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THE FUEL OF THE FUTURE.

By GEORGE WARDMAN.


The practical application of natural gas, as an article of fuel, to the
purpose of manufacturing glass, iron, and steel, promises to work a
revolution in the industrial interests of America--promises to work a
revolution; for notwithstanding the fact that, in many of the largest
iron, steel, and glass factories in Pittsburg and its vicinity, natural
gas has already been substituted for coal, the managers of some such
works are shy of the new fuel, mainly for two reasons: 1. They doubt
the continuity and regularity of its supply. 2. They do not deem the
difference between the price of natural gas and coal sufficient as yet
to justify the expenditure involved in the furnace changes necessary to
the substitution of the one for the other. These two objections will
doubtless disappear with additional experience in the production and
regulation of the gas supply, and with enlarged competition among the
companies engaging in its transmission from the wells to the works.
At present the use of natural gas as a substitute for coal in the
manufacture of glass, iron, and steel is in its infancy.

Natural gas is as ancient as the universe. It was known to man in
prehistoric times, we must suppose, for the very earliest historical
reference to the Magi of Asia records them as worshiping the eternal