Evening star., 1914-12-13


in the next four years. and that over
rs per cent OF the dyes used in this
country today are now free from pat
ent restraint The report Is signed by
the following chemists: bernhard G
Hesse. chairman; H. A. Metz. D. w.
Jayne, Allen Rogers. j. B. F. Herres-
| hoff. T. F. Stone and J. Merritt Mat
thews.
The high price of coal on the Pacific
coast has Influenced capitalists to in
vest in three
Making Briquettes plants which are
From sawdust. inS nuw pnian miau,eetaez e aes
made from sawdust. Announcement
of this fact has just been made by the
officials of the United States forest
service, which has received brief re-
port on the progress in briquette
making from the experts at the gov
ernment's forest products laboratory
at Madison, Wis. There may be more
than three plants in operation or in
course of construction. but this is the
number whose work has been reported
to the forest service.
This latest move in the utilization Of
wood waste is an effort to compete
with the rise Of prices of coal in the
Pacific coast states. These sawdust
briquettes are made by compressing
previously dried sawdust or shredded
wood into hard, compact mass. In
some cases no binder Is used except
some mechanical method of holding the
cylindrical mass together. either by
wires around the outside or by rope
core. Another manufacturing method
is to mix the sawdust with a liquid
binder, such as coal tar pitch, or Pc
troleum refuse, or the waste liquors
resulting from the manufacture of
1 nj
of briquette made in Vancouver. b. c.,
makes use of still another form OF
waste and is composed of sawdust 50
per cent, coal dust 25 per cent and
binding liquid 10 per cent.
The forest service laboratory. which
has been working to bring about the
complete utilization of forest by
products, reports that there is a wide
range of opinion in regard to the fuel
value and burning qualities Of sawdust
briquettes. 1t says that some enthu-
siasts claim all the virtues for them,
while others declare them unfit for
rapidity of combustion is said to be a
disadvantage in places where 1t is
desired to bank fire overnight. The
rapidity of burning can be regulated
to a certain extent by the pressure
under which the briquettes are form
ed, and one of the advantages claimed
for them is that they can be broken
up readily and used to advantage for
kindling, where a quick, hot fire is
wanted.
sawdust briquettes will compete
with coal in price. but it is not cheap
fuel. The cost of manufacturing
briquettes is not less than 80 ton,
and when transportation and handling
charges are added the ultimate con-
sumer will have to pay at least $6
a ton for the briquettes to make their
manufacture a successful venture. At
this price, say the fuel experts, btu
1,F,1 nc
the heat value of the briquette must
sell for 80 ton before the briquettes
at Sc can offer the same heat value
for the same price. Since briquettes
will be used mainly for domestic pur-
poses, their cleanliness and their easy
kindling qualities are excellent assets
from the point of view of the house
wife. Because of the advantages the
briquette may be able to compete with
coal when that costs only $3.50 ton.
1t is pointed out by the laboratory
that the best chances for the success
of waste wood or sawdust briquettes
are in those regions where sawdust is
abundant and coal is expensive. The
this country is along the Pacific coast.
where most of the coal must either go
overland and be subject to heavy
transportation rates, or come in by
ship from points as far as Alaska or
even Australia. The Pacific north
west is also making more sawdust
than any other part of the country,
because that is where the lumber in
dustry is more active and is the GEN.
ter of the greatest wood production.
4: x
Road experts in all parts of the
United States are following with inter
est the expert
Testing the Roads ments made by
no ~
by Dynamometer. nuhyic M ' roads Of Of
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture with machine known as
"dynamometer." which registers the
amount Of pull necessary to draw
wagon or an automobile. and also
marks down the distance Travelled and
the time consumed in the trip. BY the
use of this little machine, attached
either to wagon or automobile
equipped for testing purposes, it is
possible for. experts to ascertain with
scientific accuracy the resistance Of
fered by different kinds of road sur
face, grades, types of vehicles and
width and weight of tires.
The dynamometer automatically writes
on long roll of paper a record Of road
resistance in much the same fashion as
the self-registering thermometer repre-
sents the varying degrees of temperature.
The machine consists of two coiled
springs, shaft, rack, pinion and band
wheel, which carries a pencil motion,
and the platen. carrying a supply OF
paper and operated by chain gear.
These parts are SO arranged that a
record of resistance in a good or bad
road can be registered or the record
discontinued at will by the expert
making the test. When the machine is
attached to a wagon the pull is regis
tered by the pull on the tongue of the
wagon, and when it is attached to an
automobile it is SO arranged that the
resistance against the rear axle regis
ters the condition of the road.
Experts point out that while there is
nothing new in the fact that it is cas-
ier to pull load of material over
good road than over a bad one. or over
level road than up an incline. there
work in which the dynamometer will
play an important part It will show
with scientific accuracy, for instance.
whether it is greater advantage to
continue to build road which has
grade or to do away with the grade al
together by making a detour.
Tests of tho machine have been made
in the District of Columbia. Maryland,
Ohio, Minnesota, Mississippi. Kansas.
Tennessee, Iowa and Kentucky. Tests
made in Washington, D. c.. were at the
request of the city street cleaning de-
partment, and were made to determine
the relative draft for operating diff
ferent types of STRENGTHENING ma
chinery. Tests made in Kansas and
Tennessee were principally to deter
mine the effect of various kinds and
xyytl th. ~ iva he r.