The Wallace Flax-cleaning Machine.—A flax-cleaning machine of novel design, devised by Mr. John 0. Wallace, of Belfast, Ireland, is illustrated in Fig. 3. It is shown with the buf fer alongside, which is used for dislodging the woody matter. The machine is about 6 ft. 6 in. high by 4 ft. wide, and ft. long over all; its working capacity being put at 1 cwt. of rot ted flax per hour. It consists of an upper feed-table, on which the flax straw is fed to three pairs of fluted rollers, which deliver the flax downward between five pairs of pinning-tools, alternating with six pairs of guide-rollers. The pinning-tools somewhat resemble hand hackles, and are attached to two vertical frames, to which a horizontal to-and-fro motion is im parted, and the pins interlace as the two sides approach. The fibrous material is drawn down ward by the rollers, which have an intermittent motion, and at each momentary pause the pricking-pins enter the material and are rapidly withdrawn from it. By degrees this fibrous descending curtain is delivered on to a sloping receiving-table at the bottom of the machine, over which table the woody substance has previously passed to a receiver in a crushed and semi-pulverized condition and perfectly free from fiber. Three attendants are required for one machine; hut when large quantities of fiber have to be cleaned the same attendants are sufficient for three or four of the machines placed alongside each other. The attendants for one machine for flax are a boy or a girl to prepare straw in bundles, another to feed the straw to the machine, and a man to attend the butter to clear off the broken woody portions, The two attendants who prepare the bundles and feed the straw can attend to two other ma chines, but each machine most have a man to huff or clean the flax. The driving power for each machine is two horse-power. It is claimed that this machine can be successfully used for cleaning ramie or rheca fiber.
Flight. Mechanical: see Aerial Navigation.
Flonr-Bulter: see Milling-Maehines, Grain.
Fly-Frame: see Cotton-Spinning Machines.
Fly i itz-M a eh i lie : see Aerial Navigation.
Fodder-Cutler: see Ensilage-Machines.
Folder: see Book-llinding Machine and Presses, Printing.
Forced Draft: see Engines. Steam, Marine.
Fond nu; : see Presses, Forging.
Fork. Hay: see Hay Carriers and Piekers.
Form i n t he : see 1,10 he. Metal-Working.
Friction of Engines: see Engines. Steam, Stationary Reciprocating.
Friezer: see Nolding-Nachines, Wood.
Fuel Consumpiion: see Furnaces, Blast, and Locomotives. Fuel-reeding COP Sinkers, Mechanical. Fuel, Gas: see (as-I'roducers. Fuel, PPteel cum : see Engines, Steam, Statiimary l?eciprocating.
Furnace, Bullion Melling: see- Mills, Silver. Furnace, Glass-Making: see Glass Making. Furnace, : see Steel. Martufaelure of. Furnace, Petroleum: see Engines, Sloan), Stationary Reeiprocaling.
FI'ItNAI'ES, It I .A ST. Ewen, Development of mer icon 131 81- rnaces.—A paper read by Mr..latnesuncle}, of I he Edgar Thomson furnaces. 13ntddock, itt the New York meeting of the Iron and Steel institute. in September, 1890, gives a very full hi-tory of the development in blast-furnace practice since 18S0, We extract from this paper Its follows: The development of blast-furnace practice in America in the direction of large yields is mainly the history of our working since the year 1880, as the advancement that has been made in the last decade is greater than that in the third of a century previous. A new era
in the manufacture of pig-iron began in 1880 with the putting in blast of the Edgar Thomson furnaces. These furnaces at once leaped to the front as pig-iron producers, and have main tained that position—with but one brief interruption—ever since. As an example of the best work that was done in the ten years previous to that time, the Lucy furnace No. 2, of Carne gie, Phipps & Co., of Pittsburgh, may he noted. This furnace was built in 1877, of the follow ing dimensions: Total height. 75 ft.; diameter of bosh, 20 ft.; diameter of hearth. 9 ft.: cubical capacity, 15.400 ft. The bell generally in use was 11 ft. in diameter. In the con struction of this furnace, the noticeable features are a narrower hearth and a wider top than are now put in furnaces of the same cubical capacity ; but at that time it was considered an excellent shape, and certainly did produce some excellent results. As early as 1878 this furnace had made a monthly output of 3.280 tons, on a coke consumption of 9,793 lbs. per ton of iron ; and in one week shortly afterward made 821 tons. For the first 12 full months the output was 33,552 tons, on a coke consumption of 2,850 lbs. The amount of air blown was 16.000 cub. ft. per min., which entered the furnace through six 8-inch tuyeres; the tem perature of the blast was 915°, and the pressure at tuyeres 5 lbs. The ore mixture yielded in the furnace 60 per cent iron. The work that was done at this furnace was unquestionably the best, all things considered, that had been accomplished prior to the starting of the Edgar Thomson furnaces.
Furnace "A" of the Edgar Thomson works was erected in 1879. The dimensions of this furnace are as follows: Height, 65 ft.: diameter of bosh, 13 ft.; diameter of hearth, 8 ft. Ii in. ; cubical capacity, 6,396 ft. Six tuyeres, 4 in. in diameter, were used ; these, projecting 7 in. inside the crucible. made the efficient diameter of hearth 7 ft. 4 in. The were placed 3 ft. 6 in. above the hearth-line. The interior lines made very small angles with each other—so small, in fact, that the arc of a circle drawn from the top to the tuyeres will not deviate more than 2 in. from the lines as given. Particular attention was given to rounding the angles. The bosh was located about midway in the furnace, making the bosh-wall very steep. The batter of this wall was 1# in. to the foot, which is equivalent, to an angle of 84°.
The furnace was lined throughout with small bricks. The stove equipment consisted of three Siemens-Cowper-Cochrane stoves. 15 ft. in diameter by 50 ft. in height. This furnace was "blown in " in January, 1880. The ore mixture yielded in the furnace per cent iron. The output of the first full week was 442 tons, and reached 537 tons for the fourth week. The best week's output was 671 tons, The blast was heated to an average temperature of 1,030°. the utmost that the stoves would furnish ; the pressure at the tuyeres was 6+ lbs.