The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-11-09
The Mysteries Of Fires.

y Zset8chrVt," published In Leipsic. The
savant deals with the interesting topic
of spontaneous combustion and suggests
q theory to account for the destructive
and extensive forest fires that almost
yearly work such havoc with the sylvan
forests of America. Professor Weiss
man is of the opinion that some dew
drops clinging to the leaf of tree or
plant acts as double convex lens, and
brings the SUMS rays to focus on some
dry, inflammable substance, which
must be at the exact distance from the
dewdrop lens as to correspond with its
sphere of curvature.
Many hundred fires every year re-
mained unexplained, even after the most
thorough and exhaustive investigation.
Among all the wonderful phenomena
which chemistry presents to us" writes
Professor Weissman, Z" there are few
more remarkable than those of the
spontaneous combustion of bodies, ami
mate and inanimate, which emit flames
and are sometimes entirely consumed
by internal fire." Among the sub
stances subject to spontaneous combus-
ton pulverized charcoal is one of the
most remarkable. " A load of charcoal
was delivered in an outhouse of O clergy
man in Leipsic, and showed no signs of
taking fire till the door by accident was
lings of snow on the charcoal. The
rapid ABSORPTION of oxygen from the
melting snow caused by the charcoal to
ignite, and as the day was windy the
whole range of buildings were burned
to ashes" In this connection, fruit
ful and unsuspecting source of fire sug-
gests itself to those of our American
house-keepers who burn wood as fuel
and store the ashes in boxes or barrels.
The accidental distributing of such ash
es even after years, will cause them to
ignite, provided the air is damp or foggy.
The phosphoret of potash from decayed
wood renders wood ashes highly inf1am-
mable, and mysterious cellar fires in the
rural districts are, no doubt, in some
cases caused by this extraordinary form
OF spontaneous cOmDuStl0n.
Prof. Weissman himself had the un-
fortunate experience of being burned
out of house and home on wild winter
night some three years since, and he has
diligently collected facts about the spon-
taneous combustion. 1t appears that he
had been having his house painted, and
one night the painters, as their manner
is, left their working pants, their pots
and their brushes on the asphaltum
floor of the cellar. They had previous
ly, with bunch Of rags, removed from
their hands, with spirits of turpentine,
the paint with which their hands were
soiled. The ball of rags took fire, the
pants and paint pots followed suit,
and the house was burned to the
ground.
In the carriage factory of Messrs
Eaton & Gilbert, Troy, N. Y, drop of
linseed oil fell into an open paper of
lampblack, set it on fire, and came with
in an ace of burning down the whole
factory.
In several instances oilcloth in large
rolls has taken fire in damp, muggy
weather. An instance of this also oc-
ours in American fire experience. A
planter in Virginia sent his servant to
Fredericksburg for roll of oilcloth. 1t
was warm day and the wagon was op-
en-. During the journey home it began
to rain, and the roll of oilcloth took fire
on the road. Another instance of this
kind is supplied by Philadelphia during
the war. An order from the war de-
partment in Washington for knapsacks
for regiment was filled in the city of
brotherly love. The sacks were all fin
ished and collected and counted over
and left in pile in the paint shop, about
ten o'clock on Saturday night, SO as to
be sent to Washington by cars early on
Monday morning. On entering the
paint shop before daylight ON Monday
morning no knapsacks were to be found.
In their place was nothing but a heap of
smouldering ashes
Newly pressed hay frequently ignites,
as do also oatmeal and cornmeal in bar
rels. During the famine in ireland in
1S44-4S vessel was dispatched from
New York with cargo of corn meal
for the relief of the sufferers. In dis
charging the bags from the vessel the
last three were found to be on fire.
The American Journal of Science"
gives remarkable instance of the spon-
taneous combustion of wood A Mr..
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