Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1894-03-09
KING OF COAL.
Once the Servant, Now it is the
Worlds Master.
Disaster ! ould Follow Exhaus-
tion of Deposits.

Wise men Of science are beating
Il cir brains in the search for some
thing to deliver US from the tyranny of
coal. That fuel has warmed us and
cooked our food for ages. Newcastle
was famous ior it 500 years ago. In
these latter days it has turned the
wheels Of our chimes and has given
us light from 1t is difficult to
realize what "a, does in giving heat,
illumination and driving power, let
alone the besutiful dyes which the
chemist has drawn from the refuse of
gasworks.
After having been servant, coal
has become our master, without whose
aid cities would left in darkness,
our meat wopIrA Jaw. the railways
would be usdlE = tracks Of rusty iron,
the industry Vi our factories would
cease, and ou fleets would be no more
able to carry merchandise or to fight
the enemy atsea Now, men of phil
osophic mindwho watch the haste and
waste with Which We spend our stores
of coal have Iegun to prophesy an in
conceivable disaster. There is only
SO much coal left, they soy, for the
use Of future generations.
What then. are the substitutes for
coal in the processes Of giving heat,
light and driving power? Take heat
first. An Irilhmau might suggest the
use of coke, Int he would do better if
he pointed tothe beds Of peat which
fill the middli Of his island. II may
be asked wheher we sufficiently realize
its presence Elsewhere. The Thames,
for example, which is banked far down
its course, wns once for ages bordered
with marshes now inviting search
for peat beneath the soil Why
should not p'Pt mines be dug near
Londons Tlb supply of it is iucalcul-
able there means Of reducing its
bulky pres sAt9 simplify its carriage
and .aaS 4 e use.
70 70 s5a,s 5 the stack
rhe I'd peat, by the way,
would create : lew industry, and find
work for som Of our London unem-
ployed. Bid the commonest substi-
tute for coal $ wood. This is, indeed,
partly coal itEelf, in the first stage of
its growth but few people seem to
know how il should be burnt. Its
ashes, except when inconveniently su-
perabundant should never be cleared
away, but Eft to form bed, and
cheats" again and again, as fresh
wood is putAlpon it and consumed.
The 'dogk used to support the logs
for some wopd hearths do more harm
than good BIS they hinder the new
fuel from re esting upon the relics of
the old andso increasing the amount
of warmth IL be obtained from the
fire. OfcoErse, the supply of wood is
limited, butlwe might make it go as
far as we cad. The chief thing is to
burn it on the floor of the hearth, and
to let its as hes remain. Crates con-
structed for coal can. however, be
fitted for the use of wood by having
their bottoms entirely covered with
plate of tile or iron.
All foreign housewives know the
cooking power of charcoal fire in
doors. A friend of mine had once a
wonderful Soudanese "chief," who
made him quite at home in the desert
bv cooking dinners with what seemed
to be battered old tea tray, a bag of
charcoal and a pair of lungs, windy
and tough enough to have challenged
any bellows in creation. The fire was
a small one. His performances, how
ever, would have surprised civilized
English cook, who wants half skut-
tleful of coal before she can boil the
kettle or porch an egg. Il Illustrated
London News.