ABSTRACT
The lighthouses of the South Foreland, which were established in 1634, displayed coal fires until 1790, and the lighthouses in the Isle of Man were first illuminated with oil only in 1816. Down to the beginning of the present century, therefore, the modern lighthouses showed no improvement on the ancient plan. In the improved means of obtaining artificial light, and in the admirable optical apparatus by which that light is utilized, the people find the vast superiority of modern lighthouses. Coal-gas has been applied to the illumination of lighthouses, and as it gives a light of great brilliancy and steadiness, when consumed in proper burners, it has certain advantages over oil lamps, which have caused it to be employed in situations where a supply can be readily obtained. There are two means of gathering up all the otherwise useless beams, and sending them in such a direction as to reach the eye of the distant mariner.
