The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1883-09-29
A HEAVY INDUSTRY.
pf1E WARING FERTILIZER COM
PANY OF CECIL
ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE WORKS
SOUTH CAROLINA ROCK, BONE, ETC
HOW THEY ARE MADE INTO FER
TILIZEZS AN INTERESTING
SCENE For THE FARMER.


TILIZEZS - AN INTERESTING
SCENE FOR THE FARMER.
\ representative Of THE CECIL WING
being in the vicinity of Colora, in the Sixth
district, a few days ago determined TO drive
over to that station, for the purpose of view
ing the works of the Warning Fertilizer
Company, and giving to the readers of the
WING some idea Of the new works OF this
concern erected, since the great fire of the
summer of 1881.
Colora is a station on the Philadelphia
and Baltimore Central Railroad, situated
in the valley, between the high hills OF the
Octoraro and not very far from that stream.
Although the town is not of great import
ance outsde of the Warning company S works,
| vet il large business is transacted by the
railroad company there, it being the outlet
| for numerous factories of various kinds
upon the streams in the neighhorhood, slate,
flint, &c, as well as for a large and flourish.
| ing farming country. The works of the
Warning company are situated lmmedlately
upon the railroad, within stones throw
OF the station, upon the site OF the build
ings burned IN 1851. They are the largest
/
one or two exceptions, and turn cut I'M
mense quantities of goods daily.
TIE OR!GI:, OF THE COMPANY.
In 1869 Thomas Waring, the president of
the Warning Fertilizer Company, began bust
ness at Colora, as a buyer of grain and
dealer in fertilizers. Very shortly after
wards he embarked in the business OF man-
utacturing, i'll connection with his brother
| William. Having IA fair chemical education
he became convinced that these goods could
be manufactured upon the spot OF better
quality and perhaps at a lower figure, and
they could better meet the demands Of their |
trade which WAS then entirely local For |
this purpose II small factory was erected |
upon Il portion of the site occupied by the
present one, and they began operations,
upnn u business of two or three hundred
tons year. In the fall of 1879, the
wAK!N,; FERTILIZER COMPANY
was formed, and the business has grown
from a beginning of two to three hundred
tons in 1869 to five thousand tons in 1883.
Their goods 90 principally to points west
and south, though they have a large local
trade, which is year by year increasing.
The company has agents at many points III
various States West and South, and trans
act their business through them. Asan in
stance of the business done, on Thursday
OF last week they loaded into ears 40 tons
oi lated rock, and on Friday l Is tons,
.:ne: each days business during the season
averages about the same. In fact 1t wouhl
I've greater, but that the cars cannot be turn
ishri by the company. Their freight bills
dTring the season have averaged from SJuo
to 5000 per week. The company is at this
time d.votiny itself almost exclusively 10
South Carolina Rock, us the trade demands
II. They OF course keep on hand plenty OF
al! other fertilizers, hut the rock now heads
the list.
THE WORKS.
The works consist of the mill building
100 hy 20 feet. where tie Operations of reduc
ing, grinding the rock and putting it
through the acid process is carried on. Next
is the
ACID CHAMBER BUILDING,
Is by 90 feet in dimensions, in which are
situated two acid chambers of lead, each
of which requires 81 tons of lead to build.
10 feet Tong IL feet wide and Ii feet high,
and an ante chamber about IL feet square.
Next is ;he
FURNACE BUILDING,
III which are located the furnaces in which
the sulphur and nitrate of soda are reduced
steam Ia pass up with them into the cham
berS to in hy condensation made into sui
p.lurr acid The latter is the same boiler
in use for driving the old machinery at the
lime the mills We're burnt in 1881 and Is
vet in uuite Il fair state of pre- Servation. Of
the sulphur furnaces there are four. They
are built III heavy brick work, and much
resemble immense heating furnaces. or
the Soda furnaces two do the work, they
being about the same dimensions AZ the sui
pliur. The fumes from all are carried Oft
by an immense stack % feet high, twelve
feet AT the base ana five at the top. This
building is about three fsurths the size OF
either of the other two, making the build
ingS in all, in the neighborhood of $50
10y SO feet in dimensions, though as
they do not run Ivy right lines it is hard to
ger The exact size without actual measure
ment They are not Seperafe buildings
either all being under one continuous metal
roof. In the manufacture of
&I-LrHURIC \ ID
with which the rack is treated the sulphur
and soda fed into their respective furn-
aces and reduced to fumes, which, together
with Il proper proportion of steam pass first
into 5he leatlcn ante chamber, where they
are III Il degree cooled, and thence into the
lar ger main chambers, (much larger than
|
Ties on the sides and tops after the necessary
chemical process has taken place, and the
refuse fumes and steam after making in all
a circuit of four or five hundred feet pass
off into the stack. All necessary and proper
guages for testing the strength of the acid
made are in place, and the work IL carried
on us smoothly in these large mysterious res
erViorS as it could he III Slmple cruclbie
and coils.
THE BOILER AND ENGINE ROOM,
in which is situated the large G5 horse power
Denmead & Son boiler and the engine of
the same make and power is located in the
basement or cellar, about midway of the
mills and is n very handsome piece of
machinery. The cylinder is IA by "a inches
in dimensions, and is run under 80 pounds
pressure of steam in the boiler The boiler
which is caSed i'll brick, is II feet long, )
feet in diameter and contains 80 three inch
tubes. Power is carried to all parts of the
mill by means of line of heavy shafting
running the entire length of the basement
or cellar. resting upon twelve or fourteen
substantial, solid stone supports, each twelve
feet wide eight feet high, three feet wide
at bottom aud eighteen inches at toy, placed
from twelve to eighteen feet apart, so that
there is not the least jar or tremrnor to the
mill building from running this heavy
|
that its motion is not perceptible save by
sight.
REDUCING TIE ROCK.
In the basement mex: the sulphur mills
and outside is stored immense quantities of
the crude South Carolina rock. From this
point it is run in appropriate cars, upon iron
tracks, to the hopper of the breaker which
is located upon this floor, where it is broken
into pieces about as large pea and from
thence ii is carried by elevators to the dryer
u large revolving boiler like apparatus of
iron, which revolves above II large furnace,
where it is sufficiently dried to be ground,
for this purpose il goes through long eleva-
tors to the burr mills, of which there are
four These are exact counterpartS of the
ordinary burrs used in flour mills, except
that they are of Il much harder nature than
those used i'll grinding grain, and CORES
poudiugiy more expensive. These burr mills
reduce the rock to about the fineness of or
binary wheat flour, before it has been bolt
ed. From the foot of the turr mills, the
rock, now rock flour, is taken by another
set OF elevators to the second floor, where as
!. wal