WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
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The wheel of .wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over wivich it runs."--John Beattie Crozier.
Coal-gas Again ?
There are keen business men who, realizing the probability of further efforts to increase the price of motor fuel, foresee a future for ooal-gas as a regular source of motor power. Put forward as a war-time expedient, the idea suddenly failed, through the need to place restrictioeS" upon the consumption of coal-gate for transport purposes. Restrictions being removed,. economic considerations will control the development. WE trust that all who.. experimented to produce suitable containers (flexible or rigid), carburetters, and other items of-equipreent will keep the possibilities well in view, 60 that they may be ready at the crucial moment to go ahead with the manufacture and supply of the right devices. .
Loitering Chars-a-bancs.
Bournemouth Hackney Carriage Committee has asked the. Superintendent of Police to prevent the loitering of chars-bailee in the streets.
The A.A. on Petrol Prices.
The protest of the Executive Committee of the Automobile ASsociation and Motor Union • against the continued rise in the price of petrol and=the neglect of the Government to control the existing supplies or to encourage alternative sources for the production of motor fuel, is to' be followed by further steps to impress upon the Government the vital necessity for immediate action for the protection of the public.
Petrol Shortage in America.
American officials believe that, unless the consumption of petrol be reduced eonside's-ably, the retail price will soon exceed 40 cents a gallon throughout the U:S.A. The consumption is estimated at between 13,000;000 and 14,000,000 gallons daily, but the production ;8 2000,000 gallons below this, the difference being made up by withdrawals from the reserve supplies, which are lower now than at this time last year.
To the Races by Coach.
The Doncaster races brought the motor coach most thoroughly into the limelight, for this handy vehicle surged into the town in its hundreds from Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, Durham, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Barnsley, York and dozens of other places. The vehicles were parked in the new motor park on the -Great North Road. For the great mass of race-goers it was the favoured method of reaching the racecourse—and yet the railway did as roaring a trade as ever. It is another case of the meeting of the demand for rapid and comfortable transport., serving as well to stimulate and encourage it.
Prospect of Better Roads in Devon.
A few days ago the Devon Bridges and Main Roads Committee decided, by 13 votes to 7, to recommend the County Council to take over the whole of the main road in the county from the district councils. These councils have done .wry little towards improving what are
C2 acknowledged to be amongst the worst roads in England, and it is hoped that the new move will do a great deal towards their betterment. This example might well be followed in many other districts. where district councils are at present responsible for maintajnigag sections of the highWay ; co-ordination and highly skilled direction would do much to better the roads.
A Coventry office of the Automobile Association and .Motor Union has been opened at 23, Hertford Street, under the management of Mr. W. H. Stonier.
Motor Transport.
In the days of peace and plenty, When we beard the mournful wail That the blessed motor transport 'Lid mess up the bloomin' rail, We got a bit uneasy As the transport "took the road."
When we lost our peaceful feelings And we found ourselves -at war, We blessed the motor transport As we'd never done before. For they saved the situation More than once—and safely rode Through hell to "joy for ever," And nver missed the "road."
But now the war is over—
And a bigger mess begun Than ever we were stuck in When we fought and heat the Hun; The motor transport answers To the clamour for " the,road."
While our Sir Eric, bless him!.
Is a-messing up the rail, The good old meltor transport Takes up the "long, long trail," And will carry everybody And every kind of load. To every town and county, -And over every road.
The Tractor Trials Site.
The aecornpanyng' sketch map of the Tractor Trial ground; a few miles north of Lincoln, which will be the site of the R.A.S.E. and S.M.M. and T. Tractor Trials from September 28th onward for a week or 10 days, shows clearly the .pesition of each one of the fields which will be ploughed, whilst in Roman figures there is indicated the class of tractor which will be put to trial on each particular field. It will he observed that there is a group of fields on the west of the main road where the land is of heavy character, -whilst there is a further group to the east of the main roads,
where the land is lighter. The fields marked X and Y are situated on land which falls from the main road to the low-lying land on the west, and this will be the scene of the hill-side ploughing.
New Don Directors,
Mr. E. S. Shrapnell-Smith, C.B.E. has joined the board. of directors of Hays, Standen and Co., Ltd.' who are devoting themselves very largely to the manufac
ture of Don brake lining. Mr. J.. R. Sumner, director of Heavy Stampings, Ltd., of Middlesbrough, has also recently joined the board. Mr. Sumner for some years, as also his father before him, has been closely associated wit-h Leyland Motors, Ltd.
Appointment Required.
Mr. 0. D. North. A.C.G.I., B.Sc. London, A.M.I.A.E., late chief engineer of Straker-Squire, Lid, and the talented designer of the Straker-Squire post-war type chassis, h,as now completed his work in this connection and is free to take up a suitable position in a similar capacity. For fuller details of this gentleman's career we refer those interested to the Personal Pars column which appeared in our issue dated August. 17th.
. Keep Going.
A letter has been forwarded to the leading Menulacturefis and trade and manufacturing associations in the United Kingdom signed by Sir Allan M. Smith, K.B.E., M.P., ehaifirnan of the National Federation of Employers' Organizations, and by Mr. W. Peter Rylands, President of the Federation of British Industries, in -which it is pointed out that the present quarrel, involving a threatened coal strike, is not...one between miners and their employers, but is a direct. challenge_ to the policy of the Government. The manufacturers of the country and the, innocent workers in other industries, it is pointed out, are equally threatened by such a strike, which must involve all in heavy loss and serioue unemployment. It is urged, therefore, to be the plain duty of employers in this national crisis to keep open their works as king as possible in order to mitigate the hardships which must result from the strike to the community at large.
Bedfordshire's Tip Wagons.
The Bedfordshire County Council hat purchased, daring this year, three Cornsaes Car tipping wagons, thus bringing the fleet of these useful vehicles up to Six, the Whole fleet, being shown in our secompanying photograph.
A High-speed Van.
A project which is of much interest, particularly in connection with the exietmg speed limit prevailing in this country for commercial-motor vehieles, is that. of the International Harvester Co., who intend to bring out very shortly a new motor lorry to be known as the Model S Speed Truck, whilst the company's plant at Springfield, Ohio, will, as soon as possible, he devoted entirely to its product*. The Model 8 will have a load capacity of 15 cwt. and will have a wheelbase of 9 ft. 7 ins., being mounted upon 34 in. by 5 in. pneumatic commercialvehicle cord tyres, and equipped with electric lights and starter. It will have an average speed of from 25 miles to 30 miles an hour. The first sample models are still being tested by the company's
engineers under the severest carrying and road conditions which can be devised for developing strength and disclosing weaknesses.
The company's motor lorry business has increased 1,500 per cent. since 1914. The Springfield plant covers 70 acres. Extensions are being undertaken, and something like over half a million sq. ft.
of floor space will be the initial amount placed at the disposal of the commercial vehicle departmenl
Tyre Durability.
An interesting phetogeaph on this page shows a Rair of wheels recently sent to Chas. Macintosh and Co. to be re-tyred by Messrs. Norman E. Box, Ltd. Mr. Box, in writing to Messrs. Macintosh, states that the tyres have been in eonstunt use for the past three years and three months, and have given entire satisfaction. During that period they have been in daily use with heavy loads, whilst for many months continually they were used over very bad slag roads. It is asserted that the tyres are still of use, but that the rea-son for changing them at the present moment is that the engine is being sent away on a large eoritract,•-and it is desirable that the machine should not be delayed when the time comes for re-ty-ring by the distance which the wheels would have to travel for that purpose.
Personal Pars.
We understand that Mr. L. E. Little, who launched the Northern Ball Bearings Co., Ltd., in this cou.ntry, has resigned his position as managing director
of that concern. He will shortly be heard of in connection with similar components, and with other Lines of which he has a complete technical knowledge and an abundance of experience.
Captain J. S. Critchley, M.I.Mech.E., has recently opened new offices at 3, George Street, Hanover Square, W., where he will continue his practice as consulting engineer. Captain Critehley, who is a past president of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, placed his services at the disposal of the military authorities in the first weak of the War. • He was gazetted as Chief Inspector of Mechanical Transport, and his valuable experience was of the utmost assistance to the authorities in tiding over the first. difficult stages of selecting and inspecting vehicles, and providing the Army with the transport which it BO sadly lacked.
Early in the war it was found essential to obtain vehicles from America in order to provide for the extraordinary increases in transport requirements. So in January, 1915, Captain Critchley was selected by the War Office to proceed to America with a number of assistants, there to take Charge of the whole of the inspection and supervision of vehicle production for the War Officein. the United States. This was a task of no inconsiderable saagnitude, and during his sojourn in U.S.A., Captain Critahley travelled well over 100,000 miles, and snore than20,000 vehicles passed through his hands
Not only were the vehicles themselves inspected, but the closest supervision. was maintained during the course of
construction. Every American inanufactures had to submit specifications of the various niaterials employed in his vehicle to Captain Critchley, who kept a particularly rigid control upon this aspect of production, and gave great attention to bath physical and chemical tests of the materials employed
To Save Petrol.
The National Council of the C.11I.U.A. has requested all its members to do their utmost to save petrol, and recommends that (a) a bonus shall be offered to drivers, based upon present average consumption, to the extent of half the value of the petrol saved; (b) that drivers shall be instructed to stop their engines when their vehicles are collecting or delivering, or when a halt, other than in traffic, exceeds one minute in duration. The Association, in addition to suggesting that this is one of the matters which ihould come within the terms of reference to the Profiteering Committee of the Board of Trade, is taking steps, in conjunction with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Empire Motor Fuels Committee of the Fmperial Motor Tans. portCouncil, to endeavour to bring about an increase in the production of other motor fuels.
New Tyre Factory.
A company entitled the Standen Rubber Co. has been organized in the U.S.A. with a capital of 5)000,000 dollars, with a view to manufacturing punctureproof pneumatic tyre& The output of the first unit of the plant is expected to reach 1,000 tyres daily by January next.
"The Edgar Allen News."
Among the many he journals that we receive from time to time the "Edgar Allen News" is conspicuous by the presentation of information of real value to all users of the products of that wellknown firm, and, in feet, to all users of steel—among whom must be counted commercial vehicle manufacturers] and repairers.
In the September number, the fourth instalment of a series of articles on the heat treatment of steel appears, containing useful instructions tor the heat treatment of various valve steels, and also spring steels. Another article deals with
We often hear Of schemes, more or less practicable, to start huge motor transport fleets, but. few of these schemes mature. The latest .15, we understand, being arranged by Mr. C. Hamilton. Baines, managing director of the Theatre Royal., Bristol. This gentleman hopes to have a fleet of 2,000 motor lorries on the read before Christmas and another 3,000 before Feburary. It is proposed to do a considerable amount of work in the theatrical transport line, in order to take companie; and scenery from stage door to stage doorThe latter use of motor transport is 'sure to develop.
:14 the testing of steels and steel products, and amongst other interesting and aseful features there is a description of the method of moulding steel castings at the Edgar Allen works.
• General Motors Buy Land.
Following the example of the Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corporation have purchased several thousand Rcres of land in the vicinity of Norway, Michigan. The purchase includes water power and iron mines.
Buses v. Trams.
Having had complaints as to the inadequacy of the travelling facilities between Glasgow and Eaglesham, the Glasgow Corporation has asked the tramways manager to report on a suggestion for starting a motorbus service from the tram terminus to Eaglesbam.
Found.
On Saturday, September 4th, on the road from Cheater leading into Wales, the Fleet Haulage and Transport Co. found an oval steel cover off the gear box of a commercial vehicle. If the owner will apply to the company at 1, Newgate Chambers, Newgate 'Street, 'Chester, the article will be restored to him.'
A Double-purpose Vehicle.
We are able to illustrate on this page a Daimler commercial chassis cif the C-J type (11 ft. 6 ins, wheel base), which, flitted with a, tipping body interchangeable with a sprinkles tank, both bodies being supplied by the Eagle Engineering Co., of Warwick, hos re-' ()lenity been delivered to the Harrogate Corporation.
Our illustration shows the tipping body in its two positions, and the chassis when equipped with the sprinkler tank. This 38 the second Daimler machine of this type supplied to the Highways Department of the Harrogate Corporation and the serviceability of this type of machine is well proven.
Traffic. and Road Wear.
The Durham County Surveyor reports that it has become necessary, owing to heavy motor and motorbus traffic, surface most of the main roads with tar macadam or with waterbound macadam tar sprayed, hut it is the practice on steep gradients only to treat the centre • of the road in this manner, leaving the sides in ordinary waterbound for the convenience of horse-drawn traffic. On the most heavily trafficked roads the destructive effect of the heavy motor :traffic on these waterbound sections renders it almost impossible to keep the sections in a reasonable state of repair, and so he proposes to adopt the principle on steep gradients of paving each side of. the road for a width of 9 ft. (or in some cases the full width where this is too narrow), and surfacing in the centre with tar macadam, taking in hand a. number-. of sections each year. If this course is adopted it will, in his opinion, prove efficient, give a foothold for horses, and in the end' prove economical.
Roads in Australia.'
Some of the local authorities in Australia are urging the improvement of the main roads by the Government making legislative provision for the creation of some repreeentative body comprehensively to provide and control a permanent and progressive constructional and maintenance policy, with powers to levy upon the city and suburban councils in order to furnish the necessary funds.
A Warning.
A case recently occurred in which a driver was zumihoned for driving a heavy motor lorry without having the correct registered axle weights, etc., painted thereon, and his employers were summoned for causing the vehicle to be used in this condition. The driver was ordered to pay the costs, whilst the employerssevere fined £2 10s. The law on the subject is quite clear.
A new development in the use of motor coaches is taking place in Leeds, where a special char-it-banes service from Leeds City Square to the pithead of the Primrose Colliery, Swillingt on, conveys miners to their work. This colliery is a Deng way from the nearest railway station. Under the new arrangement the miners pay little more than the railway fare, and have the advantage of being taken straight' to their work and back againwithout a long walk to the railway station in each direction. The convenience of this door to door ""mode of conveyance will always appeal.
Withdrawal of Taxi Service.
Becanee of the Gloucester City Council's refusal to grant a recent request made by the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co., Ltd., for permissieu to charge fares approximately 100 per cent,. Over pre-war rates, the company has decided to withdraw its taxis from the streets of Gloucester.
The Bristol Tramways and Carriage
Co., Ltd., has branches at Weeton-suprMare, Bath, and Cheltenham, beseles that at Gloucester, and dimllat decision has been come to with regard to their taxis at those places. There is a chance of the councils changing their minds, in view of the inconvenience that. the public will undoubtedly experience, in which case the company would probably be glad 'to reverse its decision. The management maintain that, if the public is to have an adequate service always at its disposal, taxis cannot be run at present rates. The fact that owner-drivers find them profitable is not a criterion, for they can please themselves and choose the busiest times and spots to ply for hire.
Midland Tractor Work.
In no part of the country has a larger volume of SUCCaSs attended tractor work for agricultural purposes than in the areas included within Notts., Derbyshire, Lincolnehire, Leicestershire, and Rutland, where, by reason of the use of widely varying types of appliances, to suit the relative conditions of soil, a great amount of valuable data has been collected, particularly as bearing upon the all-important question of the cost of fuel per ,acre dealt with.
The decision of the Board of Agriculture to institute exhaustive investigations in regard to the use of man-power and machinery has, therefore, been welcomed nowhere more heartily than in these districts, which have been long in wholesome rivalry to maintain positions in the national returns relative to plough7 ing and other results. Nottinghamshire, which presents many natural difficulties as to farming, and cannot be regarded so much as an agricultural as a mining'
county, has more than once occupied the premier position in the table, Thanks to the ffiscriminatory interest, which has been manifested in the work, among others, by Earl Manvers, who is a practical agriculturist, and one of the largest landowners in the county.
By, reason of the configuration of a great deal of the arable ground in Nottinghamshire, in many cases honeycombed by colliery workings, especial
intereit in this part of the Midlands is ,felt as to that branch of the official ' inquiry . Which relates to labour-saving appliances on small fields, and upoe. steep Or irregular surfaces, as to which Nottingharriehire can supply plentiful examples.
Some eminently useful information may lee gathered also from all the East Midland territory regarding mechanical appliances for dealing with laid crops, mechanical aids to loading and carting, and mechanical aids to stack building as represented by elevators.
The scope of the inquiry, as outlined officially, suggests the possfbility of adequately valuable re-ellts.
Local Proceedings.
Chatham T.C. proposes to purchase two motor lorries, The 'Bradford Streets Committee require to purchase a I ton Motor vehicle.
The Bolton Corporation has authorized the chairman of the Health Committee to purchase a meter chassis.
Smith Shields Education Committee, which is opening a school at Clevdon, is asking the Corporation to run a motor bus there for the conveyance of children,
Glasgow Corporation Health Cornmittee has accepted the offer of Messrs. R. Johnston and Sons, Newton Mearns, for the sum of £256 each, for two. new bodies for motor ambulances at the hospitals.
The provision of an up-to-date motor fire-engine is one of the conditions stipulated by the Finance Committee iu their recommendation to the Louth R.D.C. to contribute towards the upkeep of the borough fire brigade.
Hired Motor Wagon.
The charge of fraudulently converting a, motor Wagon:, valued at £700, to his own 1M, was brought against an Egremoue, man at the Wellasey Police Court. Interviewing an accountant named Lucas, whom he had known for two years previously, in. reference to a Clement-Talbot lorry, he told him that he had work for a car, and it was a, pity that Mr. Lucas should keep one idle. lie said he was going to cast goods for a Liverpool bottling firm. An agreement was drawn tap for defendant to pay £10 a week for the wagon. No payments having been made, after a. lapse of six weeks, the matter was put into the hande of the police.
The car was recovered in. London, it was stated, and the proprietor of a City garage told the magistrates that defendant came to the garage with the wagon during Goodwood week. A fer.v weeks later he called again, and offered to sell the wagon. 'Witness gave him a touring -ear worth £350 and £100 cash.
Mr, Lucas eaid that defendant had no authority to sell the car. Defendent was committed for trial to the next Quarter Seseions.
NOTTS. OIL DRILLING
The New Enterprise at Kelham is •
Optimistically Viewed.
WHATEVER may be the ultlmate results accruing from the works which, for the purpose of obtaining muchneeded new oiasupplies, have now been in progress for many months in the Chesterfield district; there is no lack of faith in regard to Midland oil explorations, the latest enterprise in connection with which is upon the point of development at Kelhaan, near Newark, in the neighbouring county.
Although official reports are entirely encouraging, there are those who still appear to hold the pessimistic view that the Derbyshire yield may eventually prove to be entirely disproportionate to sanguine anticipations which had been at one time entertained, and, in this connection, the opinion of a distinguished Sheffield expert has come as a sharp check to expectations. He surmises, upon the basis of exhaustive scientific investigation, that, although within the Hardstoft area oil may be obtained for a time in moderately copious quantities, it will be found susceptible of rapid exhaustion by reason of the fact that it will be discovered in shallow pockets or fissures, representing that which remains of former ample. resources which have became dieserninated in the process of the earth's drainage.
However that may be, the assurance is, meanwhile, forthcoming that the necessary valuable material is being found in the Derbyshire territory in increasing volume, and, as geologically, the ground in the Newark district of Notts. is regarded as being a continuation of the same stratum, which is formed of a limestone bed, extending from the Pennine Range. where the existence of oil has been adequately demonstrated, the anticipation is that. the project, the elaboration of which is now being entered upon in the vicinity of the historic Nottinghamshire town, may be attended with a great measure of success.
The Kellum ventuae represents an idea as to eommencial potentialities which has been as long held almost as that in relation to the Hardstoft exploration, and no expenditure is to be spared in putting the problem to a reasonable test: The work orcammencing boring has now been rendered eracticable by the arrival, a few days ago, of American plant which was ordered in March last from Philadelphia. The -mammoth derricks, which have been erected upon land situate about half a mile from Kelham
afford the firet.outward and formidable evidence of the enterprise now to be entered upon, with the prospect of rendering the little village a busy locale of engineering activity, and, as it is alio in this neighbourhood that the new beet farm, for sugar production, has been established, as a. part of the Government aided scheme for augmenting home supplies,, the anticipation is that Newark may become ultimately as bustling a commercial centre as that which Mansfield, in North Notts., has in recent years developed into, but through another process of mineral development represented by coal mining exploitations.
It goes almost without saying that Newark possesses exceptional advantages in the matter of railway facilities. From the main: avenues of highway traffic h light railway has already been laid down connecting up the Kelbam site; and now that the necessary drilling appliances have come to hand no time is to be lost
c 6 in starting upon the practical part of the work. An arrangement had been arrived at last week under which operations were to be inaugurated in presence of Govern. merit inspectors.
The discovery of -oil sands, computed to be of an average thickness of 15 ft., was effected in the Kelham area as long ago as 1911, and an old bore, the sinking of which was begun then and completed in the following year, is now providing water for steam power for work in relation to the new borings.
That the Kelharn ground contains pay. ing quantities of crude petroleum is the confident estimate formed by these who are upon the spot and scientifically directing the nature of the operations. That which it is expected the borings may yield is oil of the true paraffin base, volatile, and capable upon refining of yielding heavy by-products. Originally, when oil was being prospected for in this territory, it was discovered in what was then regarded ,as promising quantities at a depth of 2,600 feet, but the mechanical appliances which have now been installed will afford the possibility of a wide extension of the bore, enabling a depth of 5,000 ft. to be reached. In the stratum which is now being dealt with oil has been located at a depth of about. 2,790 ft.
Whilst operations are being carried out by a private company, the scheme i$ necessariln subject to Government licence, which has been readily forthcoming. Mr. W. Ivey is chairman of the prospecting company, which has a capital of over a quarter of a minima sterling, and includes among its directors Commander T. C. Groomes a naval oil expert. Whilst the result will be watched with the keenest interest, there lire authorities of geological repute. who view with some dubiety the notion of the existence of oil in sufficient paying quantities in Nottinghamshire strata. ;
WAGES INNOTTINGHAM
The Demands of the Vehicle Workers ImperilFood Supplies. FOLLOWING the recent annual conference in Nottingham of United Vehicle Workers, representiegall branches of the industry in 'Great Britain and Ireland, an evidence of the turbulent labour spirit of the times is being afforded by a large section of men, including motor drivers, engaged in the principal Nottingham wholesale market devoted to the disposal of fruit and vegetables, and. constituting the chief centre of the city's supplies brought in, in most cases, by road from Nottingham. shire, Lincolnshire, and other farming districts.
Transport workers who are there engaged have served employers with an ultimatum threatening a strike unless they, at once, undertake to enter into negotiations with the reareeentatives of the men's union to bring the wages of employees up to the district rate. The matter has, for some time, given rise to considerable feeling, the disaffected hands complaining of the refusal of the employers to entertain the idea. of even a discussion of the subject and, in the event of the threatened dislocation, the city's main suppliesmay be seriously imperilled, most of the retail shopkeepers, and practically all the itinerant vendors, depending upon the Sneintan market wherewith to meet, their daily needs. Temporal-at transport services will be organized by the wholesale merchants.
MAGNETS FOR LOADING
In the Handling of Iron and Steel Parts the Magnet is a Valuable Adjunct.
A MERICAN FIRMS give great atten tion to the use of efficiency appliances which reduce labour and eave time and the latest development in connection with motor truck work there takes the form of the use of the elect°. magnet to expedite the loading and unloading of trucks. This, of course, applies only in those trades dealing with metal goods unpacked, but, for all such trades, it 'appears to be a remarkably efficient and rapid method of handling material. For instance, in the large warehouses of Messrs. Morris, Wheeler and Co., dealers in iron and steel, of Philadelphia, the system is used with considerable success. The company deals in structural shapes of all sizes, iron and steel parts, plates, rails, sheets, boiler tubes, and such like, and, particularly in regard to the handling of steel plates and boiler tubes, the firm have found the system of great utility. They found the usual method of handling short plates and heavy gauge sheets, with clamps at the end of crane chains, unwieldy and dangerous, -as well as frequently causing damage to the material, and they now employ three large lifting magnets. Two of them are rectangular, 36 ins. by 18 ins., and the other is circular, 36 ins, in diameter. These magnets are suspended by pulley blocks and wire ropes and chains over electrically propelled overhead cranes, and the operation is extremely simple. The cranes are run over the material en the store or over the wagon in the load
ing and unloading hed. As soon as the surface of the magnet is in contact with the surface of the material to be lifted the current is switched on, and the magnet becomes operative, and it is found that each will lift loads of approxie mately 1 ton. Directly the magnet becomes operative, it takes firm hold of the material by its force of attraction, and the material is at once lifted by the crane and carried off to its destination in store, or on truck, as the case may be. There is no loss of time or work to be done in arranging hitches and slings, but the material is taken instantly and gently and deposited in its final position with equal facility. The cost of installation was about £200 per instrument, in connection with which the company uses a rheostatic control of ., its own design, which enables one man • with a magnet to lift, as many or as few plates as desired within the capacity of the magnet, or to drop one or inore at a. time from the number of plates he is raising. For instance, he can apply power to lift, say, 12 plates at once, and, by reducing the power, he can drop off one plate at a time, or, by increaeing pick up an additional plate. This system may be worth going into by firms handling material which lends itself to the method.
The congestion of vehicular traffic at the Mersey. ferries is still being con. sidered. The Birkenhead Ferries Committee has received from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Beard a communica tion conveying the terms on which the Board will agree to carry nut such alterations to the portion of the Woonside Landing Stage belonging to the Board as will he necessary to provide an additional berth for the new luggage steamers that are being constructed.