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Asbestos in the United States
I26
CURRENT TOPICS.
Mr. Blake's assertions are evidently based upon the findings of the company's inspectors. I f these reports are made without thorough investigation, the manufacturers of boiler-tubes are being grievously wronged. I f the facts are as stated, the tube manu~ facturers should take steps to bring the quality of their product up to the requirement of the times. M o r d a n t Dyestuffs. E. NOELTING. (Chem.. Zeit., xxxiv, 977.) - - T h e author states that when a dyestuff, particularly one belonging to the anthroquinone series, contains a hydroxyl and au amino-group in the ortho-position with respect to one another, the substance has mordant dyeing properties. Mordant dyestuffs are sometimes formed when the two groups are in the para-position respectively, but the affinity for the fibre is not so great in this case. It is remarkable that all amino-hydroxy-compounds give strong colors on a copper mordant.
Crrahamite, a Solid Native Bitumen. C. RICHARDSON. (J. Amer. Chem. £oe., xxxii, io32.)--Grahamlte was discovered in West Virginia, in about 186o, but there is considerable confusion in literature as to its distinction from albertite and gilsonite and to a certain extent from manjak. It may be described as a brittle, solid native bitumen, generally pure, but at times mixed with adventitious mineral matter ; characterized when pure by a peculiar schistose fracture, known as " hackly." It does not melt, but intumesces; it is soluble in carbon bisulphide and to a small extent in light naphtha and yields a high percentage of coke. It closely resembles the " asphaltenes." European and American Wood-block Pavements. CLIFFORD RICHARDSON. (Eng. Record, lxii, i 4 . ) ~ T h i s interesting communication compares wood block pavements as laid down in Paris, London and N e w York. The weak points of the American system of constructing wood-block pavements are,--lack of depth to the block, extravagance in the matter of saturation, neglect to use a waterproof filler, and the use of a mortar bed instead of a smoothfloated concrete foundation. Asbestos in the U n i t e d S t a t e s . - - T h e United States has for years led all other countries in the manufacture of asbestos goods. but until recently all the raw asbestos used has been imported from Canada, where there are nineteen quarries and mills, having a capacity of 8250 tons of rock a day and employing in summer more than 3000 persons. A feature of the asbestos industry of 19o9 was a combination of Canadian producers in the Amalgamated Asbestos Corporation (Ltd.) and the formation of the International Asbestos Association,
CURRENT TOPICS.
I2 7
an organization including mine owners in Canada and manufacturers in the United States. No asbestos of the higher grade (serpentine asbestos, or chrysotile) was mined in the United States until 19o8, but in that year Vermont produced some chrysotile and in 19o9 mined a larger quantity, amounting to nearly one-twentieth of the Canadian output. Chrysotile asbestos has been mined in small quantities in Wyoming during the present year. Asbestos is insoluble in acids and incombustible, is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, and is not affected by dampness, so that it is applied to many purposes. It is used for building material, pipe coverings, shingles, insulating tapes and boards, fireproof ropes and curtains, packing for fireproof safes, and packing for steam engines, as well as in paint and cement. The United States Geological Survey has just published a report on the production of asbestos in 19o9, by J. S. Diller, showing the production, imports, prices, and trade conditions during the year as well as the foreign production and trade conditions. The report contains also notes on the known asbestos deposits of the United States. In I9O9 the production of asbestos in Vermont was 2oo per cent. and that of Georgia about 2 5 per cent. more than in 19o8. Mr. Diller urges that the search for chrysotile asbestos be continued among the ancient crystalline metamorphic rocks in the United States. Electric Arc Welding. F. SCOTT ANDERSON. (Avner. Mach., xxxiii, 4 o . ) ~ T h i s article is important to those requiring such welding. It points out the advances made, particularly in portable plants. It gives a series of tests comparing the efficiency of such welds with band welds made at a forge and with the original metal. It points out the kind or" electrodes necessary, the precautions to prevent burns, and that the'low tension is a safeguard from shocks. A F o u r t h Recalescence in Steel. PROP. J. O. ARNOLD. (Iron Age, lxxxvi, I 6 . ) - - F r o m the accumulated thermal and micrographic observations of more than 20 years, the view is put forward that the fourth phase of recalescence is due to the heat evolved during the segregation of the ultimate micrographic constituents of steel, begun at ~r~ and completed at At1, during the cooling of an unsaturated steel at a moderate rate. Between the points named it is believed the Ferrite and Hardenite fall out from their state of solid solution into microscopically visible masses. N o r t h D a k o t a Lignite as a Fuel for P o w e r - p l a n t Boilers is the title of Bulletin No. 2 recently issued by the Bureau of Mines. This bulletin describes a series of tests at the pumping plant of the United States Reclamation Service at WiUiston, North Dakota.
CURRENT TOPICS.
Mr. Blake's assertions are evidently based upon the findings of the company's inspectors. I f these reports are made without thorough investigation, the manufacturers of boiler-tubes are being grievously wronged. I f the facts are as stated, the tube manu~ facturers should take steps to bring the quality of their product up to the requirement of the times. M o r d a n t Dyestuffs. E. NOELTING. (Chem.. Zeit., xxxiv, 977.) - - T h e author states that when a dyestuff, particularly one belonging to the anthroquinone series, contains a hydroxyl and au amino-group in the ortho-position with respect to one another, the substance has mordant dyeing properties. Mordant dyestuffs are sometimes formed when the two groups are in the para-position respectively, but the affinity for the fibre is not so great in this case. It is remarkable that all amino-hydroxy-compounds give strong colors on a copper mordant.
Crrahamite, a Solid Native Bitumen. C. RICHARDSON. (J. Amer. Chem. £oe., xxxii, io32.)--Grahamlte was discovered in West Virginia, in about 186o, but there is considerable confusion in literature as to its distinction from albertite and gilsonite and to a certain extent from manjak. It may be described as a brittle, solid native bitumen, generally pure, but at times mixed with adventitious mineral matter ; characterized when pure by a peculiar schistose fracture, known as " hackly." It does not melt, but intumesces; it is soluble in carbon bisulphide and to a small extent in light naphtha and yields a high percentage of coke. It closely resembles the " asphaltenes." European and American Wood-block Pavements. CLIFFORD RICHARDSON. (Eng. Record, lxii, i 4 . ) ~ T h i s interesting communication compares wood block pavements as laid down in Paris, London and N e w York. The weak points of the American system of constructing wood-block pavements are,--lack of depth to the block, extravagance in the matter of saturation, neglect to use a waterproof filler, and the use of a mortar bed instead of a smoothfloated concrete foundation. Asbestos in the U n i t e d S t a t e s . - - T h e United States has for years led all other countries in the manufacture of asbestos goods. but until recently all the raw asbestos used has been imported from Canada, where there are nineteen quarries and mills, having a capacity of 8250 tons of rock a day and employing in summer more than 3000 persons. A feature of the asbestos industry of 19o9 was a combination of Canadian producers in the Amalgamated Asbestos Corporation (Ltd.) and the formation of the International Asbestos Association,
CURRENT TOPICS.
I2 7
an organization including mine owners in Canada and manufacturers in the United States. No asbestos of the higher grade (serpentine asbestos, or chrysotile) was mined in the United States until 19o8, but in that year Vermont produced some chrysotile and in 19o9 mined a larger quantity, amounting to nearly one-twentieth of the Canadian output. Chrysotile asbestos has been mined in small quantities in Wyoming during the present year. Asbestos is insoluble in acids and incombustible, is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, and is not affected by dampness, so that it is applied to many purposes. It is used for building material, pipe coverings, shingles, insulating tapes and boards, fireproof ropes and curtains, packing for fireproof safes, and packing for steam engines, as well as in paint and cement. The United States Geological Survey has just published a report on the production of asbestos in 19o9, by J. S. Diller, showing the production, imports, prices, and trade conditions during the year as well as the foreign production and trade conditions. The report contains also notes on the known asbestos deposits of the United States. In I9O9 the production of asbestos in Vermont was 2oo per cent. and that of Georgia about 2 5 per cent. more than in 19o8. Mr. Diller urges that the search for chrysotile asbestos be continued among the ancient crystalline metamorphic rocks in the United States. Electric Arc Welding. F. SCOTT ANDERSON. (Avner. Mach., xxxiii, 4 o . ) ~ T h i s article is important to those requiring such welding. It points out the advances made, particularly in portable plants. It gives a series of tests comparing the efficiency of such welds with band welds made at a forge and with the original metal. It points out the kind or" electrodes necessary, the precautions to prevent burns, and that the'low tension is a safeguard from shocks. A F o u r t h Recalescence in Steel. PROP. J. O. ARNOLD. (Iron Age, lxxxvi, I 6 . ) - - F r o m the accumulated thermal and micrographic observations of more than 20 years, the view is put forward that the fourth phase of recalescence is due to the heat evolved during the segregation of the ultimate micrographic constituents of steel, begun at ~r~ and completed at At1, during the cooling of an unsaturated steel at a moderate rate. Between the points named it is believed the Ferrite and Hardenite fall out from their state of solid solution into microscopically visible masses. N o r t h D a k o t a Lignite as a Fuel for P o w e r - p l a n t Boilers is the title of Bulletin No. 2 recently issued by the Bureau of Mines. This bulletin describes a series of tests at the pumping plant of the United States Reclamation Service at WiUiston, North Dakota.