consumed annually in this country. About one-half of this amount goes to
ashes. It is safe to say that, after all the cinders and slag have been
sifted out, there are still 100,000,000 truck loads which are worse than
wasted, as they threaten to hinder the free navigation of our harbor.
Coal ashes have a value as a fertilizer. Even at the cheap price of
twenty-five cents a load, we have an aggregate of $25,000,000 lost by
this careless waste. The time will come when some enterprising firms,
with means for collecting and distributing this refuse, will make
fortunes by its sale to farmers and gardeners.