Commercial houses in New South Wales have added spraying machinery to their stocks, following the increased interest in that section in more effective methods of destroying orchard pests than have been. employed in the past. The Sydney Morning Herald says that some very fine classes of outfits have been introduced to meet the demand created by the increasing knowledge of fruit pests and the necessity for their successful treatment. In the Paterson section of that colony it states that spraying is done regularly on riost of the working orchards. The recommendation is made that every fruit grower with an orchard of any size should have a power spraying outfit, on the ground that it does the work more efficiently and more economically.

Australians have been giving attention to the efficiency of various classes of these sprays, recognizing that in destroying certain pests, high-pressure spraying is necessary. Requirements dependent also upon the size of the orchard have been

considered. For the man with the small orchard which will require not more than 4,000 or 5,000 gallons of mixture to make a single application, it is estimated that machines having a capacity of 3% to 41⁄2 gallons per minute will be adequate, but for orchards requiring up to 7,000 to 10,000 gallons of mixture for making a single application a capacity of 61⁄2 to 7 gallons per minute has been recommended. For very large orchards the capacity needed is estimated at 10 gallons per minute.

In addition to the ordinary methods of fighting pests, one of the leading orchardists near Paterson has also fumigated his trees. Although this is described as the most efficacious method, fumigation is difficult with large trees.

Many young apple growers in New South Wales are now getting their first returns. Several this season netted up to $146 from an acre of 6-year-old trees, planted 25 feet apart, making 75 trees to the acre.-U. S. Commerce Reports.

Mr. J. A. Massel, of the Department of Commerce, recently expressed himself as follows:

"American manufacturers hardly can expect to compete at once with English and German firms which have carried on their business in South America for 25 years," said Massel.

Showing the Catalogue.

"They must put capable men right on the spot and not be discouraged at having to wait awhile, while their agents get acquainted with the people, the business methods and what is wanted in the way of machinery.

"American manufacturers have been content for the most part to depend on catalogues and traveling salesmen. The salesman shows the picture of a machine to the prospective buyer. If the latter asks to see the actual machine, the salesman cannot show it to him, and has to say that three or four months will be required for delivery.

Credits Through Clearing-House. "The matter of credits is a poser, too, for the American manufacturer has in

sisted on cash, while Latin-American buyers are accustomed to long-time credits.

"The solution of this problem is for American manufacturers to get together and form a sort of clearing-house headquarters for their products. There can be a general manager in charge of the whole enterprise, and agents representing individual firms. Stocks can be maintained in South America, to avoid delays in delivery.

"That there is plenty of business for American-made machinery is proven by the success of certain large American concerns which have opened branches or factories in South America, and are making enormous sales."

When one cylinder goes out and the rest are running perfectly, with good ignition on all cylinders, look for a valve that is hung up. is hung up. A pretty good symptom of a hung valve is a cylinder that comes in suddenly. The cause is a tight fitting valve stem guide or dirt between the stem and the guide.

Alcohol used to prime an engine in cold weather will often prove more effective than gasoline.

tool. The clamp bolt fastens the yoke to the block after it has been adjusted.

For the double-reversible boring tool, Fig. 3, the boring bar is held in a clamp block and this is held to the cross slide of the slide rest by the bolt in the center of the block. The height adjustment is secured by elevating liners, which are furnished by the makers.

Quite a number of other interesting lathe tools are made by the same concern.

*

A Simple System of Figuring Costs.

The National Association of Credit Men gives the following simple rules for figuring the cost of doing business; the rules are worth preserving:

Charge interest on the net amount of your total investment at the beginning of your business year, exclusive of real

estate.

Charge rental on all real estate or buildings owned by you and used in your business at a rate equal to that which you would receive if renting or leasing to others.

Charge, in addition to what you pay for hired help, an amount equal to what your services would be worth to others; also treat in like manner the services of any member of your family employed in the business not on the regular pay roll.

Charge depreciation on all goods carried over on which you may have to make a less price because of change of style, damage, or any other cause.

Charge depreciation on buildings, tools, fixtures, or anything else suffering from age or wear and tear.

Charge amounts donated or subscriptions paid.

Charge all fixed expenses, such as taxes, insurance, water, lights, fuel, etc.

Charge all incidental expenses, such as drayage, postage, office supplies, livery or expenses of horses and wagons, telegrams and telephones, advertising, canvassing,

etc.

Charge losses of every character, including goods stolen or sent out and not. charged, allowance made customers, bad debts, etc.

When you have ascertained what the sum of all the foregoing items amounts to, prove it by your books, and you will have your total expense for the year; then divide this figure by the total of your sales, and it will show you the percent which it has cost you to do business.

Natural Gas Production in 1914. Statistics compiled under the supervision of J. D. Northrop, of the United States Geological Survey, show that the quantity of natural gas commercially utilized in the United States in 1914 exceeded that so utilized in any previous year in the history of the natural gas industry. The quantity produced, which amounted to approximately 591,866,733,000 cubic feet, valued at $94,115,524, constitutes a new record of production, exceeding by nearly 10 billion cubic feet, or almost 2 percent, the former record, established in 1913.

Increases in output in 1914 over 1913 were credited to New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Iowa and California, the state last named alone recording a gain of nearly 7 billion cubic feet. Other gas-producing states recorded declines in output, the greatest of which, that of Pennsylvania, amounted to slightly more than 10 billion cubic feet.

The increases in gas production may be attributed to various causes-in New York to the increased drilling activity stimulated by the advancing petroleum market in 1913 and the early part of 1914; in Ohio to local extensions of the productive fields of the gas belt in the central part of the state and to the development of an important gas pool in the vicinity. of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County; in Oklahoma to the development of gas reserves in the Cushing field, Creek County, and the Healdton field, Carter County, as well as to a decided expansion of the local casing-head gasoline industry; in Texas to a greater utilization of the gas supplies available in the Petrolia and Mexia fields; in Louisiana to the greater development of the gas reserves in Caddo and De Soto parishes; and in California to increased demands for domestic consumption in Los Angeles and adjacent towns in the southern part of the state as well as for industrial consumption in the casing-head gasoline industry.

Of the record-breaking production of natural gas credited to 1914 it is estimated that a total of 203,104,358,000 cubic feet, about 34 percent, was supplied to domestic consumers at an average price of 28.04 cents a thousand cubic feet and that 388,762,375,000 cubic feet, the remaining 66 percent, was supplied industrial consumers at an average price of 9.56 cents a thousand cubic feet. Dur

to

ing the last four years the ratio of domestic to industrial consumption has varied but slightly. Formerly, however, a relatively greater proportion of the annual yield was supplied to industrial consumers.

*

Amoy Sees Its First Motor Vessel. (Consul Lester Maynard, Amoy, China, July 15.) On July 7th, the motor vessel Panama reached Amoy with a consignment of kerosene for the local agents of a Texas oil company. The arrival of this vessel occasioned considerable interest, as it is the first motor vessel that ever visited this port.

The Panama was completed in March of this year, and is owned by the East Asiatic Co., of Copenhagen, Denmark. The vessel is 427 feet long, 55 feet beam, and 381⁄2 feet depth, with a carrying capacity of 9,000 tons, and was built at a cost of $400,000. It is equipped with two 1,750 horsepower Diesel engines, three auxiliary engines for lights, electrically driven winches, electrically driven steering gear, and an air compressor. Since, at

a 12-knot speed, 11 tons of crude oil are consumed in 24 hours, the boat's fuel capacity of 1,180 tons of crude oil is sufficient to carry it 30,000 miles.

Advance in Freight Rates.

This vessel started from Port Arthur, Texas, on its initial voyage with a shipment of 230,000 cases of oil, the cases containing two tins of 5 gallons each. The freight on this oil is stated to have been about $135,000 United States currency, which is one-third the cost of the vessel. The bulk of the shipment was discharged at Hongkong for distribution to Canton and interior points, and 50,000 cases were unloaded at Amoy.

Freight on oil from the United States to Amoy has greatly advanced since the outbreak of the European war, the former price of 21 cents United States currency per case having now advanced to 59 cents per case. With the large stocks on hand belonging to competing companies and the high freight rate which has been paid on this shipment it is difficult to understand how the market can absorb this large consignment without cutting prices to the losing point.

The Panama sailed from Amoy on July 12th, without cargo, for Vladivostok.U. S. Commerce Reports.

VOL. XVII.

Introduction.

The author has been interested for several years in the development and perfecting of large gas engines and gas producers and therefore it was thought that an investigation of an allied subject would be instructive and interesting.

Large gas engines have been used for a number of years with blast furnace gas and the greatest advancement in this size of engine has come in connection with the steel industry. The Gary plant of the Indiana Steel Company is a typical installation and a proof of their reliability and effectiveness.

The exclusive use of gas producers in connection with large engines is comparatively recent in this country, the most marked progress having been made in England, Germany and France. In the last decade the difficulties of former years have been carefully studied and many of them overcome, so that the gas engine and gas producer installations are now being looked upon with some degree of confidence. The intention of this thesis is to combine the principles of standard practice in a design for a reliable and efficient power plant of 10,000 k. w. capacity to be located at the Ohio State University. Hocking nut coal will be used in the gas producers, which supply gas to gas engines direct connected to alternating current gener

ators.

The author wishes to take this opportunity to express his appreciation to the Mesta Machine Co., The RichardsonCo., The RichardsonPhoenix Co., Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., The C. & G. Cooper Co., Snow Steam Pump Works, Smith Gas Power Co., and The Westinghouse Machine Co., for the valuable information they have furnished and also, to thank Prof. F. E. Sanborn

*A thesis presented for the Degree of Mechanical Engineer to the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Ohio State University.

No. 11

for suggesting the subject of the thesis and Prof. Wm. T. Magruder for his criticism.

General Considerations.

Before any work can be done on the actual design of a generating station, there are several fundamentals that must be decided upon, and as this is to be but a hypothetical installation it becomes necessary to make certain assumptions upon which to base the design.

We will consider that the conditions are such as to make the fulfillment of the following requirements necessary.

This plant will be located on the campus of the Ohio State University where it can be easily reached by railway, water and gas connections.

The plant will be rated at 10,000 k. w., operated normally at 80 percent load factor 24 hours per day, 365 days per year; the power being delivered to industrial plants causing the peaks to come at such intervals as to require sufficient units in service to carry the normal load continually.

The coal used in this installation will be Hocking nut, from the Number 6 seam, to be at least 95 percent dry, containing not more than 5 percent of slate, pyrites and dirt. It shall be of such size as to pass through a screen with 3-inch square openings, over a screen with 3/4-inch square openings, and contain not more than 5 percent of fines as delivered to the producers, the coal to have the following composition:

Moisture, not more than 8 percent. Ash, not more than 131⁄2 percent. Higher Heating Value, not less than 12,000 B.T.U. per lb. (calculated from sample received).

The contract price not to exceed $1.50 per ton of 2,000 lbs.

The bids and other items not herein