Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1849-01-24
For the Palladium.
he Careful with your Ashes.

For the Palladium.
Re CaSeFal willis yOnr Ashes.
NEssas EDrross:-On the night Of the 1911,
inst, the frame dwelling Of Mr.. Job Borton
caught FIRE from barrel Of ashes placed agains,
IL. Situated the house is, in a square contain
ing many frame buildings, it is impossible to
Soy how alarming the connagrution might have
been, had il not been for timely warning. As
% many accidents Of this nature occur from
tims 10 time in our cities, an insertion in the
columns Of your paper, Of thu result Of some
sspsrimen ts tried upon COLD ashes would perhaps
prove useful and interesting to your readers
The article from which the blowing is extract
ID may 10 found in Siliman's Journal, Vol -,
No. !, 1912, Page 5000. The fact Of its adj
mission into the columns OF such popular SCI
entikc work, and the results Of tho experme nts
never hsving been disputed, are strong proofs OF
ihsir tsuth. The author says:
81 have recently devoted some time Ia q fur
thss examination into the properties OF wood
ashes, ssd especially into that property by which
fsce deeply into the interior Of the largest
-. consider the subject Of sufficient impor-
ssDee q claim The attention Of the general as
we'll - the scientific reader; for cannot forbear
shipking. that 1t least some Of tho myste.i lou.
connsRFations which repeatedly occu rring
ere chasgssbls to this hitherto unsupported cause.
lgsifibiily Of Wood Ashes. ExrkRIxENr L.
A ptnt Of sifted ashes was made into conicaI
hesp lesr inches high, upon a folded newspaper,
and . coal lighted 1t ono corner only, was laid
upon The summit and very slightly covered. In
osvontoen minutes the coal was examined and
Iound 20 b. wholly ignted. 1t was again
cred, and in eleven minutes afterward, that part
Of the paper on which the sshes rested became
Vuits warm, and also the board beneath H. On
siidisg shs PsPer nearly off the board. and gent
" b sizing il eonvexIy upwards, 1 succeeded in
predicting . assure, extending from the apex Of
the eone downward to . considerable depth. BY
ahis means was enabled to tho interior Of
my din'inutivs vslesnc. and 10 discover that the
sshss within were red hot, If not incandescent. as
far down - the issure extended. After this
peep, closed up the crater by sliding the paper
back upon the board. and waited hour from
ration Of this period, the coal was not wholly
consumed, and the ashes were still quite warm.
TIE cs.i used in the foregoing instance was Of
ssgar-tses wood, and u the time il was placed
tree and the other Of beech, were thoroughly g-
sitsd and laid upon . board. In two minutes
the "fiss went out" Of both these Goals.
ExPEa,xENr 2nd.--A wooden pill-box Of the
largest sizc filled it'll sftcd ashes, and
OAK coal weighing seven grains barely bu.
sisd in them. In thirty five minutes the box
was very warm all over; and at this time sur
rounded il with cold ashes. In twenty minutes
more, the ashes within and Immediately around
the boz were uncomfortabiy hot.
Ex1xnIAENr 3rc.-1 built a cone Of quart Of
pale ashes. and deposited eight or ten dead Goals
oomo distance apart, near the base and remote
from tho surface; NJ tho apex buried live coal
% before. In three quarters Of hour, stiff pa
per or splinter Of wood thrust into the centre Of
ihs heap took FIRE; and on dcmoIisnng the pile,
found that the heat had descended to the Goals
below, end ignited them; indeed they par
TALLY consumed, and the whole interior Of the
bose Of the conc was extremely hot.
ExPxainrNr 4ih.-A wooden box ten inches
deep and eleven inches square. was filled with
unsiftsd ashes cold exposure Of several
weeks in winter could make them. A pint Of
hot ashes thrown upon the middle OF tho
surface and left uncovered. In eight hours all
the central portion Of the ashes was hot enough
70 FIRE wood thrust into il, and two sides Of the
hex were iucalescent. In twenty three hours,
the bottom Of the box was quite warm, the top
Of tho ashes cool, and the sides Of the box re-
becoming cool. A stick plunged to the bottom
Of tho ashes, was drawn out ignitcd or burnt at
the end, but not even charred above il. In thir-
~ hours the bottom Of the box vas almost insup-
portably hot; and the upper half of the ashes
retained but little heat. In thirty-six hours. the
temperature Of the ashes being much reduced,
emptied the box, and found the bottom Of it on
the inside near the middle converted to coal, one
Of the sides considerably charred, and another
Drowned by heat Goals were found in differe mt
parts Of the ashes, but believe they were confin-
I'd to those portions ,hro' which the heat did not
travel.
Tho ashes used in the foregoing and tho subse-
quent experiments, were derived from the mixed
combustion Of hickory. beech, sugar-tee, oak,
and few other kinds Of wood; and the sieve
employed consisted Of twenty four by thirty two
intersticss to the square inch
For further information, would refer the rea-
der to the able and lucid article alluded to, in
which some Of the properties Of wood ashes are
examined. A.
A LxrTER FROM Ma. ExEKIEL Below OF JAYLEN
TO rnE Hon. JosErH +. BUCKINGHAM, EDITOR 4
or THE BosroN CouaiEa, ENCLOSING A POEM or 1
HIs OCN, Ma. HOSEA BIGLow.