946 Transactions of the American Institute. 



a long flame. On the average, bituminous coal is about the best 

 standard for all purposes ; so that it is a fair estimate of the effici- 

 ency of the lignites to say that it is about five-eighths of that of good 

 bituminous coal. 



The next question is, whether the combustion is sufficiently rapid, 

 f@r we have not only the calorific quantity of power but the calorific 

 intensity to calculate. It is easy to determine how much heat it will 

 produce ; but it makes a great difference in its value whether you 

 can get out this heat from a given quantity of fuel in five minutes, 

 or whether it takes an hour. For smelting purposes it is necessary 

 that a large amount of heat shall be evolved rapidly. It can best 

 be determined by trial, but I have great confidence that many of 

 these lignites may be burned with sufficient rapidity for the smelting 

 of iron or any other metallurgical purposes for which they may be 

 required. The amount of hydrogen they contain gives them great 

 combustibility. They burn rapidly ; and although they do not make 

 a very hot fire, I think it will be found sufficiently intense for metal- 

 lurgical purposes. There has been an impression that they could not 

 be used, and coke has been sent for at a cost of $160 per ton, when 

 these lignites could have been had for but a small portion of that 

 amount. 



The beds of asphalt and of petroleum deserve a moment's notice, 

 inasmuch as they are very conspicuous in some localities, and have led 

 to the expenditure of large amounts of money. In southern Cali- 

 fornia there is a great abundance of asphalt. Sometimes the ocean 

 will be covered for miles with it. It is capable of being applied to a 

 good purpose there, although it is not worth transporting to the 

 Atlantic coast. There are similar deposits in Colorado, where they 

 are called by the hunters "tar springs." There is no doubt in my 

 mind that it is the residuum from the evaporation and distillation of 

 petroleum. 



The great question with regard to the value of the lignites is, 

 whether they are applicable for smelting purposes. "We know they 

 are adapted for the generation of steam, for they are almost exclu- 

 sively used for that purpose by the Pacific railroad. I hope that 

 what I have said will inspire sufficient confidence in their value to 

 cause their trial for smelting purposes. It will be necessary to adapt 

 the furnaces to them ; but when rightly burned I have great con 

 fidence that they will be found fully equal to every demand which 

 may be made of them. 



Adjourned. 



