COAL-GAS PROGRESS.
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Natural Gasas Fuel.
From aerciss the Atlantic comes intima
tion: of an interest:In gdevelopment. It is •.aaFowedly•. a mere experiment over there, inasmuch as it can have but little commercial value, but on this sideit might possibly be turned to distinet adl4ntage. This is the compression of natural gaa-in the familiar cylinder for a motor vehicle. The experimenter has merely=, achieved the idea for his own -satisfaction, but his success may exercise an important bearing upon thy American motor problem Should 'the exigencies of war, --demandthe application of the conntry's yield of petroleum wholly to the prosecution of tire war. America abounds in natural gas, and the future may Yel.. see American motorists flaunting the flexible container or the neat bottle of gas in order to carry on. Thatnatural gas has distinct 'Masibilities in this connection is borne out by the experience of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which chargeS up cylinders with natural. gas at Medicine Hat, Alberta, for thasupply of 'cooking stoves On the „ transcontinental trains, over a section of the mountain division of its System, in • which fieldit has been used fed many years past.• But so far as we' are aware compression has never been carried to a high degree, inasmuch as the conditions have not warranted such action. So far as the, high compression of natural gas is
concerned, the task is generally accompanied by a throwing down of the particles . of petrol vapour which may be present. As a matter of fact huge quantities of high-grade petrol are now obtained by the widespread method ofcompressing or squeezing the gas to wring out the motor spirit, the article thus obtained being colloquially known as Casing-head petrol. The experinient in question is worthy of_nete in its relation to the determined search which is to be made in these islands to discover petrol. It is stated that balf-a-dozen firms are prepared to
participate in this endeavour. It is quite possible that in this probing for oil gas may he struck, in Which event the prbblem will arise as to low to utilize it commereially. 'Natural gas in Britain is no fantasy, inasmuch as the railwax station at Heathfield, Sussex, is ktill lighted thereby, but since this natural gasometer. in tEe south was tapped no further comprehensive developments have been made. Possibly by driving more deeply into the roof of the reservoir gas might be found in greater and richer qua/1.6-0F*. Such a result could not fail to exercise a for-reaching influence upon the motor fuel situation. Across the Atlantic it is no unusual circumstance for this gas to be pumped 300 or 400 miles to be consumed, and-what is possible in the,. United States should be equally feasible oVer. here. ..
Barton's New Company.
Motor Gas Interests, Ltd., with a capital of £1000 in £1 shares, to be manufacturers of and dealers in gas equipment for motorcars, etc. The subscribers are T. IL Barton, T. A. Barton; I. W. Reeves, B. Coathripe, R. Kirk
Overhaul Your Gas Bags.
Users of the flexible container would be well advised to give their gas bags a. close examination. In many .instances these bags have seen service through extreines of climatic conditions—a relatively hot Summer and cold winter—and have also bees submitted to the rigours of
wind and rain. Seams may be found to have started, or small holei . due to chafing and rubbing to have developed, while ribs and Inge may have bycome torn through -service in high winds and from rough usage. Small, repairs may be readily Carried out in the garage, butas a rule it will be found preferably to returw the bags to have -the defects remedied by the manufacturers who pussess the requisite facilities for performing revulcanization and -restoration. If the gas used bas been markedly sulphurous the fabric may have become decidedly porous. Even the finest material is apt to break doWn through constant contact with gas:Timely overhaul is advisable, inasmuch as it is imperative that waste of fuel should be cut down to the minimum. Fittings Will also profit from an overbaill, beranse daring the cold weather the naphthalene may have been thrown down and have constricted tba lead pipe from the container.
It behoves every user of a gas-driven vehicle to pay heed to the points raised above, for by doing so efficiency and reliability of running are secured.