Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-02-21
SMOKE IN LARGE CITIES.

SMOKE IN L.IKGE CITIES.
Ho,c 1t Is Caused aud Ho.c 1t Can Be
pEecentc2.
Ever since coal fuel came into use
| one of the great objections made to its
employment has been the large amount
| of smoke and dust Of which it was the
inevitable cause. 1t was unfortunate,
too. that the first experiments in coal
burning were made with the bitumiuons
article, which offends most Aagrantly in
| the volume and density Of the smoke it
| causes. Before coal had been IN use in
London q Year. we find a pamphlet
issued against it as a direct product of
the Internal regions. sent to breed dirt
| and disseminate disease for the devils
particular benefit; and when the use Of
a locomotive was suggested, those who
opposed the innovation made many
allies by charging on the offense that
would be given by the NOISY monster
belching SCOT and smoke"
We have become more or less accus
toned to the presence Of unconsumed
carbon in the atmosphere of our cities,
particularly where soft coal is consumed,
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Chicago
furnishing fragrant examples of the
smoke nuisance, but some means ofpre-
venting smoky chimneys would be lore
or less welcome.
Incomplete combustion is the cause
of smoke wherever it occurs in connec-
ton with fire, and it may be caused by
defective furnace construction, poorly
tended fires or faulty fuel. Smoke, as
far as the troublesome part Of it is con-
cerned, is nothing but unconsumed car
bon, the gases Of combustion escaping
from the fireplace bearing with them
usually a very small quantity of carbon
that has escaped combustion. The loss
to the consumer is not as heavy as the
inventors of understanding devices
attempt to make out, but the injury to
the community is enormous. Buildings
are defaced, vegetation is poisoned, and
the air we breathe polluted, while even
the innermost recesses Of buildings are
invaded and inestimable damage done
to furniture and household goods of all
descriptions, to the stock in stores, the
books in public libraries, etc.
The remedy is a simple o%ne-perfect
combustion of fuel-and when this is ac-
complished there will be no more smoke.
Every smoke-preventing apparatus that
is not a fraud is devised to insure the
complete combustion Of the fuel con-
sunled. Coalifuels are hydrocarbonaceous
in character, and where combustion
is imperfect the hydrogen released by
heat is consumed too rapidly, or the
consumable carbon is Inadequate lin
quantity, and the temperature perfect
combustion requires is not attained.
An insufficient supply Of oxygen is not
so frequently Il IL of smoking as q
superiority Of this gas, air introduced
in excessive volumes reducing the tenn
perature of the fuel and causing the
admission to the fireplace of a saper-
abundance Of nitrogen. Careless firing,
the sudden introduction Of large guam
ties Of fuel or the unskillful regulation
of drafts, will cause the best con-
structed furnace to smoke.
1t may be readily imagined. in view
OF the above facts. that smoke in large
cities proceeds chiefly from badly con-
structed furnaces and such as are under
inefficient management. Household
stoves and ranges are among the worst
offenders in every respect. and their
proprietors are less capable of exercis-
ing good Judgment in the selection of the
fuel best adapted for use with them. In
most large factories, formerly the chief
offenders in the smoke nuisance, the
economy of perfect fuel combustion has
been made q study, without regard to
the smoke question, bnt the community
at large has also gained by the efforts
made to effect the perfect consumption
OF fuel. The only way absolutely to
prevent smoking chimneysis to prohibit
the employment Of all fuel liable to
cause smoke, and as this would be i'm
possible, We must do the next best
thing-work out as speedily as possible
the problem OF perfect combustion. as
applied to all fire-places in which smoke.
producing fuels are consumed.--Safetu
Talve.
4 L II EE p, & nrr.