To The Editor of The Nelson Evening Mail.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 292, 5 December 1873, Page 2

To The Editor of The Nelson Evening Mail.

bia—As there appears much he-dtaiinn on the part of the people of Nelwon about tttking the gae, owing partly to ignorance of the comparison netw.en th- cost of ga- and o her light .Iviog materials, 1 h«.ve sert jou tbe following calculations by Mx Lewis Thomson.

„i It has i been estimated by M>- Lewjs , Thomson, fro-n actual experiment, that 1000 feet of common gas is equal to the light of— 44 and 4-7ths lbs sperm capdies; 48 and 6-7ths lbs wax candles;---52 Pnd 9 lOlbs lbs best mould - candles; 54 and ;3-"thß lbs best dip candles; 6$ gallons purified Colza toil,. Spec, gravity, 915 ; 5 and 9*-10 th*** gallons of pperm oil, spec. 888 Ro tbat 44lbs Of ; sperm candles coat £2 4a, and 1000 cubic feet of g-is give an equal a-nount of light, and saves a •treat deal in labor and cleanliness, costing only ,168, Comparing gas with other ,' light-giving* \ materials, Dr Letheby gi^es tbe following result: ' — Five cubic feet of common gas gives a light equal to— 2s argand 1 imps, burning 133 grains best sperm oil per hour; 23 mould tallow -candles, six to the lb, each burning 145 grains per hour; 18 common oil lamps, burning 133 grains ( best . sperm ot-per hour; 13 sperm candles.'six to the i lb, 15 or composition candles ditto. 16.25 wax caudles ditto, each burning 133 grains per hour. Dr Letheby also tested the comparative salubrity of several illuminating materids, by : bu ning the flame of coal gas and the flames of . several combustible bodies that gave an equal amount of light, separately in equal quantities of - ftttnospheric air, and the time noted at which the flames were extinguished by cuntaminatioh of the air, with the ' following results :— Colza oil was extinguished in 71 minutes, olive oil in 72, hussian tallow, 75; sperm oil, 76; wax candles, 79; coal pas (common), 98; Cnnnel coal gas, 152; from which it appears that the aemdgjJhere cf a confined room, lighted wit^-ij-ii-ijf^S-, willsupport life twice as long as t||#B'ame.Stmoßphete lighted equnlly by tallow ca^_B. 4^- .. „- -A •--!, r Some also thi»k that t!be y;i *Qoverhnient,' are charging too high a price iter the gas; bnt I wish to inform cuch that the Vt^liiington Gas Company charges 20* per 1000 teefe. The gfts;7ac'6ountß are sent in monthly, and iffpaid at the Company's office within seven ::d!*ys of /the delivery of the account a digcountjaffigOjpisivr pent is allowed. ''^~-%''i'li4mi &c., ; i' /■'•'J ipl^'^'T. M 'EIAMILTOSr. ' ,