THE BANISHMENT OF NIGHT 



and when the attendant has charged them with carbide 

 and filled them with water given them food and drink 

 they will work steadily until they need another meal." 

 Indeed, these exhibits at the Pan-American Exhibition 

 demonstrated conclusively that acetylene gas occupies a 

 field by itself as a practical illuminant. 



At the same exposition a standard was established for 

 good stationary acetylene generators for house-lighting, 

 and the fact that a large number of generators fulfilled 

 the requirements of the set of rules laid down showed 

 how thoroughly the problem of handling this gas has 

 been solved. Some of these rules used as tests are in- 

 structive to anyone interested in the subject, and a few 

 of them are given here. They specified, for example, 

 that 



"The carbide should be dropped into the water," 

 the reverse process of letting the water drip on the car- 

 bide, as was done in most of the early generators, being 

 condemned. "There must be no possibility of mixing 

 air with the acetylene gas. Construction must be such 

 that an addition to the charge of carbide can be made at 

 any time without affecting the lights. Generators 

 must be entirely automatic in their action that is to 

 say: after a generator has been charged, it must need no 

 further attention until the carbide has been entirely 

 exhausted. The various operations of discharging the 

 refuse, filling with fresh water, charging with carbide, 

 and starting the generator must be so simple that the 

 generator can be tended by an unskilled workman 

 without danger of accident. When the lights are out, 

 the generation of gas should cease. The carbide should 



