340 



NA TURE 



\ [August 2, 1906 



be placed on record, especially as his notes are very 

 definite, and there could have been no known possibility 

 of mistake. 



Unless the unknown body was one of the brighter 

 asteroids — and Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta were known 

 to be elsewhere — the result is, as yet, entirely incompre- 

 hensible. 



The Rio de Janeiro Observatory. — We have just re- 

 ceived the " Annuario " of the Rio de Janeiro Observatory 

 for igo6, a useful volume which is published by the observ- 

 atory, under the direction of the Minister of Industry and 

 of Public Works, and which is the twenty-second of the 

 series. 



In addition to the usual calendars and tables of astro- 

 nomical events, this volume contains numerous tables 

 employed in astronomical reductions and conversions, tables 

 for the reduction of meteorological observations, data 

 employed in physical and chemical operations, and a 

 risumi of the meteorological observations made in the 

 Rio de Janeiro area during the year 1904. 



IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE. 

 T N place of the usual autumn meeting, the Iron and Steel 

 -^ Institute held a largely attended meeting in London 

 on July 24 and following days jointly with the American 

 Institute of Mining Engineers. .'\t the opening meeting the 

 president of the Iron and Steel Institute, Mr. R. A. Had- 

 field, gave an address of welcome to the American guests, 

 expressing satisfaction that so many American engineers 

 had been able to be present at this important international 

 meeting. Sir James Kitson, who was president when the 

 society first visited America in i8go, followed with a similar 

 address of cordial welcome. Mr. Robert Hunt, president of 

 the American society, in acknowledgment, said they felt as 

 though they were part of the Iron and Steel Institute in that 

 their society was formed on the same lines, and was equally 

 comprehensive in its character and membership. The presi- 

 dent announced that the King had consented to receive a 

 deputation of the American guests, and also to honour the 

 institute by accepting the Bessemer gold medal. He also 

 announced that Sir Hugh Bell had been unanimously 

 elected as his successor to the presidency in May next. 

 Papers on Continental practice in blast-furnace gas engines 

 were then read in abstract by the secretary, Mr. Bennett 

 H. Brough. The first of these, by Prof. Hubert (Li^ge), 

 dealt with the design of blast-furnace gas engines in 

 Belgium. It reviewed the history of the direct utilisation 

 of blast-furnace gas in engines since the early attempts in 

 1895, and gave particulars of detailed tests of a 1400 horse- 

 power two-cylinder double-acting and tandem engine made 

 by the Cockerill Company. Mr. Reinhardt's paper, on the 

 application of large gas engines in the German iron and 

 steel industries, formed an exhaustive treatise on the sub- 

 ject. The author showed that in the German- ironworks 

 there are 349 gas engines with a total effective horse-power 

 of 385,000. He reviewed the practical experience gained by 

 working, and with the aid of a large number of illustra- 

 tions explained the present design of large gas engines in 

 Germany. The old arrangement of the single-acting four- 

 cycle motor, with one or more cylinders, has in recent years 

 not been generally used, and, on the other hand, double- 

 acting four-cycle motors, mostly with tandem cylinders, 

 are in keen competition with two-cycle motors. The author 

 described in detail the cylinder and exhaust-valve chest, 

 valve gear, shifting boxes, cooled pistons and piston rods, 

 ignition and starting, and various engines of the double- 

 acting four-cycle type of the leading German makers, the 

 remainder of the paper being devoted to two-cycle engines 

 on the Oechelhauser and the Korting systems. Suitable 

 trials concerning the consumption of gas, Mr. Reinhardt 

 remarked, are not available for comparison, and therefore 

 it is not yet known how far the two-cycle engine is at the 

 present time in this respect still inferior to the four-cycle 

 engine. In conclusion, the author stated that the present 

 position of the application of gas engines in German iron- 

 works shows the value the managers of these undertakings 

 attribute to the better and less dangerous utilisation of 

 the waste gases of their furnaces. 



NO. 1918, VOL. 74I 



Mr. T. Westgarth (Middlesbrough) followed with a paper 

 on large gas engines built in Great Britain. All the British 

 builders were, he said, using the four-cycle system, except 

 the builders of the Korting and Oechelhauser engines, who 

 worked on the two-cycle system. 



In discussion, Mr. Julian Kennedy pointed out that in the 

 United States gas engines were only in their infancy. 

 After further well-sustained discussion, the meeting 

 adjourned. During the afternoon visits were paid to the 

 National Physical Laboratory, to the London County 

 Council's electricity generating station at Greenwich, to 

 the Mercers' Hall, and to the Hall of the Armourers' and 

 Brasiers' Company, and in the evening a reception was 

 given by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House. 



On July 25 a crowded meeting was presided over by Mr. 

 Robert W. Hunt (Chicago), president of the American 

 Institute of Mining Engineers. His presidential address 

 dealt chiefly with American rolling-mill practice, and con- 

 cluded with the announcement that Mr. J. E. Stead, 

 F.R.S., and Mr. R. A. Hadfield had been elected honorary 

 members of the American society. The first paper read 

 dealt with a comparison of American and foreign rail 

 specifications, with a proposed standard specification to 

 cover American rails rolled for export. The author, Mr. 

 A. L. Colby, read the paper in abstract, and the proposal 

 to admit o-i per cent- of phosphorus was adversely criticised 

 by Mr- Windsor Richards and other British members, the 

 007 per cent- recommended by the Engineering Standards 

 Committee being considered safest for British practice- 

 A paper by Mr- R. H. Lee, on producers in blast-furnace 

 work, was briefly discussed, and the meeting adjourned. 

 In the afternoon visits were paid to the works of Messrs. 

 John I. Thornycroft at Chiswick, to the works of Messrs. 

 J. and E. Hali at Dartford, to the halls of the Inner and 

 Middle Temples, to Kensington Palace, the Imperial Insti- 

 tute, and the museums at South Kensington. In the even- 

 ing there was a fete at the Imperial Royal Austrian 

 Exhibition at Earl's Court. 



On July 26 Mr. Hunt occupied the chair, but upon his 

 proposal Mr. Hadfield presided. The first paper taken was 

 by Mr. James P. Roe, on the development of the puddling 

 process, and this was followed by a paper by Mr. James 

 E. York on improvements in rolling iron and steel. These 

 two papers, which are of extreme importance from a prac- 

 tical point of view, elicited an excellent discussion. The 

 remaining papers on the British and American lists were 

 taken as read. Many of these are of great interest and 

 value, and we hope to publish abstracts of them in a sub- 

 sequent issue. During the afternoon, visits were paid to 

 the works of Messrs. Eraser and Chalmers at Erith, to the 

 works of the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers 

 at Northfleet, to the Chelsea Power Station, and to the 

 hall of the Ironmongers' Company. In the evening there 

 was a banquet and special firework display at the Crystal 

 Palace. 



On July 27 the King received at Buckingham Palace a 

 deputation of the councils of the Iron and Steel Institute 

 and of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and 

 accepted from the president, Mr. Hadfield, the Bessemer 

 gold medal and a suitable illuminated address. The general 

 bodv of members visited Windsor Castle, where special 

 facilities were given them for seeing the palace and gardens. 

 In the evening there was a banquet at the Guildhall ; Mr. 

 Hadfield presided, and the company numbered 600 and 

 included many distinguished guests. The American ladies, 

 numbering 100, were entertained at dinner in two of the 

 committee rooms, with Mrs. Hadfield and Lady Lloyd- 

 Wise presiding. 



On July 28 there were alternative excursions to Messrs. 

 Butlin's blast furnaces at Wellingborough and to the 

 Dover harbour works. These two successful visits brought 

 the Iron and Steel Institute meeting to a close. For the 

 American guests visits were arranged, on Sunday, July 29, 

 to St. Paul's Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Cathedral at 

 Westminster, the Zoological Society's Gardens, the Botanic 

 Society's Gardens, and to Hurlingham and Ranelagh 

 Clubs, and on July 30 they started on a provincial tour, 

 organised by the Iron and Steel Institute, to York, Ripon, 

 Middlesbrough, Durham, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Glasgow, and 

 Edinburgh. 



