack was produced.
The driving was followed up by the filling; four tubs were filled simulta-
neously, two in each end or bank. Preceded by the fillers a man was em-
ployed called a " turner-out," who overhauled the broken down coals and
placed them conveniently for loading up; two tubs were filled at a time.
Scarcely any small was sent out, say one tub in every ten was slack, work
slack it is termed, as distinguished from heading slack or slack produced
by cutting coal in driving gate-roads. This was loaded separately and
Paid for at a lower price than for the coal.
184 two systems of working the main coal at moira.
The fourth set of men, called " nightsmen," appeared upon the scene
towards the close of the day's work. Their work consisted in pulling up
the rails, clearing out the floor by throwing all the small into the goaf,
setting holing sprags, drawing the back wood, setting a front rank of
props, ripping the gate-road, building brattices, wax walls, etc. Figs. 1, 2,
and 3, Plate XVIII. Owing to the great length of the stalls, often 100
yards, the push made towards the end of the shift to get the work out
was anything but conducive to economy, an alarming proportion of large
being gobbed in order to get it out of the way, to make room for the
succeeding shift.
The direction of the gate-roads depended upon that which the ends
or cuttings took, and these were of course regulated by the length of face
required, by faults or other boundaries, the average distance apart would
be from 80 to 100 yards. They were made and maintained as follows:—
On leaving the shaft or other solid pillar of coal, carefully built stacks
or brattices of cordwood about 3 feet in width were put up on either
side of the road from floor to roof, leaving a clear width between of
from 8 to 9 feet. Plan and cross Section, Figs. 1 and 2, Plate XVIII.
Beyond these at a distance of about 3 feet were formed walls con-
structed of tough, well-tempered clay called wax, about 10 inches
thick, well beaten, and carefully filled in up to the solid uncracked
coal. This wax wall was intended to prevent fire stinks from breaking
out along the rib side, which purpose it only partially or in some
instances fulfilled. Wax walls or not, a fire-stink very frequently,
sooner or later, made its appearance at the opening off, often giving
much trouble and lasting for many years. It was the practice
to fill in the spaces between the brattices and the wax walls with
slack. As the faces advanced these arrangements were carried forward,
always being kept up to within a few yards of the working face. The
roof was ripped about 3 feet 6 inches, and generally required barring.
Fig. 3 shows'the condition of a gate-road after full subsidence had
taken place. No packs were built in the stalls excepting at the fast ends;
these were for keeping open a short air-way along the curving from the face
to the shallow pits (curry pits), which were sunk down into the nether coal,
and gave access to the return air-course formed beneath the goaf. See
dotted lines, Plate XVII., and Fig. 1, Plate XVIII. These curry pits were
put down at say every 20 yards, and short bolt-holes, or thirls, were driven
from them into the air-way, as each new pit and thirl was made the one
to rear was stopped off. The return air-ways were only about 3 feet
square, and frequently extended many hundred yards before joining the.
^vo systems of working the main coal at moira. 185
•. ^ay if one of large dimensions were employed, which was not at
mam aU"^J Tne qnantity of ventilation capable of being passed
0116 ^siich windings, as the air-courses were termed, was very limited.
*iZY -otout'of repair, and were not too often travelled.
As" the workings increased in distance from home they naturally
ame very close and even hot, in fact anything but comfortable to work
even to travel in. Gob fires, and the breaking in of water here and
there^ilso helped to condemn the system. Naked lights were used; gas
6 seldom seen. For supporting the roof ordinary puncheons were used,
with clogs, or lids, about 30 inches long placed on the top of them. Cast
iron props'were tried, but were abandoned being considered unsuitable.
The works were carried on under the Butty system; there were about
thirteen butties in each stall. Holing was paid for by the stint; each holer
could get six stints per shift, or 12 yards along the face, 3 feet 3 inches
under. The drivers got say five sets for a day's work, a set consisting of
IA yards on the face by 3 feet forward. Filling was done at per ton.
The nightsmen were made up of one butty, two slack throwers, and one
repairer. All work performed in the stalls was paid for by the butties, or
contractors, at fixed prices regulated by the manager and viewer. The
yield per acre was about 4,750 tons. See tabular statement, page 190.
In a few instances the above method of working was practiced with
this difference, that instead of working outwards by gob-roads, working
home in the solid was substituted, the goaf being all left behind. This
plan was in some ways an improvement, and the charter or contract price
for getting was about 2d. per ton less, but the extra cost incurred in
driving the gate-roads had to be added, so that on the whole not very
much was gained by the change, though the greater convenience obtained
with respect to ventilation, less chance of spontaneous fires, comparative
freedom from water, gas, etc., less timber required, more easily main-
tained roads, a knowledge of the size and direction of faults to be crossed,
and so forth, was clearly a step in the right direction.
NO. 2 SYSTEM.
This was commenced about four years ago. The leading features are,
to work out a much larger proportion of the seam, to do away with the
costly process of wedging down the bulk of the coal, to produce the coal
m large masses, thus obtaining it in a better condition for stacking or
carnage, and to materially reduce the cost of extraction. This method
is known as working back or working home. The gate-roads, air-courses,
and opening-off headings, are first driven, thus proving any faults, old
186 two systems of working the main coal at moira.
workings, etc. The stall faces are then started. All brattices, wax-
walling, carvings, curry pits, long windings, gob fires, ripping of gate-
roads, etc., incidental to No. 1 System, are thus rendered unnecessary.
The gate-roads are formed in the nether coal, leaving about 5 feet of
coal for a roof, and 1 foot under-foot. They are driven about 50 yards
apart. See Plate XX.
These roads are driven on an entirely new method, which enables a
greater proportion of round coal to be obtained than has hitherto been
produced by heading in the district. In the first place, what may be
called a pioneer heading (3 feet 3 inches by 3 feet 3 inches) is driven
forward on one side, or in one corner, level with the floor of the intended
way, to a distance of say 5 yards. Secondly, the coal is holed for about
6 feet along the side of the little head 6 feet deep. Thirdly, the coal is
cut or nicked on that side which is over the little head to a depth of about
6 feet, this is termed a shoulder-cutting. Lastly, a shot is put in, say a
foot or 18 inches from the roof, and the coals fall in large blocks. The
finished size of such a gate-road is 9 feet wide by 8 feet high. The
pioneer or little head is always kept about 3 yards in advance of the back
of the large heading, For each yard advance, about 7 tons 7 cwts. of
coal and small will be produced, about 73 per cent, of which is large coal.
See Table page 190. The weekly advance will be about 17 yards = 125 tons.
Four men can work at the back simultaneously, viz.:—One to drive
the pioneer heading, one to hole, one to shoulder-cut and drill the shot
hole, and one to load up the coal.
The ventilation is maintained by brattice cloth 8 feet wide. All the
over coal being left, no timber is required to carry the roof.
Air-ways, if formed for ventilation only, are made about 4 feet square,
when of no great length, and always in the bottom coal.
Turning to Plate XXII., it will be seen that the holing is made to a
depth of not less than 6 feet, and when the sprags are taken out the
coal generally falls up to about 8 feet in thickness from floor. A shot has
occasionally to be put in to bring the coal away, but there is a good shed
at top. When three or four webs or falls have been worked off, packs
about 9 feet in width are built, having spaces or bays between them 18
feet wide, excepting that opposite the gate-road, which is only 12 feet in
width. Plate XXI. These packs are carried forward in parallel lines,
being added to as each web is removed. Plates XX. and XXI.
The over coal, or gob coal as it is commonly called, is systematically taken
down in the wastes between the packs up to the second rank of props. Coal
on the top of the packs is wrought in the following way, see Plates XXI. and
two systems of working the main coal at moira. 187
¦g-gjjj__it is worked out backwards or away from the face, commencing
at a bolt-hole or thirl, which is first cat through in the gob coal a yard
* two to the rear of the front of the pack, and going in about 10 yards,
enerally leaving about two yards of coal against the last bolt-hole. At
the back of the wastes, as soon as all available coal has been got out, the
timber is drawn, and the roof allowed to fall in, and should the place
show signs of heating, it is forthwith stacked out, i.e., a cross pack, one
built right across a waste between two ordinary packs, is put in, and
when necessary, the front of it is thickly smeared with well tempered clay.
The process is called waxing; but with regular working, and a moderately
good roof, this is seldom required. It is customary to put in a cross
pack about every 20 yards. The packs are built chiefly of stone coal got
in the waste. The only drawback to this system of working seems to be
the large percentage of small produced, caused by breaking up the
nether coal for loading into tubs. It will often get (fall over from the
face) in immense solid blocks, from 6 to 10 tons in weight, but will not
stand much handling and knocking about.
The mode of ventilating is very simple and efficient. Besides the
main current of air coursing along the faces, a second one flows through
the wastes, passing from one to another through the bolt-holes in the upper
coal. Plates XXL and XXIII. As the result of changing the system,
whereby the narrow windings (air-ways under the goaves) have been done
away with, the water-gauge is now '6 inches as against '95 inches under
the old system. See tabular statement, page 190. Gas is seldom seen,
and it is usual to meet with it only in the broken down places in the
backs of wastes, and against rib-sides at the goaf edges at the rise end of
a range of stall faces.
The several operations performed in getting the coal in the manner
just described, are carried out thus:—The holing is done by a shift of
men who work from 2 a.m. till say 10 a.m.; each man holes at least one
Stint, that is, 7 feet in length and 6 feet under = 42 square feet.
Butties then draw the sprags and bring down the coal; they also get the
gob-coal, and assist in building packs and setting timber, stacking out,
etc- At 7 a.m. the fillers come in and work till 5 p.m.; one of the butties
aways accompanies the turn, loading out the coals. The work is paid
w in the same way as under the old system. It is generally found that
e coal gets best, produces the greatest quantity of large, when it is
worked about three on face to one on end, known as horn coal.
e reason No. 2 System was adopted was chiefly on account of the
VJ lg cost of getting and the large consumption of timber attending
vol. xxxii._1883 y
188 two systems of working the main coal at moira,
the old method. The greater uniformity in thickness and quality of the
nether as compared with the over coal also favoured the change, which,
although entailing the loss of a small portion of the over coal necessarily
left in the wastes, amounting to say 10 per cent, of that particular bed, is
probably fully compensated for in the extra quantity of large coal obtained
from the nether seam due to the new system of holing and getting. The
grounds also which are now obtained whole and in blocks of almost
unmanageable size, were formerly knocked to pieces by the wedging
system. Thus it will be noticed that the working of the entire thickness
of the nether coal is a clear gain. Compare Plates XIX. and XXII.
As regards accidents due to the change of system, so far there has
been nothing serious whatever, and it is considered that the new method
is quite as free from danger as the old one. Gas when seen is now much
further away from the men than before. No change in the lighting has
been introduced, naked lights being the rule. Shot firing is only practiced
when the coals will not easily fall, and when it is required to break up
blocks too large to be dealt with, with hammer and wedge. The whole
length of face only being turned over or gone through once a week allows
the roof to settle and weigh upon the timber to a considerable extent,
and it is thought that the driving of more gate-roads, say about double
the number now formed, would materially benefit the system; it would at
any rate enable the output to be largely increased if required without
extending the pit room; in fact were it practicable, four times the number
of hands could be put into the same length of face, or the output increased
in like proportion. It must not be supposed that the so-called slack
sent out of the works is really quite small stuff, for about 66 percent,
of it consists of cobbles and nuts, the remainder being dust. About
10 per cent, of the gross output is slack. Were it practicable a consider-
able extra quantity of slack would be sent out without seriously affecting
the safety of the stalls in regard to fire stinks, it is necessary, however,
to have something to gob with in order to prevent them.
The advantages derived from the alteration of the systems of working
may be summed up as follows:—
1. —Less waste in working, or nearly double the yield for the same
area worked.
2. —Less liability to accidents, particularly from fire-damp.
3. —Almost entire immunity from spontaneous combustion.
4. —Reduced cost of getting, including timbering.
5. —Less pit room required, or in other words, quadruple the output
for the same length of face.
two systems of working the main coal at moira. 189
q_Less men per stall to the extent of 44 per cent., or an increased
weight of coal got per man per day.
7._A far better roof to work under.
g#_Ability to work the lower half of the seam wrhere the upper
portion is inferior.
9_Having the coal-field proved before commencing to work back,
thereby enabling faults to be crossed and dealt with in the
most advantageous way.
10. —The abolition of wedging down the coals; a very laborious,
wasteful, and expensive operation.
11. —Increased facilities as regards ventilation of the working places
and gate-roads.
12. —Greater comfort afforded to both men and horses whilst at work,
due to a purer and cooler atmosphere, more even roads, more
space to wrork in, and getting more work out of the men per
shift.
In conclusion, the revolution in the system of working this seam of
coal has resulted in two main features:—
1. —Greatly increased economy in working expenses combined with
much less waste of coal in the pit.
2. —A lowering of the average selling price per ton in consequence of
two things:—
a. —A smaller proportion of the best quality due to the
working of about one-half the area for the same output.
b. —Getting the lower portion of the seam, which is com-
paratively soft, and for which something like two shillings per
ton is obtained less than for the upper part of the seam. So
that although profits may be no greater than formerly, they
will continue under similar circumstances to be made over
double the time that they otherwise would, because the seam is
only being exhausted at one-half the former rate.
The author hereby acknowledges his thanks to Mr. G. Buxton, who
has assisted in preparing this paper, and under whose supervision the new
system of working described has been so successfully carried out.
The President said, that this was a very interesting and descriptive
paper, about work they were not accustomed to here. He proposed a
vote of thanks to the author, which was carried by acclamation.
explosions of boilers and other vessels. 191
ON EXPLOSIONS OF BOILERS AND OTHER VESSELS.
By E. B. MARTEN.
When the paper was read Mr. Marten exhibited about twenty cases of
models of exploded boilers, each containing about twenty specimens.
On the walls were hung numerous sketches and photographs of exploded
boilers. Elastic models, historical models of various forms of boilers,
the apparatus for experiments on the spheroidal condition of water, the
decomposition of steam, and the hydro-electric machine were also placed
for inspection.
The models have been the collection of more than twenty years, and,
with the volumes of " Records of Boiler Explosions" and the photo-
graphs and sketches, form a very complete illustration of the subject.
Two objects have been kept in view. The first was to collect the
best possible information as to the facts of every explosion, with a view
to ascertain the cause, and the second was to make that information
available to those interested, more especially to those having the actual
care and working of boilers.
Reading being at best but a tedious process, it was found that a few
sketches saved a volume of description. It was further found that a few
models were worth a folio of sketches, and also much assisted in making
the most effective and instructive pictures.
In order to extract as much instruction from the whole exhibit as
possible in a limited time, some diagrams, given in Plates XXIV. to
XXIX., have been specially prepared for this meeting to convey the
points of greatest interest with the least possible description. A few
words will explain the purpose of each figure on the diagrams.
First, as to the—
MODE OF ILLUSTRATION.
Fig. l, Plate XXIV.,* is a copy of a very good drawing of a small
exploded plain cylinder boiler at Manchester, 1848, which suggested that
perspective sketches are better than engineering plans and sections for
illustrating boiler explosions.
* Presented by Mr. William Smith to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
192 explosions of boilers and other vessels.
Fig. 2, Plate XXIV.,* contains extracts from a pictorial catalogue of
damaged parts of exploded boilers, made as a permanent record of an
exhibition of such things at a meeting of continental engineers especially
engaged in boiler inspection. They suggested an effective form of clear
sketching.
Fig. 3, Plate XXIV.,f is a sketch of the locomotive " Neversink,"
which exploded at Reading, in America, in 1845, and is also an effective
representation of what happened.
Fig. 4, Plate XXV., is a perspective view from the very complete
drawings in the Institute Transactions, Vol. XI., page 27, of a boiler
explosion at Seaton Burn, 1860, and shows how much information may
be conveyed in one such view.
Very early in the course of collecting particulars of exploded boilers
it was found wise to take sufficient details to make models of the boilers
before and of the fragments after explosion. It was further found that
the most effective sketch of the whole could be obtained by placing the
model fragments around the model boiler in their relative position, and
also in the best way to obtain a perspective view of the whole. Great
assistance in this wras given by the camera seen on the table, and repre-
sented in Fig. 5, Plate XXV. The drawing is made with French chalk
on glass roughened with acid, or on perforated paper, the models being
seen beyond, the eye-piece insuring steady continuance in the same view.
Fig. 6, Plate XXV., shows rather a complicated explosion, which was
unravelled by means of placing the model fragments in their relative
positions, and then studying the chain of circumstances that brought
them in such unexpected positions. The only original damage to the boiler
was a pocket over the fire, wdiich was burnt through, and the reaction
of the issuing contents turned the boiler end for end; but as this knocked
off one end of the boiler the reaction of the contents from the open end
sent the boiler in the opposite direction.
Fig. 7, Plate XXV., shows the lines of rupture in an air vessel, which
burst under proof at 320 lbs. pressure, and being three-quarters of an
inch thick and double riveted, caused much speculation as to the cause,
because the fragments wTere so many and so widely scattered. As soon as
the fragments were put together it became certain the rents commenced
at the manhole, wdiich was found to be a cast-iron frame, as usually made
for ordinary boilers, without allowance for the extra strain for such high
pressure.
# Copy presented to Institute.
f Report of Committee of Franklin Institute.
explosions of boilers and other vessels. 193
It is always important to ascertain the position of the first rupture,
but this cannot always be found by merely placing of the fragments
without consideration of the appearance of the ruptured edges.
Fie;. 8, Plate XXV., gives specimens of ruptures of plates or seams
by mere pull, or by tearing upwards or downwards. Those shown at a
and d may be first ruptures, but it is difficult to suppose that any of the
others, b,c,e,f, could be, because the parts must have altered their shape
and position from some previous rupture before such tears could take
place.
Fig. 9, Plate XXV., gives a sample of an explosion wdiich caused
some puzzling, and some large pools were dragged expecting to find the
front end blown to the front, but careful examination of the line of
fracture showed that it had hinged on the good upper part of the ruptured
seam, and had therefore been thrown backwards, and it was subsequently
found in a very small deep pool to the rear neatly packed away out of
sight just beneath the water.
AS TO THE CAUSES OF EXPLOSION.
It would be most tedious to go through each model, and therefore a
few selected cases are given from which important lessons have been
learnt in the past. As the printed " Records of Boiler Explosions since
1862" contain sketches of nearly all cases of interest with complete
tabulated index, these will not be repeated here, a few special drawings
for this paper being better suited to the purpose.
Fig. 10, Plate XXVI., represents the exploded boiler of the " Cricket,"
Thames steamer, which caused great discussion in 1847. The front end
had the whole pressure with only one small stay at the back of the
smoke-box, and was therefore of very wreak shape, but the immediate
cause of the explosion was the fastening of the safety-valve, as some
asserted, by being purposely tied with string, but, as subsequently ascer-
tained, by the deck of the vessel or the covering being put down over it
without allowance for its rising.
Fig. 11, Plate XXVI., represents the coffee roaster, which burst at
No. 1, St. Paul's Churchyard, and killed Mr. Dakin, the inventor. High-
pressure superheated steam was introduced into a small annular space
between the outer and inner cases. It worked well, and answered its
purpose admirably on several occasions. On being set to work on the
day of the explosion it failed immediately, a small piece being blown out.
It was found that some water, condensed from the steam used before, had
194 explosions of boilers and other vessels.
not been drained out, and the superheated steam suddenly converted this
into steam of very high pressure, which could not find vent in the small
pipes connected with the apparatus. The vessel was also weakened by
rapid and unequal expansion.
Fig. 12, Plate XXVI., represents a most fatal explosion at Millfields in
1862, where twenty-nine people were killed, and which created a pre-
judice against this otherwise economical form of boiler for using the heat
from puddling or mill furnaces, from the fact that they must stand
among the men, and in case of rupture the water gets amongst the
heated metal and increases the mischief. In this case the diameter was
excessive, being 11 feet, and the gauge was found to be incorrect, so
that it was 57 lbs. when showing only 30. All the sketches of similar
furnace boilers will be found collected in the introduction to the second
volume of " Records."
Fig. 13, Plate XXVI., shows the damage which resulted from a very
small boiler which exploded, at Walsall, 1865, wrecked the house in which
it took place, and flew over a wide market place and destroyed the upper
story of a house on the other side. The manhole had been cut dispro-
portionately large, leaving no plate between it and the end, so that the
end had been blown out when the contents issued so violently as to cause
the light boiler to re-act like a rocket.
Fig. 14, Plate XXVI., shows a boiler, Elsecar, 1868, in good con-
dition, out of which a piece of plate was blown, because, although beneath
the water line, it became softened by the overheating, caused by the
flame from a furnace impinging so directly upon it as to keep up a con-
tinuous flow of steam, and prevent water remaining in contact with it.
Fig. 15, Plate XXVI., shows an exploded Butterley boiler, at Walsall,
1865, which was not intended to have more than 5 lbs. working pres-
sure, and which wras properly supplied with fittings and warning whistles
to keep it safe. The whistle was afterwards found on the engine-house
roof gagged with hemp, and within the engine-house was a self-regis-
tering clock-gauge, which showed the pressure must have run up above
20 lbs. before the explosion. As it is the only instance known of the
exact pressure of an explosion, the clock-gauge is sketched on the dia-
gram as of peculiar interest.
Fig. 16, Plate XXVL, is from Sir William Fairbairn's report on the
explosion of the locomotive "Irk" at Miles Platting, in which he em-
bodies so many useful experiments as to the strength of stays. It is a
matter of satisfaction to record that, as an old investigator of the subject
of boiler explosions, he much encouraged the writer as a beginner in col-
explosions of boilers and other vessels. 195
lecting information, and also approved the form of illustration adopted by
the writer which made the matter clear to enginemen and boiler-minders.
Fi£. 17> Plate XXVI., Manchester, 1858, has a sad interest, as the
explosion killed Mr. Forsyth, who was the first proposer of systematic
inspection as the best means of preventing explosions. The boiler gave
wav while being caulked under steam testing.
*Fi°\ 18, Plate XXVI., shows an early form of boiler adopted for steam
carriages on common roads, when it was hoped they might prevent the
necessity of railroads. It was excellent for the purpose of getting steam,
but of so weak a shape that it burst by the twist given it when a wheel
came off the coach at Glasgow, 1834.
Fig. 19, Plate XXVI., shows an explosion at Banbury in 1857, arising
from the broken end of a connecting rod of a locomotive being pushed
by the crank through the fire-box of the boiler. Its special interest to
the writer is that he was in the train behind it, and was awakened from
sleep by the burning coals coming up on the window.
Fig. 20, Plate XXVI., Dudley, 1867, is given as a specimen of the
enormous size of many old balloon boilers. It is 22 feet diameter, and
would make a good sized room.
Fig. 21, Plate XXVI., shows an explosion at Corbyn's Hall in 1862,
which raised much discussion at the time, as the crown of the centre tube
which was subsequently found in the down flue beneath, was at first
missing. Shortness of water was the supposed cause, but it was after-
wards found to have been what is called "drum-head" motion in the
crown plate. The enlarged section at the bottom of the diagram shows
that each varying pressure from the working of a steam hammer must
have caused movement in the plate, soon producing a line of weakness,
as in paper bent frequently, aided by the corrosion from the scale being
constantly driven off by the frequent bending.
Fig. 22, Plate XXVI., shows the explosion of tube boilers, which were
supposed free from danger.
The behaviour of the forces pent up in a boiler and other vessels
when set at liberty is worthy of study.
The extreme violence of some boiler and other explosions have led to
the supposition that steam sometimes assumes an explosive property, and
such an idea is reiterated after any explosion more puzzling than usual.
Professor Airy has demonstrated that a cubic foot of water heated to the
temperature of steam at 60 lbs. pressure has the energy when liberated of
1 lb. of gunpowder. He points out that the store of steam contains but
ittle energy, but the heated water is the source of destruction.
vOL. XXXII.-1888.
196 explosions of boilers and other vessels.
In a boiler explosion the liberated steam and water immediately
occupy a large space previously rilled with air, and then as quickly con-
dense and leave a vacuum in place of the plenum. The air has to pack
itself away, and then returns to its place, which often causes walls and
buildings to fall towards the scene of explosion.
Fig. 23, Plate XXVII., shows the comparatively small disturbance from
the explosion of a vessel of steam. The air in normal condition is shown
by equidistant crosses. The contents of the ruptured vessel occupy a
space and drive some air away, the intruding air being represented by
dots.
Fig. 24, Plate XXVII., shows how on the condensation of the steam
the air rushes back to fill the space.
Fig. 25, Plate XXVII., shows the far greater effect from a vessel of
heated water and steam. Far more air has to be packed away, which
returns, Fig. 26, with greater violence after the condensation of the
steam.
Fig. 27, Plate XXVII., shows the supposed effect of the explosion
of gunpowder or gas, and Fig. 28 the return of the air to the space
occupied, by the heated products of the explosion. In this case the
residual products when cold occupy more space than the water from
the condensed steam.
Fig. 29, Plate XXVII., shows the quicker action of dynamite, and the
supposed wave of vibration which causes the peculiar shaking which
is so destructive to glass. The writer was very close to the recent dyna-
mite explosion at Westminster, and thus accounted for the number
of windows broken and the ringing of the bells in the attics of his
office.
Fig. 30, Plate XXVII., shows the different condition of things when
a vessel of air explodes, which simply allows its contents to flow into
atmosphere until an average is attained, and as no partial vacuum is
found there is no rush back of air.
Fig. 31, Plate XXVII., shows the same when such a vessel explodes
in a narrow tunnel, when the effect must be felt to a greater distance.
Fig. 32, Plate XXVII., shows an experimental apparatus for testing
bands of light material spread round a bladder, which although not bigger
than a man's fist, shook and broke the windows of the room when it was
burst.
Fig. 33, Plate XXVII., represents another effect of "atmospheric im-
pact," in the violent recoil of a pistol fired with a penny on the muzzle.
It buried itself in the ground.
explosions of boilers and other vessels. 197
Fig. ^ate XXVII., represents a further effect of the resistance of
the air. Two gun barrels are screwed breech to breech, and the charge
0f jowder is put in the usual place, with a wad and a bullet beside it.
On firing it the bullet will be projected out with considerable violence,
because the air in the other barrel will be so jambed by the sudden
compression as to act as a breach.
EXPERIMENTAL EXPLOSIONS.
These have not very greatly assisted in the investigation of the
causes of explosion. They have been more relied on in America than
in England.
Fig. 35, Plate XXVIII., shows the result of a notable one by the
Committee of the Franklin Institute in 1836, but on too small a scale for
any safe deductions to be made from it.
A more interesting set wTere carried out by another Committee at
Sandy Hook in 1872, on an old land boiler, Fig. 36, Plate XXVIII.;
on a flat vessel to test staying, Fig. 37, Plate XXVIII.; and on an old
marine boiler, Figs. 38 and 39, Plate XXVIII.
Others were conducted at Pittsburg by the same Committee. More
lately some private experiments were made at the latter place, and Fig.
40, Plate XXVIII., represents the result of one, but their value is much
diminished as they were conducted rather for private interests than
scientific knowledge.
The experiments of Sir William Fairbairn on the strength of tubes
wrought a revolution in boiler engineering, and upset the old Cornish
rules that a tube of half the diameter equalled the strength of a shell of
the same thickness.
Further experiments of more recent date showed the tubes to be rather
less strong than did the experiments made by Sir William Fairbairn, and
a comparison of the pressures at which some forty tubes failed in practice
shows that they only bore half the pressure Sir William Fairbairn's
formula gave. Fig. 42, Plate XXVIIL, represents results of collapse of
tubes.
It is more easy to predict the strength of a shell than a tube, because
m the former the strain is in proportion to the thickness left, and it
tends to draw itself into the best form for resistance; but in the latter the
strength is as the square of the thickness, and being in " unstable equili-
brium," it gets out of the circle, and very quickly loses its strength, as
in Figs. 43 and 44, Plate XXVIII.
198 explosions of boilers and other vessels.
Every now and then the idea is gravely revived that the usual mode
of calculating the strength of cylinders is incorrect, and that the pressure
upon the semi-circumference instead of the diameter should be taken,
Fig. 45, Plate XXVIII., which is of course a mistake.
Fig. 46, Plate XXVIII., explains the reason why the longitudinal
seams of a cylindrical boiler arc more strained than the circumferential
ones. If a b and c d represent portions of the shell of the boiler exposed
to a strain tending to pull the boiler asunder in the direction of its
length, they will have to support that amount of the strain on the area of
the circular end of the boiler represented by the triangles a e b-c e d, but
if a b and c d represent the same lengths of shell exposed to a bursting
strain, they will have to resist an amount of strain represented by the
length of one of them into the diameter of the boiler on the rectangle
abed, which is exactly twice the area of the triangles a e b-c e d.
Fig. 41, Plate XXVI1L, shows experiment of water thrown into a red
hot boiler at Dudley, in the year 1850, without explosion.
Mr. Francis Galton, in his interesting papers on generic images, points
out the danger of dwelling too much on the abnormal, and forgetting the
far more numerous examples of the normal, which do not attract attention,
and properly speaking, therefore, the newspaper account of any fatal rail-
way accident should conclude with the statement that so many millions
of people during the day reached their destination in safety.
Attention to so many boiler explosions should not permit the fact to
be lost sight of that vast numbers of boilers work in safety, so that the
number which fail are few indeed by comparison, but as there is nowhere
any accurate list of the total number and variety of boilers employed, all
statistics of boiler explosions are worthless as a means of comparison
either between the number exploded and those which have proved safe,
or between the relative merits of the various classes.
A curious sameness in the explosions is often observable like an
epidemic in diseases. During the past year it has been among small
upright or crane boilers, nearly a dozen of that class having failed.
The summary of the lessons gathered from all that is gone before is
that all boilers, however good, may deteriorate until they burst, if due
care is not taken to ascertain their condition from time to time. No
boiler is free from the chance of explosion, and they have happened
among those made by celebrated firms, worked by those of the highest
repute or under the elaborate supervision of the public departments.
Insurance has been proposed as a remedy, but it is only useful if it is
made the means of enforcing proper inspection.
explosions of boilers and other vessels. 199
MYSTERIOUS THEORIES OF BOILER EXPLOSIONS.
It may be of interest to allude to the striking phenomena which have
been supposed to be connected with boiler explosions.
Boiling by sudden jerks may be first alluded to, where water in a
erfectly clean vessel can be heated far above the boiling point, and then
suddenly started into steam with a jerk, as shown in Fig. 47, A and B,
Plate XXIX. No boiler is sufficiently clean to allow of this. Each little
roughness or rivet head acts as a nucleus to start a stream of steam
bubbles, which effectually prevents this storage of heat in the water.
This must not be confounded with the heating up of the whole of the
water in a boiler while standing to the temperature of the steam, so
that a great store of heat is extracted from the water in the shape of
steam as the temperature falls. Fig. 48, A and B, Plate XXIX., shows
how this can be exhibited in experiment.
Fig. 49, Plate XXIX., shows the apparatus for illustrating the "sphe-
roidal condition" of water. The "spheroid" can be made to stand still over
the heated part of the plate, but will burst into steam on the cooler part.
It is believed by some that this may happen with the overheated side of a
boiler. This must not be confounded with the effect illustrated in Fig.
50, Plate XXIX., where a stream of steam prevents contact of water.
Fig. 51, Plate XXIX., shows an easy way to illustrate the decomposi-
tion of steam. The steam from the kettle passes over red hot iron filings,
which take up the oxygen, the hydrogen passing on to the end of the
tube, where it can be lighted. This must not be confounded with cases
of gas in boilers, where the blow-pipe has communicated with sewers of
a town in streets saturated with leakage from gas pipes, as shown in
Fig. 52, Plate XXIX.
In Fig. 53, Plate XXIX., is shown Sir W. Armstrong's hydro-electric
machine, that should be well known in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the place of
its invention. The globules of water in the partially condensed steam cause
sufficient friction against the boxwood jet to put them into electrical
condition, and, being collected on the conductors, sparks may be extracted
from it. This led some to suppose that scale can be prevented from
forming by an electrical condition, as shown in Fig. 54, A and B,
Plate XXIX., but it contains nothing to produce electrical action.
At the conclusion of the paper Mr. Marten showed and explained
numerous experiments illustrating his remarks.
200 discussion—explosions of boilers and other vessels.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, he had much pleasure in proposing a
vote of thanks to Mr. Marten for his very interesting paper. A gentleman
in Mr. Marten's position had an opportunity of accumulating facts such
as no one else had, and out of that accumulation he had brought before
them the salient points affecting explosions of boilers of every kind. The
experiments as to concussion led him (Mr. Steavenson) to think very
much of the effects which were met with after explosions in collieries.
There were, no doubt, often appearances met with after explosions in
collieries which they had great difficulty in accounting for; they found
brick walls blown in one direction, and strong baulks of timber in
another direction; and the effect of the concussion had, no doubt, much
to do with these matters.
Mr. G-. C. Greenwell seconded the motion, and it was agreed to.
Mr. Marten thanked the meeting for the vote. He said, several of
those present were, no doubt, perfectly familiar with many of the experi-
ments which he had shown them, and yet had not seen them, and that
was the reason why he had ventured to bring so many simple things
before them.
The following paper by Professor W. Steadman Aldis, M.A., "On
Internal Stress in Cylindrical and Spherical Dams," was taken as read:—
INTERNAL STRESS IN CYLINDRICAL AND SPHERICAL DAMS. 201
ON INTERNAL STRESS IN CYLINDRICAL AND SPHERICAL
DAMS.
By PjiOPBBBOE W. STEADMAN ALDIS, M.A.
The author's attention has been drawn by Professor Merivale to the ques-
tion of the crushing stress between the different parts of a dam employed to
shut off water from the working parts of a mine. It appears that mining
engineers consider that the most advantageous method of constructing
such a dam is to make it in the form of a portion of a sphere, the axis of
symmetry of the portion being horizontal. In consequence of the greater
difficulty of construction of a spherical dam it is not unusual in this
district to make dams in the form of a portion of a circular cylinder
whose axis is vertical.
The following investigations relative to the internal crushing stress
at different points of such dams may be of interest to the members of the
Institute:—
The cylindrical dam may be supposed to be constructed of a great
number of co-axial cylinders, one within the other. If, through the
common axis of these cylinders, a number of planes be drawn inclined to
each other at very small angles, the solid body of the dam will be divided
into a number of prism-like elements standing on bases, such as P Q R S,
in the figure which represents a horizontal section of the dam.
202 internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams.
Fig. 2 is a representation of this prism-like element. The face
P AD S is acted on by the pressure of the layer next outside pushing it
towards 0, the face B Q B, C by the pressure of the layer inside pushing
it outwards. The faces P Q B A and B, C D S are acted on by pressures,
which from symmetry may be assumed to be equal, and to act at right
angles to their surfaces. These four pressures must be in equilibrium.
Suppose that the element of volume under consideration belongs
to the nth cylindrical layer of the dam reckoning from the inside.
Let pn measure the pressure per unit of area exercised by the inner
layer outward, pn + x that exercised by the outer layer inward, and tn the
stress per unit of area on each of the faces A Q and D 11. The forces on
the four faces are then proportional to
tn. A B, pn . arc B C, pn + x. arc A D, tn. C D.
Let E N bisect the angle A E D, and let BC be joined. EN is the
direction of the action of the stresses on B C and A D; the portion of
the stresses on A B and C D, which acts outwards, will, by a proposition
known as the triangle of forces, be to either of the forces 4. ABasBC
to EB.
B C
Hence tn . AB . — = pn +x . AD — pn . BO;
the arc B C and the chord being indistinguishable when the angle A E D
is very small.
But B C : AD:: rn : rn + b and A B = rn + x — rn.
Whence this equation gives:—
tn {rn + l — rn) = Pn + 1^ + 1- Pn Tn . . . (1).
internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams. 203
In actual practice tn, as well as pn, probably varies from layer to
layer. The problem of determining its actual value at any point is
therefore indeterminate, since there is only one equation to determine
two quantities. The average value of tn over the whole dam can be
determined by supposing the element considered to represent the slice of
the whole dam. If r, r' be the outer and inner radii of the dam, and t
the average value of tn, there must be substituted in (1) / for tw p for
pn +1* 0 f°r Pn> r ^or r'a + 19 m^ r' ^or Tn' ^e formula then becomes—
iI (f — r') = p r......(2).
0r jf r _ r\ which is the thickness of the dam, be called Jc—
Jet = pr........(3).
The formula (3) agrees with a well-known formula giving the tan-
gential stress in the case of a very thin surface in the form of a right
circular cylinder which is exposed to the action of fluid pressure; the
stress being a tension in the case of a flexible or rigid cylinder containing
fluid within it, and a resistance in the case of a rigid cylinder empty
within and exposed to the pressure of fluid without.
It will thus be seen that a similar formula holds for the average tan-
gential stress in the case of a cylinder of sensible thickness.
The formula (1), expressed in the language of the differential calculus,
gives—
t=d4*.......
a r
from which, if either / or p be assumed as any definite function of r—
that is, if either the normal or tangential stress be assumed to change in
any definite manner from point to point within the dam—the value of
the other can be determined.
For instance, let t be assumed to vary directly as r, a supposition
which will give t its greatest value at the outside, a not improbable
result. Assuming t = fir, then—
d (p r)
dr
therefore p r = i ft /'2 + C ;
and remembering that p = 0 at the inner surface, where r = r',
pr s= i fi (r2 — r'2)
~ 2 r
Whence /= • • • (6)-
r' — r~
A A
VOL. XXXII.-188S.
204 internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams.
If / be required not to exceed a certain value T,
r2~^~72 < T will be required;
r2 mmm r'2 2 V
therefore —-2— >
and £ <
Whence 7s, the thickness, which = r — r', must be at least equal to
r {1 - J1 - ¥}.....
Turning now to the case of a spherical dam. Let A be the common
centre of the external and internal surfaces, and let ry, r be the internal
and external radii.
With A as vertex, and any line A B as axis, imagine a right circular
cone described with a very small vertical angle. This will cut off two
small circular elements of area on the internal and external surfaces
respectively, whose areas will be proportional to the squares of rt and r.
The outer surface is pressed in by a pressure p per unit of area, and if
x is called the radius of the small circle, the pressure on this circular
element will be p • tt x2.
The sort of decapitated sugar-loaf element of the dam which has been
isolated is pressed symmetrically by the surrounding mass, and if / be the
average amount of the thrust per unit of area on this element, the whole
thrust will be / x area of surface of element. It may be noticed that,
assuming the action of the surrounding mass to be always perpendicular
to the conical surface, an assumption which the equality of action and
reaction renders probable, the thrust at all points will be inclined to A B
at the same angle, namely, the half vertical angle of the cone.
internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams. 205
The portion of the thrust at each point which helps to resist the
external pressure will be obtained, in accordance with the triangle of
forces, by diminishing the thrust in the ratio of x to r, and the whole
resolved thrust outwards is therefore equal to
x
t x area of surface of element x —.
r
The area of the surface of a cone is one-half the length of the slant
side multiplied by the circumference of the base. The area of the surface
of the whole cone starting from A is therefore \ r x 2 tt x = w x r.
The radius of the small circle in which the cone cuts the inner surface
x r
is evidently to x as r, is to r, and therefore = —-; the circumference of
x r
this circle therefore equals 2 tt and the surface of the cone with A for
x r 7r x r2
vertex and this circle as base = \ r, x 2 tt - —' = —y^-
Hence the surface of the element over which the thrust t is exerted is
wxr _ . 0y9 as xt may be written, — (r — r/).
The resolved part of the whole thrust along AB is therefore
r1
Hence pvx1 = tirx1 (1 — p-);
therefore p = t (1 — -4-);
p pr2
or t = -—a = « _ 9 . . (7).
1 - L,
r
This gives the average value of the stress; but, as before remarked
in the case of a cylindrical dam, the value at different points may exceed
or fall short of this.
The formula can be put into another shape, connecting / with the
outer radius and the thickness :—
Let k be the thickness: then
k = r — rr
But from (7) r2 - r,2 = V-j ;
therefore r/2 = r2(l-f);
or r, =rJl-£-
206 internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams.
Whence, since Jc = r — rn
k = r { 1-Jl-f} • • • (8).
which gives Jc in terms of r, p, and t.
It may be noticed that if Jc be very small compared with r the formula
(7) reduces to a well-known formula, giving the relation between the
tension and fluid pressure in the case of a thin spherical shell.
p r2 p r2
For (7) can be written t = ;-—?—¦—: = 7-^; whence
w (r — r,) (r -f r,) Jc (2 r — Jc)
t) T Jc
kt=-f, which if - be very small reduces to the formula in question,
2 - r
r
namely kt = \pr . . . . (9).
The investigation may be conducted in the following manner, analo-
gous to that adopted in the case of the cylindrical dam:—In Fig. 4 may
be supposed a series of concentric spheres, with A as centre, to be described
at equal small distances k. By this means the conical wedge of the dam
between B and C is divided into a number of small elements, each of
which is something in the shape of a saucer of thickness Jc.
Any one of these saucer elements will be acted on by the thrust of the
layer next outside it pushing it imvards; by the thrust of the layer next
inside pushing it outwards; and, thirdly, by the thrust of the portion of
the spherical shell to which it belongs surrounding the conical wedge,
pressing it symmetrically round its rim. These forces together must be
in equilibrium.
Let P Q R S be a section of this saucer-like element by a plane
through the axis of the cone: let A P = rn, AS = rn+1, the element
being supposed to belong to the nth shell counting from within.
Let tn be the average normal stress along the rim of the element,.
pn and pn + ! the pressures on its inner and outer spherical surfaces
respectively, all estimated per unit of area.
internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams. 2()7
Then if K be the area of the inner spherical surface, that of the outer
will by the properties of similar figures be to K as r\ + i is to rtt2—that
is, it is K —^^r* Hence the whole pressure on the outer surface is
r3
pn + i K w 2 acting towards A, and the whole pressure on the inner sur-
face is pn K acting outwards from A.
If P N and S H be drawn perpendicular to the axis of the cone, the
area of the surface over which tn is exerted is tt ? A S • S H — tt A P • N P.
But 8 H is to P N as A S to A P—that is, as rn + i to rn.
Hence the surface over which tn is exerted
' 11
Hence, as in the former method, the part of the whole value of t„
exerted on this rim, resolved parallel to A H
_ , + i-nr) PNg
~ ln ' " rn * AP ;
therefore pn +1 K • —A--pn K = h---:- —z--
i n 1 n ' n
But K ultimately = tt • P N2. Hence is obtained—
Pn + 1 r2u + 1 __ Ui (r*n + 1 ~ rn)
1'* — r 2 9
rn 1 n
or Pn +1 r\ +i—Pn rn2 = tn (r\ +1 - r,;2) = tn (rn +1 + rn) • Jc (10).
if Jc be the thickness.
The formula (10) shows the indeterminateness of the problem. If
any law be assumed by which tn changes with rw it will be possible, by
taking equations similar to (10) for all the strata, to discover the value of
t at any point. The equation (10) is in fact the only equation which
connects two unknown quantities, the tangential stress and the radial
stress in any stratum. This result is only what ought to be expected,
since no materials of which the dam can be made will support stresses of
the magnitude supposed without undergoing some change of form or
volume, and the real value of the stress at any point will depend on the
actual change of form of the element surrounding the point considered.
•208 internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams.
The equation (10) will, however, give the same average value of tn as
that given in (7). This average value will be discovered by multiplying
tn by the area of the saucer edge over which it is exerted, adding all such
products, and dividing the sum by the sum of the areas of the rings.
It has been seen that the area of the surface of the saucer edge over
PN
which tn may be supposed to act is represented by tt (r2n + x — rn2) • -—
P N
It is also obvious that — is the same for all the strata, since P N
rn
increases in exactly the same ratio as rn. Hence the area in question
may be represented as c (r\ +i — rr2).
Thus the average value of tn is represented by the fraction,
c t/ (ra2 _ ri2) + c i% (r2-r2) + . . . +etH (r2-^2)
c {r2 - r2) + c (r2-r2) + . . . + c (r2-rn2/
if n be the total number of layers.
But by means of equation (10), and omitting the factor c, which is
common to the numerator and denominator, this reduces to
(P2 — Pi n2) + (ps r2 - jh r22) + . . + (Vn + ir2—pn r2) ^
r22 — rx2 + rs2 — ra2 + . . + r2—rn2
or since pn + i = P and px = 0, to —f-2, which is the value of t given
ri — r
in (7).
The equation (10) can be written in the language of the differential
calculus:—
d(pr2) = td(r2)
= 2tr dr . . . (11).
Hence if t be assumed as any function of r, the integration and the
complete solution of the problem are possible.
Two cases may be considered.
First, let t be assumed to be the same throughout. There is then
obtained by integration,
pr2 = r2t + 0;
When r = rl9 p = 0;
therefore 0 = r^21 + C;
or C = -r2t.
(r2-r2)l pr2
Hence p = --2-or t = /_rh'
And if r be the external radius, p is the external pressure, and the formula
(7) previously obtained is repeated.
internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams. 209
Secondly, let t increase as any power of r, say rn, so that / == p rn
where /* is some constant.
d ( r) 7*2)
Hence VJ - - = 2/wr"+1;
dr r '
2 a rn + 2
therefore ^ pr2 = n + 2 + C*
When r = ru p = 0;
O r n + 2
therefore 0 = . + C;
71 + 2
and p r2 = (rn + 2 - + 2) . . (12).
Hence the greatest value of t, which = jar11, r being the external radius,
- i(rc + 2)ffrn 2 \{n + 2)p
rn+2 _rn+2 • ' ' \10J'
The materials must therefore be such as to resist a stress of this
magnitude without sensibly yielding.
A priori reasons of some force might be suggested in favour of the
assumption that / varies as r.
Tn this case the greatest value of / per unit of area
= *f , 3 ...... (14).
'-(f)
From (14) may be deduced
>-(?y=tf
therefore ( 1)' = 1 -||5
Whence * = /• - r' = rA 1 - 3j1 - || } . . (15),
which gives h in terms of r, p, and t.
A similar deduction from (13) gives
k = r { . . (16).
It may be added that the equations (4) and (11) are substantially
the same as equations (1) of Article 273 and (1) of Article 275 in
Bankine's " Applied Mathematics." From these equations Rankine
appears to deduce more definite results than have been derived from them
in this paper.
210 internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams.
Equation (4) of this paper may be altered by the assumptions
p = x + y
t = x — //,
into the form
d{(x + p)r]
dr -n
which may be written
d(xr) d(iir)
dr dr
Rankine really assumes, although the fact is somewhat disguised, that
the complete solution of this equation is to be obtained by separating the
two parts, and solving separately the two equations
~~dr~ ~ X
d(yr) _
~dr ~~ 7'
which give, by processes easy to those acquainted with the integral
calculus, the results
x = a
b
V =
where a and b are constants.
Hence undoubtedly one solution of the single equation (4) is given by
b
p = x + y = a + ^
, b
t = x — y = a--
where a and b can be determined by the known values of p at the inner
and outer surface.
With all deference, however, to the great authority of Rankine, the
assumption referred to does not seem to have any warrant from a mathe-
matical point of view, and the solution given by him must stand or fall
according to its agreement, or the reverse, with observed facts.
A similar remark applies to Rankine's solution of equation (1) of
Article 175 in "Applied Mechanics."
It may he mentioned that the results of this paper relating to cylin-
drical dams may be also applied to the question of the strength of
tubbing in any case where the external pressure on the tubbing may be
assumed to be uniform at all points in a horizontal level, and to be
directed symmetrically towards the centre of the shaft.
internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams. 211
An able paper on this latter question, by the late Mr. J. J. Atkinson,
is to be found in Vol. IX. of the Transactions of the Institute. Mr.
Atkinson, however, accepts Professor Rankine's deduction of two equa-
tions out of one, which, as just explained, the author does not feel it neces-
sary to do.
The formulas (3) and (6) give the thickness necessary for a cylin-
drical dam exposed to a given pressure of water p, t and T being the
average crushing stress, and the greatest crushing stress on a certain
hypothesis, respectively in a tangential direction. If T1 be the greatest
stress which the materials are capable of supporting without collapsing, /
and T must not exceed a certain fraction of Tl9 as, for instance of T2.
(Twisden's " Practical Mechanics," Art. 9.)
Thus in a cylindrical dam the minimum thickness Jc, consistent with
safety, on the supposition that the average stress alone need be considered,
will be given by
| * = .....(17).
If the supposition be adopted that the tangential stress increases
uniformly from the inside outwards, Jc will be given by the formula—
k = r { 1-Jl-^} .... U*).
On similar suppositions the minimum thickness of a spherical dam of
the same materials can be deduced from the formulas (8) and (15),
and will be respectively:—
*--{¦-Rj • ¦ • ¦ c).
' {'-^--£5} ¦ • • ¦ <*»>•
Professor Merivale has given the writer the details of a spherical dam
at Creusot. The head of water outside is 215 metres. The pressure
consequently per square centimetre is the weight of 21*5 cubic metres of
water—that is, the measure of p in kilogrammes per square centimetre
is 21-5.
The material of the dam is pitch pine, the ultimate strength of which
is 457 kilogrammes per square centimetre. The measure of Ti is there-
fore 457 in the same units as p. Hence
p_ 21-5
T, 457"
vol. xxxii-1883. B B
2 1 2 internal stress in cylindrical and spherical dams.
The value of r in the case of the dam in question is 5*04 metres.
Hence from (19), if the stress be considered uniform throughout the
dam, the thickness ought to be
J242
-j^ry is easily found to be
nearly -7277.
Hence the thickness required on this supposition
= 5-04 x '2723 = 1*372 metres.
On the second supposition the thickness required is by (20)—
= 5*04 | 1 - -665171
= 5'04 x -33183
= 1*687 metres.
The inner radius ought therefore to be
5 04 — 1*687 = 3-353 metres,
the value actually employed being 3*34 metres.
The construction of this particular dam appears therefore to be in
accordance with formula (20).
A cylindrical dam in the same place, if the stress be supposed uniform,
would by formula (17) require a thickness
215
= 5*04 x 7k- = 2*371 metres;
457
while, if the stress be supposed to vary uniformly from within outwards^
the thickness must be by formula (18)—
= 5M { '-J«t}
== 5*04 | 1 — *24306 J-
=s 5*04 x *75694
= 3-814 metres.
discussion—duration of coal of great britain and ireland. 213
Hence, on the supposition of uniform distribution of the stress, the
thicknesses of a spherical and cylindrical dam should respectively be
1*372 and 2*371 metres; while, on the supposition of stress uniformly
increasing outwards, the thicknesses should be 1*687 and 3*814 metres.
A cylindrical dam requires therefore on either supposition a much
greater thickness for safety than a spherical dam.
The form of dam most frequently adopted in this district is, on the
information of Mr. J. B. Simpson, a simple rectilinear barrier. If plenty
of material be employed, this form of dam will doubtless resist the direct
pressure of the water. Mr. Simpson says that leakage round the edges is
the usual way in which such dams become ineffective. Without venturing
on an opinion as to the relative merits of different forms, a question into
which expense, difficulty of construction, and many other considerations
enter, the writer may point out that spherical and cylindrical dams will
tend to prevent this leakage much more satisfactorily than a simple
straight-across barrier. Increased pressure of water will tend to tear
the latter away from its bearings by bending the solid body of the dam
inwards, while, in the same case, cylindrical or spherical dams will be
forced more tightly against the solid walls from which they spring.
Mr. G-. C. G-reenwell proposed a vote of thanks to Professor Aldis
for his carefully prepared paper, in which were a great many calculations
which would have to be studied before any discussion could take place.
Mr. E. F. Boyd seconded the vote of thanks. He said there were
very few who would take the trouble Professor Aldis had done in making
the mathematical calculations which were found elaborated in the paper;
and they ought to feel more especially indebted to him as he was not
immediately connected with the coal trade.
The vote was carried by acclamation.
Mr. G-reenwell's paper on "The Duration of the Coal of Great
Britain and Ireland" was then announced to be open for discussion,
When Mr. G-. C. -G-reenwell said, the paper was based upon statis-
tical facts, and he did not know that a very great amount of discussion
would alter those facts. The questions that were raised were more for
private thought and study than for public discussion, and he would be
quite content to leave the paper in the hands of the members for their
careful consideration.
The meeting then concluded.
PROCEEDINGS. 215
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, JUNE 9th, 1883, IN THE WOOD
MEMORIAL HALL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE,
GEORGE BAKER FORSTER, Esq., President, in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and reported
the proceedings of the Council.
A list of persons nominated as officers for the year 1883-84, was
submitted by the Council in accordance with Bye-law 19.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously
nominated:—
Associates—
Mr. William Hill, Colliery Agent, Carterthorne Colliery Offices, Witton-
le-Wear.
Mr. John R. Wilson, Swaithe, near Barnsley.
Mr. W. J. Phillips, Ansley Hall Colliery, Atherstone.
Students—
Mr. Ralph Richardson, Field House, West Rainton, Fence Houses.
Mr. Arthur D. Milton, Sherburn House, Durham.
Mr. Robert R. Lishman, 33, Claypath, Durham.
Mr. R. S. Anderson, Elswick Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. J. T. Pease, Loftus Mines, Cleveland.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Ordinary Members— |
Mr. Charles Edward Rhodes. Mining Engineer, Carr Houses, Rotherham.
Mr. Arthur Sackville Boucher, La Salada Puerto Bertio, E de Antioquia,
U.S. of Columbia, South America.
Mr. C. C. Leach, Bedlington Collieries, Northumberland.
Students—
Mr. Frank Robert Simpson, Hedgefield, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
Mr. Edward Headly Hutt, Usworth Colliery, via Washington Station,
R.S.O., County Durham.
vol. xxxil —188;!. B B
216 discussion—explosions of boilers and other vessels.
There being* no papers to read, the President said, the paper by
Mr. E. F. Melly " On the Anthracite Coal of South Wales" was open
for discussion. Mr. Melly, he was sorry to say, could not attend, but if
anyone wished for further information on the subject Mr. Melly would
be glad to give it.
No remarks being offered, the President said, the next paper to be
discussed was that by Mr. E. B. Marten "On Explosions of Boilers and
other Ves3els.', He was glad to see Mr. Marten present, and he asked
if he wished to say anything to supplement his paper.
Mr. E. B. Marten said, that there had been very few experiments on
the strength of boilers, and Mr. Longridge informed him that those which
he had made were not published, but in a letter he remarks that Sir
William Fairbairn's experiments, alluded to in Figure 42, Plate XXVIII.,
were made on tin vessels of a small diameter, and were hardly to be taken
as very trustworthy, excepting as to one thing, not known before, that
the strength of the flue tube was inversely dependent upon its length.
Mr. Fletcher had, in answer to a request, called his (Mr. Marten's) atten-
tion to experiments made on a test vessel constructed after the explosion
of the " Thunderer," at Portsmouth, the outcome of which was that
screwed stays in a plate have not their full strength if the plate altered its
shape, for when the plate began to bulge, the rounded side let go its hold.
There were some experiments not yet complete, as to the comparison of
ordinary flue tubes and the strength of corrugated flues. These results
were not in his possession, but if the Institute used their influence, they
might be obtained as recording experimental research. In his paper he
alluded to the electrical apparatus of Sir William Armstrong, and he now
added that Sir F. Abel, in his lecture before the Institution of Civil En-
gineers " On the Application of Electricity to Explosive Purposes," stated
that this same mode of generating electricity was most effectual; it
had been used for exploding, torpedoing, and mining, and at sea was
unaffected by the damp atmosphere when used in an open boat.
Mr. J. A. G. Ross said that he had gone into calculations as to
the spheroidal condition of water, and had found that if the tempera-
ture of the plates was raised very much above 212 degrees, water, dropped
on them in an ordinary gentle way, did not touch them; but that if
water were dashed on, the result was that, in a second or two, it was
flashed into steam, and he felt sure that was a cause which might
account for a great number of explosions. Take a Cornish boiler, for
instance; if water fell below the flue, and a portion of the plate about 50
discussion—explosions of boilers and other vessels. 217
feet long by 20 or 25 inches broad by ^ inch thick was rendered red hot,
he had made a calculation showing that 10 lbs. of water at 212 degrees,
dashed upon this would be flashed into steam, which would be quite suffi-
cient to raise the pressure in an ordinary Cornish boiler, 5 feet diameter
by 25 feet long, from 30 lbs. to about 70 lbs. Mr. Marten called attention
to mysterious cases of explosions; but to his mind most of these explo-
sions could be traced to want of a sufficient margin of strength, caused
either by age or an increase of the original pressure the boiler was con-
structed to withstand; whereas the factor of safety ought to be increased
according to the age of the boiler. With respect to the hydro-electric
machine, he said that the electricity shown by Mr. Marten was the frictional
electricity developed by steam rushing out of a boiler. That was not the
sort of electricity they had to fear. If they had two iron plates in two
electrical conditions there must be a deterioration in one of the plates,
even in the same plate a current of electricty might be set up. That
electricity gradually reduced the plate in thickness, and ultimately rupture
took place if the deterioration was not stopped in time. He thought Mr.
Marten, with the very great experience he had had in the construction and
inspection of boilers, might have given the Institute more information
with respect to the methods which should be adopted to prevent boiler
explosions. Mr. Marten in his paper only gave two lines as to the cure;
he said, "insurance has been proposed as a remedy, but it is only useful
if it made the means of enforcing proper inspection." Many methods
had been proposed, and recently a bill had been brought before Parlia-
ment to ensure some amount of safety in boilers, by compelling users
to employ suitable men, and enforcing some kind of examination.
That bill had been thrown out, he understood to a large extent by the
influence of boiler makers, who were afraid, if such conditions were
imposed upon boiler minding, that it would lead people to use gas
engines. That was a mistake The safer they made boilers, the surer
would be the foundation on which boiler using would be carried. No
notice had been taken in the paper of what were called Fox's corrugated
tubes, which were receiving considerable attention from the Admiralty.
At the Leeds Forge Company's works, tubes of a certain diameter were
put under pressure, and an ordinary flue gave way at 200 lbs. pressure
per square inch, while a corrugated flue did not yield till pressed to
1,000 lbs. per square inch. If that was correct he thought no tubular
boiler should go with a plain flue. Mr. Marten did not tell the Institute
what he suggested as to inspection, whether it should be Government
inspection, or inspection by companies, or scientific inspection by experts.
218 discussion—explosions of boilers and other vessels.
If he were to do so, his long connection with one of the oldest Boiler In-
spection and Insurance Companies, namely, the Midland, would render
his opinion of considerable value to the members.
Mr. Lawrence said, he thought Mr. Ross had somewhat mistaken
Mr. Marten's paper, which was to bring before the members a series of
very interesting experiments, and not to show how explosions could be
prevented. Mr. Boss said that a gallon of water dashed upon a hot
plate wrould account for some of the boiler explosions. He (Mr. Lawrence),
however, thought the boiler must have a poor safety-valve to allow
a gallon of water coming upon a hot plate in the usual way of
feeding the boiler to explode it. In his opinion, the grand cause of all
boiler explosions was that the boilers were too weak. Very much also
depended upon external examination, wmich, he was sorry to say, could
not be sufficiently made in plain cylindrical boilers. Splits in the plates,
starting from the rivet holes, were very serious defects, and no boiler could
be said to be properly inspected unless the seams are all carefully examined
and the splits recorded, so that the boiler may be repaired before the seam
becomes too much weakened. If the boilers were examined on the outside,
what was going on in the seams could be more easily detected. Again,
with regard to stopping these cracks by so-called stop rivets, he wrould like
to ask Mr. Marten if he considered this a satisfactory method of repairing
them ? He had seen three or four of these rivets put in one plate, and the
boiler put to work again, and he thought this could not be considered a
complete or satisfactory repair. With respect to the Risca air-receiver,
figure 7, Plate XXV., which was intended to stand 400 lbs. pressure
of compressed air, and gave away at a pressure'of about 390 lbs., it
struck him that the cast-iron man-hole was the cause of the explosion.
It was perhaps strong enough to have stood the pressure under a low
temperature, but the temperature of the receiver was 350 degrees; and he
thought the cause of the explosion was that the heat had caused the cast-
iron to expand and split, when of course it ceased to strengthen the hole.
Mr. John Daglish remarked, that his experience of Fox's tubes did
not dispose him to go so far in their praise as Mr. Ross. He believed
their manufacture had greatly improved of late, but certainly at one time
they did not give very favourable results. Whether it was in the making
of the corrugations that the iron itself was deteriorated, or whether it was
that the sediments got into the corrugations he did not know; but
certainly there had been several cases where they had failed very rapidly
in ordinary wear and tear. There was no doubt as to their strength,
provided they did not wear so fast.
discussion—explosions of boilers and other vessels. 219
Mr. Ross concurred in what Mr. Daglish had said. Corrngating
the flues put a tremendous strain upon the iron, such as very few
brands of iron would stand. Whatever laminations there were showed
themselves; but this had been quite overcome by the use of homogenous
or steel plates. With an iron plate the corrugation caused very great
strain upon the welds of the bloom, and if there was the slightest
lamination in the plate, the heat playing through the flues developed a
blush, and this blush resulted in the deterioration Mr. Daglish referred
to. If a collapse did take place the corrugations allowed the plate to
come down without tearing, but if a plain flue came down it must yield.
Mr. Marten said, the points raised in the discussion were interesting
and important. The subject was so exceedingly wide that one could
extend one's remarks almost in any direction. He wished he could
place before them the little window in a boiler through which he, from
day to day, had studied how the tubes behaved when the water was high
or low, or when they were unduly heated. Mr. Ross had alluded to the
spheroidal condition of water. He (Mr. Marten) brought this experiment
before the Institute because it was one which was, to a certain extent,
connected with boilers, and because boilers were always getting over-
heated, more or less, if they did not get red hot. Mr. Ross was quite
right. If he had a plate of the size mentioned, and it was red hot, it
might produce the amount of steam stated if all the heat could be
imparted to the water at once; but in the ordinary way of feeding a
boiler the water would creep up the side and gradually cool it, and it was
seldom the whole of the heat could be taken out quickly enough to pro-
duce much sudden increase of steam. In the ordinary practice the water
did not dash over the hot plates, but gradually rose against them, and the
heat was carried off quietly, and danger would only arise from a sudden
covering of the plate. The usual factor of safety used to be 0, it had now
come down to 5, and even to 3 if everything was in good order. It was
necessary not only to see that all things were good, but that the plates
were, he might say, comfortable, that is really in repose without undue
strain. He knew a boiler seven feet diameter, nearly half an inch thick,
not in the least worn, which burst at only 50 lbs. pressure, whilst a boiler
taken out of the same seating, eleven feet in diameter, worked for many
years at 70 lbs. pressure, although in many places it was as thin as a six-
pence. The original one, however, was made of exceedingly tough plates,
just adapted for the work they had to do; and the new boiler was made of
plates of a very hard quality of iron, which could not^ear the serious strain
of expansion from the great heat on the one side, and the comparative
220 discussion—explosions of boilers and other vessels.
coolness of the water on the other; these plates had more of the nature of
glass, and that was the reason they would not bear the work like those of
the old boiler. The electric machine which he had exhibited to the
members was to show that the electricity of steam had nothing to do with
evaporation. Sir William Armstrong thought at first that the mere act of
evaporation produced electricity; but that had not been proved. It was
merely the friction of the globules of water against the wooden orifice.
Mr. Eoss was perhaps right as to electricity or galvanism increasing
corrosion. The Bill brought before Parliament (he was not aware it
had been thrown out) was not drawn in the interests of the boiler
makers, but had been entirely framed from the workmen's point of view.
Parliament had passed an Act under which every explosion was to be in-
vestigated, and it was thought that time should be given to see the result
before anything further was done. Already 29 explosions of boilers had
been investigated, and the reports w^ere published at a small cost, and were
easily attainable; and in the course of a year or two they would record a
mass of information which would justify perhaps further legislation. He
did not think any Parliamentary action, or any action on the part of
. boiler makers, would prevent Gas Engines being used in large towns where
the inconvenience attendant on the use of steam wras great; but he had
not complete information as to how many Gas Engines had supplanted
steam engines in towns. With regard to Fox's tubes he once had feared
that the elasticity caused by the corrugation would have prevented the
tubes acting as stays between the ends of the boiler; but subsequent
experiments had proved to him that the pressure on the more vertical
parts of the corrugation had a tendency to draw the tube together and
increase its staying power. With regard to inspection, his impression
was that its value consisted in its being the means of obtaining true and
thorough information of the state of the boiler and of the nature of the
deterioration it was subjected to. With respect to the Bisca explosion the
only way to arrive at any conjecture as to its origin was to join all the
pieces together again, and to see where the first rent took place. That
had been done, and it was certain that the rent commenced at the man-hole.
It was not that cast-iron was used, but that there was not so much cast-
iron in the section of the man-hole piece as to be equivalent to the amount
of wrought iron which had been cut out of the shell. The ring would
have been better if made of the same material as the shell; but it would
have been better still if the man-hole had been put at the end. Stop
rivets were often used; they were better than nothing, as they stopped the
rent; but all repairs that did not restore the strength of the boiler should
be looked upon with great caution.
discussion—cylindrical and spherical dams. 221
The President moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Marten for his kind-
ness in attending the meeting. Pie was glad to see that the general tone
of opinion seemed to be that the main points to make a boiler safe were
to ffet a good boiler, and to watch it well. A boiler should be good and
well looked after.
The motion was agreed to.
The President said, the next paper to be discussed was that "On
Two Systems of Working the Main Coal at Moira, Leicestershire," by
Mr. W. S. Gresley.
Mr. W. H. Hedley said, the present method produced better results
than the former method; but, having regard to the large proportion of
coal stated to be lost or wasted, it seemed to him there was even yet
considerable room for improvement. Looking at the tables given by
Mr. Gresley, he found that 38 per cent, of the thickness of coal worked
was left behind, lost. He failed to see why so large a proportion of the
coal actually dealt with should be lost in working. Moreover, he saw that
there was a distinct portion of coal, nearly 3 feet in thickness, overlying
the 10 feet of coal which was dealt with, and separated from it by bands
of stone and coal, wdiich together, made a total thickness of 5 feet 4
inches. Although the cover was considerable, nearly 150 fathoms, yet,
judging from his experience of seams somewhat similarly situated in
this district he should expect if the 3 feet coal was worked away more
or less in advance, the 5 feet 4 inches might serve to form a roof for
working the 10 feet afterwards; and in this way the 3 feet of coal, of
which under the present system probably none wras recovered, would
also be got, and thus something like 20 per cent, more of the entire seam
would be realized.
The President said, Mr. Gresley was not present to answer the
question, and therefore it would be well to adjourn the discussion. It
appeared that the 38 per cent, at the present time wras a great improve-
ment upon the GO per cent, formerly lost. Still there was a great amount
of loss, and Mr. Gresley might be able to explain the reason.
The President said, the next paper to be discussed was that " On
Internal Stress in Cylindrical and Spherical Dams," by Professor W.
Steadman Aldis.
Professor Aldis said, if there were any point in the paper about which
any member felt a difficulty, he would try to make it clear. A straight-
222 discussion—cylindrical and spherical dams.
across dam might be sufficient where there was a small head of water, but
where there was a great head of water it would be better to construct
a spherical or cylindrical dam.
The President said, he did not think the general practice in this
district had been to construct flat dams, as Professor Aldis seemed to think.
They generally put in cylindrical dams, which were a great deal better
than flat ones. He did not think anyone who had to deal with heavy
pressures would put in flat dams. Probably the spherical was as much
superior to the cylindrical dam as the cylindrical dam was superior to the
flat dam.
Professor Aldis said, it would possibly require more skill and involve
greater expense to build a spherical dam in the first instance, but when
erected such a dam would be by far the most efficient.
Mr. Marten said, he had put in spherical cylindrical dams, but not
at very high pressure, and he noticed they pressed themselves into the
sides, and therefore must have gone a little flatter. The spherical dam
was formed without difficulty, each brick being arranged on the surface
and marked. He asked if the President had ever observed a cylindrical
dam get flatter ?
The President—No. They are generally put in with such a con-
siderable margin of strength that they rarely move. Tf any leakage
occurred, it was at the top and bottom, tending to prove the superiority
of the spherical dam, which would, under pressure, squeeze itself against
the support in all directions. He moved a vote of thanks to Professor
Aldis for his paper, which, he said, was upon a subject of great importance
to the mining country at large.
Mr. John Marley seconded the motion, and it was agreed to.
The meeting then concluded.
proceedings. 223
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, TUESDAY, JULY 3rd. 1883, IN THE TOWN HALL,
BARROW-IN-FURNESS.
GEORGE BAKER FORSTER, Esq.. President, in the Chair.
About eighty members of the Institute assembled in the Town Hall,
Barrow-in-Furness, the majority of them having arrived in the town on
the previous day.
The Mayor of Barrow (John Fell, Esq.), in welcoming them, said—
Before proceeding to the business for which they had met together, he
desired to express, on behalf of himself and other burgesses of the borough,
the gratification they felt at their town having been selected for a visit
by the members. He considered it a great compliment, and hoped that
they would find many objects and places of interest amongst the numerous
extensive manufactories, works, and mines to repay them for their trouble.
Every facility would be afforded them for the purpose. He proposed to
hold a Conversazione, in the Town Hall, on Wednesday evening, at which
it would give him great pleasure to see all present, as the meeting would
not be at all formal, but one of a purely friendly and social character.
To-day the members would, after the business of the meeting, be taken
by special train to the Barrow Haematite Steel Company's works, after
inspecting which they would return to luncheon. Probably it would not
be possible to examine many of the details at the works, but he had
arranged for specimens of the minerals, manufactures, etc., to be exhibited
at the Conversazione.
The President asked the members present to join with him in
returning their hearty thanks to the Mayor for his kind reception, also to
the many friends wTho had taken so much pains to make their visit
pleasant and give them an opportunity of inspecting the numerous objects
vol. xxxil-1883. C C
224 proceedings.
of interest and beauty in the district. The care which had been taken
in preparing the programme showed that the people of Barrow had deter-
mined to give them a hearty welcome, which he was sure all would ap-
preciate, and he hoped they would enjoy their visit and find it pleasant
and profitable.
The Secretary then read.the following paper, by Mr. Vincent W.
Corbett, " On Water-gauge, Barometer, and other Observations taken at
Seaham Colliery during the time the Maudlin Seam was sealed up."
observations taken at seaham colliery. 225
ON WATER-GAUGE, BAROMETER, AND OTHER OBSERVA-
TIONS TAKEN AT SEAHAM COLLIERY DURING THE
TIME THE MAUDLIN SEAM WAS SEALED UP.
By V. W. CORBETT.
An explosion occurred at Seaham Colliery on the 8th September, 1880,
occasioning the loss of 164 men and boys, and causing immense damage
to part of the colliery workings and to the timber, etc., in the downcast
shaft.
As this paper will be illustrated by plans and diagrams, it will be
necessary in the first instance to give as briefly as practicable a descrip-
tion of the colliery and its workings.
The downcast shaft is 14 feet diameter and 300 fathoms deep, and is
divided by a wooden brattice; the west side of the brattice is termed
No. 1 Pit, the east side No. 2 Pit.
No. 1 Pit works the Hutton Seam of coal to the south and south-east,
the coals being hung on at a depth of 255 fathoms; No. 2 Pit works the
Hutton Seam to the north and north-east, the hanging on being at a
depth of 281 fathoms in the Harvey Seam; from this seam a drift is
driven cutting a trouble running east and west and winning the Hutton
seam at the north side of it. The upcast shaft (No. 3 Pit) is 14 feet
diameter and 270 fathoms deep. The seams worked to this pit are the
Hutton Seam towards the west, the Maudlin Seam towards the north and
north-east, and the Main Coal Seam is worked also by means of a staple
sunk about 231 yards north-west of this pit; this seam lies 32 fathoms
above the Hutton Seam; all these coals being hung on at the Hutton
Seam level at a depth of 253 fathoms.
Phe workings are ventilated by means of two underground furnaces,
assisted by the heat of the Nos. 1 and 2 Pits' underground boilers.
Plate XXX. shows the arrangement of shafts, furnaces, drifts, boilers,
226 observations taken at seaham colliery
seams of coal, etc., and Plate XXXI. shows the plan of the workings.
The average quantity of air ventilating the whole of the workings,
engine houses, stables, etc., is about 320,000 cubic feet per minute.
The accident occurred at about 2'30 a.m. on the morning of the
8th September. Owing to damage to the shafts some time elapsed
before there was any communication with the workings. Subsequently
it was ascertained that several fires existed, namely, in the old engine-
house, No. 1 Pit, the coal was on fire; No. 1 Pit engine-house was
on fire; various other fires were discovered and were gradually extin-
guished. The work of recovering the bodies was pushed on as fast
as possible, but, owing to the number of falls on the rolleyways, it was not
until the 1st October that the last district, the east-way in the Maudlin
Seam, was explored; it was then discovered that a large fire existed in some
temporary stables. This occurrence led to the sealing up of the Maudlin
Seam workings. On the 3rd October a commencement was made to seal
up this seam by temporary stoppings of wood, after which brick ones
were put in, two of which were in the intake and one in the return
air-course. Half-inch iron pipes were inserted through all these stop-
pings for the purpose of attaching water-gauges. Before midnight
on the same day all these stoppings were completed. In the beginning
of December a little gas was occasionally found in the return air-course
in the Low Main Seam (these workings are shown by red lines on
Plate XXXI.) not far distant from the No. 8 stopping, and as the
Maudlin and Low Main Seams at this point are within a few feet of each
other, it was possible that gas out of the Maudlin might be finding its way
through the strata, and thus into the waste; it was therefore considered
advisable to place in the Low Main Seam some additional stoppings,
which were completed on the 11th, and the Maudlin Seam workings
may be considered to have been hermetically sealed from that date.
When the Maudlin Seam workings were thus closely sealed up, the
interior might be assumed to be a large gasometer and the readings of
the water-gauges show clearly the difference between the atmospheric
pressure prevailing outside the stoppings, and the pressure of the gases
confined in the sealed up workings.
In order fully to understand the plans and diagrams illustrating this
paper, it may be as well to minutely describe them, together with the
arrangements that were made to carry out the experiments.
Plate XXXI., as before stated, represents a general plan of the
workings, A being the downcast and B the upcast shaft. The method of
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 227
ventilation is shown thus—the roads coloured blue are the in-take air-
courses, and those coloured pink are the return air-courses, or waste.
Stoppings were placed at 1 and 2 in the in-take of the Maudlin Seam,
and at 3 and 4 in the return air-course. Water-gauges were placed at
each of these stoppings, and the observations at these water-gauges
(recorded as Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 water-gauges in the first four lines of
the diagrams) along with the barometer and other readings, taken every
hour, form the basis of this paper.
Through stopping No. 3 a 9-inch pipe was inserted wTith a bend
turned upwards on which a valve was placed. This was loaded with a
weight which would allow gas to escape when it reached a certain
pressure behind the stopping. This was done lest any undue accumu-
lation of gas should take place to an extent which might endanger
the security of the stoppings. As, however, will be observed by the
readings of the water-gauge at its side, no pressure of any consequence
ever did occur.
The gas-check was taken in another part of the pit, in the No. 3 Pit,
Hutton Seam workings, at about a mile distant from the stoppings. As
will be seen by Plate XXXI., a gallery C (coloured black) about 50 yards
long, leading from the return air-course to the goaf, was kept open so that
a man could traverse it. This goaf might be said to be free in many
directions to give off gas into the workings, but most of the galleries
abutting on the goaf were more or less crept, whereas the gallery C was
perfectly open.
This gallery C wras used in much the same way as the tube of a baro-
meter, to indicate the distance from the waste at which gas was found in
the gallery. Every hour a man went in with a safety-lamp and noted the
distance from the waste at which he first observed gas in the lamp, and
these readings are given by means of the line marked Gas-ch. in the
diagrams. Of course wdien the gas disappeared nothing more could be
observed; when the line is at the top and registers straight over a certain
space, it indicates that during that period of time there was no gas in the
gallery. Again, when the gas came so freely out of the goaf as to be
carried away by the air-current 50 yards distant, the diagram shows a
straight line over a certain space at the bottom, which indicates that there
was gas the whole length of the gallery. The lines marked respectively
2. Ba., 3. Ba., and Su. Ba. in the diagrams, indicate the three baro-
metrical readings taken—one at No. 2 stopping shown by 2. barometer,
the second at No. 3 stopping shown by 3. barometer, and the third
228 observations taken at seaham colliery
at the surface shown by surface barometer. The barometers in use at
the different points had not been adjusted up to the 8th of May, 1881_
but on that day they were adjusted—it will be observed that almost up
to that date the barometer at No. 3 stopping* registered higher than
the one placed at No. 2 stopping, but after the adjustment, the instru-
ment at No. 2 stopping registered higher than the one placed at No. 3
stopping. The 1. The., 2. The., 3. The., and Su. The. in the diagram
show four thermometrical readings—the first taken from an instrument
placed at No. 1 stopping; the second from one placed at No. 2 stopping;
the third from one placed at No. 3 stopping; and the last from one placed
on the surface. The two bottom divisions are devoted to the direction
of the wind and its force in miles per hour, indicated by a self-regis-
tering instrument kindly lent by Mr. L. J. Crossley, F.R.A.S., to the
Meteorological Council, and placed by them at Seaham Harbour.
The following statement will explain the speed of the wind:—
When calm the velocity is about ... ... ... 2 miles per hour.
Light air „ ......... 5 „
Breeze „ ... ...... 10 „
Gentle breeze „ ......... 15 ,,
Moderate „ „ ......... 20 „
Fresh „ „ ......... 27 „
Strong „ „ ...... ... 35 „
Moderate gale „ ... ...... 42 „
Fresh „ „ ... ... ... 50 „
Strong „ „ ......... 60 „
Whole „ „ ......... 70 „
Storm „ „ ......... 80 .,
Hurricane „ ......... 90 „
The only other observation taken was a reading of a thermometer
placed inside the 9-inch pipe at No. 3 stopping, this was registered once
a day. The readings of this instrument are not shown on the diagrams,
but the following is a statement of the heat registered: —
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 229
Degrees.
From January 1st, 1881, to January 31st ...... 70
„ February 1st ............... 70|
February 2nd to February 28th......... 70
March 1st to March 5th......... G9
March 6th to March 10th......... 70
March 11th to March 19th......... 69
March 20th to March 23rd......... 70
„ March 21th to April 10th......... 69
April 11th to April 20th......... 69J
„ April 21st to May 11th......... 70
„ May 12th to June 3rd......... G9
„ June 4th to June 17th......... 70
„ June 18th to June 20th......... 69
,. June 21st to June 24th......... 70
Three men, working in three separate shifts, were appointed to make
observations at these several points in the workings, the readings of the
barometer and thermometer at the surface being made separately.
As before stated, the distance between the points where the water-
gauges and barometers were placed is about a mile from the gallery where
the gas-check was made, and the stoppings 3 and 4 were not on the
same level as 1 and 2, consequently, there was a lapse of time of about
forty minutes between the commencement and termination of each
hour's observations. Absolute simultaneousness of registration, therefore,
was not attained, and it will be as well to recollect this in forming deduc-
tions, some of which are founded on readings of extreme minuteness.
Referring to the diagrams, the space between the dark vertical lines
represents a day, the light vertical lines dividing it into twenty-four
equal spaces representing hours. The dark horizontal lines in the
diagram represent inches in the four water-gauge readings and the three
barometer readings, 20 yards in the gas-check readings, and inches in
the barometer readings, the dotted dark horizontal lines at the top
indicate a state of equilibrium between the air outside the stoppings
of the four water-gauges and the gas in the sealed up workings, the
space between each two horizontal lines is sub-divided by faint lines
into tenths, each such division representing two yards in the space
devoted to the gas-check.
230 observations taken at seaham colliery
Therefore, the observations taken consist ot:—
The readings of a water-gauge placed at No. 1 stopping ... marked 1..W. G.
No. 2 „ ... „ 2. W.G.
No. 3 „ ... „ 3. W.G.
No. 4 „ ... „ 4. W.G.
„ the gas check ... ... ... ... „ Gas-ch.
„ thermometer at No. 1 stopping ... „ 1. The.
2 ...... „ 2. The
„ 3 ......., 3. The.
„ „ surface ... ... ... „ Su. The.
„ barometer at No. 2 stopping ...... „ 2. Ha.
n 3 „ ...... „ 3. Ba.
„ „ surface ...... ... „ Su. Ba.
Direction of the wind.
Velocity of „
The comparisons it is here proposed to call attention to are:—
1. —A comparison between the No. 3 water-gauge and No. 3
barometer.
2. —A comparison between the No. 2 water-gauge and the gas-
check.
3. —A comparison between the No. 3 water-gauge and the gas-
check.
4. —A comparison between the No. 3 barometer and the gas-
check.
For the purpose of this paper it is perhaps now unnecessary to draw
attention to all the observations taken, but three of the most clearly
defined instances of the fluctuations of pressure have been taken for
comparison.
First Instance.—From Saturday, the 5th of February, to and with
Sunday, the 13th of February, 1881, shown on
256, 257, 258 pages.
Second Instance.—From Monday, the 21st of March, to and with
Sunday, the 27th of March, 1881, shown on
271, 272 pages.
Third Instance.—From Saturday, the 14th of May, to and with
Sunday, the 22nd of May, 1881, shown on 288,
289, 290, 291 pages.
302 OBSERVATIONS TAKEN AT SEAHAM COLLIERY
FIRST COMPARISON.
BETWEEN No. 3 WATER-GAUGE AND No. 3 BAROMETER.
FIRST INSTANCE.
By the water-gauge a depression commences on Saturday, the 5th of
February, at 5 p.m.; this depression continues gradually till Sunday, the
6th, at 10 p.m. (line a), when a rapid fall commences, the lowest point
being obtained on Monday, the 7th, at 6 p.m. (line b), a rapid rise then
occurs; the highest point is reached on Tuesday, the 8th, at 7 p.m. (line c).
A slight fluctuation then occurs up to Wednesday, the 9th, at 8 a.m.
(line d), when there is another great depression, the lowest point being
obtained on Thursday, the 10th, at 2 a.m. (line e). From this hour there
is a quick rise, the highest point being reached on Friday, the 11th, at
3 a.m. (line/). From this hour an out-bye pressure prevails (generally)
till noon on the 13th (line g).
To obtain a comparison between the water-gauge and the barometer,
it is found that during the time the water-gauge is showing a depres-
sion (line a) the barometer is rising; the centre of this is reached on
Monday, the 7th, at about 1 a.m. (line h), but the depression, according
to the barometer, does not begin till 4 a.m. the same day (line i). In this
instance the barometer commences to show a depression thirty-five hours
after the water-gauge. The centre of this depression, as shown by the
barometer (line *), may be taken on Tuesday, the 8th, at 8 a.m., but there
is no rise shown till 11 a.m. the same day; in this instance it is seventeen
hours behind the water-gauge. The centre of the rise of the barometer
may be assumed to be on Wednesday, the 9th, at 2 p.m. (line j), and a
depression is shown as commencing at 6 p.m. the same day, or twenty-
three hours after the depression is marked by the water-gauge. A fall of
barometer now-takes place, the centre of depression being on Thursday,
the 10th, at about 3 p.m. (line Jc), but no rise is shown till 9 p.m. the
same day, or nineteen hours after the water-gauge. A rise now occurs
(line /). The centre of this rise may be assumed at 7 p.m., on the 12th,
and no depression is marked till 3 a.m., on the 13th, and then for several
hours the fall is very slight; the barometer in this instance marks a
depression forty-eight hours after the water-gauge.
SECOND INSTANCE.
The water-gauge shows a depression, commencing on Monday, the
21st of March, at 11 p.m. (with the exception of a slight rise between
6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the 22nd), and ending on Wednesday, the 23rd,
at 8 p.m. (line a). A sudden rise then takes place, the highest point
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 303
reached is on Thursday, the 24th, at 9 a.m. (line b); from this time a
slight fall dccurs (line c), the lowest point being reached at 11 p.m. the
same day, then a rise to Friday, the 25th, at 7 p.m. (line d). A gradual
outbye pressure now commences (line e). The barometrical readings show
that from Tuesday, the 22nd, at 1 a.m. till 8 p.m. the same day the mercury
rises (line/); a depression then commences (line g), the barometer, there-
fore, marks that depression twenty-one hours after the water-gauge.
This depression as shown by the barometer is of long continuance, and
no rise is marked till Friday, the 25th, at 5 a.m. (line //), this is thirty-
three hours after the water-gauge. From Wednesday, the 23rd, at 8 p.m.,
to Thursday, the 24th, at 8 a.m. (line b) it will be noticed the water-gauge
makes a sudden rise; from Thursday, the 24th, at 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on
the same day, a fall occurs (line c), the barometer in the meanwhile con-
tinuing steady; after this the water-gauge and barometer rise, the water-
gauge acting about six hours before the barometer. The centre of
this rise may be assumed to be at noon, on the 27th, forty-one hours
after the water-gauge, after which the barometer continues steady for
some time.
THIRD INSTANCE.
The water-gauge shows a depression commencing on Saturday, the
14th of May, at 8 p.m., reaching the lowest point on Monday, the 16th,
at 2 a.m. (line a). A rapid rise from Monday, the 16th, at 2 a.m. till
8 p.m. the same day (line b). A rapid fall from Monday, the 16th, at
8 p.m. till Tuesday, the 17th, at 3 p.m. (line c); then a rise. The bar-
ometer shows a fall commencing on Sunday, the 15th, at 3 a.m., or seven
hours after the water-gauge (line d) ; a rise commencing on Monday,
the 16th, at 6 a.m. (line e), or four hours after the water-gauge. The
barometer then shows no depression till Tuesday, the 17th, at 7 a.m.,
or eleven hours after the water-gauge; after this a fall and a steady
barometer for some time, as against a rise and steady water-gauge.
SECOND COMPARISON.
BETWEEN No. 2 WATER-GAUGE AND THE GAS-CHECK.
FIRST INSTANCE.
The gas-check shows that the place is practically free from gas on
Saturday, the 5th of February, at 9 a.m. At this hour No. 2 water-
gauge registers 0'9 inch; the gas-check shows that the place remains
comparatively free from gas till Sunday the 6th, at 10 p.m.; at the same
hour the water-gauge registers 0*7 inch; according to the gas-check, gas
IT
VOL. XXXII.—X888.
304 observations taken at seaham colliery
then makes its appearance, and so continues till Tuesday, the 8th, at
3 p.m., when the place is again free from gas, the water-gauge reading at
that hour is 1*1 inch. After this the gas-check shows the place free from
gas till Wednesday, the 9th, at 9 a.m, the water-gauge registering 1-2
inch; after this the gas-check shows gas till Thursday, the 10th, at 8 p.m.,
when the reading is 0*4 inch. The place remains free from gas till
Saturday, the 12th, at 5 p.m., the water-gauge still registering 0*4 inch.
SECOND INSTANCE.
The gas-check shows the place is free from gas on Monday, the 21st
of March, at 9 p.m., and at the same time the water-gauge reading is 0*9
inch; the gas-check, however, shows presence of gas at 10 p.m., the
water-gauge then registering TO inch. The gas-check shows the place
free from gas on Friday, the 25th, at 9 a.m., the wrater-gauge reading being
then 0*9 inch; by the gas-check the place remains free from gas (with a
slight exception correspondingly marked by the water-gauge) till Saturday,
the 26th, at 10 p.m., the water-gauge reading at the same hour being
0*6 inch. The gas-check shows the place free from gas at 7 a.m. on the
27th, and remains so for two hours, the water-gauge reading 0*4 inch.
THIRD INSTANCE.
By the gas-check there is no gas on Monday, the 16th of May, at
8 a.m., at the same hour the water-gauge reads 1*0 inch. The place is
comparatively free from gas till Tuesday, the 17th, at 1 a.m., by the gas
check, the water-gauge reading then being 1*1 inch. The gas-check
shows the place free from gas on Thursday, the 19th, at between 6 and
8 p.m., the water-gauge registering 0*6 and 07 inch respectively. The
gas-check shows no gas on Friday, the 20th, at 5 a.m., the water-gauge
reading then being 0'8 inch. The gas-check, with a slight exception
(correspondingly marked by the water-gauge), shows the place free from
gas till midnight on Sunday, the 22nd; the water-gauge, however, at
this time shows a great discrepancy, or it may be an error in reading,
for its readings vary down to 0*2 inch outbye pressure.
THIRD COMPARISON.
BETWEEN No. 3 WATER-GAUGE AND THE GAS-CHECK.
FIRST INSTANCE.
No. 3 water-gauge reads —0*6 inch on Saturday, the 5th of February,
at 9 a.m., at the same hour the gas-check shows the place free from gas.
On Sunday, the 6th, at 10 p.m., the water-gauge reads —0*6 inch, at the
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 305
same hour gas conies off freely, as shown by gas-check, and continues to
come off till Tuesday, the 8th, at 3 p.m., when the water-gauge reads — 0'6
inch at the same time; the place is free from gas on Wednesday, the 9th,
at 9 a.m., the water-gauge at 10 a.m. same day registers —0*6 inch. Gas
comes away freely, and the place is not again free from gas till Thursday,
the 10th, at 8 p.m.; the water-gauge registering —0*6 inch at 7 p.m. same
day; the place remains free from gas till Saturday, the 12th, at 5 p.m.,
the water-gauge registering — 0#6 inch three hours before; then the atmos-
pheric pressure decreasing, gas comes awTay.
SECOND INSTANCE.
At 9 p.m. on Monday, the 21st of March, the water-gauge registers
— 0*6 inch, the gas-check at the time showing also the place to be free
from gas; the place does not again appear free from gas till Friday, the
25th, at 9 a.m., the water-gauge at the same hour registering — 0'6 inch.
By the gas-check the place remains free from gas till Saturday, the 26th,
at 5 a.m., when it shows for four hours, the water-gauge at the same
time shows a slight increase of outbye pressure for a similar period; the
place is again free from gas at 9 a.m. the same day, the water-gauge
registering —0*6 inch at the same hour; the gas-check shows gas coming
off at 10 p.m. the same day, the water-gauge registering at the same
hour —0*5 inch. By the gas-check the place is free from gas on Sunday,
the 27th, at 7 a.m., and remains so till 9 a.m., or for two hours. In
this instance there is a slight discrepancy between the gas-check and the
water-gauge, for the water-gauge registering —0'6 inch would indicate
absence of gas for about a similar period, but two hours previously.
THIRD INSTANCE.
The gas-check showrs the presence of gas up to Monday, the 16th of
May, at 8 a.m., the water-gauge registering —0*6 inch at 6 a.m. the same
day, or two hours before; the place remains free from gas by the gas-check
till Tuesday, the 17th, at 1 a.m., the water-gauge then registering—0*5 inch.
Gas again shows in the place till Thursday, the 19th, at 6 p.m., the water-
gauge then registering — 0*5 inch. The gas-check next shows the place free
from gas on Friday, the 20th, at 5 a.m.; the water-gauge reading — O'G
inch at the same hour. The gas-check shows a trace of gas on Sunday,
the 22nd, at noon, the water-gauge reading —0*6 inch at the same hour.
Gas is present till 5 p.m. the same day, when the place is again free from
gas; the water-gauge reading —0*6 inch. The place remains free from
gas till midnight, the water-gauge during that period continuing to
register — 0*6 inch, and at that hour it works simultaneously with the
gas-check.
306 observations taken at seaham colliery
FOURTH COMPARISON.
BETWEEN No. 3 BAROMETER AND THE GAS-CHECK.
FIRST INSTANCE.
The barometer commences to rise at 1 p.m. on the 5th, and shows no
depression till Monday, the 7th of February, at 4 a.m.—the gas-check
shows no gas at 9 a.m. on the 5th, or four hours before the barometer
commences to rise. Oas again shows on Sunday, the 6th, at 10 p.m., or
six hours before a fall is denoted by the barometer, this fall continues
and no rise of the barometer is shown till 11 a.m. on the 8th; the gas-
check shows the place free from gas the same day at 3 p.m., the barometer
therefore moves upwards four hours before the place is free from gas.
Taking the barometer readings at 9 a.m. on the 5th, at 10 p.m. on the 6tb,
and at 3 p.m. on the 8th, there are three readings when there is no gas,
and the barometer reads 30*95 inches, 31*8 inches, and 30*7 inches, re-
spectively, at those periods. The barometer rises from Tuesday, the 8th, at
11 a.m., and shows no depression till 6 p.m. next day; the gas-check,
however, shows gas to commence coming off on Wednesday, the 9th, at
9 a m., the fall of the barometer therefore is only apparent nine hours
after gas has been detected. The gas-check shows presence of gas till
Thursday, the 10th, at 8 p.m., the barometer commencing to rise at 9 p.m.
on the same day, virtually at the same time. Taking two readings, namely,
9 a.m. on the 9th, and 8 p.m. on the 10th, there are two periods showing
no gas and the barometer reading 31*4 and 30*4 inches respectively.
The barometer rises from Thursday, the 10th, at 9 p.m., and shows no
depression till Sunday, the 13th, at 3 a.m., but by the gas-check, gas
comes off on Saturday, the 12th, at 5 p.m., or ten hours before the
barometer commences to show the slightest fall, and that instrument
continues steady for a considerable period; gas, nevertheless, is present
in the gas-check; the barometer registers 31*75 inches at 5 p.m. on the
12th. There are therefore several periods when the gas-check shows
no gas, the barometer readings recording:—
Inches.
On the 5th of February ... ... ... ... ... 30*95
» 6th „ ...............31-80
» 8th „ ...............30-70
m 9th „ ...............31-40
m 10th „ ...... ......... 30-40
> 12th „ ...............31-75
DURING THE TIME THE MAUDLIN SEAM WAS SEALED UJ\ 307
SECOND INSTANCE.
The barometer had been very steady for some days, during which time
the gas check had registered the place to be giving off gas at various
times, also to be free from gas when a slight rise commenced on Monday,
the 21st of March, at 9 p.m.; at the same hour the gas-check is free from
eras for a short time, after which gas comes away and the place is not
again free from gas till Friday, the 25th, at 9 a.m.; the barometer in
this instance appears to be no certain guide, for commencing with the rise
on Monday, the 21st, at 9 p.m., it continues to rise slightly for about
twenty-four hours, gas coming off the whole time; after the twenty-
four hours there is a sharpish fall for about twenty-seven hours, then a
steady barometer for about twenty-nine hours, a rise commencing on
Friday, the 25th, at 5 a.m., during the whole of this time gas is being
given off; the gas check shows the place free from gas at 9 a.m. the same
day, or four hours after the barometer -commences to rise—the place is
now free from gas for some time, the barometer continuing to rise. By
the gas-check, gas comes off on Saturday, the 26th, at 5 a.m., when it
shows for four hours, the barometer continuing to rise, and at this hour
registering 31*30 inches. The gas-check is again free from gas at 9 a.m.,
the barometer registering 31*45 inches, and the place remains so till 10
p.m. same day, the barometer registering 31*65 inches. Gas shows at the
gas-check till Sunday, the 27th, at 7 a.m., the barometer during the
interval continuing steady, and reading 31*60 inches; the place remains
free from gas for two hours, when it appears, the barometer nevertheless
continuing steady, and registering about 31*60 inches for several hours
after.
There are here five periods when the gas check shows no gas, the
barometer recording:—
Inches.
On the 21st March ...............31*30
„ 25th „ ............... 3070
„ 25th ., ...............31-45
„ 26th ,. ...............31-65
„ 27th „ ...............31-60
THIRD INSTANCE.
The barometer marks a depression on Sunday, the 15th May, and no
rise is shown till Monday, the 16th, at 6 a.m., when it goes up rapidly,
the gas-check at the same hour showing the place free from gas, and it
remains till Tuesday, the 17th, at 1 a.m., the barometer commencing to
fall at 7 a.m. on the same day or six hours afterwards. After this there
808 observations taken at seaham colliery
is rather a quick fall for about eleven hours, then a steady barometer for
about sixty-two hours, during this time the gas-check shows the place free
from gas for about two hours on Thursday, the 19th, the barometer not
recognising this. The barometer commences to rise on Friday, the 20th,
at 8 a.m., and continues rising up to Sunday, the 22nd, at 6 a.m. The
gas-check shows no gas on Friday, the 20th, at 5 a.m., or three hours
before the barometer commences to rise. During the period between
Friday, the 20th, at 8 a.m., and midnight on Sunday, the 22nd, the
barometer is steadily rising, and does not in any way recognise the
presence of gas, as shown by the gas-check at about noon on the 22nd.
At midnight on Sunday, the 22nd, the gas-check commences to show
presence of gas, the barometer nevertheless continues high, and remains
steady for a considerable time, in fact for about twenty-eight hours
after gas appears, and then commences to fall slightly. There are thus five
periods when the gas-check shows no gas, the barometer recording:—
Tnches.
On the 16th of May ............ ... 30'65
„ 17th „ ......... ;..... 31*45
» 19th „ ......... ...... 31-00
„ 20th „ ...............3110
„ 22nd „ ...............32-00
REMARKS ON COMPARISONS.
The first comparison made between the water-gauge and the baro-
meter permits the following deductions to be made :—
1. —The extreme sensitiveness of the water-gauge in marking
every fluctuation of atmospheric pressure on the gases in
the sealed up workings.
2. —The great tardiness of the barometer in recognising these
fluctuations.
It is apparent by the water-gauge diagram that fluctuations of gases
in colliery workings must be occurring almost every hour, these frequent
fluctuations seem to be clearly defined by the water-gauge whenever they
take place, but they are not correspondingly recognised by the barometer,
and it appears that the barometer only recognises what may be termed
general or clearly defined great fluctuations, and even then very slowly.
In several instances when the water-gauge has shown an inbye pressure
prevailing, and the pressure having reached its limit, an outbye pressure
commences, indicating that gas has commenced coming off, it is found that
the barometer still continues to mark an upward tendency, as shown in
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 309
the first instance, when the water-gauge commences to mark an outbye
pressure at 5 p.m. on the 5th of February, this outbye pressure continuing
till Monday, the 7th, at 6 p.m.; but the barometer at the beginning of this
depression is actually rising, and shows no sign of a fall for thirty-four
hours after the water-gauge, or four hours after gas actually shows in the
o-as-check. Again the water-gauge shows a depression, commencing at
7 p.m., on the 8th, and this depression continues till the 10th, at 2 a.m.;
the barometer, however, at 7 p.m., on the 8th, is rising and continues to
rise for some time and shows no depression till 6 p.m., on the 9th, which is
twenty-three hours after the water-gauge shows the depression arriving,
and nine hours after the gas actually shows in the gas-check. It is
nerhaps unnecessary to particularise these instances further, but other
comparisons only tend to confirm and carry out the fact of the tardiness
of the barometer in denoting the fluctuations of atmospheric pressures.
THE SECOND COMPARISON.
If the readings of No. 2 water-gauge (placed where the intake air has a
direct action on the instrument, and only at a distance of 126 yards from
the bottom of No. 1 Pit) are considered, it will be found (generally) that
when it registers an inbye pressure of between 0*7 and TOO inch,
with a tendency of that pressure being increased (inbye), there is
generally an absence of gas in the gas-check; on the other hand, when
the pressure is outbye from the above readings, and that pressure is
increased (outbye), then gas is being given off from the strata. This
however, is not fully carried out, for it is sometimes found that the water-
gauge registers as low as 0*3 inch when gas is absent.
THE THIRD COMPARISON
between No. 3 water-gauge and the gas-check tends to confirm the
former comparison, but with greater accuracy. Here the return air acts
upon the water-gauge, and it will be found, generally, that whenever
that instrument registers an outbye pressure of 0*6 inch with a tendency
of that pressure being decreased, there is an absence of gas; on the other
hand, when it registers 0'6 inch pressure outbye with the tendency of
that pressure being increased, gas is given off from the strata.
THE FOURTH COMPARISON
between the barometer and gas-check clearly indicates the unreliableness of
the barometer. In a few cases it is seen to act before gas is found in the
gas-check, but generally it is not a true indicator to mark the giving off
310 observations taken at seaham COLLIERY
of gas j and it is well known that gas is frequently found in colliery work-
ings before any fall of the barometer commences. It may be urged
that frequently the barometer and gas-check work together; and this is
so to some extent, as particularly instanced between the 5th and 7th of
February; at the same time, however, the water-gauge proves during part
of this time that the pressure was outbye, whilst, had the barometer been
consulted, an inbye pressure would have been indicated. In fact, the
barometer, so far as an indication showing that gas may be expected,
cannot be said to be reliable. Unlike the readings of the water-gauge,
those of the barometer, showing absence of gas, are so widely different
that it is impossible to assume any general rule as to when the presence
of gas may be expected.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
One lesson suggested by the foregoing water-gauge, barometer, and
gas-check readings is, that as an instrument for the use of all connected
with colliery operations, the wTater-gauge may be found to be preferable
to the barometer; and that if a water-gauge is connected wTith a sealed
up working, its readings indicate nearly accurately the giving off or other-
wise of gas in a colliery, which the barometer fails to do.
If the above system of ascertaining when gas may be expected to be
given off in mines can be further substantiated, and put into actual use
at collieries, it will doubtless prove of much greater service than placing
too much reliance on an instrument so uncertain in its action in indicating
gas as the barometer.
Many other comparisons might be made, and the Council, in acceding
to an expressed desire to have the whole of the valuable diagrams
printed that had been prepared of the experiments, have placed it in the
power of the members to multiply these comparisons to any length, and
no doubt much valuable information may be obtained thereby.
The object of this paper is not to propose any decided theory, but
simply to place before the members the results from a number of experi-
ments which have been made at great cost and trouble.
These are perhaps the only series of readings published, that contain
such a variety of information obtained at the same or nearly the same
moment of time, and, therefore, the contribution may prove valuable if
only for that circumstance.
discussion—observations taken at seaham colliery. 311
The President said, it was a very interesting paper, and as it was
intimately connected with another very valuable paper, namely, the one by
Mr. Lindsay Wood " On the Pressure of Gas in the Solid Coal," it was
desirable that the two questions should be discussed together.
Mr. J. DAC4LISH said, he was sure the meeting was very much in-
debted to Mr. Corbett for the great pains and care he had taken in
regard to the observations which he had so minutely laid before them,
and also for the pains and care he had taken in analyzing the results
of those observations, and in bringing before them so clearly the con-
clusions to which he had arrived. He might mention that many years
ago he made a series of experiments at Hetton Collieries, with the view
of ascertaining and recording the pressure of gas and the variations of
the barometer; and the results he arrived at were precisely such as were
given by Mr. Corbett, namely, that there was no connection whatever between
the variations in the barometer and the prevalence of gas in the galleries
of the mine; and that, as Mr. Corbett had shown them, the gas appeared
so long before the barometer indicated any change that practically it was
of no value; indeed, the gas had both come and disappeared before any
variation in the atmosphere was recorded by the barometer.
Mr. Lindsay Wood thought there was a difference in principle between
his paper and that by Mr. Corbett. The latter was a record of facts
showing the pressure of gas in hermetically sealed working places of a
mine, while his was a record of experiments showing the pressure of gas
contained in the coal itself. The area of the workings which were sealed
up in the Maudlin Seam were of a considerable extent, several hundred
acres, whereas the pipe which connected these workings with the atmos-
pheric air was of very small area, which all tended to make a most
sensitive instrument for indicating any variation in the bulk of the
gas or air contained in the large area of workings, the sensitive-
ness of which would be in direct proportion to the difference of the
cubical contents of the bulk compared with the area of the pipe through
which the bulk was connected with the atmosphere, and in this case
the difference was enormous. The experiments which he (Mr. Wood) had
made were undertaken for three purposes:—(1) To ascertain whether
there was any relation between the issue of gas from the pores of the
solid coal and the variations of the barometer; (2) to ascertain, if possible,
what quantity of gas was being given off in different seams of coal per
square foot of face exposed; and (3) to ascertain to what extent the issue
of gas varied after certain periods of exposure of the surface of the coal.
The results showed that there was no relation whatever between the varia-
YOL XXX 11,-1833. J J
312 discussion—observations taken at seaham colliery
tions of the barometer and the temperature with the quantity of gas
evolved; also that the places where the pressure of the gas in the coal had
been highest did not seem to give off the greatest quantity of gas, and
there appeared to be no connection whatever between the length of the
hole and these quantities. In the experiment at Eppleton the hole was
bored into the face of the coal 3 feet G inches, leaving only 18 inches of
solid coal between the registering gauge and the space where the gas was
allowed to accumulate; and yet the pressure reached 54| lbs. With
respect to the quantity of gas given out in the different seams of coal, it
varied very considerably. In one case there was as much as six cubic
feet of gas per hour per square foot of surface, whilst in another in-
stance there was not more than from a half to three-quarters of a cubic foot
per hour. Further experiments, however, were required to ascertain
definitely the quantity of gas given off by a given area of a face of work-
ing coal, as the experiments in this case showed that it not only varied in the
same hole, but varied during different hours in the same hole. In one case,
at Eppleton, the quantity of gas coming from the coal increased after six
days' exposure to 11 '14 cubic feet per hour. After an exposure of five
days the quantity given off increased rather than decreased, and after that
it alternately increased and decreased, and it increased and decreased
both with the rise and the fall of the barometer, showing that the baro-
meter did not affect it in the slightest degree.
Mr. William Cochrane considered that the barometer was merely
indicating the atmospheric changes, but the water-gauge was indicating the
pressure inside the isolated workings. Probably the fire was not extinguished
when the experiments were made, and they had no analyses of the gases.
Therefore, there may have been outbursts of gas going on at the same
time. In fact, the condition of things inside the supposed gasometer
seemed to be so varying that he would not expect the barometer and
the water-gauge to correspond. The greater sensitiveness of the water-
gauge in indicating fluctuations of pressure, compared with the tardiness
of the barometer, was due to the longer column of fluid used in the former.
Professor Herschel said, the same comment as that made by Mr.
Cochrane also arose in his mind when Mr. Corbett's paper was being read.
It had occurred to him that the sealed-up chamber in which the water-gauge
was registering the pressure, defined the pressure of a great mixture of
gases as if they formed one single body; while in the galleries of the
mine there wras also a different collection of gases, of which the barometer
showed the pressure as a single body; and the discharge of fire-damp out
of the confined chamber would depend upon the pressure of the fire-damp
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 818
which formed part of what the water-gauge indicated rather than upon
the water-gauge pressure; and, as Mr. Cochrane had said, it would be
necessary to have an analysis of the gases in the goaf so as to ascertain
the fire-damp pressure there; and they would equally require to know the
tension of fire-damp in the galleries of the mine. They could not expect
\ the gas-check to copy or simulate exactly the changes of either the water-
gauge or the barometer, but only the changes of pressure of fire-damp in
the mine and in the goaf. Mr. Mallard, in his discussion of Mr. Wood's
paper, had shown that the tension of fire-damp in the coal was the cause
of its gas pressure quite independently of any atmospheric pressure, and
the amount of fire-damp in the air was the question that had to be closely
investigated. He thought that Mr. Wood's experiments were especially
valuable as they had shown the pressure of fire-damp in the coal, and
how gas would come out of the coal itself, by using gauges in which the
interfering effects of air and other gases were excluded. Still there was
no doubt they had an enormous accumulation of matter before them
which w^ould furnish them with plentiful results for further experiment
and inquiry.
Mr. Henry Hall (Inspector of Mines) said, that at the former dis-
cussion on Mr. Wood's paper the views of some of the members seemed
to be that the very large pressure in the coal was due to a column of
water, and that the amount of that pressure could be measured by the
depth of the pit. But this seemed to be connected with a practical
difficulty, because in Lancashire for instance, in the deepest seams,
where there was a very great pressure of gas, the coal was perfectly
dry and there was no water found at all. Could not this very high pres-
sure be explained from the fact that, when the coal was forming and decay
was taking place, and perhaps before that decay was complete, some im-
permeable strata were placed over the coal, and a great pressure was thus
bottled up which corresponded to that found in the coal at the present
time? With respect to the volume of gas issuing from the coal he
thought it must depend on the nature of the coal. They found that in
dangerous seams the gas comes out very rapidly, because the coal was
open in its nature, and Mr. Wood's experiments seemed to show that the
different seams varied very much in the quantity of gas given out, and
that the dense seams appeared to give out the least amount of gas. With
regard to the varying pressure which the gas exerted from time to time,
he thought it would be found to be due to a varying atmospheric pressure,
rhere was one other matter which he should like to mention. Mr. Wood
*ad told them that, in one of his experiments, two feet from the face of
314 discussion—observations taken at seaham colliery
the coal there was something like 54 lbs. of pressure on the square inch.
He thought it was very important to consider the effect of common shots
or blown-out shots under circumstances of that kind. If there was that
immense pressure immediately behind the face of the coal there must
be great danger if any vacuum was set up by a shot. With the view of
testing the point he had made an experiment which had satisfied him
of the danger he referred to. The experiment consisted of firing charges
of gunpowder from a small cannon fixed at the end of a boiler 36 feet long
and 6 feet diameter. It was found that a charge of half-a-pound of
powder fired in this way showed, by Richard's indicator, a vacuum set up
inside the boiler equal to from 2\ to 3 lbs. on the square inch, and this
vacuum was set up not only at the end of the boiler close to the cannon,
but also along its sides towards the exit ends. That was a very impor-
tant matter, and he should be very glad if some of the members would
give them some information on the point.
Mr. Wood said, Mr. Hall had thrown out the suggestion that the
pressure due to a column of water should have been added to the experi-
ments. Since the paper had been read and prior to it being printed that
had been done, and the result was given in Table E., and he thought it
proved that there was no connection between the pressure that was shown to
exist in the coal and the pressure due to a column of water the height of
the over-lying strata. In the experiment at Boldon the pressure due to a
column of water Avas 549 lbs., and the pressure of gas varied from 17 lbs.
to 461 lbs. He quite agreed with Mr. Hall that the extreme pressure
of gas in the coal had no relation with the variations of the barometrical
column and the temperature, but that such variations were most likely
due to the formation of the gases, as already described, and not to any
action of water, as the seams were perfectly dry. As to the pressure of
the barometer being taken at the same time as the pressure of the gas in
the holes, he submitted that was the proper time to take it, and not
thirty-six hours before or after the variations occurred. It showed the
actual pressure and the barometrical changes at the same time as the
change of pressure wTas taking place in the bore-hole.
Mr. T. W. Bunning thought it was only right that he should point
out the fact that the paper showed that the wTater-gauge was not placed
anywhere near where the gas-check was placed. They would see that
the gas coming out in the gas-check from the goaf, where there Avas no
fire, was anticipated and recorded almost at the same time by the water-
gauge in the other part of the pit, which was hermetically sealed.
Therefore the simultaneousness of these two readings was, lie thought,
on that account very significant.
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 315
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, that Mr. Wood had observed in the
concluding remarks to his paper that he hoped these experiments would lead
to more elaborate research, and he thought he would forgive him (Mr. S.)
when he said he had only just touched the fringe of the subject. It was
really one to which a man might devote his whole lifetime. They had
' to consider the origin of gas in coal as well as the conditions under which
it was found, and he would suggest that further experiments should be
made to elucidate this subject. One direction of the research might
be as to the natural flow of gas from the face of the strata without
boring into it. In Mr. Wood's experiments it appeared that the face of
the coal was covered up by an impervious coating of cement. That was
very well so far as it went, but he thought the natural flow of gas from
the face might be better tested by going up to some hitch where a
natural barrier was found, and the pressure there wTould probably be much
greater than where there was an artificial covering such as Mr. Wood
had applied. It might also be tested by stopping a passage or a series of
passages in the coal without boring into the coal at all. Probably by closing
up some of the drifts and measuring they wrould get more accurately
the natural flow of gas from the face. The questions raised by Mr. Wood
were not merely connected with the amount of gas found in the coal itself,
but also with such interesting subjects as blowers and outbursts. The
outbursts of gas were much more prevalent in Yorkshire than in Durham,
but he did not think that the pressure was higher in the former than in
the latter county. He believed it was rather to be accounted for from
the fact that in Yorkshire they adopted the long-wall system of working,
whilst in Durham they practised the board and pillar system. Mr.
Mallard seemed to agree with that view. He said—" In mines subject
to this description of accident it would be most desirable to drive galleries
deeply into the solid in advance of the working face and to make frequent
measurements of the distribution of pressure, so as to check the advance
of the workings when the rate of the increase of pressure exceeded a certain
limit. This would be perhaps the most certain means of preventing
these disastrous accidents." This was very much the view he (Mr. S.)
enunciated in recommending the board and pillar system instead of the
long-wall to prevent these sudden outbursts. Another highly important
question to consider was as to whether it was not possible to render prac-
tically useful the large amount of gas which had been shown by Mr.
Wood to be available in the coal itself. Before Mr. Wood's experiments
they never realized the fact that the gas was under such very high
pressure ; and it was now worthy of consideration whether that gas
316 discussion-observations taken at seaham colliery
could not be collected and used for the creation of mechanical power in
the same way as gas was now used for gas engines. He pointed out that
the greatest quantity of water was found at a depth of 100 fathoms, and
he was inclined to think with Sir George Elliot, that the greatest quantity
of gas would also be found at that depth. He had very great pleasure in
recognising the value of Mr. Wood's contribution to their volumes, and
he hoped the experiments made by Mr. Corbett and Mr. Wood would lead
to further study and research, especially on the points he had mentioned.
Mr. Cochrane considered that the suggested experiments to as-
certain whether the gas pressure could be applied for the creation of
mechanical power would be of very great value. He should like to ask
Mr. Bell, who was a gentleman of much experience, whether the carburet ted
hydrogen gas in the strata was capable of being liquefied or solidified, to
account for such extreme pressures as were to be found in outbursts ?
Mr. Isaac Lowthian Bell replied that it would either be in a state of
great tension as a gas or be in the form of liquid. He did not know what
amount of pressure would be required, coupled with lowness of tempera-
ture, to produce liquidity of the hydro-carbons. If he remembered rightly,
Mons. Caille had stated that the hydro-carbons resisted all his attempts to
reduce them to the liquid state.
Mr. Cochrane asked Mr. Wood if he had tried the length of time at
which the pressure of gas became exhausted ?
Mr. Wood replied that if the bore-hole was stopped up he imagined
that the gas would accumulate until the pressure came to its original
pressure in the coal. For twenty-two days there did not seem to be any
decrease, or at all events very little decrease.
Mr. T. W. Bunning drew the attention of the meeting to the concluding
remarks in Mr. Mallard's paper:—"Questions as to the mode of existence
and mode of disengagement of fire-damp have thus acquired a solid
foundation, upon which further experimenters can build a more perfect
theory. It would seem that the most useful thing to do now is to deter-
mine, by experiments, the value of the co-efficients designated by the
letters JcQ and a for a number of mines; that is, the volume of gas given
off per unit of surface at the face at any time, and the co-efficient of the
permeability of the coal for the gas. These are the two data which
constantly regulate, with the maximum pressure in the solid coal, the
disengagement of gas." If these points were solved with any degree of
authority it would throw a vast light on the quantity of gas occurring in
different pits under different circumstances and modes of working.
during the time the maudlin seam was sealed up. 317
Professor Herschel thought it would also be desirable to determine
the capacity of coal for gas in just the same way as it is usual to determine
the capacity of a substance for heat. Mr. Mallard had shown so clearly
(at page 125 of the translation of his paper in these Transactions, and in
the following tables of figures, in which the results of Mr. Wood's experi-
' ments were discussed) that the relations of gas-flow and pressure in a
solid face of coal are exactly those of the thermal conduction and tempera-
ture in a mass of unequally hot rock or other substance, that, had the
simplicity of this relation occurred to him, on reading the translation of Mr.
Mallard's paper, as really founded, as it no doubt is, in a natural and not
merely in a conjectural resemblance between the modes of occupation of
solid bodies by gas and by heat, he would have easily devised, and would
by this time have made, some experimental measurements in the directions
pointed out by the concluding words of Mr. Mallard's paper. A deter-
mination of coal's gas-capacity or co-efficient of absorption for fire-damp
at different pressures would answer Mr. Cochrane's question as to the
state in which the gas exists in the coal at high tensions by showing what
quantity and what weight of gas were contained in a given bulk of coal at
a given gas pressure of its absorptive fixation or confinement there. It
was a point not mentioned in the closing paragraph of Mr. Mallard's
paper, which, like the other data which he mentions, it would also be of
great practical importance to determine experimentally if possible.
The President said, the time had now arrived to close the discussion
for the present, and he begged to propose a vote of thanks to Mr.
Corbett and Mr. Wood for their attendance and papers. One of the
chief points of discussion had been as to whether they were to depend
upon their old friend the barometer to give them warning of danger in
time for safety. To a very great extent Mr. Wood's paper seemed to have
disposed of that question as far as regarded the pressure of gas from the
solid coal, and Mr. Corbett's paper as far as the pressure of gas from the
goaf was concerned. Mr. Wood had advocated the finding, if possible,
of a barometer more sensitive than one of mercury. Such a one, he
believed, was in use at the Naworth Collieries.
The meeting was then adjourned until the next day, and the members
proceeded by special train to inspect the works belonging to the Barrow
Haematite Steel Company, after which they returned to the Market Hall
where they were entertained at luncheon by the Directors of the Company.
318 barrow meeting.—proceedings.
The following works and mines were thrown open to the members
during the week:—
The Shipbuilding and Engineering Works belonging to the Barrowr
Shipbuilding Company.
The extensive New Docks of the Furness Railway Company.
The Jute Works of the Barrow Flax and Jute Company.
The Engineering Works of Messrs. Westray, Copeland, and Company.
The Shipbuilding Works of Messrs. Caird, Purdie, and Company.
The Steel Wire Works of Messrs. Cookes and Swinnerton.
The Iron Works of the North Lonsdale Iron and Steel Company at
Ul vers ton.
The Boiler, Bridge, and Girder Works of Messrs. Woodall, Marley, and
Company.
The Foundry and Engineering Works of Messrs. Waddington and
Longbottom.
The Saw Mills and Brick Works belonging to the Executors of the
late Mr. William Gradwell.
The North Lancashire Patent Machine Brick and Tile Works of Messrs.
B. Carruthers and Company.
proceedings. 3 1 9
PROCEEDINGS.
ADJOURNED GENERAL MEETING, JULY 4th, 1833, IX THE TOWN
HALL, BARROW-IN-FURNESS.
GEORGE BAKER FORSTER, Esq., in the Chair.
The members assembled at ten o'clock, and the following paper was
read :—
THE STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
By J. D. KENDALL, C.E., F.G.S.
Although this field has been worked extensively, and for a very long
time, yet comparatively little has been made known to the public re-
garding either its extent or the number and the nature of the seams
found in its different parts. Mr. Dunn's Paper " On the Coal-fields of
Cumberland," printed in the Transactions of this Institute,* is the most
extensive contribution to the subject that has yet been made; but it is
only short, and relates more especially to the " probability of coal being
found under the New Red Sandstone which surrounds the city of Carlisle."
A little information is also given in "An Account of the Coal Mines near
Whitehaven," by Joshua Dixon, but it extends only to the Whitehaven
Colliery. The dearth of available information generally is fairly shown by
the meagre notice that the field has received in Hull's " Coal-fields of
Great Britain," where all that is said on the Cumberland coal-field occupies
about three pages only. Not merely among outsiders, but also on the
* Vol. VIII., pp. 141-154.
vol. xxxii.-1883. K K
320 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
coal-field itself is this want of knowledge felt, so that, it is hoped, the
present attempt to initiate a different state of things may not be unac-
ceptable to the members of this Institute.
POSITION AND EXTENT.
A few years ago a borehole was put down at St. Bees, which proved
the coal-field to exist there, but it has not yet been found to the south of
that place. From St. Bees northwards to Maryport, the Coal-measures
may be said to extend inland for an average distance of about 4^
miles. They also lie under the sea between those points, but for what
distance is unknown, although at Whitehaven they have been worked
seaward for about two miles from the coast.* At Maryport the coal-field,
so far as it is known, leaves the coast and extends inland, its northern
boundary passing near Aspatria and High Blaithwaite, in the parish of
Bolton. In passing north-eastward from Maryport, the coal-field becomes
gradually narrower on to Gilcrux, where it is only If miles wide. Thence
widening a little it continues in nearly a straight line to Bolton New
Houses. There the field for practical purposes may be said to terminate,
for although the Coal-measures extend to Rose Castle, yet, so far as is at
present known, this extension does not contain any important seam of
coal, and therefore it will only be very generally dealt with in this
investigation. The extent of the coal-field is known only approximately
for two reasons:—
1. —Part of it is covered by the sea, and cannot therefore be
seen.
2. —Part of it is also covered by Permian rocks of such a thickness
that they have not yet been pierced, so that the extent of
Coal-measures under those rocks is at present a matter of
mere conjecture.
The area of that portion of the coal-field which is known, and which
lies between Bolton Low Houses and St. Bees, exclusive of the coal
under the sea, is about 91 square miles, its length being about 28 miles,
and its greatest breadth G miles.
RELATION TO OTHER FORMATIONS.
The basement rocks of the district are of the Silurian age, and they
consist of two formations:—
1, —Volcanic Series of Borrowdale. ) .
2, -Skiddaw Slates. jSJunans.
* Report of Coal Commission,Vol. II., 1871.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 321
These Silurians are surmounted transgressively by rocks of Carboni-
ferous age, which, among other formations, include the Coal-measures, as
shown below.
1.—Coal-measures. j
..-Millstone Grit. I Carboniferous R ^
3#—Carboniferous Limestone, reposing (
on Silurians. j
These three formations, with the exception of the upper part of the
Coal-measures, are conformable to one another.
Overlying the Carboniferous System are the Permians, which include
three formations:—
1. —St. Bees Sandstone.
2. —Magnesian Limestone. I Permian System.
3. —Breccia. j
The various members of the Permians are quite conformable to one
another, but they are unconformable to the Carboniferous rocks, as is
shown by the Breccia at different times reposing upon each of the three
members of the Carboniferous rocks.
The chief features of all these rocks were described by the author in
his paper " On the Haematite Deposits of West Cumberland," published
in the Transactions of the Institute,* and therefore it is unnecessary to
notice them again here.
The areas occupied by each of these systems iu the neighbourhood of
the coal-field are shown in Fig. 1, Plate XXXII. Fig. 2 in the same plate
exhibits a generalized section through the district, for the purpose of
making clear the relations of the three rock systems to one another.
STRATIGRAPHICAL CONFORMATION.
The position of the Coal-measures vertically with reference to other
formations being established, it will be necessary now to consider some-
what exhaustively their character and constitution.
Naturally, the Coal-measures are divisible into two parts, namely:—
1. —Whitehaven Sandstone, or Upper Coal-measures.
2. —Lower Coal-measures (reposing on Millstone Grit).
The Whitehaven Sandstone is unconformable to the Lower Coal-
measures, and on that account it was formerly considered to belong to
the Permians; but there is now no doubt about its Carboniferous age.
As will presently appear, it contains several seams of coal, some of which
have been extensively worked in different parts of the district.
* Vol. XXVIII., p. 109,
322 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
To arrive at a correct idea of the relation of the Whitehaven Sand-
stone to the Lower Coal-measures, it is necessary to correlate the seams
of coal found in these latter measures in different parts of the district
where the Whitehaven Sandstone occurs. This will now be done, and,
that the comparison may be made as complete as possible, the detailed
results of a number of sinkings and borings in various parts of the
district will be given. The position of the several pits, of which sections
will be given, are shown in Fig. 1, Plate XXXII.
The Lower Coal-measures consist mainly of sandstone and shales,
the remainder of the mass being made up of coal and ironstone. The
prevailing colours of the sandstone are white, sometimes streaked with
black, and bluish grey. The shales are light grey, bluish grey, and
black. In the following journals there are a number of local names
used, which it may be well to explain here, as otherwise the journals
wTould lose much of their value.
Local Names of Akgillaceous Rocks.
Sill or thill means fire-clay. The word thill is also sometimes applied
to the floor of the mine, irrespective of the kind of material
occurring below a coal seam.
Gaum, comb, or coam.—Sandy shale. When the word "stone" is
used in conjunction with any of these words, as " stone comb" or
" comb stone," it implies a degree of hardness approaching that
of sandstone.
Metal and metal stone.—Shale; the latter being hard and stone-like.
Tom.—Hard bituminous shale, sometimes sandy and micaceous,
occurring in some coal seams, and having occasionally thin layers
of coal in it. The use of this wrord is restricted to Dearham,
Maryport, Greysouthen, and Broughton Moor.
Scram.—Black shale, with thin layers of coal running through it.
It occurs at the bottom of some of the coal seams. This
expression is mostly confined to the same district as "Tom."
Gash.—Soft black shale in very thin small pieces lacking coherence;
can be crushed between the fingers into a powder.
Rattler. —A very bituminous shale.
Local Names of Siliceous Bocks.
Post.—Sandstone, usually hard.
Grey Beds.—Whitish sandstone streaked and spotted with black.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 828
Section of Whinnyhill Pit, Cleatoii Moob.
Section below Main Band, No. 2 Pit, Cleatok Mook.
324 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Section below Main Hand, No. 2 Pit, Cleatoe Mook.—Continued.
Section of Ceoft Pit, Whitehaven, above Bannock Band.
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND~COAL-FIELD. 325
Section of Ceoft Pit, Whitehaven, above Bannock Band.—Continued.
326 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
Section below Bannock Band, Wellington Pit, WhitEhaten.
Skeleton Section of Borehole put down in Wellington Pit, Whitehaven,
below Six-Qitarters Coal.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 327
Skeleton Section of Seams as determined by John Pit. Harrington.
Section of John Pit, Workington, to Main Band.
Section of Henry Pit, Workington, Below Main Band.
328 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Section op Henry Pit, Workington, below Main Hand.—Continued.
Section oe Mill-bank Pit, Greysouthen, between Ten-Quarters and
Cannel Band.
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 329
Section of Strata below Cannel Band, Greysouthen.
830 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Section of Henry Pit, Broug-hton Moor, between Ten-Quarters and
Gannel Band.
Section of Bertha Pit, Broughton Moor, below the Cannel Band.
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 331
Section of Ellenboroijgh Pit, Maryport.
332 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Section of Ellenborough Pit, Maryport.—Continued.
Section of Bore in Strata below Cannel Band, Ellenborough Pit.
STRUCTURE OF TTTE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 333
Section of Bore in Strata below Cannel Band, Ellenborougii
Section of John Pit, Dearham, below Ten-Quarters Seam.
334 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Section of John Pit, DeaehAm, below Ten-Quarters Seam.—Continued.
Section of Rosegill Pit, Bullgill, to Ten-Quarters Seam.
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 385
Section of Ellen Pit, Bullgill, below Ten-Quarters Seam.
Section of Aspatria No. 3 Pit.
8'3g structure of the cumberland coal-field.
Section of Aspatbia No. 3 Pit.—Continued.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 337
<10N OF BO BE BELOW YABD BAND, FOOT OF AlE PlT, No. 1 PlT, ASPATIUA.
-~ . i_____-^....iu rt__i . Thickness Dentil Coal
338 STRUCTURE OP THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Section of Bore below Yard Band, Foot of Air Pit, No. 1 Pit
Aspatria.—Continued.
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 339
Section of No. 2 Pit, Bolton Colliery.
340 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
To enable a comparison of these sections to be made with greater
certainty and ease they are given side by side in another form on Plate
XXXIII. The names there given to the various seams are those by which
they are actually known in the different districts where the sections
are taken, and the correlation of the seams, according to the judgment of
the writer, is shown by means of the fine lines connecting the different
seams. This drawing has been prepared by uniting in one column for
each locality the details given in the foregoing journals. For example,
the Whitehaven section was obtained by taking the details of Croft Pit as
far down as the Bannock Band and the details of Wellington Pit from the
Bannock Band down to the Six-quarters Coal. Below the Six-quarters
Coal the information was obtained by a borehole in Wellington Pit. The
other sections, for Cleator Moor, Harrington, and Workington, etc., were
prepared in a similar way, and all the details are given in the preceding-
journals.
By reference to Plate XXXIII. it will be seen that the Yard Band
is the seam which most nearly preserves its name throughout the district.*
The Lickbank of Greysouthen is the Hamilton Band of Workington,
the Three-feet Band of Harrington, the Six-quarters Coal of Whitehaven,
and the Low Bottom Band of Cleator Moor. The Lickbank seam at
Broughton Moor and Dearham appear to be two different seams. They
are also different from the Lickbank of Greysouthen.
The Main Band of Whitehaven, Cleator Moor, and Workington are
no doubt one and the same seam. In other parts of the district this
seam is known as the Cannel and Metal Band.
The Bannock Band of Cleator Moor and Whitehaven corresponds to
the Little Main of Workington and to the Eat tier Band of other parts of
the district.
The Five-feet Coal of Cleator Moor is the Moor Banks Band of
Workington and the White Metal Band of Ellenborough.
As these correlations differ in one most important matter from that
which is generally accepted in the district, it will be necessary to give the
reasons which have induced the change. It is generally considered that
the Moor Banks Band of Workington and the Ten-quarters Coal of
Ellenborough, Bullgill, Dearham, Broughton Moor, and Greysouthen, are
* At Whitehaven there is a Yard Band above the Bannock Band, but the seam
which corresponds to the Yard Band of the other parts of the district has not been
worked there. At Workington the Yard Band seems to be the Little Main of other
areas.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 341
one and the same seam. It is also considered that the Bannock Band of
Whitehaven is the same seam 'as the Bannock Band of Cleator Moor.
Both these correlations are doubtless correct, but it is further thought
that the Ten-quarters Coal, in the first-mentioned districts, is the same
seam as the Bannock Band of Whitehaven and Cleator Moor. This
seems to be wrong, the Ten-quarters Coal being more probably the Five-
feet Coal of Cleator Moor, whilst the Bannock Band of that district and
of Whitehaven corresponds to the Rattler Band of Ellenborough and the
other places above-mentioned. The reasons for this alteration, which
affects the relative position of all the seams above the Main Band at both
Whitehaven and Cleator Moor, are as follows:—
1.—On the new correlation there is a closer correspondence in the
distance between the different seams than there is on the old
view as shown below:—
Ellekborough.
Fms. Ft. In.
From the Ten-quarters Coal to the Rattler Band is ... 6 G 3
„ „ Cannel and Metal Band 27 2 7
Cleator Moor.
From the Five-feet Coal to the Bannock Band is...... 6 5 8
„ „ Main Band.........26 1 8
It will be seen from this statement that there is only 19 fathoms
2 feet between the Bannock Band and Main Band at Cleator Moor, as
compared with 27 fathoms 2 feet 7 inches between the Ten-quarters
Coal and the Cannel and Metal Band at Ellenborough.
—The sections of the seams in the different districts are more
nearly alike on the new view than on the old one.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 343
The partings in the Ten-quarters Coal at Ellcnborough are more
numerous than in the Five-feet Coal of Cleator Moor, according to the
above sections, but they are variable in the Ten-quarters Coal; for
example, on the north side of the Ellenborough Colliery the aggregate
thickness of the partings in the Ten-quarters Coal have been as much as
6 feet 6 inches, whilst on the south side of that colliery they are now
only about 6 or 7 inches. In some parts of the district there is only one
parting in the seam.
3_The general succession of the seams and of the interbedded strata
also demands the suggested alteration, as will be seen on
reference to the detailed sections and also to Plate XXXIII.
The only piece of evidence which is against the new correlation is the
thickness of the seams. For instance, the Bannock Band corresponds more
nearly in thickness to the Ten-quarters Coal than it does .to the Eattler
Band, but that fact, unsupported by any other, is not of much value,
because seams sometimes vary considerably in thickness, even in short
distances; for example, the Five-feet Band of Cleator Moor, so-called
from the fact of its there being on the average about five feet thick, is at
Croft Pit, Whitehaven, only about a foot thick, and in the section of
Wellington Pit, in the same colliery, it does not appear at all.
Having thus determined the correlation of the seams in the Lower
Measures it becomes possible to ascertain the relation thereto of the White-
haven Sandstone. That formation, like the Lower Measures, consists mainly
of sandstones and shales, but in the Whitehaven Sandstone these rocks are
generally of a purple-grey colour, although in some places they include
light sandstones and also light and dark coloured shales such as prevail
in the Lower Coal-measures, as will be seen on reference to the lower part
of some of the detailed sections. Typical sections of the purple-grey sand-
stones of this formation may be seen in Bransty Cliffs, on the north side
of Whitehaven, also in the upper part of Garlic Gill, near Dearham, and
iu the banks of the River Waver, near Bolton Low Houses. Among
colliers of the district the purply-grey colour, which is characteristic of
the Whitehaven Sandstone, is frequently called "brown," a fact which it
is necessary to bear in mind in this investigation, as it is essential to a
correct translation of the sections.
Referring now to the sections on Plate XXXIIL, the unconformity of
the two chief members of the Coal-measures will be seen at a glance, but
its amount will be better understood by comparing the thickness of rocks
mterposed at different places betw een the base of the Whitehaven
Sandstone and any seam of coal in the Lower Measures which is found
vol. xxxii.-18SH, N N
344 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
in every part of the district. The seam which is best adapted for this
purpose is that which goes by the name of the Yard Band at Cleator
Moor, Maryport, Gilcrux, Dcarham, Aspatria, and Mealsgate. The
height above that seam, of the base of the Whitehaven Sandstone, at six
different places in the field, is given below:—
Fms. Ft. In.
Whinnylrill Pit, Cleator Moor ...... 75 1 8
Croft Pit, Whitehaven ......... 81 3 0
Ellenborough Pit, Maryport ...... 93 3 6
Crosby Pit, Bullgill............ 64 4 0
No. 3 Pit, Aspatria............ 36 3 3
No. 2 Pit, Bolton ............ 1111
The unconformity is thus placed beyond doubt, but it is further
illustrated in Plates XXXIV., XXXV., and XXXVI. It is also shown
by the fact indicated on Plate XXXII., that at Rowrah and other places
in that neighbourhood, the Whitehaven Sandstone rests directly on the
Millstone Grit.
From the way in which the Whitehaven Sandstone cuts off, one after
another, the upper seams of the Lower Coal-measures, it would appear
that in the area extending eastward from High Hall toward Rose Castle
only the very lowest seams in the field can exist in the Lower Coal-
measures, although it is likely that the Crow Band and Master Band of
Bolton will there exist in the Whitehaven Sandstone.
The development of the Whitehaven Sandstone is variable. In some
parts of the district it consists, as at Rosegill for example, of purple-grey
sandstone and shales, whilst at other places, as in the neighbourhood of
Maryport and Bolton, it contains in its lower part a considerable thickness
of light and dark coloured shales similar to those which form the bulk of
the Lower Coal-measures, from which indeed they would be indistinguish-
able but for the fact that the purple-grey sandstones and shales come on
below them. In these light and dark coloured shales there are a number
of coal seams, but only two that have hitherto been considered worth
working. In the Bolton district these seams are known as the Crow
Band and the Master Band. At Aspatria, Bank-end Pit, they are called
respectively the Crow Band and the Ten-quarters Coal. In the Ellen-
borough, Ewanrigg, and Flimby collieries both these seams exist, but only
the upper one (the Crow Band of Bolton and Aspatria) has been worked.
It is known in these collieries by three different names, the Yard Band,
the Whitecroft seam, and the Senhouse High Band.*
* Since this was written the author has had an opportunity of perusing a paper on
the West Cumberland Coal Trade, by the late Mr. Isaac Fletcher (Transactions of the
Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archa3ological Society, 1878), from
which it appears that Mr. Fletcher also was of opinion that the Senhouse High Band
was in the Whitehaven Sandstone, but he does not mention the Bolton and Aspatria
seams in the same rocks.
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 345
It is also probable that the Crow Coal of King Pit, in the Whitehaven
Colliery, is the higher of these two seams, that is, the Crow Band of
Bolton; but that is a mere conjecture, as there is no detailed section of
the pit. The Whitehaven Sandstone, however, occupies the surface of
the ground for some distance around King Pit, and, judging from its
thickness in the sea brows to the westward, it probably extends farther
down the shaft at King Pit than the position of the Crow Coal in the
skeleton Seam-Section which has been preserved. Moreover, there is
not a seam in the Lower Coal-measures in any other part of the field so
far above the Main Band as this "Crow" Coal. The "Little" Band of
Kino* Pit is also likely to be in the Whitehaven Sandstone, and may be
the correlative of the Master Band of Bolton and of the Ten-quarters
Coal of Aspatria.
The areas occupied by the Whitehaven Sandstone and the Lower Coal-
measures, immediately below the superficial deposits, in the district more
especially under consideration, are shown in Fig. 1, Plate XXXII. It is,
however, necessary to bear in mind that both formations pass in below
the Permians, as shown in Section No. 1, Plate XXXIV.
The correlation of the seams in the different parts of the coal-field
being now established, a few instances will be given of the variations in
the thickness of the strata between corresponding beds at different places.
The Senhouse High Band in the Ellenborough Colliery is 17 fathoms
1 foot 11 inches above the base of the Whitehaven Sandstone. At No. 3
Pit, Aspatria, the corresponding seam is 25 fathoms above the base of the
purple grey rocks, whilst at No. 2 Pit, Bolton Colliery, this thickness is
increased to 33 fathoms. From this it is clear that there is a thickening
of these beds in a north-easterly direction.
In the Lower Coal-measures it is also found that some of the beds
increase in thickness towards the north-east, as for example the strata
between the Cannel Band and the Yard Band as shown below:—
Depth from Cannel Band to Yard Band.
Fms. Ft. Ins.
At Ellen Pit, Gilcrux ......... 10 0 0
„ Bank End Pit, Aspatria ...... 20 0 0
„ No. 3 Pit „ ...... 25 3 0
„ Mealsgate ............ 28 3 2
This north-easterly thickening of the measures corresponds to that
which is found in the sandy and shaly beds of the Carboniferous limestone,
and which was pointed out by the author in his paper " On the Haematite
Deposits of Furness."*
* Transactions of the Institute, Vol. XXXI., p. 211.
346 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
Then again, at Whitehaven it is found that the measures lying between
the Bannock Band and the Main Band thicken in the same direction as
indicated hereunder:—
Depth fbom Bannock Band to Main Band.
At St. Bees Borehole ... ... ... 9 ^) ^
„ Croft Pit............... 10 4 10
» Kells „............... 12 3 4
„ Saltom,,............... 13 3 0
>, King „............... 20 0 0
„ Wellington Pit............ 21 5 7
This thickening appears to cease somewhere near Wellington Pit, for
at William Pit the two bands are only 20 fathoms apart. At Parton they
are not so much. Then again, the Little Main Band and the Main Band
of Workington, which correspond respectively to the Bannock Band and
the Main Band of Whitehaven, are about 28 fathoms apart. Beyond
Workington these seams are known as the Battler Band and the Cannei
and Metal Band respectively, and the distance between them decreases
thence toward the north-east as the following statement will show
Depth from Rattler Band to Cannel Band.
. . -w-*.. « , ^. Fms. Ft. Ins.
At Ellenborough Pit, Maryport ...... 21 2 4
„ Crosby Pit, Bullgill ......... 19 4 4
» E11en „ „ ......... 17 5 8
There also appears to be a thickening of the measures westward in
some parts of the field, for example, the depth from the Main Band to
to the Low Bottom Band at Cleator Moor is 39 fathoms 4 feet, whilst at
Wellington Pit, Whitehaven, the depth between the same seams is
43 fathoms 2 feet 0 inches. Then again at Greysouthen there is
41 fathoms 5 feet 5 inches between those seams, and at Workington
52 fathoms 3 feet.
Between some of the other seams there are similar variations in the
thickness of strata.
In connection with this subject it is curious to notice the relative
proportion of sandstone and shale in the strata of different parts of the
field. The following statement exhibits these proportions in the measures
between the Ten-quarters Coal and the Yard Band at Maryport and at
Bullgill, and also between the corresponding seams at Whitehaven :—
Aggregate Thickness. Total Thickness Proportion
t----*-----* Between of
Of Sandstone. Of Shale. the Seams. Sandstone.
uw„. , „ri tJ , Fms. Ft. Ins. Fms. Ft. Ins. Fms. Ft. Ins.
At Wellington Pit, Whitehaven 17 4 6 20 3 10 38 2 4 46
„ Ellenborough Pit, Maryport 15 1 7 23 5 6 39 1 1 '35
„ Ellen Pit, Bullgill ... 5 1 3 28 3 9 33 5 0 '15
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 317
The hast column shows the proportion of sandstone to the total
thickness of strata between the two seams. It therefore appears that both
the actual quantity of sandstone, and also the proportion it bears to the
total thickness of strata lying between the two seams mentioned, becomes
less and less toward the north-east.
It may also be observed that in any part of the field the proportion of
sandstone is greatest in the upper and lower part of the measures, the
central portion, where the principal coal seams are found, consisting
mainly of shales, the proportion of which decreases both upward and
downward as the sandstone increases. The only exception to this, if an
exception it can be called, is the Main Band Stone at Whitehaven and
Cleator Moor, etc.
THICKNESS OF STRATA.
The Lower Coal-measures are best developed at Maryport and Cleator
Moor, but they are thickest at Workington. From the bottom of the
Whitehaven Sandstone to the Main Band at St. Helens new pit is 92
fathoms or thereabout. In the old Workington Colliery the Hamilton
Band was proved to be about 52^ fathoms below the Main Band. In
Harrington Colliery the mountain limestone was pierced by John Pit
at a depth of 96 fathoms below the Three-feet Band, which, evidently, is
the same seam as the Hamilton Band of Workington, so that if an allowance
be made for the Millstone Grit, and assuming that there is no difference in
the thickness of the strata between the Three-feet Band and the Millstone
Grit at Harrington, and between the Hamilton Band and the Millstone
Grit at Workington, the total thickness of the Lower Coal-measures at
Workington will be about 1,300 feet.
Between Ellenborough Pit and Risehow Old Pit the Whitehaven
Sandstone was pierced by a shaft 50 fathoms deep, and from the bottom
of that shaft a borehole was put dowm 58 fathoms 1 foot 4 inches without
reaching the Senhouse High Band, which, however, judging from other
sections in the neighbourhood, could not be more than four or five
fathoms further. The thickness of the Whitehaven Sandstone there, may
therefore be considered to be about 750 feet. In the neighbourhood of
Mealsgate the Whitehaven Sandstone, above the Senhouse High Band,
has been proved by boring to be certainly 578 feet thick. Below the
Senhouse High Band the thickness of those rocks has been ascertained by
other boreholes and shafts put down in that neighbourhood to be about
200 feet, so that the greatest known thickness of the Upper Coal Forma-
tion in the Bolton district is about 778 feet.
348 STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD.
Taking the Lower Coal-measures at Workington and the "Upper Coal-
measures at Mealsgate, the greatest ascertained total thickness of the
Coal-measures may be set down at about 2,078 feet, as below:—
Feet.
Whitehaven sandstone ......... 778
Lower Coal-measures ......... 1,300
Total ......... 2,078
As, however, all these depths are taken at some distance from the full
dip of the field it is quite possible, and in fact very probable, that both
the upper and lower formation have a greater total thickness than has yet
been proved.
COAL SEAMS.
In taking a general sectional view of the Coal-measures from top to
bottom, one of the first points which strikes an observer is the manner in
which the main seams of coal are placed, so to speak, in the central part
of the mass. Although the measures have a total thickness of over 2,000
feet, yet the whole of the workable seams are included in about 1,200 feet
of them, there being barren ground, in the sense that it does not contain
any seams that are workable, both above and below. In this thickness
there are twelve principal seams, having in the aggregate about 50 feet of
workable coal, exclusive of the metals that occur in them. The greatest
thickness of coal in the Lower Measures is at Cleator Moor. Below is a
statement of the thickness, exclusive of metals, of the seven principal
seams at Ellenborough and at Cleator Moor:—
Ellenborotjgh.
Ft. In.
Hamilton Band ...... 4 0
Virgin Seam ...... 2 6
White Metal Seam...... 2 8
Ten-quarter Coal ...... 7 4
Rattler Band ...... 3 1
Crow Coal and Cannel and
Metal Band ...... 9 10
Yard Band......... 2 3
31 8
Cleator Moor.
Ft. In.
Six-feet Seam ...... 4 7
Four-feet Seam ...... 3 6
Five-feet Seam ...... 4 3
Bannock Band ...... 7 4
Main Band......... 10 6
Yard Band......... 2 8
Low Bottom ...... 2 10
35 8
STRUCTURE OF THE CUMBERLAND COAL-FIELD. 349
The most important seam in the district is that which is known
Cleator Moor, Whitehaven, and Workington as the Main Band.
A section of it, as developed at Whitehaven and Cleator Moor, is as
follows :—
Whitehaven.
Ft. In.
COAL ...... - 0 6
Cash ... - »• - 1 0
COAL 1 8
Metal ......... 0 2
COAL ...... 3 4
Metal ......... 0 2
COAL ......... 3 9
10 7
Cleator Moor.
Ft. In.
COAL | left on ) ... 0 4
Metal I for roof J ... 10
COAL, brassy ...... 2 0
Cash ......... 0 2
COAL ......... 9 0
12 6
North of Workington the metals of this seam begin to increase in
thickness, so that at Risehow and Ellenborough Pits it forms three
distinct seams of coal, which are known as the Crow Coal, the Metal
Band, and the Cannel Band. The Crow Coal and the Metal Band are
close together, but the Metal Band and the Cannel Band are separated, at
the latter colliery, by about four fathoms of. metals. At Crosby Pit,
Bullgill, these seams, the upper one being there called the "Thirty-inch"
Coal, are slightly nearer together than at Ellenborough, but beyond Bull-
gill, in the direction of Bolton, they open out again, so that at Aspatria
the Thirty-inch Seam and the Cannel Band are about ten fathoms apart
(see Plate XXXIII.) The metals separating these seams also thicken
toward the west, for on reference to the same Plate it will be seen that the
Cannel and Metal bands are much farther apart at Ellenborough than they
are at Broughton Moor, whilst at Dearham they are so close together that
they may be looked upon as one seam. As the intermediate metals thicken
toward the north-east the quantity of coal in the seams becomes less and
less as shown below:—
Aggregate Thickness op Coal in the Crow Band and in the Canned and
Metal Bands.
Ft. In.
At Ellenborough Pit ......... 9 10
„ Crosby Pit ............ 9 7
,, Aspatria ... ... ••• ••« 4 11
„ Mealsgate ............ 4 6
350 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
There is here evidence of the thinning of a coal seam in a north-
easterly direction, but in the Yard Band the evidence indicates a Mcheninq
in that direction, as shown below :—
Thickness of Yard Band.
Ft. In.
At Ellenborough, Maryport......... 2 3
,, West Pit, Aspatria ......... 3 q
„ No. 3 Pit, Aspatria ... ...... 49
„ Bolton NTo. 2 Pit ......... 5 q
Some of the seams appear to thicken toward the west, as for example
the Six-quarters Coal. At No. 2 Pit, Cleator Moor, that seam is only
about 3 feet thick, whilst at Wellington Pit, Whitehaven, it is 7 feet
7 inches. Then again at Melgramfitz Pit it is only 2 feet 11 inches,
whilst at Jane Pit, Workington, it is G feet 5 inches.
Sections of some of the seams have already been given, others are as
follows:—
Yard or Main Band of Bolton.
Ft. In.
COAL ......... ! 2
Black stone ... ... >tl 0 4*
COAL ...... ! 8
Parting ...... #< _
COAL ..... ! 7i
Black stone ... ... ... 0 1*
COAL ...... 0 n
5 6
Master Band of Bolton.
Ft. In.
COAL ......... i 6
Band ......... o 3
COAL ..... ... i 6
Band ...... ... 0 4
COAL ......... i 7
5 2
Lickbank Seam of Greysouthen.
Ft. In
COAL ......... 2 2
White metal ...... 0 8
Black metal ...... 0 2
COAL, inferior ...... 0 9
Black metal ...... 0 2
COAL, inferior ...... 0 11
4 10
Little Main Band of Bullgill.
Ft. In.
Rattler ......... 0 4
COAL ......... l 10
2 2
Six Feet Seam of Cleator Moor.
COAL (with J inch parting) 3 0
Black metal ... ... ... 18
COAL ......... 1 8
6 4
* These stone bands disappear in the direction of Gilcrux, where this seam is about
3 feet thick, and clean coal.
structure of the cumberland coal-ftkld. 351
Occasionally the coal seams alter into what is known as "stone coal."
The seam continues of its full thickness, but it changes in mineral character,
a great part of the bituminous matter giving place to siliceous and
aluminous materials. A curious case of this kind occurred in the Crum-
nrock Colliery.f Similar alterations have been met with at Aspatria
West Pit and elsewhere in the district.
Another kind of interference to which the seams are liable is known
as a "nip." The coal in such cases becoming greatly reduced in thickness,
or perhaps disappearing altogether. In the Main Band some very
extensive "nips" have been met with, especially near Isabella Pit, Work-
ington, at Camerton Pit, and at Greysouthen. It is not improbable that
these nips are parts of one great nip which originally had a direction
corresponding very nearly with that of the Derwent Valley.
FAULTS.
The field is intersected by an immense number of faults, some of
which are very large. The most important are shown on Plate XXXIL,
Fig. 1, and also in the Sections Plates XXXIV., XXXV., and XXXVI.
They may be divided into two sets; one set having a direction nearly
east and west, the other bearing nearly north and south. As in other
similar areas the throw of these faults is exceedingly variable, so that it
is no uncommon thing to find a dislocation of 40 or 50 fathoms dying
out altogether within a quarter of a mile.
Faults having an Easterly and Westerly Direction.—The
largest of these, of wdiich the throw has been determined, is that which
separates the Cleator Moor coal-field from the Haematite areas of Cleator,
Aa, Section 1, Plate XXXIV. At Mr. Stirling's No. 4 Pit this fault has a
throw of about 200 fathoms. Parallel to it there is another very large
fault passing through the estates of Birks and Mowbray. Both of them
are up to the south.
A little south of Wreah Pit there is a large fault, up to the north,
which passes along the valley traversed by Dub Beck.
A large fault, down to the north, and of an unascertained extent,
passes by Maryport, Crosby, Aspatria, and High Blaithwaite, in the
Parish of Bolton. This fault puts in the St. Bees Sandstone, which
bounds that part of the known coal-field. See Gc, Section No. 2, Plate
XXXV.; Dd, Section No. 4, Plate XXXIV.; Ee> Section No. 5, and Ff,
Section No. 6, Plate XXXVI.
t "Notes on a Singular Transformation of the Seams of Coal into Stone at Crum-
mock Colliery." By Williamson Peile. Trans. Nat. His. Soc. Northumberland and
Durham, Vol. II., pp. 178-180.
vol xxxii.-1rs3. 0 0
352 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
Another large fault, also down to the north, exists on the opposite
side of that part of the coal-field. It runs from near Dearham Station
by Gilcrux to High Hall, near Bolton New Houses. The throw of this
fault, at Rosegill Pit, is about 170 fathoms, Gg, Section No. 3, Plate
XXXV.; see also Ilh, Section No. 4, Plate XXXIV.; 11, Section No. 6,
and Jj, Section No, 6, Plate XXXVI.
Faults having a Northerly and Southerly Direction.—A large
fault having this direction passes through Bigrigg, putting the carboni-
ferous limestone there into horizontal contact with the St. Bees Sandstone.
The Overend limestone is separated from the St. Bees Sandstone,
which lies to the eastward, by an extensive fault having this direction,
see KJc, Section No. 1, Plate XXXIV. Both these faults are up to the west.
From Micklam Point inland by Bonny there exists a large fault, up
to the east, which at Micklam Pit has a throw of about 125 fathoms,
LI, Section No. 7, Plate XXXVI. This fault throws out the Main Band
on the east and brings up the carboniferous limestone to within 92 fathoms
of the surface at Micklam Pit. By a parallel fault, also up to the east,
the Distington limestone is brought to the surface, Mm, Section No. 7,
Plate XXXVI.
Most of the other faults in this direction are up to the west A large
one exists on the east of Old Ptisehow Colliery. Its throw is there about
180 fathoms. Another large one lies on the west side of Dearham
Colliery, and there are a number of others passing from the haematite
fields of Cleator and Frizington northward into the coal-field.
Many more of less importance exist between Gilcrux and Bolton, they
are less extensive than those already mentioned, but they are all shown
on Plate XXXIL, so that they need not be particularly described here.
Some of the east and west faults do not pass up through the Permians,
notably the large fault which separates the Cleator Moor coal-field from
the adjacent haematite area. This fault appears to have existed even
before the Whitehaven sandstone was deposited, as that formation does
not seem to be intersected by it. Most of the large north and south
faults have had a movement since Permian times, although they are
probably of pre-Permian origin.
DIP OF STRATA.
The general dip of the Coal-measures is westward, but there are a few
exceptions. At Bolton the dip is northward. At Aspatria Old West Pit
it is towards the east. The Crosby and Gilcrux collieries are in a sort of
trough, on one side of which the measures dip westward, whilst on the
other they incline towards the east.
structure of the cumberland coal-field. ;;:>;>,
The strata at Dearham form half a basin, so that on the north side
the measures have a southerly dip, on the east they incline westward, and
on the south side they dip northward.
At Workington the measures dip northward, whilst in the Harrington
Colliery the dip is eastward.
Under the sea there are also exceptions to the general dip. At
Whitehaven Colliery, in the direction of Parton, the measures incline
toward the east. So they do at Micklam Pit. Tins easterly dip will
doubtless prevent a large quantity of coal being wrought under the sea,
as the seams, unless thrown down by a succession of faults, will eventually
crop out on the sea bottom, and the working must necessarily stop some
distance short of the outcrop. In the principal part of the area worked
under the sea at Whitehaven the dip is normal, that is westward, so that
the cover increases in thickness as the workings are pushed seaward.
The amount of dip, both inland and under the sea, is variable, being
in some places so gentle as almost to appear level, whilst in other cases
the rocks are inclined at an angle of 1 in 3. The average dip is probably
about 1 in 5 or 1 in 6.
EFFECTS OF FAULTING, TILTING, AND DENUDATION.
One of the principal results of the combined action of these three
operations is the great variation in depth at wdiich the various seams are
found in different parts of the district. For example, on Broughton Moor
the Caunel and Metal Bands, over a large area, are quite near the surface,
whilst at Maryport they are at a depth of about 140 fathoms. These
variations will however be better understood by reference to the longitu-
dinal sections herewith than by any amount of written description.
Another result of the first importance arising from these causes is the
diminished area of the coal-seams as compared with their extent originally.
As invariably happens the upper seams have suffered most, but some of
the lower seams have also been denuded over extensive areas. The
Main Band, for instance, is absent throughout an area of about 30 square
miles, that is for about one-third of the extent of the coal-field.
One of the most curious effects of these operations is the triangular
piece of ground worked by the Crosby and Gilcrux collieries, which has
an area of about three-quarters of a square mile. It contains all the seams
m the field, from the Ten-quarters downwards, and also, in places, some
of those above that seam. It is bounded by three great faults, one of
them being that which puts in the Permians on the north. The throw of
that fault has not yet been ascertained, but it is doubtless great. The
354 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
other two faults have each a throw of about 170 fathoms or thereabout.
One of these separates the triangular area from the Dearham district, and
the other cuts off that of Aspatria. Both of them throw out all the more
important coal-seams, as shown in Section No. 3, Plate XXXV., so that
there is no workable ground of any value for some distance from these
faults on the upside of them.
In connection with this subject the small limestone areas of Distington
and Overend may be mentioned. The exposure of this rock over such
limited areas almost in the very heart of the coal-field is interesting, as
showing the enormous amount of denudation that has been effected, and
also how faults of great throw are sometimes of small extent longitudinally.
Another point worthy of notice is the absence of Whitehaven Sand-
stone over a large belt of ground extending from the sea coast between
Parton and Workington to the outcrop of the coal-field between Ullock
and Dovenby. This seems to be a continuation of the great east and west
anticlinal which passes through Skiddaw, and to have resulted from the
same, or at any rate some of the same series of upward movements. The
removal of St. Bees Sandstone from a large part of the known coal-field
between Maryport, Bullgill, Cleator, and Whitehaven is doubtless due to
the same canse, combined, of course, as in the case of the removal of the
Whitehaven Sandstone, with denudation.
SUB-PERMIAN AND SUB-MARINE EXTENSION.
By reference to the section of Whitehaven Colliery in Plate XXXIV.,
it will be seen that the Coal-measures have been proved to extend for a
considerable distance in below the Permians- In fact they have been
very extensively worked under those rocks. The borehole at St. Bees
proved them to extend so far under the Permians, but south of St. Bees,
their existence is a speculative matter. There is no positive data to work
upon. If the great fault which throws out the Cleator Moor coal-field on
the south extends as far westward as is shown on Plate XXXII., the
Whitehaven coal-field will also be terminated by it, and the Coal-measures
on the south side of that fault will be shifted a long way seaward. In any
case, however, it seems probable that the Bannock Band and Main Band
will gradually approach one another toward the south, and eventually form
one large seam.
In the area occupied by the Permians north of the great fault,
extending from Maryport by Aspatria to High Blaithwaite, the existence
of the Coal-measures has not yet been proved, but there can be no doubt
that they do exist. The only point about wrhich there can be any doubt
structure of the cumberland coal-field. 355
the depth at which they will be found. For the purpose of settling
this point a borehole was put down in the quarry near Allerby Hall on
the north or down side of the fault. It passed through the Permians, and
]so through the Whitehaven Sandstone, reaching the Lower Coal-measures
ot i depth of 53 fathoms 1 foot 6 inches, but it appears to have been too
ueir the fault, and consequently to have passed through it into the rocks
n the up side. The Whitehaven Sandstone on the up side has been
proved to have a thickness of 50 fathoms near the Maryport and Carlisle
Railway, east of Bullgill station, and it is probably much thicker to the
northward over the centre of the trough in the Lower Coal-measures.
The rocks thence rising toward the great fault will probably reduce
the thickness of the Whitehaven Sandstone until it is again about 50
fathoms, adjoining the fault on the south, so that the borehole in
Allerby Quarry must have passed through the fault. Another attempt
to get into the coals beyond this fault was made at Ellenborough
Colliery, Maryport, a few years ago. From the Ten-quarters Seam,
at a depth of 120 fathoms from the surface, a drift was put through the
fault for about 21 feet, but it only met with red sandstone, probably
Whitehaven Sandstone. There does not appear to have been a borehole
put doAvn from that drift, nor any means taken to ascertain the position
of the Lower Coal-measures below, so that beyond fixing the minimum
amount of "throw," the exploration proved very little. The question may
therefore be regarded as still unsettled. But it may be safely said that,
whatever is the depth of the Lowrer Coal-measures just over the fault,
that depth will be greatly increased toward the dip. It is knowm that at
Mealsgate the Whitehaven Sandstone is certainly close upon 800 feet thick,
and there is reason to suppose that it will be very much thicker below the
Permians to the north, for, as will be seen on reference to Section No. 0,
Plate XXXVI., it increases in thickness rapidly toward the dip. A bore-
hole put down in Kelswick Moss, near Abbey Town, proved the Upper
Cypseous Shales to extend to a depth of 933 feet. Below these shales
came the St. Bees Sandstone, until 1,020 feet was reached, when the
bore was stopped. The total thickness of the St. Bees Sandstone there
will probably be several hundred feet. Then the Whitehaven Sandstone
has to be pierced, so that altogether it is likely that at Abbey Town
the Lower Coal-measures will not be reached at a less depth than about
2,000 feet.
When the Coal-measures have been proved under these Permian rocks
there will still remain one very important matter to settle, and that is
their extent. How far they continue under the sea or in the direction of
356 structure of the cumberland coal-field.
Canobie is a matter of mere speculation at present, and can only be
settled by the borer and miner. But it would appear from the way in
which the Whitehaven Sandstone cuts off, one after another, the seams in
the lower measures between Maryport and Bolton Low Houses, that the
coal-field cannot extend farther than Carlisle, under the Permians, until all
the more important seams are cut out altogether. At Maryport the base
of the Whitehaven Sandstone is 93 fathoms above the Yard Band, and at
Mealsgate it is only 11 fathoms above that seam, so that if the uncon-
formity thus indicated continues, the Yard Band will soon disappear,
as the seams above it have gone before; and then in succession will be cut
off the Six-quarters Band and the seams corresponding to the Four-feet
Coal and the XJdale Band of Harrington. The Canobie coal-field,
according to Professor Geikie, is very much lower in the Carboniferous
system than the true Coal-measures, so that the existence of that small
patch of coal-bearing strata, contrary to the supposition of Dunn and
others, affords no evidence whatever of the north-easterly extension of
the Cumberland Coal-field.
How far the coal-field may extend northward under the Permians
of the Solway, it is impossible to say, it is only known at present that
as the lower measures approach the great fault which puts in the Permians
they increase in thickness, the overlying Whitehaven Sandstone occurring
at a less angle than the Lower Coal-measures, so that higher and higher
seams appear in these latter rocks the nearer the dip is approached.
It is probable that the seams will be further apart under the Permians
north of Aspatria and Bolton than they are in the known coal-field, and
it is almost certain that some of them, notably the Cannel and Metal
Bands, will be so small as to be unworkable.
In the direction of the Isle of Man there is also very little information.
The most that can at present be said is that as far as the workings of the
Whitehaven colliery under the sea have yet been prosecuted the strata still
dip westward. Before the Coal-measures disappear it is probable that this
dip will gradually become less and less until the strata are level. Then
they will most likely rise toward the east, and either crop out at the sea
bottom in the direction of the Isle of Man, where it is known that Lower
Carboniferous rocks exist; or the coal-field might be suddenly cut off by
a large fault, as at Cleator Moor.
Much more might be said on this subject, but wanting a sufficient
foundation of fact the superstructure could only be regarded with
suspicion.
discussion—structure of the cumberland coal-field. 357
The President said, he was sure every one of the members must feel
vcry much obliged to Mr. Kendall for having presented such a valuable
nd interesting paper to the institute, more especially as they were to pay
visit on Friday to a portion of the coal-field described. He would be very
p-lad to hear any observations anyone might wish to make on the subject
' of the paper, and any explanations required would be readily given by Mr.
Kendall. As having a bearing on the same subject, he also begged to
call attention to the paper that Avas to follow on "The Earl of Lonsdale's
Mines at Whitehaven," by Mr. G-. II. Liddell, and there was also down for
discussion a former paper of Mr. Kendall's on "The Haematite Deposits of
Fairness."
Mr. Kendall said, with reference to the last-mentioned paper, they
would see he had produced for inspection a number of carboniferous fossils
in pure hcematite, also a number of thin sections of haematite, which, he
had no doubt, would prove very interesting to them on examination
through the microscope.
Mr. W. H. Hedley, in opening the discussion on Mr. Kendall's paper
on "The Cumberland Coal-field," asked if the throw of the fault running
from Maryport towards Aspatria had been definitely proved ?
Mr. Kendall explained, from the sections produced, the nature and
extent of the fault, and added that the bore-hole put down in Kelswick
Moss to a depth of 1,020 feet passed through the red rocks and stopped
there, without the coal-measures being found; and the other bore, made
for a depth of 65 fathoms, passed through the Permians, but it wras too
near the fault which brought those into horizontal contact wTith the coal
measures to definitely settle the question of the depth to which the coal-
field was thrown down. He had no doubt, however, that the coal-
measures were to be found in the area occupied by the Permians north of
the fault referred to.
Mr. Hedley said, Mr. Kendall had shown it was a dip fault, and that
being so there must be some coal to the north of the fault, under the
Permians.
Mr. Kendall replied, that undoubtedly that was the case.
Mr. T. P. Martin said he w^as glad this paper had been read by
Mr. Kendall. The Cumberland Coal-field was admitted on all hands to
be a difficult one to work; and it had been felt by those connected with
the collieries in West Cumberland, and especially by strangers, that there
was a great dearth of reliable information as to the nature of the field and
the relationship of the seam in different localities. The paper just read
358 discussion—structure of the cumberland coal-field.
supplied a large amount of the information required, and it would, no
doubt, be the means of bringing to light more, and classifying it into
useful form. Another value to be attached to the paper was that it
would probably assist in the establishment of the Institute in that district.
The subject was one of peculiar local interest, and he would like to
suggest that the paper be discussed at a meeting of local members either
at Workington or Whitehaven. He did not wish to ask for Home Rule
altogether, but he certainly thought it would be a good thing if they had
a meeting or two in that district, as it was not always possible or con-
venient for local members to travel so far as Newcastle. It would be
almost impossible to discuss the paper at any length until it wras in the
hands of members in a printed form, so that they might look carefully
through it and hunt up further data on the subject to see how it compares
with what Mr. Kendall had stated. With reference to Mr. Kendall's
opinion that the Bannock Band of Whitehaven was the same seam as the
Rattler Band of the Clifton and Maryport districts, he believed that it
was the view expressed many years ago by the late Mr. Isaac Fletcher, a
gentleman intimately acquainted with the Cumberland Coal-field, and the
statements made by Mr. Kendall appeared to strengthen this view. With
respect to Mr. Kendall's remarks on the unconformity of the Whitehaven
sandstone, there appeared^ from the information brought forward, to be
room for doubt on the point. It would be noticed from the diagrams
that the idea was to prove the unconformity by its distance above certain
seams of coal in different localities; but so long as the question rested on
the co-relation of seams in this way the evidence was to some extent
unsatisfactory. In a paper read by the late Mr. Isaac Fletcher before the
Archaeological Society, some years ago, he endeavoured to prove its
unconformity by its distance above the Six-quarter Seam at Whitehaven,
and the distance above the seam worked at Dean Moor, which he (Mr.
Fletcher) supposed to be the Six-quarter, but about which there was as
yet considerable uncertainty. He also noticed that on the diagrams the
seam worked at Mealsgate, and called there the Main Band, was shown as
being the Yard Band, but so far as he was aware the seam had not been
traced in anything like an unbroken line, and the section of the seam, as
worked at the Allhallows Colliery, certainly varied very much in many
respects from any section of the Yard Band that had come under his notice.
Mr. Kendall had also stated that the Udale Band had been proved at
Workington, underlying the Main Band at a depth of 77 fathoms, and he
(Mr. Martin) would like to know whether that had been proved by boring
or sinking ?
discussion—structure of the cumberland coal-field. 359
Mr. Kendall replied, that it had been proved by boring.
Mr. Martin said as far as he knew, there was no direct boring from the
Main Band to the Udale Band at Workington. However, he did not
think it would be wise to take up any more time in the discussion until
they had Mr. Kendall's paper placed in their hands.
Mr. J. Daglish said, that the paper appeared to contain one or two
points of very deep interest to those carrying on colliery operations on
this coast. With reference to Mr. Kendall's remarks as to the uncon-
formity to the coal-measures, he wished to ask him whether the view he
adopted was generally recognised by geologists, or whether his theory was
stated now for the first time ? He also wished to ask whether any of the
laro-e faults were clearly traced through the Permian measures ? He might
mention that on the East Coast there was some little doubt and difference
of opinion as to the exact character of the red rocks immediately over-
lying the coal-measures; but the generally entertained opinion was that
they formed the upper series of the true coal-measures, and that conclusion
was borne out by the fact that the fossils found there wTere coal-measure
fossils. Some persons, moreover, hold the view that over the greater
part of the Eastern Coal-field the red rocks are simply the reddened
edges of the true coal measures, as they approach and under-lie the
Permians.
Mr. G. H. Liddell drew Mr. Martin's attention to the following
extract from the "Archaeology of the West Cumberland Coal Trade,"
by Mr. Isaac Fletcher, page 3:—
The west dip again brings into view, on the coast section, near Barrowmouth, the
Whitehaven sandstone before alluded to. This peculiar sandstone was first described
many years ago by Professor Sedgwick, who considered it as the local representative of
the Permian sandstone, this opinion being chiefly based on the fact that it is uncon-
formable to the coal-measures which it overlays. This proves that it was deposited at
a period probably long subsequent to the formation of the regular coal-measures. The
more recent researches of geologists seem to establish conclusively that this sandstone
cannot be ranked among the Permian rocks, because at two collieries near Maryport two
workable seams of coal have been found above this sandstone, and one of them—the
Senhouse High Seam—has been worked near Maryport, where it was found upwards of
three feet thick. At Mr. Wilson's Pit in Flimby Wood the Senhouse High Seam was
found, and underneath it the pit was sunk through seventeen fathoms of Whitehaven
sandstone. At Whitehaven these seams have not been found, and its thickness, where
it is not diminished by denudation, may be taken to be the same as at Flimby, viz.,
seventeen fathoms. To illustrate its unconformability to the regular coal-measures, I
Hiay mention that at William Pit it is 140 fathoms above the six-quarter seam, whilst
at Bean Moor, about six miles distant in a north-east direction, it is only twenty-five
vol. xxxn.-isss, r r
360 discussion—structure of the cumberland coal-field.
fathoms above the same seam, and in the intermediate country it is found in varying
relations to the underlaying coal seams. It contains many of the coal plants found in
the regular measures. It may perhaps be more properly described as a secondary car-
boniferous formation, intermediate between the main carboniferous series and the
Permian rocks reposing upon it.
Mr. Martin said he was aware that Mr. Fletcher based his opinion on
the theory that the Six-quarter Seam at Whitehaven was the same seam
as that worked at Dean Moor; but, with all due respect to Mr. Fletcher,
he doubted very much whether the seam at the latter place was the Six-
quarter Seam at all. His opinion was that it was not. He was awrare
that it was the generally received opinion that the sandstone was uncon-
formable to the true coal-measures, but thought the evidence produced so
far not altogether satisfactory; and what he should like to know was
whether at any point direct unconformity had been proved ? that is, where
the up-turned edges of the lower measures are overlaid by more horizontal
strata of Whitehaven sandstone.
Mr. J. S. Dixon thought it might prove interesting to them to know
that in Scotland the upper coal-measures were chiefly sandstones of a
red colour, such as referred to by Mr. Martin as being found in the
Cumberland coal-field, and also that coal-measure fossils were found in
these.
Mr. Kendall, in replying on the discussion, said with reference to
Mr. Martin's remarks as to the unconformity of the Whitehaven sandstone,
he might mention that the views he had stated on this point that day
were not new, as he had made similar statements about the unconfor-
mability of the Whitehaven sandstone five years ago in his paper on
"The Haematite Deposits of Cumberland," and geologists appeared to be
perfectly satisfied on the point. The determination of the unconformity
did not rest alone upon the identification of coal seams in different parts
of the district, but was also shown, and indeed more clearly, by the fact
already pointed out in the paper, that the sandstone in some parts of the
district rested directly on the millstone grit, whilst in other areas, as at
Croft Pit, it wTas separated from that formation by the whole thickness of
the Lower Coal-measures. The Main Band of Bolton is certainly not
the same seam as the Main Band of Workington, Whitehaven, and
Cleator Moor, but identical with the Yard Band of Aspatria, Gilcrux,
and Cleator Moor. It is called Main Band about Bolton because it is the
main band, in the sense that it is the most important seam there, whilst
the Main Band of other parts of the district is so split up in the neigh-
discusston—structure of the cumberland coal-field. 361
bourhood of Mealsgatc and Bolton that it is of very little value. A great
many of the faults found in the coal-field did not pass through the
permians, but stopped at the top of the Coal-measures.
The President, in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Kendall
for his interesting paper, said he considered the suggestion made by Mr.
Martin for the establishment of the Institute in that district and for the
occasional holding of meetings was a very good one, and would be worthy
of a trial. He also pointed out that the acquaintance of the members
with the different districts they made their study would become much
more rapid if each of the different seams was called and generally known
by one and the same name, instead of by different names.
Mr. Daglish seconded the vote of thanks, which was unanimously
agreed to.
Mr. Liddell then read the following paper u On the Whitehaven
Collieries."
THE WHITEHAVEN COLLIERIES. 363
THE WHITEHAVEN COLLIERIES.
By G. H. LIDDELL.
In the following paper the writer proposes to give a brief description of
the Earl of Lonsdale's collieries at Whitehaven, so as to enable the
members of this Institute to form a general idea of what they are going
to see in their forthcoming visit.
Whitehaven collieries occupy the south-western portion of the West
Cumberland coal-field, and the coal seams are there found in greater
perfection than elsewhere in the same district. The three principal seams
are:—the Bannock Band, the Main Band, and the Six-quarter Band, of
which the sections and depths at the Wellington Pit, Whitehaven, are as
follows:—
Ft. Ins. Fms.
Bannock Band ...... .... ... 7 11 at 74
Main Band............... 10 7 „ 96
Six-quarter Band............ 7 7 ,,139
The Main Band is the most important of the three, and, with the
exception of about 6 inches of metal and little coal in the middle of the
seam, is all of good quality.
The workings at present being carried on, are almost all going west-
ward under the sea, and extend from two to three miles from the shafts.
The general dip of the strata is to the south-west, and being at a
steeper gradient than the sea bed, the cover thickens rapidly in that
direction.
There are three pits now drawing coals, viz., William Pit, which is on
the north side of Whitehaven Harbour, Wellington Pit on the south side,
and Croft Pit, which is near the coast, about two miles further south.
The last-named pit was sunk in the year 1775, and has worked con-
tinuously ever since.
At William Pit the three seams are all being worked, and at Wellington
and Croft Pits the Main Band only. As nearly as can be ascertained the
coal first began to be worked by Sir Christopher Lowther, an ancestor of
the Earl of Lonsdale, about the year 1620,
364 the whitehaven collieries.
A valley runs between Whitehaven and St. Bees which is about five
miles south of the former, in wrhich the Bannock and Main Bands crop
out, and it is at the outcrop of the former that the first workings appear
to have taken place.
The seams are worked in pillars 20 yards square, which are afterwards
either split or entirely taken out, according to the thickness of the cover.
Under the sea the latter varies from about 50 to 250 fathoms. The
usual way of opening out a district is to drive a pair of level ends or
headways from the main road, turn away boards to the rise, six yards
wide and twenty yards apart, and hole over pointings or walls, off and on,
of the same width and distance apart as the boards.
The haggers, or hewers, trail or put their own coals in wooden bogies
from the faces of their workings to a platform on the level end, called a
stear, from which the coals are shot into iron tubs on the rolleyway, and
led by horses to the engine plane.
Until a few years ago the haulage in the Main Band at William Pit
was done entirely by horses, of which there were at one time 110 in the
pit, the coal being led to the shaft in baskets, in some instances a distance
of four miles.
The greater part of this work is now done by compressed air. There
are two separate compressing engines on the surface, built by Messrs.
Hathorn, Davis, and Davey, and fitted with their differential gear. They
are direct-acting, and without cranks. The steam-cylinders are 32 inches
in diameter, and the air-cylinders 36 inches in diameter; length of stroke
8 feet. There is a water-jacket on each air-cylinder, in addition to which
water is injected inside the cylinders at each stroke, and the air, which is
pressed at 30 lbs., is thus kept quite cool.
For several reasons, which will be apparent to those members who
inspect the compressors, the writer does not recommend this form of
engine for compressing air. The compressed air is conveyed down the pit
and in-bye through a range of 8-inch pipes, about 4,000 yards in length.
The main engine plane, which is a little over 3,000 yards long, and is
driven water-level, is worked by two double 12-inch engines, built by
Messrs. Fowler, of Leeds, one being fixed at each end of the plane. This
system the writer believes to be much preferable to using a tail-rope, as
amongst other things it is of great advantage to have the air-pressure
at the in-bye end, ready to be used for any local purpose for which it
may be required. The tubs are run in sets of 40, and carry 12 cwTts.
each.
i
the whitehaven collieries. 365
Besides the two engines above-named there are two other hauling
engines working branch roads, and three small engines pumping water at
different parts of the pit. The signalling on the main engine-plane is
done by electric bells.
In the Six-quarter at William Pit there is a short engine-plane worked
with main and tail-ropes, worked by a small steam hauling engine with
multitubular boiler placed at the shaft bottom.
At Wellington and Croft Pits the engine-planes go in the direction of
the dip, and are, respectively, one-and-a-half and two miles long. They
are each worked with a single rope by a steam hauling engine fixed on
the surface, the empty tubs taking the rope in-bye by force of gravity.
At Wellington Pit the engine-plane cannot be extended further
in this manner, owing to a rise-fault running north and south.
To overcome this difficulty a hauling engine, which is to be worked
by compressed air, is being put down at the in-bye end of the workings,
and is intended to work in connection with the steam engine on the
surface, similarly to the manner described in William Pit Main Band.
The great bulk of the water met with in the collieries runs out of
day-drifts, which are driven from the sea level. A certain quantity,
however, finds its way into the workings under the sea, and this is pumped
by engines placed at William and Wellington Pits. William Pit pumping
engine, which was built in the year 1810, is an. atmospheric one, with
open-topped cylinder of 80 inches diameter and 8-foot stroke. There
are four 12-inch lifting sets in the pit, all at the opposite end of the
pumping beam. The steam pressure under the piston is only a few
pounds, as the weight of the rods brings up the piston, and the atmos-
pheric pressure does the work of pumping the water.
At Wellington Pit there is a Cornish pumping engine with 90-inch
cylinder and 10-foot stroke, which was fitted a few years ago with Davey's
differential gear and separate condenser.
The cylinder is placed above the pumping beam, and at the opposite
end there are three 20-inch sets of pumps, the two top ones being forcing
sets of 57 fathoms each, and the bottom one a lifting set of 25 fathoms.
Originally this engine was worked at high pressure, steam being admitted
on the top side of the piston only. The steam lifted the forcing-rods
and pumped the water in the lifting set, and in the return stroke the
weight of the rods pumped the water in the forcing sets. Since the
condenser has been applied, the steam, after doing its work on the top
side of the piston, has access to the low side and to the condenser during
36G the whitehaven collieries.
the upward stroke, wThen, of course, the pressure is the same on both
sides. During the downward stroke the vacuum comes into play below
the piston and so economises the steam-pressure.
The three pits in the Main Band are each ventilated by a 36-foot
Guibal fan with duplicate engines, and the Six-quarter is ventilated by
a small furnace. Tt may be interesting here to observe that the system
of "coursing the air" was first adopted at these collieries about the
beginning of last century by the then manager, Mr. Carlisle Spedding.
He also invented the Steel Mill.
Not much fire-damp is met with in ordinary working, but when a
new district is tapped, it sometimes gives off a very large quantity for
a considerable time.
NATURE OF SEAMS.
The three seams before-mentioned are all of good quality for household
and steam purposes. They also make good coke, but the Six-quarter is
the best for that purpose.
In former years the small coal was such a drug in the market that it
frequently had to be teemed into the sea. Now that its value for coking
has been ascertained, Lord Lonsdale is building a range of 73 coke-ovens,
of the bee-hive pattern, near William Pit. About 25 of these are now at
work, coking the small from all the seams, which is wrashed in a Sheppard's
machine.
In spite of the large quantity of coal which has been worked during
the last three centuries, the supply yet available seems practically un-
limited. To the seaward the seams appear, if anything, to improve in
quality and do not decrease in thickness, and there is a very large area
untouched, to the south of the present workings, as is proved by a
borehole which was put down near St. Bees, a few years ago, with the
diamond borer.
The Bannock Band was there found to be 8 feet thick at a depth of
230 fathoms and the Main Band 7 feet 9 inches thick at 239 fathoms.
How far the coal may extend under the New Red Sandstone which here
overlies it, it is impossible to tell.
In conclusion, it may be said that the town of Whitehaven, which has a
population of about 20,000 inhabitants, owes its existence entirely to the
coal trade, and, so far from there being any likelihood of a diminution of
that trade, Lord Lonsdale is now building 104 additional colliery cottages
near to the town.
barrow meeting—proceedings. 3^7
Mr. Daglish, in moving a vote of thanks to Mr. Liddell for his paper,
which he considered would be of great advantage to those members who
were about to visit Lord Lonsdale's collieries, said he had already had the
pleasure of seeing the workings which had been described, and he had no
doubt that on the occasion of their visit the members wTould, as he had done,
take especial interest in the old atmospheric engine at Whitehaven Colliery,
which was erected in 1794, and which, he, believed, was the only one now
in use in the country.
Mr. Hedley seconded the vote of thanks, which was unanimously
passed.
The President then announced that that closed the formal business
in connection with their visit to Barrow, the remainder of their stay in
the district would be devoted to excursions to the various mines, etc., in
the neighbourhood. Before they separated, however, he wished to propose,
on behalf of the Institute, a very cordial vote of thanks to the Mayor
(Mr. Fell), the Barrow Hsematite Steel Company, the Barrow Shipbuilding
Company, the Barrow Steam Navigation Company, Mr. Wadham, and to
the gentlemen connected with the various works and mines they were about
to visit, for their great kindness in offering them such facilities as they
had done; also, to Sir Jas. Ramsden and Mr. H. Cook for their great kind-
ness in granting them the free use of the Furness railways and in running
special trains for their accommodation; and likewise to the reception com-
mittee, coupled with the name of Mr. Horace Allen, the Local Secretary.
Mr. John Marley seconded the vote of thanks, which was carried
amid hearty cheers.
The business of the meeting having concluded, the members were
divided into two parties.
The first party was conveyed by special train to Millom, where the
following works were visited :—
The Iron Works of the Cumberland Iron Mining and Smelting
Company, and
The Mines of the Hodbarrow Mining Company.
Luncheon was provided at Millom by the kindness of the Directors
of the Hodbarrow Mining Company and the Cumberland Iron Mining
and Smelting Company, jointly.
qq
vol. xxxii.-1R83. ^ ^
36S barrow meeting—proceedings.
On returning the train called at the following places, which were
inspected by the party :—¦
The Mines at Park, belonging to the Barrow Haematite Steel Company.
The Mines at Roanhead, belonging to Messrs. Kennedy Brothers, and
The Askam and Mouzell Iron Company's Works, and Iron Ore Mines
at Askam.
The second party was conveye/l by special train to Stank, where the
following places were visited :—
The Stank Mines, belonging to the Barrow Haematite Steel Company,
and
The Lindal Moor Mines, belonging to Messrs. Harrison, Ainslie, and
Company.
Luncheon was provided by the kindness of the Company.
In the evening the members were entertained by the Mayor of
Barrow, John Fell, Esq., at a Conversazione in the Town Hall.
Thursday, July 5th, 1883.
The members left Barrow for Lakeside, Windermere, by special train.
Friday, July, 6th, 1883.
The members left Barrow by special train for Whitehaven, where
another special train was in readiness for those who wished to inspect:—
The Parkside Mining Company's Underground Workings, at
Frizington.
This party was received by Mr. George Scoular, and Luncheon was
provided for them by the kindness of the Company.
At Whitehaven the party was received by Mr. G. H. Liddell.
The members first went down the "William" pit, then inspected the
surface arrangements, and afterwards visited the Lonsdale Iron Works.
Luncheon was kindly provided by the Earl of Lonsdale, at White-
haven Castle.
proceedings. 369
PROCEEDINGS.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4th, 1883, IN
THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
JOHN DAGLISH, Esq., in the Chair.
Messrs. S. C. Crone, George May, A. M. Potter, and William Logan,
were appointed scrutineers to examine the voting papers for the election
of officers for the year 1883-84.
The Secretary read the minutes of the General Meeting held on
June 9th, and reported the proceedings of the Council.
The annual reports of the Council and Finance Committee were also
read.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously
nominated:—
Ordinary Members—
Mr. Charles Edward Rhodes, Mining Engineer, Carr Houses, Rotherham.
Mr. Arthur Sackville Boucher, La Salada Puerto Bertio, E de Antioquia,
U.S. of Columbia, South America.
Mr. C. C. Leach, at present an Associate Member.
Students—
Mr. Frank Robert Simpson, Hedgefield, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
Mr. Edward Headly Hutt, Usworth Colliery, via Washington Station,
R.S.O., County Durham.
The following were nominated for election at the next meeting:—
Ordinary Members—
Mr. James Gibson Dees, Civil Engineer, Floraville, Whitehaven.
Mr. Atherton Selby, Mining Engineer, Leigh, near Manchester.
Mr. Israel Knowles, Mining Engineer, Pearson and Knowles Coal and
Iron Company, Limited, Wigan.
Associate Member—
Mr. William Fletcher, Brigham Hill, via Carlisle.
There were no papers to read or discuss, all the available papers
having been exhausted at the Meetings in Barrow-in-Furness in July.
APPENDIX.
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS
FOR 1882.
By tee SECRETARY.
These reading* have been obtained from the observations 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 31 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 degrees 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.
vol. xxxii.-1882.83. r r
APPENDIX.
COAL STATISTICS FROM THE MINES INSPECTORS' REPORTS,
FROM 1851 TO 1881, WITH AN ABSTRACT OF THE
INSPECTORS' REMARKS FOR 1881.
STATISTICS RELATING TO COAL MINING IN
GREAT BRITAIN.
PREFACE.
It is very much to be regretted that no records of statistics relating to coal mining
proper are prepared. The production of coal since the year 1854 can be obtained with
more or less accuracy in Mr. Hunt's Mineral Statistics and in Her Majesty's Inspectors
of Mines Reports from 1865 ; also a list of the collieries in the kingdom can be obtained
in Mr. Hunt's publication from 1851, but the further information, such as persons
employed and deaths by accident in coal mining, necessary to make the statistics
complete and comparable cannot be obtained, for coal mining is so mixed up with
ironstone (stratified) fireclay and shale mining under the Coal Mines Act of 1872 that it
is impossible to separate with any accuracy the persons employed, accidents and deaths
caused by accidents under the different heads of mining since 1872 ; and as before that
date, and back as far as 1865 these particulars as to coal mining are in existence in
Her Majesty's Inspectors' Reports, the statistical records, even if accurate before 1872,
cannot be usefully compared with the reports at present issued, and comparisons—the
real use of statistics—cannot be made between the years since 1872 and those before.
Before the passing of the Coal Mines Act of 1872 it was not compulsory on the
part of mine owners to give information to the Inspectors regarding the output and
persons employed, so that the information given in the Inspectors' reports from the
year 1865—the first year in which any record is given of production and persons
employed in coal mining—up to the passing of the Coal Mines Act cannot be looked
upon as very accurate; but as Mr. Hunt supplied independently in his annual publi-
cation the production of coal since 1854, this production can be always taken from his
books up to 1872; while as to persons employed the Inspectors' reports must, for want of
better information, be taken.
The two sets of figures as to production annually supplied by Mr. Hunt and the
Inspectors never agreed until 1881, being sometimes very different, arising from the
two parties each independently getting the required information. Prior to the year
1872 the accuracy of the reports may be called in question, but since 1872 the
production is no doubt as accurately recorded as possible in the Inspectors' reports,
and Mr. Hunt probably now takes these figures instead of compiling them himself,
since they could never be so accurately obtained from mine owners unless they were
obliged by law to give them.
a
2
With regard to persons employed in coal mining since 1872 the number can only be
approximately obtained—with some trouble—from the Inspectors' Reports, for the
persons employed in working ironstone, shale, and fireclay must be separated from those
working coal, which can only be done approximately. Taking the year 1881, Summary
No. 1, ironstone mining with the number of persons employed in it, is only kept separate
in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and East and West Scotland, to the
extent of 76*38 per cent, of the total ironstone raised, and the same is the case with
shale and fireclay to the extent of 87'16 per cent, and 16*63 per cent, respectively;
the rest is so mixed up with coal mining that the persons employed cannot be
separated to any further degree. The percentage of these minerals to the total
production of minerals under the Coal Mines Act of 1872 is as follows for the year
1881:—Coal, 91*2; ironstone, 7*0; fireclay, 1*2 ; and shale, 0*6; and after separating
what can be done to the extent above stated the percentage of coal is increased
to 97 per cent, of the total production. The same applies, but not in the same
degree, to the accidents recorded under the Coal Mines Acts, so that it will be seen
that with regard to coal mining alone, the statistics are neither accurate or useful as a
means of comparison between the various years. It might be said that this inseparable
element of 3 per cent, is so small as not to affect in any practical degree the accuracy of the
figures embodied in the following report, but when taking into consideration the trouble
given to persons trying to separate the items, and the difference that may exist in
different years between the separable and the inseparable items, together with what
might have been supposed to be one of the objects of the Coal Mines Act—the
obtaining of accurate statistics in order that comparisons with other and future
years might be possible—the records now published annually can hardly be deemed
satisfactory.
Thus the continuity of coal mining statistics was broken in 1872, and what has
since been gained in accuracy as to the production is lost by mixing other minerals
than coal when considering the persons employed and the deaths by accident, so that
all deducible relations such as coals raised per person employed, number of persons
killed per 1,000 employed, and number of persons employed per death and tons raised
per death in coal mining, now made, are not accurate and, what is worse, cannot be
used as comparisons, for the degree of separation now possible will be always altering,
defeating the use of one of the most interesting projects of statistics, viz., the recording
of the progress of mining in the kingdom.
EXTRACTS FROM MINES INSPECTORS' REPORTS.
In the following tables, etc., the ironstone, shale, and fireclay mines have, so far as
. cticable, been separated from the coal mines, but as part of the shale, fireclay, and
ironstone is worked in common with the coal, it is impossible from the data given to
entirely separate them. The ironstone districts of Cleveland, Lincolnshire, and East
and West of Scotland have, however, been tabulated separately, and these districts
include, in 1881, 76*38 per cent, of the ironstone production of the Kingdom, 87'16
per cent, of oil shale, and 16*63 per cent, of fireclay, with the corresponding number
of persons employed, and the accidents which have occurred in the same mines.
It is also impracticable to give any separate comparison for ironstone, fireclay, and
shale, as, although the numbers of men employed are given separately, in nearly all
cases the accidents in East and West Scotland are classed together.
Extract from 1873 Report.—" The oil shale mines are all newly comprised,
and so are likewise the iron mines of Cleveland, etc., and numerous blackband iron-
stone mines, so that no comparison can be made with previous years as to these mines."
Output.— Coal*
The output for the year, 1881, was the largest on record, the lowest output since
the passing of the Mines Regulation Act, 1872, and previous to 1881, was:—
Tons.
In the year 1873 ............... 131,556,102
And the highest 1880 ............... 151,101,815
Total for 1873-1880 ............... 1,104,775,390
Average for 1873-1880 ............... 138,096,924
The output for 1881 ............... 158,472,005
The output for the year, 1881, is nearly 15 per cent, above the average of the pre-
vious eight years.
Output.—Ironstone, Fireclay, and Oil Shale*
Tons.
The highest was in the year, 1873 ......... 11,485,144
And the lowest 1879 ......... 8,289,961
Total for 1873-1880 ......... 76,946,936
Average for 1873-1880 ......... 9,618,367
The output for 1881 ......... 10,487,926
The output for 1881 is 9 per cent, above the average of the previous eight years.
90£ per cent, of the above is ironstone.
Persons 'Employed and Tons raised 'per Person 'Employed.— Coal*
The number of persons employed was lower than the average:—
Persons Employed. Tons.
The lowest was in 1878 ............ 453,843 301
And the highest 1875............ 510,152 271
Total for 1873-1880 ............ 3:826,133 —
Average for 1873-1880 ............ 478,268 288
Persons employed in 1881 ............ 471,745 336
The number being for the latter year 1*36 per cent, below the average of the pre-
vious eight years.
Subject to remarks in Preface.
4
Persons Employed.—Ironstone, etc.*
The lowest number of persons employed in any one year
was in 1879 ............... 21.462
The highest 1873 ............... 36,154
Total 1873-1880 ............... 208,685
Average 1873-1880 ............... 26,086
Persons employed in 1881 ... ... ... ... ... 23,732
The number employed in 1881 is 902 per cent, below the average of the previous
eight years.
Separate Fatal Accidents.—Coal.*
These have been a little below the average:—
The lowest having been in 1879 ... ... ...... ... 747
And the highest in 1873 ............... 911
Total for 1873-1880 ............... 6,571
Average for 1873-1880 ............... 821
Number in 1881 ............... 799
The number being for the latter 2*68 per cent, below the average of the last eight
years.
Separate Fatal Accidents.—Ironstone, etc.*
These are above the average of the previous eight years, the lowest being:—
In the year 1878 .................. 28
The highest was in 1873 .................. 62
Total from 1873-1880 .................. 335
Average for 1873-1880 .................. 42
And for 1881 ..................45
Being 7*14 per cent, above the average.
Lives Lost by the Accidents.— Coal*
This item has been the lowest except one during the eight years.
The lowest was in 1876 .................. 900
And the highest was 1878 .................. 1,384
Total for 1873-1880 .................. 8,867
Average for 1873-1880 .................. 1,108
Those of 1881 .................. 909
Being 17*96 per cent, below the average of the last eight years.
Lives Lost by the Accidents.—Ironstone, etc*
These are above the average, the lowest being
for 1878 ..................... 28
The highest 1873 ..................... 66
Total for 1873-1880 .....................347
Average ..................43
And in 1881.....................45
Being 4*65 per cent, above the previous eight years.
Death Mate per 1,000 Persons Employed.—Coal*
This has been much below the average, the lowest being
in 1876 ..................... 1-840
And the highest, 1878 .................. 3*049
Average for 1873-1880 ................ 2*317
That for 1881.................. 1«927
The death rate for 1881 being 16*83 per cent, below the average of the last eight years.
Subject to remarks in Preface.
jjeath Rate per 1,000 Persons Employ ed.—Ironstone, etc., Mines*
The lowest was in 1875 ............... * »ol
- The highest 1877 ...............
The average for 1873-1880 ............... 1«»
And for 1881 ............... 1896
The latter year being 14*08 per cent, above the previous eight years.
Tons of Mineral Wrought per Life Lost.—Coal*
This year is by far the most favourable of any year during
the last decade, the lowest previous to 1881 was in the Tons.
e7o .......... 98,851
year lo/o
And the highest was in 1876 ............... 154,395
Average for 1873-1880 ............... 124,594
Tons wrought per life lost in 1881 ............ 174,336
Being 39*90 per cent, above the average of the last eight years.
Tons of Ironstone, Clay, and Shale Worked per Life Lost*
Tons.
The lowest was in 1874 ............... 165,640
The highest in 1878 ............... 320,985
The average for 1873-1880 ............... 221,720
And in 1881 .............. 233,065
The latter being 4*86 per cent, above the previous eight years.
The Ratio of Persons Employed to each Death in Coal Mines has gone on
increasing every decade since 1851 as follows:—
Per Cent. Increase.
Over First. Over Last.
1851 to 1860 = 245 ............ — —
1861 „ 1870 = 300 ............ 22*45 —
1873 „ 1880 = 431 ............ 75*90 42*66
And in 1881 = 519 ............Hl'83 20*41
Tho Ratio of Persons Employed to each Death from Colliery Explosions has
increased as follows :—*
Per Cent. Increase.
Over First. Over Last.
1851 to 1860 = 1,008 ............ — —
1861 „ 1870 = 1,408 ............ 39*68
1873 „ 1880 = 1,694 ............ 68*05 20*31
And in 1881 = 4,138 ............ 310*51 144*27
The lowest during the last eight years being 1878 ...... 774
And the highest, 1876 ...... 5,203
Average, 1873-1880 ...... 1,694
And for 1881 ...... 4,138
The ratio being in 1881, 144*27 per cent, higher than the average of the last eight
years.
The proportion of deaths from explosions is 24*25 per cent, of the total deaths from
all causes.
* Subject to remarks in Preface.
6
1876 was remarkably free from serious explosions, there being only one at which
more than ten lives were lost, one of six, two of five, and a number of others under
four each.
South Wales Colliery, Monmouth ...............23
Birley Colliery, Sheffield ..................6
Jammage Colliery, Chesterton ... ... ... ... ... ... 5
Silverdale Colliery, Newcastle, N.S................5
Under four each...... ......... ... ... ... 56
Total .....................95
1878.—Since the passing of the Mines Inspection Act of 1850, this year has been
the heaviest in point of numbers, with the exception of 1866, when there were 651
persons killed by explosions against 586 in 1878.
There were several very disastrous explosions by which the ratio of persons em-
ployed per fatal accident was very much reduced.
Unity Brook Colliery, near Manchester ... ... ...... 43
Whiston Main Delf Colliery, Prescot, Lancashire ... ... ... 7
Wood Pit (Upper Florida Seam) Haydock, Lancashire ... ... 189
Pendwll (Lower Yard Seam) Wrexham, North Wales ... ... 6
Apedale Colliery, Newcastle, North Staffordshire ... ... ... 23
Abercarn Colliery, Monmouthshire ... ... ... ... ... 268
Barwood (No. 2 Pit) Colliery, Islsyth, Scotland, W....... 17
Under four each ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 33
Total .....................586
1880. —This year was, in point of numbers killed, the heaviest for the last thirty
years, with the exception of 1866 and 1878, there having been 499 lives lost, the bulk
of which were at the following collieries, viz.—
Seaham Colliery, Durham ... ... ... ... ... ... 164
Bersham Colliery, Wrexham, North Wales ... ...... ... 9
Middleton Colliery, Leeds, Yorkshire ... ... ... ... 5
Kiverton Park Colliery, Sheffield, Yorkshire ... ... ... 4
Leycett Colliery, Newcastle, Staffordshire ... ... ... ... 62
Garngoch Colliery, Swansea, South Wales ... ... ... ... 6
Naval Steam Coal, Penycraig... ... ...... ... ... 101
Bedwellty Pits, Monmouthshire ... ... ... ... ,.. 4
Risca, Black Vein, Monmouthshire ... ... ... ... ... 120
Several under four each ... ... ... ... ... ... 24
Total .....................499
1881. —During this year there have been only two cases of explosion, causing the
death of more than 10 persons each, and two of more than 4 each:—
Abercarn Colliery, Wigan, Lancashire ... ... ... ... 48
Whitfield Colliery, Tunstall, North Staffordshire......... 25
Lillydale Colliery, Bucknall, do. ... ... ... 8
Shilton Colliery, Hanley do. ... ... ... 4
Under four each ... ... ... ......... ... 31
Total .....................116
Falls of Hoof and Sides.— Coal.
This is by far the most fruitful source of accident, and is less subject to fluctuation
than any other class to which miners are exposed.
The ratio of persons employed to each death being for—
Per Cent. Increase.
Over First. Over Last.
1851-1860 = 653 ............ — —
1861-1870 = 767 ............ 17-45 17'45
1873-1880 = 1,104 ............ 6906 4394
1881 - 1,107 ............ 69-52 027
The ratio of persons employed per life lost, since the passing of the Mines Regulation
Act, 1872, has been as follows:—
The lowest in 1878 ,................. 993
And the highest in 1874 .................. 1,289
Average for 1873-1880 .................. 1,104
And for 1881..................1,107
The ratio being for the latter year 0*27 per cent, above the average of the previous
eight years.
The proportion of deaths from falls of roof is 73 J per cent., and from falls of side
26| per cent, of the total deaths from falls.
The number of deaths from falls of roof and side is 39'81 per cent, of the deaths
from all causes, including explosions.
Falls of Roof and Side, in Iron, etc., Mines.—Falls of roof and side are the
causes of a large proportion of deaths, the average of the eight years being :—
Per Cent.
1873-1880 ............... 43 of the total deaths.
For 1881 ............... 54 do.
The ratio of the persons employed to each death being:—
For 1873-1880..................... 1,391
1881..................... 989
Making a decrease of 40*64 per cent, on the average of the previous eight years.
Miscellaneous Underground Accidents.— Coal;
Are the next in importance, and they have slightly increased in proportion to the
persons employed as compared with the average of the previous eight years.
The ratio of persons employed to each death being:—
Percentage Over or Under
First Year. Last Year.
1851-1860 = 2,074 ............ — —
1861-1870 = 1,666 ............ 19 67 under —
1873-1880 = 2,718 ............ 31-05 over 63*14 over
1881 = 2,606 ............ 25*65 over 4*12 under
The ratio of persons employed to each life lost since the passing of the Mines
Regulation Act, 1872, has been as follows, viz.:—
The lowest was in 1873 .................. 2,366
The highest in 1876 .................. 3,420
Average for 1873-1880 .................. 2,718
And for 1881 .................. 2,606
The ratio being 4*12 per cent, worse than the previous eight years.
8
The deaths from the various causes comprised under this head are 16-25 per cent,
of the total from all causes.
The largest factor in the above is caused by trams and tubs, and amounts to 41-03
of the deaths caused by miscellaneous accidents being 19*72 per cent, above the average
of the previous eight years.
The next in importance being on inclined planes, and amounting to 25*67 per cent, of
the total miscellaneous accidents underground. These are 6*52 lower than the previous
eight years.
Explosions of Gunpowder are decreasing, and are 11*76 lower than the average of
the previous eight years.
Suffocation by Gases is also decreasing, being 25 per cent, below the average of
the previous eight years.
The other items included under the head of miscellaneous accidents, are Irruptions
of Water, Falling into Water, By Machinery, and Sundries, these are comparatively
rare, but are 3*33 per cent, higher than the average of the previous eight years.
Miscellaneous Accidents Underground in Ironstone, etc., Mines;—Amount to 29*16
per cent, of the total, and of this quantity 49J per cent, are from trams and tubs.
This class of accident is, however, 52 per cent, lower during the last year than the
average of the previous eight years.
The ratio of persons employed to each death from miscellaneous underground
accidents was :—
For 1873-1880 ... ......... 2,066
1881 ............ 2,637 or 27*63 above the average.
Shaft Accidents.—Coal.
These accidents are decreasing very rapidly, the ratio of persons employed to each
death being for the years—¦
Percentage.
Over First. Over Last.
1851-1860 = 1,161 ............ — _
1861-1870 = 2,121 ............ 82*69 —
1873-1880 = 3,736 ............ 221*80 7614
1881 = 4,625 ............ 298*36 23 80
The ratio of persons employed to each life lost since the passing of the Mines
Regulation Act, 1872, has been as follows, viz.:—
The lowest was in 1873 .................. 3,025
The highest „ 1880 .................. 5,188
The average, 1873-1880 .................. 3,736
And in 1881 .................. 4,625
Being 23*80 per cent, above the average of the previous eight years.
The deaths in shafts are 11*52 per cent, of the total from all causes, and the
heaviest item is from falling either from surface or part way down, amounting to
32*68 per cent, of the deaths under this head. They are, however, 21*43 per cent,
below the average of the last eight years.
The next item of importance is By Machinery whilst descending or ascending,
ropes and chains breaking, and by overwinding, amounting to 31*26 per cent, of the
deaths in shafts. The deaths caused by overwinding are 60 per cent, below the average
of the previous eight years, and by ropes and chains breaking 77*77 per cent, below.
The accidents by machinery in shafts are, however, 3*84 per cent, above the average.
w
Things falling into shaft either from the surface or part way down are also a source of
cident, which is. however, decreasing. They have caused the death of 15^ per cent,
of the total number under the head of shaft accidents, and are 35 per cent, below the
.. ere of the last eight years. The miscellaneous accidents in shafts are also below
the average, 3*84 per cent.
Shaft Accidents in Ironstone, etc., Mines;— Are 15*27 per cent, of the total, and
16*36 per cent, above the average of the previous eight years.
The ratio of persons employed to each death being—
For 1873-1880 ......... 3,937
And for 1881 ......... 2,966 or 24*72 lower than the average.
Accidents on Surface.— Coal.
The ratio of persons employed to each death was :—
Percentage.
Over or Under First. Over Last.
For 1851-1860 = 4,872 ............ — —
„ 1861-1870 = 4,119............ 15*45 under
„ 1873-1880 =-¦ 5,373 ............ 10*28 over 30*44
In 1881 = 5,485 ............ 12*56 over 2*08
The ratio since the passing of the Mines Regulation Act has been as follows :—
The lowest was in 1876 ..................4,658
The highest 1879 .................. 6,600
Average 1873-1880 ..................5,373
And 1881 ..................5,485
The ratio being 2*08 per cent, above that of the previous eight years.
The deaths under this head are 8*17 per cent, of the total from all causes, and are
numerically 3*37 per cent, below the average of the previous eight years.
The deaths by machinery are 18*29 per cent, of the surface accidents, and are 12j
per cent, in excess of the previous eight years.
The deaths from boiler explosions are very few—only two last year against an
average of five for the preceding eight years.
Surface Accidents in the Ironstone, etc., Mines;— Are very few, the deaths being
one for 5,640 in the eight years 1873-1880, and one in 11,866 in 1881, or 110*39 per
cent, better than the previous eight years.
Machinery Underground and Above.
The accidents from machinery, embracing over-winding, breaking of ropes and
chains whilst ascending and descending shafts, and boiler explosions, amount to 6*02 per
cent., and are 11*96 per cent, below the average of the previous eight years of the total
deaths. A part of the accidents on inclined planes ought to be included under this
head, but as the Inspectors do not particularise them in their tables it is impracticable
to do so.
Number of Deaths from Accidents in Coal Mines (and Iron, etc., Mines
Total Common therewith) since the Passing of the Mines Regulation
Worked ijn ^
Act, 1872.__
18
PRODUCTION OF COAL IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Extract from the Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the several
matters relating to coal in the United Kingdom in 1871, Vol. 3, folio 32:—
The Durham and Northumberland coal-field for a long period appears, as nearly
as can be ascertained from the imperfect returns which exist, to have produced about a
quarter of the coal yielded by the United Kingdom.
In 1778 the vends of the Northern ports were considerably less than two million
tons. Therefore, regarding the above proportion as being nearly correct, the production
of this island at that time would not reach seven million tons.
With a full appreciation of the uncertainty of this kind of computation the following
may be considered an approximate estimate of the production of the kingdom in the
earlier years of the last century:—
VoQ„a Vend of Estimated Produce
*ears- Northern Ports. of Kingdom.
1060 ...... 537,000 ...... 2,148,000
1700 ...... 653,000 ...... 2,612,000
1750 ...... 1,193,457 ...... 4,773,828
1770 ...... 1.551,350 ...... 6;205,400
1780 ... ... 1,606,244 ...... 6,424,976
The constancy of the proportion existing between the coal imported into London
and the vends of the Northern ports for the years given, enable the quantities for
other years, for which no returns are available, to be computed without much fear of
error. Thus the following quantities are obtained as an approximation to the coal
produced in the United Kingdom in the years given:—
1785 ... ... 6,888,712
1790 ... ... 7,618,760
1795 ... ... 10,681,728
1800 ... ... 10,080,300
1816 ... ... 27,020,115
Folio 61.— Even so recently as from 1850 to 1854 the most uncertain estimates
respecting the quantities of coal raised were prevalent. The quantity of seaborne coal
was of course known from the returns regularly published by order of the House of
Commons, but very little information was to be obtained respecting the inland traffic
in coal, excepting such as was brought to London. Consequently those who wrote on
the subject were obliged to satisfy themselves with the loose statements obtainable
from various uncertain sources. The results given for those years are consequently not
strictly reliable.
The following are, however, the estimates usually given. J. R. McCulloch, Com-
mercial Dictionary:—
Tons.
1839 ... ... 31,024,417
1845 ... ... 31,000,000
1855 ... ... 58,200,000
14
Mr. Joseph Dickinson in his Report, 1853, estimates the output of the Kingdom
at 54,000,000. "'gaom
The Committee, after enumerating several authorities and returns, state that —
From these and several other direct and collateral sources of information We
believe the average production of coal in each of the three years—1851, 1852, 1853
may be taken as follows:—50,875,000.
Production of Coal in the United Kingdom from the Years 1854 to 1880.
From 1854 to 1869,
taken from the Report From !856 to 1871,
of the Commissioners ap- taken from the Report of
pointed to inquire into the ™e Select Committee on
Year. several matters relating to ^oal>from a Paper handed
Coal in the United King- in °y Mr- Meade (see Ap-
dom (see Appendix 62, Vol. pendix No. 3 of Report on
III. of Report, 1871). Coal. 1873).
Tons. Tons.
1854 ...... 64,661,401 ...... —
1855 ...... 64,453,070 ...... —
1856 ...... 66,645,450 ...... 71,787,552
1857 ...... 65,394,707 ...... 74,611,941
1858 ...... 65,008,649 ...... 73,725,895
1859 ...... 71,979,765 ...... 78,278,957
1860 ...... 84,042,698 ...... 82,662,702
1861 ...... 86,039,214 ...... 90,705,796
1862 ...... 81,638,338 ...... 90,989,666
1863 ...... 86,292,215 ...... 92,819,855
1864 .... ... 92,787,873 ...... 95,122,419
1865 ..... 98,150,587 ...... 98,911,169
1866 ...... 101,630,544 ...... ICO.728,881
1867 ...... 104,500,480 ...... 105,077,743
1868 ...... 103,141,157 ...... 104,566,959
1869 ...... 107,427,557 ...... 108,003,482
18^° ...... *110,431,192 ...... 112,875,725
1871 ...... 117,352.028 ...... 117,439,251
L872 ...... 123,497,316 ...... fl23,393.853
1873 ...... 127,016.747 ...... 128,680,131
18^4 ...... 125,043,257 ... 126,590,018
1§75 ...... 131,867,105 ...... 133,306,485
1§76 ...... 133,344.766 ...... 134,125,166
1877 ...... 134,610,763 ...... 132,179.968
1878 ...... 132,607,866 ...... 132,612,063
18?9 ...... 134,008,228 ...... 133,720,393
1880 ...... 146,818,622 ...... 146,969,409
* In the first column, from 1870, the quantities are taken from Hunt's Mineral Statistics.
f In the second column, from 1872, the quantities are taken from the Mines Inspectors' Reports.
I.
iOTS FROM THE MINES INSPECTORS' REPORTS
FOR THE YEAR 1881.
^ tjip marginal numbers refer to pages of the Report, and when the personal pronoun
Note.-The margin.* ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Inspector of the District.
Mr. Dickinson's report (North and East Lancashire and Ireland). The
greatest depth sunk to in this district is 2,820 feet, at Ashton Moss Colliery.
The longest air current is at the Bradford Colliery, which is over eight miles.
The Bridgewater group of collieries have 207 miles of underground
passages, which include forty miles of boat levels not at present in use and
six miles in use.
The deepest rock-salt mine is near Carrickfergus, in Ireland. It is
900 feet in depth, and the excavation forty feet in height, with the roof
supported on pillars of natural salt.
The greatest area excavated in any of the rock-salt mines is at Marston,
in Cheshire, where the area of the chamber is about forty acres and the
height about sixteen feet, with the roof supported upon pillars of natural
rock salt.
Mr. Dickinson's report includes abstracts from mining reports of Victoria,
New Zealand, and France and Algeria, as well as a short review of the
reports on fire-damp mines in Belgium, Germany, and England, by MM.
Pernolet and Aguillon.
Mr. Dickinson's report on the Salt Districts consists of eleven parts, and
deals with the geological features of the district, the mines, production,
landslips, the bill, cause of damage, as to public policy of tax, and summary.
The report occupies sixty-seven pages, and is replete with sections, plans,
and methods of working, including an historical sketch of salt mining.
Mr. Wynne's report (North Staifordshire, Cheshire, and Shropshire).
Explosions of fire-damp have been four in number, causing thirty-eight
deaths, all of which could have been prevented with ordinary care and
caution.
The Whitfield explosion caused the death of twenty-five persons. Mr.
Wynne reports that the explosion originated from the firing of soot in a
flue coming from a smithy forge underground, and which set fire to gas near
the upcast pit. The manager, Mr. E. Thompson, sen., was committed to take
his trial at Stafford before Mr. Justice Cave; he was, however, acquitted,
the evidence not being sufficient to warrant a conviction,
16
The Lillydale explosion was caused by driving against an accumulation
of water without due foresight and liberating water which drove gas from
a goaf on to naked lights, which exploded, causing the death of eight
persons. The manager, Mr. Enoch Perrins, was brought to trial, but was
acquitted.
The Shelton colliery explosion, causing the death of four lives, was brought
about by the dangerous custom of having furnaces underground fed with
return air. Negligence was attributable to all the parties concerned, from
the manager to the humblest person in the pit.
Accidents from falls of roof and sides. It may be safely calculated that
the deaths from this cause will be still further reduced in number when the
use of powder in the thick and fiery mines is entirely abandoned, for it is
found that in those mines where powder is not used scarcely a life has been
lost from falls of roof.
Mr. Alexander's report (Western District of Scotland). Falls of roof,
as hitherto, continue to form a large proportion of the accidents in this
district, and amount to 58 per cent. To a considerable extent such accidents
are inseparable from underground work. As exhaustion progresses a thorough
system of support should be given to the roof. At present the theory is to
delay putting in support until the roof shows symptoms of weakness. All
roofs should be supported whether strong or not, for a wooden support,
such as a prop, has often the effect of attracting attention to insecurity
or imminent danger.
The report books are best attended to in those works where the manager
occasionally appends his initials to them. Many officials still append the X
to their reports.
A liberal addition is always being made to the list of managers of mines;
at present the supply is quite equal to the demand. It is the opinion of some
owners that there is a falling off in the class of managers in so far that
they are less practical than formerly. It should be remembered, however,
that previous to the time when certificates were granted under-managers
were selected in a great measure for their practical qualifications and tact in
the management of men. Thirty-nine candidates presented themselves at
the late examination.
Practical men, Persons Educated
such as Persons generally with a view of
No. of Candidates. Overmen, Engaged about becoming Mining
Firemen, etc. Mines. Engineers.
39 ... 29 ... 4 ... 6
Number passed 10 ... 1 ... 4
Mr. Evans' report (Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, and Warwick). It is
my satisfaction and pleasure to record my testimony to the fact that the class
of gentlemen now employed as resident managers of the mines are doing
their part in improving the machinery, the ventilation, and general arrange-
ments for the security of the mines and the safety and well-being of the
workmen.
In my opinion the ordinary Davy-lamp is not such a one as ought to be
entrusted to workmen to be used in a fiery colliery, for it is only safe in
very slow velocities, and when used with the greatest care.
17
Falls of roof and sides caused 50 per cent, of the total number of deaths.
Tl system adopted in this district is that the stallman is responsible for the
1 er supervision and security of the roof and sides, and it is his duty in all
L°P€ to use a sufficient quantity of timber to make the places to the best of
[is •udgment secure and safe; but I regret to say that, probably on account
nf the familiarity with exposure to danger, he is not so careful as he might be.
Shaft accidents are reduced almost to a minimum considering the enormous j
( uantity of coal raised and the great number of persons passing through
the shafts and this to a great extent must be attributed to the marked
improvement in the machinery and general discipline of the collieries.
Calls attention to the great difficulty in obtaining convictions of cases by
magistrates. The magistrates are often intimately connected with the mines
and will not attend or they dismiss the cases against evidence. It is to be
regretted that stipendiary magistrates cannot hear important mining cases.
Gunpowder ought not to be used in collieries said to give off such
quantities of gas that cannot be diluted by an ordinary amount of ventila-
tion, but in the mines of the Midland district, worked under the well-known
long-wall system, with ample ventilation, with goafs properly tilled with
debris so that there is no room left for gas to accumulate, powder at the
discretion of the manager may be used, but never until after the working
places and those contiguous thereto have been properly examined by a
competent person and found to be free from gas.
If the Chief Inspector of the district considers that the use of powder
is attended with unnecessary danger he may give the owners notice and
proceed to arbitration, and until he has tested the Act of Parliament in this
respect I consider the inspector incurs great and unnecessary responsibility,
Messrs. Smith and Moore's improved apparatus for breaking down or
getting coal by caustic lime appears to be deserving of further attention and
consideration.
With regard to the General Rule 8 of the Coal Mines Regulation Act,
1872, the Government issued a circular in which the Attorney and Solicitcr-
general state that "persons ordinarily employed in the mine" would include
the night shift, consisting of labourers engaged in making ready the mine
for the mining operations of the miners constituting the day shift, They
think the distinction intended to be drawn is between those ordinarily
employed in the mine, in whatever capacity, and those specially employed
in the blasting operations.
The observations by Mr. Simons on General Rule 8 are appended.
The coal dust experiments conducted by a committee of the Chesterfield
and Derbyshire Institute of Mining, Civil, and Mechanical Engineers,
may be taken to show generally that the purer the atmosphere of the mine
the greater the amount of dust required to make it inflammable; and
conversely with regard to dust in air containing fire-damp. Also that in no
mine in its normal state, with the ventilation free from fire-damp, would
an ordinary blown-out shot raise sufficient dust to make the ventilating
current an inflammable mixture, such as would ignite from the same shot
name, and create what might be termed, but really would not be, an
C
18
explosion; the great quantity of dust required for such a current of air to
become inflammable being such as to render the current an intensely black
cloud surcharged with dust.
" Daily supervision " (in Section 26 of the Mines Act), in the opinion of
counsel of the highest standing, does not mean inspection ; if it did it
would be physically impossible to manage a mine so as to comply with that
interpretation of the law.
The class of men now seeking to obtain certificates possess higher
educational qualifications as well as practical experience. I quite agree with
the opinion expressed by the members of this Board that it is most desirable
to continue the present system, which has worked so well, in preference to
the centralization system recommended by a few.
List of certificated managers, acting and having obtained certificates,
in the Midland district, giving number of certificate, date, whether of
service or competency, and where acting, is appended.
List of abandoned mines, showing name of owner, name of mine, where
situated, name of seam, and date of abandonment.
Table showing total number of deaths in the named individual collieries
during the years 1865 to 1881.
Mr. Baker's report (South Staffordshire and Worcestershire Districts).
Whilst only forty-one persons have lost their lives, 300 have been more or
less disabled—nine permanently.
There were eleven persons against whom proceedings were instituted for
violations of the law—four were withdrawn on payment of costs, and
included two managers, one owner, and a chartermaster; the rest, who were
all managers or owners, with the exception of an overman, were fined.
Section 39 of the Act was violated in three cases; and in others Sections 12,
13, 14, 47, and 57: General Rules 1,2, 3, 20, 24, and 29, and Special Rules
24 and 28 (in two cases).
Experiments are being made by myself and Major Majendie with com-
pressed air and blasting tools at the Royal Arsenal.
An explosion occurred at Eight-Locks Colliery, caused by a "bump"
which, from time immemorial, has been a fruitful source of mining fatalities
through falls of coal in the 10-yard seam and occasionally in the thinner
seams. It acts as an upheaval, and in the present instance raised the floor
some four or five feet for a distance of from fifteen to twenty yards, knocking
out all the timber. One person was killed.
Only seventeen cases of deaths by falls took place.
Two accidents in shafts took place from the breaking of ropes, one on a
capstan and the other on a jack, caused by the ropes being kept in unsuitable
places.
Through an indicator going wrong one person was killed by overwinding.
Mr. Moore's report (Eastern District of Scotland). With an increase
of only 3*4 per cent, in the number of persons employed in the preceding
year, 16 per cent, more coal was raised, while in the United Kingdom the
increase in output amounted to 5 per cent. In Lanarkshire the excess in
i.
ut was 22 per cent., with an increase of only 3 per cent, of men. This
° Red from two causes. In the first plaee, the workmen have never
my experience been better employed or worked more steadily and
tcntedly ; and, m the next place, the quantities raised by the new
llieries in the Hamilton district are still increasing, and as these collieries
re for the most part working solely the Ell coal, which is about seven feet
thick and easily worked, a miner puts out a much larger quantity than in a
thin seam.
Two persons were killed and forty-three persons injured by explosions of Ej
fire-damp, all of which might have been avoided had proper precautions
been taken.
The output of the district was fourteen million tons, equal quantities being
worked by long-wall and stoop and room. Sj
3 551 safety-lamps were used, of which 1,494 were gauze lamps, 828
Davy, 411 Protector, 394 Clanny, 240 Jack, 160 Williamson, and 24 L<
Mueseler lamps.
An estimated quantity of 516 tons of gunpowder were used—285 in
collieries worked by long-wall and 231 tons by stoop and room. q
Swan's Electric Light is in use at the Earnock Colliery at the bottom of
the shaft, to the extent of eighteen lamps. An attempt to carry it in 800
yards was abandoned. Sees no reason yet for doubting that it will be more
extensively used.
Timber should be used whatever be the apparent state of the roof. J
(See Mr. Alexander's report.)
The long-wall system of working caused twenty out of thirty-one deaths
by falls, six being falls of roof in roads, six at face, and five by falls of \
'* brushing" at face.
Haulage machinery increases the number of deaths on incline planes and
> by trains. <
There were four prosecutions, three of which resulted in fines and
one in imprisonment.
Table showing wages earned by a first-class collier at a Wishaw colliery.
He worked 300 days, and earned a net wage of £69 15s. 0£d.
Ditto of an average collier who worked 266 days and earned £51 6s. 4d.
Table of coal mines, with the mode of working, ventilation, size
and depth of shaft, number of splits, length of airways, number of safety-
lamps, etc.
Mr. Wales' report (South Wales District). Deaths from falls of stone
and coal will always be large owing to the roofs being bad. The cost of
timber used per ton of coal ranges from 6d. to Is.
Thinks that if persons were specially appointed to set the timber these
accidents would diminish.
Six persons were proceeded against for violation of the Act, all resulting
in fines with the exception of one person; three were managers, and the
rest overmen and firemen.
Shot firing in the working of the fiery seams should not be resorted to.
In making height—only in cases where pure air traverses the district.
20
Thinks that shots cause explosions, especially blown-out shots, not by
igniting accumulations of gas but from causing a vacuum, which draws a
large quantity of gas together which then becomes ignited.
Mr. Wardell's report (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire District). Falls of
roof cause 53 per cent, of the total loss of life.
List of abandoned mines.
The Stephenson lamp appears to be one of the safest lamps. The use of
unprotected Davy and Clanny lamps in an explosive mixture where the current
3 exceeds six feet a second is attended with risk of accident almost amounting
to certainty.
The concurrent use of gunpowder and safety-lamps should gradually cease.
Safety-lamps should always be tested by means of gas.
Watering the roads to keep down dust would probably in some mines not
be advisable, for upheaval of the floor might take place and spontaneous
combustion be promoted.
With regard to falls, a sufficient staff of deputies should be provided and
an ample stock of timber should be ready for use and within easy access of
the men.
Proceedings were instituted against certain owners and managers which
in each case resulted in fines.
Mr. Willis's report (North Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland,
and detached part of North Lancashire). There were five explosions of gas,
causing injury to eight persons, all occurring in pits where naked lights
are used.
Deaths by falls constitute 51J per cent, of the total number of deaths.
Dr. C. Le Neve Forster's report (Metalliferous Mines in Anglesey,
Brecon, Cardigan, Carnarvon, Denbigh, Flint, Merioneth, Montgomery,
Radnor, Shropshire, and Isle of Man).
A serious explosion occurred at the Minerva Mine through the using
of blasting gelatine, caused by a candle falling on the explosive, killing five
men. Negligence in not obeying strict instructions caused this accident.
Slate mines are twice as dangerous as the true metal mines, the death-
rate being 3*28 per 1,000 employed underground during seven years. Visited
other slate mines abroad at own expense to study their mode of working in
order to discover if anything could be done to save life in Welsh slate mines.
Slate mines in Ardennes (France) most resemble the Welsh mines, but their
mode of working is very different from that employed in this country.
The pillars are left along the line of strike, and the great peculiarity is that
none of the large open cavities are allowed to remain. All the chambers
are filled with rubbish as fast as they are excavated, so that the men stand
upon rubbish while at work instead of being supported by chains or ladders
as the Welsh miners. The death-rate per 1,000 persons employed under-
ground is 2*85 for eleven years in the Ardennes.
There were seventeen prosecutions against managers and mine owners for
violation of the Act. Two were dismissed on payment of costs, and in one
case the summons was withdrawn. The rest all resulted in fines.
21
]yfr Bell's report (South Durham, Westmoreland, and the West Hiding
cf Yorkshire).
Mining accidents are increasing.
Accidents taken with Great Britain generally compare very favourably, for
there are 577 persons employed per life lost in this district against 519 in ,
the whole kingdom; also. 259,629 tons of mineral raised per death compared
vith l77ilOG in the United Kingdom. (This includes the Cleveland district.)
There is a decrease of three tons of coal per man raised per annum
compared with last year, being 398 against 401 ; the total for the Kingdom :
is 340.
In coal mines 20^ per cent, of the men employed are employed above-
ground, while in ironstone mines 16f per cent, are employed aboveground.
The Fleuss Breathing Apparatus and Lamp were found to be of the
greatest possible value in enabling the explorers to ascertain the state of the j
mine in the Maudlin Seam at Seaham on its being reopened. 1 consider them ;
to be very valuable in cases of fire or outbursts of gas, or even irruptions of
water, and would be glad to see them kept ready for use at every colliery;
they are light, portable, and easily managed. (Here follows a description of
the apparatus.)
The loss of life from falls amounts to 40 per cent, in Durham and 54 per
cent, in Cleveland of the total accidents. Accidents on inclines and engine
planes and by machinery are increasing, amounting to 29J per cent, in
Durham and 12£ per cent, in Cleveland.
No person should be allowed to travel on incline roads under any pretext
while sets are being run.
Six mines have been abandoned during the year—four collieries and two
ironstone mines.
A short Act, 44 and 45 Vic, ch. 26, Stratified Ironstone Mines (Gun-
powder) Act, 1881, has been passed with regard to the exemption of the
General Rule 8 of the Coal Mines Act, 1872.
I have again felt it unnecessary to take legal proceedings against any of
the owners or managers of the mines during the past year; the provisions of
both Acts have been fairly well observed, and whenever I have come across
anything that might appear to be wrong I have experienced no difficulty in
getting it at once remedied.
Mr. Hall's report (West Lancashire and North Wales). The death-
rate higher than in 1880 owing to the Abram Explosion causing death of
forty-eight persons.
A decrease of output of 197,543 tons on previous year, the quantity
raised being 11,933,570 tons. This was owing to a strike of from seven co
eight weeks duration.
During the year, 262 men were employed and 79,030 tons raised per life
lost.
Fatal accidents in North Wales continue very frequent, and to endeavour
to secure some improvement the Assistant-Inspector has removed from Liver-
Pool to Chester.
There were seven explosions in Lancashire, causing the death of fifty-three
22
persons; two wore caused by open lights, three were caused by blasting with
gunpowder, and two formed inquiries for reports (one of these was caused by
neglecting to examine the workings immediately before firing a shot, the
other case was the Abram explosion—reason given below). There were
three explosions in North Wales, causing the death of two persons; two
were caused by open lights and one was the subject of a report.
The Abram explosion was caused by a Davy lamp in a rapid current of
explosive mixture.
I wish to point out the great value of portable fire extincteurs in explor-
ing a mine after an explosion. The explosion has had the effect of causing
the owner to introduce some more perfect lamp in place of the Davy then
in use.
In the explosion in North Wales at the Llay Hall Colliery, feeding the
furnace with return air was the cause. It is an ancient method of venti-
lating mines which dies a hard death—a death so slow that one is compelled
to believe that many colliery managers cannot be taught except by
disastrous personal experience.
The rule regarding the security of the roof and sides of all travelling
roads and working places leaves the responsibility with the manager of the
mine, and he fails in his duty to his workpeople if he is not careful that this
supervision is effectively carried out by his officials.
Three actions were brought against three owners, of which only one
resulted in a fine.
The powers of the Employers' Liability Act have not been resorted to,
and a mutual arrangement exists through the medium of the Lancashire and
Cheshire Permanent Relief Society, the owners having increased their annual
subscription 10 per cent., making their total subscription one quarter of
the funds on the workmen agreeing to forego any claim to damages.
A difficulty exists in obtaining attendance of magistrates as non-mine-
owners in actions against men by the managers.
Blasting should only be allowed when the whole of the ordinary work-
people are out of the mine. This is generally done in the dangerous Wigan
9-foot seam.
It has been proved that 2 or 3 per cent, of fire-damp does, on having fine
coal dust mixed with it, become at once a most inflammable mixture.
Copper stemmers have proved to be dangerous; the remedy lies in using
wooden ones.
From year to year I have applied that copies of the local Inspector's
report should be sent to each manager, for by thus bringing the circum-
stances and causes of the various accidents which occur during the year
under their notice precautionary measures might suggest themselves and
result in a saving of life, but this application has always been refused.
List of prosecutions against workmen for breaches of the Act. There
were seventy-two cases; in twelve of these the defendant either absconded
or failed to appear, and the rest resulted in fines and in two cases imprison-
ment in default of paying fines.
23
jyfr CadMAn's report (Devon, Dorset, Gloucester, Monmouth, Somerset,
\ portions of Brecon and Glamorgan). Falls of roof and sides will,
ithstanding every precaution, prove a prolific source of accident, and I
• •] to impress very strongly both upon masters and men the necessity for
1Tisino- the greatest possible care in securing and timbering the working
It is not unfrequent that men will rather run the risk of working
places.
• a dangerous place than spare the short time required to put up a prop or
pull the coal down. Spraggs should be used when holing.
Four men were killed by carbonic oxide gas while waiting underground
for the steam in a boiler to gain sufficient pressure to work a pump at the
Holly Bush Colliery in Monmouthshire. It seems that the night had been
stormy and that wind must have forced the products of combustion to
accumulate in the drift or to pass back out of the furnace doors. Steam is
now conveyed from bank. Lights burned in the gas.
Out of sixty-eight deaths in the district nine were occasioned by explosions
and forty-one by falls, or G0'3 per cent.
Arbitration has been resorted to by the Government and the owners of a
South Wales colliery near Abertillery as to the compulsion of using safety-
lamps. Mr. W. T. Lewis is arbitrator on behalf of the Government, Mr. T.
Forster Brown on behalf of the Company, and Mr. G. B. Forster is umpire.
Three prosecutions were instituted, all of them resulting in fines.
Mr. Frecheyilles report (Metalliferous Mines in Cornwall, Devonshire,
Dorsetshire, and part of Somersetshire). The production of black tin has
gradually decreased since 1878.
079 persons are employed per death, which is equal to 1*47 per 1,000.
Prosecutions were instituted against two managers; one case was dismissed
on technical grounds, the other resulted in a fine.
An action was brought under the Employers' Liability Act by a father for
the death of his son, and he was awarded £100 without costs, being the
amount which he claimed.
A large number of the mine owners have insured against accidents in the
Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation, Limited. The present rate is
5s. per £100 per annum paid in wages to cover all risks under the Act of
1880, and 12s. Cd. per £100 for all accidents.
Nobel's patent having expired dynamite has fallen in price from 2s. to
Is. 7Jd. per lb.
There are seven man-engines and eight cages or "gigs." In using
ladders one man was killed; in using man-engines one man was injured; and
in using cages three men were killed and one injured.
24
Quantity op Mineral Raised under the Coal Mines Regulation Act of
1872, Persons Employed, Deaths, Number of Persons Employed per
Death and Mineral Raised per Death, and Quantity op Mineral
Raised per Man per Annum during the Year 1881 in the different
Mining Districts of the United Kingdom.
Comparison of the different Districts of the Inspectors.
Output.—Mr. Bell here stands first, being nearly ten millions above Mr. Wardell,
who is second, who is again two millions above Mr. Wales, who is third, Mr. Willis
being fourth j Mr. Moore and Mr. Evans follow close by, being fifth and sixth.
Then come Mr. Hall, Mr. Baker, and Mr. Dickinson as seventh, eighth, and ninth
respectively; and then, those of eight million tons and over, Mr. Alexander tenth, Mr.
Wynne eleventh, and Mr. Cadman the last, being nearly twenty millions behind Mr.
Bell.
Persons Employed—Here again Mr. Bell is first, but the difference between him
and Mr. Wardell, who is second, is not so great as the proportional difference of
output; then Mr. Wales as third and Mr. Evans as fourth; and then only Mr. Willis,
25
ho is fourth in the output, but only fifth here, which leads one at once to suppose that
he raises more per man, which he does. Then follow Mr. Moore, Mr. Hall, Mr.
Dickinson, Mr. Cadman, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Wynne, and Mr. Baker, who is last, but
•a eighth in output, and he stands second highest as to tons raised per man.
Deaths by Accident.—Mr. Hall stands first as having the most killed, and as he
stands pretty high as compared with output and persons employed, he has the worst
• >sults as to the ratio of persons employed and tons raised per death. Then comes
]y[r Wales, and then only Mr. Bell, who stands first with output and men employed.
The fourth is Mr. Wynne, who is followed by Mr. Wardell and Mr. Moore, who are
equal ¦ then as seventh comes Mr. Cadman, and Mr. Evans and Mr Willis next, who
are equal; and they are followed by Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Alexander, and lastly by Mr.
Baker.
Ratio of Persons Employed per Life Lost.—This, and the death rate per 1,000, as
coming from the same set of figures, are of equal proportions, and here stands first Mr.
Wardell, who is closely followed by Mr. Evans and Mr. Willis; then as fourth comes
Mr. Dickinson, being one hundred behind the last; then Mr. Baker, Mr. Alexander,
Mr. Bell, Mr. Moore, Mr. Cadman, and Mr. Wales follow; and last comes Mr. Hall,
standing only one-third as high as Mr. Wardell, the first.
Ratio of Tons Raised per Death.—This does not follow a close relationship to
the last ratio, for here Mr. Bell stands first, who was only seventh in the last, and this
s occasioned by his great output, which is proportionally much higher than the persons
employed under him as compared with the others. Second stands Mr. Baker, who has
the smallest number of men under him. He is followed by Mr. Willis as third, and he
again by Mr. Wardell, Mr. Evans, Mr. Moore, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Dickinson, Mr.
Cadman, Mr. Wales, Mr. Wynne, and lastly by Mr. Hall, who stands very low, being
below half the average for the Kingdom.
Ratio of Tons Raised per Man per Annum. This is interesting from a commercial
point of view, and here Mr. Bell is first, owing no doubt to the Cleveland iron-
stone district, for, taking this away, he only stands third. Following him closely
comes Mr. Baker, and then Mr. Moore, with Mr. Willis next, who is equal to the
> average of England. The rest are below, being, as sixth, Mr. Alexander, who is
followed by Mr. Evans, Mr. Wardell, Mr. Wales, Mr. Hall, Mr. Dickinson, and lastly
by Mr. Cadman.
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
of
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
ABSTRACTS OF FOREIGN PAPERS.
OX COBALTITE AND DANAITE FROM THE KHETRI MINES, RAJPUT AN A;
WITH SOME REMARKS ON JAIPURITE (SYEPOORITE).
By P. R- Mallet, F.G.S. Records, Geol Survey cf India; Vol. XIV., Part 2,
pp. 190-196.
Describes the rare Sulphide of Cobalt, so remarkable for its purity, found in the
Khetri (Khetree) Mines, near Jaipur (Jyepoor), in Rajputana. This mineral occurs in
thin layers between masses of copper ore, not more than 200 lbs. per month being
produced by any mine, and is used by Indian jewellers for staining gold of a delicate
rose-red colour by a secret process, and also in forming the well-known beautiful blue
enamels of the country. Some doubt seems to be thrown on the existence of Jaipurite
as distinct from the Cobaltite just referred to, an analysis of which is as follows:—
Sulphur .................. 19-46
Arsenic .................. 43*87
Antimony ... ... ... ... ... ... tr.
Cobalt .................. 28-30
Nickel ............ ...... tr.
Iron .................. 7'83
Gangue ... ..? ... ... ... ... -80
100-26
the specific gravity is 6*00 exactly, and associated with the mineral are small
crystals of Danaite. G. A. L.
ON THE FERRUGINOUS BEDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BASALTIC
ROCKS OF NORTH-EASTERN ULSTER. IN RELATION TO INDIAN
LATE RITE.
% F. R. Mallet, F.G.S. Records, Geol Survey of India; Vol XIV., Part 1,
pp. 139-148.
Describes the iron ores intercalated between the flows of Basalt of Antrim, gives a
Resume of the various theories which have been brought forward as to their origin, and
compares them with the laterite of India. Both the Indian and Irish deposits agree
ln oemg " argillaceous, often pisolitic, forms of highly ferruginous rock, the iron in
both being mainly in the state of hydrous and anhydrous ferric oxide. Both are
a
2
. associated over wide areas with underlying beds of lithomarge, and both are intimately
connected in some way with volcanic rocks" (page 145). The points of difference are
on the other hand, not of essential importance. The author then favourably considers
whether the view taken by the Irish geologists, and notably by Mr. Kinahan, as to the
origin of the Antrim beds, may be applicable to some of those in India. He accord-
ingly concludes that the high percentage of iron in the high-level laterite, as well as
its tolerably uniform diffusion over wide areas, seems to be explained by regarding that
rock as of lacustrine and (in so far as the iron is concerned) of chemical origin.
G. a. l.
[Note by Sub-Editor.—This paper is specially interesting when read in con-
nexion with Mr. Kendall's paper on " The Iron Ores of Antrim," in the Institute
Transactions.—G. A. L.]
THE SOEKABOEM1 COAL-FIELD.
Onderzoekingen in het Tcolenterrein bij Soelcaboemi; by J. A. Hooze. Jaarboek van
liet Mijnwezen in Nederlandsch Oost-Indie j 11 Jaargang, Part 1 (Wetcnsch.
gedeelte), pp. 5-65, with large folding Geological Map.
The rocks of this portion of Java consist of Tertiary sedimentary beds overlying
and sometimes broken through by eruptive masses of various ages. Verbeek has
divided the Eocene of Sumatra into four Groups or Stages. Of these only the second
and fourth are represented here, the latter lying perfectly conformably upon the
former. Equally conformable upon the fourth Eocene Stage are beds of Miocene age.
which with Drift and Alluvial deposits make up all the sedimentary rocks of the coal-
field. The country is hilly, and the beds lie in broad synclinals and anticlinals, the
latter generally occupying the valleys, and the former, as usual, having better resisted
denudation, forming the hills. There are limestones, sandstones, and conglomerates of
both Miocene and Eocene age, and the coal-seams occur in the non-calcareous members
of either series. Upon the denuded edges of the Tertiary beds, and constituting the
greater part of the surface of the country—all the lower ground, in fact—are sheets of
volcanic lava of comparatively recent overflow. This consists chiefly of Augite-
Andesite. A similar rock is supposed to be of greater age. The other igneous rocks
are Basalt and Hornblende-Andesite. There are several faults which are noticeable
for their low hade or deviation from the vertical. The coal-seams described vary from
O'lO metre to 2 or even 4 metres in thickness. Full analyses of the various coals are
given, in which the percentage of carbon ranges from 6915 to 7476, with an average
of 71*20, and that of ash from 5*46 to 11 "10, with an average of 764. G. A. L.
CHINESE GOLD MINE IN BORNEO.
De geologisch-mijnbomvhundige Opneming van een gedeelte van Borneo's- Westhust.
Verslag No. 2. Beschrijving der Chineesche goudmijn Sim-pi-toe. By C. J.
Yas Schelle. Jaarboek van het Mijnwezen in Nederlandsch Oost-Indie;
11 Jaargang, Part 1 (Technisch gedeelte), pp. 27-44, with three Plates.
The gold mine of Sim-pi-toe is in the valley of the Bani River on the west coast of
Borneo, on the road between Sjoei-Tsiet and Selinse and about five kilometers from
Benkajang. It was opened in 1874, and produces yearly about 17,175 thail (1 Borneo
thail of gold = 54 grammes) of gold, having a value of about 13,000 gulden. The
mine is in gravel and drift older than the alluvium of the Bani River, and lying upon
nite rpne Chinese machinery and implements used at the mine are fully '*
a floor o gi^ pl;ite l is a coionre(j geological map and section across the
describe^ ^.^^ 1)(?en (>;in.ied down as far as the bottom rock or granite. This
I workings, ^ ^ mining and geological reports on the west coast of Borneo,
paper is one oi « G. A. L.
mTTTS OX MINING RECORDS AND THE MINING RECORD OFFICE OF
I GREAT BRITAIN; AND THE COAL AND METALLIFEROUS MINES
ACTS OF 1872 (ENGLAND).
T YV H. HUGHES, F G.S., etc. Records, Geol. Survey of India; Vol. XIV.,
J ' ' Part 2, pp. 185-190.
Describes the publications and institution first-mentioned in the title with the
obiect of showing how useful would be the establishment of similar ones in India.
Incidentally it is noted that the output of the most abundant Indian mining produce,
coals, was (for 1878) only about 1,000.000 tons, made up as follows:
Tons.
Raniganj Coal-field ............ 522,000
Karharbari .. ............ 434,000
Wardha Valley „ ...... ...... 45,000
Mobpani „ ............ 13,000
Notes that if the prohibition of female labour underground were extended to India,
the result would be disastrous; also (with regard to the clause in the English Act pro-
hibiting the payment of wages in public-houses) that in India "it is asserted that
grog shops are most useful in stimulating the industry of the miners, for as long as
they have money they won't toil. Having spent the last of their wages over a
beaker of 1 daru,' they proceed to work. Consequently the greater the facilities for
drinking, the more sustained their industry." G-. A. L.
PETROLEUM AND OZOKERITE IN EASTERN GALICIA.
Die Petroleum- und Ozoherit-Vorhommnisse Ost-galiziens. By C. M. Paul. Jahr-
buch der Jc.-Tc. geol. Reichsanstalt; Vol. XXXI. No. I, pp. 131-168, with ten
Figures in the text.
The following are the divisions recognized in the Carpathians of Eastern Galicia
(in ascending order):—1.—The Neocomian Ropianka Beds, or Lower Carpathian
Sandstone. 2.—The Middle Carpathian Sandstone. 3.—The Eocene Carpathian Sand-
stone. 4.—The Menilite Slates. 5.—The Magura and Kliwa Sandstones. 6.—The
Neogene Salt Clay.
Of these Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 6 alone are oil-bearing. Sections across the oil-bearing
districts are described and in some cases illustrated. At Rozpucie, Roschy, Kreciata,
Mrazniea, and Orow, the oil-bearing portions of the Ropianka series occupy the anti-
clinal axes of the folded and contorted beds in a very striking manner. This is also
the case, though perhaps less conspicuously so, with the Eocene localities in the basins
of the San, Dnjester and Strwiaz, Stryj and Opor, and at Mizun and elsewhere in the
easternmost part of Galicia. The " mineral wax" or Ozokerite occurs in the Neogene
Salt Clay, where the beds are so contorted as to be apparently beneath the really
underlying Menilite Slates. Boryslav, where this inversion takes place, is the chief
locality for this substance, which is found in exactly the same position as that occupied
by the petroleum in the older beds, namely, along the axis of a sharp saddle fold or
anticline. G. A. L,
4
A MINERAL SPRING IN THE COAL-MEASURES OF THE SOUTH OF
FRANCE.
Note su,)' une Source minerals rencontree dans une galerie des houilleres de Gagnieres
{Gard). By M. pabbain. Bulletin, Soc. Geol. de France; Ser. 3, Vol. IX.
pp. 221, 222. '
This spring was struck at a depth of 250 metres from the surface (47*6 metres *
above sea-level), in driving a gallery in the Gagnieres Colliery (Department of Gard).
The rocks were shales and tine fissured sandstones. The temperature of the water was
19° C. On evaporation 10,520 grammes of solid matter was left per litre of water.
The analysis of this residuum is as follows [analysis given here exactly as by the
author] :—
Grammes.
8iO* ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Traces.
CaO .....................0-500
MgO .....................0-150
Fe*03, Al*03.......... .........Traces.
SO ^ .....................3-944
CI .....................0-247
Alkalies.....................5*056
HO and CO2 ..................0*600
10-497
The water gives rise to a considerable calcareous and magnesian deposit in the
workings. O. a. L.
COAL-FIELDS OF THE PYRENEES.
Sur la Geologie des Pyrenees de la Navarre, du Guipuzcoa, et du Labourd. By
P. W. Stuart-Menteath. Bulletin, Soc. Geol. de France; Ser. 3, Vol. IX.,
pp. 304-333. With folding Map {geological) and seventeen Figures in text.
This paper is one on the detailed geology of the regions named in the title,
and includes descriptions of deposits of Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian,
Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age, as well as serpentines (ophite), granites, por-
phyries, and other highly altered and igneous rocks. The small coal-fields of La Rhune
and Ibantelli were known before, but the author adds considerably to our knowledge of
their stratigraphical and pala3ontological relations. They belong to the same horizon
as the Upper Carboniferous of Saint-Etienne, occur in irregular folded strata conform-
ably underlying beds regarded as Permian by Mr. Menteath, and are bounded by
faults of large throws. Beneath the Coal-Measures, though often not very clearly or
satisfactorily shown either as to position or fossils, is a series of marbles and other
calcareous and more or less metamorphosed deposits and cherts, which is described and
mapped in the present paper as Lower Carboniferous of Carboniferous Limestone age.
In this view the writer follows Dr. Ch. Barrois, who in 1881 gave, for the first time,
palseontological proof of the Lower Carboniferous age of the well-known marbres
griottes of the Pyrenees. The map is on the scale of 1 ; 200,000* G. A. L.
* [See also on this subject a Note by Prof. Hubert, Bull Soc. Gcol. France, Ser. 3, pp. 179-181.J
5
THE DIAMOND FIELDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.
v sur la Region diamantifere de V Afrique Australe. By M. Chafer. Bulletin,
Soc. Geol. de France; Ser. 3, Vol. IX,pp. 8, 9.
V brief account of a separate work published on this subject by the writer. In this
i fnn crpoloo-ical features of the diamond deposits of Griqualand West are given.
\vorK tne » m .
These deposits the author regards as having been thrown up m a very fluid condition,
at a low temperature, and at repeated intervals. The manner in which the materials
"n question, after ejection and consolidation, were depressed and dislocated, is con-
•idered, and dykes of serpentinous (ophitic) matter cutting through them, are described.
The formation of various products of emanation and especially of the zeolites accom-
panying the diamond rocks is explained. The other minerals found associated with the
gems_garnet, titaniferous iron, haematite, sahlite, vaalite, etc.—are described by
M. Friedel, and the rocks themselves by MM. Fouque and Michel-Levy. The general
result of these combined studies is the view that the diamond has not been torn away
from a pre-existing rock, but is found in its original mother-rock or gangue. A map,
three plans, and eight plates illustrate the original work. G. A. L.
PERMO-CARBON1FEROUS ROCKS OF AUTUN.
Sur les Fossiles du Terrain Permien d' Autun (Saone-et-Loire). By M. E. Roche.
Bulletin, Soc. Geol. de France; Ser. 3, Vol. IX., pp. 78-83.
The Autun district, so long known for the bituminous shales worked there, is
specially interesting as affording one of the best-studied examples of a perfect passage
from Coal-Measures to Permian. These oil-shales are divided into three easily-distin-
guished divisions:—
1. —A lower sub-stage, 150 to 200 metres thick, comprising the beds worked at
Igornay and Saint-Leger-du-Bois. This division lies quite conformably
upon true Coal-Measures (worked for coal at Grand-Moloy and elsewhere),
and contains plants chiefly characteristic of the latter series, but mixed with
a very few Permian species. The animal remains, however, have a much less
Coal-Measure facies. They arc :— Crustacea—Cyproides, Nectotelson;
Fishes—Palosoniscus, Amblypterus, Acanthodes, Pleur acanthus; Sau-
rians — Actinodon Frossardi, Fuchyrosaurus Rochei, Stereorachis
dominant.
2. —A middle sub-stage, of more than 300 metres thick, comprising the beds worked
at Lally, Muse, Cordesse, Dracy-Saint-Loup, Ravelon, La Camaille, and Le
Ruet. In this division Permian plants, including several species of Callip-
teris and Walchia, are much more numerous, although many Carboniferous
species are still common. The animal remains are much the same as in
the lower sub-stage, with the addition of Actinodon major among the
Saurians, and the interesting Batrachians, Protriton petrolei and
Pleuronoura Pellati.
3-—An upper sub-stage, known as the Boghead beds, about 500 metres thick, and
comprising a seam of so-called Boghead coal, which has been worked at
Surinoulin, Millery, and Margennes — all in the neighbourhood of Autun.
In this division the plants are almost all of strictly Permian species, with a
very few forms characteristic of the Coal-Measures. The animal remains
are the same as in the middle division, with the exception of the Saurians
which have not been found here. G. A. L
6
COQUILLION'S APPARATUS FOR ANALYSING FIRE-DAMP.
Note Sur Vappareil Coquillion pour Vanalyse du Grisou, etc. Par M. Castel
Ingenieur en Chef des Mines'. Annates des Mines; Ser. 7, Tome XX., 188l'
pp. 509 to 534.
The principle of the invention, which dates from 1877, is the property possessed by
carburetted hydrogens of combustion in contact with a red hot palladium wire in
oxygen, leaving a product of water and carbonic acid. By condensing the water, and
comparing the volumes before and after combustion, the proportion of carburetted
hydrogens can be estimated. In mixtures up to nine per cent, of fire-damp and air
the apparatus is reliable. Tables of seventeen different experiments with products are
given in the paper. D. P. M.
THE SEAHAM AND PENYGRAIG EXPLOSIONS.
Note sur les Explosions survenues dans les houllleres de Seaham et de Penygraig.
Par M. L. Agttillon, Ingenieur des Mines. Annales des Mines; Ser. 7, Tome
XX., 1881, pp. 209 to 247. Plates III, IV., and V,fg. 1.
The interesting account of these two accidents, which occupies some forty pages,
deserves more than a mere summary; but as all the details and the voluminous reports
are still fresh in the minds of the members of the Institute, a notice of the conclusions
will be sufficient.
1.—Seaham.
The author states that it is plainly apparent that the explosion could not have
occurred in any working place (chantierj, and that the seat must be looked for within
a radius of 800 yards from the shaft in one of the main intakes. The returns and the
furnaces are evidently out of the question. The evidence tendered on behalf of the
owners, and of the engineers employed by them, seems to place the site of the explosion
to Ramshaw's place, whose body and lamp were found shattered. The men's represen-
tatives and the Government Inspectors disputed energetically this view, and the
former attribute it to an oil lamp at an interior staple, and their theory has this in its
favour, that the air, having the choice of two seams, might have become stagnant
in the staple, and gas accumulated there.
The Government Inspectors seem to refer the point of ignition nearer to the down-
cast, i.e., at the curve cross-cut. As this Avould depend on a shot (which has not been
ascertained to have been blown out), the combustion of coal dust, on which their
theory depends, does not appear proved. In fact, unless Professor Abel's experiments
are set aside, nearly 2h per cent, of fire-damp would have to be present. In dismis-
sing this view the writer agrees with one witness, that if a shot could light up in so
vehement a manner coal dust alone, most of the collieries in the North of England
would have long ere now ceased to exist. The author gives, as his own opinion, that
the main question was entirely left out of the inquiry, viz., the general arrangement of
airways and workings. He also points out that nearly the whole of the victims
perished by suffocation from after-damp at periods of various duration, and that this
should be a warning to English mining engineers to investigate the subject of exten-
sive goaves and numerous ramifications of intercrossing airways. A comparatively
small explosion may destroy all crossings, stoppings, and doors, and immediately the
miles of workings become dead (culs de sac). The author is, therefore, of opinion that
some system by which the upcast should be placed at the extreme rise would obviate to
some extent the dangers arising from the present system of neighbouring pits, and
complicated airways depending on crossings and separation doors.
2. -Penygraiu.
, conclusions arrived at in this case are very similar to the foregoing. The
Is were all dependent on crossings, and in the disablement of these became so
workiug^ ^ ^ ^ addition the mine was fiery, and powder extensively used. In
'her of the two cases can dust be charged specially with the disaster, but both acci-
dentsCpoint to defective arrangements of workings and airways. D. P. M.
MINERAL AND METALLURGICAL STATISTICS OF SPAIN, 1871-75.
Statistique Miniere et Metallurgique de VEspagne. Par M. CoiGNET. Bulletin
(]P la Sociite de V Industrie Miner ale; Ser. 2, Tome X., 1881, pp. 112 415.
1.—Ores.
MINERAL STATISTICS OF PORTUGAL, 1866-1876.
Tableau de Vexportation des principaux minerals extraits des mines, de 1866-1876,
par M. Coignet. Bulletin de la Societe de V Industrie Miner ale;
Ser. 2, Tome X., 1881, p. 416.
Table showing Exportation of Ores.
10
THE ACTION OF ZINC IN BOILERS.
Since 1875 experiments have been made in the French navy on the use of zinc for
the prevention of incrustation.
The boiler plates and zinc form a battery which decomposes the water into its
elements, hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen, combining with the zinc, forms zinc
oxide, which enters into combination with the fatty acids, and mixes with the water.
Zinc soap is produced which prevents the salts thrown down by vaporization from
adhering to the plates. One stroke of a brush is sufficient to remove them.
The hydrogen disengaged tends to aerate the water, and thus the danger of explosion
from superheating is much lessened. The author thinks, however, that this action, good
in theory, may not always be realized in practice, and recommends the completion of it
by mechanical means under the form of a moderate but continuous injection of hot air
into the lower part of the boiler, or better still of a non-oxidizable gas. such as carbonic
acid. J. H. M.
THE THOMAS-GILCHRIST PROCESS.
In the course of his paper, M. Rocour gives the following analysis of the first
twenty-five tappings made at Montlucon in December, 1880.
11
INDUSTRIAL MAP OF THE GARD COAL-FIELD.
plate XV. is a geological map on the scale of showing the royalties, both
coal and metalliferous.
Plate XVI. contains diagrams showing the production of coal, iron pyrites, and
zinc from 1860 to 1880 inclusive. From these it appears that the output of coal has
increased with more or less regularity from 900,000 tons in 1860 to 2,000,000 tons in
1880.
M. Garreau also gives a geological section of the strata. J. H. M.
THE CANALISATION OF THE SEINE.
These papers discuss the question of the conversion of the river Seine into a ship
canal, as far as Paris. M. Bouquet de la Grye is in favour of the scheme, M. Edmond
Roy is opposed to it. Amongst other objections the latter thinks that coal could then
be conveyed without transhipment direct from England to Paris to the exclusion of
French coal from the Pas de Calais. He favours the construction of the Grand
Northern Canal connecting Paris with its northern coal-fields, by means of which the
freight of coal would be reduced from its present figure 5*20— 5*60 shillings (6*50—700
fr.) per ton to 2'80—3*20 shillings (3-50—4'00 fr.), thus benefiting both the city of
Paris and the Pas de Calais coal-field. J. H. M.
INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION.
M. Louis Ovieve has addressed a petition to the Chamber of Deputies, asking that
* Articles 14 and 16 of the law of the 19th May, 1874, on the employment of children,
should be extended so as to include adults employed in all trades, agricultural as well
as industrial.
The Chamber of Deputies sent the petition to the Minister of Agriculture and
Commerce, who has opened an inquiry through the Prefets, by means of a circular
dated 5th April, 1880. This has met with a hearty response1, and M. Salomon pro-
poses that the matter should be considered by the Institute of Civil Engineers.
M. Salomon reviews the industrial legislation of England. Germany, France, and
Switzerland, and in an appendix gives extracts from their laws. He also quotes the
rules of two private societies for the prevention of accidents in workshops, viz.:—
The Mulhouse Association for the Prevention of Accidents from Machines;
and the Rouen Association formed in December, 1879, for the same purpose.
On the whole he seems to think that the formation of such societies as the above
would work better than Government legislation, and recommends that each industry
should issue a hand-book of its trade, to point out how accidents may be prevented, and
also to be an industrial text-book for the use of students and workmen. J. H. M.
* Art. 14.—The workshops shall be kept clean and properly ventilated. They shall have all the condi-
tions of security and salubrity necessary for the health of children. Moving machinery, traps, etc., must
be fenced. Art. 16. -Inspectors shall be appointed to see that the law is carried out.
12
PRICES OF COAL AND COKE AT ST. ETIENNE.
THE VELOCITY OF PROPAGATION OF EXPLOSIONS.
This paper contains an account of further experiments (see Vol. XXXI., p. 8 Abs.)
made with various gaseous mixtures, tired in a caoutchouc tube 131*32 feet (40 m.)
long and 0197 inch (0 005 m.) in diameter. The results are shown in five tables,
including altogether nearly fifty different mixtures, from which the following have
been selected:—
C = the density of the products of combustion, air being taken as unity.
n = the number of the molecular volumes of the elements that take part in the
( Lit- H )
reaction assumed to be gaseous, viz., n j 22*32 x — ^ x (1 + a i) j .
Q = units of heat produced by the reaction.
T = the theoretical temperature = —
n x 6*8
13
q = the theoretical velocity of propagation of the explosion in metres per second
= 29*354 ? •
<>| C
y the velocity got by experiment.
THE MOUNT VISO TUNNEL.
Tradition has attributed the piercing of Mount Viso to different people; to Hannibal,
the Romans, and the Saracens; but the researches of M. Vaccarone amongst the
archives of Turin prove that it was made by Louis II., Marquis de Saluces, in 1480.
The tunnel connects the valley of the Po with that of Queyras in Dauphine, and is
9,560 feet above the level of the sea. The dimensions were 80 yards long by 10 feet
broad and 8 feet high, and the cost 12,000 florins. In 1588 the Duke of Savoy, Charles
Emmanuel, blocked the tunnel up, but it was re-opened by Bonaparte in 1803.
J. H. M.
THE TRANSMISSION OF POWER BY ELECTRICITY AT THE
BLANZY MINES.
These experiments were made with an electric gin intended to draw coal up a bank
at the Saint diamond pit. The gin was set up under a set of shear legs, carrying a
pulley, over which a chain was passed. One end of the chain was rolled round the gin
drum, the other was attached to weights varying from 13 to 30 cwts. which weights
were drawn up to the pulley by the gin. The useful work done varied from 0*73 to
4"30 horse-power.
M. Graillot found that—
1. —The length of the conductors had no sensible effect upon the useful work
done within the limits of his experiments, viz., 700 yards.
2. —The useful effect reached a maximum of 51^ per cent, when the machines
(Gramme) were working to their full power.
14
The useful effect was obtained by comparing the work in weight raised with the
power transmitted to the generating machine. The loss therefore includes that due to
the friction of the gearing, etc., of the gin; to the friction'of the friction cones con-
necting the Gramme machine with the gin; to the friction of the pulley on the shear
legs; and to that of the chain passing over the pulley and round the drum._J. H. M.
ELECTRIC GIN, PERONNIERE COLLIERY.
In this paper the authors give a detailed account, with numerous drawings, of the
apparatus already shortly described by one of them in the Comptes-rendus of the Soc.
de l'lndustrie Minerale, for abstract of which see Vol XXXI., p. 10, Abs.
The authors give the following estimate of the cost of an installation to draw 1£
tons of coal from a depth of 22 fathoms in 151 seconds (1,600 kilogrammes from a
depth of 40 m.)—
£ Francs.
Steam engine, 20 horse-power ... ... ... ... 258 ... 6,450
Bedplate for the above ... ... ... ..."
4 Plumber blocks ...
2 Plumber bottoms ... ... ......
5 Lubricators
Shaft for friction pulleys ... ... ... ... ...
Shaft to drive Gramme ...............r 150 " 3,750
5 Pulleys .........
Driving belt
Contact gear ......
Pins, bolts, etc. ... ... ... ... ... ____,
Gramme machine of 8 horse-power (generator)... ... 140 ... 3,500
Trochometer .................. 11*2 ... 280
Galvanometer .................. 1*8 ... 45
Total at bank......... £561 ... 14,025
Gin complete .................. 312 ... 7,800
Gramme machine (motor) ............ 140 ... 3,500
Grand total .........£1,013 ... 25.325
To this must be added the cost of the cables—lid. per yard (1'25 fr. per m.) in
dry places, 2s. 2'33d. per yard (3 fr. per m.) in wet. Also the cost of erection, both at
bank and below ground.
In conclusion the authors consider that electricity may be advantageously used for
transmitting power in mines principally under the following circumstances—
1. —When the mine is not very fiery.
2. —When the distance is great.
3. —When the rolleyways are very sinuous, and especially if the power has to be
carried along a series of drifts and staples joining each other at right angles.
The experiments made included distances up to 3.280 yards (3 kilometres), and
proved that the useful effect varied very little with the distance.
M. Marcel Despery shows that it is possible to transmit 10 horse-power 32 miles (50
kilometres) along an ordinary telegraph wire, the electro-motor having a power of
about 16 horses. J. H. M.
15
RESISTANCE OF TUBS TO TRACTION.
31 Thibault considers that the resistances are of three kinds.
j_The resistance due to the tub itself, viz., the friction of the axles on the
cods and the wheels on the rail. This is proportional to the mass of
the tub and independent of its speed.
2._The resistance resulting from imperfections in the road. This is propor-
tional to the mass of the tub and the square of the speed.
3_The resistance offered by the pressure of the air upon the front of the tub.
This is proportional to the velocity squared.
If then r = total resistance.
x = resistance due to 1.
a = resistance due to 2.
y = resistance due to 3.
m = mass of the tub.
v = velocity.
Jc, k'', Jc" =-- constants.
r = x + a + y = Jc m + Jc'm v2 + Jc" v2.
In order to determine the relative values of x, y, a, it is necessary to establish a
system of three equations, which will be given by three experiments, made under
different conditions of mass and velocity. This M. Thibault does, and finds that:—
_ V2 R' — V/2 R
x ~ V'2 — V'2
P (R — RQ + x (F — P)
" - P^F
r x P(R-R') + *(F-P)
Where R and R' = gross resistances.
P and P' = corresponding masses.
V and V' = do. velocities.
Practical Experiment.
A tub weighing 244 kil. when empty, and holding 450 kil. (537 lbs. and 990 lbs.
respectively), gave, at a mean speed of 3*27 m. per sec. (1073 feet).
x = 6-836 kil.
a = 3-576 „
y = 0*498 ,,
R = 10-910 „ (24 lbs.)
J. H. M.
EXPLOSIVES.
The Scientific American, October 1th, 1882.—Blue Fire as an Explosive, p. 224.
Professor Jackson was led by an explosion of fire-works at Chester, Penn., to make
some experiments on blue fire. He. believes it will be found valuable as an explosive
for blasting purposes, being safer and more powerful than dynamite. There are two
kinds made. One is composed of chlorate of potash, three parts by weight; sulphur,
-
olio part ; and ammonio-sulpliate of copper, one part. Another and safer kind is made
without sulphur, viz., ammonio-sulphate of copper, eight parts; chlorate of potash
six parts; and shellac, one part.
By means of a percussion cap, or the concussion of exploding gunpowder, it ex-
plodes readily, wet or dry, but can be dropped or struck with a hammer without
danger.
New Explosive, p. 233.
Koeppel, the inventor, claims for this explosive that it is cheaper than any other
gives no injurious smoke or gases, and does not explode from concussion or friction.
It is manufactured in two kinds, of which the following is the composition: —
Basalt, etc. Sandstone, etc.
No. 1. No. 2.
Saltpetre ...............35 ... 42
Soda ..................19 ... 22
Refined sulphur ............11 ... 12\50
Sawdust ............... 9-50 ... 19 (10?)
Chlorate of potash ... ... ... ... 9*50 ... —
Charcoal ... ... ... ... ... 6 ... 7
Sulphate of soda ... ... ... ... 425 ... 5
Prussiate of soda ... ... ... ... 2*25 ... -1—
Refined sugar... ... ... ... ... 2*25 ... —
Picrin acid ... ... ... ... ... 1*25 ... 1*50
100-00 ... 109-00 (100-00)
J. H. M.
THE MARSAUT SAFETY-LAMP.
This article is a reprint of a letter from M. Chalmeton describing the Marsaut
lamp, and asking permission of the Prefet to use it at the Besseges Mines.
The lamp is based upon the Mueseler, but has a double gauze and a metal case
round the gauze. (See Plate.)
He claims for it the following advantages:—
1. —It will not go out either when inclined or when subjected to an ascending
current.
2. —It will not pass the explosion outside the lamp when subjected to a rapid
current from whatever direction it may come.
3. —It will not pass the explosion outside the lamp when placed in an explosive
mixture of air and coal gas.
4. —The gauze is protected from wear and dust by a metal case.
5. —The metal case being moveable, the gauze can be examined without opening
the lamp.
He gives the following table of the results of his experiments;—
17
Safety-Lamp Experiments.
IS
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON DYNAMITE STORES.
In January, 1882, the South-Eastern District of France decided to petition Govern-
ment to relax the restrictions on the storage of dynamite. A commission was appointed
to study the question, and this is their first report.
The matter is classed under four heads :—
1. —Statistics of accidents.
2. —Foreign legislation.
3. —Underground magazines.
4. — Revision of the tax.
1.—Statistics of Accidents.
The commission show by tables the number of persons injured by powder and bv
dynamite during the eleven years 1871-81, and conclude that whilst the chance of an
explosion in a dynamite store is one-half of that in a gunpowder store the damage done
is twice as great.
2. —Foreign Legislation.
A short abstract of the law in Belgium, Austria, and England is given, preceded by
an abstract of their own legislation on this subject.
3. —Underground Stores.
These are of two kinds, those in the mine itself and those in special excavations
removed from any workings. The first are permitted by the French, Belgian, and
Austrian law, but not by the English. The advantages are:—Saving of labour, avoid-
ance of surface liabilities, protection from frost, protection from lightning, and protec-
tion from malicious damage.
On the other hand, should the mine be fiery, great danger might accrue, and the
Commission recommend that dynamite should no longer be stored in fiery mines. With
reference to the second, the Commission think that no danger can accrue if they be
situated deep enough, and they discuss the ordinary formula for the calculation of the
depth, from which they find that 1,200 kilos, might be stored at a depth of 21*5 m.;
they consider this however too shallow, and recommend an addition of 50 per cent,
to the formula.
4. —Revision of the Tax.
France is the only country in which dynamite is taxed. The amount (2 fr. per
kilog.) is about half the price. The commission recommend that this should be
reduced 50 per cent. J. H. M.
THE EFFECTIVE AREA OF AIR CURRENTS.
The degree of efficiency of the ventilation of a mine may be expressed, according
to M. Murgue, by a comparable figure of relation termed by him "orifice equivalent," or
• alent-opening or area in a thin partition which permits of a quantity (V) of
the eflJ|^v wnicn has a depression or water-gauge (h), calculated by the general rule
feting"he efflux of air:- ^
^^Hp a = -
k >/ 2 g h K
Substituting the values for g, £0, & and k, the formula becomes
0012 V
This calculation has the objection that it is not the passage of air from a vessel
into the open that has to be dealt with, but the passage of air through long tubes, and
from that point of view it is difficult to say whether the above formula would hold
^ From the following it will be seen that a relation can be found that will suit both
cases, and which closely resembles the above formula :—
Let H = the depression between a space devoid of air and one open to the atmos-
phere which = 10-308 m. water-gauge (33*82 feet).
V = velocity of air equivalent to the water-gauge H = 393 m. (1,289*4 feet).
h = the depression existing between two spaces of which one is filled with
atmospheric air, and the other with air of a less density.
v0 = the theoretical velocity of the air equivalent to the depression h.
And the following proportion is established:—
E 9
s/ n
Therefore v0 = V ——
s/ H
By this formula the movement of air through mines could be calculated if friction
and other obstacles did not exist.
Further let—
v = the effective velocity at the termination of an air current having a water-gauge h;
F =¦ the area of the gallery at the place of the measurement of v ;
Effective quantity of air.
Then 7 = —-;—---—--„ .
Theoretical quantity or air.
F • v
1 F * v0
v
I v v
>l =---z_ m 0*008 —
122 V ^ \/ h
Further let Fi = the effective ventilating area, that is the area of a gallery
through which the effective air quantity (F ' v) Hows with the theoretical velocity
(Co)—
20
Fi * v0 = F ' v
V V
Fi - F = F —— = y • p
?;
y Q
Fi = 0-008 ' —= • F - 0-008 ——
s/ h */ h
If the depression h is not measured at the place where the velocity is measured
but in the ventilator building, then
h = 0 h\
Q
and Fi = 0-008 -
s/ <t>h\
in which Q = air quantity per second ;
h\ = the water-gauge measured at any place in the ventilator building;
0 mm the coefficient (found by experiments) expressed by the ratio )
of the water-gauge h, which exists at the place where the velocity v
is measured and the water-gauge hi in the ventilator building.
This formula for the calculation of the effective area expresses most suitably the
relation existing between the volume and the depression of air currents, and can be
used to compare the degree of efficiency between two or more mines with respect to
their ventilation.
The place of observation of the water-gauge should either be at the point where the
velocity is measured, in which case 0 = 1 + hi = h; or in the ventilator building,
when the water-gauge hi should be reduced by multiplying it with the coefficient 0?
which should in every case be found by experiment.
If the water-gauge is measured in the side wall of a Guibal fan, then, for the pur-
pose of finding the average depression of the air in a gallery in the mine where the
velocity is measured, the water-gauge should be placed at that distance from the cir-
cumference of the fan in a straight line towards the centre, expressed by the following
rule founded on experiment:—
s = 0*011 ' r ' n, where
r = the radius of the fan,
n = the revolutions per minute.
The depression can also be calculated by observing the readings of the barometer
and thermometer in the mine and on the surface at the same time, and taking into
account the depth between the two points of observation.
The revolutions of a ventilator are in direct proportion to the velocity measured in
one and the same point in the area of a gallery, and in direct proportion to the square
root of the depression.
Guibal expresses the efficiency of the ventilation of a mine by what he calls the
mechanical temperament, which is the quotient of the measured volume of air (Q)
squared, divided by the depression (h).
Experiments made at four Saxon mines give relations of comparison, according to
the three methods of calculation, as follows:—
22
THE VENTILATION OF PRUSSIAN COLLIERIES.
The Prussian fire-damp Commission have issued ten tables embracing all the coal
mines that were at work in Prussia on the 1st July, 1881, of which the following is a
synopsis:—
Table 1 deals with the following information of each coal-field and Government
district, the total being only here given. In 1880, 42,273,113 tons of coal were raised
in the whole state of Prussia, employing on an average 155,697 men at 377 mines, of
which mines 174 had proved the existence of fire-damp during the last three years. 122
had experienced explosions, and 203 been entirely free from fire-damp. Of these mines
43 were shallow, and were worked by adits, 25 were deeper and had adits and shafts
and 309 were deep and had only shafts. Natural ventilation was used at 129 mines,
29 had both natural and artificial ventilation, while 219 were altogether artificially
ventilated.
Table 2 shows the division of employed above and below ground for the year 1880,
the total being 155.697 persons, of which 124.790 were employed below ground, or 801
per cent., and 30,907 above ground, or 19'9 per cent.
As to the occurrence of fire-damp in Prussia, the line cannot be drawn so severely
between mines with fire-damp and those with none, which is done in Belgium, but the
Government authorities have prescribed orders to deal with those mines in which fire-
damp occasionally occurs. The necessary stipulations to allow a mine to count as free
from fire-damp is not laid down in the law, but is left solely to the decision of the
Government mining experts and inspectors.
Table 3 deals with the production of mines with and without fire-damp. Out of
the 42,273,133 tons raised, 27,631,404 were raised from 174 mines with fire-damp, or
158,801 tons per mine by 103,419 persons, or 594 per mine; while 14.641,709 tons were
raised from 203 mines free from fire damp, or 72,127 tons per mine by 52,278 persons,
or 258 per mine.
Table 4 shows that 65 per cent, of the production comes from mines with fire-damp,
employing 66 per cent, of the total number of persons employed.
In Table 5 the number of tons raised in adit mines and shafts is shown. There were
43 adit mines, which raised 447.034 tons, or 10,396 per mine, employing 2,908 men or
68 per mine. Collieries worked by adits and shafts numbered 25, raising 1,012,540
tons, or 49,502 per mine, employing 5,115 men, or 205 per colliery. Collieries with
shafts only numbered 309, raising 40,813,539 tons, or 132.083 per mine with 147,674
persons, or 478 per colliery.
Single shaft collieries only exist where great difficulties occur in sinking, such as
occurrence of watery strata over the coal formation. They all occur in Westphalia,
where, in the Lower Rhine district, shafts have to be sunk through a great thickness
of magnesian limestone containing much water. In this district 40 mines, raising
3^ million tons per annum and employing 13,933 persons, have single shafts.
The deepest mines in each district are given in Table 6. where the Maria mine, in
the Aix-la-Chapelle district, stands first in the list, having a depth of 675 metres (368
fathoms).
Table 7 shows that 129 mines are exclusively ventilated by natural means, raising
3,900,383 tons or 30,236 per mine, by 15,415 persons or 119 per mine. Twenty-nine
mines have natural ventilation, but are sometimes assisted by artificial means, and raise
28
R 3 916,73° tons or 135,060 tons per mine, by 13,179 persons or 454 per mine. Per-
Bfliancntly artificially ventilated mines number 219, raising 34,456,000 tons or 157,333
I g pC1. mine, by 127,103 persons or 580 per mine.
Table 8 is very elaborate, showing the system of ventilation adopted, classed into
¦ three great groups, viz.:—(1.) Mines sometimes ventilated with artificial means. (2.)
! Miues ventilated by artificial means only. (3) The total of one and two. Each group
I jg subdivided, giving the number of mines with boilers in the shafts, steam pipes in
I upCasts, compressed air at the face, ventilating chimneys, furnaces, ventilators, and
furnaces and ventilation together. The number of ventilating apparatuses are as
follows:—Boilers 1, steampipes 14, compressors 23, ventilating chimneys 101.), furnaces
underground 121, furnaces above ground 48, mechanical ventilators 136, total 452.
These figures are embodied in Table 9.
Compressed air is used to a great extent, both temporarily and permanently, in
' ventilating fiery mines, especially in advance headings and winning places.
Furnaces are used at a depth of 330 metres (175 fathoms). On the 1st of July.
1881, 103 Prussian mines—of which 90 contained gas- had 136 mechanical ventilators,
of which a fourth served as a reserve. All of them are exhausting machines, and, as a
rule, stand singly, occasionally (Saarbrucken) two are found together, so arranged, that
one works behind the other.
As to their construction, Table 10 gives particulars, in which it states that 78 are
Guibals, 16 Rittinger or Schiele fans, 2 Schwarz Ropf, 3 Zimmerman, 17 Fabry, 3
Kaselowsky, 3 Winter, 11 Pelzer, and 3 Korting ventilating machines.
The Pelzer screw ventilator is finding increased use in Westphalia.
C. Z. B.
MINING FATAL ACCIDENTS IN PRUSSIA, 1881.
24
Accidents in Shafts.
Number of Number of Fatal
B t m •« , „ Travelling. Ac^!ts.
By travelling with ladders ... 59,764 ... 5 0.Q84
» » man engines ... 7,830 ... 3 ... o*383
>i it cage and ropes 98,328 ... 8 ... 0081
Total ...... 165,922 ... 16 ... ~~cJo9Q
Fatal Accidents Tabulated, 1881.
25
„ vlt accidents, Causing Incapability to Work for One Month and over.
¦j^0>--r AiA i- ^
Passing Incapability, Lasting T t , Per 1000
1-6 Months. Incapability. Employed.
Coalmining...... 1.798 ... 157 ... 1,955 ... 11-997
"B .428 ... 12 ... 440 ... 6287
Ore ?»
Other mineral mining 25 ... 3 ... 28 ... 3*551
Total ... 2,362 186 2,548 9771
Total for 1880 ... 2.217 211 2.428 9701
C. Z. B.
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RETURN AIR OF COLLIERIES IN
SAXONY.
In 1876 Dr. A. Schondorif of Saarhriicken made some analyses of the air in the
Saarbriicken mines, and was the first that introduced the term "chemical temperament"
of a mine, meaning by it the average deterioration of the ventilating current per 1,000
running metres of airway by losing oxygen and taking up carbonic acid and fire-damp.
The analyses in the Saxon mines were restricted to the returns and were not so
elaborate as those of Dr. Schondorff, being intended for practical men.
Samples of the air to be analysed were obtained by hanging, in a vertical position
underground, tin cylinders with conical ends, made air-tight, fitted at both ends with
pipes, from which India-rubber tubing with pinch cocks could be led. The vessel was
filled with water before leaving the surface, and its capacity was equal to 2*2 gallons.
It was then hung in position and the tube attached to the top of the vessel, fastened to
two absorption tubes, of which the first was filled with glass-wool to absorb the dust,
and the other with chloride of calcium to absorb the moisture. These tubes gave the
amount of dust and moisture in the air absorbed, which was done by opening both
pinch cocks, the water flowing through the bottom tube sucking the air through the top
one. After this had been done, the apparatus was hermetically sealed and sent off for
further analysis. The amount of dust was found repeatedly to be almost nil. The
amount of oxygen was obtained by absorption; that of nitrogen by the difference after
obtaining quantities of the rest of the constituents. The amount of carbonic acid was
determined by sulphate of baryta. The usual plan of determining the quantity of
fire-damp in the sample could not well be applied, the quantity of fire-damp being so
small, so that the plan adopted was that of freeing first the sample entirely of carbonic
acid, then burning the gas and obtaining carbonic acid by means of glowing oxide of
copper and treating the products of combustion with sulphate of baryta. The experi-
ments were made at nine collieries, and it was observed that the amount of carbonic acid
varied much, the source of which being the ventilating current, the burning of lights,
the breathing of the men, the gas exhalation of the coal, and the gas flowing from
cavities. The amount varied from 0*121 per cent, by volume to 2716 on working days,
and from 0*1168 per cent, to 2*662 per cent, by volume on Sundays. The amount of
fire-damp in the return air varied from 0*01754 per cent, to 0*25576 per cent, by volume.
d
26
on week days, and from 0*02165 per cent, to 0*12416 per cent, by volume on Sundays
The oxygen varied from 17*751 to 19689 per cent, by volume, and the nitrogen from
75*6174 to 78*565 per cent, by volume; the moisture from 2*5254 per cent, to 4*1904
per cent. C. Z. B.
MINERAL PRODUCTION OF PRUSSIA DURING THE YEAR 1881.
Production of Coal.
Of this total production, 2,920,192 tons, representing a value of £672,738, were used
in colliery consumption, equal to 6*67 per cent, in tonnage and 6*20 per cent, in value.
Of the 162,179 persons employed, 128,403 were employed underground and 33,776
above ground; and of the latter, 2,848 were females, who, with the exception of 24 em-
ployed in the Aix-la-Chapelle coal-field, of the District Bonn, were employed in Silesia,
District Breslau. In addition to the 386 mines at work during the year, 10 were
nearly ready for winning, two were stopped owing to alterations, and two produced coal
only as a by-product. The average production per man per annum was 270 tons or
£66, and the average production per mine per annum was 113,421 tons or £28,105.
Production of Lignite, 1881.
In addition to 446 mines at work, eight were in course of winning, and two were
laid in. Of the 19,959 persons employed, 10,525 were employed below ground, and
the rest, 9,434, above ground, of which 273 were females; 206 of which were employed
in the Government district of Halle, and the rest, with the exception of two, in
Breslau.
Of the total production, 907,749 tons, representing a value of £142,771, were used
in colliery consumption, equal to 8*71 per cent, in tonnage and 9*13 per cent, in value.
The average production per man per annum was 521 tons or £78, and the average
production per mine per annum was 23,345 tons or £3,505.
27
Total Fuel Production of Prussia, 1881.
28
THE PREVENTION OF EXPLOSIONS OF FIRE-DAMP.
At the meeting of the French Fire-damp Commission, held on the 24th January
1878, it was decided to appoint a Sub-commission to draw up a preliminary report
showing succinctly the present state of knowledge with reference to fire-damp, and
which should serve as a point of departure for the investigations of the Commission.
This report occupies over one hundred closely printed pages, and contains a most
comprehensive resume of all that is known on the subject. The references, nearly
three hundred in number, form a feature of great value. J. H. M.
AN OUTBURST OF CARBONIC ACID GAS.
The Rochebelle collieries (Gard, south of France) are very much troubled with
carbonic acid gas, which comes off from the working face with a crackling noise like
that produced by the issue of fire-damp.
At the Fontanes pit, No. 11 seam, a very violent outburst occurred on the 28th July,
1879. All the men in the seam at the time, three in number, were killed, and two others
in the shaft had a narrow escape.
The volume of gas was sufficient to foul 176,583 cubic feet (5,000 cubic metres) of
air in a few minutes, and issued with such force that 74^ tons (76 tonnes) of coal were
blown down. It took four-and-a-half days to clear the pit of the gas. J. H. M.
ELECTRICITY.
The telegraph line between Munich and Miesbach was used for these experiments.
The distance is 35^ miles (57 kilometres). The wire galvanized iron, 0*177 inches
diameter (4*5 millimetres), and the return wire the same. The total distance, therefore,
was 71 miles (114 kilometres), and the resistance 950 ohms. The two Gramme
machines, situated the one at Munich the other at Miesbach, were identical, and had each
a resistance of 470 ohms. The total resistance of the circuit, therefore, was 1,900 ohms.
Power equal to half a horse-power (38 kilogrammes per second) was obtained at
Miesbach with a velocity of 1,500 revolutions per minute, the generating machine at
Munich making 2,200 revolutions, equal to 60 per cent. J. H. M.
THE CENTRAL COAL-FIELD OF BELGIUM.—CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
OF THE COAL.
M. Dubar has made analyses of the coal from this basin for the purpose of noting
the effect of depth upon its composition. The analyses, some 300 in number, which are
given, show that the seams follow the general rule, i.e., the proportion of fixed carbon
increases with the depth. There are, however, exceptions. J. H. M.
29
THE MURE COAL-FIELD.
B-fhe author gives a description, topographical and geological, of the Mure coal-field.
also describes in detail the systems of working adopted under various conditions of
Sickness and inclination of the seams, concluding with the number of men employed,
their wages, and the price obtained for the anthracite.
This °coal-neld is situated in the department of the Isere, near to Grenoble, and is
about 50 square miles (128 square kilometres) in area. It contains five seams, varying
iu thickness from 15 inches to 40 feet (0*4—12 m.) The two highest, however (one of
which is the 40 feet), are only found in a small portion of the basin.
The hands employed number 327, the hewers' wages vary from 2s. 5d. to 3s. 3d.
(3 to 4 fr.) per day, and the price at the pit's mouth is 7s. 3d. (9*10 fr.) per ton.
J. H. M.
LIGNITE MINES OF THE NORTH OF BOHEMIA.
The basin is bounded on the north and south by the Erzgebirge and the Mittelge-
birge respectively, on the west by the Fichtelgebirge, and extends to the east as far as
Bohinisch-Leipa. The length from east to west is 150 kilometres, the breadth about
8 kilometres, and the area more than 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles).
The three principal basins are:—
1. —Elbogen, comprising the two sub-basins of Eger and Falkenau.
2. —Saatz-Teplitz, comprising the two sub-basins of Saatz and Bilin.
3. —Leitmeritz, on the right bank of the Elbe.
The formation may be divided into three stages:—
The Lower of middle eocene age, contains a seam from 9 to 13 feet in thickness.
The Middle of upper eocene age, contains some thin seams of good quality.
The Upper of lower miocene age, contains a seam 46 feet thick on an average,
and sometimes double that thickness.
The lignite is used for domestic purposes, baking bread, lime burning, brick making,
in the boilers of stationary engines, in the sugar manufactures, and even in the manu-
facture of Bessemer steel. About half the production is consumed in Austria; the
remainder is exported, principally to Germany.
The mineral appears to have been worked since 1556, but no winding engines were
used until 1856. There are now more than one hundred winding engines and sixty
Pumping engines.
In 1858 the gross drawings were only 225,000 tons. The production now is about
6,000,000 tons.
Several tables are given by M. Lallemand, of which the following appears the most
interesting:—
81
STATISTICS.—COAL, IRON, &c.
n.,N rontain a very large quantity of statistical information, from which
These papei &
the following lias been selected:-
(A.)—The Ikon and Steel Trade.
The consumption in tons per inhabitant in 1880 was—England 371, Belgium 2'26,
United States 1'40, Germany 121, France 074, and Austro-Hungary 0'39.
THE ADVANCE IN MINING AND METALLURGICAL ART, SCIENCE,
AND INDUSTRY SINCE 1875.
By William P. Shikn". Transactions'of the American Institute of Mining Engineers;
Vol. IX., 1881, pp. 293-299.
This is the annual address of the President of the Institute.
Coal.
During the five years, 1875 to 1880, important discoveries have been made in Utah,
Colorado, Indian Territory, and New Mexico. The two last States afford good coking
coal.
Comparison of the production of anthracite coal:—
Total production of coal in the United States in gross tons:—
1
Wrought Iron.
The average consumption of fuel per ton of iron puddled has been 3,000 to 3,200 lbs
The Swindell regenerative furnace puddles a ton of iron with 1,250 lbs. of slack coal*
Experiments are being made on a revolving puddlcr which promises even better results '
Bessemer Steel.
There has been an extraordinary increase in the production of Bessemer steel:---
Net Tons.
1871-1875 ......... 907,060
1876-1880 ......... 3,950,954
Increase...... 3,043.894 or 333 per cent.
The output of ingots at some of the leading steel works during 1880;—
Gross Tons.
Edgar Thompson ............... 123,303
Cambria .................. 122,143
Joliet..................... 116,750
Lackawanna...... ...... ... ... 105,354
North Chicago ............... 100,178
The production of steel rails in five years was:—
Net Tons.
1871-1875 ......... 697,142
1876-1880 ......... 3,046,584
Increase ... ... , 2,349,442 or 335 per cent.
The Krupp process of washing out phosphorus is in successful operation at Spring-
field, Illinois, and promises well in connection with the open hearth process.
The Thomas and Gilchrist basic process is a commercial success abroad, and will
soon, doubtless, be introduced into this country.
Gold.
1871-1875 ......... $197,662,244 ... £40,839,306
1876-1880 ......... $196,690,603 ... £40,638,554
Decrease...... $971,641 ... £200,752
Silver.
1871-1875 ......... $133,607,510 ... £27,604,857
1876-1880 ......... $206,210,848 ... £42,605,547
Increase...... $72,603,338 ... £15,000,688
The increase in silver is due to the great carbonate deposits of Colorado.
Petroleum.
Barrels.
1871-1875 ......... 41,911,367
1876-1880 ......... 83,042,121
Increase...... 41,130,754 or nearly 100 per cent.
The following are some of the most important improvements in machinery:—
1. —The Porter-Allen high-speed engine for rolling mills.
2. —The Leavitt compound engine for pumping and hoisting.
3. —The Bulkley condenser for blast-furnace and rolling-mill engines.
4. —The Klomen eye-bar universal mill for producing wreldless eye-bars of iron and
steel. The only process so far used adapted to eye-bars of Bessemer steel.
36
FRENCH MINERAL STATISTICS FOR 1880.
This paper consists of several tables showing the production of coal, lignite,
iron, and steel. Two of these are here given.
37
THE MINING INDUSTRIES OF ITALY.
The Italian Minister of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce has published a
volume of 400 pages, containing documents, tables, diagrams, etc., relating to the
above subject.
The introduction, drawn up by M. F. Giordano, Inspector General of Mines, contains
a summary of the geology of the country, the law of mines, schools, and taxes.
Several tables are given in very minute detail, from which tables a portion has been
abstracted as follows :—
The Yearly Production oe Minerals.—A Mean Average deduced erom
the Years 1875-79.
88
PERFORATION OF THE ALPS.—THE ST. GOTHARD TUNNEL WORKS
In Tome XV. of the seventh section of the Annates des Mines (1879) a summary
was given of the then existing state of the works at the St. Gothard Tunnel, and this
notice is intended to complete the information then afforded.
The two drifts—from Goeschenen on the north, and Airolo on the south, respec-
tively 8,410 yards (774470 m.) and 7,812 yards (7,16770 m.)—met on the 20th
February, 1880, with only one foot of divergence in their lateral direction, and two
inches in their level.
The work at each end was commenced in the autumn of 1872, and the work pro-
gressed at an average rate of 272 yards (250 metres) per three months, the limit of
time granted to the contractor.
After numerous experimental trials the engineers decided on adopting the borers
of Ferroux and McKean, the former in practice only requiring 34 machines to 60 of
the latter, with 1*5 per cent, in repairs as against 5 per cent.
A description of the latter borer, with modifications, is given, and it is illustrated
on Plate I. These improvements resulted in a reduction to 40 machines, and the per-
centage in repairs to 2J.
The geological features are then described, and the difficulties encountered in
dealing with water, the latter, however, steadily diminishing as the drifts advanced.
The temperature was also found to remain pretty constant at 30° C. at the face, that
at the entrances being 15° C, and the sides showing 25° C.
The cost of the tunnel complete, including lining, was £172 (4,300 francs) per
metre, as against the estimated cost of £128 (3,200 francs).
Descriptions are then given of the Frbhlich drill (Plate L, Fig. 6), and the Brandt
drill (Plate II., Figs. 2-6), and the paper concludes with a comparison of the distances
and facilities of the two lines of Mont Cenis and St. Gothard, " both of which are
essential to English commerce and traffic/'
Distance from Paris to Plaisance (the first essential point on the Brindisi and
eastern route) :—
Miles. Kilometres.
By Mont Cenis ............... 618 ... 989
„ St. Gothard ............... 595 ... 952
Distance from Boulogne to Plaisance:—
By Mont Cenis ............... 777 ... 1,243
„ St. Gothard ............... 754 ... 1,206
The interests of France are concerned in the former, and those of Belgium and
Holland are affected by the latter. D. P. M.
39
THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL VENTILATION IN THE MONT
oN CENIS TUNNEL.
All attempts to ventilate the tunnel by natural ventilation failed, several cases of
asphyxia occurred, and a constant source of danger existed. A Commission was
• tilcrefore appointed, and is still at work.
The immense volume of air to be displaced is very noticeable. The total length of
the tunnel is 13,000 yards (12,849 metres) and the area 400 square feet (42 metres).
The velocity of the current to be effective should not be less than 6J feet (2 metres)
per second; consequently 150,000 cubic feet at least should enter the tunnel per
minute, this being barely sufficient to keep the air fresh.
After pointing out the difficulties presented both by the length and sectional
area of the tunnel, as well as the unfavourable levels and the climatic and geographical
position of the two ends, the author proceeds to estimate the large approximative dis-
charge of noxious gases and impure air to be expected from locomotives, lights, and
respiration, and then insists on the total insufficiency of the existing air pumps as
ventilators.
As a summary of his calculations he gives the following as the products of com-
bustion of the present number of trains (thirteen each way and three pilot engines)
per twenty-four hours : —
M. Cubes.
Carbonic acid gas ... ... ... ... ... ... 18,548
Carbonic oxide ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9,521
Nitrogen ........................111,312
Steam ........................ 205,902
To dilute this enormous vitiation of the air he reiterates the necessity of no less
a volume than 150,000 cubic feet per minute, and in case of a cessation of the
ventilating current, he estimates a day and a half as the time when the air would
become unfit for respiration.
The present appliances are described at some length, his conclusion being :—" The
means adopted for partially remedying the insufficiency of the ventilation of the
great tunnel of the Alps in no way suffices to create an artificial ventilation, while it
considerably disturbs the natural ventilation."
He then proposes to close one end of the tunnel with movable doors, applying a
shaft (or dumb drift) within them, and to place on this a centrifugal or exhausting
fan, in support of which he gives instances of Guibal ventilators amply powerful and
effective, and he estimates the actual horse-power required as 224. D. P. M.
PROFITS OF FRENCH COLLIERIES IN 1880.
Benefices des Houilleres Francaises en 1880.
The French mineral statistics (La Statistique de VInd. Min.), as published by the
Minister of Public Works, give the following results:—
In 1880 there were 336 collieries at work, 209 of which gave a profit of 42,953,239
francs for a production of 17,521.774 tons, or 254 francs per ton. '
127 worked to a loss of 5,168,648 francs for a production of 1,862,980 tons, or 2*86
per ton.
It must be borne in mind that the expenses do not include interest on capital or
taxes, which will considerably reduce the profits.
The drawings, profits, losses, etc., are succinctly shown in the following table:—
former paper the author has shown that the 33 companies, who have leased
> ^1 royalties of the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, have sunk a capital of 346 millions
°f TMs^capital is equivalent to an outlay of 40 francs (32s.) per ton drawn per
Tlie profits in 1880 having been 1*54 francs per ton drawn per annum show
anll,iilcrest of 3'8 per cent, on the capital actually sunk. In all probability the remain-
*n<r French collieries have expended a similar amount of capital per ton produced; and
n this assumption, the actual produce of France being 20 millions of tons, the capital
sunk in coal mines will be 800 millions of francs.
These 336 collieries gave a profit in 1880 of about 38 millions of francs, which
I shows an interest of 47 per cent, on the capital sunk.
It will be seen from the above that the French mining industry by no means
I ealise* the extraordinary profits generally supposed, partly because no thought is given
I to the large amount of capital which must be sunk, viz., 40 francs for a ton of coal
sold at 12'83 francs, and also because several mining companies are quoted which have
had exceptional success, while no consideration is given to the large number of others
which have collapsed entirely, or have been compelled for many years to remain
inactive. J. H. M.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF THE ZWICKAU COLLIERIES, SAXONY.
The authors divide their work into two parts, of which the first treats of the district
conditions in general, from which is gathered that the Zwickau coal-field occupies an
area of 3,089 acres. The seams outcrop to the south, and dip 10 deg. towards the
north, where they reach a depth of more than 765 yards at the Briickenberg Shaft,
No. 1. They are covered by red sandstones, which at the Briickenberg Shaft are more
than 755 yards thick. The number of seams are from ten to thirteen, of which the
thickest is 26i feet. The seams have many bands, and produce two coals—" Pechkohle,"
a gas coal, and "Russkohle," a mineral wood coal of local occurrence. There are thirty-five
collieries, which in 1880 produced 2,354,463 tons, employing 9.647 persons, of whom 99
were women, 191 professional men, and 90 coal-fitters and clerks. In 1880, 12 persons
were killed, or 1*244 per 1,000 employed. In 1880 there were eighty-five shafts, of
which the deepest is the Briickenberg Shaft, No. 1, which had a depth of 900 yards,
now reduced to 820 yards. An average depth of the largest mines is from 437 to 547
yards, while that of all the shafts is 267 yards. With the exception of seven, which
produce two-thirds of the output, the collieries are small, owing to the fact that there
are numerous surface owners who own the coal beneath, and each works his own coal,
and owing to the more or less absence of barriers, ventilation is common to many
collieries. The coal-field is much cut up with faults, and great difficulty is experienced
m the deep mines to keep air roads open. Guibal fans are mostly in use, which in most
cases draw the air, while in a few, arrangements are made so that the air can be forced
if required. The shifts are twelve hours long, from six o'clock to six o'clock, two shifts
per day, the men working, after deducting meal hours and time taken in getting .to and
from their work, eight to nine hours. The men work often overtime, and many of
them walk two hours a day to and from their homes. Sixty per cent, of them descend
and ascend the shafts by cages and ropes. Most of the men belong to relief societies, of
which there are nine, which are amalgamated to a certain degree.
42
In the second part of the work are detailed the results of seven days'work, in which
time seventeen collieries were visited and sixty-three experiments made. The obser
vations noted were as follows :—The hour, temperature of dry thermometer, ditto of
wet, relative humidity in percentage, height of the barometer, volume of air examined
amount of baryta water used, amount of oxalic acid used (from the two latter of
which the volume of C02 was calculated by Pettenhofer's method), volume of
unreduced C02, and volume of reduced C02 per unit of volume of air. The average
of 57 deg. temperature, 56 deg. relative humidity or hygrometric, and 58 deg. C02.
Per Cent. per Mill.
The average of experiments made underground t = 23-5° C. r. h. = 929, C02 = 6*06
The average of 23 experiments made at the
face ...............t = 24-8° C. r. Ji. = 941, C02 = 6'04
The average of experiments made in the air
currents...............t - 22'6° C. r. h. = 92-0, CO, = 6"08
Intake—average ............t - 17° C. r. h. = 86'8. C02 = 12
Middle of air currents-average ...... t = 22"8° C. r. h. = 88'4, COa = 425
Return air—average............t = 24*0° C. r. h. = 94-8, CO, 7"06
Allowing one man to give out in 21 hours (two shifts of 10J hours) 27 cubic feet
of C02, one light in the same time 9'8 cubic feet, and one horse in 24 hours 76£
cubic feet, it was found that the average of nine experiments showed that from these
sources alone the air was vitiated to the extent of 0*64 per mill. (0*31 to 1*5).
The hygienic state of the Zwickau mines is favourable in comparison with others.
Bodemann found 12*0 per mill. C03 in the Oberharz mines; Angus Smith in ore mines
7*85 per mill, (between 6*0 and 226), and 2-4 per mill, (between 03 and 4*2) in coal
mines; Kuborn, in the Belgium Seraing mines, 10"8,11'7, and 10 per mill.; Schondorff,
in the return air of the Saarbriicken mines, an increase of 5 6 to 9*6 per mill.
Other examples are given of the amount found of C02, temperatures, and the
hygrometric conditions of several European collieries.
By 2'5 per mill, of C02 lights are extinguished; with 28 per mill, a match cannot
be lighted, while for several minutes a difficulty of breathing will not be experienced.
C. Z. B.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MINING MACHINERY IN PRUSSIA DURING THE
YEAR 1881.
Levet's Wedge.
This wedge is either worked by compressed air or by hydraulic power. Dubois and
Francois, in their "Bosseyeuse" used in Belgium, use compressed air. Hydraulic
power is adopted in France and the Saarbrucken coal mines. When hydraulic power
is used it is unlike the "Bosseyeuse," by drawing the wedge from the hole instead of
driving it. It consists of a wedge, which is placed at the back of the hole, with its
thin end attached to a rod which, outside the hole, forms the plunger of an hydraulic
cylinder. In the hole are laid two steel cheeks through which the rod passes, and when
moved forwards by hydraulic power, the wedge is drawn between the cheeks and forces
the coal or stone down. The jud must be holed under. The apparatus supports itself
when fixed in the hole, is very handy, weighs 110 lbs., and costs £25. The diameter
of the hydraulic cylinder is 3| inches.
-
Meciiantcal Drilling Machines.
Trials with different machines, commenced in 1877, still continue at the Communion
lliery lie:ir I'animelsberg. The machines are those of Sachs, Meyerkiister, Dar-
ton Schramm, Frohlich, and Ncill, of which the Neill proves to be the most
-iceable and useful. Many tables are given showing results as to quantity won,
cost wear and tear, wages, etc., and it appears that there is a saving equal to 2s. 3'89d.
er ton of ore won in favour of machine-drilling over hand-drilling, including all costs,
during the year 1880-81. The saving in favour of machine drilling for the years
]877 1878, and 1879 was 1039d., Is. 0*7d., and Is. 5'2d. per ton respectively.
Koepe System of Winding.
This system has been adopted at the Shamrock Colliery, No. 1 shaft, Westphalia.
The two cylinders of the winding engine are" 39*4 inches in diameter, with a 5*9 feet
stroke. The drum is 26^- feet in diameter, and is 5 feet broad. Each cage has four
decks, and brings up four tons of coal The pulleys are 20 feet in diameter, and the
ropes are 1*85 inches in diameter, consisting of 114 wires 0*118 inch diameter, and 37
wires 0*098 inch diameter, of patent cast steel, weighing 38 lbs. per fathom, the
breaking weight being 121 tons. The cages up to the chains are 26i feet high, they
weigh each 27 tons, and 24 persons are permitted to ride in each at a time.
Co-efficient of Friction
of wire ropes, on flat turned smooth sheaves, has been found, after repeated trials,
to be 0*221.
Frantz's Patent Hydraulic Keps.
These keps are in use at the Fiscal Colliery, Sulzbach, Altenwald, near Saarbrucken.
The patent consists of four hydraulic plungers, two to each cage, in connection with an
accumulator. These plungers are vertical, and have attached to them, at the top,
horizontal levers moving on a fulcrum, the point of their attachment to the plunger.
These levers are prevented from being tilted downwards in the shaft by a stop placed
over the other end. The cage, when at bank, rests on the ends of two of these levers,
the plungers being then at their highest point, and the communication between them
and the accumulator closed. When the cage is to descend, the onsetter opens the com-
munication tap between the plungers and the accumulator, and the weight of the cage
forces the plungers down, raising the accumulator weight at the same time. This goes
on until the levers disengage themselves by virtue of the descending plungers and the
stationary stops, which allow the levers greater freedom. As soon as this happens, the
accumulator brings the plungers back to their former position, when the tap is closed.
The cage, on coining to bank, tilts the levers up till they fall clear of the cage, when
they resume their horizontal position and support the cage when it is lowered on to them.
rosenkranz's hydraulic kep.
This patent has been fitted up at the Westphalia Colliery, near Dortmund, and
consists of a movable frame fixed below the flat-sheets, which can be moved up-
wards by four hydraulic plungers. To this frame are attached movable levers, which
form the keps upon which the cage rests, and which, by means of a counter-balance, are
kept outside the range of the cage, and which also, by means of a lever in connection
with an hydraulic valve, can be moved under the cage. When the cage comes to bank,
it is brought to rest just below the flat-sheets, a lever is then moved which raises the
hydraulic frame, at the same time bringing the keps into the shaft, until they support
the cage and bring it to the level of the flat-sheets. When the cage is to descend, the
lever is moved back, which at the same time opens the hydraulic valve, releases the
pressure, causing the frame to descend, and with it the levers, which fall back and the
cage descends.
44
Coquillon's Grisoumeter
has, after repeated experiments in the laboratory of the Fiscal Colliery, Heinitz, near
Saarbrucken, been so improved that the results obtained are equal in accuracy to- the
Bunsen gasometric method. By it the return air at the Heinitz and Decken collieries
at eight a.m., during the months of September and October, 1881, was found to contain
from 0-422 to 0-568 per cent, of COa and from 0122 to 0*187 per cent, of CH ^
Korner's Fire-damp Consuming Lamp
has proved a failure, by not being able to consume any appreciable amount when fire-
damp is present in large quantities.
Safety Spirit Lamps
have been introduced on account of their greater sensitiveness in detecting fire-damp
It has been found that an oxygen flame will show a cap when fire-damp is present to
the extent of only a quarter per cent.
The Manufacture of Ammonia from Coe:e Oven Gases.
Carve/s system is at present most extensively used at Besseges and Gelsenkerchen
and consists in using the ovens as retorts which are heated in the flues by tarless gases!
Dr. Otto's system is similar, and is used with Coppee ovens and also Liihrmann's ovens.
Satisfactory results are obtained by these processes if a low coking temperature (800 to
900° C.) is sufficient in the flues. If a higher temperature is required, such as is the
case for Saarbrucken coals, the gases must be burnt in the ovens to obtain a high tem-
perature, and to save the flues of the ovens from being so soon destroyed. It is
questionable whether when burning tarless gases alone, which already have lost a con-
siderable portion of their inflammable matter, a temperature of more than 1,400° C.
can be obtained, which is necessary for Saarbrucken coals. At the Heinitz Colliery,
in Saarbrucken, during the first half of the charge only, the oven is sealed up and the
de-tarring process takes place, while in the remaining time the charge is heated by the
gases of the neighbouring ovens (arranged to suit this process) which burn in the oven.
The large tubular condenser, necessary to condense the tar, has been replaced by a small
mechanical condenser, which separates the tar by bringing the gases together with a
great velocity through small apertures. C. Z. B.
COAL CLEANING APPARATUS AT THE RHEINPREUSSEN COLLIERY,
NEAR HOMBERG (RHINE).*
The process here adopted is not entirely dry: a blast of air is only used to separate
the dust from the nut coal, while the nuts themselves are treated with water for the
separation of the dirt.
The rationale of the process is as follows:—First, coals over a 3*l-inch screen go as
large; second, coals passing over a 2'4-inch and a 1-6-inch screen are each separately
washed to take out the dirt, and are sometimes cleaned by hand; third, coals passing
through a 1-6-inch screen are divided into six sorts by a revolving screen, the four
smaller sizes of which, those passing 0'27, 0*47, 0*67, and O'87-inch screens, are treated
with a blast of air which separates the dust from the coarse or nut coal, which again is
* See Mr. Rathbone's paper on "The Dry or Wind Method of Cleaning Coal" at tne above colliery, in
the Institute Transactions, Vol. XXXI., p. 245.
45
• 'ded into fine and dust coal. The coarse or nut coal of all the six sorts is then
I* 1V\ed with water in a peculiar way. They are brought first into quiet water, from
f ^hich they pass downwards into a rising column of water, the dirt falling down
" • st the stream and the coal rising with it. The coal is then either sold as nuts or
^l-ed ^ tne latter' ^ is dramed as nauch as possible, dried with steam, and then
ind
gl* Of the wind-treated coal 30 per cent, of dust is obtained. To clean 500 tons a day
a 35 horse-power engine is required.
The coal for coking, after cleaning, contains 3 per cent, of water and 5*60 per cent,
of ash. The nut coals contain 215 per cent, of water and 4'01 per cent, of ash.
The advantage of the system is that the coal is obtained in a much dryer state
than when entirely treated with water, which contains as much as 27 per cent, of water,
and will, after twelve days, contain as much as 18 per cent.
Experiments made at Bochum ha*;e shown that one pound of fine coal, with 18 per
cent, of water, gave 9*9 per cent, of ash and evaporated 5*7 lbs. of water, while with
only 3 per cent, of water the same coal gave the same amount of ash, but 8 to 8i lbs.
of water were evaporated.
The heating power of the wet coal is, therefore, at least 29 per cent, less, of which,
however, 15 per cent, must be deducted on account of the less amount of coal when it
has 18 per cent, of water compared with that containing only 3 per cent.
When this wet coal is coked the ovens are damaged, and an inferior quality of coke
is made. The entirely wet method wastes a large amount of coal, which goes over with
the dirt, more is paid in freight, and in winter a difficulty in handling occurs.
C. Z. B.
SLATE MINING AT ANGERS.
The high-dipping Silurian Slates of Angers often possess a distinct, nearly vertical,
cleavage almost at right angles to the strike which is W.N.W. and E.S.E. For 5 miles
W.N.W. of the Loire the slate zone, of a thickness of some 2,600 feet, is separated into
four divisions, of which the upper two only, the '• Veine du Nord" or "Veine des Petits
Carreaux," and the "Veine du Sud" or "Veine des Grands Carreaux," are worked.
The Veine du Nord, which dips north from 70 to 80 degrees, has a thill of alum slates
and a 2£-feet sandstone in the roof, arid has a thickness of from 530 to 590 feet, of
which only 230 to 260 feet are worth winning. The Veine du Bud lies 850 feet below,
dips towards the south 65 to 70 degrees, and has a working thickness of 164 to 590 feet.
The slate has, when fresh, a blue-grey colour, weathering to a yellowish grey-brown
or rusty brown.
The working of these slates is said to date back to the 12th century, certainly to
the 14th.
When it is worked quarry-like to the day large rectangular chambers are excavated
from the surface from 60 to 70 feet long in the direction of the cleavage, and 50 feet
broad. These chambers go down vertically a depth of 100 yards in good slate. A
greater depth is not considered safe on account of debris falling from the sides of the
chambers, loosened by weathering. Generally, the first 15 or 20 yards of slate from the
surface is worthless. The method of working is as follows:—A long trench is cut in
the slate along the middle line of the chamber in the direction of the cleavage. It is
about 4 yards in depth and 1\ yards in width. From both sides of this the slate is
worked off in steps towards the sides of the chambers. As soon as the two first steps
46 *
(foncees) hare advanced 6 yards, two more are started, 4 yards in height, and the trench
at the same time is made deeper. Each step is occupied by from 15 to 20 workmen
and each quarry by from 80 to 90 men, of which 10 to 12 are employed in removing
and lifting the slabs to the surface. The men travel up and down by ladders. The
chambers in the direction of the cleavage are continuous, while on either side 10 to 15
yards are left as safety barriers.
When worked below the surface, these chambers are about 65 yards long in the
direction of the cleavage, and about 55 yards wide, and some have reached a depth of
270 yards below the surface. They are reached by rectangular-sectioned shafts, which
are 3i by 5^- yards and are in the middle of the chamber. After the shaft has reached
a depth of 20 yards or so, from both sides in the direction of the cleavage as far as the
chamber is to extend, a passage is driven, from which at right angles others are driven,
till the whole chamber is formed with a flatly arched roof. No powder is used in this
work. The chamber then progresses in a similar manner to the quarries. Between
chambers working alongside a 10-yard pillar is left. The roofs in these chambers re-
quire the most careful examination, and for this purpose galleries are hung from iron
rods fastened into the stone, from which two, sometimes four, men are always occupied
in examining the roof with long iron bars. The men wear stout leathern hats to pro-
tect themselves from small pieces of stone. The great difficulty is the lighting of these
chambers to examine the roof, which was formerly done by torches, but now by gas-
light, which is being replaced by the electric light. Artificial ventilation does not
exist.
Working by overhand stoping is being introduced, which will in time replace the
present method, being safer, in lessening the risk from roof accidents.
The dressing of the slates has nothing special to call attention to.
In 1878, 152,351,000 pieces of ordinary slate weighing 58.370 tons, and 4,281,000
pieces of so-called English slate, weighing 5,241 tons, were dressed.
The wages of the men working in quarries is from 3 to 3J- francs per day, and
underground from 3J to 4J and sometimes 5 francs per day. The splitting is paid by
the thousand of 1,040 pieces, and a good workman can earn 3 francs per day.
The six companies working the slate have amalgamated, and the sale of the produce
is effected for all by a syndicate.
Production.
The present yearly production of a chamber in full work amounts from thirty to
fifty millions of pieces of slate. The slates are made in two sizes, one 8'26 x 3*93 to
12-59 x 8'66 inches, and the other (English slates) for export, 11*81 x 6*29 to 25'19
x 14*17 inches. The thickness of the former is 0*09 to 0*16 inches, and the latter from
0'15 to 0*24 inches. The production is more than that of half of all France. The
competition with Welsh slate is keen, not only at the coast but far inland. C. Z. B.
47
T Tg 0F THE EMPLOYMENT OF NEW EXPLOSIVES AT ROYAL
RBSU COLLIERIES IN GERMANY.
r o-eneral powder is used in coal and dynamite in stone. The use of No. 1
1 in coal is unsatisfactory, as it crushes the coal into powder round the hole,
^"Xws out the stemming. In narrow places No. 3 coal dynamite proves more
successful, as is seen from the following table :—
The use of dynamite in stone has reduced the cost of driving drifts one-half, some-
times two-thirds, this saving being due to a great extent to the new Tyroler boring
method (Schlenkerbohren). The only disadvantage in the use of dynamite is the
destruction of the roof, which is worst when driving a horizontal drift against the
direction of the dip.
Prismatic gunpowder, obtained by the men in cartridges at 5*45d. per lb., in com-
petition with ordinary powder, gave the following results:—
Comparing gun cotton with diatomaceous dynamite, it is found that it cannot
compete with the latter.
Nobel's gelatine dynamite has wron the favour of the men. It is used similarly to
dynamite, while its power increases with the diameter of hole and the hardness of the
stone. The explosive gases have in general the same influence on the respiratory
organs as those of dynamite, and contain no diatomaceous dust. The gelatine should
be exploded with double or treble power detonators, the extra cost being compensated
for by increased power.
The cost of fuses and detonators is not included in these tables; the prices are
those which the workman pays.
The danger of the new explosives is if anything less than that of dynamite, for,
although they freeze at the same temperature, they require double or treble detonators,
therefore more mechanical effort to explode, and, on account of their gelatinous
constitution, they are less liable to scatter when cut. The explosive gases of the
gelatinized dynamite are lighter, therefore their use will be advantageous in places
difficult to ventilate. G. Z. 13.
HP
MINING STATISTICS OF SPAIN FOR 1880.
The Board of Agriculture, Industry, and Trade have lately published the statistics
£ 1880 furnished by the Council of the Mining Department from data supplied by
I ' head'engineers in the various mining districts. The following details and summary
Lre extracted therefrom :--
I At the close of 1880 there were 16,439 mines in Spain, 99 ore heaps (terreros),
Ld 137 exhausted mines (escoriales), covering an area of 500,597 hectares (about
l 951 192 acres), with about 140 trial pits, occupying 3,408 hectares (8,520 acres),
an increase upon 1879 of 613 mines.
Comparing the tables which are subjoined with the statistics of 1879, there was an
I increase of 18,110,426 metric quintals in the production of iron, or more than double;
I 52 639 in that of copper, and 141 in argentiferous copper; 1172 in lead and zinc, and
.x considerable increase also in other minerals; while in lead, silver, antimony; and
others, there was a decrease. The number of workmen killed by casualties in the
mines was 87, 273 were badly hurt, and 517 slightly. The majority of fatal accidents
occurred in the copper mines.
General Summary.
50
THE VAPART PULVERIZER.
The difficulty of separating the composite ingredients of a mineral substance ha
been met by experiments made by Herr Brittgenbach with Vapart's machine T
specimens containing iron pyrites and blende.
When the mill revolved at a velocity of 800 revolutions per minute fragments of
iron pyrites from 20 to 25 millimetres in diameter were reduced one part to powder
the other to grains of from 1 to 1| millimetres; but reducing the velocity to 40o'
revolutions, similar fragments were scarcely changed in form. 800 revolutions
reduced the blende, which is inferior in hardness to the pyrites, to a very fine powder •
while 400 converted part into powder, and the remainder into grains of from £ to 3
millimetres. Consequently, if a substance composed of these two bodies is subjected
to the velocity of 400 revolutions per minute, the pyrites will fall unchanged, while
the blende, being reduced to a very fine powder, can be easily separated by sifting
This machine can operate upon five tons an hour. The method would be of great
service in phosphorite mines, as the difference which exists between the relative hard-
ness of that mineral and of the quartz with which it is so often accompanied would
render it easy to effect a sufficient separation of the two materials to prove highly
remunerative, and increase considerably the wealth in phosphate of many of these
mines. j. h. M.
DISTILLING APPARATUS IN USE AT THE QUICKSILVER MINE
AT ALMADEN.
An important improvement has recently been introduced in the working of the
quicksilver mine at Almaden, in Spain. In the furnaces hitherto in use, which had
been principally copied from those of Idria, in Austria, it had been found impossible
to utilize the fragments of mineral (vaciscos) which accumulated round them during the
process of distillation, and which contained considerable quantities of the valuable metal.
A new distilling apparatus has now been invented by a young engineer from the School
of Mines at Madrid, Don Jose de Madariaga, who has introduced it at Almaden
under the directions of the manager, Don Eusebio de Oyarzabal. The apparatus
consists of a self-acting reverberatory furnace, one great advantage of which is
that the workmen are no longer obliged to enter the furnace and encounter
the danger of suffocation from the gases. No cases have been sent to the hospital
where this apparatus is used. By its means the whole of the fragments are submitted
to distillation, and 6 per cent, of quicksilver, which is the total contained in them, is
obtained; so that from these alone which were formerly useless sufficient is gained to
pay the whole expenses of the establishment. The consumption of fuel is much
less than on the old system, whilst the expense of labour remains the same. The
workmen having complained of injury to the sight from the emanations of the gases,
they have been furnished with vizors to protect their eyes. The furnaces have been
altered to burn coal instead of wood, as it is found to be more economical. A new
system has also been adopted for putting the quicksilver in barrels. J. H. M.
51
THE THIRION CLASSIFIER.
¦ detailed description, illustrated by a diagram, of a classifier introduced into
^ fC L. d in Escombreras, Murcia, for the mechanical preparation of minerals,
* f^ director of the establishment, D. Leopold Thirion. Several of these machines
^ t Ibeen in work there since 1876 with complete success. The machine consists of a
baJ!- of cones; the mineral passes in from above, and is met by a column of water rising
j^m below, and can operate on 1,000 kilogrammes (2,204 lbs. av.) per hour, with a
^nsumption of 14 or 15 cubic metres of water. If the quantity of water requisite
feould be an obstacle in localities where the supply runs short, the same water may be
used over and over again, after cleansing in tanks prepared for the purpose, between
each repetition. The machine is not expensive; it might be put up at a cost of from 500
to 600 francs. It can operate on all kinds of minerals. In Escombreras it is employed
not only on the lead of the district, but also on the argentiferous pyrites of Ceale
(Africa), on the blende and iron pyrites of Sierra de Cartagena, and on many other
metalliferous substances. The same system may be applied to the cleaning of coal,
with a slight alteration of the machine. J• H. M.
THE COPPER OF CHILI.
The exportation of copper was in 1879 50,154, in 1880 43,653, and in 1881 38,618
metric tons (2,204 lbs.) The decrease is due to the war with Peru.
The 38,618 tons exported in 1881 were distributed as follows :—
Tons.
England ............... 27,647
France ... ... ... ... ••• 7,148
Germany ............ ... 1,066
Other countries ... ... ... • • • 2,757
38,618
The price in 1881 varied from £15 7s. lOd. to £18 15s. per metric ton f.o.b.,
dressed to a standard of 96 per cent. J. H. M.
SINKING THROUGH RUNNING SANDS.
This is an account of the sinking of a shaft through the following strata :—
Metres.
Made ground (old brick pits filled up)...... 2"00
Running sands ... ... ...... • • • ^'90
Gravel .................. V*>
Incoherent marls ... ... . • • • • • • • • 22'90
34-00 (110 feet).
The shaft was bored out by means of a tool shaped like a rake to which bags were
attached. As the rake revolved the sand, etc., was stirred up by the teeth and scooped
up into the bags. The tubbing followed up behind the rake, forced down by means of
screw jacks.
The white chalk underlying these 34 metres of incoherent strata was bored through
(111 metres) by the Kind-Chaudron process with some improvements, such as the
suppression of the moss box. The finished pit was about 10 feet diameter and 80
fathoms deep. The sinking occupied 730 days. J. H. M
A PHOTOMETER.
The illuminating power of gas bears a fixed ratio to its density. If therefore the
density can be determined at the same time the illuminating value can be determined.
M. De Rey-Pailhade's apparatus is based on the following law: —
If Dl D3 = the densities of two gases,
Oi #3 = the durations of flow of equal volumes of the same through an
aperture in a thin plate.
fhen 5" " J*
The method he adopts for noting the volume and time is as follows:—A glass
vessel containing a float is filled with the gas. This vessel is closed at the top by a thin
plate pierced with a small hole. Water under a known head entering at the bottom of
the vessel forces the gas out through the aperture at the top. The time is noted by a
chronograph, and the volume by the float rising past marks on the glass vessel. Two
experiments are made; one upon air, the other upon the gas the illuminating value of
which is required; and, as the density of air is known, the density of the gas, and
consequently its illuminating power, can be determined. J. H. M.
THE MINERS' ANEMIA.
About three years ago the men employed at the St. Gothard's Tunnel were much
troubled with anchylostomes; more recently their presence was observed in the men
working at some French collieries, and it was thought that the diseases peculiar to
miners might be due to these creatures, more especially the so-called Miners' Ancemia.
M. Fabry has interested himself in the matter, and this paper is the result of his
investigations. His conclusions are that there is nothing in the conditions of a
miner's life that should make him specially liable to intestinal parasites, and that
anamiia, as a disease more prevalent amongst miners than amongst other persons, does
not exist. J, H. M.
THE AUBIN COAL-FIELD, ETC.
„ • ,nnpv fives an account of the mines, furnaces, etc., of the Aubin basin, and
dts the position and area of the basin, its geological features, minerals, systems ot
1I1ClK 7*- the coal, railways, blast furnaces, coke ovens, and analyses of its coal and coke.
W01Tlie" \ul>i« coal-field is situated in Aveyron. and is comprised in an isoceles triangle
kilometres in the base and 10 high. The total surface area is about 4.000 hectares
(15V square miles), and that of the seams already known 2,200 hectares.
The coal royalties are leased by five companies.
The thickest seams of coal are found in the centre of the basin, viz . at Decazeville
. Combes, where the total thickness of coal varies from 70 to 80 metres (230 to 260
feet). Towards the east and west it diminishes, being at Palayret, Firmy, and Aubin
only 12 to 15 metres (40 to 60 feet). Towards the north and south it also thins, being
20 metres (65 feet) at Campagnac, 10 metres (32 feet) at Ruhl. and H metres (26 feet)
near Bouquies. Some of the seams are very irregular in thickness, the grande couche
of Bourran thinning out towards the east from 70 metres to 3 (230 feet to 10).
The present systems of working are:—
1. —Quarrying.
2. —Horizontal system with stowage.
3. —Vertical system with stowage.
1._The greater part of the thick seams near the centre of the basin (Combes,
Lavayasse, etc.) can be worked in this way. The Lavayasse coal quarry.* begun in
1860. is considered as the type of this system.
2. —This method also is employed in working the thick seams in the centre of the
basin. A level, about 8 feet square, is driven in the middle of the seam in a direction
at right angles to the dip, from which juds are set away right and left every 22 yards
to the roof and floor respectively. A horizontal slice of coal being extracted, the goaf
is stowed, and a new level driven as before, but upon the stowage.
3. —This system is principally used on the east side, where the seams are thinner,
much faulted, and very inflammable. It has been often described, and has not been
altered for the last twenty years. H- M.
THE BESSEGES COLLIERIES.
The author gives an account of the arrangements—more especially the mechanical
arrangements—at these mines. The plates, however, are the most interesting part of
the paper, a great many of the more important colliery appliances being illustrated.
J. H. M.
* For a description and plate, see " Cours d'Kxploitation des Mines," par A. Burat, p. 14.
54:
EXPERIMENTAL NOTES ON THE OTTO GAS ENGINE.
After describing the means by which the testing apparatus was accurately gauged
and proved, the actual admission and work of the gas is described, and the different
velocities due to the inflammation of the mixture of air and gas by the burner
diagrams are given, and from them calculations made of useful effect. In addition to
these the temperatures are quoted, and the actual results obtained described at some
length. The tables, pp. 376 to 37(J, are well worthy of study. Summary:— 0*73,1
indicated horse-power, 0451 effective horse-power; gas alone costing 3*60 francs per
day of 10 hours, or 3£d. per hour for f horse-power. D. P. M.
THE COMBEREDONDE VENTILATOR.
The paper describes the Guibal ventilator which was erected at Comberedonde on
the basis of the calculations of M. Murgue. The following rough and very brief
summary will only serve as a faint outline of this very interesting paper:—
Output, 400 to 500 tons of coals per day; volume of air required, 50,000 cubic feet
per minute; estimated water-gauge (by Devillez's theory) for above volume, 3 inches
nearly (70 millimetres); fan 'erected to perform this duty, Guibal, of 30 feet in
diameter by 6 feet 6 inches wide, with duplicate engines each 20 inches by 20 inches.
This fan varies considerably from the Guibal adopted in England, and is illustrated
by several drawings appended.
The boilers were tired with refuse coal, yielding 50 per cent, of ashes, absolutely
worthless for sale, and the tires could only be kept up by connecting the flues with the
main drift of fan, thus dispensing with a boiler chimney.
The steam jacketing of the cylinders and variable expansion gear are fully described,
but the results obtained by these adjuncts are so trivial as to prevent the recommenda-
tion of similar complications in other cases.
No vibration was noticeable on the main shaft owing to the counter bearings.
The cost is given as :—
Francs.
1. —Earthwork and excavations ............ 1,998'10
2. —Masonry—Fan and drifts......... 9,348*15
Boilers and seating ... ... 6,080*25
--- 15,428*40
3. —Machines—Engines, fan, etc. ... ... 24,296*55
Steam pipes, etc. ... ... 405*65
-- 24,702*20
4. —Boilers, pipes, and shed ... ... ... ... ... 17,273*60
Total.................. 59,402 30
Say ............ £2,376
I). P. M.
55
oN THE COAL AND BITUMEN DEPOSITS OF TRINIDAD.
Hrhe author, after describing the situation and geographical configuration of the
• 1 nd °*ives details of the population, which is recruited by an annual importation of
C olies who, with the native Indians, furnish a steady and useful set of workers. It
] i: increased from 17,000 in 1797 to 125,000 at the present day, while the exports and
roduce have augmented in a still larger ratio. The topography and geology are then
fri ^n in detail, and the tertiary formations, in which the coal and bitumen are found,
: are enumerated and classified.
The combustible matters of commercial importance are :—
1.—Coal.
(a) —Lignites of the Eastern Division.—These are found at an angle of 45 degrees
dip to the north, and vary in some thirty seams from a few inches to 3 feet. Specific
gravity 12 to 1*4. Brownish or reddish ash 2| to 5 per cent. Contain pyrites from
.V to 5 per cent. Carbon 40 to 50 per cent. The difficulty of working and the depth
of these seams have hitherto precluded their being worked.
(b) —Williamsville Coal.—This has only been worked for a small sugar refinery,
and is of no importance.
(c) —Pijparo Coal.—Discovered about two years since. This coal is good and
marketable, being nearly equal to Newcastle coal, and containing 57*8 per cent, of
carbon, 38*6 per cent, of volatile matter, and 3*6 per cent, of ash.
2.—Bitumen.
(a) —Lac de la Braie.—This is distinguished from asphalte (such as Val de Travers)
by its deposition in sands or other tertiary beds in concentrated masses, which the
author estimates as a total deposit of some 3,000,000 tons.
This deposit is leased by the English Government to a company on a term having
yet forty years unexpired. The annual output is 11,000 tons of rough and 5,000 tons
of prepared bitumen, the price of the former being 20s. and the latter 48s. per ton f.o.b.
(b) — Guaracaro f Glance-pitch).— Specific gravity 1*33. Solid and hard under
ordinary temperatures, and jet black with conchoidal fracture.
The following table gives comparative values:—
56
NOTES ON A ROTARY BORER.
The principles of a rotary as compared with a percussive drill have been described
in so many technical works, that the author confines himself to the general result of
ordinary percussive hand machines as being only 4'4 per cent, of useful effect. 95T) per
cent, being lost as follows :—
Per Cent.
Replacing hammer in position for striking ... ... ... 50*0
Mean of inertia and rigidity of tools ... ... ... ... 21*8
Wear and tear of tools ............ ... ... 5*1
Resistance of small particles in hole ... ... ... ... 17
Defective and missed strokes ... ... ... ... ... 17*0
95-6
Mechanical percussive borers, either steam or compressed air, appear as rather
inferior even to these in their results, the best only giving 10 per cent, on the machine
and perhaps as little as 1 per cent, on the rock, but they have the advantage of giving
deeper holes of larger diameter.
Rotary borers, or " drills" properly so called, are divided into two classes:—(a)
those wearing out (usant) the stone, such as the Diamond machines; and (b) those
crushing (ecrasant) the rock, or reducing it into small fragments, this class being again
divided into " mechanical screwing" and " direct hydraulic pressure."
The system described at length in the paper is one in which the drilling is supple-
mented by pushing forward the tool by a differential screw, and the author summarises
the advantages as follows :—
1. —Less expenditure of power.
2. —Direct advantage easily obtained from any available water column, such as
rising mains, etc.
3. —Simplicity in construction and small cost in repairs and maintenance.
4. —Increased effect by greater speed of chisel and diminished travel of
differential screw. D. P. M.
WENGER'S COMPRESSED AIR BRAKE.
The results obtained by this brake are very analogous to those afforded in this
country by the Westinghouse and Smith brakes, and as the report of the Commission
appointed to examine its working is not to be considered as conclusive, the subject
need not be detailed in this abstract. The Commission, however, is favourably dis-
posed towards it, and the rapidity of action, as shown in the accompanying tables, and
the simplicity of construction, argue well for a further account of the system.
I). P. M.
57
ON A NEW SAFETY-VALVE.
By the law (decret du 25 Janvier, 1865) every boiler in France has to be provided
Lith a safety-valve of sufficient area to allow of the escape of steam under the regis-
f tere(i pressure, whatever might be the intensity of the firing.
The author, after calculating the actual room afforded by existing systems, shows
the small annular lift of the valve is insufficient, and has actually often the effect of
diminishing the pressure at the valve, and thus closing instead of opening it.
The new enactment (30th April, 1880) provides that when a safety-valve is raised
it shall at once discharge all the steam which the firing is capable of producing. This
led to the idea of introducing automatic or artificial raising of the valve in order
to effect this escape of steam without diminishing the working pressure of the boiler.
Several inventions were in consequence introduced, amongst which that of Adams,
of Manchester, is cited, and then a full description of the Codron valve is given
(Plate III., Fig. 5), results of experiments showing that the valve by its automatic
action reduced the pressure from a point to which it was artifically raised to its
authorised pressure, keeping the boiler constantly at the normal figure whatever might
be the excess of firing. D# p# ]\|
A NEW METHOD OF MEASURING THE DEPTHS OF WORKING SHAFTS.
The plan is simple, and consists in measuring the shaft by means of a steel measur-
ing tape of a sufficient weight to keep it stretched when in use. Two men stand on
the cage cover, while a third sits in a seat fastened to the rope about 10 metres above
the cage. The tape is 10 metres in length. The cage starts from a mark at bank, and
is lowered until the man on the seat comes opposite the mark, against which he puts
the tape, whilst the man on the cage marks the other end, the second man on the cage
being employed to signal to the engineman. This goes on until the whole depth is
traversed.
As to its accuracy the following examples testify :—
Leopoldshall shaft measured in six hours three times—
Depth in Metres.
First time .................. 334 757
Second time .................. 334*758
Third time .................. 334758
Von der Heydt Shaft, with seven landing depths, taken four times in six hours—
Depth in Metres.
First time .................. 353715
Second time ... ... ... ... ... ... 353*713
Third time ............... ... 353717
Fourth time .................. 353714
C. Z. B.
i
58
FREUDENBERG'S SMOKE CONDENSER FOR LEAD AND SILVER
SMELTING WORKS.
The amount of soot won in a condenser is proportional to the surface of the con-
denser over or through which the smoke passes. It is therefore of importance to
increase the flue area as much as possible, care being taken at the same time not to
obstruct the draught to an objectionable extent. Freudenberg's condenser consists in
hanging thin iron plates in the flue edgeways to the current, so as not to hinder the
draught much, and so obtain in a 1 metre length of flue, having a rubbing surface of
8*22 square metres, a surface eight times as great, being equal to 65 square metres.
During the years 1874-75, 8*39 kilogrammes of lead were obtained per 1,000 kilo-
grammes of ore treated in a flue whose surface was 2,385*47 square metres; during the
years 1880-81, with an increased surface of flue by the Freudenberg arrangement,
amounting in all to 23,791*12 square metres, 84*80 kilogrammes of lead dust were
obtained. At the Em ser Smelting Works the condenser has been made on a large
scale. The total length of the flue is 2,271*48 metres; greatest area, 4*512 square
metres; height of chimney, 45 metres, of which the lower diameter inside is 2*47
metres, upper 1*80 metres; inner surface of flues 18,060*01 square metres; surface
area of iron sheets hung up to October 1st, 1881, 11,416*25 square metres; area of
sheets hung since, 13,055*35 square metres; total surface in rubbing area, 42,531*61
square metres; average cost of 1 square metre surface of built flue, 11*718.; cost of
1 square metre of hung sheets, 0*7ls.; cost of the whole condenser, £13,663. In
seven periods of 200 days the soot amounted to 632,731 kilogrammes, of which 56*9
per cent, was lead (including silver), valued at £4,429; therefore, in 350 days, the
figures would be 1,107,279 kilogrammes, equal in value to £7,751.
The great saving of flues with iron sheets over brick flues is visible from the fol-
owing figures:—The sheets now hung cost £905; the same surface area in brick flues
would have cost almost sixteen times as much, or £14,328, a saving of £13,423.
C. Z. B.
MINING, SMELTING, AND SALT PRODUCTION OF BAVARIA
IN THE YEAR 1881.
At the 71 mines working the minerals and ores under (1) there were 3,851 persons
employed, of which 3,035 were employed in coal mining. At the six salt works, 304
persons were employed, and at the smelting works 4.859 persons, together 9,014
persons. The number of persons employed under (2) is not given. U '
no
NEW GERMAN PETROLEUM WELLS.
The author asserts that with a large capital the petroleum industry of Germany
would become very important. The different qualities of the Oelheim oil and the
Bavarian are gone into. With regard to the Tcgernsee petroleum in Bavaria, it was
discovered so far back as 1450, the well from which it flowed was supposed to be
holy and its water useful as a healing agent, and a chapel exists close to the spot. All about
the neighbourhood the oil exists at an inconsiderable depth, and is now being worked.
As the quantity is unknown, the only thing that remains to speak of is its quality.
The Oelheim raw oil from small depths has a specific gravity of 0*850, which only
gives 18 per cent, of lighting oil. The Tegernsce oil from a shallow depth has a
specific gravity of 0*811, which burns at once, when touched with a light, with a long
flame with little residue. The oil is of a brown colour, with a green shimmer or
lustre, and has a strong odour owing to volatile constituents. Unlike the Oelheim
oil, it leaves a short thread behind when passed through the fingers. The oil boils at
a temperature of 126° C. (258*8° P.), but the boiling point does not remain the same,
but rises gradually. When the temperature reaches 180° C, 14 per cent, of the oil
distils as a clear colourless fluid of a specific gravity of 0*731, which is easily ignited.
This is naphtha, an exceedingly valuable product. At a temperature of 320° C. 39 per
cent, of the oil distils over as a weak yellow fluid of a specific gravity of 0*786, which
is not easily ignited, and which can be used for burning. With a higher temperature
16 per cent, of the oil becomes a thick reddish yellow grease oil of a specific gravity of
0*834, and then 25 per cent, of a paraffin containing oil, which solidifies in the cold,
and from which grease and paraffin can easily be procured. The Tegernsee oil, there-
fore, contains as much naphtha and paraffin as the Pennsylvanian oil. From appearance
it seems that, with a different method of distillation, more than 39 per cent, of lighting
oil could be obtained. It is more easily distilled than the Oelheim oil, and is therefore
to be preferred. The present winning consists of a shaft 20 yards deep, in which the
oil swims in water, which is sweet, while in Oelheim the water is salt. A great deal of
gas comes away. Geologically it is of interest to state that the oil exists about 80
metres above the level of the lake Tegern, and 840 metres above the level of the sea.
The strata from which the oil runs lies above the chalk greensand, and consists of
marl and sandstone. Giimbel and V. Deeken suppose, however, that the oil comes
from greater depths from the nummulitic formation. C. Z. B.
VIBRATIONS OF STRATA IN MIXES.
The author refers to his paper upon this subject in Vol. XXVIII. B, page 310.
of the above-named periodical. Then, having pointed out that observations hitherto
recorded have been upon sound carried through strata in a horizontal direction, and
having given examples, he mentions a ease of sound having been carried vertically 164
metres (179 yards) at Grand. Here the noise made by the stamps at the Hulfegottes
Shaft was heard in a drift below. The drift was not situated vertically below the
stamps, and the total distance therefore was rather more than 161 metres, viz., 171
metres (190 yards). C. Z. B.
61
/ttxtttRAL AND SMELTING WORKS PRODUCTION OF THE GERMAN
THE MINERAL AJN1^ire DURmo THE YEAR 1881.
The above table in the original gives besides the total and tonnage value. Other
tables show the production subdivided into the different States comprising the German
Empire, going back as far as 1872.
62
THE PRODUCTION OF LEAD IN 1881.
xne umim otates produces ±_LU,UUU tons.
As the production of Mexico, South America, Canada, Australia, etc., is compara-
tively small, the world's production can be safely estimated at 450,000 tons of lead.
China and Japan are not taken into account, owing to want of trustworthy information.
C Z. B.
MUESELER SAFETY-LAMP WITH AN ELECTRICAL BELL.
Lamps have already been made to detect I per cent, of tire-damp in the air, viz.,
that of Mallard and Le Chatelier. Cosset-Dubrulle's indicator, and the lamp of Pieler,
in which a spirit flame is used. Somzee has made lamps in Paris so constructed that a
rise of temperature in the lamp affects by unequal expansion two metals, so arranged
that when heated they close an electrical circuit and ring a bell. The expansive
pieces are made like rods, spirals, or oval tubes, made of steel (co-efficient of expansion
= 0-00001079) and zinc (co-efficient of expansion = 0-00000331) which are soldered
together with tin.
In the Mueseler lamp the arrangement is fixed between the outer gauze and the
chimney, and insulated from the chimney by means of a wire or glass cylinder next to
the chimney. The bell arrangement with the galvanic element is fixed in the bottom
of the lamp. The outer gauze prevents the firing of gas by the spark resulting from
contact of the arrangement, and the metal spiral, rod. or oval tube is so fixed by
experiment that when contact occurs and the bell rings the percentage of gas in the
air is known. All the contact surfaces are platinized, yet frequent cleaning is necessary
to keep them in good order. C. Z. B.
THE VENTILATION OF THE ST. LOUIS TUNNEL, NORTH AMERICA.
The tunnel in its course has a right angle bend, is 1,527 metres (1,770 yards) long,
d has inequalities of level amounting to from 1 in 300 to 1 in 175, with a radius of
Ifi2 metres. On account of these conditions the 172 trains which pass a day must go
through with full steam, causing heavy firing (coal) and a great deal of smoke which
the four ventilating shafts cannot disperse. Coke has been tried, but with no success.
Now a ventilator has been constructed on the Fourneyrou turbine type, which is 4*57
metres (14f feet) in diameter and 2'75 metres (886 feet) wide, with 32 arms inclined
0-40 metre (1*3 foot) from the radius. This ventilator drives the air from one of the
hafts. It is of steel, and makes 110 revolutions per minute, requiring 56 horse-power
to drive it. This speed clears the tunnel from smoke in from 3| to 4£ minutes after a
train passes, according to the direction of the train, for the ventilator is not in the
middle, but at one end of the tunnel. C. Z. B.
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW BRIQUETTE MANUFACTORY AT THE
CAROLINE COLLIERY, WESTPHALIA.
In France the manufacture of briquettes is most extensive, and the system adopted
is principally that of Bietrix & Co., St. Etienne. Lately Couflinhal, of St. Etienne. has
introduced a new method which has been adopted by six collieries in Westphalia.
The coal to be used is put into a hopper, into which coal tar is fed. The mixture is
brought by a Jacob's ladder to a disintegrator, where it is intimately mixed. A second
Jacob's ladder raises it to a heating furnace, which consists of a slowly revolving round
iron table, upon the centre of which the mixture falls, and is gradually carried towards
the circumference, it is there caught by an endless screw and taken to the press mill.
This mill subjects the mixture from two sides to a pressure of 180 atmospheres, and it
is then forced out in the shape of a brick. The whole process is simple, and the double
pressure in the mill unlike the other systems. According to the weight of the brick
made 3, 5, and 10 kilogrammes respectively (6*6, ll'O, 220 lbs.), 50, 80, and 150 tons
respectively of bricks can be made in 10 hours.
The cost is as follows :—
1. —One briquette machine with rotary furnace, lad-
ders, and everything complete, with engine 19'7
in. cylinder, 31*5 in. stroke, with expansion
regulator ... ... ... ... ... ••• £2,500
2. —Building, foundations, materials, etc....... £450
Iron chimney and leather driving belt ...... 150
--600
3. —Boiler and steam pipes ............ 450
Ground .................. 250
Other charges ... ... ... • •. • • • 100
Miscellaneous ............... 100
--900
£4,000
64
The cost of labour for one year of 300 days, with one daily 10 hours shift, making
24,000 tons a year, is—
1. —One foreman, 300 days at 3s....... ,., ... £45 0
2. —One stoker and engineman, at 2s. 6d. ... ... ... 37 10
3. —One furnaceman, at 2s. 6d. ... ... ... ... 37 10
4. —Two men to serve the disintegrators, at 2s. ... ... 60 0
5. —Four boys to load the bricks, at Is. ... ... ... 60 0
£240 0
The amount of fuel used amounts to 2J per cent, of the production of briquettes
(about 2 tons per day) including boiler fuel, and for this purpose spoilt briquettes are
used.
The cost of working for one year with a production of 24,000 tons is—
1. —5 per cent, interest on capital, £4,000 ... ......=£200
2. —10 per cent, amortisation on £4,000 ... ... ... = 400
3. —Wages........................ 240
4. —Office and sale expenses ...... ... ...... 100
5. —Fuel for boiler and furnace, 2 tons at 5s. for 300 days ... 150
6. —Stores and repairs ... ... ... ... ... ... 75
7. —22,640 tons of small coal, at present price of 4s. per 300
days ..................... 4,528
8. —Coal tar, 5 per cent, of the coal used = 1,360 tons at 24s. 1,632
£7,325
The production is equal to 22,640 tons of coal and 1,360 tons of coal tar, and,
allowing 2 per cent, for loss, is equal to 23,520 tons of patent fuel, costing =
6"2s. per ton. Deducting the small coal used at 4s. per ton the cost of making patent
fuel, exclusive of the coal comes to 2*2s. per ton.
Since this has been written the production has been increased beyond the figure
here given. C. Z. B.
THE PRUSSIAN ROYAL FIRE-DAMP COMMISSION.
Meeting on the 30th November, 1882 (Berlin Mining Academy); Dr. Serlo in the
chair; twenty-three members present. Local reports from Breslau, Halle, and Claus-
thal were considered, and further experiments ordered at some more important mines.
The analyses being made at Bochum of gas and air, were further considered, A pro-
posal to send a Fire-damp Commission abroad was negatived.
Meeting on the 1st December, 1882 (Berlin Mining Academy). It was agreed that
all the special reports should be published as they appeared in the " Zeitschrift fiir das
Berg-, Hutten- und Salinen-Wesen im Preussischen Staate," while the remaining work
should remain as yet private. The report on explosions of fire-damp during the years
1861-81 was gone into, and it was decided that the statistics should be carried on now
from year to year in the general form adopted.
Meeting on the 2nd December, 1882 (Berlin Mining Academy). A Safety-lamp
and a Ventilator Sub-Commission were appointed, each consisting of four members.
C. Z. B.
65
ROPE AND CHAIN HAULAGE AT THE ROYAL COAL MINE VON DER
HEYDT, NEAR SAARBRUCKEN.
This colliery wTas the first on the Continent which introduced tail-rope haulage,
viz., in 1862.
There are four haulage planes now. The first is a tail-rope haulage on the surface ;
second, underground tail-rope haulage; and third and fourth, endless chain roads on
the surface, the details of which are given in the paper.
Dynamometer experiments were made on No. 4 haulage, at nine different
equidistant points, both on the full and empty road. This plane is 1,760 metres (1,815
yards long, the chain, of best wrought iron, 20 millimetres ('787 inch) diameter,
and weighs 858 kilogrammes per metre (l7i lbs. per yard). It has been in use
eight years, and will probably last other five. The tension at the heaviest point
—that is, at the end where the full tubs came in—was 3,747"8 lbs., and it decreased
along the full road to 2,425'1 lbs. at the turning point. At the commencement of the
empty road it was 1,3228 lbs., and increased to, when the empty tubs arrived at the
end of their journey, 2,204*6 lbs. At the time of the experiment the velocity was
1 metre per second (3'28 feet per second), and the calculated horse-power 15. The
indicated horse-power of the engine was 19*58 when seventy full tubs at 16*7 cwts.,
and sixty-seven empty ones at 6'9 cwts., were travelling with a velocity of 1*17 metre
per second.
Table I. shows all the dimensions of everything connected with the four engine
planes. Then follow tables of work done, cost of maintenance, labour, and capital for
the years 1875-80. From one of the tables the cost per CW^8, , including
100 metres 0
cost of labour, maintenance, materials, exclusive of interest, of capital and deprecia-
tion, was during the years 1875-80 equal to 0*284d. for No. 1 plane, 0"312d. for
No. 2, 0-415d. for No. 3, and 0243d. for No. 4.
Taking into account the great wear and tear of the ropes, together with the greater
speed by rope haulage, chain haulage is cheaper and to be preferred. The disadvan-
tages of chain haulage are, however, that curves require to be struck with a short
radius, and they (the curves) must be separated by straight roads, and the system
requires a double way. C. Z. B.
SELF-ACTING ROPE FASTENER FOR WINDING.
This arrangement is best adapted to the Koepe system of winding, when in the
ease of one rope breaking the other is prevented from falling down the shaft. The
pulley round which the rope passes is fixed to a movable frame, which has its fulcrum
in the centre, and is weighted at one end by means of a lever. The counterbalance
weight is less than the weight of the empty cage, but greater than the weight of one
side of the rope in the shaft. Over the pulley lies a brake block, which is held by
rods fixed to a boss fitted eccentrically on the pulley shaft in an upright position. If
the rope breaks on one side of the pulley, the counterbalance weight pushes the pulley
against the brake block at the same time that wedges are automatically inserted unde r
the movable frame in order to keep it up. As soon as the pulley touches the brake
block it moves round from its upright position, and, owing to its eccentric boss, wedges
itself tight against the pulley, and prevents the rope from slipping. C. Z. B.
11 5
66
THE CAMPHAUSEN SHAFTS OF THE ROYAL DUDWEILER-
JAGERSFREUDE COLLIERY, NEAR SAARBRUCKEN.
The author, after describing the general position of the seams worked, the condition
in which they are found, together with the surface arrangements of the colliery
(Plate I.), and the sinking and walling of the shafts, of which there are three, gives
particulars concerning the winding engine of No. 1 Shaft, which is the principal
winding pit, as follows:—
Greatest depth ......... 700 metres = 765J yards.
Effective weight, 6 x 500 kilogs. = 3,000 kilogs. = 5905 cwts.
Weight of cage ......... 2,500 „ = 49-21 „
Do. 6 empty tubs ...... 1,800 „ = 35*43 ,,
Do. 1 metre rope (round, cast
steel)......... 10 ., = 22-05 lbs.
Steam pressure per square inch ... 5atm. = 73-53 ,,
Speed per second ... * ..... 10 metres = 32'8 feet.
Diameter of flat drum ...... 8 ,, = 26'25 „
The counterbalance arrangement consists of a special drum, to which is attached bv
means of a rope a counterbalance working in a pit. The greatest unbalanced weight
is 7,000 kilogrammes (137*79 cwts.) acting on a radius of 4 metres (13*12 feet) on the
drum circumference. The axle of the spiral drum is in the same line as the main axle,
and is attached thereto by a trail crank. The greatest diameter of the spiral drum is
16*4 feet, and its smallest 492 feet, and contains as many grooves as there are revolu-
tions per winding of the main drum. Attached to this spiral drum is a rope, the ends
of which are fastened to the small diameter of the drum, and which passes over two
pulleys into a pit, and forms a loop in the same, which supports a pulley 13 12 feet in
diameter, to which is attached the counterbalance. At the beginning of a winding, one
end of the counterbalance rope unwinds itself from the big diameter, and coils
itself on the other end on the small diameter, and as the unwrapping of the rope is
quicker than the wrapping, the counterbalance descends, and in the middle of the
winding is stationary, and then for the remainder of the winding ascends. The dis-
tance which the counterbalance weight passes through in one winding is the depth of
the pit, which is for a 700 metre (765*5 yards) shaft 76*95 metres (84*16 yards), and
for the present winding depth of 496 metres (542*5 yards), 39 metres (42*7 yards). In
a depth of 700 metres, and with a rope weighing 10 kilogrammes per metre, the weight is
16,000 kilogrammes (15*7 tons), and for the present depth of 496 metres, with a rope of 8
kilogrammes per metre, the weight is 12,800 kilogrammes (12*6 tons).
The pulley frame, Plate III., is constructed of wrought iron. The centre of the
pulley axle is 20 metres (65*6 feet) above the ground, and the frame consists principally
of six lattice girders, of which two stand vertically and the others are inclined. The
centre line between the two ropes forms with the vertical an angle of 70 degrees, and
accordingly the main stay girder has an angle of 72° = 35 degrees with the vertical.
The maximum breaking weight of the rope is taken at 140,000 kilogrammes (137*789
tons). To this add the varying weight of the descending rope 10,000 kilogrammes
(9*84 tons), and the greatest strain in the direction of the main stay girder is—
_ Kilogrammes. Tons.
R = 2 P cos. 35° = 2 x 150,000 x 0*819 = 245,700 ... 241*82
To this add half the weight of the girder ... 8,000 ... 7*87
253,700 249*69
67
or, in round numbers, 254.000 kilogrammes (249*99 tons), as the greatest strain on the
chief girder. The four lattice girders forming the piece are strengthened by horizontal
and diagonal rods, so that the strain on the angle iron can be gone into. The total
cross section of the angle iron is 506,249 millimetres (78*47 square inches), so that per
square millimetre the maximum strain is Wo%04° = 5 kilogrammes, or 7,000 lbs. per
square inch.
The weight of the framing is—
Kilogrammes.
Front portion.................. 10,715
Main stay .................. 15,859
Pulley platform.................. 5,408
Four stiffening brattice girders ... ... ... ... 1,697
Foundation screws, anchor plates, etc. ... ... ... 6,321
Total ......... 40,000 = 39*37 tons.
•The pulleys are 5 millimetres (16*4 feet) in diameter, and weigh with axles and
bearings 11,300 kilogrammes, so that the total weight of the pulley frame and pulleys
amounts to 51,300 kilogrammes (50J tons) and cost to erect £1,000. The calculation
of the different strains is gone into and shown.
The description goes on with the guides, which are of wood, the keps, the self-
acting shaft gates (Plate IV.), the boilers, of which there are nineteen Lancashire,
23 feet long, 6*56 feet in diameter, tubes 2*296 feet in diameter, the steam pipes, and
the ventilator. The ventilator, Plate V., is a Guibal, 32*8 feet in diameter, and 9*84
feet wide, which receives its air from both sides. The blades are fastened in a new
style, being materially strengthened by angle iron. The air compressors deliver 100 to
120 cubic metres (3,531*7 to 5;297*49 cubic feet) per hour at a pressure of from 4 to 5
atmospheres.
The screen arrangement, Plate VI., is known as the Briart system, and the coals
are fed into the wagons, to avoid breakage, by a Jacob's ladder, which can be raised at
will as the wagon Alls. C. Z. B.
LEON DRU'S PERCUSSION BORING MACHINE, WITH HYDRAULIC
PRESSURE.
It is rather difficult to describe this borer without sketches, but the principle may
generally be described as follows :—
The chisel is attached to a rod which forms a long loop, at the top of which is
fastened a rod having at its lower end a piston attached. The top rods end in a fork,
to which is attached a cylinder which lies in the loop of the lower rod and chisel.
This cylinder is of a narrower bore at the top half than the lower half, and is closed at
the bottom, while the piston is pierced with air holes. The borer only works in holes
filled with water Suppose the chisel to be at the bottom of the hole, then the piston
will be at the bottom of the cylinder in the wide bore, the upper rods being then in
their highest position. The upper rods now commence the down stroke, and the
cylinder is moved downwards, while the piston, with chisel attached, remains
stationary, and at the end of the stroke is at the top of the cylinder. Now the
upper rods are lifted, and with it the chisel, for it can only fall slowly during the
quick upstroke of the rods on account of the small bore; but the piston passes in time,
owing to the weight of the chisel, into the wider cylinder, where it falls freely. The
stroke of the upper rods is greater than the fall of the boring chisel. C. Z. B.
08
A VISIT TO THE COAL-FIELDS OF ENGLAND IN THE AUTUMN
OF 1881.
The author describes and criticises the haulage at Boldon and Medomsley, in Dur-
ham ; at Townley, in Lancashire; and at the Pope and Pearson Collieries, near
Norman ton.
He then describes the Swan electric light at Earnock Colliery, near Glasgow
as follows: —A single cylinder engine drives a Gramme machine. The latter makes
1,292 revolutions per minute, and supplies eighteen lamps, of which one is on the
surface, and seventeen underground. A sketch in the letterpress shows their position.
The furthest lamp from the shaft was 275 metres (300 yards) j the total length of
circuit was 1,450 metres (1,586 yards). The lamps burned with an average power of
from fifteen to twenty candles, but each showed considerable difference. This was not
owing to the resistance of the length of circuit, but to the internal resistance of the
lamp. A trial was made with the lamps in a pair of working places at a distance of
685 metres (749 yards) from the shaft, making the total length of circuit 2,270 metres
(2,482J yards), with twenty-two lamps. The light was good, but on account of there
being no gas it was discontinued, open lights being easier to work with. The power
required was considerable. It was proved that four horse-power was required to work
twenty-two lamps by 1,564 revolutions of the Gramme machine.
A criticism of the lighting follows, which is favourable as regards the lamp itself,
but not as to the use of electricity in mines with circuits, on account of the danger of
a spark attending the breaking of the circuit by accident. C. Z. B.
THE WORKING OF THE PRUSSIAN MINES IN 1881.
This part deals with the several Government districts and coal-fields, with coal and
lignite mining, showing in each the production, number of collieries, number of work-
men, officials, and their several wages and salaries; value of production; number of
horses and engines, and their power; distinguishing number of pumping, winding, and
other engines, etc.; names of the mines, the exploring done in each mine, and the
opening out of new tracts of lands, with exports of mineral by rail and canal. The
same is shown for all other branches of mining and working of minerals.
In upper Silesia the average wages for the year 1881 were:—Enginemen, 2*06s.
per day; hewers, 2*25s.; putters and drivers, l*46s.; other underground men, l*43s.;
surfacemen. l*38s.; boys, 0 70s.; and women, 0*73s. In the north part of the West-
phalian coal-field the wages averaged for the hewers 3s. a day, while the other
workmen received from 2s. to 2*50s. In the south portion the hewers' wages varied
from 2s. to 2*50s. per day, and the other men employed underground from l*50s to 2s.
Of the Westphalian production, 78*96 per cent, was sent away by rail, 10*38 per cent,
was coked, 621 per cent, was used for colliery consumption, 4*33 per cent, went by
roads, and 0*12 per cent, by the river Ruhr. There were in this coal-field 2,185
engines of all sorts, with a combined power of 148.457 horse-power, of which there
were 123 ventilators, 402 winding engines, 324 pumping engines, and 59 locomotives.
The following table gives interesting particulars concerning the coal and lignite
basins:—
70
THE MINING INDUSTRY AND MINING ADMINISTRATION OF PRUSSIA
DURING THE YEAR 1881.
1.—General Position of the Trade,
a.—mining industry.
Although the production showed an increase, prices remained at a low ebb. especially
during the first half of the year.
The production* of the mines (including rock salt) increased 4*57 per cent., and the
value of the same 3*67 per cent, over the preceding year.
The total number of mines was 1844:—398 collieries, 456 lignite mines, 729 iron
ore mines, 187 lead, zinc, and copper mines, 11 salt mines, and 63 other mines. The
number of persons employed increased 4*65 per cent, on the preceding year.
a.—Coal Mining.—The mild winter of 1880-81 was unfavourable to this trade, but
after a time the increased activity in the iron trade made itself felt without, however,
enabling the coal-owners to increase their prices. In the beginning of the autumn
prices began to get better, and, although the winter of 1881-82 was mild, the iron
industry kept prices up. The production rose 3'81 per cent, and its value 3-02 per
cent, in the preceding year, and the average price at the pit's mouth went back from
4*99s. per ton to 4*96s. The number of persons employed increased 4*63 per cent, in
1880. The exports rose 8'84 per cent, and the sales inland 5*03 per cent., together an
increase of 5*64 per cent.
b —Lignite Mining. — This trade has been good, especially that of the lignite
briquettes. The production rose in 1881 5*44 per cent., its value 3*66 per cent., while
the price per ton decreased from 3*05s. to 3'00s. The number of persons employed
rose 1*02 per cent, in comparison with 1881.
c.—Iron Ore Mining.—In comparison with 1881 the production rose 6*17 per cent.,
its value 5*14 per cent,, and persons employed 3*8 per cent. The price fell from 6'83s.
per ton to 6*77s.
cl. — Zinc and Lead Mining. — The production over the preceding year of zinc
ores was increased by 4-33 per cent, and its value 19*58 per cent. The lead ores won
amounted to 148,790 tons, an increase of 4*14 per cent, and in value 2*47 per cent.
The price per ton fell from 127*15s. in 1880 to 125*lls. in 1881.
e.—Copper Mining.—The amount of copper ores raised was 515,360 tons, an in-
crease of 8*89 per cent, over 1880, in value 20*12 per cent., and persons employed
13;28 per cent.
/.—The Mining of other Minerals.
g. —Mineral Salts.—The mining of salts, especially potash salts, was very pros-
perous. Rock salt rose as to production over 1880 25*92 per cent, and its value 28*78
per cent., while in potash salts the rise was respectively 36*40 per cent, and 39*67 per cent.
h. —The Mining or Quarrying of Stones and Earths.—Slate mining has not been
prosperous, owing to competition from abroad, especially that of England. The same
has been the case with the quarrying of basalt and calcareous tuff. The demand for
phosphorite has been considerable, owing to the increased manufacture of super-phos-
phates and small phosphate imports from Chili and Peru. The working of strontianite
in Westphalia by the Government has also been very successful.
* For detailed production see Abstract, Vol. xxxii., page 18, of these Transactions, " Mining
Production of Prussia during the Year 1881."
I
b.-metallurgical works.
In 1881 there were 104 blast furnace works, 661 foundries, 273 puddling works,
1 54 Bessemer steel works, in connection with the manufacture of iron and steel.
8,11 a ___jr0n and Steel Works.—There were 186 blast furnaces at work, which pro-
diced 2 172,909 tons of iron. 1,159,104 tons of wrought iron and steel were produced,
hich included the manufacture of 5,549 tons of rails. The greatest activity prevailed
• the steel works. The production of 1881 was 31*71 per cent, more than in 1880,
being 864,502 tons. Of this 494,018 tons were manufactured into rails.
b —Zinc Works. c.—Lead Works, d.— Copper Works. e.—Silver and Gold
Works, f—Other Works.
c —the manufacture of salt from solution.
2.—The Fiscal Mines and Works.
a.—general summary.
There were at work in 1881 18 fiscal collieries, 8 lignite mines, 16 iron mines, 4 lead,
copper, lead and silver works, and 3 mineral salt works. There were 5 iron mines and
8 lead, silver, and other metallurgical works.
b.—produce of the fiscal works.
3.—Researches.
a.—geological survey.
The State geologic-agronomical works have been actively pursued in the Harz,
Thuringen, Province Hessen-Nassau, Rhine Province, and Brandenburg Province.
In the east and west provinces of Prussia work has lately been commenced. In all 91
geological sheets have been published. The following works in connection with the
Geological Survey have been published:—1. " The Geology of the neighbourhood of
Berlin," by Dr. E. Laufer and Dr. F. Wahnschaffe ; 2. " The Geology of the Province
Schleswig-Holstein," with a Map to the scale of soo'ooo* Dy 1)r- L- Meyn; 3.
Transactions of the Geological and Mining Academy of Berlin; 4. " The Flora of
the Carboniferous System," by Dr. E. Weiss.
b.—bore trials.
a. —By the Government.—The Government undertook the boring of four holes
during the year. One of the holes, commenced in 1880 near Domnitz, for the further
inquiry into the coal formation of Wetten-Lobejiin, was brought from a depth of 933 20
metres in very hard conglomerate and sandstone to a depth of 1001*20 metres. It
has not been possible to determine the geognostic horizon of the strata passed through.
Another hole, near Halle, at Schladebach, was put down to find the older coal forma-
tions, and at a depth of 591*32 metres was stopped in the lower new red sandstone.
b. — Other Works.—The boreholes seeking salt near Stassfurt have been very suc-
cessful at a depth of 300 metres. 91 metres of rock salt was met with, together with
31 metres of potassium salts. Borings are actively pursued at Zscherben. near Halle,
and Aschersleben, for the same purpose The petroleum wells near Oelheim are
extending. There are now twenty different companies with about eighty boreholes.
The depth is from 60 to 199 metres. The petroleum is found at from 60 to 100 metres
in depth under a bed of hard sandstone in a porous sandstone or loose sand. The area
of great productiveness is at present limited to a stretch of land 400 metres long by
150 metres broad. The production amounted to 22^- tons per day in 1881.
72
4.—Government Grants.
The number of leases asked for, for the working of mines, came to 139.
5.—Mining Taxes.
The States year of 1881-82 produced £185,659 from taxes, being 6*58 per cent,
more than the year 1880, and nearly equal to the year 1876.
6.—Mining Colleges and Schools.
a. —Academies.—The Mining Academy of Berlin possessed during the year 92
students against 111 in the preceding year. The other remaining academy, in Claus-
thal, had altogether 85 students.
b. —Mining Schools.—There were 10 schools and 27 elementary schools in the whole
State.
7.—Mining Laws and Mining Police.
During the year the Prussian State and the German Parliament have made no new
laws with regard to mining. The Workmen's Accident Insurance Bill and the Sick
Insurance Bill are rapidly being made law. The five Commissions sitting in the
Government district of Dortmund to inquire into the damage done to houses, land,
etc., by mining, have been hard at work settling claims.
8.—Transport.
a.—Railways, Roads, etc.—No new railways of importance have been opened, but
the existing railway companies have been busy extending their railways. The Bhine-
Meuse-Canal, owing to the action of the Dutch Government, has been stopped. The
project of connecting the Westphalian coal-field with the ports of the North is about
to be realized. The route has been fixed, and will be made in four parts—1st, the
Emscher Canal from Ruhrort (Rhine) to Dortmund; 2nd, a canal from Henrichburg
(Emscher) by Minister to the Lower Ems; 3rd, a canal from the Lower Ems to the
lower part of the Weser; 4th, a canal from the Weser to the Elbe.
9.—The Condition of the Men Employed.
a. —In General.—Although wages have not risen, owing to the low price of mining
products, yet they have kept at the same height as in the foregoing year. Towards
the latter part of the year the Government iron mine men, the lignite, copper ore, and
rock salt miners, obtained an advance in wages. The men, however, have found
regular employment. The emigration of the coal miners from Westphalia to America,
which began in the autumn of 1880, continued in 1881 to the extent of about 1,700
persons. As the winter set in with better trade, this entirely stopped, and even some
of the men returned.
b. —Relief Societies.--These number 83, embracing 2,196 mines and works. The
number of members was 289.377. During the year relief was given to 95,759 persons.
The income of these societies amounted to £702,424, and the expenditure to £657,649.
The amount of property held by them was £1,073,970. C. Z. B.
4 •>
THE MINING PRODUCTION OF AUSTRIA IN THE YEAR 1881.
The average price of lignite per metric centner (0*98420 cwts.) was 17*85 kilo-
grammes (less than 0*39 kreutzcr in 1880, or 2T3 per cent.), that of coal was 32*69
kilogrammes (less than 0*14 kreutzer, or 0*004 per cent, in 1880).
The salt works produced 581 355 metric centner rock salt, 1,563.863 metric
centner brine salt, 407,617 metric centner marine salt, and 119,959 metric centner
industrial salt ("industrialsalz "), amounting in all to a value of 23,000,498 florins, an
excess of 986,781 florins over 1880. C. Z. B.
74
WAGNER'S POCKET LEVELLING INSTRUMENT.
The principle of this instrument consists in reading the ordinary staff by means of
a telescope at the same time that the instrument is levelled by a spirit level visible in
the telescope. It is made in four sizes, and costs from 48 to 60 shillings. The largest
size measures 6 inches x 2f inches x 1\ inches, and weighs 10| ounces. A light stand
supports the instrument, but with practice it can be used by the hand alone.
C Z. B.
THE MINING PRODUCTION OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF HESSE
IN 1881 AND 1882.
KLOHT'S NEW PLANIMETER.
This instrument purposes to combine the good properties of the polar planimeter
and the linear planimeter, the former being more accurate and independent of the
nature of the plan paper, but complicated; and the latter being less complicated, less
accurate, and dependent upon the nature of drawing paper. The instrument is con-
structed so that by means of polar movement the principle of the linear planimeter
can be carried out, at the same time arriving at a greater degree of accuracy.
C. Z. B.
75
PRUSSIAN FIRE-DAMP EXPLOSIONS FROM 1861 TO 1881.
This paper contains a large number of tables. The following is perhaps of most
general interest: —
THE MINING INDUSTRY OF AUSTRIA IN 1881.
In the whole of Austria there existed at the end of the year 1881, 29,674 free grants
for the seeking and winning of minerals, an increase of 5'89 per cent, over the foregoing
year. The results of some of the explorations were, that in Schondorf, near Podersam,
a 60 metres deep bore-hole traversed basalt overlying the tertiary formation without
finding lignite. In Silesia, coal was traced in Peterswald and Orlau-Lazy. Lignite
was discovered at Fohnsdorf, in Steiermark; graphite at Mautern, in Ranach; and
iron ore in Gollrad. Near Trieste a company is actively engaged in exploring the
eocene lignite formation. Improvements in mining appliances are recorded.
During the year 1881, there were 791 mines and 119 smelting works at work,
employing 85,492 and 10,170 persons respectively, a total of 95,662 persons; of whom
87.002 were men, 6,006 women, and 2,654 children. In coal mining 37,113 persons
were employed, an increase of T59 per cent, on the preceding year. In lignite mining
29,083 persons were employed, or 0*22 per cent, increase on 1880.
There were 167 deaths by accidents, and 204 persons severely injured. Of the
former, 68 took place in coal mining and 78 in lignite mining, or 2'0 and 2*9 per 1,000
employed, respectively. Of the latter, 73 took place in coal mining and 89 in lignite
mining, or 21 and 3"3 per 1.000 employed, respectively.
76
The tons raised per death by accident in coal mining were, in 1880, 57,711, and in
1881, 46,642; in lignite mining, 69,021 in 1880, and 57,445 in 1881. The tons raised
per severely injured were, in coal mining, in 1881, 22,494, and in 1880, 23,006; in
lignite mining, 26.831 in 1881, and 29,443 in 1880.
The causes of all accidents, amounting to 167 deaths and 201 severely injured, of
which coal and lignite mining together share to the extent of 81 per cent,, are detailed
as follows:—
The mining revenue raised during the year 1881, amounted to 1,313,830 florins
565 kr. In the whole of Austria the tax on mining was 216 per cent, of the value
of the minerals raised, exclusive of the salt industry. C. Z. B.
A CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF A NUMBER OF SHAFT BORINGS.
The methods adopted depend upon the existence of a hard, water-containing rock or
quicksand. In the former the systems of Kind-Chaudron, Lippmann, with tubbing or
diamond boring, in the latter brick walling or iron tubbing are made use of.
In the mining district of Schonecke, at Stiring, near Forbach, Kind bored a shaft,
commencing on the 18th December, 1848, 111 metres in sandstone and conglomerate,
and 20 metres in coal measures. Wooden tubbing was used, which, however, did not
prove successful. Compare Ponson, Traite de Sexploitation des mines de houille, T. 1,
pp. 354-450, also Beer. Erdbohrkunde, p. 344, and Serlo, p. 647.
At the Anna mine, near Alsdorf, in the Worm district, two shafts were sunk during
the years 1850-54, and lined with cast iron tubbing. They were put through quick-
sand, 49-29 metres in depth, by means of a "sackbohrer." The cost of sinking in the
quicksand was 857 marks per metre (£39 3s. per yard). Compare Zeitschr. f. d. Berg-
Hiitten-u-Salinenwesen im Pr. Staate, 1855, p. 236.
77
Three shafts were sunk through quicksand at the Maria colliery, near Hoengen, in
the Worm district, in the years 1850-55. The quicksand was 28*88 metres in depth,
and the cylinder lowered through the same was barrel-like, of pitch pine. The shafts
were 133'88 metres deep, and were 1*31, 164, and 2*35 metres in diameter. The sack-
borhrer was used. The cost in quicksand was 477 marks per metre (£21 16s. per yard).
At the colliery Dahlbusch, near Rotthausen, in Westphalia, five shafts were bored
during the years 1852-75, by the Kind-Chaudron method. The shafts were—
T$0m I, = 117 3 metres deep and 3*5 metres in diameter.
Air shaft = 101*1 „ 1*9
No. II. = 104*6 „ 3-65 „
„ III. = 88 „ 365 „
„ IV. = 88 „ 3-65 „
The cost, including tubbing of the air shaft, was £6,326 17s., shaft No. II.
£14,680, Nos. III. and IV. together £28,350, or £141 15s. per metre, or £87 per metre
for sinking only. Compare paper written by Director Schulz, in 1879, Serlo, p. 647,
and Zeitschr, f.d. B.,- H.- W. S. im Pr. St., 1858.
The colliery Agnes Ludowike, near Hornhausen, was sunk from a depth of 15*69
metres in quicksand by means of a sinking wall and double sackbohrer. The cost was
£18 15s. per metre in the quicksand. Compare Zeitschr. f. d. B.,- H.- u. S. im Pr.
St., 1855, p. 228.
Near Ressaix, in Belgium, five shafts were sunk from 1854 to 1873 by the Kind-
Chaudron system. In the shaft St. Vaast, at the Peronne colliery, the height of
tubbing was 98 metres. The diameter was 3*65 metres, and the total cost £8,800, or
about £89 16s. per metre. The shaft Bessaix was 3*65 metres in diameter. Cost, with
tubbing, £6,000, or £69 9s. per metre. Compare Schulz, pp. 5, 29, 38.
In the Rheinpreussen colliery, near Homberg, Ruhrort, two shafts were sunk 326
metres, and 2*86 and 4*7 metres in diameter during the years 1857-1877. During
these 20 years all conceivable plans of sinking through quicksand of over 100 metres in
depth were repeatedly tried. Many accidents took juace, and the undertaking cost
many million marks. Compare Zeitschr. f. d. B.,- H.- u. S. im Pr. St., 1863, p. 43;
1869, pp. 88, 385; 1872, p. 95; 1875, p. 236; and 1879, p. 1.
Chaudron sank four shafts at the colliery L'Hopitale, near St. Avoid in Lothringen,
in the years 1863-66 and 1874-76. Hard vogesen sandstone was sunk through with
feeders amounting to 25 cubic metres per minute (5,502*42 gallons). Shaft L, 1*83
metres in diameter and 158 metres deep, cost, including tubbing, £11,250, or £71 4s.
per metre; shaft II., 3*43 metres diameter and 159 metres deep, £17,600, or £110 16s.
per metre. Compare Schulz, pp. 29, 38, 39.
Near Dorignies (Department du Nord) the Compagnie des mines de FEscarpelle
sunk a shaft from a depth of 25*98 metres to a depth of 104 metres, with a diameter
of 3 2 metres, by the Kind-Chaudron methcd, in 1868-69. The sinking, including
tubbing, cost £8,315, or £80 per metre. Later in 1869, 1870, and 1876-77, two more
shafts were sunk 104 and 109 metres respectively, on the same plan. Compare
Schulz, pp. 29, 38, 39.
A shaft at the Deutscher Kaiser colliery, at Muhlheim on the Ruhr, was sunk in
the years 1871-75, by boring. Oxen were used for turning the borer. Compare
Zeitschr. f. d. B..- II.- u. S. im Pr. St., 1879, p, 67.
A\, Meurchin, in the north of France, two shafts were sunk on the Kind*
Chaudron method, between April 1st, 1872, and July 31st. 1875. The shafts were
3*20 metres in diameter, and 84 and 91 metres deep, respectively. The total cost was
£10,504 and £10,200 and the cost per metre, including tubbing, was £125 10s. and
£113 6s. Compare Schulz, pp. 28-29.
78
Zobol and Kohl bored two shafts, from the 24th March, 1873, to the 30th April
1874, on their own plan, 1*41 metres and 4443 metres deep, at Nortycken, in Sainland
for the winning of amber. Several new and interesting tools were used in this work
Compare Zeitschr. f. d. B.,- H.- u. S. im Pr. St., 1874, p. 139, and 1879, p. 284.
On Lippmann's system, a shaft was bored at the Rhein-Elbe colliery, near Gelsen-
kirchen, in thirteen months, 1874-75, which was 90 metres deep and 4*3 metres in
diameter. The freefall apparatus of Degoussee and Laurent was adopted. Compare
Zeitschr. f. d. B.,- H.- u. S. im. Pr. St., 1876, p. 176.
Lippmann's system was again used at the colliery Konigsborn, near Unna, in an
improved form known as Mauget-Lippmann. The shaft was 200 metres deep. The
first 50 metres, and 45 metres diameter, was sunk by hand, the remaining depth was
bored 4*3 metres in diameter. The boring commenced on the 20th August, 1875, and
lasted until October, 1878. The machine worked very smoothly, and a progress was
recorded of as much as 05 metres in 24 hours, and 11 metres per month. The tubbing
was on the Kind-Chaudron principle, except that, instead of the central pipe, a
valve was fitted to the false bottom which was actuated from bank by a steel wire.
The rings were 1*5 metres high, and 123 were used. The cretaceous marl through
which they sunk was partly of a flinty hardness. The cost of the apparatus is about
four times dearer than that of the Kind-Chaudron. The system is admirably adapted
for large shafts. Compare Zeitschr. f. d. B.,- H.- u. S. im Pr. St., 1876, p. 176, and
1877, p. 242.
The author concludes by saying that when sinking with tubbing, or walling, which
is lowered as the work progresses in quicksand, is adopted, it is not advisable to force
with much power the walling or tubbing when it will not sink, as it leads to frequent
breakages and trouble. Experience seems to prove that after bringing by hand the
shaft down as far as possible, the inner and outer diameters of the walling or tubbing
should be so chosen that several smaller sized wallings can find room. The object should
be more the freeing of the strata at the circumference below the walling, rather than the
sinking of the shaft sump until the shaft has reached hard strata with but little water.
C. Z. B.
THE OIL INDUSTRY OF OELHEIM, NEAR PEINE.
Oelheim lies near the villages Oedesse and Edemissen, on the Liineburger Haide,
3 kilometres north of Peine (station on the Brunswick-Hanover railway). The
petroleum district of Oelheim forms only a link of the great North German oil regions,
which extends in a straight line from Schoppenstedt, in Braunschweig, in a north-west
direction to Verden on the Aller, a distance of about 20 miles (German). At many
points in this line, which runs parallel to the contour of the district, the existence of
oil is proved, partly by traces of oil on the surface, partly by shafts, and boreholes and
tar wells. The formation in which the oil is found seems to be the Wealden, and
certainly the cretaceous sandstone bed belonging to the Wealdcn, which crops out,
seems to contain the chief supply. This is, however, not the only deposit, as other clay
and sandy strata, as proved by boreholes, yield, in pumping, oil much mixed with
salt water.
The first successful commercial attempt to obtain oil was in 1880, and was followed
by Herr Mohr, who bored the celebrated No. 3 borehole in December, 1880, well known
on account of the strong eruption of gas from it. Now 25 different companies exist.
79
The two original companies are the only producers at present, and their taking is
studded with boreholes from 10 to 20 metres apart only. These holes gave vory
varying results; one hole producing 10 to 20 barrels a day, being next to one producing
nothing; and this may be accounted for by a borehole weakening the productiveness of
another close to it. Some of the holes (for instance Mohr's No. 13, which formerly gave
as much as 100 barrels of raw oil per diem) show a decided decrease on their original
supply. The production in 1881 was 22,000 barrels, and in 1882 104,113 cwts. The
cost of putting down a hole is small, and is amply repaid if a yield per hole of from
3 to 4 barrels a day is secured The comparatively shallow depth at which the boreholes
arc at present confined gives rise to greater hopes on the attainment of greater depths.
Methods of Boring,—Percussion rod boring is the most common, with Fabian's
f rcefall piece. These holes are started with a diameter of 420 millimetres, and diminish
at depths of 100 to 200 metres to 160 to 100 millimetres in diameter. As soon as the
dolomitic limestone has been passed through and soft shales arc met with, the boring
is changed to a rotatory motion. The percussion boring is invariably performed by
hand, making jn'ogress in fairly hard reck to the extent of from 700-1000 millimetres
per day. The bore-master, who undertakes the work at his own risk, charges 65 marks
(£3 5s.) per metre for the first 100 metres, and 10 marks (10s.) per metre additional
below that depth.
The American rope boring method, largely adopted in Pennsylvania, U.S., has not
proved successful.
Percussion boring with wooden rods is used by the United Continental Oil Company,
Limited, London, who are boring for a Bremer firm. The agreement is, that 200 metres
must be reached, for which in return they receive half the yield of raw oil. The boring
is 310 millimetres in diameter. The boring arrangement is the best in the district;
a depth of 150 feet having been readied in one week.
An Essen firm are boring with hollow iron reds and water. The rods are formed of
gas piping 34 millimetres in diameter, and the water is forced by a hand pump. The
chisel is attached to the hollow piping. The boring is the deepest in the district,
having attained a depth of 360 metres.
Kohrig's boring arrangement is similar to the foregoing, with the exception that
attached to the hollow reds is a Fabian's freefall borer, and the water is forced outside
the rods and comes up inside. The greater velocity obtained by making the water
pass upwards in a narrower passage, enables the water to carry with it large debris and
even whole cores.
The holes generally are lined with welded wrought iron pipes for great depths, and
drawn iron pipes for lesser depths, with screwed joints, which are so well made that the
joint is scarcely discernible. As later a lifting pump is made to work in them this is
a great advantage. C. Z. B.
ACCURACY OF THE EQUIDISTANT PLANIMETER.
The author refers to his paper on the equidistant planimeter of his design in Vol.
XL, made for computing small areas. In this paper he details trials made with it,
together with the polar planimeter and the Harfen planimeter. The trials consisted of
measuring the areas of circles and squares, representing areas respectively of 100, 500,
1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 sgm. drawn to a scale of 1 : 4,000. Tables of the
results are given. For small areas up to 4,000 sgm., on the scale of 1 * 4,000, the
equidistant planimeter is as accurate as the others, and requires less time to mani-
pulate. C. Z. B.
80
THE SAFETY-LAMPS IN USE AT THE ROYAL COLLIERIES
NEAR SAARBRUCKEN.
1. —The Davy. The wire forming the gauze is J millimetre thick. The meshes
are rectangular, and 111 go to a square centimetre. These lamps are only used by the
officials for the purpose of examining the air, and then only in some districts.
2. —The Saarbrucken lamp, which is a Miieseler without the inner chimney and the
horizontal gauze. The oil holder is much lower than in the Mueseler, being 37 milli-
metres high against 50 millimetres. The gauze is protected at the top by a copper cap
which fits tight over the gauze, and is perforated to the same extent as the gauze.
The lower part of the lamp, with the lower, middle, and upper rings with plate, are of
brass, and the upper part of iron. The glass cylinder has a diameter (outside) of 65
millimetres, is 6 millimetres thick and G5 millimetres high, is made of well-tempered
white glass of as even a thickness as possible, and accurately ground where it bears
upon the plates. The wire forming the gauze is three millimetres thick, and 144
meshes go to a square centimetre. A round wick is used and the oil is of pure rape-
seed. The lamps are locked by a screw fitted at the bottom of the oil-holder. The
total weight is 850 grammes, against 990 grammes of the Miieseler. and 1,020 grammes
of the lamps mostly used in Westphalia.
3. —Lately some of Dr. Schondorff's improved magnetic Bidder lock lamps have
been successfully used at the Heinitz Colliery. C. Z. B.
BREAKAGE OF A WINDING ROPE AT THE DUKE HARDENBERG
COLLIERY, WESTPHALIA.
The author endeavours to explain the reason of the rope breaking, an accident
which caused the death of 25 men.
The rope consisted of seven strands, each constructed on a core of three wires
made of annealed crucible steel, each wire being 0*005 inches in diameter. The seven
wires next the core in each strand were of crucible steel, 2*2 millimetres (00866
inches) in diameter, and the twelve outer wires, made of the same material, were 2*4
millimetres (0'09449 inches) in diameter. The main core, round which the seven
strands were twisted, consisted of six strands, each composed of six wires made of
annealed iron 2 millimetres (0*0787 inches) in diameter, twisted on a tarred hemp core.
According to the regulations of the mining police 114*6 kilogrammes per square
millimetre (72*8 tons per square inch) is the limit of strength for crucible steel;
80 kilogrammes per square millimetre (50*8 tons per square inch) for annealed crucible
steel; and 45 kilogrammes per square millimetre (28*5 tons per square inch) for annealed
iron wire; so that the strength of the rope was equal to a total carrying power of
71*42 tons.
By trials made at the manufactory, the rope proved capable of carrying 80*39 tons.
The rope was again tested after the accident, when it was ascertained that after 11 k
months wear the strength had deteriorated 18*25 per cent.
Hi
The weight carried by the rope was 8*383 tons. This makes the rope to be 8*5 times
stronger than the load, but really, according to the trials made, 9*6 times stronger, and
after breakage 7*8 times stronger.
According to the regulations enforced by the mining authorities, the weight of men
allowed to ride must not be more than half the weight when winding coal (in this case
equal to 20 men). 25 men were in the cage at the time the rope broke; but this could
hardly have been the cause of the accident.
On examining the rope after fracture it was found that five out of the seven strands
were broken off nearly in one plane, and each wire was fractured as if it had been
broken in a proof machine. The other two strands reached 150 millimetres and 250
millimetres beyond the fracture. This seemed to prove that the rope had broken
suddenly. No marks were found on the guides to show that the cage had got wedged.
The rope broke 1*5 millimetre below the shackle, and had been four times re-
socketed.
The safety apparatus did not act, owing, very possibly, to the suddenness of the
break, as the axis holding the cams to catch the guides was found to be so bent as to
unfit it for action.
The author's theory is that the cage was too rapidly nearing the top, and that the
engineman slackened or stopped his engine so suddenly that the cage, after travelling
with a velocity due to its momentum, fell back on the slack rope and so broke it. The
banksman just saw the bridle chains when the cage went to the bottom. C. Z. B.
COAL STAITHS.
The author describes and discusses the various systems adopted in England,
Germany, and France.* He is in favour of the last; in all of which the wagons are
placed parallel with the ship and emptied from one side.
On the whole he prefers the system devised by himself for the Bruay Coal Company
(Pas-de-Calais), and for which he was awarded a silver medal at the Exhibition of 1878.
The wagon (ten tons) is run on to a platform parallel to the ship. The platform is
hinged along the side next the ship, and the other side is raised through an angle of
about 30° by means of an hydraulic piston placed beneath it. One side of the wagon
being opened, the coal is discharged into a spout.
Two of these tips complete, costing £1,600 (40,000 francs), will discharge 2,500 to
3,000 tons of coal in one day, and employ only six men. J. H. M.
A SUSPENDED CENTRING.
In order to connect two quays at Barcelona, it was necessary to arch over an
opening twenty-four feet wide and fifty yards long.
The level of the sea being above the spring of the arch, centres fixed in the ordinary
way would have been exposed to the force of the waves; it occurred, therefore, to the
author to suspend the centres from balks resting upon the quay walls and an inter-
mediate pier. This paper gives, with the aid of a plate, a detailed description of the
suspended centring upon which the arches were successfully built. J. H. M.
* Some of the French systems are described in Vol. XXVII. of the Transactions.—Sub-Editor.
i
82
IMPORTATION OF ENGLISH COAL AND COKE TO BILBAO.
THE ANZIN COAL STAITHS.
This is an account of the method adopted at the Anzin mines for loading vessels
with coal. The truck (10 tons of coal) is run on to a platform parallel with the ship.
This platform is hung upon a longitudinal axle, placed about four inches eccentric to
the centre line of the rails, so that, on the withdrawal of a bolt, the weight of the full
truck will tip one side of the platform down towards the vessel. The side of the truck
being opened, the coal is discharged along a spout into the hold. The platform in
turning picks up a series of weights, so proportioned as to exactly counterbalance the
load, which increases as the angle of tip increases. In order to bring the platform and
empty truck quietly back, some of the balance weights are prevented from acting
immediately, by means of a brake. All the details are clearly shown in the plates. It
is found in practice that four men can discharge from 250 to 270 tons in two hours.
M. J. Deprez has been awarded a gold medal for his apparatus. J. H. M.
DYNAMITE, ETC.
The author describes nitro-glycerine and the different kinds of dynamite, including
gum dynamite.
With reference to dynamite, he points out that the great safety of this explosive
has, by inducing over-confidence, been the cause of many accidents; as, for instance, if
a light be applied to a small quantity of dynamite, it will burn quietly, whereas, in the
case of a large quantity, it will explode, and it is impossible to fix the limit. A thick
layer of dynamite, such as an ordinary cartridge, may be struck with a hard body or
subjected to the most violent shocks; but a thin layer, in similar circumstances, would
explode. Accidents have often been caused by thawing dynamite that has frozen
(which it does at a temperature of about 42° Fahr.) by placing it near the fire or upon
a stove. This is in itself harmless, but if, as sometimes happens, a detonator has been
left in one of the cartridges, a violent explosion might be the consequence. M. Acliard
recommends that dynamite should be thawed in an empty vessel placed in a vessel
hot water. J. H. M.
83
RESISTANCE TO TRACTION ON ROADS.
Mr. Hering, having had occasion to inform himself upon this subject, and finding
the experiments of the different authorities widely scattered, has collected the main
points together in this paper. He concludes with a table of the resistance on different
classes of roads. J« H- M-
WET COMPRESSOR WITH PARABOLIC COLUMNS.
This paper gives an account of an improved form of wet compressor, which the
author thinks will supersede the dry high-speed compressor of Collodon, which sup-
planted the original wet low-speed compressor of Sommeiller.
The principal improvement consists in substituting evasee columns of a parabolic
form for the ordinary columns with parallel sides. By this means the velocity of the
water is gradually decreased, eddies are prevented, and the compressor therefore can be
driven at a higher speed.
The author gives a mathematical proof of the advantages of this form for the
columns, and examples from places where it has been successfully applied in practice.
J. H. M.
MINERAL WEALTH OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
Chapter IX. of this official hand-book is devoted to an account of the mineral
wealth of the colony. Gold and coal have hitherto been the principal productions;
but tin, copper, iron, lead, silver, kerosene, precious stones, and a few other minerals
are worked.
Coal extends over an approximate area of 23,950 square miles, and has been found
of a quality second to none in the world. Professor W. A. Dixon, of the Sydney
Technical College, says that it is denser than English Newcastle coal, representing an
economic advantage of 6 per cent, for bunker purposes, and is practically sulphur free.
The production has risen from 898,784 tons from twenty-seven mines in 1871, to
1,446,180 tons from forty-six mines in 1880. About 4,650 men are employed.
The map shows gold areas, mineral areas other than gold, agricultural areas, and
pastoral areas. J. H. M.
THE AVAILABLE TONNAGE OF THE BITUMINOUS COAL-FIELDS OF
PENNSYLVANIA.
The author criticises former estimates, which he shows to have been much exag-
gerated, and, confining himself to easily accessible coal of good quality contained in
beds thick enough for remunerative mining, he calculates the quantity remaining (at
1,500 tons per foot per acre) to be 33.547,200,000 tons, and the area of the field to be
about 9,000 square miles. The details for each seam and for each county are given,
and tables of probable future production estimated on a basis of 16,000,000 tons worked
in 1880. J- H. M.
84
ANALYSES OF NEW ZEALAND COALS.
By William Skey, Analyst to the Geological Survey of New Zealand. Colonial
Museum and Geological Survey of New Zealand, Seventeenth Annual Report
1882, pp. 24-28.
This paper contains analyses of thirteen bituminous and altered brown coals from
Pictou, the Cheviot Hills, the Malvern Hills, Greymouth, Shakespeare Bay, Nightcaps
Mine, Patria, Wharekawa, and Forty-mile Bush. j. jr. ]\j
COALS IN MEXICO—SANTA ROSA DISTRICT.
By W. H. Adams, M.E. Transactions of the American Institute of Mining
Engineers, Vol. X, pp. 270-273, one Plate.
Very little is known of this coal-field, which extends over hundreds of miles of
country along the Rio Grande. The coal belongs to the Triassic formation, is semi-
anthracite and bituminous, and of good quality.
The author is engaged at the Cedral Mines, the only extensive collieries in the
district. The coal makes good coke, and he is now erecting fifty ovens.
The paper is illustrated by a map. J. H. M.
MINERAL PRODUCE OF NOVA SCOTIA.
By Edwin Gilpin, Jun., A.M., F.G.S., M.R.S.C., Inspector of Mines. Reports on the
Mines of Nova Scotia, 1881 and 1882, p. 1.
1880. 1881. 1882.
„ . _ Ounces. Ounces. Ounces.
Cold ............ 13,234 ... 10,756 ... 14,107
Tons. Tons. Tons.
Iron ore............ 31,193 ... 39,843 ... 42,135
Manganese ore......... 223 ... 231 ... 205
Coal raised ......... 1,032,710 ... 1,124,270 ... 1,365,811
Gypsum............ 128,528 ... 107,133 ... 133,426
Building stone......... 3,540 ... 6,638 ... 4,357
Barytes ... ...... ... — ... 40 ... ._
Coke made ......... 13,125 ... 27,871 ... 26,731
Fire-clay ......... 75 ... 401 ... —
Grindstones, etc. ...... 1,500 ... 1,680 ... 2,450
J. H. M.
THE INFLUENCE OF A LOW BAROMETER UPON THE GEYSER AT
MONTROND.
M. Laur has be ^ making experiments upon this geyser since April, 1882, which
show that it is affected by atmospheric disturbances, marking changes too delicate
even to be detected by means of the barometer.
He considers that all geysers, volcanic eruptions, and the discharge of gases into
mines are subject to this influence; and he points out that four colliery explosions
happened during a period of atmospheric disturbance (13th April to 1st May, 1882),
which was also accompanied by three eruptions of the geyser. J. H. M.
INDEX TO VOL. XXXII.
"Abs." signifies Abstracts of Foreign Papers at End of the Volume; " App." Appendix.
Abel's dynamite shells, 57.
Abstracts of Foreign Papers, end of volume.
Accidents: Mining, in Prussia, abs. 23.
—Abstracts from Mines Inspectors'
Reports, 1851-81, app. 1.
Accounts, xvi.
Action of zinc in boilers, abs. 10.
Advance in mining and metallurgical art,
science, and industry, since 1875, abs. 33.
Advertisement, xv.
Africa, South; diamond fields of, abs. 5.
Air; atmospheric impact, from explosions,
197.
Air; chemical analysis of return air of
collieries in Saxony, abs. 25.
Air-currents, effective area of, abs. 18.
Air-receiver at Ryhope, 179.
Aldis, Proeessor; On internal stress in
cylindrical and spherical dams, 201.
Almaden; distilling apparatus at, abs. 50.
Alps; perforation of the, abs. 38.
Alum shale, Rosedale Abbey district, 52.
America; Ventilation of the St. Louis
Tunnel, abs. 63.
American coal, iron, &c, 1871-80, abs. 33.
American Institute of Mining Engineers—
President's Address, abs. 33.
Ammonia from coke-oven gases, abs. 44.
Analyses : Gault clay and grey chalk,
Dover, 4.—Ironstone, various districts,
47.—Ironstone, Cleveland main seam,
49.—Limestone, Deepdale beds, 50.—
Cobaltite from Rajputana, abs. 1.—
Soekaboemi coal, abs. 2.—Residuum of
mineral water, South of France, abs. 4.
—New explosive, abs. 16.—Return air
of collieries in Saxony, abs. 25. —Various
foods for horses, 66. —Indian coal, 152.
- Oats, 156.
Anaemia, miners', abs. 52.
Angers; slate-mining at, abs. 45.
Anzin coal-staiths, abs. 82.
Apparatus : For analysing fire-damp,
abs. 6.—Tappings of metal, Thomas-
Gilchrist process, abs. 10.—Coal clean-
ing, abs. 41.—Used for experiments in
connection with boiler explosions; plate
29.—Distilling, at quicksilver mine, at
Almaden, abs. 50.
Application of artificial ventilation in the
Mont Cenis Tunnel, abs. 39.
Associate members, xxxvii.
Aubin coal-field, abs. 53.
Austria; mining production, 1881, abs. 73.
—Mining industry, 1881, abs. 75.
Autun; permo-carboniferous rocks of,
abs. 5.
Balloting list, lxiii.
Barometer; Geyser at Montrond, abs. 84.
Barometer readings, 371.
Barrow-in-Furness; meeting at, 223.—
Excursions, &c, 317, 318, 367, 368.
Basaltic rocks of North-eastern Ulster,
abs. 2.
Bavaria; mining, smelting, and salt pro-
duction of, 1881, abs. 58.
Beaumont, Colonel ; Compressed air
locomotive, 8, 55.—Boring machine, 6,
and plate 5.—On Channel tunnel, 19.
Belgium; central coal-field of, abs. 28.
Besseges collieries, abs. 53.
Bilbao; importation of English coal and
coke to, abs. 82.
Bird, W. J.; On coverings for boilers.
(See Comparative efficiency of &c.)
Blanzy mines; transmission of power by
electricity at, abs 13.
Bohemia, North; lignite mines of, abs. 29.
Boilers; action of zinc in, abs. 10.
Boilers; coverings for. (See Comparative
efficiency of, &c.)
Boilers; On explosions of, by E. B. Marten,
(See Explosions of boilers, &.c.)
Borer, Rotary, abs. 56.
Boring Machine; Beaumont and English's,
6, and plate 5.—Dru's, abs. 67.
Borings; chronological review of a number
of, abs. 76.
Borneo; Chinese gold in, abs. 2.
Bowlker's ventilating fan, discussed, 24,
116.
Brake, Wenger's; compressed-air, abs. 56.
Briquette manufactory, Westphalia, abs.
63.
Brown, M. W.; Translation of Mr. E.
Mallard's remarks on Mr. Lindsay
Wood's experiments showing the pres-
sure of gas in the solid coal, 123.
Bye-laws, li.
Camphausen shafts of the Dudweiler
Jagersfreude colliery, abs. 66.
Canalisation of the Seine, abs. 11.
Carbonic acid gas; outburst of, abs. 28.
Cartridges; lime, 57.
Cement stones; Rosedale Abbey district, 52.
Centring suspended, abs. 81.
Channel tunnel, The, by Charles Tylden-
Wright, 3.—General description, 3.—
Geological formation, 4.—Description of
boring machine, 6.—Haulage, 7.—Com-
pressed air locomotives, 8.—Ventilation,
14.
Plates.—1. Section of cliffs from
Folkestone to St. Margaret's.—2. Plan
of the Channel between Dover and
Calais.—3. Section of strata under the
Channel—4. Section of cliffs from
Calais to St. Pol.—5. Beaumont and
English's boring machine.—6. Beau-
mont's air locomotive.
Channel tunnel; visit to the works of the,
55.
Charter; copy of, xlv.
Chemical analysis of the return air of
collieries in Saxony, abs. 25.
Chili; copper of, abs, 51.
Chinese gold in Borneo, abs. 2.
Classifier; Thirion, abs. 51.
Cleveland ironstone, limestone, &c, 47,49.
—Dependent on the Durham coal-field,
139.
Climatic conditions of the Zwickau col-
lieries, Saxony, abs. 41.
Coal: Rosedale Abbey district, 52.—
Indian; output of, ^1878, abs. 3.—Pr0-
duced by Prussia in 1881, abs. 26.—
Statistics, produce, kc, various countries,
1870-81, abs. 31.—American produce,
&c, 1871-80, abs. 33.—Statistics from
the Mines Inspectors' reports, 1851-81,
app. 1.—Production of in the United
Kingdom, app. 13.—Analysis of New
Zealand, abs. 84.
Coal; duration of in Great Britain and
Ireland. (See Duration of, &c.)
Coal; pressure of gas in, remarks by Mr.
E. Mallard on Mr. Lindsay Wood's
experiments, 123.
Coal-cleaning apparatus at the Rhein-
preussen colliery, abs. 44.
Coal-fields : The Soekaboemi, abs. 2 —
Pyrenees, abs. 4.—Gard, map of, abs. 11.
—Great Britain and Ireland, duration
of, 135.—Daltonganj, 149.—Belgium,
abs. 28.—Mure, abs. 29.—Aubin, abs, 53.
—Cumberland, 319.—Pennsylvania, abs.
83.—Mexico, abs. 84.
Coal -measures of the South. of France:
mineral spring in, abs. 4.
Coal-measures; passage from to permian,
abs. 5.
Coal-staiths, abs. 81.—At Anzin, 82.
Coal-working at Moira. (See Two
systems of, &c.)
Coal and bitumen deposits of Trinidad,
abs. 55.
Coal and coke at St. Etienne; prices of,
abs. 12.
Coal and Metalliferous Mines Acts; notes
on, abs. 3.
Cobaltite and Danaite, Rajputana, abs. 1.
Coke-oven gases; ammonia from, abs. 44.
Cole, W. R; Nomination to fill vacancy
caused by the death of, 1.—Scrutineers
appointed, 59.
Colliery horses. (See Feeding and Man-
agement of)
Comberedonde ventilator, abs. 54.
Commission on dynamite stores; report of,
abs. 18.
Comparative efficiency of non-conducting
coverings for boilers and steam-pipes,
by W. J. Bird (second paper), 35.—
Tables of experiments, &c, 37.—Results,
cost, &c, 41.—Discussed, 175.
Compressed-air brake; Wenger's, abs. 56.
Compressed-air locomotives; Col. Beau-
mont's, 8, 55.—Lishman and Young's,
and Mackarski's, 9.—Results of trials
in London, 10.
Compresser, wet, with parabolic columns,
abs. 83.
Contents of volume, iii.
Copper of Chili, abs. 51.
Coquillon's apparatus for analysing fire-
damp, abs. 6.—Grisoumeter, abs. 44.
Corbett, V. W.; Observations taken at
Seaham colliery after the explosion.
(See Water-gauge, Barometer. Ac.)
Council report, v.
Cumberland coal-field. (See Structure
of &c.)
Daltonganj coal-field, by J. H. Grant, 149.
—Area, general appearance, principal
rivers, strata, 150.—Sections of bore-
holes, 151.—Analyses of coal, 152.—
Quantity of coal available, quantity
raised between the years 1859 and 1862,
153.—Discussed, 154.
Plate.—13. Geological map of the
district.
Dams; on internal stress in cylindrical and
spherical dams, by Professor Aldis, 201.
Diamond fields of South Africa, abs. 5.
Distilling apparatus in use at the quick-
silver mine at Almaden, abs. 50.
Drilling machines, abs. 43.
Dru's percussion boring machine, abs. 67.
Duration of the coal of Great Britain and
Ireland, by G. C. Greenwell, 135.—Line
of argument which has hitherto appeared
upon the " coal question," inapplicable,
135.—Production, &c, 1860-80.—Esti-
mated production, &c, 1890-1940, 136.
—Cleveland ironstone dependent on the
Durham coal-field, 139. — Estimated,
quantity of coal in seams of 12 inches
thick and upwards remaining to be
worked at January 1st, 1871, 141.—
Tables giving the number of persons
employed in the coal-mines of each
inspection district of Great Britain
and Ireland and the quantities raised,
142.—Number of persons employed in
the coal-mines of Great Britain and
Ireland in each year, 1870-1882,147.—
Estimated years of life of coal in the
various districts, 147.
Dynamite, &c, abs. 82.
Dynamite shells; Abel's, 57.
Dynamite stores; report of commission on,
abs. 18.
Effective area of air-currents, abs. 18.
Election of members, 1, 59, 133, 179, 215,
369.
Electric bell; Miieseler's safety-lamp,
abs. 62.
Electric gin, Peronniere colliery, abs. 11.
Electricity; transmission of power at the
Blanzy mines, abs. 13.—Transmission of
power by an ordinary telegraph wire, 28.
English coal and coke imported to Bilbao,
abs. 82,
English coal-fields; visit to the, abs. 68.
Experimental notes on the Otto gas-engine,
abs. 54.
Experiments : Compressed-air locomo-
tives, 10.—Bowlker's fan, 26— Cover-
ings for boilers, &c., 35—Safety-lamps,
abs. 17.—Comparison of work done by
fans in Saxony, abs. 21—Strength of
wrought-iron in compression, 180.
Boiler explosions, 197— At Seaham Col-
liery after the explosion, 225.
Experiments showing the pressure of
gas in the solid coal, by Lindsay Wood,
Remarks on, by E. Mallard, 123.—Mr.
Wood's paper discussed, 311.
Explosions : Seaham and Penygraig;
notes on, abs. 6. — Seaham, 223.—
Prussia, 1861-1881, abs. 75.
Explosions of boilers and other vessels, by
E. B. Marten, 191.—Mode of illustration,
191 .—-As to the causes of explosions,
193.—Experimental explosions, 197.—
Mysterious theories of boiler explosions,
199.—Discussed, 200, 216.
Plates.—24, 25, 26, 28. Drawings of
fragments of exploded boilers, &c.—27.
Sketches showing atmospheric impact
from explosions.—29. Sketches of ap-
paratus used in experiments.
Explosions; velocity of propagation of,
abs. 12.—Prevention of fire-damp, abs.
28.
Explosives, abs. 15.—Results of employ-
ment of new, in Germany, abs. 47.—-
Abstracts from Mines Inspectors' Re-
ports, app. 1.
Feeding and management of colliery
horses, by Charles Hunting, 61.—Selec-
tion of food, amount of work, 61.—
Selection of horses and ponies for
" putting " work, 62. — Over-working,
condition, 63.—Selection of food, 64.
—Composition of animal and vegetable
bodies, 64. — Constituents of various
kinds of food, 66.—Banting system, 67.
—Oats, oatmeal husk, 68.—Beans, &c,
69.—Table showing the weight of husk
in various grains, 72.—Foreign oats,
kiln-dried oats, ,73.—Maize, 75.—Colic,
76. —Barley, 77. —Bran, hay, 78.—
Green food, 80.—Grooming, perspiring,
82.—Green food in pits, 83.—Mixed
food, 84.—Fluctuations in the price of
provender, 85.—Cutting and bruising,
86.—Times of feeding, waste, 87.—
Horse-keepers, 88.—Total saving in cost
of feeding at several collieries in 1881,
and over a number of years, 90.—-
Deterioration of pit horses, 91.—Table
showing the number and cost of horses
and ponies for 21 years at South Hetton
and Murton collieries, 92. — Average
length of life of horses and ponies in
several collieries in Northumberland
and Durham. — Underground stables,
91.—Cost per stall of a pit stable
designed by Mr. Wight, 96.—Work, 97.
—Over or under-horsing, 103.—Horses
bought, sold, &c, at Backworth and
West Cramlington during 12 years, 106.
—Appendix, showing the difference in
cost in favour of mixed food at a num-
ber of collieries, 107.—Discussed, 111,
154.—Further particulars by Mr. Hunt-
ing, 164.
Plate 12. —Plan of a pit stable
designed by Mr. Wight.
Ferruginous beds associated with the
basaltic rocks of North-eastern Ulster,
abs. 1.
Finance Committee's Report, vii.
Fire-damp; apparatus for analysing, abs. 6.
—Prevention of explosions of, abs. 28.—
Explosions in Prussia, 1861-1881, abs. 75.
Fire-damp Commission, Prussia, abs. 64.
Fire-damp consuming lamp, abs. 44.
Foreign papers, abstracts of, end of volume.
Forms, lviii.
Fossils; Hutton collection, 179.
France; mineral spring in the coal-
measures of the south of, abs. 4.—
Mineral statistics, 1880, abs. 36.
Frantz's keps, abs. 43.
Freestone; Rosedale Abbey district, 51.
French collieries; profits of, in 1880, abs.
39.
Freudenberg's smoke condenser, abs. 58.
Galicia; petroleum and ozokerite of, abs. 3.
Gard coal-field; industrial map of, abs. 11.
Gas; remarks on Mr. Lindsay Wood's
experiments, by Mr. E. Mallard, 123.—
Mr. Wood's paper discussed, 311.
Gas engine, Otto; notes on, abs. 54.
General statement of accounts, xx.
German petroleum wells, abs. 60.
Germany; results of employment of new
explosives, abs. 47.—Mining, smelting,
&c, 1881, abs. 61.
Gevser at Montrond, barometer, abs. 84.
Gold (Chinese) in Borneo, abs. 2.
Grand Duchy of Hesse; mining production,
1881-82, abs. 74.
Git a nt, J. H.; On the Daltonganj coal-
field, 149.
Greenwell, G. C; On the duration of
the coal of Great Britain and Ireland.
(See Duration of, &c.)
Gresley, W. S.; On working coal at
Moira. (See Two systems of, &.c.)
Grisoumeter, Coquillon's, abs. 44.
Haulage; colliery near Saarbrucken, abs. '
65.
Hutton collection of fossils, 179.
Honorary members, xxii.
Horses (See Feeding and Management of).
Hunting, C; On the feeding and manage-
ment of colliery horses, 61.
Improvements in mining machinery in
Prussia during the year 1881, abs. 42.
Indian coal; output of, 1878, abs. 3;
Daltonganj coal-field, 149.
Indian laterite, abs. 1
Industrial legislation, abs. 11.
Industrial map of the Gard coal-field,
abs. 11.
Inspectors' reports; abstracts from, 1851-
81, app. 1.
Internal stress in cylindrical and spherical
dams, by Professor Aldis, 201.—Dis-
cussed, 221.
" Invicta," engines of the, 13.
Iron, produce, &c.; various countries,
1870-81, abs. 31.—American, 1871-80,
abs. 34.—Notes on the strength of, by
Mr. Wigham Richardson, 180.
Ironstone; Rosedale Abbey district, 43;
Abstracts from Mines Inspectors' Re-
ports, app. 1.
Italy; mining industries of, abs. 37.
Jet; Rosedale Abbey district, 52.
Kendall, J. D.; On the structure of the
Cumberland coal-field. (See Structure
of &c.)
Keps, Frantz's, abs. 43.—Rosenkranz's,
abs 43.
Kirkaldy, David; On the strength of
iron, 180.
Kloht's new planimetcr, abs. 74.
Koepe system of winding, abs. 43.
Korner's fire-damp consuming lamp, abs.
44.
Krupp process; steel, abs. 34.
Laterite; Indian, abs. 1.
Lead; Rosedale Abbey district, 53.
Lead production, 1881, abs. 62.
Lead and silver smelting works; smoke
condenser for, abs. 58.
Leicestershire; coal working at Moira.
(See Two systems of, &c.)
Levelling instrument; Wagner's, abs. 74.
Levet's wedge, abs. 42.
Liddell, G. H.; On the Whitehaven
collieries, 363.
Life members, xxii.
Lignite mines of the North of Bohemia,
abs. 29.
Lime cartridges; Smith's, 57-
Limestone; Cleveland, 49.
Lishman and Young's compressed-air loco-
motives, 9.
Logan, William ; Remarks on the feeding
and management of colliery horses, 155.
Mackarski's compressed-air locomotive, 9.
Mallard, E.; Remarks on Mr. Lindsay
Wood's experiments showing the pres-
sure of gas in the solid coal, 123.
Management of colliery horses. (See
Feeding and management, &c.)
Marsaut safety-lamp, abs. 16.
Marten, E. B.; On explosions of boilers.
(See Explosions of boilers, &c.)
Measuring the depths of working shafts,
abs. 57.
Members: Honorary, xxii.—Life, xxii.—
Original, xxiv.—Ordinary, xxxvi.—Asso-
ciate, xxxvii.—Students, xl.—Collieries,
&c, xliv.
Mexico; coals, abs. 81.
Mineral resources of the Rosedale Abbey
district, by Charles Parkin, 43.—Iron-
stone, description of past operations, 43.
—Output from the Rosedale mines from
1859 to 1881, 44.—Present and future
development, 45.—Analyses of ore from
various districts, 47 —Cost of railway
carriage, 48.—Analyses of ore from the
Cleveland main seam.—Limestone, 49.
—Analyses of limestone from the Deep-
dale beds.—Cost of railway carriage.—
Road metal (inferior limestone), 50.
—Section of strata at Spindlethorne
quarries. — Freestone, 51. — Cement
stones.—Alum shale, jet, and clays.—-
Coal and peat, 52.—Lead, 53.
Plates.—8. District map, south-west
of Rosedale.—9. District map, Rose-
dale and north-east district.—10. Rose-
dale east mines.—11. Section of lime-
stone quarry at Pickering, and section
of road-metal quarry at Spindlethorne.
Mineral spring in the coal-measures of
the South of France, abs. 4.
Mineral statistics; Portugal, 1866-76, abs.
9.—France, 1880, abs. 36.
Mineral wealth of New South Wales, abs. 83.
Mineral and metallurgical statistics of
Spain, 1871-75, abs. 7.
Mineral and smelting works, production of
the German Empire during 1881, abs.
61.
Miners' anaemia, abs. 52.
Mines; vibrations of strata in, abs. 60.
Mines; working of the Prussian, 1881,
abs. 68.
Mines Inspectors' Reports; abstracts from,
1851-81, app. 1.
Mining accidents in Prussia, abs. 23.
Mining industries of Italy, abs. 37.
Mining industry, &c, of Prussia, 1881,
abs. 70.
Mining machinery in Prussia; improve-
ments in, abs. 42.
Mining records; notes on, abs. 3.
Mining statistics of Spain, 1880, abs. 49.
Mining, smelting, and salt production of
Bavaria, 1881, abs. 58.
Mining and metallurgical art, &c; advance
in, since 1875, abs. 33.
Moira, coal working at. (See Two systems,
Ac.)
Mont Cenis tunnel; ventilation of, abs. 39.
Morison, D. P.; On Bowlker's ventilating
fan, 29, and plate 7.
Mount Viso tunnel, abs. 13.
Miieseler safety-lamp, with electric bell,
abs. 62.
Mure coal-field, abs. 29.
New South Wales; mineral wealth of, abs.
83.
New Zealand coal, abs. 84.
Nomination of members; forms for, lviii.
Non-conducting coverings for boilers and
steam pipes. (See Comparative effi-
ciency of, &c.)
Nova Scotia; mineral produce of, abs. 84.
Observations taken at Seaham Colliery.
(See Water-gauge, Barometer, &c.)
Officers, xxiii.
Oil industry of Oelheim, abs. 78.
Oil-shales; Autun, abs. 5.
Ordinary members, xxxvi.
Original members, xxiv.
Otto gas engine; notes on, abs. 54.
Outburst of carbonic acid gas, abs. 28.
Ozokerite and petroleum in Eastern Galicia
abs. 3.
Parkin, Charles ; On the mineral re-
sources of the Rosedale Abbey district.
(See Mineral Resources, &c.)
Patrons, xxi.
Peat; Rosedale Abbey district, 52.
Pennsylvania; bituminous coal-fields of,
abs. 83.
Penygraig explosion; notes on, abs. 6.
Perforation of the Alps, abs. 38.
permo-carbonif erous rocks of Autun, abs. 5.
Peronniere colliery; electric gin at, abs. 14.
Petroleum and ozokerite in Eastern Galicia,
abs. 3.—American produce,&c, 1871-80,
abs. 34.
Petroleum wells; Germany, abs. 60.
Photometer, a, abs. 52.
Planimeter; Kloht's new, abs. 74.—Accur-
acy of the equidistant planimeter. abs. 79.
Portugal; mineral statistics of, 1866-76,
abs. 9.
Prevention of explosions of fire-damp,
abs. 28.
Profits of French collieries in 1880, abs. 39.
Prussia; mining accidents in, abs. 23.—
Mineral production, 1881, abs. 26.—Im-
provements in mining machinery, 1881,
abs. 42.—Working of the mines in, 1881,
abs. 68.—Mining industry, &c, 1881,
abs. 70.—Fire-damp explosions, 1861-
1881, abs. 75.
Prussian collieries; ventilation of, abs. 22.
Prussian royal fire-damp commission, abs. 4.
Pulverizer; Vapart's, abs. 50.
Pyrenees ; coal-fields of the, abs. 4.
Rajputana; cobaltite and danaite from,
abs. 1.
Remarks on Mr. Lindsay Wood's experi-
ments showing the pressure of gas in
the solid coal, by Mr. E. Mallard, trans-
lated by Mr. M. Walton Brown, 123.
Report of commission on dynamite stores,
abs. 18.
Report of committee on mechanical ven-
tilators discussed, 116.
Report of committee on prizes awarded
for papers, viii.
Report of council, v.
Report of finance committee, vii
Resistance of tubs to traction, abs. 15.
Resistance to traction on roads, abs. 83.
Results of the employment of new explo-
sives in Germany, abs. 47.
Rheinpreussen colliery ; coal-cleaning ap-
paratus at, abs. 41.
Richardson, Wig ham ; Notes on the
strength of wrought iron in compression,
180.
Rope fastener for winding; self-acting,
abs. 65.
Rosedale Abbey district; mineral resources
of. (See Mineral Resources, kc.)
Rosenkranz's keps, abs. 43.
Rotary borer, abs. 56.
Royal charter, xlv.
Rules, li.
Ryhope; air-receiver at, 179.
Saarbrucken; haulage at a colliery near,
abs. 65.—Camphausen shafts, abs. 66.—
Safety-lamps in use at the Royal col-
lieries, abs. 80.
Safety-lamp; Marsaut, abs. 16. — Fire-
damp consuming, abs. 44.—Spirit lamps,
abs. 44. — Miieseler, with electric bell,
abs. 62.—In use at the Royal collieries
at Saarbrucken, abs. 80.
Safety-valve; a new, abs. 57.
Salt production of Bavaria, 1881, abs. 58.
—Prussia, 1881, abs. 71.
Sands; sinking through, abs. 51.
Saxony; comparison of work done by fans
in, abs. 21.—Chemical analyses of the re-
turn air of collieries, abs. 25.—Climatic
conditions of the Zwickau collieries,
abs. 41. — Camphausen shafts of the
Dudweiler- Jagersfreude colliery, abs. 66.
Scrutineers appointed, 59, 369.
Seaham colliery; observations taken at.
(See Water-gauge, Barometer, &c.)
Seaham explosion; notes on, abs. 6.
Sectioxs : Cliffs, Folkstone to St. Mar-
garet's, plate 1. — Strata under the
English Channel, plate 3.—Cliffs from
Calais to St. Pol, plate 4.—Strata at
Spindlethorne quarries, 51. and plate 11.
—Limestone quarry at Pickering, plate
11. — Boreholes, Daltonganj coal-field,
151.— Leicestershire coal-field, plates
14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23.—Cumberland
coal-field, 323-342, and plates 33-36.
Seine; canalization of, abs. 11.
Self-acting rope fastener for winding, |
abs. 65.
Shaft-borings; review of a number of,
abs. 76.
Shafts; measuring the depths of working,
abs. 57.
Shells; Abel's dynamite, 57.
Sinking through running sands, abs. 51.
Slate-mining at Angers, abs. 45.
Smelting; Bavaria, abs. 58.—Germany,
abs. 61.
Smith's lime cartridges, 57.
Smoke condenser for lead and silver smelt-
ing works, abs. 58.
Smyth, Warixgton, W.; On the Channel
tunnel, 21.
Soekaboemi coal-field, abs. 2.
Spain; mineral and metallurgical statistics
of, 1871-75, abs. 7.—Mining statistics,
1880, abs. 49.
Statistics : Mineral and metallurgical,
Spain, abs. 7.—Mineral, Portugal, abs.
9.—Duration of the coal-fields of Great
Britain and Ireland, 135.—Coal, iron,
&c, various countries, 1870-81, abs.
31.—American coal, iron, steel, &c,
abs. 33. —French, 1880, abs. 36.—
Profits of French collieries in 1880,
abs. 39.—Production of slates at Angers,
abs. 46.—Abstracts from Mines Inspec-
tors' reports, 1851-81, app. 1.—Pro-
duction of coal in the United Kingdom,
app. 13.—Mining in Spain, 1880, abs.
49.—Copper of Chili, abs. 51.—Bavaria,
salt, &c, abs. 58.—Germany, mining
and smelting, 1881, abs. 61.—Produc-
tion of lead, 1881, abs. 62.—Prussian
mines, 1881, abs. 68, 70.
Steel; produce, &c, various countries,
1870-81, abs. 32.—American, abs. 34.
St. Etienne; prices of coal and coke at,
abs. 12.
St. Gothard tunnel works, abs. 38.
St. Louis tunnel; ventilation of, abs. 63.
Strata; vibration of, in mines, abs. 60.
Structure of the Cumberland coal-field, by
J. 1). Kendall.—Position and extent,
relation to other formations, 320.—
Stratigraphical conformation, 321.—-
Local names of argillaceous and silice-
ous rocks, 322.—Sections of the strata
at various pits, &c., 323-339.-'—Com-
parison of sections, correlation of seams,
&c, 340-346—Sections of seams, 342.—
Thickness of strata, 347.--Coal seams,
348.—Faults, 351.— Dip of strata, 352.
—Effects of faulting, tilting, and denu-
dation, 353. — Sub-permian and sub-
marine extension, 355.—Discussed, 357.
Plates.—32. Map of the Cumberland
coal-field.—33. Sections of seams.—
34, 35, 36. Sections of strata at several
collieries.
Students, xl.
Subscribing collieries, &c, xliv.
Subscriptions, xvi.
Suspended centring, abs. 81.
Thirion classifier, abs. 51.
Thomas-Gilchrist process, abs. 10, 34.
Traction; resistance of tubs to, abs. 15.—
Resistance to, on roads, abs. 83.
Tramway locomotives, 10.
Transmission of power by electricity at
the Blanzy mines, abs. 13.
Treasurer's accounts, xviii.
Trinidad; coal and bitumen deposits of,
abs. 55.
Tubs; resistance of, to traction, abs. 15.
Tudhoe crown iron; experiments with, 180.
Tunnel; Channel, 3, 55.—Mount Viso, abs.
13.—St. Gothard, abs. 38.—Mont Cenis,
abs. 39.— St. Louis, abs. 63.
Two systems of working the main coal at
Moira, in Leicestershire, by W. S. Gres-
ley.—Description of the main coal, 181.
—No. 1 system, 183.—No. 2 or new
system, 185.—Advantages derived from
the new system, 188.—Tabular statement
showing the comparative results of the
two systems, 190.—Discussed, 189, 221.
Plates.—14. Map and sections of
the Moira division of the Leicestershire
and South Derbyshire coal-field.—15.
General section of mines of the coal-
field.— 16. Section of the Moira main
coai _17. General plan of No. 1 system.
_18. Enlarged plan showing a portion
of a stall as formerly worked, No. 1
system.—19. Section of stall, No. 1
system.—20. General plan of No. 2
system.—21. Enlarged plan showing
portion of a stall as worked by No. 2
system.—22, 23. Sections of stall, No.
2 system.
Tylden - Weight, Chaeles ; On the
Channel tunnel. (See Channel tunnel.)
Ulster; basaltic rocks, &c, abs. 1.
Vapart pulverizer, abs. 50.
Velocity of propagation of explosions, abs.
12.
Ventilating fan; Bowlker's, discussed, 24,
116.
Ventilation : Channel tunnel, 14.—Dis-
cussed, 16.—Effective area of air-cur-
rents, abs. 18.—Comparison of work
done by fans in Saxony, abs. 21.—Prus-
sian collieries, abs. 22.—Mont Cenis
tunnel, abs. 39.—St. Louis tunnel, abs.
63.
Ventilators; Committee's report on, dis-
cussed, 116.—Comberedonde, abs. 54.
Vibrations of strata in mines, abs. 60.
Visit to the coal-fields of England, abs. 68.
Wagner's pocket levelling instrument, abs.
74.
Water-gauge, barometer, and other obser-
vations taken at Seaham colliery during
the time the Maudlin seam was sealed
up, by V. W. Corbett, 225.—Description
of workings, ventilation, &c, 223-227.
—Sealing up the Maudlin seam, 226.—
Placing of water-gauges, gas-check, &c,
227. — Description of the diagram.—
Speed of wind, 228, 229.—Method of
taking the observations, 229. — First
comparison between No. 3 water-gauge
and No. 3 barometer, 302.—Second com-
parison between No. 2 water-gauge and
the gas-check, 303.—Third comparison
between No. 3 water-gauge and the gas-
check, 304.—Fourth comparison between
No. 3 barometer and the gas-check, 306.
—Remarks on comparisons, 308.—Con-
cluding remarks, 310.—Discussed, 311.
Plates. — 30. Plan showing the
arrangement of shafts, furnaces, drifts,
boilers, seams of coal, &c.—31. General
plan of the workings.
Diagram.—Showing the readings of
the barometers, thermometers, water-
gauges, and gas-check, and direction
and force of the wind from November
22, 1880, to June 23,1881, pp. 231-301.
Watkin, Sir Edward ; On the Channel
tunnel, 17.
Wenger's compressed-air brake, abs. 56.
Westphalia; briquette manufactory at.
abs. 63.—Breakage of a winding-rope
at, abs. 80.
Whitehaven collieries; On the, by G. H.
Liddell, 363.
Winding; Koepe system, abs. 43.
Winding; self-acting rope-fastener for,
abs. 65.
Winding-rope; breakage of, abs. 80.
Wood, Lindsay ; Remarks on his experi-
ments showing the pressure of gas in
the solid coal, by E. Mallard, 123.—
Mr. Wood's paper discussed, 311.
Zinc; action of, in boilers, abs. 10.
Zwickau collieries, Saxony; climatic con-
ditions of the, abs. 41.
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