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By W. N. Best

This paper is not intended as a scientific discussion of the combustion of oil but is written from the standpoint of an operator who has the experience and qualifications necessary to guide others in producing the most economical results in the use of liquid fuels. Oil, in this paper, usually means petroleum or its products but incidental reference is made to other liquid and gaseous fuels, so that the term may be considered as referring to all liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in comparison with solid fuels, as coal and wood. However, only a few of the principal factors in the use of oil as a fuel can be given. The present, and prospective, high price of coal is causing users of fuel to renew inquiry as to the merits of other forms of fuel for industrial purposes. Crude oil (petroleum) is proving to be one of the world's most valuable mineral resources. The recent discovery that oil underlies a considerable area of the United States, Mexico, and other parts of the world to a greater extent than was formerly believed and the large production of some of the wells in these areas shows the probable quantity of fuel oil that may now be available. Through the energy of Lord Cowdrey, who was one of the pioneers of the oil industry in Mexico, oil has been discovered in England; some prominent geologists believe that it may be found in quantity in Great Britain. For years, oil has been known to be of great value in the manufneture of metals. It has proved incomparable in forge shops, steel foundries, heat-treating furnaces, and wherever accuracy of temperatures is essential, or where a maximum output is desired as well as quality of metal. In some types of equipment, the output produced with oil as fuel is double that obtained with coal and at a reduction of 50 per cent. in the cost of the fuel. For example, in drop-forging plants, the metal is always waiting for the man when oil is used as fuel, whereas with coal, the man must wait for the metal to become sufficiently heated. It has only been since January, 1919, that the oil supply could be relied on for boiler service, owing to the war conditions and the inability to get oil tankers for the delivery of the oil from Mexico to Atlantic ports; but now a constant supply is assured, and many manufacturers are installing it in their power plants. The cost varies with the size of the

Jan 1, 1921

By V. R. Garfias, H. J. Hawley

FoR a number of years the senior author has been interested in the various geologic and engineering problems involved in the development of the petroliferous districts of northeastern Mexico, having in a previous paper* endeavored to present a summarized statement of the information relating to the geology and soil resources of this region. Of the many interesting geologic phenomena, perhaps those which have been the object of most speculation relate to the igneous intrusions which, in places, have a controlling influence on the accumulation of oil in commercial quantibies, a relationship which has been tentatively explained by various observers with as many interestingly different views. The authors of the present paper aim to record, in the course of a general discussion of the various viewpoints, some additional data, and present further tentative conclusions with a view to rounding out an up-to-date summary of the subject. The greater part of the area in question lies in the State of Vera Cruz, only a northwest fraction being in the State of San Luis Potosi. Vera Cruz is bounded on the north by the State of Tamaulipas, the northernmost of the Mexican States along the Gulf. The topography of the States of Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz and of Texas and Louisiana to the north, is controlled by the Gulf coastal plain which in northern Vera Cruz has an average width of about, 60 miles, the transitional topography between that of the rugged Banks of the Sierra and the lowlands of the coast being made up of a series of terraces and irregular hills and valleys. Geology and StRucture The greater part of the mainland of Mexico is made up of Tertiary and later effusive rocks and of sedimentaries of Cretaceous age. The igneous rocks form a belt from 150 to 300 miles wide, spurs of which shirt

Jan 1, 1918

By Carl H. Beal

DURING the latter part of 1915 and the first half of 1916, the writer held the position of geologist in connection with the conservation work instituted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, on oil and gas land belonging to the Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma. The duty of the geologist was to correlate formations containing oil, gas, and water, and to determine the relations of these substances in the different formations so that the conservation agents might carry on their work most intelligently. On account of the rapid development of the Cushing field, which lies in the western part of the Creek Nation, much work was done there by the inspection force. In the course of the geologic studies a large amount of information was collected, which, on analysis, has disclosed some interesting facts worthy of publication. The report, of which the following remarks are an abstract, has been prepared and submitted to the U. S. Geological Survey for publication. This report is now (June, 1917) in the press and will doubtless be issued in a few weeks. Methods Used In addition to the structure maps showing the folding of the Pawhuska limestone, which crops out in several places in the Cushing field, separate structure maps of the three most important productive sands—the Lay-ton (Fig. 2)) Wheeler, and Bartlesville—have been prepared. These structure maps were prepared by obtaining the logs of nearly all the wells

Jan 1, 1918

By Marcel R. Daly

In a preceding paper1 the writer has pointed out some apparent relationship between the distribution, on the surface of the globe,, of the known hydrocarbon deposits and the disposition of the principal zones of deformation of the earth's body (geosynclines). He wishes to present some further remarks on this subject. Petroleum deposits, or their derivatives or descendants, are found through the whole range of sedimentary strata, from the pre-Cambrian to the Quaternary. For instance, the prc-Beltian (Shuswap) series of the Canadian Cordillera are interbedded with limestones which are sometimes rich in carbonaceous matter (Sicamous limcstone); and the Beltian system of the same region contains layers of argillitcs and dolomitic limestones which are equally high in carbon content.2 This carbon may be interpreted as the last remnant of hydrocarbons previously contained in the rocks. On the other hand, the actual formation of hydrocarbons under conditions that would eventually permit their deposition in modern sediments is conceded by some geologists.3 Between these two extreme limits, bitumens are found indifferently in all sedimentaries. Thcy constitute a continuous series, some kind of a large family, whose individual members may be entitled to a community of origin and probably represent the different stages of evolution of the primitive, parent matter. The kinship between petroleum and such substances as asphalt, ozocerite, manjak, grahamite, albertite, etc., is well known; and E. H. Cunning-gam-Craig has recently shown how intimately shale fields and oil fields are connectcd.4 For this reason, no distinction is made in the present

Jan 1, 1918

By Park Wright

The fact that granite has been encountered by the drill by those in search of oil and gas in Kansas is becoming more and more a matter of interest, not only to the oil producer but to everyone directly and indirectly connected with the oil business. It is, therefore, time that someone should offer an explanation for its presence and form a definite opinion, based on all the data available, in regard to the effect it will have on the future prospects of the area affected as probable oil-and gas-producing territory. At present there seems to be no consensus of opinion. To the writer's knowledge, only one attempt has been made to explain ; by Erasmus Haworth, State Geologist of Kansas, in a paper entitled Bulletin Number Two on Crystalline Rocks in Kansas. The purpose of the present paper is to offer a theory for the presence of the granite, and to draw conclusions which will aid in determining the prospective oil and gas value of the area in question. In taking up this question it will be well to consider first the tests in which granite has been reported, with a general history of each. The accompanying map (Fig. 1) shows the location of all wells described. The first well in which granite was reported was that drilled just south of Zeandale in section 27, township 10 south, range 9 east, by a local company which had taken up a block of leases in that vicinity. At a depth of 958 ft. (291.99 m.) granite was encountered. Drilling was continued to a depth of 1093 ft. (333 m.) in the same formation, at which depth the hole was abandoned. Another well was started 1 mile east of the first well and the same rock was found at a depth of 945 ft. (288 m.). Drilling was continued to a depth of 1200 ft. (365.76 m.) with the bit in the same formation. Samples of the drill cuttings have been examined and they are undoubtedly crushed granite. The next well in which granite was found was that drilled by DeLaat and Shepard, independent wildcat operators, in section 34, township 19 south, range 7 east, near the town of Elmdale. Granite was struck at 1707 ft. (520 m.) and the hole was abandoned in the same formation at 2525 ft. (769 m.). Mr. DeLaat watched the drilling of this well very closely and he has described to me in some detail the formation immedi-

Jan 1, 1918

By Persifor Frazer

There is always a difficulty in assigning limits to the scope of a science or art, and among the dificulties of that kind besetting practical or stratigraphical geology is that of determining what kinds of natural objects shall be considered as the goals of its search. The term mineral, in its broader sense, includes every solid, liquid, or

By Eckley B. Coxe

The plummet lamp, to which I called the attention of the Institute, at the Bethlehem meeting, in August, 1871, with the improvement of the compensating ring, suggested by Mr. Heller, having come into general use for mine surveying in this country, and my attention having been called to the fact that it could not be employed in mines in which there was danger of meeting with fire-damp, I have so modified it that it can be used in all cases with safety. Mining engineers, who are in active practice in those districts where fire-damp is met with in the mines (and I am sorry to say it is becoming much more common in the anthracite regions), know how dangerous their work is when they are called upon to survey such mines, particularly when they are obliged to run lines in those parts of a mine which have been unworked, since by opening of doors, brattice, etc., to get the sights, they are liable to disarrange the currents of air, and cause any fire-damp that may have accumulated in the old workings to find its way into the levels, etc., where the party is at work. It is, therefore, very dangerous to leave an open light (such as the original form of plummet lamp) in an old breast or gangway, even when the safety lamp has shown that no fire-damp is present, for the opening of the doors, etc., may drive the fire-damp to the light, and thus endanger the lives of the engineers. The improved form of plummet lamp, now shown to you, can be used either with or without the safety apparatus. Upon the top of the plumb-bob portion of the old lamp a screw is cut, upon which a ring A is screwed. (See Plate 11.) On the external cylindrical part of this ring two small conical holes are drilled, 180' apart. The compensating ring, by which the plumb-bob part of the lamp is suspended, passes over the ring A, and is fastened to it by two small screws having conical points, which fit into the conical holes in the ring A. The safety apparatus resembles, to a certain extent, that of the Mueseler lamp. It consists of a ring B and plate C, which are united by four rods. The plate C has a cylindrical hole in the middle, and four apertures distributed radially around it. In the central cylindrical hole is fitted a conical brass chimney, which projects below the plate C, and is fastened to the latter, being kept ver-

By Thomas Egleston

DURING the year 1873, my attention was called to the frequent accidents, resulting from the breaking of rails, on the different railroads in this' country, and I was requested to investigate the subject. The plan of investigation I proposed was to ascertain, in as many cases as possible, the exact hist* of broken rails, both in this country and in Europe; to collect information in Europe relating to the tests which rails used there were required to undergo, and to experiment upon the pieces of rails broken on the road, with a view to ascertain whether their fracture was due to their chemical constitution, bad manufacture, to a reduction in strength owing to temperature, or to physical changes in the constitution of the rail. The investigation was commenced by the collection of statistics, and for this purpose I spent several months in Europe, collecting information on the subject of broken rails, as well as the life of iron and steel rails generally, and inquiring into the systems of purchasing and of testing them employed by the railroads there, intending, on my return, to make a series of analyses of rails broken, both in this country and in Europe; to ascertain, if possible, how far great cold had an influence on the fracture; to examine whether the rail broken, either on the road or afterwards, underwent, at or about the fracture, any physical change, and to make a series of experiments on the strength of rails manufactured in the United States or sold in the American market. Unfortunately, the panic of 1873 came on, just before my return from Europe, and prevented the carrying out of the larger part of the plan proposed; as, however, I had collected in the meantime, a large number of statistics of different kinds from all parts of Europe, and had made a number of interesting experiments and investigations, I have thought it would be worth while to communicate some

By Edgar S. Cook

At the close of the Bethlehem Meeting, the writer was experimenting with large fuel-charges, 4000 Ibs. basis, as compared with 2000 Ibs., hot had not made sufficient progress to draw any safe conclusions. Previously me had always used 2000 Ibs. fuel, the ore-burden being proportioned to this as a basis. I could never persuade myself that there was any advantage to be derived from following the more popular method of larger fuel-charges. Our men were accustomed to the old way of filling ; and we did not care to run the risk of the errors likely to follow any alteration in routine work, particulary as I could not, by my course of reasoning, discover ally compensating gain. Nevertheless, after reading Mr. Gordon's discussion of Mr. Birkinbine's paper, '' Operations of Warwick Furnace from August 27th, 1880, to September 1st, 1885" (Transactions, xiv., 833), I determined to test by actual experiment the value of large fuel-charges : the change was made in the week commencing March 28th, 1886, and continued until July 25th, about four months. The fuel and ores remained during the trial the same as had been used before, and have been used since. For the first two weeks, the furnace worked with great regularity, giving excellent results, exceeding those of the two weeks immediately preceding. But for my remembrance that the furnace had on former occasions worked with equal uniformity for longer periods without any apparent reason, I should doubtless have concluded that this improvement was due to the different method of filling and congratulated myself that a means had at last been found to prevent inconvenient "dirt" accumulations. Before abjuring my previous skepticism, however, I resolved to pursue the trial further. The fourth meek developed the peculiar conditions that had prevailed previous to the change; and these continued with more or less frequency during May, June and July. At last, finding no improvement over the smaller charges—no change in fact for better or for worse—I commenced filling the 2000 lbs. fuel-charge in the latter part of July, and have continued it up to present writing, September 4th.

Jan 1, 1887

By William E. Newman

Lead mining has been carried on in several localities of the Province of Ontario in a desultory fashion for the past 60 years, but up to 1916 the results have not been of much commercial importance. The most ambitious attempt was made by an English company which built a lead smelter at Kingston, Ont., in 1880 to treat the concentrates from the Frontenac mines. After 2 years' operation, the mines and smelter were abandoned. Up to the present there has not been a sufficient tonnage of concentrates to support an efficient blast-furnace plant and as most of the small properties could not stand the heavy freight and duty charges into the United States, development work has not been carried on in a systematic manner. As a result the industry has languished. At Galetta, in southeastern Ontario, considerable prospecting and development work has been carried on in the last few years and very promising deposits of galena have been found in the Chats Island group by the James Robertson Co., Ltd., of Montreal. The chief deposit is that of the Galetta or Kingdon lead mine, located on Chats Island in the Ottawa River about 5 miles east of the town of Arnprior. The rocks1 in the vicinity of the mines consist of an interbedded series of crystalline limestone and biotite gneisses of pre-Cambrian age. This part of the Ottawa River basin has been severely faulted and the overlying Paleozoic limestones may be seen in normal fault cantact with the pre-Cambrian. The vein filling is of a very well-marked fault fissure type and although the amount of displacement is not determined at this point, similar faults to the east show a displacement of from 1,500 to 1,800 ft. which would indicate mineralized fault fissures of considerable depth. The ore occurs in a highly crystalline calcite with some barite and fluorite, and the galena occurs more or less richly disseminated in clusters and crystal aggregates. In some cases these masses weigh several hundred pounds. Small amounts of sphalerite are occasionally encountered.

Jan 1, 1918

By E. C. Lee

The safety of mine workers has received more attention from both State and Federal law-making bodies than any other industry, a fact that shows clearly the hazardous nature of the industry. The last, but by no means the least, of the measures adopted for the protection of mine workers, is workmen's compensation legislation. This is proving to be a powerful instrument for greater safety in the industries, from the fact that special stress is laid not on how the accident happened or who may have been responsible for it, but on how badly the employee is hurt by it. The injured person does not have to employ lawyers to prove his case, because- the mere fact of his employment is proof of his right to compensation. The immediate effect of such legislation is the certainty confronting the mine operator that he must. pay out large sums for every accident, regardless of its cause, thus adding materially to the cost of the production of his coal. his fact furnished to the operator the strongest incentive to reduce the causes of accidents; not that the operator has ever lacked reasonable consideration for the welfare of his employees and a proper humane interest in their safety, but his engrossmentin earning his daily livelihood has been so great that he has not felt that he had the time to devote to the safety of the operation. This time he must now find because of the actual cash value of the prevention of accidents in his mines. This agency alone proved inadequate to bring about a material improvement because operators have always been willing enough to improve safety conditions when possible to do so within reasonable limits of their financial ability. The requirement in the Workmen's Compensation Laws of several of the States, that the mine operator shall insure as a guarantee of his ability to meet his compensation obligations, has furnished the needed incentive, moral and financial, necessary to the prompt and effective dissemination of a more general knowledge of the causes and

Jan 1, 1918

By Frank Firmstone

It is often desirable to obtain one or more accurate horizontal sections of a blast furnace after blowing out. Wishing to do this, last April, in the case of No. 4 furnace at Glendon, which had worn in a very remarkable manner, the method described below was employed, with very good results. A scaffold was fixed in the furnace, and on it was placed a drawingboard, covered with paper, the top of which was made level at exactly the height at which the section was to he taken. (Fig. 8.) The centre of the furnace (which had previously been found, and marked on a plank across the top) was laid off on it by dropping a plumb-bob from above, and a strong needle was driven into the board in the centre. By means of a straight-edge and two plumbbobs, the line passing through the centres of the front and back arches was also drawn on the board. A pencil was fastened to a light wooden straight-edge at a known

By Richard E. Chism

Is my paper on Mexican weights and measures, presented at the Bethlehem meeting, I gave a formula for the reduction of Mexican ounces per carga to American ounces per ton, which may prove misleading. I wish therefore to substitute the following rule: To reduce Mexican ounces per carga of 300 Mexican pounds to Troy ounces per ton of 2000 pounds avoirdupois, multiply the number of ounces per carga by 6.078. Or, to reduce Troy ounces per ton of 2000 pounds avoirdupois to Mexican ounces per carga of 300 Mexican pounds, multiply the number of Troy ounces per ton by 0.165.

Jan 1, 1887

By Theodore B. Comstock

Prior to 1885, the College of Engineering in the State University was under the care of such professors and instructors as were required for efficient work in the Schools of Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Architecture. The development of the coal and other important mineral resources of the commonwealth led gradually to a considerable demand for instruction in the branches more closely related to mining engineering, and a very creditable effort was made to meet this want by arranging special work in the field and in the laboratory for students of mining and metallurgy. This plan, while it gave much added labor to several already heavily taxed professors, caused such students to become something like undesirable excrescences upon the regular courses. But its partial success gave abundant proof of the real necessity for a complete course in Mining Engineering. The famous Braidwood disaster emphasized anew the importance of thorough training on the part of those to whom the responsible duties of mining must be confided. As is well known, a very excellent beginning was made some years ago by the Legislature in the matters of inspection and regulation by the enactment of a reasonably effective law, which was afterward much improved.* About the date of the last Acts, it was deemed wise to enlarge the facilities at the University arid to furnish adequate training for the increasing number of applicants. Accordingly, in August, 1885, the writer was requested to assume the duties of the professorship, it being the expressed desire of the Board of Trustees and the Regent of the University that a School of Mining Engineering should be founded which might eventually come to rank with the other engineering schools already flourishing here. It is the main object of this paper to state plainly the steps thus

Jan 1, 1887

By J. E. Hackford

In some research work carried out by the writer, certain results have been obtained which bear on the fundamental nature and origin of coal and the relationship between coal and petroleum. Without entering into a discussion of the details of the experiments, which were conducted on petroleum and derived bitumens, there are given here, by way of definition, some of the relations that the writer has established between certain classes of bitumens of petroliferous origin. Bitumen.—-A natural organic substance, gaseous, liquid, or solid, consisting of hydrocarbons and the oxy-or thionic derivatives of the same, or of a mixture of all three. Diaspha1tenes.—-Those portions of bitumens that are soluble in ether or carbon disulfide, but are insoluble in a mixture of equal parts of ether and alcohol. Diasphaltenes are produced by the oxidation or thionization of petroleum oils; they have, as the name indicates, twice the molecular weight of asphaltenes, into which they are converted when subjected to moderate temperature. For example, an artificially produced diasphaltene, which was readily soluble in pentane and ether, was quite insoluble in either of these solvents after heating for three weeks at a temperature of 100" C., and was converted into an insoluble asphaltene. Aspha1tenes.—Those portions of bitumen that are insoluble in ether or ether alcohol but are soluble in carbon disulfide. Aspha1tites.—Those solid or semisolid natural bitumens that are composed, for the most part, of asphaltenes or diasphaltenes. A pure asphaltitel would be composed wholly of asphaltenes and diasphaltenes, but most asphaltites contain small percentages of oil and wax, which have not yet been converted into asphaltenes; they may also contain A small percent.age of kerotenes, which represent the next stage of the metamorphosis of asphaltenes. Among the naturally occurring oxyasphaltites may be mentioned grahamite; and among the thioasphaltites, gilsonite.

Jan 1, 1921

By Charles P. Williams

BY PROFESSOR CHARLES P. WILLIAMS, ROLLA, MISSOURI. During the fall of the year 1873, attention was redirected to the occurrence of lead ores in Southwestern Arkansas (chiefly in Sevier County), and somewhat extensive explorations of the deposits have since been made in the hope of finding the ores sufficiently argentiferous to be profitably worked. How far the expectations have been realized I am not authentically advised, but samples of the galena ore, yielding 62.09 per cent. of lead, gave on assay at the rate of 15 3-10 ounces of silver to the ton of ore. This was the highest result obtained by myself, though I am informed that higher yields have been obtained by others. Among the samples of ores from this locality, forwarded to me in January last, was one specimen which I at once recognized as stibnite, and, on notification, other specimens of the same from Sevier County were forwarded me. The first specimen of the several received contained 11.51 per cent. of gangue, 57.62 per cent. antimony, 4.57 of bismuth, with small amounts of arsenic and iron. The latest result from a portion of another hand specimen I append in full, with duplicate estimations of the arsenic, bismuth, and gangue. The analyses were all conducted by Mr. C. R. Winters, under my direction, and in the case of those given below the ore mas separated as closely as possible from the gangue before analysis. The results are for the mineral freed from hygroscopic moisture, and are as follows: I. 11. Mean. Sulphur,.. 28.618 .. . 28.518 Antimony,.68.576 .. . 68.676 Arsenic,..6 47 .474 .497 Bismuth,..521 .498 .509 Iron,.......762 .. ..762 Gangue,..944 .948 .946 99.868 99.808 This result indicates that the ore is stibnite.

By R. H. Lee

So far as I am aware the references to the " kerosene blow-pipe" in the Transactions comprise only a skeptical opinion from Mr. Witherow (ix., 70), and accounts of the use of the blow-pipe by Mr. Witherbee (xiii., 675) and Mr. Gayley (xiv., 779), together with brief remarks by Mr. Weeks and Mr. Kennedy on Mr. Witherbee's paper. The subject can scarcely be considered novel, in view of these references, yet it is not so far exhausted that an additional account of the successful application of the blow-pipe would be out of place, especially if accompanied with some new details and a drawing of the apparatus itself, showing its simplicity and safety. Some time ago, owing to a variety of causes, my furnace was working very badly, the troubles culminating suddenly one morning in a chilled hearth, solid from the bottom to the tuyeres, with the exception of a narrow passage-way from above to the cindernotch, which remained open. Through this we continued to flush and cast, with the prospect of a long and troublesome siege, in working down to the iron-notch. At the end of two days matters had not greatly improved, and we seemed no nearer the desired result than on the morning of the chill, when, at the suggestion of Mr. Farrell, of Glamorgan, I decided to use the coal-oil blow-pipe; the intention being to cut a hole from the iron-notch up to the tuyeres, and then let the furnace melt out the chilled mass. In four hours from the time of starting, the hole was made and

Jan 1, 1887

By P. A. van der Meulen

Some time ago, the writer received from W. O. Borcherdt, Superintendent of the works of the Bertha Mineral Co. at Austinville, Va., several specimens of a dense yellowish slag-like material, containing cavities showing clear needle-like crystals, and representing a product formed by the fumes of zinc oxide and basic lead sulphate from the oxide furnace, attacking the firebrick lining of the flues. The matrix, which is of a greenish-yellow 'color, is made up chiefly of an amorphous glass, carrying numerous crystals, the latter being well-defined, clear, and transparent, but colored a very light yellow by small amounts of ferric oxide. A number of the crystals were carefully separated from the matrix and tested with the blowpipe. They have a fusibility of about 2, yield a globule of lead and a coating of lead oxide before the blowpipe on charcoal, and contain some zinc. Their hardness is 5 to 6. Under the microscope the crystals appear to be made up of a prism, with narrow faces, and a fairly large pinacoid, but unfortunately show no terminal faces (Fig. 1). Between crossed nicols they gave parallel extinction in the three planes containing the crystallographic axes, and are therefore orthorhombic. The index of refraction is high. A number of the best crystals were measured on the reflection goniometer, the angles given below representing the average of measurements made on different individuals. mm = 46º 52' mb = 66º 34' a :b :c = 0.4334:l:? Inasmuch as the results indicate that the crystals do not correspond with any silicate of lead and zinc, either natural or artificial, heretofore

Jan 1, 1918

By Y. Oinouye, H. Ries

Of the several interesting physical properties of clay which have claimed the attention of investigators in recent years, none is more important than the behavior of the material when heated to temperatures above those of dehydration. Some of the problems to be solved are: 1. The mineralogical changes that take place in firing. 2. The relation between temperature and change in constitution, shrinkage, porosity, etc. 3. The importance of the time factor, as duration of firing, either in reaching a given temperature, or of exposure to a constant temperature. Mineralogical Changes As a result of fusion, reactions take place between the constituents of a clay, which result in a reorganization of the mass, and the formation of new compounds. Of the new minerals developed, sillimanite is the one usually recorded, and has been referred to by a number of observers.' There appears to be a difference of opinion, however, regarding the temperature at which it is formed. Thus Klein2 notes that sillimanite forms only above 1300" C., while Mellor claims that it can develop below 1200" C., the difference in results being conditioned by the time factor. In Klein's experiments the test pieces were fired in 12 hr., while in Mel-lor's, the temperature rose from 800" to 1180" in 24 hr., and occupied the same time in cooling back to 800".

Jan 1, 1918

By C. R. Forbes, J. C. Barton

Many different shapes of drill bits are in use with hammer drills, but little definite information is available whereby to judge which one of these shapes is the best. The following investigation was undertaken in order to determine what effect, if any, the shape of the cutting edge has on the cutting speed and wearing qualities of drill bits. The bits tested were those in common use, namely, the 4-point or cross bit, the 6-point bit, the Z bit and the "Carr" bit. The rock in which the tests were made was the red granite from southeast Missouri. It is a coarse crystalline granite containing an unusually large amount of quartz and is extremely hard, and on account of its uniform texture is admirably adapted to this work. While tests in other rocks might show somewhat different results, nevertheless it is the opinion of the authors that the relative cutting quality inherent in the shape of the bits would be the same in all rocks. Other qualities, such as mudding freely, freedom from fitchering, etc., might make one bit more desirable than another in softer rocks. Description" of Bits Tested 'I'he 4-point bits were the usual shaped bits commonly made on the Leyner sharpener, with 14' taper on the wings and a 90" angle between cutting edges. Some tests were run at 85 Ib. pressure with a 4-point bit made with a 50 taper on the wings; this bit was formed with the Carr bit dies. The 6-point bits were the usual shaped bits made on the Leyner sharpener. The Carr bits were made with a 5º taper and an angle of 100" between cutting edges.

Jan 1, 1918