ON ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION. 931 



tliere are places in Ceylon, Java, the East and West Indies, and Ans- 

 tralasia where ice is so dear that an ether macliine may work at a profit, 

 although making little more than one or two tons of ice per ton of coal 

 burned. The Messrs. Siebe, in conjunction with the late Mr. King, en- 

 gineer to Messrs. Truman, Haubiu-y & Co., brewers, London, introduced 

 the Harrison machines with conspicuous success, for tlie direct refriger- 

 ation of water used in brewing, and it was owing to this that I first used 

 one for cooling meat in 18G9, and afterwards made several modifications 

 in their construction. 



The greatest improvement in ether machines must be credited to Ch. 

 Tellier, for by the introduction of methylic ether, ijatented in America 

 on January 5, 1860, he avoided a vacuum in his refrigerator, and this 

 both in the sulphuric -ether and sulphiu'ous-oxide machines (esi)ecially 

 •working at low temperatures) is attended with the introduction of air 

 into the interior of the machine. Air decomposes these agents, but 

 whilst its action is slow in eiiecting a chemical change, it is instantane- 

 ous in modifying the tendency to gaseous liquefaction. A little air 

 mixed with the volatile vapor will soon make a difterence of many pounds 

 on the square inch in the condenser and the efficiency of the machine is 

 greatly reduced. M. Tellier lays much stress on the value of his con- 

 gealer, which is another part of his patents infringed in all the ice-box 

 patents devised. It practically amounts to a box divided into compart- 

 ments bj^ hollow metallic walls, in which the methylic ether is evaporated. 

 The wooden tank is filled w ith water, and all the compartments are frozen 

 "when the ether is evaporated. This was done to supersede movable 

 moulds, as in Twining's and Harrison's patents, and to avoid the waste 

 and labor of lifting the moulds and dripping the uncongealable brine or 

 other liquid used in the machine. 



The pump and condenser of the Tellier machine are adapted to such 

 pressures as are required for the condensation of this ether, which boils 

 at 30° below Centigrade. The pressures in the condenser amount to 

 45 pounds at G0° Fahr. 



I regret that I have not l)y me Tellier's work on Ammonia. To Ch. 

 Tellier is due the credit of the introduction first of the aqueous ammonia 

 in the absorption or distillation freezing-machines, and afterwards the an- 

 hydrous ammonia liquefied by mechanical compression. M. Ferdinand 

 Carre worked in conjunction or simultaneously with Tellier, and the 

 circumstances under which M. Carre obtained the first patent for liquid 

 ammonia, gave him control of the absorption-machines. A keenly-con- 

 tested suit for infringement led to Carre's rights being sustained, and it 

 is generally understood that he obtained 3,000,000 francs for his patents, 

 which date back to 18C2. Professor Barnard has furnished us with an 

 elaborate report on the Carre continuous freezing apparatus. So fasci- 

 nating was the apparatus as exhibited in 18G7, in Paris, that Professor 

 Barnard declared it to be " one of the most valuable contributions which 

 science has yet made to the promotion of human comfort, and to the 



