The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-10-08
THE wHEELINo oREAAToRY,
Its Fame Goes Abroad In the Land-DT'
BRIrd's Paper.


The Toronto, Canada, Nail Of last We'd
nesdRy, in its account Of the nesting Of
the American Public Health AssoCis.
ton, has thu following:
BURNING NIGHT SOIL,
DR., James!E. Reeves, ex.Prssidsnt, Of
Wheeling, W, Va, read q paper prepared
by DR.. Baird, Of the same place, on
"Destruction Of Night Soil and Garbage
by Fire. The paper described the
relative situations OF Wheeling, W. Va.
and Bsllalre, Ohio, the drinking water OF
the latter place being polluted by the
night soil OF the former place, showing the
folly OF the claim that running stream Of
water will purify itself in few score feet:
Opposite the extreme southern limits OF
Wheeling, on the west side OF the river,
Is the north limit Of Bellaire. The latter
town takes Its water supply from the
river into which the former place pours
itB night soil, The consequence Is that
Bellsire Ia made q hot-bed OF disease, For
the purpose Of doing away with the evils
caused In this way, the Wheeling Health
Department last spring made 9 series Of
experiments III the destruction Of nigh.
soil and garbage by fre, and they claimed
that as q result they had found q means
Of entirely destroying these substances and
their power to do evil, Two facts about
tho burning Of night soil impressed them,
One Was that the odor was not such 0 one
as all thought 1t would be. 1t was somG-
thing akin TO the smell OF burnt leather
Another was the inEenso heat re-
quired 10 burn it. The frat expert.
Inens were made in bench OF
five retorta at the city gas works The
night coil was mixed with hlty percent Of
fine slack, and three rstorts charged with
this mixture Of equals partl OF night soil
and "breeze" (lue coke sittings). The re-
torts were charged at II p. Mi and 1t was
not until 7 O'Clock next morning that the
Contanta were reduced toa tue odorIess
powder. Another experiment Of the same
kind showed that retorts were not the
proper things Tor successful combustion,
owing TO the want OF full supply OF oxy'
gen. 1t was then determined to hud .
iurnaCs with a atropg draught, capable OF
producing a greater neat than could be
obtained in the retorts. Tho boiling
furnace Of a nail mill was then prepared
FOR A THIRD EXPERIMENT.
After twenty.four hours heating charge
oitwenty percent lne slack and eighty pei
cent night soil was made, and it was
burned in one hour and twenty mIuutes.
A second charge Of "breeze" and night
coil was made, and 1t was burned in alittle
moro than one hour. A third charge Of
night soil alone was made, and it was
burned in about the same time as the
first charge. Application was then made
for the use ola Smith gas furnace for the
heating Of steel slabs preparatory to being
rolled into nsil-plRte. This furnace is
much larger than the boiling furnace, and
capable Of generating moro intense heat
than any furnace known. The use Of
one Of these furnaces was given. The
result was as iollowa:-A barrel
or ordinary garbage or slop was burned in
four minutes; barrel Of butchers oltal
(bones aud animal matter) was burned in
seven minutes; barrel oil fluid night soil.
thrown into the furnace with buckets, was
almost instantly eYaporated, and u barrel
Of golid ip.eg WAS burned In fifteen min
utes, Convinced that this furnace had
every REQUISITE for fulfilling the design OF
destroying night soil aud garbage, the
committed reported tho result OF the
|aboye experiments TO the Council, and
recommended the making Of contract
for the bnildlpg Of such furnace, capable
of destroying daily sixty tons Of night
coil and garbage, and also for burning
dead animals OF all kinds which
might die within the city limits, 90 well
as Tho refuse matter from the butcher
chops. Tho FURNACE is TO be constructed
for using natural gas as q fuel. OF It's
suCCeGs the writer maintaining that there
could DO no doubt. The heating capacity
Of natural gas 10 more than four times
greater than that OF coal, which was used
In destroying night sol! in q boiling fur
mace in ono and one.quarter hours. With
artificial gas generated from tine slaCk the
night soil was burned in fifteen minutes.
With natural gas better work could be
done.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE GREAT DIFFICULTY
in destroying this substance by fire, there
10 In tho use Of natural gas as Q fuel more
risk Of Destroying the furnace than Of not
entirely consuming the night coil. 1t
must not be understood, the writer con-
tinued, that this furnace can only be used
in cities and towns where natural gas has
been introduced as fuel. Mr.. Smith has
gas generators built with his furnaces In
cities where there Is no natural gas, and
claims that he can produce heat Of
greater intensity and With more economy
than by any other method or from any
other source outside OF natural gas, and
90 cheap Rs natural gas can
he supplied by 0 private company.
The fine coal or slack Is not the only sub.
stanCe from which artificial gas can be
generated. Tanbark, peat and many
other substances con be used. Mr..
Smithis faith in tho success Of the furnace
Is go btrong that he has agreed with tho
Wheeling corporation to ask no Compen.
sation until by series oil successful exper'
iments, he has shown its capacity to de-
stroy substances proper TO DO offered as
tests Of lie powers.
In reply to question, DR.. Reeves stated
that the cost Of the iurnaQs does not ex-
coed $500.
Dr.. Reeves was appointed chairman Of
a committee Of Ave, to be appointed by
the President, to report to the Association
on this RubjeCt.
Mrs. Jones, how is yopr health this
morningY Thank you, madam, much Inn
proved. bought bottle Of Dr.. Bulls
Cough Syrup, lapt night, and after the first
dose my cough YVES checked; l slept we'll,
and have not Couuhed once this morning.