May,
1915
T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N GIN E E RI il.’G C H E M I S T R Y
experienced a t the present time. All classes of oil, sulfate of ammonia, and paraffin wax are being dispatched as soon as they are manufactured, and there are no stocks on hand. The shutting out of German competition in the sulfate of ammonia trade has brought prosperity t o the Scotch industry. When the war broke out the price was around $ 5 0 per ton as compared with $70 a t present. Paraffin wax has also risen about $45 per ton, lubricating oils $j per ton, and burning oil $ 0 . 0 ~per gallon. These constitute almost record prices in the history of the industry during the past IO or 15 years, and everything points to their being continued during the current year. Another excellent feature is the large amount of fuel oil taken by the admiralty a t a price very remunerative to the Scotch companies.-A.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES DRIVEN BY STEAM Some time ago a new form of steam omnibus was sanctioned for use in London, in which solid fuel in the form of ordinary gas coke was used. The results have been so encouraging that no less an authority than Professor Vivian Lewes has predicted that evervthing points to steam challenging the supremacy of petrol or petrol substitutes for commercial motor traction. According to the Mechanical World, 47, No. 1471, the virtue of the steam vehicle using solid fuel is the cheapness in cost of running. Experimental working has shown the cost of fuel, where the stops are not frequent, to work out a t 2 cents per 17 ton-miles, which is about half the cost with petrol, even when the latter is purchased in large quantities a t 20 cen‘ts per gallon. The uncertainty as t o the price of petrol is undoubtedly the cause of many traders holding back from substituting mechanical for animal haulage, and there is some force in the argument that coke, being a home production, is not likely to be affected as to price in the same way as oil.--\.
CHLORINE IN COAL Mr. A . de Waele in a paper before the English Society of Public Analysts gave particulars of a case of abnormal corrosion of the tube of an economizer, and traced the corrosion to the presence of chlorine in the coal used. The average chlorine content of the coal obtained from the Midland coals of the brine district was 0.22 per cent.-A.
BRITISH-MADE TUNGSTEN Before the war all the tungsten powder used in the manufacture of high-class steels for shell steel, armor, and cutting tools used in engineering works and armament factories, was imported from Germany, and a serious condition arose when the supplies were cut off. A British firm has now been established to capture
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the industry, the combine company representing all the great steel firms of Sheffield, and also Armstrong, Whitworth & Company. Such good progress has been made that supplies on a commercial scale will be produced in a few weeks’ time a t the company’s factory a t Widnes.-A.
NEW SOUTH WALES STEEL WORKS With reference to the completion of the Broken Hill Steel Proprietary Company’s works a t Sewcastle, hT.S . IV., it appears from the Bulletin of January 14th, of the South Australian Official Intelligence Bureau a t Adelaide, quoted by the British Board of Trade Journal, that the South Australian Government has already accepted a tender from the company for the supply of 2000 tons of 60-lb. steel rails and 140 tons of fish-plates. The rails will be manufactured on the basic open-hearth method, and the Sandberg process applied. The acceptance of the tender means that for the first time in the history of the South Australian Railways, rails of Australian manufacture will be used. In connection with the utilization of some of the large iron-ore deposits in South Australia, i t is interesting to note that a shipment of 2800 tons of ironstone was recently dispatched to the Broken Hill Proprietary Company’s iron and steel works. The ironstone was obtained from Iron Knob, some 4 1 miles from Port Augusta, where the largest deposit in that State is situated. This is contained in two great ore bodies known as the Iron Knob and Iron Monarch, the latter being the larger of the two. The ore from the Iron Knob has, during the last 1 2 years, been used by the Proprietary Company for fluxing purposes a t its smelting works a t Port Pirie, and its average content of metallic iron has been found to be over 68.j per cent. The extent of the deposits has not yet been actually determined, but on the assumption that the average depth of ore is no more than roo ft., it has been calculated that over 2 I ,ooo,ooo tons of ore are aiTailable.
SEGER CONES Seger cones were a t one time solely manufactured by the Prussian Government a t the Royal Porcelain Works a t Charlottenburg, and were imported into Great Britain in considerable quantities for use by pottery manufacturers in standardizing the fire of ovens and kilns. I t is reported that Dr. Mellor, principal of the Pottery Section a t the North Staffordshire College, has brought to a successful finish experiments directed towards carrying on the manufacture of these cones in England. The governors of the college have authorized the manufacture and the laboratories and are already turning out Seger cones a t the rate of 1000 per day.-A.
SCIENTIFIC SOCIEJIES FIFTIETH MEETING AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY NEW ORLEANS, MARCH 31 TO APRIL 3,1915 PROGRAM OF PAPERS GENERAL PUBLIC MEETINGS, APRIL 1 Addresses of Welcome. MR. MARTINBEHRMAN. Mayor of New Orleans, A N D PRESIDENT ROBERTSHARP,Tulane University. Response. CHARLESHOLMESHERTY,President of the American Chemical Society. (See f h i s issue, p. 371.) Opening Address. The Industrial Resources and Opportunities of t h e S o u t h . ARTHUR D . LITTLE. (See f h i s i s s u e , p. 373.) Symposium o n t h e Contributions of t h e Chemist t o American Industries. DIVISIONOF INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTS AKD CHEMICAL ENGINEERS. (See below and also A p r i l issue, pp. 273-304.) The Stassfurt Potash Industry. (Slides and Moving Pictures.) H. A. HUSTON. Evening Address. The Chemist’s Contribution t o t h e I n dustrial Development of t h e United States-A Record of Achievem e n t . BERNHARD C. HESSE. (See A p r i l issue, p. 2 9 3 . )
AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY DIVISION GLENF. MASON,Secretary
FLOYD a’.ROBINSON, Chairman
1. The Importance of Checking Foreign Organisms i n Breadmaking. ROBERT WAHL. 2. On t h e Composition and Properties of a n Oil f r o m t h e Seeds of Martynia Louisiana. E. H . S. BAILEY AND W. S. LONG. 3 . Action of Milk o n Colloids. EDWARD GUDEMAN, PH.D. 4. The Relation of Index of Refraction, Speciflc Gravity and Solids i n Tomatoes and Tomato Pulp. W. D . BIGELOW. 5 . The Influence of o n e Feedingstuff u p o n t h e Digestibility of Another. H. S. GRINDLEY, W. J. CARMICHAEL A N D C. I. NEWLIN. 6. Chemical Investigations a t t h e Texas Experiment Station. G. S. FRAPS. 7. Individuality of Pigs as t o t h e Completeness with which they Digest their Feed. W. J. CARMICHAEL, C. I. NEWLIN~ N H D S. GRINDLEY. 8. The Influence of Litters o n t h e Fermentation of Manure. W. E. TOTTINGHAM. 9. Bread: Weight of a n Akron (Ohio) Loaf. CHAS.P. Fox. 10. Tamarind Syrup. W. C . TABER.
