Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-30
A NEW LAMP,
A Consular Report From Berlin De-
scrfbes a Valuable Invention.

The State Department has received from
Consul General De Kay, at Berlin, an inter-
esting report of a new invention which is
making stir in the press of Berlin, ard
which as been personally examined by the
emperor. 1t consists of burner like that of
the incandescent lamp before reported, in so
far as the cotton hood" or Stocking" i'm
pregnated with chemicals is concerned,
which gives the light it's color and steadi-
ness. The former lamp, however, is used
for ordinary Illuminating gas, and the burn
er is adjusted to the ordinary gas jet. In the
new invention, the gas consists of the fumes
from dealcoholized spirit an article which
is very cheap in Germany. The recent sud-
den rise in the price of petroleum has given
TINS invention peculiar prominence in the
newspapers, and the emperor is said to have
remarked on the possibilities it offers of
opening new and large field for the con-
sumption of potato spirit, which, in a literal
sense, Is Just now a drug on the market
In order to induce the fumes to rise from
the spirit into the incandescent hood"
hollow metal rod with two elbows like an
inverted U is arranged over the bowl of the
lamp so that the two arms descend 10 the
huid; wick is passed through this arm, and
underneath the arm is placed a simple
straight tube with wick, which also de-
scends to the spirit. AS soon as this wick is
ignited, the long arm begins to get warm
above 1t and the fumes of the spirit begin to
assemble in the arm and pass up through
small hole on the upper side into the hood
where 1t can be ignted. To quench the light
II is only necessary to blow out the little
WICK below the arm, whereupon the latter
gets cold, gas ceases to form, and the mean
descent hood above ceases to operate
AT present, the cost of this lamp is too
great to warrant wide use of it," saws Mr.
De Kay. "A complete lamp costs about IS
and the apparatus to be adjusted to pc
troleum lamp costs about So. But these
prices are sure to fall rapidly if the public
takes to the invention. Another drawback
Is the danger of explosions Although the
makers of the lamp claim that there is none
1t Is not clear how explosions can be avoided
In cases where the user lacks experience or
intelligence
The fluid used is what is called denaturi
ert, or chemically changed spirit, which vol
atiliZes at low temperature and does rot
have to pay tine high tax with which crdi-
nary spirit is burdened. In 1885 GERMANY
exported spirit to the amount of 50 600 tons
valued at 2S,OOO,OO0 marks. Since then the
export has fallen, year after year. till in
1880 1t was $4,000 tons, valued at a. 900 900
MARKS, and in 1893 only 5000 tons valued
at 100000 marks. On the other side CT the
question, petroleum has been imported with
a constant increase. In 1855 there were
$4,000 tens, valued at $4,000, 900 marks; in
1880 there were &C., 900 tons, valued at To-
100000 marks and in 1893 there We're 7G5 go
tons, valued. to be sure, at lower price,
namely, 47.0OO,O0O marks. In the last ten
years the increase of imports of petroleum is
figured at over 160 per cent while the de-
crease of exports of spirits is calculated to
amount to p per cent"