The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891, July 01, 1877, Page 202, Image 14

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    202 THE AVE ST SHORE. JJ?
THE ANALYSIS OF THE DIAMOND.
LftVoiiitr, the gnat Prench cbetnhtt, under
took the oaamlnatfon of the diamond (Prof.
Jtoicnc remark!), and it ii worth while noticing
how carefully ha want to work how lie pTO
ooortod ilowly from nna step to another in aba
logical Hqnanoa until he arrived at the true mIu
tion of the question which be had undertaken to
investigate that la, until ho wm nbla to tell
exactly what happen! when the diamond evap
orates in the lire, and why it iliil not doao when
Hurroiinlel witli oharooal In tho in--: place,
he evaporated the diamond by manna of the
bornmg'glaai, and ha obaarved that no visible
vapor or smoke was given off, hut that the dbv
roond disappeared. He thought that perbapa
the aolld diamond had In Home way been dta-
solved hy the water, ami that hy evaporating the
water which wan in the lower part of the liell
jar in which he hiirut the diamond he inightob-
tain the constituents of the diamond, in a aolld
form; hut he found that no ttoliil residue WM
left on evaporation, ami thus no trace of the
diamond could he found. Hi next experiment
waa that of pladug a diamond in a fooui of it
less powerful leni than the one he bad formerly
lined, ho that the diamond waa not heated to no
high a temperature as before, again placing it
however, in a hell-jar over water. He then
found that the diamond, when not heated quite
ho strongly, lost only about one-quarter of its
weight; it did not disappear altogether, hilt the
reuiarkahle fuel wan noticed that it became
covered with a black ubetance, whioh Lavoiaier
deaorlbet m being exactly like lampbleok or booL
so that it dirtied hit lingers when touched, and
made a black mark upon paper, Hence be con
eluded that the diamond is susceptible of being
brought, under certain drcunutanoM, into the
oonditl if oharooal, ho that It really belong!
to the olaai of oomonaUble bodies. He waa,
however, yet far from having proved thin point,
and he w out on experimenting. He neit mCM
11 red tin- volume ol air in which he wan going to
hum tin- diamond, and found it about eight
onblo Inches, Then he burned the diamond in
thin Volume of air hy menus of a letin, and found
that tic air had dimlniahad to a volume of ill
euhie inches, Mil. showing that the air had un
dergone aome change hy the eninbuation of the
diamond, and (hat two nut of eight volume! of
air had diuppeared. The nexl axperin the
made wan to examine the condition of the air ill
which tlx- dla nd had been evajwrated.
What change! had gone on in the air in conse
quence of the evaporation of the diamond! -After
allouiti ' the .(- in which he had burned
the diamond to atand for four daya, he poured
tricar lime water into the jar in which tnedhv
mond had hern ovaporatedi and he tayi thti
lime-water was at mice precipitated. In the lalUO
manner at if it had been brought into oontaot
with gas evolved into Bthrveieenoe and for
mentation, or that given off In DUN ol metallic
reduction. Here, then, he had gut OU the track
of what he wanted. Hitherto Die diamond had
apparently dlaappeared, and nothing wai found
to account fur its ditappearanoe; hut now he
had found that there WM something contained
in the air in which 'the diamond nan burned
which wai not contained In the air before. The
next atop he took WM to examine the white pre
Oipltate or powder Whioh formed, and he found
thai the luuetanoa tbua precipitated from lime
water by the air In whioh the diamond bad been
evaporated efferveaoed on treatment with acid,
and evolved what wan then known as fixed air,
hut which we HOW know an carhoiilc acid gas.
Here, then, in hll last experiment, In oomplltM
hit proof, abowlng that exactly the MUIfl effeote
are obeerved when charcoal in experltnentetl
upon tnatead of diamond. Lavoiaier had now
ronhla quarry inearth; he had determined ex
actly what it tl that in formed when a diamond
in burned. He hat nhowii that a diamond,
when burned, prod u cm exactly the aame iub
tanM tint Ii produced when coniuioii oharooal
it burnetl, and he, therefore, legitimately eon
oludM that the diamond It only another rorui of
the element carbon, The reason that the dia
mond did not I tutu in the furnace when sur
rounded by a meal of charcoal WM that the air,
or nthar the oxygen of tho air, could not gel to
the diamond, because it wan kept off hy the
charcoal, which hurned instead of the diamond,
PUDDLING WITH CULM,
Experiment! are being mad! at the worki of
the Towanda Iron Manufacturing Company, at
Towanda, Pa., with the culm or dual of the
lioyitUiK'k mlnea Thin coal it called semi
anthracite; it look very much like the hitiimin.
oils coal in the vicinity of the worki, but hickt
the Intumiu, m rcinarkahl lice from milphur,
and contain over W id carl oit, The lirst
trial made with the culm WM under the boilers,
and it was quickly dciuomt litd llut more
team could lie generated with it than with
coarse coal; nud not only ho, hut that it could
le done in lent tune and with a lighter weight
of fuel. Bxptrimenti were next madi la
puddling iron. A common doulde puddling
furnace wan lined, temporary alteration having
been made fur the pUrpOMi The lirehox wm
lengthened from l'J feel to 'J1 feet, no at to in
crease the grate surface, this being necessary
from the fact that the lire mutt hi kept very
thin not over three imhet; the gralet were
place.) eloM together, and contained numerous
small holes, their diameter being about the
eighth of an inch 111 a Imr three to four inches
wide and two and one half to ihnv feet long,
there would be from 400 to 500 of thM bolea,
and there was aU'llt two feet ol dead MrfUM
between the grate and the bridge wulL TheM
Wi re the only alterations made, the furnace it
sell not having bean changed The fuel wot in
traduced in the ordinary way, only it WM mves
Mry to -i I it very evenly over the ciatc,
and a hlast WM ucd. The person who is con
ducting the experiments says he can get up
Moan and melt mm quicker with this fuel than
with any othrr cil he over mod, and the iron
pro lie . I is elaiuiad to he of superior quality,
owing to the treedom ol the fuel from sulphur.
The works are M or .Hi miles from the mines,
hut the owners of the Utter offer to deliver the
culm at a price not to exceed s. cents per ton.
further eiporiaawUaai are to Ik made. OmJ
7nif. eurusU
AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES ABROAD.
THE PROTECTION OF CARS AGAINST
LIGHTNING.
KRUPP'S WORKS AT ESSE.
Apart from the steel works of the Messrs
Krupp, the town of Eaten, in Prussia, hu
very little interest for the traveler. As all the
importance of Stratford -on -Avon is derived from
the accidental circumstance that Shakespeare
was Isjrn there, ao all the interest that centers
around Raien arise! from the fact that it is the
location of thit remarkable steel-producing
establishment. It is not always that the visitor
can obtain an order of inspection, hut very for
tutatcly Dr. Kilward Young, chief of the United
States Kureau of Statistics, was able to do ao
some few yean ago, and has given a record of
what he saw in his admirable work entitled
"Labor and Capital in Europe." published by
Meeere, Trubner & Co., of Ludgata Hill. The
population of Ksten consists of some 52,000
inhabitant!, nearly all of w hom, directly or in
directly, derive their means of livelihood from
these works. The number of men actually
employed in the worke at Eaeen ii l&000Taua
in coal mining, etc., 5,000. Tho east-steel pro
duced last year was 120,000 ton The whole
taluu of ateel, steel gum, shafts, tires, rails,
wheels, axles, etc., produced in 1871, w&g
I '2, 000, 000 thalcrs; the iron and iron-ore used
w as 200,000,000 pounds; the coal used per day
was 80,000 centner, or nearly 600,000 tons per
annum. The coal now costs 24 thalers per f 00
centner, tivo tons, or nearly 400,000 thalers.
The number of oruclblei used per day is r,000;
the total cost of coal per annum is 'J5O,00O
thalers; and the total cost of labor is 5,000,000
thnlers. The wages of the men average
thalen per day, hut the wagu are regulated
according to the skill of the work-people
those in the forging and finishing sho)s receiv
ing the highest pay. The unskilled WOrknUM
only receive four thalers per week, though how
they contrive to keep body and soul from divid
ing upou this payment is a problem which it
would uutlle in economist to solve. The num
ber of hours worked per day is 11, and the
works are continually going. To increase their
earnings many of the men work extra houra,
and even on Sundays. We should be very sorry
indeed to see Knglish workmen paid so badly as
to render the temptation to work on Sundays so
great. At the end of the year Mr. Krupp dis
tributes it large BRIOUttt in benefactions, and
these, like the weekly wagea, are regulated
according to tho results. Workmen when sick
get half Wagea, and are cared for in hospitals
without cost. The tirm contributes one-half as
much as the aggregate contributions of the men.
Mr. Krupp is building houses for his work-people,
and in a variety of ways evidences his
interest in their Welfare. Speaking of theipial
Ity of the ateel, Dr. Young says: "With regard
to the ionndnoM ami good quality of the steel
castings made in this establishment, thoyiipear
to be entirely faultless. I saw immense guns,
nearly completed, Intended for exhibition at
Vienna next year; an immense shaft for a steam
ship of one of the German lines to New York,
WhToh seemed the very perfection of workman
ship, and for which one thaler per lb. was to be
paid; and great numbers of other manufacture
of steel, either completed or in progress, all of
whioh appeared to possess great excellence. In
regard to tools, machinery, and appointments,
these w orks do not, in my opinion, surpass in
excellence those of the steel works of Messrs.
Firth .V Sliiis, of Sheffield. Hut as the products
have obtained a higher reputation than those of
any other manufacturer, liow is this admitted
excellence obtained ? No doubt it is in part
due to the analyses of the various ores from his
mines in Germany and Spain, nud from (ireat
Dritaiu and other countries, and from experi
ments made by the experienced and analytical
chemists in his employ. Hut, in my opiniun
tho opinion of an inexpert in metallurgy and
mechanical engineering this lirm has no
secrets in regard to the admixture of various
kinds of iron which, if known, would enable
manufacturers to produce as good steel. The
superiority la, I believe, owing to the following
causes: Most of Ins workmen have been for e
long time in bis employ, ami have great expe
rience and skill; his foremen thoroughly under
stand their business, possess technical training,
and practical knowledge. These are all at
tached to thfl proprietor by his practico of
giving extra pay lor skilled work, by his
annual gratuities, by his generosity exhibited
toward the men in every possible way, and hii
sympathy with them. Ins workmen are thus
warmly attached to him, and strive to promote
his interest by performing their several dutin
thoroughly and well. In the reputation of the
establishment for excellence of workmanship,
they are, therefore, interested." The worki
were established by Mr. V. Krupp in 1810, who
died w hen the present Alfred Krupp was little
more than 14 years of age. Leaving school, he
seems to have continued the works on a very
small scale at lirst, but gradually the quality
the work turned out brought the name of Krupp
into repute, so that to-day anything that leave!
his works is regarded as little abort of perfec
tion. The works have Wen so developed that
at this time they cover a continuous area of
more than 4,784,000 sipmro yards, of which
about 5HK),000 square yards an1 covered in. I
must Ite evident from the circumstances under
which the present Mr. Krupp took possession
of the works that he is a man of DO ordinary
talent ami business energy. Kve-n since Dr.
Young visited the works they have liecn devel
oped still further, and it ia impossible to predict
w hat their ultimate dimensions will be. MinmQ
WorU,
BmoKBUUUI Fr knack. We learn from M
Knglish exchange that Krskine's patent smoke
less furnace is an invention, the novelty of
which consists of peculiarly constructed rire
lrs, resting directly Upon ttlDM arranged ia
Mich a manner that heated air is admitted inte
the furnace in such prOpOVtiOM aa to aecur!
combustion of the gasea before the smoke
is actually made; it is so arranged that the sir
passing under the tire, and returuiug througa
the tubea, is so neatly batted m to generate
team ipnckly and give a steadier supply . TM
lrs also afford more air Ipuoe, which is said t!
secure entire consumption of the fuel, and t!
greatly economize the seme.
The I ,mihIi.ii CoUfary fiiiiirtliiin says: Our
American advices informed us last week that
l! locomotives had left the Baldwin locomotive
works, Philadelphia, this month, for Brazil.
Kach engine was accompanied by an engineer
and fireman; a number of machinists also went
with the engines. We further learn that
more engines are to he despatched, in the course
of this year, from the Baldwin works to the
great South American empire. The Baldwin
works have forwarded besides a specimen loco
motive to one of the Australian colonics, and
the New Zealand government is also alwut to
make a trial of one of the engines of these now
celebrated works. Such facts as these show
forcibly enough the energy and enterprise with
wbtoh American firms uro endeavoring to lind
fresh outlets for the products of American
industry. Jonathan is rubbing shoulders w ith
John in all the great markets of the world, and
UnleM John beetln himself he w ill find Jon
athan rather a formidable rival. One circum
stance whioh. perhaps, tells in favor of Amer
ican locomotive iniiniers in south America, is
tin; dtil null nation whioh hngiisii capitalists not.
display and imt unnaturally to embark their
savings in the securities, ho called, of South
American governments. We call them South
American governments partly by habit and
partly by courtesy, but what is a South Amer
ican government only too often ? What but a
knot of desperate adventurers who have con
trived to seize the helm of State for a time, ami
who hold it until they are shot down or dis
persed by a fresh baud of lawless conspirators.
Ve have been Heeoed too smartly and too
recently by lUoh Wretched republic! as Venezu
ela, Honduras, Beuatlor, Uruguay, Coata Rloa
and IVrn, to be very eager to acquire any more
South American bonds. Brazil anil Chile cer
tainly maintain a good credit at present, but
neither of these States could raisu new loans
upon the Knglish market so readily or ao advan
tageously M they once did; and the consequence
is that American locomotive builders compete
with Knglish linns upon rather more equal con
dition! than formerly. They ought certainly
to do no, since they have not to carry their en
gines so far over the sea. Perhaps Otte cause
whioh has rendered the Americans more eager
competitors against us - not merely in the mat
ter of locomotive buildlUff, but in almost every
other branch of human effort is the dullness of
trade within the American republic itself. The
Americana have been oomnuled wr fbrtt to
seek for fresh tichls and pastures new because
tlicy nave Hot DOeU doing quite so well at home.
The annearanoe of American hwrnnotivM
upon the railways of Australia is perhaps even
a still more serious matter to KnglHi mechan
ical concerns than the dispatch of Baldwin en
gines to Brazil. Hitherto our Australasian
friOUu! have miturally almost entirely relied
UpOU iis, their kinsmen, for lUch locomotives as
they required. They have certainly made do
ultory efforts to build UXOmotiVM for them
selves, but they have not been very successful
in doing so, and in tho main they have applied
to ui when they have Wanted some of those
mighty iron horses which may be said to Ih- the
proudest results of British mechanical skill,
But now our Australian friends have listened
In the blandishments ol Jonathan even in the
matter of locomotives.
One at least of the Baldwin bouie eueines has
gone to one of the British settlements in Aus
tralia properly so-called, ami the New Zealand
government is nlso diapoeed to give a Baldwin
origine a trial. I he introduction of American
bogie engines upon Australian and New Zea
land railways fairly suggests the question
whether Knglih mechanical lirms are not too
rigid and perhaps even too antiquated in their
eas ami notions, i in- no-ic in, ..tn e mal.i i
little progress uxm Knglish railways, but it is
(nil the tiling for young colonies and thinly
inhabited countries, in which railways are con-
tructeil ill a licKlcr an. I m..i,. , k sli t laili-
on than oonld pbaaibly be introduced iii (ireat
hrilani. A hoeie engine uill run with satetv
upon a rougher road bed, and w ill overcome
harper curvet, than an engine w itb an indexible
frame of the ordinary Bngliih type, botany
one watch a train rushing along even upon a
well appointcil KnglUUt railway, ami he will see
that it sways more or less alsmt, although in
000 CaaM out of t.OOn it contrives to keep to
the track. Such an observer w ill lie fain to ask
himaelt whether our express trains would not
be safer even when they glide over a lirst
class iiennanent way it they wen-draw n by
bogie locomotives readily adapting themselves
to the little obstacles ami difficulties of a line
Kveu if the inflexible framed engine holds its
own pretty well upou a permanent way of the
excellence of the London ainl Northwestern, its
bogie Competitor is far more adapted to a
lightly baUaatad Australian road-1 ted, or to a
line which has to climb some of the hills or
mountains of New Zealand. When young
Australian colonies map out new lines it is of
supreme Importance that they should 1h able
to OOUatrUOt them cheaply. SJiarp curves and
seven' gradients have a tendency to reduce con
struction expenses; the Wgie locomotive is at
home UpOU such curves and gradients, and
therefore it is just the engine for the antipodes.
We may admit this readily enough, localise we
ought to be able to make imgie teeoaawth i Jul
as easily they are now made by our Amer
ican comiwtitors.
A Railway I'm -nun km. a pile driver m
ute in Nebraska is thus described The engine,
hi iiiuiera, derrick, ladders, eu , and hoisting
vmtratus are all conlincd within an ordinary
SUwd freight car. Heavy timber and Wain make
a strong frame-work for the foundation of the
bed of the car. It is built on a cmular turn
table winch is worked on the ear. and it can lie
turned cither way. the pde dntct reaching out
gQ feet Ivyoud the widtli of the tra. k I'ibiig
lor i'i : Ui - . in itn en on cml or si.le ot tin
track simply by shifting the DM of the car
aroiin.t. I lie tn.icmin i i H i. e.l w 'it tun in th
most coinpict and convenient total pwuuhle, and
cm unices all tin- in. Mem improvement in th
latest unproved pile-drivers. It works with
uuuiual rapidity, and it is but the work of a
moment to atucn it to an engine or train
The following is from Spang's "Practical
Treatise on Lightning Protection," a work re
cently published hy Liaxton, uemsen a. nanei
tinger, of Philadelphia: A locomotive, with its
escaping smoke and steam, moving or at rest,
in a thunderstorm, will alsu invite a lightning
discharge, and the liability of damage thereto
dtqieiiils upon the quantity of water that has
fallen previous to the discharge, the electrical
connection made by the rails with the road-bed,
the conducting nature of the road-bed and the
earth licneath it; also whether iron cars are in
the train. When a number of iron cars, like
fchnu nsarl in the transportation of petroleum,
are in a railway train, a lightning discharge will
lie diffused over them and greatly weakened,
and thereby lessen the liability of damage to, or
ignition of, the contents thereof, lint in the
ease of a wooden car, the discharge will inva
riably pass through its interior ami over inmates
or contents in order to reach the earth, the con
tents being generally a path of much better
conductivity than the wooden body of the car.
The liability of injury or death of passengers
and live-stock, and the ignition of powder or
other combustible matcii.! by liglitliing can be
greatly lessened hy provniing two metallic pauis
lone near each end) DOtween me meiai rwi nun
the pedestals, uxles ami wheels of each wooden
.ar used for their trans strtation. This can be
done at a small expense by applying Hat iron
liars, two inches wide and one-eighth of an inch
thick or four inches wide and one-sixteenth of
an inch thick, along one of the sides and bottom
of the body of the car, and connecting them
with the metal roof and center plates attached
to the body, and also metallically connecting
the center plates of the trucks with the nearest
or most convenient metal rod or bar communi
cating with the pedestals, thereby forming con
tinuous metallic paths from the metal roof to
the center plates, thence to the Pedestals, axles.
wheels and rails to tin- earth, imring me sum
mer season the rails of a railway track do not
constitute very good earth terminals for a light
ning conductor, owing to the dry condition and
poor conductivity of the road-bed, which gen
erally consists of broken stone or furnace cinder,
a foot or more in depth, ami their capacity for
diffusing a lightning discharge will depend
principally upon the quantity of rain that has
(alien previous to the discharge and the ennduc
tivity of the road-lied and the earth beneath.
BTEKL lOCOMOTIVK BOILERS.
One of the toplci under consideration at the
bite meeting of railway master mechanics, at
Cleveland, was the relative quality of iron and
steel as material for railroad boilers. The testi
mony was almost unswerving in favor of steel
m the beat material for the shell of the boiler.
We quote from a report of a committee as fol
lows: With two exceptions all express them
selves decidedly in favor of steel for the shell of
the boiler. It is superior to iron in strength,
and less ditiictilt to shape and put together, and
seems to be in every way preferable. Those
who have used it most extensively for this pur
pose are the most decided in preferring it.
Not a single instance is reported where steel
in the shell of a iMiiler has ruptured when eohl,
or in heating up, or from putting cold water m
the Isiiler while hot, M so frequently occurs in
the case of the sheets of the tire-box. Mr.
Sedgley, of the Lake Shore and Michigan
Southern, reports one steel sheet in the shell of
the boiler to have cracked or broken in the way
common to iron sheets in such eases, caused by
imperfect construction or form of the boiler.
Mr. Howard Kry, of the Philadelphia and Kriu
road, reports live steel sheets in the shell ol
boilers on that road to have cracked dining
the year 1870, but that in every case it was
Itelieved to lie the result of bad workmanship or
bad design in the form and bracing of the 1 toiler,
ami md from the quality of the steel.
Your committee believe that the material ill
the shell of the Imilers should he heavier than
that in general use; that a greater stillness and
surplus of strength would add greatly to the
length of time that they can ordinarily he used
with safety, and lessen the cost of keeping them
i:i repair from year to year. As the elatic
limit of steel such as used in boilers ia imt much.
if any, above that of iron, the same thickness of
steel should io adopted as in the case ot iron,
notwithstanding its superior toughness. It is
important that boilers should be so formed and
stayed that with the highest pressure carried no
part of one wiil change its original shape in the
least hy reason of the pressure. A change in
ehape in one direction by pressure, and return
ing again to its original poitioii when the press
ure i released, will sooner or later result in a
crack. The same is true when braces are
attached in such a way that the sheet is drawn
from its true position by the strains from the
brace. Ia designing and constructing boOtn,
these matters should always receive the most
caretul attention.
Those w ho have had much experience, ami
have given the matter close attention, give it as
their opinion that steel, being more compact
than iron, is less liable to waste away from cor
rosion, and in that rMpOOt is to M preferred.
From the expressions made to your committe.
we find that steel is rapidly taking the place of
mm ior tne sncii M me Holier.
KUUTT JlLUaW. 1 the fruit jelly aeeu so
often on the hotel table, uaed so frequently for
dessert, and sold so abundantly by the grocer,
healthful: Ueemine fruit jelly is a whoteaome
.lessen, and make-, a pleasant drink when dilu
ted with water, but most of the so-called fruit
jelly put up so neatly in glass jars, so prettily
colored, is not jelly at all, but a preparation
from the feet and legs and Union of dead ani
mals, that should find their way to the bono
aoOar or the manufacturer of bone dust for the
fanner. It ia very cheap when compired with
the time fnnt jelly, and is made to resemble it
by the color ao easily given by the chennit.
t'hemistry is an art which has done much for
civiluation, but it has also done a great deal
for dishonest dealers, and a great deaJ to A.
stroy the health of the teoplc. Vet strange to
say, most of them are Uki thougbtleaa to use
their Prams to protect thcmaelvea.