The New York herald., 1871-11-29
LECTURES LAST NIGHT.
FIRES AND now TO PREVENT THEM.

Inc secohd of The seros OF lectures by Professor
pofemus on science was delivered last evening IN
the nan oi th' foung Mems Christian Association.
The subject was "Fire and Its Treatment A good
deal OF valuable Information was given relative 10
the nature aud origin Of the element, Iirc assumes
various FORMS. Sometimes, as heat, II cheers and
revivines the system enieebcd by cold al other times
u assumes the more terrific shape Of connaQralion
as 1t has lately done IN the West ana carries
with 1t all the elements Of desoIatlon ana terror II
Is The most awful exhibition given to man Of the
potency OF the Creator, It's power either Tor good or
evil. being incalcuable Various have been the
theories held AZ various times IA to its nature.
LORD Bacon maintained II was a mode OF motion;
the same view was held by Sir Isaac Newton ana
In our own time the theory has been
revived by number Of emnent chemists,
chief among them SIR John Tyndal, who has
written book IN defence or IT, truth. II had been
considered by the ancents To he one OF the clc
Jnents; but this ~ not maintained NJ the present
day, ana We are IN certain sense at sea 10 ia
proper place In creation. The causes which pro
dncc fire, however, are well known, the chof among
them being combustion, which Is probably the princi
pal the nam, cause Of most OF the Ires which occuc
IN our large cities. PARTICLES OF matter brought into
contact with each o'h, ha,ea natural an,nlty amt
attracted witn the wind, wili IN numerous m.
stances, kindic into u namc We Frequently rcaG or
INSTANCES where the leaves OF trees, rustei " the
blast, igni,e ana produce terrible couha2raiions,
such as have lately occurred In Wisconsin ana
Michigan, wncrc whole forests were destroyed from
Tins SIMPLE cause. On The same principle oulv
travelling vita great velocity coating in contact
with an opposing force produces ire--as, ior
sdc Of ,p' sn,p w,Il '''s senS iof,n "'' spar%s
OF namc. The popular theories when
VIII be Ineligible TO MI relative 10 the production
OF tins element are easily explained. Il + by
chemical means that we are dairy mastering all the
dililcutes ol science, ani among them this ptncl-
pie of ,irc. Chemistry explains what Is known AZ
spontaneous coinbuSti0n which would otherwise
seem very mysterious II carbon or charcoal he cv.
posed 10 the air 10 can easily IgniLe ana In The sae
way soft coa. In one year the Metropolitan Gas
Company lost fi25,0O by the burning Of their soft
coal when exposed 10 Inc arr ana IN the same
Liverpool were never heard oi--supposed 10
have ncen lost Tor the same reason. Another great
cause Of fire - electricity which has Oeeu fearluy
illustrated by the destruction OF Chicago The air
Is surcharged with The ether electric force, aud IN
easily proved II a pcrsoa who walks distance a
day like ths comes INTO warm room ana RIBS MS
eeI ior , ,cngtn oi ,,nle on carnet or rle N
tips OF MS fingers, and match apple to them VIII
ignite lame TINS theory explains such phcnom
ena az We read about ~ tho papers IN connection
with the destruction ~ chicago. People who lived
long distance, IRON whore the fire was raging, VINO
had no idea OF moving to u place Of refuge, sud
denly discovered their houses on ire IN u manner
that seemed ncxniicable to them. rnc truLh or The
theory Is easily explained. Great fires, sncl
air. which travels over great dIstan~os,
e rs c . N paer M,aa shass
create counter element 10 prevent such disasters,
and IL Is believed chemistry Is ablc with its COM
paratlyeiy limited knowledge to suggest one
Apart from this, some valuable hints arc being
thrown out by men Of science relative TO tho build
ing Of our cities The long, narrow streets are, IL Is
SAID. very dangerous In the presence oil fire. short,
broad streets on the European plan being much
safer aud less cXpOsel IN the acton OF the lanel.
Some improvements might be made III our Fire DO
partment. IL has been suggested that instead Of
wafer being solely depen!ed upon rs an cxtin-
guisher reservolr should be provided In all our
Iarker cities led with either carboc OF sulphuric
acid, which would be much more ercacous
than wafer. II pipes were connected with The
reservoirs, leading TO our large establishments In
case 0f a fire breaking out al any time. The mere
action OF turning on valve and filing the burning
apartment WIN the gas woulu eXtnRuish the
names. The same method could be employed At
sea, on ships, ana the disasters that arc now SO
frequent could be easily prevented and controlled.
A number OF other valuable suggestions relative
TO the means which IL would he advisable to take 10
prevent fires In our houses, cities ana on onr per.
sons were offered ny tho Professor, and well re-
ceived 10y the audience. The lecture was beauti-
uly illustrated, the experiments beng of the most
elaborate Kind, amt the audience tes'ihcd their np
preciauon by repeated plauliti.