found no place, for their graduated students, in the
practical world. 'Manufacturers openly declared
that they much preferred men with practice only
to those who had theory alone, Diplomas
were , no assistance in procuring positions but
frequently a hinderance.
This demand for dual training, the one giv
ing strength and skill, and the other wisdom, re
finement and ingenuity, is revolutionizing modern
education, and the process will not be complete
until it reaches the very bottom of our educa
tional system, and industrial training be intro
duced into our public schools. E. S. R..
FUEL GAS
WILLIAM HALE HERRICK,A,M., PROFESSOR OF CHEM-
A few years ago the use of gas as fuel was
scarcely known; to-day the vast development of
natural gas is familiar to all, and the many ad
vantages of gas as a fuel are in consequence every
where recognized. Still, wide as has been the
spread of the discovery and use of natural gas,
coal is still, and will long remain, the fuel of the
world. Not to mention other reasons, the fact
that it is a solid, and can therefore be transport
ed for long distances with little trouble,insures its
supremacy. If now, the recognized advantages
of gas as a fuel can be obtained by turning the
coal into gas, with gain, or even without abso
lute loss of available heat power, a great point
has been gained. •
It has been a matter of common remark for
years that when a conflagration has gained a cer
tain intensity, the pouring on of water is power
less to check the flames; indeed it is said by many
to increase their fierceness . , While this latter be
lief is probably based more on ithagination than
actual observation, it is doubtless possible for a
conflagration to develope a heat intense enough
to decompose water in the presence of carbon,
and so the water may theoretically . at least do no
good, the products of its decomposition burning
THE FREE LANCE.
again, and possibly because of their ga'seous na
ture, increasing and hastening the spread of the
flames.
Of late years, "water gas" has been much
used in the cities for illumination. It is made
by bringing steam in contact with heated coal,
the non-luminous gases thus produced being
charged with light giving gases, usually by pass
ing through an easily vaporized product of petro
leumdistillation. Fuel gas is the first product,
uncharged with luminous gases; non-luminous
indeed, but for that very reason better adapted to
use as fuel solely.
The chemistry of the process is very simple;
the steam coming in contact with the heated car
bon, is decomposed, its oxygen combines with
the carbon to form carbon monoxides, and its
hydrogen is set free. The plant is so arranged
and controlled that as far as possible the entire
product shall consist solely of these two combusti
ble non•luminous gases. •
It is always to be understood, that no actual
gain of energy is possible, as a result of this pro
cess, which has been characterized as the conver
sion of coal into gas ; as much energy is required
to decompose the water as its constituents can
yield again by burning ; on the other hand, there
is a necessary loss, as some part of the coal must
be burnt in air, to obtain the requisite heat. This
gas, then, can have the advantage in economy
over the coal from which it is made, only by a
more perfect utilization of its possible calorific
power. It can, however, be made on the large
scale, from the fine coal, or "slack," which can
not be burnt directly in the ordinary way; a very
important fact in an economic point of view. It
has, of course; every other advantage over coal as
a fuel that natural gas has.
The gas is, however, much cheaper than any
other artificial gas. Its cost of production, as
shown by actual results, varies from 7 to 25 cents
per Too° feet, according to the size of the plant,
and the material used. Even at the higher figure,
which may be reached by a small and simple