Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1871-1872, 1872-02-21

WAR We propose to talk abou. is the
Douglas Pump Estabishment, at Middle
town, Conn.,, operated by W. 4 B. Douglas,
with . big branch house at Ohicaso.
We ask the reader to imagine himself in
q building, the floor area not less thsn six
teen thousand square feet, the buildings
covering this surface forming almost .
cross, at least three arms, and making q
vista that presents q singular sigh, to the
unini.iated when the time for "a blast" ar
rives. This is the foundry, the largest 10
the state. At each melting four tons Of
iron are liqui6ed aud poured into moulds
made ready by sixty workmen. The Gu
polA for the melting, as the blower for the
air blast that aids in it, are of the Mcken-
zie patent, much desired and always sp-
proved BY the vsy, the castings made ere
very clean, needing but little finish, that
little being given by what is called their
mills" in common mechanical parlance
"tumblers," the castings being rotated IN
tumbling barrels with scraps Of iron. This
10 merely to cleanse them from the sand
adheriug to them from the mouds.
The company have no less than eight
hundred varieties Of patterns differing in
sizes and styles. The cost Of these pat
terms is represented by hundreds of thou
sands of dollars. and they could not be du-
plicatsd If destroyed. To guard against
such an event as Chicago FIRE, the firm
has constructed Q thoroughly 6re-proof safe,
room Is feet square, in which duplicates
of the parts of their pumps are kept. All
OF these are costly and some Of them really
elegant.
The brass department is worthy Of notice
N it there are no less than eigh. furnaces
which mslt daily about q ton Of Lake su-
psrior copper aud q proper proportion of
zinc. The composition used BY the com
pauy is Of the very best, the proportions be-
ing especially adapted to secure the best de-
fsuse against the oxidation and disintegra-
tion BY water imprsgnAted with calcareous
or ferruginous substances.
Pumps are made Of brass or . compost.
tion intended to resist this corroSion, and
others ara composed Of iron, with brass inner
barrels. This csutionAry measure, however
does notexhAust the means Of the company
Pure copper pumps and brass cylinders are
supplemented BY porcelain lined, aid ever
glass pumps in which the e1sctive house
holder may see just what :the valve of the
pump brings up. OF course these glass
pumps are iudestruciible BY corroGion, AND
are defended by on open work casing OI
metal from accident. They are very ele
CANT in form as we'll: as attractive in ma
tsrAl.
As the Douglas company is the Oldest il
the country, it is TO be presumed ii produces
every variety of pumps, and so it does
From the large factory or mine pump TO th'
delicate air pump of the chemist, al stylei
may be- found at this establishment Th,
mining and factory pumps Of eight incl
caliber, are offset by the delicate article b,
which the chemical experimenter assists hi
labors. Household pumps in variety, o
copper, brass, iron, porcelain lined, and o
glass; farm pumps TO be worked by hand
or by wind; garden engines, apparatus 70
washing windows and house walls, smsl
FIRE engines, beer and counter pumps, of o.
styles, horizontal, vertical, and inclined; th
S'suusrd patent rotary pumps mostly in
tended for the transfer Of liquors and scid
IN distillsries and warehouses, an'
number of other styles, escl
eomprehendiug several sizes. Anon
them all there is no one more attrscte
from its simplicity and usefulness than
combined portable tank and forcing pun
mounted on two wheels which carries
metallic tank holding about twenty gallon
Of water and pump to which q hexibl
hose can be attached that will throw
stream Of water not less than fifty feet.
Chicago had been generally furnished wit
these convenient "hand engines" the lAl
Ere could no, possibly have assumed sue
disastrous proportions and II is noticeab
ths, since the Ere the orders for these col
vsnient reprsssors of incipisnt 6res hay
largely increased al the Douglas works.
The reader 10 referred TO the advertis
ment in to days issue.