The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-01-11
SCIENCE AID INDUSTRY.
BITS OF CURIOUS KNOWLEDGE
FROM MANY SOURCES.
Stag Becoming v.luabIe-New jersey


Roads Paved with Refuse Which IL Like
" Soon to lie Quoted In the Iron Marke
1t nss Even Been Turned Into SOAP.
When the ancestors Of the rich LORD
family in New York turned out cannon al
Boonton away back in l17srsl, and piled
up the cndcrs that came in big chunks
from the pudding furnaces, they never
supposed this refuse would be good for any
thing. The cannon and cannon balls that
were manufactured in this inland Jersey
town and sent over to Washington's army
at Morristo~n helped 10 secure American
independence, and The cinders soon made a
nuye pile along the banks Of the rushing
ROckawaY river.
! In after years. a. the BoontOn iron works
became moro and more famous, the piles Ol
refuse from the mills increased. High en-
/ oanhmenfs Of ciudeis surrounded the
works. and 10 became a problem how 10 dis
pose Of This heavy and supposedly useless
material As the township laid ont roads
| 900 the Vicinity this STAG. as 10 is generally
called. was carried into the country and used
I for filing in Or for rOadbeds. The result
y 4
came part Of The SOIL. aud Il sill mixed in
with thc clay and slate that compose the
earth. IL was considered "A nuisance by the
owners Of the iron Works, and they We're
glad 90 get rid If it in any way possible.
To-day the great heaps ~ Stag have com
merclal value That is constantly increasing
and the price Of B00nton Stag promises soon
10 be quoted in he iron market OF the coun.
try. The discovery that il bad value is Cf
comparatively recent date. The Old furnace,
were smut down for wears after the death Of
one or two OF The Lords, and it was only af.
Ter the management of the Lord estate came
MO The hands Of Benjamin Nicoll, who
married daughter Of Daniel Lord. ol
MorristoWn, that the works were % trtcd up
AID tine slag was found 10 possess CONNER
clal value. Mr. Nicoil is "a brother OF Dc
LancCy NicOli, who follows John X. Fellows
"a, District Attorney of New York. He il
an active, athletic young fellow, "a graduate
IN the famous Princeton class Of u, ana
aptaiu of the only boat crew that the
orange and black ever sent 10 Saratoga ana
won 70 pcnnant with. The moment he was
Put in charge OF the Lord interests here be-
ocgan to see what could be done 10 bring
Che place out of o5,curity ana make the
native products profitable.
TWO years ago some New York capitalists
aud business men, including Erastu- WI
man. AquIila Rich. and Lawrence :. Moti.
began AN investigation into The merits of
ne BUOnt0n Stag with view tOusing 10 as %
base IN the manufacture of paint. Mr.. Rich.
who was formerly one Of tie members Ot
the biz paint house of G.. 4. Reynolds a
Co.,. was interested in the process Of con-
Ncrting -l1g into paint discovered and pat
vnlld by james y. Perkins. Of Pullman. III.
Mr. Perhiu, was tine manager of the iron
aud steel works conducted 10y the Pullml
Palace Car Company, and he bad made a
number OF successful experiments with
Stag paint from the refuse Of The Pullman
trnact-. The B00ntOn Stag was subjected
lo careful analyst by Professor Ricketts,. of
columbia College, and Professor Austen. oi
Rutgers College. These careful chemists
reported that tLe slag was very rich in iron
containing from ., to I'D per cent. of pure
oxide. They also discovered That i'm this
stag the particles Of iron were all incased IN
PARTICLES of silica or glass. which added TO
IT'S value and had prevented the Stag, much
oi which had lain for over century aud
nad been subjected 90 every Kind Of weather.
from cOrrOdlng.
Ca the strength of these reports com
pauy was organized. win Mr. Niman as
president. and buildings Were leased. Hat
cnlnery intro luced. and .he nluUi,.!.r
Di paint begun under Mr.. Perkins super
fsnANls as uA' li'iAihl9 nflt lfttA 10 ta'tt ~
lue company. The product has been 81
marked success. and Mr.. Rich says 1t is
working a revolution in the paint trade.
When Mr. NlrOll had made a contract
WIKI the paint company for the delivery of
ile cinder, at fair price per ton, which
made necessary the employment of men o.
uL the Stag from the ancient heap, and
cart ii o. The PAINT mill. be began 10 look
around for other fields 81 usefulness and
profit for The slag. He IN duCed some
iron furnace men lo examine the material.
and When Henry Willard ana his German
friends established The nit-d States
aluminium factory here las; spring the
IL - had a big loom. Furnace and rolling
anal owners were astOnishel to had a.
nucu. and often more. iron in This refuse ma
ier.M than they got 0ut OF their native mon
mines ln tie upper part OF this state and
over in ieunsy Nania. Instead Of going o.
the trouble al mining the ore, here was Am
neXhaustib'e. supply Nng around idle and
which could Dee bOugut, delivered and
worked inlO merchantible products for
,es- than the ore could ice mined forper ton.
That this discovery is proving profitable
tO the Lord estate and is considered Of ines
lmabie benefit 10 the iron men is best shown
ny the fact that The Hequcst Furnace Com
uauN at oxford. Warren county, sent in aU
order icw weeks ago tor 10 OOJ tons Of the
Stag, ana 30 is being dug out and shipped
hy MIR. Nic0il 40 the rate of 1000 tons "a
week. The paint company has already
sid 1000 tons, and nearly llly men are
daily az work loading ana delivering tine
product. As tits estimated there are over
3O0.OlO tons IN thc heaps in sight here in
Blonton, To say nothing Of the thousands
Of tons along the country roads herea ont,
there is no danger Of the supply running
short NerN soon.
Tact there are other uses for this century
old Stag seems certain. All sorts of expert
ment- are being made, and several unique
and interesting discoveries have already
been made. Its found, for example, that
puNerized Stag, being absolutely iire-prool.
could be used ON roofs and for theatre cur
Ain-. as asbestos is how used. II Is an
excellent cleanser of silver aud brds7ware,
and Professor Austen made cake OF soap
out If Blonton Stag recently that WAS quite
lp 10 the standard Of ordinary soap. WHAT
ever additional virtue mas or may not be
found in the old cinler beds, the uses 10
which IL has already been successfully put
are assuredly Of great in,erest.-New York
Fines.
lhtuontnaI Furnace Record.