The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-12
SOUTHERN GOALS WILL BE TESTED Government Testing Plant is
 Now at Norfolk WILL BEGIN WORK AUG 15 Work of the Plant While Located at St. Louis Was Very satisfac.
 tory and Demonstrated
 Valuable Facts.
WILL BEGIN WORK AUG, 15
Near Exposition.

Near Exposition.
 Washington. August 11.-(speeial.) )-Th, fuel-testing plant of the United State, geological survey, which was moved from St. Louis. Mo, several months ago f, Norfolk, Va, will begin on August 15 q series of experiments on eastern and southern coals that may be of far-reach Ing Importance to the government and to the people in general.
 For two years the plant was in oper. alton at St. Louis, Mo-, and so astonish. ing were the results towards preventing the waste of the fuel resources of the country that Congress ordered the work continued at Norfolk. Already the gov ernment experts connected with the plant have indicated the possibility of saving lO per cent of the country's coal bill each year-the sum of $16O, GOO, ,o00-through increased efficiency in burning coal. Now the fuels of the east and south are to be tested under the steam boiler, in the gas producer and gas engines and by briquetting, in the hope that this saving may be further demonstrated.
 The plant is located not far from the main entrance gate of the Jamestown exposition, and already has attracted thousands of visitors, many of whom were manufacturers interested in the economy of fuel.
 The law under which the fuel-testina plant Is to be operated contemplates two classes of notwithstanding efficiency and preventing waste in the utilization of the fuel resources of the country and test Ing coals that are used by the govern ment.
 Perhaps the most important tests will be those comparing the amount of power obtained from a certain amount of coa1 under the steam boiler and in the gas producer. The gas engine has demon started il former tests it's ability to dt from two so nearly three times as much work with a poune ;. coal as the steam engine. Prof. Robert II. Fernald of st Louis, Mo, engineer in charge of the gas producer tests, will continue the ex. periments of the large 235 horsepower gas engine which has been installed in the plant This engine will be supplied with gas made In two large producers and from the same fuels that will be used under boilers. In this way the com parative utility of the slack coals, culm lignite and even peat will be determined for the tests made will show just what all these poorer fuels can do.
 Breckenridge In Charge.
 Prof. L. P. Breckenridge. engineer in charge of the steam engineering division of the survey, will endeavor to increase the efficiency of the steam boiler. His division has now practically succeeded in isolatng the performance of the boil CT room that of the combined performance of the boiler and furnace. Further tests will be made with the object of still further determining the effeciency of the furnace alone. A series of important ex- periments with fuel under boilers re- gently completed indicate that station ary boilers ought to do ten to twenty times as much work per unit of heating surface as they do now. These tests are to be continued on three modern boilers which have just been installed at the plant. Two of these boilers are of the water tube type, of 210 horsepower each, and the third is 250 horsepower and of the marine type. Forced, induced and natural draft will be used on these boil CTS and the furnaces will be of three distinct types, one hand-fired with spe- elal fire-brck combustion chamber and automatic air admission, the second a mechanical stoker of the underfeed type, and the third mechanical stoker of the overfeed type, SO that each fuel may be tested in every mode of combustion. in order to get the highest efficiency pos sible out of them.
 To Suppress Smoke.
 There will also be a series of experi- ments tending to show just what is neces- sary to burn these coals without smoke. The results will be important not only to the government, but to every city in the country that is fighting the eXasperaLins smoke evil.
 A considerable portion of the fuel-testins plant is to be given over to testing fuels for the navy, and the entire briquettlng plant will be at it's service. Three brlquet- ting machines are almost ready for work. One received recently from Germany Is for briquettlng lignites of Texas and the northwest. This machine Is of great pow or and is the only one of it's kind in the limited States. second machine Is of English make, and has been used for some. time at the plant in St. Louis. The third is an American made machine or which much is expected The experts hone to show that the briquettes have more efficiency than lump coal from the same mine, and that they are practically smokeless. the latter condition being as bip q factor to the navy as the first. The results already obtained from briquettes nrove that on boilers requiring forced draft. like locomotive boilers, the hri- ouette so increases efficiency as to more than equal the increased cost of making. These brlauettes are made by taking the waste or slack coal, culm, Ignite, or neat and mixing 1t with sufficient tar or other binding material to hold the coal together the whole being pressed into blocks by machinery.
 Gasoline Engines.
 Five small fifteen horse power gaso- line engines have been erected at tho piant and on these engines important tests will be made of the relative efficiency of gasoline for producing power and light as compared with kerosene and other Iiouid fuels. It is thought that the con- merc,al value of these fuels as producers of mower may be enhanced by these tests Rut little Is known at the present time of tha efficiency of these fuels under proper conditions.
 Tn addition to all these experiments, tests will be made to discover the exact cause of the spontaneous combustion Of stored coal in order that loss from this source may be prevented.
 The tests are under the general direc- tion of Mr. Joseph A. Holmes. chief of the technologic branch of the geological sur vey. and the plant is under the immediate supervision of MT. H. M. Wilson, chief