^""  nov.'is^s!™  }    Development  of  the  Chemical  Arts.  509 
as  obtained  from  Mallet's  absorption-cylinders  instead  of  ordinary  air 
in  blast-furnaces  ;  and  we  may  here  remark  that  the  absorption  of  oxy- 
gen in  water  has  been  already  unintentionally  used  for  this  purpose, 
although  in  a  form  capable  of  improvement.  Br.  Kerl*  has  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  air  from  the  water-blast  is  richer  in  oxygen 
than  common  air. 
It  has  also  been  observed  that  old  charcoal  burns  more  energetically 
than  recent,  because  the  former  has  absorbed  oxygen  from  the  air,  a 
circumstance  which  has  been  practically  utilized  with  advantage  in  refin- 
ing crude  iron.f 
Kuppelweiser  recommends  air  rich  in  oxygen  for  treating  white  crude 
by  the  Bessemer  process,  and  he  is  of  opinion  that  the  cost  of  Fessie 
du  Motay's  process  would  not  require  to  be  far  reduced  to  render  oxy- 
gen available  for  this  purpose. J  A  great  future  appears  open  here  for 
the  utilisation  of  oxygen.  Nevertheless,  Leblanc's  objection  cannot 
be  overlooked,  that  more  infusible  crucibles,  furnaces,  &c.,  would  be 
required,  the  cost  of  which  would  render  the  advantage  of  the  process 
doubtful. 
Turning  from  metallurgy  to  the  production  of  light,  we  must  admit 
that,  since  1826,  when  Drummond||  invented  his  oxyhydrogen  light, 
and  applied  it  for  land-measuring  and  for  lighthouses,  no  one  can  have 
questioned  the  value  of  oxygen  for  this  purpose.  As  the  price  of  the 
gas  was  reduced  its  application  was  extended,  an  example  being  espe- 
cially set  in  America.  H.  Vogel,§  in  the  year  1870,  found  oxygen  in 
successful  use  at  New  York,  not  merely  for  lighthouses,  signals,  and 
the  building  of  houses,  but  also  for  aquatic  structures  and  for  several 
applications  of  the  magic  lantern.  The  aquatic  operation  in  connec- 
tion with  the  great  Brooklyn  Bridge  over  the  East  River,  then  in  course 
of  erection,  were  lit  up  with  twelve  oxyhydrogen  lamps,  which  con- 
sumed daily  2,000  cubic  feet  of  oxygen. T[  Instead  of  lime  points,  the 
more  permanent  zircon  cones  were  used  with  great  advantage.  In  Paris, 
also,  the  Theatre  de  la  Gaite  and  the  Alcazar  were  illuminated  with  a 
fairy  splendor. 
*  Br.  Kerl,  "  Grundriss  der  Huttenkunde,"  i,  217. 
t"Journ.  Prakt.  Chemie,"  ci,  397.    "  Bergwerksfreund,"  iii,  513. 
X  Kuppelweiser,  "Berg-  u.  Hiittenm.  Zeitung,"  1873,  354. 
II  Drummond,  "On  the  Means  of  Facilitating  the  Observation  of  Distant  Stations 
in  Geodetical  Operations." — PhiL  Trans. 1826. 
^  Vogel,  "  Ber.  Chem.  Gesell.,"  iii,  901. 
Vogel  says,  by  mistake,  cubic  metres. 
