The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

PREFACE The monograph on “The Mechanical Handling of Material,” formerly written by me, has been out of print for some time, and in revising that publication for a new issue in the light of modern progress, it was found that the storing or stocking, and conversely, the reclaiming, of material (a subject which was formerly treated with secondary consideration) are now so much bound up with mechanical handling that it would be undesirable, if not impossible, to keep the two subjects apart. Under these circumstances I make the attempt in the present volume to deal with both handling and storing under the extended title of “ The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material.” The portion of the work devoted to the first subject, Handling, has been thoroughly revised and is now quite up to date, including chapters on the following new subjects —Coal Face Conveyors, The Mechanical Disposal of Ashes from Steamers, Mono-Rails and Telphers, The Handling of Coke from Coke Ovens, and The Handling of Coal by Pneumatic and Hydraulic Means; while Storing embodies all the methods in vogue for so dealing with minerals, chemicals, cereals and other seeds, in conjunction with the mechanical appliances for assembling the materials as well as those (or reclaiming- them from stock. It would have been practically impossible for any one person to explore, or be sufficiently conversant with, the whole of the immense field which is now covered by the mechanical handling and storing of material. I have, therefore, supplemented my own practical studies and experiences by a careful perusal and selections from all accessible authorities on this subject. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Verein deutscher Ingenieure, for much valuable information obtained