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and it may be that the few hundred tons of ore left may be just the ore. required to bring the cargo to grade. Thus it happens oftentimes that a 5,000-ton and a 10,000-ton boat may neither of them be able to load al- though there may be much more than their capacity of ore in the deck, sim- ply because just the right combina- tion of blocks cannot be obtained. For the Same reason the larger boat may be. able to, load where the smaller one cannot. Tt also happens that one boat may take precedence for this reason of. another arriving ahead of it, or in order to give each boat its turn the boat's orders may have to be changed from one group to the other. tis How endless the opportunities are for delaying the boats a little and for shipping a cargo a little "off grade" may be easily appreciated. For in- stance a bad order car thrown out or the difference between the estimated weight and the actual weight as deter- mined. at- Proctor may = put into a cargo more or less ore of a certain grade than it should have. without there being any time to prevent it, the distance from Proctor to the docks being but little more than five miles. Adding to the problem has come the necessity for a more thorough mixing of the ore in the boats the present System accomplishing more of a mathematical mixture than a-° real physical mixture. It has been asked that instead of just dumping the ore into the boats as it comes, it "be strewn layer by layer, alternating the MCKINNON IRON WORKS, FACING ON. BRIDGE STREET, THE Marine REVIEW different grades of ore, so that instead of the possibility of having all the high silica ore in one part of the hold and all of the low in another, an even distribution may be obtained. Plans are now on foot to bring this about and it means either taking more room in the dock for each with more shifting or the building of immense switching .yards at Proctor where a train can be made up two or three cars at a time doing all the mixing" before the ore gets to the dock. In either case the railroad has a tre- mendous problem on its hands and it is handling it in splendid fashion. McKINNON IRON WORKS. "One of the most important institu- tions. at 'Ashtabula Harbor is the Mc- HON. W. S. MCKINNON. Kinnon Iron Works which has grown from the smallest of plants. The com- plete plant now includes a commo- dious. office and supply 'building, a blacksmith shop, a machine shop, an oil house and a building to store pipe and. fittings in. The machine shop is 502x420 ft.; the ofice, 19 x75; the blacksmith shop, 50 x 75; the stock room, 20 x 30; the boiler room, 20 x 45; the oil house, 25 x 80, and the pipe house, 30 x 60: All but one of the structures is brick. The machine shop is constructed on modern lines, with good sanitation and plenty of light and ventilation. A 10- ton traveling crane runs through its entire length to the dock on the edge © of the river, where a crane has been erected to hoist heavy work aboard- ship. The machinery consists of lathes from 20 inches up to 60 inches, 1 open 4 33 side planer, one 24 x 72 inch planer, 2 shapers, 1 milling machine, one:42 inch radial drill, drill presses from 20 to 38 inches, 1 six-inch pipe machine; a bolt and pipe cutter and other indispensa- ble machines. : The blacksmith shop is a model building with plenty of room for, big jobs and four forges with which to do them. It is well lighted and faces on the railroad which runs along Colum- -- bus street. In addition to the four forges, there are two forges used for flanging, an 800-pound steam hammer, one set of 10-inch power rolls, a punch and shears and two five-ton cranes. The oil house is of concrete con- struction in the interior, with a view to making it absolutely fire-proof. It is _ located at the southwest corner of the plant, close by the river. The ma- chine shop and the office building are also equipped with' a concrete floor. The general plan of construction for all the buildings is brick and steel frame work. 4 A disastrous fire visited the plant August 26, 1905, and completely de- stroyed it, but six months later a bet- ter one was in its place. It is the boast of the proprietors of the McKinnon Iron Works that there is no job, except putting a boat in dry dock which can not be done by them. A blacksmith shop was the' starter for the iron works. There was. only one lathe and drill press in it, with a few other tools. Young McKinnon did all his own work with the assistance of a blacksmith and helper. Mr. McKin- non's career is another example of what can be done by sticking to a HERBERT A. MCKINNON,