I FIRE AS AX AGENT IN HUMAN CULTURE 217 



snuffers were rested. Snuffers have, however, become entirely obso- 

 lete on account of the development of scientific wicks which do not 

 require snuffing. 



Extinguishers. — These cones of metal, with loop for lifting or prong 

 for fitting into a socket on the candlestick, follow a similar art devel- 

 opment observed in the snuffers. There was very httle possible play 

 of invention on the extinguisher, and there is only noted the inven- 

 tion of an arm bearing a cone which was mounted in such a way 

 that when the candle burnt down a certain distance it was automat- 

 ically put out. For extinguishing tall candles or candles in chande- 

 liers the extinguisher was mounted at the end of a pole. 



CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH THE CANDLE 



The use of candles to mark periods of time is according to tradi- 

 tion an invention of King Alfred of England. It is said that by 

 timing by means of the sand glass the combustion of certain amounts 

 of wax, the royal inventor arrived at a standard candle which would 

 burn 4 hours. Twelve divisions marked across then gave 20-minute 

 periods, and six candles covered the 24 hours. 



Among the folk the connection of the wasting of the candle and 

 elapsed periods of time would inevitably be noticed, and customs 

 continued from old times in Europe to near the present would indi- 

 cate that this use of the candle was general. Auctions of land and 

 other material belongings were conducted "by candle." Sometimes 

 an inch of candle was lighted and bids taken whOe it burned. The last 

 bid made as the candle went out won the land. Frequently a pin 

 stuck in the candle marked the limit of bids; when the pin fell out 

 bids stopped. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAMP 



Compared with the torch the lamp is a recent invention. The idea of 

 the lamp may have been suggested by the burning of marrow in a 

 bone, of fat in the fire, the oily body of a bird or fish, or other make- 

 shifts in which a wick was not yet used and which therefore would 

 be variants of the torch, bearing on the beginning of the lamp. 



Applicable here is the Malay saying, "What is a lamp if the wick 

 be lacking," alluding to the chief essential of the lamp. The lamp 

 consists of a reservoir for holding whatever medium suppHes the flame 

 and a wick acting by capillarity. 



A series suggesting the chief features in the development of the 

 lamp is exhibited in the United States National Museum, one of a 

 number illustrating the history of inventions. The series is described 

 as follows (pis. 37, 38) : 



1. Oil bag, from which oil is thrown upon a fire to produce a tem- 

 porary fight. British Columbia. 



