extent; and it has also occasioned a great consumption of metals of other kinds. Its operations have given rise to a large and flourishing branch of manufacture, by the demand for tubing, burners, and various other articles which that part of its processes has rendered necessary; and it may not be unworthy of remark, that to no part of the nation has it been of more service in this respect than the town of Birmingham and its vicinity, where gas-lighting and its advantages were first publicly displayed. The spirit of enterprise which has marked its career reflects honour on our country; and notwithstanding so much has been effected, the art is probably very far from that perfection which it may attain at some future period. It is fair to presume that the present meritorious endeavours widely to diffuse useful knowledge, will have an appropriate influence upon that class of men who are more immediately engaged in gas operations, and enable them to add to the number of its improvements. And from the continual increase of establishments for gas-lighting, it seems not an improbable supposition that its use, as a medium of light, will ultimately become universal.

APPENDIX.

(A.)

MR. MURDOCH'S OWN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF HIS EXPERIMENTS FOR THE APPLICATION OF GAS TO THE PURPOSES OF LIGHTING, INSTEAD OF LAMPS AND CANDLES.

"It is now nearly sixteen years since, in a course of experiments I was making at Redruth, in Cornwall, upon the quantities and qualities of different kinds of gases, produced by the distillation from different mineral and vegetable substances, I was induced by some observations I had previously made upon the burning of coal, to try the combustible property of the gases produced from it, as well as from peat, wood, and other inflammable substances; and being struck with the great quantities of gas which they afforded, as well as with the brilliancy of the light, and the facility of its production, I instituted several experiments with a view of ascertaining the cost at which it might be obtained, compared with that of equal quantities of light yielded by oils and tallow.

"My apparatus consisted of an iron retort, with tinned, copper, and iron tubes, through which the gas was conducted to a considerable distance; and there, as well as

at intermediate points, was burned through apertures of varied forms and dimensions. The experiments were made upon coal of different qualities, which I procured from distant parts of the kingdom, for the purpose of ascertaining which would give the most economical results. The gas was also washed with water, and other means were employed to purify it.

"In the year 1798, I removed from Cornwall to Messrs. Boulton, Watt, and Co.'s works for the manufactory of steam-engines at the Soho foundry, and there I constructed an apparatus upon a larger scale, which during many successive nights was applied to the lighting of their principal building, and various new methods were practised of washing and purifying the gas.

"These experiments were continued with some interruption until the peace of 1802, when a public display of this light was made by me in the illumination of Mr. Boulton's manufactory at Soho upon that occasion.

"Since that period I have, under the sanction of Messrs. Boulton, Watt, and Co., extended the apparatus at Soho foundry, so as to give light to all the principal shops, where it is in regular use, to the exclusion of other artificial light.

"At the time I commenced my experiments, I was certainly unacquainted with the circumstance of the gas from coal having been observed by others to be capable of combustion; but I am since informed that the current of gas escaping from Lord Dundonald's tar-ovens had been frequently fired; and I find that Dr. Clayton, in a paper in Vol. XLI. of Transactions of the Royal Society, so long ago as the year 1739, gave an account of some observations

and experiments made by him, which clearly manifest his knowledge of the inflammable property of the gas, which he denominates the spirit of coals; but the idea of applying it as an economical substitute for oils and tallow, does not appear to have occurred to this gentleman; and I believe I may, without presuming too much, claim both the first idea of applying, and the first actual application of this gas to economical purposes."

Such is the simple and perspicuous account given by Mr. Murdoch of the origin and progress of his various and useful endeavours to introduce and improve the admirable, and now widely-extended, art of Gas-lighting.

(B.)

The two following articles afford amusing specimens of Mr. Winsor's manner of recommending his plans to public notice, as well as his style of writing. They also convey some notion of the extent of his chemical and philosophical information, and, being now rarely to be met with, may be considered as curiosities of their kind; both of them were published in 1807.

PLAIN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, REFUTING EVERY POSSIBLE OBJECTION AGAINST THE BENEFICIAL INTRODUCTION OF COKE AND GAS-LIGHTS.

ALL new and surprising discoveries excite more or less doubts and inquiries.

* Philosophical Transactions, 1808, and Nicholson's Journal, Vol. XXI.

Thousands of persons, who have no opportunity of seeing my experiments, or informing themselves of the beneficial nature of my plan, will start queries amongst themselves, which almost every body, who has seen and heard me on the subject, will easily answer.

To erase all doubts, and eradicate every prejudice, I have drawn up a few plain questions and answers, such as have been daily repeated.

Q. Will your plan not hurt our fisheries, oil and tallow trade, &c., nurseries of seamen, &c. ?

A. No; they must increase by it, because, from saving so many new products at home, we increase our exportations; we can afford to undersell in every foreign market all we gain at home from worse than nothing, from miserable smoke. We can employ hundreds of more vessels, and thousands of more seamen, for the benefit of our nurseries.

Q. What will become of our tallow-chandlers, our oilmen, our wick and snuffer-makers, &c. ?

A. They may all work for exportation; that is, either become exporters themselves, or sell to merchants, who export in general. Thousands of chests, containing from 20 to 100 dozen of indifferent candles, are annually sent from Russia all the world over. I trust England may command the foreign markets with superior candles at a cheaper rate.

Q, But the lamp-lighters and chimney-sweepers ?

A. The former will light clearer lamps in a cleaner dress, and no longer annoy the street passengers with the smoke and dirt of train oil. As for the poor chimney