The Philipsburg mail., 1898-10-28
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-Rubbish Con-
tains Lost Valuables.

When competition is SO keen and
profits are cut down to so fine point
it is not surprising to hear that the
great manufacturer are very desirouS
of turning their waste products to ac-
count; sometimes they are erlnently
successful and the by-product is found
to be more valuable to the nlunufac-
turer than the article he originally
made.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 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
Platira, y. S. W.. continues to carry
platinum with the gold, and that the
quantity saved during 1896 was $500
ounces, valued at G3,9lj-this from
what n few years ago would have been
cousidt red as valuelcss refuse.
TO show how particular jewelers. have
to be- it may be mentioned that when
two Brooklyn watch-casc 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 sneIters, and gold worth
$4,000 was recovered from it,
At the English mint the operation of
collecting the dust on the tloor 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 "swecp." as it
is called, is burned in a crucih'c once
a year. and the precious metal collected
from the ashes; by this process as
much as S5,1G5 Of gold refuse and s.
SOC of silver have been realized froll one
"sweep." which. but for the foresight of
those in charge. would have been lost.
In some firms of jewelers. 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
VIII Eave adhered TO thcrl. Such
frs not intreqUently receive offers
from enterprising individuals, WHO as
sert That they will lay Gown fresh
ti1o-iug in the workshop, if they may
lie allowed to take away the old flooring
ard tie dirt beneath-otfers not often
;cce,tod. for obvious reasons.
The vcstry authorities of St. Marys,
Newir gton, England, who have to
dispose Of between $4,000 and 10000
tons cf refuse yearly, do 50 very in
gen.oUs!y. At NeoEham, in Mid-Nent,
tho DUST is mixed with stable manure,
anG under the name of NeW,ngtOI mix
tu!e j. SOD TO r:arlict gardeners as a
top dressing. Vt Sevtno&ks TIE sweep
ings are turned into deep r2rC, which
when filled up, VII give tie rute-payers
several acres of ground fit for cultiva-
ton, and at Longtield 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 check
for $500 a bill for 81 1,055--not so val
uable-a diamond brooch, and divers
share cert .ticates.
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 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 We're allowed to
escape into the air, Tow they are col
.ectcd in long pipes, inclosed in a cham
Der, 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