Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-01-29
BURNING CHARCOAL.
GREAT CARE IS NECESSARY TO
FIRE a "PIT" SUCCESSFULLY.

FIRE A HPlT" SUCCESSFULLY.
Labor rs an Important Item IN the Prep
aration of the Product for the Market.
Manufacturers Generally sen Their
Own Charcoal.
DO you keep charcoal?" asked re-
porter Of q large coal dealer in this city.
mo, sir, we do not. I have sold lots
Of coal in my time, but never a pound Of
charcoal don't even know how it is
made
Leaving the wealthy coal merchant
the reporter sought one Of those monde
script coal hawkers who make Iiveli-
hood by attending to the wants in the
way Of caloric of the very poor classes
in the by streets and alleys.
Having found one Of these coal holes
the reporter approached the almost car
bonized specimen Of humanity, who was
for the time being resting from his
labors, and propounded the question,
Whats the price Of charcoal?"
Eight cents \ peck, replied a gruff
voice, and the little old man straight
ened himself out with an effort as he
stopped filing the peck measure, which
he judged to be about the newspaper
mans capacity.
eve don't sell much charcoal" he
continued only in small lots. Some
manufacturers buy their charcoal by the
great quantity. 1t is used ia large lots
by persons who make ice chests and beer
+ coolers, as it is a poor conductor of heat.
There's lining Of charcoal three inches
thick in all sides of o beer cooler.
Most country people bring their own
charcoal to the city in wagon loads, and
sell it for from fifteen cents to twenty
cents bushel. We retail it at about
twenty cents to twenty-five cents per
bushel, and it is a duh sale at that
The reporter now left the charcoal
man, and approached ali individual who
had just disposed Of wagon load Of the
material
eyes, make charcoal, he replied in
answer to an inquiry. I'm the winter
and spring is the time when charcoal is
made to the best advantage.
BUILDING THE PILE.
II am just clearing up a tract Of wood
land and am turning the refuse to ac-
count by manufacturing charcoal Beech
wood and hickory are the best for that
purpose. Oak makes a very poor coal,
and it is hardly worth burning. Gener-
ally the good wood is culled out, and
I then a huge circular pile is made of the
knots and refuse. This pile il often 100
feet in diameter and from ten to fifteen
feet in height. The wood is piled with
great care in straight rows around a
small opening, about one foot in diam
I eter, which is left as a sort Of chimney
/ for the fire to be started in.
Gas soon as the pile j. completed it j.
u covered all over with forest leaves or
straw, and then the whole mass is COW
cred with dirt to the thickness Of three
or four inches. It now resembles a
small volcano, especially when the fire
\ is started and the smoke begins to issue
from the small opening left in the top.
< The fire is started by dropping shavings
Y into the chimney which was left in the
y center, and then lighting them by drop
+ ping live Goals into the cavity. A few
holes are made near the bottom of the
4 pile of dirt il order to create a draft,
and as soon as the fire begins to smoke
+ these holes are again closed.
/ Now, if everything goes right, the
I fire is allowed to shoulder away, with
Y just air enough to support combustion.
+ If high wind should spring up, as it
/ often does, every hole is closed tight to
v keep down the fire, and very often boards
must be laid over the whole pile to keep
out the wind. 1t takes from ten daysto
( two weeks to burn pit, as it IS called,
4 and this time is q period Of great ankle
4 ty to the charcoal burner, as the opera
/ ton must be watched night and day,
and little negligence may cause the
n loss Of weeks Of hard work.
BURNING THE .'PIT."
''As the fire progresses part of the
charcoal is consumed By combustion and
VI the remainder shrinks to nearly one-half
its original size The shrinkage, of
course, would cause the dirt to be left
standing alone provided it would do so.
In order to meet this difficulty the tend
" Ell goes round and round, over and over
4 the pile, packing the dirt with a shovel.
i This continual packing must not beneg-
lected, for if a cavity should occur and
the dirt cave III instantly, the wholepil
would burst out into flame which moth
ing could stop.
''As the burning progresses holes are
punctured through the dirt III such places
7 as the tender thinks the fire has not yet
been. These holes create a draft and at
once bring the fire to that part Of the
\ bit, upon which The holes are again
I closed and the charring begins. AS soon
as the tender thinks that the work IS
4 complete he shuts up the chimney and
II packs every hole. He then spends about
/ two days in packing the dirt, and watches
+ for crevices through which smoke issues
and closes them as soon rs they are dis
II covered. Barrels Of water are now
hauled to the pit, and workmen begin to
/ open up a side and take out the charcoal.
IF sparks of fire should be found they
are at once dashed with water. and a.
I the work progresses water is thrown into
Z the pit, while the steam thus created
Il penetrates to all parts Of the coal and
VI lessons the danger of fire. a. rule all
n the coal is removed at once az q precau-
tionary measure, and every man who has
+ burned pit IS glad when he gets it off
/ his hands. From ZOO to 1000 bushels
are made III d pit. This ID hauled away
in wagon loads Of so bushels to 100
bushels, and sold for about fifteen cents
\ Der bushel Thus from $120 to $50 j.
v realized On each pit.
/ According to chemists only 20 to %
j per cent. Of the wood remains as char
coal, the rest being driven on as gases
4 Charcoal is 65 per cent. carbon--Cincin-
natl Tifnes-Star.
! In 1920 the sea at Acapulco ran off
/ from the coast, leaving the roadstead
Z dry for two hours. and then rolled in
fourteen feet above its ordinary level
and destroyed part Of the city.
Cnattractivc CIirography-
Glancing over the big square envelopes
now travelling through tho mails, with
the addresses sprawled III fashionable
English writing up and down instead Of
across the surface, one stops to wonder
J who invented such an ugly and incon-
va,,ip,,+ r,ntbnd nf 1irn1+fnn tr rs4-vvIa