Now 365 retorts containing 120lb. of coal each, make 43800lb. which is equal to ten chaldrons of Newcastle and eight tons of cannel coal.
10 chaldrons of Newcastle coals, at 65s. make £ 32 10 0 8 tons of cannel coal,[15] (this coal is sold by weight) at 100s. per ton 40 0 0 7 chaldrons of common coals for carbonising, at 55s. 19 5 0 To wages paid the servant for attending the gas apparatus 30 0 0 Interest of money sunk 30 0 0 The wear and tear of the gas-light apparatus I consider to be equal to the wear and tear of lamps, candlesticks, &c. employed for oil, tallow, &c. ----------- Total expence of the gas lights 151 15 0
23 chaldrons of coke, at 60s. per chaldron 69 Ammoniacal liquor 5 Tar 6 Charcoal employed by the copper-plate printers to heat their plates, which is now done with the gas- light flame, cost, annua 25 Two chaldrons of coals _minus_ used as fuel, for warming the house, since the adoption of the gas- lights, at 65s. per chaldron 6 10 ------ 111 10 0 ---------- Nett expences of the gas-lights £ 40 5 0 ---------- The lights used in my Establishment, prior to the gas- lights, amounted annually to 160 0 0 My present system of lighting with gas costs, per ann. 40 5 0 ---------- Balance in favor of the gas for one year £ 119 15 0
Such is the simple statement of my present system of lighting, the brilliancy of which, when contrasted with our former lights, bears the same comparison to them as a bright summer sun-shine does to a murky November day: nor are we, as formerly, almost suffocated with the effluvia of charcoal and fumes of candles and lamps. In addition to this, the damage sustained by the spilling of oil and tallow upon prints, drawings, books and paper, &c. amounted annually to upwards of 50l. All the workmen employed in my establishment consider their gas-lights as the greatest blessing; and I have only to add, that the light we now enjoy, were it to be produced by means of Argand’s lamps or candles, would cost at least 350l. per annum.
[15] _Although cannel-coal sells at nearly double the price of Newcastle coal, I use it in preference to the latter, because it affords a larger portion of gas, and gives a much more brilliant light._
Another manufacturer who was one of the first that adopted the use of this method of illumination in the small way, and who gave a statement of its advantages to the public, is Mr. COOK, a manufacturer of metal toys, at Birmingham, a clear-headed, prudent man, not apt to be dazzled by a fanciful speculation, but governed in his transactions by a simple balance of profit and loss. There is a _naïveté_ in his own account of the process which will amuse as well as instruct the reader.