the
usual charge of the gas companies.

Gas has never fully supplanted kerosene, even where it is readily
obtained. Why this is true we need not pause to discuss; perhaps a
fairly well-founded suspicion of the meter has had something to do with
it. But certainly no one building a house in these days would fail to
pipe it for gas if the supply were at hand, even if it were to be used
only for kitchen fuel. Gas has its virtues as an illuminant also, and
is favored by many on account of the softness of the light.

But while gas is preferable to kerosene, electricity is with equal
certainty preferable to gas. It is more adaptable, is in many places
quite as reasonable in cost, and is cleaner and safer. In numerous
country communities where gas is not to be had electricity is
available, as frequently a large region embracing several towns is
supplied from a single generating plant.

Gas is subject to fluctuations in quality, sometimes becoming quite
dangerous in its effect upon the atmosphere. Water gas, which is very
generally manufactured, is said to carry four or five times as much
carbon monoxide per unit of bulk as retort gas. It has for the
hemoglobin of the blood four hundred times the affinity of oxygen, and
a proportion of only two tenths of one per cent may produce heart
derangement. While we are wondering that we are alive in the face of
such dreadful facts, we may note further that gas is rather variable in
its qualities as an illuminant. We have mentioned the suspicious gas
meter, whose vagaries doubtless have caused more virtuous indignation
with less impression upon its object than anything ever devised. An
open flame is always a menace; and then there is the burnt match. Most
housekeepers, I am sure, would testify to their belief that matches
were not made in heaven. Is there anything that so persistently defies
the effort for tidiness as the charred remains of a match, invariably
ignited elsewhere than on the sandpaper conspicuously provided, and
more likely to be tossed upon the floor or laid upon the mahogany table
than to find its way into the receptacles that yearn for it?

For cooking, however, gas must still be a main dependence, and for this
reason, as well as to provide for remote emergencies, the house should
be piped for gas. At least it should be brought into the house, even
if the piping is not continued farther than the kitchen.

ELECTRIC LIGHT

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