94 On the Application of ike explosive Poiver of Coal Gas. 



Rowlandson could alone delineate them to the life. Some fev^r 

 of them, to the honour of our country, are good shots, some bad 

 shots, and many, like myself, random shots, — random shots be it 

 understood in the best sense, i. e. those who, from the pressure of 

 the more weighty concerns of life, can follow up their philosophic 

 studies only at intervals, " few and far between." The game 

 which is sought for by the first of these characters, flies high; 

 but their keen and steady aim soon brings down their object, to 

 the use and for the benefit of their fellow men : — such was the 

 immortal inventor of the steam-engine — such the saver of men's 

 lives by his safety lamp. That bad shots are to be found long- 

 low shooting in the field of philosophic sports, we need not go 

 further a-field for proof than the recent memorable match de- 

 cided in the Court of King's Bench, where we had for the first 

 time to tax our belief, that " if boiling oil were to leak through 

 a large leak into the fire, it would put the fire out," which cer- 

 tainly is an original discover?/, though but a bad shot ! But to 

 the point for which I took pen in hand, the showing in what and 

 by whom I find myself anticipated. 



" Having just read the Number of your excellent Magazine, for 

 December, I find under the head of " Proceedings of Learned So- 

 cieties," that a paper has lately been read before the Cambridge 

 Philosophical Society, by the Rev. Dr. Cecil of Magdalen Col- 

 lege, on the application of hydrogen gas to produce moving force 

 in machinerv. No one will more heartily congratulate the world, 

 and Dr. Cecil, than myself, on his having perfected an engine on 

 this principle, having had the same object in view for the last 

 twelve months, but ratlier by a diiferent means, inasnmch as I 

 proposed (instead of hydrogen, which must be obtained at some 

 trouble and expense) to make use of the latter portions of coal- 

 gas which a retort gives off, when worked on the common rou- 

 tine of making gas for illumination. The gas, at this period of 

 the operation, contains so lov/ a per centage of carbon as to ren- 

 der it worse than useless to mix it along with the former por- 

 tions elicited : in some gas-works it is therefore suffered to 

 escape. Now the applying of this waste gas to some useful pur- 

 pose, has been a part of my ^tudy for the improving of this truly 

 national manufacture, and in more ways than one, I am happy to 

 say, 1 have succeeded in applying it; and I doubt not, ere long, 

 some few difficulties which at present hang over my Coal-gas 

 exploding Engine will be wholly overcome. This project for 

 obtaining from coal-gas a new species of moving power, I men- 

 tioned to a gentleman of high scientific attainments, and an 

 F.R.S. residing here, as far l)ack as last spring. Tiie wonder is, 

 tliat considering how long we have been accjuainted with the 

 tremendous powers of explosive atmospheres, their aid should 



not 



