The Florence tribune., 1898-11-12
RICHES FROM REFUSE
Waste Products Are Turned to Ae-
 count in Many Lines.
Water in Which Jewellers Wash Their Hands Is Saved and the Gold Extracted-Rubbish Con-
 tains Lost VaIuabIes.

llGA CO41DClltiOA 4S cO hNSh NNA@~ profits are cut down to so fine point, it is not surprising to hear that the great manufacturers are very desirous of muing their waste products to ac- eotmt; sometimes they are cmiuently ceesfuI, and the by-prodact is found 10 be more valuable to ths nauufac- turer than the article he origiaa ill made
 For instance. it was recently an uouuced that q Philadelphia chemist has disc9s red that lhe stalks of in- dian corn and maize can be treated so as to furnish material for paper, niat- 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 HOW worth millions.
 4 short time ago it was announced that the wash dirt being raised at Platina, N. s. ", continues to carry platinum with the gold. and that the quantity saved during 1896 was 2,s0o opnces, valued at e3,915-this from what a few years ago would have been considered as valueless refuse.
 To show how particular jewellers have 10 be, it may be mentioned that when two Brooklyn watch-case companies recently amalgamated and built new factory, trusted employees were in 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 g2,G00 was recovered from it.
 At the English mint the operation of collecting the dust on the floor, ceil- ing, walls, and benches of the rooms where the coining takes place is always carried on-even the soot from the chiInEeys 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 $5,165 of gold refuse and s. 300 of silver have been realized from one sweep" which, but for the foresight of those in charge. would have been lest.
 In some firms Of jewellers tLe water in which the worhmsn wash tbair hands and the soapy water in which their aprons are washed is saved, ln order to obtain tho particles of metal which have adhered 10 them. Such firms not infrequently receive offers from enterprisine iudvia aals 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 50oo0 and ee,0oO 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 Newingtcn mix ture is sold to market gardeners as a top dressing. At Sevenoaks the sweep ings are turned into deep pond, which when filled up, will give the rate-payers several acres of ground fit for cultiva- ton, and at Longfeld the dust is screened and proftably disposed of as breeze to brieknakers.
 Among the rubbish consumed at Let's wharf, Waterloo, there have at different periods been found check for s39O, a bill for S1,055-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 eharine, antipyrin and aniline dyes, that commodity was practically value less; now it's products are most valu- able, saccharine alone selling for seven or eight shillings an ounce, and what vas once by-produet is now g main product
 sulphate of ammonia is now ob- tained from the waste gases from the blast furnaees of great iron worlSsi formerly inc gases were allowed to scope into the air, now they are col 'ected in long pipea inclosed in aeham- Der. and afterwaE6 treated so as to yield the sulphate of ammonia, which in some cases fetches a higher price than the main product. Without doubt, II we only had the ability to locate It, there is use for all things.-Chlcago