51 
Ordinary Meeting, November 16th, 1880. 
E. W. Binney, F.R.S., F.G.S., &c., President, in the Chair. 
“ Note on the Presence of Sulphur in Illuminating Gas,” 
by Harry Grimshaw, F.C.S. 
That crude illuminating gas from coal contains a certain 
amount of compounds of sulphur is of course a well known 
fact. That even the best quality of coal gas, when purified 
and made ready for consumption, contains still a certain 
amount of sulphur compounds is also well, but perhaps not 
generally, known. 
An accidental, somewhat peculiar, but very practical 
demonstration of this fact recently came under my observa- 
tion, which I thought might be of some little interest to 
the Society. On the interior of the glass globe surrounding 
a gas jet in the hall of my house I had frequently noticed 
the presence of drops of condensed liquid. The jet being 
near the outer door, and the globe consequently exposed to 
a rather cold current of air, I merely considered it to be 
drops of water formed by the burning hydrogen of the coal 
gas, and condensed on the cold surface of the glass. I 
noticed however that when the glass became heated through 
the turning on of a larger flame, the moisture did not, as it 
ought according to all reasonable expectation, evaporate. I 
was curious enough to take down the globe, wipe out a few 
of the drops on slips of paper, and rinse the rest off with 
water, which I preserved. Having my suspicions from the 
rather oily appearance of the drop, I warmed the slips of 
paper a little, and immediately obtained a very fine 
reaction for sulphuric acid, by the copious blackening 
and charring of the paper in those places where the liquid 
had touched it. I then applied the usual chloride of barium 
test, and obtained a plentiful precipitate of sulphate of 
Proceedings — Lit. & Phil. Soc. — Vol. XX.— No. 4 — Session 1880-1. 
