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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 n GAS CONSUMERS' MANUAL; OR, HOW TO OBTAIN CHEAP GAS, AND GOOD LIGHT. Willi S()Mi;> KKMAKKS t).\ lili; ADVAN TACKS, AM) ('OMI'f)Rrs. ()!■ CAS FOR LIGHTING, COOKING, AND HEATING. AMJ i)iki:i iio.Ns AS ID now ro kI'.ad lui': indI'.x OK rif!': .MKTKR. BY E, S. CATHELS, C.lv, \>Stn-. INM. ( .1.., I.N(.l.\Mi; MKM. IIUIIISII \S>i1C. (;\S \l \ N \i .KKS, ,Vc MONTRKAI.: IK Mil Sll \M I'kIsS, 155 ANM) 157 >r. I\MI^ S lUKK I'. J 873 A TP758 -C5 1 ■ -i r f ' '1 • 1 ' ■ I 1 1 •'I ■ 1 i I k f\ "^ #1 / I ': ! A . GAS CONSUMERS' MANUAL. ii tt I > i *^ m^** 1 GAS CONSUMERS' MANUAL; OR. HOW TO 10BTAIN CHEAP GAS. AND GOOD LIGHT. WITH SOME REMARKS ON THE ADVANTAGES, AND COMFORTS, OF GAS FOR LIGHTING, COOKING, AND HEATING. AND V i DIRECTIONS AS TO HOW TO READ THE INDEX OF THE METER. BY E. S. CATHELS, C.E., ASSOC. INST. C.E,, ENGLAND; MEM. BRITISH ASSOC. GAS MANAGERS, &C. MONTREAL: HERALD STEAM PRESS, 155 AND I57 ST. JAMES STREET. 1873- ft I Piss •^3 , PREFACE. Several excellent treatises have, from time to time, been written, by those perfectly competent, from a practical knowledge of their respective subjects, to usefully deal with them, on the advantages of gas for lighting, and on its adapt- ability and conveniences for cooking and heating, &c. ; but although giving much valuable information on the particu- lar subjects treated, none of them, so far as I am aware, except in the most casual and cursory way, touch the prin- ciple object attempted in the following pages, viz : — a popular exposition of the nature of illuminating gas, and the rationale of how the light given by it, may be either good or bad, according to the treatment it is subjected to in burning. Of those especially, which treat of the chief application of gas, i. €., for lighting purposes, they have seemingly been written more for prospective, than existing consumers — with the view to increase their number, rather than to in- struct such as already are so, in the best ways of using that article. The greater conveniences, cleanliness, health fulness, economy, and safety of gas, as compared v/ith other modes of lighting, are fairly and fully set forth, but the ground taken by this little book, as indicated above, has beer, left almost entirely unoccupied. It is not pretended that there is anything in what here follows, either new, or likely to be interesting, to those whose avocations familiarize them with the manufacture, ^^oir distribution, and uses of gas, (and for whom moreover it has not been written) ; but it is beUeved it may be ot some service as distinguishing the right from the wrong in gas burning, etc., to such of the public as are consumers, and whose attention may not have been hitherto specially directed to these subjects. The remarks on cooking and heating by gas, will, it is hoped, be found to be of value, and assist in extending 1 its exceedingly useful application for such purposes. -The instructions, too, given with the view to enable con- sumers to read the indices of their meters, and so ascertain for themselves, periodically, if desired, how much gas la being consumed, will, I trust, be also found useful. It may be explained that the reason of the references to burners, etc., being restricted to those of British production only, is simply due to the fact that my experience has been confined exclusively to such ; my residence on this side of the Atlantic having been of too short duration to enable me to become acquainted with those of American manufacture. From the ability of American engineers, and their well- known ingenuity in inventions and improvements in articles of domestic use, appliances in connection with gas lighting, have doubtless nc t been overlooked ; and should this small effort be thought sufficiently well of, to warrant the issue of another edition, I shall be glad to insert any improve- ments therein, that may be brought under my observation. Touching the sajeti/ of gas, as compared with its most formidable rival for lighting on this continent, viz : the so- called ' coal oil,' it may be added, that since the following matter has been printed, this paragraph, beaiing thereon, has appeared in Chambers's Journal^ for May, 1873 : " In Phila- delphia, last year, there were more than six hundred fires, and vil. ) fifty-nine of these were from explosion of lamps in which petroleum oil was burned, and about one hundred deaths occurred in consequence. It is estimated that the number of deaths throuf^hout the United States in 1872, from ex- plosions of lamps, was 6,250, and that 20,000 persons were maimed or otherwise injured." This shocking chronicle requires no comment. Surely the mere fact of over five thousand people having met such a terrible death, and twenty thousand being horribly maimed and injured in one year, in one country alone, through the use of the most dangerous and offensive production ever in- troduced for domestic use, ought to be a sufficient reason for its abandonment, for the convenience, cleanliness, and safety of gas wherever it can be obtained. B. S. C. Gas Wokks, Montreal, 30th June, 1873. \ ^■^r-'y "T-"" ^■•,11Jl-','',ffI""''V'frT GAS CONSUMERS' MANUAL; OR, HOW TO OBTAIN CHEAP GAS AND GOOD LIGHT, h. LIQHT-QIVINd MATERIALS. — THEIR NECESSARY PROPERTIES, Combustion, or the act of burning, is a phe- nomenon fn miliar to all. It is by its means that heat and light are produced. With the evolu- tion of heat, however, as such, we are not now concerned, except so far as it is an indispensable requisite in the production of artificial light, whether from the flames of coal gas, lamps, or candles. But flame may be exceedingly hot, and yet give hardly any light. Pure gaseous flames, such as those of alcohol and hydrogen (which contain no solid particles to be heated), burn wdth an exceedingly feeble light. A flame to be highly luminous must contain solid matter heated up to a white heat. The flame of oxygen and hydro- gen, for instance, the light from Avhich is so poor ' as hardly to be visible in the day-time, imme- -"T" diately becomes exceedingly luminous if any finely-divided solid matter, such as powdered chalk or charcoal, be sprinkled into it. And if a jet of this flame be directed against a piece of lime, a light of intense whiteness and brilliancy is produced. This is known as the lime light. The fact that the evolution of light depends on the burning of solid matter is also seen in the combustion of different solid substances in oxy- gen. Iron and the metals generally, for example, which forir. solid products (oxides), are all, when thus undergoing rapid oxidation, highly luminous. Phosphorous, too, which forms u white powder (solid phosphoric acid), produces a most brilliant light; but sulphur, which, although also a solid substance, yields a gas only (sulphur- ous acid), emits but a feeble light. Still it is not necessary for the obtainment of light that the products of the solid substances burning, be also solid (although, when it happens, the light is so much the greater), but their form- ation proves that it is with a solid that the oxygen combines. This property of forming solid products of combustion would, however, be entirely unsuitable for an artificial light, even if the combustibles were capable of burning freely in the air, as it vould be extremely incon- venient to have finely divided matter constantly showered from the flame like a cloud of dust. the The properties 6r conditions required in any material used for ordinary artificial light are : — That it be capable of burning freely in atmos- pheric air; that the solid substance or particles, rendered luminous in the flame, be furnished by the material itself, simultaneously with tho heat requisite for producing a sufficiently high tem- perature, and that in burning, the particles be converted into a gas. Now (in combination with hydrogen), carbon fulfils all these conditions, and is, therefore especially suited for the purpose, and is, indeed, the material always used. Coal gas, the several oils used in lamps, and the various materials of which candles are made, are all compounds of carbon and hydrogen. As oxygen has been mentioned and will fre- quently have to be referred to, it being as essential a contributory in the operation of burn- ing as is the combustible, it will perhaps be desirable, in order to clear up as we go along, to say a few words about it here. Oxygen, it must be understood, is the supporter of combustion ; without it there can be no burning. Everything that burns in the air, burns more vividly and rapidly in pure oxygen, the reason of which is very simple. That gas forms only one-fifth by measure of the air, the other four -fifths consist- ing of the negative gas nitrogen, which takes no 'KT" part in the action, but rather interferes with it, by keeping the oxygen and combustible separ- ated in a certain degree, and also by absorbing a portion of the heat generated. The effect of this j is similar to some finely divided matter being mixed mth gunpowder, keeping the particles or grains apart, and so interfering both by separa- tion and the absorption of heat, with that instan- taneous ignition of one particle by another, on which the proper explosive force of the powder depends. It will thus be readily understood why the chemical action, or, in other words, the combustion is so much more energetic in oxygen solely than in atmospheric air. But, since in all ordinary cases of burning the action lies between the body burning and the oxygen of the atmosphere, nothing further need be ..jiid here about combustion in prepared oxygen. It has oniy been referred to through the introduction of the foregoing examples, to establish the important fact, that it is solid matter in an incandescant, or white hot state, ihat produces light of highly illuminating power. LIGHT-PRODUCma COMBUSTION. — IT« REQUIREMENTS. The foregoing explanations of the properties of light-giving materials, and of oxygen with which they burn, have been considered uccessary, in order that the reader may better understand with it, e separ- orbing a t of this er being tides or ' separa- t instan- ither, on powder derstood ords, the L oxygen •ning the and the ler need )repared through iples, to d matter produces :ents. erties of h which sary, in Lerstand the force of what here follows. The constituents of coal gas (equally with those of candles and oils), consist as already stated, substantially of carbon and hydrogen. These gaseous or vaporous compounds on reaching the flame become decom- posed into hydrogen gas, and solid, sooty or car- bonaceous particles ; both of which combine with the oxygen of the air, the former producing the vapours of water, and the latter carbonic acid gas. Now, the whole gist of the matter lies in the way in which these two elements are burnt, or, in other words, in which they respectively unite with the atmospheric oxygen. Perhaps the simplest illus- tration of this action is the burning of a candle, or single jet of gas. The flame of a candle (or simple gas jet) is, as every one knows, somewhat conical in form ; its length and the contraction or tapering off to a]point at the top, being due to the tendency of heated gases to rise upwards, and the flowing in on it from all sides of the cooler air to replace that which has risen It must also be noticeable to the most unobservant, that there are two distinct parts of the flame, consisting of the central, or dark part, and the white or luminous part which surrounds or en- closes the former, fiut, if the flame be closelv observed, it will be seen there is yet another part, viz.: a thin blue film or shell outside of the luminous cone. The flame thus consists of three ■ . '" f.' *W .''"WF^W^W^li.MliiJ portions, the dark central portion and these two outer concentric cones, not, however, separated by "^ hard and fast lines," but to a certain ex- tent, permeating or blending into each other. Although the shape of gas flames are almost always flat, (those of the union jet or fish-tail, and the bats wing burners) ; or, in the form of a ring, (the argand burner), there is still the self- same relative disposition of these different parts as in those of the candle or single gas jet. The transparent invisible gases and vapours entering the centre of the flame, (and which appear dark by contrast with the white or luminous part), become highly heated, and, as already explained, combine respectively with the oxygen of the air. On the outer surface, where there is abundance of oxygen, both the carbon and hydrogen are together and at once oxydized or burnt up, pro- ducing a faint blue coloured flame, possessing a high temperature, but almost entirely devoid of light. The air, also, in virtue of its flowing in on the flame to replace that which has risen — carrying the products of combustion with it — and of the tendency of gases to permeat-i and mix together, penetrates, more or less, into the flame ; but its oxygen not being sufficient in quantity to combine with, and oxydize both the hydrogen and carbon as on the outer surface, and having a much greater affinity for the former t / ese two parated ain ex- tier. almost ish-tail, rm of a he self- at parts t. The ntering ir dark 3 part), plained, the air. indance sren are , pro- ssing a void of ving in risen — th it- it" and nto the ient in oth the ice, and former than the latter, burns it out first, leaving the carbon deposited in the flame in multitudinous solid atoms. These atoms become white hot by the great heat generated by the burning of the hydrogen, and so constitute the luminous part of the flame until finally burnt out, their place being constantly supplied with fresh particles furnished by the continuous entry into the flame of ad- ditional gas or vapour, from the source of supply — by means of the melted wax, tallow, &c., or oil, through the capillary attraction of the wick in candles and lamps, and of the pressure exerted at the gas works in the case of gas. We thus see that there are three areas in every flame in which separate processes are going on at the same time, viz. : — the internal area, where the preparatory process of decomposition is taking place, and so providing the hydrogen to give the required heat and the solid particles to be heated ; the intermediate area of only partial combustion, where these solid particles attain to a white heat, everv one becominor a centre of radiation and remaining so for a greater or less time (de- pending on the treatment the flame is subjected to) before burning out ; and the outermost area, or surface, which receives a full supply of oxy- gen, and in which the particles of carbon are consequently oxydized or burnt up instantane- ously, generating much heat, but little light. n The luminosity of the inflamed compounds ol liydrogen and carbon (carburretted hydrogen), therefore, depends on their not burning simul- taneously, out succsssiveli/, so that the one heats the other white hot, which may be regarded as the second important fact in our investigation. In- deed, this statement embodies the whole philoso- phy of illuminating combustion. If gas be burnt in accordance with this cardinal law, all its illum- inating power will be developed, and just to the extent that it is departed from, will be the de- struction of the light. And this brings us to the practical application of these principles, namely : a consideration of the pressure under which gas should be burnt ; the construction of the burners and globes ; and the size and arrangement of the . ; internal piping from the Gas Company's service or supply pipes to the burners. HIGH PRESSURES — DESTRUCTIVE RESULTS OF, ON THE LIGHT. We commence this section with what may appear to many, the startling assertion, that gas consumers, as a rule, pay half as much more ^ than they need do for the gas they burn, or, what amounts to the same thing, that they could ob- tain half as much more light than they get for the money they pay if the gas were burnt pro- perly ; ie,, in accordance with the law explained * -k. 9 mds ot rogen), simul- sats the as the 1. In- hiloso- ) burnt illum- to the he de- to the ^mely : 3h gas urners of the lervice LIGHT. may at gas more , what d ob- et for pro- ained in the preceding paragraph. It is not intended to be iindeii-'tcod that every consumer burns gas thus wastefullv ; still, it is to be feared that even in the majority A exceptions the immunity is rather a matter of chaice — sucli as the relative level of the place of consumption as compared with the source of supply — than of intelligent management ; and, on the other hand, the above is in too many instances, doubtless, rather an under statement than otherwise of the actual loss. It must be distinctly understood that burning fi:as under high pressures, simply means sheer and unmitigated waste, and all that a Gas Company can do in supplying gas of good quality will be of but little avail if this potent source of destruction of its luminosity be practiced. Let the conclusions already adduced be recalled to mind, and the wherefore of this will be obvious. The natural order of illuminating combustion, and on which its entire photogenic property depends is deranged ; and instead of the quiet gliding or inflow of gas from the burner to the flame, and only at such a rate as can be advantageously consumed (as is the case with candles and properly constructed lamps), to be there decomposed, a^d the resultant cloud of minute sooty particles, which give the light, be allowed to burn as long as possible in a placid flame, there is a volcano on a small scale in ac- 10 ■ tion, making more or less havoc with this indispen- sable order or process in the production of light. The gas is blown at once into the atmosphere without the carbon having time to separate pro- perly, a large portion ()f it being in consequence oxydized, or burnt up, simultaneously with the hydrogen, and producing little or no light. It may be said, and indeed is frequently said, that the Gas Company is to blame for this destructive pressure, but a little consideration will show the unreasonableness of this assertion. There are certain physical difficulties in the distribution of gas, as there are in that of water, which cannot, in the nature of things, be wholly overcome. Where there is any considerable differ- ence in the levels of the area of supply, the higher will unavoidably get an excess of pressure, in order that the lower get sufficient, just as in the distribution of water, the lower are under heavier pressures than the higher districts. And while nobody thinks of blaming those having the management of the water supply for this exem- plification of a natural law, there are plenty ready to censure the Gas Company, for not being omnipotent in respect of a similar natural diffi- culty. * It is true that this evil is susceptable of some mitigation by the adoption of certain well-known expedients, nevertheless it cannot be entirely over- I I I - V . 11 come. But if an evil to the Gas Company, it surely need be none to the consumer. He has it in his power to admit just as much or as little gas to his premises as he desires : and it would be no more unreasonable of a person neglecting to provide proper means of shutting off the water, to blame the pressure on the mains for the con- sequent overflowing of his premises, than to complain of the excess of pressure in the gas mains. Wherever gas is used there is a main- tap on the service pipe, by means of which the admission of gas to the premises can be pretty well regulated. But the proper function of the main -tap is to enable the gas to be shut off entirely when desired ; and although also used for regulating the pressure, when that is at- tempted at all, it is about as primitive and unsatisfactory for that purpose, as the original method of regulating the admission of steam to the cylinder of the steam engine by manual agency. However carefully the pressures may be altered and regulated at the gas works to suit the requirements of the supply, there will always bo variations, more or less, in the mains, during the hours of evening consumption, and which will inevitably affect the pressure at the burners, unless the tap be frequently adjusted to meet such variations, — an amount of trouble not likely to be taken. And yet unless 12 proper means be adopted of neutralizing the injurious effects of these irregularities, the result will incontestably be diminished light, and increased gas bills. This diflSculty, too, is suscep- tible of the easiest possible solution. It is only necessary to fix a self-acting governor or regu- lator at the outlet of the meter, and to weight it so as to give only the required pressure for the burners in use, and no more. When once adjusted, the pressure on the burners will remain practically uniform, however much that in the mains may vary. On occasions of fostivities, when a greater number of lights are required, such additional weight is to be added to the instrument as will give the extra pressure needed, being but the work of a few seconds. The removal of the extra weight again restores the pressure to its normal state, and thus the governor will go unerringly on year after year, without any trouble or even attention on the part of the consumer. These governors are of two kinds, technically known as " dry," and '* mercurial," the principle of their action being the same. In the dry governor, the moveable part, actuated by the pressure of the gas, consists of a diaphragm formed of a central circular tinned plate, or disc, surrounded by a thin leather band (made gas- tight by being prepared with oil), to which it is 13 attacked, so arranged as to form a continuous circular hinge, to enable the plate to rise and fall within a limited distance, the whole somewhat resembling a man's cloth cap without the peak, the metallic disc forming the crown. The inlet pipe terminates in a contracted circular opening under the centre of the disc. In this pipe, under its contracted end, and attached to the diaphragm, there is a cone suspended, moveable vertically to the extent of the range of the diaphragm, and the gas to get to the outlet has to flow into the chamber or space under the diaphragm, through the annular space between the cone and the pipe. The gas exerting its pressure on the entire undei surface of the diaphragm (the upper surface being vented into the atmosphere) raises it, and the cone being thereby drawn up into ^he contracted end of the inlet pipe, gradually throttles the gas way more and more as io lises, so that the greater the pressure, the more the gas way is blocked up. As the pressure in the mains lowers, it is, of course, equally diminished under the diaphragm, which falls and again enlarges the gas way. The diaphragm, it should be added, is wholly enclosed ; and is, therefore, not liable to injury. In the mercurial governor, an inverted move- able cup or vessel, having its lower edge or rim sealed in an annular recess filled with mercury, is substituted for the diaphragm, the 14 action being precisely as desr-^ibed for the dry governor. This instrument can be used where, from thf^ effects of severe frost, the dry one might be inapplicable, through the oiled leather getting frozen hard. Both instruments are beautifully simple and very efficient in their action, all in- creased pressure beyond what they are set to deliver, being in each, ingenir isly made to effect its own cure. Two governors are even better than one, [see engraving of Sugg's double governor], and, where practicable, it is still more advantageous to have one on each floor. And the beneficial effect is yet further enhanced, by using in addi- tion Sugg's admirable self-regulating burners, each burner having a small independent governor attached. It may be further explained, that giving pres- sures in excess of the actual requirements of the consumers is wholly opposed to the interests and inclinations of Gas Companies. High pres- sures cause wasteful leakage and serious loss in some instances amounting annually to a sum sufficient for the payment of a dividend. Instead of the gas being wilfully distributed under too high pressures to force it through the burners, in order to increase the consumers' bills, as is some- times ignorantly asserted, it is an evil rendered necessary by the bad fittings of too many con- 16 sumers, who are usually far readier to denounce the Company for defective pressure than to incur the expense of having their pipes cleaned out, or enlarged and properly relaid. To give these people a proper supply, requires working exces- sive pressures to force sufficient gas through their small and badly arranged pipes and fittings, to the injury not only of the Company, but of all their gas consuming neighbours. That is all very well, these persons may reply, but how is it that when we first light up there is plenty pres- sure, but in a short time it goes down, and we have insufficient all the evening afterwards ? An answer is easily given. During the short period of generally lighting up at dusk, there is an excess of pressure in the mains, but which gradually falls as the lighting goes on. While the excess lasts the pressure is sufficient to force gas enough through the too small or clogged pipes to deliver the required quantity at the burners ; but when reduced to the proper amount, it becomes insufficient to overcome the obstructions of the defective piping As an instance of the advantages of using con- sumers' governors, it may be stated that the mains of the Gas Company with which the writer was last professionally connected in Eng- land, extend over a district comprising seven- teen square miles, and varying in its levels to the extent of 300 feet, and yet, by their general use, gas is satisfactorily supplied in all parts of the district. The Company lets them on hire like the meters, and in tlie higher levels especi- ally, the governor is an almost invariable con- comitant of the meter. Although the reason of increased pressure by increased altitude, is not a praeticai issue of our subject, it may be, nevertheless, not out of place here to give a brief explanation of it, especially that the question is frequently asked. A kind of stereotyped reason one so often hears, is, that gas being lighter than air, ascends in virtue of its levity, which is quite correct in the case of gas issuing into the atmosphere ; but in its conveyance tlirough pipes the conditions are altogether different. Gas in pipes has no more natural tendency to flow up hill than down, and although we speak of the pressure increasing with increased elevation, it is in a similar sense to that in which, in ordinary phraseology, we speak of the sun rising and setting. The reason consists solely in diminished atmospheric 'pressure. The pressure in the pipe is the same whether in high or low levels ; but that of the atmosphere varies according to the level, and the difference can only be ascertained by bringing them in con- tact — by balancing them against each other. To do thiS) a small pipe is screwed into the main 17 . pipe containing the gas, to the end of which there is a pressure gauge attached, being an inverted syphon, or U shaped small glass tube, half-filled with water, one end being connected to the gas pipe, and the other left open to the atmosphere. It thus becomes a balance between the pressure or force of the gas exerting its influence on one leg J and that of the atmosphere on the other leg. The gas blows the water down the leg, con- nected to the pipe, a greater or less distance, depending on its force or "pressure," and, con- sequently, up the other leg to an equal distance, the amount of pressure being the space between the surface of the water in the one leg and that in the other. This is usually reckoned in tenths of an inch, a scale marked in tenths being attached to the gauge, but, for certain experi- ments requiring great exactness, instruments are used which magnify the scale to any required degree — usually ten-fold — each tenth occupying one inch, and subdivided into tenths, so that cents or hundreths of an inch, are more easify read off than tenths in an ordinary gauge, as described. The diminution of atmospheric pres- ' sure, or increased gas pressure as it is called, is to the extent of about one-tenth of an inch " head of water," in technical language, for everv ten feet of elevation. . This natural law of diminished atmosi^tierlc IS pressure as affecting gases, whether by its frequent variations in any given place, or through elevation, is ot the utmost importance in the physical economy of our dwellings, and in a variety of other ways. It holds good equally with deleterious, as with illuminating or coal gas, and in the case of houses situated on a high level, requires increased vigilance in keeping all drain traps properly sealed, to avoid noxious exhalations. These deadly gases escape where there is least atmospheric resistance, and, therefore, naturally more readily in higher than in lower levels. This rarification of the air has a marked effect too, on the illuminating power of coal gas, as well as on all other artificial lights. The dimi- nution of the atmospheric pressure means the undue expansion or diffusion of the gas as it issues from the burner, injuriously disarranging the required processes of combustion already described, to the extent of such diffusion. This effect was experimented upon by the eminent English savants, Dr. Frankland and Professor Tyndall, in 1859. These gentlemen observed, that although a candle burnt at the same rate at the top of Mont Blanc as in the Valley of Chamounix, yet the flame in the rarified air of that elevation was large and blue, and gave but a feeble light, as compared with that emitted in 11 NnHBn MTMl 19 ified air of emitted in the denser atmosphere of the valley. Dr. Frank - land was so particularly impressed with the results of these observations, that he subse- quently devoted much attention to the subject, and ascertained that the loss of light slightly exceeded 5 per cent. (5.1) for every inch of barometric pressure up to a rarification of 14 inches. Dr. Letheby, the eminent English Chemist and Government Chief Gras Analyst for the Metropolis, has also called attention to this, and has shewn that gas of the same quality may give very different results in different places. *' The gas, for example, which in London has the value of 100, would be but 91 at Munich, and only 66.5 at Mexico. Indeed, the difference would be greater than this, for not only is the light actually less for equal consumptions, but as the volume of gas expands with the rarifica- tion and temperature, the real value of the same quantity of gas, as measured by the meter in Mexico, would be only 46.2. Even in London the difference in the value of the light when the barometer is 31, as compared with what it is at 28, is fully 25 per cent. ; and it may well be that the difference is noticeable." It will be thus seen that there are perfectly explicable reasons for variations in the illuminating power of gas, beyond the control of those engaged in its manu- facture and supply. I 20 BURNBB8 AND GLOBES— THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION, Ac. And now as to burners and globes. This of it- self is such a fruitful theme that an essay might be written on it alone. If the pressure under which gas is burnt be an important element in economical consumption, the kinds of burners and globes used are at least equally so. It will be evi- dent to the reader, from what has been already advanced, that there must be some proportion be- tween the combustible and the oxygen of the air acting with it, and if the most is to be made of the gas, a very exact proportion too. If the bur- ner be too small and consequently the flame be too thin, an undue oxydation is the result, there being a deficiency of core for the development of the foregoing successive processes. The thinness of the sheet of flame, presenting such a relatively large surface to the atmosphere, not only the hy- drogen of the gas, but also a large proportion of its carbon, simultaneously find their equivalents of oxygen, with very destructive results to the light ; and if in addition to this a current of air is by any mistaken means made to impinge against the flame, the evil result is as may be supposed, considerably increased. The disastrous consequences of this injudicious treatment may be readily observed in the blueness of the flame, 21 )F THEIB This of it- essay might 3sure under element in burners and will be evi- een already oportion be- n of the air be made of If the bur- le flame be esult, there elopment of 'he thinness a relatively nly the hy- •oportion of equivalents suits to the rrent of air io impinge as may be disastrous tment may the flame, to say nothing of its being painfullv apparent in the feebleness of the light emitted. If on the contrary, the flame be too thick, the quantity of air that penetrates into it will be insufficient, and a portion of the carbonaceous vapour will escape unconsumed, as smoke or soot, as is seen in an aggravated way in the burning of an oil lamp, or argand gas burner, without a chimney to create an adequate indraught of air. A very thin sheet of flame, whether from using too small a burner, or by an excess of pressure, or both combined, causing the carbon to be brought into too immediate contact with the atmospheric oxygen, has the same efi'ect in a modified degree as when the gas is mixed with air, the evil result of which is strikingly shewn in the following table by Dr. Letheby, of the destruction of the illuminating power of com- mon 12 candle gas, when thus treated : LOSS OP LIGHT PROM aIR IN GAS. PER CENT. AIB. LOBB FBB CBNT. PEE CENT. AIR. LOBS FEB CENT, 1 6 8 58 2 11 9 64 3 18 10 67 4 26 15 80 5 33 20 93 6 44 30 98 . t 53 40 100 It is^^here shewn how enormously the light- I I 22 giving property of the flame is reduced by the admixture of air with the gas, even 4 per cent, absolutely destroying ovor one-fourth of the il- luminating power of that quality of gas, and 40 per cent, destroying it altogether. With richer gases the effect would be less hurtful, and would gradually lessen as the quality of the gas in- creased, owing to the greater quantity of carbon to be operated upon —the quality or illuminating power of gas being as the quantity of carbon it contains — but under any circumstances the effect would be very injurious. The oxygen of the air in the gas, in this case, supplementing that of the atmosphere, leaves an excess, after combination with the more attractive hydrogen, which seizes as much of the carbon as it can combine with, and which being thus assailed, both internally and externally, a portion which would otherwise have remained in the flame, incandescently, for a longer or shorter time, contributing to the light, is at once oxydized,. and converted into carbonic acid. To recapitulate, the injurious effect of burning gas by the ordinary burners with too small aper- tures, is exactly sinilaa* to burning it under too high a pressure, or of xts being mixed with air. Issuing from the burne-r in a wretchedly meagre sheet — as if for the exj )re3S purpose — nearly all its light-giving constitu i^^^ts, are instantaneously 23 burnt up. In fact, with the great majority of consumers, through the able suggestions and as- sistance of the gas fitters, the problem of how not to obtain light from the gas burnt, is pretty suc- cessfully solved. Not only with the public, with whom it is excusable, but also with the majority of gas fitters, who are without excuse for not knowing better, a burner is a burner, without any regard as to its suitability for the quality of g.is to be burnt by it, or other circumstances oi its ap- plication, just as with many persons a pill is a pill, apart from any considerations of its com- position. It has been humorously observed that it is to the energy of the Scottish character that the world has been flooded with the ordinary metallic nib or fish-tail burner. Being made by machinery and turned out by the gross, they have the advantage of cheapness, but their cheapness. i« an example with a vengeance, of " spoiling the ship for a pennyworth of tar." Because they are admirably adapted for burning Scotch Cannel gas, which is of from 25 to 35 candle power, and being so rich of carbon requires to be spread out. into a thin sheet to prevent smoking, it seems to be generally assumed by gas fitters that they are equally suitable for common coal gas of about half that illuminating power. Or perhaps it may be nearer the truth to say that as a rule, no con- sideration whatever is given to the subject, but 84 that they are used simply because they are cheapest. Then again, there is the question of the globes which usually enclose the flames : and also that of the disposition of the burners. The circular opening underneath the globes for the admission of air, seldom exceeds from li inches to 2 inches in diameter, the consequence being that instead of the heated and rarefied air which rises from the flame being replaced by a gentle inflow from below, it forms an impetuous current owing to the smallness of the orifice through which it has to pass, just like a stream of water when con- tracted into a narrow channel, and so impinging against the flame with considerable force, nearly completes what has been left undone by the ex- cessive pressure and defective burner. But as if even this w6re not enough, the globe is more or less obscured— although some of them by some seemingly unaccountable oversight, are left clear for some distance round the bottom opening, and so gives the small amount of light left undes- troyed, an unfair chance of struggling through, in the direction too, in which it is required. But , this happily is not always the case, judicious care being often taken to complete the object appar- ently sought, by having the globes wholly ground , » or roughed, and by this means neatly contriving to divert any surviving feeble light, to the 25 they are he globes also that 3 circular admission 2 inches t instead ses from low from 3wing to ch it has aen con- ipinging 3, nearly T the ex- Sut as if , more or )y some Bft clear ng, and undes- hrough, d. But )us care appar- ground triving to the ceiling of the room where it is not wanted, in- stead of downwards, where it is wanted. Well, looked at as a plain common sense matter, it might be thought that irrationality could go no further in its expedients for the destruction of the light ; but '* common sense" in such an assump- tion, must be charitably supposed to be innocent of the vagaries of the genus Gas Fitter. It would certainly be considered an absurdity to see candles burning in a room in candlesticks some five feet long, on the table, and so perching the lights up near the ceiling, but it is quite taken as a matter of course, on this side of the Atlantic at any rate, to see gas burners so placed. Candles and table lamps are objectionable and hurtful to the eyesight, through being not only too near the eyes, but also too near the line of vision, instead of being placed above it, so that the eyes would be shaded and protected by the eye-brows, but surely the other extreme might be avoided of placing the lights so absurdly high as they usually are. Through this disregard of the law of optics, (whereby the quantity of light received by any object is inversely as the square of the distance of such object from the luminous body), the quantity of gas consumed to get an equal amount of light, say on a table under the burner or burners, is largely increased, as is also in consequence the heat and discomfort of the room. Taking the ■■■i 26 . . quantity of light falling on a book for instance, one foot from the burner, as 1, if the burner be re- moved to two feet, the light received on the book would be but i of what it was before (2 x 2 = 4 ; if three feet, but l-9th (3x3=9); if four feet, only l-16th (4 X 4 = 16) and so on, diminishing as the square of the distance. It may be conceded that there are a number of circumstances in the light- ing of a roo.a, which somewhat diminish the theoretical absoluteness of this law, such as the reflected light from the ceiling and walls, and the diversion of the rays by globes and shades, nevertheless, it substantially and injuriously holds good. This incredibly absurd and mis- chievous practice, is owing to the use of what is known as the American chandelier or lamp, i. e.^ a chandelier which is a fixture, and has conse- quently to be sufficiently high to give clear head- way for persons to pass under it, when neces- sary. From being simpler in construction than the sliding or hydraulic chandelier, it is cheaper ; but that appears to be its chief recommendation, and considering its very serious disadvantages, this trifling saving of first cost is a very expensive economy. Gas fitters urge that the hydraulic chandelier is open to the objections of the water of the lute quickly evapo- rating by heat, and being also liable to freeze in winter. The latter objection one would suppose n 27 amour* to little, because there are surely few rooms 11 which there are chandeliers, even in this severe climate, in which the temperature is al- lowed to fall so low as to freeze the water, but even in such cases the fixture of a little glycerine or spirits of wine with the water would prevent freezing. As to the evapora- tion of the water, this need be no objection, if only equal attention be given to it that other domestic matters receive. If a little water be added periodically, say once a week, or even once a month, all fears of escape of gas is re- moved, and it is but the work of a few seconds. ' It might just as reasonably be urged that wear- ing boots, or using knives and forks, are objec- tionable, because they require to be cleaned every • time they are used. A teaspoonful of salad oil on the surface of the water will in a great degree prevent its evaporation. But the advantages of the sliding chandelier can be obtained if desired without a water lute, by the adoption of the sim- ple and ingenious spring arrangement of Messrs. Laidlaw, of Glasgow, which in nowise detracts from the elegant appearance of the lamp, and hundreds of which are and hav ; been in use for years. But even with the immovable lamps in use the objection referred to could be easily ob- viated by adding a lengthening stem, in the ex- ceptional instances in which the rose or ornament 28 I at the upper end of the lamp stem is close against the ceiling, or lengthening it in the more ordinary cases in which it is now used. In recep- tion and drawing-rooms, where diffused, and not concentrated light, is required, the height of the lights is of less importance, but in living rooms, where the inmates congregate round tables placed under the chandeliers, it is quite otherwise. Moreover from the fact of the lights being over the tables, the headway is not, in every day life, required, and on the few occasions when it might be necessary, the raisiiig of the chandeliers for the occasion, by the removal or shortening of the lengthening stems, would be a simple and inex- pensive matter. Nothing need be cut, only a little unscrewing and rescrewing, which could be easily done by any gas fitter. There is, further, the exceedingly effective device, where concentrated light is required, of using shades over the lights. Leaving aside, for the present, the novel and beautiful arrange- ment of albatrine shades and reflectors, recently introduced by Mr. Sugg, of London ; paper shades which can be obtained either plain, (white inside and green ouside), or tastefully illuminated, for a merely nominal sum, would in such applications increase the light where wanted, say over a desk or table very consider- ably, perhaps not less than from one-fourth to 'mrr 29 one-half. They may be used without globes by being supported on light wire frames, and are often so used in counting houses and other places of business. In dwellings, where globes may be preferred, the shades are simply placed over them. Should their appearance be objected to during the day, it is the easiest possible thing to remove them, and replace them at night when the gas is lighted. In addition to the destructive effect of the light by over-oxydation, through using globes of the usual objectionable shape, there is also the loss occasioned by transmission. Even with clear glass this is considerable, but increases enor- mously as the glass becomes covered, as shown in the following Table : — LOSS OF LIGHT BY GLASS GLOBES. Clear glass destroys 12 per cent. Slightly ground-in pattern 24 " Half^ground 35 All-ground 40 Opal glass 60 " , The above are the respective per-centages of loss taken by the photometer, measuring the horizontal rays passing through the body of the globe. In actual use, however, the results are not so unfavorable, as the vertical rays descend more or less unobstructed, dep .iding on the .li> 30 kind of globe used. Still, open flames are gene « rally considered objectionable in an apartment, and doubtless globes soften the light and make it more agreeable, and also give a chandelier a handsomer appearance ; only it must be quite understood that these comforts cost money — that, as shown, they obscure the light in a marked degree, to compensate for which more gas has to be used. But since globes are, never- theless, almost universally preferred, let them be, at any rate, of the best construction. It will be observed of those represented in the en- gravings, (pp. 32 and 33), that they are not only larger than usual, but that there is also the essen- tial improvement in them of the opening under- neath being much greater than those in common use, the importance of which has been already explained. There has re3ently been an improved globe introduced in this city, known as the '* Ottawa Globe," which also possesses this re- commendation—the lower opening being 4| inches in diameter, instead of only 2 inches or less, as in the ordinary ones. The combination of this improvement with the use of a small steatite batswing burner in a brass case, having a finely- meshed brass net-work partition to break the pressure, in lieu of the ordinary metallic fishtail nib, is found to give a greatly improved light. The advantages it possesses, being no obstruc- ! are gene * ipartment, and make andelier a t be quite money — light in a tiich more re, never- let them . It will the en- 5 not only the essen- ig under- common 1 already mproved n as the this re- 4| inches r less, as 1 of this steatite a finely- 'eak the 3 fishtail light, obstruc- 31 tion to the descending or vertical rays of light, and the combustion taking place in a still atmo- sphere, insures an entire absence of flickering, caused by the strong up-draught of air through the smaller orifices of globes as usually con- structed ; and in consequence an improved light from an equal consumption of gas. Sugg's admirable arrangements of albatrine screens, shades and globes, as represented by the engravings on pages 32 and 33, have an exceed- ingly pleasing effect. They gratefully soften the light, and through the lower opening of the shade being considerably larger in diameter than the screen, the rays are reflected downwards, and being reflected from the white interior sur- face of the beautiful material of which the shade is made, have the quality of whiteness imparted to them, while the annular space between the screen and shade, allows a current of air to pass upwards, carrying off the heat, without imping- ing on, or interfering with the flame. These ingenious, yet simple contrivances, when used in conjunction with either, that gentleman's incom- parable * London ' self-regulating flat flame, or argand burner, shown hereafter in detail, may be justly characterized as the very triumph and luxury of gas lighting. , 32 i ! in — «.-\©J(fc/»/- lill m 34 ileverting to the burners, on the adaptation of which to the kind of gas used, the amount of light capable of being developed by it so materially depends, the following copious ex- tracts bearing thereon, are from the very elabor- ate report presented in 1871, to the English Board of Trade, by the Scientific Commission, called the Gas Referees. " EXTEACTS FROM the FIEST REPORT to the BOARD OF TRADE BY THE G-AS REFEREES on the CON- STRUCTION OF GAS BL^RNERS with reference to the principles of GAS ILLUMINATION. To the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade. Gaa Eefei'6«s' Department, 23, New Street, Spring Gardens, June 22, 1871. The Gas Referees have the honour to submit to the Board of Trade the following Report, which contains the result of their investigation of the principles which regulate the de- velopment of light from gas, and the application of those principles to the construction and use of burners, in the man- ner most advantageous and economical for the public. Every improvement in the construction of gas bvu'ners is equivalent, in its economical effects, to the discovery of a method of cheapening the manufacture and supply pf gas ; for it enables the public to obtain more light from the gaa which they consume and pay for. By using good burners, instead of bad ones, consumers may obtain from thirty to fifty per cent, more light, while their gas bills remain the same. As stated in their Report, dated 3rd May, 1869, the Re- ferees, in the course of their investigations relative to the choice of a Standard Burner, made and tested a large collec- tion of burners of all kinds, obtained from the leading gas- fitting establishments and other quarters ; and in eonse- 36 Captation of amount of by it so copious ex- ery elabor- ;he English Commission, THE BOARD ON THE COI^- REFERENCE TO -Tioisr. Council for ring Gardens, to the Board the result of gulate the de- tion of those i, in the man- )ublic. as bui'ners is iscovery of a >ply Pf ga*j ; rem the gaa ood burners, cm thirty to remain the Hi * 869, the Ee- ative to the large collec- leading gas- id in eonse- quence of the great numerical preponderance of bad burners in the collection, they were led to inspect the gas lighting arrangements in several large establishments in the City — especially those in which, owing to the prevalence of night- work, an unusually large quantity of gas is consumed. The inspection fully confirmed the apprehensions which the Ee- ferees had formed from their examination of the burnera procured from the gas-fitting establishments. For example, m the offices of two of the daily newspapers (establishments which consume more gas than any others), it was found that the burners chiefly in use were so defective that they gave out only one-half of the illuminating power of the gas ac- tually consumed. And several of the burners tested by the Referees gave only one-fourth of the proper light of the gas ! These facts, and many others which came to their know- ledge, proved to the Referees that an enormous waste of gas prevails, with a corresponding pecuniary loss to the pub- He ; and they considered it a matter of urgent importance that such facts should be made generally known. The economy to the public, arising from the use of good gas burners instead of bad ones, is so obvious as hardly to need remark. The gas rental of London amounts annually to more than two millions sferlivg. Taking a very rjoderate estimate, upwards of one-fourth of this sum (£500,000 per annum) might be saved by the use of good burners. This is the saving which might be made in London alone ; how much vaster the sum thus economised if good gas burners were to come into general use throughout England ! In truth, the economy arising to the public from the use of im- proved burners is as large as can be produced for many yeare to come from any improvements in the manufacture of gas, or from the amalgamation of Companies by which the cost of supply will be so materially reduced. The question of bur- ners, indeed, although hitherto so little considered or investi- gated, meets one at every turn in matters connected with gas-light, — whether these be regarded as problems of science, or in the more widely useful ana practical form as a means of economy for the gas-consuming public. On THE Illuminating Power op Gas. 5js ^C 3jC SJ^ 5|s ^ 9|C 9|( The first and most natural suggestion is to inquire whether the observed variations in the illuminating power are not due, wholly or in part, to the mechanical apparatus em- n 36 ployed for developing it. If two tons of idontifully the same coal do not, when burnt PO])arately, give out the same amount of heat, is not the explanation to be Hought in some dillcreuec in the mode of combustion ? If two gallons of the same water, when weighed separately, do not show the same weight, must there not be some dillerenoe in the balances, or in the details of weighing ? In like manner, if four feet of gas do not give exactly two-thirds the amount of light which six feet of the same gas gives, is not the ditl'erence lirst to be looked for in the nature of the burners employed in the ex- periments ? Not to take into careful account the influence of the burners, when testing the illuminating power of gas, is as great an oversight as if, in weighing, one were to make no examination of the balances ; or as if an engineer were to take no account of the boilers he employed, and then, finding that a ton of coal in some circumstances raised a greater pro- portion of steam than when half-a-ton was used, were to jump to the conclusion that the heat-giving power of coal became greater, relatively to the quantity consumed, when a ton was used than when half that quantity was employed. What a boiler is to coal and the generation of steam, so is a burner to gas and the development of light. One ton of coal in a locomotive of the present day generates as much force as six tons did forty years ago, simply owing to the superior construction of the locomotive, in like manner, as regards the illuminating power of gas, there are good burners and bad ones. Moreover, as every scientifically-constructed boiler is devised specially for a given amount of coal, by the con- sumption of which the boiler develops its maximum of power relative to the quantity of fuel used ; so every well-con- structed burner is devised to consume a fixed quantity of gas. Indeed, for every burner, whether good or bad, there is a certain rate of consumption at which the burner does more justice to the illuminating power of the gas than at other rates, whether greater or less. To disregard these con- siderations, is to render experiments wholly useless and mis- leading. First, as to good burners and bad ones. — Take two burners, each of which gives its maximum of light (t. e., does most justice to the gasj at the same rate of consumption : never- theless the light emitted by one of the burners may be much greater, or much less, than that of the other. Secondly, as to the misuse of burners. — Take a burner which does most justice to the gas when the rate of consumption is 5 feet per hour : then, if the rate of consumption be either increased or I denticall}' the 3 out the same ought in bonie ' gallons of the show the same 10 baUmces, or if four feet of of light which ince lirst to be yed in the ex- he influence of iwer of gas, is 3re to make no :ineor were to i then, finding a greater pro- used, were to power of coal iumed, when a employed, f steam, so is a )ne ton of coal much force as the superior ler, as regards 1 burners and structed boiler 1, by the con- num of power '^ery well-con- sd quantity of or bad, there e burner does le gas than at ard these con- eless and mis- two burners, ., does most 3tion : never- may be much Secondly, as :;h does most 1 is 5 ieet per • increased or 27 diminished from that point, the gas will of course giveu to less light in proportion to the quantity consumed than before. ** * ** ** * The proper regulation of the supply of air to the flame is the chief secret of developing a maximum of light from gas. The greater the quantity, or the richer the quality, of the Sas, the more air is required, and hence the better will the ame bear contact with the atmosphere ; for, the greater is the quantity of matter to be oxidised, or consumed by com- bustion. And it is important to observe that the greater the Telocity with which gas issues from a burner, the greater is the supply of air to the flame — the more air is the flame brought in contact with. The stream of burning gas from the burner, rising through the (we shall say) quiescent at- mosphere of the room, draws in the air upon itself, — just m a rapid stream passing through a pool or lake disturbs the stillness of the pool, and draws in upon itself in eddies the surrounding water ; and the more rapid the upward stream of gas, the greater th« quantity of air thus drawn in upon the flame. ^u <^j ^« ^^ ^f ^^ %i^ ^t* 0^ ^^ ^^ ^fc ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ The gas with which the experiments were made was com- mon gas having an average illuminating power of 15 sperm candles, when consumed at the rate of 5 feet per hour in Sugg's London Argand No. 1. This Argand, burning at the above-mentioned rate, was taken as the standard in the ex- periments, and its light reckoned as 100. The other burners — namely, those experimented with — were made to consume gas at various rates, from 1 to 6 feet per hour ; and the mode of computing their light with reference to the standard burner was the ordinary and simple one, as follows: — Suppose the tested burner gave a light of 40 per cent, (compared with the I standard burner) when burning at the rate of 4 feet an hour, .■Jfchen, instead of 40, its light is stated in the fourth column as 1^0 — because the standard burner was consuming 5 feet an "Ihour against the 4 feet consumed by the tested burner. In ;|ike manner, if a tested burner gave a light of 60 per cent, ^compared to the standard) when burning 6 feet an hour, fihen, instead of 60, its light is stated in the fourth column as piO — as it was consuming one-sixth more gas than the stand- i^rd burner. On the other hand, if the tested burner con- :;^^med exactly 5 feet an hour, then the figures in the fourth l^oiumn would be the same as those in the third : for, in this J^ase, both the standard and the tested burner were consuming |he same volume of gas. ajfh 38 *u4l I'irdI, let ii« give the results of the exijerimentB with fishtail iind batswingburnerb: — Fishtail Burnjshs. I'mxtur* Actual Prouur* Actual ofOm Uluininiii'v Illuniltiat'g ut lim lUumlnat'g Illuminat'g lU CoDiiiinp- P.>w«r,— IViwflr, — at Contuuip- I'ower,— I'ower,— dullvared tlun nf Qnt Sugji't I^otmon calcuinlud lo a»Uv«r»ii lioa ol Ubk Sun't London calculated to to ID f««t ptr 6 f«l.- to lu feet per b feet,- HwruBr, hour. No. I »l Suifg't Burner, buur. No 1 at 8"W'a lo tttiitht ( frat being Loiiduu a< lU telltn» 5 ie«t being London ae nf nti uik«n «• 100. of *» tikken ta lOU. lucb. lUO. loch. 100. I. IV. I I-I 6-8 312 •05 10 6-9 34" I 2 17 12 2 36 0* •17 20 18-8 47 0* ■4 2'5 176 353 •26 30 27-6 46-1 •6 30 202 337 '61 4-0 309 386 •8 37 22 298 •95 SO 31S 31S ro 4'2 230 27-4 V. II. •3 I "4 4-8 17-4 •I I 7 19 I 54-8 6 18 6 8 19 0* •2 3-6 307 590 65 20 7-2 182 3 31 8S4 620* •8 24 7-4 15-6 •4 36 44' 3 61 6 VI. ■5 41 487 587 ■05 I'l 80 36-6 •6 46 575 560 •I IS i6-6 537 ■73 52 55 9 S3"2 •2 2-2 281 638 I II. •3 2-8 39 "2 687 *A* •4 3*3 46 "2 69 'O ■M 3-0 297 496 •6 4-2 62 730* 33 34 3 620* 75 47 67-8 72-2 ■57 3-8 38-t 50-2 •85 5-1 719 70-5 •67 4-2 409 487 •95 5 '4 76-3 70-0 •77 4-6 43 5 47 '3 I 5-6 777 687 •87 5-0 45 3 45*3 II 5-9 79-5 67-4 Ba' rawiNo BuRNE R8. VII. \ '■III. •05 13 13-2 530 I 20 287 707 1 22 16-4 74-8 •2 3 "4 52-4 77 ■o •2 3-6 62-0 8vo 3 4-6 75 6 82 3* 3 6 86-5 86 4* ■4 57 87-2 76-5 •4 6-2 1060 85-4 — — •5 7-2 III -2 79 '4 — . „ •6 8-1 127-4 78-6 — — — — •Those lines show the points of consumption at which each of the Burners cives the greatest proportiou of light from the Gas. These experiments show at a glance what a difference the burner makes upon the light emitted by gas. The quality of the gas was, in each experiment, the same ; yet how serious the difference in the amount of light given bv the several 39 i with fishtail Utual riiln»t' ; Illuminat'i iw( 1 at «"(«{'• nt belD g LonriiiQ u tell at lOU. luo. 6-9 34' » J-8 47 O* 7-6 46- 1 0-9 386 I'S 31S 4-8 17-4 t8 19 0* 7-2 182 7-4 15-6 Jo 366 t)-6 537 ii-i 638 3-2 687 3'2 69 •0 730* 7-8 72*2 [•9 70-5 >-3 700 '7 687 CS 67-4 !7 707 •4 77 -o 6 82 3» •2 76-5 — — - ■~~- Burners gives the ifFerence the ho quality of how serious '^ the several burners, — one of them (No. V.) giving at its best barely one- fifth of the light obtainable from the gas. But the point specially to bo determined is, does the illuminating power of gas vary according to the quantity in which it is burnt, in- creawing with the rate of consumption ? * i* 1< Instead of the gas giving more light us the rate of consump- tion is increased, it will be soon that, in even/ case, there is a point btijovd which the Uqht DECREASES relatively to the pro- portion of gas consumed. In every case, too, this point lies below, and in most cases is/ar below, the maximum of ordinary gae-consumption. Observe the turning-points in the ca^e of the different burners. In No. VII. the maximum of light fiven V. it is when the gas is burning at the rate of 5 feet an our, — beyond which point the more gas burned the less is the proportion of light which it gives. In No. VIII. the maximum of light is at 4-6 feet an hour ; in No. VI. it is at 4-2 feet ; in Nos. II. and III. it is about 3 feet ; in No. IV. it is at 2 feet ; and in Nos. I. and V. at only If foot ! T* *1* P^ 3fC r^ *^ ?ft ?|C As already said, the chief means of obtaining the maximum of illuminating power from gas is, to ensure an exactly adequate supply of air to the gas-flame: and, with Argands, this point is easily found, for it immediately precedes the stage of combustion at which the flame smokes, — i.e., when the air-supply becomes deficient, and a portion of the gas is not thoroughly consumed. Indeed, we may state as an abso- lute rule, that every burner gives its owx maximum of light (relative to the quantity of gas consumed) vjhcn its /lame is iuit upon the point of smoking. With the batswing and fishtail burners used in the preceding experiments, there was no rate of consumption at which the flame of any of them visibly smoked : and this holds good in regard to almost all batwing and fishtail burners when used with common gas, i.e., gas of from 12 to 16 candle-power. But with Argands (owing to the glass chimney which encloses them, and regulates the air-sup|jly), it is always possible to increase the consumption of gas to such a point as will make the flame smoke ; and hence every burner of this kind can be used in a manner which will give the full illuminating power of the gas, so far as that in dependent upon an adequate air-supply. Now, as the common fault of Argands is, that the gas issues under too groat a pressure, i.e., -with too great a velocity, therebj^ bring- ing the flame in contact with too much air, — it follows that the worse the Argand the better will it become when a large quantity of gas is burnt in it ; tor the air supply, as regula- ! I 40 ted by the chimnoj^ being nearly a fixed (luantity, any ox- cess in the air-supply can bo neutralised by increasing the (piantity of gas consumed. But with nil Argatids, whcthor good or biul, the larger tbecpumtity of gas eoiistimed in them (short of smoking), the greater will be the pi-opoi-tion of light which they give from the gas. [lore 1 re the results of experiments matle with four kinds of the Argand burner — the first (Suggs London Bin-ner Xo. 1), (me of the best that has ever been constructed ; the second and third are ordinarily good Argands ; and the fourth, one of the worst Argands that we have met with. The exjteiM- monts with each burner wore carried up to the smoking- point, — beyond which point experiments are useless, as there is a manifest waste of gas bv imperfect combustion; — Aroand Burners. Actual IlliimliiKt'K Actuftl Illunilnat'g PrmwarA Mhiminiit'ii Power, — Pr«Mur0 Ulmiitnat'fc Pow«r,— of Gm ai Conanmn- tlon of Oiu Power, — rftlculntnd to of Oii« u Coniti T» Power, — calcuUdtd to HtillTered 1 Sutfur'i B t«Bl,— dallverfd tion of Su((g*» 6 feet,— to Burner. p«r hour. London At V SuKu't to Buriiar. per hour. London at fi Siikk'h feot being Lonilnn fu fi)«t being London lu takun ai KK 100. talren u loO. 100. I. III. 05 in. 21 ft. 5 4 127 •2 in. 2-6 ft. 103 197 •07 „ 2-8 „ 195 34-2 •3 .. 3 3 »» 224 33-8 ■I „ 33 M 34"i 5«-6 ■4 .. 3 9 * t 364 467 •14 M 40 M 6o-5 75 "o ■5 M 4 4 » » 49-2 557 •17 ., 4-4 M 77 -o 86 I •6 „ 4 9 ,, 64 653 •318., 6 ,. , 100 100 ■7 .. 5-4 1 y 75 -6 694 11. •78 ., 5-8 1 1 006 77-4 •02 „ 1-6 ,, 20 6-2 IV. •04 „ 2-2 „ 77 171 ■I ,, 1-8 n 1-6 45 •07 „ 20 „ 197 331 ■2 „ 27 »» 7-8 143 •I M 3-5 M 322 45 '4 ■3 „ 3 '4 M 150 21-8 •15 .. 45 .. 58-0 64-8 ■4 „ 4-2 * t 21 9 26 •2 ,, 5 ' .. 74-4 727 ■5 „ 4-6 J » 29 "3 3i'5 22 .. 5 6 ..! 891 788 6 „ 52 t • 347 343 Here it is shown that the larger quantity of gas consumed in Argand.s, short of smoking, the higher the proportion of light which they give from the gas ; but it is to bo noticed, that even at this most favourable point of consumption there is a vast difference in the amount of light given by the different burners. In short, then, these experiments with Argands, like the previous ones with Batswings and Fishtails, show the paramount influence which the burner has upon the amount of light obtained from the gas. For while No, I. gives (what we may for the present call) 41 it;', any ox- •iciLsin;,^ the ', nlictluM- '•■•I ill (liem ■oi'ortion of 1 fl>iir kinds HiiriKT No. fho (stu'uncl t<>in-lh. one riic e\|»(«rl- le hmokiii^- '8«, as there n : — r niumlnat'g Po»«r,— r«lful«(,id to 6 ft«t,— K I LoniVon m >o| ion. 197 33-8 467 557 653 694 774 4-5 14-3 21-8 26-0 31-5 onsiiniod f^i'tion of noticed, on there I by the Its M^ith gs and burlier he gas. It call) the full-illuminating power of the gafl, which is taken as 100, Nos. II. iiiid III. give a light only equal to 78, and No. IV. a light only e({ual to 34. In other worrln, the last of these Imnicrs, (nken at I'tK best, gives only one-third of the light which nuiy be obtained from the gas by a really good burner. » * « « « «'«« Let UH now summarise the results of the preceding experi- ments : — I. In the case of the Batwing and Fishtail Burners, there is a point of consumption above which every increase in the i-ate of consumption produces a decrease of light relative to the quantity of gas consumed. II. The point of consumption at which each of those biu*- ners gives its maximum of light, relative to the quantity of gas consumed, varies enormously: two burners (Nos. I. and V".,) giving most light from the gas when the rate of consumption is only 1^/eet per hour. III. With Argands, on the other hand, the light from the gas steadily increases in a higher ratio than the consumption. In other words, the larger quantity of gas consumed in Ar- gands (up to the smoking-point), the greater the amount of light obtained relatively'' to the quantity of gas consumed. IV. Alike with Argands, Batswings, and Fishtails, — what- ever be the rate of consumption at which the maximum of light is obtained (in other words, taking each of the burners at its best), there is nevertheless a striking difference in the degree of light obtained from the same quantity of gas, — some burners giving a light equal only to 20, while others give a light equal to GO, 80 and 100. V. The best kinds of Argands (Sugg's London Burners) give a nearly equal amount of light, relatively to the quan- tities of gas consumed: the experiments with them tending to show that, within the ordinary range of consumption, the illuminating power of gas remains the same. VI. Finally, even as regards very low rates of consump- tion, (rates, indeed, at which gaa is never burnt for illuminat- ing purposes),- the application merely of a rude apparatus for regulating the air-supply, suffices to make only two feet of gas, give a light equal in proportion to the greatest amount of light obtainable from the gas, when consumed at any higher rate, in a really good burner." [Since the Report was written the new sizes of London ArRands have been made, and the Rinaliest size (A) uurns ;t feet of common gas with a higher result in illuminating power in i)roportion than the larger burners.] 42 The facts so clearly set forth in the valuable re- port from which these convincing extracts have been taken, are by no means new discoveries, having all been perfectly familiar previously to every intelligent and competent gas engineer, as well as to all chemists who have directed their attention to the subject ; but the report is specia'ly valuable as emanating from such an independent and authoratative source. Une of the objects intended to be enforced in these pages, viz., that bad lights and large gas bills rest more with the buyers than the sellers of gas, is so conclusively established in the foregoing extracts, that nothing further need be added in respect thereof. It therefore now becomes us to endeavour to indicate, as briefly as may be, the principles of the construction of the best burners yet introduced. Until within the last few years little attention had been given to flat flamed burners, at any rate no substantial improvements had been effected. Some efforts had been made in improving the construction of the argand, but the union jet or fishtail and batswing burners, were, (and still are, with few exceptions), practically as they were made at first, being merely a small tube with closed top, and two small holes drilled at an angle to cause the two streams of issuing gas to im- pinge against each other, throwing out a flame at iiiv! luable re- 'acts have scoveries, viously to gineer, as ted their report is such an fe. Une in these gas bills 'rs of gas, foregoing added in nes us to y be, the t burners attention any rate effected, ing the n jet or nd still ley vvere ■be with i-n angle to im- lame at 43 right angles to the holes (the fish-tail) ; or, cut with a slit (the bats wing) ; no provision being made for regulating, or even retarding, the pres- sure of the gas. But now there are numerous contrivances, all beneficial in a greater or less degree, such as small cylindrical brass chambers or boxes, into which the burners are screwed, containing cotton wool, compressed iron wire, &c., or having a diaphragm of calico, or finely meshed brass netting, through which the gas has to flow, so as to check its pressure. Thickening or swelling the burner at the top, on the same principle as projecting a chimney stack at the top to throw oif the up current of air, is sometimes adopted, too, with advantage, as is also using a small double slitted batswing. Another simple expedient for retarding the carbon in the flame of a fish-tail burner, is known as Scholl's Per- fector, which is used in England to a considerable extent, and which is wonderfully efiicacious when applied to s^nall flamed burners and high pres- sures. It consists of a thin brass ring fitting over the burner, and having a narrow strip of platinum stretched across the centre, with its lower edge resting on the top of the burner, between the two holes, so that instead of the two obliquely issuing streams of gas, flow- ing against each other, they strike against the strip of platinum, and are so left as it were eddy- ing in the flame. 44 The writer made a series of careful experi- ments with this contrivance a few years ago, of which the following are some of the remarkable results obtained : — With a No. 1 fish-tail burner (the light from which, with common coal gas is exceedingl}'^ Feeble, through the small consumption of gas and the flame being too thin,) the addi- tional light obtained was as under : — Pressure, S-lOths, consumption of gas, 1-6 cubic feet per hour ; additional light, 113 per cent. Pressure, *7-10ths ; consumption of gas, 2-0 cubic feet per hour, additional light, 159 per cent. Pressure, 10-lOths, consumption of gas, 24 cubic feet per hour, a/iditional light, 195 per cent. With a No. 3 burner also tested at 5-lOths, T-lOths, and lO-lOths pressures, the consumption of gas being respectively 3, 3-7, and 46, feet per hour, the increased light Avas from 80-9 to 95-6 per cent. But with a No. 5 burner, consuming 6 feet and upwards per hour, the advantage of the perfector was practically nil. These results show that the perfector is highly advantageous with thin sheets of flame burning at high pressures, but that as the flame is thick- ened and the pressure reduced, the advantages be- come less and less, until they practically cease. The correct principle on which a gas burner should be constructed, so far as the knowledge of the subject yet extends, would seem to be its hav- ing its lower end closed, with the exception of an orifice just sufficient to allow the required quan- tity of gas to flow through at a given pressure, with a slitted (batswing), aperture at the top, I L„ ■i 46 ^xperi- ago, of rkable ch, with le small he addi- feet per MOths ; il light, gas, 2-4 ths, and actively ht was p^vards ill.y nil. Lighly rninii: :hick- 3s be- 3ase. irner geof hav- 3fan uan- 5ure, top, ■ ■""■Si from which the gas issues to the flame, its area being iiiiich larger than the lower opening. This aperture or slit, is accurately cut in lava or steatite, which being non-oxydizable and unaf- fected by heat, remains unalterable. The tube into the top of which the nib or burner is fixed is made of brass, and much larger than the old metallic burners, forming an equalizing chamber, from which the gas issues or oozes into the flame quite placidly. The best of these improved burners which have come under the writer's notice are Bronner's and Sugg's. The Wood cuts in the margin sheVv a full sized sectional and outside view of Bronner's burner, which is made in about a dozen different sizes, numbered for the respective quantities of gas required to be con- sumed per hour, some being suitable for globes, which are made speci- ally for the burners, and others in which the flame is too large to be enclosed in globes, but admirably adapted for lighting markets, butchers stalls, and other places requiring large open lights. In Sugg's screw regulating burners the same ■ ^-^----- —-J ■ 46 end is effected by means of adjustable screw plugs or valves, by which the lower orifice or orifices can be enlarged or diminished to suit the situa- tion of the burner, or the size of flame required* These burners, although differing a little in de- tail for different fittings, on the chandeliers or brackets, to which they may be fixed, are all alike in principle, as will be seen from the engravings here given : — irew plugs or orifices the situa- s required* ttle in de- deliers or ■e all alike ngravings 41 A very convenient adap- tation of the principle under discussion, is having the brass case of the burner to unscrew into two unequal lengths, the upper one hav- ing a suitable steatite bat- swing burner, and into the lower one of which, different sized ordinary fishtail nibs can be screwed, as shewn in the figures in the margin. The beneficial results so strikingly shewn of the use of this burner in the follow- ing photometrical experi- ments made with it, will clearly exhibit the great gain effected by using burners constructed on the improved principle, of which this one is but a variation. At five-tenths pressure, the light given by the gas burnt by a No. 3 ordinary metallic fishtail bun r, was increased by merely screwing the brass cover or cone (as shewn) over it, and burn- ing the gas from a No. 4 steatite nib fixed in the cone as much as 70*2 per cent. At seven-tenths pressure the increased light was 71*2 per cent, and at ten-tenths pressure the increase in the 4S light was no less than 97*5 per cent., the quality of the gas from which these highly satisfactory results were obtained being equal to 15*2 standard sperm candles.* Although the advantages of using burners of this improved kind are so unmistakal>le, as com- pared with the ordinary fish tail ones, which are so unsuitable, especially in the higher levels, that it is impossible to get a steady flame and avoid the singing noise of the gas blowing through the burner to waste, except by reducing the passage of the gas to the burner to such an extent, that enough light cannot be obtained to see by, and, candles or lamps having to be brought into requisition to supplement the gas, giving colour to the ironical saying of " requiring a candle to see the gas," still their full value is impaired unless the varying pressure of the gas be con- trolled by means of a regulator, or governor, at the outlet of the meter, as previousJy des- cribed, because with a fixed orifice, the quantity of gas passing, varies as the pressure under which it is delivered. It may here be obser\ ed that the taps at the burners ought neve>' to be used for regulating the pressure, but should al- ways be fully open to enable the gas to flow evenly to the burners. ♦These experimeiits were made conjointly by Br. Girdwood, ProfeBsor of Viactic*! Chemistry, McGill Collene, Montreal, Dr. Baker Edward*. I'rofeiior of CUemistry, Bishop's College, Montreal, and the writer. IMM the quality satisfiictory >*2 standard burners of le, as com- which are levels, that and avoid irough the le passage :tent, that e bv, and, ught into ing colour a candle impaired s be con- governor, iisJy des- quantity •e under obserxed ve>- to be lould al- to flow t of Piactic«l of Chamigtry, f Si' 49 The most efficient governor known to the Writer, is without doubt, the one last brought into the market by Mr. Sugg. It is a double govern- or, or two governors, enclosed in a cast iron case, common to both, as here represented : It was first introduced by the inventor for scientific purposes in connection with l-'hotometry about seven years ago, and has been so generally approved as the most perfect instrument for main- taining uniformity of pressure, that its success induced him to employ it for dwelling houses, for which purpose it has prove^ equally successful. (A) is the inlet, which when the governor is fixed, is in communication with the outlet of the meter. (B) is the cone, or regulating valve, at- tached to the disc of the diaphragm (C), (D) is the circular prepared leather hinge. (E F) are the outlets of the respective governors, in communication, the former with the inlet of the second governor, and the latter with outlet (F) c-C. 60 of the instrument ; (Gr) are the lead weights dropped on the disc by unscrewing the caps (H) above them, and (I) is the vent coupling from which a small pipe may, if desired, be carried out of the house as a precaution against escape of gas from the instrument, in the improbable event of the hinges of the diaphragms getting leaky. The action of the governor has been already des- cribed, and need not be here repeated. In the double governor, it is simply a repetition in the second governor, of the action of the first one. By the adoption of the improved class of bur- ners, and the use of the governor, something- like perfect light-giving combustion will bo at- tained, with an amount of satisfaction and com- fort scarcely credible, especially in the higlier levels of supply, and where the old-fashioned nibs are now in use. Again, there are Sugg's patent " London" flat flame and argand burners, the latter being the burner described in the Gas Referees report as "the very best burner yet constructed," and which was adopted by them as the standard with which to compare other burners. Both kinds arc made as 'adjustable' and also 'self- regulating' bur- ners. By using the self-regulating burners, a gov- ernor at the meter may be dispensed with, but even with these burners it is preferable to use one. li 61 -d weights caps (H) 'ling from carried out escape of able event ing leaky, 'eady des- 1. In the on in the st one. ss of bur- iomething ill bo at- and com- le higlier oned nibs don" flat )eing the report as ed," and lard with kinds arc ;ing' bur- 's, a gov- but even 3 one. The flat flame self- regulating burner, is here represented, the action of the governor or regu- lator attached, being precisely similar to the household one already described. :;!ii I 52 ii The adjustable! London argand bur-| ner, here shown, is si- milar as respects the I regulating part to the | adjustable flat flamed ones ; all the difl*er- ence being that in the | latter the gas way i? enlarged or diminish ed by means of a mov- able plug or cone, I screwed up or down ; while in the argand. the plug or cone (A), is a fixture in the rooil of the inlet chamber,] the nose • piece or sock- et (B) being screwed up closer over the cone, and so throttling the gas way, when it is desired to diminish the quantity of gas pas- sing to the burner. The joint (C) is made thinner or thicker as required, by means of paper wash- ers. I :iii asB MM mmmt 53 I n The self- regulat- ing " London Ar- gand" (represented in the margin), is precisely the same burner, except that it is supplied with a self-acting governor or regulator, instead of the adjustment contrivance. In both, among other care- fully worked out scientific improve- ments, it will be seen that the gas is con- veyed from the sock- et, or small attached governor, as the case may be, to the bur- ner proper, by means of three very small bent tubes, mstead of the bulky crutch of other argands. Although it may be too much to expect in the general use of gas, even an approximation to per- fee m in its burning, yet a much nearer ap- proach towards that desirable end than is usually attempted might be attained. It is, unfortuna- tely, but the truth to say, of great numbers of 54 those who dub themselves gastitters, that it would be hopeless to apply to them for advice. Still, in all towns of any considerable size, there are always some shrewd business men, competent to render a consumer valuable assistance. But even failing that source of help, consumers themselves, by bringing to bear the same amount of intelligence displayed in their profession or business, would accomplish much. To summarize what has been already adduced,the chief considerations to be attended to, and with- out which economical and satisfactory consump- tion of gas cannot be attained, are: — That the consumption be under low and constant pressure ; that the position of the lights for the particular requirements be such as would be dictated by common sense; that the burners be adapted to the amount of light required, and the quality of the gas being used ; and that the globes, or shad(^s, be of the best and most suitable kind. The first of these desiderata can only be satisfac- torily attained by the use of either a service re- gulator or by regulating burners, or both, the rest must be matters of experiment and experi- ence. Griven a knowledge of the right direction to be taken, and in which it is hoped the imper- fect suggestions herein offered wdll have some- what assisted, a little trouble will be certain to produce such satisfactory results, that those 55 willing to devote the requisite attention, will be surprised at their having so supinely endured the previous discomfort, and avoidable expense, in connection with this important question of gas lighting. BIZ Em OF INTERNAL PIPING — IMPORTANCE OP. A matter of serious import in respect of obtain- ing good light, is that of the calibre and arrange- ment of the internal piping. As a rule, neither architects nor owners pay sufficient, or indeed any attention to this question, it being generally left to the discretion of the gas fitter. Prices are obtained for the work, but usually without any specification or conditions as to the sizes and ar- rangement of the pipes, and the lowest tender is accepted. Is it to be wondered at then that pipes of too small bore are often used ? Smaller pipes are cheaper than larger ones, and are fixed ac- cordingly. These low prices are commonly re- ceived from incompetent or unconscientious tradesmen, and the system acts injuriously in every way — to the Gas Company, the consumer, and to respectable and competent gas fitters, who are sometimes thus forced in self-defence to do inferior work too, to save themselves from being driven out of the field. As an instance of this reprehensible custom of fixing too small pipes, the writer, passing a new 56 house in this city recently, ?.nd noticing indica- tions of the gas fitters being at work, went inside, as a matter of curiosity, to see what was being done. He found the pipes laid for the supply of two rooms connected by folding doors, provision being made for a chandelier in the centre of each, and two brackets over each fire place, the whole being wrought iron tubing of 3-eights of an inch bore. On observing to the leading man doing the work, that if 3- eight pipe was a proper size for the supply of eadi of the single lights, it was sure- ly not large enouofh to supply them all, of which there would be ten, (assurring the chandeliers to have each 3 burners), on occasions of their all being lighted, he replied that the pipe was large enough, and that that was the size ihey always used. The assertion of a 3-eight inch pipe being sufficient for the supply of 10 lights at a proper pressure being demurred to, the rejoinder was that the service pipe was only 1 inch bore. The persons who do this kind of work are either ignorant of, or wilfully disregard, the fact that the capacity of pipes increase or decrease, in a much higher ratio than their sizes; their areas being, not as their respective diameters to each other, but as the squares of their diameters. Tak- ing the sizes of the pipes in the instance referred to, their areas were not as 3-8ths to 8-8ths, but as 3 times 3 (9) to 8 times 8 (64), the capacity of 57 nng of 3ion ich. ich i to all ng er is e the 1 inch pipe being equal to rather more than seven of the 3-eight ones. But the statement of this hxw, is far from representing their real com- parative values, because practically the larger pipes will supply more than the theoretical num- bers of the smaller ones, owing to the greater ex- tent of rubbing surfaces for an equivalent area in the smaller, than the larger ones, the additional number depending on the lengths of the respec- tive pipes. Another cause of unsatisfactory supply, arises from lights being added from time to time, with- out increasing the size of the pipes at first fixed. It is no uncommon thing from this cause alone, to see three or four times as many burners as the pipe from the meter is capable of supplying at a fair pressure, the natural consequence being a chronic state of dissatisfaction, and endless com- plaints of the want of pressure. The gas com- pany's u^.en take the pressure at the meter, and report it to be sufficient, explaining to the con- sumer that the fault lies with his own pipes or fittings. But he usually knows better than that; the same pipes have supplied the gas so many years, etc., etc., etc. Refitting the premises would cost money, and grumbling costs nothing, and the company's servants know well which of these courses is ordinarily taken. In fitting up a house for gas, the simpler the 58 arrangement of pipes the better. They should run as direct as possible to the burners, and the reprehensible practice of plastering them in the walls, should be avoided as far as possible ; but where absolutely necessary, provision can always be made by a little forethought, for getting at them with facility, without having to destroy painted or papered walls. The writer claims to speak on this subject with the authority of considerable experience, having had the management lor nearly ten years of gas works where the Company's men did nearly all the consumer's fittings, the work being all done under his supervision. The work was invariably satisfactory, although the use of the dry meter was quite exceptional, and gas fitters know how much easier it is to fit up for a dry than a wet meter. The success was simply due to sufficiently large pipes and good workmanship. A convenient rule is to fix pipes of such sizes as will allow of at least 5 feet of gas per hour for each burner. If less gas per burner be con- sumed, or the burners are not all lighted at once so much the better. With this data and the use of Wood's valuable tables here following, of the discharges of gas from pipes of the sizes ordinarily used in fitting, there need be no difficulty as to the proper sizes to use. the the I but rays i at Iroy ath nng :as 59 Discharge of Gas in Cubic feet per hour, through Metal Pipes of various sizes and different lengths, at four dis- tinct pressures. The specific gravity of the Gas beirg that of common Coal Gas, of the illuminating power of 14.50 Sperm Candles. Table I.— J inch Metal Pipe. Quantity of ! Quantity of Quantity of Length of pipeGae digcharg«d Gat disoharged Gas discharged in feet. 200 150 100 50 at 0.6 inch pressure. at 1.1' inch pressure. at 1.6 inch preesure. 0.93 1.30 2.03 4.12 1.93 2.61 4.14 7.33 3.17 3.75 6.00 10.50 Quantity of Gas ciigoharded at 2.1) inch pressure. 4.31 5.10 8.24 13.50 Table II.— f inch Metal Pipe. Length of pipe in feet. Qunntity of Gas dischai ged at 0.5 inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 1.0 inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 1.6 inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 2.0 inch pressure. pressure. pressure. pressure. 200 5.36 10.50 15.00 19.73 150 7.03 13.44 19.10 24.75 100 9.41 18.73 25.83 33.64 60 18.07 31.75 41.00 56.50 60 Table III. — | inch Metal Pipe. Lergthofpipe in feet. Quantity of Gas discharged at 0,6 inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 1 inch Quantity of Gas discharKetl at 1 5 inch Quantity of Gas discharged at '..'.'inch pressure. pressure. pressure. pressure. 200 13.12 24.83 31.00 41.50 150 16.37 29.50 40.50 48.00 100 27.75 40.50 52.00 64.50 50 31.00 60.50 80.00 108.25 Table IV. — f inch Metal Pipe. Length of pipe in feet. Quantity of Oas discharged at i'.6 inch Quantity of Gas discharged atl.' inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 1 .6 inch Quantity of Oat discharged at 2.0 inch pressure. pressure. pressure. pressure. 200 26.18 47.19 71.38 86.04 150 36.99 59.84 79.58 94.95 100 47.57 78.59 100.00 122.57 50 73.33 103.45 127.19 148.21 Table V . — 1 inch Metal Pipe. Length of pipe in feet. Quantity of Gas discharged at 11.6 iucli Quantity of Gas discharged at IJ) inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 1..^ inch Quantity of Gas discharged at 2 . inch piossurc. pressure. pressure. pressure. 200 47.29 84.60 109.55 127.71 150 60.25 97.22 122.82 145.00 100 70.25 114.44 144.17 167.71 50 99.00 150.00 188.75 230.76 61 Table VI . — 1 inch Metal Pipe. Length of pipe in feet. Quantity of Gas iliscliarged at 0.5 inch presBui-e. Quantity of (las ihscharged at 1... iiidi pressure. Quantity of Oas discharged at l.D inch pressure. Quantity of Gas discharged at 2.0 inch pressure. 234.42 264.07 300.00 371.00 200 150 100 50 89.50 IIG.GO 142.85 181.25 160.81 184.75 208.77 253.00 204.02 232.92 265.00 326.16 Extracted from "A Guide to Gas-Lighting," by A. H. Wood, A.I.C.E., Gae Works, Hastings, England. It should be observ^ed that although the tables begin with J inch pipe, the table for that size was merely compiled by Mr. Wood as a matter of experiment ; it is a size that should never be used under any circumstances. The length of piping required, and the number of burners being known, and reckoning on 1 inch pressure at the meter, the respective discharges from the different sized pipes are to be divided by 6, (the number of cubic feet assumed for each burner), when by reference to the tables, under the heading of 1 inch pressure, the size of the pipes required, will be found. For instance, if it were desired to know the proper size of pipe for 3 or 4 lights requiring 100 feet of piping, by re- ferring to 100 feet in the several tables, it will be found that 3-S inch pipe will be suflicient, the discharge being 18S feet per hour, 62 But as about 8-tenths pressure at the meter is perhaps more usual than lO-tenths, and to allow for the impediments of elbows, tees, &c., in the line of piping, (the discharges in the tables being through straight pipes), 6 would be a safer de- viser than 5, it being always desirable to have even larger pipes than will actually suffice. The slower the gas travels to the burners the better, and the larger the pipes the more is this advan- tage attained. TEMPERATURE — EFFECT OF^ ON GAS. Respecting the destructive effect of low tempe- ratures on the illuminating power of gas, it may be observed that all know it to be injurious, but judging by the little care taken, or rather the total absence of care, even in this excessivelv se- vere winter climate, to guard against its hurtful consequences by consumers, the extent of the evil would seem to be unsuspected. It should never be overlooked, that the richer hydrocarbons, which furnish the light, are condensable by cold. Like the vapour of water, (steam), they liquify when cooled below a certain temperature. All tempera- tures below about 50 '^ Fahrenheit are injurious, the injury of course increasing with their reduc- duction. And yet it will generally be found in factories using both steam and gas, that great care is taken to protect the steam pipes from the 63 effects of cooling, and no pains at all taken with the gas pipes, although the loss in money value, may be as great in the case of the gas, as in that of the steam. Not long ago, some experiments were carried out at the laboratory of the University of Munich, with the view to ascertain the amount of loss of illuminating power by different degrees of cold. In order that this might be done, the bur- ner was attached to a IT -tube, which could be im- mersed in a cooling mixture. The illuminating power of the gas at the normal temperature of 64^ ^ Fah. was taken as the standard, being re- presented as 100 ; and it was found that when the XJ-tube was immersed in snow, so as to re- duce the temperature of the gas down to 32 ^ , the illuminating power, ascertained by the photo- meter, was reduced from 100 v? to from 76^to 85^; and when a mixture of salt and snow was used to give a temperature of 4 ^ , the illuminat- ing power was reduced to from 33 # to 40 3r. It will be thus seen that even at 32 '^ , there was an average diminution of the illuminating power, to the extent of about 20 per cent., while at about zero, it was only about one-third of what it was at first. It i. to be hoped the above results will be sufficienc to induce consumers of q^as, especially in this climate, and where the ter may be 64 taken to last at least five months out of the twelve, to adopt the simple and unexpensive precaution of protecting all pipes in exposed situations. These experiments were made by passing the gas through a cold pipe o+' but two or three feet in length, whereas usually pipes are exposed fur many feet in length, to temperatures, in numer- ous cases, as low probably, as those produced for the above experiments. In the mains in the ground, there is not only the protection of the snow covering the ground, but there is also a large volume of gas to be acted on, whereas with consumers pipes, the gas is divided into small streams, in naked pipes, and is therefore j ust in the condition to be peculiarly liable to be injuri- ously aifected by the cold, and doubtless is so affected in a very considerable degree. COOKING AND HEATING BY GAS — ADVANTAGES OF Only second in importance to lighting in the domestic applications of gas, are those of Cookir.g and Heating by its means. The convenience and comfort of cooking by gas, especially during the summer months, when a fire is not otherwise re- quired, can only be thoroughly appreciated by those who have had experience in its extremely useful application for this purpose. Although this use of gas has been known ever since the in- troduction of gas lighting, it appears to have been made but little available, until the late Mr. Sharp, 65 of the Gas Works, Winchester and Southampton, and Mr. Goddard, the talented engineer of the Ipswich Gas Works, took up the subject. Both these gentlemen upwards of a quarter of a century ago, devoted much time and attention to the im- provement of gas stoves, and wei'c mainly instru- mental in popularizing cooking by gas in Eng- land. They were followed by other gas managers, and the manufacture of gas cooking stoves, &c., having been entered into by increasing numbers of manufacturers of gas apparatus, it is now an importan! and rapidly extending branch of in- dustry. M. Soyer, the late renowned clief of the Re- form Club of London, achieved all his triumphs of the cuisine by the use of gas, and it is used in many clubs, and gentlemen's mansions, solely on account of its superiority as a means of cooking. It is also extensively used in hospitals, public in- stitutions, and places of entertainment, not only owing to its superiority, but also of its economy. Touching this latter advantage when applied to cooking on an extensive scale, the following testi- monials from the authorities of two of the large metropolitan hospitals will be sufficient evidence. Mr. Bateman's letter also shows its applicability and convenience in gentlemen's residences : f;« London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, E., M'y l«^ 1871. Mr. S. Leoni, Sir, The results produced by your Patent Gas Cooking arrangements in the kitchen of the London Hospital are so satisfactory, that the Committee have authorized me to send you a report thereon, which you are at liberty to use in any way you please. In the six months ended 31st December last, the large roaster was in use 125 days, being about 6 days short of a full half year's work. The wa&te of meat during this period averaged about 14^ per cent., as against 33^ under tne old systems of roasting ; while the consumption of gas was also reduced from a daily average of 610 to 250 cubic feet. The actual saving to the Hospital in 125 days was, in meat 4,579 lbs., and in gas 44.625 cubic feet, or for a full year's working of 261 roasting-days, very nearly 10,000 lbs. of meat, worth at present prices £296, and about 88,000 cubic feet of gas, costing £17 128. Od., and representing together an annual saving in money of £313 12s. Od. The Baking Ovens are also extremely satisfactory, and, looking to what has been already accomplished, the Com- mittee expect from the entire arrangements of the kitchen, when completed, results as economical as those quoted above. With regard to cleanliness and saving of labor and trouble, it is difficult to exaggerate the advantages derived from the adoption of youi* patent . I am further instructed to state that youi' gas apparatus for disinfecting clothes and bedding, and for destmction of vermin by dry heat, works exceedingly well. The chamber can be heated to 270 degrees (the temperature required for disinfecting purposes) in about three hours, at a cost of lOd., the consumption of gas being about 200 cubic feet. Your obedient Servant, {Signed) WM. J. NIXON, House Governor and ISecretm'y. Poplar and Stepney Sick Asylum, At Bromley-by-Bow. Gentlemen, In answer to your inquiry, we are pleased to be able to inform you, that your Gas Cooking Apparatus, at the Poplar 67 and Stepney Sick Asylum, answers its purpose in a most Hatisfaetory manner. It has now been in use for 12 months, and not only does it cook most perfectly, but the Kitchen attendants are very much pleased with it, by reason of its giving so little trouble, and causing no dirt. " The Hospital, which is certified for some 600 inmates, has been always nearly full, the whole of the meat for the patients and the meals of the whole of the residential officers, are cooked in your Kitchener, with an average consumption of 600 cub'c feet of gas per diem ; the ovens are, however, seldom filled, as the dinners are served at different hours, but it has been ascertained that when sufficient food is cooked, at one time, to utilize the full capacity of the apparatus, tho consumption of Gas is at the rate of 1^ feet to each pound of meat, or 438 feet to 350 lbs. ; this, at the present price of gas, is at the rate of 17 lbs. of meat cooked with one penny- worth of Gas. The amount of coal used before the Gas-ovens and grillers were fixed, used to be at the rate of 4 cwt. per day, which, at the present prices, is 6s. for coals, as against 28. 5d. for 600 feet of gas, the gas doing more cooking than was possible with the coal-fires. The meat does not waste so much as by ordinary methods : we are aware that there is a considerable saving in this item, but have no means of ascertaining the exact particulars on this part of the subject. "We are, Gentlemen, Yours truly, (Signed) AETHUE & C. HAESTON, November 11th, 1872. Architects. Messrs. Sidney Leoni & Co., (ias-Engineers. From B. Bateman, Esq., Poyndera Boad. Clapham Park, S.W. Clapham Park, S.W., Messrs. Sidney Leoni &Co., October 2Sth, 1872. Gentlemen, With reference to the Gas Kitchener fitted up in my house by you, I have no hesitation in testifying to its complete success. * * * * Notwithstanding the absence of a flue, there is no bad smell, or waste heat ; joints, poultry, or game, are roasted to great perfection without the usual trouble, and with a great saving of meat. 68 There is absolutely no taste whatever from the gatt, on the contrary, our viands are now altogether superior in appear- ance and flavor, to those dreswod by the usual procesM oefbre an open tire. Our chickens, tish, chops, and steaks, are broiled under your patent lleat Heflec-tor. Bread is toasted very rapidly, and your method of grilling is perfect. The working of the whole apparatus is very simple, and therefore easily understood. The cook manipulates with perfect ease and without ex- periencing the usual disadvantages of a kitchen — heat, smoke and bad smells. All the bread we consume is now baked without the slightest difficulty, and we much prefer it to bakers'. Oui* pastry is all that can be desired. The cleanliness is surprising, and much time is saved ; soot, blacks, dust, &c., being quite unknown. I am so per- fectly satisfied with the practical results of your Patent Kitchener, that I shall bo glad to show it to others, who may be interested in its adoption. The Hot Water coils for the Baths and general house sup- ply, as well as those in my Greenhouses, about one thousand feet, all heated by your Patent Gas Boilers, give great satis- faction ; no special attendance being required. The working of the apparatus is very efficient, and saves much labor. I have no doubt they will prove more economical, and more durable than the other systems introduced. I am. Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, (Signed) B. BATEMAN. The advantages in convenience, cleanliness, and economy, are quite as great relatively ir, the case of the smallest family as in that of the largest public institution, if the gas be but properly burnt, and carefully used. And yet with the public generally there has been a deep-rooted pre- judice against cooking by gas, which has greatly retarded its more general use. But all comes in 69 time. Within the last few years this popular prejudice has been giving way, in England at any rate, with increasing celerity, as the advantages of gas for this purpose are becoming more widely recognized. Gas companies now usually look to this as a means of utilizing their mains during the day, and in some instances they let the stoves on hire like the meters. The objections to thus utilizing gas have been, chiefly : — A mistaken belief in its flavouring the meat ; the difficulty of burning it satisfactorily, so as to avoid smoking and dirt ; and its expense as compared with the cost of other fuel. As to the first and most formidable looking of these ob- jections, its groundlessness is conclusively estab- lished in the following apposite remarks by a thoroughly competent authority, while the two latter are proved in practice, with ordinary care, to be equally untenable : — The objections against cooking by the aid of gas are, as far as the writer's experience goes, something lilce the fol- lowing : — 1. That gas is a v^ry noxious compound, and when burned yields products different in cliaracter and more prejudical to health than coal or coke fuel does 2. Tluit the gas and the products of its combustion are cap- able of flavouring and contaminating, and do flavour and con- taminate, the food cooked by its aid. 3. That cooking by gas is quite as troublesome and not more economical,"in any sense, than cooking by the aid of an ordinary fire. Against* these objections the writer Avould urge, as he has on many occasions urged— 1. That gas is composed of pre- 70 cisely the same elements as coal — namely, hydrogen, carbon , sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen ; and these elements, when combined in the form of coal or in the fonn of gas, on com- bustion in air or in oxygen, yield exactly the same pro- ducts — namely, Avater, carbonic acid, sulphurous acid, and nitrogen, with perhaps minute portions of nitric acid, which is producible when a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen ia burned in air or oxygen, so th it gas and the ]n-oducts of its combustion can by no possibility contain anything more hurt- ful than coal or the products of' its combustion. The argu- ment may be carried much further than this, however. The only real impurity in coal and in gas is sulphur, which exists in coal as pyrites, and in gas, as delivered to the public, as sulphides of carbon. Now. the best Newcastle house coal contains about 1|^ per cent, by weight of sulphur, and some of the cheaper coal verj- much more. One high' pyi'itic sample which the Avriter analyzed, contained as much as 7 per cent,, so that it will be fair to assume that the average for house coals is not less than 1 J per cent. Admitting this to be the case, then, 1 jx)und of coal will contain 105 grains of sulphur, which in burning yields 200 giains of sulphurous acid. One pound of gas of the gravity of 410 would mea- sure 34-4 cubic feet, and assuming that the gas contamed three times the quantity tixed by Act of Pai'liament a few years since, (20 grains per 100 cubic feet), as the maximum fur sul- phur impurity, or 60 grains, \hen 344 cubic feet would con- tain 216 grains of s" ''^har, and yield only 432 grains of .sul- phui'ous acid. Of t. other products of combustion — viz., water, and carbonic acid, gas evolves more of the tirst, which is perfectly innoxious, and muchiessof the second ; for while 87 per cent, of ordinary house coj 1 consists of carbon, coal gas, according to Lewis Thompson, contains only 72- 1 per cent, by weight. So that 1 lb. of cot.1 contains 6090 grains of carbon, which, on burning, is capable of producing 22,330 grains of c: 'Ijonic acid, while 1 lb. of gas contains 5047 grains of carbon, capable in burning of producing 18,507 grains of carbonic acid. This statement does not, however, represent the true relations of coal and gas: their respective heating powers must be taken into account. It is easily pro-ed by Thompsons fuel test that 1 lb. of house coal will raise 967 parts of water through 8 ^ Fahr. of temperature, and the multiplication of these numbers together gives 7736. In other words, it may be said that 1 lb. of coal will at best raise no more than 8000 lbs. of water through 1 ® Fahr. Dr. Letheby, in agreement with the experiments of Mr. F. J. Evans, stated in the valuable "cture delivered to this 71 association in 1866, that 1 lb. of ordinary coal gas will raise 21,060 lbs. of water through 1 ® Fahr. of temperature. So that, in round numbers, 13 cubic feet of gas will pro- duce as much heat as 1 lb. of coal. In respect to sulphurous acid, the gas would produce only 16^^ grains, as against 200 for coal; and of carbonic acid gas, would produce 6830 grains, as against 22,330 grains. It n.ay fairly be said that a single down-draught w^ould cause more of these gases to pass over u joint roasting in front of a fre than it would be exposed to during the whole time of cooking in a gas-oven, and that a chop or steak cooked over a coal or coke tire, is ex- posed to vastly more of these gases, but no person ever appears to have suspected that the meat would be contaminated, or the eater ';hereof be poisoned ; certain it is that medical history fails to .ocord any such extraordinary and lamentable result. The actual fact remains to be pointed out in respect to these gaseS; which is that, althoup^h they are injurious to inhale, and even quickly destrucave of life unless largely dilv.ted with air, they are quite harmless in any action on food, and that one of them — carbonic acid — is a necessary ingredient in water, beer, aerated fluids and bread, and is actually bene- ficial when taken into the stomach. In respect to the second objection, it may be easily shown that food under the influence of a high heat, and especially of a circulating heat, is really indisposed or incapable of abi.oib- ing gaseous fumes or vapours. All articles of to'^^d, especially those which are cooked by roasting or baking, contain coagu- lative matters, such, for instance, as albumen. Albumen coagulates at about 150 ^ Fahr., so that a joint is no sooner exposed to a roasting heat, which is from 300 ® to 400 ® Fahr., than its outer surface becomes coagulated and practi- cally impenetrable by gases ; in addition to which steam is generated witbi>i the viands, and this is pi'ojected vith so much force that it eifectuall}' repels the entry of a.-^ything else. True, in a close oven having no air circulation, there is a sort of general flavour communicated to meat, but the writer believes the contamination, so to speak, is confined to the surface, and is due to the complete saturation of th" ex- pelled juices, and the adhesion of a small portion of their co- agulative matters as they flow over the joints, which effect i ■ much more likely to ensne m the comparatively dry at mosphero of a close oven than in a gas-heated one . As regards the first part of the third objection, it is suffi- cient to say that with gas there is no tinu wasted in the 72 making and waiting for a fire to burn up, and the labour is nothing. The gas has only to be lighted and adjusted, the food put in the oven, and it ma^^ be so niv^ely timed, with very little experience, as to require no attention until it is done, and needs taking out. As to economy, Mr. Ohren's ex- periments, which are quite concordant with others made by the writer, show that the cost of cooking joints of equal weights is on the average 2,ooths pence with gas, and very nearly 4d. with coal,*while the absolute waste oi* loss of weight is twice as much, at least, with tire cooking than with gas cooking. Even if the fire be utilized for boiling purposes and gas be used for both roasting and boiling, the writer found that gas was by far the most economical in relation to the weight of the food cooked. The writer's experience also leads him to the conclusion that in cooking vegetables, puddings, &c . , it is far more eco- nomical, on most occasions, to effect the cooking by steam, than to employ the gas directly ^r boiling. The writer may mention a useful hint of the late M. Soyer, the great cook, to preserve the juices in boiled meat and en- sure its tenderness: ''Dip it in boiling water for a few minutes, and then immerse in cold water ; raise it to the boiling point, and simmer until cooked." Apply this idea in gas roasting; raise the gas high for a short time, and then adjust to the requisite consumption. In each case, coagula- tion of the surface is etfected, and the jnices are imprisoned, or, at all events, in roasting the surface is coagulated luore promptly. The writer thinks that the facts and reasonings which he has adduced, certainly show that gas, as applied for cooking, is, in comparison with other fuel — 1. More healthful. 2. More certain. 3. Less troublesome. 4. Less expensive. 5. Less wasteful, by loss of weight. 6. Less costly, unless, indeed, the waste heat from a neces- sary fire be employed. While, lastly, it certainly is — 7 Much cleaner, f • On this Continent, from gen being about twice the price it is in Enaland the cost of gas and coal may perhaps be taken to be about equal. E-ngiana, tne cost t Extract* from a ps-per read on " Cooking by Gas, • Kt the 1 at annual meetinu of the Sem Alex^ WrLht 2 roT^!^'' ^' '""••^ W.'Hartley, o? theT,irknom? fl n 'of Meists. Alex. Wright 4 Co , Gas Engineers, Westminster, London. 73 The oldest and simplest form of gas stove, and which although perhaps not quite so economical in the consumption of gas as some of the im- proved modern ones, answers all the purposes for roasting and baking. It is merely a rectangular or cylindrical cupboard, fitted with a ring of gas jets at the base, and having an outlet pipe of sheet iron, near the top. It is provided with one or more rod-iron shelves for roasting, and others of the same description, or of perforated sheet iron, for baking, they being moveable and adjust- able as to height : or having provision for sus- pending the joints instead of placing them on the grid-iron shelves. The stoves may be made of sheet iron on a wrought iron frame, but al- though liaving the advantages of cheapness and lightness, and of being quickly heated, tliey are objectionable in that they radiate the heat freely, and especially in emitting a disagreeable smell when any ftit or gravy happens to come in con- tact with the heated iron — objections that equally apply to the use of cast iron. Tinned sheet iron is preferable, as causing less radiation and being- easier kept clean. Again, they luive been made with a double casing, with an air-space between; and lagging witli wood has also been successfully adopted. 74 Manufactured by Mr. Alfred 'Williams, Gas Engineer, Bankside, Southwark, Loudon, and also by MesarB. .Inhii Wright a. Co., Broad Street, Binuinglmiii. This engraving represents a stove, large num- bers of which are in use, and the merits of which the writer can testify to, having used it for some years. It is constructed of a light cast iron frame, the sides being panelled, m filled in with enamelled fire-clay tiles or slabes, to prevent loss of heat by radiation, and to obviate, or at any rate lessen, the unpleasant smell from burning fat. But for the sake of lightness, and also cleanliness of appearance, white porcelain tiles are now usually substituted for those of fire-clay. In ad- dition to the internal arrangements for roasting and baking, there are one broiling and two boil- ing rings on the top, each having a stop -cock, so 75 that any one of tlieni, or that in tlie interior, can be used singly. The grated table over the out- side burners is due to the writer's suggestion. Previously they were supplied with light move- able cast iron trivets for supporting the cooking utensils over the burners, Avith which there was the liability of the vessels fa 11 in o- oif if not care- fully placed on them. The Imrners are what is known as Bunsen or Atmospheric ones, ?. e., the ring or burner is enclosed in a larger similarly perforated one, having a swelling or bulb at its end near the burner, pierced with air holes. The burning of the gas draws in a quantity of air through the bulb holes, wliich mixes wutli, and effectually oxydizes the gas in burning prevent- ing smoking and deposits of soot. All are not agreed as to the ad\'^antaoes of the Bunsen burner for the inside of the stove, owing to the little heat given out, and the emission of an unpleasant odour, through imperfect combus- tion, when the gas is turned \o\v ; >vhereas with the ordinary single jet. or fishtail burner, the gas can be turned down very low when required without such disagreeable smell. l»ut there ap- pears to be a more general concurrence of opinion as to the desirability of using the air bnrner for boiling on the top, as the cooking utensils are thereby kept free from soot. _ 76 A stove similar in construction, but twice the size of the other, is liere represented, adapted for large establishments. It is provided with double doors, and has two outside broilers, and four boil- ing burners. a 77 The brisk circulation tlirough a stove, as des cribed, tends to prevent the effluvia of one article of food contaminating another, but too active a circulation should be prox'cnted— by adjustment of the air holes at the base— to prevent cooling, and consequent increased consumption of gas. It is desirable, especially where there is more pressure of gas than is required, to use a regula- tor for the stove, the burning being by its agency more equable and economical ; in large establish- ments it is well too to provide a separate meter for the stove, as a check against waste. On the other hand the writer has sometimes had com- plaints of insufficient gas, but these have arisen from the stove feed pipe being connected to too small interior pipes. In such cases it is neces- sary to enlarge the pipe from the house meter to the stove branch pipe ; and in large establish- ments it is sometimes desirable to have a sepa- rate service pipe for the supply of the stove I alone. ■> The following are a few illustrative selections from the immense variety of gas cooking appar- atus, patented, and manufactured, by Messrs. Sydney Leoni & Co., Westminster, London, who have devoted many years to improvements therein : SCALE, I in. to a foot. Fig 1 is what they style the " Family Kit- chener," the following practical experiments with which were this year made at the School of Cook- ery, South Kensington, London : — BREAKFAST FOR 5 ADULTS AND 3 CHILDREN. 2 Pints of Coffee. 1 Pint of Tea. ^ lb. Bacon. h lb. Oatmeal for Porridge. 6 Rounds of Toast. Time : ?0 minutes. Consumption of Gas : 12 feet. (Less than 3 farthings.) 79 DINNER FOR TWELVE ADULTS AND 3 CHILDREN. 6 lbs. Leg of Lamb. (Losm IJ lb.) 4 lbs. Sirloin of Beef (Loss 10 oz.) 5 lbs. Potatoes. 6 Large Cauliflowers. 2 Large Fruit Pies. Time : U hour. Consumption of Gas : 48 feet. (2^d.) Fig. 2. Fig 2 is an Atmospheric Ring Stove, with oval or round cooker. The patentees state that by this very simple contrivance, a dinner for eight persons, consisting of boiled meat, vegetables and potatoes, the whole cooked together or separately, can be cooked at the almost incredibly low cost of 5 farthings. It is also useful for boiling, steam- ing, and stewing ; for making omelletes, and for frying, &c., and is especially recommended for 80 broiling and grilling chops, steaks, or fi«li, in 10 minutes; or toasting bread in 2 minutes; by dc- flectinL? tlie heat downwards, bv means of the pa- tent earthenware heat-reiicctor, (as seen under the ring, Fig. 3), placed over the burners. Ficj. 3. Fig 3 shows the ring used^for boiling a te2>,- kettle, the reflector being placed under it, as shown, for preventing the radiation of the heat downwards, and so concentrating it under the kettle. By the removal of the reflector, a chop or steak could be cooked, while the water was being boiled, by placing the grid-iron under the ring, as shown in Fig. 2, This simple arrangement is also applicable for heating hiundry irons, and for many other household purposes ; also for hot Avater for hair dressers, refreshment bars, glue pots, etc. ■MIlUIBUIllW" •»i««^»»« Fig. 4 represents a simple ring of ordinary, not atmospheric, — gas jets, its applications being similar to No. 3, but it is preferable where water, etc. requires to be kept hot, as the jets can be turned down very low, without their flickering out and relighting, as they are liable to do with the atmospheric ring, when turned low. There is therefore no unpleasant smell, and the ring may be used even in a sick room without incon- venience. The superiority of cooking by gas, the writer believes to be beyond dispute, as is certainly its convenience, cleanliness and comfort, especially during summer, when fires are not only not other- wise required, but are a source of discomfort. Instead of radiating heat through a house —the result of cooking in the ordinary way — long before and after the cooking is done, the gas is not re- quired to be turned on until actually wanted, and can be turned off again the moment its use ceases. Even where a cooking stove proper, i.e. for roast- ing, baking, etc., may not be used, the conveni- ence of one of these ring burners is almost incal- culable. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■^1^ MIL 1^ 1^ 112.2 2.0 1^ t:s, 1.8 U IIIIII.6 V] Va 7 W V V /A % V «* y^s IP- '^ h ■X ■ifl'W"m''.!*»»fff 82 Heating the water in a bath is also an exceed- ingly useful application of gas. There are a variety of modifications in the manner of apply- ing the heat, but the above engraving, (being Messrs. Leoni's latest improvetnent therein), will shew the principle without further explanation. Warming by gas is perhaps scarcely applicable during the almost arctic winters of Canada — of this portion of it at any rate — but in less rigorous climates, the use of a small gas stove in a room without a fire-place, hall, bath room, etc., and also in an office or counting house, is often a great convenience and comfort. They are unexpensive; require no pipe ; can be placed in any convenient situation ; burn but little gas ; and diffuse a genial warmth in an apartment, without any unpleasant smell. This wood-cut represents a stove of ornamental terra-cotta, on a light cast-iron base, having a very neat appearance. The stove is made of different designs and sizes, some of which have open pan- elled sides, filled in with ruby-coloured glass, which has a warm looking and pleasing effect. A small apartment is made comfortably warm by the burning of but one fishtail light in the , stove, and unpleasant drying of the air is avoided by placing a vessel of water under the stove. Many thousands of these stoves are in use in England, with the utmost satisfaction. 84 The above is an engraving of a similar stove, recently patented and introduced, and a large number of which are in use, — by Messrs. Leoni. It is of china, instead of terra-cotta; is made both plain and in coloured patterns, and is very beautiful in appearance. It is supplied with in- sulators, for setting the feet on, and with a con- venient arrangement of lighter, which is lit out- side and then swung inside, preventing any escape of gas in the stove while being lighted. When the apartment has attained an agreeable temperature, the gas jets may be turned off, and only the lighter left burning. The writer has had personal experience of both these descriptions of stoves, and can testify to their efficacy and ab- 86 sence of unpleasant smells ; but he may add the following testimony on this head of a gentleman, likely, from his pursuits, to be sensitive to, and jealous of unpleasant or hurtful emissions : City Gas Examiners' Office, Savage Gardens, E.G. November 17th, 1871. My dear Sir, In reply to your note, I have great pleasure in stating that the three Heating Stoves with which you sup- plied me answer perfectly. They diffuse a gentle heat, do not bui'n or over dry the air, and produce no smell. You can make what use you plea«e of this note. I remain, youm truly, CHAS. HEISCH, P.C.S., Mr. Leoni. Professor of Chemistry at the Middlesex Hospital, and principal Gas Examiner to the Corpor- ation of t lie City of London. But for those who prefer the products of com- bustion being conveyed out of the room entirely, the following is an eflfective arrangement, which the writer takes the liberty of copying from Mr. Rutter's very popular work : "A gas stove which I have used for many years, is exactly adapted for the purpose just mentioned ; it diffuses heat, but only pure radiant heat. The stove is isolated as respects the room in which it is fixed ; for the air which sustains the combustion of the gas is admitted from out-of-doors, through the bottom of the stove ; and an exit-flue communicates with r - r a ^ - . i j",-' r-^: t- -r-^-^Tur^-r^ — -^r- »:;->-:" -"V ' ■ ' ' • ""■■" a chimney of an adjoining room, or is conveyed outside the house, as circumstances require. The highest degree of comfort in warming is thus at- tained. By proper attention, any required de- gree of temperature can be maintained however great the external changes.* Another convenient means of heating, and which has been in use for many years, is to till the grate of an ordinary English fireplace with pumice, (pumice stone), lumps of fire-clay mixed with asbestos, or other non-combustible materials, having gas jets beneath. The material becomes red hot, and presents the cheerful appearance of a bright coke-fire, the products of combustion going up the chimney, like those of coal or coke, and a considerable degree of heat being diffused into the room. Before quitting the subject of Cooking and Heating by gas, the writer deems it desirable — seeing that Messrs. Leoni & Co's stoves for these purposes, have been somewhat prominently al- luded to — to state that he has no personal interest whatever in the manufactures of that firm, or in- deed of any of the other articles alluded to, but has referred to them solely on account of their intrinsic merits, and as illustrative of his sub- jects. * Adrantaget of Oaa, by J. 0. N. Buttar, F.R.A.H., Briglitoo. 87 THE GAS METER. AND HOW TO READ ITS INDEX. The exceedingly little trouble taken by gas consumers generally, to understand something of the why and wherefore, of the consumption of an article of such prime necessity, and the cost of which forms such a considerable item, in domestic \ '.expenditure, is strikingly exemplified by the fact, that although gas in every household and estab- lishment where it is used, has been exclusively burnt by meter, for at least 30 years past, and that reading its dial or index, is just as easy as reading the time oif a watch or clock, and can be learned in a few minutes, yet comparatively few know how to do it. Perhaps no instrument is so little understood, or so much distrusted and abused as the gas meter. It is usually looked upon as a kind of conjuring box, that can be made » , ' '"^tifir 88 to register much or little, as the 'gas people' may desire ; and by some it is even regarded as a (to them), very disagreeable kind of solution of the perpetual motion theory, and who seem to think that in consequence, they have as much to pay when they burn less, as when they burn more gas. Of course all this is very absurd, the truth being that the much abused meter is made a kind of ' black bogey,' which has to bear the sins of omission, of those it serves so faithfully. Where candles or oil have to be applied for by servants, or purchased as required, extravagance in their use is readily detected, but where all that is necessary to obtain light, is to turn a tap, apply a match, and blaze away without stint or fear of exhausting the supply, it is quite conceivable that large gas bills are often the result. Twenty years experience in the management of gas works, enables the writer to state that there is seldom any misunderstandings with, or complaints on this score from, those who make it a rule to ascertain once a week, or at other regular periods, the con- sumption of gas in the interval ; and just as there is nothing like paying cash for purchases, for keeping within one's means, and fostering habits of economy, so there is nothing like ascertaining at short intervals how much gas is being burnt, and consequent expense incurred, for keeping such expense within reasonable limits. If this simple 89 precaution were adopted, and regularly carried out, there would unquestionably be fewer com- plaints of ' overcharge.' " In a certain sense a meter is self-acting, for it is set in motion and kept in motion, when in use, by the gas which passes through it. This it measures with extraordinary accuracy, records the quantity consumed, and so performs the duties of a skilful accountant. It does more than this : for it protects the interests of buyer and seller, acting fairly towards each without any need of interference from either. There are two kinds, or rather forms, of meters — the Wet and the Dry. — They differ one from the other in materials, construction, and arrange- ment of the various working parts. Both are in- tended to do the same sort of work, and, as in many other adaptations of machinery, the same object is attained by different means. So greatly has the use of meters increased, that, wherever gas can be obtained, they are familiarly known as part of the apparatus. It is unnecessary to say anything about their different forms or methods of working. Their practical value consists in their accuracy. In a commer- cial sense this is insured by the skill and reputa- tion of their makers. But there is [generally] a further guarantee through the agency of legally appointed inspectors. All kinds of meters, wet W ■' 90 and dry, [in such cases], are tested by suitable ap- paratus under the provisions of a Special Act of Parliament, and their correctness certified by a stamp being affixed.* It may be right to mention what is the mean- ing of the terms wet and dry as applied to meters. In a wet meter the measuring apparatus consists of a circular vessel, something like a water wheel, revolving on an axis, and divided into separate chambers. These are so contrived that while one is filling, the next to it on one side is full, the next to that partly full, and the next emptying ; it being impossible that any two of the cells or chambers can be full or empty at the same time. The case which contains the measuring-wheel is about two-thirds full of water ; and by its means easy motion and exact adjustment are obtained. A dry meter is constructed on a totally diflfer- ent principle from that just described. It is true that there are separate measuring chambers, and so arranged that the ingress and egress of gas must be continuous, and no two or more of the chambers can be full or empty at the same mo- ment. But the action of the dry meter somewhat resembles that of bellows. The measuring cham- bers are made partly of metal and partly of leather, and are opened and closed faster or * AU meters are carelully tested before leaving the makers' hands, none being issued 'which aie not perfectly accvirate. 91 slower, alternatively, according to the quantity of gaa permitted to pass through them. The recording apparatus in the wet meter is direct rotary ; in the other a simple contrivance converts horizontal into rotary, and then a few wheels and pinions make what is called the index." * The diagram represents the index usually at- tached to a wet meter, the figures on the several dials being all under the general head of Cents. The right hand circle or dial, is marked units, that is to say : units of cents, or single hundreds ; the middle one, "tens " (of cents),— single thou- sands ; and the left hand one, ♦' hundreds" (of cents), or ten thousands; i.e. the figures on the right hand dial represent respectively 100, 200, 300, and so on, up to 1,000 ; those on the middle dial 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and up to 10,000; and on the left hand dial, 10,000, 20,000, etc, up to 100,000 cubic feet. * AdvantagoB of ga« by J. 0. N. Butter, Brighton, £ng. < 92 It will be obvious from this, that the pointer of the right hand dial, will make a full revolution, viz: from 0, or zero, and back again, during the time that the one on the next, or middle dial, travels from to 1, or from any figure to the next ; and similarly, that the pointer on that dial, will make a full revolution while that on the left hand one passes from any one figure to the next. Each alternate pointer revolves respectively "with, and against the sun," and the figures on the dials are arranged to suit. This is done to simplify the wheel work of the index, the pinion of the one dial gearing into the wheel of the next, and so giving the circular motion in opposite dir- rections. To read the index, begin at the left hand dial, and write the figure last passed by the pointer, which in the representation is 7 ; next write down the one last passed by the pointer of the middle dial, (8), placing it to the right of the 7, and in the same Way the one last passed on the right hand dial, (which is 6), placing it to the right of the 8, when they will read 786, being that num- ber of Cents or hundreds, and by adding two ciphers, (00) to represent which, we have 78,600. The 'state' of the last preceding observation, which we will assume to have been (9,200, is to be subtracted from the present reading, when the difl'erence will be 9,400, which would represent I .» Mi* n\ta I S d8 the consumption of gas, in cubic feet, during the interval. In practice, the ciphers being under- stood, may be omitted. CUBIC 100 THOUS. 10 THOUS. FEET I THOUS A The index here represented is the dry meter one, and varies but little in appearance from the other. In its operations it is exactly like it, and is read in the same way, but is simplified by the figures and words *1 thousand,* '10 thousand,' *100 thousand,' above the dials, which indicate that a revolution of the pointers represent these amounts on the respective dials ; each figure on the right hand dial representing 100 up to 1,000 ; the mid- dle dial ones, 1,000 each to 10,000 ; and the left hand ones, 10,000 each, up to 100,000. Usually, reading the index, is a matter of so little difficulty that a mistake can hardly be made ; but there are certain positions of the pointers which are rather perplexing ; as they are shown in the engraving, being an example. That 94 • * state' would be apt to be read as 919, but a * moments consideration would show that that would be an error. It is clear that the pointer of the left hand dial has passed the figure 9, because the one on the next dial to the right, (the middle one), has passed zero. But for a like reason, it must be equally evident that the one on the mid- dle dial has not reached the figure 1, because the jj one on ths right hand dial has not reached zero, being only at 9. If the correct reading were 919, which is but 100, or one division short of 920, — the middle pointer would be close on 2 instead of 1. The correct reading is 909, and when the pointer of the right hand dial reached zero, it would then be 910. If the pointer of any dial appears to be on anv particulp.r figure, refer to the one of the next dial to the right of it, to see if it has completed its re- volution. If it has reached zero, then the pointer about which there is the uncerfe,inty, has actually reached the figure, it apparently has, but not otherwise. This must be carefully observed to prevent mistakes. Meters in general use for measuring gas sup- plied to dwelling-houses, &,c., do not require more than three dials, but larger meters have addi- tional dials, each multiplying by ten, in a similar manner to these shown and described. 8 95 The utmost quantity that an ordinary three- dialled meter can register, is 100,000 cubic feet, i.e., a complete revolution^ of the pointer of the left hand dial of the index. When this has been accomplished the three pointers will be each again at zero as at first, and will proceed on another similar journey. It is only necessary at the next reading, to add the 100,000 to the then ' state,' to enable the last preceding reading to be deducted. Thus suppose the reading to be 35 (3,500), and the previous reading to have been as shown, viz., 909 (90,900), the addition of the 100,000 will make the j'eading 103,500, the difference between which and the previous reading being 12,600 cubic feet. In subsequent readings, references to the 100,000 would be unnecessary, until zero again interposed between the readings. The small drum with pointer, above the one, and the small dial with pointer above the other index, are the testing indices, and are convenient for ascertain- ing the rate of consumption.