, 1912-05-18

TO make steam.
2. Consumption in the cylinders of an en-
CINE (such as the DieseD. In this instance
oil is ignited under pressure and by it's ex-
plosion produces power.
3. Burning in a solid state. The oil may
be solidiied pure or in combination with
other infilmlnable substances, such MS cOa4
dust.
OH~Fired Engines.
The first of the above three methods is to
all intents and purposes the oldest, and IS
still the one likely to be most generally used.
The oil is sprayed or vapOrised through q
burner into the chamber beneath the boiler,
and there bursts into a white flame Of great
heat, with or without a small bed Of red-hot
Goals to assist consumption. This method
is applied to fixed furnaces and boilers on
land, rs well os to locomotives on railways
and TO wars!Ips and other steam vessels.
Messrs. Harland and WoIa, the great ship
builders, have just adopted oil fuel; and one
could give a long list Of firms engaged in
meta!lurgy, brass melting, the salt industry,
glass-blowiug, and 50 forth, who have been
converted from faith III coal to faith III oil.
See for a moment how the coal strike act
ed in this instance. Firms engaged III the
above and other trades have found it easy
by Sigh alterations OF their furnaces TO burn
Ih0 h0WCt iu6l III pltGo VI tH6 OIu' many "
director OF manager of a huge works or bust
ness who was quite content to rub along in
the old way has had his attention forcibly
drawn to oil. If he once adopts it he will
never change back unless the supply should
fail; and in him oil fuel has gained q con-
vert. In thls respect the strike has dole the
coal trade an injury the cons quonce5 OF
which will be permanent.
Varieties OF Oil Fuel.
With regard to the oil engine the triumph
of petroleum is not so complete, for two rel-
sons. In the first place, instead of mere
alteration of a furnace, the oil eng ne user
must decide to scrap his steam plant unless
he keeps it as II standby. 70 tue cou7etva-
tive British nature this i n drastic remedy
fol Il passing Inconvenience. Iu the second
place, an oil engine eau be run on many oils
besides petroleum for example, castor oil,
tar oil, earth nut OIL, and train oil. The
same IS theoretically true of oil burned uni Ter
a boiler; but for various reasons it is not OF
practical interest. OlenginAs, hoWev@r,hayo
already been made to run on thesa sub5tan-
COS. DR.. Diesel him ef stated the Other day
that his machines would consume these oils,
and Just recently "A G4rmn firm has run a
siXty.siX hours ties of an engine consuming
liqril tar. Bl for the present purpose pc
tro.eum is the only fuel thtt need be col~i-
dcred, and as th oil en 5in9 improves and is
use spreads, the steam engine, WITH its coal
fuel, must be ptr,ly superseded.
The third method Of using oil in place of
cotl, sotlIfying it all burning it in its sold
state to raise steam, is the newest of all At
present solid al is ma le in England under
the Armstrong-Aiordan process, and the
writer has seen liquid petroleum thus soil
diied in fifteen OF twenty IN nute5 from |he
time of beginning the operation. The me-
thod has these two advantages that oil of
any description, even il cont uuiug grit, dirt.
OF water, can be male into fac; and thit
coal dust, refuse, hu SKIS, sawduSt, ana the
like may ba incorp >rated with the oil. Solid
oil fuel has been tested both IN Ter station
airy aud locomotive boilers, and II Great West
ern train was suoco -sfu,ly run o. it last
Week-eud.
Chaaponin@ Coal.
To sum up, the strike has done a vast
amount of injury to the coal industry ana II
vast amount Of good to petroleum. Part of
this is already apparent, but part HIS Vt to
appear. Coal will never quite regain its Oh
position; but 1t will never ia HE United
Kinulnm ba antirpIy haatal ont og thA foil