AMOS PEASLEE BROWN Amos P. Brown, Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Institute since 1888, died at Atlantic City, Oct. 9, 1917. An extended biography, by his classmate and lifelong associate, Witmer Stone, was published in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 57'(1918), from which the following brief extracts have been taken. For want of space, we must omit reference to Professor Brown's extensive and valuable work on botany, zoology, paleontology, and physiology, to the latter of which sciences lie applied the methods of microscopic crystallography with striking success. Amos Peaslee Brown was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, on Dec. 3, 1864, the son of Amos Peaslee and Frances Brown, and the fourth child of a family of seven sons and two daughters. His earliest education was received at a small private school, but in the autumn of 1877 he entered the Germantown Academy. Deciding to take a scientific course in college he did not study Greek, and dropped Latin in his last years at school. He was thus able to graduate in June, 1852, entering the University of Pennsylvania the following autumn. He took the Towne scientific course, specializing in mining engineering after the sophomore year. He studied mineralogy under Prof. George A. Koenig, chemistry under Prof. Frederick A. Genth, physics under Prof. George F. Barker, astronomy under Prof. E. Otis Kendall, civil engineering under Prof. Lewis M. Haupt, mathe-matics under Prof. Henry W. Spangler and botany under Prof. Joseph T. Rothrock. He graduated in June, 1586, receiving the degree of B. S., and was chosen to deliver the bachelor's oration at the commencement at the old Academy of Music. He remained at the University another year, taking the post-graduate course in mining, and received the degree of E. M. in June, 1887. Soon after graduation, Brown secured a position as aide on the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, under Ashburner, his first work consisting in the compilation of data respecting the coal-mining operations of the State. This occupied a year, mostly in the field, followed by office work in Pittsburgh. Finishing his work in the bituminous region in June, 1885, Brown returned to Philadelphia and accepted a position under Mr. Benjamin Smith Lyman, who had undertaken a survey of the New Boston and Morea coal lands in Schuylkill County, near Pottsville. The survey was a private enterprise, but the map was afterward published by the State Geological Survey. This work kept Brown in the field until late in the autumn, while the actual drawing of the map was. done in Philadelphia in the winter. In the following spring Mr. Lyman engaged in a survey and report on the "New Red" formation of Bucks and Montgomery Counties, in which Brown again acted as his assistant and prepared an account of the igneous rocks of the district, which accompanies Air. Lyman's report. His name appears on both the Bucks County map and that of the Morea anthracite district.. In the early autumn of 1889, before the Bucks County survey was completed, Brown left Mr. Lyman to accept a position as instructor in mining at the University of Pennsylvania, under his old professor, Dr. Koenig, and here lie remained for practically the rest of his life. In 1890 lie was instructor in mining and metallurgy; in 1892 professor of mineralogy and geology in the auxiliary department of medicine, which he held until the abolishment of the department in 1898. On March 5,1895, he became assistant professor of mineralogy and geology in the college faculty, and full professor in the spring of 1903, a position which he continued to hold until the spring of 1917, when he was forced to resign on account of failing health. From the autumn of 1892, after Dr. Koenig's retirement from the University, Brown took over the entire direction of the department, teaching in all branches of the subject-mineralogy, geology, lithology, crystallography, mining, and metallurgy. Soon after his return to the university he began studying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, which was conferred upon him on June 16, 1893.
SELWYN G. BLAYLOCK, who has been awarded the Douglas medal for 1927 for his achievements in the production of electrolytic zinc and the treating of complex lead, zinc and silver ore at the Sullivan mine, British Columbia, is a Canadian and one of the notable men who have come from McGill Uni-versity, where he graduated in 1899. As the medal was founded in 1922 by a group of James Douglas' friends to honor the memory of that distinguished Canadian metallurgist, who was an honorary LL.D. of McGill, it is extremely appropriate that it should be awarded to another Canadian metallurgist and McGill graduate, who has been notably successful in practice. Immediately after gradua- tion Mr. Blaylock obtained a position as chemist at the Trail smelter and two years later was made chief chemist and metallurgist. In 1907 he became superintendent of the Hall mines smelter and after a year became superintendent of the St. Eugene mine at Moyie. While there he was responsible for the purchase of the Sullivan mine and the use of methods of mining, especially sorting, which so improved the relative per- - centages of zinc and lead in the ore as to make it better material for blast-furnace smelting. The losses in zinc, both from sorting out and in the lead blast-furnace slag made a deep impression on him, and various methods of water concentration and the use of air-jigs and flotation to increase the recovery were tried under Mr. Blaylock's supervision as early as 1910. These were followed by experiments with direct fusion, volatilization in kilns, sulfite processes, and one similar to the Ashcroft proc-ess. In 1914 experiments were made with roasting, leaching, and electrolyzing the resultant zinc sulfate solution; the following year a plant was built at Tadanac which has been in successful operation since 1916, its capacity having been increased by successive steps to 275 tons of zinc per day. Experimental work continued on the feed for the zinc plant and a 150-ton mill to use the Horwood process was constructed, but as the results were not encouraging it was altered to wet magnetic concentration, which was successful and the plant was later increased in capacity to 600 tons per day. Meanwhile experiments with differential flota-tion showed promise and magnetic concentration was continued while flotation was developed to where it could be put into operation parallel to the magnetic plant. This flotation plant, started in 1920, was so successful that eventually the magnetic separation plant was abandoned. Lead smelting conditions at Trail were difficult on account of the necessity of mak-ing slags containing as much as 20 per cent zinc and because of the high percentage of fine flotation con-centrate. The improvements in sintering and smelt-ing made under Mr. Blaylock's direction have been notable. The Betts electrolytic refining process for lead was first used at Trail, and the plant has been brought to its present highly developed and efficient state under Mr. Blaylock's direction. The first com-mercial Cottrell plant in connection with lead smelt-ing was also built there. The capacity of the Tada-nac plant is now approximately 750 tons per day of refined metal, including lead, zinc, copper, antimony, cad- mium, gold and silver. All the work necessary for this nota- ble development has neces- sarily been the work of many hands, directed by Mr. Blay- lock. In 1924 he was awarded the McCharles Medal by the University of Toronto for his achievements in con- nection with the production of electrolytic zinc and the solving of the difficulty of treating the complex lead- zinc-silver ore of the Sullivan mine, and developing it from a small producer to one of the most important mines of the world, now producing 150,000 tons of lead and 90,000 tons of zinc annually. Having spent all his professional life in one remote place, Mr. Blaylock is relatively little known per-sonally to others of his pro-fession, and the award indi-cates the truth in Emerson's well known epigram about the mouse-trap.
Biographical Notices
James Douglas Medal Awarded S. G. Blaylock