Electric Light & Power Station of Buenos Aires, to make up for coal shortage since the beginning of the war. Oil would, no doubt, find very general application were the government prepared to supply it in adequate quantities. Water Power in the Argentine. The Argentine Republic has very little water power developed. This is not due to the fact that sources of such power are lacking, but rather because of the flat nature of the land through which the streams and the rivers flow, in proximity to points where there is manufacturing or other demand for power. Back in the interior, in the more mountainous regions, there is ample opportunity for the development of water power, as cascades and waterfalls are numerous. But the majority of these are so far removed from the localities where power is in demand, that they are of little value at the present time. The one great falls of the country is that called the Iguazu on the Parana River, close to the point where the boundaries of the three countries, Argentine, countries, Argentine, Brazil and Paraguay intersect. This fall This fall excels in some respects, the fall of Niagara, but located as it is, at a great distance from Buenos Aires, and almost equally removed from other large cities, besides being surrounded by the tropical jungle, this wonderful natural power resource will remain undeveloped for years to come. a We must not overlook the water powers that have been developed in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. In these provinces, several of the streams having their sources in the melting snows of the Cordillera, have been developed, and the power is supplied to the nearby cities of Mendoza and San Juan. The latest of these plants to go into service is that of The Hydro-Electric Co., of Tucuman. This plant, located in the gorge of the Tules River, generates power from 300-foot fall, whence the current is transmitted to the city of Tucuman, at a pressure of 40,000 volts. The city of Cordoba is another that uses hydro-electric power. Most of the light and power used in Cordoba is received from two plants on the Rio Primera, the current being transmitted from the generating stations to the city, at a pressure of 20,000 volts. Outside of these two plants there are no developed water powers of any importance. Several have been projected, and work has been started on a few of these. In the southern portion of the country' Patagonia, there exist untold possibilities for the development of manufactures due to the presence of an unlimited supply of water power, in sections abounding in all kinds of timber, and where grazing lands are plentiful. During the past few years the Argentine government has made extensive surveys in this region. These surveys have been made with the intention of building railroads and opening up what is now, to the native Argentine, an unknown territory. That section of Patagonia, bordering on the Andes, offers a splendid field for American investment. Not only is this opportunity offered along the lines of cattle raising and farming, but in lumbering and manufacturing as well. One line of manufacturing, that appears to offer special opportunities, is the manufacture of wood pulp for paper making. Now that the recourse to foreign money is not only curtailed, but in some instances completely cut off, due to the war, the banking and the promoting interests of these United States might well take advantage of the opportunity. This is a chance that, under ordinary conditions, the English or the German investors would jump at, and very likely monopolize without delay. This Tiny Engine Ran. At the big national inventors' show, in the Grand Central Palace, New York, recently, a tiny motor, not much bigger than a watch, spinning, at two thousand to three thousand revolutions a minute, silently, without heating its metal case, and producing 1 h.p., was a source of wonder to many. Its novel feature was two gyroscopes worked either by compressed air, steam or gasoline, and giving to the piston two impulses per revolution. Hundreds of persons experienced the unusual sensation of holding between their thumb and forefinger a motor giving 1 h.p. and that they could have tucked away in their waistcoat pocket.-Implement Trade Journal. Grinding aluminum is easily accomplished by using ordinary machine oil as a lubricant. It has no effect on the grinding wheel, which will last longer when grinding aluminum in this way than when grinding cast iron. THE GAS ENGINE DREDGE "BUSTER" This dredge is of particular interest to the readers of THE GAS ENGINE MAGAZINE not only because it is driven by an internal combustion engine, but in addition it is, in so far as the writer is aware, with one exception, the only machine of this type in operation in the West. The Buster was constructed by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco in 1914. At present, it being employed on government work on the Sacramento River. Fig. 1 is a side view of the dredge with the bucket lowered. Fig. 2 shows a threequarter view with the bucket open and just starting to swing on its way for another load. Fig. 3 is an end view of the hole, and it is forced into the hydraulic accumulator. The accumulator is merely another large cylinder set vertically. The upper half of the accumulator is filled with air at 250 lb. pressure, the necessary pressure being supplied by the water itself as it rises in the accumulator. From the bottom of the accumulator the water is led to a distributing manifold located just below the pilot house. From this manifold the water is distributed to the various rams as required, and the waste water from the rams is allowed to flow to the supply tank, to be used over and over again. Losses due to leakage, are made up as required, and it is found that water must be added electric light engine showing the switchboard at the back. Fig. 4 is a view of the main engine room, looking forward with the main engine in the center, at the back of the illustration. Fig. 5 is an assembled drawing of the dredge supplied by the makers, the Union Iron Works. On account of the great reduction necessary to make it fit the page, the lettering is not clear, but it can be distinguished by the aid of a magnifying glass. The hull is of wood and of particularly heavy construction. It is 80 ft. long, 36 ft. beam, and it has a depth of 7 ft. with a draft of 31⁄2 ft. The dredging gear is operated entirely by hydraulic rams, the pressure for which is supplied by the main. gas engine. The necessary multiplication of movement for the ram slide at the working end of the cables, is obtained by passing the cables over sheaves in the ends of the rams, in the ordinary way, as shown in Fig. 4. The supply for the hydraulic pump, is drawn from a large cylindrical tank in the *Chief Engineer of the "Buster." FIG. 2 to the supply about once a week. All waste oil from the engines is allowed to flow into the supply tank, and owing to the constant agitation of the water, the oil is carried to the rams and the valves, serving to lubricate them and to keep the packing in good condition. Fig. 4 shows the port side of the engine room, looking forward, and the ram in the forground is the main hoisting ram, 24" diameter and 18 feet slide. The bucket closing ram is placed vertically in a frame of plates and angles at the forward end of the main ram. The bottom end of this ram can just be seen in the photograph. The dredge is held up to its work by three large wooden spuds. The spud at the stern is placed on the starboard side. It is carried in a frame which is given a travel of five feet by means of a directconnected double-acting ram. Movement of the dredge from place to place is accomplished as follows. The two forward spuds being lifted, the hydraulic piston on the rear spud pushes the dredge ahead to the extent of its travel. The forward spuds are now dropped and they hold the machine firmly in position while the rear spud is being lifted and brought forward again. This operation is repeated until the dredge is in the required position. The main engine was built by the Imper FIG. 3 ial Gas Engine Co. of San Francisco, and except for the special base, follows the standard marine practice of this firm. It has three vertical cylinders supported by steel columuns, the base being quite open and covered with sheet iron splash plates only. The cylinders are 934" bore by 12" stroke and the engine develops 75 b.h.p. at 280 r.p.m.. A gear driven centrifugal governor controls the throttle, and the needle-valve of the carbureter. For the purpose of hand control, the inlet valve rocker arms are pivoted on eccentrics and these are mounted on a rod with a handwheel on one end. By turning this wheel the lifts of the inlet valves may be altered. Both the inlet and the exhaust valves are located in the cylinder heads, and open downward. This gives a perfectly cylindrical combustion chamber, resulting in a high economy of fuel. The actual consumption of fuel is 7 gals per hour. The engine is operated on No. 1 engine distillate costing 62 cents per gallon. Ignition is by the make-and-break system. Lubrication is by means of a Manzel mechanical lubricator. The lubricator has its reservoirs divided into two compartments, one for cylinder oil, and the other for machine oil for the bearings. The consumption of cylinder oil is less than one quart for six hours operation, and the consumption of machine oil slightly higher. Water circulation to the jackets is by means of a centrifugal pump driven from the flywheel. The water for cooling is taken from a 400 gallon corrugated tank to be seen just forward of the engine in Fig. 4. As the water leaves the jackets it passes through a coil of submerged pipe on the outside of the dredge, and from the coil it returns to the supply tank. In the left foreground of Fig. 4, is an 8" by 12" duplex pump which is driven from the engine by means of a 16" belt running over a fiber-faced clutch pulley, on a countershaft. On the port side of the pump is a pair of large spur gears. The small compressor in front of the large pump is arranged to be belted to the lighting engine when it is necessary to supply any deficiency in the air pressure in the accumulator. This, however, is very seldom needed. The lighting plant is not seen in the photographs of the engine room, but its location can be seen on the upper right hand corner of the plan view, Fig. 5. It consists of a 9 h.p. Fairbanks-Morse vertical engine direct connected to a 5.5 K.W. generator supplying current at a pressure bilge, fibre and general service. In addition to the pump, the motor drives a capstan on the fore deck by means of a countershaft and a worm gear. The Buster is provided with a boom 90 ft. long. The bucket has a capacity of 21⁄2 cubic yards (level). The boom is swung on a turn table by means of a double-acting ram placed athwartship, and connected by cables to the two sides of the boom. At present, the machine is operated at a depth of about twenty feet handling material which is principally peat and clay. In this material an average of 60 buckets per hour are being handled. The report of the state officials is that, during the month of July the dredge handled over 100,000 cu. yd. The crew consists of a captain, three levermen, an engineer, two assistants and a cook. There are, also, two government time keepers on board. The time keepers are assisted in their work by a Bristol recording pressure gauge, which keeps track of the number of buckets hoisted per hour. The accommodations for the crew are all on the upper deck on the port side, the starboard side being devoted to the galley, the mess room etc., as shown in the upper right hand corner of Fig. 5. The forward part of the deck house has a toilet and a bath room, the latter being supplied with hot water from the engine circulation. In conclusion, it may be said that the Buster is always "On the job", and her engine runs 24 hours per day, six days in the week, and up to the time of writing this description, it has given no trouble to speak of. CONSULAR REGULATIONS OF LATIN AMERICA. BY E. E. PRATT* his box with a brush when the regulations of the country of destination insist on the use of a stencil; or, in his anxiety to protect his interests, he may attempt to make a "to order" shipment to a country that either does not recognize or prohibits such shipments. American exporters who have attempted to become confused sometimes and mark to ship their goods to Latin American markets without the assistance of a commission house or customs broker fully appreciate the difficulties involved in preparing the shipping documents. The customs regulations of Latin American countries are very detailed as to the information to be included in such documents, and a fine is provided for every possible deviation from the prescribed rules. The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has been informed of numerous instances where fines were imposed for such slight irregularities as the failure to state the nationality of the vessel in the invoice, the use of ditto marks, or the failure to use the exact idiom in designating the goods included in the shipment. It is not surprising then that some American exporters who have had the unpleasant experience of refunding fines occasionally become discouraged. On the other hand, the commission houses and some of the more experienced customs brokers assert that they have had very little trouble in making shipments to Latin American countries, and, while conceding that the customs regulations are somewhat complicated, claim that fines and delays can be avoided if proper care is taken to comply with such regulations. However that may be, there is no doubt that even an experienced shipper is likely *Chief, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce From the numerous complaints that have reached the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, of the Department of Commerce, it was concluded that American exporters needed a sort of guide book to help them in preparing shipping documents for Latin-American countries, and a publication, entitled "Consular Regulations of Foreign Countries (Canada and Latin America)," Tariff Series No. 24, has just been issued by that Bureau and may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. The material has been compiled with great care, the chapter for each country having been submitted for revision to the consular representative of the respective country, in the United States. Some American banking institutions and commission houses have also been consulted, and it is believed that by using this publication the average exporter will be able to prepare his shipping documents in correct form and save his customer in Latin America from fines and delays in the delivery of his shipment. |