p Sr 

>L Him* *. V/l 


'M*v*?VVT**>K», Vl4 









... 








































































ozzzzzzzzzzzz z zzzzzz z 


CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS 


OF THE 



ADOPTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, 

BIRMINGHAM, Jan. 28, 1891. 






















9 


t 

< 


r < 


CONSTITUTION 


OF THE 




00 

Cv2 

5 

“3 


ADOPTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, 


BIRMINGHAM, Jan. 28, 1891. 


PREAMBLE. 

The Members of The Alabama Industrial and Scientific So¬ 
ciety, organized at the University of Alabama, Thursday, Dec- 
11th, 1890, do adopt the following Constitution : 


ARTICLE I. 

NAME. 

The name of this Society shall be The Alabama Industrial 
and Scientific Society. 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECTS. 

The objects of the Society are the promotion of the Industrial 
and Scientific development of the State. 

ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

The Society shall be composed of Members and Associates. 

Members :—Any person engaged in the active prosecution 
of Engineering, in any of its branches, Geology, Chemistry, 
Mining, Smelting, or Manufacturing, and the President, General 




2 


Manager, Superintendent, or officials of any Company concerned 
with the production, manufacture or transportation of materials 
used in the industries of the State, may become a Member, pro¬ 
vided that he be twenty-one years of age and be recommended 
by the Council. 

Associates : — Any person interested in the prosperity of the 
State, and in sympathy with the objects of the Society, may be¬ 
come an Associate, provided he be twenty-one years of age and 
be recommended by the Council. 

An Associate shall be entitled to all the privileges enjoyed by 
a Member, except those of voting and holding office. 

ARTICLE IV. 

OFFICERS. 

The officers of the Society shall be a President, six Vice- 
Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. These shall consti¬ 
tute the Council. 

Ro one shall be considered eligible to office who shall be in 

arrears of Annual Dues or Assessments at the Annual Meeting, 
or who shall not have been a Member of the Society for at least 
one year previous to election. 

1. The President shall be elected at the Annual Meeting, by a 
majority vote of all the Members of the Society, and shall hold 
office for one year, or until his successor is duly elected and in 
stalled. He shall be ex-officio Chairman of the Council, and of 
the Committee on Presentation and Publication of Papers, and 
shall discharge the usual duties of a presiding officer. He shall 
have general supervision of the affairs of the Society. 

2. The six Vice-Presidents shall be elected from among the 
Members of the Society in the same manner as the President, 
and, in addition thereto, as follows: at the Annual election in 
1892, two shall be elected to serve for one year, two for two 
years, and two for three years, and at each succeeding Annual 
Meeting two shall be elected to take the place of those whose 
term expires at that meeting, and the terms of the two thus 
elected shall expire in three years. 




7 


3 


The Vice-Presidents, in the order of their election, shall dis¬ 
charge the duties of the President in the event of his death or 
absence from the meetings. 


3. Secretary. —The Secretary shall keep the records of the 
proceedings of the Society and of the Council. He shall attend 
to the preparation, printing and mailing of circulars, blanks, and 
notifications of elections and meetings. He shall collect all mon¬ 
ies due the Society, so far as may be possible, turn them over to 
the Treasurer and take his receipt for the same. He shall be, 
ex-officio, a member of the Committee on the Presentation and 
Publication of Papers, and shall edit and distribute such publi¬ 
cations as the Council may direct, and have charge of the Library. 
He shall keep an accurate register of all the Members and Asso¬ 
ciates, recording the date of their connection with the Society, 
and notifying them of their election, and of the amount of their 
dues and assessments. 

At each meeting he shall present a report. 

4. Treasurer. —The Treasurer shall receive from the Secre¬ 
tary such monies as may be paid to that officer, and deposit the 
same in some Bank to the credit of the Society, subject to his 
order. He shall keep a just and accurate account of all receipts 
and disbursements, in detail, and this shall be audited as herein¬ 
after provided. 

He, or in his absence, the President, shall sign all checks. 

At each Annual Meeting lie shall present a full and detailed 
report of the financial condition of the Society. 


5. The Council. —The Council shall have executive author¬ 
ity ; it shall also have legislative power in the intervals of the 
meetings; but no decree of the Council shall be considered as 
binding beyond the next succeeding meeting without ratification 
by majority vote of all the Members. 


The Council shall meet on the day preceding each meeting, for 
the purpose of receiving applications for admission into the So¬ 
ciety, and for receiving and examining such papers as may be 
presented for reading and discussion. No paper shall be read 
before the Society, either by title or in full, which has not been 


4 


presented to the Council and approved by them, nor shall any 
matter be printed without the authority of the Council. 

The Council shall have exclusive control of all publications of 
the Society, and may, at their option, accord or refuse permission 
to publish any paper in the proceedings. 

The Council shall make to such meetings a full report of all 
matters that have come before them, since the preceding meet¬ 
ing, and this report must be accepted by majority vote of the 
Members present before it can be considered as in force. 

The Council shall have power to order any assessment, not 
above $5 per annum, that ma} 7 be necessary, over and above the 
amount derived from the Annual dues, to carry on the business 
of the Society. 

The Council shall have power to fill any vacancies among the 
officers that may be necessary between the Annual Meetings. 

0. Terms of Office. —The President and Vice-Presidents 
shall hold office as provided in Article IV, Sections I and 2. 
The Secretary and Treasurer may hold office until, by a two- 
third’s vote of all the members of the Society, these offices shall 
be declared vacant. 

It is especially provided in this Section, that the elections held 
at the University of Alabama, Dec. lltli, 1S90, shall be regarded 
as if held at the Annual Meeting in 1891. 

. ARTICLE V. 

VOTING AND ELECTIONS. 

1. All elections shall be by ballot. 

2. Voting by letter or by proxy may be allowed, and such 
letters must be filed with the Secretary. 

3. Election of Members and Associates.— Nominations 
foi Membeis and Associates shall be signed by two members 
according to a form to be furnished by the Secretary on ap¬ 
plication. 

One of these members must be personally acquainted with 
the applicant. 

The nominations thus made must be sent to the Secretary, and 


o 




/ 


by him sent to each member ten days before next meeting, aud 
by him also be laid before the Council at their next meeting. 
The names of those proposing Members and Associates must be 
sent out when the nominations are made. If the Council ap¬ 
prove the nominations, they shall present the same to the So¬ 
ciety at its next meeting, when the election of the nominees may 
take place. Five negative votes shall exclude the applicant. 

4. Election of Officers.— Nominations for office shall be 
made by the Council or may be made by any ten Members, in 
writing, at least sixty days before each Annual meeting. Two 
Members shall be nominated for each office, and these shall have 
signified their willingness to serve. All these nominations shall ' 
be sent by the Secretary to each member of the Society at least 
thirty days before each Annual meeting. The ballots shall be 
returned to the Secretary and by him laid before the Council, 
wbo shall count them and announce the result to the Society. In 
case no one has the majority, the Society shall proceed at once 
to the election between those having the two largest numbers of 
votes. 

The officers elected at the Annual meetings, shall enter upon 
the discharge of their duties immedietely upon the adjournment 
of such meetings. 

ARTICLE VI. 

MEETINGS. 

The Society shall hold at least 4 (four) meetings a year, viz : 
in January, April, July, aud October. The January meeting 
shall be considered the Annual meeting, at which the officers for 
the ensuing year shall be elected, and the Reports of the Secre¬ 
tary and Treasurer read. At the Annual meeting, the retiring 
President shall deliver an address, reviewing the work of the 
Society for the past year, and suggesting lines along which work 
should be prosecuted during the coming year. 

The exact place and date of the succeeding meeting, shall be 
determined by majority vote of the Members present at any one 
meeting. 

Special meetings may be called by the Council; and must be 
called upon the written request of twenty Members. This re¬ 
quest must specify the object of the special meeting, and the 
place and date of the same. 



6 


The President may call a special meeting at any time. 

At meeting's of the Society, a majority of those registered in 
attendance shall constitute a quorum. 

Five shall constitute a quorum of the Council. 

ARTICLE VII. 

PUBLICATION. 

The serial publications of the Society shall be under the im¬ 
mediate control of the Council. Of these, or other publications 
of the Society, the Secretary shall be Editor. The price of the 
publications, to the general public, shall be fixed by the Council 
from time to time. Extra copies may be furnished to Members 
and Associates at cost. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

1. Amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed by five 
Members in writing. Such proposed amendments shall be sub¬ 
mitted to the Members, for voting by letter-ballot, at time of 
sending out nominations for officers. Three-fourths of the Mem¬ 
bers voting being required for passage of any proposed amend¬ 
ment to the Constitution. 

2. By Laws may be made or amended by a majority vote of 
the Members preseut and voting at any Annual Meeting, provi¬ 
ded that printed notices of the proposed by-law, or amendment 
thereto, shall have been given to all Members at least sixty days 
before the meeting. 


JB 3T - 


CHAPTER I. 

f 

OF MEMBERSHIP. 

1. No person shall be accepted as a Member or Associate, un¬ 
less he pay the dues for the year, within three months after noti¬ 
fication of his election. 

The Animal dues shall be $5,00 (five dollars) for a Member, 
and $3,00 for an Associate; payable on or before the 1st 'day of 
January in each year. 

2. An arrearage at the time of the Annual Meeting, in pay¬ 
ment of the Annual dues or assessments, shall deprive a Mem¬ 
ber of the privilege of voting for officers and of holding office, 
and shall deprive a Member, or an Associate, of the privilege of 
receiving the publications of the Society for the ensuing year. 

An arrearage continuing over 2 (two) years, shall be construed 
as notification of withdrawal, and such person shall not again 
become eligible for election as Member or Associate, until all 
dues and assessments have been paid in full. 

1 All persons joining the Society before the close of the Annual 
Meeting, Jan. 28th, 1891, shall be considered original members. 

I 

CHAPTER II. 

1. The President shall countersign, if he approves, all duly 
authorized accounts and orders drawn on the Treasurer for the 
disbursement of money. 

CHAPTER III. 

I. Nominations for Members or Associates, may be proposed 
at any time, on blanks furnished by the Secretary. 





8 


2. The form for the nomination of Members or Associates, 
shall be as follows : 


In accordance with his request, we respectfully 
nominate for Member, or Associate, of The Alabama 
Industrial and Scientific Society, 

(IF’-o.ll 3iTa,anc2.e),. 

Address, ... 

Occupation, ...... 

f (Sigonea. 1037-) .. 


The form, when filled, is to be transmitted to the Secretary. 

3. The Secretary shall bring all nominations before the Coun¬ 
cil, at each of their meetings, and the Council shall signify their 
approval or disapproval of each. 

If approved, the Council shall bring them before the Society, 
at its next meeting, for action. 

CHAPTER IV, 

OF FINANCIAL METHODS. 

1. No pecuniary obligation shall be contracted without ex¬ 
press sanction of the Society or of the Council. But it is to be 
understood, that all ordinary, incidental and running expenses, 
can be paid by the Treasurer without special warrant. 

2. The creditor of the Society must present to the Treasurer a 
fully itemized bill, certified by the official authorizing it, and ap¬ 
proved by the President. 

The Treasurer shall then pay the bill, and the receipted bill 
shall be his voucher. 

3. At each Annual Meeting the President shall appoint two 
members, not members of the Council, as a Committee to audit 
the books of the Secretary and Treasurer, which books shall be 
posted and balanced to the close of the 31st day of December. 

The Auditors shall report to the Society before the close of 
the meeting, and appropriate action shall be taken. 













I 


9 

CHAPTER V. 

OF PUBLICATIONS. 

1, The publications of the Society are in charge of the Coun¬ 
cil, and under its control. 

2. One copy of each publication shall be sent to each Member 

and Associate, and each author shall receive 10 (ten) copies of 
his paper presented to the Society, when printed. 

CHAPTER VI. 

OF ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

The Order of Business at all meetings, except the Annual 
Meeting, shall be as follows : 

1. Call to order by the Presiding Officer. 

2. Reading, correction, and adoption of Minutes of last Reg¬ 

ular and all intervening Meetings. 

3. Reports of Committees. 

4. Report of Council. 

5. Election of Members and Associates. 

6. Unfinished Business. 

7. New Business. 

8. Presentation and Discussion of Papers. 

9. Synopsis of Minutes. 

10. Adjournment. 

The Order of Business at the Annual Meetiug, shall be :— 

1. Call to order by the Presiding Officer. 

^2. Address of Retiring President. 

3. Reading, correction, and adoption of Minutes of last Reg¬ 

ular and all intervening Meetings. 

4. Report of Committees. 

5. Report of Council. 

6. Election of Members and Associates. 

7. Reports of Secretary and Treasurer, and appointing of 

Auditing Committee. 

8. Unfinished Business. 

9. New Business. 

10. Presentation and Discussion of Papers. 

11. Election of Officers for the ensuing year, and Induction 

of the new President. 

12. Synopsis of Minutes. 

13. Adjournment. 

At an adjourned session, the order shall be resumed at the 
place reached on the previous adjournment, opportunity, how¬ 
ever, being given for the transaction of new business. 


















' • 
















*■ 










f 






if 


* 



PROCEEDINGS 

OR THE 

ALABAMA 

INDUSTBIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

VOLUME! I. NUMBEIR 1. 

—;;i 89i'- 












PROCEEDINGS 


/ 

OF THE 


-);ALABAMA|(- 

vv 


C adustrial aad Scieatific Society. 


VOLU ME I. 


NUMBER 1 . 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


Secretary’s Office, 

University P. O., 

Alabama. 


TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA. 

1891. 





PRESS OF MONT. I. BURTON. 


TUSCALOOSA, ALA, 




‘ * 

0- 

i N DEX. 


PAGE. 


Anniston Meeting. 21 

Annual dues. 6 

Annual Meeting, 1891. 8 

Ammoniacal liquor from gas works . . . 70 

Asylum Coal Seam, Tuscaloosa County, analysis of.. 67 

Blue Creek Coal, Jefferson County, ultimate composition. 67 

Beeman Basin Coal, Cullman County, ultimate composition. 67 

Birmingham meeting. 8 

Bird’s-eye Coal, Whitley County, Ky., ultimate composition. 67 

Brookwood Coal Seam, Tuscaloosa County, ultimate composition. 67 

Cadle, C., Presidential Address. 8 

Cahaha Coal, Blocton, Bibb County, ultimate composition. 67 

Cannel Coal, Peacock Mines, Walker County, ultimate comp. 67 

Coalburg Coal, Jefferson County, ultimate composition. 67 

Coal City Coal, Walker County, ultimate composition. 67 

Design for Lock-Valves, H. Harding... 73 

Egypt Coal, Chatham County, N. C., ultimate composition. 67 

Fitts, J. H., Resolutions concerning Ala. Geol. Survey. 20 

Phillips, Wm. B., Notes on Simon-Carves System of Coking. 17 

Ultimate Composition of some Alabama Coals. . 61 

Pratt Mines Coal, ultimate composition. 67 

President’s Address, C. Cadle. 8 

Resolutions concerning Alabama Geol. Survey, J. A. Fitts. 20 

Road Movement, The, W. E. Robertson. 23 

Robertson, W. E., The Road Movement . 23 

Ruffin, W. C., Secretary of 1st meeting. 5 

Sections of Gas and Oil Wells in North Alabama, H. McCalley. . . 48 

Smith, E. A., presents map of Cahaha Coal Field. 14 

Squire, Joseph, map of Cahaba Coal Fields. 14 



























PAGE. 


Standard Coal Company’s Coal, ultimate composition. 07 

Tar from Alabama Coal. 07 

Tests of Railway Axles, U. S. Rolling Stock Company. 59-00 

Future of Iron and Steel Industry in Alabama, B. F. Peacock. ... 49 

Gas from Alabama Coal. 07 

Harding, H, Design for Lock-Valves. 73 

Haskell. A. W., Mine Surveying. 14 

Jones, R. C., Chairman of 1st meeting. 5 

List of Officers for 1891. 5 

Map of CahabaCoal Field. 14 

McCallev, H., Natural Gas and Petroleum in North Alabama .... 25 

Milldale Coal Seam, Tuscaloosa County, ultimate composition. ... 07 

Mine Surveying, Haskell, A. W.,. 14 

Natural Gas and Petroleum in North Alabama, IJ. McCalley. 25 

Natural Bridge Coal, Winston County, ultimate composition. G7 

Notes on Simon-Carves System of Coking, Wm. B. Phillips . 17 

Officers for 1891 . 5 

Organization, meetiug for. 3 

Peacock, B. F., The Future of the Iron and Steel Industry in Ala. 49 
Ultimate Composition of some Alabama Coals, Wm. B. Phillips. 

Universitv meeting. 

Underwood Coal Seam, Bibb County, ultimate composition. 67 

Wadsworth Coal Seam, Shelby County, ultimate composition.... 67 

Woodstock Coal Seam, Bibb County, ultimate composition. 67 


61 

3 




















UNIVERSITY MEETING . 


jURING the months of October and November, 1890, 
the following circular letter (which will explain itself) 
was sent out to a number of gentlemen in the State of Ala¬ 
bama. The movement originated with William B. Phillips, 
Professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy in the University of 
Alabama, who, during the summer of 1890, wrote to Eugene 
A. Smith, State Geologist and Professor of Geology and Min¬ 
eralogy in the University of Alabama, proposing the forma¬ 
tion of a scientific society for the purpose of discussing vari¬ 
ous questions of interest to the material progress of the 
State. They then communicated with a number of other 
gentlemen in the State whose names are appended to the cir¬ 
cular letter, and, believing from the replies received, that the 
time had come for such an enterprise, a motion was intro¬ 
duced into the Faculty Meeting at the University calling for 
the appointment of a Committee of the University to co¬ 
operate with those immediately concerned in issuing a call 
to meet at the University and organize the society. The 
letter was as follows : 

“University, Alabama, November 12, 1890. 

Mr... 

Dear Sir :—Believing that the 
time has now come for organizing the civil and mining en¬ 
gineers, mine arid furnace owners and managers, chemists, 
metallurgists, geologists, and all others interested in the ma¬ 
terial progress of the Slate into a society for the promotion of 
the scientific examination and discussion of practical, every 
day affairs, we earnestly request your presence at a meeting 
to be held at the University of Alabama on the 12th day of 
December, 1890, at 7 :30 P. M. in the Chemical Lecture-room. 

At this meeting the society will be formed and rules and 
regulations adopted for the effectual carrying out of the pur¬ 
poses above stated. From replies already to hand, we be- 




6 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The name proposed for the society was The Alabama In¬ 
stitute of Applied Sciences, but on motion of R. C. Jones this 
was changed to The Alabama Industrial and Scientific So¬ 
ciety. 

The following Committee on Constitution and By-Laws 
was appointed, viz :—E. A. Smith, Joseph Squire, M. C. Wil¬ 
son, J. Reis. They reported that it was not advisable at this 
time to adopt a Constitution, but recommended that this duty 
be laid upon the Secretary, and that the Constitution and 
By-Laws thus proposed be sent to each member before the 
next meeting for criticism and amendment, and that at the 
next meeting the proper steps be taken in the matter. This 
recommendation was concurred in. 

Brief speeches were then made by J. W. Burke, M. C. Wil¬ 
son, J. H. Fitts, Joseph Squire, W. E. Robertson and J. Reis. 

On motion of G. S. Patterson, the annual dues were placed 
at .$5. In the Constitution this was afterwards changed so 
that members pay $5 and associates $3. 

On motion, Birmingham was selected as the next place of 
meeting, and the 28th of January 1891 as the date. 

On motion, the President was requested to prepare for the 
next meeting an Address on the Nature and Objects of the 
Society. 

On motion, Joseph Squire was requested to prepare for the 
next meeting a paper on the new map of the Oahaba Coal 
Field, issued by the State Geological Survey, as he had been 
engaged for the past thirty years, at intervals,upon the work. 

On motion, the thanks of the Society were tendered the 
Faculty of the University for their cordial interest in and 
support of the movement to effect an organization of the 
scientific men in the State, and for the use of the Chemical 
Lecture-room as a place of meeting. The Secretary was in¬ 
structed to prepare and spread upon the minutes of this 
meeting a complete list of those present and taking part in 
the organization, as well as those who had expressed a desire 
to aid in the formation of the societv, but who were unable 
to attend. 

The list of those present and taking part has already been 
given. The additional list is as follows, excluding those al¬ 
ready mentioned :— 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOOIETY. 


7 


P. D. Bowles, Attorney at Law, Evergreen. 

J. W. Castleman, Furnace Manager, Furnace, Bibb Co. 

Jas. L. Cowles, Birmingham, 

R. H. Fitzhugh, C. E., Birmingham. 

Phil. S. Fitzgerald, C. E., Gadsden. 

D. W. Ford, C. E., City Engineer, Montgomery. 

Prof. C. A. Grote, Southern University, Greensboro. 

Lieut. Chester Harding, Willet’s Point, N. Y. Harbor, N. Y. 
Hugh Howard, M. E., Henry Ellen. 

F. M. Hight, Anniston. 

Robt. D. Johnston, Pres’t B’gham Nat. Bank, Birmingham. 
Jos. F. Johnston, Pres’t Ala. National Bank, Birmingham. 
J. A. Jardine, M. E., Middlesborough, Ky. 

R. C. McCalla, Sr., 0. E., Tuskaloosa. 

Prof. Geo. W. Macon, Howard College, East Lake. 

J. A. Montgomery,Pres’t Mary Lee C. & I. Co.,Birmingham. 
Chas. Mohr, Mobile. 

Albert E. Noble, Sup’t Jenifer Iron Co., Jenifer. 

Stephen N. Noble, Sup’t Clifton Iron Co., Ironaton. 

Jas. M. Reid,C. E., Chief of Construction,Royal Trans-Afri- 
can Ry., St. Paul de Loanda,Africa. Pilot Point,Texas. 
B. Steiner, Banker, Birmingham. 

Geo. D. Stonestreet, M. E., Birmingham. 

Homer R. Stoughton, Sup’t Shelby Iron Co.. Shelby. 

Fred. Sloss, Birmingham. 

J. M. Searle, Mech. Eng., Grand Rivers,Ky. 

Priestly Toulmin, M. E., Sloss I. and S. Co., Coalburg. 
Goldsmith B. West, Gen’l Man. Tredegar Co., Jacksonville. 
M. Wymond, C. E., Wymond. 

Albert Woodburn, City Eng., Sheffield. 

On motion, it was ordered that all who join the Society, 
by giving their names to the Secretary, before or at the Bir¬ 
mingham meeting in January, shall be considered as original 
members. 

A list of the original members, together with those who 
joined at the Anniston meeting, will be found in the publi¬ 
cation entitled “List of the Officers and Members of the Ala¬ 
bama Industrial and Scientific Society to and including the 
Anniston Meeting, April 8th and 9th, 1891.” 

There being no further business on hand, the Society was 
adjourned to meet in Birmingham January 28th, 1891. 


8 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ANNUAL MEETING . 

Birmingham, January 28, 1891. 

Pursuant to adjournment, the Society met at 10 :30 o’clock 
A. M. in the Knights of Pythias Hall on 19th St. between 
2nd and 3rd Avenues, the President in the Chair. 

Forty members were present. The minutes of the Univer¬ 
sity meeting were read and approved. The President, Cor¬ 
nelius Cadle, then delivered his address on The Nature and 
Objects of the Society. Mr. Cadle said : 

Gentlemen of the Alabama Industrial 

and Scientific Society :— 

The reason for the creation of this Society is found in the 
extraordinary development of the mineral region of our State, 
and in the fact that the association of scientific and practical 
men, for mutual help and interchange of experience, has always 
proved of great material advantage. We see this result in the 
work of the large organizations of this country, such as the 
Societies of the Mining, the Civil and the Mechanical Engi¬ 
neers, and kindred societies,whose work embraces a large scope 
of subjects as well as of country. 

There are many circumstances in respect of geological con¬ 
ditions, qualities and peculiarities of ore and coal, conditions 
of labor, and other factors, entering into the problem of success 
in our State, differing in many ways from those of other States, 
and the object of this Society is to enable the scientific and 
practical men of our mineral district to meet and confer, and 
to convey to each other, and to all who care to listen to their 
reports and statements, the result of their experience and in¬ 
vestigation. 

o 

The aim of the Society will be to include in its organization 
all men who can contribute in any way to, or be benefitted by 
the general or special information of their fellow-members in 
the line of the objects of the Society. 

The Society will necessarily not be large or cumbersome, 
but it is confidently believed that it will be large enough Im¬ 
practical work, and its results of sufficient interest to make it a 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOOIETY. 


9 


permanent and valuable aid to economical industry in this dis¬ 
trict. 

Science is the handmaid of economy. The culmination of 
profitable industry is reached when its chords are harmonious 
with those of Seience. The time has passed when the “Rule 
of Thumb” can be profitably applied to industry. Competition 
has made necessary the application of improved methods in all 
branches of production. The elements of success in any new 
project of development must be determined through the ex¬ 
periments and knowledge of the geologist, the chemist, the 
mining, civil, and mechanical engineer, before such project can 
successfully become an industry. To the end that success may 
better attend our efforts, the men of science and the men of 
industry are here to-day. 

The movements of the earth’s crust in this region have 
brought in close proximity the necessary material for the mak¬ 
ing of iron. The work of the geologist has been to show where 
these materials lie, and of the chemist to give their elements 
and value. The civil engineer has traced upon the ground our 
lines of transportation, the mining engineer has shown us how 
to extract our ores and coal and limestone, and the mechanical 
engineer has devised for us the requisite machinery. The 
practical men of our State have, with these scientific aids, 
brought about an industrial success within the last fifteen 
years that is marvellous, and one that cannot be paralleled in 
any section of our country. 

The statistics in regard to the progress of our development 
are interesting, but as they are published and accessible to all, 
I will not occupy the time of the Society with them. 

The development has but started. The* increase of produc¬ 
tion for the next fifteen years will be as remarkable as in the 
past, but more than an increase of production is required to 
Cfive our section the success it is entitled to. Our iron must be 
transfcr/ed here from its crude condition into finished articles, 
whether they be pots and pans or rails and engines. This is a 
self-evident proposition and will soon be an accomplished fact. 

In the last twenty-five years, we have paid England $ 320 ,- 
000,000 for tin-plate. At the present prices for tin-plate, we 
can manufacture it at a profit, provided the English plate is 


10 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


kept out of our market. This plate is made in Wales, where 
cheap female labor, costing from thirty to sixty cents a day, is 
largely used. We have been paying the English manufacturer 
a profit of about 300 per cent on the cost, and every time the 
American manufacturer has endeavored to produce it, the Eng¬ 
lishman has lowered his prices, as he can well afford to do, and 
forced our manufacturers to suspend, and then he advances the 
price. Hereafter we shall make our own tin-plate without in¬ 
crease of cost to the consumer, and we shall use in its produc¬ 
tion each year 1,000,000 tons of iron ore, 300,000 tons of lime¬ 
stone, 2,000,000 tons of coal and coke, 5,500,000 pounds of lead, 
15,000,000 pounds of tallow and oil, 12,000,000 feet of lumber : 
and we will give direct employment to 35,000 working people, 
to whom will be paid in wages $25,000,000. 

Alabama stands third to-day on the list of iron producing 
States. She has every facility for standing third or higher in 
the list of tin-plate production. 

The improvement in steel manufacture will enable us to be¬ 
come the steel making center of the union, if not of the world, 
and the phosphorized ores of Alabama will prove to be the best 
in the world for economical working. Sir Lowthian Bell, in 
1884, said in reference to Alabama Iron Makers : “Give them 
a little time, and I see nothing to prevent their producing pig, 
as well as other forms of iron, as cheaply, perhaps more cheap¬ 
ly than it can be produced in most other known quarters of the 
globe.” His prediction in regard to pig is accomplished ; it 
remains for us to produce “the other forms of iron.” 

The labor question is one of great importance. How to deal 
with it so as to prevent strikes is a difficult problem. Our re¬ 
cent strike among the coal miners was brought about by a few 
men, ambitious to be called leaders, and anxious to secure such 
a state of affairs in Alabama as would enable them to live with¬ 
out labor. It was ostensibly based upon a demand for increas¬ 
ed pay ; it was actually a demand for recognition by the opera¬ 
tors of the organization known as the “United Mine Workers 
of America,” and as soon as it was shown by the publication 
of the pay-rolls of the large companies that the miners were 
earning larger wages than the miners of any other State,or &ny 
other trades in the State, the disguise of increased wages was 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


11 


thrown off by the leaders, and recognition openly demanded. 

At the time the strike commenced not over ten per cent of 
the miners belonged to the “United Mine Workers.” At all 
the principal mines the men were under contract to work at 
the present scale of prices until the first of next July. Patrick 
McBryde, ot Columbus, Ohio, the Chief of the Organization,in 
published letters and speeches, advised the miners to break 
this contract, and at his instigation, with the aid of four or five 
professional agitators in Alabama, the strike was made, and 
many thousands of men were thrown out of work. 

The spirit ot the great mass of the men was not in the strike, 
but when the “United Mine Workers” ordered it, they all came 
out. Great suffering among the miners resulted, as well as 
heavy loss to the operators, railroads and manufacturers. 

The operators could have ended the strike at any moment by 
recognizing Mr. McBryde and his co-agitators. But they had 
fully considered the result of such recognition and were a unit 
in refusing. They knew that such recognition meant that Mr. 
McBryde, from his home in Ohio, would practically manage 
their business ; that the rules for operating their mines, the 
wages to be paid, the men whom they should or should not em¬ 
ploy would be dictated by him and his committee, and that a 
similar state of affairs would exist among the mines of Ala¬ 
bama, as now exists in the States where the Order is recognized. 

The strike was broken by bringing to some of the mines men 
who were willing to work regardless of the orders of Mr. Mc- 
Brvde and his associates. When the strikers found that such 
men could be procured, they returned to their work. And such 
men can always be-procured in Alabama. 

It has been heralded to the world through the labor papers 
that the miners of Alabama were treated as slaves, illy paid, 
badly treated, forced to buy their goods in Company stores at 
high prices, obliged to live in hovels, and to work in danger¬ 
ous and unventilated mines. All these statements are false. 
Disaffection among the miners comes entirely from the insidi-. 
ous work of the agitators and demagogues, working for their 
personal aggrandizement. And this strike has opened the eyes 
of the great majority of the men, and these agitators, who a 
few weeks ago were received with cheers, are now vehemently 
denounced. 


12 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


I was impressed by a remark made by Dr. Wedding, during 
the visit of our foreign friends last autumn. He said, “We, in 
Germany, who have poor ores, and poor fuel to contend with, 
would grow rich on your waste in Alabama. See the valuable 
gases, and by-products escaping from your coke ovens. From 
these we would make almost as much money as you make from 
your coke. We would take from the gases the ammonia and 
tar, and then utilize the gases in giving additional heat to the 
ovens, and in creating power. Waste is apparent on every 
hand.” Here is a broad field for our chemists, our engineers, 
and our men of industry. 

But, unfortunately for immediate progress in this direction, 
nature has been so prolific in its storage of easily accessible 
material, that the incentive for economy has not impressed us, 
and we go on, and will for some time, wasting from every coke 
oven sufficient gas to continously heat fifty square feet of boiler 
surface, the equivalent of say, four horse power. This is a 
waste, from the five thousand ovens burning in this State, of 
twenty thousand horse power. 

The cokes of Alabama carry ten to twelve per cent of ash, 
and from three-fourth to one per cent of sulphur. By grinding 
and washing the coal, the ash can be reduced to three or four 
per cent, and the sulphur materially lessened. Iron makers can 
well afford to pay a higher price for coke so increased in heat 
material. The saving in transportion and in quantity used 
would more than balance the increased cost. To this point of 
improvement attention must be given. In such improvement 
lies profit to the iron master and the coke manufacturer. 

Economical improvements, resulting in larger profits, may 
be applied to every branch of manufacture, and it is the pro¬ 
vince of this Society to encourage investigation of such im¬ 
provements and their applicarion. 

Mr. Blaine said in an interview published a day or two ago, 
“The necessities of the United States demand that this srov- 

o 

eminent construct and control the Nicaraguan Canal. During 
its construction it will draw largely on this country for the sup¬ 
plies, which will circulate very large sums of money in the 
United States, and when completed will open business for our 
commerce beyond the conception of conservative men, and 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


13 


make the United States the greatest ship marine nation on the 
globe.” Mr. Blaine believes that while the Canal will add un¬ 
told millions to the wealth ot the nation and benefit the whole 
United States, it will also revolutionize the business of the 
Gulf States and enrich such cities as Birmingham, New Or¬ 
leans, Pensacola, Mobile and Galveston, “South America” 
Mr Blaine says, “will become a great market for Southern iron, 
coal and timber.” Alabama has already received benefit from 
the projected canal. Two large cargoes of Alabama cqal have 
been shipped from Pensacola to Greytown for the Canal Com¬ 
pany, and orders are in for more. It is probable that Alabama 
coal only will be used in the construction. 

The export of coal from Alabama to foreign ports has al¬ 
ready assumed respectable proportions. This business was 
commenced by the Export Coal Company of Pensacola about 
eighteen months ago, and since then 49,000 tons of Alabama 
coal have been shipped to Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and 
Mexico. This export trade is in its incipiency. When the 
Nicaraugan Canal is completed large coaling stations will be 
establised in the Gulf, and Alabama will stock them. Her con¬ 
tiguity will give her the advantage in this respect over other 
coal districts. To make this export business a quick success, 
return cargoes are essential. At present there is no sale in 
Pensacola or Mobile for the products of the Gulf countries. No 
merchants doing business in foreign products are yet establish¬ 
ed there. Therefore the coal carrying vessels are obliged to 
return in ballast. When markets are made in these ports for 
Cuban, Mexican and Central American products, Alabama can 
compete successfully with other States in shipping coal to Gulf 
ports, and when Congress places our shipping on equal foot¬ 
ing with that of England through similar subsidies, we can 
drive English coal out of all South American ports. The pros¬ 
pective immensity of this business is worthy of consideration 
in calculating the future development of our mineral district. 

The most valuable aid to our mineral development is our State 
Geological Survey. Professor Tuomey commenced this work in 
1847. From 1857 ^73 no work in this line was done. Then 

a small appropriation was made and the survey placed in charge 
of Dr. E. A. Smith, of the State University. His energy in 
the work of the survey as well as in placing its necessities be- 


14 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


fore the legislature, has been untiring, and his valuable contri¬ 
butions to our information as to the Geology of the State speak 
for themselves. A magnificent map of the Cahaba Coal Field 
is now in the possession of the members of this Society through 
the labors of himself and Joseph Squire, Mining Engineer and 
Geologist. Mr. Squire has for thirty years been collecting data 
for this map and his report, and there is no acre of ground in 
the 500 square miles of the field with which he is not familiar. 
The Society at this session will have the pleasure of hearing 
from Mr. Squire, a description of the map. 

In closing my remarks, I desire to say that the success of 
this Society will be in direct proportion to the interest taken 
by its members, and that by hearty co-operation and earnest 
work, it will not only be an aid to development, but a pleasure 
and satisfaction to each of us. 


Joseph Squire, M. E., then read a paper descriptive of the 
new-map of the Cahaba Coal Field, which, as it was not in¬ 
tended for publication, will not be found in the Proceedings. 
A handsomely mounted copy of the map had been presented 
to the Society by E. A. Smith, State Geologist, and was hung 
in the Hall. Mr. Squire’s paper was discussed by Henry 
McCalley, of the State Geological Survey, from whose field 
notes much of the geology delineated had been worked out. 
Mr. Squire stated that for the past 30 years he had been col¬ 
lecting material for the map, on account of private persons, 
corporations and the Geological Survey, and that the map 
was issued by the Survey. 

A. W. Haskell, Mining Engineer of the Cahaba Coal Min¬ 
ing Company, then read a paper on Mine Surveying. He 
spoke as follows : 


MINE S UR J E1VNG. 

In this short article, I wish to call the attention of those en¬ 
gaged in mining operations, to the importance of mine survey¬ 
ing, in the proper prosecution of underground workings ; and 
also to furnish a few directions, as to the manner of making 
surveys and of platting maps. As a matter of reference, one 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOOIETY. 


15 


can readily appreciate the value of an accurately platted map, 
in its relation to boundaries, obstacles, and adjacent workings. 
It is often the case, that the growing scarcity of mineral, in an 
old established mining district, causes abandoned mines to be 
reopened, or new ones opened near by, to win that part of the 
seam not worked by the old mine. In a situation such as this, 
an accurate map of old workings is an absolute necessity. Any 
encroachment on the limits of an abandoned mine is dangerous, 
as old workings are always filled with water or noxious gases. 
In England where the depths of the earth have been honey¬ 
combed by centuries of mining, you will find records of the 
earliest workings carefully stored away for reference. 

About one year ago, in Pennsylvania, there was a frightful 
loss of life and property, caused by breaking into the old work¬ 
ings of an abandoned mine. The old mine was full of water, 
and flooded the new workings before the men could escape. 

Many instances could be cited ; but it is not so much the im¬ 
portance of a map for reference, that I wish to call attention to. 

I wish to go further and urge the use of the map as a working 
drawing:. Too much mine work is done in the dark, when we 
might have the light of the sun, and the light of brains to il¬ 
lumine the way to success. 

The map of a mine should direct its extensions, not simply 
record its straggling courses. From the setting of the first set 
of timber, until abandonment of the mine, the surveyor’s in¬ 
strument should play a constant part. No heading or gangway 
should be started without its direction being fixed bylines. By 
lines, I mean, two points'a short distance apart, fixing a course. 

As the mine is opened out, let a plan of working be adopted 
and lines given ; so that extensions will conform to plan. 
Owing to minor flexures in strata, and changes in direction of 
dip of seam, it is not always possible or expedient to enforce 
original plan in all of its details ; but lines can be changed to 
suit, and in all cases, headings will be straighter and grades 
more uniform on haulage roads, than when left to the eye of 
the practical miner. 

Main return airways, parallel with slope, can be kept 
straight only by lines. This is urgent, as friction of air is very 
materially lessened, and large steam pipes to pumping engines, 


16 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


usually being laid in return airways, do not have to be bent to 
conform to every crook and turn. Also in rooms, where na¬ 
ture of roof requires pillars to be left between working breasts, 
the direction of each must be fixed by lines. Otherwise, room s 
break into each other, leaving thin weak pillars, which are in - 
sufficient to prevent local squeeze, and rooms are lost. 

Maps should be made on scale of (ioo) one hundred feet to 
(i) one inch, and should show, in addition to the extent of un¬ 
derground workings, all water courses, boundary lines, out¬ 
crops of mineral, and all buildings and other structures, liable 
to be damaged by the removal of mineral underearth. No colors 
should be used on this working drawing, except a shade of 
blue to represent water courses. 

Indicate the part from which mineral has been taken by a 
black shading of close parallel lines. Pillars remain white. 
When pillar is robbed, it is in turn shaded. Thus erasures are 
avoided in showing the later workings. The extent of working 
faces of headings should be shown as near as possible to date. 

In making survey, let it be done with extra care, for mis¬ 
takes are not so readily detected as in outdoor work, and the 
consequences of errors underground are generally more serious. 
Owing to iron rails, wire ropes, and electric wires, the mag¬ 
netic needle is utterly unreliable ; and there are few places in 
the mine where there is not some local attraction. 

A light transit with extension legs, and level bubble on tele¬ 
scope, will serve both for taking angles and levels. 

Plummet lamps being cumbersome I do not recommend. 
Ordinary plumb-bob, with lamp held behind string, suspended 
from point, is accurate and quicker. Use steel tape. The 
cloth and so-called metallic tapes will stretch and shrink. 

Establishing a base line, for instance, the center line of a 
slope, take all angles on branch lines by continuous vernier 
readings. Continuous vernier readings lessen liability of errors 
and facilitate the platting of notes. In platting, use large pa¬ 
per protractor graduated and numbered as vernier plates on 
transit. Make zero line correspond with base line of survey. 
Thus direction of line by vernier notes is shown at once by 
corresponding degree on protractor. 

Where possible, angle points in mine should be permanently 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOOIETY. 


17 


fixed in top rock, so that survey line may be continued from 
last point, without re-surveying from base line. 

Levels should be taken in various parts of mines, and should 
all refer to one fixed datum plane, thus giving relative eleva¬ 
tion over the whole area worked. Levels are not to be nesf- 
lected, for by them the knowledge of, and safety in working 
under water courses, buildings, etc., is known. 

The extent, direction and elevation of the workings being 
brought to light upon the map, the Engineer or Superintendent 
can so modify his plans, as to conform with tolerable certainty 
to any changes in degree or direction of pitch ; and by study of 
map is assisted in projecting the most economical method of 
developing new workings. 

Let managers take steps to collect and record certain infor¬ 
mation in regard to the mines, and rely less upon conjecture 
and the practical miner. 

That there are fatal blunders made, is proven by the fact that 
many abandoned mines have been reopened and made to pay, 
and many a corporation saved by change of management. 

William B. Phillips presented to the Society some notes 
on the Simon-Carves System of Coking, with Recovery of the 
Bye-Products. A synopsis of the chief points is as follows : 

NOTES ON THE SIMON-CARVES SYSTEM 

OF COKING. 

This system has been in operation since about 1S7S. Ac¬ 
cording to a statement made in a pamphlet entitled “Simon- 
Carves Process for the manufacture ot Coke and the collection 
of Bye-Products, Samuel A. Tuska, New York, October, 1S90,” 
it is now in use at the following places :— 

France.—At St. Ettienne and Terrenoire. 

At Besseges and Tamaris-Alais. 

Spain.— At Bilbao by the Societe de “La Vizcaya.” 

England.—By the Messrs. Pease Partners, at Darlington. 

Jos. Clift'& Co., Miklefield, Leeds, Yorkshire. 

Altham Colliery Co., Accrington, Lancashire. 

Dyson & Company, Dearpark, Durham. 

Bio-nall-Hall’s Colliery, Newcastle, Staffordshire. 



18 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Colliery Company, North Bitchburn, Durham. 
Everswood Colliery Co., Low Hetton, Durham. 

The advantages claimed for it are— 

1. Greater yield of coke by icj per cent. 

2. Greater purity of coke. 

3. A yield of about $0.98 worth of useful bye-products per ton 

of coke. 

4. An almost entire absence of smoke and noxious vapors. 

5. Reduced cost for repairs. 

Its disadvantages seem to me to be— 

1. Greatly increased cost of first construction. Each oven 

costs from $7^0 to ,$1000. 

2. The necessity of disposing of the bye-products for econo¬ 

mical working. 

3. The liability of producing coke less suited for blast furnace 

use than ordinary bee-hive coke. 

4. The risk of injuring the quality of the pig iron. 

c;. The severe competition with ordinary coke which must oc¬ 
cur in the attempt to put this kind of coke on the market. 

It must be said that experiments on a very large scale with 
bee-hive and Simon-Carves coke have not as yet given very sat¬ 
isfactory results. Sir I. Lowthian Bell, in the Journal of the 
Iron and Steel Institute, 1885, No. I., is quoted as deciding 
against the Simon-Carves coke, while Sir Bernard Samuelson, 
if he does not indeed uphold the use of it, still has a favorable 
opinion of it. The first named of these gentlemen experiment¬ 
ed with some 5000 tons and the latter with some 2000 tons. 
They came to the .same conclusion as regards the risk to the 
quality of the resulting pig iron and the increased consumption 
of coke necessary for a given out put. 

Sir Lowthian Bell is inclined to base the value of the Simon- 
Carves System more on the use to which the bye-products can 
be put than to the use of the coke in the blast furnace. On the 
other hand Mr. Simon stated that at Besseges in 18S3-S4 the 
total consumption of coke was about 37,000 tons of Simon- 
Carves coke and about 6000 tons of Coppee coke. The Coppee 
coke was very inferior, containing 13 per cent of ash. But 
with a consumption of 43,000 tons of coke, the production of 
iron was 39 > 75 ° t° ns - This gives a consumption of Simon- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 19 

Caives coke ot 239b pounds per ton ot metal. The quality of 
the metal was as follows : 

No. 1 Bessemer - - - 31,000 tons. 

Foundry pig .... 4850 tons. 

White iron.3900 tons. 

This is certainly a good showing. 

The increased yield of coke by this system is counterbalanced 
in large measure by the increased consumption needed in the 
furnace for the same out put of iron. 

It would certainly be a most desirable thing to obtain for 
each ton of coke nearly one dollar’s worth of bye-products, but 
this is by no means assured. If it were it would soon create as 
great a revolution in the coke trade as did the introduction of 
cupriferous pyrite into the sulphuric acid and fertilizer trades. 
From the great stress laid on the value of the bye-products, it 
would seem as if the system could best be judged by this one 
feature. Allowing that the coke is even 10 per cent inferior to 
bee-hive coke in the blast furnace, and that the quality of the 
pig may be somewhat lowered, although the evidence on this 
point is not conclusive, if from each ton of coke made one could 
obtain 98 cents worth of bye-products, our coke makers could 
well afford to take less for the coke and make up the difference 
in the bye-products. It is, however, just here that the largest 
element of doubt comes in. The value of the bye-products will 
depend almost entirely upon the kind of coal used in the ovens. 
Coals even from the same field vary quite widely in the amount 
of tar, gas and ammonia they yield. A variation of the half 
of one per cent in Nitrogen represents a variation of $1.40 per 
ton in Sulphate of Ammonia. Thus a coal giving one per cent 
of Nitrogen will give in Sulphate of Ammonia per ton $3.00, 
while a coal with the half of one per cent gives a value in the 
same salt of $1.60. A variation of the half of one per cent 
Nitrogen in Alabama coals is not uncommon. Some of our 
coals give as much as 1.73 per cent Nitrogen, while others 
yield only one per cent and even less. A coal giving 1.73 
per cent Nitrogen gives as the theoretical yield of Sulphate of 
Ammonia per ton of coal (2000 pounds), 160 pounds, worth 
,^.20. Such a coal can be had in Alabama in any quantity, but 
there are other coals that give less than half of this value. The 


20 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


same may be said of tar and gas. If this system is ever to gain 
a foothold in Alabama, it will be after the most careful and 
painstaking investigation as to our local conditions. Mr. Simon 
himself has said “Practical experience must in each case de¬ 
termine what is best adapted to local requirements and condi¬ 
tions.” Until the matter’has been worked our for Alabama, 
our coke and blast furnace men will not care to look at it 
lovingly. In technical matters also is it true, “ ’Tis distance 
lends enchantment to the view.” 

J. H. Fitts, of Tuskaloosa,offered ihe following Resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : 

“ Whereas ,. In view of the great benefit to be derived from 
a more rapid geological survey of the State, 

“Be it resolved , That ihe Alabama Industrial and Scientific 
Society, petition the Legislature of Alabama now in session 
to appropriate the sum of .$ 30,000 for that purpose, $ 10,000 
to be expended in 1891 , $ 10,000 in 1892 , and $ 10,000 in 1893 , 
under the supervision of Dr. E. A. Smith, State Geologist. 

“Resolved , That the President of this Society be requested 
to present this petition to the Legislature, and, in conjunc¬ 
tion with other members of the Society, who may be in Mont¬ 
gomery, use the best efforts to secure the passage of a bill 
making this appropriation.” 

Mr. Fitts was requested by the President and the Society 
to co-operate in this matter. 

The subject of the Constitution and By-Laws now came up 
for discussion. The Secretary reported that he had prepared 
and forwarded to each member of the Society a Constitution 
and set of By-Laws as provided for by motion at the Uni¬ 
versity Meeting. 

This proposed Constitution was then taken up, discussed, 
amended and revised, and the Secretary was instructed to 
cause it to be printed and a copy sent to each member of the 

Society. It will be found in the publication entitled, “Con¬ 
stitution and By-Laws of the Alabama Industrial and Scien¬ 
tific Society, adopted at its Annual Meeting, Birmingham, 
January 28 ", 1891 .” 

Dinner intervening before the discussion of the Constitu¬ 
tion was finished, the Society took a recess for two hours. It 
assembled again at 3 o’clock P. M., Vice President Robertson 
in the Chair, and was adjourned at 5 o’clock, t|> meet in An¬ 
niston, April 8th and 9 th, 1891 . 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


21 


ANNISTON MEETING. 


Anniston, April 8 , 1891 . 

The council of the Society met at 10:30 A. M., in the 
Knights of Pythias Hall, on Noble street, between 10 th and 
11 th streets. The following were present: President Cadle, 
Vice Presidents Harding and Robertson, Henry McCalley, 
Treasurer, and Wm. B. Phillips, Secretary. 

After transacting such business as came before it, an 
account of which will appear in the Report of the Council to 
the Society, it adjourned to meet with the Society at 3 P. M- 

At this hour the Society met. There were present, C. Ca¬ 
dle, H. Harding, W. E. Robertson, H. McCalley, B. F. Pea¬ 
cock, J. M. Reid, Walter Crafts, Wm. B. Phillips. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. 

The President reported that the Committee appointed at 
the last meeting, relative to the Geological Survey, had pre¬ 
sented the petition to the legislature, but that this body had 
not seen fit to grant it. The amount appropriated by the 
legislature for the Geological Survey was $ 7,500 per annum, 
instead of $ 10 , 000 . The report was received and the com¬ 
mittee discharged. 

The Secretary, on behalf of the Council, reported that the 
Council had met at 10:30 A. M. The following papers were 
presented to the Council, as required by Article IV., Section 
5 , of the Constitution, approved, ordered read before the So¬ 
ciety and printed in the Proceedings, Vol. I., No. 1 :— 

The Road Movement —W. E. Robertson. C. E. 

Natural Gas and Petroleum in North Alabama — H. Mc¬ 
Calley, C. and M. E. 

The Future of the Iron and Steel Industry of Alabama — 
B. F. Peacock. 

Design for Took J alves —Horace Harding, C. E. 

The Ultimate Composition of some Alabama Coals —Wm. 
B. Phillips. 



22 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The Council recommended that hereafter any person de¬ 
siring to present a paper to the Society, must file with the 
Secretary at least two weeks before the meeting at which the 
paper is to be read, an abstract of its contents containing at 
least 150 words. The Secretary must furnish each member 
with a complete list of the titles of papers represented by 
these abstracts at least one week before said meeting. No 
paper is to be presented to the Society, the title and abstract 
of which has not thus been filed with the Secretary, except 
by consent of a majority of the members present and voting 
at the meeting in question. 

The Council also recommend that hereafter certain meet¬ 
ings be set aside for the discussion of special topics, without 
however excluding papers on other subjects, and that the 
next meeting be devoted to the subject of Coke. 

The Council also recommended the following for mem¬ 
bership in the Society :— 

William Herbert, Mine Foreman, Coal City, Alabama. 

John M. Mclvleroy, Pres. Anniston City Land Co.,and Gen’l 
Agent Ala. Mineral Land Co., Anniston, Ala. 

H. Atkinson, Anniston. 

R. L. McCalley, Agent Ala. Land Co., Anniston. 

These were endorsed bv W. E. Robertson and G.S.Patterson. 

J. A. Wiggs, Philip and Wiggs Machinery Co., Birmigham. 

Fred M. Jackson, Secretary and Treasurer Standard Coal 
Company, Brookwood, Alabama. 

Endorsed by C. Cadle and William B. Phillips. 

The report of the Council was accepted and all of its re¬ 
commendations concurred in. The gentlemen recommended 
for membership were then unanimously elected. 

The papers to be read were postponed until the evening 
session and by request Jas. M. Reid, C. E., Chief of Con¬ 
struction of the Trans-African Royal Railway,Loanda,Africn, 
a member of the Society, spoke of the nature of his work 
there and exhibited some very interesting specimens of 
wrought iron, cloth, pipes, tobacco, etc., of native manufac¬ 
ture. Mr. Reid was unable to present a regular paper to the 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


23 


Society, and his remarks were not intended for publication. 
It is hoped that at some other time he will prepare a full 
account of his work for the Portugese Governnent in that 
part of the world. 

He exhibited to the Society some very instructive cross 
sections and profiles, showing the method used in railway 
construction. The Society then adjourned to meet in the 
evening at 8 o’clock. 


Evening Meeting, April 8th. 

The Society was called to order by the President, and W. E. 
Robertson read a paper on 

THE ROAD MOVEMENT\ 

The time in the history of Alabama has been reached when 
something broad and liberal must be done in respect to our 
roads and highways. If Alabama is to retain her position in 
the march of progress which she has so proudly achieved, it is 
imperative that this question should receive prompt and care¬ 
ful consideration, and the defects immediate remedy. 

Everywhere there is a demand for better roads, and the press 
from Maine to Mexico, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, 
is agitating this most important question. Colleges and Tech¬ 
nical Schools have taken up the matter ; citizens in many por¬ 
tions of the country are offering prizes of no inconsiderable 
amount for information on construction and maintenance of 
public roads. It is manifesting itself in popular meetings of 
citizens, in technical societies and scientific periodicals, every¬ 
where it is prevalent that our roads are a disgrace to our civili¬ 
zation and a serious impediment to our development; Alabama 
has joined her appeals with the rest, and the demand is for 
better roads. 

Now is the time to cope with this gigantic question, for 
sooner or later it must be recognized, by the most indifferent, 
as a stumbling block in the path of progress, and a menace to 
the greatest and best interests of the commonwealth. 

No State can grow as it should, with limited means of com- 


24 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


munication and transportation, for facility of communication is 
one of the most potent elements in promoting the general wel¬ 
fare. The sooner then this question is taken up and settled, 
the sooner will we move forward and the more rapidly will 
we move. 

The reasons for better roads are manifold, and the benefit in¬ 
calculable. Under our present system we have grown and 
developed and prospered, until now we wonder if there still 
be room for improvement. We have unearthed in our midst 
vast mineral wealth ; broad coal fields generously respond to 
our demands ; mammoth industries have sprung into existence, 
and ten thousand other developments have so engrossed us that 
we had, hitherto, no time to devote to the question before us. 
Is is now necessary ; development in other chanels is a confir¬ 
mation of our needs, and with the establishment of every in¬ 
dustry the need is increased the more. 

The highway is daily expanding its mileage to meet the re¬ 
quirements of the locality, but it does in no wise receive either 
care or skill in its construction. The road of fifty years ago, 
undrained, ungraded and unimproved, is the road of to-day, in 
the same disgraceful condition. 

It is not to be wondered at then that not only the farmers, 
but many of the railroads dependent on the common roads for 
their traffic as well as the manufactures needing prompt and 
constant supplies of raw materials and fuel, citizens of large 
communities, requiring cheap produce, have become alive to 
the necessity of improvement in this long neglected line of 
traffic. 

Common roads, despite the almost unlimited utility of mod¬ 
ern means of communication, remain the most important and 
effectual means of commerce, for they are the means by which 
the greater part of human intercourse is made possible. 

In the United States, various and unavoidable circumstances 
have tended to retard the improvement of the common roads, 
so that the country, as a whole, remains less provided with 
such means of communication than other area of equal culture 
in the world. 

The first steps toward the development of better roads re¬ 
sulted in toll roads, built by private corporations “Which ac- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


25 


qnired by their construction a perpetual right to embarrass the 
commerce of the country by a tax laid upon every vehicle which 
used their improvements.” The advantages derived from 
readily passable ways are great despite the toll which may be 
levied on transportation. The effect of the turnpike system on 
the development of a community, is, on the whole, evil. In 
many instances the people have been compelled to accept this 
as a lesser evil of the two, solely on account of ignorance in 
the ordinary methods of road construction. The present sys¬ 
tem of working out tax has resulted in no good, and should be 
abolished for economic reasons, if for no other. 

There can be no question of more importance which this 
State has before it, for solution,—a problem of far more me¬ 
nacing nature than is presented by the railway. Yet our au¬ 
thorities are untiring in their zeal to more thoroughly equalize 
the benefits accruing from this means of communication. 

The first aim of legislation should be to promote and facili¬ 
tate human intercourse. On this rests the fundamental princi¬ 
ples of intelligence. How then can this end be obtained with 
more than one-half our population dependant almost wholly on 
common roads for communication and intercourse, and these 
roads at their best not productive of even ordinary results? 

“The evil of poor roads, depending, as it does, on the lack of 
the proper engineering skill, as well as the indisposition to di¬ 
rect taxation, must be remedied in the main, by slow growth 
in public knowledge of road construction.” Something how¬ 
ever can be done through our colleges and universities, and 
particularly through our mechanical and agricultural schools, 
for from here will we get the earliest and most beneficial re¬ 
sults. 

It seems that public ways in general lie at the root of all* 
economic development. Would it not then be greatly to the 
benefit of our road system if men were thoroughly well educat¬ 
ed for the duty of road masters, and laws enacted requiring 
only such to be appointed? 

The problems which present themselves to the road master 
are extremely varied and very often require mature experience. 
Careful consideration should be given to every detail in order 
that the whole may meet the requirements for which it is in¬ 
tended. 


26 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


A road may be defined as “A device by which the energy of 
our larger domesticated animals is applied to the transportation 
of burdens on wheeled vehicles,” as well as a means of commu¬ 
nication, and an essential element to human intercourse. The 
considerations which should govern the location and construe- 
tion of common roads are : ist, “The present and prospective 
amount of traffic over the road ; 2nd, Its general character, 
whether light or heavy ; 3rd, The convenience and necessities 
of the community tributary to the line ; and 4th, The natural 
features of the country through which the roads must pass.” 

Our roads, as they at present exist, take into consideration 
none of these conditions. In many places the road could he so 
changed, that not only would the distance be shortened and 
better grades secured, but such a change would result in better 
drainage, the condition of the surface would therefore be im¬ 
proved, and less land would be taken from the farmer. 

Comparatively good roads, for at least six of the twelve 
months, could be obtained by giving more attention to the very 
important question of drainage of our present roads. In order 
to accomplish this drainage, side ditches, parallel to the axis 
of the road, must be cut. Care must be taken to give them 
such an inclination that they may promptly discharge their 
contents. The ditches should be sufficiently deep to insure a 
thorough drainage of the subsoil of the road to a depth of at 
least two feet below the crown. 

There are circumstances to be considered where further pre¬ 
caution is necessary. I refer to roads over swamps and like 
places. To facilitate the drainage here, a system of cross 
drains must be used at intervals, calculated to produce the best 
results, cut ditches diagonally across the road bed, down to 
‘ within a few inches of water level of side ditches, prepare 
these ditches with the necessary slope to one side, or both, for 
properly conveying the water, and in them construct the ordi¬ 
nary blind drain, or lay drain tile. If stone is convenient, a 
drain that will answer every purpose, may be constructed by 
simply casting in the stone in an irregular manner up to a foot 
or so of the surface ; fill back the earth compactly, and if proper 
care has been exercised in this matter of drainage, the road bed 
will have been wonderfully improved. It is very essential too 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


27 


that roads of any material but sand should not be shaded, that 
the action of the sun and wind may hasten the drying process. 

In sandy countries the problem is very much simplified. The 
aim here should be to have the roads as narrow as circumstances 
will admit; an abundant growth of vegetation is desirable, and 
the growth of trees should be encouraged as near the roadway 
as possible. Ditching beyond the depth necessary to carry 
away the occasional rainwater is not desirable, for it tends to 
hasten the drying out of the roadway, which is to be avoided. 
As long as the sandy soil contains sufficient water, the particles 
of sand, like bits of glass, are firmly held face to face, thus 
offering less resistance to traction than when in a dry state. 

The most unsatisfactory material presented for the construc¬ 
tion of roads is clay. It can be converted into acceptable roads 
only by a thorough and systematic process of drainage, so con¬ 
trived that the least possible amount of moisture will be re¬ 
tained. Deep side ditches are absolutely necessary, and the 
narrower the roadway the more effectual will the drainage be. 
It has been suggested that gravel, or some other suitable bind¬ 
ing material, incorporated with an equal amount of clay* will 
make a durable and satisfactory road covering, provided, how¬ 
ever, that this material extends at least one foot below the sur¬ 
face of the road at the centre. Earth roads necessarily possess 
many defects at their best, but these defects should in some de¬ 
gree be compensated by having the grades as light as circum¬ 
stances will admit of,—say not greater than one in Iwenty-five. 
The road surface should slope from the centre towards the sides 
not less than one in twenty, and the side ditches should be deep 
and capacious, with a fall of not less than one in one hundred. 
In repairing earth roads, materials composed largely of gravel 
and coarse sand, or small angular fragments of broken stone, 
free from sod, muck or other substance calculated to impair the 
surface, should be used. All ruts, cradle holes, etc., should be 
repaired as soon as formed. The custom of repairing our roads 
onlv once a year is decidedly in favor of bad roads, the costs of 
maintenance would be greatly reduced by frequent repairs. 

When it becomes necessary to open up a way across any 
areat stretch of marsh, other methods than those described, 

o 

must be resorted to. The usual method is by what is known as 


28 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL ANI) SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


the corduroy road, from its ribbed character. Though this 
means of communication is scarcely worthy of the name of 
road, it has its merits and is susceptible of considerable amelio¬ 
ration over the usual method of construction in this State. 

The corduroy road is constructed by cutting logs, fifteen or 
sixteen feet in length, and laying those of uniform size side by 
side on the natural surface ; triangular pieces of the same length 
are split out and used to fill in the spaces between the logs. 
Upon the bed thus prepared, a layer of brushwood is placed 
with a few inches of soil or turf to keep it in place. The road 
is then ready for traffic with nothing to recommend it, save the 
accomplishment of an end almost unattainable by other methods 
both on account of the natural obstacles and an endless expense. 

In communities where lumber is cheap and stone and gravel 
scarce and expensive, plank roads offer some advantages. The 
method of construction consists usually in laying down length¬ 
wise on one side of a well graded and drained bed two par¬ 
allel rows of stringers, spaced about five feet between centres, 
and upon these are spiked cross planks, four inches thick and 
eight*or ten feet long, so arranged that their ends will not be 
on line, but form offsets every few feet to prevent the forma¬ 
tion of ruts at the edge of the road and aid vehicles in regaining 

o o o 

the plankway from the earth turnout. 

New plank roads offer many advantages for heavy traffic 
and pleasure driving, but, owing to their short life, the benefits 
are not commensurate with the original cost, and great expense 
of maintenance. Common gravel roads, at least in most lo¬ 
calities, will be found more durable, and, in the end, very much 
more economical. Particular care must be exercised in the 
selection of proper materials for a gravel road. Clean rounded 
gravel and water-worn pebbles will not pack, owing to their 
tendency to slide upon each other, and, therefore, should not be 
used as a road covering, unless suitable binding materials be 
used with it. Pit gravel that does not contain too much earthy 
material, answers the best purposes, and should be coarse,vary¬ 
ing in size from half an inch to an inch and a half in largest 
dimensions, and should contain just sufficient clayey loam to 
thoroughly bind it together. A road of this material is made 
as follows : excavate the top soil of the roadway to a depth of 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


29 


ten or twelve inches, on top of the subgrade thus formed spread 
down a layer of four inches of the coarsest gravel in its natural 
state, roll this layer until it becomes fairly imbedded, then upon 
this bed spread another layer of three or four inches, using ma¬ 
terial somewhat finer and cleaner than the first, and roll as di¬ 
rected for the first layer. Successive layers follow each other 
until the surface of the road is made up to the required height, 
with a fall from the centre to each side of one foot in twenty. 
The top layer of gravel roads should be hard and tough,so that 
travel will not convert it into dust and mud, and if it is defi¬ 
cient in binding qualities, a thin layer of gravelly loam or clay 
should be spread over it and slightly moistened before the roll¬ 
ing is begun. In rolling always roll from the sides towards 
the centre, as this prevents the road covering from sliding out 
towards the sides, which would be the case were it rolled first 
from the centre. A road of this class, properly made and 
drained, possesses all the requisites of a good road. 

We come now to the type of road which should under all 
circumstances be constructed where the conditions justify the 
outlay. It is generally supposed that the pike, or what is 
known as macadamized road is necessarily very expensive,and, 
indeed, the ordinary methods of construction, in a measure, 
justify this belief. 

The first requisite to a macadamized road is location with 
reference to the best alignment and lightest grades. Were it 
possible, great advantages for metaled roads would be gained 
by having the subgrade in subsoil or hard pan, but since this 
is impossible, except in extraordinary cases, care must be had 
to so construct the road bed that it will offer the least possible 
resistance to the tendency of the covering to be forced down- 
wa rd. 

If care has been exercised in the construction of the road bed, 
and drainage is ample and well regulated, nothing remains but 
to find suitable metal. It is not good practice or economical 
to cover more than one-third of the roadway with metal,except 
near large towns and cities, and this one-third is usually laid 
in the centre of the roadway, the remaining two-thirds, or 
wines, is constructed after the manner of gravel roads already 
dcscribrd. The sensible teamster will prefer the wings, if 


30 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


properly kept repaired, at least six months out of the twelve. 

No empirical rule can be laid down for kind and class of 
stone to be used, this, of course, will always be governed by 
local conditions. It is essential to the life of the road that the 
stone should be hard and offer great resistance to abrasion ; 
however, it is far preferable to use stone of inferior quality 
rather than none at all. It is believed that limestone offers 
superior advantages to any other stone for this climate. The 
fragments should, in all cases, be of limy nature, as a process 
of natural cementation takes place, whereby the whole is ren¬ 
dered firm and unyielding. 

On the road bed, prepared as directed, successive layers of 
stone fragments are placed, each layer being well rolled before 
it receives its successor, and the last layer (preferable the last 
two) being composed of small angular fragments of one and a 
half or two inches in its longest length, and rolled, not once or 
twice, but many times, always from the sides towards the cen¬ 
tre. Care must be exercised in the selection of stone compos¬ 
ing the first layer,-and the interstices should be carefully filled 
in before rolling. The fragments composing each successive 
layer should gradually diminish in size towards the top to the 
dimensions required. Over the top layer, before rolling 
thorougly, fill in all the voids with the smallest fragments. If 
the stone has been broken by hand and a testing fork has been 
used to remove the fragments, quite a sufficiency of the small¬ 
est size will be found for treating the top layer. The depth of 
the macadamized portion of the road should under no circum¬ 
stances be less than six inches in the centre. Engineers differ 
as to the most advantageous form of cross section of the sur¬ 
face of the road. It is recommended, however, that the form 
of the cross section of the road surface be two straight inclined 
planes connecting at the centre by an arc of a circle five or six 
feet long, with a radius of eighty to a hundred feet in len or th. 
This method seems to carry with it the weight of testimony. 

In communities convenient to iron furnaces excellent roads 
may be constructed of slag or cinder. The method of con¬ 
struction is essentially the same just given for roads of broken 
stone. The depth of metal, however, should be somewhat 
greater, owing to its extreme brittleness. The top layer should 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


31 


receive a thin coating of sandy loam, or roasted ore,screenings. 
This is spread on and sprinkled, after which a thorough roll¬ 
ing finishes the road. A more beautiful and pleasing way 
could not be devised, yet the brittleness and glassy nature of 
the metal renders frequent repairs necessary, but such repairs 
can be accomplished rapidly and cheaply. 

It is customary to prepare road metal by the slow process of 
hand breaking Rnd the great cost of macadamized roads is in a 
large measure due to this fact. Portable stone crushers, operat¬ 
ed by horse power, can be obtained at moderate cost, and a 
contrivance of this kind will prepare more metal in a day than 
will one hundred men bv the usual method. It is also custom- 

mJ 

ary to trust to the chance action of traffic to compact the road 
covering, and after a great deal wear and tear of wagon wheels 
and horses feet it is fairly imbedded, but never so effectually as 
when properly done at first by means of a cylindrical roller of 
four to six tons, which can be loaded up to ten, or even twelve 
tons. 

The ease and facility with which suitable .road metal can be 
procured in this State leads me to estimate that high class of 
roads can be constructed at a cost not exceeding two thousand 
• dollars a mile. Assuming then that a single mile of roadway 
renders service to a strip of country, on either side of it, two 
miles back, it would result in a cost of but seventy-eight cents 
an acre for the area served, and it is presumed that if the land 
is worth anything to begin with, it must at once be enhanced 
at least the cost of this improvement. 

There are other considerations calculable within slightly 
varying limits, and entering directly into the discussion before 
us, which will be considered entirely on a basis of dollars and 
cents, leaving out of the discussion altogether the justly recog¬ 
nizable views of the humanitarian. 

The following calculations are based on M. Morir’s ex¬ 
periments :— 

We will assume that it requires fifty horses, twenty-five 
wagons, and twenty-five drivers to conduct a given traffic ovei 
a hard, smooth macadamized road between two points ten miles 
apart, making a round trip a day of twenty miles, which is 
supposed to be a fair average day’s work the yeai lound. An 


32 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


annual allowance of two hundred dollars for purchase, care and 
feed of each animal, and purchase and repair of harness and 
vehicle,which is very much below what the actual cost would be, 
amounts to ten thousand dollars. The hire of twenty-five 
drivers at one dollar a day amounts to seven thousand two 
hundred dollars a year. The aggregate, representing an es¬ 
sential outlay amounts to seventeen thousand two hundred 
dollars a year. We will suppose, now, instead of the ten miles 
of macadamized road, we have a common earth road, in fair 
condition, with the same amount of traffic to be conducted. 
Experiment has repeatedly demonstrated that if fifty horses, 
with twenty-five wagons and twenty-five drivers, can conduct 
a given traffic over a hard, smooth macadamized road, connect¬ 
ing two points ten miles apart, it will require, to conduct the 
same traffic the same distance over a common earth road, in 
fair condition, ninety-two horses, forty-six wagons and forty- 
six drivers. Putting the cost of men and animals the same as 
before, it would cost to conduct the same traffic over the same 
length of ordinary earth road, in fair condition, thirty-one 
thousand six hundred and forty-eight dollars per year, or an 
excess of fourteen thousand four hundred and forty-eight dollars, 
equal to eighty-four per cent in favor of macadamized roads. 
This, you will obsorve, takes into consideration an earth road 
far above the average road of the State. Now, then, if the ex¬ 
cess for every twenty miles of traffic is equal to fourteen thous¬ 
and four hundred and forty-eight dollars a year, and placing 
the road mileage of the State at twenty thousand miles, which 
is believed to be less than it actually is, we find the total differ¬ 
ence for the State to be fourteen million four hundred and forty- 
eight thousand dollars a year, a result very astonishing but 
practically true for the conditions set forth at the outset. 

The conditions, however, governing the ten mile road are 
such that certain modifications are necessary before they can be 
accepted as covering the road mileage of the State. The con¬ 
ditions of the ten mile road assume that it will require a cer¬ 
tain number of horses, etc., working the entire year, Sunday 
excepted, to conduct a given amount of traffic. It can readily 
be seen that the condition as to time will not apply, for it is 
evident that all the traffic of the State, the present means of 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


33 


transportation to be used, can be disposed of in a very much 
shorter period than a year—it may possible be done in two 
months, we will suppose that it can,—we have then an excess 
ot two million four hundred and eight thousand dollars a year, 
which is one-sixth of the excess, under the previous calcula¬ 
tion. In other words, the excess annually, due directly to lack 
of intelligence and skill in road construction, is about three 
times the entire amount of the road tax of the State,' and sus¬ 
tained almost entirely by the farmers. The enormous sum 
wasted annually by those least able to afford it is a potent argu¬ 
ment in favor of high class roads, and demonstrates the neces¬ 
sity of maintaining our public highways in excellent condition 
from motives of economy. If our farmer friends, upon whom 
the burden rests so heavily and who are the bitterest opponents 
to any tampering with the road law, could be brought to un¬ 
derstand and appreciate the necessity of prompt and liberal 
action in this matter, great and substantial good would result 
from their wisdom. It is not considered fairly within the 
scope of this paper to offer suggestions as the best means to an 
end so important and desirable as good roads. It seems to me, 
however, that if the office of State Engineer, or Road Com¬ 
missioner, was created, and an active, intelligent and experienc¬ 
ed man placed in charge, with sufficient means at his disposal 
to thoroughly prosecute the study of this problem as it is pre¬ 
sented in this State, beneficial results would inevitably follow. 
He should cause to be made maps, showing all the roads in the 
State, which should be classified according to their excellence. 

From time to time bulletins should be issued by him treat¬ 
ing of the road construction and maintenance in minute detail. 
The County Commissioners should file with him statements, at 
intervals, of the condition of all the roads within their jurisdic¬ 
tion, setting forth such points on which information would be 
valuable. 

It is further believed that County Commissioners should not 
grant any application for the opening of a new road, unless' 
application be accompanied by a map of the alignment pro¬ 
files and estimates of the cost, furnished by a competent engi¬ 
neer. The cost of such surveys, maps, etc., are to be borne by 
the petitioner, and maps, profiles, and estimates to become the 


34 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


property of the Commissioners Court, duplicates of same to be 
fited with the State Engineer. The benefits of such an arrange¬ 
ment are obvious and need no discussion. 

There is nothing before the people of Alabama to-day of so 
great importance as a propor solution of this vexed problem, 
involving, as it does, not only the welfare of the farmer, but 
the welfare of every citizen of the State. The industrial and 
scientific interests of the State are at stake, and we as members 
of an organization to foster, encourage and promote their cause, 
should not be idle. Let us then take some action, earnest and 
united, to secure the accomplishment of that end so essential 
and beneficial. 

It has been my pleasure to visit and study, in this and in 
other countries some of the greatest roads man can devise, and 
from observation I am convinced that in the improvement of 
our common roads the requirements of civilization are but be¬ 
ing fulfilled. Knowledge will soon be broadcast and become the 
property of the many ; society will take a strike upward ; new 
hope and new life will be infused into every bone and sinew 
of our commonwealth, and the inevitable end of peace and 
prosperity will be our heritage. 


The paper was discussed by’Henry McCalley, F. M. Jackson, 
Horace Harding, and R. L. McCalley. 

The Society at this time received an invitation from the 
United States Rolling Stock Company, through B. F. Peacock, 
Superintendent of the Forge Department, to visit the works 
the next morning at 9 o’clock. The invitation was accepted 
and the Secretary instrucfed to return a suitable acknowl¬ 
edgement of the courtesy. 

The Society then adjourned to meet April 9th, at 10:30 A.M. 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


35 


April 9th, between 9 and 10 :30 o’clock a. m. 

The Society visited the works of the United States Rolling 
Stock Company, and at 10 :30 reassembled for the transaction 
of business. 

Henry McCalley, C. and M. E., read a paper on 

NATURAL GAS AND PETROLEUM IN 
NORTH ALABAMA. 

* A GENERAL REVIEW OF THEM WITH AN ACCOUNT OF 
THEIR OCCURRENCE IN ALABAMA. 

* 

As there has been for some months past considerable excite¬ 
ment in portions of Northern Alabama over the finding of 
natural gas and petroleum in those sections, and as many in¬ 
quiries have come not only from those, but also from other sec¬ 
tions of the State for information on these subjects, it will not 
be out of place to give here a general review of these subjects 
as gathered from the best and latest authorities, and an account 
of their occurrence in Alabama. Natural gas and petroleum 
are respectively the gaseous and liquid forms of bitumen. They 
are closely related to each other, and there is but little doubt 
but that they have the same origin. They have most likely 
been derived from organic matter or from vegetable and or¬ 
ganic remains, but in what way no one can say for certain. It 
is most probable that petroleum was the first product, as it is 
more composite and unstable and is seemingly less removed 
from the organic world, and can be made to give rise by de¬ 
structive distillation to marsh gas, which is the principal in¬ 
gredient of natural gas. The gas and oil that are indigenous 
to limestones are, doubtless, in the most of cases, of animal 
origin, while those that come from shades are most likely of 
vegetable origin. They are so intimately related to each other 
that every oil field is more or less a gas field, and there are but 
few sras wells that do not yield more or less oil. Wherever 
one is found, the other is most likely to occur in greater or less 

* Principal anthories studied:—Reports of Geological Surveys of Ohio 
and Pennsylvania, and Report, by Prof. S. F. Peckham, on Petroleum 
for the Tenth Census. 





36 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


quantities. They occur in nearly all parts of the world, and in 
almost every State in the Union, but in comparatively few lo¬ 
calities in sufficient quantities to be of commercial value. They 
impregnate porous rock, and most commonly make their ap¬ 
pearance in springs and in wells drilled for them. In this 
country, the only States that are known as yet to have them in 
commercial quantities, are New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and 
West Virginia, though there are several other States in which 
the prospects are good of finding them in large quantities. 

These substances are as widely distributed geologically as 
they are geographically, and may be said to be absent from only 
the crystalline or eruptive rocks, or from those rocks that have 
in them no remains of vegetable or animal life. Prof. C. H. 
Hitchcock, in 1867 , enumerated fourteen different geological 
formations in which they occur in North America. In most 
of these formations, they occur in commercial quantities, but in 
some of them they are in such small quantities as to be of only 
scientific interest. Their principal occurrence in this country 
are in five formations : the Devonian and Upper Silurian of 
New York ; the Carboniferous, Sub-carboniferous and Devo¬ 
nian of Pennsylvania ; the Carboniferous, Sub-carboniferous 
and Lower Silurian of Ohio ; and the Carboniferous and Sub- 
carboniferous of West Virginia. The great bulk, however, at 
present comes from the Sub-Carboniferous rocks of Pennsyl¬ 
vania and the Trenton or Lower Silurian (rocks) of Ohio ; the 
present most productive gas rocks being the Sub-carboniferous 
sandstones of Pennsylvania, and the present most productive 
oil rocks, the Trenton limestones of Ohio. 

The gas and oil rocks of New York, Pennsylvania, and West 
Virginia are not less than six different strata of sandstones, of 
very unequal productive values, that are distributed through 
several thousand feet of Devonian, Sub-carboniferous and Car¬ 
boniferous strata of these respective States. The gas and oil 
rocks of Ohio are several seams of interstratified dolomites in 
the Trenton limestones. The uppermost of these seams of 
dolomite sometimes caps the Trenton rocks, but it is most com¬ 
monly covered by a very hard and very fossiliferous ordinary 
Trention limestone from one to ten feet in thickness. The low¬ 
est dolomitic seam is usually the most productive, and has never 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


37 


been seen more than ioo feet below the top of the Trenton. 
The gas and oil producing rocks are non-continuous with their 
geological formations, and so have their geographical’ as well 
as their geological limits, which, however, are constantly being 
widened by the prospector’s drill. They are known as gas and 
oil sands , which names are applied to porous rocks of any 
chemical composition that act as reservoirs for the stored gas 
and oil. They are coarse grained conglomerates, sandstones, 
dolomites, highly fossiliferous limestones and slaty shales. 
There may be a dozen or more of these sands or gas and oil 
horizons under any one locality, and no one can tell anything 
for certain as to their number or productiveness until they 
have been tested by the drill. One of these sands may have in 
it only water, another only gas, another only oil, another a 
mixture of any two, and another a mixture of all three, and 
still they may be separated from each other by only a few feet 
of strata. This intervening strata would, however, have to be 
of a very impervious nature. 

To be of any economical value, gas and oil must be in large 
accumulations. These large accumulations do not happen by 
hap-hazard, but are dependent upon the existence of certain 
geological features. Thev must have a certain mechanical 
arrangement and order of their strata. They must have an im- 
pervious cover to prevent their escape, they must have a per¬ 
vious or porous reservoir to store them away, they must have 
a very fossiliferous source and they must have a decided change 
in the regular dip of their strata. The impervious cover is the 
most essential and usually the hardest to find or scarcest ot all 
these requisites. These covers, howevei, often do then woik 
most effectually, as frequently, in drilling, no traces ot gas or 
oil are found in them, but in large quantities immediately on 
getting through them. They are formed by fine grained com¬ 
pact rocks ; the best covers being of clayey shales. The per¬ 
vious reservoir is a porous rock, and may be either a sandstone, 
a conglomerate, a dolomite, a highly fossiliferous limestone, or 
a slaty shale. The coarser the grain or the more porous the 
rock, the better. The source has be a very highly fossiliferous 
rock, and is commonly a limestone or shale. The decided 
change in the regular dip of the strata must convert them either 


38 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


into a gentle arch or anticline, or a bench or terrace which is 
nothing more than a suppressed arch or anticline. 

The vast accumulations of gas and oil of Pennsylvania, New 
York and West Virginia, are strictly confined to anticlinals, 
while those of Ohio are along terraces or suppressed anticlinals. 
Small accumulations of gas and oil however do not necessarily 
conform to this structural arrangement. The gas and oil rocks, 
or the porous reservoirs, do not always carry accumulations of 
gas and oil even under the above conditions, but the most of 
them do, however, in some parts of their extent, at least, have 
in them more or less of these substances. They are never empty, 
and when not filled with gas or oil, or both, they have in 
them water, which is most commonly the case. The water is 
most commonly fresh, if within 400 to c;oo feet of the surface. 
The porosity of the reservoirs often extend for great distances 
in lateral directions, as wells separated by half to three-fourths 
of a mile are known in certain instances to affect each other in 
flow and pressure, and sometimes a single well will drain, so it 
is said, an area of several consecutive square miles. There are 
several theories as to the pressure of gas and the rise of oil in 
wells, but the one that seems to apply to them best is the Ar¬ 
tesian theory, which is that they are due to a water head of a 
greater or less elevation at a greater or less distance. The ar¬ 
tesian principle does not however apparently apply to feeble 
shale gas and oil , orto wells of low pressure ; nor do the amount 
of gas and oil of these low pressure wells seem to depend upon 
the above structural arrangements of the strata. When gas, oil 
and water are found in the same sand, from a well known 
hydrostatic law, or from the differences in their specific grav¬ 
ities, the gas is always found at the highest level of the pro¬ 
ductive sand , the oil under it or at a somewhat lower level,and 
then, at a still lower level, at the bottom, is the water. Even- 
gas and oil field is said to have a margin of water, generallv 
more or less saline, that surrounds it in whole or in part, and 
the influx of this salt water is one of the most common evi¬ 
dences of total failure in wells drilled for gas and oil. The ap¬ 
pearance of salt water in the sands of the Trenton limestones 
is not, however, looked upon with such suspicion or disfavor, 
but rather as an advantage in keeping the sands in better con- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


39 


dition, provided it does not come in too great quantities or in 
more than a few barrels per day. With the exhaustion of a 
field, the gas and oil are followed up, and finally replaced in 
the sands by salt water. The last end of a gas sand , as such, 
is most generally an oil sand , and then a water sand ; and the 
last end of an oil sand , as such, is a water sand. 

Gas and oil are strictly stored powers, and every square foot 
of them taken from the reservoir leaves the amount remaining 
that much the less. In other words, as has been said, a gas or 
oil well begins to die the moment it begins to live. If they 
were inexhaustible, they would have to draw from inexhausti¬ 
ble sources, and it is known that all^i - and oil sands are of 
only medium thickness, and are restricted geographically as 
well as geologically. No gas nor oil well can therefore be in¬ 
exhaustible. It is said that the longest life of the best Ameri¬ 
can oil fields has never as yet attained a score of years. 

Natural gas and petroleum have various practical applica¬ 
tions, and have added much to the industrial development of • 
the world and to the prosperity, health, comfort and happiness 
of its people. Though natural gas has been used for heating 
and illuminating purposes for more than half a century, it has 
only been within the last ten or twelve years that its high 
value as a fuel has been appreciated. It is the perfect type of 
fuel, and has opened up a new era in the development ol heat 
and mechanical powers. Its practical use in various ways has 
given an object lesson of the great advantages of gas as a fuel, 
and has demonstrated that gas of some kind is to be in large 
cities the fuel of the future. If natural gas cannot be gotten, a 
fuel gas will be manufactured. Gas as a fuel is, perhaps, most 
valuable and available in domestic use and in the production of 
steam. It gives no soot or dust, and adds so much to the 
comfort of those using it, that it is said no one will ever give it 
up who has once used it. Its use is an economy, loi it is a 
well known fact that, in ordinary uses of coal for fuel, there is 
a loss of from 7^ to 90 per cent of the heat units that might 
possibly be made available. It is even said that, if the coal 
now burnt in large cities was converted into gas and this gas 
used for heating purposes, there would be a great saving in 
fuel, to say nothing of the incidental advantages that it would 

afford. 


40 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Natural gas ; owing to its low specific gravity, being but 
little over one-half the weight of air, and its extreme tenuity is 
hard to confine, and, being odorless, it is hard to detect. It is, 
however, under the same conditions less dangerous than coal 
gas, as the range of its explosibility is greater, and as the re¬ 
sulting explosion is less violent, and as it requires a higher de¬ 
gree of heat to fire it. It requires for complete combustion 
about ten times its volume of air. 

Natural gas and petroleum consist principally of hydrogen 
and carbon, and hence they are called hydro-carbons. The car¬ 
bon increases with the density. They are of many varieties, 
and differ sometimes not only with different localities, but with 
different wells in the same locality, and even with different 
horizons in the same well. Natural gas burns with a clear 
white flame,if unaccompanied by petroleum ; but, if petroleum is 
present, it has a red and smoky flame. It contains from i 5 to 
95 per cent of marsh gas (CHq), and from 5 to 85 per cent 
of other hydro-carbons. 

Crude petroleum is of yellow, green, amber and black colors. 
Its value is usually determined by the amount of distillates 
that are available for illuminating purposes, and varies with its 
density, the heavier oils being the more valuable. Though 
made up principally of carbon and hydrogen, it has also very 
small per centages, in some instances, of nitrogen and sulphur, 
and perhaps oxygen. The presence of sulphur gives the dis¬ 
agreeable odor that some of them have. 

In Northern Alabama there are many springs that yield na¬ 
tural gas and petroleum, but in no known case of sufficient 
quantity to be of any other than scientific interest. These 
springs occur in the out-crops of the Carboniferous, Sub-car¬ 
boniferous, Devonian and Lower Silurian formations. 

There are also scattered over Northern Alabama, in the out¬ 
croppings of the Carboniferous and Sub-carboniferous forma¬ 
tions, tar springs, from which there exudes maltha or semi- 
liquid bitumen. This maltha on exposure to the air hardens 
into the solid form of bitumen known as asphaltum , when it 
resembles the hard, stiff' tar that sticks to an old wagon hub. 

Around these tar springs the rocks are usually very bitumcn- 
ous, and most commonly show in them the maltha in their 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


41 


streaks and seams, and in geodes and in their interstices. In 
these rocks, there were several wells drilled years ago in search 
of petroleum, but with what results it is very hard to say, as 
the information concerning them is very fragmentary and un¬ 
certain. Prof. S. F. Peckham, in his special report on petro¬ 
leum for the tenth census, says that Jonathan Watson, Esq., of 
Titusville, Ind., drilled wells in Alabama in 1865, and got oil 
in two of them. The tar springs and highly bitumenous rocks 
of Alabama are most abundant in the crinoidal limestones of 
the upper part of the Sub-carboniferous strata of the Moulton 
Valley. The best known of these tar springs are, however, 
just outside of Moulton Valley ; they are two on Cap’s Creek, 
in S. 26, T. 8, R. 6 W. These springs years ago were places 
of resort for the afflicted, who drank the water and swallowed 
pills of maltha, and believed that they were greatly benefitted 
thereby. These two springs are to the south of the high di¬ 
vide of Coal Measures that bounds Moulton Valley on the 
south, and hence they are surrounded by Coal Measures. 
They are on the south bank of the creek which has cut down 
through the Coal Measures about =50 feet, and then down into 
the Sub-carboniferous strata about 50 feet more. They are in 
the out-crops of a very highly fossiliferous, coarse grain sili¬ 
ceous, crinoidal limestone that has a cover of reddish and green¬ 
ish argillaceous shales. Both of these springs have been spoilt 
by digging and blasting into them. They are about one-fourth 
of a mile apart. The one highest up the creek has been drift¬ 
ed into a distance, so said, of some 90 feet. The mouth of the 
drift, however, has been stopped up by a slide. Several bar¬ 
rels of maltha are said to have been collected in pools in this 
drift, though most likely the prospects didn’t improve as the 
drift was extended. On the out-crop, the maltha has harden¬ 
ed, and occurs as thin sheets in all the seams of the crinoidal 
limestone. This limestone is also full of iron pyrites. Near 
the lower spring, but between the two, is a standard well that 
is said to have been drilled tor oil to a depth of 600 to 700 teet. 
It is most probably one of the wells that was drilled by Jonathan 
Watson, Esq., in 1S6:;. Lower down in the Sub-carboniferous 
strata, as seen in the Moulton Valley, are other beds or ledges 
of these highly fossiliferous, coarse grain, crinoidal limestones, 


42 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


that are so highly bitumenous as to blaze up when thrown into 
the fire, and from which petroleum can be driven out by heat 
or distillation. From an out-cropping of these limestones about 
one and a half miles northeast of Mount Hope,the petroleum has 
been distilled out by breaking up the rocks into small fragments 
and filling up a common wash pot with them and then invert¬ 
ing the pot and building a fire on top of it. When fresh broken, 
some of the rocks of this locality emit a very disagreeable pe¬ 
troleum smell, and are even so bitumenous as to be moist in 
streaks along which is to be seen the oil in drops. These rocks 
are colored a dark gray by the bitumenous matter in them, and 
on the exposed out-crops have on them black streaks and 
splotches of hardened maltha or asphaltum. They are a mere 
mass of fossils, principally crinoidal stems with some few bi¬ 
valve shells. A company formed at Mount Hope will bore a 
well near this out-cropping. 

Still lower down in the Sub-carboniferous strata is the ledge 
of massive sandstones, locally known as the LaGrange sand¬ 
stone, that caps the Little Mountain. This sandstone in places, 
as around Hartselle, is highly bitumenous or impregnated with 
oil. It and the crinoidal limestone, since the oil excitement in 
the Moulton Valley are used to boom the oil prospects of the 
country, by throwing pieces of them into the fire to see them 
blaze and to drive out the oil so that it can be seen. These 
oily rocks, together with the tar springs of the valley, have 
led, within the last twelve months, to the formation of 
several oil companies and the proposed sinking of some half 
dozen or more standard gauge test wells in the Moulton Valley. 
One of these wells has already been drilled, and two or three 
are now under way. The well already drilled, the Goyer Well 
No. i, in the n. w. corner of s. w. \ of s. e. 5 of section 29,town¬ 
ship 7, range 6 west, when visited March 10, 1891, had reach¬ 
ed a depth of 1S20 feet, and the intention was to extend it down 
to a depth of 2000 feet. In this well there was struck the first 
gas at the top of the LaGrange sandstone, at a depth of 335 
feet; the second gas and strong salt water, in lower Sub-car¬ 
boniferous strata, at respectively 500 and 501 feet; the first oil, 
in small quantity, at the top of the Trenton, at 1355 feet, ancl 
the second oil, a good dark green oil with a pleasant odor, in 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


43 


the Trenton limestones, at 1509 feet. The first gas is said to 
have had a very good pressure, and to have burnt with a flame 
five teet high at the open end of a pipe with a six inch internal 
diameter. The second gas is said to have been free from sul¬ 
phuretted hydrogen, and to have had pressure enough to blow 
aside a hat held over the open six inch pipe. The first and 
second gas together were estimated by Dr. McRae, the geolo¬ 
gist in charge, at 20,000 cubic feet per day. The second oil, 
on striking it, is said to have risen in the well to a height of 
about 200 feet. Some eight barrels of this oil was pumped 
out, so said, and from the distance the oil was lowered in the 
well by this amount, the well was computed, by Dr. McRae,at 
about a 25 barrel (per day) well. The salt water on evapora¬ 
tion gave a fine well flavored table salt. After pumping out 
the eight barrels of oil, a wooden plug is said to have been 
placed down in the well, and then the well was left alone for 
several weeks, until some lands could be bought or optioned. 
On re-commencing work, the oil was found to have been drown¬ 
ed out by the salt water. This misfortune is supposed to have 
been due to a split in the wooden sopper, made in the driving 
it in. 

The chemist of the Mansfield Drug Company, St. Louis, has 
made an analysis of this oil with the following results :— 


Specific gravity, ..... 0.831 

Rhigoline, Benzine, gasoline, etc., light oils 16% 
Illuminating oil, 15 per cent test, - 22 “ 

Lubricating oil, - - - - - 12 “ 


Residue : contains vasaline, paraffine, and heavy oils. 

The second oil sand from which the above oil came is be- 
lieved to be some 300 feet down in the Trenton limestones, or 
some 200 feet lower, geologically speaking, than any known 
productive oil sand of this country. The well, however, is be¬ 
ing continued on to a depth of 2000 feet in the hopes that a 
third oil sand will be found. 

The Goyer Well No. 2 is about one and a hall miles to the 
northwest ot Well No. 1 5 at the time visited, March 11, 1S91* 
the derrick of Well No. 2 was completed, and the drilling is 
doubtless now under way. A Mount Hope company has made 
a contract, and are now getting ready to drill several wells in 


44 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


that vicinity. A Mr. Young is now having a well drilled 
several miles southwest of Hartselle. About one mile north of 
Hartselle just to the east of the L. and N. R. R., at the old site 
of Hartselle, there is a well that is said to have been drilled in 
1887 for gas to furnish Decatur. It is commenced just under 
the LaGrange sandstone, and, from the non-continuous samples 
preserved of the drillings, appears to have extended down 
through the Trenton limestones to near 100 feet into the un¬ 
derlying Knox Dolomite. In it, there was struck, as reported, 
permanent water at 30 feet; sulphur water at 160 feet; brack¬ 
ish water at 3^2 feet; the first gas, just over the Black Shale, 
at 602 feet; the second gas, in the upper part of the Trenton, 
at 1094 feet; petroleum, very black, in Trenton limestones, at 
1500 feet; and salt water, in Knox Dolomite, at the bottom of 
the well, 1730 feet. The first gas struck is said to have burnt 
from the open end of a two inch pipe with a flame five feet 
high. This oil is entirely different from that found in the 
Goyer Well, it is black and much more odorous. It appears to 
be nearly 600 feet down in the Trenton limestones or some 2^0 
feet lower than the oil or second oil sand of the Goyer Well, 
and hence 500 feet lower, geologically speaking, than any 
known productive oil sand. This black oil sand , it is believed, 
ought to have been struck in the Goyer Well at about 1800 
feet. The oils of the above wells, from the limestones, are be¬ 
lieved to have no connection whatever with the oily and bitu- 
menous matter of the surface rocks and tar springs of the 
Moulton Valley. 

There are several other bored or drilled wells in this valley* 
They are old wells, and it cannot be said to what depth they 
extended or what was found in them. One of these wells, 
called the Salt Well , occurs at the tar spring about five miles 
northeast of Danville ; another, the Terry Well, some four 
miles south of Courtland, and another, the Curtis Well, some 
six miles southwest of Decatur. The tar springs of the Ganges 
Cove, at the foot of the mountain in the s. e. ^ of s. e. £ of sec. 
10, township 8, range 3 west, is in the bottom of a ditch. The 
maltha, or mineral tar, exudes from between slabs of a dark 
gray, cherty looking limestone. From this spring, there was dug 
out crystals of calcite that were held together by maltha. This 
spring occurs in rocks of about the same geological horizon as 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


45 


the tar springs on Caps’s Creek. The asphalt from the tar 
spring near Priceville, four miles northeast of Hartselle, has 
the following composition, as analyzed by Dr. Wm. Gessner :_ 


Specific gravity, - - - . . 1,71^ 

Moisture, at 110 deg., .... 1,374% 

Napthine,. 3,144 “ 

Kerosene or Lamp Oil, - - - 2=5,479 “ 

Heavy or Lubricating Oils, - - - ^3,122 “ 

Paraffine,.4,237 “ 

Coke, 12,644 u 

Sulphur, .trace. 


100,000 

At New Market, in the northeastern part of Madison County, 
there was bored, with a diamond drill, in 1890, a hole 1077 
feet in depth. It commences in the bottom part of the Sub- 
carboniferous strata, or about =55 feet above the Black Shale, 
and extends down over 600 feet into the Trenton limestones. 
In this hole there was struck permanent water at 22 feet and 
sulphur water at 11S feet and at 700 feet. The rocks from 190 
to 700 feet are said to have been more or less impregnated 
with petroleum, and in the upper part of the Trenton, at 500 
feet, smelt very strongly of petroleum. No gas or salt water 
was reported as occurring in this well. In the hole, two inches 
in diameter, there has been inserted a pipe through which the 
sulphur water rises to the surface, and is used by the inhabitants 
of the village. 

A few miles to the southwest of New Market, in Flint 
River, near the Bell Factory, there was noticed some years ago 
gas bubbling up through the water from a crack or seam in 
the rocks. 

About ten miles southwest of Guntersville, in an out-crop- 
ping of Knox Dolomite, the upper part of it, there are a great 
many beautiful quartz crystals, and in many of these crystals 
are inclosed small globules of a bright honey colored oil. In 
the out-croppings of these rocks, a well, the Smith Well, was 
bored, so said, to a depth of 1000 feet, but with what result is 
not known. Doubtless nothing of importance was found in 
this well, as these rocks are somewhat broken up and are much 



46 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


lower, geologically speaking,, than any known productive gas 
or oil rocks. 

In the Trenton limestones of the quarry at Gate City, near 
Birmingham, there is said to have been found geodes that have 
in them as much as a half pint or more of oil. The oils in the 
above quartz crystals and in these geodes, without a doubt, 
originated in the rocks in which they were found. 

At the base of the Knox Dolomite, a few miles southwest of 
Ashvilie, St. Clair County, is a group of several springs that 
have over them a thick scum of petroleum. Such springs as 
these are common in Northern Alabama, especially in out¬ 
croppings of the Devonian rocks, or Black, Shale and in the 
Coal Measures, most commonly near the out-croppings of coal 
seams, the coal seams acting apparently as the oil reservoirs. 

In the Coal Measures, in the edge of Village Creek, four or 
five miles west of Birmingham, or in the n. w. \ of n. w. \ of 
section 30, township 17, range 3 east, there was discovered by 
Col. L. W. Johns, in iSS^, a spring or an escape of natural gas. 
The gas bubbles up in the creek at some eight to ten different 
points within a circle of a radius of five to six feet. The gas 
has been bubbling up steadily ever since first discovered, 
and likely for centuries before. It comes or bubbles up from 
between strata of shaly and flaggy sandstones that have a dip 
of 20 to 25 degrees to the west. Some three hundred yards up 
the creek from this spring is the top of an anticlinal. The strata, 
however, near this spring are too highly tilted and too badly 
broken up, or are too near the great fault that here runs be¬ 
tween the Coal Measures and the Birmingham Valley, for the 
above gas to come from any great accumulations. In testing 
for coal in the Warrior Field, several holes up to a depth of 
2000 feet have been bored, and in some of them more or less 
gas has been found in what are commonly called sifiallpockets. 
Perhaps the greatest quantity was struck in a well some ten 
miles west of Birmingham as the drill reached a coal seam at 
450 feet. That some of the coal seams are gas reservoirs is 
also shown from the fact that gas in small quantities is found 
in nearly all, if not all, of the deeper coal mines of the State. 
It has, however, in none of them as yet been struck in large 
quantities. The best known, and perhaps strongest sulphur 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


47 


and oil springs of the Coal Measures, are the Blue or Keizer 
Springs ot Winston County, in section 33, township 11, range 
9 west. These springs are several in number, and boil up from 
a low, flat, marshy place near Brown’s Creek. The best known 
tar springs of these measures is in the same county, in section 
3, township 12, range 9 west. The maltha, or semi-liquid bitu¬ 
men of this spring, with water, oozes up through a small hole 
in a massive friable, coarse grain sandstone that forms glady 
places. This spring runs much more freely in the summer, so 
said, than in the winter. In the summer, it yields about every 
fifteen minutes a ball of maltha of near the size of one’s fist. 

In the newer formations of Alabama, there have been several 
wells of over 1000 feet in depth bored. In all of them more or 
lpss salt water was found, and in the well at Bladen Springs, 
Choctaw County, bored in 1SS4 and 1885 for petroleum, there 
was struck considerale gas, as it was used for heating the water 
for baths. 

In conclusion, I will say that I have no idea that any large 
quantities of gas or oil will ever be found in Alabama to the 
southeast of a line drawn northeast and southwest through Bir¬ 
mingham, unless it is in the newer rocks or in the Mesozoic 
and Cenozoic rocks of the southern part of the State, tor the 
reason that the older or Paleozoic rocks to the southeast of that 
line are too highly tilted and too badly broken up to even allow 
of any such accumulations. I do not think, however, that even 
to the northwest of that line that there will ever be found in 
Alabama any such accumulations of gas and oil as have been 
discovered in Pennsylvania and Ohio, though I do hope that 
there may be found some paying wells. There is no doubt but 
that the Sub-carboniferous rocks of the Moulton Valley, be¬ 
lieved to be the best oil bearing rocks in the State, have in 
them in the aggregate a vast amount of petroleum, but whether 
or not this petroleum is collected together in anyone place in 
sufficient quantity to be of any commercial value remains to be 
proved by the drill. Should ever such accumulations be found 
in these rocks, it will most likely be in wells drilled down 
through the Coal Measures to the south of the high divide that 
bounds Moulton Valley on the south, for there alone would the 
necessary conditions of a suitable source, reservoir, cover and 


48 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


structure of the strata be fulfilled. Nothing, however, can be 
said with certainty as to such a find, for no man can say that 
gas or oil exist in quantity in any one locality, until it has been 
tested by the drill ; all that can be said by the wisest, is that 
gas and oil may occur, in greater or less quantities, at some 
depth beneath the surface wherever the strata have never been 
more than slightly disturbed or where they now lie tolerably 
flat over large areas. 

It is true, however, that the expert geologist can say or point 
out the localities in which accumulations of these substances 
are most likely to occur, and also where it would be impossible 
to find them in quantity, and so no gas or oil wells ought to be 
drilled, as they are expensive things, until there has been a 
careful study of the geology of the country. Accurate records 
should be kept by competent persons of all the strata penetrat¬ 
ed in a well drilled for oil or gas, for the reason that should 
gas or oil be found, or should it be deemed advisable to drill 
other wells in search of gas or oil, these records would be very 
valuable in enabling one to tell where or in what strata to ex¬ 
pect the gas or oil, and where or in what strata to stop boring 
with the almost certainty that nothing would be found by 
going deeper. These accurate records would also be of great 
advantage to a proper understanding of the geology of the 
country, and hence to the State at large, and especially to the 
immediate vicinity of the borings. 


This paper was discussed by C. Cadle, W. E. Robertson, 
Horace Harding, and William B. Phillips. 



Sections of gas and oil wells of north Alabama 


DEVONIAN 


SCAL E:I I N CH = 3 0 O FEET. 






HARTSELLE WELL 


“.PERMANENT 

FRESHWATER 


NEW MARKETWELL 


permanent 


^ FRESHWATER 



LIMESTONES 


SANDSTONES 


SHALES 


CHERT 


SSL 

BOTTOM' 
1730 FEET 


BOTTOM 
1077 FEET 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































* 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 49 

B. F. Peacock’s paper on The Future of the Iron and Steel 
Industry in Alabama was read by C. D. Allis, as Mr. Pea¬ 
cock was unavoidably absent : 

THE FUTURE OF THE IRON AND STEEL 
IND US TR T IN ALA BA MA . 

In committing to me the duty of preparing a paper on “The 
Future ot the Iron and Steel Industry in Alabama,” you will 
not, I trust, expect too much, because I have found it impossi¬ 
ble to do justice to such an important subject in one paper. 
The institution whose success we are met to promote will, we 
trust, be the means of casting aside all narrow jealousy and of 
adding immeasurably to the general stock of information. We 
have in Alabama many intelligent men, both scientific and 
practical, who occupy positions of trust in our coal and ore 
mines, iron and steel works, foundries, and divers manufac¬ 
tories, to whom iron and steel is a necessity. It is with such 
men “through the means of this society” we wish to come face 
to face ; men distinguished for their practical knowledge, and 
others equally eminent for their attachments to scientific ob¬ 
servation, and so foster, develop and help forward, generally, 
Alabama’s good. There are instances, as you know, even in 
this day where scientific inquiry is disregarded and practical 
experience is admitted to be the only true guide ; but what is 
practical experience but science of a kind? The observation, 
and to some extent, the connection of certain facts, is the most 
intelligent and trustworthy ground-work for success in a sound 
union between these two great principles. 

Now-a-days science is so developed and the knowledge of 
facts' so extended that it is impossible for any single associa¬ 
tion, or a single individual, to master all the different branches 
of scientific and philosophical speculation : it is therefore de¬ 
sirable and beneficial that one should give his undivided atten¬ 
tion to some particular branch of science, or manufacture, and 
master it, instead of wandering over the bewildering field ot 
inquiry. Of course, we know that man has conquered nature, 
has harnessed her forces to his service, and the vast creation of 
wealth and comfort in this country alone would form, when it 


50 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


came to be recorded, the most wonderful chapter in The history 
of the human race. My duty on the present occasion is not to 
present you with the many details, but rather to attempt, in as 
practical a manner as possible, the briefest condensation of 
them. I have been for many years identified, practically, with 
the metallurgical and mechanical treatment of iron ores and 
the production of finished iron and steel sections, at some of 
the largest and best equipped works in the Old Country, and 
also have been practically engaged nearly five years in Ala¬ 
bama ; long enough to be able to form an unbiased and practi¬ 
cal opinion of the wonderful resources which nature has lavish¬ 
ed upon this section. Alabama is one of the Gulf States ; is 
situated between 30 deg. 31 min. and 35 deg., north latitude,and 
between 84 deg. 56 min. and 8.8 deg. 31 min. west longitude. 
Its greatest length from North to South is 336 miles, and its 
greatest breadth is 200 miles. Its area is 52,250 square miles, 
and is about the same as England. Its principal rivers are the 
Mobile, Alabama, Tombigbee, Coosa, Black Warrior, Chatta¬ 
hoochee and the Tennessee, which are natural water ways and 
navigable nearly 2000 miles in length, and it seems to me that 
no other State in the Union equals Alabama in this respect ; 
therefore, gentlemen, I am starting out, naturally, with a very 
good opinion of the importance of this State ; feeling sure that 
it is only in its infancy as regards its industrial career. The 
far-seeing officials belonging to different railway systems have 
done, and are doing wonderful service in helping the quick de¬ 
velopment of this State, and very wisely so. By giving the 
South all the railway facilities in their power, coupled with 
reasonable freight rates, they are simply laying up for them¬ 
selves a rich harvest, and benefiting mankind by making it 
possible for tens of thousands of iron and steel workers,farmers 
and others to find employment. 

Now, these sagacious, far-seeing and enthusiastic developers 
of the South, as I may call them, are being called to order on 
account of their giving us too generous freight rates, thereby 
as one friend says “enabling 11s to compete in the open market 
of course, we are competing, but gentlemen, we are only just 
getting the thin edge of the wedge in, because it is not the so- 
called partial Southern rates that have caused 11s to become 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


51 


dangerous rivals, but it is Alabama’s natural causes, with its 
native sinews, brains and foreign capital that has and will en¬ 
able, her to become an acknowledged rival in the open market. 
We cannot help our Mining Engineers, Chemists and practi¬ 
cal men finding in Alabama the best coal, some of which we 
shall see later, making the best of coke ;—finding iron ores 
which we know are suitable to manufacture such specimens as 
you see placed around the table, and which we think are fit for 
any market in the world ;—we cannot help finding an abun¬ 
dance of ore, quite suitable for making steel ;—we are finding 
the very best of fire clays, best of limestone, marble, slate ; also 
extensive deposits of oil, which, in the near future, will only 
be a repetition of the discoveries in the North, with this differ¬ 
ence, that the natural gas is here to stay. The fact is, seeing 
that we have in this State such unmatched mineral wealth and 
the finest timber in the land, would it not be a surprise, to any 
thinking and practical man, with all these natural resources at 
our very feet, if we could not compete, even in the World’s 
markets, in pig iron, manufactured bar iron or steel products? 
Of course, whilst I believe that the efforts of various industrial 
and immigration conventions which have been held in the 
South, going hand in hand with the railway systems, have had 
their effect, still Alabama has had its present advertisement 
from strangers and practical men, who have personally investi¬ 
gated its resources for themselves, and have carried the won- 
derful story to their homes and friends into every part of the 
world. So may the good work of the railway developers and 
other agencies go on penetrating every timber and mineral 
region of the State, helping to increase its vast resources ! But, 
gentlemen, something else is needed before we can, as a State, 
stand in the front rank, and our people reap the full reward of 
independence that is surely awaiting them. I refer now to the 
immense amount of business we could do if the navigation of 
of our water-ways was judiciously improved, and all our raw 
materials were manufactured at home, into finished products 
worth $300.00 per ton, instead of as now from $9.00 to $30.00 
per ton. We have as good, if not better facilities, as you know, 
for manufacturing profitably by skilled labor, than any other 
State, and when Alabama wakes up intelligently to this tact, 


52 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


then will follow, so sure as night follows clay, such a commer¬ 
cial and industrial prosperity as has never been dreamed of; 
then Alabama will certainly become one of the richest States 
of the industrial South, and her prosperous development will 
go on forever. We will now consider the most reasonable 
means to that end. I find historical notices of furnaces whose 
place is almost forgotten—the fuel used at that time was, of 
course, charcoal, and the furnace was always located near some 
iron deposit. Wood for the charcoal was abundant everywhere, 
but as the forests were gradually cut down and charcoal be¬ 
came dear, in the older settlements, the make of iron decreased, 
and the furnace itself was finally abandoned for a new one, 
built in the vicinity of fresh woodland. The march of settle¬ 
ments has gradually thrust the manufacture of charcoal iron 
into sections of the country, where, not only vast for¬ 
ests, but local deposits of iron ore exist, and so long 
as charcoal-iron maintains its supremacy in the mar¬ 
ket for various purposes, the question of wood supply is 
not without interest to iron men. The raw products, so var¬ 
ious, so diverse, found in Alabama, are the gifts that the 
Creator, with a hand always bounteous, but wisely unequal 
and discriminative, has scattered amongst the families of men 
to be sought for, their hidden properties discovered and evolv¬ 
ed, to become the foundation of power, of Commerce, of mutual 
help, of greatness, national and individual, of every material 
comfort and enjoyment. It is known to most of my hearers 
what has been, and is being done in Alabama as regards min¬ 
ing, and iron and steel manufacture ; some of you also know a 
few of the best locations for the better carrying on of the most 
profitable and successful iron and steel industries ; therefore, I 
will only speak in a general term of localities and their pro¬ 
ducts. First, then, it seems the coal fields of Alabama form 
the southern extremity of the great Appalachian coal fields,and 
the coal deposits of this State are known to underlie the whole, 
or portions of the counties of Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan, 
Marshall, Jackson. DeKalb, Cherokee, Marion, Winston, Cull¬ 
man, Etowah, Blount, Walker, Fayette, St. Clair, Jefferson, 
Tuscaloosa, Shelby and Bibb. 

The State Geological Survev of Alabama estimates that the 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


53 


coal deposits embrace an area of 8,660 square miles, although 
actual mining operations are conducted in but ten counties,viz : 
Blount, Cherokee, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Etowah, St. Clair, 
Bibb, Shelby, Walker and Cullman. This region is divided 
into three distinct districts—that portion drained by the War¬ 
rior River and its tributaries and the Tennessee River and its 
tributaries in Alabama, constitutes the “Warrior Coal Field.” 
The Coosa field, situated in St. Clair and Shelby counties, is 
drained by the Coosa River. The Cahaba field lies along the 
Cahaba River in the counties of Shelby, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, 
and Bibb. The coals of Alabama embrace all the bitumenous 
varieties, such as gas, coking, block, splint and cannel ; thereby 
providing the rapidly developing industries and increasing 
population of the State with an inexhaustible supply of fuel 
for furnace, steam and domestic uses, for generations to come. 

It seems that the mining of coal was begun in this State 
about the year 1S53, and the growth of this industry since then 
has been almost phenomenal. The product for the calendar 
year 1SS9 being 3,378,484 tons, value $3,797,426.00. The rail¬ 
ways traversing the Alabama coal fields and providing facili¬ 
ties for the transportation of the products are the 

Alabama Great Southern. 

Louisville and Nashville. 

Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham. 

Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis. 

Georgia Pacific. 

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis. 

East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. 

East and West Railroad of Alabama. 

Cahaba Coal Mining Company. 

Columbus and Western. 

I find after examining the analyses of the coal from Tennes¬ 
see, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland and Illinois, that in 
Alabama, we have coal the highest in fixed carbon of all but 
one of the States just mentioned ; that we have coal the lowest 
in ash and the lowest, but one, in sulphur ; thus showing the 
superior qualities of our coal either for steam or coking pur¬ 
poses, also for heating and puddling furnaces. It is therefore 
as foolish for our friends as say “that first-class coke cannot be 


54 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


made from Alabama coal,” as it was for them to have said 
“that good Merchant Iron could not be manufactured from 
Southern Pig.” At the same time, there is room for improve¬ 
ment in both. If, in the manufacture of coke the most improv¬ 
ed methods were employed, less waste would he the result,and 
a purer quality could he produced, equal to "any that is used in 
blast-furnaces practice, and this, I believe, is being arrived at 
by some of the coke manufacturers in this State already. It 
seems the first attempt that was made at all in this country, to 
manufacture iron, was made on Falling Creek, Virginia, in 
1619, but in 1622 the Indians destroyed the works and massa¬ 
cred all the workmen. 

I find, also, that the first coke pig iron made in the South was 
in the year i860, and the final chapter in the history of this fur¬ 
nace may he a little interesting to some of my hearers at least. 
It seems that in the summer of 1862, before the Union troops 
took possession of Chattanooga, the machinery of this furnace 
was removed to Alabama by W. Giles Edwards, who used it 
in the equipment of a small charcoal furnace, near the site of 
the present town of Anniston. 

As regards iron ore, I find the first discovery of it was made 
within the limits of the United States, in North Carolina, in 
1585, by the expedition fitted out by Sir ^Walter Raleigh, and 
commanded by Ralph Lane, which made in that year, on 
Roanoke Island, the first attempt to plant an English settle¬ 
ment on the Atlantic coast. 

It is an acknowledged fact that the iron ores found in Ala¬ 
bama embrace most known varities; also they are found in 
large quantities, and have been worked for many years ; the 
iron made from them is of great toughness and strength. It is 
a mistake to say there is no ore in this State low enough in 

" o 

phosphoros to manufacture Bessemer Pig Iron. Manganifer- 
ous Iron Ore suitable for the manufacture of Spiegeleisen is 
found in considerable quantities. The fact is, it is simply non¬ 
sense to say that good steel cannot be made from Alabama 
ores. We are not now so dependent as we were years ago, on 
one process of steel manufacture. In these days we have to 
arrange the processes to the ores, and not the ores to the pro¬ 
cesses, and we can make steel, in any quantity and quality from 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


55 


ores in this State and at a profit,without waiting on Cuban ores’ 

We are now living in a wonderful, progressive, practical and 
scientific age, some call it the “Steel Age,” and talk “steel” 
morning, noon and night, till one is nearly smothered by steel, 
and I suppose it takes a certain amount of assurance for a man 
to even say a passing word in favor of iron, but I for one, have 
not by any means lost all confidence in our old and reliable 
friend, IRON. Of course, we have heard and known of some 
wonderful things as regards steel ; so we have and do of iron. 
It is manufactured and formed for a great variety of purposes, 
for which it is, in my mind, more suitable than steel, and it is 
a question with me whether iron is to be entirely superceded at 
all, but rather continue to be our good and faithful servant, so 
long as we treat it as it deserves. 

I come now to the practical part in developing the wonder¬ 
ful mineral resources of Alabama. Nature has done her work 
nobly and well, but something else is needed. The chemist, 
practical knowledge and capital must work hand in hand to 
do the rest. Then science, skill and enterprise will work such 
an industrial development in this State, in the near future, that 
will be a surprise to all. 

Seeing that most of the present and future blast-furnaces in 
Alabama will have their supplies of iron ore, coal, coke and 
limestone at their very doors, is it any wonder that this State 
has been fixed upon and predicted to become the very centre of 
iron and steel manufacture, at a minimum cost and in any 
quantities,' posssessing, as it does, a monopoly of all the ad¬ 
vantages necessary for producing special qualities of both iron 
and steel? I think a great deal of the out-put of these fur¬ 
naces will, very soon, be used by the Basic process, notwith¬ 
standing the very narrow-minded policy, of the owners ot the 
patent, because there are other substitutes for the Basic fur¬ 
nace linings, outside the Steel-Patent-Company’s rights, that 
will practically answer the same purpose, without paying their 
unreasonable tax of one dollar per ton, because it is too late in 
the day for any rings or monopolies of patent rights, (so far as 
the manufacture of steel is concerned), to try and stop its 
progress in this or any other Southern State, and it is needless 
for me to sav that every obstruction placed in the way of 


56 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


manufacture and all superfluous costs incurred, are simply taxes 
upon the public. 

Another scare is going the rounds to prejudice people’s mind 
against the progress of the South, and that is—we cannot suc¬ 
ceed in producing steel by the improved Basic process, long 
nor successfully, for the want of “scrap.” Now, what is the 
reason? Will iron products not resolve themselves into “scrap” 
as fast now as in years gone by? Certainly, the consumption 
of old material at the present time bears almost the same rela¬ 
tion to the consumption of pig iron as it did some years ago ; if 
so, we need not be alarmed on the score of “no scrap.” Butin 
my opinion the coming process and the one that will help for¬ 
ward the future development of the great mineral resources of 
Alabama, is the direct one. 

It is now about ninety-eight years since the first Puddling 
Furnace was constructed, and it may seem strange, but from 
that date to the present, the very trying labor and severe physi¬ 
cal task required of the puddler, has been lessened but very 
little, and after watching this process for years, I feel sure that 
the endurance exercised by the puddler to make a heat of good 
iron is greater, and taxes the muscles and strength of the opera¬ 
tor to much greater extent, than any other trade, particularly if 
the puddler is bent upon doing his work well, so as to pro¬ 
duce proper yield and a good quality of iron ; therefore any 
attempt to save this labor, also coal, and thereby lessen cost of 
production, would confer the greatest boon on the proprietor, 
the puddler, and the world at large, for it cannot be denied 
that the consumption of iron is so interwoven with the material 
and social progress of the age, that any amelioration in the cost 
of its production will be a blessing to mankind generally. For 
many years I have thought this matter over, and always con¬ 
sidered the direct production of iron and steel from the ore, 
without the intervention of the blast furnace and puddling 
furnace, as a possibility, in view of the fact that a direct pro¬ 
cess was practiced by the Ancients, Indians and Romans. 

There are two patents taken out in this country to produce 
iron and steel by the direct process, both of which 
I have been examining and investigating for some time, 
with a view of seeing how best this could be adapt- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


57 


ed to our Alabama ores. The Conley-Lancaster Process seems 
a good one ; so is the Adams Process ; the former process can 
successfully reduce ores of such low grades of quality, that 
they have hitherso been considered useless for making steel ; 
but all ores require crushing and pulverizing and cleansing. 
Gas coal is essential for use in the gas-producers, and either 
good coke or charcoal (as carbon) for mixing with the pre¬ 
pared ore in Deoxidizers- Usually fifteen to twenty per cent, 
of powdered carbon is mixed with the prepared ore and charg¬ 
ed together into the Deoxidizers. About ten per cent of pig 
or scrap iron is furnished in the open hearth furnace, into 
which is passed the ninety per cent of spongy or Deozidized 
ore from the Deoxidizers ; twelve to fifteen hundred-weight of 
gas coal is usually required to produce a gross ton of steel 
ingots. A good plant to turn out sixty tons of ingots daily 
capacity would cost $8^,000.00. This is, you will see, com¬ 
paratively cheap, when we consider the cost of blast-furnaces, 
blowing-plants, converters and other appurtenances. A soft 
steel of uniform and excellent quality is produced by this di¬ 
rect process, and they claim that steel can be made for at least 
$10.00 per ton less, from the same ore, than by the Bessemer, 
Siemens, or any other known process or plant. One great ad¬ 
vantage in this process seems to be, that the ore in the Deoxi¬ 
dizers can at all times be gotten at, and the heat suitably regu¬ 
lated to meet the varying conditions of the ore while under 
treatment, there being no risk of having it over-heated, and 
thus sticking to the Deoxidizing Retorts. There is a great fu¬ 
ture for this process. 

The Adams direct process, also, is coming to the front, and 
is being recognized and endorsed by some of the best Metallur¬ 
gists of the day. It has gone beyond the experimental stage ? 
and I see there has recently been a company formed at Pitts¬ 
burg to use this process to manufacture pure wrought iron, to 
take the place of the imported Swedish bar iron. The elements 
of saving by this process seem two-fold, namely : the substitu¬ 
tion of raw ore for pig metal, and the substitution of non- 
Bessemer for Bessemer stock. I look upon this process as very 
promising and favorable to the better developments of our 
Alabama ores, and there seems economy in its working. The 


58 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


tests of steel made by it from pig, with twelve hundredths per 
cent phosphorus, and from ore, with eighteen hundredths per 
cent phosphorus, are most remarkable, and great praise is due 
Mr. Chas. Adams, the inventor, for the success he has reached 
after thirty-five years of labor. 

Having been a believer for some years that the Direct Pro¬ 
cess was to come to the front, surely I intend to examine, and 
more carefully, both this and the Conley—Lancaster Process, 
with a view of demonstrating their practical and commercial 
worth to this Slate. 

Before concluding, however, I beg to call your attention to 
the specimens of muck, and re-rolled bars on the table, and to 
the two railway axles. These I am now making of Alabama 
pig in the daily course of business. The test sheets hereto ap¬ 
pended will show the quality of the axles. 


The paper was illustrated by a number of pieces of muck and 
rerolled bars and by two railway axles which had stood the 
severest tests. All of these specimens of wrought iron were 
prepared by the United States Rolling Stock Company from 
Alabama pig iron and Alabama fuel (coke). 

Owing to the absence of Mr. Peacock "in person, there was 
no regular discussion of the paper. 



H 

tr 

CD 

00 

CD 

> > > 
i—^ i—^ X 
OD OD d -1 
X- 4 ^ 2 
O O “ 


O AJ 

o o 

d d 


< 

CD 


CD 


CD 

•-J 

CD 

-5 

CD 

►Q 

d 

CD 

Cd 


erg oq 

tr tr 

ct“ <—K 

Cd CL 

>-s >-* 

O O 
"d rp 
CP Tt 

CD CD 

o. cl 

i-h> 

*-i >s 
O O 

a d 

d d 
P P 

d cr o 

CD CD 

ctq’ ctq’ ^ 

tr tr 


cr 

CD 

ao 

d 

cr 

3 


CD 

Q , 


w 


o o 


Oi o 

l-tl h +5 

CD (X) 


tr 

o 

►-+5 

o 

o 

< 
t—< • 

d 


w 

o to 

O c* 
0 *“ J * 

a 

~ CD 
£0 OD 


CD 


^ d d 

^ ffi ® 

^ d d 

di CD CD 

— • o o 

!—I CP CD 

® ffl 

a ® ffl 


C 

P 


dj 

O 

>~t 

aQ 

CD 

o 

CD 

CP 


Cn 

4^ 

CO 

to 

t-j^ 

<—t- 

<—t- 

<-i 

p 

GO 

cr 

d- 

o , 

Cd 

r^- 

!> 

> 

> 


> 

X 

*—• 

ri 

ZL 

M 

i—i 

CD 

CD 

CD 

CD 

CD 

H 

CD 

00 

H 

CD 

00 

H 

CD 

00 

H 

CD 

H 

CD 

GO 




GO 


CD 

CD 

CD 

ro * 

p , 

CD 

Cd 

1 

p , 

Cd 

1 

P-. 

v# 

1 


-» X 

2-. cT 

i—. go 


^ CD 
►->. 00 
p cr 

™ jL 

o 

>-* »—• • 

Cd d 

CD . 

.* ? 

CD 


h- 1 


i-d 

t— 1 

i—*■ 

Oojw 

4*|0i 

cclw 

QCfco 

4-|m 

*—* • 

t-J • 


4-4 . 

t —i • 

P 

P 

D 

d 

d 

O 

O 

o 

O 

o 

cr 

• 

cr 

• 

tr 

• 

r 

cr 

44- 

CO 

44— 

oo(m 

44— 

*— 1 • 

|— X 

U-J • 

_I . 

' • 

H* 

— 

CD 

D 

d 

d 

O 

O 

O 

O 

tr* 

0 

cr 

cr 

cr 


O 





cr 










GO 


o 

CD 

O ^ ^ 

W o. 

2-2 o 

• r 5 d 

GO 


to ? 

sg.| 

1 CD 

i—h I. O 

CD CO 
CD p- P* 
O O 

* 3 p 

. GO 


CTQ 

r-t- 

CD 

GO 

GO 

>—< • 

'**+- 

o 

p 

X)-T 

*—< • 

H-* 

UJ 

O 

CJ - 

• 

gcM 

f- 

o 

tr 

<X(-T 

5* 

o 

cr 

| inch. 

Of^ 

►—i. 

d 

CD 

cr 

Deflections 
4th Blow. 
15 feet. 








cr 






0,0 

*-s 

i—»• 

i—^ 

i—i- 

H— 1 

h— 1 

2. 

CD 

P 

4‘p 

Kf- 

«♦-* 

44— 

QCp 

^ cr ^ 

?r 

t—< • 

d 

k—- • 

h-» 

d" 

UJ 

d 



O 

o 

o 

o 

o 


CTQ 

cr 

• 


tr 

tr 


jl o ^ 

• ^ 

i—- 

P 
>—< • 






• GO 

N 




25 

2! 



w 


o 

o 

Q 

w 


rrj 


rj 

r^j 


CD 


HJ 

I-S 

i-S 

•-< 

>-j 

d 


CO 

p 

P 

p 

p 



o 

o 

o 

o 

CD 




> 1 t 

r-t“ 


r—K 



d 


d 

d 

0 



i-i 

i-S 


i-S 

>-s 

CO 


<X: 

<T 

CD 

CD 

CD 



• 

* 

* 

• 




t— l 

i— 1 

i—k 

i—t 

h-k 

co? 

44- 

* t—1. 

t—i. 


ocfc* 

W-l . 

GC|h- 

4-i. 

oo-? 

h-> 

H> 

d 

d 

d 

d 


o 

o 

O 

o 

O 


cr 

cr 

cr 

tr 

d" 

2- 2 o 


• 

. 

• 

• 

• < d 

' GO 


^ * 

rrj *° 

"Si 

o 

- CG 

H-l . <>■ 
d Si 
00 

e*g s 

►d I ^ 

% TO >3 

® ,1 <D> 

CfQ* ^ ^ 

h- d n, 

-- -■ <2 
^ d S 

£ CD £ 
£p !-s <a 
O _ r> 
^ O ?> 
PP *-h> 

1 W? 

d O ^ 
d cr^H 
go cd Sr 

• Hi ^ 

GO ^ ^ 
c d a 
rp ,. s 
rc W 

2 d Co 

2- d $» 

TJl r+ ^ 

v# N S^ 

CO fr $ 
P*> O 

CD c ~ 

cd r ^ 

/— 4 

o CO Q 

CD I 

d ® ^ 

I C 5 i 

•-! <GO ^ 
CD o 
W CG* 

* !N 

s ^ 

®l* 

^ -K 
’ 

Co 


r° 

P3 


> 

S! 

d 

d 

o 

w 

d 

d 




H 

w 

H 

cl 

tzj 

h—I 

H 

W 

O 

co 

H 

H 

W 

co 

W 

O 

tr 1 

t- 1 

i—i 

O 

GO 

H 

O 

O 


d 
d 
d 
> 
w 

H 

I 

H 


?S 

o 

o 


!2S 

iz{ 

525 

l-H 

lD 

H 

O 

525 


> 

td 

> 

!> 

t-*i 

> 






















































p 

a 

p , 

d 

o 

OQ 

CD 

O 

CD 

d 


o 

3 

p 

cr 

CD 

ctq 

tr 

c 

i-b 

00 

i-h, 

CD 

CD 


Or 


CO 

d 

d 

m 

a 

o 

o 

CD 

W 

GO 

C 

d 


a 

CD 

00 


00 

C 

O 

o 

T5 

00 

oo 

»—• • 

o 

C 

v* 

P 

X 

CD 

C 

CD 


CTQ 


CD 

p . 

P 

i-b 

CD 

•-< 

CD 

P 

CD 

cr 

cr 

>—i 

o 


H 

tr 

CD 

oo 

CD 

P 

CD 

GO 


CD 

>s 

CD 

*-* 

CD 

►O 

£3 

i-i' 

CD 

P, 


cr 

CD 

00 


<V 

“S' 


b ^ 


CD 

O 

CD 

P- 


d 

CD 

O 


0 Q 

I—-a 

CD 

co 


cr 

c 


*-< 

CD 

P 


"t 

^4. 

d> 

S. 

O 

c 


b 3 

CD 

<■>*» 


CD 

CD 


CD 

CD 

% 

CD 


G> 

>k 

- s: 


CTQ 


N 




CD 

►a 

o 

d 

o 


p , 

>-s 

o 


b-h 

p 


a 

CTQ 


Ok 

C"3 

V# 

CD 

Ok 


z; tt» p 

o 

° 2 X 

c 



P O r+ 

d 

o a cd 

o 

zr oo ® 

3 



CD • Cl. 

• • 
i 

l 

j i ►—< • 


oofeo a 

i—k 



ooios a 

to 



^la- 3 

CO 

*nJ k —i • 


' a 

i- 1 r 

1 ^ 

CD 

1 

|_L K-. 


a 

Cn 

•—* • 


a 

CD 

u a-* • 

tH-* a 

*oJ 

m-i . 


a-- a 

00 

'—i • 

a-* a 

o 


1—k 

a- a 

o 

i— 1 


Cn t-i. 


• a 

1—k 

>-L r 

CD 

a-k 

Cn 


1 t-J . 

t—k 

Jd a 

O ** • 

to 

l—i 


Cn k-i. 

,t—k 

^3 

CO 

CD 


b— 1 * 

1—k 

oc)m a 

►a 

)—^ 


Cn k_. 


1 H <t 

►—k 

b^ ? 

CD 

Cn 


b -k 

oo)m a 

CD 

i—i 

Cn 


1 i-( 

1-* 

1—A o' 


CD 



l—k 

oo)w a 

00 

i-j. 


Cn k-.. 

t—k 

1 a 
r 

<d 

CD 


►—< • 

to 

ocfco a 

O 

k— J L_l • 

to 

oca a 

t—k 

t—i • 

to 

oo|m a 

to 

i—k 


t—*■ 

to 

• a 
*-*■ r 

CO 

CD 


K-. 

to 

oofco a 

►a 

i —j • 

aa a 

to 

On 

b-u • 

to 

od|co a 

CD 

1—k 


CO I-I. 

to 

• a 

t—k r 

CD 

-I 

a-f • 

to 

ooico a 

00 

h-4. >— 1 • 

to 

a- a 

CO 


CO 

odw a 1 

o 


1 

* 

CD 

Co 


tSi 


ffi 

M 

t-H 

Q 

a 

H 

O 

a 

o 

w 

o 

a 

H 

H 

a 

a 

w 

w 

H 

H 

a 

a 

o 

a 

*Q 

a 

o 

a 

H 

a 

a 

a 

H 

a 

CO 

a 


d 

O 

'“t- 

d 

CD 

O 


o 

p 

CTQ 

O 


3 

P 

a 

a- 

CD 

CD 

v* 

P 

a 

p- 

go 


d 

p 

a^ 

d 

p 


p 

X 

to 

l 

CO 

I 

CO 


CD 

,o 

o; 

h 

to 

<D> 

o>s 

o>. 

.8 

& 

O 

o 

a 

$ 


<v> 

O 

ok 

CD 

Ok. 

ok 

O 

ok 

CD 

£ 

£ 

o>. 

.8 

ok 

CD 

G> 

ok 

Co 


a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

o 

w 

o 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

g 

a 

S 3 

a 


THE UNITED STATES ROLLING STOCK COMPANY—ANNISTON, ALABAMA. 















































































ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


61 


William B. Phillips’s paper On the Ultimate Composition 
of some Alabama Coals was not read at the meeting, as re¬ 
quest was made for more time. The paper was follows : 


THE ULTIMATE COMPOSITION OE SOME 

ALABAMA COALS. 

BY 

WILLIAM B. PHILLIPS, PH. D., 

Professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy , University of Ala¬ 
bama. Chemist to Alabama Geological Survey. 


In seeking to compare the Alabama Coals with similar coals 
from England and the Continent of Europe, a serious difficulty 
was encountered in the absence of analyses showing the actual 
percentage of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen 
Hundreds of proximate analyses, giving the percentage of 
volatile and combustible matter, and of fixed carbon were avail¬ 
able, but as a rule such analyses are not in use to any great ex¬ 
tent outside of the United States. 

* 

Analyses made by what is known as the Proximate Method, 
are but rarely met with elsewhere than in this country, and on 
this account it is difficult to institute a just comparison between 
our coals and the English, or German, or French coals. 

As is well known, the Proximate Method is based on the 
assumption that, after the hygroscopic moisture is removed at a 
temperature between io^ and no degrees Celsius, the Volatile 
and Combustible Matter is removed by igniting in a closed cru¬ 
cible for three and a half minutes over a Bunsen burner,and then 
for the same time over a blast lamp at a very high heat. What 
is left in the crucible is termed “Fixed Carbon.” This is then 
burned off in the air, and the residue is termed “Ash.” 

In Proximate Analyses, the Moisture, Volatile and Com¬ 
bustible Matter, and Fixed Carbon are added together and 
subtracted from ioo, the difference being termed “Ash.” The 
Sulphur is not added in but is expressed separately. 


62 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


In such analyses, no account is taken of the Hydrogen, or 
Oxygen, or Nitrogen, although these ingredients are of great 
importance in valuing a coal either for its calorific effect or for 
its gas-making qualities. Proximate analyses are of a very 
little use in valuing coal for gas-making, or for the manufac¬ 
ture of ammonical salts, as in the first place they do not give 
the content of any of the fixed gases, and in the second place 
they give no information as to the content of Nitrogen. Why 
they have been preferred in this country to the practical ex¬ 
clusion of Ultimate Analyses, would be an interesting question 
to discuss but one outside of the scope of the present paper. 
Suffice it to say that they have been preferred, and that there 
seems but little hope of changing the custom, much as this is 
to be desired for many reasons. 

An Ultimate Analysis of coal gives the content of Carbon, 
Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen, the last being usually de¬ 
termined by difference, that is, by adding the percentage of 
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Ash and Moisture, and 
subtracting from ioo, the difference being termed Oxygen. In 
this way we arrive at two important results, viz : the possibili¬ 
ty of valuing the coal for gas-making, this value being largely 
dependent upon the content of Hydrogen, and for the manu¬ 
facture of ammonical salts, this depending entirely upon the 
content of Nitrogen. These very important results are lost 
sight of when we confine ourselves to Proximate Analyses, for 
such analyses afford no reliable information on either subject. 
One might go further and say that no judgment can be render¬ 
ed as to the calorific power of a coal without an Ultimate Ana¬ 
lysis, for by the Proximate Method we are told nothing of the 
nature of the Volatile and Combustible Matter, although this 
may exceed one-third by weight of the coal under discussion. 
It is not meant that the calorific power of a coal is to be calcu¬ 
lated from tbe ultimate analysis and the result accepted as true 
for all cases, but that such an analysis gives us a clew to the 
energy which the coal is capable of affording when burned 
under proper conditions. 

Plaving these things in view, a diligent search was made for 
Ultimate Analyses of the chief Alabama coals, but without 
success. If they have been made they are not available to the 
general public or to the Geological Survey. It was therefore 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


63 


determined to begin a series of analyses which would give both 
the Proximate and the Ultimate Composition of the principal 
Alabama coals. It was hoped at one time to have the samples 
drawn by an officer of the Survey, but as this could not be done 
now without great inconvenience, the chief companies were 
requested to send average samples of their coals and cokes to 
the Laboratory of the Geological Survey and the Metallurgical- 
Laboratory of the University. They very kindly complied at 
once and the work was begun during the month of February. 

Up to this time the following coals and cokes have been 
analysed both proximately and ultimately : 

Cahaba Coal Mining Company, Blocton. Woodstock and 
Underwood Seams, and the coke made from these coals. 

DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company, Bessemer. Blue 
Creek Coal, and the coke made therefrom. 

Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railway Company. Pratt Mines 
Coal and the coke made therefrom. 

Standard Coal Company, Brookwood. Brookwood and 
Milldale Seams, and the coke made therefrom. 

Sloss Iron and Steel Company, Coalburg. Coalburg Coal, 
and the coke made therefrom. 

Joseph Squire, M. E., of Helena, very kindly sent a sample 
of the Wadsworth Seam at Helena, and from the Birmingham 
and the Mobile Gas Works there are samples of the coal used 
in making gas at these establishments, together with samples 
of the gas carbon and the arnmoniacal liquor made. 

A full account of each sample will be found immediately 
after the table of analyses. In this table will be found also a 
few typical analyses of some foreign coals by way ot com¬ 
parison. 

The analyses of the cokes do not appear in the table, as it was 
thought best to defer any discussion of them until the Fall 
Meeting of the Soctety, when the subject of Coke is to come 
up for detailed investigation. 

The samples of coke have, however, been analysed and now 
await the proper occasion for publicity. 

It may be said that permission was freely given by all the 
companies for the publication of all the analyses. It may also 
be said just here that there has always been found a most hearty 


64 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

response from these companies to any request made oi them 
which tended to throw any light upon the problems we have 
to face in Alabama. I would take this opportunity to return 
my public acknowledgements to them for the uniform courtesy 
with which they have replied to letters of inquiry. In regard 
to the shortness of the list of analyses, it must be said that the 
work has just been begun, and it was impossible to attend to 
pressing duties of other sorts and at the same time finish more 
of the ultimate analyses. It is fully realized that the list is not 
as long as it should be, for there are many coals of equal im¬ 
portance with those treated which could not be reached in time 
for this paper. During the next twelve months it is hoped to 
finish all or very nearly all of the prominent coals and cokes, 
and to give the results to the public through this Society. 
Work is now in progress, especially on the cokes, to include 
many items of great interest and importance not usually ex¬ 
pressed in ordinary analyses. 

From an inspection of the table it will appear that there is 
but little information to be had concerning the yield of tar and 
ammoniacal liquor from our coals. Only two companies report 
any tar, and neither of these can give any figures relative to 
the ammoniacal liquor as no attempt is made in this State, so 
far as I am informed, to save the ammonia. The Gas Works 
at Birmingham use Pratt coal, and report a yield of about 13 
gallons of tar per ton of coal retorted. The Gas Works at 
Mobile report a yield of about 10 gallons of tar per ton of coal. 

The Alabama Insane Hospital reports no yield of tar, but it 
can be taken at 13 gallongs per ton. 

The total value of products to be obtained from a ton of coal 
cannot therefore be given for more than three of the coals, viz : 
the Pratt Coal as at Birmingham, the Cahaba Coal as at Mobile, 
and the Asylum Seam as at the Hospital. 

As to the yield of coke per ton of coal, this has been taken 
at 1300 pounds, probably the very best that can be done at 
present. The average yield of coke from the bee-hive ovens in 
the State is not quite as high as 1300 pounds per ton of coal, 
but it is steadily increasing,and in some places is very close to it. 

The yield of gas per ton of coal can be given for the Pratt 
Coal, the Cahaba Coal and the Asylum Seam. A yield of 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 65 

Sooo cubic feet can be and is attained regularly, but our best 
gas coals will hardly give as much as 10.000 feet. 

In regard to the yield of Sulphate of Ammonia, it must be 
said that this is calculated from the content of Nitrogen. As 
no ammoniacal salts are manufactured from coal in this State, 
no returns can be given which represent actual work. This is 
all the more to be regretted since the completion of these ana¬ 
lyses, for they show that some of our coals are very rich in 
Nitrogen, and consequently valuable for the manufacture of 
the various salts of ammonia. 

If all the bye-products that could be obtained from a ton of 
Pratt coal were utilized, they would show a value of not less 
than $15 per ton of coal, and might show even more. As it is, 
however, more than $5 worth of Sulphate of Ammonia is 
thrown away from each ton of coal used. If we allow that the 
monthly consumption of coal for gas-making in the State is 
1200 tons, an amount somewhat below the true consumption 
and exclusive of rolling mills, the annual amount of money rep¬ 
resented in Sulph. Am. is about $60,000. If to this be added 
the waste from the 5000 coke ovens, producing about one mil¬ 
lion tons of coke yearly and using about two and a half mil¬ 
lion tons of coal, the figures amaze one. 

We may take the average value of a ton of coal in Sulphate 
of Ammonia at $4, and the average consumption of coal in the 
ovens at two millions tons, we thus get a waste of eight mil¬ 
lions of dollars every year. All of this, of course cannot be 
saved, but there can be no doubt of the possibility of saving a 
great part of it. The coke oven of the future is the oven that 
will allow of the saving of a great part of the products of com¬ 
bustion, especially the ammoniacal matter. Such an oven may 
not yield coke as good for blast furnace work as that in the old 
fashioned bee-hive oven, but it will enable us to save some of 
the enormous waste that now goes on. This waste is not only 
in the ammonia that escapes into the air (this may in some de¬ 
cree be brought down by rains), but is a waste ot calories, 
which are not again within our reach. Heat allowed to escape 
into the air is a loss to us. The appliances that are now in 
use for saving the ammonical salts obtained from coal in an oven 
allowing of the use of the coke may or may not be satisfactory, 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


66 

but the trouble is mainly one of construction, not of principle. 
The difficulties will sooner or later be overcome, for the ad¬ 
vantages to industrial prosperity are too great to allow the 
matter to remain where it is now. 

Whatever may be said concerning the adaptibility of any 
coke oven to the profitable utilization of the bye-products, 
there can be no excuse for allowing the ammoniacal liquor 
from gas works to flow away In England alone the yearly 
production of ammonia sulphate from gas works is more than 
100,000 tons, worth more than $6,000,000. In some parts of 
France the ammoniacal liquor is transported 300 miles by rail 
before it is worked up into merchantable articles, such as the 
various salts of ammonia. From 1867 to 1879, omitting these 
two years, there was made at Besseges by the Simon-Carves 
System of coking 9S3 tons of Sulphate of Ammonia, worth 
nearly $60,000. In the United States one of the best establish¬ 
ments for the manufacture of Sulphate of Ammonia is in 
Washington City. There is at all times a good demand for 
the article, and it is now worth $4 per 100 pounds at retail. It 
is used almost entirely in the manufacture of guano, as a source 
of Ammonia. , 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY 


67 


Number. 

Proxim’t.j 

Ultimate. 

Remarks. 

Volatile and com¬ 
bustible matter. 

1 

Fixed Carbon. 

Carbon. 

Hydrogen. 

& 

V 

5 

. s 

85 

Nitrogen. 

'h 

Ash. 

Moisture. 

Pounds of Coke 
per ton of Coal. 

Cubic leet oi c*as 

per ton of Coal. 

Gals. Tar per ton ci. 

Pounds Sulph. Am. 

per ton of Coal. 

i 

°o 

5 & 

°o 

r—( 

A 

H o 

r 

v-« ■— 
O 

— 

P r/J 

O 

0 

0) 

2 ZC 

Total val Products 
from one ton Coal. 

1202 

37 11 

55 0959 59 

.0.31 

23.70 

1.53 

1.01 

2.55 

4.25 





$ c 

$ e 

$ c 

1 C. 

1 e. 

1203 

34 70 

62 40 08 04 

10.21 

17.10 

1.22 

0.52 

1.15 

1,75 










1207 

39 90 

57 40 08 48 

8.29 

19.02 

0.69 

0.77 

1.45 

1,25 










1208 

40 75 

54 75 

63.82 

6.24 

22.69 

0.95 

1.80 

2.00 

2,50 


.. . 








1209 

37 10 

57 35 70 91 

10.10 

9.83 

1.73 

1.88 

3.00 

2.55 

1300 

662) 

13 

163 

1 62 

9 93 

0 75 

5 21 

19 51 

1210 

44 90 

46 55 

62 24 

8.57 

19.28 

0.33 

1.03 

7.15 

1,40 










1211 

62 85 

36 20p9.86 

7.90 

26.17 

0.63 

4.49 

0.85 

0,10 










1212 

57 65 

41 00 03 88 

9.07 

21.21 

0.37 

5.12 

0.15 

1,20 










1213 

62 90 

31 50 54 47 

7.72 

29.71 

0.22 

5.28 

2.30 

0.30 










1214 

42 20 

36 60,38 18 

7.57 

29.77 

0.25 

3.03 

8.80 

12,40 










1215 

41 40 

35 90 38 65 

7.07 

27.40 

0.75 

3.43 

9.10 

13,60 










lOlft 

52 70 
34 30 


19 89 

6 01 

37. 4) 

0 30 

1 18 

0 50 

11.90 










1217 . 

•)+ iJU ^ 

60.50 73.23 

7 98 

11.92 

1.07 

0.60 

3.50 

1,70 










1218 

33 45 

6.3 20 75 82 

10.52 

7.51 

1.73 

1.07 

2.00 

1,35 

1300 

8000 

13 

163 

1 62 

12 00 

0 75 

5 21 

19 58 

1221 

27 80 

58 70 

72 47 

10.38 

1.60 

0.40 

1.65 

11.90 

1,60 

1300 



37 

1 62 



1 18 


1222 

34 80 

60 60 

72 75 

8.61 

11.12 

1.48 

1.44 

2.65 

1,95 

1300 



140 

1 62 



4 48 


1223 

35 65 

57.30 

70 82 

10.19 

9.95 

1.31 

0.68 

5.25 

1,80 

1300 



123 

1 62 

. • • 


3 93 


1225j- 

31 55 

64 95 

75 05 

9.91 

8.95 

1.62 

0.97 

2.35 

1.15 










1229 

30 50 

66 30 

73 96 

10.50 

9.57 

1.62 

1.15 

2.20 

1,00 

1300 



153 

1 62 



4 89 


1230 . 

33 60 

61 50 

73 88 

11.52 

6.04 

1.51 

2.15 

3.30 

1,60 

1300 



150 

1 62 



4 80 


1231 

an 

69 90 72 68 

10.77 

9.83 

1.39 

1,03 

2.80 

1,50 

1300 



130 

1 62 



4 16 


1234 

30 15 

52 90 00 37 

10.70 

9.00 

1.26 

1.72 

16.30 

0,65 

1300 

8000 

10 

119 

1 62 

12 0 0 

0 56 

3 80 

17 98 

1237 

34 77 

59 60:66 37 

10.24 

15.58 

1.44 

0.74 

2.73 

2,90 




136 




4 00 


1238 

82 55 

65 57 

174 59 

10.58 

9.48 

1.31 

1.32 

1.90 

0,82 




142 




4 54 


1240 

33 60 

57 90 09 70 

10.58 

7.37 

1.65 

2.20 

4.30 

4,20 




155 




4 Ob 


A* 



77.81 

8.47 

6.32 


0.71 

6.01 

0,68 










V>* 



76 50 

5.03 

11.68 


0.94 

2.25 

3,60 










c* 



78 80 

4.59 

4.88 



11.73 











D* 

26 70 

66 21,79-45 

4.81 

6.96 


1.68 

5.96 

1,13 










E 



|80 07 

5.53 

8.10 

2.10 

1.50 

2.70 

1,91 










1' 



90 45 

1 

2.43 

2.45 



4.t>< 





1 




1 



T*See No. 1218. 


Explanation of the Table of Analyses. 

Nos. 1227, 1228 and 1236 are in a subsequent table. 

i20 2_A small sample of coal received from Major George D. 

Fitzhugh, marked “From 40 inch seam at Natural Bridge, 
Winston County, Alabama. From near out-crop.” 1 be 
sample had been in his office for some time. Compare 

also No. 1240. 

I2 o3—A small sample from Major Fitzhugh, marked “From 
' Beeman Basin, Cullman County, Alabama.” Sample had 
been on hand tor some time. 

i2on _A small sample received from Major Fitzhugh, marked 

“Birdeye Coal from head of Patterson’s Creek, Whitley 
County, Kentucky. Near outcrop. 





























































































































ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


68 

1208— A small sample received from J. A. Wiggs,Birmingham, 
Alabama, marked “Lowest seam, Bon Air Coal and Coke 
Company, Bon Air, White County, Tennessee.” 

1209— Sample from the Asylum Seam, Tuskaloosa County, 

Alabama. For content of Ammonia in the gas liquor see 
No. 1228. 

1210— Sample of the so-called Cannel Coal from the Peacock 
Mines, Walker County, Ala. Received from J. M. Francis. 

1211— Tertiary Coal from a local deposit eighteen miles south 
of Eufaula, Ala. From E. A. Smith, State Geologist. 

1212— Tertiary Coal from a local deposit at Dayton, Marengo 
County, Alabama. From E. A. Smith, State Geologist. 

1213— Tertiary Coal from a local deposit at Rescueville, Choc¬ 
taw County, Ala. From E. A. Smith, State Geologist. 

1214— Tertiary Lignite from a local deposit near Pickens’ 
Landing, Marengo County, Alabama. From E. A. Smith, 
State Geologist. 

1215— Tertiary Lignite from a local deposit on Landrum’s 
Creek, Marengo County, Alabama. From E. A. Smith, 
State Geologist. 

1216— Lignite (almost a jet) from Jhe Tuskaloosa Formation 
in Bibb County, Alabama. From E. A. Smith, State 
Geologist. 

1217— Sample of the Wadsworth Seam at Helena, Shelby 
County, Alabama. From Joseph Squire, M. E. The seam 
is fiery, although no very serious accidents have occurred. 

12iS—Pratt Mines Coal, Jefferson County, Alabama, from 
Erskine Ramsay, M. E. Color of ash, light brown. This 
coal is used on a very large scale for making coke in bee¬ 
hive ovens at Pratt Mines and at Thomas. It is used also 
by the gas works at Birmingham as a gas coal. Com¬ 
pare No. 1225 and No. 1227. 

1221— Brookwood Seam, Brookwood, Tuscaloosa County, Ala. 
From the Standard Coal Company. With No. 1229 used 
for making coke. Color of ash, grey. 

1222— Woodstock Seam, Blocton, Bibb County, Alabama. 
From Cahaba Coal Mining Company. With No. 1223 
used on large scale for coke and also by the Mobile Gas 
Light and Coke Company as a gas coal. Compare Nos. 
1234 and 1236. Color of ash, reddish brown; 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


69 


123 3 — Underwood Seam, Blocton, Bibb County, Alabama. 
From Cahaba Coal Mining Co. Color of ash, grey. 

1225—Pratt Mines Coal used by the Birmingham Gas Com¬ 
pany as a gas coal. Color of ash, light brown. Compare 
also Nos. 1218 and 1227. 

1229— Milldale Seam, Tuskaloosa County, Alabama. From 
the Standard Coal Company. Compare also No. 1231. 
Color of ash, reddish brown. 

1230— Deep River Coal, Chatham County, N. C. From Egypt 
Coal Company, Egypt, N.C. Triassic Coal. Color of ash, 
pink. This coal is used for making gas at Greensboro, 
Fayetteville, Raleigh, &c., N. C. It is not used for coke, 
though it would probably make a fair article, especially if 
crushed and washed. The seam is fiery. 

1231— Blue Creek Coal, from Jefferson County, Alabama. 
From DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company, Bessemer, 
Alabama. Used on a very large scale for making coke in 
bee-hive ovens at Bessemer. 

1234— From the Mobile Gas Light and Coke Company, mark¬ 
ed “Cahaba Coal used for making gas.” I am unable to 
identify the seam as the content of ash is much higher than 
that of any coal I have examined from the Cahaba Coal Field 

1237— Coal C ity Coal, Walker County, Alabama. Jagger Bed. 
Sample had been on hand for some time. Color of ash, 
light grey. 

1238— Coalburg Coal, Jefferson County, Alabama, from the 
Sloss Iron and Steel Company. J. T. Hill, Manager of 
Coal Mines. Color of ash, buffi. This coal is used on a 
large scale for making coke at Coalburg in bee-hive and 
“Thomas” ovens. 

1240—Coal from Henry McCalley, Assistant Geologist of Ala¬ 
bama, marked “From Natural Bridge, Winston County, 
Alabama. Out-cropping at the west spring. Sample, 
average of 15 feet from the out-crop. Thickness of seam, 
28 to 29 inches.” Color of ash, dark grey. Cokes badly. 

A-—Curly Cannel, Leeswood Green Colliery, England. Given 
by Percy, “Fuels, &c.” p. 33 °- He sa y s “This is cer¬ 
tainly one of the finest cannel coals I have seen.” 


70 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


B—Gin Seam, Kelty Colliery, Fifeshire, England. Percy, 
“Fuel, &c.” p. 336. He says of it, “It is regarded as a 
highly bituminous, rich, coking coal, and good for pro¬ 
ducing coal tar and gas.” 

C—Frostburgh, Maryland. Percy, “Fuel &c.” p. 569. Calcu¬ 
lated on a dry basis. 

D—Bearpark Coal, England. From this coal is made the 
celebrated Bearpark Coke. Sir I. Lowthian Bell in an ar¬ 
ticle in the Journal of the British Iron and Steel Institute, 
No. I, 1885, p. 70. 

E—Wigan Coal, Wales. Phillips Elements of Metallurgy,p.48. 

F—Anthracite Coal, from Pottsville, Pa. Same authority. 
The Sulphur is not given in the analyses, but in such coal 
it varies from 0.50 per cent to 1.20 per cent. 

Thinking that it might be of some interest to know how 
much Ammonia was contained in the ammoniacal liquors made 
at the gas works in the State, although this liquor is not used 
for the preparation of ammoniacal salts, I secured samples from 
three separate establishments, viz : the Alabama Insane Hos¬ 
pital, at Tuskaloosa, the Birmingham Gas Works and the Mo¬ 
bile Gas Works. On submitting them to analysis, merely for 
the total amount of Ammonia thev could be made to yield, the 
following results were obtained :— 

No. 1227—Ammoniacal Gas Liquor from the Birmingham Gas 
Works. Received^ March 16th, 1891. Obtained from Coal 
analysis No. 1225. Taken from the Hydraulic main. 
Amount yielded, not known. Ammonia in 1000 gallons, 
21.34 pounds, equivalent to Sulphate of Ammonia 82.79 
pounds, worth $2.64. Specific gravity, 100=5. 

No. 1228—Ammoniacal Liquor from the Alabama Insane Hos¬ 
pital. Received March 23rd, 1891. Taken from the first 
tank. Obtained from Coal, analysis No. 1209. Amount 
given per ton of coal retorted not known. Ammonia in 
1000 gallons, 14.93 pounds, equivalent to Sulphate of Am¬ 
monia, 57.92 ponnds, worth $1.85. Sspecific gravity, 1005. 

No. 1236—Ammoniacal Liquor from the Gas Light and Coke 
Company. Received April 10th, 1891. Obtained from 
Coal, analysis No. 1234. Ammonia in 1000 gallons 43 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


71 


pounds, equivalent to Sulphate of Ammonia 166.84 pounds, 
worth $5.33. Specific gravity, 1010. Amount yielded, 
not known. 

These liquors carry by no means as much ammonia as could 
be dissolved in them. Good gas liquors carry from 1 per cent 
to 5 per cent of Ammonia, whereas the richest one of these 
does not carry one-half of 1 per cent. By being used again for 
washing the gas, any of these liquors could have the content 
of Ammonia increased from two to ten times. In the prepara¬ 
tion of ammoniacal salts from such liquors they are concen¬ 
trated as much as possible, that is, they are saturated with the 
ammoniacal matters which by distillation with milk of lime 
are made to yield free Ammonia. 

The chemical composition of these liquors varies within 
quite wide limits, thus, besides Ammonia, a gas liquor 
may contain such salts of ammonia as the Hyposulphite, Sul¬ 
phide, Carbonate, Bicarbonate, Sulphate, Chloride, Sulphocya- 
nate, and Benzoate. On distillation, however, with lime they 
are decomposed into free Ammonia and this is absorbed in va¬ 
rious acids for the manufacture of the various merchantable 
salts of ammonia. 

It is to be hoped that those who have in mind the erection 
of coke ovens that will allow of the utilization of all the bye- 
products, will give this matter their serious attention. There 
are coals in this State which yield large amounts of ammonia 
and make also good coke, and as the success of any Utilization- 
of-Bye-Product-System depends to a great extent upon the 
chemical nature of the coals to be used, too much consideration 
cannot be given to the weighty question of Ultimate Composi¬ 
tion and Nitrogen content. 


72 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The paper by Horace Harding, C. E. U. S. Eng. in Charge 
of the Improvement of the Warrior River was not read at 
the meeting, as request was made for more time. The paper 
appears at the end of the volume. 

There being no further business on hand, the Synopsis of 
the Minutes was read and approved, the Secretary was in¬ 
structed to return the thanks of the Society to the Local 
Committee, W. E. Robertson, G. S. Patterson, and B. F. 
Peacock for their kind attentions, and the Society was ad¬ 
journed to meet in Birmingham on the second Wednesday 
in October, being the 14 th day of the month. 


The following members of the Society attended the Annis¬ 
ton Meeting :— 


C. Cadle, Horace Harding, 

Henry McCalley, B. F. Peacock, 

F. M. Jackson, Phil. S. Fitzgerald, 

H. Atkinson, John M. McKlroy, 

N. H. Ballard, C. B. Allis, 


W. E. Robertson, 
Walter Crafts, 
Jas. M. Reid, 

R. L. McCalley, 
Wm. B. Phillips. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTTIFIC SOCIETY. 


73 


DESIGN FOR LOCK- VAL VES. 

BY COL. HORACE HARDING, 

l . S. Engineer Corps , Tuscaloosa , Ala. 

The large capacity, now given to locks designed for river- 
improvements, requires that the culverts for filling and empty¬ 
ing them shall be of ample cross-sectional area, in order to ex¬ 
pedite the time consumed in lockage. None of the various 
styles of valves used for controlling the discharge through 
these culverts seem to have given entire satisfaction. There 
should be quick movement ; but as the power needed to over¬ 
come the frictional resistance, incident to the great pressure, 
is ordinarily limited to the capacity of the lock-tender, the 
time consumed is considerable. Balanced valves, in which the 
resistance is from journal friction only, can be operated quick¬ 
ly by one man, but the leakage is objectionable, and when, 
from axle-wear or other cause, the valves must be repaired, the 
work of taking down and replacing is troublesome. 

A gate sliding vertically is, doubtless, the simplest and most 
convenient valve for horizontal water discharge. Freedom 
from axle-wear and from leakage, together with its non-liabil¬ 
ity to get out of order, and its accessibility in case examination 
or repairs should become necessary, would always give it the 
preference over the wing or flap-valve, were it not that, when 
of large size, frictional resistance, due to pressure, becomes so 
great that the power required for raising it is beyond the capac¬ 
ity of one man, where quick movement is desired. 

The design shown in the accompanying drawings was de¬ 
vised for the purpose of rendering the vertically sliding gate- 
valve available for river locks. But little explanation will be 
needed. The valves have a width of 38 inches, each, subject 
to a pressure due to a ten-foot head. The valve seats are re¬ 
cessed to a width of three inches, each, being six inches to each 
valve. Hence, the ratio of the recessed area to the valve area 
is 1 to 6^. The valves bear against the valve seats with a 






74 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


pressure due to ten feet head of water. Evidently, then, if 
water be introduced into the recessed valve-seats under 65 feet 
head, the back pressure thus caused will neutralize the front 
pressure, and there will be no sliding friction. 

In the particular case for which the design was intended,the 
high banks make it easy to locate a water-tank 65 feet above 
the valves ; and, generally, such a head would not be difficult 
to establish. The drawings show how the movements are to 
be effected and how, also, the weight of the valves is balanced 
by a counter-weight, so that the only resistance in raising the 
valves is that derived from journal-friction. 

Taking the co-efficient of axle-friction (lubricated) at 0.10, a 
simple calculation will show that 30 lbs. pull, on the end of a 4 
feet lever, (attached to a gipsy, as shown), will lift, in a quar¬ 
ter of a minute, valves that are sustaining a pressure of over 
20,000 pounds. Without the back-pressure, there would be 
required fully 750 pounds, applied in the manner shown, to 
effect the movement. With the gearing necessary to enable 
30 pounds to do the work, the time required would not be less 
than six minutes. 

The accompanying drawings^are intended simply to show 
the design in a general way. They are presented as explana¬ 
tory, merely, and not as giving details further than necessary 
for that purpose. 


TOP 


Scale, of /eel /or flem^leralron e/c. 


4- 


Scale o/zndfes/or /le/arls 



HYDROSTATIC METHOD 

If Q R 

LOCK VALVES. 


Roberts & Son. Lith. Birminfham.Ala . 




HORIZONTAL SECTION THROUGH 
VALVE SEAT AND SLIDE 


vertical section through 

VAL^E SE ATi AND SLIDE . 


RAISING AND 






























































































































































































































































































































































































































































74 


pr 

w: 

he 

pr 

hi 

th 

to 

be 

bj 

va 

sii 

fe< 

te: 

20 

re< 

efl 

3 ° 

th 

th 

to 

fo 






PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 

\ 

/\ T i /\ I ^ / S \_~K/T_/ Z ^ •>-*— 

INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


VOLUME 1. 


NUMBER 2. 


1801 . 
















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THIS 

* 7 - -/Ay. T i /\ ~FR ^IVT 

INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


VOLUME 1. 1003L. NUMBER 2 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


Secretary’s Office, 

University" P. O., 

Alabama. 


■oOJO^Oo- 


TTJSEALOOS-6., 

Book and Job Printing Press of Jno F. Warren. 

1802. 












IIST3DEXI_ 


PAGE 

Aldrich, T. H., Remarks in discussion of (Joke, 92, 9.3, 97, 98 

u Analysis of a Cahaba Coal.100 

Birmingham Meeting, Proceedings.75 

Coke Furnaces, Going into Blast with 

(Paper by Mr. Kennedy,).75 

Cowles, Jas. L., Remarks on use of Natural Gas 

for Manufacturing purposes,.95 

Carrington, J. B., Elected Member of the Society.99 

Findley, Peter u “ “ .99 

Hill, J. T., Paper on Thomas Coking Oven.8(5 

Haskell, A. W., Remarks in discussion of Coke.93 

Kennedy, J. S.. Paper on Going into Blast with 

Coke Furnace.75 

Meissner, C. A., Remarks in discussion of Mr. Ken¬ 
nedy’s Paper. 8(5 

“ Remarks in discussion of Coke 91, 92, 93, 94, 9(5 

u u on Sampling of Ores.97 

McCormack, G. B., Remarks in discussion of Coke 93, 95, 97 
“ “ u on use of gas from Coke Ovens 9(5 

McCalley, Henry, Remarks in discussion of Coke.94 

“ “ on Sub-Conglomerate Coal Seams.101 

Phillips, Hr. W. B., Presents Analyses of Cokes.91 

“ “ Remarks in discussion of Coke 

92, 94, 95, 90, 97, 98, 99, 100, 10L 

“ “ Remarks on Sampling of Ores.97 

Prochaska, Ernst, On the use of Natural Gas 

for Manufacturing purposes.95 

Scddon, Thomas, Remarks in discussion of Coke 

93, 95, 90, 97, 98, 99 

o u u on Sampling of Ores.98 

Thomas Coke Oven, Paper on, by J. T. Hill.&0 

Toulmin, Priestly, Remarks in discussion of Coke.91 































I 














. 






. 






. 










■ 




. 

♦ 






>. 










♦ 




. 



. 



* • • 

% 























?. 



























ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


75 


BIRMINGHAM MEETING. 


Birmingham, October 14, 1891. 

» ' 

The meeting was called to order at 11, A. M., on Wednesday 
morning, Oct. 14th, 1891, at the K, of P. Hall, in the city of 
Birmingham, Ala. Ool. Horace Harding, Vice-President, in 
the Chair. 

The Minutes of the last meeting, at Anniston, were read by 
the Secretary, Dr. W. B. Phillips. No corrections or sugges¬ 
tions being made, they were accordingly adopted. 

There were no reports made from the different Committees. 

A paper by Mr. J. S. Kennedy was presented, on the sub¬ 
ject of u Going Into Blast with a Coke Furnace.” Mr. Ken¬ 
nedy expected to attend this meeting in person, but was una¬ 
voidably detained, and the paper was read to the Association 
by Dr. Phillips, Secretary: 

GOING INTO BLAST WITH A COKE FURNACE. 

The technical literature of the present day is surprisingly 
deficient in all that relates to one of the most important of 
metallurgical processes, viz : The blowing-in of Blast Fur¬ 
naces. With the exception of several articles published in 
the u Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engi¬ 
neers,” but little can be said to have been written on this sub¬ 
ject. An absurd air of secrecy, together with a fear of criti¬ 
cism and the fact that most blow-ins are susceptible of some 
trifling changes, are probably the reasons which deter Furnace 
Managers from giving more candid expression to their views. 

It was suggested to the writer that an article, giving a brief 
and practical account of the several methods of blowing-in 
furnaces, would be of interest. This paper has accordingly 
been prepared with a view of giving what the writer believes 
to be the best practice. Also, some notes taken from tne rec¬ 
ords of the blowing-in of an Alabama furnace on the ores of 
this district. 



76 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


It is an axiom that the success of a furnace campaign de¬ 
pends most intimately on a smooth start. The most import¬ 
ant factors of a satisfactory blow-in, may be stated as follows : 

The thorough drying of the furnace, as well as of stoves, 
gas-flues and hot-blast main, is of the greatest importance. * 

As large a coke blank as the cubical capacity of the furnace 
will warrant. 

Proper calculations of the burden to insure a Bibasic slag. 

Filling of the charges with a gradual increase in the burden, 
so as to have the last charges filled about 60 to 65 per cent, of 
the estimated burden to be carried on normal work. 

Lighting the furnace in a horizontal plane, preferably at 
the tuyeres, and the early application of the blast, preferably 
before lighting. 

Gradually increasing the number of cubic feet of blast per 
minute as temperature of the same rises up to 1000 or 1050 
degrees, with slight additions of burden from time to time, 
holding blast temperatures not over 1050 degrees until end of 
the first week, and then, after the furnace is thoroughly dry, 
increasing gradually the burden and blast temperature's until 
the maximum of economy and product is reached. 

The opinion often expressed that “ blowing-in will dry out 
the furnace,” is bad practice and liable to be a dangerous as 
well as expensive method. It is true, that the drying of the 
furnace is only completed after it is in blast, so the expres¬ 
sion u thorough drying” must be taken to mean the removal 
of all the moisture that can be expelled by preliminary firing. 
The drying warms the hearth of the furnace, drives off the 
greater amount of moisture present, and leaves the brick work 
in good condition to withstand the effects of the blast. 

Of the various methods for drying the furnace, the use of 
natural gas will not be referred to here, as it is only of local 
importance. Drying by furnace-gas, taken from a companion 
furnace, has never been tried by the writer, and while it un¬ 
doubtedly possesses merit, it is an operation which will have 
to be sharply looked after and the gas kept carefully ignited 
to avoid explosion. Where the stoves can be heated by gas 
taken from a companion furnace, drying may be attempted 
by blowing hot blast lightly through the furnace, A favorite 
method of many furnacemen, is to build a small brick furnace 


* 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 77 

close to the stack, connecting it to the cinder notch opening 
by a short iiue. The tap-hole and tuyere openings are closely 
stopped, and the hot products of combustion are passed 
through the furnace. The last two methods described, are 
slow, and should always be supplemented by at least a week’s 
hard firing. The writer has found, in practice, the following 
method to be the most satisfactory : After closing the cinder 
notch and tuyere openings, a gradual fire is started in the 
furnace hearth, and increased in intensity, from day to day, 
until the hearth is hot and the crucible walls are warm to the 
hand. This fire is then drawn over night, and the next morn¬ 
ing, as soon as it is cool enough for workmen to enter, brick 
piers are roughly built on the hearth as high as the cinder 
notch and a, grating composed of railroad iron and old grate 
bars is bill’ll at this level. On this a hot tire of coal or coke 
is started, and the draft being carefully regulated at the tap- 
hole. The hearth is kept warm by the hot coals and ashes. 
The fire is thus brought higher in tlie furnace, and one of the 
most important elements of a smooth start is assured by the 
drying and warming of the boshes. In all cases, the bell 
should be kept closed, and the hot products of combustion can 
be carried out through the bleeder, or better yet, led through 
the down comer into the fines, by slightly o’pening the gas 
valves on the boilers or stoves. In the writer’s experience, 
from three to four weeks hard firing has always proved ample 
to dry the largest furnaces. 

The subject of drying cannot be dismissed without some ref¬ 
erence to the precautions to be taken during construction. 
The bricks should be thoroughly protected while awaiting use, 
from damage by rain or frost, the latter being a great factor 
in the disintegration of the brick work. The fire clay should 
always be steamed, not only to remove all lumps, but as a pie- 
caution against freezing in cold weather. The tunnel head 
should be roofed over, not only to protect the brick work, but 
to prevent any water finding its way into the expansion space 
between the in-wall and the counter-wall. When this space 
is filled with granulated cinder, which makes the best mate¬ 
rial for packing, the cinder should be dried before using, and 
it is well to fill it as hot as can be handled. 


78 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Before discussing 


in detail the filling of the furnace, it is 


well to call special attention to the physical character of the 


stock. Limestone, added to the first charges, should be bro¬ 
ken sufficiently fine to pass through a three inch ring. It is 
taken for granted that the proper preparation of stock is dili¬ 
gently looked after. But both ore and sfoue should be broken 
smaller for filling the furnace than is necessary under ordina¬ 
ry conditions. Too large a proportion of fine ore should be 
avoided. Lump ore, broken to a suitable size, should consti¬ 
tute at least oue half the burden. 


Close attention must be paid to the varying amount of mois¬ 
ture in the ore, altering as it does, the percentage of silica and 
other constituents in the burden. The Hard Fossil ore of the 
Birmingham district contains very little moisture. The Soft 
Fossil ore, owing largely to the quantity of earthy matter as¬ 
sociated with the gangue, the result of careless mining, con¬ 
tains a notable amount. The increasing use of the Brown 



ture, in addition to the water of combination, varies from five 
to fourteen percent, in the washed ores. In the writer’s opin¬ 
ion, frequent determinations of moisture are as important as 
those of Silica. As soon as the samples are taken they should 
be sent quickly to the laboratory and the percentage of Hygro¬ 
scopic moisture determined by loss of weight on the water 
bath. All analyses should be reported in the natural state, 
as well as dried, at 212 degrees, otherwise the results are 
worthless. 

Another point, worthy of attention, is the changing compo¬ 
sition of stock-house ore piles. Not only do different parts of 
the same ore pile vary in moisture, but also in the relative 
proportions of lump and fine ore. The lump is generally high¬ 
er in Iron and lower in Silica than the fine. Thus, errors in 
burdening will occur unless promptly corrected. It is a good 
rule to keep the fillers alternating from one part of the pile 
to another, thus getting an average mixture. 

We now come to the subject of filling the furnace. It may 
be here stated, that drying should be continued until the last 
moment, the fires only being drawn the evening of the day 
before filling is to be commenced. The wood should be placed 


ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC/ SOCIETY. 


70 


in the hearth as soon as it is cool enough for the workmen to 
enter. The wood and fuel in the lower part of the furnace 
are thus well dried and left in excellent condition for ignition. 
Planks may be laid for the men to stand on, and precau¬ 
tions taken against premature lighting by supporting the first 
layer of wood on brick. The manner of placing the wood va¬ 
ries in some essentials with the method adopted for blowing-in. 
Shavings and fine kindling are worse than useless. Elabo¬ 
rately constructed systems of channels or scaffolds are waste 
of time and labor. The two methods of blowing-in will be 
here mentioned : The older practice of drafting the furnace 
before the introduction of the blast, will be designated the In¬ 
direct, in contradistinction to the latter method of applying 
the blast as early as possible, which will be called the Direct. 

Wood is used in the lower part of the furnace, not only be¬ 
cause it is easily kindled, but also by reason of its great 
shrinkage in volume when consumed, thus starting the initial 
settling of the stock column of the furnace. Any more wood 
than is necessary to accomplish these results is a waste. The 
old time charcoal practice consisted in tilling the furnace full 
of charcoal and lighting at the top. When the tires had burn¬ 
ed down to the tuyeres, the furnace was refilled, the blast was 
put on and burdening commenced. With the use ot mineral 
fuel, this method was modified as follows : The hearth was 
tilled with kindling and fire wood reinforced with channels 
and piers. The furnace was then tilled to the top of the bosh¬ 
es with cord wood. On this was filled, by means of a wind¬ 
lass and buckets, a small fuel plank and then the burden, 
consisting ot small charges, gradually increasing in weight at 
short intervals. When the furnace was full, the torch was 
applied to the tap-hole and drafting conscientiously followed 
for from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. It the lurnace dratt¬ 
ed freely, alter gas was seen burning at the stock line and 
cinder found to be trickling down into the hearth, it was 
thought time to put on the blast. It is not surprising that 
on the introduction of the wind, the lurnace was often found 
to be bridged or scaffolded. Why a furnaceman should ven¬ 
ture to go into blast with a hotter top and a cooler hearth 
than he would dare maintain in practice, is one of those mys¬ 


teries which can only 


be explained by the fact that his lathers 


80 ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


did likewise. The use of the’windlass lias been abandoned 
by all progressive furnacemen and the charges are now dump¬ 
ed over the bell. In most cases only three lengths of cord 
wood are used above the tuyere circle, and this can be reduced 
to two lengths with advantage. The size of the fuel blank 
has been increased, and the idea that it was necessary, in 
order to insure a smooth start, to blow in on a cold hearth 
with its accompanying evils of a dark cinder and a mottled 
iron is well exploded. 

The only two advantages claimed for the Indirect method 
of blowing-in, are the gradual heating of the hearth and the 
carbonization of the wood before the blast is applied. 

The former may be dismissed as insignificant, as after the 
blast is on, a balance is soon established in the hearth, 
whereby the loss of heat units by conduction, radiation, and 
the withdrawal of the fluid iron and slag, is compensated by 
the constant descent of incandescent fuel, the conditions of 
normal work are reached and the Furnaceman is justified in 
saying, “The hearth is hot.” If the crucible has been well 
dried and warmed, the hastening of the means to attain this 
end can result in no injury to the brick work, while long de¬ 
lay in putting on the blast after lighting, is often productive 
of evil results. It is true, that the carbonization of the wood 
drives off the products of distillation, and the liability of dan¬ 
ger from gas explosions is lessened. But the same results 
can be accomplished with equal safety while using the Direct 
method, as described further on. 

The disadvantages of the Indirect method are, the increased 
cost of arranging the wood in the furnace, the long wait from 
the time the furnace is lighted until the blas^ is turned on, 
and the tendency of the furnace to draft stronger on one side 
than another, thus causing irregular settling. And if drafting 
is continued until cinder commences to drop into the hearth, 
the bosh walls are apt to become “scabbed” with masses of 
cold cinder, partly charred wood, and unreduced stock. Thus 
bad scaffolds are liable to be formed, and this is essentially 
true where the old method of building the wood high in the 
furnace and starting with a small fuel blank has been pursued. 
While many of the best furnacemen of to-day still use the In¬ 
direct method, they have done much to lessen its dangers by 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 81 

using a smaller amount of wood, largely increasing the size 
of the fuel blank and shortening the time to an average of 
seven or eight hours from the lighting of the furnace to the 
putting on of the blast. 

During the last six years the writer has always used the 
Direct method and has found it satisfactory in every way. 
The general outline can be given as follows : Let us take for 
example a modern coke furnace, say 75x17 ft. which, with a 10 
ft. hearth, would have a cubical capacity of some 10,500 feet. 
It is to be blown in on Alabama Coke, containing say 15 per 
cent, of ash and on a mixture of one-half Hard and one-half 
Soft Ore, giving an average yield in the furnace of say 43.5 
per cent. The gas flues and hot blast main are dry, the stoves 
sufficiently warm to give at the start a temperature of from 
400 to 500 degrees to the blast, and the most thorough pre¬ 
cautions have been taken to insure the drying and warming 
of the furnace. As soon as the crucible is cool enough for 
the workmen to enter, a strong double cribbing of cord-wood 
is erected on the hearth as high as the bottom of the tuyeres, 
the lower wood being supported on pieces of brick to avoid 
any danger of premature lighting. This crib work is further 
strengthened by building in pieces of wood as radii, thus join¬ 
ing the inner and outer circles together. An average space 
of about one foot in width should be left between the outer 
crib and the crucible wall, and about two feet between the in¬ 
ner and outer cribs. A 11 the space in the crucible not occu¬ 
pied by the wood is now tilled with coke, which can be intro¬ 
duced through the tuyere openings and leveled even with the 
top of the cribbing. On this is laid a layer of one foot thick 
of coarsely split dry pine kindling, and on this another layer 
of the same thickness of split pine cord-wood. A space is left 
opposite a convenient tuyere arch, forming a well through 
which the cord-wood is passed up. On this layer of split wood 
is loosely placed pine cord-wood stood on end, and on this is 
placed another course of wood, preferably of dry hard wood. 

Sufficient wood is now piled up in the furnace to close the 
well, which is then filled with kindling and wood, and the 
furnace is ready for the coke. In a furnace of this size, the 
fuel blank should consist of at least 80,000 lbs. of coke. The 


82 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


first 20,000 lbs. of which should be charged without any lime¬ 
stone. Sufficient finely broken stone should be filled with 
the remainder of the blank to flux the coke ashes. Some 
blast furnace cinder, if convenient, can be added, but its use 
is of no especial advantage.* About 0,500 pounds of coke 
would make a convenient fuel unit for the charges of a furnace 
of these dimensions. The first charges of the burden would 
then consist of 0,500 lbs. of coke, and about 3,500 lbs. of ore 
with sufficient limestone to give a slag containing 30 per cent, 
of Silica. After filling five charges of the above, the burden 
should be increased at regular intervals until the last charges 
filled should contain 1.3 to 1.4 lbs. of ore to 1 lb. of coke. 

The furnace should be filled to the stock line. While the 
filling is in progress, all necessary connections about the 
furnace should be completed, the water turned on all coolers 
and tuyeres, one of the stoves arranged for the blast and the 
tap-hole put in. It is a good plan after putting in the tap- 
hole, to drive a bar into the hearth at the level of the iron 
notch. After blast is on, the bar is withdrawn and the es¬ 
caping gas kept lighted by a shovel full of hot coals. The 
notch is thus veil dried, and after the blast has been on seve¬ 
ral hours the opening can be closed with stopping clay or by 
driving a bar again into the hearth. The cinder notch is 
closed, a brisk fire built in the gas flue where the down comer 
enters, and the bell and bleeder opened. A small quantity oi 
coal oil is poured into each tuyere by means of a piece of bent 
pipe, and a handful of waste saturated with the same, is push¬ 
ed back in front of each tuyere. The caps are then put up 
and everything being ready, one of the blowing engines is 
started and warm blast blown into the furnace. About 5,000 
cubic feet per minute would be sufficient for the start. The 
probability is that if the blast has a temperature of' about 500 
degrees, all the tuyeres will at once light, but if the heat is 
not sufficient to accomplish this, after blowing for about five 
minutes, a red-hot pricker rod should be run into each tuyere 
when the wood is at once ignited. What the writer believes 
to beone of the most important essentials of a smooth blow-in, 
is now accomplished—the furnace has been uniformly lighted 
in a horizontal plane at the tuyere level. The coke in the 
crucible lights quickly, heats the hearth, and keeps the iron 


ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC! SOCIETY. 


83 


in good condition. If the work of the furnace is now closely 
watched through the tuyeres, the burning wood will be seen 
settling in the hearth? This is quickly followed by the ap¬ 
pearance of incandescent charcoal, then conies the coke in 
rapid motion before the tuyeres. No attempt should be 
made to light the gas at the tunnel head. The dense wood 
smoke should be allowed to escape freely through the open 
bell. As the wood in the furnace becomes carbonized and 
burned, the color of the smoke changes until, when the coke 
nears the tuyeres, coke gas is observed at the top, which 
shortly lights itself. When the gas is burning strongly 
around the bell, the gas valves of the boilers and stoves should 
be opened, and the bell and bleeder closed. The gas is thus 
safely passed through the flues and ignited without danger 
of explosion. 

It is of course impossible to lay down any iron clad rules 
for blowing-in a furnace. The experienced manager will be 
guided by the size of his furnace, the character of the coke 
and ores, the condition of the stock, whether wet or dry, the 
first temperatures given by the stoves to the blast, the.per¬ 
centage of moisture in the atmosphere, and numerous other 
details. He has as his indicators of the reactions taking 
place in the furnace, the appearance of the tuyeres, the blast 
pressure, the character, volume and temperature of the gases, 
the composition of the slag and the percentage of silicon in 
the iron. Although neither cinder nor iron has yet appeared, 
the other signs are sufficiently plain to indicate the volume 
of wind required. 

We have started with 5,000 cubic feet of blast, and as the 
temperature of the stoves is apt to be under rather than over 
500 degrees and as the heats at first come up slowly it is prob¬ 
able that this amount of wind will be sufficient for several 
hours. The revolutions should then be increased at intervals, 
as the temperature of the blast rises, until by the time of ma¬ 
king the first cast, which should be about 15 hours after 
lighting the furnace, the volume of the air blown should beat 
least half that which the furnace receives under normal con¬ 
ditions. No additions should be made to the burden until af¬ 
ter making the first cast. By that time, the last charges filled 
in starting the furnace are nearing the hearth and such nec- 


84 ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


essary changes can be made in the burden and rate of driving 
as are indicated. ' 

The best practice seems to demonstrate, that while the vol¬ 
ume of air and the weight of the burden should be increased 
as the temperature of the blast rises, when the stoves show 
1000° to 1050°, it is better to hold them at that temperature 
for a few days, counteracting any tendency of the furnace to 
get too hot, by increases of burden. After the blast has been 
on for about five days, most large furnaces exhibit a marked 
tendency to suddenly swing off too hot. If the blast heats 
have been forced unnecessarily high, the danger is intensi¬ 
fied. The reason for this is, a furnace does not become thor¬ 
oughly dried and heated until after it has been in blast at 
least five days. This critical period safely passed, tlie furnace 
should be quickly brought up to normal work. 

Some notes will now be given on the blowing-in of No. 1 
Blast Furnace, one of the four furnaces comprising flu* plant 
of the Tenn. Coal, Iron and li. R. Co. at Ensley, Ala. This 
furnace, as originally built, had a total height of 80 ft., the 
bosh and hearth being respectively 20 ft, and 11 ft. in diameter. 
The bosh was located 37 ft. above the hearth, much high¬ 
er than advisable. When remodeled by the writer, the bosh 
diameter was reduced to 19 ft. in order to lower the bosh to a 
point 28 ft. above the hearth level, as it was-impossible to alter 
the bosh angle without expensive changes in the wrought iron 
jacket. The bosh lining was protected by 11-4 inch horizon¬ 
tal coils of the Hartman pattern. The furnace was well dried 
by nearly a months hard firing and the stoves were heated by 
gas taken from the adjoining furnaces. That the stoves 
were well dried and warmed is shown by the first tempera¬ 
tures being over 800 degrees. This was no disadvantage as 
it enabled a rapid increase to be made in the engine revolu¬ 
tions and no difficulty was ffiflt in holding the stoves at the 
desired temperatures. 

The hearth was filled with a strong cribbing of cord-wood 
and a layer of split pine wood was laid across the furnace at 
the tuyere level. On I his three lengths of cord-wood were 
stood on end. As only pine wood was obtainable, it was 
thought better to use three lengths instead of two. On this 
was next filled the fuel blank of Pratt Coke, 22,000 lbs. being 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


85 


filled without any stone, and 78,000 lbs. witli 12 per cent, of 
stone. The burden was composed of equal parts of hard and 
soft ores, and sufficient stone was added to form a slag- con¬ 
taining 36 per cent. Silica, allowing for 2.5 per cent. Silicon in 
the Iron. The first cinder flushed contained 35.41 per cent. 
Silica. The first seven charges filled contained, coke 6,500 
lbs., ore 4,000 lbs., stone 980 lbs. The burden was raised 
every seven charges, until the last charges filled consisted of 
6,500 lbs. coke, 8,700 lbs. ore, and 2,000 lbs. stone. A small 
piece of greasy waste was placed in front of the nose of each 
t uyere, and when everything was ready, 7,000 cubic ft. of blast 
was turned on through a hot stove. In less than two minutes 
all the tuyeres lighted, the temperature of the blast being 820 
degrees. The heats were ordered to be kept at 800 degrees, 
and the revolutions increased gradually until at the end of the 
first 24 hours, the furnace was receiving about 16,000 cubic 
feet. Owing to the favorable auspices under which the furn¬ 
ace was blown-in, the dry condition of the stock and the ex¬ 
cellent soft ore accumulated while relining, it was thought ad¬ 
visable to increase the burden before waiting for the first cast, 
a procedure which was justifiable as the first iron was Soft. 
Cinder was tapped fourteen hours after lighting and was hot, 
grey and fluid. The first cast was run sixteen hours after 
lighting and contained 17| tons Nos. 1 and 2 Soft iron. The 
first complete furnace day, 84 tons, 2,400 lbs. to the ton, were 
made, 80 percent, foundry iron; the third day 142 tens were 
made, and on the sixth day 155 tons, of which 108 tons were 
foundry iron. By this date the furnace was carrying a burden 
of 6,500 coke, 2,700 stone and 11,680 lbs. ore. 

The writer feels that no apology is necessary for going so 
fully into particulars. Successful furnacing consists in con¬ 
stant watchfulness over all the details of the art. It might 
he well, in conclusion, to repeat the advice already given : 
Better go into blast hot ; a large coke blank furnishes suf¬ 
ficient heat to the hearth, insures the reduction of the ore, 
prevents the descent of raw stock into the crucible, and gives 
an abundant supply of gas. 


86 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

. '. i *. i "* 

A discussion of tiiis paper being called for, Mr. Meissner, 
of the Vanderbilt Furnace, (city) said : 

The points Mr. Kennedy makes, are points that have been 
discussed very frequently, and there are none of them that I 
can see to criticise, except the one of putting on the blast at 
, once ; that is a matter where our best furnace-men differ, so I 
hardly think any discussion on that point, is very necessary. 
A great many of us prefer to wait 15 or 20 hours before we 
put the blast on, and others put it on as Mr. Kennedy does, 
with great success. The other points are very well taken. 
We w T ait 15 hours before we put the blast on. One trifling 
point is, instead of placing the wood on brick in the hearth, 
to use pieces of pig iron ; 1 don’t like to have any more loose 
brick in a furnace, than is necessary. 


A paper on the “Thomas Coking Oven,” by Mr. J. T. Rill, 
Manager of the Coal mine at Coalburg, was read by Mr. 
Priestly Toulmin, as Mr. Hill was unavoidably absent from 
the meeting. In introducing this paper, Mr. Toulmin said : 

Th is paper was made out at the Spring meeting, six months 
ago, and if Mr. Hill had been present, he would probably have 
added to it. I have simply added the figures with reference 
to the cost of late ; the cost has come down very perceptibly 
in the last six months. I find that the average cost was con¬ 
siderably less than Mr. Hill thought that it would be, when 
this paper was written : 

THE THOMAS PATENT COKE OVEN, 

(with plates, i, ii, ii;.) 

Having received many inquiries in regard to the practical 
workings of the “ Thomas ” Ovens, now in operation at the 
Coke Works of the Sloss Iron & Steel Company, at Coalburg, 
1 have in the past been compelled to give somewhat indefi¬ 
nite replies because of the uncertainties existing in my own 
mind, but after sixteen months of practical experience with 
them, I now feel qualified to present my views, and believing 
that the subject would not be lacking in interest to the major- 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


87 


ity of the members of our Society, I lmve adopted this means 
of presenting* them. 

The “Thomas” oven is not, as is generally believed, a modi¬ 
fication of the “Belgian” oven altogether, as, except in simi¬ 
larity of shape and method of drawing the coke, it possesses 
none of the various arrangements incident to the application 
of heat, the saving of by-products, waste gases, etc., but it is 
more an improvement upon the old “Welsh Oven” which is 
now, and has been for a great many years, largely in use in 
Wales and certain parts of England. The “Old Welsh 
Oven” is described in the books as “a simple rectangular 
chamber, 7 x 1- ft., with an arched roof 6 ft. high. The 
whole front of this oven is movable, and the coke is drawn 
by means of a drag laid across the back of the oven prior to 
the charging.” 


The essential difference between the kt 01d Welsh Oven” 

and the “Thomas,” exists in the facts, that the latter is much 
longer, affording greater capacity, and that both ends are 

movable; thus doing away with the necessity of placing the 
drag in the oven prior to charging. In nearly every respect 
the ovens themselves are identical. 

At Coalburg, there are G4 “Thomas” ovens arranged in one 
single continuous battery. In construction, the same princi¬ 
ples are carried out and material used as in the Bee-Hive 
Ovens, except that the bottoms are of hard red brick, upon 
the theory that they resist the wear of the drag better than 
the fire brick. In detail they are discribed as follows, viz: 

Length, 30 ft. 

Width inside, 7 ft. 3 in. at back. 


k ‘ “ 7 ft. 9 in. at front. 

Height over all, 8 ft. 

Height of Door, 4 ft. 

Height inside, 5 ft. 

Fall in bottom from back door to front, 1 in. 

Both the back and front are movable and have swinging 
doors (as shown on the accompanying sketch) which are in 
two sections and built of fire brick of special design laid in 
iron frames. There are three openings on top—two tunnel 
heads and one draft stack near the back end of the oven. In 
front of, and on a level with the floor of the ovens, is an 


88 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


“apron” of stone and brick masonry, eight feet wide and run¬ 
ning the entire length of the battery. Four feet below this 
apron is another piece of masonry seven feet wide, which also 
runs the entire length of the battery on which the track for 
the “Dinkey” containing the machinery for drawing the coke 
is located. Still further below is the railroad track on which 
are placed the gars for the receipt and shipment of the coke. 
At the rear of the battery is another track on which runs a 
car used for conveying the “drag” from oven to oven, and on 
this car is permanently fixed a crab for pulling the drag back 
after discharging. 

In the process of coking, the same general principles as to 
drafting, etc., are observed as in the Bee-Hive ovens. It is 
proper to state, however, in this connection, that in the orig¬ 
inal construction of the ovens, a flue was put in for the ad¬ 
mission of air, but in practice, it is found that an ample quan¬ 
tity unavoidably finds its way in through the crevices of the 
doors, in consequence of which, it is necessary lo keep the 
flues closed. Twelve tons of coal are charged from two six-ton 
larries, through the tunnel heads, as shown in the sketch, and 
the levelling is done from both ends. When ready to “draw,” 
the doors at both ends of the ovens are swung open and an 
iron rod passed through the oven over the top of the hot coke 
and attached to the drag at the rear. The hot coke is thus 
drawn in a body out at the front end of the oven and over a 
screen attached to the Dinkey, at which point the lire is 
quenched with water falling from a tank, situated above the 
screen, (no water whatever being thrown into the o#m.) 
From the screen it falls in broken pieces to the railroad car 
below and is ready for shipment. 

File yield is practically the same as from the Bee-Hive 
Ovens, under skillful management, and the quality of the pro¬ 
duct, so far as can be determined by analysis and observation, 
is fully up to the standard. I regret that I cannot present 
data showing its relation to the Bee-Hive coke, in furnace 
practice, but the conditions of consumption are such that it 
has not been practicable to make such a test. 

It is unnecessary to enumerate the many advantages claim¬ 
ed by the patentee for his ovens, at (he time of construction, 
nor the many discouraging circumstances that have been met 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


89 


with incident to their management, and I shall confine myself 
to a statement of results as 1 know them t > be. L find : 

1st. The yield is equal to the Bee-Hive Oven. 

2nd. The quality of product is fully up to the standard. 

3rd. That if is practicable to quench the coke outside the 
oven without detriment to its quality, resulting in leaving the 
oven hot and dry for the reception of the following charge 
of coal. 

4th. The saving of one handling, by which a large percent¬ 
age of coke is saved, which would otherwise be rejected as 
braes. 

5th. Economy in production. In demonstration of this last 
statement, the following table, showing the comparative cost 
of labor between the Bee-Hive and Thomas Ovens, is sub¬ 
mitted, viz : 


Statement Showing Labor Cost of Coke, by Months, 
for Fiscal Year ending Jan. 31, 1891. 

(Coalburg Department.) 


Months. 

General 

Average 

Bee Hive 
Ovens. 

Thomas 

Ovens. 

Difference be¬ 
tween Thomas 
Ovens and 
Bee Hive. 

February,... 1890.. 

. . . 4 l i) . . 

.. .402 .. 

.. .013 

March,. * 4 ... 

.. .440 .. 

.. .343 .. 

.. .097 

pi i j . 4> ... 

.397 .. 

.. .301 .. 

.096 



.. .332 .. 

. . .053 

June,. 44 ... 

.. .424 .. 

.. .274 .. 

.. .150 

J idv... 

.. .432 .. 

.. .288 .. 

.. .144 

u "V 1.. ... 

August,. 44 ... 

.. .43o .. 

.. .239 .. 

.. ~ .196 

•September, 

.. .460 .. 

.. .246 .. 

.. .220 

October,. 44 ... 

.. .474 .. 

.. .300 .. 

.. .174 

No vein ber ... 44 ... 

.. .405 .. 

.. .303 .. 

.. .102 

December, ... 44 ... 

.. .<31 .. 

.. .249 .. 

.. .482 

January,... 1891.. 

.. .416 .. 

.. .280 .. 

.. .136 

Average for year, 

.440 

.291 

.149 


Average cost per ton, Bee-Hive Oven, 44 cts. 

*• 44 44 Thomas 4 ‘ 29, 1 cts. 


Difference in favor of Thomas Ovens, 14, 9 cts. 

By reference to the above figures, it will be seen that the 
cost, during the first months of the year, was considerably 





















































90 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


more than the succeeding months. Had the ratio of the latter 
months been maintained throughout the year, the average 
cost of production would have been considerably less. In ex¬ 
planation of this, I will state that at the time I took charge 
of the ovens in December, 1889, the coke was costing consid¬ 
erably more than the highest figure shown, the produet did 
not exceed 50 per ct., and the quality was so poor and its con¬ 
dition, when placed upon the cars, of such character as to 
cause its universal condemnation. The President of our Com¬ 
pany was utterly discouraged, and had about decided to aban¬ 
don them, and probably would have done so but for my earn¬ 
est solicitation to be allowed an opportunity to give them a 
trial. Considerable times was of course necessary to perfect 
reform and obtain results, but that results have been obtained, 
the above figures and the good quality of the present product 
will testify, and with still further reforms and changes which 
1 have in contemplation, I am confident that the average la¬ 
bor cost, for the present year, will not exceed 25 cts. per ton. 

The above figures include all items of cost except material 
for repairs, which latter I have not at hand, but can state 
that such cost is less than for the Bee-Hive Ovens. 

I am confident that a great many improvements can yet be 
made upon the oven that will not only lessen the cost of pro¬ 
duction, but result in large savings in other ways. At Coal- 
burg, I believe that by a simple arrangement of flues, similar 
in construction to those attached to the “Welsh” ovens at 
Browney Colliery, in the Durham region, England, a sufficient 
quantity of gas, which is now wasted, could be utilized with¬ 
out detriment to the coke, to run all machinery of the adja¬ 
cent coal mines. 

In conclusion, 1 will state that while I am not by any means 
an enthusiast in regard to the “Thomas” ovens, 1 do feel that 
enough has been accomplished and demonstrated, to cause us 
to step aside—at least for consideration and investigation— 
from the commonly accepted opinion that there is no oven 
equal to the Bee-Hive, and it is with this object in view, that 
this paper is submitted. J. T. HILL. 

Coalburg, Ala., April 8, 1891. 


ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


91 


Mr. Richard Thomas, the Patentee of the oven, was called 
on lor some remarks on this subject; instead of responding 
verbally, he distributed some circulars, descriptive of his pat¬ 
ent. 


(])r. Phillips, See’y,)—There were two or three other pa¬ 
pers to come at this meeting—one was on the ‘‘History of the 
Manufacture of Coke in this State.” Unfortunately, the writer 
is not prepared to give it. There is also a paper on the list en¬ 
titled “The Consumption of Coke in the Alabama Furnaces”— 
a very delicate question, and one on which we have not been 
able to get any information so far. The last one on the list 
is still in an inchoate condition. 1 gave notice at the Annis¬ 
ton meeting, that at the Birmingham meeting, I hoped to 
have an ultimate analysis of all Alabama cokes, a complete 
natural history. Unfortunately, I have had a very severe 
case of sickness in my family, and I have been in the sick 
room for weeks. I have a number of cokes that have been 
analyzed. 

Dr. Phillips then gave the analyses of a number of cokes 
from Alabama coals, together with the results of a series of 
experiments made by him in these cokes, to determine their 
resistance to crushing force. The complete paper will be pub¬ 
lished in the next volume of the Proceedings. The reading of 
these analyses gave rise to the following discussion : 

(Mr. Meissner :)—What is your opinion, m regard to the 
effect the per cent, of ash will have on the crushing strain 
of coke*? 


(Dr. Phillips:)— Let us take these cokes of the DeBar- 
deleben Co., the 48 hour, at 12 : 90 per cent, of ash, and the 
other 72 hours has 11 : 80 per cent. ash. There is a difference 
of only 9-10 of 1 per cent, in ash, and you will see there is a 

difference in the crushing strain of 400 lbs. This difference 
must be referred to the duration of combustion. 


(Mr. Toulmin :)—Here is Pratt Mines coal with 7 : 90 ash, 
and the Cahaba with 0 : 10 ash ; the Pratt Mines coke breaks 
at 540 lbs, and the Cahaba at 445 lbs. 

(Mr. Meissner:) —I hardly think you can make a compari¬ 
son, unless you take the same cokes. Take the Pratt Mines 



92 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC; SOCIETY. 


coal with 6 per cent, to 12 per cent, of ash, would there he 
much difference in the crushing strain? 

(Mr. T. H. Aldrich, Oahaba Coal Mining Co., Blocton.)— 
An idea occurs to me ; it rather strikes me that a little more 
ash would make harder coke. If you take the Connellsville 
coke, it will run from 8 per ct. to 10 per ct. of ash, and 1 think 
the amount of ash has something to do with its hardness. 
Lately, 1 have made an experiment, at our place, by grinding 
the coal up, and we have succeeded in making very hard coke 
by distributing the ash through the coal ; it will stand a great 
deal more pressure than if we had not done that; in other 
words, a chemical analysis is only one of the means of judg¬ 
ing of a coke, and the mechanical condition is just as impor¬ 
tant. 1 really believe we have succeeded in making a harder 
48 hour coke by grinding the coal up, than the former 72 hour 
coke without grinding it up. That is the way it looks, m our 
experiments. 

(Mr. Meissner :)—What breaks up the coke is small par¬ 
ticles of slate; whenever we see a piece of coke broken, the 
fracture will show a small quantity of slate. If all coal was 
crushed, 1 think the percentage of ash would cut a much less 
figure than now. I think it is not so much the percentage of 
ash, as the mechanical condition of the coal ; we have proof 
in various cokes we have used. 

Some coals that are very free of ash will not stand the bur¬ 
den that some will carry, with more ash. That is why I asked 
the question : whether in your opinion, ash would affect the 
crushing strain of the coke ? 

(Dr. Phillips :)—I don’t think it would if the coal was put 
in the oven in a finely crushed condition. 

(Mr. Aldrich:) —We crush our coal-with a disintegrator ; 
it ciushes to the size of a grain of wheat. The slate present, 
induces cracking, not only on account of the lack of cohesion 
between slate and the carbon, but also on account of a con¬ 
traction and expansion of tlie slate itself. It radiates heat 
quicker than carbon and it cools there and makes a fracture. 
If you grind it up and distribute the slate, it does not have 
that action; the coke will hot crack so badly and it will be 
harder coke. 


AL ATI AM A INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


03 


(Mr. Seddon :) — I think we have demonstrated that our¬ 
selves, at Brookside ; all the coal we coke at that point is 
very strong. There is a very curious thing about the physi¬ 
cal structure of coal ; you will find that some coals, after the 
coking, would break in a knotty structure. Mr. Aldrich’s 
coke always has a tendency to break into fingers, and tlie 
Pratt coal also, has ver\ much that tendency ; the New Castle 
coal always breaks into (drunks, and the Pocahontas breaks 
in chunks, and the Connellsville breaks in the same way. I 
don’t think it depends upon the quantity of ash, there is some¬ 
thing in the coal that is inexplainable. 1 think the coke is 
made harder by ash. We get very much better results from 
the coal being crushed in the disintegrator, despite the fact 
that all the coal is mined by machinery, and the quantity of 
ash is higher in that coal ; despite that fact we get a better 
coke and a harder coke. 

(Mr, McCormack, of Pratt Mines:)—At Pratt Mines we 
have crushed some coal with a hammer, 1 suppose to the size 
of a pea. I do not admit that the crushing of the slate im¬ 
proves the quality of the coke; for instance, if you have a 
lump of coke about as big as a half bushel, you have 20 or 30 
small pieces of slate in it, then all the coke immediately sur¬ 
rounding the small pieces of slate would be made of pure coal; 
to crush that slate up and mix it with the mass, it certainly 
would not improve any other coke except that part lying next 
to the slate. 

(Mr. Seddon :)—You do not eliminate the slate, but you 
certainly put the slate in a shape that makes the coke harder; 
I think there is no question about that. 

(Mr. Haskell:) —Experience at Bloeton has shown that 
whenever there is a particle of slate in the coal, there was a 
fracture in the coke; if the coal was finely ground up there 
could be no fracture. 

(IMr. Meissner :)—If that slate is not any larger than the 
size of a pea, I have no idea that will make any difference ; 
however, when the slate becomes larger, it is bound to break 
the coke, and very naturally increases the breakage. There 
is no question about breaking it up to a small size, you will 
get a much harder coke ; of course, in small pieces, it won’t 


94 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


tell so much ; these small particles of slate will not break it 
up, and the moment it becomes larger, you will see where the 
fracture is. 

(Mr. Aldrich :)—It seems to me that we lose sight of the 
question of temperature ; when the slate is heated very hot it 
expands, and when it cools it contracts. All slate contracts 
suddenly by putting water on it, and it makes a crack every 
time ; there is where your small braise comes from in the coke 
ovens. 

(Dr. Phillips :)—There would be no crack if there was 
sufficient bituminous substance to make it fuse ; if it did fuse 
it would not crack so badly. Do you find any difference in 
the structure of coke from crushed and uncrushed coal i 

(Mr. Aldrich :)—Yes, sir; the coke from crushed coal is 
much harder and stronger. 

(Dr. Phillips :) —Does it finger ! 

(Mr. Aldrich :)—No, sir; it fingers when it is uncrushed, 
after being crushed it does not. That is something I don’t 
understand. 

(Mr. Meissner :)—I think it must be a matter of the phys¬ 
ical structure of the coal. Col. Montgomery was telling me 
of some cokes that will finger beautifully from the coal being 
crushed, and other cokes will not do that. In Oonnellsville 
coke there is very little difference in the fingering, whether 
the coke was washed or unwashed. 

(Dr. Phillips :) —I think the key note of this whole busi¬ 
ness is, that we have paid too little attention to the composi¬ 
tion of the coal itself. 

Another point which helps the coke is this: dumping from 
the main track into the oven, all the lumps run on the side, 
the hot bricks will set the coal on fire, and if the coal is high¬ 
ly bituminous coal, it will melt and run together. The bitu¬ 
minous matter escaping from these lumps prevents their stick¬ 
ing together, and you will find the coal is spongy. 

(Mr. McCallky :)—Is it known what grade of coke a coal 
will make without actually coking the coal ? 

(Dr. Phillips :)—No, sir; it can’t be told, a great many 
costly mistakes have been made from trying to predict the 


ALABAMA INDUSTKIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


95 


quality of coke from an analysis of the coal. I think it arises 
from the fact that it is so hard to get an average analysis of 
the coal. Sampling,coals, cokes or ores, is the hardest busi¬ 
ness a chemist has to do, and the most particular. I think it 
has had less attention than anything else in this district, and 
it is the most important. 


(Mr. McCormack :)—I would like to know what makes the 
coal coke? 

(Dr. Phillips :)—I don’t know. Do any of us know f If 
anybody knows I hope they will speak up, for I would like to 
know. Nobody knows, so far as I know, what makes coal run 
together and coke. When you subject coal to distillation of 
that sort, there may come off 135 different things ; 86 different 
things, excluding parafine in the coal; the number of para- 
tines is legion, and which one of these things comes off in dis¬ 
tilling coal, and induces the running together, nobody knows. 
We can’t tell which one of them is the thing that causes the 
coal to run together. 

(Mr. Seddon :)—I suppose it depends upon the ratio be¬ 
tween these different things. 


(Mr. Meissner:) —You can’t coke ordinary coal that lacks 
5 per ct. of bitumen by adding 5 per ct. of asphalt to it ; if it 
had been found in practice that it was a good thing, or an 
economical thing to do, it would be done now. 


(Mr. Cowles :)—There is a very interesting question com¬ 
ing up here, as to the use ot gas. As I understand it, the 
City of Pittsburg has a great advantage over the City ot Bir¬ 
mingham in the use of natural gas; they can work up their 
iron cheaper than we can do it here, and it the gas can be 
saved for manufacturing purposes, it will be a matter ot im¬ 
mense importance to the city and entire district. Inasmuch 
as the matter was suggested here, I mentioned this question. 


(Mr. Prochaska :)—1 want to correct you on one point; 
the natural gas in the City of Pittsburg costs just as much to 
make a ton of steel there as here; they are shutting down on 
the Companies’ use of it anyway. 


(Mr. Cowles :)—One great adv 
that we have always control ol it. 


If you take it from y 


00 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

ovens, and let that fact be known, it would be of immense im¬ 
portance in attracting people down here. 

(Mr. Seddon :)—In Tracy City, Tenn., they have been ta¬ 
king the gas from the ovens. If you have a double battery 
put in, it is an easy matter to put the flues in, and you can 
take these combustible products and carry them to the boilers. 

(1)r. Phillips :)—Do they find any difference in the qual¬ 
ity of the coke ? 

(Mr. Seddon:) —Oh, no; it is exactly the same coke; 
there was some difficulty at first, as to the clogging of these 
tines, but we have not had any trouble. 

(Mr. McCormack :) —I made some experiments at Pratt 
Mines, in taking the gas from the ovens to generate steam ; 
our flues were rather too small and we abandoned it at the 
time. We are putting; in larger flues and are making steam 
without any trouble; we did not have the flue capacity, and 
did not have a high enough stack. 

[Q. by a Member:]—On the other hand, don’t you think it 
might affect the quality of the coke, if you had too much of a 
draft? Isn’t it very easy to get too much of a draft? That 
has been probably the cause of some of the failures in trying 
to utilize the gases. 

(Mr. McCormack :)—I think that would have a very im¬ 
portant bearing on it, and of course is a matter that would 
have to be looked after. I would like to ask Mr. Seddon, in 
the filling of ovens, and the drawing of them—the general use 
of those ovens—would it be a saving to build the rectangular 
ovens instead of the Bee-Hive ovens? 

(Mr. Seddon :)—My personal opinion is that they would 
not do. 1 think one great trouble in the Thomas oven is, our 
yard was too small at the time they were having them built. 
We made the yard narrower; that yard should have been 
40 feet wide. 

(Mr. Meissner :)—There is a question I would like to ask : 
whether the coke from the Thomas ovens has not been more 
moist than the coke from the other ovens ? You may remem¬ 
ber, we had some Connellsville coke ; I had taken the samples 


ALA 15 AM A. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


07 


all the week; we had three different kinds, and the Thomas 
coke was moist while the others were dry, and it seemed that 
the Thomas coke was water-marked to the very center. I 
would like to know it that is an exceptional matter, or wheth¬ 
er that is the ease with all coal I 

(Mi;. Thomas:) —Kich bituminous coal will commence to 
coke from the sides but not on the top. The volatile matter 
in the coal drops down to the bottom ; and you will get about 
three distinct kinds of coke; the top part is very spongy, the 
middle part is very good, but the bottom part is very heavy 
and has too much bituminous matter in it. 

(Mr. Aldrich:) —I would like to ask if you ever made any 
experiment in regard to the coking of coal under pressure ? 

(1 )R. Phillips :'—No, sir; 1 have not. 

(Mr. Skddon :) — I would like to ask Dr. Phillips to present 
his paper to the Society, and say that I think that it is one 
of the most important studies that could possibly be made. 
1 offer a resolution that Dr. Phillips go ahead and complete 
his paper at the next meeting, and that the question of ••coke’ 7 
be continued. Motion seconded and carried unanimously. 


(Mr. McCormack:)— I suggest that Dr. Phillips take 
another sampie from the Bee-Hive. Samples will never be 
satisfactory until there is an automatic sampler; you make a 
machine do that and there w ill be no dispute. 


(Mr. Meissner :)—If you sample ore in car-loads, I believe 
the automatic sampler will not do. You can do the sampling; 
but in the first place, you can’t make the machine go and pick 
up the samples. 1 think the human apparatus, with a brain 
on top of it, is the best for samples. 


(Dr. Phillips:)— I have found that the brain he talks 
about is not exactly angelic ; if that brain was angelic we 
would all be happy. I have just gotten back bom sampling 
40,000 tons of ore, and I don’t want that job any more; no 
more than 12,000 or 15,000 were from one place, and it took 
me a week to do it. I don’t swear now that 1 could go back 
over the piles and get the same result. 


(Mr. Meissner:)— I don’t think there 


is very much difti- 


98 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


culty in getting average samples; we take a sample trom 
every car, put it altogether, and mix it up at the end of a 
week. In a very short time the operation becomes so me¬ 
chanical, and yon get so tired, you don’t pay any attention to 
it and go about it indifferently. 

(Mr. Seddon :)—We go over all the cars, and the samples 
are analyzed twice a month. It seems to me, the best plan 
for sampling is to put a little boy alongside the scale, and 
take from each tram car or larry, a sample; put it in a box 
and take a portion from this each day. I think our samples, 
are pretty correct, because they do notvary much. I have it 
figured up every week. 

(Dr. Phillips:)—I havn’t found any variation in anything 
in this State that will compare with the variations in the com¬ 
position of coke. I used to make an analysis every week for 
a Corporation in this district, for about 18 months, and the 
coke made from the different veins of coal varied from G per 
ct. to 16 per ct. in ash. 


(Mr. Meissner :)—We have followed the result up, and the 
figures vary comparatively very slightly ; whereas, last year, 
they varied a great deal. This year, 1 think the variation is 
only 1 1-2 per ct., and in many cases 1 doubt that they will 
vary that much. I think there has been a wonderful improve¬ 
ment on that score ; that is, from our own sampling. 1 am 
satisfied when we get in our crusher, our coke will give us 
very close results with the Oonnellsville coke. 

(Mr. Aldrich :)— I find that water has something to do 
with the reduction of sulphur; you wet your coal and you 
will find considerable difference in the coke. 


(Mr. Seddon :)—The trouble is in the form of the sulphur 
as much as the quantity of the sulphur. In the approximate 
analysis of Birmingham coals, it is difficult to distinguish be¬ 
tween sulphur as a sulphide and a sulphate; it is usually 
about half and half—there is as much sulphate as sulphide. 
The sulphate would not do the injury in iron making that the 
sulphide would—one would go into the slag and the other 
would go into the iron. 


( Dr. Phillips The sulphate would be reduced to the 

sulphide in the blast furnace very quickly. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


09 


(Mr. Seddon :)—If the sulphur is in the ore. you can take 
it out, but if it is in the coke you cannot prevent its combin¬ 
ing with the iron. 1 have been experimenting to find what 
the percentage of sulphur is in the pyrites : 1 consulted seve¬ 
ral chemists in Philadelphia and elsewhere on the subject. 
How does sulphur exist in coal f 

(I)r. Phillips:)— It is supposed, in three conditions— sul¬ 
phate, sulphide, and organic sulphur ; organic sulphur 
passes off as soon as the oven gets hot. The sulphate is most 
likely reduced to a sulphide; you will still have some sul¬ 
phate, but most of the sulphate will be sulphide. 

(Mr. Seddon :) — I want to find out whether there is a suf¬ 
ficient percentage of sulphur eliminated to justify the expense 
of washing the coal ? 

(Dr. Phillips :) — You will have to try that in the coal 
washer itself. 


Mr. J. B. Carrington, Superintendent of Gamble Mines, at 
Jasper, Ala., and Mr. Peter Findly, Editor of the Alabama 
Sentinel, of Birmingham, Ala., were proposed as members of 
the Association. 

On motion, the rules were dispensed with for the present, 
and these gentlemen elected, by the Secretary casting the 
ballot. 


(Dr. Phillips :) — If we are going to continue the subject of 
coke, I think it would be better not to publish the next vol¬ 
ume of Proceedings until after the January meeting, and to 
impress upon our friends in the meantime the necessity of 
writing something, so it can go down as a matter of record ; 
we would like something to refer to. 

(By a Member :)—We expect you to do the writing. 




100 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC! SOCIETY. 


(Dr. Phillips :)—I will do my share. Can’t we get some¬ 
body to write the paper on Blast Furnaces 1 

(Mr. Seddon :)—I don’t think anybody but a practical fur¬ 
nace man is competent to write it, and none of them wants to 
do it. 

(Mr. Meissner :)— I think it would be better to let that 
subject rest until after we have the washers in. The results 
are very unsatisfactory, and it would be very difficult to enu¬ 
merate all these reasons. I think that probably after we 
have a washer or two here, in six months from now, a paper 
of that kind could be written and some very satisfactory re¬ 
sults gotten out of it. 

(Dr. Phillips :)—We will call for volunteers on this sub¬ 
ject at the next meeting, and let everybody know that some¬ 
body will write a paper of some sort. 

(Mr. Meissner :) —I will undertake, for my part, to give a 
paper on the Analyses of Coke, and the Analyses of Ash. I 
can’t do any more than give approximate analyses of coke, 
but I can give pretty complete analyses of ash. I would very 
much like to do that in connection with your tests of the 
crushing strain of coke. 


(Dr. Phillips :)—One paper is “ Coke Analyses,” by Mr. 
Meissner; “ Coking Coals” by Mr. Haskell. 


(Mr. Aldrich :)—I want to call the attention of the Asso¬ 
ciation to an analysis of coal in the Cahaba Coal Field, that 
is rather different from the ordinary run of coals, and it might 
give us some food for reflection. It is one of the lowest seams 
in the Cahaba Coal Field ; it shows water 0.17 per cent— 
volatile matter 25.75 per ct.—fixed carbon 70.10 per ct.—ash 

3.68 per ct.—sulphur 0.08 per ct.—less than 1-lOth of 1 per ct. 

% 

(By a Member :)—Where do you place that coal ? 

(Mr. Aldrich :)—It is called the Gould Vein. It would be 
located where the Black Creek Vein is. It is the lowest seam 




ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 101 

| 

with one exception ; there is a little seam under it, and there 
is another seam right above, the millstone grit. 

(Dr. McCalley:,/ —The millstone grit is usually recogniz¬ 
ed as the base of the coal Measures. I know of other places 
where there are 3 to 7 seams under the millstone grit. 


(Mr. Meissner :)— I would suggest you leave a space open 
fora paper on the “Coal Washer.” 

The Secretary then announced the following paper :—“The 
Manufacture of Coke,” by Mr. Aldrich—to be read at the 
next meeting. 


(Dr. Phillips :)— I am sorry to say that 1 do not think I 
shall have the pleasure of meeting with this Society again. 
I have decided to go up in Kentucky to engage in the manu¬ 
facture of iron, and I will go about the first of the year. It 
possible, 1 will be down to the January meeting, and if I am 
not, my heart is with you, though my body is absent. 

(Question by a Member :)—Will you give us your yield of 
coke for the first six months ? 

(Dr. Phillips :)— 1 will give you the whole thing. I don’t 
believe there is any way quite so good to correct errors as to 
confess them, if a person will “ tote fair.” We are going to 
put this furnace in blast with charcoal at first. 


On motion to adjourn this meeting until the second \\ ed- 
nesday in January, the meeting adjourned at 1: 30 p. m. 





























' 

















> 























I 






















































V 






/ 




\ 




PLATE 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































PKoceej^THGS 

OF THE 



volume: ii. 

—21 892-C— 

















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA 

l\ 

Industrial and Scientific Society. 

✓ 

VO L_ U ME II. 

1 892 . 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


Secretary’s Office, 

University P. O., 

Alabama. 


I 


MONT. I. BURTON, PRINTER AND STATIONER, TUSKALOOSA, ALA. 




OFFICERS. 


1S92- 


PRESIDENT. 


C. A. Meissner, - 


VICE PRESIDENTS 


C. P. Williams. 

M. C. Wilson, - 
,T. W. Burke, 
Horace Harding, 
T. H. Aldrich, 

J. M. McK LEROY, 


TREASURER. 


H ENRY McCALLEY, 


SECRETARY. 


Birmingham, Ala. 


Birmingham, Ala. 
Florence, Ala. 
Jacksonville, Ala. 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Anniston, Ala. 


University, Ala. 


Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceedings of Spring Meeting, .p. 5 

Proceedings of Autumn Meeting, . p. 7 

The Ultimate Composition of Some Alabama Cokes, 

Win. B. Phillips. - - p 13 

Alabama Bauxite,— Henry MeCallev. .p. 20 

The Clays of Alabama,— Eugene A. Smith. - - - - p. 33 

Surveying and Opening Mines,— George H. Montgomery. - - p. 43 







ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


5 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND 

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The time set for the Winter Meeting was the second Wed¬ 
nesday in January (13th), 1S92. At this time a few members 
only were present, and the meeting was deferred, subject to 
the call of the President, till some time in May. 


SPRING MEETING. 

Birmingham, May 18, 1892. 

The deferred meeting was called to order at 11 a. m., May 
18, 1892, in the Hall of the Knights of Pythias, in Birmingham, 
Ala. Col. C. Cadle, Jr., President, in the chair. The minutes 
of this meeting having been lost, it is impossible to give any¬ 
thing more than an outline of what was done. 

On counting the ballots the following gentlemen were found 
to be elected to the offices mentioned below, viz : Mr. C. A. 
Meissner, President, Messrs. T. H. Aldrich and J. M. McKleroy, 
Vice Presidents, and Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 

Upon announcement of the vote, Col. Cadle retired, and Mr. 
Aldrich, Vice President, took the chair in the absence of the 
President. Mr. Meissner came in later and presided till close 
of the meeting. 

The conclusion of Dr. Phillips’ paper on Alabama cokes was 
read, and this was the only paper before the meeting. Dr. 
Phillips’ paper was discussed at length. It will be found in 
full in the present volume of the proceedings. 




6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

It was decided that hereafter only two meetings of the So¬ 
ciety are to be held, one in the winter or spring, the other in 
the summer or fall, and the winter or spring meeting is to be 
considered the annual meeting for the election of officers. It 
was also thought best to have the meetings at night instead of 
during the day, since it was thought that the members would 
find this time more convenient. Inasmuch as the hall of the 
Knights of Pythias could not be had at night, it was suggested 
that the meetings be held in the offices of some of the members, 
and several offers of rooms were made. 

Adjourned to meet at the call of the President some time 
during the autumn months. 


Wm. B. Phillips, Secretary. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


7 


AUTUMN MEETING. 


Birmingham, Ala., November 16, 1892. 

The meeting was called to order at 11 a. m., on Wednesday 
morning, November 16, 1892, at the office of the Tennessee 
Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, on Morris Avenue, in the 
City of Birmingham. 

The President being absent, Mr. T. H. Aldrich, Vice Presi¬ 
dent, presided in the chair. Dr. E. A. Smith, Secretary. 

By Dr. Smith : The first thing in order, an explanation in 
regard to the minutes of the previous meeting. These minutes 
were never written up ; or at all events they have never come 
into my hands since I have been in charge of the office of Sec¬ 
retary. I can give from memory about all that was done ; 
there was an election of several officers, Mr. Meissner, Presi¬ 
dent, Mr. T. H. Aldrich, Vice President, and Mr. McKleroy, 
Vice President; Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. A paper 
was read by Dr. Phillips, on the “Crushing Strength of cer¬ 
tain Alabama Cokes.” That paper is in my hands. There 
were certain papers promised for this meeting ; one was on 
“Brown Ore,” by Mr. Lancaster. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : The next thing in order, comes the 
reading of any papers that have been prepared for this meeting. 

Mr. McCalley then read an able paper on the “Bauxite of 
Alabama.” There was no discussion on this paper. 

Dr. E. A. Smith next read a paper on the “Clays of Ala¬ 
bama.” This paper was listened to with great attention, as it 
covered the subject fully, and Dr. Smith added to the clearness 
and interest of this paper, by illustrating his remarks, by the 
aid of a geological map. No discussion followed. 

Owing to the absence of Mr. Geo. H. Montgomery, Dr. Smith 
read a paper on “Mine Enginnering,” which was prepared by 
Mr. Montgomery. A short discussion was entered into, on 
this subject, in which the following members took part :— 



8 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Mr. Alber said in substance as follows : The method of 
platting inside of a mine, should not be done by compass, but 
by taking the angles, as this would insure the. most accurate 
work. It never can be done as accurately as if the parts are 
calculated. 

Mr. Wilson : I should like to speak about the “helps.” I 
have been out surveying, and they have given me a “gentle¬ 
man of color” that they tried on every other work about the 
mine, without success, and then they gave him to help me. 
The consequence was, nothing would fit, until we got the 
plumb of that sort of work. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : I have had a little experience my¬ 
self on this subject; we have always found that it was diffi¬ 
cult to make the mine maps and the land lines fit in our work, 
owing to the fact that the Government Surveys don’t give any 
internal lines except section lines, and there is a good deal of 
guess-work in regard to old Government Notes. We have had 
one case, where there is a difference between the line that has 
been established by possession, for a long number of years, and 
the line that would be indicated by the Government Survey, of 
over ioo feet, and it raises a question, that a Mining Engineer 
would have to be something of a lawyer to decide. 

It has given us a good deal of trouble in that respect ; we 
have found it was quite necessary to find out actually where 
the lines are on the surface. 

In transferring a line down a shaft, a bucket and string 
measurement is not one that can be accurately relied upon, a 
bucket of water, or bucket of oil—a bucket of oil is better than 
water. There is an instrument now that has a small telescope 
arm that is at right-angles to the other line, and you can sight 
with that; this instrument is much more accurate than using 
a string with a plumb or a bucket of oil or water, let down to 
the bottom. 

Mr. Alber : If the County Surveyor runs a line that is 
wrong, it does not bind the land owner. If the engineer can 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


9 


locate the lines from the Government Notes, that is the best 
evidence. He has the law on his side. 

Lieut. R. C. McCalla, Jr. : Johnson’s new work on Land 
Surveys has a very exhaustive discussioh on this question, and 
perhaps these gentlemen would be interested in reading over 
his statements. 

Mr. Aldrich : Possession of 20 years of a piece of land, if 
it is fenced in, gives a man a title. That would give a man a 
title, no matter where the lines are ; in other words, you have 
to make a survey of that fellow’s fence line. 

Lieutenant McCalla is engaged in the work at Tuscaloosa 
for the Government, the improvement of the Warrior River, 
and he has been asked to make a few statements in regard to 
the work.going on there. 

Lieut. R. C. McCalla, Jr., then gave a short account of 
what had been accomplished up to date at Tusaaloosa. 

Mr. Aldrich : I would like to ask if there has been any 
appropriations made to improve the River below Tuscaloosa. 

Lieut. McCalla : $1,000,000. The work below Tuscaloosa 
has been confined to cutting down trees, making jetties, etc. ; 
no permanent improvements have been made yet on that part 
of the River. 

Mr. Aldrich : Some years ago Dr. Smith and myself made 
a pilgrimage up and down that River, and Dr. Smith could 
give us a great many facts in regard to the River at that time. 
I would like to hear from him on the subject of the River be¬ 
low Tuscaloosa. 

Dr. E. A. Smith then gave a short account of this trip. 

Lieut. McCalla : The Warrior River below Tuscaloosa is 
navigable more days in the year than the Ohio River above 
Pittsburg. 

Dr. E. A. Smith : There is a motion handed in by Col. J. 
A. Montgomery, who is a member of our Society. (Reads 
motion). “I move that a committee of three or five be ap- 


IO ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

pointed by the President, for the purpose of preparing and 
presenting a Memorial to our Senators and Representatives in 
Congress, showing forth the advantages that would accrue to 
the Gulf Stales, and more particularly to Alabama, by the 
building and completion of the Nicarauga Canal.” 

Mr. Aldrich : I think both political parties have endorsed 
this measure, it is not a question of politics, and not being a 
political question, it is one this Society could take cognizance 
of without any trouble. (Dr. E. A. Smith seconds the motion). 
The motion is read and seconded, and is now before the So¬ 
ciety. I would like to hear from the members upon this sub¬ 
ject. If you will excuse the Chair from speaking on the sub¬ 
ject, I will state that the Cahaba Coal Mining Company is 
furnishing the Nicarauga Canal Company with coal right now, 
and there can be no doubt how I stand in the matter. We 
have had considerable correspondence with the authorities,and 
they tell us they have been offered money by great English 
Syndicates to take hold of this canal and put it through to 
completion, and they are only waiting on Congress to decide 
whether the United States will undertake to take hold of the 
Canal or not. We have pledged ourselves to wait on this term 
of Congress, to see whether the United States Government will 
take hold and practically finish this Canal. In case of any 
trouble, in the way of a foreign war, the United States would 
probably take possession of the Canal anyway, and there is 
every incentive for the Government to furnish the means to 
complete this Canal. I have had a talk with parties who have 
this business very much at heart; I have seen several of the 
engineers and several members of a committee that went down 
to examine the line of the Canal ; they all think it is feasible. 
There is only one great difficulty, and that is cutting through a 
hill, going from the Lake to the Pacific side; the Atlantic side 
of the business is only a question of money. The Atlantic side 
has an outlet to the Lake ; on the Pacific side there is a sharp 
hill to cut through ; the discharge of the Lake is towards the 
Atlantic side. They have already done a great deal of work. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. I I 

and claim to have spent about $4,000,000 up to date; their 
Harbor has not been completed, but from 4 to 5 feet of water, 
they have 14 feet by building a pier out and changing the cur¬ 
rent, so that it has washed out an entrance to the old Harbor, 
before they attempted to start the Canal afresh. If the Canal 
is started soon, most of the lumber, coal and iron, and probably 
a great many of the explosives used will come from Alabama. 
It is the nearest State to it, except Florida, of course ; it is the 
only point where they can get coal promptly. I do not know 
exactly how much we have shipped them, but what little they 
have used has come from Alabama, and a large amount of the 
timber from Alabama and West Florida also. You have heard 
the resolution, and I would be glad to hear from any of you. 
Motion was put and unanimously carried. I will appoint on 
the Committee, Col. J. A. Montgomery, Mr. Thos. Seddon, and 
Dr. E. A. Smith. 

Dr. Smith : I move that the Vice President, Mr. Aldrich, 
be added to this Committee ; he is better qualified than almost 
any one else. Motion seconded and carried. Maj. Geo. H. 
Fitzhusrh was also added to the Committee. 

Mr. Aldrich: Dr. Smith has some specimens here he 
would like to show the Society, in the way of minerals, from 
Coosa County, Alabama ; it will make you feel a great deal 
better about Alabama when you see all these things. 

Dr. Smith exhibits some cut beryls of golden yellow color 
to the Association. He says in substance as follows : It is the 
same mineral that makes the emerald, that stone is merely a 
clear «reen bervl. I showed one of these beryls to Mr. Geo. 
F. Kunz, Tiffany’s gem expert, and he said some pretty jewels 
could be made out of it. From this beryl he cut some little 
brilliants ; they are very pretty and valuable, but not quite as 
valuable as emeralds, because the color is not so good. (Shows 
some exquisite brilliants that were cut from this beryl). 

Mr. Aldrich : I can tell you another thing ; diamonds have 
been found in Alabama; they are found either in Coosa County 


12 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


or Randolph County, but I think it is Coosa. I knew a gen¬ 
tlemen who found a diamond from there worth about $300 or 
$400, and it has been tested by experts who said it was a dia¬ 
mond. The diamond matrix in South Africa is a carboniferous 
slate, and from this you get the diamond ; the same mineral 
has been found in 'Kentucky, but there don’t seem to be any 
diamonds there, 

Mr. Aldrich: I would suggest a meeting at night at our 
next session. I would also suggest that Maj. Fitzhugh pre¬ 
pare a paper for our next meeting, in May, on “Manganese.” 
Mr. R. Thomas assigned a paper on “Coke.” And the subject 
of the “Birmingham Water Works and Tunnel,” was given to 
a member to prepare for the ensuing meeting. 

At 1 p. m. the Meeting adjourned. 

Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 




THE ULTIMATE COMPOSITION OF SOME ALA¬ 
BAMA COKES. 


By William B. Phillips, Ph. D., 

Chemist to the Grand Rivers Company , Grand Rivers , Ky. 
Late Professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy in the 

University of Alabama. 

(A continuation of the paper on “The Ultimate Composition of 
some Alabama Coals,” in Proceedings of the Alabama 
Industrial and Scientific Society, Vol. I., No. I.) 


If one were asked for the correct definition of the word 
Coke, I dare say that he would have to reply that it depends 
upon circumstances. It is a generic term, including several 
species which are differentiated according to the method pur¬ 
sued in their production. Thus we have Natural Coke, a pro¬ 
duct of the slow distillation of bituminous coal in situ and 
occurring in the earth, as for instance in some portions of West 
Virginia. Retort Coke, the residue remaining in retorts used 
in the manufacture of illuminating and heating gas. This is 
generally termed Gas Carbon. 

Open Air Coke, produced from bituminous coal in heaps 
and mounds erected in the open air or under a slight shelter. 

Thomas Coke, produced in the Thomas Coking Oven. 

Coppee Coke, produced in the Coppee Oven. 

Simon-Carves Coke, produced in the Simon-Carves Oven. 

And lastly, a kind of Coke produced the world over in enor¬ 
mous quantities, amounting to perhaps 99 per cent of the total 
coke output, and termed Bee-hive Coke, from the shape of the 




I 


14 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

oven in which it is made. So extensively are these ovens used 
for the production of coke, that unless expressly stated to the 
contrary the term Coke means Bee-hive Coke. 

In spite of the extreme wastefulness of the Bee-hive oven, 
almost the whole of the gas and smoke evolved in the coking 
process escaping into the air, it holds its own disgracefully 
well. This is due, perhaps, in the main to two causes, its 
cheapness of erection and superintendence when compared with 
Recuperative Ovens, and a suspicion that the coke it yields is 
better adapted for blast furnance purposes than any other coke. 
It is not likely that either of these notions is well founded, but 
for the present at least they are operative, and we deal with 
things as they are. It is remarkable how persistent is the be¬ 
lief that the only coke fit for blast furnace use is the bee-hive, 
and the only charcoal the old fashioned pit or meiler coal. It 
seems to me that the principal reason therefor is the difference 
in cost between the old and the new methods. The bee-hive 
oven can be built for $200 to $250 apiece, the recuperative 
oven costs from $Soo to .$1000 apiece. An hundred bee-hive 
ovens can be built for $20,000 to $25,000, an hundred recupera¬ 
tive ovens will cost from $80,000 to $100,000. This difference 
seems at first glance to be entirely too great for economy, but 
when we consider that the products from the latter are worth 
from five to six times as much as the products from the former, 
this difference is merely apparent, not real. There are in Ala¬ 
bama now between 5500 and 6000 coke ovens, all of the bee¬ 
hive type, except 64 Thomas ovens at Coalburg and 18 at 
Broken Arrow ; these latter, however, have not been in opera¬ 
tion for some time. At the Anniston Meeting of this Society, 
April, 1891, I presented a paper on the Ultimate Composition 
of some Alabama Coals, containing twenty-two analvses of 
the principal varieties, with the exception of the Montevallo 
Coal, the Mary Lee and the seams near Warrior Station on 
the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The Walker County 
Coals were also not included in the list. The paper will be 
found in full in the Proceedings, Vol. I, No. I. From this pa- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 1^ 

per it will be seen that while the value of the coke per ton of 
coal is about $1.62, the total value of the by-products per 
ton of coal is about $18.00. The bee-hive oven is among the 
most wasteful of all wasteful metallurgical appliances, for, al¬ 
lowing that one-half of the value of the by-products is, like 
so many new towns, “on paper,” still we have left $9.00 as 
against $1.62. 

It was promised in that paper that the investigation into the 
nature of the fuels used in Alabama would be extended to 
cover the cokes. This work, interrupted by illness and by 
change ot residence, has finally been brought into such a shape 
as that it can he given to the public. I submit herewith a 
table containing fourteen analyses of the principal Alabama 
Cokes, made on samples furnished by the coking companies. 
As the analyses of the coals were made so as to show not only 
the proximate but the ultimate composition as well, the analy¬ 
ses of the cokes were made in the same way, so that we now 
have seventy-tw'o analyses representing the composition of the 
Alabama coals and cokes. 

It must be stated that the writer cannot assume the respon¬ 
sibility of asserting that these analyses truly represent the com¬ 
position of the cokes as delivered at the stock-houses of the 
furn aces. There may be discrepancies, more or less serious, 
between these and stock-house analyses, but it is fair to assume 
that they are uniform, and that they press on all the companies 
alike. 

The crushing strain tests were made on pieces of one cubic 
inch size, sawed from larger pieces, and were conducted by 
the writer and R. C. McCalla, C. E., on a stardard Riehle 
Testing Machine, in duplicate. The figures given are averages. 

The following cokes were examined :— 

Black Creek, (Experimental. Not used commercially.) 
Berry Mountain, “ 

Pratt. 


l6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Black ends of Pratt. 

Cahaba. 

DeBardeleben, 48 hour. 

DeBardeleben, 72 hour. 

Mary Lee. 

Coalburg, Thomas Oven. 

Standard, (Milldale, Brookwood and mixture of the two). 

Gas Carbon from Birmingham and from Mobile. 

Unless expressly stated to the contrary, the cokes are 48 hour 
cokes, that is, the coke was drawn 48 hours after charging. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


l 7 


r Xi 


CD 

S 3 


a 

O 


P 

Cfi 


'7) 

'-t- 

p 


X 

rt- 

P 


© 

c - 


p 


CD 

rd 

p 


£2PPPPPP^^ 


77 


p 5* 




CD 

d 

CD 

CD 


77 

oo 


oq 


— - CD 
CD 3 ^ 

aq 


p 

CD 


O 

c 

77 


o 

o 


qq 

H 

o 


p 

<yj 


CD 


Q 

CD 


2 . 

CD 


to 


CD 


VV 

p 


CD 

— 

CD 


00 

I 

o 


p 

— 

-• 

CD 

— 

J3 - 

p 

P 


P 

p 

CD 

rh 


CD 

c - 

77 

rt 


77 

p 

LAi 


O 

r*- 

CD 


cT 


d 

CD 

77 


3 

£>* 

— 

K 

/-“V 

w 

a 



_■ 


l_< 

h- 




t—* 


__ 







to 

to 

to 

to 

4- 

to 

4- 

tO 

4- 

to 

to 

to 

CO 

to 

CO 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

© 

to 

© 

Number. 


d 



d 

4— 

© 

ZD 

CO 

to 

4- 

o 

© 

© 

4- 


o 

to 

© 

© 

CO 

© 

© 

© 

© 

© 

© 

<^5 

© 

© 



tO 

ZD 

to 

CO 

© 

IP 


© 

© 

4— 


to 

© 


CO 

Moisture. 


© 

© 

© 

d 

© 

© 

© 

d 

© 

© 

d 

© 

© 




09 

o 

I- 1 

to 

i— 

to* 

CO 

p 

© 

© 

© 

— 

1— 

© 

Vol. and com, 


tO 

d 

o 

© 

d 

© 

V-* 

d 

d 

© 

© 

^t 

© 

© 

X 

d 

4- 

© 

© 

© 

bust, matter. 


X- 

ZD 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

© 

X 

X 

© 

© 



CO 

CO 

10; 

c^ 

to 

— 

© 

d 

C- 

CO 

d 

© 


4— 



o 

to 


X 

__ 


4- 

to 

© 

to 

4— 

X 

© 

© 

Fixed Carbon, 


d 

© 

© 

© 

d 

wl 

d 

w« 

© 

© 

Ci 

© 

© 

© 



H- 

_* 

,_ 

p—l 


to 

© 

© 

M 



© 

o 

© 


1 

4- 

to 

4- 

4-“ 

4- 

tO 

© 

© 

to 

© 


X 

© 


Su Iphur. 


c 

X 

i “ 


© 


in 

to 


r — 
i ° 
JJS 


wl 

© 


CD 

CD d 
ci d 


DC 


CD d 
©- _C* 


X ZD *— 
OOP 


© 


© 

© 


Ash. 


d —* * * * — 

etc £ T 


-! T 3 -! 

o S. a 


Color of Ash. 


i-t 

GO 


X 



•—■ 

-t 

X 

~1 


X 

- 1 

~l 

X 

X 

4- 



© 

d 

© 

X 

© 

03 

4- 


d 

4- 

to 

to 

© 


to 

03 

to 

to 

H-i 

© 

X 

X 

X 


Cl 

CO 

X 

o> 

to 


00 

X 


© 

4- 

~ t 

4— 

4— 

CO 

d 

4- 

d 

—I 

© 

© 

© 

-t 

4- 

Ci 

b 

H 

d 

d 

to 

OS 

CO 


4— 

© 

i—* 

’£ 

d 


Carbon. 


Hydrogen. 


•-1 

P 


d 

aeiL 


o 

^1 


© 


CO 

CO 

CO 

Ct 

© 

4— 

© 

1—• 

© 

4— 

4— 

© 

© . 

4— 

~1 

to 


to 


Oxygen. 


7 T — 


S 

77 

O 


c 


w 

CD 

crq 


# 3 


- Oq 


crq crq 


X P 7T 

- p CD 




— <— 


00 

lO 


3 S ~ ~ — 

^ 'D CD CD 


d 

d 


-1 

to 

© 


P 

rt- 

4-* 

X 


77 

CD 


CD - 


2 

77 


CO 

d 

O 


CD 


X *' 


2 

2 o 


CO ~ 
CO 

CD -• 

co cfq 

"2 OP 

— rt 

P ^ 
6 -• 


|U It 























































iS ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

The per cen^ages of Sulphur and Ash are to be added to the 
' figures for the Ultimate Analysis. The Oxygen is in every 
case determined by difference. 

The most remarkable result in this table is the slight differ¬ 
ence between the chemical composition of the DeBardeleben 
48 and 72 hour coke, and the considerable difference in the 
strength, the one breaking at 7^0 pounds, the other at 1100 
pounds. As the two samples were made from the same coal 
under the same conditions, this difference must be referred to 
the length ot time of the coking process. The bituminous 
matter has in each case been thoroughly expelled, as is shown 
by the small per centages of Volatile and Combustible Matter, 
the 48 hour coke containing 0.70 and the 72 hour 0.90 per cent. 
It would appear that after 48 hours the Volatile and Combusti¬ 
ble Matter does not diminish, but the strength of the coke shows 
a marked increase. Whether this increase of strength influences 
the consumption of fuel per ton of iron, the quality of the iron 
or the output, I have no means of judging, as the fuel ratio was 
not given nor any information upon which one could base an 
opinion. I am, however, inclined to think that beyond a crush¬ 
ing strain of 700 pounds per square inch there would be no 
economy, so far as this single point is concerned. A strength 
considerably less than this is amply sufficient for all ordinary 
blast furnace work, even when dealing with ores much harder 
and more refractory than those of the Clinton Formation. 

The betterment of the cokes of this district is not to be attain¬ 
ed by increase of the time of coking so much as by a close at¬ 
tention to the mechanical and chemical composition of the 
coal charged into the oven. Of the two, the mechanical con¬ 
dition is by far the more important, inasmuch as it to a very 
great degree influences the other. By crushing and washing 
the coal, preparatory to coking, a great improvement in the 
coke can be attained not only as regards the per centage of ash 
and sulphur, which may be termed the chemical betterments, 
but also and especially as regards the more homogeneous dis¬ 
tribution of the ash, which may be termed the mechanical 
betterment. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. IC) 

I have understood that the fine crushing of the coal as prac¬ 
ticed at some establishments, as for instance at Cahaba and 
Mary Lee, has resulted in a marked improvement in the coke, 
and the results reached by Mr. Stewart with the Luhrig 
Washer at the Sloss Furnaces are full of promise. This gentle¬ 
man informs me that with Coalburg coal he has succeeded in 
reducing the per centage of ash by fifty per cent, with an 
equally good result in sulphur and that the mechanical condi¬ 
tion of the coke has been much improved. It seems to me 
that this district must ultimately come to some such system,for 
when the manufacture of steel is begun on a commercial scale, 
it will doubtless be found that one of the chief difficulties to be 
overcome is the unsuitable quality of the coke. 

It is, I think, much to be regretted that no one of the large 
iron companies in Alabama has seen fit to undertake exhaustive 
investigations into the all-important-question of the improve¬ 
ment of the coke used. That the condition of the coke is sus¬ 
ceptible of improvement no one will deny, as no one will deny 
that it is being brought into a better status, slowly it may be 
but none the less surely. The most favorable time for making 
experiments is when the iron market is a bit dull, as the most 
sanguine “bull” cannot but acknowledge, has been and is the 
case now, for when everything is pushed to its utmost capacity 
we are apt to lose sight of the future in our efforts to seize the 
opportunities of the present. When the yard is being rapidly 
depleted of its stocks and profits are fairly good, we do not 
pause to consider whether we might not improve the quality 
of some one of the materials employed. The celebrated inhabi¬ 
tant of Arkansas could not put a roof on his house when it 
was raining, and when lhe weather was good he did not need 
one. Some such principle has operated to bring the iron trade 
into its present unsatisfactory condition, and until we realize 
that true economy consists in improving everything thatenters 
into the production of iron I fear that we may anticipate the 
recurrence ot periods of depression which will cause us to 
wish that we could make iron still more cheaply. 


20 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ALABAMA BAUXITE. 


By Henry McCalley. 


Bauxite, a most important ore of aluminum, the coming 
metal, is, comparatively speaking, a new mineral. Its first 
mention as hydrated alumina, of Baux, France, dates back to 
1S21,* but it does not appear to have been known as Bauxite, a 
commercial product, until about 1868. Since that time it has 
been found in several other countries of the old world, as in 
Ireland, Austria and Asia Minor, and in several of the States 
of the Union. The Engineering and Mining Journal in its 
statistical number for 1891, says that bauxite occurs in abund¬ 
ance in Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Geor¬ 
gia, Alabama and Arkansas, but I have not been able to find 
any account of its occurrence in any of the States with the ex¬ 
ceptions of Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas. In Georgia, the 
known deposits do not cover much area, and are of unknown 
depth, and in Arkansas they are said to cover about 160 acres, 
and to be from a few feet to forty feet in thickness, with an 
average thickness of some fifteen feet. 

Its first discovery in this country seems to have been in 
1SS7, in Pike County, Georgia ; then in Cherokee County, 
Alabama, in 1889, and lastly in Pulaski County, Arkansas, 
in 1891. 

The honor of its first discovery in Alabama, from the best 
information at hand, is due to Mr. T. R. Trotter, the minino- 
boss of the Dykes limonite banks, of the Bass Furnace Com¬ 
pany, Cherokee County. Mr. Trotter, so he says, had for a 
long time noticed in and near his ore banks what was to him a 
peculiar rock, and so in the spring of 1S89 lle sent a sample of 
it to Mr. J. M. Garvin, Superintendent of the Bass Furnace 

’ * DanaC 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


21 


Company, Rock Run, to have it analyzed for him. Mr. Gar¬ 
vin sent the rock on to their chemist, in Fort Wayne, Ohio, 
and in due course of time, so the story goes, the report came 
that the peculiar rock was bauxite, a valuable ore that carried 
nearly 30 per cent of Aluminum, a metal that was then worth 
300 times as much as iron or about $3.00 per pound. After the 
reception of this letter, many outcrops of the ore were found 
in the neighborhood of the Dykes Bank. \ 

The next or second beauxite find in Alabama was at the 
Walker limonite banks near Jacksonville, Calhoun County, 
and since then a third deposit has been found at the Laney 
maganese old banks, in the edge of Cleburne County, some two 
and a half miles lo the south-west of Rock Run Station. Two 
other deposits, it is said, have lately been found in Calhoun 
County, near Anniston. Other deposits will doubtless still be 
found in this and perhaps other sections of the State. 

These bauxite deposits of Alabama are all of the lower part 
of the Lower Silurian Rocks. 

The Cherokee deposits and the Calhoun deposits, near Jack¬ 
sonville, like those of Georgia, are near the bottom of the Knox 
Dolomite Rocks of Safford of Tennessee. These bottom Knox 
Dolomite Rocks are now believed to belong to the Upper 
Cambrian. The Cleburne deposit is in the upper part of the 
Weisner Quartzites, Middle Cambrian, believed to be the same 
as the Chilhowee Sandstones of Safford. The location of the 
two other outcrops in Calhoun County, near Anniston, are not 
known to the writer. 

f Mr. R. S. Perry, General Manager Southern Bauxite Mining and Manu¬ 
facturing Company, Piedmont, Alabama, writes, since the above was written, 
that the Bauxite of Cherokee County was not known as such until the fall of 
18.%, that before then it was known by the miners, etc , as iron ore blossom. 
He says that he is entitled to the credit of the first discovery or identification 
of Alabama Bauxite; that he first discovered or identified it in April or May, 
1890, in a deposit in Calhoun County some 8 miles south of Piedmont, and 
that on June 7th or 8th, 1890, he identified the ore of the deposit near Jack¬ 
sonville, which previous to this time had been called, by the people of Jack¬ 
sonville, Clinton fossiliferous iron ore. 







22 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The Arkansas deposits are supposed by Dr. Branner, the 
State Geologist, to Be of Tertiary age, though related in their 
origin to the granites near them. There are seemingly no 
reasons why bauxite deposits may not be of any age or of any 
geological formation. The Alabama deposits are in a section 
of country that has been badly broken up by sharp folds and 
great thrust faults, and in which the character of the rocks 
have been greatly changed doubtless by the heat that was pro¬ 
duced in their folding and faulting. This same heat, it is be¬ 
lieved, has had a great deal to do with the formation of the 
beauxite deposits. 

The Alabama deposits are in pockets, though they occur 
along regular “ leads ” or follow the lines of outcrops of certain 
rocks, and show more or less stratification in all of the cuts 
that have been made upon them. They occur about as do the 
limonite and clay deposits with which they are closely asso¬ 
ciated, though seemingly more straified, in fact they are so 
closely associated with these limonites and clays that they 
appear to be greatest where or near where the limonite and 
clay deposits are greatest. 

The Cherokee bauxite deposits appear to be along two 
parallel *• leads ” or lines of outcrops that run in a general north¬ 
east and south-west direction (N. 35 deg. to 40 deg. E.), and 
are from 150 to 200 yards apart. These lines of outcrops seem 
to follow the crests ot two sharp anticlinal folds with 
a synclinal between them. It is probable therefore 
that some of the bauxite deposits of these two lines of 
outcrops, as irregular stratified seams, are continuous 
under the surface across the synclinal, from one line of 
outcrop to the other. It may be, however, that in places 
there is a fault along the north-west edge of the north¬ 
west line of outcrops or anticlinal. The structure of the rocks 
however hereabouts cannot be spoken of with any degree of 
certainty, as they can only be seen at intervals, and even 
then very imperfectly, the whole country being covered 
by debris. This debris is nearly altogether of the Weisner 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 3 


Quartzites, the nearest bedded rocks of which are some half of 
a mile to the south-west of the known bauxite deposits. The 
largest limonite and clay deposits known of in this immediate 
section are between the two lines of outcrops or are within the 
synclinal trough. It is believed that future developments will 
show the largest bauxite deposits to be also within this syn¬ 
clinal trough. 

The bauxite of these deposits appears to occur in places, at 
least, over a white or yellow friable sandstone that sometimes 
is hard and cherty, and under or in the lower part of an 
unctuous clay that is usually white. The limonite ore is com¬ 
monly on the top or in the upper part of this white unctuous 
clay. The bauxite however in places seems to be on the top 
of the limonite ore. In places it is in the clay, as large masses 
or as small nodular concretions, and in other places it appears 
to gradually pass or change into a clay. 

The Calhoun deposit, near Jacksonville, in the few shallow 
cuts that have been made upon it, also appears to be on the 
top of a sharp anticlinal. The Cleburne deposit, so it is said, 
has never been dug into and shows only as a few boulders on 
the outcrop, and this is most probably the case as to the two 
bauxite outcrops that have been lately found near Anniston, 
Calhoun County. 

Though the Alabama bauxite deposits as yet have not been 
sufficiently developed to enable one to form even a rough ap¬ 
proximate estimate of the amount of ore which they carry, still 
enough has been done on the Cherokee deposits to show that 
they alone have in them an immense amount of ore. There is 
no doubt about the Cherokee deposits being large and valuable. 
These deposits have been dug into in about a dozen places ; in 
some of these places, limonite old diggings, the bauxite has 
been laid bare from a depth of a few feet to that of 75 feet. 
These deep holes, together with the large outcrops, makes it 
certain that the ore is in very large quantities, and future de¬ 
velopments, it is believed, will show the ore to be in even 
larger quantities that it now appears to be. I have seen out- 


2 4 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


a distance of about one and a half miles, and Mr. Trotter says 
that he has seen it on both lines at intervals for a distance of 
nearly five miles, or from near the Georgia line to near Rock 
Run. It most likely exists on both of these lines of outcrops 
in places that have never been seen, being covered up in these 
places by debris. * 

In the north-east end of the Dyke’s Bank proper, or the 
deepest of the limonite old diggings, the bauxite forms an 
irregular seam of about 60 feet in thickness. It shows from 
the top to the bottom of this old digging which is about 75 
feet deep. The seam here is about vertical, though in other 
limonite old diggings about 200 yards to the north-east, the 
dip is about 60 deg. to the south-east. In one of these last 
diggings, the bauxite has been exposed to a thickness of 1 =5 feet, 
though it still forms the floor of the digging, and hence it may 
be as thick here as it is in the big pit or some 60 feet thick. 
These diggings are all just on the south-east edge of the north¬ 
west anticlinal, and hence they are just within the synclinal. 
To the north-west of the big digging some 200 yards is a fine 
outcrop of bauxite that must be on the north-west side of the 
north-west anticlinal. To the south-east of the big digging or 
Dyke’s Bank proper about 200 yards is the bauxite bank of the 
Republic Mining and Manufacturing Company, of Hermitage, 
Georgia. The bauxite of this bank is in two irregular seams 
that are separated from each other by averaging thickness 
(o feet to 15 feet) of unctuous clay. The top one of these 
bauxite seams is about 30 feet thick ; the bottom one, when 
last seen, on September 29, 1892, had not been gone through 
though it had been dug into to a depth of about 20 feet. The 
separating clay is of white, blue and mottled colors. This bank 


* It is stated in a special to the Engineering and Mining Journal of Feb¬ 
ruary 25. 1893, that the superficial area of the Dyke’s district carrying Baux¬ 
ite, including the spaces between the known deposits, does not exceed one and 
one-half miles in length by one-half mile in [width; that, unless the demand 
for the mineral increases, the quantity of ore in sight in this district alone 
will more than supply the market. 





ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 2 CJ 

crops of bauxite at intervals on both of the lines of outcrops for 
is on the north-west edge of the south-east anticlinal, though it 
may be said to he in the top of this anticlinal, for it is so near 
the top that the top bauxite seam, which here forms the unde¬ 
nuded crest of the anticlinal, shows within the bank a dip of 
about 30 deg. to the north-west, and also a dip of about 30 
deg. to the south-east. To the north-east of this last bank 
some 300 yards, on the same or south-east line of outcrops is 
the Gaines Hill bauxite bank of the Southern Bauxite Mining 
and Manufacturing Company, of Piedmont, Alabama. This 
bank is in solid bauxite, and on September 29, 1892, it had been 
dug to a depth of about 20 feet. So there is no telling how 
thick the bauxite is in this bank. Still farther to the north¬ 
east, some half of a mile, on the same south-east line of out¬ 
crops, is the Warhoo bank of the same company as the last. 
This bank is just on the north-west edge of the anticlinal, 
though very near the top as it shows the north-west dip and 
the flattened strata on the top of the anticlinal. This bank is 
also solid bauxite, and, on September 29, was about 20 feet 
deep. So there was no way then of telling how thick the 
bauxite is in this bank. It looks more like, strictly speaking, a 
pocket of ore than do the other banks. Still farther to the 
north-east, about one-half of a mile, are the two Carr bauxite 
banks, one on each of the two lines of outcrops. These banks 
had not then been dug into to any depth. To the south-west 
of the above bauxite bank of the Republic Mining and Manu¬ 
facturing Company is another bauxite bank of this same com¬ 
pany. This bank also appears to be just on the north-west 
edge of the south-east anticlinal as its bauxite shows both the 
north-west dip and the flattened strata of the top of the anti¬ 
clinal. Its floor is of solid bauxite, and its sides show a thick¬ 
ness of about 15 feet of ore ; how much thicker the ore is in 
this bank there was no way of telling when visited. The baux¬ 
ite of this last bank is covered by an unctuous mottled clay, 
without grit, that on being trimmed with the knife has very 
much the appearance and feeling of common castile soap. 


26 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


This mottled clay in turn is covered by a deep red unctuous 
clay that is also free from grit. To the south-west of this last 
bank for some 200 yards the surface is covered with boulders 
and nodules of a deep red bauxite that have very much the ap¬ 
pearance of old overburnt bricks. To the north-west of this 
last bauxite bank some 150 yards, there is on north-west line 
of outcrops in a limonite old bank, a small showing of bauxite 
in boulders in a mottled clay. 

The Calhoun bauxite, near Jacksonville, shows at intervals 
in a general north-east and south-west course for some 2^0 
yards Several shallow pits have heen sunk on its outcrops, 
but not of sufficient depth to prove anything as to the thick¬ 
ness or quality,of the ore. These pits appear to be near the 
top or along the north-west edge of the anticlinal. In one of 
them the bauxite is exposed to a thickness of 12 to 14 feet, and 
in another to a thickness of about 25 feet, though in neither of 
these cases is it exposed to its full unknown thickness. The 
Cleburne deposit, as has been stated, has never been dug into 
and shows only as a few boulders on the outcrops, as is likely 
the case with the two reported outcrops in Calhoun County, 
near Anniston. 

The bauxites of all the Alabama deposits are hard on the 
outcrops, especially the red varieties, though as a general thing, 
they become comparatively soft and crumbly on being dug 
into. The red coloration in many places on and near the out¬ 
crops is due partly to seepage water. These bauxites are 
mostly pisolitic or concretionary, though some of them are 
earthy or clay like. In the pisolitic or concretionary varieties, 
the eyes or pea-like concretions are for the most part uniformly 
diffused throughout the masses. These eyes or concretions are 
usually filled with a reddish dust or powder. They are often 
soft enough to be mashed between the fingers, though some¬ 
times they are very hard. They are usually of the size of a 
small pea though they occasionally get to be a couple of inches 
in diameter. I hese large ones are merely irregular concre¬ 
tionary nodules. The earthy or clay-like bauxite has often a 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


27 


metallic ring. The Alabama bauxites are of white, grey and 
red colors, though other bauxites are said to be also of pearl- 
grey, ochre-yellow and brown colors. Pure bauxite is very 
light having a specific gravity of about 2.40. 

Bauxite, chemically speaking, is hydrated or soluble oxide 
of aluminum, but commercially speaking it is a double hydrat¬ 
ed or soluble oxide of aluminum and iron with some silica and 
other accidental impurities, as titanic (oxide) acid, phosporic 
acid, carbonic acid, lime and magnesia. It is a dihydrate, and 
chemically speaking, has the formula AI2 H4 O5, or AI2 O3 
H2 O2, or is made up of 73.9 per cent of alumina AI2 O3, (or 
Aluminum 39.3) per cent.), and 26.1 per cent of water, but 
commercially speaking, it can have no regular formula as no 
two pieces of it have exactly the same chemical composition. 
Immense banks of it however may be uniform enough in chemi¬ 
cal composition for all commercial purposes. Bauxite there¬ 
fore differs essentially from kaolin or a pure clay in that its 
alumina exists as a soluble oxide instead of as an insoluble 
silicate, as it does in the kaolin or clay. 

Bauxite as it occurs in nature or as it goes to the manufac¬ 
turers is represented by the following partial analyses : 


(1) (0 (3) 


Alumina 

ft 

/ 

per cent. 55.26 P er cent. 57.03 

per cent. 

Ferric Oxide, 

19.1 

“ 5 - 5 s “ s -74 

U 

Water of Comb. 

16.4 

“ 25.59 “ 24.69 

U 

Silica, 

7* 1 

“ 11.64 “ 3.7S 

U 

Titanic Acid, 


3- r 3 “ 3 - 13 

U 

(1) An average of 

14 partial analyses. Localities- 

—France, 


Austria and Ireland. * 

(2) An average of S partial analyses. Locality—Pulaski 
County, Arkansas. * 

(3) An average of 5 partial analyses. Locality—Lloyd 
County, Georgia, f 


* Ain. Geol., Vol. VII., No. 3, page 18,‘j. 

t Trans. Am. Inst. M. E., XVI., page 1)08, and NVITI., page 562. 





28 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The following is said by Mr. J. M. Garvin, Superintendent 
of the Bass Furnace Company, Rock Run, Alabama, to be ap¬ 
proximately an average analysis of car load samples, as sent to 
the manufacturers, of the bauxite from Cherokee County, 
Alabama : 

Alumina, from - - - 56 to 60 per cent. 

Ferric Oxide, about - - - - 2.75 

Water, from - - - - - 25 to 30 

Insoluble Matter,principally Silica,about 7 

Titanic Acid, from - - - 2 to 3 

The following partial analyses are also of bauxites from 
Cherokee County, Alabama : 

0 ) ( 2 ) (3) (4) (5) 

Alumina, 64.68% 55 - 73 % 61.65% 60.15% 58.25% 

Ferric Oxide. ..... 1.50% 

Water, ..... 30.00 % 

Silica, ...... 2.22% 


U 


U 


U 


(1) Also contains Manganese Monoxide, trace, Lime 
0.50%, and Insoluble Residue 4.98%, and gives Loss by Igni¬ 
tion 30 . 08 %. Locality—Warhoo Bank. Analyst—Illinois 
Steel Company. 

(2) Contains large concretions. Sample by Dr.E,A.Smith, 
State Geologist. Locality—Gaines Hill Bank. Analyst— 
R. Swain Perry, Piedmont, Alabama. 

(3) Hard ore underlying soft ore. (4) Sampled by Dr. E. 
A. Smith, State Geologist. Locality—Warhoo Bank. Ana¬ 
lyst—Same as (3). 

(4) Soft ore over hard ore (3). Sampled by Smith and 
Perry. Locality and Analyst—Same as (3). 

(5) An average sample of ore under shed, shipped May 
18, 1892. Locality and Analyst—Same as 3 and 4. 

A recent special to the Engineering and Mining Journal 
states that the hard ore [3] is rapidly rising and cutting out 
the soft ore [4 |, and that with a little more digging the hard 
ore will lie the only ore of the bank. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


These analyses ot Alabama Bauxites compare most favorable 
with those of the ores of Europe and of Arkansas and Geor¬ 
gia. They show the Alabama ores to be of very fine quality. 
They, show to their credit a larger per centage of alumina and 
a lower per centage of ferric oxide than do any of the others, a 
lower per centage of silica than do those of Europe and of 
Arkansas, and a lower per centage of titanic acid than do 
those of Arkansas and Georgia. It is stated in a letter of Mr. 
Garvin’s that, as said by the manufacturers, while the Alabama 
[Cherokee] ores carry some less alumina than do the ores of 
Baux, France, [not verified, though by the above analyses], 
they are to be preferred because they are the more soluble. 
Their greater solubility may be due to the Baux ores carrying 
more clay or alumina silicate, or it may be due to some other 
cause. It ought to be said, however, that the Arkansas baux¬ 
ite analyses are more than likely of surface samples, and it 
may be that some of the other analyses are also of surface 
samples, and that the Alabama bauxites immediately on the 
outcrops appear to be much poorer ores than they are below 
the surface, and. as indicated by the following analyses, to give 
poorer analyses than any of the analyses given above. The 
surface samples, however, from which the following analyses 
were made, with perhaps the exception of [5], were not from 
the same localities, as those from which the above analyses 
were made, and so their inferiority or less per centages of 
alumina and greater per centages of silica may be due partly 
to their differences of locality, though they are believed to be 
mainly due to their being simply surface samples. Why baux¬ 
ites should have less alumina and more silica in their outcrops 
than they do below the surface, it is hard to say, but neverthe¬ 
less it seems to be true, if anything can be judged from their 
appearances, and from the following list of partial analyses of 
surface samples : [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] 

Alumina, - - 40.93 % 45.13 % 45.94 % 39.44 % 53.87 % 

Ferric of Oxide, 

Water of Comb. 

Silica, 


2.60 “ 

1.50 “ 

11.86 “ 

2.27 “ 

8.16 “ 

0.43 “ 

23.4 1 “ 

21.20 “ 

12.80 “ 

24.86 “ 

S.99 “ 

32.40 “ 

18.67 “ 

37.87 “ 

4.52 “ 


30 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

[1] An average of 2 partial analyses of the red bauxite on 
the outcrop. Locality—Calhoun County,Alabamu. Analysts— 
Chemist of United States Geological Survey and R. Swain 
Perry, Piedmont, Alabama. 

[2] An average of 2 partial analyses of the white bauxite 
on the outcrop. Locality and Analysts the same as of [1]. 

]3] A partial analysis of the Calhoun bauxite. Analyst— 
Dr. W. B. Phillips, University, Ala. 

[4] A partial analysis of the white or grey bauxite on the 
outcrop. Locality—Carr’s Bank, Cherokee County. Analyst— 
Dr. W. B. Phillips, University, Ala. 

[5] Taken from a small pamphlet descriptive of Piedmont. 
Alabama. Locality—A few miles from Piedmont, Alabama. 
Analyst—R. Swain Perry, Piedmont, Ala. 

Alonsr with the bauxite and limonite banks of Cherokee 

o 

County, Alabama, there are some very large bodies of clay. 
Much of this clay is very white and appears to be very pure. 
Some of it is mottled and some is of a deep red color. A great 
deal of it is without grit and has an unctuous feeling. It ap¬ 
pears to lie for the most part on top of the bauxite and under 
the limonite ore. It is very closely connected with the bauxite 
as they can in many places be seen to pass gradually one into 
the other. 

The Alabama bauxite has not as yet been mined in any 
great quantities, and only in surface diggings. Only two 
shippers have as yet engaged in the business, and both of these 
are at work on the Cherokee deposits. Both of these shippers 
are also engaged in the mining of Georgia bauxite. The first 
miners and shippers of this ore were the Southern Bauxite 
Mining and Manufacturing Company, of Piedmont, Alabama. 
They commenced to mine or dig the ore in November, 1891, 
and up to date have shipped about 3,600 tons, * and now have 
several hundred tons out under sheds drying. The second 
miners and shippers of this ore were the Republic Mining and 


*J. M. Garvin, Superintendent Bass Furnace Co., Rock Run, Ala. 








ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


3 1 


Manufacturing Company, of Hermitage, Georgia, the pioneers 
of the bauxite business in the South. They secured a lease of 
the bauxite property of the Bass Furnace Company in July, 
1892, and have up to date shipped about 1,300 tons. * They 
also have several hundred tons out under sheds drying. The 
Alabama bauxite shipments up to date therefore sum up to a 
total of only about =5,000 tons. The Southern Bauxite Mining 
and Manufacturing Company are not at present mining any 
Alabama ore, and have not been for some months. The other 
company are engaged in getting out the ore, but are not now 
doing any shipping. It is thought, however, that they will 
shortly resume the shipments of 40 to 50 tons per day. The 
mining of the ore requires a good deal of care and extra ex¬ 
pense, as the ore has to be assorted, and it is very deceptive in 
its appearance, pieces that are wholly unlike in appearance 
being very much alike in chemical composition. The ore is 
hauled in wagons from the banks to Rock Run, a distance of 
about three miles, and then over the private railroad of the 
Bass Furnace Company to Rock Run Station, on the E. T. V. 
& G. R. R., a distance of about three miles more. It is ship¬ 
ped to Philadelphia and Natrona, Penn., and to Syracuse, Buf¬ 
falo, and Brooklyn, N. Y., and to other places. 

Bauxite is used not only for the manufacture of the metal 
aluminum, but also for the manufacture of several of the alumi¬ 
num salts, as alum, sulphite of alumina, soda aluminate, etc. It 
is also valuable as a refractory mineral for the making of cru¬ 
cibles, fire bricks, etc. Bauxite bricks are said to be much 
more refractorv or much more infusible than ordinary fire clay 
bricks, but not quite so mueh so as almost pure silica bricks. 
They have the advantage, however, over the silica bricks, so it 
is stated, of not corroding so easily when lime is the flux. They 
have, however, the greater disadvantage or objectionable 
quality, as it is reported, of shrinking very much when highly 
heated, and of not adhering well to the fresh bauxite that is 
introduced to stop the shrinkage cracks. The Alabama 01 e 

* .1. M. Garvin, Superintendent Bass Furnace Co., Rock Run, Ala. 





32 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

that has been shipped has been principally used, so it is said ? 
for the manufacture of alum by the sulphuric acid method. 
This method requires that the insoluble matter shall not exceed 
7 per cent, and that the ferric oxide shall not exceed 2.75 per 
cent. The Alabama ores by the car loads, so it is said by Mr. 
Garvin, run close to these figures. It is said, however, that 
one consumer of the Alabama ores, in the use of another method 
for the manufacture of alum, requires that the ore carry from 
7 to 10 per cent of ferric oxide. 

Good or pure bauxite for the manufacture of aluminum is 
said to be worth about $10 per ton at Pittsburg. 

The Alabama bauxites, however, on account of the length 
and cost of haul over railroads, and on account of the cheap¬ 
ness of ocean freight, cannot now, so it is said, be put down in 
the present markets for them as cheaply as the Baux or France 
bauxites with which they come into competition. Were it not 
therefore for the superiority or greater solubility of the Ala¬ 
bama bauxites, and hence their greater value, they could not 
compete at all in the present markets with those from 
France. As it is, the profits are said to be small, and this 
more than likely accounts for the smallness and dullness of 
shipments. It is not likely, therefore, that the Alabama baux¬ 
ites will make the owners, miners or shippers of them rich, or 
will be a source of any great revenue to the State, until a home 
market is created for them. This, however, it is hoped, will 
soon be the case, as it is reported that the erection of an alumi¬ 
num plant is now under way at or near Rome, Georgia, and 
others of aluminum and alum are anxiously expected. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


33 


THE CLAYS OF ALABAMA. 


By Eugene A. Smith. 


The clays of Alabama which might be used for the manu¬ 
facture of fire brick and the better qualities of fine ware, be¬ 
long to several different geological horizons, which in the order 
of their geological age are as follows : i. The Crystalline 
Schists or Metamorphic formation. 2. The Cambrian and 
Lower Silurian. 3. The lowermost Cretaceous. The Ter¬ 
tiary. 

We shall give some details of the materials of each of these 
formations beginning with the oldest. 

I. THE CRYSTALLINE SCHISTS. 

The rocks of this formation contain very generally the 
mineral feldspar as an essential constituent. Upon the decay 
of feldspar, a hydrous silicate of alumina is left, while the alka¬ 
line constituent of the mineral is dissolved out and removed by 
the agency of atmospheric waters. The composition of this 
residue in its purest form is as below : 


ANALYSIS OF PURE KAOLIN. 


Silica, 

47.°. 

Alumina, 

- 39 - 4 - 

Water, 

H- 4 * 


Kaolin of this compositson results from the disintegration of 
feldspar and the removal of the potash or soda or lime in the 
form of silicate, but owing to the fact that kaolin is one of the 
most absorbent of substances, it is a rare thing to find in nature 
any such pure form of clay. The great bulk of our clays con¬ 
sist of kaolin more or less mixed with other materials, espe¬ 
cially with silica, and compounds of the alkalies, potash and 
soda, with lime and magnesia and with iron oxide. Some of 




34 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

these foreign substances do not injure the refractory quality of 
the clay, while others make it worthless for the manufacture of 
fire brick. The deleterious matters are the compounds of lime, 
magnesia, the alkalies and iron. 

At many points in the metamorphic region we find beds of 
white clay from the decomposition of feldspars, notably near 
Socapatoy, in Coosa County, near Louina, in Randolph 
County, in the north-west part of Randolph and adjacent parts 
of Cleburne County ; I have no analysis of the material from 
the first named locality, but in Tuomey’s second report we find 
an analysis of the Louina kaolin which is as follows : 

KAOLIN FROM NEAR LOUINA, RANDOLPH COUNTY. 


Silica, - - - • - - - 37.29 

Alumina, ...... 31.92 

Peroxide of iron, .... Trace. 

Potash, lime and magnesia, - - - 0.72 

Water, ------ 15.09 

Undecomposed mineral, - 14.28 


Prof. Tuomey remarks upon the absence of iron as a most 
favorable circumstance, and the small percentage of the potash, 
lime and magnesa is no less favorable. If we leave out of ac¬ 
count the undecomposed mineral, we find that the kaolin has 
very nearly the theoretical composition. 

This deposit has not yet as far as I am aware had attention 
from those interested in such matters, notwithstanding the re¬ 
commendation of Prof. Tuomey,who predicts that “when Ran¬ 
dolph has a railroad communication with the rest of the world, 
the discovery of procelain clay in the county will be properly 
appreciated, and Louina may one day become the seat of a 
great procelain manufactory.” 

In the north-western part of Randolph County there are 
other important beds of procelain and fire clay. The fire clay, 
according to information obtained from Mr. Geo. H. Mont¬ 
gomery, lies in the north half of township 19, range 11, and 


ALABAMA IN DURTIII A I, AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


35 


the west half of the northern half of township 19,range 10 east. 

The porcelain clay is in township 18, range 11 east, and the 
south half of township 17, range 11 east, the last named occur¬ 
rences being in Cleburne County somewhat west of Wood’s 
Copper Mine. Dr. Caldwell, of the Elyton Land Company, 
writing of these deposits to Mr. Montgomery says, “We have 
had the kaolin and fire clay thoroughly tested and examined. I 
know there are deposits of clay there practically inexhaustible 
in quantity and unsurpassed in quality. The clays have been 
thoroughly tested, both for pottery and fire brick. The pot¬ 
tery made from this clay took the first prize at the Art Institute 
Fair in Philadelphia December, 1890, and came in competition 
with the best pottery of America. The brick made from this 
clay, after being subjected to five thousand degrees of heat for 
a week along side of the best fire brick of this country, came 
out of the furnace unscathed while the others were melted. 
The party making the test says ‘brick made from this clay is 
practically infusible.’ ” 

If the Elyton Land Company should take hold of this mat¬ 
ter with the intention of making first-class pottery or firebrick, 
there can be no doubt about the result. 

2. THE CAMBRIAN AND SILURIAN FORMATIONS. 

Verv near the base of our fossiliferous rocks there are resi¬ 
dual beds derived from the decomposition of these rocks. 
Prominent among these residual matters are the brown iron 
ores which lie imbedded in clays of greater or less degree of 
purity. It is among these beds that we find the bauxites and 
kaolins which have lately been brought into notice in Calhoun 
and Cherokee counties. Perhaps the first analysis of a kaolin 
of this character is given in Tuomey’s second report. It is not 
easy to identify the locality, which is given simply as “a few 
miles north of Jacksonville.” 


36 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

KAOLIN FROM NEAR JACKSONVILLE. 


Silica, ------ 44.60 

Alumina, ------ 3S.92 

Peroxide of Iron, - 0.78 

Limp, Potash, etc., - 1.03 

Water. ------ 13.88 

Undecomposed mineral, - - - .90 


Prof. Tuomey in describing this locality, speaks of the beds 
of white and mottled clay, and remarks that the white clay is 
almost pure kaolin, or porcelain clay. 

In Cherokee County at the ore banks of the Rock Run Fur¬ 
nace Company, there is a magnificent bed of white kaolin or 
porcelain clay laid bare by the raising of the ore. I have no 
analysis of this material, but the appearance of the bed and its 
great breadth and thickness, not less than 30 feet by 100, make 
it one of the most extensive and probably the most valuable in 
the country. 

During the last few years, examinations have shown that 
some of the so-called white and mottled clays of this section 
are to be classed as bauxites, since they contain a very con¬ 
siderable percentage of uncombined alumina and iron oxide. 
In this form the alumina is in condition to yield the metallic 
aluminum, and for this purpose it has been extensively mined 
both in Georgia and in this State. 

Theoretically bauxite is a hydrated oxide of aluminum, or 
else a mixture of the hydrated oxides of aluminum and of iron, 
for both these compounds have been described by the mineralo¬ 
gists under the name of bauxite. This composition would be 


expressed by the following per centages : 

Alumina, - - - 74.1 

Water, - - - 25.0 

For the first variety, and for the second, containing the iron 
Alumina, - - - ^0.4 

Iron Oxide, - - - 26.1 

Water, - - - . 23.5 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


37 


As a matter of fact, we do not get the bauxites of this com¬ 
position, for they always contain some silica, probably from 
admixture with kaolin, also occasionally titanic acid, lime 
and other substances. The per centage of water is also usually 
a little higher in our bauxites than in the model above given 
probably from the great avidity with which the bauxite ab¬ 
sorbs moisture. 

Mr. McCalley's paper above will give a number of analyses 
made of the varieties of bauxite from Calhoun and Cherokee 
counties, from which it will be seen that the constituents vary 
between wide limits. It must be borne in mind, however,that 
this mineral has been thorougly tested only in Cherokee 

County, and that the Calhoun County material has been taken 
from near the surface and without any great care in the se¬ 
lection. 

As an example of the best qualities of this ore, I may give 
two analyses of the Warhoop ore from near Rock Run, in 
Cherokee. 

ANALYSES OF BAUXITE, CHEROKEE COUNTY. 

(0 O) 

Alumina, ----- 64.68 58.25 

Insoluble residue, silica, etc., - 4.98 2.22 

Iron oxide, ----- 1.50 

Manganese, ----- Trace. 

Lime, ------ .50 

Water,. 3 °-oS 3 °-°° 

Some time ago I had a lot of the bauxite from the Jackson¬ 
ville locality sent through the courtesy of Col. Montgomery, of 
the Jacksonville Company, to Mr. Carlyle, the manager of the 
Bessemer Fire Brick Works. 

It was tested by Mr. Carlyle, who makes the following re¬ 
port of the tests. “I have given the bauxite sent me from 
Jacksonville a very severy fire test. It stood the high heat with 
no sign of melting. 'It is non-plastic, and to make any grade 


38 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


of fire brick, should have some fusible or plastic clay for a 
bond.” I should think that this well worthy of a trial by those 
who wish to prove by practical tests the suitability of Alabama 
materials for fire brick. 

3. SUB-CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION. 

Near the base of this formation, and in close proximity to 
the underlying Black Shale, which is the representative in 
Alabama of the Devonian formation, we find in many localities 
a bed of white hard clay very nearly of the nature of the 
hctlloysite of the mineralogists. This is one of the most beauti¬ 
ful materials that occurs within our borders, especially the 
purer parts of it. There is, as you all know, a quarry or mine 
of it near Valley Head, in DeKalk County. It is used for fine 
porcelain ware, and the less pure portions for tiles and all 
kinds of better grade of stoneware. The locality mentioned is 
the only one where this bed is worked, so far as I know, yet I 
doubt not that other localities will be found which will yield 
equally good material in commercial quantity. 

4 . CRETACEOUS FORMATION. 

The lowermost of the strata of the Cretaceous age in Ala¬ 
bama are in the main sandy, but at various horizons occur beds 
of clay which, in my opinion, are more promising than any 
others in the State. These clays are plastic clays, and are dis¬ 
posed in beds that vary from almost paper-thin laminae to 
heavy beds almost massive. The clays are marked by an equal 
variety in color which ranges from pure white, through deli¬ 
cate shades of pink and yellow to red, purple and brown or 
chocolate color. 

The colors are mostly due to the presence of iron oxide, 
though some of the more delicate pink shades are probably 
caused by the presence of small traces of munganese. The sur¬ 
face distribution of these clays is very great, for they occupy a 


ALABAMA I N DURTIII A L AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


39 


belt which will average at least thirty miles in width, stretch¬ 
ing from Columbus, Georgia, to the north-west corner of this 
State, through Wetumpka, Centerville, Tuscaloosa, Fayette 
Court House, Vernon and Pikeville. Of course not a tenth of 
this area is occupied by the clays themselves, but they are 
found at intervals all through the area described. The forma¬ 
tion has been called the Tuscaloosa formation from the city of 
that name, and it can easily be followed far beyond the limits 
of Alabama, for it extends along the foot of the Appalachian 
chain to the north-east, certainlv to the Hudson River. These 
clay beds contain in places beautifully preserved impressions 
of leaves and other remains of plants, which have served to 
determine their geological age, which is as above mentioned, 
the lower Cretaceous. These beds have been named Potomac 
by Mr. McGee, of the United States Geological Survey, and 
were called many years ago the Raritan clays by Prof. Cook, 
State Geologist of New Jersey. Our Tuscaloosa plant-bearing 
beds have been found to be the geological equivalents of the 
Amboy clays of New Jersey. This circumstance ought to di¬ 
rect the serious attention of our enterprising brick makers to 
these clays, for it is well known that the New Jersey people 
have found a fortune in theij clays, and ours are of the very 
same nature. There is hardly a variety among the New Jersey 
clays that cannot be exactly matched here in Alabama. 

Prof. John C. Smock, the present State Geologist of New 
Jersev, writes me as follows : “That plastic cla^^s can be used 
successfully for the manufacture of fire brick and other refrac¬ 
tory products, is proven by the practice in this State. Some of 
the most noted fire brick makers in the country use these clays 
and no others.” 

Although the Tuscaloosa clays extend entirely across the 
State, they are purer and in greater abundance in that part of 
the belt extending from Bibb County to the Mississippi and 
Tennessee borders, but a fine bed of this clay has lately been ex- 
ami ned in Chilton County,near Mountain Creek, and traced up 
to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. 


40 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Last year Dr. George Little made for the Geological Survey a 
pretty thorough reconnaissance of these clays from Tuscaloosa 
northwestward, with the result of finding a number of locali¬ 
ties from which good commercial clavs of manv varieties mav 
easily be mined and shipped. We all know that they are 
gotten up at this time near Woodstock, and below Bibbville, 
and sent to Bessemer, for mixing with the imported clays. The 
brick works at Bibbville use material of this horizon, and Mr. 
Cribbs, at Tuscaloosa, Vvas for a long time engaged in working 
this clay into first-class stoneware. Near Fayette Court House is 
a fine bed of nearly white clay of this age, and a light gray clay 
with many plant impressions is found about Shirley’s Mill, not 
manv miles south of Fayette Court House. At Glen Allen,on 
the Kansas City road, there is a great cut through these clavs 
exposing fifteen or twenty feet vertical thickness of them. 
Above Pikeville, at Chalk Bluff', there is a great abundance of 
fine white hard clav of this age, called chalk from its purity. 
This clay has the following composition : 

CLAY FROM CHALK BLUFF. 


Silica, 47.20 

Alumina, ------ 37.76 

Ferric oxide, - .91 

Lime, potarsh, etc., - Trace. 

Water, ------ 14..24 


This is astonishingly close in composition to pure kaolin as 
above shown in analysis. I know of no locality that shows 
better promise, when we consider the quality and easy acces¬ 
sibility of Ihe material. The exposure at Chalk Bluff'is about 
ten feet vertical thickness, but inasmuch as nothing has been 
done to exhibit the whole bed by removing the cover of de¬ 
bris, we cannot say how much thicker the bed really is. No 
railroad passes very near Chalk Bluff'—the Sheffield and Bir¬ 
mingham being at the nearest, about ten miles off'. 

At my request, Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, last year, made some 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


4 1 


comparative fire tests of a number of these clays, using the 
Mount Savage clay as a standard. His results show that there 
are many localities in Tuscaloosa, Lamar, Fayette, and Col¬ 
bert counties, where clays occur that fuse with difficulty before 
the oxhydrogen blow-pipe, and are about as refractory as the 
Mount Savage material. Very few chemical analyses have 
been made, owing to the departure of Dr. Phillips from the 
State, but enough is known to enable me to say that we have 
in our Tuscaloosa formation the greatest abundance of mate¬ 
rials of similar nature with the New Jersey clays, and of the 
same geological age, and I am certain that there is no applica¬ 
tion of these clays made in New Jersey that we cannot equally 
well make with our Tuscaloosa clays. It is the most inviting 
field for those who are interested in seeing manufactories of 
fire brick, tiles, and all kinds of pottery, established in this 
State. The material is here ready to hand for those who will 
utilize it. 

5. TERTIARY FORMATION. 

In what has been called the Buhrstone division of the Ala¬ 
bama Tertiary, there is a hard silicious clay that breaks with 
conchoidal fracture like the Chalk Bluff clays above mentioned, 
and like the Mount Savage clay. It is, however, very light, 
or has low specific gravity as compared with the latter. A 
sample of it was analyzed for me by Dr. Phillips, as below : 

hard clay (tertiary) choctaw county. 

Silica, - - - - 36.30. 

Alumina, - - - 5.12 

Oxide of iron, - - 1.60 

Lime, ----- .46 

Water and volatile,- 6.60 

Mr. Carlyle, at Bessemer, made up some of this material 
into a brick which was subjected to the highest heat at his 
command. It showed no sign of melting, and in his opinion 
was all right so far as its refractoriness was concerned, but it 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


4 3 

lacked the weight that ene looks for in fire brick. I am bound 
to believe, however, that, with proper mixing with suitable 
bond, this material will be available for fire brick, and if this 
should be the case, it can be had in unlimited quantity along 
both Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. The analysis shows 
that this is rather a mass of silica mixed with a little clay, and 
as it contains very little iron, lime, or other base for combina¬ 
tion with the silica, it is practically infusible—i.e., nearly as 
infusible as silica itself. 

In the latest tertiary formation of South Alabama, in the 
counties of Washington, Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, and Cov¬ 
ington, there are also beds of fine plastic clays of considerable 
extent, that deserve attention, for they are undoubtedly suited 
to the manufacture of the coarser kinds of pottery, tiles, drain¬ 
pipes, and similar products. 

From the above sketch, it will be seen that Coal and Iron 
are not the only great mineral productions of our State, for we 
have clays of quality suitable for the manufacture of every 
kind of brick and stoneware made in any part of the world. 
Our great lack is the skilled and experienced workmen who 
know how to properly mix and temper these clays to fit them 
for the various processes. It will, of course, take time to con¬ 
vince the users of fire brick, and similar material, that brick 
made from our clays will serve their purposes as well as those 
from other States. They are not willing to make costly ex¬ 
periments with unknown and untried products, but the manu¬ 
facture of every kind of ware from Alabama material is only a 
qusstion of time. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


43 


SURVEYING AND OPENING MINES—HOW TO 
PREPARE WORKING MAPS. 


By George H. Montgomery. 


In treating the subject ot engineering, I want to consider 
especially that branch of engineering termed mine engineering? 
and so essential in developing the mineral wealth of a country. 

The civil engineer takes a very prominent and important 
part in finding and building highways to a market for these 
same minerals. The mechanical engineer is required for the 
economical handling of these minerals in their preparation for 
market, and thus the mining, civil, and mechanical engineer 
necessarily go hand in hand in all mining and developing en¬ 
terprises. I wish, however, at this time to treat solely of the 
duties of the mining engineer in the 

COAL MINES OF ALABAMA. 

The increasing mineral development of this State calls for 
increasing care and accuracy on the part of the mining engi¬ 
neer on whose judgment and accuracy not only the funds of 
his employers are involved, but the lives of all those engaged 
underground. 

Mining operations in the South have, comparatively speak¬ 
ing, just begun, and are now in their infancy, and now is the 
time to form safe rules and accurate foundations for the more 
extensive and more complicated work of the near future. This 
is the time to profit by what has been learned in the mines of 
the North bv the thorough and rigid school of experience, and 
the demand for systematic and accurate work has shown itself 
to be an absolute necessity in the Northern States engaged in 
mining enterprises. This new country and these new mining 






/ 


44 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

industries can start right and save not only thousands of dol¬ 
lars but innumerable lives. 

The amount of mine engineering done is regulated to a great 
extent by the State laws on the subject, and every year these 
laws are becoming more and more exacting. To take the his- 
torv of mine engineering in Pennsylvania, where more capital 
is engaged in mining than in any other State in the Union, the 
progress made is an interusting story. 

In the early mining of Pennsylvania’s coal deposits, the 
mining engineer was never required except to blaze out the 
land lines, more with a view to cutting the timber on the 
company’s property than to confining mining operations to the 
company’s land. The engineer was confined to a jacob’s staff, 
compass and chain, for this work, and was only occasionally 
required underground to line up some slope or inside workings. 
The result was that properties were mined out by the early 
owners regardless of their land lines, as they went it blind 
under the surface without maps, and all was guess work. . The 
workings were abandoned as exhausted or deserted for what 
were considered more profitable tracts, and in many cases these 
old workings have filled up with water or with gas, and so 
badly caved that they are now impassable, and millions of tons 
of coal that good mining should have secured, is now lost for¬ 
ever in these old abandoned workings. 

The first mining was done, as well as can be ascertained, at 
that time, on the choicest, easiest mined, and consequentlv 
most profitable tracts, with the idea that the supplv was sim¬ 
ply inexhaustible, and, like the small boy, they ate their pie 
first. 

As the years have advanced, mining methods as well as eve¬ 
rything else have progressed, and that which was considered 
impracticable years ago is now practicable, as necessity has 
fostered invention, and what at one time in Pennsylvania was 
supposed to be inexhaustible is now limited and described by 
time boundaries, and with the rssistance of thorough mine en¬ 
gineering, economy is being practiced. There are many tracts 


l 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


45 


that were exhausted years ago, according to the old school of 
mining methods, that have yielded golden rewards to those 
who secured them and were able to reopen and operate them 
on later day methods. But even now, throughout the coal 
fields of Pennsylvania are buried millions and millions of tons 
of valuable fuel that never can be utilized, owing to imperfect 
mining methods of the pioneer operators when the supply was 
considered inexhaustible. 

The necessity of economy in mining is becoming more appa¬ 
rent every day, and every operator should have a true and 
faithful delineation of all his workings underground. It is 
often found necessary in coal mines to re-enter abandoned 
workings to secure a certain quality of coal and the expenses 
of such operations are often increased many times the cost of 
accurate surveys, by the fact that correct maps were not made 
while these same workings were in operation. 

Because certain coal or mineral deposits indicate inexhausti¬ 
ble supply when first opened is no excuse for careless waste in 
apparent cheap mining by selecting the cream of the deposit. 
This is more than likely to prove very expensive in the end. 

Every mining engineer has his peculiar hobby as to best 
method to conduct a mine survey, and whatever that hobby is, 
it should have accuracy for its foundation ; accuracy first and 
then economy should be stunied in all mine surveys, and every 
one engaged in any way in a mine survey should be known by 
the engineer in charge to be reliable and to have assistants who 
will follow his instructions implicitly. 

The corps should consist of five men wherever it is possible 
and of this corps of five men, three cheap men can be secured 
about the mines to perform the duties assigned them by the en¬ 
gineer in charge. One method that I can recommend for rapid, 
accurate and economical work, is for the engineer in charge to 
run the transit, and under no consideration should the needle 
be depended on, except to check the angle read from the 
vernier, or for short lines through rooms or chambers where 
accurate transit work is impossible, and then frequent ties to 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


transit lies should be made, and care taken to set up instru¬ 
ments where there is as little attraction to needle as possible. 

TO START THE SURVEY OF A MINE 

it is first necessary to locate accurately the boundary lines of the 
property, establish stone or iron monuments at the corners, and 
always start surveys on true meridian if possible, and in estab¬ 
lishing true meridian or assuming a base line on magnetic 
meridian, have two, and, if possible, several points on the sur¬ 
face that are not movable, and which can be termed permanent 
stations of the survey, and that can be found and used at any 
future time. 

Make the base line as long as possible, and from it calculate 
all courses inside and outside of the mine. If the opening to 
mine er slope, drift or tunnel, the line should be run twice, un¬ 
less another outlet is made for the same, which is generally 
necessary for ventilating purposes, and in that case run lines in 
one opening and out the other, so as to make a tie or closed 
survey. 

If the only opening is one shaft which is divided into hoist¬ 
ways and airways, then set two wires on head of shaft on cer- 
train line, ascertaining course of line on surface and descend to 
bottom of shaft and drop lines of fine copper wire with heavy 
plumb-bobs attached, on this same line. Then after these lines 
have become steady and no vibration occurs in either, set up 
the transit and shift it into line until the vertical hair intersects 
both wires. You then have starting course inside or under the 
ground to correspond with meridian true or assumed as estab¬ 
lished on the surface, and on this inside base line turn your 
angles and make your inside surveys. 

In the case of two shafts to one mine, drop a wire down each 
shaft and make a tie survey on the surface and calculate course 
and distance between two weres on this survey. Then inside 
make another tie survey betwen the wires, calculate course and 
distance between them, and if distance agrees with outside 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


47 


distance, then correct inside courses to outside courses and con¬ 
tinue the surveys, thus having same meridian inside and out¬ 
side—and establish permanent and lasting stations under 
ground from which to run surveys at any future time. 

It is frequently a difficult matter to establish stations in coal 
mines that can easily be found, and that will last for any length 
of time, owing to low or wet roof. When the roof will permit 
of it, an excellent way 

TO ESTABLISH STATIONS 

is to drill a small hole about ^ inch in diameter and to the 
same depth, and around this with white paint put a circle, 
square, or triangle, and paint the number of station near it on 
the roof. Stations in notched ties of tramroads are short-lived 
and unreliable, from the fact that cars constantly passing over 
cause track to shift. Ties are constantly being renewed and 
pushed out of place by cars jumping off the track, etc. 

Another method for roof stations is to drill a small hole with 
one-fourth inch bit and shoulder hrace in the roof, drive in this 
hole a plug of wood that fits it tightly and in the wood drive a 
spad. The spads, as we call them, can be made very cheaply 
from horse-shoe nails by flattening the heads and punching small 
hole through them and cutting off point of nail so that spad 
will be about inches long. In workings that are heavily 
timbered spads are very useful and every corps should have a 
supply on hand, and these like the small drill holes should be 
painted and numbered. In the use of spads a long string with 
plumb bob attached can be suspended from the hole for the 
fore and back sight, and with aid of a true bob, point can be 
accurately set on the bottom to set the transit over, or the bob 
can be suspended over top of transit while it is being set up. 
But this last practice is not very safe so far as safety of transit 
is concerned as through carlessness, I have known the bob to 
be dropped on the transit, badly damaging the instrument. 

All measurements inside and outside bet ween stations should 


4 S 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


be made with a reliable steel tape, graduated every foot. I 
consider one 300 feet long as most convenient for mine work. 
The chain should never used, and all steel tape measurements 
between stations on transit work, should be read to the one 
hundreth part of a foot. Great care must be exercised in 
having the tape level when measuring and being perfectly 
straight between the two points to he measured. This can be 
accomplished best by taking all measurements at time of doing 
the transit work and having the tape always between the in¬ 
strument station and fore sight station, or between back sight 
station and instrument. 

Every instrument on the pitch should have angle carefully 
measured by vertical arm on circle of the transit, and if verti¬ 
cal angles are taken between all stations,, elevations can be 
readily and very cheaply worked out, and levels in this way 
can be taken accurately enough for all practical purposes at a 
very slight cost. 

It is a false idea of economy to have a cheap boy to read the 
measurements. Accurate measurements are as necessary as 
accurate angles, and an error in either makes the survey value¬ 
less. While the transit is being set up, the tape should be 
stretched on line from one station to the other, and ribs of 
gangways, rooms, etc., occurring between the two stations, ac¬ 
curately located inside, noted by the man in charge of the tape, 
and after sights have been taken and angles recorded by transit 
man, he can assist in making the total measurement, and then 
move ahead to next station with his instrument. 

A 50 foot metallic or linen tape should be furnished the side 
note man, for taking his off-sets, as guessing at side measure¬ 
ments in gloom of a coal mine is decidedly inaccurate, and the 
faithful representation of pillers on the map is very necessary. 

I prefer to keep the tape between the transit and foresight 
station, so that one cheap man or boy can assist either the side 
note man or the foresight man, or both if necessary. Arrange 
to have a reliable boy or cheap man in advance to put up sta¬ 
tions and give sight, then side note man, with a boy assistant, 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


as a boy is much more active than a man for such work as 
measuring off-sets and assisting foresight, etc. Then the transit 
man and for back sight a boy or cheap man to give sight when 
called for to hold light in setting up instrument, attending 
doors, carrying oil, and in fact a general utility man. 

With this arrangement, and good men in above positions, 
surveys can be made rapidly and accurately. System must be 
observed, and everyone must have his duties to perform, so 
that nothing in the survey is forgotten or neglected while on 
the work. Side notes and transit notes should be kept in 
separate volumes, and all notes should be made full and com¬ 
prehensive and on the simplest plan possible, but do not spare 
a line to describe any part of the survey. The station numbers 
should never be repeated in the same mine,and in that way much 
trouble and confusion in locating workings, courses, etc., can 
be avoided. 

Notes properly recorded should be so plain that cfny other 
engineer could pick them up and utilize them at any time in 
the future, if necessary, and the memory should never be trust¬ 
ed to locate anything on the map after leaving the mines. 

THE WORKING MAP 

of the mine should show land lines, surface improvements, any 
and all streams or water ways, and not more than one vein 
should be platted on one sheet. The scale of ioo feet to the 
inch is a very convenient one, and all the stations as run in the 
mine should be shown on the map and neatly numbered to 
correspond with those painted inside. In this way the mine 
superintendent can more readily locate his workings, and locate 
instantly, or describe pillars that appear too large or too small, 
etc. If an elevation is taken by vertical angles on each station, 
the contours of the mines can readily he established, and is a 
great aid at very slight additional cost. 

Surveys should be connected both inside and outside the 
mines as frequently as possible, and thus keep them constantly 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


checked up. The platting requires careful work, and the en¬ 
gineer should guard against extremes in accuracy over certain 
portions of the work. For instance, I recall one man who 
kept his transit in excellent adjustment and read his vernier to 
a nicety, and was a regular fanatic on making tie surveys to 
close his angles, yet he measured all his distances with an old 
worn out chain usually badly broken and patched, guessed at 
his sub-divisions of feet, and then platted his work with a mag¬ 
nifying glass to insure accuracy. 

Another man went to the other extreme by measuring with 
300 feet steel tape, and trying to put a certain pressure ort each 
100 feet of tape out in measurements, and allowing for the ex¬ 
pansion of contraction of his steel tape under atmospheric 
changes; read his vernier to half minutes, splitting hairs on his 
instrument work, and yet when he reached the office these sur¬ 
veys would be platted with a ricketty T square and protractor 
on a table with a rainbow edge. 

Extremes should be avoided and careful systematic work 
should be observed in every department, and the duties of the 
mining engineer cannot be done lightly or carelessly. 

As much or more care should be taken with the surveys of a 
mine as is taken with the books of the operating company, and 
as the operator or manager of the company is able to take up 
his balance sheet each month, and see the financial condition of 
his company, so should he be able to take up his mine maps at 
certain periods, and see exactly the shape and condition of his 
workings. 



PROceejPWGS 


OF THE 


f lakrna jjttteind attl jcmvHk 


volume; hi. 


1 893 . 



















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 

ALABAMA 

Industrial and Scientific Society. 

voL u me: hi. 

1 803 . 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


Secretary’s Office, 

University P. O., 

Alabama 


BURTON & WEATHERFORD, TUSCALOOSA, ALA. 




OFFICERS. 


18SJ3. 


PRESIDENT. 

Erskine Ramsay, - - - Pratt City, Ala. 


VICE PRESIDENTS. 


J. W. Burke, 
Horace Harding, 
T. H. Aldrich, - 
J. M. McKleroy, 
L. C. Harrison, - 
F. M. Jackson, 


Jacksonville, Ala 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala 
Anniston, Ala. 
Warrior, Ala. 
Brook wood, Ala. 


TREASURER. 


TIenry McCalley, - - University, Ala. 


SECRETARY 


Eugene A. Smith, 


- University, Ala. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Proceedings of Spring Meeting, (Annual Meeting). 5 

Proceedings of Autumn Meeting. 9 

Address of Retiring President— C. A. Meissner . 14 

On Coke —Richard Thomas.17 

On the Generation of Steam by the Use of Blast Furnace Gases, 

J Weidman Murray. ... 31 

Ti-ie Proper Grading of Southern Pig Iron— A. E. Barton.35 

On the Generation of Steam from the Waste Heat and Gases of 

Coke Ovens—Erskine Ramsay .40 








I 

■' 
































* 










. 






t 









' 

. 

. • 












• N 


' 

c-i-. ' , ' 

































* 


' 


' 




j ' 




j > 




1 




v 

' • 


















I 
















■ 

* 

- 











ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


5 


PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 
AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


SPRING MEETING. 

Office of T. H. Aldrich., 

No. 1916^ Morris Avenue, Birmingham, Ala., 

May 30, 1895. 

The meeting was called to order by the President, C. A. 
Meissner, at 8 130 P. M. There were present, Messrs. T. H. 
Aldrich, C. A. Meissner, W. B. Phillips, Richard Thomas, 
Herman Alber, J. B. McCormack, H. F. Wilson, Jr., E. A. 
Smith, J.H. Pratt, Thomas Seddon, C. Cadle, J. DeB. Hoop¬ 
er, H. Friel. 

The reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dis¬ 
pensed with, since these have already been printed in the Pro¬ 
ceedings and distributed among the members. 

The President then read his address. (This is printed in 
this volume of Proceedings.) 

ELECTION OF NEW MEMBERS. 

Mr. Aldrich proposed the name of Mr. A. E. Barton, w r ho 
was elected by acclamation. 

Mr. Seddon proposed the following which was adopted :— 

Resolved , That it is the sense of this Society, that every 
effort should be made to build an export and import trade in 
the Gulf Ports. 

Mr. Seddon also moved that the Secretary be relieved from 
payment of the annual dues, as an offset for his services. Car¬ 
ried. 

READING OF PAPERS. 

Mr. H. F. Wilson, Jr., who had been requested at the last 



6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

meeting to prepare a paper on the Birmingham Water Works, 
stated that he had been obliged to excuse himself because of 
the impossibility of doing this work in addition to what he 
has had to do in the office. He was requested to prepare the 
paper for the next meeting, which he thought he could do. 

He, however, placed before the meeting some accurately 
measured and platted sections across Red Mountain. These 
sections were constructed to scale, from actual measurements 
and levels, and showed a striking variation in the dip of the 
strata cropping out on Red Mountain and of those cropping 
out in the Sub-Carboniterous chert ridge. 

In the discussions which followed the examinations of these 
sections, Mr. Seddon called attention to the importance of 
the dip in the economical relations of the ores of iron. 

Dr. Smith spoke of the fact that a cross section of Mur- 
phree’s Valley showed a correspondingly greater dip in the 
strata of the Red Mountain, than in the beds of the overiving 
Sub-Carboniferous. 

Mr. Aldrich called attention to the want of parallelism of 
the fault of Grace’s Gap with the trend of Red Mountain. The 
fault was nearly north and south, while the trend of the moun¬ 
tain is northeast and southwest. 

Mr. McCormack, at the request of Mr. Aldrich read some 
statistics which had been prepared by Mr. Ramsay, showing 
the increase of the percentage and gain in quality of coke made 
at Pratt Mines from coal that had been washed. This paper 
was returned with the request that Mr. Ramsay furnish the 
Secretary, for publication, a complete account of the experi¬ 
ments made. 

Mr. Seddon, in remarks on this paper, gave his experience 
with ten ovens, in each of which there was a difference of 
i .6% per ton in favor of washed coal over the unwashed. 

Mr. McCormack remarked that the washed coal could be 
recognized at the door of the oven, by the difference in the 
amount of braise. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


>■* 

/ 


Mr. Seddon said that the coke of the washed coal can be 
much more easily drawn, hence there should be either a reduc¬ 
tion of the wages of the oven men or an increase of the charge, 
keeping the wages as they are. The latter had been adopted 
by the Sloss Company. 

In discussing the question whether the wetness or dryness 
of the coal when charged into the ovens had any effect upon 
the quality of the coke, Mr. Aldrich said that there was a 
slight deterioration in the coke near the door, but the coke as 
a whole showed very little injury from being coked wet. Mr. 
McCormack sees no difference. Mr. Meissner thought that at 
Mary Lee Mines the coke that had been coked too wet was 
not so good. The process of washing was probably the cause 
of the trouble. Mr. Barton did not think there was much 
difference in the quality of the coke, whether coked wet or 
dry. Mr. McCormack thought that the coke from washed 
coal was harder. This matter was, also, further discussed by 
Messrs. Aldrich, Dr. Phillips, and Mr. Thomas. 

Mr. Barton, then by request gave a short account of some 
experiments made by him for concentrating Red Mountain 
ores. Mechanical methods had been tried without success ; 
but it was found that by heating the ore in producer gas or in 
the gas from the coke ovens, it was made magnetic and could 
then be separated from the silica by means of a magnet. 
It was found possible in this way to magnetize large pieces 
which could then be crushed and in small fragments easily 
separated by the magnet. The hard caleareous ores when 
similarly treated, and then made wet would slake and crum¬ 
ble to pieces, making the concentration by the magnet easy. 
The process promises to be successful economically, and the 
Tennessee Coal & Iron Co. will put up the apparatus for 
testing this on a large scale. Dr. Phillips gave an account of 
the concentration of magnetic ores in the Northern States and 
illustrated his remarks with specimens. 

Mr. Thomas then read a paper on coke which will be found 


8 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


in the proceedings of this Society for the current year. This 
paper was discussed by Mr. Aldrich who exhibited some sam¬ 
ples of coke made from washed coal and from disintegrated 
but not washed coal. 

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 

The ballots which were sent by mail from members not 
present and the ballots of those present were next counted and 
the result announced as follows/. 

OFFICERS FOR 1893. 

President, Ershine Ramsay. 

Vice-President, F. M. Jackson. 

Vice-President, L. C. Harrison. 

The result of the vote was announced,and owing to the late¬ 
ness of the hour, and the necessity of catching the last dummy 
by some of the members, the reading of the synopsis of the 
minutes of this meeting was dispensed with and the meeting 
was adjourned, to reconvene at the call of the President some 
time during the autumn months. 


Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


9 


AUTUMN MEETING. 


Birmingham, Ala., November 24, 1893. 

Meeting was called to order at 8 :20 p. m., and in the ab¬ 
sence of President E. Ramsay, Cornelius Cadle occupied the 
chair. The following were present : 

Barton, Wilson, Aldrich, Cadle, Squire, Prochaska, Phillips, 
Smith, Murray, A. G. Davis, Frank Smith, Mr. Sayler and 
Mr. Boyer. 

Minutes of last meeting read and approved. 

Mr. J. Weidman Murray read a paper on the “Generation 
of Steam by the Use of Blast Furnace Gases,” after which a 
general discussion ensued. (The complete paper will be 
found in this volume). 

Dr. Phillips then read a paper on the “Improvement of the 
Iron Ores of this District,” which was discussed, as follows : 
(Dr. Phillips is still posecuting these investigations and with¬ 
holds his paper from publication at present, with the expecta¬ 
tion of presenting the complete paper later.) 

T. H. Aldrich : I would like to say that there are some 
things that Dr. Phillips did not bring out in his paper. For 
some years we have only been mining from twelve to fifteen 
feet of ore out of twenty-two feet, and we have twenty-two 
feet for an average for some miles more or less. We have 
now somewhere in the neighborhood of a million tons, more 
or less, of iron ore, exposed, stripped and ready for loading, 
but have no use for it, it running twenty-five to thirty-four 
per cent in silica. For this reason we have never been able 
to put it in a blast furnace. The ore will average fully forty 
per cent in iron and the cost of this ore delivered at the fur- 
nace, we will say, is fifty-five cents per ton before concentrat¬ 
ing. I have been offered contracts to deliver it at this price. 
This being the case, and taking Dr. Phillips’ figures, we see 



IO 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


that the concentration will at once make available a vast 
amount of low grade or rather high silica ore. 

At Lone Pine Gap Ridge, the vein of ore is sixteen feet 
thick, and as it goes down towards Bessemer gets less silicious 
and improves in quality. In the large vein opposite Birming¬ 
ham, it is 16 feet thick in the main ledge and contains 40 per 
cent of iron and 40 per cent of silica. With this concentrated 
to 62 per cent of iron and 12 per cent of silica, the process 
would be of immense value, and every bit of this iron can be 
utilized. The process is a great deal more valuable than the 
Doctor has brought out in his paper. 

C. Cadle : I think there are some present who have not 
read of the magnetization and concentration process. Will 
Dr. Phillips explain it? 

Dr. Phillips : Mr. Barton is here and will explain the 
Barton-McCormack process. 

Mr. Barton : The Barton-McCormack process of magne¬ 
tization of ore consists in passing any reducing gas,preferably, 
Carbonic oxide over red hot, or white hot ore, when the ses- 
quioxide is reduced to magnetic oxide. This can be done in 
any suitable furnace. 

Mr. Aldrich : The Tennessee Company is now starting 
to build a roasting furnace and experimental plant at Bessemer 
for the purpose of testing this roasting and concentration, and 
intend to make a practical experiment on a large scale, and at 
same time, will probably see whether the roasting of hard 
ores is worthy of consideration. We shall probably be in po¬ 
sition at our next meeting to announce some results. 

Dr. Phillips : Another great advantage in the process 
would be the manufacture of low silicon iron for use in open 
hearth steel plants, because the low silicon character of the 

burden will enable us to use two-thirds concentrates and the 

« 

burden will only contain from ten to twelve per cent of silica, 
while now it is more like 16 to 17 per cent. 

Mr. Aldrich : In a talk I had with Mr. Woodward a 
short time ago, he said that one of our great difficulties is the 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. II 

variable character of our raw material, which was bound to 
give us a great variation in our product, and that with a high 
grade ore we could calculate much better what kind of results 
we were going to get. The process would make our ore more 
uniform. 

During the reading of Dr. Phillips’ paper, President Ram¬ 
say came in and relieved Mr. Cadle from presiding. 

Mr. A. E. Barton next read a paper on the “Grading of 
Southern Pig Iron.” (Printed in full in this volume,) This 
was followed by remarks, as follows : 

Dr. Phillips : I think it is a very excellent paper and 
directs attention to a matter which is very important. I had 
a talk with a representative of Mathew, Addy & Co., about 
selling iron on analysis, and he stated that the sellers would 
be in favor of such a proposition, but that the consumers 
would be opposed to it, and a great many causes of dispute 
would be avoided I think if the analysis accompanied the 
shipment as suggested in Mr. Barton’s paper. I heard Mr. 
Kenneth Robertson read a paper here, at a meeting of the 
American Institute of Mining Engineers, on the grading of 
pig iron, and he stated there was too much of a multiplication 
of grades in our pig irons here, and that some of the grades 
should be eliminated, and the grades should be based on analy¬ 
sis. This is coming about now, and now-a-days when silicon 
estimations can easily be made in the laboratory, there is no 
longer any reason for not knowing the composition of iron. It 
formerly took from two to three days to make silicon estima¬ 
tions, but now it can be done in a few minutes, frequently in 
fifteen minutes, and Mr. Ford, of Pennsylvania, has made one 
in twelve minutes by his method. Three silicon estimations 
can easily be made in one and a half hours, and ten to twelve 
in a day, going to work at eight and knocking off' at four or 
five. Thus are the improvements in mechanical analysis bring¬ 
ing about the possibility of knowing exactly what you are do¬ 
ing in every cast. 

Mr. C. Cadle : Is it not a fact that a great many of the 


12 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


smaller manufacturers and foundrymen know very little about 
the analysis, knowing only something about sulphur? 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : It has been my misfortune to find that 
makers can refine things to such a point that customers would 
not pay for it, and the question is, whether it will pay to do 
this? This is the great question, but I think customers may 
be educated to that point, where they would be willing to 
pay something for a guaranteed analysis and the extra expen¬ 
diture to give them what.they want. 

Mr. E. Ramsay: They pay now different prices for differ 
ent grades. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : It is impossible for a man to know 
exactly what kind of iron to ship, unless he knows what the 
iron is to be used for, and a good practical seller of iron who 
gets around among his customers finds this out, and is conse¬ 
quently very successful in sending the right kind. 

Mr. H. F. Wilson, Jr., next exhibited some drawings of 
‘‘Sections through Red Mountain,’’ and explained them to the 
meeting. Mr. Wilson prepared no paper, but it was the sense 
of the meeting that the maps should be made a part of the 
proceedings. 

Mr. E. Ramsay read a paper on the “Generation of Steam 
from Waste Heat and Gases of Coke Ovens.” Printed in full 
in this volume. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : Mr. President, I would like to ask 
the danger of explosive mixtures. 

Mr. Ramsay : Have had no trouble at this plant, but at 
No, 3 plant, we attempted to burn the gases and we went to 
a good deal of trouble and expense, and found explosions 
would take place every second and the gases rush back into 
this large flue. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : Did you not get better results when 
you got every thing tight? 

Mr. Ramsay : Yes sir. I arranged to mix the air with 
the gases as freely as possible as they do under a blast furnace 
boiler, and found that I had the best results when everything 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 1^ 

was tight. I almost despaired of success, and was on the point 

of abandoning the whole thing, and as a last resort stopped up 

all the leaks and holes with mud, and from this on it began to 

« ® 

work and make plenty of steam. 

Mr. H. F. Wilson : How is the Standard Company get¬ 
ting along with their experiment of making tar at their coke 
ovens? 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : I understand they have abandoned it. 
At this point, the President stated as it was growing late 
and he had a little business to bring before the meeting, he 
thought it best to stop the discussion and take up the business. 
The following were proposed for membership in the Society: 
C. E. Bowron, Mining Engineering, T. C. I. & R. R. Co., 
Tracy City, Tenn. 

J. G. Moore, Asst. Supt. T. C. I. & R. R. Co.,Pratt City,Ala. 
J. W. Minor, with Pioneer Mining & Mfg. Co.,Thomas,Ala. 
J. H. McCune, Asst, to Pres. Sloss I. & S. Co., Bgh’m, Ala. 
H.W.Perry, Mgr. Coal Mines S. I. & S. Co., Coalburg, Ala. 
P.H.Haskell,Asst. Chemist,T. C. I. & R. R. Co.,Ensley, Ala. 
E.A.Uhling,Supt. Blast Furnaces, S. I. & S. Co.,Bgh’m,Ala. 
S. Boyer, with Sloss Iron & Steel Co., Birmingham, Ala. 

J. Weidman Murray, Supt. Linn Iron Works, T. C. I. & R. 
R. Co., Birmingham, Ala. 

The President stated that as there was not a sufficient num¬ 
ber of the Council present to act on the applications, he wbuld 
suggest that the by-laws be suspended and the gentlemen 
elected at once, and would like to have a motion to this effect. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich : I move that the by-laws be suspend¬ 
ed and the gentlemen be elected by viva voce vote. Seconded 
and carried. 

At the request of the President the Secretary made a few 
remarks as to the financial condition of the Society. He stated 
that there were $30.00 in bank and that he had collected $20.00 
this evening, making a total of $50.00. 

On motion adjourned. 


Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


H 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, C. A. MEISSNER. 


Gentlemen of the Industrial and Scientific Society : 

Since you did me the honor of electing me President of 
this Society, it has been my misfortune to meet you so little 
that I have often felt it had perhaps been better for the Soci¬ 
ety to have conferred this honor on some one more able to at¬ 
tend to its duties. The great interest and high capabilities of 
our worthy Vice President have, however, so efficiently re¬ 
placed the enforced lack of co-operation on my part, that it is 
a question in my mind whether such lack was not rather ben¬ 
eficial than otherwise to the Society. 

While the last year has perhaps not been a very prosperous 
one for the Society, yet I feel that in these times of industrial 
depression, we must be well content if we have held our own. 
It is always a difficult matter in times like those passed 
through in the last year to keep up the interest of members 
and hold them together. As one member expressed it to me 
the other day, there is so much mental and physical effort 
needed to keep body and soul together, attended by the inevi¬ 
table worry, that the mind is not sufficiently clear and willing 
to readily take up matters of a purely scientific or experimen¬ 
tal nature, yet I must sincerely and earnestly urge all members 
to hold together, and remember that when better times do 
come, we then have the members fully organized and ready to 
make this Society one of the weight carrying and influential 
organizations in the world of industrial and scientific activity 
and thought. 

The last year has been one of peculiar hardship to the iron 
trade, yet it has shown the wonderful strength and reserve 
force of this section of it. While some of our smaller concerns 
have preferred to lie idle rather than attempt to compete with 




15 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

the piesent markets, yet the material improvement in the iron 
plants of this section has been very marked. The plants have 
been improved, the method of management drawn closer to 
scientific lines. Where formerly white and mottled iron were 
manufactured in larger quantities, these have now become ex¬ 
ceptional makes and are scarce articles ; yet I am constrained 
to say, we are still far behind our Northern competitors in 
scientific effort and attainment. ' How many plants use their 
laboratories to full advantage, and analyze their raw materials 
with anything like regularity? And yet there is hardly a 
Northern plant that does not find this very necessary and very 
profitable. In our laboratories we should employ the latest, 
quickest, and most accurate methods, so as to meet any de¬ 
mand on the work. Progress in these scientific departments 
is as absolutely essential to our success down here as in the 
practical departments. 

In manufactured iron, the year has been a fairly prosperous 
one. It has shown material improvement in plants, and the 
rolling of Birmingham steel into boiler plate has become one 
of the standard products. The question of steel is, I think, 
practically and technically settled, and now only depending 
on its financial phases in order to be a completed one. The 
many experiments made here have shown plainly that good 
steel can be made at a profit out of Birmingham iron, with or 
without scrap—steel that is soft, strong, and works well. How 
economically this may be produced is, in my opinion, merely 
a question of size of plant and facilities, and can only be de¬ 
veloped by the investment of the necessary capital. 

As to raw materials, there are some material improvements 
to be noted. Attempts have been made at various times to 
concentrate our ores. I consider this a question of vital im¬ 
portance, and would call the attention of our scientific men to 
it. We have an immense vein of ore, thirty to forty feet 
thick, of which only about four feet can average 50 <f 0 of me¬ 
tallic iron ; vet the mixture is such that it is more a question 


1 6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

of mechanical difficulties to overcome than of chemical ones. 
I sincerely trust an effective and economical method may be 
found to accomplish this concentration, as success in this re¬ 
spect means perhaps more than we realize at present. In the 
competition with our Northern friends, a richer ore, running 
from 60 to 65% in iron, and correspondingly low in silica, 
would give us a tremendous advantage over a large portion of 
other iron districts. 

In coal washing, considerable progress has been made, 
though there is still room for improvement. The success at¬ 
tained in this direction by those who have undertaken it, has 
been very encouraging, The coke consumption per ton of 
iron has already been very materially reduced, and we can 
look for decided further changes in this respect, as soon as our 
furnaces use all washed coke. 

I think this covers the ground, as far as it is my province to¬ 
day to go. We have started on the line of improvement in 
almost every branch of our industries. If this has been due to 
the hard times, they may prove a blessing in disguise ; and I 
sincerely trust that the next few years will put us on equal 
footing in these respects with other competitors. 

As to the Society, I can only repeat, let us hold together 
under all circumstances. The time will come when we will 
all feel more willing and able to help it with papers on topics 
of general interest, and the beneficial results that can be ac¬ 
complished in this way will fully repay the struggles through 
which we have now to go. The Society has done good work 
in the past, and I sincerely trust will do good work in the 
future. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


l 7 


A PAPER ON COKE. 


BY RICHARD THOMAS. 


Before going into the subject of coke, and coke making, 
perhaps it would be as well to glance over the composition of 
the coal used in the manufacturing of coke, as the South 
Wales coal fields have more changes from the one class of 
coal to the other, than any of which I am acquainted, I here¬ 
with append a chemical analysis make by Playfair and others, 
of the four classes, viz : Anthracite, Semi-anthracite, Semi- 
bituminous, and the regular Bituminous, or coking coal. The 
South Wales field, near the center, is in two troughs, two 
synclinals, and one anticlinal. The largest is about sixteen 
miles wide, and the smallest about six miles wide ; the two 
about twenty-two miles wide, by about seventy in length, from 
east to west. I have selected the east half of the field, com¬ 
mencing on the north crop of the lower measures, starting on 
coal No. i, in the tables, which is Anthracite; No. 2, Semi- 
Anthracite, on the same side, then following the crops east¬ 
ward to Aberdare and Merthyr district, to coal No. 3, Semi- 
bituminous ; then to the eastern end, where comes in coal No. 
4, or bituminous coal; then rounding the east end, and follow¬ 
ing the crop on the south side, in a westerly direction, we 
come to coal Nos. 5, 6, and 7, which is on the south crop of 
the same measure as the No. 1, which is on the north crop, or 
the opposite side ; all the veins being the same measure and 
age. For comparison, I have used the tables of some of the 
North-of-England coal. I have failed to get hold of a chem 
ical analysis of Alabama, and some of the other American 
coals, in separate forms, but have another table, showing the 
amount of volatile matter in each of the varieties, to corres¬ 
pond with your table of American coal, substituting volatile 
matter in the place of chemical analysis, in separate forms. 




iS 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


I will call your attention first, to 

Coal No. i—or Welch Anthracite. This coal will not fuse, 
neither will the lump coke like the other coal. The analysis 
shows 92.9%, of coke from the coal. In appearance, it is 
more like a drying up coal, than coke. In place of cells, it 
looks more like cracks. By disintegrating the coal, and using 
about 6% of pitch, the latter being about 12 of hydrogen to 88 
of carbon, the two combined make a very strong coke. The 
fracture did not show the cells the same as the coking coal,but 
was granulated in appearance. They claim that it worked well 
for foundry purposes and commanded a price from three to 
four shillings per ton more than the coke made in the same 
locality from the Bituminous coal. The loss in volatile matter 
in this coal was very small. The difference in carbon from 
coal to coke was less than 1%. The analysis shows 3.46 of 
hydrogen, and 2.58 of oxygen. It seems by the proportion of 
volatile carbon to the amount of oxygen that the two had com¬ 
bined into carbonic oxide. Had the carbon and the hydrogen 
combined,it would have formed the light carbide of hydrogen, 
which is composed by the weight of 75% of carbon to 25% 
hydrogen. In that case, there would have been a loss of over 
10 °Jc of carbon. On the other hand, if the amount of oxygen 
had combined with the hydrogen, and formed water, the 
amount of hydrogen would not have exceeded 0.32 of 1%. It 
is very clear that the hydrogen, in the Anthracite, must have 
escaped almost in a pure state from the coal, and mixed with 
the oxygen of the air and formed water. 

Coal No.2—has a little more hydrogen, and like No. 1 it 
will not fuse; neither will it coke, only when mixed with 
pitch, or some of the other solid volatile carbon. This coal 
would have to be treated the same as No. 1 to make coke. 
The coking of No. 1 was discontinued for a time, owing to 
the advance in the price of pitch, there being such a demand 
for the article to mix with the dry non-fusible coal, to make 
patent fuel. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


T 9 


Coal No. 3—This coal is known, the world over, as the 
Aberdare and Merthyr Smokeless Steam Coal. This is 2.33 
less in carbon than No. 1, but higher in hydrogen, by a little 
over 1% than No. 1. It has only 1.65 of oxygen, and it shows 
a loss of carbon, in coking, of 8.14, the oxygen being so low. 
The carbon, in this instance, must have formed gas, most 
likely the light carbide of hydrogen. This coal has not suffi¬ 
cient hydrogen and carbon to fuse, but the lumps make a good 
furnace coke, and is used very extensively. The slack of No. 
3 will coke when disintegrated with richer coal, being in pro¬ 
portion about half and half; or when the hydrogen would be 
about 5 °J C in the coal—or, say, 1 of hydrogen to 17.5 carbon. 
The two combined will yield about 75% of coke from the coal. 

Coal No. 4—Will fuse and make a strong coke, and is a 
coking Bituminous coal. I have noticed that whenever it 
gives, sap 73% of coke from the coal, the color of the coke is 
dark grey, and shows the cells very clearly ; but it will not 
have a smooth, silvery gloss on it. None of the dry coals have. 

Coal No. 3—This coal shows 8.06 less carbon than No. 4, 
but it has 7.74 more oxygen in it, and has also 0.61 more hy¬ 
drogen. The hydrogen is 1 to 16 of carbon. This will make 
a bright coke, of silvery appearance. 

Coal No. 6—Makes a good furnace coke, and shows the 
cells a little darker grey in color ; the yield being rather high 
to be glossy. 

Coal No. 7—This coal cokes more like the Connellsville, of 
Pennsylvania, than any I have ever seen. This coke, in ap¬ 
pearance, has a very smooth, silvery gloss, when cooled in the 
ovens. The best coke in this series is made from a vein called 
the Crepwrvem. It makes a good, strong, furnace coke, and 
is largely used for foundry purposes. Owing to a slate roof, 
some of which falls in mining, the slack in some of the mines 
is washed, but the vein is free from all impurities, and aver¬ 
ages about eight feet thick. 


20 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Table 1 —Showing Composition of Welch Coal. 


No. 

Carb. 

Hyd’g’n. 

Nit’g’n. 

Oxy. 

Sulph. 

Ash. 

i 

9 M 4 

3 - 4 6 

0.21 

2.58 

0.79 

1.52—100 

2 

84.87 

3- 8 4 

0.41 

7.19 

°-45 

3.24—100 

3 

89.01 

4.49 

1.16 

1.65 

x *°3 

2.66—100 

4 

89.78 

505 

2.16 

I .02 

0.39 

1.50—100 

5 

81.72 

5 - 7 6 

0.56 

8.76 

1.16 

2.04—100 

6 

S7.4S 

5.06 

0.86 

2 *53 

1 *°3 

3.04—100 

7 

82-75 

5.31 1.04 4.64 

Composition of Rnglish 

°-95 

Coals. 

5.3!— IO q 

8 

8l.8l 

5 - 5 ° 

1.28 

2.58 

1.69 

7.14—100 

9 

83 - 7 1 

5 - 3 ° 

1.06 

2.79 

1.21 

5 - 93 — 100 

IO 

80.07 

4.92 

2.15 

9-95 

1.11 

1 .So—100 

11 

82.6l 

5.86 

1.76 

7-44 

0.80 

1 - 53 — 100 

12 

79 * 7 1 

5.16 

0.54 

!°.65 

0.52 

3.42—100 


Table No. 2 —Showing the amount of Coke left , and 

what was volatile. 


No. 

Coke left 
irom coal. 

Hydro. 

Volt. 

Nitro. 

Oxygen. 

Carbon ca 
ried off 

r- 

Hydrogen 
to Carbon. 

H.i 

I 

92.9 

3 - 4 6 

0.21 

2.58 

0.85 

IOO 

C.26.4 Anthra. 
H.i Semi- 

2 

85-5 

3-84 

O.41 

7- l 9 

3 -° 6 

IOO 

C.22.1 Anthra. 
H.i Semi- 

3 

84-55 

4-49 

i. 16 

1.66 

8.14 

IOO 

C.19.8 Bitu. 
H.i 

4 

77-5 

5-'5 

2 - T 5 

1.02 

14. iS 

IOO 

C.17.4 Bitu. 
H.i 

5 

68.4 

5 - 7 ° 

0.56 

8.76 

16.58 

IOO 

C.16 Bitu. 
H.i 

6 

72.94 

5.06 

0.86 

2 -53 

18.61 

IOO 

C.17.1 Bitu. 
H.i 

7 

67. IO 

5 - 3 1 

1.04 

4.64 

21.91 

IOO 

C. 15.6 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 I 


Coke left, and J olatile Matter carried off by Coking , 


8 

64.61 

5 - 5 ° 

1.28 

2.58 

26.O3 

IOO 

H.i 

C.15 Bitu. 

9 

61.3s 

5 - 3 ° 

1.06 

2.79 

2 9.47 

IOO 

H.i 

C.15.S Bitu. 

10 

61.70 

4.92 

2 - r 5 

9-95 

2 1.28 

IOO 

H.i 

C.16 

11 

64.00 

5.86 

1.76 

744 

20.94 

IOO 

H.i 

C.14 

1 2 

5S.10 

5 - r6 

°-54 

io - 6 5 

2 5 *55 

IOO 

H.i 

C.15.4 


Composition of English Coal , after distillation , or coking. 

Solids Coke - - - 68.925 

Tar.12.230 

Water.7. 

Light Carbide and Hydrogen 7.021 
Carbonic Oxide - - 1.155 

Olepbiant gas ... 0.753 
Gases-^ Sulphuretted Hydrogen - 0.549 

Hydrogen - - - 0.499 

Ammonia - - - 0.211 

^Nitrogen - - - 0.03 5 



Liquid 


r 


IOO. 

The question was given in a former meeting, “What made 
coal coke?” I think that the analysis of the Welch coal 
shows very clearly that when the hydrogen is combined with 
the carbon, in proportion of 1 f of hydrogen to iSf of car- 
bod, that coal will fuse. I don’t think it would be out of 
place to give a table of distillation of the tar taken out of the 
coal. This has been divided into three classes. First, the 
light oil of tar; next, the heavy oil of tar; and lastly, solid. 
Whichever of these three predominates in the tar, affects the 
coke in its size and appearance. When the coal, as No. 4, has 






ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


hydrogen ipr.ct. to 17.4 carbon, the solid matter in the tar pre¬ 
dominates. On the other hand, when the hydrogen is 1 % to 
15.5 carbon, we have the silvery coke. But when the volatile 
matter carries the light oils in excess, we have a coal too high 
in volatile matter, and if it will coke, the product is a soft, 
light coke, and has a tendency to run into small, tingery pieces. 
The amount of either of these three in excess, shows a corres¬ 
ponding difference in the amount of carbon carried off from 
the coal, and what is left in the coke. 

Composition of coal tar when distilled. 

( Benzol, - - - C. 12 H. 6 \ H. 9. 

Light Oils, Tuluol, - - - - C. 14 H. 8^ 1,C ' / C. 91. 

( Cumol, - - - C. 18 II. 12 

l Anilin, - - - C. 12 H. 7 l H. 7.47 

Heavy Oils, Picolin, - - C. 12 PI. Spr.c. - C. 83.5 

( Lucolin, - - - C. iS H. 8 ( N. 9.03 

f Naphthalin, - - D. 20 H. 8 ( 

Solids, J Paranaphthalin, C. 30 PL. 12 % j H, 5.35 

1 Pyren, - - - C. 36 H.12 ) C.94.45 

f Chrysen, - - - C. 42 H.14 ( 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 3 


Table showing the Jixed carbon and volatile matter in the 
Welch and English , compared ^vlth some op American coals. 


ZZ 

s- 

P2 


o 

Q 

o 

S-, 

as 

CD 

+-> 

/— 

zj 

O 


Zj 

CG 

"C 



"o 

O) 



CD 

X 



Q. 


O 

> 

X 

Ui 



1 

Anthra. 

1 

.375 

91.09 

. 6.60 

2 

Semi-Anthra. 

I 

.300 

81 81 

14.50 

O 

o 

Semi-Bitu. 

1 

.325 

80.86 

14.75 

4 

Bitu. 

1 

.315 

75.61 

21 50 

5 

Bitu. 

1 

.320 

65.20 

31.60 

6 

Bitu. 

1 

.280 

68.87 

27.06 

7 

Bitu. 

1 

.299 

60.84 

32 90 

8 

Eng. Bitu. 

1 

.290 

55.78 

35.39 

9 

Eng. Bitu 

1 

270 

54.24 

38.62 

10 

Eng. Bitu. 

1 

311 

58.80 

38.30 

11 

Eng. Bitu. 

1 

.272 

61.67 

36 00 

12 

Eng. Bitu. 

1. 

257 

54.14 

41.92 

13 

Pennsylvania. 



60.33 

31.38 

14 

Pennsylvania. 



71.75 

21.60 

15 

Pennsylvania. 



61.92 

30.91 

16 

Tennessee. 



62.07 

27.11 

17 

Tennessee. 



57.02 

39.91 

18 

Tennessee. 



64.39 

28.92 

19 

Alabama. 



59.58 

33.71 

20 

Alabama. 



63.01 

33.12 

21 

Alabama. 



59.89 

28.73 

22 

Alabama. 



64.71 

33.15 

23 

Alabama. 



61.78 

34.62 

24 

West Virginia. 



69.89 

24.77 


~ . Locality. 

3 CO 

X < 

0.79 1.52 —100 Llanelly. 

0.45 3.24 —100 Swansea. 

1.67 2.72 —100 Aerdare Merthyr 
1.39 1.50 —100 Eblbwvale. 

1.16 2.04 —100 Abercarn. 

1 03 3.04 —100 Llynvi 
0.95 5.31 —100 Taibach. 

1.69 7.14 —100 Hartly, N. Eng. 
1.21 5.93 —100 Wall send. 

1.10 1.80 —100 Park Gate. 

0.80 1.53 —100 Inch Hail. 

0.52 3.42 —100 Haydock Lit. Delf 
1.05 7.24 —100 Connellsville. 

1 03 5.62 —100 Big Mashotidu v, 

1.06 6.11 —100 Walston Coal. 

10.82 —100 Tracy City. 

0.20 2.87 —100 Coal Creek. 

6.69 —100 Sevvanee. 

0.66 6.05 —100 Helena. 

1.04 2.83 —100 Pratt Seam. 

0 46,10.92 —100 NewCastle Seam. 
0.32 1.82*—100 Black Creek. 

1.11 2.49 —100 Watts C. & C. Co. 
0.30 4.98 —100 Quiniinont. 


I have experimented, a great deal, in trying to get rid of the * 
sulphur from the coal. They claim that they can get rid of a 
considerable quantity by burning the coke on moist ground, in 
clamps, or milor. It is more reasonable that they can, if we 
examine the process. The dues made of lumps of coal or 
wood, then the smaller dues, at intervals, acting as chimneys, 
we get the strongest heat in the bottom of the pile. This 
would decompose the hydrogen of the water. The hydrogen 
would have a chance to take up some of the sulphur, and the 


2 4 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


two could then escape through the upright flues, or chimneys, 
as sulphuretted hydrogen, and the oxygen would then form C 
O. or CO2. In burning in the beehive ovens, if the hydrogen 
and sulphur would unite, they would have to pass through the 
layer of fusible coal, when most of the sulphur would be taken 
up in this fusible carbon, and the balance carried oft' as sul¬ 
phuretted hydrogen gas, or in the liquid tar, and ammonia. 

My impression is, that the fusible paste, preceding the burn¬ 
ing into coke, holds the sulphur, and prevents it from escaping 
with the other gases. I have tried steam through pipes, un¬ 
der the floor of the oven, with holes, at intervals, for the steam 
to pass up through the charge, but it failed to carry oft' the 
sulphur, and there was no improvement in the coke. I have 
tried slack lime mixed in the coal, also thick lime water. The 
furnace man was under the impression that the sulphur would 
unite with the lime, and be carried off with the cinder. There 
was no improvement in the iron by the process, and we dis¬ 
continued it. We tried washing the slack with salt water 
from the sea. That did no good in that coal. I have experi¬ 
mented since then, by washing some of the Illinois coal in the 
water running from the salt works, and the sulphur would 
take up the oxygen, so quickly that it formed sulphurous acid, 
and as it acted on the coal, it gave out a large volume of gas. 
The ovens would light upland the gases would burn and bring 
the ovens into a white heat, but the coal would not fuse and 
coke. We made a change and used water from an old mine, 
and the coal would fuse, and coke right along, I think it is 
very clear to be seen, that in the piles of slack exposed to the 
atmosphere, the sulphur leaves the coal, and forms sulphurous 
acid. This is again carried oft'by the water, but the trouble 
again, is, that the coal is so heated by the action of the sul¬ 
phur it will not coke. The only way to reduce sulphur in the 
coke, that I know of, is washing the coal before you put it 
into the ovens. 

When sulphur is in pyrites of iron, or layers, distinct from 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

the coal, we can wash out the greatest part of it; but 
we meet sulphur, combined in the coal, the case is hopeless. 
We can neither wash it out, nor burn it out. The like has 
been mentioned before as sulphuretted hydrogen gas, and what 
is taken out in the liquid tar. 

The next point is, can we, by any method, make a larger 
and denser coke in our ovens. I think that the size of the coke 
has a great deal to do with the percentage obtained from it in 
the blast furnace. Suppose we take a piece of coke of the fol¬ 
lowing dimensions, viz : 4 by 4 by 12 equals 224 inches of sur¬ 
face exposed to the action of the hot gases in passing down¬ 
ward to reach the tuieres. Suppose we break the same into two 
inch cubes, we thus make it 24 in number, each of which 
would have 24 inches of surface, or the pieces as follows : 24 
by 24 equals 576 inches, or over 3-^ more surface exposed to 
the action of the furnace gases. 

The open top ovens would make coke, in depth, in the oven, 
but it broke to the ordinary size in handling. In fact, no oven 
would coke that depth without flues through the pile, conse¬ 
quently such depth would be in layers, and would have more 
fracture in it than the ordinary layer. 

I saw an experimental oven, built on the bee-hive principle, 
with four doors. The oven was very high, and would take a 
charge of forty tons of coal ; but in this, the same as the open 
top, they made flues, with lumps of coal across the oven, the 
charge being from 6 to 8 feet deep, and took some ten days to 
burn the coke. After being raked out on the ground, it was 
not denser, nor quite so large in size, as the coke made in lay¬ 
ers of about 52 inches, in the drag ovens that were running in 
the same yard and on the same coal. 

To get a uniform coke, the coal must be coked either from 
the top, downwards, or from the sides, inwardly. Any attempt 
to use flues in the sides of the bee-hive ovens, does harm to 
the size of the coke, as the ovens would coke around the walls 
inwardly, and meet a short distance from the sides—the crest 
burning downward to the point of meeting. There would be a 


2 5 

when 


26 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


fracture in the coke, thus doing - more harm than good. There 
could be no benefit in getting the sides coked in a shorter time, 
unless the whole oven would come ready at the same time.We 
would lose lose considerable of the fixed carbon of one, in 
waiting for the other part to come ready. 

I have tried the rolling of the Illinois coal, to make it closer. 
I have fixed a chain, one from the front end, the other attach¬ 
ed to the roller from the back end, in the Thomas Ovens, and 
would pull the roller through several times over the top of the 
charge, but failed to make the coke denser. I have made quite 
an improvement in the size of the coke by rolling first, then 
attaching to the roller, the last time, a piece of plank length¬ 
wise across the oven. In this I inserted spikes, to pass through 
the plank, six inches long, something like an arrow, which we 
pulled through, after the last rolling, as the spikes, penetrat¬ 
ing the coals, would loosen them. In the way they traveled 
the gases would flow freely upwards through the crevices, 
and the crust would form solidly the width between the spikes, 
thus leaving the ovens, when ready to draw, with coke about 
six inches wide in size. 

In the whole length of the oven the coal was high in vola¬ 
tile matter. The coal carries 51 per cent fixed carbon, and the 
coke 90 per cent when the coal is so high in volatile matter. 
The coke, as a general rule, is very light, taking 3030 inches 
to make a bushed of forty pounds. 

I tried several other ways with the Illinois coal. I managed 
to coke the Big Muddy coal in- a drag oven, 24 inches, in 
24 hours, by having flues in the bottom, covered by a two inch 
tile. The gas would pass down through two flues, in the end 
wall of the oven ; then pass through two flues, one on each 
side under the bottom, and return through the middle, into the 
chimney in the back end of the oven. The oven had so much 
heat in the bottom that it coked upwards, at the same rate as 
the top charge would coke downwards. Where the two met, 
there would be a break in the charge, each layer, about twelve 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 7 


inches deep. The top coke was not so good as that which was 
made in the usual way. I accounted for this from such a laro-e 
volume of gas passing upward in such a short time ; the bot¬ 
tom coke was larger and denser, but in cooling the charge in¬ 
side the oven, the bottom coke would not clear. It looked 

black, and the color condemned it. 

* 

I built some ovens, and passed the heat of an oven in full 
heat over the top of the oven newly charged. They were con¬ 
structed by making a flue in the back end of drag ovens, a 
damper was fixed in the flue, which was closed when an oven 
was drawn and charged. The chimney was reversed and put 
on the front end ; thus the heat of the oven, in full work,would 
pass from back to front, over the coal, newly charged. My 
aim was to try to coke in less time, but I found that the burnt 
up gases of one seemed to retard the burning of the other, 
worked and came ready the same as the other ovens, in 48 
hours, but there was no gain in the operation. 

My experience has convinced me, that the only way to make 
a uniform coke, is by the single batches, of one depth, and let 
the coke start from the one end, and burn one way, until it 
reaches the other end. 

All coke for the present high furnaces should come ready 
about 20 hours before it is drawn, and the oven luted up close 
to prevent the burning of the fixed carbon ;or put the lid on,or 
damper, but care should be taken that the oven is not in too 
much heat when putting on dampers. By closing the ovens 
up, in white heat, they are liable to bring down arches. When 
the charge is allowed to cool down, by degrees, before it is 
drawn, it gives the coke the anilin process, which mskes it 
much stronger. If, on the other hand, the charge is cooled 
down with water, when it just comes ready, the coke in the 
middle of the pieces being at almost white heat, the contrac¬ 
tion of the outside of the pieces, when cooled, and the force of 
the expansion from the inside, would have a tendency of frac¬ 
turing the walls of the cells of the coke, and reduce its strength 


28 


ALARAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


considerably, making it more liable to break up in handling, 
and reduce its strength to with stand the burden in the blast 
furnace. 

The next thing is, how and what can we do to improve the 
coke of Alabama? If we take our Warrior Coal Field, the 
coking veins are few in number. The Pratt seam ot coal is of 
good quality for coking, but should be washed to reduce the 
sulphur, which is very easily done, as the bulk of the sulphur 
is pyrites of iron. Next, to wash out the bone coal and slate ? 
for when not clean, the latter does not fuse with the other 
coal ; consequently, it acts like slate, and has a tendency of 
deflecting the joints in coking, so that when a charge is with¬ 
drawn it crumbles into small pieces. And to make a No. i 
coke from the Pratt seam I would first wash it. I would run 
the coal from the washer over a wire gauze with,say, 6 meshes 
to the inch, and this would take eut nearly all the water. The 
coal then would drop into the disintegrator. The coal would 
give a better yield, being damp and fine ; the gases would not 
carry so much of the carbon out of the coal. I would have a 
dense coke, and in good size for furnace use, also, by getting 
the slate and bone out of the coke,as it would be much stronger 
to resist the pressure in the furnace, and it would be much 
higher in carbon. 

The Black Creek coal would only require disintegrating. 
The one that Alabama must depend on for coke, in the War¬ 
rior fields, will be the New Castle seam. This is high in ash, 
but low in sulphur. The ash, in this vein, can not be reduced 
very much by washing, as it is combined in the coal. But the 
size, and the strength, will make up a great deal in its favor, 
in standing the pressure of the furnace. The mixture of either 
the Black Creek, or the Pratt seam, with the New Castle vein, 
would be beneficial in making a strong furnace coke. 

Crushing or disintegrating of coal, when we have such coal, 
as the Connellsville, of Pa., or No. 7, in table of Welch coal, 
there is no need of. Such coal will fuse and make paste. 
This is generally the case with coal of cubical fracture, as it 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 9 


will melt and run together under a certain amount of heat. 
Coal, again, that shows the thin layers intersected with miner¬ 
al carbon, gives quite a different result, as the latter will not 
fuse together. This is to be noticed when such coal is burnt 
in a household grate. Some of the layers, when on the fire, 
will fuse and run into ’bladders, and not where the heat is 
greater, but often out of a middle lump. The reason of this 
is,that some of the same lumps of coal require a larger amount 
of heat to fuse, than others, consequently a large amount of 
the volatile carbon is carried oft' before the other parts have 
fused. This is what I believe to be the cause why some coal 
will not coke, when the percentage of hydrogen, is the same 
as the coal that makes a No. i coke. The latter, a great amount 
of the hydrogen would be carried oft' before the other would 
fuse, consequently when the first would come to a fusible heat, 
the other would have lost its volatile carbon, and there would 
not be sufficient hydrogen left to combine with the carbon and 
make a paste to run together and make coke. If an oven is 
opened at any time when the coking process is going on, it 
will show the following results, if the coking is done on the 
beehive principal of burning : The top crust will be coke,the 
bottom of a black end, with one to two inches of thick paste 
or fusible carbon under it; then a layer of oily or tarry sub¬ 
stance, and next, a sweat or moisture. All of these precede 
the coking until it reaches the bottom, but there is quite a dif¬ 
ference to be seen in these layers of coal. Some coal will dry 
up and form cracks, and let the gases pass through freely, 
while another will fuse and run in a thin layer under the coke, 
and close up the cracks. This retards the flow of gases from r 
the coal, it forces its way spontaneously through the layers, 
and by doing so, carries the fusible carbon in fine threads into 
the joints or crevices of the coke. In some coke it will be 
found in bunches resembling fine roots or coarse hair. The 
oxygen admitted into the oven had been taken up with the 
o-ases and the volatile carbon would be left unburnt between the 

o 


30 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

lumps of coke. All coal that gives out the latter, or coal of 
high volatile substance, should be disintegrated. When such 
coal is reduced very fine it retards the escape of the volatile 
carbon, and it is not carried off until the whole mass comes 
into a fusible heat. The following analysis will show the re¬ 
sult of a Tennessee coal that was washed in a flume washer, 
and run oft' the wire gauze into the disintegrator : 

The first was made from half slack, washed, mixed with half 
nut, disintegrated, but not washed. 

By Slocum, of Knoxville. 


Fixed Carbon, - - - - - 81.16 

Vol Com, 1 .70 

Ash, ------ 16.95 

Moisture, ------ 0.25 

Sulphur, ----- 1.94 


100.00 

86.578 
12.800 
0.372 
0.250 

100.000 

The latter was made from washed slack. It will be seen 
by the above that 80% of the sulphur was washed out by a 
common flume washer. The analysis of lump coal shows 6.85 
of ash. The coal is high in volatile matter, and the percen¬ 
tage of ash in the coke shows that the dirt, mixed with the 
coal, had been washed out verv clean. Disinte^ratinor and 
washing the coal shows a great improvement by the amount 
of sulphur taken out, and, also, in the size and density of the 
coke. 


Levi , of Embryville. 

Carbon, - 

Ash, - - - - - 

Sulphur, - - - - 

Moisture, - 





ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


3 1 


THE GENERATION OF STEAM BY THE USE OF BLAST 

FURNACE GASES. 


BY J. WEIDMAN MURRAY. 


The utilization of blast furnace gases in the generation of 
steam, has never received the attention and study, at the hands 
ot either the blast furnace engineer or the blast furnate mana¬ 
ger that its importance would justify. 

The furnace that has an adequate amount of steam, even un¬ 
der normal conditions, without resorting to tiring, is the excep¬ 
tion rather than the rule. 

There are many reasons for this condition of things, but 
there are several that have so frequently come to my notice, 
that I deem them worthy of mention at this time. The first is 
the faulty method of introducing the gases. The second is the 
improper combination of same. 

In many cases, the gases are introduced through burners in 
each of the forward corners of the battery on the ground level. 
By this means, the gases are allowed to travel a distance of 
from ten to twelve feet, before they come in contact with the 
heating surface of the boiler, thereby causing the loss of that 
much valuable surface. Then, too, locating the burners as de¬ 
scribed leaves an inadequate space for grate surface; which 
latter is indispensable, either when blowing in the furnace or 
at such times when the gases are thin. 

The best results have been attained where the gases are in¬ 
troduced inadequately under and close to the boiler, in a broad 
thin flame, admitting the air for combustion around the nose 
of the burner, either by means of small registers, or by making 
the slots in the fronts, where the burners are inserted, large 
enough to allow all the necessary air for combustion to pass in 
on all sides and mix with the gases at the nose of the burner. 




32 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

The quantity of gas can be regulated by means of a sliding 
damper where the burner is fixed, or the use of the Spearman- 
Kennedy Gas Burner, these latter having proven very satisfac¬ 
tory wherever tried. 

Several years since, I was obliged to dismantle a worn out bat¬ 
tery of boilers at the Alice Furnaces, consisting of two 46 inch 
diameter return flue boilers, 34 ft. long. Being short of steam 
much of the time, I was extremely anxious to secure the great¬ 
est amount of generating surface that the limited space would 
admit. The available floor space for those boilers was fixed,as 
they had to be placed between two other batteries then in ser¬ 
vice. Their elevation, too, was limited, as we had to be gov¬ 
erned by the position of a continuous breeching running along 
the entire lexigth of the boiler plant, to which we were obliged 
to make connection for the conveying oft'of the waste gases. 

The idea struck me that in designing the new boilers, it 
would be well to build them as large as circumstances would 
admit, in order to gain generating surface. Then to still fur¬ 
ther increase the latter to suspend a plain cylinder heater un¬ 
der each boiler. By this means, we would utilize the major 
part of the heat thrown out from the super heated wall (much 
of which was going to waste) as well as put to use what usu¬ 
ally is a dead space under the boilers. 

This battery, as built, consists ot two 54 inch diameter return 
flues. Immediately under and connected to each of these boil¬ 
ers, is a plain cylinder heater 36 in. diameter by 31 ft. 2 in. long. 
These heaters start eight feet from the front end of the boilers, 
thereby giviug ample space for grate surface and bridge wall 
which latter is run up high enough to prevent the incoming 
gases from striking direct against the forward heads of the 
heaters. These heaters pass through and beyond the rear walls 
of the battery a distance of two and one-half feet. From the 
under side of these at the extreme rear ends, is suspended a 20 in. 
diameter mud drum. The heaters are hung so as to give them, 
a fall of 6 in. from the forward end to the points to which the 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


33 


mud drum is suspended. The object of extending these heat¬ 
ers through the rear walls of the battery, was to secure a point 
for hanging the mud drum away from the heater where there 
would be no agitation, and at tho lowest point in the heaten 
thereby forming a natural point of deposit for the sediment* 
In our experience with these boilers, our hopes in this direc¬ 
tion, have been fully realized, all sediment collected in the boil¬ 
ers having deposited itself in the mud drum and in that por¬ 
tion of the heater not subjected to the burning gases, and the 
at a point where its presence does no material harm. The 
mud drum is connected to the under side of the heaters by 
means of io in. diameter built legs. A 30 in. diameter steam drum 
lies across the top of the boilers and is connected to the latter 
by means of 14 in. diameter built legs. These drums form per¬ 
fect equalizers to both the steam and the water between the 
two boilers. 

The same settiugs, hangings, and about the same amount of 
brick were used in constructing this battery as that used in the 
dismantled battery. 

The double deck boilers gave us 1,660 sq. ft., of generating 
surface as against 1,040 sq. ft. in the dismantled boilers, or a 
gan of 61 %. The supplementary heater affords us a gain of 
59% over that we would have by simply using the =54 in. diame¬ 
ter return flue boiler. Without any additional cost to the plant 
other than the absolute cost of the heater with its connections, 
which is but 12% of tho cost of the finished battery. 

Our experience with this, the first battery of this type of 
boiler, taught us, that better results could be attained by intro¬ 
ducing a fet of gas under the heaters, in addition to the one un¬ 
der the boilers. So when we found it necessary to still fur¬ 
ther increase the boiler capacity of the Alice Furnaces by two 
additional double deck batteries of boilers, I designed a duplex 
gas burner. The upper burner is covered by the Spearman- 
Kennedy patents. The connection for the lower burner is made 
to the stationary base of the upper burner,, leading, the gas 


34 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


through a 9 in. by 9 in. cast pipe, located immediatly under the 
grate bars, to a cast nozzle built in the bridge wall, and meas¬ 
uring 24 in. by 3 in. at the nose. The air for combustion is ad¬ 
mitted from either side of the battery, through the super-heat¬ 
ed walls to a small chamber encircling the burner nozzle. This 
chamber is reduced, giving one inch of space on all sides ot 
said nozzle, at which point the air mixes with the gases and 
causes combustion. 

Our experience, as well as that of some of our neighbors has 
been very flattering, both with the duplex boilers as well as the 
duplex burners. 

I very much regret that the limited time has prevented 'me 
from giving you a more minute description of the construction 
of the boilers as well as their hangings. I should have liked, 
as well, to give you descriptive drawings of same and 
would have been glad to do so but the reason as given above. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


THE PROPER GRADING OF SOUTHERN PIG IRON. 


by a. e. barton. 


When requested by oar President to prepare a paper to read 
at the present meeting of the Society, I felt that I had not 
sufficient time at my disposal for such a task ; but was told 
that all that was necessary was to bring forward some subject 
for discussion. 

The question as to the proper grading of Southern Pig Iron 
is an important one in these times of depression, and it is 
necessary that the maker should take into consideration the 
special needs of the customer more than has hitherto been done. 

Many consumers are now calling the analyst to their aid, 
and look more to the chemical constituency of the pig than to 
fracture. Some, however, still remain in the old groove, and 
are guided altogether by the strength of the iron and appear¬ 
ance of the fracture when broken, which guide is often mis¬ 
leading. 

If we look back some twenty-five years, we find many firms 
in Scotland and in the Muddlesboro district of England, offer¬ 
ing only two grades of iron—Foundry and Forge—the iron all 
being shipped “long,” and only an occasional pig being bro¬ 
ken. The requirements of customers soon called for an exten¬ 
sion of these grades, and six grades were recognized—three of 
Foundry, i. e., 1,2, and 3; and three of IMrge, i.e., Grey 
Forge, Mottled, and White. Under certain conditions in the 
working of the furnaces, a light colored weak iron was made, 
which the furnace men called “bright iron.” This iron was at 
at first very little in demand, and when sold brought a very 
much lower price than the Foundry grades proper. 

Occasionally, when the stock used was of inferior quality, 
and the fuel consumption high, a still weaker iron would be 
made,which,from its peculiar fracture,was called“glazed pig,” 




*6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

« ' 

and was generally put back in the furnace as being unsaleable. 
It was noticed that when this pig was used as scrap in the 
furnace, the quality of the iron made seemed to improve and 
become more open in grain. Prof. Turner, of Birmingham, 
Eng., gave this matter considerable attention, and discovered 
that when a certain proportion of this glazed pig was mixed 
with a hard iron, and melted in a cupola, it had a tenden¬ 
cy to open the grain and make the iron softer, and that bright 
iron brought about the sam^ result in a modified degree. Af¬ 
ter another research, it was found that the large amount of 
silicon contained in the bright and glazed pig was responsible 
for the result, and it was found that by the use of these irons 
a considerable amount of scrap could be used in Foundry 
mixture which, by repeated melting, had become too hard 
to use alone, and only in small proportions when mixed with 
Foundry iron. After this, bright and glazed pig found a 
ready sale, and several grades of bright and silvery iron were 
established. 

Some six or seven years ago, there were fifteen recognixed 
grades of Southern iron, as follows : Open and Close Silvery, 
Open Bright,Medium Bright,Close Bright,i Foundry,2 Foun¬ 
dry, 2 \ Foundry, 3 Foundry, Ex.i Mill, 1 Mill, 2 Mill, Silvery 
Mill, Mottled and White. About five years ago, it was de¬ 
cided, at a meeting of Southern Ironmasters,' that a revision of 
grades was necessary, and that the South had too many grades, 
and the following change was made : Open and Close Silvery 
were continued and called Silver Grey; Open Medium and 
Close Bright were condensed into two grades, and called Nos. 
1 and 2 Soft; No. 2 Foundry was called No. 1, and the old 
No. 1, which was a very open iron and seldom made, was 
mixed in with the old No 2 ; No. 2 \ and No. 3- were mixed 
together and called No. 2 ; Ex. 1 Mill became No. 3 Foundry; 
Nos. 1 and 2 Mill were continued and called Grey Forge ; Sil¬ 
very Mill was no longer recognized as a grade, and Mottled 
and white remained the same. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


37 

This alteration in the classification caused a good deal of 
confusion and many complaints from customers. Old buyers 
of Southern iron complained that the Silver Grey shipped was 
“mixed,” and to any one gradingby fracture alone, it certainly 
looked mixed. The two irons, however, are practically iden¬ 
tical in composition chemically, the close flaky iron generally 
running slightly the highest in silicon, which will vary from 
4 P er cen t, and both are somewhat low in total carbon. 

To meet the wishes of a certain class of customers, the old 
method of grading Silver Grey has gradually been adopted by 
producers, and we have now two grades of Silvery Iron, re¬ 
cognized, Nos. i and 2, corresponding to the old open and 
close. 

In soft irons, the openest pigs of Medium Bright were 
thrown into 1 Soft, and the remainder called 2 Soft. The 
latter cannot be graded so uniform as to fracture as could be 
desired for this reason, and is considered by many buyers as 
an off grade. Soft iron should contain fron 3 to 4 per cent of 
silicon, and be practically free from sulphur, whilst the car¬ 
bon, though not so high as in the Foundry grades, runs higher 
than Silver Grey, combined carbon being usually about the 
half of one per cent, and graphite 2 to 2 \ per cent, in 1 Soft, 
and f of 1 percent, and per cent, respectively in No. 2 Soft. 
Soft iron is used as a softener in mixtures, and to use up 
scrap, and is essentially silicious. One mistake often made 
by the grader, is to class as No. 2 Soft, the pigs from a Foun¬ 
dry cast that have been chilled during their course down a 
long runner, and have from this cause a light colored appear¬ 
ance, with a clfcse edge. These pigs generally run about 2% 
in silicon, and should be graded either as 2 or 3 Foundry. Care 
should also be taken with the grading oi 1 Soft, for the salne 
reason. Recently a pig was graded by three competent grad¬ 
ers as 1 Soft, by fracture alone, without seeing the pig broken 
and on analysis it showed 1.12^% of silicon, and was not a 
soft iron at all. Many buyers, however, would have rejected 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


a car of such iron on sight, if shipped to them as 2 Foundry, 
and would have used it as 1 Soft probably with disastrous 
results. 

The gradin ' of the three straight Foundry grades does not 
require much comment. The standard amount of silicon in 
each grade should be about as follows: 1 Foundry, 2.75%, 2 
Foundry, 2.50%, and 3 Foundry, 2.00, and these contents 
should be maintained as nearly as possible by repeated analy¬ 
ses and changes in the burden of the furnace when necessary. 

It was in Forge iron that the change in the grading caused 
the greatest trouble. Until lately, the furnaces of the district 
made sufficient Grey Forge iron in endeavoring to make Foun¬ 
dry irons to neet all demands, and the Forge iron thus made 
was apt to be high in silicon, and very wasteful for rolling 
mill use, though suitable as a mixture in pipe works and foun¬ 
dries, and complaints from rolling mills that had been using 
No. 2 Mill came in thick and fast. Pipe works would also 
get a car of said iron occasionally, and the furnace would gen¬ 
erally hear about it. 

Graders soon saw the impractibility of having only once 
grade of Grey Forge, and tacitly made two grades in their 
yard, though only one was recognized; ascertaining before 
making shipment if the Grey Forge was to go to rolling ;nill 
or foundry, and shipping accordingly 2 Mill or 1 Mill. These 
two grades are now generally recognized, being called Grey 
Forge and Foundry Forge, the former being a much harder 
iron, lower in silicon, and higher in combined carbon than 
the latter, with a different crystal. 

As blast furnace practice improves in the Eolith, and the 
iron making materials are more carefully selected, the furnaces 
will be kept more steadily in one grade of iron, and the iron 
will become,and is now becoming, more improved; and should 
the demand justify it, the furnaces will be run with the express 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


39 


purpose of making low silicon Grey Forge, similar to Northern 
practice. 

A considerable proportion of this paper will be ancient his¬ 
tory to many^iere, but it brings forward a very important 
subject—a subject which until lately has hardly been given 
the attention it deserved, that of giving customers uniform 
iron, and iron best suited to their special needs, and removing 
the stigma that a buyer of Southern iron never quite knows 
what he is going to get. There are many gentlemen here well 
versed in Southern iron, and this Society is for mutual instruc- 
tion, and the object of this paper was to bring forward the 
views of other members. 


4 ° 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


THE GENERATION OF STEAM FROM THE WASTE 
HEAT AND GASES OF COKE'OV^NS. „ 

BY ERSKINE RAMSAY. 

Mi ning Engineer Tennessee Coal , Iron and Railroad Co 

Much has been written and said since the coking of coal has 
been earned on to any extent, as to the great loss of the valua-r 
ble products of the coking process, known*as the by-products, 
and considerable time and money have been spent in providing 
the ways and means which make it possible to utilize these 
products. Up to this time, very little has been accomplished 
in this direction on this side of the Atlantic. In England. 
Scotland, and Continental Europe much more headway has 
been made. That such should be the case is quite natural, 
from the fact that our brethren across the sea have been in the 
business a much longer time and have had better opportunities 
to study and put in operation economies which, in a great 
measure, were forced upon them by fierce competition, accom¬ 
panied with the consequent low prices. As the line repre¬ 
senting revenue dropped lower and lower, and sometimes ex¬ 
changed places with that of expense, the time to act had come, 
and in this case, as in many others, with necessity the mother 
of invention, a wav was found to save much which had hereto¬ 
fore been wasted. In a number of cases, ovens of the Bee- 
Hi ve, Simon-Carve, Coppee, and other forms, designed to re¬ 
cover the waste gases and heat for the generation of steam, 
have been in successful operation for years. At the Browney 
Colliery, in England, an arrangement of this kind is in opera¬ 
tion. No coal whatever is used at this mine for boiler pur¬ 
poses, and the product of the shaft is drawn from a depth of 
600 feet, and the water pumped from the mines, whereas be¬ 
fore the system was put in operation about 1200 tons of coal 
per month were used to generate steam to do this work. 





ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


4 1 


Dr. Percy, in his work on fuel, pages 48^ to 490, speaks of 
an application of the waste heat and gases from coke ovens in 
the raising of steam at Seraing. In the plant he describes, the 
boilers are placed directly above the ovens proper, which are 
of the tunnel pattern. The location of the boiler in this posi¬ 
tion gives, of course, the full benefit of the initial heat gene¬ 
rated in the coke ovens during the process of coking as practi¬ 
cally none of it can radiate, there being no long flues to allow 
of such a loss. 


















































42 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

In a letter from my friend, James S. Dixon, president of the 
Mining Institute of Scotland, under date of December 29th, 
1891, he described a plant built in connection with bee-hive 
ovens, which at that time had been in operation, at the Kilsyth 
collieries, some 18 months, and had been a complete success, 
resulting in a saving of 500 tons of coal per month at this one 
colliery. He says : ‘’Besides supplying, all the machinery at 
the ovens with steam, it is carried a distance of about 200 yards 
from the boilers to a pit, and drives the winding engine and 
other machinery there.” The gas is led from the ovens to 
the boilers, a distance of about 160 feet, in brick tunnels, and 
there burned without any admixture of air, giving an intense 
and uniform heat. 

Two plants are now and have been for some time m opera¬ 
tion at Tracy City, Tenn. The type of oren in use is the bee¬ 
hive, built in double rows known as “block” ovens in contra¬ 
distinction to the single row which are known as“bank”ovens. 
The gas is led from the ovens in a flue which is located be¬ 
tween, and well up on, the ovens. The flue is built parallel 
to the line of ovens. The plant has been a success from the 
start, and has resulted in a great saving to the company. The 
first experimental plant consisted of 6 ovens, and gave results 
of such a satisfactory character as to induce the erection of a 
second and larger plant. The boilers of this plant consist of 2 
“double-deckers,” each one consisting of 1 48-inch by 24 feet 
with 2 14-inch flues, joined to a 32-inch by 24-foot cylindrical 
’lower boiler by 4 12-inch legs. A longitudinal flue delivers 
the gases from 34 ovens to the boilers. The flue is of rectan¬ 
gular section with arched top having a sectional area of 8 sq. 
ft. In order not to interfere with the oven walls, this flue was 
built above the domes of the ovens, being connected with each 
oven say feet above the coal line by a circular opening 18 
inches in diameter. Before reaching the boiler house, which 
is about 50 feet from the end of the block of ovens, the flue is 
tapped by a short brick stack or “bleeder,” and beyond the 
stack is a damper of boiler iron cooled with a constantly flow- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY 


43 













































































































































































































































































ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


45 


iug stream of water. The flue is split in front of the boilers 
so as to give a separate flue to each, and operating independ¬ 
ently. As at first constructed, the heat was allowed to pass 
around the lower and under the upper boiler, at one pass, and 
back through the boiler flues to the wrought iron stack, but 
this arrangement did not prove as satisfactory in steam gener¬ 
ating qualities as it was desired, and to remedy it, it was de¬ 
termined to change it so as to allow the heat and gases (i) to 
pass under the lower cylindrical boiler, (2) back over it and 
under an arch half way between the upper and lower boilers, 
(3) over the arch and under the top boiler, (4) through the 
upper boiler flues to the stack, making in all 4 passes. This 
rather novel arrangement contemplated the extraction of all 
the useful heat before it reached the stack. It has since been 
concluded that so large a number of passes with so great a 
proportion of friction surface to area, retards the draft too 
much, and so the arrangement has not been entirely satisfacto¬ 
ry. Doubtless a larger stack would do much to remedy this 
trouble. The practical working of this kind of a boiler setting 
has developed another objection in that there is a hard car¬ 
bonaceous crust deposited on the outside of the boiler shells, as 
well as in the flues which is quite difficult to remove. 

The ovens at this plant are draughted the same as ordi¬ 
narily, are charged the same, 3^ tons, and yield the same 
amount of coke, about 2 tons, as usual. No material difference 
in the quality one way or the other has yet been noticed. The 
coal probably cokes a little sooner in the flue ovens than other¬ 
wise. For the above data concerning the plants at Tracy City 
I am indebted to Mr. Chas. E. Bowron, Mining Engineer, of 
Tennessee Coal, Iron & R. R. Company, at that place. This 
gentleman made a test of the boiler plant described above and 
found it to evaporate 5 1-10 gallons of water per minute to a 
pressure of 50 pounds. A test made of their other plant gave 
about the same results. 

To compare this with the boilers which are fired with the 


































































































































































































































ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 47 

same kind of coal as that from which their coke is manufac¬ 
tured a test was made of two 44-inch by 25-foot boilers with 
two 14-inch and two 12-inch flues, and they were found to give 
an evaporation of 10 1-5 pallons per minute to a pressure of 
75 pounds. This boiler plant uses 3^ tons of coal per 12 hours 
and evaporates 8-^ pounds of water per pound of coal. Another 
test by Air. Bowron, of Tracy City, on another boiler gave an 
evaporation of 9^- pounds of water per pound of Tracy City 
coal. By calculation he found that 15 per cent of the total 
heat units given out in the coking process find their way into 
the water in the boiler, 

I now come to a consideration of the steam generating plants 
at Pratt Alines, Ala., which are the principal subjects of this 
paper. In the latter part of 1887, we built 75 bee-hive ovens 
of the “bank” pattern, at Pratt Alines, and I asked for per¬ 
mission to build flues to 6 of these ovens in order that they 
might be used as a test of the power of the waste heat and 
gases given off from Pratt Alines coal to generate steam. The 
main flue was placed just slightly to the rear and below the 
level of the floor of the ovens and parallel with the front wall 
or line of ovens. The branch flues connecting each oven to 
the main flue started at the trunnel head, which was practically 
a fire brick tec, and was carried on the outside of the oven wall 
proper down to an intersection with the main flue. After the 
flue was built, nothing further was done for some time. Then 
a small boiler was located within a few feet of the main flue, 
from which two branch flues led under the boiler from either 
side immediately above the grate bars. A test run of several 
weeks was made, and an accurate record kept of the number 
of ovens charged, water evaporated, etc.; but, as the plant was 
so very small, it would not pay to keep it in operation, so, af¬ 
ter it demonstrated conclusively that the system would be a 
success on a large scale, with our Pratt coal, it was abandoned. 
The main flue spoken of above is now in daily operation as a 
part of our No. 1 plant. 

As noted, the flues discharged the gases just above the grate 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


bars, and the heat generated was so intense as to rapidly melt 
these cast iron bars, making it a necessity to abandon the use 
of the bars in this position, or devise some other arrangement 
of placing them where the heat would not be so great. 

After this practical demonstration of what could be done, 
work was commenced on a plant at No. 3 ovens, Pratt Mines, 
to make steam necessary for operating a water works pump 
and a direct acting steam lift which is used in elevating load¬ 
ed coal larries from the level of the bin tracks to the level of 
No. 1 ovens. Some years previous to this, a large flue 4 feet 
wide and 4 feet high to the spring of the arch, had been built 
at No. 3 ovens for the purpose of keeping the bottoms hot, and 
also, if practicable, enlarge the size of the charges coked by 
means of an induced draught. This flue was placed between, 
but under, the ovens, and was connected to each oven by two 
flues which left the rear of the oven about one foot above the 
coal line, passed down and under the oven bottom to a point 
near the door of the oven, where they turned back and entered 
the main flue near the rear of the oven. 

From what I can learn, this plan was not seccessful, for the 
reason, among others, that the coke adhered so to the oven bot¬ 
toms, that it was with great difficulty the ovens could be drawn. 
In the construction of the boiler plant at these ovens, this large 
flue was utilized by dispensing with the flues under the bot¬ 
toms, and making a direct connection from it to the oven at a 
point about two-thirds of the distance up on the oven from 
bottom to top. The boiler was enclosed by plain brick walls, 
with a connection at one end to the main flue from the ovens. 
To begin with, rather complete arrangements were made to 
admit just the proper amount of air from the atmosphere to 
burn the gases, somewhat after the plan of the gas burners 
under blast furnace boilers. This was not a success, and after 
several days’ trial it was abandoned, and everything was made 
as nearly air-tight as possible, after which no further trouble 
was experienced, and steam was generated in sufficient quan- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


49 


tity to do the work desired. The plant gave perfect satisfac¬ 
tion, and was continued in operation until the ovens supplied 
by the hoist were blown out and the plant abandoned. It will 
be put to work again as soon as business improves sufficiently 
to justify the relighting of the No. ovens. 

In order that the construction and mode of operation of the 
plants now in operation may be readily understood. I have 
prepared plans of one of the plants to which will be made in 
this paper. As noted heretofore, the ovens from which the 
gases and heat are derived, were built some years ago and were 
in operation at the time work was commenced. The first part 
of the work undertaken was the construction of the loneritudi- 

o 

nal main flue which is cylindrical in section and placed imme¬ 
diately to the rear of the ovens. A few ovens were blown out 
at a time, and as the flue was built and connection made to 
each oven, these ovens were again put in blast and others 
blown out, and so on until the flue had been built and connec¬ 
tions made to the entire battery of 25 ovens. This main flue 
is 3 feet 6 inches internal diameter, has 4-inch walls on bottom 
half, and 9-inch walls on top half, and is built of fire brick 
furnished by the Bessemer Fire Brick Company, of Bessemer, 
Ala. At first sight, it may seem that the walls are too light 
for a flue of such diameter, but when one reasons that this flue 
is cylindrical in shape, which gives the greatest possible 
strength for the amount of material used, the objection does 
not have the same force. At all events, it has given no trouble 
except on two occasions, when a few bricks fell out of the 
walls and into the flue at the juncture of one of the small flues 
which connects it with the ovens. When the clay and earth 
Ailing was removed from the ovens to make room for the main 
flue, it was found, as was expected, to be quite hard burned, 
and especially that part resting on the oven walls proper, 
which was as hard burned as an ordinary .red brick. This 
hard material was nicely cut out to a section equal to the half 
circle of the external diameter of the flue, the bottom half of 
which was laid in it, using the cut-out section as a form, and 


=;o ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

a loamy clay as a mortar. The upper half of the flue was then 
laid, using the ordinary wood centers, which were moved 
along as the flue was completed. Over the upper half of the 
flue, a layer of about six inches thick of well puddled clay was 
put on, which, when the heat was turned on, was burned to 
the hardness of a red brick. This plan was adopted as a cheap 
means of reinforcing and adding strength to the walls of the 
flue, and making it so that if a brick or two did fall out, it 
would be quite probable the flue would do duty until a con¬ 
venient time for making repairs could be had. In both of the 
instances where the flue gave way, work was continued for 
several days before repairs were made. As is shown by the 
plan, in transverse and longitudinal sections, the main flue is 
built in contact with the rear walls of the ovens, and a con¬ 
nection is made to each oven at the point of contact by a cyl¬ 
indrical brick flue 12 inches in diameter and about 20 inches 
long. 

Theqe are two boilers plants of the design, size, and con¬ 
struction shown in plan, in operation at Pratt Mines, and each 
one receives the heat and gases from its individual battery of 
12-foot bank bee-hive ovens of the usual American construction. 
Each plant consists of two batteries of 46-inch by 26-foot boil¬ 
ers, with two 16-inch flues each, and is situated midway and 
to the rear of the ovens in such a position that the transverse 
center line which passes through the center of the thirteenth 
oven, counted from each end, is also the center line of the 
boiler plant. The boiler were placed in the center of the bank 
of ovens, for the reason that the closer they were placed to 
ovens the less the distance would be which the gases would 
have to travel, and consequently the less would be the loss ot 
the initial heat of the gases by radiation. To illustrate : the 
boilers might be placed so far from ths ovens as to cause the 
gases to part with all the initial oven heat before arriving at 
the boilers, and in such a case the benefit derived would be 
alone in the combustion of the gases at the boilers with the 
proper admixture of air, in a manner similar to the burning of 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


5 1 


gases trom the blast furnaces under boilers and in hot blast 
stoves. This being the case, it is apparent that unless the 
conditions will not admit oi it, the boilers should be placed as 
close to the ovens as possible. The boiler settings, as will be 
seen from the drawings, ore of the ordinary type, with the 
boiler fronts and grate bars omitted. To have used grate bars 
in order to allow of hand firing with coal, would have com¬ 
plicated the plant to an extent which the benefits tg be derived 
would not have warranted. As noted in a previous portion of 
this paper, grate bars were used in the first experimental plant 
erected at Pratt Mines, and in that case they were rapidly de¬ 
stroyed by the incandescent gases passing over them. To have 
obviated this trouble, it would have been necessary to admit 
the gases back of the grate bars, and in such a case that part 
of the boiler immediately over the bars would have been prac¬ 
tically dead space ; or a furnace might have been built, to one 
or both sides of the boilers, in such a manner as to admit the 
heat and gases at the same point as they are now admitted in 
the plant described in this paper. 

In order that each battery might be worked separately or 
both at one time, an independent flue from the main flue, and 
discharging under the battery, is provided, as shown in the 
plan, and in each of these branch flues, which are of the same 
diameter as the main flue, a damper was placed in the first 
plant built, but after working practically for several months, 
it was found to be almost unnecessary, as the opening of the 
breeching and cleaning doors at once stops the draft, and con- 
sequently the flow of gases, and if the shut-down was to be 
for any length of time it would be an easy matter to close one 
of the flues with a temporary brick wall, such as is used in 
closing coke oven doors at each drawing. That it is only a 
matter of a few minutes? work to open these doors and take 
off the oven dampers has been demonstrated on several occa¬ 
sions when it was desired to stop the flow of gas and heat to 
the boilers. In fact, this can be done as expeditiously almost 


^2 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

as a damper, large and unwieldy as it would necessarily be, 
could be manipulated. 

The foregoing description, together with the accompanying 
plans and photographs, will, I hope, enable you, with but 
little trouble, to understand what the plant is like and how it 
is built and operated. 

I will now undertake to explain the modus operandi , so far 
as it relates,to the coking operation. The ovens are charged 
in the same manner as any well managed bee-hive ovens, and 
then levelled and the doors closed up as rapidly as possible, in 
order to reduce to the minimum the amount of cold air which 
rushes through the oven and into the flue. After this has been 
done, the damper is put on the trunnel .head and some fine 
dirt thrown around its edges to prevent the oven drawing in 
any air at this point. So far as the plan relates to the trunnel 
head, there is somewhat of a deviation from the original plant 
in so far as it shows a funnel-shaped cast iron top to it, which 
as yet does not exist, the plan for same having but recently 
been finished. This trunnel is designed to make the use of a 
much smaller and lighter damper possible, which will make a 
practically air tight joint without the use of a dirt filling on 
the top. It would also prevent the scraping into the oven at 
every charge of a lot of clay and dirt, which of course increases 
the ash in the coke to some extent. 

The burning of the coke is done in exactly the same manner 
as with the ordinary bee-hive oven, i.e., enlarging or restrict¬ 
ing the air inlet at the top of the oven door, as the proper cok¬ 
ing of the coal may demand. In the case of our two plants, 
the draught through the ovens produced by the boiler stacks 
is greater than it is in those ovens which discharge to the at¬ 
mosphere their volumes of flame direct from the trunnel heads, 
and such being the case it is necessary to maintain a smaller 
air inlet opening at the top of the oven doors than is usually 
the case, but in this we experience no difficulty, as the air sup¬ 
ply can be, and is, regulated just as easily one way as the oth- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


53 


er. It is found, however, and quite naturally so, that larger 
charges can be burned off in the regular time by admitting 
more air, and this without injury to the coke produced. 

It is found in some cases that shortly after the charge of 
coal has become well ignited, the connecting flue from the 
oven to the main longitudinal flue will become choked up with 
unconsumed carbon in the form of soot, and completely cut off 
the draft. In such a case, all that is necessary is the removal 
of the damper from the trunnel head, after which the carbon 
will be rapidly burned out. After the flue has been cleaned 
out by thus merely removing the damper, it is again replaced, 
when the coking process proceeds as before. 

After the coal has been burned the proper time, the ovens 
are drawn in the usual manner and recharged promptly. Now 
that the drawing of the ovens has been thoroughly systema¬ 
tized, they are all (12 or 13) drawn on each battery of 25 
ovens at practically the same time, and recharged as quickly 
as possible, the object being to reduce the time that the ovens 
remain empty to as short a space as possible. In practice it is 
found that the ovens on one battery, 12 or 13, can be drawn 
and charged in the space of two hours. Nos. 1 and 25 ovens 
(for these Nos., see plan) are the first ovens cooled before 
drawing, and it is quite interesting to note the effect on the 
veneration of steam. In the space of 15 or 20 minutes after 

o 

water is first thrown into the oven, with a hose used tor that 
purpose, the steam pressure will rapidly increase as many as 
20 pounds. 1 his pressure is maintained until the opening and 
cooling of a number ol ovens allows cold aii to rush in, which 
reduces the steam pressure, and it remains so reduced until the 
ovens have been drawn, recharged, levelled and ignited, when 
the heat will again raise the steam pressure, and keep a con¬ 
stant but, towards the end of the coking process, gradually 
declining pressure, uhtil the following day, when the other 
half of the battery is drawn. In order that a constant pressure 
of steam may be maintained as perfectly as possible, the ovens 


54 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

of one battery (12 or 13) are drawn and charged, and given 
time to ignite, before the evens of the other battery are molest¬ 
ed. This is accomplished with practically no inconvenience. 
The steam is carried from No. 2 battery to No. 1 battery in a 
6-inch pipe about 400 feet long, and from there the combined 
steam of both batteries is carried to shaft No. 1, where it is 
used in operating hoisting and haulage engines, air compress¬ 
ors, engines, and pulsometers used at the coal washers, and 
steam pumps both on the surface and in the mine. Some of 
the steam used under ground is carried down the shaft 225 
feet, and thence to a haulage engine an additional distance of 
260 feet, thus making in all from No. 2 battery of boilers, 1425 
feet. We are not troubled to any great extent with wet steam. 
It may be said, however, that the temperature in the shaft and 
mine is so high as to reduce the condensation of the steam very 
materially. This high temperature comes from the fact that 
the engines and pumps exhaust into the return air-way, keep¬ 
ing it hot, and thus very materially assist the ventilation. 

The amount of steam actuated machinery at this mine (shaft 
No. 1) is very large, and requires a great amount of steam for 
its operation. Before the utilization of the waste heat and 
coke oven gases in the making of steam, this plant used month¬ 
ly about 1500 tons of coal, or 7 i P er cen t of the entire output 
of the mine, for boiler use. This, at $1 per ton, represented 
a monthly loss of $1500 for boiler coal, or about 7^ cents per 
ton of coal on the entire output. As long as the selling price 
of coal was reasonably remunerative, this large outlay for boil¬ 
er fuel was not felt so much, but as the’selling price constantly 
became less and less, it was imperative that something should 
be done. Then work was commenced on fhe boiler plants at 
the bank coke ovens, and so successful has been their operation 
that the coal used at the old boilers has been reduced to 300 
tons per month. When the amount of labor used at the coal 
fired boilers for firemen and ash wheelers, together with the 
expense of grate bars and general wear and tear, is considered, 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. ^ 

it is no exageration to say that the coke oven boilers have ef¬ 
fected a monthly saving of $1500, or $18,000 per annum. By 
utilizing the gas from another block of 25 ovens, the entire 
plant could be supplied with steam without using any coal 
whatever, except a little on Monday mornings, when the ovens 
are cold from standing over Sundays ; and even this could be 
obviated by drawing and charging a few of the ovens on that 
day. 

In carrying the steam from No. 2 to No. 1 battery,advantage 
is taken of the heat radiated from the coke ovens and flues to 
prevent condensation, by burying the 6-inch wrought iron 
pipe in the earth filling nearly over the main flue, and cover¬ 
ing it with a layer af old brick bats, over which mud is plas¬ 
tered, and then covered with earth filling. By this means, the 
pipe is kept hot, certainly above the boiling point, and at the 
same time not hot enough to injure the pipe. The loss from 
condensation where the pipes are thus located is practically 
nothing, and indeed I should not be surprised if the water 
which enters the pipe from the boilers with the steam was not 
reconverted into steam. In many locations, this plan of treat¬ 
ing the steam pipe to prevent condensation, would no doubt 
b£ found of great service. The steam pipe leading from No.i 
battery to the point of consumption, Shaft No. 1, is covered 
with wool felt, which gives fair satisfaction ; but in long lines 
of pipe exposed to the weather, too much care cannot be taken 
to insure the delivery of dry steam to the engines, pumps, and 
other steam consuming apparatus. 

As might be expected, we have found that the temperature 
maintained under the boilers is comparatively uniform, and 
contrasts very strongly with that of coal fired boilers, where it 
is subject to rapid and great fluctuations, owing to the supply 
of the fuel being intermittent. The change in volume of flame 
and gases, as fed to the boilers from the ovens, is found to be 
gradual, decreasing by slow degrees from the maximum some¬ 
times after the charges have fairly commenced to coke, to such 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

times as the ovens are burned oft' or “around.’’ This difference 
is not as great, however, as might be imagined, for the reason 
that the battery of ovens supplying the boilers are not all 
drawn on the same day, but the same rule of drawing alternate 
ovens every other day, as is the common practice at most bee¬ 
hive ovens, is followed here, which has the effect of always 
giving heat enough to generate steam fairlv well. The com- 
paratively uniform temperature under the boilers has a very 
beneficial influence on the boilers, as they are not subjected to 
rapid change from high to low temperature, and vice versa, 
accompanied, as it would be, with great strains from expansion 
and contraction of the sheets. Another benefit to the boilers 
is, the absence of draughts of cold air which rush in when the 
doors of coal fired boilers are opened to rsceive a fresh supply 
of coal, and thus injure the boiler plates. 

When any of the ovens require repairing, the same can be 
done without in any manner interfering with the operation of 
the other ovens in the same battery. It is only necessary in 
such a case to close up the 12-inch flue at the rear of the oven, 
which connects with the main flue, in order to prevent the air 
from rushing into the main flue and cooling the gases, but if 
an oven were to fall in to such an extent as to injure the main 
flue, then the repairs would probabty interfere with the work¬ 
ing of the main flue between that point and the end of the 
block of ovens. 

As noted previously in this paper, the boiler stacks at each 
point are of sufficient height (about 75 feet) above the level of 
the top of the ovens as to cause a greater draft and consequent- 
lv more air to pass through the ovens for the same size air inlet 
at the door, than passes through the ovens which discharge 
through the trunnel head to the atmosphere. This is not found 
to cause any trouble, as it is a matter which can be regulated 
at the door of the ovens with no inconvenience, but should it 
be.desired to maintain no greater draft, it is a matter which 
could be arranged by either reducing the height of the stacks 
or by the addition of a damper to each one, which could be 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


57 


regulated at will. In such a case, the coking condition would 
be almost identical with that of the ordinary bee-hive oven, 
discharging direct to the atmosphere. 

Reference to the plan will show that when it is not desired 
to use the heat and the gas at the boilers, the only means for 
their escape from the ovens is through the tunnel heads, as is 
done where the heat and gases are not utilized but allowed to 

«r 

pass direct to the atmosphere. This change is effected, when 
necessary, in a short space of time, say 5 minutes, and if the 
gases are not again turned under the boilers, it would be nec¬ 
essary, in some cases at least, to increase the size of the air inlet 
at the oven doors. Such a contingency with us, however, is 
very-rare. Should it be desired to arrange a plant which would 
not be subject to this contingency, all that would be required 
is the placing of the stack in such a way as to enable the fire¬ 
man, or other person in charge of the boilers, to open and shut 
the dampers in such a manner as to send the gases direct from 
the ovens to the stack, or from the ovens to the boilers and 
then to the stack, as might be desired. 

The use of the plant under question, of course, does away 
with all smoke about the ovens, and to that extent renders the 
work of drawing and loading coke much more agreeable for 
the workmen. This point is shown plainly in the general view, 
Figure 1. 

Monitor injectors are used for supplying the boilers with 
water. This could be improved upon by using steam pumps 
instead, and in such a case I think it would not be difficult to 
so arrange the plant as to utilize some of the heat radiated from 
the the ovens and flues, through the earth filling, to heat the 
feed water after it has left the pumps and before it has reached 
the boilers, 

0 

Granting that the operation of the plants we have at Pratt 
Mines produce no bad effects upon the coke made at the ovens, 
it seems to me that there are many places where the ovens 
could he made to furnish a cheap fuel to take the place of coal 


58 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

burned under the boilers,but which might just as well be sold. 
And in these days of the transmission of power long distances by 
electricity,there is no reason why much of the flame and smoke 
from coke ovens, now being allowed to go to waste, should 
not be utilized, converted into electricity, and used in towns 
and cities not too far removed from the ovens, in the operation 
of electric railways, the lighting of streets, etc., as well as for 
many other uses. The greatest field for a thing of this kind is 
the Connellsville region of Pennsylvania, which has, roughly 
speaking, 18,000 ovens, receiving a daily charge, when all are 
in operation, of about 50,000 tons of coal. Assuming that the 
heat and gases from the ovens in the Connellsville region would 
make as much steam per ton of coal charged into the ovens as 
our Pratt Mines coal, we And it would be equivalent to the 
the daily consumption of 18,000 tons of coal under steam boil¬ 
ers. I will say nothing as to the saving in dollars and cents 
which this would effect, as that can be estimated readily by 
those who are interested. The same would be true of the Ala¬ 
bama ovens, but to a less extent. 

As is well known to blast furnace men, the question of steam 
is often a very serious one; and many furnaces, finding tbe 
supply of furnace gases insufficient, are compelled to use coal, 
more or less, at the boilers. Such a practice is expensive in 
proportion to the degree in which it is practiced, and, during 
these times of low prices for pig iron, has a telling effect upon 
the earnings of a furnace. In such,cases, it would be econom¬ 
ical to have the coke ovens sufficiently near to the furnaces as 
to permit of the utilization of the waste coke oven heat and 
gases in the generation of steam for the blowing engines and 
other uses ; and I can see no reason why the hot blast stoves, 
also, could not be heated by the waste from the ovens. With 
such an arrangement, there would always be an abundance of 
steam and gas, and, consequently, air and heat for the blast. 
That there are many localities where it would not be expedient 
to locate the ovens at the furnaces, I grant, but, on the other 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


59 


hand, there are existing plants, and others which will be built 
in the future, where such an arrangement could be installed. 

The following statement gives the result of a test made in 
July, 1S93, ^ le coa l fh'ed and coke oven gas fired boilers, at 
shaft No. 1, known as No. 1 battery. The test of the coal fired 
boilers extended over a period of 17 days, and that of the gas 
v . e c o 1^ e oven boiler plant consists of four 26 
feet by 46 inch boilers with two 16-inch flues each, and the 
coal fired boiler plant of four 26 feet by 42 inch boilers with 
two 16-inch flues each. 


9.9 

12,960 
i,3 IQ 
6.7 

34 2 

46 

2,856 


Coal Coke oven 
fired boilers, fired boilers. 
Minutes required to lower water 1 inch in 

boiler, ------ 10.2 

To lower water in boiler equal to cubic inch, 11,856 
Water evap. per boiler per min., cubic inch, 1,160 
Water evaporated per boiler per min.,gallons, 5.0 

W ater evaporated per boiler per hr., gallons, 300 

Water evaporated per boiler per hr., cu. ft. 40 

Water evaporated per boiler per hr., lb. - 2,500 

Pounds of coal charged to I2-| ovens for four 
boilers, and pounds consumed at four coal 
fired boilers, per 24 hr., - - - 32,000 125,000 

Pounds of coal charged to ovens and cons’md 

at coal fired boilers, per hr. per boiler, 333 1,302 

Pounds water evaporated per hour per boiler 
per pound of coal charged to ovens and con¬ 
sumed at coal fired boilers, - - 7.5 2.2 

As shown by the above tests, the coke oven boilers evapo¬ 
rated more water in a given time than the coal fired boilers. 
This, to a great extent at least, is owing to the comparative 
size of the boilers, but it should have no appreciable effect 
upon the capacity of the boiler to evaporate water per pound 
of coal, either charged to the ovens on the one hand, or con¬ 
sumed under the coal fired boilers on the other. As noted, the 


6o 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


coal fired boilers evaporated 2 2-10 pounds, thus showing that 
for each 3 4-10 pounds or tons of coal charged to the ovens, as 
the case may be, we get the same effect from our coke oven 
boilers as we would were we to burn one pound or one of coal 
under a coal fired boiler. 


During this month I have had daily tests made, for each day 
in a week, of the amount of water evaporated, the results of 
which are as follows : 


Date, Nov., 1893. 


No. 1 Battery 
5 6 


Day of week— 


G 

3 

m 


o 

»^-l 


Minutes req uired tolow’r^) 
water 1 inch in boiler | 
or to evaporate 12,960 ) 
cu. in. in 1 boiler, or 51 - | 
840 cu.in. in 4 boilers. J 


7 

8 

2 

3 

4 

an 

-6 

C/2 

. 

Av. 

H 

& 

h 

£ 

in for 





—week. 

7.0 

7.0 

rt~ 

CO 

8-4 

9.2 8.8 


No. 2 Battery. 

Date, Nov., 1893. 56782 

• ^ • • • 

C q 

Day of week— S' H ^ H 

Minutes required to low’r^ 
water 1 in. in boiler or 
to evaporate 12,960011. ^13.0 9.1 7.7 6.7 7.5 7.8 9.6 8.3 

in. in 1 boiler, or 51,- 
840 cu. in. in 4 boilers.^ 

It is fair, however, to say that the larries are too small to 
put in as large charges on Fridays and Saturdays as can be 
burned off, and when this is remedied, as it will be soon, the 
Sunday record will be more favorable. 

By comparing this table with the previous one, it will be 
observed that No. 1 battery has raised its record from an evap- 


3 4 


.4 Av. 

£ C/2 f° r 












ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 61 

oration ot 12.960 cubic inches per boiler in 9 9-10 minutes fo 
12,960 cubic inches in 88-10 minutes, while No. 2 battery does 
the same work in 8 3-10 minutes. 

The better work of No 2 battery is no doubt due to the fact 
that it is provided with a main flue from 3 feet by 6 inches in 
diameter its entire length, whereas the main flue at No. 1 bat¬ 
tery is smaller towaads the ends, and especially that portion 
which was built for the experimental plant in 1888, and which 
is now used as a part of the main flue. This teaches us that 
the main flue should be of ample capacity to freely carry off 
the gases from the ovens without in any degree retarding the 
proper coking of the coal in the ovens. To the better present 
arrangement of the drawing, charging, etc., of the ovens,should 
be given no small portion of credit for this improvement. 

Taking the work of No. 2 battery as the standard and com¬ 
paring it with the coal fired boilers we find that the former 
evaporate 2 6-10 pounds of water for every pound of coal 
charged to the ovens while the latter evaporate 7 5-10 pounds 
for each pound of coal burned under the boilers, and, carrying 
the comparison still further, we find that for each 2 9-10 
pounds or tons of coal charged to the ovens the same effect is 
produced, in other words the same amount of steam is gener¬ 
ated, as when one pound or one ton of coal, as the case may 
be, is burned under the coal fired boilers. This is a record 
which I think we will be able to maintain without much ef¬ 
fort and certainly without any extra expense to the coking 
operation, and with much less expense so far as the working 
and care of the boilers is concerned, as compared with those 
fired with coal and generating as great a quantity of steam. 

A study of the foregoing table reveals the fact that the boiler 
evaporates more water on Tuesdays and Wednesdays than on 
the other days of the week, Sunday being the lowest. 

I had hoped to be able to present with this paper the results 
of the tests of physical and chemical qualities of the coke made 


62 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

in our boiler coke ovens, as compared with that from the ordi¬ 
nary bee-hive oven, which discharges it heat and gases direct 
to the atmosphere, but in this I have been disappointed as I 
have not had the time to go into the matter as thoroughly as 
the subject demands. I think I can safely say, however, that 
there is no difference in the cokes made from either oven, I 
have come to this conclusion after carefully watching the ope¬ 
ration of the ovens. So tar as can be judged from looks, no 
difference exists. 



4 

PROceejPWGS 


OF THE 


ndasfnai and 



VOL. U ME IV. 


NO 


1 894. 

















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE . 

V ' 

ALABAMA 

% 

Industrial and Scientific Society. 

volume; iv. no. i. 

1 894. 

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 



\ 


Secretary’s Office, 

University P. O., 

Alabama. 


BURTON & WEATHERFORD, TUSCALOOSA, ALA. 






OFFICERS. 


1894 . 


PRESIDENT. 


Wm, B. Phillips, 


Birmingham, Ala. 


VICE PRESIDENTS. 


T. H. Aldrich, 


* 


S. C. Harrison, 

F. M. Jackson, - 
Geo. B. McCormack, 
Ernst Prochaska, 


Birmingham, Ala. 

Warrior, Ala. 
Brookwood, Ala. 
Pratt City. 
Birmingham, Ala. 


TREASURER. 


Henry McCalley, 


University, Ala. 


SECRETARY. 


Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala. 


* Vacant by resignation of J. M. McKlerov, Anniston, Ala. 




TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Proceedings op Spring Meeting, ('Annual Meeting) . 5 

Address of Retiring President— Erskine Ramsay. . 8 

Analysis of Limestones and Dolomites of the Birmingham Ala¬ 
bama District— C. A. Meissner. 12 

Dolomite as a Flux for Blast Furnace use— Ed A. Uehling. 24 

Electricity in Mining— Chas. Ed. Bowron. 28 

On The Phosphate Rock of Tennessee— Wm. B. Phillips . 44 

Report of the Secretary.... 49 

Report of the Treasurer. 51, 52, 53 













ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


5 


REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF ANNUAL MEETING 


OF THE 

ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, 
HELD IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, MAY 31 , 1894 , 


Meeting was called to order at 8 130 p. m., with President 
Ramsay in the chair. There were present the following: 
Messrs. Thomas Seddon, E. A. Smith, E. Ramsay, H. Alber, 
T. H. Aldrich, A. H. Carpenter, P. H. Haskell, J. W. Mur¬ 
ray, W. B. Phillips, C. A. Meissner, T. H. Spencer, E. A. 
Uehling, H. McCalley, A.E. Barton, Frank Smith, R.F.Man¬ 
ly, and Mr. Smith, of the Evening News. 

Mr. Ramsay, President of the Society, then read his Ad¬ 
dress, which will be found in the Proceedings. 

On motion, it was resolved to dispense with the reading of 
the minutes of the last meeting and to adopt them as shown in 
the printed pamphlet, a copy of which had been sent each 
member. 

The President stated he had received an invitation from the 
Commercial Club of Birmingham for the members of this So- 
cietv to be present at their banquet to be held this evening. It 
was resolved to accept the invitation, and, in order to give 
our members a chance to be present, that the business of the 
Societv be dispatched as quickly as possible. To this end, it 
was thought best to dispense with a discussion of the papers 
to be presented this evening. 

The Secretary reported two applications for membership in 
the Society—one from James Bowron, Secretary Tennessee 
Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, Nashville, Tenn., and 
the other from R. F. Manly, of Birmingham, Ala. The 



6 ’ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Council having recommended them, on motion their election 
was made unanimous. 

The Secretary then read his Annual Report (which 
will be found elsewhere in the proceedings), which 

* i 

was received, and the recommendations contained therein 
acted on as follows : ist, It was moved and seconded that the 
recommendation of the Secretary, that papers be. sent only to 
active members of the Society, and that the decision as to who 
arc active members be left to the discretion of the Secretary, 
be adopted. This was carried. 2nd—It was moved and sec¬ 
onded, that the Secretary exchange, at his discretion, reports 
of proceedings of this Society with other Societies to the num¬ 
ber of active members in this Society. This motion also 
carried. 

The Treasurer, Mr. Henry McCalley, read his annual re¬ 
port, which will be found in full in the proceedings. The re¬ 
port was received and accepted, and the Committee appointed 
by the Chair, consisting of Mr. J. W. Murray and Dr. Wm. 
B. Phillips, to audit the books of the Treasurer, reported that 
they found everything correct. On motion the report was re¬ 
ceived and ordered spread on the minutes and the Committee 
discharged. 

The next thing in the order of business was the reading of 
papers, and in accordance with the understanding arrived at, 
at the beginning of the meeting,they were not discussed. The 
papers presented were,ist, “Electricity in Mining,” by C. E. 
Bowron. (In his absence, this was read by Dr. Phillips). 2nd, 
“Dolomite as a Flux for Blast Furnaces,” by E. A. Uehling. 
3rd, “Analyses of Limestone Formations in the Birmingham 
District," by C. A. Meissner. After the above papers were 
read, Dr. Wm. B. Phillips made a talk on “Phosphate Rock 
in Tennessee.” 

After Dr. Phillips' talk, the President announced,, as result 
of the vote, that the officers of the Society would be as follows 
for the ensuing year : 

President, Dr. Wm. B. Phillips. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


7 


Vice Presidents, G. B. McCormack and E. Prochaska. 

The new President was escorted to the Chair,and on motion 
the meeting adjourned, attending in a body the banquet of the 
Commercial Club. 


Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


8 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL ANI) SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, ERSKINE RAMSAY. 

Gentlemen of the Alabama Industrial and Scientific 
Society : 

Owing to a business engagement which took me out of the 
State, I was unable to be present at the last Annual Meeting, 
at which time you honored the speaker by electing him presi¬ 
dent of your Society. It was an unexpected honor, and while 
grateful to you for the mark of confidence, I could not keep 
from feeling that the choice was not a judicious one, as the 
Society embraced among its members many much better fitted 
for the position. But be this as it may, I desire to express to 
you my highest appreciation of, and thanks for,the honor con¬ 
ferred. 

The Society has not enjoyed that degree of prosperity and 
prominence to which it is entitled by virtue of its being the 
only organization in the State representing its coal, coke, ore, 
iron, and allied industries. It is a matter of sincere regret that 
such is the case,but we find the explanation of the cause in the 
fact that the South has suffered, along with all other sections 
of the country, in the general depression of business which has 
characterized the past few years. But as the creation of this 
Society was for the purpose of mutual good to be brought 
about by the interchange of ideas and experience of its mem¬ 
bers, we find that if we are to derive any benefits from such a 
source there is no time for action like the present, and if we 
have any information which can properly come before the So¬ 
ciety we should not hesitate or hold back in allowing it to see 
the light of day through the medium of our meetings and 
“Transactions.” 

As the degree of success of our Society will be practically 
in direct proportion to the interest centered in it by its mem¬ 
bers, we, as individuals, should constitute ourselves, each and 
all, a special committee of one to solicit additions to its mem. 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


9 


bership in the persons of the many able and competent work¬ 
ers who have to deal with the various problems confronting 
us to-day as an industrial people. While it is true that the 
development of the mineral industries of Alabama is in its in¬ 
fancy in number of years, yet we have reached a point where 
we are by no means at the tail end of the procession and as 
such we should all feel a personal pride in furthering this ad¬ 
vancement to the fullest extent. 

Most of us have been slow to come forward and give our 
fellows the benefit of our experience in the various branches 
of the industries with which we may be connected. This 
should not be so. I believe a man loses nothing in letting the 
world know of the successes and reverses he may have had in 
his efforts to enlarge the capacity, improve the quality, and 
cheapen the production of his works. Of course - it is expect¬ 
ing too much from frail human nature to ask that the failures 
without the successes be recorded, but when success has at last 
crowned our efforts then there is nothing lost in itemizing 
and stipulating the various steps and gradations leading up to 
such success, as they will then, like beacon lights, designate 
the hidden rocks in the unknown waters over which we may 
be sailing. 

It seems to me that the Society should appoint committees, 
at its regular meetings, who would be charged with the duty 
of investigating some one of the various branches of mining 
and manufacturing which are of the greatest interest to its 
members and the district at large. The scope of these inves¬ 
tigations might be of such liberal proportions as to embrace 
the study of the plans and workings of those branches of in¬ 
dustry, with which we come in competition, in other sections 
of the country. It is worse than folly to shut our eyes to the 
fact that our competitors are fully alive to the necessity of 
their adopting everything calculated to give them the least ad¬ 
vantage over their competitors and herein lies the reason 
why we should know what is going on around us and be al- 


IO 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ways in a position to make as great if not greater strides in 
in the line of improvement. 

We are in need of all the information which may possibly 
be derived from the varied experience and practice of the 
managers of our mines and furnaces ; and, in fact, it is neces¬ 
sary to our industrial welfare that we aid one another in this 
respect, as by so doing we may then hope to keep pace with 
the methods of improved practice prevalent north of the Ohio 
river, where such a condition of affairs has been brought about 
through the instrumentality of the numerous technical societies 
of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and other States. 

As an illustration of this idea, I am free to confess that in 
the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engi¬ 
neers, I have, on more than one occasion, found improved 
ways ol surmounting difficulties which otherwise I would 
probably not have known. 

Owing mainly to the youthfulness of our Society, not many 
subjects have been brought to its attention in the shape of 
papers from its members ; and, with such a condition, we 
therefore have nearly the entire field, embraced within the 
area of our various callings, from which to select our subjects 
for discussion, and among which may be mentioned in ore and 
coal mining the following ; Prospecting, Shaft and Slope 
Sinking and the timbering of same; Surface Plant, such as 
hoisting engines and boilers, air compressors, coal sizing and 
washing plants ; Plans of working various seams ; Gases met 
with in mines, together with the means and appliances put in 
practice in overcoming the same; Ventilating appliances; 
Drainage of mines; Disintegration of coal before coking; 
Utilization of the waste products of the coking operation, and 
mony other topics topics which it is not necessary here to 
mention, as I know it is not at all a difficult matter for one to 
make a selection for the subject of a paper to be read before 
our Society, and especially, as I said before, as it is still in its 
swaddling clothes. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. II 

For those of our members connected with blast furnaces, I 
should imagine there would be no trouble in centering upon 
some part of the practice of to-day as the subject for a paper. 
Among these may be mentioned : Blast Furnace Ores ; Ala¬ 
bama Cokes and Blast Furnace Practice; Blowing Engines; 
Hot Blast Stoves ; Grades of Pig Iron ; Ore Refining by Con¬ 
centration ; Magnetization of Non-Magnctic Ores; Dephos- 
phorization of Ores ; Steel Making, etc., etc. 

While I am perfectly satisfied that every one here knows 
full well of the existence of the above named subjects, yet I 
thought it would not be amiss here to put them down in black 
and white, in order that when a member is asked to contribute 
a paper it will not be necessary or fair for him to stump the 
solicitor by asking him what he should write about. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


I 2 


ANALYSIS OF LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES 

OF TIIE 

BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA DISTRICT. 


BY C. A. MEISSNER, V. P. «& G. M. VANDERBILT STEEL & IRON CO. 


I herewith present to you a number of analyses of Limestone 
Formations in the Birmingham District, showing also some 
comparisons of Birmingham and foreign Dolomites, that are 
of interest in connection with our future steel developments. 
These analysis were almost all made at the laboratory of the 
Vanderbilt S. & I. Co., by Mr. J. W. Mills, chemist of that 
company; now chemist of the Woodward Iron Company. 

They are reliable, and unless specially stated, are all from 
large stock house samples, and represent fair averages of the 
stone. 

I will begin with the most prominent formation industrially, 
that of the Calcite* stone in Murphree’s valley.f 

The formation here is high and extensive, and can be 
quarried in a very economical manner. It is located within 
26 miles of Birmingham. See analysis, (Set A.) 

It will be seen that in general samples it shows considerable 
regularity and very fair purity for fluxing purposes. 

This formation is, however, cut by one or more bands of 
dark stone, of which No. 10 and 11 are analyses; while the 
grey stone analyzes below 2 per cent in silica. I believe Mr. 
Smith, of the Sloss S. & I. Co., can give us some information 
.on this point, as I do not happen to have analyses of the pure 
grey stone. 


* The word Calcite in this paper is used to distinguish between the limestones 
proper, and the Magnesian Limestones or Dolomites—E. A. S. 
f This is from the mountain limestone formation ot the Sub-Carboniferous.—E.A.S. 





ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. I $ 

I understand, however, that it is not practicable to separate 
these layers completely in quarrying, hence the higher analy¬ 
ses of the general samples. 

One curious fact developed by these analyses is, that the 
dark intercalated layers approach the Dolomites, as seen by 
the much greater per cent of magnesia than the average sam¬ 
ples show. 

Aluminum is rather high but not excessively so—though 
somewhat above the average generally used in the north. 

The next largest formation, industrially, is found at Gate 
City, Alabamaj ; it is located nearer to Birmingham than the 
previous formation, being within 3 miles of the previous for¬ 
mation ; see analyses, (Set B.) 

These analyses show very similar results, somewhat lower 
in silica and alumina than (Set A) ; but the same fault exists 
here as in Murphree’s valley, the bands of dark stone, high in 
silica, as shown in analyses No. 8 and 9, which could quickly 
ruin a shipment if care is not exercised in properly mixing 
the stone. 

These two deposits are the most important producers of 
flux for the Birmingham furnaces. The next formation is a 
very large deposit of Calcite stone at Blount Springs, * but 
its great distance from Birmingham, 35 miles, prevents its be¬ 
ing used as a flux at present, see analyses (Set C.) This for¬ 
mation is capable of furnishing a purer calcite than the other 
two, owing to the fact, that while it also presents the features 
of the bands of dark stone running through the formation, the 
analyses No. 6 and 7 would indicate them to be purer and 
more like the general mass of stone. As freedom from silica 
is now-a-days the great desideratum in the economic running 
of our furnaces, it is to be regretted that this formation is not 
nearer to the district. 

Underlying the red ore, separated from it by a layer of sand¬ 
stone, all along Red Mountain is a heavy layer of c urly, pecu - 

•j-Tliis is the Trenton, or Pelham, Limestone.— E. A. S. 

* This is also the Mountain Limestone.—K. A. S. - 






14 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL A,ND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

liar looking limestone, of which the following is an analysis. 
It is occassionally impregnated with iron as shown in No. 2. 
See analyses (Set D.) 

No. i would make a very pure stone, but, as it cannot be 
quarried, but must be mined, it is not available for fluxing 
purposes at present. 

Practically the same formation occurs at Woodstock, Ala¬ 
bama, see analyses, (Set E.) 

At Trussville considerable limestone* is found, some out¬ 
crops very uniform, others impregnated with occasional 
nodules of flint. 

Where quarried, it is a very fair stone, see analysis (Set F.) 

We will now take up the dolomite formations; these under¬ 
lie the limestone formations above mentioned, and form the 
bottom of parts of Jones’ Valley, for a series of miles east and 
west of Birmingham. The most important one, and the only 
one which can be used industrially, is the top layer of the 
dolomite formations.f This layer lies directly under por¬ 

tions of the city of Birmingham, and runs northeasterly to¬ 
wards Boyles Gap, six or seven miles, when it disappears un¬ 
der the hills. It also runs southwesterly towards Woodward 
Alabama, for io or 12 miles. The only outcrops of any im¬ 
portance are a mile or two from Boyles Gap, at the May & 
Spencer properties, where it bluffs out and disappears under 
the hills. There are numerous surface exposures of this for¬ 
mation all through the valley—but at these quarrying has to 
be carried on in open pits, giving no face, with all attendant 
disadvantageous circumstances of such a system of quarrying, 
see analyses (Set G.) 

These are taken from various points, viz : At Spencer and 
May properties; Forest City property; Vanderbilt; along 
Water Works Canal; North Birmingham and Woodward. 


* This is also the Mountain Limestone.—E. A. S. 
t This is near the base of the Knox Dolomite formation.—E. A. S. 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


r 5 

I his formation shows lower silica and greater uniformity 
than any of the calcite formations here; it is low in alumina 
and very uniform in lime and magnesia; phosphorus and 
sulphur are traces. 

As alumina plays a very important part in the furnace 
economy of this district, this is a factor well worthy of consid¬ 
eration. The average alumina of the limestones in practical 
use here is 2.Si%, that of this dolomite formation 1.05%, con¬ 
siderably less than half. Average silica of the calcites is 
3- x 4% °t this dolomite formation 1%, or less than one-third. 

Another important feature of this formation is its regularity ; 
there are no high silica layers in it as are found in all the cal¬ 
cite formations here ; it contains no nodules of flint or pyrites 
as is frequently the case with dolomite, especially those used 
at Joliet, Ill. Nos. 17, 18 and 19, are analyses of rock of dif¬ 
ferent appearance in this formation, and show how little they 
vary in silica. 

Occasional pockets of bright red clay are so easily separa¬ 
ble as to figure no more as an impurity than the crevices of 
yellow clay that occur in all rock formations. 

In other words, this formation is the most pure and uniform 
one in the entire available district, and the only pity is that, 
instead of appearing as the calcite formations do in high bluffs 
and large quantities and easy to quarry, there are but two or 
three outcrops in the whole district where a face of 30—50 feet 
can be readily obtained. 

I am willing to state that did this formation occur here in 
large outcrops our furnaces would use it, as it is used in Joliet, 
Ill., by the Illinois Steel Company, as it is used in the Lehigh 
Valley, and other dolomite districts with perfect success, giv¬ 
ing good quantity and quality of iron and causing greater 
uniformity and regularity in the blast furnace process. 

As it is now nearly all of the above named dolomite districts 
use a purer, lower silica and hence more economical flux, than 
is now used here in this valley, though we have here a flux 
even purer than the Joliet stone which, however, we do not 


l6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

avail ourselves of owing to misapprehension of the name dolo¬ 
mite—There are now places in this district where this upper 
formation could be quarried to some advantage and be made 
to furnish part of the supply received there, yet there are but 
two companies here that have so far availed themselves of this 
material with any degree of regularity; and, that they have 
done so to advantage, will be evidenced by the paper read by 
Mr. Uehling this evening. 

It is now in place to call attention to some other dolomite 
formations underlying this top layer and cropping out in va¬ 
rious places in Jones’ Valley. 

Beginning at North Lake on the canal of the Water Works 
Company, we have a smooth white outcrop at cave showing 
4.24 silica, sse (Set H.) ; a little to the south at creek is an 
outcrop 4.84 silica ; a mile nearer to Birmingham is a small 
outcrop showing 1.54 silica; then comes a large outcrop, cut 
however, by the canal, which shows 1.26, 1.36, 1.76, silica; 

we then come to the Spencer and to the May outcrops which 
are the regular top formations before described. 

Underlying all these formations and running to North Red 
mountain the valley is formed of a blue dolomite * in thin 
layers running clear up the valley showing silica S-95’ 6.38, 
7.02, 8.68 (see analyses Nos. 7, 8, 8, 10.) 

Running down the valley we encounter at Thomas 10.84 
silica; at Bessemer some of the upper strata appear, but not 
the top layer; there we find silica 3.25 with lime about 40%, 
and magnesia about 10%. 

The conclusion that all these analyses lead us to is that it is 
only the top layer of the dolomite formations of this district, 
which attains to that freedom from impurities necessary for a 
first class fluxing material equal or superior to that used at 
some of the most famous iron producing sections of the United 
States. 


* This belongs to the Cambrian formation.—E. A. S. 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


l 7 


The question of making steel in the Birmingham district 
has been uppermost in the minds of all iron men ever since 
the district took life. Bessemer steel has been out of the ques¬ 
tion, so far, as we have no ores suitable for this purpose, and 
whether magnetization and dephosphorization will become 
economically practicable on the large scale necessary for Besse¬ 
mer practice, is not sufficiently developed to be considered at 
'this time. The processes to be considered here are either the 
basic open hearth or the duplex process, i e, de-siliconizing in 
converters, and dephosphorizing in the basic open hearth fur¬ 
nace. In either of the latter processes steel can be made here 
of good quality and with sufficient economy to pay a fair profit 
at even present prices, provided the projectors pursue the 
course that common sense and past experience would indicate. 
By this I mean that the first requirement of a successful steel 
plant, is a first class practical steel manager, and an able trained 
corps of assistants, who should then have full control and re¬ 
sponsibility of the practical management of the plant. I have 
had opportunity to watch the various attempts made in this 
district, which have everyone failed disastrously for this one 
reason alone, and I predict failure for every succeeding attempt 
if this principal is not followed out. Money can build a plant, 
but cannot run it unless combined with the highest scientific 
and technical skill. Basic Steel is the very acme of the science 
of the iron business ; its results are so intimately dependent, 
and based on chemical composition that none but a scientific 
and practical steel manager, experienced in his business, and 
economic in his ideas can succeed in it. Witness all the at¬ 
tempts made here; costly experiments on patent processes and 
innovations ; lack of co-operation between owners and mana¬ 
gers ; creation of gigantic stock speculations involving the loss 
of every dollar put into steel—the history of our steel making 
has been one of uniform, ultimate financial failure, and that 
wholly because the first principles above enunciated have never 
been 'carried out. Not that we have not had good steel mak- 


l8 * ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

ers here, practical, scientific and honest in their endeavor to 
make good and cheap steel! Not that we have not had good 
chemists here, capable of correct results, and with knowledge 
to apply such results! But not once has a good manager with 
a good chemist, and a good chemist is as essential as a good 
manager, been given freedom of action intelligently, and not 
been hampered by stock speculation or lack of confidence ! 

This therefore is the reason of all our previous failures here 
in steel making, and not because natural conditions are against 
us. Conditions are in our favor, for with all the disadvantages, 
above described, steel has been made here of very fair quality, 
and, heat for heat, very economically. The various consumers 
of this steel here and elsewhere, can testify to that, and I ap¬ 
pend some analyses, made by myself, which will prove this. 
(See SetJ.) 

But we have lacked regularity in the results obtained, and 
financial disaster soon overtook all who made the attempt, 
owing to above causes. 

Therefore I repeat again, we can make steel here as good, as 
reliable and as uniform as in any other section of the United 
States, and compete with any other basic steel, but we must 
go at it in a business-like way, and not as a mere financial 
speculation. 

Taking it for granted therefore that the proper primary con¬ 
ditions are attained, the question of raw materials presents it¬ 
self. Those to be here considered are pig iron, and the dolo¬ 
mite necessary for making the basic linings of the furnaces. 
The pig iron made in this district, and used generally with 
scrap in most all steel made here, shows the following analy¬ 
sis : (See Set K.) 

Then a special grade of pig iron was made by Mr. John 
Dowling at the Bessemer furnaces of the T. C. I. & R. R. Co., 
a trial lot of 1000 tons being made without the least difficulty, 
and in continuous runs out of our red and brown oi'es. See 
analyses (SetL.) 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 19 

1 his once made can be made again, without difficulty in 
amounts sufficient to supply the demand. 

We now come to the dolomites found in this district, and 
will make some comparisons between them and dolomites used 
in foreign steel plants. Heretofore magnesite has been used 
exclusively in this district for the basic material, imported 
from Europe at a heavy cost, viz : $40.00 per ton, and fre¬ 
quently of such poor quality as to be practically useless. No 
provision was made to use the dolomite occurring right here in 
Jones’ Valley within a few miles of the plant. That these 
dolomites can be used and are as pure and purer than many of 
the European dolomites, the following analyses will show : 
(See Set G.) for Birminigham dolomites. (See Set M.) for 
European dolomites. The Penna. and Maryland Steel Co.,also 
use native dolomites extensively running from 1.50% to 2.50% 
in silica. 

A study of these figures reveals at a glance the great simi- 
Jarity of the basic material used in Europe at old and well 
established plants, to that which we have here, also, that in 
most cases our material is purer and more uniform. 

As to use of dolomites and magnesites, natural as well as 
artificial, I would call attention to the excellent translation of 
Wadding’s Basic Bessemer Process, by Messrs.Phillips and Pro- 
chaska, ot Birmingham, Ala. 

There is therefore no reason why we should not use our 
home products to the utmost extent and cease to import any 
more than is absolutely necessary for the purposes in hand ; it 
is a question of practical economy, pure and simple, whether 
we will use a dolomite, which we can control and buy for 
$1.00 or less, per ton, and burn it well, or whether we will use 
a magnesite at $40.00 per ton, which is liable to be of poor 
quality and not under our immediate control, in so far as it is 
a very difficult matter to adjust a dispute on a large shipment 
from over the water, as against controlling that which is at 
our own doors. 






20 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


TABLES OF ANALYSES. 


Set A — Murphree ' 1 s Valley Limestones. 


No. 

Silica. 

Alumina Lime. Magnesia. Phosphones. 

& Iron Oxide. 

1 

2.07 



2 

2.53 


49.17 

3 

2.85 


50.67 

4 

3.04 

2.58 

51.13 1.09 

5 

3.25 

2.94 

51.08 .901 .018 

6 

3.01 


50.57 

7 

3.95 


49.21 

8 

4.57 



9 

4.79 


49.03 

10 

9.93 

2 78 

39.55 0.09 Yellow Stone 

11 

9.18 

1.03 

44.33 4.50 Black Stone. 


Average of general sara 

pies :. Silica, 3.47; Alumina, 2.76. 



Set B — Gate City Limestones. 


No. 

Sil. 

Alum. & Iron Oxide. Lime. 


1 

2.37 



2 

2.43 

3.30 50.44 


3 

3.08 

• 


4 

3.29 

1.49 51.97 


5 

3.05 

.91 51.84 


G 

3.74 



7 

3 82 

1.96 50 75 


8 

7.06 

Black Stone. 


9 

6.07 

Yellow Stone. 


Average 

of general samples: Silica, 3.19: Alum., 2.05. 


Sec C —Blount Springs Limestone. 


No. 

Silica. Alumina and Iron Oxide. 

Lime. 

Magnesia. 

Phophorus 

1 

.83 .73 

54.10 

.48 


2 

.85 

52.75 



3 

1.32 

53.15 



4 

2 07 

52.09 



5 


52.25 

.78 

.0579 

6 


50.60 

1.72 


7 


51.15 

.88 



Average of general samples: Silica, 

1.57 ; 

Alumina, 1.14. 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 I 


Set D—Red Mountain Limestone. 




Silica. 

Lime. 

Iron. 




1.78 

53.92 





4.47 

49.42 

2.68 




Set E — 

Woodstock Limestone. 


No. 

Silica. 

Alumina. 

Lime. 

Magnesia. 

Iron Oxide 

1 

2.37 

.80 

51.74 

3.15 

.16 

:2 

4.31 







Average: 

Silica, 3.34; Alumina, .80. 




Set F — 

Frussvillc Limectone. 


No. 

Silica. 

• Alumina 

and Iron Oxide. 

Lime. 

Magnesia 

1 

2.16 


2.31 

50.03 

2.01 

2 

2.50 





.3 

3.12 


3.32 

48.19 

2.30 


Average: S 

ilica, 2.76; . 

Alumina; 2.81. 




Set G—Dolomite from upper formation taken from following 
properties: Spencer , May , Forest City , Vanderbilt , 
North Birmingham Waterworks Canal. 


No. 

Silica. 

Alumina. 

Lime. 

Magnesia. 

Sulphur. 

Phosphorus, IronOx 

1 

.04 

,42 

30.99 

20.54 

tr. 

tr. .40 

2 

.70 






3 

.78 






4 

.81 

1.07 

31.33 

20.08 

tr. 


5 

.88 






6 

.96 






7 

1.00 





l 

8 

1.04 

.68 

30.70 

20.87 

tr. 

tr. 

9 

1.14 

1 06 





10 

1.15 

1.76 

30.79 

20.05 



11 

1.16 

1.37 





12 

1.17 

1.07 

31.22 

20 51 



13 

1.22 






14 

1.26 

1.08 





15 

1.22 

Soft white 

stone. 




16 

1 .00 

Sott pink 

stone. 




17 

.92 

Hard stone. 





Average general samples: Silica, 1.00; Alumina, 1.05 


22 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


No 

1 

o 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
9 

10 

11 


12 


Set II—Formations in J’ones' Valley. 


Silica. 


4 24 Along waterworks canal, outcrop at cave. 

4.84 Along waterworks canal, outcrop at creek. 

1.54 Along waterworks canal, outcrop 1 m. s. e. of above. 


1.261 

1.36 > Along waterworks canal, large outcrop, cut by canal. 
1.76) 


5.95 between Mary Lee and L. and N., 
6.38 west of Bufford’s. 

7.02 west of creek. 

8 68 east of creek. 


1 

[ Blue Dolomite forming 
j bottom of Jones’ Valley. 


11.84 at Thomas, Ala. 
3.25 at Bessemer, Ala. 


Set J—Basic Ofien Hearth Steel made at Birmingham , Ala. 


No. 

Carbon. 

Silicon. 

Sulphur. 

Phosphorus. 

Manganese 

1 

.063 

.040 

.048 

.045 

.500 

2 

.063 


.030 

.064 


3 

.060 

.019 


.046 


4 

.065 


.089 

.045 

.540 

5 

.068 


.087 

.040 


6 

.062 


.020 

.053 

.280 

7 

.072 


.071 

' .056' 

.537 

8 

.060 


.054 

.053 

.568 

9 

.077 


.054 

.052 

.500 

10 

.052 


.014 

.050 

.620 

11 

.072 

.018 

.050 

.075 

.271 

12 

.095 

.015 

.036 

.060 

.416 

13 

.055 

.007 

.035 

.077 

.543 


Set K — Pig Ir 071 used in making steel , at Birmingham , Ala 

Phosphorus. Magnesia. 


No. 

Grade. 

Silicon. 

Sulphur. 

1 

3 

2.10 

.034 

2 

3 

2.40 

.027 

3 

3 

3.10 

.010 

4 

g F 

2.25 

.038 

5 

gF 

2.72 

.065 

6 

2 

4.20 

.034 

7 

IS 

3.46 

.010 


.560 


.450 


ALABAMA .INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Set L—Special Pig Iron made at Little Bell Furnace , 

at Bessemer , Ala. 


o 

Grade. 

Silicon. 

Sulphur, 

Phosphorus. 

Manganese. Cast. 

1 

gF 

.78 

.027 

.787 

.316 

in sand- 

2 

gF 

.81 

.033 



in sand. 

3 

gF 


.010 



in sand. 

4 

gF - 

.93 

.084 

.754 

.379 

in chills. 

5 

gF 


.074 



in chills. 

6 

gF 

.84 

.014 





Set M—Dolomite used in Europe at Basic Steel Plants. 


No. 

Silica. 

Alumina. 

Lime. 

Magnesia. Oxide Iron 

1 



30.57 

20.99 .086 

2 



30.79 

20-82 .084 

3 

1.70 

.09 

31.62 

20.19 

4 

4.34 


29.86 

20.17 

5 

1.09 


32.30 

19.35 

6 

2.00 

1.50 

31.86 

19.28 

7 

1.35 

2.05 

30.12 

19.21 

8 

3.04 

.o7 

3o.o9 

19.12 

9 

6.52 

2 o7 

28.52 

17.56 

10 

1.54 

1.28 

29.4o 

2o.99 


For comparison with Birmingham Dolomites, see Set G. 


2 4 


BA MALA A INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


DOLOMITE AS A FLUX FOR BLAST FURNACE USE. 

BY ED. A. UEHLING. 

Dolomite is the name given in honor of the French geologist, 
Deodat-Guy-Silvain-Tancrede Gratet de Dolomieif, to a car¬ 
bonate of lime and magnesia, in which these two constituents 
occur in equal, or nearly equal, equivalents. 

The atomic weight of magnesium is 24, while that ot cal¬ 
cium is 40 ; but as each of these atoms is combined, respective- 
lv,with an atom of oxygen to a molecule of the oxide, and each 
respective molecule of the oxide is combined with a molecule 
of carbonic acid to form the carbonate, and as the molecular 
weight of the carbonic acid is 60 in each case, it follows that 
an equivalent of carbonate of magnesia will weigh 84, while 
one of carbonate of lime weighs 100. 

In fluxing power, i.e., in the power to combine with silica 
and form a fusible slag, these equivalents are equal, because 
the power of a base to combine with an acid does not depend 
upon its atomic weight, but upon its chemical affinity, from 
which it further follows that 84 parts, by weight, of magnesia 
have the same value as a flux as 160 parts of lime. 

Pure dolomite is, in round numbers, composed of 46 °J G of 
carbonate of magnesia and 54% of carbonate of lime, now 
because the fluxing power, as shown above, is equal, equiva¬ 
lent for equivalent, and because there are as many equivalents 
of carbonate ot magnesia in the 46% as there are equivalents 
of carbonate of lime in the 54 it again follows that 100 
pounds of pure dolomite are equal to 10S pounds of pure lime¬ 
stone in fluxing power. 

The dolomite which is most available in the Birmingham 
district, is of exceptional purity, both as to the foreign matter 
it contains and as to the proportion of lime and magnesia car¬ 
bonate of which it is composed, viz: 55% of the former and 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 5 


43% of the latter, with only 2.00% of foreign matter. The 
theoretically pure dolomite should be composed of 45.65 per 
cent of carbonate of magnesia and 54.35 per cent of carbonate 
of lime. The limestone of the district is vastly more irregular. 
While there, are some ledges of exceptional purity, there are 
others that are entirely worthless for fluxing purposes. The 
worst feature of these irregularities is, that the impure ledges 
make their appearance in all the quarries thus far opened. 
For this reason it has not been possible to get limestone that 
will average above 96% in carbonate of lime and 94 to 92 and 
even down to 90% is not infrequently the average of whole 
shi pments. 

We will take for granted that with the exercise of sufficient 
care in the quarries, a limestone of an average of not to ex. 
ceed 4% impurities can be furnished. 

In determining the value of a stone as a flux, it is not only 
necessary to deduct the impurities it contains, but in addition 
to that, as much of the base as is necessary to flux these im¬ 
purities. What remains only can be considered as. available 
flux, and has value in the blast furnace. To get at the availa¬ 
ble flux we must deduct 2% from the carbonate of lime for 
each unit per cent impurity contained in the stone. Taking 
the limestone at 96% of Ca CO3 and deducting from this 8% 
to take care of its own impurities we have left available flux 
88% of Ca CO3. 

As the average dolomite contains only 2% of impurities and 
43 per cent carbonate of magnesia with 55 per cent of carbo¬ 
nate of lime, we will have after deducting for its own impuri¬ 
ties 4 per cent from the carbonate of lime we have left availa¬ 
ble flux 43 per cent Mg CO3 and 51 per cent Ca CO3. Re¬ 
ducing the Mg CO3 to its equivalent in fluxing power of Ca 
CO3 we have because the fluxing powers of the two carbo- 

43x100 

ates are to each other as 84 to 100,-plus 51 equal 102.19. 

*4 

The relative values of the two available fluxing materials of 



2 6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

the district are therefore to each other as 88 is to 102.19. That 
means that 88 tons of dolomite will do as much work in the 
blast furnace as 102.19 tons of limestone. Put into dollars and 
cents, this means that if dolomite can be bought for 60 cents a 
ton, limestone is worth only 52 cents a ton ; or, if limestone 
costs 60 cents, dolomite is worth 69.5 cents a ton. 

There is only one valid objection that can be brought up 
against the use of dolomite as a flux in the blast furnaces, and 
that is, that magnesium has less affinity for sulphur than cal¬ 
cium, and dolomite is therefore less efficient as a desulphurizer 
than limestone, to the extent that caustic lime is displaced by 
magnesia. This objection, however, becomes quite insignifi¬ 
cant where the ores are practically free from sulphur, as is the 
case in the Birmingham district, especially when a considera¬ 
ble proportion of hard ore is used in the mixture, the lime of 
which, in connection with what is contained in the dolomite 
itself, is ample to take care of the sulphur contained in the 
coke. 

One quarter to one half dolomite has been used regularly in 
the Sloss furnaces for nearly two years, and at intervals as 
high as three-fourths have been put on with the best of results. 
The ore mixture being half Hard and half Irondale at the city 
and from one-fourth to one-third brown with generally equal 
proportions of Irondale and Hard at the North Birmingha m 
furnaces. 

The coke used contained considerably above the average 
amount of sulphur found in the average coke of the district. 
The iron was of as good a quality as could have been produced 
with all limestone as a flux, and the furnaces have worked 
more regularly than they did prior to the use of dolomite. 
The assertion that the use of dolomite has a tendency to make 
light colored iron, is not sustained by fact. Some of the most 
celebrated foundry irons are made with all dolomite as a flux. 
In fact there is nothing else used in the whole Lehigh valey. 
The writer had used it for years, while in charge of the blast 
furnaces of the Bethlehem Iron Company, prior to coming 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


down here, and experienced no difficulty in keeping the sul¬ 
phur within the required limits, even with ores containing as 
high as 1.5 per cent of that element. 

The Illinois Steel Co., are also using dolomite exclusively in 
the furnaces of their Joliet Works. They are doing very 
good work and have no trouble with the sulphur whatever. 
The deficiency of dolomite ,to carry off sulphur is probably 
very much exaggerated. 

There are impure dolomites as well as impure limestones; 
but when of good quality, and used intelligently and without 
prejudice, it always gives good satisfaction. In addition to its 
superior fluxing power, there is decidedly less tendency to 
hanging with dolomite than with carbonate of lime. 

To Mr. C. A. Meissner belongs the credit of having first 
systematically tried dolomite with the Birmingham ores, and, 
on the strength of the good results obtained, has developed a 
quarry, but has not met with the success he deserves in intro¬ 
ducing it at all the furnaces. It is certainly worthy of a trial, 
which, if carried on without perjudice, cannot help but result 
beneficially to all concerned. 


28 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ELECTRICITY IN MINING. 

BY CHAS. ED. BOWRdN. 

An installation of an electric mining plant has long ceased 
to be a nine days wonder; mining men—always conservative 
regarding the adoption of new methods or appliances, replac¬ 
ing old and tried ways—after having seen the great adaptability 
of this mysterious force to their wants, have not been slow to 
utilize it, and its introduction into every phase of mining 
practice has taken place with marvellous rapidity in the last 
few years. While it has not reached that state of economic 
efficiency which would warrant its general introduction, it 
has beyond peradventure passed the experimental stage, and 
its further development and adaptation to the arduous and 
peculiar demands of mining service will become only a matter 
of time, as the conditions which surround its utility in this 
line are carefully studied and applied. 

Of all forces at command in the science of mining, elec¬ 
tricity seems to be most adaptable and more nearly fulfills 
most of the conditions demanded, viz :—Safety, efficiency, re¬ 
liability, simplicity and flexibility on the one hand, on the 
other, the economic necessity of a minimum of cost in appli¬ 
cation and production. Risks to life and property are very 
great in mining and the dictates both of humanity and econo¬ 
my will be best subserved by the adoption of any agent which 
will tend to minimize these risks. The great ease of produc¬ 
tion and application in the first instance, then its great flexi¬ 
bility and efficiency give electricity a strong claim for our care¬ 
ful consideration. 

Its competitive forces are steam, compressed air, hydraulic 
power and wire rope transmissions. As to hydraulic power, 
its application (except as a prime agent) is evidently so costlv 
and limited, while wire-rope transmissions beyond a compara¬ 
tively short limit are entirely out of the question and cannot 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIEtY. 


2 9 


be used except for special purposes, that we may limit the dis¬ 
cussion to steam, compressed air and electricity. 

Considering the demands of a mining plant, we see power 
consumed in winding, outside and inside hauling, coal-cutting, 
coal and rock drilling, pumping, ventilation, lighting, signa¬ 
ling and explosive firing. Regarding the prime source of 
energy for such power it may be either hydraulic or steam 
power (leaving gas engines out of the question in their pres¬ 
ent state). In either case electricity comes to the front. In 
many cases, the topographical surroundings and the location 
of fuel and water, limit the location of a steam plant, which, 
may have to be so far away as to be very inefficient, where 
the steam is to be used at the mines ; with electricity we gen¬ 
erate it at these same boilers, and placing them where they 
will suit the economic conditions of best service, convey the 
power to its work with but slight loss. These conditions 
verv often obtain in the Western mining States, the location 
of a steam plant perhaps being a matter of great mechanical 
difficultv in transportation and erection in the first place, and 
where the site of water for the boilers and the haulage of 
costly fuel prescribe the limits. With this agent, though, we 
erect our steam plant and dynamos at the most advantageous 
site and take the electric cable to the mines, elevation and 
distance no longer almost insuperable obstacles. An instance 
of this kind is the plant at the Virginius mine in Colorado, at 
an elevation of 12,000 feet. The cost of fuel there, which 
had to be packed up the mountain on “burros,” was stated to 
be $18.00 per ton, amounting in a year to some $80,000.00. 
The present source of power is Red Canyon Creek, four miles 
distant from the openings, where 300 H. P. are generated and 
carried to the mines at a pressure of 800 volts ; the saving of 
fuel in one year alone paid for the electric plant. 

Difficulties occur in mining in proportion to distance, and 
except for short distances, say up to two miles, neither steam 
nor compressed air can be considered dangerous rivals ot elec¬ 
tricity, on account of its high efficiency for long distance 


30 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

transmissions, the comparison growing the more favorable to 
the latter as the distance increases. We may use steam at the 
pit mouth for hoisting or running a fan and take it underground 
for a short distance for pumps, drills and rope-hauling engines, 
but when we wish to take it several miles away for drilling, 
coal cutting, etc., its use is entirely out of the cpiestion, unless 
another plant be erected, either underground, which is often 
objectionable, or at the expense of another surface plant and a 
shaft or bore-hole to take the steam underground. The effi¬ 
ciency of steam is low because dependent upon its retention of 
heat which is continually lost by radiation and condensation, 
no matter how well protected the pipes by covering, and it 
loses quickly also by friction and leakage. In the use of com¬ 
pressed air, there is a large initial loss of the heat of com¬ 
pression and as in the case of steam further large losses in 
friction and leakage. In the case of both steam and com¬ 
pressed air, the loss increases much more rapidly than the pro 
portional increment in distance. Here is one of the strongest 
points of electricity, and it is the only power so far which 
meets what we may call the “distance emergency” in mining, 
from an economical standpoint. Here we have no losses anal- 
agous to the losses mentioned in the case of steam and eom- 
pressed air to the extent that there prevail in their transmis¬ 
sions. When not at work, no power is consumed in electrical 
apparatus, the prime generator producing just what is con¬ 
sumed, automatically. At a Michigan mine, 175 H. P. are 
transmitted three miles by compressed air, with an efficiency 
at the mines of only 35 per cent—thus showing a 65 per cent 
loss in transmission. With electricity, these figures would, 
beyond doubt, be reversed. One electric company guarantees 
an efficiency of 73 per cent, based upon an initial efficiency of 
100 and successive losses of 10 per cent in dynamo conversion, 
10 per cent in line transmission, and 10 per cent in reconver¬ 
sion at the motor. An ordinary efficiency of compressed air 
is from 20 to 40 per cent, rarely 50. The cost of conductors 
for carrying an equal amount of power at average pressures 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


3 1 


has been stated by Prof. M. C. Ihlseng to be in the case of 
electricity, steam and compressed air to be as i to 27 to 19. 
Mr. Pocock, in a paper before the A. I. M. E. gives the fol¬ 
lowing table of Mr. Wm. Geipel, of Edinburgh, showing the 
relative first costs of plants per H. P. transmitted in England : 


Total Power 

System of 

Transmitted. 

Transmission. 

5 H. P. 

Electric. 

<1 

Hydraulic. 

u 

Pheumatic. 

a 

Wire Rope. 

100 H. P. 

Electric. 

a 

Hydraulic. 

n 

Pneumatic. 

u 

Wire Rope. 


Distance transmitted in yards. 


100 

1100 

11000 

22000 

75. 

31. 

142. 

210. 

41. 

97. 

610. 

1,880. 

73. 

210. 

1,090. 

2,060. 

6)4 

61. 

760. 

1,220. 

32. 

35. 

59. 

87. 

14. 

28. 

164. 

310. 

26. 

34. 

109. 

192. 

1 1-10 

8 4-10 

81. 

162. 


As to the relative costs of electrical plants for general min¬ 
ing purposes, the “Colliery Engineer” has published the fol¬ 
lowing table : 


a; 


o 

v • 

d ® 

r/j 

2 = 

5,000 

10,000 

15,000 

5,000 

10,000 

15.000 

20,000 

10,000 

15,000 

20,000 


1 • 


u 


ci 






3 




•42 


. 6 


sc 

4-2 

ci 

o; 

o • 

00 

* r -* 

«— \ 

s 

O 

bf) 

V 


a jz, 
o 

s 

(V 

a 

u 

r-* 

0 

4-2 

QC 

U 

CJ 

+2 

a> 

0 

0 

£ 

o^v* 

4-1 (-4 

■4-2 r- 

. O 

5 

u 

CT 1 

a: 

0 • 

S a" 

ai r u 

0 2 

Volts E 
in i n a 1s 

a> 

H 

— 

O 

'-2 

ffl & 

Cost of 

per H. 

Cost of 
per H. 

Total c 
equipn 
wire, p 

400 

05 

1.53 

.$61.20 

$45.00 

$123.42 

400 

54 

1.85 

74.00 

45.00 

155.08 

400 

47 

2.13 

85.20 

45.00 

182.00 

800 

71 

1.41 

59.93 

47.50 

117.35 

800 

05 

1.53 

65.03 

•47.50 

130.46 

800 

59 

1.69 

71.83 

47.50 

147.06 

800 

54 

1.85 

78.63 

47.50 

163.71 

1200 

69 

1.45 

65 25 

50.00 

128.21 

1200 

05 

1.54 

68.85 

50.00 

137.50 

1200 

61 

1.64 

73.80 

50.00 

149 12 


The study of these tables reveals the increasing economy of 
electricity with distance, and also, the fact that the cost ol in¬ 
creasing the capacity of an electric plant is comparatively 


small. 


32 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Both direct acting and alternating currents are used for min¬ 
ing work. The cost of a wire conductor (copper), other 
things being equal, varies inversely as the square of the vol¬ 
tage or pressure and hence it is economical to use as high a 
voltage as is permissible in each particular case. This is lim¬ 
ited in the case of direct-acting currents to 1500 volts and al¬ 
ternating currents rarely exceed ^000 volts for mine work. 
This is considering the transmission of the power, in the work¬ 
ing machinery the voltage is much less. The question arises 
as to the safe voltage in the workings ; 220 to 250 volts has 
been ordinarily adopted although 500 volts (the usual current 
for street railways) and 1000 volts have been used at certain 
mines. Direct acting current motors have found most favor 
and the alternating current can be used in these by means of a 
“rotary transformer,” which transforms the alternating into a 
direct current. The current is carried to the workings at as 
high a voltage as possible and then transformed into low-vol¬ 
tage currents for use in the apparatus. 

An invaluable feature of an electrical mining plant is its 
great flexibility and the great ease with which changes in the 
distribution of energy can be made. It is but a few hours job 
to branch and take a wire to any part of the mine to a motor, 
compared with an equal number of days to lay a heavy, cum¬ 
bersome and and expensive pipe line for the same purpose, 
with greatest ease we lead the wire round a corner, take it up 
or down a shaft or slope, in and through places where it would 
be dangerous and difficult to lay a pipe line. Simplicity and 
completeness commend themselves at all times to the miner 
and, nothing can be more complete than the different ways in 
which we can harness electricity to our various uses in this 
direction. We may use it for lighting our tipple or breaker, 
hoisting the mineral, ventilating apparatus, inside and outside 
hauling, cutting, drilling, underground lighting, signaling bv 
bell or telephone and for explosive firing. It is also adapted 
to outside operations and is applied to them in such lines as 
crushing, stamping, jigging, concentrating, etc., and further 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


33 


along in metallurgical operations upon the mineral such as the 
production of aluminium by the Cowles process. 

The impediments in the way of the adoption of this agent 
in mining have been several. Mr. Pocock before quoted says : 
“Electrical engineers are not familiar with the routine of 
practical colliery workings and are, therefore, placed at a dis¬ 
advantage by not knowing the actual requirements of mining 
engineers and the many little difficulties to be met with in un¬ 
derground workings ; and until mining engineers have acquir¬ 
ed the necessary knowledge and a confidence in electricity, it 
is only natural that they will continue to follow the beaten 
path. Experiments in mining are costly, necessarily, and 
until a method or appliance can hope to compete with the 
older way, it has to be brought to a “hard-pan” basis, before 
it will receive the consideration due to its merits, however 
pronounced or enticing. While an electric mining plant as a 
whole is comparatively simple, yet the details of the mechan¬ 
isms of the different machines, locomotives, etc., remain to 
be considerably simplified to withstand the inevitable hard 
usage to which they will be subjected. 

Having dwelt to some extent upon the claims that are set 
forth for electricity, let us examine the several ways in which 
we propose to utilize it in our operations. The first point 
that claims our attention is its generation. Where a water 
supply exists within a reasonable distance and there is hardly 
any limit to this reasonable distance, of sufficient volume and 
head to employ as the prime generator, the solution is easy. 
Several types of water wheels are used for this purpose each 
preferable for certain conditions of volume and head—turbines 
and impact wheels. Among the first class the “Leffel” is 
largely used and Prof. Ihlseng states “that the globe casing 
with a horizontal axis is the preferable one for mining pur¬ 
poses of impact wheels, the “Pelton” seems to be the favor¬ 
ite in this country and is found to be cheap, reliable and effi¬ 
cient. If the generator is to be steam, the best results are to 
be had by the adoption of the most improved type of engine 


34 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


for this particular use and ample boiler capacity, the often 
overlooked point. 

At the outset we meet an electric diamond drill for prospect¬ 
ing ; this is the old and familiar form of the diamond drill, 
equipped with a special motor and electric pump. A drill of 
this sort manufactured by the General Electric Company, in 
an experimental test, bored 12 inches of blue granite in three 
minutes under 120 pounds water pressure, furnished by the at¬ 
tached electric pump; under 75 pounds pressure, it bored 12 
inches in six minutes, and with 35 pounds in sixteen minutes, 
showing the great regularity and evenness of action. This 
machine should prove invaluable in metal mining, where it 
could be taken great distances underground to test the country 
rock, persistence of veins, etc., and in coal mining where it 
could be used in approaching abandoned workings, bodies of 
water, etc. One ol these drills in Colorado averages 15 feet 
per shift in hard silicious limestone ; the cost (average of 4400 
feet) has been 68 cents a foot, including all expenses. Another 
drill in Aspen, Colorado, 30-50 feet per 8 hour shift, satisfac¬ 
torily. For prospecting purposes, it will prove especially val¬ 
uable, as it can He placed at the most desirable points for test¬ 
ing, where now we must take into account the proximity of 
water and fuel to some extent. 

After deciding upon the mine location, we may make use of 
electrical machinery in opening up. If the opening be a shaft, 
we again use the diamond drill perhaps, in sinking by the 
“long hole” method, or in any event we may use the electric 
rock drill in the same way that we now use the steam or com 
pressed air percussion drill. In shaft sinking, the electric 
light has been used to advantage in Scotland. It was placed 
at the top and used in connection with a lens and a large 
mirror, encased in a sheet-iron case, enabling the rays to be- 
diffused throughout the shaft or concentrated at the bottom at 
will. The advantages of so brilliant an illumination in that 
work are self-evident. The electric sinking pump may be 
suspended from a windlass and lowered as the work proceeds, 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


35 


without any vexatious pipe connections to make every few 
feet. A sinking pump should be light, eompact, efficient and 
strong to withstand hard handling. The General Electric Co. 
make a pump fulfilling these conditions ; they are duplex dou¬ 
ble acting, with a capacity of ioo to 300 gallons per minute. 
These pumps being enclosed in water-tight cases, the motor 
works as well under water as out of it—perhaps better, where 
care is taken to have the conducting wire water-proof. This 
of course is an invaluable feature where there is any liability 
to a sudden flood of water, which would, of course soon render 
the ordinary sinking pump useless. Triplex single and double 
acting pumps are also made for this purpose and obtain an 
efficiency of 70 per cent. 

The electric hoist next claims our attention. These are suc¬ 
cessful because nothing new in principle is involved in their 
construction. They are made in all sizes and varieties, single 
and double drum, geared or with friction clutches, or direct 
acting. The General Electric Co., the Jeffrey Co., and the 
Sprague Co., make a great variety of these, from the small 4 
H. P. hoist for winzes, to the 5000 H. P. shaft engines to wind 
3000 feet of rope. Their construction is very compact, and 
they are provided with complete speed-controlling devices, 
reversing apparatus, indicators, etc., in the same manner as 
the most approved modern types of steam engines for the same 
purpose. An advantage of these over the steam engine may 
be mentioned, viz : that the electric hoist, having no “dead 
centre,” can start at once with full power, at the beginning of 
the lift if desired ; and it may be here said that no power will 
respond so quickly to an overdraft made upon it in an emer¬ 
gency, as will electricity, be it in winding or otherwise. The 
first mining hoist in this country was made for the Aspen 
Mining Company by the Sprague Company, in 1888, of 7^ 
H. P., and it proved such a success from the start, that another 
one was ordered, designed to raise 230 tons 230 leet up a 60 
degree incline every 24 hours. This Company, later on, in¬ 
stalled its own generating plant of two 50 H. P. dynamos run 


36 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

from two double Pelton water-wheels, 42 inches diameter, 
each wheel being supplied with two nozzles ; the water pres¬ 
sure is 35 pounds and volume 1000 cubic feet per minute; 
variations in power is obtained by deflections of the nozzles, 
which work on ball-and-socket joints, by means of Woodward 
governors. The generating station is 6000 feet from the mine. 
A recent French installation (the first in that country of its 
kind) has a central station with two dynamos, the power be¬ 
ing transmitted three miles to the mines, to operate five wind¬ 
ing gears, 6 to 14 H. P. each. In addition to these, five pumps, 
requiring 5 H. P. each, several locomotives of 12 H. P. each, 
speed 8 miles an hour over a gangway a mile long, 26 arc and 
200 incandescent lamps, make the installation quite complete. 

It is in underground hauling, however, that electricity has 
made its greatest development and met with its greatest suc¬ 
cess in mining. The principle of its application for this use is 
the same as that employed in electric street railways ; the loco¬ 
motives are supplied with trolleys, which take the current 
from an overhead wire, the rails acting as the return circuit. 
The storage battery has been employed in several instances, 
but at present the great weight and bulk of a storage battery 
locomotive greatly militates against its use. There are several 
standard types of locomotives by the different electric firms. 
The first cost of an electric haulage will probably be greater, 
as a general thing, than a rope haulage plant ; but its greater 
ease of extension, small depreciation and light cost of main¬ 
tenance, should overbalance that fact. The electric locomotive 
is especially adapted to low entries, and a great saving on dead 
work may be accomplished where it is in general use, where 
the' coal is low, the locomotive occupying no more space than 
the cars which it pulls. The total height of the “Terrapin- 
back” locomotive of the General Electric Companv is from 21 
inches to 40 inches, 15 to 150 H. P., 6 to 10 miles an hour 
speed, 750 to 4500 pounds draw-bar pull and weight 3,500 to 
22,500 pounds. This locomotive has a solid iron armor for 
protection against accidents, and roof-falls, etc. The motor is 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


placed between the axles, and a train of gears reduces to the 
necessary speed. Another type of machine is especially de¬ 
signed for very narrow entries, as in some metal mines. At 
the plant of the Hecla Mining Company, at Earlington, Ky., 
installed by the Sperry Company, a locomotive hauls from 25 
to 40 cars, holding a ton each, 4500 feet, part 4 to 5 per cent 
against the load. It can make the trip in 13 minutes. The 
locomotive is 4 feet high, 3 feet 6 inches outside width, and 
weighs 13 tons ; it has eight wheels in two pairs, each pair 
turning on pivots and having separate motors. The current is 
220 volts from a 123 H. P. generator. A London company 
made a novel form of locomotive for the Greenside Mining 
Company, of Cumberland, it having the armature shaft at 
right angles to the driving axles, instead of the usual parallel 
construction ; three speed reduction gears are used, one being 
a bevel gear. The motor is of the Immisch type, the current 
200 volts, taken 1200 yards through a bare wire. Power is 
taken from a large “vortex” turbine wheel, fed by 15 inch 
pipes, the dynamo being four-pole Immisch machine, running 
600 R. P. M. generating a 500 volt current. Electricity is 
also used there for pumping, lighting the works, and winding. 
Mr. Karl Eilers, of the A. I. M. E., gives the relative costs of 
four different electric mine haulages in Germany, as compared 
to animal haulage as 75, 75, 67, and 23 per cents, respectively. 
Mr. Pocock gives the relative first costs and running expenses 
per ton of mule haulage, tail rope and electricity, as follows : 

Mules. Tail-rape. Electric. 

First cost, .$3120.00 $ 7375 -°° $11000.00 

Running exp. pr. ton, 2.63 cents. 1.27 cents. 1.15 c. 

In connection with a locomotive we may use stationary mo¬ 
tors to haul up an auxiliary sh|)pe, winze, etc., where the use of 
a locomotive would not be permissible. The first electric 
locomotive used for mining in this country was at Liken’s 
Valley, Pa., of 35 H. P., hauling over 6000 feet. The Loyal 
Hanna Coal Company, of Pennsylvania, have an electric loco¬ 
motive delivering 360 tons an hour, necessitating hauling 30 


38 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


cars a distance of 4000 feet every 15 minutes, the line having 
several sharp curves and grades up to five per cent. The speed 
is 7^- miles an hour, and has been as high as twelve. The con¬ 
ducting wire is taken down the shaft a distance of 200 feet, 
and then alon^ the entry, and is there covered with an invert¬ 
ed V trough, as the mine roof is very damp. The generating 
dynamos are two compound-wound, run by 150 H. P. engine. 
In Utah, an electric locomotive hauls 800 tons a day, 2600 feet 
replacing 7 mules and 6 drivers. At Hillside coal Campany’s 
colliery, near Scranton, Pa., a locomotive displaces 7 mules and 
3 drivers, and can deliver 700 cars in ten hours, running a total 
distance of 22 miles in that time. At Rock Springs, Wyom¬ 
ing, an 80 H. P. electric locamotive runs 8 miles an hour, pull¬ 
ing 30 3000 pound cars 6060 feet in 20 minutes, running on a 
35 pound rail. The power station is a mile from the mouth of 
the mine, and has an 80 H. P. dynamo, generating an 550 volt 
current. 

The question arises as to the immunity from fire or explo¬ 
sion, generated either from the wires or from sparking at the 
motors; especially is this to be considered in fiery mines. By 
the adoption of a proper wiring system, good insulation, and 
proper safety devices, such as fusible plugs at the dynamo, 
safety commutators, etc., there should be no apprehension felt 
on this point, as it is chiefly a matter of dollars and cents as 
to the amount of security. 

Among electrical stone-cutting machines, the Jeffrey ma¬ 
chine has met with considerable success. This consists of a 
rotary bar 3 to 4 feet long, in which are fixed a number of 
cutter bits, which, when revolvod, cover the whole face of the 
bar ; the bar is fixed at the end of a sliding frame, and is ro¬ 
tated by sprocket wheels and chain from the motor which is 
attached to the frame work. It is fed into the face of the coal 
as it cuts, and is found to feed very evenly, using from 7 to 1^ 
H. P., at a pressure of 220 volts, It is supplied with a sepa¬ 
rate truck on which it is moved from room to room. It is 
stated that from 125 to 300 lineal feet may be undercut in ten 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


39 


hours to a depth of 6 feet, depending on the nature and thick¬ 
ness of the coal and the skill in handling the machine. After 
making a cut, the bar is withdrawn by throwing a lever, and 
the machine is moved along the face of the coal the length of 
another cut. 1 here are at present over one hundred of these 
machines in active use. Where the bottom is soft, the under¬ 
cut may be made in it. The objection to this machine, which 
applies to all others as well, is its weight, making it small to 
handle in small coal ; and, furthermore, mining machines re¬ 
quire a fair top, as the machine will take up a space of ten 
feet at the face for its operation. This company also makes a 
machine of the chain type, having a chain belt carrying the 
cutter bits running in a horizontal plane. The advantages 
claimed for this machine over the other style are (i) that it 
will make a merchantable pea coal of the undercutting, while 
the other one practically wastes all the mateaial that it cuts 
away, and (2)that as shown from practical tests, it requires 40 
per cent less power for its operation to do the same amount of 
work. The Hercules Mining Machine Company, of Pitts¬ 
burgh, make a machine consisting of a number of parallel ro¬ 
tating drills, which are fed at right angles to the face, and 
which are actuated by a Tesla alternating motor. The“Ednie” 
machine of the General Electric Company, is also on this bor¬ 
ing principle, although considerably different in details. This 
type of machine is said to be preferred by many practical 
miners. The General Electric Company also make an “Arc” 
coal cutter, which has an arm carrying an endless sprocket 
chain to which are affixed cutter-bits, which scrape the face of 
the coal ; this is said to be suitable for large rooms or for long- 
wall work. Several cutturs, called pick or “punching” ma¬ 
chines, are on the percussive order, using either the solenoid 
principle or springs in their construction ; these would be pre¬ 
ferable in very hard or pyritic coal. The power required in a 
solenoid machine is considerable, being up to 25 per cent more 
than required for a cutting machine doing three times as much 
work, hence is only one-fourth as efficient. In the other class 


4 o 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


the rotary motion is transformed into reciprocating motion, 
the mechanism rapidly drawing back and compressing, then 
releasing a spring, which thrusts the pick againt the coal. 
The transforming apparatus, however, is complicated and ex¬ 
pensive. At Earlington, Ky., at the Hecla Mines, there are 
half-a-dozen pick machines, furnished by the Sperry Company, 
in daily use ; a great trouble with these has been the breaking 
of the springs. They weigh 1000 pounds each and can cut 100 
lineal feet, 4 feet under in a day. The coal is hard and five 
feet high. 

Coal drills are of several styles according to the height and 
nature of the coal. Direct rotary motion is obtained from the 
motor, which is attached to-the drill frame, by reduction gears. 
These develope 4 to 6 H. P. and weigh up to 200 pounds. In 
one case a Jeffrey drill showed 3.2 H. P. with a 2 inch auger, 
feeding 6 feet a minute ; their drills use no starting rheostat or 
fuse and the machine will start with a full load directly on 
end. 

Electric rock drills are percussive and use the solenoid prin¬ 
ciple, as in the Marvin-Edison and the T-V-Depoele drills, the 
former having two and the latter three solenoids. The drills 
resemble the ordinary air or steam drills in general appearance 
and are as easily handled and run ; they are likewise mounted 
either on tripod, column or shaft-bar. The T-V-Depoele drill 
was used at Rock Island, Ill., on U. S. Government Work, in 
hard limestone, the contract price being 12 cents a foot for 
1 3-4 inch hole, and was found to work very satisfactorily. 
Where an air-compressing plant is already in operation, the 
compressor may be placed at the most advantageous point in 
proximity to its working drills and moved forward from time 
to time, as the work proceeds, by using electricity to run it; in 
this way the heat of compression is not lost, there is no leakage 
from a long pipe line and no freezing in the exhaust ports of 
the drills, their efficiency being increased as much as 35 per 
cent. Investigations are now being pursued with regard to 
reheating compressed air at the drills before using, by electric- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


4 1 

ity, which promise to be successful. Other drills are on the 
order of the boring coal drills already mentioned. 

In pumping, a motor may be applied to almost any form of 
pump on the market, direct-acting or centrifugal, by use of the 
proper reduction gears. Trouble has been experienced in reg¬ 
ulating the speed of electric pumps in any simple manner, at 
will. The Gould Manufacturing Company, of New York^ 
make a special pump to use with electricity, from 50 to 500 
gallons capacity and the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company make 
a rotary pump which is fixed to a truck for easy handling. In 
an English colliery electric pumps have been in use for over 
three years, and the manager says : “It may be stated that 
they have given very little trouble and have cost next to noth¬ 
ing for repairs. At Normanton, St. Johns Colliery, two 
coupled engines 22 1-2 inches by 4 feet, 50 R. P. M. connected 
to three series-wound Immisch dynamos, each 50 H. P. and 
capable of giving a current of 60 amperes at 600 volts and one 
compound-wound dynamo giving a current of 155 volts, fur¬ 
nish power which is taken underground in a lead-covered 
cable and runs two 50 H. P. pumps c;oo yards from the shaft 
and one at the surface, also a pump 1600 yards from the shaft 
and three pumps, each three-throw, at 1300, 1400 and 2200 
yards. In deep shaft mines electric pumps have the great ad¬ 
vantage of not requiring difficult pipe-lines ; the Calumet and 
Hecla Co., have installed some large electric pumps in their 
copper mines, the most interesting feature being the high 
potential used—1000 volts. It is stated that this high voltage 
was more in the light of an experiment, but that as great care 
was taken in the installation and insulation of the plant, the 
high voltage has given no trouble whatsoever. 

In the line of lighting, it is claimed for electricity that it 
makes a great improvement in the eye-sight of miners,amongst 
whom diseases of the eye are very common. It gives a strong 
steady, bright light, free from obnoxious fumes and smoke, 
capable of instant lighting or extinguishment; the light is of 
several candle power. The portable electric lamp, with stor- 


42 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

age battery, has not made much progress as yet; and English 
design weighs six pounds. A late number of the Colliery 
Engineer describes a later design weighing much less. With 
an incandescent lamp if the globe be broken, the current will 
undoubtedly ignite gas, but, with wire-protected globes, there 
should be no more danger from this source than from the dan¬ 
gers attending the'use of a safety-lamp. Lupton mentions the 
use of arc lamps in a lead mine which gave great satisfaction. 
In Lanarkshire, Scotland a dynamo runs 300 lamps distributed 
throughout the mines and buildings, also an electric pump of 
100 gallons per minute. 

For signaling, the telephone in French mines and the elec¬ 
tric bell in Yorkshire and South Wales as well as largely in 
this country are used either for signaling from the outside to 
the mine workings or along rope haulages, etc. 

By the use of electricity in explosive tiring we gain time 
and reduce the proportion of missed shots, therefore, the cost. 
This is done either from a small portable electro-magnetic 
machine or from the working mine current. 

As examples of the diversity of uses to which electricity has 
been applied in the lines mentioned, we may cite the installa¬ 
tions at Telluride, Colorado. At one plant a dynamo of 30 
kilo-watts capacity is driven by a 28 inch Pelton wheel in 
summer and two engines 120 and 135 H. P. in winter. The 
current is taken to the mines, lighting the snow-shedded in¬ 
clines, the ore-house, boarding-house, tunnel and shaft, crush¬ 
ers and hoists. It is led 8000 feet up the mountain and then 
3300 feet in the tunnel and 1000 feet in the mine workings. 
There are 300 lights in the circuit. At another plant, the 
power is generated 3000 feet below the mine by two 30 kilo¬ 
watt dynamos, driven by 36 inch Pelton wheel with 670 feet 
head, and is used to run two electric motors, two Dodge crush¬ 
ers, one set of duplex Cornish crushing rolls, three 5 feet 
Huntington mills, three Frue-Vanners and six bumper-stables : 
The loss in transmission is only 3 per cent. At a third plant 
near Telluride, a 100 H. P. alternating current is carried three 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


43 


miles, the power being taken from a Pelton wheel driven by 
water through a 2 foot steel pipe, 320 feet head and a West- 
inghouse alternating dynamo, giving a pressure of 2000 volts 
at the mill motor. This is the first application of the alterna¬ 
ting current for general mining purposes in this country. In 
In 9^ months the plant was stopped but 48 hour for repairs 
which were trifling matters. 

As already suggested by one of the members of this society, 
a colliery at which there are coke-ovens, could erect a boiler 
plant in connection with them and dynamos, and obtain their 
electric power very cheaply in that way, for utilization in the 
manner mentioned in this article. e 

In conclusion the writer desires to say that he claims no 
originality for the facts herein presented, but has merely at¬ 
tempted a very brief and imperfect summary of the claims and 
applications of electricity to mining. For this he has drawn 
upon the transactions of the A. I. M. E. the Engineering and 
Mining Journal and the Colliery Engineer unstintedly, even 
to adopting at times the phraseology and he hereby makes a 
general acknowledgement. 


44 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ON THE PHOSPHATE ROCK OF TENNESSEE. 


BY WILLIAM B. PHILLIPS. 


The discovery of phosphate rock in Hickman County, Ten¬ 
nessee, which was announced last winter, has rendered possi¬ 
ble the transfer of at least a part of the fertilizer trade from 
the coast to the interior. Uutil the utilization of cotton seed 
meal as an ammoniate the chief sources of nitrogen in com¬ 
mercial manures was bones, dried blood, tankage, fish scrap 
and sulphate of ammonia. While the consumption of this lat¬ 
ter salt is no inconsiderable factor in the saving of by-products 
at gas works, and while a comparatively large amount finds 
its way to the fertilizer factories, it is nevertheless true that 
most of the so-called guanos are anmioniated with organic ma¬ 
terial. Fish scrap of course will always be derived from the 
sea coast, where the appliances for catching immense numbers 
of fish,extracting the oil and curing the residue are all that can 
now be desired. When it comes, however, to dried blood, 
tankage,etc.,the chief sources of supply are the great slaugh¬ 
ter houses of the interior cities, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas 
CRy, Cincinnati, etc. Nearly all the commercial manures now 
sold in this country are manufactured in the sea-port towns, or 
such as are within eacy reach of the great deposits of phos¬ 
phate rock in South Carolina and Florida. It is only within 
recent years that fertilizer factories have been erected in the in¬ 
terior, the rock being obtained to a very limited extent from 
Canada, but by far the greater part coming from the above 
named states. If we consider such cities as Chicago, St. Louis, 
Kansas City, Louisville and Nashville, the growth of the man¬ 
ufacture of fertilizers has depended on the freight rates on raw 
rock. Charleston rock of 61 per cent bone phosphate, can be 
had f. o. b. Charleston, for $4.75 per ton, and the rate to any 
point within 200 miles of Cairo, Illinois, cannot be less than 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


45 


$3.00 per ton, so that the cost of a ton of Charleston rock at 
Nashville, let us say, will be at least $7.75. Considering the 
fact that acid phosphate of 13 per cent available phosphoric 
acid, can now be had f. o. b. Charleston, for $7.00 to $7.50,* 
and that the freight to interior points is not very much more 
than on raw rock, the inducements to enter upon the manufac¬ 
ture of commercial manures in the interior is not of the most 
attractive sort. It is true that the proximity to sources of am¬ 
monia to some extent counter-balances the difference in the 
cost of roek, and as such material is worth from $25.00 to 
$30.00 per ton, this advantage may at times be worth consid¬ 
eration. But the ratio between rock and ammoniate is 'too 
great to allow of the small saving in freight upon the ammo¬ 
niate to influence the result ordinarily. Not only has the dis¬ 
tance the rock has to be hauled operated against .the building 
of fertilizer factories in the interior, but the question of a sup¬ 
ply of sulphuric acid has also been of great importance. With 
the opening of the great pyrite mines of the Arminius Com¬ 
pany in Virginia, and later the beds in Gaston Co., N. C., 
and the invention of an effective and simple pyrite burner,such 
as the N. P. Pratt burner, and the building of special tank 
cars for shipping acid, the business of manufacturing fertili¬ 
zers in the Mississippi Valley and contiguous territory has be¬ 
gun to show signs of a vigorous life. Several large plants have 
been erected and are now in successful operation. 

It needed one thing more to attract the attention of capital 
to this inviting field, for investment, and this was the discovery 
of phosphate rock in the interior. Some months have passed 
since the discovery was announced by Prof. Wharton, of Nash, 
ville, and a great deal of prospecting has been carried on in 
Tennessee, in the Counties of Hickman, Lewis and Wayne. 
Up to this time the result sare certainly encouraging, for seams 
of excellent rock, varying in thickness from 8 to 40 inches 
have been located and exploited. They underlie the Black 
Shale of the Devonian, formerly termed Marcellus, but now 
known as Chattanooga, and overlie limestone. The seams lie 


46 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

almost flat, and for the most part are above the drainage level, 
thus affording easy and cheap mining and loading. 

They cannot be stripped, or worked in open cut, except un¬ 
der very rare circumstances, for the superincumbent strata, 
Chattanooga and Harpeth shale, are generally more than 100 
feat thick, but will have to be mined as a coal seam is mined, 
i. e., by drift and rooms. 

The thinness of the seams is the greatest obstacle to be over¬ 
come and it is not likely that less than 30 to 36 inches can be 
mined, even allowing the rock to yield 65 per cent, of Bone 
Phosphate. But with 36 inches and a favorable locality there 
does not seem to be any good reason why this rock should not 
be mined and loaded for $1.00 to $1.25 per ton. There are 
places in Hickman Co., Tennessee, as for instance, Totty’s 
Bend, Duck river, the basin of Swan Creek, including Fall 
Branch, etc., where the seams will average 30 inches, and per¬ 
haps 36 inches of good rock, and where the best of facilities 
for cheap mining and loading are to be found. There are other 
places where the rock is of a quality quite as good, but where 
the seams are too thin to admit of profitable mining. 

As to the chemical composition of the rock, it must be said 
that in some places the alumina runs above 6 per cent., but I 
have sampled some workable seams from top to bottom and 
found this usually deleterious ingredient to be about 3.5 per 
cent. The insoluble matter in the best rock is about 6 per 
cent, but the average is nearer 10 per cent. The phosphoric 
acid is close upon 30 per cent, and the lime about 40 per cent, 
the oxide of iron averaging about 5 per cent, the carbonic acid 
2 per cent, and sulphur 2 to 3 per cent. Taken as a whole, 
some of the thickest seams, 36 to 40 inches, will yield a rock 
of excellent quality, second only to the highest grade Florida 
rock, with which, however, it would not come in competition 
as this extraordinarily rich rock is exported to Hamburg, 
Liverpool, etc. 

Above the Chattanooga shale, and lying between this and 
the Harpeth shale, there is most persistent seam of phosphoric 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


47 


nodules, imbedded m a greenish yellow matrix of varying 
hardness. This upper seam is rarely more than 6 inches thick, 
and is separated from the lower or granular seam by the vary¬ 
ing thickness of the Chattanooga shale, which in places is io 
feet and more thick, for the most part, however, less than 4 
feet thick. These nodules are of the most curious shapes, 
rounded, oblong, flattened discs, rib-shaped, bone-shaped, all 
packed in together so tightly as to require, at timea, consider¬ 
able force to dislodge them. They are very rich in bone phos¬ 
phate, occasionally to So per cent, but are not of economic im¬ 
portance. 

They are of a dark gray appearance on the fresh fracture, 
and when rubbed smartly together emit a decided and unpleas¬ 
ant order, meriting the name by which they are known “stink- 
stones.” 

The color of the lower seam varies from a velvetly bluish 
black to a yellowish brown, ledges of a grayish white being 
also not uncommon. Some specimens of the yellowish brown 
are beautifully stratified in shades of brown around the bluish 
black core, making a characteristic and easily identified rock. 
The outer streaks of yellowish brown are probably oxidation 
products from the black core, which contains iron in the fer¬ 
rous condition. 

The black rock is often observed to be filled with small 
rounded pebbles of phosphate, not unlike those from the Peace 
River, Florida. The origin of the lower seam would appear 
to be due to the action of phosporus-bearing solution derived 
from the organic remains of the Chattanooga shale, upon the 
underlying limestone, whereby the carbonic acid was driven 
off and its place occupied by phosphoric acid. 

There is as yet no railroad into the best part of the field, as 
this lies between the Nashville & Tuskaloosa Railway on the 
west, and the Louisville & Nashville from Columbia to Flor¬ 
ence and above Columbia on the east, being about ten miles 
from the former and from 13 to 20 miles from the latter. The 


48 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Duck river is a semi-navigable stream and cannot be depended 
upon for regular shipments. 

Taking everything into consideration and with due regard 
to proper caution, it may be said that in all probability the 
Tennessee phosphates will enter the market before 12 months 
have passed. They will not seriously interfere with South 
Carolina and Florida rock, but will be the means of building 
up factories where now there are none and of creating trade in 
manufactured manures where now it is difficult to sell even a 
few tons of acid phosphate or guano. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


49 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 

University of Alabama, May 29th, 1894. 

In going over the book of the Secretary with care, I And 
that we have on our list 111 names. Of these, 20 do not 
seem to have become members at all, and have paid none of 
the assessments; 2 have died; 13 have resigned definitely,after 
longer or shorter connection with the society; 3c; have paid the 
first assessment only, and of these 3 have attended the meetings 
from time to time and will no doubt wish to keep up their rel¬ 
ations with the society ; the rest, 32 in number, having never 
been in attendance wish probably to discontinue their mem¬ 
bership, and I recommend that the circulars and proceedings 
be not sent them hereafter ; 41 members have paid up two or 
more assessments or have recently joined and are to be consid¬ 
ered along with the three just named, as active members, mak¬ 
ing 44 in all, I suggest that hereafter the documents and no¬ 
tices be sent only to these and to members who may hereafter 
be elected, or who may signify their wish to renew their con¬ 
nection with us. 

During the past year circulars have been sent out announcing 

the times of the meetings and proposing names for the offices 

to be filled at the annual meeting. Five hundred copies of the 

proceedings have been printed at a cent of $1.25 a page, 62 

pages making a total of -$77.50. I have also had 12 copies of 

each paper printed as extras for the use of the authors and have 

_ • 

sent them out. The cost of the extras bas been $4.00. 

I have placed before the council the proposition of Mr, E. 
Prochaska concerning the printing and publishing of the pro¬ 
ceedings in future, and their action will be brought before the 
society at this meeting. 

The suggestion has been mada that in making exchanges 
with certain societies, we send out and receive in exchange 
100 copies of proceedings, which may then be distributad 



50 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

amongst the active members. This plan is worthy of consid¬ 
eration. 

The proceedings of the Society have been sent to about 175 
addresses in addition to the members of the Society. These in¬ 
clude individuals, libraries, newspapers and other journals and 
societies. 

In exchange we have received the following, which have 
been placed in the library of the society : 

Trautwine’s Engineers’ Pocket Book, from the author. 

Transactions of the Technical Society of }he Pacific Coast. 

The Technic, Annual of the Engineering Society of the Uni¬ 
versity of Michigan. 

Technology Quarterly, from the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technolog. 

The Age of Steel, St. Louis, Mo. 

The Colliery Engineer, Scranton, Pa. 

Respectful[y submitted, 

Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


5 1 


ANNUAL REPORT OF TREASURER FOR 1891. 

RECEIPTS. 

From Annual Dues, - - - .$378.00 

“ Extra Papers, .... 12.15 

Total Receipts - $390.15 

EXPENDITURES. 

For Stationery and Postage, - - - $ 45-37 

“ Printing, - - - - 204.35 

“ Hall Rents, ----- I 5 * I ° 

“ Lithographic Work, - - - - 67.75 

“ Reporting Proceedings, - - - I 5 -°° 

Total Expenditures, - - $ 349-57 

Balance in Bank, - - - - - $ 40.58 

Henry McCalley, Treasurer. 

University, Ala., Jan. 12, 1892. 







ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


5 2 


ANNUAL REPORT OF TREASURER FOR 1893 . 


RECEIPTS. 


From Cash in Treasury, as per report of 


Jan. 12, 1S93. - 

From Annual Dues for 1892. - 

- Ji 4 °- 5 8 

I48.OO 

Total receipts. 

$188.58 

EXPENDITURES. 


For Printing, ..... 

“ Lithographic Work 

“ Stationery and Postage, 

u Reporting Proceedings, 

“ Hall Rents, - 

$ [I 3-75 

25.°° 

2I.7O 

15.00 

10.80 

Total Expenditures, 

Balance in Treasury, 

$186.25 

$ 2 -33 


Henry McC alley, Treasurer. 
University of Alabama, May 17, 1893. 






ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF TREASURER FOR 1893. 

RECIPTS. 

From Cash in Treasury, as per report of 

May 17, 1893, - $ 2.33 

“ From Annual Dues, - 191.00 

Total Receipts .... $ I 93-33 

EXPENDITURES. 

For Printing and Stationery, - - - $87*75 

— Advertising Meetings, - - - 12.95 

“ Postage, ------- 8.40. 

“ Reporting Proceedings, - ■ - 5.00 

“ Express Charges on Engraved Blocks, - 0.55. 

Total Expenditures - - - $114.65 

Balance in Treasury, - .... $78.68 

Henry McCalley, Treasurer. 
University, Ala., May 29, 1894. 







PKOceejPiKGS 


OF THE 



VOL U ME IV. 


NO. 2. 


1 894 . 






















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA 


INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


VO LU M El IV. NO. 2. 

1 894. 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


Secretary’s Office, 

University P. O., 

* Alabama. 


BURTON & WEATHERFORD, TUSKALOOSA, ALA. 




OFFICERS. 

1894. 


PRESIDENT. 

Wm. B. Phillips, - - Birmingham, Ala. 


VICE . PRESIDENTS. 


T. H. Aldrich, 

* 

L. C. Harrison, 

F. M. Jackson, 

Geo. B. McCormack, 
Ernst Prochaska, 


Birmingham, Ala. 

Warrior, Ala. 
Brookwood, Ala. 
Pratt City, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala. 


TREASURER. 

Henry McCalley, - - - University, Ala. 

SECRETARY. 

Eugene A. Smith, - - University, Ala. 


ant by resignation of .J. M. McKleroy, Anniston, Ala. 




TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Page. 


Proceedings of Winter Meeting, 5 

Spathite Iron— Prof. M. C. Wilson, ... 7 

Dust-Catcher Refuse— Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, - - n 

Collected Notes on Cyanides— C. A. Meissner, - - 15 

Index to Volumes I. to IV., Inclusive, of the Pro¬ 
ceedings of the Society— Clias. E. Bowron, - - 17 













































' 











, 

. 

’ 

* 








O I 

























































REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, 


Mield in the Office of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad 
Company, Birmingham, Ala., December IJ+, 1895 . 


The meeting was called to order at 7 145 P. M., with Pres¬ 
ident Phillips in the chair. The following were present : C. 
Cadle, H. F. Wilson, Jr., C. D. Harris, R. F. Manly, J. H. 
McCune, Prof. M. C. Wilson, J. D. Hillhouse, C. A. Meiss¬ 
ner, E. Ramsay, J. W. Minor, E. A. Uhling, J. A. Mont¬ 
gomery, Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, Dr. E. A. Smith. 

Reading minutes of last meeting was dispensed with, as 
the same had been printed in pamphlet form and distributed 
to the members. 

Under the head of “Presentation and Reading of Papers,” 
Prof. M. C. Wilson, of Florence, Ala., read a paper on Spath- 
ite Iron, which was greatly enjoyed and generally discussed. 

Dr. Phillips read a paper next on the “Composition of Flue 
Dust,” after which a general discussion ensued. 

Mr. C. A. Meissner then read some “Collected Notes on 
Cyanides.” These notes were discussed by those present. 

Dr. Phillips next brought up the question of “Utilization of 
Coke Braize,” which elicited a great deal of discussion. 

Mr. Erskine Ramsay, at the request of the President, ex¬ 
plained his new coal screen, now erected at Pratt Mines, to 
the meeting. 

Dr. Phillips then addressed the meeting, and stated that Dr. 



QffJ 6 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCI3TY. 


E. A. Smith, State Geologist, had at last finished the Geolog¬ 
ical Map of Alabama, and he would like to have the gentle¬ 
man explain same to those present, which the doctor did. 

In closing, Dr. Phillips said he thought that the Society 
should devote the next six months to the matter of “Saving of 
By-products of Coke Ovens,” and the meeting agreed with 
the doctor in this matter, so it was resolved to have some pa¬ 
pers read at the next meeting on the above subject. 

Adjourned. 

Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 


\ 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


7 (&oj 


SPATHITE IRON. 


BY M. C. WILSON. 


The production, within the last few years, of a grade of iron 
known as Spathite Iron, which has uniformly commanded a 
price of fifty cents to one dollar a ton more than the pig iron 
ordinarily produced in this district, has led me to believe that 
a paper on thi^ product might be of interest to this Society. 

So far as known, this Spathite Iron is made only at Flor¬ 
ence, Alabama, and the ore from which it is obtained comes 
only from Iron City, Lawrence county, Tennessee, though I 
am strongly inclined to believe that it occurs also in contigu¬ 
ous portions of North Alabama. The ore is found at Iron 
City in a stratum about six feet thick with lime-stone both 
above and underlying it. This stratum dips to the Southward. 

The ore, of which I have several specimens here, looks, at 
first glance like an ordinary red ore, It was first described as 
a.spathic ore but on closer examination by Dr. J. M. Safford, 
was found to be a very different mineral, and by him was 
given the name Spathite. It differs widely both in chemical 
composition and physical character from the typical spathic 
ore. The carbonic acid is almost entirely combined with the 
lime, and the iron is almost entirely found as ferric oxide. 

From numerous analyses I am led to believe that this so 
called spathite iron ore is a more or less intimate and uniform 
mixture of red hematite and carbonate of lime. There is a 
variation in the percentages of the two; that part lying next 
to the lime-stone layer, having a somewhat larger amount of 
carbonate of lime and a correspondingly small amount of ferric 
oxide. 

I give here a couple of analyses taken from a list of five or 
more. The iron is given as metallic iron. This being nearly 




8 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


all in the form of ferric oxide. In only one sample examined 
did I find the ferrous oxide exceed one per cent. 

SPECIMEN NO. i. 


Iron, .... 

22.19% 

Silica, - 

H -79 

Lime (CaO), 

24.O4 

Carbonic Acid, - 

2 1.63 

Alumina, - . 

2.45 

Magnesia (MgO), 

1.68 

Manganese, 

Trace 

Phosphorus, - 

•534 

Sulphur, - 

• 

Trace 

SPECIMEN NO. 2 . 


Iron, .... 

21.62% 

Silica, .... 

1 5 • 1 3 

Li me (CaO), 

21.97 

Carbonic Acid, 

1 s.75 

Alumina, 

2.79 

Manganese, 

Trace 

Phosphorus, 

.49 

Sulphur, 

Trace 


The specific gravity of this ore is 2.78. It is more or less 
porous and soft in texture and disintegrated somewhat when 
put into water. 

In making up the burden of the furnance, the usual practice 
is to use one part of spathite ore to two parts of the ordinary 
brown ore assaying about =;o% of metallic iron ; very little, if 
any, carbonate of lime is required for fluxing. 

Just what are the physical characters of the iron produced 
from this mixture, I cannot say with any authority. Nor can 
I say how far its peculiarities are due to furnace practice, and 
how far to the chemical composition of the ore. I have here 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 9 

three analyses of the iron, which may throw some light on the 
question. 

Of these specimens, the first is what is ordinarily called a 
Gray-Forge iron ; the second a distinctly silver white, and un¬ 
usually hard iron, and the third a number two foundry iron. ' 


SPECIMEN no. 1. 


Graphitic Carbon, 

3 - 11 

Combined Carbon, 

- 0.27 

Silicon, 

1.82 

Phosphorus, 

I *73 

Manganese, 

.26 

Sulphur, 

Trace 


SPECIMEN NO. 2 . 


Graphitic Carbon, - - 2.77 

Combined Carbon, - 0.53 

Silicon, .... 2.7c; 

Phosphorus, - - 1.68 

Manganese, - - - 0.12 

Sulphur, - - - Tiace 


specimen no. 3. 


Graphitic Carbon, - - 2.61 

Combined Carbon, - 0.34 

Silicon, .... 3,09 

Phosphorus, - - - 1.60 

Sulphur, - - - Trace 


The precentages of phosphorus are somewhat higher than 
in the ordinary pig, but very nearly the same in all, while the 
variation in the amounts of silicon is much wider. One sur¬ 
prising fact is the smallness of the amount of Manganese in 
the iron, and this small amount is, I believe, derived from the 
brown ore mixed with the Spathite in the reduction, numer- 




( o 3 j IO ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

ous analyses of the Spathite having failed to give anything 
more than a trace of manganese. 

Some remarkable properties are claimed for the working of 
this iron in the Cupola furnace; such as giving increased 
"fluidity, and making decreased shrinkage in the castings. But 
I am sure there are several persons here who know much 
more about this than I do. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


II ) 


DUST-CATCHER REFUSE. 


BY WM. B. PHILLIPS. 


While conducting some experiments in the magnetizing and 
concentrating of soft red ores, I was led to investigate the na¬ 
ture of dust-catcher refuse, in order to ascertain if it could be 
economically treated for the iron it contains. 

Samples were taken at intervals extending over several 
days, and well mixed so as to give a fair average of the mate¬ 
rial. Five hundred grams were taken for examination and 
analysis, and screened over seives from io meshes to 100 
meshes per square inch, without pulverization. The material 
remaining on each screen was separated into two portions, 
magnetic and non-magnetic, by a current from 3 1-quart 
“Samson” battery cells actuating a magnet. Thus the mate¬ 
rial left on the 10 mesh screen was divided into two portions; 
that through the 10 but left on a 20 mesh, into two portions, 
and so on with each succeeding seive. 

An analysis was made of each portion, the magnetic and 
the non-magnetic. Below are given the results, the first table 
showing the composition of the magnetic portions, and the 
second that, of the non-magnetic portions: 




12 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



MAGNETIC PORTIONS. 


Residue on 

Per cent of 
total by wt. 

Iron, 

pr.ct. 

Phos. 

pr.ct. 

Alumina, 

pr.ct. 

Lime. 

pr.ct. 

Insol. 

pr.ct 

10-mesh 

seive 

O.06 

51-93 

°-39 

3 .00 

3 -75 

15.00 

20 “ 


°-53 

38.42 

O.26 

3.9O 

3.20 

"9-95 

30 “ 

4 4 

5-34 

43-3 8 

O.28 

3- 2 5 

440 

17.30 

40 “ 

4 4 

6.62 

39-4 6 

0.3° 

4-H 

6.9O 

2 I.70 

50 “ 

4 4 

IO.3O 

4 r -54 

— 

4.18 

7.20 

18.96 

60 “ 

4 4 

9-00 

40.38 

— 

4.00 

7.80 

17.96 

70 “ 

4 4 

10.00 

4 i .67 

0.32 

3-5° 

6.80 

14.68 

80 “ 

4 4 

35-°° 

44.OO 

— 

4-5° 

6.00 

I4.OO 

100 “ 

4 4 

10.00 

45.00 


4.OO 

5-5° 

^•s 0 

Thro’ 100-m.seive 

r 3 x 5 

44.5° 

— 

3-75 

7.00 

14.00 


The first thing 1 that attracts attention is the fineness of the 
material, more than one-third of it passing a 70-mesh seive, 
and more than one-fifth passing an 80-mesh seive. The per 
centage of iron varies from 40.38 in the material passing a 
^o and remaining on a 60-mesh seive, to 51.93 in the material 
remaining on a 10-mesh seive. The average per centage of 
iron is 43.03, and of insoluble matter 16.70. 

It would be impracticable to pass the refuse through such 
fine screens and then concentrate it over a magnetic separator 
in order to obtain a product no better than is indicated by these 
analyses. If one should use a 70-mesh screen, he would lose 
58% of his material, and 23% if he used an 80-mesh screen. 

So far as concerns the screening of the refuse, it is not to be 
recommended. If the entire material as it comes from the dust 
catcher should be treated magnetically, we could not hope to 
secure, on the average, more than 43% of iron, nor less than 
16% of insoluble matter, in the concentrates, while we would 
throw away a large amount of available fuel represented by 
the non-magnetic portions. 

The composition of these non-magnetic portions is given in 
the following table : 



•ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. I 5 

ft- - 




< 

NON 

-NAGNETIC 

PORTIONS. 





• ■< • . 

Per ct. 

Vol. 

Fixed 


Ox. of 





Residue on 

of total 

matter 

carbon 

Ash 

iron 

Alum’a Lime 

Silica 

Phos. 



by \vt. 

pr.ct, 

pr.ct, 

pr,ct. 

pr.ct. 

pr.ct. 

pr.ct. 

pr.ct. 

pr.ct. 

10 -mesh seive 

0.73 

3.30 

70.95 

25.75 

6.58 

4.72 

2.60 

7.40 

0.10 

20 ** 

ftft 

3.42 

2 20 

76.30 

21.50 

4.12 

2.68 

1.50 

6.40 


30 “ 

ft* 

8.66 

3.80 . 

71.40 

24.80 

3.70 

2.50 

1.60 

9.35 


40 “ 

ft* 

4.49 

2.80 

61.80 

35.40 

2.68 

4.14 

5.50 

15.15 


50 

ft* 

4.40 

6.10 

52.70 

41.20 

4.44 

4.06 

8.40 

20.20 


60 “ 

ftft 

3.30 

6.15 

53.95 

39.90 

3.75 

4.00 

9.00 

17.20 


70 “ 

ftft 

3.00 

6.70 

47.85 

45 45 

12.26 

3.00 

8.50 

17.30 


SO “ 

ftft 

5.00 

7.00 

45.50 

47.50 

11.50 

3.75 

10.00 

18.50 


100 “ 

ftft 

4.00 

6.00 

42.00 

52.00 

13.00 

4.00 

9.00 

20.00 


Thro’ 100 

-mesh 2.00 

5.00 

41.00 

54.00 

12.00 

5.00 

8.00 

22.00 


The average per centage of Fixed Carbon 

is 56.34, and of 


Ash 38.75, the ash coataining a notable amount of lime, espe¬ 
cially as the fineness increases. The presence of metallic iron 
in the refuse may be due to particles mechanically removed 
from the bell and hepper during charging, or to reduced iron 
held in a very finely divided condition, or to both these causes. 
When it is treated with hydrochloric acid, there is an evolution 
of evil-smelling hydrocarbon gas, such as comes from cast iron 
when treated with acid. But the amount of metallic iron is 
small, as is shown by the low content of total iron, which is 
but little above the metallic iron of the burden. If this mate¬ 
rial were handled over a dry magnetic concentrator, there 
would be a great quantity of dust, with its consequent trouble¬ 
some effects. A wet concentrator of the Finney-Lovett type 
would handle it to better advantage, especially as the differ¬ 
ence between the specific gravity of the concentrates and the 
tailings is so great. It has been recommended by a Past Pres¬ 
ident of this Society, Mr. C. A. Meissner, to mix this material 
with tar, or other suitable binding* stuff, and compress the 
mixture into bricks for use as a part of the burden, and the 
suggestion is worthy of attention. 

The flue dust from two furnaces in this district will amount 
to ten tons per day of 24 hours, which will contain 43% of 
iron, or 4.3 tons. This is now going to waste, and it does 
seem that some means could be devised for saving it. 












yJ 14 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

When the magnetic concentrator now building at Bessemer 
is completed, it is our purpose to mix a certain quantity of 
dust-catcher dust with the ore as it goes to the separator, to 
ascertain whether or no its economical treatment can be effect¬ 
ed in this way. No great amount can be thus used, because 
the metallic iron in the concentrates from the dust cannot be 
increased above 44 to 45%, which is from 12 to 14% below 
the per centage of iron which we hope to obtain from ore con¬ 
centrates. 

If some method could be devised for mixing this dust with 
coke braize and moulding into bricks, it would prove a not 
unwelcome addition to our burden. But the saving of by¬ 
products in this district seems to await a greater competition, 
or a larger population, or both. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 




NOTES ON THE FORMATION OF CYANIDES IN THE 

BLAST FURNACE. 


BY C. A. MEISSNER. 


Very little has been written on the subject of cyanides in 
the Blast Furnace, and as Mr. Means, Supt. of the Sloss Iron 
& Steel Co’s., furnaces at North Birmingham, mentioned to 
the writer his trouble experienced at his tuyeres with cyanide 
formation, an effort was made to get some information on 
the subject. Mr. Means stated that he had heavy accumula¬ 
tions of what has every appearance of cyanide of potassium 
and sodium in his tuyeres and blow pipes, that he frequently 
had to take them down to clean them, and that he thought the 
cyanides cut his tuyeres. This led to the collection of the fol¬ 
lowing notes by the writer. G. Hilgenstock, an eminent Ger¬ 
man authority, found that the greater the coke consumption 
the greater the amount of ammonia formed, and hence the 
more cyanides formed in the furnace. It is generally consid¬ 
ered that the ammonia found in the waste gases is derived 
from the blast, which passing over white hot coke, produces a 
mixture of carbonic oxide and nitrogen, and this mixture pass¬ 
ing over carbonate of potassium and sodium in presence of 
carbon forms cyanide of potassium and sodium, which latter 
by decomposition with steam produces ammonia. 

An experiment made by Hilgenstock threw some light on 
this theory. After tapping, and before the slag had risen again, 
the gases escaping from the cinder notch were led through an 
iron pipe into water and this became alkaline at once, and 
contained mainly cyanide and carbonate of potassium, and on 
evaporating, large amounts of ammonia were found. The slag 
contained 0.53 per cent of potash. In another case H. Von 




1 6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Juptner publishes analyses of cyanides which flowed from a 
slag tuyere.lt is described as thick fluid, which during solidifi¬ 
cation envolved dense suffocating fumes ;analysis is here given: 

SOLUBLE IN WATER. 

Sulphide of Potassium, ... 2.99% 

Carbonate of “ .... 39.52 

Cyanide of “ ... 49.58 

Cyanateof “ ... 1.15 

Metasilicate of “ - • - - 1.75 

Sulphoeyanide of Potassium, - - Trace. 

INSOLUBLE IN WATER. 

Carbon, - - - - - - 1.37% 

Slag,.6.39 

A great deal of ammonia is supposed to come from the 
nitrogen in coke, which when red hot, will evolve ammonia 
when water is thrown on it. Water gas from coke contains 
as much as .0489%. Coke analysis showed nitrogen 0.087%, 
0.287%, anc ^ some coke taken from the tuyere region was found 
to contain no nitrogen at all, all having been taken away in 
the descent in the furnace. Some brown ores may contain 
Considerable ammonia according to their exposure to atmos¬ 
pheric ihfluences. Following are analyses: 

Brown Ore, Ammonia—0.24%, 0.08%. 

Bog Ore, Ammonia—0.025%, 0.435%, 0.140%. 

Only about one third of the ammonia in a charge goes oft' 
into the gases : it is probable that the very hot working of a 
furnace assists the formation of cyanides in the fusion zone 

" 4 . .1 I ' , \ " V ,- ’•* ■, ' ' ».« IM 

where it is carried forward by the draft and decomposed by 
water vapor in the upper part of the furnace. Von Juptner 
found that when working in different mixtures he obtained 
different results. It would also appear from his results that 
soft coke contained more ammonia than hard coke, hence led 
to greater cyanide formations. Ledebour finds that cyanides 
have a strong reducing action on the red hot ore, and carbo¬ 
nize the iron so that in this respect their action is beneficial. 





PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 

ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 

AND 

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY . 

m - VOLUME V _— 


1895 . 











✓ 





' *0 







PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


A L AB AM A 

ii 


,£aclu.strial aad Scientific Society 


VOLUME V. 
1895 . 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE, 

UNIVERSITY POST OFFICE, 

ALABAMA 


BURTON & WEATHERFORD, TUSCALOOSA. 




OFFICERS. 

1895 . 


PRESIDENT. 

Thomas Seddon, - - - Birmingham, Ala. 

VICE PRESIDENTS. 

% 

F. M. Jackson, - - - Brookwood, Ala. 

Geo. B. McCormack, - - Pratt City, Ala. 

Ernst Prochaska, - - New Castle, Pa. 

James Bowron, - - - Birmingham, Ala. 

E. A. Uehling, - - - Newark, N. J. 

TREASURER. 

Henry McCalley, - - University, Ala. 

SECRETARY- 

Eugene A. Smith, - - - University, Ala. 


*Vacant by resignation of L. C. Harrison, of Warrior, Ala. 




TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceedings of Annual Meeting, - - - - p. 5 


Proceedings of Autumn Meeting, ----- 7- 

Utilization of By-Products from Coke Ovens — 

J. A. Montgomery, - 10 

Mobile Point; Alabama*s Deep Water Harbor — 

G. D. Fitzhugh, - - 20 

Alabama Barite or Heavy Spar — Henry McC alley, - 25 

The Pig Iron Market; Its Extent and how to Improve it, 

James Bowron, - - 30 

J alue of Raw Materials in Iron Making — 

Wm. B. Phillips, - - 36 

Alabama"*s Resources for the Manufacture of Portland 

Cement — Eugene A. Smith, - - - kk 

President"*s Address, ------- 52 

Report of Secretary, ------- 53 

Report of Treasurer, ------- 5k 






REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 

OF 

ANNUAL MEETING 

OF THE 

ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Held in the Office of the Tennessee Coal , Iron , and Railroad 
Company, Birmingham, Ala., June 8 , 1895. 


The meeting was called to order at 8 130 P. M,, with Pres¬ 
ident Phillips in the chair, Those present were E. Ramsay, 
Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, Dr. E. A. Smith, J. A. Montgomery, 
G. W. Chase, Chemist of the Pioneer Mining and M’fg Co., 
J. R. Harris, Chemist of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and R. R. 
Co., James M. Lock, of Cincinnati, R F. Manly, representa¬ 
tives of the Age-IIerald, and Evening News, and others. 

Dr. W. B. Phillips, President of the Society, read his Ad¬ 
dress, which will be found in the body of the proceedings. 

The minutes of the last meeting were then read and adopted 
without comment. 

There were no applications for membership in the Society. 

The Secretary read his report, which will he found else¬ 
where in the proceedings. 

The Treasurer’s report was examined by a committee ap¬ 
pointed for that purpose, and being found correct was ac¬ 
cepted. 

The next thing in the order of business was the reading of 
papers. Col. J. A. Montgomery read a very interesting and 
exhaustive one on the subject of “Recovery Ovens.” 

The question of the Society making arrangements for the 
delivery of a series of lectures on scientific subjects, from time 
to time, was discussed, but no definite conclusion reached. 

The Secretary was instructed to request J. W. Minor to 



6 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, 


furnish a paper to be read at next meeting, on the subject of 
Fire Brick ; Mr. G. D. Fitzhugh one on the subject of Phos¬ 
phates; Mr. Thomas Seddon one on the Coal and Iron 
Future of the State; and Mr. A. E. Barton one on the In¬ 
creased Production of Pig Iron in the past three years as 
against Previous Records. 

After the ballots, which had previously been cast, were 
counted, it was announced that the following officers had been 
elected: Thomas Seddon, President; E. A. Uehling and C.E. 
Bowron, Vice Presidents, E. A. Smith and Henry McCalley 
were unanimously re-elected Secretary and Treasurer, respec¬ 
tively. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

EUGENE A. SMITH, Secretary. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF AUTUMN MEETING. 


Birmingham, Ala., November 23, 1895. 

The meeting was called to order by President Seddon, at 3 
P. M., in the rooms of the Commercial Club. There were 
present Messrs. Seddon,Aldrich, McCalley, Phillips, Brewer, 
er, Manly, Smith, Gibson, representatives of the press, and 
others. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read and adopted. 
There were no committees to be heard from. The council 
recommended the following for membership : Wm. M. Brew¬ 
er, of Pleflin ; J. R. Harris, of Birmingham ; and Gordon Rob¬ 
inson, of Birmingham ; who were duly proposed and elected. 

Some discussion was then had upon the prospects of the 
Society, from which it appeared that there was a general de¬ 
sire among the members that it be continued, for the present 
at least, under its present name and with its original objects 
in view. But it was thought advisable for the members to in¬ 
terest themselves more decidedly in trying to keep the Society 
before the attention of those who should be members, and 
thus do what could be done towards increasing the member¬ 
ship. To this end, it was directed that the Secretary enter 
into correspondence with Mr.- John Fulton, of the Cambria 
Iron Works, for the purpose of getting that gentleman to pre¬ 
pare an address and deliver it before the next meeting of the 
Society, upon Recovery Coke Ovens, and their adaptability 
to the Birmingham District. 

The reading of papers being next in order, the following 
were read : 

( 1 ) Mobile Point , the Deep Water Harbor of the Gulf 
Coast , by G. D. Fitzhugh, of Birmingham. In the absence 
of the author, this was read by Dr. Phillips. Some discussion 
followed, in which Dr. Phillips, Mr. Aldrich, and Dr Smith 
took part. 



8 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

[ 2 ) Alabama Barite or Heavy Spar , by Henry McCal* 
ley —read by the author, discussed by Messrs. Aldrich, Phil- 
lips, and Seddon. 

( 3 ) On Alabama ' 1 s Resources for the Manufacture of Port¬ 
land Cement , by Eugene A. Smith, read by the author, and 
discussed by Messrs. Seddon, Aldrich, and McCalle}. 

( 5 ) On the Value of the Raw Materials in Iroyi Makings 
by Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, read by the author, and discussed 
by Mr. Seddon and Dr. Phillips. 

(d) On the Pig Iron Market ; Its Extent and how to I?n- 
prove it , by James Bowron, read by Mr. Aldrich, in the ab¬ 
sence of the author. 

There being no other papers, Mr. Seddon moved that Dr. 
Phillips be requested to prepare for the next meeting, a paper 
upon the relative values of dolomite and calcite as furnace 
flux, especially as to their values for high sulphur cokes, and 
also as to their effects upon the silicon in the iron. 

Mr. Aldrich next gave an account of his recent experience 
in prospecting for gold in the Arbacoochee district. In the 
course of his remarks, Mr. Aldrich stated as the result of his 
observations, that he was satisfied that there was, at several 
points in the gold region, a great abundance of low grade gold 
ores, carrying from or $5 up, that could be worked with 
profit; and he expressed his opinion that we should, in the 

near future, witness the establishment of plants using modern 
processes in that section. 

In continuation of the discussion of the affairs of the Socie¬ 
ty, Dr. Phillips brought up the subject of the collection of 
statistics of the mineral industries of the State by this Society, 
and the publication of these statistics monthly. It was 
thought that this would be a good thing for the Society, and 
also for those who are interested in keeping up with the pro¬ 
gress of our industries; and, on the motion of Mr. Aldrich, 
Dr. Phillips, Mr. Seddon, and the Secretary were appointed a 
committee to examine into the feasibility of this proposition, 
and to report thereon at the next meeting. The idea being, 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


9 


that the statistics be collected by the Society, and printed each 
month for distribution among technical and other journals, 
and to all interested, and thus in time to make this Society 
the headquarters for accurate information on all these points. 
This was not considered to be any encroachment upon the 
territory of the State Inspector of Mines. 

Dr. Phillips then gave some notes of his progress in the 
magnetic concentration of Red Mountain Ores, after which a 
vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. N. F. Thompson, the effi¬ 
cient Secretary of the Commercial Club, for his courtesy in 
placing the rooms of the Club at the disposal of the Society 
for the present meeting. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

EUGENE A. SMITH, Secretary. 


IO 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCTS FROM 

COKE OVENS. 


BY J. A. MONTGOMERY. 


At the last meeting of this Society, three or four of its 
members—myself among the number—were appointed to pre¬ 
pare articles on the merits of the different By-Product or Re¬ 
tort ovens, now most prominent in this and foreign countries, 
and to me was assigned the discussion of the plan of oven in¬ 
vented by M. Carves and afterwards modified by M. Simon, 
and known as the Simon-Carves oven. The reason for this 
being that, several years since, whilst in England examining 
a coal washer, I had the opportunity of examining a battery 
of this kind of ovens in operation, and such description as I 
can now give is based upon memory and the meagre notes 
taken at the time as to this oven, and published information 
as to other kinds. No detailed description can be attempted, 
as I have been unable to get anything but the most general 
information from agents in this country, and have not had 
time to correspond with the patentees who live in England or 
in France. 

All of the Retort or By-Product Ovens are the invention of 
foreigners; and I will state here that the Simon-Carves pat¬ 
ents are claimed as the original ones, and that all others are 
deviations from these, and are not as successful. The truth 
of this assertion I am not in a position either to affirm or to 
deny; but that they are the most largely used in England, 
Scotland, France, and Spain, there is no question. If one 
judges success by the number of ovens used, however, the 
Otto-Hoffman oven leads, as there are in operation in Germa- 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. II 

ny and Austria about twice as many of this oven as of all 
other retort ovens, and they have been very successful in 
treating coals that were not considered good coking coals 
prior to the adoption of retort ovens. It is to be hoped that 
the present agitation of the subject of By-Products from coke 
will put our American inventors to work to improve on the 
economy of working, simplifying of methods, and, last but 
most important, the reduction of cost of plant, as this high 
first cost is the most serious drawback to the introduction of 
these systems in this country, where, having such a wealth of 
material, obtained at a small cost, we are apt to think we can 
waste half our product and still compete with our neighbors. 
We have been doing this with some measure of success, but 
now it is beginning to be realized that we had best change our 
methods, and either find some way to utilize the waste gas 
from our Bee-Hive oven, or adopt one of the Retort ovens 
found to be best suited to our coals. Briefly, a By-Product 
Coke oven is a retort differing from ordinary gas retorts in 
the fact that care is taken to preserve and improve the coke 
instead of destroying it—the object being, first, to make good 
coke, and then to take care of and utilize the gas which other¬ 
wise would be wasted. 

Very briefly, I will attempt to describe the general form of 
these ovens, and the method of recovery of By-Products. They 
are made in banks or batteries of from 25 to 35 each—two 
batteries, forming a plant, are rectangular in shape, built of 
stone or brick, lined with fire brick, and vary in length from 
24 to 34 feet, in width from 18 to 26 inches, and in height 
from \\ to feet, depending on the coal to be treated, and 
varying in charging capacity from \\ to 6^ tons of crushed 
coal. Combustion and distillation are accomplished by burn¬ 
ing the waste gas under the bottom and sides in horizontal 
flues or chambers, and carrying this heated product by means 
of flues in the sides of the oven around the coking chamber 
described above. Some of the patents have these flues arranged 


12 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

horizontally, others vertically, the idea being to give a uni¬ 
form high heat to the bottom and sides as well as the top of 
the oven. The products of combustion of gas, after serving 
their purpose in making coke, are passed through flues running 
parallel to the air inlet in the Simon-Carves and Semel-Solvay 
patents, and into regenerators in the Otto-Hoffman oven,to heat 
the air coming in. As the combustion is caused by the cold gas 
by being ignited by the hot air, the amount of both gas and air is 
regulated various devices, giving accuracy as to quantity,and al¬ 
lowing of control as to the amount of heat evolved. The coal 
is charged in the top of the oven through two or three open¬ 
ings, according to length of oven—exactly as a Bee-Hive oven 
is charged by larries running on two or more tracks on top of 
the ovens. The coke is taken by a ram which runs on tracks 
in the rear of the batteries ; this ram thrusting the whole con¬ 
tents at one time upon the yard, allowing of reclosing of 
doors and immediate re-charging. The coke is watered out¬ 
side by a hose whilst in mass. This is an objection, as it 
causes a very high per centage of moisture in the coke, but 1 
think some other method of watering would materially lessen, 
and probably a spray under complete control of the operator 
might reduce to a minimum the per centage of moisture. Wa¬ 
tering outside also causes the coke to be dark in color, against 
which there is great prejudice on the part of furnace men ; but 
it is claimed that the color of retort coke has nothing to do 
with its strength or density, and where used that the coke has 
given even better results than Bee-Hive coke. The gases are 
taken from the top of the oven, by a main of either brick or 
iron, to the exhaust house, where the tar and ammonia liquor 
are condensed by a cooling process, usually by running the 
pipes through water tanks, then passes through several 
scrubbers, the first ones taking any remaining ammoniacal 
liquor, and the next, by a washing process in oil, recovers the 
benzol and naptha. The gas is lastly treated with sulphuric 
acid, to take out any remaining ammonia, then is taken to the 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 13 

boilers for heating purposes, and to the oven by pipes, to be 
burned by the addition of hot air as mentioned before under the 
oven. The tar and ammonia liquor are first separated into differ¬ 
ent tanks—the tar being barrelled and sent to market, or is dis¬ 
tilled on the place into the various products of the tarry oils, 
and into pitch. The ammonia liquor is treated with sulphuric 
acid and made into sulphate of ammonia. The oils from the 
scrubbers are pumped into tanks, and flow into stills where by 
steam they are made into benzol. There are other things that 
could be recovered, but as these three can be readily obtained 
without the use of a large chemical outfit, and are the main 
products of marketable value, they will be the only ones dis¬ 
cussed in this paper. 

It is claimed that a 6o-oven plant will turn out from 300 to 
325 tons of coke per day, at a cost of from 45 to 60 cents per 
ton of coke produced ; this includes the recovery of the three 
main products—tar, benzol, and sulphate of ammonia, but 
does not include interest on plant or office expenses. Such a 
plant is estimated to cost $150,000. 

The commercial value of these by-products will next be 
considered. Some have a recognized demand now, and I will 
try and show how others can be used. Coal tar is first on the 
list and first in importance as to the various products derived 
from it. In itself, it is largely used for paving and road mak¬ 
ing, and by cheapening its production no doubt a much larger 
demand will be occasioned. Gravel roofing is another growing 
use—especially in the West and Northwest and a large trade 
could undoubtedly be worked up in this direction. A large 
proportion of the present output is used in paint, and should 
be more largely used as a preservative for metal exposed to 
the action of the atmosphere and underground ; the demand in 
this direction is increasing all the time. Also, I think that 
when the coal operator who has to waste his slack coal finds 
out that by mixing 7 to 15 per cent of pitch with this slack, 
and making the product into a briquette, he will have as good 
a steam producer as ordinary run of mines coal, a large, very 


14 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

large use will be made of it. These, with the other uses I 

will mention further on, will probably increase by 25 per cent,. 

the price at which I estimate it can be disposed of. When 

retort ovens were first used in England, they found that the 

tarry oils in the form of benzol, aniline dyes, carbolic acid, 

and scores of other products successfully disposed of, there 

still remained from one-half to two-thirds of what they started 

with, with a very limited market for it. Coking the pitch 

was tried, by moulding and putting it into an oven in the form 

of a brick. This made a very pure refractory coke, but was 

very expensive. Then it was run hot into large ovens and 

coked ; but all these and other methods of disposing of it were 

abandoned when it was found to be the best agglomerating 

agent available for mixing with fine coal in the formation of 

briquette or patent fuel. This trade wherever started seems 

% 

to grow rapidly and has caused a constantly increasing d-e- 
mand for all the pitch that can be obtained, and at very rea¬ 
sonable prices. In the manufacture of briquettes, one plan 
successfully followed is as follows : The fine coal is first dis¬ 
integrated and then fed into a tank heated by steam, with 
from 3 to 10 per cent of ground pitch, thoroughly mixed in a 
machine with adjustable knives working in a vertical shaft, 
then fed into a mould plate in measured quantity, subjected to 
pressure of about 4000 pounds to the square inch, and turned 
out in the shape of a brick with rounded edges, or any other 
convenient shape that the operator desires by changing the 
mould plate. In this way, a large amount of otherwise worth¬ 
less slack coal could be made merchantable, as a most excel¬ 
lent fuel has been made from slack coal containing 25 to 35 
per cent of ash by mixing with from 7 to 10 per cent of pitch. 
If our run-of-mine coal after disintegrating was mixed with 
a very small percentage of pitch, say from 2 % to 4 per cent, 
a very fine fuel for locomotive use or any other use where a 
quick constant fire is needed, would be obtained. One of the 
chief advantages of this kind of fuel is its adaptability to car- 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


15 


riage and exposure without deterioration or loss in weight. 
Briquettes would revolutionize the export trade in Alabama 
coals if once inaugurated, there being no appreciable loss in 
weight, nor in the gases, even after exposure for long periods 
neither heat, moisture, nor cold seem to affect it seriously. These 
facts would be appreciated if you have ever watched the trans¬ 
formation that sometimes takes place in the soft coals of this 
district when exported ; leaving the mines practically all lump, 
fresh looking, shining, veritable black diamonds. When load¬ 
ed into vessels at the seaboard a considerable amount of slack 
is produced. When unloaded there is still more slack, and 
you are somewhat surprised at the loss in weight; but after 
being handled again into cars, and reaching its destination, 
you are not willing to acknowledge it as your coal—little or 
no lump, volatile matter gone, and coal of dull appearance—a 
loss in weight of from 7 to 10 per cent. The loss is not so 
great in harder coals, but we should export our best steam 
coals, which are soft. 

Briquette fuel for retail has been very successfully tried, 
there being no appreciable loss in handling and on account of 
cleanliness and ease of firing are very popular when sold for 
domestic use. 

Benzol is a large product, and it is feared that it could not 
be used to any great extent is the United States, as there are 
no aniline dye manufacturers in this country, and as a fuel it 
would be too expensive. I suppose if large quantities of 
benzol were made, that some one would start manufactories, 
as our cotton manufacturers import large quantities of these 
dyes for their prints; but there is a way to utilize this product, 
which would take all that can be made. A very small 
per centage of the whole in our ordinary gas contributes to its 
illuminating power, and all gas companies use what they call 
an “enricher”—cannel coal and petroleum oils are ordinarily 
used, but as from 70 to 75 per cent of the illuminating power 
of gas is ascribed to benzol, it seems to me that this is the most 


l6 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

natural enricher our gas men could have. Benzol also takes 
out the napthaline in gas—something to its credit to start 
with. It has been stated by a very prominent gas engineer, 
that i per cent of benzol will increase 14-candle power gas to 
22-candle power, and he recommends its use at even 60 cents 
per gallon. If gas contains other gases besides hydro carbons, 
its absorbing power for benzol is enlarged. Possibly our gas 
companies would use cheaper coal, decreasing the cost of their 
gas, and use larger quantities of benzol, give better light, and 
still manufacture their gas for less money. 

Carbolic and cresylic acids are growing in popularity and 

use as disinfectants, and if cheapened in production, their use 
would be largely augmented. 

Melinite, a powerful explosive, is also being largely manu¬ 
factured, and will be more largely used in the future. It is a 
smokeless powder that is getting to be popular. 

Creosote is growing in use every day, and if it were not so 
expensive no doubt every cross-tie and bridge timber on our 
railroads would be treated with it before use, as it is well re¬ 
cognized as a preservative ot timber both in the ground and in 
water. Whenever a method of manufacture is found to cheap¬ 
en this article so that it can be generally used, all that can be 
manufactured will find a ready sale. Also, creosote is one of 
the most economical fuels we have for steamships, and 
would be extensively used by them if they could rely on find¬ 
ing it at all ports of entry, a one pound of creosote will evap¬ 
orate 13 pounds of water, at 100 pounds pressure; its compact¬ 
ness in carriage and requiring no firemen to burn it, will at 
once show its economy. 

There are many other things that could be mentioned as of 
use in medicines, arts, and sciences, but I would weary you, 
and will now speak of the product that we have a certain 
market for, at our very door. Sulphate of ammonia is the 
most valuable at present of all the by-products. It is the 
most adaptable of all fertilizers, and the nitrogen contained in 
sulphate of ammonia is considered now much more valuable 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. I 7 

than nitrogen in nitrate of soda. The use of this product will 
grow each year, as our agricultural lands are worn out, and 
there is a steady demand for all that is made at 3 to 3^ cents 
per pound, or $60 to $75 per ton. A prominent engineer,vice 
president of one of the largest phosphate works in Georgia, 
tells me if we can reduce the cost of snlphate ot ammonia to 
$55 per ton, that at least 25,000 tons per annum would be used 
in the State of Georgia alone in phosphate manufactories. As 
all the coal used in the making of coke in Alabama in 1892, the 
largest output we ever had—would only turn out 22,300 tons 
of sulphate, one can readily see that a constant market could 
be had at all times. In fact, there is room for all of this pro¬ 
duct that will ever be made, as the demand will increase large¬ 
ly every year. 

About one-half ol the gas made by these ovens is waste gas, 
and can be used for fuel, under boilers, in furnaces, and for 
domestic purposes ; and by eliminating the sulphuretted hy¬ 
drogen, and using a “carburetter,” say benzol as above men¬ 
tioned, a first class illuminating gas can be made, of light spe¬ 
cific gravity. As a fuel gas, however, no preparation is re¬ 
quired, and on account of its lightness, and its not being easily 
affected by change in temperature, it can be piped long dis¬ 
tances. Natural gas is very irregular in pressure, and serious 
accidents have resulted therefrom. This would not be the case 
with coke oven gas, as the pressure would be uniform and the 
supply cauld be made constant, thereby promoting economy. 
As compared in heat value with natural gas, it is about 70 or 73 

to 100. It could be economically used around blast furnaces, as 

• 

it has 6 to 7 times the heating capacity of furnace waste gas; 
and is from three to five times higher in heating value than 
average producer gas. There are other points in its favor, but 
these are sufficient to show that its extended use is only a ques¬ 
tion of availability as to a market. 

As a matter of curiosity, and to give an idea of the amount 
of material wasted in Alabama by the use of the bee-hive oven, 
I submit the following calculations, taking the year when al- 


i8 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


most all the coke ovens in the State were running. From the 
actual experience ot the Birmingham Gas Company, we can 
safely count on 8000 cubic feet of gas, about 8 gallons of 
tar, 20 to 24 pounds of sulphate of ammonia, and two gallons 
ofbenz ol per ton of coal carbonized. 

In the year 1892, the product of the coke ovens of Alabama 
was about 1,500,000 tons, sold at $2.30—$3,450,000 ; consuming 
about 2,500,000 tons of coal. If this coal had been coked in 
retort ovens , the product would have been something like the 


following : 

2,000,000 tons of coke, 

500,000 barrels coal tar, 

20,000 tons sulphate ammonia, 
4,000,000 gallons benzol, 


@2.30, $4,600,000 

1 . 50 , 750,000 

- 50,00, 1,200,000 

i5cts, 600.000 


Total product, $7,150,000 

wth an additional 8,000,000,000 cubic feet of gas to be 
utilized. To do this, however, would require an expenditure 
of something like $4,500,000 for new ovens, and the abandon¬ 
ment of the present ovens, which have cost us about $ 1,600,000, 
or a total investment of about $6,100,000. As you will see, in 
this State alone, about $3,700,000 went up in smoke. 

If a good retort oven could be made, utilizing our present 
bee hive oven, at a cost of $300 to $350 per per oven, or an 
expenditure in the district of $1,600,000 or $2,000,000, and I 
think this can de done, it might be something within reach of 
our operators. I commend this to our inventive associates,who 
have done well in other lines. The use of the waste gas for 


fuel under boilers is a step in the right direction ; but why not 
save at least the eoal tar and sulphate of ammonia. 

If all the coal used for making coke in the United States for 
the year 1892 had been coked in retort ovens, the comparison 
would stand about as follows : 

Bee hive ovens in 1892, with 18,800,000 tons of coal produc¬ 
ed 12,010,000 tons of coke, sold at an average of $2 per ton, or 
$24,020,000. 


Estimates of cost of retort ovens to produce same amount 
of coke now produced by bee hive ovens in Alabama and the 
United States include cost of bv-nrodurt r>1ant« 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 19 

If the same amount of coal had been coked in retort ovens, 
the result would have been about as follows : 

15,000,000 tons of coke, @$2.00, - - $30,000,000 

3,340,000 barrels coal tar, @$1.50, - - 5,010,000 

175,000 tons sulphate of ammonia, @$50.00, 8,750,000 

28,200,000 gallons benzol, @150, - - 4,230,000 

$47,990,000 

plus about fifty-seven thousand million cubic feet of waste 
gas for fuel or waste. The cost of our present ovens in the 
United States is about $14,000,000; to replace these with retort 
ovens would cost something like $45,000,000, or a total of 
$59,000,000. As you will see, about $24,000,000 was wasted 
in the United States in 1892, not considering the value of the 
waste gas. If this gas could be used for illuminating and fuel 
purposes, a further saving could be made. Since in the United 
States and Canada there are now used about forty-seven thous 
and million cubic feet of gas yearly, this waste gas amounts to 
21 per cent more than is now used. The waste gas can be 
yiped for long distances, under steady and constant pressure, 
and no doubt would be remunerative. 

My principal object in submitting this paper is to interest 
others in the determination of some plan of utilizing the bee 
hive oven (something we now have, and which has cost a great 
deal of money) for recovery of these by-products. It is abso¬ 
lutely necesfary to have the coke pulled quickly, and to stop 
our present plan of watering inside the oven. With this elim¬ 
inated, I think a good retort oven could be made out of this 
class of oven, and I hope this will be taken up vigorously and 
some conclusion arrived at. If our competitors use the new 
style of oven, we wil be compelled to do something to keep up 
with them, and the most economical way would be to improve 
what we have. 



20 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


MOBILE POINT, ALABAMA, 

WILL BE THE DEEP WATER HARBOR OF THE 
GULF OF MEXICO. 


BY G. D. FITZHUGH. 


The traffic on the Gulf of Mexico is something enormous 
from all parts of the world, and was foreseen by Commodore 
Maury, of the United States Navy, when he stated in his book 
entitled “The Physical Geography of the Sea,” that the “Gulf 
of Mexico would be the great thoroughfare for navigation 
from all parts of the world and the center of commerce.” 

To facilitate this commerce, it will be necessary to open up 
to the world some safe and cheap deep water harbor near the 
central coast of the Gulf States. 

Nature has already laid out this Deep Water Harbor of 
Safety and Cheapness immediately east of the main entrance 
to Mobile Bay, and in a “stone’s throw” of Mobile Point, be¬ 
hind which the beautiful harbor of Navy Cove is situated. 

Any one can readily see the great advantage this harbor 
will be to the great steamers and ships of the commercial 
world plying the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The numer¬ 
ous railroads already built and being constructed, besides the 
many being projected, will come to this terminal point on the 
Gulf of Mexico when properly brought to the attention of the 
millions of people now bartering with each other. Besides, 
it will be the true terminal point for all railroads coming south 
through the United States to export coal, lumber, iron and 
merchandise of every description, as well as the seaport for all 
incoming steamers with their immense cargoes of goods, fruits, 
and materials of import. The enormous tonnage of coal for 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 2 1 

all incoming and outgoing steamers will be taken as fuel from 
this cheap deep water harbor; besides the export coal for all 
seaports in the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South Amer¬ 
ica, will be loaded at this harbor. 

Mobile Point, at Fort Morgan, is situated at the entrance of 
Mobile Bay, immediately to the east of the great ship canal 
leading into the Bay. It is thirty-five miles south of the City 
of Mobile. 

The length of the peninsula lying east and west from Fort 
Morgan to Ba^ John, an inlet from Mobile Bay, is eighteen 
miles ; about four miles of the eastern part from Fort Morgan 
to Navy Cove will average three-fourths of a mile wide at 
high tide. 

This part of the peninsula is made up of two parallel ridges 
capped with white sand of variable depths, while the bottoms 
are formed of dark bluish clay. The distance between the 
ridges is about five hundred feet. The northern ridge, or Bay 
Front as it is termed, is nearly fifteen feet above sea level; 
whilst the southern ridge, next to the Gulf beach, is nearly 
thirty feet above sea level. The northern ridge is quite of an 
even elevation, and without unevenness in alignment extend¬ 
ing to high tide in Mobile Bay, presenting most beautiful sites 
for buildings of any description. 

The southern ridge maintains its height very uniformly 
above sea level. It overlooks Bay Ridge, and most generally 
is of an even line with the Gulf beach, which is near one mile 
in width from the foot of the ridge to high tide. 

No part of the ridges forming this neck of land has ever 
been known to be inundated by the Gulf storms that devastate 
the Gulf coast from Pensacola to New Orleans, as was proven 
during October, 1893—the date of one of the most terrible 
storms visiting the Gulf coast. 

Between the two parallel ridges are sloughs or ponds of 
water, not exceeding twelve inches in depth. The ponds are 
what are known as “wet weather ponds,” and can be easily 
drained and filled in by material from the adjoining ridges. 


22 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


The bottom of the ponds are dark bluish clay, hard and firm 
“to the tread,” and not miry. 

It is noticeable these ponds drain into Mobile Bay, never 
into the Gulf. 

At the Station Navy Cove, about four miles from Fort Mor¬ 
gan, is quite a neat little village of eight or more cottages 
built not more than one hundred feet from the bay shore. This 
village is marked on the map as “Pilot Town,” as the cottages 
are owned and occupied mostly by pilots for ships and steam¬ 
ers entering and leaving Mobile Bay. 

That part of the peninsula extending east from Navy Cove 
for four miles has an average width of three and a half miles. 
It is made up of a series of parallel ridges not unlike the 
ridges west of Navy Cove, excepting, however, that no ponds 
of water or low wet places exist between the ridges save the 
inlets from St. Andrews’ Bay just at Navy Cove and along 
the bay shore to Three Rivers Inlet. The make-up of this 
part of the peninsula can be termed a gentle undulating ridge 
capped with the sea sands. 

The Bay beach varies in the direction from the line of beach 
west of Navy Cove, it that a prominent point is formed 
northwest into the bay, known as Little Clear Point—a com¬ 
manding and desirable eminence. 

The Gulf Beach is in line with the beach west of Navy Cove. 
* Extending eastward ten and a half miles, the topography of 
the region shows a more level field of land, with an average 
width of one and a half miles. The Bay Front presents an 
uneven line, cut into by three inlets from Bon Secour Bay— 
the local name for this part of Mobile Bay. The elevated 
front to the Bay is from ten to twenty feet above high tide. 
Along Seymour’s Bluff on the Bay Front, numerous orange 
groves and truck farms are located for three or more miles. 

There is no necessity for engineers, however skilled and 
distinguished, to suggest plans for a harbor from Fort Morgan 
to Navy Cove in Mobile Bay. Nature has already planned 
and laid out this, the only safe deep water harbor along the 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 23 

Gulf coast. The peninsula itself is a natural sea wall and 
protection against the Gulf storms. 

No dredging will be necessary to bring deep water to the 
wharves, nor will it be necessary to build expensive break-wa¬ 
ters and other defenses against the storm wave. The main 
ship channel here shows from thirty-three feet to fifty-six feet 
of water, as given on the maps of the United States Engin¬ 
eers, and passes immediately under Fort Morgan. The timber 
fleet rest easy at anchor immediately above Fort Morgan in 
water from twenty-one to thirty-six feet deep. 

The outer bar showa a depth of twenty-three feet of water, 
while on either side of the bar the depth of water is more than 
forty feet. As this, the outer bar, just below Sand Island, is 
so very narrow, it has been suggested that it was a coral reef, 
or some ledge against which the sands drift and lodge, and 
could be removed by blasting, thereby never requiring any 
cost in the future. 

Just east of Fort Morgan, coal chutes can be built to forty 
feet of water at a very short distance from shore. The rail¬ 
road cars can be brought to the water’s edge along the river 
front and connected, with but little cost, to the elevated coal 
chutes and wharves so as to offer every facility for unloading. 

The marine commerce of the world looks for a great coaling 
station to be established at the entrance of Mobile Bay, as 
steamers passing could take coal with little delay and at small 
cost; and for these reasons no harbor on the Gulf coast of the 
United States is better adapted for a coaling station than the 
harbor from Fort Morgan to Navy Cove. It will be a harbor 
to be recognized as of national importance, as the largest 
steamers of the United States Navy could come to safety and 
take coal and other supplies at the least cost. 

As to the plans for building, wharves and coal-chutes are so 
varied that this should be left as detail work after the location 
of railroads to Mobile Point. Suffice it to say, the cost of 
building coal-chutes and wharves will not be the expensive 


24 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

construction of such work as has been laid out at other points 
along the Gulf coast for similar purposes. 

Several railroads have been projected on maps and other¬ 
wise, to connect this deep water harbor with the railroads 
coming south towards Mobile and the Gulf of Mexico. The 
suggestion to build a belt line of railroad to connect all the 
railroads coming to Mobile with the deep water harbor, is a 
most excellent idea, but the cost to operate this belt road, and 
the additional freight charges to be added to the charges by 
the railroad companies, would be but a little less, if any, than 
the charges now being made for tonnage, pilotage and towage 
from Mobile to the Gulf. That to be considered most in con¬ 
structing a railroad will be to secure cheap transportation. 
The most feasible plan, and least expensive, would be to invite 
the attention of all railroad companies operating trunk lines 
already built and to be built towards Mobile to form a combi¬ 
nation to build and operate such lines of railroad to Mobile 
Point as would be adequate to the traffic, as in this the rail¬ 
road companies would make but little difference, if any, in 
rates of through freight to Mobile and to the Deep Water 
Harbor. 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2 5 


ALABAMA BARITE, OR HEAVY-SPAR . 


BY HENRY MCCALLEY. 


Barite, or Heavy-Spar, the native Sulphate of Barium, is 
easily recognized by its heavy weight, its specific gravity be¬ 
ing about 4.5, and by its insolubility in acids. It varies in 
color from white to black, though it is most commonly a white, 
grayish, or bluish mineral. It is soft enough to be scratched 
with a knife, though it is brittle. It is most commonly a 
dense compact massive mineral, that is sometimes granular 
like a white marble and sometimes earthy. It is a common 
mineral, or is widely distributed over the earth’s surface, 
though it may not occur in many places in workable quanti¬ 
ties, It has been mined in this country only in Missouri, Vir¬ 
ginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Illinois. It is most 
often found in nodules and boulders imbedded in a clay over- 
lying limestones and dolomites, and as loose ‘‘ float ” over the 
surface. Its lumps are often much colored on the outside, but 
on a fresh surface they show the characteristic colors of the 
mineral. It occurs also in regular beds or in pockets or veins. 
It is commonly associated with other mineral substances, es¬ 
pecially galena, as a gangue, etc. 

This mineral is found in Alabama, in a number of places in 
Calhoun, Etowah, St. Clair, and Bibb counties. It doubtless 
occurs in many other places in these counties and in other 
counties of the State. Some of the known deposits of Cal¬ 
houn, St. Clair, and Bibb counties appear to be in workable 
quantities, as the deposit on Mr. A. L. Tullis’ land near Tam¬ 
pa, on the East and West Railroad, Calhoun county; a de¬ 
posit just west of Greensport, St. Clair county; and deposits 




26 ALABAMA. INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

in Bibb county, near the Macguire Shoals, on the Little Ca- 
haba River, and the “Sinks” on Six Mile Creek. The 
first named of these deposits is the only one that has ever 
been tested. Its ore is in loose nodules and small boulders 
in a deep red loam that overlies limestones and dolo¬ 
mites. It shows for a distance of some 200 yards, and down 
to the bedded rocks, a depth of some 20 feet. It appears 
to be for the most part of good quality. It is of the charac¬ 
teristic white, grayish, and bluish colors, though some little of 
it is stained a dark color. It has some spots of galena. 

The deposit near Greensport, St. Clair county, shows as 
ledges in an east and west belt 8 to 10 feet broad. Those of 
Bibb county are said to be in veins. Most of the other known 
deposits of the State show up as “ float ,” or as loose nodules 
and boulders scattered over the surface, principally along 
with loose chert. Many of them are associated with more or 
less limonite. The Tampa deposit has in it a bed of good 
kaolin about 10 feet thick. 

The Alabama deposits, so far as known, are confined to the 
Lower Silurian formation. The principal ones are along the 
dividing line between the Siliceous (Knox) Dolomite and 
Cherts and the Pelham or Trenton Limestones, though many 
of the lesser deposits are far within the boundary of the form¬ 
er group, and it may be that there are pockets ond veins well 
within the latter of these groups. Pockets and veins, in the 
underlying bedded strata, have doubtless furnished the loose 
nodules and boulders now imbedded in the overlying residual 
clays, etc. These loose nodules and boulders would, of course, 
have to be mined by open pits, while the ore in pockets and 
veins in the bedded rocks would doubtless have to be gotten, 
for the most part, by underground mining. 

This mineral is put upon the market only as a fine ground 
powder. It is sometimes prepared for the market by simply 
crushing and grinding the carefully washed and assorted frag¬ 
ments. More commonly, however, the crushed ore is boiled 
with dilute sulphuric acid and then, to get rid of the acid, with 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 27 

pure water. It is next ground, and then sorted by “floating” 
in water, as it is called. The coarser powder settles quickly, 
while the very finest, the most valuable, remains longest in 
suspension. It is finally dried by steam, barreled and shipped. 
The most common and objectionable impurities are siliceous 
matter and iron stains. The former gives a gritty feeling to 
the powder and the latter injures its white color. 

Pure barite has 65.7% of barium and 34.3% of sulphuric 
anhydride. In the native state, however, the barium is com¬ 
monly replaced by more or less strontium and calcium, and 
the mineral has usually some impurities of silica, clay, and 
bituminous matter. Of the mineral that has been mined in 
this country, that of Missouri and Virginia is said to be not 
only in much the largest quantities, but also much the purest; 
that of Missouri being the best. The Missouri ores have the 
following analyses, as given in the Geological Survey Report 
of that State, Vol. VII:— 


Locality. 

Bar. 

Sulph 

Stron¬ 

tium 

Sulph 

Calci¬ 

um 

Sulph 

Am’n 

Sulph 

Silica. 

Ferric 

Oxide 

Water 

Total. 

(1) Jefferson Co. 

98.194 

0.500 

Trace. 


0.898 

0.190 

0-454 

100.222 

(2) Jefferson Co. 

96.791 

1.436 

0.325 


1.200 

0.191 

0.148 

100.091 

(3) Pettis Co. 

87.200 

10.900 

0.200 

0.2 


2.400 


100.900 


We have no analyses of the Alabama ores, though, as a 
whole, they appear to be quite pure. The German ores are 
said to best, or the softest and most easily worked of the for¬ 
eign ores. 

The production in this country is very variable. This is be¬ 
cause the principal mines are in Missouri where the principal 
miners are farmers who dig the ore only at odd times and as 
extra jobs. The production in the United States between the 
years 1890 and 1894 inclusive, varied from (the following 
statistics of production and imports are from T.he Mineral In¬ 
dustry, Vol. III.) 21,911 short tons in 1890, valued at $86,505 
at $3.95 per ton, to 28,476 short tons in 1892, valued at $142,- 





















28 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

380, at $5.00 per ton. The production for last year was only 
23,958 short tons, valued at $95,032, at $4.00 per ton. 

The imports between the years 1890 and 1894, inclusive, 
varied from 6,362 short tons in 1890, valued at $29,586, at 
$4.65 per ton, to only 2,720 short tons in 1894, valued at $15,- 
826, at $5.80 per ton. 

The decrease for last year, in both the production in this 
country and in the imports, is said to be due to the general 
depression in business. The production reached its maximum 
figures during the civil and Franco-Prussian wars, because of 
the demand for and high price of lead. 

The principal markets in this country are St. Louis, Mo., 
and Lynchburg, Va., for our ores, and New Haven. Conn., 
for the imported ores. The price fluctuates about as much as 
the production. It varies very much with the different makers 
and with the various grades of the same maker. The lowest 
grade is usually sold at about one-half the price of the best 
grade of any maker. The best grade is now worth from $18 to 
$20 per short ton, and the crude material about $6 per short 
ton. It does not take much of a pile to make a ton, as it weighs 

more than one-half as much as metallic iron. 

< 

It ranks next to white lead as a white pigment. Its princi¬ 
pal use is, therefore, as a paint, as an admixture with white 
lead, which it resembles in color and weight. This is a 
tempting use for it, as it greatly lessens the cost of the paint, 
being worth not over one cent per pound, while white lead is 
worth from six to seven cents per pound, and adds but little 
to the weight. In Europe, it is held as a valuable addition to 
white lead as a paint, though in this country the mixture is 
still looked upon with disfavor. The highest authorities say 
that an addition of 35% to 50% barite to white lead for paint 
is to be desired, as it detracts nothing from the quality and 
body or covering properties, while it adds to the permanency 
of the paint, in that it is not effected by agencies that discolor 
and destroy pure white lead. The only tenable objection to 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 2 C) 


this use of it, therefore, is that the purchaser pays for one thing 
and gets another, though some still hold that it injures the 
body and flowing properties of the white lead. It is used as 
an adulteration to give weight in other things in which there 
is no disputing its non-beneficial effects. It also has some 
other legitimate and good uses, as in the manufacture of paper 
and of canvas for the covering of the products of the pork 
packer. In the former case, it serves as a makeweight, and in 
the latter to stop the meshes of the canvas to keep out insects. 


3 ° 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


THE PIG-IRON MARKET. 

ITS EXTENT AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT. 


BY JAMES BOWRON. 


I have been requested to prepare a paper for the next meet¬ 
ing of this Society on the subject of “the pig-iron market; 
its extent, and how to improve it.” 

The extent of the market for Southern Pig Iron is very re¬ 
markable. According to the statistics published by Mr. Swank, 
of the American Iron and Steel Association, there were pro¬ 
duced in 1894 6,657,388 gross tons of pig iron, of which 120,- 
180 tons were spiegeleisen and ferro maganese, leaving 6,537,- 
208 tons to represent all the iron produced in the United States 
for melting or puddling. There were also produced in the 
same year 4,412,032 gross tons of steel of various kinds. The 
production of this steel would require more than a correspond¬ 
ing number of tons of iron, so as to allow for the waste inci¬ 
dent to any method of conversion ; but, as this is a commercial 
and not a scientific paper, I am content to offset the above 
mentioned tonnage of spiegeleisen and ferro against the waste 
incurred in conversion, and simply to deduct the 4,412,032 
tons of steel from the available tonnage of iron, which leaves 
2,125,176 tons available for foundry and forge purposes. This 
may be considered to represent the American market during 
the restricted and unusual year of 1894, f° r the importations 
of foreign pig iron were only 15,582 tons, consisting mainly of 
Seotch, but including some Swedish pig iron. 

The production in Alabama in 1894 was 592,392 tons, and 
in Tennessee 212,773 tons, being 805,165 altogether. This 
production represents for Alabama 27.8% of the entire con- 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 31 

sumption of the United States of pig iron apart from that used 
in the manufacture of steel; and for Tennessee a similar pro¬ 
duction of 10% ; being for the two States an aggregate of 37.8%. 

Without entering into any labored comparisons with other 
States or districts, this per centage is quite sufficient to show 
the commanding position taken by these districts in the gen¬ 
eral foundry and rolling mill trade. This is emphasised by 
the wide area over which the iron is distributed. I give at 
this point the two following tables, showing the distribution 
of iron by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, 
for the calendar year 1888, and for the twelve months ending 
July 1, 1895 : 

1888. 1S95. 


Ohio, 

65,56' 

Ohio, 

136,487 

Missouri, - 

3 3>733 

Alabama, 

89,054 

New York, - 

• 22,495 

Kentucky, 

- 48,376 

Kentucky, - 

19,808 

New York, 

44,690 

Michigan, 

16,582 

Illinois, 

38,736 

Illinois, 

- 16,193 

New Jersey, 

3',965 

Alabama, 

' 5 , 79 ° 

Tennessee, 

30,368 

Tennessee, 

- ' 3,' 8 4 

Missouri, 

29,85' 

Indiana, 

9,599 

Michigan, 

28,170 

Pennsylvania, 

■ 6,777 

Indiana, 

- 28,047 

Massachusetts, 

- 3,929 

Pennsylvania, 

27,215 

Iowa, 

2,300 

Wisconsin, 

- 9 >° 3 8 

New Jersey, 

I ,820 

Maryland, 

4 , 74 s 

Connecticut, 

- I » 5°5 

Massachusetts, 

• 4,456 

Colorado, 

1,200 

Iowa, 

2,251 

Rhode Island, 

- - 818 

Connecticut, 

',950 

Wisconsin, 

- 818 

Maine, - 

- ',925 

Louisiana, 

- 588 

Georgia, 

1,910 

West Virginia, 

- - 387 

Texas, - 

- ' ,605 

Kansas, 

383 

North Carolina, 

- 1,102 

Maryland, 

268 

Kansas, 

L 034 

Nebraska, 

2 34 

California, - 

842 


3 2 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Texas, - 

221 

Vermont, 

Soo 

Mississippi, - 

r 55 

Oregon, 

- 685 

California, 

150 

Rhode Island, 

645 

Arkansas, 

122 

Louisiana, 

- 635 

Minnesota, 

70 

Minnesota, - 

612 

Delaware, 

3 6 

Virginia, 

5 So 

Georgia, 

18 

Mississippi, - 

560 

North Carolina, 


Delaware, 

- 3 6 ° 



Arkansas, . - 

308 



New Hampshire, 

- 3 95 



District of Colum 

bia, 293 



Nebraska, 

- 276 



Colorado, 

. 158 



Florida, 

60 



South Carolina, 

57 



Washington, - 

5 ° 



West Virginia, 

18 



FOREIGN. 




Canada, 

2 >°34 



Mexico, 

-. 357 



England, 

250 



Nova Scotia, 

- 4 ° 



Italy, 

- : 7 

Total, - 

224,634 

Total, 

572,9 10 


An examination of these tables shows the following inter¬ 
esting points : 

ist. That the number ot States consuming these brands of 
Southern iron increased in six years from 30 to 39, besides the 
addition in the last mentioned table of five foreign countries. 

2nd. That the home consumption had so far increased that 
Alabama moved up from 7th in progressive importance to 2nd, 
and Tennessee from 8th to 7th. This is a point of supreme 
importance, for notwithstanding the fact that Birmingham 
iron ranges from Mexico to Canada and from San Francisco to 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


33 


Liverpool, it is obvious that distant markets can only be con¬ 
trolled by the sacrifice of profits, and that it is the development 
of the home market, that can be reached without the payment 
of intervening freight charges, that we must look to for our 
profitable business. 

Obviously, therefore, everything that producers of pig-iron 
in this district can do, should be done to advance the interests 
of the rolling mills, pipe works, machine foundries, etc., which 
are located beside us. We should advertise their products, 
give them our own patronage, become personally familiar with 
the character of their business, quality of the iron they use, 
their methods of treatment, the stocks that they carry, and study 
to deliver to them the quantity and quality of iron that will 
best subserve their necessities. 

There are three ways in which the market for Alabama iron 
may be enlarged ; namely, the development of (a) the home 
market; (b) the domestic; (c) the foreign. 

a. For the enlargement of the home market, it is necessary 
for us to bring continually under the notice of manufacturers 
in other parts of the country the advantages which our cheap 
iron and coal, our mild climate, and reliable labor afford. This 
is doubtless done at present, with perfect loyalty to the district, 
by the gentlemen who are interested in it, but necessarily in a 
manner which is more or less desultory ; and if we had a well 
organised iron trade association the work might be done con¬ 
tinuously and systematically. Many of the largest consumers 
of our product have never been in the South, and their atten¬ 
tion has not been personally directed to the consideration of 
the removal of their existing plants or the establishment of 
new ones. A thoroughly intelligent and competent represen¬ 
tative of the district might be sent to call upon and make a 
presentation of our case to such consumers at a distance as 
might be selected by the trade association. Facts and figures 
in the same direction should be submitted in every case where 
a northern consumer of our iron is burned out and compelled 
to rebuild. It is needless to say that the chief direction in 


34 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


which our efforts should be united, is to impress upon the pro¬ 
ducers of basic open hearth steel the advantage to accrue to 
them from the consumption of our metal at the point of pro¬ 
duction, where, if desired, it ean be furnished hot. With the 
establishment of such a plant, works for the production of 
boiler plates, sheets for tinning, bars, structural and bridge 
work, wire rods, and railroad material will very readily follow. 

b. For the enlargement of the domestic market, the most 
desirable thing to be done, in my judgment, is to secure uni¬ 
formity in grading and naming iron, and selling it upon terms 
of uniformity. It is very unsatisfactory to the consumer in 
Canada or Minnesota to buy a car load of forge iron for foun¬ 
dry purposes, and next month to buy from another producer a 
car load of 2 soft and find that it contains less silicon and is 
less fluid. It is scarcely too much to say that the whole ques¬ 
tion of grading iron is assuming a more complex condition, 
and that if it is not in a somewhat chaotic state, the minds of 
some of the graders have attained that undesirable goal! Har¬ 
assed by the pressure of evil times and the desire of consumers 
for something cheaper, the effort has been continually made 
not to split hairs but to split grades in a corresponding degree 
of fineness. This leads to an absence of physical or chemical 
lines of demarcation, and makes the question of grading de¬ 
pend more than ever on the individual opinions of the buyer 
and consumer, who naturally look at it from different stand¬ 
points and arrive at different results. This leads to considera¬ 
ble friction, and in the long run Sout hern iron gets a bad name. 
With the organization, as before suggested, of a strong local 
trade association, the names of the grades could be definitely 
agreed upon, and arrangements made for at least monthly or 
bi-monthly interchange of visits from one works to another, so 
that the members might agree on the maintenance of a common 
standard, and correct discrepancies and divergencies from it. 

c. The question of developing a foreign market is one which 
will at some future day be one of very great interest. When 
prices of Birmingham iron were at the lowest notch, on April 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


35 


i, 1895, ^ was then possible to put iron for export f. o. b. ship 
at tide water in Pensacola or Mobile harbor, $2.00 per ton be¬ 
low the corresponding value of the cheapest English iron, and 
it was found practicable to lay down iron in Liverpool grade 
for grade at less than the price of Middlesbro iron shipped 
across England to that point. The facts also developed that at 
those figures we have for Alabama iron an exceedingly good 
chance for competition in all Mediterranean ports, very large 
quantities of iron being shipped from England to Barcelona, 
Genoa, Civita Vecchia, and other Italian ports. This iron 
may be shipped in conjunction with steam coal or foundry 
coke. It would be an experiment of somewhat doubtful out¬ 
come as to whether the coke might by the rolling of the vessel 
in an Atlantic voyage be unreasonably broken up in compari¬ 
son with the shorter voyage sustained by the English coke ; 
but, if not, there is room for the shipment of Alabama coal 
and coke in competition with English into Mediterranean 
ports, although it is fair to say that there has not yet been a 
profit demonstrable in that business. The main difficulty, 
however, in the development of a European market for our 
iron is and will be the commanding of marine tonnage; and 
any other business that could be grouped with pig-iron such 
as the exportation to Spain or Italy of coal and coke, or either 
to Genoa, Bremen, or Havre of cotton will materially facili¬ 
tate the solution of the difficulty. Whenever our prices for 
iron fall again to bring them below the parity of English fig¬ 
ures, we should commence to work upon ship-brokers, and get 
in touch with both regular established lines of steamers and 
also “tramp” steamers and sailing ships. The same remarks 
apply with as great force to the less important markets of 
Bombay. Calcutta, Melbourne, Yokohama, and others. These 
markets are dominated, both in pig-iron in iron pipe, in coal 
and in coke, by the English, because of the present exchange 
of commodities, which has settled steamers and sailing ships 
in certain marine lanes of travel, from which it will require 
patience and perseverance on our part to divert them. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


VALUE OF RAW MATERIALS IN IRON MAKING. 


[ BY WM. B. PHILLIPS, BIRMINGHAM, ALA. 


The quality of the materials used is the most important con¬ 
sideration affecting the production and sale of pig iron. This 
is a general truth and does not depend upon any local circum¬ 
stance. It is as true for one part of the country as for another, 
for Bessemer metal as for foundry, or mill, iron, or basic open 
hearth stock. The time has long since gone by when the iron 
maker could afford to put almost anything into the furnace 
and trust to Providence to get something saleable out. The 
entire history of the iron trade for the last thirty years proves 
that the greatest change that has come over it is the depend¬ 
ence placed on the accurate analysis of the materials to be used 
in the furnace. So much is this the case, that one may say 
now that a very large proportion of the raw materials con¬ 
sumed is bought on analysis, and the remaining portion is 
subjected to very close inspection. 

It is the exception now to find a furnace without a chemist 
whose business it is not onl} to analyze the products but the 
materials as well, and to advise as to the best disposition to be 
made of the various ores, fuels, and fluxes. 

* 

It is an inevitable tendency of the trade, and cannot be neu¬ 
tralized by the refusal of some old fogy to adapt himself to the 
change. The attention paid to the quality of the raw materials 
for the blast furnace has grown in this district within recent 
years to very considerable dimensions. We are to-day buying 
and selling on analysis to an extent which even two years ago 
would have been considered highly improbable, and there is 
no indication that the practice will abate. On the contrary, 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


37 


there is good reason to think that the tendency will be more 
and more towards the unit basis for ores and fuels and fluxes, 
and the maximum basis for pig iron. Thinking that perhaps 
some general observations on the principles governing the pur¬ 
chase of raw materials might be of interest to the Society, I 
have endeavored to present the matter in as simple and at the 
same time as accurate a manner as possible under the condi¬ 
tions that confront us here. 

In order to bring the matter at once to the front, we must 
assume the truth of some data, to discuss which would con¬ 
sume more time than we have at our disposal. We will start 
with an ore containing 40 per cent of iron, 35 per cent of silica 
and alumina (reckoning the small amount of alumina as silica, 
in actual practice the silica is to the alumina as 1 to 0.87), and 
o. 50 per cent of lime. We will assume that for each increase 
of 1 per cent of iron above 40, the silica falls 1.50 per cent, so 
that for an ore of 45 per cent iron the silica will be 27.50 per 
cent, and for 50 per cent of iron the silica will be 20 per cent. 

The lime remains constant. The following table exhibits 
the rise of the iron and the fall of the silica plus the alumina. 


Iro?i . 


40 

4 1 

4 2 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 
5 ° 

5 1 

5 2 

53 

54 


Silica plus Alumina. 

35 00 

- 33 - 5 ° 

32.00 

- 3 °- 5 ° 

29.00 

- 27.50 
26.00 

* 2 4 * 5 ° 

23.00 

- 21.50 
20.00 


- 18.50 
17.00 

- i5-5° 

14.00 


3 § 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


55 ---- 

12.50 

56 ---- 

-11.00 

57 ---- 

9 - 5 ° 

58 * - - - 

8.00 

59 

6.50 

60 - 

• 5 -°° 


While this ratio between the iron and the silica plus the 
alumina is not absolutely correct, it is near enough for the 
present purpose. In a great number of cases examined, it is a 
very close approximation and may be used in the calculation of 
furnace burdens. 

It is a general rule for the soft ores of the district, that as 
the iron gains i per cent the silica plus the alumina falls 1.50 
per cent so that starting with iron 40 and silica plus alumina 
35, we can arrive at the composition of any ore carrying from 
40 to 60 per cent of iron merely by remembering the rule and 
also that it is meant to apply to soft red ore. The more sim¬ 
ple we can make the rule for calculating burdens the better 
for all concerned. Further, and as regards the coke. We will 
assume that it carries 10 per cent of ash, and that the ash con¬ 
tains 80 per cent of silica plus alumina, and 10 per cent of lime, 
the remaining 10 per cent being exide of iron and alkalies. 
We will also assume that of this coke there will be required 
for a 40 per cent ore 1.50 tons or 3,000 pounds for each ton of 
iron of 2,240 pounds. This is equivalent to saying that for 
each pound of iron there will be required 1.34 pounds of coke, 
and this is just the amount which was used in the production 
of more than 47,000 tons of iron, the returns from the manu¬ 
facture of which were especially examined. This does not 
mean that it always requires 1.34 pounds of coke to make a 
pound of iron, for, in fact, a pound of iron has often been made 
here with a trifle over 1.07 pounds of coke; but it is thought 
that with an ore carrying 40 per cent of iron and 35 per cent 
of silica plus alumina, the consumption of coke per ton of iron 
would not be far from 1.50 tons. For our present purpose,we 
have taken it at this amount, basing our opinion on a long 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


39 


course of observations on different ores and the results of dif¬ 
ferent methods of running a blast furnace. 

So much for the ore and the coke. Now for the stone. The 
amount of limestone required to make a ton of iron varies not 
only with the nature of the ore and the coke, but also with the 
quality of the stone itself. For instance, it will require much 
less stone per ton of iron when the stone carries 2 per cent of 
silica than when it carries 4 per cent; but, as the stone under 
consideration for this purpose carries 4 per cent of silica, the 
calculations are based on }his amount. 

We have, then, an ore carrying 40 per cent of iron, 35 per 
cent of silica plus alumina, and 0.50 per cent of lime ; the coke 
carries 10 per cent of ash, and the ash contains 80 per cent of 
silica plus alumina and 10 per cent of lime ; the stone carries 
4 per cent of silica and 53 per cent of lime. Are there any 
other factors that must he considered in calculating the bur¬ 
den ? Certainly. We have to fix upon the amount of silica 
to be carried in the slag. This we will take at 35 per cent, 
and for this type of slag we will allow that one of silica is 
saturated by one of lime ; or, in othre words, that it will take 
1 per cent of lime to flux 1 per cent of silica. This being the 
case, we have in our stone only 49 per cent of available lime 
instead of 53 per cent, for the 4 per cent of silica in the stone 
will require 4 per cent of lime to flux it and 53—4=49. 

We are now in position to calculate the amount of ore, coke 
and stone for a ton of iron. I have done this for each per cent 
of iron from 40 to 50 per cent, the silica plus alumina falling 
from 35 per cent to 20 per cent. The results are as follows : 

Iron, 40 

Silica plus alumina, - 35 

2.50 tons of ore at 60 cents, - - $1.50 

1.50 tons (3000 pounds) coke at f 1.75, 2.62 

1.97 tons of stone at 60 cents, - - 1.18 

$ 5-30 

Iron, 41 

Silica plus alumina, - 33.50 



4 ° 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


2.4 tons of ore at 60 cents, - 

- 

$1.46 

1.47 tons (2950) pounds) coke at $1.75, 

2-57 

1.85 tons stone at 60 cents, - 

- 

1.11 



15-14 

Iron, - 

42 


Silica plus alumina, 

32 


2.38 tons of ore at 60 cents, 

- 

$1.42 

1.45 tons (2900 pounds) coke at 

$i- 75 , 

- 2.53 

1,77 tons stone at 60 cents, 

- 

- 1.06 



$ 5 .oi 

Iron, ... 

43 


Sipca plus alumina, 

30-50 


2.33 tons of ore at 60 cents, 

- 

$i -39 

1.42 tons (2850 pounds) coke at 

$ 1 - 75 , 

- 2.45 

1.63 tons stone at 60 cents, - 

- 

0.97 



$4.84 

Iron. ... 

44 


Silica plus alumina, 

- 29 


2.28 tons ore at 60 cents, 

- 

$1.36 

1.40 tons (2800 pounds) coke at $1.75 ■ 

- 2.45 

1.52 tons stone at 60 cents, - 

- 

0.91 



$ 4.72 

Iron, 

45 


Silica plus alumina, • 

■ 27.50 


2.22 tons ore at 60 cents, 

- 

$i -33 

1.37 tons (2750 pounds) coke at $ 1.75, 

- 2.39 

1.42 tons stone at 60 cents, - 

- 

0.85 



$ 4-57 

Iron, 

46 


Silica plus alumina, 

- 26 


2.17 tons ore at 60 cents, 

- 

$1.30 

1.35 tons (2700 pounds) coke at 

$i- 75 , 

- 2.37 

1.32 tons stone at 60 cents, 

- 

- 0.79 



$4.46 

Iron, 

47 


Silica plus alumina, 

• 24.50 


2.13 tons ore at 60 cents, 

- 

$1.27 

1.32 tons (2650 pounds) coke at 

$i- 75 , 

- 2.31 








ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


4 1 


1.23 tons stone at 60 cents, - 


Iron, 48 

Silica plus alumina, - 23 
2.08 tons ore at 60 cents, 

1.30 tons (2600 pounds) coke at $1.75, 
1.18 tons stone at 60 cents, - 


Iron, 49 

Silica plus alumina, - 21.50 
2.04 tons ore at 60 cents, - - 

1.27 tons (2550 pounds) coke at $1.75, 
1.06 tons coal at 60 cents, - 


Iron, 50 

Silica plus alumina, - 20 
2.00 tons ore at 60 cents, - 
1.25 tons (2500 pounds) coke at $1.75, 
0.98 tons stone at 60 cents, 


0-73 


14-31 


£1.24 

2.27 

0.68 

4.19 


$ 1-22 
2.22 
O.63 

14-07 


$ 1.20 
2.18 
0.50 

$ 3-96 


According to the values here taken for the raw materials, a 
pound of coke is worth -to.00089, a P oun d of ore $0.00027, and 
a pound of stone $0.00027. Comparing the cost af making 
iron, so far as concerns the raw materials, with a 40 per cent 
ore and a 50 per cent ore, we find a saving in the use of the 
latter of $1.34 made up as follows : 

500 pounds of coke, 43 cents. 

1,120 pounds of ore, - - - • 3 1 cents. 

2,240 pounds of stone. 69 cents. 


$>■34 


These results indicate that for each per cent of iron above 
40 per cent, there is a saving of fifty pounds of coke, worth 
4.3 cents, 112 pounds of ore worth 3.1 cents, and 224 pounds 
of stone worth 6 cents, or a total saving of 13.40 cents. Is 
this really the case? Is there so great a saving per unit of 
iron in the ore ? 







42 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

We must all agree that there must be some saving, er else 
there is no reason at all for securing better ores and we might 
as well use one ore as another. If there is no economy in de¬ 
manding that those who provide the ore shall see to it that it 
is as good as can be expected, why should the furnace men 
desire better ores? That there is a real economy in using good 
materials in the furnace is an axiom which admits of no dis¬ 
pute, and the sole question is as to the extent of the economy. 
Some might be disposed to doubt that the economy is as great 
as 13.4 cents per unit of iron, but all must acknowledge that 
the saving is capable of being expressed in this way, and 
whether the amount is 13 or 10 or 8 or even 5 cents, the saving 
certainly exists. 

A considerable claim for the improvement in iron making 
here has been made within the last two years, and we are now 
disposed to insist that the practice is much better than it was 
in 1893. This is true, and I do not think that any single cir¬ 
cumstance has contributed more to this desirable result than 
the attention that has been paid to the improvement in the 
raw materials. We have better ore, better coke and better 
stone, and the methods adopted for the utilization of these 
things are themselves better than two years ago. But admir¬ 
able as have been the advances there is room for still further 
advances. The inspection of the stock is much closer than it 
was in 1893, but it does not yet go far enough. A considera¬ 
ble amount of material is bought on analysis, bnt there is no 
reason why all the materials used should not be bought in the 
same manner. Limestone and dolomite are bought on the unit 
of silica, coke is sold on the unit of ash, a large amount of 
brown ore and soft red ore is sold on the unit of iron, and I 
see no reason why the principle should not be extended to all 
ores at present bought by the ton. We hear a great deal said 
about the irregular stock, and doubtless there is reason for the 
remarks. How is the evil to be corrected? Either by the 
stocking of large amounts of ore, coke and stone, and the thor¬ 
ough sampling and analyzing such stocks, or by the furnace 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


43 


companies mining their own ore and thus controlling the na¬ 
ture of the output, or by the purchase of materials on the unit 
system, or by a combination of these plans. It seems to me 
that the simplest and most satisfactory plan would be to pur¬ 
chase by the unit, as is already done with brown ores, lime¬ 
stone and dolomite. 

One can readily see why the miners would object to such a 
plan, for it costs less to mine soft red ore of 43 per cent iron 
than the same ore with 48 per cent iron. More of the seam 
can be taken and the cost per ton of ore is less the greater the 
output from each laborer. But a ton of ore with 43 per cent 
iron carries only 963 pounds of iron as against 1,075 pounds 
with 48 per cent iron. The cost to the furnace per ton of ore 
is the same no matter whether this ton carries 43 per cent or 
48 per cent of iron. It costs the furnace man more to make 
his iron from a 43 per cent ore, and it appears that he should 
pay less for it, just as he should pay more for a 48 per cent 
ore, inasmuch as it costs him less to make a ton of iron from 
it. If a 48 per cent ore is worth 60 cents at the furnace, a 40 
per cent ore cannot be worth 60 cents also. It is a contradic¬ 
tion in terms. The present system would be fairer if a rea¬ 
sonable amount of the ore was of the better grade, but this is 
not the case. The variations in the ore approach the lower 
limit, and as a general rule the ore is nearer the 43 per cent 
than the 48 per cent mark. The subject is most fruitful of dis¬ 
cussion, and I trust that these very brief remarks may induce 
some of those interested to look further into it. 


44 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ALABAMA’S RESOURCES FOR THE MANU¬ 
FACTURE OF PORTLAND CEMENT. 


BY EUGENE A. SMITH. 


Portland cement has been defined as “a product of hydraulic 
properties, obtained by submitting to an intense heat approach¬ 
ing vitrification, a mixture containing the proper proportions 
of carbonate of lime and clay.” Dr. Branner, the State Geolo¬ 
gist of Arkansas, has given a very clear and condensed state¬ 
ment of the steps in the manufacture of this cement, and I 
cannot do better than to quote from him. ‘‘The changes which 
take place when a mixture of carbonate of lime and clay is 
heated to the verge of vitrification, may be briefly described as 
follows : The first effect of the heat is, of course, to drive off 
any moisture contained in the mixture ; next, the heat being 
increased, the carbonate of lime loses its carbonic acid, and 
lime is left; finally, when the heat is intense enough almost to 
vitrify the mass, the lime unites with the silica and alumina 
of the clay, forming silicate and aluminate of lime. This pro¬ 
duct, a silicate and aluminate of lime, is Portland cement. It 
is to the readiness with which these two compounds, silicate 
and aluminate of lime, unite chemically with water, forming 
extremely hard compounds, insoluble in water, that the most 
valuable properties of Portland cement are due, namely, the 
properties of quicksetting and durability in the presence of 
water. Of these two constituents of Portland cement, silicate 
of lime is conceded to be the most important, and the one to 
which the hydraulicity of the cement is due.” 

‘•The manufacture of Portland cement involves the follow¬ 
ing principal steps : 




ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


I. The selection and estimation of the raw materials—the 
chalk and the clay. 

II. Grinding and mixing the raw materials. 

III. Burning the mixture. 

IV. Grinding the product or clinker. 

V. Testing the cement.” 

THE RAW MATERIALS OCCURRING IN ALABAMA. 

(A). The Limestone. 

The carbonate of lime used in this manufacture may be al¬ 
most any form of moderately pure limestone. Hard, compact 
limestones, such as are quarried for fluxing purposes, or for the 
manufacture of quick lime in this State, might be used, but it 
has been found more economical to use some form of soft easily 
crushed stone, of which the English chalk is a leading type. 

The most promising of our Alabama materials under this 
head may lie enumerated as follows : 

i. Cretaceous Limestones .—Passing over the harder lime¬ 
stones of the older formations, our attention is first attracted 
to a rock of the Cretaceous formation (Rotten Limestone, or 
Selma Chalk) widely distributed in Alabama, and forming 
the basis of the “canebrake” or black belt soils of the central 
parts of the State. We have recently shown that this rock is 
in a great measure a true chalk, i.e., it is formed of the calca¬ 
reous shells of minute, even microscopic animals (foraminifera). 
This chalky limestone is exposed in the bluffs of the Alabama, 
Warrior, and Tombigbee rivers at many points, as well as 
aeross the country between and beyond the rivers. By proper 
selection it seems highly probable that a stone ot suitable 
composition may be found. We have not very many analyses 
of this rock, but I present a few below : 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


ANALYSES OF CRETACEOUS LIMESTONE. 


Soluble in H Cl. 
Carbonate of Lime, 
Carbonate of Magnesia, 
Ferric Oxide, 

Alumina, 

Phosphate of Lime, 
Silica, 

Insoluble in H Cl. 
Silica, 

Alumina, 

Ferric Oxide, 

Lime, 

Potash* 

Water, 


1 . 

2 . 

3 . 

75-°7 

66.37 

80.40 

.92 

•79 

•53 

I -44 

2.19 

1.24 

•79 

•75 

.98 

.40 

•54 

•37 

•H 

.06 

.19 

11 -99 

'9.58 

9.04 

3 - 3 s 

3-97 

2.19 

1.84 

2.44 

I -55 

L47 

•78 

1.01 

.09 

.O4 

. 11 

2.49 

3 -58 

2.22 


4 - 

2.50 

r 9-74 

7-74 

393 

3°-77 

2 -45 

0.85 

26.39 

2 .SS 

2.46 


99-74 


Moisture, 

Silica, 

Alumina, 

Ferric Oxide, 
Lime, 

Magnesia, 
Sulphuric Acid, 
Carbonic Acid, 
Alkalies, 
Combined Water, 


1. Demopolis, Dr. Mallett, Analyst. 

2- Cahaba, Dr. Mallett, Analyst. 

3. Jones’ Bluff', Dr. Mallett, Analyst. 

4. Benton, Dr. Phillips, Analyst. 

These rocks, as may be seen, are all soliceous and aluminous 
limestones, to which in the manufacture it would not be neces¬ 
sary to add the same proportion of clay as would be required 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


for a purer stone. With a rock of somewhat uniform compo¬ 
sition, it seems to me that by chemical analysis it would not 
be a difficult matter to determine the proper proportions of 
the two constituent raw materials. 

2 . Tertiary Timestones .—At the summit of the older or 
Eocene Tertiary formations of Alabama, there is a white lime¬ 
stone at least 150 feet in average thickness, extending across 
the State from Mississippi into Florida. This is our St. Ste¬ 
phens limestone, which represents essentially the Vicksburg 
limestone of the Mississippi geologists. In its physical and 
chemical characters this rock seems to be eminently suited to 
tha manufacture of cement, for it is soft, in places almost pul¬ 
verulent, easily quarried and easily crushed, and very nearly 
pure carbonate of lime. In quantity, also, there is nothing to 
be desired, for it underlies a belt of twenty miles or so in 
width across the State ; it makes bluffs along both the Tom- 
bigbee and the Alabama rivers, and could be obtained and 
loaded upon barges at very little expense. It is also equally 
convenient to the railroads, especially to the Midland and the 
L. & N. and the M. & O., which go north and south through 
the State. 

I present a few analyses of this rock from Clarke and Cone¬ 
cuh counties, where it has perhaps the widest distribution and 
in its greatest variety. 

ANALYSES OF TERTIARY LIMESTONE. 


Carbonate of Lime, 
Carbonate of Magnesia, 
Ferric Oxide, 

Alumina, 

Insoluble, 


l . 

2 . 

3 . 

94.84 

94 .S 5 

93 1 9 

.96 

vn 

1—1 

1.09 

1. 81 

.2 I 

io 3 

• 3 1 


.20 

1.69 

2.44 

4- : 5 



4 8 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



4 - 

5 . 

Moisture, 

0.65 

0.60 

Silica, 

1.26 

2 -75 

Alumina, 

0.51 

I.O9 

Ferric Oxide, 

1.2 1 

I.64 

Lime, 

53-36 

5 2 - 3 6 

Magnesia, 

°-3 1 

O. I I • 

Carbonic Acid, 

42.28 

4 I - I 4 

Sulph ur, 

0.02 

0.018 

Alkalies, 

0.11 

0.14 


99.72 

99.848 

Col. Darrington’s, close 

and compact texture, Clarke Co 

Chimney rock, soft and 

easily w 

orked, Clarke Co. 

Orbitoidal rock, soft and 

friable, 

Clarke Co. 


Analyzed by Dr. J. W. Mallett. 


4. Orbitoidal limestone, Evergreen, Conecuh County, Dr. 
Phillips, Analyst. 

5. Obitoidal limestone, Evergreen, Conecuh County, Dr, 
Phillips, Analyst. 

The possible objection to the second of the above might be 
the carbonate of magnesia, since a cement containing by anal¬ 
ysis more than 1 per cent of magnesia is considered inferior. 
It would hardly be difficult, however, to find plenty of rock in 
which the proportion of magnesia would fall within the desir¬ 
able limit. 

For comparison, I add an analysis of the chalk of Medway, 
England, used in the manufacture of the English Portland 
cement ; 


Carbonate of Lime, 

88.58 

Carbonate of Magnesia 


Silica, - - 

5-45 

Ferric Oxide, 

1.05 

Alumina, 

2.82 

Alkalies, 

2.61 





ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


49 


( B ) The Clay. 


The composition of pure Kaolin is as follows : 


Silica, 

47 -° 

Alumina, 

- 39-4 

Water, 

14.6 


The quality of the clay used at Medway, England, in the 
manufacture of Portland cement may be seen from the two 


analyses following : 

1 . 2 . 

Silica, 64.72 7 0 -56 

Alumina, 2 4- 2 7 14.52 

Ferric Oxide, 7.14 3.04 

Lime, 1.89 4.43 

Potash, 1.10 2.05 

Soda, 2.90 1.90 


A comparison of these analyses with that of pure kaolin will 
show that ordinary sedimentary clays, such as are abundant 
in every section of the State, can be used in the manufacture 
of the cement. 

We have not as yet made any analyses of the clays from the 
regions where the above described limestones occur, with a 
view to finding suitable material for mixing with the lime in 
the immediate vicinity, thus saving the cost of transportation 
of the raw materials, but since clay of one kind or another is 
one of the most widely distributed of rocks, and since a pure 
clay is by no means essential to the purpose, I fancy there will 
be no trouble in finding in the immediate vicinity of the lime¬ 
stone, an abundance of clay which would answer the purpose. 

If the manufactory should not of necessity be located at the 
limestone quarry, there is certainty that the clay can be fur¬ 
nished either from our Tuscaloosa division of the Cretaceous 
formation, which extends across the State from the northwest¬ 
ern corner around to Columbus, Ga., or from the Post Tertiary 
formations of our river terraces, everywhere the source of good 


50 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


brick clays To go further interior, we shall find in many 
places in our gold region and in the territory of other geologi¬ 
cal formations older than the Cretaceous, no lack of purer 
clays and kaolins. 

The following four analyses will illustrate the composition 
of some of the Cretaceous and Post Tertiary clays above 
alluded to : 



1 . 

2 . 

3 . 

4 - 

Moisture, 


2.70 

1.70 

3.6° 

Silica, - • 

47.20 

62 -75 

61. 1 5 

60.81 

Alumina, 

37 - 7 6 

21.15 

24.81 

21.69 

Ferric Oxide, 

.91 

4.00 

2 -43 

3-43 

Lime, 

trace. 

O.72 

0.30 

O.I7 

Magnesia, 

trace. 

0 .32 

°-39 

°-57 

Sulphuric Acid, 


0.13 

0.11 

0.10 

Alkalies, 

trace. 

2.28 

2.30 

2 - r 5 

Combined Water, 

I 4* 2 3 4 * 4 

6.00 

6.45 

7.26 

100.11 

100.05 

99.64 

99.78 


1. Cretaceous Clay, Chalk Bluff, Marion County (Tuscaloo¬ 
sa Formation) (McCalley, Analyst). 

2. Post Tertiary (River Terrace) Clay, Montgomery Brick 
Yard (Dr. W. B. Phillips, Analyst). 

3. Post Tertiary (River Terrace) Clay, near Elmore Station 
(Dr, W. B. Phillips, Analyst). 

4. Post Tertiary (River Terrace) Clay, near Elmore Station 

(Dr. W. B. Phillips, Analyst). 

I have not thought it desirable at this time to go into any 
details concerning the methods, wet and dry, which are fol¬ 
lowed in this manufacture. It is, however, generally thought 
that the dry method yields the best results. Before sending 
the cement to the market, it is carefully tested, both physically 
and chemically, and the faulty product rejected. 






ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


51 

In chemical composition, a cement should approximate the 
following : 


Lime, 

60.05 

Magnesia, 

1.17 

Alumina, 

10.84 

Silica, 

24 - 3 1 

Alkalies, 

*•54 


By the rules of the Ecole Nationale, of Paris, a Portland 
cement containing over i| per cent of sulphuric acid or i| per 
cent of carbonic acid, or 1 per cent of magnesia should be re¬ 
jected by analysis. On the other hand, cements showing good 
analysis, should be carefully tested mechanically. 

It should be understood that the intention of this paper is 
merely to direct the attention of our citizens to a manufacture 
which may utilize the resources of the lower portion of the 
State outside of what is usually known as the Mineral Belt, 
and it makes no pretension to being an adequate presentation 
of the subject. Our clays at this time are being investigated 
both chemically and physically, and I hope in the near future 
to be able to place before you a much fuller and more satisfac¬ 
tory statement of the case. 


5 2 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 


The President’s Address had for its subject, The Magnetic 
Concentration of the Red Mountain Ores of Alabama, and 
gave some details of a series of practical tests conducted at 
Bessemer. This work is still in progress and it has been 
deemed best to delay the publication until a complete account 
can be given of the results of these experiments, conducted on 
a commercial scale. 

Secretary. 



ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


53 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 

FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 7. J895. 


University, Ala., June 7, 1895. 

During the past year the usual circulars announcing time 
of the meetings and proposing names for officers of the Society 
have been prepared and sent out. 

Five hundred copies of the Proceedings for 1894 have been 
printed, in two parts, aggregating 69 pages, with an additional 
14 pages of a carefully prepared Index of the first four volumes 
—which we owe to the courtesy of Mr. Chas. E. Bowron. 
The Proceedings have been distributed among the members of 
the Society, and to libraries, journals, and other Societies, as 
heretofore. 

By way of exchange, we have received a number of jour¬ 
nals, proceedings of societies, etc., which have been placed in 
the library of the Society. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 



54 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


REPORT OF TREASURER 
FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 7, 1895. 

\ 

\ 


University, Ala., June 7, 1895. 


RECEIPTS. 

From cash in treasury, as per report of May 29, 1894, $ 78.68 
From annual dues, ------ 151.00 

Total Receipts. - - - $229.68 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For printing and Stationery, - - - $128.65 

For advertising meetings, ... - 10.70 

For postage, 10.00 

For reporting proceedings, - 6.05 

Total disbursements, - - . $155.40 

Balance in treasury, - - - 74.28 


Henry McCalley, 

Treasurer. 






RROGEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 

AND 

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY . 

VOLUME VI.—PART 1. 


1896 . 


















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 




VOLUME VI.---PART 1. 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE. 

UNIVERSITY POST OFFICE. 

ALABAMA. 


BURTON & WEATHERFORD, TUSCALOOSA. 




OFFICERS. 


1896. 


PRESIDENT. 

F. M. Jackson, - 


VICE PRESIDENTS 

George B. McCormack, 

Ernst Prochaska, - 
James Bowron, - 
E. A. Ueheing, - - - 

Joseph Squire, ----- 
J. H. Fitts, ----- 

TREASURER. 

Henry McCalley, 

SECRETARY. 


Brook wood, Ala. 

Pratt City, Ala. 
New Castle, Pa. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Newark, N. J 
Helena, Ala. 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

University, Ala. 


Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala. 





TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceedings of Annual Meeting , - - - - J 

Memorial Resolutions , ------ 

President ' 1 s Address , ------ 

Phe Grading of Southern Coke Iron , with Special 

Reference to the Birmingham District — 

W. H. Barron, 

Observations on Grading Coke .Iron — W. B. Phillips, 

Phe Manufacture of Steel in the B irmingham District — 

P. G. Shook, 

Gold Mining in Alabama —Wm. M. Brewer, 

Coal Washer —P\ M. Jackson, - 

Report of the Secretary , ------ 

Report of the Preasurer , 







REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 

OF THE 

ANNUAL MEETING 


OF THE 

ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, 

Held in the Booms oj the Commercial Club , Birmingham, 

Alabama , May 13, 1896. 


The Society met pursuant to notices sent out to the mem¬ 
bers and inserted in the Birmingham papers. There were 
present F. M. Jackson, James Bowron, G. B. McCormack, 
Erskine Ramsay, W. B. Phillips, R. F. Manly, W. M. Brewer, 
J. A. Montgomery, E. A. Smith, J. R. Harris, J. D. Hill- 
house, Wm. Bromwell, Joshua Franklin, P. G. Shook, E.A.O. 
Gabany, C. J. Gohegan, W. J. Boles, J. M. Martin, represen¬ 
tatives of the press, and others. 

After the meeting was called to order, the Secretary stated 
that the death of Col. Thomas Seddon, President of the Soci¬ 
ety, made it necessary to call one of the Vice Presidents to the 
chair ; and Mr. F. M. Jackson, as First Vice President, was 
requested to preside. 

The reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dispensed 
ed with, since the proeeedidgs of that meeting have already 
been published. 

A Committee was appointed at the last meeting to consider 
the matter of the collection and monthly publication by the 
Society of the statistics of coal and iron production. Dr. Phil¬ 
lips, on behalf of this committee, reported what had been done, 
saying that the prospect was very good for obtaining these 



6 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

statistics. He requested that the committee be given more 
time, and that Mr. Hillhouse be added to it in place of Mr. 
Seddon, deceased. This was done, and the committee was 
authorized to take such action with regard to the collection and 
publication of the statistics as they, might deem advisable, and 
without waiting till the next meeting. The committee con¬ 
sists of Dr. Phillips, Mr. Hillhouse, and Dr. Smith. 

The report of the council was next in order, and they re¬ 
commended the acceptance of the five papers named below, 
and also recommended for membership the following: John 
H. Hawkins, of Rock Run ; J. M. Garvin, of Rock Run ; 
H. B. Christiansen, of Rock Run ; Joshua Franklin, of Idaho ; 
W. H. Brannon, of Bessemer ; D. A. O. Gabany, of Brook- 
wood ; Charles J. Gohegan, of Brook wood ; Paschal G. Shook, 
of Birmingham ; William Bromwell, of Birmingham ; and S.D. 
Graham, of Birmingham. In addition to those recommended 
for regular membership, they recommended Mr. James D. 
Hillhouse, Jr., State Mine Inspector, and W. J. Boles, Secre¬ 
tary of the Commercial Club of Birmingham, for honora^ 
membership. 

The names of the gentlemen recommended were placed be¬ 
fore the Society, and they were elected by viva voce vote. 

The Secretary then read his report to be found printed at 
another place, and a committee was appointed by the Presi¬ 
dent, consisting of Dr. Phillips and Col. Montgomery, to audit 
the books of the Treasurer. The report of the Treasurer was 
afterwards read and approved, as well as that of the Secretary. 

No changes were suggested as regards the delinquencies of 
members, to which attention was called in the report of the 
Secretary, and the provisions of the Daws and By-Daws are 
therefore to be carried out by the Secretary, so far as he is 
able to do it. 

The Secretary called attention to propositions of the Chatta¬ 
nooga “Tradesman” and of “Dixie,” relative to the printing 
of the proceedings of the Society; and it was ordered that the 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 7 

Secretary be requested to consider the propositions, and to 
take such action in the matter as he might deem advisable for 
the good of the Society. 

On motion of Dr. Phillips, a committee was appointed to 
draft resolutions of respect to the memory of Mr. Thomas 
Seddon, which resolutions are to be spread upon the minutes 
of the meeting and communicated to the family of the deceased, 
and to be published in the Birmingham papers. On this com¬ 
mittee were appointed Dr. Phillips, Mr. Ramsay and Dr. 
Smith. 

Mr. J. D. Hillhouse then extended to the members of the 
Society and to their families, on behalf of the Association of 
Mine Foremen, an invitation to attend and participate in a 
pic-nic of the mine foremen, to be given at North Birmingham 
Park, on the 6th of June next—the object of the meeting be¬ 
ing to organize an Institute of Mines for the State. 

On motion of Dr. Phillips, this invitation was accepted with 
thanks by this Society. 

The reading of papers being next in order, Mr. Paschal G. 
Shook read one on the manufacture of Steel in the Birmingham 
District. This paper will be found in full in the proceedings 
below. 

In the absence of the author, Dr. Phillips then read to the 
Society a paper on the Grading of Southern Coke Irons, with 
special reference to the Birmingham district, by Mr. W. H. 
Brannon, of Bessemer. 

Mr. W. M. Brewer then read a paper on Gold Mining in 
Alabama, in which he shows that there are several occurrences 
of low grade gold ore in Alabama, in which the quality and 
accessibility of the* gold are such as to render easily possible 
the profitable mining of this metal. 

Mr. F. M. Jackson then read some notes descriptive of the 
Coal Washer in Brookwood, together with analyses showing 
the character of the improvement effected by the washing of 
the coal prior to the coking. Also, he spoke of the use of 


8 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

feldspar as a bed for the washers, and detailed his experience 
with the rounded pebbles so abundant about Brookwood as a 
substitute for feldspar, which has shown that they will answer 
quite as well as the feldspar, if not better, besides being far 
cheaper. This paper elicited a good deal of discussion, in 
which Dr. Phillips, Col. Montgomery, Mr. Ramsay, Col. 
Shook, Mr. Gabany, and the author of the paper took part. 

A paper by Mr. John S. Kennedy, of Chambersburg, Pa., 
was then read by title by the Secretary, in the absence of the 
author, which paper the author promises to have ready by the 
time of the printing of the proceedings. 

A paper by Dr. Phillips on the Grading of Coke Iron was 
also read by title only, inasmuch as the Doctor described it as 
technical in nature, and hardly suitable for public reading. 
This, as well as the other papers above named, will be found 
printed in full in another part of this report. 

The election of a President and of two Vice Presidents was 
next in order, Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Jackson being named for 
the first place, and James H. Fitts, Joseph Squire, Walter 
Crafts, and J. W. Minor for Vice Presidents. On counting 
the ballots sent in to the Secretary before the meeting and 
cast at the meeting, it was found that Mr. F. M. Jackson, of 
Brookwood, was chosen President for the current year, and 
Messrs, James H. Fitts, of Tuscaloosa, and Joseph Squire, of 
Helena, were chosen Vice Presidents to serve for a term of 
three years. 

On motion of Dr. Phillips, a vote of thanks was passed to 
the Secretary and officials of the Commercial Club for the use 
of the room so obligingly placed by them at the disposal of 
the Society for this meeting. 

There being no further business before the meeting, the 
Society adjourned to meet again in November, at the time and 
place to be selected later by the council, and communicated to 
the members by the Secretary, 

EUGENE A. SMITH, Secretary. 


I* 


Birmingham, Aha., May 13, 1896. 

To the President and Members of the Aeabama Indus¬ 
trie and Scientific Society:— 

Your Committee appointed to draft suitable resolutions on 
the death of Mr. Thomas Seddon, our President, which oc¬ 
curred on the 10th inst., beg leave to report as follows:— 

Mr. Seddon was one of the original members of this Society, 
having signed the call for the first meeting, held December 
nth, 1890. 

From that time until his death he was deeply interested in 
its success, attending nearly every meeting and evincing by 
his presence and active co-operation his hearty sympathy with 
the purposes of the Society. No one in the State or district 
was more concerned in the success of the Society, and he was 
at all times ready to assist in making the Society the gathering 
place for all who were engaged in industrial enterprises in 
Alabama. He was elected President of the Society June 8th, 
1895, and passed away during his term of office. 

We recommend the following Resolutions :— 

1st. That we deeply deplore the death of our President, 
occurring as it did when he was fully equipped for the man¬ 
agement of the large business entrusted to his care as President 
of the Sloss Iron and Steel Company. 

2nd. That a page of our records be set apart for his mem¬ 
ory, upon which shall be inscribed this tribute to his worth as 
one of the most efficient members of this Society. 

3rd. That copies of this paper be sent to the daily papers 
of Birmingham, to the Sloss Iron and Steel Company, and to 
the surviving members of his family. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Wm. B. Phillips, 
Erskine Ramsay, 
Eugene A. Smith. 





IO 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 


Owing to the death of Mr. Seddon, there was no Presiden 
tial Address. 



Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


i i 


THE GRADING OF SOUTHERN COKE IRON 
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE 
BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT. 


BY \V. H. BRANNON, BESSEMER, ALA. 


Eight years ago there were in the Birmingham District 15 
grades of iron, viz:—1 Foundry; 2 Foundry; 2^ Foundry; 3 
Foundry; Extra No. 1 Mill; No. 1 Mill; No. 2 Mill; Mottled; 
White; No. 1 Bright; Medium Bright; Close Bright; No. 1 
Silvery; No. 2 Silvery; and Silvery Mill. 

This list was revised in 1888, and today we recognize 11 
grades, viz:—No. 2 Silvery; No. 1 Silvery; No. 2 Soft; No. 1 
Soft; No. 1 Foundry; No. 2 Foundry; No. 3 Foundry; No. 4 
Foundry; Gray Forge; Mottled; and White. 

In 1888 very little attention was paid to chemical analysis, 
the irons being graded almost entirely by color and granula¬ 
tion. I11 addition to having a fair knowledge of the principal 
chemical ingredients of pig iron the grader now must be 
thoroughly familiar with the four points in uniform grading, 
viz:—color, granulation, fracture and face. 

No. 2 Silvery contains from 5 to 5.50 per cent, of silicon, 
has very little or no granulation, and is almost smooth, with a 
galvanized appearance. No. 1 Silvery has some granulation, 
and a .smooth face, and contains from 4.50 to 5 per cent, of 
silicon. Both these irons are weak in fracture, and show a 
fine, silvery lustre on a fresh face, and are flaky. They 
should exhibit no dark spots, and the crystallization is obscure. 
They are what they purport to be. Silvery irons, and the dif¬ 
ference between them, on the yard, is mainly, one of granula¬ 
tion. They are hottest irons, and contain much more silicon 
and much less combined carbon than any of the other grades. 
Their earlxm is almost wholly in the shape of graphite, but the 




12 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

large excess of silicon prevents this ingredient from conferring 
a dark color on the iron. 

No. 2 Soft contains from 3.50 to 4.0 per cent, of silicon. 
No. 1 Soft from 3.0 to 3.5 per cent. They are both of a light 
color, smooth face and weak fracture. A distinct granulation 
begins to be apparent in No. 2 Soft, which is more pronounced 
in No. 1 Soft, but in neither of these grades is the granulation 
so marked as in the Foundry irons. 

The Soft irons are darker than the Silvery irons, but lighter 
in color than the Foundry irons, and the granulation is not so 
jagged as in these latter grades. In particular they do not 
show a silvery appearance, and are not flaky. The increasing 
ratio of graphite to silicon begins to manifest itself in the Soft 
irons in the darkening of the color as compared with the Silve¬ 
ry irons. 

No. 1 Foundry contains from 2.50 to 3.0 per cent, of silicon, 
has a very open and regular granulation extending through 
the entire face, and a dark gray color. The crystallization is 
marked, and the face is rough to the feel. The difference be¬ 
tween this and No. 2 Foundry, which contains from 2.25 to 
2.50 per cent, of silicon, is the same in kind as exists between 
the two Silvery, and the two Soft irons, and is chiefly one of 
granulation. In No. 2 Foundry the grain is not so open as in 
No. 1 Foundry, nor is the crystallization so coarse. The color 
may be as dark in one as in the other, but in No. 1 Foundry 
there is a deep blackish gray color which is absent in No. 2 
Foundry. 

No. 3 Foundry contains from 2.0 to 2.25 per cent, of silicon, 
and resembles No. 1 and No. 2 Foundry in structure, but the 
granulation is much less marked. The crystallization is finer 
than in No. 2 Foundry, and the color, while still dark gray is 
not so pronounced. 

No. 4 Foundry, recently called Foundry Forge, shows the 
dark gray color of the other foundry irons, but the granulation 
is closer and the crystallization finer. It carries from 1.75 to 
2.0 per cent, of silicon. Taken together the foundry irons are 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


13 


distinguished by dark gray color, open grain, and well marked 
crystallization, three points which are .seen to the best advan- 
toge in No. 1 Foundry. 

Gray Forge is the old No. 2 Mill. It has 1.50 to 1.75 per 
cent, of silicon, and shows a pebbled granulation in the center, 
with mottled edges about one-quarter of an inch deep all 
around. It has a blistered and pitted face, and is frequently 
honey-combed on the fractured end, some of the holes being 
an eighth to a half an inch deep. 

Mottled iron has from 1.25 to 1.50 per cent, of silicon,shows 
no granulation, and has a pepper-and-salt appearance on a 
fresh face. It begins to show an increasing amount of com¬ 
bined carbon about one half of the total carbon being in this 
condition. 

White iron has from 1.0 to 1.25 per cent, of silicon, shows 
no granulation, and is often as white as bleached linen. It 
carries very little graphite, and is usually high in sulphur. It 
is very hard, often resisting the drill, and on this account is 
difficult to sample properly. 

In sampling pig iron one of two methods may be used, the 
choice depending on the extent of the subsequent analysis. 
When .silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, manganese and total car¬ 
bon are to be determined the iron is best sampled from the 
runner, from 4 to 6 small ladlesfull being taken during the 
cast and shotted in a bucket of cold water. When graphite, 
and combined carbon are also to be determined boring must be 
resorted to. In this case two methods may be used. In the 
first, the face of the pig is bored in three places to the depth 
of y 2 to 1 inch along a line drawn diagonally across the face, 
the borings being.mixed. In the second, the pig is bored 
diagonally almost entirely through in one place. 

In boring pig iron care must be taken to prevent the inter¬ 
mixture of sand from the pig with the borings, and it is well 
to put a careful man in charge of the drill. In boring chilled 
pig, and in sampling from the runner, there is, of course,much 


14 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

less danger of adhering sand getting into the borings. A 
neglect of this matter may often mislead the grader, as sand in 
the borings shows up as silicon in the pig, and a No. 3 Found¬ 
ry may be classed as a No. 1 Soft. It is a difficult and tire¬ 
some matter to separate sand from borings by means of a 
magnet, and at the best entails a good deal of extra and un¬ 
necessary labor upon the chemist. 

The tendency of the trade is now strongly towards a closer 
chemical inspection of the irons offered for sale, and the grader 
who intends to keep up with his profession must take this fact 
into consideration. He must, therefore, acquaint himself with 
the effect of the chief constituents upon the various irons in 
respect of color, granulation, fracture and face. He is called 
upon every day to decide questions involving a great deal of 
money, and as it sometimes happens that he can not wait for 
an analysis he must be prepared to grade without it. But he 
should by all means cultivate the closest intimacy with the 
laboratory, and have the grades analysed as often as possible, 
and not neglect to inform himself as to the influence of the 
burden, heat and pressure upon the product under his care. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


15 


OBSERVATIONS ON GRADING COKE IRON. 


BY W. B. PHILLIPS. 


The grading of coke iron calls for a considerable amount of 
skill, which can be attained only by experience and the closest 
attention to details. Even then it not infrequently happens 
that the best graders will be at fault and the question can be 
settled only by the chemist. Reference has been made by Mr. 
Barton, (Proc. Vol. Ill, 1893, page 35-39) to a case where an 
iron which was afterwards found to contain 1.12 per cent, sili¬ 
con was graded by these different men as No. 1 Soft. Other 
instances might be adduced in support of the proposition that, 
after all, the proper place for grading iron is the laboratory. 
It is not meant by this that iron should be graded only in the 
laboratory, for this would entail considerable expense, which 
might not be warranted by the situation. But that the closest 
affinity should exist between the grader and the chemist, no 
one who has observed the course of the Southern coke irons 
during the past eight or nine years can reasonably deny. 

When Mr. Robertson prepared his paper on rhe grading of 
Southern coke irons (Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Engrs. Vol. 
XVII, 1888-89) the foundry irons carried more than 3 per cent, 
of silicon, and there was constant complaint by consumers that 
there was too much variation in the grades. This was to a 
great extent alloyed by the practice that began with the circu¬ 
lar issued by the Southern iron men in 1888, which has been 
quoted in full in my Report on Iron Making in Alabama. 

But it was found in 1893 that another grade was needed, in¬ 
termediate between 3 Foundry and Gray Forge, and it was es¬ 
tablished by some companies under the term Foundry Forge. 
To this the objection was made that the term was self-contra¬ 
dictory, an iron could not be at once Foundry, and Forge. In 




16 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

1895 the grade was abolished, and what was formerly Forge is 
now termed No. 4 Foundry. 

Now and then it happened that a close, fine grained silvery 
looking iron would show on analysis not more than 2 per cent 
of silicon, while again, without greatly altering in appearance, 
it would show from 2.90 to 3.10 per cent, silicon. If the sili¬ 
con was about 2 per cent, the iron was termed Foundry Forge, 
as it is now termed No. 4 Foundry; if the silicon was about 3 
per cent, it was, and is yet, termed No. 1 Soft. 

Ordinarily and when grading for the same furnace running 
on about the same burden, the competent grader conies very 
near the proper grade, and can be trusted to ship on his own 
judgment. But when complaints arise, as they do sometimes, 
and especially on a depressed market, the only way in which 
the ire of the consumer can be placated is to show him that 
the iron he objected to as not being No. 3 Foundry, for in¬ 
stance, does really contain from 1.75 to 2 per cent, of silicon, 
and falls well within the limits for this particular grade. This 
much as to silicon. But how is it in respect to graphitic, and 
combined carbon? Is the iron to be graded solely by its silicon 
content? It is granted that for the most part iron can be fairly 
well graded on its content of silicon, and that the variation of 
this element confers upon the iron peculiarities of color, gran¬ 
ulation, fracture, and face that are more strongly marked than 
peculiarities due to other elements. It is this fact that has 
rendered possible the present system of visual and tactual grad¬ 
ing. It was quietly assumed that if the silicon was all right, 
the iron was all right, and this was supplemented by the furth¬ 
er assumption that if the iron was all right the silicon was all 
right. In this way it was possible even for a conscientious 
grader to fortify himself behind a pretty high wall of silicon, 
and fire silicon bombs ad libitum. 

The easiest way of grading iron is by its silicon content, but 
it by no means follows that it is the best way, or the only way. 
Leaving out the content of sulphur, as not seriously affecting 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 17 

any of the grades above Gray Forge, there should be certain 
ratios established between silicon and combined carbon for the 
Soft and Foundry irons. The variation in the amount of sili¬ 
con does, of course, influence the quality of the iron, and one 
might go even farther and allow that it influences the iron 
more than any other single element. But combined carbon is 
by no means to be neglected. 

I11 29 complete analyses of No. 3 Foundry iron it was found 
that the silicon varied from 1.45 to 3.83 per cent., the average 
being 2.37 per cent. Five of the samples should have been 
graded as No. 1 Soft, as the silicon was between 3.04 and 3.17 
per cent., and one .should have been No. 2 Soft with silicon 
3.83 per cent. These irons were all graded on the yard by a 
careful and competent man yet in 6 cases out of 29, or 20.7 
percent., the iron graded as No. 3 Foundry was really Soft. 
Excluding these six the average silicon in the other 23 was 
2.16 per cent., a result not far wrong, if at all, as No. 3 Foun¬ 
dry may vary from 1.90 to 2.20 per cent, of silicon. In the 
six cases in which the silicon was over 3 percent, the combined 
carbon was 1.04 per cent., and the 23 others it was 0.82 per 
cent., the average of the 29 being 0.87 percent. 

The combined carbon in No. 3 Foundry does not usually 
run as high as 0.82 per cent., the average being about 0.40 per 
cent. In the Soft irons it should not be above 0.40 per cent., 
but in some cases especially when the iron resembles No. 3 
Foundry it may go to 1.00 per cent. 

We have then to discriminate between Soft irons with over 
3 per cent, of silicon, and the normal amount of combined car¬ 
bon, and irons which contain over 3 per cent, of silicon and 
upwards of 1 per cent, of combined carbon. Grading on frac¬ 
ture and appearance some of these latter irons would be put in 
No. 3 Foundry; grading on silicon content they would go in 
the vSoft irons, with the understanding that the combined car¬ 
bon was abnormally high. 

The same principle holds good in respect of the other Found¬ 
ry irons, although in a less degree. It is this tendency of the 


18 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

lower grades of Foundry iron to show higher percentages of 
combined carbon than is usually the case that renders grading 
by fracture and appearance somewhat uncertain. In case of 
doubt a silicon estimation will enable one to decide whether or 
no the iron should be put in the Soft grades, and an estimation 
of combined carbon will show whether or no it should be stated 
that this element is above the average. 

In a paper read before the Alabama Industrial and Scientific 
Society in 1895, which we have quoted in full, Mr. James 
Bowron said. “For the enlargement of the domestic market, 
the most desirable thing to be done, in my judgment is to se¬ 
cure uniformity in grading and naming iron, and selling it 
upon terms of uniformity. * * * It is scarcely too much 

to say that the whole question of grading iron is assuming a 
more complex condition, and that if it is not in a somewhat 
chaotic state the minds of some of the graders have attained, 
that undesirable goal. Harassed by the pressure of evil times 
and the desire of consumers for something cheaper, the effort 
has been continually made not to split hairs, but to split grades 
iu a corresponding degree of fineness. This leads to absence 
of physical or chemical lines of demarcation, and makes the 
question of grading depend more than ever on the individual 
opinions of the maker and comsumer, who naturally look at it 
from different standpoints, and arrive at different results. 
This leads to considerable friction, and, in the long run, 
Southern iron gets a bad name.” 

Mr. Bowron’s long and intimate acquaintance with the com¬ 
mercial aspects of grading qualifies him to speak ex cathedra , 
and if he can deliberately take the position that uniformity in 
grading and naming iron is the most desirable thing that can 
be done towards enlarging the domestic market for pig iron, 
surely it is time to discuss the matter from every point of view, 
with the hope of arriving at some more reasonable system than 
is at present used. 

The multiplication of grades may go on indefinitely accord¬ 
ing as the fancied needs of consumers increase in number. If 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 19 

a manufacturer asks for an iron carrying not more than 3.50 
per cent, and not less than 3 per cent, of silicon with combined 
carbon not over 0.50 per cent., he should be able to get it. If, 
under the present system he does get it once he may thank his 
good fortune, for it is not likely that he can get it twice. 

There has recently been completed and agreement between 
the chief producers of Alabama coke iron whereby certain uni¬ 
form prices for standard grades are to be observed. It is a 
very good thing as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough, 
nor strike very heartily at the root of the trouble. 

The main point is to secure uniform grading, and this can 
certainly not be gained merely by establishing uniform prices. 
Mr. Bowron was unquestionably right-in saying that uniform¬ 
ity in price and uniformity in gradings (the italics are ours) 
must be maintained if the domestic market is to be enlarged. 

The local trade association of which he speaks could take 
the matter in hand, but a simpler and it seems to us a more 
satisfactory plan would be for the companies that made the 
agreement as to prices to make a similar agreement as to grad¬ 
ing, and put a competent man in charge of it. The price de¬ 
pends upon the grading. It is not enough for the iron-masters 
to meet and say what the names of the grades shall be, nor to 
fix the price at which the grades thus named shall be sold. 
Unless there is at the same time an agreement as to what kind 
of iron shall be deemed No. 1 Soft, or No. 3 Foundry, the 
protocol as to uniform prices is to a large extent abrogated. 
It is sure to happen that permission to ask a special price for a 
special iron will be solicited, and unless it is known what this 
iron is, what relation it bears to the grades whose prices are 
already fixed and agreed upon, how can there be any thing 
but confusion? One may say: “I am making an iron, or I 
have it and it is now piled, which to all ordinary grading would 
be put in No. 2 Foundry. But it carries less than 1.50 per 
cent, of silicon and is therefore not a typical No. 2 Foundry and 
I wish to ask a special price for it.” He has called in his 
chemist and knows that the iron is not No. 2 Foundry, al- 


20 Alabama Industrial and v Scikntific Society. 

though it closely resembles it in granulation, color, fracture 
and face. He wishes to sell it on analysis, for this is really 
the gist of the whole matter. 

By all means let there be uniform prices, but if the grading 
is not uniform what do the uniform prices amount to, after all? 
They are simply grade-splitters, and will inevitably lead to 
more confusion than at present exists, if they are not based on 
the chemical analysis of the irons. 

Some people are inclined to regard the chemical grading of 
pig iron as a sort of Panjandrum, or mysterious Monster,lying 
in wait for the unwary, and they begin to tell their beads as 
soon as a chemist heaves in sight. But no chemist who un¬ 
derstands the situation in Alabama can declare out and out for 
laboratory grading, as no chemist can doubt that the present 
system is out-of-date, illogical, and cumbersome. 

The purposes to which pig iron is put depend absolutely 
upon its composition; the color, fracture, granulation, and face 
have nothing to do with it except in so far as they indicate the 
existence of certain ingredients whose actual percentages can 
be determined only by the chemist. As regards grading the 
inferences to be drawn from data obtained on the iron yard are 
reliable only if confirmed by laboratory tests, and it is particu¬ 
larly ungrateful in graders and furnace managers to decry the 
further application of the very science upon which they base 
the practice of their art. 

What changes are to be suggested? First the maintenance 
of a chief grader, whose business it should be to regulate the 
grading under conditions imposed by the separate companies. 
Second, the establishment of a central laboratory devoted to 
pig iron analyses. Third, the diminution of the number of 
grades and the substitution therefor of not more than six 
grades, differentiated by the content in silicon, and combined 
carbon, and possibly sulphur. These six grades might be as 
follows: 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


2 I 



Silicon. 

Combined Carbon. 

Sulphur. 

Silvery Irons. 

5 to 6 

o. io to 0.30 

0.01 to 0.04 

Soft Irons, 

3 to 5 

0.20 to 0.60 

0.01 to 0.05 

Foundry Irons, 

2 to 3 

0.30 to 0.90 

0.01 to 0.07 

Gray Forge, 

I to 2 

0.40 to 1.25 

0.04 to 0.09 

Mottled, 

o.6 to i 

0.50 to 1.80 

0.06 to 0.11 

White, 

o. i to o.6 

1.00 to 2.50 

0.08 to 0.30 


This scheme, or some modification of it in line with its gen¬ 
eral provisions would retain the present nomenclature, and 
bring it into closer accord with laboratory results. It would 
do away with five grades, which are no more than side-grades 
at best, and would enable the grader to exercise better discre¬ 
tion in the yard. The rapidity and accuracy with which the 
estimation of silicon, and combined carbon can now be made 
render it possible to have the results from the cast-house by 
the time the iron is ready to break and pile. The estimation 
of silicon now leaves very little to be desired, and while the 
estimation of combined carbon in pig iron is not so accurate as 
in steel it is sufficiently so for the purpose in hand. If objec¬ 
tion be made to such a radical change much could be done to 
improve the present system without decreasing the number of 
grades, or interfering with the nomenclature. If a systematic 
record of the pigs sampled were kept it would be possible to 
control the grading within narrower limits than now maintain. 
An excellent system has been devised by consultation with 
Mr. W. H. Brannon, chief grader for the Tennessee Coal,Iron 
& Rail Road Co., Mr. W. J. Sleep, manager of the American 
Pig Iron Storage Warrant Co , in this district, and two well 
known pig iron brokers whose names it is not necessary to 
mention. It was our purpose to have a convenient envelope 
prepared for holding the borings, and on the front of it we had 
the following: 


22 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., 


-Tons. 


Grade- 


No— 
Made- 


-Furnace. Division- 

—189— Sampled- 

Color I Light ' 
coor ( Dark. 

^ , f Weak. 

Fracture - 0 , 

( Strong. 

Regular. f Fine. 
Granulation. -j Medium. 

Irregular. ( Coarse. 

( Smooth. 

Face. - Pitted. 

( Blistered. 

Chilled edge- 

Signed- 


189- 


O11 the back of the envelope was printed the following: 


Charges- 

Burden. Pounds. 

Hard Ore ----- -< 

Soft Ore.. 

Brown Ore - - 

o. f Limestone. 

Stone - -i-x , - 

( Dolomite. 

Coke.. 


Total - - 


To be taken before each cast. 



Time. 

Average. 

Revs.of Engine. 






Heat. 






Pressure. 




























































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 23 

The line on the front of the envelope that does not apply to 
the sample is marked out, thus if the colors is dark the word 
‘light’ is marked out, if the granulation is regular and fine, 
the words irregular, medium, and coarse are marked out, if 
there is a chilled edge or }{ inch deep it is so stated, if there 
is no chilled edge, the words are erased. 

By the use of this envelope it is possible to have recorded a 
complete history of the sample under examination. The re¬ 
sults reached are of the highest importance if the system is 
faithfully adhered to, for at any time, by reference to the lab¬ 
oratory books it can be known what was the exact composition 
of any grade of iron, its physical peculiarities and the burden 
on which it was made. 

We are convinced that if this, or a similar, system were in¬ 
telligently and persistently followed the complaints of lack of 
uniformity in grading our coke irons would gradually dis¬ 
appear. 

It is acknowledged on every side that the irons are not uni¬ 
formly graded, and unless some steps are taken to remedy this 
most serious obstacle to the enlargement of our markets we 
shall always be met with the assertion that we are not doing 
what we could do to correct the evil. 


24 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL IN THE BIRM¬ 
INGHAM DISTRICT. 


BY P. G. SHOOK. 


In the early ’5o’s the father of our distinguished fellow-citi¬ 
zen, Mr. T. T. Hillman,' acquired some ore lands on Red 
mountain, near Birmingham, Ala., at a price of $10 per acre, 
and later on, the fact having been demonstrated that coke 
could be made from our coals, many wagon loads having been 
hauled from slope No. i at Pratt mines to Oxmoor, a distance 
of ten or twelve miles, and there coked in a crude oven erected 
for the purpose of making the experiment, Mr. Hillman him¬ 
self moved to Birmingham, and, in conjunction with Mr. H.P\ 
DeBardeleben, projected and built the Alice furnaces. The 
furnaces at Oxmoor were built previous to this time, and were 
being operated with remarkable success. It was said at that 
time, although making but fifty tons of iron per day, the profit 
on the operations amounted to $1000 per day. 

Immediately after the boom of 1879 and 1880 the furnaces 
of the Sloss Iron and Steel company at Birmingham and the 
Woodward Iron Company were erected. Following this period 
little was done in the building of blast furnaces in the South 
until 1886 and 1887, when began the era of our greatest devel¬ 
opment. In 1884 and 1885 the Citico furnace at Chattanooga, 
Tenn., was built, and this was followed by the four great fur¬ 
naces at Ensley, an additional stack at Woodward’s, two addi¬ 
tional stacks by the Sloss Iron & Steel Company; Mary Pratt, 
Williamson, the five furnaces at Bessemer, the two Pioneer 
furnaces at Thomas, Ala., and the Vanderbilt furnace in North 
Birmingham. 

Thus the South was given a productive capacity of pig iron 
largely in exces of the demand; then it was that we reached the 




Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


25 


zenith of our prosperity in the manufacture of crude pig iron, 
and have ever since been declining. This condition will con¬ 
tinue so long as we are dependent upon markets removed from 
us by great distance as to 80 per cent, of our product. True 
it is that under pressure of adverse conditions we have demon¬ 
strated our ability to produce iron in Birmingham much below 
the cost of other competing districts. Under this pressure 
badly located furnaces and those built for town booming pur¬ 
poses only have been abandoned and torn down and sold for 
scrap iron ; others have passed into the hands of creditors. In 
contradistinction to the prediction of an overzealous writer in 
1880, when pig iron was selling at $40 a ton, that it could be 
produced at Birmingham at less than $10 a ton, I may say that 
large quantities have been sold within the last few years at 
less than $6 per ton at the furnace. 

Perhaps the most serious and unpleasant feature of the sit¬ 
uation from the standpoint of the crude iron manufacturer is 
the remarkable rapidity with which steel is displacing iron in 
many of the articles of daily use. Rails, structural materials 
for bridges and buildings, cotton ties, merchant steel, boiler 
plates, rivets, wheels, pinions, and machine castings are now 
made of steel instead of iron, and it is encouraging to note a 
fact, which we will later on bring out more forcibly, that in all 
of the above mentioned articles, or practically so, basic open 
hearth steel, the product of the process to be employed in the 
south, and the one so admirably adapted to southern conditions 
and material, is in all cases preferable and in very many speci¬ 
fied over the acid Bessemer or acid open hearth steel. 

The production of pig iron in the United States was in 

1885, - 4,044,526 tons. 

1890, - - - - - 9,202,703 tons. 

1895, ----- 9,446,308 tons. 

From the official reports of Mr. Janies M. Swank, of the 
American Ironand Steel Association, we find that the production 
of all classes of steel was aa follows (the production of open 
hearth steel in 1895 being partially estimated): 


26 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


1885, - - - 

1,711,926 tons. 

1890, ... - 

- 4,277,071 tons. 

1895, 

5,909,180 tons. 


We find that after deducting the steel used in each of the 
three above years from the iron produced, and allowing the 
amount of spiegeleisen produced to offset the small imports of 
iron, and assuming that in each case a long ton of pig iron has 
made a short ton of steel, thus allowing for the natural waste 
of conversion, it has left available for consumption as iron in 
the United States the following tonnage : 

1885, ----- 2,332,606 tons: 

1890, ----- 4,925,632 tons. 

1895, ----- 3,537,180 tons. 

The growth of the southern iron industry may be said to be 
confined to the past twenty years, and its phenominal devel¬ 
opment and expansion has greatly surpassed that of any other 
section of the country, and reached the point of supplying, in 
the year 1894, from Alabama and Tennessee alone, 37.18 per 
cent of the entire consumption, apart from steel iu the U. S. 
In this remarkable expansion, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and 
Railroad Company has taken the lead. That company pro¬ 
duced, in 

1885, ------ 57,754 tons. 

1890, ----- 260,378 tons. 

1895, - - - - - - 538,338 tons. 

Taking these figures in connection with those showing the 
consumption of iron as iron in the same years, it appears that 
that company alone supplied in 1885 2.47 per cent, in 1890 
5.28 per cent, and in 1895 15.21 P er cent of all the iron con 
sumed as iron in the United States. 

Is it not manifest, therefore, that the diversion of at least a 
part of our product to the manufacture of steel seems abso¬ 
lutely imperative? The shrinkage in the consumption of iron, 
aside from that converted into steel, was, from 1890 to 1895, 
1,400,000 tons, while there was an increase in the same period 
of 1,700,000 tons in the production of steel. 


Alabama Industrial and vScikntific Socikty. 27 

Much has been said and written on the subject of steel 
making in the south. Numerous imaginary difficulties are en¬ 
tertained by the skeptical few, while others, in fact I may say 
all who have investigated and familiarized themselves with the 
few simple points involved are assured, confident and convinc¬ 
ed. Not long since, only eight short years ago, the process 
made perfect by a combination of the great discovery of Messrs. 
Gilchrist Thomas and Percy C. Gilchrist, of England, in the 
year 1877, with that of the regenerative gas furnace of Messrs. 
Siemens and Martin, in 1856, known as the Siemens-Martin 
open hearth furnace, the process so admirably suited to our 
conditions, in dealing with and eliminating the hostile element, 
phosphorus, contained in our iron, the one which is so rapidly 
revolutionizing the steel industry and transforming our age 
into one of steel instead of one of iron, was introduced into 
the United States, and the first basic open hearth steel made at 
the Homestead works of the Carnegie Steel Company, near 
Pittsburg, Pa. The early use of the Siemens-Martin regenera¬ 
tive gas furnace was confined to the acid open hearth process, 
and the iron used was and is similar to that required for the 
ordinary acid Bessemer. From the nature of the materials 
employed in the Bessemer converter, it was frequently found 
impossible to generate the necessary heat, which is dependent 
upon the oxidation or combustion of the silicon and carbon 
contained in the original pig, and that process is necessarily 
confined to an iron containing a sufficient quantity of these 
two elements, the burning of which serves to generate the 
necessary heat. 

The Bessemer process was discovered by Sir Henry Besse¬ 
mer, in the year 1856. The discovery of Mr. Robert F. Mu- 
shet, on the 22nd day of September, of the same year, by 
which, by addition to the metal while in a molten state of a 
compound of iron, of which carbon and manganese are pre¬ 
dominating elements, and of which spiegel-eisen is perhaps the 
cheapest and most convenient form, the carbon and manganese 
are restored to the metal, gave great value to the invention of 


28 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

Mr. Bessemer, which, as originally conceived by him, had no 
commercial or practical value, in that it contemplated the con¬ 
version of pig metal into steel wholly or practically decarbon¬ 
ized as well as desiliconized ; in fact, by the nature of the pro¬ 
cess the product was so completely deprived of its carbon as to 
render it of no value. We shall see, also, that Mr. Mushat’s 
discovery bears a most important relationship to the basic open 
hearth process, and that it provides a simple, economical and 
effectual means of making high carbon steel for rails and other 
articles where extreme hardness is required. 

High phosphorus irons are not available for use by either 
the acid Bessemer or the acid open-hearth process, silicon and 
carbon only being the elements with which they deal. In the 
acid open-hearth, by using a Bessemer iron containing, say .10 
phosphorus and 50 per cent scrap iron containing not over .06 
or .07 phosphorus, it may be seen that the phosphorous in the 
mixture may be reduced to some extent, although the process 
does not in any manner treat with it, and the reduction comes 
wholly from a mechanical manipulation of the materials. Very 
important, therefore, was the discovery of Messrs. Thomas 
and Gilchrist, both of London, England, of the basic process, 
by which the use of an iron containing a large percentage of 
phosphorus was rendered possible. This occurred in Novem¬ 
ber of the year 1877, and the application of the process to the 
Siemens-Martin open-hearth furnace, giies us what is known 
as the basic open-hearth process. The one difference between 
the basic and the acid furnace is in the composition of the lin¬ 
ing or bottom, it being in the case of the basic open-hearth 
usually dolomite or magnesite prepared by roasting or calcin¬ 
ing, then pulverizing and mixing with tar, crude oil, or other 
material free from objectionable elements which will .serve to 
render it plastic or adhesive. I11 the acid, sand is employed as 
a bottom material. I would call your attention to the inter¬ 
esting fact that in the basic practice, dolomite is rapidly grow¬ 
ing in favor, and is used to-day by practically all the large 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


29 


basic steel makers in this country in preference to the magne¬ 
site. Its cost is insignificant compared with magnesite, every 
pound of which must be imported into this country from Rus¬ 
sia, Austria, or Greece. The time will soon come, we think, 
when dolomite or magnesian limestone will be used exclusively. 

As before stated, the first basic or open-hearth steel produced 
in the United States was at the Homestead works, 011 the 28th 
day of March, 1888. That day marks the advent into this 
country of a process, the growth and expansion of which is 

4 

truly phenomenal. It has rendered possible the manufacture 
of steel commercially and successfully in the south, which now 
offers an inviting field for investment and development. Un¬ 
fortunately, statistics do not give us the production of open- 
hearth basic steel separate and apart from acid, but include 
both under the common head of “open hearth” steel; but 
from the following figures it may be seen that a most remark¬ 
able expansion of the industry and increase in production has 
taken place. 

Production of open-hearth steel (production for 1895 par¬ 
tially estimated)— 


1890, 

513,232 

tons. 

1891, 

- 579,753 

tons. 

1892, 

669,887 

tons. 

1893, - 

- 737,850 

tons. 

1894, 

784,936 

tons. 

1895, 

about 1,000,000 

tons. 


Undoubtedly the basic open-hearth has shared the greatest 
portion of this increase, attributable to the superiority and 
adaptability of its product over that of the acid open-hearth or 
the Bessemer. It is daily growing in favor, and the demand 
is constantly increasing. There were in the United States in 
1892 but 71 open-hearth plants, consisting of 164 furnaces ; in 
1894 there were 81 plants, with 189 furnaces ; and in January 
of the present year 88 plants with 225 furnaces complete and 


30 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

20 in process of erection. The first basic open-liearth furnaces 
were built in this country at Homestead, in 1890, when eight 
furnaces, at that time considered to be of large capacity, were 
completed. Later on, twelve additional furnaces, ranging in 
capacity from 60,000 to 85,000 pounds per heat, were built, 
giving the Carnegie company a plant of 20 furnaces, all basic, 
running to their fullest capacity and yet unable to supply the 
enormous and rapidly increasing demand for that class of 

steel. I11 this connection, I may say that when in Pittsburg 

% 

recently I heard that the Carnegie company intended to dis¬ 
mantle and move away this Bessemer plant at Homestead, 
which has a capacity about equal to that of the open-hearth 
plant, and that it was their intention to build 20 additional 
open-hearth furnaces of fifty tons capacity each at the Home¬ 
stead works, it being stated at the time that they had acquired 
the land adjoining Homestead at great cost with this object in 
view. It is now officially announced that this will be done, 
and, if I mistake not, they are at present engaged in dis¬ 
mantling the Bessemer plant. 

This development has not by any means been confined to 
the Carnegie company, but has been participated in by nearly 
all the large producers in this country, notably the Illinois 
Steel Company, Jones & McLaughlin, Pennsylvania Steel Co., 
and others. Thirty-seven basic open-hearth furnaces were 
built or in process of erection in the United States in the year 
1895, only ten acid furnaces were built in the same period, and 
they specially designed for making steel castings, being of 
small capacity and having in view the use of scrap from Besse¬ 
mer plants available for that purpose. Two furnaces only for 
ordinary acid work were built during the year. Assuming two 
heats in twenty-four hours, and seeing that the average capac¬ 
ity per furnace per day was seventy tons, we find that there 
was an increase in the capacity of basic open-hearth steel dur¬ 
ing the year 1895 of 2590 tons per day. 

It is to emphasize and impress upon you the wonderful de- 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


3 i 


velopment of this method for making steel that I call your at¬ 
tention to these facts, and we must bear in mind that it is this 
process which we will employ in the south, and that, while 
best suited to our conditions, it is the one least well adapted to 
the requirements of competing districts. Having recently 
been detailed by my company to make an investigation of the 
use of our Alice basic pig iron by northern steel makers, I was 
afforded a most excellent opportunity to form impressions and 
make observations as to the views entertained by our northern 
friends touching the probable future development of the steel 
industry in the south. With one accord they were amazed at 
the remarkable success attained by the Tennessee Coal, Iron 
and Railroad Company in making a pig metal suitable in every 
particular for basic open-hearth practice. The three elements 
in the iron around which restrictions are thrown are silicon, 
sulphur and phosphorus; the specifications being 1 per cent 
silicon and phosphorus and .05 sulphur. Not only has the 
company been able to comply with these stipulations with a 
remarkable degree of regularity, but they have succeeded in 
producing pig iron running uniformly about one-half of 1 per 
cent, silicon, .02 to .035 sulphur and .6 to .7 phosphorus. 
Practically all of the large producers of basic open hearth steel 
in the country have used, and many are using today the pro¬ 
duct of the Alice furnace, located in this city. In my rounds 
on the trip above referred to, I did not meet with an unfavor¬ 
able criticism of the Southern basic pig. They look upon this 
as the future field of development and are forced to accept the 
fact that the basic open hearth process is rapidly pushing its 
way to the front and displacing all other classes of steel in 
every conceivable direction. Unknown and unpracticed a few 
years ago, it is now encroaching upon the Bessemer and driv¬ 
ing it back to a narrow channel of trade, where inferior stock 
will answer. The rail trade is practically all that remains for 
the Bessemer, and it is freely predicted that when the produc¬ 
tion of basic open hearth steel reaches a point where it is neces- 


32 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

sary to extend and enlarge its market, rails will be made by 
that process. That this can be done is a fact so well recogniz¬ 
ed as not to admit of discussion, it being, as in the case of the 
question of the use of scrap iron, purely a commercial proposi¬ 
tion. This feature of the subject we shall again allude to 
later on. 

For bridge and structural material, boiler plate, armor plate, 
and any and all other uses where great strength, durability 
and ductillity is required, basic steel has no equal; and, realiz¬ 
ing this to be true, engineers and builders are now specifying 
it. Thus we find the causes for the enormous demand, even 
at a price from $3 to $5 per ton above Bessemer, and which 
cannot be met by the present productive capacity. Of course 
the day will come -when the supply will fully equal and proba¬ 
bly exceed the demand. Then will it fall to the lot of this 
favorite metal to capture the rail trade, and not a difficult un¬ 
dertaking will it be when we remember that high phosphorus 
is especially objectionable in superinducing segregation, which 
is the cause of many broken rails. As you know, it cannot be 
controlled or regulated by the Bessemer process,but by the basic 
open hearth may be reduced to any point desired or specified; 
in fact, may be practically eliminated. High carbon in rails is 
required in either ca.se, and in both is obtained in a manner' 
identically the same. A fixed hardness being required, and 
both carbon and phosphorus possessing hardness giving quali¬ 
ties, it will devolve upon the maker of basic open hearth rails 
to increase his carbon to the same relative extent that the 
phosphorus is reduced. In other words, he will make up in an 
advantageous element,carbon,what he loses in a very detrimen¬ 
tal element, phosphorus, thereby materially improving the 
quality of the rail. Instead of containing .10 per cent, phos¬ 
phorus and .35 to .40 per cent, carbon, it will carry only .02 
to .05 per cent, phosphorus and say ^ of 1 per cent, carbon. 
Once the trade is provided with a rail of this composition, it is 
not difficult to imagine the railroads specifying open hearth 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


33 


rails. That this will come seems inevitable. Should not we in 
the South anticipate this and prepare for it ? We have seen 
that, concurrent, with the introduction of this process into the 
United States, Birmingham, with her matchless natural advan¬ 
tages and resources, was enjoying her greatest development 
and progress in furnace building and crude iron manufacture. 
Had the then existing conditions continued to prevail the ne¬ 
cessity for the step now so urgent and important would proba¬ 
bly never have arisen, but by the march of progress and civili¬ 
zation those conditions have materially changed; the wants and 
necessities of the advanced and modern ideas of man have 
brought it about. To keep pace with the times we must join 
in this march of progress. It is but the establishment of the 
“survival of the fittest,” both metals being suitable for like 
purposes and uses that the one of the greatest purity and 
strength should encroach, excel and finally overthrow is but 
natural. In this wonderful progress and development our sec¬ 
tion has not participated, and rather than being benefitted 
thereby we have been handicapped and embarrassed in under¬ 
taking to place our products in a crude and unfinished state on 
a market gradually becoming restricted and diminished. To 
such an extent has the consumption of crude iron, as iron,been 
curtailed that today our markets are practically limited as to 
large consumers to the cast iron pipe trade and to the stove 
trade, and the already insignificant foundry and rolling mill 
trade is slowly but surely slipping from the grasp of the crude 
iron manufacturers. 

The possibilities of Birmingham as a steel-making center are 
unlimited. It is a conceded fact that pig iron may be manu¬ 
factured here at a less cost than any other point in the United 
States; indeed, if not cheaper than anywhere in the world, and 
the self same conditions which render this possible will enable 
Birmingham to make the cheapest steel. It would seem that 
kind providence has smiled upon this particular spot with 
special favor, and has endowed it with resources and advanta- 


34 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


ges administered by nature’s most lavish hand. The Clinton 
ores, extending in an almost unbroken chain from Clinton 
County, New York, to a point about thirty miles southwest of 
Birmingham, growing in thickness and assuming a regular 
uniform vein as they approach their southern terminal, here 
come in intimate contact with the coal measures of the War¬ 
rior, Caliaba and Coosa fields, and in conjunction with an in¬ 
exhaustible supply of the purest lime, the bed rock of limpid 
streams flowing and gushing from the mountain side, form one 
' grand combination and assembly of materials available for the 
uses and employment and service of man. The supremacy of 
out great district as a pig iron manufacturing center is attribu¬ 
table to the contiguity of these raw materials, and upon the 
some conditions may we justly base our hopes and predictions 
of her possabilities and prospects as a producer of steel, a pro¬ 
duct removed from pig iron by one short, simple step of fur- 
thei purification and manipulation. At no other point are 
these Clinton ores found of so great and iniform thickness, nor 
do they approach in such close proximity to good coking coals. 

As unto the product of the blast furnace the cheap raw 
materials are, 

The same relation to the finished steel does our crude pig 
iron bear, 

and when we remember that this marvelous advantage largely 
more than offsets any possible increase in cost by reason of a 
greater percentage of impurities to remove, we have the com¬ 
mercial solution of the problem. 

In depending upon marketing our pig iron in a crude state 
our advantage over other sections in lower cost of production 
is practically met and offset in the freight necessary to be paid 
to reach consumers’ hands, and for many years it has required 
a great struggle upon the pnrt of furnace companies in the 
south to hold their ground, and in meeting the sharp 
competition of manufacturers not so remote from the 
centers of consumption they have been compelled to accept 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


35 


prices leaving a very narrow margin of profit. Southern 
furnaces not so well situated as those of the Birmingham 
district as regards close proximity of raw materials have 
been unable to stand this pressure and in many instances have 
been forced into bankruptcy. This condition is not likely to 
change so long as we continue to undertake to market our pro¬ 
duct in the shape of pig iron. It is manifest that the iron in¬ 
terests of the South must go into one of two things. They 
will have to go into the manufacture of steel or they will have 
to go into bankruptcy. You may say that we will have the 
same distance from market to contend with and practically the 
same freight rates to pay on steel as on pig iron. This is true 
as regards a very much smaller percentage of the product, but 
we must not loose sight of the fact that as the product han¬ 
dled rises in the scale of value the item of freight becomes of 
much less importance. The following comparison showing 
the original value of the product in Birmingham, the freight 
rate to Chicago and the proportion which the freight rate bears 
to the initial value of the article shipped may be of interest to 
you: 

Percent¬ 
age on 



f. o. b. 

Frt. to 

initial 


price. 

Chicago. 

price. 

Grey forge, 

- ‘ - - $ 6.30 

$ 3-85 

60 

Bar iron or steel, 

30.00 

4-50 

15 

Sheet iron or steel, 

- 50.00 

5-40 

10.8 


The process to be employed is a simple one, and far less com¬ 
plicated than that of making pig iron. Many are the steps in¬ 
volved in the mining and preparation of the coal, ores and lime¬ 
stone, the coking of the coal and the final conversion in the 
blast furnace; while in the manufacture of steel only one step 
further is necessary, that of removing silicon, reducing phos¬ 
phorus and carbon and regulating and providing manganese, 
the sulphur being in no wise affected. The work of eliminat- 


36 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

ing and reducing silicon, carbon and phosphorus is effectually 
accomplished, as you know, by the employment of an oxidizer 
in conjunction with lime. Oxygen is the agency and oxida¬ 
tion the operation whereby the impurities in the iron are re¬ 
moved or reduced by both the Bessemer and open hearth pro¬ 
cesses; in the former case by the oxygen in the air being blown 
through the metal, while in the converter and in the latter case 
the oxide of iron in the ore put into open hearth with the orig¬ 
inal metal charge, or by additions after the charge has been 
melted down of iron oxide into the bath. The basic open 
hearth, as you are aware, goes one step further than does the 
Bessemer, in that the oxide of iron in the ore in the presence 
of lime attacks the phosphorus, converts it into phosphoric acid, 
which is then taken up and held by the basic slag ; thus de¬ 
priving the iron of its most objectionable and detrimental ele¬ 
ment. To this feature of the process alone may be attributed 
its great commercial and economic value, and in it may we find 
assurance that grand possibilities are held in store for our dis¬ 
trict and for the South, to be realized and enjoyed, once it is 
introduced and developed, on a scale commensurate with the 
importance and requirements of the ease. 

An erroneous impression prevails in the minds of many peo¬ 
ple as to the necessity of a large percentage of scrap iron to the 
successful working of the basic open hearth process. It is a 
fact that basic steel of any quality desired might be made from 
the Alice basic pig and ore without the addition of one pound 
of scrap iron. This, however, we are free to admit, would be 
a practice of doubtful economy; and, fortunately, the necessity 
for adopting such a method (known as the pig and ore method) 
does not exist. The mills of a plant of the extent and capacity 
contemplated in the Birmingham district would probably yield 
io or 12 per cent of scrap, and undoubtedly that amount could 
be secured from other sources. The many industries following 
in the path of a large steel works in the South would replenish 
and materially increase the scrap supply. We must not lose 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 37 

sight of the fact that the question involved is purely a com¬ 
mercial one. We can use scrap iron or not, just as our best 
interest may demand from an economic standpoint. If found 
desirable to use an amount in excess of what the markets trib¬ 
utary to the district would currently afford, then its equivalent 
may be had by simply passing molten pig iron through a bath 
of basic slag, the waste product of the basic open hearth fur¬ 
nace, thereby eliminating the .silicon and reducing the carbon. 
The product of this operation we call “wash metal,” and its 
service in a basic open hearth furnace is such as to warrant, in 
my opinion, its use under any circumstances. You will doubt¬ 
less be interested in the following report of a heat of steel made 
recently by a concern which is consuming monthly large quan¬ 
tities of Birmingham basic iron, and one which occupies an im¬ 
portant position among the producers of basic open hearth steel 
in this country :— 

Lbs. Lbs. 


91 per cent Alabama pig, - 40,000 

9 per cent crop ends from blooming mill - - 4,000 

Hematic ore, ------ 4,000 

Limestone, - - - - - - - 4 > 4 °° 

Worked in after melting 

Hematic ore, ------ 2,900 

Burnt lime, - - - - - - - 75 ° 

Final addition. . - - - - 250 


Total. - - 44, 2 5 0 


Weight of ingots, 42,400 pounds ; weight of scrap (runners) 
925 pounds; weight of product, 43,315 pounds ; loss, i l / 2 pr.ct. 

Time from starting to charge to tapping, eleven hours and 
fifty-five minutes. 

Physical tests (average of 3-plate tests)—Thickness of test 
piece, .290; width of test piece, 1.010; tensile strength, 51.45° 
pounds per square inch; elastic limit, 35, 150 pounds per square 
inch; reduction of area, 64 per cent; elongation in 8 inches, 
31per cent; elongation in 2 inches, 51 >4 per cent. 




0 

38 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

Chemical tests of finishing steel—Carbon, .11; phosphorus, 
.016; sulphur, .037; manganese, .30; silicon, .00. 

Alabama Pig. Scrap. 

Silicon, - - - - - - - 5 2 

Carbon, ------- 10 

Phosphorus, ------ .720 .060 

Sulphur, ------ .020 .060 

Mangane.se, ------ .35 

First test after all was melted—Carbon, 1.40; phosphorus, .24. 

After addition of 1000 pounds of ore—Carbon, .86; phospho¬ 
rus, .09. 

Composition of slag before tapping—Silica, 12.98; metalic 
iron, 12.20; phosphorus acid, 8.13. 

I would call your especial attention to the fact that in this 
heat only 9 per cent of scrap iron was used, that being the pro¬ 
duct of the mill in the shape of crop ends of billets and blooms; 
also the extremely low percentage of waste in conversion and 
the extraordinary cpiality of the steel. 

We have in the Birmingham district everything necessary 
for the production of steel at a low cost. First and foremost, 
cheap pig iron ; then an inexhaustible supply of dolomite of a 
quality perhaps superior for basic lining purposes to that found 
at any other point in the country, and which may be laid down 
at the steel furnace at a price not exceeding one-fourth of that 
paid at present by the Carnegie company at Homestead; in 
fact, in is being so supplied to the blast furnaces of the Ten¬ 
nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company in large quantities for 
fluxing purposes. We have most favorable climatic conditions, 
cheap labor and cheap fuel. My investigations as to the cost 
of manufacturing steel billets in the Pittsburg district lead me 
to believe that in the case of the Bessemer, from the pig metal 
to the ingot, the cost is about $3 per ton, and from the ingot 
to the billet $1.50 per ton, in the basic open hearth process, 
from the pig to the ingot, $4,50 per ton, and from the ingot to 
the billet, $1.50 per ton. From this it may be seen that the 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


39 


difference in favor of the Bessemer process is only about $1-50 
per ton, while the basic open hearth product commands on the 
market from $2 to $5 per ton more than does the Bessemer, 
depending upon the quality of the -metal furnished. 

Permit me at this point to call your attention to the signifi¬ 
cant fact that by the Bessemer process one price prevails, and 
one grade, and one only, can be produced, while the basic 
open hearth, furnishes soft or hard steel, as the case may 
be, of any analysis or quality desired. Open hearth billets 
are quoted today at Pittsburg at $5 per ton above Bessemer 
billets. We are convinced beyond question that steel billets 
may be manufactured in the Birmingham District, if under¬ 
taken under the favorable conditions afforded by a modern 
plant of large capacity, with ample and improved equipment 
and facilities for handling materials, at a cost not exceeding 
$6.50 per ton above the cost of the pig iron. Taking our iron 
at today’s market price, .say $7, this would give us billets at a 
cost of $13.50 per ton at Birmingham. The class of stock that 
we would produce is now quoted in Pittsburg at $25 per ton, 
and upon examination of the trade journals you will find the 
quotation supplemented by the words “in good demand.’’ 
Based upon a rate of freight of $4.50 per ton, this would leave 
the Birmingham manufacturer a profit of about $7 per ton in 
the very heart of our greatest competing district, and in a ter¬ 
ritory where there is at all times and under any and all condi¬ 
tions an enormous consumption of steel billets. In neutral 
markets our position would be one of strength and material 
advantage. 

As an evidence that the foregoing figures and estimates are 
at least conservative, I may say that quite recently a proposi¬ 
tion has been made to a large southern furnace company by 
parties wholly responsible to take their iron at cost and turn 
over to them steel billets of any size or quality desired at $6 
per ton, they proposing to make their profit out of this price 
paid for conversion. This would indicate that the cost of con- 


40 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

version might be reduced to a figure considerably below our 
estimate. Assuming that an additional expense of from $1 to 
$1.50 per ton would be required to make rails, and seeing that 
the present combination price is $28 per ton at Pittsburg, it 
becomes apparent that there would be left a very handsome 
margin of profit in that trade. Indeed, the southern manu¬ 
facturer must not be satisfied to stop with the billet, but must 
go on further and furnish to the trade the finished articles of 
consumption, it being a well known fact that the greatest 
profit accrues from the manufacture of finished products, and 
to this may be assigned the wonderful success and achieve¬ 
ments of the Carnegie and the Illinois Steel Companies and 
other large producers in the North and West. Upon this score, 
however, we scarcely need have anxiety, as once the billets 
are supplied there will spring up a large and diversified home 
consumption. 

The Commercial club of this city, the Tennessee company, 
and other firms and individuals are daily in receipt of numer¬ 
ous letters making inquiry as to when steel billets may be had 
in Birmingham. These communications come from all parts 
of the country and represent concerns engaged in the manu¬ 
facture of the greatest variety of products. Agricultural im¬ 
plements, nails, cotton ties, axels, rails, rivets, nuts and bolts, 
steel castings, etc., etc., will be made here. Who can picture 
with any degreee of accuracy the full extent of benefits to ac¬ 
crue ? Think for one moment of the vast number of people 
that would necessarily be brought here for direct employment 
in a large steel works. Once the industry is successfully 
launched no one can believe that one steel plant only would be 
the extent of the development. You might just as well imagine 
that one blast furnace could take care of all the pig iron trade 
tributary to and controlled by this district. Then think of the 
multitude that would be brought in and employed by the va¬ 
rious smaller industries, the consumers of billets and blooms. 
It does not stop there. Hundreds upon hundreds of profes- 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 41 

sional men and women in ever}' calling of life are constantly 
on tlie lookout for a good town to go to. What do they con¬ 
sider a good town ? One where improvement and expansion 
and development and progress is going on. An increasing 
population requires accommodation at the hands of men and 
women of every profession and occupation. The fact of one 
coming increases the inducement for others to follow, and thus 
we will go on and on, and some one will do in the Birmingham 
district what Carnegie has done in Pennsylvania; and Birming¬ 
ham proper, with her matchless natural resources, mild climate 
and abundant railroad facilities will become the Pittsburg of 
the South and the metropolis. 


42 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


GOLD MINING IN ALABAMA. 


WILLIAM M. BREWER. 


Before proceeding to a description of some of the occur¬ 
rences of gold-bearing ores in Alabama, I propose to discuss 
briefly and also attempt to refute the opinion which to a great 
extent prevails that gold mining is usually entirely speculative 
and should not be classed among the legitimate industries. 
With the knowledge possessed by the present generation of the 
sciences of geology, metallurgy and mining engineering, it is 
comparatively easy to determine, not only theoretically, but 
practically, all the material facts with regard to the gold-bear¬ 
ing ore, and whether such occurrence is of sufficient extent 
and the ore of sufficient richness to warrant the investment of 
capital in fully developing and equipping the property for gold 
mining operations. 

Of course the first discovery of gold at any particular loca¬ 
tion must be followed by an investment, which may be consid¬ 
ered purety speculative. But is not such a condition true with 
regard to every business ? For there is a period when the cap¬ 
italist who proposes to embark in any line of business must 
make an expenditure on a speculative basis in searching for a 
location, etc. This is what the gold miner is doing when he 
goes on a prospecting tour, hoping to make a discovery. If 
this work is done with proper judgment and system, the great¬ 
er portiop of the speculative character is soon eliminated, and 
he is able to measure up ore in sight, give the average grade, 
character of the ore as to its adaptability for the various metal¬ 
lurgical processes, etc. 

In my opinion, the reason why so much of the gold mining 
in Alabama in the past, and, indeed, throughout the entire 
South, has been attended by failure, is because of the fact, 
which is clearly demonstrated by examination of nearly any of 




Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


43 


the occurrences of gold-bearing ore in the section, that the 
developers of the properties have considered it more essential 
to sink a large number of shallow pits, scattered here and there 
and everywhere over the surface, than to concentrate their 
work at the point of discovery of the precious metal. They 
seem to forget that one shaft ioo feet deep and a drift ioo feet 
long below the surface will enable the miner expert to deter¬ 
mine the value of a property with more accuracy than a thou¬ 
sand holes two or three feet deep scattered over an area of 75 
or 100 acres. The capitalist experienced in the development 
of mines, never purchases a ton of ore that is not in sight. In 
other words, he estimates the value of the property entirely on 
the quantity of ore blocked out in the underground works, and 
figures from that basis as closely and accurately as the iron 
master figures the value of the pig iron in his stock yard. 

The day has gone by when you could take a man on to a 
mountain and with smooth talk convince him that he was 
standing about millions of hidden wealth, which could be ex¬ 
tracted by the expenditure of a few thousand. 

Taking these arguments into consideration, I am firmly of 
the opinion that the organization of local development compa¬ 
nies, with moderate cash capital at command, and with con¬ 
servative business men at the helm, for the purpose of investi¬ 
gating and determining, by actual work, the permanency, ex¬ 
tent, and value of some of the so-called gold mines in the 
South, would result in demonstrating to the world at large 
that there were some properties in the Appalachain mountains, 
and in Alabama in particular, which would warrant the invest¬ 
ment of capital sufficient to operate the same on an extensive 
scale. 

Quantity of ore is one of the most important factors in de¬ 
termining the value of a gold mine. Grade to-day is a second¬ 
ary consideration, because it has been proven in the black hills 
of South Dakota, as well as in Alaska, that a large body of low 
grade ore can be worked more profitably than a small body of 
high grade. 


44 Alabama Industrial and v Scikntific Society. 

After having spent nearly five years in visiting the various 
gold mining districts of Alabama and Georgia, I am convinced 
that Alabama presents many opportunities for successful ope¬ 
rations, because of the occurrences in that State of really a 
comparatively great number of large bodies of low grade ore; 
but it is useless to look for bonanzas. These extensive bodies 
of low grade ore to which I refer are located in Cleburne, Ran¬ 
dolph, Clay and Tallapoosa counties, and in several different 
localities there are exposed ore bodies ranging from 13 to 50 
feet in thickness,, and producing ore which will grade from $3 
to $6 per ton, if treated by barrel chlorination. No really deep 
work has been done on any of these locations, but on Crooked 
creek, in Randolph county, on what is known as the Pine Hill 
property, an incline shaft 80 feet deep has been sunk during 
the last spring, and a drift 100 feet long driven on the ore 
body which occurs in a semi-crystalline slate country rock. I11 
these workings a vein 13 feet thick has been exposed, which 
shows by panning test pure gold through the entire thickness. 
A car-load of the ore will be tested within a few weeks at the 
sampling chlorination works of the Mecklenburg Iron compa¬ 
ny, at Charlotte, N. C. The prospecting of the property has 
been under my own superintendence, and the future work will 
depend entirely on the results obtained from this sampling. 
The cOvSt of the mining has been about 75 cents a foot, with 
the openings all six feet high and wide enough for trams. 

On an adjoining property in this same district, a syndicate 
from Indiana is erecting a plant furnished with two Crawford 
mills to treat the same variety of ore I have found on the Pine 
Hill property. 

The structure of the ore bodies in this district is generally 
such as I would designate as stratified deposits,* rather than 

*1 have referred to these ore bodies as stratified bodies,because I desire 
to provoke discussion. From my observation, I can see no reason for 
designating such as veins; unless it can be clearly demonstrated that 
the deposition of auriferous material followed the fracturing of the for¬ 
mation. I desire the opinion of some one more competent than myself 
to settle the question. 




Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


45 


veins, although at Pine Hill we have well defined slate walls 
enclosing the ore body; yet we find that the body itself is really 
composed of strata of quartz, decomposed slate, clay, and arsen¬ 
ical pyrites, and that the structure is lenticular, inasmuch as 
we find in the workings one lens nearly 80 feet long, which 
perches out at both extremities, and near where it commences 
to become narrower towards the northeast it is overlapped by 
another distinct lens. This we have' followed in the drift 
about 50 feet, and have not yet reached its maximum thick¬ 
ness. In the downward trend of one lens, I determined by the 
incline shaft that it maintained its continuity with great regu¬ 
larity, and the bottom of the shaft to-day exposes 13 feet of 
vein material which prospects by panning the entire thickness. 
At other locations in the same district, I do not find the well 
defined walls we have at Pine Hill, and the structure has all 
the appearance of stratified deposits. 

From my knowledge of the chlorination, I am convinced 
that if this ore will average $5 per ton, I can work the mine 
successfully, even if I am compelled to treat the ore by direct 
chlorination, which means roasting the entire product of the 
ore body and treating the same, instead of following the Thesis 
practice of amalgamation of the concentrates. 

None of the other properties in this district have been devel¬ 
oped to the same extent as Pine Hill; but, from the work that 
has been done on them, I am of the opinion that there will be 
but very little difference found between any of them, either as 
to the extent of the ore bodies or average of grade; and so far 
as the chemical character of the ores from different locations is 
concerned, there is comparatively no difference. 

In Cleburn county, the Hicks-Wise mine, which was worked 
for a few months in 1893 by a miner from Colorado, showed 
the most extensive body of ore known in that county. To-day 
the workings have all caved in because of the suspension of 
work, which was caused by the business depression and the in¬ 
ability of the lessee to negotiate a sale. 


46 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

I visited this property in 1893 and examined the workings, 
which consisted of an incline shaft 107 feet in depth and about 
100 feet of drifting on the 85-foot level. I found that the ore 
had been stopped out at the 40-foot level for a thickness of 16 
feet and milled in a ten-stamp mill. This, I am informed, 
yielded aboue $2 per ton by amalgamation, while the ore from 
the bottom of the shaft, which carried quite a large percentage 
of sulphuret, assayed about $14 per ton. The occurrence of a 
cave in the workings, soon after operations were suspended, 
demonstrated the fact that the maximum thickness of the ore 
body was nearly thirty feet, but what was its grade for that 
thickness has never been determined, to my knowledge. 

In Tallapoosa county, we find the extensive ore bodies are 
composed of lenses of quartz, interleaved with graphitic slate, 
and so closely are the slate and quartz associated that mining 
has to be carried on by the quarry or open cut system, and the 
entire mass sent to the mill without sorting. By amalgamation 
something less than $2 a ton is saved, as I am informed by the 
superintendent of the mine. From pan tests, which I made 
myself in 1893, from a fair average of the material sent to the 
mill, I am firmly convinced that the ore carries much greater 
value, but I could not ascertain the average assay value. There 
is evidently great loss, though, for the reason that the graphite 
sickens the quicksilver on the plates, and in consequence the 
particles of gold fail to amalgamate and are carried off through 
the sluices with the tailings. When I last saw the mine being 
worked, the material sent to the mill was from an ore body 
about 50 feet in thickness, with the heading of the open cut 
some 30 feet deep. I have been informed several times since 
my visit in 1893, that this property has been in active opera¬ 
tion most of the time; and the superintendent has told me that 
he has been experimenting with a view to eliminating the 
graphite from the ore, but up to a few months back his exper¬ 
iments had not been attended with any signal success. 

In Clay county, the large deposits of low grade orearelocat- 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


47 


ed near the west flank of the Talladega mountains, occurring 
in mica schist and horn-blendic schist country rock. Two ore 
bodies have been partially developed, which show a thickness 
of fifty feet of pay ore. One of these, known as the Idaho 
mine, on which operations were conducted for several months 
about seven or eight years ago, yielded, I am informed, satis 
factory results by amalgamation, when the material was quar¬ 
ried a thickness of fifty feet and sent to the mill without sort¬ 
ing. Litigation, which has recently been decided, caused sus¬ 
pension of the work. The company is now putting in a Hunt¬ 
ington mill, because the superintendent is of the opinion that 
the ore can be more successfully treated in that description of 
a mill than in any ordinary stamp mill. 

This new mill will probably be in operation about the end of 
June next, and the results from its work will undoubtedly 
prove very beneficial, not only to the immediate district, but 
to the entire State; because in this same belt of country rock 
in which the Idaho mine is situated there are several ore bodies 
possessing very much the same characteristics, and if ore is 
successfully treated in the Huntington mill, it will prove an 
incentive to owners of other properties to commence work, be¬ 
cause the Huntington mill is one of the cheapest gold mining 
plants manufactured. 

Some of the reasons for the policy of the superintendent in 
making a change are, that there is a great deal of clay asso¬ 
ciated with the ore, which is a very undesirable factor in stamp 
milling, because it reduces the crushing capacity to a minimum 
by clogging the screens. There is also associated with the ore 
large quantities of decomposed mica schist, which, while it is 
not actually talcose, yet is sufficiently talcoid to cause slimes to 
form, in which small and light particles of gold are held in 
suspension, and pass off with the tailing. In feeding quick¬ 
silver into the battery, the clay hinders it from becoming prop¬ 
erly disseminated through the pulp in the mortar. There is 
also associated with this ore quite considerable wad, which to 


48 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


some extent interferes with perfectly satisfactory amalgama¬ 
tion. 

By introducing the Huntington mill, the superintendent ex¬ 
pects to overcome all these objectionable features by treating 
the soft and claey ores in that mill and the harder quartzite in 
the old stamp mill. So far as the work has progressed on this 
mine, no sulphurets have been encountered, but no mining has 
been carried on yet below water level. 

The average yield by amalgamation of this ore when the 

mine was in operation was about $2 per ton, and the cost of 

mining and treating the ore did not exceed $1. The crushing 

capacity of the old plant was about thirty tons per day, and 

that of the old and new plants will be about seventy-five tons 

per day. Of course at the present time there is some little ex- 
% 

tra expense to be considered in reopening, which is properly 
chargeable to cost of mining, and the capital in the new plant 
is chargeable to milling expense, or at least the interest on 
such is. Therefore, when operations are resumed, I doubt if 
the extremely low cost for mining and milling which I have 
referred to can be maintained; and it would also appear as 
though that when deeper mining becomes necessary the cost 
would be increased; but the superintendent informs me that, 
taking everything into consideration, he expects to mine and 
mill this ore for a long time to come at a cost not to exceed $1 
per ton. 

I could continue this description of occurrences of extensive 
low grade ore bodies in Alabama, which have come under my 
own observation for a considerable .length of time, but the 
illustrations I have given are sufficient to convey to your minds 
an intelligent idea of what results may be expected from ope¬ 
rating in these gold fields, provided cool judgment, conserva¬ 
tism, and experience are combined in the management. 

I have not referred to the richer, but less extensive, ore 
bodies of the Arbacoochee district, because operations are be¬ 
ing conducted there by a Chattanooga syndicate, which is 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


49 


prospecting a large tract of that district. I am personally un¬ 
acquainted with the results of these operations, and as I un¬ 
derstand the prospecting is far from complete, any reference to 
the work performed in the past, of which I have personal 
knowledge, I consider might be prejudicial to the interests of 
the present operators. Some very rich quartz, as well as val¬ 
uable nuggets and a large amount of placer gold, have been 
taken from the Arbacoochee district in years gone by. When 
the work of the present operators has been carried further, a 
record of their discoveries will no doubt prove very interesting. 

There have been some monumental failures, not only in 
Alabama but throughout the entire South, in the last decade, 
but I attribute most of them to the “tender foot” characteris¬ 
tics of the operators, or else to the fact of the lack of capital, 
rather than to lack of ore of sufficiently high grade, if prop¬ 
erly worked, to result to the profit of the investors. 


50 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 



COAL WASHING. 

DESCRIPTION OF BROOKWOOD WASHER. 


BY F. M. JACKSON. 


Seueral times I have been importuned by members of this 
Society to prepare an article on Coal Washing, especially de¬ 
scribing the washer built and now in successful operation by 
the Standard Coal Company. Circumstances beyond control 
have heretofore prevented my complying In submitting this 
article, I do so with considerable temerity, as so many more 
competent than myself have given years of study- to this ques¬ 
tion, and have presented to the public mature and exhaustive 
papers on the subject. 

The subject of the improvement of coke has had the consid¬ 
eration of the coke manufacturer, in the United States, but 
few years. Not until sharp competition in iron production, 
and the consequent lowering of prices, was economy in the 
manufacture of coke thought of to any appreciable extent. I 
believe it was in 1891 that Col. A. M. Shook visited England 
and came back impressed with the idea that if the pig iron pro¬ 
ducers of this district expected to keep pace with the balance 
of the world, they would be compelled to better prepare the 
coke. Through his influence and efforts coal washing was 
given the first earnest consideration in this district; at least, 
my first impression of the great importance of it was obtained 
from him. 

The Standard Coal Company became strongly impressed with 
the idea of washing coal, on account of the poor quality of 
coke made from a seam of coal that is generally known as the 
“University” seam, in the south-western Warrior basin,' in 
Tuscaloosa County. The first efforts to improve the coke was 
a purchase of a Steadman Disintegrator, for the purpose of 





Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 51 

grinding the coal before coking. This resulted in making a 
good looking coke, but those elements, undesirable in all foun¬ 
dry and furnace use, sulphur and ash, still remained to an ex¬ 
cessive extent, and, though the coke had a fine appearance, it 
was not desirable. It was then that Mr. H. L. Einstein, the 
President of the Standard Coal Company, engaged a party to 
look into the coal washing plants in Europe. After a careful 
study of the various ones employed, both in Germany and 
England, he concluded that the jigging principle was the most 
reliable and useful. After having the report of this expert, it 
was decided to erect a coal washer, and to this end Mr. Walter 
M. Stein was employed to estimate and report on the cost of 
constructing a plant at Brookwood. His plans and estimates 
were accepted, and he was ordered to proceed with the work 
of building. 

The system he employed was a very old one, but improved 
in the course of many years by manufacturers of machinery, 
engineers and mine managers. The first similar plant on re¬ 
cord was built in the Plauen Coal District, in Saxony, as far 
back as 1830. Who built it, is not recorded. The general 
introduction of similar plants, in Germany, commenced in the 
early Sixties. Professor Rittenger’s celebrated book of 1867 
was a big help to all working in the line of preparing coal, ore, 
etc. He gave in it the law for falling bodies in water, which 
clearly defined the theory of washing. 

The plans Mr. Stein' followed in erecting our washer were 
the same employed by Schuchterman and Cremer, of Germany. 
It is similar in many respects to the Luehrig System, there 
being, however, one main point of difference, as follows: Both 
systems crush the coal to the required fineness before washing 
down to free the impurities. The Luehrig people only crush 
down to i l / 2 inches before washing, depending on re-crushing 
the large sizes and re-washing in many cases; while the system 
Mr. Stein employed required the coal to be crushed to not over 
3 /s of an inch in size, and in all cases before washing or jigging. 


52 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


He also allowed longer jig beds. I am informed that he now 
makes, in many instances, beds as long as 16 feet, which is 
claimed to be of great advantage. 

Since^our washer was erected, Mr. Stein has made improve¬ 
ments in machinery that increases the desirability of this kind 
of washer. Improvements have also been made on the Brook- 
wood washer, and it is now virtually in perfect shape and 
working daily, with a capacity of 500 tons of washed coal in 
ten hours. 

In connection with the washer at Brookwood, there is ma¬ 
chinery such as shaking-screens, picking bands, and lump- 
loader, for the more perfect handling of screened coal. The 
picking-bands and lump-loader are new features in the hand¬ 
ling of coal in this district, and the result of the work is emi¬ 
nently satisfactory. 

In Mr. John Fulton’s book, recently issued, the plan and 
general description of the washer, by Mr. Rudolph Boericke, 
who assisted Mr. Stein in erecting it, is ably and correctly 
given. The description is as full as need be, and those inter¬ 
ested I respectfully refer to the same. 

The next important question in interest is : Has the washer 
proven practically successful? To this question I reply, “yes”; 
and give in a general way the results. It has enabled the 
Standard Coal Company to produce a coke of uniform quality 
and of extraordinary structure, the average analysis of which 
invariably runs below 10 per cent, ash and 1 per cent sulphur. 
Analyses are made as often as is necessary to keep up with the 
quality. The total result shows, for the last six months, the 
average ash to be 8.80 and sulphur .74 of 1 per cent. These 
analyses were made by our Mining Engineer and Chemist,Mr. 
L. A. O. Gabany. These results are obtained, whereas coke 
formerly produced from the same coal contained ash often as 
high as 18 per cent., and never under 13 to 15 per cent, and 
sulphur 1.50 to 1.75. The loss by washing averages 6 to 9 
per cent; that is, we account for all the coal put into the washer 
except this 6^2 to 9 per cent, which is washed out and lost in 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 53 

impurities and waste coal. Careful tests of coal in the impur¬ 
ities washed out have never shown over 3^ under ordinary 
running conditions; it often runs below 2 per cent. 

The jigs, eleven in number, are double compartments. The 
raw coal enters at one end, runs across both compartments and 
out at the other end as the washed product. The slate pyrites 
and barites, and all other heavy particles, find their way down 
through the bottom of the jig and flow out through the slate 
valve in a constant stream. It has been deemed necessary to 
use only feldspar as a bed to successfully wash the coal, the 
first beds in the jigs being made with imported feldspar. The 
question of cost of this feldspar was so serious that experiments 
with other material was made. The quartz pebbles, so numer¬ 
ous about Brookwood, were tried and proved equally as satis¬ 
factory as the feldspar, and since then are used altogether. 
There are three sizes of jigs and screens, five £ 4 ”, three 
and three *4” in diameter; these we term coarse, medium, and 
fine. A comparison of three days work of these jigs is given 
below : 


54 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


B ,r_ 

V o 8 
xi£ 2 
$ fa 

> fa 
o 
o 


LO 


Oj 

o ^ 

CD 0) 

k , O-S 

X fa 03 
cj rt 
co t> 

r—< ^ 

co 


u 

u 

ai 


jfa 
X 3 

03 c/3 

NO LO 


A 


C/2 


c n 
cO 

O 

rO rO 


X 

-M 

O 


Per ct, 

coal in 

refuse. 

CO 

O' 

L-» 

o 

HH 

CN 

2.00 

Per ct. 
lost. 

CO 

t>» 

NO* 

M 

hH 

LO 

LO 

vd 

No. tons 
refuse 
dumped 

00 

to 

0 

vO 

to 

cn h-> H 
c ^ X 
o pbo 
+J fa 

o 

CN 

o 

• *”7l O 

X 

l£> 

LO 

O to ^ 

LO 

LO 

LO 

1 86 





X 

x^ 

tc t/3 

X 

l'3 

C fi rf 

«J M 

• n 
X P 1 

2 9 
rt to 

° P 

LO CJN 

o O' 

*0- CO 

o o 

O O' 

LO 

LO 

LO 

rH 

03 r- 

X 

x'3 

03 P 

« 5 

X 

X Ph 

LO 

M <X> 

LO LO 

ON 

LO LO 

CO O' 

LO 

NO 

LO 


_H 173 

6 S.5f> 

rH Q •»-) 

Ph 



L5 9 

l9 

x 3 


03 03 

fa rr 
O' 

rH 

fa Sq 

C/3 ^ 

^ g S 

LO 1^ 

<N O' 

O CO 

LO O' 

° 2L 

CN CPN 

CD rO 

LO 

4 

to 

rrj c 03 

rH P *rH 

• X 

fH 

HH 

x'3 

x3 

co d 

*cfl L+b "7? 

- 

C/3 rH 

^ 5 

03 rH 

fa to 

^ C/3 

o CN 

> o3 X 

O NO 

O O 

LOCO 

^ O Pb 

CJ 

(N O' 

t^CO 


rO 

4 



r-H 

. 

• 

. 


a. 

CO c /2 

LO rO 
CO fa 


XI 

-M 

CN 


bb 

CD 


bb 

r -1 

H—< 

CO 

<D 

rH 
r-( 

<fa 

<d 

Lb 


o 

U 


bb 

<D 


cO 

+-> 

Lb 

O 

<D 

Vh 

cO 

co 


co 

<v 

u 

■*-> 

CO 

<D 

Lb 

<v 

Lb 


cO 


bb 

<d 

o 


<d 

Lb 


£ 


C o 
Lb ^ 

^ rfa 

be 
’to 4 
fa ° 
o xi 

<u ■*-> 

be - £ 
tb 

5 cO 

CO rH 

bb 

cO 

CD 

U 
O 


cO 

Lb 

cO 


r-O 

cO 


CO 


o (U -b 
fa fa <d 

^ co 
. <d 

K*' V-l 

fa <D 

rt ■£ 
♦—< 

rH ~ #rH 

.fa fab <d 

—' co 

Tj '•fa O 

V CO rfa 


jfa •- 

fab l - 

fa O 

lh-h «-i—i 

<D . 

^ bb 
co <d 
a 


CD 

o 

o 

fa 

to 


o 

cO 

J-l 

a. 

- bb 
<D <D 


O 


bb 

CD (U 

fab v- 

$ 

1-h 

4-> rH 

(D 

CD > 

n •*-' 

^ be 


> 

<D 

• rH 

'9 

Lb 


> 

o 

Jh 

CL 


CD 

J-h 

cO 

£ 

cO 


O 

CD 

o 

cO 

<D co 

Lb 


C/2 


w <d 

2 & 

C/3 


cO 

o 


co 


fa 

. . to 
co <d 
O u 
u 


<v 


cO 


cO 

ch 

rt 


biO <D 

fa X 

* ’“H < 

> H 

o 

Vh 

a. x 

d P 
fa a 


CD 

to 

p 

cO 

O 

a 


CO 

be 


co 

CD 


bb 

rH 

cO 
<-n 

„ to 
<D CD 
Lb to 


CO 
(D 
CD 
O 
U 

^ Oh 

y bo 

C d 
co .Jb 
Oh be 
D bJO 

Vh • »-H 
CJ •’—* 

S CD 
'C Lb 

<d Jb 

rt bb 
Cl cO 
O 
a 


cO 

Lb 


Ph 

cO 


>> o 


cO 


' O • rH 

>5 Jb 

rH ’TT 

rt s 


<D 

M 

CD 

CD 

Lb 

a 




aD 

O 

o 

L4 

O 

O 

Jh 

PQ 


cO cO 

^bb 


<D 


cO 

■*-> 

C 

o 

a 


O 

!b 

sb 

o 

• rH 
4-» 

cd 

s 

t- 

o 


rH 

*-H 

CO 


Vh 

cO 

Ph 


bb 

^cO 

'"be 

<D 

Lb 


n 
o 
O 

*cO 

O 

O 

CD 

7 X6 
fa O 

HD 

rH <3J 


be co 


CD 

CD 

fa 

bb 

o 

>-H 

PL 


<D 

Lb 




CD Lb .fa 




fa 

cO 


D 

>-H 

o 

L+H 

<D 

^H 

<D 

rfa 


£ 


Vh nj 
CD L-h 
Lb CD 
to 'fa 
CO tn 


<D 


cO 

to 

• r—H 

Lb 





















































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


55 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, ) 
Secretary’s Office, > 

University, Ala., May 12, 1396. ) 

During the past year the Proceedings of the Society have 
been published in an edition of 500 copies, for which was paid 
the sum of $81.50, or $1.25 a page. I11 addition to this, cir¬ 
culars announcing the times of meeting and blank ballots have 
been sent out to the members. 

Since the last annual meeting, we have had three additions 
to our number and one resignation, making an increase of two. 

At the present time, our list shows the following con¬ 
dition of things : 17 have paid up all dues to date;. 6 are 
behind on the last assessment, i. e., for the current year; 8 are 
behind for this and last year ; 5 are delinquent three years ; 3 
are delinquent four years ; 1 is delinquent for five years. 

These, forty in number, are counted among our active mem¬ 
bers. 

Thirty-five have paid their first year’s dues, i. e., for the 
year 1891, which was the first year of the Society, and have 
made no further payments. According to instructions of the 
Society, these were dropped from the list a year or two ago. 
One has never paid for any year, also dropped ; and, upon the 
books, on taking charge of the Secretary's I found 18 names 
of persons who appear never to have been members—at least, 
no payments have been made by them. 

There are two matters concerning which some discussion 
might be in order, viz: The propriety of making the first as¬ 
sessment of those who join the Society at the fall meeting 
(which is usually in November, and thus practically at the 



56 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

close of the year), to begin with the following year. Should 
this be done, and the action made to apply to those who have 
heretofore joined at the fall meetings and made their payments 
for the same year, it would result in the crediting ten members 
with one year’s payment of dues, in all amounting to $90.00. 

We have not been very rigid in the enforcement of the rule 
of the Society, which requires full payment of dues, or no ar¬ 
rearages, as a qualification for giving a vote for the officers of 
the Society; nor do I think it would be advisable to enforce 
this too strictly at this time. 

I shall be glad to hear the views of the Society with regard 
to the standing of members several years in arrears, and also 
to have instructions as to my course in regard to them. I have 
sent out the notices of dues at regular intervals, and can do no 
more. We have our by-laws on the subject, but I should like 
to be sure of my duty on the enforcing of them, especially in 
view of the leniency recommended in regard to this matter 
several years ago. 

Mr. John Fulton, who agreed to prepare for this meeting a 
lecture on “Recovery Coke Ovens,” and their adaptation to 
the Birmingham District, writes that he has been unable to 
prepare this in time for the present meeting, but will furnish 
it later. 

Additions to the Library.—Journal of the Elisha Mitchell 
Scientific Society, 1895; Technology Quarterly for 1895 I Cir¬ 
culars of Johns-Hopkins University ; Program of the Royal 
Mining Academy—Clansthal; Sixteenth Annual Report of the 
Ohio Society of Surveyors and Civil Engineers. 

Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


57 


REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR 1895-96. 


University, Ala, May 12, 1896. 


receipts. 

From Cash in Treasury, as per Treasurer’s 

Report of June 8, 1895, - - $ 74 28 

From Annual Dues, - 138 60—$212 28 


EXPENDITURES. 

For Printing and Stationery, - - $ 81 50 

For Postage, - - - - - - 10 50 

For Advertising Meetings, - 7 65 

For Reporting Proceedings, 3 00 —$ 102 65 


Balance in Treasury, - - - $109 63 

Henry McCalley, 

Treasurer. 































































































































































































































































































f 






PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 

AND 

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY . 


VOLUME VI.—PART II. 












PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY . 


VOLUME VI. - PART II. 


^—1896 



PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE . 

UNIVERSITY POST OFFICE. 

ALABAMA. 


BURTON & WKATHKRFORO. TUSKAI.OOSA. 




OFFICERS. 

1896 . 


PRESIDENT. 

F. M. Jackson, ----- 

VICE PRESIDENTS 

George B. McCormack, - 
Ernst Prociiaska, - 
James Bowron, - - - - 

E. A. Ueheing, ----- 
Joseph Squire, - - - - 

J. H. Fitts, ----- 

TREASURER. 

Henry McCaeuey, - 

SECRETARY. 

Eugene A. Smith, - 


Brook wood, Ala. 

Pratt City, Ala. 
New Castle, Pa. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Newark, N. J. 
Helena, Ala. 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

University, Ala. 

University, Ala. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceeding's of Autumn Meeting , - 

Gold Milling in Clay County , Alabama , at the Idaho 
Mine — Joshua Franklin, 

Manganese Ores of Georgia — Wm. M. BREWER, 






AUTUMN MEETING. 


Birmingham, Ala., December 15, 1896. 

The regular Fall Meeting of the Society was held in the 
rooms of the Commercial Club, on Tuesday, December 15th, 
at 3 P. M. 

President Jackson in the Chair. Present : Dr. W. B. Phil¬ 
lips, W. M. Brewer, J. R. Harris, J. A. Montgomery, J. D. 
Hillhouse, Chas. J. Geohegan, Erskine Ramsay, R. F. Manly, 
Henry McCalley, Eugene A. Smith, W. J. Boles, H. F. Wil¬ 
son, Sr., Col. Horace Harding, Dr. Jackson, representatives of 
the press and other visitors. 

Reading of the Minutes was dispensed with, since they had 
already been printed in the Proceedings and distributed to 
members. 

The Committee on Collection of Statistics of Coal, Iron,, etc., 
reported through Dr. Phillips, that Mr. W. M. Brewer had 
agreed to undertake the collection of the.se statistics under the 
auspices of the Society and of the Geological Survey. The 
statistics would be collected monthly and furnished to such 
papers of the State, and journals out of the State, as might 
wish to publish the same, and the records kept on file by the 
Secretary of this Society and the State Geologist. This to be 
done without expense to the Society. 

Dr. Phillips proposed for honorary membership, the name 
of His Excellency Governor Joseph F. Johnston, who was 
unanimously elected. 

Mr. Brewer then read a paper, by Mr. Joshua Franklin, on 




64 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

Gold Milling in Alabama. This paper will be found in full in 
the printed Proceedings of the Society. 

Mr. Brewer’s own paper, on the Manganese Deposits of 
Georgia, having been delayed in the mail, was read by title 
only, and will be found in full in the Proceedings. 

There being no other papers before the Society, discussion 
of appropriate topics was declared in order. A long and inter¬ 
esting discussion ensued upon the general subject of Coking of 
Coal and of Recovery Ovens and By-products, in which Dr. 
Phillips, Col. Montgomery, Col. Jackson, Mr. Ramsay, and 
others, took part. 

Dr. Phillips called attention to the great differences in the 
quality of the coke drawn from the same oven, from the 
middle of the oven and from same horizontal plane, and 
thinks these differences due to the watering. When under¬ 
watered, the coke was very tough afid variable in quality, 
pieces in close proximity .showing very different degrees of 
porosity. He thought that the coke should be drawn as soon 
as it was cool enough to permit it. 

Col. Jackson, Col. Montgomery, and Mr. Ramsay spoke of 
their own experience in this line. The latter did not feel sure 
that the coke had not received its porosity before being wa¬ 
tered. 

Col. Jackson thought the watering caused the coke to break 
up more effectually, while the porosity he thought due to the 
quality of the coal and the manner of heating. 

Col. Jackson also gave results of .some experiments conduct¬ 
ed by him at Brookwood with six ovens, on the recovery of 
by-products. These experiments were not yet successful, 
from insufficiency of heat ; the coke also was inferior. It is 
his intention to continue the experiments. 

Dr. Phillips gave next an account of some coke or carbon 
deposited upon the surface and in the crevices of some blocks 
of dolomite placed in the ovens of the Tennessee Company. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 65 

This carbon must have been deposited from decomposition of 
the gases of the oven ; it contained less than 1 per cent of ash, 
and the structure, as seen under the microscope, was quite 
different from that of ordinary coke. Mention was next made 
of the so-called “hair” or whiskers of the coke ovens, which 
he said were also pure carbon—1 to 1% per cent of ash. These 
hairs are hollow, and to produce them a great heat is needed. 

Suggestion was made that the various companies might 
profitably club together and provide a small fund for the pur¬ 
pose of paying the expense of further systematic experiment¬ 
ing on coke, and the suggestion met with the hearty approval 
of the Society. 

Dr. Phillips then spoke of a sample of coke which had been 
made in a Thomas oven from washed, disintegrated (Stedman 
disintegrator! slack from the Pratt seam. This coke could 
not be crushed by his testing machine at three thousand 
pounds pressure, while ordinary coke gave way at two thous¬ 
and pounds. 

Some remarks were made by Col. Jackson of his attempt 
recently to introduce the sludge, or fine material from his coal 
washer, into the market for use as foundry facing, but without 
success, as the foundry men here prefer the anthracite sludge; 
though at the North bituminous sludge is much used. 

The discussion then turned upon recovery ovens, and it was 
shown that the by-products were of far greater value than the 
coke itself. The ammonium sulphate, ammonium chloride, 
the ammonia, aniline dyes, paraffine, and all other valuable 
materials now completely wasted by us, are every year pur¬ 
chased abroad and imported into this country. The refuse 
gas from the recovery ovens also should have a great future in 
the heating of houses, etc. 

In this connection, Mr. Ramsay said that at Pratt City, 
where, as shown in his paper before this Society some years 
ago, they utilize the waste gas from the coking ovens in mak¬ 
ing steam, the gas from every three tons of coal coked was 


66 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

equivalent in heating effect to one ton of coal. It appears fur¬ 
ther, that there is not a recovery plant in England, though 
many are in successful operation in Germany. 

It was agreed that this Society continue upon all occasions 
to urge the establishment of recovery plants in this district, 
whereby to put a stop to the enormous waste which the pres¬ 
ent style of beehive ovens entails. 

It was voted that the thanks of the Society be tendered to 
Mr. Boles and to the authorities of the Commercial Club for 
their courtesy in permitting the use of their rooms for this 
meeting. 

Adjournment. Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 67 


GOLD MILLING IN CLAY COUNTY, ALABAMA, 

AT THE IDAHO MINE. 


Joshua Franklin. 


The principal ore body of the Idaho Mine is a hornblende 
schist decomposed in place, which carries free gold. The ore 
is low grade, and contains a great deal of clay ; besides, the 
gold ore is very fine flaky colors, by reason of which the value 
was difficult to save under the old system, with a hand-fed 
stamp mill, apron plate, and riffled tailing flume ; for the 
large amount of clay called for too much water to wash out 
the mortars and clear the plates. Besides, it glazed over the 
sand in the tailing flume with a crust which allowed the little 
globules of quicksilver to roll away. Too much water hinders 
amalgamation and sweeps off such fine flaky colors. Clay 
makes the pulp thick and viscid like oil, and thus retards the 
precipitation of the finer gold particles. Doubtless it also 
impedes amalgamation by fouling the bright surfaces of the 
metals. But it does the most mischief by making the ore bank 
in the mortar with the least over-feeding, and that is very dif¬ 
ficult to avoid, as the ore is not always hard enough to hold 
the stamps off the dies. Another trouble is, that it fills 
the interstices of the broken ore in the batteries as mortar 
fills between the rocks of a stone wall; in consequence of 
which, when quicksilver is fed in the mortar, instead of sink¬ 
ing through crushed ore, as would happen if it were quartz, it 
rolls into the hollows like ducks’ nests, which form under each 
stamp when the ore is at all banked, from whence it is quickly 
thrown out by the falling stamps before it has had time to do 
its work. 

To obviate these evils, a five-foot Huntington Mill and 
shaking coppers were added to the plant, also a self-feeder to 




63 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

one of the five-stamp batteries. These were supplemented by 
broad blanket sluices and amalgam traps. The ore that will 
not pass through the one-inch spaces of a grizzly is fed into 
a 7 by 9 Dodge Crusher, which prepares it for the stamp mill. 
The Huntington mill, unlike the stamp mill, saves most of the 
value in the battery, and instead of crushing the ore on top of 
the die like a stamp mill, it grinds it between a ring die,which 
surrounds the inside of the mill, and a series of heavy rollers 
which press outward against it by centrifugal force as they fly 
around 70 times per minute. These rollers are suspended one 
inch above the mill bottom, and when quicksivlver is fed into 
it or colors of gold are disengaged, they fall to the bottom, 
where they are agitated but not thrown out by the scrapers 
which move around with the rollers. Thus the two metals 
are brought in contact in a most effectual manner. In conse¬ 
quence, three times as much value remains safely within the 
mill as is found in the mortar of a stamp battery. Hence, the 
great superiority of the Huntington mill as an amalgamator. 
It is also a very efficient crusher of soft ore. Its great screen¬ 
ing area—three times that of a stamp mill—gives is a fine dis¬ 
charge, hence it does not require so much water to the ton of 
ore. And I feel confident that the Huntington mill, together 
with the shaking copper supplemented by broad blanket 
sluices, will entirely revolutionize gold saving in this class of 
ores, which Dr. Becker calls “saprolites. ” 

The shaking copper is nothing more than a regular plate of 
.sheet copper electro-plated, which vibrates one inch from side 
to side 200 times per minute. This is in imitation of the move¬ 
ment given a gold pan or sieve by hand, thereby causing the 
heavier materials, such as gold or mercury, to sink more 
quickly in the moving pulp until they come in contact with the 
amalgamated surface of the plate. This simple invention is, I 
find, a great boon. Its value is hard to over-estimate in treat¬ 
ing our clay ores practically ; neither gold nor amalgam pass 
it. But it will not stop quicksilver altogether—though in this 
respect it is greatly superior to the stationary apron plate, 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 69 

which required three times as much water and three times as 
much fall to keep this clay from clogging the plates. I have 
a set of stationary plates below the shaking coppers, and, al¬ 
though they are barred with riffles, they catch nothing except 
when the shaking coppers chance to be out of order. But I 
have blanket sluices below these plates, which are tested every 
hour at least, and they catch a good deal of runaway quick¬ 
silver. The “blanketings”are returned to the hopper of the 
self-feeder of the Huntington mill. There are amalgam traps 
at the end of the tailing flume, which are stirred when the 
blankets are washed. The object of this is, to break the crust 

which clay forms over the sand in them, which would enable 
the little globules of quicksilver to roll away and be lost. 

As our ore is low grade, all is planned with a view to mill¬ 
ing a large amount of ore at as small a cost as possible. To 
that end, the ore body is connected with the mill by a small 
single-track railway 180 yards long. There is a switch and 
■double track at the ore body, and two carts of the scoop pat¬ 
tern are in use, so that while one is being filled the other runs 
by gravity to the mill, only receiving a push to start. It is 
pushed back by hand. The time occupied by the round trip 
is less than five minutes. Each cart contains one-third of a 
ton of ore, which is dumped on a ten-foot grizzly at a point 
24 feet higher than the mills. The grizzly is set at an angle 
of 40 degrees, and the spaces between the bars is one inch 
wide. The fine and most decomposed ore falls through the 
grizzly into a bin capable of holding 70 tons, opposite the 
chute which supplies the Huntington mill. The bottom of the 
ore bin is set at an angle of 45 degrees, so that the ore slides 
down into the hoppers of the self-feeders of the mills. The 
larger lumps of ore roll off the grizzly on the floor above the 
bins, and are fed by hand into a 7 by 9 Dodge crusher. This is 
the only case in which ore is handled a second time during 
treatment, all else being automatic. I intend to put in mova¬ 
ble lines of strong plank by the sides of the ore body in the 
mine, into which the ore can fall as it is shot down. From 


70 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIRNTIFIC SOCIETY. 

thence it can slide as required into the ore carts and thus save 
further expenses. I can save shoveling on two-thirds of our 
ore and waste in that way, but not until the mine is opened 
wider than it is at present. The crushed ore falls into the ore 
bins at a point opposite the stamp mill, hence it receives hard 
ore mostly while the Huntington receives the softer parts. The 
self-feeder of this mill is driven by a belt, and the amount of 
ore fed is measured in regardless of the capacity of the mill ; 
but the feeder of the stamp mill acts automatically, the amount 
fed being regulated by the middle stamp, which is so arranged 
that when the stamp nearly touches the die, a little ore is 
pushed into the mortal. 

At present I am using one-millimeter slot screens on the 
Huntington mill and two-millimeter round punched screens on 
the stamp mill, which latter does about ten tons per twenty- 
four hours, while the Huntington crushes twenty tons in the 
same time. Yet the latter will require only just the same 
amount of water as the former, that is, within the mill. It is 
supplied with water by three pipes—one 24 -inch at each side 
to clear the outside gutters and one ^ inoh pipe in the middle, 
which delivers into the mill. The stamp battery receives wa¬ 
ter through the same .sized pipe, with the same head. There 
are eight feet from the supply tank to point of delivery. The 
pulp from both mills passes directly over shaking coppers, 
thence over stationary coppers, which are barred with riffles. 
These are put only as a precaution in case anything should go 
wrong with the first plates. Next below these are blanket 
sluices, which are eight feet wide at the Huntington mill and 
four feet wide at the stamp mill. From those, the tailings 
drop into a flume, at the outer end of which are placed mercu- 
ry traps, which save such quicksilver as chances to pass the 
blanket sluices. 

At present I am troubled for water, as the springs in the 
gulch are very low and are (in the absence of rain) not suffi¬ 
cient to supply our pond from which the water is pumped to 
supply the mills. This can easily be prevented in future, and 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


71 


I expect, when I have sufficient water, to add to the plant a 
hydraulic sizer or concentrator. 

I have had as assistants only green hands taken from the 
cotton fields, and as far as possible everything is planned so, I 
have to depend as little as possible on their skill and watchful¬ 
ness. For that reason I arranged the water pipes in the way 
spoken of. For it is a cardinal principle of amalgamation and 
gold saving on plates that not one drop of water more than is 
necessary should be used, as it hinders the union of gold and 
mercury, and helps the grit of the pulp to scour off the amal¬ 
gam adhering to the plates, and having found the minimum 
quantity of water necessary, I can have it by opening the 
globe valve in full, and the right amount of water is measured 
exactly without depending on the judgment of the mill man. 
Quicksilver is fed into the batteries every few hours, in exact 
measure, giving three times as much by weight as the ore 
yields in gold. This has to be checked and corrected by the 
condition of the plates. Thus, if we find the amalgam so hard 
that it cannot be moved by the finger, more quicksilver is 
needed ; and when it is soft and thin the supply of quicksilver 
is cut off. In the former case, there is loss by gold passing 
over unamalgamated ; and in the latter case the amalgam is 
liable to be scoured off. And here is a case requiring perpet¬ 
ual vigilance and skill, which green hands do not usually dis¬ 
play. But we are pioneers in the business, and must have 
patience. 

[Note —Mr. Brewer, who had charge of this mill for a 
month during the past summer, states that the entire cost of 
mining and milling this ore is a trifle over 50 cents per ton. 

—H.A.S.] 


72 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


THE MANGANESE ORES OF GEORGIA. 


AN INDUSTRY THAT HAS BEEN IN OPERATION FOR OVER HALF 

A CENTURY. 


William M. Brewer. 


The mining and shipping of manganese ores from Georgia 
dates back nearly fifty years. The United States geological 
survey, in the statistical volumes published by the division of 
mineral resources, David T. Day, chief, gives the earliest pro¬ 
ductions as in 1866, and the quantity for that year 550 long 
tons. The total productions of the State from that time to 
January, 1896, is given as 66,318 tons of 2,240 pounds each. 

Georgia occupies the proud distinction of being the second 
largest producer of manganese ore in the United States—Vir¬ 
ginia occupying first place, producing between 1880 and 1890, 
inclusive, 158,312 tons. 

The deposits of ore which have been producing this tonnage 
from Georgia occur principally in the counties of Bartow and 
Floyd, and are known to the world as the Cartersville and 
Cave Springs districts, the former being in Bartow county and 
the latter in Floyd. The ore has also been found in Catoosa 
county, but although an extensive plant was erected in that 
county at Tunnel Hill, some years since, for washing and jig¬ 
ging, yet it has never been put in operation. 

These deposits are usually found associated with the Knox 
Dolomite series of the Lower Silurian period, and occupying 
positions on ridges, one chain of which extends northerly from 
the vicinity of Cave Spring tow r ard the Etow 7 ah river ; another 
extends northerly from the Etowah river and near the boun¬ 
dary line dividing Bartow 7 and Floyd counties ; another, known 
as the Tunnel Hill district', on the eastern border of Catoosa 





ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


73 


county, and the Cartersville district, the deposits belonging to 
which occupy positions on ridges which are situated on the 
north side of the Etowah river, northeasterly from Cartersville. 

In this last named district the deposits occur in the Cam¬ 
brian formation, and are really the most important and exten¬ 
sive in the State. It is a noticeable fact that all the bodies of 
manganese ore which have any commercial value, either past 
or present, are situated near the southeastern border of Paleo¬ 
zoic formation and usually in that area, although sometimes 
we find them in the semi-crystalline in close proximity to the 
line of contact between the slates and shales or slates and 
dolomite. 

Dr. Spencer, in his report on the Paleozoic group of Geor¬ 
gia, refers to the occurrences of manganese as occupying belts 
and extending for considerable distances longitudinally. Such 
a statement may be considered as correct if theoretical condi¬ 
tions are considered. But whenever we take up the subject on 
a commercial basis, to discuss, not the theoretical conditions, 
but the practical and economic, we find that the belt theory 
will not hold water, because the ore occurs in pockets in a 
similar manner as brown iron ore. At least, I formed this 
opinion from personal observation of the manganese producing 
sections, and was entirely unable to discover any evidences 
connecting one deposit with another. 

In 1895, while collecting the mineral exhibit for the State of 
Georgia to be displayed at the Atlanta Exposition, I visited all 
the bodies of manganese ore in the State, and obtained speci¬ 
mens therefrom. I then formed the opinion that, although 
near Tunnel Hill such an expensive plant had been erected 
and a vast amount of work performed, yet that the ore taken 
should more rightfully be classed as maganiferous iron ore than 
as manganese. 

As all the openings were closed at the time of my visit, and 
the washing plant had never been put in operation, I could 
only form my opinion from the ore I found in the dumps near 
the mouths of the shafts, and from the surface indications, 


74 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL, AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

consequently I may have formed an erroneous idea of the prop¬ 
erty, which an examination into the openings would have cor¬ 
rected. 

THE WOODLANDS OR BARNSLEY DISTRICT, 

which is very fully described by Dr. Spencer, in his report, 
and is situated near the border of Bartow and Floyd counties 
on the north side of the Etowah river, was not in any condi¬ 
tion for a critical examination at the time of my visit, and, in 
fact, I found no evidence except surface indications, from the 
deep red color of the soil, and finding nodules of manganese 
ore and bauxite. However, a systematic exploration of the 
district might result in revealing the occurrence of deposits of 
ore possessing a commercial value. So far as I could learn, 
such had never been undertaken by any one, therefore the fu¬ 
ture prospects of the Woodlands as a producer of manganese 
is entirely problematical. The districts which have produced 
by far the greatest quantity of manganese ore in Georgia are 
the Cartersville and Cave Spring. As I have already stated, 
Dr. Spencer describes the occurrences in the Cartersville dis¬ 
trict as belonging to the metamorphic formation, but when I 
visited this district in 1865, I found that the deposits which 
had been mined and classed as producers were situated in close 
proximity to the brown iron ore banks on the north side of the 
Etowah river, and the Knox Dolomite series of the Lower Silu¬ 
rian. Beds of ochre also occur in association with the manga¬ 
nese ores, which have evidently been formed by the decompo¬ 
sition of the ores, and several of these beds have been produc¬ 
ers of ochre on a commercial scale for some years past, the 
ochre having been manufactured into paint at works located at 
Cartersville and Emerson. 

The Etowah Iron Company, which purchased the property 
originally owned by Major Cooper in the fifties, and on which 
was located one of the primitive stone stack iron furnaces, 
erected in 1890 a very extensive washer plant for preparing 
manganese ore for market. It is completely equipped with 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


75 


“jigs,” revolving screens, picking tables, etc., and has a ca¬ 
pacity sufficient to ship about 100 tons washed ore per day. 
Although this company purchased the Cooper property with 
the expressed purpose of mining manganese, yet, for some in¬ 
explicable reason, a railroad was built from the washer to some 
deposits of manganese ore held under lease and located six 
miles from the plant, instead of opening deposits which oc¬ 
curred on the company’s own property. This washer plant 
was operated but a short time, when the company went into 
the hands of a receiver, and still occupies that unenviable po¬ 
sition. 

There have been some very fine specimens of crystallized 
manganese ores taken from time to time on this property—some¬ 
times large boulders weighing from 300 to 1200 pounds have 
been found on the surface in the vicinity of the deposits of the 
mineral. 

During the years this property was in the hands of the 
Coopers, there does not appear to have been any attention giv¬ 
en to manganese, except as it occurred as manganiferous brown 
iron ore : and since the war, when Sherman’s army destroyed 
the furnace and the federal government confiscated the prop¬ 
erty because of its being one of the chief sources of supply of 
iron to the Confederate government, no attempt has been made 
to utilize the brown iron ore. Nor, indeed, have active opera¬ 
tions of any extent been carried on, except the work of erect¬ 
ing the washer plant and building the railroad to leased man¬ 
ganese mines. 

It is impossible for any one to express an opinion as to the 
value of this property for manganese, because but very little 
work has been done in either locating or-developing the depos¬ 
its. Farther to the north, though, in the district tributary to 
the railroad of the Etowah Company, we find the mines which 
have produced the large proportion of the ore which has been 
mined. The mining has been on the plan of gophering and 
taking a few tons from a hole and moving to another. Not 
always because the first was exhausted, but because further 


76 ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

work would necessitate timbering and draining, which the 
miners, who worked on a royalty, were not disposed to do, for 
the reason that it would be dead work, and it were easier to 
open another deposit at the surface and scoop the ore out of it. 

In consequence of the popularity of such work, the visitor 
cannot to-day form any estimate of the value of the properties, 
unless he has a vast quantity of work done, such as cleaning 
old pits, unwatering the deeper shafts, and, in fact, opening- 
up the property thoroughly and systematically. 

Other deposits of manganese ore in the Cartersville district, 
from which shipments have been made during the past two or 
three years, are located to the northeast of the town, about 
four or five miles distant. 

While the shipments from these mines have aggregated sev¬ 
eral thousands of tons, yet the operations have been on a lim¬ 
ited scale. 

THE SYSTEM OF WORKING MINES 

has been usually by lease and payment of royalty by miners 
to the owners of the properties. The ore has been prepared 
for market by screening instead of washing. The openings 
are usually quite shallow, and work of mining is carried on at 
as low a cost as possible. In fact, at the time of my visit in 
1895 to these mines, I noticed that apparently it was proving 
more profitable to mine on a limited scale than to keep the ex¬ 
tensive plants, which had been erected for preparing the ore, 
in operation. All the manganese mined is hauled in wagons 
to Cartersville, and there sold to brokers, who ship it to the 
eastern market. The bulk of the product is shipped to the 
carriage works, where it is sold on the unit, after being ana¬ 
lysed by that company’s chemists. 

The average analysis shows a content of about 44 per cent, 
manganese, and the profit to the shipper after payment of 
freight must be about two dollars per ton. The royalty charg¬ 
ed by the mine owners is generally one dollar per ton, and 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


77 


the price paid by brokers in Cartersville about four dollars per 
ton for screened ore, regardless of analysis. 

It is impossible to form any estimate of the quantity of man¬ 
ganese in this district, because the deposits are all pockets, and 
as mining is carried on from hand to mouth, without any ap¬ 
parent desire on the part of the miners to perform any more 
dead work than is absolutely requisite to reach the ore, conse¬ 
quently nothing can be determined regarding the quantity un¬ 
til a pocket has been exhausted, when the miners search for 
another, treat it in the same way, and leave the openings to 
cave in or fill up with debris. 

In the Cave Springs district, no active operations have been 
carried on since 1893, when Major Cooper, of Atlanta, had 
quite a large force of men engaged in mining and washing the 
manganese, which was hauled about three miles to the rail¬ 
road and shipped to Pennsylvania. Several years ago, an at¬ 
tempt was made to establish an export trade from this district, 
and for several months shipments were made to Liverpool, but 
report says the attempt was abandoned because of lack of cap¬ 
ital on the part of the operators. The returns were necessarily 
slow in reaching the point of shipment, and, of course, lack of 
sufficient capital to carry 011 such an enterprise was ample rea¬ 
son for its abandonment. 

Although the number of deposits occurring in this district 
is quite large, yet it is impossible to-day to form any estimate 
of the quantity of manganese in such, because the same meth¬ 
ods of mining which prevail in the Cartersville district were 
followed in the Cave Spring. Consequently, considerable work 
of a prospecting nature would have to be done before any ma¬ 
terial facts relative to the present value of the deposits could 
be ascertained. 

The grade of the ore from Cave Springs has always been re¬ 
ported as equal to that from Cartersville. 

Whether the manganese deposits of Georgia are sufficiently 
extensive so far as quantity of unmined ore is concerned to 


yS ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 

warrant mining operations on any large scale, is entirely prob¬ 
lematical. The industry as carried on at present is profitable 
to those engaged, because the mine owners receive their roy¬ 
alties, the miners are able to earn living wages for their work, 
and the shippers, by purchasing as they do, are enabled to ship 
at a profit. The demand, though, has been limited in the past, 
but has been sufficiently great to consume all that has been 
mined in Georgia, whether it would have been equal to the 
supply, had mining been on a more extensive scale, the ship¬ 
pers only can say. 

THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY 

should be bright, especially if steel is manufactured in Alaba¬ 
ma, and in any event it would appear advisable for the owners 
of manganese properties to investigate and exploit such more 
thoroughly and systematically than has been done in order to 
determine the capacity of the unmined supply. In Alabama, 
up to the present time, only a few deposits of manganese have 
been discovered. These are confined chiefly to Cherokee 
county, and have never been producers on a commercial scale. 
A few sample cars were shipped from Pleasant Gap station, on 
the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia division of the 
Southern Railroad. This was mined in the vicinity of Rock 
Run, in Cherokee county. 

There are surface indications of the occurrence of deposits in 
sections of the same county, in close proximity to the brown 
iron ore deposits ; but little prospecting, though, has been 
done in recent years, and consequently the supply of manga¬ 
nese ore in the State is an unknown quantity, although in 
many sections the brown iron ore is manganiferous to a very 
appreciable extent. Especially so is this the case on the prop¬ 
erty of the Clifton Iron Company, in Talladega county, where 
percentage in content of manganese in the brown ore was so 
large as seriously to interfere with the manufacture of car 
wheel pig iron in the charcoal furnaces. 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


Alabama Industrial 

AND 

Scientific Society. 


Vol. VII. Part I. 


1897. 



























y 


nw> ^ 


- “T 







PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Volume VII. Part I. 
1897. 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE: 

UNIVERSITY, 

ALABAMA. 


ATLANTA. GA.: 
The “ Dixie ” Co. 
1897. 






OFFICERS, 


189y. 


PRESIDENT. 

Truman H. Aldrich,. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 


James Bowron, .... 
E. A. Uehling, .... 
Joseph Squire, .... 
James H. Fitts, .... 
James A. Montgomery, 
J. W. Minor,. 


TREASURER. 


Henry McCauley, 


SECRETARY. 


Birmingham, Ala. 

Birmingham, Ala. 
Newark, N. J. 
Helena, Ala. 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Thomas, Ala. 


University, Ala 


Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala. 












TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


proceedings of Annual Meeting ,. p. 

Retiring President's Address, . 

Copper Mining in Alabama —Wm. M. Brewer,. 

Vitrified Brick: Their Manufacture and Advantages as a 
raving Material —J. W. Sibley,. 

Report of the Secretary, . 

Report of the Treasurer, . . 













REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 


-OF THE- 

ANNUAL MEETING 

-OF THE- 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 

Held in the Booms of the Commercial Club , Birmingham, 

Alabama , Mag 18, 1897. 


The Industrial and Scientific Society was called to order at 
4:30 p.m. by the President, F. M. Jackson, in the halls of the 
Commercial Club of Birmingham. There were present, Messrs. 
Aldrich, Geohegan, Manly, Brewer, Smith, DuBose, Gibson, 
VanKirk, Montgomery, Shook, Bamsay; representatives of 
the press, and others. 

The Secretary stated that he had had the minutes of the 
previous meeting published in pamphlet form and did not 
think it necessary to read them. 

Mr. Manly and Mr. Geohegan were appointed as a commit¬ 
tee to look over the Treasurer’s books. 

Mr. W. M. Brewer, Chairman of the Committee on Statis¬ 
tics, reported that they could not get any financial assistance 
from the technical journals in the collection of statistics, but 
the producers themselves were furnishing the statistics and he 
was able to report 75 per cent, of the product for January, 90 
per cent, for February, 90 per cent, for March, and for April 
nearly all of the returns were in when he left home to attend 
this meeting, and he thought about 95 per cent, of the total 
had been made, and he stated that he had also received some 






6 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

statistics for the other months since the first returns were 
made and he believed it would amount to a total of 95 per 
cent, for the four months. The producers were sending in 
conservative reports. The Alabama producers were not doing 
like the producers in the other States, sending in estimates to 
make a good showing. There are seventy-nine producers in 
the State, including pig iron, iron ore, limestone, building 
stone, coke, bauxite and gold. 

Report of Mr. Brewer was adopted and the committee in¬ 
structed to keep up their work. 

Report of council was called for, but Dr. Smith stated that 
the council had had no meeting and they would have to pass 
that. 

Mr. J. W. Sibley was proposed for membership and elected. 

Mr. Brewer made a motion to amend the Constitution so as 
to admit members from other States. 

Mr. J. A. Montgomery stated that the Society already had 
that power, whereupon Mr. Brewer withdrew his motion and 
gave notice that at the next meeting he would present the 
names of several gentlemen from other States interested, for 
membership. 

Mr. Geohegan was next called on for a talk. He said : In 
arriving at the figures which I will submit to you I wrote 
to parties in New York and Chicago for prices on castings and 
found that it cost $38.35 per ton for castings in the North, 
while in the South the castings could be made, with favorable 
appliances and a modern equipped shop, for $18 or $20 per ton. 
The place where we run up against trouble is in freight rates. 
From Cincinnati to New Orleans, the freight, by car load, on 
castings, amounts to 29 cents per hundred, while from Bir¬ 
mingham to New Orleans it is 26 cents, a difference of only 
three cents. Finished machinery from New York, in car lots, 
is only 49 cents per hundred. When the railroads come to our 
help we can certainly get into the market as well as any place 
in the North or anywhere else. 

Mr. Aldrich—For a number of years I was interested in a 
foundry in this section, and foundry castings are made at a 
cost of from 85 to 87 cents per hundred pounds, which would 
be about $17 per ton actual cost, and that was pretty expensive. 
In the North it costs from $1.46 to $1.96 per hundred. These 
are cold facts; but in discussing this subject there is consider- 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 




able misconception—there is something besides first cost. The 
people cannot be induced to come South and invest in ma¬ 
chinery, because age and reputation of the establishment have 
something to do with it as well as first cost. A foundry, new 
and not well known, although able to do the work cheaper, 
cannot get the work to do. I know a concern in Birmingham 
that built some engines for some home industries and had to 
leave their names off of them because the people wouldn’t 
have anything built south of the Ohio river. The large pro¬ 
ducers here would rather go to New York or Cincinnati than 
have the things made here, though it could be as well done 
here as elsewhere. Dr. Smith will see some of the engines of 
which I have spoken in his rounds. I know of some people 
who think they come from north of the Ohio river. 

Mr. Jackson said that was true in a number of other cases, 
and called attention to the trouble experienced in introducing 
Alabama coal into the Louisiana market. 

Mr. Brewer next read a paper on copper mining in Alabama, 
which is printed in full—page 13. 

Dr. Smith then made a short talk on the desert lands of 
Texas. He showed some pictures taken of the country and 
gave an analysis of the sulphur dug up in some places there. 
This was all west of the Pacas river. 

Mr. Paschal Shook was then asked for a statement in regard 
to the Birmingham Steel Mill. Mr. Shook said: They are 
building two basic open-hearth, forty ton to a heat, mills, 
which would be finished in the next two months. They wanted 
to get started by July, but I hardly think they will get ready 
by that time. The furnace is stationary, and two heats every 
twenty-four hours will be made. They will make a soft or 
mild steel to be used in plates mostly and will be used in the 
plate mills of the rolling departments. It is thought they will 
make enough steel to supply all the rolling mills here. The 
Birmingham Bolling Mill Co. are now buying their billets from 
Pittsburg. 

Treasurer reported $87 in the treasury at present. His report 
was adopted. 

Secretary reported that one member had died since the last 
meeting, Mr. Walter Crafts, of Columbus, Ohio. Printed pro¬ 
ceedings of the minutes had been distributed freely. The 
library of the Society was growing, and some excellent jour¬ 
nals had been added lately. Adopted. 


8 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


Mr. W. M. Brewer said : There is going to be held in Omaha 
next year a Trans-Continental Exposition and I wish to intro¬ 
duce the following resolution: 

Resolved, That it is the view of this Society that, in consid¬ 
eration of the Trans-Continental Exposition at Omaha, a com¬ 
mittee be appointed to confer with the Governor, Commis¬ 
sioner of Agriculture, and State Geologist to provide for a 
representative mineral display at Omaha. 

The above resolution was adopted and Messrs. T. H. Aldrich 
and W. M. Brewer were appointed as a committee to confer 
with the Governor, Commissioner of Agriculture and State 
Geologist. 

Mr. Brewer said: It seems to me that Alabama fell down 
at the Atlanta Exposition, and I have been told that she has 
put in a very short appearance at Nashville. Alabama can 
show that she is the peer of any State in the way of mineral, 
and I think this Society ought to take some action to have an 
exhibit at Omaha. Alabama had some excellent opportunities 
at the Atlanta and Nashville expositions, but at neither place 
is the display what the State is able to make to be seen. 

Dr. Smith : The trouble heretofore has been that there has 
been no money with which to make a display, except a small 
amount provided by Commissioner of Agriculture. 

Mr. Jackson: I think we ought to, in some way, give our 
Secretary leave to spend more money and let the public know 
what we are doing. He can employ some one to help him, 
and at the same time it would be advantageous. 

Mr. Smith : I remember some years ago I proposed this idea, 
that Birmingham was the natural headquarters for this So¬ 
ciety, and we would be much better off if the Secretary and 
Treasurer had their headquarters here in Birmingham. I 
think it would be an advantage to the Society. 

On motion of Mr. Aldrich the Secretary was allowed to spend 
$75 per year, as a maximum, for the purpose of sending out 
the proceedings of the meetings and other data of the Society. 
The above was adopted. 

Mr. J. W. Sibley next read a paper on vitrified brick. Printed 
in full—page 17. 

The next was the address of the retiring President; also 
printed in full—page 11. 

Election of officers. Candidates for President were T. H 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


9 


Aldrich and George B. McCormack. For Vice-Presidents, J. 
W. Minor, J. A. Montgomeiy, W. M. Brewer, and J. M. 
Garvin. 

T. H. Aldrich was elected President, and J. W. Minor and 
J. A. Montgomery, Vice-Presidents. 

Mr. Aldrich was then introduced and thanked the Society for 
the honor conferred upon him, and said that he was in thorough 
accord with the Society. He said further as follows: It might 
be of interest to know something of the gold mining district 
in the eastern part of the State. I represent prospectors work¬ 
ing around the Hog Mountain mines, about six miles from 
Alexander City, and the chances of finding a paying vein are 
very good. I think Birmingham ought to pay some atten¬ 
tion to the gold mining going on in the eastern part of the 
State, as a great deal of machinery and the necessaries of life 
are going there and Birmingham makes these things. There 
is one ore mine in operation with a ten-stamp mill on Hillabee 
creek, they have a good mill, a large number of veins, and 
from what I know of their affairs they are getting considerable 
output. The Talladega belt is being looked into by some capi¬ 
talists, and there is a great amount of ore in that district that 
will pay well. We have immense quantities of ore in this 
district that would pay well. There is also a belt of copper ore 
running through that district which is being examined into to 
some extent. Bailroad rates are not disturbing the prospectors, 
as a car load of gold means many millions of dollars. It will 
not be long before gold mining will be pursued on an extensive 
scale in Alabama. I met a gentleman the other day in Alex¬ 
ander City who was searching for gems. I know that beryl 
has been found, and I am pleased to say that in Alabama gems 
are being searched for. That country is att racting a great deal 
of attention, and I think Birmingham ought to pay some 
attention to it. They claim in Georgia, at the Boyal Ore 
Mines, that they can mine their ore at thirty-five cents. 

Mr. Jackson: I think we ought to impress ourselves before 
we go with the importance of getting new members into the 
Society. 

No further business and the meeting adjourned. 

Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 









































































































I 










Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 11 


ADDRESS OF RETIRING PRESIDENT FRED. M. 

JACKSON. 

It has been an appreciated honor to have presided over the 
deliberations of this Society as its President for the past year. 
The service has been one of pleasure to me, and I could make 
no better wish for the Society than to say that I hope the en¬ 
suing year will be as profitable to the Society as the one now 
closing has been a pleasure to me. That I have been unable to 
do more for the advancement of its fortunes and the increase 
of the usefulness of our organization is to be regretted, but it is 
from no lack of appreciation of the trust reposed in me or 
willingness to prove myself worthy. 

We have not had the encouragement from the members that 
is necessary to the success of the institution. Many of them 
have dropped out from lack of interest and other causes. 
Several have joined during the year and are making good 
members. Earnest co-operation by the members with the 
officers would bring the S .ciety to that plane of usefulness 
originally intended. Former presidents have recommended in 
their annual addresses improvements and plans which, if 
carried out, would make the Society one of great usefulness to 
its members and of general good to the State. We have seen 
many organizations begin with bright prospects only to die 
while it was yet springtime with them. We have passed 
through a time of trial when the sole question with nearly all 
of our people was whether they could stem the tide of general 
depression ; when the personal fortunes of all of them seemed 
trembling in the balance; when most men were absorbed in 
the attempt to live, and when few men could keep burning the 
lamp of public spirit. We ought to congratulate ourselves, 
therefore, that the Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society 
has not perished with so much else of good that went down in 
the wreck. But we have done more than merely come 
through intact. We have not only preserved our organization, 
but have succeeded in adding to our archives much that is 
valuable in the way of information for present and future use, 
and have succeeded, to some extent, at least, in cheering each 
other on to the brighter day that is now breaking. 


12 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

With the consciousness of strength that men feel who have 
waged a successful battle against odds, our Society should take 
on new life and draw to itself more and more of interest and 
secure the active co-operation of a large number of the men 
who make our manufacturing, timber and mining interests 
what they are and what they will be. There is no lack of 
strong and capable men within the area of our operations to 
make the organization one of the strongest forces in the indus¬ 
trial life of the country, and to compel, if possible, a recogni¬ 
tion and standing all over the world. 

Cheered by the better outlook for the future, let us insist, 
individually, that those of our co-workers who ought to join 
with us in vigorous effort shall not hold aloof. I do not be¬ 
lieve in tracing imaginary rainbows across existing clouds. I 
see no signs of the time coming when good fortune is going to 
pour into our laps a stream of prosperity. What has been 
accomplished, especially in North Alabama development, has 
been done by strenuous and increasing effort, but if we have 
done so much against adverse circumstances, and often with 
but poor return in proportion to labor and risk, and have not 
been discouraged, we can surely go forward now with a better 
heart and a surer purpose. The progress of our Geological 
Survey, from point to point, makes good the boast of the people 
as to our great store of natural resources. It only remains now 
for the diligent man, with the help of labor and capital, to 
make our State foremost in the Union in mining and manu¬ 
facturing. There is in Alabama to-day a spirit of activity not 
less than in any State in the Union, and there is certainly no 
section of the country at this time commanding so much atten¬ 
tion and inquiry of men of capital as Alabama. The building 
by the Mobile <fc Ohio railroad of two hundred miles of new 
road is evidence enough. This fact is one of many signs that 
our long night is drawing to a close. Other railroad building 
is contemplated and projected. The problem of commercial 
steel making is about solved; the building of large cotton fac¬ 
tories, the expansion of our iron market, are further potent 
facts that Alabama is looking on the dawn of a brighter day. 
Our Society cannot do better work for itself in the interests of 
men immediately represented than to reach out and seek ways 
and means for promoting a greater and greater interest in 
industrial matters. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 13 


COPPER MINING IN ALABAMA. 

BY WM. M. BREWER. 

Since about 1879, even the most optimistic believers in metal 
mining in the South have been very silent with regard to the 
supposed deposits of copper in Alabama, and but for the fact 
that practical work of re-opening the underground workings 
at the old Woods Copper Mine within the past year, it would 
be generally considered that the man who would call public 
attention to the subject was an impractical enthusiast of the 
first water. Any one who has visited that section of the min¬ 
eral belt which is locally known as the Copper Lead, cannot 
but be impressed with the useless expenditure of money which 
was indulged in several years since by those enthusiastic pros¬ 
pectors for copper ore. The term “copper lead,” is applied by 
the residents to that geological formation which has been 
identified as the schist originating from an eruptive rock, the 
original minerals of which, though, have been so much altered 
that the experts are unable to detect any but secondary min¬ 
erals as its constituents. This formation has been designated by 
Dr. Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist, as Hillabee schist. So 
far as has been determined up to the present time, it is quite a 
misnomer to designate that belt of formation as a copper lead, 
because no copper ore of any quantity has even been discovered 
along this so-called lead, notwithstanding that there are vast 
numbers of old openings which were sunk years back by 
enthusiastic prospectors who believed there were indications of 
copper bearing ore associated with these Hillabee schists. It is 
not my purpose in this paper to discuss these abandoned pros¬ 
pect holes or to attempt to take the optimistic view that Ala¬ 
bama contains a paying copper mine in every township. 

My purpose is to call attention to the conditions which have 
been exposed at the old Dick Woods copper mine in the south¬ 
ern edge of Cleburne county, since it has been uuwatered and 
the old workings thoroughly exploited. A brief review of the 
past history of the property may prove interesting, because it 
demonstrates the difficulty under which operations were carried 
on at these mines during their early development. The line 


14 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

dividing Cleburne and Randolph counties passes through the 
property, leaving the buddings on the mine Rself, in the first 
named and the old furnace and smelter in the last. The dis¬ 
covery was made about 1870 by Dick Woods, who purchased 
the tract of land on which the gossan outcrop occurred, and 
commenced mining and hauling the ore to Carrollton, Ga., 
whence it was shipped to Baltimore for treatment. During 
1874-75-76, I am reliably informed that from 200 to 500 names 
were carried on the pay-rolls, and the string of teams engaged 
in hauling would sometimes extend for nearly a mile along 
the wagon road. The mine was usually called the “Woods 
Copper Mine,” and the postoffice established for the conven¬ 
ience of the camp “Stone Hill,” while the company operating 
the property was designated as the “Copper Hill Mining Co.” 
At about the same time copper ore was discovered on another 
tract of land about a mile northeasterly from Copper Hill, 
which was operated by ex-Gov. Smith, and was known as 
the “Smith Copper Mine.” 

In 1876 the policy of hauling the ore away for shipment was 
abandoned and the companies operating both these mines 
erected furnaces for smelting the ore and for refining the 
matte. The product shipped after this time until operations 
were abandoned, about 1879, was in the shape of ingots of 
refined copper. Of course while the black copper or oxide of 
copper, with occasional sheets of native copper, was being 
mined in the shallow workings, the business was quite profit¬ 
able as long as the policy of shipping the ore in its crude state 
was carried out, even after payment of the excessive freight 
charges for wagon haul and railroad to Baltimore. But when 
the smelting was attempted in the primitive method adopted, 
and with almost inexperienced metallurgists in charge, it was 
found that instead of being a more economical policy it was 
really the opposite. Consequently, when the black copper was 
mined out, and pyrrhotite, iron pyrites and chalco-pyrites or 
copper pyrites took its place as depth was attained in the mine 
workings, instead of being able to conduct the operations 
profitably, as in the earlier days, the companies discovered 
that losses resulted to such an extent that in 1879 the mines 
were shut down and the properties abandoned. I am informed 
that duriug the years the Copper Hill mine was operated the 
old books show that $1,300,000, in round figures, were realized 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


15 


from the sale of ore, matte and ingots of copper. It is claimed 
also that no attempt was made to save any value from the ore 
except the copper, although by assaying it was shown to carry 
also gold and silver. 

From 1879 until the spring of 1896 these properties remained 
idle, the buildings were allowed to go to ruin, and what 
machinery was not moved away fell a prey to rust and weather. 
But during the spring of 1896 some Western men leased the 
Woods mine, organized a new company under the title of 
“The Copper Hill Mining Co.,” and commmenced work by 
unwatering the old mine workings preparatory to resuming 
work, if the ore body proved, on investigation, to be of suffi¬ 
cient extent, and the ore of high enough grade to warrant such 
action. Recently I visited this property and found that the 
new management was doing work of such a character as 
should command the praise of all who are interested in the 
development of our mineral resources. The old workings, 
which extended to a depth of about eighty feet with the dip 
of the ore body, consisted of an incline shaft, drifting and 
stoping from that level to the surface, about twenty feet of 
thickness, and for a distance of eighty feet along the line of 
strike. These workings had been full of water from 1879, and 
consequently the mere work of unwatering had been quite an 
undertaking, especially when it is considered that the present 
management spent its money merely on tradition, and had no 
means of ascertaining anything about the property, except 
from the out-cropping, until the work of pumping out the 
water had been accomplished. 

At the time of my visit their work of continuing to sink the 
incline shaft to greater depth was being carried on. A shaft 
house had been erected which was furnished with hoisting 
and pumping machinery of sufficient capacity to carry on the 
work of developing the property to at least a depth of 300 feet. 
The first shaft ou the property had been sunk on the ore body 
with the foot walling of that body for the lower wall of the 
shaft, the upper wall of the shaft being in ore. When the 
new work was commenced the ore body was first cross-cut 
to the hanging wall at the bottom of the shaft on the 80-foot 
level, and sinking was resumed with the hanging wall of the 
vein for the upper wall of the shaft. This policy, the manage¬ 
ment informed me, would be continued until a depth of 200 


16 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


feet had been reached in the mine, when a cross-cut would be 
made back to the foot wall, and an up-raise to the old working. 

No exact determination has yet been made of the unaltered 
country rock which forms the walling of the ore-body. From 
an examination with an ordinary lens it would appear to be 
an eruptive rock, and may be determined to belong to the 
same class as the Hillabee schists. If this should prove to be 
the case then some very interesting geological questions would 
arise with regard to the occurrence of this rock in this locality 
which is not only about five miles in a direct line southeast 
from the main belt of Hillabee schist, but is separated from 
that main belt by the Turkey Heaven Mountain, which rises 
to a height of some 400 feet. This mountain belongs to a dif¬ 
ferent geological formation from the schist, as it is composed 
almost entirely of a graphitic slate which shows every evi¬ 
dence of being of sedimentary origin. A close study of the 
geological structure in this immediate vicinity is intended by 
Dr. Smith, the State Geologist, as part of his field work during 
the coming summer. 

The ore-body as cross cut by the present operators is about 
24 feet in thickness. The richest ore is found next to the hang¬ 
ing wall and foot wall, while the center of the body of some 
ten feet in thickuess is of a much leaner character. The super¬ 
intendent informs me that about ten feet of the ore will aver¬ 
age more than 7 per cent, in copper, besides an appreciable 
value in gold and silver, while the entire body would average 
probably about 3 per cent. Since my visit a quantity of sorted 
ore has been hauled to the Southern railroad at Heflin, a dis¬ 
tance of about twenty miles, and shipped by carload lots to 
the Bahlbach smelter at Newark, N. J., for treatment. 

At the northern extremity of the old underground works I 
noticed a very interesting sight. This was a well-defined anti¬ 
clinal curve showing strata of ore, and country rock alterna¬ 
ting, with the center or core of the arch a solid mass of ore. 
While the thickuess of each stratum at the apex of the curve 
was only a few inches, yet as the strata inclines downwards 
on each side of the core or center, the thickness increased until 
at the floor of the drift the solid ore forming the center of the 
arch had reached a thickness of some feet, and each stratum 
had also increased until the aggregate thickness of the base of 
the anti-clinal was several feet. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


17 


VITRIFIED BRICK-THEIR MANUFACTURE AND AD¬ 
VANTAGES AS A PAVING MATERIAL. 

BY J. W. SIBLEY. 

It would, perhaps, be well to state at the outset, that the 
term “vitrified” is not used here iu its primitive sense—mean¬ 
ing of the nature of glass or glassy, which carries with it the 
idea of brittleness, a characteristic not permissible in a gen¬ 
uinely vitrified brick. By vitrifaction is meant the perfect 
blending of the constituents into a homogeneous mass, and 
thoroughly annealed, so as to obtain the maximum degree of 
hardness and toughness, together with the minimum tendency 
to absorption of water. 

Vitrified bricks have been made from shales, bastard fire 
clays and pipe clays. We shall consider only those made of 
shale, as they have proved the most satisfactory, and our ex¬ 
perience has been mainly along that line. 

Shale, as its name implies, is a hard clay, or rock, that shells 
off into layers or cubes when mined or exposed to the action 
of the elements. It lies in strata from four to seventy-five 
feet in thickness, and usually found above the coal measures. 
Its main components are silica, alumina and iron. The 
alumina fluxes at a lower temperature than the others in 
burning, and consecpiently acts as a binder to unite those very 
hard elements in the brick. The shale is mined after the 
usual manner of a rock quarry, blasted with dynamite, loaded 
into tram-cars and conveyed to the stock or grinding shed. It 
is there fed into heavy crushers, or dry-pans, where it is rap¬ 
idly reduced to powder of such fineness as the nature of the 
case demands. The ground clay is then carried to the top 
story of the factory by means of a cup and chain elevator, 
and passed over a shaking screen where all the coarser parti¬ 
cles are removed and returned to the dry-pan in the form of 
tailings to be reground. The fine clay then falls into a chute 
and is delivered to the pug mill, or tempering box, where the 
proper amount of water is added, and the revolving knives 
cut the mud up and temper same, passing it automatically to 
another chute where it is conveyed to the mouth of the brick 


18 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


machine on the ground floor. Here there are more knives to 
give additional pugging, and then the clay is taken by an 
auger and pressed through the die, emerging in a stream or 
column, which is forced out upon the cutting table, where 
wires, separated at equal distances, cut the column into blocks 
(or gluts, as better known to clay workers). A traveling belt 
conveys the gluts to the repress, where they are dropped into 
moulds and heavy pressure is put upon them, corners are 
rounded and lettering stamped upon them. Another traveling 
belt takes them from the repress and they are placed upon 
wooden pallets upon iron cars and taken to the dry-house, 
where they are cooked or baked by hot air until the moisture 
is removed. Then they are set in patented down-draft kilns, 
and burned and annealed as desired. After having been thor¬ 
oughly burned, they have to be cooled slowly, so as to be tem¬ 
pered to the maximum degree of hardness. The entire process 
from the shale pit to the railroad car occupies some sixteen 
days for a kiln of brick. 

For a long time granite or belgian blocks were considered 
the only successful pavement, and they have had the one 
characteristic of durability to recommend them. But they 
soon become polished and slippery, and after five or six years’ 
traffic the corners become rounded off, and the pavement is as 
rough as cobble stones, as is the case with part of First avenue 
in this city. The noise on granite pavements is perhaps the 
greatest objection. The pavement is uneven, consequently the 
wheels of vehicles passing over same receive constant blows. 
Some astute mathematician has figured it out that in one year 
of travel over granite pavements a buggy will have dropped in 
distance equal to a mile and a quarter. Our brethren of the 
“wheel” are no doubt prepared to feelingly corroborate this 
statement. The blocks being irregular in size, the interstices 
are larger, aud consequently become reservoirs for filth aud 
excrement from horses, a serious objection from a sanitary 
standpoint. 

Asphalt has a beautiful appearance to recommend it, but is 
very slippery and hard upon horses, because of no cushion to 
give it spring or elasticity; in summer very hot, and dust intol¬ 
erable; most costly of all pavements, aud short-lived. 

Macadam is good for country roads, and has cheap first-cost 
to recommend it to some cities, but requires constant repairs; 


Alabama IncIustrial and Scientific Society. 19 


is dusty in dry weather and sloppy in wet. It can be said to 
be good and wear well only when covered by a foot of snow. 

In vitrified brick, the civil engineer finds just what he is 
looking for. The combined silica, alumina and iron give a 
resultant material that is harder than steel. It is the only 
substance that will successfully resist the calks and heels of 
the horse’s shoe—that greatest enemy to all pavements. When 
brick are properly manufactured and thoroughly vitrified, the 
blacksmith will be kept busy sharpening the chisels on the 
calks and heels of the horseshoe. And when in the process of 
time the brick do wear, it will be uniform all over the brick, 
so that the pavement will present a smooth surface even when 
the brick are worn half away. Of course if a poor or improper 
foundation is put under any pavement, it will not stand the 
traffic on account of unevenness. 

Vitrified brick, being non-absorbent and uniform in size, 
when laid, present an absolutely water-tight pavement, which 
is easily cleaned by washing or sweeping, thus affording the 
best sanitary pavement yet discovered. 

Brick paving can be easily repaired, when repairs are neces¬ 
sary, on account of uniformity of size. Brick pavements are 
comparatively noiseless, ancl less slippery than either granite 
or asphalt. They have been in successful use in Holland for 
one hundred years, and in this country, at Charleston, W. 
Va., without any repairs, for twenty-five years; in Columbus, 
O., Galesburg, Ill., Omaha, and other cities, for ten to fifteen 
years, and are now the standard pavement for Chicago, Cin¬ 
cinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, New Orleans, Atlanta (the home 
of granite), and our own Montgomery, Ala. Many other cities 
North and South are adopting vitrified brick for paving their 
streets. 

There are several interesting aud instructive tests for deter¬ 
mining the value of a brick for paving purposes; notably the 
rattler or abrasion test, the compression test, the absorption 
test. 

In the abrasion test the bricks are put in a foundry rattler, 
together with 300 pounds of scrap iron, and revolved for 2,000 
revolutions. They are weighed before and after taking. The 
percentage of loss is said to equal twenty-five years’ wear in 
the street. In such test, Alabama brick lost 10 per cent., granite 
8 per cent.; other brick lost 12 to 15 per cent. 


20 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


In the compression test, Alabama brick stood 265,000 pounds 
before breaking. This is equal to the weight of the heaviest 
locomotive piled in a vertical column on one brick. 

In the absorption test, after immersion for seven days, Ala¬ 
bama brick absorbed 22 per cent, of its weight. The average 
common brick will absorb 10 to 15 per cent. 

Paving brick have burned up a highly tempered drill in 
attempting to bore through them. Jefferson county, in addi¬ 
tion to its vast mineral resources, furnishes the material for 
the manufacture of paving brick that have surpassed all in 
tests. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 21 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, l 
Office of Secretary, l 

University, Ala., Maj’ 18, 1897. j 

Since the last annual meeting there have been no additions 
to our membership, but several members have been dropped 
from our list, and one, Mr. Walter Crafts, has died. We num¬ 
ber still about forty active members. 

During the past year, the Proceedings of the Society have 
been published in two parts aggregating 78 pages. These Pro¬ 
ceedings have been distributed to the members and also to the 
individuals and societies on our exchange list, to the number 
of about 200. An edition of 500 copies was printed at a cost 
of $97.50, the rate being $1.25 a page. 

The usual circulars and notices have been sent out to mem¬ 
bers. 

Additions to the Library: Journal of the Elisha Mitchell 
Society, 1896; Technology Quarterly, 1S96; The Technic, 1896; 
Circulars of Johns Hopkins University, 1896; The McKeesport 
Scientific and Philosophical Society has been added to our 
exchange list and their Proceedings received. 

Eugene A. Smith, 
Secretary. 








































































































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


23 


REPORT OF TREASURER FOR THE YEAR ENDING 

MAY 17, 1897. 


University, Ala., May 17, 1897. 


From cash in Treasury, as per Report of May 12, 1896, . $109 63 
From annual dues,. .118 00 


Total receipts, .$227 63 

DISBURSE MENTS. 

For printing Proceedings, etc., .$113 90 

For postage,. 10 50 

For publishing Seddon resolution,.10 10 

For lithographic work,. 3 28 

For advertising meeting,. 1 00 

For exchange,. 10 


Total disbursements,.$138 88—$138 88 

Balance in treasury,. $ 88 75 

Henry McCalley, 
Treasurer. 


































































































































































M:/* £ S >*?Ff 














' 



i« 

. 




/ 






,, 









Y .V- .-f'-fc J- iL'-t 





PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 

Alabama Industrial 

AND 

Scientific Society. 


Vol. VII. Part II. 





















PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Volume VII. Part II. 
1897. 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE: 

UNIVERSITY, 

ALABAMA. 


ATLANTA, GA.: 

The “Dixie” Company. 

1898. 






OFFICERS. 


1897. 


PRESIDENT. 


Truman H. Aldrich, 


Birmingham, Ala. 


VICE-PRESIDENTS. 


James Bowron,. 

E. A. Uehling, . . . . . 

Joseph Squire,. 

James H. Fitts,. 

James A. Montgomery, . 
J. W. Minor,. 


Birmingham, Ala. 
Newark, N. J. 
Helena, Ala. 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Thomas, Ala. 


TREASURER. 


Henry McCalley, 


University, Ala. 


SECRETARY. 
Eugene A. Smith,. 


University, Ala. 














t 


TABLE OF CONTENTS . 


Proceedings of Winter Meeting ,. p. 29 

The Semet-Solvay Retort Ovens and Their Products —By 

Wm. H. Blauvelt, . 33 

On the Results Reached in Washing Coals for Coking in 

Alabama —By Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, . 47 

Statistics of Mineral Production in Alabama for the Year 

1897—By Wm. M. Brewer, . 59 






































































































REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 


-OF THE- 

WINTER HEETING 

-OF THE- 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 


Held in Birmingham , Alabama , December 21, 1897. 


The meetiug was called to order at 3:30 p.m., on Wednesday, 
December 21, at the Commercial Club rooms, in the city of 
Birmiugham, Alabama, T. H. Aldrich in the chair. 

Present—Erskine Ramsey, P. G. Shook, C. E. Bowron, J. R. 
Harris, John Shannon, David Hancock, J. P. AVilloughby, 
W. M. Brewer, J. C. DuBose, W. G. Oliver, J. A. Rountree, 
Henri Cardozo, M. H. Sherman, E. A. Smith, W. E. Horn, 
Wm. B. Phillips, Chas. Geohegan, representatives of the press 
and others. 

The reading of the minutes of last meeting was dispensed 
with because they were already in print. 

The Committee’s Report on Statistics was made by Mr. 
W. M. Brewer, who gave a short resumb of his success, show¬ 
ing that at the end of the month he would be able to report 
the mineral production of the State within 3 per cent, of the 
total of 6,000,000 tons of coal, and the total production of the 
coke and iron. 

It was moved that the statistics for 1897 be embodied in the 
proceedings. 

The report of the Committee on the Omaha Exposition was 





30 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

made through Mr. Brewer, who gave the result of his corre¬ 
spondence with Governor Johnston. Nothing was accom¬ 
plished by the committee, because there was no fund available 
for the purpose. 

Dr. Phillips moved that the sense of the Society be that it 
is necessary that the State of Alabama should be represented 
at this Exposition by a complete and well arranged exhibit of 
its resources. Dr. Phillips went on to say that the West is 
the region from which the most desirable immigrants come, 
and the necessity was all the greater that this matter be urged 
upon the State. Motion carried. 

The following names were proposed for membership and 
elected: Mr. Sol Haas, J. Asa Rountree, Birmingham; Geo. 
S. Wilkins, University; Mason H. Sherman, Ensley. 

Mr. Shook moved that a committee of three be appointed to 
represent this Society at the River and Harbor Convention in 
Tuscaloosa on the 29th of this month, and the following gen- 
tlemeu were appointed: Jas. Bowron, Jas. H. Fitts, Dr. Wm. B. 

Phillips. To this committee the President of the Society was 
added. 

Dr. Phillips presented to the Society Mr. Henri Cardozo, a 
Commissioner of the French Government to investigate the 
labor conditions in America. Mr. Cardozo made some remarks 
explanatory of his mission, and the aid of the Society was ten¬ 
dered to him in the prosecution of his work. 

The Secretary then made a report upon the condition of the 
Society as to members and finances, and made the suggestion 
that more frequent meetings might be of advantage to the 
Society. Mr. Ramsey proposed that hereafter there be three 
meetings a year, and Mr. Geohegan suggested that a banquet 
at the next meeting might be productive of good to the Society. 
Mr. Aldrich also favored the proposition for the banquet and 
spoke of how expenses could be met without trespassing upon 
the funds of the Society. Dr. Phillips then moved that a din¬ 
ner be held at the next annual meeting of the Society, and that 
the cost of the tickets to the same be not greater than $2.00 
apiece, and he recommended that a committee be appointed to 
take into consideration the whole matter of the banquet, of 
the guests who should be invited, and of the cost of the same. 
On this committee the President appointed Mr. Geohegan, 
Mr. Ramsey and Dr. Phillips. 

The reading of papers being next in order, Mr. Sherman 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 31 


read a paper by Mr. Wra. Blauvelt on “The Semet-Solvay 
Retort Ovens and their Products,” which paper appears in 
full in these proceedings. 

In the discussion of this paper, Dr. Phillips congratulated the 
S iciety upon the fact that these gentlemen have become inter¬ 
ested in the subject of Recovery ovens—a subject upon which 
the Society has been hammering ever since its first meeting. 
Dr. Phillips went on to discuss some differences of opinion 
entertained by prominent metallurgists as to the relative ex¬ 
cellence of the coke made in the old beehive oven, and in re¬ 
tort ovens, and of the iron manufactured with these cokes. In 
this connection he quoted the opinions of Sir Lowthian Bell, 
Mr. Samuelson, Mr. John Fulton, and others. But whether 
the coke made by the two kinds of ovens was essentially 
different or not, or whether or not the quality of the iron was 
affected by the use of these cokes, the saving of by-products 
cannot be overlooked. Many thousands of dollars can be 
saved by the use of Recovery ovens each year that have here¬ 
tofore been thrown away, and he gave instances of the very 
considerable markets for the coal tar, ammonium sulphate, 
gas, etc., and he stated that with increased production the 
prices of these products would inevitably go down, while at 
the same time their application would be increased. The uni¬ 
versal experience is that no company which has tried the re¬ 
tort ovens can be induced to go back to the old beehive ovens. 
In regard to the strength of the coke from the two processes, 
Dr. Phillips further stated that the coke from the beehive 
oven was strong enough for all purposes, and, hence, the 
greater strength of the retort coke cuts no figure. Dr. Phillips 
then spoke of the greater density of the retort coke, but he did 
not think that too dense a coke was desirable ; and in this con¬ 
nection he presented a long list of tests which had been made 
by him upon a great number of cokes made in Alabama dur¬ 
ing the past few years from the coals from different seams 
coked under varying conditions. These tests will be found in 
full in a paper which Dr. Phillips then presented, “ On Results 
Reached in Washing Coals for Coking in Alabama.” This 
paper may, therefore, be read as constituting a part of the dis¬ 
cussion of Mr. Blauvelt’s paper, and is from advance sheets of 
a new edition of “ Iron Makiug in Alabama,” which Dr. 
Phillips is preparing for the Geological Survey. 


32 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


In continuation of this discussion, Mr. Aldrich stated that 
twenty years ago the Eureka Company built a battery of Bel¬ 
gian ovens—about forty in number—at Oxmoor, Alabama, 
and operated them for some time. These ovens were dis¬ 
charged by a steam ram ; they were about six feet high, sixteen 
inches wide and some thirty feet long. The coke was not satis¬ 
factory as it varied in quality directly with the depth of the 
oven, the coke on the top being exceedingly porous and spongy, 
while that at the base was very dense—in fact, some of it came 
out of the oven unburnt. The watering was all done outside, and 
in consequence of the unskilled character of the labor it was 
frequently soaked with water, holding on an average at least 
8 per cent, of moisture, and at times very much more; and at 
the same time the coke did not work well in the furnace. Upon 
the installation of the coke plant, at Pratt mines, these retort 
ovens were abandoned and torn down. It may be well here 
also to put on record the fact that the Eureka Company had a 
large coal washer at the Helena mines, known as the “Stutz ” 
washer (which was really an adaptation of the Rittinger jig to 
coal washing). This washer was operated successfully for 
some years, or until the mines on the “Shortridge” seam were 
worked out and abandoned. 

Dr. Phillips then exhibited to the members some samples of 
the carbon deposited out of the gases in the ovens where blocks 
of dolomite were burned. In the cracks of this dolomite, near 
the top, were found these thin sheets of deposited carbon pos¬ 
sessing highly metallic lustre and somewhat peculiar structure. 

Mr. Aldrich, in the course of some remarks upon the min¬ 
ing of gold in the eastern part of the State, spoke of the vast 
quantity of low grade ore containing only seventy cents to one 
dollar per ton of gold, but quite soft and easily worked. He 
made the suggestion that mining engineers of this district 
might find a promising field for experiments in concentration 
by washing on a large scale of these low grade ores, in order 
that the necessity might be avoided of running so much dead 
matter through the mill. 

There being no further business the Society adjourned to 
meet again some time in February. 

Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 33 


The Semet-Solvay Coke Oven 
and its Products.* 


By William H. Blauvelt. 


Gentlemen of the Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society: 

The plant of by-product retort ovens, which is being erected 
at Ensley, is only the sixth installation of by-product ovens in 
this country. In Continental Europe such ovens have become 
quite an old story, and, in fact, practically no beehives are 
built there, except in small or isolated plants. So few years 
have passed since by-product ovens were first introduced in 
America, that they are still a novelty to very many, even of 
those who are well acquainted with the use of coke and its 
manufacture in the old-fashioned way. It has, therefore, been 
suggested that a brief description of the plant at Ensley, and 
a comparison of these new ovens and their products with the 
old beehive type, will be of interest to your Society. 

The plant of ovens now under construction at Ensley will 
consist of 120 retort ovens, with their accompanying apparatus 
for collecting the by-products from the distillation of the coal. 
It is probably unnecessary to say that retort ovens are essen¬ 
tially different in shape from the beehive oven, the coking 
chamber being usually about 30 feet long and 6 feet high, and 
varying in width from 15 inches to 30 inches or more, depend¬ 
ing upon the coal to be coked, and the type of oven. The coal 
is charged through three or more holes in the top, in the same 
manner as in a beehive oven, except that the oven is filled 

-Portions of this paper are taken from an article by the writer, which was 
published in “The Mineral Industry” Vol. IV., 1896, which is a copyrighted 
work, and such extracts are here used by the special permission of the Scien¬ 
tific Publishing Company, the proprietors of “ The Mineral Industry.” 



34 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

with coal to within about eight inches of the top. The coal is 
heated and the volatile matter driven off by means of the 
heat generated by the combustion of gas in the flues or pas¬ 
sages in the side walls of the ovens. A fourth opening in the 
roof of the oven is connected with a pipe or main, which car¬ 
ries the gas, as it comes off from the coal, to the by-product 
apparatus. 

The Ensley ovens are of the Semet-Solvay design. This 
oven is the principal exponent of what is known as the hori¬ 
zontal flue type, in contradistinction to the vertical flue type, 
the principal representative of which is the Otto Hoffman 
oven. In the vertical flue type the gas is burned in two hori¬ 
zontal flues, or combustion chambers, at each side of the ovens 
at the bottom, which extend half way toward the other end. 
The products of combustion ascend through some sixteen 
small vertical flues, which reach to the top of the oven, where 
they deliver into another horizontal flue, which reaches the 
whole length. This connects with a similar set of small flues, 
which deliver the hot gases into a horizontal flue, or combus¬ 
tion chamber at the bottom, like the first, and thence to a 
regenerator of the familiar Siemens type. Every hour the 
travel of the gases is reversed, hot air being supplied for the 
combustion of the gas from the regenerators, as in an ordinary 
Siemens furnace. 

In the horizontal flue ovens there are three horizontal flues, 
one above another, on each side of each oven, extending the 
full length of the oven, and connected with each other at the 
ends, so as to form a continuous flue for the gas and flame. 
The travel of the gases is from above downward; that is, 
through the top flue, then backward through the second, etc., 
the bottom flues being connected with a passage to the chim¬ 
ney. A small amount of gas is introduced at the ends of the 
top and second flue, along with a sufficient amount of air for 
its combustion. This air is preheated by a simple arrange¬ 
ment in the bottom of the ovens, and the combustion goes 
forward continuously without any attention, often for weeks 
at a time, it being only necessary to see that the proportions 
of gas and air remain the same, and are of sufficient quantity 
to keep up the necessary heat in the ovens. The gases after 
leaving the ovens are carried under boilers, and supply steam 
for operating the machinery of the plant. These gases go to 



Alabama Industrial and Scientific Societal 35 


the stack at a temperature of not muck over 200° C., so that 
from the point of view of beat economics these ovens are very 
efficient. 

The Semet-Solvay ovens are usually about 16 inches wide, 
and contain about 4J tons of coal per charge. This charge is 
coked in about twenty-four hours, and when the gases are all 
driven off, the doors at each end of the ovens are opened, and 
the whole charge of coke is pushed out with a steam pusher, 
or ram, in a minute or two. As soon as the ram has been 
withdrawn and the doors are closed, the oven is ready for 
another charge, and practically no heat has been lost, as the 
quenching is all done on the outside of the oven. The whole 
process of discharging and recharging an oven can readily be 
eompleted in fifteen minutes. 

As the gas which is distilled from the coal leaves the ovens 
it enters a large flue known as the hydraulic main. This ex¬ 
tends the whole length of the block of ovens, and is partially 
filled with water. The gas bubbles through the water, and a 
portion of the tar and ammonia is condensed out. From the 
main the gas passes to the condensers. These are large vertical 
cylinders filled with tubes through which water is made to 
circulate. The gas passing around these tubes is cooled, and a 
further portion of the tar and ammonia condenses. Rotary 
exhausters occupy the next place in the series of apparatus, 
their use being to draw the gas from the ovens through the 
pipes and condensers, and to discharge it into the next follow¬ 
ing apparatus, which is the ammonia washer. In this vessel 
the final traces of ammonia are removed, and the gas thus 
cooled and washed is free from condensable matter and ready 
to be used for heating or lighting. A portion of it is usually 
withdrawn at this point and used to heat the flues of the 
oveus, but if there is sufficient demand for the oven gas for 
other purposes, ordinary producer gas may be substituted for 
it, and the whole amount produced will be available for sale. 
This amount varies with the coal, but is usually from eight to 
ten thousand cubic feet per ton of two thousand pounds. The 
quality of this gas is more fully described later, where the by¬ 
products of the ovens are discussed somewhat at length. 

THE PRODUCTS OF THE B\ r -PRODUCT OVEN. 

Coke .—An investigation of the subject will immediately 
show that the essential distinction between the operation of 


36 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

the retort oven and that of the ordinary beehive is that in the 
former the coal is coked without the admission of air, by heat 
applied from the outside, while in the latter the air is admitted 
to the oven and the combustion takes place immediately over 
the body of coal. The result is that in one case the hydro¬ 
carbons are simply distilled off, with a certain breaking down 
and deposition of graphitic carbon on the coke, so that a yield 
of coke greater than the so-called “ theoretical ” can be counted 
on, while in the other case the most of the hydrocarbons are 
burned in the ovens, some graphitic carbon is deposited, and 
some of the fixed carbon of the coal is burned, resulting in a 
yield of coke less than the theoretical. As an illustration of 
the difference in yield resulting from this difference in method 
of coking, a good yield of coke from Counellsville coal in a 
beehive oven is 65 per cent., wdiile in a good retort oven it is 
easy to get 75 per cent., an increase of about 10 per cent. Of 
course this increase reduces proportionately the percentage of 
ash, phosphorus, etc., remaining in the coke, so that the re¬ 
tort oven yields more coke and a purer coke than the beehive 
from the same coal. This increase in yield varies with the 
proportion of fixed carbon, ash, etc., in the coal. 

The quality of the coke made in the by-product ovens has 
long been a subject of discussion, especially among the blast 
furnace men of Europe. The English authority, Sir Low- 
thian Bell, made a series of careful tests a number of years 
ago and pronounced against the coke in comparison with that 
made in beehive ovens, and his conclusions were accepted by 
English ironmasters. But improved construction and practice 
have combined to produce a better coke, and it is reported that 
Sir Lowthian Bell has modified his views to such an extent 
that a plant of retort ovens is now being built at his own 
works—those of Messrs. Bell Brothers. On the Continent re¬ 
tort oven coke is now the standard, and in this country we are 
just beginning to realize that a coke not made in the old bee¬ 
hive oven and not having the famous silvery gloss of coke 
quenched in the oven is proving itself quite equal to it in fuel 
value. 

The essential difference between beehive and retort oven 
coke lies in its hardness and shape, caused by the different ap¬ 
plication of the heat in the oven. In the beehive the coal is 
spread out in a layer 23 or 24 inches thick over a surface some 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


37 


twelve feet in diameter. The bottom of the oven having been 
-cooled by the quenching of the previous charge and by con¬ 
tact with the new one, the coking begins at the top and ex¬ 
tends downward, reaching the bottom in from 32 to 34 hours. 
The coke has ample opportunity to swell and develop a cellu¬ 
lar structure in accordance with the composition of the coal, 
and entirely independent of any attempts at control. The 
typical form of beehive coke is therefore long finger-like 
pieces, widening toward the bottom of the oven and with an 
inch or two of spongy coke at each end. The inability to con¬ 
trol the formation of the cells makes it essential that just the 
right coals are used, or the requisite hard body, resistant alike 
to pressure and the action of hot carbonic acid in the blast 
furnace, cannot be obtained. The fact that the coal from the 
Connellsville district gives just the requisite structure when 
coked in the beehive oven is the reason for its present pre¬ 
eminent position as a blast furnace fuel in America. 

In the retort oven the coal lies in a high narrow mass, about 
5 feet high and from 16 to 20 inches wide. The previous charge 
having been pushed out rapidly by machinery and quenched 
outside, the oven is hot when the fresh charge is introduced 
and the evolution of gases begins immediately from the coal 
lying in contact with the hot sides. The flow of gases being 
from the sides, they meet in the center and rise to the top, 
where they escape, forming a sort of cleavage plane midway 
between the two walls. Thus the pieces of retort coke are 
stouter than the long, slowly developed “fingers” of the bee¬ 
hive oven, and are a little shorter than half the width of the 
-oven. The end of the piece next the wall is denser and the 
end next the cleavage plane is more spongy than the main 
body. 

The cellular structure is more compressed than beehive coke, 
principally on account of the narrow retort that permits no 
expansion in the direction of the flow of the gases, and also 
because the depth of the charge is usually about two and one- 
half times as great as in the beehive. The cellular structure 
of retort coke is dependent somewhat on the proportions of the 
ovens, the temperature and the time of coking. 

The ability of the retort oven to coke coals that cannot be 
used in the beehive is due to the more rapid application of the 
heat, fixing the pitchy or coke-making portion of the coal 


38 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


before it has time to escape and the formation of a firm cel¬ 
lular structure by the pressure. 

During the past year a conclusive test has been made indi¬ 
cating the relative values of retort and beehive coke made from 
the same high grade coal, of a quality adapted to both the 
retort and beehive practice. For a year or more a blast fur¬ 
nace has been run either entirely or largely on retort coke 
made from the Connellsville coal. The furnace was blown in 
on retort coke, and run for some months without any signs 
indicating anything unusual in the fuel. Subsequently a por¬ 
tion of beehive coke was used in the fuel charge, and from time 
to time the fuel was changed from all retort coke to all bee¬ 
hive coke, or to a portion of each, without any indications in 
the working of the furnace that there was any difference in the 
fuel. 

It is probable that prolonged and accurate comparisons 
would show that the hardness of the retort coke would result 
in a somewhat lower fuel consumption and a cooler furnace 
top, owing to the weaker action of the furnace gases on the 
harder coke; also, that the blast pressure would have to be 
slightly higher than with the beehive coke. 

It is quite within the bounds of possibility that some of our 
American coals, equal in chemical purity to the Connellsville, 
yet inferior to it in adaptability to the conditions of the bee¬ 
hive oven, may prove to make a coke in the retort oven that 
will be of equal value in every respect with the Connellsville 
beehive coke. Indeed, experiments already made would seem 
to point in that direction. 

Objection has been made to the retort coke on the ground 
that it is watered outside of the oven, thereby destroying the 
carbon glaze found on coke quenched within the oven and 
increasing the percentage of moisture in the coke. Careful 
tests have proved that retort coke is somewhat more resistant 
to the action of hot carbonic acid in the top of the furnace 
than is beehive coke from the same coal, which seems to show 
that the carbon glaze has in practice no value. The absence 
of a glaze on retort coke is no indication that carbon is not 
deposited from the gases, for in the first place the yield of coke 
is always higher than the so-called “theoretical” yield, and in 
the second place, as the coke is leaving the oven the glaze can 
plainly be seen, but its brightness is destroyed by the water. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 39 


A long series of tests have shown that coke properly quenched 
outside of the oven need not contain over J to f per cent, of 
moisture, but the amount of moisture in the coke after its 
arrival at the furnace is altogether another question, and 
depends more on the time it is on the road and on the humid¬ 
ity of the atmosphere than on the method of quenching. 

The effect of moisture in the upper part of a blast furnace is 
an open question. Experiments have been made by leading 
furnacemen which indicate that its cooling action on the 
ascending gases saves the coke in a measure from solution in 
the hot carbonic acid and permits more coke to reach the zone 
of fusion, with the result that the fuel consumption is noticea¬ 
bly lowered. 

The Connellsville beehive coke is, perhaps, the most perfect 
blast furnace fuel in the world, and it is not claimed that retort 
coke made from this coal is a superior fuel to the beehive 
product. But to the great bituminous coal fields of this coun¬ 
try, to which the Connellsvile district does not bear the relation 
of one to the hundred, the retort oven comes with a promise 
of help. Many coals that, although pure enough chemically 
for metallurgical use, make a soft coke in the beehive oven, 
when coked in the retort oven give a structure so hardened and 
strengthened that the product is an entirely acceptable metal¬ 
lurgical fuel. In other cases, when the impurities are too 
great for furnace or foundry use, or the structure is hopelessly 
weak, or when the coal is dry and lies dead in the beehive 
without a suggestion of coking, a coke can often be made in 
the retort oven that is easily salable for domestic purposes, 
brewers’ and malsters’ use, and for many other uses where a 
clean-burning fuel, free from smoke, is desired. The demand 
for coke for these purposes is growing rapidly, and the supply 
of this market should be very profitable in a properly located 
and designed plant, from which the gas and other by-products 
would have a ready sale. 

The ability of the retort oven to coke coals that have hith¬ 
erto been considered non-coking, brings into prominence the 
subject of laboratory tests of coals for coking purposes and of 
the coke made. A chemical analysis of the coal or coke, while 
important, does not fully indicate its value, and physical tests 
are quite as important. 

The coking qualities of a coal are hardly shown at all by an 


40 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

ordinary chemical analysis, and an actual test in the oven is the 
usual method for determining this point. A laboratory method 
for making this test has been recently developed by Louis 
Campredon in the laboratory of the Vignac Works, France. 
His method is similar to that used in ascertaining the binding 
power of cement. The principle is the mixing of the coal with 
an inert body and carbonizing the mixture in a closed vessel; 
the greater the binding or coking power of the coal the more 
inert matter will it bind into a solid mass. The practical 
operation of the method is as follows: Pulverize the coal 
finely, passing it through a sieve of fine mesh. A suitable 
inert body is a fine siliceous sand of uniform grain, but some¬ 
what coarser than the coal. Several equal portions of coal 
(say of 1 gm. each) are mixed with variable weights of sand, 
and the mixtures are heated to a red heat in closed porcelain 
crucibles, so as to carbonize the coal. After cooling, either a 
dry powder or a more or less hard coked mass is obtained. 
After a few trials it is easy to determine what maximum 
weight of sand a coal can bind together. 

Taking the weight of coal as unity, the binding power will 
be given by the weight of the agglomerated sand. The bind¬ 
ing power is nil for a coal giving a powdered coke, and it has 
been found to be 17 for the most binding coal yet tried by the 
experimenter, while pitch is 20. Experiments by this method 
show that there is no relation between the proximate analysis 
and the binding power of coals, confirming actual oven expe¬ 
rience. 

THE BY-PRODUCTS. 

These consist primarily of ammonia, tar and gas, and in ad¬ 
dition to the increased yield of coke are the sources of profit 
from the by-product oven which are wholly lost in the ordinary 
beehive. Some retort ovens, such as the Otto-Copp6e, for ex¬ 
ample, are without the by-product apparatus, and burn the 
gas to heat the ovens without washing it. These recover no 
ammonia or tar, but use the excess gas for raising steam, evapo¬ 
rating about 1.5 pounds water per pound of coal coked. But 
the by-products are so easily saved and the profits therefrom 
make such an acceptable addition to the right side of the ledger 
that they can hardly be neglected. A brief consideration of 
each one may be of interest. 

Ammonia .—This substance is given off from the coal in the 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 41 

oven very slowly at first, but as the temperature of the charge 
rises the quantity increases, and after some ten hours the evo¬ 
lution is quite rapid. As the coking approaches completion 
the yield becomes much less and stops altogether, although 
usually a quarter or more of the nitrogen originally in the coal 
still remains in the coke. The yield of ammonia varies very 
much in different coals, and depends partly on the amount of 
nitrogen and oxygen in the coal. It varies also with the tem¬ 
perature at which the coal is coked. Perhaps the most reliable 
method to determine the yield from any coal, except by an 
actual oven test, is by the distillation of a sample of the coal 
in a small retort, under the same temperature and conditions 
as are present in the oven. But the results are liable to be 
misleading unless the operation is conducted by an experienced 
person, as it is hard to maintain the proper conditions. 

The ammonia from the ovens is collected in the hydraulic 
main and condensers, along with the tar, by the cooling and 
scrubbing of the gas. The ammonia occurs in two forms in 
the liquor: “fixed” and “volatile;” the former containing the 
sulphates, chlorides, cyanides, etc., while the latter contains 
the carbonates, sulphides, and, according to some, free ammo¬ 
nia. The bulk of the fixed salts is condensed first and the vol¬ 
atile later. The ammonia liquor is quite weak when it is first 
drawn from the tar, usually containing from f to 1 per cent, of 
ammonia. This weak liquor may be either converted directly 
into sulphate, and sold as a fertilizer, or by purification and 
concentration it may be converted into aqua ammonia or an¬ 
hydrous ammonia, which is used so largely through the South 
and elsewhere in refrigerating and other apparatus. 

Ammonia liquor was formerly valued by the hydrometer, 
but this method is deceptive, as the density of the liquor is 
affected by the condition in which the ammonia occurs. The 
more accurate method is the distillation of the liquor with 
some caustic lime or soda, which drives off all the ammonia, 
volatile and fixed. The distilled ammonia is absorbed in 
standard acid, and the excess of acid is afterward titrated with 
a standard alkali solution. The yield of ammonia is usually 
reckoned as ammonium sulphate, although it may be sold as 
liquor or sulphate, or in a more concentrated form, according 
to the market. 

The yield of ammonia from the coals in the vicinity of Pitts¬ 
burg is from 16 to 22 pounds of sulphate per ton of coal. 


42 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

Tar .— Since the manufacture of illuminating gas by the 
water-gas process has attained prominence the market for tar 
is very much improved. Very large quantities are used for 
roofing, paving, etc., and in Europe much is distilled and 
separated into pitch and the various lighter oils, which are 
further treated for the almost endless number of valuable sub¬ 
stances which they contain. In this country but little of this 
is done as yet, and the tar is used mainly for the cruder pur¬ 
poses. Properly developed, its manufacture into the more 
valuable products should yield very satisfactory profits. Our 
chemical manufacturers are beginning to realize this fact, and 
plants for the distillation of tar are growing in number and 
in importance. The rapid increase of by-product ovens, and 
the consequent large amount of tar which will be put on the 
market in the near future makes it necessary to find another 
outlet for it than the cruder uses, and it is probable that tar 
distillation will be an important industry in this country be¬ 
fore many years. 

The main products of the distillation of tar are, light oil, 
creosote or heavy oil, naphthaline, anthracene and pitch. 

The yield and quality of tar from retort ovens depend on 
the coal and also on the temperature at which the distillation 
takes place. The tar from the leading retort ovens is usually 
of excellent quality and commands the best price. The yield 
of the coals in the vicinity of Pittsburg is from 70 to 80 pounds 
per ton of 2,000 pounds of coal. Some coals yield as much as 
100 pounds or more. 

Gas. — The gas that is obtained from retort ovens is a by¬ 
product, the value of which varies greatly with the locality in 
which the ovens are situated. When the ovens are at the coal 
mine the gas is frequently valuable only for steam raising pur¬ 
poses, and at the usual prices of coal at the mines would be 
worth but a very few cents per thousand feet. An interme¬ 
diate condition would be when the ovens are adjacent to an 
iron or steel works, where the gas could be used for heating 
furnaces, soaking pits, etc., where it would supplant producer 
gas, being much more conveniently applied and easily freed 
from all impurities. The most favorable locations for obtain¬ 
ing a good value for oven gas are those adjacent to large towns, 
where there is a demand for illuminating or fuel gas. The 
discovery and use of natural gas in this country has caused a 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 43 


great demand for fuel gas, especially for domestic purposes, 
and many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in 
attempts to supply this demand. But while these experiments 
have been going on the beehive coke ovens of Pennsylvania 
alone have been cpiietly burning to waste nearly 1,000,000,000 
feet a week of a very superior quality of fuel gas without excit¬ 
ing any special attention. 

Coke oven gas from properly managed retort ovens is approx¬ 
imately the same article as that from the retorts of a gas house, 
the processes of manufacture being similar. It usually con¬ 
tains rather less illumiuants, however. Its quantity and com¬ 
position vary with the coal used and the temperature of dis¬ 
tillation, but made from good gas coal it may be used for illu¬ 
minating purposes after being passed through the ordinary 
lime boxes to remove the sulphur, etc. If from the nature of 
the coal the illuminating power of the gas is low, it can either 
be enriched by any of the well known methods or burned with 
incandescent burners or used as a fuel gas; for the lack of 1 or 
2 per cent, of illumiuants will not appreciably affect its fuel 
value. 

In arranging an oven plant for the supply of fuel or illumi¬ 
nating gas, it is necessary either to provide a holder of rather 
large dimensions or with a smaller holder, to have not less 
than, say, twenty-five or thirty ovens, that shall be drawn in 
rotation at approximately even intervals; for in common with 
other substances containing hydrocarbons, when coal is dis¬ 
tilled in an oven or elsewhere the gases given off are not at all 
uniform in composition, but change constantly as the distilla¬ 
tion progresses. 

The following are analyses of retort-oven gas from European 
and American coals: 


,-Percentage by volume-v 

I. II. III. iv. v. 

Carbonic acid. 3.0 0.90 1.4 3.27 .3 

Carbonic oxide. 8.8 4.90 6.5 7.95 7.4 

Hydrogen. 58.0 58.57 53.3 52.77 51.7 

Nitrogen. 2.4 5.74 0.5 1.99 5.5 

Methane. 24.7 27.56 36.1 31.45 32.3 

Olefines. 3.1 2.33 2.2 2.57 2.8 


Totals. 100.0 100.00 100.0 100.00 100.0 


It is often asked—what is the difference between coke oven 
gas and natural gas? This is readily answered by a compari¬ 
son of the above analyses with the following, which is from 













44 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


gas sold iu Alleghany and Pittsburg by the natural gas com- 
panies: 

Carbonic acid. 0.3 per cent. Nitrogen. 0.2 per cent. 

Carbonic oxide. 0.0 “ “ Methane. 96.9 “ “ 

Hydrogen. 0.0 “ “ Olefines. 0.8 “ “ 

It will be noticed that this latter gas is almost pure methane, 
or marsh gas, while the coke oven gas is practically a mixture 
of methane with hydrogen. The natural gas of the above 
analysis contains about 980 British thermal units per cubic 
foot, while the coke oven gas usually contains from 560 to 590 
heat units. It is a familiar fact to those who have seen natural 
gas burned for lighting purposes that the large amount of me¬ 
thane causes it to burn with a smoky flame, and the light from 
it is therefore poor, although the proportion of olefines or illu- 
minants, is not always as small as in the analysis given above. 
It has been stated by good authorities that when a gas having 
such a large proportion of methane is burned in the ordinary 
way without regeneration of the air by the products of com¬ 
bustion, that the available heat units are not greater than those 
from a gas of similar composition to the coke oven gases given 
above, owing to the fact that such a very large amount of air 
is necessary to burn the methane, and the amount of heat ab¬ 
sorbed in bringing the inert nitrogen up to the temperature of 
the combustion chamber is so great that it counterbalances 
the superior heating value of the gas. Of course, if the heat 
carried away in the products of combustion were returned to 
the furnaces by regeneration, this loss would not be nearly so 
great. 

The principal source of luminosity in the gas is benzol. This 
substance is separated from the gas in some of the German 
by-product works, and is used for the manufacture of the ani¬ 
line colors. It is a highly volatile substance, somewhat similar 
to the naptha products of petroleum distillation, and is very 
difficult to transport. Its removal from the gas renders the 
latter useless for illuminating purposes, but does not materially 
affect its fuel value. Benzol is also obtained in the distillation 
of tar, but not in large quantities. 

To sum up briefly, then, it will be seen that the coking of 
coal in the by-product retort oven differs in the results ob¬ 
tained in the following particulars from the same operation in 
the beehive: From the beehive oyen we obtain coke. The 








Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


45 


article is of excellent quality if the coal is just adapted to the 
purpose, but the yield is from 5 to 20 per cent, lower than the 
analysis of the coal shows should be gotten. 

In addition to the coke there is a great deal of smoke, but 
those living near the ovens hardly look on this as a valuable 
product. 

From the by-product retort oven, we have coke again, and 
always more than the analysis of the coal indicates. It has 
yet to be proven that any coal which makes good beehive coke 
will not make equally good retort oven coke. Moreover an 
excellent metallurgical coke can be made from many coals 
that are worthless for the beehive. In fact it is largely for this 
reason that retort ovens have been so widely introduced in 
Continental Europe. In addition to the increased yield of coke 
we have from a ton of coal, from 16 to 22 pounds of sulphate 
of ammonia, from 70 to 100 pounds of tar, and from 3,000 to 
10,000 cubic feet of gas. 

The manufacture of coke is about the only metallurgical 
operation that we Americans, proud of our wonderful progress 
in all the mechanical arts, still conduct after the manner of 
our ancestors before the Revolutionary war. Let us introduce 
the by-product retort oven into the chain of iron manufacture, 
confident that it will not be unworthy to be linked with the 
mining and haulage of our coal by electricity, the digging of 
our ore by steam shovels, and our blast furnaces smelting 700 
tons of iron in a day. 













































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


47 


c 

Coal Washing. 

(Fr. m advance sheets of second edition “Iron Making in Alabama,” 

by Wm. B. Phillips.) 

As coal washing in the State is entirely incidental to the 
production of blast furnace and foundry coke, it might be best 
to include the remarks on this subject in the chapter on Fuel. 
But the importance of it warrants separate treatment, if, in¬ 
deed, merely a short one. The growth of the industry has 
been very rapid. While it is true that in 1890 123,189 tons of 
slack coal were washed, yet, in 1891 the amount fell to 8,570 
tons. It seems to have begun regularly in 1892, for since that 
time the amount of slack washed has steadily increased. 

In some establishments, e. g ., at Brookwood, and at Lewis- 
burg, the lump coal is hand-picked, on long picker-belts. In 
all the establishments now washing coal only the slack is 
washed. 

While the industry is of very recent date, so far as large and 
continuous operations are concerned, yet it was begun in the 
State in 1875-76 at Oxmoor. A Stutz washer was used there 
on Helena coal, but the records cannot now be secured. It is 
of interest also to note that modified Belgian coke ovens w T ere 
used there at that time. Both the washer and the ovens have 
been torn down these many years. For most of the coking 
coals here washing is not necessary, except for the slack. It 
was to utilize this that washing was undertaken, as otherwise 
the slack was of little value. A large amount of run of mines 
coal is made into coke, but the use of washed slack is steadily 
encroaching upon this, and recently another large plant has 
entered upon the business. We may expect that the future 
will show an increasing proportion of coke made from washed 
slack, as the demand for the better grades of domestic and 
steam coal will make the use of slack more and more 
necessary. 

It is difficult to state exactly the amount of slack through a 


48 Alabama Industrial and Scientific SocietV. 

lf-incli screen yielded by coal mining operations. So much 
depends upon the nature of the coal itself, and that of the 
seam, as also upon the system of mining, screening, etc., that 
only general statements can be made. It varies from 35 per 
cent, to 65 per cent, of the output. A coal washing plant for 
handling 500 tons of slack per day of twelve hours will require 
the mining of not less than 800 tons of coal, and may require 
1,400 tons. 

A table showing the character of the coal made into coke 
in this State is given below. It is taken from the returns made 
to the Division of Mineral Resources, United States Geological 
Survey: 


Run of Mines. 

Slack. 



Unwashed. 

Washed. 

Unwashed. 

Washed. 

Year. 

Tons. 

Per ct. 

Tons. 

Per ct. 

Tons, 

Per ct. 

Tons. 

Per ct 

Total 

tons. 

1890 

1,480,669 

81.8 



206,106 

11.3 

123,189 

6.9 

1,809,964 

1891 

1,943b 69 

90.6 



192'238 

9.0 

8^570 

0.4 

2,144^277 

1892 

2^463^366 

95.3 



ii boo 

0.4 

111,500 

4.3 

2,585,966 

1893 

1,246,307 

61.8 

51,163 

2.5 

292,198 

14.6 

425,730 

21.1 

2,015,398 

1894 

411,097 

26.1 

7,429 

0.5 

477,820 

30.3 

677,899 

43.1 

1,574,245 

1895 

1,208,020 

49.1 



32,068 

1.3 

1,219,377 

49.6 

2,459,465 


In 1891 of the 2,144,277 tons of coal made into coke only 0.4 
per cent, was washed slack, i. e., of every 100 tons of coal sent 
to the ovens less than one-half a ton was washed slack. In 
1893 there was 50 times as much washed slack used for coke as 
in 1891, and in 1895 more than 140 times as much as in 1891. 
There was a remarkable increase as between 1892 and 1893, 
viz.: from 4.3 per cent, to 21.1 per cent., as also between 1893 
and 1894, viz.: from 21.1 per cent, to 43.1. From 1894 on the 
increase in the use of washed slack has not been so marked as 
in the previous years. 

The use of washed slack enables the mine owners to avail 
themselves of what would otherwise be of little value, and to 
make a better coke of this material than is made of run of 
mines coal. 









































Slack Coal—Robinson-Ramsay Washer. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society 


49 


Through 

1% in. on 1 in. 

•poqsBAV 

5 

32.36 

62.69 

4.95 

1.18 

•paqsBAVUii 

7 

28.30 

53.60 

18.10 

1.82 

Through 

1 in. on % in. 

•paqsBAV 

7 

32.60 

61.20 

6.20 

1.29 

i 

•poqsBAUijq 

9 

30 80 

57.60 

11.60 

1.77 

d 

•S5 

2§ 

H.S 

•paqsBAV 

16 

31.10 

62.70 

6.20 

1.49 

•paqsBAVufi 

15 

29.20 

53.10 

17.70 

1.63 

d 

•sS 

s§ 

H.S 

•paqsBAV 

13 

31.10 

59.30 

6.80 

1.20 

•paqsB.Aun 

16 

32.40 

60.80 

9.60 

1.74 

Through 
% in. on ^in. 

•poqsBA\ 

10 

32.40 

61.40 
6.2 ' 
1.37 

•paqSBAVUfl 

10 

29.86 

61.20 
8-94 
1.51 

d 

■3$ 

a d 

° o 

p a 
-a 

HP 

SC 

•paqsBM 

21 

32.00 

60.10 

7.90 

1.29 

•paqsBAiujq 

16 

29.11 

62.10 

8.73 

1.47 

Through 
% in* to dust. 

•poqsBAV 

28 

30.74 

59.77 

9.49 

1.46 

•pOqSBMUfl 

27 

30.03 

58.45 

11.52 

1.71 

Size. 


Per cent. 

Volatile 
matter ... 
Fixed car¬ 
bon. 

Ash. 

Sulphur.... 


o 

< 

1-5 

CO 

ft 

w 

w 

a.i 
< 


Z 

P 


Z 

o 

« 

u. 

cc 

fc- 

p 

p 

co 

W 

P 

W 

K 

H 

P 

O 


o 

< 

H 

z 

w 

o 

Bh 

w 

p 

co 

H 


< 

o 

o 

w 

td 

H 

Z 

t—t 


o 

z 

<1 

w 

o 


a> 

o 

0) 

P 


to 

3 

5 

P 


a 

3 

a 


a> 

o 

a> 

P 


CO 

CO 

Q 

P 


aj 

O 


aoco 


: c-i io 
■ i~~ co 


>0 

CO 


o 

03 


00 Cl 

LO rH 


CD 

04 



lO 

GO 

<M 

LO 

CD 


c 

hp 


05 

a 

S-H 

a> 

Ph 


03 

o 


iO 

o’ 


: o co 
: o lo 


• io co 
. cd 


oo 

o 


GO 


4P> 

a 

a> 

o 

S-. 

0) 

Ph 


K 

W 

O 

-P 


o3 


a» 

o 

u> 

a> 

Oh 


05 

a? 

O 

hP 


<d 

o 

i- 

05 

Ph 


c3 

o 


05 

05 

O 

h-3 


03 


05 

05 

(h 

05 

d. 


05 

05 

O 

hP 


o3 

0 


o 

lO 


GO 


CO 

C5 


05 

GO 


CD CD CO 

rH o 


<N 05 
04 CO 


CD 00 
iO 04 


O 05 
CO 


(04 

CO 


Ol 1-H rf 

<04 lO 04 


CO 05 <04 


04 04 
CD CD 


CD 

04 


04 04 


: 5h 

• cd 
^ a 

^ <x> 


'•313'° d 

oS 2 ^ O t 

P P * 



































































































































50 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


Disregarding the changes in the volatile matter and fixed 
carbon as not affecting the efficiency of the washing as much 
as the reduction of the ash and the sulphur, some important 
deductions may be derived from an examination of these tables. 
The Robinson washer does not size its materials; everything 
through a lf-inch screen, for instance, goes direct to the washer, 
and no attempt at sizing is made. The above sizes of coal were 
obtained by using hand-screens, but they were not sent to 
the washer by separate sizes. Of the material going into the 
washer— 


27 per cent, passed a %-inch screen. 


16 

“ 34-inch 

10 

“ %-inch 

16 

“ >2-iiich 

15 

“ %-inch 

9 “ 

“ 1-inch 

7 

“ 1%-inch 


but was retained by a %-inch screen. 

“ “ %-inch “ 

“ “ %-inch “ 

“ “ %-inch “ 

“ “ 1-inch “ 


Calculating the average ash from the ash in each separate 
size we find it to be 11.90 per cent. This was the ash in the 
slack going into the washer. Of the material coming from the 
washer, excluding the refuse slate, sludge, etc.— 


28 per cent. 
21 
10 
13 
16 
7 

5 “ 


passed a %-inch screen. 


“ 34-inch “ 

but was retained by a hH n ch sere* 

“ %- inch “ 

H i < 

14-inch “ 

“ %-inch “ 

n u 

%-inch “ 

“ %-inch “ 

(t << 

34 inch “ 

“ 1-inch “ 

a a 

14-inch “ 

“ 1%-inch “ 

it (l 

1-inch “ 


Calculating the average as before we find it to be 7.47 per 
cent., and the reduction of the ash is 37.23 per cent. That 
is, this slack lost 37.23 per cent, of its ash by being washed, a 
result somewhat lower than is obtained by considering the 
slack as a whole without regard to the ash in the separate sizes. 
Using the same method for calculating the sulphur in the un¬ 
washed slack we find it to be 1.65 per cent., and in the washed 
slack 1.35 per cent. The sulphur, therefore, was reduced by 
18.18 per cent. 

In other words 100 parts of ash in the unwashed slack be¬ 
come 62.77 parts in the washed slack, and 100 parts of sulphur 
in the unwashed slack become 81.82 parts in the washed slack. 












Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 51 





Tji 



| o 



o 



32 

O 


32 

1 ^ 


32 

o 


3 

•rH 

32_ 

co 

< 

oi 


CO 

<2 

d 

1 r 


CO 

<2 

rH 


bC,_ 
3 fl 


L— 


■ Sp. 

G. 

05 


. 

03 


o o 

3 . 

-a s 

^■6 

co^ 

Tt< 

rH 


lO 

rH 


^ C h 

iC 

rH 


H ,rH 

Vf 

d 

CO 


d 

CO 


d 

lO 

IO 



Ph 

05 

rH 


Ph' 

lO 

rH 


Ph' 

1-’ 

rH 



32 

O 

03 


32 

O 

CO 


32 

lO 

CO 


• 


05 


CO 



CO 


a 

Z3 -rH 

<1 


<2 

60 

CO 


<2 



w 



CO 


CO 




H 

g§ 

drh 

co^ 

CO 

M 

H 

3-j-k 

CO^ 

rfH 


®d 

LO 

o 

32 . 
H 3 



O 





rH 

p 

i—i 

d 

CO 

H* 

d 

1 ^ 


d 

LO 

Sh 

rH 

Ph' 

LO 

rH 

£ 

Ph' 

3 

oi 

Ph' 

CO 

rH 

3 




3 



P 

—H 





CO 

•—1 


o 



3 


32 

o 

< 

32 

05 

HH 

32 

TP 

H 

b’ 

vO 

< 

o 

lO 

Ph 

CO 

c 

CO 

<! 

>- 

CO 

05 


rd \« 









O 



o 






« 


• . 

CO 

Ph 


tO 

Z 


o 

fe 

Q 

gS 

31 • 

p-rh 

co^ 

rH 

Ph 

Q 

OD^' 

CO 

rH 

o 

CO 

Z 

^cb 

o 

rH 

3 

3 

Ph 

a 

<5 

02 




3 

3 

3 

a 

H 






E-1.2 

m\ 

P. C. 

22.3 

P. c. 

CO 

CO 

OI 

« 

o 

Ph 

P. c. 

22.8 



O 

CO 


05 

w 


03 



32 

rH 



o 

32 

CD 

. 


a: 

iO 

# 


• 

O 

CO 

• 

3 

3 

M 

•rH 

rd \00 

b/;co\ 

< 

3 

3 

<2 

-n 

lO 

H 

3 

CO 

<2 

»o 

LO 

HH 



3 







. 

03 

CO 


iO 

H 

CO 

p 

Ph 


1^- 


go 
-o 3 

CO ^ 

O 

oi 

H 

£ 

c o 

rH 

Sp. 

G. 

05 

rH 


H.s 


iO 

<o 

>h 



w 

d 


co 


o 

CO 

d 

lO 

lO 

Ph 

o 

a 

Ph' 

r-H 


Ph' 

rH 

Ph 

Ph 

rH 

<1 







o 



Pj2 


32 


Ph 

32 

O 

CO 

CO 

HH 

32 

CO 

CD 

Z 

O 

CO 

Z 

M 

O 

fe 

CO 

C 

oi 

O 

JZJ 

o 

CO 

CO 

<5 

oi 

CO 

TO 

?H 

3 

<2 

03 

CD 


2.13 



<2 



3 - 
go 

o-d 

co^ 

HH 

3 

o 

aid 

2.04 

£ 

£d 

2.08 

pH 

ri 



Ph 






&H.S 





o 

P. c. 


o 


P. C 

6.7 

3 

o 

P. c 

CO 

1-' 

<2 

3 

3 

7.25 

<1 

p 

w 

w 




3 

CO 

b 







Ash 

09 99 ] 

rH 

CO 

«5 

66.26 

■<2 

32 

TO 

<c 

66.41 

co 

-sS 


CO 






3 



3 









f — « 

Ph 


i> 


d • 

ccO 

05 

3 

Ph 

gs 


03 

oi 

w 

Ph 

^*rK 

CO ^ 

t-H 

oi 


rH 

03 

-3 3 









H 0 







P. C. 



gt 

P. c. 

8.2 


P. c 

9.7 


8.95 


3 

•i—( 

\Q0 . 

H\+^ 

Ash 

41.10 


Ash 1 

33.15 


Ash 

1 36.34, 











32 3 
bL^ 

o-p 

CO - 

1 56 


OJ ^ 

OI 


£d 

1.47 


o o 










g ^ 

32 

d 

oj 


d 



d 

LO 

05 


Eh 

Ph' 

T—t 

rH 


Ph' 

CO 

t-H 


Ph' 

CO 







































































































































































52 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

The analysis of the sludge, corresponding to these results, 
was— 

Per cent. 


Volatile matter. 24.73 

Fixed carbon. 44.14 

Ash. 31.13 

100.00 

Sulphur. 4.12 


( See Table on opposite page.} 

The purest coal that could be picked out, by hand, from the 
coal here in discussion, had the following composition: 

Per cent. 


Volatile matter.. 33.00 

Fixed Carbon. 64 60 

Ash. 2.40 


100.00 

Sulphur. 1.25 


In washing operations it is, however, impracticable, if not 
impossible, to obtain coal of this degree of purity. Owing to 
loss of coal, there is a point beyond which it is impracticable 
to reduce the ash. This point varies with each coal, and to 
some extent also with the purpose for which the washed coal 
is intended. In this State only the slack coal is washed, and 
practically all of the washed slack is made into coke. 

Reverting to the statement already made that all of the ma¬ 
terial through a lf-inch screen is called slack, and is sent to 
the Robinson washer without further sizing, the question is: to 
what point shall the ash in the washed coal be brought in order 
that the washing may be considered satisfactory ? 

There are three elements entering into this question : 

1. The amount of ash in the original slack. 

2. The waste of coal in the operation. 

3. The demand of the furnaces for a superior coke. 

The maximum amount of ash to be left in the washed slack 
depends to a great extent upon the demands of the blast fur¬ 
naces and foundries for coke, for if the demand is active and 
prices good the waste in the washing is not of so much impor¬ 
tance. It is always important , and should be carefully looked 
after, but there are times when its importance is greater than 
at others. Considering all the elements enteriug into the ques¬ 
tion, the amount of ash to be left in the washed slack, what- 













Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society 


53 





o 



O 



ft! 

T-H 


ft 

CO 


f»rn 

02 

O 


02 

< 

© 

rH 









Sh . 

+p 



HH> 



ft ft 

o 

O 


O 




fH 

<v 

Ph 

TjH 

lO 

CO 

Sh 

D 

Ph 

CC 

iO 

lO 

CO 



• 










rH 

ft 

ft 

o 

o 

d 

ft 

o 

d 

fS 

02 

< 

cm 

rH 

p 

0Q 

CO 

TJH 

. 




CO 




o ft 
% o 





CO 



pH 

H-i 


o 

ft . 

O 

O 

o 

O 


EH ft 

•rH 

Sh 

O 

Ph 

CO 

5? 

Sh 

02 

lO 

t> 

ft 

tH 


o 

PH 

Ph 


o 




H 



hH 

H 

P 

P 

O 

d 

•rH 

rd \<N 

Ash 

o 

I- 

00 

p 

p 

O 

CO 

Ash 

12.30 

in 

ft - 



5- 1 



5" 

ft 




w 



2 o 
pa p 

O 

o 

-M 

Q 


ft 

ft 

< 

H.S 

V* 

co\ 

Sh 

12 

Ph 

CM 

Tj? 

o 

< 

p 

CO 

Sh 

12 

Ph 

rH 

co 

CO 

• 



ft 




ft 

ft 

o 

w 

ft 

o 

m 

fc> 

ft 

K 

rft \00 

b£?i\ 

o ft 

02 

<1 

CO 

oJ 

« 

0Q 

H 

<Z2 

«3 

T-H 

rf 

ft 

2 O 

H-> 


55 

H-P 


M 

O 

d 

ft ft 

h.2 

o 

Sh 

D 

Ph 

3.0 

P 

» 

O 

o 

Sh 

12 

Ph 

00 

00 

Ph 




Ph 



q 

» 

ft 

ft 

S* 

Ash 

10.10 

ft 

a 

w 

ft 

Ash 

5.90 

p 

o 

ft 

ft ft 



w 



2 o 

+-> 


> 

o 

H> 


ft 

ft ft 

a 

o 

o 

a 


ft 

eh .2 

Sh 

LO 

ft 

Sh 

© 

p 

<J 

\°° 

C0\ 

1) 

Ph 

CM 

ft 

p 

12 

Ph 


o 




H 



o 

ft 

rH 

o 

o 

O 

o 

rd 

to 

© 

CM 


rd \00 

bX)r-N 

<3 

oo 



CO 


ft rt 














go 




+p 



pa p 

O 

o 


o 

uo 

CO 


EH .2 

SH 

rH 


Sh 


iH" 

12 

Ph 



12 

* 


lO 

CO 


6 


Oh' 

CO 

fa 

o 

55 

o 

HH 

H 

P 

P 

O 

CO 

5" 

ft 


ft 

O 

< 

P 

CO 

a 

w 


CO 

H 


O 

ft 

fa 

ft 

ft 

ft 

ft 

> 

o 

o 

ft 

ft 

p 

◄ 

o 

o 


ft 

iO 

02 

o 

<3 

CO 

1 

4-j 


O 


Sh 

12 

88 

ft 


ft 

o 

02 

CO 

<3 

IO 



o 



IO 

12 

© 

Ph 


ft 

o 

02 

CM 

<3 




o 


Sh 

02 

00 

co 

Ph 


ft 

o 

02 

CM 

<3 

iO 

H-P 


O 


Sh 

12 

rH 

GO 

Ph 


ft 

rH 

02 

O 

<3 

TjH 

-HP 


O 


Sh 

12 

86 

Ph 


ft 

© 

02 

© 

<1 

ft 

-P 


o 


Sh 

12 

87 

ft 
































































































54 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


ever it may be, is to be termed “ fixed ” ash, and the difference 
between this and the total ash in the unwashed slack is re¬ 
movable ash. For instance, if the ash in the unwashed slack 
is 11.90 per cent., and the ash in the washed slack is 7.47 per 
cent., we may regard this latter as the fixed ash, and 4.43 per 
cent, is the removable ash. But in this particular case the re¬ 
duction of the ash from 11.90 per cent, to 7.47 per cent, was 
not as good work as should have been done. With coal of this 
nature the ash should be reduced to 6.75 per cent, instead of 
7.47 per cent.., for the coke should not carry over 10 per cent, 
of ash. 

The best results with this particular coal were to reduce the 
average ash by 43 per cent., and the sulphur by 26 per cent., 
taking the records over considerable periods. The four follow¬ 
ing analyses represent about the best practice on the large scale, 
using unwashed slack, and the Robinson-Ramsay washer. 
For convenience of comparison the average composition of the 
unwashed slack is also given : 


UNAVASHED SLACK—DRY. 

Per cent. 

Volatile matter. 30.0C 

Fixed carbon. 58.04 

Ash. 11.90 


100.00 

Sulphur. 2.40 

WASHED SLACK—DRY. 

12 3 

Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 

Volatile matter. 32.43 32.46 32.55 

Fixed carbon . 60.91 60.86 60.64 

Ash. 6.66 6.68 6.81 


100.00 100.00 100.00 
Sulphur. 1.91 1.89 1.93 


The reduction of the ash was 43.5 per cent., and of the sul¬ 
phur 20.4 per cent. The yield of 48-hour coke, over a li-inch 
fork, from this washed slack was 58.78 per cent., or from 5 tons 
of coal 2.94 tons of coke. 

There may be instances in which the Robinson-Ramsay 
washer, on coal of the kind hereiu described, has done, per¬ 
haps, somewhat better work than this, but it is not thought 
that under average conditions the results are any better than 
these. 

The Robinson-Ramsay washer does very well on slack in 














Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


55 


which there is little or no bone coal, and where the difference 
between the specific gravity of the coal and the slate is con¬ 
siderable. For instance, the average specific gravity of the 
refuse slate, as from the above tables, is 1.71, the highest being 
2.21 in the material through J-mcli and left on |-inch screen, 
the lowest being 1.42 in the material through ^-inch screen. 
The specific gravity of the pure slate, without intermixture of 
coal, may be taken at 2.40, but there is very little such material 
in the unwashed slack, for the refuse slate of highest specific 
gravity, 2.21, had with it 4 per cent, of coal which carried 8.9 
per cent, of ash. 

In washing coal it is not so much a question of removing 
pure slate from pure coal, because this can always be done, as 
of separating slate-carrying coal from coal of a greater or less 
degree of purity. The question as to what is coal, is not gen¬ 
eral, but special, and has to be answered in the light of each 
individual case. With the coal under discussion, and with this 
washer, the writer is inclined to think that material above 
1.35 sp. gr. cannot well be considered coal, for the lowest ash 
in coal recovered from refuse slate by a solution of this specific 
gravity was 8.70 per cent. Perhaps the limit should not be 
above 1.30. Taking it at 1.30, and the specific gravity of the 
refuse slate, with coal attached to it, at 1.71, the difference in 
specific gravity is 0.41. 

With this difference, and with this particular coal, this 
washer may be depended upon to handle a large amount ot 
slack every day, and to do its work very well. But it is not 
designed to treat coal in which the specific gravity of the im¬ 
purities, such as bone coal, etc., approaches that of the coal 
itself. 

Possibly if the slack were properly sized, and each size sent 
to its own washer, better results could be obtained. 

What was said to be the Luhrig system was introduced into 
the Birmingham district in 1890-91, but the machines were 
neither properly constructed nor properly managed, and the 
washing operations soon came to nothing. It is much to be 
regretted that this was the case, for when the Luhrig system is 
designed after a study of the coal itself, there is no better coal 
washing system. In Alabama, however, only two systems are 
in use, on a large scale, the Robinson-Ramsay and the Stein. 
The Campbell tables have been introduced to work some of 
the Walker county coals, and have given fair results. Until 


56 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

the fall of 1897 the Standard Coal & Coke Co., Brookwood 
Tuscaloosa county, Alabama, was the only establishment using 
the Stein washer, but the Jefferson Coal & Railway Co., Lewis- 
burg, Jefferson county, has recently had built, under the per¬ 
sonal direction of Mr. Stein himself, a very complete washing 
plant of a capacity of 40 tons an hour. At Brookwood the 
Stein washer has given excellent results. It is to be regretted 
that no detailed investigations of the washing operations there 
are accessible. In the Proceedings of the Alabama Industrial 
and Scientific Society, Volume VI., Part I., Mr. F. M. Jackson 
said in regard to 

THE STEIN WASHER : 

“ It has enabled the Standard Coal Company to produce a 
coke of uniform quality and of extraordinary structure, the 
average analysis of which invariably runs below 10 per cent, 
of ash and 1 per cent, of sulphur. The analyses for the last 
six months show the average ash to be 8.80 per cent., and sul¬ 
phur 0.74 per cent., whereas the coke formerly carried as much 
as 18 per cent., and never under 13 to 15 per cent., with sulphur 
1.50 per cent, to 1.75 per cent. The loss in washing is from 64 
per cent, to 9 per cent, of the weight of the slack, and the loss 
in coal is never over 34 per cent, under ordinary conditions, 
and often is as low as 2 per cent.” 

Mr. Jackson refers to Mr. John Fulton’s book on coke for 
further information in regard to the Stein washer at Brook¬ 
wood. From this authority we learn that it was the first of its 
kind erected in the United States, having been built in 1890, 
and has a daily capacity (10 hours) of 500 tons. The following 


analyses, taken from Pulton, show the reduction in ash: 


—Ash- 


Per Ct. of re- 

Unwashed 

Washed 


duction of 

Coal. 

Coal. 

Coke. 

ash in coal. 

15.32 

8.15 

10.10 

46.9 

14.10 

7.50 

9.50 

46.9 

15.07 

6.50 


56.8 

20.83 

8.10 

10.50 

61.3 

17.18 

7.60 

10.50 

55.5 

16.38 

6.50 

9.27 

60.2 

20.90 

5.50 


73.5 

17.37 

5.40 


69.0 

18.63 

7.15 


61.7 

21.12 

4.81 

6.10 

77.5 

Average...17.69 

6.72 

9.33 

60.93 

This is certainly an excellent 

record. 

So far as concerns the 


making of coke from this coal the information is satisfactory. 












Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


57 


but inasmuch as the Stein system is based on the sizing of the 
coal before it goes to the jigs, it would have been more com¬ 
plete had the efficiency of the washing as referred to each size 
been given. We must, therefore, in the absence of specific data 
infer that these results are averaged from the separate results, 
and yet the variation in the efficiency of the washing forbids 
this assumption, for the removal of the ash varies from 46.9 
per cent, to 77.5 per cent. The Robinson-Ramsay washer, on 
some coals, removes from certain sizes as high as 72.65 per 
cent, of the ash, but does not reach anything like so high a 
result, considering all the coal that goes into it. One may be 
permitted to doubt if the results at Brookwood represent all 
the sizes of coal. For instance, a certain coal had 21.12 per 
cent, of ash before washing and 4.81 per cent, after washing, 
a reduction of the ash of 77.5 per cent., and the ash in the 
coke was 6.10 per cent. But one would like to know what size 
this was, and what proportion this particular size bore, in 
weight, to the total amount of slack sent to the jigs. Looked 
at from the standpoint of actual results, certainly these figures 
leave but little to be desired, and this, after all, is the main 
consideration. To remove 77.5 per cent, of ash from coal car¬ 
rying 21.12 percent, is certainly good work, but one cannot 
refrain from asking why this result was not reached with coal 
of 14.10 per cent, ash? If 77.5 per cent, of ash were removed 
from this kind of coal the resulting coal would carry only 3.18 
per cent., instead of 7.50 per cent., which it did carry under a 
removal of 46.9 per cent. 

Two facts stand out prominently from these analyses, viz.: 
the best results were from the dirtiest coal, and that from a 
coal practically useless for coke-making there was obtained a 
coal that makes excellent coke. 

There are two points of view in coal washing operations— 
practical and scientific—and to some it might appear that if 
the practical results are satisfactory the scientific aspect of the 
matter may be left to take care of itself. But it will generally 
be found that the best practical results are reached by the aid 
of the best scientific information, and that there is a very real 
and a very vital connection between good practice and good 
theory. A careful study of what is going on very often leads 
to improvements; and from an examination of what is done 
we come to a decision as to what should be done. 







































































* 









Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 59 


Report by Statistical Committee. 


To the President and Members of the Alabama Industrial and 
Scientific Society: 

Gentlemen —It is the pleasure of your Committee to report 
the following: 

At the fall meeting in 1896 of this Society, it was determined 
to make an endeavor to obtain monthly returns from the vari¬ 
ous producers in the State who mined mineral or ore and who 
manufactured products therefrom. In this list your Committee 
has included all the ironmasters, operators of collieries, manu¬ 
facturers of the various grades of brick and of lime, as well as 
the operators of quarries. So far as our knowledge extends 
this was the first attempt made by any society to obtain such 
statistics, and had it not been for the assistance of Dr. Eugene 
A. Smith, State Geologist, your Secretary, who has paid the 
expense incurred in this work, it could not possibly have been 
carried on. The following is the list of producers we have 
been applying to monthly for the information desired: 

ALABAMA PRODUCERS. 

Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., Birmingham. 

Sloss Iron & Steel Co., Birmingham. 

Pioneer Mining & Mfg. Co., Thomas. 

Woodward Iron Co., Woodward. 

Trussville Furnace & Mining Co., Trussville. 

Sheffield Coal, Iron & Steel Co., Sheffield. 

W. G. Robinson & Co., Birmingham. 

Standard Coal Co., Brook wood. 

Dr. .1. T. Searcy, Tuscaloosa. 

Palos Coal Co., Palos. 

Cahaba Southern Mining Co., Hargrove. 

Coal City Coal & Coke Co., Coal City. 

Corona Coal & Coke Co., Corona. 

Howard-Harrison Iron Co., Bessemer. 

Swansea Coal Co., Swansea. 

Leon Fuel Co., Delmar. 

Dora Coal Co., Horse Creek. 


60 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


New River Coal Co., Natural Bridge. 

Jasper Coal Co., Jasper. 

Ragland Coal Co., Ragland. 

Clem & Belser, Del mar. 

Tidewater Coal Co., Tuscaloosa. 

Virginia & Alabama Coal Co., Birmingham. 
Climax Coal Co., Maylene. 

Galloway Coal Co., Galloway. 

Chickasaw Coal Co., Galloway. 

Coaling Coal & Coke Co., Coaling. 

Little Warrior Coal Mining Co., DeBerniere. 
Zenida Coal Co., Helena. 

Ivy Leaf Coal Co., Horse Creek. 

Montevallo Coal & Coke Co., Dogwood. 
Montevallo Coal & Transportation Co., Aldrich. 
Milner Coal Co., New Castle. 

Gaslight Coal Co., Oakman. 

Watts Coal, Coke & Iron Co., Warrior. 

Helena Coal & Mfg. Co., Helena. 

Chris. Obal, Gadsden. 

Bessemer Land & Improvement Co., Bessemer. 
Birmingham Water Works, Birmingham. 

Sand Mountain Coal Co., Attalla. 

Pearson Coal & Iron Co., Warrior. 

Tutwiler Coal & Coke Coke Co., Blossburg. 

Mabel Mining Co., Warrior. 

Elliott & Carrington, Jasper. 

Thomas Coal Co., Birmingham. 

Jefferson Coal & Railroad Co., Lewisburg. 

Hendon Coal Co., Horse Creek. 

McDonald Coal Co., Carbon Hill. 

Imogene Coal Co., Montevallo. 

Mountain Valley Coal Co., Oakman. 

Victor Coal Co., Horse Creek. 

O’Brien, Superintendent Lockhart Mines, Corona. 
John G. Cook, Patton. 

Tupelo Coal Co., Tupelo, Miss. 

Parker Coal Co., Cullman. 

American Coal & Coke Co., America. 

Colbert Iron Co., Sheffield. 

Woodstock Iron Works, Anniston 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 61 

Rock Run Iron & Mining Co., Rock Run. 

Round Mountain Iron Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Tecumseh Iron Works, Tecumseh. 

Shelby Iron Works, Shelby. 

Clifton Iron Works, Ironaton. 

Chewacla Lime Works, Chewacla. 

Auniston Lime Works, Anniston. 

J. B. Randall, Calera. 

T. H. Hardy, Siluria. 

Standard Lime Works, Ft. Payne. 

Robert Stevens, Ensley. 

Marvel City Brick Works, Bessemer. 

Coaldale Brick & Tile Co., Coaldale. 

Bessemer Fire Brick Co., Bessemer. 

Bickerstaff Bros. & Howard, Brick Yard. 

Kloss Brick Co., Bessemer. 

B. F. Holt, Montgomery. 

Robinson Sylvester, E. Birmingham. 

Birmingham Brick Co., Avondale. 

J. D. Leek, E. Birmingham. 

J. R. Copeland, Birmingham. 

C. T. Hardman, 1630 Third Ave., Birmingham. 

George Burbank, Cherokee. 

T. L. Fossick & Co., Sheffield. 

T. H. Wildman, Tuscaloosa. 

Dixie Tile & Pottery, Oxford. 

Alabama Flint Co., Riverton. 

Southern Bauxite Co., Cave Springs, Ga. 

Republic Mining & Mfg. Co., Rock Run. 

This list has grown from month to month because when the 
work was first commenced in January, 1897, only the leading 
and best known among the producers were applied to, but as 
progress was made other names were added to the list as your 
Committee gradually ascertained the location of their works 
and the nature of their operations. Consequently a portion 
only of the producers made the monthly returns during the 
early part of the year, but those firms whose names were 
added later, complied with the request and gave their produc¬ 
tion for the back months; except in the case of the brick- 
makers and lime-burners who were only asked for the produc¬ 
tion during the year, in consideration of the amount of work 


62 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


that would have been entailed on the clerical force, had they 
attempted to make monthly returns. 

Each month at as early a date as possible, the returns were 
compiled and the totals sent to the various technical journals 
in the United States in which the tables were published 
promptly and correctly. Through this means the production 
in the State of Alabama has been published in the various 
large cities of the country, extending from Boston to San 
Francisco, as well as by most of the daily and weekly papers 
published in the State. 

The advertising which the mineral resources of the State 
have received through this system, has been very extensive 
and certainly quite valuable; and not only has the State de¬ 
rived the benefit from this advertising but our Society has 
received due credit for the work of this Committee because 
these tables were invariably published as embracing the sta¬ 
tistics obtained under the auspices of the Geological Survey 
and this Society through the efforts of Dr. Eugene A. Smith. 

While it is almost impossible to obtain statistics which are 
absolutely correct and reliable, yet the work of this Committee 
has been done with a view to being able to furnish the most 
reliable statistics obtainable, and when the tables accompany¬ 
ing this report are compared with the official figures which 
will be published later by the Chief Mine Inspector of the 
State, the Government of the United States, and the Scientific 
Publishing Company in their work entitled “Mineral Indus¬ 
try,” it is hoped that the differences will be so slight as to be 
practically immaterial. 


Mineral Production of Alabama for Year 1897. 


Short tons 

Short tous 

Long tons 

Long tons 

Long tons 

Cubic feet 

Long tons 

Coal* 

Coke* 

Pig Ironf 

Iron Oref 

Lime- 

stonef 

Building 

Stontrf 

Bauxitef 

5,910,109 

1,384,236 

923,895 

3,241,846 

494,655 

80,000f 

10,5831 


*From returns made to Chief Mine Inspector, Jas. D. Hillhouse. These fig¬ 
ures may be slightly increased when final summation is made. 
fFrom returns ma ie to State Geologist and Secretary of Industrial Society. 
Jin addition to the above Alabama should be credited with 2,500 tons or 
more of bauxite, hauled in wagons from mines in Alabama to Cave Spring, 
Ga., and shipped by rail from there and credited to Georgia. 


The final summation of the Chief Mine Inspector is as follows 
Coal, 5 , 893,771 tons; Coke, 1 , 395,252 tons. Owing to the departure of 
Mr. Brewerj who had charge of the collection of statistics, some of the 
returns of iron ore production have been counted twice, and the figure^ 
given in the table above is thus at least one-third too large.—K. A. S. 

































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 63 


Partial Returns of Brick and Pottery Production for 1897. 
Common brick—Birmingham and Montgomery districts only, 15,850,000 


Vitrified 

Pressed 

Fire 


120,000 

380,000 

3,860,000 


Pottery 


10,000 gallons. 


The number of employees in these industries averaged about 
13,000 daily. 

It will be seen that the totals only are published in this re¬ 
port : this because producers have received the assurance from 
your Committee that individual returns would not be pub¬ 
lished. It may easily be seen that the publication monthly of 
individual returns might furnish to competitors information 
which could be used to the disadvantage of some of the com¬ 
panies. 

This work is to be carried on during 1898, in the same man¬ 
ner that it has been done during 1897, but larger experience 
will enable your Committee to obtain more satisfactory results, 
especially with reference to those materials which have not 
been considered monthly, and those concerning which we 
have not been able to get complete returns, such as clays, lime 
and building stone. Wm. M. Brewer, 


For the Committee 













































I 




































PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 

Alabama Industrial 

AND 

Scientific Society. 


Vol. VIII. 

d 


1898. 












PROCEEDINGS 


•OF THE 


ALABAflA INDUSTRIAL 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 


Volume VIII. 

1898. 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE: 

UNIVERSITY, 

ALABAflA. 


ATLANTA, GA.: 

.The Southern Industrial Publishing Co. 

1899. 











OFFICERS 


1898. 


PRESIDENT. 

Truman H. Aldrich, .Birmingham, Ala- 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

Joseph Squire,. 

James H. Fitts,. 

John A. Montgomery,. 

J. W. Minor, . 

J. G. Moore,. 

Chas. J. Geohegan,. 

TREASURER. 

Henry McCalley, .University, Ala. 

SECRETARY. 


Helena, Ala. 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala- 
Thomas, Ala. 
Blocton, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala. 


Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala- 












\ 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceedings of Annual Meeting, . p. 5 

Retiring President’s Address ,. 7 

Proceedings of Autumn Meeting, . 9 

Report of the Secretary, . 12 

Report of the Treasurer, . 13- 












REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 


-OF THE- 

ANNUAL MEETING 

-OF THE- 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 

Held in Birmingham, Ala., March 4, 1898. 


The Society met at 5 o’clock p. m. on Friday, March 4, 1898,. 
in the Rooms of the Commercial Club, in Birmingham, Ala¬ 
bama, President T. H. Aldrich in the chair. 

There were present Col. J. A. Montgomery, Eugene A. Smith,. 
R. M. Newbold, Dr. Wm. B. Phillips, John Shannon, Jas. D. 
Hillhouse, Jr., Henry McCalley, Maj. J. W. Johnston, R. F. 
Manly, J. R. Harris, Erskine Ramsey, H. Harding, J. M. Gar¬ 
vin, W. G. Oliver, Geo. S. Wilkins, J. W. Minor, J. T. McDonald, 
John Foster, J. H. McCune, H. H. Sherman, J. A. Rountree,, 
and representatives of the press. 

The retiring president, Aldrich, then read his address, which 
will be found printed in full below. 

The reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dispensed 
with, since they had been printed and distributed. 

The Committee on Statistics made a report, in which it was- 
stated that about ninety per cent, of the coal, coke, iron ore 
and pig-iron production had been reported monthly by the pro¬ 
ducers, who have been exceedingly courteous in promptly send¬ 
ing in their returns. 

At the suggestion of the Society a committee, consisting of 
Jas. D. Hillhouse, J. A Montgomery and the Secretary, was- 




6 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

appointed to consider the matter of recommending legislative 
enactment to secure greater completeness in the returns of the 
mineral production, and to report at the next meeting. 

The report of the Council was made, recommending a change 
in the by-laws requiring two nominations to be made by the 
Council for each office, to the effect that only one name be 
hereafter proposed for each of the offices, members having, as 
heretofore, the privilege of substituting for the name proposed 
by the Council any other names of their own selection. 

Nominations were made of the following as new members of 
the Society, and they were subsequently elected : 

Maj. J. W. Johnston, Mr. Roger M. Newbold, Mr. John Shan¬ 
non, Mr. Wm. G. Oliver, Mr. W. II. Kettig, Maj. F. Y. Ander¬ 
son, all of Birmingham. 

The reports of the Secretary and of the Treasurer were then 
presented, and Messrs. Manly and Hillhouse were appointed to 
audit the account of the Treasurer. This was done and the 
account was reported as being correct and according to law. 

There being no formal papers presented, Dr. Phillips gave the 
Society some notes on the iron ore deposits near Leeds, and 
afterwards spoke of his experiments at the Semet-Solvay 
establishment at Syracuse, New York. 

The election of officers for the ensuing year, being next in 
order, the nominees, as given in the notice of the Secretary, 
sent out to members previous to the meeting, were voted on 
with the result that the following officers were elected : 

President, Prof. M. C. Wilson, of Florence, Alabama; Vice- 
Presidents, Mr. J. G. Moore, of Blocton ; Mr. Chas. J. Geohe- 
gan, of Birmingham, Ala. 

The Secretary and the Treasurer were continued in office. 

The President-elect not being present, his induction into of¬ 
fice could not be carried out at this time. 

The Society then adjourned, after which the members and 
their invited guests assembled at Paul’s restaurant where they 
partook of a banquet prepared under the direction of Dr. Phil¬ 
lips and Mr. Geohegan. 


Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 





Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


7 


ADDRESS OF RETIRING PRESIDENT, TRUMAN H. 

ALDRICH. 

It seems t© be the custom for your retiring President to give 
a sort of farewell address, not exactly like the Father of our 
Country, nor yet in the nature of a funeral oration, and as the 
writer is a great believer in precedent he proposes to follow the 
example of our previous presiding officers and review the busi¬ 
ness of the past year, and make some observations on the 
future. 

Information received from our seaside ports—and I include 
Pensacola as one of our outgoing stations—shows that there has 
been a steady and continuous growth of foreign trade. Pensa¬ 
cola has handled a very large amount of coal, shipping princi¬ 
pally to Galveston, Texas, although Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico and 
Central America have all taken some. 

A grain elevator is now building there, which, when com¬ 
pleted, will make the general shipping facilities unsurpassed in 
our Southern ports. 

Mobile shows a large increase in business, and is gradually 
adding to its imports as well. No port can handle a large ex¬ 
port trade without imports also. Vessels going to any port 
generally take a cargo out, but if they come to a port empty 
the outgoing cargo bears the expense of both trips in the 
freight charges. The foreign steamships now take their coal at 
Mobile, as well as the fruit steamers. The Continental lines are 
now carrying a great deal of pig-iron, and this character of 
freight, with cotton, makes a desirable cargo. 

Turning now to domestic matters, we note that our coal and 
pig-iron production is the largest in our history. We are 
making steel, good mercantile steel, and making it every day 
without any trouble. It is standing all the tests and comparing 
favorably with that made elsewhere. 

Our machine-shops have had a good business during the past 
year. We can point to two large new cotton factory plants, in¬ 
volving the addition of over $1,000,000 to our manufacturing 
^capital; the Semet-Solvay coke oven plant, at Ensley, already 
described in our proceedings; a large fertilizer factory, and 


8 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


other minor industries, will complete the list in our neighbor¬ 
hood. 

All signs point to a good business for the coming season, and 
some of our industrial concerns are already provided with 
orders ahead sufficient to keep them busy for several months. 

The great need in our section is still a steel plant; one to 
make billets and rods ; the raw material of a dozen minor in¬ 
dustries. Next, we want more foundries and machine-shops, 
something to use up our pig-iron and coal, and, above all, we 
want our waterways improved, by which we hope to get a 
cheaper route to the sea. Give us a 50-cent rate to the ocean 
for our pig-iron and coal, and we will have the world for our 
market. 

Our society is small; its members are not always able to be 
present at its meetings, and many have doubted the desirabil¬ 
ity of keeping it up, but if our members will consider the mul¬ 
titude of people who are reached through our proceedings, and 
their reproduction by the local and industrial papers, they will 
realize its educational value to the people, and we all know 
Alabama is sadly in need of more light—at least educational 
light. Let us stick together, do what we can, and our little 
bantling will be remembered as an important factor in our in¬ 
dustrial progress. 


REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 


-OF THE- 

AUTUMN MEETING 

-OF THE- 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 

Held in Birmingham , Ala., November 5, 1898. 


The meeting was called to order at 4:50 p.m. on Saturday, 
November 5, 1898, in the Rooms of the Commercial Club, in the 
city of Birmingham, Ala., Professor M. C. Wilson, President, 
in the chair. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read by the Secretary 
and adopted without change. 

The Committee on Mineral Statistics reported as follows: 

“ The committee appointed to consider the matter of recom¬ 
mending legislative enactment to secure more complete returns 
of mineral statistics have had the subject under consideration. 
In view of the fact that most of the producers have been send¬ 
ing in monthly returns, it was at first thought inadvisable to 
ask for legislation ; but the State Mine Inspector has expressed 
a desire to have the State Mining Law amended so as to 
secure monthly returns of the production, not only of coal and 
coke, but also of iron ore, limestone, dolomite and pig-iron, 
and, in fact, of all of the minerals produced in the State. To 
this end we have had a conference with the State Mine Inspec¬ 
tor, and have agreed to recommend an amendment to the State 
Mining Law as follows : 

" Be it further enacted, That Section 18 of the State Mining 

Law be amended so as to read as follows : 

“ Be it further enacted, That the owners, agents, or operators 

of all underground mines, lime quarries, stone quarries, ore 






10 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

mines, fire clay and bauxite mines, iron and steel furnaces, coke 
plants, clay industries, etc., in this State, shall, on the first day 
of each month, or within four days thereafter, furnish to the 
Chief | Mine Inspector a statement of the actual product of 
said mines and works, for the preceding month, and that be¬ 
tween the 1st and 10th of each January they shall make a sim¬ 
ilar report for the preceding year. The report shall be in such 
form and give such information regarding said mines and 
works as may from time to time be required and prescribed by 
the Chief Mine Inspector. Blank forms for such report shall be 
furnished by the Chief Mine Inspector.” 

(Signed) J. A. Montgomery, ) 

J. de B. Hooper, Committee. 
Eugene A. Smith, ) 

The report was discussed by the Secretary, Mr. Hooper, and 
Mr. McCalley, and then adopted. 

The report of the Council next followed. The Council rec¬ 
ommended for membership in the Society Dr. John Y. Graham, 
Dr. H. A. Sayre, and Professor A. A. Persons of the University 
of Alabama ; Professor J. J. Wilmore, Professor B. B. Boss and 
Professor A. F. McKissick of the Alabama Polytechnic Insti¬ 
tute, and Mr. G. C. Hewitt of Corona, and they were elected. 

The subject of a banquet at the next meeting was discussed 
by several members, all of whom were in favor of it, and in 
accordance with a motion the President appointed a committee 
consisting of Messrs. Geohegan, Aldrich and Anderson to 
make the necessary arrangements for the banquet which it was 
decided to have on the occasion of the next meeting. 

In order to secure, if possible, for future meetings, some 
formal papers, it was recommended that the Secretary corre¬ 
spond with members, urging them to contribute to the proceed¬ 
ings of the Society, and, if desirable, suggesting the topics. 

A communication from the Commercial Club was then read 
calling attention to some resolutions adopted by that body, 
October 7,1898, in reference to an Alabama exhibit at the Paris 
Exposition, and the discrimination on the part of France, 
against iron from the United States. 

The subject of these resolutions was discussed by several 
members of the Society, and the following action was taken by 
the Society: 


I 




Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 11 

“ Resolved, That the Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society 
heartily indorses the action of the Commercial Club of Bir¬ 
mingham in its resolution of October 7, 1898, requesting the 
Governor to embody in his message to the legislature a recom¬ 
mendation that appropriation be made to provide for suitable. 
representation of the State at the Paris Exposition of 1900; 
and also that the legislature be requested to memorialize Con¬ 
gress to take steps towards securing a change in the French 
tariff laws as regards American iron. 

“ Resolved further, That the Secretary be requested to com¬ 
municate these resolutions to the Governor.” 

There being no formal papers presented before the Society, 
and no further business before it, the Society was adjourned. 

Eugene A. Smith, Secretary. 


12 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 

University of Alabama, March 1, 1898. 

The roll of the Society shows 89 active members and 3 hono¬ 
rary, a total of 42. Of these 17 have paid up all their dues to 
date, 7 owe for 1 year, and the others from 2 to 4 years. All 
these take an interest in the Society and can be counted on to 
make good their deficiencies at a later date. Five new mem¬ 
bers have been added to the Society since my last report, and 
two resignations, viz.: Mr. J. H. Pratt and Mr. L. A. O. 
Gabany. 

The usual notices to members have been printed and sent out, 
as occasion required, during the year, and the proceedings of 
the Society for the year 1897, aggregating 63 pages, have been 
printed in two parts, in order to get them out promptly. 

The additions to the library have been the current numbers 
of the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Society, The Technology 
Quarterly, of Boston ; The Technic; the Circulars of the Johns. 
Hopkins University. 

Eugene A. Smith, 
Secretary. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 13 


REPORT OF TREASURER FOR THE YEAR ENDING 

MARCH 3, 1898. 


University, Ala.. March 3.1898. 

RECEIPTS. 

From cash in Treasury, as per report of May 18. 1897 . 88 75 

From dues received since May 18, 1897. 135 00 

Total receipts.$ 223 75 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For printing Proceedings $ 102 35 

For Postage. 8 00 

For notices of meetings. 6 35 

For Express charges on Proceedings from At¬ 
lanta . 3 55 

For clerical work in sending off Proceedings... 2 50 

JFor reporting Proceedings. 2 00 

Total disbursements. $ 124 75—$124 75 

Falance. ? . $ 99 00 


Henry McCalley, 

Treasurer. 








































6 


I 














* 





PROCEEDINGS 


-OF THE- 

Alabama Industrial 

-AND- 

Scientific Society. 


Vol. IX. Part I. 

« 

1899 . 












PROCEEDINGS 


OP THE 


Alabama Industrial 

-AND- 

Scientific Society. 


Vol. IX. Part I. 
1899 . 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE: 

UNIVERSITY, 

ALABAHA. 


ATLANTA. GA.: 

The Southern Industrial Publishing Co. 

1899. 










OFFICERS 


1899 . 


PRESIDENT. 

James H. Fitts,. Tuscaloosa, Ala. 


VICE-PRESIDENTS. 


John A. Montgomery, 
J. W. Minor, .... 

J. G. Moore,. 

Ciias. J. Geoiiegan, . 
.T. M. Garvin, . . . . 
.T. H. McCune, . . . . 


Birmingham, Ala. 
Thomas, Ala. 
Blocton, Ala. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Rock Run, Ala. 
Woodward, Ala. 


TREASURER. 
Henry McCalley,. 


University, Ala. 


SECRETARY. 


Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala. 












TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceedings of Annual Meeting , . p. 5 

Retiring President’s Address, . 9 

The Bt 'own Iron Ore Mines near Leeds. J. W. Castleman . 13 

Good Roads in the South. Horace Harding. 19 

Mineral Resources of British Columbia. Wm. M. Brewer . 29 

Report of the Secretary, . 39 

Report of the Treasurer, . 41 



























































































REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 


-OF THE- 

ANNUAL MEETING 

-OF THE- 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 

Held in Birmingham , February 1, 1899. 


The annual meeting of the Alabama Industrial and Scientific 
Society was held in the Rooms of the Commercial Club, in Bir¬ 
mingham, Ala., on February 1st, 1899. 

The Society was called to order at 3 : 45 p.m., by ex-President 
F. M. Jackson, in the absence of the President, Prof. M. C. 
Wilson, who was detained by a late train. The minutes of the 
last meeting were then read by the Secretary. That part of the 
minutes containing report of the committee appointed to 
recommend changes in the State Mining Laws, came under dis¬ 
cussion. Several members, including President Sol Haas of 
the Sloss Iron & Steel Company, thought that, the recom¬ 
mended changes went too far, and that it would be a hardship 
to many operators to be compelled to make returns within four 
days after the first of each month, and within ten days after 
the first of January of each year. After full discussion of the 
matter, it was resolved that the recommendations of the com¬ 
mittee, as reported in the proceedings of the last meeting, be 
modified in some particulars. The present mining laws require 
only the producers of coal and coke to report annually to the 
Chief Aline Inspector the amount of their production. The 
.Society now recommends that this requirement be enlarged so 




6 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


as to include all ores, limestones, dolomites, bauxites and clays- 
mined in the State. 

In the report of the Council there were recommended for 
membership in the Society — Dr. P. H. Mell, of Auburn; Mr. 
Percy R. Jones, of Florence, and Mr. Kenneth Robertson, of 
the Sloss Iron & Steel Company, and these gentlemen were 
subsequently elected members. 

The Council also reported favorably upon four papers which 
were afterwards read. 

The reports of the Secretary and of the Treasurer were then 
read. These reports will be found on pages 39 and 41. 

Under the head of new business a resolution was adopted 
favoring the passage of United States Senate Resolution No. 
205, to establish a Division of Mines and Mining in the United 
States Geological Survey, and the Secretary was instructed to 
communicate this action of the Society to the Alabama Sena¬ 
tors and Congressmen, and also to bring the matter to the 
attention of the Birmingham Commercial Club, with request 
that like action be taken by them. 

At this point President Wilson came in, and, after explana¬ 
tion of cause of his delay, read his address as retiring Presi¬ 
dent, which address will be found in full on page 9. 

Reading of papers being next in order, Mr. J. W. Castleman 
of the Sloss Iron & Steel Company, read a paper on “The 
Brown Iron Ore Mines at Leeds,” which will be found in full 
on page 13. 

Dr. John Y. Graham then read a paper on “Trichina spiralis,” 
illustrated by charts and numerous microscopic specimens, to 
be published later. 

A paper on “ Good Roads in the South ” was then read by 
Colonel Horace Harding, which paper will be found in full on 
page 19. 

Mr. Brewer’s paper on the “ Mineral Resources of British 
Columbia ” was read by title, because of the lateness of the 
hour, but it will be found in full on page 29. 

Similarly, the “Section through Red Mountain,” by Mr. 
Allen W. Haskell, was brought before the Society only by title, 
and will be printed in the next number of the Proceedings. 

The election of officers for the ensuing year was then takens 
up, with the following results: 

President—James H. Fitts, of Tuscaloosa. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


7 


Vice-Presidents—J. H. McCune, of Woodward ; J. M. Garvin, 
of Rock Run. 

Treasurer—Henry McCalley, of University. 

Secretary—Eugene A. Smith, of University. 

Upon motion of Mr. J. W. Johnston, it was decided at the 
next meeting, which was fixed for May 3d, to devote the day, 
beginning at 10 a.m., to the meeting. It was also agreed that 
each member should exert himself to secure at least one new 
member by the next meeting. 

The thanks of the Society were then, by resolution, tendered 
to the authorities of the Commercial Club for the use of their 
rooms, and the hour for the banquet having arrived, and there 
being no further business, the Society was adjourned. 

Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 







Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 9> 


ADDRESS OF RETIRING PRESIDENT MARSHALL C. 

WILSON. 

The task set itself by this society is a twofold one. On the 
part, of some of its members, it is to devote itself to the crea¬ 
tion of new knowledge, to the promotion of pure research in 
fields where no observation has been made; on the part of 
others, it is to make practical application of this knowledge to 
the arts and industries ; to promote the development of the- 
material resources of the State. 

It occurs to me that a scientific and industrial society of a 
great State should have hundreds of members from all sections 
of the State. Birmingham, the center of the industrial inter¬ 
ests of this State, is a fit place for the meetings of this Society. 
In every community where there is any intellectual activity 
there should be one or more members. With a large member¬ 
ship gathering a mass of information from genuine first-hand 
observations, there would necessarily be some new knowledge 
gained. Certainly it would be a glorious thing for this Society 
to set to work the means by which some people in every com¬ 
munity would be induced to use their faculties in making real 
observations on the phenomena surrounding them. How to 
enlarge the membership, would, of course, be a matter for dis¬ 
cussion by the Society. 

It is not necessary to cite examples to prove that the steady, 
systematic pursuit of any one science is always followed by 
growth in some industry bearing upon that science. In fact it 
has come to be generally recognized that the study of pure 
science must necessarily precede industrial growth. In all 
great manufacturing centers there are schools or institutes 
where the elements of science may be studied. What these 
institutions have done in our own manufacturing cities, is too 
well known to require mention here. It is well within the 
function of this Society to do all it can in promoting the study 
of natural science in the public schools. 

In obeying the law as laid down in the Constitution of this- 
Society, making it the duty of the President to deliver an ad¬ 
dress at its annual meeting, I shall endeavor, in the few words- 


10 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


I have to say, to keep within the limits prescribed, viz: the 
review of the work of the past year, and the outlining of plans 
for the next year’s work. 

Two meetings were held during the past year. At the first, 
important papers were read and interesting discussions held ; 
at the last meeting a number of new members w r ere received. 

It is always difficult to realize just what a quietly working 
force has done in a limited time. Looking for results, perhaps 
we could not point out any one great good that has come within 
the last year from the work of the Alabama Industrial and 
Scientific Society. Time is needed for these results to show 
themselves. Because a body of men is working quietly and 
not trying to make a noise, it is not necessarily failing to ac¬ 
complish its purpose. AVe have cause to congratulate ourselves 
on the record of the year’s work. Genuine research has been 
made, as is evidenced by the papers read, and the predicate has 
been laid for work that may be far-reaching in its results. It 
should be a matter of pride to each individual member of this 
Society to exert himself to the utmost to keep up the w r ork ; 
some of the most important scientific societies of the world 
have had more modest beginnings than this one. So far as I 
know there is no other scientific society in the State. There is, 
of course, research being made by isolated individuals. Now, 
the scientist, almost more than any other man, knows how to 
appreciate the value of co-operation ; almost all great dis¬ 
coveries come from the combined research of several w r orkers. 
The individual needs the sympathy, the suggestions, the en¬ 
couragement of men engaged in similar pursuits. A mere 
hint thrown out by some one has often set into motion investi¬ 
gations of tremendous importance. 

In reviewing the history of the Alabama Industrial and Scien¬ 
tific Society since its organization in 1890, one cannot fail to 
note the scarcity of papers read before the Society. This means 
not an uninterested membership, but rather that the members 
being men of little or no leisure, have had no time to devote to 
investigation. Many of us have only a few breathing spells 
from our daily routine of hard work, and anything like exhaust¬ 
ive investigation is out of the question. But this is not expected 
ol all members. An observation of some phenomenon, an 
account of some w r ork on which science bears, anything, in fact, 
of interest to a body of scientists, may properly be presented in 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


11 


these meetings. There are thousands of investigations to be 
made; any one of sound common sense who can see things as 
they are, is competent to make these observations. It is a mis¬ 
take, too often made, to associate matters scientific with what 
is attainable only by the few. Science is based upon common 
knowledge derived from experiment and observation. It only 
insists upon absolute truthfulness in these observations. It is 
one of the functions of this Society to plan work for its mem¬ 
bers, and the performance of this function would, without doubt, 
increase the number of papers presented, and arouse a greater 
interest on the part of the members. Wherever there is life 
there must be work. It is of vital importance that every mem¬ 
ber of this Society should take part in its proceedings. We have 
all heard the story of the man who did not enjoy the meeting 
because he could get no chance to speak. While most of our 
members have not been clamorous for a chance to speak in 
meetings, the fact remains that their interest would be very 
much greater if they could be induced to present papers occa¬ 
sionally. If we would have our members attend the meetings 
we must in some way get them to work. 

Agriculture is still the principal industry of Alabama. There 
are certain branches of natural science having the closest, 
most intimate relations to farming, which are practically un¬ 
known outside of our great institutions of learning. The study 
of entomology, at least so much of the science as has a direct 
bearing upon fruit culture and gardening, would go very far 
toward making this State prosperous. It would most surely be 
followed by the planting and proper care of orchards, an in¬ 
dustry which, in the neighboring State of Georgia, brings in 
every year such handsome returns. A practical knowledge of 
soils and plants, widely diffused among the people, could not 
possibly fail to be of great economic value. Our own plant, 
the cotton, its growth, and especially its fiber, might be studied 
to great industrial advantage. There is scarcely any natural 
•science whose pursuit would fail to yield profit in money. 

The point I wish to emphasize, in my poor way, is this: that 
if we are to reap advantage from all the great resources of our 
State, we must prepare our people to see and understand them. 
We must not depend wholly upon outsiders to come in and de¬ 
velop them. 

I am convinced that this Society could not possibly do any- 


12 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


thing better calculated to promote industrial growth in tins'- 
city, its home, than to encourage and work for the establish¬ 
ment of some sort of school where every one would have oppor¬ 
tunity to study the elements of natural science. This school 
would, in the beginning, have to be limited in its scope, perhaps 
nothing more than a night school at first, and nothing but the 
simplest elements of science could be taught at first; but it 
would form a beginning toward giving a chance to every youth 
within the limits of the city, for some scientific training; and 
it would serve as a feeder to our higher institutions. A school 
for the study of that branch of science bearing upon the man¬ 
ufacture of iron, would certainly be profitable here. If this 
Society could succeed in bringing about the establishment of 
some such school here, it would not be long before similar 
schools would spring up in the smaller towns and villages, and 
this would be followed by industrial growth as surely as day 
follows night. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


13 


THE BROWN IRON ORE MINES NEAR LEEDS, IN 
JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

By J. W. Gastleman. 

Your Secretary, Dr. E. A. Smith, has requested that I give 
jour Society an account of the Brown Ore Mines recently 
-opened, under my direction, by the Sloss Iron & Steel Com¬ 
pany, in the Cahaba Valley, a short distance below Leeds. 
This I will endeavor to do as briefly as possible. 

A slight description of the locality is necessary to a clear 
understanding of what will follow. 

The Cahaba Valley at the point of operations is not, as might 
be supposed, the trough of the main Cahaba River, but that of 
a comparatively small affluent known as East Cahaba. 

The valley runs in a general northeasterly and southwesterly 
direction, and is bounded on the southeast by a high, continu¬ 
ous and precipitous ridge known as Big Oak Mountain, while 
its northwestern containing wall is a lower ridge, about two 
miles distant from the other, and parallel to it, locally called 
Pine Ridge. This, while not nearly so lofty as the other, is 
still of good height. 

In front of eacli of these dominant bounding ridges runs a 
parallel lower ridge, between which two latter runs the main 
valley. The outlier of Big Oak Mountain is called Oak Ridge, 
that of Pine Ridge is locally known as Mill Ridge. 

Oak Ridge, while much lower than Big Oak Mountain, is also 
precipitous and continuous. Mill Ridge, however, is more 
rounded in outline, and at times sinks away almost to the gen¬ 
eral level of the valley ; rising again, however, further on. 

The so-called valley, therefore, consists really of three par¬ 
allel valleys, e. g , the main valley lying between Oak and Mill 
Ridges, and two much narrower ones lying, the one between 
Big Oak Mountain and Oak Ridge, the other between Pine 
Ridge and Mill Ridge. 

The general aspect of the country is very pleasing. Indeed, 
:as viewed up and down the valley from either of the ridges, it 
.can truthfully be called picturesque; the fertile, well-farmed 


14 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


valleys which stretch away on either hand until lost in the* 
blue distance, affording a piquant contrast to their dark, 
shaggy, bounding walls. 

I have been particular in setting out these natural surface 
features, for the reason that these parallel hills and valleys 
roughly correspond with and define the different geological for¬ 
mations of the region. 

Starting from the southeastern rim and proceeding north¬ 
westerly, we will indicate these, subject to the correction of 
Dr. Smith, as to any geological inaccuracies, into which, as an 
unprofessional, I may unwittingly fall. 

Big Oak Mountain is formed by the conglomerates lying at 
the base of the Goal Measures of the Coosa field. The valley 
between it and Oak Ridge is in the shales of the Sub-carbonifer¬ 
ous formation, the equivalent in this part of the State of the 
Mountain Limestone. Oak Ridge is the representative of the 
Red Mountain, and is consequently a triple formation; the 
Fort Payne chert of the Sub-carboniferous making the body of 
the ridge, with a thin sheet of Devonian black shale, and the 
sandstones and shales of the Clinton completing it. The Clin¬ 
ton here contains little or no red ore. Other Silurian strata 
underlie the valley out to and including Mill Ridge. The val¬ 
ley between Mill Ridge and Pine Ridge, and Pine Ridge itself, 
consist of Knox Dolomite measures, which extend into ’Possum 
Hollow, beyond Pine Ridge, where the Cambrian formation 
joins it. The last continues to the line of the great vertical 
fault which bounds the Cahaba coal field on the southeast. 

Our survey across the Cahaba Valley thus virtually repre¬ 
sents a descent of nearly two miles into the bowels of the 
earth, Pine Ridge being stratigraphically about that distance 
below Big Oak Mountain. 

All these measures having been thrown up from their origi¬ 
nal horizontal position, now dip at an angle of about sixty 
degrees southeast. Their strike is, consequently, about 45 de¬ 
grees northeast and southwest. 

Hoping that the general situation is, in some degree, intel¬ 
ligible, I will now proceed to outline the operations of the Sloss 
Iron & Steel Company, in the region under my direction, up to 
the present time, stating, in conclusion, the inferences which 
it seems to me legitimate to draw from the results attained. 

The preliminary prospecting of the Sloss Company covered 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 15 - 

about four miles of the southeastern face of Oak Ridge, and 
about six miles of the same face of Pine Ridge. 

The writer expected at first to find (if anything considerable)' 
only a series of pockets of brown ore of the usual form. 

The explorations, however, soon began to develop an appar¬ 
ently definite strike and continuity, a conformity of inclina¬ 
tion, and a solidity ot formation in the ore, which, in any other 
material, the writer is bold to say, would be considered con¬ 
clusive evidence of strata of ore. The writer being trained 
under conditions and surroundings which made the expression 
stratified or continuous brown ore almost sound like a contra¬ 
diction in terms, long resisted the apparent evidence which 
every new cutting seemed to strengthen and confirm. 

At last, however, this evidence became to his mind too 
strong to resist, and he is forced to believe, either that all that 
we consider evidence of such formation,in other material is 
fallacious, or that there is a series of strata of limonite in the 
Oak and Pine Ridges of Cahaba Valley of fine quality and 
enormous thickness. 

As this is the point which lias naturally aroused most contro¬ 
versy in this matter, I wish to recapitulate the considerations 
which forced me to this conclusion, which, before this evidence 
was presented to me, I would have rejected as ridiculous: 

First—The fact that I could follow the strike of the same ore 
for miles with a compass. 

Second — Conformity of inclination with all the other 
branches of the measures, whether limestone, dolomite, slate 
or chert rock, across the entire valley. 

Third—Appearance of stratification. 

Fourth—Solidity of material; the ore, after getting away 
from the rotten outcrop, being in solid layers. 

It would require personal inspection to appreciate the full 
force of these cumulative points of evidence. 

I am aware, however, that my belief on this point will not be 
shared by many, perhaps not by any of my hearers, and it is 
fortunate that the economic importance of this ore does not 
depend upon whether it occurs in strata, or as our mutual 
friend, Dr. W. B. Phillips, felicitously expressed it, in “Con¬ 
tinuous Pockets.” 

Whether it is in strata or not, it is certainly enormous in. 
quantity and excellent in quality. 


16 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


This being so, we can safely let experts differ to any extent 
agreeable to themselves about technical points of geological 
definition. I return, therefore, to my account of tangible re¬ 
sults. 

I found and cut continuously for two miles what I will call 
as a compromise and for peace’s sake, a continuous lead of ex¬ 
cellent brown ore on the southeast side of Oak Ridge, having 
apparently a stratified slate hanging wall and a chert foot wall. 
I hesitate to give the apparent thickness of this ore. It was 
over 100 feet, however. 

The only objection to this ore is a relatively high phosphorus 
as compared with the Pine Ridge ore, its average analysis be¬ 
ing about .80 phosphorus. A burden of one-third, however, of 
this ore could be advantageously used along with either the 
hard red ores of the district or with the Pine Ridge ores, as 
will be seen when we come to them. The conditions for mining 
this lead are most excellent, as on the ridge side over large 
areas the slate hanging wall has disintegrated and washed off, 
leaving the ore either absolutely exposed or only lightly cov¬ 
ered with surface soil washed from above. 

On Pine Ridge our cutting covered about six miles. We 
found there two continuous leads of ore with about 400 feet 
between them. The front lead is about 60 feet thick, being in 
two benches with a parting of about six feet of rock. 

The front bench is 40 feet; the back about 15 feet. 

The back vein has not yet been sufficiently developed to de¬ 
termine its exact thickness. This Pine Ridge ore analyzes 50 
per cent, iron and only about .25 in phosphorus, and hence 
could be used alone in the furnaces. 

When we consider that the average thickness of red ore which 
present conditions allow us to use is only about seven feet, the 
significance of the above thicknesses as indicating quantity 
will become obvious. 

The conditions for economical mining are not so favorable on 
Pine Ridge as on Oak Ridge, owing to the fact that the ore on 
the outcrop has a heavier covering of more refractory material. 
Only the consideration of low phosphorus determined the loca¬ 
tion of the mine on this ridge in preference to the other. 

We have adopted, however, a system of hydraulic stripping, 
which enables us to remove this covering at low cost. 

In this connection it is appropriate to notice a point that has 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 17 

been frequently raised, e. g., why this Pine Ridge ore has not 
been sooner discovered. The following considerations will indi¬ 
cate the answer to this question. On Pine Ridge both foot wall 
and hanging wall seem to be composed of chert, which deeper 
down I would expect to find an impure limestone or a solid 
flint. 

The measures stand at an inclination of about 60 degrees, 
sloping up the hill. The continuous influence of air and water 
acting on the outcrop of the vein rots the iron ore first to an 
ochre, then leaches this ochre out, but acts very much more 
slowly on the chert, the debris of which (the iron ore being re¬ 
moved from under it) conseqhently drop finally down over the 
end of the ore vein, completely obscuring and covering it. 

On the Oak Ridge on the contrary the conditions were re¬ 
versed. The hanging wall being of slate, as stated, was more 
readily acted on by the aqueous and aerial influences, and con¬ 
sequently it was removed and the iron ore left exposed. 

A short description of the present mining plant of the com¬ 
pany may be of interest. 

This consists of a large duplex Snow pump, having a capacity 
of 1,000 gallons per minute at 250 pounds pressure at the pump, 
which is located on the bank of East Cahaba, and furnishes, 
in the first instance, all the water used for hydraulic washing, 
and also for operating a number of flumes in which the ore is 
washed and conveyed into the cars; another pump of capacity 
of 600 gallons per minute, which pumps water back from a catch 
pond for the same purposes, and a duplex 18x3(5 air compressor, 
built by Hardie-Tynes Company, of Birmingham, just now be¬ 
ing installed. This last is designed to run all the air drills 
necessary in mining the ore. 

The mines are located on a branch of the Southern Railroad, 
about four miles in length, which leaves the main line a short 
distance beyond Henry-Ellen. 

Their present output is between three and four hundred tons 
per day, which will be rapidly increased to at least 1,000. 

In conclusion, it seems pertinent to call attention to the 
probable effect of the development of this new ore territory, 
both at home and abroad. This effect should be very far-reach¬ 
ing. 

The ridges in which these ores occur extend for at least thirty 
miles either way from Leeds, and the writer’s information is 


18 Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 

that the conditions and ore indications are the same along this 
entire sixty miles. The region constitutes, in fact, a Brown 
Mountain, parallel to our Red Mountain, and in the writer’s 
deliberate judgment this Brown Mountain contains ten times 
the workable ore existing in Red Mountain. 

My information is that an iron furnace working on an exclu¬ 
sive high grade brown ore burden will make a ton of iron on 
half a ton less coke than when using our red ores, and will also 
make materially more of it. 

This will mean an economy of at least 75 cents per ton. The 
significance of such a revolution as this is apparent at a glance. 
The situation as between us and our Northern competitors in 
iron-making has been previously this: They have had costly 
high grade ores. We have had cheap low grade ores. They have 
now apparently exhausted all means of cheapening their ores. 
If now we can develop a cheap high grade ore their competition 
in the lines for which our irons are adapted is manifestly at an 
end, and no other resource will remain to them but to follow 
their cotton mills south. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


19 


GOOD ROADS IN THE SOUTH. 

By Horace Harding, C.E. 

All industries, either in securing their supplies or in deliver¬ 
ing their products, are more or less dependent upon the com¬ 
mon roads. The proper construction of these roads is due to 
the intelligent application of scientific principles. It will not 
be inappropriate, therefore, for the Industrial and Scientific 
Society of Alabama to give some consideration to the subject of 
Alabama roads. 

We claim to be a progressive people, but in some things we 
are very conservative. We are apt to cling to methods and sys¬ 
tems that we have inherited and grown up under, our sense of 
their inconveniences being blunted by long usage. Especially 
has this been the case in regard to our highways. As our 
fathers made them, so we maintain them. But a spirit of un¬ 
rest is beginning to manifest itself on this subject. It is grad¬ 
ually dawning upon us that our roads and the method of main¬ 
taining them, however well adapted to pioneerdays, do not suit 
present conditions. A demand for better roads comes from 
many portions of the State and a discussion by this Society of 
the best method of obtaining them may elicit information or 
bring out suggestions that will be timely and valuable. 

In this paper our roads will be considered wholly from an in¬ 
dustrial pointof view, that is, as designed primarily for hauling 
and not for driving. A good road, then, would be one over 
which the wagons in common use could be hauled when loaded 
to their full capacity. Probably twelve bales of cotton, mak¬ 
ing, with the wagon, a gross weight of about 7,500 pounds, 
would be the limit of safety for ordinary wagons, and this will 
be assumed as the load for which the roads should be so im¬ 
proved that a four-horse team could haul it over all portions of 
them. 

A corresponding load of six bales for a two-horse wagon 
would give a gross weight of about 4,000 pounds, or 2,000pounds 
to the horse. 

It is a prevalent opinion that a good road must necessarily be 
a macadamized road. This is generally true in the Northern 
States, where the ground freezes to a depth of three feet or 


20 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Sdciety. 


more. A thaw leaves the ground soft to the depth that it was 
frozen, and to guard against the consequent mud and the ef¬ 
fects of frost upheaval, a thick macadam or Telford protection 
is needed. Here, where a freeze seldom extends more than an 
inch or two below the surface, the mud from a thaw is thin and, 
on a well drained road, quickly disappears, so that a protective 
coating is not essential. 

For hauling uses macadam roads are, with us, more of a lux¬ 
ury than a necessity. For, although on a level macadam in 
good condition a two-horse team can draw a gross load of 10,- 
000 pounds, wagons would seldom be subjected to such strains 
even if able to resist them safely, for teams traveling on the 
macadam would usually have reached it from farm and neigh¬ 
borhood roads with loads limited by the conditions there exist¬ 
ing. Hence the facilities offered by a macadam could not for 
the most part be fully utilized. But even if macadam roads 
were very desirable, and however desirable they may be, their 
cost is a bar to their general use. In the most favored locali¬ 
ties the cost would hardly be less than $3,000 a mile, and since 
the public road mileage in the State is from 500 to 1,000 miles 
to the county, probably no county would be able or, at any rate, 
willing to incur the expense of macadamizing in a general sys¬ 
tem of road improvement. Suburban districts, where density 
of population would lighten the individual burden, may indulge 
in macadam roads ; elsewhere throughout the State they would 
be classed among Mr. Ingalls’ “ iridescent dreams.” 

A GOOD DIRT ROAD. 

We must then, generally, and for the present, rest content 
with dirt roads, and it is the object of this paper to suggest for 
discussion how and to what extent they may be improved with¬ 
out exceeding the ability or willingness of the people to meet 
the cost of such improvement. 

Our public roads require improvement in the three main feat¬ 
ures that determine their degree of excellence, viz: location, 
surface resistance and grade per cent,., i. e., the rise in feet per 
100 feet used in surmounting hills. These will be considered in 
order mentioned. 

As to location of alignment, it is enough to say that, at least 
for much traveled, it should be such as to the shortest distance 
consistent with easy grade; and the best ground for road con- 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


21 


struction. Zigzagging along section lines should be done away 
with. The length of the diagonal of a section is six-tenths of 
a mile less than the sum of two sides. To withhold this saving 
in distance from the public is virtually to lay an onerous tax 
upon it for the convenience of an individual. 

The road surface, to give the minimum resistance, should be 
hard and smooth, i. e., clear of ruts, mud, dust, loose stones 
or free sand. With dirt roads this ideal condition cannot be 
fully reached, and they cannot therefore be made absolutely 
good. But they can be made practically good, that is, good 
enough generally to allow full loads to be hauled over any and 
all portions of them. 

The degree of excellence that can be attained in improving 
the surface of dirt roads and the facility with which this can 
be accomplished depends largely upon the nature of the soil. 
Generally speaking, any soil that can be packed when dry will 
make a good road as long as it can be kept dry or but slightly 
moist. A soil, then, is good or bad, for road purposes, in pro¬ 
portion to the thoroughness with which it may be kept free, 
from saturation. 

Nearly all our soils become saturated after continued rains r 
and when traveled over in that condition become muddy if not 
miry. On our roads this saturation, to a great extent, can be, 
and to have them good, must be prevented. The means for ac¬ 
complishing this object are generally well known, but as they 
are also quite as generally neglected, or at least inadequately 
used, it may be well to call attention to them. 

The three essential preventives to saturation are crowning 
the surface, compacting the roadbed and thorough drainage. 
Crowning is needed to carry off the rainfall and prevent stand¬ 
ing pools. Four inches for a 16-foot road is the crown recom¬ 
mended by the best authorities ; but since, on a road of that 
width, the traveled track would be in the center, which would 
wear down, it would be better to make the crown originally six 
inches. On hills the crown slope must exceed the grade slope, 
that the rainfall may reach the ditches and not run down the 
road. 

ROAD-ROLLERS AND WIDER TIRES. 

Compacting the roadbed is required to reduce the porosity of 
the soil and make it incompressible under heavy loads. This 
compacting can be best accomplished, in fact, can only be sat- 


22 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


isfactorily accomplished by the use of road-rollers, and every 
•county undertaking to improve its roads should have such im¬ 
plements in its road equipment. Expensive steam rollers are 
not necessary ; two-ton horse rollers have been found quite effi¬ 
cacious, but requiring more rollings. 

But most soils, even if well rolled, are, when moistened, lia¬ 
ble to rut-cutting from narrow tires under heavy loads. To 
maintain dirt roads in good surface, we must, therefore, use 
wide tires on our wagon wheels. In the Atlanta experiments, 
conducted by the office of Road Inquiry of the Department of 
Agriculture, it was found that on the clay road, wetted, 2-inch 
tires made ruts and required double the pull that 4 and 5-inch 
tires needed for the same load. In the latter case, also, the 
track was packed and smoothed by the tires. Similar results 
have been repeatedly obtained by other experimenters, and 
the advisability of using wide tires, especially for dirt roads, 
seems to have been well established. It is difficult to change 
methods long in use, and persuasion alone, therefore, can hardly 
prevail in introducing the use of wide tires. Some direct in¬ 
ducement must be offered. A road-tax on vehicles with ex¬ 
emption for wide tires, and, if necessary, a bonus for the lat¬ 
ter, may bring them into use. 

In this connection it may be well to mention another recom¬ 
mendation of the office of Road Inquiry, since it concerns the 
efficiency of teams in hauling. It was found that the often 
recurring slackening and tightening of the traces caused by 
slight irregularities in the road surface, give rise to a series of 
jerks that momentarily increase the pull, often as much as 
five times the normal traction. These jerks are transmitted 
by the collars as severe blows to the shoulders, tending to 
bruise them, and to fatigue and distress the team. To absorb 
these jerks, and render them comparatively harmless, the use 
of a spring connection between tug and singletree is advised. 
Such springs are on the market, and though not generally kept 
in stock by the hardware stores, can be ordered through them. 
The principle involved is the same for wagons as for cars. For 
these, traction springs are essential, for if the drawheads were 
rigidly attached to the car frames, hauling long trains would 
be impracticable. The couplings would be breaking continu¬ 
ally, just as we sometimes see a trace-chain snap or a single¬ 
tree break from a sudden surge of the team. 

To return to the subject of road surface, any soil composed 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


23 


of clay, mixed with sand or gravel, can be rolled to a good 
surface that, with wide tires, can be maintained. Pure clay 
should be given a coating of sand or sandy material, for, 
though it might give a good wheel track, the horse track would 
be tramped into mud in wet weather, unless given some pro¬ 
tective coating. A sand bed should be given a top dressing of 
clay and then rolled. If, in any case, the clay cannot be con¬ 
veniently applied, the road should not be ditched. It should 
rather be depressed to retain moisture, for moist sand (not 
quicksand) offers a firmer bed to a wheel than dry sand. 

PRAIRIES AND CANEBRAKES. 

Probably the most difficult roads to deal with are those in 
the prairie and canebrake sections. As summer roads they are 
excellent, and could hardly be improved as to surface ; but in 
winter, when the wheels travel one or two feet under ground, 
they are almost impassable. The soil so readily becomes soft 
and sticky when wet, that macadamizing or some equivalent 
protection seems essential in order to have good roads. Unfor¬ 
tunately, macadamizing, to any great extent, would be too 
costly to be practicable, as suitable rock for the purpose would 
have to be obtained by rail, the country rock being too soft for 
use as road material. 

But with good drainage, rolling and wide tires, these roads 
could be greatly improved. In many localities, perhaps gen¬ 
erally, gravelly clay, or clay of some kind, can be procured 
within reasonable hauling distance, and if this be spread and 
rolled on the prepared roadbed a fairly good surface can be 
secured. 

An experiment tried near Keokuk, la., may be worth repeat¬ 
ing on roads of this character. Crude petroleum, costing 90 
cents a barrel, was sprinkled over a width of twelve feet at the 
rate of 53 barrels to the mile. The oil, it is reported, formed a 
waterproof crust, and prevented the formation of both dust 
and mud. An experimental test of a few hundred feet could 
be made at a cost of $5 to $10 and, if results similar to those 
reported were obtained, a simple and cheap method of prairie 
road improvement would be indicated. The test should be 
made on a piece of road thoroughly dry and smooth. 

To get the best results from drainage, the roads should be as 
narrow as the convenience for travel will permit. In ordinary 


24 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


cases sixteen feet will probably be found sufficient. The ditch 
bottom should be at least two feet below the road surface, for 
a sixteen-f'oot road and the fall in the ditches should not be 
less than six inches to the 100 feet; that the water may pass off 
readily and not, by standing, saturate the roadbed. They 
should be narrow in the bottom to concentrate and give veloc¬ 
ity to the flow at small depths, the capacity needed for large 
discharges being obtained by sloping the sides. Side outlets 
should be given with sufficient frequency to prevent overflow 
and to check, on grades, the scour that is liable to occur with 
full ditches. In the latter case, if the side outlets cannot be se¬ 
cured often enough or in case of material likely to wash, the 
ditches should be planked or otherwise lined to prevent the for¬ 
mation of gullies. 

THE MAXIMUM GRADE. 

It has been assumed in this paper that our roads should be so 
improved that the maximum load for a horse may reach 2,000 
pounds. In the Atlanta experiments it was found that the re¬ 
sistance to traction on a level dirt road in good condition was 5 
per cent, of the gross load. A horse of average strength can, 
according to Trautwine, exert during a day’s work a mean trac¬ 
tion force of 100 pounds at a gait of 2% miles an hour. As 5 
per cent, of 2,000 is 100, the assumed maximum load is in ac¬ 
cordance with these data. 

In ascending hills the grade per cent, must be low enough to 
allow the load for a level to be hauled over them. In this case, 
in addition to the surface resistance (which may be termed the 
friction per cent.) that due to gravity—the grade per cent.— 
must be overcome, and this must be applied to the weight of 
the horse as well as to that of the load, since the horse in as¬ 
cending has to lift his own weight. The grade per cent, for a 
given load and friction per cent, may be ascertained by the use 
of a simple formula : 

Let t equal the traction force in pounds. 

Let h equal the weight of the horse. 

Let 1 equal the weight of the gross load. 

Let g equal the grade per cent. 

Let f equal the friction per cent. 

t_if 

Then g = —r -., or, in words : 

h 1 

From the tractive force deduct the product of the load into 



Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


25 


the friction per cent. Divide the remainder by the combined 
weights of horse and load. The quotient will be the grade per 
cent. 

Tn applying this rule two facts must be taken into account: 
first, that within the limits of one to three miles an hour, a 
horse’s pulling power increases as his speed decreases, and, sec¬ 
ond, that a horse may for a few minutes double his normal 
traction, if allowed rest after this extra exertion. If, then, in 
pulling up a hill, the gait be reduced from two and one-half 
miles to one mile an hour, the normal traction will be increased 
from 100 pounds to 250 pounds. Doubling this amount as the 
result of brief extra effort, makes 500 pounds as the possible 
draft power obtainable. 

It was found at Atlanta that a team of four small mules was 
stalled with an indicated pull of 1,900 pounds or 475 pounds to 
the mule. For an average horse this might become 500 pounds, 
as calculated above, but for a conservative estimate 475 pounds 
may be taken as the maximum pulling power of a horse. The 
weight of the average horse is about 1,000 pounds. 

Taking the figures as above given, the grade with maximum 
draft would be, by the rule, 12^ per cent, for a dirt road in 
good condition, and for a gross load of 2,000 pounds per horse ; 
but in establishing such a grade it would be necessary to allow 
for frequent level resting places ten feet to fifteen feet in 
length, because it requires much more power to start a loaded 
wagon than to keep it in motion, and if a team is stopped on a 
grade, where it is using its full strength, it could not start 
again. On a well kept macadam road, where the friction resis¬ 
tance is 2 per cent., the full load for a horse would be 5,000 
pounds, which, by the rule, would give a maximum grade of 
P er cent. Therefore, in improving dirt roads where ulti¬ 
mate macadamization is contemplated, this grade per cent, 
should not be exceeded. 

On our roads as they now exist many grades occur exceed¬ 
ing the limit proposed. Some of these can be avoided alto¬ 
gether by a re-location of the roads, on others the grade must 
be reduced either by cutting down the hill or by ascending it 
diagonally to its slope. The former method would in some 
cases require heavy excavation, the latter would give light 
grading with increased distance. The more economical method 


26 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


for each case would be determined by the conditions affect¬ 
ing it. 

Steep grades also occur frequently on all our common roads 
that are unnoticed by the eye as such, though the fact is recog¬ 
nized by the teams. The short undulations that exist on a mile 
of level road, so-called, may easily give fifty feet of ascent to 
be overcome by grades of 15 to 20 per cent, or even more. 
These may not be more than five or ten feet in length, and 
therefore do not attract attention, but they nevertheless strain 
the teams and limit their loads. 

the matter of supervision. 

Under our road laws as now executed good roads cannot be 
expected. They do not provide either for proper supervision 
or for suitable equipment. Overseers are appointed and left to 
their own devices, as if road-making were a natural instinct, 
or as if a man could evolve the requisite knowledge from his 
inner consciousness instead of from training and practice. As 
a consequence, we occasionally see a passably good road tem¬ 
porarily converted into an almost impassable bad one. Some¬ 
times, for instance, a road of stiff material, which travel during 
dry weather has packed and smoothed, is plowed up and the 
clods thrown to the middle, furnishing a bed of boulders for 
wagons to jolt over. Overseers selected to direct the work of 
the road hands should themselves be directed and instructed 
that they may be able to perform their duties efficiently. More¬ 
over, in making and repairing roads they should not be confined 
to the use of material that is within casting range of a shovel. 
Where better material is needed they should be provided with 
the means for hauling it. Farm wagons and teams could gen¬ 
erally be hired for this purpose, when the crops are laid by, at 
reasonable rates. A mile of road could be coated for a width 
of 12 feet and to a depth of six inches for $500, if the average 
haul did not exceed one mile, or of $300, if the haul was not 
more than one-half mile. 

In making macadam roads professional aid is, of course, em¬ 
ployed, because maps and profiles must be drawn, estimates 
and specifications prepared and proper inspection given. Now, 
it is quite as necessary for a county wishing to get the best 
results from the work done on its dirt roads to have a super¬ 
visor of some engineering knowledge and experience in charge, 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


27 


for the roads, to be good, should be prepared as if they were 
to be macadamized. This engineer-supervisor is equally need¬ 
ed, whether the improvement is to be made by contract, by the 
county with paid overseers and hired labor, or with overseers 
and labor as provided by existing laws. In either case the en¬ 
gineer is needed to lay out the work and see that it is properly 
done, and in the last, moreover, to advise and instruct the 
overseers as to the times, places and methods that would yield 
the most satisfactory results for the work performed. 

In the desire to meet the demand for better roads some coun¬ 
ties, anxious to secure as soon as possible the advantages ex¬ 
pected from them, may find it expedient to issue bonds to raise 
the large sum needed for the purpose. This may or may not be 
a wise policy, but generally, it is probable, experience has en¬ 
gendered such a dread of indebtedness, public as well as pri¬ 
vate, that the people of most counties in the State would be 
inclined to reject any plan involving a bond issue. Such issues 
require a fixed annual payment for interest and sinking fund 
charges, and are usually made with the sanguine expectation 
that improved conditions will lighten the burden incurred as 
the years roll by. Not unfrequently the reverse happens. 
The load remains the same while the ability to bear it grows 
less. 

PAY AS YOU GO. 

A safer and more flexible plan for a county contemplating 
a bond issue would be for it to levy a road tax sufficient to 
meet the annual charges of such a bond issue as it might, at the 
time, feel able to carry. Then let the money thus raised be 
paid out directly for road improvement instead of on interest 
account. From the results obtained and from the financial 
conditions then existing the tax rate for the next year could 
be determined and in like manner for the next, and so on. 
Should the assessed value of property increase, the same tax 
rate would give a larger road fund, or the same fund could lie 
raised with a smaller tax rate. In prosperous years the tax 
rate could be increased ; in adverse years, diminished. In any 
year the rate could be adjusted according to the ability of the 
tax-payers to meet it 

ltoad improvement under this plan would be slow, but con¬ 
tinuous, and would not require a recasting of the road laws, 


28 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


though some amendments might be needed. If the county 
commissioners have not now the authority, they should be em¬ 
powered to employ a competent supervisor at a salary sufficient 
to enable him to devote his entire time to the roads. He should 
be furnished with a suitable road equipment and a permanent 
force, or nucleus of a force, of paid laborers or county convicts, 
the expenses thus incurred to be paid from the road funds. 
Overseers, selected for their fitness, and, if practicable, paid 
for services rendered, should be placed under the orders of the 
supervisor and be responsible to him. Among other things it 
would be the supervisor’s duty to see that the overseer of each 
road used the hands apportioned to it to the best advantage, 
doing no work not pressingly needed on the passable portions 
of his road until the worst places had been brought up to the 
standard required. The improvement of a steep hill, a sand 
bed, or a muddy piece of road, would, according to the urgency 
of the case, be the first work undertaken, the apportioned 
hands to be assisted, when necessary, by the floating force of 
paid or convict laborers. The general rule, to which there 
should be few exceptions, should be not to patch but to com¬ 
plete thoroughly any work undertaken. 

Working along the lines indicated by this plan, the varying 
and alternative details of which cannot be discussed in this 
paper, a county might expect to see a steady and progressive 
improvement of its roads going on throughout its whole area, 
giving as a final result a much greater aggregate length of good 
roads than could be obtained for the same cost with money 
raised from the sale of bonds. The latter method would give 
quickly built roads, limited to a few favored localities, but 
loaded with an annual interest charge ; under the former the 
county, though by a slower process, would have all its roads 
improved and free from debt or incumbrance. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


29 


BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ITS MINERAL RESOURCES. 

By Wm. M. Brewer. 

British Columbia, with her boundaries extending from the 
easternmost foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific 
ocean, and from the northern boundary line of the United 
States to Atlin Lake, impresses the visitor as a province of mag¬ 
nificent distances. More especially because of the compara¬ 
tively limited facilities for rapid traveling. The entire area 
may be considered as mineral bearing, and a very large extent 
of it practically unexplored by the white man. These condi¬ 
tions apply with equal force to Vancouver and Queen Charlotte 
Island as to the mainland. 

Considering the facts, it will readily be seen that in this 
paper the writer can only briefly describe the various mining 
districts and their mineral resources. During a residence of 
some ten months he has personally visited the camps of Ross- 
land, Nelson, and Sandon in the West Kootenay mining district; 
Bridge River, Blackwater, and Lillooet River in the Lillooet 
district; Harrison Lake, Skookum Chuck and Squamish in the 
New Westminster district; Leach River and Coldstream in the 
Victoria district; Bear River and Deer Creek in the Cloyoquot 
district. The last two named districts are situated on Van¬ 
couver Island, while the remainder are on the mainland. 

It was the California miners who first discovered placer gold 
on the Fraser river, in British Columbia, in 1856, and it was 
chiefly Idaho miners who first discovered the Kootenay gold, 
copper and silver-lead mines in 1892. Therefore to the United 
States and her citizens really belongs the distinction of discov¬ 
ering the mineral wealth, and to a very great extent developing 
the same, of the Dominion of Canada. These results have 
demonstrated the wisdom and farsightedness of the Dominion 
and Provincial Parliaments in passing laws which permit any 
person, no matter of what nationality, who has first purchased 
a free miner’s license, to prospect and acquire mineral property 
within the Dominion. 

Until the discoveries in the Kootenay district, mining in 


30 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


British Columbia was confined to the placer deposits on the 
Fraser, Quesnelle, Thompson, Similkameen and other rivers 
and their tributaries which drain the watershed formed by the 
Gold and Cascade ranges of mountains. Stampedes during 
the early 70’s occurred up the Stickene and Skeena rivers, and 
into the Cassiar and Omineca mining district. Only the richest 
diggings, though, could be worked at that early date because of 
the excessive cost and difficulty of transporting supplies from 
the commercial centers into these remote districts. The Hud¬ 
son Bay Company had its forts or trading posts located at 
various points in the districts, but usually long distances inter¬ 
vened between these and the scenes of mining activity, and 
besides these posts were built to encourage the Indians and 
white trappers to develop the fur trade. As prospecting would 
naturally tend to injure that trade it maybe presumed that the 
powerful corporations did not encourage prospecting to any 
great extent. Therefore after a few seasons the placer diggings 
in these remote districts were practically abandoned, until 
within late years when hydraulic propositions in the Cariboo 
and Omineca districts attracted the attention of capitalists, 
who have since expended vast sums in constructing dams, 
ditches and flumes. The operations carried on during 1898 by 
some of these companies have been on a larger scale than any¬ 
where in the United States. 

With hydraulic mining came the dredge boat as used in New 
Zealand, for the purpose of winning the gold secreted in the 
beds of such rivers as the Fraser and Quesnelle. This method 
of mining required less capital than hydraulicing but more 
mechanical skill. It was soon found that dredges used in New 
Zealand and other countries successfully were not of the type 
required on the rivers of British Columbia. Consequently 
until the winter of 1897-98 dredge mining was a failure, be¬ 
cause the beds of the rivers were composed of enormous bould¬ 
ers and cement rather than sand and fine gravel. The suc¬ 
tion dredge which worked successfully in some countries was 
absolutely powerless to raise the material in the bed of the 
Fraser. The bucket or chain dredge was only in a slight degree 
more successful. But the spoon, armed with steel teeth and 
guided by a very powerful arm or handle with a force of 75 
horse-power pushing the teeth into the compact cement and 
lifting boulders weighing several tons was introduced at the 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


31 


time mentioned and has since been working successfully at 
Boston Bar, near North Bend, on the Fraser river. 

North of the Canadian Pacific Railroad but little attention 
was given until within the past two years to quartz mining. 
Although very rich outcroppings have been discovered on 
Bridge river and Cayoosh creek, yet up to the present winter, 
1898-99, no mines have become producers on a profitable basis. 
Indeed, the dismal failure at the Golden Cache Mine, near 
Lillooet on Cayoosh creek, has given that entire district a very 
serious backset. The rich outcroppings developed into pockety 
ore bodies, which carried so much barren quartz that the 
pockets were not rich enough to give it sufficient value to pay 
to work on the small scale attempted, while the capacity of the 
mine and extent of the ore body were not sufficient to warrant 
the installation of extensive crushing machinery. 

On Bridge river and Cadwallader creek the work so far done 
on prospects has been too limited in depth to demonstrate the 
future possibilities of these camps. Many beautiful specimens 
of native gold in particles as large as wheat grains, scattered 
in profusion through a white chalky qu|irtz, have been taken 
from these prospects near the surface and from outcroppings. 

But prospecting has only been going on in those camps since 
the autumn of 1897. As the season is short, because of the 
heavy snowfall, there has been only a comparatively limited 
area yet prospected notwithstanding about three hundred pros¬ 
pectors were working around those camps during the summer 
of 1898. 

The difficulties to be overcome by the prospector not only in 
the northern districts, but throughout the entire province, can 
not be fully realized until an attempt is made to explore virgin 
territory. The heavy growth of underbrush, dense forests, 
precipitous mountains and numerous glaciers prohibit the use 
of packhorses to transport camp outfit and supplies, except 
where trails have been cut. Consequently the prospector must 
either be prepared to cut his own trail or else pack his outfit 
himself. Traveling by canoe up the numerous watercourses is 
the favorite method, but this is dangerous unless Indians are 
employed to handle the canoe. But few white men, even in 
this country, are sufficiently expert canoemen to accomplish a 
trip on the swift running streams in safety. 

The Indians are fairly reliable guides, excellent packers, and 


32 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


comparatively honest. They drive a hard bargain, especially 
if they catch a man in a tight place. They are naturally shrewd 
and pride themselves on their smartness and ability to cheat a 
jvhite man. One language, or jargon, was introduced by the Hud¬ 
son Bay Company years ago, so that today Indians from any tribe 
can understand and make themselves understood by any other 
tribe, while white men can easily learn this jargon in a few 
weeks and converse with the natives sufficiently to trade. The 
Indians themselves, though, very often both understand and 
speak English, but many of them very cleverly hide their 
knowledge except when it is to their own advantage. 

The mineral wealth of the Kootenays has been the main 
factor in bringing British Columbia into prominence during the 
past few years. To this is now added the promising prospects 
of the Boundary district lying westerly from Rossland and im¬ 
mediately north of the international boundary line. The rail¬ 
road now being constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway 
Company through this last named district promises to develop 
it to such an extent that it is expected within a few years it 
will prove a powerful rival to the camps in the Kootenays. 

The ores in these districts are usually smelting propositions, 
although a few occurrences of free milling quartz are being 
treated by stamp mills and amalgamation. In nearly all of 
these instances, though, concentration becomes advisable as 
depth is attained, and undoubtedly before long chlorination 
and cyanide plants will be installed at the majority of these 
mines. Throughout the entire province free milling ores are of 
rare occurrence and the average prospector has little faith that 
he will discover any. 

The absence, or at least the scarcity of veins with both walls 
well defined, is very noticeable in all the districts visited by 
the writer. There is no doubt but that this fact had a very im¬ 
portant influence on the reports made on the Rossland camp 
•during the early days of its existence. But extensive develop¬ 
ment has demonstrated that the fissures are persistent as depth 
has been attained and the ore bodies, which are really impreg¬ 
nations of sulphide ores of varying thicknesses extending from 
the one well defined wall into the country rock, are permanent. 

The following table published in the Report of the Minister of 
Mines for the year ending December 31, 1897, demonstrates the 
permanency of the ore bodies in the Rossland districts as well 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


33 


as the comparative maintenance of value as depth has been 
attained: 

NET PRODUCTION PER SMELTER RETURNS. 


Tons. 

Year. 2,000 lbs. Gold, oz. Silver, oz. Copper, lbs. Value. 

1894 . 1,856 3,723 5,357 106,229 $ 75,510 

1895 . 19,693 31,497 46,702 810,420 702,457 

1896 . 38,075 55,275 89,285 1,580,635 1,243,360 

1897 . 68,804 97,021 110,068 1,819,586 2,097,280 


Totals. 128,428 187,319 251,412 4,346,870 -$4,118,609 


The following table gives the actual yield values of the ore as 
paid for by the smelters, or 95 per cent, of the assay values in 
gold and silver, and the amount of the wet assay in copper, 


less 1.3 per cent. : 

Year. Gold. Silver. Copper. Value. 

1891. 2.00 oz. 2.89 oz. 2.85% $40.69 

1895 . 1.60 oz. 2.41 oz. 2.10% 35.67 

1896 . 1.45 oz. 2.34 oz. 2.08% 32.65 

1897 . 1.42 oz. 1.60 oz. 1.32% 30.48 

Average, 128,428 tons. 1.46 oz. 1.96 oz. 1.73% 32.03 


In connection with these tables it must be remembered that 
up to the end of 1897 the shipping mines in the Rossland dis¬ 
trict were confined practically to the Le Koi, War Eagle, Centre 
Star, and Iron Mask. During the present year, 1898, the dis¬ 
trict has been the scene of considerable activity, and although 
the number of shipping mines has not been largely increased 
yet quite extensive development work has been carried on by 
several companies, which ought to result in adding several 
mines to the shipping list during 1899. 

The most important feature to be considered with regard to 
the Rossland district during 1898 are the sales of the Le Koi 
to the British-American Corporation, limited, for $3,500,000, of 
the Centre Star to Toronto capitalists for $2,000,000, and of the 
completion of the power plant at Boddington Falls on the 
Kootenay river, thirty miles distant, and the installation of 
machinery to transmit electricity generated by this power to 
the various mines to furnish motive power to take the place of 
steam. 

With regard to the geology of this district, a survey was made 
during the summer of 1896 by Mr. R. G. McConnell of the 
Dominion Geological Survey. He says: “ The region examined 
formed part of the southern continuation of the Selkirk range, 
and is everywhere of a rugged and mountainous character. It 















34 


Alabama. Industrial and Scientific Society. 


is traversed by several large and deep valleys running in differ¬ 
ent directions, the principal ones being those of the Columbia, 
the Kootaine, the Slocan, the Beaver, and the Salmon.” Re¬ 
garding the prevalence of igneous rocks he says: “The most 
noticeable feature in the geology of the district examined is 
the marked predominance of rocks of igneous origin. Two 
great series are represented of which the older consists mostly 
of porphyrites, diabases, gabbros, tuffs, and agglomerates, and 
the younger granite.” On the distribution of ore bodies the 
same authority says : “The auriferous iron and copper sulphide 
ores at Trail Creek (Rossland district) occur almost exclusively 
in the massive members of the eruptive series, and most of the 
important ore bodies which have so far proved productive, are 
situated either on or close to the line of contact between the 
gabbros and surrounding porphyrites and diabases, the Le Roi, 
War Eagle, Cliff and a number of other leads west of Centre 
Star workings almost immediately east of it in the gabbros.” 

The Slocan mining district, of which Sandon is the principal 
camp, has experienced a remarkably successful growth since the 
first discoveries about 1892. The following tables giving the 
net smelter returns of ore from that district sold during 1895-7, 
taken from the reports of the Minister of Mines for the year 
ending December 31, 1897, demonstrate the progress of the dis¬ 
trict. The tonnage is the dry weight of the crude ore and con¬ 
centrates shipped, i. £., with the moisture deducted. The silver 
and gold values represent 95 per cent, of the assay values, and 
the lead 90 iier cent., as the smelters do not pay for the balance. 
The average market values at New York have been taken, or 
for silver for 1896, 67 cents, and for 1897, 59.8 cents per ounce. 
For lead for 1896, $2.98 per 100 pounds, for 1897, $3.58. 

NET PRODUCTION PER SMELTER RETURNS. 


Year. 

Tons, 
2,000 lbs. 

Silver, oz. 

Lead, lbs. Grold,oz. Values. 

1895. 

. 9,514 

1,122,770 

9,666,324 6 

$1,045,600 

1896. 


1,954,258 

18,175,074 152 

1,851,011 

1897. 


3,641,287 

30,707,705 193 

3,280,686 

Totals. 

. 59,650 

6,728,315 

58,549,103 351 

$6,180,297 


ACTUAL 

YIELD VALUES 

PER TON. 



Years. 

Silver. 

Lead. 

Value. 

1895. 

. 118.0 oz. 

50.8 % 

$109.90 

1896. 

118.0 oz. 

&4.9 % 

111.95 

1897. 

. 108.5 oz. 

45.7 % 

97.71 

For 59,650 tons. 

. 111.12 oz. 

49.1 % 

103.60 















Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


35 


The actual amount paid in dividends cannot be stated, as 
some of the Slocan mines never make their profits public, such 
as the Payne, but it is known that the total amount up to the 
end of 1897, was at least $1,800,000, of which $960,000 were paid 
during that year. The following mines have stated publicly 
their dividends to December 31, 1897: Slocan Star, $400,000; 
Keco, $287,500; Idaho, $220,000; Rambler Cariboo, $40,000; 
Goodenough, $32,500; Last Chance, $37,000. 

Besides the dividend paying mines mentioned some twenty 
others have been shippers of ore intermittently. Because of the 
lack of tramways, and wagon roads the camps in the Slocan 
witness the greatest activity in mining operations during the 
winter months when ore can be rawhided down the mountain 
sides along trails made in the snow. By this method one horse 
can haul down about one and a half tons of ore, while the same 
animal could only pack at most three hundred pounds in the 
summer season. 

The ore bodies in this district are usually found in argillites. 
Because of the numerous faults the veins are very difficult to 
follow, and often the dead work necessary is very expensive, 
but the high grade of the ore, whenever a body occurs, amply 
repay for the outlay. The thickest body of ore in the district 
is in the Slocan Star Mine, where the maximum thickness is 
from thirty-five to forty feet, and minimum one foot. At the 
Sovereign the ore body averages five feet in thickness. At the 
Ruth, four feet. 

The richest ore in all the mines in the Slocan is found where 
the body is the thinnest; this is usually solid galena, but where 
the veins widen out the ore is of a concentrating character, 
carrying so much gangue matter that it will not pay to ship 
direct from the mine. 

No ore is smelted in this district; in fact, up to the present 
time all lead ores have been shipped to United States smelters 
for treatment, but a good deal of discussion has been indulged 
in during 1898 urging the Dominion Government to adopt legis¬ 
lation which will tend to promote lead smelting in the Province 
of British Columbia. The present duty on pig lead in the 
United States, and limited demand for that article in the Do¬ 
minion are amongst the main reasons why the Slocan ores are 
shipped across the line for treatment. 

The opening of the Crow’s Nest Pass Railway will encourage 


36 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


smelter building in British. Columbia, because the coal fields of 
that pass are very extensive, the coal an excellent quality for 
coking, and the freight to the towns of Slocan and Kootenay 
sufficiently low to enable the coalmasters to successfully com¬ 
pete with those of any other locality. 

Since 1897 prospecting has been carried on quite extensively 
on the west coast of the mainland around the vicinity of Shoal 
Bay, on the west coast of Vancouver Island as well as on Tezada 
Island lying in the Straits of Georgia between Vancouver Island 
and the mainland. 

The writer has only visited the west coast of Vancouver 
Island, where he saw some very rich occurrences of iron and 
copper pyrites, and in some instances pyrrhotite. Samples from 
these assayed from 4 per cent, to 32 per cent, copper, with low 
values in gold and silver. The outcroppings throughout the 
mineral zones on Vancouver Island are usually magnetite of a 
very pure quality. The zones apparently extend the entire 
length of the island, nearly three hundred miles, but have only 
been prospected for a short distance up the streams which 
empty into the many sounds and inlets along the west coast. 
The reason for this is that the country lying between those 
watercourses is at present too difficult of access because of 
dense growth of timber, underbrush and moss. Besides, no 
roads or trails have been made through that portion of the in¬ 
terior of the island. 

The advantages obtained on the coasts of the mainland and 
the islands by reason of easy access to ocean transportation for 
the shipment of ore to coast smelters are so pronounced that it 
is generally considered most probable that during the next few 
years more attention will be directed to these districts than to 
those in the interior lying to the north of the Canadian Pacific 
Railway. 

Vancouver Island has certainly great possibilities, because 
along the northeast and extreme northwest coasts are situated 
extensive coal fields, the quality of the coal being good for 
coking. Deposits of magnetite of unknown extent, as well as 
inexhaustible limestone quarries, also occur in several localities. 
Consequently there are opportunities for iron and steel making, 
as well as mining for gold, silver and copper. A large portion 
of the interior has never been explored, but this neglect will 
gradually be remedied, because each season the prospectors 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


37 


are pushing farther inland from the coast and their efforts are 
usually rewarded by the discovery of good mineral claims. 

The ore bodies on Vancouver Island are found either at the 
contact of igneous rocks and crystalline limestone, or else 
along the line of fissuring in the igneous rocks. These latter 
occurrences bear much similarity to those in the Rossland dis¬ 
trict, and the ores carry about the same average value. Usu¬ 
ally, though, the yield in gold and silver is less, but that of 
copper greater. Sufficient work has not yet been performed to 
warrant any unqualified opinion as to the extent or perma¬ 
nency of these ore bodies. 

Easterly from the zones of sulphide ores, but very closely 
associated, occurs a belt of auriferous quartz veins. These have 
only been prospected along the Alberin canal and on Bear river 
which empties into Bedwell Sound some distance north of the 
canal. The fact that placer mining was carried on in both 
these localities years ago prompted prospectors to search for 
the sources of the placer gold, with satisfactory results, so far 
as shallow working has determined. 

In the foregoing paper the writer has attempted to describe 
in a general way the present conditions and mineral resources 
of British Columbia, but the task is such a difficult one to ac¬ 
complish in a paper of this character, that he feels impressed 
with its imperfectness. 













































































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


39 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY FOR THE YEAR ENDINC 

JANUARY 31, 1899. 

University of Alabama, January 31, 1899. 

Since the last report rendered there have been added to the 
Society thirteen new members, and there has been one resigna¬ 
tion, viz : Mr. H. B. Christiansen, Rock Run. 

AVe have on our books the names of fifty-one active members, 
nearly all of whom have paid up their dues fully, or are at 
most only one year behind. 

During the past year, while our meetings have been lacking 
in formal papers, we have had discussions that have been of 
interest and profit, and the promise for the future seems to be 
better than it has been for many years. 

The proceedings for the year 1898 have not yet been printed, 
but will be sent to press very soon. 

The Society at the winter meeting, 1897, authorized the call¬ 
ing of three meetings during the past year, but it was not 
found convenient to arrange for the third meeting, since our 
first or annual meeting came so late in the year (March 4). 

The usual notices to members have been printed and sent out 
and the resolutions of the Society in regard to the Paris Expo¬ 
sition and Memorial to Congress relating to French Tariff laws, 
were communicated to the Governor. 

The additions to the library by exchanges have been the cur¬ 
rent numbers of the Johns Hopkins University Records ; The 
Technology Quarterly of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech¬ 
nology; The Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Society of North 
Carolina; The Kansas University Quarterly; The University 
of Tennessee Record ; Bulletins of the Bureau of American 
Republics; Proceedings of the Engineering Association of the 
South. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 



































Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


41 


REPORT OF TREASURER FOR THE YEAR ENDINC 

JANUARY 31, 1899. 


University, Ala., January 31,1899. 

RECEIPTS. 

From cash in treasury, as per report of March 3, 1898. .$ 99 00 


From dues received since March 3, 1898. 155 00 

Total receipts.$ 254 00 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For printing and stationery.$ 10 15 

For reporting Proceedings . 5 00 

For notices of meetings in papers. 4 50 

For postage and revenue stamps. 4 20 

For clerical work in sending off Proceedings. . 2 50 

For telegrams regarding hall. 94 

Total disbursements.$ 27 29—$ 27 29 

Balance .. $226 71 


Henry McCalley, 

Treasurer. 
















































PROCEEDINGS 


-OP THE- 

Alabama Industrial 

—and — 

Scientific Society. 


Vol. IX. Part II. 


1899. 
























PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


Alabama Industrial 

— and — 

Scientific Society. 


Val. IX. Part II. 
1899. 


PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY’S OFFICE: 

UNIVERSITY, 

AL \BAHA, 


ATLANTA, GA.: 

The .Southern Industrial Publishing Co. 

1900. 














OFFICERS 


1899. 

PRESIDENT. 


James H. Fitts,. 

• Tuscaloosa, Ala. 


VICE-PRESIDENTS. 


John A. Montgomery,. 

. Birmingham, Ala. 

J. W. Minor,. 

. Ensley, Ala. 

J. G. Moore, . 

. Blocton, Ala. 

Chas. J. Geohegan,. 

. Birmingham, Ala. 

J. M. Garvin,. 

Rock Run, Ala. 

J. H. McCune,. 

. Woodward, Ala. 


TREASURER. 


Henry McCalley,. 

. University, Ala. 

SECRETARY. 



Eugene A. Smith, 


University, Ala, 
















TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Proceedings of Autumn Meeting , 


p. 49 


The Fertilizer Resources and the Fertilizer Industry of Ala¬ 
bama. B. B. Boss. 


51 









[Note. —At the Annual Meeting held Feb. 1,1899, the Society adjourned to 
meet again on May 3d, hut on this occasion a quorum was not present and 
no meeting was held.] 


REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS 

-OF THE- 

AUTUnN MEETING 

-OR THE- 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 

Held in Birmingham , November 16, 1899. 


The regular autumn meeting of the Society was held in the 
rooms of the Commercial Club, in Birmingham, on the after¬ 
noon of Thursday, November 16, 1899. 

Mr. T. H. Aldrich, ex-President of the Society in the chair. 
Present were Messrs. J. A. Montgomery, B. B. Boss, Col. Horn, 
E. A. Smith, representatives of the press and others. The read¬ 
ing of the minutes of the last meeting was dispensed with, as 
the printed proceedings of this meeting had] already been dis¬ 
tributed among the members. 

The Secretary made the statement that on the occasion of 
the spring meeting so few members and no officers being pres¬ 
ent, it was decided not to have a meeting, notwithstanding the 
fact that Dr. Ross was present with a paper, and Mr. Bowron 
had consented to address the Society about Cuba. 

After the regular routine of business, Dr. Ross gave an ab¬ 
stract of his paper on the Fertilizer Resources and the Fertilizer 
Industry of Alabama. This paper will be found printed in 





50 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


full in these proceedings. Dr. Ross also exhibited to the mem¬ 
bers present, a number of samples of phosphate rock collected 
recently by himself in the vicinity of Athens, in Limestone 
county. The samples analyzed by him contained from 15 or 20 
per cent, of phosphoric acid, up to 36 or 37 per cent., and he also 
showed a sample of superphosphate prepared by him from this 
rock; the manufactured article containing 13.15 per cent, water- 
soluble, 0.15 per cent, reverted, and 1.24 per cent, insoluble, 
total 14.91 per cent, phosphoric acid. 

In the discussion which followed, Mr. Aldrich said that a fer¬ 
tilizer manufactory in Meridian, Miss., was using lignite from 
the “Burning Out,” in Sumter county, Ala., as a filler, and 
that it contained 1.5 per cent, to 2 per cent ammonia. Mr. 
Aldrich had formerly sold from the Blocton mines several hun¬ 
dred tons of coal slack to a Shreveport company for the same 
uses. He also mentioned the fact that he had recently exam¬ 
ined a lignite occurring in Mississippi, 17 miles west of Starke- 
ville, which had only 4.5 per cent, of ash, and which made a 
good coke. 

Dr. Smith then read a preliminary report on the Mineral Sta¬ 
tistics of Alabama for the first three quarters of the present 
year, after which there being no further business before the- 
meeting it was adjourned sine die. 

Eugene A. Smith, 

Secretary. 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


51 


THE FERTILIZER RESOURCES AND THE FERTILIZER 

INDUSTRY OF ALABAMA. 

The fertilizer industry, both in the Southern States and in 
the country at large, has attained its present large proportions 
by a process of extremely rapid growth, and the close relation 
which it sustains to the agricultural industry of the country 
adds sufficiently to its importance to justify a brief discussion 
of some of its more important features. 

The manufacture of artificial manures in the South is a dis¬ 
tinctively post-bellum industry, and although the consumption 
of fertilizers has increased largely in recent years the process of 
introduction of fertilizing materials of this character was at 
first somewhat slow and difficult. The first commercial fertili¬ 
zer of importance to be placed upon the markets in this country 
was the “Peruvian Guano,” obtained from a few small islands 
off the coast of Peru, and the good results attendant upon its 
use, together with the fact of its limited supply, created a de¬ 
mand for an artificial product, approaching in composition and 
fertilizing properties the Peruvian guano itself. This led to the 
manufacture of the complete mixed fertilizer, the basis of 
which was the superphosphate, produced by treating raw bone, 
or bone ash, with sulphuric acid. Where the raw bone was em¬ 
ployed a fair proportion of nitrogen was secured to the product, 
and only the addition of some potash manure was required to 
obtain a material containing all three of the essential elements 
of fertilizers. 

The discovery of the extensive beds of phosphate rock in the 
vicinity of Charleston led to the substitution of this raw mate¬ 
rial for bones in the manufacture of fertilizers, and the con¬ 
sumption of natural phosphate has been still further increased, 
as a result of the discovery of immense deposits of phosphate 
in South Florida and Tennessee. While the phosphoric acid of 
mixed fertilizers is derived from the above mentioned sources, 
the nitrogen furnished to the product was supplied chiefly in 
the form of some refuse material of animal origin, including, 
in addition to raw bone, fish scrap, slaughter-house waste, dried 


52 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


blood, etc. The potash in some of the older forms of mixed 
fertilizers was furnished by wood ashes, and the present exten¬ 
sive use of German potash salts has been attained in compara¬ 
tively recent years. In the earlier period of the history of the 
fertilizer industry in this country, there was a marked neglect 
of materials produced within easy reach of the Southern fer¬ 
tilizer manufacturer, and yet unutilized for a long time on 
account of a lack of knowledge of their true value, as well as 
by reason of a prejudice on the part of the farmer against the 
use of mixed fertilizers, composed in part of such commonplace 
materials as cottonseed meal, cottonseed hull ashes, tobacco 
stems, etc. At the present time cottonseed meal enters largely 
into the composition of the mixed fertilizers of the South, but 
even at this late day many manufacturers are compelled to em¬ 
ploy a small proportion of coloring materials, as well as a 
moderate amount of some nitrogenous material, more odorifer¬ 
ous than cottonseed meal, to make the product conform to the 
requirements of the consumer, both as regards appearance and 
odor. 

The fertilizer industry in this State dates back to scarcely 
more than fifteen years, and has only assumed large proportions 
within the past ten years. When the first fertilizer legislation 
in this State was enacted in 1883, there were only one or two 
establishments in the State engaged in the manufacture of fer¬ 
tilizers for the trade, and these establishments simply mixed 
materials obtained from outside sources. The Troy Fertilizer 
Oo. was the first concern in the State to erect a plant for the 
production of fertilizers from the raw materials, manufactur¬ 
ing its own supplies of sulphuric acid and superphosphate on 
the ground. This company was followed a year or two later by 
the Mobile Phosphate & Chemical Co., and the Montgomery 
Fertilizer Co., and in 1897 by the Birmingham Fertilizer Co., 
which is operating a large plant at East Birmingham. All of 
these establishments are manufacturers in the true sense of the 
term, acidulating their crude phosphates with acid manufac¬ 
tured on the spot, and having an aggregate annual capacity of 
over 100,000 tons. 

In addition to the factories mentioned there are about twelve 
more establishments in the State which manufacture mixed 
fertilizers, with the employment of acid phosphates obtained 
from outside sources, and still another establishment manufac- 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


53 


tures its own superphosphates with the use of acid imported in 
tank cars. The consumption of fertilizers in this State, as indi¬ 
cated by the tag receipts of the State Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, reaches under favorable conditions, about 125,000 to 
130,000 tons per year, and from this statement it will be seen 
that the large and complete factories above mentioned have a 
capacity equal to more than 80 per cent, of the annual con¬ 
sumption of the State. Another large and complete fertilizer 
plant is now being constructed by the Opelika Chemical Co., 
and will be completed in time to place its products on the 
market for the approaching fertilizer season. When this last 
named plant is in full operation, the productive capacity of the 
factories within the State will equal the consumption, while- 
some of the factories enjoy a considerable trade outside of the 
limits of the State. At the same time, however, fertilizer com¬ 
panies from without the State supply a considerable proportion 
of the fertilizer demand within the State, although the relative 
consumption of imported fertilizers is likely to decrease in the 
near future, owing to the enterprise exhibited by the large 
fertilizer manufacturers of Alabama. Inquiries addressed to 
the leading factories in the State elicited the fact that nearly 
all of the large plants are employing pyrites instead of sulphur 
in the manufacture of acid, but none of the establishments 
which answered the inquiries addressed them had tested Ala¬ 
bama pyrites, though a preference for the home article was ex¬ 
pressed, in case a sufficient supply to meet the demand could be 
marketed. A number of high grade specimens of pyrites have 
been analyzed in the State Laboratory within the past few 
years, but the writer did not collect any of the specimens per¬ 
sonally and presumes that the extent of the deposits would not 
justify the mining of the ore on a large scale. 

In 1896 mining operations were being carried on, to a limited 
extent, on Hatchett creek, in Clay county, and samples of the 
ore obtained were sent to the State Laboratory for analysis. 
One of the samples showed a content of 45.87 per cent, of sul¬ 
phur, but other specimens fell somewhat below this proportion 
and the ore seemed to be somewhat lacking in uniformity. A 
specimen from another locality in the same county, recently 
analyzed in the State Laboratory, contained 34.53 per cent, of 
sulphur and 23.5 per cent, of insoluble matter. It has been 
difficult to secure detailed information on this subject, but 


54 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


judging from the fact that Alabama pyrites at this time is not 
known to the sulphuric acid trade, I presume that it is not 
now being mined on a commercial scale. 

An examination into the character of the raw materials now 
employed in the manufacture of fertilizers in this State dis¬ 
closes the fact that excepting cottonseed meal only a small 
quantity of raw materials produced or occurring within the 
State is utilized in the fertilizer industry. As before stated, 
this last named product is extensively employed in compound¬ 
ing mixed fertilizers and is highly esteemed as a cheap and desi¬ 
rable source of nitrogen for fertilizing purposes. The amount 
of meal produced in the oil mills is largely in excess of the 
quantity consumed for fertilizing purposes, and yet a very large 
proportion of thecottonseed produced does not find its way to the 
oil mills, but is returned to the soil direct, or else employed for 
feeding purposes. Were the whole of the seed crop (excepting, 
of course, that required for planting), worked up at the oil mills, 
the amount of meal produced in this State from a million bale 
crop would equal about 175,000 tons, and if employed in the 
manufacture of mixed fertilizers it would furnish the nitro¬ 
genous material for more than 600,000 tons of complete fertili¬ 
zer with a 2 per cent, nitrogen content, in addition to supplying 
fair proportions of phosphoric acid and potash. Cottonseed 
hull ashes, obtained as a product of the burning of hulls under 
the boilers of oil mills, constitutes an important and valuable 
source of potash, as it yields about 20 to 30 per cent, of potash 
in a readily soluble form and contains, in addition, from 7 to 10 
per cent, of phosphoric acid. The production of this material, 
however, has fallen off somewhat in recent years, owing to the 
increased demand for cottonseed hulls for feeding purposes. 

Fertilizing materials of animal origin have been in great de¬ 
mand during the past few years, and a few slaughter-houses 
and packing establishments in this State have placed both 
tankage and dried blood of good quality on the fertilizer mar¬ 
ket, the former being employed in mixed manures as a source 
of both nitrogen and phosphoric acid, and the latter as a source 
of nitrogen alone. With the extension of the packing industry 
and the employment of economic methods of handling the 
waste materials of slaughter-houses, it is hoped the produc¬ 
tion of animal fertilizers of this character will be largely in¬ 
creased, while there should be a corresponding diminution in 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


55 


the supplies of fertilizing materials imported from without the 
State. 

Within the past few months, the production of sulphate of 
ammonia upon a commercial scale has been carried out suc¬ 
cessfully at the Solvay by-product plant at Ensley, although 
at this time, I am informed, the ammonia is not being con¬ 
verted into sulphate, owing to the comparatively low price of 
the commercial salt. The fact that this material has been and 
can be produced upon a commercial scale, is of importance, for 
the reason that this compound supplies the highest percentage 
of nitrogen obtainable from any material used in the manufac¬ 
ture of fertilizers, and its nitrogen is supplied in a particularly 
active and available form, so that it is highly desirable as a 
constituent of high grade and readily assimilable fertilizers. 

Within recent years, Thomas slag has attained a very exten¬ 
sive consumption in Europe, and quite lately considerable 
importations have been made into this country. A limited 
amount of this product is also obtained in the United States as 
a by-product of the Thomas-Gilchrist steel process, and very 
successful results have attended its use as a fertilizer, tetra- 
basic phosphate of lime which it contains being quite available 
to the plant if the material is pulverized to a sufficient degree 
of fineness. 

The proportion of phosphorus in the Alabama iron ores is too 
low to permit of the production of a high grade phosphatic slag 
by the Thomas-Gilchrist process, and the basic cinder obtained 
as a waste product of the open-hearth process has too large a 
proportion of iron, and too small a percentage of phosphorus, 
as shown by analyses made in the Alabama State Laboratory, 
to render it of economic value for fertilizing purposes, while 
difficulty of pulverization is another obstacle in the way of its 
practical employment. 

While so far no phosphate deposits, of sufficient extent to 
warrant the mining and working of the material upon a com¬ 
mercial scale, have been found within the limits of the State, 
nevertheless phosphates of considerable richness exist in a 
number of localities in the State, particularly in middle West¬ 
ern Alabama. 

Early in 1884 Dr. Eugene A. Smith, the State Geologist, an¬ 
nounced the existence of phosphates in the western portion of 


56 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


the black belt, and commenced an investigation with regard to 
the extent and character of the phosphatic deposits. A consid¬ 
erable portion of the analytical work connected with the inves¬ 
tigation was performed in the State Laboratory under the 
direction of Dr. W. C. Stubbs, at that time the State Chemist, 
and many of the analyses were conducted by the writer, at that 
time an assistant in the State Laboratory. Nearly two hundred 
analyses of phosphates, green sands and marls, were made 
during the course of this investigation, and about twenty-five 
samples showed a phosphoric acid content of not less than 20 
per cent, while one sample contained as much as 38 per cent, 
phosphoric acid, equivalent to 82.84 per cent, bone phosphate. 
The samples of phosphates analyzed were chiefly of a nodular 
character, and, as stated in Dr. Smith’s report, were obtained in 
the Hamburg region from a sandy, calcareous matrix, underly¬ 
ing a bed of green sand, above which is the rotten limestone 
characteristic of the region. The extent and mode of occur¬ 
rence of these phosphates, however, have apparently not 
warranted their working upon a commercial scale, and the 
Alabama fertilizer manufacturers are still dependent upon out¬ 
side sources for their supplies of phosphate rock. 

Quite recently the writer has found in Limestone county in 
this State, samples of phosphate rock ranging in phosphoric 
acid content from 9 per cent, to 25.1 per cent., while a small 
nodular specimen contained as high as 36.7 per cent, phos¬ 
phoric acid. An acid phosphate was prepared in the State 
Laboratory from one of these phosphates, and a product of the 
following composition was obtained : 


Water soluble phosphoric acid. 13.15 per cent. 

Keverted phosphoric acid. 0.51 per cent. 

Insoluble phosphoric acid. 1.24 per cent. 

Total phosphoric acid. 14.90 per cent. 


The samples of natural phosphate obtained from Limestone 
county contained considerable proportions of silica, but only 
small amounts of iron and alumina, while the proportion of 
carbonate of lime was also quite small. 

Extensive beds of green sand marls are to be found in a 
number of localities in this State, and the value of this mate¬ 
rial for fertilizing purposes can be ascertained from the results 







Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 


57 


of analyses of two samples analyzed in the State Laboratory 
some time since: 

Phosphoric acid. Potash. 


Sample No. 1. 2.24 per cent. 3.78 per cent. 

Sample No. 2. 2.74 per cent. 3.86 per cent. 


The successful employment of materials of this character in 
the reclamation of exhausted soils in New Jersey and other 
States emphasizes the importance of the intelligent application 
of such crude manurial substances as may be found already 
prepared for the use of the farmer. 

Among other crude manurial materials occurring within the 
limits of the State and at the disposal of the farmer may be 
mentioned mucks, which are found quite abundantly and which 
supply good quantities of humus and a fair proportion of 
nitrogen. Cave earths and bat manures are found to some ex¬ 
tent in North Alabama, and can be utilized to a limited extent 
as a source of all three of the chief fertilizing constituents. A 
sample of bat manure, obtained from a cave in the Tennessee 
Valley, and analyzed in this laboratory several years ago, con¬ 
tained 5.56 per cent, of phosphoric acid,8.26 percent, of nitrogen 
and 2.02 per cent, of potash, while its value, based upon the 
scale of fertilizer values in this State, was more than $30 per 
ton. Numerous other analyses made in this laboratory bear 
testimony to the existence of crude manurial resources in many 
localities of the State, which, if properly utilized, would aid 
greatly in building up the soil and at the same time diminish 
the necessity for the purchase of outside supplies of fertilizers. 

While nitrogen, in the form of the various commercial man¬ 
ures supplying this element, is the most costly one of the three 
essential fertilizing constituents and at the same time is most 
readily removed from the soil, the farmer, at present, has 
other means of securing this valuable element from another 
source, much more cheaply than through the medium of artifi¬ 
cial manures. The fact, established by Wilfarth, Iielriegel 
and other German investigators several years ago, that many 
leguminous plants, under proper conditions, can take up free 
nitrogen from the air, is now well known and practically ap¬ 
plied. The cowpea, the velvet bean, the clovers and the vetch, 
when grown in this State upon soils containing the bacteria ap¬ 
propriate to each particular crop, take up and assimilate through 
the medium of bacteria inhabiting the peculiar tubercles or 




58 


Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society. 


nodules upon the roots of these plants, free nitrogen from the 
atmosphere in considerable quantities, and the supplies of nitro¬ 
gen thus collected can be supplied to the soil by turning under 
the crop, or else by feeding the forage to cattle and stock, and 
carefully husbanding the manures. 

At the Experiment Station at Auburn, there are now being 
grown annually heavy and luxuriant crops of crimson clover 
and vetch upon soils inoculated with the proper bacteria only a 
year or two since, while the same crops planted on adjacent 
plots of soil of the same character, but non-inoculated, yielded 
a sparse, sickly growth of only a few inches in height. The 
crops grown on the inoculated soils not only gave an immensely 
greater yield of forage, but the plants on analysis showed a 
much higher relative nitrogen content, and if plowed under 
would supply to the soil not only a large amount of humus, but 
a valuable supply of nitrogen as well. 

The judicious employment of renovating crops of this char¬ 
acter is calculated not only to protect the soil from exhaustion, 
by the removal of other crops cultivated thereon, but to increase 
the supply of the most costly fertilizing element in the soil, 
and at the same time improve in a most marked manner the 
physicaltexture of the soil. 

B. B. Boss, 

State Chemist. 













INDEX. 

VOLUMES I. TO IV., INCLUSIVE. 

(Authors' names in s?nall caps ; Titles of papers in italics .) 


A 

Adams’ direct steel process, i, 57. 

Advantages claimed for the Thomas Patent Coke-oven, i, 88; 
for the vSimon-Carves Coke-oven, i. 88. 

Aerdare Merthys, Wales. Coal, iii, 23; coke, iii, 20. 

Air, admittance of, under coke-oven boilers, iii, 43. 

Alabama, bauxite, ii, 20; clay, ii, 40; coal, i, 67, and iii, 23; 
coke, ii, 17; dolomite, iv, 12, et seq. ; kaolin, ii, 34, et 
seq. ; limestone, iv. 20; petroleum, i, 43; pig-iron, iv, 
22 ; steel, iv, 22 ; natural gas, i, 3c;. 

Alabama, geography of, i, 50. 

Alabama Bauxite (PIy. McCalley), ii, 20. 

Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, Organization of, i,3. 

Alabama State Geological Survey, importance of the, i, 13; 
resolution on the, i, 20. 

Alber —Discussion on Mine Surveying, ii, 8. 

Aldrich, T. H. —Discussions on Coke, i, 92, and iii, 6 ; on 
generation of steam from coke-oven gases, iii, 12; on 
Mine Surveying, ii, 8 ; on Ore Concentration, iii, 10; 
on Pig-iron Grading, iii, 12. Note on Alaba?na dia¬ 
monds , ii, 11 ; on Geology of Red Mountain, Ala., iii 
6 ; on Iron Ore, iii, 9 . Re?narks on Nicarauga Canal , 

ii, 10 . 



11 . 


Ammonia in gas liquors, i, 70; in the blast furnace, iv, 69. 
Ammonia Sulphate from gas-works, i, 66 ; value of, i, 65. 

Analyses, Ammonicical Liquors , i, 70 ; AMMONIA IN 
BROWN ORE. iv. 69; ASPHALT: Alaba?na , Price- 
ville, i, 45. BAUXITE : Alabama , Calhoun Co., ii,29. 
Cherokee Co,, ii, 28, 29, 37 ; Piedmont, ii, 29 ; Arkansas ; 
Pulaski Co., ii, 27 ; France: ii, 27 ; Georgia: Floyd 
Co., ii, 27 ; Pure, ii, 27. CLAY ; Alabama: Pikeville, 
ii, 40 ; Choctaw Co., ii, 41. COAL: Alabama: Bibb 
Co. (Lignite), i, 67; Black Creek, iii, 23 ; Blocton (Un¬ 
derwood & Woodstock Seams), i, 67 ; Blue Creek, i, 67 ; 
Brookwood (Brookwood Seam), i, 69; Coalburg, i, 67; 
Coal City (Jagger Bed), i, 67; Choctaw Co. (Rescue- 
ville), i, 67 ; Cullman Co. (Beeman Basin), i, 67 ; Eu- 
faula, deposit near, 67; Jefferson Co. (Blue Creek and 

Pratt Seams), i, 67, and iii, 23; Marengo Co. ( (Dayton, 

• 

Landrum’s Creek &. Pickens’ Landing) i, 67 ; Newcastle 
Seam, iii, 23; Shelby Co. (Wadsworth Seam at Hel¬ 
ena), i, 67, and iii, 23; Tuscaloosa Co. (Asylum and 
Milldale Seams), i, 67 ; Walker Co. (Peacock Seam), * 
i, 67 ; Watts C. & C. Co., iii, 23 ; Winston Co. (Natural 
Bridge), i, 67. England —Bearpark, i, 67 ; Curly Can- 
nel, i, 67 ; Fifeshire (Gin Seam), i, 67 ; Hartly, Haydock 
Lit. Delf., Inch Hall, Park Gate & Wallsend, iii, 25. 
Kentucky —Patterson’s Creek (Birdeye), i, 67. Mary¬ 
land —Frostburg, i, 67. North Carolina —Chatham 
Co. (Deep River), i, 67. Pennsylvania —Big Mashon- 
du V., Connellsville, iii, 23; Pottsville (Anthracite), 
i, 67 ; Walston, iii, 23. • Tennessee —Bon Air (Lowest 
Seam) i, 67 ; Coal Creek, iii, 23; Sewanee, iii, 23; Tra¬ 
cy City (Sewanee), iii, 23. Wales —Aerclare Merthyr, 

Abercarn Llanelly (Anthracite), Llynvi, Swansea, Tai- 
bach, Eblbwvale, iii, 23; Wigan, i, 67. West Virginia 
—Quinimont, iii, 23. COAL-TAR. Distilled, iii, 22. 
COKE. Alabama —Berry Mountain, Black Creek, Ca- 


ri- 


111 . 


haba, Coalburg (Thomas Ovens), DeBardeleben, Mary 
Lee, Pratt, Pratt Black Ends, Standard, Gas-Carbon 
(Birmingham & Mobile), ii, 17. England —Bearpark, 
ii. 17 ; Hartly, Haydock Lit. Delf.,Inch Hall, Park Gate 
and Wallsend, iii, 20. Tennessee —Washed, iii, 30. 

Wales —Aerdare Merthyr, Abercarn, Eblbwvale, Llan¬ 
elly, Llynvi, Swansea & Taibach, iii, 20. CYANIDES 
in blast furnace, iv, 69. DOLOMITE. Alabama — 
Birmingham (Upper formation), iv, 22; Jones’ Valley, 
iv, 22. Europe —iv, 23; Pure, iv, 24. DUST-CATCH¬ 
ER REFUSE, iv, 65 and 66. IRON ORES, Spathic, 
iv, 61. KAOLIN. Alabama —Calhoun Co., ii, 36; 
Cherokee Co., ii, 37 ; Randolph Co., ii, 34 ; Pure, ii, 33 
and 36. LIMESTONE. Alabama —Blount Springs, 
Gate City, Murphree’s Valley, Trussville and Wood- 
stock, iv, 21. PETROLEUM. Alabama —Moulton 

‘ Valiev, i, 43- Phosphate Rock. Tennessee ,—General, iv, 

46. PIG IRON. Used in making Birmingham Ala., 
Steel, iv, 22; Special made at Bessemer, Ala., iv, 23; 
Spathic, iv, 62. STEEL. Open hearth Basic, Birm¬ 
ingham, Ala., iv., 22. 

Analvsis of Coal and Coke, Pioximate and Ultimate Methods 
compared, i, 62. 

Analysis of Limestones and Dolomites of the Birmingham ? 
Ala., District (C. A. Meissner), iv, 12. 

Anniston Meeting, April, 1891, i, 21. 


Annual Dues, i, 6 . 


Annual Meetings, January, 1891, i, 8; May, 1892, ii, 5; May, 
1S93, iii, 5 ; May, 1S94, iv, 5. 

Annual Presidential Address, 1891 , (C. Cadle), i, 8 ; iS 93 ? 
(C. A. Meissner), iii, 14; 1894, (Erskine Ramsey), 


iv, 


8 . 


Annual Treasurer’s Report, 


1S91, iv,51, 1892, iv,52 ; iS93,iv,53. 


IV. 


B 

Barton, A. E.—The Proper Grading of Southern Pig-Iron, 

iii, 35 ; Discussion Ore Concentration, iii, io ; Note on- 
same, iii, 7. 

Basic Steel in Birmingham, Ala,, District, iv, 7. 

Bauxite, Analyses, ii, 27; description of Alabama, ii, 26; loca¬ 
tion in Alabama, ii, 20; occurrence of, ii, 22 ; uses of, ii,31 

Bearpark, Eng., Coal, i, 67; coke, ii, 17. 

Bee-hive Coke-oven, the, ii, 14. 

Beeman Basin, Cullman Ca., Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

Bessemer, Ala., Pig-iron, iv, 23. 

Bessemer Steel in Ala., iv, 17. 

Berry Mountain, Ala., Coke, iv, 17. 

Beryls, Ala., ii, 11. 

Bibb Co., Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

Birmingham, Ala., Basic open-hearth steel, iv, 22 ; dolomite, 

iv, 21 ; pig-iron, iv, 22, 

Birmingham, Ala., Meetings at: Oct., 1891, i, 75; May, 1892, 

ii, 5 ; Nov., 1S92, ii, 7 ; May, 1893, 5 » Nov., 1S93, 

iii, 9 ; May, 1894, N, 5 ; Dec., 1S94, iv, 58. 

Blast Furnace Gases,best method of burning under boilers,iii,31. 
Blast Furnace Stock, character of, i, 78. 

Blocton, Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

Blount Springs, Ala., Limestone, iv, 20. 

Boiler Plants, using waste heat and gases from coke-ovens, 
English, iii, 40; at Pratt Miues, Ala., iii, 40; at Tracy 
City, Tenn., iii,’42. 

Boiler Setting for use with blast furnace gases, iii, 32. 

Bon Air, Tenn., Coal, i, 67. 

Bowron, Chas. Ed., Electricity in mining, iv, 23. 

Brookwood, Ala., Coal, i, 67; coke, ii, 17. 

By-products from Simon-Carves coke-ovens, value of, i, 19; 
from Ala. coal, value of, i, 6^. 


4 


V. 


C 

( 

Cadle, Cornelius, Ayinual Presidential Address , 1891 , i,8 ; 
Discussion Ore Concentration, iii, io. 

% 

Cahaba, Map of Coal Fields, i, 14; coke, ii, 17. 

Calhoun Co., Ala., Bauxite, ii, 21, et seq. 

Cap’s Creek, Ala., Tar Springs, at, i, 41. 

Character of Blast Furnace Stock, i, 78. 

Chatham Co., N. C., Coal, i, 67. 

Cherokee Co., Ala.. Bauxite, first discovered in, ii, 20 ; baux¬ 
ite analyses, ii, 28 and 37., 

Choctaw Co., Ala., Clay, ii, 41. 

Clay, analyses of, ii, 40, et seq. j localities in Ala., ii, 33. 

Clays of Alabama , The , (E. A. Smith), ii, 33. 

Cleburne Co., Ala., bauxite, ii, 21. 

Coal, Analyses, i, 67 ; iii, 23 ; by-products, value of, i, 65 ; 
crushing of before coking, ii, 18 ; disintegration of, iii, 
30; sulphur in, i, 99 ; export of Ala., i, 13 ; resources of 
Alabama, i, 53. 

Coalburg, Ala., coke, ii, 17 ; Thomas Oveus, at, i, 87. 

Coal cutting machines, electric, iv, 38. 

Coal Fields, Alabama, i, 52 ; Wmles, iii, 17. 

Coal Miner’s strike in Alabama, i, 10. 

Coal Mines, gas in Alabama, i, 46. 

Coal Washing, results of, iii, 6 and 30 ; Luhrig Washer at 
Sloss Furnace, Ala., ii, 19. 

Coke, Analyses, ii, 13; ii, 20, et seq. ; discussion on, i, 91 ; from 
disintegrated coal, iii, 28; improvement of Ala., i, 12, 
and iii, 28; kinds of, ii, 13 ; reduction of sulphur in, iii, 
24, et seq. ; .rolling of, iii, 26; size of, iii, 25; value of 
by-products, i, 19 ; cost at Coalburg, Ala. (labor), i, 89 ; 
yield of Alabama, per ton. coal, i, 64. 

Coke , a Paper on (Richard Thomas), iii, 17. 


VI. 


Coke furnace, going into blast with a, i, 75. 

Coking, advantages of the S. Carves system of, i, 17 ; method 
with Thomas oven, i, 88 ; improvement possible in prac¬ 
tice, i, 12; the process of, iii, 29. 

Coke-oven boiler plants, Englaud, iii, 40; Pratt Mines, Ala., 
iii, 49; Tracy City, Tenn., iii, 42. 

Coke-oven, Bee-hive, ii, 14; flue-ovens, iii, 26; Simon-Carves, 
i, i8;Thomas Patent, i, 86. 

Coke pig-iron, first made in the South, i, 54. 

Concentration of Red Mountain, Ala., Ore, iii, 7 and 10; dis¬ 
cussion, iii, 10; of dust-catcher refuse, iv, 66. 

Conley-Lancaster Direct Steel Process, i, 57, 

Construction of coke-oven boiler plant at Pratt Mines, iii, 49. 

Construction of roads, i, 26. 

Corduroy roads, i, 28. 

Cost of Alabama Iron Ore, iii, 9; of Bee-hive coke-ovens, ii, 
14 ; of electric diamond drilling, iv, 34 ; of electric min¬ 
ing plants, iv, 31; of magnesite for steel plants, iv, 19; 
of mine hauling, comparative, iv, 37 ; mining Tennessee 
phosphate, iv, 46; of Patent coke-ovens, ii, 14; of pow¬ 
er conductors in mining, iv, 30; of roads, i, 31. 

Cowles —Note on Natural Gas, i, 95. 

Cyanides in the blast furnace, iv, 68 ; analyses of, iv, 69. 



Dayton, Ala., Fossil resin, i, 67. 

DeBardeleben coke, ii, 17. 

Design for Lock Valves (Col. Horace Harding), i, 73. 
Diamonds, Ala., ii, 11. 

Diamond drill, the electric, iv, 34. 


I 


• • 

V-II. 

Direct methbd of blowing in a blast furnace, i, So. 

Direct Processes for making steel, i, 56, 

Disintegration of coal for coking, iii, 28. 

Dolomite. Analyses, iv, 24; localities, Ala., iv, 12, et seq.; 
objection to, as a blast furnace flux, iv, 26. 

Dolomite as a Flux Jor Blast Furnace Use (Ed.A.Uehling) , 
iv, 24. 

Drainage of roads, the proper, i, 26. 

Drills, electric coal and rock, iv, 40. 

Drying a blast furnace, i, 76. 

Dust-Catcher Refuse (Wm. B. Phillips), iv, 64; analyses of 
iv, 65. 


Eblbwvale, Wales. Coal, iii, 23 ; coke, iii, 20. 

Efficiency of compressed air, iv, 30. 

Electric currents used in mining, iv, 32. 

Electricity in Mining (Chas. Ed. Bowron), iv, 28. 
Electricity, its adaptability to mining, iv, 28. 

Eufaula, Ala., Fossil Resin near, i, 67. 

Evaporation from coke-oven boiler,, ii, 60, et seq, 

Export of Alabama Coal, i, 13. 

F 

Firing in Mines, electric, iv, 42. 

Filling a blast furnace, i, 78. 

Fitts, J.H., Resolution on the Alabama Geological Survey,i, 20 . 
Florence, Ala., Manufacture af Spathic Iron at, iv, 60. 
Fluxing power of dolomite, iv, 24. 

Flux, to obtain the value of a blast furnace, iv, 25. 


VI n. 


Frostburg, My., Coal, i, 67. < 

| 

Furnace burden with Spathic Ore, iv, 61. 

Future of the Iron a?id Steel Industry in Alabama, The, 
(B. F. Peacock), i, 49. 

G 


Gas Carbon, analysis of Birmingham and Mobile, ii, 17. 

Gas from Alabama coals, i, 64. 

Gate City, Ala., Calcite, iv, 13 and 20. 

Generation of steam by the use of blast furnace gases, The, 
(J. Weidman Murray), iii, 31. 

Generation of steam from the waste heat and gases of coke- 
ovens, I he (Erskine Ramsey), iii, 40. 

Geographical and geological distribution of Natural gas and 
Petroleum, i, 36. 

Going into blast zvith a coke furnace (J. S. Kennedy), i, 7^. 
Gravel roads, i, 28. 

H 


Harding, Col. Horace, Design for Lock Valves, i, 73. 
Hartly, Eng., Coal, iii, 25 ; coke, iii, 20. 

Hartselle, Ala., oil well, near, 1, 44. 

Haskell, A. W .,Mine Surveying, i, 14 ; discussion on coke, 
i, 93, and iii, 6. 

Haulage, electric mine, iv, 36. 

Haydock Lit. Delf., Eng., Coal, iii, 23; coke, iii, 20. 

Helena, Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

Hill, J. T., Thomas Patent coke-oven, i, 86. 


IX. 


Hickman Co., Term., Phosphate in, iv. 44. 

Hilge*nstock on blast furnace cyanides, iv, 68. 

Hoisting engines, electric, iv, 35. 

! 

Importance of Mine Surveying,i, 15 ; of the road movement,i.23. 
Improvement possible in Alabama coking practice, i, 12, ii, 18. 
Inch Hall, Eng., Coal, iii, 23 ; coke, iii, 20. 

Indirect method of blowing in a blast furnace, i, 80. 

Iron City, Tenn., Spathic Ore at, iv, 60. 

Iron Ore, first discovered in the South, i, 54; cost of at Bir 
mingham, Spathic, iv, 60. 

Iron Production in Alabama, iv, 60. 

Iron, Spathic, iv, 60. 

J 

Jefferson County, Ala., Coal, i, 67; coke, ii, 17. 

Jones Valley., Ala., Dolomite, iv, 22. 

K 

Kaolin, Analyses, ii, 33, et seq.; Ala., localities, ii, 34, et seq. 
Kennedy, J. S., Going into blast with a coke furnace , i, 75. 
Kentucky Coal, i, 67. 

L 

Labor Cost of coke at Coaling, Ala., i, S9. 

Landrum’s Creek, Ala., Lignite, i, 67. 

Lightning in Mines, electric, iv, 41. 

Limestone, Ala. localities and analyses, iv, 12, et seq. 
Llanelly, Wales, coal, iii, 23 ; coke, iii, 20. 

Llynvi, Wales, Coal, iii, 23; coke, iii, 20. 

Lock-valves, design for, i, 75. 

Luhrig washer at Sloss Furnace, Ala., ii, 19. 


> 


X, 


M 

Macadamized roads, i, 29. 

Magnesite in Steel Plants, iv, 19. 

Magnetic Iron in dust-catcher refuse, iv, 65. 

Management of coke-ovens used for generating steam, iii, 52. 

Map of Cahaba coal-fields, i, 1 

Maryland Coal, i, 67. 

Mary Lee, Ala., Coke, ii, 17. 

McCalla, R. C., Jr., Discussion Mine Surveying, ii, 9; Note 
on Improveinent of Warrior River , ii, 9 . 

McCalley, Hy, Alaba? 7 ia Bauxite, i, 94 -; Natural Gas and 
Petroleum in N. Ala,, /, 85 ; Discussion on coke, i, 94. 

McCormack, G. B., Discussion on coke, i, 94, and iii, 6. 

Meissner, C. A., Analyses of the Limestones and Dolomites 
of the Birmingham, Ala., District, iv, 12 ; Presiden¬ 
tial Address, 1893 , iii, 14 \ Discussion on going into 
blast with a coke furnace, i, 86; Notes on the formation 
of cyanides iu the blast furnace, iv, 68 . 

Method of Mine Surveying, ii, 45. 

Milldale, Ala., coke, ii, 17. 

Mine Maps, i, 15, and ii, 49. 

Miners Strike in Alabama, i, 10. 

Mine Surveying, A. W. Haskell, i, 14. 

Montgomery, G. H., Surveying and Opening Mines; Now 
to Prepare Working Maps, ii. 

Montgomery, Col. J. A., Resolution on the Nicaragua Ca ¬ 
nal, ii, 9 . 

Moulton, Ala., Oil Wells in, i, 42, et seq. 

Murphree’s Valley, Ala., Calcite. iv, 12 and 20. 

Murray,]. Weidman, Generation of Steam by the use of 
Blast Furnace Gases, iii, 31 , 


XI. 


N 

Natural Bridge, Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

Natural Gas and Petroleu 7 n in A r .M/«.(HY.McCALLEY),i,35. 

Nicaragua Canal, Resolutions on the, ii,9 ; Importance of,i,i3. 

Notes 07 i the for 77 iation of cyanides in the blast fnr 7 iace (C. A. 
Meissner), iv, 68. 

Notes on the Si 77 ion-Carves Syste 77 i of Coki 7 ig (W. B. Phil- 
lips), i, 17. 

o 

Occurrence of Natural Gas and Petroleum, i, 36. 

Officers, list of for 1891, i, 5 ; 1893, iii, 8 ; 1894, * v 5 6. 

Ore, Spathic Iron, iv, 60. 

Organization of the Alabama Industrial and Scientific Socie¬ 
ty- i, 3’ 

Origin of Natural Gas and Petroleum, i, 36. % 

p 

Park Gate, Eng., Coal, iii, 23 ; coke, iii, 20. 

Patterson Creek, Ky., Coal, i, 67. 

Peacock, B. F., The Future of the Iro 7 i a 7 id Steel Industry 
in Alaba 77 ia , i, 4 9 . 

Pennsylvania, Coal, i, 67, and iii, 23. 

Phillips, Wm. B., Notes on the Si 7 non-Carves Syste 77 i of 
Coking , i, 17 ; Phosphate Rock of Tennessee, iv , 
TheUlti 77 iateCo 77 ipositio 7 i of so 7 ne Alaba 77 ia coals , i, 67 ; 
The UltiTnate Co 7 )ipositio 7 i of so 77 ie Alaba 77 ia cokes , ii, 
13 ; Discussion on coke, i, 91 ; on Ore Concentration, 
iii, 10; on Pig Iron Grading, iii, 11; Dust-catcher Re¬ 
fuse, iv, 64. 

Phosphate , Rock of\ in Tennessee (W. B. Phillips), iv, 44. 


xu. 


Phosphate Rock, location and cost of, in Tenn., iv, 44, et seq. 
Pickens Landing, Ala., Lignite, i, 67. 

Piedmont, Ala., Bauxite, ii, 29.. 

Pig Iron, analysis of, iv, 23 and 24; carbon in, iii, 37 ; old 
English grading of, iii, 35 ; present grading of Southern, 
iii, 35; proper grading of, iii, 36; silicon in foundry, 
iii, 38 ; used in making steel at Birmingham, Ala., iv, 

22 ; yield with coke from S. Carves ovens, i, 19. 

Pottsville, Pa., Coal, i, 67. 

Pratt Coal, Analyses, 3.23; value of by-products in, i, 65. 

Pratt Mines, Ala., coke, ii, 17 ; coke oven boiler plants at,iii,47. 
Prevention of steam condensation at coke oven boiler plants, 

H b 55- 

Prochaska, E., Note on Natural Gas, i, 95. 

Proper Grading of Southern Pig Iron , The (, A. E. Bar- 
tun), iii, 35. 

Proximate Method of Coal Analysis, i, 61. 

Pulaski Co., Ark., Bauxite, ii, 27. 

Pumps, electric, iv, 41 ; electric sinking, iv, 34. 

q • 

Quinimont, W. Va., Coal, iii, 23. 

R 

Ramsey, Erskine, Presidential Address , 189 k, iv , 8: The 
Generation of Steam from the waste heat and gases of 
coke ovens, iii , J^O; Discussion of coke, iii, 12. 

Randolph Co., Ala., Clay, ii, 34. 

Reid, Jas. M., Remarks on Africa, i, 22. 

Roads, Conditions governing locatiou and construction of,i,26. 
Rescueville, Ala., Fossil Resin, i, 67. 

Road Movement, The (W. E. Robertson), i, 23. 

Robertson, W. E., The Roacl Movement , i, 23. 


Kill. 


S 

Sampling Coke, i, 97. 

Saving effected by the use of coke-oven boilers, iii, 54. 
Secretary’s Report, May, 1894, 49 - 

Sections of Gas and Oil Wells in North Alabama, i, 49. 
Seddon, Thos., Discussion on Coke, i, 95, and iii, 6. 

Sewanee Coal, iii, 67. 

Signaling in Mines, electric, iv, 43. 

Silicon in Foundry Pig-iron, iii, 38. 

Siinon-Carves Coke-ovens, i, 17. 

Sinking Pump, electric, iv, 34. 

Size of coke, importance of, iii, 35. 

Smith, E. A., The Clays of Alabama, ii, 33 ; Note 071 Alaba- 
Beryls, ii, 11 ; Note on Geology of Red Mount ., Ala ., iii, 6 . 
Spathite Non (M. C. Wilson), iv, 60. 

Spearman-Kennedy Gas-burner, iii, 33. 

Steel, Birmingham Open Hearth Basic, Analyses, iv, 33 . 

Su7'veying and Opening Mines, how to prepare working maps 
(Geo. H. Montgomery), ii, 43. 

Swansea, Eng., Coal, iii, 33; coke, iii, 30 . 


Taibach, Eng., Coal, iii, 33; coke, iii, 30. 

Tar Springs in Alabama, i, 40. 

Tar from Alabama Coals, i, 64. 

Telluride, Colorado, Electric Mining Plants at, iv, 43. 
Tennessee COAL: Bon Air, i, 67; Coal Creek, Sewanee, and 
‘Tracy City, iii, 33 ; COKE : Washed, iii, 30; phosphate 
rock, iv, 44. 

Tests of Coke-oven Boilers, 10,45, sec l- 
Tests of Railway Axles, i, 59. 

Thomas Patent Coke-oven , The (J. T. Hill), i, 86 . 

Thomas, Richard, A Paper on Coke , in , 17 . 

Tin Plate Production in the United States, i, 9. 

Toulmjn, Priestly, Discussion o?i Coke , i, 91 . 

Tracy City, Tenn., Coal, iii, 23; coke-oven boiler plants,iii,42. 


XIV. 


Treas. Annual Report, 1891, iv, 51 ; 1892, iv, 52 ; 1893, iv, 53. 
Trussville, Ala., Calcite, iv, 14, et seq. 

Tuscaloosa Clay Formation, ii, 39. 

Tuscaloosa Co., Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

u 

Uehling, Ed. A., Dolomite as a Flux for Blast Furnace 
Use , iv , 2 If. 

Ultimate Composition of some Alabama Coals , The (Wm. B. 
Phillips), i, 61. 

intimate Composition of some Alabama Cokes , The (Wm. B. 
Phillips), ii, 13. 

Ultimate method of coal analysis, the, i, 62. 

Upper Seam of Tennessee Phosphate Rock, iv, 47. 

Uses of Natural Gas and Petroleum, i, 39. 

V 

Value of Bauxite, ii, 32 ; of by-products in coking, ii, 1^ ; of 
spathic iron, iv, 60. 

Virginius,Colo., Saving effected by use of electric mine plants, 
iv, 29. 

Voltage in Electric Mine Plants, iv, 32. 

w 

Walker Co., Ala., Coal, i, 67. 

Wallsend, Eng., Coal, iii, 23; coke, iii, 20. 

Warrior River, improvement of the, ii, 29. 

Washing, Results of coal, iii, 30. 

1 

Water-wheels for power generation, iv, 33. 

Welch Coal-fields, iii, 17 ; analyses, iii, 23. 

West Virginia Coal, iii, 23. 

Wigan Coal, Wales, i, 67. 

Wilson, H. F., Jr., —Discussion on Mine Surveying, ii, 8 . 
Wilson, M. C., Spathite Iron, iv, 60. 

Woodstock, Ala., Calcite, iv, 14. 

Working Maps of Mines, ii, 49. 


1 


VOLUMES V TO IX, INCLUSIVE 


A 

Advantages Claimed for Semet-Solvay Oven, vii, 44. 

Alabama Barite, v, 25; Limestones v, 46, 47, 48; Pig Iron vi, 25. 

Alabama Barite.—(Henry McCalley) v, 25. 

Adrich, T. H.—Discussion of Fitzhugh’s paper on Mobile Point, 
v, 7; on recent prospecting for gold in Alabama, v, 8; on 
freight rates, vii, 9; on Semet-Solvay ovens, vii, 32; discus¬ 
sion of Dr. Ross’ paper on Fertilizers, ix, 50; Address as 
Retiring President, viii, 7. 

Ammonia, from Semet-Solvay ovens, vii, 40. 

Analyses, Alabama barite, v, 27; Clays, Alabama, Marion Co., 
v, 50; Montgomery Co., v, 50; Elmore Co., v, 50; England, 
v, 49; Coal, Alabama, vii, 52; Sludge, vii, 52; Unwashed 
slack, vii, 54; Washed slack, vii, 54; Alabama Limestones, 
v, 46, 47, 48; Portland Cement, v, 51; Retort Oven Gas, 
vii, 43, 44. 

B 

Barite, Alabama, (Henry McCalley) v, 25. 

Blauvelt, Wm. H.—The Semet-Solvay Coke Oven and its Pro¬ 
ducts, vii, 33. 

Bowron, James.—The Pig Iron Market, its extent and how to 
improve it, v, 30 it seq. 

Brannon, W. H.—The Grading of Southern Coke Iron, with 
special reference to the Birmingham District, vi, 11. 





XVI 


Brewer, Wm. M.—British Columbia and its Mineral Resources, 
ix, 29; Copper Mining in Alabama, vii, 13; Gold Mining in 
Alabama, vi, 42; Manganese Ores of Georgia, vi, 72; Reso¬ 
lution on Omaha Exposition, vii, 8; Reports on Statistics of 
Mineral Production, vii, 5, 29, 59. 

British Columbia and its Mineral Resources.—W. M. Brewer, ix,29 

Brookwood Coal Washer, Description of.—F. M. Jackson, vi, 50. 

Brown Ores, The, near Leeds, in Jefferson Co.—J. W. Castle- 
man, ix, 13. 

By-products from Coke Ovens, Utilization of.—J. A. Montgom¬ 
ery, v, 10, of Semet-Solvay Ovens. Blauvelt, vii, 40. 



Cadle, Col. C.—Address as Retiring President, i, 8. 

Castleman, J. W.—The Brown Ore Mines near Leeds, Jefferson 
County, ix, 13. 

Coal Washing.—F. M. Jackson, vi, 50. 

Coal Washing—Wm. B. Phillips, vii, 47. 

Coke, from Semet-Solvay Oven, vii, 35. 

Coke Iron, Observations on Grading.—Wm. B. Phillips, vi, 15. 
Coke Iron, Southern. The grading of with special reference to 
the Birmingham District.—W. H. Brannon, vi, 11. 

Copper Mining in Alabama.—Wm. M. Brewer, vii, 13. 

F 

Fertilizer Resources and Fertilizer Industry of Alabama.—Dr. 
B. B. Ross, ix, 51. 

Fitzhugh, G. D.—Mobile Point, Alabama, will be the Deep Water 
Harbor to the Gulf of Mexico, v, 20. 

Franklin, Joshua.—Gold Milling in Clay County, at the Idaho 
Mine, vii, 67. 

(3 

Gas from Semet-Solvay Oven, vii, 42. 

Geohegan, Charles J.—Discussion on Freight Rates, vii, 6. 

Gold Milling at Idaho Mine, Clay Co —Joshua Franklin, vi, 67. 
Gold Mining in Alabama.—Wm. M. Brewer, vi, 42. 


xvii 

Good Roads in the South.—Col. Horace Harding, ix, 19. 

Grading Coke Iron, Observations on.—Wm. B. Phillips, vi, 15. 
Grading of Southern Coke Iron, The—W. H. Brannon, vi, 11. 

H 

Haas, Sol.—Discussion of Amendment of State Mining Law, ix, 5. 
Harding, Col. Horace.—Good Roads in the South, ix, 19. 

i 

Idaho Mine, Clay County, Gold Milling at—Joshau Franklin,vi, 67 

j 

Jackson, F. M.—Coal Washing, Description of Brookwood 
Washer, vi, 50. 

Address as Retiring President, vii, 11. 

Discussion of freight rates, vii, 7; of Recovery Ovens, vi, 64,65 

M 

McCalley, Henry.—Alabama Barite or Heavy Spar, v, 25. 
Manganese Ores of Georgia.—Wm. M. Brewer, vi, 72. 
Manufacture of Steel in the Birmingham District, The—P. G. 
Shook, vi, 24 et seq. 

Meissner, C. A.—Address as Retiring President, iii, 14. 

Mobile Point, Alabama, Will be Deep Water Harbor of the Gulf 
of Mexico.—G. D. Fitzhugh, v, 20. 

Montgomery, J. A.—Utilization of By-products from Coke 
Ovens, v, 10. 

Discussion of Recovery Ovens, vi, 64. 

o 

Officers, List of, for 1895, v, 6; for 1896, vi, 8; for 1897, vii, 9; for 
1898, viii, 6; for 1899, ix, 6. 

Omaha Exposition, Resolutions on, vii, 8. 

Open Hearth Steel, Production of, vi, 29. 

p 

President’s Address, Retiring, 1891, Cadle, i, 8; 1892, Meissner 


XV 111 


iii, 14; 1893, E. Ramsay, iv, 8; 1894, W. B. Phillips 
(postponed); 1895, Thomas Seddon (died while still in 
office); 1896, F. M. Jackson, vii, 11; 1897, T. H. Aldrich, 

viii, 7; 1898, M. C. Wilson, ix, 9. 

Phillips, Wm. B.—Value of Raw Materials in Iron Making, vi, 36. 
Observation on Grading Coke Iron, vi, 15. 

Coal Washing, vii, 47. 

Discussion on Paper on Mobile Point, v, 7: on Recovery 
Ovens, vi, 64, 65; on Semet-Solvay Oven, vii. 31. 

Pig Iron Market, The—Its extent and how to improve it. James 
Bowron, v, 30, et seq. 

Pig Iron, Distribution of, by T. C. I. & R. R. Co., v, 31. 
Production in the U. S., v, 25. 

Portland Cement, Alabama’s Resources for Manufacture of, 
Eugene A. Smith, v, 44. 

Proceedings of Meetings of Society. 1891, Spring Meeting, i, 21; 
Autumn Meeting, i, 75; 1892, Spring, ii, 5; Autumn, ii, 7. 
1893, Spring, iii, 5; Autumn, iii, 9; 1894, Spring, iv, 5; Winter; 

iv, 58; 1895, Spring, v, 5; Autumn, v, 7; 1896, Spring, vi, 5; 
Winter, vi, 63; 1897, Spring, vii, 5; Winter, vii, 29; 1898, 
Spring, viii, 5: Autumn, viii, 9; 1899, Spring, ix, 5, Autumn, 

ix, 49. 


Ramsay, Erskine—Discussion of Recovery Ovens, vi, 65. 

Address as Retiring President, iv, 8. 

Raw Materials in Iron Making. Value of—Wm. B. Phillips, v, 36. 
Report of Committee on Mineral Statistics, 1897, vii, 59; 1898, 
viii, 9; 1899, ix, 50. 

Resolutions on Death of President Thomas Seddon, vi, 8. 

Ross, Dr. B. B.—Fertilizer Resources and Fertilizer Industry of 
Alabama, ix, 51. 


Secretary’s Reports. 1891, i, 3 & 8, and i, 21, i, 75; 1892, 
ii, 5 & 7: 1893, iii, 5 & 9; 1893-4, iv, 49; 1894-5, v, 53; 
1895-6. vi, 55; 1896-7, vii, 21; 1897-8, viii, 12; 1898-9, ix,39. 


XIX 


Seddon, Thomas—Resolutions on death of, vi, 9. 

Semet-Solvay Coke Ovens and its Products—Wm. H. Blauvelt, 
vii, 33 et seq. 

Shook, P. G.—The Manufacture of Steel in the Birmingham 
District, vi, 24 et seq. 

Sibley, J. W.—Vitrified Brick, Their Manufacture and Advant¬ 
ages as Paving Material, vii, 17, et seq. 

Smith, Eugene A.—Alabama’s Resources for the Manufacture 
of Portland Cement, v, 44 et seq. 

Discussion of Fitzhugh’s paper on Mobile Point, v, 7; on 
Omaha Exposition, vii, 8; Remarks on Sulphur Deposits of 
Texas, vii, 7. 

Steel, Manufacture of in Birmingham District—P. G. Shook, vi, 24 
Production in U. S., v, 25, 26. 

State Mining Law, Recommendations for Amendment of, viii, 9. 
Surphur Deposits of Texas, Remarks on, Eugene A. Smith, vii, 7. 


Tar from Semet-Solvay Oven, vii, 42. 

Treasurer’s Reports. 1891, iv, 51; 1892. iv, 52; 1993, iv, 53; 
1804-5, v, 54; 1895-6, vi. 57; 1896-7, vii, 23; 1897-8, viii, 13; 
1898-9, ix, 41. 

u 

Utilizations of By-products from Coke Ovens,—J. A. Mont¬ 
gomery, v, 10. 

v 

Vitrified Brick, Their Manufacture and Advantages as Paving 
Material—J. W. Sibley, vii, 17. 

Wilson, M. C.—Address as Retiring President, ix, 9. 


/ 



XXI 


NOTE 

At a called meeting of the officers (1899) of the Alabama 
Industrial and Scientific Society, held in the office of Col. J. A. 
Montgomery, First Vice-President, on January 13, 1914, the 
following Resolutions were unanimously carried: 


Resolved, 1st, That Dr. Eugene A. Smith, Secretary of the 
Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, be elected Treasurer 
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry McCalley. 

Resolved, 2nd, That certain funds of the Alabama Indus¬ 
trial and Scientific Society now standing to the credit of the 
Society in the City National Bank of Tuscaloosa, be used as 
follows: 


First, That sufficient funds be appropriated to bind and 
furnish to each member of the Society in good standing at the 
time of the last meeting of the society, one copy of the Pro¬ 
ceedings of the Society. 

Second, That the balance of these funds be paid over to 
the Museum of the Geological Survey of Alabama, for the pur¬ 
pose of binding books now in that library and for such other 
Museum purposes as Dr. E. A. Smith may elect. 


Signed, 


T. H. Aldrich, Past President 


J. A. Montgomery^ 
J. H. McCone, 

Jones G. Moore, } 
J. W. Minor, 

Chas. J. Geohegan,, 


Vice-Presidents 

1899 


/ 











. 
























SSSSinf