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G. McMEANS*—This paper is a very good demonstration of the use of a new tool for the solution of industrial problems of a physical nature. To have solved this problem without the use of radioactive tracers would have required a far greater amount of investigation and work. The authors have described their work in such detail and in such a manner as to suggest the possibilities of the use of such tracer studies in the solution of many perplexing problems of industry. R. E. BREWER †—The authors are to be congratulated on this very excellent paper, which describes the results obtained by utilizing radioactive tracers in investigating the complicated reactions in the coking process. The paper has especial merit because the study was made under typical operating conditions in a commercial coke oven. Considering all the difficulties involved, the results obtained are excellent. My brief comments will relate primarily to the method used for determining the sulphur in the gas and to the value of the data obtained in stimulating further research. In discussing their results, the authors state (p. 17) that "Of the total sulphur charged to the oven in the coal 95 pct was accounted for in the coke and gas. Most of the sulphur unaccounted for is believed to have been lost in the gas, since the gas sampling system removed all the H2S but probably only part of the organic sulphur compounds present in the gas. Although sulphur in the acid-insoluble tar residue in the gas scrubbing bottles was determined and added to the total sulphur determination of each sample, it is doubtful whether an aliquot portion of tar for each sample was obtained." The reviewer believes that the authors might have obtained a better sulphur balance had they used an improved procedure for determining sulphur in the gas. The absorption train should have included a trap to remove the tar and am-moniacal liquor and a wash bottle containing 5 pct sulphuric acid to remove ammonia in the coke-oven gas before it entered the gas scrubbing bottles containing the ammoniacal cadmium chloride solution. Sulphur in the tar and

Jan 1, 1950

By M. N. Short

It is almost self-evident that the student of geology depends for his education in geology only in small measure upon his own observation. His chief sources of information are lectures and personal instruction from teachers, and the geological literature. Of these, the literature is by far the most important. The total geological knowledge available to the geologist of today is substantially that which is on the printed page, and no more than that. There are many geologists of outstanding rank who during the course of a busy and useful professional career have accumulated valuable geological knowledge. This, however, is never available to the profession, owing to the disinclination of these geologists to write or to the refusal of their employers to allow the results of their work to be published. With the passing of these geologists, their accumulated knowledge is irretrievably lost. In many mining districts the operating companies are not averse to the publication of geological information gathered by their engineering and geological staffs, but for various reasons this information is not published. However, when a public survey geologist goes into the district this information is placed at his disposal and eventually is published. But for the intervention of a disinterested public scientist, this information would have been buried in company files. In the last analysis, the teachers themselves depend largely upon the printed page for the knowledge they pass on to the student. Without geological literature, then, the instruction of geological students would be almost impossible. There is no .question that, as a whole, geologists who are on the public payroll have to their credit far more contributions to literature than have either teachers or professional geologists, whether the latter be independent or in the employ of private corporations. The very fact that geologists are upon the public payroll places them under obligation to make available to the public the results of their endeavors. They must either prepare these results for publication or they must furnish data or otherwise aid their colleagues to publish their results. The success or failure of a public geological survey depends entirely on the

Jan 1, 1935

By A. L. Field

This general subject has been so thoroughly discussed by Dr. Herty and his associates, especially with regard to the degree of oxidation of the metal at the time that the silicon pig or spiegel is added, that I am not going to spend much time on that today. I should like to propound a question, which is based on my own observations made some years ago while with a large alloy-steel company which had two open-hearth furnace plants. It is true that one of these plants was not engaged particularly in making alloy steels, but there were certain relations between slag and metal composition which appeared to me to be entirely different in the two plants. I have an explanation for it that is more or less incomplete, but possibly Dr. Herty or Mr. Reinartz or some of the others may be able to complete it. Suppose we take our three layers; the metal on the bottom, on top of that the slag, and on top of the slag, the gas. We cannot overlook the gaseous phase. Regardless of the effect of the iron oxide in the slag on the rate of carbon elimination—and that, of course, is rather important in alloy practice since it is not desirable to have the carbon dropping too rapidly at the time the deoxidizing is had in the furnace—it will probably be admitted that it depends on the iron oxide in the metal for a given carbon oxide. I have seen cases where with approximately identical metal and slag compositions one furnace would work twice as rapidly as another in removing carbon. Of course, there is some explanation of this in what others have already said, that the question of the exact lime and silica content of the slag determines the activity and viscosity of the slag; but I am convinced, without having reviewed the actual records since I was asked to make this talk, because they were not available at the time, that the slags in these two furnaces were not materially different. Putting it another way, one furnace would have

Jan 1, 1935

By Basil B. Zavoico

Production of crude oil in the U. S. S. R. during 1939 is estimated at, 226,111,000 bbl., as compared with 219,778,000 bbl. in 1938, an irlcreasc of 2.88 per cent but some 6.00 per cent under the planned output. During the past year a major readjustment took place in Russian oil fields, with the Grozny district falling into the third place, its former place having been taken by the fields of the Maikop-Kuban area of northwestern Caucasus. Production continued to grow in the Ural-Volg:t district and further large increases in this province in the coming years are certain. The drilling operations continued to be most unsatisfactory, falling far behind the plan, possibly as much as 25 per cent undvr the set objectives, and thereby interfering with the production plans, mora particularly since the Soviet oil industry is still based primarily upon the production from the naturally flowing wells without any proration whatsoever rather than upon stabilized production from either prorated oil wells or those operated with various mechanical lifts. The year 1939 started with the fulfillment of the drilling programs to the extent of about 90 per cent, but the situation rapidly deteriorated arid by the second half drilling programs were being fulfilled only to the extent of 60 per cent or less. Such breakdown in drilling operations was possibly due to poor equipment, which has not been able to stand increasing demands upon it, and this is substantiated by the rccent orders plaeed in the United States by the Soviet Government for some 60 drilling rigs of the latest design. Production Baku District.—-The fields of the Apshcbron Peninsula (Baku district) made a notable progrress during the past year and were able slightly to increase their production, to 166,000,000 bbt. as compared with 164,692,-000 bbl. during 1938. The c.rnphasis of production in the Baku district remained on the flowing wells, about 20 per cent of the total number of wells flowing about 70 per cent of production. During 1939 some 550 wells were complr.tcd in the Baku district with active rigs averaging

Jan 1, 1940

By D. J. Mottern, F. Wald

SEVERAL systems have been investigated by Bates, Wald, and weinstein&apos; to determine the compatibility of pure PbTe with various metals. This was accomplished by experimentally determining the direction of the reaction given by Eq. [I]: The direction of this reaction is very important if alloys of the PbTe system are to be used in thermoelectric generators because the presence of free lead in the matrix, followed by incipient melting in the vicinity of the hot junction, could cause a bonding failure. According to anssen,&apos; the Au-Te system contains only one stable compound, AuTez. The initial alloy which was reacted was therefore of the composition AuTez + 2Pb. Ten-gram samples of PbTe plus 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 70 at. pct Au were encapsulated in carbon-coated quartz capsules in vacuo. All materials were of semiconductor (99.999+ pct) purity. Carbon coating was used to prevent reaction of the quartz with any of the alloying constituents (the solubility of carbon in the constituents of the alloys is negligible). Each capsule was then placed in a thermal analysis furnace, melted, and cooled through the transformation region. Thermal arrests were monitored on a strip chart recorder. Each sample was subsequently examined microscopically after standard grinding and polishing techniques were applied. For better contrast between the phases, the samples were etched in Murakami&apos;s etch; however, both phases could be identified without etching. Several of the samples were ground into powder, stress-relieved, and X-rayed in a Debye-Scherrer camera using nickel-filtered Cu-Ka radiation. The phase diagram shown in Fig. 1 indicates that the pseudobinary system exists as a simple eutectic with no measurable (<I pct) solid solubility at either limit. Figs. 2,3, and 4 are photomicrographs of the structures obtained with 20, 40, and 50 at. pct Au, respectively. At higher concentrations of gold (>40 pct) slight divorcement of the eutectic occurred, apparently due to a) the difference in density between gold and PbTe (19.6 and 8.25 g per cu cm, respectively) or b) the nonideality of the liquid as noted by the curvature of the liquidus lines. The eutectic temperature was determined to be 742° ± 5°C. The composition of the eutectic was determined by extrapola-

Jan 1, 1969

By Edmund Kirby

This meeting marks the point at which the long-standing dissatisfaction with the mineral-land laves, the innumerable protests against them, and the many isolated efforts to obtain relief, have developed into a general movement for the: revision. That part of the mining industry which is affected by these laws has three general organizations to speak for it: the American Institute of Mining Engineers, Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, and the American "A Mining Congress: all of which are represented in this meeting. In the series of able and thoughtful presented here, prominent men have discussed the evils of the present laws aid some of the reforms which should be made in them. We all appreciate fully the ultimate value of these studies; but we are also painfully aware of the fact that discussion of this kind has been going on for a quarter of a century without any other effect than a steady increase in the mass of printed records stored on library shelves. In order to get any practical result we must induce an indifferent government at Washington to act, and to do this we must unite in pushing some practical plan whereby it may act in a simple and effective way and with the least possible amount of criticism or opposition. The actual question before us is not whether the mining laws are bad; for their evils and absurdities are not only beyond discussion but also beyond the resources of a temperate and dignified vocabulary. It is not what particular changes ought to be made; for it is premature to make specific recommendations until there is some one to listen to them. Moreover, we all know that there are wisdom and experience enough available, and awaiting that time, for the creation of a code which would be a model to the mining world. The practical question now is, how to obtain the revision; and since the American Mining Congress has of late restricted its attention to this phase of the problem I wish as one of its representatives here to present its views upon the matter.

Jan 6, 1914

By Victor L. Stevens

The Oso tunnel is one of three tunnels located on the San Juan-Chama Project in south-central Colorado. The purpose of the tunnel is to carry water from the upper San Juan watershed through the Continental Divide into the Rio Grande watershed. The Oso tunnel contract was awarded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to a joint venture of Boyles Brothers Drilling Co., Gibbons & Reed Co., and Cimco in February 1966. The Oso tunnel is 26,660 ft long and has a rock section of 10 ft, 2 in. with a lined diameter of 8 ft circular. The main portion of the rock formation was in the Lewis shale. This formation is quite consistent in hardness and texture with exception of localized limestone concretions and sandy siltstone inclusions. The job was bid on the basis of using a James S. Robbins mole of the P221 series. The decision for using a mole was predicated on the geology and the experience of the same joint venture on the adjoining Azotea tunnel where a mole was successfully used. The Robbins P221 series mole is capable of cutting from 9 ft, 11 in. to a 10 ft, 7 in. diam without any major change. It is 40 ft long and weighs 60 tons. The cutting head has 22 disk-type cutters and one center pilot (standard 9 7/8 -in.) tricone bit. The head is powered by four 75 hp electric motors. Gripper pads at about the midway point on each side of the machine are pushed into the tunnel ribs and thrust-cylinders in front of each gripper apply pressure to the face as the head rotates. The regripping cycle is 3 ft and then the grippers are retracted and advanced. Each cutter on the perimeter of the head is followed by a bucket which scoops up the cut material, almost in the same manner as a water wheel, and dumps it into a conveyor situated along the top of the mole. The muck from the mole conveyor is dumped into a gantry-type conveyor. The gantry conveyor is 350 ft long and is pulled

Jan 1, 1970

By Frank Alfred Fahrenwald

Discussion of the paper of FRANK ALFRED FAHRENWALD, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 109, January, 1916, pp. 103 to 149. F. A. FAHRENWALD, Cleveland, Ohio (communication to the Secretary*).-Since the publication of my paper in the January Bulletin, (which was largely a metallographic treatise), I have been questioned regarding two points referred to therein. One of these is that which deals with the application I have made, p. 119, of the equation for melting pressures which correspond with different working temperatures. The other refers to the statement, p. 137, that "Prolonged heating at relatively low temperatures gave fewer and larger crystals and crystals of different sizes, while a flashing at higher temperatures gave a very fine and uniform crystalline structure, which was much&apos; to be preferred." Especial emphasis was not placed upon either of these two factors, for each seemed perfectly logical and obvious. As they do not seem to be self-explanatory, I will supplement with those portions of my notes which were purposely omitted from the manuscript submitted for publication. A few practical illustrations may serve as evidence in support of the first of these, but it must be understood that in this work the "amorphous theory" is considered as being sound, and that it is assumed that metals allow of distortion, without fracture, by virtue of the formation of slip surfaces, accompanied by the transformation of crystalline material to the, amorphous phase. Effect of Pressure.-In all forging, rolling, and drawing operations, it is known that specimens of small cross-section may be worked at a lower temperature than can be used for the same material in much greater mass and sectional area. In -the larger pieces the maximum pressure is brought to bear upon the material near the surface, so that the interior is not subjected to great pressure, but to, a stress more nearly tensile, or shearing, so only the surface is subjected to the critical melting pressure. In the case of wires which draw hollow, the center is subjected to practically a tensile stress which breaks it, while the surface skin draws perfectly, due to the enormous "flowing" pressure exerted upon it by the surface of the draw-plate.

Jan 5, 1916

By Wilford Stork

CERTAIN influences of oxygen on iron have been known for many years and it has always been considered one of the worst enemies of the iron and steel founders. Nobody had a good word for it, hence little was done to make use of this oxygen. In all the fields of foundry practice, the desideratum was "melt without oxidation of the metal." In the consideration of the influence of oxygen on cast iron, we must not confuse this condition with oxidized iron caused by poor melting conditions, due to a high bed, heavy charges, low coke ratio, excessive melting rate, high blast, or poor charging. It is admitted that oxygen absorbed by iron melted under these conditions has a deleterious effect on the properties of the iron. The writer has had experience both in the melting under such poor conditions and in remedying these bad conditions and considers the product far inferior to iron melted under normal conditions. As stated by Dr. Richard Moldenke,1 such iron has a higher melting point and high combined carbon, is sluggish, and contains slags and oxides in solution in the liquid, causing slag inclusions and gas occlusions, thus producing defective castings. This oxidized condition cannot be counteracted or removed by any of the known deoxidizers; it can be remedied only by proper melting conditions. Such iron is really burned, whereas the iron considered in this paper was melted under normal conditions with moderate blast, correct bed height, light charges of iron, and low coke consumption and is not in this category at all. In 1914, the late J. E. Johnson, Jr., startled the metallurgists of the world when he published his results on the advantages of oxygen on cast iron.2 His work is so convincing and so logical, in spite of the common and well-established notions on the subject, that nobody has been able to refute a single argument. Such an eminent authority on iron and steel metallurgy as Prof. H. M. Howe has accepted the work in all its details in his latest book3 The work of J. E. Johnson, Jr., has revolutionized

Jan 6, 1919

JUDGE Samuel E. Schull, in the Court of Quarter Sessions of Monroe County, Pa., handed down a decision on July 2, declaring the Pennsylvania law for the Licensing of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors to be in violation of the Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania and also of the 14th amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The case was that of George E. Stevenson, who was arrested in June, 1922, charged with the practice of the profession of land surveying without first obtaining a state license. Mr. Stevenson had had forty years of practical experience as an engineer and land surveyor, and as set forth in the findings "had attained unusual skill, distinction and reputation in his said profession, and, on said date and for a considerable period thereto-fore and down to the present time, was and is President of the Engineer&apos;s Society of Northern Pennsylvania." That part of the decision referring to the unconsti-tutionality of the act is quoted in full as follows: This matter now comes on to be heard on argument as to the constitutionality of the said Act of May 25, 1921, P. I. 1131. The defendant urges that the same is unconstitutional: First: Because it is in violation of Article 3, Section 3, of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, which provides: "No bill, except general appropriations bills, shall be passed containing more than one subject which shall be clearly expressed in its title." Second: That the same is discriminatory and, therefore, in violation of the 14th Amendment of the Federal Constitution. In this case, we: are confronted by the Act of Assembly bearing the title "an act to regulate the practice of profession of Engi-neering and Land Surveying; creating a State Board for Regis-tration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors; defining its powers and duties, imposing certain duties upon the Common-wealth and Political subdivisions thereof, in connection with public work and providing penalties." We meet in the title of this act, a recognition of the fact that it is the legislative intent to deal with two professions: First: Engineering. Second: Land Surveying.

Jan 8, 1923

By W. J. Sharwood

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) CUPELLATION is well known to be one of the most effective methods of separating silver and gold from base metals and other impurities, as well as one of the most accurate means for their estimation. In the latter application it consists in absorbing in some porous medium the fused lead. oxide formed by the oxidation of the lead "bath," which carries with it the oxides of other base metals present. It has long been recognized that small amounts of both silver and gold were removed and absorbed together with the base metals, as well as being to some slight extent volatilized, and in work of the highest accuracy a correction is made for the "cupellation loss." Thus. in the assay of bullion this is done by means of "proofs" of like composition, which are manipulated throughout in precisely the same manner as the assay pieces, and are assumed to lose or gain like amounts. In the case of certain very rich ores and commercial products the loss is adjusted by assaying the cupel itself and recovering the precious metal absorbed, but this doubles the labor and does not remedy the loss by volatilization. Arbitrary tables have been drawn up by various authorities with the object of enabling a correction to be applied without the use of a check. These have been of very limited practical use owing to the fact that a number of factors affect the losses sustained. For a fixed amount of precious metal the loss varies with the amount of lead used, with the nature and amount of the impurities, with the porosity of the cupel, with the air supply, and above all with the temperature at which cupellation is carried on. Pure silver loses relatively much more than gold, but the loss in either is diminished by au addition of the other metal. The concentration of precious metal in the litharge increases as the concentration in the lead increases, but little work has been published connecting the two. If all other conditions remain the same the actual total loss increases, but the percentage loss diminishes, with an increase in the weight of precious metal treated.

Jan 8, 1915

The Committee on Nominations begs to submit the following names as its nominees for the respective offices indicated: For President, SIDNEY J. JENNINGS, New York. For Vice-Presidents. C. W. GOODALE,* Butte, Mont.; MARK, L. REQUA, San Francisco. For Directors, J. E. JOHNSON, JR., New York; ALLEN H. ROGERS, Boston; HOWARD N. EAVENSON, West Virginia; ROBERT AI. RAYMOND, New York; WILLET G. MILLER, Canada. The nomination for President has attracted the attention of a large number of members, as is evidenced by the receipt of many hundreds of letters and postcards. Most of these favored either Sidney J. Jennings or Philip N. Moore, each of whom received many cordial endorsements. Such a wide interest on the part of the members is a very wholesome sign, but where there is so much activity it is natural to expect a certain amount of criticism. Some of the letters indicate that the authors feel that the nomination of President should be left entirely to the Committee on Nominations without any effort by the members at large to influence them. Others feel that the nominations are largely controlled by a small group and that the members at large can have little influence. As the result; of the experience of the last few months; a majority of the Committee on Nominations begs leave to suggest that the method of making nominations be changed so that two candidates, at least, for the various offices to be nominated, and suggests that the Directors appoint a committee to investigate this question thoroughly with. a view to making definite recommendations. In accordance with its opinion that the best interests of the Institute would be served by a change in the Constitution, allowing the nomination of two candidates, and in view of the fact that this Committee has no authority to make more than a single nomination for each office, considering the high standing of both Mr. Jennings and Mr. Moore and the large number of members favoring each of these gentlemen, this Committee respectfully suggests the desirability of ,the immediate nomination of Philip N. Moore by a petition of 25 members in accordance with the present Constitution. This Committee regrets, its inability to make two nominations. Respectfully submitted, S. W. MUDD, Chairman.

Jan 1, 1917

By Bernard MacDonald

THE writing of this paper was prompted by the discussion by H. M. Chance, in the April Bulletin, of the paper written by Thomas M. Chance which appeared in the February Bulletin., and by the remarks of the Editor in which lie stated that while the matter contained in discussion did not refer to the original paper it "was presented as of interest to the operators of cyanide and other lixiviation processes dealing with fluid mixtures of varying specific gravity." For some years past the principle enunciated in the discussion referred to has been known to the writer and demonstrated by him to be an efficient and economical way of separating water or solution from solids in the cyanidation, lixiviation or acid leaching of ore pulps: In utilizing this principle in commercial practice he has invented a method whereby not only the separation of solution from solids may be effected in any given tank, but also the counter migration of the solids and solution may be effected continuously through a series of tanks in which the hydro-metallurgical treatment of ore pulps is being carried on. In effect this method is analogous to the counter-current system, but is different physically in that it is carried on throughout a series of tanks on practically the sane level, continuously and automatically, by hydrostatic pressure and gravity-flow, without the aid of intervening pumps or elevators, at the same time that agitation is being carried on in the same tanks. In the Parral system, agitation is effected in tanks by a number of air lifts of comparatively small diameter through which the pulp is continuously transferred from the bottom of the tank and spouted horizontally on top of the charge. The spouting force of the several streams thus discharged maintains a rotary flow in the pulp charge which extends from top to bottom of the tank. This continuous transfer of pulp and the spiral flow from top to bottom of the tank maintains the pulp constituents in uniform proportions and meets the requirements of efficient treatment in a most economical manner. The quantity of. compressed air required is very small, as the pulp is not lifted but simply trans-

Jan 7, 1918

By A. L. Field

This general subject has been so thoroughly discussed by Dr. Herty and his associates, especially with regard to the degree of oxidation of the metal at the time that the silicon pig or spiegel is added, that I am not going to spend much time on that today. I should like to propound a question, which is based on my own observations made some years ago while with a large alloy-steel company which had two open-hearth furnace plants. It is true that one of these plants was not engaged particularly in making alloy steels, but there were certain relations between slag and metal composition which appeared to me to be entirely different in the two plants. I have an explanation for it that is more or less incomplete, but possibly Dr. Herty or Mr. Reinartz or some of the others may be able to complete it. Suppose we take our three layers; the metal on the bottom, on top of that the slag, and on top of the slag, the gas. We cannot overlook the gaseous phase. Regardless of the effect of the iron oxide in the slag on the rate of carbon elimination—and that, of course, is rather important in alloy practice since it is not desirable to have the carbon dropping too rapidly at the time the deoxidizing is had in the furnace—it will probably be admitted that it depends on the iron oxide in the metal for a given carbon oxide. I have seen cases where with approximately identical metal and slag compositions one furnace would work twice as rapidly as another in removing carbon. Of course, there is some explanation of this in what others have already said, that the question of the exact lime and silica content of the slag determines the activity and viscosity of the slag; but I am convinced, without having reviewed the actual records since I was asked to make this talk, because they were not available at the time, that the slags in these two furnaces were not materially different. Putting it another way, one furnace would have

Jan 1, 1935

By Basil B. Zavoico

Production of crude oil in the U. S. S. R. during 1939 is estimated at, 226,111,000 bbl., as compared with 219,778,000 bbl. in 1938, an irlcreasc of 2.88 per cent but some 6.00 per cent under the planned output. During the past year a major readjustment took place in Russian oil fields, with the Grozny district falling into the third place, its former place having been taken by the fields of the Maikop-Kuban area of northwestern Caucasus. Production continued to grow in the Ural-Volg:t district and further large increases in this province in the coming years are certain. The drilling operations continued to be most unsatisfactory, falling far behind the plan, possibly as much as 25 per cent undvr the set objectives, and thereby interfering with the production plans, mora particularly since the Soviet oil industry is still based primarily upon the production from the naturally flowing wells without any proration whatsoever rather than upon stabilized production from either prorated oil wells or those operated with various mechanical lifts. The year 1939 started with the fulfillment of the drilling programs to the extent of about 90 per cent, but the situation rapidly deteriorated arid by the second half drilling programs were being fulfilled only to the extent of 60 per cent or less. Such breakdown in drilling operations was possibly due to poor equipment, which has not been able to stand increasing demands upon it, and this is substantiated by the rccent orders plaeed in the United States by the Soviet Government for some 60 drilling rigs of the latest design. Production Baku District.—-The fields of the Apshcbron Peninsula (Baku district) made a notable progrress during the past year and were able slightly to increase their production, to 166,000,000 bbt. as compared with 164,692,-000 bbl. during 1938. The c.rnphasis of production in the Baku district remained on the flowing wells, about 20 per cent of the total number of wells flowing about 70 per cent of production. During 1939 some 550 wells were complr.tcd in the Baku district with active rigs averaging

Jan 1, 1940

By Rossiter Raymond

This regiment, originally known as the First Engineer Reserve, will be remembered as the one recruited in New York City through the efforts of the Joint Military Committee of the National Engineering Societies. It was sent to England in August, 1917, and, after a few clays, forwarded to France and attached for immediate service to the British Expeditionary Force, without any opportunity for further field-training. This circumstance has led in some quarters to the impression that the regiment was one of engineers and mechanics merely, and had never been drilled under arms; whereas, in fact, it had received such instruction at Fort Totten for some time previous to its embarkation. It is true that in the famous affair of the German counter-attack after Byng&apos;s victory near Cambrai, the men of the Eleventh Engineers fought with pick-axes and tools, as well as with rifles borrowed from dead or wounded soldiers; but that was because they had left their own arms in camp, while doing the railroad-building work to which they had been detailed. The accomplishment of that work is really more remarkable than the behavior of the men under a German surprise-attack. It was before that counter-attack, and immediately after Byng&apos;s advance, that Field-Marshal Haig issued his despatch, announcing that the engineers deserved as much credit for that victory as the infantry, having performed miracles in keeping the railway transportation up to the fighting line. Indeed, the subsequent scrimmage, of which so much has been said, was ?Date possible only by the extraordinary position of the engineers at the very front, instead of in the rear, as might have been expected of them. A letter recently received from an officer of the regiment says: We have only recently been receiving the New York papers of early December, in which our regiment seems to have received much favorable mention. The stories were, in the main, true. Our men behaved themselves creditably, and certain of the officers received special mention for valor. Two of our 2d lieutenants were pro-moted to 1st lieutenant rank by special orders of General Pershing for "gallant con-duct in action," and about four others would have been decorated by the British,

Jan 4, 1918

By P. R. Martin, R. B. Kelly

Drilling in Central Texas during 1933 was confined, for the most part, to the search for new serpentine plugs. Bastrop County led in this particular activity, with 50 completions during the 12 months&apos; period, 12 of which were productive. Only one new field was opened in Central Texas during the year, it being known as "Hilbig" (Bastrop County) and was discovered by the Humble Oil & Refining Co. The finding of commercial production in the serpentine at 2500 ft. led to further search in this and surrounding counties, but without success. Bexar County actually provided the greatest amount of drilling but the activity was limited to shallow development from 400 to 2000 ft. The Edwards limestone pay, which has been such a factor in past years, received but slight attention during 1933. Unsuccessful exploration was carried on in Lee and Burleson counties. With the exception of Freestone County, the Woodbine sand area was given even less consideration. This county, because of its close proximity to Anderson and Leon counties, saw a very active leasing campaign and several important tests drilled. In Central Texas, 252 wells were completed in 1933, and of this number 52, or 21 per cent, were productive. Hilbig Field The discovery well, Humble Oil & Refining Company&apos;s Annie Hassler No. 1, was completed Feb. 16, 1933, for an initial production of 65 bbl. the first hour, through tubing and 1/2-in. choke. The production was found in serpentine at 2468 ft. and tested 37.2" A.P.I. gravity. Twelve producing wells were drilled during the year and served to indicate that not more than 300 acres would comprise the entire field. Daily production at the end of the year was 775 bbl., although the field potential was 18,240 bbl. daily through 1-in. choke. The field adapts itself to pressure maintenance, and this scientific handling is being undertaken by the Humble Oil & Refining Co. through one injection well. It is the only area in the district where work of this nature is under way. Proration of Oil The more stringent application of proration in 1933 did not affect materially the producing fields in Central Texas. This is accounted for

Jan 1, 1934

By D. R. Snow

The year 1930 stands out in the petroleum industry as an exceptional one in many ways. It is one of the few years in its history during which crude oil production declined from that of the previous year in nearly every important producing district in the United States and in the world as a whole. World production of crude oil declined approximately 81,000,000 bbl., from 1,484,451,000 bbl. in 1929 to 1,403,500,000 bbl. in 1930. Production of crude oil in the United States declined approximately 111,000,000 bbl., from 1,007,323,000 bbl. in 1929 to a production of 896,265,000 bbl. in 1930. World production outside of the United States increased approximately 30,000,000 bbl., due principally to the increased production in Russia. This, together with the decided decrease of production in the United States, resulted in a smaller percentage of world production in the United States than in any other year since 1921. This declining production occurred in the face of the greatest visible supply in the form of potential production that the industry has ever known and was clearly the result of the great efforts put forward to restrict production, both by proration and by unitization. Throughout the year, developments along the lines of proration and unitization have overshadowed all other developments in the minds of those interested in the oil industry and will, no doubt, continue to do so more and more in the future, as it is quite evident that the industry cannot hope to maintain itself in a profitable position, without some rational plan of bringing about a better balance between supply and demand than has existed in the past. The successful operation of the Van field unitization agreement and the recently completed Kettleman Hills plan are indicative of what mag be expected in the future along this line. That real progress has been made in this direction is shown by the fact that total crude oil stocks in the United States were decreased by approximately 28,000,000 bbl. during the year 1930. This is the only year on record during which such a decrease of crude oil stocks was accompanied by a severely declining price structure. This reduction of crude stocks is apparently continuing even after the price has reached its present low level, indicating that there is no

Jan 1, 1931

By H. F. Moore

AT PRESENT, I am connected with an investigation of the so-called fatigue of metals under stress. So far we have studied the more fundamental and simple case of the repeated stress, without the additional complexity of impact, which might bring in other factors. We feel that this investigation, which has been in active progress for a little over a year, has shown more conclusively than has been shown before that steel under repeated applications of stress, reversed from positive to negative, will not fail below some fairly clearly defined limiting stress that,, so far we can see, does not bear any definite relation to the ordinary elastic limit, being as large as the elastic limit in some cases and about one-half the elastic limit in others. I might be asked, first, what is fatigue. The old view is summed up "in the word "crystallization." The idea was that under repeated stress the material changed its crystalline structure. I do not know of any evidence in favor of the theory that metals materially change their crystalline structure under repeated stress. The crystals are broken under repeated stress. The second theory, advanced by Bauschinger, the German scientist, is that under repeated stress some inherent property of the material changes its elastic limit; it is an inherent property of the material, possibly some property of the amorphous cement between the crystal. The third view is that all fatigue of metals is the result of the spread of damage from little localized overstresses. I do not feel justified in stating my positive belief in the third view as against the second, but I have yet to run across a case of failure of steel or other metal, either in the laboratory or in service, that could not be explained by the gradual spread of damage from some nucleus. We have found, for example, that it is possible to subject a homogeneous steel, like Armco iron or a 0.90 per cent. carbon steel, that hag been thoroughly annealed, to one hundred million reversals f stress as high as the elastic limit of the steel with no sign of failure. We stopped the test at one hundred million because the machines Were required for other work. Forty-five days, continuous running at 1500 revolutions a minute is required to produce one hundred million repetitions. On the other hand, a complex structured steel, like a chrome-nickel steel that

Jan 6, 1921

By Ralph Wilcox

The diamond drilling of certain characters of unstable rock formation, as, for example, the copper-bearing schists of the Miami district in Arizona, is rendered most difficult by what is known as a caving " of the sides of the drill holes. As this caving is very greatly increased by the action of flowing water, it occurred to me, after experiencing a great deal of difficulty with caving in diamond-drill holes which I was drilling for the Miami Copper Co., that if I could substitute air for water, much of the caving—with resultant difficulties, such as decreased speed of sinking and increased consumption of diamonds—would be overcome. After some experimenting, I found that it was perfectly practicable to substitute air for the water; forcing the air down the hollow rotating rods in the same manner as is done with water, the air passing out around the bit, which is thus cooled, and ascending on the out~ide of the rods to the collar of the hole, carrying the borings in just as satisfactory a manner as had been done by the water, but without the accompanying destruction or caving of the sides of the drill holes such as had been so generally experienced with the water. When water was encountered in the drilling this water was forced up to the collar just as it would have been had water been used in the drilling, but with the correspondingly decreased flow there was relatively less washing or caving of the sides of the drill holes. The only change necessary in the arrangement of the drill is that a cross instead of a tee is used at the collar of the hole. A tightly woven jute bag is attached to one arm of the cross, for collecting and filtering the sample; and when drilling in dry ground a jet of water is attached to the opposite arm of the cross, to collect the dust and wash down the sample into the bag. The rods rotate through a stuffing box attached to the upper opening of the cross. The distention of the jute bag by the issuing air indicates the operating conditions as sufficiently as did the flow of water when using water in the drill hole. The small percentage of core recovery rendered it necessary to

Jan 1, 1914