46 REPORT—1890. 
chemists and metallurgists, but which has of late attracted considerable 
attention, especially in connection with the recent interesting work relat- 
ing to its applications pursued by Mr. Samson Fox, of Leeds, has become, 
within the last four years, a competitor, in the United States, both of the 
natural gas of Pennsylvania and of coal-gas. Since Felix Fontana first 
produced so-called water gas in 1780, by passing vapour of water over 
highly-heated fuel, many methods, differing chiefly in small details, have 
been proposed for carrying out the operation, with a view to the ready 
and cheap production of the resulting mixture of hydrogen and carbonic 
oxide, and numerous technical applications of water-gas have been sug- 
gested from time to time, with no very important results, excepting as 
regards its use for lighting-purposes. Being of itself non-luminous, its 
utilisation in this direction is accomplished, either by mixing it with a 
highly Inminous gas, or by causing a hydrocarbon vapour to be diffused 
through it ; or the non-luminous flame, produced by burning it in the air, 
is made to raise to incandescence some suitably prepared solid substance, 
such as magnesia, lime, a zirconium salt, or platinum, whereby bright 
light is emitted. The objection to its employment as an illuminant for 
use in buildings, to which great weight is attached by us, and rightly, 
as sad experience has shown—viz., that, as it consists, to the extent of 
about one-half its volume, of the highly poisonous gas carbonic oxide, the 
atmosphere in a confined space may be rendered irrespirable by a small 
accidental contamination with water-gas, by leakage or otherwise, not 
detectable by any odour—appears to constitute no great impediment to 
its employment in the United States, as it is now manufactured for 
illuminating and heating purposes by a large proportion of their gas- 
works, being in some places employed in admixture with a highly luminous 
coal-gas, in others rendered luminous by the alternative methods men- 
tioned. It is stated that about three-fourths of the illuminating gas now 
supplied to the cities of New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Jersey, St. 
Paul, and Minneapolis, is carburetted water-gas; in Chicago the entire 
supply now consists of this gas, and Boston will also soon be supplied 
exclusively with it. The use of water-gas for metallurgic work does not 
appear to be contemplated in the United States, but it is especially to 
such applications of the gas that much attention has been devoted here 
in Leeds; and although some eminent experts are sceptical regarding the 
attainment of advantages, especially from an economical point of view, 
by the employment of this form of gaseous fuel, especially after practical 
experience in the same direction acquired in Germany, the technical world 
must feel grateful to Mr. Fox for his work in this direction, affording, as it 
does, an interesting illustration of the qualities of perseverance and energy 
which, when combined with sound knowledge, oftenachieve success in direc- 
tions that have long appeared most unpromising; qualities which have 
been characteristic of many pioneers in industrial progress in this country. 
Leeds has been especially fortunate in the possession of such pioneers, 
