The Hickman courier., 1878-07-19
A sTUPENDOUs UNDERTAKING.
HarnessinR Niagara Falls for Mechanical
PurpOaeH-

HarnessinR Niagara Falls for Mechanical
Purposes
/ Some months ago the Commercial de-
scribed series of experiments made in
this city with view OF demonstrating
the practicsbility of using the immense
water power at Niagara Falls for tran
smitting power to this city through the
agency of compressed air.
AS stated at the time, the expert
ments were sufficiently successful 10 con-
vince several of our enterprising citizens
that the scheme was entirely feasible. A
company has been formed, of which
Senator Pierce is president, considerable
capital has been paid in, and practical
operation have been begun.
The principal part of the machinery
will be located near the waters edge,
below the Falls, in the vicinity of that
delightful spot called the Bridal Veil.
The remainder will be ON the bank inn
mediately above. The great air recep-
tacles, three of which will be seventy feet
long by six feet in diameter, will be To-
Gated below the bank, near the water,
while the receiving reservoirs will be
on the bank. The cylinders will be
constructed of boiler-iron in the most
substantial manner. The perpendicular
fall from the feeding basin above to the
air receptacles below is 2i4 feet. The
engineers figures show 100000 pounds
of iron will be required, and it is esti-
mated that power enough will be gen.
Grated to raise about $780, gallons of
water $50 feet every minute. These re-
suits have been obtained by careful
scientific tests, so that there is little
doubt but that they are nearly correct
Gentlemen prominently connected
with this enterprise own Days canal,
which, it will be remembered, was con-
structed several years ago by Mr.. Day
for water power purposes, at an expense
of nearly million dollars This canal
will play an important part in cennec-
ton with the new project It is 80 feet
wide by IL deep, and leads from point
Just above the rapids a mile across to
the bank below. At its lower terminus
is large basin 20 feet wide and 800 feet
long and IL feet in depth. From the
basin fume 800 feet long is being dug
to the edge of the precipice At the
mouth of the fiume will be q mas
sive iron gate with an eight-feet
opening, which Pratt & Co. are to fur
nish. T water from the fume will
pass into the reservoir, which will be
connected with the air receptacles be-
low by means of large pipes siphon-
shaped. Attached to the cylinders will
be 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 workingof the machinery
will be briefly as follows: After the
water in the reservoir on the top of the
bank is high enough to reach the bend
of the sipbon it will escape down the
pipe to the air cylinders below. The
pressure thus obtained very soon closes
the automatic valves. There fejng no
escape sor the water which continues to
pour into the cylinder leach has its own
feeder) the air which it eontsins is COM
pressed by the volume of water from
above, until it has as much expansive
power when released as steam. The
capacity of the reservoir and of the
cylinders is SO arranged that the reser-
voir will he exhausted by the time
the desired compression has been
obtained. While the reservoir is
again filling with water, that in |
in the cylinder is escaping; SO that when |
the bend in the siphon is reached the |
contents of the cylinder are exhausted,
and it is ready for another charge. Thus /
the operation is repeated at regular in
tervals in each cylinder, and, there being |
several of them, continuous charge of
highly compressed air is secured.
There seems to be no doubt but that |
the air thus compressed can be conveyed |
by pipes reasonable distance, and made |
to do valuable service at nominal ex-
pense. In France it is conveyed 30 |
miles The loss by friction in transmit