The globe ought to be made with its bottom opening never less than four inches in diameter, and from seven to eight inches diameter at its widest part. These dimensions will allow the air ample passage through the globe, without striking against the flame, and will actually have a tendency to steady the light, which is the greatest desideratum. It will also allow the best form of burner to be used, and the rays of light will have ample scope to strike downward to the place where they are most required; and, in short, the consumer will get the full benefit of the light. All globes ought to have a space of three inches of clear glass round the bottom, and in ornamenting and flowering, the maker ought to have this one end always in view, to intercept the rays of light as little as possible.

Opal and ground glass globes ought to be entirely discarded, when it is known that they obscure from forty to fifty per cent. of the light. If the light requires to be toned, surely the most effective method is to turn it down; this method has also the advantage of being the cheapest. These opal and ground globes can await the event of the electric candle, which some people prophesy is not far distant. From what I can hear of the light the candle gives, they will be required then. In conclusion, gentlemen, if globes and holders are made and used as I have attempted to describe, we will have far less complaints of bad gas and poor lights, and I need not point out to you that the duty of attending to the wants of consumers, is becoming more and more our duty. We are the parties interested. Let us not always turn him over to the tender mercies

of the gas-fitter.

I'am of the opinion the gas companies are the proper persons to do the gas fitting.

My experience is that it pays well, in every way for the gas engineer to see that the consumer gets the full benefit of the light he is purchasing from us, as far as we are able to do, with the articles at our command.

I hope the wisdom of the Association may suggest some method of drawing the attention of the makers of globes and holders to the importance of this greatly desired improvement. It is to their own interest to effect it, for the use of the globe

would thereby be extended. Since preparing this paper, I observe the same subject, the defects of the globe and holder, is being ventilated in England. Let this country have the honor of being the first to adopt the improvement suggested.

When Mr. Somerville's paper was concluded, discussion of the same was called for by the President, and Mr. McIlhenny said:

I think, Mr. President, that we can all verify what Mr. Somerville says. I think he has presented the subject in a very able and comprehensive manner; and, certainly, we all should be interested in that subject. Every word he said is true, and I think if something can be done to cause investigation, it will be of great advantage to both the consumer and seller of gas ; so that I hope the subject won't rest here, but having been opened it will go on growing until something is done.

A MEMBER-I think that article should be published in the newspapers of all the cities, so as to bring it before the people, and then they won't say that the gas companies are alone to blame in this matter.

MR. STARR—I would suggest that the paper should be sent to the makers. This could be done by forwarding the Gas Light Journal to them.

CAPTAIN DRESSER-We would be very glad to do so.

MR. MCILHENNY-I have little faith in the people adopting anything of that kind. About nine years ago I made a pretty comprehensive statement to the people, in a series of experiments I made with globes and burners, and I didn't see any results in the community. The only way it can be accomplished is through the globe manufacturers. If you simply want the public to adopt them without their help, you can't accomplish your object.

CAPTAIN DRESSER-I will make a statement on this subject. I presented this matter to one of the leading gas companies of New York, and asked them why they didn't endeavor to get the globe and fixture makers to furnish such a globe as would burn gas to the best advantage. They said they had tried it ; had applied to the leading manufacturers in New York, and their reply was that it wasn't the fashion, and the ladies wouldn't have them.

Now, you have to manage some things in one way, and with others you can do better to manage in another. Some of the members of the Association have great influence with the ladies, and they must take the lead in this matter of shades. They must make the ladies believe that it is the fashion to have a wide, open-bottomed shade, and then there will be some hope for the gas maker selling his gas, and the consumer getting value received for the money paid for it. (Applause and Laughter.).

CAPTAIN WHITE-After the extended remarks of the worthy editor of the Journal, I may be allowed to give my experience among the ladies. I had a laughable experience. I was in the service of a company some years ago, that, among other things, wanted the storekeepers to understand that a good 8 ft. burner in a window was better than two 5 ft. burners; so I went to work and made experiments, and found what the loss of light was with different globes and burners. One burner would

utilize but forty per cent., and a shade destroyed thirty per cent. of the light, so that the light was very poor, even with good gas; I couldn't do anything with the storekeepers, so I tried the ladies. When I got talking with them, they wouldn't talk about anything but the gas and the bills, and how some friend had gone in the country, and his bill was just the same when he returned; but, after they got through, I would quietly take off one shade, and light the jet, shutting off all the rest, and they would be perfectly astonished, and they would exclaim, "Why; I never saw so much light in my life in this room. Why, there is no doubt about that—my dress shows so well; but then the chandelier looks so bare. I would rather have a ground glass globe, even if the bill is a little heavier.”

Now we are introducing, in Brooklyn and New York, the use of a wide bottomed shade, with just the three straight brass wires for a support, that Mr. Somerville has referred to. I first used it in my house, and the people would come in from next door and wonder how in the world we ever managed to get such a light; and the popular opinion around there was that I ran a separate pipe from the gas works up to my house, but it was simply owing to the fact that I had put these new shades on. Those shades and burners gradually got through the neighbor

hood where I was known, and they had good success; but it was bad success for the gas companies, for they didn't sell so much gas. There is no doubt to-day but that the companies must come to the point where they control the gas to the very point of burning, and dictate the size of the burners, and every thing else.

In Paris the people go to the company and ask for instructions, and they say what shade shall be used, and they are used, (and there is no city in the world so well lighted as Paris), and when our companies get a like control, they will have the same effect. There is no use making 17 candle gas for a man who has a lot of old brass burners, with one-third enough air supplied to them; and I find, among gas consumers generally, that they don't care for the size of the bill, if they can only get a good light.

Now, is it fair that a man should be compelled to burn four or five lights in his parlor when we know that two burners would give him all the light he wants?

way.

MR. STARR-I have had some little experience in the same We have been annoyed in our place with burner patents, and the result was we had a great deal of dissatisfaction, and I finally adopted the plan of furnishing all consumers with the best burner I could get, and now when a man has a house built he comes to the office and gets the burner. I use a double chamber burner, and I think in the last year have put on fifty gross of them with nine hundred consumers. The people come to us to get burners, and it has had this effect-that while other gas companies have been falling off, we have always increased, but it has had another effect, and that is-it has reduced the bills very materially, which is one reason why I use it.

MR. GRAY-What size is that burner ?

I

MR. STARR-I have different sizes. I recommend for the kitchen, a three foot burner, for the sitting-room a four foot, for the front hall a two foot, and for chambers also a two foot burner, as giving better results than any other. We have 0.3 pressure at night and o.2 in the day time.

MR. COGGSHALL-I adopted the same plan of furnishing burners. A few years ago I got up a pamphlet showing the difference in burners, and at the same time offered to furnish burners for just cost, and at present I furnish burners for all the people in our place.

MR. STEDMAN-I would like to ask if the use of the large bottomed globe is becoming fashionable?

THE PRESIDENT-It is coming into very general use; but now, gentlemen, if you are ready for the next paper, I will call upon the author to read it.

MR. L. P. GEROULD then said that as he was suffering from a severe cold, he would ask Captain Dresser to read his paper for him. The paper was read as follows:

ON LEAKAGE FROM STREET MAINS AND CONTROL OF THE SAME

BY STREET MAIN VALVES.

By L. P. Gerould, Engineer of Newton and Watertown Gas Light Company, Newton, Mass.

I desire to call the attention of the members of the Association to a very important part of gas works, which, I think, has not, heretofore, received the attention it deserves; indeed, I am sure, that in many places, it has been altogether neglected. I refer to street main valves.

In the early history of the construction of gas works, we have reason to believe that the value of these auxiliaries to street mains was appreciated, and that the use of them was only abandoned when it was found that those which had been introduced could not be relied upon to close when occasion required, owing to the rust which had accumulated about the working parts exposed to air and moisture, rendering them useless. In evidence of this, we have the clumsy substitutes, which, in some instances, were resorted to, of drip boxes or water valves, with partitions extending near to the bottom, forming a part of the main, which could be sealed by partially filling them with water, and thus cut off the flow of gas, and which could be restored by pumping the water out again. The