April, 1909.] 



371 



Miscellaneous* 



The amendment of the Co-operative 

 Credit Societies Act was another im- 

 portant question discussed. The con- 

 ference thought that the question ought 

 to be taken up without delay, and 

 that the Act especially required amend- 

 ment in two points. The distinction 

 between urban and rural societies ought 

 to be abolished, the real distinction 

 being between banks with limited liabi- 

 lity, and Section 29 of the Act should 

 be altered so as to facilitate the form- 

 ation of co-operative societies for all 

 kinds of co-operative business. It is 

 too early to appraise the effect of the 

 famine on the societies, but the regis- 

 trars agreed that in time of stress takavi 

 might legitimately be given by the 

 Government to keep a society alive. 

 They also recommended that ail takavi 

 destined for a member of a co-operative 

 credit society should be given through 

 the Society, and that in making the 

 advance the Society should charge its 

 ordinary rate of interest. 



The question of a summary procedure 

 for the recovery of the societies' dues 

 was again brought forward for dis- 

 cussion, and there was again consider- 

 able difference of opinion. It was 

 suggested that a Conf erence should meet 

 next year at Calcutta at the end of 

 November, and that its constitution 

 should be enlarged by the admission 

 of a limited number of non-official 

 gentlemen interested in the movement, 

 — Indian Agriculturist, Vol. XXXIII., 

 No. 11, November 2, 1908, 



ANOTHER RIVAL OF STEAM. 



The rapidly extending use of the gas 

 producer in the devolopment of power 

 is one of the most interesting industrial 

 developments of the past few years. At 

 first sight it would hardly appear a 



Eaying scheme to discard the steam 

 oiler and engine and employ the heat 

 of the furnace to generate gas in a 

 producer for use in a gas-engine. Yet 

 we are told that in many cases the 

 combination of furnace, producer, and 

 gas-motor is cheaper than the steam 

 engine. L. P. Tolman, writing in The 

 American Exporter (New York, Octo- 

 ber), tells his readers that producer-gas 

 power is a pronounced success in the 

 United States as shown by the large 

 number of installations already in oper- 

 ation. He estimates that there are 

 over five hundred such plants in the 

 United States, with an aggregate of 

 150,000 horse-power. Besides the eco- 

 nomy of this system, it has, we are 

 told, numerous other advantages, which 

 the writer sums up as follows :— 



"Simplicity.— The producer, in which 

 fuel gas is' generated from coal, is 

 almost as simple as an ordinary fur- 

 nace for heating purposes- The gas- 

 engiue is entirely automatic in oper- 

 ation and needs little more than the ordi- 

 nary cleaning and care as to lubrication. 



" Absolute Safety.— There is no danger 

 from explosion or from fire. It is 

 absolutely safe, even in the hands of men 

 with little mechanical training, and the 

 many plants which are in continuous 

 operation, some of them twenty and 

 even twenty-four hours a day, indicate 

 that they are thoroughly reliable and 

 will stand hard, every-day usage. 

 Boiler insurance is unnecssary with 

 producer plants, and the troubles and 

 dangers encountered with steam boilers 

 are entirely avoided. The complete 

 gas engine and suction producer pjant is 

 almost entirely automatic in operation, 

 very little attention being required. 

 Ordinarily the operator only needs to 

 spend ten to fifteen minutes about 

 every two hours to dump a few buckets 

 of coal into the producer and give 

 general attention to the plant. He can 

 spend part of his time in other useful 

 work, and an extra man as fireman is 

 not required, even with plants from 

 400 to 500 horse-power." 



In addition there are no smoke-stacks 

 and no smoke, less coal to be handled 

 and stored, and fewer ashes to dispose 

 of. The producer will hold fire for 

 several days, and gas can be generated 

 after fifteen or twenty minutes' blowing 

 to revive the fire. The engine may be 

 started on compressed air, and after 

 getting up to speed it is then operated 

 on producer gas. The operation of a 

 modern producer of the suction type, 

 using anthracite coal, is described as 

 follows : Coal, admitted at the top of 

 the producer (as shown at the right of 

 the picture) is partly consumed therein, 

 and in this process incomplete com- 

 bustion gas is generated, as it is in a 

 newly-made coal fire. The subsequent 

 processes are thus described : 



"The hot gas passes through a vapo- 

 rizer in which a small amount of steam 

 is formed, which, with a limited amount 

 of air, passes under the grate of the 

 producer .... 



" From the vaporizer the hot gas flows 

 through the scrubber, which is merely a 

 cylindrical-shaped tank filled with coke, 

 over which a spray of water is constant- 

 ly sprinkled. The large contact surface 

 of the coke effectually cleanses the gas 

 of dust and impurities carried over 

 from the producer, and also acts to 

 cool the gas, which is essential in order, 

 to prepare it for use in the engine. 



