Readers will oblige by making their remittances for subscriptions by Postal or Post Office Order, crossed. Communications for the Editor, if intended for insertion in the current week's issue, should reach the office not later than Tuesday Morning. Articles, reports, and correspondence on all matters of interest to the Chemical and allied industries, home and foreign, are solicited. Correspondents should condense their matter as much as possible, write on one side only of the paper, and in all cases give their names and addresses, not necessarily for publication. Sketches should be sent on separate sheets. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts or drawings, unless accompanied by a stamped directed envelope. Readers are invited to forward items of intelligence, or cuttings from local newspapers, of interest to the trades concerned. As it is one of the special features of the Chemical Trade Journal to give the earliest information respecting new processes, improvements, inventions, etc., bearing upon the Chemical and allied industries, or which may be of interest to our readers, the Editor invites particulars of such-when in working order-from the originators; and if the subject is deemed of sufficient importance, an expert will visit and report upon the same in the columns of the Journal. There is no fee required for visits of this kind. We shall esteem it a favour if any of our readers, in making inquiries of, or opening accounts with advertisers in this paper, will kindly mention the Chemical Trade Journal as the source of their THE CHEMICAL UNION. FERTILE as the last few years have been in trade combi nations, the huge undertaking which comes before the public under the name of the Chemical Union, has an interest that is peculiarly its own. To our mind it is the last act of a great drama—an act which will depend for its duration in great measure upon the ability of the players themselves. As might be expected under the circumstances, reliable information is somewhat scarce; but, assuming the capital of the union to be, as we are told it is, ten millions, the amount does not seem to us to be at all out of proportion to the vastness and importance of the scheme. An industry which produces, per annum, 150,000 tons of bleaching powder, and 180,000 tons of caustic soda, in addition to soda ash, soda crystals, and chlorate of potash, must of necessity require a large and expensive machinery for its manipulation and supervision. Our readers are already acquainted with our views upon trusts and syndicates, and sooner or later this particular trust will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors. But that day should not be yet at hand, for we must confess that no other project of the kind put forward within recent years has established a better claim to consideration, or shown greater likelihood of temporary success. We say 66 'temporary" advisedly, for we regard the old Leblanc process as doomed. It will go to its grave full of years and honours, but neither years nor honours can avail to stem the tide of invention that is slowly, but surely, accomplishing its fall. In the meantime, however, the alkali manufacturers have, it seems to us, a good opportunity of securing to themselves a period of comparative ease and plenty before the inevitable dissolution. Why they have been so long in making up their minds to do something to protect themselves, has been a great source of wonder to us, and we had almost begun to think that the low prices that have now been ruling for so long, were due to a praiseworthy and disinterested benevolence on the part of the producers--to a desire to give the rest of their fellow creatures a sufficiency of bleach and caustic, with a minimum of pecuniary obligation. Now, however, our mind is in equilibrium again, and we once more see in the alkali-maker, the practical man of business, actuated by the not necessarily unlaudable desire to amass his modest pile. Ill-natured folks may say that this desire has never been conspicuous by its absence, in fact, that it has been the cause of failure in all previous attempts to form a combination. Be this as it may, the manufacturers ought to be thoroughly alive to the fact, that if success is to attend their efforts, a liberal give-and-take spirit must have place in their council. There will be many conflicting individual interests, and unless these be cordially reconciled, there can be little stability attaching to the combination. But in order to further this end, the individual should drop all unnecessary minor claims (which are simply so many hindrances to the attainment of the main object in view), and content himself with the broad general advantages that must necessarily accrue to him through the operation of a well managed combination. The general public will have to pay more for their bleach and caustic, (and doubtless other chemicals will rise in sympathy), but of the two evils, we are inclined to think that the continuance of the alkali trade depression would be the greater. HE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.* XXVII. WEIGHING AND MEASURING. EAT measuring has been briefly described in chapter IV., but only as a means of illustrating how large scale experiments may be carried on in the laboratory. In the course of actual manufacturing, heat measuring is even more important than in the laboratory, but, unfortunately, the instruments at our disposal for the measurement of temperature do not help us much beyond a certain figure. The main difficulty in the construction of high temperature heatmeasuring apparatus is the selection of material of which the apparatus can be made. When we remember that platinum melts below 1,800°C., cast iron below 1,100°C., limeglass at about 1,900°C, and many varieties of fire clay at 2,000°C., the difficulties of construction will become apparent. The following temperatures of known physical crises are generally accepted as being fairly accurate, those with an asterisk (*) may be depended upon for accuracy, and those marked (†) to within a few degrees; so that a range of temperature from the melting of ice to that of platinum can be fairly well established. There may be gaps difficult to fill, but the existence of well defined stepping stones will, no doubt, be of great service, and help to fix in the minds of chemical engineers the effect of temperature which might otherwise be neglected. Gold, silver, and copper are generally rated to fuse at about 1,000°C. to 1,050°C. (about 2,000°F.), and cast iron at 1,275°C. (about 2,300°F.), and platinum fusing at 1,800°C. melts when thrown onto the surface of molten glass. Some scientists attach great importance to the exact determination of temperature in manufacturing processes. There is no doubt that in many operations where reactions take place in specified and very narrow limits, the exact determination of the degree of heat employed is a very important matter, and we should in all cases endeavour to arrive at as near the truth as possible, but unless there is a definite and valuable point in making determinations of such great accuracy, it is as well not to overlook the fact that the game may not be worth the candle. The most common method of ascertaining temperature, is by the unaided eye; we speak of the heat as dull red, cherry red, orange, and white, and by it we mean, no doubt, to be definite in our description, and certainly workmen who are trained to observe temperature-colour can observe very well, still, the untrained eye may be very seriously in error. A course of lectures delivered by Mr. George E. Davis, at the Manchester Technical School.—All rights reserved. For my own part, I have had experience in three processes requiring careful regulation of heat, the Hargreaves salt cake process, the Deacon chlorine process, and the carbonizing of coal, and therefore can speak with authority upon the subject. I have found that a good, steady fireman, when in perfect health, may train his eye to keep very steady heats by means of his eye alone, but the state of a man's health does materially affect his colour perception, and, moreover, heat determinations conducted by this method should only be made when the eyes are completely shaded from extraneous light. It is difficult to say what is the lowest degree of heat that can be seen, perhaps 400°C. has been observed, but dull red is generally taken to mean 500°C.: cherry red 800°C.; orange red 1,000°C.; white-heat 1,300°C.; while the dazzling white-heat of the glass furnace cannot be less than 1,500°C. to 1,900°C. For temperatures above 1,000°C., the colour is oftimes observed through a piece of cobalt blue glass, which softens the light by absorbing the yellow part of the spectrum, but the use of this medium requires considerable practice. The following table may put these temperatures in a more graphic form. Rouge foncé dans l'obscurité Rouge sombre.... Cerise naissant Cerise clair Blanc soudant Blanc éblouissant ............ 525°C. 700°C. 800°C. 1,000°C. 1, 100°C. 1,200°C. 1,300°C. 1,400°C. 1,500 to 1,600°C. As I have already shown, the mercury thermometer may be employed for all temperatures, say up to 340°C., or say 640 ̊F., up to which I have frequently gone in testing chimney gases, with average accuracy when using Phillips' maximum registering thermometer. An instrument for measuring temperatures from 300°C. to 1,000°C. is still much required, or even to 1,500°C., but as steel melts at 1,300°C., I fear that platinum is the only suitable metal, and therefore not available, except for determinations of more than ordinary importance. Pyrometers are much used for temperatures varying from 300°C. to 600°C., but I have not found one single make yet that would work continuously and give satisfaction, but I have on many occasions known that the fireman has found the pyrometer out of order, by comparison with the temperature colour. I am speaking now of pyrometers working on the principle of the differential expansion of two dissimilar substances; there may be others more reliable, but, anyhow, they are not in general use. Pyrometers, to be of any material service, should not only be able to indicate the actual temperature at the time, but to detect variations in the temperature, so as to give ample warning to the fireman before actual damage is done. The material in manufacturing operations often takes a long time in heating up, and when a critical point is reached, it will probably take as long or longer to cool down, the cooling being very uncertain when some chemical change is taking place in which heat is evolved. There are, however, two forms of pyrometer that deserve careful trial, Murrie's is one form, the other is Schäffer and Budenberg's Thal-potassimeter. In Murrie's pyrometers the action of the instruments can readily be understood by comparison with an ordinary mercurial barometer. In the barometer the pressure only of the atmosphere is taken into account, no allowance being made for variations in the temperature of the atmosphere. As mercury volatilizes in a vacuum, it is evident that under certain conditions the tension of the mercurial vapour in the space intermediate to the upper surface of the column of mercury and the sealed end of the tube, known as the vacuum space, may be sufficient to affect the height of the column of mercury to a greater or less extent. For instance, assuming the tube to be enveloped by air heated to nearly 680° F.-the boiling point of mercury under the normal atmospheric pressure-the tension of the vapour will balance the pressure of the atmosphere, and in consequence, the column of mercury in the barometer tube will be depressed to the same, or nearly the same, level as that of the mercury in the receiver. Moreover, any decrease in the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere will cause the vapour of mercury to partially liquefy and the column of mercury to ascend. Supposing that instead of the lower end of the tube to be open to the atmosphere, the tube is sealed by a sensitive pressure gauge, and the tube heated as before, the mercury could not then descend, but the tension of the vapour would be transmitted through the intermediate column of mercury to the pressure indicator, and any variation in the tension of the vapour due to heating or cooling of the mercury at the point of contact with the vapour, would at once be shown on the indicator, which could be graduated to show the corresponding temperature. On this basis about 60 forms of instruments are constructed, embracing nearly all ranges of temperature met with in practice. These instruments are reported to be in use in many chemical establishments, but I have not been able to secure any reliable reports regarding them. Some of the purposes for which they are specially constructed may perhaps be mentioned here. From o° F. to 50° F. for use in refrigerators, cooling chambers, etc.; to temperatures up to 300° F., with a range of 100° F., for heated water or steam; for temperatures from 300° F. to 1,000° F., with a range of 300° to 600 on each dial. A series has been made for tar distillers, stearine stills, and oil stills, ranging on each dial from 300° to 600° F.; 350° to 800°; 350° to 900°, and 400° to 1,000° F. For hot-air blast, superheated steam, a set has been devised ranging from 400° F. to 2,000° F. The price of these instruments varies from three to six guineas each. Two special instruments are constructed to guide the attendant in the heating and cooling of caustic soda, viz., an instrument ranging from 1,000°F. to 1,400°F., to show the temperature of the material as it is being heated, and also to show when sufficient heat has been applied; and a second instrument ranging from 400° F. to 800° F., to show when the material has sufficiently cooled down to be removed from the pots. The construction of the Thal-potassimeter is based on the well-known fact that the pressure of a saturated vapour corresponds to its temperature. The instrument consists of a metal tube (brass or iron) of sufficient strength, partly filled with a suitable liquid (ether, water, or mercury), which is exposed to the influence of the temperature to be ascertained, and connected with a pressure gauge, by means of which the pressure imparted to the vapour is indicated. The dials are graduated by actual experiment, the temperature corresponding to the different pressures being calculated on the basis of Regnault's tables. For low temperatures the tube is generally of brass and partly filled with ether, the dial being graduated from 100° to 220°F., for temperatures varying from 212°F. to 680°F. the liquid is water and the tube of iron or brass, while for heats above 680°F to say 1,500°F the tube is iron or steel and the liquid mercury. I have used these pyrometers for several years, and, if carefully fixed and used, they are reliable; after a time, however, the fluid escapes somewhat or becomes changed in character, and the instrument must be overhauled and adjusted. All high temperature pyrometers must be protected against oxidation. For this purpose an outer iron protecting tube is requisite, which should be partly filled with lead. The lead forms a bath, excludes the air and so prevents the oxidation of the pyrometer tube. The price of each of these Thal-potassimeters is about five guineas. In several instances I have known of the successful employment of air thermometers made from porcelain tubes glazed inside, but the joints are apt to give way in time; still the possibility of their use deserves to be remembered. Fusible masses and fusible alloys are also capable of great employment, and I think that before any range of pyrometer is selected, the temperatures should be first roughly determined by their means, and before a mercury thermometer is plunged into a flue, for instance, it should be ascertained that the temperature is below the fusing point of lead. The mistakes that have been made in these matters, within my own knowledge, would make a very amusing lecture in this series. Siemens' copper ball pyrometer has been described in Chapter IV., to ensure fairly accurate figures, the rise of temperature of the water should not exceed 2°C., and it is well to cool the water, say 2° below the temperature of the air, before adding the heated metal, in order that the heat lost by radiation should be reduced to a minimum. Siemens' electrical pyrometer depends upon the fact, that the electrical resistance of metallic conductors depends upon their dimensions, material, & temperature. An increase in temperature causes a corresponding increase of resistance, the law of which is known. The resistance of a conductor having been ascertained at o°C., it can be also calculated for a higher temperature, and as the resistance can be measured, the temperature can be easily calculated. This is the principle upon which Siemens' electrical pyrometer is based. A platinum wire of a known resistance at ofC., is coiled on a cylinder of fireclay, so that the convolutions do not touch each other. This coil is protected by a platinum shield, which is placed in an iron or platinum tube. Leading wires are arranged to connect the coil with an instrument suitable for measuring the varying resistance from which the temperature can be calculated. The instrument employed for measuring the resistance is a differential voltameter, which consists of two separate glass tubes, containing a dilute solution of sulphuric acid in water, this solution is decomposed by an electric current passing between two platinum electrodes. The gas which is generated is collected in the upper portion of the tubes, and measured off by means of the graduated scale. The current from the battery is divided by a commutator into two circuits, one of which consists of a constant resistance in the instrument and the platinum electrodes in one tube, the other, of the resistance to be measured, and the electrodes in the other tube. The quantities of gas developed in the two tubes are in inverse proportion to the resistances of their respective circuits, and the resistance in the instrument being known, the other can be calculated. This instrument is very costly, and is not much employed on account of difficulties in its use. Theoretically, it is ingenious, and may be accurate in the hands of physical experimenters, but its use in an ordinary manufacturing establishment is out of the question. (To be continued.) Legal. SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE.-COURT OF APPEAL. (Before LORD ESHER, LORD JUSTICE LINDLEY, and LORD JUSTICE BOWEN.) IN THE MATTER OF AN INTENDED ARBITRATION BETWEEN SMITH AND SERVICE AND NELSON AND SONS. This case was of great interest to mercantile men-who have for more than two centuries been (and are now more than ever) in the habit of agreeing to refer their disputes to arbitration-for it raised the question whether such agreements to refer to arbitration can be enforced by one party against the other. It had arisen under these circumstances. The plaintiffs, Smith and Service, a firm of shipowners, had last year chartered a vessel of theirs to the defendants, Nelson and Co., the charter stipulating that the vessel should arrive and be placed at the disposal of the charterers on a certain day, and it contained the usual clause for referring any disputes that might arise to three arbitrators, one to be chosen by each party and the third by those two. The vessel did not arrive until two days after the day appointed, and the charterers threw her up. The shipowners claimed damages and proposed to proceed under the arbitration clause and appointed their arbitrator, and called upon the charterers to appoint theirs, which they, however, refused to do. The shipowners having appointed their arbitrator, made the agreement of reference a rule of Court, and applied for an order to enforce it by compelling the charterers to appoint their arbitrator. The Master made an order upon them to appoint an arbitrator, and the Judge at Chambers upheld the order, the Arbitration Act of last year, section 1, enacting that "a submission to arbitration shall be irrevocable except by leave of the Court or a Judge, and shall have the same effect in all respects as if it had been made a rule of Court.' From the time of the first Arbitration Act (William III) a reference to arbitration could have been revoked. The Act of 3 and 4 William IV., c. 429, provided that it could not be revoked after being made a rule of Court. The Common Law Procedure Act, 1854, contained various provisions to enforce references to arbitration, but contained none to meet the case which had now arisen, neither did the late Act contain any express provision to meet it, and, though the contention of the shipowners was that in effect the above enactment did meet it, the contention of the charterers was that it did not meet it. They, therefore, appealed to the Divisional Court against the order, but the Court upheld it, and then the charterers appealed to this Court. (The case was reported in The Times on the 20th of June) Mr. FRENCH, Q.C. (with Mr. C. A. Russell), appeared for the appellants. Mr. BARNES, Q.C. (with Mr. Leck and Mr. Hurst), appeared on behalf of the shipowners in support of the order. Their LORDSHIPS, after conferring together, allowed the appeal and set aside the order. LORD ESHER, in giving judgment, said the question arose on a usual clause of arbitration, only the reference was to be to "three arbitrators," not two arbitrators and an umpire. The submission was, however, made a rule of Court when only one of the parties had appointed his arbitrator and the other party refused to appoint one. The Court made an order that he should appoint one, and the question was whether the Court had jurisdiction to make such an order. It was said that the case came within the late Act-that is, within section I and that that section gave the Court power to make the order. If the Courts had not had such a power before, had that Act given it? It was admitted that ever since the Act of William III. the Courts had never exercised such a power; but it was said the question had never arisen, and no one had raised it. But was it credible that during all that long period the power had existed though it had never been exercised, even during the half-century that had elapsed since the Act of William IV.? And, again, parties had had recourse to the Courts of Chancery to enforce submissions to arbitration, but the Courts had declined to exercise such a power-that is, there was no power, either in the Courts of law or equity, to make such orders to enforce submissions to arbitration. When, indeed, the arbitrators had been appointed the statutes gave certain powers and the submissions were made "rules of Court" for that purpose, but only after arbitrators had been appointed. From the time of William III., indeed, down to the Act of William IV., either of the parties could revoke his submission, even after it was made a rule of Court, which showed that the Court could not enforce the submission. Then the Act of William IV. made the submission irrevocable if made a rule of Court -that is, after the arbitrators had been appointed, for it was the reference to the arbitrators which was revoked. Then the late Act provided that the submission should be irrevocable - that is, the submission to particular arbitrators appointed-for the agreement to refer could never be revoked, as an action always could be brought upon it. The submission was to have the same effect as if made a rule of Court—that is, after arbitrators had been appointed. Then it followed that the new Act did not give the power to order a party to appoint his arbitrator. There was the same power as before, when the submission to arbitrators appointed had been made a rule of Court. A party could not now, any more than before, be ordered to appoint an arbitrator. The Divisional Court, therefore, had stretched the new Act beyond its true effect, and their order was made without jurisdiction. The appeal, therefore, must be allowed. LORD JUSTICE LINDLEY concurred, and observed that it was admitted that down to the late Act no such order had been made, and the late Act did not give the power to make such an order. If it had existed before the late Act, it was unaccountable how it should never have been exercised before. The order was opposed to the view of the law which had prevailed for two centuries. LORD JUSTICE BOWEN concurred, and observed that an agreement to refer was always irrevocable by one of the parties, though the authority of the arbitrator could be revoked, which implied, however, that a submission meant a submission to arbitrators appointed, which formerly was, but now was not, revocable-that is, provided the arbitrators had been appointed. The arbitrators, therefore, must have been appointed to render the submission irrevocable. But here the arbitrators had not been appointed, and there was not and never had been a power in the Courts to compel parties to appoint arbitrators. The general agreement to refer to arbitration could not thus be enforced. No one had ever heard of an attachment against a party for not appointing his arbitrator in accordance with his agreement to refer. The order, therefore, in this case could not be maintained. Appeal accordingly allowed. A NEW WHITE LEAD PROCESS. HE evils attending the manufacture of white lead by the Dutch or THE stack process are too well known to require insisting on. They may be summed up as-expensiveness, tediousness, and serious danger to health. Attempts have been made from time to time to introduce other methods of manufacture, which have been recorded by us. These, for the most part, have proved failures. Another process for attaining the desired end inexpensively, quickly and safely has just been brought under our notice. This process is the invention of Professor McIvor, F.I.C., and has been in operation for the past nine months at the experimental works, 47, Clapham-road, London. In this process of manufacture, which was recently inspected, the litharge is first made from lead ore and then thoroughly purified by washing. It is then put in a vat which is fitted with stirring apparatus, and a solution of acetate of ammonia is run into the vat upon the litharge. The mixture is then agitated for six hours, so that the lead is absorbed into the solution, and it is allowed to settle. The supernatant liquor containing the lead is then pumped over into a second vat, in which it is submitted to the action of carbonic acid gas. By this means the lead is precipitated and the acetate of ammonia recovered for use over again. If the litharge is very pure the carbonic acid gas is introduced into the first vat, with the result that the white lead is produced direct and the acetate of ammonia separated at the same time for re-use as before. In either case, after the white lead has been precipitated, the mother liquor is drawn off and the unwashed white lead is passed through filter presses to extract from it all the mother liquor. The pressed lead is then put in a washer and agitated by stirrers in cold water. After eight of these agitated washings, the white lead is again passed through the filter presses and through a hydraulic press, from whence it is removed to the drying room, and, when dry, is ready for use. The result is a pure white lead, free from crystals and produced in a few hours, as against months by the ordinary method, the cost of production being also much less. The process and the products have been examined by several leading chemists. All the operations in the manufacture of lead under this process are done in the wet, so that there is no dust, and therefore no danger to health from that source. SULPHUR EXPORTS FROM ITALY. THE HE official returns show that the gross exports of raw and refined sulphur from Italy, up to the end of May last, amounted to 1,700, 106 quintals, in contrast with 1,503,394 quintals in the same five months last year, this being an increase of 196,712 quintals This export is valued at 11,900,742 lire, in 1890, and 10,523,758 lire 1889, thus showing on advance on the gross value of 1,375,984 lire. The official valuation puts sulphur at 7 lire per quintal. The destination of the exports is given, as presented in the annexed table, for the first five months of the last three years : PERMANENT CHEMICAL EXHIBITION. THE HE proprietors wish to remind subscribers and their friends generally that there is no charge for admission to the Exhibition. Visitors are requested to leave their cards, and will confer a favour by making any suggestions that may occur to them in the direction of promoting the usefulness of the Institution. JOSEPH AIRD, GREATBRIDGE.-Iron tubes and coils of all kinds. ASHMORE, BENSON, PEASE AND Co., STOCKTON-ON-TEES.-Sulphate of Ammonia Stills, Green's Patent Scrubber, Gasometers, and Gas Plant generally. BLACKMAN VENTILATING Co., LONDON.-Fans, Air Propellers, Ventilating Machinery. GEO. G. BLACKWELL, LIVERPOOL.-Manganese Ores, Bauxite, French Chalk. Importers of minerals of every description. BRUNNER, MOND AND Co., NORTHWICH.-Bicarbonate of Soda, Soda Ash, Soda Crystals, Muriate of Ammonia, Sulphate of Ammonia, Sesqui-Carbonate of Ammonia. BUCKLEY BRICK AND TILE Co., BUCKLEY.-Fireclay ware of all W. F. CLAY, EDINBURGH.-Scientific Literature-English, French, J. CORTIN, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.-Regulus and Brass Taps and R. & J. DEMPSTER, MANCHESTER.-Photographs of Gas Plants, DOULTON AND Co., LAMBETH.-Specimens of Chemical Stoneware, JEWSBURY AND Brown, MancheSTER.—Samples of Aerated Waters. C. R. LINDSEY AND CO., CLAYTON.-Lead Salts, (Acetate, Nitrate, etc.) Sulphate of Copper, etc. CHAS. LOWE AND CO., REDDISH.-Mural Tablet-makers of Carbolic Crystals, Cresylic and Picric Acids, Sheep Dip, Disinfectants, &c. MANCHESTER ANILINE Co., MANCHESTER. —Aniline Colours. Samples of Dyed Goods and Miscellaneous Chemicals, both organic and inorganic. MELDRUM BROS., MANCHESTER.-Steam Ejectors, Exhausters, Silent Boiling Jets, Air Compressors, and Acid Lifters. E. D. MILNES AND BROTHER, BURY.-Dyewoods and Dyewood Extracts. Also samples of dyed fabrics. MUSGRAVE AND Co., BELFAST.-Slow Combustion Stoves. Makers of all kinds of heating appliances. NEWCASTLE CHEMICAL WORKS COMPANY, LIMITed, NewcastleON-TYNE.-Caustic Soda (ground and solid), Soda Ash, Recovered Sulphur, etc. ROBINSON, COOKS, AND COMPANY, ST. HELENS.-Drawings, illustrating their Gas Compressors and Vacuum Pumps, fitted with Pilkington and Forrest's patent Valves. J. ROYLE, MANCHESTER.-Steam Reducing Valves. A. SMITH, CLAYTON.-India-rubber Chemicals, Rubber Substitute, Bisulphide of Carbon, Solvent Naphtha, Liquid Ammonia, and Disinfecting Fluids. WORTHINGTON PUMPING ENGINE COMPANY, LONDON.-Pumping JOSEPH WRIGHT AND COMPANY, TIPTON.-Berryman Feed-water Official Memoranda. (From the Board of Trade Journal.) IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. HER Majesty's Consul at Philadelphia states that changes and new enterprises in the iron trade of the United States during the past two years have been numerous. The low prices for many iron and steel products of 1888 and the first six months of 1889 did not affect the activity in the trade and the extension of facilities for the manufacture of iron and steel in all forms. The erection of blast furnaces in the Southern States, and of steel works in the Northern States, continued from month to month. In November, 1889, there were 575 blast furnaces in active operation or in process of construction. The charcoal furnaces and the anthracite furnaces are gradually decreasing, while the bituminous and coke furnaces are on the increase. The annual capacity of the 575 completed furnaces in November, 1889, was 13,168,233 net tons, and the aggregate capacity of all the blast furnaces throughout the United States at the close of 1889 is not only much larger than it was two years ago, but the average capacity is also much larger. In November, 1889, the average capacity was 22,901 net tons per annum, or 440 net tons per week. The rolling mills and steel works are enumerated at 445 completed rolling mills and steel works in the United States, November, 1889, with 11 building. In the two years 1888 and 1889, 39 new rolling mills and steel works were built, and 27 abandoned, leaving a net gain of 12. Of the 39 new enterprises completed in the last two years many of them embraced works for the manufacture of steel by either the Bessemer or the open hearth process. The rolling mill capacity numbered 4,914 in November, 1889; the heating furnaces numbered 2,733; the number of trains of rolls, 1,510; the annual capacity of the rolling mills in finished iron and steel, 9,215,000 tons; the number of rolling mills manufacturing cut nails and spikes was 75, with 6,066 nail machines. The Standard Bessemer Steel Works in November, 1889, throughout the United States numbered 41, completed with 88 converters, with no new plants in course of erection. The annual ingot capacity of the completed and building Standard Bessemer Steel Works was 5,600,000 tons, Clapp-Griffiths and Robert - Bessemer plants both being excluded. The Clapp-Griffiths steel industry in this country has made no In progress in the last two years; indeed, it has slighly retrograded. November, 1889, there were only eight completed plants, containing in all 14 converters, with an annual ingot capacity of 200,000. The Robert-Bessemer steel process was introduced into this country within the past two years from France. It is a modification of the Bessemer process, and in November, 1889, seven completed plants were in activity, containing II converters, with three in course of erection, and one plant in course of erection. All converters operated by this new method are of small capacity, used in making castings and for miscellaneous purposes. In The open-hearth steel industry continues in favourable progress. November, 1889, the number of completed open-hearth furnaces was 116, with 23 furnaces building, and a number previously built were remodelled and enlarged. The annual capacity of the open-hearth furnaces completed in November, 1889, is estimated at 1,000,000 net tons of ingots, and of the 23 furnaces then in course of erection 200,000, showing a total capacity of 1,200,000 tons, against 815,000 tons in 1887. The Crucible Steel Works has been practically stationary for a number of years, owing to competition of steel made by other methods. In November, 1889, there were 43 completed crucible steel works, containing 3,378 pots, and three plants building to contain 150 pots. Basic Bessemer steel has not so far been made in this country, except experimentally. In Pennsylvania two works are making very soft basic open-hearth steel. Pig iron is now made in 24 States; rolling mills are found in 28 States and one territory; cut nails are made in 15 States; wire nails in 13; Bessemer steel in 11; Clapp-Griffiths steel in three; RobertBessemer steel in five; open-hearth steel in II; crucible steel in II; iron ore forges in five; and pig-iron scrap bloomeries in five States. Natural gas as fuel is used in 104 rolling mills and steel works, but the annual increase has been very light. During the past year there has been much interruption to its use at many iron and steel works, caused by an inadequate supply, and some manufacturers are contemplating a return to the use of coal entirely.-(No. 731, Foreign Office Annual Series.) DISCOVERY OF MINERAL OIL IN INDIA. The Calcutta Englishman (overland mail) for the 13th May has the following: "A discovery of mineral oil has recently been made in the Suliman The hills in the district occupied by the Tsor Kheyl tribe of Shiranis. story of its discovery is decidedly interesting. About five years ago, |