Show cheap gas how can it ie be obtained the sunday times for yesterday contains an in article on the price and quality of tile tilo illuminating gas used in chicago the author of that article assumes that in our city gas is dearer and of a lower quality than it ought to be and he goes on enumerating me rating several reasons why it is SO it seems to me sir that your reporter has lias failed to notice two very important causes of the high price it costs to illuminate our streets and our homes by means of gas if you will be so kind as to allow me some space in in one of your next issues I 1 will try to make them plain to the public at large in order to avoid avold anything that would look like taking side for or against the tho gas companies and the gas inspector the doings of whom are aie far from being praised in your article I 1 will pre sent my proposition as follows taking 0 it for granted that the gas is good the gas meters accurate and the consumption faithfully recorded it is nevertheless a fact tile tiie people and chicago expend too much money for the amount of light obtained and this for the two following reasons 1 the pressure under which the gas is delivered is too high t from fro in repeated measurements illila I 1 nind find it to be from 2 to 23 23 inches of water it has been ascertained by actual experiment peri ment that within certain limits the illuminating power of a flame increases in measure as the tile pressure diminishes the scientists who investigated the subject for foi the tiie municipal government of paris found that all the outer conditions being the same the maximum of light corresponds to a pressure of one eighth of an inch tile the even seven factor factories ies leg that sup supply itly paris are bound by their charter arto to deliver dellver a product product of such a quality that by burning it ili in a standard burner under that pressure it will give a light equal in power to that of nine stir star candles candies the amount of gas consumed must be from 39 39 to cubic feet per hour beyond the latter quantity there is a de deficiency sic fic lency lenay of illuminating pomer power cr it is claimed by some that it is IM impossible possible to get liere here a good fair liblit light wit i less than 6 feet per hou leour r the above given facts dispose of that opinion in london common gas gis burning at the rate of five cubie cubic feet per hour must give a liblit equal to that of 12 candles I 1 read among the tiie statements that our street gas burners give a fnanie flame having the wonderful power of IS 18 candles I 1 tried several times and never by far succeeded in getting so high a figure 2 0 tile the shape of the burner has the tiie greatest influence oil on the illuminating lumina ting power of a flame supposing that the tiie gas escapes through slits of different widths the illuminating power of the flames may be as is to for slits respectively 1100 1 and 1 50 of an inch wide another experiment made under other circumstances lias has given to Rig bignault powers in the ratio of to by changing the width from 1 62 of an inch to 1 50 there has been an increase in crease creasa until the slit was 1 41 of an inch beyond that fraction tee the light diminished other investigations have proven also that a given quantity of gas will give more light with a wider than with a narrow slit the numerous kinds of burners may be classified as follows 1 the manchester burnen burner the gas escapes from two small holes hoies bored ored obliquely through the top of the adjustment the flame stands very well an excess of pressure not economical at all ali one of the next shape will prevent an advantage of thirty to forty per cent on the amount of gas consumed the illuminating power being the same 2 the butterfly or the batwing the top is hemispherical with a vertical slit alit the width of whir whit which 11 must be about 1 40 of an inch for a low pres pressure sute 3 the argand burner diversely modified it is used with a chimney and the light ight is easily regulated by means of a stopper that diminishes or increases the supply of air that passes at the centre and around tb the e flame one of the best patterns ig lg is 19 the Mon very advantageous from what precedes it is evident that whilst it is the duty of the city to amend tile the charters of the gas companies so as to get cheaper light it is none the less that of the citizens to be careful in the choice of their gas fixtures looking not only atthe at the elegance of them but also at the best ones made according cordin 11 to the facts just exposed PROF M chicago times |