The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-15

my rest, you know, and recreation
means pleasure. doesn't it?'
Mr.. Edison thinks that the growing
of wood for fuel on land in temperate
America would not prove remunerative
enough for serious undertaking.
There are thousands of acres of
now uncultivated land in this coun-
try admirably adapted for such a pur
pose" he said, but the scheme is i'm
practicable for the simple reason that
our climate is not tropical enough to
insure quick growth to the trees. Aft
er an acre was once cleared of wood,
it would take sprouts six or eight or
ten years to attain sufficient size for
fuel purposes. This fact alone mill
tates against such plan to provide a
substitute for coal
Some enterprising fellow, though,
could make a small fortune by secur-
ing control of several thousand acres
of land of this description already
wooded and harvesting the crop.
have about $4,000 acres of stunted
woodland up in the Orange Mountains
and I've figured out that each acre is
capable of supplying the fuel equiv
alent of ton of coal. Just now in
my laboratories I'm burning a lot of
this wood, thus outwitting the men
who these days are getting two or
three times the usual price for coal.
THE scheme to secure heat by Dor
ing down to the earth'S center also ap-
peals to me as being -impracticable,
except in volcanic regions. There the
earth's crust is thin and the molten
matter comparatively near the sur
face; hence, it could be easily reached
and obtained by means of pipes sunk
down to it and utilized for manufac-
turing and heating purposes. In the
non-volcanic regions, the crust is too
thick and the molten interior so far
distant that to reach it by boring
would be a too problematical under
taking for invested capital. And that
part of the world is volcanic
where heat is needed for bodily COM
fort and fuel consuming industries
thrive. "a
But while many men are busying
themselves with these and other
schemes to secure heat, on the other
hand, if the signs of the times count
for anything, 1 believe that the next
few years will witness great develop
ment of hitherto unworked coal fields
by big manufacturers. The late coal
strike has proved to them that they
must have their own mines and in
this way be independent of outside
operators and insure against enforced
closing down of their mills for lack of
fuel.
At happen to know of several own
ers of industrial establishments who
are already seeking to secure and
work coal lands, and these men assure
me that many of their rivals are aim
ing in the same direction"
Here Mr.. Edison reverted to his
vacation.
Now that I'm about to take a rest
and am beginning to get a true per-
spective of the last twenty years of
my life, / begin to realize more than
ever before how very little l know
how very little 1 have accomplished.
Why, with all my work in electricity
l don't know what electricity is. True,
I've thought out several inventions
and made my brain and body weary
thereby, and I've got my name noised
about, but what have l done-what do
l know-after all? Why, simply this
very little, hardly anything, when
we think of the things still to be done
and still to be learned-of the forces
all around US that we don't under
stand in the least, that we scarcely
dream Of
Yes, sir; that's the gospel truth.
But, say" Mr.. Edison's eyes laughed
merrily-they are eyes that never lose
their sparkle and fire, no mater how
tired the rest of their possessors body
may be-"perhaps I'll learn a little bit
of the unknown during my two years
vacation. Anyway, I'm going to work
hard to do so, and I'm going to have
a fine rest"