Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1872-01-06

and the FARMERS ADVOCATE LOT
$500. This places all subscribers
on the same basis.
GTWe take pleasure in calling
attention to the card of Jones, Tapp
& Co., of Louisville, in this issue.
This is one of the largest Clothing
establishments in the West, and
they manufacture largely. Mr..
Sam. Mcdonald, "a member of the
firm, and one of the cleverest and
most reliable gentlemen to be found
anywhere, is now out calling on his
old friends, aud we recommend him
and his house to all.
RTThe Stockholders of the Mem
phis and Knoxville Air Line Rail-
road met at Bolivar on the LIST, inst,
and organized with a subscription
sufficient to secure a charter to Co
lumbia. The greatest harmony pre-
vailed with the Stockholders in the
organization of the Board of Direc-
tors. Gen'l r. P. Nicely was unan-
imously elected President. The fol-
lowing were appointed Directors
r. P. Neeley, NJ. r. Alternately, o.
NJ. Alsup, r. Field, Paul 7. Jones,
J. l. Williamson, Col. d. w. Bos-
well, James Fentress.
REORGANIZATION means business,
and a better man could not have
been chosen President than r. P.
Medley. Practical, courteous, and
sagacious, no citizen of our State
could give greater satisfaction in
the sphere he has been chosen to fill.
A gentleman who was present in
formed us that stock sufficient to
secure a charter had been secured in
abundance both in McNairy and
Hardin Counties, and the friends of
that proposed line are terribly in
earnest.
1t behooves us to go TO work, OF
the glittering prize of a direct con-
nection between this point and
Memphis will elude our grasp.
THE CITIZENS GAS LIGHT 60.
How Oasis Made ana Measured.
The Officers and Directors of the
Company met at the works on Sat
urday last to make formal inspec-
ton, and to receive it from the build
ers, the National Gas Works Build
ing Company, of st. Louis. They
were unanimous in the expression
of full approval of the manner in
which the work has been performed
and the quality of gas furnished. 1t
will probably be interesting to our
readers to know something of the
practical operation of gas-making
and furnishing, and we obtained
some data to enable us to crafty
their curiosity.
A large iron tank outside the
building, having a capacity of $500
gallons, receives the oil (naptha)
from the cars on the railroad along
side. From this it is pumped into
a 500 gallon tank, placed on top of
the larger one, whence ii is conduct
ed by a small pipe to the inside of
the retort room. A small cock reg
ulates the supply to the retort. This
is an iron pipe about IS inches in
side diameter, set in a brick fur
mace running from front to back and
returning. These pipes are kept at
a red heat and as the oil enters, it is
evaporated, forming the gas. When
first formed it has the appearance of
smoky steam, but burns with an in
tenser heat than after it is purified.
The refining ofthe gas, if we may so
term it, is accomplished by passing
it through a spray of water by a sys-
tenn of piping, points in which are
provided for collecting the drip and
foreign matter which is gradually
precipitated by condensation. 1t fl
nally passes through an under
ground tube into the gas holder or
reservoir. This is a large, inverted
iron tank, having a capacity of 1000
cubic feet for each perpendicular
foot in height. This swims as it
were in large brick cistern of Wa
ter, from which it rises as it fills.
The weight of the tank furnishes
the pressure which forces and dis
tributes the gas through the street,
or main, and service pipes. y large
station meter located in the build
ing, measures and registers with
perfect accuracy all the gas that
| passes from the gas holder.
The quantity now used is about
1900 cubic feet per night. The sup
ply for each individual is measured
by a small meter.
These meters, both large and
small, are worked by the pressure of
the gas passing through it from one
chamber to another in exact quanti-
ties and registering each accurately.
1t may be of interest to consumers
to know that in recent suit decid-
ed at Louisville, it was shown in ev-
idence that these meters were posi-
lively accurate in their working and
that their working parts could only
be disarranged by breaking the case
in pieces. An error made in taking
the amount consumed in one month
is corrected in the next by the sys-
tenn efregistry itself. For instance,
the meter, when examined by the
clerk this month, indicates 1920 feet
as consumed from the beginning,
all meters starting at zero. If at the
last examination it had indicated
2200 feet, it would show that the diff
ference, 2S20 feet, is the amount con-
sumed for the current month. Sup
posing the examiner to read it by
error, $500, and the consumer is
charged with 1000 feet TOO much,
when examined for the next month
it may read $500, showing a con-
sumption of only 1900 feet, so that
he is not in the long run a sufferer.
The consumer needs only 10 under
stand the reading of the dials upon
the meter to verify the account as
| rendered each month. c. w. G.