The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-17
A LONDON FOG.
Il Is Not Only DiSagreGablG and Cherries, bot
Il Is Costly.

A London fog is not merely a cherries
and disagreeable but also very costly affair."
Some years ago, after day of regular fog
in the month of January, the following
statement was issued by the Gaslight and
Coke Company: Ninety million cubic feet
of gas were sent out during the twenty -four
hours ending at midnight This quantity
was an increase on that of the correspond
ing day in the previous year (which may be
taken as an ordinary January day. of 81 per
cent, or over 80, 600 coo cubic feet"
The price was at that time Shillings per
1000 cubic feet, so that the public had to pay
this one company $3.50 extra on account of
the fog. No less than $500 tons of coal
were carboniZed during the twenty-fOur
hours to produce 10000, 900 cubic feet of gas
the largest quantity ever sent out in one
day by the Gaslight and Coke Company.
Let it be remembered that this was the
quantity ascertained and declared by only
one of the companies supplying gas TO the
public, Others having also an enormous pro-
duction, such as the South Metropolitan Gas
Company, the strike at the works of which
at Lambeth last year caused so much diff
Guilty and annoyance. What was the total
amount over the average due to that Janu-
airy days fog there are no statistics to show,
but it is evident that the cost to the public
for additional light must have been very
great.
Nor is it by gas bills only that the cost of
n fog is to be reckOned in the matter of arti-
fetal light Gas meters and the records of
gas companies afford some approximate sta
tisticS but how can we reckon the total ex-
pense to the multitudes who use candles and
lamps OF every kind?
Many readers will remember the famous
Economical Project" as he called it, OF
benjamin Franklin. He thus introduced
his plan to the people of Paris: Il was the
other evening in a grand company where
the new lamp OF NJ. Lange was exhibited
and much admired for its splendOr. But in
Quiry was made whether the oil it consumed
was not in proportion to the light it afford
ed, in which case there would be no saving
in the use of it. No one present cuuld salts
fly us on that point, but | was pleased to see
the general concern for economy, for love
economy exceedingly"
A few days after Franklin published his
project, which wa3 no other than recon-
mendation to use sunlight more and artiti-
cial light less The paper is in Franktin'S
best style. full of sound sense anu genial
humOr but our reference TO it is only on ac-
count of the calculation he makes as to the
cost of candle light. Suppose, he says, there
are 100000 families in Paris and that these
families consume in the night half pound
of bOugies, or candles, per hour Taking
one family with another, this he thought
moderate estimate.
In the six mGnths between March goth
and September 10Th there are 1873 nights,
during seven hours of which candles are
burned; in all 1881 hours. These hours
multiplied by 100000 give the total of 1885,
100000 hours. At the current price of wax
and tallOw, he demonstrated that the city of
Paris could save 96,075, 600 liyres, in the half
year by early rising and using sunlight.
There W ould be also considerable saving
in the other six months, though the days
are shorter 1t is pleasant to recall this jeu
d'esprit of Franklin, as it sets up a thinking
what must be the actual cost of candle light
and lamp light in the hundreds of thousands
of houses and wOrkrooms, shops and Offices
during a regular London fog.-LeiSuTe
HOur