The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-09-02

Igiye great amor ance. sgf the water leaks
Through this Joint and gets into the we'll
+ fhe flow OF gas Is interrupted and great
\ deal OF expense must bs incurred In pump
i ang II out. The best device get discovered
4 tor keeping ont The water. Isl to encase the
lower end Of the tubing for about Biz
Il feet In loosely Sitting leather cover,
which Is tied at the lower end, then
faxseed Is poured In until the bag is
Blled, whenit Is tied at the top. The iron
pipe has now o thin ,fim OF faxseed all
Earound It for the space Of six feet from the
Point formed with the rock. OF course this
bug is put on before the. tubing Is forced
lIdown into the hole. The dampness causes
1.-The flaxseed In the bag to swell and ill UP
1.-THE hole so tightly that neither the down
ward dropping water nor The upward flow
ling gas can get through the joint until some
licnange takes place in the internal structure
Through the pressure or the water or the de-
!caying of the rocks. &
1t costs about 81 200 to sink gas well.
When the tubing is put in there is no fllr.
ther expense except to conduct the gas
where it is wanted. For. lighting a house
iprecisely the same pipes and fixtures are re-
quired as when the ordinary illuminating
gas Is used. It is conducted into the com.
Il SSS@S
way, and burner may be put under each
griddle. A stop-cock In the main pipe
regulates the supply of fuel, and the cook
lcan reduce roaring fire to gentle glow, or
put 1t out entirely 10 an instant, by merely
turning a little wheel. She can apply the
fame to any part Of the stove, and keep
portion Of the heating surface comparatively
cool If she so desires. It operates equally we'll
in, parlor stoves of every pattern, and per-
sons to whom the old.fashioned wood tire is
pleasant Renaissance get up sheet-iron i'm
itations Of
THE TRADITIONAL BACKLOG,
with split wood piled on top, around which
the burning gas jets are made to curl and
flicker in a way that recalls the blazing
hearths Of fifty yesrs ago. There is no car.
rying OF coal, no saving Of wood, no cutting
Of klnding, no getting out Of temper with
smoking chimneys. A Sigh! turn Of stop
cock and the lighting Of match embody all
| the trouble and labor required to start fire,
| the head of which csn be adjusted to the
| nice gradations of the thermometer. When
| the gas is used for making steam it is con-
Quoted into the furnace, and as many jets as
| are required are applied to the heating sur
| face OF the boilers. IT the pipes are OF large
calibre the gas burns with an intensely hot
| fame.
/ now come to speak of the contingencies
which have thus far prevented the enter
| prising manufacturers of Erie from relying
on their gas wells exclusively for fuel.
| There are wells which have been in opera
ton for eight years without the least psrcep-
tible diminution in the flow of gas. There
are others that have dHindled down to q
| fourth of their original product, and others
that have failed entirely. 1t is the gen
eral opinion that the supply is mex.
| haustibIe, but the wells, or rather
the assures through which they are fed, be-
come clogged. have already spoken of the
trouble occasioned by water which some
times makes its way through the aaxseed bag
and fills up the we'll. But this is not the
| principal trouble. The water can be pump.
ed out and the well restored 10 its original
productiveness, as has been done in many
! cases. 1t seems that the gas, when it comes
! in contact with the interior surface OF the
| well, deposits dark substance something
| like coal-tar, and it is supposed that this &C.
cumulates in the course OF years, and finally
| fills up the creYices through which IL finds
its way into the well. II.
RUNNING OUT.
At the large -four mill of Messrs Oliver
& Bacon there is we'll which four years
ago furnished the fuel for driving machinery
capable of grinding one hundred and fifty
| barrels Of flour day; and even when the
mill was working at its fullest capacity the
| supply was far in excess of what could be
used in making steam. 1t could escape at
F! the safety valve attached to the mouth ofthe
we'll at a pressure Of one hundred pounds.
| This we'll has now become so weak
that the flow Of gas no longer
raises the safety valve, and a con-
siderable quantity OF coal must be used
each day in the furnace to assist in keeping
up steam. There are two wells at the city
water-works, but do not think that they
ever furnished sufficient fuel for the immense
engine that pumps the water into stand
pipe over two hundred feet in height. one
| of the workmen told me that the gas effected
saving Of Two tons Of coal per day. The
saving of eight dollars per day in fuel, to
say nothing of the expense Of handling it,
is very considerable item.
Colonel d. S. Clark, to whose courtesy l
am indebted for all that learned concerning
| gas wells, took me to see celebrated well IN
| the suburbs Of the city. 1t formerly fur
nshed the fuel for Il large oil refinery, but
new railroad connections destroyed the re-
fining business at Erie, and. the. buildings
were torn down. The well has for several
years been pouring out continuous vol
ume of gas, which is dissipated in the air. 1t
seems to be wasting the bounteous gifts of
Providence to allow this most valuable pro.
duct of spontaneous distillation to flow from
year to year in continuous stream from ma.
lures laboratory, without being turned to
any useful purpose. The rush of the gas
through the pipes can be heard at distance
of twenty feet from the well. / have nc
doubt but this we'll would light and heat the
largest hotel in Baltimore, and run two or
three small engines at the same time.
i FOR MECHANICAL PURPOSES.
There are q number of manufacturing
esta blshments in the city which run their en-
eines with the fuel furnished by these wells
i but the apprehension of the sudden choking
up of the gas veins has prevented the utill
cation of this remarkable product to the eX
tent that the supply seems to warrant.
Il j. ?. M.
i mARINE INTELLIGENCE.
| MINIATURE ALMANAC, SEPTEMBER 2, 1879
4 sun rises 500 Moon rises. 10y
4 o.. tfh 4