€.—2

130

week-end. Anything that is left behind is sent to the boiler fires, and a thorough cleansing of the whole building is carried out during the week-end. It is, of course, open to any man to take away any of his clothes and bring others whenever he likes. Buildings. —ln the design of the buildings the chief points to be kept in mind are cleanliness, ventilation, light, and spaciousness. The floor and the inside walls, to a height of 7 ft. or so, should be of some material that can be easily washed clean by a douche from a hose-pipe, and nothing is better* for this purpose than glazed bricks or tiles. Crannies and corners where dirt can accumulate should be avoided as much as possible, and in the upper parts of the walls there should be ample window space for light and ventilation. In the best designs the roof slopes upwards from the side walls to a central raised structure of glass, with ventilators running the whole length of the building, thus ensuring thorough ventilation and more light. For artificial lighting electricity is, of course, the best medium. The finest buildings in Westphalia were those at Khein-Preussen and New Ickern Colliery, not very far from Dortmund. The latter is a new colliery now being laid out on the most modern lines. A handsome building, just completed, providing for 2,500 men, is built mainly of concrete, and cost for the structui'e alone, without fittings, £3,000. The general design of this building is similar to the one at Rhein-Preussen (Fig. 7). The water-pipes and roses are placed in two side aisles, or wings, running upon either side and the full length of the building, each side aisle or wing being separated from the main central portion by a wall with numerous archways. The central portion is devoted to drying and pressing purposes, and contains the pin-stands and the suspenders for hanging the clothes.

Fig. 6.—Metal Box for holding the Loose Chain of the Pulley.

Fig. 7. —Sketch showing General Design of Bathing-hall.

Fig. 8. —Pin-Stand for Suspension Chains.

Rhein-Preussen Colliery. —The length of the building at this colliery is, roughly, 180 ft., whilst the width is about 84 ft., including the aisles, which are each about 12 ft. wide. In these •ide aisles are fixed 144 showers, arranged mostly in sets of eight. To each set of eight showers a foot-rest is provided, about lft. in height and 6 ft. long, to assist the men in washing. This foot-rest is made of wood at Rhein-Preussen; but at Ickern it is made of concrete. In the main building, which has an area of 1,200 square yards, there are twelve pin-stands (Fig. 8), placed parallel to the width of the building, six on each side, each stand occupying a length of 24ft. They each consist of five stout metal posts, 5 ft. high, to which are fastened metal bars about 4 in. wide, one on either side, to hold the pins. There is a lower set of bars and pins, to allow the loose chain to be lapped nround the upper and lower pins rather than lo hang- in folds. The posts also carry projecting brackets, on which are fastened wooden planks, forming a seat on either side. The authors were informed that there was accommodation for 4,000 men, divided over three shifts. This allows for the future development of the colliery. The total number of underground workmen employed at present is 2,400, the greatest number coining out in one shift being 985, and the average daily output of coal was 2,000 tons. The actual time occupied in washing and dressing was about fifteen to twenty minutes'per man, the time under the shower being not more than ten minutes. The building is heated with live steam by steam-radiators to a temperature of about 75° Fahr. A covered way connects the building with the pit-head, so that the men are not exposed to the weather until they have washed and changed their clothes. Adjoining the bathing-hall is a waiting-room. J)riitscher-Kaiser Colliery. —At this colliers the total accommodation provided was for 5,000 men. These comprise 4,300 adult miners, 2")(> youths, 250 surfacemen, and 200 officials. Separate rooms are provided for the four different grades. At present the number employed underground is 2,400, and they are divided into three shifts —namely, 1,100 in the morning-shift, 900 in the afternoon-shift, and 400 in the night-shift. The showers at present provided are as follows : For adult miners, 130; for youths, 6; and for surfacemen, 12: making a total of 148. The arrangement is such that the number of sliowers and of suspenders can be increased to provide for a total of 5,000 men, as the development of the mine progresses. The length of the building for the underground workmen is about 294 ft., the width being about 60 ft., and the showers provided are all contained in one aisle at one side of the building, and arranged in pairs on either side of a pipe running the whole length of the building. To increase the accommodation for drying