TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLVIL, Issue 7691, 24 October 1890, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

g*Hajginual ciation for th«i Advancement of Science fThe' last occaaionon met in'tho same town was in' 1858, and a great part of, the address of Sir Frederick' Abel, the Preiident; up in reviewing theprogrees made is the various departments, science during thafciatervsl, Oae of tb&raoat iliTmtrations which he Quoted was thefact that the petroleum industry has grown up and at&Kned its present immense proportioar wirbin the compass of that ;.JMf£ jperfojf of; years. In IHSO, QW barrels pf 43 A|aeri<jan gaUejw were produced in tho United States. In 1883 the pxoduation amounted to no less than 81,000;000 gallons. Since then it has fallen somewhat, aadlast year it amounted to 31,500,000 barrels. The imports of kerosene into Juondon and the chief ports of the United 'Kingdom doting |et8?; amounted! .4»Mwfl*' ! of United States oil and 971.227 barrels of BuasiaaoiL Daring the same period the axtet-tmu of mmar&l oil lor use in. lamp* by the Scottish shale oil companies probably amount^toabon)bs<K),ooobarrets. While the production in America has fallen off somewhat, the demaad has increased, and consequently attention is now being directed to oil deposits, not only in she CsspiftU district, bafc ia the East and West Indies, South America, mad elsewhere. With recent years there has* been a great alteration in the method adopted for the tcanflpoirJi vof petroleum. istean«»T|i now transport the oit hi $olk*on %i Wa as do tank railway waggons on the land, while in. London the practice is already ejroeading; gradually of- distributing'; snpI_uieß to from taolt road waggons. •■''"'.- -_■ >■•■'.-!■■

Faoapetroleum Sis Frederick .Abel was lad by a natural tranm tanae to natsami gas anif water gas. Tha wo _ used hardly explain, is the inflammable gat bubbJaa upcratjof. tls*etsrsi J>n the oil-elds. In America, »2»P»wident stated.

raaMwkftWa- ga& eapply time only u«d locaily, «_jt3s off I 88& itetoon-ereffloe to ft pipes for illtxaamating and heating- pm* poeee had assumed largo proportions, est of the companies in Pittsburgh havisf done jjat* 836 milea of j pipe, of various aisea 4 through which gas waa supply valuo to Ojmjm tnasof coal per annum, > Since theofcth, consumption in and around been at least tripled. "Tha Affect b? the change from coal gas to natusg| gaa upon the atmosphere over Pitt* biirgb, M Bir Frederick Abel add«,;« hm m most marked»formerly $4 soured by a canopy of dense smoke, new tha atmosphere i* clear, and «v«r wMte P*^? 1 °!*y with impunity be em£l6|i|d Mr the houaa fronts.'* Tho etapbjcier^''J natural gas is rapidly spreading in other cities and town ia Pennsylvania, north-western New York acd aoitb. wejtera Qhio, aad it is' at the ptwtfs time contemplated to oarry & natus^ supply to Chicago. Tho use' of iimmPMk —which is a vary cheap fops* of iUdafi®. Won—is objeoted to in England baoauag It ! extent off Wsk one-half of ita voluawf, :oi Zs£ '. gilsonotts ?**hooio' and a small leakage may liaJso''t_9 4n a human life, ita o!aagee#t i 'mA increMed.from the fact -.tijafe' no'detectable odor. The smell of 6oas «& to whioh many people object, ia one of its great advantages from a safety poialef view. People ia tbe United States, howeFe^r l; a t^*# toj:riak %~u gis Frederick Abel informs ua that about three* fourths, of the ulumiaatinir gia now ««jg. plied to the cities of New Ybrk, PhUadelphia, Jersey, Sfc and Mia« neapoliß ia carburetted water gm t W oile ia Chiciago the" Entire supply W* eoniata of this gaß, and Boßton will _ooa, be supplied Acloaiv'e^.'Witir'/t.. Wi_k. w lth the improvements in coal gas electric light, water gas) and the immense development of the petroleum industry, it is no fault of science if this is sot aa age of great enlightenment — physioa! enlightenment, at any rate.

We have seldom, if ever, read anything more shocking than the account of « fire whioh recently took place in Berlin. As an instance of the rankest cowardice mi the grossest stupidity it has probably never.) been' '■ surpassed. About 'ifchres o'clock in the morning the reaidenc® of a wealthy merchant named JsViekife, 1| t&e FriedridhL-Straase,' was be on fire, the outbreak being on the first floor of the building. A governess gave the first alarm to, the father and fc*~f sons who were sleeping ou the same floo? but in another Wing. There were aim eighteea and j years' respectively and aabthoe ' servaal sleeping . in< the' hoose_,' rßcsedibU as it may seem, the father and sons made their eaeape, and ran fo? : the brigade, leaving the i twos 'girls | and (She servants in the blazing 'house, The fire brigade arrived in aboafitw&ilf minutes, and it is solemnly averred tkal $heiirst,action of tho commander'was >ts order some gentlemen who volu_t«s?M fes rescue the children to v desist Iroes ils«i| efforts until he had eeat to house for some nou-iaflammabla sails';of clothing, 'whereby eight Vere lost. When the firemen mi® t§&s equipped in their safety-omAs t>f| veySired' to: bring oat the two dattgtefe, and August Domaks and Louh GtcssgKj all of whom were dead, " ebwr4 to.the. very bones," eaya .thofftpser which we are quoting.) We &£§ not surprised to learn that n Berlin is wil| with indignation " at the' cowardice d four etalfarfc men allowing thels ; M.|ll| sisters and two other human beings hi remain a whole hour in. a horning houss without making an effort to save thSB% afd,atso..at the " stupid dUatoripof* * M the commander of the Fire Brigade. Tha whole 1 story-reads more 1 like v ifeosibli burlesque than the narrative of an even! in real life. • . ' .' .' \