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The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from Sept. 1 to June 30, and from 9.A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 4, 1916

The Library of -the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all week-clays, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library; either by purchase or personal solicitation as, gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 11, 1914

By A. W. Hesse

Twelve years ago, some coal-mine operators, mining engineers, oil and gas operators, Bureau of Mines engineers, geologists and state mine inspectors met in Pittsburgh, Pa. to discuss and solve if possible, the problems in connection with the drilling of oil and gas wells through or near coal mines and through the future coal reserves. Regulations were drafted and presented by O. P. Hood and A. G. Heggem of the Bureau of Mines.' . There was considerable discussion of the various articles, practically all of which appear in Bulletin 65, but the interest aroused at that meeting was short lived. Practically none of the important coal-producing states gave the matter the consideration it should have received. Notwithstanding the marked progress in safety work, coal mines still have an unenviable reputation for mine explosions. Our mining laws have become stricter and the enforcement, especially in Pennsylvania, more rigid, but what good will come from a rigid enforcement of the mining laws if some source of danger exists all around the mines, over which the operators have no control ? It is hardly necessary to recite all the cases of natural-gas explosions published in Bulletin 65, but with some of them I am especially familiar. In 1912, while visiting the Miners' Hospital, at Fairmont, W. Va., my attention was called to a patient swathed in in bandages so that no part of his face and hands were visible. He had not been told that his two sons, mere boys, had died of the burns they had received in the same accident—explosion due to natural gas leaking into a country mine at Peora, Harrison Co., W. Va.

Jan 1, 1925

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from Sept. 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to .furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies. of mining reports, maps privately issued, and. similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 2, 1916

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all weep-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 3, 1914

By J. G. Thompson

OXYGEN, nitrogen and hydrogen are present in' practically all metals in one or more of the following forms: (1) molecular gas in blowholes or blisters, (2) combined in nonmetallic inclusions such as nitrides, oxides or silicates, and (3) in solid solution in the metal. Gaseous elements, in some of these forms, are encountered in practically all metals and alloys but possibly have received most publicity in connection with iron and steel. In fact, the entire steel industry depends upon the control of the oxygen content during the refining process, as well as in the finished material, and it was only after the adoption of the use of efficient deoxi-dizers such as manganese that the production of good steel with a low carbon content became possible. In normally clean, sound steel the amount of hydrogen is negligible and the amounts of oxygen and nitrogen vary from a few thousandths to a few hundredths per cent. However, many of the effects attributed(27,31,40,41,53,54,55.56,62) ? to the presence of these elements are important and at first glance appear to be out of proportion to the amounts of impurities involved. The presence of oxygen is believed to affect the solubility of carbon in austenite and ferrite and thereby to affect the structure of the iron or steel. Such properties as strength, hardness, ductility, elastic .limit, impact resistance, magnetic permeability, tendency toward caustic embrittlement, irregularity in carburization, the cutting life of, tools, certain corrosion phenomena, the presence of flakes, seams, bands, ghost lines and hair cracks, and the tendency to age-harden, all have been attributed to the presence of oxygen.

Jan 1, 1932

By R. A. Stauffer

THE chief ore of lithium is spodumene, a lithium-aluminum silicate containing up to 3 pct lithium. The preparation of lithium salts from spodumene is costly because of the low concentration of the metal and the difficulty of separating it from the other alkali metals present. Dr. Kroll's and Dr. Schlecten's recent paper' has reviewed various methods proposed for preparation of lithium. It will be seen from this paper that the methods proposed to date have required one or another of the lithium salts as a raw material. The high cost of these salts has been the chief item of expense in the lithium metal produced. This situation has made it interesting to investigate the possibility of producing the metal directly from spodumene. When spodumene is calcined at 1000°C in the presence of lime, lithium oxide is replaced in the ore as is evidenced by the fact that it may be leached from the reaction mixture with water.2 Free energy calculations suggested that lithium oxide might be reduced with aluminum or silicon and the lithium produced distilled from the reaction mixture by heating to about 1000°C in a vacuum. These facts taken together suggested that it might be possible to prepare lithium metal directly from spodumene by heating a mixture of the ore, lime, and a suitable reducing agent in vacuum and distilling off the lithium metal as formed. THE REPLACEMENT OF Li20 IN SPODUMENE A series of experiments were undertaken to determine the ratio of lime to spodumene necessary to free substantially all the lithium oxide present in the ore. The spodumene used in these experiments was supplied by Foote Mineral Co. in the form of powder of about 200 mesh. Analysis of the spodumene was as follows: [ ] Lime (cp -200 mesh) was added in various ratios to spodumene and thoroughly mixed in a ball mill. Two hundred gram samples of spodumene-lime mixtures were charged loosely in fireclay crucibles and held at 1000°C in a gas-fired furnace for 5 hrs. The product in each case was ground to pass 140 mesh and then placed in a thimble in a soxhlet extractor. Extraction with water was carried on for 6 hrs. After this period the extract was reduced in volume by evaporation in order to precipitate dissolved lime and was then filtered and titrated with 1/4 normal hydrochloric acid. After correcting for residual calcium oxide in solution, the alkali present was calculated as lithium oxide. The results of these experiments are shown in Table I and Fig I. At lime-spodumene ratios less than 1.5, the products were invariably fused. At the ratio of 1.5 and above, the product was loosely sintered with little evidence of fusion. When the ratio of lime to spodumene was three, replacement of alkali oxides in the

Jan 1, 1947

By N. V. Peterson, R. S. Mason

Pumice, pumicite, and cinders are all products of explosive volcanic eruptions. Pumice and pumicite are produced by the violent expansion of dissolved gases in a viscous silicic lava such as rhyolite or dacite. Pumice is a light-colored, cellular, almost frothy rock made up of glass-walled bubble casts. It may occur as coherent, massive blocks composed of highly vesicular glassy lava in either a flow or vent filling, or it may be more or less fragmented by violent eruption. Pumicite has the same origin, chemical composition, and glassy structure as pumice differing only in particle size. Particles less than 4 mm in diam are designated pumicite. Pumice is usually found relatively close to the vent from which it was erupted while pumicite may be carried by winds for great distances before settling as an accumulation of fine-grained ash or tuffaceous sediment. Volcanic cinders are the reddish to black vesicular fragments that pile up during explosive eruptions of volcanoes of basaltic composition. Most deposits of cinders occur as cones or mounds of stratified fragments that range in size from a fraction of an inch to several inches in diameter. Individual cones or mounds of cinders may be several hundreds of feet in diameter and as much as 500 ft high. Properties The properties that make pumice and pumicite useful in industrial applications include: low-bulk density, good heat and sound insulating properties, and excellent abrasive capability. Cinders, even though less cellular and somewhat heavier, also have a variety of industrial uses. Uses The main use of pumice and cinders continues to be in the construction industry as road-surfacing material, railroad ballast, building block aggregate, in lightweight structural concrete, and as plaster aggregate. Both pumice and pumicite continue to be used as abrasives for polishing glass, metal, leather, stone, and wood. Some scouring powders and soaps also contain pumicite. Minor uses include fillers, absorbents, carriers for insecticides, catalyst carriers, filters, and soil conditioners. Pumicite is also used in sizable quantities as a pozzolanic additive in monolithic concrete where it increases the workability, strength, and durability of the concrete and reduces the heat of hydration. Volcanic cinders are generally denser and more coarsely cellular than most pumice. Markets for cinders include aggregate for road construction and surfacing and in lightweight concretes, particularly blocks. Some producers having access to both pumice and cinders offer a variety of blends of the two materials to block manufacturers. Most pumice deposits are unconsolidated and usually have a minimum of overburden. Mining is by open pit and can be easily carried out with conventional loading equipment. Sometimes air-drying precedes hauling to a crushing and screening plant which yields the size product desired. Multiple bins at railroad hauling facilities permit blending if desired. Pumice for abrasive use may require more sophisticated processing by fine grinding and air classification before being bagged for market. Block pumice in economic quantity and quality is limited to a few geologically young

Jan 1, 1975

By S. F. Ravitz

In his excellent book on the Principles of Flotation, Warkl makes the following significant statement concerning the theory of flotation: Two questions of first-rate importance must be considered . . . First, it must be decided whether the sulfide minerals require a collector in order that they may float, or whether as has been claimed, they possess an inherent float-ability and need no collector. Second, it must be decided whether the xanthate type of collector can react with or be adsorbed by the unchanged sulfide minerals themselves, or whether, as many claim, reaction with the collector is dependent upon initial oxidation of the mineral surface. In the theory of flotation there are no two questions of greater importance than these. Ravitz and Porter2 presented evidence that galena can be floated without a collector, and even without any reagent, provided oxidation products are thoroughly removed from its surface. They found also that thoroughly cleaned galena floated faster when xanthate was used than when a frother alone or no reagent was used, and that, without a collector, the recovery decreased gradually upon exposure of the mineral to air. Their work, however, has met with considerable criticism.l(127).3-6 This paper is presented to answer the objections that have been raised, and to present additional data that confirin their results. The apparatus used to provide oxygen-free conditions for flotation has been described in detail by Ravitz and Porter. An atmosphere of purified nitrogen was maintained within the apparatus; all water and solutions used were freed of dissolved air, and could be transferred where desired by the use of nitrogen Pressure; nitrogen was used as the gaseous medium for flotation. The flotation cell was essentially a glass cylinder 15 cm. long and 4.6 cm. in diameter. Near the bottom was sealed a fritted glass filter, which broke up the gas into small bubbles, and 6 cm. above this filter was a side arm through which the froth overflowed. The pulp was agitated by a glass impeller, which entered the cell through a mercury seal. For each test 17 grams of galena and 75 ml. of water were placed in the cell, after which the speed of the impeller and the rate of gas flow were adjusted. Water was added gradually during the test to keep the froth level at the proper height. The mineral was prepared and cleaned in the following manner. Exceptionally Pure galena was crushed by hand on a clean bucking board, screened to —I50+ 200 mesh, and deslimed on a 200-mesh sieve with a fine spray of water. It was then boiled on a hot plate for a number of hours with several changes of the desired cleaning solution, after which both the solution and the mineral were placed in the "mineral flask" of the apparatus. The cleaning solution was drained off, and the mineral was boiled with oxygen-free water

Jan 1, 1943

By P. B. Crawford, W. L. Huskey

A study has been made to determine the effects of random vertical fractures existing in a reservoir matrix on the effective matrix properties and producing characteristics of a well. The study indicated that short vertical fractures may distort the isopotentials by 1 percent in the vicinity of the fracture. A correlation was developed which showed the effect of fracture density on the producing capacity of a well. The correlation indicated that fracture shape had little effect on producing capacity, but that total fracture length was closely correlated with the producing capacity. Effective values of reservoir permeability were found to correlate closely with fracture density when measured parallel to the direction of flow. INTRODUCTION In reviewing the petroleum literature, it is found that in most analytical solutions of hydrocarbon reservoir behavior the assumption is made that the rock is uniform throughout although core analysis and well logging surveys indicate that substantially all reservoirs are heterogeneous and some are fractured. Only in recent years have investigators studied the effects of reservoir hetrogeneity. Russell1 discussed the effect of fractures in reservoirs. The literature indicates that fractures greatly affect the exploitation of man reservoirs. This is described by Elkins and Skov2 and Little-field et al. 3 Several types of reservoir heterogeneity have been studied by unsteady-state methods. In 1959, Landrum et al. 4 showed that transient phenomena in hydrocarbon reservoirs could be studied by thermal models. pickering5 studied the flow of heat in stratified linear reservoirs consisting of plates of different metals separated by sheets of rubber which were suddenly exposed to a low-temperature source at one end. Cotman6 studied both laterally and vertically heterogeneous thermal model reservoirs with special reference to cross flow. Another type of reservoir heterogeneity involves the presence of highly permeable, circular lenses around or near the wellbore which was studied by Miesch7 using a thermal and a steady-state model. Many studies have been made of the effects of induced hydraulic fractures on well performance. 8-10 Work regarding vertical fractures that exist initially in the reservoir was reported by Givens, et al.11 Since there appears to be little published work on the importance and influence on reservoir performance of fractures that exist out in the rock matrix, this study was conducted to determine the effects of vertical fractures on pressure distribution, producing capacity and the effective permeability of the reservoir rock. The analogy between the flow of electrical current through a conducting body and the flow of fluid in a porous medium provides a convenient method of studying various aspects of petroleum reservoirs. For electrical radial steady-state flow,12 For steady-state fluid flow, With the above analogy, it is only necessary to establish the ratio of the values of the electrical units in terms of the corresponding flow units to make the analogy quantitative. The ratios are shown below.

By S. F. Ravitz

In his excellent book on the Principles of Flotation, Warkl makes the following significant statement concerning the theory of flotation: Two questions of first-rate importance must be considered . . . First, it must be decided whether the sulfide minerals require a collector in order that they may float, or whether as has been claimed, they possess an inherent float-ability and need no collector. Second, it must be decided whether the xanthate type of collector can react with or be adsorbed by the unchanged sulfide minerals themselves, or whether, as many claim, reaction with the collector is dependent upon initial oxidation of the mineral surface. In the theory of flotation there are no two questions of greater importance than these. Ravitz and Porter2 presented evidence that galena can be floated without a collector, and even without any reagent, provided oxidation products are thoroughly removed from its surface. They found also that thoroughly cleaned galena floated faster when xanthate was used than when a frother alone or no reagent was used, and that, without a collector, the recovery decreased gradually upon exposure of the mineral to air. Their work, however, has met with considerable criticism.l(127).3-6 This paper is presented to answer the objections that have been raised, and to present additional data that confirin their results. The apparatus used to provide oxygen-free conditions for flotation has been described in detail by Ravitz and Porter. An atmosphere of purified nitrogen was maintained within the apparatus; all water and solutions used were freed of dissolved air, and could be transferred where desired by the use of nitrogen Pressure; nitrogen was used as the gaseous medium for flotation. The flotation cell was essentially a glass cylinder 15 cm. long and 4.6 cm. in diameter. Near the bottom was sealed a fritted glass filter, which broke up the gas into small bubbles, and 6 cm. above this filter was a side arm through which the froth overflowed. The pulp was agitated by a glass impeller, which entered the cell through a mercury seal. For each test 17 grams of galena and 75 ml. of water were placed in the cell, after which the speed of the impeller and the rate of gas flow were adjusted. Water was added gradually during the test to keep the froth level at the proper height. The mineral was prepared and cleaned in the following manner. Exceptionally Pure galena was crushed by hand on a clean bucking board, screened to —I50+ 200 mesh, and deslimed on a 200-mesh sieve with a fine spray of water. It was then boiled on a hot plate for a number of hours with several changes of the desired cleaning solution, after which both the solution and the mineral were placed in the "mineral flask" of the apparatus. The cleaning solution was drained off, and the mineral was boiled with oxygen-free water

Jan 1, 1943

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9, A.M. to 10 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special, attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that, the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library y forwarding copies of mining reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified; indexed, and made availableto other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either y purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 8, 1914

The Library of. the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining, and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 1, 1914

The Library of .the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. on all week-days; except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may he what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 6, 1913

By John E. Udd

Introduction During the very long period in which man has mined minerals from the crust of the earth, falls of ground and collapes of under- ground workings have been the causes of a significant part of those accidents which have resulted in either death or in injury. At present, because of improvements in the approaches to the design of underground structures, in equipment, and in attitudes towards accident prevention, the proportion of accidents due to instability of rock is probably far less than it was historically. Nonetheless, in spite of the many advances which have been made, instabilities still account for about one-quarter of all fatalities, and one-tenth of all of the injuries, in the minerals industry. The means must be found whereby both the numbers of accidents and the accident rates due to falls of ground can be reduced to the lowest levels possible. At the outset it should be stated that, short of suspension of all mining activity, it will probably never be possible for us to eliminate accidents completely. Most human enterprise involves unknowns and risks, and mining is no exception. A certain number of accidents, then, must be viewed as the inevitable consequence of our attempting to work with unknowns and to make decisions that involve uncertainties. However, in retrospect, many instabilities can be attributed to factors which could have been within our control. The preventable accident must be eliminated. It should be our goal that we make every effort to direct our skills and technology to the creation of a safer working environment and should be constantly striving to

Jan 1, 1983

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. on all week-clays, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is, given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 9, 1913

THERE are many kinds and varieties of earth* that are used for the loam compositions for making the moulds for casting bronze, brass, or other metals. Since this is a very necessary thing, you must try to have the best kind and one that resists the fire well. It must be disposed to receive the metals well, must make a neat casting, and must not shrink or break with cracks on drying or baking. Aside from actual trial, I believe that there is little that can help you, since the clay in itself has no color or [77] visible sign that I know of to show how satisfactory it is. Understand that their colors are no less varied than their natures, for, as you see, one is white, one black, one yellow, and another red. Perhaps none will show by its color that it is good for this work, yet it might also happen that all colors are good. But all that I can say about it is to show you by their effects how the good ones should be in their nature; and so by trial you will choose among those that come into your hands. All earths are either sandy or tufaceous, either argillaceous and lean or pasty with unctuous viscosity. The lean ones make the loam powdery and without toughness and hold together poorly by themselves when they are dry. The unctuous and viscous ones shrink and break. Becoming smaller by shrinking, they often twist the forms and they stick together badly. They swell up again in the fire and produce works that are neither exact-a nor neat. Therefore, the good ones must be those that are neither unctuous nor lean, neither wholly tender nor rough, and with a grain that is fine, without pebbles or shells. When applied to a work they easily dry out without fractures and, when dry, hold their own shape well. Above all they must resist the fire well. These are usually of a yellow or red color, but whatever their color may be, the color does not force me to say that the yellow are really better than the black, and the red than the white or gray. Their quality depends on what trial shows. Thus, to summarize, whenever you have to do this work, you must try to have the best clay that you can, because it is to be the foundation of

Jan 1, 1942

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received. may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 3, 1915

By Edward Keller

In order to conduct intelligently the sampling of copper of various forms and grades, solid or in molten furnace-charges, a knowledge of this subject is essential. Yet figures and tests have been persistently withheld from publication, and the books at our command give us little or no information in this regard. This gap in our copper-literature has led to a series of experiments, the results of which are given below. Nearly all gold- and silver-bearing copper, destined for shipment, is cast into the form of bars or pigs. For the sampler, the question arises, Does copper, so cast, remain homogeneous ? If it does, sampling should present no difficulties; but, from experience, we know that this is not the case, and we are thus led to study the behavior of the precious metals arid impurities in copper when the latter changes from the molten to the solid state. For the purpose of the experiments here described, all available grades of copper were selected, and all of them mere subjected to the same conditions, an important requisite for proper comparison. The molten copper obtained directly from reverberatory- and blast-furnaces was cast in a cast-iron mould, the sides and bottom of which were 1 inch thick, and would, therefore, give the copper a fair length of time to chill. The inside dimensions of the mould, and, consequently, of the block of copper obtained, were: length, 10 inches; width, 9 inches; and depth, 5 inches. Fig. 1 illustrates the method employed to obtain samples from these blocks. A was cut away, and the face so produced BALTIMORE COPPER WORKS,

Jan 1, 1898

By Reynold Q. Shotts

The small domestic underfeed stoker as now designed is unusually sensitive to the coking and plastic properties of coals, and when the attempt is made to burn the high rank coking and caking coals of the Appalachian fields, serious trouble may occur. Part of the trouble may be caused by the ash content and clinkering characteristics of the particular coal in use, but more often it is the result of an excessive ac-in of coke in the form of ''trees,, or masses in the fuel bed. Often the zone of burning becomes so restricted that the fire goes out, and in extreme cases the fire may be lifted completely out of the fuel bed and away from the air ports. Even if the fire is preserved, excessive coking may cause response to subsequent heat demand to be slow and irregular. Coke trees seem to grow most readily during periods of hold-fire operation, so that in order to preserve the fire in mild weather it is often necessary to set the timer for such a long operating period each hour that much unneeded and unwanted heat is developed, causing discomfort. During demand periods the fire may pick up so slowly that the intense burning which develops just before stoker cut-off causes a serious overshooting of the thermostat. Stoker coal performance tests which have been made in a number of labora- tories1,2,3,4,5 are one method of approach to the problem Of selecting stoker coals- As yet these tests have not been standardized and they are expensive and time-consuming. The value of the results probably increases with the length of the test. Sherman and co-workers at Battelle Memorial Institute believe that even a one-week test is not too reliable a trial2 and it is quite likely that Others will agree. A great advantage of such tests is that characteristics of coals, other than the tendency to form coke masses, may be evaluated from them. The selection of stoker coals would be greatly facilitated if there existed some simp1e measure Of the tendency Of a a to form coke in a fuel bed. Although possessing all Of the disadvantages Of any small-scale laboratory test, the test for the free-swelling index of coal has been found useful for evaluating the probable effects Of swelling properties upon combustion.7 Ostborg, Limbacherand Sherman, have shown that the test can Predict, roughly, the tendency Of coke to accumulate in the fuel bed Of a domestic stoker. They also gave instances of its value in predicting combustion behavior in some large installations. The use of the test for free-swelling index has become well established and has been adopted as a standard by the American Society for Testing Materials.8 When domestic stoker coal investigations began at the State Mine Experiment Station in the summer of 1944, it was decided

Jan 1, 1949