during any period of time. It is constructed upon the principle of the meters used by each consumer, but on a much larger scale. A cylindrical box more than half filled with water contains a drum supported upon an axis which passes from one end to the other of the outer case. This drum is divided into 4 hollow compartments, each of which has an opening into the central space around the axis, and also slits in the rim communicating with the space next the outer case. The gas is conducted into the central space and flows into one of the partially submerged compartments. As this fills, the pressure of the gas causes the drum to begin to revolve, and as it passes round the next compartment comes in position to be filled, and so on, each chamber as it is submerged in its revolution discharging its measure of gas into the space above the water next to the outer case, from which it is conveyed away to the gas holder. The capacity of the chambers being known, and the number of revolutions recorded by a train of wheel work connected with dials on the outside of the case, the whole quantity of gas passed through is at any time seen. But to give uniform results the water must always be at the same level; as it rises it diminishes the gas capacity of the compartments, and as it sinks it enlarges this, and more gas is passed with each revolution. The station meters are also provided with a clock, to the minute hand of which is attached an index carrying a pencil. By the lines this traces upon a disk of paper attached to a plate which is affixed to and revolves with the axis of the drum, any irregularity in the supply, and the time of its occurrence, are registered. The dials are provided each with a single pointer; one marks the number of tens of cubic feet, another the number of hundreds, another thousands, &c., up to tens of millions. The largest instruments of the kind pass about 650 cubic feet in one revolution of the drum, and register in an hour about 70,000 cubic feet. The next apparatus is the gas holder or reservoir. It is a cylinder of plate iron suspended or floating with its open lower end in a cistern of water. As the gas is admitted beneath, the cylinder is lifted up by it; and as it is required for consumption, the pressure of the gas holder forces it through the pipes laid for its conveyance. These receptacles are of immense size for the supply of large cities. One in Philadelphia is of the capacity of more than 1,000,000 cubic feet, being 140 feet in diameter and 70 feet high. The imperial gas company of London have one 200 feet in diameter and 100 feet high. To obtain room for gas holders of great height to descend, so that their tops may come down to the level of the water, and the gas be all expelled from them, they are made in sections which shut one within another like the parts of a telescope. The lower edge of each section except the lowest curves up in a flange directed outward, and forming a ring. As the section rises out of the water this ring comes up filled with it, and catches the flange of the next section below, which is bent inward for this purpose. The water has the effect of making the joint proof against the escape of gas.-Between the gas holder and the main pipe is placed an apparatus called the governor, contrived to regulate the pressure of the gas as it is admitted into the main; and it is found useful to repeat these machines wherever the gas is distributed at points varying considerably in elevation, as from its low specific gravity the pressure increases with the elevation, the rate being of an inch for every foot of difference of height. It has even been recommended to use one for every 30 feet of rise in the ground through which the pipes are carried. In construction it resembles a gas holder, an inverted cylinder being suspended with its lower part in water so that as the gas comes in from below the upper portion is lifted. This carries suspended from its centre a cone of cast iron, turned true, and adapted when raised sufficiently high to fit closely the bevelled opening by which the gas enters the central part of the apparatus. The outlet pipe commences in the upper portion and passes down through the bottom. The cone and cover are nearly counterbalanced by a weight, which passes over a pulley outside of the machine. When the pressure of gas is moderate the cover and cone descend, leaving a wide opening for the gas to enter. When the pressure increases the cone rises and checks the flow.-The gas, being now delivered into the main, is distributed to the various points where it is consumed. Each customer is furnished with his own meter, which registers on the principle explained the quantity he consumes. Small pipes convey the gas from the meter to the various burners affixed at their terminating points. Upon the form and condition of these the economical consumption of the gas in proportion to the light produced in great measure depends. Each one is furnished with a stopcock upon its own supply pipe, and by means of this the quantity admitted to the burner is regulated. The opening at the end for the gas to escape is often in the form of a narrow slit. This gives to the flame the form of a thin sheet known as the bat's wing; and a similar effect is produced by two small round holes in the end of the burner inclined toward each other. The principle of the Argand burner is explained in the article ARGAND LAMP. In applying this principle to gas, the burner is a hollow ring perforated with holes about of an inch apart, and measuring of an inch in diameter, bored with the greatest accuracy. These are large consumers, but give a brilliant light; and in most burners this is attained at the expense of an unnecessary quantity of gas. Economy in this respect and a flame free from flickering have been most important desiderata in the construction of all new burners, of which there is the greatest variety. No burner in use appears to combine these advantages so admirably as that known as "Gleeson's American gas burner," of Dr. Frankland, gases producing light equal to 20 sperm candles generate carbonic acid in the ratio, as compared with these candles, of 5 to 8.3, and heat in nearly the same proportion, and with the best hydrocarbon gases the ratio was, of carbonic acid 2.5 to 8.3, and of heat 19 to 82. Wax was rated with sperm, while tallow candles equal to 20 sperm generated 10.1 of carbonic acid and 100 of heat. The effects of the heat and of the vicious air may be remedied in great part by the adoption of a system of ventilation, placing over each burner a hood and pipe for conveying to the nearest flue above the products of combustion. In low rooms this may be desirable, and especially in the use of gas that has not been thoroughly deprived of sulphurous acid.-PORTABLE GAS. Methods have recently been introduced of taking supplies of gas in steamboats and on railroad cars, and renewing these as they are consumed. By one plan sheet iron cases of the capacity of 50 or 60 feet are fitted under the cars and filled as occasion requires from the street mains under ordinary pressure. The tops of the cases are lined with a loose sheet of India rubber, which swells upward as the gas flows in beneath. To expel the gas for use, air is forced in above the lining by the action of a meter running by clock work under uniform pressure. The clock work is impelled by a spring which is wound up by hand, and the action is suspended whenever the valves for the burners are closed. The motion of the cars does not affect the regularity of the supply to the burners. From the permeability of all flexible sheets, this process cannot be regarded as entirely safe from danger of explosion. By the method of the New York car and steamboat gas company the gas is first compressed by a force pump into strong cylindrical gas holders made of boiler plate iron, and measuring 7 or 8 feet in length by about 14 inches in diameter. By the pressure of 20 atmospheres 100 feet of gas is thus put into a space of 5 cubic feet. To secure a uniform rate of discharge when the cylinders are connected with the gas pipes of the car or steamboat in which they are carried, a regulator of improved form is attached to the pipes, by which the aperture through which the gas passes is gradually made to enlarge with the diminution of pressure. In Jersey City a stack of cylinders connected by small pipes serve as a reservoir, into which the gas is pumped at a pressure of about 450 lbs. From this a pipe extends to the railroad station, a quarter of a mile distant, and as the cylinders attached beneath the cars require a new supply, they are simply connected with this pipe and directly filled. The same plan is also applied of late to furnishing houses with gas that are situated at a distance from the public gas pipes. comparative experiments with which, made by Prof. Silliman, jr., gave the most favorable results, a 2 feet burner giving under 11 inches pressure light equivalent to that of 16 candles. The writer has found it preferable to many other burners tried with especial reference to long continued use as a study light. Very economical and cheaply constructed burners are those of Mr. E. L. Hicks of New York, the peculiarity of which consists in a metallic cap or thimble provided with a circular aperture in the top. This is fitted to slip over an ordinary burner, and when in its place the light from the same flow of gas is perceptibly increased. As measured by the photometer, this increase has been found, according to the experiments of Prof. John Torrey, to amount to 74 per cent. as a minimum, with a 3 feet fish tail burner, to a maximum of 206 per cent. with a 2 feet burner; thus more than trebling the light. The effect seems to be analogous to that produced by placing a thin platinum slip in the flame of a lamp, and is probably owing to a check produced in the consumption which causes the particles of carbon to become incandescent before they enter into combination with oxygen. As the pipes are liable to become foul by oxidation, especially between the burner and the stopcock, where air mixes with and aids to decompose the changeable compounds contained in the gas, attention should be directed to keeping them clean, and instruments are sometimes furnished by the gas companies for this purpose. Burners of soapstone have recently been introduced in Nuremberg, Germany. They have the advantage of not being affected by the chemical action of gases, nor by high degrees of heat, such as burners are sometimes subjected to in laboratories. The stone is cut into slabs which are exposed in hermetically sealed cases to heat very gradually raised to redness. In two hours they are slowly cooled, then turned to proper shape in a lathe, and boiled in oil, till they become deep brown. On drying they are polished with a woollen rag. The boring requires much care and skill. A common trouble with gas pipes in severe cold weather is their "freezing up," thus interrupting the flow of the gas. This is owing to the vapors which accompany the gas condensing, and, unless the pipe descends toward the meter, flowing back and obstructing the pipe. This often occurs when the pipe is laid so deep as to seem out of the reach of frost. A simple remedy is to give the pipe a slope toward the meter.-In the use of gas several circumstances are to be considered which affect the estimation in which it is held. Though unquestionably more economical than any other means of producing the same quantity of artificial light, it is commonly used so freely that often no saving is experienced over modes of illumination previously in use. No one is satis--GAS AS FUEL. Within a few years gas has fied with an amount of light from gas which was sufficient when furnished by the troublesome oil or candles. From this freedom in consuming it gas tends also to give out much heat and to vitiate the air. Yet, according to the statements been applied in stoves constructed for the purpose to furnish heat by its combustion; and being so perfectly under control and directed so readily to produce the required effect, it has in many circumstances proved an economical fuel. In summer it may be made to heat in suitably eters ranging from 4 to 18 inches. It has 3 retort Statistics. 1846. Cubic feet of gas manufactured... 75,454,000 bonized during the year... material distilled, per cent.... ed coal and rosin distilled.. Percentage of all the coke produced, used in heating retorts.. Cost of lime per bushel in cents (in Cost of gas made during the year, The results 1847. 91,457,000 234,103 285,117 4,682 6,545 18,728,225 23,020,023 6.25 810,042 201,821 7.10 9,020 4.02 8,899 8.97 411,555 1.82 1.44 236,176 The use of gas has continued to spread among the chief cities and towns of the United States with great rapidity, especially in the last few years, till the gas interest, it is estimated, now represents a capital of $34,920,000 in the United States, divided among 237 companies; and in Canada, $1,040,000, among 6 companies. In New York alone there are 43 cities and towns lighted with gas, and the number of these is constantly increasing. The lowest price anywhere paid for gas is at Pittsburg, Pa., $1.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. The highest price, $7.00, is paid at Auburn and Watertown, N. Y., Belfast, Me., Charlotte, N. C., and some other places. A monthly paper devoted to the interest, was commenced in New York in July, 1859, entitled the "American Gas Light Journal."-The following table presents the general statistics of the production and cost of gas in the principal cities of the United States: mass of information collected from 91 responses to a circular containing 13 interrogatories addressed to 138 gas companies. GASCOIGNE, GEORGE, an English poet, born about 1537, died in Stamford, Oct. 7, 1577. He was a spendthrift, was disinherited by his father, served the prince of Orange as a soldier of fortune, and returned to England with a reputation for bravery. A complete edition of his works was published in 1587. His poem the "Steele Glas" is the earliest English satire, and has been highly praised by modern critics. His comedy of "The Supposes" is the oldest extant prose play in the language, and has been supposed to have been used by Shakespeare in the Taming of the Shrew." 66 GASCOIGNE, SIR WILLIAM, lord chief justice of England under Henry IV. and Henry V., born in Gawthorp, Yorkshire, about 1350, died about 1420. During the reign of Richard II. he acquired the reputation of a learned and skilful lawyer, and numbered among his clients Henry of Bolingbroke, who, upon his accession to the throne, appointed him chief justice of the king's bench, a position which he filled with singular ability and intrepidity. An illustration of his courage is afforded in his refusal to sanction the execution of Scrope, the rebellious archbishop of York, on the ground that the lay courts had no jurisdiction over a prelate. That act of his life, however, for which he is best known, was the committal of the prince of Wales for an assault upon him, while sitting on the bench, upon hearing which Henry IV. is reported to have said: "Happy the king that has a judge so firm in his duty and a son so obedient to the law." This anecdote, though considered of doubtful authenticity, suggested to Shakespeare the well known scene (2d part of Henry IV., Act v., sc. 2) in which the young king, Henry V., commends the conduct of Gascoigne on this occasion, and continues him in his office. The retaining of Gascoigne in office, however, was long considered a breach of historical truth, as he was supposed to have died before Henry IV. Recent investigations having satisfactorily shown that he was summoned to the 1st parliament of Henry V., and that he was alive on Dec. 15, 1419, which is the date of his will, Lord Campbell ("Lives of the Chief Justices") concludes that he survived Henry IV. and was reappointed chief justice of the king's bench. GASCONADE, an E. co. of Mo., bounded N. by the Missouri river, and intersected by the Gasconade river; area, 540 sq. m.; pop. in 1856, 6,900, of whom 46 were slaves. The surface is much broken, and the soil of the hilly portions is poor, but the low lands and river bottoms are mostly fertile. Iron ore is found in abundance, sulphur and saltpetre are obtained, and copper has been discovered on Bourbeuse creek. Within a few years considerable attention has been given to the manufacture of wine. The agricultural products in 1850 were 20,427 bushels of wheat, 190,913 of Indian corn, 26,269 of oats, and 5,081 lbs. of wool. There were 4 tanneries, 1 grist mill, 2 newspaper offices, 3 churches, and 73 pupils attending public schools. The county is well supplied with water power and timber, and has quarries of limestone and buhrstone. Capital, Hermann. GASCONY (Fr. Gascogne), an old province in the S. E. corner of France, bounded N. by Guienne, E. by the county of Foix and Languedoc, from which it was partly separated by the upper Garonne, S. by the Pyrénées and Béarn, and W. by the Atlantic (the gulf of Gascony). It was originally inhabited by a population of Iberian blood, received from the Romans the name of Novempopulonia or Aquitania Tertia, and changed it to that of Gascony about the middle of the 6th century, when it was occupied by the Vascones, a tribe of northern Spain, whom the Goths had driven across the Pyrénées. It was more than once invaded by the Merovingian kings, but was never entirely subjugated until the time of Charlemagne. The supremacy of the French crown being finally established, the country was placed under the direct sovereignty of the duke of Aquitaine. Through the marriage of Eleanor with Henry Plantagenet, Gascony, in conjunction with the whole country which that princess held south of the Loire, fell to the crown of England in 1152. For 300 years it remained under the same allegiance, and returned by conquest to France in 1453. It formed afterward, with Guienne, one of the great governments of that country, and is now divided into the 3 departments of HautesPyrénées, Gers, and Landes. GASCOYGNE, WILLIAM, the inventor of the micrometer, born in England about 1621, killed fighting for Charles I. at Marston Moor, July 2, 1644. The instrument, as constructed by him, consisted principally of 2 parallel wires or metallic plates, capable of being moved, which were placed in the focus of the eye-glass of the telescope. The image was comprehended between these, and by means of a scale for the measure of angles its diameter was determined. Gascoygne used his instrument in various astronomical observations, and in determining the magnitude or distance of terrestrial objects. GASKELL, ELIZABETH C., an English authoress, born about 1820, is the wife of a Unitarian clergyman residing in Manchester. Her maiden name was Stevenson. Her first novel, "Mary Barton," published in 1848, is a striking picture of the daily life of a large manufacturing town, the materials for which were furnished by her close observation of the social character and condition of the working classes in Manchester. The pathetic power of many of the scenes delineated, the broadly drawn characters, and the literary merit of the book gave it not a little popularity, and Mrs. Gaskell at once took a position among the first writers of fiction of the day. She next became a contributor to "Household Words," one of her longer tales for which, "North and South," was reprinted in 1855, having been preceded by the "Moorland Cottage" (1850), a Christmas story, and by "Ruth" (1853), a tale of considerable power, and, like all her works, founded on her observation of the habits and privations of the poor. Her more recent fictions are the series of papers entitled "Cranford" and "Lizzie Leigh" republished from her contributions to "Household Words." Shortly after the death of her friend Charlotte Bronte, she contributed a memoir of her to the London "Daily News," and in 1857 appeared her "Life of Charlotte Brontë" (2 vols. 8vo.). Her last work is entitled "Round the Sofa" (2 vols. 8vo., 1859). GASPARIN, AGÉNOR ÉTIENNE, count, a French publicist, born in Orange, July 4, 1810. He was private secretary to M. Guizot, minister of public instruction, and was afterward employed at the ministry of the interior, and in the department of trade and agriculture. From 1842 to 1848 he was a member of the chamber of deputies. A zealous Protestant, he vindicated the rights of his brethren, and claimed unlimited freedom for evangelical preaching and colportage. He also insisted upon the immediate emancipation of slaves and the suppression of prostitution. On the revolution of February he retired to Switzerland. He has published essays on various questions of philosophy or political economy, such as Esclavage et traite (1888); De l'affranchissement des esclaves (1839); Intérêts généraux du Protestantisme Français (1843). His work Des tables tournantes, du surnaturel en général, et des esprits (2 vols.) has been translated and published in the United States. GASPÉ, an extreme E. co. of Canada East, bordering on the river and gulf of St. Lawrence; area, 4,063 sq. m.; pop. in 1851, 10,904. It constitutes with Bonaventure co. the district of Gaspé. It has a mountainous surface, diversified by many fertile valleys, and traversed by St. Anne, Dartmouth, and other rivers. The inhabitants are engaged chiefly in the lumber trade, and the whale, cod, salmon, mackerel, aud herring fisheries. The settlements are confined almost wholly to the coasts, which are lined with excellent harbors.-GASPÉ, or GASPÉ BASIN, a village and port of entry of the above county, occupying a wide area in the united townships of York and Gaspé Bay South, on the S. side of a harbor formed by Gaspé bay, 496 m. N. E. of Quebec; pop. about 550. It is the seat of an important cod fishery, and has several whaling vessels. In 1851 it contained 1 saw mill, 8 grist mills, and 3 churches. The value of imports amounted to $53,352, and the exports to $141,740. GASSENDI, or GASSEND, PIERRE, a French philosopher, called by Gibbon the most learned of the philosophers and the most philosophic of the learned men of his age, born in Champtercier, a village near Digne, in Provence, Jan. 22, 1592, died in Paris, Oct. 24, 1655. Of an obscure rustic family, his childhood was distin"guished by purity and gentleness of character and by astonishing precocity. It is stated that |