MR SWAN'S HOUSE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3799, 18 September 1883, Page 4

MR SWAN'S HOUSE.

Lauriston House, Bromley, the residence of Mr Swan, is lighted throughout with electricity, and forms one oil the most interesting private installations yet made. It is remarkable for its completeness, overy room and closet being lighted by the current; even the coal cellars and the gate lamps. The lights arc all commanded by small switches suitably placed so that a person entering a room, say a bedroom or closet, can light it up before going- m and darken it on leavimr it again. The switches for this purpose are placed near the doors either outside or just within. Again, if a light is wanted at the toilet table or the writingdesk it can be h;id in a moment by touching the proper switch. One of the beds has a reading lamp just over the pillows for an invalid who desires to read, and the switch is ready to his hand. The gate lamps are controlled by switches in the enginehouse. The drawing - room is lighted by three very elegant chandeliers made by Faraday. They are of brass work, and each holds six lumps shaded with blue glass cups. The lamps are controlled by switches, one for each chandelier, fitted into the Avail. Besides this there are six wall bracket lamps with crystal reflectors behind. Both here and in the dining-room, indeed throughout the whole house, the lamps are fitted up with great taste, and at the same time economy. In the dining-room the chandeliers and brackets arc by Elkington, the globes being of new crinkled glass, which has n very pretty effect, like rough ice. The filaments in all cases, except where naked lights are used in the cellars, are quite shaded from the eye by the ground glass or crinkled globes. In the drawingroom this effect is produced by having the bidbs themselves of ground glass. The dining-room table is further lighted by two brass standard lamps which are placed on it when required and connected by wires through the tablecloth, table, and floor. These connections are made_ by bodkins running through the tablecloth into the table. Moreover, a large Japanese calabash filled with roses and_ used as a centrepiece has several lamps hid amongst tho flowers ; and these are lighted up in the same way, producing a very pretty effect, tho lumps resembling yellow roses. An artificial lemon tree has its fruit lighted internally in the same way. By means of a small Thompson motor Mr Swan also employs tho current from a lamp at will to drive a sowing machine or coffee mill. Light for candles, or tire for the cigar is also obtained from the lamp's current by means of a small device invented by Mr J . E. H. Gordon. This consists of an ebonite handle, with a disc guard, like a dagger haft, and having in front of the disc, where tho blade should be, a spiral of bare platinum wire surrounding a plug of fireclay. When the current from :i lamp is sent through this wire by means of insulated wires running through the haft, tli3 platinum gets heated up and a light can be obtained from it. There are between sixty and seventy lights on Mr Swan's premises, including two in the engine house. They arc supplied by two Otto g'is engines, each of k horse-power nominal, but capable of developing 2 horse-power. Each drives a Siemens continuous current dynamo of the smallest size, and thirty Faure-Sellon-Volckmar accumulators are charged for an hour before the lighting begins. These accumulators servo to supply extra lamps when wanted, the two dynamos only supplying thirty lamps when running on them alone. Tho accumulators can bo kept partially charged by a bye-circuit while the machines are running. They maintain the extra lamps required on special occasions, and also yield occasional lights during the day. The engines consume seventy-five cubic feet of gas per hour, and this expended in gas lighting would give thirty gas jots of 15 candle-power; but the electric lights arc rather over 15 candles (they arc 20-candlc lamps) and the light is far more pure, agreeable, and healthy.— Engineering.