1865.] 9 ITrippel. 



British Meteorological and Royal Geographical Societies, at 

 London, the Edinburgh Observatory, Royal Irish Academy, 

 and Prof. Houghton, the Boston Library, and Messrs. Blan- 

 chard & Lea. 



The death of Capt. J. M. Gilliss, Superintendent of the 

 United States Naval Observatory at Washington, February 

 19, 1865, aged about 55, was announced by Mr. Trego, and 

 on motion of Mr. Fraley, Prof. Henry was appointed to pre- 

 pare an obituary notice of the deceased. 



The Secretary read a communication from Mr. Alexander 

 Trippel, of Bethlehem, with drawings, illustrating Dr. Schinz's 

 gas-generator for puddling and heating furnaces. 



REHEATING FURNACE WITB GAS-HEATING FOR 

 ANTHRACITE. 



This furnace, which is represented in the accompanying plans, 

 has the form and size of those in use at the Bethlehem Iron-works, 

 with the exception of the fire-box, for which gas-generators are 

 substituted, to convert the fuel into gas, previous to its combustion 

 in the furnace. 



The advantages of heating by gaseous fuel are now well known, 

 and the system has been in actual operation ever since 1838, when, 

 in Germany, Mr. Bishoff first used the tunnel-head gases of iron- 

 blast furnaces.* Since then, the principle of converting fuel first into 

 gas, before its application for heating bodies, has been variously ex- 

 tended and applied, especially for metallurgical operations, and here 

 again more than for other purposes, for reheating and puddling fur- 

 naces. Nearly all sorts of fuel have been tried: charcoal, kiln- 

 dried wood, peat, bituminous, and anthracite-like coals; and although 

 success was not always fully achieved, enough was proved that the 

 system offers considerable economy in fuel, and cleanliness of opera- 

 tion in the furnace, which, for some reasons, is of exceedingly 

 great value. The want of success is, however, not due to the sys- 



[* The invention of the use of the tunnel-head gases was decided in 

 the celebrated lawsuit of the agent of Favre du Four v. the American 

 Iron-masters, to belong to one of the Iron-masters of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

 Bell, of Huntingdon County. See Iron Manufacturer's Guide, New 

 York, 1858. Sec. A. P. S.] 



VOL. X. — B 



