NATURE 



509 



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1884 



MODERN STEAM PRACTICE AND 

 ENGINEERING 

 Modern Steam Practice and Engineering. By John G. 

 Winton, assisted by W. J. Millar, C.E. (London : 

 Blackie and Sons, 1S83.) 



TH E want has long been felt by those employed in the 

 engineering works of this country of a book which 

 shall serve as a guide to the various operations in the 

 workshop, giving a practical yet concise description of 

 the various methods employed, and the reason for using 

 any particular method. In some works we find the 

 business conducted in an old-fashioned stereotyped way, 

 and in others all the latest improvements are introduced. 

 The number of workmen who can give the real reason 

 for using any particular method is very small, the reason 

 generally given being, " The work has always been done 

 that way ? " It is here where the apprentice finds one of 

 the many difficulties he has to overcome ; he can see the 

 work done, but cannot fathom the reason for doing it any 

 particular way ; his foreman perhaps being too busy to 

 help him, he has to do the best he can. 



The volume before us will go a long way towards 

 solving this difficulty. The author, being a practical man, 

 treats the subject in a thoroughly practical way, using the 

 technical language of the shops, thereby making the 

 various descriptions and plates throughout the volume 

 exceedingly clear. At the same time the higher principles 

 involved in the various machines described are not over- 

 looked, so that it is also a valuable book of reference in 

 the drawing office, as well as a useful companion to those 

 who have charge of men engaged in the various branches 

 of mechanical engineering. For students attending the 

 workshops and classes of the various engineering colleges 

 it will be found to be very useful, giving as it does a 

 practical description of the work, and helping consider- 

 ably to get that knowledge which can alone be got in 

 the workshops of the country. 



The book is divided into five sections, subdivided into 

 chapters. 



Section I. is on the boiler and steam, commencing with 

 a short chapter on coal and coal-mining. The author 

 gives a short account of the troubles of the miner, and 

 tells us of the methods in use for lining the shafts. Ven- 

 tilation is dealt with ; the various exhaust fans are next 

 mentioned, with an illustration of the gimbal fan ; then 

 the author goes on to the usual methods for getting the 

 coal. The chapter is a very appropriate commencement to 

 the volume, although it gives a rather short account of 

 the coal-mining industry. 



We then come to a long chapter on stationary boilers, 

 giving a good description of the various types in use. 

 We miss the Lancashire boiler, with its two flues and 

 conical water-tubes, from the illustrations. The author 

 discusses the strength of riveted joints, giving the 

 results of some experiments. We should have liked 

 to find here a short account of the important re- 

 searches on the strength of riveted joints carried out 

 by Prof. Kennedy at the Engineering Schools of Uni- 

 VOL. XXX.— No. 778 



versity College, London. The strength of cylindrical 

 boilers is gone into fully, the various strains tending to 

 rupture the plates are pointed out, and tables are given 

 showing the proper thickness of plates for the different 

 diameters. It is impossible here to give anything like a 

 complete re'sume of this chapter, no pains having been 

 spared to get together as much information as possible ; 

 the author has succeeded in making it one of the most 

 useful chapters in the work. He goes on to the 

 foundations and settings for the different types of boiler, 

 giving an account of the dimensions for the chimney. 

 Smoke prevention is discussed, the conclusion at which 

 the author arrives being thus stated : " We unhesitatingly 

 give as our opinion that unless the attendant sees that the 

 furnace is kept in proper trim, firing with the least quan- 

 tity of coal, ofttimes replenished, all the refinements for 

 the prevention of smoke will not attain the desired object, 

 for careful firing is the main secret to arrive at." 



Boilers for marine purposes are dealt with in a similar 

 manner, the various types being discussed and illustrated. 

 The arrangement of boilers for ships of war is gone into, 

 high-pressure boilers having a fair share of the text. 

 The proportions of marine boilers are treated, and 

 suitable rules given for calculating the various dimensions, 

 the chapter concluding with an illustration of the boilers 

 of the s.s. Parisian, of the Allan Line of Atlantic 

 steamers. 



After showing the various methods for superheating 

 and drying the steam by means of superheaters, both 

 tubular and cylindrical, the author explains the methods 

 of manufacture of boilers, more especially the best 

 arrangement of plates and angle iron, and the staying of 

 flat surfaces. We agree with the author when he says 

 that this subject closely affects the interests of steam 

 users, and the extract from a report of the National Boiler 

 Insurance Company is well worth studying. Section I. 

 concludes with the regulation and expansion of steam. 

 The action of the slide valve is thoroughly explained, 

 and the benefits derived from lap and lead pointed out. 

 The different arrangements of the link motion are illus- 

 trated and clearly explained, then equilibrium slide valves 

 are discussed and the arrangements clearly illustrated. 

 The action of the indicator and the mode of driving the 

 roller cylinder is shown ; some very good examples of 

 indicator diagrams taken from simple and compound 

 engines are given ; the section closing with a short 

 chapter on the expansion of steam, with tables of hyper- 

 bolic logarithms, and the properties of saturated steam at 

 different pressures. 



Section II. is entirely devoted to stationary engines, 

 commencing with the Cornish pumping-engine, after- 

 wards dealing with the several different types of pump- 

 ing-engines, — as pumping-engines for water-works, drain- 

 age works, and general purposes. The reader will 

 here grasp the immense amount of trouble the author 

 has taken to get all the information together, down to 

 the smallest detail ; each class of engine being well illus- 

 trated, its leading features pointed out, and the explana- 

 tions of the different parts being very clear. Nor are the 

 underground appliances overlooked, the pumps, valves 

 and other parts in connection with the gear are thoroughly 

 described and illustrated. 



Pumping-engines for water-works are very similar 



