The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-11-01

In Rockland and vicinity there are eighty
kilns, sixty-three of which are within the city
of Rockland. When running at full blast the
eighty can turn out 5000 barrels Of lime in
twenty-four hours. The past season, however,
the production has been only one. half or three
fths the full capacity of kilns, due to the dull
ness OF business generally. Fortunately for the
burners they are not compelled to do losing
business, SO that while the present common
sense arrangement between the various pro-
ducers holds, lime will never De drug in the
market. The demand will measure the supply
and nearly uniform price will be maintained.
Inc kllns and the sheds have an odd appear
ance as one approaches the town from the har-
Dor and one would be greatly puzzled to know
what manner OF. business YVES done should he
forget about the lime kilns. The kins hold
sufficient stone to make forty or fifty barrels.
They are made very strong of stone, to resist
the pressure of the rock which expands under
the influence of the extreme heat and are
thickly lined with friedrich. Tine inside OF
the kilns are we'll shaped or like an inverted
pyramid as the builder fancies. The lime
stone in irregular pieces about as large as
man tan easily handle, is put in at the top OF
the kiln and under the influence of the intense
heat is redu1ed to lime and crowded to the
bottom by the addition of new material at the
top. In thirty-six hours the stone is changed
to lime and is shoveled out of the doors at the
bottom of the kiln into space where it is LETT
to cool. When cool, it is shoveled into casks,
headed up, branded and is ready to ship. Vessels
come TO the sheds at the kilns to load so that
all trucking after being put into the cask is
avoided. The ki.ns are kept burning day and
night
The business gives employment to large
number of men and affords a means of con-
verting into money large amount OF lumber
and wood which would be quite worthless were
it not for the demand which lime casks and
fuel make. The extent of the business can be
appreciated by basing o calculation even up
on daily production of three-ffths of the ca
pacty of the kilns, viz, 5000 casks. Cal ,ulat-
ing 800 days fore the year, this would give
product of 800, 900 casks for a year below the
average. If times were flush and the demand
active the lime burners of Knox county could
put 2,4O0 900 casks into the market And it
should be remembered that to a greater extent
than most goods, lime represents value given
to a very cheap material by labor, SO that
thousands of people in that vicinity depend
upon this special industry for their living.
The past season lime of the common grade has
been worth from 81 to $1.1O per cask at Rock
land, while the fine quality produced from the
''lump'' rock is worth from 81 so to SLIGO. The
later is used for all fine work like 'skim
coating" A great deal of refuse lime is ship
ped in bulk or sold to farmers in the vicinity
for fertilizing purposes.
A few years since quite an excitement was
created among many small producers at the at
tempt of number of manufacturers to get
charter to incorporate themselves into stock
company. The petitioners asked no special
favors or powers and the bill was passed by the
Legislature of 1871, Incorporating several gen.
tlemen into the Cobb Lime Company. But
before the session closed various other persons
became suspicious The men who had wood
to sell and the men who made the casks, and
others who had small kins Of their own came
to think that some great monopoly was being
legislated upon them. The corporators named
they all knew to be honorable men in their in
dividua capacity, but what they might become
in a corporate capacity-flled them with direful
forebodings So on the last day and night of
the session an active representative of one OF
the districts back of Rockland assaulted the
bill with great vehemence and wonderful sue
cess. He pictured in vivid colors the terror of
the cord wood man, the barrel maker, the
teamster and the man with the small kiln.
The majority of both branches saw the monster
of Cobb Lime Company mercessly chewing
up all of the worthy people above named, and
actually passed bill repeating the charter
Well, the gentlemen who desired to avail them
selves of the advantages of corporation pro-
ceeded to organize a company under the gen.
eral laws of the state and under the name of
the Cobb Lime Co., have been doing BUSINESS
three years or more. Last winter the Company
applied to the Legislature to have their capital
stock increased Somebody undertook to
make a fuss, but as no individual had been
sacrificed to the monster monopoly, the oppo-.
sition was failure. 1t did come out in the
course of hearing that while the Cobb Lime
Company had not interfered with the rights of
the humbest interest in the business, it had,
on the other hand, done much to give stability
20 the market and secure uniformity of price
and production.
the lime business. Its people have large in
terest in navigation. They are also interested
in the granite quarries which have, during the
past five years, given employment to so many
people in that section. The city has an unusu-
ally prosperous trade from the towns back of
It and along the coast. Rockand has some of
the finest and best filled stores in the state.
The Free Press, edited by Mr. Sprague, and
the Gazette, edited by Mr.. q Pope Vose. are
two of the best weekly pa ,ers in the state and
are we'll sustained. The Courier is new pa
per published by a young man named Fuller,
and is an enterprsing journal. The Opinion is
one of the most remarkable papers that we
ever saw. 1t is after the style of Brick Pome-
rows La Cross Democrat, and not great ways
behind that once infamous journal except in
general ability. Of churches, Rockland has a
goodly number, with pastors of ability and
sustained by strong societies. 1t has two good
hotels, the Thorndike and Lynde-the former
kept by Mr.. Kallock, is one of the best public
houses in the state.
Uncle Sam is building fiue postofice and
custom house. Col. e. R. Spear superintends
the work. The building is of granite. The
pOStdl rOouiS Will NC CouPiotcu Wy LILO uIo1 VI
December, and when done Rockland will have
the finest postofics accommodations of any
city in Maine. The building is heated by hot
water and the apparatus is probably the only
one of the kind in the state. Parties about to
put heating apparatus into large buildings will
| do well to inquire into the merits of the hot
water system.
Those who spend a day or two in Rockland
come away with the conclusion that it is a
wide.awake city, fortunate in the possession of
| an unusual number of men of large bust
ness capacity who have shown their ability
and intelligence in securing to their city those
which many larger cities do not possess, and
which make the Lime Rock city one of the
most desirable places of residence in the state