224 Of the Light manifested in Combustion. 



experiments that present themselves in the course of 

 that research. It engaged my attention many years 

 ago, and has for several months past employed nearly 

 the whole of my leisure time. 



In two memoirs of considerable length, written in 

 the French language, the one published in the year 

 1807 in the Memoirs of the National Institute, the 

 other about a month ago in the Bibliotheque Brittan- 

 ique, I have proposed several improvements in lamps, 

 which have been found by experience to be useful ; 

 but I cannot help flattering myself that the knowledge 

 of the interesting fact discovered in my late experi- 

 ments will lead to much more important improve- 

 ments, and perhaps enable us to produce effects 

 which we should not have supposed to be possible. 



Many attempts have been made to increase the 

 intensity of the light of lamps, in order to render 

 them more useful in lighthouses, on the sea-coast, 

 and for other purposes where a powerful light is 

 wanted. The size of Argand's lamp has been in- 

 creased in the expectation that it might perhaps be 

 made to give more light, but none of these attempts 

 have succeeded. 



In the year 1804, I contrived a method for illumi- 

 nating large rooms by means of a single luminous 

 balloon of gauze, of about eighteen inches in diame- 

 ter, suspended from the ceiling. In the centre of this 

 balloon there are placed, as close together as possible, 

 three, four, five, or six Argand lamps (according to the 

 size of the room), which are supplied with oil from 

 a large circular reservoir, which is concealed by the 

 balloon. This invention has been found to answer 

 very well, and many of the finest hotels in Paris are 



