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By AIME AIME

PERHAPS the most interesting paper of the subsidence session on Monday morning was that by Roland D. Parks entitled "Yieldable Metal Props for Underground Support." This paper described the development of a telescoping prop made from two pieces of pipe. The lower and larger in diameter has cast in it a soft metallic alloy which is slowly extruded through an orifice in the upper and smaller piece of pipe. In this way, the length of the prop decreases gradually as the load from the roof increases. The stress-strain diagram for these props, as tested in the laboratory, is almost ideal, and can be duplicated satisfactorily in successive tests. They have not yet been tested underground. Another paper of much interest was presented by Prof. P. B. Bucky. It is an addition to his series on structural models as applied to mining and was entitled "Effect of Approximately Vertical Cracks in the Behavior of Hori¬zontally Lying Roof Strata." It was illustrated by motion pictures of a model under test. After explaining the un¬derlying theory, the apparatus and the mode of testing, Prof. Bucky set forth the effect of vertical cracks in a mine roof, as follows: (a) the wider the crack, the weaker the roof; (b) where the sides of the crack are in juxtaposition, there is little weakening of the roof; (c) grouting cracks whose sides are not in contact restores the strength of the roof until it may be as strong as, or stronger than the uncracked roof. Small paper props helped sustain the roof. Both the nature of the material and its bonding affect its behavior under stress.

Jan 1, 1933

By DR. RICHARD RATHBUN

ON behalf of the Regents and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the National Museum; but it is to your own museum, since it belongs to you in common with all the people of the country. Still young in a life which has been beset with many difficulties, it has gathered strength and attained a growth quite unprecedented. In fact, it is this very growth which has been the chief cause of trouble, always leading far and away beyond the capacity for storage ; and to-day there is nearly as much material contained in outside buildings as is displayed in this one. You will, accordingly, find the collections crowded, the cases so close together that their contents are often difficult to view, and the arrangement generally lacking symmetry. You may, therefore, be inclined to regard us as poor custodians of the collections of a great nation, but I beg you to withhold your judgment for a while. From the beginning there has been abundant zeal and activity and a proper direction of affairs, but space and money have been lacking. There is now a prospect of better times. All about you here is a beautiful park, but without. a covering it is not adapted to museum purposes. Upon it, however, a new large building is going up, so extensive in its dimensions that technology can soon be given a fitting home, thus realizing one of the earliest aspirations of the Regents. Some sixty-five years ago the extensive returns of specimens from the famous Wilkes Exploring Expedition around the world began to reach Washington, where they were deposited in the Patent Office Building, and formed practically the first of the National Collections. Six years later the Smithsonian Institution, based upon the bequest of James Smithson, was

Jul 1, 1905

By AIME AIME

FOLLOWING careful study of the relations of the Institute to students and the younger members of the profession, the Membership Committee recommended to the Board a change of plans abolishing the Junior Associate class of membership, substituting a -Junior membership and providing for Student Associates. The Board adopted this report at its meeting on Nov. 23, and asked Counsel to draft the necessary amendments to the By-laws, and gave formal notice of intentions to amend as provided in Section I, Article XI1 of the existing By-laws. The By-laws as it is proposed to amend Article I, 11, 111, IV, X, and XI follow. The new plan requires no changes in the other Articles. The matter will come before the Board for vote on Jan. 25.

Jan 1, 1929

By Philip D. Wilson

IT has been my privilege to read the article prepared by R. S. Dean entitled "Production of Alumina from Low-Grade Domestic Materials" which appears on another page of this issue. Dr. Dean should be congratulated on the preparation of such an erudite and scholarly dissertation on bauxite and on the work which the Bureau of Mines has been doing in connection with the development of processes to use low-grade domestic materials.

Jan 1, 1943

By Dever C. Ashmead

COAL companies in the anthracite region are studying various methods of mining that will permit a considerably shorter life of gangway and therefore a decrease in the maintenance charges. Maintenance charges in the upkeep of gangways where the measures are steeply pitching are high due to the excessive cost of the replacement of timbers and the cleaning up of falls. Therefore, if the length of gangway in the coal beds can be decreased and the mining more concentrated, the life of the coal gangways will be decreased and consequently the maintenance charges will be lower per ton of coal produced. Customary practice in the anthracite region is to drive long coal gangways and to work the breasts as the gangway from which they were driven is advanced.

Jan 1, 1925

By A. C. Dittrick

THE Simon-Carves washer, originally known as the Baum jig washer, was first built in Europe about 1892. It was probably the first washer to use intermittent pressure of air on water in one part of the wash box to obtain water pulsations in another part. This type of washer was also the first to successfully clean various sizes in the same unit. Previous practice was to size closely before washing. Today there are several large firms abroad, and a few in the United States, that are constructing the Baum type washer. The design of all is practically the same, their differences being only in details. In 1928, the Hanna Coal Co. first gave consideration to the question of coal cleaning. It was believed at that time that by efficient removal of so-called noncombustibles appearing in the Pittsburgh No. 8 seam, certain markets that had been lost due to poor preparation might be recovered. Mechanical cleaning and mechanical loading were under consideration. This type of cleaning was considered the most practical means of removing impurities in the sizes below 4 in. It was decided to adopt mechanical cleaning and develop a system of mechanical loading that would be successful on No. 8 coal.

Jan 1, 1935

By AIME AIME

UNQUESTIONABLY the Coal Division has never had a meeting in which so many outstanding technical papers were presented of immediate practical application to problems of personnel, mining, safety, preparation, combustion, and carbonization. Should there have been those present with the lingering idea that all that was needed for success in the coal industry was a strong back and a weak mind they must have had a rude awakening.

Jan 1, 1942

By JAMES H. McGRAW

P UBLZCLTY and engineers do not mix. In the very words of my subject, there is an apparent contradiction. In the past, publicity has been abhorrent to the engineer. It seems to be true that the engineer, because of his training or his background, has developed a state of mind which omits publicity. At any rate he has done a poor publicity job for himself. The average engineer is self-conscious; he ought to be class-conscious. If T should ask the men in this hall to get up one by one and tell who they are and what they have done, there would be an instinctive reaction in the mind of each man-a feeling that this was out of place. If I should ask each man to get up and tell something about his neighbor, I should find that each neighbor, once he got acquainted with the man next to him and understood what he was doing, would be as human and as generous-hearted in telling about his brother engineer as is any professional man.

Jan 1, 1920

By AIME AIME

A COMMITTEE of the American Railroad Association, consisting of Samuel Rea, president of the Pennsylvania System, Chairman; F. D. Underwood, president of the Erie Railroad; A. T. Dice, president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad; E. J. Pearson, president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad; and C. H. Markham, president of the Illinois Railroad (who was represented at the meeting by J. F. Porterfield of his system), met at the headquarters of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, New York, on April 6 to assist in the Coal and Coke Committee's attempt to solve the bituminous coal problem. There was a full discussion of the questions of seasonal freight rates and the purchase by the railroads during the slack months of their winter's supply of coal. As the question of fuel supply for the railroads is in the hands of the Railroad Association, as well as the coal operators, it was vital that it should be represented at this important conference. The situation from the point of view of the mine operators was presented very thoroughly. No seasonal rates were considered necessary for the year 1920, and, as this matter requires considerable thought, it will be given thorough study and worked out in detail at a subsequent meeting.

Jan 1, 1920

By AIME AIME

PRESIDENT Edwin Ludlow and Secretary Bradley Stoughton made their first-trip of the year 1921 to visit Local Sections of the Institute, and talk over Institute interests and policies, during the early part of April. The main purpose of the trip, as usual, was to bring back to headquarters suggestions or comments on the Institute's work on the part of, members. The trip was made a brief, one by the necessity of remaining in New Fork until Apr. 1, and of the attendance of President Ludlow at a meeting of American Engineering Council and. the organization of a Philadelphia Section of the Institute in Philadelphia on Apr. 16.

Jan 1, 1921

The plans for the activities of the Petroleum Division for the coming year do not differ materially from those of the past several years. The fall meeting is scheduled for Oct. 12 and 13 and is to be held at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Division, of course, will take part in the annual meeting of the Institute at New York. A fall meeting will also be held in California at approximately the same time as the meeting at Tulsa. A number of papers are to be presented at the two meetings simultaneously. The various committees are at work arranging the programs. The Division will continue to be active in its various fields of endeavor, such as stabilization, production reviews, and economics, but special stress is to be laid on the engineering and research fields. In the past the Division has served as a forum for open and frank discussion of problems confronting the engineers in the oil industry. It is hoped that it will continue to function in this capacity. Papers presenting original ideas and extending the boundaries of knowledge and understanding in the field of petroleum production will be welcomed. Members who have interesting information to contribute should not wait until called upon by one of the Committees, but should offer a paper at the earliest opportunity. The past year has seen a decided strengthening of the control over production, with prospects of even more rigid control in the future. It is essential that production programs under such control be carefully planned and it is highly desirable that petroleum engineers take an active part in the planning, to insure efficient production of oil and minimize the waste of this natural resource. At a time like this, when it is difficult to keep the production of oil within reasonable limits, it may seem unnecessary to improve the efficiency of production methods, but, as has been aptly said, the trouble is not that we have too great a reserve of oil but that we are producing tomorrow's oil today. Therefore it behooves those who are entrusted with the engineering and scientific phases of production to learn how to get the greatest yield economically possible from the present and future fields in order that we may enjoy the advantages of petroleum products for a long time to come.

Jan 1, 1934

By AIME AIME

HONORARY COMMITTEE. HON. C. D. WALCOTT (Chairman.), Director U. S. Geological Surrey. HON. FREDERICK I. ALLEN, Commissioner of Patents. DR. FRANK BAKER, Superintendent National Zoological Park. MR. CHARLES A. BELL, President American Security and Trust Co. MAJOR JOHN BIDDLE, Engineer Commissioner of District of Columbia. ADMIRAL C. M. CHESTER, Superintendent U.S. Naval Observatory. GENERAL WILLIAM CROZIER, Chief of Ordnance, U. S. A. ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY, Admiral of the Navy. COLONEL CLARENCE R. EDWARDS, Chief Bureau. of Insular Affairs. MR. WILLIAM C. FOX, Director Bureau of American Republics. MR. CHARLES C. GLOVER, President The Riggs National Bank. GENERAL A. W. GREELY, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. MR. BERNARD R. GREEN, Superintendent Library Building. GEN. G. H. HARRIES, Vice-President Washington Electric Railway Co. HON. E. A. HITCHCOCK, Secretary of the Interior. COMMANDER H. M. HODGES, Chief Hydrographer, U. S. N. PROF. W. H. HOLMES, Chief Bureau of American. Ethnology. PROF. S. P. LANGLEY, Secretary Smithsonian Institution. GENERAL ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. ADMIRAL N. E. MASON, Chief Bureau of Ordnance, U. S. HON. WM. M. MEREDITH, Director Bureau of Engraving and Printing. HON. V. H. METCALF, Secretary Department of Commerce and Labor. HON. WILLIS L. MOORE, Chief -U. S. Weather Bureau. HON. PAUL MORTON, Secretary of the Navy. MR. F. H. NEWELL, Chief Reclamation Service, U. S. Geological Survey. HON. S. N. D. NORTH, Director Census Office. CAPT. E. C. PENDLETON, Superintendent Naval Gun Factory. MR. GIFFORD PINCHOT, Chief Forester, Department of Agriculture. MR. HERBERT PUTNAM, Librarian of Congress. ADMIRAL CHAS. W. RAE, Chief Bureau of Steam Engineering, U. S. A: MR. RICHARD RATHBUN, Assistant Secretary Smithsonian. Institution. HON. W. T. RICHARDS, Commissioner General Land Office.

Jul 1, 1905

Jan 1, 1879

By George M. Fowler

MINING geology is a progressive study, so we must look to the future for the solution of many of its most significant problems. These problems, world-wide in scope, offer ample opportunity for the exercise of the utmost skill and intelligence by all that attempt to solve theta, as it is generally recognized that many ore deposits of the future will he found only by months or years of combined intelligent effort by the several engineering groups. Renewed appraisals are continually being made to better understand the relationship of physical-chemical processes to ore deposition and other mineralization and to interpret the findings of the geophysicists and others in terms of economic results. A study of current geologic activi¬ties clearly reflects the growing tendency for cooperation between the different branches of geology in order to appraise their united efforts. In line with these activities arrangements have been made to transfer the geophysical section of the U. S. Bureau of Mines to the Geological Survey.

Jan 1, 1936

By AIME AIME

THE meeting of the Petroleum Division at Houston, Oct. 10-12-headquarters, Rice Hotel-was preeminently a technological success. Two hundred and twenty-five attended the Thursday morning session and approximately 200 attended the sessions on Thursday and Friday afternoons and Saturday morning. Harry Power, Chairman of the Division, in his opening remarks, credited Paul Weaver and M. Albertson, respectively chairman and vice-chairman of the local committee, with working long and prodigiously in organizing the program. The theme of the initial session was indicated by Mr. Albertson in a statement relative to the estimation of developed petroleum reserves. He said that the problem of securing more accurate estimates of developed petroleum reserves existed prior to curtailment of production. With curtailment, however, the problem became an acute one. Mr. Albertson gave some of the more important reasons for this situation. Since the decline-curve method became inapplicable, the volumetric method has become the chief one used. It depends on the factors of productive formation volume, porosity, saturation, and recovery. He briefly discussed the factors necessary for application of the volumetric method. P. P. Gregory discussed the estimation of petroleum reserves in prorated lime¬stone fields (see his paper in the October

Jan 1, 1935

By NORMA D. MACFADDEN

WHILE the library work of the Woman's Auxiliary to the A. I. M. E. was founded three years after the formation of the Auxiliary, its present policy of establishing permanent libraries in mining camps throughout the United States dates only from 1924. Since then sixteen libraries have been established and thousands of books have found their way to homes of far-away miners, bringing pleasure and knowledge to a multitude of Americans and future citizens. Library work was initiated under the presidency of Mrs. H. W. Hardinge in 1922 and firmly established with her aid as one of the main activities of the Auxiliary. The first chairman served but a short time and Mrs. A. O. Ihlseng then took over the work of chairman of the Library Committee. To place the surplus books of Auxiliary members and their friends in use in mining camps was the immediate work of the committee. This was accomplished by placing a traveling library in the Bureau of Mines' cars and also by sending books for distribution to section chair- men in our larger mining camps.

Jan 1, 1929

By HUNTINGTON ADANS

(Wilkes-Barre Meeting, June, 1911.) THE arrangement of a flow of cyanide-pulp through Pachuca tanks in agitation, so as to permit a continuous process, instead of alternate filling, agitation, and emptying, has been proposed by various writers within the last two years, and more particularly by A. T. Grothe, agent for the Brown patents on Pachuca tanks in Mexico. It was first put into practice, I believe, by M. H. Kuryla at the Esperanza mine in El Oro, Mexico. The starting of agitation in Pachuca tanks after filling may offer no serious difficulties with ores which do not settle rapidly in such tall tanks; and the adaptation of the tanks to continuous agitation under such conditions may give simply a somewhat more convenient method of treatment and greater agitation-capacity for a given number of tanks, because of the saving -of time lost in filling and discharging. But in the treatment .of pulp which tends to settle rapidly, as in the cyaniding of concentrates or of the whole pulp of ores containing heavy sulphides, the packing of the slime at the bottom may, cause much trouble. The use of the radial air-pipe attachments near the top of the cone and of the air-valve outside of the air-lift .tube at the bottom may obviate the difficulty to some extent; but the action of the radial air-pipes on the cone-sides is that -of a sand-blast, and their continuous use cuts through the tanks. Moreover, even when these pipes are used, some pulps will pack tightly below them in the cones. Under such conditions the use of Pachuca tanks with intermittent filling and discharging becomes a troublesome process. Time is lost in ,starting agitation; large quantities of compressed air are wasted; pulp is blown over the tank-tops; and not infrequently it may be necessary to dig out the bottoms of tanks by hand. This trouble is the only important one occurring in the use of Pachuca tanks; and, since it is caused by intermittent filling, the .arrangement of a continuous flow of pulp from tank to tank,

Aug 1, 1911

By Truman H. Aldrich

The red, or fossiliferous, ore is found in the Clinton group of the Silurian formation. This group is from 100 to 500 ft. thick in Alabama, and its outcrops have been mapped by the State or the U. S. Geological Survey. In some places, it is entirely missing (doubtless islands in the Silurian Sea). In Etowah County, in part of Greasy Cove and vicinity, the upper seam is a coral reef impregnated with the red ore; in this same county, step faults bring up the ore in three or four practically parallel ridges. In Blount County and on Raccoon Mountain, the ore runs under the carboniferous rocks and outcrops in the valleys. When examining the logs of holes drilled for oil, wherever the drill has gone deep enough, the writer has found the Clinton group underlying the Warrior coal field. The following records of holes drilled primarily for oil, given in Bull. No. 22, Geological Survey of Alabama, show the presence of either ore or red rock, and suggest vast resources yet to be outlined and developed for ore in the future. The locations are given by number on the map. Hole No. 1 was drilled 6 miles southeast of Russellville, Franklin County, by the Woodward Oil & Gas Co. It passed through 160 ft. of the Clinton, but only a small show of red ore was found at 1280-1400 ft. A test well, No. 2, drilled near Atwood, Franklin County, in sectioil 26, township 8, range 14, penetrated the Clinton at 1608 ft. and found 38 ft. of limy red rock, also 8 ft. of some blood red ending at 1820 ft., making 46 ft. of red rock in all. It is reported that some good ore was cut through but this work was done by a churn drill. At least 400 ft. of the formation was classified as Clinton. Well NO. 3, called Frankford Well, was bored by S. A. Hobson and associates in the northwest quarter of section 7, township 6, range 12, Franklin County. At 927 ft., it is supposed to have entered the Clinton; the log is as follows: Ft. Sandy limestone with reddish, high ferruginous argillaceous inclusions 10 Same growing more ferruginous................................ 18 Hematitic limestone......................................... 30 Same with slightly less iron.................................... 23 81

Jan 1, 1925

By W. H. Morris

I have been requested to present a paper on the slag from the basic Bessemer process, as prepared for fertilizing. Since Professor W. B. Phillips presented at the Birmingham meeting, in May, 1888, an able paper* on this subject, as it had been developed up to that time, there is little for me to add. Perhaps later practice may be best expressed by the homely proverb, " The proof of the pudding is in the eating." As the Pottstown Iron Company is the only concern manufacturing basic Bessemer slag in this country, the writer's personal experience in the use of it may be interesting. Our slag averages: P2O5, 21.37; SiO2,, 5.10; MgO, 5.90; Al2O3, 4.01; MnO, 5.56 ; FeO, 12.00; Na2O and K2O, 0.80; CaO, 45.26; total, 100.00. This gives over 76 per cent. of phosphoric acid and lime. In using this material for several years past on my lawn and garden, I have found it better than anything else I have ever tried ; and I am sure that any of you who had seen my green grass last month (January), wherever the ground was bare from snow, as bright as in early fall, would be forced to acknowledge the advantages of this soil-enricher. The grass on my private lawn, and around the company's office, is green the whole winter; and we have raised very good sod, by the use of this phosphate, where, without it, we were unable to get the grass to grow either from seed or by repeatedly sodding. The same statement applies to garden-truck; when the soil was first broken up, a good crop of vegetables was easily raised. My own gardener has had several premiums from Philadelphia seedsmen (notably, last year, the first premium for sugarcorn raised in the first part of July, being the first sample sent them). Our method of applying this material is to grind the slag very finely, so that at least 60 per cent. of it will go through a 150-mesh screen (i.e., say, 22,500 meshes to the square inch), and 90 per cent. through a 100-mesh screen (i.e., 10,000 meshes to the square inch). This fine grinding seems to be the main condition of success.

Jan 1, 1893

The following is a list of members who died in 1928. It is compiled from reports to the Secretary's office. Biographical sketches published in Mining and Metallurgy are indicated in the last two columns. Issue Containing Year or Date or Biography Election Name Death 1928 Page 1914 Adams. David T.................... July 22 October 471 1905 Aguilera. Pedro................... May 3 October 469 1902 Althouse, H. W.................... NOV. 3 December 559 1920 Averill: C. C...................... July 9 October 471 1915 Baldwin, C. Kemble............... Aug. 9 October 471 1926 Barquist, Walter C............... NOV. 14 June 298 Barron,* Clarence Walker......... Oct. 2 November 511 1917 Beasley, Fred E.................... Aug. 31 October 471 1901 Belden, S. B....................... May 15 July 333 1927 Binney, Edwin, Jr.................. Dec. 29 February 96 1915 Bonsall, James Malcolm............ Feb. 12 June 284 1917 Boyle, John....................... July 12 December 561 1913 BradEn, Eugene B............. Jan. 29 March 157 1889 Bulkley, Frank.................... Mar. 25 May 240 1896 Callaghan, J. T., Jr............... Apr. 1 1892 Chalmers, George.................. Feb. 4 April 197 1898 Clark, Josiah H.................. May 7 July 333 1887 Copeland, F. K............. Nov. 10 December 561 1915 Cunningham, B. L11............... Dec. 6 August 294 1888 Dana, R. T........................ Aug. 20 December 559 1907 Dennis, Clifford G............... Dec. 28 March 1 1920 DeVenny, Thomas................ Feb. 13 April 197 1882 d'Invillier-, Edward V........... Jan. 4 March 157 1884 Duncan, M. M..................... Dec. 17 February 96 1924 Dyrssen, WaldemaR ............... Aug. 4 October 471 1906 Edmondson. H. W................ Dec. 21 February 1884 Emmerton, F. A.................. Oct. 9 June 298 1911 Eu, S. H............................ July 20 February 1917 Farrand, Ira W.................... Sept. 6 October 469 1900 Fell, E. Nelson...........•......... Mar. 25 May 231 1918 Fenton, Clarence M.............. October Junet 298 1908 Ferraris, Erminio................. Sept. 22 June 298 1914 Galloway. A. D. R............... December April 215 1924 Grant, A. W., Jr................... .4pr. 5 June 285 1917 Grant, Clifford G............... Jan. 26 January? 37 1918 Grant, Frank E.............. Jan. 14 September 417 1921 Gunderoth, C. J.................. Feb. 15 1897 Harms, Ernest..................... Aug. 12 November 512 1891 Hartrick, J. S..................... Feb. 9 June 285 1925 Hochschild, Berthold.............. Jan. 24 April 197 1917 Hutton, L. W...................... NOV. 3 January 37 1894 Jenning", S. J...................... NOV. 17 December 560 1925 Jones, J. Ravenscroft............... Jan. 29 March 157 1880 Jones, J. T......................... May 4 June 284

Jan 1, 1929