SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION.

AUTUMN MEETING, NOV. 15.

This Meeting was held at the Holborn Restaurant; there was a good attendance. It was a matter of regret that the President (Mr. D. Irving, of Bristol) was unable to be present, owing, as the Hon. Secretary (Mr. J. W. Helps, of Croydon) stated, to the illness of Mr. W. Fiddes, the Chief Engineer of the Bristol Gas Company. Early in the proceedings, a telegram was received from the President, in which he said: "Kindly apologize to Committee and members for my absence, assuring them there is no lack of interest in the Association or appreciation of honour conferred. Wishing successful meeting." Under these circumstances, Mr. A. E. BROADBERRY, of Tottenham, the ex- -President, was called upon to take the chair.

The HON. SECRETARY opened the business by reading the minutes of the last meeting, and they were confirmed. The members then proceeded to the

ELECTION OF OFFICE-Bearers.

The CHAIRMAN remarked that the first office to be filled was that of President. The rules of the Association having been altered so as to enable the members to elect a Vice-President, he had no doubt all would expect to hear him nominate Mr. Corbet Woodall, who was now the Vice-President, for the position of President in the coming year. Mr. Woodall, he was happy to say, had consented to take the office; and he (the Chairman) was certain the Association would derive a great deal of benefit from having him presiding over them.

The HON. SECRETARY asked that he might be allowed to second the proposal.

The resolution was carried by acclamation.

Mr. W. D. CHILD (Romford) next proposed that Mr. W. E. Price, of Hampton Wick, be elected to the Vice-Presidency. Mr. Price, he remarked, had been a useful member of the Association, and had assisted it by papers, by serving on the Committee, and in other ways.

Mr. J. T. JOLLIFFE (Ipswich) seconded the motion, which was very cordially agreed to.

Mr. S. Y. SHOUBRIDGE (Lower Sydenham) moved the reappointment of Mr. Helps as Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. The members, he said, one and all knew of the immense interest Mr. Helps took in the Association; and, without his arduous labours, he was sure the Association would not be in its present successful position.

Mr. S. W. DURKIN (Southampton) seconded the motion, which was heartily passed.

On the motion of Mr. F. SMALLBONE (Woodford), seconded by Mr. F. W. CROSS (Lea Bridge), Messrs. F. G. Cockey and C. F. Ruggles were elected members of the Committee.

Mr. D. H. HELPS (Redhill) proposed, and Mr. W. B. RANDALL (Waltham Cross) seconded, the re-election of Messrs. James L. Chapman and A. Dougall as Auditors-the proposition being cordially agreed to.

NEW MEMBers.

The following names were then submitted for membership : Mr. Octavius Thomas, of Rhondda; Mr. T. R. Murray, of Tottenham; Mr. Harold W. Woodall, of Bournemouth; Mr. S. J. Symonds, of Farnham; Mr. H. S. Baker, of Reading; and Mr. George R. Love, of Guildford.

Mr. C. E. BOTLEY moved that the gentlemen named be elected members; observing that all must be pleased to see such an accession to their strength.

Mr. T. PRICE (Walton-on-Thames) seconded the motion, which was unanimously carried.

THE LATE MR. T. W. R. WHITE.

The HON. SECRETARY said it was with considerable regret that he had received a letter on Tuesday informing him of the death of Mr. T. W. R. White, of Sherborne, who had been a member of the Association since the amalgamation with the South-West Association. He had also received a letter from Mr. Norton H. Humphrys relating to the same sad event. (Both communications were read.)

Mr. DURKIN said it was with very deep regret that he rose to propose a vote of condolence with Mrs. White and the family. He was connected with Mr. White for a good many years in the old South-West Association; and, since the amalgamation, their late friend had been a member of the Southern Association.

Mr. H. SAINSBURY (Trowbridge), in seconding, said he had known Mr. White ever since the South-West Association was

formed; and he knew, as the first Secretary of the Association, Mr. White took a great interest in it and in gas matters generally, and he was always ready to communicate any information within his power to his brethren. They sincerely felt his loss to the Association and to the gas profession generally.

The members signified their approval of the resolution by rising silently in their places.

THE DAY OF MEETING.

The HON. SECRETARY read a letter received from Mr. J. D. Ashworth, of Portsmouth, who was unable to be present, owing to Thursday being his Board-day. Mr. Ashworth suggested that the day of the Association meetings should be varied a little, so that all the members might have an opportunity of attending. Mr. Helps pointed out that the letter had been before the Committee; and they desired to have the opinion of the members on the subject. Thursday was the day fixed at the commencement of the Association; and it had been adhered to since.

Mr. DURKIN remarked that he considered Thursday was as generally convenient as any other day; and some of the others might be more inconvenient. He thought it was a matter that should be left to the Committee to decide.

None of the other members expressed any opinion; and the matter dropped, with the understanding that any communication on the subject addressed to the Hon. Secretary would be referred to the Committee.

Mr. G. P. LEWIS (Lower Sydenham) read the first paper. It was entitled

NOTES ON PURIFIER CONSTRUCTION.

The mode of construction of dry purifier-boxes has, until a comparatively recent period, generally followed the lines adopted in the very early days of gas manufacture. The only improvement calling for special mention is the substitution of indiarubber joints for the cumbrous water-seals in vogue for so many years. The use of the former system of jointing, though originally proposed many years ago, remained practically in abeyance until it was employed on a considerable scale by Mr. Green, of Preston. Since then it has been freely adopted by a number of engineers. This system of jointing has been proved to be thoroughly successful in practice when properly designed, and results in a considerable reduction in the weight of the boxes and Covers- -amounting, in some cases, to about 20 per cent.

One of the disadvantages of the water-seal system lies in the

wastage of the lute-plates and side sheets of the cover at the water-line; the effects of this evil being so great as to render the use of cast iron for the lute-plates almost a necessity, while, on the contrary, wrought iron or steel is equally suitable for the construction of purifier-boxes on the dry-jointed system. Among other points, the problem of designing cast-iron side plates with water-lutes calls for some attention, as although at first sight this may appear to be a very simple operation, it is really a matter that requires some degree of experience; these plates being subjected to severe strains, due to the combined action of the outward pressure of the gas and the upward pull of the cover, also due to the same force. The nature of these stresses is shown in Diagram 5 (p. 355); the greatest strain being in the neighbourhood of the point marked A. If care is not taken to meet this strain by substantially bracketing the underside of the lute to the body of the lute-plate, and also to provide proper internal ties, considerable trouble is experienced by frequent "cracking," and, as a consequence, leakage of water from the lute. On the contrary, the strains on the side plates are much less in the case of the "dry" joint-the "lift" of the covers acting almost as a direct tensile stress; while the multiple system of covers usually associated with this method of construction, gives substantial cross-ties for resisting the outward pressure of the gas.

The fact that the side plates of dry-jointed purifiers are very much less severely strained than those with water-seals, coupled with greatly reduced weight and a wider choice of materials, has led the author to investigate the possibility of improvements in the general construction of dry purifiers; and he ventures to lay before the members of the Association a few suggestions with the aforementioned object. It should be understood, however, that these suggestions more particularly refer to the construction of purifiers and purifier-houses on the overhead system. The general lines of the proposed improvements will be most readily apparent by reference to the diagrams accompanying this communication, from which it will be seen that the main feature of novelty in the proposal lies in the idea of making the boxes not only support themselves, but also contribute to that of the upper revivifying floor and roof over same, coupled with a reduction in the weight of the pipe connections.

By reference to Diagrams 1, 2, and 3, it will be seen that the purifiers are oblong in shape, and are arranged in consecutive pairs, side by side, with the greater dimension in the longitudinal direction, and the contiguous sides and ends connected together