when we come to distil the coal, they will each make an oil of various chemical proportions, and what is very singular, coal that has a quantity of hydrogen in it, cannot be found in distillation. So, when we come to petroleum, it is the same, each differing from the other. The oil from the Ohio river differs from that of the Kiskiminitas, and these will be entirely different from the petroleum found in California. We know that beech wood makes a different product than that from seaweed, and that resin is different from beech wood; and then coming down to particulars, so that a chemical botanist could readily tell the different products from the different kinds of wood, so let us come down to the theory that petroleum is a vegetable production, and that Canada, at the time the resins were formed, had no large forests; we must look for petroleum in some other direction, so we look to the sea, and find a large part of the animals constituting a proportion sufficient to furnish raw material for this purpose. As we go up in the geological series containing petroleum, we find that the land plants increase; and as we come upward we find the resinous trees just beginning to grow upon the American continent, and also other trees very similar to the palm and cocoa growing here, and we can suppose that the strata which contains petroleum consisted of ferns, and, in addition to them, fish and coral, shell fish, and at once can see how every one of the oils in the United States will have some peculiar qualities, and will form a sufficient difference that no two products of distillation will be precisely alike.

Dr. G. F. J. Colburn.-Would not the oils partake somewhat of the properties of the minerals through which they passed?

Dr. Stevens.-Undoubtedly they would; the sulphate of iron is found very largely in petroleum.

Dr. Colburn, of Newark, presented a chimney for oil lamps, the upper half of which was made of metal to obviate the cracking of the chimneys so common in the glass ones; the upper part is hinged, which, on burning the lamp, can be lighted without removing the lower part, which is of glass; the upper part is connected by a rod to the lower end, that rests on the lamp, to conduct the heat from the upper metal, and thus equalize the temperature. The chimneys can be made for 13 to 16 cents, glass and all.

Mr. Page exhibited several lamps burning petroleum, which showed the combustion produced by each; some of the lamps burned well without chimneys; they all burned the same quality of oil. Mr. Page said: There was not much progress made in chimneys until about the seventeenth century, when a German made some experiments and published an account of them. We have no particulars of the English doing anything in this way, but the Germans and French have. In order to make an oil like petroleum burn well, the theory in regard to combustion should be thoroughly understood and mathematically correct, such as two and two make four. There is always cause and effect, and the want of this indispensable requisite is the cause of hundreds failing who have spent their hours over the midnight lamp.

Mr. J. E. Ambrose, of Jersey City, exhibited his hand lamp, to burn with or without a chimney; it can be burned very low, without giving any odor.

Mr. Ambrose also presented his car lamp, which was burned without an inside chimney, the large globe usually used on these lamps being the only one used; he said they were in use on the Second and Third avenue cars, in this city, and in Brooklyn.

The Chairman.-It is no doubt known that, in the French mechanical or Carcel lamp, the oil is carried up to the wick by machinery, and this lamp was very extensively used in England, particularly in the houses of the nobility, but one great objection to it was, that when it got out of order it had to be sent to France to be repaired.

Mr. George A. Jones exhibited his mechanical lamp; he said the principle on which this lamp is made, was to reverse the usual order of things, and place the chimney at the bottom instead of at the top. It is the result of the ingenuity of a French gentleman, Mr. Keravenan, who was confined to his room, in this city, with the gout, and having plenty of leisure, was told by a friend that if he could invent a lamp that would properly burn kerosene oil, his fortune would be made; so he set to work, and we have here the result, He reasoned that it could be done in two ways, and one was to have an immense chimney, on the principle of those used in large factories, where they have some 100 feet high, and the other was to put a blower in the lamps similar to those used on steamboats and stationary engines; each would answer the same purpose, so he choose the blower as being the most convenient, and with the carcel lamp for a basis, he fitted a blower at the bottom which was turned by machinery, and this blower supplied the oil with sufficient air to burn with the brightness which is now seen, and a thorough combustion of the oil effected, neither was there any perceptible odor. Mr. Bull. What kind of oil do you use in this lamp?

Mr. Jones.-I got it at the first grocery store I found in Amity street on my way up here. I asked for kerosene. Mr. Keravenan has since gone to France, and when he left, this lamp would only burn three hours; we have since made improvements upon it, and it will now run for six hours, and if it gets out of repair we will not have to send to France to fix it; if it is desired not to burn the whole time, it can be turned down very low and still burn and not give any odor. The whole of these lamps (with the exception of the spring), tools and everything, are made in my shop. The steel used in this spring for keeping the fuse in motion, I have to send to France for. I have experimented very largely with steel for this purpose and I cannot find any to possess the uniformity of the French steel spring. The machinery in this lamp is the same used by Jaques, who made the Carcel lamp. This lamp has an inch wick, and the flame is double that of the wick; in this respect, this lamp differs from others. The machinery drives the blower at the rate of 2,500 revolutions a minute, which we have found is sufficient to supply air for a thorough combustion of the oil. The movements for this purpose and the shape of the lamp are patented. The cost of the lamp will be about twelve dollars.

The Chairman.-Prof. Draper, of the New York University, who has made some interesting experiments with light, says that the light produced from kerosene oil is superior to all others, and he turns off the gas and uses a lamp in preference to it, as it gives a better and steadier light.

Mr. Jones. What has bothered inventors in lamps very much is how to

make an endless screw that would make 2,500 revolutions in a minute and not wear out. Some ingenious Yankee has taken clock movements and done very well, but it would run down in a few hours and the works soon wear out. The pinions in my lamp are made of the hardest steel and pol. ished. I have never found the least odor about this lamp except a little before lighting it. The blower is worked by an endless lever, the same as in a musical box, made of polished steel. The spring is made to uncoil uniformly, for a spring that will not unwind evenly will cause the blower to go slower and cause the light to flicker. In this respect we are very particular. The spring is heated in a furnace and tempered in oil, it is then repolished, when it is blued, and after that polished again, when it is coiled up and unwound and watched closely in uncoiling to see if it unwinds uniformly.

Mr. Fisher. Why would not a weight intead of a spring answer?

Mr. Jones. With a stationary lamp this would do, but would not answer otherwise. The spring in this lamp will raise eight pounds.

Mr. Rowell. It might be made to have the lamp fixed, and the machinery to supply it with air placed outside, and let in the air as it is wanted; it would then only require a simple meter, such as is used in measuring gas, to know the exact supply of air necessary for a perfect combustion for a given quantity of oil.

"Street and Suburban Locomotives" was adopted for discussion at the next meeting.

Adjourned.

JOHN W. CHAMBERS, Secretary pro tem.

AMERICAN INSTITUTE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION,

April 16, 1863.

}

The Chairman, S. D. TILLMAN, Esq., presiding. Mr. Chambers, secretary pro tein, read a circular signed Horatio Allen and B. F. Isherwood, commissioners, appointed by the secretary of the navy to devise and conduct a set of experiments to ascertain, by means of prac tical results, the relative economy of using steam with different measures of expansion, and desiring to have the benefit of the judgment and suggestions of those conversant with the subject.

Dr. Rowell moved that the subject be referred to a committee of three, which was carried, and Messrs. Fisher, Dibben and Rowell were appointed. On motion of Mr. Adriance, Mr. S. D. Tillman was added to the committee

Dr. Rowell.-As an item of interest during the miscellaneous business, I may mention that the use of wood for making paper, has been very largely experimented upon lately. Mr. Lyman's new method is to grind up the wood while in a vessel heated to some 350 to 400 degrees, and after being thus treated for some time, a quantity is allowed to flow out, which is then rubbed fine, so that the silica can be washed out; the trouble and expense of using an alkali are done away with. This plan has been found to work very successfully.

The Chairman.-The difficulty in making paper out of wood, is that the alkali does not remove all the silica. The experiments which I have seen of Mr. Lyman's plan, was to grind the wood under pressure, and this pressure was continued until the operation was complete.

Mr. Page, I would like to inquire if the subject of ghosts would be a proper question to be discussed here. It is a subject that is creating considerable excitement at present. I see it has been taken up by some scientific societies in London, illustrated by optical experiments. My object in mentioning this subject is, that we may throw some light on a matter that is very little understood by the majority of the people. I am satisfied that a scientific discussion of this question, such as I know it would have here, would do much good. I have lived in a community where men could not be prevailed upon to plant potatoes, or other kinds of produce, when the moon was going down. We all know with what dread some people pass a grave yard, or lonesome place, at night. Now, if by a scientific discussion, we could succeed in removing some of these superstitious ideas, I think we would be benefiting mankind.

Dr. Parmelee. This inward dread, superstition, or whatever else we may call it, is inseparable from our nature; we might as well try to do away with the instinct of the young duck, which, immediately after the egg is hatched, strikes a bee line for the nearest pond. It is implanted within us, and controlled by judgment resulting from education, but still it sometimes gets the better of us.

The Chairman announced the subject for discussion, "Street and Suburban Locomotion," and said:

It was undoubtedly the intention of the gentleman who proposed this question that we should confine the discussion to locomotives. The full meaning of street and suburban locomotion would seem to fairly embrace, First. The power used in locomotion. Second. The size and form of vehicles used. Third. The quality of the roadway; and Fourth. The direction of the great lines of travel. I therefore propose to say a few words on the last two heads, leaving the questions of locomotion, and form of vehicles, for the general discussion. The last division of the question is an extremely interesting one to the city of New York, just at this time, when it is proposed to grant a charter for a railroad in Broadway. The ostensible object is the relief of that magnificent avenue, and the first query which presents itself is, whether increasing the facilities for travel in Broadway, by means of railways, will increase or diminish the number of persons passing through it daily?

The narrowness of Manhattan Island, compared with its length, and the position of the financial center, the city hall, the courts, the Merchants' exchange, near its southern end, will account for the great pressure in cars and stages, during the business hours. Many thousands reach their places of business by the Staten Island, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and Hoboken ferries. Still a greater number reside above Union Square. For them Broadway is the most direct route, and should they all take it, the street would be entirely monopolized by a class of persons who never lived nor did business in it, to the exclusion of the occupants of Broadway property and those who desired to trade with them. This evil, arising from the

blocking up of Broadway by persons having no business in it, was first somewhat alleviated by the establishment of the street railway running in a nearly parallel direction; the success of this railway was such as to warrant the establishment of the several lines having their termini near the city hall.

There are now three lines of cars on streets adjacent to and on either side of Broadway, which are constantly bearing away crowds who would, if compelled to walk, naturally keep on this central avenue.

Another plan for the relief of Broadway, is to make the pavements of the adjacent parallel streets so excellent as to entice into them the travel of carts and loaded vehicles. Should this measure be adopted there would doubtless still be too great a pressure in the main thoroughfare; yet, with this great evil to be averted, there are those who believe a railroad should be constructed in Broadway. The effect of such a measure would be to vastly increase the travel in that street. What the result will be is not difficult to conjecture.

The remaining question with regard to the roadway is one to which I have devoted much study. The problem is to construct a roadway which shall be unaffected by frosts, perfectly smooth to all ordinary wheels, and at the same time rough enough to afford a foothold for the horse. I have constructed cast iron blocks, which are held together by tongues, so that they cannot move longitudinally, laterally, or vertically, after they have been fitted together. Their surfaces are so indented that both the provisions of smoothness to the wheel and roughness to the horse shoe, are completely fulfilled. The only objection to this road at the present time is the increased cost of iron; but even now the road can be laid at a less cost than the Russ pavement. On this road a horse can draw more than upon a railroad, because the great friction of the flange, which is vastly increased on curves, is entirely obviated. The number of concussions daily received by an omnibus upon the best Belgian pavement is about half a million. They also affect the horse and passengers. Both carriages and horses would last much longer if these evils were obviated. But the crowning benefit is the absence of noise.

Dr. D. D. Parmelee.-About ten years ago, in connection with a friend, I spent considerable time in devising various plans for a railroad in Broadway, and after considering the subject of using steam, as a motive power, we came to the conclusion that the use of steam, at that time, would not pay, so we directed our attention to compressed air; our plans appeared to be perfect; the cars were to be supplied with air at each end, by a large stationary engine; the pressure of the compressed air was to be regulated by a valve, and we felt confident we could run a car from 42d street to Canal with one supply of air. The air was to be compressed very much; and, as our boilers were to be made of steel, and as it is well known that cold steel will stand a greater pressure than when hot, we could, therefore, use a higher pressure of the air than if we used steam.

The Chairman.-The great difficulty in the way of using compressed air is, that the pressure is varying with every stroke of the engine, so that if the pressure should be only five pounds short, the engine would stop.

Mr. Rowell.-In 1845 a plan on this principle was tried in Ireland, on