GAS LIGHTS. 
other cts, ‘part of which have only been applied 
. to purposes, will in time find beneficial sources 
gear tee 
| We decline entering minutely into the histo 
of the discovery and progress of the art of lighting wit 
With respect to the discovery, it would be diffi- 
cult to fix any period to it, or with justice to give it to 
any particular person. Dr Hales and others, among 
their numerous 9 are in obtaining gases from 
different bodies by heat, cannot have failed to witness 
the severance of their inflammability. 
An account will be found in the Philosophical Trans- 
actions, vol. xli. of some iments upon the distillation 
of coal by Dr Clayton. He the gas in blad- 
ders, and burnt it. In Lord Dundonald’s attempts to 
extract tar from coal, the gas evolved at the time was 
fired. It is singular to remark, that coal is now distil- 
led for its gas and coak, the tar being of no value; and 
that this invaluable substance should have been the on- 
ly thing which his Lordship sought for. We do not 
hear of any attempt to apply the coal gas to the econo- 
my of ucing artificial light, before the experiments 
Mr Murdoch, made at Redruth, in Cornwall. He 
distilled coal and other inflammable bodies from an iron 
retort, conveyed the gas to a distance through tinned 
copper pipes, and burned it as it escaped through small 
apertures. These experiments were made in year 
1792. After leaving Cornwall, he resumed his experi- 
ments at Old Cumnock, in Ayrshire, in 1796, where he 
exhibited the new phenomena to numerous friends. He 
after this, in 1798, went to the Soho Foundery, where 
he constructed an apparatus for lighting the building, 
in which he made some improvements in the means of 
partying the gas, to get rid of the smell. In the spring 
1802, on the event of the general peace, he made a 
grand display of these new lights at the Soho works, 
which excited much curiosity. 
Although Mr Murdoch was certainly not the first 
observer of the inflammability of the coal gas, he may 
lay just claim to the application of it to economical pur- 
poses; and doubtless first pointed out the practical 
means of brin ean into use. The manufactory of 
Messrs Lee ilips of Manchester was lighted with 
gas, under the direction of Mr Murdoch, as early as 
1805, which, in the present state of gas lighting, is con- 
sidered as very complete. At that period Mr Lee had 
his house lighted with the gas. 
. Mr Clege, late of Manchester, and originally with 
Boulton and Watt of Soho, has given much attention to 
115 
ing the retort to a bright red heat, and of keeping it up 
at the same time ; but should not be capable of heating 
it very hot, as the retort itself might be melted, or at 
least much injured, and the gas less perfect. 
At some distance fromthe mouth of the retort, which 
projects a little way beyond the brick work in front, 
a pipe ascends from the upper side, and at right angles 
to the length of the retort. Through this the gas 
escapes, ascending first, and then the pipe turning, it 
descends into a wide pipe, placed in a horizontal posi- 
tion. This last is called the condenser. From the end 
of this pipe, an inclining pipe proceeds which conveys 
the gas, and also the tar, after it has accumulated in the 
condenser, till this last admits it to run off. The 
and tar now proceed together, the former occupying 
‘the upper half of a longitudinal section of the pipe, and 
‘the latter the lower half. The tar is at length deposit~ 
ed in a vessel, from whence it can be drawn at plea- 
sure. The gas first ascends from the pipe in which it 
was accompanied by the tar, and then descends into a 
vessel containing a mixture of lime and water, by which 
it is purified. It then passes into an apparatus called a 
Gazometer. This consists of an outer vessel filled with 
water. A second vessel, less in diameter, is inverted 
and immersed irito the first. If the common air be al- 
lowed to escape from the inner vessel, it will freely de- 
scend, and water will occupy the place of the air. If 
now the source for the escape of air be stopped, and 
the inner vessel counterpoised by a weight, the inflam- 
mable gas, purified as above, may be admitted under the 
inner vessel, which will ascend to make room for the gas. 
The suspended vessel is a little heavier than the weight, 
so that if the force of the entering gas were withdrawn, 
and an opening made to permit the air to escape, the 
vessel would descend. This apparatus is not only a re- 
servoir for the gas while its production is going on, but 
it serves to force out the gas to be burnt, with a gra- 
dual and uniform pressure, which gives steadiness to 
the flame. The gas is set on fire when it is escaping 
through one or more small apertures, about one-thirtieth 
of an inch in diameter. These are sometimes disposed 
in a circle, about the size of the circular wick of the 
Argand lamp, and hence have been called Argand burn- 
ers. A glass is placed over them, similar to the Ar- 
gand lamp. The gas tube sometimes terminates in a sphe- 
rical bail perforated with different numbers of holes. 
Before we proceed to enter into any particulars rela~ 
tive to the practice of gas lights, we shall give a more 
minute description of the apparatus, in reference to 
Gas Lights. 
Description 
the gas 
light appa- 
of 
ratus. 
the subject of gas lights, and has contributed many 
useful tae in the apparatus used for 
ring it. He has given a description, with the aid of a 
drawing of , pb ents bibs Society for the en- 
, ement and Manufactures, which is pub- 
lished in their transactions for 1808. This anaes, 
with some few improvements, is at present considered 
the best. As we ee penghen one embracing several 
improvements upon Mr Clegg’s, it will not, in this limit. 
ed article, be possible to give a copy of his in addition. 
The itus generally consists of an iron retort of 
a cylindrical form, its bine being from seven to eight 
times its diameter. It has an opening at one end, 
which can be closed by a lid with a conical edge, and 
pushed up to its place by a catch or wedge. The re- 
tort is placed horizontally in a furnace, which allows 
the flame to pass under it in the direction of its length, 
and over it on its return, after which it enters the chim- 
the Plate. Fig. 1. Plate CCLXIV. is a plan and sec- Prarr 
tion of the furnace containing the retort. The latter is CCLXIV. 
seen to more advantage in the perspective view. In Fig: !. 
Fig. A, eee are projecting pieces marked similarly in Fig. A, B, 
Fig. 1, for the retort to rest in a horizontal position : C. 
pis the place where the two parts of the retort are 
screwed together. The front part contains two ears ft. 
Fig. B is the lid or cover, having a conical edge, 
which fits the mouth of the retort, and is forced into 
its place by a wedge Fig. C, which passes through two 
holes in the ears //; s is a pipe, with a plunge to re- 
ceive the pipe 7, (Fig. 2.) being cast with the front part pj. 2, 
of the retort. The fire-place is shewn at m (Pig: 2.), d is 
the door, g the grate, A the ash-pit, and f the flue. The 
flame first passes along the flue under the retort, where 
it reaches r, and rises to the upper side of the retort, 
and passes, in the direction of the returning darts, into 
the chimney C. The separation of the lower half of 
the flue from the u is seen in Fig. 3. at ff; 56 are Fig. 3. 
The fire should be so intense as to be capable of heat- long fire-bricks, which separate the fire place from the 
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