burchard.]     LIGNITES  OF  MIDDLE  AND  UPPER  MISSOURI  VALLEY.      287 
Comparison  of  these  figures  with  analyses  of  other  lignites  shows 
the  North  Dakota  product  to  be  of  a  high  grade,  and,  judged  by  the 
standard  of  chemical  composition  alone,  it  ranks  well  with  the  bitu- 
minous coals  of  Iowa,  Missouri,  and  Kansas. 
Evaporative  tests. — Practical  tests  affording  direct  comparisons  be- 
tween the  evaporative  powers  of  the  lignite  and  standard  bituminous 
coals  burned  under  the  same  conditions  are  much  more  reliable  and 
satisfactory  than  chemical  tests.  Several  such  tests  have  been  made, 
viz,  at  the  asylum  for  the  insane  at  Jamestown,  N.  Dak.,  at  the  Fargo- 
Edison  Company's  plant  at  Fargo,  N.  Dak.,  at  the  State  Universit}7, 
and  at  a  number  of  flour  mills  and  electric-lighting  plants  in  the  State, 
From  these  tests  it  is  shown  that,  conservatively  taking  the  evapo- 
rative power  of  the  lignite  at  4.1  pounds  per  pound  of  fuel  consumed, 
the  lignite  possesses  63  per  cent  of  the  power  of  Youghiogheny  coal, 
70  per  cent  of  that  of  Missouri  coal,  and  75  per  cent  of  that  of  Iowa 
coal.  In  all  but  one  of  the  tests  it  was  demonstrated,  considering  the 
relative  costs  of  the  fuels  at  the  point  where  tested,  that  the  use  of 
lignite  is  the  more  economical 5  and  this  would  appear  to  be  corrobo- 
rated by  the  fact  that  it  is  being  very  generally  used  in  the  State  for 
steam  and  domestic  purposes. 
Locomotive  tests. — Railroads  have  been  very  slow  to  adopt  lignite 
as  a  fuel  for  locomotives.  However,  the  question  whether  it  may 
be  so  used  has  become  so  important  in  the  Northwest  that  a  locomo 
tive  has  been  especially  constructed  with  reference  to  this  problem  oy 
the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  for  the  Bismarck,  Washburn  ana 
Great  Falls  Railway.  Detailed  reports  concerning  two  trips,  each  of 
106  miles,  by  this  locomotive  hauling  a  heavy  train  and  using  lignite 
for  fuel  are  given,  which  indicate  a  saving  of  over  40  per  cent  of  the 
cost  of  eastern  bituminous  coal  for  the  same  work. 
Deductions  as  to  fuel  value.- — Notwithstanding  the  favorable  evidence 
of  both  chemical  analyses  and  boiler  tests,  a  definite  relative  fuel  value 
can  not  safely  be  assigned  to  lignite  coals  at  present.  Their  peculiar 
physical  characteristics  complicate  the  question  by  directty  and  indi- 
rectly lowering  the  apparent  value.  The  expense  of  shipping  nearly 
one-third  by  weight  of  the  lignite  as  moisture,  while  not  strictly  an  ele 
ment  affecting  its  value  as  a  fuel,  does  enter  into  the  cost  of  production. 
As  the  evaporation  of  the  moisture  contained  in  the  fuel  results  in  a 
direct  loss  in  the  calorific  power,  since  it  absorbs  heat,  it  appears  that  a 
gain  would  be  effected  by  burning  the  lignite  in  an  air-dried  state.  As 
yet,  however,  no  practical  method  has  been  devised  for  drying  the  lig- 
nite on  a  large  scale  at  the  mines.  If  this  were  accomplished,  not  only 
would  the  fuel  value  be  increased,  but  tho  cost  of  transportation  would 
be  lowered.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  specially  constructed  grates 
and  fiie  boxes  are  essential  to  economical  combustion  of  lignite  when  it 
is  air  dried,  for  in  this  condition  it  easily  crumbles  to  fine  fragments  and 
