THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 25 



he had reached a pressure of 360 lbs. to the inch, and observing 

 that the gas was escaping around the valve he used a hammer to 

 stop the leak when a portion of the metal broke away and the gas 

 escaping struck him in the eye penetrating his brain and killing 

 him instantly. Ordinary air under similar conditions would have 

 been as fatal. It was afterwards found that the iron ends were thin 

 and porous and the wonder was that they stood the pressure ; there 

 was no explosion ; the coroner's verdict was "accidental death." 



The explosion at New Haven, Conn., arst January last, was 

 caused by men experimenting with liquid acetylene, under a pressure 

 of 600 pounds to the inch ; and I presume all accidents reported 

 might be traced to unauthorized parties experimenting with crude 

 apparatus and ignorant of the necessary conditions for safety. We 

 know that air, water, gas, or electricity, are dangerous under certain 

 conditions, but harmless when properly controlled, and it is no 

 argument against acet)lene that it is also dangerous when improperly 

 handled. 



EFFECT ON ELECTRIC LIGHTING. 



When I first saw acetylene gas in September, 1894, I felt sorry 

 for the electric companies, because I thought the gas companies 

 would readily adopt the new gas and regain their former monopoly 

 of lighting. But I do not feel quite so downcast now ; I realize that 

 the margin of cost of production is not so great and believe that gas 

 companies will feel the competition equally with electric unless they 

 adopt the new gas for use pure, or as an enricher to their present 

 output ; it is said to be useful as an enricher for coal gas but not so 

 suitable for water gas. 



Prof. Lewes of England, one of the best gas authorities there, 

 suggests that gas companies should distribute a low illuminating 

 coal gas of about 12 C. P. through their mains for heating, cooking, 

 etc, and that each place using illuminating gas be supplied with a 

 cylinder of acetylene to be fed into the illuminating pipes in a certain 

 determined proportion ; by some such process as this there remains 

 a large field for coal gas, otherwise coal and water gas must go. 



The incandescent light has held first place for interior illumina- 

 tion on account of its steadiness, purity, coolness, and not with- 

 drawing oxygen from the air nor adding noxious elements to it. 

 Acetylene will divide this field with the incandescent bulb ; it is a 



