6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vou 60. 



No. 6. Torch made of a bundle of slivers of fat pine. Southern Indians- 178,163 



No. 7. Torch made of damar gum wrapped in palm leaves. Malays 76,727 



No. 8. Torch or " link " made by soaking rope in resin. ^ Europe in the Middle 



Ages 178,164 



No. 9. Torch composed of cords soaked in fat or wax. Europe, sixteenth 



century 178,165 



Nos. 10 and 11. Cord soaked in fat or wax, coiled, for lighting. England, 



178,166 

 No. 12. Rush soaked in grease, forming a primitive candle. England- 178,167 



No. 13. Stick smeared with grease for lighting. Mongolia 178,168 



No. 14. Mass of fat formed upon a stick, around which is wound a wick of 



fiber. Kashmir, India 175,141 



No. 15. Tallow dip with rush wick, later cotton. Northern Europe. 



No. 16. Candles formed of wax ; wick of fiber. Japan and North Africa. 



128,246, 178,169 

 No. 17. Molded candles. Patent candles of stearine, paraffine, and wax, and 



decorated candles. Nineteenth century 178,171 



SERIES 3. — LAMP. 



Plates 5 and 6. 



The development of the lamp has been an extremely slow process, 

 In the centuries before Argand efforts for the improvement of the 

 lamp were confined to multiplying the number of wicks or to select- 

 ing wicks of greater capillarity and to a less extent to the improve- 

 ment of illuminants. In respect to the amount of light furnished, 

 the Eskimo, through stress of geographical conditions, had invented 

 a lamp superior to any in use by civilized nations up to three cen- 

 turies ago. 



Usages which seem to antedate the actual lamp are the customs 

 of throwing oil or bits of inflammable material on the fire for tem- 

 porary light, the use of fireflies, and the employment of the bodies 

 of fat birds and fish, as shown in the beginning of the torch series. 



The history of the lamp begins with crude objects taken from 

 natural surroundings, such as hollow beach stones, shells, or bones, 

 furnishing reservoirs for fats or oils. The structure of the lampa 

 reflects the stages of the world's progress as to materials, having 

 been successively stone, pottery, bronze, iron, and glass. There were 

 also minor improvements in the reservoir, wick tubes, wicks, and 

 quality of oil, as shown in the specimens. 



With Argand came that important invention, the regulation of 

 the supply of air to the wick, coupled with the employment of a 

 chimney to increase draft. 



Following this came a multitude of inventions included in the 

 past 125 years, most of them taking their rise after the discovery 

 of gas and petroleum, which supplied cheap and suitable illuminants. 



Within 40 years the electric light has been perfected to the stand- 

 ard of the incandescent lamp and the incandescent arc lamp. 



