he year 1807 that "chemical matches" were introduced
to the public for the first time. These chemical matches were simply
sulphur matches tipped with a mixture of chlorate of potash and sugar.
These matches were fired by dipping them in a bottle containing asbestos
moistened with sulphuric acid. Here is one of these "chemical matches,"
and here the bottle of asbestos and sulphuric acid. I dip the match into
the bottle and, as you see, it catches fire.

[Illustration: Fig. 8.]

In the year 1820, Dobereiner, a very learned man, discovered a method of
getting fire by permitting a jet of hydrogen to play upon
finely-divided platinum. The platinum, owing to a property it possesses
in a high degree (which property however is not special to platinum),
has the power of coercing the union of the hydrogen and oxygen. Here is
one of Dobereiner's original lamps (Fig. 8). I am going to show you the
experiment, however, on a somewhat larger scale than this lamp permits.
Here I have a quantity of fine platinum-wire, made up in the form of a
rosette. I place this over the coal-gas as it issues from the
gas-burner, and, as you see, the platinum begins to glow, until at last
it becomes sufficiently hot to fire the gas (Fig. 9).

[Illustration: Fig. 9.]

In the year 1826 what were called "lucifers" were invented, and I show
you here some of the original "lucifers." They are simply sulphur
matches tipped with a mixture of chlorate of potash and sulphide of
antimony, and were ignited by drawing them briskly through a little
piece of folded glass-paper.

In the year 1828, "Prometheans" were invented. I have here two of the
original "Prometheans." They consist (as you see) of a small quantity of
chlorate of potash and sugar rolled up tightly in a piece of paper.
Inside the paper roll is placed a small and sealed glass bubble
containing sulphuric acid. When it was wanted to light a "Promethean"
you had only to break the bulb of sulphuric acid, the action of which
set fire to the mixture of chlorate of potash and sugar, which ignited
the paper roll.

In the year 1830 "matches" with sulphur tips were introduced as a means
of obtaining fire. They were fired, so far as I can make out, by dipping
them into a bottle containing a little phosphorus, which then had to be
ignited by friction.

So far as I know, I have now given you very shortly the history of
obtaining fire between the years 1669 and 1830. You see how brisk
ingenuity had be