The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-11-21
ABOUT THE ELECTRIC LIGHT.
The Progress that has been Made towards
its Introduction as an Illuminator.

There is probably more inventive geni-
US engaged in working out the various
possibilities of electricity at the present
time than in any other direction. Ger
tainly, the recent achievements of inven-
ltion into which electricity enters as an
agency have attracted q wider public
attention than all others. The growth
of this dabbling with the electric fluid
by inventors, is indicated by the fact that
at the Mechanics Fair in Boston this
Fall there have been eighteen entries
classed under the head of electrical in
ventions, whereas four years ago there
were but nine. Just now the greatest
interest focuses on the endeayors to at
tain cheap electric lightning. The prac-
tical applications of the electric light to
everyday purposes are as yet mostly
confined to England and France. The
London Times has introduced the light
into its establishment, and the London
public board of works are experimenting
with it along that magnificent boulevard
called the Thames embankment. In
Paris the use of the light is more COM
mon. In this country the most notable
display of the electric light is at the
Mechanics Fair in Boston, where two
rival American machines, the Wallace.
Farmer and the Brush, are in operation
side BY } side, ILLUMINATING the large Ex-
~hfbition Hall with sunlight brilliancy.
Four lights appear to be the capacity of
the latter machine and five of the for
mer, and one uses carbon points or pen
ellis, while the other consumes its carbon
in the form of oblong plates. But a
great defect of these lights, as we'll as of
the famous Jabblochkoff candle and all
the other European devices for electric
lightning, is that the carbon necessary to
the illumination is burned away and has
to be frequently renewed, thus adding
sensibly to the cost of the light. The
other difficulty is that, as the lights are
multiplied on given circuit, the illumi-
mating power is reduced out of all pro-
portion to the electricity expended.
Edison claims to have remedied both
of these defects. The past week has also
brought to public attention still another
inventor, who processes to have achieved
the same thing in what is called "the
Sawyer-Mann lamp" This lamp is on
successful exhibition at New York, and
a one and half horse power engine is
said to be equal to supplying sixty Of
them. 1t uses single carbon pencil,
but its burning away is avoided by SIM
ply placing over it hermetically sealed
glass globe. By this arrangement the
pencil is enveloped in an atmosphere of
nitrogen gas in which it is incapable of
being consumed. The lamp gives an
excellent light, is under perfect control,
and several months since company
with nearly 100000 capital was formed
at New York for its introduction. A
New England mill, which has been pay
ing "a, 900 year for gas, has, says Mr..
Sawyer, the inventor, ordered two hun
dred of these lamps, and its gas bill for
the ensuing year it is estimated, aside
from the cost of apparatus, will be re-
duced to $40. This cheapness is largely
due of course to the fact that the mill
already uses the requisite engine-power
in its manufacturing operations, but
where this is specially supplied and the
is carried on to any extent the
cost is immensely less than gas.