On motion of Mr. WEEKS, it was

Voted, that the Board of Government be authorized to lay an assessment on the members of the Association, not to exceed ten dollars each, to defray the expenses of the ensuing year.

The PRESIDENT. The material provided for this meeting. has now become exhausted; therefore, any topic discussed at previous meetings is now in order, and if any member wishes to say a word on any subject he will now have an opportunity. I think Mr. GOODALE would like to make a few remarks.

Mr. A. M. GOODALE. I had supposed that my work on testing oil, so far as this Association was concerned, was finished at the October meeting, but certain things have arisen since that time, which I think may be of interest to you.

What I have given at the last two meetings was simply the tests of oils sold by the different dealers. Some of the oils tested were reported in both tests, and it was a chance remark by one of the dealers in regard to his own oil that led to further work on my part. The remark was this: "Our second oil shows very much better results than the first oil, but from an oil manufacturer's stand-point it was an inferior oil." Now, the kind of oil we want is an oil that will run the greatest number of spindles to the horse-power, not the best oil from the manufacturer's stand-point; and it occurred to me that possibly manufacturers or dealers were unable to furnish an oil that would run a large number of spindles, simply because it would not occur to them, from the inferiority of the product, judging from their stand-point, that it would do so.

I reasoned that the lighter and more fluid an oil was, the more spindles it would run in confined bolsters; and following out this line of reasoning, my first test was on plain, ordinary Charles River water, on the same frame that I had used for testing in April and October, and this water gave four more spindles to the horse-power than the best oil on either of the tables. There were some slight drawbacks, such as rusting,

but the line of reasoning that I was working on seemed to be sustained.

Now, the nearest approach to water in the oil line was kerosene; and my second test was on a high-grade kerosene, practically a 300 burning oil, from which the wax had been pressed, and with this oil I obtained in the same frame 114 spindles to the horse-power, or 20 spindles more than the best oil tested in October. The flash and fire test on this oil would have been high enough to satisfy the insurance companies, had the percentage of volatile matter in the oil been below 5 per cent. Unfortunately, it showed between 7 and 37 per cent. This rendered it an oil impossible to use. I had this oil returned to the makers from whom I bought it (Seccomb, Kehew & Sons), and asked them to pass warm air through it, at a temperature of 120°, in order to rid the oil of its volatile matter. This is now being done, but unfortunately I commenced this series of experiments too late in order to get the test on this oil, after the warm air had passed through it, ready for this meeting. Seccomb, Kehew & Co., however, furnished me with an oil very similar to this 300 burning oil, the only difference being that it was mixed with 10 per cent. of lowflash spindle oil. This oil I have had tested at the Institute of Technology for flash and per cent. of volatile matter, the flash being 280 and the percentage being 3.41. The percentage of volatile matter being under 5 per cent. and the flash point as near to 300 degrees as it is, this oil will be accepted by the insurance companies. With its use you are perfectly safe as regards danger from fire, and you can run under the same conditions at least 15 spindles to the horsepower more than you can with the best oil tested in the October table.

I have also commenced a series of tests on some high-gravity oils furnished by Borne, Scrymser Co. of New York, with almost equally good results. They enter very heartily into my plans for getting a light fluid oil with as little viscosity as possible.

Mr. WOODBURY. It seems to me that the problem of lubrication goes a little farther than the number of spindles that can be driven per horse-power. There are three elements in lubrication: the cost of wear and tear of machinery, the cost of power, and the cost of the lubricant. Now, it is possible, I believe, by using very thin oil, to impose a great deal larger amount of wear upon the frictional surfaces. I say that without allusion to any possible danger of heating, because I do not believe it necessarily exists, as, if water were used as a lubricant and a sufficient supply provided, there would be no danger of a hot bearing, but there would be very rapid wear of the machinery. In connection with the mixing of oils, I would remind those who propose to try to mix oils for themselves, that, if an animal oil is mixed with a mineral oil, there is a chance that the cohesion between the two will not be good, unless done at a temperature of 100°; because when oils are mixed at ordinary temperatures they will afterwards separate one from the other, the heavier one going to the bottom of the tank. I remember the case of a mill using, a few years ago, a mixture of ten per cent. of neat's foot oil to ninety per cent. paraffine, and it was found that the neat's foot oil had settled at the bottom, and they were using a mixture which contained over ninety per cent. of neat's foot oil. The mixture of two petroleum oils takes place much more readily than the mixture of animal and paraffine oils.

Mr. GOODALE. If the difference between the temperature of the rail of the spinning frame and the temperature of the room is very slight, does this not indicate that the use of a light fluid oil causes but little friction? Experiments made by me so far with this light fluid oil have shown less difference between the rail temperature and the room temperature than has been the case with any of the ordinary spindle oils heretofore tested.

Mr. WOODBURY.

As a general proposition, the tempera

ture of a bearing represents a measure of the power absorbed in friction, but it does not necessarily indicate the relative value of a lubricant. With a heavier oil that friction may be used in pulling the particles of the thick film of oil over each other and also along the metal surfaces of the journal, for which it has great adhesion; and, with a light oil, that heat may be caused by the friction of the metal surfaces of the bearing chafing against each other.

On the other hand, the film of water or of a thin lubricant may be so thin that the surfaces of the journal may come in sufficient contact to be worn away by the collision of projecting particles of metal; and, while the power required to do this may be less than in the former instance, yet the lubricant may not serve its full purpose in protecting the surfaces against

wear.

Lard oil furnishes the best example of an oil having a strong adhesion to metals, even when heated, and it is this property which fits it for use on iron-cutting tools.

The warmth of bearing may be due to the wear of the metal against the metal, or of the agitation of a very thick oil among its own particles.

The PRESIDENT. The Secretary has an amendment to one of the articles of our constitution to present for your consideration.

The SECRETARY. At one of the meetings of the Board of Government this matter was discussed, and a change proposed in relation to the election of officers, and their tenure of office. The By-laws provide that any amendment must be proposed at one meeting and acted upon at the next; and I was requested to present this, at this time:

It is proposed to amend ARTICLE II. to read as follows: —

ARTICLE II. There shall be a meeting of the members of the Association, annually, on the last Wednesday of April; or at such other time,