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By K. Hodgson, N. C. Joughin

The detailed mechanism of rockbursts and other forms of damage due to rock failure in underground mining is as yet unknown. Studies of the energy changes which necessarily occur when an excavation is made underground seem to provide the best understanding of the phenomena leading to rock failure and damage (see Cook 1). It is common knowledge that the damage and rockburst hazard increases with depth and is greatest at remnants and in regions mined in an irregular manner. The rate at which energy is released as an excavation is enlarged provides an objective parameter to describe mining geometry in terms which are significant to studies of rock failure. In this paper, it is shown empirically that the rate of energy release per unit area increase in the size of an excavation is closely related to seismicity and incidence of damage in the mine. Consequently, it is suggested that the energy release rate is an important parameter in the design of underground mine layouts. Observations were made at two mines: the East Rand Proprietary Mines, Ltd. (E.R.P.M.), at a depth of about 9000 ft, and at Harmony Gold Mining Co., Ltd., at a depth of about 5000 ft. At both of these mines continuous recording seismic networks were in operation. (See Cook and Joughin.3) DESCRIPTION At E.R.P.M. the gold-bearing reef dips at approximately 35 degrees and is presently being mined at depths from 8000 ft to 11,000 ft below surface. The rock surrounding the excavation consists of a very homogeneous quartzite extending far into the hangingwall and footwall. The stoping width is approximately 40 in.

Jan 1, 1967

By M. G. F. Söhnlein

In a Bolivian tin concentrator an appliance was needed to furnish a suitable product for fine jigging from a pulp of the following composition: Mesh Per Cent. + 20 8.0 40 36.5 + 60 9.0 + 80 10.5 + loo 5.5 4-150 1 4.5 -150 25.0 99.0 Loss 1.0 In the jigging process, particles of cassiterite as small as 0.1 mm. can be recovered, provided they are not present in excess, that is if the material treated on the jigs contains sufficient coarser sands to keep the interstices between the grains open. Removing the fine material from the pulp by screening, to prepare the jig feed, is impractical, because that means the use of an 80-mesh screen or finer, and is not as effective as hydraulic classification. A screen would eliminate mineral grains from the feed which can be recovered by jigging, and in addition would throw more gangue and low-grade middling on to the jig. Formerly a one-spigot Richards vortex classifier had been used to accomplish this separation, but the tangential openings through which the hydraulic water enters became clogged by fine vegetal matter with which the water was contaminated, and which it was impossible to remove from the water. Consequently the work of the classifier was imperfect and a good deal of slime was sent to the jig. When designing the plant referred to in this paper it was decided to use a hydraulic classifier as shown in Fig. 1. The essential features had been copied from the Anaconda classifier.' This remodeled classifier consists of a truncated pyramidal wooden hopper A with an attachment of cast iron

Jan 1, 1917

By Charles A. Colton

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) THE results of a series of analyses extending over a period of three weeks at the Cedar Point Iron Company's furnace, Port Henry, New York, are given in Tables I and II. This furnace uses a very pure magnetite and Lehigh and Lackawanna anthracite. The flue leading the gas from the "down-comer" to the boilers was tapped by a a inch gas pipe, which carried the gas to the Orsat apparatus. The pressure of the gas not always being sufficient, owing to the small amount made, to force it into the apparatus, I omitted taking samples several days, and with the exception of the last three days of the campaign, made the analyses whenever opportunity offered. I find the Orsat apparatus, as described by Prof. Egleston,* to work very well, with one exception. The CO is not absorbed as readily in the ammonia-copper solution as he states in his description of the apparatus, as many as 50, and sometimes 60, passes being necessary to absorb all the CO. The power of absorbing rapidly increases as the solution is used, and this would indicate that the more oxygen it contains the quicker will it do the work. Probably the addition of a small amount of some oxidizing agent would remedy this. When the furnace was working in its normal condition, I had no occasion for using the filter, the amount of fume being so small as not to cause any inconvenience. The gas burned with the flame peculiar to CO, and contained just enough solid particles to give it a slight reddish tinge. * See Transactions, II, 226; V, 487, 621.

Jan 1, 1878

By T. J. Lyman, M. J. Robison, W. A. Ruemmele

INTRODUCTION The first phase of the Los Angeles Metro Rail Project consists of 7.1 km (4.4 miles) of subway and stations running through downtown Los Angeles from Union Station to MacArthur Park. Contract A171, the Wilshire/Alvarado Line, involves tunnel construction beneath 7th/Street from the 7th/Flower Station to the Wilshire/Alvarado Station. The project consists of the excavation and lininig of 3000 m (9900 ft) of twin-bore, 6.7 m (22 ft) excavated diameter, 5.5 m (18 ft) finished diameter subway tunnels. The location of the project is shown in Figure 1. The majority of the excavation passed through weak siltstone/ claystone bedrock; although, portions of each tunnel approaching the 7th/Flower Station passed through fine-grained alluvium. Both tunnels were excavated with a digger shield. The project also included the excavation and lining of 6 cross passages, 2 communication rooms and a sump, all at tunnel grade between the two bores. A program of geotechnical instrumentation and building monitoring was performed to detect and document the response of the ground and adjacent structures and facilities to tunnel excavation. The instrumentation program was also intended to provide information that would permit implementation of remedial measures, when and as required, to prevent damage to structures, facilities and utilities along the tunnel alignment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ground response to tunneling on Los Angeles Metro Rail Contract A171. This paper presents a description of the tunnel project, the excavation and support method used in construction, the subsurface geology, and

Jan 1, 1989

By B. Egeberg

BRITANNIA metal is a white alloy consisting primarily of tin and antimony, the tin greatly predominating. The alloy usually contains a small amount of copper and occasionally very small amounts of one or two, other metals, such as bismuth, zinc, and lead. It is capable of being cold-rolled, it takes a high polish, and it is fairly noncorrosive; properties which make it a popular metal for many household and traveling utensils. Britannia metal is similar in many respects to pewter and has largely replaced pewter in the arts, but it should not be confused with that alloy, because pewter is essentially a tin-lead alloy, while Britannia is a tin-antimony alloy. In view of the fact that so little has been published concerning Britannia metal, the authors feel justified in presenting the results of their investigation, particularly since the behavior of this alloy under cold rolling and heat treatment differs so greatly from that of other metals and alloys. The old craftsman, engaged in the making of ornaments or tableware, heated the cold-rolled sheet metal or his finished product to a straw color corresponding to about 375° F., claiming to produce thereby a harder and more rigid article. The fact that possibly led him to this heating was that a reheated article or sheet made from Britannia metal has a distinct metallic ring when struck a sharp blow, whereas an unheated article or sheet has a leady, dead note. No doubt he has associated the metallic ring with a greater rigidity and strength, and justly so, as will be seen later.

Jan 1, 1928

As a basis for my address to you tonight I thought it might be opportune if we considered the great history of the mineral industry in Australia, and the contribution it has made to the development of the country. While it is perhaps interesting to review the achievements of the past there is also the opportunity to examine the developments of the future.The names generally given to the three periods of man's life on the earth-the Stone, the Bronze, and the Iron Ageand to which should perhaps now be added the Atomic Age, imply the vast importance of the progressive steps in 'man's discovery of minerals and the means of working them. They tell the story of his advance from the flint knife to the bronze celt, and then to the keen-edged iron weapon, and now to the possibilities of the peaceful application of atomic energy. Not only have the stories of gold, iron, copper and tin told a great deal of the history of the progress of mankind, but they have also traced the commercial and industrial growth of Australia over the last century.Gold in the 1850's was responsible for the most significant period of immigration Australia has ever had-when the population almost tripled in the ten years to 1860. Minerals were also responsible for opening up Australia and determining the pattern of settlement. As mineral finds were made, railways were constructed to these fields, then agricultural development followed.Then, as the industrial era started, minerals provided the raw material for Australia's rapid industrial expansion, and they have all contributed to the extent that they have made...

Jan 1, 1960

By Fu-Shen Zhang, Mengjun Chen, Jianxin Zhu

"A novel approach for foam glass preparation, namely vacuum-aided powder sintering technique, was preliminarily investigated in the present communication. The key point of which was to prepare foam glass at a negative pressure. Compared to normal powder sintering process, the new approach could benefit the foaming process by shorting the holding time, reducing the amount of foaming agent and especially decreasing relative density of the product. Optimum conditions were 750 °C, 1000 Pa, 5 min and 1 wt.% foaming agent, respectively.IntroductionFoam glass represents a highly valuable solution for thermal and acoustic insulation, since it possesses a generally higher mechanical, chemical and thermal stability than other foams'1'. The first industrial processing for foam glass production, the direct introduction of gases (""blowing"") into the special molten glass, can be dated back to the end of 1930s'2'. At present, almost all foam glasses is prepared by powder sintering technique instead of blowing,3 since it reduces the temperature by several hundred degrees. Moreover, as fine glass powders or similar powders can be used to substitute corresponding glasses by this technique, considerable attention has been focused on the production of foam glass by considering fully recycled glasses, coal fly ash, or other solid wastes as raw materials,4 especially CRT glasses'3' 5', on the point of environmental protection.In a previous report'6', when discussing the lead removal and recovery from CRT funnel glass by a pyrovacuum process, we found that foam glass could be prepared at a negative pressure. Therefore, in this communication, the similarities and differences between the powder sintering process for foam glass at normal and negative pressure was preliminarily discussed."

Jan 1, 2011

By N. S. Kenny, A. A. Burr

THE purpose of this note is to present evidence that vacancies, which have been produced by quenching from a high temperature, alter the rate of strain-hardening of an hep single crystal. The majority of investigations of the effects of quenched-in vacancies on the yield stress of metals have been made using fee samples in the form of thin wires. However, there is an inherent disadvantage in using such wires to study the effects of vacancies on the rate of strain-hardening of metals because fee wires begin stage II slip either immediately upon yielding or very shortly thereafter. When stage II slip occurs, very rapid strain hardening also occurs, masking the effects of vacancies on the rate of hardening. In this investigation single crystals of magnesium hep were studied since magnesium has only one slip plane at low temperatures and has, therefore, an extensive easy glide region. In addition, the effect of both static and dynamic recovery on the rate of hardening were eliminated by testing in liquid nitrogen. Both forms of recovery occur in hep metals by dislocation climb, which is a diffusion controlled mechanism and is negligible at liquid nitrogen temperatures. Finally, the dependence of the strain-hardening rate on the crystal orientation was eliminated by using the equations of Schmid and Boas.' Variations in the strain-hardening rate could, therefore, be attributed to the presence of vacancies. Single crystals in the form of rods approximately 5 mm in diam and 6 cm long were grown by a modified Bridgman technique from commercial high-purity magnesium (99.97 pet) supplied by the Dow Chemical

Jan 1, 1962

"These guidelines set out information on timely disclosure of news releases which are intended to provide, existing shareholders and potential investors, factual information on which a reasoned investment decision can be made.Consider the problems and concerns raised by the following hypothetical news releases:Natural Resource Company""The Company has recently optioned a large and exciting gold property near the ""XXX"" gold discovery area. In describing the property, the Company's independent consultant has said: ""The favourable location of, and some of the results of prior work done on the property give the Company a worthwhile mineral exploration opportunity .... "". The Company proposes to expeditiously conduct a sizeable exploration program on the property as soon as the appropriate financing has been arranged.""Non-Resource Company""Based on discussions with several European countries, the Company anticipates that it will have orders to ship over 200,000 crates of widgets to those European countries over the next two years. These orders, which considerably exceed the Company's forecasts for the first year, represent a projected profit to the Company in excess of $1,000,000 over the next five year period.""GuidelinesTimely disclosure news releases are intended to provide, to both existing shareholders and potential investors, factual information on which a reasoned investment decision can be made. National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects provides requirements for disclosure of a scientific or technical nature for a mineral resource company.The examples do not provide sufficient detail and are misleading because material information is omitted. The following guidelines should be observed when preparing a news release:"

Jan 1, 2003

British Coal has always been a big mining company and its management has been beset with many of the problems one would associate with such an undertaking. These include its accountability to Government, its market vulnerability to competing fuels and to imported coal and its relationship with its workforce but also with its own history and size. As a fragmented private industry up to and including the Second World War, it was starved of capital and its management developed an historic relationship with its workforce which was often counter productive to success. Once nationalised, it contributed greatly to post-war industrial regeneration, investment was forthcoming to reconstruct existing mines, sink new ones and to mechanise production operations. British manufacturing companies contributed to this mechanisation drive, the very success of which drove up production and productivity and against a declining market, contributed to the reduction in size of the industry. Production machinery design evolved in the 1960s with close collaboration between manufacturers and users such that an inevitable proliferation of machinery types and specifications developed to meet local needs. Longwall mining internationally outside Western Europe only became significant in the 1970s. It became apparent that international operators demanded higher levels of plant performance from British manufacturers than British Coal did. This was the birth of the "heavy duty" plant concept. As international performances outstripped our own then British Coal moved in to invest in itself, in this heavy duty. This re-investment commenced in the mid 1970s but only gained real momentum in the 1980s when it became a virtual re-equipping exercise for the whole industry.

Jan 1, 1988

By George Hunt

THE first practical treatment of wood to prevent decay was devised early in the 19th century. At that time the oaken navy of England, when . the nation was fighting for its very existence, seemed doomed to annihilation by the swift ravages of decay. The acute situation inspired a desperate search for preventive measures and resulted in the development of the Burnett, Bethel and Kyan processes for impregnating wood with zinc chloride, coal-tar creosote and mercuric chloride, respectively. In the century that has elapsed, their use has spread throughout the world and the three original preservatives are used today in enormous quantities. Meanwhile, improved processes have been developed, new preservatives discovered, and the practice of impregnating wood to make it last longer has attained a position of major importance in the field of structural materials. USE OF PRESERVATIVES BY- THE RAILROADS In the application of wood preservatives in the United States the railroads have been the leaders for the past 50 years or more.. Having found, that decay is the chief cause of the early destruction of wood and that preservative treatment is the remedy, they have treated their ties and timber in increasing amounts(1) ?-in 1925 about 220,000,000 cubic feet. By preservative treatment the Santa Fe Railroad saves annually 1,500,000 ties in its 18,000 miles of track, and many other railroads effect similar savings. (2) In like manner the life of wooden bridges and trestles,(3) poles, marine piling, water tanks and other wooden railroad structures has been greatly increased, reducing the amount of timber required annually to maintain them.(5),(7)

Jan 2, 1927

By D. E. Piggott, B. E. Hartmann

The thought of constructing an intake shaft five miles from the shore and 142 feet below the surface of Lake Huron from the bottom up sounds like a questionable venture. Why would one want to raise a shaft from the bottom at the end of a 16 foot diameter, six mile long tunnel to within six feet of the bottom of Lake Huron? The answer lies in the fact that Lake Huron is seldom a tranquil lake. The construction period and workable days from the surface are limited. Two previous attempts to construct this intake shaft by conventional means had been thwarted by lake storms. These approaches were circular sheet-piling cofferdams with the intention of sinking a 30 foot OD, five foot wall thickness concrete casing in the center. However lake storms, particularly in the months of November and December, proved disasterous. The last attempt was halted in December 1970 when three of the seven circular cofferdams on the north side were destroyed by pounding waves. Then, due to the nature of the technical difficulties and limited construction schedule time, it seemed desirable to devise a way in which construction could proceed without being too lake-sensitive. Obviously, if men could work from the tunnel and proceed upward toward the bottom of the lake, not having to worry about the soil collapsing and bringing the lake in on their heads, the construction would be unimpeded by adverse weather. The answer to this, however, required techniques beyond the ordinary. Approximately two years previous to the start of this shaft, nine shafts had been efficiently constructed on the same project site

Jan 1, 1974

By H. S. Gieser

THE flotation of oxidized silver, ores offers an interesting problem to the operating metallurgist, who has to treat this material. The advances made in the art of selective flotation by the use of newer collectors with accelerating and inhibiting reagents suggests that there should be something to help to decrease tailing losses. For many years there was no working hypothesis, so the subject was approached more or less in the dark, but with the publication of a paper by Taggart, Taylor and Ince1 giving results of flotation tests with many organic compounds and presenting a tentative theory, a better foundation has been laid and henceforth progress should be more rapid. Over a period of one and one-half years there was much experimentation with flotation of oxidized silver ores at El Tigre, Sonora, Mexico. The material coming to the mill was straight sulfide ore in a silicified rhyolite gangue, the ore minerals being sphalerite, galena, pyrite and tetrahedrite. This came largely from the lower levels of the mine. With the approaching exhaustion of these orebodies, attention was turned to oxidized ores left behind during higher prices of silver. Of late oxidized ore has been at times 25 per cent. of mill tonnage. Aerofloat 25, in considerable quantity, together with ethyl xanthate, has been used in the mill. The former raises large quantities of "insoluble" or gangue, which is difficult to reject when the density of the tailing pulp approaches 33 per cent. solids, as it did during periods of water scarcity. The mill tailing at times contained as much as 5 oz. of silver on a 32-oz. mill head.

Jan 1, 1931

By Walter Lee Brown

One of the characteristic steps in the march of modern scientific progress is the substitution of improved time-saving and labor-saving appliances for the antiquated and, in most cases, inconvenient forms of chemical and physical apparatus used by the earlier experimenters. This fact is strongly impressed upon us when we consider the question of the employment of illuminating-gas as a source of light, heat and power. Concerning its value as a light-producer, let the record of the past three-quarters of a century speak for itself. As a factor for power, we have evidence of its efficiency in the shape of the gas-engine. But its adaptability as a medium of heat, is the feature to which I wish to call attention, and in a special direction, viz., the assaying of ores. Gas assay-furnaces have been known and used for some years, but not to any very great extent, in this country at least. Therefore no apology on my part is required for the description I now give of a complete gas assaying-plant. The illustration accompanying this paper is a faithful representation of the group, as it was designed by, and arranged for myself, and appears in actual running order in my laboratory to-day. Its duty is to do roasting, crucible-fusion, scorification and cupellation. The furnace at the left is for roasting sulphurets or other ores for experimentation or actual work. It is what is known as a Fletcher No. 163, and consists of a fire-clay body strapped with sheet-iron bands, and a burner (No. 16, Fletcher). The opening at the top

Jan 1, 1885

By C. A. Young

"The stabilization of tailings has been a matter of concern to the Mining Industry for many years. In earlier times, when mines were small and only high grade ore deposits were mined, the problem was not a great one. But, more recently - during the last 30 to 40 years - the increased world demand for various metals, combined with the vast strides that have been made in the improvement of metallurgical extraction processes, have resulted in the development of lower grade ore bodies.About 30 years ago The International Nickel Company started experiments to stabilize the surface of the tailings and prevent them from becoming a dust source under certain weather conditions. The use of chemicals to form seals, covering with crushed stone, mulching with straw and some early seedings were some of the stabilizing methods tried. Results were either unsuccessful or impractical economically.In 1954 a series of experiments to establish vegetation on the tailings began. Varying degrees of success were achieved but however unsuccessful a particular scheme turned out, the attempt to find a solution was never written off. As we look back, we realize that the first significant break-through came as the result of three test plots planted in the spring of 1957. Each plot covered an area of approximately one-third of an acre. One plot was successful and persisted until it was covered up by the expansion of the tailings area in 1961.In 1960 a review of all our test plots to that date was carried out to assess the factors which effect the chance of grass being established."

Jan 1, 1969

By E. C. Rien

When the electrical system for a surface or open pit mine is designed, four major considerations should be satisfied in the following order: safety, reliability, flexibility, and cost. Careful planning initially will make expansion for future growth economical as well as possible without extended shutdown of operations. Electrical requirements in surface and open pit mining can be divided into three categories: main substation, plant power, and pit distribution. These systems are integral to each other, but will be dealt with separately here. 11.2-1. Main Substation. A main substation for a mining operation may vary from a 500 kva transformer supplying 480-v power to motor-driven pumps and conveyors, to a 50,000 kva substation serving a large beneficiation plant or a large strip mining operation. Regardless of size, it should be designed with the realization that a failure of the main substation will totally shut down the operation (Fig. 11.2-1.). Location of a main substation usually is a compromise between expense of running the incoming high-voltage transmission lines and the voltage drop of long secondary runs. Based on a geological survey for immediate and future areas of excavation, the main substation should be located as near to the center of load as possible. The site should be out of the blasting area, readily accessible to authorized personnel, and situated where prevailing winds will keep it free from dust or snow. DISCONNECTS AND OVERLOAD PROTECTION. The main substation should have a primary disconnecting device-either a pole top gang-operated switch and fuses of adequate interrupting capacity or, preferably, an oil circuit breaker with properly coordinated relay protection.

Jan 1, 1968

By Henry Kreisinger

IN evaluating coals as steaming fuel on the basis of chemical and physical properties of the coals, the only properties that can be used are those for which the methods of determination are well established and standardized, and those that affect all methods of burning the coals in the same way. The discussion is written from the standpoint of the coal consumer. The production of steam is the largest field for the use of coal. It includes stations for generating electric power, central heating plants, industrial power plants where steam is used for power generation, factory processes and heating. The field also includes steam locomotives. Small house-heating boilers are not included in this field because such small boilers generally burn specially prepared domestic fuel. The plants using the steam coal are equipped to burn the coal when fired by one of the three general methods: namely, hand, stoker, and pulverized coal. The hand firing is now restricted to small plants and to locomotives. Central stations and larger industrial plants use either stoker or pulverized-coal firing. Some locomotives also use stokers. Pulverized-coal firing has been tried in locomotives but so far its adapta-tion to this use has been handicapped by practical difficulties. The coals used for steaming purposes are generally of the bituminous and semibituminous classes, with volatile matter ranging from 15 to 35 per cent. Coals belonging to these classes are produced in many parts of the United States and form by far the largest part of the total coal production of the country. The value of any coal as fuel for steaming purposes depends on the following factors

Jan 1, 1935

By Charles R. Garrett

The American Borate Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Owens Corning Fiberglas Company under a management contract to the Hanna Mining Company, owns and operates an underground borate mine in Death Valley, California. The mine, named the Billie Mine, is located 24 km (15 miles) southeast of Furnace Creek along Highway 190. The ore body is under Death Valley National Monument with the major portion of the surface facilities located just outside the monument boundary. (See Figure 1.) The Billie Mine produces approximately 227 000 metric tons of crude ore per year. About 65% of finished product is supplied to Owens-Corning, the remainder is sold to other fiberglass producers. Geology The borate minerals in the Billie ore body were deposited in the lower main member of the Furnace Creek Formation, which is Pliocene in age. The ore body is thought to have formed from volcanic springs in or near a small lake basin. The deposit is essentially a limestone breccia that is permeated with borate minerals and surrounded with limey lake bed mudstones and shales. The ore body is mineralized with two main borate ores, colemanite and probertite. A third borate ore, ulexite, mainly occurs in the upper part of the ore body. The original mineral of deposition is thought to have been ulexite. Ulexite is a sodium-calcium borate hydrated with eight molecular waters. Due to heat and pressure from burial by later sediments, the ulexite had water forced out of its structure and recrystallized as probertite. Probertite is another sodium-calcium borate, with five molecular waters. Colemanite formed when surface water seeped into the prober-

Jan 1, 1985

By Porter W. Shimer

Ox completing the filtration of a solution of pig-iron in hydrochloric acid, and after apparently everything had been transferred to the paper, a minute residue was observed remaining in the angle of the beaker in which the solution had been made. This residue had a steel-gray color and metallic luster and was hard and gritty when touched with a glass rod. Placed under a microscope and magnified 400 diameters, the substance was found to be made up almost entirely of opaque cubical crystals with some fragments having the same color and luster as the cubes. The appearance was strikingly like that of a collection of crystals of iron pyrites. The amount of material obtained from ten to twenty grams of borings by solution in dilute hydrochloric acid, and careful decantation from graphite, was barely sufficient for a microscopic slide. A qualitative test of the minute amount of material obtained in this way, showed the presence of considerable titanium. After many fruitless trials by decantation and other methods, sufficient material for quantitative analysis was finally obtained in the following manner: Two hundred and fifty grams of the coarsest possible borings were dissolved in seven liters of hydrochloric acid of sp. gr. 1.03. A solution by the aid of heat took four to five hours. It was allowed to settle, and the clear solution poured off. Great care was taken that none of the material which had settled to the bottom was lost. The graphitic residue was then completely transferred upon fine bolting-cloth, previously Stretched and fastened over the top of a beaker. All graphitic lumps were broken up by the finger while

Jan 1, 1887

By George Hunt

THE first practical treatment of wood to prevent decay was devised early in the 19th century. At that time the oaken navy of England, when the nation was fighting for its very existence, seemed doomed to annihilation by the swift ravages of decay. The acute situation inspired a desperate search for preventive measures and resulted in the development of the Burnett, Bethel and Kyan processes for impregnating wood with zinc chloride, coal-tar creosote and mercuric chloride, respectively. In the century that has elapsed, their use has spread throughout the world and the three original preservatives are used today in enormous quantities. Meanwhile, improved processes have been developed, new preservatives discovered, and the practice of impregnating wood to make it last longer has attained a position of major importance in the field of structural materials. USE OF PRESERVATIVES BY THE RAILROADS In the application of wood preservatives in the United States the railroads have been the leaders for the past 50 years or more. Having found that decay is the chief cause of the early destruction of wood and that preservative treatment is the remedy, they have treated their ties and timber in increasing amounts(1)?-in 1925 about 220;000,000 cubic feet. By preservative treatment the Santa Fe Railroad saves annually 1,500,000 ties in its 18,000 miles of track, and many other railroads effect similar savings. (2) In like manner the life of wooden bridges and trestles,(3) poles, marine piling, water tanks and other wooden railroad structures has been greatly increased, reducing the amount of timber required annually to maintain them.(5),(7)

Jan 1, 1927