[ON COMMODITIES
D INDUSTRIES
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OF
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LOS ANGELES
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SOLE SALES AGENTS FOR—
RHOS, WERNOS, GAERBRYN,
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ANTHRACITE COLLIERIES
Anthracite Large for Hop- Finest Quality Machine -
Drying, Horticultural, made Cobbles, Nuts,
Lime Burning and all Beans, Peas, Grains,
other purposes. etc.
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Anthracite
Smokeless Durable Clean
W. H. ESSERY & Co. Ltd.
SWANSEA
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ESSERY, SWANSEA. CENTRAL 551.
Proprietors and Shipper* of the famous Pembrokeshire
Anthracite Coals.
Specialities :
Special Handpicked Large Malting Coal.
Machine Cut Cobbles, Washed Nuts, Beans and
Peas for Gas Plants. Special Machine Screened
Washed Stove Nuts. Best Anthracite Large
and Screened Cobbles for Horticultural and
Central Heating purposes
Truckloads to any station
Reg'd Office : EAST BURROWS, SWANSEA.
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ANTHRACITE
AND THE ANTHRACITE
INDUSTRY
PITMAN'S COMMON COMMODITIES
AND INDUSTRIES
ANTHRACITE
AND THE ANTHRACITE
INDUSTRY
BY
A. LEONARD SUMMERS
AUTHOR OF "ASBESTOS AND THE ASBESTOS
INDUSTRY," ETC.
WITH MAP AND II LUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR
AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
LONDON
SIR ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, LTD.
PARKER STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C.2
BATH, MELBOURNE, TORONTO, NEW YORK
THE BEST WELSH
ANTHRACITE
COLLIERY & STEAMSHIP OWNERS
AND GOAL EXPORTERS
SWANSEA
Telegrams :
'Nudicaul" or "Activity.
Telephone :
2054 Docks.
LONDON OFFICE : 120 Fenchurch St. Telegrams : " Nudicaul, London.'
CARDIFF : 68 69 Exchange Buildings. „ • Nndicaul, Cardiff."
NEWCASTLE : Milburn House. „ " Heads, Newcastle, '
HULL : Yorkshire Insurance Buildings. „ " Nudicaul, Hull. ' '
LLANELLY: Stafford Chambers. „ " Activity, Llanelly. '
Agencies at ROUEN and PARIS.
FOREWORD
THE author's acknowledgments are due to Messrs.
Cleeves' Western Valleys Anthracite Collieries, Ltd., for
the loan of the very interesting photographs of their
machinery and coal, and for the privilege of inspecting
the up-to-date equipment of their well-organized mines.
It has not been deemed expedient to deal in this
volume with plant for gas-production, the various
processes having been fully described in the author's
previous book, All About Anthracite.
NOTICE
See pages 92 and 93 for
reference to
ANTI- WASTE
(Anthracite)
FUEL
REGISTKRED DESIGN
Sole Proprietors:
The Patent Fuel Marketing
Co., Ltd.
16-17 PALL MALL, LONDON, S.W.I
Telephone— REGENT 4885
Telegraphic Address : " Shinalite, Piccy, London "
CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORD ....... V
CHAPTER I
THE South Wales coalfield — Primitive mining — Collieries
and men employed — Estimated coal reserves — World's
increasing demand — Comparative outputs — Welsh
triumph — Origin of anthracite — Susceptibilities of seams
— Physical features — Volatile variations — Results of
borings — Deep mining ...... 1
CHAPTER II
THE beautiful anthracite district — Unusual fertility —
Absence of smoke — A picturesque panorama — Tourists'
facilities — What is anthracite ? — Chemical analysis of
the coal — Welsh supremacy — Labour and time saving
— An artistic feat — Safety — Heat regulation — Rules for
anthracite fires — Anthracite and horticulture — " Ca'
canny " and under-production — Output per man —
Proportions of coal used industrially . . .13
CHAPTER III
LIFE at the anthracite collieries — Exploiters' difficulties —
Power of anthracite — The pioneers — Preparation of
anthracite — Sizing and washing coal — Standard sizes
— Foreign buyers — The wonderful pit pony . . 28
CHAPTER IV
ECONOMICS and efficiency — Anthracite in domestic service
— Educating the public — Official tests and demonstra-
tions— 100 per cent economy — Increased efficiency
from decreased consumption — Comparative costs of
fuels — Dr. Fisherden's experiments — Fallacy of
adding chemicals — Professor Barker's Fuel tests —
Comparative heating values — Chimney-losses — Con-
sumers' reports of stoves — Pre-eminent economy of
anthracite — Coalowners and costs — Kitchen conquest
— English cookery — the " King of ranges " — Immense
Viii CONTENTS
PAGE
saving of fuel — Importance of clean fires — Soot and
heat losses — Domestic boilers — Anthracite versus gas —
The " Therm " and B.T.U. — The " Florence " boiler-
grate — Welwyn Garden City installations — Anthracite
stoves and grates — Capacities of stoves — Dutch stoves
and their capacities — Principal stove makers — Stove
" scares "—Stove fuel costs — Expert opinions of
anthracite — Gas-stove perils. ..... 38
CHAPTER V
THE industrial world — Prolific gas-yield of Welsh anthra-
cite— Baking by anthracite — Economic motor-trans-
port— New gas-producer — Anthracite and electrodes —
Steam raising — Some remarkable economies — Mixed
coals — Irish anthracite — Output and resources —
Development prospects — Official reports — Outputs
and employees (1918) — Analysis of Irish anthracite —
Scotch anthracite — An analysis — American anthracite
— Comparative outputs — Canadian anthracite — World's
largest field — Government's interest — Other anthracites
— Anthracite compounds and patent fuels — Spontaneous
ignition 72
CHAPTER VI
SMOKE abatement and coal conservation — Coal-smoke and
public health — Coal statistics — Concentrated poisons —
Medical indictments — Atmospheric pollution reports —
Analysis of polluted atmosphere — What constitutes
injurious fog — London's canopy of coaldust — The
terrible toll of cancer — Financial cost of fogs — Impor-
tant recommendation of Lord Newton's Committee —
Public control committee — John Evelyn and the smoke
nuisance — Fog paralysis of London — Healthy prosecu-
tions— Conserving Britain's coal — electrical generation
• — Oil versus coal — Anthracite the remedy — By-products
of soft coals — Stupendous annual waste of coal and
energy — Low-temperature carbonization — Electricity
wasteful 103
INDEX 123
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
MAP OF SOUTH WALES COALFIELD Frontispiece
ANTHRACITE " FRENCH " NUTS .... 9
LLANDEBIE (VIEW FROM COLLIERY) . . .15
ROMAN BRIDGE, NEAR MUMBLES .... 17
THATCHED COTTAGES, BLACKPILL . . . .18
TIRYDAIL RAILWAY STATION ..... 19
COTTAGE BESIDE ROAD TO NEW CROSS HANDS COLLIERY 20
ANTHRACITE BREAKER ..... 23
THE PRINCIPAL ANTHRACITE COLLIERY . . .31
THE FIRST PICKING BELTS ..... 33
A TYPICAL MINER'S LAMP ..... 35
GRATE AT ROYAL HOTEL, BRISTOL .... 40
MAIN SCREEN DIVIDING SIZED COALS ... 49
ANTHRACITE " STOVE " NUTS .... 57
THE " FLORENCE " BOILER-GRATE . . . .61
GAS-PRODUCING PLANT ...... 73
ANTHRACITE " PEAS " . . . . . .91
PICKING BELT, WITH END LOWERING INTO TRUCKS . 99
BELTS FOR FINAL PICKING AND LOADING . 101
JO
CS
BS
<->
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ANTHRACITE
CHAPTER I
THE WELSH ANTHRACITE COALFIELD
THE South Wales coalfield — Primitive mining — Collieries and
men employed — Estimated coal reserves — World's increasing
demand — Comparative outputs — Welsh triumph — Origin of
anthracite — Susceptibilities of seams — Physical features —
Volatile variations — Results of borings — Deep mining.
THE South Wales coalfield is undoubtedly one of our
greatest national assets, yielding nearly one-fifth of the
total coal production of the country. Its vital impor-
tance to the Empire has been apparent from the dis-
location and stagnation of all other industries consequent
on the disputes, strikes and disturbances unfortunately
prevalent of recent years in the coalmining industry.
Covering five counties, it has an estimated area of about
1,000 square miles, of which about 15 per cent is under
the sea. The western portion of the field yields hard
anthracite and semi-anthracite, while the varieties of
the eastern area are dry steam coal, smokeless steam
coal, and bituminous coal. Swansea is practically
the centre of the anthracite field, but considerable and
valuable seams extend for several miles below the sea
across Swansea Bay and into Pembrokeshire.
Although the output of Welsh anthracite is only
one-twentieth of that of America (Pennsylvania), it
has the distinction of being the finest quality in the
world, and in world-wide demand. Indeed, in normal
times, prior to the Great War, of its modest annual
output of 5,000,000 tons, about 67 per cent was
1
2 ANTHRACITE
exported — mostly to countries producing their own
anthracite — so universally is its supremacy recognized,
only about 33 per cent being required for home use.
However, Britain has grown wiser of late, and, thanks
to a vigorous publicity campaign, organized to educate
the people as to the merits and advantages of this
wonderful fuel — rightly termed the " king of coals " —
the inland demand has grown enormously, far exceeding
the supply at intervals, and the order of the percentages
quoted above is now reversed !
In the Western Valleys of Wales informs us that one
of the earliest records of digging for coal in South Wales
appears in the charter granted by the Lord Marcher,
William de Breosa, in 1305, to the burgesses of Swansea,
giving permission to get " pit coal in Byllywasta "
(believed to be GeUywastad, north-east of Swansea).
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Lord of Cemaes
declared that the coal of the locality " may be number 'd
as one of the cheefe commodities of this country, and
it is so necessary, as without it the country would be in
great distress."
As to the methods of mining then in vogue, he says,
" They used not engynes for lifting up the coal out
of the pitt, but the people carried the coale up a slope
and along stayers uppon their backes ; whereas now
they sinke their pitts downright four square, and with
a wynlass turned by four men they draw upp the coals,
a barrell full at once, by a rope."
Even so, they feared exhaustion of their resources,
and imposed a tax on the coal " to stay the transporting,"
which "it is feared would in time wholly ware out the
coale and soe leave the country destitute of fuell ! "
It was not until 1850, however, that the modern
coal industry reaUy commenced, the first pit being
opened at Aberdare, in the Cynon Valley Thereafter
THE WELSH ANTHRACITE COALFIELD 3
it became one of the big commercial activities of the
country, pitshafts being sunk and mining villages
springing into existence with great rapidity, until now
every valley in South Wales contributes its quota of
coal.
Notwithstanding the lead which America holds as
regards output, and the potentialities of the German
fields, we possess the advantage of holding (in normal
times) almost the whole of the overseas coal trade of
the world. The convenient proximity of the best seams
to the South Wales ports is largely responsible for this
satisfactory state of affairs.
There are forty companies working the South Wales
anthracite coalfield, comprising seventy collieries ; of
which the most important are the veins, or " seams,"
known as the Big, Stanllyd, Brynlloi, Peacock, Gras,
Green, Charcoal, Triquart, Pumpquart, and Lower
Pumpquart veins. The largest colliery is New Cross
Hands, owned, together with several other collieries,
by Cleeves's Western Valleys Anthracite Collieries, Ltd.,
Swansea, pioneers of the industry. Over 200,000 men
are engaged in the whole field, but only about 14,000
of them are in the anthracite collieries.
Mining experts calculate that the present output
of over 45,000,000 tons of Welsh coal a year can be
maintained for another 600 years. The total estimated
reserve is given as 28,000 million tons, of which 22-27
per cent is anthracite, 30-42 per cent is bituminous,
and 47-31 per cent semi-bituminous and steam coal.
In 1904, when the late Lord Merthyr prepared, for the
Royal Commission on Coal Supplies, an estimate of
unworked coals in South Wales and Monmouthshire,
he calculated that, below St. Bride's and Carmarthen
Bays respectively, there were 50,360,444 tons and
329,664,000 tons of anthracite— apart from the
4 ANTHRACITE
appreciable deposits known to exist under Swansea Bay.
So we are in no immediate danger of the " anthracite
famine " which certain hysterical sections of the Press
occasionally threaten us with.
The demand for coal is, of course, an ever increasing
one, consequently Britain must sternly discourage the
continual resort to strikes ; and next in importance
to production is coal conservation — by the proper use,
instead of abuse, reducing waste to a minimum. South
Wales is paying more and more attention to this ; much
is being done in the coking industry, in the recovery
of valuable by-products, and in the manufacture of
patent fuels. The greater use of anthracite contributes
immensely to this desirable end, easing the drain upon
bituminous coals which are rich in by-products.
Professor W. A. Bone says : " The world's demand
for coal, which in 1863 amounted to some 130 million
tons per annum only, had been by 1913 increased to
nearly 1,250 million tons per annum. Such a tenfold
increase in fifty years represents a ' compound interest
rate ' of practically 5 per cent per annum throughout
the whole period. During the last ten years of it this
rate of increase was fully maintained as follows —
" In 1903 the total demand was 800 million tons ;
in 1908, 1,000 millions, and in 1913, 1,250 millions,
and it is hardly likely that the rate will diminish. . . .
During the last decade these demands have been prin-
cipally supplied by three countries, namely, the United
States, Great Britain, and Germany, which have between
them annually raised practically 83 per cent of the total
coal consumed in the world. If now the average out-
puts of anthracite and bituminous coal from each of
the three countries in question for the three periods
since the year 1900 be examined, it will be found that
the output of the United States has been increasing
THE WELSH ANTHRACITE COALFIELD D
at a compound interest rate of 6 per cent per annum,
that of Germany at a compound rate of 4 per cent per
annum, whilst the British output has increased at a
compound rate of only 2 per cent per annum. Assuming
that these relative rates of increase are maintained,
it may be predicted that Germany's output will overtake
that of Great Britain about 20 years hence, when each
country will be producing some 420 million tons per
annum "
But an important point of interest to Wales is that
America's output of anthracite (over 100,000,000 tons
annually) has practically reached its height, and may
soon be on the decline, whereas the output in South
Wales will most certainly continue to rise, without
making an appreciable inroad on the abundant reserve
supplies.
The special nature of the coal produced and the
position of the coalfield, have led to South Wales becom-
ing the chief coal-exporting district of the country.
The arrangements at the collieries, railways and docks
have been made consistently with a view to export,
and their equipment is in some respects unfavourable
for inland trade.
That this coalfield appreciates the value of its small
coal is apparent from the fact that it is the largest
briquette-making district, producing over 90 per cent
of the total output of the country.
Writing in the Herald of Wales (7th Jan., 1922)
on the triumph and recent " boom " of Welsh anthracite.
Mr. J. D. Morgan, J.P., the Miners' Agent, says —
" The position of the anthracite coal industry of West
Wales to day is unique, and when I look back at the
years which have rolled away since 1875 and 1876, and
see the headway that has been made, I am inclined to
describe the progress as almost romantic. Prices,
b ANTHRACITE
the demand for the coal, comparison with the position,
past and present, of the steam and bituminous coal
markets, and the relative positions in regard to employ-
ment and unemployment, form a remarkable story.
In the early days, anthracite was selling at 7s. 6d. to
8s. per ton f.o.b. Swansea. Now look at the change !
The price of anthracite had improved from 9s. Id. per
ton f.o.b. Swansea in the year 1888 to 18s. 4d. per ton
f.o.b. in the year 1913, and the total production had
increased from 1,550,154 tons in 1894 to 4,833,159 tons
in 1913 (the year immediately preceding the war),
whereas the total output of coal in the whole of the
South Wales coalfield had only increased during the
same period from 33,418,344 tons to 56,830,072 tons.
The anthracite output for the period referred to had
increased at the rate of over 200 per cent, whereas the
total increase for the whole of South Wales coal was
only at the rate of 70 per cent. The anthracite collieries
are in a very unique position to-day. They work
regularly, and the demand is jar in excess of the supply,
and the best large coal is selling at the present time,
according to the prices quoted on the Swansea Exchange,
at from 60s. to 62s. per ton, f.o.b., whereas the best
Admiralty steam coal at Cardiff is selling at from 25s. 6d.
to 26s. 6d. per ton f.o.b., and the best bituminous is
selling at from 27s. 6d. to 30s. per ton. The price for
anthracite is more than twice as high, yet the demand is
far greater than the supply. . . . There is no such
anthracite in the world as ours.
" Do you remember Andrew Carnegie, in his Trium-
phant Democracy volume, in 1886, boasting of the
position and prospects of Pennsylvania ? He pointed
out that that State had deposits of anthracite covering
an area of 470 miles, which were of greater value than
the coal areas of other countries which might be ten
THE WELSH ANTHRACITE COALFIELD 7
times as large ; that, in parts, those deposits varied
from 50 to 700 ft. in thickness and averaged 70 ft.
Well, I worked for a few years on the anthracite coal
in the United States— in the years 1888-89-90— in
the best anthracite seams in Pennsylvania, the most
notable being the Baltimore Seam, in Wilkesbarre, and
I can claim from experience that the best Welsh anthra-
cite in West Wales is far superior in quality even to
that coal .... and has secured such a position that
no other coal can possibly compete with it or become
a substitute for it."
The interesting figures Mr. Morgan quotes as showing
the enhanced value of anthracite to-day, refer only to
prices for exported coal. He might have truthfully
added that the enormously increased inland demand
for anthracite during the year 1921 was so great that,
not only did it seriously retard the sale of Welsh steam
coals, but that anthracite was readily bought in London
by domestic consumers even at the exorbitant prices
of 95s. and 100s. per ton (due, of course, to the retail
merchants' charges) !
The effect of educational propaganda during the last
three years in this country has revolutionized public
opinion regarding Welsh anthracite, establishing a big
and permanent demand for home consumption. One
of the large exporters, asked about the prospects of
reviving the trade hitherto carried on so extensively
with South America, said : " The demand for anthracite
is such that we have all our work cut out to supply
the orders we already have in hand ; there is no necessity
for us to hanker after American markets."
Origin of Anthracite. If the production of anthracite
were a question of pressure metamorphism, there would
be some connection between the formation of anthracite
and the effects of crushing by earth movements. But in
2— (1458H)
8 ANTHRACITE
South Wales there is no relation between the relative
amount of disturbance of strata and the production of
anthracite. It is usually found that in passing through
the South Wales coalfield from east to west, the lower
beds first exhibit the conversion into anthracite, the
change being manifested at successively higher levels
going west, until in Pembrokeshire all the seams are
anthracite throughout.
Dr. Strahan, Director of the Geological Survey, from
an exhaustive study of Welsh anthracites, formed the
conclusion that the difference between these and the
bituminous coals must be looked for in original differ-
ences in the nature and composition of the vegetable
matter from which they were derived. Analyses of the
individual seams of coal show great differences in their
susceptibility to anthracitization, and he has been able
to define certain iso-anthracitic lines for some of the
more important seams on the South Wales map. These
lines show no relation to any recognizable features in
the topography of the district, nor to any lines of
faulting or disturbance in the strata. Thus the " Red "
vein becomes anthracitic in a region where seams
hundreds of feet below it have not yet assumed that
character. Dr. Strahan also calls particular attention
to the very remarkable freedom from ash of the South
Wales anthracites, and this diminution of ash apparently
accompanies the production of anthracite. The Ras-las
seam has about 7 per cent of ash in the bituminous
area east of the coalfield, but when it becomes anthracite
in the west its ash content falls to only 2 per cent.
Thus the percentage of ash diminishes pari passu with
the decrease of bituminous matter. If the anthracite
had been formed merely by the loss of volatile matter
from bituminous coal, the ash content would have
increased, not decreased, and the conclusion seems to
FIG. 2
ANTHRACITE MACHINE-MADE
(IF X 2J")
FRENCH NUTS
10 ANTHRACITE
be that the South Wales anthracites were derived from
a purer organic deposit more free from earthy matter
than that from which the bituminous coals were
formed.
In mining it is common to all coalfields that extraction
is followed by subsidence, with the resulting crush and
squeeze on the excavated areas, and on the roads through
the areas. In most coalfields this effect is usually
confined to the excavated areas and their close vicinity.
Roads driven through the solid coal or in the undisturbed
strata invariably remain intact. The feature of South
Wales mining is that roads driven in the solid coal or
in undisturbed strata do not usually stand intact, and
are thus more difficult and expensive to maintain than
roads through excavated areas. All the strata in the
Welsh coalfield appears to be under compression, and
an opening made therein soon begins to " squeeze "
and close up. This renders Welsh mining different
from that of other coalfields, and the result is shown
by the higher cost of production due to the heavy cost
of maintaining the mines, in repairing labour, and the
pitwood necessary for safe working.
Three physical features in South Wales may account
for this compression : (1) The mountain masses forming
the surface, the weight of which is supported by the
measures in which mining is carried on ; (2) the friable
nature of the strata associated with the coal seams
chiefly worked ; (3) the geological thrust from the
south to which the coalfield is exposed.
In an interesting series of lectures on " The Origin
of Anthracite," delivered by Mr. W. Galloway, D.Sc.,
before the South Wales Institute of Engineers, that
gentleman referred to the decrease in volatile matter
in the seams of coal which takes place between the south-
east and north-west of the South Wales coalfield. In
THE WELSH ANTHRACITE COALFIELD 11
accounting for this decrease, he suggested that the change
was probably due to the fact that the north-western
end of the coalfield was at one time covered by a much
thicker series of deposits than the south-eastern end,
and that the deposits overlying the ground in the inter-
vening space thinned gradually from north-north-west
to south-south-east, with the result that the seams
lying at greater depths under the surface would, while
that condition obtained, be exposed to a higher tem-
perature than those lying at a less depth, and that
decomposition would proceed more rapidly in the former
than in the latter. He mentioned that it is the universal
experience in all coalfields that, other things being equal,
the deeper seams are less bituminous than the shallower
seams.
The lecturer said Sir Aubrey Strahan had questioned
the validity of this explanation, so he cited some further
information obtained from borings in Kent, and at
Pembrey, near Kidwelly, which appeared to corroborate
his views. He submitted five diagrams — three of the
Kent boreholes, and two Pembrey boreholes, showing
in each diagram the depths of the seams below the sur-
face ; the percentages of volatile matter, less ash and
moisture ; and the percentages of ash. The analyses
of the seams found in these borings appeared to prove :
(1) That there is a gradual and practically uniform
decrease in volatile matter with depth; (2) that the pro-
portion of ash has no special connection with the
decrease in volatile matter ; (3) that, other things being
equal, the deeper the seams lie under the surface the
more nearly does their chemical composition approach
to that of anthracite (88 to 95 per cent of carbon) ; and
(4) that the casual occurrence here and there of a seam
containing more volatile matter than one, or more
than one, of those above it, does not invalidate the
12 ANTHRACITE
first of these four propositions, but must be attributed
to causes into which it is not essential to inquire.
On the subject of deep mining Sir R. A. S. Redmayne,
late Chief Inspector of Mines, says that the gradual
exhaustion of the shallower fields of coal will necessitate
the opening out of the " hidden " coalfields to an in-
creasing extent. The deepest coal mine in the world
is in Belgium, and is just about 4,000 ft. (metalliferous
mining is carried on — e.g. in Michigan — at a depth of
over 5,000 ft). In this country none of our mines
attains this depth, though in some few cases they are
not far from it. The Royal Commission on Coal
Supplies in making their estimate of our coal resources
took for their purpose a limit of 4,000 ft., though we
know there is coal in the United Kingdom at a greater
depth than that, it was not considered accessible for all
practicable purposes. One of the chief obstacles to
mining at great depth is the increased temperature.
The first report, therefore, of the Institution of Mining
Engineers' Committee appointed by the Department
of Scientific and Industrial Research with the co-opera-
tion of the Doncaster Coal Owners' Committee, empha-
sizes certain aspects of the subject so far as the question
of temperature is concerned. The Committee found
that with a properly devised scheme of ventilation the
wet-bulb temperature should be capable of such control
as to allow of economical mining at a depth of at least
5,000 ft.
CHAPTER II
THE BEAUTIFUL ANTHRACITE DISTRICT
THE beautiful anthracite district — Unusual fertility — Absence
of smoke — A picturesque panorama — Tourists' facilities — •
What is anthracite ? — Chemical analysis of the coal — Welsh
supremacy — Labour and time saving — An artistic feat —
Safety — Heat regulation — Rules for anthracite fires — •
Anthracite and horticulture — -" Ca* canny " and under-
production— Output per man — Proportions of coal used
industrially.
HIDDEN away among the mountains of South Wales,
unknown and little suspected by the average tourist,
is one of the most delightful bits of country Great
Britain possesses, combining road, river, ravine, hill
and valley, forestry and fertility rich and alluring as
the Tyrol ; in fact, one instinctively wonders why it is
necessary to go abroad for such scenes with these on
our doorstep, as it were. But then, of course, the locality
in question is unknown — the writer only accidentally
discovered it through a business visit to the district,
and was as much surprised by the artistic revelation
as by the impressive grandeur of the scenery chanced
upon. And it is actually the anthracite colliery area —
positively beautiful !
North Wales, of course, as everyone knows, has long
been famous for its beauty spots and health resorts,
greatly lauded by the guide-books ; but not so South
Wales, which popular imagination associates only with
coal mines and foundries. Hence, it follows that
13
14 ANTHRACITE
nobody would think of searching for the picturesque in
the great coalfield ; yet that is precisely where it
exists !
In the Western Valleys of Wales graphically describes
the district thus : " The Glamorganshire valleys of the
anthracite area, known as the Swansea and Western
valleys, are a delightful revelation to the surprised tourist.
Ranges of impressive mountains on either side, green
and fertile cornfields, pasture lands, and forests of trees
here and there. Strange, you think, fertility can
flourish so luxuriantly in a colliery district. True, all
the same. Why ? Because anthracite is a smokeless
fuel, and consequently not injurious to plant life. Not
a sign of smoke can be seen coming from any of the
colliery chimneys, nor the chimneys of works using
anthracite, in the whole district ; and the uninitiated
would not suspect the presence of collieries at all, so
inconspicuous are they amongst the trees. In fact,
some are not easy to locate, as the writer discovered
when in search of them, excepting where their waste-
dump happens to occupy high ground. The views
obtainable from certain of the more elevated collieries,
such as New Cross Hands, Tirydail, and Llandebie, are
magnificent. From these heights, on a fine day, one's
vision can sweep the whole country, taking in a hundred
hills ; and the panorama displayed around Pantyffynnon
is particularly fine. Good roads, too, are the order
almost everywhere, with many picturesque farmhouses
and cottages by the wayside and in the villages to
please the eye ; and the well-built, substantial walls of
Wales are a study in themselves." The housing accom-
modation of the miners in the anthracite district is
particularly good, too ; there are no " dreadful hovels "
to be seen, like those alleged to exist in some of the
northern mining areas. On the contrary, their cottages
16 ANTHRACITE
are well built, modern, clean, and wholesome generally,
while some the writer has inspected were models of
comfort and convenience, directly due to the personal
interest of certain colliery proprietors in the welfare
of their employees, and certainly not giving one that
impression of the miner's hard life and " deplorable
conditions " which some would have the public believe.
Even the railway stations afford quite extensive views,
as a glance at the illustration of Tirydail station
shows.
The recent complaints of motorists as to the inadequate
hotel accommodation and poor catering met with
throughout England are, happily enough, not applicable
to this charming locality, for there are plenty of good
and comfortable old-fashioned inns, as well as a sprink-
ling of modern hotels, in the villages, where ample fare
at reasonable charges is always available.
The whole district is well served by the Great Western
and London and North Western Railways, and is
conveniently reached by road from either Neath,
Swansea, or Llanelly. The close proximity of the
anthracite mines to the Bristol Channel ports (Swansea,
Llanelly, Kidwelly, Briton Ferry, Port Talbot, etc.), has
been of vital importance in the successful development
of the export trade.
What is Anthracite ? Being virtually pure carbon
(the best quality containing quite 94 per cent), the
calorific value of Welsh anthracite far exceeds that of
all ordinary bituminous or " soft " coals, and it contains
the least ash (less than 1 per cent in the higher grades) ;
it is jet black, with a metallic lustre ; very hard, dense
and slow-burning (therefore very economical) ; burns
steadily with a bright red glow ; gives intense heat,
is clean to handle, continuous-burning, and dbso<uttly
smokeless.
18 ANTHRACITE
Below is a chemical analysis of best Welsh anthracite
Carbon.
Hydrogen. Oxygen. Sulphur.
94-18 2-99 0-76
Nitrogen. Ash.
0-59 0-50 0-98 per cent.
Several countries possess anthracite deposits of
commercial value — some of which I shall deal with
FIG. 5
BLACKPILL, ON THE LITTLE MUMBLES RAILWAY
later — but the quality of Welsh anthracite is supreme.
Its economy is immense, apart from its other advantages,
as will be obvious from the evidence in these pages ;
and not only does this coal burn so much slower and
more regularly than other coal, but there is no waste
whatever involved with it, as the processes to which it
is subjected, screening to sizes required, washing (to
THE BEAUTIFUL ANTHRACITE DISTRICT
19
remove impurities), picking, etc., eliminate the dust,
or " slack," associated with ordinary coals, which the
consumer has to pay for and usually wastes. And it is
pretty generally conceded that in domestic use one ton
of good anthracite is equal to two tons of bituminous
coal, or three tons of coke, which should compensate
amply for its somewhat higher initial cost, necessitated
FIG. 6
MOUNTAIN VIEW FROM TIRYDAIL STATION
by its essentially elaborate preparation. I would
emphasize the importance of this to consumers, industrial
or domestic, who should appreciate the point when
considering the question of comparative prices. It is
undoubtedly the care and attention bestowed upon the
preparatory processes which contribute in no small
degree to the ultimate high efficiency and satisfactory
results attained.
In addition to the economies referred to with anthra-
cite, must be mentioned the enormous saving of wood,
20
ANTHRACITE
paper, matches and such kindling materials, as, once
lighted, an anthracite fire can be kept burning throughout
the winter, or even continuously, if desired. In many
Welsh households these fires have been burning for a
lifetime ! Again, there is the important consideration
of time and labour saving. To lay and light a fresh
f
FIG. 7
A PICTURESQUE SUNKEN COTTAGE BESIDE THE ROAD TO
NEW CROSS HANDS
fire every day is a burden to be rid of — often very trouble-
some and irritating with a refractory grate and bitu-
minous coal, filling the rooms with suffocating smoke
from a backdraught. As an example of time and labour-
saving, it may suffice to mention some business premises
in which are installed seven stoves burning anthracite
coal. It takes the housekeeper only 30 minutes a
day to convey the replenishing coal from the cellar
and attend to the seven stoves, whereas he requires
THE BEAUTIFUL ANTHRACITE DISTRICT 21
fully 20 minutes daily to rake out, clean, relay, and
light up two ordinary open fires.
Anthracite, being smokeless, causes no soot or dirt
(obviating that unpleasant periodical visit of the chimney
sweep) to spoil the pictures, walls, ornaments, furniture,
etc. — hence, less work in dusting and cleaning. For
these reasons anthracite stoves are being increasingly
used in artists' studios, doctors' and dentists' consulting
rooms, laboratories, etc. One enthusiastic and enter-
prising artist told the makers of a stove they installed :
" In spite of the worst chimneys, stove is a perfect
success and constant practical giver of solid comfort —
warms not one centre, but every corner, and has turned
an awfully damp studio room into a pleasant retreat,
and has assured the safety of its contents — valuable
drawing papers, sketches, books, etc. It has never
been out, and so economical and efficient. I can toast,
cook, boil water, etc., on the stove — grand ! "
All this accomplished by the resourceful artist on an
ordinary ornamental type stove, not intended for cook-
ing ! Of course, with one of the specially-constructed
ranges for cooking, anthracite is simply perfection.
Anthracite requires much less attention than other
coal, beyond replenishing and cleansing from residue —
about once only in twenty- four hours in the case of
large stoves, or once in twelve hours where small stoves
or open grates are used. There is much less labour
involved for servants in carrying coal, while the grates
and hearths are more easily cleaned. And as this coal
deposits no soot in the chimney, there is nothing to
catch fire ; nor does it crack, spark, or fly like other
coal, which has so often caused serious fires and fatalities.
The writer has had occasion to watch large anthracite
furnaces, heating great 40-ft. boilers, for periods as
long as six hours at a time, but never once saw a spark
22 ANTHRACITE
or splinter of burning coal fly out of the open doors,
even while stoking. And there were flames 20 ft. long,
for anthracite is by no means devoid of flame as some
people suppose. Anthracite also meets a down-draught
better than does ordinary coal.
The cinders burn equally as well as the coal itself,
so nothing but the ash need be discarded.
Anthracite must on no account be disturbed by
poking, or it will quickly lose its heat and pleasant glow.
Leave it severely alone, and abolish the poker. The ash
need only occasionally be raked out with a thin iron
rod from the bars at the bottom of the grate, allowing
the fire to settle itself down naturally when replenishing.
Many of the best kitchen ranges are capable of burning
anthracite (there is one specially constructed for the
purpose, and I shall have occasion to -refer to it later),
and those new consumers who are daily adopting it are
astonished by the economy and other advantages effected,
wondering why they have allowed themselves to be so
long prevented by old-fashioned prejudices and ignorance
from giving it a trial.
This coal is now used extensively in a large number
of important public institutions, clubs, churches, railway
stations, halls, and prominent London and country
houses. It keeps well, and loses none of its calorific
value in an open shed, or when exposed for a lengthy
period to the open air.
Of course, the specially-designed stoves give the best
results, reducing heating to a science. They regulate
temperature as required, are kept burning day and night,
consume a minimum amount of coal with a maximum
of heat, and are highly ornamental and in great variety
of design ; but it must not be supposed that stoves
are absolutely necessary to the proper burning of anthra-
cite, for such is not the case. It will burn in any ordinary
-(1458H)
24 ANTHRACITE
open grate, the only condition being that, anthracite
being hard and slower of ignition, a little more wood
than usual should be allowed for when starting the fire.
I have seen careful comparative tests made with anthra-
cite and ordinary coals in an open grate showing not
only a 40 per cent saving of fuel on the part of anthracite,
but a higher temperature maintained — even though
windows were opened while the anthracite fire was in
progress !
As a ventilator anthracite is unsurpassed, requiring
as it does for perfect combustion proportionately three
or four times the volume of air which a gas fire requires.
And instead of coming down to a room like an ice-
chamber on winter mornings, as happens when using
ordinary coal, we know that anthracite keeps alight
all night, maintaining the same warmth and comfort
for us to return to each morning as on leaving our
rooms the previous night.
Practical rules for the domestic use of anthracite
are given in In the Western Valleys oj Wales, as
follows —
(1) Kindling wood should be a little thicker — and
preferably harder — than for ordinary coal. It should also
be dry, and there should be rather more of it than usual.
(2) Pack the anthracite closely on and about the
sticks, and well fill the grate. Then light the paper —
which can be gently raked out when burnt to increase
the draught, as the greater the draught the better
when starting the fire.
(3) Once lit, leave the fire absolutely alone.
(4) Do not poke an anthracite fire.
(5) When replenishing the fire, take a thin iron rod,
or wire, and thoroughly clear the ash from the bottom
of the grate. Do not put on too much coal at a time.
(6) Riddle all cinders and re-burn them.
THE BEAUTIFUL ANTHRACITE DISTRICT 25
For horticultural purposes anthracite is ideal and in
great demand. It is rapidly superseding coke for heat-
ing greenhouses, as it gives a more regular, uniform
heat, and lasts longer without attention, dispensing
altogether with the costly night labour. Less ash is made,
so furnaces need less cleaning, and few clinkers require
to be removed ; and there are no poisonous fumes
from the chimneys to injure vegetation or retard
cultivation.
A serious drawback to the Welsh coalfield, as to other
British coalfields, has been the disturbing " ca' canny "
policy of the miners, the shortened hours of working,
and the surplus men employed (condoned by the
Miners' Federation), followed by disastrous strikes during
1921, as a direct result of which our outputs decreased
to absurd proportions, we suffered the loss of our export
trade, and many collieries were compelled to close down
— permanently, it is feared. The following statistics
by Mr. Thomas H. Watkins, President of the Pennsyl-
vania Coal and Coke Co., given before the United States
Chamber of Commerce, reveal the deplorable condition
of affairs —
United States—
1918. Employees engaged in production of
Bituminous Coal . . . 615,305 men.
,, Employees engaged in production of
Anthracite . . . . 147,121 .,
Total production of Bituminous and
Anthracite Coals . . . 678,211,000 tons.
,, Average output each man employed . 889 tons.
Great Britain —
1920. Employees engaged at the mines . 1,185,000 men.
Total production .... 229,000,000 tons.
,, Average output each man employed . 193 tons.
His ironic comment : " The regulation by the Union
has reduced the output per man to what appears to us
(Americans) to be an absurdly low figure."
26 ANTHRACITE
At a meeting of Consolidated Cambrian, Ltd., held
in March, 1921, at the Great Western Hotel, Paddington,
Sir Leonard W. Llewelyn, K.B.E., said that " in South
Wales there are now far too many men employed, and
more than necessary — 27,679 more than pre-war — a
burden on the industry. Many young men who would
not fight for their country came to the collieries as
protection against military service. These men ought,
in fairness to the genuine miners, to be made to return
to their pre-war occupations. South Wales coalowners
were losing at the rate of £25,000,000 a year — or a
little less than £1 per man per week."
And it is through these very unwanted young men —
the " hotheads " and agitators — that the unrest and
industrial strife have been fanned into flame ! It serves
to show what the industry is up against, of which it must
be purged ere normal working can be resumed.
The Fuel Economy Review of April, 1921 (issued by
the Federation of British Industries), recorded the inter-
esting result of a questionnaire sent to manufacturers,
etc., in an endeavour to obtain the proportions of differ-
ent coals used industrially in Britain. The statistics
gathered were set forth as follows — •
Tonnage used by consumers Estimated output tonnage
replying to questionnaire during 9 months of 1920.
Bituminous . 37,507,000 107,450,000
Welsh Steam . 624,000 72,070,000
Anthracite . 449,000 3,234,000
The table illustrates a preponderating tonnage of
bituminous coal and the relatively small amount of
steam and anthracite coals used in industry ; and a
comparison with the output figures seems to indicate
that the class of coal which can be exported with the
THE BEAUTIFUL ANTHRACITE DISTRICT 27
least detriment to industry is Welsh steam coal. Anthra-
cite would appear to be regarded by industry as a luxury,
and is used principally in gas-producing and steam-raising
undertakings.
However, these figures are considerably discounted
by their unsatisfactory incompleteness, as shown by
the editorial memo : "In South Wales it was found
that manufacturing interests were not disposed to give
the information required, and the project had to be
abandoned in that area."
" Of a total fuel consumption of 44,309,000 tons,
estimated to be 30 per cent of the total industrial
requirements, it appears that as much as 39,644,000
tons are used in the unwashed state, i.e. over 89 per
cent."
Proportions of bituminous coal used as slack, to that
used in the large grade, in various industries are here
given —
Tons Tons
Large. Slack.
1. For Steam raising, including electricity )
undertakings ( 2,325,000 6,411,000
(nearly 3 times as much slack) )
2. For Producers 553,400 432,000
WKW™ 395'000
1.238.0003.658,000
CHAPTER III
LIFE AT THE ANTHRACITE COLLIERIES
LIFE at the anthracite collieries — Exploiters' difficulties —
Power of anthracite— The pioneers — Preparation of anthra-
cite— Sizing and washing coal — Standard sizes — Foreign
buyers — The wonderful pit pony.
THE output of anthracite from the South Wales coalfield
was for many years restricted to two trades — the brewing
and hop-drying, and lime-burning trades, in both of
which this quite smokeless fuel was found to be ideal.
Practically none was required domestically, except in
the form of what the Welsh people call " pele " (a mix-
ture of anthracite dust and clay), because its merits
and advantages were neither understood nor favoured,
the average Britain preferring his blazing, smoky and
wasteful fire to the closed stoves adopted on the Con-
tinent, and this splendid coal — the best in the world — •
was marketed abroad in consequence, two-thirds of
the total output continuing to be exported until up to
about three years ago, when the eyes of the British
public were at last opened and the situation rapidly
changed. " The coal of the future," as writers of bygone
generations described it, has now become the coal of
to-day.
But it has not been an easy task to develop the anthra-
cite coalfield, and many enterprising speculators in the
past have lost more money than they got out of it, such
are the risks incurred. Unlike other coalfields, where
operations usually commence on a large scale, all
anthracite colliery undertakings had modest beginnings,
for this field is continually troubled by " faults "-
almost weekly occurrences — involving the companies
28
LIFE AT THE ANTHRACITE COLLIERIES 29
in much trouble and financial strain, causing many of
the properties to change hands again and again before
success and stability are attained. Considerable courage
as well as perseverance and special knowledge of local
conditions are necessary to successfully develop an
anthracite property, hence few outsiders entering
the industry have succeeded.
The growth of the output and demand for anthracite
from South Wales is traceable from the date of the
introduction of the Dowson pressure power plant, the
gas for which was generated from anthracite ; and with
the introduction of the suction power plant to follow,
the demand for anthracite became universal, especially
when power users realized the important fact that
one ton of anthracite will produce in a pressure or suction
gas-engine power equal to ten tons of ordinary steam coal
used under an ordinary steam boiler.
The trade in anthracite has steadily increased from
about 1,780,000 tons in 1896 to 4,800,000 in 1913,
largely attributable to the activities of the real pioneers
of the industry, Messrs. Cleeves's Western Valleys
Anthracite Collieries, Ltd., of Swansea, the largest
company in the field, owning some of the principal
collieries working the best seams. To their initiative
and enterprise is due the introduction of the most
efficient electrical and other up-to-date equipment
in modern mining development, always regardless of
expense ; and the organization necessary to popularize
anthracite and increase the output to the benefit of
the whole industry must be credited to their energy and
efforts. The company's London offices are at 120
Fenchurch Street, E.G., where helpful information or
advice on the selection of anthracite for different
purposes may be obtained.
The process of preparing anthracite before it is ready
30 ANTHRACITE
for the various markets is elaborate and very costly,
entailing the use of intricate and delicate machinery,
the wear and tear on which is considerable. When next
comparing coal prices, perhaps the reader will not be-
grudge the necessary extra cost of his anthracite. I
cannot do better than quote the interesting description
of life at the collieries given in the instructive brochure,
In the Western Valleys of Wales, issued by Messrs. Cleeves
who employ nearly 3,000 men in normal times, and
whose mineral area covers something like 2,580
acres —
" The mines are each approached by ' slants/
or inclined tunnels, but at the New Cross Hands
Colliery (the largest and one of the older collieries)
there is also a pit shaft. An elaborate system of tram-
lines links up the different parts of a mine, and small
iron ' trams,' or trucks, are utilized to bring up the coal,
hauled to the surface by powerful steel-wire ropes con-
nected to electric and other winding engines. Usually
about a dozen full trams at a time are hauled up
and ingeniously diverted to their destination along
separate routes, elevated where there is a hill to climb
by means of a moving chain, or ' creeper/ as it is termed,
which runs between the lines and carries hooks which
attach themselves automatically to the trams.
" Trams containing the shale and other rubbish go
direct to the waste-dump, while those filled with the
good coal travel past the weighing-room, opposite which,
on a weighbridge, each tram automatically registers
the weight of its contents, recorded on an indicator
inside the room. It then passes on to a rotary
tippler, which turns the tram completely upside down,
shooting the coal on to the declivity screens, from whence
it travels on belts to the breaking and screening depart-
ments. The empty tram is then released, returning
32 ANTHRACITE
by itself to the mine, down a gentle gradient, propelled
by its own weight.
" The revolving breaker having dealt with the large
coal, this coal travels to the various ' screens ' for sizing.
These screens for sizing are placed one above another,
sloping, and worked on a shaking principle, keeping
the coal steadily on the move to obviate congestion.
Some collieries do not break their coal, merely screening
it to a few sizes, but Messrs. Cleeves break and screen
their product into eleven different sizes, besides carefully
washing several sizes. The screens are perforated with
round holes, through or over which the coal passes
in sizes from 2^ in. by 4 in. (the largest cobbles) to
| in. by £ in. (' grains ') ; and similar moving belts,
but not perforated, convey the screened coal to the
pickers who remove by hand whatever shale it contains.
Impurities are picked from the cobbles and large coal
prior to the coal going to the breaker. These picking
belts also serve the purpose of loading the coal into the
railway trucks, but on them only the larger sizes are
dealt with, viz., machine-made cobbles and machine-
made ' French ' nuts. Sizes below the French nut
cannot be conveniently picked and sorted by hand,
and are therefore transferred to a washer.
" The ' washery ' belts work with the same shaking
movement, carrying the small coals, such as Stove Nuts,
Peas, Beans, Pea Nuts, etc., through tanks of water
to effectually remove the particles of stone. This is
the sole reason for washing, not, as some suppose, to
remove the fine coal — this being done by screening
before washing. Notwithstanding this, however, it
is, of course, impossible to prevent some fine coal made
in the washing process adhering to the wet pieces ;
but Messrs. Cleeves have always made it their practice
to place all their coal in the trucks in the best possible
m
34 ANTHRACITE
condition, which is important to the consumer. To
ensure a maximum standard of quality being maintained,
the firm's coal examiner twice daily takes and tests
samples of coal from the screens and washery, and the
percentage of waste material detected rarely reaches
1 per cent."
Below are the various descriptions and sizes into
which Messrs. Cleeves divide their coal (the recognized
British standard sizes), with their respective uses —
Selected large, for malting, hop-drying, and horticultural
purposes.
Screened large, for export for breaking down into sized coals.
Machine-made Cobbles (2£" x 4"), for central-heating appara-
tus, Dowson and pressure gas plants, household and various
purposes.
Machine-made " French " nuts (If X 2|*), for practically
similar purposes as cobbles, and for open grates or large stoves.
Machine-made and washed Stove Nuts (1" x If"), for suction
gas plants and the majority of domestic stoves.
Machine-made and washed "Pea-nuts" (£" X 1J"), for
" Economic " stoves and suction gas plants.
Machine-made and washed " Beans " (£" x |"), for suction
gas plants and domestic stoves.
Machine-made and washed " Peas " (J* X f), for suction
gas plants and steam raising.
Machine-made and washed " Grains " (J* X J"), for specially-
constructed suction gas plants and under steam boilers with
forced draught.
" Duff " (the fine, small dust), for spelter and cement making,
chiefly to a small extent mixed with steam coals for making
patent fuel, including boulets for domestic stoves and fires.
" Rubbly Culm " (or the rough small coal passed between
longitudinal bars 1£" apart), principally used for lime burning
and steam raising.
Anthracite, being free from arsenic, etc., is excellent
for the brewing industry ; and the high percentage of
carbon contained in Welsh anthracite enables it to
displace coke and charcoal for the manufacture of carbide
of calcium in Norway, Sweden and Italy, which countries
take large quantities in various sizes.
LIFE AT THE ANTHRACITE COLLIERIES
35
The industry was built up on its export trade, the
largest buyers before the war being France, Italy,
Germany and Scandinavia ; but the market is a world-
wide one, even as small a quantity as 5 tons is dispatched
at intervals in bags (for mule, etc.,
transport) to the most remote and
unexpected corners of the globe.
While producers prefer to cultivate
the home market (likely in future to
surpass the foreign demand), they
are compelled to maintain their
export connections for the purpose
of disposing of certain descriptions
of anthracite not required at home,
and unless these descriptions are
disposed of, the quantities worked
would be restricted and the costs to
the home consumer increased in con-
sequence. Reduction in cost is
dependent upon increasing the out-
put per man employed, reducing the
present heavy railway, dock, etc.,
charges, and the more profitable
utilization of the small (duff) in- E]ectric ignitioil)
volved. Given these circumstances, double gauge,
anthracite will quickly resume its Fitted with either
former moderate prices.
Much of the " life " at a colliery
is, of course, below the surface, where the activity
is none the less vigorous for being in the gloom
of the pit. Anthracite mines are particularly t
lively and energetic concerns, with their signal-
ling stations, electrical machinery, winding-cables,
lights, bells, etc. ; but one of the most interesting
features of all mines, perhaps, is the wonderful pit
FIG. 11
A TYPICAL
MINER'S LAMP
magnetic, p n e u -
matic, or lead lock,
36 ANTHRACITE
pony, whose intelligence is quite extraordinary. These
animals possess an uncanny sense of everything going
on, and although their heads are usually covered, to
afford protection for their eyes, they walk about and
turn in awkward tunnels without injuring themselves,
and can find their own way to the stables from any
section of the mine ! It is very important to the
efficient working of a coal mine that suitable ponies
for haulage are carefully selected, and such animals
are a distinct class, selected for their weight, build and
muscle — and they must be strong. They must also be
short from nose to tail, to facilitate easy turning in the
numerous narrow and cramped passages in a mine.
A colliery manager throws an interesting light on
this subject : " No pony is allowed to work below ground
until it is four years of age, and then only the best
possible are of any value for colliery work. Given
proper care and attention they are able to continue
working in a pit until aged, and at the colliery with which
I am associated there are animals which have been
labouring below ground for sixteen years and are ' still
going strong.' Nowadays, when so much controversy
is raging as to the cost per ton of raising coal, it is sur-
prising how often the factor of the maintenance of the
ponies is ignored by the statisticians. The cost of a
pony now varies between £50 and £75, as compared
with anything from £25 to £45 before the war. During
the war I paid as much as £180 for one. The cost of
maintenance averages about 25s. a week, which is
about double the pre-war figure. That they should be
fed well is essential, for although the working day is
one of only seven hours, it is a very strenuous one.
" When a horse goes blind it must no longer be worked
underground. For that reason in nearly every colliery
the stables are down in the mine, for unless brought
LIFE AT THE ANTHRACITE COLLIERIES 37
daily to the surface — a difficult and costly procedure —
the sight of the ponies is apt to be greatly affected by
exposure to the sunlight after becoming accustomed to
the darkness of colliery conditions. Ponies develop a
most uncanny way of sensing a danger which is not
apparent to the officials or the men. I have known
not a few cases where a horse, without any apparent
reason, has obstinately refused to pass a certain spot
in the colliery ' roadway/ as the tunnel leading up to a
' stall ' is called. Close scrutiny has revealed a piece oj
bad top which might at any moment cause a 'fall.' "
Hauliers generally form a strong attachment to their
ponies, naturally, and one was amazed to learn that
during the disorders of the great coal strike of 1921
there were men capable of the callous and inhuman
attitude of abandoning such wonderful animals to their
fate in the deserted pits.
CHAPTER IV
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY
ECONOMICS and efficiency — Anthracite in domestic service —
Educating the public — Official tests and demonstrations —
100 per cent economy — Increased efficiency from decreased
consumption — Comparative costs of fuels — Dr. Fisherden's
experiments — Fallacy of adding chemicals — Professor Bar-
ker's fuel tests — Comparative heating values — Chimney-
losses — Consumers' reports of stoves — Pre-eminent economy
of anthracite — Coalowners and costs — Kitchen conquest —
English cookery— The " King of Ranges " — Immense saving
of fuel — Importance of clean fires — Soot and Heat-losses —
Domestic boilers— Anthracite versus gas — The " Therm "
and B.T.U. — The " Florence " boiler-grate — Welwyn Garden
City installations — Anthracite stoves and grates— Capacities
of stoves — Dutch stoves and their capacities — Principal
stove makers — Stove " scares " — Stove fuel costs — Expert
opinions of anthracite — Gas-stove perils.
Anthracite in Domestic Service. During the past three
years Welsh anthracite has made enormous strides
towards its chief goal and ultimate destination — the
British household — and, thanks to energetic educational
propaganda, which swept aside the barriers of apathy
and prejudice, has succeeded in winning by sheer merit
the esteem and respect of many thousands of families
hitherto not only unfamiliar with its advantages, but
sceptical or indifferent, and may now lay claim to having
captured the heart as well as the hearth of the enlightened
householder.
Practical demonstration helped materially to convince
the public of what anthracite can do, and at several
of these exhibitions (in which the writer actively par-
ticipated) certain popular fallacies — such as that which
denied the possibility of burning anthracite in open
grates — were effectually dispelled ; and some very
38
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 39
remarkable results were attained during these useful
experiments. Numerous official records were duly
reported in the Press from time to time ; but one
instance of the kind may be mentioned here (from the
Coal and Iron and By- Products Journal, 23rd Nov.,
1918)—
" At a private meeting of the Coal and Coke Supplies
Committee for South Wales, a practical demonstration
of anthracite large coal (broken by hand) in an ordinary
grate was made on 7th Nov. before the zone representa-
tives for the distribution of coal under the zone scheme
for Area 13 (south-western counties), held at the Royal
Hotel, Bristol. A fire was lighted at 4.30 p.m. in a
room measuring 31 ft. by 23ft. 6 in., 15 ft. in height, the
temperature of which was as low as 48° F. at the start.
Within half an hour the thermometer registered 55°
(with windows open), when the fire was built up with
' pele ' (anthracite duff and clay balls), sufficient to
last for at least twenty hours. These made a splendid
glow, throwing off a fine heat, and shortly afterwards
the temperature rose to 66°, which was maintained
throughout the evening — a bitterly cold one, with a
keen east wind blowing. The committee was highly
satisfied with both the efficiency and economy — the
total fuel consumed being only 10 Ib. of coal and 12 Ib.
of ' pele.' "
The accompanying illustration of the grate in question
(Fig. 12) shows its exact dimensions, 24 in. wide in front,
in which, burning ordinary coal to the full capacity (quite
double the quantity) nothing like the temperatures
mentioned could be obtained ! With the substitution
of anthracite the corners of the grate were enabled to
be filled in with firebricks, reducing the actual size of
the firebox to 16 ins. at the front, the same as the back.
The newspapers have recorded several comparative
4— (1458H)
40
ANTHRACITE
trials of anthracite and ordinary coals in the open grate
showing a clear saving of 40 per cent in fuel consumption
(to say nothing of the wood, paper, matches, etc.),
but here we see a far bigger economy — about 100 per
cent — with superior efficiency and service.
Similar trials with anthracite in the conference
chamber (a room nearly 40 ft. long) of the Institute of
GRATE AT ROYAL HOTEL, BRISTOL
Fire-box only 6 in. deep. Bars 1£ in. apart, 3 in. from hearth.
Filled in with firebricks to 16 in. wide, the reduced dimensions
being adequate with anthracite
South Wales Engineers, Cardiff, revealed that their
large grate, wasting over 40 Ib. of ordinary coal daily,
could be fitted with firebricks reducing the capacity
of the firebox by about 30 per cent, and yet ensure a
more comfortably warm room when burning anthracite.
Domestic Engineering (November, 1920) quoted the
following very interesting table of the comparative cost
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY
41
of fuels (from a paper read before the Institution of
Heating and Ventilating Engineers), plainly showing
that even in the matter of price anthracite beats all.
ACTUAL COST (for
FUEL.
Calorific
value
B T U
Specific
gravity.
CURRENT PRICE.
100% efficiency)
IN PENCE.
100,000
B.T.U.
IH.P.hr.
Coal
Brown coal
12,500 p. Ib.
8,500 „
66s. p. ton
56s. „
2-8 pence
3-5 „
0-07
0-09
Anthracite.
14,000 „
3-0 „
0-075
Coke
12,500 „
66s! I'
2-8 „
0-07
Logs
8,500 „
61s. .,
3-8
0-095
Petrol
19,500 „
0-75
4s. 6d. gal.
36-0
0-90
Gas tar
16,000 „
1-1
2s. 9d. „
18-0
0-45
Heavy fuel oil .
19,500 „
0-9
120s. ton
3-3
0-085
Methylated spirit
11,300 „
0-82
11s. gal.
144-0
3-70
Paraffin .
20,000 „
0-85
2s. 4d. „
16-0
0-40
Coal gas .
SOOp.c.ft.
4s. 6d. p. 1,000ft.
11-0
0-28
Electricity
3,410p.kw.
2d.p. kw.hr.
56-0
1.40
hr.
Even at the high price of 80s. a ton (due to abnormal
circumstances) calculated, the economy of anthracite
is apparent ; but based on the usual price of anthracite —
which is nearer to 60s. a ton under normal conditions —
the figure 3d. would be only about 2d. And the statistics
do not take into consideration the further important
question of costs of installation, upkeep, or extra
expense attributable to convenience, comfort, appear-
ance, etc., which in connection with some fuels would
be heavy.
A number of tests of the efficiency of the coal fire
were published in the report of the research work carried
out by Dr. Margaret Fisherden for the Manchester
Corporation Air Pollution Advisory Board in 1920.
It was assumed that the heat generated from coal fires
goes in three directions : (1) Heat radiated into the
room. (2) Heat carried up the flue by the warm air,
and gases, part of which escapes through the chimney,
42 ANTHRACITE
whilst part, heating the walls of the flue on its passage,
is conducted through the walls to the outside or to
adjacent rooms. (3) Heat given up to the walls and
connected from them into the room, or conducted
elsewhere. The heat completely wasted from a heating
point of view is : (a) That which escapes from the top
of the chimney, though even this is doing useful work
in causing ventilation, (b) That which is conducted
through the walls at the back of the fire to the outside.
Where the chimney is an inside wall, part of (b) is
utilized in heating adjoining rooms. In the case of an
inside chimney, the only final loss is the heat in the
gas escaping from the top of the chimney.
Various grates were tested, and working with ordinary
bituminous coal, the radiant efficiency was in all cases
between 20 and 24 per cent. A Welsh anthracite of
the calorific value of 14,400 B.T.U. per Ib. gave a radiant
efficiency of 27 per cent in a grate which only showed
24 per cent radiant efficiency for coal fires. I am in-
clined to think that this was (in error) considerably
underestimated, however. Other fires tested included
gas-coke, wet and dry ; low-temperature carbonization
coke ; briquette, and electric fires, and the conclusions
arrived at were that the aggregate efficiency of the coal
fire in heating a room is generally at least 30 per cent,
even for grates of supposedly inferior design ; that of
the better modern gas fires is in the neighbourhood of
60 per cent, whilst the efficiency of electric fires, in which
there is no flue egress of heat, may be taken as 100 per
cent. Adopting these values, it was calculated that,
with coal at, say, 45s. a ton, gas at 4s. 6d. a thousand
cubic feet, and electricity at Id. per unit, the cost oj
a coal fire for continuous heating is only about one-third
that oj a good gas-fire, and one-fijth that of an electric
fire of equal heating capacity. Of course, the economy
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY
43
is much greater even than this in the case of anthracite
burned in a dosed, stove of modern design, when the heat
radiation and convection are about 85 per cent.
On the subject of salts, the report states : " We have
tested several of the preparations that are so widely
advertised as doubling the value of a ton of coal. They
consist generally of common salt, with a small percentage
of other chemicals added. In every case we have found,
as was to be expected, that they had no effect whatever
on the quantity of heat given out to the room from a
given weight of coal."
In the Western Valleys of Wales gives the following
fuel costs, compiled by Professor Barker for his lectures
at University College, London —
Fuel Tested.
Cost.
Pence
per Hour.
Cost
for Season.
Coal grate
45s. ton
•455
i *• d.
3 16 6
Gas fire .
4s. 1,000 cub. ft.
1-28
10 14 -
Gas radiator .
•383
34-
Naked gas flames
•21
1 15 -
Anthracite stove
60s. ton
•21
1 15 -
(Burned continuously,
24 hours day)
\ "
—
3 10 -
Electricity
8d. unit.
9-4
78 10 -
2£d. unit.
2-95
24 12 -
Hot-water radiators
42s. ton (coke)
•15
1 5 -
(Burned continuously,
24 hours day)
[ "
-
2 — —
The above calculations are based on tests of heating
a room of 2,000 cubic feet during a period of 200 days
of ten hours each, and the prices were those ruling
several years ago. Were these tests made to-day, they
would place anthracite in a still more favourable position,
far eclipsing coke, as, of course, the post-war price of
coke has been practically equal to that of anthracite
44
ANTHRACITE
for lengthy periods, whilst the prices of gas and electricity
have advanced considerably.
Another instructive point in Professor Barker's
lectures was this table of comparative heating values —
Heat by
Coal Fire.
Gas Fire.
Anthracite
Stove.
Hot-water
Radiator.
Radiation
25%
50%
35%
88%
Convection
5
15
15
12
Conduction
(Walls, etc.)
15
— —
—
Chimney loss
55
35 50
—
100
100
100
100
But I fear I must disagree entirely with Professor
Barker's estimated 50 per cent chimney loss on an
anthracite stove ! Either the stove he tested was
defective somewhere, or his figures are confused, I
think, for the opinions of stove makers, after a lifetime's
practical experience, is that the chimney loss of an
efficient, properly-fitted, modern anthracite stove is
only about 15 per cent, which I should vote correct.
Obviously the Professor's figures prove themselves
wrong, for they show only an additional 5 per cent
chimney-loss in the case of an open fire. If he had
put the latter's chimney-loss at 85 per cent, most
investigators would agree therewith, for that is nearer
the true mark. However, even professors are liable
to make little mistakes occasionally, so I trust Professor
Barker — whose scientific tests are of great value to the
nation and have our utmost respect — will not mind my
venturing a slight correction.
A writer in Our Homes and Gardens (February, 1920)
says, " The continuous-burning closed anthracite stoves
are excellent. The fire seen through the mica door
presents a cheerful glow, and there is only need to stoke
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 45
twice a day, night and morning. I had two going all
last winter, and the cost worked out at 6d. per day each,
with anthracite at the high price of 65s. per ton. A
judicious mixture of coke can be made which lessens
the cost somewhat, but it burns quicker and the stoves
required filling more often in consequence ; coke also
makes more ash than anthracite."
For the information of those who like to see the fire
itself preferably to seeing the glow " through the mica
door," I may mention in passing that there are certain
stoves — such as the " Home Comfort," a well-known
British stove — which can be used either closed or with
the door open, like an ordinary fire.
The contributor of an important article on anthracite
stoves to Country Life (3rd Dec., 1921) writes : " The
anthracite stove is a boon in a house where some room
must be left untended, perhaps, for the best part of
the day, for the fire will still be alight and the room
cosy and warm after this long interval, whereas a coal
fire would have burnt itself out and the heat be all lost
by way of chimney and door and window, leaving the
room cold and cheerless. Quite a remarkable degree
of control is possible with the back and front dampers,
according to climatic conditions. Obviously, when the
weather is dry and there is a high wind, the dampers
need to be closed far more than when the air is still and
moist. And apart from these conditions of weather
one's personal wishes can be met very completely. Thus,
an anthracite fire can be kept going hour after hour at
minimum intensity by closing the dampers to their
fullest extent. This is normally done when retiring
for the night. Then, in the morning, the dampers can
be opened full, the ash shaken down into the tray, and
very soon the fire will be seen fully aglow through the
mica front, a delightful radiation coming from it.
46 ANTHRACITE
" With regard to the cost of running anthracite stoves,
the writer has proved from personal tests that with
anthracite even at the present extortionate price of
£5 per ton a stove sufficient to heat a room about 15 ft.
square costs less than 8d. for twenty-Jour hours, burning
continuously, whereas a test made at the same time,
under similar conditions, showed that with an ordinary
hearth fire burning best household coal the cost was
practically the same for 12 hours ! The open fire, of
course, had the cheerier appearance, but against this
had to be set the trouble entailed by it, and the fact
that its running cost was twice that oj the anthracite stove."
After so many protests that anthracite was such
an " expensive " coal, and the prolonged attempts of
coal merchants (from interested motives) to keep the
public in ignorance of its possibilities, it is quite a refresh-
ing change to find an enlightened consumer, speaking
from practical experience, able to prove convincingly
that, even at an " extortionate " price, anthracite's
running cost was only half that of ordinary coal in an
open fire ! It shows how necessary it is for people to
give more serious attention to this question.
During the autumn of 1921, as a result of the prolonged
coal strike, miners' high wages, inflated railway and other
charges, lost exports, etc., the price of anthracite for
household purposes necessarily soared to an alarming
height. Yet, notwithstanding the high figure attained,
it still remained the most economical fuel to use ; and The
Ironmonger pointed out that a first rate anthracite
stove would save tenpence where it saved a penny in
1913, as the figures (on page 47) for a day's run show.
And I might here take the opportunity to mention
something in defence of the much-abused coalowner,
who the public was led to believe extorted such swollen
profits that anthracite became dear. In the preparation
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 47
COMPARISON IN COST FOR A DAY'S RUN
1913
1921
Ordinary coal fire
burning 30 Ib. in
15 hours at
. (23s. 6d.) 3Jd. .
. at (63s.) lOd.
Anthracite stove
burning 15 Ib. in
24 hours at
. (42s. 6d.) 3£d. .
. at (95s.) 7Jd.
id.
2Jd.
of sized coal there is necessarily much wastage, and the
more regular the size of the coal the greater the expense
and wastage involved in preparing it. Now, while the
high price prevailed I happened to receive this piece
of private information direct from the South Wales
anthracite colliery owners : "To day as much as 20
Per cent of the output of collieries where they break coal
is actually being sent away for less than the cost price,
railway carriage, and wagon hire ; and 10 per cent
consists of ' Peas ' which have to be sold in competition
with steam coal and realise less than the actual wages
Paid. This explains why a high price has to be asked
for the Nut coal." From which one gathers that, when
circumstances arise necessitating an increased price for
coals, it is not safe to so readily condemn the colliery
proprietors.
Kitchen Conquest. Although the fact is by no means
generally realized, the most important room in every
household is the kitchen — whilst the predominant
feature of that room is unquestionably the cooking
range ! The kitchen range is of primary importance
and the foundation of most of our comfort, and, if
properly constituted, brings peace and quietude, or,
if otherwise, wrangling, disquietude and friction between
mistress and servants . Where this is not recognized, there
can be no smooth working and harmony, no efficiency
48 ANTHRACITE
in the culinary department, and not infrequently waste,
muddle and confusion are the inevitable results. It is
wise, therefore, to admit one's obligation at once, and
bestow even more attention upon the kitchen than the
drawing-room.
Given a light, roomy, airy, cheerful kitchen, equipped
with an up-to-date range, constructed on scientific
principles to ensure fuel economy and the minimum
of labour, the cook's daily task becomes a really inter-
esting, healthy occupation instead of — as so often
happens — a dark, gloomy, stifling, unhealthy furnace of
drudgery and dreariness. A congenial atmosphere for
the cook means all the difference between content-
ment and discontentment among the staff, and is
probably the true solution of the troublesome servant
problem.
Most of the ordinary, old-fashioned open and closed
fire ranges conduce to fuel wastage, and give unsatis-
factory results. Such ranges are utterly opposed to
economy, the chief reason being that a large percentage
of the heat generated is wasted by passing up the
chimney — the serious defect accompanying the majority
of English fireplaces. Another portion of the heat is
by radiation wafted into the kitchen, making that
domain intolerably hot and unwholesome — a severe
trial to the health, strength and temper of the unfor-
tunate cook, who wonders why she or he feels so
unaccountably irritable throughout the day.
All this, of course, has tended to bring English cooking
into bad repute, and earned the reproachful sneers of
our cynics in the Press and elsewhere. For instance,
the following are specimens of paragraphs one is
constantly reading in the newspapers —
A wife was asked at Old Street Police Court if she
were a very good cook. " Yes, I am," she replied.
50 ANTHRACITE
" She is the first Englishwoman I know who is ! "
commented Mr. Clarke Hall, the magistrate.
A country housewife, full of good intentions, but
possessing little culinary knowledge, decided to try her
hand at cake-making (says the Morning Post). The
result was somewhat on the heavy side, and, after
offering it to the various members of her household,
she threw it to the ducks in disgust. A short time
afterwards two urchins tapped at her door.
" I say, missus," they shouted gleefully, " your
ducks 'ave sunk ! "
Even generations back we trace the slurs cast upon
English cookery, for David Garrick is credited with the
unkind remark, " Heaven sends us good meat, but
the devil sends cooks !"
Now, there is really no need for a continuance of this
sarcasm to-day. As a contemporary observes, "It is
not too much to say that the cook holds the secret of
the nation's happiness because he or she holds the secret
oj good health. Ill-cooked and ill-served food provoke
bitterness of soul and uncharitableness. The man
whose potatoes are half-glue, half-stone, whose steak
is white and tough, whose bed is ill-made, gets up in
the morning in the evil temper of indigestion, which
makes him ready for war and battle."
Sir James Crichton-Browne has truthfully asserted,
" nothing has brought more grist to the medical mill
than indigestion and dyspepsia ; and nothing has
contributed more to these than ignorance and neglect
in the kitchen."
What to have for dinner will always be the most
important question of the day, hence the preparation
of the meal is of equal importance. "It is not the
quantity of the meat, but the cheerfulness of the guests,
which makes the feast," said Lord Clarendon.
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 51
" The proper cooking of potatoes is the great test of
a cook," declared a London magistrate ; but he hardly
went far enough, though it is certainly better to cook
a potato well than to play a piano badly.
However, to be conscious that one is ignorant is the
first step to knowledge, so I admire the lady who recently
made this frank admission in a newspaper —
" At first I hadn't got a mincer, a pair of scales, an
electric iron, a polish-mop, nor a long-handled scrubber.
But the drawing-room was a dream ! Nowadays I'd
rather have a set of rustless knives than an etching,
and a washing and ironing machine than a baby grand !
Anthracite stoves, too, I'd have. Consider the work-
saving of fires that burn continuously, need little
cleaning, and attention at rare intervals, and, after
getting up shivering on a cold winter's morning, try to
picture the joy of finding a delightfully warm kitchen
to cook the breakfast in, and a dining-room at just the
right temperature ! Isn't it worth the sacrifice of
some of the fal-lals to achieve real, solid comfort ? "
The foregoing confirms my contention that the kitchen
is of supreme importance, as they class it on the Con-
tinent. There the kitchen is the bright, cheerful
apartment it ought to be. The stoves, smaller than
ours, consume much less fuel while retaining greater
efficiency. Usually, as in America, the range stands
clear of the wall, to permit of easy access all round it,
obviating the irksome strain of leaning forward to see how
things are progressing. It is precisely these seemingly
small conveniences for the cook which help materially
towards unison between mistress and servant. Make
the kitchen a comfortable place instead of an insanitary
inferno, and there will be far less discontent among
its tenants.
Quite the best designed British made kitchen range
52 ANTHRACITE
is that known as the " Kooksjoie " (Florence patent),
rightly called the " King of Ranges," and admitted even
by the trade to be the most scientific on the market. At
exhibitions it becomes the centre of attraction, and has
secured several highest awards, including the gold medal
of the City of Leicester Bakers, Confectioners and
Caterers, and the first-prize medal of the Royal Sanitary
Institute.
With this range — specially constructed to burn
anthracite — the consumption of fuel is considerably
lower than with any other range, while the wear and
tear are reduced, hence it is rapidly superseding old-
fashioned, ponderous ranges, many of which swallow
up four times the amount of coal and give less efficient
service. Its flues are completely under control ; the
heat goes first to the boiler, then passes all round and
over the oven, and by the time it reaches the flue it
has exhausted itself. All kinds of fuel may be used,
of course, but the best results are obtained with anthra-
cite, which ensures continuous burning and constant
hot-water supply, besides abolishing smoke and soot,
saving labour and time. So little deposit from anthra-
cite accumulates in the flues, that they need only be
swept once in six months, and the chimney only once
in as many years !
Some thousands of this remarkable range have already
been sold, and its makers furnish me with exceedingly
interesting particulars of the work it is accomplishing
in evolutionizing the British kitchen.
For instance, an average size " Kooksjoie " range
(it is made in twelve different sizes, from a mansion to
a cottage), such as would be required to cook the meals
of a family of from twelve to twenty persons, only
consumes, under proper regulation and conditions,
about 1 J Ib. of anthracite an hour, working continuously
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY
53
twenty-four hours, representing a running cost, with
coal even at 80s. per ton, of a fraction over a halfpenny
per hour ! And here are the amazing figures forthcoming
from an independent official test of one of the large-size
" Kooksjoie " ranges, such as used in hotels or clubs —
Fire lighted.
Meals
served.
Actual weight
of food cooked.
Anthracite
consumed.
Total cost of
cooking for
300 persons.
7.30 a.m.
Between
12.30 &
1.30 p.m.
527 Ib.
45 Ib.
2s. 7d.
These large " communal " ranges only consume on
an average about 20 cwt. of anthracite per month —
which some large ranges of much less capacity would
burn in a week ! The above test was a truly astonishing
performance — a record, I believe — for, besides cooking
the food, the range provided ample hot water for washing
up and for teas.
In basing the average fuel consumption by the "Kooks-
joie " range on the figure of 30 Ib. per twenty-four-hour
day (or 10 cwt. per month), the makers really allow a
liberal margin for the possible careless regulation of
flues and other contingencies, as the range when burning
anthracite can actually be run on less. One report says :
" We kept the range working day and night for 14 days,
using 380 Ib. of anthracite nuts, cooking and baking
for five people — 27 Ib. of coal per day." And some
customers, employing experienced and careful cooks,
write that their fuel consumption is even lower than
that. Sir Courtney Bennett wrote to the makers as
follows regarding his extraordinary experience with
coke —
" During the war and afterwards anthracite was
only with difficulty to be obtained for use in the
54 ANTHRACITE
" Kooksjoie ' range which I purchased from you three
years ago, and I had to use ordinary gas coke to eke out
the anthracite This succeeded so well that I gradually
decreased the anthracite used to zero, and still the
results were good For the last twelve months I have
used nothing but broken coke from the local gas com-
pany, and am more than pleased with the result The
' Kooksjoie ' does all that it should do, and with less
expense than when I used anthracite. I find that,
using coke, the range consumes just under half a ton
per month."
This evidence, of course, proves that, burning anthra-
cite under proper regulation, the range can be run on
the still smaller quantities of fuel quoted by some users.
Few people realize the importance of clean flues and
fires in the kitchener — possibly because that desirable
condition is not possible with ordinary ranges burning
ordinary coals. With anthracite, of course, fouling of
flues, and other nuisances, automatically disappear ;
and if that were the only advantage claimed for
anthracite, it would be considerable.
But, apart from the question of labour and incon-
venience accompanying soot-laden flues, let us look at
another and more important aspect. The dirty fire-
surface causes great loss of heat, acts as an insulator,
and prevents the heat from getting to work effectually. A
special investigation by the Institute of Marine Engineers
disclosed the startling fact that soot on heating surfaces
decreases the efficiency of heat-absorbing surfaces in
the following ratio —
Soot thickness Efficiency loss
inches. per cent.
„', 9-5
T'B . . . . . . . . 26-2
1 . . 45-2
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 55
Now, marine engineers know that marine engines
and boilers must always maintain the highest state of
efficiency, hence frequent tests are made for the purpose
of ascertaining the true state and ensuring perfect
running ; therefore the above conclusions, surprising
as they may appear, are absolutely trustworthy
Domestic Boilers : Anthracite versus Gas. There are
at least two distinct kinds of gas boilers, but the one
most commonly fixed and used, known as a " circulator,"
is merely an independent boiler, using gas as fuel instead
of coke, said that authority, The Ironmonger, in a
recent instructive article. It is smaller in size and of
less power than the average coke-burning boiler, but
it is used in much the same way ; that is connected
with an ordinary hot-water apparatus of circulating
pipes and storage tank, for tap supply, to heat the water
in conjunction with a range boiler, or alone.
A gas boiler requires an effective flue, and a little
experience makes the fitter seek to carry his flue pipe
into the kitchen chimney. To carry the flue pipe through
an outer wall and fit it with a conical cap outside is
almost always a failure. A flue pipe from a gas boiler
merely carried through a wall would be successful if
there was no wind, but down-blow or wind pressure,
when the wind is in certain quarters, will cause the
burning gas to " light back," or perhaps be extinguished.
When the flue pipe from a gas boiler must go through
an outer wall it has to be carried up a few feet inside
the house and then through the wall with a conical
cap outside.
The power of a gas boiler is best based on the amount
of water it will heat to dish-washing temperature, say
140° F. A boiler which does not yield water hot enough
for the scullery sink is a failure, whatever else it may
do. Experience teaches that for domestic hot-water
5— (1458ii)
56 ANTHRACITE
requirements the first necessity is to satisfy those who
use the sink.
Ignoring laboratory figures, which are seldom correct
in practice, calculations must be based on allowing
three cubic feet of gas per gallon of water heated from
average cold to dish-washing temperature. This allow-
ance is not always correct, but it is a figure that may be
used with the certainty that no one can say it is false
or misleading. If it comes out badly, which it rarely
does, it will be due to abnormally bad conditions. A
consumption of three cubic feet of gas per gallon does
not claim a high efficiency for the boiler. A gallon of
water, 10 lb., raised from 50 to 140° F., has 900 B.Th.U.
Gas now averages about 480 B.Th.U. per cubic foot,
or 1,440 for three cubic feet. This shows nearly 63
per cent efficiency for the boiler. Considering the claims
made for gas boilers, this may be thought low, but it
is not wise to calculate on a better yield than this if we
take the temperature of the water obtained from the
average domestic tap. In residential installations there
are many losses between the gas burner and the hot-
water taps. There are plenty of instances of better
results than this, but they are not the majority by any
means. Two common sizes of circulators consume,
the one 40 cubic feet, the other 80 cubic feet of gas per
hour when full on. This means that, according to the
foregoing, they yield 13| and 26| gallons of dish-washing
water per hour — -rather less in winter, more in summer.
It will be found that three feet of gas per gallon is
a useful figure to remember in relation to the duties
that gas boilers will do. Given the gas consumption,
the amount of heated water per hour can be readily
calculated. Gas at, say, 5s. (60d.) per 1,000 cubic feet
costs id. for 10 ft. At 6s. (72d.) it is 7-2d. per 100,
•72d. for 10 feet, -072d. per foot. Calculated in this way
FIG. 14
ANTHRACITE MACHINE-MADE AND WASHED " STOVE NUTS
(!' X If")
58 ANTHRACITE
a close cost for any quantity can be found in a
moment.
The one duty for which everyone wants to know
the time and cost is the warm bath. Baths vary in
size, and people have different ideas as to what the
temperature of the water should be, but, say, 25 gallons
at 100° F. in the bath. This will require, taking an
average over the year, 13J gallons of water at 140°,
the remainder being cold water. 13| gallons X 3 = 40 1
cubic feet of gas, cost about 2|d. to 3d. (it used to be
Id. to l|d.) ; time taken, boiler burning 40 cubic feet
per hour, one hour ; boiler burning 80 cubic feet, half-
hour. In practice the results are often better than
this.
The full-on gas consumption should always be
adjusted not to exceed the maker's figures on the card
of directions Excessive consumption defeats itself.
So much for the case of gas. Now let us examine
figures of exhaustive and reliable tests in this connection
made with anthracite as the fuel — and this is where
anthracite triumphs magnificently once more !
Above calculations assume the price of gas to be the
medium one of 5s. per 1,000 cubic feet =
900 B.Th.U. cost -2d.
Now, burning anthracite in the " Kooksjoie " range
previously referred to, and assuming the price of anthra-
cite to be the very high one of 90s. per ton (-482d. per
lb.), prolonged trials have proved that 3$- lb. of anthracite
gives —
22,000 B.Th.U. = cost l-7d. (Ifd.).
Therefore the equivalent efficiency in gas would cost
approximately 4|d. — minus the extra culinary service
simultaneously accompanying the said range !
The question of what exactly is a British Thermal
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 59
Unit so frequently arising, it might be as well here to
define it.
When gas was first introduced, over a hundred years
ago, consumers were charged so much per burner, an
obviously unfair way. Then followed the gas meter,
which ticks off the gas used in hundreds and thousands
of cubic feet. Gas was valued more for its lighting
qualities in those days, whereas now it is primarily
valued for its heating capacity, hence the recently-
introduced and fairer method of charging for so many
heat units instead of so many cubic feet, although the
meters still register in cubic feet.
A " therm " is 100,000 British Thermal Units ; and
a British Thermal Unit (B.Th.U.) is the amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of 1 Ib. of water 1
degree Fahrenheit. To calculate the therms consumed,
multiply the cubic feet by calorific value and divide
by 100,000, thus—
8,000 cubic feet x 475 = 3,800,000, which divided
by 100,000 = 38 therms.
One Fire to Heat a Whole House ! The economics
of anthracite in conjunction with scientific modern
appliances become almost incredible. Who of the
uninitiated would suppose it were possible comfortably
to heat a whole house with a single anthracite fire ? Yet
that is fait accompli — and by means of an open fire,
not the usual closed stove !
Such is known as the " Florence " Patent Boiler-grate,
an open grate ingeniously constructed with a boiler
at the back, and made in sizes with heating capacities
of from 2,500 cubic feet to 3,500 cubic feet, and a radia-
tion of from 30 to 150 square feet. This burns anthracite
to perfection, and affords an ideal fire for any drawing-
room, a brilliant, steady glow, a splendid warmth.and
a most alluring appearance unequalled by any other
60 ANTHRACITE
open fire. The boiler serving radiators in hall, bedrooms
etc., is connected with a hot-water cylinder in the
bathroom, and in the majority of cases a single pipe
carried round the skirting of the rooms is sufficient,
so that the installation itself need not be at all com-
plicated or unduly expensive The saving in fuel
effected by this grate is a remarkable feature, considering
its enhanced services ; and, burning anthracite, it
needs practically no attention, being fed only night
and morning and keeping alight continuously. In severe,
official tests along with other grates, the " Florence "
Patent Boiler-grate has not only come out supreme in
the matter of smoke-abatement qualities, but eclipsed
all others as regards heat radiation and fuel economy.
It was this particular grate which won the prize of
£50 offered by the Daily Mail for the best labour-saving
device, in connection with the " Ideal Homes " Exhibi-
tion, London. That journal announced that the
Committee of the Designs and Industries Association,
acting as judges, awarded the prize to Mr. A. Bate,
" Fairydene," Shoreham-by-Sea, for the following —
" I have installed in my 60-year-old house in
Richmond, Surrey, rent £36 per annum —
" Floors: Linoleum, with rugs. Light: electric. Heat-
ing : whole house — including double drawing-room,
dining-room, bathroom, three bedrooms, hall, kitchen,
and linen cupboard — heated from one open fire (not a
stove), burning anthracite nut coal, which never goes
out from autumn to spring ; consumption, 3 tons for
the whole period. Six radiators are in operation in a
simple way from the one fire."
A later issue of the Daily Mail (2nd Jan., 1920),
explained —
Mr. Bate has had a flood of questions and says —
" I should like to say that the open fireplace is fitted
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY
61
with a " Florence " grate (not a stove), the back of
which consists of a special hot-water circulating boiler
about 36 in. by 16 in. by 8 in., with an ingenious
flue under control. The anthracite nut coal burns in
the open grate with a beautiful glow, and will keep
alight for 12 or 14 hours without attention. The
circulation is simplicity itself, there being only a 1J in.
FIG. 15
THE " FLORENCE " PATENT BOILER-GRATE
pipe throughout connecting the radiators. This pipe
is run mainly beneath the floors. It has been working
now for about ten years, with not a penny for repairs."
At the showroom of the makers (The London Warming
Co., Ltd.) the " Florence " Patent Boiler-grate may be
seen actually working during the autumn and winter
seasons, serving radiators to heat the company's offices.
" Kooksjoie " anthracite ranges and " Florence "
boiler-grates have been installed in about thirty of the
houses erected in the Welwyn Garden City (Herts), and
62 ANTHRACITE
it is of interest to note the report from the Clerk of
Works, who very carefully tested both outfits and worked
out the following figures —
Anthracite at 90s. per ton = 1,080 pence ) Ib.
for 2,240 Ib. weight ] = 2-07 for Id.
The Florence Grate and Kooksjoie Range combined have been
run for 24 hours at lOd. for fuel = 20-7 Ib. fuel.
Say 10-35 Ib. fuel for Florence Grate in 24 hours
= -43 Ib. fuel per hour
= -2 Id. (id.) cost per hour.
Say 10-35 Ib. fuel for Kooksjoie Range in 24 hours
= -43 Ib. fuel per hour
= -2 Id. (Jd.) cost per hour.
The Clerk of Works also reported that the whole
installation was found to be very satisfactory in operation.
In these times of enforced economies details of this
description cannot be too widely known, both in the
interests of individual economists and coal conservation ;
and for that reason I have deemed it important to dwell
at some length upon the outstanding merits of the
above two labour-saving and efficient appliances.
Anthracite Stoves and Grates. As I have previously
explained, anthracite can be burnt quite well in any
ordinary open grate, although, of course, some grates
would be more suitable and give better results than
others — particularly if affording good draught, as
anthracite requires plenty of draught. A fire, when
lighting up, requires more than four times the volume
of air necessary when the fuel has become incandescent,
therefore good grates are as important as good coal.
It is calculated that old-fashioned open fireplaces, or
iron grates, waste 70 to 80 per cent of the potential
heat of the coal ; but such grates converted to scientific
principles would only waste 35 per cent, while a thor-
oughly efficient modern grate wastes less than 10 per
cent of the heat. Perhaps the best form of grate for
anthracite is that possessing thin perpendicular bars,
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 63
about 2 in. apart, and the fireplate on which the coal
rests about 3 in. above the hearth. The front should
be double the size of the back, and the depth from front
to rear equal to the width of the back. The back and
sides should be of fire-brick, not metal The most
suitable coal would be " French " nuts
That no one need be dubious of 'burning anthracite
in an open grate, will easily be gathered from a report,
in the Evening Standard (26th Jan., 1920), of an inter-
view with a member of the firm of Giddy & Giddy,
the well-known London estate agents —
" We know one lady, the owner of collieries, who
burns anthracite, not in stoves but in open grates, in
all her houses. She has an old farmhouse, in Wales,
with an old-fashioned open hearth ; she even burns
anthracite there — says she gets a steady glow."
The writer can quite understand this, having seen
such hearth-fires ; and very probably they are kept
burning continuously, like the Welsh people's grate
fires, which are never allowed to go out. According to
local tradition, the kitchen fire (anthracite) at a farm-
house on Gwrhyd Mountain, above the Swansea Valley,
has been kept alight for over 300 years. When repairs
to the fireplace were necessary, the fire was carefully
removed and replaced on completion of the work !
The modern, scientific anthracite stove, however,
regulates the heating to any required temperature,
eliminates waste of heat up the chimney, besides saving
fuel, time and labour. These also ensure cleanliness
and safety, for they can be left alone in a room at any
hour of the day or night without danger. The cost
for given results is far less than that of gas, electricity,
or any other fuel.
A very large variety of designs in stoves has grown
up with modern demands, to suit all purposes, and
64
ANTHRACITE
many are quite artistic and ornamental accessories
for the home, so that there is no longer the old complaint
that stoves were unsightly objects. Indeed, the general
admission is that a really smart stove enhances the
appearance of a room.
Some of the more popular anthracite stoves, by the
best British and other makers, are named below, with
their respective heating capacities —
cubic feet.
"Calesco" 2,800-5,000
" Unique " 5,000-6,000
" Lustrous " 4,500
" British Cottage " 6,000
" Jewel " 5,000-6,000
" Dainty Dot " 2,500
" Classic " . 7,000
" Cygnum " 6,500
"Cora" 3,000-7,000
"Argus" 2,500-4,500
"Hygiene" 15,000-35,000
" Phoenix " 15,000
" Lion " 5,000
" Home Comfort " 3,000
" Hestia " 5,000
" Tortoise " 1,000-120,000
" Pallas " 3,000
" Pompadour " . . . . . 4,500
" Taurus " 5,000
Neptune" 2,100
Defiance" 3,500
Economic " 1,000-3,000
Anthra- Record " 5,000-20,000
Isel" 10,000
Canum" 4,200
Centaur" 14,000-17,000
Salamandre" 5,000
Glycine" 5,000
Perseus " 7,000-10,000
Chantecler" 2,000-2,500
Vesta . -i . . . 5,000
Canis' 2,100-4,200
Ceres' 4,500
Orion . . . ... 3,000
Orinis ' . 5,000
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY
65
The majority of the anthracite stoves on the market
are of Continental make, the Dutch being particularly
good, both as regards design and durability, good finish
and appearance I append a list of these, and might
mention that the sole agent for Great Britain is The
London Warming Co., Ltd., at whose showroom the
stoves are on view.
The principal and latest models of anthracite stoves
manufactured in Holland, and their respective heating
capacities —
Heating capacity.
" Juno " . . . . . . 7,500 cubic feet.
" Roma " 7,500 „
" Minerva " 7,500 „
" Mobilia " 4,000
" Indra " 4,200
" Victoria " 4,000
" Agni "1 4,000
" Agni "II 4,200
" Torpdeo " 4,000
" Eureka " 4,200
"Hendrik" 4,200
" Eros " 4,200
"Apis" 4,200
"Vios" 4,200
" Etna " 4,200
" Polestar " 4,200
" Jupiter " 4,200
"Creon" 4,200
" Phoenix " 5,000
" Cesar " 4,200
" Residence "A 4,000
" Residence " B 5,000
" Atlas "1 5,000
"Atlas" II 5,000
" Hera " 5,000
" Pluto " 4,200
" Hercules " 10,000
" Granaat " 7,000
" Amphion " . . . . 4,000-8,000
Fitted with circulation tubes, many of these stoves
have an increased capacity of from 2,000 to 3,000 cubic
feet.
66 ANTHRACITE
As a great many people do not know where they can
purchase anthracite stoves, it will be a convenience to
the reader if I mention the names and addresses of the
principal makers and their agents in different parts
of the kingdom, as follows —
Adams & Sons, 63 and 65 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh.
Bratt, Colbrau & Co., and The Heaped Fire Co., Ltd., 10 Mortimer
Street, London, W.I.
Briffault Range Co., 13 Leicester Street, London, W.C.2.
Burnie & Sons, A., Nelsonia Works, North Road, Preston.
Carron Company, 50 Berners Street, London, W.I, and Falkirk
Foundry, Furnace Hill, Sheffield.
Falkirk Iron Co., Ltd., Craven House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2.
George Wright, Ltd., 155 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.4,
and Rotherham.
Hardware Trading Co., 12 New Oxford Street, London, W.C.I.
Hygienic Stove Co., Ltd., Hygienic Works, Huddersfield.
Jones & Campbell, Ltd., Torwood Foundry, Larbert, Stirlingshire.
Lane & Girvan, Caledonia Works, Bonnybridge, near Galsgow.
London Warming Co., Ltd., 20 Newman Street, Oxford Street,
London, W.I.
Mills, English & Co., Wind Street, Swansea.
Nautilus Fire Co., Ltd., 60 Oxford Street, London, W.I, and
Luton.
O'Brien, Thomas & Co., 17 and 18 Upper Thames Street, London,
E.C.4.
Pither's Radiant Stoves, Ltd., 36 and 38 Mortimer Street,
London, W.I.
Planet Foundry Co., Ltd., Guide Bridge, near Manchester.
Portway & Sons, Chas., " Tortoise " Works, Halstead, Essex ;
London — 57 Farringdon Street, E.C.4.
Salamandre Stove Co., 255 Tottenham Court Road, London, W.C.
Standard Range and Foundry Co., Watford, Herts.
Webster, G. M., 71 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham.
Williams & Co., E., 4 and 16 Heathfield Street, Swansea.
Yates, Haywood & Co., and Rotherham Foundry Co., Effingham
Works, Rotherham.
Some especially popular anthracite stoves — because
they can be used either as closed or open fires — are
the " Home Comfort," which will burn all fuels, the
" Glycine " (cade stoves), and Pither's " Radiant "
Series. The makers claim for the " Glycine " (a quick-
combustion stove) that it gives for each 1 Ib. of coal
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 67
burnt three times more heat than a slow-combustion
stove ; that it causes a strong draught, preventing all
back draughts ; that it completely consumes the gases ;
and that it produces a constant renewal of air, which
ensures a purified instead of a vitiated almosphere.
This stove is simple in construction, requiring little
attention, cannot produce carbon monoxide (which
in some circumstances will cause headaches and enerva-
tion), and is of small capacity, only holding a little
coal subjected to incandescence. Hence, although
quick combustion is combined with maximum heat,
fuel consumption is minimized.
I might here refute the untrue statement sometimes
made that anthracite coal in stoves gives off noxious
fumes and gases. There are no more fumes, etc.,
emanating from anthracite than from any other coal,
as the Coal Mines Department official published tests
effectively proved.
At rare intervals one may read in the " stunt "
papers, revelling in sensational " copy," some such
headlines as " Explosion in an Anthracite Stove," but
there is nothing in it to be alarmed about. On investiga-
tion it will be found that the scare is mostly in the
newspaper office ! I personally investigated two cases
of the kind and discovered that one accident was due
to a thoughtless person heating something explosive
in the stove, and the other was due to the presence of
some foreign substance in the coal — a quite common
occurrence. In the latter case, the owner expressed
entire confidence in his stove, and ordered another
similar one !
Accidents of this kind, while not, of course, outside
the bounds of possibility with the most careful man-
agement of stoves, are exceedingly rare — not one in a
million, in fact.
ANTHRACITE
Anthracite stoves consume from one to two cwt. of
fuel per week of seven days, burning day and night
varying, of course, according to size and heating cap-
acity ; but their real economy can be judged by the
following comparative estimates quoted by a scientist,
Mr. J. D. Hamilton Dickson, in the Times Engineering
Supplement, as the result of extended tests of heating
by various methods, the costs being based on periods
of a week of seven days, of twelve hours each —
Gas Fire
Open Fireplace
Anthracite Stove
Fuel cost.
11s. 9d.
4s. Id.
Is. 2d.
The table below shows the comparative results of
tests (made at a private house near London) of three
fires heating separate rooms — two of the fires burning
bituminous coal in ordinary open grates, and one burning
anthracite in a modern stove —
Dimensions of Room.
Fire.
Fuel.
Duration
of Test.
Temperature
Raised.
Total Fuel
Consumed.
16 ft. X 10 ft. 6 in.
Modern
grate
12 in.
Bitu-
minous
coal.
20
hours.
Steadily
from
55 to 63° F.
28 Ib.
15ft. Sin. X 10ft. 6 in
Old
Register
Grate,
12 in.
Bitu-
nrnous
coal.
15
hours.
55 to 57° F.
in 3 hours,
reaching
62° in 5 hrs.
18 Ib.
16 ft. 9 in. X 14 ft. 0 in
Anthracite
stove.
Anthra-
cite.
26
hours.
51° to 69° F.
(rose 7 deg.
first hour).
26 Ib.1
1 1 Ib. of anthracite per hour— with a good reserve of coal still in the stove. The
stove was a " Home Comfort," one of the flat-fronted type, with mica door, which
was opened at frequent intervals. Not only was the fuel consumption far more
economical than that of the grates, but it heated the largest rocm rapidly from
the lowest starting temperature to a much higher temperature than the grates were
capable of attaining.
The published testimony of those who have practically
tested the coal cannot fail to be of interest —
The Cambria Leader : " Those who, like the writer,
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 69
have for years been accustomed to the bright heat,
without smoke, of anthracite coal, would not willingly
exchange it even for the brisk consuming scorch of
Rhondda steam coal, nor would they give up the ' pele '
of small coal and clay which enables the wives and
daughters of the miners to keep fires ' banked up '
night after night — weeks, months, years — without
dust, soot, smoke, or cinders."
South Wales Daily Post : "A prominent gentleman
burning anthracite continually, tells us that though he
has changed houses several times during the last twenty
years, he has never burnt anything else, and has burnt
it in the grates existing without any alteration. This
gentleman's experience could be multiplied by hundreds
of similar instances."
The late Sir Guy Calthrop (when coal controller) :
" I am personally using anthracite, and find it lasts
nearly three times as long as coke."
Coal, Iron, and By- Products Journal : " Anthracite
coal has no equal for domestic purposes. Householders
who have adopted anthracite stoves never return to the
use of other fuels."
A writer of wide practical experience in a scientific
journal : " One ton of good anthracite goes at least as
far as two of bituminous coal."
Professor Stanfield, of the Heriot-Watt College :
" Its much slower combustion is one of its advantages.
. . . The Welsh anthracite is virtually pure carbon,
and smokeless."
Gas-stove Perils. The present-day need of anthracite
stoves in preference to gas stoves is strongly emphasized
by the frequent and alarming reports of domestic
tragedies resulting from the scandalously inferior and
injurious gas permitted to be supplied to domestic
consumers — containing nearly 15 per cent of carbon
70 ANTHRACITE
monoxide, in some cases ! This gas is so deadly that I
believe as little as 1 per cent is sufficient to cause death
in a few minutes in certain circumstances ; yet, despite
comments and warnings, authorities seem unperturbed
by this grave menace to the public health. Following
certain of these gas fatalities, an analysis was made of
gas from an ordinary domestic supply to premises in
the West End of London on 31st January, 1922, and
below are the figures obtained by the analyst —
Carbon dioxide .
Oxygen
Hydrocarbons
Carbon monoxide
Hydrogen .
Methane .
Nitrogen .
3-11 per cent.
0-50
2-84
14-78
45-86
20-93
11-98
100-00
The percentage of carbon monoxide here shown is
about double the percentage usually found in an
unadulterated purified coal gas. Large quantities of
this insidious poison might be filling a room before the
occupants of the room realized their peril, because this
gas is odourless ! At the inquest on four persons killed
by carbon monoxide in Liverpool, the coroner stated :
" So long as this poisonous substance is allowed to
remain in the supply of gas it is dangerous to have a gas
fire in a bedroom."
Gas-fittings which were safe when gas was pure are
quite unsafe to-day, as even the smallest leak is
dangerous — experts declare that carbon monoxide will
escape in dangerous quantities through the walls of iron
pipes.
At the Royal Society of Arts, Professor Armstrong
claimed that it was the notoriety obtained by the
poisonous properties of our coal gas that had set the
ECONOMICS AND EFFICIENCY 71
fashion in oven suicides. The public tolerated inferior
gas as a war-time economy, but there is no necessity
for its continuance now, especially as the gas companies
really secure a much higher price from consumers under
the new " therm " calculations.
The Board of Trade, after scores of gas fatalities
throughout the country, have just issued an order that
gas companies shall not supply gas containing carbon
monoxide unless it possesses the distinctive pungent
smell of coal gas, but this will not remove the danger.
The proper remedy is to reduce the permitted propor-
tion of carbon monoxide, and on this the public should
insist.
6— (1458H)
CHAPTER V
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD
THE industrial world — Prolific gas-yield of Welsh anthracite —
Baking by anthracite — Economic motor-transport — New
gas-producer — Anthracite and electrodes — Steam raising —
Some remarkable economies — Mixed coals — Irish anthracite
• — -Output and resources — Development prospects — Official
reports — Outputs and employees (1918) — Analysis of Irish
anthracite — Scotch anthracite — An analysis — American
anthracite — Comparative outputs — Canadian anthracite —
World's largest field — Government's interest — Other anthra-
cites— Anthracite compounds and patent fuels — Spontaneous
ignition.
ANTHRACITE is making itself felt appreciably in industries
generally, particularly as regards steam raising — for
which purpose there is no better fuel — and power-gas
production, being prolific in this direction, one ton of
Welsh anthracite yielding from 170,000 to 220,000 cubic
feet of gas for power purposes. The internal-combustion
engine and pressure and suction gas-power plants alone
have created a widespread demand for anthracite ;
but new uses are gradually being found for it as
progress and developments occur in the industrial
arena.
One of the latest industries to discover the advantages
of anthracite is the baking. Bakers were induced to
try anthracite during the period in which they were
short of coke (owing to the prolonged coal strike), when
the clean, smokeless coal quickly found favour among
them.
" We believe anthracite will revolutionize the bakeries,"
declared a master baker in Swansea. " We find that
when it is judiciously used it is cleaner and gives a brighter
heat than coke, and it is likely that when this coal crisis
72
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD
73
is over there will be very little necessity for bakers to
revert to the use of coke again."
Experiments in connection with the development of
economic motor transport will undoubtedly disclose the
value of anthracite in the near future. The solid natural
fuels now used involve loss of the by-products, except
in the case of anthracite. Some very interesting com-
parisons of solid and gas fuel were communicated by
Mr. D. J. Smith to the Institution of Automobile
Engineers — and his calculations appear to be based
upon the gas-yield of ordinary coal, not anthracite,
which, of course, produces a far greater volume of
power gas.
According to Mr. Smith, 1 ton of ordinary coal would
propel a 5-ton steam wagon about 160 miles, involving
the complete destruction of the fuel. Subjected to
74 ANTHRACITE
distillation, 1 ton of coal yields 13,000 cubic feet of coal
gas, and, taking 250 cubic feet of this gas as the equiva-
lent of one gallon of petrol, this would propel a 5-ton
internal-combustion engined vehicle 312 miles, still
leaving 10 cwt. of coke, which, at the rate of 3 Ib. coke
per mile, would run a 5-ton vehicle, operated by producer
gas from a self-contained unit, a further distance of
373 miles, making 685 miles in all, as compared with 160
miles by the steam wagon, and still leaving a full
complement of by-products !
Mr. Smith has devoted considerable attention to
the question of a gas-producer suitable for vehicular
propulsion, and has succeeded in evolving a design which
has great possibilities in motor traction. His estimate
of comparative costs of similar vehicles propelled by
steam, petrol, and producer gas, shows that, taking
coal at 50s. per ton, the cost per net ton mile is -75d.
With petrol at 3s. per gallon the comparative figure is
l-2d. With the price of coke at 55s. per ton, the cost
of fuel converted into producer-gas as propellant is
only -091d. Therefore, taking equivalent values of
each and compared with the price of a gallon of petrol
at 3s., the steam, petrol, and producer-gas vehicles
stand in the proportions of Is. 6d., 3s., and 2-6 pence
respectively.
The Electrical Review mentions the utility of anthracite
in connection with the manufacture of electrodes — now
on such a scale that the larger manufacturing firms
require plants comparable in size to the largest ceramic
kiln installations. The raw materials considered suitable
for making electrodes include all varieties of carbon
found in sufficient purity and in a form which can be
used industrially. One maker quotes the following
details of the physical and chemical qualities of his
electrodes: Specific weight, 1-50 to 1-55; specific
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 75
resistance at cross sections of from 30 to 3,000 sq. em.
45 to 100 ohms ; electric co-efficient, at temperatures
from 25 to 900° C., 0-18 to 0-22 ; compressive strength,
230 to 410 kg. per sq. em. ; bending strength, 51 to
81 kg. per sq. em. ; ash content, 2-5 to 3-0 per cent ;
phosphorus, 0-45 to 0-53 per cent ; sulphur, 0-93 to
1-10 per cent. The principal raw materials used in the
process are retort carbon, petroleum, coke, and anthracite,
pitch forming the binding medium. These materials
are used either separately or mixed in proportions
depending upon the cost of production. Suitable
anthracite usually selected shows this approximate
analysis : Ash, 2-77 per cent ; volatiles, 6-30 ; sulphur,
0-79 ; phosphorus, 0-032 ; iron oxide, 0-27. After the
volatile matter has been removed by distiUation, the
material is passed through a crushing and grinding
plant and broken into grains of a size between 2 and 3
mm. It is then packed into sacks and weighed, when
it is ready for use. The tar, which serves as a binding
medium, is a mixture of pitch and tar oil, the quantity
ratio of which must be strictly maintained. It usually
contains these percentages of composition : Ash, 0-15 ;
volatiles, 43-0 ; carbon, 56-85.
After removal from the kiln, the electrodes are brushed
clean and examined. They should show no cracks,
and when tapped with a hammer should give out a
ringing sound.
Steam power users everywhere now acknowledge
the advantages of anthracite for steam raising, given
the right conditions. With anthracite in use an
evaporation of from 8-5 to 10 Ib. of water per Ib. of coal
can be obtained, as compared with an evaporation of
from 6 to 8 Ib. of water per Ib. with North Country,
Midland, and other coals. Two boilers running on
Welsh anthracite accomplish the work of three boilers
76 ANTHRACITE
using English coal. Engineers who have not yet
contemplated making a change are recommended to
give the question their earnest consideration.
Remarkable instances of the economies effected with
anthracite are mentioned in In the Western Valleys oj
Wales, including that of an electrical concern, supplying
a town with light and power, whose gas engines were
run on anthracite peas at 38s. per ton, or |d. per h.p.
per hour, as compared with a previous running cost of
2£d. per h.p. per hour, when using steam coal at 23s.
per ton.
" One ton of anthracite did the work of 30 cwt. of
Somerset coal," the manager of the Tin Mines, Cornwall,
readily admitted.
At another works — a gas plant of 300 h.p. capacity —
using best anthracite nuts, about 13| tons per week,
the cost of running is less than Id. per h.p. per hour ;
whilst the introduction of anthracite on a steam engine
plant at these works has effected a saving of about
£20 per week !
Good reports reach me of two recent boiler tests in
London, in which the fuel used was anthracite " peas,"
obtaining evaporations of 12-2 Ibs. of water per Ib. of
coal, and 11-3 Ibs. of water per Ib. of coal respectively.
The mixing of anthracite and other coals for steam
raising is found advantageous at some works where
their ordinary firing may not be proving satisfactory.
Instances of the kind are intimated in the following
extracts from the reports of an anthracite colliery
stoker who visited several works —
"A Dyeworks. Three boilers — mechanical stokers.
Started by mixing half Yorkshire coal and half anthracite.
Kept going easily. Then two of anthracite and one of
Yorkshire, similar results. Then three of anthracite
and one of Yorkshire. Kept all in good order.
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 77
" Dye works. One boiler — hand stoking. Half each
of anthracite and Yorkshire coals. It would not take
any further mixing. Kept going.
" Ammunition Works. Four boilers in one place, four
in another. Took to the four boilers. Half each of
anthracite and Yorkshire coals. Kept all in proper
working order. Next took to three other boilers. Same
result.
"Dye works. Two boilers (separate). Boiler working
the dye machinery hand-stoked. Anthracite only used.
Kept going first rate.
"Dyeworks. One boiler — hand stoking. Hard
pressed for steam. Half each of anthracite and York-
shire. Everything in good order when I left.
" Dyeworks. Four boilers. Sprinkler's patent. Took
to three boilers. When I arrived ah1 machines were
on stop. Pressure falling. Half each of anthracite
and Yorkshire. Got steam up in short time, and kept
in good going order all the time.
" MEMO. — Anthracite should have sufficient boiler
room, a very thin fire, and even stoking."
Users of anthracite — particularly industrial users —
should exercise care to keep their supplies free from
dirt or other impurities. One colliery company, in
urging the necessity of this, issues these instructions to
suction gas-plant customers —
"It is of the utmost importance that anthracite coal
on arrival be discharged into a perfectly clean conveyance,
and if allowed to run out of the truck on to the ground
in the station yard, the ground should first be swept clean.
" The anthracite, when finally in store, should be kept
apart from any foreign matter, especially coal of a smoky
nature. The latter, if allowed to get mixed with the
anthracite, will seriously interfere with the quality of
the gas.
78 ANTHRACITE
" To obtain the best results in a plant, it is recom-
mended that any dead small in transit, etc., be screened
out oj the bulk before charging the hopper."
Irish Anthracite. The coal industry in Ireland has
in the past suffered from undevelopment, owing to
various circumstances, chiefly, perhaps, the unsettled
condition of the country ; but from recent investigations
and reports it would seem that there are great possibilities
of development in the future, particularly as regards
the production of native anthracite.
The total amount of coal raised in Ireland in 1918
was only 92,000 tons, while the coal imported amounted
to something like 4,500,000 tons. Even these figures
are not so good as formerly, according to evidence given
by Mr. L. Kettle, Electrical Engineer, Dublin Corpora-
tion, before the Irish Industrial Commission in April,
1920. In 1866, he said, the Irish coal mines produced
127,000 tons of coal, of which 73,000 tons represented
anthracite and 54,000 tons bituminous, the latter
coming from Ulster. But improved transport facilities
are expected to improve matters considerably. Bally-
castle mine is to be re-opened, also the Tyrone field,
in the near future. Practically ah1 the Leinster and
Munster coal is anthracite, and the witness quoted said
he had received the best sample of anthracite he had
ever seen from county Tipperary.
There is an aggregate of 40,000 to 50,000 h.p. working
on power-gas in Ireland, nearly all using anthracite,
the bulk of which is imported from Wales or Scotland ;
but Irish anthracite, claimed to be eminently suitable
for these plants, should make such imports unnecessary.
For steam-raising special furnaces and appliances are
generally requisite to enable Irish anthracite to be
used satisfactorily. In closed stoves it is found very
economical ; and insistence is placed on the point that
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 79
anthracite needs careful preparation — overlooking which
has caused a lot of the prejudice against Irish
anthracite.
In his evidence before the Coal Committee, Mr. St.
John Lyburn, Geologist to the Irish Department of
Agriculture, stated that there was an estimated reserve
of 180,506,000 tons of coal in the Irish coalfields, made
up to 171,800,000 tons of anthracite in Leinster and
Tipperary, and 8,696,000 tons of semi-bituminous in
Connaught. When fully prospected, the Tyrone and
north-east Ulster coalfields are anticipated to greatly
augment the resources.
Mr. J. P. M'Knight, past president of the Dublin
Industrial Development Association, informed the
Committee that they obtained anthracite from Castle-
comer, but not in sufficient quantities. It was used
for gas-producing plant, and " stood comparison with
ordinary Welsh anthracite."
Another witness claimed that Irish anthracite was
" equal to any anthracite that he knew in the world."
He added that certain experiments were being carried
out which would convert anthracite into a very quick
and effective fuel, giving results equal to oil. Ireland's
anthracite deposits were most valuable ; it was merely
a question of scientifically treating the coal with a
proper mixture of oxygen to produce most perfect
combustion.
There is a theory that a big coal trough extends from
Fifeshire, in Scotland, across the Channel to Lough
Neagh, in Ireland, and that this trough, which contains
coal measures of great value in Scotland, probably
contains similar measures of value to Ireland. Mining
has only been spasmodic hitherto, in the district of
Coalisland, with not very satisfactory results, but work-
ing has been on too inadequate a scale to furnish a test
80 ANTHRACITE
of reliability. By direction of the Government, boring
was started in December, 1918, at Washing Bay, Lough
Neagh, and continued until September, 1919, when the
boring was abandoned, after reaching a depth of 1,766 ft.
The Committee recommended that the boring (which
had cost £15,000) should be continued to a depth of
3,700 ft., assuming that the borings were just approaching
the coal measures. In other areas the real difficulty
was the thinness of the seams.
The Committee conclude that the industry should
show considerable future growth —
" Our estimate of its probable increase under these
circumstances is that the output and labour employed
could be quintupled ; in other words, we would esti-
mate that the output should reach about 500,000
tons, and that the industry should employ about
4,000 hands. Apart from the possibilities of the Coal-
island region and the development of existing mines,
it is difficult to say whether an influx of much addi-
tional capital in Irish coal mining is to be expected,
because the thinness of the seams prevents such big possi-
bilities as are usually required to tempt capital into an
industry which, to some extent, is in the nature of a
gamble."
It is interesting to note an official Committee's candid
admission that the highly-speculative coal industry is
one " in the nature of a gamble " (quite ignored in the
volume of abuse hurled at the coalowners in England),
and that they very wisely decided that " there should be
no statutory restriction on owners' profits." Otherwise
it is, of course, foolish to expect any great rush of capital
for developments !
The annual output of the various Irish mines during
1918 is shown by the following table, also the number
of men employed above and below ground.
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD
81
Mine.
Arigna Mining Co. (Roscommon) .
Castlecomer Collieries, Ltd. (Kilkenny) .
Michael Layden (Roscommon and Leitrim)
New Irish Mining Company (Queen's Co.)
Slievcardagh Collieries (Tipperary)
Various small mines ....
Total
Output. Employees.
Tons. Under. Above.
7,434
63,675
6,367
7,086
3,945
3,494
65
364
35
60
25
68
24
162
6
33
12
39
92,001 617 276
Opinions differ as to the quality of Irish anthracite.
A former official of the Ordnance Survey, writes to the
Irish Independent (3rd May, 1920), thus — " The high
quality is purely imaginary and untrue. Its utility
for iron and steel manufacture is vitiated by the quantity
of sulphur and phosphorus it contains, and as to the
other uses, a railway witness told the committee, that
' though we gave it every chance, it was a failure.' "
On the other hand, below are details of analyses
I have received of their coal (anthracite) from the
New Irish Mining Co., Wolfhill—
Calorific value . 8206-7 calories = 14,772 B.T.U. per Ib.
Moisture at 105 degrees Cent.
Carbon on dried coal
Hydrogen ....
Ash
Sulphur in ash
Volatile sulphur .
Nitrogen ....
Arsenic ....
Carbon calculated on pure coal
Hydrogen ....
Nitrogen ....
Oxygen ....
Carbon ....
Hydrogen ....
Ash
Nitrogen
Sulphur . . .
Calorific value Fah. units 14,650 B.T.U. per Ib.
The latter certainly represents a high-class anthracite.
0-90 per cent.
91-49
3-21
2-54
none
1-00
1-27
none
94-85
3-33
1-32
0-50
93-75
2-85
2-15
0-90
0-35
82 ANTHRACITE
And here is an earlier opinion, expressed in an inter-
esting letter by Dean Swift to the Dublin Weekly Journal,
bearing date 16th Aug., 1729—
" I sent for 1 cwt. of Kilkenny coal and weighed
£ cwt. and J cwt. Whitehaven coal. The Whitehaven
coal lasted between 4 and 5 hours, and left a small
heap of cinders. I found it to abound with slates —
a very slaty coal — that flies and cackles in the fire. The
Kilkenny coal held good for about 9 hours, with a great
heat. Afterwards, my fire-maker made a good fire
(of the cinders) as before, and which continued the same,
which convinces me of the extraordinary goodness of
Kilkenny coal — preferable for many uses to any coal
I ever saw — the most beneficial I have ever read of in
these countries — or in all Europe ! Can any sensible
man say we are in our senses to encourage and send
abroad for coal, when we have so excellent a coal of
our own at home ? "
Scotch Anthracite. The Scottish coalfields contain
very little anthracite — in scattered areas round Stirling
— utilized principally in making briquettes. Its qualities
are much below either Welsh or Irish anthracites, though,
on account of its higher volatiles, some people like it
for domestic purposes. Quantities are sent as far in
England as Sheffield, but railway charges no doubt
preclude its travelling any farther south than there.
Results in a test of Scotch and Irish anthracites by
the Vulcan Boiler Company, for the Dublin Corporation,
showed that the Scotch coal burnt much quicker, and
the evaporation figures showed that under the conditions
existing at the time of the test 1 Ib. of Irish coal evapor-
ated 51 Ib. more water than Scotch coal, which was
equivalent to over 7 per cent difference in favour of
the Irish coal. The trials were made on a large Babcock
and Wilcox boiler, and on a Lancashire boiler.
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 83
Messrs. Archibald Russell, Ltd., Glasgow, send me the
latest analysis of their coal, as follows —
Fixed carbon ...... 86-58 per cent.
Volatile matter 8-16
Ash 2-00
Moisture ...... 2-26
100-00
Sulphur -66 per cent.
Calories 8302
B.T.U 14943
Evaporative power :
Ibs. of water at 60° F. evaporated per Ib. of fuel, 13-2
American Anthracite. The anthracite coalfield of
America covers an area of some 480 square miles, in
the eastern-central portion of Pennsylvania, and what
the product may lack in quality — it is certainly not
equal to Welsh anthracite — is made up for in quantity,
the annual output being about 100,000,000 tons— and
practically all utilized in the United States.
Two vital factors determining the degrees and method
of anthracite preparation are : the character of the
beds and the methods by which they are mined, the
equipment used and practice followed burning the coal,
states Mr. D. C. Ashmead, in a paper read before the
American Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1830, by
means of rakes, the large lumps of coal were separated
from the small and sent to the surface ; the smaller
sizes were left in the mine. At the surface, the coal
was dumped upon perforated cast-iron plates and
broken to commercial sizes with hammers ! In 1844,
the roll crusher was invented, and installed at Phila-
delphia. Then followed the breaker, with circular
screens. The first one was equipped to break 200 tons
of coal daily. About 1876, a roll having a cast-iron
shell into which steel teeth were driven was introduced ;
84 ANTHRACITE
but a picking table was in use some six years earlier.
The shaker and mechanical picker were invented in 1872.
On the kind of rolls used and their operation largely
depends the percentage of prepared sizes. An excess
production of the smaller sizes reduces the sum realizable
from the output as a whole. The total breakage in
handling coal from shakers to the lip screen at the loading
pocket is from 10 to 12 per cent.
In American mining the Hudson Coal Co. has installed
chutes made of a high silicon iron, known as Corros
iron ; and the anthracite spiral picker is in everyday
use. It separates the coal from the slate by centrifugal
action. A device for the mechanical cleaning of coal
that has recently been introduced might be called an
air washer, or concentrating table ; and the Hudson
Coal Co. has just developed an experimental plant for
testing the Conklin separator. This process is based
on the principle of introducing a mixture of coal with
its impurities.
Dealing with the preparation of anthracite, Mr. D. C.
Ashmead thus describes the American method of
separating the coal from the slate, etc. —
For the separation of coal from slate and bone, ocean
beach sand has been used in sizes ranging from 20 to
30 mesh down to 100 to 200 mesh and even finer. The
specific gravities of from 1-20 to 1-75 maybe maintained
for any period.
The inverted cone type of washer has been used in
the most recent of these experiments, the washed coal
and refuse both being removed from the apparatus
without the use of complex devices or conveyors. A
slow-moving rotary stirrer within the cone will keep the
sand agitated and prevent its forming into banks on
the walls. This fine granular material virtually forms
a stratum of quicksand in the lower half of the cone,
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 85
which the stirrer maintains at a uniform density. As the
flow of water is reduced to a minimum, a high fluid
density is maintained. The cleaned coal usually is
discharged through an overflow weir along with the
water, but in some cases it is removed with a conveyor
or a raking wheel. The coal is discharged on to a
stationary screen, where the sand particles that adhere
are rinsed off and the coal is recovered. In treating
the finer sizes, a shaker screen probably will be more
efficient.
If the average specific gravity of the coal to be washed
is 1-5, and the average density of the ash is such as to
produce an increase in density of 0-01 per cent for each
per cent of ash content, a specific gravity of the fluid of
1-6 will produce washed coal no piece of which can
contain more than 10 per cent of ash. The coal that
floats is a high-grade product. The material that sinks
can be passed to a second washer, in which the fluid
mass is maintained at a specific gravity slightly higher
than the first, and graded into middlings and tailings.
The middlings will contain most of the bone, which can
be crushed so as to separate the coal and the rock ;
it can then be returned to the first washer for cleaning.
Pyrites can be practically equal to that of the large
pieces of clean coal, and will therefore be discharged
with the washed product. With the Chance process,
no difficulty has been found in maintaining such a
fluid density that no individual piece of coal is discharged
that contains more than 3 per cent of pyritic sulphur.
Highly satisfactory results have been obtained in
treating No. 1 buckwheat, rice, and barley coals. It
has been possible to reduce the impurity so that prac-
tically only the inherent ash remains. As a commercial
proposition, however, this would result in too great a
rejection of boney coal, and hence in too low a recovery.
86 ANTHRACITE
As a result, the percentages in the table given below
have usually been found to represent the best practice.
PREFERRED PRACTICE WITH CHANCE SEPARATOR
Feed, Washed Coal, Reject,
per cent. per cent. per cent.
Ash . . . 38-00 11-22 83-58
Total weight . 100-00 63-00 37-00
Little sand is lost in the operation. When rice coal
has travelled less than 1 ft. over a J in. mesh screen,
the washed coal contains less than 0-6 per cent of residual
sand. A further journey of 1 ft., with the addition of
fresh water, reduces this final sand content to approx-
imately 0-1 per cent, or 2 Ib. per ton of coal. The sand
is washed from the coal by the agitation water after it
is discharged over the weir at the top of the cone. It
is possible to use this water several times by employing
a screen built in a number of steps, the sand washed out
in one portion being given an opportunity to settle
before the water is used in the next.
In a paper recently read before the American Institute
of Mining Engineers, Mr. J. Griffen mentioned that
their modern coal breaker uses approximately 1 gallon
of water per minute per ton of production daily. As
this water leaves the breaker it contains from 4 to 15
per cent solids, by weight, and is then known as " slush."
None of the solids is larger than •&$• in. in diameter.
Despite the efforts of the operators, these solids have
found their way into the streams, causing, in some
instances, pollution to a serious extent. In consequence,
several slush-recovery plants containing Dorr thickeners
and classifiers have been lately introduced. One plant
is recovering the granular solids from 2,200 gallons per
minute of slush made through a 1-^- in. round-mesh
screen. After this plant had been working a few weeks,
the bed of the stream for some miles below the breaker
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 87
had become freed from the solids, and after seven months
no signs of deposit were apparent in the stream.
Based on breaker shipments, the cost of preventing
pollution is slightly under 1 per cent per ton shipped,
if the recovered coal is considered of no value. The coal
recovered from breakers slush may be made into
briquettes for about 3 dollars per short ton, and it has
been successfully adopted as a steam fuel. Complete
prevention of stream pollution, except under unusual
conditions, may be obtained at a cost of one or two cents
per ton of breaker shipments, if no value is placed on
the recovered coal. If the recoverable coal is valued at,
say, 35 cents per ton, the coal recovered will pay the
cost of recovery and of preventing stream pollution
by the slush solids that, at present, have no commercial
value.
The remarkable superiority of coal-production per
worker in America is ascribed to the fact that the United
States possess thick seams of coal near the surface,
which are blasted or scooped out by mechanical excava-
tors, coal-cutting machines, etc. While this may be
true of the bituminous coal, the position in America
as regards anthracite mines — largely waterlogged — is
very similar to that in the older mines of Britain.
Anthracite seams are mostly thin and irregular, pre-
venting the use of coal-cutting machinery in many cases,
hence the coal can only be mined by pick and shovel.
Notwithstanding this, the American miner — producing
on an average about 4 tons of coal per working day —
manages to send up about three times as much coal as
the British miner, who is aided by a good deal of coal-
cutting machinery where such can with advantage be
used. Production per worker has steadily increased
in American mines, but correspondingly decreased in
our own mines, as the statistics on page 88 show.
7-(1458H)
ANTHRACITE
OUTPUT PER MAN PER DAY
United Kingdom. United States
1890
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
1918
1-08 tons
1-18
1-10
1-08
1-00
0-98
0-80
(anthracite).
1-85 tons.
2-07
2-40
2-18
2-17
2-19
2-29
Thus a single anthracite miner in America now
produces per day almost as much coal as three British
miners — and figures for 1920 revealed still greater
contrasts !
According to the Coal Age (5th Jan., 1922), in a
review of the American coal trade, the production of
bituminous coal in 1921 was 408,000,000 tons— the lowest
annual production since 1911. The labour cost of
producing anthracite coal increased from 1-59 dollars
per ton in 1913, to 3-85 dollars per ton under the present
wage scale, according to a bulletin issued by the General
Policies Committee of Anthracite Operators. In 1913
there was produced 71,046,816 tons of anthracite, at
a labour cost of 113,320,000 dollars, or about 1-59
dollars a ton. The production in 1920 was 65,458,673
tons, and the labour cost was 252,179,000 dollars, or
3-85 dollars a ton — an increase of 141 per cent. These
figures are based on commercial fresh mined coal
exclusively. The coal consumed at collieries and the
washery or dredge product is not included. This
wage agreement, which was based on the award
of the United States Anthracite Coal Commission,
expired on 31st March, 1922.
Canadian Anthracite. What is reported to be the
world's largest coal deposit exists in British Columbia,
where an anthracite coalfield, with an area of about
2,000 square miles, is situated on the Upper Skeena.
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 89
north-east of Prince Rupert. The quality of this coal,
according to Mr. J. G. Scott, of Quebec, is " anthracite
and semi-anthracite, similar to Welsh coal."
Negotiations for the purchase of a large portion of
this property were, in 1912, opened by Mr. R. C. Camp-
bell-Johnson, the well-known mining authority of West-
ern Canada, who, associated with a Quebec Company,
opened the Groundhog Mountain district. The late
Lord Rhondda inspected the property in 1914, deciding
to purchase subject to his engineers' approval ; but
about that time his duties as Food Controller intervened,
and he died before matters could be completed. Since
then Lord Jellicoe has visited Vancouver and resumed
negotiations on behalf of the British Admiralty, mining
engineers believing the coal to be especially suitable
for Admiralty requirements.
Mr. Campbell- Johnson, who fully expects that the
British Admiralty will become the possessor of the
property, considers that the discovery of the coalfields
of Groundhog Mountain " marks an epoch greater and
more far-reaching than even the historical gold discovery
of Klondyke ; for when the last ounce of gold has been
wrested from the frozen vaults of the treasure house
of the Great North, millions of tons of coal will yet
await the pick of the miner and his children's
children."
The quantity of coal estimated on the 47 miles con-
trolled by the Skeena Company is 1,100 million tons ;
and the construction of 100-180 miles of railway would
afford the coal an outlet to the Portland Canal, to
Hazelton, or to the mouth of the Naas River. By
any of these routes coal could be delivered for bunkering
purposes to Prince Rupert, which being some hundreds
of miles nearer to Japan than Vancouver; might become
the great bunkering station for ships in the Pacific trade.
90 ANTHRACITE
And if eventually, as is expected, the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company extends and links up its system
to this great coalfield, the possibilities of rapid and
successful development are assured. But, after all,
the chief factor of success or otherwise must be the
quality of the coal itself.
Other Anthracites. Of the other known sources of
anthracite supplies, we must take into account the field
discovered in 1918 and exploited by the Northern
Exploration Co., Ltd. Situated in Western Spitsbergen,
large coal seams, both anthracite and bituminous,
are included in this property.
According to the latest information I have received
as this book goes to press, the Norwegian Spitsbergen
Coal Company has displayed great activity during the
past winter, which activity will be continued throughout
the present year. The output has been over 3,000 tons
weekly, and about 300 men have been employed.
Shipping will go on during this season both to North
Norway and Christiania. It is expected that the
season's exports will amount to about 150,000 tons of
anthracite and bituminous coals.
And China, which has begun to export coal to Europe, is
believed to possess about one-seventh of the world's coal
reserves, and it is stated that something like 40 per cent
of her coal consists of " high-class anthracites." How-
ever, all these are mostly in the " glowing report "
stage. So far, I know of no anthracite anywhere in
the whole globe equal to that from South Wales ; that,
doubtless, explains the universal demand for it.
Anthracite Compounds. In 1918, when preparing my
previous book, All About Anthracite (Technical Pub-
lishing Co.), I referred to the vast quantities of anthra-
cite dust lying dormant in very unsightly waste dumps
at the collieries, pointing out the possibilities awaiting
FIG. 17
ANTHRACITE MACHINE-MADE AND WASHED
(*' X f)
PEAS
92 ANTHRACITE
the utilization of this material, advantageous to coal-
owners and consumers generally ; and it is gratifying
to observe the progress made in this direction since the
suggestion was made. Various enterprising companies
have been formed for the purpose of taking the business
in hand seriously, and some excellent synthetic fuels
are now an established fact, and proving a commercial
success in the market.
Knowing the qualifications of anthracite " duff "
so well, and having personally submitted it to practical
tests in the form known in Wales as " pele " (anthracite
dust mixed with common clay and water), I never had
the slightest doubt as to its efficiency and ultimate
popularity. Like anthracite coal itself, it merely
need be known to be appreciated, as manufacturers
of such fuel are quickly discovering. Anthracite coal
dust usually contains about 82 per cent of carbon-
aceous matter and 6 to 7 per cent of volatiles, hence a
really good fuel can be formed therefrom, given the right
kind of binding ingredients — more particularly those
which are hard-setting and capable of resisting water.
" Anti- waste" Fuel. Such appears to have been
accomplished by a new company, called The Patent
Fuel Marketing Co., Ltd., London, recently introducing
their " anti-waste " fuel, made from anthracite duff
with a small proportion of pitch, as a binder (and addi-
tional volatile). In the usual " ovoid," or oval, form,
this fuel is giving satisfaction and found to be
economical in domestic use, both in stoves and ranges,
for heating or cooking purposes.
The Press report of a test of this fuel, on 1 1th January,
1922, shows that a good temperature was attained and
well maintained. A fire was lighted at 10 a.m. in a
room 18ft. by 14ft., having an ordinary grate with
horizontal bars and an area of 108 square inches.
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 93
Temperature readings were recorded by a thermometer
suspended at 8 ft. from the fire. The initial temperature
of the room, 47-8° F., rising at about 10.45 to 64° F.,
and maintaining a comfortable average temperature of
61 -4° F. The weight of coal consumed was 14 lb., the
fire lasting over ten hours, the weight of ash resulting
being l-651b. Next day a comparative test, in the
same grate and under similar conditions, was made with
best household coal (Derby Brights), and it is instructive
to note that 14 lb. of this coal only maintained an
average temperature of 59-3° F., and the fire only lasted
6 hours 15 minutes !
The Patent Fuel Marketing Co. originated what is
known as " coal blending " and " reconstructed coal,"
now operating under eminent technical supervision.
Another compound fuel, in ovoid form, has been
placed on the British market by the South Wales Fuel
Co., Ltd. Following is the analytical report thereon —
" The sample received [tested in a " Hygiene " stove]
was proved to contain 4-08 moisture, 9-15 volatile, ash
5-58, and fixed carbon 81-19. This compares very
favourably with ordinary anthracite, and is much
superior to anthracite which I am receiving at present.
There are, of course, no shale or clinker pieces, and the
ash is so fine that it very readily passes through the
shaking bars or grid of the stove. The binding material
showed no tendency to separate and run, and although
the ' Hygiene ' stove has a very large cooling area in
the fuel supply end, there were no signs of condensation
of tarry or sticky deposits as has been the case with
other patent fuels."
Several leading stove-makers also report that they
have tested this fuel and found it very satisfactory,
and the writer has seen it give excellent results in an
open grate.
94 ANTHRACITE
These useful compounds are certainly to be encouraged,
for various reasons. Not only do they afford the means
of utilizing material which would otherwise be wasted,
but they help to a substantial degree to conserve the
more valuable coals for the nation, to say nothing of
the convenience of such stocks to fall back upon in times
of " coal shortage," due to the interminable strikes,
etc., to which this country seems so prone !
A patent fuel said to be finding favour in America
consists of a mixture of 95 per cent of anthracite coal-
dust screenings with about 5 per cent of water-gas tar.
This burns without smoke, and from a boiler-room
standpoint is considered quite a satisfactory fuel, having
a calorific value of from 12,000 to 14,000 B.T.U. to
the lb., according to the quality of screenings used.
In one test a boiler was run for a day upon ordinary
coal, and for one day on the patent fuel, and with the
latter the boiler developed well in excess of its rated
capacity, and about one-and-a-third times the capacity
developed under coal firing ! The record is interesting
in considering the assertion of some that the efficiency
of patent fuels is from 10 per cent to 30 per cent higher
than that of ordinary coal for steam raising ; but there
is the question of whether the extra efficiency attained
in the experiment was sufficient to cover the probable
higher cost.
Germany produces more than 25,000,000 tons of
patent fuel yearly, against Britain's modest 2,000,000
tons, so there is obviously great scope for expansion
here in this industry. South Wales collieries are,
however, concentrating more and more on the subject
lately, for it is realized that the proper development of
composite fuels could save at least 50,000,000 tons of
our present annual consumption of coal — and probably
50 per cent per annum on the domestic coal bill.
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 95
Patent fuel is found to be an efficient substitute for
large coal at high rates of combustion, the average
approximate analysis (mixed coals) showing — fixed
carbon, 73-25 per cent ; volatiles, 17 per cent ; ash,
8-50 per cent ; moisture, 1-25 per cent, with a calorific
value of 7,724 calories. The regular shape of briquettes
ensures easy stacking, and it occupies less space than
ordinary coal, the number of cubic feet to the ton being
about 36 as against 45, while it does not break down so
readily under rough handling to which shipped goods
are all subjected, the percentage of " small " on discharge
after shipment being usually 5 per cent, as compared
with 20-30 per cent in the case of large coal These
advantages commend it specially to overseas buyers —
as also its freedom from the risk of spontaneous
combustion.
As far back as the time of the Great Fire of London,
we find interest displayed in the subject of composite
fuel, for that discriminating man, John Evelyn, referring
in his famous Diary to " My New Fuel," says, under
date 2nd July, 1667—
" Call'd upon my Ld. Arlington as from his Majesty
about the new fuell. The occasion why I was mention 'd
was from what I had said in my Sylva three years
before, about a sort of fuell, for a neede, which obstructed
a patent of Lord Carlingford, who had been seeking
for it himselfe ; he was endeavouring to bring me into
the project, and proffered me a share. I met my Lord ;
and on the 9th by an order of council went to my
Lord Maior to be assisting. In the mean time they had
made an experiment of my receipt of houllies, which I
mention in my booke to be made at Maestricht1 with a
mixture oj charcoal dtist and loame,2 and which was
1 In the Dutch province of Limburg.
1 Very similar to what is known as " Pele " in Wales to-day.
96 ANTHRACITE
tried with successe at Gresham Colledge (then being
the exchange for meeting of the merchants since the
Fire) for every body to see. This done, I went to the
Treasury for £12,000 for the sick and wounded still on
my hands.
" Next day we met againe about the fuell at Sir
James Armorer's in the Mewes.
" 8. July. My Lord Brereton and others din'd at
my house, where I shewed them proofe of my new fuell,
which was very glowing and without smoke or ill smell."
It is a great pity that Evelyn's desirable " new fuell "
did not survive along with his excellent Diary. How-
ever, if it gave as good a fire as the Welsh people are
nowadays obtaining from their anthracite duff-and-clay
mixture, I feel sure the diners enjoyed a warm reception
and right comfortable time ! The cost of Evelyn's
fuel is not recorded, but interesting facts are available
regarding the costs of fires with the modern similar
fuel before mentioned (" pele "). Some two years ago
I was present at a six-day trial of this fine fuel, conducted
at the Hotel Metropole, Swansea. Three splendid fires
were maintained in the building's public rooms, and the
cost, on a basis of 12 hours per day, worked out thus —
Total " Pele " consumed on three large fires . 4 cwt.
,, cost at 30s. per ton . . . . .6s.
Average cost of maintenance, per day . .Is.
„ per fire per day . . . . 4d.
Patent fuel seems to have performed a conspicuous
service at the big political meeting held at Devonshire
House, Piccadilly, in January, 1922. In the society
notes of a Sunday journal an observer writes —
"All Hot.— The throng of Coalition-Liberals at
Devonshire House was thoroughly ' het up.' Those in
authority were afraid that the great house would be
cold, and, since there were no provisions for heating,
THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD 97
they installed ten great stoves filled with a new patent
fuel. That did the trick. One lady said that the lead
fittings of her jewellery had begun to melt and were
trickling down her shoulder. A good advertisement for
the patent fuel."
Temperatures of Spontaneous Ignition in Coals. In
the spring of 1920, a very interesting and instructive
paper by Messrs. F. S. Sinnatt and Burrows Moore was
read before the Manchester Society of Chemical En-
gineers, quoting results of their investigation of the
spontaneous inflammabilities of finely-divided fuels
(including anthracite), and the influence of physical and
chemical variations of the fuels upon the temperature
of ignition. The object of the experiments was to
determine (1) the relative tendencies to spontaneous
ignition in oxygen of various finely-powdered fuels ;
(2) to examine the influence of the degrees of fineness
of the particles on the recorded temperature ; and (3)
to examine the influence of the volatile matter upon the
recorded temperature. The temperature of spontaneous
ignition in oxygen was defined as the temperature
to which a fuel must be raised for ignition to occur
without the aid of external agents of inflammation ;
and the apparatus used for the experiments was similar
to the ignition meter designed by Mr. Harold Moore
to ascertain the relative ignition temperatures of liquid
fuels.
The coals tested were Wigan Arley coal, Wigan
Yard, Anthracite, Hoo cannel (25 per cent ash), and
two coals liable to produce gob fires (numbered 1 and 2).
The coals were pulverized to pass through a 1-200 mesh
sieve and were air-dried. Excepting the Hoo cannel,
the coals were freshly mined (within three weeks).
The authors arrived at the following conclusions —
In all cases, except at the higher temperatures,
98 ANTHRACITE
glowing in the mass of coal commences before ignition
takes place, and the time interval before the former
occurs decreases with the rise in temperature. The
variation of the " time intervals " before ignition takes
place, compared with the intervals for glowing to appear,
are somewhat irregular. There is a well-defined tem-
perature below which no glowing occurs within a time
limit of four minutes, and, with the exception of Hoo
cannel, this also applies to the ignition. In the case of
Hoo cannel an intermediate range of temperatures
exist, at which no active ignition occurs.
In the coals examined, with the exception of the two
which are known to be liable to gob fires, there appear
to be zones of temperature at which spontaneous ignition
occurs after a much longer interval, and it would appear
that coal yields volatile compounds at these ranges
of temperature, which compounds have a higher tem-
perature of ignition. It is suggested that such coals
may possess the property at these temperatures of
tending to extinguish any heating which may be taking
place, especially where the coal is in masses, and the
oxygen only in contact with the surface. Where,
however, coal does not evolve such compounds, no such
self-damping action is possible, and the result of the
oxidation would be an additive one consisting of glowing
of the solid substances and ignition of the volatile
constituents. Further experiments will be made in
this connection.
In the case of the two coals liable to gob fires, the
curves of spontaneous glowing and ignition were
practically parallel, but there were very clear evidences
of the spontaneous ignition occurring practically at the
same interval at which the glow was visible ; the volatile
compounds produced from these coals were more easily
inflammable than was the case with the other coals.
100
ANTHRACITE
To obtain an idea of the minimum temperature at
which substances would either glow or ignite, a time
limit of four minutes was adopted, and the lowest
temperature at which substances would glow or ignite
within this period was taken as the temperature of
glowing or ignition. The time interval was decided
upon as being sufficiently long for most practical
purposes. Early in the course of the experiments it
was found that the degree of fineness of the fuel had a
considerable influence upon the minimum temperature
at which spontaneous glowing would occur, and pre-
liminary observations have been made to ascertain
broadly the influence of the degree of fineness of the
fuels examined. The results, though not final, were
held by the authors to show that the degree of fineness
is a most potent factor, and worthy of prompt recordance.
The values obtained for the different substances
tested are shown below — •
Substance.
Minimum Temperatures in Oxygen, deg. C.
Glowing.
Ignition.
Holm's 1 Brame's
figures. figures.
Anthracite coal
250
258 440
500
Hoo cannel coal
225
230
Wigan Arley coal
184
188
,370
Wigan yard coal
Indian coal
219
242
219
242
\ to
(425
Coal liable to gob
fires, No. 1
| 228
228
Coal liable to gob
fires, No. 2
J 228
228
Gas coke
Above 398
Above 398
" Coalite "
Above 396
Above 396
Wood charcoal
248
248
Irish peat
300
300
Cellulose
324
324 360
Fusain
367
367
Paraffin wax
246 310
102 ANTHRACITE
Mr. Hood, chief mechanical engineer of the United
States Bureau of Mines, in an address before the Pennsyl-
vania Electric Association on " Coal Storage," stated
that the whole problem of coal storage rested on spon-
taneous combustion. Heating rarely occurred in coal
piles of only a few tons. Anthracite coal never ignited
spontaneously, and only rarely did the domestic con-
sumer of bituminous coal experience trouble in this
connection. The main interest in the subject lay in
the large piles kept in reserve by public bodies or
industrial concerns.
If a ton of bituminous coal could be delivered in a
single cube, each dimension would be about 2-8 ft. If
such a cube, having originally about 47 sq. ft. of exposed
area, be continuously sub-divided, the rate of increase
in the exposed surface is very rapid. If the size of each
particle is reduced until it will pass a 16-mesh screen,
the ton of coal will have an acre of exposed surface.
From this it is obvious why trouble from spontaneous
combustion originates in fine coal, because the great
increase in extent of surface does not begin until we
get below 1J in. nut size If fine coal is kept out of
the pile, the heating surface is so relatively small that
no cause exists for spontaneous combustion.
CHAPTER VI
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION
SMOKE abatement and coal conservation — Coal-smoke and public
health — Coal statistics- — Concentrated poisons — Medical
indictments — Atmospheric pollution reports — Analysis of
polluted atmosphere — What constitutes injurious fog —
London's canopy of coaldust — The terrible toll of cancer —
Financial cost of fogs — Important recommendation of Lord
Newton's Committee — Public control committee — John
Evelyn and the smoke nuisance — Fog paralysis of London —
Healthy prosecutions — Conserving Britain's coal — Electrical
generation — Oil versus coal — Anthracite the remedy — By-
products of soft coals — Stupendous annual waste of coal
and energy — Low-temperature carbonization — Electricity
wasteful.
DURING the past three years I have, through the medium
of the Press, strenuously supported the movement
organized in the interests of the public health in this
country to abolish the coal-smoke nuisance, to the
dangers of which I am glad to find that our lethargic
authorities are at last awakening. In the course of
many articles, etc., I have, too, endeavoured to impress
upon the community the fact that our neglect of this
important problem is responsible for enormous waste
of good coal — two unnecessary evils incidental to the
same state of national apathy. Moreover, I have shown
conclusively that anthracite is waiting to prove its
national importance as the simultaneous remedy Jor both
defects ! I have even asserted — and I do so again
emphatically — that the health of our citizens should be
safeguarded here, as it is in the principal American
and Continental cities, by making the domestic use of
anthracite compulsory ; and in view of the alarming
reports of scientists, medical men and engineers on the
injurious effects of coal-smoke, and the wickedly wasteful
103
8 — (1458H)
104 ANTHRACITE
manner in which our bituminous coals are being mis-
used, we can no longer afford to ignore these serious
problems.
Dealing first with the smoke evil, I will briefly set
forth concrete evidence showing why we are a physically
" C3 " population, and overwhelmingly in favour of
immediate reform.
We raise in this country something like 250,000,000
tons of coal per annum, of which, say, 190,000,000 tons
are consumed at home, 18,000,000 tons used for making
town's gas, and 20,000,000 tons in coke ovens, the
remaining 152,000,000 tons being utilized in the raw
state, including 90,000,000 tons for steam raising and
35,000,000 tons for domestic fires. London households
alone normally require between 5 and 6 million tons
a year.
Now, consider for a moment the dense volume of
smoke constantly issuing from the accumulated fires
of a great city like London, and you will not be surprised
at the medical statement that the average Londoner's
lungs are black, and that the cloud of coal-dust, soot,
gases, arsenic, and other poisonous substances he breathes
very often approximate to a hundred tons per day !
Eminent physicians declare that when these poisons
concentrate into a dense mass, causing a thick fog, they
are responsible for the untimely death of thousands of
citizens !
The average man consumes as much as 30 Ib. to 50 Ib.
of air per day, 2 Ib. to 3 Ib. of food, and 4 Ib. to 5 Ib.
of water — or more than Jour times as much air as Jood
and water combined, hence we perceive the necessity
for keeping the air as pure as possible.
Professor Leonard Hill, F.R.S., assures us that the
smoke greatly increases the dampness of our English
climate, thus aggravating another enemy of health.
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION 105
Dr. J. S. Owens, chief of the Advisory Committee on
Atmospheric Pollution, who has worked energetically
to open the public's eyes to the grave menace, declares
that the average coal-smoke deposit over London for
the year ending 31st March, 1920, amounted to 40,000
tons ! His scientific tests and data, collected from thirty
observation stations throughout the country, are un-
questionable. When analysed, the deposit was found
to consist approximately of —
Tarry matter ...... 0-70 per cent.
Carbonaceous or sooty matter . . . 15-60 „
Mineral matter insoluble in water, ash, etc. 36-20 ,,
Soluble matter, combustible or volatile . 13-40 ,,
Soluble matter, mineral . . . .34-10 ,,
100-00
In addition, there is the suspended matter. To pro-
duce a dense fog, about 4 milligrams of soot per cubic
metre of air are all that are requisite. One milligram
produces the ordinary haze prevalent most of the winter
in London. These quantities correspond to about
7 Ib. and 1-7 Ib. respectively per million cubic yards.
If a dense fog extends over the whole of London and
up to a height of 400 ft., something under 200 tons of
soot are present. Dr. Owens estimates that the domestic
fires of London, during the hours from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.,
produce over 200 tons of soot. He has a new apparatus
by which he calculated that during the fog of 26th
October, 1921, the average Londoner's fog ration
consisted of 252 thousand million particles of solid
matter ! These particles inhaled by each person, if
placed side by side, would reach 130 miles, he pleasantly
announced. The dragons of ancient times were truly
insignificant compared with this foe.
The terrible toll of cancer is constantly increasing —
106 ANTHRACITE
there were over 42,000 victims died therefrom in England
and Wales in 1919 — and one of the causes is attributed
by the Imperial Cancer Research Society to smoky
chimneys.
And the financial cost of these fogs is colossal — about
£8,000,000 a year in London, made up by way of damage
to stone, metal work, paint, cleaning, lighting, spoiled
merchandise, etc. A thick fog all over the country is
estimated to cost the railway companies about £5,000
an hour ; and Lord Newton's Committee on Smoke
and Noxious Vapours Abatement estimated that in
Manchester the depreciation to property through smoke
and soot amounts to £3,000,000 a year.
Few people realize the prodigiousness of the coal
consumption on Britain's railways. The figures com-
puted by a railway statistician recently were surprising.
The Great Eastern Railway uses coal at the rate of 3£
tons per minute, for instance ! This means about 210
tons an hour, or 5,000 tons a day. As much as 1^ tons
of coal per minute are consumed on the Great Northern
Railway, too ; and the Underground Railway, London,
working 100 miles of electric railways and tramways,
etc., consumes 700 tons of coal daily, or about 250,000
tons a year. These three railways between them
account for nearly 3,000,000 tons of coal yearly, so it
is probable that the coal consumed by all our railways
exceeds 10,000,000 tons a year, or more than double the
weekly output of all our coalfields (about 4,700,000
tons). In other words, the collieries must give two full
working weeks, or over 5 per cent of their time to
keeping the railways supplied with coal !
One notes with satisfaction the main recommendation
in the report of Lord Newton's Committee —
" The Central Housing Authority should decline to
sanction any scheme unless provision is made in the plans
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION 107
for the adoption of smokeless methods for supplying
the required heat."
The Committee are satisfied that " the present housing
situation affords a unique opportunity for constructive
reform with regard to heating, cooking and hot-water
supply arrangements in domestic dwellings," and that
" domestic smoke produced by the burning of raw coal
causes serious danger to health and damage to property,
and is from the national point of view a wasteful pro-
ceeding. Even in industrial areas domestic chimneys
contribute at least half of the total smoke nuisance.
Six per cent of the coal used in domestic fireplaces
escapes unconsumed as soot. Taking 40,500,000 tons
as the amount annually burnt in Great Britain, the loss
represents 2,430,000 tons, or more than half the total
of fuel required to heat the metropolitan area for a
whole year."
It is interesting to note that heading the list of
substitutes for ordinary raw coal recommended by the
committee is — anthracite.
Another influential body, the Public Control Com-
mittee, state, in a report to the London County Council,
that they have decided to take " such action as is
necessary to abate the smoke nuisance."
In Chicago the Mellon Institute reported that from
600 to 2,000 tons of smoke-soot to the square mile fall
in Pittsburg every year, and estimated that the smoke
nuisance costs Chicago £12,000,000 annually.
Apparently London was plagued with this nuisance
even in Evelyn's day, for the diarist records this quaint
indictment —
" That hellish and dismall cloud of sea-coal is not
only perpetually imminent overhead, but so universally
mixed with the otherwise wholesome and excellent aer,
that her inhabitants breathe nothing but an impure
108 ANTHRACITE
and thick mist, accompanied with a fuliginous and filthy
vapour, which renders them obnoxious — corrupting the
lungs, and disordering the entire habits, of the bodies,
so that Catharrs, Phthsicks, Coughs and Consumptions
rage more in this city than in the whole earth besides."
This in 1670 ; but evidently they were less tolerant
in the reign of Edward the First, when the use of coal
was made a capital offence, and it is on record that a
man was actually tried, condemned, and hanged for
burning it in London.
Illustrative of the devastating effect of a London fog
is this typical report from a daily paper dated 23rd
Jan., 1922 — " London yesterday was the sport of the
densest fog that has been experienced. Omnibus
services had to be withdrawn, the streets were empty of
taxicabs, pedestrians carried lanterns and bicycle
lamps at midday, railway services were disorganized,
and there was a long list of street accidents. Tramcars
were telescoped in three different accidents at New Cross,
and many people injured .... a yellow, heavy, sting-
ing, cough-compelling, real old-fashioned ' particular.'
Even a walk along the pavement was a peril, and the
negotiation of cross-roads a dangerous adventure.
Several persons walked into the Round Pond, Kensing-
ton Gardens, and at Baker-street station on the Under-
ground it was difficult for passengers to find their way
about the platform — one man accidentally stepped off
the edge and fell on the metals. ... A tramcar journey
from Norwood to Blackfriars occupied two and a half
hours instead of the usual thirty-five minutes, and from
Balham to Blackfriars took an hour and forty minutes
instead of half an hour. Hundreds of pedestrians
became hopelessly lost ; and the police were unable to
obtain the help of the London County Council ambulance
to carry injured people to the Miller Hospital, as the
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION 109
fog was too thick for the ambulance to proceed ! Street
lights were kept going all day, but they made little
difference, being invisible at a distance of three or four
yards."
Could there be anything more deplorably chaotic —
and ridiculously unnecessary — than this confused con-
dition of suspended animation in the greatest city in
the world (alleged) in the twentieth century ? London
loves to adhere steadfastly to its customs of the Middle
Ages, I am aware, but it is high time that this particular
nuisance of the " muddle " ages were dispensed with.
In the same paper I am pleased to read this
recommendation by the Public Control Committee —
" That subject to the sanction of the Ministry of Health
legal proceedings under the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, be instituted against the Hammersmith and
the Islington Borough Councils in respect of smoke
nuisance from the Hammersmith electricity works,
Fulham Palace Road, and the electricity works,
Eden-grove, Holloway."
That is good for a beginning. Extend these
prosecutions generally, and you have the remedy.
His Majesty the King has recently given his subjects
an excellent lead by ordering the exclusive use of
smokeless fuel at Buckingham Palace, and all sensible
people will applaud his wise decision. Government
offices, too, are to be similarly reformed, I hea~ — and
the Government's coal bill is something like £2,000,000
annually — so we are certainly progressing gradually.
Having established a strong case in favour of smoke
abatement, we will consider the essential points bearing
upon the question of coal conservation.
Professor Barker, in his lectures on " Fuel Economy,"
at the Royal Society of Arts, gave it as his opinion that
by application of the best known appliances in place
110 ANTHRACITE
of existing ones, the present domestic consumption of
coal in this country could be reduced by four-fifths.
The Coal Conservation Sub-Commitee, under the
chairmanship of Lord Haldane, reported that, of the
80,000,000 tons of coal consumed in this country every
year for power production (including railways), only
25,000,000 tons would be required if existing steam
engines were replaced by a general system of electrical
generation ; but perhaps this is more fantastic than
practicable. And the economics are questionable, as
Sir Dugald Clerk stated at a meeting of the Institute
of Civil Engineers. Sir Dugald gave a detailed com-
parison of gas and electricity for domestic heating
showing that electricity generated at 1-56 Ib. of coal per
electrical horse-power hour gave a thermal efficiency of
production of 13 per cent. The efficiency of transmission
for short distances was 90 per cent, so that the consumer
received at his premises 11-7 per cent of the potential
heat. The efficiency of electrical apparatus was esti-
mated at 59 per cent. Eventually the consumer used
6-9 per cent of the heat units in the coal. Thus, for
equal heat work, electricity consumed 2-65 times as
much coal as gas.
On the assumption of the complete displacement of
coal in houses by gas, a saving of 17-5 million tons was
ultimately possible. Again, in the boiler house an
average efficiency of 75 per cent instead of 60 per cent,
as at present, which might lead to a saving of 4,000,000
tons per annum in plant for manufacturing purposes
(other than motive power) ; and in collieries which
consumed about 17,000,000 tons of coal yearly on boiler
furnaces for motive power an increase in efficiency from
55-5 per cent to 75 per cent might likewise save 4,000,000
tons annually. But Sir Dugald considered that any
attempt to crush out the smaller power units by a great
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION 111
Government scheme of general power production would
act against the best interests of the country, both as to
coal conservation and economy in cost.
Oil was " boomed " as the real substitute for coal
during the great coal stoppage in 1921, but although
the engines of ships, railways, etc., were temporarily
converted for its use, they were soon converted back
to the use of coal. Oil fuel is, of course, much more
convenient to handle, store, and burn in boiler furnaces
than coal, but the question is whether the saving in
labour compensates for its extra cost — apart from the
cost of the additional plant it necessitates.
The calorific value of oil is about 19,000 B.T.U. for
the boiler furnace variety and 19,500 for the Diesel
engine type. Its calorific value, like that of coal, varies
considerably. That of good anthracite is nearer 15,000
B.T.U. , but, assuming the average calorific value of coal
to be only 12,500 B.T.U., the cost of fuel for producing
a " therm " (100,000 B.Th.U.) by turning the oil fuel
has been found to be two and one-third times the cost
of producing it by turning coal at the corresponding
market prices of the two fuels. In many cases it is very
doubtful whether any economical advantage would be
obtained by substituting fuel oil for coal.
In industrial undertakings steam-raising probably
forms the most prominent of fuel-consuming processes,
but it is seldom the requisite amount of attention is
given to such important considerations as the correct
proportioning of heating surfaces, combustion spaces,
and grate areas. An extensive examination of Lanca-
shire boilers carried out by Mr. D. Brownlie showed that,
while an efficiency of nearly 80 per cent is possible in
steady practice, a large number of plants are yielding
only from 50 to 60 per cent. The influence of this
indifferent working is exemplified by the fact that if
112 ANTHRACITE
an overall increase of 10 per cent in efficiency could be
obtained, the annual saving of coal in this country would
amount to about 7,500,000 tons.
It amounts to this, then : the most satisfactory way
to effect the truest economy is to conserve the bituminous
coal itself as much as possible. And this is where anthra-
cite helps materially, its more general use relieving the
demands upon soft coals, which contain so many
valuable constituents needed for drugs, dyes, foods,
fertilizers, etc. For this important reason alone, apart
from other considerations, anthracite should be the only
coal permitted to be used in the domestic household.
Let us glance at a few of the by-products of soft
coal which are daily wasted — up our chimneys.
1 ton of coal yields about 30 Ib. ammonium sulphate.
1 ton of coal yields about 100 Ib. tar — giving enough
fuel oil to drive a petrol boat 10 miles. The tar also
contains chemicals, such as carbolic acid and saccharine.
Then the coal, when coked in ovens, supplies immense
volumes of both lighting and power gas, benzol (refined
into motor spirit), etc. 2£ gallons of benzol, the product
of a ton of coal, will drive a big motor-lorry 20 miles,
a touring car 40 miles, or a sidecar 150 miles, it is claimed.
Considerable quantities of oil are extracted from shale.
Mr. T. Scott Anderson, C.E., has stated that from
experiments he conducted before the war he obtained
from 50 to 98 gallons of oil per ton from shale. From
cannel coal he secured up to 60 gallons per ton, and
from bituminous coal a yield of 36 to 40 gallons per ton.
Recent experiments at the Metropolitan Laboratories,
Twickenham, have resulted in the production of liquid
coal, called by its inventor " Colloil." It is made from
about 60 per cent coal dust (too small for briquetting)
and 40 per cent crude fuel oil residue, mixed in a small
machine. This should prove economically useful, if
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION 113
it can be made a sound commercial proposition ; and
its inventor is satisfied that by its use in any plant at
present burning residue oil economies to the extent
of 30 per cent can be achieved.
The existing high price of coal undoubtedly presses
heavily upon the building trade, partly accounting for
the dearth of new houses. According to statistics
supplied by Mr. Percy M. Stewart, chairman of the
Cement Makers' Federation —
Half a ton of coal is required to make a ton of cement.
A quarter of a ton of coal is required to make 1,000
bricks.
5 tons of coal are necessary to make 20,000 bricks,
sufficient to build only a workman's cottage.
At the Congress of the Royal Sanitary Institute,
Folkestone, 1921, Professor Leonard Hill mentioned
that so inefficient are the present means of converting
the thermal energy of coal into power, steam or electric,
or into light, that according to the high authority of
Professor W. A. Bone, 95 per cent of this energy is wasted,
and simultaneously £50,000,000 worth of damage is
done by the waste products ! By carbonizing all coal
at gas works, and using the coke for generating electric
power and lighting, gas for heating, lighting and power,
and securing the valuable by-products, an enormous
saving of coal can be effected, and the nation's coal supply
made five times greater without an extra ton being dug up.
By low temperature carbonization of certain coals,
a smokeless semi-coal can be obtained for fuel, and a
light oil which can replace petrol. The need of the
moment is to cheapen the production of gas and smoke-
less fuel. Professor Bone states that 89 per cent of
the energy of a ton of coal is secured after carbonization
at the gas works — in the gas 23 per cent, in the coke,
60 per cent, and in the tar, etc., 6 per cent.
114 ANTHRACITE
The problem of low-temperature carbonization has
been a long and costly one, occupying over twenty years,
involving an expenditure of a million of money on the
erection and scrapping of various retorts ; but Mr.
David Brownlie, A.I.M.E., in the Manchester Guardian
(20th Oct., 1921), assures us that a solution of the
difficulties encountered has now been attained, and
successful working is being carried on at Barnsley
which should prove of great value in the conservation
of coal With the retorts there it is found possible to
utilize as much as 70 per cent of non-coking coal, and
fine slack and other practically refuse coal from the
collieries The product resulting, called " Coalite," is
claimed to be an ideal smokeless fuel, and the gases
and tar yielded in the process give a better and more
varied yield of chemical by-products than by the high-
temperature systems, including benzol, tuluol, xylol,
solvent naphtha, heavy naphtha, phenol (carbolic acid),
cresylic acid, creosote oil, and pitch Sulphate of ammo-
nia is recoverable by the " Coalite " process in the ratio
of 20 to 26 Ib. per ton of coal carbonized, and the yield
of coalite per ton of coal carbonized is from 12 to 14
cwt.
The table on page 115 shows the yield from a ton of
coal by low-temperature carbonization and two other
processes.
Judging from the published opinions of various
experts, we certainly must not regard electricity as
any aid to the conservation of coal in Britain. At a
conference of the Northern District Committee of the
British Commercial Gas Association, held at Sunderland,
in May, 1919, Mr. F. W. Goodenough, chairman of the
Executive, speaking on coal conservation, remarked
that the public had been led to believe that the panacea
for all or most of the difficulties in regard to coal
SMOKE ABATEMENT AND COAL CONSERVATION 115
conservation, transport, and housing, was to be found
in the general use of electricity, not only for light and
for motive power, but for all fuel purposes. This
was absolute nonsense, and was so regarded by all
well-informed electrical engineers.
The average electric generating station of to-day
only produced to the consumer 7 heat units out of 100
YIELD FROM ONE TON OF AVERAGE COAL (say 25-30 per cent volatile
matter)
Low-temperature
Carbonization.
High-temperature Carbonization.
Gasworks. | Coke Ovens.
Temperature of car-;
1 ,000 deg. F. . .About 1,800 deg. F. About 1 ,800 deg. F.
6,000-6,500 cubic feet 12,000 cubic feet of 11,500 cubic feet of
of rich gas, 700-1 medium quality poor quality coke-
Liquid
Sulphate of ammonia
(from the ammo-
Residue in retort .
750 B.Th.U. per
cubic foot.
20 gallons coalite oil
(fractionated to,
say, 3 gallons mo-
tor spirit, 8-9 gal.
Diesel or fuel oil,
and 8-9 gal. lubri-
cating oU).
151b
(town's) gas, 550
B.Th.U. per cubic
foot.
10 gallons coal tar . .
Fractionated to abo
spirit, carbolic ac
naphthalene, fuel
25 Ib
oven gas, 450
B.Th.U. per cubic
foot.
8 gallons coal tar
at half-gallon motor
d, a large amount of
ail, etc.
281bs.
14-14$ cwt. of hard
coke, containing
less than $ per
cent volatile
matter.
14 cwt. of smokeless
fuel coalite con-
taining about 9-10
per cent volatile
matter.
13J cwt. of soft coke,
containing about 1
per cent volatile
matter.
destroyed in the coal used to produce it — a loss of 93
per cent, and the most efficient showed a loss of 88 per
cent. The best results anticipated in the new proposed
" super " stations was only an efficiency of 18 per cent.
In the case of gas, 50 per cent of the heat units in the
coal used were returned as coke, 5 per cent were recov-
ered as tar, 22-5 per cent reached the consumer as gas,
and only 22-5 per cent were lost in manufacture and
distribution.
To produce an equivalent amount of electric heat
would involve the destruction of 4 tons of coal at the
1 16 ANTHRACITE
present generating stations, and 3 tons at the " super "
stations of the future, as against 1 ton at the gasworks.
To afford gas consumers equal service rendered them
for a destruction of 10,000,000 tons of coal (net), the
electric generating stations would destroy 40,000,000
tons, and the " super " stations 20,000,000 tons, as
well as the valuable by-products recovered when coal
is carbonized. To use electricity as a fuel on any scale
is, therefore, out of the question from the point of view
of coal conservation and coal's chemical constituents,
as also from that of cost.
MINING MISCELLANY
Miniature Mines. The new Junction Colliery, Ashton-
under-Lyne, is claimed to be the smallest coal mine,
and the only one " owned by its miners and mined by
its owners," four men, who raise an average of 1\ tons
of coal per day.
Another miniature colliery was that established by
strikers at Newhall, Burton-on-Trent during 1920—
in a back garden ! Two shafts were sunk, and the coal
obtained was sold locally in barrow-loads at Is. 6d.
each.
Health in Coal. Dr. Halford Ross, a member of the
Industrial League and Council, assures us that coal
mining is " a very healthy industry, and accounted as
one of the healthy trades."
If a miner cuts himself when he is covered with coal
dust, his injury will heal quicker than if he is clean,
Dr. Ross declares. Miners are not so subject to
consumption as workers in many other industries.
Coal mining is also, contrary to popular supposition,
one of the least dangerous occupations, as the writer
has shown in published official statistics from time to
time.
MINING MISCELLANY 117
Miners' Superstitions. All miners are superstitious,
and their superstitions vary in different districts. Some
of these are very curious indeed, especially among the
Black Country miners. A resident of the Rowley Regis
colliery district relates that on one occasion a large
group of miners, proceeding to work between 5 and 6
a.m., noticed a woman cleaning her windows. With
oaths and curses they all retraced their steps and re-
mained at home the whole day ! Seeing a woman at
such an early hour led them to believe that a disaster
would occur if they descended the pit that day.
Miners have frequently been warned of impending
disasters by dreams of their relatives ; and there are
several fatalities on record resulting from men ignoring
these strange warnings.
Court in a Coal Mine. There is at least one instance of
judicial procedure taking place below the earth's surface.
Newspapers reported on 16th November, 1921, that
Judge Lindley, seeking first-hand evidence in a case at
Mansfield County Court, descended a coal mine to obtain
it. He wished to decide whether a scratch on a miner's
face, alleged to have been caused by unprotected wire
in Sutton Colliery, was the cause of the man's death.
On descending the mine, Judge Lindley discovered
that the track on the roadway was some two or three
feet from the wire. He therefore failed to see how the
wire could have touched the man's face, and dismissed
the widow's claim for compensation.
Black and White Fuel. In some districts where chalk
abounds, thrifty householders make up very serviceable
fires by mixing lumps of chalk with their coal. Both
ingredients burn equally well, and when well alight,
their appearance is identical. It is, of course, a very
economical process, as the same lumps of chalk are used
over again for several days.
118 ANTHRACITE
Food from Coal ! At the Fuel Economy Exhibition,
held in Trafalgar Square, London, in November, 1918,
Professor Spooner mentioned that coal contained as
many treasures as Pandora's box, and that it was quite
likely that in the future we should use its by-products
of edible oils and fats to make margarine. He exhibited
a piece of coal weighing 1 lb., valued at £d., and stated
that it contained sufficient energy, if that energy could
be used without waste, to lift 550 people to the top of
the Nelson Column.
Tale of a Toad. Tradition has given the world
marvellous stories of toads being discovered embedded
alive in rocks, as well as the familiar " toad in the hole,"
but here is an interesting modern tale from the Morning
Post (23rd May, 1919)—
" A toad has been found buried in a coal seam at
the Netherseal Colliery, Burton-on-Trent (writes a
correspondent), 200 yards below the surface and a mile
from the pit shaft. When a miner's pick struck into
a pocket of clay, out rolled the toad. Three inches in
length, with skin like that of a young alligator, it has
no mouth, but it is evident it once possessed one, though
the aperture is now sealed up. It is recovering its sight
and moving about."
Storm in a Mine. The forces and freaks of Nature
are truly wonderful, but most of us have imagined that
coal mines at any rate were immune from thunder
storms. Not so, it would appear, for a Central News
report of 13th November, 1919, records a remarkable
incident at Dalton-in-Furness. During a severe storm
of snow and hail, accompanied by thunder, lightning
descended a pit-shaft by the winding rope, and the
current ran along the bottom of the pit for 200 yards.
A man was knocked down and rendered unconscious,
and a lad lost the use of his legs through the shock.
MINING MISCELLANY 119
Perpetual Fires. Though drowning is'a fate to which
coal mines are particularly liable, perpetual fire has
been also an occasional cause of their abandonment.
Near St. Etienne, says the Daily Express, there is a
mine which has been on fire for many years, and another
at Zwickau, Saxony, which caught fire in the fifteenth
century, is still burning. We had an example of the
same thing in the Burning Hills of Staffordshire, where
for years — until the fire burned out — tropical plants
grew luxuriantly.
After Long Silence. In November, 1921, a train of
loaded tubs, which were filled a few moments before the
big explosion of 1878, were found in an old disused
working in the Prince of Wales Colliery, Abercarn.
Tools and various articles were discovered just as they
were dropped by the terror-stricken miners in face of
the disaster, painfully remindful of the grim tragedy of
over forty years ago.
Effects of an Explosion. Some idea of what an
explosion in a mine is like can be gathered from investi-
gations recorded in a paper read before the South Wales
Institute of Engineers, reviewing certain anthracite
colliery explosions.1
The most serious outburst of gas and dust took place
in December, 1914, on taking out a pair of timbers,
being preceded by reports which increased in intensity.
The roads back to the upcast pit were filled with gas,
and also the main intake, which is a cross-measure
drift from the Red Vein, was filled for a distance of 50
yards for some considerable time. The quantity of air
in the intake was normally 25,000 cub. ft. per minute. . .
It will be seen that a large quantity of gas was given off.
The quantity required to fill up the roads back to the
upcast would be approximately 110,000 cub. ft., without
1 See Iron and Coal Trades Review, 27th Jan., 1922.
9— (1458H)
120 ANTHRACITE
taking into consideration the volume passing to the
upcast for the period that the ventilation was suspended.
From this fall 600 trams of dust were rilled — apart from
casualties and damage.
Examination of the coal sample taken from where
the outburst happened was interesting. The lumps
crumbled at touch to a powder, which was graded thus :
Retained by 8 sieve, 1-5 per cent ; retained by 16 sieve,
0-9 per cent ; retained by 36 sieve, 8-6 per cent ; re-
tained by 100 sieve, 36-2 per cent ; retained by 200
sieve, 16-5 per cent ; passed by 200 sieve, 36-3 per cent.
The occluded gases contained 90 per cent of carbonic
acid, and temperatures of 155° Fah. were recorded in
the small coal before the accumulation of dust was
cleared away. The sides oj the seam were hot /or some
weeks afterwards ! In this sample only 54 cub. centi-
metres of occluded gases were given off from 100 grammes
of the smaller lumps, the average for normal anthracite
being as high as 500 to 600 cub. centimetres.
Coal 's Medicinal Properties. During a lecture at the
Manchester College of Technology, in March, 1922,
Dr. Arnold Renshaw and Mr. Thomas Fairbrother
explained some dye discoveries which are expected to
revolutionize the treatment of disease. Infection is
fought by injecting into the blood certain dyes, which
kill infecting agents without harming the organs of the
body.
Mr. Fairbrother dealt with the antiseptic action of
the coal tar dyes. Results showed that certain classes
had a greater or less tendency to antiseptic action.
Basic dyes, such as crystal violet and auramine, showed
strong antiseptic action, while others, such as the patent
blues, acid greens, turquoise blues, and victoria blues,
showed very little action.
Dr. Renshaw, giving a practical demonstration, took
MINING MISCELLANY 121
from behind the ear of a man in the audience who had
suffered from a West African fever a drop of blood, a
picture of which was projected on a screen. In the
picture a worm could be seen moving about, and Dr.
Renshaw explained how a dilution of the dye auramine
injected into the blood instantly killed the worm.
INDEX
AMERICAN anthracite, 83
Anthracite, Scotch, 82
mining engineers, Inst. of,
seams, 3,
83, 86
standard sizes, 34
mining methods, 83
steam-raising, 75
output, 1, 5, 25, 83, 88
stoves, 43, 44, 45, 46, 62, 64
patent fuel, 93
stove makers, 66
Analyses, Irish anthracite, 81
nuts, 57
patent fuel, 94
versus gas, 55
Scotch anthracite, 83
washing of, 32
Welsh anthracite, 18
Welsh coalfield, 1, 5
Anthracite, American, 83
" Anti-waste " fuel, 92
analysis, 18
Automobile Engineers, Inst. of,
baking by, 72
73
beautiful district, 13
Canadian, 88
BAKING by anthracite, 72
Chinese, 90
Barker, Professor, 43, 44, 109
composition of, 11, 16
.reports, 43, 44, 109
costs (comparative), 41, 43,
Beautiful anthracite district,
47,68
13
compounds, 90
Boiler-grate (" Florence "), 59
domestic, 38
Boiler tests, 75
" duff," 34, 92
Boilers, domestic, 55
fires (rules), 24
Bone, Professor W. A., 4, 113
" French " nuts, 9
Bristol, Royal Hotel, 39
gas-yield of, 72
British Commercial Gas Associ-
" grains," 34
ation, 114
Irish, 78
Th.U. and " Therms," 59
official tests, 39, 40, 41, 53,
By-products of coal, 112, 113
62
origin of, 7
CALTHROP, Sir Guy, 69
outputs, American, 1, 5, 25,
Cambria Leader, 68
83, 88
Canadian anthracite, 88
, Canadian, 89
Carbonization, low -tempera-
, Great Britain, 25, 88
ture, 114
, Irish, 78, 81
Cardiff, Inst. of South Wales
, Scotch, 82
Engineers, 10, 40
, Welsh, 1, 94
Chalk and coal, 117
" peas," 91
Chemical salts, 43
pioneers of, 3, 29
Chinese anthracite, 90
power of, 29, 75
Cleeves' Western Valleys An-
process of manufacture, 32
thracite Collieries, 3, 29, 30
resources, 3
Coal by-products, 112, 113
123
124
Coal conservation, 110, 113,
114, 115
sub-committee, 110
consumption on railways,
106
, health in, 116
"Coalite," 114
Coal, liquid, 112
, medical properties of,
120
Coal and Iron and By- Products
Journal, 39, 69
Coal-smoke abatement, 103
pollution, 104, 105
Coal storage, 100
supplies. Royal Commis-
sion on, 12
Coalowners, 47
losses, 26
Coals, spontaneous ignition, 96
Cobbles, 34
Collieries, life at the, 30
Compound fuels, 90 95
Conservation, coal, 110, 113,
114, 115
Cooking, English, 48
Cost of fuels (comparative), 41,
43, 47, 68
Country Lije, 45
Court in a mine, 117
Daily Express;, 119
Daily Mail and " Florence "
grate, 60
Dean Swift, 82
Deep mining, 12
Domestic boilers, 55
Domestic Engineering, 40
Domestic grates, 39, 40, 41, 62
Dublin Weekly Journal, 82
" Duff," anthracite, 34, 92
Dutch stoves, 65
Electrical Review, 74
Electricity generation, 110, 115
Electrodes, 74
Employees — American mines,
25, 88
Employees, Great Britain, 25,
88
, Irish mines, 81
, Welsh mines, 3
English cooking, 48
Evelyn, John, 95, 107
Evening Standard, 63
Exploiters' difficulties, 28
Explosion, effects of, 119
FEDERATION of British Indus-
tries, 26
Fisherden, Dr. Margaret, 41
" Florence " boiler-grate, 59
Fog (London) statistics, 105,
108
Food from coal, 118
" French " nuts, 9
Fuel Economy Review, 26
Fuels, compound, 90, 95
, patent, 92, 93, 94
GALLOWAY, W., 10
Gas-stove perils, 69
Gas-yield (anthracite), 72
Germany's patent fuel, 94
" Grains," 34
Grates, domestic, 39, 40, 41, 62
HEALTH in coal, 116
Heat losses from soot, 54
Herald of Wales, 5
Hill, Professor Leonard, 104,
113
Horticulture, 25
Housing recommendations, 106
Hudson Coal Company, 84
" IDEAL Homes " Exhibition,
60
In the Western Valleys of
Wales, 2, 30, 43, 76
Industrial world and anthra-
cite, 26, 72
, proportion of coal
used, 26
Institute of Automobile En-
gineers, 73
INDEX
125
Institute of Marine Engineers,
of Mining Engineers
(American), 83, 86
of S. Wales Engineers,
10, 40
Ironmonger, 46, 55
Irish anthracite, 78
Mining Co., the new, 81
KING George V, 109
Kitchen conquest, 47
" Kooksjoie " anthracite range,
52
LAMP, miner's, 35
Liquid coal, 112
Llewelyn, Sir Leonard W, 26
London atmosphere statistics,
105
fog, 104, 105, 108
Warming Co., Ltd., 61,
65
Lord Newton's Committee, 106
Losses of coalowners, 26
Low - temperature carboniza-
tion, 114
MANCHESTER Air - pollution
Board, 41
Manchester Guardian, 114
Manufacture of anthracite, 32
Marine Engineers, Inst. of, 54
Medical properties of coal, 120
Metropolitan laboratories, 112
Mine, court in a, 117
, explosion in a, 119
fires, 119
, storm in a, 118
Miner's lamp, 35
Miners' superstitions, 117
Mining, American, 83
, deep, 12
, earliest methods, 2
Engineers, Inst. of, 83
, Irish, 79
, Welsh, 10
miscellany, 116
Mines, miniature, 116
Morgan, J. D., 5
NEW Cross Hands Colliery, 3,
14, 30
New Irish Mining Co., 81
Newton, Lord, 106
Northern Exploration Co., Ltd.,
Norwegian Coal Co., 90
OFFICIAL tests of anthracite,
39, 40, 41, 53, 62
Oil, calorific value of, 111
versus coal, 111
Origin of anthracite, 7
Our Homes and Gardens, 44
Output, American, 83, 87
, Canadian, 89
, Great Britain, 25, 88
, Irish, 78, 81
, Scotch, 82
, Welsh, 1, 94
Owens, Dr. J. S., 105
PATENT fuels, 92, 93, 94
Fuel Marketing Co., Ltd.,
92,93
" Peas," 91
"Pele,"28, 39, 92, 96
Pennsylvania coalfield, 6
Perils of gas-stoves, 69
Perpetual fires in mines, 119
Photographs of anthracite, 9,
57,91
Pioneers of anthracite, 3, 29
Pony, the wonderful pit, 36
Power of anthracite, 29, 75
Preparation of anthracite, 32
Public Control Committee, 107,
109
RAILWAYS, coal consumption
on, 106
Ranges, " King " of, 52
. kitchen, 51
Redmayne, Sir R. A. S., 12
Research, Dept. of Scientific, 12
126
INDEX
Royal Commission on Coal
Supplies, 12
Royal Hotel, Bristol, 39
Sanitary Institute, 113
" Rubbly Culm," 34
Rules of anthracite fires, 24
Russell (Archibald), Ltd., 83
SALTS, chemical preparations,
43
Seams, Welsh anthracite, 3
Scientific Research, Dept. of, 12
Scotch anthracite, 82
Sizes of anthracite, 34
Skeena Co., 89
Soot, heat losses from, 54
Smoke (coal) pollution, 104,
105
South Wales Daily Post, 69
South Wales Engineers, Inst.
of, 10, 40
Spitsbergen, 90
Spontaneous ignition in coals.
Steam-raising, 75 [96
Storage, coal, 100
Storm in a mine, 118
Stove-makers, principal, 66
Stove nuts, 57
Stoves, anthracite, 43, 44, 45
46, 62, 64
, British, etc., 64
, Dutch, 65
, heating capacities, 64, 65
Strahan, Dr., 8
Swift, Dean, 82
TESTS, boiler, 75
, official, 39, 40, 41, 53, 62
, private, 43, 44, 45, 46, 53,
60, 68, 74, 76, 77, 82, 92, 96
" Therms " and B.Th.U., 59
WATKINS, Thomas H., 25
Washing of anthracite, 32
Welwyn Garden City, 61
Welsh anthracite, analysis, 18
Welsh coalfield, 1, 5
patent fuel, 94
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