Feb. 10, 1870] 
NATURE 
oa 
than 1oo° Fahr. This Act may be said to have been 
entirely without effect on the refined petroleum sold for 
use in lamps and, another Act, passed in 1868 to amend it, 
has been but little more effective in this respect ; so that 
the facts as to the storage and sale of mineral oil, of all 
degrees of inflammability, remain much the same as they 
were before. 
The abortive character of this Act is probably to be 
ascribed, in great measure, toaconflict of interests, supposed 
to be opposite, when the bill was before Parliament and 
a further reason for its inoperative character, consists in 
the absence of any sufficient or fitting organisation for 
carrying out its provisions and regulating the trade in 
mineral oil. Strange to say, the licensing bodies have, 
generally speaking, no power under the Act to inspect and 
test mineral oil, except as a condition of licenses granted 
by them and the persons who are specially authorised 
by the Act to inspect and test, are not in most cases under 
the control of the licensing bodies. Of still greater 
influence in nullifying the provisions of the Petroleum 
Acts, is the want of any properly-constituted authority for 
instituting proceedings in cases where those provisions 
have been infringed. Any person may prosecute ; but, as 
is generally the case with a duty so general, everyone 
leaves it for some one else to do so. 
But perhaps one of the chief reasons why the Petroleum 
Act of 1868, has proved inoperative, is to be found in the 
unsatisfactory nature of the test by which the fitness of 
mineral oil for domestic use is directed to be ascertained 
and in the vague terms by which the operation of testing 
is described in the schedule appended to the Act. The 
point to be ascertained is the temperature at which mine- 
ral oil gives off inflammable vapour and, since any danger 
that may arise in this way, would exist chiefly in the ordi- 
nary use of the oil in lamps, it would seem to be an 
obvious necessity-that the test, applied to ascertain that 
point, should be conducted under conditions as nearly 
resembling those obtaining in the actual use of the oil as 
could possibly be devised. The Act, however, prescribes 
a test under conditions which are the direct opposite of 
these. In using a mineral oil lamp, the oil is heated in a 
closed vessel partly filled with air; in testing the oil it is 
directed to be heated in an open vessel with the surface of 
the oil freely exposed to the atmosphere. In the test, any 
vapour that is given off from the oil is liable to be blown 
away by draughts and by diffusing into the surrounding 
air, to become so much diluted as to lose its inflammable 
character ; while, in the lamp, any vapour given off is 
confined and forms an explosive mixture with the limited 
quantity of air contained in the oil reservoir. There is 
indeed, generally speaking, little real danger attending 
such a result as this, for the quantity of inflammable 
vapour produced in the reservoir of a lamp would rarely 
be sufficient to cause any dangerous explosion ; but the 
flash resulting from the ignition of this vapour, would cer- 
tainly be enough to startle almost any persons and cause 
them to drop the lamp. It is probably in this way that 
many of the accidents with mineral oil have taken place, 
since the lamps are very generally made of glass and 
since the oil readily takes fire when spilt upon linen, 
paper, or any such material. 
Besides this cardinal defect in the prescribed test of 
mineral oil, the various directions given for conducting it 
are so vague and general, that they leave much to the 
fancy and option of the operator. Moreover, it is to be 
doubted whether inspectors of weights and measures, who 
are the persons authorised under the Act to test mineral 
oil, are generally competent to conduct these tests in a 
satisfactory manner. 
Although the Act has been in operation only a few 
months, it has already given rise to much difficulty and 
inconvenience, without being productive of any benefit. 
Within the last few weeks, a series of trials of mineral oil, 
purchased indiscriminately at shops in various parts of 
the metropolis, has brought to light the fact that, out of 
75 samples thus obtained, 39 of them were below the legal 
standard in regard to inflammability, when tested in strict 
accord with the directions of the Act. 
These facts are sufficient to show that there is great 
need of further legislative action in this matter ; this need 
has long been felt by those engaged in the mineral oil 
trade and there is every reason to believe that a well- 
digested enactment, providing for the safe transport, 
storage and use of mineral oil, would be of great benefit, 
not only to the public at large ; but also to those engaged in 
all branches of the trade connected with this useful 
commodity. 
HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION 
An Address on the General Principles which should be 
Observed in the Construction of Hospitals. Delivered 
to the British Medical Association at Leeds, by 
Douglas Galton, C.B., F.R.S. (London : Macmillan 
and Co., 1869.) 
HIS able address with the discussion which followed 
it, brings fully before us the question of hospital 
construction. The Address itself is exclusively practical : 
it goes direct to its object and, by appealing to the results of 
every day’s experience of the benefit of cleanliness, space 
and fresh air ; it points out how these essential elements 
in the management of the sick, have been embodied in 
recent hospitals and it indicates by implication, what 
errors should be avoided. 
After stating briefly the work done in this matter by 
different Sanitary commissions in this country, Mr. Galton 
gives the following enumeration of objects which must be 
attained in hospital buildings :— 
“‘t. Pure air, that is to say, there should be no appreciable 
difference between the air inside the ward and that outside the 
building. 
“2. ‘The air supplied to the ward should be capable of being 
warmed to any required extent. 
“3. Pure water, so supplied as to ensure the removal of all 
impurities to a distance from the hospital. 
‘*4. The most perfect cleanliness within and around the 
building.” 
To realise these conditions the first step in hospital 
improvement is to select healthy sites, away from irre- 
movable sources of air impurity and, having by this 
means obtained a pure moving atmosphere, the author 
proceeds to show how the site is to be used so that the 
pure atmosphere may not become a disease generator in 
the wards. The building must be so arranged as to inter- 
fere as little as possible with the free, natural movement 
of the outer air and this free outside movement should be 
kept up, as far as practicable, within the wards. “Stagnant 
air is foul air,” especially in a hospital. 
