4 CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL GASWORKS. 



set of apparatus. I have known men, thoroughly com- 

 petent and reliable in a way, who had kept up a satisfactory 

 supply to a small district for years, but who were com- 

 pletely flabbergasted by such a simple matter as changing the 

 quality of coal supplied. Such men do not take readily to 

 novelties, and are slow to learn, though usually sure. So 

 cure must be taken not to introduce improvements that are 

 beyond the capacity of the man in charge, and to see that, 

 even at a little extra expense, he is properly instructed as to 

 the methods of working. Under certain circumstances, 

 such as when a man is left largely to himself in an 

 awkwardly accessible locality, it may be desirable to give 

 preference to simplicity, and not to expect more than can 

 be obtained by good work on the old-fashioned lines. A man 

 accustomed to the usual methods of running a grate furnace, 

 for example, might soon melt down the walls of a generator 

 setting, if left to work it with no guidance other than his 

 previous experience. In making these re marks, it is scarcely 

 enough to add that the working manager is usually willing 

 to learn. He is usually prepared to take an interest in the 

 new process, when its object is clearly explained to him, 

 and I have been surprised at the successful way in which 

 some men have taken up and mastered the details of the 

 new appliance. 



In the earlier part of the period above mentioned the 

 selling price of gas was 75. or 8s. per thousand. There were 

 no competitors beyond candles and colza oil. But the 

 advent of cheap petroleum has made it impossible to 

 do more than a limited class of business at that price, and 

 unless it is possible to sell at not more than 55. the output 

 will be small. In fact, it may be said that petroleum is the 

 worst competitor that the small gas company has ever 

 experienced For a time its effect was very decided, until 



