6 CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL GASWORKS. 



money in the village or small town, and anything in the 

 way of a large first outlay is an objection. The general 

 success of the slot meter has shown that there are a large 

 number willing to use gas, provided they can get it free of 

 initial outlay. And this point should receive special 

 consideration in districts where the consumption, having 

 regard to the habits of the population, is low. 



The quantity sold per head of the population in the 

 district supplied will, of course, be affected by local 

 circumstances and habits, or by the presence, or otherwise, 

 of factories or other special users. Taking an average non- 

 manufacturing residential or agricultural district, it should 

 be possible to sell 2,000 to 3,000 cubic feet per head per 

 annum, by the adoption of a sound enterprising policy on 

 the lines above indicated. 



The incandescent gas burner and the automatic light 

 controller are important factors in the management of small 

 works. The low consumption of the former will be sure to 

 command a certain amount of lighting business at any 

 price. And the lighting and extinguishing of the few and 

 widely-spaced public lamps is always a troublesome and 

 expensive matter, taking a man away from the works at a 

 most inconvenient time. The automatic controller is an 

 established fact, and can be set to any desired schedule of 

 hours of lighting. And for small districts the independent 

 clockwork arrangement is more suitable than the pressure 

 actuated machine. 



The inhabitants of a small non-manufactory town do not, 

 as a rule, go in for the late hours and hot suppers that are 

 largely concerned in keeping up the average slot meter 

 consumption per consumer in more important districts. 

 There are many places where the average consumption 

 may safely be left to take care of itself, but in some 



