Note 1 — SECTION IV.
Reading edition
A question has been raised concerning the safety of Perkins' apparatus, not merely as relates to the danger of explosion, but also respecting that of high temperature; and it has been asserted that the water may be so highly heated in the tubes as to endanger the charring and even inflammation of paper, wood, and other substances in their contact or vicinity: such no doubt might be the case in an apparatus expressly intended for such purposes, but in the apparatus as constructed by Perkins, with adequate dampers and safety valves, and used with common care, no such result can ensue. Paper bound round an iron tube is not affected till the temperature exceeds 400°; from 420° to 444° it becomes brown or slightly singed; sulphur does not inflame below 540°.