484 



CEMENTS, LIMES, AND PLASTERS. 



Several years ago Mr. Edison installed a 150-foot kiln in his New 

 Jersey plant. The success attained by this kiln was ma:ked for a time 

 by defects in other portions of the plant's equipment, but as soon as it 

 became apparent every manager in the United States began to con- 

 sider the possibility of lengthening his kilns. The Edison kiln was re- 



FIG. 119. Raw material storage-bin, with adjustable feeder driven from kiln 

 countershaft. (Allis-Chalmers Co.) 



ported to yield 350 to 375 barrels of cement per day, with a fuel con- 

 sumption of only 65 Ibs. of coal per barrel. Sixty-foot kilns, on the 

 other hand, usually gave 160 to 180 barrels a day when working on a 

 dry limestone-clay mix, and might use 110 to 150 pounds of coal per 

 barrel. In the Lehigh district, working on the easily clinkered cement 

 rock, results were better, but even here the maximum production could 

 hardly exceed 225 bbls. per day, with a fuel consumption perhaps as 

 low as 95 to 120 pounds. 



Such a contrast was too striking to permit much delay in lengthen- 



