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Show EVOLUTION IN LAMPS. Tliera ll. Nnl Hera aa Mflrli lie. flop-In. flop-In. nl aa Mlslit Irs u poaail The story of lamps from Herodotus down to IgSO, Henry C Mercer ssys In an Instructive study on "Light and Light Making," in the contributions nt the Mucks County Pennsylvania Historical His-torical Society it not one of development develop-ment In principle and form they remain re-main the same whether aa the tin cylindrical ot boat-shaped cup on candlestick pedestals and the round tin imps with hemispherical lids, or tb I Id leu cups resting on wooden Hands such as were rrntly readied by the author from the garret rubbish ot old Ilurks roi.my And before Herodotus ns we follow the lamp back Into thi tombs ot the old world, we find the boat-shaped form of earthenware preceding pre-ceding the boat-shaped torm ot Iron and possibly even that of bronie The chalk cup lamp found by Cvnun Crrenwell In the neolithic flint mines at Crimes Gravis England, perhaps the oldest whk lamp In the world Is not essentially different from the oyster shell filled with lard and provided with wicks that may be found among Virginia negroes today The Kgjp-tlan, Kgjp-tlan, Hreclnn, Phoenician and Itoman lamps, as they have been found In the tombs and as we see them In the museums, muse-ums, are not unlike the lard lamps that were mot In use early In the nineteenth nine-teenth century Then crude grease gave way to sperm oil and lard oil, with especial adaptations of the lamp! that mado them more convenient an! Improved the light; and burning fluids that wero conrnlent and clean am) gave a brilliant light but were dangerous, danger-ous, and kerosene with other Improvements Improve-ments In the nil that enabled It to girl the most perfect artificial light yet found, and lo keep -up tho fight foi quality with gas and electricity all these having come In within the lifetime life-time of men still among us. llcsldet the old lamps, our ancestors had candl's, molded when the prlco ot tin, the natrr'al for the molds, did not forbid for-bid the luxury, and before, them tallow tal-low dips, a suspended wick was dipped dip-ped Into a pot of hot tallow, on a cold day. and the operation was repeated till laer after layer of grease hardened, harden-ed, and the candle was thick enough, These candles wero however, troublesome trouble-some In hot weather on account ot their propensity to leld to tho temperature tem-perature nnd fall over "Who shall say, however that candle dipping Is older than molding when wo know that they molded candles In County Galuay Ireland, In late years by punching holes In peat and pouring pour-ing In tallow on the down-hung wick of twisted flax fiber?' Tho Irish had, too, as had tho negroes, the rush light, a greased rush set In n hola In n wooden wood-en block serving as n candlestick; or rushes Joined In a triple twist which flies apart when lighted, Increasing the blaie. From this Mr Mercer passes to forms of candlesticks and torches nnd cressets and methods ot producing produc-ing fire, whither we cannot follow him, for tho multitude of detplls ho notices, which will not bear abstracting Philadelphia Phil-adelphia Times. |