Fergus County argus., 1898-12-07
RICHES FROM REFUSE
Waste Products Are Turned to Ac-
count in Many Lines.
Water In which Jewellers Wash
Their Hands Is Saved and the
Gold Extracted-Rubbfsh Con-
tains Lost valuables.

When competition is so keen and
profits are cut down to so fine point.
il is not surprising to hear that the
great manufacturers are very desirous
of turning their waste products to ac-
count: sometimes they are erlinently
successful. and the by-product is found
to be more valuable to the nanufac-
turer than the article he originally
made.
For instance, it was recently an
nounced that a Philadelphia chemist
has discovered that The stalks of In
dian corn and maize can be 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 a nuisance and is
now worth millions.
A short 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 1900
ounces, valued at s3,915-this from
WIdl Il rev " "ouid nave ocSA
considered as valueless refuse.
To show how particular jewellers have
to 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
& 900 was recovered from ii.
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
year. and the precious metal collected
from the ashes: by this process as
much as S5,l65 of gold refuse and 81
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 infrequen1ly 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 a deep pond. which
when filled up. VIII give the rate-payers
several acres of ground fit for cultiva-
ton, and at Longfeld the dust is
screened and profitably disposed of as
breeze to brickmakers.
Among the rubbish consumed at
Let's wharf, Waterloo, there have at
different periods been found a check
for $500, 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
charine, antipyrin and aniline 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 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, now they are col
!ectcd in long pipes. inclosed in cham
ber, 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 1t,
there is use for all things.-Chicago
journal.