552 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



being' torn. Twenty-two loads were found in one Springfield 

 musket, each load in regular order. Twenty-two balls and sixty- 

 two buck-shot, all mixed up with the powder, were found in one 

 smooth bore musket. 



A large, number were found with the charge lodged about half 

 way down the barrel ; and in many cases the ball was found 

 inserted first. No better argument could l)e found in favor of 

 breech loaders than this ; for no more than one charge can be 

 inserted in a breech loader, and the passage of the bullet along 

 the barrel cleans out the residuum of the preceding charge. The 

 needle gun is horribly practical in all its forms and outlines ; and 

 was designed by some one who had none of the appreciation of 

 the beautiful, and convenient or hand)/, which is the characteristic 

 of the productions of American mechanics. It is too rough for 

 delicate hands, and in this particular is objectionable. I see in it, 

 however, the qualities I have referred to, which I think cannot be 

 ignored. I hope and expect the United States will soon have an 

 officially adopted arm, equal to this in many points, and better in 

 some. 



Experiments in Combustion. 



Dr. Vanderweyde exhibited a gas lamp, intended to illustrate 

 some important points in the theory of combustion. It consisted 

 of an Argand burner, with a glass chimney, so arranged as to 

 reo-ulate the amount of air admitted to the exterior of the circular 

 flame, and demonstrating that the amount of light produced is at 

 its miximum when the supply of air is moderate, and diminishes 

 with the increase of the air supply. When the supply is very 

 great, there is little light, but much heat is developed, thus illus- 

 trating the principal of the Bunsen burner. When the supply is 

 ver}?^ small, the gas is imperfectly consumed to carbonic oxyd, 

 and the lamp showed the curious phenomenon of burning the gas 

 twice; first, below, to carbonic oxyd, C O, and second, at the top 

 of the glass chimney, where the escaping carbonic oxyd, meeting 

 a fresh supply of oxygen from the air, was burned with the char- 

 acteristic flame, to carbonic acid, C Og. He illustrated also the 

 manner in which he invented his gas alarm-whistle, by a long 

 glass tube of about one-half inch bore, held verticallj'', through 

 which a mixture of gas and air passed, and was ignited at the top; 

 by diminishing the supply of gas, or augmenting the supph^ of 

 air, the point was reached at which an explosive mixture was 



