February 20, 1914. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 391 Collieries and their Dividends ! A- in I I / A range of “ Bennis” self-cleaning compressed air furnaces, arranged for hand-firing. Some of the collieries passed their dividends recently, to the chagrin of their shareholders. It would be interesting to know, in these unfortunate cases, how far working expenses were unnecessarily cutting into profits. For instance, are the boilers in such collieries hand-fired by the old method ? The old, extravagant system—or want of system —in vogue in certain slow-going collieries must be abolished if the share- holders are to receive dividends that make it worth while to lend their money. Uncontested economies are effected by means of the “ Bennis ” machine-stokers and self-cleaning compressed air furnaces. “ Bennis ” plant is installed under specific guarantees of economy and efficiency, which raises each instalment to the level of an investment of the gilt-edge security type. In collieries where it is not found expedient to machine-fire the boilers, the “ Bennis ” Compressed Air Furnace, arranged for Hand-Firing, is doing excellent work, burning successfully fuel of a size and nature that is impracticable in an automatic machine-stoker. Write for pamphlet, “ Paying Colliery Boiler-houses," to ED. BENNIS & CO- LTD., Little Hulton, Bolton ; or, 28, Victoria Street, S.W. STONE DUST IN COLLIERIES What the Home Secretary says : In a recent official communication the Home Secretary writes :—“ It will be necessary to embody the recom- mendations in statutory regulations under the Coal Mines Act, but I would urge owners most strongly, without waiting for the formal settlement of the regulations, to take the matter into immediate consideration. “ The Committee have not in the report recommended the adoption of stone dusting to the exclusion of watering, but it is generally recognised that any system of watering which does not render inert the dust, not only on the floor, but on the supports and sides, would not be equivalent to the system of stone dusting recommended by the Committee.” TFrz'/