1889. Method for mixing in receiving-tanks the metal from blastfurnaces.

For the last invention, which, I believe, he considered to be the most important in this catalogue, the patent had been allowed, but not issued, at the time of his death.

Captain Jones joined the Institute in 1875, and was always deeply interested in its progress and success, although he persistently declined to accept nomination for office, and (except in the way of discussion) contributed no papers to the Transactions. His assistance and hospitality to his fellow-members were ready and cordial.

He was also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain. A daughter and son survive him. The latter, Mr. W. M. C. Jones, is now employed as an engineer in the Edgar Thomson Works.

Of the personal qualities, which made Captain Jones universally esteemed and beloved, I need say nothing to those who knew him. The mere mention of his name calls up his stalwart form and jovial face-the picture of frankness, humor, courage and energy. As a manager of men, he combined justice and sympathy with uncompromising authority. Perhaps, no single scene of his career was more picturesquely characteristic than the arrival at Johnstown, after the great catastrophe of the flood, of "Captain Bill Jones," with the men of Braddock-a host of willing workers, with a leader who was himself a host-to inspire hope, maintain order, and set up in the midst of confusion and paralysis, a model of hearty, well-directed, disciplined and effective activity.

I cannot more fitly close this imperfect tribute than with the testimony of the members of Carnegie, Phipps & Co., Limited, to their trusted and beloved consulting engineer.

At a joint meeting of the managers of Carnegie Brothers & Co., Limited, and of Carnegie, Phipps & Co., Limited, held at their branch offices, 48 Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., on October 3d, 1889, the following resolutions were adopted:

Resolved, That, as this firm, in all its history, has never been called upon to record a loss so tragic as that which has deprived it of its great manager, CAPTAIN WILLIAM RICHARD JONES, so neither has it ever lost an officer whose services were more valuable or to whom it was more deeply indebted for the success which has attended its operations.

Resolved, That, invaluable as the services of Captain Jones have been, not only to us but to steel manufacture in general, the remembrance of these fade away in the keen pangs of grief awakened in us by recollections of our friend, the man.

Resolved, That the history of steel manufacture will record his name with those whose joint labors have brought the art to its present stage of perfection, and in the list of men who have risen from the ranks through the possession of indisputable genius to commanding positions as organizers and managers of masses of men in the industrial armies of this age, the highest rank must be accorded to Captain Jones.

Resolved, That, to us, his employers and friends, who knew him intimately through many years of almost daily intercourse, there is still left in our grief, though he has gone, the precious privilege of meditating upon a combination of manly qualities, which constitute the real man, and which, united in him, gave forth that indefinable but rarest quality, character; a brave, just, honest, transparent soul; a staunch, loyal-hearted, generous friend was he, whose absence from us and from our counsels we to-day so deeply mourn.

Resolved, That his life should have been sacrificed in our service must ever hereafter tinge our thoughts of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works with feelings of profound regret, and yet we would not forget that the Commander fell at the head of his men, at the post of duty, amid the roar of the vast establishment, which was his work, and which is his monument. A heroic end was his, worthy of the soldier he was; for Captain Jones fell upon the field which he had conquered.

Resolved, That the firm cannot forget the faithful men who died or suffered with their Captain. It begs to thank the survivors and to assure them that it appreciates, to the fullest extent, their devotion to duty; and the profound sympathy of the firm is hereby offered to Mrs. Jones and her family, and to the families of those who were stricken by the recent grievous accident.

Resolved, That these resolutions be engrossed upon the minutes and copies forwarded to the bereaved families.

RAILWAY SPLICE-BARS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THEIR MANUFACTURE.

BY ROBERT W. HUNT, CHICAGO, ILL.

(Washington Meeting, February, 1890.)

No matter how perfectly sectioned or skilfully manufactured the rails used may have been, or with what care the road-bed may be maintained, legitimate results from these important factors cannot be secured unless proper attention is bestowed upon the joint-fastenings.

In this country, splice-bars of various patterns furnish the practically universal joint. Other forms have been used, and are now being experimentally tested, but the typical American rail-joint consists of angle-plates or splice-bars. At the same time, it is true that scarcely a railroad engineer is satisfied with his joint. He may consider it the best of which he has knowledge, but at the same time he is well aware of many of its weak points.

Even after the discovery of the much-desired and long-sought "perfect-joint," it will require some years to displace and replace the many thousand tons of angle-plates now in service. But, apparently, this discovery has not yet been made and, while we are waiting for it, it would be well to endeavor to secure as good a splice-bar as is practicable under existing commercial circumstances.

I do not propose discussing sections, as they must depend so much upon the rail used, character of joint, etc., but will confine myself to presenting specifications for manufacture which will, in my judgment, help engineers to obtain well-finished bars of good material, and which, at the same time, ought not to add anything to their cost.

As is well known, practically, all iron splice-bars are at present made from old iron rails, or iron scrap. The supply of the former material is rapidly diminishing, and the quality of the latter is usually unknown and doubtful.

For these reasons, and because I believe the metal will in every way make a better bar, I favor steel. I am fully aware that, in many cases, the use of steel splices has not been satisfactory; but I believe these failures resulted from faults either in the grade of steel used, or in the physical treatment of the bars.

Steel rails, steel bridge-members and steel boiler-plates were all condemned in their early history, but are now conquerors in their various fields. In my specifications I have endeavored to provide for suitable material, whether it be either iron or steel, and I insist upon a practically perfectly-finished bar. If bars are not straight in surface, they cannot fit the "fish-section" of the rails and, if out in line, they must either not come to place, or the track-bolts must perform service for which they are not designed. If, in punching, the bars are bulged opposite the bolt-holes on either top or bottomline, it is evident that they will bear against the upper side of the rail-flange, or the under side of the rail-head at those points only. Under all circumstances, the punching and slotting should be carefully done; but this is of prime importance when steel is used. I, therefore, call for the use of the Kennedy spiral, or some other shearing-punch. Such tools put considerably less strain upon the metal, and are by so much easier upon the punching-presses. Hence the interests of both producer and consumer will be well served by adopting them.

It is necessary that the slots in steel plates should have well-defined fillets at their corners.

VOL. XVIII.-40

With these introductory remarks, I submit my proposed specifications.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR IRON ANGLE-SPLICES.

SECTION 1.-The iron shall be of good quality, and plates taken from among those offered for acceptance, when nicked on one side and broken suddenly over an anvil, at a freezing temperature, must show at least 70 per cent. of fiber. If four plates out of six, taken at random from a car-load, fail under this test, the whole car-load shall be rejected.

SEC. 2.-The bars shall be rolled true to the templates represented by the blueprints which will be furnished to the rolling-mills by the railroad company. They shall be rolled smooth, and without fins or checks, and punched and slotted accurately to the dimensions given in the blue-prints, and specified in the orders or

contracts.

SEC. 3. The punching shall be performed in such a manner that the plates will not be bulged on either the upper or lower lines opposite the bolt-holes, and the holes must be free from burrs. The Kennedy spiral, or other shearing-punches, shall be used. The ends of the plates shall be without burrs or kinks, and the plates shall be practically straight in all directions.

SEC. 4. The railroad company's inspectors shall have power to reject any plates in the manufacture of which any of the above specifications has been violated.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR STEEL ANGLE-SPLICES.

SECTION 1.-The metal shall be made by either the pneumatic or the open-hearth process.

SEC. 2.-By preference, it shall not contain over 0.10 per cent. of phosphorus and not over 0.17 per cent. of carbon. Should the phosphorus exceed 0.10 per cent., the carbon shall not be over 0.12 per cent.; but the phosphorus shall never exceed 0.12 per cent.

SEC. 3.-The steel must be heated with care, and in no case shall the heat be brought up to the limit of safety.

SEC. 4.-The bars shall be rolled true to the templates represented by the blueprints which will be furnished to the rolling-mills by the railroad company. They shall be rolled smooth, and without fins or checks, and punched and slotted accurately to the dimensions given in the blue-prints, and specified in the orders or

contracts.

SEC. 5.-The punching shall be performed in such a manner that the plates will not be bulged on either the upper or lower lines opposite the bolt-holes, and the holes must be free from burrs. The Kennedy spiral, or other shearing-punches, shall be used. The ends of the plates shall be without burrs or kinks, and the plates shall be practically straight in all directions.

SEC. 6.-Rolling-mill companies, furnishing plates under these specifications, shall give to the inspectors analyses showing the amount of carbon in all the heats of metal which are used in making the plates and, whenever required, shall also give the amount of phosphorus.

SEC. 7.-The railroad company's inspectors shall have power to reject any plates in the manufacture of which any of the above specifications has been violated.

STRIPPING ORE-DEPOSITS.

BY F. H. MCDOWELL, NEW YORK CITY.

(Washington Meeting, February, 1890.)

THE shipment during 1889 of 68,221 tons of ore from the Tilly Foster iron-mine represents the measure of success which has attended the pioneer enterprise in this country in the employment of stripping, as a scientific method and upon an immense scale, for the recovery of abandoned ore-reserves. A still further reduction in the cost of the work, below the figures given in my former paper (Trans., xvii., 758), 'shows how cheaply such operations can be conducted under a carefully matured plan, supported by the judicious selection and use of modern appliances.

At a depth of 250 feet, the new slope given to the hanging-wall has been well maintained and the recovery of over 500,000 tons of ore as a minimum has been already assured. The intrinsic merits of this system having thus been established under the direction of Mr. E. S. Moffat, the General Manager of this Company, numerous owners of mineral lands are studying its advantages. The writer's association with the work at the Tilly Foster has led to frequent consultations with the managers of other companies looking to the application of the same system to the development of their deposits. Some interesting examples are illustrated in the present paper.

THE PETERS MINE, RINGWOOD, N. J.

About a year ago Dr. Raymond, as engineer of Messrs. Cooper, Hewitt & Co., together with Mr. Rothwell, was considering the removal of the ore-floors and pillars from the Peters Mine at Ringwood, N. J., where the limit of profitable working by the old method of mining had been very nearly reached. Mr. Ferdinand Ruttmann was engaged to make the survey which forms the basis of the accompanying diagrams. At first it was thought that some method of mining and filling might be introduced with advantage; but after a careful study of the operations at the Tilly Foster it was decided to adopt the system of stripping.