Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1897-08-19
CORN AS a FUEL.

CORN AS A FUEL.
Minneapolis Tribune: The recent
meeting, in Minneapolis, of the Asso-
citation of American Colleges and Ex-
pertinent Stations, was Of great edu-
cational Importance as we'll as social
interest. Some Of the papers will at
tract much attention for the facts of
general interest which were presented
therein. From an economical stand
point probably none were more import
ant than one read by Prof. Richards Of
the University Of Nebraska on the
'Calorimetric Determination of the
Heating Value of Corn.i
In explanation, Professor Richards
said that persons in Nebraska became
anxious over the condition of the fuel
| market in that state. Questions were
accordingly sent to nearly all the rail-
way stations in the state making
inquiries in reference to the consump-
tion of fuel in the respective commun-
tiles. The replies received were
surprising. From many counties they
were, in effect, that very little coal was
being sold to the farmers. In a few
cases villagers and city residents were
actually buying corn of the farmers to
ne used as a fuel instead of coal of the
lfuel dealers. The answers to the in
Equiry led Professor Richards to insti-
tute some experiments to determine
the relative value of corn and coal
AS fuel and the results of the expert
ment formed the basis of the paper
referred to. In the paper it was shown
that in many of the western states.
where corn is cheap and coal is expen-
5ive, the former is in most cases the
more economical fuel and that in
| Nebraska and some OF the other western
states it is very largely burned in place
Of coal. The Goals on the western
market will give up an average of
about Ii 500 British thermal units per
pound, while yellow corn on the ear
will liberate S.040, showing that the
coal gives up only LAB times as much
heatas the corn. At this rate Lacka-
wanna anthracite costing $S per ton,
would be no more economical than corn
at 2O4c per bushel. Corn at from 10c to
i5c per bushel viii cost no more as fuel
than many of the soft Goals ranging
| from So. so to ST per ton. Experiments
on the heating value Of the yellow corn
grain and the cob separately showed
that the heat of combustion of the for
NOR is S,202 British thermal units and
of the latter 1874. Thus an acre of
land will produce corn whose fuel value
is equal to from 1 to "a tons OF coal, not
counting the heat to be obtained from
the stalk, etc.
Or putting the results in another
way, we learn that in q crop Of corn
[yielding 30 bushels per acre each acre
Icropais equivalent to s of a ton Of an
thracite, and fifty bushels is the equiv
alent of Ia tons of anthracite. Also
when anthracite. taking Lackawanna
as a standard, retails at 81 per ton, corn
is worth tic per bushel as fuel and
ant. when Lackawanna retails at So per
ton, corn is worth 204c. With coal in
| Nebraska somewhat higher than in
Minnesota markets and corn selling as
low as Sc per bushel one can readily
see the great economic advantage to
the farmer in burning his corn instead
of coal, for he thereby sell his corn at
about Zoe per bushel instead of the
market price, Sc Attention need
| hardly be called to the prospective i'm
portance of the corn field as source Of
tfuel supply throughout the entire corn
belt of the country. The corn is said
to burn with vigorous and intense
J flame thereby burning out the lining
Iof furnaces and stoves with greater
rapidity than coal or wood, yet that is
a matter which the construction of the
! furnaces and stoves may to a consider
lerable extent overcome, When this is
done, the farmer can insure himself Of
a yearly supply of fuel by raising from
10 to 15 acres Of corn. He thus becomes
lstill more independents of the coal baron
and the middle man than he is at the
present time.
| There is sentimental prejudice
lagainst burning corn, but it is sure to
disappear when the economy of it is
once recognized. There is this to be
Esaid in favor of burning corn, too-that
Iyou can burn up the product of an acre
planted in corn and the next year
raise another supply of fuel on the
same ground, but when you burn up a
ton of coal you can't raise another ton
where that one grew.
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