The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-12-22
Charcoal.

"The charcoal trade of the city Of
Chicago" said large dealer in that
article OF fuel 20 4 reporter, "is q large
one, and Is ill the hands Of but few
men. l speak now Of the wholesale,
not retail or peddlers' trade"
"There are not very many peddlers'
III the city, are there?"
"Oh, yes, but people don't notice
them as much here as they do In the
Eastern or Southern cities. There the
familiar cry Of
"'Carcoal, charcoal,
Sayo my sO-ull,'
is heard from morning till night, rs the
f,eddlers III fheir wagons ply tlieir trade
through the streets. Here the business
Is carried on moro systematically.
Each peddler has his own particular
route to supply. and goes over it every
two or three days"
Whom do they principally supply?n
"Iallors and peanut stands. The
former, as every one knows, use the
charcoal to heat their "gooses;" the
latter to roast their nuts and keep their
fingers warm as they stand OF tho cor
ners when the Manitoba zephyrs sweep
through the streets. Dealers like N.Y.
self sell to these peddlers.
"Of course, you have other persons
to supply2"
"Yes; we do very large business
with hotels and restaurants. Some Of
them take from 100 to $50 bushels a
week, and nearly all Of it is used for
broiling purposes. Nothing is moro
palataDle than Il good steak broiled
over hot bank Of charcoal. But tho
largest customers we have are tln-roof-
ing firms, cornice makers and timers.
They use 1t for heating their soldering
irons, and the tin.roofers call for 4 gool
deal. Then, again, Chicago supplies a
arge territory west Of here"
And how many bushels year do
you suppose are handled here?"
'Ihe homo consumption is at least
four hundred and twenty thousand
bushels, while 10000 thousand are
shipped to other points "
"Where do these 100000 bushels
come from each year2H
THE most Of it from Michigan, and
the bulk Of IT from Van Buren, county
in that State. Then northern Indiana
supplies the balance. None is burned, ,
or made, near Chicago, as there is no
timber about here"
s'What is the process Of making it?n
"Nine .tenths Of it is now ''buInedn
In brick kilns. Tho old process of
using pits Is almost entirely gone out
OF fashion in the Vest. Iore is a
photograph taken Oh the spot OF two
or our square kilns near Michigan,
These will hold ninety cords OF wood
each. They are filed through a man
hole in tho top entirely full, save a
square place in the middle, which OK
tends clear to the bottom. The fire is
started at the bottom of this SQUARE
hole, and then the kiln Is closed tixht
In fifteen days the smouldering fire
has done its work, and the wood has
become charcoal. 1t is taken out Of q
door in the end, loaded into truck
holding % bushels, which is pushed by
man along a tramway to the railroad
track where cars are waiting to receive
1t. Beside the square kilns thore is one
in the shape Of a beehive, which holds
about 81 cords.'
"How many bushels will car holdp"
"ln the neighborhood Of about
twelve hundred bushels"
And how much will q cord Of wood
producer"
"a good yield Is about forty bushels
to the cord. Yes, the charcoal business
Is a large one here, as ! said before,
and 1t takes experience to know how to
obtain tho best results In burning it.
The mere selling is easy. The business
Is carried on very quietly. aud the only
evidence Chicagoans see Of it Is the
huge wagons Which go through the
streets filled with the stuff, but tho
noisy cEarcoal-vendor Is an unknown
quantity here"