THE MANAGER ON THE WORKS. 77 



to the size of the retorts and the quality of the coal. The 

 charges usually range between 2 to 2f cwts., and with coal 

 of fair average quality there should be no difficulty in 

 working off 6 to 8 cwts. per retort, with three charges per 

 day and banking up at night, or 10 to n cwts. with con- 

 tinuous working and four charges per twenty-four hours. 

 This would give a make of 2,800 cubic feet to 3,600 cubic 

 feet per retort per day, when banking up at night, or about 

 5,000 cubic feet under continuous working. Much depends 

 on the care and attention bestowed on the working. Some 

 men, left to themselves for years, perhaps, are apt to 

 develop very lackadaisical methods in the matter of drawing 

 and charging, and they should be encouraged to avoid 

 them, and to exercise smartness and alacrity in the work. 

 For example, in order to save himself trouble, a man slacks 

 the lids of three retorts at once, and proceeds to draw all 

 three, and extinguish the coke before charging. This will 

 occupy eight, or perhaps, ten minutes, and another eight 

 minutes is occupied in charging. The average time that 

 each retort is slack and doing nothing is about fifteen 

 minutes. This repeated three or four times in the day 

 comes to nearly an hour a day. But if each retort was 

 dealt with singly, it could be drawn and charged within five 

 or six minutes. And while all three retorts are standing 

 open, they get chilled, with the result that the fresh charge 

 takes longer to heat up. Several similar little details might 

 be mentioned which at first sight appear trifling and 

 insignificant, but which really go to make up the difference 

 between a fat dividend and a lean one. 



Smart, systematic habits of working are as necessary in 

 a small works as in a large one. Charges should be in to 

 the minute; and the clinkering, wheeling out ashes, making 

 up ash-pan with water, etc,, should be done at fixed times, 



