AIR GAS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 257, 25 October 1873, Page 2

AIR GAS.

From the (Bradford Observer.) The Kromschroder gas, as it is called — an air gas, invented by a German of that name-— has an illuminating power as compared with coal gas of five to three. Its manufacture is without trouble, its storage without danger, and it has not the offensive smell of ordinary gas. It is in successful operation in Great Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, where a large party of scientific gentlemen were invited on Saturday to receive from Mr Kromschroder an explanction of the invention, and witness its working. The apparatus for the manufacture of the air gas is an iron box about the size of an ordinary 100 table, on tbe top of which is a double action air pump, and at the bottom a supply of hydro-carbon and an absorbant material. The hydro-carbon petroleum, and into the recepticle which contains it the air pump forces tho atmospheric air. A combination immediately takes place with the lightest parts of the hydro-carbon given off by the absorbent material, and the air gas, now an accomplished fact, passes through a pipe into the gasholder. No retorts and no purifiers are required but the gas is instantly ready for use, with a twenty-five, twenty -six, or twenty-seven candle power. At a dinner which the company, included Mr Wethered, M.P., partook of illustrations of the difference between coal gas and air gas were given, Mr Hastings having previously left instructions at the gas works to change the supply to the town at certain intervals from coal gas to air gas, aud back again, the sudden variations when they occurred left no doubt on the minds of the visitors of the superiority of Kromschroder's air gas. The power appears to be at least double. _Jbe light was very white, steady, and cheerful, and was pronounced by every one to be a great success. Among its advantages are to be noted, that it can be used in the present gas pipes ; it removes the corrosion caused by tbe coal gas ; aod if an escape occurs, there is no inflammability, because the atmospheric air in the, gas immediately separates itself from itcombines with its old associate, and de stroys combustion. If stored, it deteriorates only to the extent of 2\ per cent, whereas coal gas is said to degenerate 50 per cent. The smallest towns and villages can at a very small expense be supplied with it, and even private dwellings can bave their own gasometer. B=i5 ~ is -- =iiS^S i ***-SS____SSis_s_a The telegraph informs us of a new complication in the Tichborne case. Arthur Orton— not the Claimant, but the real Simon Pure — has arrived in London. We have been been informed before that the defence were trying to .refute the allegations of tbe prosecution by producing tbe real Arthur Orton, and that land and sea were being ransacked to find him. And now they have him. He has been found, and he claims — for he is a claimant, too — to be the real Arthur. Of course, if this journal were published in England, instead of at its antipodes, we should have to record the circumstance " without note or oomment;" but here, so far away from the chance of influencing the unfortunate jurymen, there is no reason why we should not notice the puzzling conditions that this introduces into the case. If the new arrival is Orton, the mysterious Claimant becomes more mysterious than ever. It seemed, amidst all the doubt and obscurity of the case, like reaching a little island of firm land when the evidence established, or appeared to establish, that tbe Claimant was Orton. But now comes another, and maintains that he is Orton. This would leave our stout Wagga Wagga friend with no individuality at all— -zJHius nullius in a wildest sense. On the whole the best thing seems to be for Arthur Orton, the newly-arrived one, to call himself Smith and go away again quietly. If his statement is absolutely true, it would be impossible for him to bring in the weight of evidence that has been adduced to show that the Claimant is Orton. The evidence is all against him, and it is now better to assume that he has mistaken his own personality than that all of that evidence is wrong. There is a point in every inquiry where the investigation must be closed, and we seem to have reached and passed it in the Tichborne case. Besides, if a man neglects to exercise or assert his rights of ownership for a certain number of years, he loses them, and so with Jhis personal identity. It is better to put down this troublesome Orton, put him in the dock by the side of his «« doppelganger," silence him by any means, than to permit the foundations of belief and tbe guarantees of certitude to be destroyed, as they would be where he to receive recognition now at this untimely stage. We had an Arthur Orton quite adequate to all the requirements of the case be(Qt9>>—Auetrala*ian,

In view of the telegrams announcing the bold attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a baloon, and its unsuccessful result, some detailed explanation of the project will doubtless be interesting. The adventurous aeronaut is Mr Wise, who long believed in the feasibility of the scheme, and has kept the matter before the American public for 20 years. His idea, confirmed by many ascents that he made, is tbat at the heighth of from one to two miles above the earth there is a steady easterly current, and that if a balloon could be kept up within this current, it would be practicible to float from America to Europe. In 1859 he took an experimental voyage of about 1,200 miles overland, viz., from St. Louis to New York state. The experiment, however, on that occasion was not altogether encouraging, owing to the consequences of a terrific hurricane, into which the aerial voyagers drifted, and the plan remained for£ long time in abeyance. Recently, however, the idea of Mr Wise has been taken up by the . proprietors of the New York Daily Graphic, who agreed to build and equip a balloon for Mr Wise for the purposes of the voyage, he to supply all the particulars of the trip to the Daily Graphic by the most speedy meanß available. The balloon built, which is said to be the largest ever made, was 1 10ft high and 100ft io diameter, with a gas capacity of 600,000 cubic feet. When inflated, from the crown of the baloon to the bottom of the boat hanging below was to be 160ft. The bag contained eight miles of stitching. It was fitted up in accordance with the requirements of scientific aeronautics, and contained instruments for determining position and making all necessary observations. Arrangement was made for taking a number of carrier pigeons, to be released on the route with intelligence of the progress of the expedition. The Daily Graphic announced that there would be passenger room for eight or ten persons, and notified the conditions of application for tickets. The account of the former adventurous voyage of Mr Wise, above referred to, when his balloon was driven in a frightful gale across the waves of Lake Ontario, now striking the water, and now leaping scores of feet into the air, has been kindly republished by the Scientific American as an inducement to waverers to take passenger tickets. The same journal, with similiar benevolent views, also prints the sensation narrative of the frightful death by a fall from & balloon, in July, 1872, of La Mountain, a well-known aeronaut, who was one of the companions of Mr Wise in the St. Louis voyage, in 1859. It says, in reference to the late attempt, *' We recommend tbose who are tired of life, who have made their wills, who have no one dependent upon them, and whose friends would he glad to get rid of them, to prepare carpet bags and go. Tbe chances of their return to earth in a condition suitable for further usefulness we regard as extremely slim." The issue seems to have corresponded to this anticipation, and goes to show that if the Atlantic is to be crossed by such " argosies of magic sail," at any rate that result has not yet been reached. — Australasian,