Volume 35 (1877) (426 pages)

166 MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS. [September 15, 1877. Tye Enqineer: Allowing for Rail Expansion. This is a point in practical railway huilding which, we see, was quite thoroughly discussed at the late meeting of the Master Mechanics Association, Ina paper hy W. S. Huntington, the following table is introduced : Sa. 2 S Length of . 25 ne . Fractions of an inch, decian it . 2 ee mally expressed. Shs] ie) 22) 3 2a) = PA a 1026 ; 1-64. 1-2. 5000 1090 . 1-82. 9-16. .5625 998 . 1-16. 5-8 . .6250 1863 13 . 11-16. .6875 1434 . 3-16. 3-4. .7600 1914 1-4. 18-16. .8125 2044 . 5-16. 78. .8750 2465 . 3-8. 16-16. .9375 12725 . 7-16. 1 .1,0000 Among tbe reasons why it is hest to he particular to have the rails the right distance apart at the joints are: If there is not room enough for expansion, the rails will hend to the form of a loop, causing death and destruction. And eyen if the compression is not sufficient to cause this, the effect on the track is destructive and causes hreakages. If you are ‘‘out on, the track” in a hot day, and the rails are ‘“‘nucomfortably tight,” and no trains in sight, you will be warned hy the approach of one hy the groaning and laboring of tbe track, as though it were a thing of life, and nndergoing the most excruciating torture, or laboring like a ship in a storm at sea. The train may he two or three miles off, aud out of sight, but you know it is coming hy the snapping and cracking of the joints, as now and then a rail finds a little space and is thrust against its neigbhor like a hlow from 2 sledge. With this excessive compression on the rails and fish-hars, and the heavy rolling weight they are suhjected to, the rails are strained and worked like a piece of tin bent back and forth hetween the thumh and fingers; and if there is a flaw or a weak spot it will soon amount to a crack and then break. If the joints are left open considerahly more than is necessary, the rails are soon spoiled and unnecessary expense incurred. And again, if more space is allowed for expansion than is necessary for very hot weather, that space addd +o that made by coutraction in severe cold weather makes a considerahle unnecessary spaee, which greatly shortens the life of the rails and fixtures. A track witb the right space at tbe joints is worth much more than if laid hap-hazard. Improvements in Shutter Dams Some recent improvements in France of shntter dams, worked hy hydraulic pressure, have attracted much attention among eugineers, the system comprising—first, a series of great wooden water gates, movable around a horizontal axis workiug in a cast-iron shoe secured to the floor of the dam; second, hydraulic Pe applied on the down river side of the loor solidly anchored in the masoury and designed to work the gates—the piston of each press hearing a cast-irou cross-head working in slides, to which cross-head three rods are attached for communicating the pressure to a cross-bar fastened in the center of the movable gate; third, a series of copper tuhes which puts each press in communication with the generator or reservoir of power destined to transmit water under the pressure of the hydraulic presses; and fourth, hydraulic works huilt on the ahutment of the dam—these comprising a turhine with a vertical axis, a douhle force pump which receives motion from the turbine, and a reservoir of force. Tbe pumps and the reservoir communicate with each other and with the presses hy means of three-way cocks, which let the water either into the reservoir or inte the presses, or empty it into a discharging tuhe. The manceuvering of the gates is effected hy simply moving these cocks. By putting in commuuication each press either with the pumps or with the reservoir of power under a sufficient pressure, an ascending motion of the piston is effected, and in consequence the gate rises. By opening the cock into the waste pipe the water escapes nnder pressure of the gate, the ‘“‘corps de presse” is emptied, and the gate einks. The reservoir force is a regulator of the Bey of the pumps, and also permits the dam to e raised sufficiently, in case of need, to put the turhine in motion, A Frenca Irnication ScaEmE.—An important work of irrigation is in course of execution in the Department of Drome, The necessary legal concession for the prosecution of the undertaking was ohtained on May 21st, 1874, and the works are now being vigorously pushed forward. The canal takes its origin from the Bourne, at a point ahout 200 meters below Pont-en-Royans, and is inteuded to supply water at the rate of seven cubic meters per second for the irrigation of 17,500 acres ofland. It will consist of a principal canal in connection with a numher of Facto channels carrying water to land in 24 different communes; and in case of need can he made to draw its supplies from two further sources, one in the Lyonne and the! other in its tributary, the Cholet. The MinI ister of Puhlic Works has granted a suhvention of 2,900,000 francs towards the expenses of the scheme, two-thirds of which sum is to he laid out upon the construction of the principal canal, while the remainder may be employed upon the secondary and tertiary hranches. The works are progressing at sucha rate that it is expected the principal channel will he completed considerably within the five years allowed for its construction, and it has hecome necessary to present a petition to the Chamhers asking for the payment of the suhvention hefore the date at which it was originally supposed the money would he first required. Nor tae Favrr oF THe ENGINEER.—An Eastern exchange says: Destructive tornadoes occur in our Western States with sufficient frequency to he regarded as somewhat characThe Mole at Vera Cruz. One of tbe interesting things about the coustruction of the new Mexican railway is the mole at Vera Cruz, hy which connection is made between cars and shiphoard. We read that the mole is huilt of iron, its leugth is 725 feet and its hreadth.is 60 feet at the end which stands in the sea. There are three tracks on the mole along the cranes, used for loading and discharging on the launches. The tracks then unite in one, connecting the mole with the station huildings, which are ahout 300 feet distant. The whole structure is divided into spans of 30 feet. The number of wrought-iron girders, including cross girders, is 150, resting on 76 cast-iron columns, driven into the rocky ground at a depth of 10 to 134 feet. As the larger vessels caunot reach the pier, the comteristic of certain regions. High table-lands in the interior of continents are more exposed to WES pany possesses two steam tughoats and five Jaunclies for their loading and unloading. GREAT AMERICAN SHRIEE. violence from wiuds than any other portions of the temperate zones. Of the extreme fury and strength of a tornado no conception can he formed hy persons who have never seen its work, Against its power, if fully displayed, no structure of human hands cau stand for an instant. There need be uo surprise that the bridge over the Missouri at Omaha was torn to pieces when struck squarely by a tornado, nor does the fact reflect any discredit upon the bridge as a piece of engineering. Fortunately, visitations of this sort are comparatively unknown to dwellers this side of the Alleghanies, since the ranges of mouutains hack of the, Atlantic coast check the violence of winds that sweep over the interior of the continent. Sanp tn Svrz’s Mourn. —lt is estimated that the coastat the mouth of the Suez canal, at Port Said, is advancing outward at the rapid rate of ahout 50 yards per annum, and that the necessity for extensive dredging will be greater year by year. Not less than 937,000 cuhic yards of deposit had to he removed in 1875, while the dredging of 161,000 cubic yards sufficed iu 1871. The British government has ordered a uew survey of the coast hetweeu Port Said and the Damietta mouth of the Nile, in order to ascertain the actual condition and the rate of increase There are five cranes placed at the extremity of the mole, four small ones for raising two tons each, and a larger central oue which raises a weight of 20 tons, They are moved by a hydraulic apparatus of modern construction, in a perfect state of safety aud order. The total weight of iron employed in the mole is 553.13 tons, Hopson River Tunneu.—lIt is the intention of the Tunnel Company, says the Jron Age, to hegin work early in the: coming fall. A shaft 28 feet deep has heen dug at the foot of Fifteenth street, Jersey City, and this depth will be increased 20 feet. From this as a starting point, the tunnel will proceed in a northeasterly direction under the Hudson river and the Christopher street ferry slip. The entrance on the New York side will be in the neighhorhood of Washington square. From Jersey City the grade will descend two feet in every 100 feet, until a point 2,700 feet from the New York side is reached, when it will hegin to ascend at the rate of one foot in every 100 feet. The tunnel will he two miles iu length, with a road-hed 23 feet wide, aud two separate tracks. Throngh its entire length it will be lighted with gas. The wall will he constructed of brick, with a thickness of four feet, At no point will the top of of the sandhanks, aud to see if any plan besides . the tunnel be less than 35 feet below the surface dredging can he adopted to check the growth of the obstruction. : of tbe water, and in many places it will he 70 . feet below. 120 lahorera will be engaged in the construction of the tunnel. The work will go on during the whole of the 24 hours, the force working in three relays, for eight hours eacb. Although the tunnel will be used for the conveyance of passengers, its main object will he the transportation of freight to and from the greet railroad lines which terminate in Jersey ity. The capital of the company is $10,000,000. The Shrike, or Butcher Bird. Our engraving shows a style of hird which many readers will recognize for it, or an allied species which is very common on this coast. It ig the shrike, the terror of singing hirds and of insects. The scientificname of the species shown in the engraving is Lanius caxcubitor, according to Wilson and Auduhon. They huild their nests in covered and secluded spots. These nests are often found on shruhs not above 10 feet from the ground, and generally in a fork at the top. They are as large as those of robins, and are composed exterually of eoarse grass, leaves, and moss, and interually of fihrous roots, over which feathers are placed. The eggs are four or five in number, ofa dull cinerous tint, thickly spotted and streaked with light-brown towards the larger end. The period of incuhation is 15 days. Tbe young, so unlike their parents for a time, remain along with them, sometimes, indeed, even during the first winter. Caterpillars, spiders, and insects of varions kinds form their first food, together with small fruits; but, as they grow up, their pareuts bring them the flesh of small hirds, on which they feed greedily even hefore they leave the nest. Possessing the faculty of imitating the notes of the sparrows and other birds, especially their cries of distress, they are helieved to allure birds of these species and then seize upon them. One of them vil alight upon its prey, strike it on the back of the head, which it thus hreaks open, and, if not interfered with, will tear up the body, and swallow it in large pieces, with many of the feathers upon it. This shrike often pursues a turtle-dove or otber hird a long distance on the wing, and eventually, by a single hlow, cause it to fall to the ground. It is always active, courageous and persevering; and in winter, when insects and small hirds are scarce in the Eastern States, at times it enters the cities, and attacks hirds in cages, even flying through the open doors and windows in the pursuit. When caught with the hand, it pierces its little claws into the flesh and _hites with considerahle tenacity until choked off. The flight of this hird is strong, swift and sustained, but not very elevated, being simply over the tops of low bushes. Impaling insects and hirds on thorns is among its acts of eruelty; a hahit it pursucs without apparent motive, though some believe its design in this is to attract small hirds to the spot, that it may seize aud preyupon them. Iu this State it delights in impaling the large mole crickets, sometimes on the sharp points left by the pruning knife. We are told, also, of a case where six mice, alive and kicking, were transtixcd upon the sharp spines which surmount the leaves of the agave. Cornucopia District. A correspondent of the Silver State, writing from Cornucopia says: The mining prospects of this section are brightening every day. At Mouitain City they have a 10-stamp mill running eteadily, and, within the last week or 10 days, have shipped three bars of bullion,and bave several more ready for shipment. This bullion comes from ore taken from the Mountain Laurel mine. Over in the Bull Run country, the Iufidel mine, which I have mentioned before, is under the management of Mr. Meacham, and is developing well. I cannot give particulars, hut I heard Meacham say, the other day, that ina short time hef would have a splendid mine developed. Just north of town the Ruhy Consolidated (Sullivan & Co’s. claim) is heiug worked steadily. They are now down 60 fcet and are drifting north on the ledge, getting very fine mineral. The ledge at this depth is ahout five feet in width, over half of it carrying ore that assays not less than $260 per ton, and from that up to more than $800 per ton. lt is sufficiently developed to demonstrate that itis going to be the equal of any mine in this district or Tuscarora, The Panther company are now preparing to put up their hoisting works. Teams have gone after the machinery, and will have it on the ground in a few days, when the works will he erected as soon as possible. The Hussey, during the last few days, on the 220-foot level, has heen showing herself in her richest plumage. In her good humor she has presented her expectant owners with a solid and well-detined ledge two and one-half feet thick, which, on an average assay of the ore taken out across the ledge, and without any assorting, weut $269.36 cents per ton, and there is an immense amount of such ore. It is no small hody, and inen that have examined.it say that it will excel the Leopard in its brightest days. Of the latter company’s present works and prospects I cannot tell much, hut there is an apparent move for the better somewhere in or ahout the mine—they are paying more promptly and putting on an increased force daily. In fact, all the leading mines uow worked in the camp are largely augmenting their forces. No laboring man need he idle iu this camp long if he is on the work. You can see that prospects are lookup here by the stock indicator. Coruncopia etocks are all on the raise. This place will be all right yet. J

166 MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS. [September 15, 1877. Tye Enqineer: Allowing for Rail Expansion. This is a point in practical railway huilding which, we see, was quite thoroughly discussed at the late meeting of the Master Mechanics Association, Ina paper hy W. S. Huntington, the following table is introduced : Sa. 2 S Length of . 25 ne . Fractions of an inch, decian it . 2 ee mally expressed. Shs] ie) 22) 3 2a) = PA a 1026 ; 1-64.. 1-2.. 5000 1090 . 1-82. 9-16.. .5625 998 . 1-16. 5-8 .. .6250 1863 13 . 11-16.. .6875 1434 . 3-16. 3-4.. .7600 1914 1-4. 18-16.. .8125 2044 . 5-16.. 78.. .8750 2465 . 3-8.. 16-16.. .9375 12725 . 7-16.. 1 ..1,0000 Among tbe reasons why it is hest to he particular to have the rails the right distance apart at the joints are: If there is not room enough for expansion, the rails will hend to the form of a loop, causing death and destruction. And eyen if the compression is not sufficient to cause this, the effect on the track is destructive and causes hreakages. If you are ‘‘out on, the track” in a hot day, and the rails are ‘“‘nucomfortably tight,” and no trains in sight, you will be warned hy the approach of one hy the groaning and laboring of tbe track, as though it were a thing of life, and nndergoing the most excruciating torture, or laboring like a ship in a storm at sea. The train may he two or three miles off, aud out of sight, but you know it is coming hy the snapping and cracking of the joints, as now and then a rail finds a little space and is thrust against its neigbhor like a hlow from 2 sledge. With this excessive compression on the rails and fish-hars, and the heavy rolling weight they are suhjected to, the rails are strained and worked like a piece of tin bent back and forth hetween the thumh and fingers; and if there is a flaw or a weak spot it will soon amount to a crack and then break. If the joints are left open considerahly more than is necessary, the rails are soon spoiled and unnecessary expense incurred. And again, if more space is allowed for expansion than is necessary for very hot weather, that space addd +o that made by coutraction in severe cold weather makes a considerahle unnecessary spaee, which greatly shortens the life of the rails and fixtures. A track witb the right space at tbe joints is worth much more than if laid hap-hazard. Improvements in Shutter Dams Some recent improvements in France of shntter dams, worked hy hydraulic pressure, have attracted much attention among eugineers, the system comprising—first, a series of great wooden water gates, movable around a horizontal axis workiug in a cast-iron shoe secured to the floor of the dam; second, hydraulic Pe applied on the down river side of the loor solidly anchored in the masoury and designed to work the gates—the piston of each press hearing a cast-irou cross-head working in slides, to which cross-head three rods are attached for communicating the pressure to a cross-bar fastened in the center of the movable gate; third, a series of copper tuhes which puts each press in communication with the generator or reservoir of power destined to transmit water under the pressure of the hydraulic presses; and fourth, hydraulic works huilt on the ahutment of the dam—these comprising a turhine with a vertical axis, a douhle force pump which receives motion from the turbine, and a reservoir of force. Tbe pumps and the reservoir communicate with each other and with the presses hy means of three-way cocks, which let the water either into the reservoir or inte the presses, or empty it into a discharging tuhe. The manceuvering of the gates is effected hy simply moving these cocks. By putting in commuuication each press either with the pumps or with the reservoir of power under a sufficient pressure, an ascending motion of the piston is effected, and in consequence the gate rises. By opening the cock into the waste pipe the water escapes nnder pressure of the gate, the ‘“‘corps de presse” is emptied, and the gate einks. The reservoir force is a regulator of the Bey of the pumps, and also permits the dam to e raised sufficiently, in case of need, to put the turhine in motion, A Frenca Irnication ScaEmE.—An important work of irrigation is in course of execution in the Department of Drome, The necessary legal concession for the prosecution of the undertaking was ohtained on May 21st, 1874, and the works are now being vigorously pushed forward. The canal takes its origin from the Bourne, at a point ahout 200 meters below Pont-en-Royans, and is inteuded to supply water at the rate of seven cubic meters per second for the irrigation of 17,500 acres ofland. It will consist of a principal canal in connection with a numher of Facto channels carrying water to land in 24 different communes; and in case of need can he made to draw its supplies from two further sources, one in the Lyonne and the! other in its tributary, the Cholet. The MinI ister of Puhlic Works has granted a suhvention of 2,900,000 francs towards the expenses of the scheme, two-thirds of which sum is to he laid out upon the construction of the principal canal, while the remainder may be employed upon the secondary and tertiary hranches. The works are progressing at sucha rate that it is expected the principal channel will he completed considerably within the five years allowed for its construction, and it has hecome necessary to present a petition to the Chamhers asking for the payment of the suhvention hefore the date at which it was originally supposed the money would he first required. Nor tae Favrr oF THe ENGINEER.—An Eastern exchange says: Destructive tornadoes occur in our Western States with sufficient frequency to he regarded as somewhat characThe Mole at Vera Cruz. One of tbe interesting things about the coustruction of the new Mexican railway is the mole at Vera Cruz, hy which connection is made between cars and shiphoard. We read that the mole is huilt of iron, its leugth is 725 feet and its hreadth.is 60 feet at the end which stands in the sea. There are three tracks on the mole along the cranes, used for loading and discharging on the launches. The tracks then unite in one, connecting the mole with the station huildings, which are ahout 300 feet distant. The whole structure is divided into spans of 30 feet. The number of wrought-iron girders, including cross girders, is 150, resting on 76 cast-iron columns, driven into the rocky ground at a depth of 10 to 134 feet. As the larger vessels caunot reach the pier, the comteristic of certain regions. High table-lands in the interior of continents are more exposed to WES pany possesses two steam tughoats and five Jaunclies for their loading and unloading. GREAT AMERICAN SHRIEE. violence from wiuds than any other portions of the temperate zones. Of the extreme fury and strength of a tornado no conception can he formed hy persons who have never seen its work, Against its power, if fully displayed, no structure of human hands cau stand for an instant. There need be uo surprise that the bridge over the Missouri at Omaha was torn to pieces when struck squarely by a tornado, nor

does the fact reflect any discredit upon the bridge as a piece of engineering. Fortunately, visitations of this sort are comparatively unknown to dwellers this side of the Alleghanies, since the ranges of mouutains hack of the, Atlantic coast check the violence of winds that sweep over the interior of the continent. Sanp tn Svrz’s Mourn. —lt is estimated that the coastat the mouth of the Suez canal, at Port Said, is advancing outward at the rapid rate of ahout 50 yards per annum, and that the necessity for extensive dredging will be greater year by year. Not less than 937,000 cuhic yards of deposit had to he removed in 1875, while the dredging of 161,000 cubic yards sufficed iu 1871. The British government has ordered a uew survey of the coast hetweeu Port Said and the Damietta mouth of the Nile, in order to ascertain the actual condition and the rate of increase There are five cranes placed at the extremity of the mole, four small ones for raising two tons each, and a larger central oue which raises a weight of 20 tons, They are moved by a hydraulic apparatus of modern construction, in a perfect state of safety aud order. The total weight of iron employed in the mole is 553.13 tons, Hopson River Tunneu.—lIt is the intention of the Tunnel Company, says the Jron Age, to hegin work early in the: coming fall. A shaft 28 feet deep has heen dug at the foot of Fifteenth street, Jersey City, and this depth will be increased 20 feet. From this as a starting point, the tunnel will proceed in a northeasterly direction under the Hudson river and the Christopher street ferry slip. The entrance on the New York side will be in the neighhorhood of Washington square. From Jersey City the grade will descend two feet in every 100 feet, until a point 2,700 feet from the New York side is reached, when it will hegin to ascend at the rate of one foot in every 100 feet. The tunnel will he two miles iu length, with a road-hed 23 feet wide, aud two separate tracks. Throngh its entire length it will be lighted with gas. The wall will he constructed of brick, with a thickness of four feet, At no point will the top of of the sandhanks, aud to see if any plan besides . the tunnel be less than 35 feet below the surface dredging can he adopted to check the growth of the obstruction. : of tbe water, and in many places it will he 70 . feet below. 120 lahorera will be engaged in the construction of the tunnel. The work will go on during the whole of the 24 hours, the force working in three relays, for eight hours eacb. Although the tunnel will be used for the conveyance of passengers, its main object will he the transportation of freight to and from the greet railroad lines which terminate in Jersey ity. The capital of the company is $10,000,000. The Shrike, or Butcher Bird. Our engraving shows a style of hird which many readers will recognize for it, or an allied species which is very common on this coast. It ig the shrike, the terror of singing hirds and of insects. The scientificname of the species shown in the engraving is Lanius caxcubitor, according to Wilson and Auduhon. They huild their nests in covered and secluded spots. These nests are often found on shruhs not above 10 feet from the ground, and generally in a fork at the top. They are as large as those of robins, and are composed exterually of eoarse grass, leaves, and moss, and interually of fihrous roots, over which feathers are placed. The eggs are four or five in number, ofa dull cinerous tint, thickly spotted and streaked with light-brown towards the larger end. The period of incuhation is 15 days. Tbe young, so unlike their parents for a time, remain along with them, sometimes, indeed, even during the first winter. Caterpillars, spiders, and insects of varions kinds form their first food, together with small fruits; but, as they grow up, their pareuts bring them the flesh of small hirds, on which they feed greedily even hefore they leave the nest. Possessing the faculty of imitating the notes of the sparrows and other birds, especially their cries of distress, they are helieved to allure birds of these species and then seize upon them. One of them vil alight upon its prey, strike it on the back of the head, which it thus hreaks open, and, if not interfered with, will tear up the body, and swallow it in large pieces, with many of the feathers upon it. This shrike often pursues a turtle-dove or otber hird a long distance on the wing, and eventually, by a single hlow, cause it to fall to the ground. It is always active, courageous and persevering; and in winter, when insects and small hirds are scarce in the Eastern States, at times it enters the cities, and attacks hirds in cages, even flying through the open doors and windows in the pursuit. When caught with the hand, it pierces its little claws into the flesh and _hites with considerahle tenacity until choked off. The flight of this hird is strong, swift and sustained, but not very elevated, being simply over the tops of low bushes. Impaling insects and hirds on thorns is among its acts of eruelty; a hahit it pursucs without apparent motive, though some believe its design in this is to attract small hirds to the spot, that it may seize aud preyupon them. Iu this State it delights in impaling the large mole crickets, sometimes on the sharp points left by the pruning knife. We are told, also, of a case where six mice, alive and kicking, were transtixcd upon the sharp spines which surmount the leaves of the agave. Cornucopia District. A correspondent of the Silver State, writing from Cornucopia says: The mining prospects of this section are brightening every day. At Mouitain City they have a 10-stamp mill running eteadily, and, within the last week or 10 days, have shipped three bars of bullion,and bave several more ready for shipment. This bullion comes from ore taken from the Mountain Laurel mine. Over in the Bull Run country, the Iufidel mine, which I have mentioned before, is under the management of Mr. Meacham, and is developing well. I cannot give particulars, hut I heard Meacham say, the other day, that ina short time hef would have a splendid mine developed. Just north of town the Ruhy Consolidated (Sullivan & Co’s. claim) is heiug worked steadily. They are now down 60 fcet and are drifting north on the ledge, getting very fine mineral. The ledge at this depth is ahout five feet in width, over half of it carrying ore that assays not less than $260 per ton, and from that up to more than $800 per ton. lt is sufficiently developed to demonstrate that itis going to be the equal of any mine in this district or Tuscarora, The Panther company are now preparing to put up their hoisting works. Teams have gone after the machinery, and will have it on the ground in a few days, when the works will he erected as soon as possible. The Hussey, during the last few days, on the 220-foot level, has heen showing herself in her richest plumage. In her good humor she has presented her expectant owners with a solid and well-detined ledge two and one-half feet thick, which, on an average assay of the ore taken out across the ledge, and without any assorting, weut $269.36 cents per ton, and there is an immense amount of such ore. It is no small hody, and inen that have examined.it say that it will excel the Leopard in its brightest days. Of the latter company’s present works and prospects I cannot tell much, hut there is an apparent move for the better somewhere in or ahout the mine—they are paying more promptly and putting on an increased force daily. In fact, all the leading mines uow worked in the camp are largely augmenting their forces. No laboring man need he idle iu this camp long if he is on the work. You can see that prospects are lookup here by the stock indicator. Coruncopia etocks are all on the raise. This place will be all right yet. J