﻿96 Canadian Record of Science, 



seem fair to say we pay for the light gas gives, and if a 

 new gas gives ten times more light we are willing to pay 

 ten times more, particularly if it possesses any other 

 advantages ; our gas bill will remain the same. 



Here we come upon ground where the facts can be 

 tested by experiments. I have made a large number of 

 measures of illuminating power and find that with a new 

 burner particularly suited to it 5 cu. ft. of acetylene per 

 hour will give 200 candle power ; 5 cu. ft. of Boston gas 

 will give a little more than 25 candle power. The Brook- 

 line gas is a little brighter. From this point of view 

 alone then we can pay in Boston about S8 per 1000 cu. ft. 

 for acetylene when we pay $1 per 1,000 cu. ft. common 

 gas. But will the gas bills remain the same at this ratio ? 

 More light will probably be used and the householder 

 will be led into a more extravagant consumption, and he 

 must decide what he is willing to pay for the new luxury. 

 We must count then with the tastes of the consumer, 

 and these can only be translated into money values after 

 long trial of the new light in many houses. 



Besides the question of meeting the desire of the con- 

 sumer for more or less light is another, which must be 

 taken into consideration depending upon his expertness 

 in burning gas and the care he is willing to take in get- 

 ting economical results. 



No. 1. A Sugg-table fishtail burner is shown, burning 

 just 5 cu. ft. per hour and giving the light of 25 candles. 

 If more or less than 5 cu. ft. of gas is passed through it 

 per hour it gives a lower efficiency and the light costs 

 more. The law in Massachusetts, 1882, requires that the 

 candle power should be tested with the most efficient 

 burners, and I have used the best one for water gas. 

 Coal gas would have given more candle power in an 

 Argand burner. Burning gas economically is an art 

 which is only understood by experts, and here again the 

 habits of consumers disturb calculations ; they are not 



