Evening star., 1914-02-22

and readily Sits through the crate. spe-
cal furnaces are required to burn the
raw Ignite properly.
Because OF its tnfertority. ignite mas
not been used extensively in this coun-
try. It has been used in Texas. North
Dakota and other states to some extent
as local household fuel. and Is rapidly
gaining favor as a gas-producer fuei IN
the state Of Texas.
TN many localities where Ignite Is
found In abundance good bituminous coal
commands high price, and for this rea-
son the brtquetting Of this Ignite as q
means Of improving its heating value and
making it available for household fuel
has attracted attention.
German Ignite contains higher per-
centage Of water than American ignite.
and most of it is so soft that it can be
cut with spade. Many Ignite beds IN
Germany are filed with well preserved
logs and pieces Of wood.
Germany and other European coun-
tries have been briquetting Ignite sue
cessfully for thirty years. The main
causes why this industry has not been de-
veloped in this country are the low
price Of high-class American fuels COM
pared with the price of similar fuels in
foreign countries and the small demand
for fuel in the western part of the United
States where the larger deposits Of lig-
mite are found"
The cost of making briquettes varies in
different parts Of the country from ap-
proximateiy $3.50 per ton in Texas to
$5.25 in California. The briquetting in
dustry is growing gradually and the out
put Of the various plants will go largely
to the sections of the country where
there are no nearby fields of anthracite
or bftuminous coal. The officers OF the
bureau Of mines regret that number OF
briauetting plants have been established
and have placed on the market an tnfe-
rior product. Housewives using these in
ferior and improperly made briquettes
have been disguised with them and for
this reason there has been created some
prejudice against the new kind Of fuel In
some parts of the country. Retail coal
dealers in some cities and towns have
also fought the briquette industry and q
few have even gone so far as to tell their
customers that briquettes are made OF
value. a
It has been proved by government tests
that briquettes are always the equal
Of the material from which they are
made, and in the case of the briquettes
made from Ignite it has been shown
that the manufactured fuel is very much
more efficient than the raw Ignite. Pre-
liminary results in a series Of tests snow
that the briquettes were 43 per cent more
efficient than raw Ignite when used as
fuel in gas-producer plant and that
they were nearly IL per cent more eff
cient when used simply as boiler fuel.
Besides, brfquettes bear handling much
better than the raw Ignite. which, be-
cause of the moisture. slacks or dries up
very quickly and blows away as dust.
Mr.. Wright believes that the briquetting
Investigations of the government Will
prove of tremendous value not only to
the government itself as the owner OF
extensive Ignite deposits on the public
lands and the largest single purchaser
of fuel, but also to all the people in the
regions of the country where Ignite is
found. The fuel supply problem in most Of
these regions is serious one because many
of the Ignite deposits are situated long
distances from fields of high grade coal.
and the cost Of anthracite and bituminous
is excessive.