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Appendix "B."
General Report on Testing of Gas supplied (I) by the Wandsworth
and Putney Gas Company; (2) by the Mitcham and
Wimbledon Gas Company, during the year ended March
31st, 1909.
Wandsworth
and Putney Gas
Company.
During the whole of this year, ended March 31st, 1909, in
accordance with instructions which I received from
the Council, and which came into force on July 1st,
1907, I have tested the gas supplied by this Company
on two days weekly at irregular intervals, and have
occasionally made extra tests, instead of making daily tests as I
had previously done from October, 1903, to June, 1907.
The Tables appended, showing averages of illuminating power
sulphur and pressure, and the curves (in Table III.), indicating
the fluctuations of the first two, are therefore based on these
less frequent testings.
The times of testing, however, are still those laid down by
the somewhat antiquated Gas Works Clauses Act, 1871 (with an
extension of one hour in advance of those times by special
arrangement with the Company in 1906), viz., from April to
September inclusive, between 8.0 and 11.0 p.m., and from
October to March inclusive, between 5.0 and 10.0 p.m.
I mention this point as I understand that some members of
the Council are of opinion that the gas, like other Metropolitan gas,
should be tested at all reasonable times; an opinion which I
have frequently urged in the past, with only slight success so
far. Another reason for reviving this contention is the possibility
that at some future date the Council might desire to make tests
of the calorific power, and it is generally felt that, as regards these, no
limit as to time of testing would be reasonable; since gas ntay
be used for heating and other purposes at any time of the day
or night. I will refer to this point later in connection with
recent legislation.