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MARINE REVIEW. Saale Hydraulic Press vs. Steam Hammer. "Making Steel Forgings in America" is the title of an article by Mr. H. F. J. Porter that will appear in Cassier's Magazine for June. Mr. Por- ter is the western agent of the Bethlehem Iron Co. His headquarters are in Chicago. Of the difference between the use of the hydraulic press and the steam hammer, he says: "The pressure applied in shaping a body of steel should be sufficient in amount and of such character as to penetrate to the centre and cause flowing throughout the mass. As this flowing of the metal requires a certain amount of time, the requisite pressure should be maintained throughout a corresponding period. The hydraulic press, therefore, is used instead of the hammer to work it into shape. Under its action the forging is slowly operated upon, and the pressure distributes itself evenly throughout the mass, whereas under the high velocity of impact of the hammer the metal has not time to flow, and internal strains, if not always defects, are thereby created. In fact, the cause of failure of many forg- ings, particularly large ones, can often be attribued to their having been shaped under a hammer of insufficient power where the blow is devel- oped by a high velocity, rather than by weight of falling mass. The dif- ference in the effect of these two methods of forging is apparent in large cylindrical shafts. Those forged under a hammer have concave ends, showing that the blow has not penetrated the forging, but has worked only upon the surface and drawn it out, leaving the central portion be- hind, and thus producing atearing strain on the core by which actual cavities may be developed. The reverse is the case with a shaft that has been hydraulic forged. Itsends are either straight or slightly convex. The pressure being definite and constant, and acting slowly but uniformly throughout the distance traversed by each stroke, passes completely through the forging and tends to force out the centre, that portion being hottest and, therefore, the softest. In order to insure the most thorough working of the metal, large shafts and similar forgings should be made hollow, where practicable. The production of such forgings is much facilitated by the use of the hydraulic press. The thin walls of the hollow ingot are readily reheated, and the danger of internal cracking during that operation is removed. After reheating a mandril is passed through the ingot and it is then worked down under the press,the diameter gradually decreasing and the length increasing proportional'y. It is much more difficult to hollow forge with a hammer than with a press, especially in long lengths. A slow and even pressure is necessary to draw out the thin cylindrical walls equally and make a shaft which is straight and symmetrical throughout. During this chenge in shape the metal must, of course, be reheated frequently. Operating on metal that has become too cold to flow would only bruise and tear it." Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store in regular elevators at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes on May 16, 1896: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. Chicago............ Bete coe een gaBevtseocs 15,225,000 4,137,000 PO TUTEN: cocec ses afsescense se enesasensiensetecoce $574,000. 2 Sk Rete IMAIWHIK EE seassanescsscnsscccecrsesessssce » 667,000 2,000 MWELTOltresscerccstaccssesuncceesascussescCeress 197,000 21,000 MOLE Onnvecrcccscr cess ceressccwes incon ue cateses 490,000 78,000 Buffalo....... peameneseenetsscots Geen geadereccer 1,547,000 477,000 PROtals. tio; <.00 Rreatiicdccteste tes esccete™ 26,700,000 } 4,715,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show at the several points named a decrease of 1,128,000 bushels of wheat and 1,049,000 bushels of corn. Notwithstanding the report of the commission of engineers, the house committee on interstate and foreign commerce has reported favor- ably upon the Nicaragua canal bill. The measure has, however, been greatly changed, and it is the opinion of everybody interested in the canal that the promoters made a mistake in antagonizing the commission. The billas changed in committee permits the issuance of $100,000,000 3 per cent. bonds, interest and principal to be guaranteed by the government. it requires that all the outstanding stock of the Maritime company, except that issued to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, shall be called in and canceled. The government is to be secured against loss by the issuance of $100,- 000,000 of stock, which will be deposited with the secretary of the treas- ury, Ofthis issue an amount not exceeding in value $4,500,000 may be Paid to the company to reimburse it for the moneys already expended. The canal is to be constructed under the supervision of the war depart- ment. The board of directors shall consist of eleven persons, one to be appointed by Costa Rica, one by Nicaragua, one by the company, and the Temaining eight by the president of the United States. Provision is also made for the gradual extinguishment of the bonds out of the net earn- ings of the canal, after interest on the outstanding indebtedness shall have been paid. Trade Notes. The Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining Co. of Great Falle, Mont., is erecting a new electrical power house in ccpnec- tion with its large mining plant. The Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of Kast Berlin, Conn., will furnish the steel work. The Continnenial Iron Works, Brooklyn, N. Y., has lately supplied three Morison suspension furnaces to the International Navigation Co. of New York for the steamer Illinois, and several to the Plant Steam- ship Co. for use on their steamers; also four to the Tuttle Mnfg. Co. of Annaconda, Mont., and six to Wm. B. Pollock & Co. of Youngstown, O. The Buffalo Forge Co., Buffalo, N. Y., is building up quite a trade in blowers on naval vessels. They obtained an order recently from Moran Bros. & Co. of Seattle, Wash., for four blowers with compound engines required on the United States torpedo boat No. 8, which they are build- ing. The Buffalo company also has orders for blowers and engines for torpedo boats 3, 4 and 5, as well as the Holland torpedo boat building at the Columbian Iron Works and the big revenue cutter building at the Atlantic works, East Boston. For some time past officers of the Penberthy Injector Co., Detroit, have been looking forward to the rounding out of their first 100,000 injectors. They had anticipated reaching that number about July, but the demand for their goods has been so heavy that they turned out a larger number than anticipated, and have just reached the number 100,(00, which was placed on a half-inch injector on May 12. In honor of this event the company will give its employees a holiday and excursion a little later in the summer, probably during the latter part of June. In Germany, as well as in England and this country, the demand for the Morison suspension furnace has practically excluded entirely the original Fox section, of which the Morrison is a development. It is un- derstood that the Continental Iron Works, manufacturers of these furnaces in the United States, have practically ceased to make the Fox furnace. A report in one of the English ship building journals is to the effect that of 600 furnaces ordered through one firm on the continent dur- ing the first three months of this year, 80 per cent. were of the Morison type. The B. F. Sturtevant Co. of Boston, always up to date with handsome and attractive printed matter, has just issued two elegant catalogues, one describing Sturtevant forges and the other anew general treatise on heating and ventilation. The latter, which is profusely illustrated, is probably the most complete catalogue of its kind ever gotten out. Itis an enlargement and improvement on a similar work published eight years ago. A general discussion of ventilating and heating methods is followed by an explanation of the Sturtevant system, and by illustrations and details of the various kinds of Sturtevant devices. Views of manu- facturing plants, public building, etc., in which the system is employed form an important part of the catalogue. Among freight steamers recently equipped with electric lighting out- fits by the Fisher Electrical Mnfg. Co. of Detroit are the steamer Coralia, largest carrier on the lakes, and the steamers Chili and Geo. Orr. The Coralia's outfit consists of two direct connected engines and dynamos of 150 lights capacity each. All the lights below the main deck are enclosed in water-proof vapor globes, the Coralia being the first boat on the lakes to use this type of fixture. She has four arc lamps in addition to the incan- descents, a six-circuit switchboard, automatic signal lamps and other improved electrical appliances. The Chili and Orr are also supplied with direct connected generating sets, two each, of 150 lights capacity each. This company has also equipped the Lake Michigan passenger steamers Eugene C. Hart and Fanny C. Hart, and they are now supplying F. W. Wheeler & Co. of West Bay City with four direct connected, 150-light generating sets for Rockefeller ships. Two are for the steamer Geo. Stephenson and one each for the steel schooners James Nasmith and Sir Isaac Lothian Bell. On the yacht Enquirer, building at Buffalo for W. J. Connors, they willinstall two generating sets similar to those just re- ferred to, as well as a Mangin search lamp. There will be 400 incandes- cent lamps distributed throughout the yacht and rigging. The package freight steamer building at the works of the Union Dry Dock Co., Buf- falo, is also to be equipped with the Fisher company's standard direct connected plant. She will have lights enclosed in vapor globes. Here isasplendid opportunity of. visiting the west. The Nickel Plate road has authorized low excursion rates to Ottawa, Kansas, on May 17, 21 and 22 for the annual convention of the Dunkards, which convenes at Ottawa on May 26. Tickets may be extended thirty days from date of issue by depositing them with the joint agent at Ottawa. The uniform courtesy of employes, the best of roadbeds, and the splendid modern equipment of this line has made it the popular low rate line for all points west. 74-May 21 Low rate, short limit tickets between Cleveland and Lorain have been placed on sale via the Nickel Plate road at $1.00 for the roundtrip. 77-7-31