North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. Transactions. Vol. Xxxi. 1881-82. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne: A. Reid, P
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. TRANSACTIONS. VOL. XXXI. 1881-82. NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: A. REID, PRINTING COURT BUILDINGS, AKENSIDE HILL. 1882. [iii] CONTENTS OF VOL. XXXI Page Report of Council vii Finance Report ix Account of Subscriptions xii Treasurer's Account xiv General Account xvi Patrons xvii Honorary and Life Members xviii Officers xix Original Members xx Ordinary Members xxxiii Associate Members xxxiii Students xxxv Subscribing Collieries xxxix Charter xli Bye-laws xlvii Barometer readings 249 Abstracts of Foreign Papers end of vol. Index end of vol GENERAL MEETINGS 1881. Page Sept. 16.—Visit to Skelton Park and Lumpsey Mines 1 Oct. 1.—Notes upon Messrs. Pernolet and Agnillon's "Report upon the Working and Regulation of Fiery Mines in England," by Mr. A. L. Steavenson 5 Discussed 27 Nov. 19.—"Description of a Method of Surveying with the Loose Needle among Rails and other Ferruginous Substances," by Mr. T. E. Candler 33 Discussion of Mr. T. J. Bewick's Paper, "On Diamond Rock Boring" 40 Dec. 17.—Intimation of Alteration with respect to the holding of General Meetings 49 Paper by Mr. Charles Parkin, "On Jet Mining" 51 Paper by Professor G. A. Lebour, "On the Present State of our Knowledge of Underground Temperature" 59 Discussed 71 1882. Feb. 11.—Intimation of Arrangements made for the Publication of Abstracts from Foreign Papers 75 Paper by Mr. W. J. Bird, "On the Comparative Efficiency of non-conducting Coverings for Steam Pipes" 77 Discussed 83 [vii] Paper by Professor J. H. Merivale, "Abstract of an Analysis, by Dr. Chance, of Fire-damp Explosions in the Anthracite Coal Mines of Pennsylvania" 87 Discussed 90 Paper by Mr. T. J. Bowlker, "An Account of a New Ventilating Fan" 93 Paper by Mr. A. L. Steavenson, "Remarks on the Points of Interest at the Skelton Park and Lumpsey Mines, on the occasion of the Visit of the Institute, September 16th, 1881" 105 Paper by Mr. J. W. Swan, "On an Electric Safety-lamp, with Portable Secondary Battery" 117 Discussed 118 April 22.—The President's Address 123 Paper by Mr. Robert Stevenson, "On the Use of Salt for Laying Dust in Mines" 145 Discussed 147 Paper by Mr. Edwin Gilpin, "On the Gold Fields of Nova Scotia" 151 June 10. Paper by Mr. E. F. Melly, "On the Anthracite Coal of South Wales" 175 Discussed 191 Paper by the Secretary, "The Fleuss Apparatus for Breathing in Noxious Gases" 197 Discussion of Professor Lebour's Paper, "On the Mineral Resources of the Country between Rothbury and Wooler" 203 Discussion of Professor Lebour's Paper, "On the Present State of our Knowledge of Underground Temperature" 201 Discussion of Mr. Charles Parkin's Paper, "On Jet Mining" 205 June 22. Excursion to the Langley Barony Lead Mines 209 Aug. 5.—Paper by Mr. J. D. Kendall, "On the Haematite Deposits of Furness" 211 Discussed 237 Discussion of Mr. T. J. Bowlker's Paper, "Description of a New Ventilating Fan" 238 Paper by Mr. E. P. Rathbone. "On the Dry, or Wind, Method of Cleaning Coal" 245 [vii] REPORT The thirtieth year of the Institute has been one of such uniform and quiet prosperity that it leaves very little material for the Council to comment upon. There are no shortcomings of income to gloze over, no great exceptional occurrences to explain, but simply a progress to report, and that too not of an exceptional or intermittent character, but one of a permanent and solid nature, showing that the Institute is becoming more and more secured against the fluctuations of the funds derived from subscriptions. There is no doubt that the Institute has felt considerably the very great depression that has existed in the coal trade during the last few years, and that its progress has not been equal to that of some former years; but it is hoped that its present indication of increased prosperity may prove the forerunner of increased activity in mining generally, and foreshadow more rapid and substantial successes in the future, similar to those which caused the Institute to move onwards with leaps and bounds, and more than double its members a few years ago. There have been many valuable additions to the Library, and exchanges have been effected with a great number of Foreign Societies to such an extent that probably few Libraries out of London are in possession of such valuable information respecting the progress of Mining Science in all countries, and this has enabled the Council to publish extracts and translations from such foreign papers as seemed to deserve particular attention, which will very materially add to the interest of the Transactions. In this the Council has been assisted by Professor Lebour, who has devoted much time and attention to this department. The papers read before the Institute have been exceedingly interesting. The difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of gentlemen with but an imperfect knowledge of our language being able to study sufficiently in a few weeks so complicated a matter as the extraction of coal, so as to be able to write a report that should not contain many inaccuracies, has been fully demonstrated in a very able review by Mr. A. L. Steavenson of the Report of Messrs. Pernolet and Aguillon. Underground temperature has received special attention from Professor Lebour, and that gentleman has contributed a very able report as to our present information on that important subject. [vii] Professor Merivale has contributed a paper tabulating the explosions that have taken place in the Anthracite Coal Mines of Pennsylvania. Among the Geological and Mining papers is one contributed by Mr. Charles Parkin "On Jet Mining," which contains most valuable and interesting information on a subject that had not previously been treated of in the Transactions. Mr. Gilpin has contributed a very valuable paper "On the Gold Fields of Nova Scotia," and Mr. Melly one "On the Anthracite Coal of South Wales;" both of which add considerably to the value of the Transactions as works of reference. Mr. Kendall has also written another of his carefully prepared and beautifully illustrated Geological papers "On the Haematite Deposits of Furness." The more mechanical portion of the miners' profession has been treated by Mr. T. E. Candler in a paper "On a Method of Surveying with the Loose Needle among Rails and other Ferruginous Substances;" by Mr. Bird in a paper "On Non-conducting Coverings for Steam Pipes;" and by Mr. Bowlker who has contributed a description of an ingenious adaptation of the Guibal Fan, whereby he considers the efficiency of the original has been attained, whilst its size has been considerably reduced. The safety of mines has not been overlooked, and a very excellent suggestion of Mr. Robert Stevenson's to use salt as a means of keeping down and rendering harmless the dust in mines, gave rise to an interesting and instructive discussion. The Secretary also added a description of the Fleuss apparatus, which, in the hands of Mr. Corbett and his able assistants rendered such valuable service at Seaham in enabling the men to explore the mine when filled with noxious gases. The members also are much indebted to the President, Mr. G. B. Forster, for his very excellent Address, which contains a general summary of all the modern improvements in mining to the present time, and much other valuable information. There has been no excursion to distant places this year, but Mr. Bewick kindly invited the members to inspect the Langley Barony Lead Mines, where the whole process of extracting lead and rendering it fit for sale was inspected by about 40 gentlemen, and a most interesting and enjoyable day was spent. The members have been most courteously invited by the American Institute of Mining Engineers to visit the mining regions about Colorado; but, owing to the short time allowed for preparation, only a few gentlemen have been able to accept the invitation. [ix] FINANCE REPORT The Finance Committee have to report that the Finances of the Institute are in a satisfactory condition. The highest income ever realised previous to the present year was in 1876-1877, when it stood at £2,168 16s. 4d. It now stands at £2,176 9s. 10d., and, therefore, financially this has been the most successful year of the Institute. The income for the past year shows an increase over that of the preceding year of £183 8s. 10d. This increase is composed of the following items:—£107 4s., the amount of a third half-yearly dividend, which has been acquired through the Institute and Coal Trade Chambers Company, Limited, paying their dividends half-yearly instead of yearly, and which is, of course, an exceptional payment which will not occur again. There has also been a new source of income derived from the investment of £1,000 with the River Tyne Commissioners, and as only six months' interest has been received this year, amounting to £19 11s. 8d., this amount will be doubled in future. The amount derived from the sale of Transactions is £85 9s. 2d. in excess of last year, and there has also been an increase of £5 12s. in sundry matters connected with the letting of rooms. From these additions to the income, however, a diminution of £31 8s. in members' subscriptions has to be deducted, making the net increase £183 8s. 10d. as stated. There has been a falling off of 41 members, which may be considered due to two causes; firstly, a depression of trade, and, secondly, the rigorous carrying out of the instructions of the Council to strike off the List of Members all whose arrears have exceeded a certain point defined by the Rules.