June 14, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1007 
principal bye-product in the gas manufacture, and its pro¬ 
duction in fair quantity and of good quality becomes an 
important point in the economy of gas-making. 
In 1871 a patent was taken out for “ Improvements in 
the manufacture and purification of gas, and in certain 
parts of the apparatus employed therein,” which, while 
mainly dependent upon the distillation of coal and other 
bodies at low temperatures, proposed to fulfil all that 
could be desired with regard to the second and third of 
the above considerations, and at the same time offered in 
compensation for the prolonged time occupied by the dis¬ 
tillation a very considerably increased yield of gas of a 
much higher than usual illuminating power. This pro¬ 
cess is carried out by distilling the coal at a much lower 
temperature than usual—in the original scheme from 
600 9 to 1000° F. is mentioned, but in practice from 
1300° to 1400° F. will probably be employed; at this 
temperature, from a ton of gas coal about 8500 cubic feet 
of gas are obtained, together with a greater than ordinary 
yield of tar and oil; this tar is condensed, by special 
means employed for securing a greater rapidity in the 
process, and collected as free from water as possible, with 
a view to its being re-distilled in a separate and peculiar 
retort. The gas produced during the carbonization of the 
coal is, as may be expected, a rich gas of high illuminat¬ 
ing power, and after its production it is in all respects 
treated in the ordinary manner, and will therefore not 
require further special mention, unless it be in one par¬ 
ticular, and that is its comparative freedom from what 
has been called the residual sulphur impurity ; as this 
sulphur impurity consists almost entirety of the volatile 
bisulphide of carbon, which is recognized as a product of 
high temperatures, the occurrence of only a small portion 
of that body in gas distilled at as low a temperature as 
that used in this process is in no wise strange, although, 
doubtless, at the same time it is a favourable result. The 
special point of this invention consists in the submission 
of the oil and tar collected to separate destructive distil¬ 
lation at a low heat, whereby a certain quantity of those 
substances is vaporized, attended at the same time with 
the formation of another quantity of condensible pro¬ 
ducts. These products are again distilled with a further 
partial decomposition, and this process is repeated until a 
given quantity of tar has been converted into vapour, and 
a certain amount of pitch. The means used for obtaining 
this result are as follows : —The tar and oil are allowed to 
flow into an iron pan, maintained at a temperature of 
about 700° or 800° F. ; in this apparatus the more 
volatile constituents are rapidly evaporated, and are con¬ 
veyed into a hollow iron tank for the purpose of retaining 
any of the material mechanically carried over, thence 
through a retort filled with charcoal in small pieces, and 
heated to a temperature of about 1000° F. ; by the pas¬ 
sage of the various vapours through this vessel they no 
doubt suffer decomposition, not brought about by any pro¬ 
perty of the ignited charcoal, but doubtless by the more 
thorough heating of the gas, the very large heating-surface 
afforded by the charcoal successfully bringing the particles 
of vaporous matter up to a sufficiently high temperature 
for decomposition ; in this manner a quantity of gaseous 
matter is formed, notably hydrogen, carbonic acid, car¬ 
bonic oxide (the oxygen being obtained by the splitting 
up of what water there is present), marsh gas, and a 
small quantity of illuminating hydrocarbons ; the con¬ 
densible products are treated again in the same manner as 
before mentioned. The gas obtained from the oil and tar 
is treated in the ordinary manner as regards purification, 
and is idtimately mixed with the gas originally obtained 
from the coal. The aggregate quantity thus produced is 
declared to be in excess of that usually obtainable from an 
equal quantity of coal, and possesses a considerably greater 
illuminating value. 
This is the most recent of many processes for the 
distillation of coal tar and oil. Hitherto it has been 
found most economical to distil the substance from which 
gas is to be manufactured at once, that is, having only 
one stage in the process, for previous experience has 
shown that the production of a quantity of intermediate 
products, and their after distillation, has always been a 
wasteful mode of working, both as regards the result 
obtained and the expenditure of power and material in 
order to obtain it. 
(To be continued.) 
farliitmtntiirj anlt fato fromlmtp. 
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
Juries Bill. 
The adjourned Committee on this Bill will be resumed 
on Thursday, June 12. 
Trade Marks’ Registration Bill. 
The second reading of this Bill was adjourned from 
Monday to Thursday, June 12. 
The Adulteration Act.—Decision of the Court of 
Queen’s Bench. 
Court of Queen's JBench, Westminster, June 4. Sittings in 
Banco, before Mr. Justice BlacJcburn, Mr. Justice Quain, 
and Mr. Justice Archibald. 
Fitzpatrick v. Kelly. 
This case raised an important question under the 
Adulteration of Food Act of 1872. The respondent, a 
butterman of Liverpool had been proceeded against for 
selling adulterated butter. It appeared that the butter, 
which was sold for 7 cl. a pound, was mixed with lard, 
dripping, tallow, palm oil, and the fat from certain seeds. 
By the 2nd section of the Act it is provided that whoever 
shall sell any articles of food as unadulterated which are 
adulterated shall be liable, etc. The stipendiary magis¬ 
trate of Liverpool dismissed the summons, on the ground 
that the respondent could not be brought within the sec¬ 
tion unless he represented that the butter was un¬ 
adulterated, or unless it was shown that he knew the 
butter was adulterated. 
Mr. Justice Blackburn thought the construction which 
the. magistrate had put upon the Act was wrong. His 
Lordship was of opinion that, unless the seller said that 
the butter was adulterated, he represented that it was 
butter, and not anything else, and he thought that this 
construction imposed no hardship upon the seller, for 
before selling he could easily ascertain whether the 
article was pure or not. The 3rd section was so drawn 
that it was difficult to say what it meant, but his Lord- 
ship was clearly of opinion that it was not necessary to 
prove a guilty knowledge on the part of the seller. 
Mr. Justice Quain thought when, on being asked for 
butter, a tradesman handed an article across the counter, 
he thereby represented that that article was butter, and 
not a mixture of the horrible ingredients mentioned in the 
case, and that the magistrate was wrong in holding that 
an express representation was necessary. 
Mr. Justice Archibald thought that this was an im¬ 
portant and valuable enactment, and that the construc¬ 
tion which the magistrate proposed to put upon it would 
considerably curtail its provisions. 
The case was, accordingly, sent back to the magistrate. 
Mr. Mil ward, Q.C., and Mr. Bigham (with whom was- 
Mr. R. G. Williams) were counsel for the appellant; Mr. 
Segar argued for the respondent. 
During the argument, Mr. Justice Blackburn pointed 
out that any tradesmen who might be desirous of selling 
mixed or adulterated articles without rendering them¬ 
selves liable to be proceeded against under the Act, could 
do so if they announced that the articles which they soldi 
were mixed and adulterated.— Times. 
