THE MANAGER ON THE WORKS. 79 



the consumption of material checked by the number of 

 boxes changed in the course of a year. 



There is frequently some difficulty in connection with 

 the night man, whose services are required during the 

 winter months. He must, perforce, be left in sole charge 

 for several hours ; and it is needless to say that a qualified, 

 experienced retort house hand is not obtainable. Some- 

 times there is a very small choice, but it is poor economy to 

 engage inferior labour at a cheap rate. The grate furnace, 

 which requires firing every hour or so, is more liable to 

 suffer from neglect than the generator furnace, which need 

 only be filled up once or twice during the night. And if 

 the heats are let back, it may take twelve hours, or more, to 

 get them into normal condition. Under these circum- 

 stances, it is preferable to delay or to miss a charge rather 

 than to expect an under-conditioned furnace to carbonize 

 its full quantity of coal, and at the same time to recover 

 lost ground. The small manager has his peculiar difficul- 

 ties and anxieties, and it is in view of these that the need 

 for simplicity in design and construction has been insisted 

 on. 



There is an old saying, which like others of the same 

 kidney is much less frequently quoted now than in my 

 young days, to the effect that there is a place for everything, 

 and everything should be in its place. The word " time '' 

 might be substituted for " place," for there is also a time 

 for everything, and everything should be done at the proper 

 time. Too often it is found that the manager has a number 

 of odd jobs on hand that are to be done at some uncertain 

 and indefinite future period. He intends to paint the gas- 

 holder when he has time. The drip boxes and connec- 

 tions have not been cleaned out since the week after the 

 Fair time before last, but this is to be done soon ; in fact, 



