Gilpin observer., 1901-11-21
Transatlantic

The standard fuel of the poorer and
middle classes of Germany consists of
brown coal briquettes. The briquettes
are made by reducing brown coal to
powder and then molding 1t into little
bricks with the addition Of quantity
of bitumen. The briquettesi sell for
from 81 to $2.75 a thousand in Berlin
and burn without smoke. Under new
process briquettes for use as fuel are
being made from peat, of which there
are nearly 100000 acres available in
the empire. 1t is expected that these
peat briquettes will drive coal ano
other fuels out OF the market.
Most people in Germany live in flats
There are few private residences. Fur
naces and steam heat are almost un-
known, the people using generally the
old and ineffective tile-covered stoves,
huge square structures, rising from
floor to ceiling and looking most like
monuments to some dear departed" ="
In even chilly weather it is almost i'm
possible to heat a small room with
one OF these stoves, and the empire Of
fors great field for American manu-
facturers of heating apparatus. One
trouble has heretofore been that heat
Is not furnished by the owners of fiat
buildings to their tenants, and it has
been difficult, therefore, to establish
central heating systems for such build
lngs.
In Vienna the price of beef. mutton,
and pork is so high as to place these
meats beyond the reach of the poorer
classes. and for nearly fifty years their
place has been taken by horse and
donkey meat. There are in Vienna 1S5
butcher shops which sell horse and
donkey meat exclusively. the price for
the choicest cuts being from to 10
cents pound. which is much less than
half the price charged for the same
cuts of beef. During the last year for
which the figures are available no less
than 25,64O horses were slaughtered
for food in Vienna. The inspection OF
the animals is extremely thorough and
careful. government inspectors being
present at each slaughter house with
full power to condemn any animal.
Dealers in horse and donkey meat, and
restaurantkeepers who offer it on their
bills OF fare are obliged not only to
plainly state the fact. but also to keep
in sight of customers the government
certificate of inspection.
The model lodging house which was
opened in Milan, Italy. last June, has
proved a great success. 1t Is patronized
not by manual laborers. but by clerks
and shop assistants. Rooms rent for
671a cents a week. Every lodger must
be in his room before midnight, and
be out again before o'clock in the
morning. Bathrooms are open day
and night, a full bath costing four
cents and a shower bath two cents.
Lodgers may buy food outside and cook
1t themselves in the hotel kitchens, or
they may buy their supplies at the
lowest possible price from the hotel
storerooms. Lodgers are also fur
nished with facilities for doing their
own washing. The building is flve
stories in height. with a roof garden
on the top. The building contains $50
rooms. all of the same dimensions.
5 feet 10 inches by feet C inches.
In no other country in the world is
the cigar so popular as in Germany, so
much so that 1t is impossible to raise
enough tobacco in the empire to sup
ply the domestic demand. Last year
Germany imported nearly s22 1000 .000
worth of tobacco, little more than a
third of 1t coming from the United
States. The use OF the cigaret is rap
idly spreading in Germany. Last year
1856 tons of cigarets were consumed
at least five times as many as were
needed ten years ago.
Wonderful results are reported from
experiments conducted at the Berlin
electrical works with the idea of util-
lzing the heat which goes to waste in
the exhaust steam of a high pressure
or in the circulating water of low
pressure steam engine. For the pur-
pose OF using this waste heat, so-called
cold vapor engines have been built.
and long continued tests show that
they add an average OF Al per cent to
the efficiency of the compound engines
to which they are attached, and that
without adding to the consumption of
coal by so much as single pound.
What such a saving would mean in a
large plant will be appreciated by ev-
cry man who has to do with the devel-
opment of steam power.
The use or American corn meal Is
rapidly increasing In Belgium. where