USEFUL PROJECTS. 
more expeditiously extinguished by 
water than by the anti-incendiary 
liquor; but 1 observed, at the same 
time, that a very small quantity of 
water, when properly directed, ex- 
tinguished an extremely violent con- 
flagration. My first experiments on 
this subject, led me to make others, 
on a larger scale; I shall take no- 
tice only of the latter. 
I took two barrels which had 
contained pitch, and the inside of 
which, was still covered with that 
inilammable substance. I took out 
the top and bottom of each, and, to 
give increased power to the flames, 
I altered them to a conical figure, 
twenty inches in diameter at the up- 
per end, and sixteen inches at the 
other. This | placed onan iron frame, 
about three inches from the ground, 
that a free current of air, rising 
through the barrel, might render 
the flame as fierce as possible. I 
put a fresh covering of pitch over 
the inside of each barrel, and, by 
means of shavings, set fire to them 
one after the other. I began to ex. 
tinguish the fire when most violent. 
For this purpose, | employed an 
iron ladle, containing two ounces of 
water, and provided with a very 
long handle, as the heat of the fire 
kept me at the distance of four or 
five feet. I carefully poured the 
water out of the ladle in very small 
streams over the inside of the barrel, 
' applying it to the edge, and moving 
it along the edge, according as the 
flames ceased. in this manner the 
first ladle full put out nearly half of 
the fire; and what remained was 
extinguished by the second, applied 
in the same way. 
The uncommon success of this 
experiment, induced me to repeat it 
in the presence of several persons ; 
and by practice in the economical 
841° 
employment of water, I have more 
than once been able to extinguish a 
pitched barrel, in a state of the 
most complete conflagration, by a 
single ladle full, consisting of two 
ounces of water. 
It must at first appear surprising, 
that so small a quantity of water 
can extinguish such a violent fire.-— 
But the reason will easily be con- 
ceived, upon retieéting, that the 
flame of any burning substance 
must cease, according to the well- 
known principles and experiments, 
as soon as any cause prevents the 
atmospheric air from touchiag its 
surface : thus, when a small quantity 
of water is thrown upon a body in 
a state of violent conflagration, this 
water is at first partly reduced to 
vapour, which, rising from the sur- 
face of the burning substance, re- 
pels the atmospheric air, and conse- 
quently represses the flame, which, 
for the same reason, cannot again 
appear whilst the produétion of the 
vapour continues. 
From these experiments, it ap- 
pears that the art of extinguishing a 
violent conflagration, with very little 
water, consists in throwing it where 
the fire is most powerful, so that 
the produétion of vapour from the 
water, by which the flames are 
smothered, may be as abundant as 
possible ; and in proceeding te 
throw the water on the nearest in- 
flamed part, as soon as the fire 
ceases in that where you began, till - 
you have gone over all the burning 
parts as expeditiously as possible.— 
In thus regularly following the 
flames with the water, they may be 
every where extinguished, before 
the part where you began has en- 
tirely lost, by evaporation, the wa- 
ter with which it was wetted, which 
is frequently necessary, to oe 
the 
