RECORD OF THE WEATHER IN PITTSBURG FOR MARCH, 1913. RECORD OF THE WEATHER IN CHICAGO FOR MARCH, 1913. RECORD OF THE WEATHER IN ST. LOUIS FOR MARCH, 1913. Plotted from records especially compiled for THE HEATING AND VENTILATING MAGAZINE, by the Heavy lines indicate temperature in degrees F. Light lines indicate wind in miles per hour. Broken lines indicate relative humidity in percentage from readings taken at 8 A. M. and 8 P. M. Arrows fly with prevailing direction of wind. For Separate Contracts in Pennsylvania. Through the activities of the Pennsylvania Association of Master Steam and Hot Water Fitters a bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature, and has been passed by both houses, designed to separate heating, ventilating, plumbing and electric work from the general contracts on the construction of public buildings in Pennsylvania. The bill was introduced by Mr. F. H. O'Neill on March 17 and was at once referred to the committee on public buildings. The fact that it was so soon reported to the House was taken to indicate that the bill had more than an even chance of being passed. Following is the text of the bill, which is listed as House Bill No. 1382: AN ACT. Regulating the letting of certain contracts for the erection, construction and alteration of public buildings. Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same That hereafter in the preparation of specifications for the erection, construction and alteration of any public building, when the entire cost of such work shall exceed $1,000 it shall be the duty of the architect, engineer or other person preparing such specifications to prepare separate specifications for the plumbing, heating, ventilating and electrical work and it shall be the duty of the person or persons authorized to enter into contracts for the erection, construction or alteration of such public buildings to receive separate bids upon each of the said branches of work and to award the contract for the same to the lowest responsible bidder for each of said branches. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. The Trade's Contributions to the Ohio Flood Sufferers. The heating, ventilating and plumbing trades made prompt and liberal response to the calls for assistance from their fellow tradesmen who suffered in the recent Ohio floods. A relief fund was instituted by the Chicago Chamber of Commerce, which was divided into subdivisions for more effective work. Subdivision No. 44 comprised the heating, ventilating and plumbing trades, the committee in charge being composed of Harry Verbeek, manufacturers' representative, 1913 City Hall Square Building, Chicago, chairman; James Gardner, Gardner Metal Co.; George F. Hinds, KelloggMackay Co.; Elmer E. Hunt, Ideal Venti lator Co.; Herman M. Hoelscher, L. Wolff Mfg. Co.; Kent Clow, Jas. B. Clow & Sons; C. C. Stringer, Republic Mfg. Co.; F. B. Howell, American Radiator Co.; Peter Munn, Chicago Association of Master Plumbers; and W. E. Marquam, editor Domestic Engineering. Among those contributing to the flood relief fund are the following: Crane Co., $5,000.00. Vulcan Louisville Smelting Co., $50.00. Alberger Pump & Condenser Co., $25.00. Jenkins Bros., $25.00. Powers Regulator Co., $25.00. T Beggs & Sons, $10.00. Illinois Malleable Iron Co., $500.00. Gallagher & Speck, $25.00. American Radiator Co., $1,000.00. Republic Mfg. Co., $50.00. Western Valve Co., $10.00. J. J. Daly, Jas. B. Clow & Sons, D. E. Foskette, $10.00. Among the contributions from the heating and plumbing trade in Pittsburgh are the following: Pittsburgh Lamp, Brass & Glass Co., $25; Frick & Lindsey, $100; Monongahela Tube Co., $150; Iron City Sanitary Mfg. Co., $100; Wilson Snyder Mfg. Co., $25; Pittsburgh Malleable Iron Co., $100; Pittsburgh Piping & Equipment Co., $100; Reineke-Wagner Pump & Supply Co., $50; Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co., $500; Jarecki Mfg. Co., $100. National Pipe and Supplies Association. Trade conditions were treated from a broad point of view at the fourth annual meeting of the National Pipe and Supplies Association, held in Chicago, April 14-15. Among the speakers was Harry A. Wheeler, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America who discussed the present economic situation. C. V. Kellogg, of the Kellogg-Mackay Company, made the address of welcome to the members. Other speakers were J. J. Ryan who spoke on "The Business Outlook," W. E. Clow, Jr., of Jas. B. Clow & Sons, Chicago, and D. J. Mahoney, of the Savannah (Ga.) Supply Co. In the discussion of the trade outlook, an optimistic spirit was voiced by several of the speakers. A resolution was passed urging the passage of laws that will effect banking and currency reform. During the second day's session, addresses were delivered by Henry Aird, of the Aird-Don Co., Troy, N. Y., on "Some Essentials of a Successful Business," and by Alexander B. Pierce, of the Nelson Mfg. Co., St. Louis, Mo., on "Relations Between Manufacturers and Jobbers." Officers for the coming year were chosen as follows: President, Wm. M. Pattison, Wm. M. Pattison Supply Co., Cleveland, O. First vice-president, A. L. Scott, Pacific Hardware & Steel Co., San Francisco, Cal. Second vice-president, Alex. B. Pierce, N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Co., St. Louis, Mo. Treasurer, C. G. Cornell, Jr., Cornell & Underhill, New York. Nason Secretary, Geo. D. McIlvaine, Pittsburg. Executive Committee, F. A. Buckman, Mfg. Co., New York; H. W. Thorndyke, F. W. Webb Mfg. Co., Boston; George B. Limbert, G. B. Limbert Co, Chicago; A. A. Merkel, Merkel Bros., Cincinnat; W. T. Todd, Somers, Fitler & Todd Co., Pittsburg; George V. Denny, Georgia Supply Co., Savannah, Ga.; J. B. Rahm, U. S. Supply Co., Omaha, Neb.; A. A. Tomlinson, Virginia-Carolina Supply Co., Norfolk, Va The attendance included 180 members and guests. A Tale of Three Bottles. BY E. T. MURPHY. When, some thirteen years ago, the City of Philadelphia rebuilt the old Northwest Grammar School, the engineers could hardly have foreseen the relation between the automobile and ventilation. Nor could any prophetic vision show them this schoolhouse on Race Street as being in the center of a busy motor market. Yet the three bottles here reproduced bear witness to the intimate relation of these apparently distant problems. Fig. 1 shows the apparatus used for washing the air supplied to the school, both for heat and ventilation, and its location furnishes the plot for this tale. Just beyond the covered steam piping shown is the fresh air intake. The air, which is drawn in at this point, would be clean, healthful and bracing were it not for the automobile. It so happens that a prosperous automobile manufacturer of Detroit selected an adjacent site and there built his garage and salesrooms. Moreover, he built a driveway leading from the street into the rear of his garage within a few feet of this fresh air FIG. 1-AIR WASHER IN NORTHWEST GRAMMAR SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA, PA. intake. Still prosperous, he had a steady stream of evil-smelling machines passing in and out of this driveway, some lingering there for divers and driver's reasons. Before the installation of the apparatus for laundering the air supplied to this building the ventilating fan, with the best intentions in the world, inhaled copious drafts of the exhaust from many excited gasolineburning motors and blew them into the school rooms. Every one interested in the welfare of this school objected, but in spite of this the automobile manufacturer in question wanted to continue doing business; hence the air washer and the memory of troubles of bygone days. Cleanliness has displaced grime, and the school again takes FIG. 2-THE THREE BOTTLES. an honest pride in itself. Childish hands can cling to the stair rails without later leaving a smudge on a shiny morning face, all of which brings us to Fig. 2, showing the heroes of our tale. Their existence is due to the energy of the operating engineer who has an inquiring turn of mind. Incidentally, he wanted to prove to the health officers that the washer did wash. His method of procedure was as follows: In bottle No. 1 he collected a sample of the dust and dirt from the fresh air intake. There was plenty of it, so he had no trouble scraping together enough to fill the gallon jar. For bottle No. 3 he drew a gallon of the water supplied to the washer tank when he was filling it bright and early on the morning of February 6, 1913. This bottle exists to prove two things. First: The sparkling purity of Philadelphia water. Second: That it was this same clear water which was being supplied to the washer whenever it was necessary to wash out and refill the settling tank. The charging of bottle No. 2 was a somewhat more elaborate process. He permitted the air washer to continue its usual operation during the six school hours of February 6, then shut it down and opened the drainout valve. This permitted the water in the tank and all the lighter dirt to run away to the sewer. He then used an ordinary bucket, filling it with a conglomeration of dirt, carbon, oil, gasoline and water from the bottom of the tank, Apparently he had no difficulty in getting a bucketful; in fact, he says it was only a fifth of the quantity of this deposit. The washer had evidently spent a busy six hours. The various ingredients in this bucket were allowed to settle and seek their own levels. The water was then siphoned off and bottle No. 2 filled. A study of this exhibit discloses three distinct lines in the bottle. Carbon and street dust lay claim to the greatest specific gravity and prominently occupy over two-thirds of the total space. Oil more modestly spreads a 34-in. film over the baser mixtures and supports the condensed gasoline in the neck of the bottle. A match applied to the bottle ignited the fumes from the gasoline, much to the astonishment of the same engineer. The utility of each of these compounds is freely admitted, but childish lungs seem to thrive without them. These bottles were placed on exhibition by a health officer, together with an explanatory card, at the National Convention of School Superintendents, recently held in Philadelphia, and seemed to arouse a great deal of interest. Fortunately, all schools do not have to face the automobile problem with this intensity, but even the best air contains more or less floating dust, and, in our large cities, considerable quantities of soot and other impurities. Bacteria cling lovingly to wetted surfaces and can be persuaded along with soot and dust to desert the swiftly moving air and cast in their lot with the water destined in time to reach the sewer. Such affection should be and is encouraged by the modern heating and ventilating engi neer. While this story tells a creditable tale of the washer's affinity for dirt and some gases, it fails to do it full justice. Nowhere is any evidence produced to show the automatic and constant regulation of the absolute humidity of the air after treatment. Yet in spite of the fact that the washer was extremely busy with its knock down and drag out battle with dirt, it did this very thing. Yes, the temperature of the wash water was varied by the action of the little thermostat and the diaphragm valves When you can so plain see in Fig. 1. Carrier conceived his fixed dew-point control, like all good engineers, he kept in mind that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. He wanted to vaporize water, and that needs heat, so when Nature does not furnish it, he injects some steam into the circulating water-just enough to fix the dew point of the air. Insulation for Underground Steam Pipes. Probably no one item has figured so largely in the success or failure of central station heating plants as that connected with the insulation of the underground piping. Here the losses may easily run up to an extent that may more than counterbalance the economy and efficiency of all other portions of the system. This possibility has been realized by all connected with the industry and early led to a demand for an effective insulating material that would not only be able to withstand the heat losses from the pipes but perform the equally important function of withstanding the attacks from the outside in the shape of dampness and other conditions that might cause decay in the covering itself. One of the early companies to approach the problem was the Michigan Pipe Company, of Bay City, Mich. As long as 40 years ago this company placed on the market a tin-lined wood covering for underground steam pipes. This covering was found to be an effective insulator, reducing the heat loss and condensation from one quarter of 1% to three-quarters of 1% per mile of pipe delivering at capacity. The effectiveness of the covering as an insulator being early determined, the company devoted its energies to improving the casing with reference to its ability to withstand all attacks from the outside. The result is a material of notable simplicity and durability, the outside coating of which consists of asphaltum and the sections being driven together with a mortise and tenon joint after being slipped over the wrought-iron pipe. When this pipe is driven together, the casing forms a waterproof line. MICHIGAN UNDERGROUND PIPE COVERING. The company's stave casings are made in 6, 7, 8 and 12-ft. sections, of seasoned pine and Michigan tamarack. The inner and outer edges of the staves are curved to conform respectively with the inside and outside circles of the pipe, and the sides are fitted with tongue and groove running the full length of the pipe. The staves, after inspection, are assembled in cylindrical form, after which the sections are spirally banded with galvanized wire from |