Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-01

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~ ious Yankees are
very interesting. One of them is for uslnG
corn cobs soaked In petroleum, while ar
other inventor proffers the notion of cut
ting grasses and weeds while green and
pressing them in compact blocks He says
that such blocks might be employed to ad-
vantage for building and fencing. and this
could be done without impairing their
eventual usefulness for burning.
Most Of the artificial fuels thus far pat
snted are devices for the utilization of coal
dust. OF these there are hundreds. One
inventor proposes to mix together clay,
pnolasses and water. adding coal dust and
petroleum to the combination. Another
idea Is for a mixture Of sawdust, Irish
moss, asbestos fiber and burned limestone.
These are to be boiled and finally made
with coal dust into bricks the fiber Of the
asbestos and the gluten from the moss
helping to keep the stun compact. There
Is u patent for bricks without coal dust,
composed of ashes and sawdust saturated
with petroleum and coated with resin.
Yet another kind is made Of cut straw,
chan and petroleum waste, combined with
peat. Some of the more curious ingredients
Tor artificial fuels are clam shells, charred
garbage, corn meal. wheat flour, sugar, sea-
weeds, broken glass. lard. tar and leaves.
Exclusive rights have been taken out for
the manufacture of a compound Of powder
ed charcoal and fnely-cut cork This. it is
stated, burns very slowly and gives off
great deal of heat, being particularly suit
able for the sick room.
In Place of Coal.
One of the most interesting OF the patent
ed fuels Is a brick or cartridge of highly
porous clay, which is to be soaked in kero-
sene and put into the kitchen stove when
wanted. The housewife has only to touch a
match to 1t. and the fire is ready for cook
ing. No laborious preliminary process of
kindlrg is required before breakfast
be prepared. At first blush the idea seems
to be a delightful one. but after few
trials IL is discovered that SCOT Is given off
In such quantities from the burning bricks
as to blacI<en everybody and everything in
the kitchen. In France pressed bricks of
tanrery waste are used by economical
housoiIeepers to keep UP fire at a slow rate
of combustion. All over Europe bricks OF
ccal dust are largely employed for running
locomotives. In japan charcoal Is ground
and made into balls with ashes for a cheap
fuel.
Some of the materials used for fuel in
various parts of the world seem extra
ordinary. In certain Shoemakng towns in
Massachusetts, such as Lynn, there are some
very poor people who burn nothing else but
leather chips from one end Of the winter TO
the other They get them from the fac
tories by the wheelbarrow load Such
chips, of course, smolder with a great deal
of smoke. They form incandescent masses
which have 10 be broken up from time TO
sawdust from sawmllls everywhere is util-
lied for fuel. But one must go to Utah in
order to find hay put TO the same purpose.
There the Mormons have peculiar stove
ovens constructed for the employment Of
hay. They twist the hay into tight wisps,
and at night they fill the firebox of the
stove with 1t as full as possible, closing the
damper and permitting 1t to smolder all
night This is for cooking, but they warm
their houses also by means of sheet-iron
boxes with burning hay inside.
Dried Manure Used.
In the great corn belt in rural districts
In Indiana and Illinois people who live far
from the railways and cannot procure
coal or wood often corn for fuel This
was more commonly done when the land
was virgin and produced enormous crops.
Maize is frst-rate fuel and makes rous-
Ing hot fire. The employment of corn cobs
for the same purpose is very general
Dried manure is utilized for fuel all over
the world. from Peru to Asia Minor and
the plateaus of Thibet. 1t is used In this
way to such an extent in India that the
authorities making great efforts to
stop the practice. What cattle and other
browsing animals take from the soil ought
TO go back to 1t. instead Of which 1t is
burned and lost forever. Thus the soil is
becoming steadily impoverished. The ma
tives have given up the practice to some
extent. but they persist in using manure
for cooking. because they say that nothing
else gives the same flavor to the food. The
women gather 1T, make IL into cakes and
dry It, on the great plains of tho United
States the manure of cattle is utilized for
fuel. just used to be the with buff
falo chips" The unwlsdom of this
tom is illustrated by the fact that the man
ure produced by the domesticated animals
of this country is worth two billion dollars
annually, according to an estimate made
by the Department Of Agriculture. The
manures Of various animals differ very
much In composition. That of the llama,
the -Gtive beast of burden of South Amer
lea, burns a fire so hot 20 melt iron.
In Egypt mummles, chiefly those of cats,
discs and other animals, held sacred by
the ancient inhabitants. were employed
within recent years for running trains be-
tween Cairo and Alexandria. Dried fishes,
particularly the salmon, have been and per-
haps are to this day employed to some ex-
tent fuel by the Indians in parts Of Brit
lsh Columbia. They contain enough oil
and muscular fiber to burn well. On the
coast Of Scotland petrels are utilized In an
odd way. They are very fat and are made
to serve candles. wicks being run
through them. The employment of the
candle fish of Alaska in similar fashion is
mination and not of heating. The Eskimo
lamp OF soapstone. filed with whale Oil
or seal oil, is stove.
Heat-Snving Devices.
Speaking of primitive methods of heat
Ing II is undoubtedly a fact that man In
early ages used bones to some extent as
fuel, mixing them with pieces of wood.
Bones contain muCn 1atty matter, ana
small ones burn readily. In the desert re-
giOns of Arizona, where there is no vegeta-
ton worth mentioning. the Indians dig up
for fuel the enormously developed roots of
kind of q plant. Pine-COnes make a fine
kindlirg and are utilized for that purpose
all over Europe. particularly In the Black
Forest ard other parts of Germany. In
the old world such economies with fuel
prevail az are unknown in the new. How
ever, in Canada certain methods are prac-
tccd i'm this direction which are deserving
Of imitation In the United States. In the
warming of houses not particle of heat
IS lost.
The principal heating stove is in the
main hail, and the pipe is not allowed to
enter the chimney until II is cold. For
this purpose various devices are ADOPTED.
chief among which are the "gallows pipe"
ard the dumb stove" The hot air from
the escape pipe OF the main stove enters
the dumb stove on an upper floor AMI
NGTms il, being compelled To pass through
tCrtUouS channels aud being thus retaI! ed
lCrg enough TO heat the dumb stove be-
fore il dually escapes. The "allCUs pipe
Is constructed on n principle somewhat
similar and serves 70 warm a room. Even
the surplus heat from the kitchen range
is utilized IN the same faS hiOn.