FUEL AND LIGHT 287 



and other injurious impurities natural gas is a good fuel for the 

 (Smelting of iron or steel. Natural gas is piped from the gas fields 

 to considerable distances. The Oklahoma field supplies Kansas 

 City, and the Indiana gas belt supplies Chicago. The price varies 

 according to the distance the gas is piped and the quantity that 

 is used. In Oklahoma it ranges from five to thirty cents per 

 thousand feet. 



Acetylene gas as a fuel thus far has not been satisfactory, but 

 it is used in many places as an illuminant. It may be prepared 

 very cheaply by treating calcium carbide with water. When im- 

 pure it has an offensive odor and is poisonous when breathed. 

 Like other inflammable gases, it is explosive when mixed with air 

 and must be handled with extreme care. The mixture to be 

 explosive must contain from 3 per cent to 65 per cent of the gas. 

 For safety the generator should be kept in the basement or in a 

 small outbuilding. This will safeguard against accidents in families 

 where there are small children or other careless persons around. 



Gasoline gas is generated from gasoline and is used for cooking 

 and for lighting. It is also used to a great extent by plumbers 

 and tinners for heating their soldering irons. In cooking ranges 

 -two forms of generators are used. In the ordinary range a small 

 portion of gasoline is allowed to run down into a little cup beneath 

 each burner, and then the liquid is shut off by closing the valve 

 and the portion in the cup is ignited. This heats the burner 

 above until it is hot enough to convert the liquid gasoline into 

 gas when the gasoline is turned on again. A lighted match is then 

 applied to the burner, and the gas will burn with a steady blue 

 flame. The gasoline tank on top of the stove should never be 

 filled when the stove is lighted or when there are lighted lamps 

 or fire stoves near. Gasoline vaporizes very easily, and the vapor 

 ignites readily, hence great care must be exercised in its use in 

 order to guard against explosions. Leaky tanks or leaky valves and 

 joints must be repaired promptly or accidents are sure to result. 



In some of the higher-priced cooking ranges self-generators are 

 used in which the gasoline vaporizes as it passes through a long tube. 



Gasoline makes a very cheap and efficient fuel for cooking pur- 

 poses on the farm. Its use in the summer time is advisable be- 

 cause of the small amount of heat given off into the room. 



