Daily Republican., 1883-10-11
ARTIFICIAL IlLU MINATl0N
IHE MEANS EMPLOYED TO Pro
Du.E RTlFsClAL LIGHT
AND FLAME.

-
AND FLAME.
Artificial light is probably ~ ancien
a. the human race or the use of fire
and The means employed to produce i
among savage tribes have scarcely nd
yanced beyond burning branches o
trees, or splinters Of wood, while amonl
civilized nations 1t has advanced tO q
point that can almost be coDsidere(
PERFECTION.
Torches we're probably the first i'm
provement, and lamps even Of the sim
pest kind display q great advance il
refinement, A. they require combina
ton Of cohtrivances, such as the pre-
paration Of the Oil, u vessel to hold il
and a proper substance tor wick. 1t
SEEM, remarkable that ths ancient ma
lions, who displayed great ski and taste
in many things, should have made no
improvement IN lamps, except that OF
it, Iorn. Antique lamps have been
i9lud IN HercuIaneun', PoMpeii ana
other ancient cities OF almost infinite
variety made Of baked ca! or OF bronze
from The most simple forms to those ot
the must studied description, and ad-
mlraUl' for the beauty Of their work.
mansnIp, but the principle of the lamp
scarcely varies from what must have
been the original c0ntrivace Of an open
vessel with wick laid In the oil. The
hight furnished by these lamps must
Lave been weak and unsteady, and
as there were no means for d estroying
the smoke,it wasvery annoying III clos
ri apartments.
simple as is the contrivance Of can.
dies, they do not seem TO have been
Known 10 the ancients, who for long
time continued 10 make USE Of the lamp
mIy. A species of candles were, how
ever, made by the Romans OF strings
or shes dipped in pitch and surround
ed by wax, but they were not in general
ust, rs an ancient writer, in describing
a feast, states that there were twelve
toIcn,s III the hall held by twelve
vaeIs.
Sometime during the twelfth century
candles made Of wax, fastened In chan
deier., were introduced into general Use
III the churches, and AZ refinement in
creased they came into Use among the
nobility and wealthy all over Europe,
the middle classes. The discovery by
Argand, by which the smoke of lamps
was destroyed, produced a new era III
ARTIFICIAL illumination, and lamps which
had long been banished from the best
apartments. were again restored t.
favor, and CAME in general use.
Tie material u.ed for supplying the
fame was either animal, vegetable or
hSA oil, but the latter was used most
extensively, aud continued In genera
uSc uiu! the supply Of whales, from
which the larger portion was UbIaiued,
c0mmrnced to De exhausted, when men
exercised their Ingenuity to the utmost
UIAyent some subslalce to take its
place, The result was a variety Of in
H1lo.AdbIe tinids, the majority OF which
wtI' Ionnd highly explosive and unfate
Nu-r.
Aun.y Thirty years ago coal oil was
discovered IN Immense quantities IN
| ftlhsl ,Nanla, anu It's superior illlnl-
LaIng powers, combined with its small
rj't, soon gaveit u popularity which 1t
r"lAn, To THIS day, anu the cabin of the
Auhhe IaDOrer Is now better lighted |
through It's agency than the palaces OF |
Nr wealthy were in the early ages. The
io"r man can nov, through The mate
la snrrIle,t from natures great abOra-
Nty ana IL achievements OF science,
tjoH hght equal to that of his wealthy
ltlghbyr
UIl,r means were, however, tried for
inHucing ar'tirial light, and az early
As 1oa II was discovered by Or. Clay
t.u II Irut.t rha,uiss ha h. uuu
NLcAaIos, from bituninous coal, when
s1'jtcrd 10 "A red heat In retort, war
ngny luttammable, and burned with n
N"shl tame when brought in contact
with the air and ignited.
No effort seems TO have been made to
u'i'Izr this important discovery un'il
'lt year 1892, when II Mr.. Murdock,
SAu was an engineer ia the maChlne
work, Of Messrs. Watt Il BouttOn at
Soho lear birmingham, England, con-
"i'rd the idea Of producing light on an
e'lrhsi'r scale by means of gas, and
"'rf several years spent in expert
@'"i!hI, applied it to the lightingOf his
o"A hUusr and after tnat iDtrOd uced IL
l''' NE extensive works of his EN-.
p"StTS which were lighted for the first
lt peace of Amiens in 1893.
But notwithstanding these successful
thltE1mrnts, aud also the fact that
%'tHtI other manufactures in Brm-
lsHah, Manchester, and other places
were ti-hted with gas under the super
VISION Of Mr.. MurdOck, SO little was
,Ar M general public acquainted with the
ilei's merits Of the invention that it was
."htd Hpon by most persons as merely
aNtcuIaIion, calculated TO deluds, and
J ay Nicely TO ever be adopted to any con-
@rFabe extent,
, ~ NE commencement of the present
,'A'hFy, II was introduced into the
nlyeu'h Theatre, and many persons
,, were 'hd'iced ia inquire into its merits,
aDu short time afterwards a company
%"S i"Fmed for the purpose of lighting
'1 1e 11esrr"ts Of London, and the success
VI VI, Goa gas as an illuminating agent
,, "a' al as,ur-d fact. From England
w',i ,re iinN"n1lo ion was brought to the new
"o ""'' and with the many impr We
~'"N seN Introduced by Yankee ingenuity,
,' r%' ghil within u few years. cuusid.
,'F s'' N" best article that could be oh.
I"'" n ior producing artificial ght.
Oo,. 'Ee people Of the nineteenth
,mnu'fy ,, who had chained the light
sD'-' ana made it convey their mes
,1tS .,y around the word, we're not even
a, .'sn'n "l'h this agent, each burner
Inr, I|T' ~ Which is capable OF atiording a
y,,I "", TNaI to that OF sixteen .prrh
0,,a>' Something greater must be
Sia,n"' Si"'"'"' aud genius, yoked with
mJ n,'f applied themselves to the task,
IT,, m" u" Tue electric light is the result.
IN s j. "'S""very, however, is AZ yet only ID
h u.s. H., infancy, and can scarcely be sai,!
~. T%a'' even come into general use.
dnci, d,I' ''"ctrtc light is capable OF pro-
csrWII light equal to that Of 1000
br" ''eS ,' from each lamp, and one has
pbi" Im!trted ~ in front OF the Philadel-
" nn", record office, on Chestnut street,
r~. ieel above the sidewalk, the
sr% "' which is equal to ten thou.
L., L., "a. al. |