The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-11-06
Prom the Louisville you,r.I.

| From The Louisville Journal
'1eiSsirc Cost or Writer unsi steam Fewer
Sech have been The irr-over~nt-. Of LAT,
wars IN TIE sieaI', engine anu in the econom,
| ~ i"ei, thst we nc steam gradually taking Tho
p!ace OF water as a motive power The ohiec,
oi INC present article Is to show the present rea.
i've cost Of each. 1t will, however, be borne
III mind that tine cost of tho one is the same
now and viii always be the same as Il was cen.
t,iries ago; yet, while write, even, the cost Of
uic other may, by some new Invention, be ma
tefiAiiy icssened- Power, for use OF large manu-
lEc'ories or extensive works, must b., ceyfgi.
al well as ample; that from water must, there
lore, lie on large ard rapii streams, with prea,
voiuns and f,li In the West We have but very
lew water ialls where manufactures can be pla
ced. The best, perhaps, are at Beaver, Pa, and
al The Muscle Shoals, in Tennessee On the
eastern slope Of the AIleghanies, mos, of tb,
rivers are short and are comparatively dry in
| summer May Of the New England manu-
iieinring corporations have been obliged, al vast
| expense, 10 purchase lands and form reservoirs
sufficiently large TO furnish water in DIV sea-
SOUS. The Eastern mountains and hills are so
steep that wafer rapidly runs from them to the
sea, rnu Ia the spring, when the snow Is melting
anu The Ice hrrakiug up, should heavy rains fall,
i ,hc force OF the food carries away every oh.
struciion. To avoid this danger, the dams and
! ocSs must be Of great strength, and necessari.
ly, costly; while tns miis, IL possible are placed
of the river aud take their water by canals. As
| The falls are always on rocky formations and
generally, AT she gorges ei biis, ihis0a nslsee and
excavation of sites for buildings and the making
OF roads TO The spot IS attended with great ex-
P-nse. Where the fills ave near tii.-water The
work of the mills has often TO be suspended
! Lowell, perhaps, is more exempt from this Gil.
cni-y iian. Dover, New Markei, Salmon Falls.
snd many other manufacturing sites in New
( England; yet Mr.. Mcs, in his history Of Low
/ ell, rays: eighteen Of tho tweuty-seyen cot.
I ton uilis In ,iie ciiy siiurted on the river
side, aud, QUO; or rs ice Ia each year. are Obliged
to suspend part OF their works sometimes for
days together. VA consequence Of back water. ~
| Occasionally the ice carries the dam away. or
breaks the water-whcol. IN such Cases, The pay
o. the apesa,.'es goes on, OF higher price is
put Oh The work Of The remaining DAYS. Toes
Innate the loss, per diem, resulting 10 a compa-
ny from suspension Of it's works, give some of
the statistics OF the Meuimack mill. This mill
has a capital Of 81, Gl0 .04i, and employs 1877
operatives, al u cost Of say $2i 900 per annum
interest ON the capital si21, 0u0-niakInc $500
OOp per annum; or nearly 81 coo per diem " ould
| be tie loss by the suspension OF a single day.
asij, from the Inconvenience. Again, the wa
ter-wherls must not be exposed 20 the frost but
enclosed IN masonry ana often in excavations
! in tiIu solid rock. ! am ne; aware that anv wa
teT.pswcr IN New England is cheaper than that
| at Lowell Ihis now costs IS per spindle 1t
first the Locks AMI Canals Company relied for
It's profits mainly on the advanced value of Ats
lots and the profits on building mills and ma
chincTy for other corporations, and therefore
put the price of the power al 81 per spindle
probably but iiIte ever actual cost; the purchase
CT being ri the expense u taxing the water from
the canal 10 and away from tie mill and This
ASS' II. so''iH .,-....hccs, been very expansive.
| ,aTiy ell these water falls arc at consije-a-
| Die distances from The highest po.nt of naviga-
ton, or tnc see; aad the e.tinlaie l. within the
| truth when give twenty-six miles (the cis-
lance from Lowell to Boston, as the average
distance of the New England factory from the
! point where the cotton is landed and tho demo,
Of its gooas-5oih Of which are usually trans
ported on rahroaGs. The freight from Boston
10 Lowell Was, a al presume now is g. per ton.
| 4 cotton mill Of ten thousand spindles will turn
out two tons OF goods : dev--say SIX hundred
toss per ahHun; 100 pounds OF cotton will
Average 60 pounds OF cloth; SIS tons Of cotton
are therefore required by the mill; ESQ tons
cost, aside from drayage, "a considerable i;em,l
-, J32 In transportation between the mills ana
where the good are sold. Aside from the extra
cost Of water-power. this mill would reauiro a
NAI4AAt VI Aot over = - ifptu-lElAaps fD.DIl
would To sufficient. This Item then is or I,
per cent. on the capital invested. Mr.. Mont
sOncry, in his work published in 1910, on the
comparative Cos, Of manufacturing in England
gni America, says:
Tho attention Of manufacturers in New En-
gland has bren for sUIne time directed 60 the al
! vantaEes OF steam as a means OF propeiiing ma
chincry, Ire 0dvgHtGgss Of good location be-
Tag Considered cqagi T. lie oTirG czseRse Q;
! sicsm posrcr."
AuO.her Important item of expense avoided,
| by steam factory, is tins; Of hesgiag the mill.
AIR. Montgomery gives the average cost Of mi.
al s 10. 20 per suHum i0T mi., Of s1y 4GUO
| spiadi-s. S.X HUNDRED cC!lars Per annUm may
then be put DOWN IS cost Of heating a mill Of
10000 Spintles. Ana il is not only Necessary
that the atmosphere in the mill should be at the.
proper degree Of temperature bat Of the prop
or Gsiupn-sS, so tina; the threads shall run
saoo hy. Boih purposes require a large part
CT the fuel and inac diuery used in u steam
LIjll.
Tin, foregoing are Pot all. but are the most
important difficulties attending the use Of wa
Ter power for cotton ana wooiicn factories.
Most Of the difficulties are found wherever this
power il uppica; srj, is general rule among
engineers, al any position. where coal can be
HAD al ten cents IA bd>hrl, steam is cheap as
theory. The facts seem Ia 20 beyond this; for
10 New England, where wairr power is 50 album
can't, the largest cotton f-cIo!ies, now being
erected, sfe 10 have steam as a motive lower; CT
This CT traeter the Neumkeug mill al Salem,
end that at Portsmouth; I!go hrSt Of 4),C00 and
the lat Of 3J.JGo spiules, and these are the
largest in the world. a. Fall River, Bristol and
Newport steam f~cicTirs aTr in successful opera
lion. The fine gOoiS Of the Bartlett steam
mills ut \ ewbarypo'i. have vile reputation.
Ihe recrnl erection OF tina James Mil. al the
sane place, shows tho success Of The former;
and within the last year the escape s;eaai of u
new mill at Lowell l. drow ming the noise Of
he fails OF The Mcrrimack. Let 1t be remem-
bered that coal ia New England costs, an
average, twenty three cents per bGshel.
As before stated, the water pcwer at Lowell
now costs SIS arpindle; e5aO01 Of capital is to
be invested in power TO run a mill Of 10000
spinGiss.
The interest On this, per annum, is------ $4,000
Now add the cost Of healing the MILL 600
And the cost Of trans oTialion, 1872
And you have one side of the equation
as against steam, ----------------------- S6,l32
cannot fix with precise accuracy the steam
power and fuel required for "a mill Of 10000
spindles. The only authority befSre me gives
this estimate for ore OF ,IO0 siincles, with
the necessary machinery for preparing the cot
ton and manufacturing The cloth: A high pres
sure engine of 10 horse power-lsngth Of stroke
I feet, diameter of cylinder I foot--rnakes 40
single OF 20 double strokes per minute; these or
four round boilers, - feet long by 90 feet in
diameter, requiring 900 gallons Of water, ard
consu ming "a chaldrons IS bushels) of biiu-
minous coal per day-pressure OF steam sixty
eight pounds to the square inch. To 90 double
The wors docs not, as | an told, require double
the power and nothing like double the fuel.