CONTENTS of No. XIII. I. A Practical Treatise on Gas-Light; exhibiting a sum- mary Description of the Apparatus and Machinery best calculated for Illuminating Streets, Houses, and Manu- factories, with carburetted Hydrogen, or Coal-Gas. By Frederic Accum, Operative Chemist, &c......... 467 The Story of Rimini; a Poem. By Leigh Hunt........ 474 V. Jeanne de France, Nouvelle Historique. Par Madame VI. The History of Persia, from the most early Period to the present Time. By Sir John Malcolm, K.C.B., &c. VII. The Veracity of the Evangelists demonstrated, by a VIII. A Treatise on the Construction of Maps; in which the Principles of the Projection of the Sphere are demonstrated, &c. By Alexander Jamieson ........ 512. XII. The Harmonies of Nature, by J. B. H. de St. Pierre. Being a Sequel to his "Studies of Nature." Translated XIII. Fare-thee-Well, and a Sketch from Private Life; Poems. By the Rt. Hon. Lord Byron.... XIV. PUBLIC AFFAIRS.-The Balance of Power; Amelio- 553 N.B. The Edinburgh, Quarterly, and British Reviews, on which we commented in our four last Numbers, have again furnished topics that call for examination; and, accordingly, our Readers may expect to find us, next month, resuming our criticisms on those THE Augustan Review. N°. XIII. FOR MAY, 1816. ART. I.-A Practical Treatise on Gas-Light; exhibiting a summary Description of the Apparatus and Machinery best calculated for illuminating Streets, Houses, and Manufactories, with Carburetted Hydrogen, or Coal-Gas; with Remarks on the Utility, Safety, and general Nature of this new branch of Civil Economy. By FREDERIC ACCUM, Operative Chemist, &c. With seven coloured Plates, 8vo. pp. 185, Ackerman, Strand; Longman and Co. London. 1815. . We have at length arrived at a period, when the establishment of the practice of lighting by means of carburetted hydrogen gas, is no longer a subject of doubtful speculation; and it will be somewhat interesting to inquire into its probable influence on our domestic comfort, and our commercial concerns. Its superiority in cheapness and in splendour is so great, and its advantages are so generally admitted, that no opposition, short of legislative interference, can now prevail against it. The inhabitants of the metropolis, and of all our large towns, may hope shortly to enjoy the comfort of having their streets so illuminated, as to make them at all times pleasant and safe to those who walk them. For the prospect of these advantages, the public are in a very great degree indebted to Mr. Clegg, whose skill and competency as an engineer, have given to this mode of procuring light that practical effect, which was alone wanting to give the discovery its full value, and to render it triumphant over the prejudices of the indolent, and the clamours of the interested. It is not a new remark, that a long period frequently elapses between the time at which a discovery is made, and that at which it is brought into any degree of useful application; and it is strongly illustrated by the subject under consideration. The transactions of the Royal Society for 1739, NO.XIII.-VOL.II.-Aug. Rev. 2 I contain an account of an analysis of coal, by Dr. James Clayton, who, in the course of his investigations, discovered the existence of this inflammable gas. It had been procured also by Dr. Hales; and Dr. Watson, the Bishop of Llandaff, in his Analysis of Pit-coal by Distillation, had made the same discovery, and had ascertained that its inflammability was not diminished by its passing through water. It is, however, to the recent experiments of Mr. Murdoch, that the public is more immediately indebted for the important practical fact that the gas obtained by distillation from coal, might be applied to the purpose of affording light, so as to become a cheap and excellent substitute for oil or tallow. It was in the year 1792, when this gentleman was resident at Redruth in Cornwall, that he performed a series of experiments on the gas afforded by the distillation of coal and of many other substances; and he then ascertained that the gas from coal, peat, wood, and other inflammable bodies, might be conveyed through tubes, and made to produce a pure and excellent light. The knowledge of this fact was followed by the construction of an apparatus at the great manufactory of Messrs. Boulton and Watt, in the year 1798, by which those premises were illuminated for several successive nights, for the purpose of determining the effect of apertures varying in figure and magnitude, on a large scale. These experiments were continued occasionally, until the year 1802, when, on the occasion of the peace of Amiens, the whole of the establishment at Soho was illuminated with coal-gas. After that period, the subject was taken up by Mr. Winson, whose exaggerated and injudicious statements were calculated rather to cast discredit upon the project, than to recommend it to the confidence of the reflecting part of the public; nor does he seem to have been in any degree instrumental in improving the process, or to have hit upon any useful discovery. In the mean time, several establishments were formed in different parts of the country, for applying this discovery to the purposes of private utility; and in 1808, Mr. Murdoch presented a paper to the Royal Society, containing a description of the apparatus by which he had succeeded in lighting up the extensive cotton-factory of Mr. Lee of Manchester. This successful application of the new mode proved, in the clearest manner, the immense economical advantages with which it might be practised on an extensive scale. By a rigorous calculation of the expence, it appeared that the whole annual cost of lighting those extensive premises with gas, making a liberal allowance for the interest of the fixed capital employed in the apparatus, and for the wear and tear of the apparatus itself, would not exceed £600, supposing the gas to be burnt, on an average of the whole year, two hours each day; and that if burned three hours each day, it would not exceed £650; while the expence of candles, capable of affording the same quantity of light, would be 2000 for two hours each day, and £3000 for three hours. These, we believe, are the principal facts in the history of this singularly important improvement, the more remote influence of which, we shall endeavour to point out hereafter. The manipulations requisite for the production of the gas, are those employed in all cases of distillation. They are consequently of the simplest kind; and to conduct the business successfully, requires no knowledge of scientific principles, or dexterity in applying them, but what may easily be acquired by any intelligent mechanic. The coal is put into a retort, which is generally made of cast iron, as being the cheapest and most durable material. Heat is applied to the bottom of the retort, as in common distillation, and the carburetted hydrogen gas and other products are collected as they pass over in proper recipients-the gas in a gasometer, and the tar and ammoniacal liquor in suitable vessels connected with and forming a part of the apparatus. Of the different varieties of coal with which this country abounds, that known by the name of Cannel coal is found to yield the largest proportion of gas. The lowest proportion from one hundred weight of this coal, is from 350 to 360 cubic feet of gas, while the lowest proportion given out by Newcastle coal, varies from 300 to 360 cubic feet, so that the difference is not inconsiderable. Half a cubic foot of recently prepared gas, affords as much light as 170 grains of tallow, so that 20 cubic feet will be equal to one pound of common mould-candles; and, consequently, the gas from 112 pounds of Cannel coal is equivalent in its power of illumination to about 174 pounds of tallow. This gives us about 6 pounds of Cannel coal, as equivalent to one pound of tallow. This statement of the product refers, however, to the present mode of conducting the distillation, which we have no doubt may be greatly improved. The coal-tar is a product of the distillation, for which it will be difficult to find any |