Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1853-02-10
6J-We copy the following interesting

ANcWs ~ Icidtcs 10 TIE ods WOINS WhiNh
have recently bees put ia operation
there. These have been constructed by
the same en,erprising gentlemen who
nre about erecting similar works in this
plncs:-
! GAS: NBAT ir is--How IT 10 MADE
AND the Gas " okks-Sin"e our city
has been iighted by Gas, We have heard
many inquiries III regard 10 the process
OF manufacturing gas, the mahntr OF
supplying il 10 customers, aud various
other matters III relation 10 the nianulac-
iure and consumption ol II. We have,
therefore, thought that "A sh.ri descrip-
ton ol lhese tGlnxs nigh, be interesting
to our readers, and herewith present
them w,th tue result oi our inquiries
WHAT IA Is: Gas ~ the volatile elas-
tic flul"s evolved from The Ordinary bi-
, luminous coal by aisilllatlon. These
fluids are compound OF carbon, h)-
drog, II, accompanied by large quanli-
ties oi carb Dnic oxide, carbonic acld, and
other impure gasses.
lrs lNvEnrloH: The application Of
coal gas 10 The PURPOSES vi illumination
! isn very modern invention. The hon
or OF the invrntIon belongs 10 Mr. VIM.
Murdoch. n reSld, nt Oi ncdwilh, Corn
wal, ia England who first made this
sppllca ion OF gas in 1892. The first
extensive establishment lighted by gas
was the machine shop and engine nan-
ulactory OF the celebrated Watt & Boul-
ton, near BirminghanI, Eng. in l79S.-
Now all the cities anu large towns IN
! England and The United States arc IL
Illuminated by thus agent aud II has been
found the cheapest OF all articles iur
supplying hight
How ir isMADE In all extensive and
well conducted establishments, the pro-
cess oi manufacture Ol gas ID similar
and uniform IN The various stages we
rliall here continc ourselves 10 Il dee
crpiIun ol The mode OF munuldcturc
pursued in The Gas Works IA thus
city.
The gas works consist OF The Rclori
HoGsc Coai House Coke House, Lime
iiuu.e. puri iy ing House, Metre House,
OiIicc, tlung Snol, aud the he essary
apparatus W. shall describe each as
We come To them.
ihe Rtort House aai the Retoris-
The manufacture OF The Gas coulnen-
ces IN the Rotor, House. THIS is Il
b lldlng "a lcel long by 81 lcel wide,
n al 2S ct high, 10 the caves, contain.
ing the iurnaces-In which The iriorts
are placed Tor the distinctive dislilntion
Oi tue coal: there are lS rciorts, or u
benches, placed three IN each bench
over the hrc, Tor the purpose oI heating
Ihrm 10 red heat preparatory TO the
carbonlzng the coal. On ,he opposite
sldc there are Elk extra lurnactr with
arches iurucd red 'ylo recie,e six nrurl.
e. more wlien the increased demand Tor
! uas may require their use. These
benches are archcd recesscs buIli oT
! brick. eight or ten ieei high, seven or
eight ieet wide, aud as many deep
These rccesses are built 50 az to form
| ovens or furnaces IN which tie fuel Is
uurnt oa Crates neal the hot,ou. The
rctorrs are large obiong iron vessels
about 7 feet long, Z feet wide. ana Is
incncs high. The bottom Is fiat and
the top ndng-sumcihing III this
shape. = - hey are placed horiZontally
over the fire, 20 that The heat may play
around them aud make them intensely
no. The outer end- OF the retorts have
zach An ron floor accurately ftled, by
means OF which they are charged with
coal aud the coke drawn OIL. Zach re-
/ tort will contain from 100 to $50 lbs. OF
= coal, winch remains Ia Tor tour hours,
when The charge Is drawn.
The Hydraulic Nain.-The empty
rrtorts are brought to- red heat-ihe
/ charge OF coal introduced. the cover or
uovr screwed Oh the end and made air
II tisht by crmrnt Oi clay aud lime, and
II the nIanuiac ure OF gas conmehces.-
/ From each retort the gaseous and va
porlzabie matter OF the coal ascends by
meuns OF pipe into the Hydra thc Nam
this Is IA large pipe Is inches III diam
| e,rr. placed some three feet above the
furnace, aud running parallel with tie
| front Of the furnace nearly It's whole
/ ,eu,th in the "Muin )" the separate OF
\ the gas from It's impurities commences,
1 too, and ammonlacal liquor being car
II ried from the "main' TO The Tar wen,
/ by means OF pipe Tor That purpose
| while ano her pipe carries the gas l"to
Il the condensers, there drro-lllng The re-
! maIud.r of IN. coal tar and ammonia
The specific gravny oi the gas being
II lighter than that oft tar aud ammonia,
II masses on TO the WASHERS. The W ath-
| ers" consist oi two large cylIndrlcai ba-
sins OF cast IRON some five leel IN diam
,ter aud two feet IN depth, with an alr
tiyht lid. Apout six inches leIow me
| surface on the inside, il plate con-
| tanning Il number oi small pipes through
which the gas passes INTO the water III
the washer beneath Below the plate
! Il o washer is nearly filled With water.
through which the gas Is obliged 10
| pass before finding an outlet, by wllch
means 1t is thoroughly washed. The
water in the washer 10 kept fresh hy
passing constant stream thro II ai'er
passing through the water tie gas c.
capes, by means nfa large pipe opening
on tn, bottom OF the inside plate, near
the surface of the water, into the "cen-
tire valve" which is Il few ieet distant
in the same room-.this Is u c> inner
some four feet high and two aud ball
II. in diameter containing SIX pipes
Through one Of thcse pipes the gas
comes from the washcrs--ivo are out
let pipes TO carry the gas to the purify :
crs two are inlet pipes, to orlng u
from the purifiers hack again aud one
is to carry the gas after Il is purified,
! from the centre valve TO the station me-
tire, ~ another room. The partitions in
the centre valve are so fixed that by
/ turning them partly round common