“The quantity of tar produced from each ton of cannel-coal is from 11 to 12 ale gallons, making a total annual produce of about 1250 ale gallons, which not having been yet sold, it cannot yet be determined its value.
“The interest of the capital expended in the necessary apparatus and buildings, together with what is considered as an ample allowance for wear and tear, is stated by Mr. Lee at about 550l. per annum, in which some allowance is made for this apparatus being made upon a scale adequate to the supply of a still greater quantity of light, than he has occasion to make use of.
“Mr. Lee is of opinion that the cost of attendance upon candles would be as much, if not more, than upon the gas apparatus; so that, in forming the comparison, nothing need be stated upon that score, on either side.
“The economical statement for one year, then, stands thus:
| Cost of 110 tons of cannel coal | £ 125 |
| Ditto of 40 tons of common ditto, to carbonise | 20 |
| In all | 145 |
| Deduct the value of 70 tons of coke | 93 |
| The annual expenditure in coal, after deducting the value of the coke, and without allowing any thing for the tar, is therefore | 52 |
| And the interest of capital sunk, and wear and tear of apparatus | 550 |
| Making the total expence of the gas apparatus per annum, about | 600 |
“That of candles, to give the same light, would be about 2000l. For each candle, consuming at the rate of 4-10ths of an ounce of tallow per hour, the 2500 candles burning, upon an average of the year, two hours per day, would, at one shilling per pound, the present price, amount to nearly the sum of money above-mentioned.
“If the comparison were made upon an average of three hours per day, as in most cases, would perhaps be nearer to the truth, and the tear and wear remaining nearly the same as on the former case, the whole cost would not exceed 650l. while that of the tallow would be 3000l.”
Mr. Ackerman in this metropolis, has shown that the art of gas-light illumination is not confined to great manufactories, but that its advantages are equally applicable to those on a moderate scale. The whole of Mr. Ackerman’s establishment, his public library, warehouse, printing-offices and work-shops, together with his dwelling house, from the kitchen to the drawing-room, has, for these four years past, been lighted with gas, to the total exclusion of all other lights. The result of the whole of this proceeding will be obvious from the following letter:
To Mr. ACCUM.
Sir,
“In answer to your request with regard to my gas-lights, which I now have in my house, I take this mode of informing you, that I charge two retorts with 240lbs. of coal, half cannel and half Newcastle, from which I extract 1000 cubic feet of gas. To obtain this quantity of gas, when the retorts are cold, I use from 100 to 110lb. of common coals; but when they are in a working state, that is to say, when they are once red hot, the carbonising fuel amounts to about 25lb. per retort. The bulk of gas thus obtained supplies 40 Argand’s lamps, of the large size, for four hours per night, during the long winter evenings, together with eight Argand’s lamps and about 22 single cockspur burners, for three hours per night: in addition to which my printers employ 16 cockspur burners for ten hours per day to heat their plates instead of charcoal fire. In the depth of winter we charge two retorts per day: but, upon an average, we work 365 retorts in 365 days.
Now 365 retorts containing 120lb. of coal each, make 43800lb. which is equal to ten chaldrons of Newcastle and eight tons of cannel coal.
10 chaldrons of Newcastle coals, at 65s. make £ 32 10 0 8 tons of cannel coal,[15] (this coal is sold by weight) at 100s. per ton 40 0 0 7 chaldrons of common coals for carbonising, at 55s. 19 5 0 To wages paid the servant for attending the gas apparatus 30 0 0 Interest of money sunk 30 0 0 The wear and tear of the gas-light apparatus I consider to be equal to the wear and tear of lamps, candlesticks, &c. employed for oil, tallow, &c. Total expence of the gas lights 151 15 0 DEDUCT 23 chaldrons of coke, at 60s. per chaldron 69 Ammoniacal liquor 5 Tar 6 Charcoal employed by the copper-plate printers to heat their plates, which is now done with the gas-light flame, cost, annually 25 Two chaldrons of coals minus used as fuel, for warming the house, since the adoption of the gas-lights, at 65s. per chaldron 6 10 111 10 0 Nett expences of the gas-lights £ 40 5 0 The lights used in my Establishment, prior to the gas-lights, amounted annually to 160 0 0 My present system of lighting with gas costs, per ann. 40 5 0 Balance in favor of the gas for one year £ 119 15 0