500 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



Mr. Pepper. — I have vaporized resin by burning' it in sand. In using 

 camphene and benzole, and the refined oils between benzole and camphene, 

 I have found them to burn very slowly, and, in the absence of the blast, to 

 smoke; but if I added even a spoonful of alcohol, it seemed to saturate the 

 whole mass, which Avould then burn very well, but I may say that I never 

 succeeded in burning- the crude oils without introducing air, which I found 

 g-ave increased heat. I claim that there is no combustible body but can be 

 burned without smoke if oxygen is supplied in the right proportion. I 

 claim that there must be a mechanical division in order to make these heavy 

 oils burn, and I have found that sand makes this division. There is no 

 fluid that gives off smoke but I can burn w'ithout smoke if sand is used; 

 with sand, burning fluid can be used as fuel. 



The Chairman. — It seems to be implied that the addition of the air is to 

 heat the sand; Mr. Parish, of Philadelphia, has introduced a plan, which 

 is now in use at the St. Nicholas Hotel, in tliis city, in wliich a vapor is 

 generated from petroleum, and this vapor is then combined in certain pro- 

 portion with air; if this plan. is successful, I cannot see how Mr. Pepper's 

 sand is of any use. 



Mr. Pepper. — When I burn ordinary gas, the sand through which it 

 passes becomes red hot; this sand serves to burn the hydrogen, and the 

 intense heat of the hydrogen burns the carbon, giving a very brilliant light; 

 my patent claims getting a greater light by passing gas throug'h sand. 

 The burning of gas in a sand bath is not in my claim. I design to run 

 an engine by petroleum oil, and that will be by burning the oil through the 

 sand. I have tried kerosene, but I could not burn it without forcing air 

 through the sand. The petroleum which I will use will be of the crudest 

 kind, just as it comes from the well. 



Mr. Dixon here made a drawing- of a Russian alcohol blow-lamp, which 

 is used for melting brass and other metals, also for brazing large pieces of 

 metal. The following- is a section of the lamp: 



Alcohol is put into this lamp up to the dotted 

 lines and also into the hollow drum marked 

 A A, through the plug- C; on lighting the 

 alcohol in the cylinder, the flame heats the 

 drum A A, and forces the alcohol out through 

 the blast-pipe B, which gives an intense heat 

 sufficient to melt a pound of brass. Mr. Dixon 

 said he intended to use petroleum instead of 

 alcohol, which would make this lamp very valuable for brazing. 

 The subject of "Petroleum" was continued for the next meeting. 

 Adjourned. John W. Chambers, Secretary pro tern. 



Americax Institute Polytechnic Association, ) 



April y, 1863. j 

 The Chairman, S. D. Tillman, Esq., presiding. 



Mr. Henry Withall exhibited his moving planisphere, showing the posi- 

 tion of the heavens at any given time, by which the name and location of 



