Washington sentinel., 1854-01-28
sEELY,s PATENT L1ME-K1Lx.

Having heard a great deal Of the lime-kiln
patented by Mr.. Samuel J. Seely we took oc-
casion few days since to pay visit to kiln,
erected upon his patent, situated on the corner
of Virginia avenue and Canal street, in this
city.
We discovered it to be q monumental look
ing structure, about fifty feet in height built of
blue rock.
The shaft is hollow, mounted on an arch,
under which the process Of taking the lime
from the kiln and packing it in barrels is
carried on. The operations Of the kiln are
simple and beautiful, embracing everything
necessary for speedy and economical manu-
facture of lime. The lime is burnt from heat
| strengthened by blower similar to that used
in furnaces for the smelling Of iron ore. The
heat is derived from FIVE furnaces, in which
either coal or wood may be used as fuel The
blower is driven by an engine, which en-
| gine also furnishes the power to elevate
the buckets attached to an endless chain
which carries up the rock with which to charge
the kiln. No additional fuel is required to
work the engine-the waterwhich generates the
steam to drive it being heated by one of the
furnaces that supplies a portion Of the heat to
calcine the lime rock. The manner in which
the lime is removed from the kiln is very
simple. A trap-door is situated in the arch,
through which, in an instant, ten barrels of
lime can be drawn from the kiln without inter
| nth a brrn,nr r
This amount of ten barrels can be drawn
every hour. Thus it viii be seen, a continual
working ofthe kiln can be kept up-the charg-
ing of it can go on, the fires can be kept burn.
ing, and the drawing off of the lime carried on,
all at the same time, without once stopping
any of the operations of the kiln. Under the
old system, it was necessary to stop the fire,
wait for the lime to cool, have it taken entirely
out, and fill the kiln again with rock, before
another particle of lime could be burnt.
| What contrast there is between the facili.
lities afforded by Seely's patent and the kilns
! at this time generally in use throughout the
country A great advantage afforded by this
patent is, that coal as fuel can be used with
out impairing the value of the lime In the
old kilns it is necessary to mix the coal with
| the rock, by which means the ashes of the coal
adhere to the lime, and totally unfit it for use
in plastering. In Seelys kiln, the fuel, whether
coal or wood, is kept entirely distinct from the
lime, and the ashes from it pass below through
an aperture without once coming in contact
with the lime
| A most powerful heat is thrown upon the
lime rock by the use Of the blower-that is to
say. much greater heat is derived from the
same amount Of fuel by its use than otherwise
would be obtained. Any one who ever saw
the working Of an iron furnace can appreciate
this suggestion. Its truth is demonstrated by
the practical workings Of this kiln. Five cords
Of wood will burn two hundred barrels of lime
which is less than the amount that the kiln is
capable of burning every twenty-four hours.
4 During sixty days, allowing nothing for the
stoppages Of the kiln, break-downs, &C., Incl.
dent to work of this kind for that period Of
time, six thousand barrels Of lime have been
burnt with a consumption of three hundred
and fifty cords Of wood.
| A great desideratum gained by this inven.
ton is, that there Is no necessity for fixing the
locality of the kiln at the back of an embank-
ment, as, the charging Of the kiln being done
by steam.power, it makes no difference how
high its summit is above the surface of the
ground.
The blower can also be used as cooler, to
cool at once the whole quantity of lime that is