188 SERVICES. 



out from the other ; if the tongue adheres,, it is a proof of a vacuum existing 

 in the pipe, which is therefore faultless. 



A useful little book has lately been published by Mr. J. W. Parker, West 

 Strand, entitled " Hints to Gas Consumers," from which I have taken the 

 following extracts : 



" The excessive cost and defective construction of fittings have in numerous in- 

 stances tended more than anything besides to engender prejudices against gas, and 

 more particularly in private houses. No greater annoyance can well be imagined 

 than, after expending a considerable sum in fitting up one's premises, to have the 

 odour of gas diffused throughout the most frequented apartments. This can only 

 happen through defects in the fittings, or from ignorance, or culpable neglect on the 

 part of those whose duty it is to open and close the cocks by which gas is admitted to 

 the burners. 



" Gas-fittings ought to be made of the best materials ; they should be judiciously 

 arranged, and fixed by sober and skilful workmen. The choice of a situation for the 

 main cock is of importance ; it should be placed as near as possible to the inside of the 

 wall through which the gas is admitted from the street-main, and where it will at all 

 times be accessible to the inmates of the house. The key or spanner by which it is 

 turned should always be attached, and the nick which indicates whether it is open or 

 shut should be distinctly marked. The cock should be literally a stop-cock, a caution 

 applicable to all gas-cocks ; for it has of late become so much the fashion, in studying 

 the ornamental to neglect the useful, that even a practised hand is sometimes at fault. 

 Whatever be the style of fittings, however massive or rich in embellishment, the stop- 

 cocks should be made on one uniform principle, and the more simple they are the better. 

 ****** 



" Throughout their various ramifications the pipes should have a slight inclination 

 towards the point where the main-cock is fixed, and thence to the street-main ; this is 

 to allow the water, which is occasionally deposited in them, to drain off without interrupt- 

 ing the passage of the gas. In fittings which are not thus arranged the water accumu- 

 lates in some curvature of the pipes, and occasions an oscillation, or, as it is very com- 

 monly called, jumping of the lights. When this happens, the first thing to be ascertained 

 is, whether the cause be general or partial ; that is, if it exist in the street-mains, or in 

 the consumer's fittings. If the lights in the immediate neighbourhood, and which are 

 supph'ed from the same main, burn steadily, it is a proof that the obstruction is in the 

 fittings, but if they oscillate, it is in the main, of which immediate notice should be sent 

 to the office of the Company. * * * * 



" Under particular circumstances, it is impossible to fix the pipes in the way we have 

 mentioned, so that they may all incline towards the street-main. In that case the lowest 

 point must be fitted up with what is usually, but very improperly, called a siphon, and 



