NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



4G9 



For the New England Farmer. 

 A NEW LAMP. 

 Dr. SlEDHOF'd Improvement — Patented July 27, 1852. 



Not long ago, an extract was given in this valu- 

 able paper from a private letter to its editor, Simon 

 Brown, Esq., concerning a new lamp, which, it is 

 hoped, will supersede the use of the camphene 

 lamps, an article so dangerous that the laws of the 

 State should forbid it. In attempting to give a 

 brief account of the properties and peculiarities of 

 my lamp, I must premise that I am a philologist 

 and teacher. As such I was a professor of a col- 

 lege in Germany, my native country, and, after 

 my arrival here, established a boarding-school for 

 boys at Newton Centre, which was transferred to 

 Lancaster, Mass., in the spring of last year. From 

 a few articles of mine, printed in the Farmer, it 

 will have been observed, that I am also very fond 

 of the sciences, especially of natural history, chemis- 

 try and natural philosophy, and, having acquired 

 some little skill in mechanical operations, such as 

 taming in wood and metal, grinding optical glasses, 

 etc., I can be the more useful to my pupils in oc- 

 cupying their minds in some of the hours of leisure 

 in an agreeable manner. 



About eight years ago, I directed my attention 

 to the construction of lamps. As those lamps, con- 

 sidered then the best, were either too expensive 

 and liable to getting easily out of repair, or con- 

 sumed too much oil, I proposed to construct a 

 lamp free from the above objections and uniting 

 the advantages of them all. As a German philo- 

 logist, I commenced my operations at the root 

 t. e, I studied the history of the lamps, their dif- 

 ferent arrangements in different times, and their 

 gradual improvements. Although unsuccessful in 

 a great number of experiments, yet I was not dis- 

 couraged, nor lost ever sight of my object in view. 

 At length, about a year ago, I accomplished what 

 T wished, but a calamity in my domestic life pre- 

 vented me from taking any actual step. 



Those a little more acquainted with lamps than 

 their common and daily use requires, know well 

 enough that the first and most important requisite 

 of a goo dl amp is a, constant, never lowering level 

 of the oil. A changeable level makes the light 

 constantly decreasing, and impairs not only the 

 eyesight, but tends to wasting the oil in such a 

 degree as it will hardly seem credible to those not 

 practised in the use of the Photometer. The only 

 lamp, in which the level of the oil remains con- 

 stant, is the Carcel lamp. Still it is too expensive 

 for general use, and gets so easily out of repair, 

 that even such as can, without difficulty, afford 

 the money, become soon displeased with it. The 

 so-called Liverpool lamp approaches a constant 

 level, but it has so many inconveniences, that its 

 use is limited. The general way to diminish the 

 disadvantage arising from a changeable level, is to 

 enlarge the surface of the oil. This, however, is 

 not avoiding it, nor does it exclude or obviate other 

 defects. 



After my lamp was reacly for use, I did, on pur- 

 pose, not make any comparative experiments with 

 it ; for as I had labored so many years for the 

 thing itself, not for pecuniary profits, I wished to 

 remain unprejudiced, awaiting impartially the re- 

 sults from experiments to be made by others. So 

 I invited, in the middle of January last, three gen- 

 tlemen of this place, viz.: Rev. Mr. Bartol, Rev. 



Mr. Edwards and Dr. Lincoln, to spend two suc- 

 cessive evenings with me and to experiment with 

 the lamp. Those gentlemen were kind enough to 

 comply with my request, and to conduct the ex- 

 periments during ten hours unci fire minutes. My 

 lamp was compared with a common glass lamp 

 with two solid wicks. Both were filled with equal 

 quantities (4 ounces each) of the poorest oil we 

 could get. It cost 75 cents a gallon. The light 

 of both was measured by a Fhotometer from hour 

 to hour. The data obtained in this way, were 

 the basis of the conclusive comparison and calcula- 

 tion. 



Not being able to enter here into a detailed ac- 

 count of the lamp, I confine myself to the descrip- 

 tion of the results as given by me in an article on 

 the lamp, which I wrote for a New York paper, at 

 the request of the editors. 



1. The construction of the lamp, being based on 

 the application of two philosophical principles, has 

 no machinery about it. It is as easily managed as 

 a common glass lamp, and cannot get out of re- 

 pair, except by breaking it. 



2. Any sort of ivick can be used in it, viz.: the 

 common round solid, the flat or band (Altstroe- 

 mer's), the hollow round (Argand's), and the 

 semi-circular (Gohl's) wick. The lamp, of course, 

 must be arranged for any of those forms of the 

 wick. 



3. The lamp which was used for the experiments, 

 consumes, in a given time, exactly as much oil as a 

 common glass lamp, but 



4. It produces 2 2-3 as much light as the glass 

 lamp. 



5. The light of the glass lamp is constantly de- 

 creasing, so that after the fourth hour, the level 

 of the oil has to be raised by pouring water into it, 

 because it will not burn any more. The light of 

 my lamp remains unchanged from the beginning to 

 the last drop of oil contained in it. How beneficial 

 this is to the preservation of the eyesight, every- 

 body will admit, nothing being more destructive 

 and injurious to the eyes than that imperceptible, 

 gradual diminution of the light in common lamps. 

 Beside, my lamp needs no trimming for five or six 

 hours. 



6. The level of the oil remaining always at the 

 base of the flame, the poorest oil can be used in it 

 as advantageously as the best. It is evident from 

 the above, that the capillary attraction of the wick 

 is entirely dispensed with, and that it consequent- 

 ly is unimportant whether the wick becomes 

 clogged or not. 



7. The lamp can be arranged for chimney glasses 

 and globes just as well as not. 



8. Any kind of shade can be used. For shades, 

 Ilinley's blue square shade deserves the preference, 



9. The lamp can be made with one, two, etc.. 

 or six burners. 



10. Its external appearance is very handsome. 

 Still it can be made, I think, for 75 cents or a dol- 

 lar a piece. 



I wish very much to have it distinctly under- 

 stood, that the above statements are literally true. 

 Our age is the age of improvement, but also the 

 age of show. Appearances go farther than realities. 

 I hope that*the names of the gentlemen who made 

 the experiments, and who permitted me to refer 

 to them whenever I should think it advisable, as 

 well as the references on my prospectus, will Avar- 

 rant my moral, scientific and literary character. 



