174 Professor Thomas Thomson on Coed Gas. 



the products. To these openings the workmen were in the habit of 

 attaching a cast-iron pipe by means of a lump of soft clay, and lighting 

 the gas at the other end to give thom light during the darkness. His 

 Lordship, also, was in the habit of burning the gas in the Abbey as a 

 curiosity ; and for this purpose he had a vessel constructed resembling 

 a large tea urn ; this he frequently caused to be filled and carried up 

 to the Abbey to light the hall with, especially when he had company 

 with him. On one occasion, after a fresh charge, the workman having 

 applied his light too soon, an explosion took place, which nearly killed 

 some of the men, and tore off the top of the condenser, and one of the 

 workmen's wives passing near it at the time was blown off the bank ; 

 fortunately she fell over into her husband's lap (who happened to be 

 sitting below at his breakfast) without receiving any other injury 

 than the fright. However, after this accident the men became very 

 cautious in applying a light to the pipe until the whole of the atmos- 

 pheric air was displaced. In giving this statement, I do not mean to 

 detract in the smallest degree from the merits of Mr. Murdoch, as it 

 appears this gentleman knew nothing of what was going on at Culross : 

 all I wish to show, was the state of knowledge on this subject in Scot- 

 land ten or twelve years prior to Mr. Murdoch's discoveries. As 

 Lord Dundonald's object was the manufacture of tar, his researches 

 would probably be confined to the quantity of tar, and not to the 

 quality of the gas ; and as his gas from the tar kilns must have been 

 very inferior, being from common coal and also partly mixed with the 

 air after combustion in the kilns, the light must have been inferior to 

 candles ; but even although he had observed the high illuminating 

 power of gas from cannel coal, the high price of cast-iron pipes, and 

 the little use they were put to, especially in Scotland, at that period, 

 must have rendered such an idea, if it had ever occurred to him, or 

 even to Dr. Clayton, as a thing perfectly impracticable. It required 

 a more extensive knowledge and experience in engineering than any 

 of these gentlemen were possessed of, to entertain for a moment the 

 practicability of such a scheme ; even Mr. Murdoch and his friends 

 at Soho seem to have had their doubts about the possibility of raising 

 funds sufficient for such a gigantic undertaking as the lighting of a 

 city, if we may judge from the little interest they took in it even after 

 lighting up the cotton factory of Messrs. Lee & Co. of Manchester. 



Shortly after fitting up the little gas apparatus described in Robert- 

 son Buchanan's Treatise on Heat, as we could not procure cannel 

 coal at that time in Glasgow, we were obliged to make our gas from 

 common coal, the flame from which being very grey, I thought it 

 might be possible to improve it, or to make the gas take up an addi- 

 tional dose of carbon by making it pass over charcoal of wood at a 

 strong red heat previous to its entering the condenser, and that I 

 might also produce a greater quantity of gas by more effectually 

 decomposing the tar. For this purpose I procured a one-and-a-half 



