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By Albert Sauveur

IT WAS in June, 1889, that I was first admitted to the society of educated men. The admission ticket had been signed, on the recommendation of my old and beloved teacher, Bobby Richards, by General Francis A. Walker at the time President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an institution familiarly known as M. I. T. I immediately proceeded to take advantage of that privilege by departing for Steelton, Pennsylvania, where I understood I was eagerly awaited by the educated officials of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. I was some. what disappointed at the casualness of my reception and at being tucked away in that preserve closet of steel works known as the chemical laboratory. At Steelton I met Major Bent who was president of the company. When I say "met," that is a figure of speech as my acquaintance with him was confined to my being shown

Jan 1, 1937

By Harry K. Ihrig

The hot-working of iron and steel is an art dating back to antiquity, but until about 25 years ago, relatively few alloying elements were used, and these were present only in small percentages. With the exception of sulphur, the amounts of other elements in steels did not markedly affect their hot-workability. The references in the literature on the effect of other elements on the hot-workability of steel are usually reports of failure of these steels in forging or rolling.1-8 With the increased use of alloying elements, and their use in larger amounts, it was observed that many of the new steels were red short in certain critical ranges or at all hot-working temperatures. The stainless steels are particularly difficult to hot-work. The determining of the correct conditions for piercing, rolling and forging of these alloys by experimentation in the mill often results in large losses of these expensive metals. It also is found that the hot-workability limits of many types vary from heat to heat, and hence poor results are obtained on changing to a new heat after a previous one has rolled satisfactorily. To determine the effect on hot-workability of iron to which various elements have been added, it was necessary to devise a method that could be used on small quantities of metal. In such a method, the minimum number of variables should be present, and the procedure should be simple, quick and correlatable with large-scale hot-working operations. Sauveur,9 in the first Henry Marion Howe lecture in 1924, described the effect of carbon on the ductility of steels in torsion near their critical points. He found that carbon increases the plasticity of gamma iron. In the 1930 Campbell Memorial lecture,10 he gives the effect of carbon, chromium, and chromium and nickel on the ductility of steels under 2000°F. in torsion. Ellis11 has studied the malleability of steels at various elevated temperatures by means of a single-blow drop-hammer test. In this test the percentage decrease in height of standard cylinders is taken as a measure of their malleability. He has shown that in the low-alloy steels studied, carbon has a greater effect than nickel, chromium and vanadium. In 1938 the first tests were run on a new quantitative hot-workability test in the laboratories of the Globe Steel Tubes CO. Thum12 mentioned it in 1940. An illustration of the apparatus was published in January 1942.'' The effect of a few alloying elements on the hot-workability of metals was shown in a description of the test in 1944.14 Description of Test Method The method adopted after a trial of several others is a rapid twisting of bars to failure in a furnace. The standard-size bar was chosen as 9/16 in. It is prepared from larger pieces by forging and cold-

Jan 1, 1947

By Harry K. Ihrig

The hot-working of iron and steel is an art dating back to antiquity, but until about 25 years ago, relatively few alloying elements were used, and these were present only in small percentages. With the exception of sulphur, the amounts of other elements in steels did not markedly affect their hot-workability. The references in the literature on the effect of other elements on the hot-workability of steel are usually reports of failure of these steels in forging or rolling.1-8 With the increased use of alloying elements, and their use in larger amounts, it was observed that many of the new steels were red short in certain critical ranges or at all hot-working temperatures. The stainless steels are particularly difficult to hot-work. The determining of the correct conditions for piercing, rolling and forging of these alloys by experimentation in the mill often results in large losses of these expensive metals. It also is found that the hot-workability limits of many types vary from heat to heat, and hence poor results are obtained on changing to a new heat after a previous one has rolled satisfactorily. To determine the effect on hot-workability of iron to which various elements have been added, it was necessary to devise a method that could be used on small quantities of metal. In such a method, the minimum number of variables should be present, and the procedure should be simple, quick and correlatable with large-scale hot-working operations. Sauveur,9 in the first Henry Marion Howe lecture in 1924, described the effect of carbon on the ductility of steels in torsion near their critical points. He found that carbon increases the plasticity of gamma iron. In the 1930 Campbell Memorial lecture,10 he gives the effect of carbon, chromium, and chromium and nickel on the ductility of steels under 2000°F. in torsion. Ellis11 has studied the malleability of steels at various elevated temperatures by means of a single-blow drop-hammer test. In this test the percentage decrease in height of standard cylinders is taken as a measure of their malleability. He has shown that in the low-alloy steels studied, carbon has a greater effect than nickel, chromium and vanadium. In 1938 the first tests were run on a new quantitative hot-workability test in the laboratories of the Globe Steel Tubes CO. Thum12 mentioned it in 1940. An illustration of the apparatus was published in January 1942.'' The effect of a few alloying elements on the hot-workability of metals was shown in a description of the test in 1944.14 Description of Test Method The method adopted after a trial of several others is a rapid twisting of bars to failure in a furnace. The standard-size bar was chosen as 9/16 in. It is prepared from larger pieces by forging and cold-

Jan 1, 1947

By J. W. Cunningham, M. J. Stultzman

THE demand for improved materials for high-temperature service has increased during the last few years. Iron,- nickel,- and cobalt-base alloys have been investigated extensively and many alloys with outs'tanding high-temperature strength have been developed. Considerable research has been directed toward improved methods of processing these alloys. The vacuum furnace as a tool for the purification and improved control of high-temperature alloys has been studied extensively and production units are in operation. The research covered by this paper studied the effects of casting in air, vacuum, or argon upon the elevated-temperature properties of two nickel- and two cobalt-base alloys. The alloys investigated were Stellite 31, He 1049, Udimet 500, and Guy Alloy. MELTING AND CASTING PROCEDURES Two heats of each of the four alloys under investigation were melted and investment cast under the following conditions: 1) Stellite 31 was melted and investment cast in air and in vacuum, with an argon atmosphere for pouring. 2) He 1049 was melted and investment cast in air and in vacuum, with an argon atmosphere for pouring. 3) Udimet 500 was melted and investment cast in vacuum with and without additions of zirconium and boron. 4) Guy Alloy was melted and investment cast in vacuum and in argon. The heats were all melted in induction furnaces equipped with preformed magnesia crucibles of 50-lb capacity. The air-melting furnace was powered by a spark-gap converter of 40 kw capacity. The vacuum-melting furnace was powered by a motor-generator set of 100 kw capacity. The argon heat of Guy alloy was melted in the vacuum melting furnace under an argon atmosphere. Virgin materials were used for preparing all heats except the air heats of Stellite 31 and He 1049. The charge for the air heat of Stellite 31 was a commercial blend of shot. The charge for the air heat of He 1049 was Stellite 6 shot plus those virgin materials necessary to give the desired composition. All of the materials used were of the same grade used com-

Jan 1, 1960

By Charles W. Dickson

CONTENTS. [ ] I.THE RELATION OF NICKEL TO PYRRHOTITE. Introduction. The Sudbury district is to-day one of the two great sources of nickel in the world. The peculiar geological relations of

Jan 1, 1913

By F. W. Jessen

The Mechanism of solution of salt and mixed halites of sodium and potassium is reviewed. The variation in the rate of salt removal under both laminar and turbulent flow conditions is discussed. Many changes are possible in the development of solution cavities whether used for production of salts or for storage of hydrocarbons. The parameters influencing the type and shape of cavity formed with single well or multiple well systems are examined and information presented regarding field application of techniques developed and the means of controlling overall configuration of solution cavities.

Jan 1, 1972

By Donald B. Gillies

TO me a graduating class of engineers constitutes one ' of the finest inspirations I can imagine. You have finished your four- year scholastic career and are starting out in competition with thou- sands of other young men from other universities to make your mark. Be- cause of your training you men are such an essential part of our present- day civilization that a great weight of responsibility rests on your shoulders, especially at this time, for this is an engineering era. Today, it is the engineer who dreams the dreams and makes our civilization better. It's the engineer who carries those dreams into realization and fulfillment. No matter where we go in business and industry, we find- engineers in key positions, charged with great responsibilities.

Jan 1, 1939

By E. P. Pfleider, W. G. Pariseau

This paper reports the theoretical and experimental results of an analysis of ore pass drawdown as a problem in soil plasticity. The method of analysis developed appears to be a promising technique of investigating the mechanics of fragmented materials. A reconstructed plasticity theory brings experiment and theory into reasonable agreement, and hence may provide the foundation needed for rational ore pass design. The gravity-induced movement of broken rock through ore passes is an economical method of transporting fragmented materials through large vertical distances in underground mines, provided the ore pass is well designed. Unfortunately, the design procedures now followed do not very often result in ore passes that function properly. On the one hand, the huge accumulation of empirical data pertaining to the movement of materials in gravel bunkers, storage bins, deep grain silos and other structures that have features in common with ore passes remains uncorrelated. On the other hand, there is a dearth of experimental data substantiating theoretical models of material behavior. Consequently, reliable generalizations encompassing the broad spectrum of problems involved have not been forthcoming. AS an initial step towards improving the situation, a detailed case study of two-dimensional ore pass drawdown was made. The mechanics of the process were analyzed theoretically as a problem in soil plasticity and tested experimentally through observations of a laboratory ore pass model. THEORY Taylor1 defines a soil as a "mass commonly considered to consist of a network or skeleton of solid particles, enclosing voids of varying size." Broken rock in an ore pass is such a material. In plasticity theory this material is replaced by an idealized substance that deforms elastically up to some state of stress at which slip or yield occurs,2 For com-pressive states of stress, the Mohr-Coulomb criterion is a satisfactory yield condition. After the yield point is reached, the ideal soil deforms in accordance with the concept of plastic potential.4 Under plane strain conditions the governing equations separate into a system of stress equations and a system of velocity equations.' Only stress variables appear in the stress system. The velocity system, however, contains a stress variable. The two systems are, therefore, coupled. Both systems are hyperbolic, and each has two real, distinct families of characteristic curves that coincide according to the classical theory of ideal soil plasticity. The

Jan 1, 1969

By W. O. Hotchkiss

RECOVERY and profits in the mining business do not go hand in hand. Some part of an orebody can usually be recovered at a lower cost per ton than the whole orebody or a higher proportion of it. Similarly, the total of the profits that may be made from mining an orebody is in itself not a true measure of the value of the business. The yardstick for money value should be present worth, and this is particularly so for purposes of com-parison. A simple example, well within the bounds of practicability, illustrates these points: Assume a mine to have known ore reserves of 4,000,000 tons. The ore is of uniform grade but is so situated that 1,000,000 tons could be mined more cheaply than the remainder. Present operations are on the basis of complete recovery of the ores. Output is 100,000 tons per year at a profit of $1 per ton. It is estimated that the 1,000,000 tons of readily accessible ore could be mined at the same production rate but at a profit of $2 per ton. For an output of 100,000 tons each year at a profit of $1.00 per ton, the mine will have a life of 40 years; will produce $4,000,000 of total profit, and, at Hoskold rates of 8 and 4 per cent, will have a present value of $1,104,690. If only the easy one-quarter of the ore is considered, with an output of 100,000 tons each year, at a profit of $2.00 per ton, that part of the mine will have a life of 10 years, will produce total profits of $2,000,000, and at rates of 8 and 4 per cent will have a present value of $1,224,800. . Under conditions such as these, then, one-quarter of the reserve ore promptly mined is worth some 10 per cent more than the entire reserve would be on an average basis extending over the longer period. Assume further that one-half, or 2,000,000 tons, of the reserves could be promptly mined at the same yearly rate of 100,000 tons at a profit of $1.50 per ton. Then this part of the mine would have a life of 20 years, would produce total profits of $3,000,000, and would have a present value of $1,320,630; approximately 20 per cent greater than for the whole ore-body on an average basis for the longer period.

Jan 1, 1936

By A. A. Blow

The productive area of the Leadville mining district immediately adjoining the city of Leadville, which, by its wonderful richness, has attracted the attention of the mining world for the past twelve years, may, with a few exceptions, he considered as divided into seven local mining centers, separated one from another by the topographical features of the country, and designated by common consent as Fryer Hill, Yankee Hill, Breece Hill, Rock Mill, Printer-Boy Hill, Iron Hill, and Carbonate Hill. Of these seven distinot mining localities, or groups of mines, the central one, Iron Hill, is the one of greatest importance and interest. It was the scene of the earliest discovery of carbonates, as far back as 1875, and since that time has always maintained its position

Jan 1, 1890

By L. G. Huntley

The occurrence of oil or "tar" in Mexico was mentioned as early as the seventeenth century by Friar Sagahun, who gives the Indian name "chapopote," by which these asphalt seepages are still called. This asphalt was apparently used, as it has been used by primitive people in many parts of the world, in religious ceremonies and for medicinal purposes. Travellers also report that the ruins in Yucatan and the pyramids in southern Mexico show traces of the use of "chapopotel' as a building cement.l DeGolyer says that the first attempt to exploit oil or gas in Mexico in a commercial way is shown by the records of the Memoria de Fomento of 1865, when permission was granted to a Senor Ildefonso Lopez to exploit the deposits of petroliferous substances in the San Jose de las Rusias area in the State of Tamaulipas. Other concessions follow, and probably refer to surface seepages which occur in that district. This was several years after the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania. In 1868, a well 125 it. deep was :drilled by a company organized in Mexico City, in what is now known as the,, Furbero district, and a little oil was refined there. In 1873, residents of Tampico denounced seepages along the Tamesi River, and asphalt was mined near Tempoal in the Canton of Tantoyuca. No drilling was attempted. But between 1880 and 1883 several shallow wells were drilled for oil in Mexico, two of them being near the present Potrero de Llano field west of Tuxpam. The wells were drilled by a Boston company with Canadian rigs, and are said to have reached a depth of about 400 ft., while one is reported to have flowed. Several other abortive attempts were made to drill for oil between 1885 and the beginning of the present century, about which time the Mexican Petroleum & Liquid Fuel Co., Ltd., in which Cecil Rhodes was interested drilled 24 wells unsuccessfully, several of them as deep as 1,500 ft., in the State of Vera Cruz. Also Messrs. Doheny and Canfield of California pur-

Jan 1, 1916

By Cyril Wells

THE diffusion of carbon in gamma iron plays an essential role in many metallurgical processes. In carburizing, in graphitizing, in homogenizing, in the formation of pearlite from austenite, and in other processes, migra-tion of carbon in gamma iron occurs.1,2 A full understanding of the rate at which these processes occur obviously requires a knowledge of the rate of diffusion of carbon. In carburizing, for example, the depth of carbon pentration is determined by the carbon concentration in solid solution at the surface, and by the rate of diffusion inward of the carbon. Until reliable data on the rates of diffusion of carbon are available it is unlikely that a full quantitative description of this process will be obtained. In the formation of pearlite from austenite, the segregation of carbon and alpha iron from the austenite obviously requires the diffusion of carbon; the rate at which pearlite nodules grow is evidently controlled at least in part by the rate of diffusion of carbon; it is unlikely that we shall understand the factors that determine the rate of growth unless data on rates of diffusion of carbon, and the variation of these with com-position, grain size, and temperature are available. Accordingly it was decided: (1) to determine, more accurately than hitherto, the diffusion coefficients of carbon in austenite over a wide temperature and a wide concentration range, (2) to study the influence of grain size and impurities on this diffusion coefficient, and (3) to study the effect of manganese and nickel on the rate of diffusion of carbon in the austenite of manganese and nickel steels, respectively; the influence of carbon on the rate of diffusion of manganese and of nickel will be made the subject of later papers. The rate of diffusion of carbon in gamma iron has been studied by Runge3 by Tammann and Schönert4, by Bramley and co-authors,5-14 and

Jan 1, 1940

By David Sinclair, Philip B. Bucky

The dimensions and shapes of mine structures may at present be determined by (1) field experience, (2) structural calculations, and (3) barodynamic tests. § None of these, however, provide information as to the stresses, their direction and distribution in a mine structure. For the design of pillars, the placing of openings relative to working places such as gangways, haulage levels, etc., this information is desirable. Photoelastic methods provide this and, while relatively new, their application in all engineering fields is assuming increasing importance. This paper, therefore, will present the method with a few applications to mining, and with sufficient reference for further study by the reader. PART I The Photoelastic Method The photoelastic method of stress measurement determines the stress distribution in a two-dimensional model by optical means. It makes use of the fact that when a piece of isotropic transparent material, such as glass, celluloid, or Bakelite, is stressed and viewed in polarized** light a picture is seen which indicates by its color bands of light, or fringes, the magnitude of the stresses, their direction and their distribution. General Explanation The stress at any point 0 in a structure (Fig. I), may be resolved into two components, P and Q, each a pure tension or compression, at right angles to each other, called principal stresses.' To fully identify the stress, the values of P and Q and their directions or angle F must be known.

Jan 1, 1940

By David Sinclair, Philip B. Bucky

The dimensions and shapes of mine structures may at present be determined by (1) field experience, (2) structural calculations, and (3) barodynamic tests. § None of these, however, provide information as to the stresses, their direction and distribution in a mine structure. For the design of pillars, the placing of openings relative to working places such as gangways, haulage levels, etc., this information is desirable. Photoelastic methods provide this and, while relatively new, their application in all engineering fields is assuming increasing importance. This paper, therefore, will present the method with a few applications to mining, and with sufficient reference for further study by the reader. PART I The Photoelastic Method The photoelastic method of stress measurement determines the stress distribution in a two-dimensional model by optical means. It makes use of the fact that when a piece of isotropic transparent material, such as glass, celluloid, or Bakelite, is stressed and viewed in polarized** light a picture is seen which indicates by its color bands of light, or fringes, the magnitude of the stresses, their direction and their distribution. General Explanation The stress at any point 0 in a structure (Fig. I), may be resolved into two components, P and Q, each a pure tension or compression, at right angles to each other, called principal stresses.' To fully identify the stress, the values of P and Q and their directions or angle F must be known.

Jan 1, 1940

By Chas. Y. Clayton, Francis B. Foley, W. E. Remmers

DuRing the summer of 1919, the late Dr. Henry M. Howe, then Chairman of the Division of Engineering of the National Research Council, organized a committee to obtain a better insight into the behavior of carbon steels under the influence of various treatments by a proper control of the time and temperature factors. During part of 1919 and 1920, work in connection with this investigation was carried on at Dr. Howe's laboratory at Bedford Hills, N. Y. During 1921 there was an enforced hiatus in the work, occasioned by the illness which resulted in Dr. Howe's death in 1922. At that time one of the present authors compiled the results of the work which had been done and this was published in 1923.' Following the publication of this work, it seemed desirable to carry on in the same manner an investigation of steel of C 0.75 per cent., which steel had not been as fully treated as had the other steels of C 0.34 and 0.52 per cent., used in the published work. Furthermore, certain unusual results have been obtained in the treatment of C 0.52 per cent. steel by quenching and drawing, and repetition of this part of the work seemed advisable. This has been done during the past year at the School of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Missouri at Rolla, Mo., by a cooperative undertaking of the School and the Bureau of Mines, working in conjunction with the Committee on Heat Treatment of Carbon Steels of the National Research Council. The present paper is a report of the results obtained in this work.

Jan 1, 1926

By William H. Morris

At the Glen Summit meeting, the question of controlling the silicon in pig-iron WAS raised; and as this has been deemed by most furnace-men for years past a matter of special difficulty, an account of our experience in the matter may be of interest. When running on mill-iron, some years ago, we aimed to keep

Jan 1, 1893

By Arthur Notman

THE raw material men in all industries, and copper is no exception, are accustomed to think of them- selves as the whole show, and not without justice, for if there were no copper mines the world would have no copper. Nevertheless, many different things costing money and resulting in profits must be done to their product before it is ready for the world's use. In other words, they are making the frequent mistake of Chinking in terms of partial costs. Nobody really uses electrolytic copper. Possibly that is why nobody seems willing to pay anything for it. The manufacturers, being canny, do not buy any more electrolytic than they feel that they can work up and sell profitably, although they like to make the raw material men Chink that they will take all that can be produced. This is a state of affairs that has aroused my sympathy and curiosity, and has induced me to study the financial history of the copper wire and brass industry of the country or such portion of it as publishes any records readily available to the curious minded. About 60 per cent of the electrolytic copper used in this country is drawn into wire and consumed by the electrical industries. The remaining 40 per cent is

Jan 1, 1926

By T. L. Joseph

THE invention of the Bessemer converter process in 1856 added great impetus to the manufacture of steel and is one of the outstanding contributions to process metallurgy. Although the process of refining pig iron by passing air through the molten metal bears the name of Henry Bessemer, it should be mentioned in passing that William Kelley of Eddysville, Ky., worked on the process as early as 1847. Kelley was granted a patent on the process in 1857, inasmuch as he was able to prove priority in discovery.1 After considerable litigation in 1865 the respective interests of Kelley and Bessemer were combined. On Sept. 10, 1856, Robert Mushet of England obtained his first patent on the application of manganese to cast steel. Mushet anticipated trouble in purifying iron by passing currents of air through it. His patent specified that steel made in this way often contained flaws and was red short or cold short. Mushet understood the refining of pig iron into steel well enough to realize the difficulties likely to be encountered from oxidation of the iron. Mushet was not only an inventor but he was also an investigator. He understood the principle of selective oxidation which takes place in the converter process, arid he realized therefore that the remedy for over-oxidation was attainable if a suitable metal could be found at a reasonable cost and in sufficient quantities. His first experiments were made in small crucibles holding a few ounces of metal. Later his work was conducted on a larger scale and with complete success. Manganese had been used in making steel a quarter of a century before the converter

Jan 5, 1927

By Donald A. Brobst

The minerals barite (BaSO4) and witherite (BaCO3) are the chief sources of the element barium and its compounds needed for many industrial processes and products. Barite, the principal ore mineral, is found the world over and is abundant and widely distributed throughout the United States.3 Witherite is much less common than barite, though more desirable in many ways as a raw material for the production of barium chemicals. England is the chief producer of witherite. Witherite is not mined in the United States at the present time, but it has been mined with barite from a deposit at El Portal, California. Barite is also called barytes, tiff, cawk, or heavy spar. Ordinarily it is a heavy mineral that crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. It is colorless, white, or gray, and transparent to opaque. In some deposits barite is black, yellow, brown, red, green, or blue because of included impurities. The streak is white and the luster vitreous to resinous or pearly. The specific gravity of pure barite (65.7 pct BaO and 34.3 pct SO3) is calculated to be 4.5, but inclusions and impurities in natural barite may reduce this value considerably. Well-formed crystals are generally tabular and have three cleavages. The barite of many deposits, however, has an uneven fracture and an apparent cleavage caused by separation along planes between successively deposited layers. The hardness is 2.5 to 3.5 on Mohs' scale. Commercially the terms "hard" and "soft" are used to refer to ease of grinding. Barite is relatively insoluble in water and acid, and thus can be used as a chemically inert material. Witherite, the natural carbonate of barium (77.7 pct BaO and 22.3 pct CO2), crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. The fracture is uneven and the luster is vitreous to resinous. The hardness is 3 to 3.5. The specific gravity of the pure mineral is calculated to be 4.29. It is transparent to opaque. The color is ordinarily white, gray, yellow, brown, or green. Geology and Distribution of Deposits Workable deposits of barite are widely distributed throughout the world in many geologic environments in sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Most deposits can be classified into three main types: (1) vein and cavityfilling deposits; (2) bedded deposits; and (3) residual deposits. 1. Vein and cavity-filling deposits are those in which barite and associated minerals occur along faults, gashes, joints, and bedding planes, and in breccia zones and solution channels. They also occur in various collapse and sink structures in limestone. Sharp contacts of the veins and cavity fillings with wall rocks are common. Barite cements fault and collapse breccia by replacement of the matrix or by filling voids. Large-scale replacement of the wall rocks beyond ore-controlling structures is rare. Barite in vein and cavity filling deposits is generally dense, "hard," and white to gray. Associated minerals are fluorite, calcite, ankerite, dolomite, quartz, and many sulfide minerals, especially pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. Gold, silver, and rare earth minerals occur with barite in some deposits in the western United States. Barite is also a gangue mineral in metallic ore deposits but production as a byproduct from such deposits will be affected by many economic factors. The host rocks are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks of pre-Cambrian to

Jan 1, 1960

By Clarence Seyler

THE technical difficulties of cutting thin sections of coal for examination by transmitted light have hitherto restricted the investigation of the important subject of the microstructure of coal to the few possessed of the requisite skill and time. Apart from this, the method fails with anthracites and other coals rich in carbon, owing to the opacity of the material. Occasional use of the method of polishing a surface, with or without etching, has been made, but it was not until Winter1 published an account of his results that attention was seriously directed to the method. In May, 1923, a specimen of dull anthracite came into my hands; I tried Winter's method on it and the presence of megaspores and other vegetable structures became clearly visible. A preliminary notice was published by me;2 but I soon abandoned the use of Schulze's solution having found that a mixture of chromic and sulfuric acids gave far better results. In the meantime Turner and Randall, in America, had independently developed the method of flame etching, as applied to anthracite, with great success. I have spent a year studying the method of chromic etching, which gives excellent results with bituminous coals and cannels, as well as with anthracite. For anthracites, I have used the chromic method and Turner's method of flame etching, whichever was the more convenient or as a check one on the other. The polishing is done, according to metallurgical practice, by the use of a polishing machine and successively finer emery paper, followed by polishing on cloth moistened with a suspension of levigated green oxide of chromium, and a final rubbing on "selvyt" (a cotton velvet polishing cloth) moistened' with alcohol. The polished sample is examined by reflected light with a 2/3 and 1/6 in. objective. Bituminous coals usually show considerable structure, and even anthracites show it faintly in places. The sample is then etched by immersion in a boiling solution made by adding 10 c.c. of concentrated sulfuric acid to 30 c.c of a saturated solution of chromic acid; enough water is then added to dissolve

Jan 3, 1925