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CHAPTER XVIII. 



MISCELLANEOUS REFUSE. 



Utilisation of Refuse Gas Companies ; Coal-tar and what is obtained from 

 it English Miners in Chile Hydrochloric Acid Soot and Smoke 

 Street-sweepings Thrift of the Chinese ; Chinese Barbers The Price 

 of a Head of Hair Refuse of the Fish Trade The Queen's Tobacco- 

 pipe " Mahloo Mixture" Cotton-seed Oil, Cotton-stalks, and Cotton- 

 waste Oil from Waste Products Saw-dust Metal Refuse Furnace- 

 slag. 



WHAT one generation neglects, wastes, even pays to 

 get rid of, another finds to be valuable property ; 

 and a history of the utilisation of refuse would almost be 

 a history of civilisation. 



One of the most notable examples of the way in which 

 the refuse of one generation makes the fortune of the next, 

 is to be found in the history of the gas companies. 



When gas has been separated from coal there remains 

 in the retort, first, solid coke, which represents most of the 

 carbon contained in the coal, and is so hard as to be able to 

 cut glass, like its near relation, the diamond ; secondly, there 

 is a certain amount of tarry matter and watery liquid. The 

 latter, which is called gas-water, or ammonia-water, is a 

 brownish liquid, with a strong smell, and yields salts of 

 ammonia, from which spirit of hartshorn is made. 



But the coal-tar? Previous to 1856 it was worth 

 hardly |d. a gallon in London, while in the country the 

 gas-makers were glad to give it away. Yet now, whereas 



