October 13, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



479 



corded by recent observers to the importance 

 of normal faulting in determining the struc- 

 ture of Manhattan Island. He describes a 

 number of additional fault planes which have 

 recently been located. The purpose of his 

 investigation is to determine the depth and 

 the nature of bed rock beneath Greater New 

 York, through the medium of wells and bor- 

 ings, the numerous bridge and tunnel sections, 

 the government dredgings, the reefs in mid- 

 channel, etc. It is believed that this work 

 will aid not only in the solution of the geolog- 

 ical problems of the area, but will be of as- 

 sistance to those engaged in the great engi- 

 neering enterprises now going forward on the 

 island, as well as to architects, contractors and 

 many others. 



The Iron and Steel Institute of Great 

 Britain met at Sheffield on September 26, 

 when Mr. R. A. Hatfield gave the presidential 

 address. According to the abstract in the 

 London Times he dwelt upon the large and 

 important position which Sheffield had taken 

 in the development of steel and its applica- 

 tions. As they all knew, Chaucer in 1460 

 spoke of Sheffield thwitels, and these still 

 formed a not unimportant branch of Sheffield 

 products. In the interesting works of that 

 important French metallurgist of the eight- 

 eenth century. Jars, Sheffield was then recog- 

 nized as playing a very important part in 

 metallurgy. Sheffield had indeed been the 

 cradle of modern steel industry, and its devel- 

 opment had been largely due to the work of 

 Sheffield men. They all knew how much 

 Huntsman did, and it was a special pleasure 

 to see there that day two of his descendants. 

 Coming nearer to their own times, whilst Bes- 

 semer was not a Sheffield man, the first prac- 

 tical developments of his process might be 

 truly said to have occurred there, and were 

 carried out by Sheffield men. Sir John Brown, 

 with his great foresight, saw the importance 

 this process would occupy, and his firm turned 

 out some of the highest quality material for 

 rails probably yet produced. ,He had now in 

 his possession an interesting photograph rep- 

 resenting rails and bars rolled by Sir John 

 Brown at the Atlas Works from the first rails 

 made commercially of Bessemer's steel. This 



photograph had been kindly sent to him by the 

 son of Mr. Bragge, who was then one of Sir 

 John's partners. On it there occurred the 

 following remarkable inscription, personally 

 written by Mr. Bragge forty-four years ago: 

 " This photograph was .taken from the first 

 rails ever made commercially in England of 

 cast steel, produced by Bessemer's process, and 

 when steel rails have superseded iron, as they 

 certainly will do in the course of time, this 

 picture will record who first had courage to 

 introduce them to the world. May 1st, 1861." 

 A remarkable prediction which had indeed 

 come to pass. Mr. W. D. Allen, of Bessemer's 

 firm in Sheffield, also largely helped in the 

 practical development of this method of steel 

 making, and the inimitable Holly, from whose 

 work the enormous development of Bessemer 

 steel in America largely arose, did not go to 

 South Wales or elsewhere, but came to Shef- 

 field to be initiated, so that Sheffield might be 

 rightly said to have taught America how to 

 make steel rails used in those lines of com- 

 munication that had entirely altered the whole 

 face of the vast Transatlantic continent. In 

 the same manner as regards the Siemens's 

 process, firms such as Vickers's were largely 

 instrumental in leading to the more rapid 

 development and perfection of this method of 

 producing steel. Then, too, they saw men 

 such as Mark Firth, William Jessop, Charles 

 Cammell and others who were indeed pioneers, 

 and from whose labors the world to-day found 

 so great benefit. On the scientific side they 

 had, amongst others. Dr. Sorby, who had 

 rendered invaluable service to metallurgy by 

 his initiation, as far back as 1857, of methods 

 of examining the micro-structure of metals, 

 from which they to-day were obtaining much 

 valuable information. To-day Sheffield had 

 probably the largest industrial army of any 

 city devoted to the production and working of 

 steel, 30,000 men or more being so employed. 

 The work done by the institute spoke for itself, 

 and as a sign of prosperity, he might say that 

 they had that day elected something like 150 

 new members, bringing the roll-call to the 

 satisfactory grand total of no less than 2,200 

 members. 



