Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1853-12-30
The Manufactures of Burlington

Tho last addition to the number Of the
establishments Of Burlington
is il, now line for Vermont. And though
the article made b. not go substantial as some
others, and for home consumption entirely,
iis rratiun to the comfort of our homes and
tAc general attractiyencss of our village is
sue, that it deserves a prominent mention.
Fresh air, pur" water, and the free light of
Heaven arc among the luxurirs as we'll a.
nccr..arirs of lif. the world over, and. cspc-
rially in our northern climc-whcre for half
the year the night cncroaches so largely upon
tho day-a good, cheap and convenient means
Of surplyin. artificial light may be put in the
same class.
The manufacture alluded to il not exactly
that of hgAt, hut Of Gas.
The active agents in establishing the Bur
lin-ton Gas works were the gentlemen who
compose the firm Of DrScAS, CARTWRIGHT
Co., o. Philadelphia, Pa. These gentlemen
u I ,nzed some months ago, the Burlington
Ga, light Company, with capital stock OF
$4,000, took themselves, or secured, all the
stock, a very small portion Of which is held
here, bought land on the corner Of Bank and
Water Streets, erected the necessary struc-
lures, have laid between three and four miles
Of cast iron pipe through our streets and are
now manufacturing gas for their customers.
iue Whole has been done since May last,
uricr the surrrintrndauce Of II. G.. LtpLow,
Esq, one Of the iirn ABOVE mention. H., and
the very capable and gentlemanly manager OF
their operations in this place.
The manufacture Of gas for light is com
parativcly simple affair. Btuminous coal is
placed in east iron rctorts or tight chambers
over furnaces, 10y which the rctorts are heated
to cherry red heat, at which point they are
kept for four hours The atmosphere being
excluded the coal cannot take fire, but is de-
composed and the gas is given off in quantity.
From the top of the rctorts pipes lead to
the =" hydraulic main, large iron pipe,
half filled with water, and commonly placed
over the rctorts. The pipes from the rctorts
! dip under the surface of the water, which
allows the gas as it is given off from the
coal to rise freely through it, but acts like a
valve and prevents its return when the lids are
taken from the rctortS.
! The gas us it comes Of is mixture Of Car
/ burotted hydrogen, Sulphurcttcd Hydrogen,
Ammoniacal gas and tarry Napor, which last
( three, if left to he burned with the other,
would cause the light to be very blue and
dim, and its use extremely unpleasant from
u dIslgreabe smell, as we'll AS INJURIOUS to
health, They must consequently be separated
which is done as follows
} From the hydraulic main the gas passes to
the ,adsh,r, a receptacle or chamber, where 1t
comes in contact with tho spray from jet OF
water thrown with violence against plate in
the centre OF the washer. Here it is both
cooled and separated from the ammonia which
Is absorbed and carried cd by the water, for
which il has Il great affinity From thence it
passes through the condenserS, which are
simply layers of plain iron pipe laid under
ground for the sake of keeping them COOL
In these pipes the tarry vaPors are condensed
into coal tar which collects in the bottom of
the pipes and passes off into tar we'll
Thence the gas goes into the purifier, which
is Il circular iron box containing layers iron
haskats full of powdered quicklime. The lime
abs r5ee the 2ulrhurottol IL drS'n, anil the