THE FUEL AND LIGHT OP THE BTJTUBE,

At a meeting of the Hull Institution of Engineers and Naval Architects on Fct\ 9th, a very interesting paper by MrSunsou Fox, 0.E., of Leeda Forge was rend on the subject of water gas. The invention it was et-ued, is tin agglomeration of seyeral inventions which have jointly produced a p.rfect aud safe process for the production of water gas. The operations at Leeds Forge are largely conducted with gas fuel, and the gas pro duced by ordinary generators, or the town eupply, being neither cheap enough nor of sufficiently higb heading power, searching investigations were made by Mr Fox into the applicability of water gas, which resulted in the establishment of a procegß wHch more than equalled the previous desires of fche company. The apparatus finally adopted is extremely simple and re quires no skilled labour for its manipu lation, Water-gHB is a gas produced from water by n chemical reaotion which takes place in passing a'.eam through incan deßceut combußtible matter, The ordinary laboratory experiment of passiog s'.eam through a higLly heated ire !i ibe, filled wi'.h iron scraps or iron filings, in which the steam beoomes decomposed into its constituent gasses, is the originnl of tbe water gas generator, In fche oose of the iron the water is split up into its elementary gSßee, hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen combines with the iron, forming oxirio of iron or rust, aud the hydrogen remains free, passes tbrough,~and may be lighted at the mouth of the tube. In the water-gaa gener ator the iron in the retort is replaced by coal or other carbonaceous matter, which ia ig nited aud foroed to n high temperature by meaoe of a blast.. Tbe air blast is then shut off and ateatn turned on eolong as the charge retains sufficient beak for the purpose. As in the experiment referred to, the heat of the charge decomposes the steam into oxygen and hydrogen, the hydrogen remaius ffoo, whilo the oxygen combines r. ith caibon to form a combustible gas, carbon-oxide. The difference between the two processes is that fche oxide of iron formed in the laboratory experiment is a solid substance and non oombastible, while in tbe water-gas apparatus the oxide of carbon, or carbon-oxide, is in a gaseous state and combustible. 