The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1874-12-24
BLOWN UP.

Can't say, I'm sure, sir. Been used
to bilers all my life; but working ems
different to making 'em. There's some
thing wrong, as you say, or they
wouldn't always be a-bustin'. 'Tain't
once, nor twice, nor now and then, for
it's thing as is always a.happeuing !;
and though Use never had more than q
scald or two myself, I've seen some
strange sights men all blown to pieces,
so that they were picked up afterwards
in baskets men taken to the hospital
with their flesh hanging to them in rags,
and there they'd lie writhing aud tear
ing at the wrapping in such agony, that
there, ! amt above owning tive
cried like child to see my poor mates
suflerings. And there they'd be, day
after day, till sort of calm came over
them, and the pain went, when they'd
smile if you spoke to 'em, they seemed
so easy; and it would be because Il
gentle hand was laid upon 'em, and
they were going, into the long sleep.
Some gets better, but not when
they're scalded badly for its strange
stuff, is steam. Well, no; Tn not
afraid, and never do feel afraid. What's
the good? Ones got it to do, and
there's the mouths at home to feed, so
one can't afford it and then the odds
are precious long ones against it being
ones own Dustin. But now 20 many
more steam engines are coming into
use, day by day, it seems as if sonnet
thing ought to be done in the way
making bilers stronger. Cheapncss is
cheapness; but then, things dear at
any price that makes such ruin as I've
seen sometimes; go why don't they try
some tougher metal than iron thouph,
certainly, steam's strong enough to tear
up any hing. But there seems to be
some fresh plan wanted for making
bilers. l didn't work there, but | went
and had look d'recIily after that horri-
BILE accident at the Big Works last
autumn. Well, there was about on acre
of buildings-sheds and Betrer-swept
away as if you'd battered 'em all down;
great fire. bricks, weighing a hundred
and half, pitched here and there like
chaff sheets OF lead sent flying q hun
dred yards; tall chimneys powdered
down and the big busted bilor itself
jumped right ont Of its place while, aa
to the middle of it, that was torn off
and clumpled up, aud blown, like
sheet of paper, to a distance. Plenty
of life lost there, and plenty of escapes;
but what | took most notice of was the
plates torn off the biler-torn off, SO |
said before, like so much paper while
these sheets, or plates, Of iron Aad given
way at the rivets, and looked for all the
world like torn-off postage stamps-torn
off, course, along the perforating.
"Now, them" I says to myself
-" that's a thing as wants altering. You
perforate the edges ef your plates to ad-
NIT rivets, and so takes half their
strength off-p'r'aps more; then you
put, p'r'aps, hot riyets in, and they,
p'r'aps, crystalizes the iron-only,
p'r'aps, mind, | don't say so, only the
raw edges of the biler looked c,ystally
and brittle. Well, then, some day
comes n hextry pressure O. steam, and
up goes yeur biler-busted, and spread
ing ruin, and death and misery around"
"Then how are we to fasteu our
biler plates" says you, "If we don't
rivet 'em ?" How should I know? !
amt scientific man. I only stokes.
That's for you to find out. But yOu
amt a-going to tell me, are you, that
you scientific men and biler-makers
can't find no other way to make biiers
only by riveting them? Say you bends
the plates edges over, and hooks one
into the other, like tin sarspau makers
does their tin. They'd stand some
strain that way, and You wouldn't
weaken your plates. | amt biler
maker, or 1 should try that dodge, l
think but there, that's only one way
out of the many as could be found by
experiment.
Seems to me, sir, as if we English
people hates anything new, and always
wants to keep 70 what cur fathers and
grandfathers had before us. They went
along and made their footmarks, and
we 90 along after 'em, putting cur foots
in Just the same spots, thinking it must
be right, como what will of it.
Had to do with engines many years.
Stocked locomotives and stationaries,
agriculturals and manufactures, and
printipg offices, and been down in the
epgine-rooma OF steamers and the lasts
obSut the hottest aud worst OF all.
Killing work, you know, for anybody,
specially IL q hot country, where
every breath OF air that comes down 10