256 



ENGINEERING IN 1892. 



EVENTS OF 1892. 



survey devised a plan of making experimental 

 borings which has the merit of daring and origi- 

 nality. The problem presented was, how to test 

 the character of the earth under the perpetually 

 stormy Straits of Northumberland, often at a 



APPARATUS FOR TESTING GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. 



depth of more than 100 feet. The apparatus is 

 clearly indicated in the illustration above. A 

 4-inch wrought-iron pipe, made up in 20-foot 

 lengths, rests upon the bottom of the sea, and at 

 the upper end of the pipe is arranged a platform 

 strong enough to carry an engine capable of de- 

 veloping a high rate of speed. The pipe is braced 

 and anchored so as to secure it in an upright 

 position, and the engine drives a diamond drill 

 within the pipe at the rate of 1,000 revolutions a 

 minute. A scow anchored near carries the boiler 

 and accessory machinery, connections being made 

 with the drill engine by means of flexible tubing. 

 The drill is thus always held in a vertical posi- 

 tion, and is not subject to any considerable oscil- 

 lation, though often subjected to the force of a 

 heavy sea. The inventor of this method is Al- 

 fred Palmer, civil engineer, of New York. The 

 tunnel will cross the strait only a few miles from 

 the northern end of the Chignecto ship railway, 

 now approaching completion. 



Snow in City Streets. A problem that con- 

 fronts all dwellers in northern cities is the 

 speedy removal of snow from city streets. In 

 the far north the work is too great for serious 

 consideration. The snow is merely piled up in 

 the roadways, leveled, and al- 

 lowed to remain until melted 

 by the advancing season. This 

 at least is the case in Canada. 

 But the large cities of the 

 United States are not content 

 to let nature take its course, 

 and their utmost resources are 

 taxed to clear the streets for 

 traffic after a heavy snowstorm. 

 Various projects have been sug- 

 gested, and elaborate calcula- 

 tions made, all pointing to the 

 probable economy of melting 

 the snow and causing it to run 

 off through the sewers. Charles 

 E. Emory, one of the best au- 

 thorities on the use and distri- 

 butions of steam, has reached 

 this conclusion. The severe 

 winter experience of England 

 during recent years has caused 

 them to investigate the same 

 subject. It has even been esti- 

 mated that, with the price of gas 

 at 2s. Gd. a thousand cubic feet, 

 snow can be economically melt- 

 ed by burning gas. Mr. Emory 

 has tried a steam-melting pro- 

 cess which gave good results and 

 has the merit of simplicity. A 

 tarpaulin 25 feet square was 

 used to cover an area of snow, 

 when spread steam was ad- 

 mitted underneath it, and the 

 snow melted with astonishing 

 rapidity. It was found that in 

 this way large areas could be 

 economically cleared. This 

 method seems more practicable 

 than the gas method, and in 

 streets having steam mains it 

 would seem to be perfectly feasi- 

 ble. The process involves the 

 direct contact of steam and 

 snow, while in the gas process, as described, the 

 heat has to be led through a metal heating plate, 

 undoubtedly a cause of inefficiency and expense. 

 It is believed that none of the engines specially 

 constructed for melting snow have proved prac- 

 tically successful. 



EVENTS OF 1892. Europe, although in no 

 way relaxing her warlike preparations, has re- 

 mained at peace, and actual warfare has been 

 confined to barbarous tribes. The most consid- 

 erable campaign undertaken by civilized arms 

 was that of the French in the kingdom of Daho- 

 mey. The threatened hostilities between the 

 United States and Chili were adjusted, and the 

 Bering Sea dispute with England was again com- 

 promised. Cholera was epidemic in many states 

 in Europe, but by dint of extraordinary meas- 

 ures was prevented from gaining a foothold in 

 the United States. The ever-recurrent conflict 

 between labor and capital caused trouble and 

 bloodshed in France, England, and the United 



