The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-04-19
EXTENsIoN OF THE GAS WORKS.

In continuation of our remarks OF Saturday
nm this subject we come next to the complaint
that more room for publication is required
This is, no doub,, true; bat the whole appa'
-,,ns for this branch of the business does no'
row occupy a space exceeding so by ~ feet.
Dopble this, If necessary, and surely we need
no, 60 to Rockets for room. But the super
;n,endeut SAYS he wants more room tor COAL
- hs cannot "store more than one menth's
coal and then leave room Tor COKE storage
lime and other stores, blacksmiths shop and
horse stable
There ia rarely a week in the year, here in
Richmond, when coal cannot be received from
several pits. Pray, cannot contracts be made
TO have it delivered. say every fortnight, or
every month"; Nay, may it not be delivered
every week. IL there is yard room for eoal
for month, and for coke, storage, lime, and
other stores, blacksmith's ship and horse sta
BILE, is there any imperious demand for Sc
cond ward and works at Rockets, or any
where else
Since, then, there is present room tor gene.
rating, purifying and holding 10000 cubic
feet at least per "a hours, with coal room for
months supply, why, we ask, this haste TO
establish second depot at a very great ex-
pense?
The Superintendent is reported to have said
before the Council that the gas from our coal
cannot be well purified by the present process,
twet liine,) and that the dry lime publication
must be introduced. The Superintendent con-
tended that in Boston, where the wet lime
system was pursued, large portion, if not
the whole, of the coal used was camel coal
the gas from which, he says, is much more
easily purified than that from our bituminous
coal. The process of the dry lime publication
throws off very unpleasant odor and it is
commended that this would be less otjec tona-
Bile at Rockets than in the heart of the city
But is it clear that the wet lime process is
less efficient than the dry lime The propo.
sition of MIR. CAMPBELL reviyes the question
between the two which was discussed with
great patience before the Council before the
works were built. MIR. BLAKE, of the Boston
works, who certainly showed himself to be a
man of very considerable science, explained
the wet lime plan of publication in the fullest
manner TO the Council, and he contended from
his long experience in the use of it, that il
was more efficient decidedly than the dry
lime purifcation-while it is free from all OF
the offensiveness and the disagreeable opera.
tons of cleansing that attend the dry lime pu.
rifers, which have to be daily opened by the
laborers in the works and cleaned. While
opened, they evolve very bad odor, offensive
to the neighborhood, and the process is ex-
ceedingIy disagreeable, il not iDj urious, to the
health of the laborers, The wet lime, too, is
the cheapest beyond doubt. But the Council,
we said, had the subject deliberately discussed.
Mr.. VAN CLEvE (who favored the drv lime
system) was appointed Engineer of the
works, and Mr.. BLAKE the consulting Engi-
neer. The Council being much pleased with
Mr.. BLAKE's exposition, but not satisfied up
on that alone to adopt his plan, sent Mr.. VAN
CLEvE to Boston to make full examination
of the works there, and report how they ope-
rated. He reported that while he could see
nothing to object to in the quality of the gas,
which was as good as any he ever saw, Ito use
his own words,l MIR. BLAKE's "whole works
were as neat as lady's cap drawer" There
upon the Council instructed him to adopt the
wet lime purifiers in the Richmond Works.
Now has the experience of their operation de-
ciaed against them ? MIR. VAN CLEvE only
prepared purifying capacity of 1000 cubic
fee, per "a hours, and as long as this quantity
alone passed through the purifiers no better
coal gas was ever burned in any city; but
when the works were compelled to produce
10000 cubic feet in "a hours, the gas was of
course unavoidably impure, and occasioned
complaint. But should this have condemned
the process as wrong? AS well may one ex-
pect fine lime through coarse seive, as that
l2O,OeO cubic feet of gas can be properly pur.
he'd by purifiers calculated for only rs 600 Gu
BIC feet. We cannot see, therefore, why this
plan, recommended and used by one of the
most accomplished Engineers in the Union
iMr. BLAKE should be rejected. 1t has &C.
complished all that it was calculated to &C.
complish-it is the cheapest, and neatest, and
least offensive. The intelligent and ingenious
Superintendent does not, from his practical ex-
P~A'S"SS' hnoW any tllug OF Inc dry lime SyS-
tem-whether it be better or not. Therefore,
IL does seem to US that to reject the plan of so
experienced a man as BLAKE-which has
worked SO well-and to adopt one that is ex.
trenely offensive, and to make its ofensire-
ness an argument for going to Rockettss$is
10 do what we consider injudcious, without
reason. This is not good cause for removing
the costly works just finished, to part of the
city which has Just the same right to objee,
to the nuisance of dry lime purifiers that the
present neighbors !of the works have
But it is said with much emphasis. tina, opr
city is increasing in population SO fast thar w q
must enlarge our gas works in coryeo,ooa-
ing manner. The city is indeed incrsas;na
and will for centuries to come. Rp, M :"
WHAT PERIOD OF TIME and f.,
WHAT AMOUNT OF POPULATION j. !,
expected that THE PEOPLE OF Rrouuo,n .ur
NOW TO BUILD GAS WORKS. The,
Is what we want to know. Are we 10 nlan
no" ior our posterity-and their's--and We,
fnR Eha..T