522 



ILLUMINATION. 



tion the increasing introduction of rock and 

 coal oils, and products obtained by refining 

 from these, and the facts of frequent explo- 

 sions resulting either through imprudence or 

 unavoidably, in cases of their being burned or 

 stored for sale, recommended the passing of 

 an ordinance prohibiting the storing of crude 

 petroleum, &c., within the fire limits. The 

 subject was discussed before several meetings 

 of committees appointed by the Common 

 Councils of both New York and Brooklyn, as 

 well as the further question of fixing a vapor- 

 izing point for these oils, i. e., a point any oil 

 readily vaporizing below which should not be 

 allowed for sale. It appears that finally no 

 action was taken, at least in the former city, 

 further than to the effect of prescribing an 

 extremely small limit to the quantity of these 

 oils allowed to be kept on sale at any one place 

 and time. Some interesting facts, however, 

 were brought out during the discussions. 

 "When the coal or earth oils are once on fire, 

 the throwing on of water only aggravates the 

 flames, by spreading the oils, which are lighter 

 and float on the water, and bringing them more 

 largely into contact with air. The practice 

 of keeping these oils stored upon the walks, 

 where the explosive mixture of their vapor 

 with air outside the barrels, or within them 

 when only partially full, may be accidentally 

 ignited in many ways, was particularly repre- 

 hended as dangerous. By some who address- 

 ed the committees, it was claimed that the 

 ordinary refined oils were quite as explosive as 

 the crude. Mr. Tagliabue showed a sample 

 of a purified oil which could not be lighted by 

 a match, but which at 90 threw off an inflam- 

 mable vapor, and exploded at 108. Mr. Finch, 

 a manufacturer, had experimented on the oils 

 since 1854 ; he had found their vaporizing 

 point to vary from 65 to 152, the best petro- 

 leum he had ever burned vaporizing at the 

 temperature last named. In England, and in 

 the State of Ohio the vaporizing point fixed on 

 is 100 ; it is believed that this is also the point 

 established in Brooklyn. It was proposed to 

 fix the vaporizing point for New York at 120, 

 and by others at 110 the lowest of these 

 points being here never attained by the heat 

 of summer ; but no definite action on this sub- 

 ject appears finally to have been taken. 



Dr. Frankland, in his account of illuminating 

 materials and processes as. illustrated in the 

 exhibition of 1862, speaking of the new branch 

 of industry the preparation of burning and 

 other oils from peat, coal, petroleum, &c. re- 

 marks on the enormous development there 

 shown to have taken place in this line of pro- 

 duction within the past seven years. Besides 

 the oils from various parts of Great Britain and 

 France, others and of equally excellent quality 

 were shown from the United States, and from 

 Germany, Prussia, and Austria. The yield of 

 petroleum by the oil wells of the United States 

 surpasses that of any other part of the globe, 

 that of the Oil Creek region alone, in the 



year 1862, being estimated at not less than 

 71,000,000 gallons. 



Carburation of Gas. Mr. Haywood, engi- 

 neer to the Commissioners of Sewers, London, 

 and Dr. Letheby, have prepared for that body 

 a report on the subject named, which appears 

 in the "Chem. News," No. 105, and in the 

 " Jour, of the Franklin Inst.," March, 1862. Ex- 

 periments were made with a view to testing the 

 value of the proposed application of the Car- 

 burating Gas Company's process to the public 

 lamps. The patent of this company is for plac- 

 ing near to the gas burners a receptacle con- 

 taining coal naphtha ; the gas passing through 

 or over this, takes up, and becomes enriched 

 by the addition of the volatile hydrocarbons 

 contained in the naphtha the illuminating 

 power of the gas being thereby increased, and 

 in a ratio determined mainly by the quality of 

 the naphtha used. Chemical and photometri- 

 cal experiments showed that the gain in illu- 

 minating power was, with different samples of 

 naphtha, from 25 even to 77 per cent. In ex- 

 periments with 12 lamps in Moorgate street, 

 the equalization of the amount of light secured 

 by burning 6 of these without and 6 others with 

 the carburetting apparatus, being judged by the 

 eye, and without careful measurement, and 

 extended over 30 nights of June and July, the 

 result was that the former burners consumed 

 an average of 4.39 cubic feet of coal gas per 

 hour, the latter an average of 2.09 cubic feet 

 of the same gas carburetted per hour, the naph- 

 tha being in this case of the best quality. It 

 was inferred that, for the warm months, 3 cubic 

 feet of the carburetted gas may be considered 

 about equal to 5 cubic feet of that not carburet- 

 ted ; and assuming the data applicable to all sea- 

 sons of the year, the process applied to the 2,825 

 lamps within the city would effect a saving 

 annually of about 2,825. In a final report on 

 the subject, the gentlemen named conclude 

 that the use of naphthalized gas (the best naph- 

 tha being employed) will secure an economy 

 of from 40 to 50 per cent, in the volume of gas 

 consumed ; and they favor a practical trial of 

 the method. 



Bassetfs Carburetting Apparatus. For the 

 carburation of gases, i. e., the charging of them 

 with some other substance in the state of gas, 

 or vapor, and which is more rich in carbon 

 than themselves, naphtha offers itself as the 

 most convenient and effective material. A 

 difficulty attendant on its use, however, is that 

 the vapors which it most readily yields are 

 such as at low temperatures, as under 60, or 

 certainly under 50 F., are re-condensed, thus 

 leaving the gas little if at all impj-oved, and 

 clogging the pipes with the resulting liquid. 

 To obviate this, attempts have been made to 

 keep the pipe beyond the carburetting appa- 

 ratus heated. But naphtha being in fact a com- 

 bination of several hydrocarbons having differ- 

 ent degrees of volatility, Mr. J. A. Bassett, of 

 Salem, Mass., has devised a gas carburetting 

 apparatus (patented July, 1862) in which he 



