The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-09-22
RICHES IN REFUSE.
Valuabies Found in Rubbish and
Waste of All Kinds Turned
to Account,

When competition is so keen and
profits are cut down to so fine a point.
it is not Surprising to hear that the
great mani tacturers are very DESTROYS
of turning their waste products to ac-
count; sometimes they are er1lnently
successful, and the by-product is found
to be more valuable to the manufac-
turer than the article he originally
made.
For instance, it was recently an
nounced that Philadelphia chemist
has discovered that The stalks of In
dian corn and maize can DC treated so
as to furnish material for paper. mat
ting and numerous other commodities,
and that the by-product, which
was once valueless, will now be worth
one pound sterling per acre, which is
more valuable than cotton seed, which
was once considered nuisance and is
now worth millions.
4 snort time ago it was announced
that the wash dirt being raised at
Platina, n. s. W., continues to carry
platinum with the gold, and that the
quantity saved during 1896 was $500
ounces, valued at 93,915-this from
what few years ago would have been
considered as valueless refuse.
TO show how particular jewelers. have
to be, it may be mentioned that when
two Brooklyn watch-case companies
recently amalgamated and built new
| 81 -,
structed to scrape the floors of the old
building and dig the dirt out of the
cracks. The scapings and dirt were
then placed in smelters, and gold worth
{ 1000 was recovered from it.
At the English mint the operation of
collecting the dust on the floor, cell
ing, walls, and benches of the rooms
where the coming takes place is always
carried on-even the SCOT from the
chimneys is kept. The "sweep." as it
is called, is burned in a crucible once
a year, and the precious metal collected
from the ashes; by this process as
much as $5,1G5 of gold refuse and 49,,
500 of silver have been realized from one
'sweep," which, but for the foresight of
those in charge, would have been lost
In some firms of jewellers the water
in which the workmen wash their
hands and the soapy water in which
their aprons are washed is saved, in
order to obtain the particles of metal
which have adhered to them. Such
firms not infrequently receive offers
from enterprising individuals, who as
.sert that they will lay down fresh
flooring in the workshop, if they may
be allowed to take away the old flooring
and the dirt beneath-offers not often
accepted. for obvious reasons.
The vestry authorities of st. Marys,
Newington, England, who have to
dispose of between $4,000 and 10000
tons of refuse yearly, do so very in
geniously. At Meopham. in Mid-Kent,
the dust is mixed with stable manure,
and under the name of Newington mix
ture is sold to market gardeners as a
top dressing. At Sevenoaks the sweep
ings are turned into deep pond, which
when filed up, viii give the rate-payers
several acres of ground fit for cultiva-
. ton, and at Longfeld the dust is
screened and protitably disposed of as
breeze to brickmakers.
Among the rubbish consumed at
Let's wharf, Waterloo, there have at
different periods been found check
for $500, bill for $1,O55-not so val
uable-a diamond brooch, and divers
share certificates
Before the discovery of the eXtrac-
tives of coal tar, among which are sac
charine, antipyrin and aniliEe dyes,
that commodity was practically value
less; now its products are most valu-
able, saccharine alone selling for seven
or eight shillings an ounce, and what
was once a by-product is now a main
product
Sulphate of ammonia is now OBJ
tanned from the waste gases from the
blast furnaces of great iron works;
formerly the gases were allowed to
escape into the air, low they are col
lected i'll long pipes, inclosed in a cham
Jer, and afterward treated so as to yield
the sulphate of ammonia, which in
some cases fetches higher price than
the main product. Without doubt if
we only had the ability to locate it.
there is use for all things.-Chicago
journal.