A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON (§n& anfr DWilato, WITH SPECIAL RELATION TO ILLUMINATING, HEATING, AND COOKING BY GAS. INCLUDING SCIENTIFIC HELPS TO ENGINEER-STUDENTS AND OTHERS. WITH ILLUSTRATED DIAGRAMS. By E. -E.' PERKINS. ,- III'" PHILADELPHIA: HENRY CAREY BAIRD, (SUCCESSOR TO E. t. CAREY,) No.t HART'S BUILDINOS, SIXTH ST. ABOVE CHESTNUT. 1856. W h h \Z$(o pt/6m tip, 5"0 f C( ^}0, q Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by' HEXKY C. BAIRD, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Tennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON 4 CO. PHILADELPHIA. Printed by T. K. & P. Q Collins. CONTENTS. PAGE Advertisement.................................................. 7 Introduction..................................................... 9 Advantages of Gas in Private Houses............... 15 As REGARDS THE PAYMENT FOR GaS, AND DESCRIPTION of the Meter............................................. 33 Concerning Gas-Fitters..................................... 52 Ventilation...................................................... 54 A Further Argument on Ventilation................. 70 What Dr. Arnott did and suggested.................. 99 Other Modes of Spontaneous Ventilation.......... 115 1* 5 6 CONTENTS. PAGE Griscom on Ventilation..................................... 121 Influence of Human Effluvia........................... 145 Scientific Helps to Students and other Gen- tlemen ...................................................... 149 Valediction...................................................... 167 ADVERTISEMENT. This " Treatise" on Gas and Ventilation is addressed to all interested in the use of gas as a domestic and commercial article for illumination, heating, cooking, and other purposes. The points dwelt upon have been di- vided ; so that the consumers, while having the benefit of our experience and recom- mendation, may be made familiar with causes not generally understood, and reme- dies within their own resources; to the former of which they have been improperly and unnecessarily subjected—of the latter kept ignorant, either by the fitter or gas companies, or both. It is necessary to say, although all which is hereinafter to be said must be new, or nearly so, to the gene- rality of consumers, much of it must, and all ought to be familiar to the fitter by his everyday practice, and philosophically known by every gas engineer. INTRODUCTION. Few persons, when occupied by gas-light, ever stop to think how modern this conve- nience is—unknown to our grandfathers, not dreamt of a hundred years ago! Washing- ton read by the light of candles instead of gas. Franklin died half a century before the invention of "Hoe's Last Fast." Jeffer- son travelled on horseback instead of by railroad and steamboat, carrying a phos- phorus bottle with matches and his own small wax candles as precautions. Gas, now so common, was not even evol- vent from coal until 1739. Half a century elapsed before it was used for purposes of 9 10 INTRODUCTION. illumination; and to Mr. Murdoch, of Red- ruth, Cornwall, England, about 1789, be- longs the credit of this. At first he amused himself and astonished his neighbours, by riding about in a little steam-carriage, which at night was lighted by means of bladders filled with coal gas. In 1805 it became ge- neral in the Manchester factories, England; in 1807 the invention was announced in London, England; and by it London may be said to be brought, for at least half the twenty-four hours, out of darkness into light. The feeble glimmer of oil lamps, the glare of torches, the shouting of link-boys, and the lanterns always at hand, with the great- coats and umbrellas—the latter themselves then a novelty—were in full muster fifty years ago; but have now given way to a nightly illumination so splendid, and so happily adapted to great cities, that it may INTRODUCTION. 11 be said of them, " Solemque suum sua sidera norunt." The invention itself was incre- dible till it could no longer be doubted; and it could hardly be said that even seeing was believing, for people would not under- stand, for several years, that it was possible on a large and economical scale; and now it lights up villages in New Zealand, where fifty years* ago no white man had built a residence; and in California of a more sub- sequent date. Had Swift but heard of such a scheme and proposed results, he would have put it among the dreams of Lapida. Napoleon laughed and said, " C'est une grande folie," and Sir Walter Scott gravely said, " he feared London would be on fire by it from Hackney Gate to Tyburn." * To the most reflecting it offered subject- * East and west extremities, then, of London, each beyond the city proper. 12 INTRODUCTION. matter of high consideration; proposing, as its advocates did, to carry light, like water, underground for miles, and supply it to every house and room in the metropolis. Lord Brougham Vaux, then Harry Brougham, on first seeing gas, said, " The idea was worthy of the philosopher who pro- posed to extract sunbeams from cucumbers." When the discovery had been appreci- ated and adopted, and when the smell, the headaches, the drowsinesses, the closeness of the air, the injury to the eyes and lungs, that appeared to attend the use of gas, had seemed for a time to qualify its value, a fresh triumph came to its rescue, in the dis- covery of means by which it could be puri- fied of its injurious properties. Assurances were given that it could he made harmless to the eyes and to the lungs; and certainly there was a great improvement, and a great INTRODUCTION. 13 difference between the better and the bad gas; and there are now abundantly multi- plied simple means to render the gas of the present day not only completely innoxious, but an active co-operative agent to incipient ventilation. To follow this object further here would be contrary to our proposition : it belongs properly to the body of the work; consequently, we will resume it as indi- cated. 2 GAS AND VENTILATION. Advantages of Gas in Private Houses. The superiority of coal gas, as compared with every other material, for producing light and heat, has been too long acknow- ledged to require arguments or illustrations. The only point respecting gas which seems still to be imperfectly understood is its ge- neral applicability to domestic purposes; and which is the effect of defective information, rather than of prejudice. There are thou- sands of families who would readily avail themselves of the various comforts and con- veniences of gas, provided its relative cost and other matters were properly explained to them. On whom does this duty devolve? 13 16 GAS AND VENTILATION. On those who manufacture, or those who live by the profit of gas furniture ? Neither the one nor the other: it devolves on the engineer, who is not an employee of any particular person or company. Taking the office, therefore, upon ourselves, as in that capacity, we will proceed to say: The use of gas in dwelling-houses has already made considerable progress, and is daily increas- ing. The practical benefits of the science of gas-lighting are not yet developed, as they may be, by what are already known; and although much has been done, much remains to be put into daily use. The pros- pect is encouraging, and success is attain- able by well-directed efforts. The superiority of gas consists not merely in the relative cheapness of the light ob- tained from it, as compared with that from tallow, wax, oil, camphene, &c.: there are other circumstances connected with its use which are of a far greater importance—name- ly, its convenience, cleanliness, brilliancy, ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 17 manageability, and safety. Requiring no pre- paration by the consumer, it is lighted in a moment, can be increased or diminished at pleasure, and retires with the rapidity of thought. It saves labour and time, as com- pared with oil and other lamps, and where candles are used. The odour so peculiar to coal gas has often been urged as an objec- tion to its use; a stronger ground of objec- tion would exist if it was free from odour: its presence in an unburnt state is thereby infallibly detected, and thus fair warning is given that something requires remedying. When gas is detected escaping, open every window, every door of the apart*. MENT, WITHOUT A LIGHT OF ANY KIND. Search for it immediately: the cause will very readily be detected; if it should prove to be a split in the pipes, or any joint broken, &c, send for the fitter, and do not attempt to light the gas in any part of the house till the repairs are made. A very common objection to the use of 2* 18 GAS AND VENTILATION. gas in private houses is, that the heat ge- nerated by its combustion is insupportable, and that ceilings, and picture-frames, and furniture generally, are liable to be injured, discoloured, &c. Now, the products result- ing from the combustion of gas are precisely similar to those from tallow, wax, oil, cam- phene, &c. If the gas be well purified, there will be less risk of discoloration of walls and ceilings, or of injury to the most costly arti- cles of furniture, picture-frames, &c, than from the use of either candles, tallow, wax, or sperm, or from lamps of oil or camphene, giving out an equal volume of light. When gas is first introduced into a house, the duty of the fitter is to distribute the pipage judiciously, so as to have it declin- ing to the meter; to see that every joint, connecting piece, bend, elbow, T-piece, be properly screwed and connected; that the syphon or syphons (if any) are placed in proper depressed situations; that the tops and burners be severally well screwed home; ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 19 bells, reflectors, and ceiling hooks, shields on; that the meter is properly placed and fixed square—properly charged with water; the index correctly registered for starting, and then the whole honestly tested by the pump. It is just as necessary to take into consideration the dimensions of the rooms, their relative situations, as respects the ac- cess of daylight and the uses to which they are applied, as it is, in the erection of a house, to determine upon the number, di- mensions, and situations of the doors, win- dows, and fireplaces; for it is too frequent- ly the practice to sacrifice utility and com- fort to appearances, placing a certain num- ber of gas-burners against walls or suspend- ing them from the ceiling of a room, with- out estimating beforehand the quantity of light they will produce, or adopting any plan for getting rid of the heat. When gas is consumed under the most favourable con- ditions, the heat generated is very nearly in equal proportions with the light obtained; 20 GAS AND VENTILATION. hence the importance of using burners of the best construction. As a general rule, it is desirable, in draw- ing and dining-rooms, to suspend the burn- ers from the ceiling; by which arrangement the light is more equally diffused, and by being above the eye, its position is more na- tural, and, for all practical purposes, more useful and agreeable. When a small room, in which two, or at the most four, candles were previously used, is fitted up with gas, and if we suppose that one argand burner be fixed, the light from which is equal to that from ten or twelve candles, is it surprising that the room should be considered inconveniently warm? So also, when gas takes the place of oil lamps, or camphene and spirit lamps, it commonly happens, that an equal, and not unfrequently a greater, number of burners is introduced, without considering that the quantity of light, and consequently of heat, from each burner, will be very nearly in ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 21 the proportion of two to one. The addi- tional quantity of heat diffused and the more rapid deterioration of the air in one case as compared with the other, are due, there- fore, to the quantity of light obtained from gas being greater than from the candles and lamps previously used. If the quanti- ties of light were equal, the other effects would in both cases be similar. These are conditions which should al- ways be taken into account when gas is first introduced, and show how important it is, by suitable arrangements, to provide for effective ventilation. It is just as easy to ventilate as it is to talk about it; the object to be obtained is the withdrawal of the heated and vitiated portions of the atmosphere of a room, and the simultaneous introduction of an equal volume of fresh and pure air. This should be accomplished by a process certain at all times in its operation, but sufficiently under control as to be adapted to changes of 22 GAS AND VENTILATION. temperature of weather and of seasons. Moreover, an essential condition to ventila- tion is a gentle and equable movement in the air, sufficient to produce entire and com- plete displacement, but not sufficient to cre- ate any perceptible current. A constant, and not an intermittent, sup- ply of air must be obtained, for the perfec- tion of gas-lighting consists in having a good light just where and when it is most needed; and a constant supply of fresh air —without its producing the sensation of a draught—is peremptorily demanded. These conditions are partially attained by the use of a perforated plate inserted in the ceiling, which being connected with a hood and pipe, carry the heated air out of the apart- ment in which the light is burning, and convey it into a chimney or any covert duct; thereby also promoting the salubrity of the atmosphere within the room, by caus- ing the withdrawal of large portions of the air which would have become vitiated by j ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 23 respiration, and impure from other sources of contamination. We do not desire to be considered senti- mental ; we believe we are by far too prac- tical for all that "would-be refinement;" but we will admit we are continually grieved at seeing the shocking neglect of all rational attempts to ventilate, even in the latest and best-erected houses and public buildings- palaces, built and being built here, there, and scattered with a lavish liberality over large tracts of the cities of this empire country. Gorgeously finished, furnished, and appointed with all that wealth can command and good taste suggest; inhabited by high, intellectual, philanthropic, and tried men, wealthy, surrounded by their families,—yet each and all, even the delicate, high-souled fair ones, mothers and daughters, liable to, and positively, though unwittingly, contri- buting by their presence to a deleterious in- doors atmosphere; all, all this, and its con- comitant evils, its baneful influences, exist 24 GAS AND VENTILATION. for the want of a mechanical arrangement for a proper ventilation^a matter at once simple, not expensive, a real luxury in win- ter, and particularly grateful in summer— at all times positively and absolutely neces- sary for the intellectual and physical deve- lopment of the young; in the highest de- gree demandable by the middle-aged and the more advanced members of the human family, for other but equally intrinsic re- sults. In return, however, there is another objection to the use of gas, which is so fre- quently made, that it must not be forgotten. We refer to the commonly-expressed opi- nion that gas-light is injurious to the eyes. This is fallacious; no eye was ever injured by the use of gas more than from any other kind of light; besides, the means are so ex- ceedingly easy, by which the exact quantity of light by gas required in any particular occupation may be had, that there is no need for an excess which would be even un- pleasant. On the contrary, it has been ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 25 found that a deficency of light in perform- ing the most ordinary matter in life, as reading, writing, sewing, &c, has produced more injury than will be willingly acknow- ledged. Let it be remembered too, that the situation of a light is of as much importance as its intensity: it should, moreover, always be above the eye; the light from candles and lamps for tables is commonly too near the line of vision to be either comfortable or harmless. It may not amount to an error if, on the first fitting up a house with gas, that all the pipage should be of a larger calibre than at first appears necessary, for thereby a more uniform supply of gas is insured; and should it be ultimately desirable to increase the number of the lights, the additions can be made by the mere extension of the pipes at a very trifling cost, without the necessity for removing those already in use. The most direct course to each burner should be always aimed at. 3 26 GAS AND VENTILATION. The use of wrought-iron pipe should be used in every case possibly consistent. Stop-cocks should be placed for safety and convenience where the fittings will allow, and out of sight, so as to regulate or turn off the gas when required, on either floor in the house. Fitters should bear in mind that all right- angles are condensers ; consequently, in lay- ing pipage and supplies to burners, curves or bends should be introduced in every available locality instead of elbows or T's; it will cost a trifle more, but it will econo- mize gas to ten-fold its extra amount. When gas-fittings are put up by intelli- gent and experienced workmen, judiciously arranged, and constructed of good materials, they constitute the most durable fixtures of a house; if on the contrary, there is not a more dangerous, expensive, and disagree- able adjunct. The forms of gas-furniture are so various, that their selection is wholly a matter of ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 27 taste; but never definitely order from any pattern-card or book; see a working speci- men of the form, size, or sizes you require, also of the material and finish of same you propose, because the colour of the walls, ceil- ings, and style of furniture of a room is a very important condition to be thought of, for lighting effectively and economically: a combination of those colours which reflect light are the most pleasing, since they pre- serve, under a variety of modification, the natural tints of the countenance viewed through artificial illumination. Attention may be properly directed to movable lights for library tables, experi- mental and professional slabs, and a variety of domestic requirements: for such no pro- vision suggests itself better than the flexi- ble tubing, with spiral wire encased, or the ordinary India-rubber tubing, attached to service-pipe or branch, conveying the gas to the pedestal and burner. For many purposes the most useful form 28 GAS AND VENTILATION. of burner is the argand; and of the vari- ous sizes the most economical is that of fif- teen holes. With this burner the gas is consumed under as favourable conditions as it is generally susceptible by metallic burn- ers of brass, &c; and hence the light ob- tained from a given quantity of gas is greater than by many other of great pre- tensions. The principle of the argand con- sists in admitting a current of air simulta- neously to the interior and exterior surfaces of a (hollow) cylindrical column of gas; and the most beneficial effects are obtained when the quantity of air so supplied is suf- ficiently equalized and controlled, that it cause perfect, but not vivid, combustion. Many of the burners brought into notice are very inferior to this common argand in respect to economy. Many more are under probation, but we have not had as yet suffi- cient evidence to render a reliable opinion upon them. Others, constructed with the intention of producing vivid combustion, ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 29 by deflecting a current of air upon the gas- flame, are well adapted for situations where a brilliant, commanding light is required in a limited space, and where a constant sup- ply of air is available. Such burners ought not to be used in private or other closed apartments, unless there be free and un- limited ventilation obtainable* The more tranquil and perfect the combustion, (for private rooms, &c.,) other conditions being equal, the greater will be the quantity of light from a given quantity of gas. The more intense the combustion, the greater will be the quantity of gas consumed and of heat generated, to produce a propor- tionate volume of light, and the greatest liability to do damage to furniture, &c. by the probable escape of unconsumed carbon. If, however, persons complain of heat, and make no effort to get rid of it, we only remind them that the gas is not to be blamed, but the burner first, and them- selves next. 30 GAS AND VENTILATION. Burners, therefore, which are well adapted for illuminating stores and public buildings, are not equally applicable to private houses and apartments. Store-doors are nearly always open while the lights are burning; therefore there is less difficulty about ven- tilation. A larger quantity of light is re- quired in stores, because it frequently oc- curs that there is more competition in light- ing premises than displaying goods. The most economical style of burners are now but little thought of by storekeepers; a bril- liant light, with the most pleasing effects, being considered of greater importance; and any trifling reduction in the price of gas, would tend to increase this mania, and increase the revenue of gas corporations, if they would but see in the right direction. For cleanliness and economy, the fishtail is the most useful and effective burner which can be used in dwelling-houses. It is made of various powers of delivery; can be adapted to any style of fittings, and, ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 31 when enclosed in glasses, has a pleasing, satisfactory effect. In almost every house there are particu- lar situations where a light will be a great convenience, but where the least possible quantity will be sufficient for all useful pur- poses ; in such cases a single-jet burner will be most appropriate, which, with careful management, will yield light equal to that of a mould candle, spirit one-light lamp, or graduated to half that volume, costing about seventy-five cents a year. When gas is first introduced, it rarely happens that persons are satisfied with the same quantity of light as they had previ- ously possessed; so long, however, as this extra supply is kept within moderate limits, it will cause no material difference in the result at the end of the year. While we impress upon our readers the importance of distributing light as much as possible through the various parts of a house, we beg them to observe the same rule which 32 GAS AND VENTILATION. prevails in every well-regulated family with regard to lamps and candles—viz. that it be used only in such quantities, and at such times, as is really necessary; in which cases it will be found less expensive than either lamps or candles. Experience has shown that a small light in a house, provided it be so situated that its effects may be visible from the outside, is one of the most efficient means of protec- tion against nocturnal depredations. If con- veniently placed, such a light will be no less useful to the inmates of the house; in cases of sudden alarm or illness at night, is not a light the first thing required, and can it be too promptly obtained ? THE GAS-METER. 33 As regards the payment for Gas, and descrip- tion of the Meter. The only equitable and by far the most economical method of using gas is by the meter, which is attached to the pipe lead- ing from the street-main to the house, and through which the gas must pass before it is conveyed to the burners. By this appa- ratus the gas is measured, and a faithful re- cord kept of the quantity consumed; it per- forms the duty of an accountant; and, to in- sure perfect accuracy, requires only a few minutes' attention once a month, on the ave- rage. To their instrumentality we are chief- ly indebted for an equality of charges for gas, protecting both consumer and manu- facturer, when made honestly, without any very active interference on the part of either. 34 GAS AND VENTILATION. Simple in its construction, and made of materials which are not liable to alter in shape or size, the gas-meter is at once the most perfect contrivance the ingenuity of man has devised as agent between buyer and seller. When adjusted, its motion de- pends solely on the gas which passes through it, and which motion is faster or slower according as the quantity consumed in a given time is greater or less. But al- though the meter which is here repre- sented is remarkable for its simplicity, it is not so very easy, by description only, to convey an intelligible idea of its action. THE GAS-METER. A is the pipe by which the gas enters from the street-main. B, that by which it is conveyed to the fittings. C ihe index-box. D, the badge-plate, on which is inscribed the maker's name, and the date, number, and size of the meter. E, F, G are apertures stopped by screw-plugs; the first for allowing the escape of any condensed vapour which may collect in the inlet-pipe, the second for supplying water to the meter, and the third for ascertaining if it contains the exact quantity required.* * This is the usual form of the meter. By some manufacturers the ex- terior case is made of cast-iron, and differs considerably from that shown above. Others have altered, and in some instances improved, both the ex- terior form and the interior arrangements; but, whatever be its configura- tion, its principlo of action remains unaltered. 95 36 .GAS AND VENTILATION. The meter, which is made entirely of metal, consists principally of an external cylindrical case, and an internal hollow drum (or wheel) supported on an axis, and divided into four equal, but obliquely-formed, cells or chambers; the openings to these chambers {called inlets and outlets) are at opposite sides, and so arranged that, while one chamber is filling with gas, that next to it is emptying; it being impossible that any two of them can be full or empty at the same time. The action of the meter depends on its being filled with water to the height indicated at a a. The use of the water is to close (seal) the aperture in the centre of the drum, through which the gas, by means of a bent pipe, enters; it also opens and shuts the inlets and outlets of the respective chambers, as they successively rise above and descend below its surface. It has been mentioned that the cham- bers into which the drum (or wheel) of the meter is divided are composed of metal. THE GAS-METER. - 37 This is the case, however, with respect only to five of their sides; the sixth and last side of each chamber being formed by the sur- face of the water. To this arrangement the machine is in- debted for its justly-merited reputation as a correct measurer, for its noiseless and steady motion, for the small amount of fric- tion consequent thereon, and for the facility with which its accuracy can at any time be tested, when properly constructed. The source of motion in the meter is the impulse (pressure) communicated to the gas at the manufactory, and by which it is forced along the pipes with greater or less velocity as the pressure is there increased or diminished. When a meter is first set to work, those parts of the drum above the water are full of air; on opening the main- top and one or more of the burners, the gas immediately enters that chamber whose in- let is above, but whose outlet is below the surface of the water; and before any gas can 4 38 GAS AND VENTILATION. pass to the burners, this chamber must be filled, and while that process is going on, the chamber next in advance will be dis- charging the air it contained through the fittings. By the time the first-mentioned chamber is full, and consequently has risen above the water, the latter will be empty, and have descended below it; and so on with the others in succession. Gas will now enter the fittings, and, as soon as it has dis- placed the air, may be lighted at the burn- ers. Understand, the gas does not pass through the water, but only over its sur- face ; and, by successively emptying and fill- ing each of the four chambers before de- scribed, causes the wheel to rotate on its axis. While, therefore, gas cannot enter the house without passing through and im- parting motion to the meter, so also there cannot be any motion except when gas is passing. The axis on which the drum of the meter revolves projects beyond its front THE GAS-METER. 39 bearings, and, by means of an endless screw (snail-motion) working in a toothed wheel, turns a vertical shaft, the upper end of which enters the index-box; it there com- municates the motion it receives from the drum to a simple train of wheels, (like clockwork,) and, by hands adapted to a series of dials, the gas, as it is measured, is registered: the index on the diagram of meter as shown (p. 35,) is capable of re- cording any quantity, from one hundred to one hundred thousand cubic feet; and at the upper right-hand corner of the dials is a cylindrical index, with a pointer in front, which marks smaller quantities, say from a foot to twenty feet. Every meter, according to its gauged ca- pacity, and which varies in proportion to the number of lights to be supplied—from two to five hundred lights—is so con- structed that each entire revolution of the drum (of small meters) delivers some defi- nite aliquot part of a cubic foot, or (of large 40 GAS AND VENTILATION. ones) a definite number of feet. For ex- ample : suppose a meter, each of whose four chambers will contain one-sixteenth of a foot, to have made one entire revolution of the drum, then four-sixteenths, or one- fourth of a foot, will have passed through; and when the same drum has made four revolutions, one foot will have passed, and so on, as long it continues in operation. It will thus be understood how easily the ex- act amount of work done is, by the aid of clockwork, recorded. It is a great mistake to place too many lights on a meter; in all instances where this has been done, sufficient gas could not be obtained for the burners. The best situation for a meter is in some well-to-be-got-at place, as near on a level with the main service-pipe as possible; the place to be dry, cool, (not draughty,) shel- tered from extremes of temperature as much as possible, and where it may not be liable to be shaken by carriages passing, &c. THE GAS-METER. 41 If it be fixed in a warm room, the water will evaporate too quickly, and cause more than occasional inconvenience. In order to prevent the liquid freezing in the meter during winter the water, wholly or in part, should be drawn off, and the same quantity of alcohol substituted. Dry meters are of various forms, differ-i ing considerably both in appearance and in construction from that just described; they are made partly of metal and partly of lea- ther or prepared bladder, &c, each of the latter being peculiarly prepared, to render them, if possible, permanently flexible, durable, and impermeable to gas. The machine consists of separate chambers—the number of which is immaterial, depending entirely on the choice of the maker: one or more of the sides of each chamber moves freely on a leather, &c. hinge or joint, somewhat resembling the connection of the two parts (wooden parts) of an ordinary bellows. By opening and shutting valves, 4* 42 GAS AND VENTILATION. communicating with the respective cham- bers, the latter are alternately filled and emptied; the gas which passes through them is measured, and, by means similar to that already described, the quantity is re- corded on the index. The day is gone by for saying a thing cannot be done, and that it must fail; we have had too much expe- rience not to fully acknowledge this; and we are free to confess, a dry meter, reliably turned out of hand, we should hail with pleasure, and give it all our support; but, hitherto, we have not seen one, which, for any ordinary length of time, rendered satis- factory results. Many persons who have had a gas-meter for years on their premises have never taken the trouble to learn the way to read the index. This is wrong. This know- ledge can be acquired in a very few minutes, and, when obtained, not readily forgotten. It is more conformable to our habits to have greater reliance, even in the THE GAS-METER. 43 most trivial matters, when we know them ourselves, than when obliged to trust to others. The word cents, as shown in the follow- ing engraving, denotes that the least quan- tity recorded by the dial is one hundred cubic feet; two ciphers (00) being always understood at the right of the dial, marked units. This mode of computation is adopt- ed to obviate the inconvenience of taking into account any less quantity of gas than that just mentioned, Each division on the units dial is equal to one hundred, and an entire revolution of the hand is equal to one thousand. On the tens dial each divi- sion is equal to one thousand, and an entire revolution of the hand to ten thousand. Each division of the hundreds dial is equal to ten thousand, and an entire revolution of the hand to one hundred thousand. When, therefore, the hand of the units dial has moved once round, that on the tens dial will have moved from 0 to 1, and that on 44 GAS AND VENTILATION. m. the hundreds' dial one-tenth of the distance from ten to one. We have lately compiled a dial facial card, practically illustrating the mode of marking off at sight and correctly register- ing the index; and as we have disposed of the copyright, it would be unjust if we were here to enter more fully upon this subject. The card is called "Pears Gas Register," and we can candidly commend it to the public as calculated to aid the desire to economically burn gas, and tending to arrest abuse and any attempt at dishonesty or carelessness of the manufacturers' em- THE GAS-METER. 45 ployees. It may fairly lay claim to the power of saving the consumer from 15 to 30 per cent, on his gross gas-burning. The quantity of gas indicated by the term cubic foot is not very generally understood. Persons may be told that it means a solid foot, or, when applied to liquid or aeriform bodies, a quantity equal to the capacity of a perfectly square vessel measuring twelve inches on each of its six sides; but this lat- ter description is equally vague and indis- tinct, as to actual quantity, as the former. Every person must not only be familiar with the term gallon, but be able to form a tolerably correct notion of the size of that vessel; a cubic foot of gas is equal to rather more than six gallons, (6-232.) Therefore, at whatever price gas is per 1000 cubic feet, it follows that for that sum the consumer has been supplied with rather more than 6-232 gallons. A fair average rate of con- sumption in a 16-hole argand-burner is 5 cubic feet per hour; the quantity of gas so 46 GAS AND VENTILATION. consumed, therefore, in that time, is rather more than 31 gallons. There are many purposes to which gas can be applied with the highest economical success, other than that of illumination. Its value as fuel is no new discovery. By means of a simply-constructed apparatus, gas performs the respective processes of roasting, baking, frying, boiling, broiling, steaming, &c, with a precision that cannot be attained by an ordinary open fire or stove. Two or three days' experience is sufficient to enable any one of ordinary ca- pacity to conduct any of the above-named operations with success and certainty, while the trouble and attention required are con- siderably less than by the ordinary methods. Roasting by gas is the very perfection of the culinary art; the meat being cooked uni- formly, and the juices, on which its nutri- tious qualities and delicacy of flavour so much depend, being retained until brought to table. THE GAS-METER. 47 In England and France, gas-cooking stoves are made in every variety of shape and size; and it is with pleasure we are en- abled to say, in New York, now, too. As boiling, &c. can be conducted simultaneous- ly, as well as separately, an ordinary fire in many families will, in summer, be but sel- dom required. For preserving fruits and other delicate processes, in which a steady heat, easily controlled, is of importance, a gas heat is superior to every other yet dis- covered. Let it be particularly remembered that, in using gas as fuel, there is no waste of time or materials, no noise, no dirt, dust, or smoke. The full effect of the heat is ob- tained, and can be applied on the instant just where it is needed; and, when it has done its duty, it can be removed. In a bed-room, a dressing-room, or nursery, a small burner may be kept all night at the cost of a cent; and this is not its only con- venience : in an instant it can be in- creased to warming food for children or in- 48 GAS AND VENTILATION. valids, and heating water for washing, shav- ing, &c. The promptitude with which gas can be applied imparts to it a special value for heating water; in ten minutes a quantity of water sufficient for an adult's bath can be heated, say from 46° to 98°, for about ten or twelve cents. A gas-stove placed in the entrance-hall is a simple, convenient, and economical me- thod of diffusing an agreeable warmth over the whole house, the products of combus- tion being conveyed away either by ascend- ing or descending flues. Gas may likewise be used for the general purposes of heating greenhouses and conservatories. An important consideration connected with warming by gas is the comparative cheap- ness of the apparatus, its safety, the facility with which it can be fixed in any particular apartment, and, if necessary, removed to another, or taken entirely away, without altering or disfiguring any part of the house. THE GAS-METER. 49 Much has been attempted in warming and ventilation without the aid of open fires, but the prevailing error has been warming too much and ventilating too little. In the following left-hand column are the causes of difficulties to which consumers are subjected, and by which imperfect deliveries of gas to the burners so frequently occur; on the right-hand column, their remedies. CAUSES. 1. Freezing of pipes from tlic mains to the meter. 2. Freezing of the liquid in meters. 3. Oscillation, or a bob- bing up and down of the gas, when attempted to be lighted or when lighted. REMEDIES. 1. Protect these before- hand, as you would green- house plants. 2. Draw off, beforehand, half or more, or the whole of the contents, and sub- stitute alcohol. 3. This is occasioned by there being either too much or too little water in the meter. Turn off the gas at the main, undo the screw at the right of centre, (see diagram of meter,) and if too much water is there, it will be evidenced by its 50 GAS AND VENTILATION. 4. A paucity of light from another cause may oc- cur, viz. from condensation in the pipes. 5. From condensed va- pour collected in the inlet- pipe from the main. 6. From the exit orifices of the burners being worn out, or corroded by ammo- niacal contact and deposit, or choked up with a sub- running out freely ; let it run till it drops freely; that is the proper level; if on the contrary, fill up till it will DROP freely. 4. In this case shut off the gas at the main, and turn the top's of the syphon or syphons, thereby draw- ing off all condensation which may have accumu- lated, which you will dis- cover to be of a very dis- agreeable odour. 5. In this event unscrew the plug found immediate- ly below the " badge plate" on meter, (see diagram,) and allow it to remain so for half a minute or so. Be sure NOT to have a light any way near you; and in THIS CASE, and for the time specified, do NOT turn the gas off at the main. 6. If the first, replace them by new burners. If the second, wipe the orifices and parts adjacent with a rag dipped in a weak THE GAS-METER. 51 stance, called napthaline, smelling very much like coal-tar, and of a substance akin to bird-lime, which could not possibly have been there if the gas had been half purified. 7. If annoyances occur beyond these, they must arise from a want of gas, or pressure at thegas-works; or, 8. From flaws in the out or in-doors pipes, a loosing of connecting pieces, nuts, screws, elbows, bends, T- pieces, tops, or the screws of burners. solution of muriatic acid, and from the hardware store obtain an instrument (cost- ing about six cents) called a rymer, small enough to enter the holes of the burn- er, whose form is lanceolate and triangular; with which carefully clear out the holes so as not to enlarge them be- yond their original diameter. If the third occur, take the burner off, grease it well outside, and so let it remain for six or eight hours; then scrape off as much of the foreign matter as you can; work it in a weak solution of muriatic acid, and ryme out the holes. 7—8. In either of which cases send immediately fur the fitter. 52 GAS AND VENTILATION. Concerning Gas-Fitters. The "Household Words on Gas and Ventilation," brief as it is, would be far from complete, if a notice of these gentle- men were omitted; but the least said about them the better. With very many special exceptions on behalf of individuals, who would do honour to any occupation, we have no hesitation in stating that gas-fitters have, as a body, hitherto hindered, more than helped, the progress of gas-lighting. Employers and workmen have been equally to blame. High charges, unsuitable mate- rials, bad workmanship, and an amount of ignorance and culpable ignorance, and in some cases both combined, that Avould be deemed a disgrace to other artificers, have been the too common characteristics of this branch of business. GAS-FITTERS. 53 Companies enforcing certain rules for pipage is a salutary measure. The "mys- teries' (?) of the art having been exposed and discovered to be closely allied to quack- ery : serving only as excuses for frequent at- tendances, perpetual annoyances, injury to property, and very long and questionable bills, have gone vastly to render signs of amendment, and they have been greatly needed. In fitting up a house for lighting it with gas, there need be no difficulty. A fair allowance of common sense, with just as much thought and foresight as are required of a bricklayer in fixing a stone, or a carpenter in hanging a door, will be found quite sufficient for arranging gas-fittings. It is not too much to say that a decent work- man of almost any craft, who possesses or- dinary intelligence, and is willing to be taught, would make a better gas-fitter, by one month's application, under rational in- structions, than many who have been at it con- stantly during the past ten or twenty years. 6* 54 GAS AND VENTILATION. Ventilation. Having endeavoured to be explicit on the "Advantages of Gas in P'ivate Houses," &c, we will in this division submit our views on ventilation, holding it, as we do, of vital importance. The object of a good system of ventilation is to quickly remove such air from any room, building, or locality, which militates against health or life; and to keep up a continual volume of pure, cool air therein and thereat. All systems of artificial illumination, either from wax, composition, mould, or dip candles, either from oil, or camphene, or from gas made from any substance, have a deteriorating effect upon the air of an apartment, and, if possible, more so than the respiration of an equivalent number of IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 55 human beings. Now each of the six sub- stances named previously to gas have, in equal volumes, a redundancy of carbon over gas from coal, and which, during combus- tion, are qualified to, and do, inflict alarm- ing injury, which is increased materially if either be moved from place to place; this is an evil much speculated on, but not yet sa- tisfactorily combat ted. Gas from coal, as it may be served to the public, is in this par- ticular far superior to every other mode of artificial illumination, if, in addition to its proper purification, it be laid on right, the meter tight, all the pipage, joints, bends and elbows sound, syphons placed in proper- ly depressed places and of easy access, burn- ers screwed tightly on, fully down to the shoulder, and advantage taken of the Im- proved Patent Gas Regulators; add to which a proper and effective ventilation of the apartment. There would not, there could be no reason of complaint, should not the whole of these be attended to. If not, it 56 GAS AND VENTILATION. will be as Sir Humphrey Davy found it, that, when he breathed a mixture of two parts air and three of carburetted hydrogen, he was attacked with giddiness, head-ache, and transient weakness of the limbs; but common gas is often contaminated with sul- phuretted hydrogen, as the blackening of white paint proves: in spite of all the puri- fying processes at the gas-works, as at pre- sent followed, this gas is the most deleterious of all the aerial poisons. It has been found, by experiment, that air impregnated, with 5-^th part of this gas kills a bird in a very short space of time; and that with about twice that proportion, or ^th, it will soon kill a dog. This gas is emitted by cesspools and sewers, and has been a frequent cause of death, when breathed in a state of concen- tration. The person who breathes it be- comes suddenly weak and insensible, falls down, and either expires immediately, or, if he be fortunate enough to be quickly extri- cated, he may revive in no long time: the IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 57 abdomen remaining tense and full for an hour or upward, and recovery being pre- ceded by vomiting and spitting of bloody froth. When the noxious emanations are less concentrated, the symptoms are still very alarming; and in the dilute form, as in emanations from the street sewers, persons have, in inhaling them, often been attacked with sickness, colic, imperfectly-defined pains in the chest, and lethargy. If our readers are not yet of opinion that urgency for ventilating is imperatively called for, we will, in addition to all these contaminating agents, add the following well-known components of an unventilated atmosphere—viz.: Carbonic acid, Nitrogen, Animal effluvia, Carburetted hydrogen, Sulphuretted hydrogen, &c.; beyond which the air of an unventilated room is liable to a still increased cause of injury to health in the disturbed electrical con- 58 GAS AND VENTILATION. dition of vitiated air. This is a subject as yet but partially developed in the highest chemical works; but of this fact we are cer- tain : pure air, such as is fit for respiration, is positively electric, while the air which has become impure, and consequently unfit for re- spiration, is negatively electric ! Physi- cians, aid us! Fathers of families: we charge ye, on your love and duty to child, to wife, home, and country, to look to this. Mothers of families, and ye suckling mo- thers, fostering your little ones, pledges of love and your honour, born of you, as many of them necessarily are, for high trusts and political responsibilities—called, as they will be, to exhibit all the heroism, the virtue, piety, and wisdom of the ancients and more recent honoured dead, for the maintenance, teaching, and governing this mighty modern republic, whose destiny is written as it were " with a pen of iron and in letters of brass,"— I say, will not you urge the necessity of in- IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 59 haling pure air in your homes, so that the future man may in his earliest childhood lay the foundation of a robust constitution ? for listen to what medical and other quali- fied men have said on the effects of vitiated atmosphere on children, normally and by descent. Mr. Carmichael, in his Essay on the Na- ture of Scrofula, before gas was used as now, charges vitiated domestic air, particularly in sleeping-rooms, with being the primary eause. The whole of the medical men's evidence taken before the committee of the House of Commons, England, 1840, pointed to the same cause, adding, that in the cases of those who pass their lives in close, confined, unventilated apartments, their children are peculiarly subject to scrofula and softening of their bones. Dr. Arnott states that an individual, the offspring of persons successively living in bad air, will have a constitution decidedly 60 GAS AND VENTILATION. inferior to one born of a race living in the pure air, and that the mischief does not end here ; but from that first injury, the further descendants further degenerate ; that defec- tive ventilation deadens both the mental and bodily energies, leaving its corrupting influence upon the person. Some of the details in these reports, of the effects on children habitually breathing air vitiated by a number of human beings, are so frightful, that we withhold saying more than that each little one, instead of breathing the air of heaven, breathes poison; and that his position at the time is but little above the level of the " betweenrdeclcs of a slaver." Daughters of America! second not to any—not to the ultra aristocratic belles of Almack's, nor to the boasted beauties of the present court of the Tuilleries—which will you honour with your suffrages—pure air, or cosmetics? — countless crudities, which but multiply " the ills flesh is heir to," with IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 61 a physician on full pay in perspective!— Pray, remember: fresh air, pure air gives elasticity to the step, buoyancy to the spi- rits, secures serenity to the pure of heart, adds a sparkle to the eye of innocence, in- duces good digestion and sound, refreshing sleep, expands the chest to the full develop- ment of true womanly beauty, and braces all its organic powers for emitting sweet, sonorous sound for song, and is an antidote for dyspepsia and ennui. It will cause the "human face divine" to rival the fairest damascene for delicacy, the breath for its sweetness, and shames forever the art of Italy's vain enamellers. Sons, and citizens generally! you who sternly judge of new matters by the re- sults of their promised merits, in submit- ting what we have and are about further to state, we have only respectfully to add, we refer you to, and abide ourselves by, the admirable and notable aphorism be- queathed to his country by one of your G 62 GAS AND VENTILATION. mighty dead: " Be sure you are right— then go ahead!" At the risk of being blamed for repetition, on account of the good hoped for, let us con- sider the grounds which render a proper supply of pure air necessary to health. In the process of respiration, the blood, in pass- ing through the lungs, is exposed to the ac- tion of the atmospheric air, during which exposure it undergoes certain changes. The blood from the right side of the heart, when it enters the lungs, is of a dark-red colour; it is then dispersed in a state of most mi- nute subdivision through the ultimate ves- sels of the lungs; and in these vessels is brought into contact with the atmospheric air, when it becomes of a b}'ight-red colour; in other words, if the blood changes in the 1 .gs its venous appearance, and assumes the character of arterial blood, the blood thus arterialized returns to the left side of the heart, from whence it is propelled through the whole arteries of the body. In IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 63 the minute terminations of the arteries the blood again loses its florid hue, and reas- suming its dark-red colour, is returned through the veins to the right side of the heart, to be exposed, as before, to the in- fluence of the atmospheric air, and to under- go the same succession of changes. On examining the respired air, it is found that a portion of its oxygen has disappeared, and a similar bulk of carbonic acid has been substituted. While oxygen gas is passing inward through the membrance of the lungs, carbonic acid is at the same time passing outward through the same mem- brane ; in fact, the oxygen of the air is ab- sorbed by the blood, and, in some unknown state of combination, reaches the extreme subdivision of the arteries, where it is emit- ted with a portion of carbon, and forms corr bonic acid gas; which gas also, in some un- known state of combination, is retained in the venous blood, till in the lungs it is ex- pelled, and oxygen is absorbed in its stead. 64 GAS AND VENTILATION. Along with the carbonic acid, a large quan- tity of aqueous vapour is at the same time separated from the blood. One great object of this process is the production and maintenance of animal heat. From a comparison made by Professor Mil- ler of the results of numerous experiments, it appears that a man of ordinary stature consumes, in the course of twenty-four hours, nine ounces (Troy) of carbon; that the heat generated during the combustion is sufficient to boil away eight pounds of water; that the consumption of oxygen in this process is equal to twenty-four ounces, or 19-4 cubic feet; that the quantity of air vitiated amounts to 97-2 cubic feet, and the product in carbonic acid to thirty-three ounces. There have been many able experiment- alists on this subject. In the Philosophical Transactions for 1808 will be found, for ex-* ample, an exceedingly interesting memoir by Messrs. Allen and Pepys: it was con- cluded that a middle-sized man, aged about IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 65 thirty-eight years, and whose pulse is 70 on an average, gives off 302 cubic inches of carbonic acid in 11 minutes; and supposing the product uniform for 24 hours, the total quantity in that period would be 39,534 cu- bic inches. Now 39,534 cubic inches of car- bonic acid weigh 18,683 grains, and contain 5166 grains of carbon, or 10-7 ounces, (Troy.) The estimate of Sir Humphry Davy (Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 255) agrees very close- ly with this—namely, 26-6 cubic inches per minute, or 38,304 cubic inches in the day. This quantity will weigh 18,102 grains, and contain 5006 grains of carbon, or 10-4 ounces, (Troy.) The close coincidence of these experi- ments, and also with some of more recent date, were very remarkable. The following are Dr. Scharling's general conclusions respecting the quantities of car- bon actually disengaged, in the course of 24 hours, by six persons under mentioned, upon whom the experiments were made. 6* 66 GAS AND VENTILATION. It is assumed that, in the case of the children, nine hours were passed in sleep, and in that of the adults, seven hours. Grains of carbon, oz. (Troy.) 1. A man, 35 years old, weighing) oqoc __7 ak 131 lbs., gave off.............j dd0D ~ ' U° 2. A young man, 16 years old, ) Q4f9__7.01 weighing 115 J lbs., gave off j 3. A soldier, 28 years old, weighing \ qpoq__7.07 164 lbs., gave off.............} 4. A girl, 19 years old, weighing) 9,rQ _ ,.00 111* lbs., gave off............ j 200y ~ ° 66 5. A boy, 9f years old, weighing 1 ^^ _ 4.2g 44 lbs., gave off..............t 6. A girl, 10 years old, weighing 1 ig35 _ ^^* 46 lbs., gave off...............j These results are, as a matter of course, liable to much variation in the same indi- vidual at different times, in different indi- viduals, and in different sexes. The quan- tity of aqueous vapour is also liable to much variation, but the average quantity has been stated at three grains per minute. We have seen that the carbonic acid is a deadly poi- son ; and the water thus given off is not * Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, vol. xlv. p. 214. IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 67 pure water, not such as is liberated in tha process of distillation or evaporation, but is contaminated with the most offensive ani- mal effluvia. M. Lebianc states that the odour of the air at the top of the ventilator of a crowded theatre or room is of so noxious a character, that it is dangerous to be exposed to it even for a short time. If this air be passed through pure water, the water soon exhibits all the phenomena of putrefactive fermentation. The water of respiration thus loaded with animal im- purities condenses in the inner walls of the building, and trickles down in foetid streams, scattering contagion all around; and mind, gentle reader, M. Lebianc here reports from Al mack's, at the height of a London fashion- able season, where all the wealth and ultra aristocratic belles of England and the whole of the European continent are vieing with each other in beauty and blandishments, holding their imperious cour de ton and re- unions. 68 GAS AND VENTILATION. The composition of healthy human blood is on the authority of M. Lecanu (Annales de Ghimie et de Physique, vol. xviii. p. 320,) as follows: Water.............................. 780-145—785-590 Fibrin............................... 2-100— 3-565 Albumen............................ 65090— 69 415 Colouring matter................... 133-000—119626 Crystallizable fat................... 2-430— 4-300 Oily fat .............................. 1-310— 2270 Extractive, soluble in water and \ -. 7qn__ -. n9A alcohol............................ j Albumen, in union with soda___ 1-265— 2010 Chlorides of sodium and potas-"") sium; alkaline carbonates, phos- > 8-370— 7-304 phates, and sulphates............j Carbonates and phosphates of lime, 1 o.inn 1-114 magnesia, and iron...............j Loss.................................._ 2-400— 2-586 1000 1000 The earthy and alkaline carbonates men- tioned in the analysis probably exist in the state of organic salts in the blood. The ultimate composition of blood, as a whole, is curious; it is precisely the same as that of muscular flesh. Ox blood was dried by exposure to gentle heat in a silver vessel, and compared by analysis with lean IMPORTANCE OF VENTILATION. 69 flesh of the same animal, also carefully dried. RESULTS. RESULTS. Blood in 100 parts. Muscle in 100 parts. Carbon.............51-950—51-965......51-83—51-893 Hydrogen.......... 7-165— 7-330...... 7-56— 7590 Nitrogen...........17-172—17-173......17-15—17-160 Oxygen, &c........19295—19115......19-23—19-127 Ashes............... 4-418— 4-413...... 4-23— 4230 On the authority of Drs. Playfiiir and Boeckmann, and in which both Liebig and Poggendorf agree,* flesh is, in fact, organ- ized blood, and blood fluid flesh. * See Liebig's and Poggendorf's Handwbrterbuch der Cliemie, art. " Blut." 70 GAS AND VENTILATION. A further argument on Ventilation. The generalization of the baneful in- fluences of a vitiated air must, as a matter of course, be admitted; but the urgency to remedy its immediate and proximate con- sequences has only been addressed to one sec- tion of citizens. How much is any other section affected by the squalor of another section; and that section the section of the poor and destitute, the foetid exhalations and emanations from whose dwellings are no respecters of persons;—the fevers and other contagious diseases arising from whence find their way into the dwellings of their more fortunate neighbours in the goods of this world. The miasma of courts and alleys enters the lungs, and casts the re- cipient on a bed of sickness. If, through FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 71 the mercy of God, he is permitted to rise again, ought he not to urge the necessity of a sanitary ventilation ? Will any rational man contend that the science and legislation of this nineteenth century and in this coun- try should not be exerted to that end? Every one who has knowledge or wealth at his disposal is bound to exert some portion of them as much for the benefit of his m- c norant and poorer brethren as for his own pleasure, his profit; for it is to his own daily safety. ' Besides which, is there not a moral law requiring us to do so ? Is there not also a natural law ? There are both these laws, and they have this distinguishing proof of their divine origin—they are self-acting; they confer the reward of obedience, and they inflict the penalty of transgression, with a precision and certainty which find no parallel in mere human laws and insti- tutions. Do we not owe a deep debt of gratitude to those who, like the working members of 72 GAS AND VENTILATION. home missions, that noble band of ladies, and that equally noble, self-sacrificing sister- hood of charity; and others, ministers of the gospel, who, at the imminent risk of their lives, seek out poverty, sickness, de- gradation, ignorance, and crime, in the very purlieus of contamination and jeopardy of person; to purge general society of an in- cubus horrid to contemplate, and to reclaim the fallen ? And can we testify a more lively gratitude emphatically, than by ur- gently advocating a classification of this Upas territory—the scene of so many charitable labours gratuitously rendered ? Having gone thus far with the subject, and, I very sincerely hope, without giving offence, I will intrude my own convictions upon the results of construction of public buildings, selecting a few of (to my opinion) the best attempts at proper ventilation in other countries. Invidious remarks on professional men will not form any feature in our further FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 73 progress; nor do we intend to point out particular erections whereon to draw atten- tion, nor by contrast to approach it; but on a general muster of the buildings on which the architect has lavished all his art and skill, for the most part they are en- tirely destitute of special means for ventila- tion, and are so constructed as to now ren- der the application of such means extremely difficult in many cases. Such a contrivance rarely forms a part of a contract. A build- ing capable of containing from eight hun- dred to a thousand persons, whether it be a church, a lecture-room, an assembly-room, a concert-room, or a school, is, in consequence of this neglect, the too frequent scene of much painful suffering. When such a room is crowded, and the meeting lasts for some hours, especially in winter, the consequences are sufficiently marked; either such a multitude must be subjected to all the contaminating evils of an unwholesome atmosphere, or they must 74 GAS AND VENTILATION. be partially relieved by opening the win- dows, and allowing a continual stream of cold air to pour down upon the heated bodies of those who are near them, till the latter are thoroughly chilled, and, perhaps, fatal illness is induced; and, unfortunately, even at such a price the relief is only par- tial; for the windows being generally all on one side of the room, and not extend- ing much above half-way to the ceiling, ventilation is incomplete — is impractica- ble. Dr. Andrew Combe, in his "Prin- ciples of Physiology," says : " This neglect could never have happened, had either the architect or his employers known the laws of the human constitution." The same in- telligent writer remarks, that in churches fainting and hysterics occur more frequent- ly in the afternoon than in the morning, because the air is then at its maximum of vitiation. Indeed, in a crowded church the effects of deficient air are visible in the ex- pression of the features of a majority pre- FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 75 sent;—either a relaxed sallow paleness of the surface or the hectic flush of fever is observable; and, as the necessary accompa- niment, a sensation of mental and bodily lassitude is felt, which is immediately re- lieved by getting into the open air. Some persons, however, do not find this relief; the headache often lasts for hours, and sometimes ends in a bilious or nervous at- tack. School-rooms also are as sadly defective in respect to ventilation; and cases may be multiplied where, with all the windows open, a proper supply of air could not be introduced into the crowded apartments. When the weather did not admit of open windows, the atmosphere of the room was most unwholesome; it was positively loath- some to a visitor entering it from the fresh air. All the inmates complained of a sen- sation of tightness in the forehead, and headache more or less acute. Command of temper on the part of the teachers, and 76 GAS AND VENTILATION. mental progress on the part of the pupils, are, of course, next to impossible under such circumstances. We would take it upon our- selves to appeal to the experience of teach- ers in general, whether the slow compre- hension and listlessness of children in school, who are sharp, smart, and clever in the play- ground, may not be traceable, in a great measure, to the vitiated air which they are compelled to inhale ? In curious (but accountable) contrast to the defective arrangements of most of our public buildings with respect to ventilation, are the public theatres. These are, for the most part, tolerably well ventilated, or at least some attempt has been made to pro- cure ventilation, of which the managers do not fail to make the most of, in their an- nouncements at the opening of their season. They are practical men; they know that for some years past the attention of the public has been directed to the subject of venti- lation, and that a studious attention to the FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 77 comfort of the house is as likely to bring people to it as attractive performances. They know, too, that people are more likely to enjoy and applaud the business of the stage when they can breathe freely, than when the head is aching and the senses are stupid in the drowsiness of a me- phitic atmosphere. Some of the methods of ventilating theatres are clever and ef- ficient, as will be noticed hereafter, and could perhaps be applied to those highly import- ant buildings, the church, the lecture-room, and the school. Well, here is the traveller, in pursuit of health, or business, or pleasure; ask him if he finds ventilation to his satisfaction as he prosecutes his journeying. He answers you peevishly, No! Your carriages are bad for that necessary comfort; railroad cars bad, too; steamboats, an abomination for breathing during sleeping, and your hotels little better. You are subject, sir, to be broiled in one, steamed in another, frozen 7* 78 GAS AND VENTILATION. in a third, or liable to currents or rather blasts of cold air that really do " make your hair to stand on end; there is no medium, sir; no medium. We shall be all poisoned, suffocated, or blown to pieces, sir!" The naval and military services of every country are so well reported on, that I may fearlessly say the naval committee of the United States could readily endorse more than I may advance upon ventilation afloat, simply from their unpublished statis- tics, if such a matter was within my privi- lege or province to petition for; but it is not. In respect to the mercantile marine, room is open for as great improvements in ventilation, although more humane or liberal builders and owners do not make their ventures on the face of old Nep- tune's element, than are found in the United States. A contrivance has lately been introduced for ventilating rooms; but when there is a fire in the room, it must serve the purpose FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 81 of introducing air rather than letting it out. It consists of a number of strips of plate- glass, arranged after the fashion of a Vene- tian blind, occupying the position of one of the panes of glass in the upper window frame. By a little adjusting motion, the strips can be separated more or less apart to regulate the supply of air, or closed en- tirely, so as to exclude it. Perforated panes of glass have also been introduced as venti- lators, but they must also bring air into the room, instead of letting it out, when a fire is burning. But the fact is, whether the ventilation of a room or building be left to (what for want of a better term we will call) chance, or whether any special apparatus be erected for the purpose, the foul air is to be got rid of, and fresh air substituted for the purposes of respiration, admitted in suf- ficient quantities; that is, at the rate of about four cubic feet per minute for each in- dividual in the said room or building. 82 GAS AND VENTILATION. Tredgold, in his work on warming and ventilating, (second edition, London, 1836,) has given some very sensible directions for the ventilation of a church, which, of course, apply equally to any other public building, and, to a certain extent, to private houses. He advises that the spaces for the admission of cold air be abundantly large, and divided as much as possible; they should be in or near the floor, (see fig. 3, p. 80,) so that the air may not have to descend upon any one; by making the openings large, and covering them on the inside with rather close wire- work, (sixty-four apertures to the square inch,) most of the current may be pre- vented; and it may be still further pre- vented by bringing tubes under the paving to admit fresh air into the central parts of the church. Of course, these openings must be provided with shutters, so as close wholly or partially, when desirable. Pro- vision should be made for the escape of the warm air at different parts of the ceil- FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 85 ing, through air-trunks furnished with regis- ters. The form of the mouth of the vent- tube is circular, with a balanced circular register-plate, (similar to P in fig. 5,) to close it. This plate should be larger than the aperture, in order that the air may be drawn into a horizontal current, for the purpose of taking away the portion of air next the ceiling. If the tube were left with- out a plate, the air immediately under it would press forward up the tube, and very little of the very worst air, which is that which collects at the ceiling, would escape. A flat or level ceiling (one illustration of a right angle) is not calculated for venti- lation, nor adapted to it; but a still worse form of ceiling is that which is divided into coffers, for in these the air collects, gets cooled, and descends. For effective venti- lation, ceilings ought always to be dome- shaped, coved, arched, groined, or of the form of a truncated pyramid, as shown in fig. 4, so as to rise in the centre; and at 8 86 GAS AND VENTILATION. the centre, or most elevated point, the ventilating pipe a should be placed. When curved lines are not used, ceilings of this form ought always to be adopted; they are not much more expensive than flat ones; they have a better effect to the eye and for sound, and are vastly superior as far as the important point of ventilation is concerned, always supposing an opening be made in the central or highest point for the escape of the vitiated air. As it is not always possible to conduct the vent-tube at once in a vertical line from the highest point of the ceiling, there is no objection to giving it a horizontal direc- tion for some distance. In fig. 5 the vent- tube A B is horizontal, and is conducted between the timbers of a floor. This figure also shows how the timbers may be dis- posed, so that there may be a rise in the centre without loss of space* * In Mr. Tredgold's figure, the timbers on each side the ventilating openiug D are made to dip, as shown in %d L *j FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 89 C is a cord passing over a pulley D, for raising or lowering the register-plate P. This plate is balanced by a weight attached to the lower part of the cord, which passes down nearly to the floor of the room, where it is secured by a hook. In designing and constructing a new building, flues might be made for the spe- cial purpose of supplying the interior with fresh air. Each flue might open in the cor- nice, pass down between the piers, and under the flooring of the church or other buildings and terminate in apertures which could be covered with gratings. By dis- posing some of these flues on each side of the church, they would act with the wind in any direction. These exterior openings should, however, be covered with a grat- the dotted line at t. This ought always, if possible, to be avoided, as it prevents the free passage of the air; and even so slight an impediment as this might cause a stratum of air near the ceiling to cool and descend before it had time to escape up the openings. 90 GAS AND VENTILATION. ing, to prevent foreign matter blocking them up. Fig. 3, which is one of that talented man's (Mr. Garbett) designing, will show at a glance one special arrangement for the ventilation of a church or any other large building. But before the desirable objects of properly warming and ventilating churches, &c. are fully attained, it will be necessary for architects to combine a profound know- ledge of their art with a good acquaintance with chemical and physical sciences. In some of the old buildings which still excite the admiration of persons of culti- vated taste by the beauty of their arrange- ments and architectural details, we some- times meet with very special provision for ventilation, arranged on the truest prin- ciples. Thus, in the "Hall of the Baths" in the Alhambra, in Granada, the roof is per- forated with ventilating openings; and is not only of the best possible form for the purpose of ventilation, but the openings FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 93 themselves are of the best possible shape, being wider at the lower extremity than at the upper; and in order that these openings may present the least possible amount of friction to the outgoing air, they are pro- vided with short tubes of baked earth, co- vered with a green vitreous glazing. This beautiful roof is shown in Fig. 6, and two of the elegant ventilating tubes are shown separately on a larger scale in figs. 7 and 8 on page 95. Such are the methods by which churches and other large buildings may be spontane- ously ventilated. In the rooms, too, of pri- vate houses, the ventilation must be spon- taneous; for if the slightest trouble be en- tailed on the aids, even to the opening of a window, it will be neglected. The means for ventilation must also be cheap, easily procurable, always in place, self-acting, not liable to get out of order, requiring no ad- justment when once fixed, and requiring no care whatever on the part of the inmates. 94 GAS AND VENTILATION. It would seem impossible, at first view, to contrive any thing at all likely to answer these conditions, and yet it has been done in the most perfect manner by that good man, Dr. Arnott, without seeking or desir- ing any emolument to himself. Before entering upon what Dr. Arnott did, or proposed to do, I am desirous to ap- peal to the right feelings of the proprietors of tenant property in,, the cities in particu- lar, and to those of every town and village in the United States, and proceed to say— Gentlemen :—As personally unknown to you, we will presume to address you with a frankness generally considered equivalent to an apology, and which is most certainly the best passport to a patient hearing upon any subject; but when what we have to say relates to the listener's benefits and du- ties, he is tolerably sure of being attended to. Then, if what we have to say be true, the more directly we state what we have to state, the better. Now, gentlemen, this is Fig. 7. Fig. 8. FURTHER ARGUMENT ON VENTILATION. 97 just your case and ours; and we, without reserve, ask you urgently at once to advo- cate ventilation, by practically putting it into operation in every apartment upon your rent-roll, agreeably or proximate to the plan Dr. Arnott suggested, and which you will find detailed in the ensuing pages. We ask you fearlessly— 1. Because it will cost you nothing. 2. Because it will better the health of the poor individually. 3. Because it will be a step in the right direction, to prevent sickness and check con- tagion among the poor generally. 4. Because the whole community will be bettered by it, yourselves included. 5. Because your tenants, by having good health, will be able to pay their rent regu- larly. 6. Because labour will not be so impeded as when epidemics are rife, and which are generally caused by a wrant of ventilation. 7. Because taxes will not (or ought not to) 9 98 GAS AND VENTILATION. be so heavy, by reason of a less number of paupers or poor being in the hospitals. 8. Because, if properly ventilated, your property is and will be from four to twelve per cent, benefited, by less repairs being re- quired in conseqence of the same. 9. Because the trouble of removing but one brick to do so much good, including the same to yourself, as before said, will, I am willing to believe, be sufficient inducement for your willingly -urging ventilation to its fullest extent. WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. 99 What Dr. Arnott did and suggested. In the autumn of 1849, when the cholera was raging in England, the Board of Health recommended, in one of their notifications published in the London Gazette, that in every badly-ventilated dwelling "consider- able and immediate relief may be given by a plan suggested by Dr. Arnott—of taking a brick out of the wall near the ceiling of the room, so as to open a direct communication between the room and the chimney. Any oc- casional temporary inconvenience of down- draught will be more than compensated by the beneficial results of this simple ventilat- ing process." A few days after this recommendation, applications for further information on the subject were made, on which Dr. Arnott 100 GAS AND VENTILATION. addressed a letter to the Times newspaper, dated Sept. 22, 1849. This admirable let- ter is so interesting and so pertinent to the subject of this affair, that we venture to transfer nearly the whole (all, indeed, of a practical character) of it to these pages:— " I assume," says the doctor, " that most of your readers already understand, or will now learn, that the air which we breathe, and which is used to stuff air-pillows, con- sists of material elements, as much as the water which we drink or the food which we eat,—indeed, consists altogether of oxy- gen and nitrogen; the first of which forms also seven-eighths by weight of the substance of water, and the other nearly one-fifth by weight of the substance of flesh,—and that there is surrounding our globe, to the depth of about fifty miles, a light fluid ocean of such air, called the atmosphere, into which, near the surface of the earth, certain im- purities are always rising from the functions of animal and vegetable life, and the rccom- WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. 101 bination of substances by fermentation, pu- trefaction, combustion, &c, just as into the sea and great rivers some impurities are al- ways entering from the sewers; all which impurities, however, are so quickly diluted or dissipated in the great masses, as to be- come absolutely imperceptible, and eventu- ally, by the admirable processes of nature, changed, so that the great oceans of air and water retain even their states of perfection. I assume, further, that your readers know that fresh air fo?' breathing is the most imme- diately URGENT OF ALL THE ESSENTIALS TO life, as proved by the instant death of any one totally deprived of it through drowning or strangulation, and by the slower death of men compelled to breathe over again the same small quantity of air, as when lately seventy-three passengers were suffocated in an Irish steamboat, of which the hold was shut up for an hour by closely-covered hatches; and by the still slower death, ac- companied generally by some induced form 9* 102 GAS AND VENTILATION. OF chronic DISEASE, of persons condemned to breathe habitually impure air, like the du-ell- ers in crowded, ill-ventilated rooms and foul neighbourhoods; and, lastly, as proved by the fact that pestilence or infectious dis- eases are engendered or propagated almost only where impurities in the air are known to abound, and particularly where the poi- son of the human breath and other emanations from living bodies are allowed to commingle in considerable quantity, as instanced in the jail and ship fevers, which, so lately as in the days of the philanthropic Howard, car- ried off a large portion of those who entered jails and ships; and as instanced in that fearful disease which, at the Black Assizes at Oxford, England, July, 1577, spread from the prisoners to the court, and ivith- in two days had killed the judge, the she- riff, several justices of the peace, most of the jurors, and a great mass of the audience, and which afterward spread among the people of the town. This was a fever . WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. 103 which did its work as quickly as the cho- lera does now. "Assuming that these points are tolerably understood, I shall proceed to show that fronnu faidts in the construction and manage- ment of our houses, many persons are uncon- sciously doing, in regard to the air they breathe, nearly as fishes would be doing in regard to the water they breathe, if, instead of the pure element of the vast rivers or boundless sea streaming past them, they shut themselves up in holes near the shores, filled with water defiled by their own bo- dies and from other foul sources. And I shall have to show that the spread of cho- lera in this country has been much influenced by the gross oversights referred to. "All the valued reports and published opinions on cholera go far to prove that in this climate, at least, any foreign morbific agent or influence which produces it comes comparatively harmless to persons of vigor- ous health, and to those who are living in 104 GAS AND VENTILATION. , favourable circumstances; but that if it find persons with the vital powers much de- pressed or disturbed from any cause, and even for a short time, as happens from in- temperance, from improper food or drink, from great fatigue or anxiety, but, above all, from want of fresh air, and consequently from breathing that which is foul, it readily overcomes them. It would seem as if the peculiar morbid agent could as little, by itself, produce the fatal disease, as one of the two elements concerned in a common gas explosion—namely the coal-gas and the at- mospheric air—can alone produce the ex- plosion. The great unanimity among wri- ters and speakers on the subject, in regard- ing foul atmosphere as the chief vehicle or favourer, if not a chief efficient cause, of the pestilence, is seen in the fact of how fami- liar to the common ear have lately become the words and phrases, l malaria, filth, croiuded dwellings, crowded neighbourhoods, close rooms, faulty sewers, draim, and cess- WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. 105 pools, or a total want of these, effluvia of graveyards,' &c; all of which are merely so many names for foul air, and for sources from which it may arise. Singularly, how- ever, little attention has yet been given from authority to the chief source of poison- ous air, and to means of ventilation, by which all kinds of foul air may with certainty be removed. "A system of draining and cleansing, water supply and flushing, for instance—to the obtainment of which, chiefly, the Board of Health has hitherto confined its atten- tion—can, however good, influence only that quantity and kind of aerial impurity which arises from retained solid or liquid filth within or about a house; but it leaves ab- solutely untouched the other and really more important kind, which, in known quan- tities, is never absent where men are breath- ing—namely, the filth and poison of the hu- man breath. This latter kind evidently plays the most important part in all cases 106 GAS AND VENTILATION. of a crowd, and therefore such catastrophes as that of the Tooting school, with eleven hundred children, of whom nearly three hundred were seized by cholera,—of the House of Refuge for the Destitute,—and of the two great crowded lunatic asylums here, where the disease made similar havoc;— for places so public as these, and visited daily by numerous strangers, could not be allowed to remain visibly impure with solid and liquid filth, like the rookery of St. Giles* and other such localities. "Now, good ventilation, although few persons comparatively are as yet aware of the fact, is easily to be had, (as I have shown,) and it not only entirely dissipates and renders absolutely inert the breath-poi- * A locality in London, at a point where the east end of old Oxford street did, and where the west end of High Holborn still does, terminate; with the south ter- mination, also, of Tottenham Court Road on the north adjunct—chiefly occupied by Irish labourers and their families; not unlike the Five Points, New York, in every particular. WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. 107 son of inmates, however numerous, and even of fever patients, but, in doing so, it neces- sarily, at the same time, carries away at once all the first-named kinds of poison, arising from bad drains or want of drains, and thus acts as a most important substi- tute for good draining, until there be time to plan and safe opportunity to establish such. It is further to be noted that it is chiefly when the poison of the drains, &c. is caught and retained under cover, and is then mixed with the breath, that it becomes very active, for scavengers, nightmen, and grave-diggers, from the time of Hamlet, who work in the open air, are not often assailed with disease; and in foul neighbourhoods, persons, like butchers, who live in open shops, or policemen, who walk generally in the open streets, or, in Paris, the people who manufacture a great portion of the town filth into portable manure, suffer very little. " To illustrate the efficacy of ventil-ation or dilution with fresh air in rendering quite 108 GAS AND VENTILATION. harmless any aerial poison, I may adduce the explanation given in a report of mine on fevers, furnished at the request of the Poor Law Commissioners in 1840, of the fact that the malaria or infection of marsh fevers, such as occur in the Pontine marshes near Rome, and of all the deadly tropical fevers, affects persons almost only in the night. Yet the malaria or poison from reconstruct- ing organic matters which cause these fe- vers is formed during the day, under the in- fluence of the hot sun, still more abundantly than during the colder night; but in the day, the direct beams of the sun warm the sur- face of the earth so entirely, that the air touching the surface is similarly heated, and rises away like a fire-balloon, carrying up with it, as a matter of course, much diluted, all poisonous malaria found there. During the night, on the contrary, the surface of the earth, no longer receiving the sun's rays, soon radiates away its heat, so that the thermometer lying on the ground is found WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. 109 to be several degrees colder than one hang- ing in the air a few feet further above. The poison formed near the ground, therefore, at night, instead of being heated and lifted, and quickly dissipated, as during the day, is rendered cold and comparatively dense, and lies on the earth a concentrated mass, which it may be death to inspire. Hence the value in such situations of sleeping apart- ments near the top of the house, or of apart- ments below which shut out the night air, and are large enough to contain a sufficient supply of the purer day air for the persons using them at night, and of some mechani- cal means of taking down pure air from above the house to be a supply during the night. At a certain height above the sur- face of the earth, the atmosphere being nearly of equal purity all the earth over, a man rising in a balloon, or obtaining air for his house from a certain elevation, might be considered to have changed his country, any peculiarity of the atmosphere below, owing 10 110 GAS AND VENTILATION. to the great dilution effected before it reached the height, becoming absolutely insensible. " Now, in regard to the dilution of aerial poisons in houses by ventilation, I have to explain that every chimney in a house is what is called a sucking or drawing air- pump of a certain force, and can easily be rendered a valuable ventilating pump. A chimney is a pump; first, by reason of the suction or approach to a vacuum made at the open top of any tube across which the wind blows directly; and secondly, because the flue is usually occupied, even when there is no fire, by air somewhat warmer than the external air, and has, therefore, even in a calm day, what is called a chimney draught proportioned to the difference. Therefore, in olden times, when the chimney breast was always made higher than the heads of persons sitting or sleeping in rooms, a room with an open chimney was tolerably well ventilated in the lower part when the in- mates breathed. WHAT DR. ARNOTT DID AND SUGGESTED. Ill " The modern fashion, however, of very low grates and low chimney openings, has changed the case completely, for such open- ings can draw in only from the bottom of the rooms, where generally the coolest, the last-entered, and, therefore, the purest air is found; while the hotter air of the breath, of lights, of warm food, and often of subter- ranean drains, damp cellars, &c, rises and stagnates near the ceilings, and gradually corrupts there. Such heated, impure air no more tends downward again to escape or dive under the chimney-piece, than oil, in an inverted bottle, immersed in water, will dive down through the water to escape by the bottle's mouth; and such a bottle, or other vessel, containing oil, and so placed in water, with its mouth open downward, even if kept in a running stream, would retain the oil for any length of time. If, however, an opening be made into a chimney-flue through the wall, near the ceiling of the room, then will all the hot, impure air of the room 112 GAS AND VENTILATION. as certainly pass away by that opening, as oil from the inverted bottle would instantly all escape upward through a small opening made near the elevated bottom of the bottle. "A top window-sash, lowered a little, in- stead of serving, as many people believe it does, like such an opening into the chimney- flue, becomes generally, in obedience to the chimney draught, merely an inlet of cold air, which first falls as a cascade to the floor, and then glides toward the chimney, and gradually passes away by this, leaving the hotter, impure air of the room nearly un- touched. For years past, I have recom- mended the adoption of such ventilation by chimney-openings, as above described, and I devised a balanced metallic valve to pre- vent, during the use of fires, the escape of smoke to the room. The advantages of these openings and valves were soon so ma- nifest, that the l referees,' appointed under the 'Building Act,' added a clause to their bill, ordering the introduction of the valves, /T^ Fig. 9. SPONTANEOUS VENTILATION. 115 and directing how they were to be placed; and they are now in very extensive use." Other Modes of Spontaneous Ventilation. Among other modes of spontaneous ven- tilation may be mentioned the mulgap, or wind-conductor, of the ancient Egyptians, and still in use in modern Egypt. It was erected at the top of the h<5use, as in fig. 9, and consisted of a frame, covered or en- closed on all sides, except at the mouths, which were open in the direction of the pre- vailing winds. The roof of the mulgap sloped down from each open end to the cen- tre, where a partition divided it and diffused the wind down into the apartments below. This contrivance acts on a similar principle to the wind-sail. For factories and other places, where a steam-engine is constantly at work to sup- 116 GAS AND VENTILATION. ply the required moving-power, the fanning- wheel or blower is commonly used for ven- tilating; it was invented by Dr. Desaguliers, in 1734. Its object was stated to be for " changing the air of the room of sick people in a little time, either by drawing out the foul air, or forcing in fresh air, or doing both suc- cessively, without opening doors or windows." This, it was supposed, would be of very great use in all hospitals and prisons, and would also serve to convey air into a distant room, "nay, to perfume it occasionally." The wheel was seven feet in diameter, and one foot wide, and had twelve radii or par- titions, (see fig. 10.) Fig. 11 represents the former, and fig. 12 represents the concentric case, furnished with a blowing pipe on the upper part. In theatres and similar places, where a large central chandelier is used for the pur- poses of illumination, advantage may be taken thereof as a powerful ventilating agent. This was done many years ago by Fig. 10. ©^ Fig. 11. Fig. 12. SPONTANEOUS VENTILATION. 119 the Marquis of Chabonnes, who was en- gaged to warm and ventilate Covent Garden Theatre, and his arrangements will be un- derstood by referring to fig. 13. Fig. 14 0 U II Fig. 13. Fig. 14. represents Sir Humphry Davy's plan—sim- ply a ventilator in the ceiling, with a small 120 GAS AND VENTILATION. furnace, marked A, fresh air being admitted by the floor. Fig. 15. Fig- 16. Figs. 15 and 16 represent the front and side view of Fairbairn and Lillie's ventilat- ing fan; and for factories it is both simple and effective. We now beg to conclude, and are highly gratified in J?eing able to do so with the two able extracts which follow. GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 121 Griscom on Ventilation. We republish entire the following instruc- tive article, being the subject-matter of a paper communicated to the New York Aca- demy of Medicine, June 1, 1853, by John H. Griscom, M.D., and since published in pamphlet form. Dr. G. is far in advance of his brethren of the allopathic school, in at- tention to the remedial influences of that part of our system of hygienic medicine which relates to atmospheric air. He has also contributed not a little to the physio- logical enlightenment of our people, by lec- turing to them on the functions of the re- spiratory system, and the necessity for a better system of ventilation in dwelling- houses, churches, public halls, hospitals, &c. " The main object in soliciting the atten- n 122 GAS AND VENTILATION. tion of the Academy of Medicine, at the present time, is to place on more durable record, and to make more extensively avail- able for good, two extraordinary cases—one, of the propagation and extension, the other, of the treatment, of a now too common and virulent disease. Though each is, of its kind, but a single case, and hence, according to medical philosophy, might be considered as demanding further observation to confirm the principles it inculcates, yet their nature is such that, independent of the fact of each being a multiple case, and hence entitled to the force of several cases, they seem to the writer most fully to establish the important laws which they illustrate. " Probably no place on this continent has been so prolific of experience, especially during the past few years, in the habitudes of typhus or ship fever, as the port of New York. The vast immigration hitherward from transatlantic ports, averaging, in the past four years, two hundred and fifty-six GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 123 thousand per annum, has brought with it an amount of suffering, disease, and death per- haps unparalleled in modern times. Such have been the severity and devastating ef- fects of this disorder, it has claimed and re- ceived the attention of the government as well as of the profession. "It has been an occasional visitant at this port since the commencement of the present century, but until within a few years its visitations, as it now frequently appears, attacking large cargoes of immigrants, were fortunately only occasional. Badly-infected ships were now and then noted, and the prevalence of the disorder in them was more reasonably attributable to protracted and stormy passages, during which the passen- gers were, from the state of the weather, obliged to confine themselves below a great part of the time, with the hatches closed, thus preventing the frequent exposure of persons, clothing, and bedding to the fresh air, and the execution of the proper mea- 124 GAS AND VENTILATION. sures for cleanliness and ventilation of the steerage, which are absolutely necessary for its prevention. Either this, or the criminal neglect of these matters by the officers of the ship, was the general cause of its ende- mic prevalence. " The same remarks, however, will not apply to the etiology of the infection which pervades so greatly increased numbers of vessels at the present time. The history of the present irruption of the disease dates back to the famine which began to prevail in Ireland a few years ago, and which con- tinued its devastations for a long period. So closely is the disorder believed to have sprung from, and to have been dependent upon, this terrible visitation of that unfor- tunate country, that in my estimation it might, with much propriety, be denominated the famine fever. " We need not stop here to attempt an explanation of the connection between them, nor to show the nature of the" dependence GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 125 of one upon the other; these will suggest themselves to any one at all familiar with this class of patients; nor is it necessary to make any further comment upon the havoc the disease has made among the members of our profession. The sad story is doubt- less known to all. It will suffice for this simply to express the belief, that no shock of contending armies, in their efforts at mu- tual destruction, ever caused so many killed and wounded among their officers, in pro- portion to their numbers, as has resulted from the protracted struggle between hu- manity and disease, as displayed in the de- votion of medical men in typhus hospitals during the past five years. " The first case I desire to present is one illustrative of the extraordinary intensity of the poisonous power of the infectious principle of this form of typhus fever, and of its occasional rapidity of action. It oc- curred in the New York Hospital, in the winter of 1S-31—•j2, in the building known 126 GAS AND VENTILATION. as the 'North House.' This edifice is a very substantial stone structure, of two sto- ries, exclusive of the basement, which is partly below ground. It is placed at a con- siderable distance from any other building, on very elevated ground; its halls are very spacious; the ceiling of the principal story is fifteen feet six inches high; the apart- ments are well lighted, and, in the ordinary, but not always correct, acceptation of the phrase, would be regarded as well ventilated, though there are no artificial means by which proper ventilation can be effected, the windows and doors being the only re- liance for this purpose. The principal floor contains four large, square wards, two on each side the hall, each pair communicating by a large door and window in the dividing partition, so that when these are open the two form one great room. The upper story is divided into a larger number of (and,, therefore, smaller-sized) rooms, with less ad- vantages of natural ventilation. In this GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 127 respect, however, the basement is the worst of all. As already stated, it is partly under- ground ; the ceilings are only ten feet high; it is less accessible to the light, and it is more subdivided than the uppermost story. " This cursory description of the house is given chiefly to show that it possesses no extraordinary disadvantages as a hospital; but, on the contrary, it would be regarded by almost any person who should visit it as possessing, in elevation, general situation, and internal arrangements, advantages su- perior to a great majority of buildings ^de- voted to hospital purposes. It was built m 1839, in the most substantial manner, solely for its present use, and accommodates one hundred and nine beds. " Prior to the month of January, 1852, a part of the basement of this building had been allowed to be used for two or three years as a receptacle for sick immigrants, for whom a temporary night-lodgment was required, but who were generally, and ex- 128 GAS AND VENTILATION. cept in cases of too great exhaustion or too severe illness, removed the next day to the hospital expressly provided for them on Staten Island. A great proportion of the six hundred and fifty cases thus temporarily received in 1851 were of ship fever, and their number often amounted to double the capacity of the accommodations for them. Thus, though the patients remained but a few hours in the house, and were then re- moved, and the premises aired and cleansed as well as might be, yet the vacant places were soon reoccupied with a less or greater number of cases of the severest form of pe- techial typhus, whose persons were imbued with filth and vermin to the most nauseous degree, but which, under the circumstances, could not be removed or avoided. " In addition to these ' night-cases,' the other parts of the building contained an average of about forty cases of typhus, which were then deemed legitimate subjects for admission; a proportion of numbers not, GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 129 at that time, regarded as dangerous to the other patients, distributed, as they were, through separate wards. " This state of things had continued throughout the year 1851, and until the commencement of the writer's regular term of attendance, in January, 1852. By this time, the atmosphere of the whole house seemed to have become infected with the miasm; patients with rheumatism or other benign complaints began to succumb to its power in various parts, even in some of the wards into which no typhus cases had been admitted. Notwithstanding that thorough cleanliness and as free ventilation as possi- ble were maintained, and the immigrant cases were rigidly confined to their particu- lar apartments, the difficulty increased to such a degree as at last to render necessary an entire change in the economy of the es- tablishment with respect to this disease. At the suggestion of the visiting physicians, the board of governors first prohibited the 130 GAS AND VENTILATION. reception of any more immigrant night- cases ; and, secondly, a thorough purification of all the typhus wards was ordered. The number of patients was reduced, so as to allow one or two wards to be vacated, and successively the infected rooms were disin- fected, and exposed to the external air night and day for several weeks, until the whole was renovated. It was during this opera- tion that the particular case occurred which is presented as an example of the extreme virulence of the typhus poison, even under circumstances so favourable to its dilution and dispersion. " Four men, three of whom were masons, the other a labourer or helper, were em- ployed to cleanse the walls and ceilings, and whitewash them where necessary. They wrought only in the wards which had been vacated, and then only after each had been thoroughly aired by open doors and win- dows. These men did not enter any of the wards occupied by the sick; they had no GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 131 occasion, in going to and fro, to see any part of the premises but the large halls, the stairways, and the apartments they were at work in. " They were engaged there one week. The helper passed a great deal of his time in the open air, preparing and carrying ma- terials for the others, and hence visited the building only occasionally, remaining but a short time in it, except when, being other- wise unoccupied, he aided the others a little at their work. " The effect of this exposure, which, a priori, would scarcely have been regarded as involving any danger, was as follows: " McCoy (the boss) was attacked with the disease a few days after finishing the work, was sick eighteen days, and died. Fleming, a workman, sickened five or six days after being there, was ill seventeen days, and died; and William (the labourer) was taken sick the last day of the week he worked there, was ill nearly four weeks> 132 GAS AND VENTILATION. and barely escaped with his life. The other workman (Haight) was not sick at all. " Thus, out of four persons, thus lightly exposed to the miasm, three were attacked by it, of whom two died. They were treated at their own homes, which are re- presented as having been comfortable resi- dences, and they were all temperate and respectable men. During my attendance in January, the house physician was off duty with the same disease. His place was sup- plied by the senior, Walker, until he too was attacked with it, and was obliged to leave. " In this extremity it became necessary to seek extraneous aid, and a former house physician was called from his home at a distance to resume the labours of the post. His ready willingness, alas! proved fatal, and in a manner strikingly illustrative of the occasional rapidity, as well as intensity, of the action of the poison on the human GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 133 sj'stem. Dr. Colton had been on duty about three weeks, when the miasm seized upon him also, and in seventy-two hours from the incipient rigour he was a corpse. " The mortality of the typhus cases in the New York Hospital in 1851 was about thirteen per cent. " From the contemplation of this picture of desolation, let us turn to a second and more pleasing one—its contrast in almost every particular. This will be given in the graphic language in which it was first re- lated to me, in a letter from the Hon. James Parker, a distinguished citizen of New Jersey, and President of the Board of Trustees of the State Lunatic Asylum. LETTER FROM MR. PARKER. " Perth Ajiboy, N. J., March 15, 1852. "Dr. John H. Griscom : "Dear Sir: Having read your treatise on the ' Uses and Abuses of Air,' I send you an account of what occurred in this place 12 134 GAS AND VENTILATION. some years since, and which proves the ef- ficacy of fresh and pure air, not only in preventing, but curing disease: " In the month of August, 1837, a num- ber of ships with immigrant passengers ar- rived at Perth Amboy from Liverpool and other ports, on board of some of which ship fever prevailed. There was no hospital, or other accommodations in the town, in which the sick could be placed, and no person could admit them into private dwellings, fearing the infection of the fever. They could not be left on board the ships. An arrangement was made to land the sick pas- sengers, and place them in an open wood, adjacent to a large spring of water, about a mile and a half from the town. Rough shanties, floored with boards and covered with sails, were erected, and thirty-six pa- tients were taken from on board ship with boats, landed as near to the spring as they could get, and carried in wagons to the en- campment, (as it was called,) under the in- GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 135 fluence of a hot sun, in the month of Au- gust. Of the thirty-six first named, twelve were insensible, in the last stages of fever, and not expected to live twenty-four hours. " The day after landing there was a heavy rain; and the shanties affording no protection with their ' sail' roofs, .the sick were found the next morning wet, and their bedding, such as it w^as, drenched with the rain. It was replaced with such articles as could be collected from the charity of the inhabit- ants. The number at the encampment was increased by new subjects, to the amount of eighty-two in all. " On board the ship, which was cleansed after landing the passengers, four of the crew were taken with ship fever, and two of them died. Some of the nurses at the encampment were taken sick, but recovered. Of the whole number of eighty-two passen- gers removed from the ship, not one died. Pure air, good water, and perhaps the rain, (though only the first thirty-six were af- 136 GAS AND VENTILATION. fected by it,) seem to have effected the cure. " No report has been made of these cir- cumstances, and I send this from my recol- lection, and the information derived from the physician, Dr. Charles M. Smith, who still resides here, and to whom I refer you. " Very respectfully, "James Parker. "A few further particulars of this case have since been derived from a statement of Dr. C. McKnight Smith, the gentleman referred to by Mr. Parker. " The ship was the Phoebe, with between three and four hundred passengers; a num- ber of them had died on the passage. The shanties spoken of were two in number, thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, boarded on three sides about four feet up, and over them old sails were stretched. Of the twelve who were removed from the ship in a state of insensibility, such appeared the GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 137 hopelessness of their condition, that the overseer (who is a carpenter) observed, ' Well, doctor, I think I shall have some boxes to make before many hours.' ' The night after their arrival at the encamp- ment,' says Dr. Smith, 'we had a violent thundergust, accompanied by torrents of rain; on visiting them the following morn- ing, the clothes of all were saturated with water; in other words, they had had a tho- rough ablution : this, doubtless, was a most fortunate circumstance. The medical treat- ment was exceedingly simple, consisting, in the main, of an occasional laxative or enema, vegetable acids, and bitters; wine was liberally administered, together with the free use of cold water, buttermilk, and ani- mal broths.' The four sailors who sickened after the arrival of the vessel were re- moved to the room of an ordinary dwelling- house ; the medical treatment in their case wras precisely similar, yet two of them died. Two of the number suffered from carbuncle 12* 138 GAS AND VENTILATION. while convalescing. The doctor adds: ' My opinion is, that had the eighty-two treated at the encampment been placed in a com- mon hospital, many of them would also have fallen victims. I do not attribute their recovery so much to the remedies ad- ministered as to the circumstances in which they wrere placed; in other words, a good washing to begin with, and an abundance of fresh air.' " The first of these cases I regard as pre- senting a type of the average hygienic cha- racter of hospitals in general, as they are; the last, a type of what they should be in this respect, excepting, of course, the ma- terials and style of structure. In making a few remarks upon them, I will ask atten- tion to one fact, which contrasts them still further. Two of the most frequent trou- bles which the physician meets with in the treatment of typhus, under ordinary cir- cumstances, are erysipelas and pneumonia, which supervene in no inconsiderable num- GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 139 ber of cases. It is very generally-believed that the former complication is a more or less direct result of the impure air, causing it, oftentimes, to become endemic in*a ward or hospital; while pneumonia, on the other hand, is more commonly attributed to ex- posure of the patient to a draught of air, in some way or another, even when the manner or period of the exposure cannot be defined. In the last of the two cases I have presented, it does not appear that either of these complications occurred in a single in- stance, notwithstanding the unusual expo- sure of all the sick; while it is well known that in ordinary hospitals, as I have stated, both are frequently noticed. " In one of the shanties at the Ward's Island Emigration Hospital, then occupied by typhus cases, it was once remarked to me by the physician on duty that pneumo- nia seemed to run from patient to patient along the wdiole length of the ward,—a cir- cumstance which he attributed to the cold 140 GAS AND VENTILATION. air from the windows impinging upon the patients' heads, although no windows were open; but which, to my mind, was rather caused by a want of pure air, the atmo- sphere of the ward being exceedingly foul, and there being no way by which the ex- ternal could find access. And I respectfully submit the question—Whether, if erysipelas (as undoubtedly is the case) is caused by the action of a foul and infected atmosphere upon the patient—be such action indirectly through his general system or directly upon his external tegument—pneumonia may not be regarded as an erysipelas of the pulmo- nary tissues produced in the same manner, seeing that they are exposed, both directly and indirectly, to the influence of the same foul atmosphere? " Regarded in its general aspect as a source of life and health, an ample supply of pure air, in conjunction with the imme- diate removal of secreted and exhaled im- purities beyond the possibility of reinhala- GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 141 tion, is a subject of profound interest to all humanity; but to the practitioner of medi- cine it presents itself with increased force. There is imposed upon us a double obliga- .tion. The question should be constantly before our minds, Whether we shall deny, or allow to be denied, to our patients the use of oxygen, in the fullest measure in which it can be found in the atmosphere ? Whether, while searching our materia me- dica for the most appropriate remedies ac- cording to our theories of disease and treat- ment, we will continue to overlook the most potent of all restoratives—that derived from nature's own laboratory ? " If we can believe and understand that, by the influence of the rays of the sun upon its different aspects, the towering pile of granite on Bunker Hill is caused continu- ally to sway to and fro upon its base, with equal readiness may we comprehend that the refined and delicate living animal or- ganism will vary in its phases of health 142 GAS AND VENTILATION. with the varying quality of the air upon which it depends, every moment, for its actual existence. " It was about the middle of the seven- teenth century that Thomas Sydenham burst the trammels of prejudice in which both the medical and the popular mind of his country and the world had long been bound, in reference to the innocuousness and availability of the operations of nature, and demonstrated the value, in the management of diseases, of the great medicament which she had furnished from the beginning of creation. When he tore away the bed-cur- tains, drove his patients from their swelter- ing beds, threw up their windows, or ordered them on horseback, the community thought him crazy; such kind of treatment was op- posed to all their experience, and he had no authority for it from books. But, holding them in light estimation when they con- travened the obvious dictates of reason and nature, he consulted only the latter, and GRISCOM ON VENTILATION. 143 saved many from loathsome death by small- pox and from premature graves by con- sumption. " One century later, the world was shocked by receiving from Calcutta a horrible lesson of the consequences of confining human beings in a close and unventilated atmo- sphere. Ten hours sufficed to produce in- tolerable thirst, intense fever, delirium, and death in one hundred and twenty-three, out of one hundred and forty-six persons, and a high putrid fever in those found alive at the end of that time. That'black hole' has ever since been a by-word and a re- proach to humanity, while its lesson has been too little heeded. "And now, one century later still, and there comes from Perth Amboy, in the New World, a lesson of the omnipotent sanitary influence of that same subtle, invisible agent—a lesson which should be treasured in the memory of all upon whom rests the 144 GAS AND VENTILATION. responsibility of administering to the relief of their fellow-men. "Let it never be forgotten for a moment that this agent, to procure which we have neither to dig into the earth, nor transport from foreign climes, nor distil from the alembic, nor refine in the crucible, but which is pressed upon us with a force and in a measure equalled only by the Supreme Benevolence which furnishes and unceas- ingly renews it,—this agent, when left free to act its part, removes the effete poison from the blood, and imbues it with continual health and freshness; but when stifled and confined, whether intentionally or by acci- dent, turns, like a viper, upon the arm that nourished it, and plants a deadly venom in its veins." INFLUENCE OF HUMAN EFFLUVIA. 145 Influence of Human Effluvia. We find in Ranking's Abstract a sensible article on this subject, by Mr. Grainger, from which we extract the following paragraph. If physicians would study such subjects vastly more, and the modus operandi of drug-poisons vastly less, they might, per- haps, soon find themselves on the platform we are compelled to occupy: "According to my own opportunities of observation, the most injurious of all the causes operating in the diffusion of epidemic diseases are the effluvia proceeding from the human body, and especially from the lungs and the skin. The special deleterious agent consists of the effete and—as it has been proved experimentally—highly putres- cent organic matter, mingled with the ex- 13 146 GAS AND VENTILATION. pired air. That it is, when reintroduced into the living body, liable to be highly injurious, may be inferred from the fact of the careful provision made by nature for its incessant elimination from the system. That it is small in amount, is no objection to the intensity of its action; for to the physiolo- gist it is well known that a minute quantity of a powerful agent—the putrid matter in- troduced on the point of a needle in the inspection of a dead body—a single drop of concentrated prussic acid placed in the mouth of an animal—is sufficient to destroy life. It is in overcrowded bedrooms, in un- ventilated schools, workhouses, dormitories, &c. that this effete matter taints the air, and, entering the blood, poisons the system. That the remarkable diminution in the amount of carbonic acid evolved from the lungs, where persons, as in crowded and un- ventilated apartments, breathe an impure atmosphere, acts in such cases injuriously, admits of no doubt; but the evil, quoad INFLUENCE OF HUMAN EFFLUVIA. 147 the development of fever, scarlatina, cholera, &c, depends on the organic, and not on the chemical products of respiration. As one indication of this, it may be explained that it is possible, under certain circumstances, to observe the action of the former when separated from the latter. As soon as the expired air quits the body, the matters of which it consists have a tendency to sepa- rate; and as regards the two substances under consideration, the carbonic acid mixes with the atmosphere on the principle of dif- fusion; while the animal excretion, no longer held in solution by the colder external air, is deposited, and particularly clings to wool- len articles, as bedding and clothes; which last, as it is wTell known to medical men, clergy, and others, will often retain for hours, or even longer, a foul smell from this cause alone. When this matter, from neg- lect, is allowed to accumulate, it will affect the health. An instance of this was men- tioned to me by the surgeon of a large pau- 148 GAS AND VENTILATION. per school, where the health of the boys was decidedly improved by substituting, for the usual dress, clothes capable of being readily washed." When cellars are damp, the air in the upper part of the house cannot be pure, and the aroma of every thing in the cellar must pervade the superincumbent atmosphere. Provisions will not keep well in damp cel- lars, and indeed the whole economy of housewifery is materially interfered with in such cases. HELPS TO STUDENTS. 149 SCIENTIFIC HELPS TO STUDENTS AND OTHER GENTLEMEN. There are many attainable improvements for generating, purifying, and distributing gas to the public, for the general purposes of illumination, &c, beyond what is now prac- tised ; and be assured we will not, on this occasion, advance any thing which is not desirable and practicable for your considera- tion ; on the contrary, we will be careful, so as to be supported by a summary of na- tural laws, endorsed by the practical expe- rience of the highest professors of organic chemistry, and others of equal authority. We beg to be, gentlemen, your obedient servant, TnE Author. 13* 150 GAS AND VENTILATION. We propose it to be practicable to aug- ment the intensity of combustion by con- centrating the electric forces eliminated within all furnaces: this to be effected by construction of furnace, so that all redun- dant heat shall be applied to secondary pur- poses ; and this to be obtained from furnace materials possessing the properties ascribed to dielectrics. This secures increased heat- ing action without increased supply or com- bustion of fuel, deriving its efficiency from the well-known natural law, "That the eivail- able temperature of any act of combustion is proportionate to the plus electric condition of the combustion." Thus, boiling water is two degrees hotter in a vessel of glass than in one of metal, and boiling mercury is twenty- two degrees hotter in an electro non-conductor. This object is attained by excluding from the construction of a furnace all electric con- ductors, except the vessel to be heated, whose contents become powerfully electrolized. This principle of rendering a furnace plus electric, HELPS TO STUDENTS. 151 and the vessel to be heated plus thermic, would enable the gas manufacturer to car- bonize the same weight of coal or bones in half the usual time. opinions for this. 1. The heat-conducting power of matter varies with each substance. Thus, when the conducting power of charcoal may be represented by 1, porcelain is 12 ; iron, 374; steel, 500 ; brass, 750 ; copper, 900 ; and the electric powers are nearly in the same order and power, except the two first, which ought to change places.—Professor Daniel. 2. Electric accumulation favours the con- centration of heat, producing increase of evaporation, acceleration of molecular dis- integration, and organic decomposition.— Becquerel, Traite de TElectricite, &c. 3. The utility of combustion in a furnace depends more upon the intensity of combus- tion than quality of combustible; and this intensity upon the initial temperature of the 152 GAS AND VENTILATION. fuel and supply of air to the ash-pit.—Sir H. Davy, on Flame. 4. Fuel in combustion, in contact with an electric conductor, is electro-negative, while the flame and hot air arising from its upper surface are, by being insulated, electro- and thermo-positive.—Becquere, Traitel de VElec- tricite et du Galvanisme. 5. Elevating the temperature of air en- tering a furnace produces an economy of fuel, greater out of all proportion than the quantity due to increase of aerial tempera- ture. Thus, without hot blast, five tons of fuel were required to smelt one ton of iron; but with hot blast, three tons are sufficient, in- cluding the heating the blast.—Davy, on Flame; Mushet, on Manufacture of Iron. A practical application of this principle of electro-thermic concentration may be en- tered on in the formation of #as-burners and fca>/t--holders, by substituting concentric co- noid rings of porcelain, &c. for those of HELPS TO STUDENTS. 153 metal, so adjusted, the one within the other, as to form thin sheets of flame, whose highly electric condition, by favouring intensity of temperature, augments the evolution of light fifteen per cent, upon that of the ordinary metallic burner. AUTHORITY. 1. The combining affinities of vapours and gases are increased by diminishing, and di- minished by increasing, their elastic forces by mechanical and electrical compression, or tliermic expansion and dynamical dilation. Saussure, Journal de Physique. 2. The brilliancy of flame is, catieris paribus, proportionate to its temperature, and its illu- minative faculty to its surface, independent of its volume.—Sir John Leslie. 3. A small volume of gas, spread out into a sheet infinitesimally thin, and ignited under great intensity of temperature, will evolve more light, both in volume and in- tensity, than if burnt in a solid jet from 154 GAS AND VENTILATION. a cylindrical aperture or slit.—Sir John Leslie. Heat, rapidly and energetically applied, increases the quantity, as well as the quality, of gas generated from coal or bones, fully fifteen per cent, respectively. AUTHORITY. 1. The nature of the products of decom- position of organic bodies varies with the temperature and intensity of decomposing energy.—Reiclienhach, in Poggendorfs An- nalen. 2. Heat expands all bodies in quantities respectively proportionate.—Blot, Traite de Physique. We will now refer to the practicability to an augmentation in the quantity of heated contact of the charge with the retort, without a- corresponding increase of weight of re- tort, by which the same weight of retort can effectually carbonize two-fiftlis more coal or bones in a given time; this to be effected HELPS TO STUDENTS. 155 by setting the retort vertically on one end, instead of horizontally on its side, whereby the red-hot upper surface incidental to the latter position will be in contact with the extra charge. By this method the effluent gas, traversing from the hot exterior to the cold interior of the charge, will economically cool the gas and elevate the temperature of the central portions of the charge, producing an incipient refrigerator of the gas, an eco- nomy of fuel in heating the charge of the re- tort, a diminution of time requisite for car- bonization, and a total cessation of the de- struction of rich gas by preventing its con- tact with a red-hot surface, and consequent scurfing of the retort* To economize fuel for the use of furnaces for heating retorts, equal to a substantial saving upon the present usages, may be effected by elevating the initial temperature * See Peclcson on Clegg's Rotatory Retort, third edition. 156 GAS AND VENTILATION. of the air, previously to its entering the ash-pit of the retort furnace, by allowing the ingredient air to sweep through the vault into which the red-hot coke is projected from the retorts, so as to absorb the heat which arises from the coal or animal char- coal lying in the bottom of the vault. Let us see how we are supported. Intensity of combustion and volume of light are much impaired by the toatery va- pour held in solution by all gases.—Sir Humphry Davy, on Flame. The capability of flame to develop heat is proportionate to its volume of trans- parency, and inversely proportionate to its illuminative power.—lb. The supply of gas from coal, or cannel, to the gas-holders, mains, services, and metres, suffers continual diminution from "condensation," by repose within these reservoirs and conduits.—Peckson, Clegg, and Ors. On our own authority and experience, HELPS TO STUDENTS. 157 this "condensation" as it is very improperly termed, consists in the reformation of rich gas into the destructive elements respect- ively termed naphthalic acid, para-naphtha- line, and aldehyd-ammonia, by contact of the gas with fluid deposites within those cavities, which we propose may be prevented by the means offered. We endorse all that relates to a method of diminishing the temperature of useful car- bonization twenty per cent., and time thirty per cent., by generating gas from coal, bones, &c, in partial vacuum, produced by the ac- tion of an exhausting pump on the interior of the retort, whose influence is—1. Indi- rect increase of the intensity of heating power, on the principle that " compounds suffer re- organization at lower temperatures and in- creased activities under diminished pres- sures ;" 2. Increase in the density and illu- minating power of the evolved gases—the richest gases being, according to Peckson and Clegg, evolved at the lowest temperatures, 14 158 GAS AND VENTILATION. whence results an augment in the weight, hardness, and bituminous quality of the coke; 3. A gas greater in volume and richer in illuminative quality; 4. An IN- CREASE in the volume of ammoniacal pro- ducts ; 5. A diminution in the weight and volume of tar, with increase of its value, producing—1. Economy in fuel to work the charge; 2. Eco?iomy in time to carbonize the charge; 3. Diminution of filthy operations and cost of labour; 4. Increase in annual performance of working utensils and ma- chinery. Let us see how we are supported: Sir James Hall, in his experiments, in Phil. Trans., says: " Substances decompo- sable by heat at mean atmospheric pres- sure altogether resist decomposition under augmentation of the diversities of their cir- cumambient atmospheres." Radley, on the Constitution of Matter, in An. de Ch. et de Physique, says: " Diminu- tion of density of surrounding atmosphere HELPS TO STUDENTS. 159 by mechanical exhaustion, reduces the tem- perature of decomposition, and accelerates its rapidity, obeying the same laws as the eva- porization of liquids ' in vacuo.'" Refer back to and read No. 2, p. 152. Lyell says: " Specific gravity is depend- ent on quantity of matter in a given bulk. Thus, gas-coke and anthracite are identiced in substance, but different in gravity, the lat- ter having been produced at mean, the former at higher, temperature." Again, "Exhaustion to one-third of an atmosphere doubles the quantity of evapora- tion at mean pressure," says Wohler, in CrelVs Annals. 5. Diminution in the product of inci- dental impurities, the temperature of their production being seldom attained, and from the evidence of the following authority:— 1. The sulphurized compounds of coal gas are generated above the temperature of 800°.—Dr. Edward Turner. 2. Gas of richest quality, and in great- 160 GAS AND VENTILATION. est quantity, is produced when the produc- tion of naphtha is small, (and, he should have added, ammonia is large.)—Peckson. 3. Sulphurized gases are very prejudi- cial to illuminative power, from the cooling effects upon the flame exercised by sulphur in all its forrms.—Sir H Davy, on Flame. 6. Reduction in requirement of purifi- cation by arresting the carbonization of the charge, when the rise of temperature and diminution of barometric column indicate the cessation of useful production. The atmosphere is more highly charged with moisture in summer than in winter; and this it is which so reduces the useful effects of an iron-smelting furnace, as either to reduce the quality of the product, or in- crease the demand for fuel fully five per cent, in summer, compared to winter.— Mushet, on Hot Blast, and Karsten, an Eisen- hiittenkunde. A DUTY as much owing to the public from GAS corporations, as it evidently is to their HELPS TO STUDENTS. 161 own commercial interests to effect, is a pre- vention of gaseous exudation from bad joints, flaws, and crystalline pores of cast-iron pipes, &c, and which may very readily be effected by making the joints by metallic contact, which is performed by scouring and tinning the inner surface of the faucet and outer surface of the spigot ends of the mains, and insertion of the one within the other, while the two metallic surfaces are in a molten state, produced by heating the spigot to 500° and the faucet to 700° Fahren- heit, or thereabouts, and shrinking the faucet upon the spigot—grouting the pores and filling the flaws of pipes, &c. and mains with melted pitch by hydraulic pressure. The loss of gas in ordinary from these sources may be estimated at twenty per centum on the gross manufacture. While on the subject of pipes, &c, we would desire to recapitulate a little. We have said and can prove that no pipes should be connected by Tpieces, nor any 14* 162 GAS AND VENTILATION. other right angle formed, but under the most pressing urgency, because all right angles are condensers, producing confluent actions, and, consequently, eddies in the gas in its pas- sage forward. The same phenomenon must occur, whether it be in liquids or atmo- spheric air travelling through pipes; it is the same in all rooms and buildings of the pre- sent day, although not so readily discovered; and we have no doubt it is one of the normal causes of bad ventilation. But the most prominent and conclusive evidence offered is that of rivers: rivers which debut in the ocean, large arms of the sea, or the supe- rior lakes, at right angles, have, without exception, bars at what are technically called their mouths; while rivers debuting at any obtuse angle have not bars. In the former, the sea is to the river what the right angle of iron is to the gas—the stronger; and the sea, in resisting its passage, (the river water,) a confluent action takes place, dur- ing which the earthy and other foreign HELPS TO STUDENTS. 163 matters in suspension, and brought down by the river, precipitate. This being con- tinued, a bar is formed ; the right angle re- sists the gas in the same way, and condensa- tion is the injurious result. On the contrary, in the latter, the river falls at an obtuse angle to the ocean, &c, and in consequence glides quietly away, and no bar is formed. The same result would be obtained in the flow of gas, of liquids, of air in pipes or in rooms, if the same natu- ral law was observed. Verily, we are a wise generation! we aim at beggaring nature. 1. Gases are vapours of liquids of low cohesive forces.— Gay Lussac, An. de Ch. et de Physique. 2. Cyanogen, in its liquid state, in con- tact with watery vapour, ammonia, and car- bonic oxide, produces mutual combination. —De Saussure. A further method may be followed for rendering the otherwise pure gas free from all remaining hygrometric vapour and easily 164 GAS AND VENTILATION. condensable naphthalic fluids, so as to keep the mains and service-pipes free from all liquid substances of a tarry or ammoniacal nature; the former of which largely absorbs the richest portions of the gas—the hyduret of acetate—and conveys it to the syphon wells, to be pumped out and thrown away; and the latter not only absorbs this rich olefiant gas, but dehydrogenizes it in large quantities, converting it into aldeJ/yd-am- monia. „ On this important point, Dr. Thomas Thompson says : " Naphtha absorbs two and a half times its volume of olefiant gas; and from fifteen to twenty-five per cent, of this rich component of coal or cannel gas dis- appears rapidly by absorption within the tanks, mains, and syphons of every gas factory." Dr. Wm. Henry says : " The solutions of sulphate and hydro-sulphate of ammonia, found in purifiers, condensers, tanks, mains, and metres, prove to have continually ab- HELPS TO STUDENTS. 165 sorbed and decomposed large quantities of olefiant gas, the most valuable product of the destructive distillation of coal. consequences. Provided such improvements which have been here referred to were carried into effect, the results would be— 1. The manufacturer would be enabled to generate and consume richer gases in less time, with less labour, less wear and tear, and less outlay, than at present. 2. He could have the option and power of reserving rich and rejecting poorly illu- minative gases, seeing that, as Selligal, in La Journal de Physique, says, " Carbonic acid gas absolutely increases the luminosity of transparent flames, and hence it is posi- tively prejudicial to extract it from coal gas." 3. The total absence of condensable sub- stances from the gas in the mains, and of 166 GAS AND VENTILATION. all corrosive impurities, will confer upon his wet metre a lasting duration by keeping its aqueous contents perfectly pure. 4. He would be enabled to diminish the spongy constitution of his coke, and increase its commercial value thirty per cent. 5. He would be enabled to increase the volume and intensity of light evolved from flame inexpensively. By the separation of watery vapour, in the early stages of the process of manufac- ture, and before the rich gas is brought into contact with the products of compression, all chances of absorption and destruction of the rich parts of the gas are entirely prevented. VALEDICTION. 167 VALEDICTION. Whether our present efforts are to re- ceive the sanction of scientific readers, di- rectors, and other officers of gas corpora- tions, or be by them shelved, is a matter in which we are willing to admit we are a little interested. We have performed a duty we conceived from our position to be a moral obligation due from us to the public, and have exhi- bited, we hope, an unselfish feeling toward the corporate bodies. Of this, however, we are quite assured— the glaring injuries sustained and being sustained in London and other English cities and towns by the public health, are 168 GAS AND VENTILATION. alike, in amount and in as grave results, ex- isting in and entailed upon Washington, New Orleans, Philadelphia, New York, Bos- ton, and in every city in which gas-mains are laid, gas made, and gas consumed, and this state of things must quickly lead to reformatory measures at any cost. We respectfully conclude by inserting the following extract of a letter copied from the Times, London, England, January 14,1854: " We now have had the experience of fifty years. We have competition, we have gas used for every thing, in quantities hardly imagined by the sanguine inventors. We have thousands of miles of gas-pipes, and almost as many jets as there are lungs in the metropolis. It is time we should ask whether the system is perfect. Is our gas as good as it might be? Have we duly availed ourselves of the means discovered for its purification ? We may also ask, Whe- ther so great a boon is not necessarily at- tended with some drawbacks ? VALEDICTION. 169 " Nobody can have seen the paving of our streets disturbed, as it all is disturbed once or twice a year, without perceiving with dismay that the whole subsoil of the metro- polis is thoroughly saturated with some black, stinking ingredient, of a most sicken- ing nature. It tells its own tale, for com- mon sense assures us that where the effluvia from such soil can reach the lungs, it must impair strength and shorten life. As to its effect on vegetable life, we have heard re- peated instances of healthy trees suffering by the approach of this underground foe. As the evil is cumulative, what will it come to? The question was answered the other day in some remarks by Dr. Letheby, ad- dressed to the City Court of Sewers, on the subject of his report on the city gas compa- nies. ' Then, again,' he says, ' there is a quantity of ammonia which holds in solu- tion a large quantity of tar, and whenever there is a leakage in the streets, it oozes out. During the last fifty years, where it has got 15 170 GAS AND VENTILATION. into the public roads, it has rendered the soil near to it so offensive that you can hardly move the pavement without doing a great deal of harm. What it may be in twenty years hence I cannot say, but I think it will be almost unsafe that you should then disturb the pavements at all. In twenty years, or at all events at the end of this century, we shall not be able to move the ground under our feet without the same results as if we were opening a common sewer; but as water-pipes, drains, and, more than all, the gas-pipes themselves, are fre- quently in want of repair, the ground must be disturbed, in winter or summer, as may be, and that for whole streets at a time. Thus far it has been found impossible to prevent this leakage, on account of the con- tinual, but unequal, subsidence of the soil in which the pipes are laid. The only thing to be done is to take stringent mea- sures to compel the utmost possible purifi- cation of the gas itself.' VALEDICTION, 171 " Perhaps a still more palpable proof of the deleterious properties of the gas now in use is to be found in its effects upon many substances in rooms where it is used. Dr. Letheby says, ' There is not a library in the metropolis the books on the upper shelves of which are not tumbling to pieces from this cause.' As it happens, we can bear witness to the truth of this remark. We have seen the bindings of books shrivel up and break after only two or three years' exposure, rather than use, in a room where gas is constantly burnt. The destructive effect of gas on furniture and perishable substances is a matter of universal com- plaint, and is only tolerated because furni- ture in London is commonly changed very soon, and few shopkeepers keep large stores of perishable substances. It is the oil of vitriol that does the mischief; and Dr. Le- theby says, that so highly is the gas of one company charged with sulphuret, that he has obtained twenty-one grains of oil of 172 GAS AND VENTILATION. vitriol from one hundred cubic feet of gas. Now, if the gas of this metropolis is so de- structive to inert matter, how much more must it be so to the vital organs! It is true that gas is only one of the many dele- terious agents at work in this metropolis. Dr. Letheby finds the snow itself, apparently so fresh from the purer regions of the sky, charged with sulphuric acid in combination with ammonia; and he has found the same with regard to the leaves of trees. But, if mischiefs are so rife about us, that is only the more reason why every thing should be done to diminish their number and influ- ence. Gas is becoming one of the most formidable. It assails us everywhere. It oozes from the soil, it rises from every area, and fumes out of every neglected base- ment. What with leakage, imperfect com- bustion, and the original bad quality of the gas, it is seldom used without forcing itself on more senses than one. This is a heavy penalty to pay for an evening's illumina- VALEDICTION. 173 tion, and there is no real occasion why we should have to pay it. Gas can be brought under the public surveillance quite as easily. as any other modern necessary of life. Par- liament has lately enacted some stringent and costly regulations as to the part of the Thames from which water shall be drawn, and as to the filtering and reserving of that water. The air that we breathe is even more important than the water we drink; and, if Dr. Letheby's account of the gas in London be correct, it is high time that Par- liament did interfere to neutralize the subtle poison we have admitted into our atmoT sphere and into the very ground that we tread on. The most dangerous poisons are those which accumulate, and only act when the quantity present in the system has reached a certain point. We may go on poisoning London with comparative harm- lessness in our time, but leave it scarcely habitable to our children. Happily, the evil admits of inquiry, and of exact mea- 15* 174 GAS AND VENTILATION. surement. That inquiry should be made; and there can be no doubt the first result of it will be of an immense improvement in the manufacture of gas by every metro- politan company." Fig. 17. 177 Explanation of Diagram. A the retort. B the exit-pipe, broken away to show— . C the steam-pipe. D the hydraulic main. The diagram prefixed, exhibits the means to prevent the deposit of carbon on the inside of the present retorts. It is an acknowledged axiom, that this deposit increases rapidly when the dip in the hydraulic main is increased so as to produce a pressure of gas within the retort, and that it decreases upon that pressure being removed. It is here proposed to permanently remove the lia- bility to that pressure, by throwing up the exit-pipe a small jet of steam, just sufficient to overcome the power created by the dip in the hydraulic main, whereby the gas may the more easily escape at or about the pressure of the atmosphere Thus it is possible to obtain any reasonable state of exhaustion within the re- tort, by increasing the volume and velocity of the jet of steam thrown up the escft-pipe. (See diagram.) THE END. PUBLICATIONS OF HENRY CAREY BAIRD, SUCCESSOR TO E. L. CARET, No. 7 Hart's Buildings, Sixth Street above Chestnut, Philadelphia, Scientific aito $)radical. American Miller and Millwrights As- sistant : A new and thoroughly revised Edition, with additional Engrav- ings. By William Carter Hughes. In one volume, 12mo.............................................................. $1.00 " The author offers it as a substantial reference, instead of speculative theo- ries, which belong only to those not immediately attached to the business. Special notice is also given of most of the essential improvements which have of late been introduced for the benefit of the Miller."—Savannah Republican. " The whole business of making flour is most thoroughly treated by him."— Bulletin. " A very comprehensive view of the Millwright's business."—Southern Literary Messenger. Analytical Chemist's Assistant: A Manual of Chemical Analysis, both Qualitative and Quantita- tive, of Natural and Artificial Inorganic Compounds; to which are appended the Rules for Detecting Arsenic in a Case of Poisoning. By Frederick Wcehler, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Gottingen. Translated from the German, with an Introduction, Illustrations, and co- pious Additions, by Oscar M. Lieber, Author of :he "As- sayer's Guide." In One Volume, 12mo................. $1.25 "The character of W(f.hlf.k is a sufficient guarantee that this work will prove wtiat it claims to be."—Providence Vaily Journal. 1 HENRY CAEEY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Barnard—Connecticut Common School Journal, from 1838 to 1842. Edited by Henry Barnard. In one, two, or four vols....$3.00 Barnard—History of the System of Com- mon Schools, and other Means of Popular Education in Connecticut, from 1638 to 1844. 600pp......$2.00 Barnard—Journal of Rhode Island Insti- tute of Instruction, Including Mr. Barnard's Reports on the History and Improve- ment of the Public Schools of Rhode Island, from 1845 to 1818. Three volumes..........................................$3.50 Barnard—Legal Provision respecting the Education and Employment of Children in Facto- " ries and Manufacturing Establishments. 84 pp...50 eta. Barnard—Life of Thomas H. Gallaudet; With a History of Deaf Mute Instruction, &c, 268 pp.....$1.00 Barnard—National Education in Europe: Being an Account of the Organization, Administration, In- struction, and Statistics of Public Schools, of different grades, in the Principal States. By Henry Barnard, Second edition, 8vo............................................ $3.00 Barnard—Normal Schools; or, Institu- tions, Agencies, and Means for the Professional Education and Improvement of Teachers, in Europe and the United States. 650pp.........................$2.00 Barnard—Practical Illustrations of the Principles of School Architecture. 176 pp.......75 cts. Barnard—School Architecture; Or, Contributions to the Improvement of School Houses in the United States. By Henry Barnard, Superintendent Common Schools in Connecticut. 5th edition, 8vo.. $2.00 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Booth and Morfit—the Encyclopedia of Chemistry, Practical and Theoretical: Embracing its application to the Arts, Metallurgy, Mineralogy, Geology, Medicine, and Pharmacy. By James C. Booth, Melter and Refiner in the United States Mint; Professor of Applied Chemistry in the Franklin Institute, &c.; as- sisted by Campbell Morfit, author of " Chemical Mani- pulations," &c. Complete in one volume, royal octavo, 978 pages, with numerous wood cuts and other illustra- tions.................................................................$5.00 "It covers the whole field of Chemistry as applied to Arts and Sciences. * * * As no library is complete without a common dictionary, it is also our opinion that none can be without this Encyclopedia of Chemistry."—Scientific Ame- rican. " A work of time and labour, and a treasury of chemical information."—North American. " By far the best manual of the kind which has been presented to the Ameri- can public."—Boston Courier. Bretver; [The Complete Practical) Or, Plain, Concise, and Accurate Instructions in the Art of Brewing Beer, Ale, Porter, &c. &c, and the Process of Making all the Small Beers. By M. Lafayette Byrn, M.D. With Illustrations. 12mo.....................................$1.00 " Many an old brewer will find in this book valuable hints and suggestion s worthy of consideration, and the novice can post himself up in his trade in all its parts."—Artisan. Builder's Pocket Companion: Containing the Elements of Building, Surveying, and Archi- tecture ; with Practical Rules and Instructions connected with the subject. By A. C. Smeaton, Civil Engineer, &c. In one volume, d2mo...........................................$1.00 Contents:—The Builder, Carpenter, Joiner, Mason, Plasterer, Plumber, Painter, Smith, Practical Geometry, Surveyor, Cohesive Strength of Bodies, Architect. " It gives, in a small space, the most thorough directions to the builder, from the laying of a brick, or the felling of a tree, up to the most elaborate produc- tion of ornamental architecture. It is scientific, without being obscure and unintelligible; and every house-carpenter, master, journeyman, or apprentice, should have a copy at hand always."—Evening Bulletin. " Complete on the subjects on which it treats. A most useful, practical work.'' .—Bait. American. " It must be of great practical utility."—Savannah Republican. " To whatever branch of the art of building the reader may belong, he will find in this something valuable and calculated to assist his progress."—Farmer and Mechanic. " This is a valuable little volume, designed to assist the student in the acqui- sition of elementary knowledge, and will be found highly advantageous to e^ry young man who has devoted himself to the interesting pursuits of which it treats."—Fa. Herald. 8 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Byrne—The Practical Metal-worker's Assistant; For Tin-Plate Workers, Braziers, Coppersmiths, Zinc-Plate Ornamenters and Workers, Wire Workers, Whitesmiths, Blacksmiths, Bell Hangers, Jewellers, Silver and Gold Smiths, Electrotypers, and all other Workers in Alloys and Metals. Edited by Oliver Byrne. Complete in one vo- lume, octavo.......................................................$4.00 It treats of Casting, Founding, and Forging; of Tongs and other Tools; Degrees of Heat and Management of Fires; Welding; of Heading and Swage Tools: of Punches and Anvils; of Hardening and Tempering; of Malleable Iron Castings, Case Hardening, Wrought and Cast Iron. The management and manipulation of Metals and Alloys, Melting and Mixing. The management of Furnaces, Casting and Founding with Metallic Moulds, Joining and Working Sheet Metal. Peculiarities of the different Tools employed. Processes depend- ant on the ductility of Metals. Wire Drawing. Drawing Metal Tubes, Soldering. The use of the Blowpipe, and every other known Metili Worker's Tool. Byrne—The Practical Model Calculator; For the Engineer, Machinist, Manufacturer of Engine Work, Na^al Architect, Miner,, and Millwright. By Oliver Byrne, Compiler and Editor of the Dictionary of Machines, Mechanics, Engine Work and Engineering, and Author of various Mathematical and Mechanical Works. Illustrated by numerous engravings. Complete in one large volume, octavo, of nearly six hundred pages........................$3.50 " Tn short it must be regarded by every man for whose more especial benefit it is intended, as a complete text-book in his profession."—Pittsburgh Union. Cabinet-maker's and Upholsterer's Com- panion : Comprising the Rudiments and Principles of Cabinet-making and Upholstery, with Familiar Instructions, illustrated by Examples for attaining a proficiency in the Art of Drawing, as applicable to Cabinet Work; the processes of Veneer- ing, Inlaying, and Buhl Work; the Art of Dyeing and Staining Wood, Bone, Tortoise Shell, &c. Directions for Lackering, Japanning, and Varnishing; to make French Polish; to prepare the best Glues, Cements, and Composi- tions, and a number of Receipts particularly useful for Workmen generally. By J. Stokes. In one volume I2mo. With Illustrations....................................75cts! « A large amount of practical information, of great service to all concerned in those branches of business."— Ohio State Journal. & HENRY CAREY BALRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Chemistry Applied to Dyeing. By James Napier, F.C.S. Illustrated. 12mo...............$1.50 Contents.—General Properties of Matter.—Heat, light, Elements of Matter. Chemical Affinity. Non-Metallic Substances.—Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Chlorine, Sulphur, Selenium. Phosphorus, Iodine, Bromine, Fluorine, Silicum, Boron, Carbon. Metallic Substances.—General Properties of Metals, Potassium, Sodium, Lithium, Soap, Barium, Strontium, Calcium, Magnesium, Alminum, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Zinc, Cadmium, Copper, Bead, Bismuth, Tin, Titanium, Chromium, Vanadium, Tungstenum or Wolfram, Molybdenum, Tella- rium. Arsenic, Antimony, Uranium, Cerium, Mercury, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Iridium, Osmium, Bhodium. Lanthanium. Mordants.—Red Spirits, Barwood Spirits, Plumb Spirits, Yellow Spirits, Nitrate of Iron, Acetate of Alu- mina. Black Iron Liquor, Iron and Tin for RoyalBlues, Acetate of Copper. T «/e- table Matters used in Dyeing.—Galls, Sumach, Catechu, Indigo, Logwood, Brazil- woods, Sandal-wood. Barwood, Camwood, Fustic, Young Fustic, Bark or Quer- citron, Flavine, Weld or Wold, Turmeric, Persian Berries, Safflower, Madder, Mutijeet, Annotta, Alkanet Root, Archil. Proposed New Vegetable Dye.— Sooranjee, Carajuru, Wongshy, Aloes, Pittacal, Barbary Root. Animal Matters used in Dyeing.—Cochineal, Lake or Lac, Kerms. This will be found one of the most valuable books on the subject of dyeing, ever published in this country. Colburn—The Locomotive Engine: Including a Description of its Structure, Rules for Estimating its Capabilities, and Practical Observations on its Con- struction and Management. By Zerah Colburn. ^Illus- trated. A new edition. 12mo............................75 cts. " It is the most practical and generally useful work on the Steam Engine that we have seen."—Boston Traveller. Distiller. {The Complete Practical) By M. Lafayette Byrn, M.D. With Illustrations. 12mo.$1.00 " So simplified, that it is adapted not only to the use of extensive Distillers, but for every former, or others who may want to engage in Distilling."—Banner of the Union. Dyer and Colour-maker's Companion: Containing upwards of two hundred Receipts for making Co- lours, on the most approved principles, for all the various styles and fabrics now in existence; with the Scouring Process, and plain Directions for Preparing, Washing-oif, and Finishing the Goods. Second edition. In one volume, 12mo...............................................................75 cts " This is another of that most excellent class of practical books, which the publisher'is giving to the public. Indeed, we believe there is not, for manufac- turers, a more valuable work, having been prepared for and expressly adapted to their business."—Farmer and Mechanic. " Tt is a valuable book."— Otsego Republican. " We have shown it to some practical men, who all pronounced It the com- pletest thing of the kind they had seen/'—N. Y. Nation. HENRY CAREY BAixcsrS PUBLICATIONS. Dyer's Instructor: Comprising Practical Instructions in the Art of Dyeing Silk, Cotton, Wool, and Worsted and Woollen Goods, as single and two-coloured Damasks, Moreens, Camlets, Eastings, Shot Cobourgs, Silk Striped Orleans, Plain Orleans from White and Coloured Warps, Merinoes, Woollens, Yarns, &c. &c. Containing nearly Eight Hundred Receipts, to which is added a Treatise on the Art of Padding, and the Printing of Silk, Warps, Skeins, and Handkerchiefs, and the various Mordants and Colours for the different Styles of such work. By David Smith, Pattern Dyer. 12mo, cloth.................................................................$1.50 " Information can be obtained from this book which would be found difficult to gain in any other form."—Southern Argus. Dyer [The Practical) and Scourer. By Thomas Love. In one volume, 12mo. (In press.) Examination of Drugs, Medicines, Che- micals, &c. As to their Purity and Adulterations, by C. H. Peirce, M.D., Translator of " Stockhardt's Chemistry," and Examiner of Medicines, &c. for the Port of Boston. 12mo......$1.25 Gilbart—Practical Treatise on Banking. By Jas. Wm. Gilbart, F.R.S. Edited by J. Smith Homans, Editor Banker's Magazine. 8vo............................$2.50 Gregory—Mathematics for Practical Men: Being a Common-Place Book of Principles, Theorems, Rules, and Tables, in various Departments of Pure and Mixed Mathematics, with their Applications, especially to the pursuits of Surveyors, Architects, Mechanics, and Civil Engineers, with numerous Engravings. By Olinthus Gregory, LL.D., F.R.A.S.....................................$1.50 Household Surgery; or, Hints on Emer- gencies. By J. F. South, one of the Surgeons of St. Thomas's Hospi- tal. In one volume, 12mo, sheep. Illustrated by nearly fifty Engravings..................................................$i <5q HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Johnston—Botanic Practice of Medicine. By Dr. Wm. Johnston. 24mo..........................j........38 cts. Leslie's (Miss) Complete Cookery: Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches. By Miss Les- lie. 54th Thousand." Thoroughly Revised, with the Ad- dition of New Receipts. In one volume, 12mo, half-bound, or in sheep........................................................$1.00 In preparing a new and carefully revised edition of this my first work on cookery, I have introduced improvements, corrected errors, and added new receipts, that I trust will on trial be found satisfactory. The success of the book (proved by its immense and increasing circulation) affords conclusive evi- dence that it has obtained the approbation of a large number of my country- women, many of whom have informed me that it has made practical housewives of young ladies who have entered into married life with no other acquirements than a tew showy accomplishments. Gentlemen, also, have told me of great improvements in the family table, after presenting their wives with this manual of domestic cookery, and that, after a morning devoted to the fatigues of busi- ness, they no longer find themselves subjected to the annoyance of an ill-dressed dinner.—Preface. Leslie's (Miss) Two Hundred Receipts in French Cookery. A new edition, in cloth.............................................25 cts. Lieber—Assayer's Guide; Or, Practical Directions to Assayers, Miners, and Smelters, for the Tests and Assays, by Heat and by Wet Processes, of the Ores of all the principal Metals, and of Gold and Silver Coins and Alloys. By Oscar M. Lieber, late Geologist to the State of Mississippi. 12mo. With Illustrations. 75 cts. " Among the indispensable works for this purpose, is this little guide."— Artisan. Lyon—New and Improved Tables: With the Method of their Application to finding the Mean Heights of Cross Sections, and the Cubic Contents of Exca- vations and Embankments. By Patrick Lyon. 8vo..$1.50 Macfarlane—Propellers and, Steam Navi- gation : With Biographical Sketches of Early Inventors. By Robert Macfarlane, C.E., Editor of the " Scientific American." In one volume, 12mo. Illustrated by over eighty Wood Engravings..............................................—......75 cts. HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Morfit—Perfumery; Its Manufacture and Use. With Instructions in every branch of the Art, and Receipts for all the Fashionable Preparations ; the whole forming a valu- able aid to the Perfumer, Druggist, and Soap Manufac- turer. Illustrated by numerous Wood-cuts. From the French of Celnart, and other late authorities. With Ad- ditions and Improvements by Campbell Morfit. A new and revised edition, in one volume, 12mo, cloth........$1.50 Morfit—The Arts of Tanning and Cur- rying : Theoretically and Practically Considered in all their Details, being a full and comprehensive Treatise on the Manufac- ture of the various kinds of Leather. Illustrated by over two hundred Engravings. Edited from the French of De Fontenelle and Malapeyere. With numerous Emendations and Additions, by Campbell Morfit, Practical and Ana- lytical Chemist. Complete in one volume, octavo.....$5.00 This important Treatise will be found to cover the whole field in the most masterly manner, and it is believed that in no other branch of applied science could more signal service be rendered to American Manufacturers. The publisher is not aware that in any other work heretofore issued in this country, more space has been devoted to this subject than a single chapter; and in offering this volume to so large and intelligent a class as American Tanners and Leather Dressers, he feels confident of their substantial support and en- couragement. Contents.—Introduction, Dignity of Labour, Tan and Tannin, Gallic Acid, Extractive Tanning Materials, Oak Barks, Barking of Trees, Method of Esti- mating the Tanning Power of Astringent Substances, Tan, the Structure and Composition of Skin, Different kinds of Skin suitable for Tanning, Preliminary Treatment of Skins, Tanning Process, Improved Processes, Vauquelin's Pro- cess, Accelerating Processes, Keasley's, Trumbull's. Hibbards, and Leprieur's Processes, Tanning with Extract of Oak-Bark, Hemlock Tanning, with Myrtle Plant, JOnglish Harness Leather, Calf Skins, Goat and Sheep Skins, Horse Hides, Buck, Wolf, and Dog Skins, Buffalo, or "Grecian" Leather, Russia Leather, Red Skins, Wallachia Leather, Mineral Tanuing, Texture and Quality of Leath r, and the Means of Discovering its Defects, Tawing, Hungary Leather, Oiled Leather, Tanning as practised by the Mongol Tartars, Shagreen, Parchment, Leather Bottles, Tanning of Cordage and Sail Cloth, Glazed or " Patent" Lea- ther, Helverson's Process for Rendering Hides Hard and Transparent, Currying, Currying of Calf Skins, Currying of Goat Skins, Red Leather, Fair Leather, Water I'roof Dressing. Perkins' Machine for Pommelling and Graining Leather, Splitting, Shaving, Fleshing and Cleansing Machines, Embossing of Leather, Gut Dressing. Mortimer—Pyrotechnist's Companion; Or, A Familiar System of Fire-works. By G. W. Mortimer. Illustrated by numerous Engravings. 12mo..........75 cts. HENRY CAxtiSY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Napier—Manual of Electro-Metallurgy: Including the Application of the Art to Manufacturing Processes. By James Nap(er. From the second London edition, re- vised and enlarged. Illustrated by Engravings. In one volume, I2mo......................................................$1.25 Napier's Electro-Metallurgy is generally regarded as the very best practical treatise on the subject in the English language. Contents.—History of the Art of Electro-Metallurgy, Description of Galvanio Ba/ teiios, and their respective Peculiarities, Electrotype Processes, Miscellaneous Applications of the Process of Coating with Copper, ISronzhig. Decomposition of Metals upon one another, Electro-Plating, Electro-Gilding, Results of Experi- ments on the Deposition of other Metals as Coatings, Theoretical Observations. Neill—Fruit, Flower, and Kitchen Garden. By Patrick Neill, LL.D., F.R.S.E., Secretary to the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. Adapted to the United States, from the fourth edition, revised and improved by the Author. Illustrated by fifty Wood Engravings of Hot- houses, &c. &c. In one volume, 12mo.....................$1.25 '•' This volume supplies a desideratum much felt, and gives within a moderate copipass all the horticultural information necessary for practical use."—Newark Mercury. " A valuable addition to the horticulturist's library."—Baltimore Patriot. Nicholson—Book-binder's (The Practical) Manual: Containing Full Directions for all the different Branches of Book-binding and Marbling. By James B. Nicholson. Illustrated. 12mo. (In press.) Norris's Hand-book for Locomotive En- gineers and Machinists: Comprising the Calculations for Constructing Locomotives, Man- ner of setting Valves, &c. &c. By Septimus Norris, Civil and Mechanical Engineer. In one volume, 12mo, with Illus- trations................................;.......................:....$1.50 "With pleasure do we meet with such a work as Messrs. Norris and Baird have given us."—Art:sun. "In this work he has given us what are called ' the secrets of the busir °ss.' in the rules to-construct locomotives, in order that the million should be learned in all things."—Scientific American. 9 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Nystrom—A Treatise on Screw-Propellers and their Steam-Engines: With Practical Rules and Examples by which to Calculate and Construct the same for any description of Vessels. By J. W. Nystrom. Illustrated by over thirty large Working Drawings. In one volume, octavo..........................$3.50 This is the fullest treatise on the subject ever published in this country. Overman—The Manufacture of Iron in all its Various Branches: To which is added an Essay on the Manufacture of Steel, by Frederick Overman, Mining Engineer, with one hundred and fifty Wood Engravings. Third edition. In one volume, octavo, five hundred pages....................................$5.00 " We have now to announce the appearance of another valuable work on the subject, which, in our humble opinion, supplies any deficiency which late im- provements and discoveries may have caused, from the lapse of time since the date of ' Mushet' and ' Schrivenor.' It is the production of one of our trans- atlantic brethren, Mr. Frederick Overman, Mining Engineer; and we do not hesitate to set it down as a work of great importance to all connected with the iron interest; one which, while it is sufficiently technological fully to explain chemical analysis, and the various phenomena of iron under different circum- stances, to the satisfaction of the moSt fastidious, is written in that clear and comprehensive style as to be available to the capacity of the humblest mind, and consequently will be of much advantage to those works where the proprie- tors may see the desirability of placing it in the hands of their operatives."— London Morning Journal. Painter, (The) Gilder, and Varnisher's Companion: Containing Rules and Regulations for every thing relating to the arts of Painting, Gilding, Varnishing, and Glass-stain- ing : numerous useful and valuable Receipts ; Tests for the Detection of Adulterations in Oils, Colours, &c.; and a Statement of the Diseases and Accidents to which Painters, Gilders, and Varnishers are particularly liable; with the simplest methods of Prevention and Remedy. Fifth edition. In one volume, small 12mo, cloth..........................75 cts. Paper-Hanger's (The) Companion: [n which the Practical Operations of the Trade are systematic- ally Jaid down; with copious Directions Preparatory to Papering; Preventions against the effect of Damp in Walls; the various Cements and Pastes adapted to the several pur- poses of the trade; Observations and Directions for the Panelling and Ornamenting of Rooms, &c. &c. By James Arrowsmith. In one volume, 12mo.................... 75 cts 10 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Perkins—Practical Treatise on Gas and Ventilation. By E. E. Perkins. 12mo. (In press.) Practical Printer, Type Founder, and Stereotyper's Sand-Book. By D. W. Belisle. Illustrated. 12mo. (In press.) Practical (The) Surveyor's Guide: Containing the necessary information to make any person of common capacity a finished Land Surveyor, without the aid of a teacher. By Andrew Duncan, Land Surveyor and Civil Engineer. 12mo..................................75 cts. navine had an experience as a practical Surveyor, &c. of thirty years, it is believed that the author of this volume possesses a thorough knowledge of the wants of the profession; and never having met with any work sufficiently con- cise and instructive in the several details necessary for the proper qualification of the Surveyor, it has been his object to supply that want. Among other im- portant matters in the book, will be found the following: Instructions in levelling and profiling with a new and speedy plan of setting grades on rail and plank roads; the method of inflecting curves; the descrip- tion and design of a new instrument, whereby distances are found at once, with- out any calculation; a new method of surveying any tract ot land by measur- ing one line through it; a geometrical method of correcting surveys taken with the compass, to fit them for calculation; a short method of findmgthe angles from the courses, and vice versa; the method of surveying with the compass through any mine or iron works, and to correct the deflections of the needle by attraction; description of an instrument by the help of which any one may measure a map by inspection, without calculation; a new and short method of calculation, wherein fewer figures are used; the method of correcting the diur nal variation of the needle; various methods of plotting and embellishing maps; the most correct method of laying off plots with the pole, Ac; description of a new compass contrived by the author, &c. &c. Rail Road Curves, and Location of Rail Roads: A Practical Treatise. By E. W. Beans, Civil Engineer. 12mo. (In press.) Rural Chemistry: An Elementary Introduction to the Study of the Science, in its relation to Agriculture and the Arts of Life. By Edward Solly, Professor of Chemistry in the Horticultural Society of London From the third improved London edition, -,,, n .................$1.25 12m0........................................................ u v HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Scott—The Practical Cotton-spinner and Manufacturer; or, the Manager and Overlooker's Companion: This work contains a Comprehensive System of Calculations for Mill Gearing and Machinery, from the first moving power, through the different processes of Carding, Drawing, Slabbing, Roving, Spinning, and Weaving, adapted to American Machinery, Practice and Usages. Compendious Tables of Yarns and Reeds are added. Illustrated by large working-drawings of the most approved American Cotton Machinery. Complete in one volume, octavo...........$3.50 This edition of Scott's Cotton-Spinner, by Oliver Byrne, is designed for the American Operative. It will be found intensely practical, and will be of the greatest possible value to the Manager, Overseer, and Workman. Shele De Vere—Sketches of Comparative Philology. By Prof. Shele De Vere, of the University of Virginia, author of a "Grammar of the Spanish Language." Com- plete in one volume, 12mo.....................................$1.25 Solly—Syllabus of a Complete Course of Lectures on Chemistry: Including its Application to the Arts, Agriculture, and Mining. By Prof. E. Solly. Revised by the author of " Chemical Manipulations." Octavo, clo.th.............................$1.25 Templeton—The Practical Examinator on Steam and the Steam Engine: With Instructive References relative thereto, arranged for the use of Engineers, Students, and others. By Wm. Temple- ton, Engineer. 12mo.........................................75 cts. This work was originally written for the author's private use. He was pre- vailed upon by various Engineers, who had seen the notes, to consen t to its pub- lication, from their eager expression of belief that it would be equally useful to them as it had been to himself. Treatise (A) on a Box of Instruments, And the Slide Rule, with the Theory of Trigonometry and Logarithms, including Practical Geometry, Surveying, Measuring of Timber, Cask and Malt Gauging, Heights and Distances. By Thomas Kentish. In one volume, l2mo.................................................................$1.00 A. volume of inestimable value to Engineers, Gaugers, Students, and others. HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Turnbull—A Treatise on Experimented Electricity. By Lawrence Turnbull, M.D. 12mo. (In press.) Turner's Companion: Containing Instructions in Concentric, Elliptic, and Eccentric Turning. 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Turk, moroc. sup. extra..$6.00 Turk, moroc. ant. extra....6.00 Calf antique extra...........6.00 Cloth..........................$3.50 Extra beveled gilt edges...4.00 Half calf antique.............5.00 Childe Harold: By Lord Byron. With beautiful Illustrations Cloth extra, gilt edges...$5.00 Half calf, antique............6.00 Turkey morocco, extra.....7.00 Turk, moroc. ant. extra...7.00 Crown octavo, cloth extra, gilt edges...................3.00 Half calf antique............4.50 Turk, moroc. sup. extra...5.50 U 1 vol. 8vo. Turk, moroc. ant. extra..$5.50 Calf antique extra...........5.50 A new and cheap edition, with frontispiece, 12mo, cloth............................75 Cloth, gilt edges.............1.12 Half calf antique............1.62 Turk. mor. sup. ext. 12mo..2.25 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Cowper's Complete Poetical Works: Illustrated with Fifteen beautiful Steel Engravings, after De- signs by John Gilbert. Crown 8vo. 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Cloth, gilt edges............$3.50 Half calf, antique............4.50 Turk, moroc. sup. extra...5.50 Turk, moroc. ant. extra....5.50 Calf antique extra.........$5.50 Lady of the Lake. By Sir Walter Scott. Illustrated with Plates, by John Gil- bert. In one volume, royal 8vo. New edition. Without illustrations, 12mo, cloth.......................75 Cloth, gilt edge...............1.12 Half calf, antique............1.62 Turk. sup. extra.............2.25 Cloth extra, gilt edges...$5.00 Half calf, antique............6.00 Turk, moroc. sup. extra...7.00 Turk, moroc, ant. extra...7.00 Calf antique extra...........7.00 Lalla Rookh. By Thomas Moore. Illustrated by 13 Plates, from Designs by Corbould, Meadows, and Stephanoff. 1 vol. royal 8vo. A new, cheap edition, with frontispiece, 12mo, cloth. ..75 Cloth extra, gilt edges.....1.12 Half calf, antique............1.62 Turk, moroc. sup. extro...2.25 Cloth, extra, gilt edges...$5.00 Half calf, antique............6.00 Turk, moroc. sup. extra...7.00 Turk, moroc. ant. extra...7.00 Calf antique, extra..........7.00 A new, cheap edition, with frontispiece, 12mo, cloth..75 Cloth, extra, gilt edges.....1.12 Half calf, antique............1.62 Turk, moroc. sup. extra...2.25 Longfellow— The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : Illustrated by Plates, after Designs by D. Huntington, with a Portrait. Ninth edition. In one volume, royal 8vo. Cloth, extra gilt edges...$5.00 I Turk, moroc. sup. extra.$7.00 Half calf, antique............6.00 | Turk, moroc. ant. extra...7.00 Calf antique, extra........................................$7.00 Poets and Poetry of England in the Nine- teenth Century. Illustrated. In one volume, royal By Rffus W. Griswold 8vo. New edition. Cloth,gilt....................$3.00 Cloth, extra, gilt edges......3.50 Half calf, antique............4.50 Turk, moroc. sup. extra..$5.00 Turk, moroc. ant. extra...5.00 Calf antique, extra..........5.00 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Poets and Poetry of the Ancients. By William Peter, A.INI. Comprising Translations and Speci- mens of the Poets of Greece and Rome. With Engravings. Cloth extra..................$3.00 Cloth extra, gilt edge.......3.50 Half calf, antique............4.50 Turk, moroc. sup. extra. $5.50 Turk, moroc. ant. extra...5.50 Calf antique, extra..........5.50 Willis's (N. P.) Poetical Works: In one volume, 8vo., with Illustrations by Leutze, and a Por- trait. Cloth, extra, gilt edges...$5.00 I Turk, moroc. sup. extra.$7.00 Half calf, antique............6.00 | Turk, moroc. ant. extra...7.00 Calf antique, extra...........................$7.00 glistcllanMS. Atalantis, a Poem. By William Gilmore Simms. 12mo..........................50 cts. Beckford—Vathek, an Arabian Tale. By Wm. Beckford. 12mo, cloth................................75 cts. Cloth extra, gilt edges............................................1-25 Bolingbroke's (Lord,) Works. Complete in four volumes, 8vo. cloth extra....................$10.00 Brougham (Lord)—Lives of Men of Letters and Science. Two volumes, 12mo, cloth...........................................$2.00 Byron's Life, Letters, and Journals. By Moore. Complete in two volumes, half morocco.......$3.00 Children in the Wood. Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, gilt edge............................^50 cts. HENRY CAREY BALRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Comic Blackstone. By Gilbert Abbot A'Becket. One volume, 12mo, cloth..75 cts. Corinne, or Italy. By Madame de Stael, 12mo, cloth...............................$1.25 Cloth extra, gilt edges.........................................$1.75 " A work of singular ingenuity and eloquence, and the best guide, or rather companion, which the traveller can take with him."—J. C. Eustace. Cranch's Poems. One volume, boards..................................................37 cts. Fcltman—Journal of the Siege of York- town, &c. Octavo, boards........................................................75 cts. Floral Offering; a Token of Friendship, Edited by Frances S. Osgood. Illustrated with ten elegantly coloured Groups of Flowers, 4to, extra gilt edges......$3.50 Gems of the British Poets, By S. C. Hall. 12mo, cloth.......................................$1.00 Imitation morocco...............................................$1.50 George St. George Julian, the Prince. By the author of " Valentine Vox." Illustrated. 8vo, cloth.$1.25 Halsted's Life of Richard III. In one volume, 8vo, cloth............................................$2.50 Hazlitt—Life of Napoleon. By William Hazlitt. 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Heads of the People, or Portraits of the English. Illustrated. 8vo, cloth................................................$2.00 Holm's Account of New Sweden. One volume, 8vo, boards.............................................$1.50 Howitt—Book of the Seasons. A new and revised edition, 12mo, cloth. (In press.) Howitt—Student Life in Germany. A new and revised edition, two volumes, 12mo. (In press.) Howitt's Travels in Germany, &c. &c. One volume, 8vo. Sheep............................................$1.50 Howitt's Visits to Remarkable Places. Two volumes, 8vo, cloth, gilt.......................................$4.00 Kohl's Travels in Austria, Scotland, Eng- land and Wales. One volume. Sheep.................................................$1.50 Laing's Notes of a Traveller. One volume, 8vo, cloth...............................................$2.00 Landor—Imaginary Conversations of Cele- brated Authors. r By Walter Savage Landor. 12mo, cloth. (In press.)...$1.00 Lanman's Tour to the River Saguenay. 16mo, cloth.............................................................75cts- Life of Major-General Peter Muhlenberg. of the Army of the Revolution. By Hon. Henry A. Muhlenberg. 12mo, cloth..............$1.00 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Lion-Killer (The) of Algeria. By Jules Gerard, Lieutenant of Spahis, Army of France. In one volume, 12mo. Illustrated. (In press.) "In his own particular department he can only be compared to the Changar- niers, the Cavaignacs, the Lamoricieres, the St. Arnauds—the elite of the African army in theirs. Still in the prime of life, he is in military rank only a lieuten- ant of Spahis, but as le tueur de Lions, his reputation has spread all over Europe and Africa; the Arabs go in quest of him from the most remote duars, or encampments, in order to enlist his services against their most formidable enemy. Travellers and romancers have vied with one another in giving cur- rency to his exploits. We are not quite sure if the inimitable Dumas does not boast of having shared a cotelette de lion with the African chasseur."—Oolbum's New Monthly. Memoirs of the Historical Society of Penn- sylvania, 1850. Octavo, boards.........................................................$1.00 Memoirs of Generals, Commodores, and other Commanders who have received Medals from Congress. 82 Engravings, 8vo,cloth.$2.50 | Half morocco................$3.00 Michelet—The Women of the French Revo- lution. Translated from the French of J. Michelet, by a Lady of Phi- ladelphia. In one volume, 12mo. (Just ready.)......$1.00 Modern Chivalry, or Adventures of Cap- tain Farrago and Tcague O'Regan. One volume, 12mo, with Illustrations by Darley. Sheep...$1.00 North's Specimens of the British Critics. By Professor Wilson. One volume, 12mo, cloth............$1.00 Our Army at Monterey. By T. B. Thorpe. Illustrated. 1 vol. 16mo, cloth gilt...62 cts. Our Army on the Rio Grande. By T. B. Thorpe. With 26 Illustrations. 1 vol. 16mo, cloth.62 cts. Robinson Crusoe. Complete. Illustrated. 1 vol. 16mo, cloth, gilt side.....75 cts. Cloth, gilt edges.................................................£i 00 Roscoe's Lorenzo de Medici. Two volumes, 8vo, cloth, gilt, reduced to......................$3.00 HENRY CAREY BaIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Ryley, the Itinerant; or, Memoirs of an Actor. Two volumes, 12mo. (In press.) Sanderson's American in Paris. Two volumes, 12mo, cloth...........................................$1.75 Scott's Miscellanies. Three volumes, cloth gilt.$3.50 | Half morocco, or calf.....$4.25 Senter's Journal of Arnold's Expedition to Quebec, in 1775. Octavo, boards..............................................'•.........62 cts. Sermon on the Mount. Illuminated, boards.......$1.50 | Illuminated, silk............$2.50 Illuminated, morocco, antique...................$4.00 Simms, (W. G.)—Helen Halsey. 12mo, cloth. (Nearly ready.) Simms, ( W. G.)—Castle Dismal 12mo, cloth. (Nearly ready.) Sullivan's (William) Public Characters of the American Revolution. Octavo, with a Portrait, cloth.....................................$2.75 Smith's (Sidney) Miscellanies. Three volumes, 12mo, cloth. Fine edition....................$2.50 Half morocco, or calf..........................................$3.75 Smith's (Sidney) Sermons. 12mo, cloth..............................................................ft1-00 Stephen's Miscellanies. One volume 12mo, cloth gilt........................................f*'?^ Half morocco, or calf..........................................$1.25 Thierry's Historical Essays and Narra- tives of the Merovingian Era. One volume, 8vo, cloth...............................................$1.50 Toivnsend's Narrative of the Battle of Brandywine, with illustrative Documenis. Octavo, boards.....................................................••••*1 00 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Three Hours, or the Vigil of Love. By Mrs. Hale. 12mo..............................................75 cts. Wood—Personal Recollections of the Stage, Embracing notices of Actors, Authors, and Auditors, during a period of Forty Years. By William B. Wood, Late Di- rector of the Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Alexandria Theatres. Third Thousand. In one volume, 12mo. With a Portrait.......................................$1.25 "Take it altogether, its historical accuracy, perfect familiarity with all (hat concerns the stage, with its decided literary merit, and we may safely pronounce this the great book of this theatrical age, the best work that has ever appealed on this subject, and one that all will read and he delighted with."—American Courier. " We have read other theatrical histories and biographies, Cibbers and Bella- toy's, in England, and Duulap's and others, here; but none of them have a ge- nial, gentle spirit like this."—North American. " Any narrative of his life would be sure to find numerous readers. They will not be disappointed in any expectations they may have formed of its merit as a dramatic history or literary work."—Evening Bulletin. " The author is now in his seventy-sixth year. In closing bis long profes- sional career by the preparation of this volume, he has performed an acceptable public service, and made a valuable addition to the dramatic history of the country."—N. Y. Journal. " We sincerely congratulate the lovers of the legitimate old-fashioned drama, on the rich treat that awaits them in the volume now before us, for which we owe our thanks to the enterprising publisher. There is no man better qualified than Mr. Wood, to give interest and zest to such a work. " We are certain that the most fastidious critic will find as much to admire in the style of his narrative, as in the raciness of his anecdote, and the wisdom of his reflections."—National Intelligencer. " A most valuable and interesting work."—Saturday Post. " A most copious and interesting historical record of his times."—Daily News. " The debut of Cooper, the peculiar talents of Jefferson or Matthews, the success of Cooke, and Kean, and Booth; the sensation produced by the Kem- bles, Power, Forrest, and Fanny Elsler—the book before us tells us something of them all."—City Item. " It is exceedingly interesting."—Sunday Dispatch. " We without hesitation pronounce it the most interesting, entertaining, and instructive book of the kind that has ever come under our notice."—Sunday Press. " " lie revives, in his lively and graceful sketches, reminiscences which must please every frequenter of the drama in its best days, and brings vividly back to mind persons and things grateful to the memory, though time has almost obliterated them."—Ledger. " Destined, from its piquancy and inexhaustible fund of information, to attain a world-wide reputation."—Argus. " The work is an epitome of an actor's life—a life indeed, for it identifies the author with the drama for fifty years."—Ptnnsylvanian. Willis's (N. P.) Prose Works. In one volume, royal 8vo,^800 pages, cloth gilt...............$3.00 Cloth extra, gilt edges...$3.50 I Half calf antique............4.50 Library sheep.................3.50 | Turk, moroc. sup. extra...6.00 HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Walpole—The Castle of Otranto. A Gothic Story. By Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford. With a Memoir of the Author, by Lord Dover. In one volume 12mo...............................................................75 cts. It has been thought that a handsome and readable edition of Walpole's re- markable romance would be welcomed by the American public, and the pub- lisher therefore offers the present, which he feels satisfied will, like Beckford's " Vathek," meet with a ready and large demand. " The actors in the romance are strikingly drawn, with bold outlines, becom- ing the age and nature of the story. Feudal tyranny was perhaps never better exemplified than in the character of Manfred. He has the courage, the art, the duplicity, the ambition of a barbarous chieftian of the Dark Ages, yet touches of remorse and natural feeling, which preserve some sympathy for him when his pride is quelled and his race extinguished. * * * * " The story is happily detailed, its progress is uniform, its events interesting and well-combined, and the conclusion grand, tragical, and affecting."—Sir Walter Scott. " The first romance in our language."—Lord Byron. "One of the most remarkable of his works."—Lord Dover. " What I will venture to call a masterpiece. * * * * Where a beautiful imagination, supported by strength of judgment, has enabled the author to go beyond his subject, and effect the full purpose of an ancient tragedy."—Dr. Warburton. " A series of supernatural appearances put together under the most interest- ing form imaginable."—Baron de Grimm. '•The brilliant success of the new romance soon made the author declare himself.— Warburlon's Memoirs of Walpole. Wyatt's History of the Kings of France. Illustrated by Seventy-two Portraits, 1 vol. 16mo, cloth...$1.50 %a$ JttWitatwns. Bowl of Punch. With Seventy plates, paper........................................50 cts. Brougham's Lives of Men of Letters and Science. New Series. 12mo, paper........................................50 cts. Fisher's Photogenic Manipulation. Two parts...............................................................50 cts. Ghost Stories. With Ten Engravings, by Darley...............................50 eta Kohl's Travels in Austria......................25 eta. Kohls Travels in England and Wales..25 cts. Zi HENRY CAREY BAIRD'S PUBLICATIONS. Kohl's Travels in Scotland.....................25 cts. Lanman's Tour to the River Saguenay. Paper....................................................................50 cts. Mexico, Before and After the Conquest.ih cts. Modern Chivalry. With 10 Illustrations, by Darley, in 2 vols, paper.........75 cts. My Shooting Box. By Frank Forrester. Paper...................................50 cts. Our Army at Monterey. By T. B. Thorpe.....................................................50 cts. Our Army on the Rio Grande. Twenty-six Illustrations, by T. B. Thorpe...................50 cts. Pickings from the Port-folio of the Re- porter of the New Orleans Picayune. Paper, Eight plates..................................................50 cts. Punch's Comic Blackstone. Complete. Paper....................................................50 cts. Punch's Labours of Hercules. Complete. Paper....................................................25 cts. Punch's Natural History of Courtshij). Paper....................................................................25 cts. 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