e said: 'I believe I
can make a kiln which will give an output of one thousand barrels in
twenty-four hours.' Although I had then been closely associated with him
for ten years and was accustomed to see him accomplish great things, I
could not help feeling the improbability of his being able to jump into
an old-established industry--as a novice--and start by improving the
'heart' of the production so as to increase its capacity 400 per
cent. When I pressed him for an explanation, he was unable to give any
definite reasons, except that he felt positive it could be done. In this
connection let me say that very many times I have heard Mr. Edison make
predictions as to what a certain mechanical device ought to do in the
way of output and costs, when his statements did not seem to be even
among the possibilities. Subsequently, after more or less experience,
these predictions have been verified, and I cannot help coming to the
conclusion that he has a faculty, not possessed by the average mortal,
of intuitively and correctly sizing up mechanical and commercial
possibilities.

"But, returning to the kiln, Mr. Edison went to work immediately and
very soon completed the design of a new type which was to be one hundred
and fifty feet long and nine feet in diameter, made up in ten-foot
sections of cast iron bolted together and arranged to be revolved
on fifteen bearings. He had a wooden model made and studied it
very carefully, through a series of experiments. These resulted so
satisfactorily that this form was finally decided upon, and ultimately
installed as part of the plant.

"Well, for a year or so the kiln problem was a nightmare to me. When we
started up the plant experimentally, and the long kiln was first put in
operation, an output of about four hundred barrels in twenty-four hours
was obtained. Mr. Edison was more than disappointed at this result. His
terse comment on my report was: 'Rotten. Try it again.' When we became a
little more familiar with the operation of the kiln we were able to
get the output up to about five hundred and fifty barrels, and a little
later to six hundred and fifty barrels per day. I would go down to
Orange and report with a great deal of satisfaction the increase in
output, but Mr. Edison would apparently be very much disappointed, and
often said to me that the trouble was not with the kiln, but with our
method of operating it; and he would reiterate his first statement that
it would make on