The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-07-12
A sTuprNDous UNDERTAKING.
Harvesting Niagara Falls for Mechanical
Purposes.
Buffalo Commercial.

Buffalo Commercial.
| Some months ago the Commercial
described a series of experiments made
i'm this city with the view of demon
strating the practicability of using the
| immense Waterpower at Niagara Falls
for transmitting power to the city
through the agency of compressed
air.
AS stated at the time, the expert
ments were sufficiently successful to
convince several of our enterprlSlng
citizens that the scheme was entirely
feasible. A company has since been
formed, of which PenatOr Pierce is
President, considerable capital has
been paid in, and practical operations
have been begun.
The principal part of the machinery
will be located near the waters edge,
below the Falls i'm the vicinity of that
delightful spot called the Bridalveil.
The remainder will be on the bank
Immediately above. The great air res
ceptacles, three of which will be seven
ty long by six feet in diameter, water,
while the receiving reservoirs will be
on the bank. The cylinders will be
constructed of boiler~iron in the most
substantial manner. The perpendicu-
lar fall from the feeding basin above
to the air receptacles below is PA feet.
The engineers figures shows 2W,O
pounds of iron will be required ,and Is
estimated that power enough will be
generated to raise about 230, 900 gal
Ions of water $50 feet every minute.
These results have been obtained by
careful scientific tests, so that there is
little doubt but that they are nearly
correct.
Gentlemen prominently connected
with his enterprise own Days canal,
which it will be remembered, was
constructed several years ago by Mr..
Day for water-pOwer purposes, at an
expense Of nearly n million dollars,
This canal will play an important part
in connection with the now project.
1t is 33 feet wide by IL deep, and leads
from point Just above the rapids
mile across to the bank below. At its
lower terminus is large bPsin 20 feet
wide and 800 feet long and II feet in
depth. From the basin flume 800
feet long is being dug to the edge of
the precipice. At the mouth of the
fiume will be a massive iron gate with
an eight-feet opening, which Pratt d
Co. are to furnish. The water from |
the flume will pass into the reservoir,
which will be connected with the |
air receptacles below by means oflarge
pines SipOn-shaped, Attached to the |
cylinders will be a requisite number |
of large automatic valves, to let the |
water run out of the cylinders after |
the compressed air has been allowed |
to escape.
The practical working of the ma
chinery will be briefly As follows: |
After the water in the reservoir OH the |
top of the bank is high enough to |
reach the bend Ofthe siphOn, it will es- |
cape down the pipe to the air cylinders |
below. The pressure thus obtained |
very soon closes the autOmic valves. |
There being no escape for the water |
which continues to pour into the cyl
inder leach has its own FEEDER the air |
which it contains Il compressed by the |
volume OF the water from above, un-
til 1t has as much expansive power |
when released as steam. The capaci-
ty of the reservoir and of the cylinders |
is so arranged that the reservoir will |
be exhausted by the time the desired
has been obtained.
While the reservoir is again filling |
with water, that in the cylinder s es~
Oaping: so that when the bend i'll the
siphon is reached the contents of the
cylinder are exhausted, and it is ready
for adOther charge. Thus the opera
ton is repeated at regular intervals in
each cylinder, and, there being sever
al of them, continuous charge of
highly compressed Is secured.
There seems to bel doubt but that
the air thus compressed can be con-
veyed by pipes reasonable distance
and made to do valuable service AT
expense, Ia France it i: eon-
yeYed fifly miles. The loss by friction
in transmitting it from the Falls to
Buffalo is placed at fifty-hOrse power
on every thousand, which is scarcely
worthy of mention. The projectors Of
this great Enterprise are confident that
they will be able tn do the pumping
FOR the city water-works at figures
which will make the present cost of
the department appear enormous.
They are also confident that they can
make compressed air take the place
of steam in manufacturing thus doing
away with the necessity for fire or
fuel. They are aiming to do wonders,
and, what is more, the chances seem
to be strongly in favor of their sue
O6SS,