coal trade bulletin - Clpdigital.org

leave. The machine has cut as high as from 25
rooms in a shift of 10 hours. Since the installation
of the first machine some eight months ago,
the above company have now in operation 26 of
these machines, which in itself is a very good
recommendation for the machine.
During the recent times there have been numerous
suggestions for a safer method of mining coal,
especially in localities where the top is rather
faulty. Several coal companies have adopted the
method of cutting the coal veins in the center, the
object of this being to minimize the danger of
blown-out shots, and to lessen the danger of damaging
the roof, and lo secure increased production
at lower cost.
A mining machine so arranged as to mine the
coal without any time being spent in unloading the
machine from its truck, has a great advantage over
any othar type of machine, and there are several
coal operators in this country who have taken advantage
of this fact, and are installing mining machines
self-contained on the truck. The Jeffrey-
Drennen machine on account of its high speed,
both in cutting adjustment and self-propelling,
lends itself very readily to the most economical
and safe method of mining the coal.
MINERS LECTURING ON SAFETY METHODS.
Mine inspectors, mine engineers, mine bosses
and fire bosses in West Virginia have taken to the
lecture platform.
This is the result of a visit of a number of West
Virginia miners to the United States Bureau of
Mines at Pittsburgh three years ago. These men
were sent to Pittsburgh by the coal operators.
and they were from fields in every section of the
state. They were sent there to learn how to
use the oxygen helmet and then teach others to
use it. They learned all about the helmet, and
they acquired other items of valuable information
that have in a measure worked wonders in the
West Virginia coal fields.
When the miners got back from Pittsburgh the
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 4,
their minds that information along this line
should be furnished them. So, now, on a given
night a class will meet and an engineer, a mine
boss or a fire boss will lecture, on some phase of
mine work. After the lecture is over the men
"fire" questions at the speaker and these questions
with the answers finally bring about a discussion
in which nearly every man present will have taken
part before the class is over.
In addition to mine work the men discuss rescue
work and safety devices. Physicians often attend
and instruct miners in practical methods of
resuscitation and other things within the ken of
the doctor in mining regions.
After these classes had been going on for about
18 months mine inspectors became interested, and
now they, too, are numbered among the lecturers.
RECENT COAL TRADE PATENTS.
The following recently granted patents of interest
to the coal trade are reported expressly for
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN, by Joseph M. Nesbit,
Patent Attorney, Park building, Pittsburgh, Pa.,
from whom printed copies may be procured for 15
cents each:
Cutting bit for chains of mining machines, C. N.
Barton, Harrisburg, III.; 1,078,082.
Mine pump, Lewis Chadwick, Nelsonville. 0.; 1,-
078,126.
Mine shovel, J. C. Cartmill, Lead, S. D.; 1,078,255.
Mine shot firing system, G. I. Rawson, St. Louis,
Mo.; 1,078,463.
Pick, D. D. Keltner, Des Moines, Iowa; 1,078,585.
Draft appliance for mine cars, Andro Krivonyak,
Saltsburg, Pa.; 1,078,735.
Acetylene miner's lamp, P. W. Lohmann, Worthington,
W. Va., assignor to the Lohmann-Hold
Mfg. Co., Pittsburgh; 1,078,865.
Coke oven, W. M. Person, Sparrows Point, Md.;
1,079,062.
Coke drawing apparatus, John Yahes, Uniontown,
Pa.; 1,079,126.
Self-acting conveyor for coal and goaf-packing
first thing they did was to teach rescue teams, of in colliery inclines of low gradient, Louis Hyve,
12 men each, how to use the oxygen helmet. Now Dorignies, near Douai, France; 1,079.176.
every company in the state has efficient rescue Ash sifter, Newton Benjamin, Elmira, N. Y.;
teams. But that visit to Pittsburgh resulted in 1,079,207.
something more. It caused an awakening among Boxing for coal drilling machines, A. F. Deury,
the miners to the fact that, if they wanted to ad­ Pittsburg, Kansas; 1,079,289.
vance, they would have to be prepared for advance­ Coal breaker, William Lloyd, Drifton. Pa.; 1,ment.
So they concluded that to be helped best, 079,301.
they ought to help themselves. The operators
met them half way. Now, all over West Vir­ The first barge to carry a cargo from New Orginia
mining classes meet every two weeks, and leans to Tuscaloosa, Ala., reached the latter city
it is very seldom a miner misses a session of the at the opening of the fortnight. It was the open­
class in his particular neighborhood.
ing of the Warrior river improvements, whereby
The operators, seeing how earnest the men were the Alabama coal operators hope to get a slice of
in their desire for mining knowledge, made up the fueling trade at New Orleans.