Search Documents

By Henry S. Washington

Introduction. It Still Rains On The Choco ! I Well Remember One Evening A Dozen Years Ago, While. Traveling Toward The Town Of Negua In A Small Champa Or Dug-Out Canoe, The Rain Fell So Heavily That I Had To Work My Hardest To Bail Out The Water With A Large Totuma Or Gourd In Order To Keep The Canoe Afloat, The Senegambian Meanwhile Plying His Paddle In The Stern. If Any One Thinks Bailing Is Easy Work, Let Him Scoop Out A Quart Or More At A Stroke, 40 Times A Minute For Half An Hour, And I Venture That He Will Change His Opinion. These Small Canoes Required Only One Paddler, To Make The 3 Miles An Hour Which Is The Standard Rate Of Aquatic Progress On The Choco. Another Time, On The Atrato River, About Six O'clock In The Afternoon, The Rain Fell So Heavily Than An Empty Gourd, 9 In. In Diameter And 4.5 Deep, Was Filled To The Brim In 90 Sec., Timed By A Watch. Such Downpours Are Typical, But Unless Caught In One It Is Not Specially Noticed. These Downpours Seldom Last More Than An Hour, And Frequently Cover Only A Limited Area, Occasionally Falling On One Bank Of A River And Not On The Other. During The Night-Time,' The Rain, If Gentle, Will Usually Last Until Dawn, And Sometimes An Intermittent Drizzle Will Keep Up All Day As Well, Although, As A Rule, It Rarely Rains During The Day. The Rise Of The Rivers, Due To The Rain-Fall, Varies From A Few Inches To Several Feet. One Night In August, 1899, The Spuds Of The Dredge Margaret, Operating On The Atrato River, Showed A, Rise Of 16 Ft., And For 3 Days Thereafter Occurred The Greatest Flood Known In That District For 32 Years. The Dredge Had All Three Spuds Clown, And The 2-Yd. Shovel Dragging On The Bottom. A 0.75-In. Cable Fast To A Stout Tree, 700 Ft. Away, Stretched Tight

Sep 1, 1908

By Henry G. Granger

A RESIDENCE of 14 years in the Republic of Colombia, spent in almost continuous traveling and prospecting-trips, has given me an intimate knowledge of the resources of that wonderful country. The man who best knows Colombia is unquestionably General Rafael Reyes, President of the Republic for the past three years, and with seven years more to serve in his present term. Such is the strength of his personality and the wisdom of his policies that his term of office will no doubt endure as long as he is willing to serve. The vastly improved economic situation and the brilliant outlook for Colombia are so directly due to the influence of President Reyes that a few lines concerning him. will not be amiss, if they serve towards a better understanding of his personality. Born of a distinguished ancestry in the mountains of Boyaca, he is now 57 years old, just the age of his friend Porfirio Diaz when be began the work which has placed Mexico in the rank of great modern nations. It was Reyes who came to Washington to protest against the action of the government of the United States of America in reference to the establishment of the Republic of Panama, and, without entering into a discussion of this affair, it can be fairly said that there was not an American in Colombia whose feelings of justice were. not outraged at the government action and subsequent refusal to submit the matter to the impartial judgment of the' Hague. President Reyes is an accomplished linguist, speaking English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. He has a remarkably. powerful voice, which can readily be heard by a large assemblage. His height is about 6 ft., and his weight exceeds 200 lb. He has clear gray eyes. Reyes was the leader of those who favored the approval of

Sep 1, 1908

By Henry S. Washington

I. INTRODUCTION. DURING the last twenty years or so the chemical investigation of rocks has made great advances, and it is now generally recognized that a knowledge of the chemical composition is as essential as that of the texture or mineral composition-if not more so-for the proper classification of rocks and study of their origin and relationships. Rock-analyses have vastly increased in numbers and, what is of greater importance, in quality. New and improved methods permit of greater accuracy than was possible in the early days, and the list of chemical constituents frequently determined has risen from the seven or eight of the greater part of the nineteenth century to twenty or more. Indeed, rock-analyses with determinations of so many constituents are now commonly made by the chemists of the United States and Australia, while in Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy the rarer constituents are determined more frequently than formerly. As a consequence of this modern, accurate work, it has been discovered that some elements which were formerly supposed to be rare are of wide-spread occurrence and are often present in considerable amount. The fact is further being developed that the elements tend to show certain relations of occurrence or abundance in connection with each other. This is a fact which is applicable to the rarer elements, and which also finds a broad geological and petrological expression in the recognition of petrographic provinces. We are beginning to obtain some definite, though as yet rudimentary, knowledge of the distribution of the elements among igneous rocks. Some of the results along these lines obtained by study of the vast accumulation of analytical data now available are well known to petrologists, while others do not seem to be so gener-

Sep 1, 1908

By DR. DOUGLAS

Discussion of the Paper of Dr. Douglas, presented at the Toronto Meeting of the Institute, July, 1907 (Trans., xxxviii., 455 to 471). EDGAR HALL, Silverspur, Queensland, Australia (communication to the Secretary*) :-Dr. Douglas has written on this subject before, and his influence has had a powerful effect on the side of freedom among the younger generation of engineers. Moreover, it is not the first time that he has attributed the decline of the copper-smelting industry in Swansea to the secrecy maintained by the firms there engaged in smelting-operations. In this latter statement I think his conclusions are open to criticism. Whether the firms referred to have suffered by their secrecy is their own business-I. bold no brief for them ; but that the decline of the copper-industry at Swansea was inevitable seems to me to be proved conclusively by Dr. Douglas's own writings. In his paper on The Copper Situation,1 Dr. Douglas says "In comparing iron and copper mining, . . . it must be remembered that 2 tons of average iron ore from the most prolific source now available will make 1 ton of metal; whereas from 33 to 75 tons (say an average of 50 tons) of copper ore must be mined to produce 1 ton of copper." And further: "Last year's production of iron was made from approximately 50,000,000 tons of ore. Our copper mines, to yield a production of 900,000,000 pounds, must have handled approximately 22,000,000 tons of ore, or nearly half the quantity raised from our iron mines." Is not this the key to the whole situation ? In transporting the 50,000,000 tons of iron-ore, 25,000,000 tons of the metal iron were carried so much nearer to the market, but the transportation of 22,000,000 tons of copper-ore would have carried only 450,000 tons of the metal copper nearer to its ultimate destination. The small percentage of copper available in its ores makes

Sep 1, 1908

By H. M. Chance

STRETCHING from New York southwestwardly to Georgia is a great range of hills and mountains consisting of pre-Palaeozic schists, slates, and gneissic and granitoid rocks, known locally by many different names; in Pennsylvaniaa as the South mountains, the Berkshire or Durham and Reading hills, and in Virginia and farther south as the Blue ridge. To the northwest of this range lies the " Great Valley," underlain by Lower Silurian limestones, and known as the Lehigh valley, Cumberland valley, Shenandoah valley, valley of Eastern Tennessee and Georgia and by other local names, but all these are parts of one valley, geologically and geographically continuous from New Jersey to Georgia. Lying upon and along the northern flank of this range of mountains, and dipping northwestwardly under the limestone of the valley, is the Potsdam formation (Primal or No. 1 of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey), which consists of sandstone or conglomerate overlain by slates. The latter are sometimes arenaceous and occasionally are replaced in part by sandstone. This formation varies from a few feet to several hundred feet in thickness. At the outcrop the slates are completely decomposed, oxidized or disintegrated, forming a belt of clay several hundred feet wide occupying the interval between the outcroppings of the sandstone and limestone. This clay-belt includes a more or less continuous series of iron-ore (brown hematite) deposits, which have been, and still are, extensively worked. The belt is more or less continuously mineralized with iron throughout its length, and hundreds of large deposits of ore have been developed and worked, producing many millions of tons of ore.

Sep 1, 1908

By AIME AIME

Council.* PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. JOHN HAYS HAMMOND* New York, N. Y. (Term expires February, 1909.) VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE COUNCIL. SAMUEL B. CHRISTY BERKELEY, CAL. JOHN A. CHURCH NEW YORK, N. Y. PERSIFOR FRAZER PHILADELPHIA, PA. (Term expires February, 1909.) J. PARKE CHANNING NEW YORK, N. Y. FREDERICK 1V. DENTON PAINESDALE, MICH. JOHN B. FARISH DENVER, COLO. (Term expires February, 1910.)

Mar 1, 1908

By AIME AIME

THE following brief description of the main features of the, engineering work was prepared for the use of members of the American Society of Civil Engineers and members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers on the occasion of their visits to the tunnels at the time-of their respective. annual meetings in New York, January and February, 1905. DESCRIPTION. Those portions. of the Pennsylvania Extension into Manhattan and Long Island, lying east of the Terminal Station and west of the East River, have been designated as the " Manhattan ?Cross-town:. Tunnels." They traverse a section of the city second in importance only to the financial district, and one that includes the larger hotels, retail shops and theaters and the residences of many of the best known citizens. Section "D," consisting of twin tunnels for west-bound express and local passenger traffic, lies under Thirty-third Street from a point 400 ft. west of the west line of Sixth Avenue, eastward to the river shaft, situated in the block between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Streets east of First Avenue. Beginning at the east end, the tunnels are in separate excavations, leading westward from the subaqueous tubes, on a curve of large radius, gradually closing together until it is found more appropriate to drive them in a single excavation. At a point just west of Second Avenue they reach the tangent, aid from there westward lie directly under Thirty-third Street. At a point about 180 ft. west of the west line of Sixth Avenue, the center concrete-wall between the twin tunnels is omitted, and the excavation somewhat widened to make room for a third storage-track, and the tunnel continues to tile station portal in three-track section. Here reprinted through the courtesy of The United Engineering and Contracting Co. The half-tone blocks used for the illustration of this paper have been kindly supplied by the Chasmer-Winchell Press of New York, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Mar 1, 1908

By Robert Bell

THE " Tar-Sands." is the name which has been given to the extensive horizontal deposit of fine Cretaceous sand, blackened by tarry petroleum, which forms the banks of the last or lowest 130 miles of the Athabasca river before it terminates in Athabasca lake. The Cretaceous strata, to which these sands belong, extend northwesterly from Dakota all the way to this lake and for 500 miles beyond it. The Athabasca river forms the uppermost section of the Athabasca-Mackenzie, one of the great rivers of the world. It rises on the Pacific side of the Rocky mountains, westward of Edmonton, and flows north of east to a point called Athabasca. Landing, 100 miles north of Edmonton, where it turns northward and runs about 280 miles before it falls into the west end of Athabasca lake. The section of this river-system which discharges the lake just named into Great Slave lake, is called Slave river, and below the latter lake it becomes the Mackenzie river. Along the section of 280 miles of the Athabasca river above mentioned, the Cretaceous strata consist of bluish-gray and drab-gray marls, on top, from Athabasca Landing to Drowned rapid, 110 miles down stream; then heavily bedded gray sandstones, 225 ft. in greatest thickness, underlying these, form the banks for about 40 miles further. The strata appear to be horizontal, but they really clip very slightly to the southward. At Drowned rapid, we see the first of the tar-sands resting on almost horizontal beds of bluish-gray limestone of Devonian age. In some places the limestone is associated with shaly or marly bands. Notwithstanding the great hiatus between the two series, the horizontal tar-sands lie conformably upon the almost level upper beds of the limestone wherever the two formations are seen together, all along the river, throughout a

Mar 1, 1908

By AIME AIME

The following report is published for the information of the members: Meetings. Two meetings for the reading and discussion of papers, etc., have been held during the year 1907-namely, the Ninety-second meeting, held April 16 to 20 in New York, N. Y., and the Ninety-third meeting, held July 23 to 30 in Toronto, Canada. The proceedings of these meetings, including descriptions of the entertainments and excursions connected therewith, have already been published and distributed to the members of the Institute; the New York meeting in Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 15, May, 1907, pp. 541 to 559, and the Toronto meeting in Bi-Monthly Bulletin., No. 17, September, 1907, pp. 847 to 875. In addition to these " Proceedings," there were also published in Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 15, May, 1907, an illustrated description of the United Engineering Society building (p1 vi. to xxvi.), and a record of the exercises attending its dedication, including the addresses of Andrew Carnegie, Arthur T. Hadley, Samuel Sheldon, Frederick R. Hutton, John Hays Hammond, and T. C. Martin (pp. xxxviii. to lxv.). At the New York meeting, 43 papers and- discussions were presented, and the names of 297 members and guests were registered at the Institute headquarters., this number, however, does not represent all who were present at the sessions and excursions. At the Toronto meeting, 23 papers and discussions were presented. The number of members and guests registered at the Toronto headquarters was 191, which doubtless does not include the names of all who were present at the sessions, or took part in the numerous excursions and visits around Cobalt.

Mar 1, 1908

By George B. Lee

DURING The Two Years In Which The New Reduction-Works Of The Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co. Have Been In Operation At Douglas, Ariz., There Has Developed A Remarkable Condition In Regard To The Corrosive Action Of The Water Used To Cool The Jackets Of The Blast-Furnaces. Were It Not For The Many Contradictory Features, It Might Pass As One Of The Unavoidable Troubles Due To The Composition Of The Water. This Water, Obtained From Wells 600 Ft. Deep, Is Also Used In The Steam-Boilers, And Its Composition, As Shown By The Following Analysis, Does Not Indicate The Presence Of Any Ingredient Which Would Explain The Corrosion Grains Per U. S. Gal. Silica, 0.861 Iron Oxide And Alumina, 0.223 Calcium Carbonate, 0.2111 Calcium Sulphate, Magnesium Carbonate, Sodium And Potassium Sulphates, . 14.850 Sodium And Potassium Chlorides, 9.732 Sodium And Potassium Carbonate, 6.452 32.409 The Jackets Are Made Of Inner Plates 0.5 In. Thick And An Outer Plate I In. Thick, With 3-In. Stiffeners Between The Inner And Outer Plates. In From 10 To 12 Months The Inner Plates Have Been Reduced By Corrosion To A Thickness Of From 1/8 To 1/16 In., While The Outer Plate In The Same Time Is Reduced By Less Than 1/16 In., And The Stiffeners Show Very Little Corrosion. The Plates Are Pitted And Eaten Away In Some Places More Than In Others. There Is Practically No Scale Found On The Jackets, But When Cleaned Considerable Iron Oxide Is Found In The Bottoms. With An Action So Marked, Serious Trouble Would Be Expected In The Boilers, But, On The Contrary, A Recent Inspection By a

Mar 1, 1908

By George F. Kunz

THE recently discovered occurrence of diamonds near Murfreesboro, Pike county, Ark., was brought to. our attention by Mr. Samuel W. Reyburn (Trustee for Messrs. C. S. Stifft, A. D. Cohn, August Zinsser, Jr., and himself, owners of the property), through whose courtesy we investigated the locality of the deposit. Prospecting with the diamond-drill is now in active progress ; but mining operations on a large scale have not yet been ordered. Geology.-The geology as well as the petrography of this interesting locality has been well described by Messrs. J. C. Branner and R. N. Brackett.1 Briefly summarized, the igneous rock in which the diamonds are found is a vitreous peridotite, forming a stock or volcanic neck, which has broken up through the Carboniferous and Cretaceous quartzites and sandstones. After an extensive period of erosion, during which an unknown portion of the neck and presumably a previously existent volcanic cone have been removed, the surface was covered with thin beds of Post-Tertiary conglomerate. The volcanic intrusion was accompanied by the formation of several small dikes of a rock much like that of the main body. One of these dikes cuts across the stock, while another cuts the Cretaceous sandstone, but is overlain by the conglomerate, thus giving a datum for the period of intrusion. So far as known, there was little, if any, metamorphism of the country-rock by the igneous magna, which probably followed an approximately vertical course, so that a more or less vertical extension downward of the igneous body to indefinite depths may be expected.

Mar 1, 1908

By CHARLES W. BENTON

THE following paragraphs comprise such information as the Secretary has been able to obtain concerning the members and associates whose deaths have been reported. Further particulars or corrections of errors, and biographical data concerning deceased members or associates not already noticed in this way, are solicited. Charles IV. Benton was born at Kezar Falls, Maine, Nov. 12, 1843. We have no accurate knowledge concerning the early part of his career. In 1871 he engaged with the N. Y. Honduras Rosario Mining Co., at San Juancinto, Honduras, C. A., and later was employed at the Monserrat mine at Yuscaran, and at Santa Lucia, Honduras, with the Tenero Mining Milling Co. of Pennsylvania. In 1897 he became a member of the Institute. At the time he was stricken with his last sickness he was employed at the Paymaster mine at Tucson, Ariz. He died at Fairmount, Denver, Colo., Sept. 9, 1907. William R. Boggs, Jr.-The notice in the Bulletin for January was incorrect in saying that the murder of Mr. Boggs occurred while he was employed as metallurgical. manager by Mr. W. B. A. Dingwall, at La Maroma, San Luis Potosi, Mex. Mr. Dingwall writes that in March, 1907, Mr. Boggs left him, to return to his home at Winston, N. C., whence he. subsequently went to Durango, Mex., to take, with the Topia Mining Co., a position which he occupied at the tine of his death, Nov. 17, 1907. Mr. Dingwall says that, while in his service, Mr. Boggs never had any trouble with the workmen, but was esteemed and liked by them, as by all who knew him ; and adds, injustice to the State of San Luis Potosi, that the population, even in the mining-camps of that State, is orderly and law-abiding, and that the authorities are vigilant and just. Our

Mar 1, 1908

By James E. Howard

AT the request of the Council of the Institute, I have the honor to submit the following remarks upon the Program of Tests under which the current work of the Watertown Arsenal Testing Laboratory is carried on, which comprises, among other items, the tests of steel ingot metal and derivative shapes. The intended scope of the tests may be illustrated by extracts from the descriptive part of the program as submitted by the Laboratory under date of April 17, 1907, and subsequently approved by the Chief of Ordnance, U. S. A. Under Item 1, Ingot Metal-Open hearth, acid and basic; Bessemer, acid and basic; crucible; fluid compressed and uncompressed-descriptive remarks were made as follows ; " A thorough, fundamental inquiry into the physical properties of steel necessarily begins with the ingot metal. Investigations, having for their object the improvement of steels, should also begin with the ingot. A knowledge of the ingot structure is essential for judging of the subsequent behavior or appearance of the metal. Under ordinary conditions, so little information is obtained from the ingot in individual cases that practically none of importance is acquired. These remarks have particular reference to the state of physical and structural soundness of the steel. Questions of chemical composition, segregation, piping and the grosser cavities have frequently been given attention. Defects of continuity of structure, which manifest themselves in the working; of the metal, and at the final stages cause distrust in the finished forging, have generally been neglected. ? The range in physical properties in a given composition of metal, as shown in Tests of Metals, 1902 and 1903, is very great. Tests are there found which, when the results are

Mar 1, 1908

By AIME AIME

IV. THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN STEEL AND IRON. It would be well to decide on a definite carbon-content to serve as a boundary line between ingot-iron and ingot-steel, between puddled-iron and puddled-steel, and between any other varieties of wrought-iron and weld-steel. Two plans have been considered. One is to draw this line at 0.32 per cent. of carbon or its equivalent in other elements, for the reason that this carbon-content appears to correspond to the critical point, 0, in the diagrams of Roberts-Austen and Rooze-boom.8 This has the merit of corresponding to a definite physical boundary. The other plan is to draw the boundary at 0.20 per cent. of carbon, because this is a convenient place to separate the important classes " soft steel " and " half-hard steel," so that if this point was adopted "ingot-iron " would be synonymous with "soft steel," and " ingot-steel " would be the equivalent of the two classes, " half-hard steel " and " hard steel."

Mar 1, 1908

By W. O. Crosby

INTRODUCTION. THE crystalline belt of the Atlantic Seaboard, south of New York, attains its maximum breadth of 220 miles on the northern border of North Carolina; and in this State it is most widely characterized by the occurrence of gold in workable deposits. Half a dozen auriferous belts have been recognized by Nitze and Hanna.1 These are, in the main, coincident in position and trend with the NE.-SW. zones of metamorphic slates and schists, which, more than any other feature, give character to the geological map of North Carolina. The central gold-belts, accompanying the main zone of slates and associated igneous rocks, are much the more important and persistent, and may be regarded as continuous northward across Virginia and southward into South Carolina. Tile eastern belt, on the other band, is the shortest and, economically, one of the least important. Its extreme length does not exceed 25 miles, the narrow band of slaty rocks to which it belongs passing, both NE. and SW., beneath the coastal-plain formations. But, although limited in area and production, this belt is, perhaps, comparable with the central belts or any part of the sea-board crystallines in the variety of conditions under which the gold occurs. It lies chiefly in the NE. part of Franklin county and the NW. part of Nash county, on the watershed of Fishing creek and other tributaries of Tar river. The elevation is between 400 and 500 ft. ; and the Tertiary peneplain has here an exceptionally perfect development, the reliefs separating the slightly incised stream-courses consisting of broad, flat-topped peneplain remnants, bounded by gentle lateral slopes.

Mar 1, 1908

By Percy A. Robbins

I. INTRODUCTION. THE central power-station. of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., was designed and built under my supervision about five years ago. Since no detailed description of this plant has ever appeared, it may possess sufficient interest to warrant its publication, even at this late date. Although some additions may have been Blade to the plant, the following account, prepared from my notes, and accurate up to May, 1905 (at which time I severed my connection with the De Beers Com¬pany), will, I think, be found substantially correct. Certain local conditions governing the design of this plant should be stated first. If. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. The climate is hot and dry. The .region around Kimberley is arid and water is very scarce. The supply obtained from the mines contains so much material in solution that it is unfit for use in boilers or condensers (although tests recently made with a water-softening plant, built by Hans Reisert, of Germany, would indicate that water thus treated is suitable for boilers). And the amount of water required for concentrating about 30,000 tons of ore per day is so large that the question of adequate water-supply for this power-station had to be carefully considered. The rainy season extends from December to April, and the rainfall averages about 15 in. per year. Droughts are frequent; and in some years there is scarcely any rain at all. The water-supply for the town of Kimberley is brought from the Vaal river, 16 miles distant, and pumped into town by a private water company. The charge made for water, which is

Mar 1, 1908

By William H. Shockley

THERE was an, extensive mining and industrial exploitation of Russia, about 20 years ago, by Belgian, French and British capitalists; but the results were discouraging. It is said that the Belgian and French public together lost approximately $400,000,000, chiefly in the coal and iron industry of southern Russia. This loss is largely accounted for by the fact that most of the companies were formed, as usual in " boom " times, to sell stock; and that thorough investigations were not made. In 1906, renewed interest was taken in Russian mines, especially in those of gold and copper, and a considerable literature is growing on this subject; but as yet I have seen no account of one of the large Russian mining estates. The following notes on such property, where the conditions are so different from those in the mining regions of the United States, should be of interest This inadequate and probably somewhat inaccurate account is made up, partly from my own notes made on the ground, in the summers of 1904 and 1905, and partly from a volume on the geology and resources of the estate issued several years ago, containing surface-and mine-maps, and from a pamphlet published in 1904, giving a general account of the condition and prospects of the property. This pamphlet includes a report made by Arthur L. Pearse, a member of this Institute, in 1899. Both these books are in Russian, and were prepared by the Bogoslovsk Mining Co., which owns and operates the property. Articles in many other languages have appeared dealing with various matters connected with the estate; but I know of no other general account of it. In numerous books and articles on the Urals and Siberia, however, localities are described in which somewhat similar conditions prevail. Recent papers by

Mar 1, 1908

By AIME AIME

The following financial report of the Treasurer of the United Engineering Society is published for the information of members NEW YORK, February 15, 190S. To the Board of' Trustees, United Engineering Society I beg to submit herewith the report of the Treasurer as of December 31, 1907. Your attention is called to the fact that the resources and liabilities, receipts and disbursements statements cover all the financial transactions of the United Engineering Society from its organization up to December 31, 1907. The income and expenses of operating the building during the whole operating period from December 1 to December 31, 1907, somewhat in excess of twelve months, are given. Included in the expenses, amounting in all to $52,647.11, will be found an item entitled "Building Equipment (construction account)." The expenditures under this item were not made for the operating expenses of the building, they represent a construction account, properly speaking, covering expenditures for furnishings and equipment of the building. The Founders' Agreement specifically provides for this class of expenditure under the provision that the Founder Societies shall each be liable for a charge not to exceed $200,000 of principal, which shall include the land and building completed and ready for occupancy, together with the " furnishings, equipment and personal property therein." Certain details of equipment are yet to be supplied, and it. is proposed in the near future to call upon the Founder Societies for an assessment on their respective land and building funds to cover this item of building equipment. Such action would enable the item of $10,039.85 to be transferred to the income account and reduce correspondingly the assessment

Mar 1, 1908

By Charles D. Walcott

The following acts of the Directors are reported for the information of members At a meeting held June 20, 1907, Dr. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., having been recommended by unanimous vote of the Council, was unanimously elected an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, in recognition of his personal services to American geology, and of his generous co-operation with this Institute, to the Transactions of which he has not only himself made valuable contributions, but has also encouraged the preparation of such contributions by the members of the U. S. Geological Survey under his charge, his liberal policy in this respect having gone so far as to permit the preliminary publication by the Institute of important results reached by the geologists of that Survey, even before their final and full publication as public documents. This wise and generous course has not only brought the U. S. Geological Survey into intimate and sympathetic relations with the mining industry of the world, but has also enriched the Transactions of the Institute, especially in the department of the science of ore-deposits, with many valuable papers. At a meeting held Jan. 14, 1908, Mr. Charles Kirchhoff was unanimously re-elected a Trustee of the United Engineering Society, to serve for a second term of three years. At a meeting held Feb. 18, 1908, directly after the adjournment of the annual meeting of the Institute, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, James Gayley: Vice-President, James Douglas; Secretary, R. W. Raymond; Treasurer, Frank Lyman.

Mar 1, 1908

By Henry M. Howe

THIS meeting was held at the home of the Institute in the United Engineering Society Building, 29. West 39th St., New York, N. Y., Feb. 18 to 21, 1908. The first session, held in the large auditorium Tuesday evening, Feb. 18, was called to order at 8 p.m. by Prof. Henry M. Howe, Past-President of the Institute, who welcomed the members and guests in a few cordial and well-chosen remarks. The following papers, accompanied by lantern-illustrations, were presented in oral abstract by their authors Swedenborg and Humboldt, by R. W. Raymond, New York, N. Y. Electric Power in Steel Mills, by David B. Rushmore and Karl A. Pauly, Syracuse, N. Y. At the close of the session, an informal reception in the offices of the Institute was tendered to members and guests. The second session, held in Assembly Room No. 1 in the same building, Wednesday, Feb. 19, was called to order at 10 a.m. by Prof. Robert H. Richards, Past-President of the Institute. Before proceeding with the papers on iron and steel, which were scheduled for presentation at this session, Mr. F. E. Junge, a representative of the gas-engine and electric motor industry of Berlin, Germany, gave a short oral discussion of the paper by Mr. Rushmore and Mr. Pauly, Electric Power in Steel Mills. Printed copies of the paper, Uniform Nomenclature of Iron and Steel, were distributed among the members and guests present, and the request was made for a later discussion of this important subject by letter. This paper constitutes the Report of Committee No. 24, of the International Association for Testing Materials, which was presented at the Brussels Congress in 1906. The following paper was presented in oral abstract by the author

Mar 1, 1908