. >. — . 1
100
The French, or Fontainebleau sand, now used in glass-making very extensively, is—
Silica . . . . . . . . . - 988
Alumina, and trace of iron . . . . . © 07
Moisture . € . e . + . . + 0-5
100 4
SAND-BLAST. Under the head of Encravine on Giass,a description is given
of Mr. Tilghman’s process of abrading the surface of glass or stone by the action of a
jet of sand driven at considerable velocity. The construction of the apparatus only
will be dealt with in this place. The machine employed to direct the sand on to the
1755
object to be operated upon
resembles a Gifford’s injec-
tor. Thearrangement will
be understood by examin-
ing fig.1754. ais the sand-
box, and } a box contain-
ing compressed air, which
passes through the tube ¢,
with force proportional to
the pressure exerted on the
air in the box; opposite to
this jet of air and sand is
placed the plate of glass to
be operated on. The grains of sand being drawn by suction into the air, or steam, .
if the latter is employed, and then projected forward with a velocity proportioned to
the pressure, the sand does its work and passes off into the settling kano e, from
which it is again lifted by the sand-elevator to be returned into the box a. For
cutting stone, the sand is introduced into a central iron tube, about pth-inch bore
(fig. 1755), and the steam issues through an annular passage surrounding the sand-
tube. A tube of chilled cast iron, 6 inches long, and {4ths-inch bore, is fixed as a
prolongation of the steam passage, and serves as a tube in which the steam mixes
with the sand, and imparts velocity to the latter. The central sand-tube is con-
nected by means of a flexible tube and funnel, with a box containing sand,
and the outer annular tube is connected by another flexible tube with a steam-boiler, -
SANTALIN 751
SANDAL, SANTAL, ocr RED SANDERS WOOD (Sanial, Fr.; Sandel-
holz, Ger.), is the wood of the Pterocarpus santalinus, a tree which grows in Ceylon
and on the coast of Coromandel. The old wood is preferred by dyers. Its colouring-
matter is of a resinous nature, and is therefore quite soluble in alcohol, essential oils,
and alkaline lyes ; but sparingly in boiling water, and hardly, if at all, in cold water.
The colouring-matter which is obtained by evaporating the alcoholic infusion to dry-
ness, hag been called santalin. See SANTALIN.
Sandal-wood is used in India, along with one-tenth of sapan wood (the Cesalpinia
sapan of Japan, Java, Siam, Celebes, and the Philippine Isles), principally for dyeing
silk and cotton. Trommsdorf dyed wool, cotton, and linen a carmine hue by dipping
them alternately in an alkaline solution of the sandal-wood, and in an acidulous
bath. Bancroft obtained a fast and brilliant reddish-yellow, by preparing wool with
an alum-and-tartar bath, and then passing it through a boiling bath of sandal-wood
and sumach,
According to Togler, wool, silk, cotton, and linen mordanted with a salt of tin,
and dipped in a cold aleoholic tincture of the wood, became of a superb ponceau-red
colour. With alum they took a scarlet-red; with sulphate of iron a deep violet or
brown-red. Unfortunately, those dyes do not resist the influence of light,
SANDERS WOOD. See Sanpat Woop.
SANDARACH, or Juniper-Resin, is a peculiar resinous substance, the pro-
duct of the Thuya articulata, a small tree of the coniferous family, which grows
in the northern parts of Africa, especially round Mount Atlas. It is imported from
Mogadore.
The resin comes to us in pale yellow, transparent, brittle, small tears, of a spherical
or cylindrical shape. It has a faint aromatic smell, does not soften, but breaks between
the teeth, fuses readily with heat, and has a specific gravity of from 1:05 to 109. It
contains three different resins: one soluble in spirits of wine, somewhat resembling
pinic acid (see TurPenTINE); one not soluble in that menstruum; and a third,
soluble only in alcohol of 90 per cent. It is used as pounce-powder for strewing
over paper erasures, as incense, and in varnishes. The Pterocarpus Draco is another
species of the genus: from this the Dragon’s blood was~-formerly obtained. The
wood . being wounded, a resinous juice of a red colour flows eut, whicheconcretes
on exposure to the air. But little of this resin is now found in commerce, the
reed Calamus Draco producing all that is imported. Gum Kino is obtained from
Pterocarpus erinaceus, . >
Sandarach is softer and less brilliant than shellac, but much lighter in colour;
it is therefore used for making a pale varnish for light-coloured woods, See
VARNISHES.
. SANDIVER. The saline scum formed on glass-pots, known also as Glass gall.
The name is a corruption of the French ‘ Saint de verre.
SANDSTONE. A building-stone simply formed by the cohesion of sandy par-
ticles. The most durable sandstones are such as are formed of siliceous particles
cemented together by silica.
SANITARY ECONOMY. This term is used to express and to include every-
thing which is done or can be done to the preservation of health. This includes the
supply of a large quantity of pure air, the maintenance of the waters of wells and
rivers in as uncontaminated a state as possible, and the removal from amongst the
living of all decomposable or dead matter as speedily as possible.
SANTALIN. The chemistry of this product is by no means quite complete,
Pelletier was the first who discovered and isolated santalin. Meier prepares it by
treating the wood with ether ; the concentrated solution yields the substance in a erys-
talline yet impure state. The crystals are first washed with water, and next re-dis-
solved in alcohol; the alcoholic solution is precipitated by acetate of lead, and the
ensuing precipitate washed with boiling alcohol, and next decomposed by means of
sulphuric acid in the presence of alcohol. After removing the sulphate of lead, the
-previously-concentrated alcoholic solution deposits santalin in the shape of small
erystals of a beautiful red colour, fusing at 104°. Dr. Dussance’s plan of preparing
santalin is by precipitating the alcoholic extract of the wood by means of hydrated
oxide of lead. After washing, the precipitate is dissolved in acetic acid, and to this
solution a large quantity of cold water is added, which indeed precipitates the colouring-
matter, but in a rather impure state, since the edge thus obtained does not yield good
results, '
Santal-wood contains on an average about 16 per cent. of santalic acid. Accordin
to Wegermann and Haeffely, the composition of santalin is CHO" (C*a'9'),
Dr. Bolley considers that santal-wood contains two different colouring-matters, one
of which is richer in oxygen, but poorer in hydrogen; this is the material occurring
in the old dark-coloured wood, The other is found in the younger and paler variety.
752 SAPPHIRE
According to the researches of Meier and Kimmer, santalin is accompanied by divers
red and brown coloured-matters, more soluble in water than santalin itself, and the
products of its oxidation. This assertion is certainly substantiated by the fact, that
the young twigs of the Pterocarpus santalinus are internally yellow-coloured, and only
become red by the action of the air. }
Santalin exhibits the following properties: it is a beautiful red crystalline powder,
almost insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, ether, and acetic acid; the colouring-
matter is very readily withdrawn from the acetic acid solution by albuminous sub-
stances, which retain it energetically; alkalis dissolve santalin, yielding deep violet-
red solutions, from which it is thrown down unaltered by acids. Santalin fuses at 104°,
(See Crookes’s ‘ Practical Handbook of Dyeing.’) :
SAPAN-WOOD, or Last Indian Dye Wood, or Buckum-Wood, is a species of the
genus Cesalpinia, to which Brazil-wood belongs. It is so called by the French, be-
cause it comes to them from Japan, which they corruptly pronounce Sapan. It is
imported in pieces like the Brazil-wood, to which it is far inferior for dyeing. The
decoction is used in calico-printing for red colours. In general, span wood is too
unsound to be employed for turning. See Brazit-Woon.
SAP GREEN. The juice of the berries of the Rhamus catharticus, or common
buckthorn,
SAPPHIRE. The Sapphire, Ruby, Oriental Amethyst, Oriental Emerald, and
Oriental Topaz, are gems next in value and hardness to diamond; and they all con-
sist of nearly pure alumina, with a minute proportion of iron as the ecolouring-
matter. The following analyses show the affinity in composition of the most precious
bodies with others in little relative estimation :—~
Sapphire Corundum-stone Emery |
Aluming . . . 98°5 89°50 86°0 4
Silica , i ese ne 0°0 5°50 3°0 7
Oxide of iron ’ . 10 1°25 4:0
Lime ...6:!4)\a! ae 2c 0°5 0°00 00
100°0 - 96°25 93°0
Salamstone is a variety which consists of small transparent crystals, generally six-
sided prisms, of pale reddish and bluish colours. The corundum of Battagammana
is frequently found in large six-sided prisms: it is commonly of a brown colour,
whence it is called by the natives Curundu gallé, cinnamon-stone. The hair-brown and
reddish-brown crystals are called udamantine spar.
Sapphire and salamstone are chiefly met with in secondary repositories, as in the
sand of rivers, &c., accompanied by crystals and grains of magnetic iron ore and
of several species of gems.
The finest varieties of sapphire come from Pegu, where they occur in the Capelan
mountains near Syrian. Some have been found also at Hohenstein in Saxony, Bilin
in Bohemia, Puy in France, and in several other countries. The red variety, the
ruby, is most highly valued. Its colour is between a bright scarlet and crimson. A
perfect ruby above 3}-carats is more valuable than a diamond of the same weight. If
it weigh 1 carat, it is worth 10 guineas; 2 carats, 40 guineas; 3 carats, 150 guineas;
6 carats, above 1,000 guineas. A deep-coloured ruby, exceeding 20 carats in weight,
is generally called a carbuncle; of which 108 were said to be in the throne of the
Great Mogul, weighing from 100 to 200 carats each; but this statement is probably
incorrect. The largest oriental ruby known to be in the world was brought from
China to Prince Gargarin, governor of Siberia. It came afterwards into the pos-
session of Prince Menzikoff, and constitutes now a jewel in the imperial crown of
Russia. See Rusy.
A good blue sapphire of 10 carats is valued at 50 guineas. If it weighs 20 carats,
its value is 200 guineas ; but under 10 carats, the price may be estimated by multiply-
ing the square of its weight in carats into half a guinea; thus, one of four carats
would be worth 4? x }G,=8 guineas. It has been said that the blue sapphire is supe-
rior in hardness to the red, but this is probably a mistake arising from confounding
the corundum-ruby with the spinelle-ruby. A sapphire of a barbel-blue colour, weigh-
ing 6 carats, was disposed of in Paris by public sale, for 70/. sterling; and another
of an indigo-blue, weighing 6 carats and 3 grains, brought 60/.; both of which sums
much exceed what the preceding rule assigns, from which we may perceive how far
fancy may go in such matters. The ‘sapphire’ of Brazil is merely a blue tourmaline,
SATIN-WOOD 753
as its specifie gravity and inferior hardness show, White sapphires are some-
times so pure, that when properly cut and polished they haye been passed for
diamonds,
The yellow and green sapphires are much prized under the names of oriental topaz
and emerald. The specimens which exhibit all these colours associated in one stone
are highly valued, as they prove the mineralogical identity of these varieties.
Besides these shades of colour, sapphires often emit a beautiful play of colours, or
chatoiement, when held in different positions relative to the eye or incident light; and
some likewise present star-like radiations, whence they are called star-stones or
asterias ; sending forth 6 or even 12 rays, that change their place with the position of
the stone. This property, so remarkable in certain blue sapphires, is not however
peculiar to these gems. It seems to belong to transparent minerals which belong
to the rhombohedral system, and arises from the combination of certain conditions
in their cutting and structure. Lapidaries often expose the light-blue variety of
sapphire to the action of fire, in order to render it white and more brilliant; but with
’ regard to those found at Expailly in France, fire deepens their colour.
SARD. A variety of chalcedony of a dark reddish-brown colour, almost ap-
proaching to black by reflected light, and very deep red, inclining to blood-red, by
transmitted light. It is found under the same conditions as carnelian, but is rarer
and more highly esteemed, and therefore fetches a higher price. The name is
derived either from sarx (Gr. odpé, ‘flesh’), in allusion to its colour, or from Sardis in
Lydia, whence it is said to have been first brought. It should be remarked, however,
that the sard presents, in its interior and in the middle of its ground, concentric
zones, or small nebulosities, which are not to be seen in the red carnelian, properly so
called. The ancients certainly knew our sard, since they have left us a great many
of them engraved, but they seem to have associated under the title Sarda both the
sardoine of the French and our carnelians and chaleedonies. Pliny says that the
sarda came from the neighbourhood of a city of that name in Lydia, and from the
environs of Babylon. Among the engraved sards which exist in the collection of
antiques in the Bibliothéque Royale of Paris, there is an Apollo remarkable for iis
fine colour and great size. When the stone forms a part of the agate-onyx, it is
called sardonyx.
SARDINE (Atherina ; Gr. d0qp, ‘a spine’). A genus of fishes, belonging to the
order Acanthopterygii. They form a very extensive fishery in the Mediterraenan,
They are salted and preserved in oil, and are sent in large quantities to this country.
Recently (1874) an establishment has been founded at Mevagissey in Cornwall for
preserving the small pilchards in the same way as the sardines of the Mediterranean
are prepared. It is thought by some that the sardine and the young pilchard are
identical, but the sardine is of the genus Atherina, whereas the pilchard belongs to
the Clupeide.
SARDONYX. A variety of onyx, composed of alternate layers of sard and white
chalcedony. It much resembles agate, but the colours, usually a light clear brown and
an opaque white, are arranged in flat horizontal planes. Amidst the chalcedonic series
are various stones having the same general character, of mixtures of true quartz,
with opal disseminated.—H. W. B.
SATIN (Eng., Fr. and Ger.) is the name of a silk stuff, first imported from
China, which is distinguishable by its very smooth, polished, and glossy surface. It is
woven upon a loom with at least five-leaved healds or heddles, and as many corre-
sponding treddles. These are so mounted as to rise and fall four at a time, raising and
depressing alternately four yarns of the warp, across- the whole of which the weft is
thrown by the shuttle, so as to produce a uniform smooth texture, instead of the
chequered work resulting from intermediate decussations, as in common webs. Satins
are woven with the glossy or right side undermost, because the four-fifths of the
warp, which are always left there during the action of the healds, serve to support
the shuttle in its race. Were they woven in the reverse way, the scanty fifth part of
the warp-threads could either not support, or would be too much worn by the shuttle.
See Textirz Fasrics.
SATINET. A mixed fabric, woven to imitate satin.
SATIN SPAR. A fibrous variety of gypsum (sulphate of lime); when
polished, used for ornamental purposes. It is sometimes a fibrous carbonate of lime.
SATIN-W0OOD. A veneering wood of great beauty, the product of the Chlo-
voxylon Swietenia of India. The light colour and lustrous polish of the wood, com-
bined with the pleasing ‘figure’ it exhibits, renders it a favourite wood for drawing-
room furniture. It is a native of Ceylon, and is found in the northern and southern
—but chiefly in the eastern—districts, Above all things, it requires the most careful
seasoning, for it is liable to warp and split; and once let such a misfortune happen to
boards destined—say for wardrobe-panels—and the pecuniary loss is very great, Care
Vor. ITI. 3c
754 SCARLET DYE
being taken to exclude the rays of the sun, or violent alterations of heat and cold,
there is little doubt of well-selected wood being seasoned successfully.
Flower satin-wood is generally obtained from the roots, and has been found of a size
to yield planks 15 inches broad. Unfortunately, this is an exceptional dimension ; it
is not often seen in this country, for the cultivator’s axe is destroying the finest satin-
wood to be met with, that near the foot of the Anamallai Hills. In the Bombay
Presidency it seldom reaches beyond the size of a small tree, which, when straight,
would afford a log 3 by 8 inches square. The wood is very close-grained, hard, and
durable, and of a light-orange colour, so light in fact, that the word ‘orange’ can
hardly fairly be applied. Indeed, it is sometimes erroneously called ‘ yellow-wood,’
which is another timber altogether, larger and straighter than: box-wood, but not so
close grained.
Satin-wood takes a fine polish, and is suited for all kinds of ornamental purposes ;
but it is rather apt to split. For picture-frames it is nearly equal to American maple.
The timber bears submersion well, and in some instances it is beautifully feathered,
and the flowered or feathered satin-wood, when first polished is one of the most beau-
tiful woods,
SATURATION is the term employed to express the condition of a body which
has taken its full dose or chemical proportion of any other substance with which it can
combine; as water with a salt, or an acid with an alkali.
SATURN, EXTRACT OF. The old name of the acetate of lead.
SAW. Saws are formed from plates of sheet-steel, and are toothed, not by hand,
but by means of a press and tools. Circular saws have the advantage of being divided
in their teeth very accurately by means of a division-plate; this prevents irregularity
of size, and imparts smoothness and uniformity of action. The larger sizes of circular
saws are made in segments and connected together by means of dove-tails. All saws
are hardened and tempered in oil; their irregularities are removed by nammering on
blocks, and they are equalised by grinding. The several forms of teeth do not, as the
casual observer may imagine, depend upon taste, but are those best fitted for cutting
through the particular section, quality, or hardness of the material to be cut. The
‘set’ of the saw consists in inclining the teeth at the particular angle known to be the
best to facilitate the exit of the saw-dust, and thereby allow the saw to operate more
freely. Iron bars, shaftings, &c., are cut to length by a steel cireular saw, in its soft
state, the iron to be cut being presented to the saw red-hot; the saw rotates at a pro-
digious rate, and is kept in eutting condition, or cool, by its lower edge being immersed
in water,
SAXIFRAGINE. See Exprostve AGEnts.
SAXON BLUE. A solution of indigo in oil of vitriol, See Brus Piements.
SCAGLIA. The red limestone of the Alps. See Liuwestonr.
_ SCAGLIOLA is merely ornamental plaster-work, produced by applying a pap
made of finely-ground calcined gypsum, mixed with a weak solution of Flanders glue,
upon any figure formed of laths nailed together, or occasionally upon brickwork, and
bestudding its surface, while soft, with splinters (scagliole) of spar, marble, granite,
bits of concrete-coloured gypsum, or veins of clay, in a semi-finid state. The sub-
stances employed to colour the spots and patches are the several ochres, boles, terra
di Sienna, chrome-yellow, &e. The surface, if it be that of a column, is turned smooth
upon a lathe, polished with stones of different fineness, and finished with some plaster-
pap, to give it lustre. Pilasters and other flat surfaces are smoothed by a carpenter's
plane, with the chisel finely serrated, and afterwards polished with plaster by friction,
The glue is the cause of the gloss, but makes the surface apt to be injured by moisture,
or even damp air. See Stone, Arrrricrat.
SCARLET DYE. (Teinture en écarlate, Fr.; Scharlachfirberei, Ger.) Scarlet
is usually given at two successive operations. The boilers (see Dyzrnc) are made of
block tin, but their bottoms are formed occasionally of copper.
1. The bouillon- or the colowring-bath.—For 100 pounds of cloth, put into the water,
when it is little more than lukewarm, 6 pounds of argal, and stir it well. When the
water becomes too hot for the hand, throw into it with agitation, 1 pound of cochineal
in’ fine powder. An instant afterwards, pour in 5 pounds of the clear mordant (see
Morpant), stir the whole thoroughly as soon as the bath begins to boil, introduce the
cloth, and wince it briskly for two or three rotations, and then more slowly. At the
end of a two-hours’ boil, the cloth is to be taken out, allowed to become perfeetly cool,
and well washed at the river, or winced in a current of pure water,
2. The rougie, or finishing dye—The bouillon-bath is emptied and replaced with
water for the rougie. When it is on the point of boiling, 5} pounds of cochineal in
fine powder are to be thrown in, and mixed with care; when the crust, which forms
upon the surface, opens of itself in several places, 14 pounds of solution of tin
(muriate of tin) are to be added. Should the liquor be likely to boil over the edges of
SCHWEINFURTH GREEN 755
the kettle, a little cold water is to be added. When the bath has become uniform, the
cloth is to be put in, taking care to wince it briskly for two or three turns; then to
boil it bodily for an hour, thrusting it under the liquor with a rod whenever it rises to
the surface. It is lastly taken out, aired, washed at the river, and dried.
Below will be found the tables of the composition of the bowillon and the rougie,
M. Lenormand stated that he had made experiments of verification upon all the
formule of the following tables, and declared his conviction that the finest tint might
be obtained by taking the bowillon of Scheffer and the rougie No. 4 of Poérner.
Tables of the Composition of the Bouillon and Rougie for 100 pounds of Cloth or Wool.
Composition of the Bouillon,
Names of the authors Starch Freee, of Cochineal eee Some
lbs ozs. | lbs. ozs. | lbs. ozs. | lbs. ozs. | lbs. ozs,
Berthollet’ 3 fs 0 0 6 0 | 8 0 5 0 0 0
Hellot . ; 2 0 0 12) i608 18%. 16 12 8 0 0
Scheffer 9 0 9 6 12 4 9 6 0 0
Poérner 0 0 10 #16 0 0 10 16 0 0
Composition of the Rougie.
Names of the authors Starch pe : Cochineal en om
Ibs, ozs. | lbs. ozs, | lbs. ozs. | Ibs. ozs. | lbs. ozs.
Berthollet 1 AO 0 0 0 5 8 14 0 0 0
Hellot R i 3 2 0 0 7 4 12 8 0 0
Scheffer . 7 op ie 2 3 2 5 Ts | 2) ST 0 0
6 1 8 6 Be 6 4 0 0
Poérner. . : 0 0 0 0 6 4 12 8 0 0
0 0 1 8 6 4 6 4 12 8
M. Robiquet has given the following prescription for making a printing scarlet, for
well-whitened woollen cloth :—Boil a pound of pulverised cochineal in 4 pints of
water down to 2 pints, and pass the decoction through a sieve. Repeat the boiling
three times upon the residuum, mix the 8 pints of decoction, thicken them properly
with 2 pounds of starch, and boil into a paste. Let it cool down to 104° Fahr., then
add 4 ounces of the solution of tin and 2 ounces of ordinary muriate of tin. When
a ponceau red is wanted, 2 ounces of pounded tumeric should be added.
A solution of chlorate of potash is said to beautify scarlet cloth in a remarkable
manner. For several fine scarlet dyes, see ‘ Practical Handbook of Dyeing,’ by Wm.
Crookes, F.R.S. See Lac Dyn; Antine; Murexipn,
SCHEELE’S GREEN is a pulverulent arsenite of copper, which may be prepared
as follows:—Form, first, an arsenite of potash, by adding gradually 11 ounces of
arsenious acid to 2 pounds of carbonate of potash, dissolved in 10 pounds of boiling
water; next, dissolve 2 pounds of crystallised sulphate of copper in 30 pounds of
water ; filter each solution, then pour the first progressively into the second, as long as
it produces a rich grass-green precipitate. This being thrown upon a filter-cloth, and
edulcorated with warm water, will afford 1 pound 6 ounces of this beautiful pigment.
It consists of, oxide of copper, 28°51, and of arsenious acid, 71°46. This green is
applied by an analogous double decomposition to cloth. See Catico-Printine.
Much diseussion has arisen relative to the use of this salt in paper-hangings, it having
been supposed by many persons to have produced ill effects on those exposed to the
atmosphere of such rooms,
SCHMELZE. A kind of glass prepared in Bohemia, chiefly for the purpose of
receiving the red colour imparted by the oxide of gold. See Grass,
SCHWEINFURTH GREEN is a more beautiful and velvety pigment than the
Scheele’s green. It was discovered in 1814, by MM. Rusz and Sattler, at Schwein-
furth, and remained for many years a profitable secret in their hands, M. Licbig having
made its composition known in 1822, it has since been prepared in a great many
colour-works. Braconnot published, about the same time, another process for manu-
3802
756 SCOURING
facturing the same pigment. Its preparation is very simple, but its formation is
accompanied with some interesting circumstances. On mixing equal parts of acetate
of copper and arsenious acid, each in a boiling concentrated solution, a bulky olive-
green precipitate is immediately produced ; while much acetic acid is set free. The
powder thus obtained appears to be a compound of arsenious acid and oxide of copper,
in a peculiar state; since when decomposed by sulphuric acid, no acetic odour is
exhaled. Its colour is not changed by drying, by exposure to air, or by being heated
in water. But, if it be boiled in the acidulons liquor from which it was precipitated,
it soon changes its colour, as well as its state of aggregation, and forms a new deposit
in the form of a dense granular beautiful green powder. As fine a colour is P uced
by ebullition during five or six minutes as is obtained at the end of several hours by
mixing the two boiling solutions, and allowing the whole to cool together. In the
latter case, the precipitate, which is slight and flocky at first, becomes denser by
degrees ; it next betrays green spots, which progressively increase, till the mass grows
altogether of a crystalline constitution, and of a still more beautiful tint than if formed
by ebullition.
When cold water is added to the mixed solutions immediately after the precipitate
takes place, the development of the colour is retarded, with the effect Of making it
much finer. The best mode of procedure is to add to the blended solutions their
own bulk of cold water, and to fill a globe up to the neck with the mixture, in order
to prevent the formation on any such pellicle on the surface as might, by falling to the
bottom, excite premature crystallisation. Thus the reaction continues during two or
three days with the happiest effect.
SCOURING. This art is that which is employed for removing grease spots, &c.,
from cloths and furniture, which require skill beyond that of the laundry. It is
divided into two distinct branches, viz, French and English cleaning. We will first
give an outline of English cleaning.
Gentlemen’s clothes, such as trowsers, coats, &c., are treated in the following
manner. They are stretched on a board, and the spots of grease, &c., first taken out
by rubbing the spots well witha brush and cold strong soap-liquor; they are then done
all over with the same, but the grease spots are done first, because they require more
rubbing, of course, than the other parts, and when all the substance is wet the spots
will not be so easily distinguished. After treatment with the strong soap-liquor, the
soap is worked by a weaker soap-liquor; the articles are then well washed off with
warm water, and treated with ammonia (if black), solution of common salt, or dilute
acid, according to circumstances. They are then drained, beaten out with a little size,
pressed and dried.
Ladies’ articles of dress, as shawls and woollen dresses.—The spots are first removed
by rubbing them on the board with. very strong soap-liquor; they are then put into
a strong soap-liquor, and well worked about in it; then taken out and treated with
a weaker soap-liquor, to work out the soap, &c.; rinsed with warm and cold water
alternately ; treated with solution of common salt or very weak acid, to maintain the
colours. They are starched, if necessary, and ironed. Woollen dresses that are taken
to pieces are calendered instead of ironing.
Silk dresses, §¢c., are always taken to pieces, and each piece done separately, and
as quickly as possible. If there are any spots of grease, they-are taken out first, as
above mentioned. Each piece, after the spots are removed, is immediately placed in
a strong soap-liquor, and well worked about in it, and then into a thinner soap-liquor;
well washed out with cold water, and treated with solution of common salt, or very
weak acid, or both, as required; each piece is then neatly folded and wrung separately,
again folded smoothly and placed in dry sheets, and pressed, so as to remove all
dampness from them; they are then put into a frame, a little size or sugar-and-
water being used to stiffen and glaze; lastly, they are dried while on the frame by a
charcoal fire.
Furniture, as curtains, §c.—These things are put into a tub, with a strong cold
soap-liquor, and well punched about with a large wooden punch made on purpose; and
a great deal depends upon this being properly done. They are then treated in the
same manner in a weaker soap-liquor, well rinsed with water, treated with common
salt or weak acid, as required, wrung out, and dried. Woollen furniture will generally
require to be treated several times with the first strong soap-liquor, to remove the
dirt, but for cotton furniture once will be generally sufficient.
Carpets.—These are well beaten, then laid down on the floor of the dye-house, and
well scrubbed with strong cold soap-liquor, by means of a long-handled brush or
broom ; then treated with a weaker soap-liquor ; well rinsed with water, by throwing
pails of water over them, and still rubbing with the brush; treated with water, to
which a very small quantity of sulphuric acid has been added, to retain the colours:
rinsed again, hung up to drain, and then hung up in a warm room to dry.
SEAL, THE 757
A great point in this kind of cleaning is to use strong cold soap-liquors; and this
cannot be done with ordinary soaps, as they congeal when cold, and on this account
Field’s soap is the principal soap which is used, because it is made from oil, and does
not congeal. It is probaby made from the olein obtained in the manufacture of com-
posite candles. :
French cleaning is what is called dry cleaning. In this process the articles are put
into camphine and worked about in it, drained, sheeted, and dried. The camphine
dissolves the grease, &c., and does not injure the colours; but when things are very
dirty, it does not clean so effectually as the English method. It is, however, the only
process that can be employed in some cases, as in cleaning kid gloves.
SCREWS. The elementary idea of the form of the screw is obtained by regarding
it as a continuous circular wedge ; and it is readily modelled by wrapping a wedge-
formed piece of paper around a cylinder; the edge of the paper then represents the
line of the screw. Tho use of the screw is well known to all; and the system of
cutting a rod of iron or steel into:a screw scarcely requires any description. The
manipulatory details and the tools used in their manufacture are admirably and most
fully described in Holtzapffel’s ‘ Turning and Mechanical Manipulation.’
SEA-HOLLY. Eryngium maritimum. The sea-holly—sea eryngo or sea hulyer
—is found on the sea-shores of Britain, and on the European and African shores of
the Mediterranean Sea. The root was at one time much used medicinally. It is now
prepared as a sweetmeat, and is especially candied at Colchester in Essex.
The E. fatidum is used in Jamaica as a remedy for hysterical fits; and the L.
aquaticum, sometimes called ‘rattlesnake-weed,’ from the circumstance of the North
American Indians using it as an application to the bite of that serpent.
SEA-KALE. The Crambe maritima is a native of the English coast, and is”
found as far north as the Polar circle. The plant is blanched in spring, and the
etiolated leaves are used as a delicate vegetable.
SEAL, THE. A marine animal, belonging to the class Mammalia, order Carnivora,
and sub-order Pinnipedia. Although there are many species, only two genera, properly
speaking, belong to this group, the seal (Phoca) and the walrus or morse (Trichecus).
The seal is an amphibious creature; it sleeps, basks, and feeds its young on land, but
has never been seen to take its food excepting when in the water. Its limbs are very
short and covered with a skin, so as to resemble fins more than legs; the feet are
webbed, and have the power of considerable expansion, and serve as excellent oars
when the animal is in the water, but are of little service when on land, its terrestrial
progression being effected by a sort of shuffling, jumping, or creeping motion ; it uses
these fin-like legs in climbing on to rocks or ice out of the water. It is an excellent
swimmer, and, when in deep water, dives with remarkable rapidity, in an instant
reappearing at perhaps a distance of fifty yards ; this rapidity of motion gives it great
power over its prey, which can seldom escape, except by swimming into shoal water.
it feeds on almost any kind of fish, even shell-fish; but the salmon of the northern
seas seems to be its favourite food. It is a native of the northern seas generally, and
is found on the coasts of England and France, but is most plentiful around Green-
land and Newfoundland. Itis everything to the Greenlander ; it supplies his food,
light, and clothing, its flesh is his food, the liver being considered a dainty, and even
by English sailors an agreeable dish; the fat (of which there is a large quantity,
especially in the young about six weeks old) is consumed in his lamp; and the
skin, being dressed in a peculiar way that renders it waterproof, furnishes him
with almost all the other necessaries of life. When the skin is dressed without
the hair, the Esquimaux and Greenlanders use it instead of planks for their boats,
and as an outer covering for themselves, so that they are enabled to invert their
canoes and themselves in the water without getting their bodies wet. The skin of
the young is used as raiment for the women; and the skin of old animals to cover
the houses; the stomach is filled with air and used as a fishing buoy; while the
teeth furnish the heads of the hunting-spears. The skins of the Stemmatopus cristatus
and the Calocephalus hispidus are sent in great quantities to Great Britain, where
they are much used for hats, waistcoats, jackets, &c. The walrus or morse (T7'richecus
Rosmarius) has two large canine teeth or tusks in the upper jaw, which measure from
15 to 80 inches in length. Great numbers of these animals are annually destroyed
for the sake of their tusks, the ivory of which is highly esteemed. These animals do
not produce much fat, but the oil is of good quality; the skin is used for carriage-
traces, wheel-ropes, &c.
Mr. Frank Buckland writes as follows on the seal-fishery :—
‘ When engaged two years ago in examining the salmon-fisheries of Scotland, I had
the pleasure of meeting at Peterhead Captain David Gray, commanding officer of the
screw-steamer ‘ Eclipse,’ one of the principal vessels which sail annually from Scotland
in pursuit of whales and seals. These vessels leave Dundee and Peterhead about
758 SEAL ENGRAVING
March 1; they make: the ice about 72° or 73° north, in the neighbourhood of the
island of Jan Mayan, a volcanic mountain rising 2,000 feet above the level of the sea.
The young seals and mothers are found on the pack-ice near this island. There are
four species of seals—the harp or saddle-back, the bladder-nose or hooded, the ground
or bearded, and the floe or rat seal. The seals lie like flocks of sheep upon the ice,
but every year they are observedly getting less and less in number.
‘Captain Gray writes to me as follows in explanation of this: —
“On the seals being reached, the men are sent over the ice, the harpooners armed
with rifles, the other men with seal-clubs, knife, and steel, also a rope to drag the
skins to the ship. And now a work of brutal murder and cruelty goes on enough to
make the hardest-hearted turn away with loathing and disgust. The harpooner
chooses a place where a number of young seals are lying, knowing well that the
mothers will soon make their appearance to see if the young are safe, and are then
shot without merey, This sort of work goes on for a few days, until tens of thousands
of young seals are left motherless to die of starvation, not so much from the number
of old ones killed (although too many of them are slain at this season, 40,000 being
killed last year in Mareh) as from those wounded and scared away. In a short time
the old ones become shy and will not come near where the men are standing, but keep
at a respectful distance. It is horrible to see the young ones trying to suck the
careases of their mothers, their eyes starting out of their sockets, looking the very
picture of famine. They crawl over and over them until quite red with blood, poking
them with their noses, no doubt wondering why they are not getting their usual food,
uttering painful cries the while. The noise they make is something dreadful. If
one could imagine himself surrounded by four or five hundred thousand human babies
all crying at the pitch of their voices, he would have some idea of it. Their cry is
very like an infant’s. These motherless seals collect into lots of five or six, and crawl
about the ice, their heads fast becoming the biggest part of their bodies, searching to
find the nourishment they stand so much in want of. The females are very affection-
ate toward their young.”
‘The young seals are born about March 20, and are immediately slaughtered in
thousands. At this time they are worth about 1s. per skin, and contain little or no
oil. If they were not allowed to be killed before April 6, they would have time to
suck and grow, and they grow very fast; this terrible ‘‘ massacre of the innocents”
would be prevented, the intelligent and affectionate mother-seals would be spared the
agony of seeing their crying cubs slaughtered and skinned before their eyes—some-
times, as I hear, before they are quite dead—while each skin would then be worth 3s.
or 4s., and 100 seals would yield oil to the value of from 35/. to 407. All that is re-
quired is an international agreement or treaty among the sealing-vessels, which are
about 86 in number—20 from Scotland, 15 to 20 from Norway, and 2 from Germany
—that an annual close-time should be given to the seals, and that they should not be
killed before April 6, instead of March 20, in each year, as these seventeen days
would make all the difference between their future multiplication and the present
extermination which now threatens.’
SEAL ENGRAVING. The art of
engraving gems is one of extreme nicety.
The stone having received its desired form
from the lapidary, the engraver fixes it by
cement to the end of a wooden handle, and
hen draws the outline of his subject with
a brass needle or a diamond, upon its
smooth surface.
Fig. 1756 represents the whole of the
seal-engraver’s lathe. It consists of a
table on which is fixed the mill, a small
horizontal cylinder of steel, into one of
whose extremities the tool is inserted, and
which is made to revolve by the usual fly-
wheel, driven by atreddle. The tools that
may be fitted to the mill-cylinder are the
following :—Fig. 1757 a hollow cylinder,
for describing circles, and for boring ; Aig.
1758 a knobbed tool, or rod terminated by
a small ball; fig. 1759 a stem terminated
with a cutting-dise whose edge may be
either rounded, square, or sharp, being in
the last case called a saw.
Having fixed the tool best adapted to his style of work in the mill, the artist
SEALING WAX 759
applies to its eutting-point, or edge, some diamond-powder, mixed up with olive oil;
and turning the wheel, he holds the stone against the tool, so as to produce the
wished-for delineation and erosion. A
ito apparatus is used for engraving 1757 1758 1759
on glass. : hic
4 order to give the highest degree of “ss => ——
polish to the engraving, tools of box-wood,
pewter, or copper, bedaubed with moistened tripoli or rotten-stone, and lastly a
brush, are fastened to the mill. These are worked like the above steel instru-
ments. Modern engravings on precious stones have not in general the same fine
polish as the ancient.
Several varieties of machine have been of late years introduced to facilitate the
processes of engraving gems. Many of them involve the pentagraph, so that a seal
may be engraved by the machine at once, either larger or smaller than the original
from which it is copied. Most of these engraving machines are upon the principles
described under Carvine By Macutnery.
SEAL-OIL. See Oms.
SEAL*SKEIN. Sce Furs.
SEALING-WAX. (Cire & cacheter, Fr.; Siegellack, Ger.) The Hindoos from
time immemorial have possessed the resin lac, and were long accustomed to use it for
sealing manuscripts before it was known in Europe. It was first imported from the
East into Venice, and then into Spain; in which country sealing-wax became the
object of a considerable commerce, under the name of Spanish-wax.
If shellac be compounded into sealing-wax, immediately after it has been sepafated
* by fusion from the palest qualities of stick or seed lac, it then forms a better and less
brittle article than when the shellae is fused a second time. Hence sealing-wax,
rightly prepared in the East Indies, deserves a preference over what can be made in
other countries, where the lac is not indigenous. Shellac can be restored in some
degree, however, to a plastic and tenacious state by melting it with a very small portion
of turpentine. The palest shellac is to be selected for bright-coloured sealing-wax,
the dark kind being reserved for black.
The following proportions may be followed for making red sealing-wax:—Take 4
ounces of shellac, 1 ounce of Venice turpentine, and 3 ounces of vermilion. Melt
the lac in a copper pan suspended over a clear charcoal fire, then pour the turpentine
slowly into it, and soon afterwards add the vermilion, stirring briskly all the time of
the mixture with a rod in either hand. In forming the round sticks of sealing-wax, a
certain portion of the mass should be weighed while it is ductile, divided into the
desired number of pieces, and then rolled out upon a warm marble slab, by means of
a smooth wooden block, like that used by apothecaries for rolling a mass of pills.
The oval sticks of sealing-wax are cast in moulds, with the above compound in a state
of fusion. The marks of the lines of junction of the mould-box may be afterwards
remoyed by holding the sticks over a clear fire, or passing them over a blue gas-flame.
Marbled sealing-wax is made by mixing two, three; or more coloured kinds of it
while they are in a semi-fluid state. From the viscidity of the several masses, their
incorporation is left incomplete, so as to produce the appearance of marbling. Gold
sealing-wax is made simply by stirring gold-ecoloured mica spangles into the melted
resins. Wax may be scented by introducing a little essential oil, essence of musk,
or other perfume. If 1 part of balsam of Peru be melted along with 99 parts of the
sealing-wax composition, an agreeable fragrance will be exhaled in the act of sealing
with it. Either lamp-black or ivory-black serves for the colouring-matter of black
wax. Sealing-wax is often adulterated with rosin; in which case it runs into thin
drops at the flame of a candle.
The following proportions are stated to form good sealing-wax :—
Red No. 1.—4 oz, Venetian turpentine, 6 oz. shellac, 3 oz. colophony, 1} oz. cinna-
bar, &e.
Red No. 2.—4 oz. turpentine, 5} oz. shellac, 14 oz. eolophony, 1} oz. cinnabar,
magnesia to colour.
Fine Black.—4} oz. Venetian turpentine, 9 oz. shellac, } oz. colophony, lamp-black
mixed with oil of turpentine as much as is required.
Black.—4 oz. Venetian turpentine, 8 oz. shellac, 3 oz. colophony, lamp-black, and
oil of turpentine.
» Aad oz. Venetian turpentine, 4 oz. shellac, 1} oz. colophony, ? oz. king's
yellow.
Dark Brown.—4 oz, Venetian turpentine, 7} oz. shellac, 14 oz. brown English
earth (ochre).
Light Brown.—4 oz. Venctian turpentine, 74 oz. shellac, 1 oz. brown earth, } oz
cinnabar.
760 SEPIA
Dark Blue.—3 oz. Venetian turpentine, 7 oz. fine shellac, 1 oz. colophony, 1 oz.
mineral blue.
Green.—2 oz. Venetian turpentine, 4 oz. shellac, 1} oz. colophony, 4 oz. king’s
yellow, } oz. mountain blue.
Gold.—4 oz. Venetian turpentine, 8 oz. shellac, 14 sheets of genuine leaf-gold, } oz.
bronze, } oz. magnesia with oil of turpentine.
SEA-WATER. The following has been given as the average composition of
sea-water in 100 parts:—Chloride of sodium, 2°50; chloride of magnesium, 0°35;
a apres of magnesia, 0°58; carbonates of lime and of magnesia, 0°02; sulphate of
ime, 0°01.
Dr. John Davy informs us that carbonate of lime is chiefly found in sea-water
near the coast. Dr. George Wilson proved the existence of fluorine in the waters of
the German Ocean, and Foret Lammr obtained it from sea-water collected near
Copenhagen; Malaguti and Durdcher have detected silver in sea-salt, and Mr. Field
has shown that the copper sheathing of ships separates silver, in the process of time,
from the waters of the ocean.
Lead and copper and some other metals have also been detected in sea-water, and
in the ashes of some marine plants. These metals are said to exist in the sea-
water in the form of chlorides, and to have been probably derived from the native
sulphides of the metals by the action of the chlorine in the water.
SECRETAGE. A process in which mercury, or some of its salts, is employed to
impart to the fur of animals the property of felting, which they did not preyiously
possess, See Fur; Mercury.
SEEDS imported in 1874:—
Value
Clover and Grass . . - 266,025 ewts. 588,768/.
Cotton . « * ? . 190,549 tons 1,514,5617.
Flax and Linse z . - 1,682,875 qrs. 4,678,7501.
Rape ‘ ‘ 5 . « 289,781 ,, 686,719/.
SEGGAR. Seo Saccuer; Porrery.
SELENITE. Hydrated sulphate of lime. See Atapaster; Gypsum.
SELENIUM, from ceAjvn, seléné, ‘the moon,’ is a chemical element, discovered
by Berzelius in 1817. It occurs sparingly in combination with several metals, as
lead, cobalt, copper, and quicksilver, in the Hartz, at Tilkerode; with copper and
silver (Zukairite) in Sweden, with tellurium and bismuth in Norway, with tellurium
and gold in Transylvania, in several copper and iron pyrites, and with sulphur in
the voleanie products of the Lipari Islands. Selenium has been found likewise in a
red sediment which forms upon the bottoms of the lead-chambers in which oil of
vitriol has been made from a peculiar pyrites, or pyritous sulphur. The extraction
of selenium from that deposit is a very complex process.
Selenium, after being fused and slowly cooled, appears of a bluish-grey colour, with
a glistening surface; but it is a reddish-brown, and of metallic lustre when quickly
cooled. It is brittle, not very hard, and has little tendency to assume the crys-
talline state. Selenium is dark red in powder, and transparent, with a ruby cast,
in thin scales, Its specific gravity is 4°39. It softens at the temperature of 176°
Fahr., is. of a pasty consistency at 212°, becomes liquid at a somewhat higher
heat, forming in close vessels dark yellow vapours, which condense into black drops ;
but in the air the fumes have a cinnabar-red colour. The atomic weight of selenium
is 39°7, and its symbol Se. See Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry.’
SELTZER-WATER. See Sopa-Warsr, and Waters, MINERAL.
SEMOULE. The name given in France to denote the large hard grains of wheat-
flour retained in the bolting machine after the fine flour has been passed through its
meshes. The best semoule is obtained from the wheat of the southern parts of
Europe. With the semoule the fine white Parisian bread called gruaw is baked.
Skilful millers contrive to produce a great proportion of semoule from the large-
grained wheat of Naples and Odessa.
Granular preparations of wheat deprived of bran are known in this country as
Semolina, Soujee, and Manna-croup.
SENEGAL GuM. This gum is produced from the Acacia Senegal, a tree or
shrub found in Arabia and the interior of Africa, See Gum.
SEPIA is a pigment prepared from a black juice secreted by certain glands of the
cuttle-fish, which the animal ejects to darken the water when it is pursued. One part
of it is capable of making 1,000 parts of water nearly opaque. All the species of
this molluse sectete the same juice; but the Sepia officinalis, the 8. loligo, and
the S. twnicata, are chiefly sought after for making the pigment. ‘The first. which
occurs abundantly in the Mediterranean, affords most colour; the sac containing
Ps
a
SEWING MACHINES 761
it being extracted, the juice is to be dried as quickly as possible, because it runs
rapidly into putrefaction. Though insoluble in water, it is extremely diffusible
through it, and is very slowly deposited. Caustic alkalis dissolve the sepia, and turn
it brown; but in proportion as the alkali becomes carbonated by exposure to air, the
sepia falls to the bottom of the vessel. Chlorine blanches it slowly. It consists of
carbon in an extremely-divided state, along with albumin, gelatine, and phosphate
of lime.
The dried native sepia is prepared for the painter by first triturating it with a little
caustic lye, then adding more lye, boiling the liquid for half an hour, filtering, next
saturating the alkali with an acid, separating the precipitate, washing it with water,
= finally drying it with a gentle heat. The pigment is of a brown colour, and a
e grain.
SEPTARIA (from sepium, ‘a division’), called anciently /udus Helmontii (the quotts
of Van Helmont, from their form), are argillo-caleareous concretions intersected by
veins of cale-spar, which, when calcined and ground to powder, form an excellent
hydraulic cement. r
From the regular arrangement of cracks in septaria which generally assume pen-
tagonal forms resembling in appearance the divisions in the shell of a tortoise, they
have received the common name of ‘ turtle-stones’ or ‘ fossil tortoises.’ The turtle-
stones found in the Oxford clay at Weymouth, when cut into slabs and polished, form
very handsome tables. The number of veins of cale-spar, upon which their beauty
“depends, renders these turtle-stones unfit for forming an hydraulic cement, in conse-
quence of their furnishing too great a quantity of lime when calcined. Septaria fit
for furnishing cement are dredged in large quantities in Chichester harbour, and off
the coast of Hampshire, and are also procured from Harwich, Sheppy, and several
other places. A stratum of septarian stone, forming the Broad Bench on the coast
of Dorsetshire, affords an excellent cement, and is largely quarried.—H. W. B.
SERPENTINE is a mineral of the magnesian family, being a hydrated silicate of
magnesia, eomposed of silica 43°64, magnesia 48°35, water 13°01=100. . Its colour
is either green or a mixture of red and green, seldom of a uniform tint, but generally
of several shades, arranged in dotted, striped, and clouded forms. For this reason it has
received the name of serpentine (or ophiolite, from Gr. d¢rs, ophis, ‘a serpent,’ and Aléos,
lithos, ‘ stone’), from the fancied resemblance which it bears to the skin of a serpent,
both in colour and in its spotted or mottled arrangement. Specific gravity, 2°5 to 2°6.
It is slightly unctuous to the touch, sectile, and tough, and therefore easily cut into
ornamental forms. It has been divided into precious or noble serpentine, comprising
the purer translucent and massive varieties, with a rich olive-green colour ; and common
serpentine, or the opaque varieties, forming extensive rock masses, like those of the
Lizard in Cornwall, of Anglesea, Portsoy in Banffshire, Unst and Fetlar in Shetland,
and Zoblitz in Saxony.
Serpentine, though so soft as to be scratched by calcareous spar, and to be turned
in the lathe, takes a good polish, and forms a very beautiful ornamental stone. At
Zoblitz it has long been manufactured into a variety of articles, which find their way
all over Germany ; and works have been established in Cornwall, where, by means of
powerful machinery, it is made into columns, vases, chimney-pieces, and other orna-
mental articles which have been rather extensively used. The serpentine of Portsoy
is also a very beautiful stone, and was formerly exported for manufacturing into
similar objects. The Cornish serpentine and steatite were at one time sent to Bristol
in considerable quantities, where they were used in the manufacture of carbonate of
magnesia,—H. W. B.
SESAMUM OI, or Teel Oil. An oil produced from the Sesamum orientale,
which yields the seeds known as teel seeds. It is of a peculiarly bland nature.
SEWING MACHINES. The history of these ingenions inventions has been so
well told by Professor Willis, in his Report on the machinery for woven fabrics of the
Paris Exhibition, that we do not hesitate to borrow from it.
At the Paris Exhibition in 1854, fourteen exhibitors came provided with sewing
machines. They were of different characters, and have been divided by Mr. Willis
into four classes.
Under the first class came the machines in which the needle is passed completely
through the stuff, as in hand-working: ‘It is so natural, in the first attempts to make
an automatic imitation of handiwork, that the imitation shall be a slavish one, that we
need not be surprised to find the earlier machines contrived to grasp a common
needle, push it through the stuff, and pull it out on the other side.’
Thomas Stone and James Henderson, and some others, patented machines of this
kind, which proved abortive. M. Heilmann exhibited an embroidering machine in
1834, in which ‘150, more or less, of needles are made to work simultaneously, and
embroider each the same flower or device upon a piece of stuff or silk stretched in a
762 SEWING MACHINES
frame and guided by a pentagraph” Several embroidering machines have been
irom time to-time introduced. See Empromerinc MaAcaine,
The second class of sewing machine was that known as the chain-stitch, or
‘crotchet.’ This is wrought by a so-called crotchet-needle, which terminates with a
hook; the needle is grasped by the opposite end, and the hook pushed through the
stuff, so as to catch hold of a thread below, and, being then withdrawn, brings with
it a small loop of the thread; the hook of the needle retaining this loop is then re-
passed through the stuff at a short distance in advance of the former passers catches
a new loop, and is again withdrawn, bringing with it the second loop, which thus
passes through the first. Such a series is called chain-stitch, and may be used either
to connect two pieces together, or as an embroidery stitch, for which it is well
adapted by its ornamental and braid-like appearance. M. Thimonnier patented in
1830 the first machine of this character. M. Magnin was associated with Thimonnier
in 1848 in a patent for improvements, and in 1851 it was exhibited in London.
In 1849 Morey and Johnson patented a sewing machine in this country, in which
a needle with an eye near the pvint, perpendicular to the cloth, was combined with a
hooked instrument parallel to the cloth, for effecting the same purpose as the crochet-
needle, Mr. Singer improved on this, and he introduced a contrivance by which his
machine forms a kind of knot at: every eighth stitch.
The third class of sewing machines is wrought by two threads, and, as the stitch
produced by them is known in America as the mail-hag stitch, it may be presumed it
was employed by the makers of that article before the introduction of the machine.
In the usual mechanical arrangement for its production, a vertical needle, having the
eye very near the point, is constantly supplied with thread from a bobbin, and is
carried by a bar, which is capable of an up-and-down motion. The cloth being
placed below the needle, the latter descends, pierces it, and forms below it a small
loop, with the thread carried down by its eye. A small shuttle, which has a horizontal
motion beneath the cloth, is now caused to pass through this loop, carrying with it its
own thread. The needle rises, but the loop is retained by the shuttle-thread. The
cloth being next advanced through the space of a stitch, the needle descends again,
and a fresh loop is made. This process being repeated along the line of the seam, it
results that the upper thread sends down a loop through such needle-hole, and that
the lower thread passes through all these loops, and thus secures the work. The. first
machine for producing this stitch was invented by Walter Hind, of New York, in
1834. Several patents for producing this stitch have been obtained. Howe’s patent
was one of the most practical. Mr. Thomas of London became the possessor of
Howe’s patent. This was improved, and a new patent obtained in June 1846,
which was modified in December of that year... This machine has been extensively
used. This invention, says the patentee, consists in certain novel arrangements of
machinery, whereby fabrics of various textures may be sewn together in such a
manner as to produce a firm and lasting seam. By this invention a shuttle, when the
point of the needle has entered the cloth or other fabric under operation and formed
a loop of thread, passes through that loop and leaves a thread on the face of the cloth,
by which means the needle, when it is withdrawn from the cloth, instead of drawing
back the thread with it, leaves a tightened loop on the.opposite side of the cloth to
that at which it entered. The fabric then passing forward to the distance of the
length of the stitch required, is again pierced with the needle, and a stitch is in like
manner produced. A figure of this machine is shown (fig. 1760), which will be
understood from the following description :—
1, The needle. Place the needle in the slide a, with its flat side towards the shuttle,
and the grooved side in front. Turn the wheel of the machine round till the line g, on
the gun-metal slide, is level with the line g on the iron check. Place the eye of the
needle level with the top of the shuttle-box, and screw the needle fast.
2. If the eye is above the box when the marks correspond, the needle is too high ;
if the eye cannot be seen, the needle is too low. :
8. The needle should pass down the centre of the hole in the shuttle-box; but if
it does not, it can be made to do so by bending.
4, The needle-thread runs from the top of the reel, through the rings 8, c, and
through the eye of the needle.
5. The shuttle. It is necessary that the first coil of cotton be wound closely on the
bobbin, or it will be difficult to make it lie side by side like that on ordinary reels.
The reels should not be filled above the brass, and the cotton or silk should he free
from knots, which sometimes pull the wire out of the shuttle.
6. The thread must run from the under side of the bobbin, ronnd the wire and out
through holes, Nos. 1, 2, and 38. If the thread is not tight enoygh, miss No. 3 and
let, it come out through Nos. 4 or 5, or it may be drawn through five holes. Put
the shuttle in the box, turn the wheel round once, then pull the end of the needle-
SEWING MACHINES | 763
thread and draw up the shuttle-thread through the hole in the plate. Place the
cloth under the mover, and the machine is ready for work.’ The proper time for
turning the work to sew a corner, &c., is when the spring at the top is lifted off.
1760
7. The lefigth of stitch is regulated by the serew x at back of machine.
8. The tightness of the needle-thread is regulated by the screw F.
9. The tightness of the shuttle-thread is regulated by passing the thread through
more or less holes.
11. The quantity of thread pulled off the reel for each stitch is regulated by the
position of the piece of brass B. The lower the hole at its end, the greater the quan-
tity pulled off: when the cloth is thick, more thread is used, and the end of the brass
B should be lowered ; when thin, raised. Jt should be in such a position that the
trumpet c is drawn nearly down to the pin on the slide when the shuttle passes
through the loop.
A patent was obtained by John Thomas Jones, of Glasgow, in February 1859, for
a sewing machine presenting many novelties and improvements. Mr. Jones’s patent
well explains his machine; we therefore transfer his description to our pages.
The machine consists, under one modification, of an open frame, having a platform
top upon which the sewing or stitching operations are carried on. Beneath this plat-
form, and near one end of it, is a short transverse horizontal first-motion shaft running
in bearings in the framing, and carrying a long crank, a connecting rod from which is
jointed at its opposite end, directly the shuttle-driver or slide-piece, working in a
horizontal guide recess beneath the opposite or front end of the platform or table. .
The first-motion shaft has also another and shorter crank upon it, the stud-pin of which
is connected to the pin of the longer crank by an overhanging link piece, provision
being made for the adjustment of the relative positions of the two cranks as regards
their sequence of revolution. It is this shorter crank which actuates the needle move-
ment, the pin being entered into a differentially slotted or operated cam piece, forming |
the pendent lower end of a bent lever, working on a stud-centre, in the interior of the’
overhead bracket or pillar arm of the framing. The centre on which this lever works
is in the horizontal part of the overhead bracket arm, and its opposite or free-working
end has a rectangular slot in it to embrace a rectangular block of metal working
freely upon a lateral centre-stud upon the vertical needle-carrying bar. In this way
the needle has imparted to it a differential reciprocatory vertical movement, the
peculiar connection of the needle bar with the actuating lever having the effect of
marking the needle in the most accurate manner, and preventing jarring and wear.
These are the whole of the primary movements for working the stitches, which may
be of various kinds, as made up from the combined action of the needle and shuttle,
or thread-carrier; the form of the slotted piece or operated cam in the end of the
needle lever, being variable to suit any required peculiarity of needle movement, the
main elements of which are a direct up-and-down motion without a stop or rest, until
at the termination of the down stroke, when a short rise takes place, succeeded by a
rest to allow of the due looping and stitching of the thread. The feed of the fabric to
be sewed is effected by the operation of a short vertical lever piece with a cranked
764 SEWING MACHINES
‘and slotted lower end, where it is set on a fixed stud in the framing. - This feed-lever
has a roughened or toothed upper end, the teeth or asperities being set or inclined in
the direction of the fabric’s traverse. After each stitching action, the feed-lever being
lowered just beneath the operating level, is raised up so as to press firmly against the
under side of the fabric, and nip it between the stationary spring pressed above.
This elevation of the roughened face is effected by the traverse of the shuttle-
carrier, which at its back stroke comes against the inclined tail of a short horizontal
lever set on a stud in the framing, and having its opposite bent end bearing against
the lower end of the feed lever, at the part where it is carried by its slot upon the
holding stud, At the commencement of the return of the shuttle, an inclined piece
upon the shuttle-carrier bears against a lateral stud upon one end of a short rocking
or oscillatory shaft set in bearings in the framing, the other end of the shaft having a
lever arm bearing against the side of the feed-lever. In this way the feed-lever is fra-
versed forward in its elevated position, carrying forward the fabric for the succeeding
stitch. The adjustment of the spring presser is effected by an upper screw in the end of
the bracket arm of the framing, the lower end of the screw bearing upon a lateral pressing
piece which rests or abuts on the top end of a flattened helical spring upon the presser
bar. The latter can be set up clear out of work by means of a small cam lever set ona
stud in the stationary guide of the presser bar, the cam bearing against a lateral stud in
the bar, so that by setting the lever up or down, the cam is correspondingly turned,
and the lever set up or down, as required. The actual pressing or resisting foot of the
bar is a bent piece of metal screwed on to the bar, and being thus removable to allow
of various forms of feet guides,or presser surface pieces, being put on to suit varieties
of forms of stitching. :
This machine, or a modification of it, is available for working a duplex, or other
stitching action without involving further modification of the prime movers. In
working a duplex arrangement, two needles and two shuttles are used, each needle
and shuttle working independently, so as to allow of sewing in two different and in-
dependent lines with one set of actuating parts. To aid the shuttle action there is
attached to its side a flat curved blade spring, one end of which is free, but hooked
into a hole in the body of the shuttle. Thus, as the shuttle traverses forward, the
sewing thread is drawn beneath the hooked end portion of the spring, so as to be
nipped against the shuttle. The thtead is thus held, and the proper loop is secured
at the part immediately outside the pare portion. With this arrangement the
needle can never work on the wrong side of the shuttle-thread. Provision is also
made for securing an independent shuttle-thread controller. This is a nipper or
retainer worked from any convenient part of the mechanism, but entirely independent
of the shuttle movement. This may be arranged in various ways, the object being
the variable and efficient control or retention of the thread, without interfering in
any way with the fixed and determined action of the shuttle. Instead of fixing a
horizontal shuttle race ,or guide track, in the framing, the shuttle-driver is itself
made the race or carrier, so as to secure both offices in one detail or arrangement.
A hook or finger, actuated by any convenient part of the movement, is also used
for retaining the needle thread for any desired time after being passed through the
fabric ; this facilitates the movement or action of the needle bar. The shuttle race,
when one is used, is made quite independent of the machine, so that it can be changed
at any time to suit various-sized shuttles by merely slipping in or taking out the part.
The portion of the framing carrying the shuttle race is cast in one piece with the
main body of the platform, but the table or plate on which the stitching takes place
is a loose piece slotted down the middle for the working movements, and fitted into
its position by pins cast upon it, and entered into corresponding recesses in the main
base.
There exists a fourth class of sewing machines, which produce more complex
stitches than the preceding. These are formed by sewing two threads, which mutually
interlace each other in chain-stitch, so as to avoid the unravelling to which the
simple chain-stitch is subject, and-also are intended to meet an objection which is
urged against the shuttle-stiteh machines, on the ground that, as the shuttle must be
small to enable it to pass through the loop formed by the needle thread, so the bob-
bin carried by the shuttle can only obtain a moderate length of thread. Thus the
operation is stopped at short intervals to supply fresh bobbins to the shuttle. Several
patents have been obtained for compound chain-stitch machines: two in America, in
1851 and 1852, by Grover and Baker; another in 1852 by Avery; and another by
M. Journaux Le Blond.
In England, as in France, all the most promising American patents have been re-
eae and the use of the machine is rapidly extending itself. The sewing machine
as acquired so prominent a position, and shown itself to be so useful, as to deserve
the time and attention of able mechanists. It is now made in «a considerable variety
SHALES AND MINERAL OILS 765
of forms to suit it to the various purposes to which it is now applied. We find it
in almost every large manufactory; and in nearly every family, the hand-sewing
machine has its place.
SHADDOCK. The fruit of the Citrus decumana, which is much cultivated in the
West Indies, It is sold in this country as the ‘ Forbidden Fruit.’
SHAFT, in mining, signifies a perpendicular or slightly-inclined pit. See
Minne.
SHAGREEN. (Chagrin, Fr.; Schagrin, Ger.) The true oriental shagreen is essen-
tially different from all modifications of leather and parchment. It approaches the
latter somewhat, indeed, in its nature, since it consists of a dried skin, not combined
with any tanning or foreign matter whatever. Its distinguishing characteristic is
having the grain or hair side covered over with small rough round specks or
granulations.
It is prepared from the skins of horses, wild asses, and camels; of strips cut along
the chine, from the neck towards the tail, apparently because this stronger and
thicker portion of the skin is best adapted to the operations about to be described.
These fillets are to be steeped in water till the epidermis becomes loose, and the hairs
easily come away by the roots; after which they are to be stretched upon a board,
and dressed with the currier’s fleshing-knife. They must be kept continually moist,
and extended by cords attached to their edges, with the flesh-side uppermost upon
the board. Each strip now resembles a wet bladder, and is to be stretched in an
open square wooden frame by means of strings tied to its edges, till it be as smooth
and tense as a drum-head. ‘or this purpose it must be moistened and extended from
time to time in the frame,
The grain or hair-side ‘of the moist strip of skin must next be sprinkled over
with a kind of seed called Allabuta, which are to be forced into its surface either
by tramping with the feet, or with a simple press, a piece of felt or other thick
stuff being laid upon the seeds. The seeds belong probably to the Chenopodium
album. ‘They are lenticular, hard, of a shining black colour, farinaceous within,
about the size of a poppy-seed, and are sometimes used to represent the eyes in wax
figures.
"The skin is exposed to dry in the shade, with the seeds indented into its surface;
after which it is freed from them by shaking it, and beating upon its other side with
a stick. The outside will be then horny, and pitted with small hollows corresponding
to the shape and number of the seeds.
In order to make the next process intelligible, we must advert to another analogous
and well-known operation. When we make impressions in fine-grained dry wood
with steel punches or letters of any kind, then plane away the wood till we come to
the level of the bottom of these impressions, and afterwards steep the wood in water,
the condensed or punched points will swell above the surface, and place the letters in
relief. Snuff-boxes have been sometimes marked with prominent figures in this way.
Now shagreen is treated in a similar manner.
The strip of skin is stretched in an inclined plane, with its upper edge attached to
hooks and its under one loaded with weights, in which position it is thinned off with a
proper semi-lunar knife, but not so much as to touch the bottom of the seed-pits or
depressions. By maceration in water, the skin is then made to swell, and the pits
become prominent over the surface which had been shaved. The swelling is com-
pleted by steeping the strips in a warm solution of soda, after which they are cleansed
by the action of salt-brine, and then dyed.
In the East the following processes are pursued. Entirely white shagreen is
obtained by imbuing the skin with a solution of alum, covering it with the dough
made with Turkey wheat, and after a time washing this away with a solution of alum.
The strips are now rubbed with grease or suet, todiminish their rigidity, then worked
carefully in hot water, curried with a blunt knife, and afterwards dried. They are
' dyed red with decoction of cochineal or kermes, and green with fine copper-filings
and sal-ammoniac, the solution of this salt being first applied, then the filings being
strewed upon the skin, which must be rolled up and loaded with weights for some
time; blue is given with indigo, quicklime, soda, and honey ; and black, with galls
and copperas.
Shagreen is also prepared from the skin of the shark.
SHALES AND MINERAL OILS. Shale, according to old writers on pet-
rology, signifies any rock, no matter of what mineral composition, splitting into thin
lamin, and. found in what they termed the secondary and tertiary formations. Schist
was the distiriguishing appellative of such rocks splitting up in thin layers, found in
the primitive formations of the same authors. ‘Ihe characteristic features of the in-
dividual rock were usually prefixed. Thus such terms as mica-schist, tale-schist, alum-
shale, argillo-bituminous shale, &c., originated. But though they are still retained, a
-
766 SHALES AND MINERAL OILS
wider stratigraphical knowledge has made the two terms synonymous, Maculloch, in
his ‘ Classification of Rocks,’ has shown that a shale may leave the fissile state to pass
in the same geological section into the botryoidal, mammillary, and even earthy con-
ditions. There are arenaceous, argillaceous, calcareous, or ferruginous shales, aceor-
ding to the nature of the nt-rock ; thus, red hematite and the organically-deriyed
Tripoli slate may be both included under the generie term, Use in manufactures
ae given names to alum-shales, argillo- or calcareo-bituminous, or, better still, oil-
shales,
Like petroleum, oil-shales are found in all geological formations, and they appear
to accompany both it and limestone geognostically. Wherever fossils indicate con-
ditions of quiet subsidence, and estuary or lake formation, the observer has come on a
locality, primé facie, good for the occurrence of either oil-shales or petroleum. Sueh
conditions in geography appear to have alternated with those of a sudden change to
deep-sea life throughout all geological time. The Scottish carboniferous system
appears to have been formed under very favourable circumstances for the production
ot oil-producing materials. The Mountain Limestone, instead of attaining the mag-
nificent proportions of Derbyshire or Northumberland, is represented usually by six
thin beds of a few feet thick. The reader, casting his eye on a geological map of
midland Scotland, will mark how comparatively small a space is occupied by the coal-
fields proper ; that they are, in fact, surrounded by a large area of beds marked off in
the books as the subcarboniferous or estuarine Burdiehouse-limestone formation.
This, the area proper of the shales, extends through the counties of Fife, Edinburgh,
Linlithgow, Lanark, Renfrew, and Ayr. But the true coal-formation also abounds in
oil-producing material. Very intimately associated with each individual coal-bed, the
occurrence of shale above it, and blackband ironstone below it, also an oil-yielder,
may possibly indicate a different mode of formation from that of the Newcastle field,
The rich cannels found throughout the Scotch coal-fields proper belong to the category
of shales rather than coals,
During the years immediately succeeding the expiry of James Young's patent, oil-
works were erected over the area of the Scottish coal-field. But since the continued
depression of this new industry caused by the large importation of American petroleum,
many small works have been dismantled; and the trade is now principally in the
hands of a few large companies, who carry on their operations near West Calder and
Broxburn, in the immediate neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and in the vicinity of Paisley.
The amount of material used is still very great. The Addiewell works are alone
capable of utilising 1,000 tons of shale weekly. So much as 782,000. tons of shale
have been consumed annually; resulting in the manufacture of about 10,000,000
gallons of burning-oil, 5,000 tons of paraffin, and about 600 tons of sulphate of
ammonia.
The Torbanehill mineral, the substance on which Young worked his patent, is now
exhausted. But the high price given for it by foreign gas-companies, as well as the
demand from the same quarters for the ordinary cannels, and for the bastard cannel,
technically termed ‘rums,’ which abound throughout the Scotch coal-fields, have placed
all these substances out of the reach of the oil-maker. The shales of the lower fresh-
water series were waste products before the advent of this new industry; but from
their special chemical nature, they yield an oil more easily brought to the white standard
in colour of American petroleum than the substances first employed in the manufac-
ture of erude oil.
The probable organic origin of a shale or cannel.—The Kimmeridge shale yielded an
oil which could not be deodorised. So though a newly-discovered Brora shale yields
as much as 57 gallons to the ton, it may probably be used only for the purposes of
patent fuel, owing to the phosphorus it contains, derived from the animals whose re-
mains are in part chemically represented by its oleaginous contents. So also of
abundant flagstone bituminous beds of the Old Red Sandstone of Orkney and the North
of Scotland. The same difficulty has been experienced with the Canadian petroleum; ©
though it is said that in this special materia] the art of the refiner has overcome the
disagreeable odour.
The close proximity of coal and shale, often found in one section, is of great
importance in diminishing the working expenses of a shale oil-work. In Scotland,
oil-makers generally also mine their raw products.
What is a Cval?—A strict chemical definition of coal or its allies has as yet been
attempted in vain, Use has hitherto ruled the distinguishing nomenclature of coals.
From the anthracite to the cannel, a clear gradation may be traced. But here we
reach a once much contested border-land, where the true cannel graduates into the
shale. The advocates of separation of the celebrated Torbanehill mineral from the
class of cannel coals mainly contested that, unlike these bodies, after the oil or gas
had been taken from them, it left no useful coke containing an appreciable percentage
a i i i
SHALES AND MINERAL OILS 767
of fixed carbon; its sole residuum is a useless mass of clay. The superior character
of the American petroleum, as well as the high prices ruling for gas material, have
caused cannels, lignite, peat, as well as many caking coals, to be disregarded as oil-
producing materials. At the.same time, the technologist should note the physical and
chemical capabilities of such bodies for producing oils for other than domestic uses.
Dr. Eveleigh has proposed to.manufacture gas from oil distilled first from ordinary
coal by a special apparatus. Messrs. Odling and Keats, in reporting on this process
for the Patent Gas Company, state that in their experiments, silkstone coal gave 16:4
gallons of tar and oil per ton; Clay cross main, 11°9 gallons; and Pelaw main, 13°9
gallons: or ameanof 14 gallons. They.obtained from one ton of coal 9,500 cubic feet
of 28-candle gas, and from 14 gallons of oil the produce of this 600 cubic feet of 25-
candle gas. Though the American oil-wells may be said to have shut up the peat-
pee ag the Continent, lignite is distilled there often specially for the extraction of
T Asatecsl transition from petroleum to shale is exhibited, for instance, in the exten-
sive gum-beds near Hamilton, Canada West. The viscous asphaltum may be only the
fluid native naphtha changed by atmospheric oxidation ; and, at least, some beds of
anthracite may be only farther steps in the same series of changes. Attempts to
extract their proximate constituents from these bodies by solvents have been as fruit-
less as those made on coals. Indeed, the recent experiments of Berthollet appear to
show that the various hydrocarbons of coal-tar, and probably those also in erude shale
oil, do not exist individually in the materials whence those bodies are extracted, but
depend on different temperatures applied in distillation. By synthesis, Berthollet
obtained benzine from acetylene; ethylene from acetylene and hydrogen; styrolene
from ethylene and benzine; and naphthaline from ethylene and styrolene. Inverseiy,
by the application of a red heaton toluene, xylene, and cumere, they were decomposed
into hydrogen, formene, acetylene, ethylene, benzine, toluene, xylene, cumene, styrolene,
naphthaline, anthracene, and chrysene. The gas-maker notés a strange individuality
in the yield of special materials. The Newcastle coal-tar abounds in naphthaline ;
the Wigan ecannel is specially rich in benzine and carbolie acid. So the oil-maker
prefers crude tar from the lower carboniferous shales; specially, because they give a
white odourless burning-oil ; though other crude oils are cheaper, yield more paraffin,
or may better suit applications to patent fuel, metallurgy, or gas-making, Probably
more accurate knewledge of the different effects of heating in this manufacture may
enable the oil-maker to extract equally good tar from any oil-yielding material ;
and. likewise to obtain in gas-making from shales all the peeuliar products of cannel
coals,
Oil-shales, like cannel coals, have a yellow-brownish streak; are easily cut with a
knife ; and often exhibit a subconchoidal fracture, The ‘curley’ bands have a black
glossy external appearance; and arecuriously bent into a series of corrugated foldings.
They yield most oil; and are usually mixed with thick seams of poorly oleaginous
shales. In some parts of Linlithgowshire, these shales are changed into a kind of black
chalk ; apparently in consequence of the trap rocks.
What are Mineral Oils!—To understand mineral oil-making, it is necessary to
consult some good table of temperatures, such as Pouillet’s.
The black heat or low-red heat of oil-making ranges betwixt 500° and 900° F.,
while the full cherry-red or dark-yellow red heats, so necessary in coal-gas manufac-
ture, exceed 1000°. Shale-tar floats on the surface of water; whereas, coal-tar being
of a higher density, sinks in it. Crude mineral-oil may be as high as 940° in sp. gr;
but the shale-tar preferred for oil-making usually ranges from 840° sp. gr. to 890°
Sp. gr.
e Crude-oil is really a series of oils held together by links destroyed in distillation,
But the separate oils may be variously utilised, in accordance with their several
physical and chemical properties. Yet, as they all are hydrocarbons, they cannot take
the place of oxygenated oils of animal or vegetable origin used by painters or soap-
makers. Mineral turpentine, the only apparent exception, is used by varnish-makers,
not from its drying properties, but from its speedily evaporating altogether out of the
paint-solution in which it was mixed.
Mineral oils in lamps.—They were first introduced as illuminants along with the
now familiar German lamp; and they have largely displaced lamps using other
vegetable or animal oils from their greater convenience, and from the superior
brillianey and cheapness of the light given. Olefiant gas mainly is thus given in the
remotest hamlet, under circumstances of the easiest management. From the vapori-
sable nature of the oil, a lamp is supplied surpassing most previous similar contrivances
in photogenic power. Continued application of ingenious minds has reduced the
glass nuisance to a minimum, whilst it is now the fault of the purchaser should he
employ a dangerous oil, Dr. Frankland gives the following results of experiments of
768 SHALES AND MINERAL OILS
the quantities of different bodies necessary to give the same amount of light, dis-
regarding luminosity :— q
Young’s paraffin oil. 3 : ie - 4°58 litres.
American petroleum,No.1 . P . ‘ pie TOG
he ie No.v2.: » : P ‘ o> (BBB hsaee
Paraffin candles . 2 . ; . a . 8:42 kilos,
Spermaceti candles . . ld ate > ; «10°37 | 35
Wax re F 5 is ‘ " ; ped lOb— 55
Stearine és ; ‘ . i pat 12°50: <5
Tallow © " r - PaRLB BO 0°55
Dr. Macadam [‘ Royal Scottish Society of Arts, vol. viii, 1871] compared the
photogenic power of mineral oil with its animal and vegetable rivals with the follow-
ing results :—
{ Time of Candle-
§ burning ’ power Cost
“hours da.
Halfpenny dip or tallow candle . : : 3 1} By
Three-farthing _,, ¥ 5 ‘ : 44 14 3
Penny 2 a ‘ : 6 1} 1
Composite candle (average) . P . : 5} 1% 1
Paraffin candle (average) 6 FASS . 4°27 1:49 1
Common flat-wick lamps ;
PEE IR a ee neo cnc eit, Leo tuilidt Aten 3°59 1:306 1
PBI Soh Brn Gh acukihn Sushirolsceen taltlh ® 6°84 1:05 1
Whale ,, : ‘ Py ; ¥ 95 "9 1
Argand lamps :
Sperm oil . . Bis Kae eer 69 138 1
pe, . . . . ° : ° 1°25 ~ 11°38 1
sMibales,, qui ptiediy, 00 nee wablegh be 1°57 9°8 1
Ina cottage-lamp, paraffin-oil at 2s. per gallon burned for 9 hours with a luminosity
of 6-candle power for a 1d., and in a parlour-lamp this oil burned for 6 hours, giving
9-candle power for the same price; while it burned the same money value in the
dining-room lamp in 4} hours giving 12-candle power.
In setting it against coal-gas, Dr. Macadam assumes the high candle-power given
by Scotch gas companies, and he takes a.moderate price which is not now likely to
prevail. Assuming gas to sell at 5s. per 1,000 cubic feet, and to have a luminosity of
28 candles, he finds gas cheaper than paraffin oil, if consumed at No. 3 jet; but should
gas cost 5s. 8d. per 1,000 cubic feet, the two illuminating agents are equal. When
this high candle-power of gas is withdrawn they are also equivalent in price and
luminosity. Paraffin oil is as cheap as gas when the latter is consumed at No, 3 jet,
and its cost is 5s. per 1,000 cubic feet; while its luminosity is 24°70-candle power;
or at No, 4 jet when the same-priced gas is of 21°53-candle power ; or at No. 5 jet
when it is only 20-candle power.
Silber proposes to burn oils in rooms from permanent pendants, just as we do gas;
and with special contrivances for the purpose has attained very marked results.
[‘ Journal of the Society of Arts,’ vol. xix. p. 88.] Using petroleum of sp. gr. 795 he
obtained an illuminating power perhaps 20 per cent. greater than the London
coal-gas, which is given to the consumer at from 12 to 15 candles; though with
gas at 3s. 9d. per 1,000 cubic feet the cost of petroleum was 10 to 20 per cent.
greater than the gas. But by an alteration in the argand the illuminating power was
increased from 40 to 50 per cent. more than at first. So though colza lamp costs five
times as much as the gas; Valentin’s experiments gave with Silber's lamp a light
equivalent to a saving of 500 per cent. Mr. Silber is now adapting his lamp to use
the heavier and safer mineral oils. See Sizer Lieut.
Use of mineral oils in gas-making.—It has been proposed to use mineral oils in gas-
making either by naphthalising the poor gas made from ordinary coal, or by the con-
version of the rich, oily hydrocarbons into permanent gas.
1. Beautiful results have been obtained by passing the gas through oils, whether of
heavier or lighter specific gravity. The objections of smell, and the tendency of oil
to return to its original state, have militated against the extensive use of this method
in domestic circles. It appears generally necessary that the carburetter be as close as
SHALES AND MINERAL OILS 769
possible to the gas-jet. A modified carburetter has been successfully employed close
to the burner on the Edinburgh street lamps. :
2. The conversion of oil into a permanent gas long baffled inventors. The fact, too,
that when oil was so decomposed it usually deposited much of its carbon as coke on
the sideggof the retort, was a standing difficulty. Many modifications of water-gas,
to be introduced so as again to take up this carbon, and also to supply cheaply an
additional volume of gas, were usually proposed. The patent records contain many
fruitless schemes ; but Messrs. Keats and Odling report that by Dr. Eveleigh’s
process, worked out by the Patent Gas Company, a permanent gas has been formed
singularly free from impurities, and of 25-candle lighting power. _ The present
position of gaswork economics do not, according to these gentlemen, warrant the hope
that the process will be extensively used in large cities, but it may be available in
the country and abroad.
The rising value of cannel coals has induced gas-makers to inquire whether mineral
oils might be used as sources of auxiliary supply in ordinary gas retorts, whether
admitted per se, or made into a patent-fuel composition. Mr. Cussiter, of Dalkeith,
when introducing oil alone into a retort, obtained in one experiment 15,904 cubic feet,
and in another 18,600 cubie feet, with respective illuminating powers of .38°5 and
23°55 candles. The illuminating power in another experiment was only 12 candles,
but the yield increased to 28,300 cubic feet. When 30 gallons—or 284 lbs.—of oil
were mixed with splint coal in a clay retort, the yield was increased from 10,000 to
12,500 cubic feet, and the illuminating power from 14 candles te 25°89 candles,
When 42 gallons of oil were used with 1 ton of coal, 13,140 cubic feet of 28°59-candle
gas were obtained.
As we have already seen, shale is very widely distributed throughout the geological
formations; and shale, which is useless for oil-making from poorness of yield and
probable organic origin, may be used for gas-making. Specially should the gaswork
be planted where the shale is mined, and the manufacture led in by pipes to the town
where it is to be used. During the winter of 1872 many Scotch gas companies used
ordinary oil-shale brought into their works from a distance,
Paraffin and petroleum residues have been utilised in small gasworks supplying
railway-stations or private residences in Germany. -The stuff is pumped up by
clock-work into a retort capable of making 200 cubic feet of gas in an heur, which
contains only 0°69 per cent. of impurities in the hundred parts. The gas consists
chiefly of acetylene; and it is burned from jets consuming per hour from a } of
a cubic foot to 2 cubic feet; but 200 cubic feet of this gas equal 1,000 cubic feet of
Se aM, Convenience rather than cost of material instigates the erection of such
works,
Petroleum has been successfully employed in small towns and villages of Canada
and the United States for gas-making. The method usually adopted is to mix its
vapours with that of water passing over red-hot charcoal or iron. Youle, Hind, and
Thomson found 10 cubic meters of the gas equal in intensity and cheapness to 40
cubic meters of coal-gas. Besides, the manufacture consumes much less time. Seo
NapurHa,
Mineral oils as liquid fuel.—The proposal to use such oils for raising steam excited
great interest when first proposed. Many contrivances were patented and experiments
undertaken, though without the happy issue anticipated. The following réswmé of
our knowledge on this subject is mainly derived from the evidence of Dr. B, Paul
given before the Royal Commission on Coal Supply.
. The materials which have been suggested as fuel are: Petroleum in a crude state,
with a specific gravity from 800° to 860°; crude paraffin oil of sp. gr. 860° to 900° ;
heavy oils, the waste products from the distillery known as ‘ bottoms,’ ‘foots,’ &c. ;
dead oil, or creasote of coal-tar distiller, sp. gr. 1050°; All these substances are much
more highly inflammable than coal, Crude petroleum and paraffin-oil stand at the
top of the list in this respect; dead oil at the foot.
Weight of 1 cubic foot Volume of 1 ton
“Se Ibs. cubic feet
m 49°8 44°97 to
Crude petroleum. . , { to 53°5 41-86
Crude paraffin-oil = F ‘S ft 41°86
Heavy oil from either . - i 66:ON ; 40°00
..from 620° «+ | 43°07
ee 6 a eo { t0600° : | 37-33
Vox. III, 3D
F . {
* .
-
770 SHALES AND MINERAL OILS
The next table shows the calorific power and evaporative efficacy of liquid fuel as
compared with coal.
ene
Total quantity {Quantity of heat! “from 60° to | Temptrature of
For 1 pound of generated| ®Vailable for |919° pF, and con-| flue or flame
wis: ‘ed producing steam tetten ato stent
- at 212° F
heat units heat units Ibs, °
Crude petroleum . . 20,000 16,847! 15 4646
Crude mineral oil : 20,000 16,847! 15 ‘ 4646
Heavy oil from either . 20,000 16,847! 15 4646
Dead oil or creasote . 16,628 14,567! 13 4495 -
Coal { from 13,890 10,000? 8°95 2500
e - rs to 14,833 10,817 9°673
Thus oils may effect a saving of from 35 to 40 per cent. of the space oceupied by a
coal of equal steam-producing power. Not only would more space be available for
cargo, but also fewer hands would be required. And in war-ships, steam would be
more quickly raised ; they could sail without smoke, and could keep to sea for a longer
time. But against this, most of the oils proposed to be employed give off vapours
even in the cold; and these, when mixed in certain proportions with the atmosphere
are violently explosive. Then relative price must always be a great stumbling-block
in the introduction of this new agency; when coal rises to 6/. or 6/. per ton the
average prices of crude mineral oil or petroleum, the question will be a practicable
one. Improvements in retorts, cheapening the cost of crude mineral oil, will also
obviate this difficulty. [See Pararrim.] Creasote, estimated as worth 22s. per ton,
has been advantageously used as a liquid fuel.
To use liquid fuel effectively, perfect combustion immediately under the steam-
boiler must be obtained, so that smoke is prevented and the full heat or evaporative
capacity of the fuel realised. The best coal-oils rarely contain more than 30 per cent.
of volatile matter; but in those most suitable for steam fuel the quantity is very much
less.
Richardson’s method of applying liquid fuel was tested at the Woolwich
on July 6, 1866, under the supervision of Mr. Lloyd, engineer-in-chief of the Navy.
The rationale of this plan is to employ steam-jets with the application of liquid fuel
below the steam-boiler. In these trials much smoke was produced, and the tubes of
the boiler rendered very foul by deposition of soot in them. The average results gave
an evaporation of 13°2 lbs. of water per 1 lb. of oil consumed ; the variations ranged
from 7'14 lbs. to 18°38 Ibs. of water; treated from 100° to 212° F.; and converted
into steam at 212° F. In the most successful trials the evaporation was very low.
Now average results have been obtained with coal of an evaporation of 8 Ibs. of water
to 1 Ib. of the fuel, and much higher figures are not exceptional.
In Field’s improved method, the oil flowing from a reservoir is projected into the
heating furnace below the boiler along with a jet of high-pressure steam, introduced
in the form of spray. As many as 19 lbs. of evaporative power have been quoted as
the fruit of this patent, but 13 to 16 lbs. of water evaporated per lb. of oil consumed,
are likelier figures.
By Dorsett’s patent the oil is first vaporised before entering the heating furnace ;
? It is assumed that these oils are burned with only just enough of air for the purposes of combus-
tion, und that the furnace-gas is discharged at 600° F.
? The coal is burnt as usual, with twice the air necessary for combustion,
* The evaporative duty given in the above and subsequent table is probably higher than that
actually obtained on an average in steam-vessels to the extent of 20 per cent, ; the actual duty ob-
tained being usually seven pounds of water converted into steam per Ib. of coal.
The following table exhibits the relative efficacy of liquid fuel and coal as steam fuel, in relation to
the space they occupy respectively :— >
Quantity of water heated from 60° to | Relative steam pro-
1 cubic foot of 212° F., and converted into steam at | ducing capability of
212° F, a given bulk of fuel
cubic feet
Crude petroleum eva; obs from 11°95 to 12°85 1°58 “91
Crude mineral oil on ME ° e » 12°84 ,, 13°44 1°63 “96
Heavy oil from either . . . . ” 12°84 ” 13°44 1°63 “96
Dead oil from creasote $.. eras about 13°60 1°68 1:00
Coal as stowed in bunkers. . « from 7°48 to 8°64 1-00 “59
‘?*
SHALES AND MINERAL OILS 771
and while it is being burned under the boiler, the elastic force of heated vapour is
made to produce a t of air so as to ensure perfect combustion. This was first
applied in a coal-tar distillery. The time for running a charge of tar through the
stills was thus reduced from 24 to 12 hours. And the stills so fired do not require so
frequent repairs as those worked with coal. Indeed, such applications of heavy
oil appear to be very economical, _ In Mr, Miller's Works, Rumford Street, Glasgow,
a con of dead oil, valued at 1d. or 2d. per gallon, appears to do the work of 14 ton of
coal at least.
In certain metallurgic operations at Woolwich, about 8 ewts. of liquid fuel were
found equal in value to a ton of coal, One-fourth or one-fifth of the time occupied
in heating with.coal was saved, and a smaller number of furnaces were required. In
heating a half-inch plate, 4 or 5 minutes served with liquid fuel in opposition to
15 or 20 minutes with coal. While a four-inch armour-plate took 3 hours in
heating with coal, a very much better article was completed in 38 minutes with liquid
fuel.
The different Mineral Oils.—The nomenclature of mineral oils is very obscure. It
has partly originated from scientific discoverers ; partly from tar-distillers who have
been struck by the similarity of the educts from retorts or stills to those with which
they have been familiar; and partly from the trade-marks of merchants. Eupion,
photogen, kerosene, Cambrian oil, shale oil, Boghead naphtha, shale-naphtha or oil,
paraffin oil, coal’ oil, are all synonymous for the article used in the German lamp.
Then, again, all oils too high in sp. gr. to be used in such lamps were ranked as
lubricating. But recent improvements in lamps for burning these heavy oils have
caused the intermediate oils, betwixt 830° and 880°, to be sub-classed as lamp oils,
lighthouse oils, railway-carriage oils, according to their several specific gravities,
Blue oils or green oils are the refiner’s terms for certain of his intermediate products
which used to be in demand by grease-makers or printing-ink manufacturers. He
describes other bye-products, as soda-tar and acid-tar; but we are in ignorance as to
the true chemical nature of these bodies. Hard and soft paraffin correctly enough
describe the solids sold respectively to the candle- or the lucifer-match-maker.
‘ Foots,’ ‘ bottoms,’ or such like names, have been borrowed from the tar-distiller to
signify the refuse products of the stills. ‘Scales’ expressively denotes the paraffin
pressed from the blue oil, to be subsequently refined. ‘Naphtha’ incorrectly desig-
nates the first product of the distillation of coal- or shale-tar, as the aniline-maker
cannot find in the latter benzol, the foundation of his specialty. ‘Coke,’ however,
truly describes a valuable bye-product obtainable at several stages of mineral-oil
refining.
The prefix ‘ paraffin,’ either to the lamp-oil or to mineral machinery-oil, is a mis-
nomer, as there is none of that substance in either of these bodies. The proximate
constituents of petroleum are the paraffin series ; but mineral oils only contain {th
_ or 2th of these, their chief constituents being the olefiant-gas series.
Shale-tar, a local designation for crude oil, is correct enough when limited to the
products of destructive distillation by a low red-heat, of sp. gr. 840° upwards. Buta
tar sinking in water might be obtained by the application of a bright cherry-red heat
in distilling shale ; and the converse is true of coal. The following scheme expresses
to the eye the order of production of the various products :—
Yield from distillation of Crude Oil obtained from Coal or Shale, or from Petroleum
got from natural Springs.
Rectirrep Spirits or BEnzINE,
1. Licur O1ns or Spirits.) Treated with acids and |} 1. Burnine Or.
. 2, Burnine Ors. _ alkalis yield 2. Acro Tar Resrpvzs.
3. Heavy Ors. 8. Sopa Tar Resipvrs.
Heavy Ons rectified, nt 1. Crupz Pararrin, f1. Rerinep Pararrin.
sides, yielding 2 and: #a:.@: Brive O1, 2. Macuinery Orn.
residues.
Residues may be used for greases, gas-making, patent fuels, &c. Gases may be
used for heating.
Except in the caso of the erude oil, which is of a dark greenish, viscous nature,
analogous to tar, of the intermediate blue and green oils, which are sufficiently desig-
nated by their appellations, all the liquid products are now made as near water-white
as possible. A burning oil is reckoned perfect in colour not only when it attains such
purity, but when it also has the bluish opalescence so characteristic of refined
petroleum. No doubt refiners here pander to a popular prejudice; for in striving
after this standard of colour they diminish the burning qualities of their oils,
3D2
at; » ‘ a
772 SHALES AND MINERAL OILS:
' The merit of the common German lamp, whose introduction rendered these oils
capable of domestic use, is in the introduction of so much air as thoroughly to con-
sume the very great amount of carbon disengaged in their combustion. The’sp. gr. 830°
appears to indicate the highest number, in weight of the oil, capable of being con-
sumed with comfort in such lamps. But inventors, such as Doty and Silber, have -
striven with some success to utilise the intermediate oils up to 888°, the recognised
standard of superior mineral machinery-oil. All such. oils possess higher lummosity
and safety. The varied lamps for these purposes differ from the one used for common
burning oil in admitting more air, so as to counteract the soot caused by the greater
amount of carbon disengaged ; and in adapting the shape of the lamp and the wicks,
so as to cause those heavier oils easily to ascend them. ‘The refiner is content to give
all such higher oils a lemon-straw colour. So, in a very general way, it may be said
that specific gravity and flash-point are the distinguishing features of the different
products of destructive distillation at a low red heat. The relative figures of the
hydrometer only may be taken as distinctive approximations of these different oils,
Specific gravity Flash-point
° ° Fahr.
Crude oil . . ° ¥ 860 to 890 75
Mineral spirit é ¥ ‘ 740 ,, 800 68 to 75
Burning oil. . ‘ ‘ e 810 ,, 825 115 ,,. 125
Intermediate ‘ . . 830 ,, 840 293
9 railway lamps . 850 eee
Lubricating . . ‘ 5 888 to 890 820
Lubricating Oils——Dr. Wallace reports that in nine experiments on lubricating oils
there was a varying specific gravity from 881° to 900°; and the flash-points ran from
293° to 888° Fahr. In seven experiments the flash-point was over 300° Fahr. As
with the lighter oils, specific gravity is no @ priori test of safety. The highest specific
gravity amongst the samples 900° had the comparatively low flash-point 309° : another
sample 20° in sp. gr. below this was only minus 1° Fahr. in flash-point; whilst
another sample, 10° in sp. gr., below the first was 19° Fahr. in flash-point above it.
The following are the specific gravities and flash-points of some well-known fatty
oils :—
8. G. F.-P,
. ° Fahr.
Whale oil (best) . 6 * : - 923 492
Cloth oil (wool oil) My " ° - 917 320
Olive oil ee . - > ames | 420
» (genuine) eo . 920 500
Rapeseed oil . : . . ; + 918 440
Lard oil ‘ ‘ : : ‘ - 914 560
Tallow oil . ‘ . ‘ : - 915 490
Mr. Gellatley’s experiments on cotton-waste steeped in various oils (‘ British Asso-
ciation Report, 1872’) appear to show that where a liability to high heats exists in
using machines, mineral oils are safer than the older ones. Manufacturers are pain-
fully aware of the liability to.spontaneous ignition. of cotton-waste which has been
soaked with such a rapid oxidiser as linseed oil. Again, at a particular stage of
ealico-printing with Turkey-red, the batch is saturated with olive oil; and it cannot
be allowed to lie for more than an hour without danger of spontaneous ignition.
For a discussion of the firing-points of burning oils, and their relative dangers, s¢e
NAPHTHA,
Preparation of Crude Oil.—When beginning the manufacture near Bathgate, Mr.
Young used. Torbanehill mineral as his raw material, though he was previously aware
that any cannel would equally have served his purpose. But by the competition of gas-
makers they have withdrawn all such bituminous substances from the oil-maker's
market (see Pararrry) ; and even shale is now subject to a similar rival element. Shalo
is distilled in either horizontal or vertical retorts of cast iron. The charge of tho
horizontal retort is made in either the twelve or twenty-four hours, and varies from
6 to 12 ewts. Vertical retorts hold about a ton of shale, but are continuous; the
charge is fed through a hopper at the top, and drawn out at the foot when exhausted,
above a tray filled with water. Machinery has been introduced in some Scotch
works for filling and discharging the retorts, With horizontal retorts it is not re-
quisite to break the shale into small pieces the size of a hen’s egg as specified So
Young. -A-Carr’s stone-breaker usually effects this for the vertical retorts. Sco
SHALES AND MINERAL OILS 773
makers reckon stedm as an indispensable adjunct in the distillation of crude oils.
Experience has vga Torbanehill mineral to give 120 gallons per ton with steam;
and only 90 gallons without it. Shale yields 40 gallons with steam, and 30 gallons
without it. The difference in yield of finished products is 75 to 76 per cent. of the
two crude oils respectively manufactured. In vertical crude the proportion of mineral
spirits gi burning oil is less than in horizontal, but 3 per cent. more paraffin is
obtain
Purification of the Crude Oil.—The crude oil issues as vapour into the condensers ;
it pours out at their extremity, as a mixed liquid of oil and water, into the separator.
This is a wooden cylinder, 4 feet high and 3 feet broad. Through this barrel an
iron syphon passes ; this emerges at the side, a few inches from the. top, and termi-
nates about 8 inches from the bottom. The ammonia-water soon sinks under the
crude oil, with which it is mixed on entering, by its higher specific gravity ; whence
it is drawn off by the above syphon. Almost at the top of the separator is another
aperture, to serve as an educt for the crude oil.
The ammonia-water is next converted by the usual manufacturing methods of stills
and evaporating-pans, into sulphate of ammonia. Some shales yield 8 to 10 lbs. of
the sulphate per ton, whilst others give as much as 16 lbs. to the ton.
The erude oil is now transferred to the refinery by one of the series of underground
pipes, in connection with the centrifugal pump worked by steam which now forms so
integral a part in the economy of the establishment. The oil refinery, with tanks in
which centrifugal revolving-stirrers, often only 2 feet in diameter, move by steam in
iron vessels 10 feet in diameter, and agitate the oil with either sulphuric acid or soda.
About 200 revolutions are made in a minute, and so a quarter-of-an-hour’s agitation
of the oil serves, instead of the night's work of early refining. There are also settling
tanks, and a series of iron-pipes, which connects the oil with the stills outside, intro-
duces the vitriol and soda used in purifying, or removes the vitriol and soda tars from
the treated oils ; all are subordinated to the main steam-pump. Indeed, throughout
the varied processes the steam-engine as much as possible supplants mere manual
toil ; intelligent superintendence being only required from the few artizans on the
establishment. ‘The paraffin-house is usually distinct from the oil-refinery; it may
contain only presses for making ‘scales,’ or the varied apparatus for the manufacture
of refined paraffin. In either case, if the establishment is large it is associated with
cooling-drums and an ice-machine, all of which, along with the presses, are worked
by steam-power. In many large refineries the mineral spirits are refined in a sepa-
rate building in connection with the paraffin-house. This is for greater safety from
fire, which is sedulously guarded against: by the adoption of iron doors, roofing, pro-
hibition of smoking, use of covered lights, and such like appliances, throughout the
entire establishment.
The following is a diagrammatic sketch of the various distillations of crude oil in its
manufacture into burning oil :—
CrupE Om From SEPARATOR,
FIRST DISTILLATION,
Once-run oil. Coke in Bottom of Still.
20° lower in sp. gr. than crude. 7 per cent. of oil converted into this, used
as fuel, or drawn off as tar se: patent
fuel.
First Washing. * » Second Washing.
5 per cent. brown vitriol, sp. gr. 1°745. 4 per cent. caustic soda, sp. gr, 1°300,
May stand over a night i in tank, Stirred for an hour.
SECOND DISTILLATION. —
Third Washing. Fourth Washing.
1 per cent. ordinary commercial vitriol. 2 per cent, caustic soda, sp. gr. 1300.
' THIRD DISTILLATION. ‘
Fifth Washing. Sixth Washing.
3 per cent. ordinary commercial vitriol. ° 4 per cent. caustic soda, sp. gr. 1°300,
Product.—Ordinary burning oil.
FOURTH DISTILLATION.
Seventh Washing. Eighth Washing.
2 to 3 per cent. commercial vitriol. With very dilute caustic soda.
‘fhis last product, termed white horse oil, is sold in competition with the American
ernerpelag
=e 7 = = se ee Pe:
- veo 7s . he
774 SHALES AND MINERAL OILS
Cast-iron stills are still preferred by some for the first distillation ; but the subse-
quent ones are usually performed in large malleable iron boilers of about 4,000 gallons
capacity.
Refining Mineral Spirits—Much care is requisite in separating oils which issue
from the stills of such varied specific gravities. Were the light mineral spirit, or
‘naphtha’ of the works, to enter largely into either the burning, or at all into the
lubricating oil, then would perish their reputation for safety.
The naphtha is first sent over by steam from the boiler, containing oil in the second
stage of distillation. After being treated with 2 per cent. of sulphuric acid, and neu-
tralised with alkali, it is distilled again, by steam this time, at 13 lbs. to the square
inch, and conducted by pipes down the sides of the still filled with naphtha, but
playing freely into it through punctures.in the pipes covering the bottom. The liquid
is now ready for use in the paraffin-house, or for the special purposes to which it has
been applied in various arts,
The Separating-house and Pressure-stills —At Addiewell the contents of all the stills
are conducted into a separating-house, containing 15 separators, leading to as many
tanks outside. Here a man, by the aid of hydrometers, sends the oils into these varied
receptacles, according to their specific gravities. Until lately burning and lubricating
oils were the two marketable products, and the question rose, How to utilise the great
quantity of intermediates? As a result of elaborate laboratory experiments, the appli-
cation of pressure to oils was found to diminish their gravity; so pressure-stills have
been introduced. A pressure of 15 lbs. on the square inch diminishes the specific
gravity 30°. Thus intermediate oils can readily be converted into burning oil.
Large malleable iron stills, with pressure-gauges and loaded safety-valves, with like-
wise a valve at the neck of the still, are employed for this purpose. The pressure on
the oil-vapours themselves answers ; hence when the still is put in action the valve is
turned on at the neck, and the fires beneath well stoked till the pressure required is
indicated on the gauge, when the oil-vapours are allowed to flow into the condenser.
Messrs. Henderson and Cooke have been able to dispense, at Oakbank, with the
tedious process of settling and its multitudinous tanks, by simply agitating the oil,
after it has come from the soda stirring-tank, with ground-glass or fuller’s earth. This
process is patented.
Preparation of Lubricating Oil and Paraffin—The blue oils with paraffin scales are
separated from the burning oil in the refinery after its treatment succeeding the second
distillation, and pumped up into a tank on the roof of the paraffin-refinery. It is then
sent through Henderson’s cooling-drum, where the scale-paraffin erystallises out from
the slobbery liquid. It is now subjected in canvas bags to two hydraulic pressures,
whence commercial ‘scales’ are obtained, and heavy oil containing soft paraffin; this
again is separated by ingress into another cooling-drum, whére it. meets a brine-solu-
tion of 22° or 24° Fahr., from Kirk’s ice-machine. The soft paraffin is thus thoroughly
taken out of its containing-liquid, which is now to be made into lubricating oil. It is
subjected to a—
First Washing. Second Washing.
2 per cent, of vitriol. Strength as before. 1 per cent. caustic soda.
DIsTILLATION.
Third Washing. Fourth Washing.
3 per cent. of vitriol. _ 1 per cent caustic soda.
It is then finished, though it is sometimes again distilled.
PREPARATION OF REFINED PARAFFIN FROM SCALE.
First Washing. First Cooling in Drum.
ird per cent, of its volume of hot naphtha.
FIRST DRESSING,
Second Washing. Second Cooling in Drum,
As before,
SECOND PRESSING.
Third Washing. Third Cooling in Drum.
THIRD PRESSING.
Tenth. Boiled with bone-black in jacketted steam-bath.
Twelfth, Filtered through Swedish blotting-paper in a steam-jacketted filter, and run
into trays.
Thirteenth. It may again be boiled in a jacketted steam-still, so as to expel all odour
of mineral spirits,
SHAWL MANUFACTURE 775
According to the price of candle wanted, the tenth process may succeed either the first,
second, or third pressing.
From the washings which flow from the paraffin when under hydraulic pressure,
soft paraffin, much used in lucifer-match-making, and burning oil, or spirits, for re-use
in the process, are recovered. The spirits used must not be too light; those having a
specific gravity of 745° were once used at Addiewell, but strong electric sparks were
emitted from the cooling-drums ; and hence there was constant liability to fires. A
specific gravity of 765° may be safely used. For a new way of manufacturing this
beautiful material, see the article PARAFFIN.
Kirk's Refrigerator, invented to meet Mr. Young’s necessities in this manufacture,
works on the principle that just as force is exerted air loses heat. By a series of
pistons and plungers air is expanded, and then rarefied. During this rarefaction so
much heat is extracted that a cold current, sufficient to form ice, is produced. Such
machines are made to make 1 to 4 tons in the 24 hours. In the paraffin-refinery a
solution of common salt in water receives the cold current; this is more easily mani-
pulated than ice.
Henderson's Cooling-drum (Spec., A.D. 1870, No.. 3310) is now preferred to that of
Kirk. It is the instrument by which the cold current is applied to the paraffin,
either in separating it from the lubricating oil or before bagging.
Most refineries recover the caustic soda from the soda-tar by the usual methods
pursued in that manufacture. At Oakbank Works Mr. Henderson has an ingenious
plan by which he first separates the vitriol used in washing the oils from the tars, to
re-transfer it for use in manufacturing sulphate of ammonia. The now neutral tar is
condueted by a pipe, within which is another containing steam, to the still-furnaces,
and burned as fuel. It is first projected on a hearth above the ordinary furnaces
where it is coked, and then allowed to fall down into the ordinary furnace. Half of
the fine oil-stills are thus fired, and all the available tar is thus used up. The stills
stand much longer than if they had been heated by ordinary coals. There is thus no
just cause why oil-refiners should subject themselves to vexatious actions for river
pollution.—A. T,
SHAMOY, or SCHAMOIS LEATHER. Sce Learunr.
eee OIL. A good oil obtained in China from the Brassica chinensis.
ee Comza,
SHAWL MANUFACTURE. Shawls were originally, and still continue to be
woven in the centre of India, from the fine silky wool of the Thibet goat; and the
most precious of them still come from Cashmere. The wool is beautifully rich and
soft to the touch, and is superior to the finest Continental lamb’s-wool. It is also
divisible into qualities, The source from which this article of apparel has sprung is
well known to be the ancient and beautiful fabric of the valley of Cashmere, where the
excellence of the raw material stands unrivalled, although its manufacture has been,
and still is, carefully prosecuted in many other parts of the world. The great beauty
of the eastern tissue, considering the rudeness of the machinery employed, as com-
pared with that which is now available to the European manufacturer, is a marvel in
the eyes of the most experienced.
The following information, which has been communicated (1874) by a well-known
London firm, will prove of interest :—
‘The importance of the London public sales of India shawls has greatly diminished
of late years, owing to the establishment in Umritzir of agencies of the principal Paris
shawl-dealers, Shawls are in consequence bought on the spot by these representatives
of the Paris firms, and forwarded direct to their principals in Paris, thus escaping the
London market. We continue to hold public sales twice a year, as usual; in June and
December; but unfortunately, they are now for the reason explained above, shorn of
much of their former interest and importance by the direct trading between Paris and
the India shawl-districts ; these French buyers naturally secure all the more desirable
shawls, and those which are left, or passed over, are sent to the London sales. Some few
years ago, say during the 15 or 20 years preceding 1862-3, the sales were of consider-
able magnitude and importance, and used to range in value from 100,000/. to 140,0002.,
every sale: but after 1863, they rapidly declined, and ceased to be held during the
Franco-German war; after that epoch we revived the sales, and they continue, but
their value now is reduced to from 30,000/. to 40,000/. a sale, and contain very few
rich shawls.
_ The highest value of Cashmere shawls is from 100/. to 1400. each, maximum. cost,
and of the good ordinary Cashmere 40/. to 807. There are no such prices as 10,000 franes
for a shawl ; such a price may have existed in bygone days, but not of late years. We
have in exceptional times (in past years) obtained from 160/. to 220/., per shawl for a
few long shawls in public sale, but they were shawls of the grandest kind, and such as
it would be impossible to obtain now. Furthermore, the competition among the shawl-
776 ‘SHEATHING OF. SHIPS’
dealers in Paris, Lyons, Bordeaux, &c., is so great that they work for close profits, and
first-class shawls may be bought in Paris or in London for 2,500 to 5,000 francs in
Paris ; or from 100/. to 200/. here.
‘ Fashion is against shawls for the moment, since the introduction of the ‘“ costume ”
dresses, and they are hardly worn; this necessitates severe holding by the wealthy
Paris dealers; we estimate the money value of shawls in the hands of the half-dozen
leading Paris shawl firms, at the present moment at little, if at all, short, of half a
million sterling. 4
‘ During the Franco-German war, shawls were hurried over to our care by the Paris
dealers, for safety, and we received between 300,000/. and 400,000/. worth in this way.
These were safely lodged at the Dock warehouses, and upon the return of peace, were
sent back by us to the various owners in Paris; there was no pressure to sell them
during all that time, the shawl-dealers being all wealthy men, and among the first
merchants in Paris.’
The manufacture of shawls was first begun in this country, at Norwich, by Mr.
Barrow and Alderman Watson, in 1784. They copied the Indian style, but the pro-
cess was very slow, and the result consequently costly. Mr. John Harvey, of Norwich,
followed up the enterprise with Piedmont silk warp and fine worsted shoot; but the
designs were darned by hand. It was not until 1805 that a shawl was produced en-
tirely by the loom at Norwich. In Paisley and Edinburgh the manufacture was in-
troduced about the same time. At Paisley the manufacture is still continued, especi-
ally the manufacture of shawls of the Indian pattern, from real Cashmere wool. In
1802, a manufacture of shawls was commenced in Paris, and this led Jacquard to the
invention of his loom (see Jacquarp Loom), with which now all kinds of shawls are
woven. For the mode of manufacture, the respective articles, Sux, Tex1mx Fasrics,
and Wxavine will be sufficiently descriptive.
The varieties of shawls produced may be grouped as follow :—
Woven shawls of India, or of Indian style, made in Europe.
Barége shawls, made of wool: an imitation of shawls made in the Pyrenees, by the
peasantry of a place so called.
Crape shawls, made of silk, in imitation of the Chinese fabrics.
Grenadines, made of silk of a peculiar twist.
Levantines and Albanians, made of silk and spun silk, to resemble the scarves worn
in the Levant and Albania. i '
Chenille shawls ; a novel application of silk, frequently combined with cotton.’
Chiné shawls ; a printed warp before weaving.
Woollen shawls ; ordinary kinds.
Tartan plaids. The manufacture of these appears to be very ancient. In 1570,
an ancient Scottish manuscript gives a list of the colours of the plaids worn by the
different clans. In 1747, the weaving of this distinctive dress was prohibited by Act
of Parliament, and the grey shepherd’s mauds were made instead. In 1782, this Act
was repealed; but tartans did not become fashionable until the visit of George IV.
to Scotland, in 1822; after which, the Stirling fancy plaids began to be made.
In 1828, clan-tartan shawls became fashionable, and the Galashiels weavers took up the
trade. Paisley commenced to weave these shawls about twenty or thirty years
ago, and it has since then extended to many other parts, both at home and in other
countries, '
SHEARING. See Bieacuina. :
SHEATHING OF SHIPS. The process of coppering vessels has been generally
adopted in order to protect their bottoms from the injurious effects of insects in hot
countries, and to prevent the adherence of barnacles, &c., which greatly impede the
progress of the vessels. It has, however, been open to objections, for not only is the
prime cost of the material great, but the expense of rolling it into sheets, and the
frequent renewal of parts which had been injured during the voyage, make this copper
covering a serious item in the expenses attendant upon fitting-out ships.
In order to make the application of copper still more general, Sir Humphry Davy
turned his attention to the subject, and endeavoured to devise some method of counter-
acting the rapid oxidation which takes place on its exposure to the sea-water, as it is
rare for the copper-bottom of a ship to last longer than five or six years. Experiment
proved to Sir H. Davy that if.a portion of zine were applied to the copper it would
by its electrical relations prevent the process of oxidation in the copper. ARARATHU Eo
at
the silk-throwing machine, or engine, in which the two large hexagonal reels, called
swifts, are seen in section, as well as the table between them, to which the bobbins
and impelling mechanism are attached. The skeins are put upon these reels, from
which the silk is gradually unwound by the traction of the revolving bobbins. One
principal object of attention, is to distribute the thread over the length of the bobbin-
cylinder in a spiral or oblique direction, so that the end of the slender semi-transparent
thread may be readily found when it breaks. As the bobbins revolve with uniform
velocity, they would soon wind on too fast, were their diameters so small at first as to
become greatly thicker when they are filled. They are therefore made large, are
not covered thick, but are frequently changed. The motion is communicated to that
end of the engine shown in the figure.
The wooden table a, shown here in cross section, is sometimes of great length,
extending 20 feet, or more, according to the size of the apartment. Upon this the
skeins are laid out. It is supported by the two strong slanting legs B, B, to which the
bearings of the light reels c are made fast. These reels are called swifts, apparently
by the same etymological casuistry as /ucus a non lucendo, for they turn with reluctant
and irregular slowness; yet they do their work much quicker than any of the old
apparatus, and in this respect may deserve their name. At every eighth or tenth leg
there is a projecting horizontal piece p, which carries at its end another horizontal
bar a, called the knee-rail, at right angles to the former. This protects the slender
reels or swifts from the knees of the operatives.
These swifts have a strong wooden shaft 4, with an iron axis passing longitudinally
790 SILK MANUFACTURE
through it, round which they revolve, in brass bearings fixed near to the middle of
the legs 5. Upon the middle of the shaft 6, a loose ring is hung, shown under ¢, in
Jig. 1768, to which a light weight d, is suspended, for imparting friction to the reel,
and thus preventing it from turning round, unless it be drawn with a gentle force,
such as the traction of the thread in the act of winding upon the bobbin.
Fig. 1768 is a front view of the engine. 3, 8, are the legs, placed at their appro-
priate distances (scale 1} inch to the foot); c, c, are the swifts. By comparing jigs.
2 pin e's a l ye AS
1768 and 1769, the structure of the swifts will be fully understood. From the wooden
shaft 6, six slender wooden (or iron) spokes ¢, ¢, proceed, at equal angles to each other;
which are bound together
by a cord f, near their
free ends, upon the trans-
Z verse line f, of which
W\ 4p Mi \ 4 cord, the silk thread is
Wa AW wound in a hexagonal
form; due tension being
given to the circumferen-
tial cords, by sliding them
out from the centre.
Slender wooden rods are
1769
set between each pair of
kes, to stay them, and to keep the cord tight. » is one of the two horizontal
shafts, placed upon each side of the engine, to which are affixed a number of light
iron pulleys g, g (shown on a double scale in fig. 1769). These serve, by friction, to
drive the bobbins which rest upon their peripheries.
To the table a, fig. 1767, aro screwed the light cast-iron slot bearings, 1, 1, wherein
the horizontal spindles or skewers rest, upon which the bobbins revolve. The spindles
(see F, fig. 1771,) carry upon one end a little wooden pulley 4, whereby they press and
revolve upon the larger driving pulleys g, of the shaft x. These pulleys are called
stars by our workmen. ‘The other ends of the spindles, or skewers, are cut into screws,
for attaching the swivel-nuts ¢ (fig. 1771), by which the bobbins x, x (fig. 1768), are
made fast to their respective spindles. Besides the slots, above described, in which
the spindles rest when their friction pulleys /, are in contact with the moving stars
g, there is another set of slots in the bearings, into which the ends of the spindles
may be occasionally laid, so as to be above the line of contact of the rubbing periphery
of the star g, in case the thread of any bobbin breaks. Whenever the girl has mended
the thread, she replaces the bobbin-spindle in its deeper slot-bearings, thereby bringing
its pulley once more into contact with the star, and causing it to revolve.
SILK MANUFACTURE 791
G (fig. 1768) is a long ruler or bar of wood, which is supported upon every eighth or
twelfth leg 8, B. (The figure being, for convenience of the page, contracted in length,
shows it at every sixth leg.) To the edge of that bar the smooth glass-rods %, are
i nd |
t 1770 oe (ay
1771}| F
i K \ y
A a
: I
ag Apes!
made fast, over which the threads glide from the swifts, in their way to the bobbins.
H (fig. 1770) is the guide-bar, which has a slow traverse or seesaw motion, sliding in
slots at the top of the legs B, where they support the bars a. Upon the guide-bar n,
the guide-pieces /, 7, are made fast. These consist of two narrow, thin, upright plates
of iron, placed endwise together, their contiguous edges being smooth, parallel, and
capable of approximation to any degree by a screw, so as to increase or diminish at
pleasure the ordinary width of the vertical slit that separates them. Through this
slit the silk thread must pass, and, if rough or knotty, will be either cleaned or
broken ; in the latter case, it is neatly mended by the attendant girl.
The motions of the various parts of the engine are given as follows :—Upon the end
of the machine, represented in fig. 1767, there are attached to the shafts"x (jig. 1768),
the bevel-wheels 1 and 2, which are set in motion by the bevel-wheels 3 and 4, respec-
tively. These latter wheels are fixed upon the shaft m, fig. 1767 ; m is moved by the
main steam-shaft which runs parallel to it, and at the same height through the length
of the engine apartment, so as to drive the whole range of the machines. 4 is a loose
wheel or pulley upon the shaft m, working in gear with a wheel upon the steam-shaft,
and which may be connected by the clutch z, through the hand-lever or gearing-rod o
. (figs. 1767 and 1768), when the engine is to be set at work. 6 is a spur-wheel upon
the shaft mm, by which the stud-wheel 7, is driven, in order to give the traverse motion
to the guide-bar u. This wheel is represented, with its appendages, in double size,
jigs. 1772 and 1773, with its boss upon a stud p, secured to the bracket g. In an
eccentric hole of the same boss, another stud 7, revolves, upon which the little wheel s,
is fixed. This wheel s is in gear with a pinion cut upon the end of the fixed stud p;
and upon it is screwed the little crank z, whose collar is connected by two rods u (jigs.
1767 and 1768), to a cross-piece v, which
unites the two arms w, that are fixed upon 1772
the guide-bar H, on both sides of the
machine. By the revolution of wheel 7,
the wheel s will cause the pinion of the
fixed stud p to turn round. If that wheel
bear to the pinion the proportion of 4 to 1,
then the wheel s will make, at each revo-
lution of the wheel 7, one-fourth of a re-
volution ; whereby the crank ¢ will also
rotate through one-fourth of a turn, so as
to be brought nearer to the centre of the
stud, and to draw the guide-bar so much less to one side of its mean position. At the
next revolution of wheel 7, the crank ¢ will move through another quadrant, and come
still nearer to the central position, drawing the guide-bars still less aside, and there-
fore causing the bobbins to wind on more thread in their middle than towards their
ends. The contrary effect would ensue, were the guide-bars moved by a single or
simple crank. After four revolutions of the wheel 7, the crank ¢ will stand once more
as shown. in fig. 1774, having moved the bar u through the whole extent of its
traverse. The bobbins, when filled, have the appearance represented in jig. 1774;
the thread having been laid on them all the time in diagonal lines, so as never to
coincide with each other.
Doubling is the next operation of the silk-throwster. In this process, the threads of
two or three of the bobbins, filled as above, are wound together in contact upon a
single bobbin. An ingenious device is here employed to stop the winding-on the
792. SILK MANUFACTURE
moment that one of these parallel threads happens to break. Instead of the swifts or
reels, a creel is here mounted for receiving the bobbins from the former machine, two
or three being placed in one line over each other, according as the threads are to be
doubled or trebled. Though this machine is in many respects like the engine, it has
some additional , whereby the bobbins are set at rest, as above mentioned, when
one of the doubling-threads gets broken.
Fig. 1775 is an end view, from which it will be perceived that the machine is, like
the preceding, a double one, with two working sides.
Fig. 1776 is a front view of a considerable portion of the machine.
upon a single bobbin.
Fig. 1779 is the plan of the parts shown in jig. 1777 ; these two figures being drawn
to double the scale of figs. 1775 and 1776.
h
ith u
A, A, figs. 1775 and 1776, are the end frames, connected at their tops by a wooden
stretcher, or bar-beam, a, which extends through the whole length of the machine;
this bar is shown also in figs. 1777 and 1779.
AA 1776
@ : 3 ;
D EEA i Saunt, 56d paL ee
3 h : bd ua fi hy all
2 5] s P .
P ‘ bY pq bd
b U ug ta @ g. i af
c 1 s neq —
i ‘ w y 3
DEO.
A 8
A
me * tc
B, B, are the creels upon each side of the machine, or bobbin-bearers, resting upon
ae heams or boards, made fast to the arms or brackets c, about the middle of the
Tames A, : ¥
Fig. 1777 shows part of a cross section, to explain minutely the mode of winding |
SILK MANUFACTURE 793
D, D, are two horizontal iron shafts, which pervade the whole machine, and carry a
series of light moveable pulleys, called stars, c, ¢ (figs. 1777, 1779), which serve to
drive the bobbins 2, whose fixed pulleys rest upon their peripheries, and are therefore
turned simply by friction. E
These bobbins are screwed ( 177 g
by swivel-nuts, ¢, e, upon hk Git
spindles, as in the silk-engine.
Besides the small friction-
pulley, or boss, d, seen best in
Jig. 1779, by which they rest
upon the star-pulleys ¢, ¢, a
little ratchet-wheel, f, is at-
tached to the other end of each
bobbin. This is also shown
by itself at f, in fig. 1778.
The spindles, with their
bobbins, revolve in two slot-
bearings, F, F, fig. 1779,
serewed to the bar-beam a,
{. LOU am
| be
frames, such as A’. The slot-
bearings F have also a second slot, in which the spindle with the bobbin is laid at rest,
out of contact of the star-wheel, while its broken thread is being mended. « is the
guide-bar (to which the cleaner slit-pieces, g, g, are attached), for making the thread
traverse to the right and the left, for its proper distribution over the surface of the
bobbin. The guide-bar of the doubling-machine is moved with a slower traverse
than in the engine; otherwise, in consequence of the different obliquities of the paths,
the single threads would be readily broken. h,h, is a pair of smooth rods of iron or
brass, placed parallel to each of the two sides of the’ machine, and made fast to the
standards u, H, which are screwed to brackets projecting from the frames a, 4’. Over
these rods the silk threads glide, in their passage to the guide-wires g,g, and the
bobbins z.
I, I, is the lever-board upon each side of the machine, upon which the slight brass
bearings or fulecrums 3, 7, one for each bobbin in the creel, are made fast. This
bears the dalance-lever k, 1, with the fallers n, n, n, which act as dexterous fingers, and
stop the bobbin from winding-on the instant a thread may chance to break. The levers
k, l, swing upon a fine wire axis, which passes through their props ¢, 7, their arms being
shaped rectangularly, as shown at &, k’ (fig. 1779). Thearm / being heavier than the
arm #, naturally rests upon the ridge-bar " 1779 ae
m, of the lever-board 1. 7, ”, ”, are No tal) r] 4
three wires, resting at one of their ends m. |
upon the axis of the fulcrum 7,7, ard i
having each of their other hooked ends H f ea ae e se ‘
suspended by one of the silk threads, as 1 Tn 4 , "
it passes over the front steel rod./, and Same ale
under 2’. These faller-wires,.or stop-
fingers, are guided truly in their up-
and-down motions with the thread, by a
cleaner-plat o, having a vertical slit in
its middle. Hence, whenever any thread
Sy —
=H | lis
tele
SHIT,
(a
© Gi,
st
|
|
|
|
\
|
f
happens to break, in its way to a wind- I
ing-on bobbin x, the wire #, which hung ,/| ||h
by its eyelet end to that thread, as it
passed through between the steel rods in wv om lei tess
the line of 4, h’, falls. upon the lighter
arm of the balance-lever /, 1, weighs down that arm &, consequently jerks up the arm /,
which pitches its tip or end into one of the three notches of the racket or catch-wheel
F (figs. 1778 and 1779), fixed to the end of the bobbin. Thus its motion is instan-
taneously arrested, till the girl has had leisure to mend the thread, when she again
hangs up the faller-wire , and restores the lever %, 7, to its horizontal position. If,
meanwhile, she took occasion to remove the winding-bobbin out of the sunk slot-bearing,
where pulley d touches the star-wheel c, into the right-hand upper slot of repose, she
must now shift it into its slot of rotation.
The motions are given to the doubling-machine in a very simple way. Upon the
end of the frame, represented in jig. 1775, the shafts bear two spur-wheels, 1 and 2,
which work into each other. To the wheel 1 is attached the bevel-wheel 3, driven by
794 SILK MANUFACTURE | =
another bevel-weeel 4 ( fig. 1776), fixed to a shaft that extends the whole length of the
apartment, and serves, therefore, to drive a whole range of machines, The wheel 4
may be put in gear with the shaft, by a clutch- and gear-handle, as in the silk-engine,
and thereby it drives two shafts, by the one transmitting its movement to the other.
The traverse-motion of the guide-bar a is effected as follows:—Upon one of the .
shafts p, there is a bevel-wheel 5, driving the bevel-wheel 6, upon the top of the
upright shaft p (fig. 1776, to the right of the middle); whence the motion is trans-
mitted to the horizontal shaft g below, by means of the bevel-wheels 7 and 8. Upon
this shaft g, there is a heart-wheel 7, working against a roller which is fixed to the end
of the lever s, whose fulcrum is at ¢, fig. 1775. The other end of the lever s, is con-
nected by two rods (shown by dotted lines in fig. 1776) to a brass piece which joins
the arms u (fig. 1776), of the guide-bars ¢. To the same eross-piece a cord is attached,
which goes over a roller v, and suspends a weight w, by means of which the lever s,
is pressed into contact with the heart-wheel r. The fulcrum ¢, of the lever s, is a
shaft which is turned somewhat excentric, and has a very slow rotatory motion.
Thus the guide-bar, after each traverse, necessarily winds the silk in variable lines to
the side of the preceding é
The motion is given to this shaft in the following way :—Upon the horizontal shaft
q, there is a bevel-wheel g (figs. 1775 and 1776), which drives the wheel 10 upon the
shaft «; on whose upper end, the worm y works on the wheel 11, made fast to the
said excentric shaft ¢; round which the lever s, swings or oscillates, causing the guide-
bars to traverse.
The Spinning Silk-mill_—The machine which twists the silk threads, either in their
single or doubled state, is called the
spinning-mill. When the raw singles
are first twisted in one direction.
next doubled, and then twisted to-
gether in the opposite direction, an
exceedingly wiry, compact thread, is
produced, called organzine. In the
spinning-mill, either the singles or
the doubled silk, while being un-
wound from one set of bobbins, and
wound upon another set, is subjected
to a regular twisting operation ; in
which process the thread is con-
ducted as usual through guides, and
coiled diagonally upon the bobbins
by a proper mechanism.
Fig. 1780 exhibits an end-view
of the spinning-mill ; in which four
working lines are shown ; two tiers
upon each side, one above the other.
Some spinning- mills have three
working tiers upon each side; but
as the highest tier must be reached
by a ladder or platform, this con-
struction is considered by many to
be injudicious.
Fig. 1781 is a front view, where,
as in the former figure, the two |
working lines are shown. 5
Fig. 1782, is @ cross section of a
part of the machine, to illustrate
the construction and play of the
working parts ; figs. 1788, 1789, are other views of fig. 1782.
Fig. 1784, shows a single part of the machine, by which the bobbins are made to
revolve.
Figs. 1783 and 1785, show a different mode of giving the traverse to the guide-bars,.
than that represented in fig. 1782. *
Figs. 1786 and 1787, show thé shape of the full bobbins, produced by the action of
these two different traverse motions.
The upper part of the machine being exactly the same as the under part, it will be
sufficient to explain the construction and operation of one of them. —
A, A, are the end upright frames or standards, between which are two or three
intermediate standards, according to the length of the machine. They are all con-
nected at their sides by beams B and c, which extend the whole length of the machines.
SILK MANUFACTURE 795
D, D, are the spindles, whose top bearings a, @, are made fast to the beams pn, and their
bottoms turn in hard brass steps, fixed to the bar c. These two bars together are
called by the workmen the spindle-box. The standards A, a, are bound with cross-
bars N, N.
¢, c, are the wharves or whorls, turned by a band from the horizontal tin cylinder
in the lines of 8, fig. 1781, lying in the middle lines between the two parallel rows
of spindles p, D. ¥,¥F, are the bobbins containing the untwisted double silk, which are
simply pressed down upon the taper end of the spindles. d, d, are little flyers, or
forked wings of wire, attached to washers of wood, which revolve loose upon the tops
of the said bobbins Fr, and round the spindles. One of the wings is sometimes bent
upwards, to serve as a guide to the silk, as shown by dotted lines in fig. 1782. ¢, ¢, are
pieces of wood pressed upon the tops of the spindles, to prevent the flyers from starting
off by the centrifugal force. « are horizontal shafts bearing a number of little spur-
wheels f, f. 4 are slot-bearings, similar to those of the doubling-machine, which are
fixed to the end and middle frames. In these slots, the light square cast-iron shafts
or spindles g, fig. 1784, are laid, on whose end the spur-wheel / is cast; and when the
shaft g lies in the front slot of its bearing, it is in gear with the wheel f, upon the
shaft ¢; but when it is laid in the back slot, it is out of gear, and at rest, See F, F,
fig. 1780.
® ie it 13 |s S35
Upon these little cast-iron shafts or spindles g, fig. 1784, the bobbins or blocks 1, are
thrust, for receiving by winding-on the twisted or spun silk. These blocks are made
of a large diameter, in order that the silk fibres may not be too much bent ; and they
are but slightly filled at each successive charge, lest, by increasing their diameter
too much, they should produce too rapid an increase in the rate of winding, with
proportional diminution in the twist, and risk of stretching or tearing the silk, They
are therefore the more frequently changed. x, K, are the guide-bars, with the guides
i, i, through which the silk passes, being drawn by the revolving bobbins 1, and
delivered or laid on by the flyers d, d, from the rotatory twisting-bobbins r. The
operation of the machine is therefore simple, and the motions are given to the parts in
a manner equally so. :
Upon the shaft of the tin cylinder or drum, exterior to the frame, the usual fast
and loose pulleys or riggers, 1, 1’, are mounted, for driving the whole machine.
These riggers are often called steam-pulleys by the workmen, from their being con-
nected by bands with the steam-driven shaft of the factory. In order to allow the
796 _ SILK MANUFACTURE
riggers upon the shafts of the upper and the under drums to be driven from the same
pulley upon the main shaft, the axis of the under drum is prolonged at 1, 1’, and
supported at its end, directly from the floor, by
an upright bearing. Upon the shafts of the
tin cylinders there is also a fly-wheel, m, to
equalise the motion. Upon the other ends of
these shafts, namely, at the end of the spinning
mill, represented in fig. 1782, the pinions 1, are
fixed, which drive the wheels 3, by means of
the intermediate or carrier-wheel, 2, called also
the plate-wheel, from its being hollowed some-
what like a trencher. i is called the change
9 pinion, because it is changed for another of a
_ different size and different number of teeth,
when a change in the velocity of wheels 2 and
3 is to be made. To allow a greater or smaller
pinion to be applied at 1, the wheel 2 is
mounted upon a stud %, which is moveable in
a slot concentric with the axis of the wheel 3.
This slot is a branch from the cross-bar n.
The smaller the change-pinion is, the nearer
will the stud & approach to the vertical line
joining the centres of wheels 1 and 3; and the
more slowly will the plate-wheel 2 be driven.
To the spur-wheel 3, a bevel-wheel 4, is fixed,
with which the other also revolves loose upon
a stud. The bevel-wheel 5, upon the shaft /, is
driven by the bevel-wheel 4; and it communi-
cates motion, by the bevel-wheels 6 and 7, to
each of the horizontal shafts Gc, G, extending
along the upper and under tiers of the machine.
At the left-hand side of the top part of fig. 1781,
the two wheels 6 and 7 are omitted, on purpose
VeRS)3 to show the bearings of the shaft G, as also the
, slot-bearings for carrying the shafts or skewers
of the bobbins.
If it be desired to communicate twist in the
a d opposite direction to that which would be given
A |
by the actual arrangement of the wheels, it is
necessary merely to transpose the carrier-wheel
2, from its present position on the right hand of
pinion 1, to the left of it, and to drive the tin cylinder by a crossed or close strap,
instead of a straight or open one.
The traverse motion of the guide is given here in a similar way to that of the
engine (fig. 1766). Near one of the middle or cross-frames of the machine (see ig.
1782), the wheel f, in gear with a spur-wheel #, upon one of the block-shafts, drives
also a spur-wheel m, that revolves upon a stud, to which wheel is fixed a bevel-wheel
n, in gear with the bevel-wheel o. To wheel o, the same mechanism is attached
= as was described under
1784 Jigs. 1780 and 1781, and
which is here marked
I with the same letters.
To the crank-knob 7,
me, Jig. 1782, a rod, x, is at-
. ; tached, which moves or
é
c
N
traverses the guide-bar
belonging to that part of
PS the machine pe each
£ machine one appa-
a
: “*, 1783 and 1785, another
as >) BOO 26)" Oe SP, ae? GN Le A eee ee | ;
‘ eS - : re ate wer OP, le ee be 3 3
, 3 ea as . Fel \ faa) TF ee See
7 ‘ % én? oes 1,029,682
Handkerchiefs, scarfs and shawls . . a de 387,509
Ribbons of all sorts . s is “ Po ants 207,256
Of silk and other materials » > ; ay , 362,442
SILKWORM GUT, for angling, is made as follows :—Select a number of the best
and largest silkworms, just when they are beginning to spin; which is known by their
refusing to eat, and having a fine silk thread hanging from their mouths. Tmmerse
them in strong vinegar, and cover them closely for twelve hours, if-the weather be
warm, but two or three hours longer, if it be cool. When taken out, and pulled
1792 asunder, two transparent guts will be
a
: observed, of a yellow-green colour, as
OTD CR AT
qs
thick as a small straw, bent double.
The rest of the entrails resembles
boiled spinage, and therefore can ocea-
d a sion no mistake as to the silk-gut. If
e ¢ this be soft, or break upon stretching
{> it, it is a proof that the worm has not
— 2 4 been long enough under the influence
f Ff . : of the vinegar. When the gut is fit to
eas aR , \, draw out, the one end of it is to be
: é t+ dipped into the vinegar, and the other
ME Miho J . end is to be stretched gently to the
o——_ mac » proper length. When thus drawn out,
Ps gia it must be kept extended on a thin
— os | piece of board, by putting its ex-
ce 4 oe tremities into slits in the end of the
; wood, or fastening them to pins, and
then exposed in the sun to dry. Thus genuine silk-gut is made in Spain. From the
manner in which it is dried, the ends are always more or less compressed or attenuated,
In fig. 1792, a is the silkworm ; 4, the worm torn.asunder ; ¢,¢, the guts; d,d, a board
slit at the ends, with the gut to dry; f, f, boards with wooden pegs, for the same
urpose. :
. aILVER (Argent, Fr. ; Silber, Ger.) was formerly called a perfect metal, because
heat alone revived its oxide, and because it could pass unchanged through trials by
fire, which apparently destroyed most other metals. ‘The distinctions, perfect, im-
perfect, and noble, are now rejected.
When pure and polished, silver is the brightest of the metals. Its specific gravity
in the ingot is 10°47; but, when condensed under the hammer or in the coining-press,
it becomes 10°6. It melts at a bright red heat, at a temperature estimated by some as
equal to 1873° Fahr. It is exceedingly malleable and ductile, affording leaves not
' more thar zg5455 of an inch thick, and wire far finer than a human hair.
By Sickingen’s experiments, its tenacity is, to that of gold and platinum, as the
number 19, 15, and 264; so that it has an intermediate strength between these two
SILVER 801
metals. Pure atmospheric air does not affect silver, but that of houses impregnated
with sulphuretted hydrogen sovun tarnishes it with a film of brown sulphide. It is
distinguished chemically from gold and platinum by its ready solubility in nitric acid,
and from almost all other metals, by its saline solutions affording a curdy precipitate
with a most minute quantity of sea-salt or any soluble chloride.
The atomic weight of silver is 108; its chemical symbol is Ag (argentwm).
Silver occurs in nature under many forms :—
1. Native silver possesses most of the above properties ; yet, on account of its being
more or less alloyed with other metals, it differs a little in malleability, lustre, density,
&e. It sometimes occurs crystallised in octahedrons, in cubes, and eubo-octahedrons.
At other times it is found in dendritic shapes, or arborescences, resulting from minute
crystals implanted upon each other. But more usually it presents itself in small
grains without determinable form, or in amorphous masses of various magnitude,
The gangues (mineral matrices) of native silver are so numerous, that it may be
said to occur in all kinds of rock, At one time it appears as if filtered into their
fissures, at another as having vegetated on their surface, and at a third, as if impasted
in their substance. Such varieties are met with principally in the mines of Peru.
The native metal is found in almost all the silver mines now worked ; but especially
in those of Kongsberg in Norway, in carbonate and fluoride of calcium, &c.; at
Schlangenberg in Siberia, in sulphate of baryta; at Allémont, in a ferruginous clay,
&e. The mines of Chili and Peru have yielded large quantities of native silver.
The metals most usually associated with silver in the native alloy, are gold, copper,
arsenic, and iron. At Andreasberg and Guadalcanal it has been found alloyed with
about five per cent. of arsenic. The auriferous native silver is the rarest.
2. Antimonial silver, or Dyscrasite——This rare ore is destitute of malleability,
and very brittle; spec. grav. 9°5. It melts before the blowpipe, and affords white
fumes of oxide of antimony: being readily distinguished from arsenical iron and arsenical
cobalt by its lamellar fracture. It consists of from 76 to 84 per cent. of silver, and
from 24 to 16 of antimony.
3. Argentite, Sulphide of silver or Silver glance—This is an opaque substance, of
a dark-grey or leaden hue; slightly malleable, and easily cut with a knife, when
it betrays a metallic lustre. The silver is easily separated by the blowpipe. It con-
sists of 13 of sulphur to 89 of silver, by experiment; 13 to 87 are the theoretic propor-
tions. Its specific gravity is 6-9. It oceurs crystallised in cubes, and is found in
the mines of Freiberg in Saxony, Joachimsthal in Bohemia, Schemnitz in Hungary,
and Mexico.
4. Pyrargyrite, Red Silver ore, Ruby Blende, or Antimoniated sulphide of silver, is an
ore remarkable for its lustre, colour, and the variety of its forms. It is friable, easily
scraped by the knife, and affords a powder of a lively crimson-red. Its colour in mass
is brilliant red, dark red, or even metallic reddish-black. It crystallises in a variety
of hexagonal forms. Its constituents are: silver from 56 to 62; antimony from 20 to
24; sulphur from 16 to 18. It is found in almost all silver mines ; but principally
in those of Freiberg, Andreasberg, and Guadalcanal.
5. Proustite, Light Red Silver ore, or Arsenical sulphide of silver, is a similar but
rarer mineral, in which arsenic takes the place of antimony.
6. Stephanite, or Black sulphide of silver, is a blackish, brittle mineral, affording
globules of silver at the blowpipe. It is found at. Allémont and at Freiberg; but
more abundantly in the silver mines of Peru and Mexico. The Spaniards call it negrillo.
7. Polybasite is a sulphide of silver and copper, generally with antimony and
arsenic. It occurs in Mexico, Chili, Nevada, and Idaho.
8. Sternbergite is a rare sulphide of silver and iron.
9. Chloride of silver, or Horn silver.—In consequence of its semi-transparent aspect,
its yellowish or greenish colour, and such softness that it may be cut with the nail,
this ore has been compared to horn, and may be easily recognised. It melts at the
flame of a candle, and may be reduced when heated along with iron or black-flux. It
is occasionally crystallised in forms belonging to the cubic system; but occurs chiefly
in irregular forms, sometimes covering the native silver with a thick crust, as in Peru
and Mexico. Its density is only 4°74. It is found in considerable quantities at North
Doleoath in Cornwall.
Chloride of silver sometimes contains 60 or 70 per cent. of clay; and is then called
‘ butter-milk ore’ by the German miners.
10. Bromide of silver or Bromyrite, and Iodide of silver or Jodyrite, occur in the
mines of Chili and Mexico; whilst a mineral called Embolite, which is 1 chloro-
bromide of silver, is found rather abundantly. in some of the mines of Chili.
11. Carbonate of silver, or Selbite, is a mineral of doubtful occurrence.
Large quantities of silver are annually obtained in this country, and in the lead-
ag bret of Europe, by the eeteest of argentiferous galena ; but the New
Vor. IT. 3
802 SILVER
Continent, which produces for the most part ores containing but a small proportion of
lead, is estimated to furnish twelve times more silver than the Old. See Lrap,
Silver has been produced in the following countries :—
Norway.—The mines of Kongsberg were discovered in 1628, and they have been
worked, almost continuously, up to the present time, their average annual produce
being about 18,000 lbs. troy.
Hungary, Transylvania, and the Banat, are stated to produce about 92,000 lbs, of
silver annually.
and Bohemia.—The mines near Freiberg are the most important.
The Mines of the Hartz produce about 28,000 Ibs. troy of silver annually ; while
those of the Alps produce small quantities.
France has no silver mines of importance.
In Spain, the mines of Guadalcanal and Cazalla have been highly productive. The
total produce of the Spanish silver mines, in 20 years, was 8,200,000 Spanish ounces.
In North America, the mines of Mezico are the most ancient, and the silver lodes
the most remarkable. The vein called the Veta Madre, of Guanaxuato, was often 200
feet in width, and that of Zacatecas is sometimes 75 feet, wide. Humboldt stated the
production of silver in Mexico, in 1789, to have been 7,314,344 lbs. troy. There are
about sixteen silver mines producing silver ore at the present time in Mexico; the
ores varying from 55 ounces to 81 ounces of silver to the ton. The Real del Monte
Company produced annually silver to the value of three millions and a half of dollars.
Nevada.—The discovery of silver in this region dates only from 1859 ; but the pro-
_ duction of silver and gold has been immense, often rising to nearly 300,000 tons of ore
per annum ; sometimes yielding silver to the value of 150 dollars per ton, and seldom
of less value than 28 dollars. There are numerous other districts, which space will
not allow us to mention. See ‘The Mining and Metallurgy of Gold and Silver,’ by
J. Arthur Phillips, for full accounts of the North American silver mines. -
South America.—The silver mines are confined to the Republics of Peru, Bolivia,
and Chili. The mines of Cerro de Pasco are the most celebrated in Peru, the principal
ores being known as pacos ; these are ferruginous earths, containing varying amounts
of silver. These mines were discovered in 1630, and are still being worked, upon a
small scale. The production of silver, in Peru, has been estimated at 299,000 lbs. troy.
Bolivia—The mines of Potosi, which once formed a portion of the viceroyalty of
Buenos Ayres, are now included in this republic. Thirty-two veins have been worked
in this historical mine, which was discovered in 1545, with great profit, and numerous
smaller ones, with more or less advantage. In the province of Potosi, according to
Whitney, the United States Geologist, there were, when he visited the district, 1,800
abandoned mines, and only 26 at work; in other parts, there were 2,365.mines aban-
~ doned, and only 40 at work.
Chili—The most important silver mines of Chili are those in the neighbourhood of
mii; es Chlorides of silver are the most abundant ores, but there are also arsenides
and sulphides, the ore containing from 100 to 250 ounces of silver to the ton. Chili
appears to have produced in seven years 1,750,000 lbs. of silver.
New Granada.—The Santa Anna mines, in the province of Mariquita; have been
long celebrated. They produced 1,266,455 ounces of silver between 1852 and 1864.
Since that time, the production has been limited.
Mexican Amalgamation Process.—The following description of the extraction and
treatment of silver ores in Mexico is derived from a paper published by Mr. J. A.
Phillips, who for some years acted as manager for the firm of John Taylor and Sona.
His excellent description may be applied to the amalgamation process, as carried out
in other places,
We may previously state some of the peculiar features observable in the working of
the mines of Mexico, confining our attention to the mines of Guanaxuato, Zacatecas
(including Fresnillo), and Real del Monte. The mines of Guanaxuato are situated
upon one vein of great length and width. It should be understood that this vein,
like all mineral veins, is not productive of silver ore throughout its whole extent, but
the ore occurs in branches and bunches, leaving intermediate spaces of dead or un
ductive ground ; and, as an ordinary mine-level seldom exceeds 6 feet in width, it is
clear that a level like this would not explore a vein of such dimensions as that of
Guanaxuato, while the expense of cross-cutting, as miners term it, would require more
capital than the owners of the mine were willing to risk, or able, in many instances, to
spare. Hence, there sprang up in Guanaxuato a system of working well adapted to
the circumstances noticed, and being based upon the principle that the hope of reward
acts as a ‘stimulus to exertion, was attended with the best effects, and led to the
discovery of some of the richest deposits of ore.
This system is called that of the duscones or ‘seekers,’ who are the working
miners. These men, at their own risk, work in the mines under certain restrictions ;
and following up such indications as may appear to them favourable, oftentimes meet
‘os!
SILVER 808
with a valuable course of ore, but frequently work for months, earning scarcely
enough for bare subsistence. While thus employed the buscon receives half the
prodace of the ore he breaks; and it may be readily conceived that if he should fall
in with a rich deposit, his gains should be very large: thus, instances have been
known where a man has obtained, in this way, 1,000 or 1,500 dollars in a month.
The owners of the mine, however, have the option of taking away such a
discovery from the hands of the miner, after a short notice, and working it on their
own account, or, as it is termed, hacienda account, when they pay the miners a dollar
per day each, without any share of the ore. To do this, however, the mine must be
rich, and as it is, a very large portion of the ore in Guanaxuato is raised by the bus-
cones, who divide the produce equally with the owners.
The ore, being broken and separated as much as possible from the rocky parts
underground, is tied up in the dotas of bullocks’ hides, which are drawn to the
surface by the malacates, in the same manner as the water. In some of the
Guanaxuato mines, labourers are employed to take the ore to the surface, and these
will carry on their backs from 2 to 3 ewts., and perform several journeys in a day
from the bottom of a mine 400 or 500 yards in depth. At the mine of Mellado
there is a very excellent double tramroad, on an inclined plane of timber, upon
which the ore is drawn up in waggons to a height of 200 varas from the bottom
of the mine, where the diagonal joins the perpendicular shaft at about the same
depth from the surface: each carriage will contain 160 arrobas of 25 lbs. each. The
power applied is that of a malacate working underground; and here at 200 yards
from the surface, and shut out from the light of day, one is surprised to behold
a storehouse and stabling, with all the necessary appurtenances for thirty-six horses,
employed in moving the machine above mentioned, nine horses working at a time.
Having brought the ore to the surface, it is conveyed to the mine-yard, and
placed in separate heaps, under the eye of the duscon or miner, who prepares it for
sale, At a stated time the auctioneer appears, accompanied by a clerk; he walks
round to the heaps of ore in succession, and sells them in the following manner :—
Standing before the heap of ore to which he invites attention, those who come to
purchase step forward and whisper into his ear the price they severally offer: When
all have done, he declares aloud the name of the highest bidder, and the price, which
are entered in a book by the clerk ; and the same process is followed throughout until
all the ore is sold.
The practice in the Real del Monte differs from both the others, but assimilates
a little towards the Guanaxuato system, inasmuch as the miner has a share of the ore,
called partido. This partido system has prevailed from a very early period, and has
led to many broils and disturbances with the miners.
The method of extracting the silver from the ore, at the establishments maintained
for that purpose, called ‘haciendas de beneficio, or ‘haciendas de Plata, of which there
are many of great extent in the country, is thus carried forward. The Haciendas
Nueva in Fresnillo, of Sauceda in Zacatecas, of Barrera in Guanaxuato, and of
Regla at Real del Monte, are the principal establishments of this kind at present in
use. That in Fresnillo is the largest used for amalgamation only, the outer walls
being 492 varas in length by 412 varas in width. It was erected at a cost of 300,000
dollars, and is very complete in all its arrangements.
The Hacienda de Regla combines very extensive smelting works with those for
amalgamation.
The ore being placed in heaps in the yard is broken by hammers into pieces of
moderate size, and carefully picked ; the richer parts being set aside for smelting, and
the poorer for amalgamation.
In the smelting process, the ore after being crushed, is mixed with slag or remains
from former smeltings, litharge or oxide of lead, and a little iron ore and lime.
These are put into the furnace with charcoal, and the silver is brought down with the
lead; the two metals being afterwards separated in refining furnaces. The German
high furnace is usually employed, although the Castilian furnace described in the
article on Lzap, would probably be found preferable.
It is estimated that about an eighth part of the silver produced in Mexico is ob-
tained by smelting; but as only the richest ores are subjected to this process, on
account of the expense, which is from 15/. to 20/. per ton, except in a district like
Zimapan, where lead ore is abundant, the proportion which the quantity of ore
smelted bears when compared with that reduced by amalgamation must be very
small indeed.
The process of amalgamation, to which attention is now more particularly directed,
depends upon the great affinity of quicksilver for silver. In order, however, to make
this known property available, certain operations are requisite, to reduce the silver
contained in the ore to such a state that the quicksilver will readily combine with it.
38r2
804 | _ SILVER
After the breaking and dressing by hand, the ore is crushed, either by crushing-
rollers or more generally by stamps, called in Mexico, molinos. The stamps are
similar in principle to those used in the tin mines of Cornwall, but not so powerful,
and are worked either by water-power or by mules, As the ore is crushed, it falls
through small holes of about the size of a pea, perforated in strong hides stretched in
a slope on either side of the machine placed over. a pit which receives the fine ore,
from whence it is conveyed to the arrastres or grinding mills.
These stamping mills are sometimes driven by a small breast water-wheel, of five
feet diameter and one foot broad. Fig. 1793 will give a sufficient idea of their con-
struction. The long horizontal shaft, fixed on the axis of the wheel, is furnished with
5 or 6 rams placed at different situations round the shaft, so as to act in succession
1793 on the projecting teeth of the
upright rods or pestles. Each
S i of these weighs 200 lbs., and
works in a corresponding oblong
mortar of stone or wood.
The arrastre, or ‘tahona, as
it is called in the northern dis-
tricts, is exceedingly simple, but
for so rude a machine is very
effective. Baron Humboldt, in
alluding to it, says that he never
saw ore so finely pulverised as
he saw it in Mexico. In Guan-
axuato, where there is much gold
in the ore, this is particularly
. observable.
The arrastre consists, in the
first place, of a strong wooden
post moving on a spindle ina
beam above it, and resting on an iron pivot beneath, turning in an iron socket on
the top of a small post of hard wood which rises about a foot above the ground in the
centre of the arrastre. See Orz Dressine.
These arrastres are usually arranged in rows in a large gallery or shed, as will be
seen by reference to fig. 1794, which represents the gallery of the Hacienda of Salgado.
A machine has been introduced at Real del Monte which has superseded the old
Mexican arrastres. This machine is similar in principle to some of the grinding
mills of this country, and to the drapiche of Peru. It consists of two large
circular edge stones faced with iron, and moving over iron bottoms, the ore being
crushed and ground with water between the two metal-surfaces. The machine is
turned by twelve mules in the twenty-four hours, four mules working at a time,
and the quantity ground to a fine slime is sixty quintals, or about ten times the
quantity ground by a common arrastre; and there is reason to believe that the
quantity might be doubled by the use of water- or steam-power, as the number of re-
volutions would be increased.
The ore being brought into a finely-divided state, is allowed to run out of the
arrastre into shallow tanks or reservoirs, where it remains exposed to the sun until a
larger portion of the water has evaporated, when it has the appearance of thick mud ;
and in this state the process is proceeded with.
The lama as it is called, or slime, is now laid out on the patio, or amalgamation-
floor (which is in some places boarded, and in others paved with flat stones), in large
masses called tortas, 40 to 50 feet in diameter and about a foot thick, consisting fre-
quently of 60 or 70 tons of ore; and so extensive are the floors that a large number
of these tortas are seen in progress at the same time. Thus, at the Haciendade Regla,
the patio, which is boarded and carefully caulked, to render it water-tight, is capable
of containing ten of these tortas, of about 60 tons each and 50 feet in diameter. The
Hacienda de Barrera in Guanaxuato will hold eighteen tortas of 70 to 75 tons each,
The Hacienda Sauceda at Zacatecas will contain twenty-four tortas of 60 tons each ;
and the patio floor of the Hacienda Nueva at Fresnillo is still larger, being 180 varas
in length by as many in width, and capable of containing sixty-four tortas of 70 tons
each !
Having laid out the masses of ore in the patio, the operations necessary to produce
the chemical changes commence. The first ingredient introduced is salt, which is
put into the torta in the proportion of 50 lbs. to every ton of ore (but varying in
different districts), and a number of mules are made to tread it, so that it may become
dissolved in the water, and intimately blended with the mass. On the following day
another ingredient is introduced, called in Mexico magistral, It is common copper
SILVER 805
pyrites, or sulphide of copper and iron, pulverised and calcined, which converts it into
a sulphate, About 25 lbs. of this magistral are added for every ton of ore in the torta,
and the mules are again put in, and tread the mass for several hours. Chemical action
now commences: the salt, magistral and metallic sulphurets are decomposed, and new
combinations are in progress. Quicksilver is then introduced, being spread over the
torta. in very small particles, which is effected by passing it through a coarse cloth:
The quantity required is six times the estimated weight of the silver contained in the
ore, or 3 lbs. for every mare of 8 ozs.
The quicksilver being spread over the surface, the mules are once more put in, and
tread the whole until it is well mixed. This treading is called the repaso, and is
repeated every other day, or less often, according to the judgment of the azoguero or
superintendent, until the operation is completed.
But it is in the progress of the operation that the skill of the azoguero is most
required, because he must attend to certain signs or appearances which present them-
selves to him, and upon which depends the success of his work, whether as it regards
the produce of silyer or the economy of quicksilver and other materials and time.
For this purpose he has a small quantity of the torta put on one side, upon which he
operates before adding materials to the torta itself; this is called a gwia, or guide.
1794
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Mi
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Wii
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In order to ascertain how the chemical action in the torta proceeds, he collects a
small quantity of the slime and washes it in a small bowl, and by the signs presented
by the quicksilver and amalgam he, from his practical knowledge of the subject, is
able to judge as to the state of the torta; whether it requires more magistral or
quicksilver; or whether it has had too much magistral, in which case it is hot, and a
little lime must be put in to decompose the excess of chloride of copper. This
simple plan is termed the ¢entadwra, by which in fact the azoguero is guided through-
out the amalgamation process.
When at length he finds the quicksilver is no longer absorbed, the operation is
considered complete, and the torta rendida, or ready to be washed, and sometimes lime
is added to stop further action. A large quantity of quicksilver is then thrown in, and
is called ef bafio, or bath, which combining with the amalgam, causes it to separate the
more readily from the slime in the washing. The time required to complete the pro-
cess varies from ten to thirty days; but in some places is often considerably more,
according to climate and the nature of the ore.
The amalgam has now to be separated from the mass, which is done at Real del
Monte by washing it in a large square vat, in which several men keep constantly
806 ; SILVER
stirring it with their feet, while at the same time a stream of water is made to pass
through. By this means the lighter particles of the mud flow out into canals
furnished with basins, called apuros, to catch all stray amalgam and quicksilver, und »
the great body of the amalgam remains at the bottom of the vat.
In Guanaxuato, the process of washing is more perfect. They have three circular
vats called tinas, in which the ore is stirred by means of long wooden teeth fixed in
eross bars attached to a vertical shaft, the whole turned by a simple machine, worked
by mules. The slime has to pass through the third vat before being carried entirely
away, so that a very small portion indeed of the amalgam escapes. The process
of washing is somewhat similar in Zacatecas, but there they use but one tina or vat.
The amalgam is carried in bowls into the oa dpc where it is subjected to strain-
ing through the strong canvas bottom of a leathern bag. The hard mass left in the
bag is moulded into wedge-shaped
masses of 30 Ibs., which are arranged
in the burning house (fig. 1795), to
the number of*11, upon a solid copper
stand, called baso, having a round
hole in its centre. Over this row of
wedges several others are built; and
the whole pile is called pifia. Each
circular range is firmly bound round
with a rope. The base is placed
' over a pipe which leads to a small
tank of water for condensing the quicksilver; a cylindrical space being left in the
middle of the pifia, to give free egress to the mercurial vapours.
A large bell-shaped cover, called capellina, is now hoisted up, and carefully lowered
over the pifia, by means of pulleys. A strong lute of ashes, saltierra, and lama is
applied to its lower edge, and made to fit very closely to the plate on which the
base stands. A wall of fire-bricks is then built loosely round the capellina, and this
space is filled with burning charcoal, which is thrice replenished, to keep it burning
all night. After the heat has been applied 20 hours, the bricks and ashes are re-
moved, the luting broken, and the capellina hoisted up. The burned silver is then
found in a hard mass, which is broken up, weighed, and carried to the casting-house,
to be formed into bars.
It will be observed that quicksilver performs a very important part in the process
of amalgamation, the silver being through its agency collected from the ore: but this
is only done by an enormous loss of its own bulk, occasioned in part mechanically
from its minute subdivision through such an immense mass of matter, but principally
from the chemical action upon it during the reducing process. The consumption of
quicksilver varies in different districts, according to the nature of the ores, the climate,
and the practical skill attained by the operator.
In some places and on some ore the loss of quicksilver is as low as ten ounces for
every mare of silver produced, while in others it exceeds 20 ounces; the average
loss wane however, be taken to be a pound of quicksilver for every half-pound of silver
extrac’
Gay-Lussae, Boussingault, Karsten, and several other chemists of note have offered
solutions of the amalgamation enigma of Mexico and Peru. The following seems
to be the most probable rationale of the successive steps of the process :—
The addition of the magistral (powder of the roasted copper pyrites), is not for the
purpose of disengaging hydrochloric acid from the sea-salt (sa/tierra), as has been
supposed, since nothing of the kind actually takes place; but, by reciprocal or com-
pound affinity, it serves to form chloride of copper and chloride of iron, upon the
one hand, and sulphate of soda, upon the other. Were sulphuric acid to be used
instead of the magistral, as certain nevices have prescribed, it would certainly prove
injurious, by causing muriatic acid to exhale. Since the ores contain only at times
oxide of silver, but always a Groat abundance of oxide of iron, the acid would partly
carry off both, but leave the chloride of silver in a freer state. A magistral, such as
sulphate of iron, which is not in a condition to generate the chlorides, will not suit
the present purpose; only such metallic sulphates are useful as are ready to be trans-
formed into chlorides by the saltierra, This is peculiarly the case with sulphate of
copper. Its proto-chloride gives up chlorine to the silver, becomes in consequence a
subchloride, while the chloride of silver, thus formed, is revived, and amalgamated
with the quicksilver present, by electro-chemical agency which is excited by the
saline menstruum ; just as the voltaic pile of copper and silver is rendered active by
a solution of sea-salt. A portion of chloride of mercury will be simultaneously
formed, to be decomposed in its turn by the sulphate of silver resulting from the
mutual action of the acidified pyrites, and the silver or its oxide in the ore, An
SILVER 807
addition of quicklime counteracts the injurious effect of too much magistral, by de-
composing the resulting sulphate of copper. Quicksilver, when introduced in too great
quantities, is apt to cool the mass too much, and thereby enfeebles the operation of
the proto-chloride of copper upon the silver.
Washoe Amalgamation Process.—The system of amalgamation largely carried out in
the silver-works at Nevada, was originally introduced in the Washoe district, whenee
it derives its name. The ores having been broken by Blake’s stone-breaker, or by
hammers, are fed into a stamping-mill, where they are crushed wet. The stuff dis-
charged from the stamps passes to the settling-tanks, in which the finely-suspended
ore is allowed to subside. It is then transferred to the amalgamators, which are
usually cast-iron pans, of which various forms have been constructed by Varney and
Wheeler, Hepburn and Peterson, and other makers. In these pans the ore is ground
with hot water and mercury, often with addition of certain ‘chemicals,’ such as
common salt and sulphate of copper. The impure amalgam is discharged from the
pan into the separators or settlers, where it is cleansed, and whence it is generally
transferred to the agitators. The superfluous mercury having been strained away, the
elean amalgam is retorted, the mercury being thus distilled off, whilst the silver
remains behind, and after melting is cast into ingots.
1797
im
|
i 4 Fd j = ii 1 CI
‘ |
Titi
| | f | z It!
or) a I
A R Z
Barre Amalgamation.—The old amalgamation-works at Halsbriicke, near Freiberg,
for the treatment of silver ores by mercury, were much admired, and we will therefore
give a sketch of their former arrangement. It should be mentioned, however, that the
barrel-amalgamation process has not been worked there since 1856.
Fig. 1797 presents a vertical section of this great Usine or Hiittenwerk, subdivided
into four main departments. The first, a, B, is devoted to the preparation and roast-
ing of the matters intended for amalgamation. The second, 8, c, is occupied with
two successive siftings and the milling. The third, c, p, includes the amalgamation
apartment above, and the wash-house of the residuums below. And in the fourth,
D, E, is placed the distilling apparatus, where the amalgam is finally delivered.
1. In division a, B; a, a, is the magazine of salt; 0, b, is the hall of preparation of
the ores; on the floor of which they are sorted, interstratified, and mixed with salt;
ce, c, are the roasting furnaces; in each of which we see, 1, the fireplace; 2, 3, the
reverberatory hearth, divided into two portions, one a little higher than the other,
and more distant from the fireplace, called the drier; the materials to be calcined
fall into it through a chimney, 6. The other part, 2, of the hearth is the calcining
area. Above the furnace are chambers of sublimation, 4, 5, for condensing any vola-
tile matters which may escape by the opening 7. ¢ is the main chimney. |
2. In the division 3, c, we have d, the floor for the coarse sifting; beneath, that
for the fine sieves; from which the matters fall into the hopper, whence they pass
down to g, the mill-house, in which they are ground to flour, exactly as in a corn-
mill, and are afterwards bolted through sieves. p, f, is the wheel-machinery.
3. The compartment ¢, D, is the amalgamation-house, properly speaking. where the
casks are seen in their places. The washing of the residuums is effected in the shop
1, below. &, k, is the compartment of revolving casks.
4. In the division p, x, the distillation process is carried on. There are four similar
furnaces, represented in different states, for the sake of illustration. The wooden
drawer is seen below, supporting the cast-iron basin, in which the tripod, with its
candelabra for bearing the amalgam-saucers, is placed. g is a store chamber.
At B, are placed the pulleys and windlass for raising the roasted ore, to be sifted
and ground; as also for raising the milled flour, to be transported to the amalgama-
tion-casks. » At p, the crane stands for raising the iron bells that cover the amalgama-
tion candelabra,
808 ‘SILVER
Detaiis of the Amalgamation Process, as formerly practised at Halsbriicke.—All ores -
containing more than 7 lbs. of lead, or 1 lb. of copper, percent., are excluded from this
reviving operation (Anguickverfahren); because the lead would render the amalgam
very impure, and the copper would be wasted. They are sorted for the amalgama-
tion in such a way that the mixture of the poorer and richer ores may contain 7}, or,
at most, 8 loths (of 4 oz. each) of silver per 100 lbs. The most usual constituents of
the ores are, sulphur, silver, antimonial silver (Speissglanzsilber), bismuth, sulphides
of arsenic, of copper, iron, lead, nickel, cobalt, zine, with several earthy minerals.
It is essential that the ores to be amalgamated shall contain a certain proportion of
sulphur, in order that they may decompose enough sea-salt in the roasting to disen-
gage as much chlorine as to convert all the silver present into chloride. With this
view, ores poor in sulphur are mixed with those that are richer, to make up a deter-
minate average. The ore-post is laid upon the ded-floor, in a rectangular heap, about
17 ells long and 43 ells broad (13 yards and 33); and upon that layer the requisite
quantity of salt is let down from the floor above, through a wooden funnel; 40 cwts.
of salt being allotted to 400 ewts. of ore. The heap being made up with alternate
strata to the desired magnitude, must be then well mixed, and formed into small bings,
called roast-posts, weighing each from 3} to 44 ewts. The annual consumption of salt
_at Halsbriicke was 6,000 ewts., supplied by the Prussian salt-works.
Roasting of the Amalgamation Ores.—The furnaces appropriated to the roasting of
the ore-posts are of a reverberatory class, provided with soot-chambers. They are
built alongside the bed-floor, and connected with it bya brick tunnel. The prepared
ground-ore (Erzmehl) is spread out upon the hearth, and dried with incessant turnings
over ; then the fire is raised so as to kindle the sulphur, and keep the ore red hot for
one or two hours; during which time, dense white-grey vapours of arsenic, antimony,
and water, are exhaled. The desulphuration next begins, with the appearance of a
- blue flame. This continues for three hours, during which the ignition is kept up;
and the mass is diligently turned over, in order to present new surfaces, and prevent
caking. Whenever sulphurous acid ceases to be formed, the finishing calcination is
to be commenced with increased firing; the object being now to decompose the sea-
salt by means of the metallic sulphates that have been generated, and to convert them
into chlorides, with the simultaneous production of sulphate of soda. The stirring is
to be continued till the proofs taken from the hearth no longer betray the smell of
sulphurous, but of hydrochloric acid gas. This roasting stage commonly lasts
three quarters of an hour; 13 or 14 furnaces are worked at the same time at Hals-
briicke, and each turns out in a week upon an average 5 tons. Out of the Wicht
chambers or soot-vaults of the furnaces, from 96 to 100 ewts. of ore-dust are obtained,
containing 32 mares (16 lbs.) of silver. This dust is to be treated like unroasted ore.
The fuel of the first fire is pitcoal; of the finishing one fir-wood. Of the former 1153
cubic feet, and of the latter 2944, are, upon an average, consumed for every 100 cwts.
of ore.
During the last roasting, the ore increases in bulk by one-fourth, becoming in con-
sequence a lighter powder, and of a brown colour. When this process is completed,
the ore is raked out upon the stone pavement, allowed to cool, then screened in close
sieve-boxes, in order to separate the finer powder from the lumps. These are to be
bruised, mixed with sea-salt, and subjected to another calcination. The finer powder
alone is taken to the millstones, of which there are 14 pairs in the establishment. The
stones are of granite, and make from 100 to 120 revolutions per minute. The roasted
ore, after it has passed through the bolter of the mill, must be as impalpable as the
finest flour.
The Amalgamation.—This (the Vergquicken) is performed in 20 horizontal casks,
arranged in 4 rows, each turning upon a shaft which passes through its axis; and all
driven by the water-wheel shown in the middle of fig. 1797. The casks are 2 feet
10 inches long, 2 feet 8 inches wide, inside measure, and are provided with iron
ends, The staves are 3} inches thick, and are bound together with iron hoops, They
have a double bung-hole, one formed within the other, secured by an iron plug
fastened with screws. They are filled by means of a wooden spout terminated by a
canvas hose; through which 10 ewts. of the boiled ore-flour (Zrzmehl) are intro-
duced after 3 ewts. of water have been poured in. To this mixturepfrom 3 to $ of a
ewt. of pieces of iron, 14 inch square, and p thick, are added. When these pieces get
dissolved, they are replaced by others. The casks being two-thirds full, are set to
revolve tor 1d or 2 hours, till the ore-powder and water become a uniform pap;
when 5 ewts, of quicksilver are poured into each of them. The casks being again
made tight, are put in gear with the driving machinery, and kept constantly re-
volving for 14 or 16 hours, at the rate of 20 or 22 turns per minute. During this
time they are twice stopped and opened, in order to see whether the pap be of the
proper consistence; for if too thick, the globules of quicksilver do not readily
SILVER 809
combine with the particles of ore; and if too thin, they fall and rest at the bottom.
In the first case some water must be added; in the second, ore. During the
rotation, the temperature rises, so that even in winter it sometimes stands so high as
104° Fahr.
The chemical changes which occur in the casks are the following :—The metallic
chlorides present in the roasted ore are decomposed by the iron, whence results
chloride of iron, whilst the protochloride of copper is reduced partly to subchloride,
and partly to metallic copper, which throw down metallic silver. The mercury
dissolves the silver, copper, lead, antimony, in a complex amalgam. [If the iron is
not present in sufficient quantity, or if it has not been worked with the ore long
enough to convert the cupric chloride into a cuprous chloride, previously to the
addition of the mercury, more or less of the last metal will be wasted by its con-
version into protochloride (calomel). The water holds in solution sulphate of soda,
undecomposed sea-salt, with chlorides of iron, manganese, &c.
As soon as the revivification is complete, the casks must be filled with water, set to
revolve slowly (about 6 or 8 times in the minute), by which in the course of an hour,
or an hour and a half at most, a great part of the amalgam will have collected at the
bottom ; and in consequence of the dilution, the portion of horn-silver held in solu-
tion by the sea-salt will fall down and be decomposed. Into the small plug in the
centre of the bung, a tube with a stopcock is now to be inserted, to discharge the
amalgam into its appropriate chamber. ‘The cock must be stopped whenever the
brown muddy residuum begins to flow. The main bung being then opened, the
remaining contents of the casks are emptied into the wash-iun, while the pieces of
iron are kept back. The residuary ore is found to be deprived of its silver to within
#3 or 3 of an ounce per cwt. The emptying of all the casks, and charging them
again, takes 2 hours; and the whole process is finished within 18 or 20 hours; .
namely, 1 hour for charging; 14 to 16 hours for amalgamating; 14 hour for diluting ;
1 hour for emptying. In 14 days 3,200 ewts. of ore are amalgamated. For working
100 ewts. of ore, 144 lbs, of iron are required ; and for every pound of silver obtained,
3 ozs. of mercury are consumed,
Trials have been made to conduct the amalgamation-process in iron casks, heated
to 150° or 160° Fahrenheit, over a fire ; but although the desilvering was more com-
plete, the loss of mercury was so much greater as to more than counterbalance that
advantage.
Treatment of the Amalgam.—It is first received in a moist canvas bag, through
which the thin uncombined quicksilver spontaneously passes. The bag is then tied
up and subjected to pressure. Out of 20 casks, from 3 to 3} ewts. of solid amalgam
are thus procured, which usually consist of 1 part of an alloy, containing silver of 12
or 138 loths (in 16), and 6 parts of quicksilver. The foreign metals in that alloy are
copper, lead, gold, antimony, cobalt, nickel, bismuth, zinc, arsenic, and iron. The
filtered quicksilver contairis moreover 2 to 3 loths of silver in the cwt.
Fig. 1798 represents the ap-
paratus formerly used for dis- le
tilling the amalgam in the Hals-
briicke works. a is the wooden | 1798
drawer, sliding in grooves upon 3
the basis, g; B is an open basin oO.
or box of cast iron, laid in the
wooden drawer; y is a kind of d &
iron candelabrum, supported upon » ;
four feet, and set in the basin, TI = aes
B; under d are. five dishes or c 7
plates, of wrought iron, with a | +t | | “F|
hole in the centre of each, by — - m
which they are fitted upon the |_¢—
stem of the candelabrum, 8 inches
apart, each plate being successively smaller than the one below it. 8 indicates a
cast-iron bell, furnished with a wrought-iron frame and hook, for raising it by means
of a pulley and cord. s is a sheet-iron door for closing the stove, whenever the bell
has been set in its place.
The box, a, and the basin, n, above it, are filled with water, which must be con-
tinually renewed, through a pipe in the side of the wooden box, so that the iron basin
may be kept always submersed and cool. The drawer, a, being properly placed, and
the plates under d being charged with balls of amalgam (weighing altogether 3 ewts.),
the bell, 3, is to be let down into the water, as at y, and rested upon the lower part of
the candelabrum. Upon the ledge, 1, which defines the bottom of the fireplace, a
circular plate of iron is laid, having a hole in its middle for the bell to pass through.
i
810 SILVER
Upon this plate chips of fir-wood are kindled, then the door, s, which is lined with
clay, is closed and luted tight. The fuel is now laced in the vacant space, %, round
the upper part of the bell. The fire must be fed-in most gradually, first, with turf,
then with charcoal; whenever the bell gets red, the mercury volatilises, and con-
denses in globules into the bottom of the basin, B. At the end of 8 hours, should no
more drops of mercury be heard to fall into the water, the fire is stopped. When
the bell has become cool, it is lifted off; the plates are removed from the candelabrum,
d; and this being taken out, the drawer, a, is slid away fromthe furnace. The mercury
is drained, dried, and sent again into the amalgamation-works. The silver is fused
and refined by cupellation.
From 3 ewts. of amalgam, distilled under,the bell, from 95 to 100 mares (4 lbs.) of
Tellersilber (dish-silver) are procured, containing from 10 to 184 parts of fine silver
out of 16; one fifth part of the metal being copper. The teller silver is refined in
quantities of 160 or 170 mares, in black-lead crucibles filled within two inches of
their brims, and submitted to brisk ignition. The molten mass exhales some vapours,
and throws up a liquid slag, which being skimmed off, the surface is to be strewed
over with charcoal-powder, and covered with alid. The heat having been briskly
urged for a short time, the chareoal is then removed along with any fresh slag
that may have risen, in order to observe whether the vapours have ceased. If not,
fresh charcoal must be again applied, the crucible must be covered, and the heat in-
creased, till fumes are no longer produced, and the surface of the silver becomes
tranquil. Finally, the alloy, which contains a little gold, and much copper, being
now from 11 to 13 lothig (that is, holding from 11 to 13 parts of fine silver in 16
parts), is cast into iron moulds, in ingots of 60 mares. The loss of weight by
evaporation and skimming of the slag amounts to 2 per cent. ; the loss in silver is
inconsiderable.
The dust from the furnace (Tiegelofen) is collected in a large condensation chamber
_ of the chimney, and affords from 40 to 50 mares of silver per ewt. The slags and old
crucibles are ground and sent to the small amalgamation mill.
The earthy residuum of the amalgamation casks being submitted to a second amal-
gamation, affords out of 100 ewts. about 2 lbs. of coarse silver. This is first fused
along with three or four per cent. of a mixture of potash and calcined Quicksalz
(impure sulphate of soda), and then refined. The supernatant liquor that is drawn
out of the tanks in which the contents of the casks are allowed to settle, consists
chiefly of sulphate of soda, along with some common salt, sulphates of iron and
manganese, and a little phosphate, arsenate, and fluoride of sodium. The earthy de-
posit contains from } to snd of
a loth of silver per ewt., but no
economical method of extracting
this small quantity was used.
Argentiferous or rich lead is
treated in Germany by the cupel-
lation furnace represented in figs.
1799, 1800, 1801, and 1802.
These figures exhibit the cupella-
tion furnace of the principal smelt-
ing work in the Hartz, where the
fullowing parts must be distin-
guished : (fig. 1801) 1, masonry of.
the foundation ; 2, flues for the escape of moisture; 3, stone covers of the flues; 4,
bed of hard-rammed seoriz ; 5, bricks set on edge, to form the permanent area of
SILVER 811
the furnace; 6, the sole, formed of wood-ashes, washed, dried, and beaten down;
k, dome of iron plate, moveable by a crane, and susceptible of being lined two inches
thick with loam; #, ”, tuyéres for two bellows, s, having valves suspended before
their orifices to break and spread the blast; g, door for introducing into the furnace
the charge of lead, equal to 84 quintals at a time; s, fig. 1800, two bellows, like those
of a smith’s forge; y, door of the fireplace, through which billets of wood are
thrown on the grate; 2, small
aperture or door, for giving issue
to the frothy seum of the cupel-
lation, and the litharge; z, basin
of safety, usually covered with
a stone slab, over which the
litharge falls: in case of acci-
dent the basin is laid open to
admit the rich lead.
The following is the mode of
conducting the cupellation :—
Before putting the lead into the
furnace, a floor is made in it of
ashes beaten carefully down (see |
fig. 1801); and there is left in
the centre of this floor a circular
space, somewhat lower than the rest of the hearth, where the silver ought to gather
at the end of the operation. The cupel is fully 6 feet in diameter.
In forming the floor of a cupel, 35 cubic feet of washed wood-ashes, usually got from
the soap-works, are employed. The preparation of the floor requires two and a half
hours’ work ; and when it is completed, and the moveable dome of iron plate has been
lined with loam, 84 quintals (cwts.) of lead are laid on the floor, 42 quintals being
placed in the part of the furnace farthest from the bellows, and 42 near to the fire-
bridge ; to these, scorise containing lead and silver are added, in order to lose nothing:
The moveable lid is now luted on the furnace, and heat is slowly applied in the fire-
place by burning fagots of fir-wood ; this is gradually raised. Section fig. 1801, is in
the line c, p, of fig. 1802.
At the end of three hours, the whole lead being melted, the instant is watched for
when no more ebullition can be perceived on the surface of the bath or melted metal ;
then, but not sooner, the bellows are set a-playing on the surface at the rate of four or
five strokes per minute, to favour the oxidation.
In five hours, reckoned from the commencement of the process, the fire is smartly
raised; when a greyish froth (Abstrich) is made to issue from the small aperture 2, of
the furnace. This is found to be a brittle mixture of oxidised metals and impurities.
The workman now glides the rake over the surface of the bath, so as to draw the
froth out of the furnace; and as it issues, powdered charcoal is strewed upon it at
the aperture x, to cause its coagulation. The froth-skimming lasts for about an hour
and a half.
After this time the litharge begins to form, and it is also led off by a small opening
x, its issue being aided by a hook. In proportion as the floor of the furnace gets
impregnated with litharge, the workman digs in it a gutter for the escape of the liquid
litharge ; it falls in front of the small aperture, and concretes in stalactitic forms.
By means of the two moveable valves suspended before the tuyéres n, (jig. 1802),
the workman can direct the blast as he wishes over the surface of the metal. The
wind should be made to cause a slight curl on the liquid, so as to produce circular
undulations, and gradually propel a portion of the litharge generated towards the
edges of the cupel, and allow this to retain its shape till the end of the operation.
The stream of air should drive the greater part of the litharge towards the small
opening x, where the workman deepens the outlet for it, in proportion as the level of
the metallic bath descends. Litharge is thus obtained during about twelve hours ;
after which period the cake of silver bégins to take shape in the centre of the cupel.
Towards the end of the operation, when no more than four additional quintals of
litharge can be looked for, and when it forms solely in the neighbourhood of the silver
cake in the middle of the floor, great care must be taken to set apart the latter
portions, because they contain silver. About this period the fire is increased, and the
workman places befare the little opening x, a brick, to serve as a mound against the
efflux of litharge. The use of this brick is,—1, to hinder the escape of the silver in
case of any accident; for example, should an explosion take place in the furnace ;
2, to reserve a magazine of litharge, should that still circulating round the silver cake
be suddenly absorbed by the cupel, for in this dilemma the litharge must be raked
812 SILVER
back on the silver; 3, to prevent the escape of the water that must be thrown on the
silver at the end of the process.
When the argentiferous litharge, collected in the above small magazine, is to be
removed, it is let out in the form of a jet, by the dexterous use of the 1ron hook.
Lastly, after twenty hours, the silver cake is seen to be well formed, and nearly
circular. The moment for stopping the fire and the bellows is indicated by the sudden
disappearance of the coloured particles of oxide of lead, which, in the latter moments
of oxidation, undulate with extreme rapidity over the slightly convex snrface of the
silver-bath, moving from the centre to the circumference. The phenomenon of their
total disappearance is called the lightning, or brightening (Blick). Whenever this
occurs, the plate of silver being perfectly clean, there is introduced into the furnace
by the door g, « wooden spout, along which water, previously heated, is carefully
poured on the silver.
The cupellation of 84 quintals of argentiferous lead takes in general eighteen or
twenty hours. The promptitude of the operation depends on the degree of purity of
the leads employed, and on the address of the operator, with whom also lies the
economy of fuel. A good workman completes the cupellation of 84 quintals with
300 billets, each equivalent to a cubic foot and ths of wood (Hartz measure); others
consume 400 billets, or more. In general, the cupellation of 100 quintals of lead,
executed at the rate of 84 quintal charges, occasions a consumption of 790 cubic feet
of resinous wood-billets. :
The products of the charge are as follow :—
1. Silver, holding in 100 mares, 7 mares and 3 loths of alloy. 24 to 30 mares.
2. Pure litharge, containing from 88 to 90 per cent. of lead . 60,, 60 quintals.
3. Impure litharge, holding a little silver : 4
4, Skimmings of the cupellation . : r : ‘ $
5. Floor of the furnace impregnated with litharge . ; bn 22, 99:00
The mare is 7 oz. 2 dwts. 4 grs. English troy; and the loth is half an ounce. 16
loths make a mare. 100 Ibs. Cologne are equal to 103 lbs. avoirdupois; and the above
quintal contains 116 Cologne lbs.
The loss of lead inevitable by this operation is estimated at 4 parts in 100. It has
been diminished as much as possible in the Frankenscharn works of the Hartz, by
leading the smoke into long flues, where the lead-fumes are condensed into a metallic
soot.
Reduction of the litharge-—This is sometimes executed in a slag-hearth, with the
aid of wood-charcoal.
The following is the series of operations :—
1, The fusion of the schlich; 2, the roasting of the matts under a shed, and their
treatment by four successive smeltings ; 3, the treatment of the resulting black cop-
per; 4, the liquation; 5, the reliquation (resswage); 6, the refining of the copper; 7,
the cupellation of the silver; 8, the reduction of the litharge into lead. The fifth and
sixth processes are carried on at the smelting-works of Altenau.
The buildings are shown at A, B, c, and the impelling stream of water at p (jig.
1803): the upper figure being the elevation ; the lower, the plan of the works.
a, is a melting furnace, with a cylinder bellows behind it; 0, ¢, d, furnaces similar
to the preceding, with wooden bellows, such as fig. 1804; ¢, is a furnace for the same
SILVER , Sa
purpose, with three tuyéres, and a cylinder bellows ; f, the large furnace of fusion, also
with three tuyéres; g, a furnace with seven tuyéres, now seldom used ; /, low furnaces,
like the English slag-hearths
(Krumméfen), employed for
working the last mattes; k,
slag-hearths for reducing the
litharge; m, the area of the
liquation; , ”, cupellation
furnaces.
x, y, @ floor which separates
the principal smelting-houses
into two stories; the mate-
rials destined for charging
the furnaces being deposited
in beds upon the upper floor,
to which they are carried 2
by means of two inclined planes, terraced in frout of the range of buildings.
Fig. 1805 represents such wooden bellows, consisting of two chests or boxes, fitted
into each other; the upper or moving one being called the fly, the lower or fixed one
the seat (gite). In the bottom of the gite there is an orifice furnished with a clack-
valve, d, opening inwards when the fly is raised, and shutting when it falls, In order
that the air included in the
capacity of the two chests
may have no other outlet than
the nose-pipe m, the upper
portion of the gite is provided
at its four sides with small
square slips of wood, ¢, ¢, ¢,
which are pressed against the
sides of the fly by strong
springs of iron wire, 8, d, db,
while they are retained upon
the gite by means of small
square pieces of wood, @, d, a, a. a
The latter a, a, are perforated in the contre, and adjusted upon rectangular stems,
called buchettes ; they
are attached, at their er Bs 1806 £ =
lower ends, to the up-
right sides of the gite
Aas
“os
G. P is the driving- ; pa So
shaft of a water-wheel, re =
which, by means of ee
presses the fly, while
the counterweight a,
raises it again.
Figs, 1806 to 1809
represent the mode-
rately high (demi-
hauts, or half-blast)
furnaces employed in
the works of the Lower
Hartz, near Goslar, for
smelting the silvery
lead ore extracted
from the mine of
Rammelsberg.
Fig. 1806 is the
front elevation of the
twin furnaces, built in
one body of masonry ;
Jig. 1807 is a plan
taken at the level of
the tuyéres. -
Figs. 1808 and 1809
exhibit two vertical
sections ; the former in the line a, 8, the latter in the line o, p, of fig. 1807. In these
four figures the following objects may be distinguished :—
cams or tappets, dew or Rete ee oa
en a
g
a
»
x
914
SILVER
a, 6, ¢, d, @ baleony or platform, which leads to the place of charging, 2; 4 f,
wooden stairs, by which the workmen charging mount from the ground, p, g, of the
works, to the platform; g, h, brickwork of the furnaces; ¢, %, wall of the smelt-
un
1808
ing-works, against which they are
supported; 7, upper basin of recep-
tion, hollowed out of the aan (or
bed of ground charcoal and clay) 6;
m, arch of the tuyére v, by which
each furnace receives the blast of two
bellows; #, place of charging, which
takes place through the upper orifice
nm, 0, of the basin , 0, v, ¢, of the
furnace ; ¢, a sloping gutter, seen in
Jig. 1808, formed of slates cemented
together with clay.
In figs. 1808 and 1809, 2 is the
brickwork of the foundations; m,con-
duits for the exhalation of moisture ;
4, a layer of slags, rammed above;
5, a bed of clay, rammed above the
slags ; 6, a brasque, composed of one
—
MMMM
part of clay and
two parts of
|} ground charcoal,
CZF which joe pe
Gp sole of the fur-
ZH ERG nace,
2 The refinery
“2 furnace, or Treib-
heerd, of Fried-
Y richshiitte, near
Uj Y - Tarnowitz, in
Ea ' Upper Silesia, is
, Tepresented in
_j| Jigs. 1810 and
1811. a, is the
bottom, made of
or cinders ;
6, the founda-
tion, of fire-
bricks ; -c, the
ied of the
ea >
composed a yer
mixture of 7
parts of dolomite
and 1 of fire-
dome or cap,
made of _ iron-
late strength-
ee with bars,
and lined with clay-lute, to protect the metal from burning; g, the door of the fire-
ees Pe
, ‘
SILVER 815
place; 4, the ash-pit; ¢, the tap-hole; %, %, the flue, which is divided by partitious
into several channels; /, the chimney ; m, a damper-plate for regulating the draught;
n, @ back valve, for admitting air to cool the furnace, and brushes to sweep the
flues; 0, tuyére of copper, which by means of an iron wedge may be sloped more
or less towards the hearth; p, the Sehnepper, a round piece of sheet iron, hung
before the eye of the tuyére, to break and spread the blast; g, outlet for the glassy
litharge.
Lineuas has been found to answer well for making the body of the hearth-sole as
it absorbs litharge freely, without combining with it. A basin-shaped hollow is
formed in the centre, for receiving the silver at the end of
the process; and a gutter is made across the hearth for
running off the Glaize or fluid litharge.
Figs. 1812 to 1814 represent the eliquation hearth of
Neustadt. Fig. 1812 is a cross-section; fig. 1813 is a
front view; and fig. 1814 a longitudinal section. It is
formed by two walls, a, a, 34 feet high, placed from 3 to 1
foot apart, sloped off at top with iron-plates, 3 inches
Fa 1813 &
——— ay
Cee Me ad 5
aa
thick and 18 inches broad, called Saigerscharten, or refining plates, 4, 4, inclined
3 inches towards each other in the middle, so as to leave at the lowest point a slit
2% inches wide between them, through which the lead, as it sweats out by the heat,
is allowed to fall into the space between the two walls oc, called the Saigergasse
(sweating-gutter). The sole of this channel slopes down towards the front, so that
the liquefied metal may run off into a crucible or pot. Upon one of the long sides,
and each of the shorter ones, of the hearth the walls d, d, are raised 2 feet high,
and upon these the liquidation lumps rest; upon the other long side, where there
is no wall, there is an opening for admitting these lumps into the hearth. The
openings are then shut with a sheet- or cast-iron plate e, which, by means of a chain,
pulley, and counter-weight, may be easily raised and lowered. f is a passage for
increasing the draught of air. ;
Figs. 1815 and 1816 represent the refining furnaces of Friedhricshiitte, near Tar-
nowitz: a, is the fire-door; 4, the grate; c, the door for introducing the silver; d,
the moveable test, resting upon a couple of iron rods, ¢,.¢, which are let at their ends
into the brickwork. They lie lower than would seem to be necessary; but this is
- 1816
done in order to be able to place the surface of the test at any desired level, by
placing tiles, f, f, under it; g, the flue, leading to a chimney 18 feet high. For the
refining of 100 marks of Blicksilber, of the fineness of 153 loths (half-ounces) per
ewt., 3 cubic feet of pit-coal are required. The test or cupel must be heated before
the impure silver and soft lead are put into it. ,
At these smelting-houses from 150 to 160 ewts. of Werkblet or work-lead (lead con-
taining silver), are operated on at a time: :
Extraction of Silver by Wet Processes—Of late years several wet methods of ex-
tracting silver from its ores and from metallurgical products have been so successfully
TUN = Se
“ ‘| boll: fe
> / * if
816 SILVER
employed as to supplant, in many cases, the old processes of amalgamation and liqua-
tion previously described. The principal wet processes which have been largely used,
are those of Augustin, Ziervogel, and Von Patera.
Augustin’s Process.—The argentiferous ore, or the matt or regulus, is first roasted
with common salt, whereby the silver passes into the state of chloride, which is then
dissolved out by a hot concentrated solution of salt; chloride of silver being soluble in
hot brine. From this solution, the silver is precipitated by means of metallic eopper.
This process was introduced at the Mansfeld Kupferschiefer works, in Prussian Saxony,
by Augustin, in 1849, but was abandoned in 1857. It was used at Freiberg, in
Saxony, between the years 1849 and 1862. J
Ziervogel’s Process.—By roasting the argentiferous copper-matts, from the smelting
of the Kupferschiefer, in a reverberatory furnace, the iron is converted into sulphate,
which is then decomposed and yields peroxide of iron ; the copper also forms sulphate,
which is afterwards reduced to black oxide; and in like manner, the silver present as
sulphide is oxidised to the state of sulphate. When, therefore, the roasted product is
lixiviated with hot water, the sulphate of silver is freely dissolved out, whilst the
oxides of copper and iron remain insoluble. The silver is precipitated in the metallic
form by means of copper. This is the process still employed at the Gottesbelohnungs-
hiitte Silver-extraction works, near Mansfeld.
Von Patera’s Process.—This method is based on a suggestion made by Dr. Percy in
1848. The ore is first roasted with common salt, whereby chloride of silver is directly
formed, and this chloride is then dissolved out by a cold dilute solution of hyposul-
phite of soda. The silver is precipitated from this solution as sulphide, by addition
of sulphide of sodium ; and the silver sulphide is afterwards reduced to metallic silver
by heating in a muffle-furnace. This process was introduced by Von Patera at Joa-
chimstahl, in Bohemia, in 1858, and is believed to be still working.
Sulphuric Acid Method.—Argentiferous copper-matts are treated with hot dilute
sulphuric acid, whereby sulphate of copper is formed, and passes into solution, whilst
most of the silver and gold present is left in the residues. These are then smelted
with lead-ores, and the silver extracted from the argentiferous lead. This process is
now employed at Oker, in the Lower Hartz.
Pattinson’s process for extracting silver from argentiferous lead is fully described
under Smrver; and Claudet’s recent process for recovering silver from the liquors
obtained in the wet treatment of coppery pyrites, is duly noticed uuder Pyrtres.
The following statement of the production of silver in all parts of the world is
given by Mr. J. Arthur Phillips, chiefly on the authority of Duport and Chevalier.
See Phillips’s ‘ Gold and Silver’ :—
Places Pay Ratio per cent.
Russian Empire « BF Se #)) Mins ‘ 58,000 15
Scandinavia - P n a % , 15,000 04
Great Britain . : ; = = - 60,500 15
Hartz . 3 : ; ; ° “ 28,000 0°6
Prussia : s P P e e 5 68,000 17
Saxony . - . ‘ : 5 80,000 20
Other German States . 5 ; g : 2,500
Austria . ; “ > ° é : 92,000 2:2
France 4 , P - . : : 18,000 O04
iis ee | ok ae ek 25,0001 0-6
Spain. . 5 é is ‘ - : 110,000 2°8
Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia,
and Nova Scotia . ‘ ‘ . ; 9,500 0-2
Chili . : y . : é r ‘ 299,000 73
Bolivia ‘ . 4 ‘ . : ‘ 136,000 3°3
Peru . ; < m P : , . 299,000 74
New Granada . : 4 “ = ; 15,000 0-4
Brazil ; : : 2 ‘ . A 1,500 0-4
Mexico a ot é ; “ ° < 1,700,000 42°3
United States . . ‘ : ; : 1,000,000 25°0
Total . A ‘ 4 4,017,000 10:0
* Obtained from the island of Sardinia, where it is found associated with galena.
SILVER ASSAYING 817
The Production of Silver in the United Kingdom has been as follows in the last fire
years.
1869 1870 1871 1872 1873
England :
Cornwall ~~.
Devonshire .°
ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs.
815,714 | 292,045 | 267,324 | 207,710 | 129,509
27,487 | 24,706 | 13,805 | 10,392 6,510
Derbyshire . -{ 1,000/ 950] 1,000} 1,000] — 750
Shropshire 3 ° ; es ey att 2,960 2,400
Yorkshire . é é 990 620 805 500 1,500
Cumberland . - | 25,236 | 28,387 | 47,179 | 30,159 | 16,175
Westmoreland . ‘ . | 26,883 | 23,096 | 28,969 | 17,620 | 16,850
Stemee and Northumberland. | 85,398 | 78,742 | 75,776 | 72,175 | 47,862
es:
Cardiganshire. é
Caermarthenshire .
. | 66,145 | 56,553 | 46,980 | 41,690 | 39,869
2,592 2,865 3,180 2,382 2,518
Pembrokeshire é 4,050 3,847 1,872 490 1,341
Radnorshire 3 ei bel . Be oa 125 ave
Montgomeryshire . 5 - | 380,218 | 42,670 | 48,145 | 55,712 | 54,957
Merionethshire . yA Bais 110
Denbighshire . . . | 28,952 | 26,512 | 21,805 | 14,479 | 11,339
Flintshire = ° . | 80,617 | 27,745 | 22,787 | 18,650 | 12,337
Carnarvonshire é % 480 121 447 500 2,082
Isle of Man 4
Ireland , s
Scotland . °
. . | 172,889 | 172,528 | 176,631 | 145,483 | 163,058
. : 5,480 2,815 “ee 1,040 4,420
: . 7,797 5,680 5,285 5,900 | 10,720
Total . ° - | 831,891 | 784,562 | 761,490 | 628,920 | 524,307
The Silver Imported in 1873 was as follows :—
Tons Value
From Spain . , . ‘ ; 837 £22,000
»» United States of America . 1,479 163,197
» Mexico, ‘ z fs i 106 16,019
» New Granada ; - P 158 10,869
» Peru . . . ° R 691 45,027
» Bolivia. e > P « 4,270 405,155
Tipe 7 te or yeep gare ig iba 6 157" 342,066
» Other countries . . i 805 16,260
2D LOLs. e . 11,946 1,020,593
SILVER ASSAYING. This may be conveniently divided into: 1. The
assaying of silver ores; 2. The assaying of silver and its alloys.
1, The assaying of silver ores.—The ores are reduced to fine powder, and passed
through a sieve of 80 holes to the linear inch, and any residual metalliferous particles
carefully collected and submitted to a separate assay. The total weight of the sample
is ascertained, in order that the proportion of silver obtained from the residue may be
calculated. The sifted portion is well mixed, and submitted to assay by one of the
following methods :—
a. Fusion Method.—This process is conducted in crucibles, in an air-furnace similar
to that described in jig. 438, p. 941, vol. i. (See Coprsr.)
In the assay of silver ores not containing lead, it is usual to obtain the silver they
afford in the form of an alloy with lead; and this is subsequently passed to the cupel
in the ordinary way. For the assaying of lead ores containing silver, see Leap.
Ores of silver in which the associated metals exist in the form of oxides are coms
monly fused with a mixture of litharge or red lead, and powdered charcoal, by which
an alloy of lead is obtained, which is afterwards treated by cupellation. The amount
of litharge employed must be varied according to circumstances, as the resulting
button should not be too small, since in that case a portion of the silver might be lost
in the slag; nor too large, as the cupellation would then occupy a longer time.
In most cases, if from 100 to 400 grains of ore be operated on, a button of 200
grains will be a convenient weight for cupellation ; this may be obtained by the addi-
tion of 400 grains of litharge, and from 7 to 8 grains of pulverised charcoal. ‘This is
to be well mixed with 200 grains of carbonate of soda, and introduced into an earthen
a i which it should not fill more than one-half the capacity. This is covered
- YOL. A
eat f 4 . | a +> % a eae Tes ge a RS aa ee 1 148
ees ' ; a Da ae ee dang Sb a rhe “POR es eka rs ;
- Eater ee
~"* 4 4 !
818 SILVER ASSAYING
by a layer of borax, and fused in the assay-furnace, taking care to remove it from the
fire as soon as a perfectly liquid slag has been obtained, since the unreduced litharge
might otherwise cut through the crucible and spoil the assay. When cold, the pot is
broken, and the button of lead cupelled in the ordinary way, or the liquid-products
are poured out into a mould (jig. 534, see Copper), and when cold, the slag is de-
tached from the lead. .
In this, and all other similar experiments, it is necessary to ascertain the proportion
of silver contained in the lead obtained from the litharge used, in order to make the
requisite deduction from the results obtained. When other minerals than oxides are
to be examined, the addition of charcoal becomes in many cases unnecessary, since
litharge readily attaeks all the sulphides, arsenio-sulphides, &«, and oxidises many of
their constituents, whilst a proportionate quantity of metallic lead is set free. The
slags thus formed contain the excess of litharge, and the button of alloy obtained is
eupelled. The proportion of oxide of lead to be added to ores of this description
varies in accordance with the amounts of oxidisable substances present; but it must
always be added in excess in order to prevent any chance of loss of silver from the -
action of sulphides in the slags. The only objection to this method of assay is the
large quantity of lead produced for cupellation, since iron pyrites :afford by the re-
duction of the litharge 8} parts of lead, whilst sulphide of antimony and grey copper
ore yield from 6 to 7 parts. This inconvenience may be obviated by the previous
oxidation of the mineral, either by roasting, or by the aid of nitre, by the judicious
employment of which, buttons of almost any required weight may be obtained. Should
this reagent be employed in excess, it would cause the oxidation of all the metallic
and combustible substances present, not even excepting the silver. When, however,
the mixture contains at the same time a large excess of litharge, and the quantity of
nitre added is not sufficient to decompose the whole of the sulphides, a reaction takes
place between the undeecomposed sulphide and the oxide .of lead added,,which gives
rise to the formation of metallic lead, and this combining with the silver, affords a
button of alloy, which may be treated by cupellation. ,The quantity of nitre to be
used for this purpose will depend on the nature and richness of the ores under exami-
nation ; but it must be remembered that 24 parts of nitre will decompose and com-
pletely oxidise pure iron pyrites, whilst 1} and 2rds of its weight are in the case of
sulphide of antimony and galena respectively sufficient. In cases where the excess of
sulphur present is very great, a partial‘roasting of the ore is preferable to the addition
of a large quantity of nitre. Instead 6f operating according to any of the processes
above described, it is sometimes found advantageous to’ expel the whole of the arsenic
and sulphur, by a careful roasting, and then to fuse the residue with a mixture of litharge,
carbonate of soda, and borax, taking care.to'add 4 sufficient‘amount of some reducing
flux to obtain a button of convenient size. “When, in ‘addition to silver, the mineral
operated on contains gold, the button obtained by‘cupellation will consist of a mixture
of these metals, which may be separated by the aid of nitric acid. See Gorn Assayine.
5. Scorification Method.—This process is conducted in a muffle-furnace. A cup-
shaped vessel or scorifier of fire-clay is employed, which varies in size according to the
18164 quantity of ore operated on. The scorifier represented in
Jig. 1816 a is 2} inches in diameter at the top, and the in-
ternal cavity is # of an inch in depth. Tongs of peculiar
+ construction, and varying from 2 feet 3 inches to 3 feet
: in length, are used for lifting the scorifiers, the lower leg
being divided near the end into a two-pronged fork, in
“ face. Scorification is a roasting-fusion process. The
mitted to cupellation, and the button of silver weighed. The button of lead should be
ie ey i
SILVER ASSAYING 819
soft-and malleable, andfrom 200 to 300 ers, in weight; larger buttons should be reduced
in weight by rescorifying. The slag should be free from small lumps, and perfectly
fused before pouring, Ali silver ores may be assayed by this method, and several
assays made at one time, but a fusion-method is preferable for ores poor in silver.
Where a nnmber of assays are made by the scorification process, a muffle-furnace of
somewhat larger dimensions is construeted than that described under the Assaying of -
Silver Alloys. With poor ores, four or more scorifiers are charged with weighed por-
tions of ore and lead, and the resulting buttons of lead reduced to one button by re-
peated scorification, and then finally eupelled. Correction must be made for the silver
contained in the amount of granulated lead employed.
In England the results obtained from the assays are reported to ounces, penny-
weights, and grains troy, upon the statute ton of 2,240 lbs. The caleulations may
be made by the following Table :—
Table showing the weight of silver to the ton of ore or alloy corresponding to the weight
in grains obtained from 400 grains of the substance operated on,
em’? | Onetonwillyiela |) M400 grains give | one ton will yisld
grains ozs. dwts. grs. grains ozs. dwts. grs,
001 ; OF EE 15 *600 49 0 0
002 Ors: 6 *700 57 3 8
“003 0 4 21 “800 65 6 16
“004 0 ~ Gale “900 73 10 O
"005 0 8 4 1:000 81 13 8
"006 O.- "9-19 1500 122 10 0
"007 Oe T1G 2:000 168 6 16
008 O13) > 2 2-500 204 3 8 ‘
“009 0 14 16 3°000 245 0 0
-010 0 16 8 3°500 285 16 16
020 De bag Ss, 4:000 . 826 18 8
030 2 a: a 4°500 367 10 0
“040 moos 5°C00 408 6 16
050 4 1 16 5*500 449 3. «68
060 4 18 0 6:000 490 0 0
‘070 B14; 8 6°500 530 16 16
“080 6 10 16 7-000 57T “138° 8
090 eer dee BD! 7500 612 10 0
“100 os. Si 8 8-000 653 6 16
‘200 16 6 16 8°500 694 3 8
300 24 10 O 9:000 ie. 0°. 9
“400 82 18 8 9°500 775 16 6
*500 40 16 16 10:000 816 13 8
2. The Assaying of Silver and its Alloys—This is conducted by the dry and wet
methods.
_ a. Dry Method—by Cupellation (Coupellation, Fr.; Abtreiben auf der Cupelle, Ger.),
The assay by this method is made upon a cupel, and the process is conducted in a
cupellation-furnace, or a muffle-furnace. The art of assaying silver by the cupel is
founded upon the feeble affinity which this metal has for oxygen, in comparison with
lead and copper, and other metals; and on the tendency which the latter metal has to
oxidise rapidly in contact with lead at a high temperature, and sink with it into any
porous earthy vessel in a thin glassy or vitriform state. The porous vessel may be
made either of wood-ashes, freed from their soluble matter by washing with water ;
or, preferably, of burned bones, or bone-ash, reduced to a fine powder. The cupels
allow the fused oxides to be absorbed into them like a sponge, but are impermeable to
the particles of metals ; and thus the former pass readily down into their substance,
while the latter remain upon their surface: a phenomenon owing to the circumstance
of the oxides moistening, as it were, the bone-ash powder, whereas the metals can
contract no adherence with it. Hence also the liquid metals preserve a hemispherical
shape in the cupels, as quicksilver does in a cup of glass, while the fused oxide spreads
over, and penetrates their substance, like water. ;
If we put into a cupel, therefore, two metals, of which the one is unalterable in the
air, the other susceptible of oxidisement, and of producing a very fusible oxide, it is
obvious that, by exposing both to a proper degree of heat, we shall succeed in
separating them. We should also succeed, though the oxide were infusible, by placing
it in contact with another one, which may render it fusible, In both cases, however,
3a2
ee ee Ce le | ee eh ee ae 34) 5 Pe 2 ee or =
é Sy Ps 5 hr an) pie? oe Ae POE ; : os apy i aa
> ae Pe é wee te Sy ‘ wt oye a Ae d io xe :
. oe Thee Ae Me ae) ay eee g PEAT:
r as - z Meret: “sa is
. -
820 SILVER ASSAYING
the metal from which we wish to part the oxides must not be volatile: it should also
melt, and form a button at the heat of cupellation ; for, otherwise, it would continue
disseminated, attached to the portion of oxide spread over the cupel, and incapable of
being collected.
Furnace and Implements.—The cupellation-furnace and implements used for assay-
ing in the Royal Mint and Goldsmiths’ Hall, in the City of London, are the fol-
lowing :—
~ AAAA(fig. 1817) is a front elevation of an assay-furnace: a a, a view of one of the
two iron rollers on which the furnace rests, and by means of which it is moved for-
1817: 1818 :
oe wy
BIZ 4G
We Ls Lists thls
“| | l | EN
LG Loe —— .
5
a |
B u
+ [oa 9 X77
= 7
ward or backwzrd ; 3, the ash-pit; ¢ ¢ are the ash-pit dampers, which are moved in a
horizontal direction towards each other for regulating the draught of the furnace; d,
the door, or opening, by which the cupels and assays are introduced into the muffle ;
e, a moveable funnel or chimney by which the draught of the furnace is increased.
BBB B (fig. 1818) is a vertical section of fig, 1817: a a, end view of the
: rollers; 5; the ash-pit; c, one
1819 1820 - of the ash-pit dampers; d,
the grate, over which is the
plate upon which the muffle
rests, and which is covered
with loam nearly one inch
thick; jf, the muffle in sec-
Yj, tion, representing the situa-
WAGEGEG tion of the cupels; g, the
i = mouth-plate, and upon it are
p laid pieces of charcoal, which,
during the process, are ignited, and heat the air that is allowed to pass over the
ope as will be more fully explained in the sequel; %, the interior of the furnace,
exhibiting the fuel.
The total height of the furnace is 2 feet 63 inches; from the bottom to the grate,
6 inches; the grate, muffle, plate, and bed of loam, with which it is covered, 3 inches;
from the upper surface of the grate to the commencement of the funnel, e, fig. 1817,
1825 1824 1822 1828 .
[ ==) sel Papas)
Ley
Cc
NY
c c
6) [56)[s11foal[5al[4o]}
(s2ifss)[s4l[3.5
24 }22 23)[24 25
ollia
6 [7s] f19)[20}
1
. Asal ud
‘ s ot 7
ges sitet te Jalfs[2 Lo!
WAITS
214 inches; the funnel e, 6 inches. The square of the furnace which receives the
muffle and fuel is 113 inches by 15 inches. The external sides of the furnace are
made of plates of wrought iron, and are lined with a 2-inch fire-brick.
cece Lig. 1819) is a horizontal section of the furnace over the grate, showing the
width of the mouth-piece, or plate of wrought iron, which is 6 inches, and the opening
which receives the muffle-plate. — — m4 te TIO aaa Peas
v
é.
‘2
“
.
SILVER ASSAYING 821
Fig. 1820 represents the muffle or pot, which is 12 inches long, 6 inches broad in-
side ; in the clear 6? ; in height 44 inside measure, and nearly 54 in the clear,
Fig. 1821, the muffle-plate, which is of the same size as the bottom of the mufile.
fe 1822 is a representation of the sliding-door of the mouth-plate, as shown at d,
in fig. 1817.
Fig. 1823, a front view of the mouth-plate or piece, d, fig. 1817.
Fig. 1824, a representation of the mode of the making, or shutting-up, with pieces
of charcoal, the mouth of the furnace.
Fig. 1825, the teaser, for cleaning the grate. }
Fig. 1826, a larger teaser, which is introduced at the top of the furnace, for keeping
a complete supply of charcoal around the muffle. ;
Fig. 1827, the tongs used for charging the assays into the eups.
| Fig. 1828 represents a board of wood used as a register, and is divided into 45 equal
compartments, upon which the assays are placed previously to their being introduced
into the furnace. When the operation is performed, the cupels are placed in the fur-
nace in situations corresponding to these assays on the board. By this means all
confusion is avoided, and without this regularity it would be impossible to preserve
the accuracy which the delicate operations of the assayer require. In the furnace
above described 45 assays can be made at one time. Of late years some modifications
and improvements have been introduced in the above furnaces in the Royal Mint and
other assay offices. The fuel employed is charcoal, coke, or anthracite. (See Mrnt.)
We now proceed to a description of a small assay-furnace invented by Messrs.
Anfrye and D’Arcet, of Paris. They termed it, le petit Fourneau & Coupelle. Fig. 1829
represents this furnace, which is composed of a chimney or pipe of wrought. iron, a,
and of the furnace, s. It is 174 inches high and 7} inches wide. The furnace is
formed of three pieces: of a dome, A; the body of the furnace, B; and the ash-pit, c,
which is used as the base of the furnace, figs. 1829 and 1830. The principal piece, or
body of the furnace, B, has the form of a hollow tower, or of a hollow cylinder, flat-
tened equally at the two opposite sides parallel to the axis, in such a manner that the
horizontal section is ; ae
elliptical. The foot |
which supports it is — “
a hollow truncated 1830
cone, flattened in like
manner upon the two
opposite sides, and
having consequently
for its basis two
ellipses of different’
diameters: the small-
est ought to be equal
to that of the furnace,
so that the bottom of
the latter may exactly
fit it. The dome,
which forms an arch
above the furnace, has
also its base ellip-
tical; whilst that of
the superior orifice,
by which the smoke
goes out, preserves
the cylindrical form. 1899 1838 1837 1836
Z Yy if
The tube of wrought +f B
iron is 18 inches on L wv 7 W Ley.
y bs
long, and 2% inches ,
in diameter; having
one of its ends a
little enlarged, and
slightly conical, that
it may be exactly
fitted or jointed upon
the upper part of the
furnace-dome, d (fig.
1829). At the union :
of the conical and cylindrical parts of the tube.there is placed a small gallery of iron,
é, figs. 1829, 1830. (See also a plan of it, fg. 1831). This gallery is both ingenious
822 SILVER ASSAYING
and useful. Upon it are placed the cupels, which are thus annealed during the
ordinary work of the furnace, that they may be introduced into the muffle when it
is brought into its proper degree of heat. A little above this gallery is a door, f, by
which, if thought , the charcoal could be introduced into the furnace; above
that there is placed, at g, a throttle-valve, which is used for regulating the draught
of the furnace at pleasure: Messrs, Anfrye and D’Arcet say, that, to give the furnace
the necessary degree of heat so as to work assays of gold, the tube must be about
18 inches above the gallery for annealing or heating the cupels. The circular opening
in the dome, h (fig. 1829, and as seen in section fig. 1830), is used to introduce the
charcoal into the furnace: it is also used to inspect the interior of the furnace, and to
arrange the charcoal round the muffle. This opening is kept shut during the work-
ing of the furnace, with the mouth-piece, of which the face is seen at x, fig. 1830.
The section of the furnace, fig. 1830, presents several openings, the principal of which
is that of the muffle; it is placed at ¢; it is shut with the semicircular door m, fig. 1829,
. and seen in the section m, fig. 1830. In front of this opening, is the table or shelf
upon which the door of the muffle is made to advance or recede. The letter gq, fig.
1830, shows the face, side, and cross-section of the shelf, which makes part of the fur-
nace. Immediately under the shelf is a horizontal slit, /, which is pierced at the level
of the upper part of the grate, and used for the introduction of a slender rod of iron,
that the grate may be easily kept clean. This opening is shut at pleasure, by the
wedge represented at #, figs. 1829 and 1830. i .
Upon the back of the furnace 1s a horizontal slit, p, fig. 1880, which supports the
fire-brick, s, and upon which the end of the muffle, if necessary, may rest; w, fig. 1830,
is the opening in the furnace where the muffle is placed. . ; ;
The plan of the grate of the furnace is an ellipse: fig. 1832 is a horizontal view of
it. The dimensions of that ellipsis determine the general form of the’ furnace, and
thickness of the grate. To give strength and solidity to the grate, it is encircled by
a bar or hoop of iron. There is a groove in which the hoop of iron is fixed. The |
holes of the grate are truncated cones, having the greater base below, that the ashes
may more easily fall into the ash-pit. The letter v, fig. 1830, shows the form of these
holes. The grate is supported by a small bank or shelf, making part of the furnace, 4
as seen at a, fig. 1830. af |
The ash-pit, c, has an opening, y, in front, fig. 1830; and is shut when necessary
by the mouth-piece, r, figs. 1829 and 1830.
; To ere strength and solidity to the furnace, it is bound with hoops of iron, at
b bd, fig. 1829. :
Figs. 1833, 1834, 1835, are views of the muffle.
Fig. 1836 is a view of a crucible for annealing gold.
Figs. 1837, 1888, 1839, are cupels of various sizes, to be used in the furnace. They |
are the same as those used by assayers in their ordinary furnaces.
Figs. 1840 and 1841 are views of the hand-shovels, used for filling the furnace with
charcoal ; they should be made of such size and form as to fit the opening A, in figs.
1829 and 1830. , |
The smaller pincers or tongs, by which the assays are charged into the cupels, and .
by which the latter are withdrawn from the furnace, as well as the teaser for cleansing 7
the grate of the furnace, are similar to those used at the British Mint. (See Muyt.)
Cupel-mould; Cupels.—The cupels used in the assay process are made of the ashes of
burnt bones (phosphate of lime). The cupels are formed in a cupel-mould made of
cast steel, very nicely turned, by which means they are easily freed from the mould
when struck. The bone-ash is used moistened with a quantity of water, sufficient to
make the particles adhere firmly together. The circular mould is filled, and pressed
level with its surface ; after which, a pestle or plug, having its end nicely turned, of a
convex shape, and of a size equal to the degree of concavity wished to be made in the
cupel for the reception of the assay, is placed upon the ashes in the mould, and struck
with a mallet until the cupel is properly formed. These cupels are allowed to dry in
the air for some time before they are used,
The assay by cupellation may be conducted as follows :—
We begin this assay process by weighing, in a delicate balance, a certain weight of
the metallic alloy; a gramme (= 165'482 gr.) is usually taken in France, and 10 or 12
grains in this country. The weight is wrapped up in a slip of lead-foil or paper,
should it consist of several fragments; and there is added to it the proportion of lead
suitable to the quality of alloy to be assayed ; there being less lead, the finer the
silver is presumed to be. Those who are much in the habit of cupellation can make
good guesses in this way. If too much lead be used for the proportion of baser metal
present, a portion of the silver is wasted ; but if too little, then the whole of the cop-
per is not carried off, and the button of fine silver remains more or less impure. The
——
SILVER ASSAYING 823
lead must be, in all cases, as free as practicable from silver ; otlierwise errors of the
most serious kind would be ieee in the assays. ;
The assay is then placed upon a cupel which has been previously heated to the
proper temperature in the muffle, and the door closed. Fusion immediately occurs,
and the cupellation begins when the uncovering, or removal of the black skin of oxide
of lead takes place. The oxidation of the lead proceeds rapidly, and the spots of oxide
formed on the surface are rapidly absorbed by the cupel. Near the completion of the
assay the oxide forms thin films or bands ; and when the surface of the silver becomes
bright and immoveable , as the brightening occurs, the cupellation is finished. The
cupel is now allowed to remain in the muffle until the temperature is diminished and
the silver is solid. It is now removed from the muffle, and when cold the button of
silver is detached from the cupel by a pair of pliers squeezed or hammered on the side,
the under surface cleaned by means of a hard brush, and finally weighed, An assay
is thought to be good when the bead is of a round form, if its upper surface is brilliant
and crystalline, its lower surface granular and dead white, and if it separates readily
from the cupel. When copper is present the oxide of copper produced forms a fusible
compound with the oxide of lead and passes into the cupel. The proportion of lead
added varies with the amount of copper present in the alloy operated on.
Quantity of Lead to be employed for Cupellation of Alloys of Copper and Silver
M. D’Arcet).
Alloy
Lead for 1 of alloy Rabe CES Coe
Silver Copper
1000 0 3 0
950 50 3 Lede
900 100 7 1:60
800 200 10 1:50
700 300 12 1:40
600 400 14 1335
500 500 16 or 17 1332
400 600 16—17 1: 26°7
800 700 16 — 17 13 229
200 800 16—17 1:20
100 900 16—17 Feo res
0 1000 16—17 1:16
Bismuth may be used as a substitute for lead in cupellation; two parts of it being
nearly equivalent to three of lead. But its higher price prevents its introduction
among assayers.
During the process of cupellation, a portion of the silver is absorbed by the cupel,
varying in amount according to the temperature and the quantity of lead employed.
This loss is estimated and added on to the weight of the button of silver obtained.
The results are returned on 1,000 parts or on the pound troy. It is also customary
to report the assays in relation to standard. For example, English standard silver
contains 925 parts of silver in 1,000 of alloy. If the result obtained was 920, it would
be reported 5 w., or 5 parts in 1,000 worse than standard, and 930 would be reported
5 8., or 5 parts better than standard,
' An assay may prove defective for several reasons. Sometimes the button or bead
sends forth erystalline vegetations on its surface with such force as to make one sup-
pose a portion of the silver may be thrown out of the cupel, technically called
‘spitting.’ When the surface of the bead is dull and flat, the assay is considered to
have been too hot, and it indicates a loss of silver in fumes. When the tint of the
bead is not uniform, when its inferior surface is bubbly, when yellow scales of oxide
of lead remain on the bottom of the cupel, and the bead adheres strongly to it,—by
these signs it is judged that the assay has been too cold, and that the silver retains
some lead, After the lead is put into the cupel, it gets immediately covered with a
coat of oxide, which resists the admission of the silver to be assayed into the melted
metal ; so that the alloy cannot form. When a bit of silver is laid on a lead-bath in
this predicament, we see it swim about a long time without dissolving. In order to
avoid this result, the silver is wrapped up in a bit of paper; and the carburetted
hydrogen generated by its combustion reduces the film of the lead oxide, gives the
bath immediately a bright metallic lustre, and enables the two metals readily to
~~ te Oey Lee es a eee 7
"hen A a et She ede SS Wd By hai des
= .s ge ey BR Os Se eee ee
.
; ax,
824 SILVER ASSAYING
‘combine. As the heat rises, the oxide of lead flows round about over the surface,
till it is absorbed by the cupel. When the lead is wasted to a certain degree, a
very thin film of it only remains on the silver, which causes the iridescent appearance
like the colours of soap-bubbles: a phenomenon called, by the old chemists,
fulguration.
When the cupel cools in the progress of the assay, the oxidation of the lead
ceases; and, instead of a very liquid vitreous oxide, an imperfectly-melted oxide is
formed, which the cupel cannot absorb. To correct a cold assay, the temperature of
the furnace ought to be raised, and pieces of paper put into the cupel, till the oxide of
lead which adheres to it be reduced. On keeping up the heat, the assay will resume
its ordinary train. Pure silver is more liable to vegetate. Some traces of copper
destroy this property, which is obviously due to the oxygen which the silver can
absorb while it 1s in fusion, and which is disengaged the moment it solidifies. An
excess of lead, by removing all the copper at an early stage, tends to cause the vege-
tation. The brightening is caused by the heat evolved when the button passes from
the liquid to the solid state. Many other substances present the same phenomenon.
In the above operation it. is necessary to employ lead which is very pure, or at least
free from silver. This is called poor lead. The lead reduced from Pattinson’s
‘oxychloride’ is very free from silver; the lead reduced from the litharge of com-
merce usually contains 10 dwts. or more of silver per ton.
2. Wet Methods. (a.) By means of a Standard Solution of Salt or Chloride of.
Sodium.—The process by the humid way, recommended at the Royal Mint in 1829, and
exhibited as to its principles before the Right Honourable John Herries, then Master,
in 1830, has all the ‘precision and certainty we could wish. It is founded on the well-
known property which silver has, when dissolved in nitric acid, to be precipitated as an
insoluble chloride of silver by a solution of salt or by muriatic acid; but, instead of
determining the weight of the chloride of silver, we take the quantity of the solution
of salt which has been necessary for the precipitation of the silver. To put the process
in execution, a liquor is prepared composed of water and salt in such proportions that
1,000 measures of this liquor may precipitate completely 10 grains of silver, perfectly
pure or of the standard 1,000, previously dissolved in nitric acid. The liquor thus
prepared gives, immediately, the true standard of any alloy whatever, of silver and
copper, by the quantity of which it may be necessary to precipitate the silver in a
known weight of this alloy. .
The process by the humid way is, so to speak, independent of the operator, the mani-
pulations being very easy ; and the term of the operation is very distinctly announced
by the absence of any sensible turbidity on the addition of salt to the silver solution,
while there remains in it one quarter of a thousandth of metal. The process is not
tedious, and in experienced hands it may rival the cupel in rapidity; it has the
advantage over the cupel of being more within the reach of ordinary operators, and
of not requiring a long apprenticeship. It is particularly useful to such assayers
as have only a few assays to make daily, as it will cost them very little time and
expense,
By agitating briskly, during two minutes, the liquid rendered milky by the pre-
cipitation of the chloride of silver, it may be sufficiently clarified to enable us to
appreciate, after a few moments of repose, the disturbance that can be produced in
it by the addition of. 1000th of a grain of silver. The presence of lead and copper,
or any other metal, except mercury, has no perceptible influence on the quantity of
salt necessary to precipitate the silver; that is to say, the same quantity of silver,
pure or alloyed, requires for its precipitation a constant quantity of the solution of
salt.
Supposing that we operate upon a gramme of pure silver, the solution of salt ought
to be such that 100 cubic centimeters may precipitate exactly the whole of the silver.
The standard of an alloy is given by the number of thousandths of solution of salt
necessary to precipitate the silver contained in a gramme of alloy.
When any mercury is accidentally present, which is however, a rare occurrence,
it is made obvious by the precipitated chloride remaining white when exposed to
daylight ; whereas, when there is no mercury present, it becomes speedily first grey
and then purple. Silver so contaminated must be strongly ignited before being
assayed, and the loss of weight noted; or a cupel assay may be had recourse to.
t; a following is a description of the process and apparatus as first introduced by
ay-Lussac :—
Preparation of the Normal Solution of Salt when it is measured by Weight.—Sup-
posing the salt pure as well as the water, we have only to take these two bodies in
the proportion of 0°5437 k. of salt to 99°4573 k. of water, to have 100 k. of solution,
of which 100 grammes will precipitate exactly one gramme of silver. But instead of
pure salt, which is to be Kicker g with difficulty, and which besides may be altered
Paws yy Se
mark a 6 being placed at, the level of the eye,
-we make the surface of the solution become .
SILVER ASSAYING 895
readily by absorbing the humidity of the air, a concentrated ‘solution of the salt: of
commerce is to be preferred, of which a large quantity may be prepared at a time to
be kept in reserve for use, as it is wanted.
Preparation of the Normal Solution of Salt when measured by Volume.—The
measure by weight has the advantage of being independent of temperature, of having
the same degree of precision as the balance, and of not standing in need of correction.
The measure by volume has not all these advantages; but, by giving it sufficient
precision, it is more rapid. This normal solution is so made, that a volume equal to
that of 100 grammes of water, or 100 cubic centimeters, at a determinate temperature,
may precipitate exactly one gramme of silver. The solution may be kept at.a con-
stant temperature, and in this case the assay stands in no want of correction ; or if its
temperature be variable, the assay must be corrected according to its influence. These
two circumstances make no change in the principle of. the process, but they are
sufficiently important to occasion some modifications in the apparatus. ,
We readily obtain a volume of 100 cubic centimeters by means of a pipette, fig.
1841, so gauged, that when filled with water up to the mark a }, and well dried at
its point, it will run out, at a continuous efflux, 100 grammes of water at the tem-
perature of 15° C. (59° F.) We say purposely at one efflux, because after the cessa-
tion of the jet, the pipette may still furnish two or three drops of liquid, which must
not be counted or reckoned upon. The weight of the volume of the normal solution,
taken in this manner with suitable precautions, will be uniform from one extreme to
another, upon two centimeters and a half, at most, or to a quarter of a thousandth,
and the difference from the mean will be obviously twice less, or one half. Let us
indicate the most simple manner of taking a measure of the normal solution of
salt.
After having immersed the beak, ¢, of the pipette in the solution, we apply suction,
by the mouth, to the upper orifice, and thereby
raise the liquid to d, above the circular line a 0. 1842
We next apply neatly the forefinger of one hand 1844 1843 1841
to this orifice, remove the pipette from the liquid, __ a .
and seize it as represented in fig. 1842. The © GS es
Ay ~
exactly a tangent tothe plane a 0. At the instant
it becomes a tangent, we leave the beak, c, of
the pipette open, by taking away the finger that
had been applied to it, and without changing
anything else in the position of the hands, we
empty it into the bottle which should receive the
solution, taking care to remove it whenever the
efflux has run out.
If, after filling the pipette by suction, anyone
should find a difficulty in applying the fore-
finger fast enough to the upper orifice without
letting the liquid run down below the mark
ab, he should remove the pipette from the
solution with its top still closed with his tongue,
then apply the middle finger of one of his hands .
to the lower orifice; after which he may with- |
draw his tongue, and apply the forefinger of b
the other hand to the orifice previously wiped.
This method of obtaining a measure of normal .
solution of sea-salt is very simple, and requires no complex apparatus; but we
shall indicate another manipulation still easier, and much more exact.
In this new process the pipette is filled from the top like a bottle, instead of being
filled by suction, and it is moreover fixed, Jig. 1843 represents the apparatus. pD
and p’ are two sockets, separated by a stopcock r, The upper one, tapped interiorly,
receives by means of a cork stopper, 1, the tube rT, which admits the solution of sea-
salt. The lower socket is cemented on:to the pipette; it bears a small air-cock Rr’,
and a screw-plug v, which regulates a minute opening intended to let. the air enter
very slowly into the pipette. Below the stopcock r’, a silver tube, Nn, of narrow
diameter, soldered to the socket, leads the solution into the pipette, by allowing the
air, which it displaces, to escape by the stopcock, r’. The screw-plug, with the
milled head, v, replaces the ordinary screw by which the key of the stopeock may
be made to press, with more or less force, upon its conical seat.
_ Fig. 1844 represents a side view of the apparatus just described. We here remark.
an air-cock R, and an opening m, At the extremity @, of the same figure, the conical -
826 SILVER ASSAYING
pipe T enters with friction. It is by this pipe that the air is sucked into the pipette,
when it is to be filled from its beak.
The pipette is supported by two horizontal arms x (fig. 1845) moveable about a.
common axis, A A, and capable of being drawn out or shortened by the aid of two
longitudinal slits. They are fixed steadily by two screw-nuts, ¢ ¢’, and their distance
may be varied by means of round bits of wood or cork interposed, or even by opposite
screw-nuts, oo’. The upper arm # is pierced with a hole, in which is fixed, by the
pressure of a wooden screw 2, the socket of the pipette. The corresponding hole of
the lower arm is larger ; and the beak of the pipette is supported in it by a cork stop-
per, i. The apparatus is fixed by its tail-piece p, by means of a screw to the corner
of a wall, or any other Prop.
The manner of filling the pipette is very simple. We begin by applying the fore-
finger of the left hand to the lower aperture, c; we then open the two stopeocks r and
r’, Whenever the liquor approaches the neck of the pipette, we must temper its
influx, and when it has arrived at some millimeters above the mark a 6, we close the
two stopcocks, and remove our forefinger. We have now nothing more to do than
to regulate the pipette ; for which purpose the liquid must touch the line @ }, and must
simply adhere externally to the beak of the pipette.
This last circumstance is easily adjusted. After taking away the finger which closed
1847 1845
the aperture ¢ of the pipette, we apply to this
orifice a moist sponge, 7, Jig. 1846, to absorb
the superfluous liquor as it drops out. This
sponge is called the ‘handkerchief’ by M. Gay-
Lussae (mouchoir). The pipette is said to be
wiped, when there is no liquor adhering to its
point exteriorly,
For the convenience of operating, the handker-
chief is fixed by friction in a tube of tin-plate,
terminated by a cup, open at bottom to let
the droppings flow off into the cistern c, to
which the tube is soldered. It may be easily removed for the purpose of washing it ;
and, if necessary, a little wedge of wood, 0, can raise it towards the pipette.
To complete the adjustment of the pipette, the liquid must be made merely to descend
to the mark a, b. With this view, and whilst the handkerchief is applied to the beak
of the pipette, the air must be allowed to enter very slowly, by unscrewing the plug 2,
fig. 1848 ; and at the moment of the contact, the handkerchief must be removed, and the
bottle r, destined to receive the solution, must be placed below the orifice of the pipette,
Jig. 1846. As the motion must be made rapidly, and without hesitation, the bottle is
placed in a cylinder of tin-plate, of a diameter somewhat greater, and forming one
body with the cistern and the handkerchief. The whole of this apparatus has for a basis
a plate of tinned-iron, moveable between the wooden rollers R R, one of which bears a
groove, under which the edge of the plate slips. Its traverses are fixed by two abut-
ments, 6 b, placed so that when it is stopped by one of them, the beak of the ee
corresponds to the centre of the neck of the bottle, or is a tangent to the handkerchief.
This arrangement, very convenient for wiping the pipette, and emptying it, gives the
apparatus sufficient solidity, and allows of its being taken away, and replaced without
deranging anything. It is obvious that it is of advantage, when once the entry of the
air into the pipette has been regulated by the screw v, to leave it constantly open, be-
cause the motion from the handkerchief to the bottle is performed with sufficient
rapidity to prevent a drop of the solution from collecting and falling down, te
————E ee ee
SILVER ASSAYING 827
Temperature of the Solution.—After having described the manner of measuring by
volume the normal solution of the salt, we shall indicate the most convenient means
of taking the temperature. The thermometer is placed in a tube of glass, 1, fig. 1847,
which the solution traverses to arrive at the pipette. It is suspended in it by a piece of
cork, grooved on the four sides to afford passage to the liquid. The scale is engraved
upon the tube itself, and is repeated at the opposite side, to fix the eye by the coinci-
dence of this double division at the level of the thermometrie column. The tube is
joined below to another narrower one, through which it is attached by means of a cork
stopper B, in the socket of the stopcock of the pipette. At its upper part it is cemented
into a brass socket, screw-tapped in the inside, which is connected in its turn by a
cock, with the extremity, also tapped, of the tube above 7, belonging to the reservoir
' of the normal solution. The corks employed here as connecting links between the
’ parts of the apparatus, give them a certain flexibility, and allow of their being dis-
mounted and remounted in a very short time; but it is indispensable to make them be
traversed by a hollow tube of glass or metal, which will hinder them from being
erushed by the pressure they are exposed to. If the precaution be taken to grease
them with a little suet, and to fill their pores, they will suffer no leakage.
For the preservation of the normal solution of salt, M. Gay-Lussac uses a cylindrical
vessel or drum of copper, of a capacity of about 110 litres, having its inside covered
with a resin-and-wax cement. If the drum contains 110 litres, we should only put
105 into it, in order that sufficient space may be left for agitating the liquor without
throwing it out. According to the principle that 100 cubic centimeters, or jth of a
litre of the solution should contain enough of salt to precipitate a gramme of pure
silver ; and, admitting moreover, 13°516 for the equivalent of silver, and 7°335 for
that of salt, we shall find the quantity of pure salt that should be dissolved in the 105
litres of water, and which corresponds to 105 x 10= 1050 grammes of silver, to be, by
the following proportion :—
13°516 : 7'335::1050 grammes : 7 =569'83 grammes,
And as the solution of the salt of commerce, formerly mentioned, contains approxima-
tively 250 grammes per kilogramme, we must. make 2279'3 grammes of this solution
to have 569°83 grammes of salt, ‘The mixture being perfectly made, the tubes and the
pipette must be several times washed by running the solution through them, and
putting it into the drum. The standard of the solution must be determined after it
as been well agitated, supposing the temperature to remain uniform.
To arrive more conveniently at this result, we begin by preparing two decimal solu-
tions ; one of silver, and another of salt.
The decimal solution of silver is obtained by dissolving 1 gramme of silver in nitric
acid, and diluting the solution with water till its volume becomes a litre.
The decimal solution of salt may be obtained by dissolving 0°543 gramme of pure
salt in water, so that the solution shall occupy « litre; but we shall prepare it even
with the normal solution which we wish to test, by mixing a measure of it with 9
measures of water; it being understood that this solution is not rigorously equivalent
to that of silver, and that it will become so only when the normal solution employed
for its preparation shall be finally of the true standard. Lastly, we prepare before-
hand several stoppered bottles, in each of which we dissolve 1 gramme of silver in 8
or 10 grammes of nitric acid. For brevity’s sake, we shall call these ‘ tests,’
Now, to investigate the standard of the normal solution, we must transfer a pipette
of it into one of these test-bottles ; and we must agitate the liquors briskly to clarify
them. After some instants of repose, we pour in 2 thousandths of the decimal solution
of salt, which we suppose will produce a precipitate. The normal liquor is conse-
quently too feeble; and we should expect this, since the salt employed was not
perfectly pure. We agitate and add 2 fresh thousandths, which will also produce a
precipitate. We continue thus, by successive additions of 2 thousandths till the last
produces no precipitation. Suppose that we have added 16 thousandths: the last
two should not be reckoned, as they produced no precipitate; the preceding two were
necessary, but only in part ; that is to say, the useful thousandths added are above 12
and below 14, or otherwise they are on an average equal to 13.
- Thus, in the condition of the normal solution, we require 1,013 parts of it to
precipitate 1 gramme of silver, while we should require only 1,000. We shall find
the quantity of concentrated solution of salt that we should add, by noting that the
quantity of solution of salt, at first employed, viz. 2279°3 grammes, produced a
standard of only 987 thousandths = 1000—18; and by using the following proportion:
987 : 2279'3::13 : e=30'02 grammes.
This quantity of the strong solution of salt, mixed with the normal solution in the
drum, will correct its standard, and we shall see now by how much.
9028 SILVER ASSAYING
After having washed the tubes and the pipette with the new solution, we must ;
repeat the experiment upon a fresh gramme of silver. We shall find, for example, in
proceeding only by a thousandth at a time, that the first causes a precipitate, but not
the second. The standard of the solution is still too weak, and is comprised between
1000 and 1001; that is to say, it may be equal to 10003, but we must make a closer
approximation.
We pour into the test-bottle 2 thousandths of the decimal solution of silver, which
will destroy 2 thousandths of salt, and the operation will have retrograded by
2 thousandths; that is to say, it will be brought back to the point at which it was
first of all. If, after having cleared up the liquor, we add half a thousandth of the
decimal solution, there will necessarily be a precipitate, as we knew beforehand, but a
second will cause no turbidity. The standard of th
comprehended between 1000 and 1000}, or equal to 10003.
We should rest content with this standard; but if we wish to correct it, we may
remark that the two quantities of solution of salt added, viz. 2279°3 gr. + 30°02 gr.=
2309°32 gr., have produced only 999-75 thousandths, and that we must add a new
quantity of it corresponding to } of a thousandth. We make, therefore, the propsrtion
999°75 : 2309°32°:0°25 ¢ «.
But since the first term differs very little from 1000, we may content ourselves to
have x by taking the 275 of 2309°32, and we shall find 0-577 gr. for the quantity of
solution of salt to be added to the normal solution.
t is not convenient to take exactly so small a quantity of solution of salt by
the balance, but we shall succeed easily by the following process. We weigh 50
grammes of this solution, and we dilute it with water, so that it occupies exactly half
‘a litre, or 500 centimeters cube. A pipette of this solution, one centimeter cube in
volume, will give a decigramme of the primitive solution, and as such a small pipette
is divided into twenty drops, each drop, for example, will present 5 milligrammes of
the solution. Weshould arrive at quantities smaller still by diluting the solution with
4 proper quantity of water; but greater precision would be entirely needless: ‘ai
The testing of the normal liquor just described is, in reality, less tedious than might
be supposed. It deserves also to be remarked, that liquor has been prepared for more
than 1,000 assays; and that, in preparing a fresh quantity, we shall obtain directly its
true standard, or nearly so, if we bear in mind the quantities of water and solution of
salt which have been employed,
Correction of the Standard of the Normal Solution of Salt, when the Temperature
changes.—We have supposed, in determining, the standard of the normal solution of
‘salt, that the temperature remained uniform. The assays made in such circum-
stances have no need of correction ; but if the temperature should change, the same
measure of the solution will not contain the same quantity of salt. Supposing that
-we have tested the solution of the salt at the temperature of 15° C.; if, at the time of
making the experiment, the temperature is 18° C., for example, the solution will be
too weak on account of its expansion, and the pipette will contain less of it by weight ;
if, on the contrary, the temperature has fallen to 12°, the solution will be thereby
concentrated, and will prove.too strong. It is therefore proper to determine the cor-
rection necessary to be made for any variation of temperature.
To ascertain this point, the temperature of the solution of salt was made successively,
to be 0, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30° C., and three pipettes of the solution were
weighed exactly at each of these temperatures. The third of these weighings gave the
mean weight of a pipette. The corresponding weights of a pipette of the solution
were afterwards graphically interpolated from degree to degree. These weights form
the second column of the following Table. They enable us to-correct any temperature
between 0° and 30° C, (32° and 86° F.) when the solution of salt has been prepared
in the same limits. Mr
Let us ‘suppose, for example, that the solution has been made standard at 15°, and
that at the time of using it, the temperature has become 18°. We see by the second
column of the Table, that a weight of a measure of the solution is 100-099 gr. at 15°,
and 100°065 at 18°; the difference, 0-034 gr., is the quantity of solution less which
has been really taken ; and of course we must add it to the normal measure, in order
to make it equal to one thousand milliémes. If the temperature of the solution had
fallen to 10° the difference of the weight of a measure from 10° to 15° would be
0:019 gr., which we must, on the contrary, deduct from the measure, since it had
been taken too large. These differences of weight of a measure of solution at 15°,
from that of a measure at any other temperature, form the column 15° of the table
where they are expressed in thousandths; they are inscribed on the same horizontal
lines as to the temperatures to which each of them relates with the sign’ + plus, when
they must be added, and with the sign — minus, when they must be subtracted,
e normal liquor will be consequently
soars ite it i Bg th ol
_ Se
_
SILVER ASSAYING 829
Table of Correction for the Variations in the Temperature of the Normal System
; of the Salt.
Temperature | Weight 5° 10° 15° 20° 25° 30°
degrees gram. mill. mill. mill, mill, ~ mill. mill,
4 | 100,109 00 | —O1 | +01 | +07 | 41:7 | 42-7
5 | 100,113 oo | —oO1 | +01 | +07 | 417 | +28
6 100,115 0-0 00 | +02 | +08 | +17 | 42:8
7 |100,118| +01 00 | +02 | +08 | +17 |. +28
8 100,120 | +01 oo | +02 | +08 | +13 | 42:8
9 {100,120} +071 oo | +02 | +08 | +18 | 42:8
10 100,118 | +01 00 | +02 | +08 | +17 | 42:8
11 100,116 0-0 00 | +02 | +08 | +17 | 42:3
12‘: | 100,114 0:0 oo | +02 | +08 | +17 | 42:8
13 100,110 oo | —o1 | +01 | +07 | 41:7 | 427
14 100,106 | —o1 | —o1 | +01 | +07 |. +16 | +27
15 {100,099| —o1 | —02 | —o0 | +06 | +16 | +2°6
16 100,090 | —02 | —o3 | —o1 | +05 } +15 | +25
17 100,078 | —04 | —o4 | -—o2 | +04 | 41:3 | 424
18 {100,065| —05 |- —o5 | —o3 | +08 | +12 | +23
19 100,053 | —o6 | —0-7 | —05 | +01 |. +11.].-4+22
20 100,039 | —o07 | —08 | —06 00 | +10 | +2°0
91 100,021 | —0-9 | —10 | —og | ~o2 | +08 | +1°9
92 100,001 | —11 | —12 | -—10 | -—o4 | +06 | 41-7
23 99,988 | —13 | —14 | —12 | -o6 | +04 | 41%
24 99,964; —15 |°—15 | —14 | —08 | +402 | 41:3
25 99,944| -—17 | —1-7 | —16 | —1°0 oo | #11
26 99,924| —19 | —19 | -18 | —12 | —02 | +09
27 99,902 | -21 | —22 | -20 | —14 | —04 | +07
28 99,879 | —23 | —24 | —22 | -16 | -—16 | +07
29 99.858 | —26 | -26 | —24 ' —18 | -09 | 40-2
30 29,836 | —28 | —28 | —26 | —290 | —11 0-0
‘The columns 5°, 10°, 20°, 25°, 35°, have been calculated in the same manner for the
‘eases in which the normal solution may have been graduated to each of these tem-
peratures. ‘Thus, to calculate the column 10°, the number 100°118 has been taken in
the column of weights for a term of departure, and its difference from all the numbers
of the same column has been sought.
Several expedients have been employed to facilitate and abridge the manipulations.
In the first place, the bottles for testing or assaying the specimens of silver should all
be of the same height and of the same diameter. They should be numbered at’ their
top, as well as on their stoppers, in the order 1, 2, 3, &c. They may be ranged suc-
‘cessively in tens; the stoppers of the same series being placed on a support in their
‘proper order. Each two bottles should, in their turn, be placed in a japanned tin case
(fig. 1848) with ten compartments, duly numbered. ‘These compartments are cut out
anteriorly to about half their height, to allow the bottoms of the bottles to be seen.
When each bottle has received its portion of alloy, through a wide-beaked funnel,
there must be poured into it about 10 grammes of nitric acid, of specific gravity 1-28,
with a pipette, containing that quantity; it is then exposed to the heat of a water-
bath, in order to facilitate the solution of the alloy. The water-bath is an oblong
vessel made of tin-plate, intended to receive the bottles. It has a moveable double
bottom, pierced with small holes for the purpose of preventing the bottles being bro-
ken, as it insulates them from the bottom, to which the heat is applied. The solution
is rapid ; and, since it emits nitrous vapours in abundance, it ought to be carried on
‘under a chimney.
The Agitator —Fig. 1849 gives a sufficiently exact idea of it, and may dispense with
a lengthened description. It has ten cylindrical compartments, numbered from 1 to
10. ‘The bottles, after the solution of the alloy, are arranged in it in the order of their
numbers. The agitator is then placed within reach of the pipette intended to measure
out the normal solution of salt, and a pipette full of this solution is put into each phial,
Each is then closed with its glass-stopper, previously dipped in pure water. They are
fixed in the cells of the agitator by springs. The agitator is then suspended toa
spring R, and, seizing it with both hands, the operator gives an alternating rapid
movement, which agitates the solution, and makes it, in less than a minute, as limpid
as water. ‘This movement is sometimes promoted. by-a spiral spring, B, fixed-to the
880 SILVER ASSAYING
agitator and the ground; but this is seldom made use of, because it is convenient to
be able to transport the agitator from one place to another. When the agitation is
1849 finished, the catchesarereleased, and
the bottles are placed in order upon
= a table furnished with round cells
destined toreceivethem ,andto screen
them, When we place the bottles
upon this table, we must give them a
brisk circular motion to collect the
chloride of silver scattered round
their sides; we must lift out their
stoppers, and suspend them in wire
rings, or pincers, We next pour
a thousandth of the decimal solu-
tion into each bottle; and before
_ this operation is terminated, there
_ is ‘formed in the first bottle, when
“WT there should be a precipitate, a ne- .
bulous stratum, very well marked,
of about a centimeter in thickness,
At the back of the table there is a
black board, divided into compart-
ments, numbered from 1 to 10,
upon each of which we mark, with
chalk, the thousandths of the
decimal liquor put into the corre-
_ sponding bottle. The thousandths
of salt, which indicate an augmen-
tation of standard, are preceded by
the sign+, and the thousandths of
nitrate of silver by the sign —.
When the assays are finished, the
liquor of each bottle is to be poured
' into a large vessel in which a ‘slight
excess of salt is kept; and when
it is full, the supernatant clear
ws liquid must be runoff with a syphon.
The chloride of silver may be reduced without any perceptible loss. After having
washed ‘it well, we immerse pieces of zinc in it, and add sulphuric acid in sufficient
quantity to keep up a feeble disengagement of hydrogen gas. ‘The mass must not
be touched. In a few days the silver is completely reduced. This is easily recognised
by the colour and nature of the product; or by treating a small quantity of it with
water of ammonia, we shall see whether there be any chloride unreduced, for it will
be dissolved by the ammonia, and will again appear upon saturating the ammonia
with an acid. The chlorine remains associated with the zine in a state of solution.
The first washings of the reduced silver must be made with an acidulous water, to
dissolve the oxides which may have been formed, and the other washings with com-
mon water. After decanting the water of the last washing, we dry the mass, and add
to it a little powdered borax. It must now be fused. The silver being in a bulky
powder is to be put in successive portions into a crucible as it sinks down. The heat
should be at first moderate; but towards the end of the operation, it must be pretty
strong, to bring into complete fusion the silver and the scoriz, and to effect their
complete separation. In case it should be supposed that the whole of the silver had
not been reduced by the zine, a little carbonate of potash should be added to the borax.
The silver may also be reduced by exposing the chloride to a strong heat, in contact
with chalk and charcoal,
The following remarks by M. Gay-Lussac, the author of the above method, upon
the effect of a little mercury in the humid assay, are important :—
It is well known that chloride of silver blackens the more readily when it is exposed
to an intense light, and that even in the diffused light of a room it becomes soon
sensibly coloured. If it contains 4 to 5 thousandths of mercury, it does not
blacken; it remains of a dead white; with 8 thousandths of mercury, there is no
marked discolouring in diffused light; with 2 thousandths it is slight; with 1 it
is much more marked, but still it is much less intense than with pure chloride, - With
half a thousandth of mercury the difference of colour is not remarkable, and is per-
ceived only in a very moderate light. But when the quantity of mercury is so small
that it cannot be detected by the differenee of colour in the chloride of silver, it may
Ue
SILVER ASSAYING 831
be rendered quite evident by a very simple process of concentration, Dissolve one
gramme of the silver supposed to contain a quarter of a thousandth of mercury, and
let only a quarter of it be precipitated, by adding a quarter of the common salt neces-
sary to precipitate it entirely. In thus operating, the quarter thousandth of mercury
is concentrated in a quantity of chloride of silver four times smaller: it is as if the
silver having been entirely precipitated, four times as much mercury, equal to 2
thousandths, have been precipitated with it. On taking two grammes of silver, and
precipitating only a quarter by common salt, the precipitate would be, with respect to
the chloride of silver, as if it amounted to 4 thousandths. By this process, which
occupies only five minutes because exact weighing is not necessary, one tenth of a
thousandth of mereury may be detected in silver. It is not useless to observe that, in
making these experiments, the most exact manner of introducing small quantities of
mercury into a solution of silver, is to weigh a minute globule of mercury, and to
dissolve it in nitrie acid, diluting the solution so that it may contain as many cubic
centimeters as the globule weighs of centigrammes. Each cubic centimeter, taken by
means of a pipette, will contain one milligramme of mercury. If the ingot of silver
to be assayed be found to contain a greater quantity of mercury—1 thousandth, for
example—the humid process ought, in this case, either to be given up or to be com-
pared with cupellation. When the silver contains mercury, the solution from which
the mixed chlorides are precipitated does not really become clear. Silver containing
mercury, put into a small crucible, and mixed with lamp-black, to prevent the volatil-
isation of the silver, was heated for three-quarters of an hour in a muffle, but the
silver increased sensibly in weight. This process for separating the mercury, there-
fore, failed. It is to be observed, that mercury is the only metal which has thus the
power of disturbing analysis by the humid way. The error caused by the presence of
mereury may be avoided by the addition of a small quantity of acetate of soda to the
solution of the silver in nitric acid, previous to the addition of the chloride of sodium,
_as this salt prevents the precipitation of the mercury. j
Since the above process was first introduced by Gay-Lussac, several modifications in
the form of apparatus and other details have been introduced ; but the principles
upon which the method is worked are essentially the same. The normal solution of
salt is preserved in a vessel of glass or stoneware, instead of metal. The use of metal
tubes is dispensed with. Various modes of filling the pipettes from below or other-
wise are in use. Instead of the thermometer placed within the tube to indicate the
temperature of the salt-solution, the standard is verified once a. day or oftener if
necessary by check assays. The assay of silver, or silver alloys by a standard solution
of salt may be conducted as follows:—Ten grs. or more of the metal according to cir-
cumstances, is weighed out, transferred to the bottle, dilute nitric acid added and
"solution effected by placing the bottle in a water-bath. The red fumes are expelled,
and the solution diluted with water. The bottle is now placed under the lower end of
the pipette, 1000 grs. of the normal solution of salt {equal to ten grs. of silver) run in,
and the contents briskly shaken until clear. Ten grs. of the decimal solution of salt
(1000 grs. of which are equal to 1 gr. of silver) is now added from a pipette and, as
precipitate forms, the solution is again shaken until clear. This process is repeated
until the last 10 grs. added, does not produce any precipitate. As the last 10 grs. of
‘decimal solution added does not give any precipitate, it proves that it is in excess; it
is therefore, deducted from the total quantity used, and also the half, say of the
previous 10 grs. added, as it is obvious that the previous 10 grs, added were not
sufficient to precipitate the whole of the silver. For example, 11 grs. of the alloy
require 1000 grs. of the normal solution, and 50 grs. of the decimal solution of salt, for
the working of the assay. The amount found necessary is, therefore, 35 grs. of the
decimal solution, which is equal to 3°5 of the normal solution, which added on to the
1000 grs. makes the total quantity required for the precipitation of the silver 1003°5,
Therefore—
Salt-solution Salt-solution Silver Silver
1000 : 1003°5 =: 10 ; 10°035
Then as
Alloy Alloy Silver Silver
Ligrastun & 1000: 10°035 : 912°2
The weight of alloy operated on should contain about 10 grs. of silver. The contents
of silver should, therefore, be approximately determined by cupellation or otherwise
before submitting it to assay by this method. It is also desirable to take a quantity
of the metal for the assay, so as to require the decimal solution of salt to complete
it ; by this means the error noticed by Mulder and other assayers is obviated. However,
if it is found in the working of an assay that the first 10 grs. of the decimal solution
of salt does not yieldany precipitate, excess of the decimal solution of silver (1000 grs,
‘
832 SILVER, CHLORIDE OF
of which contain 1 gr. of silver) is added, and the assay completed as before with the:
decimal salt-solution. The measure of decimal solution of salt corresponding to the
measure of the decimal solution of silver added, is deducted, and the remainder equals
the quantity of salt solution required to precipitate the silver in the metal operated on.
b. By weighing the chloride of silver.—This process is used for the Indian Mint
assays, special apparatus being employed to carry on a number of assays at one
time. The process may be conducted as follows :—A portion of the silver, or alloy, is
accurately weighed, transferred to a stoppered bottle, dilute nitric acid added, and
solution effected by heating the bottle in a water-bath or otherwise. When decom-
posed, the solution is diluted with water, hydrochloric acid added in excess, and the
bottle well shaken till the precipitated chloride of silver collects, and the solution is
clear. The bottle is now filled to the neck with water, allowed to settle, and the super-
natant liquor carefully removed by means of a glass syphon. The bottle is again filled
with water, the chloride of silver allowed to settle, and the solution syphoned off as
before. Two or more washings are made, according to the purity of the silver or
alloy operated on. The bottle is now inverted over a small Wedgwood crucible, and
manipulated until the whole of the chloride of silver is collected therein. The
chloride of silver is now broken up and gently stirred, by means of a glass rod, until
it lies evenly at the bottom of the crucible, The water is carefully drained off, and
the crucible heated at first at a low temperature, and afterwards for some time at a
temperature of about 300° F. When the chloride of silver is thoroughly dried, it is
allowed to cool, and then carefully transferred to the skiff of the assay balance, and
weighed. The amount of chloride of silver obtained from a known weight of pure
silver by working under similar conditions is ascertained, and the calculations made
from this data. Special weights are used in India, to facilitate calculations. The
assay weight indicating from the amount of chloride of silver the actual quantity of
silver present in 1,000 parts.
Stiver CornaGe In 1873.
Weight Number of pieces Value
ozs. & Se
Florins . R 2,169,360,000 5,965,740 596,574 0
Shillings . * 1,179,360,C00 6,486,480 324,824 0
Sixpences . 5 899,600,000 4,395,600 109,890 0
Fourpences ° 252,000 4,158 69 6
Threepences . 184,524,000 4,059,528 50,744 2
Twopences . : 144,000 4,752 389 12
Pence » : 120,000 7,920 Cree”
SILVER, BROMIDE OF (AgBr), is occasionally found native. If a soluble
bromide is added to a solution of nitrate of silver, a precipitate of bromide of silver is
formed of a very pale yellow colour. This salt changes readily under the action of
the solar rays, and for photographic purposes possesses many very important pro-
perties, of which photographers have not availed themselves, Thisis mainly owing
to the neglect of scientific investigation amongst the body of photographic artists,
which is exceedingly to be regretted.
SILVER, CHLORIDE OF, (Ag(1l) is obtained by adding hydrochloric acid, or
any soluble chloride, to a solution of nitrate of silver. A curdy precipitate falls, quite
insoluble in water, which being dried and heated to dull redness, fuses into a semi-
transparent grey mass, called, from its appearance, horn-silver. Chloride of silver
dissolves readily in water of ammonia, and crystallises in proportion as the ammonia
evaporates. It is not decomposed by a red heat, even when mixed with calcined
charcoal ; but when hydrogen or steam is passed over the fused chloride, hydrochloric
acid exhales, and silver remains. When fused along with potash (or its carbonate),
the silver is also revived ; while oxygen (or also carbonic acid) gas is liberated, and
chloride of potassium is‘formed. Alkalme solutions dp not.decompose chloride of
silver. When this compound is exposed to light, it suffers a partial decomposition,
hydrochloric acid being disengaged.
The best way of reducing the chloride of silver, says Mohr, is to mix it with one-
third of its weight of colophony (black resin), and to heat the mixture moderately in
a crucible till the flame ceases to have a greenish-blue colour; then suddenly to in-
crease the fire, so as to melt the metal into an ingot,
The subchloride may be directly formed by pouring a solution of proto-chloride
‘of-copper or iron upon silver-leaf, . . Rewer a j
d
.
'
1
q
(
q
SILVER, NITRATE OF 935
SILVER, CYANIDE OF. Sce CyAnivEs.
SILVER FIR. Abies picca. This species yields the Burgundy pitch and Strasburg
turpentine. See ABIEs. ;
SILVER, FULMINATING. Seco Futminatine SItver.
SILVER GLANCE. Sulphide of silver. See Sirver.
SILVER, HYPOSULPHITE OF. Ag0.S*0?.HO (Ag’S?H#’0‘'). This salt
is formed in the process of fixing photographic pictures with hyposulphite of soda.
Solutions of the hyposulphite of soda, potash, or lime, which are bitter salts, dissolve
ys of silver into liquids possessing a remarkable sweetness. See HyposuLpuits
oF Sopa.
SILVER, IODIDE OF. (AgI.) This compound of iodine and silver, which is
obtained when a solution of an iodide is added to nitrate of silver, is a pale yellow
powder. It is also found native, but not in large quantities. This silver salt is
remarkable, like some other metallic compounds, for changing its colour alternatively
with heat and cold. Ifa sheet of white paper be washed over with a solution of
nitrate of silver, and afterwards with a somewhat dilute solution of iodide of potas-
sium, it will immediately assume the pale yellow tint of the cold silver iodide. On
placing the paper before the fire, it will change colour from a pale primrose to a gaudy
brilliant yellow, like the sunflower; and on being cooled, it will again resume the
primrose hue. These alternations may be repeated indefinitely, like those with the
salts of cobalt, provided too great a heat be not applied. The pressure of a finger
upon the hot yellow paper makes a white spot, by cooling it quickly. Iodide of silver,
when quite pure, is very slowly darkened when exposed to sunshine; but if in com-
bination with an organic compound, or with an excess of nitrate of silver, it changes
eolour with much rapidity. From this property it furnishes one of the most valuable
of our photographic agents. It is the active material in the calotype, the collodion,
the Daguerreotype, and other processes, See PHorograpuy.
SILVER, NITRATE OF. AgO.NO* (Agwo*). This salt was known to Geber,
and was chiefly used in medicine ; but since the discovery of photography, it has been
made on avery large scale. It is found in commerce in two different forms, viz.
crystallised, and in sticks, the former being more general ; in sticks it is called ‘lunar
caustic,’ and is used by the surgeon. It is prepared by digesting metallic silver with
moderately strong nitric acid; the silver speedily dissolves, especially if heat be
applied. Some of the nitrie acid is decomposed, yielding oxygen to the silver, and
liberating binoxide of nitrogen, which, in contact with the air, abstracts oxygen and
forms red vapours of hyponitric acid.
The clear solution is evaporated, either to the crystallising point or to dryness ; if
for caustic, it is fused and cast into sticks. If ordinary standard silver be used, the
solution will contain some nitrate of copper; in this case it must’ be evaporated to
dryness, and gradually heated till all the nitrate of copper is decomposed, which may be
known by taking a little of the salt, dissolving in water, and adding excess of ammonia ;
when, if copper be still present, the solution will havea blue tint. When all the copper
is thus rendered insoluble, the fused mass is dissolved in distilled water, evaporated
and crystallised. When pure, nitrate of silver is white; the crystals are transparent,
colourless, hexagonal tables, or right rhombic prisms, very soluble in water, requiring
only their own weight of cold water and half that quantity of boiling water for solu-
tion; they are also readily soluble in hot alcohol, but the greater portion is again
deposited.on cooling. Nitrate of silver possesses a strongly metallic and bitter taste.
It is not deliquescent, and when free from organic matter is not decomposed by light
(Scanlan). The dark colour of the outside of the ordinary sticks of the shops is caused
by the decomposition of the nitrate by the paper in which they are wrapped,.as the
presence of organic matter reduces the silver to the metallic state. Nitrate of silver
is frequently adulterated to a considerable extent, principally with nitrate of potash,
but sometimes with other nitrates. The price at which it is sometimes sold is proof
enough that it is largely adulterated ; for instance, it may sometimes be bought for
3s. an ounce; at that price it does not pay for the silver alone that should be in it: we
will prove this. Every ounce (437°5 grains) of pure nitrate of silver contains 278
grains of pure silver, and this itself, without taking notice of nitric acid and time of
preparation, is worth 3s, 2d. This clearly proves there must be considerable adultera-
tion; but although the adulterating substances do not interfere generally with the
photographie processes, it is certain that no advantage can be gained by buying it at
so low a price. The way to detect the adulteration is to precipitate the silver by
hydrochloric acid, and evaporate the filtered liquid to dryness, when, if the salt is pure,
there will be no residue.
As many, who use much nitrate of silver in photography, &c., throw away the
residues, and hence in course of time waste much silver, it will not be out of place
here to show how it may be saved and converted again into nitrate of silver fit for use.
Vox’ III. : 3H
834 SILVERING ~
If the papers, on which there is silver, are preserved, the silver can be obtained by
merely burning them, and may be fused in a porcelain erucible into one lump, In
the case of the nitrate-of-silver baths, when too weak for further use, the silver may
be precipitated in the form of chloride, by adding hydrochloric acid. The chloride
of silver thus obtained may be easily reduced to the metallic state: 1st, by Aieuting
the moist chloride with metallic zinc and dilute sulphuric acid ; the hydrogen which is
thus liberated reduces the silver to the metallic state, which remains in the form of
a black powder, and when well washed with water may be dissolved in nitric acid,
evaporated and crystallised. 2nd, by digesting it by the aid of heat with a caustic
alkali and tartaric acid, when it will also be reduced to metallic silver, and will remain
as a black powder, which may be treated as above. 38rd, by collecting the precipitated
chloride of silver on a filter, washing well with water, and drying ; the dry chloride
is then mixed with four or five times its weight of a mixture of carbonate of potash
and carbonate of soda, and subjected to a white heat in a porcelain crucible ; the
silver will be reduced to the metallic state. This salt is used not only in photography,
but in making permanent ink, and as a dye for the hair.
SILVER, OXIDES OF. There are two oxides of silver: the -protoxide AgO
(&g*O) and the peroxide AgO* (Ago). The first is obtained by adding solution of
caustic potash, or lime-water, to a solution of nitrate of silver. The precipitate has a
brownish-grey colour, which darkens when dried, and contains no combined water.
Its specific gravity is 7-143. On exposure to the sun it gives out a certain quantity
of oxygen, and becomes a black powder. This oxide is an energetic base; being
slightly soluble in pure water, reacting like the alkalis upon reddened litmus-paper,
and displacing, from their combinations with the alkalis, a portion of the acids
with which it forms insoluble compounds. It is insoluble in the caustic lyes of
potash or soda, By combination with caustic ammonia, it forms fulminating silver.
The second, or peroxide, is formed when a very dilute solution of nitrate of silver is
decomposed by the voltaic current; dark grey lustrous needles of the peroxide of
silver are formed around the positive pole. See Furammatine Sitver.
SILVER, SULPHATE OF, Ag0.S0* (Ag’SO") may be prepared by boiling sul-
phuric acid upon the metal. It dissolves in 88 parts of boiling water, but the greater
part of the salt crystallises in small needles as the solution cools. It consists of 118
parts of oxide, combined with 40 parts of dry acid.
SILVER, SULPHIDES OF, of which several exist native, may be readily pre-
pared by fusing the constituents together. A sulphide forms spontaneously upon the
surface of silver exposed to the air of inhabited places. The tarnish may be easily
removed by rubbing the metal with a solution of chameleon mineral, prepared by cal-
cining peroxide of manganese with nitre. Sulphide of silver is a powerful sulpho-base ;
since though it be heated to redness in close vessels, it retains the volatile sulphides,
whose combinations with the alkalis.are decomposed at that temperature. It consists
of 87°04 of silver and 12°96 of sulphur.
SILVER-LEAF is made by beating silver out very thin, in precisely the same
way as gold-leaf is manufactured. See Gorp Brarine.
SILVERING is the art of covering the surfaces of bodies with a thin film of
silver. This is now effected either by applying thin films of silver mechanically to
the article to be silvered, or by the electro-metallurgical process. When silver-leaf
is to be applied, the methods prescribed for gold-leaf are suitable. Among the metals,
copper or brass are those on which the silverer most commonly operates. Iron is
seldom silvered ; but the processes for both metals are essentially the same. The
white alloy of nickel is now often plated.
The principal steps of this operation are the following :—
1. The smoothing down the sharp edges, and polishing the surface of the copper ;
called emorfiler by the French artists.
2. The annealing ; or, making the piece to be silvered red hot, and then plunging
it in a very dilute nitric acid, till it be bright and clean. ,
3. Pumicing ; or, clearing up the surface with pumice-stone and water. ,
4, The warming, to such a degree merely as, when it touches water, it may make
a slight hissing sound; in which state it is dipped in the very weak aquafortis,
whereby it acquires minute insensible asperities, sufficient to retain the silver-leaves
that are to be applied. .
5. The hatching. When these small asperities are inadequate for giving due solidity
to the silvering, the plane surfaces must. be hatched all over with a graving tool; but
the chased surfaces need not be touched.
6. The dlueing, consists in heating the piece till its copper or brass colour changes
o blue. In heating, they are placed in hot tools made of iron, called mandrins in
rance,
7. The charging, the workman’s term for silvering. This operation consists in
SINGEING 835
placing the siiver-leaves on the heated piece, and fixing them to its surface by
burnishers of steel, of various forms. The workman begins by applying the leaves
double. Should any part darken in the heating, it must be cleared up by the scratch-
brush,
The silverer always works two pieces at once ; so that he may heat the one, while
burnishing the other. After applying two silver-leaves, he must heat up the piece
to the same degree, as at first, and he then fixes on with the burnisher four addi-
tional leaves of silver; and he goes on charging in the same way, 4 or 6 leaves at a
time, till he has applied, one over another, 30, 40, 50, or 60 leaves, according to the
desired solidity of the silvering. He then burnishes down with great pressure and
address, till he has given the surface a uniform silvery aspect.
Silvering by the precipitated chloride of silver.—The white curd obtained by adding
a solution of common salt to one of nitrate of silver is to be well washed and dried.
One part of this powder is to be mixed with 3 parts of good pearlash, 1 of washed
whiting, and one and a half of sea-salt. After cleaning the surface of the brass, it is
to be rubbed with a bit of soft leather, or cork moistened with water, and dipped in
the above powder. After the silvering, it should be thoroughly washed with water,
dried, and immediately varnished. Some use a mixture of 1 part of the silver pre-
cipitate, with 10 of cream of tartar, and this mixture also answers very well.
Others give a coating of silver by applying with friction, in the moistened state, a
mixture of 1 part of silver-powder precipitated by copper, 2 parts of cream of tartar,
and as much common salt. The piece must be immediately washed in tepid water
very faintly alkalised, then in slightly warm pure water, and finally wiped dry before
the fire.
The inferior kinds of plated buttons get their silver coating in the following way :—
Two ounces of chloride of silver are mixed up with 1 ounce of corrosive sublimate,
3 pounds of common salt, and 3 pounds of sulphate of zinc, with water, into a paste.
The buttons being cleaned, are smeared over with that mixture, and exposed to a
moderate degree of heat, which is eventually raised nearly to redness, so as to expel
the mercury from the amalgam formed by the reaction of the horn-silyer and the
corrosive sublimate. The copper button thus acquires a silvery surface, which is
brightened by cleaning and burnishing. See Execrro-Merariurey.
' SILVERING OF GLASS. Sco Mirxors.
SIMILOR. A name given to a rich-coloured brass, composed of 8 oz. of zine to
1 1b. of copper. See Attoy and Brass.
SINGEING. In the article Breacutne, the modern and most approved singeing
apparatus is described. The old furnace for singeing cotton goods is represented in
longitudinal section, fig. 1850, and in a transverse one in fig, 1851. «ais the fire-
door; 8, the grate; c, the ashpit ; d, a flue, 6 inches broad and 24 high, over which
a hollow semi-cylindrical mass of cast iron e, is laid, 1 inch thick at the sides, and
21 thick at the top curvature. The flame passes along the fire-flue d, into a side
opening f, in the chimney. The goods are swept swiftly over this ignited piece of
iron, with considerable friction, by means of a wooden roller, and a swing frame for
raising them at any moment out of contact.
In some shops, semi-cylinders of copper, three-quarters of an inch thick, have been
substituted for those of iron, in singeing goods prior to bleaching them. The former
last three months, and do 1,500 pieces with one ton of coal; while the latter, which
are an inch and a half thick, wear out in a week, and do no more than from 500 to
600 pieces with the same weight of fuel.
In the early part of the year 1818, Mr. Samuel Hall introduced the plan for
removing the downy fibres of the cotton thread from the interstices of bobbinet
lace, or muslins, by singeing the lace with the flame of a gas-burner. And in 1823
he modified this process by causing a strong current of air to draw the flame of the
3 H2
alt ~ -oe wpe 7 - = a oe
- i= %
836 ) SIZE
gas through the interstices of the lace, as it passes over the burner, by means of an
aperture in a tube placed immediately above the row of gas-jets, which tube commu-
nicates with an air-pump or exhauster. .
Fig, 1852 shows the construction of the apparatus complete, and manner in. which
it operates: a, a, is a gas-pipe, supplied by an ordinary gasometer ; from this pipe,
several small ones extend upwards to the long burner 4, d, This burner is a hori-
zontal tube, perforated with many small holes in the upper side, through which,
as jets, the gas passes ; and when it is ignited, the bobbinet lace, or other material
intended to be singed, is extended and drawn rapidly over the flame, by means of
rollers, which are not shown in the figure.
The simple burning of the gas, even with a draught chimney, is found not to be at
all times efficacious. There is now introduced a hollow tube ¢,c, with a slit or
opening, immediately over the row of burners; and this tube, by means of the pipes
d, d, d, communicates with the pipe ¢, e, ¢, which leads to the exhausting apparatus.
This exhausting apparatus consists of two tanks, f and g, nearly filled with water,
and two inverted boxes or vessels, A and i, which are suspended by rods to the
vibrating beam #: each of the boxes is furnished with a valve opening upwards ;
1, 1, are pipes extending from the horizontal part of the pipe e, up into the boxes or
vessels 4 and 7, which pipes have valves at their tops, also opening upward. When
1852
—
==
the vessel / descends, the water in the tank forces out the air contained within the
vessel at the valye m; but when that vessel rises again, the valve m being closed, the
air is drawn from the pipe e, through the pipe 7, The same takes place in the vessel
z, from which the air in its descent is expelled through the valve m, and in its ascent
draws the air through the pipe /, from the pipe e. By these means, a partial exhaus-
tion is effected in the pipe e, e, and the tube c, ¢; to supply which, the air rushes
with considerable force through the long opening of the tube ¢, c, and carries with it
the flame of the gas-burners. The bobbinet lace, or other goods, being now drawn
over the flame between the burner 3, 4, and the exhausted tube c, c, by means of
rollers, as above said, the flame of the gas is forced through the interstices of the
fabric, and all the fine filaments and loose fibres of the thread are burnt off, without
damaging the substance of the goods.
To adjust the draught from the gas-burners, there are stop-cocks introduced into
several of the pipes d; and to regulate the action of the exhausting apparatus, an air
vessel o is suspended by a cord or chain passing over pulleys, and balanced by a
weight p, There is also a scraper introduced into the tube ¢c, which is made, by
any convenient contrivance, to revolve and slide backwards and forwards, for the
ui Pi of removing any light matter-that may arise from the goods singed, and
which would otherwise obstruct the air-passage. Two of these draught tubes ¢
may be adapted and united to the exhausting apparatus, when a double row of
burners is employed, and the inclination of the flame may be directed upwards,
downwards, or sideways, according to the position of the slit in the draught tube, by
which means any description of goods may, if required, be singed on both sides
at one wperation.
SIZE. A solution of gelatinous matter, usually made from skin, employed for the
purpose of giving adhesiveness to certain substances, which could not be otherwise
secured to surfaces, See GrxaTing and Giur
Ss ee
SIZING AND DYEING MACHINE 837
SIZING AND DYEING MACHINE. The process of sizing and dyeing of
yarns has usually been effected by two processes. The yarn was dyed in the bale
warp, and in that state each thread was not equally exposed to the dye; and then the
system of ball-warp sizing was adopted. Dawson and Slater have recently introduced
a new process, by which the yarn is both dyed and sized at the same time. This is
effected by passing the yarn first through a solu-
tion of the colouring-matter, and the mordant held
in solution by some acid, then through ammo-
niacal vapour, and lastly through the size-box.
The process is as follows:—Beginning with the
four-warp roller aa (at the right hand of the
machine ) as seen in jig. 1853), the yarn passes
thence into the dye-vessel B, over three guide-
rollers to a copper cylinder c, thence over another
guide-roller to a second copper cylinder, eventu-
ally coming up through the two squeezing rollers
D, at the end of the dye-box. It may be observed,
that the copper cylinders can be raised or lowered:
in the dye-box by means of a rack and pinion, 7 tty
and that the small circles at the bottom of the allo
dye-vessel represent steam-pipes for boiling the 4
dye-liquor. The yarn then passes from the squeez- AR oe
ing rollers over other rollers into the ammoniacal
or gas-chamber £, which, with the exception of CKayrii
two openings, the one for the passing in of the &
yarn, and the other for letting it out, is wholly
closed by the lid here represented in the centre of
the chamber. By following the dotted lines, it
will be perceived that herein the yarn passes under
and over four guide-rollers before its exit from
the chamber, it being during the passage fully
exposed to the vapour of the ammonia, which is
introduced by means of'the funnel represented’ in
the centre. Thence the yarn passes into the next
vessel termed the washing-box or chamber, over
and under suitable rollers and through the two
squeezing rollers at the end, there being a perfo-
rated pipe, not shown in the drawing, for dis-
charging water on to the yarn. Coming out of the
washing-box, the yarn continués its’ journey over
a steam-drying cylinder r, down into the size-box
& below, the smaller circle in the engraving repre-
senting a guide-roller, and the others two copper
squeezing rollers. Then the yarn, after leaving
the squeezing rollers, passes over and under a
larger cylinder n, and a smaller drying cylinder 1,
whence it is conveyed by suitable rollers to the
weaver’s beam as marked.
The advantages of this arrangement are that
the yarn is less strained, less crossed, and in a
better condition for weaving. It enters the size
and the dye in the form of a sheet, in which state
each thread is separated, and completely sur-
rounded by the dye, and afterwards by the size;
the result is uniformity of shade and an absence of
streaky or uneven places. Not only so, but there
is a great saving of time, for warps in the grey
in the morning may be dyed, sized, and in the loom
weaving by noon of the same day, and all done on
the manufacturer's own premises and under his
supervision, contrasting very favourably with the old plan of getting the work done out
of doors. By that system the time that elapses from sending the warps to the dyer
to receiving them back again is frequently ten days to a fortnight, which necessitates
the keeping of a larger stock than is requisite by the new plan, when all is done in a
few hours.
To illustrate the principle of these improvements, one example will suffice. Sup-
pose that a black dye is required; a coloured solution is made by boiling about 100
HWASHING BOX)
Sco
838 SLAG | :
parts of logwood of good quality in 600 parts of water; after which twelve parts of
sulphate of iron and two of sulphuric acid are added. A sufficient quantity of
this solution is introd into the dye-trough, so as to cover the rollers therein,
The solution is kept on the boil by means of the coil of steam-piping placed at the
bottom, and the yarn is drawn through the solution, and, passing thence through the
chamber containing the ammoniacal vapour on to the drying cylinders, it ends its
course on the loom-beam, unless otherwise required. See Carico-Printine.
SEATES. The fishes comprehended under the.genus Raia. There are many
species, the most common being the blue or grey skate, Raia batis. Some of this
species weigh as much as 200 lbs. The thornback, or rough ray, is the Raia elavata;
and the homelyn, or sand ray, Raia miraletus. All three are good eating; the last is
the most common in our markets.
SEIN. (Peau, Fr.; Haut, Ger.) The external membrane of animal bodies con-
sists of three layers: 1. the epidermis, or scarf-skin (Oberhaut, Ger.) ; 2, the vascular
organ, or papillary body, which performs the secretions; and 3, the true skin
(Lederhaut, Ger), of which leather is made. The skin proper, or dermoid substance,
is a tissue of innumerable very delicate fibres, crossing each other in every possible
direction, with small orifices between them, which are larger on its internal than on
its external surface. The conical channels thus produced are not straight, but oblique,
and filled with cellular membrane ; they receive vessels and nerves which pass out
through the skin (cutis vera), and are distributed upon the secretory organ. The
fibrous texture of the skin is composed of the same animal-matter as the serous
membranes, the cartilages, and the cellular tissue; the whole possessing the property
of dissolving in boiling water, and being, thereby, converted into glue. The skins of
animals are imported for the preparation of furs, for use, and ornament, and for the
manufacture of leather. See Grux, Learner, Tan, and Furs.
In 1873 our Imports of skins, furs, and pelts were as follow :—
Number Value |
&
Goat and kid, undressed. 2. wt 4 1,358,895 174,093
“s s, tanned, tawed, or dressed . : 5,456,709 623,087
Seal » ~ > r . ‘ - : ¢ 876,077 427,274
Sheep and lamb, undressed . ro Oa < 8,363,736 | 1,322,848
; tanned, tawed, or dressed 3,760,619 313,369
Unenumerated, beingfurs . . . ; ‘ 4,026,665 | 419,104
% not being furs, dressed and undressed 3,768,970 458,998
Skins and furs manufactured . 7 ; - ; eae 30,677
Specimens illustrative of natural history . ‘ . 36,021
SLAG. (Laitier, Fr.; Schlacke, Ger.) This is the vitreous mass which covers the
fused metal in the smelting-hearths. In the iron-works it is commonly called cinder.
Slags consist, in general, of bi-silicates of lime and magnesia, along with the oxides of
iron and other metals; being analogous in composition, and having the same crystalline
form in some cases as the mineral pyroxene; in others as that of olivine.
The following, selected from the analyses of Percy and Forbes, show the eomposi-
tion of the iron-furnace slags :—
Silica. “ : ° > 28°32 42°06 39°52 29°60
Alumina “ , ; : 24°24 12°93 1611 41°28
Lime . ° 3 ° . 40°12 32°53 32°52 0°47
Magnesia. : 3 - 2°79 1:06 3°49 0°35
Protoxide of manganese . é 0°07 2°26 2°89 113
Protoxide of iron : 0°27 4:94 2:02 48°43
Sesquioxide'of iron. : . bic saa sea 1711
Potash, with traces of soda. 0°64 2°69 1:06
Sulphate of lime . ° ; 0°26 “us oat wai
Sulphide of calcium R ¢ 3°38 1-03 216 vee,
Phosphoric acid. ‘ ‘ ahs 0°31 pds 1:34
Sulphide of iron é — ‘a ide 1°61
Loeaiis 2b {hitch ot)! p avon ap ee aaa 0°19 1°24 al
100°09 100°00 100°00 101°32
SLATES 839
Of the last of these, Dr. Perey remarks :—
‘An immense quantity of iron slag, far richer than many iron ores, is annually
thrown away, and it may be that the presence of phosphoric acid in sensible quantity
is one of the causes which prevents the re-smelting of this slag to advantage. The
fact has not yet sufficiently attracted the attention of those engaged in the manufac-
ture of iron. The discovery of a method of extracting economically good iron from
these rich slags would be of great advantage to the country, and could not fail amply
to reward its author.’
Numerous attempts have been made to utilize the slags produced in great quantity
from our blast furnaces, but hitherto no process appears to have been attended with
success. One of the most recent attempts has been that of Mr. Charles Wood, of
Middlesbro’. He employs a machine for caking the slag, which is simply a horizontal
rotative table on which the slag flowing from the slag-spout of the blast-furnace is de-
posited and slowly borne round in a continuous layer of from half an inch to three-
quarters of an inch in thickness. The table is composed of thick slabs of iron with
water flowing freely through them to keepthem cool. The thin layer of slag is solidi-
fied by the cool slabs, then water is allowed to flow freely on it, and scrapers placed
athwart the table break the friable material into pieces and gather it right away into
the waggons. Mr. Wood attempts to prove by comparative statements that great
economy would be effected by the use of the caked slag and slag-sand as concrete, and
of the slag-sand mixed with lime as a mortar. The slag-sand is prepared by allowing
the molten slag to flow from the furnace into a rotating drum containing water; the
slag falling into the water is disintegrated to a coarse powder.
Blast-furnace slags have been much used for road-mending, but they do not answer well
on account of their extreme brittleness. This fault can, however, be to a great extent
remedied by devitrifying them. ‘This is done by allowing them to cool very slowly.
The slag, bya process introduced by Mr. Egleston, is cast in huge blocks, which are .
then subjected to pressure; after the blocks are cold they are found to possess much
toughness, and are said to furnish an excellent material for road-making.
For many years past the slags of copper furnaces have been used for building
purposes, and to a less extent the slags from blast-furnaces. Processes are now being
practised, which though somewhat complicated and troublesome, furnish blocks which
are completely impervious to damp, possess the necessary toughness, and are admirably
suited for the foundation of buildings.
In one plan, when the furnace is tapped, the slag is allowed to run into a semi-
circular vessel, which being on wheels, is readily brought to and from the furnace. At
the bottom of this vessel, is a layer of sand and coke dust three centimeters thick. A
bent rake or paddle is then employed to mix thoroughly the slag with the sand and
cinders, until the gases cease to be evolved, and the mass is nearly solid. The semi-
solid mass is then ladled into moulds, provided with iron lids, which are fixed down as
soon as no more bubbles of gas appear. When completely solid, but while still red
hot, the block is placed in an annealing oven, and covered with coke-dust, so that the
complete cooling shall not take place in less than three or four days.
When the slag contains 38 per cont. and upwards of silica, a serviceable building
stone can be obtained from it by simply taking care that the annealing process is
sufficiently long. This is in some works effected by allowing the whole of the slag to
run down a shoot into a pit lined with sand and ashes, with which it is also covered
up. If proper precautions have been taken to prevent premature chilling, it will be
nearly ten days before the slag is sufficiently pasty to allow of its being filled into
moulds. The blocks are, subsequently, as carefully cooled as in the former process.
In some parts of Belgium the slag is met, as it leaves the blast-furnace, by a stream
of water, with the effect of breaking it up into a powder even finer than sand. This
product the puddlers use for making the moulds for their pig-iron, and greatly prefer
it to sand. A kind of glass is also made byrunning the slag on iron plates, which are
afterwards cooled by the judicious application of water. The slag-powder is also used
for mortar-making. Very rapid hardening is said to be thus secured, a point of great
importance in the building of foundation-walls and all subsoil erections. Bricks are,
in some parts of Europe, glazed by powdering them with slag before drying, and
afterwards burning them out of contact with carbon. The glaze thus produced is very
perfect, and as the slags are of different colours a variety of tints are obtained. Tiles,
drain-pipes, and earthenware generally may be thus treated. It has been tried how
far a mixture of clay and granulated slag may with advantage be used for fire-bricks,
The results of its use in a brass furnace are said to have been exceedingly satisfactory.
SLATES. (Ardoises, Fr.; Schiefer, Ger.) The substances belonging to this
elass may be distributed into the following species :—1. Mica-schist, occasionally used
for covering houses. 2. Roofing slate. 3. Whet slate. 4. Polishing slate. 5. Draw-
ing slate, or black chalk. 6, Adhesive slate. 7. Bituminous shale. 8, Slate-clay.
840 SLATES
1. Mica-schist, sometimes called Mica-slate—This is a rock oceupying a vast
extent, in some mountain chains: it is of a schistose texture composed of the minerals .
mica and quartz, the mica being generally predominant. ,
2. Roofing-slate——This substance is closely connected with mica-slate ; so that unin-
terrupted transitions may be found between these rocks in many mountain chains. It is
a simple schistose mass, of a bluish-grey or greyish-black colour, of various shades,
and a shining, somewhat pearly internal lustre on the faces, but of a dead colour in
the cross fracture.
This slate is extensively distributed in Great Britain. It skirts the Highlands of
Scotland, from Loch Lomond by Callender, Comrie, and Dunkeld; resting on, and
gradually passing into mica-slate throughout the whole of that territory. Roofing-
slate occurs on the western side of England, in the counties of Cornwall and Devon ;
in various parts of North Wales and Anglesea; in the north-east parts of Yorkshire,
near Ingleton, and in Swaledale; as also in the counties of Cumberland and Westmore-
land. It is likewise met with in the counties of Wicklow and other mountainous
districts of Ireland.
All the best beds of roofing-slate improve in quality as they lie deeper under the
surface; near to which, indeed, they have little value. This variety of slate is found
in the Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian formations.
A good roofing-slate should split readily into thin even lamine: it should not be
absorbent of water either on its face or endwise, a property evinced by its not increasing
perceptibly in weight after immersing in water; and it should be sound, compact, and
not apt to disintegrate in the air. The slate raised at Hisdale, on the west coast of
Argyleshire, is very durable. The slates of Penrhyn and other quarries in North
Wales are very celebrated ; those of Delabole in Cornwall are also well known and
much esteemed. f
Cleaving and Dressing of the Slates.—The splitter begins by dividing the blocks, cut
lengthwise, to a proper size, which he rests on end, and steadies between his knees.
He uses a mallet and a chisel, which he introduces into the stone in a direction
parallel to the cleavage planes. By this means he reduces it into manageable pieces,
he gives to each the requisite length, by cutting cross grooves on the flat face, and
then striking the slab with the chisel. It is afterwards split into thinner sections, by
finer chisels dexterously applied to the edges. The slab is then dressed to the proper
shape, by being laid on a block of wood, and having its projecting parts at the ends
and sides cut off with a species of hatchet or chopping-knife. It deserves to be
noticed that blocks of slate may lose their property of divisibility into thin lamin.
This happens from long exposure to the air, after they have been quarried. The
workmen say, then, that they have lost their waters. For this reason, the number of
splitters ought to be always proportionate to the number of block-hewers. Frost
renders the blocks more fissile; but a supervening thaw renders them quite refractory.
A new frost restores the faculty of splitting, though not to the same degree; and the
workmen therefore avail themselves of it without delay. A succession of frosts and
thaws renders the quarried blocks quite intractable.
3. Whet slate, or Turkey hone, is a slaty rock, containing a great proportion of quartz,
in which the component particles, the same as in clay-slate and mica-slate, but in
different proportions, are so very small as to be indiscernible.
4. Polishing slate. Colour, cream-yellow, in alternate stripes ; massive ; composition
impalpable; principal fracture,-slaty, thin, and straight ; cross fracture, fine earthy ;
feels fine, but meagre; adheres little, if at all, to the tongue; is very soft, passing into
friable; specific gravity, in the dry state, 1°6 ; when imbued with moisture, 1°9. It
is supposed to have been formed from the ashes of burnt coal. It is found at Planitz
near Zwickau, and at Kutschlin near Bilin in Bohemia.
5. Drawing slate, or Black chalk, has a greyish-black colour; is very soft, sectile,
easily broken, and adheres slightly to the tongue; spec. grav. 2°11. The streak is
glistening. It occurs in beds in primitive and transition clay-slate; also in secondary
formations, as in the coal-measures of most countries. It is used in crayon-drawing.
Its trace upon paper is regular and black. The best kinds are found in Spain, Italy,
oe besa Some good black chalk occurs also in Caernarvonshire and in the island
of Islay. ;
6. Adhesive slate has a light greenish-grey colour, is easily broken or exfoliated,
has a shining streak, adheres strongly to the tongue, and absorbs water rapidly, with
the.emission of air-bubbles and a crackling sound.
7. Bituminous shale is a species of soft, sectile slate-clay, much impregnated with
bitumen, which occurs in the coal-measures. See Kimmreripar Suarez, and SHarEs.
8. Slate-clay has a grey or greyish-yellow colour; is massive, with a dull glim-
mering lustre from spangles of mica interspersed. Its slaty fracture approaches at
times to earthy; fragments, tabular ;. soft, sectile, and very frangible ; specific gravity,
SMOKE 841
2°6. It adheres to the tongue, and crumbles down when immersed for some time in
water. It is the Kidlas of the Cornish miners.
In addition to the slates properly so called, many fissile rocks, which split along
planes of bedding into sufficiently thin slabs to be used for roofing, are popularly
called ‘slates.’ Thus the Stonesfield slate is a thin-bedded arenaceous limestone, at the
base of the Great Oolite, largely quarried at Stonesfield, in Oxfordshire. The Colley-
weston slate is a similar fissile limestone, belonging to the Lincolnshire (Inferior)
Oolite, which is worked at Colleyweston, in Northamptonshire, and is much used by
Sir Gilbert Scott for roofing churches built in the Gothic style. The Duston slate is
a similar material occurring in the Northampton sands. :
SLATY CLEAVAGE. See CLEAVAGE.
SLIDES. A miner's term for a dislocation of the strata, which is evidenced by the
sliding of one portion of the rock over the other. These slides are often, but not always,
filled with a softer matter than the rock, a clay in a greater or less state of induration.
SLIKENSIDES,. The name given to smooth striated surfaces of rocks or of
mineral lodes, indicating the grinding action of the movement of heavy masses. Many
polished surfaces are called slikensides to which the term is evidently inapplicable.
SLIP. A fracture of strata, with the levels of the relative beds altered on the
opposite sides of the fracture: the beds are thus slipped out of their original position.
SLOKE. The common name for laver. See Artem.
SMALT. A beautiful blue glass made by melting cobalt ore with flint and potash.
It is largely prepared in Saxony; for an account of its manufacture, see Copatt. The
chemical composition of a specimen of German smalt was as follows :—Silica, 66°20 ;
potash and soda, 16°31; oxide of cobalt, 6°49; alumina, 0°43; oxide of iron, 0°24;
arsenic, a trace; water, &c., 0°57.
SMALTINE. Seo Copatr.
SMECTITE. A name given to a kind of fuller’s earth, found in Lower Styria.
SMITHSONITE. Seo Caramine; Zinc.
SMELTING. The processes for obtaining the metals from the ores. These are
described under theirrespective heads. See Coprmr, Iron, Luan, Sitver, Try, Zinc, &c.
SMOKE. The more volatile portions of coal, passing off, charged with finely-
divided carbon, at a comparatively low temperature.
If the black smoke, which escapes from a furnace when a quantity of cold coals is
thrown in upon an incandescent mass, can be made to pass over another portion of
coal in active combustion, this carbon is consumed, t.e. combined with atmospheric
oxygen, and converted into carbonic oxide, which burns, producing carbonic acid ;
and it therefore eventually escapes as colourless vapour.
One great cause, and perhaps the greatest cause of the annoyance of smoke in large
towns is the carelessness of the man supplying fuel to the fire. Where coal is abun-
dant, the stoker usually piles an unnecessary quantity of fuel upon his fire, and this
has the effect of reducing the heat, and of producing dense volumes of black smoke.
Where coal is scarce and dear, as in Cornwall, careful stoking leads to an almost
entire absence of smoke. A small quantity of coal is placed in front of the fire at a
time ; here it undergoes a coking process, the volatile carbon passing over the heated
coal is burnt, and no visible smoke escapes. When the coal is thoroughly coked, it is
shovelled in over the fire, and a fresh portion of coal is placed in front, to undergo
the same process.
Prevention of Smoke.—The attention of the legislature has been directed to this
nuisance, and sundry Acts have been passed to regulate and reduce the evil. The
following extract from the ‘Act to Amend the Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metro-
polis) Act’ (16 & 17 Vict. cap. exviii.) August 20, 1853, should have every attention
from manufacturers :-—
‘Frem and after the Ist day of August 1854, every furnace employed or to be
employed in the metropolis in the working of engines by steam, and every furnace
employed or to be employed in any mill, factory, printing-house, dye-house, iron-
foundry, glass-house, distillery, brew-house, sugar-refinery, bake-house, gas-works,
water-works, or other buildings used for the purpose of trade or manufacture within
. the metropolis (although a steam-engine be not used or employed therein), shall in
all cases be constructed or altered so as to consume or burn the smoke arising from
such furnace ; and if any person shall, after the 1st day of August 1854, within the
metropolis, use any such furnace which shall not be constructed so as to consume or
burn its own smoke, or shall so negligently use any such furnace, as that the smoke,
arising therefrom shall not be effectually pe Sit ie or burnt, or shall carry on any
trade or business which shall occasion any noxious or offensive effluvia, or otherwise
annoy the neighbourhood or inhabitants, without using the best practical means for
preventing or counteracting such smoke or other annoyance, every person so
offending, being the owner or occupier of the premises, or being a. foreman or other
842 | SMOKE
person employed by such owner or occupier, shall, upon a summary conviction for such
offence before any justice or justices, forfeit and pay a sum not more than 6/. nor less
than 40s., and upon a second conviction for such offence, the sum of 10/., and for
each subsequent conviction, a sum double the amount of the penalty imposed for the
last preceding conviction: provided always, that nothing in this Act shall extend or
apply to any glass-works or pottery-works established and existing within the
metropolis before the passing of this Act, with the exception, however, of all steam-
engine furnaces and slip-kiln furnaces employed in and belonging to such works
respectively, to which furnaces the provisions of this Act shall extend and apply,
‘An Act to Amend the Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metropolis) Act, 1853.’ (July
29, 1856.) ‘From and after the 1st day of January 1858, the above-mentioned pro-
vision whereby certain furnaces in glass-works and pottery-works were exempted from
the operation of the said Act shall be repealed ; and all steam-ressels plying to and
fro between London Bridge and any place on the river Thames to the westward of
the Nore Light shall be subject to the provisions of the said recited Act relating to
steam-vessels above London Bridge.
Se ——— —
PO A em SSS CASS = —
| SHA Ae <
(RR ay ON ea Te hg
ald SRG MR SE! a Le
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| BLS | L i} 1 i i} it °
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l l 1 i) L I i i]
i] | l i Jl i
cael EN RR A CI
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Oy Sees ela Rite Sanaa WES IEG HY
‘And whereas it 1s expedient that furnaces employed in public baths and
wash-houses should be included within the provisions of the said recited Act: be it
enacted, that from and after the said Ist day of January 1858, every furnace employed
or to be employed in any such public baths and wash-houses in the metropolis,
although the same shall not be used for the purposes of trade or manufacture, shall
be, and the same is hereby included in and made liable to all the provisions of the
said recited Act.’
Among the numerous inventions which have been patented for effecting this pur-
pose, with regard to steam-boilers and other large furnaces, very few are sufficiently
economical or effective. The first person who investigated this subject in a truly
hilosophical manner was Mr. Charles Wye Williams, managing director of the
ublin and Liverpool Steam Navigation Company, and he also has had the merit of
constructing many furnaces, both for marine and land steam-engines, which thoroughly
iene the production of smoke, with increased energy of combustion, and a more or
ess considerable saving of fuel, according to the care of the stoker. The specific
invention, for which he obtained a patent in 1840, consists in the introduction of a —
proper quantity of atmospheric air to the bridges and flame-beds of the furnaces,
through a greater number of small orifices, connected with a common pipe or canal,
whose area can be increased or diminished according as the circumstances of complete
combustion may require, by means of an external valve. The operation of the air
thus passed in small jets into the half-burned carburetted hydrogen gases over the
fires, is their perfect combustion, the development of all the heat which they can
produce, and the entire prevention of smoke. One of the many ingenious methods
in which Mr, Williams has carried out the principles of what he justly calls his
Argand furnace, is represented by fig. 1854, where a is the ash-pit of a steam-boiler
SOAP 843
furnace ; 4 is the mouth of a tube which admits the external air into the chamber or
iron box of distribution, c, placed immediately beyond the fire-bridge, g, and before
the diffusion or mixing chamber, f. The front of the box is perforated either with
round or oblong orifices, as shown in the two small figures e, e, beneath fig. 1854; d,
is the fire-door, which may have its fire-brick lining also perforated. In some cases,
the fire-door projects in front, and it, as well as the sides and.arched top of the fire-
place, are constructed of perforated fire-tiles, enclosed in common brickwork, with an in-
termediate space, into which the air may be admitted in regulated quantity through a
moveable valve in the door. Fire-places of this latter construction perform admirably
without smoke, with an economy of one-seventh of the coals usually consumed in
producing a like amount of steam from an ordinary furnace; / is the steam-boiler.
Evidence was presented some years ago to the Smoke Prevention Committee of the
House of Commons of the successful application of Mr. Williams’s patent invention to
many furnaces of the largest dimensions, more especially by Mr. Henry Houldsworth,
of Manchester, who, mounting in the first flue a pyrometrical rod, which acted on an
external dial-index, succeeded in observing every variation of temperature produced
by varying the introduction of the air-jets into the mass of ignited gases passing out of
the furnace. He thereby appeared to demonstrate, that 20 per cent. more heat could
be obtained from the fuel, when Mr, Williams’s plan was in operation than when the
— was left to burn in the usual way, and with the production of the usual volumes
of smoke.
It should be borne in mind that consumption of smoke implies cleanliness, economy
of health, and economy of labour. Are not these sufficient reasons to induce manufac-
turers to use the best. means possible to do away witha great nuisance, and to avoid
the waste of so precious a commodity as coal, for a time may come when we shall
have cause to regret our extravagant consumption of that article? We have shown
that the cause of smoke is incomplete combustion, caused either by the want of a
sufficient quantity of air, or by such air being admitted under such circumstances that
its admission is worse than useless. Experience has proved that there are but few -
difficulties in constructing arrangements which will effect the consumption of smoke ;
but desirable as the process is, it must be admitted that smoke-consuming is not
found to be economical, although it is in every sense desirable.
By means of Wright's patent smoke-consumer, the air admitted into the furnace
is regulated by a self-acting ventilating door, so as to furnish the necessary amount
of oxygen requisite for perfect combustion. The air is also diffused over the entire
surface of the fire. By this apparatus, a partially-decomposed and nearly red-hot
jet of steam is projected from over the door down upon the incandescent fuel.
By that means the fire becomes brighter, not damped, as it would be were wet steam
used, and not only causes a vacuum in the furnace, thereby increasing the draught,
but effectually prevents the cold air admitted through the door and the gases distilled
from the coal from touching the boiler-plates, thus avoiding—
1, The cooling of the boiler-plates by the action of the cold air striking them, and
pa the continual expansion and contraction of the metal, which is so injurious
to boilers.
2. The gases formed by the first action of the hot furnace on the coal thrown in
from coming in contact with the top of the furnace or boiler-plates, the temperature
of which being no greater than that of the contents of the boiler, can only cool those
gases to such an extent that their combination with oxygen cannot take place.
Not only are these two great evils avoided, but the jet of steam forces the gases
distilled from the coal on to the incandescent fuel at the back of the furnace,
together with the air admitted through the door, thus multiplying the points of contact
ad infinitum, thereby causing instantaneous combination of their elements, making
the combustion as perfect as it can be in a manufacturing point of view; and ob-
taining all the heat that the combination of oxygen with the hydrogen and carbon
ean give. The smoke is never allowed to pass the bridge of the furnace; in fact, its
forming is prevented. The apparatus is simple and efficient in its action, not liable
to get out of repair. It can be applied in two days at the utmost, and has been fre-
quently fitted in one day, and it is adapted for every description of furnace. Under
all circumstances, however, it has been proved that careful stoking is the best method
for preventing the escape of smoke.
SMOKY QUARTZ. A variety of quartz having a smoke-coloured tint: it com-
prises the clove-brown variety of cairngorms.
SOAP is a chemical compound, manufactured on a very extensive scale, forming,
accordingly, a considerable article of commerce. It is a compound resulting from the
combination of certain constituents derived from fats, oils, grease of various kinds,
both animal and vegetable, with certain salifiable bases, which, in detergent soaps,
are potash or soda.
aut o » 9 ee ee eS a ot -
Cn ee ee a iat ta
Pde -f- * ‘Die Poy rire ai
2 J Le a ~ C >
844 SOAP
’ Oils and fats consist chiefly of oleine and stearine, as in tallow, suet, and several
vegetable fats; of margarine, which occurs in animal fats, in butter, in olive and other
vegetable oils; of palmitine, which is found in palm oil; and so on with various other
immediate principles, according to the nature of the fats and oils employed by the soap-
maker, Natural fatty substances, however, are never exclusively formed of one of
these principles, but are, on the contrary, composed of several of them in various pro-
portions, oleine alone being a constant constituent in all of them.
Natural or neutral fats and oils, chemically considered, are really salts, sometimes
called ‘ glycerides ;’ that is to say, are combinations of acids, oleic, stearic, margaric,
acid, &c., with the oxide of a hypothetical radical called glyceryl.
Stearine being, therefore, a combination of stearic acid with oxide of glyceryl, is a
stearate of oxide of glyceryl.
Oleine is a combination of oleic acid with oxide of glyceryl, and is, therefore, an
oleate of oxide of glyceryl.
Margarine is a combination of margaric acid and oxide of glyceryl, and is, there-
fore, a margarate of oxide of glyceryl, and so on with the other constituents of fats
and oils.
Glycerine is a combination of oxide of glyceryl with water, which, in that case,
plays the part of an acid to form a hydrate of oxide of glyceryl (glycerine).
Now, when neutral fats (namely, oleine, stearine, margarine, &c., or the fats or oils
which they constitute) are treated by solutions of caustic alkalis, such as potash or
soda, their constituents react upon each other, and combine with the potash -or soda;
and provided too great an excess of alkali has not been used, the fat or oil dissolves in _
the alkaline solution into a syrupy liquid, which on cooling forms a gelatinous mass
which is nothing else than an aqueous solution of soap mixed with the glycerine,
which the treatment has set free.
The following equation, in which, for the sake of simplicity, one of these principles
only, stearine, and soda dissolved in water, are taken as examples, will clearly illustrate
this interesting reaction :—
Stearine.
‘Stearate of oxide of glyceryl + soda + water
= stearate of soda + hydrate of oxide of glyceryl
hard soap. glycerine.
In the same way :—
Oleine.
‘Oleate of oxide of glyceryl + soda + water
= oleate of soda + hydrate of oxide of glyceryl
hard soap. glycerine.
According to the modern views of chemists, however, glycerine may be regarded as
propenylic alcohol, one of the group of triatomiec alcohols. The natural fats then
become triatomic ethers of the fatty acids ; thus stearine (tristearine) corsists of pro-
penyl tristearate. All soaps are metallic salts of the fatty acids, or mixtures of
those salts.
Soaps made with soda are hard; those made with potash are soft; the degree of
hardness being so much greater as the melting-point of the fats employed in their
manufacture is higher, hence the more oleine a fatty matter contains, the softer the
soap made with it will be, and vice versd. The softest soap, therefore, would be that
made altogether with oleine (oleic acid) and potash (oleate of potash); the hardest
would be that made with stearine and soda (stearate of soda).
The fats or oils employed for the manufacture of soaps, are tallow, suet, palm oil,
cocoa-nut oil, kitchen fat, bone-grease, horse oil or fat, lard, butter, train oil, seal oil,
and other fish oils, rape oil, poppy oil, linseed and hempseed oil, olive oil, oil of
almonds, sesame, and ground-nut oil, and resin. This last substance, though
very soluble in alkaline menstrua, is not, however, susceptible, like fats, of being
transformed into an acid, and will not, of course, saponify or form a proper soap by
itself. The more caustic the alkali the less consistency has the resinous compound which
is made with it. ‘The employment of caustic alkalis, however, is not necessary with it,
since it dissolves readily in aqueous solutions of carbonated alkalis, but even with
carbonate of soda it forms only a viscid mass, owing to its great affinity for water, so
that even after having been artificially dried in an oven, and thus rendered to a great
extent hard, the mass deliquesces again spontaneously by exposure, and returns to
the soft state. The drying oils, such as those of linseed and poppy, produce the
softest soaps.
SOAP 845
We said that by boiling fats or oils with an aqueous solution of potash or of soda
a solution of soap was produced. The object of the soap-maker is to obtain the soap
thus produced in a solid form, which is done by boiling the soapy mass so as to
evaporate the excess of water to such a point that the soap may separate from the
concentrated liquor and float on the surface thereof in a melted state, or by an
admixture of common salt, soap being insoluble in lyes of a certain strength or degree
of concentration, and in solutions of common salt of a certain strength, the glycerine
remaining, of course, in solution in the liquor below the separated soap. Such is the
theory of soap-making; but the modus operandi followed by practical soap-makers
will be described presently.
On the Continent olive oil, mixed with about one-fifth of rape oil, is principally
used in making hard soap. This addition of rape oil is always resorted to, because
olive oil alone yields a soap so hard and so compact that it dissolves only with
difficulty and slowly in water, which is not the case with rape oil and other oils of a
similar nature, that is to say, with oils which become thick and viscid by exposure, and
which on that account are called drying oils, experience having taught that the oils
which dry the soonest by exposure, yield with soda a softer soap than that made with
oils which, like olive oil, remain limpid for a long period under the influence of the
air. The admixture of rape oil has, therefore, the effect of modifying the degree of
hardness of the soap, and, consequently, of promoting its solubility. In England tallow
is used instead of olive oil; the soap resulting from its treatment with soda is known
under the name of curd soap, and is remarkable for the extreme difficulty with which
it dissolves in water. The small, white, cubic, waxy, stubborn masses, which until a
few years ago were generally met with on the washing-stand of bedrooms in hotels,
and which for an indefinite period passed on from traveller to traveller, each in turn
unsuccessfully attempting, by various devices and cunning immersions in water, to coax
it into a lather, is ewrd soap. Rape or linseed oil, added in certain proportions to tallow,
would modify this extreme hardness and difficult solubility, but it is now the general
practice to qualify the tallow with cocoa-nut oil, an oil, which, converted into soap, has
the property of absorbing incredible quantities of water, so that the soap into the
manufacture of which it has entered lathers immediately. Cocoa-nut oil, however,
acquires by saponification a most disagreeable odour (due to the formation of caprylic
acid), which it imparts to all the soaps in the manufacture of which it enters, an odour
which persists in spite of any perfume which may be added to mask it.
The admixture of one-fourth or one-fifth of resin with tallow, in the process of
saponification, modifies also the hardness and considerably increases the solubility of
curd soap, and this, in fact, constitutes the best yellow soap.
It has been said above that soap was more or less hard in proportion as the melting-
- point of the fats employed in its manufacture was higher or lower. There are cer-
tain fatty substances, technically called ‘weak goods,’ such as kitchen fat, bone-fat,
horse oil, &c., which could hardly be used alone, still less with resin, the soap which
they yield being too soft, and melting or dissolving away too rapidly in the washing-
tub. This led the writer to think, that if a means could be devised of artificially
hardening soap, a larger class of oleaginous and fatty substances could be rendered.
available, at any rate to a greater extent than they theretofore had been, and that, by
thus extending the resources of the soap-boiler, he should be enabled to produce a good.
and useful soap from the cheapest materials, and thus convert soaps of little com-
mercial value into useful and economical products.
In making experiments with this view, he found that the introduction of a small
quantity of melted crystals of sulphate of soda into the soap answered the purpose
admirably, and that the salt in recrystallising, imparted to the soap, which other-
wise would have been soft, a desirable hardness, and prevented its being wasted
in the tub. The use of sulphate of soda acts, therefore, inversely, like the addition
of rape oil, or linseed oil, or of resin to tallow, in the manufacture of soap. This
process, which was patented in 1841, has been, since the removal of the duties on
soap, extensively employed by soap-makers, and continues to be highly approved
of by the public. We shall describe further on the manner of practising this process,
and the further improvements which were made to it in 1855.
Of the manufacture of hard soap.—The fat of this soap, in the northern countries
of Europe, is usually tallow, and in the southern, coarse olive oil, Different species
of grease are saponified by soda, with different degrees of facility ; among oils, the
olive, sweet almond, rapeseed, and castor oil; and among solid fats, tallow, bone-
grease, and butter, are most easily saponified. According to the practice of the United
Kingdom, six or seven days are required to complete the formation of a pan of hard
soap, and a day or two more for settling the impurities, if it contains resin. From
12 to 13 ewts. of tallow are estimated to produce one ton of good soap. Several years
ago, in many manufactories the tallow used to be saponified with potash-lyes, and the
846 SOAP
resulting soft soap was converted, in the course of the process, into hard soap, by the
introduction of muriate of soda, or weak kelp-lyes, in sufficient quantity to furnish
the proper quantity of soda by the reaction of the potash upon the neutral salts. But
the high price of potash, and the diminished price, as well as improved quality of the
crude sodas, have led to their general adoption in soap-works.
The first step in the production of soap consists in obtaining a solution of soda, or
what is termed caustic lye. For this purpose a given quantity of the soda-ash above
alluded to, is stratified with a quantity of recently-burnt quick-lime, in tanks of
wrought-iron, or cylindrical cast-iron vats, from 6 to 7 feet wide and from 4 to 5 feet
deep, the lowest layer being, of course, quick-lime. These vats have frequently a
false bottom, perforated with holes, or else a coarse piece of matting is placed over
the plug-hole, placed at the bottom of the said vats or tanks, which plug-hole is, of
course, closed generally by a wooden plug. Water is then poured upon the whole mass
until the tanks are full, and the whole is allowed to stand for twelve or eighteen hours.
The plug being then withdrawn, the saturated solution of caustic soda flows down
into a reservoir placed beneath, after which the plug is replaced, more water applied,
and this operation is repeated five or six times, until, in fact, the soda is almost
entirely extracted ; the various liquors thus obtained, in a clear and caustic state,
after infiltration through the beds of lime, being conveyed to separate and distinct
reservoirs, distinguished from each other by the names of first running, second running,
and so on; the last, being, of course, the weakest.
Having in this way produced a series of caustic lyes of different degrees of strength,
about 200 gallons of the weakest, which has a specific gravity of about 1-040, is
pumped into the soap-pan or boiler, or copper, as it is called, though generally made
of cast iron, and about 1 ton of tallow is added; heat is applied, and after a gentle
ebullition of about four hours, it will be found that the lye will have lost its causticity,
or, in technical language, that it is 4illed, and thatthe fat is saponified, which is known |
by taking a portion of the mass on a trowel, when it will be observed that the liquid
separates at once from the soapy mass, which it leaves in streaks on the towel. The
lyes thus used at first, if composed of pure soda, would contain about 4 per cent. of
alkali, but from the presence of neutro-saline matter they seldom contain as much as
2 per cent.; in fact, a gallon may be estimated to contain not more than 2 ounces, so
that 200 gallons contain 265 lbs. of real soda. The fire being withdrawn, the whole is
now allowed to cool and remain at rest for about one hour, until the lye, now deprived
of its alkali, and therefore, called spent lye, settles to the bottom of the copper. This
spent lye contains a portion of glycerine derived from the fat or tallow, together with
the sulphate of soda and common salt of the soda-ash, and is pumped off by means
of an iron pump, which is lowered down into the lower pan of the soap-copper,
a practice which might be advantageously replaced by opening a cock which might
be placed at the bottom of the copper, but which is retained as a remnant of that
abominable system of excise, which did not permit the spent lyes to be otherwise
withdrawn, as the excise laws forbade any cock or aperture being placed or made at the
bottom of soap-coppers. This constitutes what is called an operation. A second
similar charge of lye is now introduced into the pan along with a fresh quantity of
tallow or of grease, and a similar boiling process is again repeated. Three or four
such boilings may be practised in the course of a day by an active soap-boiler, with
lyes of gradually-increasing strength. Next day the same routine is renewed with
stronger lyes, and so progressively until towards the sixth day the lye may have the
density of 1160, when a period arrives at which it will be found that the whole of the
tallow or fat is completely saponified, that is to say, has combined with its full equi-
valent of soda. This point is well known to the workmen by the consistency of the
compound ; in effect it is sufficient to take a portion of the mass on a trowel, and
to squeeze a little of the mass between the forefinger and thumb; if not quite and
thoroughly finished it will still have a greasy feel, but if done it will on cooling
readily separate from the skin in hard scales; neither has it the taste peculiar to
grease. A more certain mode, however, especially for those who have not acquired
sufficient practice, is to decompose a portion of the saponified or partly-saponified
mass with an acid, and to ascertain whether the grease is wholly soluble in boiling
spirits of wine, for if itis not thus wholly soluble, the saponification is imperfect.
The addition of common salt for the separation of the spent lyes is essential to the
proper granulation and separation of the soap, for otherwise the tallow and the lye
would unite into a uniform emulsion, from which it would be very difficult after-
wards to separate the spent lye; but as soap is quite insoluble in a solution of common
salt, the partly-saponified mass is thus brought to float on the surface, so that the
spent lye precipitates to the botttom, whence as we said, it is pumped off.
Assuming, however, that a perfect result has been secured, the soap has now to be
brought to a marketable condition, and for this purpose it is boiled with a quantity of
SOAP 847
weak lye or water. As soon as combination has taken place, a quantity of very
strong lye is added, until an incipient separation begins to show itself. The heat is
now inereased, and the boiling continued for a considerable time, the mass being
prevented from boiling over the vessel by workmen armed with shovels, who dash
the soap to and fro, so as to break the froth upon the surface and favour evaporation.
At first the soap is divided into an innumerable number of small globules, each
separate and distinct from its fellow; but as the boiling goes on, those gradually run
together into larger and larger globules, till at last the soap is seen to assume a pasty
consistency, and to unite in one uniform mass, through which the steam from below
slowly forces its way in a series of bursts of little explosions. The process is now
finished, and all that remains to be done is to shut down the lid of the copper, having
previously extinguished the fire. In from one to two or three days, according to the
nature and quantity of the soap in question, the lid is again raised, and*the semifiuid
soap ladled from the precipitated lye by means of ladles; the product being thrown
into a wooden or iron frame of specific dimensions, where its weight is estimated by
measurement. In making common yellow or resin soap, the resin is usually added
after the saponification of the tallow, in the proportion of one-third or one-fourth of the
tallow employed. The subsequent operations are much about the same as those above
described; but in addition, just before closing the lid of the copper a quantity of water
or weak lye is sprinkled over the melted soap, which carries down with it the mecha-
nical impurities of the resin; and these constitute a dark layer of soap resting upon
the lye, which is not poured into the frame with the rest, but is placed apart under
the name of ‘ zéger,’ and brings a less price. Good curd or white soap should contain
of grease, 61:0 parts; soda, 6°2; water, 32°8; total 100; or consist of grease-acid,
1 atom = 315; soda, 1 atom = 32; water, 17 atoms = 153, Resin soap has a
more variable composition, but when not adulterated with water should contain about
as follows: grease and resin, 60; soda, 6; water 34; total 100.
Manufacture of mottled soap.—Soda which contains sulphides is preferred for
making the mottled or marbled soap, whereas the desulphuretted soda makes the best
white curd soap. Mottling is usually given in the London soap-works, by introducing
into the nearly-finished soap in the pan a certain quantity of the strong lye of crude
soda, through the rose spout of a watering-ean. The dense sulphuretted liquor, in
descending through the pasty mass, causes the marbled appearance. In France a
small quantity of solution of sulphate of iron is added during the boiling of the soap,
or rather with the first service of the lyes. The alkali seizes the acid of the sulphate,
and sets the protoxide of iron free to mingle with the paste, to absorb more or less
oxygen, and to produce thereby a variety of tints. A portion of oxide combines also
' with the stearine to form a metallic soap. When the oxide passes into the red state, it
gives the tint called manteaw Isabelle. As soon as the mottler has broken the paste,
and made it pervious in all directions, he ceases to push his rake, from right to left,
but only plunges it perpendicularly till he reaches the lye; then he raises it suddenly
in a vertical line making it act like the stroke of a piston in a pump, whereby he lifts
some of the lye, and spreads it over the surface of the paste. In its subsequent descent
through the numerous fissures and channels on its way to the bottom of the pan, the
coloured lye impregnates the soapy particles in various forms and degrees, whence a
varied marbling results.
The best and most esteemed soap on the Continent is that known under the name
of Marseilles soap, and it differs from the English mottled soap by a different disposi-
tion of the mottling, which in that soap is granitic instead of being streaky. It has
also an agreeable odour, somewhat resembling that of the violet, whereas the English
_ mottled soap, generally made of coarse kitchen and bone-fat, has an odour which
reminds one of the fat employed. The best English mottled soap in which tallow is
employed has no unpleasant smell, and if bleached palm oil has been used it acquires
an agreeable odour, analogous to that of the Marseilles soap, which is made of olive
oil alone, or mixed with rape or other grain or seed oil, which, however, seldom ex-
ceeds 10 per cent., for otherwise it would not have the due proportion of blue to the
white which is characteristic of soap made of genuine olive oil, the mottling becoming
more closely granular when an undue proportion of grain has been used, a sign of
depreciation which the dealers are perfectly well acquainted with, and of which they
at once avail themselves, to compel the maker to reduce his price,
Pelouze and Frémy, in their Traité de Chimie générale, give the following reliable
observations :-—
‘The best. olive oil for the use of the soap-maker is Provence oil; that of Aix
comes next; it is cheaper, but the same weight of it yields less soap than the other, and -
the latter has then a slight lemon-yellow tinge. The oil from Calabre contains less
margarine, and yields a softer soap,
848 SOAP
‘ Two kinds of soda-ash are used in Marseilles—the soft soda (soude douce) and the
salted soda (soude salée), which contains a large quantity of common salt.
‘To prepare the lye, the soft soda previously reduced into small lumps is mixed
with 12 per cent. of slaked lime, and shovelled up into tanks of masonry of about
2 cubic yards’ capacity, called barquieux, and the exhaustion of the mass with water
gives lyes of various degrees of strength. .
‘The lye marking 12° is used for the first treatment, or empdtage of the oil which is
then submitted to a second and third treatment with a lye marking 15° or 20°, the
object of which is to close the grains of the emulsive mass in process of saponification
(serrer Vempatage). The operation requires about twenty-four hours. During all the
time of that operation a workman is constantly agitating the boiling mixture of the
oil and lye by means of a long rake or crutch, called rable. The empdtage is gene-
rally practised in large conical tanks of masonry terminated at bottom by a copper-
pan, and capable of containing 12 or 13 tons of made soap, and the operation proceeds
so much the more rapidly, as the soda-lye employed contains less common salt, where-
fore soft soda-lye (sowde douce) must be used at the beginning, as we said.
. ‘The next operation is that called relargage, the object of which is to separate the
large quantity of water which has been used to facilitate the empdtage. This separa-
tion of the water, or relargage, is effected by means of salted soda (that is to say, of
soda-ash, containing a et deal of common salt), of which as much is dissolved
in water as will make a lye marking 20° or 25°. This salted lye is then gradually
poured by a workman on the surface of the saponifying goods in the copper, while
snittnd workman is diffusing it in the mass by stirring the whole with a rake or
crutch,
‘The immediate effect of the salt thus added is to separate from the soapy mass the
water in which it was dissolved, and which gave it a homogeneous and syrupy
appearance, and to coagulate it, the soap being thereby cured or coagulated, and
converted into a multitude of granules floating among the excess of water in which
they were dissolved, and which the salt has separated. The whole being then left at
rest for two or three hours, in order to give the grains of soap time to rise and agglome-
rate at the surface, a workman proceeds to the épinage, an operation which consists in
withdrawing the liquid portion by removing a wooden plug placed at the lower part
of the boiler.’
In this country the épinage is generally performed by means of an iron pump
plunging through the soap down to the pan at the bottom of the copper.
This spent lye, in well-conducted factories, retains but little alkali, and is gene-
rally thrown away; but as it contains a rather large quantity of salt, which, in France,
“fy = ba tb article, it might be, and is sometimes, kept and used for preparing
sh lyes. :
After the first épinage, the soap is treated twice again with salt-lye, followed of
course by two épinages ; but as the salt-lye used in these two operations is not exhausted,
it is always kept for preparing fresh lyes.
The cleansing, that is to say, the removing of the soap into the frames, takes place
on the third day, at which time the operation called madrage is performed. For
that purpose a plank is thrown across the boiler or copper, and two or three men
standing on it, and therefore over the soapy mass in the copper, proceed to stir it up
for two or three hours, by means of long erutches, which they alternately move up and
down through it, the object being to keep the grains of soap well diffused through the
liquid, weak lyes marking only 8° or 10°, or ordinary water, as the case may be,
being sprinkled from time to time into the mass, until the grains of soap have reab-
sorbed a sufficient quantity of water and have swollen to such a size as to have a specific
gravity very little greater than that of the liquid in which they float about. A
skilful workman knows by the appearance of the soap grains whether he should
use alkaline lyes or simple water, and this is indeed a most important point in the
manufacture of Marseilles soap, for upon it the success of the operation depends in a
commercial point of view, that is to say, all things being equal in other respects, a
profit or loss on the batch of soap made will ensue. In effect, if too much water has
been added the soap will lose either the whole, or too great a portion of its mottling,
that is to say, the result will be either a dingy white curd, or a soap in which the
white portions will predominate to too great an extent over the blue streaks; a cireum-
stance which so far deteriorates the market value, the buyer shrewdly suspecting then
that he would pay for water the price of soap. If, on the contrary, a sufficient quar-
tity of water has not been added, the soap grains remaining hard and dry, will form a
more or less friable soap, thereby causing also a deterioration of price, the buyer knowing
that such soap, by crumbling into small pieces every time he has to cut it with his
knife in selling it to his customers, will considerably reduce his profit, or perhaps
even entail a positive loss to him
SOAP. 849.
’ In the best conditions, that is to say, by employing the best Gallipoli oil for the pur-
pose of producing Marseilles soap of first quality, 100 ewts. of olive oil yield 175 ewts.
of mottled soap; by using mixtures of olive and rape or other seed oils, the yield of
soap is reduced to 170, or even less ; in-either case the yield is reduced by 5 or 6 per
cent., when old or fermented is employed instead of new good oil.
Tho manufacturing expenses are calculated at Marseilles at the rate of 17f. 2é5c.
(nearly 13s. 10d.) per 100 kilogrammes of fatty matter employed, which require .72
kilogrammes of soda for their saponification.
Mottled soap has a marbled, or streaky appearance, that is to say, it has veins of
a bluish colour, and resembling granite in their disposition or arrangement. The
size and number of these veins or speckles, and the proportion which they bear to the
white ground of the soap, depend not only on the more or less rapid: cooling of the
soap after it has been cleansed, that is, transferred from the copper to the frame; but
also on the quality and kind of the fat, grease, or oil employed, and on the manner in
which it has been treated in the copper. A soap which has not been sufficiently
boiled at the last stage of the manufacture is always tender. The blue or slate colour
of the streaks or veins of mottled soap is due to the presence of an alumino-ferrugi-
nous soap interposed in the mass, and frequently also to that of sulphide of iron,
which is produced by the reaction of the alkaline sulphides contained in the soda-lye
upon the iron, derived from the soda-ash itself, and from the iron pans and other
utensils employed in the manufacture, or which is even purposely introduced in the
‘state of solution of protosulphate of iron. This introduction, however, is never re~
sorted to, we believe, in this country. The veins or streaks disappear from the surface
to the centre by keeping, because the iron becomes gradually peroxidised. A well-
manufactured mottled soap cannot contain more than 33, 34, or at most 36 per cent.
of water, whereas genuine curd soap contains 45, and yellow soap at least 52 per
cent. of water, and sometimes considerably more than that. It is evident, in effect,
that the mottling being due to the presence of sulphide of iron held in the state partly
of demi-solution and of suspension, the addition of. water would cause the colouring sub-
stances to subside, and a white, unicoloured, or ‘fitted’ soap would be the result. This
addition of water, technically called fitting, is made when the object of the manufac-
turer is to obtain a unicoloured soap, whether it be curd or yellow soap. After jitting,
the soap contains, therefore, an additional quantity of water, which sometimes amounts
to 55 per cent.: the interest of the consumer would, therefore, clearly be to buy
mottled soap in preference to yellow or white soap; the mottling, when not. artificially
imitated, being a sure criterion of genuineness; for the addition of water, or of any
other substance, would, as was just said, infallibly destroy the mottling. To yellow or
curd soap, on the contrary, incredible quantities of water may be added.: The writer has
known five pails of water (15 gallons) added to a frame (10 ewts.) of already fitted.soap,
so that the soap, by this treatment, contained upwards of 60 per cent. of water, to which
common salt had previously been added. ‘The proportion of water in fitted soap has
also been augmented, in some instances, by boiling the soap in high-pressure boilers
before cleansing. As cocoa-nut oil has the property of absorbing one-third more water,
when made into soap, than any other material, its consumption by the soap-maker has,
within the last twenty-five years, augmented to an extraordinary extent; and, more-
over, the patent taken in 1857 by Messrs. Blake and Maxwell, of Liverpool, for the
invention of Mr. Kottula, which will be described presently, has, we-believe, in-
creased the demand for that species of oil in a notable degree. We said that the
mottling, inasmuch as it was indicative of genuineness, was the more economical soap
to buy; unfortunately, mottled soap has the drawback of not being so readily soluble
as yellow soap, and the. goods washed with it are more difficult to rinse; but the
process patented by Messrs. Blake and Maxwell enabling the manufacturer to manu;
facture with cocoa-nut oil a soap to which the mottling is artificially impaired, by
means of ultramarine, black’ or brown oxide of manganese, in such a perfect manner
as almost to defy detection, mottling has thus ceased to be a safe outward sign of
genuineness, as far as regards the article which it pretends to represent. That descrip-
tion of soap, however, has specific qualities: it is almost perfectly neutral, and it will
not bear more than a definite proportion of water; so that, although it contains more
of that liquid than ordinary mottled soap, more than a certain fixed quantity cannot
‘be forced into it; hence it also forms a standard soap, like the ordinary mottled,
although that standard is different from, and inferior to, the latter. The process in
question is briefly as follows :—Take 80 ewts.-of palm oil, made into soap in the usual
way, with two changes of lye, grained with strong lye, or lye in the usual manner, but
that the lye leaves'the curd perfectly free ; pump the spent- lye away, and add 32 ewts.
of cocoa-nut oil, 60 ewts. of lye, at 20° of Beaumé’s aéreometer, and then gradually
.14 ewts. of lye, at-14° Beaumé. © Boil until the whole mass is well saponified. Put
re = to 7 lbs. of ultramarine in water, or weak lye, stir the whole well, and
ou, IL {
850 7 SOAP.
pour it into the soap through the rose of a watering-pot; boil the whole for about
half an hour, or an hour, and cleanse it in the ordinary wooden frames or in iron
frames surrounded by matting, or other covering, so that the soap may not cool
too rapidly ; the above proportions will yield 212 cwts. of soap,. with a beautiful blue
mottle. 3
Manufacture of Yellow or Resin Soap—We have already said that resin, though
not capable of forming a soap with soda, readily dissolves in that alkali, either in the
caustic or in the carbonated state, with which it forms a kind of soapy mass of a
viscid or treacly nature ; hence fat of some ‘kind, in considerable proportion must be
used along with the resin, the minimum being equal parts; and then the soap is far
from being good. As alkaline matter cannot be neutralised by resin, it preserves its
peculiar acrimony in a soap poor in fat, and is ready to. act too powerfully upon
woollen and all other animal fibres to which it is applied. It is said that rancid tallow
serves to mask the strong odour of resin in soap more than any oil or other species
of fat. From what we have just said, it is obviously needless to make the resin used
for yellow soaps pass through all the stages of the saponifying process; nor would
this indeed be proper, as a portion of the resin would be carried away, and wasted
with the spent lyes. The best mode of proceeding, therefore, is first of all to make
the hard soap in the usual manner, and at the last service or charge of lye, namely,
when this ceases to be absorbed, and preserves in the boiling-pan its entire causticity,
to add the proportion of resin intended for the soap. In order to facilitate the
solution of the resin in the soap, it should be reduced to coarse powder, and well incor-
porated by stirring with the rake. The proportion of resin is usually from one-third
to one-fourth the weight of the tallow. The boil must be kept up for some time
with an excess of caustic lye ; and when the paste is found, on cooling a sample of it
to acquire a solid consistency, and when diffused in a little water, not to leave a
resinous varnish on the skin, we may consider the soap to be finished. ‘The maker
next proceeds to draw off the superfluous lyes, and to purify the paste. For this
purpose, a quantity of lyes at 80° B. being poured in, the mass is heated, worked well
with a rake, then allowed to settle, and drained of its lyes. A second service of lyes
at 4° B., is now introduced, and finally one at 2°; after each of which there is the
usual agitation and period of repose, The pan being now skimmed, and the scum or
job removed for another operation, the soap is laded off by hand-pails into its frame-
moulds. A little palm oil is occasionally employed in the manufacture of yellow soap,
in order to correct the flavour of the resin and brighten the colour, This soap, when
well made, ought to be of a fine wax-yellow hue, be transparent upon the edges of
the bars, dissolve readily in water, and afford, even with hard pump-water, an
excellent lather.
The frame-moulds for hard soap are composed of strong wooden bars, made into the
form of a parallelogram, which are piled over each other, and bound together by
screwed iron rods that pass through them. A square well is thus formed, which in
large soap-factories is sometimes 10 feet deep, and capable of containing a couple of
tons of soap. For plain yellow or curd soaps, iron frames are now used instead of
wooden ones, in almost every factory.
Mr. Sheridan some time since obtained a patent for combining silicate of soda with
hard soap, by triturating them together in the hot and pasty state with a crutch in an
iron pan. In this way from 10 to 30 per cent. of the silicate may be introduced,
Such soap possesses very powerful detergent qualities, but it'is apt to feel hard and be
somewhat gritty in use, The silicated soda is prepared by boiling ground flints in a
strong caustic lye, till the specific gravity of the compound rises to nearly double the
density of water. It then contains about 35 grains of silica, and 46 of soda-hydrate,
in 100 grains.’ :
Hard soap, after remaining two days in the frames, is at first divided horizontally
into parallel tablets 3 or 4 inches thick, by a brass-wire ; and these tablets are again
cut vertically into an oblong nearly square bars, called ‘ wedges’ in Scotland,
The soap-pans used in the United Kingdom are made of cast iron, and in three
separate pieces joined together by iron-rust cement. The following is their general
form :—The two upper frusta of cones are called curbs; the third, or undermost, is
the pan to which alone the heat is applied, and which, if it gets cracked in the course
of boiling, may easily be lifted up within the conical pieces, by attaching chains or
cords for raising it, without disturbing the masonry in which the curbs are firmly set.
The surface of the hemispherical pan at the bottom, is in general about one-tenth part
of the surface of the conical sides, )
Tho white ordinary tallow soap of the London manufacturers, ealled curd soap,
» By the writer’s own experiments upon the liquid silicate made at Mr. Gibbs’s excellent soap factory.
M ~. i sas —— om — SRI ge ee ee
‘ + - ‘ et he © coh Te, *”° &
Pi ; - é . - a oy, - Lae © a .
. : x Bs 1 .
be
SOAP 851
consists, by the writer's experiments, of fat, 52; soda, 6; water,42=100, Nine-tenths
of the fat, at least, is tallow.
With respect to the manufacture of sulphated soap, the process is as follows :—
To every ton of soap made in the usual way and ready to be cleansed and crys-
tallised, add sulphate of soda (Glauber’s salt) in the proportion of about 1 ewt. or more,
according to the quality of the goods employed. The Glauber’s salt should first be
dissolved by turning. steam into it, or in a steam-pan, in its own water of crystal-
lisation; it is then added to the finished soap, and the whole must be crutched until
the mass has become so stiff that it cannot be erutched any longer. In. the evidence
before the Privy Council, in the month of July 1854, this process was found by their
Lordships of such public value that the patent right was extended for three years,
This process, however, has been superseded by another which .Dr. Normandy
patented in the month of August 1855. In effect it had been found that whereas
sulphate of soda is more soluble in lukewarm than in either cold or boiling water, the
temperature of the weather in summer time interfered with or altogether prevented
the formation of the crystals, and that as the crystals of this salt contain ten equi-
valents of water, the maker of sulphated soap was put to the trouble and expense of
the carriage of this, to him useless, water of crystallisation.
Soft Soap.—The manufacture of soft soap differs greatly from that of hard soap; as,
in this case, nothing is separated from the mixture in the boiler; and the alkali
. employed is potash, and not soda. The mode of obtaining a caustic lye of potash is
exactly the same as with soda, except that the weak lyes are used in place of water
for a subsequent operation, and not pumped up into the boiler. The materials
employed as fats are mixtures of the vegetable and animal oils, as rape, and the fish
oil called ‘Southern.’ For the best kinds of soft soap, a little tallow is added to
these, which produces a peculiar kind of mottling or crystallisation in the soap, that
confers additional value upon it. These oils or fats are merely boiled with the strong
caustic potash-lye, until thorough combination has taken place, and so much of the
water of the lye is evaporated that, when a portion of the soap is poured upon a cold
slab and allowed to rest for a few minutes, it assumes the consistency of soft butter.
As soon as this happens, the whole is run out into little casks, where it cools; it is
thus sent into the market. Of course no atomic arrangement can be traced in so
variable a compound; and hence its analysis presents no point of interest, The
employment of soft soap is daily becoming more and more limited.
The principal difference between soaps with base of soda, and soaps with base
of potash, depends upon their mode of combination with water. The former absorb
a large quantity of it, and become solid; they are chemical hydrates. The others
experience a much feebler cohesive attraction; but they retain much more water in a
state of mere mixture,
Three parts of fat afford, in general, fully five parts of soda-soap, well dried in the
open air; but three parts of fat or oil will afford from six to seven parts of potash-
soap of moderate consistency. This feebler cohesive force renders it apt to deliquesce,
especially if there be a small excess of the alkali. It is therefore impossible to
separate it from the lyes; and the washing or relargage, practised on the hard-soap
process is inadmissible in the soft. Perhaps, however, this concentration or abstrac-
tion of water might be effected by using dense lyes of muriate of potash. Those of
chloride or sulphide of sodium change the potash into a soda-soap, by double decompo-
sition. From its superior solubility, more alkaline reaction, and lower price,
eee is preferred for many purposes, and especially for scouring woollen yarns
and stutis,
Soft soaps are usually made in this country with whale, seal, olive, and linseed oils,
and a certain quantity of tallow; on the Continent, with the oils of hempseed, sesame,
rapeseed, linseed, poppy-seed, and colza; or with mixtures of several of these oils.
When tallow is added, as in Great. Britain, the object is to produce white and some-
what solid grains of stearic soap in the transparent mass, called jsigging, because the
soap then resembles the granular texture of the fig.
The potash-lyes should be made perfectly caustic, and of at least two different
strengths ; the weakest being of sp. gr. 1:05; and the strongest, 1:20, or even 1-25.
Being made from the potashes of commerce, which contain seldom more than 60 per
eent., and often less, of real alkali, the lyes correspond in specific gravity to double
their alkaline strength; that is to say, a solution of pure potash of the same density
would be fully twice as strong. The following is the process followed by respectable
manufacturers of soft soap (savon vert, being naturally or artificially green) upon the
Continent. :
A portion of the oil being poured into the pan, and heated to nearly the boiling point
of water, a certain quantity of the weaker lye is introduced ; the fire being kept up
so as to bring the mixture to a boiling state. Then some more oil and lye are added
812%
852 SOAP F
alternately, till the whole quantity of oil destined for the pan is introduced, The
ebullition is kept up in the gentlest manner possible, and some stronger lye is oc-
casionally added, till the workman judges the saponification to be perfect. The
boiling becomes progressively less tumultuous, the frothy mass subsides, the paste grows
transparent, and it gradually thickens. The operation is considered to be finished
when the paste ceases to affect the tongue with an acrid pungency, when all milkiness
and opacity disappear, and when a little of the soap placed to cool upon a glass-plate
assumes the proper consistency. —
A peculiar phenomenon may be remarked in the cooling, which affords a good
criterion of the quality of the soap. When there is formed around the little patch an
opaque zone, a fraction of an inch broad, this is supposed to indicate complete saponifi-
cation, and is called the strength ; when it is absent, the soap is said to want its strength.
When this zone soon vanishes after being distinctly seen, the soap is said to have false
strength. When it occurs in the best form the soap is perfect, and may be secured in
that state by removing the fire, and then adding some good soap of a previous round
to cool it down, and prevent further change by evaporation.
200 lbs. of oil require for their saponification, 72 lbs. of American potash of
moderate quality, in lyes at 15° B.; and the product is 460 Ibs. of well-boiled soap. .
If hempseed oil has not been employed, the soap will have a yellow colour, instead
of the green, so much in request on the Continent. This tint is then given by the
addition of a little indigo. This dye-stuff is reduced to fine powder, and boiled for
some hours in a considerable quantity of water, till the stick with which the water is
stirred presents, on withdrawing it, a gilded pellicle over its whole surface. The indigo
paste diffused through the liquid, is now ready to be incorporated with the soap in the
pan before it stiffens by cooling. * )
Estimation of the quantity of ‘water in soap:—Take about 1,000 grains of the soap
under examination, cut into small and thin slices, not. only from the outside, which is
always drier, but from the interior of the sample, so that the whole may represent a fiir
average ; mix the mass well together, and of this weigh accurately 100 grains; place
it in an‘oven heated to a temperature of 212° Fahr., until it is quite dry, weighing -it
occasionally until no loss or diminution of weight is observed, the difference between
the original and the last weight, the Joss, indicates, of course, the proportion of water.
The loss of water in mottled soap and in soft soap should not be more than 30 to 35
per cent. ; in white or yellow soap from 36 to at most 50 per cent. ;
If the soap is sulphated, the amount of sulphate employed may be determined by
taking 200 grains of the sample, dissolving it in a capsule with boiling water, adding
to the boiling solution as much hydrochloric acid as is necessary to render the liquid
strongly acid,-and-therefore to decompose the soap entirely throwing the whole in a
filter previously*wetted with water, adding to the filtrate an.excess of chloride of
barium, washing‘ thoroughly the white precipitate so produced, igniting and weighing
it; every grain of sulphate of baryta thus obtained represents 1°467 grain of crys-
tallised sulphate of soda.
If the soap contains clay, chalk, silica, dextrine, feecula, pumice-stone, ochre, plaster,
salt, gelatine, &c., dissolve 100 grains of the suspected soap in alcohol, with the help
of a gentle heat; the aleohot will dissolve the soap and leave all these impurities in
an insoluble state... Good mottled soap should not leave more than 1 per cent. of
insoluble matter, and white or yellow soap still less. All soap to which earthy or
siliceous matter has been added is opaque instead of transparent at the edges, as is the
case with all genuine or fitted and sulphated soap, The drier the soap, the more
transparént it 1s. ; ‘3
Bone-s0ap, or glue-soap, is recognised by its unpleasant odour of glue and its dark
colour, its want of transparency at the edges ; that made with the fat of the intestines
of animals has a disgusting odour of feces. }
When uncombined silica:has been added to soap, its presence may be readily
detected by dissolving the suspected soap in alcohol, as before, when the silica will be
left in an insoluble state; but if the silica is in the state of silicate of soda or of
potash, it is necessary"to ‘proceed as follows:—Dissolve a given weight of the
suspected soap in boiling water, and decompose it by the gradual addition of moderately
dilute hydrochloric acid, until the liquor is strongly acid ; boil the whole for one or
two minutes longer and allow it to cool in order that the fatty acids having separated
and become hard, may be removed. Evaporate the acid liquor to perfect dryness, and
the perfectly dry mass treated with boiling water will leave an insoluble residue
which may be identified as silica by its grittiness, which is recognised by rubbing itin
the capsule with a glass rod. This white residue should then be collected on a filter,
washed, dried, ignited, and weighed. are
The proportion of alkali (potash or soda) may be easily determined by an alkali-
metrical assay as follows :— ! ong ere* ud
iv
SODA 853
Take 100 grains of thé soap under examination, and dissolve them in about 2,000
grains of boiling water; should any insoluble matter be left, decant carefully the
superincumbent solution and test it with dilute sulphuric acid of the proper strength,
exactly as described in the article ALKALIMETRY.
The proportion of alkali contained in soap may also be ascertained by incinerating
@ given weight of soap in an iron or platinum spoon, crucible, or capsule, treating the
residue with water, filtering and submitting the filtrate to an alkalimetrical assay.
This method, however, cannot be resorted to when the soap contains sulphates of alkalis,
because the ignition would convert such salts, or a portion. thereof, into carbonates of
alkali, which by saturating a portion of the test-sulphuric acid would give an inac-
curate result.
The proportion of oil or fat in soap is ascertained by adding 100 grains of pure
white wax free from water to the soap-solution, after supersaturation with an acid,
and heating the whole until the wax has become perfectly liquid, and has become
perfectly incorporated with the oil or fat which has separated by the treatment with
an acid. The whole is then allowed to cool, and the waxy cake obtained is removed,
heated in a weighed crucible or capsule to a temperature of about 220° Fahr. in
order to expel all the water, after which the whole is weighed; the increase above
100 grains (the original weight of the wax) indicates, of course, the quantity of grease,
fat, or oil contained in the soap. This addition of wax is necessary only when the
fatty matter of the soap is too liquid to solidify well in cooling. Good soap ordinarily
contains from 6 to 8 per cent. of soda ; from 60 to 70 per cent. of fatty acids and resin,
and from 380 to 35 per cent. of water.
The nature of the fat of which a given sample of soap has been made is more
difficult to detect, yet by saturating the aqueous solution of the mass under examina-
tion with an acid, collecting the fatty acids which then float on the surface, and
observing their point of fusion, the operator at any rate will thus be enabled to
ascertain whether the soap under examination is identical with the sample from which
it may have been purchased, and whether it was made from tallow, or from oil, &e.
cwts. value
Our Soap Exports were in 1873 188,750 £243,047
” 1874 219,284 277,207
SOAP-BARK. A few years since a peculiar bark was introduced into the
European trade, and recommended to be employed instead of soap for washing and
cleaning printed goods, woollens, and silks, and especially for the delicate colours of
ladies’ dresses, &c. This soap-bark is externally black, but internally the liber
consists of layers of yellowish-white. The bark is remarkable for its density, as it
sinks in water. The cause of this is the great quantity of mineral substances in its
ashes, there being 13°935 per cent. of the internal parts, dried at low temperature
and 18°50 per cent. when dried at 100°C, The ashes consist largely of carbonate
of lime, which forms 2°60 per cent. of the 13:935, and appears as small crystalline
needles, isolated or in groups, in the cells of the liber, not only between its concentric
rings but in every part of it, They glitter in the sun, resembling under the microscope,
the aragonite form of the crystallised carbonate of lime,
The soap-wort (Saponaria officinale) is sometimes used for scouring and cleaning
dresses. Several of this family of caryophyllaceous plants (Dianthus, Lychnis,
Gypsophila, Silene) are remarkable for this property in a greater or less degree. By
chemical means there has been extracted from these roots the Saponine (or Struthiine),
a special substance, and to this, notwithstanding the very small quantity contained in
the roots, the singular power is attributed of making emulsions, and of being used for
soap in washing. ‘The soap-wort of the Levant ( Gypsophila) is, to this day, employed
in the East for washing and cleaning silks and shawls. It is generally used in the
Mediterranean districts of France and Spain; the French called it herbe aux foulons
(the fuller’s plant), The Saponaire, or Savoniére of the French, is the root of a kind of
Lychnis. Saponine was found by Henry and Boutron Charland in the bark of the
Quillaja saponaria, a tree of the family of rosaceous plants, and a native of Huanaco,
in Peru. Ferdinand Lebeuf made mention of this bark in 1850 for its richness
in saponine, and recommended it for pharmaceutical use in preparing emulsions of
-oils, resins, balsams, and several other medicaments. He mentions likewise the bark
of the Yallhoy (Monnina polystachya) as containing saponine. The fruits of Sapindus
saponaria, known. as ‘ soap-berries,’ are used in America and the West Indies for
washing linen.
SOAPSTONE. See Sreatire.
SODA. NaO (Na’O), This is the oxide of the metal sodium, and can only be
obtained in the free state by the combustion of the metal itself in dry air or oxygen
gas. Another oxide appears to exist, but the composition is uncertain, and it is of na
854 SODA, CARBONATE OF
commercial value, Soda (owide of sodium), thus prepared, is a white solid, which
absorbs moisture rapidly, the whole of which cannot be again removed by heat alone, the
hydrate NaO.HO (3aHO) remaining. This hydrate of soda, which is largely used in
the manufacture of soap, is not prepared from the anhydrous oxide, but by removing
the carbonie acid from carbonate of soda by the means of hydrate of lime. When
the soda is required in the solid state, the carbonate of lime thus formed is allowed
to settle, the clear supernatant liquid is poured off and evaporated to dryness, fused in
a silver vessel, and cast into sticks,
The following isa table of the quantities of real soda (NaO) in the solutions of dif-
ferent specific gravities.—By Richter.
Spec. Soda Spec. Soda Spec. Soda Spec. Soda
gray. per cent. gray. per cent. gray. per cent. grav. per cent, ©
1:00 0:00 « 1:12 11'10° 1:22 29°66 1:32 29°96
1:02 2°07 114 12°81 1:24 22°58 1:34 31°67
1:04 4:02 1:16 14:73 1°26 24°47 1°35 32°40
1°06 5°89 1:18 16°73 1:28 26°33 1°36 33°08
1:08 7°69 1°20 18°71 1°30 28°16 1:38 34°41
1:00 9°43
SODA-ALUM. Seo Arum. |
SODA, BIBORATE OF. Sce Boracic Acip, and Borax |
SODA, BISULPHATE. Na0.HO.2SO0* (NWaHSo'). This is obtained in the
same manner as bisulphate of potash, with which it corresponds,
SODA, CARBONATE OF (Kohlensaures Natron, Ger.), is the ‘soda’ of commerce
in various states, either crystallised, in lumps, or in a crude powder called ‘ soda-ash.’
it’ exists in small quantities in certain mineral waters ; as, for example, in those of
Seltzer, Seydschutz, Carlsbad, and the voleanie springs of Iceland, especially the
Geyser; it frequently occurs as an efflorescence in slender needles upon damp walls,
being produced by the action of the lime upon the sea-salt present in the mortar. The
mineral soda is the sesquicarbonate, to be afterwards described,
Of manufactured soda, the variety most anciently known is darilla, the incinerated
ash of the Salsola soda, This plant is cultivated with great care by the Spaniards,
especially in the vicinity of Alicant, The seed is sown in light low soils, which are
embanked towards the sea-shore, and furnished with sluices, for admitting an occasional
overflow of salt water. When the plants are ripe, the crop is cut down and dried ; the
seeds are rubbed out and preserved ; the rest of the plant is burnt in rude furnaces, at
a temperature just sufficient to cause the ashes to enter into a state of semi-fusion, so as
to concrete on cooling into cellular masses comparatively compact. The most valuable
-varicty of this article is called sweet barilla. It has a greyish-blue colour, and becomes
covered with a saline efflorescence when exposed for some time to the air. It is hard
‘and difficult to break; when applied to the tongue, it excites a pungent alkaline taste.
Another method of manufacturing crude soda, is by burning sea-weed into na
Formerly, very large revenues were derived by the proprietors of the shores of the
Scottish islands and-Highlands, from the incineration of sea-weeds by their tenants,
who usually paid their rents in kelp; but since the tax has been taken off salt, and
‘the manufacture of a crude soda from it has been generally established, the price of
_kelp has fallen low, its principal use being now to obtain iodine. See Barrmxa, Ioprxe,
Kerr. A
The crystals of soda carbonate, as well as the soda-ash of British commerce are
now made altogether by the decomposition of sea-salt.
Soda-manufacture. The manufacture divides itself into three branches:—1, Tho
conversion of sea-salt, or common salt (chloride of sodium), into sulphate of soda.
2. The decomposition of this sulphate into crude soda, called black balls by the work-
‘men. 38. The purification of these balls, either into a dry white soda-ash or into
crystals.
pos of Sulphate of Soda. The decomposition of common salt is effected
by sulphuric acid in furnaces of which jig. 1855 is a section. a, the smaller of the
_two compartments which compose the furnace, is of cast iron ; into this (the decomposer)
from five to six hundred weight of common salt are introduced, and an equal weight
of sulphuric acid, of specific gravity 1°6, is gradually mixed with it; a gentle heat
being applied to the outside, enormous volumes of hydrochloric acid gas are disengaged,
and pass off by the flue, d, to the condensing towers, x and ¥; these towers are filled
_with fragments of broken coke or stone, over which a continuous stream of water is
caused to trickle slowly from 4’. A steady current of air is drawn through the
SODA, CARBONATE OF 855
furnace and condensing towers, by connecting the first @ ver with the second, as re-
presented at g, and the second tower with the main chimney, x, of the works. In
the first bed of the furnace, about half of the common salt is decomposed, leaving a
h
1855. yy a
g. =
° "eee |e”
\ aa | SS -S NN
THN S \ . yas
NESS WWW Wp \ <
nS ccnensaccwances- We i
B \S =
WI REE \ N \ \ \
* S
mixture of bisulphate of soda and common salt, which requires a greater heat for the
expulsion of this latter portion of hydrochloric acid; for this purpose it is pushed
through a door into the roaster, or second division, B, of the furnace.
The reaction in the first bed of the furnace is represented as follows :—*
2NaCl + 2HO.SO? = NaO.SO%.HO.SO?+ HCl + NaCl.
Yj
——y sd ns —— ——
Common salt, Sulphuric acid. Bisulphate of Hydrochloric Common salt.
soda, acid, ‘
2N7acl + H’=SO' = NaxHSO! + HCl + Maci
By the higher temperature obtained in the second part of the furnace, the bisul-
phate of potash reacts on the undecomposed chloride of sodium, yielding neutral
sulphate of soda and a fresh quantity of hydrochloric acid.
Na0.S0,HO.SO? + NaCl = 2(Na0.S0*) + HG.
Now
————,-—_—_— —— ns ——
Bisulphate of soda, Common salt, Sulphate of Hydrochloric
soda. acid.
WaHSso! + Nwacl = Wa’so'! + HCI
The hydrochloric acid gas, as it is liberated from B, passes off through the flue, d,
and is carried on to the condensing towers. Heat is applied to the outside of the
roaster, B; the smoke, ©, circulating in separate flues around the chamber, in the direc-
tion indicated by the arrows, but. never coming into contact with the salt-cake in x.
The process used at present in the Tyne district differs but little from that above
deseribed, with the exception that in the decomposition of the mixture of bisulphate
of soda and common salt, in the second portion of the furnace, the smoke and pro-
ducts of combustion from the fire, are allowed to come in contact with the materials,
‘and the hydrochloric acid which is then given off is carried into condensing towers
filled with bricks over which water is continually slowly running, and the dilute
hydrochloric acid, thus obtained, is used for the liberation of carbonic acid in the
manufacture of bicarbonate of soda. The first part of the furnace is a cireular metal
pan, and the hydrochloric acid from this, being unmixed with smoke, &c., is condensed
apart from the other. :
The next step in the manufacture is the decomposition of the sulphate of soda into
sulphide of sodium, and its subsequent conversion into carbonate of soda, This is
effected in the following manner :—The dry sulphate of soda, obtained by the process
above described, is mixed with small coal and chalk, or limestone, in about the fol-
lowing proportions: sulphate of soda 3 parts, chalk 34 parts, and coal 2 parts. It
is necessary that these materials should be first separately ground, and sifted into a
tolerably fine powder, and then carefully mixed, as a great deal depends on the atten-
tion to these points. The mixture is then subjected to heat in a reverberatory furnace,
figs. 1856, 1857, 1858.
In the section fig. 1857, there are two hearths in one furnace, the one elevated above
the level of the other by the thickness of a brick, or about three inches, 4 is the
856° _ SODA, CARBONATE OF
preparatory shelf, where the ‘thixtire to be decomposed is first laid in order to be’
thoroughly heated, so that when transferred to the lower or decomposing hearth, 8, -
1856 it may not essentially: chill it, and.
! —— throw back the operation. cis the
| eae —s _ fire-bridge, and p is the grate. In
= ; : the horizontal section, or ground
Bm | Feral | | | | plan, fig. 1858, we see an opening
Bane oes Mads ae | in.the front corresponding to each
= | l ve hearth. There is a door, as shown
: - in the side view or elevation of the
furnace, fig. 1856 ; and each door
is shut by an square iron frame
filled with a fire-tile or bricks, and
suspended by a chain over a pulley
fixed in any convenient place. (See
Coxr.) The workman, on pushing
up the door lightly, makes it
rise, because there is a counter-
weight at the other end of each
chain, which balances the weight
of the frame and bricks, In
the ground plan, only one smoke-
_ flue is shown; and this construe-
tion is preferred .by many manu-
facturers ; but others choose to have
two flues, one from. each shoulder,
as at.a, 6; which two flues after-
wards unite in one vertical chimney,
from 25 to 40 feet high; because
‘the draught of a seda furnace must
2 . be'very sharp. Having sufficiently
explained the construction of this improved furnace, we shall now proceed to describe
the mode of making soda with it. ;
- The quantity of the mixture required for a charge depends, of course, on the size
of the furnace. This charge must be shoyelled in upon the hearth, a, or shelf of pre-
paration (fig. 1857); and, whenever it has become hot (the. furnace having been
previously brought to bright ignition), it is to be transferred to the decomposing
hearth or laboratory, B, by an iron tool, shaped exactly like an_ oar, called the
spreader, ‘This tool has the flattened part from 2 to 3 feet long, and the round part,
for laying hold of and working by, from 6 to 7 feet long. Two other tools are used;
one, a rake, bent down with a garden hoe at the end; and another,.a small shovel,
consisting of a long iron rod terminated like a piece of iron plate, about 6 inches long,
4 broad; sharpened and tipped with steel, for cleaning the bottom of the hearth from
adhering cakes or crusts. Whenever the charge is shoved by the sliding motion of
the oar down upon the working hearth, a fresh charge should be thrown into the
preparation shelf, and evenly spread over its surface.
' The hot and partially-carbonised charge being also evenly spread upon the hearth,
B, is to be left untouched for about ten minutes, during which time it becomes ignited,
and begins to fuse upon the surface. A view may be taken of it through a peep-hole
in the door, which should be shut immediately, in order to prevent the reduction of
the temperature. When the mass is seen to be in a state of incipient fusion, the
workman takes the oar and turns it over breadth by breadth in regular layers,
till he has reversed the position of the whole mass, placing on the surface the particles
which were formerly in contact with the hearth. Having done this, he immediately
shuts the door, and lets the whole get another decomposing heat. After five or six
minutes, jets of flame begin to issue from various parts of the pasty-consistenced
mass. Now is the time to incorporate the materials together, turning and spreading
‘by the oar, gathering them together by the rake, and then distributing them on the
‘reverse part of the hearth; that is, the oar should transfer to the part next the
fire-bridge the portion of the mass lying next the shelf, and vice versd. The dex-
terous management of this transposition characterises a good soda-furnacer. A little
practice and instruction will render this operation easy to a robust clever workman.
After this transposition, incorporation, and spreading, the door may be shut again for
.a few minutes, to raise the heat for the finishing off. Lastly. the rake must be dex-
terously employed to mix, shift, spread, and incorporate. The jets, called candies,
‘are very numerous, and bright at first; and whenever they begin to fade, the mass
SODA, CARBONATE OF 857
‘must’ be raked out into cast-irom moulds, placed under the door of the laboratory to
receive the ignited paste. Ҥ
One batch being thus worked off, the other, which has laid undisturbed on the
shelf, is to be shoved down from a to B, and spread equally upon it, in order to be
treated as above described. A third batch is then to be placed on the shelf.
The product thus obtained is called ‘black balls, which, of course, vary in their
. composition. The following is the composition, according to Richardson, of the
Newcastle ‘ black balls,’ from the balling furnaces :—
Carbonate of soda 9°89, hydrate of soda 25°64, sulphide of calcium 35°57, carbonate
of lime 15°67, sulphate of soda 3°64, chloride of sodium 0°60, sulphide of iron 1:22,
silicate of magnesia 0°88, carbon 4°28, sand 0°44, and water 2°17 = 100.
The principal changes which take place in this process may be represented by the
following equations :—
NaO0.80® 4+ 4C = NaS + 4CO
sd —— eed ——s
Sulphate Carbon. Sulphide of Carbonic
of soda. ; sodium. oxide.
: (NWa’so* + 2c? = Na’s pee 4CO).
then—
fee NaS + Ca0.CO? = NaO.CO? + CaS -
’ Sulphide of Chalk. * * Carbonate Sulphide of
sodium, . of soda, calcium,
(Na’S + Caco® Na’CO* + CaS).
_ In the first place, the sulphate of soda is deoxidised by the coal, with the formation of
sulphide of sodium and carbonic oxide, which latter takes fire and forms the ‘ candles,’
above mentioned ; in the next place, the sulphide of sodium and carbonate of lime
(chalk) decompose each other, forming carbonate of soda and sulphide of calcium ;
and from the fact of some of the chalk being converted into caustic lime by the heat
of the furnace, there is also formed by it some caustic soda; the sulphide of cal-
cium itself is only sparingly soluble in water, but is rendered still less so by the excess
.of lime which is present, forming with it an oxysulphide, which is much less soluble
than the sulphide of calcium alone.
This black ball, or ball alkali, is then treated with warm water to extract the soluble
matters. This is effected in the district of Newcastle-on-Tyne in vessels, 8 or 10 feet
‘square and 5 or 6 feet deep, furnished with false bottoms ; the first waters are strong
enough for boiling down, for getting ‘yellow salt,’ as it is termed ; the after-washings,
which are weaker, are used for fresh quantities of ‘ ball alkali” Care must be taken
not to use the water too hot, as the oxysulphide of calcium would be decomposed, and
the liquor.thus take up much sulphide of calcium,
1859
©)! a)
= 2 x
fmm moe 227/21
An apparatus used ‘in some places for lixiviating the black ball is shown in the
-aceompanying drawing, fig. 1859. Its object is to extract the largest quantity of
soluble matter -with the smallest: quantity of water. The black ball is placed in per~
858 SODA, CARBONATE OF
forated sheet-iron vessels, H n, which can be raised or lowered into outer lixiviating
vessels, also made of iron, by means of the cords and pulleys, 1, x. When a charge is
received from the furnace, it is introduced into the lowest vessels, G, where it is sub-
mitted to the dissolving action of a liquid already highly charged with alkali from
digestion upon the black ash contained in the tanks above it; after a certain time,
‘this charge is raised by the rope from ¢ into the tank ¥, where it is submitted to a
weaker liquid, and so on, successively. The alkali at each stage becomes more com- .
pletely exhausted, and the residue is successively submitted to the action of weaker
lye, till at length, in a, it is acted on by water only, supplied from the cistern, 1.
‘When fresh water is admitted from m, to the top of the vessel, A, as it is specifically
lighter than the saline solution, it lies upon its surface, and gradually displaces the
solution from a, through the bent tube, whilst the water takes its place; the liquid
thus displaced from it, acts in like manner upon that contained in B; and this dis-
placement proceeds simultaneously through each successive tier of the arrangement,
until the concentrated lye flows off from eG, and is transferred to the evaporating pans.
The residue which remains after this treatment contains nearly all the sulphur present
in the ball alkali, in the form of oxysulphide of calcium, together with the other in-
soluble portions, and is of no value; it accumulates to an immense extent in large
soda works, and is thus a source of annoyance. Many trials have been made to
obtain the sulphur contained in it, and to use it for the reproduction of sulphuric acid,
but without much success hitherto,
The solution obtained by thus lixiviating the ball.soda, contains principally car-
bonate of soda and hydrate of soda, as well as some sulphide and chloride of sodium,
and a little sulphate of soda. It is allowed to settle; then the clear liquor is drawn
‘off into evaporating vessels. These may be of two kinds. The surface-evaporating
furnace, shown in fig. 1860, isa very admirable invention for economising vessels,
time, and fuel. The grate a, and fire-place, are separated from the evaporating labo-
ratory D, by a double tire-bridge B, c, haying an interstitial space in the middle, to.
arrest the cemmunication of a melting or igniting heat towards the lead-lined
cistern p. This cistern may be 8,10, or 20 feet long, according to the magnitude
of the soda-work, and 4 feet or more wide. Its depth should be about 4 feet. It
consists of sheet lead, of about 6 pounds weight to the square foot, and it is lined with
one layer of bricks, set in Roman or hydraulic cement, both along the bottom and up
the sides and ends. The lead comes up to the top of ¢, and the liquor, or lye, may be
filled in to nearly that height. Things being thus arranged, a fire is kindled upon the
grate A; the flame and hot air
E 1860 CEMA ~ sweep along the surface of the
' . KX \ hi 2 ico its t th
ASS em NN aa tae valet
\
\\
good draught. But, indeed, it will
> ‘
SK a be most economical to build one
N high capacious chimney stack, as is
\\S now done at Glasgow, Manchester,
NN carry off the watery parts in vapour
N up the chimney 8, which should be
WN 15 or 20 feet high, to command a
and Newcastle, and to lead the ©
flues of the several furnaces above described into it. In this evaporating furnace
the heavier and stronger lye goes to the bottom, as well as the impurities, where
they remain undisturbed. Whenever tho liquor has attained to the density of 1°3,
or thereby, it is pumped up into evaporating cast-iron pans, of a flattened some-
what hemispherical shape, and evaporated to dryness while being diligently stirred
with an iron rake and iron scraper.
This alkali gets partially carbonated by the above surface-evaporating furnace.
When pure carbonate is wanted, that dry mass must be ine, with its own bulk of
ground coal, sawdust or charcoal, and thrown into a reverberatory furnace, like fig.
1857, but with the sole all upon one level. Here it must be exposed to a heat not
exceeding 640° or 700° F.; that is, a little above the melting heat of lead; the onl
object being to volatilise the sulphur present in the mass, and carbonate the alkaly,
Now, it has been found, that if the heat be raised to distinct redness, the sulphur will
not go ff, but will continue in intimate union with the soda. This process is called
calking, and the furnace is called a calker furnace. It may be 6 or 8 feet long, and
4 or 6 feet broad in the hearth, and requires only one door in its side, with a hanging
iron frame filled with a fire-tile or bricks, as above described,
This carbonating process may be performed upon several cwts. of the impure soda,
mixed with sawdust, at atime. It takes three or four hours to finish the Senden.
‘ation; and it must be carefully turned over by the oar and the rake, in order to burn
‘SODA, CARBONATE OF 859
‘the coal into carbonic acid, and to present ‘the carbonic acid to the particles of caustic
‘soda diffused through the mass, so that it may combine with them.
When the blue flames cease, and the saline matters become white, in the midst of
the coaly matter, the batch may be considered as completed. It is raked out, and
when cooled, lixiviated in great iron cisterns with false bottoms, covered with mats.
The watery solution being drawn off clear by a plug-hole, is evaporated either to
dryness, in hemispherical cast-iron pans, as above described, or‘only to such a strength
that it shows a pellicle upon its surface, when it may be run off into erystallising
cisterns of cast-iron or lead-lined wooden cisterns. The above dry carbonate is the
best article for the glass manufacture.
Instead of this last process of roasting with sawdust, Gossage decomposes the
sulphide of sodium present in the lye obtained from the ball soda, by means of the
hydrated oxide of some metal, as of lead, thus forming sulphide of lead, and hydrate
of soda; this is then converted into carbonate by passing a stream of carbonic acid
through’ it. The precipitated sulphide of lead is Feared by hydrochloric acid,
thus generating sulphuretted hydrogen, which is burnt and converted into sulphuric
acid; the lead is then converted again into hydrated oxide by means of lime, This
process saves the trouble, time, and fuel used in evaporating to dryness twice as in
the ordinary process.
Various attempts have been made to obtain processes which shall supersede the pro-
cess above described, of manufacturing carbonate of soda from common salt,
Sulphate of iron, being a cheap article, has been heated with common salt, in-
_stead of using sulphuric acid; sulphate of soda is formed, and the chloride of iron,
being volatile, passes away. By roasting iron or copper pyrites directly with
chloride of sodium, sulphate of soda has been obtained, and it has been found possible
‘by this means also to extract the metal from ores of copper or tin with advantage,
which are otherwise too poor to work. Mr. Tilghman etfects the decomposition of
chloride of sodium by steam at-a high temperature, in the presence of alumina.
Precipitated alumina is made up into balls with chloride of sodium, and exposed to a
current of steam in a reverberatory furnace strongly heated. Hydrochloric acid is
expelled, and the alumina unites with thesoda. When’cold, this compound of alumina
and soda is decomposed by a current of carbonic acid, and the carbonate of soda is
dissolved, and thus separated from the alumina, which may be again used. Another
process is that of MM. Schlesing and Rolland. They dissolve the chloride of sodium
in water, and then pass ammonia into it, and afterwards carbonic acid ; bicarbonate of
ammonia is first produced, and then double decomposition takes place ; chloride of
ammonium is formed, and the-more sparingly soluble bicarbonate of soda is precipi-
tated in crystalline grains ; it is then separated from the liquid and pressed, to free it
“as much as possible from the chloride. This bicarbonate of soda is converted into
the monocarbonate by heat, and the carbonic acid thus evolved is used again; the
solution, front which the bicarbonate nas separated, is bciled to drive off any ammonia
that it may contain, as carbonate of ammonia, which is.collected; the sclution is then
boiled with lime, which liberates.the ammonia from the chloride of ammonium, and
thus little loss is sustained.
There are three carbonates of soda :—
Monocarbonate. NaO.CO?+10HO (Na*CO*+10H?0). This is the salt which is
obtained in the ordinary soda-manufacture. In the crystalline state, it generally con-
tains ten equivalents of water of crystallisation, or sixty-three per cent., but has been
obtained with only eight, five, and even one equivalent of water. It effloresces in a
dry atmosphere, at the same time absorbing carbonic acid. It is very soluble in water,
requiring only twice its weight of water at 60° for solution, and even melts in its
own water of crystallisation when heated, and eventually by increase of temperature
becomes anhydrous. It is generally found in commerce in large crystals, which
belong to the oblique prismatic system. It is strongly alkaline, and acts on the skin,
dissolving the outside cuticle. Itis largely used in the manufacture of soap, glass, &e.
Sesquicarbonate, 2(Na0,CO?),HO.CO? (2INa*CO*,H’°CO'), This salt is frequently
found native. See Natron.
Bicarbonate, NaO.CO*,HO.CO? (NakHCO*). This salt is found in some mineral
waters, as those of Carlsbad and Seltzer; and is obtained from the waters of Vichy
in large quantities.
‘It is prepared by saturating the monocarbonate with carbonic acid, for which
purpose several methods are employed.
1. By passing carbonic acid into a soltition of the monocarbonate. A cold satu-
-rated solution of the monocarbonate of soda is made, and carbonic acid obtained
by the action of hydrochloric acid on marble or chalk, is passed into it; the bi-
carbonate forms and precipitates to a great extent, and is then collected, and pressed
to remove as much of the adhering liquid as possible, A fresh portion of the
860 SODA, CARBONATE OF
monocarbonate is dissolved in the mother-liquor, and the passage of carbonic
acid through it repeated, By this method a pure bicarbonate is obtained, but the
process is costly.
2. By exposing solid monocarbonate of soda to an atmosphere of carbonic acid of ii,
‘This is known as Smith’s process. The crystals of the monocarbonate are placed on
shelves, slightly inclined to allow the water to run off, in a large box, containing a
oie false bottom; carbonic acid is passed into this box under pressure, which
latter is scarcely necessary, since the monocarbonate so rapidly absorbs the carbonic
acid. When the gas ceases to be absorbed, the salt is taken out and dried bya
gentle heat. .
The crystals are found to have lost their water of crystallisation, and to have
‘become opaque and porous, and a bicarbonate, still, however, retaining their oti
shape. These are ground between stones like flour, care being taken to avoid the
evolution of much heat.
3. Its formation by the action of bicarbonate of ammonia has been already described.
Bicarbonate of soda crystallises in rectangular four-sided prisms, which require
about ten parts of cold water to dissolve them, and if the solution be boiled, it loses
carbonic acid, becoming first sesquicarbonate, and ultimately monocarbonate. As
usually met with in commerce this salt is a white powder. Its taste is slightly
‘alkaline. It is largely used in medicine, for making seidlitz powders, &c., but the
salt generally found in the shops is only a sesquicarbonate, or a mixture of bicar-
bonate and sesquicarbonate.
The latest obtainable returns, show that the materials used on the Tyne in producing
soda, and its alkaline manufactures, amount to 1,070,000 tons annually, consisting
chiefly of pyrites, salt, chalk, coal, and manganese, the value of which is about 850,000/.
This outlay produces :—
Tons. Tons.
Soda crystals . . . 86,000 Caustic soda Sn ee eae
Alkali x + - « 74,000 Epsom salts ° “abl he 590
Bicarbonate of soda . . 11,000 Glauber salts. ‘ : 20
Sulphate ofcopper . . 200 Oil of vitriol % ° -« 9000
Sulphate of soda . adit 8) Hyposulphite of soda . - 400
Bleaching powder +, « 24,000 Muriatic acid . ; : 700°
| Chloride of manganese . 1,800
Total tons, . 216,330
Having an aggregrate value of 1,929,82651.
The products of the Lancashire chemical works are about'the same, the total for all
England being :—
&
Raw materials ; ‘ ‘ von be . > 1,700,525
Manufactured article . > e ° ° ° 3,813;604 ©
The remarkable extension of the Alkali trade will be seen by the following state- °
“nent of Exports:— °
1858 1859 1860 .° 1861 1862 1863
cwis. cwts. cwts. ewts. ewts. cwts.
1,618,289 2,029,761 2,049,582 1,420,327 2,095,249 2,137,015
1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869
cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. ewts. cwts.
2,192,771 2,572,794 2,997,479 3,164,425 3,499,587 8,514,382 ;
1870 1871 1872 - . 1878
cwts. cwts. cwts, ewts.
3,853,393 4,176,667 4,453,068 4,754,425
In the manufacture of carbonate‘of soda from common salt, there was always a
considerable escape of muriatie acid, which was highly injurious to all surrounding
vegetation. . This led to the passing of a Bill to regulate this manufacture.
The Alkali Act of July 28, 1863, is ‘An Act for the more effectual Condensation
cf Muriatic Acid Gas in Alkali Works.’ An alkali work is defined by the Act to be
‘ every work for the manufacture of alkali, sulphate of soda, or sulphate of potash, in
which muriatic acid is evolved.” It is required that ‘every alkali work shall be
carried on in such a manner as to secure the condensation to the satisfaction of the
inspector, derived from his ewn examination or from that of a sub-inspector, of not
less than 95 per centum of the muriatic acid gas evolved therein’ — .
SODA, CARBONATE OF 861
Alkali Exported in 1873.
Cwts, Value
’ £
To Russia . i 3 Z ‘ 6 314,268 238,882
», Sweden and Norway . : . ‘ 126,551 70,116
» Denmark . % : ° 2 7 70,583 37,929
» Germany : F d 3 3 828,354 421,921
emotand ) 8F oCe RED il ie 289,981 121,916
» Belgium - . , Aa aaa 4 199,643 120,982
» France . ; ; 5 ; : 110,959 61,589
» Spain and Canaries ‘ : ts ‘ 122,596 110,709
4g Lbaly s < A * r 84,322 f 48,424
, Austrian Territories fe ; . 4 46,820 26,890
» United States, Atlantic. : “ : 2,124,017 1,371,506
. 7 Taio ca, 25,314 20,632
Wait et nia a) ase 44,356 34,180
» Australia . ; ‘ : ° 105,368 69,768
» British North America : . > F 108,952 76,034
», Other countries . . ¢ ’ ° 143,341 98,028
Total . - : ; 4,754,425 2,929,006
If we estimate the escape of muriatic acid gas at 1,000 tons per week before the
passing of the Alkali Act, or at least before the introduction of the Alkali Bill into
Parliament, we may be considered as taking a very moderate view of the question.
1861
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a, Wooden plug, with hole through’ the centre. b is a covering of earthenware whichis .
nearly submerged, thus closing entirely the top of the tower when the water is admitted.
cc, Bottom of water-cistern ; the water passes through the side of 66 close to ec, thus
hermetically sealing the apertures. The floor of the water-cisterns at the top ofeach ~
tower is covered with the wooden plugs as above and their coverings,
This supposes 2,324°96 to have ‘been already condensed, and is a very Aveaplo
“view of the case, ‘The 1,000 tons left uncondensed are equal to 4,000 tons of 25 per
862 SODA, CARBONATE OF
cent, acid, and under one-third of the total amount evolved in the proccss of decom.
posing salt by sulphuric acid in the United Kingdom, This quantity amounts to
208,000 tons per annum, | ;
Condensation is promoted by cold and by water mainly, but next to these we must
add contact of surfaces and time,
Air with a small quantity of muriatic acid jn it will appear misty in moist weather,
though the amount may be less than 0°003 per cent. It will pass rapidly through
tubes well cooled and still appear misty, but let it pass between broken pieces of coke r
or through extremely narrow moist pagsages and it will be perfectly cleared. The
floating particles too minute to fall seem to be filtered out as we filter fine precipitates,
The mode of gaining extensive surface is chiefly by the use of coke in the towers,
Other modes have been adopted of filling the condensers. Fire-bricks are used in
many cases, and especially at the lower part of condensers used for open roasters.
1863 ot wipe
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A condenser generally is a tower filled with moistened very porous or non-porous
material, in pieces so large as to allow the passage of air and water through the inter-
stices, and so small as to prevent that passage from being made without contact of the
air or gases with the water and the solids present.
It is built generally in the form of a square tower. It is from 3 to 6 feet square
equally from base to summit, and from 5 to 125 feet high. This height includes the
pedestal and the cistern above the condensing portion of the tower. See fig. 1862,
1st. The simplest form of condenser allows the gas to enter below whilst the uncon-
densed portion escapes into the air at the top.
. 2nd, The uncondensed gases of the first tower may be sent into the top of the
SODA, SULPHATE OF 863
second tower, down which they may pass and thence either to the chimney or to a
third and fourth tower,
8rd. A tower may be divided in two parts. The gases may pass up one side and
down the other.. This merely treats one as if it were two.
4th. The gases may pass up one tower and down earthenware pipes to the bottom
of the second tower, up which they rise, By this method the gases pass up the towers
only, and down tubes only.
5th. Condensers may be vessels of stone or of earthenware; when of stone they
may be several feet in length, breadth, or depth. In these vessels a large amount of
acid is frequently condensed befure it passes to the towers, The gases may pass
through several of these tanks,
6th. As the gases come from the roaster very hot, it is found of advantage to
cool them before they.enter the condenser. This is done by allowing them to pass
along earthenware pipes for a great distance before entering the condensers, When
these pipes are not used, the condenser is heated very highly and filled more or less
with hot instead of cold water. This is the case sometimes to such an extent as to
warm the whole tower. A great supply of water cools the tower but weakens the
acid, and may even obstruct the passage of the gas too far.
7th. The first condenser is made large enough to condense all the gas, or several
may be required, Tho greater part of the gas may be removed by one or more
towers, leaving a small amount to be condensed by a post-condenser flushed with a
great excess of water. This acid isnot intended for use. Sometimes several condensers
are connected with one post-condenser for a final washing. A greater amount of
space and water being required to remove acid when it exists to the extent of only
two or three per cent., the acid from these washings is often very dilute, sometimes
so much as not to be sensible to the taste.
Figs. 1863 and 1864 are drawings in elevation of the fine towers at Messrs. Allhu-
sen’s, The stairs are entirely within the enclosure made by the six towers, and can be
ascended with perfect safety. The chamber at the top contains the cistern and arrange-
ments for the distribution of the water. At the very top are openings for the uncon-
densed gases, There are two rows of three towers, making six towers, for the pan-gases,
SODA FELSPAR. Usually called Albite. See Ferspar.
SODA, HYPOCHLORITE OF. NaO.ClO (Naci0). This is obtained in the
same manner as hypochlorite of lime, or by decomposing a solution of this latter by
carbonate of soda. Its uses are the same as those of the hypochlorite of lime.
SODA, HYPOSULPHITE OF. This is now largely prepared for photo-
graphic purposes, See Hyposunpuire of Sopa.
SODA, NITRATE, OF. NaO0,NO® (NamNo*), Syn. cubic nitre; Chile salt-
petre. (Nitrate de soude, Fr.; Wiirfelsalpeter, Ger.) This important salt is found
native in immense quantities in Chili and Peru. It is, in some parts, found in beds of
several feet in thickness. As found in nature it is tolerably pure, the principal impu-
rities being chlorine, sulphuric acid, and lime, Nitrate of soda can be formed artifici-
ally by saturating nitric acid with soda or its carbonate, and evaporating the solution.
Nitrate of soda is extensively and economically employed as a source of nitric acid.
It is also used for the purpose of being converted by double decomposition with
chloride of potassium into nitrate of potash. (See Nirrare or Porasn.) It is em-
ployed as a manure. .
A good sample of nitrate of soda should not contain more than two per cent. of
chloride of sodium, The nitrie acid may be determined by the process described under
Nirrate or Porasu.
Nitrate of soda is not applicable for the preparation of gunpowder or fireworks.
partly in consequence of its tendency to attract moisture from the air, and partly
owing to the fact that mixtures made in imitation of gunpowder, but having nitrate of
soda in place of nitrate of potash. It has, however, been prepared and used for
blasting-powder, with some apparent advantage. See Cusrc Nirre.
SODA, NITRITE OF. Na0,NO* (NawWo*). This salt is not unfrequently
employed as a source of nitrous acid, especially in researches on the volatile organic
bases. Nitrite of soda possesses some advantages over nitrite of potash, owing to
the comparative ease with which it is prepared.
SODA, PHOSPHATES OF. Several of these are known, but are not impor-
“tant in the arts. The principal are the normal tribasic phosphate, the well-known
rhombic phosphate, the pyrophosphate, and the metaphosphate of soda.
SODA, SULPHATE OF. Na0.S0°+10HO (Na’SO'+10H’O). This salt
is obtained as a residue in several chemical processes, as in the manufacture of hydro-
ehloric and nitric acids, &e., but owing to the enormous quantity used in the manu-
‘facture of carbonate of soda, it is made purposely as described under Sopa, CarBonaTE
or. Itis known as Glauber’s salt, and has been found native near Madrid, nearly
864, ' §ODA-WATER
pure, deposited at the bottom of some saline lakes, in anhydrous octahedra, called
Thénardite, and also combined with sulphate of lime, as Glauberite. ;
It crystallises in oblique rhombic prisms which belong to the oblique prismatic
system. Its taste is saline, and bitterish. It is very efflorescent, and loses all its
ten equivalents of water by mere exposure to the atmosphere, at common temperatures.
SODA, SULPHITE OF. Na0.S0?+10HO (Wa’*SO’+10H’O). This salt
is prepared largely for removing the last traces of chlorine from the bleached pulp
obtained in the manufacture of paper, and is hence called antichlore.
It is prepared by passing sulphurous acid gas through a solution of carbonate of
‘soda, or on the large scale, by passing sulphurous acid gas, obtained by burning
sulphur in the air, over crystals of carbonate of soda. It crystallises in oblique
‘prisms, and is efflorescent, like the sulphate of soda, which it much resembles. Its
taste is sulphurous, and it possesses a slight alkaline reaction.
A bisulphite of soda also exists, which forms irregular opaque crystals.
SODA-WATER. A favourite beverage, formed by super-saturating a solution
of carbonate of soda with carbonic acid, produced under considerable pressure.
The accompanying wood-engraving represents the improved arrangements of the
soda-water machine, as fixed for use, manufactured by Messrs. J. Tylor and Sons of
2 Newgate Street, London.
1865
To use this machine, it is necessary to fill the solution-pan o, with solution of soda,
about one ounce of bicarbonate of soda to 2 gallons of water. Usually this solution
is made in a large cistern of slate, or wood lined with lead, from which it is con-
veyed to the solution-pan, by means of a pipe and tap. The gasometer-tub (8) is filled
with water up to aconstant level, above which the opening of the pipe coming from the
‘solution-pan is kept, while the other pipe, connected with the generator 2, is kept well
under the water. The bell of the gasometer being down, about 14 lbs, of powdered
whiting is mixed with water, to the consistency of cream, and poured into the generator
(2) till it is about two-thirds full, when it is carefully closed, Next screw the leaden
acid bottle (1) on tothe generator. Take off the small cap on the top of bottle, and put
in about a quart of diluted sulphuric acid—half acid and half water—and replace the
cap. This should be mixed in an open vessel. - Muriatic or nitric acid may be used, if —
sulphuric acid cannot be obtained. Swing the bottle slightly round, causing a little
acid to fall into the whiting and water, at the same time turning round the agitator,
the handle of which is on the top of the generator. As soon as the acid is mixed with
the whiting and water, gas is generated and passes up the pipe into the rising bell,
which it elevates by its pressure. The end of the other pipe is turned down below
the surface of the water, so that the gas passing through it may become cooled and
purified. The operation of making the gas should be conducted slowly, the acid bottle
being so moved that only a small quantity of acid falls into the generator at a time,
otherwise the gas would be generated too quickly, and throw the whiting and water
santo the pipe, and probably injure the generator.
When the addition of acid and the turning of the agitator fails to produce more
gas, then the whiting is exhausted, and must be removed. It is important that this
should be done after each time of using, before the whiting sets hard, or there will he
a difficulty in getting it out, and a liability of straining or breaking the fan of the
Agitator. (ra df da
SOLDERING 865
The first time of using there will be a quantity of air in the bell, which is discharged
by opening the cock.. When the gas has a pungent smell it is fit for use.
The gas-tap and water-tap are provided with index-plates, which regulate the supply
of gas and water to the pump of machine ; they must be partly opened or closed by the
person working the machine to suit the requirements. The machine must not be
worked with the water-tap open alone. The machine being set to work the gas is
drawn down the pipe, which stands above the level of the water, through the other
pipe, and is forced into the condenser (Dp), where an agitator, worked by the spur-
wheel (x), revolving rapidly, mixes it with the water which is drawn from the solution-
pan 0 in like manner. When the pressure is up the safety valve will lift, and soda-
water may be bottled from the nose (Nn). A pressure gaug2 may be recommended
As” Panay useful in enabling the person working the machine to keep the pressure
uniform, :
SODIUM. (Symb. Na; At..Wt. 23.) This metal was discovered by Sir H. Davy,
almost immediately after potassium, and by the same means, viz., by exposing a
piece of moistened hydrate of soda to the action of a powerful voltaic battery, the
alkali being placed between a pair of platinum plates connected with the battery.
By this process only very small quantities can be obtained, but processes have
since been devised which provide it in almost any quantity, and since the demand
for sodium in the manufacture of aluminium by Wohler’s process, principally by the
exertions of M. C. St.-Claire Deville, the cost of it has been considerably diminished.
The process now adopted is the same as that for obtaining potassium. An intimate
mixture of carbonate of soda and charcoal is made by igniting in a covered crucible
a salt of soda containing an organic acid, as the acetate of soda, &c., or by melting
ordinary carbonate of soda in its water of crystallisation and mixing with it, while
liquid, finely-divided charcoal, and evaporating to dryness ; this mixture is mixed with
some lumps of charcoal and placed in a retort, which is generally made of malleable
iron, but owing to the difficulty of getting them sufficiently large, earthenware or fire-
clay retorts have been used with success, and sometimes these are lined with or
contain a trough of malleable iron. These retorts are so placed in a furnace that they
are uniformly kept at a heat approaching to whiteness,
The principal reaction which takes place in the retort, is the reduction of the soda
by the charcoal, which is thus converted into carbonic oxide, which escapes through
an aperture in the receiver made on purpose.
Sodium is a silver-white metal, very much resembling potassium in every respect ;
it is so soft at ordinary temperatures that it may be easily cut with a knife or pressed
between the finger and thumb ; it melts at 194° Fahr., and oxidises rapidly in the air,
though not so rapidly as potassium. Its sp. gr. is 0°972. When placed upon the
surface of cold water it decomposes it with violence, but does not ignite the hydrogen
which is liberated, unless the motion of the sodium be restrained, when the cooling
effect is much less. When a few drops of water are added to sodium the hydrogen
' liberated immediately inflames, and such is also the case if it be put on hot water;
when burning it produces a yellow flame, and yields a solution of soda. The principal
use of sodium is, as before stated, in the manufacture of aluminium, which is now
carried on to a considerable extent.
SODIUM, BROMIDE OF. This salt resembles the bromide of potassium.
SODIUM, CHLORIDE OF. See Sarr.
SODIUM, IODIDE OF. This exists in considerable proportion in the ash of
burnt sea-weeds. See Kerp.
SODIUM, OXIDES OF. When sodium is burnt in oxygen gas or in air, two
different oxides are produced, viz. the protoxide and binoxide. These oxides very
much resemble the corresponding oxides of potassium.
SODIUM, SULPHIDES OF. Several of these are known, resembling the cor-
responding salts of potassium, but they are of no importance in the arts.
SOsA. The legumes of Soja hispida are used in the preparation of soy, and are
imported to this country from India.
SOLANINE. A poisonous alkaloid of doubtful constitution, contained in various
plants of the species Solanum, as S. nigrum, S. Dulcamara, and in the potato (8.
tuberosum). It is remarkable that in the shoots of potatoes which have sprouted
in dark cellars the quantity of solanine is greater than in the shoots which have
germinated normally. Solanine requires reinvestigation.
SOLAZZI JUICE. A name given to the best kind of Spanish liquorice, Solazzi
being the maker’s name. See Liquorice.
SOLDERING. The process of uniting together pieces of metal, by the interposi-
tion of a fusible alloy, which is called either soft or hard solder, according as its
fusing point is low or high, One process is called by its inventor, M. de Richemont,
Von, TD nas & 3K
866 SOY
autogenous, because it takes place by the fusion of the two edges of the metals
themselves, without interposing another metallic alloy, as a bond of union. See
Avtocenous SOLDERING. ‘
SOLDERS. Alloys which are employed for the purpose of joining together metals _
are so called. They are of various kinds, being generally distinguished into hard and
soft. Upon the authority of Holtzappfel, the following receipts for solder are given.
and these have been adopted, because, after a long and particular inquiry in the
workshops, we learn that they are regarded as very superior to any others recom-
mended :—
Pewterers’ Solder, (a) 2 Bismuth, 4 lead, 3 tin. (4) 1 Bismuth, 1 lead, 2 tin,
Soft Spelter Solder. Equal of copper and zine.
Coarse Plumbers’ Solder. (a) 1 tin, 3 lead, melts at about 500° Fahr, (4) 2 tin, 1
lead, melts at about 360° Fahr.
Spelter Solder. 12 ozs. of zine to 16 ozs. of copper.
SOLFERINO. Seo Anitine Rep.
SOMBRERITE. An impure phosphate of lime, from the island of Sombrero, in
the West Indies. It appears to have been produced by the action of water, which having
filtered through guano, has acted on a coral rock, whereby the carbonate of lime of the
coral-limestone has been converted into a phosphate. :
SOORANSEE, called also Morindin, a dye-drug prepared from the root of
the Morinda citrifolia. See Crookes’s ‘Practical Handbook of Dyeing and Calico-
Printing,’ See Aat.
sooT (Noir de fumée, Suie, Fr.; Russ, Flatterruss, Ger.) is the pulverulen
charcoal condensed from the smoke of wood or coal-fuel.
SORBIC ACTD is the same with malic acid. See Maric Acm.
SORGHO. The name of a species of grass, the Holeus or Sorghum saccharatum,
See Broom Corn.
SORGHUM. A sugar-yielding grass has been introduced into the south of
Europe and North America, the cultivation of which has extended with wonderful
rapidity in the United States, in regions far to the north of those adapted to the sugar-
cane. The seeds of this plant are a good grain, similar to the Durra so extensively
cultivated in the East Indies and in Africa. The Durra (Sorghum vulgare), sorgho,
or Indian millet, may be said to be the principal corn-plant of Africa; and the sugar-
grass, or shaloo (Sorghum saccharatum) may be regarded as a superior kind of
Durra.
The sugar-grass was introduced into Europe in 1851 by the Count de Montigny, the
French Consul at Shanghai, who sent a package of seed to the Geographical Society
of Paris, only one seed of which germinated, and from this plant a small quantity of
ripe seed was produced; for eight hundred of which Messrs. Vilmorin, Andrieux,
and Co. seed-merchants in Paris, paid eight hundred francs. Another portion of the
same crop passed into the hands of the Count de Beauregard, and from these sources
this seed was distributed over Europe and to America in 1857. Two years later, «
Mr. Wray took seeds from Africa to America, and two classes are now recognised
there: the Chinese, or sorgo,and the African, or Jmphee. The juice is expressed by mills,
of which there are many kinds in use, wrought either by steam, water, or horses. The
juice, as obtained from the mill, contains many impurities ; dust and earth, small
fragments of cane, and green vegetable-matter ; these are in part removed by filtering
through a straw filter, but more completely by skimming during the process of boiling ;
the syrup thus obtained is of a very good quality. The processes employed in procur-
ing sugar from the sugar-cane in tropical countries are equally applicable in the case
of the sugar-grass.
SOVEREIGN. The sovereign is the standard of value in Great Britain, and its
weight is determined by the law that twenty pounds troy weight of standard gold
shall be coined into 934} sovereigns. To obtain the exact weight of one sovereign,
reduce the pounds to grains and divide by the number of coins. A sovereign is thus
found to weigh 123°2744783306581059 grains, and as it is usual to deliver the coin
to the Bank in journey weights of 701 sovereigns, each journey should weigh, if it be
standard work, 180°0321027287319442215 ounces; and a million sovereigns should
weigh 256821°'8298555377 troy ounces, in round numbers about 7°8618 tons.—G.F.A.
SOY is a liquid condiment, or sauce, imported chiefly from China. It is prepared
with a species of white haricots, wheat-flour, common salt, and water; in the a.
tions respectively of 60, 60, 50, and 250 pounds, The haricots are washed, and boiled
in water till they become so soft as to yield to the fingers. They are then laid in a
fiat dish to cool, and kneaded along with the flour, a little of the hot water of the
decoction being added from time to time. This dough is next spread an inch or an
inch and a half thick upon the flat vessels (made of thin staves of bamboo), and whien
it becomes hot and mouldy, in two or three days, the cover is raised upon bits of stick,
SPECTRUM ANALYSIS 867
to give free access of air, If a rancid odour is exhaled, and the mass grows green,
the process goes on well; but if it grows black, it must be more freely exposed to the
air. As soon as all the surface is covered with green mouldiness, which usually
happens in eight or ten days, the cover is removed, and the matter is placed in the
sunshine for several days. When it has become as hard as a stone, it is cut into
small fragments, thrown into an earthen vessel, and covered with the 250 pounds of
water having the salt dissolved in it. The whole is stirred together, and the height
at which the water stands is noted, The vessel being placed in the sun, its contents
are stirred up every morning and evening ; and a cover is applied at night to keep it
warm and to exclude rain. The more powerful the sun the sooner the soy will be
completed ; but it generally requires two or three of the hottest summer months, As
‘the mass diminishes by evaporation, well-water is added; and the digestion is con-
tinued till the salt-water has dissolved the whole of the flour and the haricots; after
which the vessel is left in the sun for a few days, as the good quality of the soy
depends on the completeness of the solution, which is promoted by regular stirring.
When it has at length assumed an oily appearance, it is poured into bags, and strained.
The clear black liquid is the soy, ready for use.
SPANISH GRASS. Seo Esparto and Paper.
SPAR, HEAVY or PONDEROUS. Sulphate of baryta. See Baryra.
SPARRY IRON ORE, or SPATHIC IRON. (Syn. Chalybite, Siderite,
Siderose, Brown Spar, &c.) Spathose iron ore has been largely worked on the
Brendon Hills, in Somersetshire, and.it is also found on Exmoor, and in Perran-
zabuloe, and at the iron mines on the north coast of Cornwall. It also occurs at
Weardale in Durham. See Iron.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY designates the relative weight of different bodies under
the same bulk: thus a cubic foot of water weighs 1,000 ounces avoirdupois; a
eubie foot of coal, 1,850; a eubie foot of east iron, 7,280; a cubic foot of silver,
10,400; and a cubic foot of pure gold, 19,200: numbers which represent the
specific gravities of the respective substances, compared with water=1,000. See
Graviry, SpEcIFic,
SPECTRUM, Solar or Prismatic. If « pencil of solar light is admitted through
a small hole, into a dark room, and allowed to fall upon the edge of a prism, a beauti-
fully-coloured flame-like image is formed upon the opposite wall; the order of colours
being red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, the red being the least re-
frangible ray, and the violet the most so of the ordinary visible rays. Careful examina-
tion proves the yellow ray to be the most luminous ; the red ray the most calorific ray ;
and the violet to possess the most energetic chemical power. Heat-rays, invisible under
ordinary conditions exist below the red band ; some of them having peculiar powers,
are known as the parathermic rays; and chemical rays extend, with much power, far
beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum. Luminous rays are also rendered visible
at the most refrangible end of the spectrum by throwing the spectral image into a solu-
tion of sulphate of quinine, or on a piece of uranium glass, and some other substances ;
these are called the fluorescent rays. With this brief description of the Newtonian
spectrum, as it is often called, (Sir Isaac Newton, being the first who investigated its
striking phenomena) our readers must be satisfied. . The practical applications of our
knowledge form the subject of the next article.
SPECTRUM ANALYSIS. Dr. Wollaston was the first who observed the ex-
istence of non-luminous spaces or dark lines in the solar spectrum. Dr. Ritchie proved
that these lines were dependent on absorption, and showed how they could be in-
creased in visible numbers by artificial means. Fraunhofer, however, was the first to
make a full investigation of them, and to publish a map of them ; hence they have been
generally called Fraunhofer’s Lines, ’
These lines are of so fixed a character in relation to the coloured bands of the
spectrum, that if it is desired to indicate with great precision any special rays of the
spectrum, they are referred to by letters or numbers. The position the lines occupy
have been determined by a careful examination of the map of Fraunhofer, and the
very complete delineation of those lines published in the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’
for 1859, by Sir David Brewster and Dr. Gladstone. Fraunhofer laid down on his
map 354 lines, but Sir David Brewster says: ‘In the delineations which I have exe-
euted, the spectrum is divided into more than 2,000 visible and easily recognised por-
tions, separated from each other by lines more or less marked,’
The origin of these dark lines,—spaces in which there is no light,—can scarcely be
said to be yet satisfactorily resolved. Fraunhofer, and others following him, thought
that the light emitted from the photosphere was, from the first, deficient in those rays,
or that a were lost, either by absorption in passing through the solar atmosphere,
or obtained possibly in passing through that of the earth. Angstrém, who also dis-
covered many bright lines in the spectra gs artificial lights, advanced some highly
3k
868 SPECTRUM ANALYSIS
philosophical views in 1855. The dark lines of the solar spectrum, and the bright
ones observable in the spectra obtained from artificial lights, were investigated by
Professor Wheatstone, Dr. W. A.. Miller, Mr. Fox Talbot and Sir John Herschel.
These investigators proved that the spectra obtained from the light emitted from in-
candescent mineral bodies differ from that obtained from the sun; that the lines from
artificial sources of light are, in many cases, peculiar; and that, in the majority of in-
stanees, bright lines appear to take their place. So rigidly exact were the positions
and characters of the lines obtained from differently-coloured flames, that both Wheat-
stone and Miller suggested the adoption of spectral or prismatic analysis, as a means
of determining the presence of exceedingly minute quantities of any substance. The
more recent investigation of Bunsen and Kirchoff have, from their high interest, again
drawn attention to this subject. These lines have been employed in the analysis of
the solid mass of the sun itself; and the extreme delicacy of the indications is proved
from the discovery of two new metallic bodies, one called Cesitm (meaning bluish-
grey), and the other Rubidium (from the Latin rubidus, which was used to express the
darkest red colour), which existed in infinitesimally small quantities in some mineral
waters of Germany. Thallium was afterwards discovered by Mr. W. Crookes, and
Indium by Professor Richter, by means of the spectrum. To render the phenomena,
and the hypothesis involved, intelligible within the short space which can be given
to the subject to those who may not have studied it, it is necessary to recapitulate,
and enter a little into detail. The image produced by decomposing a white sun-
beam consists of certain brilliantly-coloured rays, but those rays are crossed by spaces
giving no light. The dark lines are always found in the same places in the solar
spectrum, but they vary in number under different aspects of the sun and varying con-
ditions of the earth’s atmosphere. When the sun shines in its meridian splendour from
a clear sky, the number of dark lines is slightly different from those observed when
the sun, being near the horizon, has to penetrate a greater depth of atmosphere. ‘It
is,’ says Dr. Gladstone, ‘a most beautiful and striking sight to observe the gradual
appearance of those characteristic lines as the sun descends towards the horizon,’
proving that some of these non-luminous spaces are due to terrestrial atmospheric
absorptions. To quote again the same authority: ‘That the earth’s atmosphere has
much to do with the manifestations of those lines, is beyond all question, and the
analogy’ (alluding to some very striking experiments made by Dr. Miller) ‘ of such
gases as nitrous acid or bromine vapour, suggests the idea that they may originate
wholly in the air that encircles our globe,” The spectra, obtained from some artificial
-sources of light, exhibit the coloured rays shading one into the other ; while those
produced by some others consist of a series of luminous bands, separated by dark
spaces ; and chese luminous bands are frequently found to coincide with the dark lines of
the solar spectrum. Dr. W. A. Miller observed that an intense yellow ray observable
in the spectra, obtained from the flames ne oa with soda, lime, strontia, baryta,
zine, iron, and platinum, and, according to Angstrém, in the electric light of every
metal burnt by him, had the same refrangibility as the line p in the solar spectrum.
Pyrotechnic displays will have made the least scientific of our readers acquainted
with the fact, that we may, by burning certain mineral substances, produce very
intensely-coloured lights. Soda, or common culinary salt, gives a monochromatic
yellow; strontia produces the red fires of our theatres; barytes, the pale green of
ghost scenes; copper burns with a green flame, iron with a yellow-brown one, and
lithium with a brilliant crimson. Now, if these flames be examined through a prism,
or if a concentrated pencil from those artificial sources of coloured light be passed
through one, we obtain well-marked spectral images.
The next step in the process of the investigation instructs us in the fact, that the
vapours producing those coloured flames are opaque in their own rays. That is to
say, if ie. so a yellow soda-flame, and from it obtain a spectrum showing the
peculiar lines in their bright yellow colour, and then impregnate the air with some
soda-vapour, by volatilising soda between the flame and the spectrum, the bright
yellow line becomes at once a black line. This holds true for all the substances which
have yet been examined. The coloured bright lines are converted into dark lines, if
the rays from the coloured flames are made to permeate vapours of the samo
constitution as those which produced the particular spectrum under examination.
Kirchoff and Bunsen lay great stress upon the sodium spectrum, as proving the
extreme delicacy of this mode of analysis. The yellow line, the only one seen, is
coincident with the dark line Dof Fraunhofer. This beautiful bright yellow line is
observable when less than 1-20,000,000th of a part of soda-vapour is mixed with air.
From the circumstance of the air of these islands having almost always some
saline matter floating in it, the yellow line of the sodium spectrum is rarely absent.
The lithium spectrum gives two sharply-defined lines: one a bright red, the other
a yellow one, the former apparently corresponding with line five between B and
SPERMACETI 869
C of Brewster's spectrum; it is not easy to determine accurately with which
of the dark lines this yellow line is coincident. Strontium gives six red, one
orange, and one blue line. Calcium and its salts, a bright green line, an intensely
bright orange line, and the paler intermediate bands. Barium gives well-defined
green lines, some yellow lines, varying in intensity, an orange line, and indications
of red,
Incandescent gases and vapours give off light of certain definite degrees of re-
frangibility, or they furnish spectra consisting of certain fixed lines; and those
incandescent gases or vapours absorb light of the same degree of refrangibility as that
which they emit. This is (reasoning by analogy) only the expression in relation to
light of the celebrated statement made in regard to sound, that a body absorbs all the
oscillations which it can propagate.
Spectrum analysis has been applied with success to determine the moment when in
the process of making steel by the Bessemer process the whole of the carbon is exhausted.
For a full account of Spectrum Analysis, see Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry.’
SPECULUM METAL. ‘The metal employed in the mirrors of reflecting
telescopes. The late-Earl of Rosse, who was eminently successful in the production
and polishing of large specula, says, in his paper published in the Transactions of
the Royal Society, ‘Tin and copper, the materials employed by Newton in the first
reflecting telescope, are preferable to any other with which I am acquainted, the best
proportions being 4 atoms of copper to one of tin, in fact, 126°4 parts of copper to
58°9 of tin.’ 5
Mr. Ross remarks that when the alloy for speculum metal is perfect, it should be
white, glassy, and flaky. Copper in excess imparts a reddish tinge, and when tin isin
excess the fracture is granulated and less white. Mx. Ross pours the melted tin into
the copper when it is at the lowest temperature at which a mixture by stirring can be
effected ; then he pours the metal into an ingot, and, to complete the combination,
remelts it in the most gradual manner, by putting the mictal into the furnace almost
as soon as the fire’ is lighted. Trial is made of a small portion taken from the pot
immediately prior to pouring.
SPEISS. A compound of nickel, arsenic, and sulphur, containing small quantities
of cobalt, copper, and antimony; it is found at the bottom of crucibles in which smalt
is manufactured. See Coxatr.
SPELTER or SPELTERUN. Seo Zinc.
SPERMACETI ; the Cetineof Chevreul. Incertain species of the cachalot whale,
as the Physeter macrocephalus, and the tursio, microps, and orthodon, as also the Del-
phinus edentulus, the fat of some parts of their bodies contains a peculiar substance,
called spermaceti. The head is the principal part from whence it is obtained. In the
right side of the nose and upper surface of the head of the whale, is a triangular-
shaped cavity, called by the whaler’s, ‘the case.’ Into this the whalers make an
opening, and take out the liquid contents (oil and spermaceti) by a bucket.
The dense mass of cellular tissue beneath the case and nostril, and which is techni-
eally called the ‘junk,’ also contains spermaceti, with which and oil its tissue is
infiltrated. The spermaceti from the case is carefully boiled alone and placed in
separate casks, when it is called ‘head matter.’ This ‘head matter’ consists of
spermaceti and oil. For the purpose of separating the spermaceti from the oil, it is
cooled, when the spermaceti congeals, and is separated by being thrown into large filter
bags, when the oil filters through, leaving the spermaceti behind; the. solid thus
obtained is subjected to compression in hair-bags, placed in an hydraulic press. It
is then melted in water, and the impurities skimmed off. Then it is remelted in a
weak solution of potash to remove the last particles of oil, washed in water, and fused
in a tub by the agency of steam, laded into tin pans, and allowed slowly to cool, when
it forms a white, semi-transparent, brittle, lamellar, crystalline mass. Commercial
spermaceti usually contains a minute portion of sperm oil, which may be remoyed by
boiling with alcohol ; the spermaceti dissolves and again separates on cooling, in order
to obtain it perfectly pure, this process must be repeated until the alcohol separates no
more oil,
When absolutely pure, spermaceti is a white laminated substance, without taste, and
most odourless, and in this case it is called cetine. By the addition of afew drops
of alcohol or almond oil, it may be powdered. At 60° its sp. gr. is 0°943. Itmelts
at 120°, and at 670° may be sublimed unchanged. It is insoluble in water, slightly
soluble in alcohol, and much more so in ether; it is also soluble in the fatty and
volatile oils, and if the solution be saturated when hot, the greater part of the sper-
-maceti separates on cooling.
Spermaceti is only saponified with difficulty, in which process it is separated into
two distinct substances: one, C**H*'0? (C'E@), belonging to the series of alcohcls,
is called cetylic (ethalic) alcohol ; and the other cetylic (ethalic) acid, C*° HO! (CG 9257Q*);
870 | SPINET, THE
the first is a crystallisable fat, whose melting point is nearly the same as that of sper-
maceti itself, but it is much more soluble in alcohol ; it is readily sublimed without
decomposition, Cetylic acid stands to cetylic alcohol in the same relation as acetic
acid to ordinary alcohol, and may be actually procured from it by oxidation. It re-
sembles in many respects margaric acid. By oxidation by nitric acid spermaceti yields
a large quantity of succinic acid.
Spermaceti is a cetylate of oxide of cetyl, and represents in the cetyl series the
acetic ether of the common alcohol series. It may also be regarded as a palmitate -
of cetyl.
| SPERM WHALE. Physeter macrocephalus, The animal inhabiting the
Pacific and Indian Oceans which produces the sperm oil and spermaceti.
SPHENE. A compound of titanate and silicate of lime. See Trranrum.
SPHEROIDAL STATE. The name given by Boutigny to the condition assumed
by water when projected upon red-hot plates orinto red-hot vessels. The fluid gathers
into a spheroidal drop, moving with a quick intestinal motion, but under this condition
the temperature never rises to the boiling point. See Evaroration.
SPICES. See the separate articles on different kinds of spice.
The Spices imported in 1878 and 1874 of which we have returns are the followmg :
1873 1874
Quantities Value Quantities Value
Cinnamon . ‘: 5 . Ibs. | 1,078.758 | 116,144 | 1,204,622 | 129,161
Ginger (raw) . - . cwts. 36,363 97,548 38,750 | 117,987
Pepper . : ‘ . lbs. |26,824,828 | 818,487 19,596,843 | 563,896
Unenumerated . fs - 4, | 6,601,893 | 229,958 eve ele
‘SPIEGELEISEN. A term applied to a particular variety of highly carburised pig-
iron, usually containing a proportion of manganese, It is produced when smelting ores
containing iron and manganese, under conditions which, with ordinary ores, would
produce grey iron; that is with a large proportion of fuel to charge, very basic slags
from the use of a large quantity of flux, and dense and hot blast. The name is derived
from the largely facetted structure of the fracture, which resembles plates of glass. The
structure is developed by cooling the iron under the slag, and is not indicative of the
proportion of manganese. The amount of carbon is a maximum of 6 per cent., whilst the
manganese may reach 15 per cent. Beyond this amount the carbon diminishes, and
the bladed structure disappears, while the alloy becomes known as ferro-manganese.
The principal localities for the manufacture are in the Rhenish provinces of Prussia,
where it is made from the spathic ores of Siegen, mixed with brown and red iron-ores
of the same locality, and from foreign countries ; low-class manganese-ores from Nassau
being used to increase the proportion of manganese when deficient. Under favourable
circumstances from } to 4 of the manganese in the charge passes into the slag; whilst
from 3 to} is reduced. In this country the ore used is principally the manganesi-
ferous brown ores of Carthagena, or mixtures of iron-ores with others containing
manganese, The average of the best Rhenish spiegeleisen contains about 10 per cent.
of manganese. It was formerly used for re-carburizing the overblown metal in the
Bessemer converter, but now an alloy richer in manganese is generally preferred. The
lower quality of spiegeleisen is used for conversion into wrought iron in the puddling
furnace.
Spiegeleisen is made in America from Franklinite, and in Sweden from Knebelite.
As the conditions of working are similar to those in producing grey iron all the phos-
phorus contained in the ore will be reduced; it is therefore necessary to be as careful
in selecting the materials for spiegeleisen as in making Bessemer pig-iron.
The iron made from ores with a smaller proportion of manganese than can be used
for making spiegeleisen is known as spiegelig or weiss-strahlig, which has either small
facetted, or a columnar, fracture. A pig-iron of this class, containing about 2 per cent.
of manganese, is made at Weardale, in Durham, from the spathic ores in the lead mines
of that district. See Stren.
SPINDLE-TREE OIL. See Ors.
SPINEL or SPINELLE. Sce Rusy.
SPINET, THE. A musical instrument which was much admired by our
grandmothers. It had some resemblance in shape to a modern semi-grand piano, but
was much smaller, and, though sufficiently pleasing, very much less effective in tone.
It was played similarly to the modern method, by means of keys putting in motion a
SPINNING 871
mechanism to touch a single string, which emitted the sound on being struck. The
instrument being small, and its mechanism slight and simple, its price was propor-
tionately moderate, and the spinet was thus within the reach of those who could not
afford the more pretentious and elaborate harpsichord.
The Clavicord was a similar instrument, but smaller; and instead of being struck by
a jack, the strings were pressed by brass-pins projecting from the end of the keys.
It was sometimes called a clarichord, and occasionally the manuchord. Under these
names, the spinet is often confounded.
SPINNING. The greatest improvement hitherto made in forming textile fabrics,
since the era of Arkwright, is due to Mr. G. Bodmer of Manchester. By his patent
inventions, the several organs of a spinning-factory are united in one self-acting and
self-supplying body—a system most truly automatic. His most comprehensive patent
was obtained in 1824, and was prolonged by the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council, for 7 years after the period of 14 years was expired. It contained the first
development of a plan by which fibres of cotton, flax, &c., were lapped and unlapped
through all the operations of cleaning and blowing, carding, drawing, roving, and
spinning ; in the latter, however, only as far as the operation of feeding is concerned.
The patent of 1824 was the beginning; the result of which was several other patents
for improvements,
By a machine generally called 1866
a Devil or Opener (‘Wolf? in
German), which consists of a
feeding-plate set with teeth, and
a roller covered with spikes (see i
fig. 1866), the cotton is cleared: 7
from its heaviest dirt and opened.
This machine delivers the cotton
into a room or on toa travelling-
cloth, from which it is taken, \\
weighed in certain portions, and
spread upen cloth in equal por-
tions; this is then rolled up, and
placed behind the first blower.
The first blower has a feeding-
plate like fig. 1867 without teeth, | ©
and over this plate the cotton is
delivered to the operation of the
common beaters, from which it is received into a narrow compartment of 4} or 5
inches broad, and wound, by means of his lap-machines, upon rollers in beautifully
level and well-cleaned lays. Hight of these narrow laps are then placed behind a
second blower, of a similar construction to the first. Instead of the common beater,
however, a drum with toothed straight edges is used (see jig. 1868), which opens the
1867
cotton still more, and separates the fibres trom one another. The cotton is again
formed into similar narrow laps, which are still more equal than the preceding ones,
and eight of these laps are then placed behind the carding-engines, It was only
by applying the lap-machine, that he succeeded in forming small laps on the blower ;
without this the doffing of the laps without stopping the wire-cloth could not be
effected, and in doing this, an irregular lap would be formed, because of the accumu-
lating of the falling cotton in one place while the wire-cloth was standing.
872) SPINNING >a
' Carding Engime.—When a set of cards work together, any interruption or stoppage
of a single carding-engine causes a defect in the produce of the whole lap, Interrup-
tions occurred several times a day by the stripping of the main cylinder, and during
this operation, the missing band or silver was supplied out of a can, being the produce
of a single carding-engine working into cans (a spare card), The more objectionable
defect was, however, the difference of the product of the carding-engine after the main.
cylinder had been stripped; the band or silver from it will be thin and light, until
the cards of the main cylinder are again sufficiently filled with cotton, when the band
will again assume its proper thickness, Another irregularity was caused by the strip-
ping of the flats or top cards, but was not so fatal as the first one. These defects
were, of course, a serious drawback to the system of working, the latter of which was
provided against by stripping the top cards by mechanism ; the former was conquered
by the invention of the self-strippers for the main cylinders; thus the carding-engine
may now work from Monday morning to Saturday night without interruption, the
cylinders requiring only to be brushed out every cvening; the consequence is, that
much time is gained, and a very equal, clean, and clear product is obtained, Old
carding-engines to which he applied his feeders (see fig. 1869) and main cylinder-
clearers produce much superior work, and increase the production from 18 to 24 per
cent.
The main cylinder-clearer consists of a very light’ cast-iron cylinder, upon which
five, six, or more sets of wire-brushes are fixed, which are caused to travel to and fro
across the main cylinder; the surface or periphery of the brushes overrunning the
1869 1871
~~
1870
eau | E
surface or periphery of the main cylinder by 8 or 19 per cent., the brushes thus
lifting the cotton out of the teeth of the cards of the main cylinder, and causing the
dirt and lumps to fall. P
As the brushes are not above a quarter-inch in breadth and travel to and fro, it is
clear that no irregularity can take place in the fleece which comes from the doffer;
not more than 1-40th part of the breadth of the cylinder being acted upon at the same 4.
time. Figs. 1870, 1871, giye an idea of the clearer: the mechanism within the
clearer, and by which the brushes are caused to travel is simple and solid. The main
cylinders for the carding-engines are made of cast iron, the two sets of arms and rims q
Ms 4p in the same piece; when complete, they weigh 50 Ibs. less than those made of
wood,
The lap machine connected with these engines is almost self-acting ; a girl has only
to turn a crank when the lap is full; by this turn the full lap is removed, and an
empty roller put in its place, the band of cotton is cut, and no waste is made.
Drawing Frame.—The laps from the carding-engine lap-machine are put upon de-
livering rollers, behind a set. of drawing rollers, and from them delivered upon a belt
or trough, and again formed into laps similar to those from the carding-engines. The
next operation formed the laps into untwisted rovings, and the next again into smaller
untwisted rovings, or rovings with false twist in them. The false twist was objection-
able, and a number of -rovings on the same bobbin, with left and right permanent
twist in them was adopted. This does very well; there is, however, a little objection
to that place in which the twist changes from right to left when it comes to the last
operation before spinning. The left and right hand twist is confined to the drawing-
frame, which converts two laps into one roving, and forms a roller or bobbin of 14
SPINNING
inches diameter and 15 inches broad, with six separate and twisted rovings
wound upon it, (See figs. 1872, and 1872a.) The twist is given by tubes in two
directions, so that it remains in it (see fig. 1872a), the tube turns in the same
873.
direction, while the roving advances 4 or
5 inches, and then turns in the other
direction, These laps or bobbins are then
placed behind a machine, which he calls
a coil-frame, the most important arrange-
ment of which he claimed already in his
patent of 1835. It consists of a slot, with
a travelling spout, without which the coils
cannot be formed under pressure.
Coil Frame.—The bobbins (fig. 1872)
are placed behind this machine, and two
ends from the bobbin are passed through
the drawing rollers, and formed into one
untwisted silver or roving in the follow-
ing manner :— When the cotton has passed
through the drawing rollers and calender
rollers, A, (see fig. 1873) itis passed through
the tube, B, and the finger, c; the spindle
with its dise, p, revolves in such a propor-
tion as to take up the cotton which pro-
ceeds from the calendar rollers, a, and
cause the rovings to be laid down in a
spiral line closely, one by one; and as the
rollers, A, work at a regular speed, it is
evident that the motion of the finger, c,
and the speed of the tube, B, must vary ac-
cordingly. The coil, x, is stationary, and is
pressed by the lid or top, ¥, which slides
up the spindle, a, made of tin-plate. The
cotton enters through the slot, x, fig. 1873.
It is quite evident that the finger, c, and
spindle, c, only perform one and the same
varying motion, which is repeated at every
fresh layer, and the coil is thus built from
below; it is about 8 inches in diameter
and 18 inches high when compressed, and
contains 43. lbs. of cotton. There are
several modes of forming these coils, but
one only is shown here, ‘These coils are
laced behind the twist-coil frames in
alf-cans or partly open ones or troughs, :
or behind a winding machine, where they
are wound upon rollers side by side, like
the lap or bobbin shown in the drawing
frame, and placed behind the twist-coil
frame in this state, ©
ae
874 SPINNING
. Twist-coil Frame.—This frame forms rovings into coils similar to those above
explained, with this difference: that the rovings are fine, say, from 1 to 10 hanks per
pound, and. regularly twisted ; their diameter varies from 24 to 5 inches. The same
machines produce rovings more or less fine, Lut the diameter of the coils does not
differ. The différence of this machine from that above described consists in the
dimensions of their parts, and in its having the spindle, G, and ‘the lid or top, F,
revolving, as well as the tube, B. (See fig. 1874.) In this machine the motion of the
spindle, B, is uniform: the spindle, c, however, is connected by the bevel-wheels,
and 1, with a differential motion at the end of the frame, with which the motion of the
finger, c, corresponds. The skew-wheels, x and 1, are connected with the drawing
rollers, A. The speed of the tube, s, and the spindle, G, are so proportioned, that
while the spindle, G, performs one revolution, and therefore puts one twist into the
roving, the tube, B, also performs one revolution, missing so much as will be required
to pass through the slot in the cap or disc, p, and lay on it as much of the roving as
proceeds from the rollers, a, and in which one twist is contained. Of course the
I 1874
getty 1875
éO in
66
twist of these rovings can be adapted to their fineness and varied; but it is evident
that, on account of the regularity of the machine and its simplicity of movement, the
rovings can never be stretched, and much less twist can be put into them than can be
put in the common fly-frames. These coils are put behind the spinning machines on
shelves or in small cans, open in front; or they are wound from 24 to 72 ends upon
bobbins, and placed upon unlap rollers behind the spinning frames.
Coiling Machine for Garding Engines and Drawing Frames.—These are simple
machines, which may be applied to carding engines or drawing frames of any d
tion. They form large coils, 9 inches in diameter and 22 inches long, when on
machine. There are two spindles (see a, fig. 1875) on each machine, for the purpose
of doffing without stopping the drawing frame and carding engines. When one coil
is filled, the finger, }, is just brought over to the other spindle, so that the full coil is
nope and the new one begins to be formed without the slightest interruption of the
machine. .
Coils are formed in various ways, also in cans; but this description is sufficient to
SPINNING. . 875
show the application of this mode of winding up bands or rovings. Several of the
above-described machines are adapted with equal success to wool and flax. Winding
directly from the carding engines the slivers separately upon long bobbins, twist is
given in two directions, for the purpose of uniting the fibres to some extent, so that
they may not only come off the bobbins without sticking to one another, but also that
they may draw smoother. Another machineis used by which several rovings, say 4 or
more, are put upon the same bobbin with conical ends; these bobbins are placed be-
hind the mules or throstles, and are unwound by a belt or strap running parallel with
the fluted rollers of the spinning machine, as seen in fig. 1876. The belt or band, a,
is worked in a similar way to that described in a former patent, and the bobbins, s,
rest upon and revolve upon their surface, exactly according to the speed of the belt.
The most important feature in the roving machine is a metal plate, in which a slot is
formed through which the rovings pass; this slot is seen in figs. 1877, 1878, and 1879.
1876
VA | Nea
The cotton, when coming from the drawing rollers, is passed through the twisters, c,
and through the slot in the plate, p. Any convenient number of neatly-formed and
perfectly separate coils ¢an be put upon the wooden barrel or bobbin. The bobbin
formed upon these machines is represented in fig. 1880, and the conical ends are
formed by a mechanism, by which the twisters, c, are caused to approach a little more
to one another, after each layer of rovings has been coiled round the barrel: the
section of the bobbin is, therefore, like that shown in fig. 1880.
Rovings wound upon bobbins by means of tubes revolving in one direction are
certainly not so fit for spinning as rovings into which a small degree of twist is put.
The tube by which a twist is put in on one side and taken out at the other, curls or
ruffies the cotton, and causes it to spread out as it passes between the rollers, while
rovings with a prised ase Gare twist’ in them are held together in the process of
drawing, and thus produce smooth yarn. To remedy the evil above described, when
untwisted rovings are used, the spouts or guides, through which the rovings pass into
or between the drawing rollers, aré made to revolve slowly, first in one, and then in
the other direction, and thus a certain quantity of twist is put into the rovings while
they are being prepared for spinning.
There is a little defect in the working of the rovings with reversed twist when too
much or too little twist is put in them, or when the winding machine is not kept in
‘good order. This defect proceeds from the change in the twist of the roving seen at
‘A, fig. 1881; in this place the twist is not like that at B, and it would in some parts
876 . SPINNING
of the yarn, be detected under circumstances just described, In cases where double
rovings are used, the twisters are so arranged as to put the twist in the rovings,
1881
A Men:
SSS eee
as shown in jig. 1882; in this case the reversing place of one roving meets the twisted
place of the other, and the fault is completely rectified. .
A self-actor, namely a machine in itself, which can bo attached to 2, 3, or even 4
mules of almost any convenient number of spindles is sometimes employed. The
1882
esa SS
———— —— — = tall
mules are previously stripped of all their mechanism, except the rollers and their
wheels, the carriage and spindles; all the other movements ordinarily combined with
the mule are contained in the machine, which is placed between a set of mules, as
1883 . 1884
ee Pa VEEL Teo
seen in fig. 1883 ; a and 3, the self-
L ~ actors, to each of which 3 mules
are yoked, and which are connected
by bands and shafts with the self-
[ — actor, or rather partly self-actor.
T : A girl of fifteen or sixteen years
old stands at x between a and 4,
and never leaves her soe except,
perhaps, for aiding in doffing or in
rej xe Tonting the spindles. The gear-
ing of the room acts by means of
a aol straps upon the machines @ and 6,
tke | and from these machines all the
movements are given to the six
mules, namely, the motion of the
C 1 rollers, the spindles, the drawing
] out of the carriage, the after draft,
&c. When the carriages are to be
put up, the girl takes hold of two
levers of the machine a, and by
tee J moving them in certain proportions,
Ts | ~— acts upon two cones and pulleys,
and thus causes, in the most easy
1885 and certain manner, the carriages
to run in and the yarn to be wound
on the spindles. The first machine
made for this purpose was com-
pletely self-acting, but it was found
that the mechanism was more
complicated and apt to get out of
order; and as it was necessary to
have a girl of a certain age to watch
over the piecers for a certain number.
of mules, the simplified machine
YO above described was adopted ; plac-
~ ing the girl near these machines,
= from whence the whole set of mules
attached to the same can be over-
looked; as the ereels behind the mules are not wanted in this system, this impedi-
ment to the sight of the girl would be removed.
_ Bastard Frame.—The simple bastard frame is a throstle with mule spindles, form-
ing cops, as seen in fig. 1884, and wound so hard that they ean be handled abont
———
SPLINT COAL
877
without any danger of spoiling them; in the same dimensions they contain one-third
more yarn than the best cops of self-actors. ‘The machine is extremely simple; but
with them they are not able to spin ad-
vantageously upon large machines above No.
20’s. The quantity this machinery produces
is nearly one-third more than the best self-
actor, on an equal number of spindles, and
the yarn and cops are much superior. Of
course there is a copping motion connected
with the machine: the winding, however,
is continuous, as well as the twisting, and
jigs. 1885 and 1886 will give the reader an
idea of the frame. The yarn coming from
the rollers, a, goes Grcigah
‘
A 1886
an eye, B, to the wire, c, fixed in the
flyer, D, and from thence on the mule spindle, x: as the spindle
revolves, the flyer is dragged along, and by its centrifugal power
winds the yarn tight upon the spindles,
SPIRATOR. Sce Asrrrator.
SPIRIT OF AMMONIA. The namo usually given to the
solution of ammonia. It should, strictly speaking, be confined to
the solution in spirit only. See Asmonta,
SPIRIT OF SALT.
SPIRITS OF WINE. See Atconor,
SPIRITS, VINOUS. Seo AtconoL, FERMENTATION, WINE, &c.
See Hyprocuioric Aci,
The Revenue produced by spirits in F E
1868-69 amounted to . £10,556,218
1869-70 i 10,969,188
1870-71 rf 11,463,899
The Rate of duty in 1870-71 was 10s, the gallon. The quantity
charged with duty was :—
Years In England and Wales In Ireland Tn Scotland
gals. gals. gals.
1868-69 9,056,094 5,762,594 7,111,705
1869-70 9,359,946 6,087,684 7,457,599
1870-71 9,637,339 6,448,413 7,757,696
The Quantity distilled during the year :—
1868-69 1869-70 1870-71
gals. gals, gals,
England and Wales » ~ 7,190,380 7,280,088 7,576,495
Scotland. ° . 12,197,087 13,799,071 14,501,983
Ireland . 6,010,764 6,599,636 8,873,545
25,398,231 27,678,795 30,952,023
The Value of British spirits shipped as merchandise, not including ships’ stores :
Years £ Years £
1866 . - 151,073 1870 . » 183,291
1867 . + 289,206 1871 . 200,570
1868 . 257,565 1872 . 236,186
1869 . . - 209,953 1873 . 210,964
Spirits Imported in 1874 :-—. Proof gals. Value
Rum. : ° . 8,188,456 £922,083
home consumption . ‘ 5,194,793 don
Brandy’ 7 rey NS hy 3,401,838 1,460,073
home consumption . ‘ : . 4,808,816 pat
Other sorts Sihies.s F : . 2,192,965 229,872
home consumption. . ‘ 1,131,603 vi
Spirits, British and Irish, Exported in 1874,
1,213,314 gallons; value £151,665.
SPLINT COAL. Sometimes Splent. A term, originating in Scotland, and
applied to a hard and sometimes imperfectly-laminated variety of bituminous coal.
The name appears to be derived from its splitting (Scot. splenting) up into flakes, or
lamine. The splint coals are a valuable variety, since they burn with great heat,
and do not cake, -,... sek
A. K ob oy
878 SPONGE
SPONGE. (Eponge, Fr.; Schwamm, Ger.) Although for a long time it-was a
disputed point whether the sponge of commerce belonged to the animal or the veget-
able kingdom, its animal nature is now-well proved, and sponges are regarded as a
family of animals forming a class by themselves, Porifera or Spongide.
The sponge consists of a soft gelatinous mass, mostly supported by an internal
skeleton composed of reticularly anastomosing horny fibres, in or among which are
usually imbedded siliceous or calcareous spicula. Sponges are mostly marine; two
or three species only being found in fresh water. In the living state they possess
lively colours, and usually grow in groups, upon rock, shells, polypes, crustacea,
and occasionally on sea-weeds. The horny fibres forming the skeletons of sponges
are cylindrical and variously united, so as to form a network, often of great beauty.
By dissolving the chalk from the sponge-formed fossil in that formation, many very
delicate and regular systems of meshes may be obtained. Some beautiful siliceous
sponge-skeletons have been brought to this country from the Japanese seas. The
gelatinous substance covering the skeleton of sponges resembles the sarecode of which
the Amebe are composed, and appears to consist of minute ‘sponge particles,’ those
lining the internal chambers being furnished with cilia. During life, by means of
these, water, entering by the small apertures, or pores, and reaching the channels, is
expelled in intermittent currents through the large ‘ oseula.’ Sponges are fixed by
a kind of root, by which they hold firmly to any surface upon which they once fix
themselves. Sponges may be propagated by division, but more usually by gemmules,
which detach themselves from the parent body, and float about until they find a
fitting resting-place, when they fix themselves and grow. Sponges adhere firmly to
the rocks or other bodies upon which they grow, and are not to be detached without
considerable trouble. The inhabitants of the Grecian Archipelago are trained from
infancy to dive for these substances. Naturalists distinguish three kinds of sponges,
each of which is composed of many species, and these form as many groups or divi-
sions. The genus Spongia, which comprehends the sponges of commerce, is the type.
The siliceous sponges, Silicea, have the body, or gelatinous portion, curiously strength-
ened with siliceous spicula. Thecaleareous sponges, Calearea, have spicula of carbo-
nate of lime supporting a sub-cartilaginous substance, which is not so soft as the
coverings of the other sponges. The horny sponges, Cornea, have no spicula, the
body is very porous and elastic, being composed of a fibro-corneous skeleton, the parts
of which communicate with each other in all directions.
The sponges of commerce are obtained from the Mediterranean, Smyrna being the
principal mart. Sponges are treated with muriatic (hydrochloric) acid to remove the
lime ; they are then dried, well beaten, and again soaked in water, which is frequently
changed. Very inferior sponges are prepared for the English market by bleaching,
either ith hydrochloric acid or chlorine. By this means a very good colour is pro-
duced, but the sponge is rendered very rotten.
An interesting account of the sponge fishery of the Ottoman Archipelago, by
M. Bilioti, the British Vice-Consul at Rhodes, appeared in the Technologist, from
which the following particulars are abstracted:— ‘Sponges form ‘the principal
article of exportation from this district, and a great portion of them is sent to Great
Britain. There are nearly as many different qualities of fine, common, and coarse
sponges as there are spots of fishery. The sponges in this quarter are known in
commerce by the names of the respective coasts where the inhabitants of the islands
of the Ottoman Archipelago dive for sponges. These may be divided into fivo
categories, besides the ordinary classification of fine, common, and coarse.
Merchants when they purchase sponges take into consideration the form, size, and
colour, the quantity of extraneous matter, such as stones and sand, which come out in
proportion of their being washed more or less when fished. All this renders the trade
very difficult, the more so as (with the exception of Mandruha and Bengazi, which are
sold at so much a piece) the sponges are usually sold ina lump. Latterly the divers
have offered their sponges for sale without sanding them (finding that it was no profit
to do so), and the merchants again purchase them by weight. _ :
A French savant, M. Artus, has been experimenting on the bleaching of sponges.
Some good sponges were well washed in river-water. Whilst still wet, they were
placed in a bath of six parts water and one ‘part commercial hydrochloric acid, and
were allowed to remain until all the carbonic acid gas was discharged. They were
then washed again, and afterwards strung together and immersed in hydrochloric
acid diluted with 6 per cent. of hyposulphite of soda dissolved in water. The vessel
was then closed and left for 48 hours, when the sponges were taken out, washed and
dried. M. Artus tried another experiment in which the quantity of hyposulphite of
soda was doubled. In a third experiment the sponges were, on removal from the
bath, treated with hydrochloric acid, subsequently washed, and then exposed to
sulphurous acid gas, The sponges, however, by each of these processes were not
STAINED GLASS 879 —
thoroughly bleached, and a fourth method was tried. The sponges were well washed
in hot diluted soda-lye, then placed in a bath of weak hydrochloric acid and hypo-
sulphite of soda, using only half the quantity of hyposulphite that was used in the
first experiment, and a very satisfactory result was thus obtained,
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. Major Majendie has recently (1574) com-
municated to the Royal Artillery Institute some interesting experiments made by Mr.
Galletly on this subject. It was found that eotton-waste, soaked in boiled linseed oil
and wrung out, if exposed to a temperature of 170° Fahr., oxidised in 105 minutes,
Raw linseed oil required from four to five hours before igniting ; rape and olive oils
five to six hours; lard oil four hours; castor oil one day; and, in one trial, olive oil
ignited in 100 minutes. Sperm oil did not char the waste. His theory is, that the
oil by being spread and finely divided among the fibres of the waste, has its absorbent
power towdtds oxygen greatly increased, much as a bloom of iron will oxidise rapidly
in process of manufacture if exposed to the air. It was also found that ignition took
place more quickly with silk waste than with cotton. A scientific journal, commenting
on this report, declares that the sperm oil of the experiment must have been adulterated
with petroleum, which has a tendency to repress such oxidation, as it has been proved
by aes trials that sperm oil will rapidly absorb oxygen as certainly as other oils;
but no case of spontaneous combustion has yet been reported from coal oils.
Many fires have occurred in woollen and cotton mills from the careless leaving of oily
waste in warm places, especially during the summer months, and for safety it is
necessary that such waste be removed daily. Shoddy mills, where the rags after
being oiled are torn into fibre, are especially dangerous, as either from inferior oil
used, or the adulteration of No. 1 lard oil with the dangerous cotton-seed oil, the
shoddy often takes fire in the bags before leaving the works, or soon after reaching
the mill where it is to be manufactured, Two other causes may aid in causing such
fires: packing the material too soon and too tight, and putting on too much oil. The
latter is a profitable arrangement, and too much practised. The only safety for those
buying is to examine the heat of each lot as received, and, if possible, open out into
a pile; or, if not, let each bag be slit open and exposed to the air. The Editor of
this Dictionary was called upon to investigate the causes which led to the destruction
by fire of H.M. ships the ‘Imogene’ and the ‘ Talavera’ in Devonport dockyard. He
traced it, beyond all question, to a large bin, in which, with great carelessness, oil,
anti-attrition, oakum, and tow, which had been used by the shipwrights and others in
wiping the oil from their tools after sharpening them, had been allowed to accumulate ;
and reported to this effect to the Admiralty.
Spontaneous combustion, arising from the rapid absorption of oxygen by the fixed
oils, except petroleum, is now attracting much attention, and cannot be too much im-
pressed on the public mind. The recent fire at Portland, Maine, is declared to have
arisen from the leakage of linseed oil, stored alongside of rags. In May last two
fires, discovered first in the stable, and afterwards in the dwelling of a gentleman at
Bedford, Pa., were traced directly to rags saturated with linseed oil, which painters
who had been graining shutters had thrown into corners. At Jamestown, New York,
a workman, who had been cleaning furniture with linseed oil, threw aside his oily
apron crumpled together, and in a short time it was found in a state of ignition,
SPOON MANUFACTURE. Sce Srampine or Merats.
SPRUCE BEER is prepared as follows :—Essence of spruce, half a pint ; pimento
and ginger bruised, of each 4 ounces; hops, from 4 to 3 ounces; water, 3 gallons.
Boil for ten minutes, then strain and add 11 gallons of warm water, a pint of yeast,
and 6 pints of molasses. Mix and allow the mixture to ferment for twenty hours.
SPRUCE, ESSENCE OF, is prepared by boiling the young tops of the Abies
nigra, or black spruce, in water, and concentrating the decoction by evaporation,
STAINED GLASS. Under Guass, a general account of the processes for
‘eolouring glass has been given; for the manufacture, however, of stained glass for
windows some special details have been reserved for this place. When certain
metallic oxides or chlorides, ground up with proper fluxes, are painted upon glass,
their colours fuse into its surface at a moderate heat and make durable pictures, which
are frequently employed in ornamenting the windows of churches, as well as of other
public and private buildings, The colours of stained glass are all transparent, and
are therefore to be viewed only by transmitted light. Many metallic pigments, which
afford a fine effect when applied cold on canvas or paper, are so changed by vitreous
fusion as to be quite inapplicable to painting in stained glass.
The glass proper for receiving these vitrifying pigments should be colourless, uni-
form, and difficult of fusion; for which reason crown glass, made with little alkali,
or with kelp, is preferred. When the design is too large to be contained on a single
pane, several are fitted together and fixed in a bed of soft cement while painting, and
then taken asunder to be separately subjected to the fire. In arranging the glass
\
880 STAINED GLASS
ieces, care must be taken to distribute the joinings, so that the lead frame-work may
interfere as little as possible with the effect.
A design must be drawn upon paper, and placed boneath the plate of glass ; though
the artist cannot regulate his tints directly by his pallet, but by specimens of the
colours producible from his pallet pigments after they are fired. The upperside of the
glass being sponged over with gum-water, affords, when dry, a surface proper for
receiving the colours, without the risk of their running irregularly, as they would be
apt to do, on the slippery glass. The artist first draws on the plate with a fine pencil
all the traces which mark the great outlines and shades of the figures. ‘This is usually
done in black, or at least, some strong colour, such as brown, blue, green, or red, In
laying on these the painter is guided by the same principles as the engraver, when he
produces the effect of light and shade by dots, lines, or hatches; and he employs that
colour to produce the shades, which will harmonise best with the colour which is to be
afterwards applied ; but for the deeper shades, black is in general used. When this is
finished, the whole picture will be represented in lines or hatches similar to an engraving
finished up to the highest effect possible; and afterwards, when itis dry, the vitrifying
colours are laid on by means of larger hair-pencils ; their selection being regulated
by the burnt specimen tints. When he finds it necessary to lay two colours adjoining,
which are apt to run together in the kiln, he must apply one of them to the back of
the glass. But the few principal colours to be presently mentioned, ure all fast colours
which do not run, except the yellow, which must therefore be laid on the opposite side.
After colouring, the artist proceeds to bring out the lighter effects by taking off the
colour in the proper place, with a goose-quill cut like a pen without a slit. By
working this upon the glass, he removes the colour from the parts where the lights
should be the strongest ; such as the hair, eyes, the reflection of bright surfaces, and
light parts of draperies. The blank pen may be employed either to make the lights
by lines, or hatches and dots, as is most suitable to the subject.
By the metallic preparations now laid upon it, the glass is made ready for being
fired, in order to fix and bring out the proper colours, The furnace or kiln best
adapted for this purpose, is similar to that used by enamellers. (See Examen, and the
Glaze-kiln, under Porrery.) It consists of a muffle or arch of fire-clay or pottery, so
set over a fire-place, and so surrounded by flues, as to receive a very considerable heat
within, in the most equable and regular manner: otherwise, some parts of the glass
will be melted; while, on others, the superficial film of colours will remain unvitrified.
The mouth of the muffle, and the entry for introducing fuel to the fire, should be on
opposite sides, to prevent as much as possible the admission of dust into the muffle,
whose mouth should be closed with double-folding doors of iron, furnished with small
peep-holes, to allow the artist to watch the progress of the staining, and to withdraw
small trial slips of glass, painted with the principal tints used in the picture.
The muffle must be made of very refractory fire-clay, flat at its bottom, and only 5
or 6 inches high, with such an arched top as may make the roof strong, and so close
on all sides as to exclude entirely the smoke and flame. On the bottom of the muffle
a smooth bed of sifted lime, freed from water, about half an inch thick, must be pre-
pared for receiving the pane of glass. Sometimes several plates of glass are laid over
each other with a layer of dry pulverulent lime between each. The fire is now
lighted, and most gradually raised, lest the glass should be broken; and after it has
attained to its full heat, it must be kept for three or four hours, more or less, according
to the indications of the trial slips ; the yellow colour being principally watched, as it
is found ta be the best criterion of the state of the others. When the colours are
properly burnt in, the fire is suffered to die away slowly, so as to anneal the glass.
STAINED GLASS-PIGMENTS. [lesh colour.—Take an ounce of red -lead,
two ounces of red enamel (Venetian glass enamel, from alum and copperas caleined
together), grind them to fine powder, and work this up with spirits (alcohol) upon a
hard stone. When slightly baked, this produces a fine flesh colour.
Black colour.—Take 14} ounces of smithy scales of iron, mix them with two
ounces of white glass (crystal), an ounce of antimony, and half an ounce of manganese ;
pound and grind these ingredients together with strong vinegar. A brilliant black
may also be obtained by a mixture of cobalt blue with the oxides of manganese and
iron. Another black is made from three parts of crystal glass, two parts of oxide of
‘copper, and one of (glass of) antimony worked up together, as above.
Brown colour.—An ounce of white glass or enamel, half an ounce of good man-
ganese; ground together. :
Red, Rose, and Brown colours are made from peroxide of iron, prepared by nitric
acid, The flux consists of borax, sand, and minium in small quantity.
Red colour may be likewise obtained from one ounce of red chalk pounded, mixed
with two ounces of white hard enamel, and a little peroxide of copper.
A red may also be composed of rust of iron, glass of antimony, yellow glass of lead,
STAINED GLASS 881
such as is used by potters (or litharge), each in little quantity ; to which a little sul-
phuret of silver is added, This composition well ground, produces a very fine red
colour on glass. When protoxide of copper is used to stain glass, it assumes a bright
red or green colour, according as the glass is more or less heated in the furnace, the
former corresponding to the suboxide, the latter having the copper in the state of
protoxide, ;
Bistres and Brown reds may be obtained by mixtures of manganese, orange oxide
of copper, and the oxide of iron called umber, in different proportions. They must
be previously fused with vitreous solvents.
Green colour.—Two ounces of brass calcined into an oxide, two ounces of minium,
and eight ounces of white sand ; reduce them to a fine powder, which is to be enclosed
in a well-luted crucible, and heated strongly in an air-furnace for an hour. When the
mixture is cold, grind it in a brass mortar. Green may, however, be advantageously
produced by a yellow on one side, and a blue on the other. Oxide of chrome has
been also employed to stain glass green.
A fine Yellow colour.—Take fine silver laminated thin, dissolve in nitric acid, dilute
with abundance of water, and precipitate with solution of sea-salt. Mix this chloride
of silver, in a dry powder, with three times its weight of pipe-clay well burnt and
pounded. The back of the glass-pane is to be painted with this powder, for when
painted on the face, it is apt to run into the other colours.
Another yellow can be made by mixing sulphide of silver with glass of antimony,
and yellow ochre previously calcined to a red-brown tint. Work all these powders
together, and pajnt on the back of the glass. Or silver laminze melted with ‘sulphur
and glass of antimony, thrown into cold water, and afterwards ground to powder,
afford a yellow.
A pale yellow may be made with the powder resulting from brass, sulphur, and glass
of antimony, calcined together in a crucible till they cease to smoke ; and then mixed
with a little burnt yellow ochre.
The fine yellow of M. Merand, is prepared from chloride of silver, oxide of zinc,
white-clay, and rust of iron. This mixture, simply ground, is applied on the glass.
Orange colour.—Take 1 part of silver powder, as precipitated from the nitrate of
that metal by plates of copper, and washed; mix it with 1 part of red ochre and 1 of
yellow, by careful trituration ; grind into a thin pap with oil of turpentine or lavender,
and apply this with a brush, dry, and burn in.
In the Philosophical Magazine, of December 1836, the anonymous author of an
ingenious essay, ‘On the Art of Glass-painting,’ says, that if a large proportion of
ochre has been employed with the silver, the stain is yellow; if a small proportion, it
is orange-coloured ; and by repeated exposure to the fire, without any additional
colouring-matter, the orange may be converted into red; but this conversion requires
a nice management of the heat. Artists often make useof panes coloured throughout
their substance in the glass-house pots, because the perfect transparency of such glass
gives a brilliancy of effect, which enamel painting, always more or less opaque, cannot
rival. It was to a glass of this kind that the old glass-painters owed their splendid
red. This is, in fact, the only point in which the modern and ancient processes differ ;
and this is the only part of the art which was ever really lost. Instead of blowing
plates of solid red, the old glass-makers (like those of Bohemia for some time back),
used to flash a thin layer of brilliant red over a substratum of colourless glass; by
gathering a lump of the latter upon the end of their iron rod in one pot, covering with
a layer of the former in another pot, then blowing out the two together intoa globe
or cylinder, to be opened into circular tables, or into rectangular plates. The elegant
art of tinging glass red by oxide of copper, and flashing it on common crown glass,
has become general within these few years.
That gold melted with flint-glass stains it purple was originally discovered and
eae as a profitable secret by Kunckel. Gold has been recently used at Birming-
am for giving a beautiful rose-colour to scent-bottles. The proportion of gold should
be very small, and the heat very great, to produce a good effect. The glass must
contain either the oxide of lead, bismuth, zinc, or antimony ; for crown glass will take
no colour from gold. Glass combined with this metal, when removed from the cru-
cible, is generally of a pale rose colour: nay, sometimes is as colourless as water, and
does not assume its ruby colour till it has been exposed to a low red heat, either under
a mufile, or at the lamp. This operation must be nicely regulated; because a slight
excess of fire destroys the colour, leaving the glass of a dingy brown, but with a green
transparency like that of gold-leaf. It is metallic gold which gives the colour; and,
indeed, the oxide is too easily reduced, not to be converted into the metal by the
intense heat which is necessarily required.
Coloured transparent glass is applied as enamel in silver and gold Aijouterie pre-
viously bright-cut in the metal with the ty or rose-engine, The cuts, reflecting
Vox. IT], 3.
882 STAMPING OF METALS
the rays of light from their numerous surfaces, exhibit through the glass, richly
stained with gold, silver, copper, cobalt, &c., a gorgeous play of prismatic colours,
varied with every change of aspect. When the enamel is to be painted on, it should
be made opalescent by oxide of arsenic, in order to produce the most agreeable effect.
The blues of vitrified colours are all obtained from the oxide of cobalt. Cobalt ore
(sulphide) being well roasted at a dull red heat, to dissipate all the sulphur and
arsenic, is dissolved in somewhat dilute nitric acid, and after the addition of much
water to the saturated solution, the oxide is precipitated by carbonate of soda, then
washed upon a filter and dried. The powder is to be mixed with thrice its weight of
saltpetre ; the mixture is to be deflagrated in a crucible, by applying a red hot cinder
to it, then exposed to the heat of ignition, washed and dried. Three parts of this
oxide are to be mixed with a flux, consisting of white sand, borax, nitre, and a little
chalk, subjected to fusion for an hour, and then ground down into an enamel-powder
for use. Blues of any shade or intensity may be obtained from the above, by mixing
it with more or less flux.
The beautiful greenish-yellow, of which colour so many ornamental glass vessels
have been lately imported from Germany, is made in Bohemia by the following process :
An ore of uranium, as Uran-ochre, or Uran-glimmer, in fine powder, being roasted and
dissolved in nitric acid, the filtered solution is to be freed from any lead present in it
by the cautious addition of dilute sulphuric acid. The clear green solution is to be
evaporated to dryness, and the mass ignited till it becomes yellow. One part of this
oxide is to be mixed with three or more parts of a flux, consisting of 4 parts of red lead
and 1 of ground flint; the whole fused together and then reduced to powder,
Chrome-green.—Triturate together in a mortar equal parts of chromate of potash and
flowers of sulphur; put the mixture into a crucible and fuse. Pour out the fluid mass;
when cool, grind and wash well with water, to remove the sulphuret of potash and to
leave the beautiful green oxide of chrome. Thisis to be collected upon a filter, dried,
rubbed down along with thrice its weight of a flux, consisting of 4 parts of red lead
and 1 part of ground flints fused into a transparent glass; the whole is now to be
melted and afterwards reduced to a fine powder.
Violet.—One part of calcined black oxide of manganese, 1 of zaffre, 10 parts of the
white glass pounded, and one of red lead, mixed, fused, and ground. Or gold purple
(Cassius’s purple precipitate), with chloride of silver, previously fused with ten times its
weight of a flux, consisting of ground quartz, borax, and red lead, all melted together.
Or solution of tin being dropped into a large quantity of water, solution of nitrate of
silver may be first added, and then solution of gold in agua regia, in proper proportions.
The precipitate is to be mixed with flux and fused.
STAMPING OF METALS. The peculiar feature of improvement in the
manufacture of stamped articles consists in producing the spoon, ladle, or fork perfect
at one blow in the stamping machine, and requiring no further manipulation of shaping,
but simply trimming off the barb or fin, and polishing the surface to render the article
perfect and finished.
Formerly, in employing a stamping machine, or fly-press, for manufacturing
spoons, ladles, and forks, it was the practice to give the impression to the handles,
and to the bowls or prongs, by distinct operations of different dies, and after having
so partially produced the pattern upon the article, the handles had to be bent and
formed by the operations of filing and hammering.
By Mr. Haynes’ improved dies, which, having curved surfaces and bevelled edges,
allow ef no parts of the faces of the die and counter-die to come in contact, he is
enabled to produce considerable elevations of pattern and form, and to bring up the
article perfect at one blow, with only a slight barb, or fin, upon its edge.
1887 1889
Iss
pe ea 5
In the accompanying drawings, fig. 1888 is the lower or bed die for producing a
spoon, seen edgewise ; fig. 1887 is the face of the upper or counter die, corresponding ;
STAMPING OF METALS 883
fig. 1889 is a section, taken through the middie of the pair of dies, showin
in which the metal is pressed to fone the spoon. P Bot yg
To manufacture spoons, ladles, or forks, according to his improved process, Mr. Haynes
first forges out the ingot into flat pieces, of the shape and dimensions of the dic of
the intended article; and if a spoon or ladle is to be made, gives a slight degree of
concavity to the bowl part; but, if necessary, bends the back, in order that it may lie
more steadily and bend more accurately, upon the lower die; if a fork, he euts or
otherwise removes portions of the metal at those parts which will intervene between
the prongs; and, having thus produced the rude embryo of the intended article,
scrapes its entire surface clean and free from oxidation, scale, or fire-strain, when it is
ready to be introduced into the stamping machine.
He now fixes the lower die in the bed of the stamping machine, shown ata, a, in the
elevations jigs. 1890 and 1891, and fixes, in the hammer 8, the upper or counter die,
¢, accurately adjusting them
both, so that they may corre-
spond exactly when brought
together. He then places the
rudely-formed article above de-
scribed upon the lower die, and
having drawn up the hammer
to a. sufficient elevation, by a
windlass and rope, or other ordi-
nary means, lets go the trigger,
and allows the hammer, with
the counter die to fall upon the
under die, on which the article
is placed; when, by the blow n OY
thus given to the metal, the true € > (
and perfect figure and pattern ros ©1© fo
of the spoon, ladle, or fork is |e} 4)-4 - ee a
produced, and which, as before
said, will only require the re-
moyal of the slight edging of © iS
barb, or fin, with polishing, to b
finish it. e
On striking the blow, in the jo Qo
operation of stamping the arti-
cle, the hammer will recoil and ry rs
fly up some distance, and if renee © e
allowed to fall again with re- - z
iterated blows, would injure
both the article and the dies; therefore, to avoid this inconvenience, he causes
the hammer on recoiling to be caught by a pair of palls locked into racks on the
face of the standards, seen in the figures; the hammer 8, of the stamping machine,
is seen raised and suspended by a rope attached to a pair of jointed hooks or holders,
d, d, the lower ends of which pass into eyes e, ¢, extending from the top of the
hammer. When the lever or trigger ¢, is drawn forward, as in fig. 1890, the two
inclined planes, g, g,on the axle, 2, press the two legs of the holders, d, d, inward, and
-cause their hooks or lower ends to be withdrawn from the eyes, e, e, when the hammer
instantly falls, and brings the dies together: such is the ordinary construction of the
stamping machine,
On the hammer falling from a considerable elevation, the violence of the blow
causes it to recoil and bound upwards as before mentioned; it therefore becomes
necessary to catch the hammer when it has rebounded, in order to prevent the dies
coming again together; this is done by the following mechanism :—
Two latch-levers, 7, 7, are connected by joints to the upper part of the hammer, and
two pall-levers, 4, %, turning upon pins, are mounted in the bridge, /, affixed to the
hammer. Two springs, m, m, act against the lower arms of these levers, and press
them outwards, for the purpose of throwing the palls at the lower ends of the levers
into the teeth of the ratchet racks, , 2, fixed on the sides of the upright standards.
Previously to raising the hammer, the upper ends of the pall-levers, 4, are drawn
back, and the latches, 7, being brought down upon them, as in fig. 1890, the levers, /,
are confined, and their palls prevented from striking into the slide racks; but as the
hammer falls, the ends of the latches, 7, strike upon the fingers, 0, 0, fixing to the side
standards, and liberate the palls, the lower ends of which, when the hammer rebounds,
after stamping, catch into the teeth of the racks, as in jig. 1891, and thereby prevent
the hammer from again descending.
3432
S84 STARCH
STAMPS, See Dressine or OREs.
STANNATE AND STANNITE OF POTASH AND SODA. Stannates
and stannites of alkalis are valuable mordants. For the stannate of soda, 22 Ibs. of
caustic soda are first put into an iron crucible, heated to a low red heat, till the
hydrate be produced ; to which 8 lbs. of nitrate of soda and 4 Ibs. of common salt are
introduced. When the mixture is at a fluxing heat, 10 lbs. of feathered block-tin are
added, and it is stirred with an iron rod. The mass now becomes dark coloured and
pasty, and ammonia is given off (the tin decomposing the water of the hydrated soda
and part of the nitrate of soda), The stirring is continued, as well as the heat, till
deflagration takes place, and the mass becomes red hot and pasty. This product is
stannate of soda. It may be purified by solution and crystallisation.
Stannite of soda is made by putting 4 lbs. of common salt, 184 Ibs. of caustic
soda, and 4 lbs. of feathered block-tin into a hot iron crucible over a fire, and stirring
and boiling to dryness, and as long as ammonia is given off. What remains is stan-
hite of soda.
To produce the tin-preparing liquour, 3 lbs. of stannate of soda are dissolved in
1 gallon of boiling water, and 3 gallons or more of cold water, to bring it to the
required strength. The stannite of soda is treated in the same way.
The process of Mr. James Young is much more recent, and presents a ve
beautiful application of science. Instead of reducing metallic tin from the ore, an
oxidating the metal again to form the stannic acid at the expense of nitric acid, Mr.
Young takes the native peroxide of tin itself, and fuses it with soda. The iron and
other foreign metals present in the ore are insoluble in the alkali, so that by solution
of the fused mass in water, a pure stannate of soda is obtained at once. It is erys-
tallised by evaporation, and obtained in efflorescent crystals containing nine equiva-
lents of water.
STARCH (Amidon, Fécule, Fr.; Starke, Ger.) is a white pulverulent ‘substance,
composed of microscopic spheroids, which are bags containing the amylaceous
matter. It exists in a great many different plants, and varies in the form and size of
its microscopic particles. As found in some plants, it consists of spherical particles
yoopth of an inch in diameter; and in others of ovoid particles, sith or zj;th of an
inch, It occurs : 1. In the seeds of all the acotyledonous plants, among which are
the several species of corn, and those of other Graminee, 2. In the round perennial
tap roots, which shoot up an annual stem ; in the tuberose roots, such as potatoes, the
Convolvulus batatas and C, edulis, the Helianthus tuberosus, the Jatropha manihot, &c.,
which contain a great quantity of it. 3. In the stems of several monocotyledonous
plants, especially of the palm tribe, whence sago comes ; but it is very rarely found
in the stems and branches of the dicotyledonous plants. 4. It occurs in many species
of lichen. Three kinds of starch have been distinguished by chemists; that of
wheat, that called inuline, and lichen-starch. These three agree in being insoluble in ~
cold water, alcohol, ether, and oils, and in being converted into sugar by either
dilute sulphuric acid or diastase. ‘The main difference between them consists in their
habitudes with water and iodine.’ The first forms with hot water a mucilaginous
solution, which constitutes, when cold, the paste of the laundress, and is tinged blue
by iodine; the second forms a granular precipitate, when its solution in boiling-hot
water is suffered to cool, which is tinged yellow by iodine; the third affords, by
cooling the concentrated solution, a gelatinous mass, with a clear liquid floating over
it, that contains little starch. Its jelly becomes brown-grey with iodine.
Ordinary Starch—This may be extracted from the following grains:—Wheat,
rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, rice, maize, millet, spelt; from the siliquose seeds, as
peas, beans, lentiles, &e.; from tuberous and tap roots, as those of the potato, the
orchis, manioc, arrow-root, batata, &e. Different kinds of corn yield very variable
quantities of starch. Wheat differs in this respect, according to the varieties of the
plant, as well as the soil, manure, season, and climate. See Brrap.
Wheat partly damaged by long keeping in granaries may be employed for the
manufacture of starch, as this constituent suffers less injury than the gluten; and
it may be used either in the ground or unground state.
With unground wheat.—The wheat being sifted clean, is to be put into cisterns,
covered with soft water, and left to steep till it becomes swollen and so soft as to
be easily crushed between the fingers. It is now to be taken out, and immersed in
clear water of a temperature equal to that of malting-barley, whence it is to be trans-
ferred into bags, which are placed in a wooden chest containing some water, and
exposed to strong pressure. The water rendered milky by the starch being drawn
off by a tap, fresh water is poured in, and the prossure is repeated. Instead of
putting the swollen grain into bags, some prefer to grind it under vertical edge-
stones, or between a pair of horizontal rollers, and then to lay it in a cistern, and
separate the starchy liquor by elutriation with succossive quantities of water well
STARCH 885
stirred up with it. The residuary matter in the sacks or cisterns contains much
vegetable albumen and gluten, along with the husks; when exposed to fermentation,
this affords a small quantity of starch of rather inferior quality. '
_ The above milky liquor, obtained by expression or elutriation, is run into large
cisterns, where it deposits its starch in layers successively less and less dense; the
uppermost containing a considerable proportion of gluten. The supernatant liquor
being drawn off, and fresh water poured on it, the whole must be well stirred up,
allowed again to settle, and the surface-liquor withdrawn. This washing should
be repeated as long as the water takes any perceptible colour. At the first turbid
liquor contains a mixture of gluten, sugar, gum, albumen, &c., it ferments readily,
and produces a certain portion of vinegar, which helps to dissolve out the rest of
the mingled gluten, and thus to bleach the starch. It is, in fact, by the action of
this fermented or soured water, and repeated washing, that it is purified, After the
last deposition and decantation, there appears on the surface of the starch a thin
layer of a slimy mixture of gluten and albumen, which being scraped off, serves for
feeding pigs or oxen; underneath will be found a starch of good quality. The
layers of different sorts are then taken up with a wooden shovel, transferred into
separate cisterns, where they are agitated with water, and passing through fine sieves.
After this pap is once more well settled, the clear water is drawn off, the starchy mass
is taken out, and laid on linen cloths in wicker baskets, to drain and become partially
dry. When sufficiently firm, it is cut into pieces which are spread upon other cloths,
and thoroughly desiccated in a proper drying-room, which in winter is heated by stoves.
The upper surface of the starch is generally scraped to remove any dusty matter, and
the resulting powder is sold in that state. Wheat yields, upon an average, only
from 35 to 40 per cent. of good starch. It should afford more by skilful management.
With crushed wheat.—In this country, wheat crushed between iron rollers is laid
to steep in as much water as will wet it thoroughly ; in four or five days the mixture
ferments, soon afterwards settles and is ready to be washed out with a quantity
of water into the proper fermenting vats. The common time allowed for the steep
is from 14 to 20 days, The next process consists in removing the stuff from the
vats into a stout round basket set across a back below a pump. One or two men
keep going round the basket, stirring up the stuff with strong wooden shovels, while
another keeps pumping water, till all the farina is completely washed from the bran.
Whenever the subjacent. back is filled, the liquor is taken out and strained through
hair-sieves into square frames or cisterns, where it is allowed to settle for 24 hours;
after which the water is run off from the deposited starch by plug-traps at different
levels in the side. The thin stuff, called slimes, upon the surface of the starch, is
removed by a tray of a peculiar form. Fresh water is now introduced, and the whole
being well mixed by proper agitation, is then poured upon fine silk sieves. What
passes through is allowed to settle for 24 hours; the liquor being withdrawn, and
then the slimes, as before, more water is again poured in, with agitation, when the
mixture is again thrown upon the silk sieve. The milky liquor is now suffered
to rest for several days,—4 or 5,—till the starch becomes settled pretty firmly at the
bottom of the square cistern. If the starch is to have the blue tint, called Poland,
fine smalt must be mixed in the liquor of the last sieve, in the proportion of 2 or
3 lbs. to the ewt. A considerable portion of these slimes may, by good management,
be worked up into starch by elutriation and straining.
The starch is now fit for boxing, by shovelling the cleaned deposit into wooden
chests, about 4 feet long, 12 inches broad, and 6 inches deep, perforated throughout
and lined with thin canvas. When it is drained and dried into a compact mass, it is
turned out by inverting the chest upon a clean table, where it is broken into pieces
4 or 5 inches square, by laying a ruler underneath the sake, and giving its surface
a cut with a knife, after which the slightest pressure with the hand will make the
fracture. These pieces are set upon half-burned bricks, which by their porous capil-
larity imbibe the moisture of the starch, so that its under surface may not become
hard and horny. When sufficiently dried upon the bricks, it is put into a stove
(which resembles that of a sugar-refinery), and left there till tolerably dry. It is
now removed to a table, when all the sides are carofully scraped with a knife; it
is next packed up in the papers in which it is sold; these packages are returned into
the stove, and subjected to a gentle heat during some days ; a point which requires
to be skilfully regulated.
During the drying, starch splits into small prismatic columns, of considerable regu-
larity. When kept dry, it remains unaltered for a very long period. When it is
heated to a certain degree in water, the envelopes of its spheroidal particles burst,
and the farina forms a mucilaginous emulsion, magma, or paste. When this apparent
solution is evaporated to dryness, a brittle, horny-looking substance is obtained, quite
different in aspect from starch, but similar in chemical habitudes, When the moist paste
| 886 STARCH
js exposed for two or three months to the air in summer, the starch is converted into
sugar, to the amount of one-third or one-half of its weight, into gum and gelatinous
starch, called amidine by De Saussure, with occasionally a resinous matter. This
curious change goes on even in close vessels.
Starch from Potatoes.—The potatoes are first washed in a cylindrical cage formed of
wooden spars, made to revolve upon a horizontal axis, in a trough filled with water to
the level of the axis. They are then reduced to a pulp by a rasping machine, similar
to that represented in figs. 1892, 1893; where a is a wooden drum, covered. with sheet
iron, roughened outside with numer-
ous prominences, made from hae
1892 1893 out holes from the opposite side, It
b is turned by a winch fixed upon each
end of the shaft. The drum is en-
closed in a square wooden box, to
prevent the potato-mash from being
scattered about. The hopper, 4, is
attached to the upper frame, has its
bottom concentric with the rasp-drum,
and nearly in contact with it. The
pulp-chest, ¢, is made to slide out, so
_ as when full to be readily replaced
by another. The two slanting boards,
d, d, conduct the pulp into it. A
moderate stream of water should be
made to play into the hopper upon
the potatoes, to prevent the surface
of the rasp from getting foul with
fibrous matter. Two men, with one
iu for a relay, will rasp, with such a
machine, from 2} to 3 tons of potatoes
, in 12 hours.
The potato-pulp must be now elutriated upon a fine wire- or hair-sieve, which is set
upon a frame in the mouth of a large vat, while water is made to flow upon it from a
spout with many jets. The pulp meanwhile must be stirred and kneaded by the
hand, or by a mechanical brush-agitator, till almost nothing but fibrous particles.are
left upon the sieve. These, however, generally retain about 5 per cent. of starch,
which cannot be separated in this way. This parenchyma should therefore be sub-
jected to a separate rasping upon another cylinder. The water, turbid with starch, is
allowed to settle for some time in a back ; the supernatant liquor is then run by a
cock into a second back, and after some time into a third, whereby the whole starch
will be precipitated. The finest powder collects in the last vessel. The starch thus
obtained, containing 33 per cent. of water, may be used either in the moist state,
under the name of cra lieouln for various purposes, as for the preparation of dextrine
and starch-syrup, or it may be preserved under a thin layer of water, which must be
aca from time to time, to prevent fermentation ; or lastly, it may be taken out
and dried.
Washing apparatus have been contrived by Lainé, Dailly, Huck, Vernies, Stolz, and
St.-Etienne. These are contrivances for working very large quantities of potatoes in
a short time. Huck’s machine is stated to work 30,000 lbs. of potatoes daily, and in
trials made with St.-Etienne’s rasp and starch machinery, in Paris, which was driven
by two horses, nearly 18 ewts. of potatoes were put through all the requisite operations
in one hour, including the pumping of the water. The product in starch amounted to
from 17 to 18 per cent. of the potatoes. The quicker the process of potato-starch
making, the better is its quality. Vélker proposed a process of rotting the potato to
separate the starch.
Horse-chestnuts have been largely used at Nanterre, near Paris, in the manufac-
ture of starch.
In the manufacture of potato-starch, a considerable quantity of the product is
lost, owing to the strong affinity which the starch has for the fibre of the potato.
M. Anthon stated some years ago that the manufacturer obtains only two-thirds of
the starch, the remainder being left in the pulp. He suggested that this third may
be utilised, by converting it into sugar by means of either malt or dilute sulphuric
acid. By employing 10 per cent. of the acid to the dry fibre, the saccharification is
complete in about two hours and a half; but if only 3 or 4 per cent. of acid is used,
the boiling must be continued for at least 5 hours. Ten per cent. of malt effected the
conversion in 6 hours. Mr, Calvert has given the following analysis of the potato :—.
Water, 74; starch, 20; the remainder being fibrous, earthy, and alkaline matters,
STARCH 887
Starch from certain foreign plants.—1. From the pith of the Sago Palm. See Saco.
2. From the roots of the Maranta arundinacea, of Jamaica, the Bahamas, and other
West India Islands, the powder called arrow-root is obtained, by a process analogous
to that for making potato-starch. See ARRow-ROOT.
3. From the roots of the manioc, which also grows in the West Indies, as well as in
Africa, the cassava is procured, by a similar process. The juice of this plant is
poisonous, from which the wholesome starch is deposited. When dried with stirring
upon hot iron plates, it agglomerates into small lumps, called tapioca ; being a gummy
fecula. See Cassava.
The characters of the different varieties of starch can be learnt only from micro-
eae observation; by which means also their sophistication or admixture may be
readily ascertained. :
Starch, from whatever source obtained, is a white soft powder, which feels crispy,
like flowers of sulphur, when pressed between the fingers; it is destitute of taste and
smell, unchangeable in the atmosphere, and has a specific gravity of 1°53.
For the saccharine changes which starch undergoes by the action of diastase, see
FERMENTATION.
Lichenine, a species of starch obtained from Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica), as
well as Inuline, from elecampane (Inula Helenium), are rather objects of chemical
curiosity than of manufactures. See LicHEns.
There is a kind of starch made in order to be converted into gum for the calico-
printer. This conversion having been first made upon the great scale in this country,
has occasioned the product to be called British gum. The following is the process
pursued in a large and well-conducted establishment near Manchester :—A range of
four wooden cisterns, each about 7 or 8 feet square and 4 feet deep, is provided.
Into eaeh of them 2,000 gallons of water being introduced, 12} loads of flour are
stirred in. The mixture is set to ferment upon old leaven left at the bottom of the
backs, during 2 or 3 days. .The contents are then stirred up, and pumped off into
3 stone cisterns, 7 feet square and 4 feet deep; as much water being added, with
agitation, as will fill the cisterns to the brim, In the course of 24 hours the starch
forms a firm deposit at the bottom; and the water is then syphoned off. The gluten
is next scraped from the surface, and the starch is transferred into wooden boxes,
pierced with holes, which may be lined with coarse cloth, or not, at the pleasure of
the operator.
The starch, cut into cubical masses, is put into iron trays, and set to dry in a large
apartment, two stories high, heated by a horizontal cylinder of cast iron traversed by
the flame of a furnace. The drying occupies two days. It is now ready for con-
version into gum, for which purpose it is put into oblong trays of sheet iron, and
heated to the temperature of 300° Fahr. in a cast-iron oven, which holds four of these
trays. Here it concretes into irregular semi-transparent yellow-brown lumps, which
are ground into fine flour between mill-stones, and in this state brought to the
market. In this roasted starch, the vesicles being burst, their contents become
soluble in cold water. British gum is not convertible into sugar, as starch is, by the
action of dilute sulphuric acid; nor into mucie acid, by nitric acid; but into the
oxalic; and it is tinged purple red by iodine. It is'composed, in 100 parts, of 35°7
carbon, 6°2 hydrogen, and 58°1 oxygen; while starch is composed of 48°5 carbon,
68 hydrogen, and 49°7 oxygen. See Dexrrine.
Manufacture of Starch from Rice, §c.—Starch prepared from rice or maize by alkali
is said not to require boiling—a point of great importance in its use; and, being less
hygrometric than wheat-starch, retains a more permanent stiffness and glazo. The rough
starch obtained in the process is valuable for feeding purposes, and for stiffening coarse
fabrics,
Fig. 1894 represents in section the powerful and ingenious mechanical grater, or
rasp (répe), now used in France. @ a is the canal, or spout, along which the
previously well-washed potatoes descend; 46 is the grater, composed of a wooden
cylinder, on whose round surface circular saw rings of steel, with short s teeth,
are planted pretty close together. The greater the velocity of the. cylinder, the
finer is the pulp. A cylinder 20 inches in diameter revolves at the rate of from 600
to 900 times a minute, and it will convert into pulp from 14 to 1 hectolitres {about
300'imperial gallons) of potatoes in an hour. Potatoes contain from 15 to 22 percent.
of dry fecula. The pulp, after leaving the rasp, passes directly into the apparatus
for the preparation of the starch. ¢ is a wooden hopper for receiving the falling
pulp, with a trap-door, d, at bottom. », is the cylinder-sieve of M. St.-Etienne ; f, a
pipe ending in a rose-spout, which delivers the water requisite for washing the pulp,
and extracting the starch from it; g g, a diaphragm of wire-cloth, with small
meshes, on which the pulp is exposed to the action of the brushes, ¢ 7, moving with
great speed, whereby it gives out its starchy matter, which is thrown out by a side
888 STEAM
aperture into the spout #. The fecula now falls upon a second web of ‘fine wire-
cloth, and leaves upon it merely some fragments of the parenchyma or cellular
matter of the potato, to be turned out by a side opening in the spout, 2. The sifting
1894
| AEE
|
Mogan |
b Sant ae rit LL
ea]
—J
PRINTING.
STATUARY PORCELAIN. Sco Porrsry.
STEAM is water in its vaporiform state. The varied and important applications
of steam as a mechanical power would appear to render a consideration of its laws of
the utmost importance. The circumstance that our spinning and weaving machinery,
our pumping engines, our ships, our carriages, our hammers, our lathes, and our
presses, are all moved by this power, seems to demand a full consideration of steam
in a work devoted to Aris, Manufactures, and Mines, into each division of which it
enters as an important element. But the limits assigned to the entire work renders it
impossible to treat in any way commensurate with its importance this great mechanical
power. It is, therefore, thought advisable to confine attention to a few general and
well-established principles only. For especial information on the subject, the reader is
referred to W. J. Macquorn-Rankine’s ‘ Manual of the Steam-Engine ;’ Tredgold ‘On
the Steam-Engine ;’ De Pambour ‘ On the Theory of the Steam-Engine,’ and ‘ On the
Locomotive Engine ;’ Arago Sur les Machines & Vapeur; Regnault’s papers in the
Mémoires and Comptes Rendus of the Academy of Sciences, &c.
Steam is a chemical compound of oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportion of 8
parts by weight of oxygen, to 1 of hydrogen. Its composition by volume is such, that
the quantity of steam which, if it were a perfect gas, would occupy 1 cubic foot at a
given pressure and temperature, contains as much oxygen as would, if uncombined,
occupy half a cubie foot, and as much hydrogen as would, if uncombined, occupy 1
cubic foot, at the same pressure and temperature ; so that steam, if it were a perfect
gas, would occupy two-thirds the space which its constituents occupy when uncom-
STEAM 882:
bined. Hence is deduced the following composition of the weight of one cubic foot of
steam would have at the temperature of 32° Fahr., and pressure of one atmosphere
(or 14:7 lbs. on the square inch), if steam were a perfect gas, and if it could exist at
the pressure and temperature stated.
Data from the Experiments of Regnault.
Half a cubic foot of oxygen at the pressure of one atmosphere b.
and temperature, 32° Sees) ok aa s - 0°044628
lcubic foot of hydrogen . . er eae IR
1 cubic foot of steam in the ideal state of perfect gas, at one .
atmosphere and 32° . 1 a re 7 < : - 0°050220
If steam were a perfect gas, the weight of a cubic foot could be calculated for any
given pressure and temperature by the following formula :—
Weight of a cubic foot = 0°05022 lb. x pressure in atmosphere =
493°°2
Temp. + 4°61°2°
For example, at one atmosphere of pressure, and 212°, the weight of a cubic foot of
steam would be:
493°°2
673°°6
But steam is known not to be a perfect gas; and its actual density is greater than that
which is given by the preceding formula, though to what extent is not known by
direct experiment. The most probable method of indirectly determining the density
of steam, is by computation from the latent heat of evaporation, from which it appears
that at one atmosphere and 212°, the weight of a cubic foot of steam is probably
0:03679 lb. The greatest pressure under which steam can exist at a given temperature
is called the pressure of saturation for steam of a given temperature. The tempera-
ture is called the boiling point of water under the given pressure. The pressure of
saturation is the only pressure at which steam and liquid water can exist together in
the same vessel at a given temperature.
It becomes necessary to understand correctly the method of determining fixed
temperatures by certain phenomena taking place at them. Thus ice begins to melt
at a point, which we call the freezing point, marked 32° upon the scale devised by
Fahrenheit (see THermMomereR), and we determine the boiling point of water to be
212° on the same scale, under the average atmospheric pressure of 14°7 Ibs. on the
square inch; 2116°4 Ibs. on the square foot; 29°992 inches of the column of mercury.
At this latter point water ceases to be liquid, and becomes vaporiform. From 32° to
212°, all the heat which has been poured into the water has effected no change
of physical condition, but the higher temperature being reached, a new condition is
established, and steam is produced; this steam then beginning to act according to
certain fixed laws.
A cubic inch of water evaporated under the ordinary atmospheric pressure is converted
into a cubic foot of steam.
A cubic inch of water evaporated under the atmospheric pressure gives a mechanical
Sorce equal to what would raise a ton weight one foot high.
These are the effects produced at 212° under the above-named pressure.
Careful experiments have determined, within very small mits of error, thé
following facts:—Steam under pressure of 35 lbs. per square inch, and at the tem-
perature of 261°, exerts a force equal to a ton weight raised one foot; under the
pressure of 15 Ibs. and at the temperature of 213°, it is 2,086 lbs., or about seven per
cent. less; and under 70 Ibs. and at 306° it is 2,882 lbs., or nearly six and a half per
cent. more than a ton raised afoot. It is sufficient for all practical purposes to assume
that each cubic inch evaporated, whatever be the pressure, develops a gross mechanical
effort equivalent to a ton weight raised one foot.
As a given power is produced by a given rate of evaporation, to determine this the
following rules are applicable :—
To produce the force expressed by one horse-power, the evaporation per minute
must develop a mechanical force equal to 33,000 lbs., or about 15 tons raised 1 foot
high. Fifteen cubic inches of water would accordingly produce this effect, which,
without evaporation, would be equivalent to 900 cubic inches per hour. To find,
therefore, the gross power developed by a boiler, it would be only necessary to divide
the number of cubic inches of water evaporated per hout by 900. If, therefore,
to 900 cubic inches be added the quantity of water per hour necessary to move the
engine itself, independently of its load, we shall obtain the quantity of water per hour
0°05022 x = 0°03679 lb.
890 STEARIC ACID
which must be supplied by the boiler to the engine for each horse-power, and this will
be the same whatever may be the magnitude or proportions of the cylinder.
STEAM BOILERS. Did space allow of our entering on a consideration of this
important subject, which it does not, it would not properly fall within the seope of
this Dictionary: we therefore refer to the Dictionary of Engineering, and to Mr. W.
Fairbairn’s papers in the ‘ Transactions of the Royal Society,’
STEAM-ENGINE. Steam-engines are divided into condensing and nom-con-
densing, corresponding with those which are worked by steam at hig we and at
low-pressure respectively. The form of the’ engine is varied according as it is a
stationary, a loconiotive, or a° marine engine.’ For descriptions of the various forms,
the reader must be referred to special treatises upon the subject, such as Rankine
‘ On the Steam-Engine.’
STEARIC ACID. (7ulgsiiure, Ger.) Chevreul’s-discovery of the constitution
of fats, led to the present processes for the manufacture of stearic acid. The original
experiments were published in 1823, and Gay-Lussac, with Chevreul in 1825, took.
patents for the manufacture of fatty acids. Pure stearic acid is prepared, according
to its discoverer, Chevreul, in the following way :—Make a soap by boiling a solution
of potash and mutton-suet in the proper equivalent proportions; dissolve one part of
that soap in 6 parts of hot water, then add to the solution 40 or 50 parts of cold water,
and set the whole in a place whose temperature is about 52° Fahr. A substance
falls to the bottom, possessed of pearly lustre, consisting of the bi-stearate and’
bi-margarate of potash; which is to be drained and washed upon a filter. The
filtered liquor is to be evaporated, and mixed with a small quantity of acid necessary
to saturate the alkali left free by the precipitation of the above bi-salts, On adding
water to it afterwards, the liquor affords a fresh quantity of bi-stearate and bi-mar-
garate.. By repeating this operation with precaution, we finally arrive at a point
when the solution contains no more of these solid acids, but only the oleic. The pre-
cipitated bi-salts are to be washed and dissolved in hot alcohol, of specific gravity
0°820, of which they require about 24 times their weight. During the cooling of the
solution, the bi-stearate falls down, while the greater part of the bi-margarate, and the -
remainder of the oleate, remain dissolved. By repeatedly dissolving in aleohol, and
crystallising, the bi-stearate will be obtained alone, as may be proved by decomposing
a little of it in water at a boiling heat, with muriatic acid, letting it cool, washing thé
stearic acid obtained, and exposing it-to heat, when, if pure, it will not fuse in water
under the 158th degree of Fahrenheit’s scale.. If it melts at a lower heat, it contains
more or less margaric acid. The purified bi-stearate being decomposed by boiling in
water along with any acid, as the muriatic, the disengaged stearic acid is to be washed
by melting in water, then cooled and dried.
Stearic acid, prepared by the above process, contains combined water, from which
it cannot be freed. It is insipid and inodorous. After being melted by heat, it soli-
difies at the temperature of 158° Fahr., and affects the form of white brilliant needles
grouped together. It is insoluble in water, but dissolves in all proportions in boiling
anhydrous alcohol, and on cooling to 122°, crystallises therefrom in pearly plates; but
if the concentrated solution be quickly cooled to 112°, it forms a crystalline mass. A
dilute solution affords the crystallised acid in large white brilliant scales. It dissolves
in its own weight of boiling ether of 0°727, and crystallises on cooling in beautiful
scales, of changing colours. Its distils over in vacuo without alteration ; but if the
retort contains a little atmospheric air, a small portion of the acid is decom
during the distillation; while the greater part passes over unchanged, but slightly ©
tinged brown, and mixed with traces of empyreumatic oil. When heated in the open
air, and kindled, stearic acid burns like wax. By analysis it is found to contain in
100 parts, carbon 75°6, hydrogen 12°6, and oxygen 11°8, which agrees with the formula
C**H**0! (C'*z**Q*)- Stearic acid displaces, at a boiling heat in water, carbonic acid
from its combinations with the bases; but in operating upon an alkaline carbonate,
a portion of the stearic acid is dissolved in the liquor before the carbonic acid is
expelled. The decomposition is founded upon the principle, that the stearie acid
transforms the salt into a bicarbonate, which is decomposed by the ebullition.
Of late years lime has been had recourse to, with perfect success, and has become
subservient to a great improvement in candle-making. Lime was first successfully
used by De Milley in 1831. The stearine block now made by many London honses,
though containing not more than 2 or 3 per cent. of wax, is hardly to be distinguished
from the purified produce of the bee. The first process is to boil the fat with quick-
lime and water in a large tub by means of perforated steam-pipes distributed over its
bottom. About 11 parts of dry lime are fully equivalent to 100 of stearine and oleine
mixed ; but as the lime is in the state of hydrate, 14 parts of it will be required when
it is perfectly pure ; in the ordinary state, however, as made from average good lime-
stone, 16 parts may be allowed. After a vigorous ebullition of 3 or 4 hours, the
STEARIC ACIC ) 891
combination is pretty complete. The stearate being allowed to cool to such a degree
as to admit of its being handled, becomes a concrete mass, which must be dug out with
a spade, and transferred into a contiguous tub, in order to be decomposed with the
equivalent quantity of sulphuric acid diluted with water, and also heated with steam.
Four parts of concentrated acid will be sufficient to neutralise 3 parts of slaked lime.
The saponified fat now liberated from the lime, which is thrown down to the bottom
of the tub in a state of sulphate, is skimmed off the surface of the watery menstruum
into a third contiguous tub, where it is washed with water and steam.
The washed mixture of stearic, margaric, and oleic acids, is next cooled in tin pans ;
then shaved by large knives fixed on the face of a fly-wheel, called a tallow-cutter,
preparatory to its being subjected in canvas ot caya bags to the action of a powerful
hydraulic press. Here a large portion of the oleic acid is expelled, carrying with it a
little of the margaric. The pressed cakes are now subjected to the action of water and
steam once more, after which the supernatant stearic acid is run off, and cooled in
moulds. The cakes are then ground by a rotatory rasping-machine to a sort of mealy
powder, which is put into canvas bags, and subjected to the joint action of steam and
pressure in a horizontal hydraulic press of a peculiar construction, somewhat similar
to that which has long been used in London for pressing spermaceti. The cakes of
stearic acid thus freed completely from the margaric and oleic acids, are subjected to
a final cleansing in a tub with steam, and then melted into hemispherical masses called
‘blocks.’ When these blocks are broken, they display a highly crystalline texture,
which would render them unfit for making candles. This texture is therefore broken
down or comminuted by fusing the stearine in a plated copper pan, along with one-
thousandth part of pulverised arsenious acid, after which it is ready to be cast into
candles in appropriate moulds. See CANDLE.
Moinier and Boutigny introduced a process by which the production of stearic ‘acid
has been considerably increased. Two tons of tallow and 900 gallons of water are
introduced into a large rectangular vat of about 270 feet capacity. The tallow is
melted by means of steam admitted through a pipe coiled round the bottom, and. the
whole kept at the boiling point for an hour, during which a current of sulphurous acid
is forced in. At the end of this period 6 ewts. of lime, made into milk with 350 gallons
of water, are added.. The mixture soon acquires consistency, and becomes frothy and
viscid. The whole is now agitated, in order to regulate the ebullitions and prevent
the suddén swelling up of the soapy materials. The pasty appearance of the lime
soap succeeds, and it then agglomerates into small nodular masses. The admission of
sulphurous acid is now stopped ; but the injection of the steam is continued until the
small masses become hard and homogeneous. The whole period occupies eight hours,
but the admission of sulphurous acid is discontinued at the end of about three hours.
The-water containing the glycerine is run off through a tube into cisterns prepared to
receive it. The arrangements for producing sulphurous acid are retorts into which
are put sulphuric acid and pieces of wood ; upon the application of heat the sulphurous
acid passes off, and is conveyed by leaden pipes into the vessel containing the tallow.
The lime-soap formed is then moistened with 12 ewts. of sulphuric acid at 152° Fahr.,
diluted with 50 gallons of water. The whole is thoroughly agitated, and the steam
cautiously admitted, so as not to dilute the acid too much until the decomposition is
general at all points. This occupies about three hours, and in two or three hours
more the sulphate of lime has collected at the bottom, while the fatty acids are
floating on the surface of the solution of the sulphate of lime. Several processes of
washing with steam and water are necessary to ensure the removal of the sulphate of
lime, &c., and after settling for four hours, the fatty acids are forced through a fixed
syphon into a vat, where they are again washed with water; they are then syphoned
at last into a trough lined with lead, on the bottom of which are placed leaden gutters
pierced below by long pegs of wood. The fatty acids are then placed in cloths, and.
subjected to pressure in the stearine cold press as described below.
. It is important for the fatty acids to cool slowly, for thus the confused crystallisation
is prevented, and the expulsion of the oleic acid facilitated. When the cakes are
solid they are placed between sacks of horse-hair, and submitted to a second pressure
at high temperature. ‘The whole is covered with oil-skin, and the temperature raised
to 158°'5 Fahr., when pressure is applied. The heat slowly falls to 113° Fahr., and
ultimately reaches 95° to 80° Fahr. This operation lasts about an hour. The cakes of
stearic acid are sorted according to colour and transparency, and about 20 ewts. are
then introduced into.a vat constructed of wood lined with sheet-iron. This is boiled
by means of steam admitted through a leaden pipe, which is afterwards employed in
heating a stove. Water acidulated is first employed, and afterwards pure water,
When the materials are boiling, the whites of twenty-two eggs are introduced, and
the albumen is intimately mixed by the violent ebullition. As soon as the albumen
is coagulated, the whole is allowed to cool, and the stearic acid is removed to another
892, STEARIC ACID
apartment, where it is kept in a state of agitation to prevent the formation of crystals,
and allow the cooling to be as gradual as possible. It is now fit for candles. ;
The cold hydraulic press, as mounted by Messrs. Maudslay and Field, for squeezing
out the oleic acid from saponified fat, or the oleine from cocoa-nut lard, is represented
Scale of 3-20ths of an inch to the foot.
1895
in plan in jig. 1895, in side view of pump in fig. 1896, and in elevation, fig. 1897,
where the same letters refer to like objects.
A, A, are two hydraulic presses; B, the frame; c, the cylinder; p, the piston or
yam; E, the follower; F, the recess in the bottom to receive the oil; G, twilled woollen
. bags, with the material to be
1896 pressed, having a thin plate of
| wrought iron between each; 4,
a | | | | | | apertures for the discharge of the
oil; 1, cistern in which the pumps
i — as are fixed; x, framing for machi-
(r {Ody a SS nery to work in; 1, two pumps,
} large and small, to inject the water
into the cylinders; m, a frame
containing three double branches ;
Nn, three branches, each having two
= stops or plugs, by which the action
: = of one of the pumps may be in-
\ tercepted from, or communicated
; to, one or both of the presses;
K j the large pump is worked at the
beginning ot the operation, and
the small one towards the end ; by
MoM) or these branches, one or both presses
_ may be discharged when the opera-
| ———}._ tion is finished ; 0, two pipes from
! { the pumps to the branches; pP,
pipe to return the water from
the cylinders to the cisterns; @, pipes leading from the pumps through the branches
to the cylinders; nr, conical drum, fixed upon the main shaft y, driven by the
steam-engine of the factory; s, a like conical drum to work the pumps ; 1, a narrow
leather strap to communicate the motion from R to s; v, a long screw bearing a nut,
which works along the whole length of the drum ; v, the fork or guide for moving the
strap 'T; W, w, two hanging bearings to carry the drum s; x, a pulley on the ape
of the drum s; y, the main shaft; z, fly-wheel with groove on the edge, driven by the
pulley x; on the axis of s, is a double crank, which works the two pumps. @ is @
pulley on the end of the long screw, v ;.an endless cord passes twice round this pulley,
and under a pulley fixed in the weight, 6; by laying hold of both sides of this cord,
and raising or lowering it, the forked guide v, and the leather strap T, are moved back-
wards or forwards, by means of the nut fixed in the guide, so as to accelerate or re-
tard at pleasure the speed of the vo of the pumps; ¢ is a piece of iron, with
a long slit, in which a pin, attached to the fork v, travels, to keep it in the vertical
position.
STEARINE 893
The accompanying . 1898, is a view both of the exterior and the interior
of the saponifying tun of a stearine factory; where the constituents of the tallow are
1897
Bie
A A
4 G G
D i | | B
F Log
On On
Cc Cc
]
4
combined with quicklime, by the intervention of water and steam: a is the upright
shaft of iron, turned by the bevel-wheel aboye, iu gear with another bevel-wheel on
the moving shaft, not shown in
this figure. This upright shaft 1898
bears several arms, d, furnished :
with large teeth. The tun is
bound with strong hoops of iron, >
and its contents are heated by
means of a spiral tube laid on
the bottom, perforated with nu- 4
merous holes, and connected by a =! ;
pipe with a high-pressure steam- [| |
boiler. ee
Fig. 1899 (next page) repre- i x. aoe
sents a longitudinal section of the
horizontal hydraulic press for de-
priving stearic acid, as also sper-
maceti, of all their fluid oily impu- y
rities. a@ is the cylinder of the
press ; 8, the ram or piston; dd,
iron plates previously heated, in-
closing hair and flannel bags and gad
placed between every two cakes to
facilitate the a of their
oily matter; ¢, é, solid iron end of 1h Z Lb: ELL?
the press, made to resist great pres- ul t
sure; it is strongly bolted to the | :
cylinder a, so as toresisttheforee = ____-~___ }
of the ram; g, g, are rods for
bringing back the ram 3 into its place after the pressure is over, by means of counter
weights suspended to a chain, which passes over the pulleys h,h; 7,7, a spout and
a sheet-iron pan for receiving the oily fluid.
STEARINE (from Gr. oréap, stear, ‘tallow’), The solid portions of fats are known
by this term, the fluid portions being called oleine, from €Aaiov, elaion, ‘oil, If melted
aN |
— -9 re ie ee ae a oe
} ; ‘ wae s
=
’ « Ts
894 STEEL —
tallow be dissolved in about eight times its weight of ether, on cooling the oleine
alone remains dissolved, the stearine crvstallises, and can be rendered absolutely pure
1899
4 YEE
AGL
6
L.
by washing with ether. Stearine is a solid transparent substance, easily reduced to
powder. At one time stearine was an object of manufacture; but the production of
stearic acid has superseded it,
We Imported in 1878 the following quantities of Stearine and Tallow :—
Cwts, Value
: Zz
From Russia . = 5 . 4 4 210,009 448,118
» Holland . P : rs ; 5 6,779 20,224
» France . . “ E 3 . 7,019 21,331
», United States of America . : = 493,138 1,012,102
» prazil 2 s ee ; - 33,134 67,808
ig 1 Opies: he'd yee ge ta Bligh 144,860 303,962
» Argentine Republic. . é P $19,918 651,999
» Australia . 5 ‘ : 5 ; 290,107 580,829
» British North America . : 11,957 23,517
,, Other countries * ; , 10,400 22,523
Total . A ; . 1,527,321 3,152,413
STEATITE, or Soapstone (Speckstein, Ger.), is a massive variety of tale. It hus
a greyish-white or greenish-white colour, often marked with dendritic delineations,
and oceurs massive; it has a dull or fattylustre; a coarse splintery fracture, with
translucent edges; a shining streak ; it writes feebly; is soft, and easily cut witha
knife, but somewhat tough; does not adhere to the tongue; feels very greasy; in-
fusible before the blowpipe ; specific gravity from 2°6 to 2°8. It is found frequently in
small contemporaneous veins traversing serpentine in all directions, as at Portsoy in
Shetland, in the limestone of Icolmkiln, in the serpentine of Cornwall, in Anglesey,
in Saxony, Bavaria (at Bayreuth), Hungary, &c. The chemical composition of steatite
is silica 62°14, magnesia 32°92, water 4°94, being sometimes contaminated with and
coloured with a little iron, manganese, or chrome. It is occasionally used in the
manufacture of porcelain. It makes the biscuit semi- nt, but rather brittle,
and apt to crack with slight changes of heat. It is employed for polishing serpentine,
marble, gypseous alabaster, and mirror-glass ; as the basis of cosmetic powder; and
as an ingredient in anti-attrition pastes, sold under the name of French Chalk; it
is dusted in powder upon the inside of boots, to make the feet glide easily into them;
when rubbed upon grease- in silk and woollen clothes, it removes the stains by
absorption ; it enters into the composition of certain crayons, and is used itself for
making traces upon glass, silk, &c. The spotted steatite, cut into cameos and cal-
cined, assumes an Onyx aspect. Soft steatite forms excellent stoppers for the chemical
pega used in distilling or subliming corrosive vapours. Lamellar steatite is dale
e Taxc.
STEEL (Acier, Fr.; Stahl, Ger.) is a-carburet of iron, more or less freed from
foreign matter, and may be produced by two processes opposed to each other: first, '
by working pig-iron, which contains 4 to 5 per cent. of carbon, in a suitable furnace,
STEEL 895
until such carbon is reduced to the quantity required for constituting steel, which is
about 1 per eent.; the second method is to heat iron bars in contact with charcoal,
until they have absorbed that quantity of carbon which may be required.
Steel may be classed into three kinds:
Ist. Natural steel, which is manufactured from pig-iron direct.
2nd, Cemented or converted steel, which is produced by the carbonisation of
wrought iron.
3rd. Cast-steel which is produced by the fusion of either natural or cemented steel,
but principally from the latter.
The various kinds of iron which are used for the manufacture of steel were formerly
imported from Sweden, Norway, and Russia; but the high price of Swedish and other
steel-iron has compelled the consumers to look elsewhere for a supply of suitable iron,
and to offer every encouragement to English manufacturers so to improve their
steel-irons as to render them suitable for the production of steel.
England now furnishes 4 large quantity of iron suitable for steel be? se which
may be estimated at 20,000 tons per annum ; this iron is manufactured with great
care, often with an admixture of charcoal pig-iron, and various chemical reagents,
which are added at the caprice of each manufacturer.
It is of the highest importance that the iron used for steel purposes should be as
pure as possible; those irons which have long enjoyed the highest reputation are manu-
factured from the Dannemora ores in Sweden; the whole of the steel-irons produced
in that country are smelted from the magnetic and red oxides containing usually 60
per cent. of metal.
Natural or German steel is so called because it is produced direct from pig-iron,
the result of the fusion of the spathogse iron ores alone, or in a small degree mixed
with.the brown oxide. This crude-iron contains 4 to 5 per cent. of carbon and 4 to 5
per cent. of manganese. Karsten, Hassenfratz, Marcher, and -Réaumur, all advocate
the use of grey pig-iron for the production of steel; indeed they distinctly state that
the best qualities cannot be produced without it; they state that the object of working
it in the furnace is to clear away all foreign matters, but there can be no advantage
gained by retaining the carbon and retaining it with the iron. The theory is incor-
rect, although it is supported by such high authorities. Grey-iron contains the maxi-
mum quantity of carbon, and consequently remains for a longer time ina state of
fluidity than iron containing less carbon; the metul is not only mixed up with the
foreign matter it may itself contain, but also that with which it may become mixed in
the furnace in which it is worked. This prolonged working, which is necessary in
order to bring highly-carbonised metal into a malleable state, increases the tendency
to produce silicated oxides of iron; which mixing with the steel produced renders it
‘red short,’ and destroys many good qualities which the pig-iron may have originally
possessed, In Austria, where a large quantity of natural steel is produced, the fluid
metal is tapped from the blast-furnace into a round hole; water is sprinkled on the
surface which chills it, and thus forms a cake about half an inch thick. This is taken
from the surface, and the operation is again performed until the whole is formed into
cakes, they are then piled edgewise in a furnace, and covered with charcoal, and heated
to a full red heat for about 48 hours; by this process much of the carbon is discharged.
These cakes are then used for producing steel in the refinery. A much superior
quality is thus obtained with greater economy. It appears that the most perfect plan
for manufacturing the steel is to free the crude mtal as much as possible from its
impurities whilst in a fluid state. The furnaces used for the production of natural
steel are like the refineries in which charcoal-iron is produced. In all countries their
general construction is the same, but each has its own peculiar mode of working. We
find therefore, the German, the Styrian, the Carinthian, and several other distinct
methods, yet all producing steel from crude-iron directly, although pursuing different
modes of operation. These differences arise from the nature of the pig-iron each
country produces, and the peculiar habits of the workmen. These modified processes
do not affect the theory of the manufacture of the steel, but rather accommodate them-
selves to the peculiar character of the metal produced.
Fig. 1900 shows a ground-plan of the furnace ; fig, 1901 an elevation ; and fig. 1902
the form of the fire itself | the position of the metal within it. The fire, p, is 24
inches long and 24 inches wide; a, a, A, are metal plates, surrounding the furnace.
Fig. 1901 shows the elevation, usually built of stone, and braced with iron bars.
The fire, cg, is 16 inches deep and 24 inches wide; before the tuyére, at B, a space is
left, under the fire, to allow the damp to escape, and thus keep the bottom dry and hot,
In fig. 1902 there are two tuyéres, but only one tuyére iron, which receives both the
blast nozzles, which are‘so laid and directed that the current of air cross each other,
as shown by the dotted lines; the blast is kept as regular as possible, so that the fire
may be of one uniform heat, whatever intensity may be required.
896 . STEEL
Fig. 1902 shows the fire itself, with the metal, chareoal, and blast. a is a bottom
of charcoal, rammed down very close and hard. 8 is another bottom, but not so.
1900 1901
a
ay vio” &
ae oa gp A
Ls A 5 a ;
i N an eat FLOOR
8 ee
closely beaten down ; this bed of charcoal protects the under one, and serves also to
give out carbon to the loop of steel during its production. c is a thin stratum of
1902 metal, which is kept in the fire to surround the loop.
D shows the loop itself in progress.
ELOH E—) When the fire is hot, the first operation is to melt
yi pejs 7 down a portion of pig-iron, say 50 to 70 pounds accord.
ing as the pig contains more or less carbon; the char-
coal is pushed back from the upper part of the fire, and
the blast, which is then reduced, is allowed to play upon
the surface of the metal, adding from time to time
some hammer-slag, or rich cinder, the result of the
| Bee ao previous loop. All these operations tend to decarbonise
ee the metal to a certain extent; the mass begins to
b cuslesete Te thicken, and at length becomes solid. The workman
then draws together the charcoal and melts down
another portion of metal upon the cake; this operation renders the face of the cake
again fluid, but the operation of decarbonisation being repeated in the second
charge, it also thickens, incorporates itself with the previous cake, and the whole
becomes hard; metal is again added until the loop is completed. During these sue-
cessive operations, the loop is never raised before the blast, as it is in making iron, but
it is drawn from the fire and hammered into a large bloom, which is cut into several
pieces, the ends being kept separated from the middle or more solid parts, which are
the best.
This operation, apparently so simple in itself, requires both skill and care; the
workman has to judge, as the operation proceeds, of the amount of carbon which he
has retained from the pig-iron; if too much, the result is a very raw, crude, un-
treatable steel ; if too little, he obtains only a steelified iron; he has also to keep the
cinder at a proper degree of fluidity, which is modified from time to time by the
addition of quartz, old slags, &c, It is usual to keep from two to three inches of
cinder on the face of the metal, to protect it from the direct action of the blast. The
fire itself is formed of iron plates, and the two charcoal-bottoms rise to within nine
inches of the tuyére, which is laid flatter than when iron is being made. This
position of the tuyére causes the fire to work more slowly, but it ensures a better
result. .
The quantity of blast required is about 180 cubic feet per minute, Good workmen
make 7 cwts. of steel in 17 hours, The waste of the pig-iron is from 20 to 26 per cent.,
and the quantity of charcoal consumed is 240 bushels per ton. The inclination of
the tuyére is 12 to 15 degrees. The flame of the fire is the best guide for the work-
men. During its working it should bea red bluish colour, When it becomes white
ge is working too hot,
en, care has been taken in melting down each portion of metal, and a complete
and perfect layer of steél has been obtained after each successive melting, when the
cinder has had due attention, so that, it has been neither too thick nor too thin, and
the heat of the fire regulated and modified during the progressive stages of the
STEEL 897
process, then a good result is obtained; a fine-grained steel is produced, which draws
under the hammer, and hardens well. However good it may be it possesses one great
defect; it is this. During its manufacture, von is produced along with the steel, and
becomes so intimately mixed up with it, that it injures the otherwise good qualities of
the steel; the iron becomes, as it were, interlaced throughout the mass, and thus
destroys its hardening quality. When any tool or instrument is made from natural
_ steel, unless it has been well refined, it will not receive a permanent cutting edge;
the iron part of the mass, of course, not being hard, the tool cuts only upon the steel
portion ; the edge, therefore, very soon becomes destroyed. There is another defect in
natural steel, but it is of less importance. When too much carbon has been left, the
steel is raw and coarse, and it draws very imperfectly under the hammer; the articles
manufactured from such steel often break in hardening; thus it is evident, that in
producing this kind of steel, every care, skill, and attention is required at the hands of
the workman. :
The raw steel, being imperfect, is not considered so much an article of commerce
with the manufacturer, but it is sold to the steel-refiners, who submit it to.a process of
welding. The raw steel-bloom is drawn into bars one or two inches wide and half an
inch thick, or less; a number of these are put together and welded; these bars are
then thrown into water, and they are broken in smaller pieces to examine the fracture ;
those bars which are equally steelified are mixed together. In manufacturing refined
steel, the degree of hardness is selected to suit the kind of.article which it is intended
to make. A bar, two to three feet long, forms the top and bottom of the bundle, but
the inside of the packet is filled with the small pieces of selected steel. This packet is
then placed in a hollow fire, and carefully covered from time to time with pounded
clay, to form a coat over the metal, and preserve it from the oxidising influence of the
blast. When it is at a full welding heat it is placed under a hammer, and made as.
sound and homogeneous as possible; itis again cut, doubled together, and again
welded, For very fine articles, the refining is increased by several doublings, but this
is not carried at present to so great an extent as formerly, since cast steelis substituted,
being in many cases cheaper.
Natural steel being expensive, many attempts were made in Westphalia to produce
a kind of steel by puddling pig-iron in a peculiar manner ; a patent was taken ont in
England by Mr. Riepe, and a considerable quantity of this steel was produced. In Mr,
Riepe’s description of this process, he says :-—
‘I employ the puddling furnace in the same way as for making wrought iron. I
introduce a charge of about 280 lbs. of pig-iron, and raise the temperature to redness,
As soon as the metal begins to fuse and trickle down in a fluid state, the damper is to
be partially closed in order to temper the heat. From 12 to 16. shovelsful of -iron
cinder discharged from the rolls or squeezing machine are added, and the whole is ©
to be uniformly melted down. The mass is then to be puddled with the addition of a
little black oxide of manganese, common salt, and dry clay, previously ground to-
gether. After this mixture has acted for some minutes, the damper is to be fully
opened, when about forty pounds of pig-iron is to put into the furnace, near the fire-
bridge, upon elevated beds of cinder prepared for that purpose. When this pig-iron
begins to trickle down, and the mass on the bottom of the surface begins to boil and
throw out from the surface the well-known blue jets of flame, the said pig-iron is
raked into the boiling mass, and the whole is then well mixed together. The mass
soon begins to swell up, and the small grains begin to form in it and break through
the melted cinder on the surface. As soon as these grains appear, the damper is to be
three-quarters shut, and the process closely inspected while the mass is being puddled
to and fro beneath the covering layer of cinder. During the whole of this process the
heat should not be raised above cherry-redness, or the welding heat of shear-steel.
The blue jets of flame gradually disappear, while the formation of grains continues,,
which grains very soon begin to fuse together, so that the mass becomes waxy, and
has the above-mentioned cherry redness. If these precautions are not observed, the
mass would pass more or less into iron, and no uniform steel product could be obtained.
As soon as the mass is finished so far, the fire is stirred to keep the necessary heat for
the succeeding operation: the damper is to be entirely shut, and part of the mass is
collected into a ball, the remainder always being kept covered with cinder slack, This
ball is brought under the hammer, and then worked, into bars. The same process is con-
tinued until the whole is worked into bars. When I use pig-iron made from sparry
iron ore, or mixtures of it with other pig-iron, I add only about 20 Ibs. of the former
pig-iron at the later period of the process, instead of about 40 lbs. When I employ
Welsh or pig-iron of that description, I throw 10 lbs. of best plastic clay, in a dry
granulated state, before the beginning of the process, on the bottom of the furnace,
I add, at the later period of the process, about 40 lbs. of pig-iron as before described,
but. strew over it clay in the same. proportion as just mentioned.’
Vor, IIT. 3M
898 STEEL
- This steel is very useful for ships’ plates, being very strong and rigid, and thus re-
quiring less weight of metal; it may also eventually be used for rails and a great
variety of purposes, for which at present strong charcoal or scrap iron is used.
The Paal process may be considered as an improvement upon natural steel, the
object being as far as possible to carbonise the iron fibres which this kind of steel
always contains. The process is based upon the old one of Vanaccio: it consists in
plunging iron into a bath of melted metal. The carbon of the metal combines with
the iron, and in a very short time converts it into steel. This process was carried
further by Vanaccio, who contrived to add wrought iron to the metal until he had
decarbonised it’ sufficiently; this was found to produce a steel, but unfit for general
use, That produced by plunging iron into metal was found to be a very hard steel on
the outside, but iron within; while that produced by adding iron to the metal was
found too brittle to bedrawn. The Paal method, however, was a decided improvement
in the manufacture of refined natural steel. The packets, as already described in the
refinement of natural steel, are welded and drawn to a bar; whilst hot they are
plunged into a bath of metal for a few minutes, by which the iron contained in the
raw steel becomes carbonised, and thus a more regular steel is obtained than that
produced by the common process. The operation requires great care, for if the bars
of steel be left in the metal too long they are more or less destroyed, or perhaps
entirely melted.
. The foregoing kinds of steel may be classed under the first head of natural steel,
being manufactured from the crude tron direct.
The next process is the production of steel by introducing carbon into malleable
iron which is the reverse of the process already described. The iron to be converted
is placed in a furnace, stratified with carbonaceous matter, and on heat being applied’
the iron absorbs the carbon, and a new compound is thus formed.
At a very early period charcoal was found to harden iron, and to give it a better and
more permanent cutting edge. It seems probable that from hardening small objects
bars of iron were afterwards submitted to the same process. To Réaumur certainly
1903 , 1904
belongs the merit of first bringing the process of conversion to any degree of per-
fection. His work contains much information on the theory of cementation; and
. although his investigations are
1906 it not borne out by the practice of
ti the present day, yet the first prin-
ciples laid down by him are now
the guide of the converter. Our
furnaces are much larger thanthuse
used by Réaumur, and they are
built so as to produce a more uni-
form and economical result. The
furnace of cementation in which
bar iron is converted into blistered
steel is represented in jigs. 1903,
1904, and 1906.
It is rectangular, and covered
in by a semicireulay arch, in the
centre of which there is a circular
hole left, 12 inches diameter, which
is opened when the furnace is
cooling, It contains two chests, called ‘ pots,’ c, c, e either of fire-stone or fire-
S \\ J \
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STEEL 899
bricks: each ‘ pot’ is 3 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and 12 feet long. One is placed on
one side, and the other, on the contrary side of the fire-grate, A B, which occupies the
whole length of the furnace, and is 13 to 14 feet long; the grate is 15 to 16 inches
broad, and the bars rest from 10 to 12 inches below the inferior plane or bottom level
of the ‘pots;’ the height of the arch at the centre is 5} feet above the top of the
‘pots,’ the bottoms of which are nearly level with the ground, so that the bars of iron
do not need lifting so high when charging them into the furnace. The flame rises
between the two ‘ pots ;’ it passes also below and around them, through the horizontal
and vertical flues, d, and issues from the furnace through the six small chimneys, u, into
a large conical space which is built around the whole furnace, 30 to 40 feet high, open
at the top. This cone increases the draft of the furnace, and earries away the smoke.
There are three openings in the front of the arch: two, 1, fig. 1905, above the pots
serve to admit and remove the bars; they are about 8 inches square ; in each a piece
of iron is placed upon which the bars slide in and out of the furnace. The workman
enters by the middle opening, p, to arrange the bars, which he lays flat in the pots and
spreads a layer of charcoal, ground small, between each layer; the bars are laid near
each other, excepting those next to the side of the pot, which are placed an inch
from it; the last stratum of iron is covered with a thick layer of charcoal, and the
whole is carefully covered with loamy earth, 4 to 5 inches thick. The iron is gra-
dually heated; in about four days it has become fully heated through, and the firnace
has then attained its maximum heat, which is maintained for 2 or 3 days, until the
first test bar is drawn out; the heat is afterwards regulated, according to the degree
of hardness which may be required. ‘The iron is converted in 8 days if for soft steel,
and in 9 to 11 days if for harder purposes.
Conversion usually commences in 60 to 70 hours after the furnace is lighted. The
pores of the iron being opened by heat, the carbon is gradually absorbed by the mass
of the bar, but the carbonisation or conversion is effected, as it were, in layers. To
explain the theory in the clearest manner, suppose a bar to be composed of a number
of laminez; the combination of the carbon with the iron is first effected on the sur-
face, and gradually extends from one lamina to another, until the whole is carbonised.
To effect this complete carbonisation, the iron requires to be kept at a considerable
uniform heat for a length of time. Thin bars of iron are much sooner converted
than thick ones. Réaumur states, in his experiments, that if a bar of iron ths
of an inch thick is converted in 9 hours, a bar 3ths of an inch would require
36 hours to attain the same degree of hardness. The carbon introduces itself suc-
cessively, the first lamina or surface of a bar combining with a portion of the carbon
with which it is in contact, gives a portion of the carbon to the second lamina, at the
same time taking up a fresh quantity of carbon from the charcoal; these successive
combinations are continued until the whole thickness is converted : from which theory
it is evident that from the exterior to the centre the dose of carbon becomes propor-
tionately less. Steel so produced cannot be said to be perfect; it possesses in some
degree the defect of natural steel, being more carbonised on the surface than at the
centre of the bar. From this theory we perceive that steel made by cementation is
different in its character from that produced directly from crude metal. In conversion
the carbon is made successively to penetrate to the centre of the bar, whilst in the
production of natural steel, the molecules of metal which compose the mass are per se
charged with a certain percentage of carbon necessary for their steelification; not
imbibed, but obtained by the decarbonisation of the crude iron down to a point requi-
site to produce steel.
Bar steel is also used for manufacturing shear steel. It is heated, drawn to lengths
3 feet long, then subjected to a welding heat, and some six or eight bars are welded
together, precisely as described in the refinement of natural steel ; this is called single
shear. It is further refined by doubling the bar, and submitting it toa second welding
and hammering; the result is a clearer and more homogeneous steel. During the
last few years the manufacture of this steel has been limited, mechanics preferring
a soft east steel, which is much superior, when properly manufactured, and which can
be very easily welded to iron.
The process of melting bar steel, and thus producing cast steel, was first practically
earried on by Mr. Huntsman of Attercliffe: the process itself is very simple. Fig. 1906
shows a cross section of the furnace commonly used.
The furnace a, is square, lined with fire-stone 12 inches by 22 wide, and 36 inches
deep from the grate-bar to the under side of the cover 8. © isa crucible, of which
two are placed in one ‘melting-hole.’ p is the flue into the chimney, », which is about
40 feet high, lined with fire-brick. There is an air-flue, which is used to regulate the
draught at ¥. G is the ashpit, and u the cellar which is arched over.
The steel is broken in pieces and charged into the crucible, which is placed on a
stand and provided with a cover; coke is used as a fuel, and an intense heat is
3M 2
900 STEEL
obtained. The crucible is charged three times during the day, and is then burnt through;
the first charge is usually 36 lbs.; which requires from 3 to 4 hours to melt it; the
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second charge is about $2 lbs., which is melted in about 3 hours; the last charge is
29 to 30 lbs., which does not require more than 2 to 23 hours to become perfectly
melted. The consumption of coke averages 33 tons per ton of cast steel. When the
steel is completely fiuid the crucible is drawn from the furnace, and the steel poured
into a cast-iron mould; the result is an ingot, which is subsequently rolled or ham-
mered according to the wants of the consumer.
Although the melting of cast steel is a simple process, yet, on the other hand, the
manufacture of cast steel suitable for the various wants of those who consume it re-
quires an extensive knowledge.
1907 v Fig. 1907 represents the mould for making the crucibles
eh used for melting cast steel. Each manufacturer makes‘his
own; M, M, is a solid block of wood let into the floor,
having a hole which admits a round piece of iron fixed
in the centre of the plug Pp. The material of which the
crucible is made consists of 22 lbs. of fire-clay got from
Stannington, near Sheffield, from the neighbourhood of
Burton-on-Trent, or Stourbridge; 2 lbs. of, the old
crucible after it has been used, ground to powder, and
m_ about $1b. of ground coke. These quantities are suffi-
cient for one crucible of the ordinary size. This compo-
sition is trodden for 8 or 10 hours on a metal-floor; it
k is then cut into pieces of 26 to 28 lbs.; each piece is
rolled round nearly to the size of the mould into which
it is introduced, and the plug P is driven down with a
mallet ; the mould is furnished with a moveable bottom: when the pot is made, the
mould is lifted up by the two handles, and fixing the bottom on a post, the mould
falls, and leaves the crucible upon it.
Cast steel may be wanted for the engraver. It may be produced apparently perfect,
and with a clear surface, but may be so improperly manufactured, that when the plate
has been engraved and has to be hardened, it is found covered with soft places: The
trial is even greater when the engraving is transferred by pressure to another plate.
It is, therefore, evident’ that a steel-maker must not only attend to the intrinsic quality
of his steel, but he has to use his judgment as regards the degree of hardness and
tenacity which it should possess.
In manufacturing the commoner description of steel, particularly cast. steel made
from Englishiron, black oxide of manganese may be added to the steel in the crucible,
and acts as a detergent. The oxygen unites with a portion of the carbonin the steel,
forming carbonic oxide gas, which acts upon the imperfectly metallic portions of the
steel used, and liberates the metal whilst the deleterious matter is taken up and
forms a slag with the manganese. There has been a great controversy regarding the
N
STEEL 901
invention which originated with Mr. Heath. This substance is not generally used
when the Dannemora irons are melted, as they are very pure, and the addition of an
oxide partially destroys the temper of the steel.
Indian Steel, or Wootz.—The wootz ore consists of the magnetic oxide of iron, associ-
ated with quartz in proportions which do notseem to differ much, being generally about
42 of quartz and 58 of magnetic oxide. Its grains are of various size, down to a sandy
texture. The natives prepare it for smelting by pounding the ore, and winnowing away
the stony matrix, a task at which the Hindoo females are very dexterous. The manner
in which iron ore is smelted and converted into wootz or Indian steel, by the natives at
the present day, is probably the very same that was practised by them at the time of
the invasion of Alexander; and it is a uniform process from the Himalaya Mountains
to Cape Comorin. The furnace or bloomery in which the ore is smelted is from 4 to5
feet high ; it is somewhat pear-shaped, being about 2 feet wide at bottom, and 1 foot at
top; it is built entirely of clay, so that a couple of men can finish its erection in afew
hours, and-have it ready for use the next day. There isan opening in front about a foot
or more in height, which is built up with clay at the commencement, and broken down
at the end of each smelting operation. The bellows are usually made of a goat’s-skin,
which has been stripped from the animal without ripping open the part covering the
belly. The apertures at the legs are tied up, and a nozzle of bamboo is fastened in
the opening formed by the neck. The orifice of the tail is enlarged and distended by
two slips of bamboo. These are grasped in the hand, and kept close together in
making the stroke for the blast; in the returning stroke they are separated to admit
the air. By working a bellows of this kind with each hand, making alternate strokes,
a pretty uniform blast is produced. The bamboo nozzles of the bellows are inserted
into tubes of clay, which pass into the furnace at the bottom corners of the temporary
wall in front. The furnace is filled with charcoal, and a lighted coal being introduced
before the nozzles, the mass in the interior is soon kindled. As soon as this is
accomplished, a small portion of the ore, previously moistened with water, to prevent
it from running through the charcoal, but without any flux whatever, is laid on the top
or the coals, and covered with charcoal to fill up the furnace.
In this manner ore and fuel are supplied; and the bellows are urged for 3 or 4 hours,
when the process is stopped; and the temporary wall in front being broken down, the
bloom is removed by a pair of tongs from the bottom of the furnace. It is then beaten
with a wooden mallet, to separate as much of the scoriz as possible from it, and while
still red hot, it is cut through the. middle, but not separated, in order merely to show
the quality of the interior of the mass. In this state it is sold to the blacksmiths,
who makeit into bariron, The proportion of such iron made by the natives from 100
parts of ore is about 15 parts. In converting the iron into steel, the natives cut it into
pieces, to enable it to pack better in the crucible, which is formed of refractory clay
mixed with a large quantity of charred husk of rice. It is seldom charged with more
than a pound of iron, which is put in with a proper weight of dried wood chopped
small, and both are covered with one or two green leaves; the proportions being in
general 10 parts or iron to 1 of wood and leaves. The mouth of the crucible is then
stopped with a handful of tempered clay, rammed in very closely, to exclude the air.
The wood preferred is the Cassia auriculata, and the leaf that of the Asclepias gigantea
or the Convolvulus laurifolius. As soon as the clay plugs of the crucibles are dry,
from twenty to twenty-four of them are built up in the form of an arch, ina small blast
furnace; they are kept covered with charcoal, and subjected to heat urged by a blast
for about two kours and a half, when the process is considered to be complete. The
crucibles being now taken out of the furnace and allowed to cool, are broken, and the
steel is found in the form of a cake, rounded by the bottom of a crucible. When the
fusion has been perfect, the top of the cake is covered with striz, radiating from the
centre, and is free from holes and rough projections ; but if the fusion has been im-
perfect, the surface of the cake has a honeycomb appearance, with projecting lumps.
of malleable iron. On an average, four out of five cakes are more or less defective.
These imperfections have been tried to be corrected in London by remelting the
cakes, and running them into ingots; but it is obvious that when the cakes consist
partially of malleable iron and of unreduced oxide, simple fusion cannot convert them
into good steel. When care is taken, however, to select only such cakes as are
perfect, to remelt them thoroughly, and tilt them carefully into rods, an article has
been produced which possesses all the requisites of fine steel in an eminent degree.
The natives prepare the cakes for being drawn into bars by annealing them for
several hours ina small charcoal furnace, actuated by bellows; the current of air
being made to play upon the cakes while turned over before it ; whereby a portion of
the combined carbon is probably dissipated, and the steel is softened ; without which
operation, the cakes would break in the attempt to draw them. They are drawn by a
hammer of a few pounds weight,
902 STEEL
Hardening and tempering steel is a delicate operation. Small articles of cutlery are .
usually ened by first heating them to a red heat and plunging them in water;
saws and such articles are, when heated, plunged into oil. All articles are tempered
by carefully heating them when hardened, and the degree of temper is indicated bya
ange in the colour of the surface, which is first straw-coloured, then blue, and deep
blue: colour is thus made the most delicate test for the degree of temper given: after
this operation, steel is found to expand a little. Alloys of steel have been very care-
fully made by Messrs. Stoddart and Faraday; but it can hardly be said that any alloy
has at present been found to give any addition to the intrinsic quality of steel. The
empiric titles of ‘ silver steel,’ ‘me ¢ steel,’ &c., may be regarded simply as fanciful
names to recommend the article, either as a raw material, or in a manufactured state.
Those articles called ‘run steel’ are made by melting pig-iron and pouring it into
moulds of sand in which the required article has been moulded ; they are then packed
in round iron pots, about 12 inches diameter and 16 to 18 inches high, along with
hematite iron ore crushed to powder; these pots are packed in a furnace, and heat
is applied from 24 hours to several days; the oxygen abstracts the carbon from the
metal of which the articles are made, and they become to a certain extent malleable,
so much so, that pieces a quarter of an inch thick may be bent almost double, and can
be drawn out under a hammer. Forks, table-knives, scissors, and many other cheap
articles are so made; also a vast variety of parts of cotton and flax machinery are so
manufactured, especially those parts which are difficult to forge.
‘Damascus’ or ‘damasked steel’ is made by melting together iron and steel, or
bars of steel of high and low degrees of carbonisation; it may also be produced by
melting hard and soft steel in separate crucibles, mixing them together whilst fluid,
and immediately pouring the mixture into an ingot mould; the damask is shown by
the application of dilute acid to the surface when brightened. The analysis of a
genuine Damascus sword-blade has shown that it is not a homogeneous steel, but a
mixture of steel and iron. é
Bessemer’s Steel.—The undoubted success, and therefore the general adoption of
this process for converting iron into steel, which derives its name from its inventor,
renders it necessary that a full description of the process should be given.
The facility which the blast-furnace affords, of at once separating from the ores
of iron the greater part of the extrangous matters which they contain, has rendere‘l
its employment almost universal, as a preliminary process in the production of
malleable iron.
The crude metal thus obtained, although separated from a large proportion of its
impurities, is nevertheless found to be intimately combined with carbon and silicum,
and generally with sulphur, phosphorus, manganese, and some other substances, in
comparatively minute quantities; the decarbonisation of the iron, and the separation
of these substances, as far as is practicable, claims the first care of the manufacturer.
For this purpose the crude metal is either formed into pigs, which are afterwards
remelted in the ‘finery furnace,’ or it is run, while still in a fluid state, from the
blast-furnace direct into the finery fire, where it is subjected to the action of blasts of
air, directed downwards upon its surface, at a particular angle. The crude metal,
thus acted upon by the oxygen of the air, is in about three hours sufficiently de-
carbonised and refined, to render it suitable for the puddling process ; it is therefore
run out of the ‘finery’ and formed into a large flat plate, which is of an extremely
hard and. brittle character, and presents physically no approach whatever to the
malleable state. The hard and brittle mass, thus formed, is easily broken by the
hammer into’ pieces of a size suitable for the puddling furnace, to which it is con-
veyed, in order to be more completely decarbonised and rendered malleable.
Iron on the pn of fusion loses its power of cohesion, and readily crumbles down
into a coarse powder. This one, is common to pig and to refined iron, and advan-
tage is taken of it in the puddling process. The workman watches the temperature
and Brera of the metal, and roa the proper moment, divides the masses of
refined iron into small fragments, which he spreads about the furnace, and finally
breaks it down into a kind of coarse sand. The metal, in this divided state, exposes a
large extent of surface to the refining action of the fluid cinder, as well as to the yo-
lume of air constantly passing through the furnace. By increasing the heat, the
granulated mass swells up and emits numerous jets of blue flame. At this point the
puddler diligently stirs and works the metal, until the flame appears of a whiter
colour, and the metal becomes clotty and tenacious, or as the workmen term it, ‘ comes
to nature ;” after which, the iron is gathered jnto balls, and is:then removed, as
quickly as posetbte, to the squeezer, where much of the fluid scoriz and other mechani-
cally mixed impurities are driven out, leaving a mass or billet of iron, composed of
thousands of separate fragments of metal, the entire surface of every one of which is
more or less coated with dry oxide, or fluid silicate of the oxide of iron, The great
STEEL 903
pressure exerted by the squeezer suffices to so far remove the fluid coating of con-
tiguous particles as to bring their surfaces into actual contact, and consequently to
effect an union at such parts.
In the puddling process, the granules of metal gradually pass from the state of
brittle finery-iron to steel, and passing that point, through évery gradation of hard,
medium, and soft steel, eventually arrive at the softest stage of decarbonised iron.
The time occupied in these chan varies with the size of the granules, their
temperature, and the extent to which each is exposed to the action of the air passing
through the furnace.
. It need not be a matter of surprise that when it was first proposed, by Mr. Bessemer,
to conyert erude pig-iron into malleable iron, while in a fluid state, and to retain the
fluidity of the metal for a sufficient time to admit of its being cast into moulds, with-
out the employment of any fuel in the process, that his ition was almost
enol looked upon as a mere day-dream, which the practical man felt bound to
isbelieve. ;
Chemical investigation soon pointed out the real source of the difficulties which
surrounded the Bessemer process. It was found that, although the metal could be
wholly decarbonised, and the silicium be removed, the quantity of sulphur and phos-
phorus was but little affected. As different samples were carefully analysed, it was
ascertained that the red shortness was always produced by sulphur, when present to
the extent of one-tenth per cent., and that cold shortness resulted from the presence
of a like quantity of phosphorus. It therefore became necessary to remove these
substances. Steam and pure hydrogen gas were tried, with more or less success, in
the removal of sulphur, and various fiuxes, composed chiefly of silicates of the oxides
of iron and manganese, were brought in contact with the fiuid metal during the pro-
cess, and the quantity of phosphorus was thereby reduced.
In manufacturing tool-steel of the highest quality, it was found preferable, for
several reasons, to use the best Swedish pig-iron, and when converted into steel, by
the Bessemer process, to pour the fluid steel into water, and afterwards to remelt the
1908 ~
shotted metal in a crucible, as is at present practised with blister steel, by which
system the small ingots required for this particular article are more perfectly and
more readily made. The production of first-class steel by the new process, although
a mater of deep interest in one of the smaller branches of the iron trade, still left
untouched that great source cf this country’s prosperity, the manufacture of malleable
iron. It was, therefore, impossible to rest content without accomplishing this, the
original object of the invention. On examining into the stores of mineral wealth so
abundant in these islands, it was found that iron ore of the requisite purity existed
as red hematite in vast beds. There are also extensive veins of spathose ore or car-
bonate of iron, and magnetic ores.
‘The form of converting vessel which has been found most convenient, and by which
superior specimens are produced, is shown in fig. 1908.: The vessel is mounted on
904 STEEL
axes, at or near its centre of gravity. It is constructed of boiler-plates, and is lined
either with fire-brick, road-drift, or ‘ ganister’ (a local name in Sheffield for a peculiar
kind of powdered stone), which resists the heat better than any other material yet
tried, and has also the advantage of cheapness. The vessel having been heated, is
brought into the position shown in fig. 1908, so that it may receive its charge of
melted metal, without either of the tuyéres being below the surface. No action can,
therefore, take place until the vessel is made to assume the position shown in fig. 1909.
The process is thus in an instant brought into full activity, and small though powerful
jets of air spring upward through the fluid mass. The air expanding in volume,
divides itself into globules, or bursts violently upwards, carrying with it some hundred-
weights of fluid metal, which again falls into the boiling mass below. Every part of
the apparatus trembles under the violent agitation thus produced, a roaring flame
rushes from the mouth of the vessel, and as the process advances, it changes its violet
colour to orange, and finally to a voluminous pure white flame. The sparks, which
at first were large, like those of ordinary foundry iron, change to small hissing points,
and these gradually give way to soft floating
1909 specks of bluish light, as the state of malle-
able iron is approached. There is no eruption »
of cinder as in the early experiments, although
it. is formed during the process; the improved
shape of the converter causes it to be retained,
and it not only acts beneficially on the metal,
but it helps to confine the heat, which during
the process, has rapidly risen from the com-
paratively low temperature of melted pig-iron,
to one vastly greater than the highest known
welding heats, by which malleable iron only
becomes sufficiently soft to be shaped by the
blows of the hammer; but here it becomes
perfectly fluid, and even rises so much above
the melting-point as to admit of its being
poured from the converter into a founder's
ladle, and from thence to be transferred to
several successive moulds. The thin shell, or
skull of the ladle, shows the extreme fluidity
of the metal, and also how little of it is
solidified in the ladle during the time of cas*-
ing.
‘The oxygen of the air appears, in this pro-
cess, first to oxidize the silicium, producing
silicic acid, and next to seize the carbon which
is eliminated, while the silicic acid, uniting
with the oxide of iron, obtained. by the com-
bustion of a small quantity of metallic iron,
thus produces a fluid silicate of the oxide of
iron, or ‘cinder,’ which is retained in the vessel,
and assists in the purification of the metal.
~The increase of temperature which the metal undergoes, and which seems so dis-
proportionate to the quantity of carbon and iron consumed, is doubtless owing to
the favourable circumstances under which combustion takes place. There is no
intercepting material to absorb the heat generated, and to prevent its being taken
up by the metal; for heat is evolved at thousands of points, distributed through-
out the fluid, and when the metal boils, the whole mass rises far above its natural
level, forming a sort of spongy froth, with an intensely vivid combustion going on
in every one of its numberless ever-changing cavities. Thus, by the mere action
of the blast, a temperature is obtained in the largest masses of metal, in ten or
twelve minutes, that whole days of exposure in the most powerful furnaces would fail
to produce.’
The changes in the colour and volume of the flame, and the kind of sparks thrown
off, afford easy modes of judging of the state of the metal, since these are given off
exteriorly, and are not interfered with by the flame of the fuel, as in the puddling
furnace. The sound which the metal produces in the suspended vessel affords also
a good indication to the workman. Indeed, few processes appeal so strongly to the
external senses. All mere judgment on this point has, however, been rendered un-
necessary, by the more certain indications, of au apparatus, which registers on a dial
the exact number of cubic feet of air passed through the metal, whereby the precise
degree of hardness of the steel is regulated at. pleasure; its quality, in all cases,
STEEL 905
being dependent’ on the quantity of air passed through it; other circumstances being
alike. ‘When, therefore, the desired quantity of air has passed through the metal,
the vessel is turned on its axis, and the fluid steel is poured out, as shown at fig. 1910.
1910
cu
i
|
|
ii
It is then received in the casting-ladle, which is attached to the arm of a hydraulic
crane so as to be brought readily over the moulds. The ladle is provided with a fire-
clay plug at the bottom, thé raising of which, by means of a suitable lever, allows
the fluid steel to descend in‘a clear, vertical stream into the moulds. As soon as the
first mould is filled, the plug valve is depressed, and the metal is prevented from
flowing until the casting-ladle is moved over the next mould, when, by raising the
plug, the second mould is filled in a similar manner; and so on, until all the moulds
are filled. After the discharge of the metal from the vessel, the process should be
repeated without delay, since the temperature of the interior of the vessel is greater
after the first charge than it was before, and consequently it is in a better condition
for the process. The vessel may be moved on its. axis by suitable gearing, but it is
considered preferable to use hydrostatic pressure to effect every movement of the
crane and of the vessel; so that when operating on from 5 to 10 tons at a single
charge, the director of the process can, from a distant point, and with his own hands,
effect every movement required, by merely working the handles which turn on, or
off, the pressure of the water. He has also charge of the blast-cock, whilst the dial
for registering the number of cubic feet of air is before him; and thus, by the
control of one responsible man, charges of several tons of crude cast iron may be
converted into malleable iron, or into steel, in a few minutes, and be cast into ingots
of any desired form and weight, suitable for large shafts, or for rolling into rails,
merchant bars, or plates.
The slags of the Bessemer process vary considerably in composition from those of
the puddling furnace, being much more acid and approximate to the pyroxene formula.
At Horde, in Westphalia, a crystallised slag has been obtained which yielded, by
analysis: silica, 44°73; protoxide of iron, 20°59; protoxide of manganese, 32°74 ;
lime, 1°53; magnesia, 0°17 = 99°76.
Oxygen-ratio of silica to bases = 23°85 : 12°43.
Specific gravity, 3:08.
The crystals were found to be of the regular augite form, the angles being inter-
mediate between those of the natural minerals, Pajsbergite and Babingtonite, as is
also their composition.
The enormously high temperature developed by the action of cold air on molten
cast iron in the Bessemer process is obviously due to the extreme rapidity with which
the operation takes place, and the advantageous form of the converter for concentra-
ting the heat developed. For, although the reactions and consequently the heat pro-
duced ave in no way different from those of other finery processes, whether in the open
906 STEEL
fire or reverberatory rurnace—carbon, silicon, manganese, and some iron being burnt
in either case, with the production of carbonic oxide, silicates of protoxide of iron
and manganese, and malleable iron—we have, in the blowing of a charge weighing five
tons an amount of work done in about two and a half tothree days in its performance
in the puddling furnace. It has been pointed out by Jordan, that the principal part
of the heat developed in the process is due to the combustion of silicon, which when
oxidised to silicic acid, combines with protoxide of iron, and other bases, and remains ©
in the bath in the form of slag; while in the case of carbon, a considerabie portion of
the heat is expended in volatilising the carbonic oxide produced, which escapes at the
temperature of the melted metal, and burns to waste at the mouth of the converter.
If the calorific power of silicon be assumed to be the same as that of carbon, the amount
of heat produced by the combustion of one kilogramme of silicon to silicic acid will be
8,000 units,' when burnt in pure oxygen, or 6,382 in air ; the difference between the two
quantities corresponding to the amount required to heat up the inert nitrogen. Under
the latter condition, one kilogramme of carbon will produce only 475 effective units,
being the difference between 2,473 units theoretically developed and 1,998 units carried
off by the gaseous products carbonic oxide and nitrogen, supposing them to escape at a
temperature of 1400°. The use of steam instead of air as an oxidising agent, is, in
the case of the combustion of iron or carbon, always disadvantageous on account of the
great amount of heat required to free the oxygen from its combination with hydrogen,
which is not reproduced to the same extent in the subsequent formation of carbonic
oxide or protoxide of iron. With silicon, however, the conditions are somewhat
different, as there is a small sensible gain. This will explain the reason why the use
of steam in the refinery is only recommended for a few minutes at the commencement
of the operation, that is, as long as free silicon remains in the pig-iron under
treatment.
By applying the quantities given above to the calculation of the amount of heat
developed in the blowing in one ton of Bessemer pig-iron of the ordinary quality pro-
duced in the south of France (which has the following composition per ton of 1,000
kilogrammes: carbon, 42°50; silicon, 20°00; iron and manganese, 937°50 =1000°00),
Jordan arrives at the following results :—
Kilogrammes Units of heat
The combustion of 20 of silicon produces . : F 127,648
= 42°5 of carbon produces. : = 20,176
» 87°5 of iron and manganese produces 66,237
Ora totalof . 214,061 _
If we take the specific heat of molten malleable iron at 0°16, the amount of heat
developed will be sufficient to raise the temperature of the metal, which is supposed
to be completely decarbonised, about 1350° above that of the cast iron when run into
the converter.
The great heating power of silicon is, therefore, to be regarded as the reason for the
use of dark-grey iron in the Bessemer process ; under ordinary circumstances, about
2 or 2°5 per cent. silicon being considered as essential. Jordan states that in the
steel works in the south of France the process could only be carried out by running
the cast iron directly from the blast-furnace into the converter. Theamount of silicon
as a heat-producer in the Bessemer process may be, to some extent, taken by mangan-
ese; as is the case in Styria, where the cast iron used is smelted from the spathic ores,
It is, however, less advantageous, because the deficiency in silica, which is required to
flux the protoxide of manganese formed, can only be supplied by the destruction of the
siliceous lining of the converter. The corrosive action of manganese on the hearths
of blast-furnaces where spathic ores are smelted has already been noticed.
Although silicon is an essential component of good Bessemer pig-iron, it is of 1m-
portance that the amount per cent. should be somewhere about the same as, or not
very much more than that of the carbon, An excess of the former element, works
prejudicially in two ways: first, it gives rise to an increased waste of iron in the slag ;
and secondly, it cannot be completely removed before the whole of the carbon is burnt
away, so that it may happen in the blowing of such metal, that, although the process
is apparently complete, as determined by the usual indication of the cessation of
the flame from the converter, sufficient silicon is retained in the decarbonised metal to
render the finished steel brittle and useless. Snelus gives the following analyses in
illustration of this point :—
? This is in excess of the real amount, which has recently been determined to be 7,000. Jordan's
original figures are however preserved, as the quantities are only given as approximations, for the
purpose of illustrating the theory of the process, and not as absolute numerical determinations.
STEEL 907
Bah ell. Il. IV.
Carbon . .. 0445 «| (515 0°550 0-490
Silicon ‘ e +, 0°814 0°270 0640 0°009
Sulphur . . res sa 0°067 0°033
Phosphorus. . : oon “ap 0088 0°036
Manganese. .. - ide 0°554 0°576
Copper , : . son aoa 0031 0-025
Analyses I. II. and III. are examples of under-blown and brittle steel, rich in silicon ; IV. is the
ordinary composition of good Bessemer rail-steel made at Dowlais.
The following series of analyses, by the same chemist, ef metal taken at different
rine of the blow, show very distinctly the gradual removal of the carbon along with
the silicon :—
L I. iil. IV. Vv. Vi.
Carbon, graphitic - | 2°070 Re a ie Sie vs
3 combined 3 1-200 | -2°170 1550 0°097 0°566 0°519
Silicon . ‘ ~ | 1952 0°795 0°635 0°020 0-030 0°030
Sulphur . ‘ - | 0°014 trace trace trace trace trace
Phosphorus. : - | 0048 | 0°051°} 0-064 0:067 0:055 | 0°053
Manganese . ‘ - | 0°086 trace trace trace 0°309 0°309
Copper 0°039 | 0:039
Ratioofearbon tosilicon 16: 1 27: 1 Qr4 1 48: 1 Te's-1 17:1
I., melted charge of pig ; I., metal at end of first stage, 6 minutes from start ; IL., metal after
blowing 9 minutes; IV., over-blown metal, 13 mixztes from start, before adding spiegeleisen ;
V., steel from ingot; VI., steel from finished rail.
The difference in the amount of copper, which is much larger in the Styrian steel
than in that from Dowlais, is to be attributed to the fact that the pig-iron used in
the former is entirely smelted from spathic ore, while in the latter only the spiegel-
eisen is due to that source. Copper pyrites, in small quantity, is almost invariabl
present in spathic carbonates, and however carefully they may be washed and bese a
some copper, as a general rule, is reduced and passes into the iron in the blast-
furnace.
The progress of the conversion of the charge can be controlled to some extent by
observing the spectrum given by the flame with the spectroscope; and more particu-
larly the moment of complete decarbonisation may be determined with considerable
accuracy, especially if the flame be bright and free from smoke. The spectrum pro-
duced when the combustion is most active is characterised by groups of numerous lines
in the yellow and green portions, that of sodium being the most prominent and the
first to appear among the former. There is also a well-defined group of lines in the
blue field, and under the most favorable conditions the violet and red lines of potas-
sium and lithium, together with an extra violet line accompanying the former are seen.
For this, however, an instrument of great defining power and an extremely bright
flame are essential. When the metal is completely decarbonised, the yellow and green
lines disappear, but the sodium is persistent, sometimes even after the tipping of the
converter. On the addition of the spiegeleisen, the whole of the lines reappear with
great brilliancy. When there is much manganese in the cast iron employed, as is the
ease in Styria, the use of the spectroscope is difficult, owing to the brown smoky
character of the flame.
At Seraing, it has been found that the disappearance of the dark absorption-bands,
which alternate with the bright lines, can be more readily determined than the latter,
which often reappear after their apparent extinction, and is therefore to be preferred
as admitting of much closer and easier observation. .
The exact chemical character of the spectrum of the Bessemer flame has not as yet
been made out, although it has been the cause of considerable controversy, there being
two different opinions as to.its origin. One of these supposes the lines to be due to
‘earbonic oxide, and their cessation to the complete combustion of the carbon; while
the other considers that they are mainly produced by manganese, and that their sudden
908 STEEL
disappearance may be accounted for by the diminution in the amount of the metal
volatilised until the quantity present in the flame is reduced below that necessary to
produce them, it having been found that for the detection of manganese by the spectro-
scope much larger quantities must be employed than are sufficient to produce the
a reaction with soda on platinum-foil before the blowpipe. © ;
Another indication of the progress of the operation is that afforded by the character
of the slag. This has been employed in Austria and Sweden. An iron rod is inserted
into the converter, and when brought out a portion of the slag adheres to the point.
So long as any carbon remains unconsumed a peculiar brownish tint is observed; but
as soon as the point of total decarbonisation is reaclied, the slag assumes a dead black
colour, with a peculiar metallic lustre, characteristic of the presence of protoxide of
iron, in considerable quantity. This test is said to be capable of great precision in the
hands of experienced workmen. :
The largest series of Bessemer converters hitherto erected are those at Barrow-in-
Furness. They are arranged in two groups, of which one has four converters, taking
74-ton charges, and the other a similar number of a smaller size, holding 6 tons each.
The former are 9} feet in greatest diameter, and 14% feet high. In all cases the pro-
portion occupied by the melted metal is very small as compared with the entire
capacity of the converter, a large empty space being required in order to prevent the
ejection of the fluid contents when the boiling is at the highest point.
In Sheffield the loss of weight on the pig-iron employed is about 15 per cent. in
addition to 74. per cent. in the reverberatory melting furnace, or 224 per cent. in all.
With 3-ton converters the lining has to be renewed after blowing 250 tons; but the
tuyéres wear out much quicker, and must. be replaced after making 10 tons, that is,
after every third or fourth operation. ed
The number of charges made daily is not more than four for each converter, as
although the actual blowing does not, require more than fifteen or twenty minutes, a
considerable time is required for.the accessory operations of melting the pig-iron, the
solidification and removal of the castings, and the arrangements of the moulds.
The ingots, when drawn from the moulds, like those obtained from steel melted in
crucibles, are always more or less unsound, and require to be compacted by hammer-
ing. For this purpose, they are raised to a bright red heat ‘in a reheating furnace,
care being taken to keep the hearth filled with smoking flame in order to prevent the
carbon from burning away. They are then hammered, and at a second heat swaged
down to the form of the first groove of the rolling mill, when intended for bars or rails.
The length of the ingot is extended from 43 to 8 feet under the hammer. In rolling
rails two heats are required in addition. Spherical shots are cast a little larger than
the size required, and afterwards reduced to the proper figure and dimensions by a
steam-hammer with hemispherical swages. .
Most metals, it must be observed, on losing their fluidity, lose for the moment their
‘power of cohesion. Malleable iron, however, passes from the fluid into the pasty state,
in which it possesses the property of welding, which forms so well-known and remark-
able a peculiarity of that metal. Taking advantage of this fact, Mr. Bessemer tried
an experiment on manufacturing iron, direct from the fluid metal, into endless sheets,
in a manner analogous to that by which paper is now made of any length; this has
not, however, been much used. %
Considerable discussion has arisen respecting the introduction of manganese in the
Bessemer steel, both as to its value in producing a superior metal, and as to the dis-
covery of its value in the process. These questions were satisfactorily answered in
a communication read before the British Association at Birmingham in 1865, to which
those who are interested in the process are referred,
Siemens-Martin Process.-—The production of cast steel in the reverberatory furnace,
by dissolving malleable scrap in molten cast iron according to the method proposed
by Heath, Price, and Nicholson, and others, has of late been brought to a considerable
degree of perfection by the use of the regenerative gas-furnace, which gives an intense
heat without requiring an oxidising or cutting draught; as is the case with ordinary
stack-draught furnaces. The process was first carried out on a working scale by Martin
of Sireuil, near Paris, who has given his name jointly with that of Siemens to the
process. The furnace is represented in longitudinal and transverse section in figs. 1911
and 1912. The regenerators A A and @@ are placed below the bed in the usual manner,
the former being employed for heating air and the latter for gas. The bed B is made
of finely-ground quartz sand, consolidated by pressure, with strong heating, and is
supported on cast-iron plates, which are kept cool by a circulation of air. The surface
of the bed is flat, with a slight inclination towards the top hole, which is placed below
the middle working-door, on the front of the furnace. The ladle, which has a
similar arrangement for running out the steel through a hole in the bottom, to
STEEL 909:
that employed in the Bessemer process, is mounted upon wheels, and travels upon a
railway, the ingot-moulds being arranged in a straight line in the pit below.
According to the size of the furnace, the charge may be from 35 ewts. to 5 tons.
The materials used are good pig-iron, such as that employed for Bessemer stecl-making,
wrought iron in the form of bars, malleable scrap, or Bessemer steel cross-ends and.
waste, and spiegeleisen. ‘The pig-iron is first melted, and the malleable iron or steel
is added in small quantities at a time; care being taken to raise it to a white heat by
exposure to the stream of gas on the bridges before immersing itin the bath of molten
cast iron.
The reversal of the gas- and air-valves takes place every 20 minutes. As soon as
the entire charge is dissolved, a sample of the metal is taken out in a small wrought-
iron ladle, and after casting, is cooled-in water and broken.
The heat is continued with an oxidising flame until the assay-sample, although
suddenly cooled, gives a perfectly soft and tough metal, indicating the point of total
decarburisation. When the spiegeleisen is added, care should be taken to charge it
1911
proce ee enna nee!
Hf
through the hole nearest to the bridge, which at the time is on the flue side of the
furnace. When it is melted, which usually takes about 20 minutes time, the charge
is stirred, in order to mix the contents as uniformly as possible: an operation which
must be done quickly, in order to prevent loss of manganese inthe slag. The contents
of the furnace are then run into the ladle and cast into ingots in the usual way, the
same precautions being observed as in the Bessemer process. Usually three charges
are made in 24 hours. The yield per charge of 35 ewts. is from 32 to 33 ewts, of
ingots, the ordinary loss being 83 per cent., or in the most favourable case, about 6
per cent. The furnace must be let down for repairs at intervals of six weeks at the
longest. ‘
This process is of great advantage for the working-up of the waste of Bessemer steel-
works, which cannot safely be added to the charge in the converter ; a plan which has
been tried, but not with success, Puddled bars, made specially, cut into proper
lengths, and good serap, such as that obtained in the neighbouring tin-plate forges,
are the principal forms of malleable iron used in South Wales.
Another modification of the Siemens process consists in the use of finely-divided iron
in the spongy state produced by the reduction of a pure red or brown hematite by a
current of carbonic oxide at a red heat, instead of bars or other manufactured forms
_ of malleable iron. In the newest arrangement adopted for this purpose, the finely-
divided spongy iron produced in upright retorts is made to pass into a gas-furnace
with an enclosed bed, where it is consolidated by immersion into a melted magnetic
oxide of iron, produced by the partial reduction of hematite, sufficient lime being in-
corporated with the mass to flux the silica of the ore. These agglomerated masses are
910 STEEL
then treated in the bath of pig-iron, producing steel direetly by the oxidising action of
the magnetic oxide in the carbon in the melted metal. The above process has since
been abandoned in favour of the rotatory furnace described under the article Iron.
In a lecture delivered by Dr, C. Wm. Siemens before the Chemical Society, he thus
described his process of producing east steel upon the open hearth of a regenerative
furnace, Two processes are employed at the Landore works : the Siemens-Martin
cess, which consists, as already stated, in dissolving scrap-metal or steel in a bath of
pig-metal, to which spiegeleisen is finally added ; and the ore-reducing process, in which
pig-metal and ore in a more or less reduced condition is employed. ~
The process chiefly employed at the Landore works consists of introducing on the
bed of an intensely-heated regenerative gas-furnace, as shown in figs. 1911 and 1912,
about 6 tons of pig-metal, which may be No, 3 or 4 hematite pig. When a fiuid-bath
has been formed, oxide of iron, which should by preference have been smelted before-
hand with such proportions of ljme or other fluxing materials as to form with the
silica in the ore and in the pig-metal, a convenient slag, is added ; or natural ores may
be used in their raw condition if they contain lime and manganese, as for example,
1912
el age hs os © Se ee em eer oe a
,
the African Mokta ore. When about 30 ewts. of this ore have been dissolved (with
ebullition,) in the metallie bath, it is found that a sample taken from it contains only
about 1 per cent, of carbon: a point whieh ean easily be detected by the eye of the
workman by a peculiar bright appearance of the sample when chilled in water and
broken by the hammer.
Considerable difficulty was experienced to find a material to resist the excessive
heats necessary for carrying out this process: ordinary Dinas bricks, which are con-
sidered the most refractory material in general use, would be rapidly melted; but a
brick specially prepared by crushing pure quartz-rock, and mixing it with no more
than 2 per cent. of quick-lime to give cohesion, answers well. The hearth of the fur-
nace is made of white sand with a small admixture of more fusible fine sand, which
mixture sets exceedingly hard at a steel melting-heat, and possesses the advantage of
eombining into a solid mass with fresh materials introduced between the charges to
make up for wear and tear. The hearth and the furnace-roof, if of the materials just
specified, are very little attacked when the Siemens-Martin process is used, although
the heat must be sufficient to maintain wrought iron containing only a trace of carbon
in a perfectly fluid condition. If pig-metal and ore (fused together with the
amount of flux) is used, the furnace also stands well, but the use of raw ore entails the
disadvantage of a more rapid destruction of the furnace; even magnetic oxide of the
purest description necessitates the addition of raw lime for the formation of a fusible
slag, and the dust arising from the lime and sand through the decrepitation of the ore,
eauses the silica-bricks to melt away rapidly, so that, after perhaps two months’ usage,
STEREOTYPE PRINTING 911
the 9-inch arch of the furnace is reduced to the thickness of from | to 2 inches. It is
evident that silica is, chemically speaking, an objectionable material to be used in the
construction of these furnaces, because it prevents the formation of basic slags, and
that a furnace constructed of pure alumina or lime would be preferable. M. Le
Chatelier suggested, some years ago, the use of Paurite (from Beaux in France, where
it was first discovered), a mineral consisting chiefly of alumina, for making the furnace-
beds, but Dr. Siemens was not able to succeed with this, owing to the great contraction
of the mass when intensely heated, and non-cohesion with the same material introduced
for the purpose of repair. In attempting to construct the sides and roof of the furnace,
of Bauxite bricks, these were not found to be equal in heat-resisting power to silica-
bricks, which latter are indeed unobjectionable, except when raw ore and limestone
are used. See Bauxite,
STEEL, HARDENING OF. Steol may be hardened by plunging it into cold
water. Prussiate of potash and other salts are used for producing especial degrees of
hardness. See Tzmprrine or Sree,
STEMPLES. A mining term. Strong pieces of timber, driven betwixt the
sides of a vein, at short distances apart, to support the walls.
STEREOCHROME. A name given to a process of stereotyping, the printing
of which is effected in colours. It is a term also used for the art of painting, with
silica fluids for mixing the colours.
STEREOSCOPE (from Gr. orepeds, stereos, ‘solid’ and cxomeiv, skopein, ‘to see’),
An instrument invented by Professor Wheatstone, and modified by Sir David Brewster,
by means of which two images of the same object, depicted on paper,—as those images
would be depicted upon the retina of each eye—are resolved into an apparent solid of
three dimensions. The reflecting stereoseope of Professor Wheatstone was constructed
by means of two mirrors, set at right angles to each other, so that while the right eye
observed a reflected image of a picture placed on the right-hand side of the instrument,
the left eye saw a reflected image of that on the left, and, as a result, saw—not two
plane pictures, but one solid image. The refracting stereoscope, which is generally
used, consists of two semi-lenses. This is a lens which is divided in the middle, and
the two halves, with the edges towards each other, placed in a frame, at a distance
from each other corresponding with the distances of the eyes apart. For the best
result, two pictures are obtained by photography, as nearly as possible of the same
character as the pictures impressed respectively upon the retina of each eye. See
Hunt’s ‘ Manual of Photography.’ :
STEREOTYPE PRINTING signifies printing by fixed types or by a cast typo-
graphic plate. This plate was formerly always, and is still sometimes, made as fol-
lows :—The form, composed in ordinary types, and containing, one, two, three, or more
pages, inversely as the size of a book, being laid flat upon a slab, with the letters
looking upwards, the faces of the types are brushed over with oil, or, preferably, with
plumbago (black lead). A heavy brass rectangular frame of three sides, with bevelled
borders adapted exactly to the size of the pages, is then laid down upon the echase,!
to circumscribe three sides of its typography; but the fourth side, whieh is one end
of the rectangle, is formed by placing near the types, and over the hollows of the
chase, a single brass bar, having the same inwards-sloping bevel as the other three
sides. The complete frame resembles that of a picture, and serves to define the area
and thickness of the cast, which is made by pouring the pap of Paris-plaster into its
interior space up to a given line on its edges, The plaster-mould, which soon sets,
or becomes concrete, is lifted gently off the types, and immediately placed upright on
its edge in one of the cells of a sheet-iron rack mounted within the cast-iron oven,
The moulds are here exposed to air heated to fully 400° Fahr., and become perfectly
dry in the course of two hours. As they are now friable and porous, they require to
be delicately handled, Each mould, containing generally two pages octavo, is laid, with _
the impression downwards, upon a flat cast-iron plate, called the floating-plate; this
plate being itself laid on the bottom of the dipping-pan, which is a cast-iron square
tray, with its upright edges sloping outwards, A cast-iron lid is applied to the dip-
ping-pan and secured in its place by a screw. The pan having been heated to 400°
in a cell of the oven, under the mould-rack, previous to receiving the hot mould, is
ready to be plunged into the bath of melted alloy contained in an iron pot placed over
a furnace, and it is dipped with a slight deviation from the horizontal plane, in order
to facilitate the escape of the air. As there is a minute space between the back or
top surface of the mould and the lid of the dipping-pan, the liquid metal on entering
into the pan through the orifices in its corners, floats up the plaster along with the .
iron plate on which it had been laid, thence called the floating-plate, whereby it flows
freely into every line of the mould, through notches cut in its edge, and forms a
* Chase (chassis, Fr., ‘ frame’), and quoin (coin, Fr., ‘ wedge’), are terms which show that the art
of printing is indebted to our French neighbours for many of its improvements,
912 STONE
layer or lamina upon its face, of a thickness corresponding to the depth of the border.
Only a thin metal film is left upon the back of the mould. The dipping-pan is sus-
pended, plunged, and removed, by means of a powerful crane, susceptible of vertical
and horizontal motions in all directions. When lifted out of the bath, it is set in a
water-cistern, upon bearers so placed as to allow its bottom only to touch the surface.
Thus the metal first coneretes below, while by remaining fluid above, it eontinues to
impart hydrostatic pressure during the shrinkage attendant on refrigeration. As it
thus ay cpm contracts in volume, more metal is fed into the corners of the pan,
in order to keep up the pressure upon the mould, and to secure a perfect impression,
as well as a solid cast. L
The whole process is greatly improved by the employment of a prepared bibulous
paper, instead of the plaster-of-Paris. The paper employed was originally of French
manufacture, but is now made in England. Four sheets of tissue and one sheet of
brown paper being pasted together, it forms one sheet. The form of type being ready,
a sheet of this prepared paper is placed upon it, and it is then beaten into the face of-
the type by hard hand-brushes. It is then filled in the blank parts with paste, when
the whole is then covered by a thicker sheet of paper, and it is then passed under a
heated press for about two minutes to dry. On removing the paper it is found to have
received a most perfect impression of the type. This impressed paper mould is then
placed in an iron box, which is fixed in a nearly vertical position, and the heavy cover
being carefully closed, there only remains between it and the mould exactly the space
which is necessary to ensure a proper thickness to the type-metal. All being prepared,
the melted metal is poured into the mould.’ It flows, of course at once to the bottom
of the mould, and as the liquid is rapidly supplied, the whole is filled, and, as in the
case already given, some pressure is obtained by the head of metal above the paper-
mould, The mass of metal (iron) forming the casting box, in comparison with the
thin plate of type-metal, ensures a rapid chilling of the latter, so that the plate can be
removed in a very short time. The impression thus obtained is exceedingly perfect ;'
and the whole process is one of great simplicity and exactness, and is capable of being
executed with great rapidity.
‘The Times’ and other daily newspapers are regularly printed from stereotype-
plates ; but most of the machines for taking the matrices, were invented by Mr.
Sweet, at ‘The Times’ office, and save one half of the time used by beating the form
Ne brushes, each plate being cast and placed on the machine in about a quarter of
an hour.
The advantages of a solid block over a form of loose type will be sufficiently
obvious to all; and, but for the security which is afforded by the use of the solid plate,
there would be great risk in driving the printing machinery at such high rates of
speed as are employed in ‘The Times’ office and other offices, where they require to
throw off a very large impression within a very limited time. See Prinrine and
Printine Macurvery.
STILE. See Distimration.
STIPPLE ENGRAVING is a process which was practised by Bartolozzi, Ry-
land, and others, in imitation of chalk-drawings of the human figure. Stipple is per-’
formed with the graver, which is so managed as to produce the tints by small dots,
rather than by lines, as in the ordinary method. It is very soft in its effect, but
inferior to the more legitimate mode of engraving. See ENGRAVING.
STOCKING MANUFACTURE. See Hostzry.
STONE is earthy matter, condensed into so hard a state as to yield only to the
blows of a hammer, and therefore well adapted to the purposes of building. Such
was the care of the ancients to provide strong and durable materials for their public
edifices, that but for the desolating hands of modern barbarians in peace and in war,
most of the temples and other public monuments of Greece and of Rome would have
remained perfect at the present day, uninjured by the elements during 2,000 years.
The contrast, in this respect, of the works of modern architects, especially in Great
Britain, is very humiliating to those who boast so loudly of social advancement ; for
there is scarcely a public building of recent date which will be in existence one thou-
sand years hence, Many of the most splendid works of modern ‘architecture are
hastening to decay, in what may be justly called the very infancy of their existence.
This is remarkably the case with the bridges of Westminster and Blackfriars; the
foundations of which began to perish most visibly in the very lifetime of their con-
structors.
Stones for building, it is stated, may be proved as to it tt of resisting the
action of frost, by the method, first practised by M. Brard, and afterwards by
MM. Vicat, Billaudel, and Coarad, engineers of the bridges and highways in France.
The operation of water in congealing within the pores of a stone may be imitated by
the action of a salt, which can increase in bulk by a cause easily produced ; such as
STONE, ARTIFICIAL 913
efflorescence or crystallisation, for example. Sulphate of soda, or Glauber’s salt,
answers the purpose perfectly, and it is applied.as follows :—
Average samples of the stones in their sound state, free from shakes, should be
sawed into pieces 2 or 3 inches cube, and numbered with China-ink or a graving
tool. A large quantity of Glauber’s salt should be dissolved in hot water, and the
solution should be left to cool. The clear saturated solution being heated to the boil-
ing point in a saucepan, the several pieces of stone are to be suspended bya thread in
the liquid for exactly one half-hour. They are then removed and hung up each by
itself over a vessel containing some of the above cold saturated solution. In the
course of 24 hours, if the air be not very damp or cold, a white efflorescence will
appear upon the stones. Each piece must be then immersed in the liquor in the sub-
jacent vessel, so as to cause the crystals to disappear, be once more hung up, and
dipped again whenever the dry efflorescence forms. The temperature of the apart-
ment should be kept as uniform as possible during the progress of the trials.
According to their tendency to exfoliate by frost, the several stones will show, even
in the course of the first day, alterations on the edges and angles of the cubes; and
in five days after efflorescence begins, the results will be manifest, and may be estimated
by the weight of disintegrated fragments, compared to the known weight of the piece
in its original state, both taken equally dry. In opposition to this, Mr. C. H. Smith,
one of the commissioners for selecting the stone for the Houses of- Parliament,
states—‘ Such treatment, compared with that of nature, will be found to vary
materially, bot in detail and result. If Glauber’s salt expands in changing from a
fluid to a crystalline state, it is so little as to be inappreciable; whereas water in-
2reases considerably in bulk while freezing.’ Many experiments selected from the
Report on Stone for the New Houses of Parliament (March 1839), show that in M.
Brard’s treatment the effect is in most instances opposite to that of the action of the
weather on stones which have been exposed to its influence many years. Some of
the specimens well known to decay rapidly in a building disintegrated least of all
by Brard’s process; others of the most durable quality disintegrated more than all
the rest, under similar treatment; consequently Brard’s method of testing is not to
be depended upon, and is liable to lead to erroneous conclusions.
The most important building-stones of the United Kingdom are the following :—
Granites—produced chiefly in Cornwall, Devonshire, Leicestershire, Aberdeen-
shire, and in Wicklow and Carlow.
Porpuyrizs, Syenites, Eivans—obtained from Cornwall, Devonshire, Leicester-
shire, and many parts of Scotland and Ireland.
Sanpstones—the chief quarries of which are in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Shrop-
shire, Surrey, &c., and in several of the Scottish counties. The Darley Dale, Crag-
leith, and other celebrated stones, belong to this class.
Mittstong Grit is found largely in Derbyshire, in Yorkshire, and indeed in most
of the coal-producing districts.
Dotomites, or Macnestan Lrvestonrs—Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland,
Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, produce these stones abundantly.
Oourtges. The Bath Stone and Portland Stone are well-known examples of this
stone; the stone from the quarries of Ancaster and of Ketton are also fine specimens
of the class.
Lrvestones. These are very varied; the Purbeck marble, the Derbyshire marbles, ,
the Lias beds, the Devonian Limestone, and the well-known Mountain Limestone
being examples.
States. . These are obtained in very great abundance in North Wales, in Devon-
shire, and in Cornwall; in some parts of Scotland and of Ireland.
Such are the principal varieties, although many others exist which are exceedingly
useful. Most of the above will be found described under their respective heads..
STONE, ARTIFICIAL, for statuary and other decorations of architecture, has
been made for several years with singular success at Berlin, by Mr. Feilner. His
materials are nearly the same with those of English pottery; and the plastic mass
is fashioned either in moulds or by hand, being in fact a Terra-Corra, which see.
His kilns were peculiar in form, and economical in fuel, but they were in but few,
respects different from the pottery-kilns already described. See Kin.
Many ingenious arrangements have been made for the construction of artificial
stone. We might, of course, group under this head many varieties of clay-wares and
cements.
Amongst all the numerous plans which have been devised, few of them have
altogether succeeded ; they have either proved too expensive in the manufacture, or
they have not endured the test of time.
Mr. Buckwell proposed the following :—Taking fragments of stone sufficiently large
to go eri into his mould, he fills up the i Seige with stones of various sizes, and
ou, If, 3 i
°te Sl far ek Ae
914 STONE, ARTIFICIAL
then pours in a mixture of chalk and Thames mud or Mersey mud burnt together.
This cement being poured into the mould, the whole is rammed together by ialling
hammers, and as the mould is perforated, the water is forced out, and the resulting
stone is so hard, when removed from the mould, that it rings when struck. It will be
evident to those acquainted with hydraulic mortars and the application of concrete,
that this is only an improved concrete. The cost of production has been two great to
admit of the general introduction of this artificial stone:
Ransome’s Patent Siliceous Stone, being the most successful attempt to produce a
permanent stone artificially, requires further attention.
After numerous failures, it occurred to Mr. Ransome that a solution of silica asa
cementing material would be superior to any other, and he accordingly started on the
inquiry after an easy method of producing a solution of flints.
The accompanying illustration (fig. 1913) gives a sectional view of the apparatus
employed in preparing the solution of silica which Mr. Ransome employs.
1913
) my i “ \
aha
a is a steam-boiler, capable of generating a sutticiency of steam for heating the
dissolving and evaporative vessels, and usually worked at a pressure of about 70 Ibs,
to the square inch. B8 is the upper lye-tank for dissolving the carbonate of soda. It
is supplied with steam by the pipes 1, 2, 3, communicating with the boiler.
The first operation is to reduce the ordinary soda-ash of commerce to the condition
of caustic soda. For this purpose the ash is first dissolved in the tank B, the water
in which is heated by means of the perforated steam-pipe 4, A quantity of quick-
lime is then added, and the mixture well stirred. The soda is by this means deprived
of the carbonic acid which it contains, by the quick-lime forming with it a carbonate
of lime. To ascertain when the lye is quite caustic, a small portion is taken out in a
test-tube, and a few drops of hydrochloric acid added. If there is no effervescence,
it may be assumed that the soda is entirely deprived of its carbonic acid, and is conse-
quently caustic, When the lime, now converted into chalk, has subsided to the
bottom of the tank, the clear supernatant lye is drawn off by the syphon 6, into the
funnel 6, leading into a closed vessel p, to prevent the carbonic acid of the atmo-
sphere combining with it, and destroying its causticity. "When the lye has been drawn
off from 3, the sediment remaining at the bottom of the tank is allowed to fall into
the lower tank c, by withdrawing the plug a, from the pipe 4’. Any undissolved
crystals of the carbonate of soda which have been entangled among the particles of
the lime are now washed out and pumped back to the upper tank z, where it forms a
portion of the next charge.
The clear caustic soda being contained in the closed tank p, has a further process of
depuration to undergo before it is ready to be used as a solvent for the flints. The
ordinary soda-ash of commerce is always more or less adulterated with a sulphate of
soda, which although an inert substance in itself, if allowed to remain in the cement —
subsequently makes its appearance in an efflorescence on the surface of the finished
3
eee
STONE, ARTIFICIAL 915
stone. To get rid of the sulphate, the caustic solution of soda has added to it, in the
tank p, a quantity of caustic baryta, obtained by burning the commercial carbonate
of baryta with wood-charcoal. The caustie baryta seizes upon the sulphuric acid
contained in the sulphate of soda, and forms with it an insoluble sulphate of baryta,
which is precipitated on the bottom of the tank. The depurated lye is then drawn
off by the pipe d, into the lower closed tank x, and the sulphate-of-baryta sediment
passes off by the cock at the bottom. From n, the prepared solution of the caustic
soda is pumped into the vertical boiler or digester r. This digester, in which the
process of dissolving the flints is effected, is a cylindrical vessel, having a steam-
jacket, f, into which steam from the boiler a is supplied by the pipes 1, 2,y. The
inner cylinder ¥, is provided with a wire-basket G, reaching the whole length of the
vessel, and serving to hold a collection of nodules of common flint. When rF has
been filled with the caustic lye, and the basket with flints, the manhole at the top is
closed and well screwed down, so as to be able to resist a pressure of at least 60 Ibs. on
the square inch. The cock at y is then opened, and the full pressure of steam from
the boiler passes into the jacket f, and causes the lye in F to rise to the same tem-
perature. The condensed steam in the jacket f returns to the boiler by the pipe 12,
which it enters below the water-line. The pressure maintained in the digester is
generally about 60 lbs., and this is continued about 36 hours ; at the end of which time
the strength of the solution is tested. The workmen employed to superintend this
rt of the process generally use the tongue as the most delicate test. If the solution
a a decidedly caustic alkaline taste, they conclude that there is still too much free
soda in the cement, and the boiling is allowed to continue until the cement has a
slightly sweetish taste, which occurs when the alkali has been nearly neutralised by
combination with the silicic acid of the flints. A more scientific mode of testing the
strength of the solution is to take a wine-glassful and drop a little hydrochloric acid
into it; by this means the whole of the silica in the solution is thrown down by the
acid combining with the soda, so as to form chloride of sodium. The precipitated
silica presents an appearance resembling half-dissolved snow, and its comparative
volume gives a good idea of the strength of the solution of the alkaline silicate,
When it is judged that the alkali has taken up as much of the silica as it is capable
of doing, at the temperature to which it is subjected in the digester, the stop-cock ¥,
in the steam-pipe communicating with the jacket, is shut, and a cock in the pipe 8 is
opened. The pressure of the steam in F then forces the fluid silicate, through the
pipe 8, into the vessel nu, where it is allowed to stand for a short time to deposit any
sediment which it may contain. From # it is then conveyed by the pipe 9 to the
evaporating pan, k, which has a steam-jacket, %, supplied with steam by the pipe 10.
The cement is then boiled in the evaporating pan until it becomes of the consistency
of treacle, when it is taken out. The specific gravity of the cement when ready for
use is about 1°600. The general proportions of the materials used in making up the
artificial stone are about the following :—
10 pints of sand, 1 pint of powdered flint, 1 pint of clay, and 1 pint of the alkaline
solution of flint.
These ingredients are first well mixed in a pug-mill, and kneaded until they are
thoroughly incorporated, and the whole mass becomes of a perfectly uniform consis-
tency. When worked up with clean raw materials, the compound possesses a putty-
like consistency which can be moulded into any required form, and is capable of re-
ceiving very sharp and delicate impressions.
The peculiarity which distinguishes this from other artificial stones consists in
the employment of silica both as the base and the combining material. Most of the
varieties of artificial stone hitherto produced are compounds, of which lime, or its
carbonate, or sulphate, forms the base; and in some instances they consist in part
of organic matters as the cement, and having inorganic matters as the base.
To produce different kinds of artificial stone, adapted to the various purposes to
which natural stones are usually applied, both the proportions and the character of
the ingredients are varied as circumstances require. By using the coarser description
of grits, grinding stones of all kinds can be formed, and that with an uniformity of
texture never met with in the best natural stones. Any degree of hardness or porosity
may also be given, by varying the quantity of silicate employed and subjecting it toa
greater or less degree of heat.
For some descriptions of goods a portion of clay is mixed with the sand and other
ingredients, for the double purpose of enabling the material to stand up during the.
process of firing in the kiln and to prevent its getting too much glazed on the surface.
The plastic nature of the compound allows of the most complex and undercut pat-
terns being moulded with greater ease than by almost any other material we are
acquainted with, if we except gutta-percha, which, however, has the drawback of being
affected by common temperatures.
8N2
916 STONE, ARTIFICIAL
In attempting, however, to carry out this plan, Mr. Ransome found that two diffi-
culties of a rather formidable character presented themselves. It was found that,
in the process of desiccation, the surface of the stone parted with the moisture
contained in the soluble silicate, and became hardened into a tough impervious
coating, which prevented the moisture escaping from the interior of the mags. Any
attempt to dislodge the water retained in combination with the silicate in the interior
of the stone, by raising the temperature of the whole above 212°, had merely
the effect of breaking this outer skin of desiccated silicate, and rendering the surface
cracked and uneven.
Instead, therefore, of allowing the stones to be dried in an open kiln, they were
placed in a closed chamber or boiler, surrounded with a steam-jacket, by which the
temperature of the interior chamber could be regulated. In order that no superficial
evaporation should take place while the stones were being raised to the temperature
of the steam in the jacket, a small jet of steam was allowed to flow into the chamber,
and condense among and on the surface of the goods; until, as the temperature of the
interior of the stones rose to 212° and upwards, they became enveloped in an atmo-
sphere.of steam, which effectually prevented any hardening of the surface. The
minute vents or spiracles formed by the steam as it was generated in the interior of
the masses, remained open, when the vapour contained in the closed chamber was
allowed slowly to escape, and afforded a means of egress to any moisture which might
still be retained among the particles of sand and cement. The-whole of the moisture
contained in the silicate of soda having been thus vaporised before it left the stone, an
opportunity was afforded it by opening a communication with the external atmosphere,
to pass off, leaving the interior of the stone perfectly dry. Simple as this arrangement
may seem, we will venture to say that not one of our readers has hit upon the expedient
through his own cogitations on the subject.
The process, in effect, consists in stewing the stones in a closed vessel, and when all
the moisture which they contain is converted into vapour, allowing it to escape, so
that no one part of the mass can be dried before another. By this means Mr. Ransome
was enabled to desiccate his artificial stone without any risk of the cracking or
warping which had hitherto been the result of his attempts to harden them by exposure
in an open stove. ‘
After being thoroughly dried they are taken to the kiln, but, instead of being placed
in seagars or boxes of clay, as is usually done in the potter's kiln, the goods are first
bedded up with dry sand, to prevent any risk of their bending or losing their shape
while burning. Flat slabs of fire-clay are then used to separate the various pieces
laterally, and similar slabs are placed over them to form a shelf, on which another
tier of goods is placed. The temperature of the kiln is very gradually raised for the
first twenty-four hours; the intensity is then augmented until at the end of forty-eight
hours a bright red heat is attained, when the kiln is allowed to cool gradually, for four
or five days, when the goods are ready to be taken out.
From being composed almost entirely of pure siliceous matter, this artificial
stone is not acted upon by acids, and is apparently quite insoluble, even in boiling
water.
By proportioning the amount of cement, and varying the character of the sand
which enters into the composition of the stone, it can be made porous or non-porous, as
may be desired. The average absorbent power of artificial sandstone is less than that
of the Bolsover Moor Dolomite used in the erection of the Houses of Parliament, and
a little more than that of the Cragleith Sandstone,
An improvement in the manufacture of Ransome’s Stone, or, as it is sometimes
called Apenite, was made and patented by the inventor in 1872.
It was found in practice that the process of washing the Ransome stone so as to
completely remove all traces of the chloride of sodium, from large masses was open to
objection ; it was both tedious and expensive, especially in localities where there was a
difficulty in obtaininga good supply of water at a reasonable cost, besides which in
producing so large an amount of chloride of sodium which had afterwards to be re-
moved as a waste product at a considerable cost. The bulk of the alkali, which was
by far the most expensive ingredient in its composition, was ejected instead of being
utilised, for still further increasing the density, strength, and hardness of the stone.
Some years since a siliceous deposit was discovered at the base of the Chalk Hills in
Surrey, possessing some very peculiar properties, amongst others, that of being readily
~soluble in a solution of caustic soda or Pera at a moderately lowtemperature. Messrs.
Paine and Way, in the 12th volume of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society,
ina paper entitled ‘ On the Strata of the Chalk Formation,’ thus describes the soluble
silica deposit :—‘Immediately above the gault, with the upper member of which it
insensibly intermingles, lies a soft white-brown rock, having the appearance of a rich
limestone. It is very remarkable on account of its low specific gravity, and still more
STONE, ARTIFICIAL 917
so considering its position, by reason of the very small quantity of carbonate of lime
‘ which it contains. It is one of the richest subsoils of the whole chalk series, being
admirably adapted for the growth of hops, wheat, beans, &c.
‘The section of rock at Farnham is about 40 feet in thickness. The analysis gives
as follows :—
: Per cent.
Combined water and a little organic matter . « ~ 416
Soluble in dilute acids, 57°10:
Silicic acid (silica) . ; ‘ ; - : é . 46°28
Carbonic acid : ; ; q a : . none.
Sulphuric acid g . A ‘ ; 4 . trace.
Phosphoric acid : z ; ‘ ditto.
Chlorine : : > ° - none.
Lime . : : * * 3 ‘ 0°26
Magnesia . : : . = r 2 3 : 07
Potash . 3 - : ° ; é ‘79
Soda y ‘ Z ‘ - ‘ “43
Protoxide and peroxide of iron ‘ 6'12
Alumina é - F ; “ 315
Insoluble in acids, 38°75 :
Lime . . . i. . . . . . . . 2°91
Magnesia : : . . . . . . traces.
Potaalin \ is : i - - ‘ she Lae DR
Soda : : ‘ s - é ° a OO
Alumina, with a little oxide of iron . : ‘ - . 14:20
Silicie acid and sand % 5 , r : * » 19°59
100°00’
The same authors contributed another article to the 14th volume of the ‘ Journal,’
on ‘the Silica Strata of the Lower Chalk,’ in which they state that ‘when tho
former paper was published, they were not unaware that this stratum contained a large
proportion of silica in the form which chemists call ‘“ soluble ;” but that they wished,
before making public their discovery, to ascertain whether it existed in sufficient quan-
tity to render it available for agricultural use.’ They then detail the result of their
researches during the intervening two years, as far as they concern agriculture, men-
tioning all the localities in which this stratum may be found in England, and the
various ways of employing it beneficially as a manure. They allude to the fact that
it will be found useful in its application to the arts.
Taking advantage of this peculiarity, Mr. Ransome commenced a series of experi-
ments,-in order to determine if it were possible without the use of chloride of calcium,
to produce a stone in all respects equal in quality to what had hitherto been made,
and in this he succeeded. By mixing, in lieu of the chloride of calcium, suitable
quantities of lime, (or substances containing lime), and: the natural soluble silica above
alluded.to, with sand and a solution of silicate of soda or potash, which when intim-
ately incorporated are moulded in the usual way, and allowed to harden gradually, as
silicate of lime is formed by the decomposition of alkaline silicate produced by the
action of the lime, the mass becomes thoroughly indurated, and in a very short time
is converted into a very compact stone, capable of sustaining extraordinary pressure,
and increasing in strength and hardness with age. Upon this improvement, Dr. T. Sterry
Hunt makes the following remarks :—After expressing his satisfaction at the beautiful
results arrived at by Mr. Ransome, who after years of experiment, had solved satis-
factorily and completely a great industrial problem, he stated that he had followed
with the more interest the labours of Mr. Ransome during many years, from the fact
that he himself had formerly carried on, in 1857-58, a series of experiments very
similar in character and in chemical results, in his endeavours to find out the method
by which certain soft earthy rocks, consisting in great part of silica and carbonate of
lime, have become hard and crystalline. Dr. Sterry Hunt had shown by researches in
the laboratory, and also by observations of limestone strata in the vicinity of eruptive
rocks, that a reaction between silica and carbonate of lime takes place in the presence
of carbonate of soda, by which the alkali brought about, little by little, the solution of
the silica, and its union with the lime to form a hard silicate of lime. This is nature’s
method. The action of alkali in dissolving the silica and then again giving it up to
the lime, was an example of many of the so-called actions by presence, which are really
cases of ordinary chemical affinity acting under peculiar conditions, It was reserved
for Mr. Ransome, by using both the lime and the silica in their free, soluble and active
forms, and by bringing in the alkali already combined with a portion of silica, to make
0 are ad
ve by
*
918 STONE. AND ORE-CRUSHERS
this curious reaction very rapid, and to show that the product forms a cementing
material which is available for binding particles of sand into hard stone-like masses,
Mr. Ransome has also shown that the small amount of alkali used in the process
itself, unites with the successive portions of silicate of lime formed, and becomes
locked up in an insoluble compound, as is the case with alkali in granite rocks, Henes.
the new artificial stone, unlike the’earlicr products obtained by Mr. Ransome anda
by others, contains no soluble salts to be got rid of.
STONE- anid ORE-CRUSHERS. Among the many modern forms of application,
whereby mechanical devices-are brought in.aid of, and made to supersede, ordinary
manual labour, there are few that have a wider range of utility than those which deal
‘with the ores, stones, and rocks, and prepare them by reduction and comminution for
ried erteegiag eae and other processes on which so many of the arts and manufactures
epend. . : ‘ : j
Mr. H. R. Marsden, of the Soho Foundry, Leeds, has long been known in connection
with Blake’s ore-crusher and stone-breaker, characterised by a peculiar ‘toggle-
motion.’ The recent improvements are based substantially upon the Blake machine, but
with novelties in details and in arrangement, constituting a new combination machine
(see fig. 1914). An improved ‘cubical’ jaw is the most recent addition to the efficacy
of these machines, for use when it is desirable or. essential that the reduced material
» 1914
should be well and evenly breken up to a regular gauge and cubical form, as, more par-
ticularly in the case of road-metal. The construction of this jaw is simple, and consists
in an extension of the lower end, and giving a curved form backwards to the moveable
jaw; thus, the orifice of delivery is made to terminate a parallel channel of some 3 or
4 inches in length, wherein the corrugations of the fixed and moveable jaws are so
arranged as to alternate the one with the other, z.¢., ridge against furrow, and vice versd ;
and the action of this jaw leaves little to be desired in regard to the evenness and regu-
larity of the resulting sample of broken stone ; whence it is called ‘cubical.’ The combi-
nation of the steam-engine, crusher and screen upon one bed is generally adopted. This
combined machine is useful for the breaking up and disintegration of all kinds of ores
for the ironmaster and the miner in general. For these purposes the jaws can be changed
according to the special degree of comminution desired; and this system is being
adopted to replace rolls in various operations of grinding, on account of the fineness
and evenness of the resulting material. A machine thus calculated to operate upon
the most refractory materials, exercising powerful strains and destructive effects,
while remaining itself comparatively unaffected, and capable of withstanding, without
material depreciation, the great and ‘ constant’ fatigue of such operations, is, it must be
admitted, a valuable adjunct to the manufacturing processes in which it is available,
Another stone- and ore-crushing machine has been introduced by Mr. J. O. Cole, of
the Montpelier Ironworks, Walworth, and it is especially adapted for the production of
concrete or for crushing to very small fragments any mineral or stone, It has become
necessary of late to produce such machines as will cost the smallest amount for transit,
at the same time being equal to any work; and the manner in which this apparatus
appears to answer renders it an important adjunct to or in connection with stampers,
‘
STONE, PRESERVATION OF 919
' &c., as the material produced is very regular, and nothing escapes the jaws of this
particular machine larger than 3-inch cube, of which size it is capable of producing
about 25 tons of material per day. The crushing jaws are arranged on each side of
the main shaft, and at every revolution two strokes are given, which renders it double
acting; and, if found necessary or requisite, one pair of jaws may be set to such a
gauge as to produce larger material than the others, or both may be set either to a fine or
coarse gauge (/ig.1915). In practice it is found necessary to reduce large pieces to about
2-inch cubes in one side of the machine. They are then placed in the other and reduced
to fine material, and by this means a very large amount of work is done with very little
power. The action of this machine will be readily understood without a drawing.
All the bearings are protected from dust, and the apparatus is so simple that every
part may be got at with ease. The machine does not weigh more than 30 ewts., and
for mining enterprise, colonial or otherwise, this is of importance. There is no over-
flow, and all pieces of stone put into the hoppers are reduced in equal proportions.
There are only three bearings in the whole apparatus. The crushing surfaces do not
weigh more than 1 ewt. each, and are easily replaced.
A powerful stone-crushing machine has also been introduced by Mr. Goodman.
STONE, PRESERVATION OF. The attention of the scientific world has for
some time past been directed to the importance of providing a means for protecting
the stone of our public buildings from the ravages of time and the injurious effects
of the polluted atmosphere of our manufacturing and populous districts.
The principal cause of the ruinous decay which is so apparent in the national
edifices, churches, mansions, &c., of this country, is generally admitted to be the
absorption of water charged with carbonic or other acid gases, which by its chemical
action either decomposes the lime or argillaceous matter forming the combining
medium uniting the several siliceous or other particles of which the stone is composed,
or mechanically disintegrates those particles by the alternate expansion and contrac-
tion caused by variations of temperature.
Many processes have from time to time been suggested, and several patents secured,
for filling up the pores of the stone, and thus preventing the admission of these dele-
terious agents, but they have been mostly if not entirely composed of oleaginous or
gummy substances or compounds, which, although possessing for a time certain pre-
servative properties, become decomposed themselves upon exposure, and constantly
require to be renewed ; whilst from the nature of these applications the discoloration
necessarily produced is highly objectionable.
The process of silicatisation introduced by Kuhlmann has the disadvantage of
requiring some considerable time before the atmosphere can do its work of effecting
the necessary combination between the silica applied in solution to the stone, and the
lime contained in it, and therefore when it is applied to the external parts of any
building it is liable to be washed out before solidification has been secured. Mr.
Frederick Ransome, advancing from his siliceous-stone process a step farther, meets
the condition by effecting a chemical change at once within the stone. Mr. Ransome
thus describes his process :—
The mode of operation is simply this :—The stone or other material, of which a
building may be composed, should be first cleaned by the removal of any extrane-
ous matter on the surface, and then brushed over with a solution of silicate of
soda or potash (the specific gravity of which may be raised to suit the nature of
the stone or other material); this should be followed by a solution of chloride of
calcium, applied also with a brush; the lime immediately combines with the silica,
forming silicate of lime in the pores of the stone; whilst the chloride combines with
the soda, forming chloride of sodium, or common salt, which is removed at once by
920 STOVE
an excess of water. From the foregoing description it will be apparent that this
invention has not only rendered the operation totally independent of any condition
of the atmosphere in completing the process, but the work executed is unaffected
by any weather, even the most excessive rains. Experience has shown that where
once applied to the stone it is impossible to remove it, unless with the surface of the
stone itself.
The application is one of extreme simplicity, and the material used perfectly in-
destructible. The rationale of the process is thus explained :—A liquid will enter any
porous body to saturation, whilst a solid cannot go any farther than the first inter-
stices next the surface. Take, then, two liquids capable of producing, by mutual
decomposition, a solid, and by the introduction of these liquids into the cells of any
porous body, a solid is produced by their mutual decomposition internally ; ergo, if a
solid could not go in as a solid. it cannot come out as a solid, and chemical decomposi-
tion having destroyed the solvents, they will never again be in a state of solution.
The patentee has secured to himself the application of this important principle; and
whilst we name silicate of soda and chloride of calcium as the agents under mutual
decomposition by contact for producing the chloride of sodium and the imperishable
silicate of lime, there are many other ingredients capable of producing like results.
Several large buildings in London—the Baptist Chapel in Bloomsbury, amongst
others,—Glasgow, and other cities, have been treated with Mr. Ransome’s process ;
a portion of the Houses of Parliament has been experimented on, and the result, so
far as the time which has passed can test its merits, has been satisfactory.
STONEWARE. (Fdience, Fr.; Steingut, Ger.) See Porrery.
STORAX; STYRAX. Liquid storax is obtained from the storax plant, Styrar
officinale. The finest is a pellucid liquid, having the consistency and tenacity of
Venice turpentine, a brownish colour and a vanilla-like odour. . The common, which
is imported from Trieste in casks, is opaque, of a grey colour, and of the consistency
of bird-lime. This has‘ been frequently confounded with liquid-ambar.. Storax is
employed in perfumery, and yields an odour, when sufficiently dilute, exactly resem-
bling the fragrance of the jonquil.. See Ampar, Liquip; PerFuMERY.
Common storax ; Styrax calamita.—This is imported in large round cakes, of a
brown or reddish-brown colour. ‘It appearsto consist of some liquid resin mixed with
fine sawdust or bran.’—Pereira.
Storax in the tear.—This is imported in yellowish or reddish-white tears, about the
size of peas. There are some other varieties, but these are not of sufficient importance
to be noticed here. Storax has but little use, except as a pharmaceutical article.
STOVE (Poéle, Caloriféere, Fr.; Ofen, Ger.) is a fire place, more or less close, for
warming apartments. When it allows the burning coals to be seen, it is called a
stove-grate. Hitherto stoves have rarely been had recourse to in this country for
heating our sitting-rooms; the cheerful blaze and ventilation of an open fire being
generally preferred. Some arrangements have been introduced for close stoves, in
which charcoal or coke was burnt, and which required little or no chimney. . When
coke or charcoal is burned very slowly in an iron box, the carbonic acid gas which is
generated, being half as heavy again as the atmospheric air, cannot ascend in the
chimney at the temperature of 300° Fahr.; but regurgitates into the apartment through
B every pore of the stoves, and poisons the atmosphere.
y 1916 The large stoneware stoves of France and Germany are
free from this vice; because, being fed with fuel from
the outside, they cannot produce a reflux of carbonic
acid into the apartment, when their draught becomes
feeble, as inevitably results from the obscurely burning
Yj stoves which have the doors of the fireplace and ash-pit
4 immediately above the hearth-stone.
4 Stoves when properly constructed may be employed
both safely and advantageously to heat entrance-halls
77, upon the ground story of a house; but care should be
7 taken not to vitiate the air by passing it over ignited
7, surfaces, as is the case with most of the patent stoves
4 now foisted upon the public. Fig. 1916 exhibits a ver-
7/7; tical section of a stove which has been recommended
for power and economy; but it is highly objectionable
as being apt to scorch the air. The flame of the fire a,
tal pipes of cast iron, bd, ¢ c, d d, e e, which receive the
external air at the orifice 5, and conduct it up through the series, till it issues highly
heated at x, 1, and may be thence conducted wherever it is wanted. The smoke
escapes through the chimney B. This stove has evidently two prominent faults: first,
it heats the air-pipes very unequally, and the undermost far too much ; secondly, the
STOVE 921
air, by the time it has ascended through the zigzag range to the pipe ee, will be
nearly of the same temperature with it, and will therefore abstract none of its heat.
Thus the upper vipes, if there be several in the range, will be quite inoperative,
wasting their warmth upon the sooty air.
_ Fig. 1917 exhibits a transverse vertical section of a far more economical and
powerful stove, in which the above evils are avoided. The products of combustion of
the fire A, rise up between two
brick walls, so as to play upon the
bed of tiles B, where, after. com-
municating a moderate heat to the
series of slanting pipes whose areas \
are represented by the small
circles @ a, they turn to the right
and left, and circulate round the §
successive rows of pipes, bd, ¢¢,
dd,ee, and finally escape at the \
bottom by the flues g, g, pursuing \
a somewhat similar path to that of \
the burned air among a bench of
gaslight retorts. it is known that \
two-thirds of the fuel have been \
saved in the gasworks by this dis- \~
tribution of tke furnace. For the |
purpose of heating apartments, the N Ny nts a
great object is to supply a vast > NUNN
body of genial air; and, therefore, XK ~ we Sin
merely such a moderate fire should © | \ S
be kept up in a, as will suffice to MMOS sss \ Sen
warm all the pipes pretty equally
to the temperature of 220° Fahr.; and, indeed, as they are laid with a slight slope,
are open to the air at their under ends, and terminate at the upper in a common
main pipe or tunnel, they can hardly be rendered very hot by any intemperance of
firing. If the tubes be made of stoneware, its construction will cost very little ; and
they may be made of any size, and multiplied so as to carry off the whole effective
heat of the fuel, leaving merely so much of it in the burned air as to waft it fairly
up the chimney.
Open fire places are, and probably will ever remain, favourites in this country.
There is no doubt that the ordinary arrangement of our fireplaces is very defective.
Much heat is lost—there is not an equal diffusion, and those sitting in the apartment
are exposed toannoying draughts of coldair.. Arranged as our buildings are, it is not
easy to perceive how any very great improvement could be made so long as we desire
the enjoyment of an open fire and the luxury of light and air.
In the greater number of stoves proper, the objections are obvious to everyone. Inthe
more common kinds of stove the fire is surrounded directly by the surface to be heated,
which, being placed unprotected in the room, radiates heat and warms the air by direct
contact. All such are liable to become overheated, and then the unpleasant smell im-
parted to the air is highly objectionable. Such stoves also dry the air, and the result
is that headaches and other annoying sensations are produced. The common stoves
need not be described. Dr. Arnott introduced, many years since, a stove in which the
arrangements were very complete; and as the combustion was regulated with much
facility, they were economical. The chief feature of Arnott’s stove was a mode of
adjusting the amount of air supplied to the fire. A regulating valve is fitted to the
aperture of the ash-pit, consisting of a frame nicely balanced, and turning with the
slightest force upon a centre; to this is attached a stecl-yard, in which are several holes
for the insertion of a weight. This determines exactly the size of the opening, and of
course regulates the quantity of air admitted to the fire.
In these stoves there is a tendency, when the stove is not heated above 250° or
300°, to the formation of considerable quantities of carbonic acid, which finds its
way into the room from the ashpit-door; and when the combustion is languid, car-
bonic oxide is often formed, which passes away by the chimney unconsumed, involving
a loss of heat. .
Space will not admit of our describing the Dutch or American stoves, which are
mainly modifications of the ordinary forms, which are sufficiently well known.
It would, perhaps, be no exaggeration to say that with close stoves, heating
apparatus, and other arrangements, in which there is no appearance of warmth, a
much higher temperature of the atmosphere is required to make it even feel as warm
as in that of an apartment heated by an open fire. Indeed, it may be fairly
g L btttotitA
Sue
Fae VS
922 STRAW-HAT MANUFACTURE
asserted that most persons will tolerate inconvenience and submit to expense, provided
they -_ the cheerful blaze of the open fire, which they are at liberty to approach
at wi
One of the large pyro-pneumatic stove-grates, when in full operation, is found to
be capable of heating an apartment containing 50,000 cubic feet of air. In a very
large church, containing upwards of 175,000 cubic feet of air, and capable of accom-
modating a congregation of 1,500 persons, four of these stoves of moderate size,
ed in convenient positions towards the angles of the building, so that every
individual of the congregation may see the fire, are found to be sufficient in the coldest
weather, and do not even require to be sustained in full action, except during a few
hours in the morning. One of these'stove-grates placed in the hall or lower part of a
staircase, warms and tempers the internal climate of a large house, and gives the
whole building a plentiful supply of pure fresh air. One of the smaller grates is
capable of warming a large room. And whether in dwelling-houses, schools, churches,
or apartments, the arrangements can readily be brought into operation at a moderate
cost, and without any (beyond the most trifling) interference with existing structural
arrangements.
STRAHLEIES. The German name for radiated pyrites.
STRAHLSTEIN. The fibrous varieties of hornblende (actinolite) are known
to German mineralogists under this name. See HorNBLENDE.
STRASBURG TURPENTINE. See Asizs.
STRASS. See Pastzs.
STRATA. Sedimentary rocks are generally spread out in layers called strata,
whence they are known as stratified rocks. These strata exhibit a definite sequence ;
and the following table will show the order in which the several ‘ formations, or
groups of fossiliferous strata succeed each’other in the British Isles, commencing with
the uppermost, or most recent :—
1. Zertiary or Cainozoic. 2. Secondary or Mesozoic. 3. Primary or Paleozoic.
Pliocene. wy ( Chalk. . gy Permian.
Miocene. = | Upper Greensand. S 2 ( Coal-Measures.
Eocene. 3 Gault. e 3 g { Milstone Grit.
3 | Neocomian. ©-€ ( Yoredale Rocks,
¢ (Wealden. qj _ Devonian.
(Purbeck. 8s ( Ludlow.
Portland. aE Wenlock.
. | Kimmeridge Clay. i Upper Llandovery.
-3 | Coral Rag. , q { Lower Llandovery.
= < Oxford Clay. =.= } Bala Beds.
= | Cornbrash. 3 ‘5 ) Liandeilo,
> | Great Oolite. a Ll Arenig.
Inferior Oolite « ¢ { Tremadoc Slates,
Lias. & = } Lingula Flags.
Rhetic Beds. © & { Menevian.
Trias. Laurentian.
STRAWBERRY. ‘The fruits of various species of Fragaria, such as F. vesca,
F. elatior, &c. They belong to the natural order Rosacee.
STRAW-HAT MANUFACTURE. The mode of preparing the Tuscany or
Italian straw is by pulling the bearded wheat while the ear is in a soft milky state,
the corn having been sown very close, and of consequence produced in a thin, short,
and dwindled condition. The straw, with its ears and roots, is spread out thinly upon
the ground in fine hot weather, for 3 or 4 days or more, in order to dry the sap; it
is then tied up in bundles and stacked, for the purpose of enabling the heat, of the
mow to drive off any remaining moisture. It is important to keep the ends of the
straw air-tight, in order to retain the pith, and prevent its gummy particles from
passing off by evaporation.
After the straw has been about a month in the mow, it is removed to a meadow and
spread out, that the dew may act upon it, together with the sun and air, and promote
the bleaching, it being necessary frequently to turn the straw while this process is
going on. The first process of bleaching being complete, the lower joint and root is
pulled from the root, leaving the upper part fit for use, which is then sorted accord-
ing to qualities; and after being submitted to the action of steam, for the purpose of
extracting its colour, and then to a fumigation of sulphur, to complete the bleaching,
the straws are in a condition to be platted or woven into hats and bonnets, and are in
aa state imported into England in bundles, the dried ears of the wheat being still on
the straw,
STRONTIA 923
Straw cannot be bleached by a solution of chloride of lime, as this preparation
always turns the straw yellow. For this purpose, a cask open at both ends, with its
seams papered, is to be set. upright a few inches from the ground, having a hoop
nailed to its inside, about six inches beneath the top, to support another hoop with a
net stretched across it, upon which the straw is to be laid in successive handfuls
loosely crossing each other. The cask haying been covered with a tight overlapping
lid, stuffed with lists of cloth, a brazier of burning charcoal is to be inserted within
the bottom, and an iron dish containing pieces of brimstone is to be put upon the
brazier. The brimstone soon takes fire, and fills the cask with sulphurous acid gas,
whereby the straw gets bleached in the course of three or four hours, Care should be
taken to prevent such a violent combustion of the sulphur as might cause black burned
spots, for these cannot be afterwards removed. The straw after being aired and
softened by spreading it on the grass for a night, is ready to be split, preparatory to
dyeing. Blue is given by a boiling-hot solution of indigo in sulphuric acid, called
Saxon blue, diluted to the desired shade; yellow, by decoction of turmeric; red, by
boiling hanks of coarse scarlet wool in a bath of weak alum-water, containing the
straw ; or directly, by cochineal salt of tin, and tartar. Brazil-wood and archil are
also employed for dyeing straw. For the other colours, see their respective titles in
this Dictionary. .
STREAM-WORKES. The name given by the Cornish miners to alluvial de-
posits of tin ore.
STREET MUD. This is a day of utilisation. We have already found out
plans for turning old clothes into money, for making our fields fertile by using the
refuse, and now the proverb ‘cheap as dirt’ seems likely to lose all its force. ‘The
Engineer,’ speaking of the wet mud called ‘ Macadam milk,’ which covers the streets of
Paris in the rainy season, says: ‘An adventurous individual has found an applica-
cation for this stuff, and at the same time, it is said, an income of 4000. a year for
himself. He collects the “milk,” allows it to settle in large tanks, passes the precipi-
tate through silk sieves, and forms it afterwards into what we call Flanders bricks for
knife-cleaning, which sell at a frane each.’
Upon this Mr. John Phillips remarks, ‘that by a similar process, and from similar
material, stone or brick for cleaning or polishing steel and brass, and which is locally
known as ‘“‘rotten stone,” has been for many years, and still is, manufactured at the
Aller Works, near Newton Abbot. The roads in the neighbourhood which supply the
raw material are macadamised with flints, which especially adapts it for this purpose.
If credit is due anywhere for this utilisation of waste, let it not be monopolised by
France, but let Devonshire claim its fair share.’
STRETCHING MACHINE. Cotton goods and other textile fabrics, either
white or printed, are prepared for the market by being stretched in a proper machine,
which lays all their warp and woof yarns in truly parallel positions. A very ingenious
and effective mechanism of this kind was made the subject of a patent by Mr. Samuel
Morand, of Manchester, in April 1834, which serves to extend the width of calico
pieces, or of other cloths woven of cotton, wool, silk, or flax, after they have become
shrunk in the processes of bleaching, dyeing, &c. The limits of this volume will
not admit of its description, The Specification of the patent is published in ‘ Newton’s
Journal’ for December 1835.
STRINGS, a miner’s term. The name given by the Cernish miners to the small
filamentous ramifications of a metallic vein.
STRINGY-BARE TREES. The great stringy-bark gum-trees of Australia
are various species of Hucalyptus. They are so called in consequence of the bark
separating in fibrous layers.
STRIPPING LIQUID, SILVERSMITH’S, consists of 8 parts of sulphuric
acid and 1 part of nitre.
STROMEYERITE. A sulphide of copper and silver, found in Siberia, Silesia,
Chili, and Peru.
STRONTIA., (oxide of sitrontium,SrO), one of the alkaline earths, of which strontium
is the metallic basis, occurs in a crystalline state, as a carbonate (strontianite) in the
lead mines of Strontian in Argyleshire—whence its name. The sulphate (celestine) is
found crystallised near Bristol, in New Red marl, and in several other localities ;
but strontian minerals are rather rare. The pure earth is prepared exactly
like baryta, from either carbonate or the sulphate. It is a greyish-white porous
mass, infusible in the furnace, not volatile, of a specific gravity between 3°0 and 4:0:
30231 (Karsten) ; having an alkaline reaction on vegetable colours, an aerid, burning
taste, sharper than lime, but not so corrosive as baryta, potash, or soda. It becomes
hot when moistened, and slakes into a white pulverulent hydrate, dissolves at 60°
in 50 parts of water, and in much less at the boiling point, forming an alkaline
solution, called strontia-water, which deposits erystals in four-sided tables as it cools,
ime 44... ss © Pe 2 oe 1s, frm," f
’ 2 : : ¥
¥ .
924 SUBMARINE LAMP
These contain 60°9 per cent. of water, are soluble in 52 of water at 60° and in
2:4 parts of boiling water; when heated they part with 50 per cent. of water, but
retain the other parts, even at a red heat. The dry earth consists of 84°6 of base,
and 15°4 of oxygen. It is readily distinguished from baryta, by its inferior solubility,
and by its soluble salts giving a red tinge to flame, while those of baryta give a greenish
tinge. Fluosilicie acid precipitates the salts of the latter earth, but not those of the
former. The compounds of strontia are not poisonous, like those of baryta. The
only preparation of strontia used in the arts is the Nrrratz.—H. W. B.
STRONTIA, CARBONATE OF. Sr0.CO*? (Srco*). See SrronTIANITE.
STRONTIA, NITRATE OF. Sr0.NO* [Sr(NO*)*]. Nitrate de strontiane, Fr. ;
Salpetersawrer Strontian, Ger.) This salt is usually prepared from the sulphide of
strontium, obtained by decomposing the sulphate with charcoal, by strong ignition
of the mixed powders in a crucible. This sulphide being treated with water, and
the solution being filtered, is to be neutralised with nitric acid, as indicated by the test
of turmeric-paper; care being taken to avoid breathing the noxious sulphuretted
hydrogen gas, which is copiously disengaged. The neutral nitrate being properly
evaporated and set aside, affords colourless, transparent, slender, octahedral crystals.
It has a cooling, yet somewhat acrid taste; is soluble in 5 parts of cold, and in
one half-part of boiling water. Its principal use is the preparation of ‘red fire’ for
pyrotechnic works and theatrical effects. A very beautiful exhibition of red fire is
obtained by preparing a gun-paper, by treating ordinary bibulous paper with nitric
and sulphuric acids, and then well washing it; when quite free from acid, it is to be
dried, and then saturated with a solution of the chloride or nitrate of strontia.—
H.W. B. See Prrorecuny.
STRONTIA, SULPHATE OF. Sr0.S0° (SrSO*). See CeLzsTINE.
STRONTIANITE. Native carbonate of strontia.
STRONTIUM. The metallic base of the earth strontia ; first obtained by Sir
Humphry Davy, in 1808. It is prepared in the same way as barium. See Barium.
See Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry.’
STRYCHNINE. C”°H”N?*0' (C7H”N?O"), The bitter poisonous principle
contained in the different species of Strychnos. It is usually extracted for commercial
purposes from the nux-vomica bean, the seed of the S. nux vomica. Itis a well-marked
alkali, and yields a great number of crystalline salts with acids and metallic chlorides.
Its true constitution has been fully made out by the researches of Messrs. Nicholson
and Abel. Although a most valuable medicine in paralytic affections, when employed
in very small doses, it is a dangerous remedy in unskilful hands, and has been the cause
of numerous deaths arising from carelessness, without reckoning the many who have
been destroyed by it at the hands of the poisoner. Some years ago a panic was occa-
sioned by a rumour of its employment for the purpose of giving a bitter flavour to
beer; this has been shown to be incorrect. Still the quantities of it produced annually
by various manufacturers could not fail to excite attention and uneasiness. As much
as 1,000 ounces have been known to be purchased at one time. It has been proved,
however, that the chief use is for the destruction of wild animals in Australia and
other thinly-peopled localities. A great number of processes have been devised for
its preparation; but, after having been subjected to the extractive operations, the
bean is generally found almost as bitter as before, indicating a want of economy in
the methods. Probably the best method of extraction would be to disintegrate tho
beans with strong sulphuric acid (which-is without action on strychnine), and then,
after the addition of excess of alkali, to dissolve out the base with benzole or chloro-
form. The latter being distilled off would leave the strychnine nearly pure, and only
requiring crystallisation. It has been shown by John Williams, that one bean will
by this process yield a considerable quantity of crystals of pure strychnine.
STUCCO. Sco Stone, ARTIFICIAL.
SUBERIC ACID (from Swler, Lat. ‘cork ;’ Korkséure, Ger.) is prepared by diges-
ting grated cork with nitric acid. It forms crystals, which sublime in white vapours
when heated.
It may also be obtained by boiling nitric acid with stearic, margaric, or oleic acids.
SUBLIMATE, is any solid matter resulting from condensed vapours. See Cor-
ROSIVE SUBLIMATE.
SUBLIMATION, the process by which volatile matter is evaporised by heat, and
then condensed into a crystalline mass. For example, if gum benzoin is kept in a
melted state, and even a cap of paper kept above it, the benzoic acid is first volatilised,
and then condensed on the paper. For an example of sublimation, see AMMONTUM,
CHLORIDE OF.
SUBMARINE LAMP. M. J. D. Pasteur, of Gennep, has invented a very
simple and ingenious lamp for the use of divers. The great expense and trouble con-
nected with the use of the electric light for diving apparatus led M. Pasteur to form
SUGAR 925
the idea of a much cheaper and more practical lamp to burn under water; how the
atmospheric air under pressure in the helmet of the diver, by means of the air-pump,
is but partially deteriorated, and M. Pasteur tried to examine whether the remaining
oxygen was still sufficient to maintain the light of an ordinary petroleum-lamp. The
trial which he made for that purpose succeeded perfectly. On the opening in the
helmet, where, by means of the valve, the consumed air escapes into the water, is
screwed an India-rubber tube, ?-inch diameter and 4 feet long, to which the water-tight
lamp was attached. The side on which the air enters the lamp was, as in the helmet,
divided in such a way as to prevent the light from being blown out, and to distribute
the air, as much as possible, under and around the flame. The little valve-spindle,
placed upon the helmet to prevent the entrance of the water, was taken away and put
on the top of the lamp. Behind the light was placed a parabolic mirror, and on the
front side a convex glass; to the back was fitted a crook to carry the lamp, whether
in the hand or on the breast. M. Pasteur had the satisfaction to read with this lamp
under water small hand-writing, and observed at the same time that neither the car-
bonic acid nor the vapour of water breathed out by the diver had any influence on the
illuminating powers of the flame.
SUCCINIC ACID, or Acid of amber (Acide succinique, Fr. ; Bernsteinsiure, Ger.),
was formerly obtained by the destructive distillation of amber, in which process it was
accompanied by an essential oil, and a little acetic acid; it was purified by being
precipitated as succinate of lead, which, after being well washed, was decomposed by
the equivalent quantity of sulphuric acid ; the solution of succinic acid, thus obtained,
was evaporated, and allowed to cool, when the succinic acid crystallised out. It
seems to exist ready formed in amber.
It is easily obtained artificially by acting on stearic or palmitic acid with nitric
acid. It also occurs in the leaves of the wormwood, and in many of the resins of the
pine tribe. It may likewise be obtained by fermentation from asparagin, and from
malic acid, malate of lime yielding nearly one-third of its weight of it.
In order to produce it from malic acid, 3 lbs, of crude malate of lime are to be dif-
fused through a gallon of warm water, and 4 ounces of decayed cheese added to the
mixture, which is to be kept at the temperature of 100° for about a week. Carbonic
acid is disengaged, whilst a mixture of crystallised carbonate and succinate of lime is
deposited, and acetate of lime remains in solution.
SUCCINITE. Prof. Dana has applied this name to the insoluble resin which
forms about 80 per cent. of amber. See AmBEr.
SUET. The internal fat of the abdomen of the sheep. See Tattow.
SUGAR (Sucre, Fr.; Zucker, Ger.) is, with some slight exception, the sweet
constituent of vegetable and animal products. It may be distinguished into three
principal species. The first, which occurs in the sugar-cane, the beet-root, and the
waple, crystallises in oblique four-sided prisms, terminated by two-sided summits; it
has a sweetening power, which may be represented by 100; and in circumpolarisation
it bends the luminous rays to the right. The second occurs ready formed in ripe
grapes and other fruits; it is also produced by treating starch with diastase or sul-
phurie acid. This species forms cauliflower concretions, but not true crystals; it
has a sweetening power, which may be represented by 60; and in circumpolarisation
it bends the rays to the left. Berthelot has shown that a moderately strong solu-
tion of glycerine, in contact with certain animal membranes, is found, after some
weeks, to produce a substance with the properties of grape-sugar. One pint of gly-
cerine in 10 pints of water is added to the membrane, which may amount to Ath of
the weight of the glycerine. The time required is 10 to 12 weeks. If putrefaction
begins, it is destroyed. The third variety is found in fruits, and also in sugar which
has been long boiled, or heated with acids ; this is called fruit-sugar.- Besides these
three principal kinds, the sugar of milk, and the sugar of manna or mannite, are
found closely allied, and may be called two other species. Allied to these is sor-
bine, extracted from the elderberry, and mosite, which occurs in the flesh of animals.
Sugar, extracted either from the cane, the beet, or the maple, is identical in its pro-
perties and composition, when refined to the same pitch of purity ; that of the beet is
said to surpass the other two, since larger and firmer crystals of it are obtained from
a clarified solution of equal density. Sugar melts at 320° Fahr., and on cooling forms
a transparent substance usually called barley-sugar. When heated to between 400°
and 410° Fahr. it loses two equivalents of water and becomes brown, Sugar thus
fused is no longer capable of crystallisation, and is called caramel by the French, and
is used for colouring liqueurs. Indeed, sugar is so susceptible of change by heat, that
if a colourless solution of it be exposed for some time to the teraperature of boiling
water, it becomes brown and partially uncrystallisable. Acids exercise such an in-
jurious influence upon sugar, that after remaining in contact with it for a little while,
though they be rendered thoroughly neutral, a great part of the sugar will refuse to
926 ; SUGAR
erystallise. Thus, if oxalic or tartaric acid be added to sugar in solution, and boiled,
no crystals of sugar can be obtained by evaporation, even though the acids be neutra-
lised by chalk or carbonate of lime. By boiling cane-sugar with dilute sulphuric acid, —
and keeping it at least at 150° Fahr., it is changed into grape-sugar, and then entirely
into unerystallisable sugar. Nitric acid converts sugar into oxalic acid? Alkaline
matter is likewise most detrimental to the grain of sugar; as is always evinced by the
large quantity of molasses formed when an excess of lime has been used in clarifying
the juice of the cane or the beet.
Manufacturers of sugar should, therefore, be particularly watchful against the for-
mation of acid from decomposition, or the introduction of any excess of alkali, or
alkaline earth,
Sugar is soluble in all proportions in water, but it takes four parts of spirits of wine
of spec. grav. 0°830, and 80 of absolute alcohol, to dissolve it, both being at a boiling
temperature. As the alcohol cools, it deposits the sugar in erystals. Carmelised and
uncrystallisable sugar dissolve readily in alcohol. Pure sugar is unchangeable in the
air, even when dissolved in a good deal of water, if the solution be kept covered in the
dark ; but with a very small addition of gluten, the solution soon begins to ferment,
whereby the sugar is decomposed into aleohol and carbonic acid, by the aetion of the
air; it then passes into acetic acid, when it may be still farther decomposed.
Sugar forms chemical compounds with the salifiable bases. It dissolves readily in
caustic potash-lye, whereby it looses its sweet taste, and affords on evaporation a mass
which is insoluble in aleohol. When the lye is neutralised by sulphurie acid, the
sugar recovers partially its sweet taste,and may be separated from the sulphate of
potash by aleohol, but it will no longer crystallise.
Cane-sugar is soluble in all proportions in boiling water, and in 4 of cold,
It is sparingly soluble in aleohol of 70 pe. and insoluble in absolute aleohol. The
following table, by Payen, shows the quantity of sugar contained in saccharine
colutions of various specific gravity at 59° Fahr. :—
Parts of sugar Parts of water Specific gravity
100 dissolved in 50 give a syrup of 1°345
100 Pp 60 ei 1°322
100 = 70 * 1'297
100 % 80 ae 1:281
100 a 90 a 1°266
100 ? 100 ni 1-257
100 5 120 7 1:222
100 ¥ 140 ” 1:200
100 ‘s 160 a 1187
100 a 180 » 1176
100 - 200 ” 1:170
100 s 250 s 1147
100 a 350 9 1111
100 ‘ 450 és 1-089
100 e 550 ra 1074
100 * 650 * 1-063
100 ‘ 750 pa 1055
100 » 946 ” 1°045
100 * 1145 ” 1030
100 $9 1945 9 1°022
100 - 2445 i 1018
100 ib 2945 ” 1015
The following table appeared in a previous edition of this work, and has been
much used :— °
n undred
— 4 pn age ane Sp. gr. at 60° stad by a men Sp. gr. at 60°
66°666 . . 13260 25°000 . 7 . 11045
50°000 . ; . 1:2310 21740 . > . 10905
40°000 . ‘ Pe se be ie 20000 . 4 . 1:0820
33°333 . i . 11400 16666 . ; . 106856
31:250 . . . 11840 12°500 . : . 10500
29°412 . % . 11260 10000 . § - 1:0395
26316 . “ . 11110
The annexed table, constructed by Neimann for the normal temperature of 63°,
with the same object, will be found useful :—
———————o eT
SUGAR 927
Sugar Water Specific gravity Sugar Water | Specific gravity
0 100 1:0000 36 64 1°1582
1 99 10035 37 63 11631
2 98 10070 38 62 11681
3 97 10106 39 61 11781
es 96 1:0148 40 60 11781
5 95 10179 4ti% 59 1:1832
6 94 10215 42 58 1'1883
7 93 1:0254 43 57 1°1935
8 92 1°0291 44 56 11989
9 91 10328 45 55 12043
10 90 10367 46 54 12098
11 89 10410 47 53 1:21538
ie 88 10456 48 52 12209
13 87 1:0504 49 | 61 1'2265
14 86 1:0552 50 50 1:2322
15 85 1:0600 51 49 1:2378
16 84 1:0647 52 48 1:2434
17 83 1:0698 53 47 1-2490
18 82 1:0734 54 46 1/2546
19 81 10784 55 45 1°2602
20 80 10830 56 44 12658
21 79 1:0875 57 43 1:2714
22 78 1/0920 58 42 1:2770
23 Yi 1:0965 59 41 1:2826
24 76 1°1010 60 40 1:2882
25 75 *1°1056 61 39 12933
26 74 111038 62 38 1:2994
27 73 11150 63 37 1°3050
28 72 1:1197 64 36 1°3105
29 71 1°1245 65 35 1:3160
30 70 1:12938 66 34 1°3215
31 69 1:1340 67 33 1°3270
32 68 11388 68 32 1°3324
33 67 11436 69 31 1°3377
34 66 1°1484 70 30 13440
35 65 11538
The specific gravity of crystallised cane-sugar is 1°594. Crystallised cane-sugar
seems to be the most complete type of sugar known. Its crystals are the largest and
most regular, and its taste the sweetest. These crystals are rhomboidal prisms, and
appear largest in the form of sugar-candy. When boiled much or heated with acids
it would appear that a lower form of sugar resulted, namely, grape-sugar.
At 300° sugar loses 0°6 per cent., and remains uninjured after seven hours; it melts
at 320°, and at this point it seems to have lost some of its sweetness, and probably a
portion of water. The same result is obtained at a lower temperature if more time
is allowed. The colour is changed to an orange-yellow at 410°: the sugar loses
three equivalents of water, becomes gradually brown, has an empyreumatic taste, and
is called caramel. With a heat approaching to a red heat, carburetted hydrogen,
carbonic acid, acetic acid, and empyreumatic oils are produced, and carbon remains,
amounting to 25 per cent. of the original mass.
Solutions of sugar are decomposed by caustic alkaline solutions, and by hot solutions
of the carbonated fixed alkalis. Under these must be included both baryta and lime,
if heat is to be long used: both of these substances form compounds with sugar. The
compound of sugar and lime is very soluble in cold water, but is precipitated on heat-
ing. The amount dissolved is shown to be of true equivalent, by the inquiries of
Peligot, who has proposed an ingenious method of ascertaining the amount of sugar in
a solution by the estimation of the lime which it will dissolve. The lime in this pro-
cess is estimated alkalimetrically by means of an acid. The following table has been
constructed by M. Peligot for calculating the results (see next page).
Saccharimetry.—We now come to the estimation of sugar, which is most simply
performed by the hydrometer, when the solutions are pure and the kind of sugar
known. But commercially it is required to ascertain the proportions of cane-sugar, un-
erystallisable sugar, water, and impurities, and this is accomplished most successfully
928 , SUGAR
Quanity tee Density of syrup | 19 parts of residue dried at 120°.
vi ;
ea ae | Dist | ee cnt
. Lime ; Sugar
40°0 1122 1179 21°0 79°0
87°5 1116 1175 20°8 79°2
35:0 1110 1:166 20°5 79°5
32°5 1103 1159 20°38 79°7
30-0 1-096 1:148 20-1 79°9
27°5 | 1-089 1°139 19°9 80-1
250 j 1-082 17128 19°8 80-2
225 : 1075 1°116 19°3 80°7
20°0 ! 1-068 1:104 18°8 81-2
17°5 1:060 1:092 18-7 81:3
15:0 1-052 1-080 18°5 815
12°5 j 1:044 1:067 18°3 81°7
10:0 | 1-036 1053 1871 819
75 1027 1:040 16°9 83:1
50 1:018 1:026 15°3 84°7
2-5 1:009 1014 13'8 86-2
by means of the polarising saccharometer proposed by Biot and improved by Soleil.
The following is a description of this beautiful instrument :—Two tubular parts, v 7’,
and r” 1”, figs. 1919 and 1920, constitute the principal part of the saccharometer.
The light enters 2, through a Nicol’s prism g (shown separately, fig. 1919, at 0), and
passes first an achromatic polarising prism p (shown separately at P) and afterwards
through a plate of quartz of double rotation at p’, whichis also shown at @. This plate
is ecmposed of two semi-dises cut perpendicularly to the axis of crystallisation; but
though exactly of equal thickness and equal rotating power, the one turns the ray to
the right, while the other turns it to the left. At p’, the ray passes a plate of quartz
of single rotation, and at / 7’, two wedges of quartz endued with the power of rotation,
but in a contrary direction to the preceding plate. These two wedges are again repre-
sented at a (fig. 1920), and are so made that by turning the milled head 3, the sum of
their thicknesses can be increased or diminished at pleasure, while the amount of thick-
ness is shown by the ivory graduated scale ee’, and vernier v vw’. Finally, the ray
1919
Vv
traverses an analysing prism a, and an eye-piece 1. If the instrument is directed to
the light the observer will see a luminous disc, bisected by a central line (produced by
the junction of the two semi-dises of quartz) of exactly the same tint, but which tint
SUGAR 929
may be varied at pleasure, by rotating the Nicol’s prism ”, by means of the milled
head b, If, however, we interpose between p’ and p”, the tube ec, fig, 1919, filled with
a solution of cane-sugar, and the ends closed with glass, the semi-dises will be
. differently coloured, Cane-sugar, possessing the power of circular polarisation,
combines with the rotating power of the half-dise which turns the ray to the right,
but tends to neutralise the half-disc, whose direction is the reverse. By increasing
or diminishing the thickness of the wedges of quartz J //, to the extent required for
counteracting their rotation to the right, and causing the semi-discs to reassume the
same colours, we have a means by the graduated scale e ¢’, vv’, of measuring the
- rotating power, which is exactly proportional to the amount of cane-sugar, tempera-
tures being equal, and no foreign substance having the power of circular polarisation
being present.
To apply this method, the deviation must be known which is produced by a solu-
tion of sugar of known strength. For this purpose a given weight, ¢, of sugar is
dissolved in such a quantity of distilled water that the solution occupies a given
volume, V. Sufficient of this solution is taken to fill a tube of certain length, and
the deviation suffered by the plane of polarisation of the luminous ray passing through
this tube is measured. Let this deviation bea. Let then other quantities of sugar
be dissolved in sufficient water to give the same volume of solution, V; and let the
deviations produced by these solutions in the same tube be a’, a”, a”, &c.; then
the quantities of sugar contained in the volume, V, of these liquids will be repre-
a! al"
sented by the products ex, € G&G: &e., respectively. If the sugar examined,
instead of being pure, is mixed with other but inactive substances, it is evident that
these same products express the absolute weights of pure sugar contained in the
weights of substances employed in the formation of the liquids of the given volume,
V. It is possible to employ proof-tubes of different lengths ; but it is then necessary
to reduce by calculation the observed deflections to those which would have been
produced in the same tube.
It often happens that solutions of sugar which have to be examined are turbid or
strongly coloured. When this interferes with the examination, they must be clarified
and rendered either quite colourless, or when this is’ not possible the colour must
be at least reduced. This is often effected by precipitating the colouring-matter of
the syrups with subacetate of lead; but the most accurate method is by a filter of
animal-charcoal. The filtrates are then examined. When syrups contain, besides
cane-sugar, other constituents which exert an action upon the plane of polarisation,
the amount of cane-sugar present may be determined by inverting, by means of
hydrochloric acid, the rotatory power of the cane-sugar. No other saccharine sub-
stance is, in fact, known which suffers a similar change under the same circumstances.
If, for instance, the liquid under examination contains besides cane-sugar, glucose,
whose rotatory action on the plane of polarisation is in the same direction as that of
cane-sugar; if a’ be the deviation observed to be produced by the liquid, then a’ is
evidently the sum of the separate deflections of the cane-sugar 2, and of the glucose,
y. About one-tenth of its volume of hydrochloric acid is added to the syrup, and it
is kept for ten minutes at a temperature of 140°—154°. The cane-sugar is thereby
- completely transformed into noncrystallisable sugar, which turns the plane of polarisa-
tion to the left, while the rotatory power of the glucose undergoes no alteration. When
this change has been effected, the new deviation, «’, of the liquid is observed. It is
now the difference between the deviation y, of the glucose and that of the nonerys-
ete enn derived from the cane-sugars. But the degree of dilution of the
ox, IIT, 30
930 SUGAR
liquid having been changed by the addition of the hydrochloric acid, the deviation
observed a”, must be replaced by the deviation, ; a’, which would have been ob-
served if the inversion could haye been produced without the addition of hydrochloric
acid, Admitting therefore that.a quantity of cane-sugar which effects a deviation, 2, gives
rise to a quantity of noncrystallisable sugar which effects a deviation, 7 x, we have—
Before the inversion, x+y=a’.
. 10
After the inversion, y+ 72 = 9 a
From these two equations the quantities # and y may be determined. The co-
efficient of inversion, 7, is determined once for all by a special experiment performed
upon pure cane-sugar at the temperature at which the experiments have afterwards
to be made. According to Biot, this coefficient is 0°038 for hydrochloric acid at a
temperature of 71°6°. n Mee ‘ Me
The process is the same when the cane-sugar is mixed with noncrystallisable sugar,
turning the plane of polarisation to the left. In this case the initial deviation a’, of
the liqhid is the difference between the deviation to the right 7, of the cane-sugar,
and the deviation z, to the left of the noncrystallisable sugar. After treating with
hydrochloric acid, the deviation, a’, is composed of the deviations of the original
noncrystallisable sugar, and of that produced by the action of the hydrochloric acid,
We then have—
Before the inversion, 7 — z =a’,
10
After the inversion, z + 7 r= a’,
It is important in examining optically noncrystallisable sugar always to employ
the same temperature, because a change of temperature materially affects the rotatory
power of this kind of sugar.
The Table appended on the following pages includes each degree of temperature
from + 10 to + 35 Centigrade, and for qualities increasing in hundredths, this range
being found sufficient for all practical purposes either in Europe or the Colonies.
- To note the temperature at which the observation is made, a tube 2 ¢, fig. 1919, pro-
vided with a vertical branch, is employed. In this branch a thermometer, ¢, is placed.
The following are two examples of the use of the Table :—
1, A solution of a saccharine substance prepared in the normal pro-
portions of weight and volume recommended, and giving before acidu-
lation a notation on the left-hand part of the scale of . é ; . 7% divisions,
And after the inversion (the temperature being +15°) a notation in
the opposite direction of oii’ sha) cealars Sister *fla-ciuae ei sae ten ea eee
Sum ofthe inversions . , “ a . 96 divisions,
2. Another liquor similarly prepared, giving before the inversion a
notation on the left of ‘ d é ¢ a at ‘ J
And after the inversion, at the temperature of + 20°, another notation
of the same direction, but only of oot ey ‘ » « « ~ « 26 divisions,
80 divisions,
Difference expressing the value of the inversion . 54 divisions.
- The strength of the two solutions will be found thus: for the first, by seeing what
is the figure of the column representing 15°, which is the nearest to the sum of the
inversion, 65 divisions: it will be observed that this figure is 95°5, and that it corre-
sponds to quality 70, shown on the same horizontal line in the last column but one, A;
hence we conclude that the substance contained 70 per cent. of sugar.
As to the second solution, the figure nearest 54 is 58°6, in the column for the tem-
perature of + 20°, and the strength sought will be 40 per cent. on the same line in the
column of qualities. Finally, we shall find, besides, in the last column, B, of the
table, the quantity in grammes and centigrammes of the sugar contained per litre in
the solution, which is 114 grs. 45 egrs. for the first, and 65 grs, 40 egrs. for the second,
Other methods for the estimation of sugar have been adopted. We have already
described Peligot’s method by means of lime. When sugar is formed from starch, its
complete saccharification may be determined by the action of sulphuric acid, for if on
a strong solution of imperfectly-formed grape-sugar, nearly boiling hot, one drop of
strong sulphuric acid be added, no perceptible change will ensue, but if the acid be
dropped into solutions of either cane- or perfectly-formed grape-sugar, black carbo-
naceous particles will make their appearance.
f the
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934 SUGAR
The black oxide of copper is not affected by being boiled in solution of starch-
sugar.
e If a solution of grape-sugar,’ says Trommer, ‘and potash be treated with a solu-
tion of sulphate of copper, till the separated hydrate be re-dissolved, a precipitate of
red oxide will soon take place, at common temperatures, but it immediately forms if
the mixture is heated. A liquid containing z>¢5o5 of grape-sugar, even one-millionth
part,’ says he, ‘ gives a perceptible tinge (orange), if the light is let fall upon it” To
obtain such an exact result, very great nicety must be used in the dose of alkali,
which is found extremely difficult to hit. With a regulated alkaline mixture, how-
ever, an exceedingly small portion of starch-sugar, is readily detected, even when
mixed with Muscovado sugar.
Fehling has reduced this to a quantitative test, and makes a solution of copper that
will keep permanently. This is seen by the following :—
40 grammes of sulphate of copper,
160 grammes of neutral tartrate of potash, or 200 grammes of tartrate of soda,
dissolved and added to
700—800 cub. c. (grammes of caustic soda, specific gravity 1°12).
This is diluted with water to 1154°5 cub. ¢.
Of this solution 1 cub. c.=0°0050 grape-sugar, or
000475 cane-sugar.
Grains may be used instead of grammes, and then 1 grain=0-0050 grape-sugar,
without change of calculation.
100 parts of grape-sugar . . .
95 , cane-sugar F : ; =220°5 CuO, or 198 Cu?0.
90. ..4,—— -stareh-——, ‘. . :
Urine may be tested with this. It should be first diluted 10 to 20 times with water;
when the test is added, it should be boiled a few seconds, when the suboxide of copper
falls. Very constant results may be obtained.
Horsley detects minute quantities of sugar by means of chromate of potash.
Of the Sugar-cane, and the extraction of sugar from it—Though we have no direct
authority for believing that the sugar-cane was known to the ancients, we find scattered
a their writings notices of the occasional use of sweet substances different from
oney.
The writers alluded to are these: Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Galen, Strabo, and
Pliny ; some of them speak distinctly of canes and reeds. Humboldt, after the most
elaborate historical and botanical researches in the New World, arrived at the
conclusion that before America was discovered by the Spaniards the inhabitants of
that continent and the adjacent islands were entirely unacquainted with the sugar-
canes, with any of our corn-plants, and with rice, The progressive diffusion of the
cane has been thus traced out by the partisans of its oriental origin. From the in-
terior of Asia it was transplanted first into Cyprus, and thence into Sicily, or possibly
by the Saracens directly into the latter island, in which a large quantity of sugar was
manufactured in the year 1148. Lafitau relates the donation made by William IL,
King of Sicily, to the convent of St. Benoit, of a mill for crushing sugar-canes, along
with all its privileges, workmen, and dependencies: which remarkable gift bears the
date of 1166. According to this author, the sugar-cane must have been imported into
Europe at the period of the Crusades. The monk Albertus Aquensis, in the descrip-
tion which he has given of the processes employed at Acre and at Tripoli to extract
sugar, says that in the Holy Land the Christian soldiers, being short of provisions,
had recourse to sugar-canes, which they chewed for subsistence. Towards the year
1420, Dom Henry, Regent of Portugal, caused the sugar-cane to be imported into
Madeira from Sicily. This plant succeeded perfectly in Madeira and the Canaries; and
until the bngtits's of America, these islands supplied Europe with the greater portion .
of the sugar which it consumed.
The cane is said by some to have passed from the Canaries into the Brazils ; but by
others, from the coast of Angola in Africa, where the Portuguese had a sugar colony.
It was transported, in 1506, from the Brazils and the Canaries, into Hispaniola or
Hayti, where several crushing-mills were constructed in a short time. It would ap-
pear, moreover, from the statement of Peter Martyr, in the third book of his first
Decade, written during the second expedition of Christopher Columbus, which happened
between 1493 and 1496, that even at this date the cultivation of the sugar-cane was
widely spread in St. Domingo.
Sugar was first brought to England in 1568, by Admiral Hawkins, and a century
later English planters were realising t wealth in Barbadoes.
_It has been supposed to have been introduced into Hayti by Columbus himself, on
his first voyage, along with other productions of Spain and the Canaries, and that there-
SUGAR 935
fore its cultivation had.come into considerable activity at the period of his second ex-
pedition, Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, the sugar-cane was im-
ported into Barbadoes from Brazil, then into the other English West Indian possessions,
into the Spanish Islands on the coast of America, into Mexito, Peru, Chili, and, last
of all, into the French, Dutch, and Danish colonies.
The sugar-cane, Arundo saccharifera, is a plant of the graminiferous family, which
varies in height from 8 to 10 or even to 20 feet. Its diameter is about an inch and
a half; its stem is dense, brittle, and of a green hue, which verges to yellow at the
approach of maturity. It is divided by prominent annular joints of a whitish-yellow
colour. These joints are placed about 3 inches apart; and send forth leaves, which
fall off with the ripening of the plant. The leaves are 3 or 4 feet long, flat, straight,
pointed, from 1 to 2 inches in breadth, of a sea-green tint, striated in their length,
alternate, embracing the stem by their base. They are marked along their edges with
almost imperceptible teeth. In the eleventh or twelfth month of their growth the
canes push forth at their top a sprout 7 or 8 feet in height, nearly half an inch in
diameter, smooth, and without joints, to which the name arrow is given. This is
terminated by an ample panicle, about 2 feet long, divided into several knotty rami-
fications, composed of very numerous flowers, of a white colour, apetalous, and
furnished with 3 stamens, the anthers of which are a little oblong. The roots of the
sugar-cane are jointed and nearly cylindrical ; in diameter they are about one-twelfth
of ma ; in their utmost length 1 foot, presenting over their surface a few short
radicles,
The stem of the cane in its ripe state is heavy, very smooth, brittle, of a yellowish-
violet, reddish, or whitish colour, according to the variety. It is filled with a fibrous,
spongy, dirty-white pith, which contains very avundant sweet juice. This juice is
elaborated separately in each internodary portion, the functions of which are in this
respect independent of the portions above and below. The cane is propagated by
cuttings or joints of proper length, from 15 to 20 inches, in proportion to the nearness
Fi the joints, which are generally taken from the tops of the canes, just below the
eaves,
There are several varieties of the sugar-cane. The longest known is the Crvole, or
common sugar-cane, which was originally introduced at Madeira. It grows freely in
every region within the tropics, on a moist soil, even at an elevation of 3,000 feet
above the level of the sea. In Mexico, among the mountains of Caudina-Masca, it is
cultivated to a height of more than 5,000 feet. The quantity and quality of sugar
which it yields are proportional to the heat of the place where it
grows, provided it be not too moist and marshy.
Another variety is the Otaheitan cane. It was introduced into
the West Indies about the end of the eighteenth century. This
variety, stronger, taller, with longer spaces between the joints,
quicker in its growth, and much more productive in sugar, suc-
eeeds perfectly well in lands which seem too much impoverished
to grow the ordinary cane. It sends forth shoots at temperatures
which chill the growth and development of the creole plant. Its
maturation does not take more than a year, and is accomplished
sometimes in nine months, From the strength of its stem, and
the woodiness of its fibres, it better resists the storms. It weighs
a third more, affords a sixth more juice, and a fourth more sugar,
than the common variety. It yields four crops in the same time
that the creole cane yields only three. Its juice contains less
feculency and mucilage, whence its sugar is more easily crystal-
lised, and of a fairer colour.
Another variety, valuable chiefly from its hardiness, is the
purple violet from Java. It grows from 8 to 10 feet high. This
cane is covered with a resinous film, which is difficult to grind;
but as the sugar yielded is of excellent quality, this variety is
of considerable value in bordering cane-fields, protecting them
from the inroads of cattle. }
There is a caste in Ceylon, called Jaggeraros, who make sugar
from the produce of the Caryota wrens, or Kitul-tree; and the
sugar is styled Jaggery. Sugar is not usually made in Ceylon
from the sugar-cane; but either from the juice of the Kitul, from
the Cocos nucifera, or the Borassus flabelliformis (the Palmyra
Palm).
Several sorts of cane are cultivated in India.
The Cadjoolee (fig. 1921) is a purple-coloured cane; yields a sweeter and richer
juice than the yellow or light-coloured, but in less quantities, and is harder to press.
936 : SUGAR
It grows in dry lands. When eaten raw, it is somewhat dry and pithy in the mouth,
but is esteemed very good for making sugar. It is not known to the West India
planter. The leaves rise from a point 6 feet above the ground. An oblique and
transverse section of the cane is represented by the parts near the bottom of the
figure.
The Pooree is a light-coloured cane, yellow, inclining to white, deeper yellow when
ripe and on rich ground. West India planters consider it the same sort as one of
theirs. It is softer and more juicy than the preceding, but the juice is less rich, and
produces a weaker sugar. It requires seven parts of pooree-juice to make as much
goor as is produced from six of the cadjoolee. Much of this cane is brought to the
Caleutta market, and eaten raw.
The Cullorah thrives in swampy lands, is light coloured, and grows to a great
height. Its juice is more watery, and yields a weaker sugar also than the cadjoolee.
The manufacture of sugar in Bengal is conducted by the natives in the most primi-
tive manner possible; the poverty and ignorance of the ryots or peasants being serious
obstacles to the introduction of any system different from that practised by their fore-
fathers. Early in June the soil is brought into a soft muddy state; slips of the cane,
with one or two joints, are planted in rows about 34 feet apart, and 18 inches asunder
in the rows; when about 3 inches above ground the earth is partially loosened, and in
August trenches are cut, to drain off any superfluous moisture. From 3 to 6 canes
spring from each slip. When about 3 feet high the lower leaves are wrapped round
the canes, and the whole from each slip supported by bamboos. The cutting com-
mences in January or February, the canes being then 8 or 10 feet high, and 1 to 14
inch thick, and are passed through a mill of the rudest construction, which will be
fully described when sugar-mills are treated of.
The China cane is said to be extremely hardy, standing both cold and drought, and,
with abundant rain, giving out as many as thirty shoots.. It resists the inroads of
the white ants, which cannot penetrate its hard crust, whilst it is also proof against
the teeth of the jackals. . It requires, however, a stronger mill for grinding than the
other varieties mentioned. Mr. Wray asserts that the Salangore cane is the finest
in the Straits of Singapore, and .perhaps in the world. He says that he has cut five
from one stool, which were of a weight.of from 17lbs. to 26 lbs. They have been
known to produce 7,200 Ibs. of undrained sugar per acre, equal to 5,800 lbs, of dry
sugar for shipping.
Dr. Livingstone stated that sugar is cultivated in the Shire Valley, as well as in
many parts of Africa near the Zambesi, and may be had for as little as one halfpenny
per pound.
In all the colonies of the New World the sugar-cane flowers, but it then sends forth
a shoot (arrow), that is, its stem elongates, and the seed-vessels prove abortive. For
this reason, the bud-joints must there be used for its propagation. It is said to grow
to seed, however, in India. This circumstance occurs with some other plants, which,
when propagated by their roots, cease to yield fertile seeds ; such as the banana, the
bread-fruit, the lily, and the tulip.
In the proper season for planting, the ground is marked out by a line into rows
4 or 6 feet asunder, in which rows the canes are planted from 2 to 6 feet apart. The
series of rows is divided into pieces of land 60 or 70 feet broad, leaving spaces of
about 20 feet, for the convenience of passage, and for the admission of sun and air
between the stems. Canes are usually planted in trenches, about 6 or 8 inches deep,
made with the hand-hoe, the raised soil being heaped to one side, for covering in the
young cane; into the holes a negro drops the number of cuttings intended to be
inserted, the digging being performed by other negroes. The earth is then drawn
about the hillocks with the hoe. This labour has been, however, in many places
better and more cheaply performed by the plough; a deep furrow being made, into
which the cuttings are regularly planted, and the mould then properly turned in. If
the ground is to be afterwards kept clear by the horse-hoe, the rows of canes should
be 5 feet asunder, and the hillocks 24 feet distant, with only one cane left in one hillock.
After some shoots appear, the sooner the horse-hoe is used the more will the plants
thrive, by keeping the weeds under, and stirring up the soil. Plant-canes of the
first growth have been known to yield, on the brick-mould of Jamaica, in very fine
seasons, 24 tons of sugar per acre. The proper season for Planting the ae
containing the buds, namely, the top part of the cane stripped of its leaves, and the
two or three upper joints, is in the interval between August and the beginning of
November. Favoured by the autumnal weather, the young plants become luxuriant
enough to shade the ground before the dry season sets in; thereby keeping the roots
cool and moderately moist. By this arrangement the creole canes are ripe for the mill
in the beginning of the second year, soas to enable the manager to finish his crop early
in June. It is a great error for the colonist to plant canes at an improper season of
SUGAR "- - OBT
the year, whereby his whole system of operations becomes disturbed, and, in a certain
degree, abortive. re
The withering and fall of a leaf afford a good criterion of the maturity of the cane-
joint to which it belonged; so that the last eight leafless joints of two canes, which
are cut the same day, have exactly the same ripeness, though one of the canes be 15
and the other only 10 months old. Those, however, cut towards the end of the dry
season, before the rain begins to fall, produce better sugar than those cut in the rainy
season, as they are then somewhat diluted with watery juice, and require more
evaporation to form sugar. It may be reckoned a fair average product, when one
pound of sugar is obtained from one gallon (English) of juice.
Rattoons (a word corrupted from rejettons) are the sprouts or suckers that spring
from the roots or stoles of the canes that have been previously cut for sugar. They
are commonly ripe in 12 months ; but canes of the first growth are called plant-canes,
being the direct produce of the original cuttings or germs placed in the ground,
and require a longer period to bring them to maturity. The first yearly return
from the roots that are cut over, are called first rattoons; the second year’s growth,
second rattoons ; and so on, according to their age. Instead of stocking up his
rattoons, holing, and planting the land anew, the planter suffers the stoles to con-
tinue in the ground, and contents himself, as the cane-fields become thin and im-
poverished, with supplying the vacant places with fresh plants. By these means,
and with the aid of manure, the produce of sugar per acre, if not apparently equal to
that from plant-canes, gives perhaps in the long run as great returns to the owner,
considering the relative proportion of the labour and expense attending the different
systems.
When the planted canes are ripe, they are cut close above the ground by an oblique
section, and the leaves and shoots being stripped off, they are transported in bundles,
in the mill-house. If the roots be then cut off a few inches below the surface of the
soil, and covered up with fine mould, they will push forth more prolific offsets or
rattoons than when left projecting in the common way. ;
The amount of sugar yielded per acre is very variously stated. In fact, the yield
must vary with the different variety of canes cultivated, with the nature of the soil,
the character of the season, and more than all with the more or less perfect apparatus
used in manufacturing the sugar. Theyield, from these causes, will vary from }a ton
to 23 tons of solid sugar per acre.
For the chemical examination of sugar, see Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry,’
Sugar Miils.—The first machines employed to squeeze the canes were mills similar
to those which serve to erush apples in some cider districts, or somewhat like tan-mills.
In the centre of a circular area, of about 7 or 8 feet in diameter, a vertical heavy
wheel was made to revolve on its edge, by attaching a horse to a cross beam projecting
horizontally from it and making it move ina circular path. The cane-pieces were
strewed on the somewhat concave bed in the path of the wheel, and the juice
expressed flowed away through a channel or gutter in the lowest part. This machine
1922
TAA AT
was tedious and unproductive. It was replaced by the vertical cylinder mill of Gon-
zales de Velosa; which has continued till modern times, with little variation of external
form, but is now generally superseded by the sugar-mill, with horizontal cylinders,
938 SUGAR
Fig. 1922, front elevation of the entire mill; fig. 1923, end elevation, and Fig. 1924,
horizontal plan. Fig. 1925, diagram, showing the dispositions of the feeding and
delivering rollers, feeding board, returner, and delivering board.
ig. 1923, A, A, solid foundation of masonry; 8B, B, bed-plate ; c, c, headstocks or
standards; D, main shaft (seen in fig. 1924); », intermediate shaft; r, F, plummer-
blocks of main shaft’p (seen in fig. 1924); u, driving pinion on the fly-wheel-
iii
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1924 | L
PTT
Ts F 1925
shaft of engine ; 1, first motion mortise-wheel, driven by the pinion; x, second motion
pinion, on the same shaft; 1, second motion mortise-wheel, on the main shaft ; m,
brays of wood, holding the plummer-blocks for shaft p; x, wrought-iron straps con-
necting the brays to the standards c, c; 0, 0, regulating screws for the brays; P,
top roller and gudgeons; a, and rR, the lower or feeding and delivering rollers; s,
clutch for the connexion of the side of lower rollers a, and r, to the main shaft
(seen in fig. 1924); 1, 7, the drain-gutters of the mill-bed (seen only in fig. 1924).
SUGAR 939
The relative disposition of the rollers is shown in the diagram, fig. 1925: in which
Ais the top roller; 8, the feeding roller; c, the delivering roller; p, the returner ;
B, the feeding board ; r, the delivering board.
The rollers are made 2} inches to 24 inches thick, and ribbed in the centre. The
feeding and delivering rollers have small flanges at their ends, (as shown in fig. 1924),
between which the top roller is placed; these flanges prevent the pressed canes or
megass from working into the mill-bed. The feeding and top rollers are generally
fluted, and sometimes diagonally, enabling them the better to seize the canes from the
feeding-board. Itis, however, on the whole, considered better to flute the feeding roller
only, leaving the top and delivery rollers plane ; when the top roller is fluted, it should
be very slightly, for, after the work of a few weeks, its surface becomes sufficiently
rough to bite the canes effectively. The practical disadvantage of fluting the deliver-
ing rollers, isin the grooves carrying round a portion of liquor, which is speedily
absorbed by the spongy mogass, as well as in breaking the megass itself, and thus
causing great waste.
In working this mill, the feeding roller is kept about half an inch distant from the
upper roller, but the delivering roller is placed about Ath of an inch from it.
The canes are thrown upon the feeding board, and spread so that they may cross each
other as little as possible. They are taken in by the feeding rollers, which split and
slightly press them: the liquor flows down, and the returner guiding the canes be-
tween the top and delivering rollers, they receive the final pressure, and are turned
out on the mill-floor, while the liquor runs back and falls into the mill-bed. The
megess, thenin the state of pith, adhering to the skin of the cane, is tied up in bundles,
and after being exposed a short time to the sun, is finally stored in the megass-house
for fuel. By an improvement in this stage of the process, the megass is carried to
the megass-house by a carrier chain, worked by the engine.
The sugar-mill at Chica Ballapura is worked by a single pair of buffaloes or oxen,
going round with the lever a, fig. 1926, which is fixed on the top of the right-hand
. roller. The two rollers have endless screw-heads B, which are formed of four spiral
grooves and four spiral ridges, cut in opposite directions, which turn into one another
when the mill is working. These rollers and their heads are of one piece, made of the
toughest and hardest wood that can be got, and such as will not impart a bad taste to
the juice. They are supported in a thick strong wooden frame, and their distance from
each other is regulated by means
of wedges, which pass through
mortises in the frame-planks, and
a groove made in a bit of some sort
of hard wood, and press upon the
axis of one of the rollers. The axis
of the other presses against the
left-hand side of the hole in tho
frame-boards. The cane-juice runs
down the rollers, and through a
hole in the lower frame-board, into
a wooden conductor, which carries
it into an earthen pot. Twe long-
pointed stakes or piles are driven
into the earth, to keep the mill
steady, which is all the fixing it 4
requires. The under part of the
lowermost plank of the frame rests upon the surface of the ground, which is chosen
level and very firm, that the piles may hold the faster. A hole is dug in the earth,
immediately below the spout of the conductor, to receive the pot.
The mill used in Burdwan and near Calcutta is simply two small wooden cylinders,
grooved, placed horizontally, close to each other, and turned by two men, one at each
end. This simple engine is said to express the juice completely, but slowly. It is
very cheap, the prime cost not being two rupees; and being easily moved from field
to field, it saves much labour in the carriage of the cane. Notwithstanding this
advantage, so rude a machino must leave a large proportion of the richest juice in the
cane-trash,
The sugar-mill of Chinapatam, fig. 1927, consists of a mortar, lever, pestle, and
regulator. The mortar isa tree about 10 fect in length and 14 inches in diameter :
a is a plan of its upper end; 0 is an outside view; and ¢ is a vertical section. It is
sunk perpendicularly into the earth, leaving one end 2 feet above the surface. The
hollow is conical, truncated downwards, and then becomes cylindrical, with a hemi-
spherical projection in its bottom, to allow the juice to run freely to the small opening
that conveys it to a spout, from which it falls into an earthen pot. Round the upper
1926
A]
‘a
NU
940 SUGAR
mouth of the cone is a circular cavity, which collects any of the juice that may run
over from the upper ends of the pieces of cane; and thence a canal conveys this.
juice down the outside of the mortar, to the spout, The beam d, is about 16 feet in
length and 6 inches in thickness, being cut out from.a large tree that is divided by a
fork into two arms, . In the fork an excavation is made for the mortar 6, round which
the beam turns horizontally. The surface of this excavation is secured by a semi-
circle of strong wood. The end towards the fork is quite open, for changing the
beam without trouble. On the undivided end of the beam sits the bullock-driver,
1927 e, whose cattle are
, yoked by a rope
which comes from
1 the end of the beam;
and they are pre-
vented from drag-
ging out of the circle
by another rope,
which passes from
the yoke to the
forked end of the
beam. On the arms,
J, a basket is placed,
to hold the cuttings a
of cane; and between
this and the mortar
sits the man who
ae feeds the mill. Just
as the pestle comes round, he places the pieces of cane sloping down into the cavity
of the mortar; and after the pestle has passed, he removes those away that have been
squeezed,
The following describes the primitive rude mill and boiler used in preparing the
extract of sugar-cane, and which are usually let to the ryots by the day. The mill in
Dinajpur, fig. 1928, is on the principle of a pestle and mortar. The pestle, however,
does not beat the canes, but is rubbed against them, as is done in many chemical trit-
urations ; and the moving force is two oxen. The mortar is generally a tamarind-tree,
one end of which is sunk deep in the ground, to give it firmness. The part projecting,
a, may be about 2 feet high and a foot and a half in diameter; andin the upper enda
hollow is cut, like the small segment of a sphere. In the centre of this, a channel de-
scends a little way perpendicularly, and then obliquely to one side of the mortar, so
that the juice as squeezed
from the cane, runs off by
means of a spout, 4, into a
strainer c, through which
it falls into an earthen
pot that stands in a hole,
d, under the spout. The
pestle, e, is a tree about
18 feet in length, and 1
foot in diameter, rounded
at. its bottom, which rubs
against the mortar, and
which is secured in its
place by,a button or knob
that goes into the channel
of the mortar. The moy-
ing force is applied to a
horizontal beam, f, about
16 feet in length, which
turns round about the
mortar, and is fastened to
it by a bent bamboo,
It is suspended from the
upper end of the pestle by
a bamboo, g, which has
been cut with part of the root, in which is formed a pivot that hangs on the upper
point of the pestle, The cattle are yoked to the horizontal beam, at about 10 feet
from the mortar, move round it in a circle, and are driven by a man who sits on the
beam to increase the weight of the triturating power. Scarcely any machine more
SUGAR 941
miserable can be conceived; and it would be totally ineffectual, were not the cane
cut into thin slices. This is a troublesome part of the operation. The grinder sits
on the ground, having before him a bamboo-stake, which is driven into the earth
with a deep notch formed in its upper end. He passes the canes gradually through
this notch, and at the same time cuts off the slices with a kind of rude chopper.
The boiling apparatus is somewhat better contrived, and is placed under as 4d,
though the mill is without shelter. The fireplace is a considerable cavity dug in the
ground, and covered with an iron boiler, p, fig. 1929, At one side of this is an
opening, g, for throwing in fuel; and opposite to this is another opening, which com-
municates with the horizontal flue. This is formed by two parallel mud walls, 7, 7,
8, 8, about 20 feet long, 2 feet high, and 18 inches distant from each other. A row of
eleven earthen boilers, ¢, is placed on these walls, and the interstices, #, are filled with
clay, which completes the furnace-flue, an opening, v, being left at the end, for giving
vent to the smoke, a
; 19
| 000006.00000
The juice, as it comes from the mill, is first put into an earthen boiler that is most
distant from the fire, and is gradually removed from one boiler to another, until it
reaches the iron one, where the process is completed. The inspissated juice that can
be prepared in twenty-four hours by such a mill, with sixteen men and twenty oxen,
amounts to no more than 476 lbs.; and it is only in the southern parts of the district,
where the people work night and day, that the sugar-works are productive. In the
northern districts, the people work only during the day, and inspissate about one-half
the quantity of juice.
Of the Manufacture of Sugar in the West Indies.—Cane-juice varies exceedingly in
richness, with the nature of the soil, the culture, the season, and variety of the plant.
When left to itself in the colonial climates, the juice runs rapidly into the acetous
fermentation. Hence arises the necessity of subjecting it immediately to clarifying
processes, speedy in their action. When deprived of its: green fecula and glutinous
extractive, it is still subject to fermentation ; but this is now of the vinous kind. The
juice flows from the mill through a wooden gutter lined with lead, and being con-
ducted into the sugar-house, is received in a set of large pans or cauldrons, called
‘clarifiers.’ On estates which make on an average, during crop time, from 15 to 20
hogsheads of sugar a week, three clarifiers, of 400 gallons’ capacity each, are
sufficient. With pans of this dimension, the liquor may be drawn off at once by a
stopcock or syphon, without disturbing the feculencies after they subside, The
clarifiers are sometimes placed at one end, and sometimes in the middle of the house,
particularly if it possesses a double set of evaporating pans.
Whenever the stream from the mill-cistern has filled the clarifier with fresh juice,
the fire is lighted, and the zemper, or dose of slaked lime, diffused uniformly through
a little juice, is added. Ifan albuminous emulsion be used to promote the clarifying,
very little lime will be required; for recent cane-liquor contains no appreciable
portion of acid to be saturated. In fact, the lime and alkalis in general, when used
in small quantity, seem to coagulate the glutinous extractive matter of the juice, and
thus tends to brighten it up. Excess of lime may also be corrected by a little alum-
water. Where canes grow on a calcareous marly soil, in a favourable season the
saccharine matter gets so thoroughly elaborated, and the glutinous mucilage so
completely condensed, that a clear juice and a fine sugar may be obtained without the
use of lime.
As the liquor grows hot in the clarifier, a scum is thrown up, consisting of the
coagulated feculencies of the cane-juice. The fire is now gradually urged till the
temperature approaches the boiling point; to which, however, it must not be suffered
to rise. It is known to be sufficiently heated, when the scum rises in blisters, which
break into white froth ; an appearance observable in about forty minutes after kindling
the fire. The damper being shut down, the fire dies out ; and after an hour's repose,
the clarified liquor is ready to be drawn off into the last and largest in the series of
evaporating pans. In the British colonies, these are merely numbered 1, 2, 8, 4, 5,
_ beginning at the ‘smallest, which hangs right over the fire, and is called the teache ;
because in it the trial of the syrup, by touch, is made. The flame and smoke proceed
in a straight line along a flue to the chimney-stalk at the other end of the furnace.
The area of this flue proceeds, with a slight ascent from the fire, to the aperture at
942 SUGAR
the bottom of the chimney; so that between the surface of the grate and the bottom
of the teache there is a distance of 28 inches; while between the bottom of the flue
ree that of the grand, No. 5, at the other end of the range, there are barely 18
inches,
In some sugar-houses there is planted, in the angular space between each boiler, a
basin, one foot wide and a few inches deep, for the purpose of receiving the scum
which thence flows off into the grand copper, along a gutter scooped out on the margin
of the brickwork. The skimmings of the grand are thrown into a separate pan, placed
at its side, A large cylindrical cooler, about 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep, has been
placed in certain sugar-works near the teache, for receiving successive charges of its
inspissated syrup. Each finished charge is called a skipping, because it is skipped
or laded out, The term striking is also applied to the act of emptying the teache.
When upon one skipping of syrup in a state of incipient granulation in the cooler, a
second skipping is poured, this second congeries of saccharine particles agglomerates
round the first as suclei of crystallisation, and produces a larger grain; a result im-
proved by each successive skipping. This principle has been long known to the
chemist, but does not seem to have been always properly considered or appreciated
by the sugar-planter.
From the above-described cooler, the syrup is transferred into wooden chests or
boxes, open at top, and of a rectangular shape, also called coolers, but which are more
properly crystallisers or granulators. These are commonly six in number; each being
about 1 foot deep, 7 feet long, and 5 or 6 feet wide. When filled, such a mass is
collected as to favour slow cooling, and consequently large-grained crystallisation. If
these boxes be too shallow, the grain is exceedingly injured, as may be easily shown
by pouring some of the same syrup on a small tray; when, on cooling, the sugar will
appear like a muddy soft sand.
The due concentration of the syrup in the teache is known by the boiler, by the
appearance of a drop of the syrup pressed and then drawn into a thread between the
thumb and fore-finger. The thread eventually breaks at a certain limit of extension,
shrinking from the thumb to the suspended finger, in lengths somewhat proportional
to the inspissation of the syrup. But the appearance of granulation in the thread
must also be considered; for a viscid and damaged syrup may give a long enough
thread, and yet yield almost nocrystalline grains when cooled. Tenacity and granular
aspect must therefore be both taken into the account, and will continue to constitute
the practical guides to the negro boiler, till a less barbarous mode of concentrating
cane-juice be substituted for the present naked teache, or sugar frying-pan.
A viscous syrup containing much gluten and sugar, altered by lime, requires a
higher temperature to enable it to granulate than a pure saccharine syrup; and
therefore the thermometer, though a useful aid, can by no means be regarded as a
sure guide, in determining the proper instant for striking the teache.
The colonial cwring-house is a spacious building, of which the earthen floor is ex-
eavated to form the molasses-reservoir. This is lined with sheet-lead, boards, tarras,
or other retentive cement; its bottom slopes a little, and it is partially covered by an
open massive frame of joist-work, on which the plotting casks are set upright. These
are merely empty sugar-hogsheads, without headings, having 8 or 10 holes bored in
their bottoms, through each of which the stalk of a plantain-leaf is stuck, so as to
protrude downwards 6 or 8 inches below the level of the joists, and to rise above the
top of the cask. The act of transferring the crude concrete sugar from the crystal-
lisers into these hogsheads, is called potting. The bottom holes, and the spongy
stalks stuck in them, allow the molasses to drain slowly downwards into the sunk
cistern. In the common mode of procedure, sugar of average quality is kept from 8
to 4 weeks in the curing-house; that which is soft-grained and glutinous must remain
5 or 6 weeks. The curing-house should be close and warm, to favour the liquefac-
tion and drainage of the viscid molasses.
Out of 120,000,000 Ibs. of raw sugar which used to be annually shipped by the
St. Domingo planters, only 96,000,000 lbs. were landed in France, according to the
authority of Dutrone, constituting a loss by drainage in the ships of 50 percent. The
average transport waste in the sugars of the British colonies cannot be estimated at
less than 12 per cent., or altogether upwards of 27,000 tons! What a tremendous
sacrifice of property!
Syrup intended for forming clayed sugar must be somewhat more concentrated in
the teache, and run off into a copper cooler, capable of receiving three or four suc-
cessive skippings. Here it is stirred to ensure uniformity of product, and is then
transferred by ladles into conical moulds, made of coarse pottery or of sheet iron,
having a small orifice at the apex, which is stopped with a plug of wood wrapped in
& leaf of maize. These conical pots stand with the base upwards. As their capacity,
when largest, is considerably less than that of the smallest potting-casks, and as the
ee
a wa.
=
SUGAR 943
process lasts several weeks, the claying-house requires to have very considerable
dimensions. Whenever the syrup is properly granulated, which happens usually in
about 18 or 20 hours, the plugs are removed from the apices of the cones, and each
is set on an earthen pot to receive the drainings. At the end of 24 hours the cones
are transferred over empty pots, and the molasses contained in the former ones is
either sent to,the fermenting-house or sold, The claying now begins, which consists
in applying to the smoothed surface of the sugar at the base of the cone a plaster of
argillaceous earth, or tolerably tenacious loam in a pasty state. The water diffused
among the clay escapes from it by slow infiltration, and descending with like slow-
ness through the body of the sugar, carries along with it the residuary viscid syrup,
which is more readily soluble than the granulated particles. Whenever the first
magma of clay has become dry, it is replaced by a second; and this occasionally in
its turn by a third, whereby the sugar-cone gets tolerably white and clean. It is
then dried in a stove, cut transversely into frusta, crushed into a coarse powder on
wooden trays, and shipped off for Europe. Clayed sugars are sorted into different
shades of colour according to the part of the cone from which they were cut. The
clayed sugar of Cuba, which is sun-dried, is called ‘Havannah sugar,’ from the name
of the shipping port.
Clayed sugar can be made only from the ripest cane-juice, for that which contains
much gluten would be apt to get too much burned by the ordinary process of boiling
to bear the claying operation. ‘The syrups that run off from the second, third, and
fourth applications of the clay-paste, are concentrated afresh in a small building apart,
called the refinery, and yield tolerable sugars, Their drainings go to the molasses-
cistern. The cones remain for 20 days in the claying-house before the sugar is taken
out of them.
Claying is seldom had recourse to in the British plantations, on account of the
increase of labour, and diminution of weight in the produce, for which the improve-
ment in quality yields no adequate compensation. Such, however, was the esteem in
which the French consumers held clayed-sugar, that it was prepared in 400 plantations
of St. Domingo alone.
Sucar Rermine.—The raw or Muscovado sugar, as usually imported, is not in a
state of sufficient purity for use. The sugar is blended with more or less of fruit-
and grape-sugars, with sand and clay, with albuminous- and colouring-matter, chiefly
caramel. To separate the pure sugar, the plan formerly adopted was to add blood,
eggs, and lime-water to a solution of the raw sugar, and after applying heat, to
remove the thick scum of coagulated albumen, which also removed a considerable
. portion of colouring-matter. The clear liquid was concentrated, and the semi-
erystalline mass being placed in conical moulds, as much of the molasses as would
drain by gravitation was allowed to escape from the points of the moulds, and the
remainder was expelled by allowing water or a solution of pure sugar to trickle
through the mass of crystals, The loaves, being trimmed into shape and dried,
were fit for sale.
By this process only a small proportion of the sugar was made into loaf. Tho
method of removing the colouring-matter was crude, imperfect, and expensive; and
the high temperature requisite for the fermentation of the syrup not only injured
its colour, but converted a large proportion of the sugar into the uncrystallisable
variety.
These defects were remedied, to a great extent, by the adoption of Howard's
vacuum-pan, for the concentration of syrups under diminished atmospheric pressure,
and consequently at a low temperature together with, the use of filtering-beds of
animal-charcoal for the removal of colouring-matter.
There are three classes of sugar-refineries in this country, the chief productions of
which are, respectively :—
Ist. Loaf-sugar.
2nd. Crystals (¢.e. large, well-formed, dry white crystals of sugar).
8rd. Crushed sugar.
In the former two, good West India, Havannah, Mauritius, or Java sugar are
almost exclusively used. In the last, all classes of sugar are indiscriminately em-
ployed. The manufacture of loaf-sugar is chiefly carried on ir London; of crystals,
in Bristol and Manchester; of crushed sugar, in Liverpool, Greenock, and Glasgow.
Besides these places, which are the chiet seats of the sugar-refining trades, this
-branch of industry is carried on more or less at Plymouth, Southampton, Goole,
Sheffield, Newton (Lancashire), and Leith. The methods vary a little in different
refineries ; but the following description refers to the most modern and best conducted
which are to be found in this country. The general arrangements of a sugar-house
are shown in jig. 1930.
Loar-Suaar.—Solution, The raw sugar is emptied from the hogsheads, boxes,
944: SUGAR
or mats, as the case may be, and discharged through a grating in the floor into a
copper pan, about 8 feet in diameter. This dissolving pan is sometimes, although
incorrectly, called ‘a defecator,’ it was formerly called ‘a blow-up,’ from the practice of
blowing steam into it, but the practice and the name are now antiquated. Hot water
is added, and the solution is facilitated by the action of an agitator, or stirrer, kept
in motion by the steam-engine. The proportions of sugar and water are regulated so
that the liquid attains a specific gravity of about 1°250, or 29° Beaumé, as a higher
density than this would interfere with subsequent processes. A copper coil or
casing to the pan, heated by steam, furnishes the means of raising the liquid to a
1930
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temperature of 165°, The plan of boiling the ‘liquor’ is becoming gradually dis-
used. If the solution is acid, sufficient lime-water is added to make it neutral. The
use of blood, which was formerly added at this stage, is in most cases dispensed with ;
the advantage arising from its use is readily obtained from the employment of an
increased amount of animal-charcoal in a subsequent process, while the mischief
arising from the introduction of nitrogenous matter so prone to decompose is avoided.
Some machipery is used for crushing the hard lumps to facilitate solution.
Removal of insoluble matter—The liquor having been brought to the requisite
remy and temperature, and also being perfectly neutral, is passed through the bag-
ter. ;
The apparatus consists of an upright square iron or copper case, a, @, fig. 1981, about
SUGAR 945
6-or 8 feet high, furnished with doors; beneath is a cistern with a pipe for receiving and
carrying off the filtered liquor ; and above the case is another cistern, c. Into the upper
cistern the syrup is introduced, and passes thence into the 1931
mouths e, e, of the several filters, d, d. These consist each of a :
bag of thick twilled cotton of cloth, about 2 feet in diameter
and. 6 or 8 feet long, which is inserted into a narrow ‘ sheath,’
or bottomless bag of canvas, about 5 inches in diameter, for
the purpose of folding the filter-bag up into a small space, and .
thus enabling a great extent of filtering surfaces to become
pressed into one box. The orifice of each compound bag is
tied round a conical brass mouth-piece or nozzle e, which screws
tight into a corresponding opening in the bottom of the upper
cistern. From 40 to 400 bags are mounted in each filter-case.
The liquor which first passes is generally turbid, and must be
pumped back into the upper cistern, for refiltration. The in-
terior of the case is furnished with a pipe for injecting steam,
which is occasionally used for warming the case. Fig. 1932
shows one mode of forming the funnel-shaped nozzles of the
bags, in which they are fixed by a bayonet-catch. Fig. 1933
shows the same made fast by means of a screwed cap, which is
more secure,
When the bags are fouled from the accumulation of clay and
a slimy substance on their inner surfaces, the filter is unpacked,
the bags withdrawn from the sheaths, and well washed in hot
water. This washing is usually performed with a dash-wheel,
or some one of the numerous kinds of washing-machines now
in use. Perhaps that of Manlove and Alliott, of Nottingham,
is in greatest favour. The dirty water, with the addition of a
little lime, is smartly boiled, and after some hours being
allowed for subsidence, the supernatant, clear, weak solution of
sugar is removed and used in the first. process (solution), while
the muddy residue is placed in canvas bags and subjected to
pressure, The residue, technically called scwm, is thrown away.
Removal of colour.—The liquor issuing from the bag-filters generally resembles in
eolour dark sherry wine. To render this colourless it is passed through deep filtering-
beds of granulated burnt bones or animal-charcoal. When this substance was first
introduced, beds of a few inches in depth were considered sufficient, but the quantity
of charcoal used per ton of sugar has steadily increased, and filters of no less a depth
than 50 feet are now sometimes used.
Cylinders of wrought or cast iron, varying in diameter from 6 to 10 fect, and in
height from 10 to 50, having a perforated false bottom a couple of inches above the
true one, are filled with granulated animal-charcoal.
The grain varies from the size of turnip-seed to that of peas, some refiners pre-
ferring it fine, and others coarse.
Liquor from the bag-filters is run on to the charcoal till the cylinder is perfectly
filled, when the exit tap at the bottom is opened, and a stream of -dense saccharine
fluid, perfectly colourless, issues forth. The amount of sugar which the charcoal
will discolour depends upon the age and composition of the charcoal, the degree
of perfection with which the previous revivification has been performed, and the
quality, colour, and density of the liquor to be operated upon. One ton of charcoal
is sometimes used to purify two tons of sugar; and in at least one refinery, where in-
ferior sugar is operated on, two tons of charcoal serve for one ton of sugar. In most
provincial refineries about one ton of charcoal is used to one of sugar; but in London,
from the dearness of fuel and other causes, a smaller proportion of charcoal is em-
ployed. The liquor from the charcoal filter, at first colourless, becomes slightly
tinged, and in course of time, varying from 24 hours to 72, the power of the charcoal
becomes exhausted, the partially decoloured syrup is passed through a fresh charcoal
filter, and the sugar is washed out from the charcoal by means of hot water. The
charcoal is ready to be removed for revivification, which process has already been
described.
Concentration.—The next process in sugar-refining is the evaporation of the clari-
fied syrup to the granulating. or crystallising point. The more rapidly this. is
effected, and the less the heat to which it is subjected, the better and greater is the
product in sugar-loaves. No apparatus answers the refiner’s double purpose of safety
and expedition so well as the vacuum-pan.
The vacuum-pan, invented by Howard, and patented in the year 1812, is an
sate ee 53 vessel, heated by steam, passing through one or more copper coils,
— Vou, ITT, 3P
946 SUGAR
and a steam-jacket, The vapour arising from the boiling solution of sugar is con-
densed by an injection of cold water, the arrangement of which, and the maintenance
of a vacuum, closely resemble the condenser, injection, and air-pump of an ordinary
condensing steam-engine.
Fig. 1934 shows the structure of a single vacuum-pan, The horizontal diameter
of the copper spheroid cc, is from 7 to 10 feet; the depth of the under hemisphere a,
is at least 2 feet from the level of the flange; and the height of the dome-cover is
from 8 to 5 feet. The two hemispheres (of which the inferior one is double, or has
a steam-jacket), are put together by bolts and screws, to preserve the joints tight
against atmospheric pressure.
The steam enters through the valve r, traversing the copper coil p, and filling the
steam-jacket, the condensed water ote eg a small pipe below. c represents the
dome of the vacuum-pan, the vapour from which, passing in the direction of y,
allows any particles of sugar carried over by the violence of the ebullition to be
deposited in the receiver, Mt.
: - 1984
The vapour is condensed by jets of cold water issuing from a perforated pipe, and
the water, uncondensed vapour, and air, are removed by the action of a powerful air-
ump. 1 is the measure cistern, from which the successive charges are admitted
into the pan; 1 and K represent respectively a thermometer and a barometer: thé
former being required to indicate the temperature of the boiling syrup, and the latter
the diminished atmospheric pressure within the pan. r is the discharge cock ; and u.
the proof-stick, is an apparatus inserted air-tight into the cover of the vaecuum-pan,
and which dips down into the syrup, serving to take outa sample of it, without allowing
air to enter. It is shown in detail, in fig. 1939, which represents a cylindrical rod,
capable of being screwed air-tight into the pan in an oblique direction downwards.
The upper or exterior end is open; the under, which dips into the syrup is closed,
and has ‘on one side a slit a (figs. 1936, 1989), or notch, about $ in, wide. In this
external tube, there is another shorter tube 4, capable of moving round it, through an
arc of 180°. An opening upon the under end ¢, corresponds with the slit in the
outer tube, so that both may be made to coincide, fig. 1984, a. A plug d, is put in
the interior tube, but so as not to shut it entirely. Upon the upper end there is a
projection or pin, which catches in a slit of the inner tube, by which this may be
turned round at pleasure. In the lower end of the plug there is a hole e, which can
be placed in communication with the lateral openings in both tubes. Hence it is
SUGAR | 947
possible, when the plug and the inner tube are brought into the proper position, a,
fig. 1985, to fill the cavity of the rod with the syrup, and to take it out without
allowing any air to enter. In
order to facilitate the turning 1986 1935
of the inner tube within the foul Syaee 137,246,372 9,261,937
EIR OBR in 5-55 cr ny aoe 311,849 . 18,365
» United States of America . a 345,563 24,377
; British India:
a Bombay and Scinde ‘ > 22,719 2,096
se Thus: MREDIOS > Sx.c candies sarees 31,838 2,613
Ss Bengal and Burmah “ a 18,416,506 . 1,517,484
; Other countries . : : 4 231,764 17,202
Total . J > 163,765,269 11,372,595
Tea Imported in 1874,
Ibs, Value
. | 18,440,494 £1,621,980
131,669,908 9,105,307
From British India. ° Ay
» China (including Hongkong and Macao)
, Other countries . A . -| 11,492,918 845,745
Imports é F - | 161,603,410
Total { Hoe consumption . | 187,422,563 11,573,032
TEAE. The produce of the Tectona grandis ; a native of the mountainous parts
of the Malabar coast. The African teak is thought by some to belong to another
genus ( Oldfieldia Africana). /
TEASLE or FULLER'S THISTLE (Chardon a.carder, Fr.; Weberdistel, Ger.) ;
the head of the thistle, (Dipsacus fullonum), is employed to raise the nap of cloth. See
Wootten Manvractvre.
TEEL OIL. Seo Ors.
TEETH. Ina typical tooth, as developed in most mammals, the greater part is
composed of a substance called dentine, the crown being covered with a hard enamel,
whilst the remainder of the tooth is coated with a cortical substance known as cement.
Ivory is very similar to dentine. (See Ivory.)
Dr. Robert Dundas Thomson published the analyses of teeth by Alexander Nasmyth,
Esq. The following table has been constructed from those analyses :—
Enamel Ivory Bone
Human Human For com-
adult | Elephant | “gault | Elephant | “parison
Organic matter . r : 6160 6°80 26°81 45°65 35°93
Phosphate oflime. . . | 89°160 82°55 66°42! 50.39 51-12
Fluoride of calcium lt A “260 1°65 0°62 f 63
Phosphate of magnesia . s aoe Rye “5 < +
Carbonate of lime . 4 . | 4:010 7°65 5°63 1°35 9°77
Chloride of sodium = : “E ; :
Chloride of potassium sf web 1:05 0:15 0°06 0-59
For a large series of analyses of teeth by Von Bibra, see Watts’s ‘Dictionary of
Chemistry,’
TENT 977
Teeth ‘mported in 1873: Elephant, Sea-cow, Sea-horse.
cwts. Value
From Germany ‘ 7 3 id x f E é 640 22,282
AT 7 IRs 9.5 srt 1,118 40,394
» Egypt . ~ s : 4 é ‘ 4,628 151,737
» West Coast of Africa (foreign):
z Portuguese Possessions . F J 2 449 19,629
7 Not particularly designated F 4 £ 2,465 103,859
», East Coast of Africa (native) . : ; 69 6,000
» British Possessions on the Gold Coast - 3 78 2,598
i if jn South Africa . ‘ . LF 41,160
ae Adon! . eo a oe : - : : : 277 13,440
» British India, 5 J ‘ : J i ; 1,201 58,082
» Other countries . é : 3 “ j 3 1,343 47,448
Total = "fort gw god hw 18.886 |) 606 ato
TELEGRAPHS. See Exucrro-TELEGRAPHY.
TELLURIC BISMUTH. A telluride of bismuth. See TerrapyMirte.
TELLURIUM. One of the elementary bodies, usually classed amongst the metals,
but it presents so great an analogy to sulphur and selenium, that many are disposed
to remove it from the metallic bodies, ;
Tellurium was originally found in Transylvanian gold ores; and more recently it
has been found with bismuth. Tellurium has a silvery lustre; its texture is crystalline
and brittle. Its specific gravity is 6°65, and its atomic weight 64°5. From its
extreme rarity, and consequent cost, it has not yet found any application in the arts,
TEMPERING OF STEEL. In metallurgy the process by which a certain re-
quired character is given to steel or any other metal. ;
The process of hardening or tempering steel is performed with due relation to
the quality of the steel and the purposes for which it is designed. In most instances
the hardening is effected in water and brine: saw-blades are thus hardened, after
being heated in melted lead; and sabres are heated in a choked fire of charcoal, and
then swung rapidly through the air. Mint-stamps are hardened in oil. The common
method of procedure in hardening is this: The steel is overheated, cooled in cold
water, and then annealed or tempered, by being so far re-heated that oil and tallow
will burn on its surface; or the surface is ground and polished, and the steel re-
heated until it assumes a certain colour. The gradations of colour consecutively
follow: a light straw-yellow, violet, blue, and finally grey or black, when the steel
again becomes as soft as though it had never been hardened.
TEMPLET. A gauge formed from a thin piece of metal, as a guide to the form
of the work to be executed.
TENT. A portable lodge, consisting of canvas sustained by poles and stretched
by cords, used for sheltering men, especially soldiers in camp, from the weather.
Tents were commonly used in the earliest periods of man’s history. The patriarchal
tribes dwelt in tents. Layard describes one of the sculptured stones at Mosul as re-
presenting Sennacherib seated on a throne, placed at the entrance of acity. Behind
the king was the royal tent supported by ropes, and an inscription, signifying ‘ This is
the tent of Sennacherib, King of Assyria’ This was 700 years before Christ. We
learn that Paul was a tent-maker, therefore in those days it was an important calling,
We have no space to enter into the history of tents or describe the varieties which
have been used from time to time. A few words on modern tents must suffice :—
The hospital marquee is 29 feet long and 14} feet wide and 15 feet high. This is
supposed to accommodate not less than eighteen ormore thantwenty-four men, The
height of each tent-pole is 13 feet 8 inches; the length of the ridge-pole 13 feet 10
inches; the height of the tent-walls from the ground 5 feet.4 inches. The weight
of all the material of such a tent is stated by Major Rhodes to be 652 lbs.
The ventilation of tents has been admirably effected by Mr. Doyle, to whom we
are indebted for the information contained in the following notes on the subject.
The old method of ventilating military tents was very defective. Ventilating
openings were made at the top of the tent, but no means were provided for the
admission of fresh air. The result was most unsatisfactory, as may be gathered from
the following evidence given before the Sebastopol Committee :— .
‘The tents were very close indeed at night. When the tent was closed in
Vor, IT, 3R
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978 TERRA COTTA 4
wet weather, it was often past bearing. The men became faint from heat and close-
ness,’ !
The problem then was to let in fresh air, and produce a draft without incon-
veniencing the soldiers as they slept.
The question attracted Mr. Doyle's notice during the period of the camp at Chobham,
and it appearing to him to be one of very great importance, he undertook, with the
sanction of Lord Raglan, then Master-General of the Ordnance, to try the following
experiment :— ‘ : ;
1947 He caused two openings to be made in the wall of a tent,
about 4 feet from the ground, and introduced the air between
the wall and a piece, of lining somewhat resembling a carriage-
pocket, thus: a a, the wall of the tent; 2, the opening to admit
air ;_c, the lining.
It will be seen that air so introduced would naturally take
an upward direction, and that this communicating with the
openings at the top of the tent, would probably produce the
desired effect. . : P :
The following extract from the report on this experiment
will show the actual result :—
‘The ventilators (Mr. Doyle's) were found of great use in
clearing the tent of the fetid atmosphere consequent upon a
number of men sleeping in so confined a space. The men state that the heavy smell
experienced before the tent was altered is almost banished.’
In subsequent experiments the number of the new openings was increased from two
to three, and a greater amount of ventilation thus obtained. The result according to
an official letter of thanks received on the subject, was ‘quite successful.’ The im-
provement has been since adopted into the service, and by these very simple means
one of the most fruitful causes of sickness among our soldiers in camp finally removed,
TENT, a wine, so called from the Spanish tinto, ‘deep-eoloured,’ it being of a
deep red colour. It comes chiefly from Galicia, or Malaga. See Wine.
TERMINALIA CHEBULA. The name of a tree common in India, which
produces Myrobalans. See Crookes’s ‘ Handbook of Dyeing.’
TERNE-PLATE. Iron-plate coated with a mixture of tin and lead, instead of
pure tin.
TERRA COTTA. This term means literally baked earth. Itis known in the ©
arts as the material of the ancient vases, amphore, patere, lamps, statues, and bas-
rilievi. Monumental vases of terra cotta have been found in the tombs, after the
lapse of 2,000 years, in a fine state of preservation. The ancient terra-cotta vases are _
generally painted black, on a red or buff ground; but on some there are blue, yellow,
and other colours. The style of ornamentation is much alike in all: a few narrow
lines, or fillets, with dots, meander fretwork, laurel, ivy-leaf, and honeysuckle
borders, adorning the rim, neck, and stand of the vases, the centre or body being
covered with allegorical representations of gods, men,and animals. ‘Terra ccttas of the
type of the early Greek, commonly called Etruscan vases, are found throughout the
ancient Egyptian cities. The art of making the Greek terra cotta seems to have be-
come extinct, about 150 years before Christ. The modes in which the Greek works
were made have been subjects of much controversy among the learned in art. The
body, or substance, appears to a potter, in a commercial point of view, of the lowest
grade, as it is common clay, very porous, and coarse-grained. By some authors it is
said they were made of clay, mixed with sand only, and by others, with clay mixed
with cement. The most probable conclusion is, that some were made of clay only,
some of clay and sand, and others (such as those of ground and monumental
character, where it was important that the parts should be kept very true in firing),
of clay mixed with potsherds and puzzolano or other detritus of lava. The works are
less baked than pee pm pottery, and it is doubtful if it would stand exposure to the
variations of such a climate as England. Among the remains of Greek pottery are
gigantic amphore of very coarse grain, measuring as much as 8 fect in length by
8 feet in diameter, and of corresponding thickness. It is said that one of these
great vessels was the tub of Diogenes. Vauquelin gives the following analysis of
the Greek terra-cotta vases: silica, 58; alumina, 15; lime 8; oxide of iron, &c., 24.
The Roman terra cottas are of an entirely different character from those just de-
scribed, and consist chiefly of cinerary urns, lamps, and patere; and these appear
to have been moulded ; the ornament is either incised or embossed, and odd fantastic
shapes prevail.
Terra-cotta works of an architectural character are constantly met with in the
Ee
- © Evidence of Sergeant Dawson, Grenadier Guards.
— )hCUU
SS
TEXTILE FABRICS 979
buildings erected in Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries, The clay sketches
and models of Michael Angelo, and other great sculptors, were rondered in terra
cottas, Bramante employed terra cotta in decoration.
The merit of reviving in England the manufacture of terra cotta belongs to
Josiah Wedgwood, who in 1770 established large works in Staffordshire, About
1790 a pottery was established at Lambeth for the manufacture of decorative works ;
and terra cotta was made for many years by a lady of the name of Coade, and after-
wards by Coade and Sealey, The chief materials used by them were the Dorset and
Deyonshire clays, with fine sand, flint, and potsherds. The chief portion of the old
coats-of-arms above the shop-fronts of London were made of this terra cotta. About
fifty years ago, Mr. Bubb, the seulptor, had a manufactory forterra cotta, The frieze
of the Opera in the Haymarket is an example of his work.
To explain the’mode of executing any work in terra cotta, it is best to describe the
proper meaning of the words ‘ modelling,’ ‘ moulding,’ and ‘ casting.’
A model is an original work made by the sculptor in clay, and worked out by the
fingers and small tools made of bone and steel, varying from about 6 to 10 inches in
length, This original work of the artist is allowed to dry, and then the moulding
operation commences. ‘This process is. effected by mixing plaster-of-Paris with
water to the consistency of thick cream; this is spread over the model, and when
it has set it is removed in sections, which, when again carefully united, form the
mould, in which either clay or metal can be cast, and receive the form of the original
work. For terra-cotta work, unless many copies of the original are wanted, moulds
are not employed. When only one or two copies of a work are required, the original
models are built up in a cellular manner, they are then dried and removed to a kiln
and baked, being a perfectly original work.
When moulding is performed for terra-cotta works, sheets of clay are beaten on a
bench to the consistency of glazier’s putty, and pressed by the hand into the mould;
according to the magnitude of the work and the weight it may have to sustain, the
thickness of the clay is determined and arranged, and here consists a part of the art
it would be impossible to describe, and which requires years of experience in such
works to produce great works and fire them with certainty of success.
At the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, are several large works manufactured by Mr, J.
M. Blashfield, who has extensive terra-cotta works at Stamford. The figure of
*‘ Australia,’ modelled by John Bell, nine feet in height, and burnt in one piece; the
colossal Tritons modelled by the same artist, and other works, are examples. After
the moulded article has become sufficiently dry, it is conveyed to a kiln. A slow fire
is first made, and quickened until the heat is sufficient to blend and partially vitrify
the material of which the mass is composed; when sufficiently baked, the kiln is
allowed to cool, and the terra cotta is withdrawn.
A very fine red terra cotta, resembling that imported from Copenhagen and
Belgium, has within the last few years been manufactured at Watcombe, near
Torquay, in Devonshire.
| TERRA DI SIENWA is a brown ferruginous ochre, employed in painting,
obtained from Italy. It is a hydrous sesquioxide of iron, containing traces of
arsenic; from which we may infer it is derived mainly from decomposition of
arsenical pyrites. It is calcined before being used as a pigment, and is then known
as burnt sienna. Faw sienna is not much employed; it contains water, which the
calcined does not.
TERRA JAPONICA. Seo Acacia; Carechu; GAMBIER,
TESSERZ. Sce Tires and Encaustic Tirzs.
TESTS are chemical reagents of any kind, which indicate, by special characters,
the composition of the body to which they are applied. Analytical chemistry is based
on the application of tests. See Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry,’
TETRADYMITE, or Telluric Bismuth. A telluride of bismuth, frequently con-
taining sulphur, It is a common associate of gold.
TEXTILE FABRICS. The first business of the weaver is to adapt those parts
of his loom which move the warp tothe formation of the various kinds of ornamental
figures which the cloth is intended to exhibit. This subject is called the draught,
drawing or reading in, and the cording of looms. In every species of weaving,
whether direct or cross, the whole difference of pattern or effect is produced, either
by thé succession in which the threads of warp are introduced into the heddles, or by
the succession in which those heddles are moved in the working. The heddles being
stretched between two shafts of wood, all the heddles connected by the same shafts,
are called a leaf; and as the operation of introducing the warp into any number of
leaves is called drawing a warp, the plan of succession is called the ‘draught,’ When
this operation has been performed correctly, the next part of the weaver's business is
to connect the different leaves with the levers or treddles by which they are to be
3R2
980 | TEXTILE FABRICS
moved, so that one or more may be raised: or sunk by every treddle successively, as
may be required to produce the peculiar pattern. These connections being made by
coupling the different parts of the apparatus by cords, this operation is called the
‘cording.’ In order to direct the operator in this part of his business, especially if pre-
viously unacquainted with the particular pattern upon which he is employed, plans
are drawn upon paper, specimens of which will be found in jigs. 1948, 1949, &c.
These plans are horizontal sections of a loom, the heddles being represented across
the paper at a, and the treddles under them, and crossing them at right angles at 5.
In fags 1948 and 1949 they are represented as if they were distinct pieces of wood,
those across being the under shaft of each leaf of heddles, and those at the left
hand the treddles. See Weavine. In actual weaving, the treddles are placed at right
angles to the heddles, the sinking cords descending perpendicularly as nearly as pos-
sible to the centre of the latter. Placing them at the left hand, therefore, is only for
1948 1949
: . HHH
e 72346 2595 678
ready inspection, and for practical convenience. At ¢ a few threads of warp are shown
as they pass through the heedles, and the thick lines denote the leaf with which each
thread is connected. Thus, in jig. 1948, the right-hand thread, next to a, passes
through the eye of a heddle upon the back leaf, and is disconnected with all the other
leaves; the next thread passes through a heddle on thesecond leaf; the third, through
the third leaf; the fourth, through the fourth leaf; and the fifth, through the fifth or
front leaf. One set of the draught being now completed, the weaver recommences with
the back leaf, and proceeds in the same succession again to the front. Two sets of the
draught are represented in this figure, and the same succession, it is understood by
weavers (who seldom draw more than one set), must be repeatedvuntil all the warp is
included. When they proceed to apply the cords, the right-hand part of the plan at
4, serves asa guide. In all the plans shown by these figures, excepting one which
shall be noticed, a connection must be formed, by cording, between every leaf of
heddles and every treddle: for all the leaves must either rise or sink. The raising
motion is effected by coupling the leaf to one end of its correspondent top lever; the
other end of this lever is tied to the long march below, and this to the treddle. The
sinking connection is carried directly from under the leaf to the treddle, To direct a
weaver which of these connections is to be formed with each treddle, a black spot is
placed when a leaf is to be raised, where the leaf and treddle intersect each other upon
the plan, and the sinking connections are left blank. ‘or example, to cord the treddle
1, to the back leaf, put a raising cord, and to each of the other four, sinking cords ;
for the treddle 2, raise the second leaf, and sink the remaining four, and so of the rest;
the spot always denoting the leaf or leaves to be raised. The jigs. 1948 and 1949 are
drawn for the purpose of rendering the general principle of this kind of plans familiar
to those who have not been previously acquainted with them; but those who have
been accustomed to manufacture and weave ornamented cloths, never consume time by
representing either heddles or treddles as solid or distinct bodies, They content them-
selves with ruling a number of lines across a piece of paper, sufficient. to make the
intervals between these lines represent the number of leaves required. Upon, these
intervals, they merely mark the succession of the draught, without producing every
line to resemble athread of warp. At the left hand, they draw as many lines across
the former as will afford an interval for each treddle: and in the squares produced by
the intersections of these lines, they place the dots, spots, or ciphers which denote the
raising cords. It is also common to continue the cross lines which denote the treddle
a considerable length beyond the intersections, and to mark by dots, placed diagonally
in the intervals, the order or succession in which the treddles are to be pressed down in
weaving. The former of these modes has been adopted in the remaining figs. to 1957;
but to save room, the latter has been avoided, and the succession marked by the order
of the figures under the intervals which denote the treddles,
Some explanation of the various kinds of fanciful cloths represented by these plans
may serve further to illustrate this subject, which is, perhaps, the most important of
any connected with the manufacture of cloth, and will also enable a person who
thoroughly studies them, readily to acquire a competent knowledge of the other
varieties in weaving, which are boundless, Figs. 1948 and 1949 represent the draught
and cording of the two varieties of tweeled cloth wrought with five leaves of heddles,
TEXTILE FABRICS 981
The first is the regular or run tweel, which, as every leaf rises in regular succession,
while the rest are sunk, interweaves the warp and woof only at every fifth interval,
and as the succession is uniform, the cloth, when woven, presents the appearance of
parallel diagonal lines, at an angle of about 45° over the whole surface. A tweel may
have the regularity of its diagonal lines broken by applying the cording as in fig.
1949. It will be observed, that in both figures the draught of the warp is precisely
the same, and that the whole difference of the two plans consists in the order of placing
the spots denoting the raising cords, the first being regular and successive, and the
second alternate.
1950 1951
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Figs. 1950 and 1951 are the regular and broken tweels which may be produced with
eight leaves. This properly is the tweel denominated ‘satin’ in the silk manufacture,
although many webs of silk wrought with only five leaves receive that appellation.
Some of the finest Florentine silks are tweeled with sixteen leaves. When the
broken tweel of eight leaves is used, the effect is much superior to what could be
produced by a smaller number; for in this two leaves are passed in every interval,
which gives a much nearer resemblance to plain cloth than the others. For this reason it
is preferred in weaving the finest damasks. The draught of the eight-leaf tweel differs
in nothing from the others, excepting in the number of leaves. The difference of the
cording in the broken tweel will appear by inspecting the ciphers which mark the
raising cords, and comparing them with those of the broken tweel of five leaves. Fig.
1952 represents the draught and cording of striped dimity of a tweel of five leaves,
This is the most simple species of fanciful tweeling. It consists of ten leaves, or
double the number of the common tweel. These ten leaves are moved by only five
treddles, in the same manner as a common tweel. The stripe is formed by one set of
the leaves flushing the warp, and the other set, the woof. The figure represents a
stripe formed by ten threads, alternately drawn through each of the two sets of leaves.
In this case, the stripe and the intervals will be equally broad, and what is the stripe
upon one side of the cloth will be the interval upon the other, and vice versé. But
great variety of patterns may be introduced by drawing the warp in greater or small
portions through either set. The tweel is of the regular kind, but may be broken by
placing the cording as in fig. 1949. It will be observed that the cording-marks of
the lower or front leaves are exactly the converse of the other set; for where a raising
mark is placed upon one, it is marked for sinking in the other; that is to say, the
mark is omitted ; and all leaves which sink in the one, are marked for raising in the
other; thus, one thread rises in succession in the back set, and four sink; but in the
front set, four rise, and only one sinks. The woof, of course, passing over the four
sunk threads, and under the raised one, in the first instance, is flushed above; but
1952 1953
°
°
where the reverse takes place, as in the second it is flushed below; and thus the
appearance of a stripe is formed. The analogy subsisting between striped dimity and
dornock is so great, that before noticing the plan for fancy dimity, it may be proper
to allude to the dornock, the plan of which is represented by jig. 1953.
The draught of dornock is precisely the same in every respect with that of striped
dimity. It also consists of two sets of tweeling heddles, whether three, four, or five
leavesxare used for each set. The right-hand set of treddles is also corded exactly in
the same way, as will appear by comparing them. But as the dimity is a continued
stripe from the beginning to the end of the web, only five treddles are required to move
ten leaves. The dornock being chequer-work, the weaver must possess the power of
reversing this at pleasure. He therefore adds five more treddles, the cording of which
is exactly the reverse of the former ; that is to say, the back leaves, in the former case,
982 TEXTILE FABRICS
having one leaf raised, and four sunk, have, by working with these additional treddles,
one leaf sunk and four leaves raised. The front leaves are in the same manner reversed,
and the mounting is complete. So long as the weaver continues to work with either
set, a stripe will be formed, as in the dimity ; but when he changes his feet from one
set to the other, the whole effect is reversed, and the chequers formed. The dornock
pattern upon the design-paper, jig. 1953, may be thus explained: let every square of
the design represent five threads upon either set of the heddles, which are said by
weavers to be once over the draught, supposing the tweel to be one of five leaves; draw
three parallel lines, as under, to form two intervals, each representing one of the sets;
the draught will then be as follows :—
1954
The above is exactly so much of the pattern as is there laid down, to show its ap-
pearance ; but one whole range of the pattern is completed by the figure 1, nearest to
the right hand upon the lower interval between the lines, and the remaining figures,
nearer to the right, form the beginning of a second range or set. These are to be re-
peated in the same way across the whole warp. The lower interval represents the
five front leaves; the upper interval, the five back ones. The first figure 4, denotes
that five threads are to be successively drawn upon the back leaves, and this operation
repeated four times. The first figure 4, in the lower interval, expresses that the
same is to be done upon the front leaves; and each figure, by its diagonal position,
shows how often, and in what succession, five threads are to be drawn upon the leayes
which the interval in which it is placed represents.
Dornocks of more extensive patterns are sometimes woven with 3, 4, 5, and even 6
set of leaves; but after the leaves exceed 15 in number, they both occupy an incon-
venient space, and are very unwieldly to work. For these reasons the diaper harness
is in almost every instance preferred.
Fig. 1955 represents the draught and cording of a fanciful species of dimity, in
which it will be observed that the warp is not drawn directly from the back to the
front leaf, as in the former examples ; but when it has arrived at either external leaf,
the draught is reversed, and returns gradually to the other. The same draught is fre-
quently used in the tweeling, when it is wished that the diagonal lines should appear
upon the cloth in a zigzag direction. This plan exhibits the draught and cording which
will produce the pattern upon the design-paper in fig. 1948. Were all the squares
produced by the intersection of the lines denoting the leaves and treddles, where the
raised dots are placed, filled the same as on the design, they would produce the effect
of exactly one fourth of that pattern. ‘This is caused by the reversing of the dtaught,
which gives the other side reversed as on the design; and when all treddles, from 1
to 16, have been successively used in the working, one-half of the pattern will become
complete. The weaver then goes again over his treddles, in the reversed order of the
numbers, from 17 to 30, when the other half of the pattern will be completed. From
this similarity of the cording to the design, it is easy, when a design is given, to make
1955 1956
;
-
I = 2m f
et ae tt +
=e 2 cw [= a ee Ye ee
L i } 4 1a Oe es
I T [ = ei
tt
J—t1 11
1—ttt din
out the draught and cording proper to work it; and when the cording is given, to see
its effect upon the design.
Fig. 1956 represénts tho draught of the diaper mounting, and the cording of the
front leaves which are moved by treddles, From the plan, it will appear that five
threads are included in every mail of the harness, and that these are drawn in single
threads through the front leaves. The cording forms an exception to the general rules,
that when one or more leaves are raised, all the rest must be sunk; for in this instance,
one leaf rises, one sinks, and three remain stationary. An additional mark, therefore,
is used in this plan. The dots, as formerly, denote raising cords; the blanks,
sinking cords; and where the cord is to be totally omitted, the cross marks x ure
placed.
Fig. 1957 is the draught and cording of a spot whose two sides are similar, but
reversed. That, upon the plan forms a diamond, similar to the one drawn upon the
rea
TEXTILE FABRICS — «983
design-paper in the diagram, but smaller in size, The draught here is reversed, as in
the dimity plan, and the treading is also to be reversed, after arriving at 6, to complete
the diamond. Like it, too, the raising marks form one-fourth of the pattern. In
weaving spots, they are commonly placed at intervals, with a portion of plain cloth
between them, and in alternate rows, the spots of one row being between those of the
other. But as intervals of plain cloth must take place, both by the warp and woof, 2
leaves are added for that purpose. The front, or ground leaf, includes every second
thread of the whole warp ; the second, or plain leaf, that part which forms the inter-
vals by the warp. The remaining leaves form the spots: the first six being allotted
to one row of spots, and the second six to the next row, where each spot is in the
centre between the former. The reversed draught of the first is shown entire, and ir
1957 1958
Seeca I TTT -
isu {roacagaaceaage aantuaataaias a :
Foot ls I i : Onn
spear oer tht F HH a
alin aH i Cech Tr Te
jomm) - ail ue Bogan cote Tit fies
goo that SIEECEL TE
Ath TUM Se i" t Cot SEMEREEE
y re) ALS aa
ba
succeeded by 12 threads of plain. One-half of the draught of the next row is then
given, which is to be completed exactly like the first, and succeeded by 12 threads
more of plain; when, one set of the pattern being finished, the same succession is to
be repeated over the whole warp. As spots are formed by inserting woof of coarser
dimensions than that which forms the fabric, every second thread only is allotted for
the spotting. Those included in the front, or ground leaf are represented by lines,
and the spot-threads between them, by marks in the intervals, as in the other plans.
The treddles necessary to work this spot are, in number, 14. Of these the two in the
centre, a, b, (fig. 1957) when pressed alternately, will produce plain cloth; for 6 raises
the front leaf, which includes half the warp, and sinks all the rest; while @ exactly
reverses the operation. The spot-treddles on the right hand work the row contained
in the first six spot-leaves: and those upon the left hand, the row contained in the
second six. In working spots, one thread, or shot of spotting-woof, and two of plain,
are successively inserted, by means of two separate shuttles.
Dissimilar spots are those whose sides are quite different from each other. The
draught only of these is represented by jig. 1958. The cording depends entirely
upon the figure.
Fig. 1959 represents any solid body composed of parts lashed together. If the
darkened squares be supposed to be beams of wood, connected by cordage, they will
give a precise idea of textile fabric. The beams cannot come into actual contact,
because, if the /ashing cords were as fine even as human hairs, they must still require
space. The thickness is that of one beam and one cord; but if the cords touch each
other, it may then be one beam and two cords; but it is not possible in practical
weaving to bring every thread of weft into actual contact. It may, therefore, be
assumed, that the thickness is equal to the diameter of one thread of the warp, added
to that of one yarn of the weft ; and when these are equal, the thickness of the cloth
is double of that diameter. Denser cloth would not be sufficiently pliant or flexible.
Fig. 1960 is a representation of
a section of cloth of an open fabric, 1959
where the round dots which repre- |
sent the warp are placed at a con- = = yg
siderable distance from each other.
Fig. 1961 may be supposed a
plain fabric of that description
which approaches the most nearly
to any idea we can form of the most
dense or close contact of which yarn
can be made susceptible. Here the
warp is supposed to be so tightly
stretched in the loom as to retain
entirely the parallel state, without
any curvature, and the whole flexure is therefore given to the woof. This mode of
weaving can never really exist; but if the warp be sufficiently strong to bear any
tight stretching, and the woof be spun very soft and flexible, something very near
it may be-produced. This way of making cloth is well fitted for those goods which
require to give considerable warmth ; but they are sometimes the means of very gross
fraud and imposition ; for if the warp is made of very slender threads, and the woof of
984 TEXTILE FABRICS
slackly twisted cotton or woollen yarn, where the fibrils of the stuff, being but slightly
brought into contact, are rough and oozy, a great appearance of thickness and
strength may be given to the eye, when the cloth is absolutely so flimsy that it may
be poe ee as easily as a sheet of writing-paper. Many frauds of this kind are
practised,
In fig. 1962 is given a representation of the position of a fabric of cloth in section,
as it is in the loom before the warp has been closed upon the woof, which still appears
asa straight line. This figure may usefully illustrate the direction and ratio of con-
traction which must unavoidably take place in every kind of cloth, according to the
density of the texture, the dimensions of the threads, and the description of the cloth.
Let a, B, represent one thread of woof completely stretched by the velocity of the
shuttle in passing between the threads of warp which are represented by the round
dots, 1, 2, &c., and those distinguished by 8, 9, &c. When these threads are closed
by the operation of the needles to form the inner texture, the first tendency will be to
move in the direction 1 8, 2 b, &c., for those above, and in that of 8 a, 9 a, &c., for
those below; but the contraction for a, », by its deviation from a straight to a curved
line, in consequence of the compression of the warp-threads 1 5, 2 6, &c., and 1 a, 2a,
&c., in closing, will produce by the
action of the two powers at right
angles to each other, the oblique or
diagonal direction denoted by the
lines 1, 8—2, 9, to the left, for the
threads above, and that expressed
by the lines 2, 8—3, 9, &c., to the
1963 right, for the threads below. _ Now,
as the whole deviation is produced
by the flexure of the thread a, B, if
Ais supposed to be placed at the
middle of the cloth, equidistant from
the two extremities, or selvages as
PSeerte e DE iat they are called by weavers, the
thread at 1 may be supposed to
move really in the direction 1 8, and all the others to approach to it in the directions
represented, whilst those to the right would approach in the same ratio, but the line
of approximation would be inverted. Fig. 1963 represents the common fabric used
for lawns, muslins, and the middle kind of goods, the excellence of which neither
consists in the greatest strength, nor in the greatest transparency. It is entirely
a medium between fig. 1960 and fig. 1961.
In the efforts to give great strength and thickness to cloth, it will be obvious that
the common mode of weaving, by constant intersection of warp or woof, although it
may be perhaps the best which can be devised for the former, presents invincible
obstructions to the latter beyond a certain limit. To remedy this, two modes of
weaving are in common use, which, while they add to the power of compressing a
great company of materials in a small compass, possess the additional advantage of
affording much facility for adding ornament to the superficies of the fabric. The
first of these is double cloth, or two webs woven together, and joined by the operation.
This is chiefly used for carpets ; and its geometrical principles are entirely the same
as those of plain cloth, supposing the webs to be sowed together. A section of the
cloth will be found in fig. 1964. See Carrers.
Of the simplest kind of tweeled fabric, a section is given in fig. 1965.
The great and prominent advantage of the tweeled fabric in point of texture arises
from the facility with which a very great quantity of materials may be put closely
1962
NG
Ns
Pi
KS
a % 1965 e
together. In the figure, the warp is represented by the dots in the same straight
line as in the plain fabrics; but if we consider the direction and ratio of contraction,
upon principles similar to those laid down in the explanation given of jig. 1962, we
shall readily discover the peat Ha get way in which the tweeled fabric is affected.
When the dotted lines are drawn at a, }, c, d, their direction of contraction, instead
of being upon every second or alternate thread, is only upon every fifth thread, and the
natural tendency would consequently be, to bring the whole into the form represented by
the lines and dotted circles at a, b, c,d. In point, then, of thickness, from the upper
to the under superficies, it is evident that the whole fabric has increased in the ratio
TEXTILE FABRICS 985
of nearly three to one. On the other hand, it will appear, that four threads or
cylinders being thus put together in one solid mass, might be supposed only one
thread, or like the strands of a rope before it is twisted ; but, to remedy this, the
thread being shifted every time, the whole forms a body in which much agggregate
matter is compressed ; but where, being less firmly united, the accession of strength
acquired by the accumulation of materials is partially counteracted by the want of
equal firmness of junction. :
The second quality of the tweeled fabric, susceptibility of receiving ornament, arises
from its capability of being inverted at ploasure, as in jig. 1966. In this figure, we
have, as before, four threads, and one alternately intersected; but here the four
threads marked 1 and 2 are under the woof, while those marked 8 and 4 are above.
Fig. 1967 represents that kind of tweeled work which produces an ornamental
effect, and adds even to the
strength of a fabric, in so far 1966
as accumulation of matter can =
be considered in that light. The
eh represents a piece of velvet
eit in section, and of that kind
which, being woven upon a tweeled
ground, is known by the name of
Genoa velvet. Ist. Because, by
combining a great quantity of
material in a small compass, they
afford great warmth. 2nd. From the great resistance which they oppose to external
friction, they are very durable. And, 3rd. Because, from the very nature of the
texture, they afford the finest means of rich ornamental decoration.
The use of velvet cloths in cold weather is a sufficient proof of the truth of the
first. The manufacture of plush, corduroy, and other stuffs for the dress of those
exposed to the accidents of laborious employment, evinces the second; and the
ornamented velyets and Wilton carpeting are demonstrative of the third of these
positions.
In the figure, the diagonal form which both the warp and woof of cloth assume, is
very apparent from the smallness of the scale. Besides what this adds to the
strength of the cloth, the flushed part, which appears interwoven, at the darkly-
shaded intervals 1, 2, &c., forms, when finished, the whole covering or upper surface.
The principle, in so far as regards texture, is entirely the same as any other tweeled
fabric,
Fig. 1968, which represents corduroy, or king’s cord, is merely striped velvet. The
principle is the same, and the figure shows that the one is a copy of the other. The
remaining figures represent those kinds of work which are of the most flimsy and
open description of texture; those in which neither strength, warmth, nor dura-
bility are much required, and of which openness and transparency are the chief
recommendations. =
Fig. 1969 represents common gauze, or linau,a substance very much used for
various purposes. The essential difference between this description of cloth and all
others, consists in the warp being turned or twisted like a rope during the operation
of weaving, and hence it bears a considerable analogy to lace. The twining of gauze
is not continued in the same direction, but is alternately from right to left, and vice
versa, between every intersection
of the woof. The fabric of gauze 1968
is always open, flimsy, and trans- >» . Antimonym.si@. RedheatS@o. Flint
giassm.1000°. Heatofcommonfirelio, Brassm.is6. Silverm. 173°, Copperm. 166% Goldm.206% Cast
jron 2786°, Pure iron and platina m. 30°. Wind furnace white heat 3300°.
Vor. OT. 3S
994 THERMOMETER
sion of the degrees of one scale into those of another, comparative tables, which how-
ever, convey: no information beyond the bare fact of the correspondence of certain
degrees. In this table, the attempt has been made to make it convey information on
numerous interesting points, connected with temperature in relation to climatology,
physical geography, chemistry, and physiology.
There is another advantage which a table of this kind must possess over those
hitherto published in works on chemistry. In the latter, the degrees on one scale
only run in arithmetical progression, while the corresponding degrees on the other
seale are necessarily given in fractional or decimal parts, and at unequal intervals.
Thus, in some of the best works on chemistry, a comparative table is printed, which
is only fitted for the conversion of the Centigrade into Fahrenheit degrees, so that a
person wishing to convert the Fahrenheit into Centigrade degrees, would have to
revert to one of the old formule of conversion. This process must also be adopted
whenever the Centigrade degrees are given in decimal parts, for many of the tables
published in English works wrongly assume that the Centigrade degrees are always
given in whole numbers. The present table renders such calculations unnecessary,
since the value of any degree, or of any part of a degree on one scale, is immediately
found on the other, by looking at the degree in a parallel line with it. The main
divisions will, it is believed, be found perfectly accurate. In single degrees a little
inequality may be occasionally detected; but the error has not been found to be such
as to affect the calculated temperature.
Although the Fahrenheit and Centigrade scales are the two which are chiefly
used in Europe, it has been thought advisable to carry out the parallel degrees of
Réaumur’s scale, by dots on the drawing of the tube. This table, therefore, com-
prises in itself six distinct tables, assuming the necessity for each scale to be repre-
sented in whole degrees, with the additional advantages: Ist, that the space occupied
is smaller; and 2nd, the value of any fractional part of a degree on one may be at
once determined on the other two scales.
It is extraordinary, considering the great advances which have been recently made
in physical science, and in the manufacture of philosophical instruments, that the
makers of thermometers should still adhere to the old and absurd practice of mark-
ing on the Fahrenheit scale, the unmeaning words Temperate, Summer-heat, Blood-
heat, Fever-heat, Spirits boil, &c., when the instrument might be easily made to
convey a large amount of information in respect to climate, as it is dependent on
temperature.
It will be seen that the table here published ranges from 12° to 374° Fahrenheit.,
from — 11° to + 190 Centigrade, and from — 9° to + 152° Réaumur.
It will be only necessary to state generally those facts which the table is intended
to illustrate. They will be found arranged opposite to their respective degrees, either
on the Centigrade or Fahrenheit side, according to the space afforded.
The facts connected with temperature placed on the scale may be arranged under
the heads of Climatology, Physical Geography, Chemistry, and Physiology.
Climatology. 1. The mean temperatures of the principal countries, towns, and
cities in the world, with the maxima and minima, as well as the mean summer and
winter temperature of some of the most important localities.
2. The maximum degrees of heat and the minimum degrees of cold observed on
the surface of the globe, including the accumulated temperatures of air at Edinburgh
and Geneva, ‘
Physical Geography. 1, The temperature ot the atmosphere, as observed on the
summits of the principal mountains of the Old and New World, with the respective
elevations attached; at the sea-level in various latitudes, from the Arctic to the
Antarctic Seas, as well as in deep mines and other excavations in Europe and America.
2. The temperature of the ocean at the surface, and at various depths to 12,420 feet,
including the temperature of the Polar Seas, of the Mediterranean, Atlantic and
Pacific, with the temperature of the Gulf Stream.
3. The temperature of the waters of lakes and rivers at various depths, with the
respective fathomings attached.
4. The temperature of the strata of the earth at various depths, observed in some
of the deepest mines in the Old and New World.
5. The temperature of the water raised in Artesian wells in Europe from depths
varying from 250 to 1,794 feet.
6. The temperature of the principal thermal springs and baths observed in Europe,
Africa, the West Indies, and South America,
7. The temperature at which water boils at all the elevated and inhabited spots in
the world, including the summits of the mountains of Switzerland, South America, and
Central Asia; the boiling point for all elevations up to 5,415 feet, and for 1,054 feet
depression below the level of the sea.
THIMBLE 995
Chemistry. 1, The evaporating, boiling, fusing, melting, subliming, and congealing
points of the principal solids and liquids in chemistry, from 12° to 374° Fahrenheit,
from — 11° to + 190° Centigrade and from — 9 to + 152° Réaumur, including the
boiling points of the saturated solutions of numerous salts, and the melting points of
a large number of alloys.
2. The temperature for fermentation of various kinds, malting, putrefaction, etheri-
fication, and other chemical processes.
8. The boiling points of alcohol and acids of various specific gravities, with the
respective densities of their vapours.
4, The pressure or elastic force of the vapour of water, alcohol, oil of turpentine,
and ether, at various temperatures.
5. The temperatures, with the corresponding pressures, required for the liquefaction
of the gases.
6. The temperature for the explosion and ignition of fulminating and combustible
substances.
Physiology. 1. The maximum degrees of natural and artificial heat, and minimum
degrees of cold, borne by man and animals.
2. The temperature of the body in man, mammalia, birds, reptiles, fishes, and
insects.
8. The temperature at which hybernation takes place in certain animals.
4, The temperature for the germinhtion of seeds, incubation, the artificial hatching
of the ova of birds, fishes, and insects. :
5. The temperature for the growth of the sugar-cane, date, indigo, cotton-tree, and
for the cultivation of the vine.
6. The temperature for warm, tepid, and vapour-baths; the vapour-baths of Russia
and Finland. .
Tuermometer, Self-registering, by Photography. The first person who in, this
country proposed to apply photography, and actually did apply it, asa means of
registering the movements of the mercury in the thermometer and barometer, and
also for registering the variations in the magnetic intensity, was Mr. Thomas B.
Jordan, at that time Secretary to the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. The
results of this gentleman’s methods and the description of his plans will be found
in the Siath Annual Report of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society for 1838,
Mr. Ronalds, of the Kew Observatory, also devised an arrangement for employing
photography as the means of registering meteorological inventions, and subsequently
Mr. Charles Brooke perfected a method which is now generally adopted.
THERMOSTAT is the name of an apparatus for regulating temperature, in
vaporisation, distillations, heating baths or hothouses, and ventilating apartments,
&e.; for which Dr. Ure obtained a patent in the year 1831. It was, in fact, a diffe-
rential thermometer, similar in construction to Brady’s metallic thermometer.
THIALDINE. C”HNS! (C°Hyrs?). A curious alkaloid, formed by the
action of sulphuretted hydrogen on aldehyde ammonia.
THIEVES’ VINEGAR. (Le Vinaigre des quatre Voleurs, Fr.) See Aromatic
VINEGAR.
THIMBLE. (Dé « coudre, Fr.; Fingerhut (fingerhat), Ger ) This is a small trun-
cated metallic cone, deviating little from a cylinder, smooth within, symmetrically
pitted on the outside with numerous rows of indentations, which is put upon the tip of
the middle finger of the right hand, to enable it to push the needle readily and safely
through cloth or leather, in the act of sewing. This little instrument is fashioned in
two ways: either with a pitted round end, or without one ; the latter, called the open
thimble, being employed by tailors, upholsterers, and, generally speaking, by needle-
men, The following ingenious process for making this essential implement, the con-
trivance of MM. Rouy and Berthier, of Paris, has been much celebrated, and very suc-
cessful, Sheet-iron, one twenty-fourth of an inch thick, is cut into strips, of dimensions
suited to the size of the intended thimbles. These strips are passed under a punch-
press, whereby they are cut into disks of about 2 inches diameter, tagged together by
a tail. Each strip contains one dozen of these blanks. A child is employed to make
them red-hot, and to lay them on a mandril nicely fitted to their size. The workman
now strikes the middle of each with a round-faced punch, about the thickness of his
finger, and thus sinks it into the concavity of the first mandril. He then transfers
it successively to another mandril, which has five hollows of successively increasing
depth ; and, by striking it into them, brings it to the proper shape.
A second workman takes this rude thimble, sticks it in the chuck of his lathe, in
order to polish it within, then turns it outside, marks the circles for the gold ornament,
and indents the pits most cleverly with a kind of milling tool, The thimbles are
next annealed, brightened, and gilt inside, with a very thin cone of gold-leaf, which
is firmly united to the surface of the iron, simply by the strong pressure of a smooth
382
996 THREAD MANUFACTURE
steel mandril. A gold fillet is applied to the outside, in an annular space turned to
receive it, being fixed by pressure at the edges, into a minute groove formed on the
lathe. ; ;
Thimbles are made in this country by means of moulds in the stamping machine, _
See Sraurrve or Merats. ;
| THORINUM or THORIUM. A rare metal, discovered in 1828 by Berzelius
in the Norwegian mineral thorite, which contains about 57 per cent. of thorina, the
oxide of this metal, and where it is associated with the oxide of iron, lead, manganese,
tin, and uranium, besides earths and alkalis. None of the compounds of thorinum
_ find any use in the arts.
THREAD MANUFACTURE. The doubling and twisting of cotton or linen
yarn into a compact thread for weaving. bobbin-net, or for sewing garments, is
performed by a machine resembling the throstle of the cotton-spinner. Fig. 1976
shows the thread-frame in a transverse section, perpendicular to its length. a, is the
strong framing of cast iron; 8, is the creel, or shelf, in which the bobbins of yarn J, 7,
are set loosely upon their respective skewers, along the whole line of the machine,
¢ ) 6
1976
h Z T
\ Lo
f
7
—< aT
‘ dar,
0 7 0
n n
mM. m
p ny zB
vs mi (e) C °
g q
a * 2 a’
a— a
b' >
Dy x
s
a’
zt
ad
ereeritirrisy : 1 ft.
their lower ends turning in oiled steps, and their upper in wire-eyes; ¢, is a glass rod
across which the yarn runs as it is unwound; d,d, are oblong narrow troughs, lined
with lead and filled with water, for moistening the thread during its torsion; the
threads being made to pass through eyes at the bottomof the fork e, which has an
upright stem for lifting it out without wetting the fingers, when anything goes amiss 5
J, f, ave the pressing rollers, the under one g, being of smooth iron, and the upper one
h, of boxwood; the former extends from end to end of the frame, in le com.
prehending eighteen. threads, which are joined by square pieces, as in the drawing-
rollers of the mule-jenny. The necks of the under rollers are supported at the ends
and the middle, by the standards #, secured to square bases 7, both made of cast iron,
» ine
TILES 997
The upper cylinder has an iron axis, and is formed of as many rollers as there are
threads ; each roller being kept in its place upon the lower one by the guides /, whose
vertical slots receive the ends of the axis.
The yarn delivered by the bobbin /, glides over the rod ¢, and descends into the
trough d e¢, where it. gets wetted ; on emerging, it goes along the bottom of the roller
g, turns up so as to pass between it and /, then turns round the top of /, and finally
proceeds obliquely downwards, to be wound upon the bobbin m, after traversing the
guide-eye x. These guides are fixed to the end of a plate which may be turned up
by a hinge-joint at 0, to make room for the bobbins to be changed. ; ;
There are three distinct simultaneous movements to be considered in this machine:
1, that of the rollers, or rather of the under roller, for the upper one revolves merely
by friction; 2, that of the spindles m, s’; 3, the up-and-down motion of the bobbins
upon the spindles. ‘
The first of these motions is produced by means of toothed wheels, upon the right
hand of the under set of rollers. The second motion, that of the spindles, is effected
by the drum z, which extends the whole length of the frame, turning upon the shaft
v, and communicating its rotatory movement (derived from the steam-pulley) to the
whorl 0’ of the spindles, by means of the endless band or cord a’, Each of these
cords turns four spindles, two upon each side of the frame, They are kept ina
‘proper state of tension by the weights ¢’, which act tangentially upon the circular
are d@, fixed to the extremity of the bell-crank lever ¢ f’ g’, and draw in a horizontal
direction the tension pulleys , embraced by the cords. The third movement, or the
vertical traverse of the bobbins, along the spindles m, takes place as follows:— =
The end of one of the under rollers carries a pinion, which takes into a carrier
wheel that communicates motion to a pinion upon the extremity of the shaft m’, of the
heart-shaped. pulley 2’. As this excentric revolves, it gives a reciprocating motion to
the levers o’, o’, which oscillate in a vertical plane round the points p’, p. The
extremities of these levers on either side act by means of the links if upon the arms
of the sliding sockets 7’, and cause the vertical rod s’, to slide up and down im guide-
holes at ¢’, w’, along with the cast-iron step v’, which bears the bottom washer of the
bobbins. The periphery of the heart-wheel w', is seen to bear upon friction wheels
x, x’, set in frames adjusted by screws upon the lower end of the bent levers, at such
a distance from the point p’, as that the traverse of the bobbins may be equal to the
length of their barrel.
By adapting change pinions and their corresponding wheels to the rollers, the
delivery of the yarn may be increased or diminished in any degree, so as to vary the
degree of twist put into it by the uniform rotation of the drum and spindles. The
heart-motion being derived from that of the rollers, will necessarily vary with it.
Silk thread is commonly twisted in lengths of from 50 to 100 feet, with hand reels,
somewhat similar to those employed for making ropes by hand.
THUYA OCCIDENTALIS. A coniferous tree, from which is obtained a
yellow body, Thuyin, which is probably identical with Quercitrin.
TILE ORE. (Zicgelerz,Ger.) An earthy variety of red oxide of copper.
TILES. Tile-manufacture is a very comprehensive term, embracing the following
varieties :—Paving bricks or tiles, oven-tiles, foot tiles, plain tiles, pan tiles, hip tiles,
ridge tiles, circulars, drain tiles, &e. :
The clay used for making tiles is purer and stronger than that used for making
bricks, When the clay is too strong, that is, too adhesive, it is mixed with sand
before passing it through the pug-mill. As a usual practice the clay is weathered >
this is effected by spreading it out in layers of about two inches in thickness during
the winter, and each layer is allowed the benefit of at Ieast one night’s frost before the
succeeding layer is put over it. This weathering is sometimes effected by exposing
the layers to sunshine, which is said to answer equally well with frost. What this
weathering does is by no means clear: it is said ‘to open the pores of the clay.’
We believe that what really takes place is, that under the influences to which it is
exposed, the particles break up into smaller particles, and that we have the clay in a
more finely comminuted state. The next process is that of tempering. After the
clay has been allowed to ‘mellow, or ripen,’ in pits, under water, it is passed through
the pug-mill and well kneaded or tempered. “It is then slung, that is, cut into slices
with a string ; during which process the stones fall out, or are removed by the hand ;
it is then ready for the operation of moulding. This may be performed by hand, or
by any one of the many machines which have been devised.
' Fig. 1977 shows Mr, Hunt’s machine for making tiles. It consists of two iron
eylinders, round which webs or bands of cloth revolve, whereby the clay is pressed’
into a slab of uniform thickness, without adhering to the cylinders. It is then carried.
over a covered wheel, curved on the rim, which gives the tile the semi-cylindrical ‘or
other required form ; after which the tiles:are polished and finished by: passing
998 | TIN
through three iron moulds of a horse-shoe form, as shown in the centre of the cut,
while they are at the same time moistened from a water cylinder placed above them.
the surface with his very wet hands, removes the superfluous clay, and moulds
it into a curved shape. ‘They are then placed to dry, with the convex side upper-
most ; when half-dry the tiles are taken out one by one, placed on the thwacking
ames erg beaten with the thwacker to produce the required shape; when dry they
are kilned.
The following plan of a furnace, or kiln, for burning tiles has been found very
convenient :—
Fig. 1978, front view, A A, B B, the solid walls of the furnace ; @ a a, openings to the
ash-pit, and the draught-hole; 4 4 b, openings for the supply of fuel, furnished with
a sheet-iron door. Fig. 1979, plan of the ash-pits and air-channels ccc. The prin-
cipal branch of the ash-pit p DD, is also the opening for taking out the tiles, after
removing the grate; », the smoke-flue. Fig. 1980, plan of the kiln seen from above.
The grates, H Hu. The tiles to be fired are arranged upon the spaces ff ff.
Of late years the manufacture of encaustic tiles and tesserze for tesselated pavements
has been greatly improved by Messrs. Minton of Stoke-upon-Trent, and Messrs. Maw
and Co. of Broseley in Shropshire. The production of such tiles by Prosser’s patent is
fully described under Encaustic Truzs,
TILTING OF STEEL. Seo Srezr.
Trm. (Ltain, Fr.; Zinn, Ger.) Symb. Sn; At. wt, 118, This metal, in its pure
state, has nearly the colour and lustre of silver. In hardness it is intermediate
between gold and lead ; it is very malleable, and may be laminated into foil less than
the thousandth of an inch in thickness ; it has an unpleasant taste, and exhales on
friction a peculiar odour; it is flexible in rods or straps of considerable strength,
TIN 999
and emits in the act of bending a crackling sound, called the ‘creaking of tin,’ as if
sandy particles were intermixed. A small quantity of lead, or other metal, deprives
it of this characteristic quality. Tin melts at 442° Fahr., and is very fixed in the
fire at. higher heats. Its specific gravity is 7°29. When heated to redness with free
access of air, it absorbs oxygen with rapidity, and changes first into a pulverulent
grey oxide, and by longer ignition into a yellow-white powder, called ‘putty of tin,’
This is the peroxide, consisting of 100 parts of metal and 27-2 of oxygen.
Tin has been known from the most remote antiquity. It is probably mentioned
in the Books of Moses ; and the ships of Tarshish appear to have brought this metal
from islands eastward of the Persian Gulf. The Pheenicians carried on a lucrative
trade in it with Spain and Cornwall.
The earliest navigators appear to have taken tin from the east and from the west
to supply the wants of Egypt and of Greece. That, the Phenicians, with whom, in
those days, the maritime trade of the world rested, collected tin from our own islands
is certain ; at the same time it is highly probable that the Indian islands were another
source from which they obtained this metal in considerable quantities.
‘ Kassiteros,’ says Humboldt, ‘is the ancient Indian Sanskrit word Kastira; Zinn
in German, Den in Icelandic, Zin in English, and Zenm in Swedish, is in the Malay
and Javanese language Timah, a similarity of sound which reminds us of that of the
old German word Glesswm (the name given to transparent amber) to the modern
Glas, glass. The names of articles of commerce pass from nation to nation, and
become adopted into the most different languages. Through the intercourse which
the Pheenicians, by means of their factories in the Persian Gulf, maintained with the
east coast of India,’ the Sanskrit word Kastira became known to the Greeks, even
before Albion and the British Cassiterides had been visited.’
The Cassiterides, or Tin Islands, have been supposed to be, by some, the Islands
of Scilly. This idea has been far too hastily adopted, seeing that the Scilly Islands
produce notin. In all probability this name was given by the Phenicians to the
whole of the western promontory of Cornwall, the only part of this country with
which they were acquainted, the name being without doubt derived from the Kassi-
teros of the East.
There are only two ores of tin: the peroxide, tin-stone, or Cassiterite; and tin
pyrites, sulphide of tin, or Sfannine: the former of which alone has been found in
sufficient abundance for metallurgic purposes. The external aspect of tin-stone has
nothing very remarkable. It occurs sometimes in tvin erystals; its lustre is ada-
mnantine ; its colours are very various, as white, grey, yellow, red, brown, black ;
specific gravity, 6°9 at least; which is, perhaps, its most striking feature. It does
not melt by itself before the blowpipe, but is reducible in the smoky flame or on
charcoal. It is insoluble in acids. It has somewhat of a greasy aspect, and strikes
fire with steel.
This ore has been found in but a few countries in a workable quantity. Its principal
localities are, Cornwall, Bohemia, and Saxony, in Europe; and Malacca, Banca, and Bil-
liton, in Asia, and Australia. The tin mines of the Malay Peninsula lie between the
10th and 6th degrees of south latitude. The mines in the island of Banca, to the east
of Sumatra, were discovered in 1710. Small quantities occur in Galicia in Spain, the
department of Haute-Vienne in France, and in the mountain-chains of the Fichtel
and Riesengebirge in Germany. The columnar pieces of pyramidal tin-ore from
Mexico and Chile are found in the alluvial deposits. Vast deposits of tin-stone have
recently been discovered in Queensland and New South Wales, where the stream-tin
is now being actively worked. It has also been found at Mount Bischoff in Tasmania.
Some tin has been recently worked in Peru (1874).
The county of Cornwall is the most important mineral district of the United
Kingdom for the number of its metalliferous minerals, many of which are not found
in any other part of the island. Ata very early period of our history mines were
worked around the sea-coasts of Cornwall: of which the evidences are still to be seen
at Tol-pedden-Penwith, near the Land’s End ; in Gwennap, near Truro; and at Cadg-
with, near the Lizard Point. The traditionary statements, that the Phenicians traded
for tin with the Britons in Cornwall, are very fairly supported by corroborative facts ;
and it is not improbable that the Ictes, or Iktis, of the ancients was St. Michael's Mount,
near Penzance, and other similar islands on the coast.
In the reign of King John the mines of the western portion of England appear to
have been principally in the hands of the Jews. The modes of working must have
been very crude, and their metallurgical processes exceedingly rough. From time to
time remains of furnaces, called Jews’ houses, have been discovered, and small blocks
of tin, known as Jews’ tin, have not unfrequently been found in the mining localities.
Till a comparatively recent date, tin was the only metal which was sought for; and in
many cases the mines were abandoned when the miners came to the ‘yel/ows, that was
1000 TIN
the yellow sulphide of copper. A great quantity of tin has been produced by ‘ stream-
ing’ (as washing the débris in the valleys is termed); and this variety, called ‘ stream-
tin,’ produces the highest price in the market. Very little stream-tin is now obtained.
The Cornish ores occur—1, in small strata or veins, or in masses; 2, in congeries
of small veins ; 8, in large veins; and 4, disseminated in alluvial deposits, as described.
The stanniferous small veins, or thin flat masses, though of small extent, are some-
times very numerous, interposed between certain rocks, parallel to their beds, and are
commonly called tin-floors. In the mine of Bottalack a ti-floor has been found in the
killas (a schistose rock), thirty-six fathoms below the level of the sea; it is about a
foot and a half thick, and occupies the space between a principal vein and its ramifi-
cation ; but there seems to be no connection between the floor and the great vein.
2. Stockwerks, as the Germans term the disseminated masses, occur in granite and
in the felspar porphyry, called in Cornwall elvan. The most remarkable of these, in’
the granite, is at the tin-mine of Carclase, near St. Austell. The works are carried
on in the open air, in a friable granite, containing felspar—/aolin, or china-clay,
which is traversed by a great many small veins, composed of tourmaline, quartz, and
a little tin-stone, that form black delineations on the face of the light-grey granite.
The thickness of these little veins rarely exceeds 6 inches, including the adhering
solidified granite, and is occasionally much less. Some of them run nearly east and
west, with an almost vertical dip ; others, with the same direction, incline to the south
at an angle with the horizon of 70 degrees.
Stanniferous masses are much more frequent in the elvan (porphyry); of which
the mine of Trewidden is a remarkable example. It was worked among flattened
masses of elvan, separated by strata of killas, which dip to the east-north-east at a
considerable angle. The tin ore occurred in small veins, varying in thickness from
half an inch to 8 or 9 inches, which were irregular, and so much interrupted that it
was difficult to determine either their direction or their inclination. .
3. The large and proper metalliferous veins are not equally distributed over the
surface of Cornwall and the adjoining part of Devonshire ; but are grouped into three
districts: namely, 1, In the south-west of Cornwall, beyond Truro; 2, In the neigh-
bourhood of St. Austell; and 3, In the neighbourhood of Dartmoor in Devonshire.
The first group is by far the richest and the best explored. The great tin-veins
are the most ancient metalliferous veins in Cornwall; yet they are not all of one
formation, but belong to two or more different systems. Their direction is, however,
nearly the same, but some of them dip towards the north, and others towards the
south. It was formerly thought by the Cornish miners that tin occurred in the upper
portions of the mineral lodes only, and mines were abandoned, when in sinking the
miners came to the ‘ yellows’—copper pyrites, which were said ‘to have cut out the
tin” ‘Within the last few years, however, tin has been found at very great depths
below the surface and beneath the copper. Dolcoath Mine is a very remarkable
example of this. This mine was first worked as a tin mine for a very long pe ‘s
then as a copper mine for half a century; and then, upon persevering in depth, the lode
was found to become more and more rich in tin, which is now worked to great advan-
tage. Other mines in the same locality have presented similar conditions.
At Trevaunance Mine the two systems of tin-veins are, both, intersected by the
oldest of the copper-veins; indieating the prior existence of the tin-veins. In fig.
1981 1981, 4 marks the first system of tin-veins; ¢ the
e id 6 € gsecond; and d the east and west copper-veins.
AZ Some of these tin-veins, as at Poldice, have been
traced over an extent of two miles ; and they vary
in thickness from a small fraction of an inch to
several feet, the average width being from 2 to 4
feet; though this does not continue uniform for
any length, as these veins are subject to con-
tinual narrowings and expansions. The gangue
is quartz, chlorite, tourmaline, and sometimes
3 decomposed granite and fluor-spar.
4, Alluvial tin ore, Stream-tin.—Peroxide of tin occurs disseminated both in the
alluvium which covers the gentle slopes of the hills adjoining the rich tin mines, and
also in the alluvium which fills the valleys that wind round their base; and in these
deposits the tin-stone has been so abundant that for centuries the whole of the tin of
Cornwall was derived from them; and it is still so to some extent. The most
important explorations of alluvial tin ore are grouped in the environs of St. Just and
St. Austell, where they are called stream-works, because water is the principal agent
employed to separate the metallic oxide from the sand and gravel,
The most extensive and productive stream-works were formerly those of Pentewan,
near St. Austell,
TIN 1001
Fig. 1982 represents a vertical section of the Pentewan deposit, taken from the
stream-work Happy Union, long since abandoned. A vast excavation, R, T, U, 3, has
been hollowed out in the open air, in quest of the alluvial tin ore T, which occurs here at
an unusual depth, below the level of the strata rR, s. Before getting at this deposit,
several successive layers had to be sunk through, namely, 1, 2, 3, the gravel, containing
in its middle a band of ochreous earth, 2, or ferruginous clay ; 4, a black peat, perfectly
combustible, of a coarse texture, composed of reeds and woody fibres, cemented into
a mass by a fine loam; 5, coarse sea-sand, mingled with marine shells; 6, a blackish
marine mud, filled with shells. Below these the deposit of tin-stone occurs, including
fragments of various size, of clay-slate, flinty slate, quartz, iron ore, jasper; in a word,
of all the rocks and gangues to be met
with in the surrounding territory, 1982
with the exception of granite. Among teoeet tty —
these fragments there occurred, in ae
rounded particles, a coarse quartzose
sand, and the tin-stone, commonly
in small grains and crystals. Be-
neath the bed 1, is the clay-slate
ealled Aillas (a, x, x), which supports
all the deposits of more recent forma-
tion.
The system of mining employed
in stream-works is very simple. The
successive beds, whose thickness is shown in the figure, are visibly cut out into steps
or platforms. By a level or gallery of efflux /, the waters flow into the bottom of
the well 7, m, which contains the drainage pumps ; and these are put in action by a
machine 7, moved by a water-wheel. ‘The extraction of the ore is effected by an
inclined plane 7, cut out of one of the sides of the excavation, at an angle of about 45
degrees. At the lower end of this sloping pathway there is a place of loading; and
at its upper end 4, a horse-gin, for alternately raising and lowering the two baskets of
extraction on the pathway 7.
Mine-tin—as distinguished from Stream-tin, the former being worked by the miner
out of the lode—requires peculiar care in its mechanical preparation or dressing, on
account of the presence of foreign metals, from which, as we have stated, stream-tin
is free,
Tin ore, therefore, should be first of all pounded very fine in the stamp-mill, then
subjected to reiterated washings, and afterwards calcined.. The order of proceeding
in Cornwall and other parts is fully described in the article Dressiv¢ or ORES.
See also Roastine, for a description of the roasting processes.
The tin ores of Cornwall and Devonshire are all smelted within the counties where
they are mined: the vessels which bring the fuel from Wales, for smelting these ores,
return to Swansea and Neath loaded with copper ores. ,
Australian Tin.—As far back as 1849 the Rev. W. B. Clarke, from the character of
certain granites, predicted the occurrence of tin in New South Wales; and in 1853 he
reported the actual discovery of tin ore near the Severn River. It was not, however,
until recently that the tin ore of New South Wales and Queensland has been found
in sufficient abundance to attract general attention. In New South Wales the tin-
yielding district forms an elevated plateau of granitic rocks, associated with meta-
morphie slates and sandstones, The granite is, in places, traversed by veins of
quartz, rich in tin-stone, and is capped by a deposit of tin-bearing detritus of variable
thickness. The stanniferous district extends into the adjacent colony of Queensland,
the ore having been traced over an area of about 550 square miles in the neighbour-
hood of the head-waters of the Severn River and its tributaries. The Queensland
tin oceurs partly in lodes associated with granitic rocks, and partly as stream-tin in
beds of the rivers and in the alluvial flats on their banks.
From these new districts the following quantities have been obtained :—
In Victoria.—Tin has been found in the districts of Beechworth, Koetong, Upper
Murray, Burrawa Creek, Yackandandah, Cudgewa Creek, La Trobe River, Corner
Inlet, Chiltern, Mansfield, Foster, and Omea. In all cases the black tin has been
obtained from alluvial deposits—generally termed ‘ black sand.’ The quantity of tin
produced in Victoria up to the end of 1873 has been as follows :—
Tin Ore Tin
" ; Tons Cwts. lbs.
Previously up to December 31, 1872 3,831 16 139,648
From January 1 to December 31, 1873 174 16 109,312
WMSteP ailyeesi. 4,006 12 248,960
1002
The Tin district of New South Wales from the commencement of the workings for
tin unto the present time :-—
TIN
Ore
Cwts.
1872 20,682
1873 78,300 . 5
1874 19,055 for six months
Queensland.
Ore
Tons
18738 1,440
Ss 3,460
1874 to June 1,520
- 1,760
Smelted Ingots
Cwrts.
. 1,838
. 20,595
45,661 for six months.
Ingots
Tons
280 to London
20 ,, Sydney
500 ., London
16 ,, Sydney
Tasmania.—Tin ore has also been recently discovered at. Mount Bischoff, in the
north-western part of Tasmania. The ore is not only found as an alluvial deposit,
but occurs in a porphyritic rock, resembling some of the Cornish elvans, and is in
many places intimately associated with a gossany oxide of iron. It will be seen from
the general statement of imports that a small quantity was sent from this colony.
Large masses of tin have been found in the alluvial deposits, evidently derived from
lodes ; and we understand some lodes have been discovered.
Tin Dressing.—Most of the tin ores in Cornwall have to be roasted, or calcined, be-
fore they are fit for the smelting-house, although in some mines the admixture with
} 1983
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other minerals is so trifling that this operation is considered unnecessary. The fur
nace (figs. 1983, 1984) in which the roasting is carried on, is about 10 feet long, 5 feet
6 inches wide in the middle, and 3 feet wide near the mouth. The fireplace, it will’be
observed, is situated at the back, the flames Playing through the oven and ascending the
chimney, which is above the furnace-door. The man is represented in fig. 1983, as stir-
ring the ore with along iron rake. The ore, before it is submitted to the action of the
fire, is thoroughly dried in a cireular pit, placed immediately above the oven, into which
TIN 1003
it is let down through the opening, when it is considered to be ready for calcining.
Beneath the oven and connected with it by an opening through which the ore when
sufficiently roasted is made to pass, is an arched opening about 4 feet wide, termed
the ‘wrinkle.’ Here the ore is collected, whilst another charge is being placed in
the furnace. About 7 ewts. or 8 ewts. of ore is the quantity usually roasted at one
time. Whilst undergoing this operation, dense fumes of arsenic and sulphur escape
with the smoke from the fire, and pass through large flues, divided into several
chambers (jigs. 1985 to 1987) where the former is collected. The flue is often 70
yards long, and the greatest deposit of arsenic takes place at about 15 yards from the
oven or furnace. Instead of being at once completely roasted, the ‘ whits’ from the
stamps are sometimes first ‘rag’ (or partially) burnt, for about six or eight hours.
The object of this partial burning is to save time and expense, nearly three-fourths of
it being thrown away after dressing it from the first burning.
1985 1986
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The machine called originally ‘Brunton’s Patent Calciner’ (fig. 1988), for cal-
cining tin ore, is gradually coming into use in Cornwall, and is adopted in many of
the larger mines. Its operation may be thus briefiy described :—A revolving circular
table, usually 8 feet or 10 feet in diameter, turned by a water-wheel, receives
through the hopper the tin-stuff to be roasted or calcined. The frame of the table is
made of cast iron, with bands, orrings, of wrought iron, on which rests the fire-bricks
composing the surface of the table. The flames from each of the two fireplaces pass
over the ore as it lies on the table, which slowly revolves at the rate of about once in
every quarter of an hour. In the top of the dome, over the table, are fixed three
cast-iron frames, called the ‘ spider,’ from which depend numerous iron coulters, or
teeth, which stir up the tin-stuff, as it is carried round under them. The coulters on
one of the arms of the ‘spider’ are fixed obliquely, so as to turn the ore downwards
from one to the other—the last one at the circumference of the table, projecting the
ore (by this time fully calcined) over the edge, into one of the two ‘ wrinkles’
beneath. A simple apparatus called the ‘butterfly,’ moved by a handle outside the
building, diverts the stream of roasted tin-stuff, as it falls from the table, either into
one or the other as may be required. Unlike the operation of roasting in the oven
previously described, the calciner requires little or no attention ; the only care requisite
being to see that the hopper is fully supplied, and the roasted ore removed when
necessary from the wrinkles.
For this description of the burning-house and of the calciner, we are indebted to
Mr. James Henderson’s communication to the Institution of Civil Engineers.
We have been favoured with the following notes on the action of Brunton’s caleiners,
employed at Fabrica la Constanto, Spain, which are of great value, as are also the
additional suggestions,
Diameter of revolving bed, 14 feet.
Revolution of bed per hour from 3 to 4, or about 1 foot of the circumference per
minute, Bona
1004 TIN
Ores introduced by hopper, at the rate of 1 quintal to every revolution of table.
Quantity of ore calcined per day of 10°hours, 30 to 35 quintals.
Salt consumed, generally six per cent. of weight of ore.
Fuel consumed 9 10 hours, 1,200 to 1,400 lbs. of pine-wood.
' Power employed to revolve table, half horse.
1988 SS é
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Remarks.—The furnace is charged with ore and salt by means of iron hoppers
pies immediately over the centre of each of the hearths. For the supply of each
opper, a heap of about 14 quintals of ore, with 5 or 6 per cent. of salt, is prepared
from time to time upon a small platform on the top‘of the furnaces, and a few shovels-
ful thrown in occasionally as required, taking care, however, always to have enough
ore in the hopper to prevent the ascension of acid vapours, &c., from the furnace. The
time the mineral remains in the furnace, and the quantity calcined per hour, must
depend on the rapidity of motion of the revolving hearth, and the angle at which the
iron stirrers are fixed.
The average amount passed through each furnace in 24 hours is about 84 quintals
or 3} quintals per hour, For every revolution of the bed, nearly 1 quintal is discharged
from the furnace.
The smelting of tin ores has been effected by two different methods :—
TIN 1005 ©
In the first a mixture of the ore with anthracite was exposed to heat on the hearth
of a reverberatory furnace fired with coal.
In the second, the tin ore was fused in a blast-furnace, called a blowing-house, sup-
plied with wood-charcoal. This methodis not now practised in England.
In the smelting-houses, where the tin is worked in reverberatories, two kinds of fur-
naces are employed ; the reduction and the refining furnaces.
Figs. 1989 and 1990 represent the furnaces for smelting tin at Truro, in Cornwall: the
former beinga longitudinal section, the latter a ground plan. ais the fire-door, through
which pitcoal is laid upon the grate 0 ; ¢ is the fire-bridge ; d, the door for introducing
the ore ; ¢, the door through which the ore is worked upon the hearth f; g, the stoke-
hole ; /, an aperture in the vault or ie
roof, which is opened at the discharge
of the waste schlich, to secure the
free escape of the fumes up the
chimney ; 7, 7, air-channels, for ad-
mitting cold air under the fire-bridge
and the sole of the hearth, with the
view of protecting them from injury
by the intensity of the heat above.
k, k, ave basins into which the melted
tin is drawn off; 7, the flue; 2m, the
chimney, from 35 to 50 feet high.
The roasted and washed schlich is
mixed with small coal or culm, along
with a little slaked lime, or fluor-
spar, as a flux; each charge of ore
amounts to from 15 to 24 ewts., and
contains from 60 to,70 per cent. of
metal.
Fig. 1991 represents in a vertical
section through the tuyére, and fig.
1992, in a horizontal section, in the
dotted line x, x, of fig. 1991, the fur-
nace employed for smelting tin at the
Erzegebirge mines in Saxony. a, are
the furnace-pillars, of gneiss; 0, }, are
shrouding or casing walls; c, the
. tuyére wall; d, front wall, both of granite; as also the tuyére e. ff, the sole
stone, of granite, hewn out basin-shaped ; g, the eye, through which the tin and slag
are drawn off into the fore-hearth %; 7, the stoke-hearth;
k, k, the light ash-chambers ; /, the arch of the tuyére ;
m, m, the common flue, which is placed under the furnace
and the hearths, and has its outlet under the vault of the
tuyére.
In the smelting-furnaces at Geyer the following dimen-
sions are preferred: length of the tuyére wall, 11 inches;
of the breast wall, 11 inches; depth of the furnacel7 inches.
High chimney-stalks are advantageous where a great
quantity of ores is to be reduced, but not otherwise.
The refining furnaces are similar to those which serve’
for reducing the ore; only,
instead of a basin of recep- 1992
tion, they havea refining fp
basin placed alongside into
which the tin is run. This
basin is about 4 feet. in dia-
meter, and 32 inches deep; it
consists of an iron pan, placed
over a grate, in which a fire
may be kindled. Above this
pan there is a turning gib, by
4means of which a billet of
wood may be thrust down
into the bath of metal, and kept there by wheeling the gibbet over it, lowering a rod,
and fixing it in that position.
Formerly in Cornwall nearly all the tin was smelted in blast-furnaces; these works
were called dlowing-houses, ‘The smelting-furnaces were 6 feet high from the bottom
1006 TIN
of the crucible (concave hearth) to the throat, which is placed at the origin of a long
and narrow chimney, interrupted by a chamber, where the metallic dust carried off by
the blast was deposited. This chamber was not placed vertically over the furnace ;
but the lower portion of the chimney had an oblique direction from it. The furnace
was lined with an upright cylinder of cast iron, coated internally with loam, with an
opening in it for om blast. This opening, which corresponds to the lateral face
opposite to the charging side, receives a tuyére, in which the nozzles of two cylinder
single bellows, driven by a water-wheel, were planted. The tuyere opens at a small
height above the sole of the furnace. On a level with the solo, the iron cylinder
presents a slope, below which was the hemispherical basin of reception, set partly
beneath the interior space of the furnace, and partly without. Near the corner of
the building there was a second basin of reception, larger than the first, which could
discharge itself into the former, by a sloping gutter. Near this basin there was
another, for the refining operation. These were all made either of brick or cast iron.
Such blast-furnaces.are now entirely superseded in this country by the reverberatory
furnace.
The quality of the average ground tin ore prepared for smelting is such that 20
parts of it yield from 124 to 18 of metallic tin (624 to 65 per cent.) The treatment
consists of two operations, smelting and refining. ;
First operation ; deoxidisation of the ore, and fusion of the tin.—Before throwing the
ore into the smelting furnace, it is mixed with from one-fifth to one-eighth of its
weight of blind coal, in powder, called culm; and a little slaked lime is sometimes
added, to render the ore more fusible. These matters aré carefully blended, and
damped with water to render the charging easier, and to prevent the draught from
sweeping any of it away at the commencement. From 20 to 25 ewts. are introduced
at a charge; and the doors are immediately closed and luted, while the heat is pro-
gressively raised. Were the fire too strong at first, the tin oxide would unite with
the quartz of the gangue, and form an enamel. ‘he keat is applied for 6 or 8 hours,
during which the doors are not opened; of course the materials are not stirred. By
this time the reduction is in general finished ; the door of the furnace is removed, and
the melted mass is worked up to complete the separation of the tin from the scoriz,
and to ascertain if the operation be in sufficient forwardness. When the reduction
seems to be finished, the scorize are taken out at the same door, with an iron rake, and
divided into three sorts: those of the first class a, which constitute at least three-
fourths of the whole, are as poor as possible, and may be thrown away ; the scorise of
the second class p, which contain some small grains of tin, are sent, to the stamps;
those of the third class c, which are last removed from the surface of the bath of tin,
are set apart, and re-smelted, as containing a considerable quantity of metal in the
form of globules. These scoriz are in small quantity. The stamp-slag contains fully:
5 per cent. of metallic tin.
As soon as the scoriz are cleared away, the channel is opened which leads to the
basin of reception, into which the tin consequently flows out. Here it is left for some
time, that the scorie which may be still mixed with the metal may separate, in
virtue of the difference of their specific gravities. When the tin has sufficiently
settled, it is lifted out with ladles, and poured into cast-iron moulds, in each of which
a bit of wood is fixed, to form a hole in the ingot, for the purpose of drawing i out
when it becomes cold.
Refining of Tin.—The object of this operation is to separate from the tin, as com-
pletely as possible, the metals reduced and alloyed along with it.. These are, prin-
cipally, iron, copper, arsenic, and tungsten; to which are joined, in small quantities,
some sulphides and arsenides that have escaped decomposition, a little unre-
duced oxide of tin, and also some earthy matters which have not passed off with the
scorie,
Liquation.—The refining of tin consists of two operations; the first being a
liquation, which, in the interior, is effected in a reyerberatory furnace similar to that
employed in smelting the ore (figs. 1989,.1990). The blocks being arranged on
the hearth of the furnace, near the bridge, are moderately heated; the tin melts,
and flows away into the refining-basin; but, after a certain time, the blocks cease
e afford tin, and leave on the hearth a residuum, consisting of a very ferruginous
alloy.
Fresh tin-blocks are now arranged on the remains of the first; and thus the liqua-
tion is continued till the refining-basin be sufficiently full, when it contains about 5
tons. The residuums are set aside, to be treated as shall be presently pointed out.
Refining proper—Now begins the second part of the process. Into the tin-bath
billets of green wood are plunged, by the aid of the gibbet above described. The dis-
engagement of gas from the green wood produces a constant ebullition in the tin;
bringing up to its surface a species of froth, and causing the impurest and densest
i
TIN 1007
parts to fall to the bottom. That froth, composed almost wholly of the oxides of tin
and foreign metals, is successively skimmed off, and thrown back into the furnace.
When it is judged that the tin has boiled long enough, the green wood is lifted out,
and the bath is allowed to settle. It separates into different zones, the upper being
the purest; those of the middle are charged with a little of the foreign metals; and
the lower are much contaminated with them, When the tin begins to cool, and when
a more complete separation of its different qualities cannot be looked for, it is lifted
out in ladles, and poured into cast-iron moulds. It is obvious that the order in which
the successive blocks are obtained is that of their purity; those formed from the
bottom of the basin being usually so impure that they must be subjected anew to the
refining process, as if they had been directly smelted from the ore.
The refining operation takes five or six hours; namely, an hour to fill the basin,
three hours to boil the tin with the green wood, and from one to two hours for the
subsidence,
Sometimes a simpler operation, called zossing, is substituted for the above artificial
ebullition. ‘To effect it a workman lifts some tin in a ladle, and lets it fall back into
the boiler from a considerable height, so as to agitate the whole mass. He continues
this manipulation for a certain time ; after which, he skims with care the surface of
the bath. The tin is afterwards poured into moulds, unless it be stillimpure. In
this case the separation of the metals is completed by keeping the tin in a fused state
in the boiler for a certain period, without agitation; whereby the upper portion of the
bath (at least one-half) is pure enough for the market.
The moulds into which the tin-blocks are cast are usually made of granite. Their
eapacity is such, that each block shall weigh a little more than 3 ewts. This metal is
called ‘block tin” The law requires them to be stamped or coined by public officers,
before being exposed to sale. The purest block tin is called ‘refined tin.’
The treatment just detailed gives rise to two stanniferous residuums, which have to
be smelted again. These are—
1. The scoriz B and c, which contain some granulated particles of tin. ,
2. The dross found on the bottom of the reverberatory furnace, after re-melting the
tin to refine it.
The scoriz c are smelted without any preparation; but those marked B are stamped
in the mill, and washed, to concentrate the tin-grains; and from this rich mixture,
called ieee smelted by itself a tin is procured of very inferior quality. This may
be readily imagined, since the metal which forms these granulations is what, being
ae fusible than the pure tin, solidified quickly, and could not flow off into the metallic
ath.
Whenever all the tin-blocks have thoroughly undergone the process of liquation,
the fire is increased, to melt the less fusible residuary alloy of tin with iron and some
other metals, and this is run out into a small basin, totally distinct from the refining-
basin. After this alloy has reposed for some time, the upper portion is lifted out into
block-moulds, as impure tin, which needs to be refined anew. On the bottom and
sides of the basin there is deposited a white, brittle alloy, with a crystalline fracture,
which contains so great a proportion of foreign metals that little use can be made of
it. About 34 tons of coal are consumed in producing 2 of tin,
Summary of Produce of Tin in Cornwall and Devon for each of the ten years
ending 1873.
Tin ore Metallic tin
Year nate. Bs
Quantity Value Quantity Value
; Tons £ Tons £&
1864 174 13,985 881,031 9,295 995,029
1865 156 14,122 782,284 9,038 873,659
1866 145 18,785 667,999 8,822 781,849
1867 117 11,066 549,375 7,296 670,228
1868 109 11,584 641,137 7,703 756,494
1869 117 13,883 889,378 9,356 1,138,488 ~
1870 147 15,234 1,002,357 10,200 1,299,505
1871 145 16,898 1,068,733 11,320 1,556,557
1872 162 12,300 1,065,658 8,241 1,258,812
1873 215 14,885 1,056,835 9,972 1,829,766
1008 TIN
Production of the Dutch Tin Mines for the last 19 years.
Years Banca* Billiton, estimated’ ~
Slabs Tons Slabs Tons
1855 128,256 = 4,233 2,734 = 97
1856 201,317 6,643 6,714 238 —
1857 149,336 4,928 3,674 130
1858 192,950 6,367 9,014 320
1859 181,968 6,005 4,620 164
1860 165,620 5,465 8,000 284
1861 173,008 5,709 13,018 462
1862 141,770 4,678 10,182 361
1863 191,963 6,334 20,636 732 .
1864 161,916 5,343 22,380 794
1865 138,012 4,554 30,000 1,065
"1866 158,626 5,234 ' 33,000 1,171
1867 140,570 4,639 65,940 2,341
1868 120,000 3,960 60,600 2,151
1869 135,868 4,483 68,291 2,424
1870 146,000 4,672 89,283 2,858
1871 134,906 4,320 99,700 3,190
1872 136,906 4,325 108,000 3,456
1873 : 140,000 4,480 102,000 3,264
Imports of Tin in the year 1873.
Countries from which imported Tin ore pty gh
Tons Tons
Holland . = + gi J L 4 1 1,770
France . F ° . = . i 30 115
Portugal . : . 2 ‘ is . 12 sks
Spain . . euler. . . ; '7 séé
Straits Settlements ; x a 3 1 4,812
China 3 ; ‘ A F P . ‘ Jes 25
Victoria . 3 3 U : 7 : 297 58
New South Wales . ! s . : : 3,114 331
Queensland 5 . % 4 ‘ ; - 1,302 103
Tasmania . 2) ie “ = Z é > 13 We
United States of America: On the Atlantic ; i 72
Peru. . . . . 5 z 4 : 671 387
Chili. $ a « “ : . x 5 157 114
Other parts . : - ° ‘ . . 7 4
Total Imports . . ‘ 53612 7,791
To test the quality of tin, dissolve a certain weight of it with heat in hydrochloric
acid ; should it contain arsenic, brown-black flocks will be separated during the solu-
tion, and arseniuretted hydrogen gas will be disengaged, which, on being burned at
a jot, will deposit the usual grey film of metallic arsenic upon a white saucer held a
little way above the flame. Other metals present in the tin are to be sought for by
treating the above solution with nitric acid of spec. gray. 1°16, first in the cold, and at
last with heat and a small excess of acid. When the action is over, the supernatant
liquid is to be decanted off the peroxidised tin, which is to be washed with very dilute
nitric acid, and both liquors are to be evaporated to dissipate the acid excess. If, on
the addition of water to the concentrated liquor, a white powder falls, it is a proof
that the tin contains bismuth ; if, on adding sulphate of ammonia, a white precipitate
appears, the tin contains lead ; water of ammonia added to supersaturation will occa-
sion reddish-brown flocks, if iron is present; and on evaporating the supernatant
liquid to dryness, the copper will be obtained.
* 1,000 Banca slabs weigh about 22 tons; the average weight of 1,000 slabs Straits tin being from
35 to 40 tons, The weight of the Billiton slabs is the same as the Banca.
TIN-MORDANTS 1009
Tin in Ingots, blocks, bars, slabs or regulus, Jmported in 1874, 184,377 cwts.; value
904,488/.
Tin unwrought Exported in 1874, 155,068 ewts.; value 813,30%.
For the purification of tin from tungsten, see TuNesTEN.
The uses of tin are very numerous. -Combined with copper, in different pro-
portions, it forms Bronze, and a series of other useful alloys; for an account of which,
see Copper. With iron, it forms Tin-plate ; with lead, it constitutes Pewter, and Solder
of various kinds. (See Leap.) Tin-foil coated with quicksilver makes the reflecting
surface of glass mirrors. (See Grass.) Nitrate of tin affords the basis of the scarlet
dya.on wool, and of many bright colours to the calico-printer and the cotton-dyer.
(See Scarter and Try-Morpants.) A compound of tin with gold gives the fine
erimson and purple colours to stained glass and artificial gems. (See Purprz
or Cassius.) Enamel is made by fusing oxide of tin with the materials of flint
glass. This oxide is also an ingredient in the white and yellow glazes of pottery-
ware. See Purry PowneEr.
TIN ASSAYING. ‘The ore of tin submitted to assay is Cassiterite, peroxide of
tin or black tin. When the ore is poor it must be submitted to a washing, vanning,
or other concentration process, to separate the peroxide of tin from vein-stuff before
submitting it to the assay.. If the ore is associated with iron pyrites, copper pyrites, or
other foreign metalliferous matters, it must be calcined or treated with acids, before
submitting it to the final washing process. The assays are made by the dry method.
a. Cornish method. This process is conducted in black-lead crucibles in an air-furnace
similar to that described in Copper (Jig. 533). Two ounces (960 grs.) of the ore are
mixed with about one-fifth of its weight of culm or anthracite powder, or charcoal,
and heated for about twenty minutes at a high temperature ; the reduced metal is now
poured out into a long flat ingot-mould. The slaggy residue is then scraped out from
the pot, and any shots of metal separated by pounding and washing, and the total
weight of metal ascertained. A small quantity of borax or fluor-spar is added when
necessary to render the slag fluid. The assay may also be made in earthen crucibles.
b. By Fusion with Cyanide of Potassium. This process is conducted in earthen or
porcelain crucibles: 100 grs. of the black tin is a convenient quantity to operate on. The
ore is mixed with from four to six times its weight of cyanide of potassium, and the
crucible and its contents exposed to a low red heat forabout 20 minutes. Thecontents
are poured out into the iron mould (jig. 534, see Coprrr), and when cold the button
of tin is detached from the slag, cleaned and weighed.
TINCAL. The Oriental name for crude borax. Under this name considerable
quantities are brought from the East Indies, But the largest quantities are obtained
from the lagoons near Monte Cerbole in Tuscany. Recently, tincal of a very fine
quality has been discovered in California. A lake in Colorado Territory contained so
much of the bi-borate of soda that it was found crystallised out around the edges, but
was soon exhausted. See Borax.
TINCTORIAL MATTER. The colouring-matter employed in dyeing. See
Dyrme; Mapper; Turkey Rep, &c.
TINCTURE is a title used by apothecaries to designate alcohol, in a somewhat
dilute state, impregnated with the active principles of either vegetable or animal
substances.
TINDER ORE. (Zundererz, Ger.) An impure arsenical sulphide of antimony.
It is found at. Andreasberg in the Hartz, in soft flexible flakes resembling tinder, of a
dirty reddish colour and with little lustre.
TINE, in metallurgy, a modification of the Trompe adopted by the French.
TIN GLANCE is an old name of bismuth. See Bismuru.
TIN-MORDANTS for dyeing scarlet. See Morpanv.
Mordant a, as commonly made by the dyers, is composed of 3 parts of nitric acid,
1 part of common salt or of sal-ammoniac, and 1 of granulated tin. This preparation
is very uncertain.
Mordant B. Pour into a glass globe with a long neck, 8 parts of pure nitrie acid
at 30° B., and 1 part of muriatic acid at 17°; shake the globe gently, avoiding the
corrosive vapours, and put a loose stopper in its mouth. Throw into this nitro-
muriatic acid, one-eighth of its weight of pure tin, in small bits at a time. When the
solution is complete, and settled, decant it into bottles, and close them with ground
stoppers. It should be diluted only when about to be used.
Mordant c, by Dambourney.—In 2 drams (Fr., 144 grs.), of pure muriatiec acid,
dissolve 18 grains of Malacea tin. This is reckoned a good mordant for brightening
or fixing the colour of peachwood.
Mordant v; by Hellot.—Take 8 ounces of nitric acid, diluted with as much water;
Seo a it half an ounce of sul-ammoniac, and 2 drams of nitre, In this acid solu-
OL, . ;
* zo. i es Sr
P j
1010 TIN-PLATES
tion dissolve 1 ounce of granulated tin of Cornwall, observing not to put in a fresh
piece till the preceding be dissolved. a 3 ; . 1
Mordant 8, by Scheffer.—Dissolve 1 part of tin in 4 of nitro-muriatic acid, pre-
pared with nitric acid diluted with its own weight of water, and one thirty-secondth
of sal-ammoniac,
Mordant ¥, by Poerner.—Mix 1 pound of nitric acid with 1 pound of water, and
dissolve it in an ounce and a half of sal-ammoniac, Stir it well, and add, by very
slow degrees, 2 ounces of tin turned into thin ribbons upon the lathe...
Mordant ¥, by Berthollet.—Dissolve in nitric acid of 30° B., one-eighth of its
weight of sal-ammoniac, then add by degrees one-eighth of its weight of tin, and
dilute the solution with one-fourth of its weight of water.
Mordant x, by Dambourney.—In 1 dram (72 grs.) of muriatic acid at 17°, one
of nitric acid at 30°, and 18 grains of water, dissolve slowly, and with some heat, 18
grains of fine Malacca tin.
Mordant 1, is the birch-bark prescribed by Dambourney. This bark, dried, and
ground, is said to be a very valuable substance for fixing the otherwise fugitive colours
produced by woods, roots, archil, &e.
TIN-PLATES. The art of coating copper with tin seems to have been known at an
early period, Pliny refers to this, and from his description it is probable the vessels to
be covered were dipped into melted tin, and the ‘vasa stannea’ of the Romans were
copper vessels covered with tin. The difficulty of coating iron with tin was, however,
much greater; and the process of hammering the iron into sheets sufficiently thin,
and cleaning the surface, which latter work had often to be done by filing, were serious
hindrances to the extensive use of the invention.
The art of tinning iron appears to have been first practised in Bohemia, and about
the year 1620 to have been introduced into Saxony.
Beckmann states that, ‘in the year 1670, a company sent to Saxony, at their ex-
pense, an ingenious man named Andrew Yarrenton, in order to learn the process of
tinning. Having acquired the necessary knowledge, he returned to England with
some German workmen, and manufactured tin-plate which met with general appro-
bation. Before the company could carry on business on an extensive scale, a man of
some distinction, having made himself acquainted with Yarrenton’s process, obtained
a patent for his art, and the first undertakers were obliged to give up their enterprise,
which had cost them a great deal of money, and yet no use whatever was made of
the patent which had been obtained.’ About the year 1720 works for the manufacture
of tin-plates were established at Pontypool, and these seem to be the earliest of such
works in England which were permanently successfw.
In 1728, John Payne invented a process for rolling iron, This seems to have at
once led to the use of the flat or sheet rolls for the manufacture of iron for tin-plates;
but it is very remarkable that no further progress was made in this discovery of roll-
ing iron until 1788, when Henry Cort invented the grooved rolls. This discovery
was not appreciated for some years, Mr. Reynolds, of Ketley, erected Cort’s rolls
in 1785. In 1790 Henry Cort was engaged by Mr. Richard Crawshay to erect the
mills at Cyfarthfa, and, soon after, this important improvement in the iron manufac-
ture was generally adopted. The writer proposes to give in this paper a short résumé,
first, of the process for cleaning and tinning the iron-plate, and after, of the methods
of preparing the iron for this purpose.
The affinity of iron for tinis mnch greater than is generally supposed. The point at
which the metals cohere is no doubt an actual alloy; and advantage is taken of this
by the manufacturers of articles for domestic use, made in iron—as bridle-bits, com-
mon stirrups, small nails, &c. When the iron, whether wrought or cast, is perfectly
clean and free from rust, and brought in contact with melted tin, at a high tempera-
ture, an alloy seems to be at once formed, protecting the iron from oxidisation whilst
the tin lasts. Many plans are used for tinning iron articles, of small size, by the
manufacturers. One of the common methods of the manufacturers of bridle-bits and
small ware, in South Staffordshire, is to clean the surface of the articles to be tinned,
by steeping them for sufficient time in a mixture of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids,
diluted with water, then washing them well with water, but taking great care they do
not rust, at once placing them in a partially closed stoneware vessel (such as a com-
mon, bottle), which contains a mixture of tin and sal-ammoniac. This vessel is
then placed on a smith’s hearth, duly heated, and frequently agitated to secure the
complete distribution of the tin over theiron. The articles, when thus tinned, are
thrown into water to wash away all remains of the sal-ammoniuc ; and lastly, cleaned
in hot bran, or sawdust, to improve the appearance for sale.
The plans of cleaning and preparing the iron for tinning have undergone many,
changes in the century. About 1720 the plan of cleaning was to scour the
plates with sand and water, and file off the rough parts, then cover with resin, and
TIN-PLATES . 1011
dip them in the melted tin. About 1747 the plates were, after being cold-rolled,
soaked for a week in the lees of bran, which had been allowed to stand in water
about ten days, to become, by fermentation sufficiently acid, and then scoured with
sand and water. In 1760 the plates were pickled in dilute hydrochloric acid before
annealing, and cleaned with dilute sulphuric acid after being taken out of the bran
lees, An improvement of great importance in this process was made about 1745; the
inventor seems to have been Mr. Mosely, who carried on tin-plate works in South
Staffordshire. This invention was the use of the grease-pot, and in this department
little, if any, improvement has since been made. The plan was introduced into
South Wales in 1747 by Mr. John Jenkins, and his descendants are still amongst
the principal manufacturers in the trade. The process of cleaning and tinning at'some
of the best works now is as follows :—When the sheet iron leaves the plate-mill, and
after separating the plates, and sprinkling between each plate a little sawdust, the
effect of which is to keep them separate, they are then immersed, or as technically
termed ‘pickled,’ in dilute sulphuric acid, and after this placed in the annealing-pot,
and left in the furnace about 24 hours; on coming out, the plates are passed through
the cold rolls; after passing the cold rolls, the plates seem to have too much the
character of steel, and are not sufficiently ductile: to remedy this they are again an-
nealed at a low heat, washed in dilute sulphuric acid, to remove any scale of oxide of
iron, and scoured with sand and water; the plates in this state require to be perfectly
clean and bright, and may be left for months immersed in pure water without rust or
injury ; but a few minutes’ exposure to the air rusts them. With great care to have
them perfectly clean, they are taken to the stow, fig. 1993, being a section through the
_ line x x of the plan jig. 1994. Taken from right to left, 1 represents the tinman’s
pan ; 2, the tin-pot; 3, the washing or dipping pot; 4, the grease-pot ; 5, the cold pot;
6, the list pot.
1998
8
A
SSIES
4
Z
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Ly
Wi \ \\ eA
« L_ I N \S I
tj WLIIWMK<< SSS
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ty
Yi
1994
ee a coos
a: To. oer.
ltt | IL]
i —— Ly ‘
my ea ame: “get |
6 5 4 3 2 1
The tinman’s pan is full of melted grease: in this the plates are immersed, and left
there until all aqueous moisture upon them is evaporated, and they are completely
covered with the grease; from this they are taken to the tin-pot, and there plunged
into a bath of melted tin, which is covered with grease; but as in this first dipping
the alloy is imperfect, and the surface not uniformly covered, the plates are removed
to the dipping or wash pot; this contains a bath of melted tin covered with grease,
and is divided into two compartments. In the larger compartment the plates are
plunged, and left sufficiently long to make the alloy complete, and to separate any
superfluous tin which may have adhered to the surface; the workman takes the plate
and places it on the table marked son the plan and wipes it on both sides with a
brush of hemp; then to take away the marks of the brush, and give a polish to the
surface, he dips it in the second compartment of the washing pot. This last always
contains the purest tin, and as it becomes alloyed with the iron it is removed on to the
first compartment, and after to the tin-pot. The plate is now removed to the grease-
pot (No, 4); this is filled with melted grease, and requires very skilful management
as to the temperature it is to be kept at. The true object is to allow any superfluous
tin to run off, and to prevent the alloy 9 the surface of the iron plate cooling
3T
1012 . TIN-PLATES
quicker than the iron, If this were neglected the face of the plate would-be cracked.
The plate is removed to the cold pot (No. 5): this is filled with tallow, heated to a
comparatively low temperature, The use of the grease-pots, Nos. 4 and 6 is the pro-
cess adopted in practice for annealing the alloyed plates. The list pot (No. 6) is
used for the purpose of removing
' Tee a small wire of tin, which adheres
— joa someon oe _ to a per edge of the plate -
== all the foregoing processes. It
1995 is a small tay Bs bath, kept
at a sufficiently high temperature,
n — and covered with tin about one-
PERRUIGUEOD fourth of an inch deep. In this
the edges of the plates are dipped,
G ’ and left until the wire of tin is
aa melted, and. then detached by
a quick blow on the plate with a
stick. The plates are now care-
fully cleaned with bran to free
E them from grease. Lastly, they
a taken to a orn eee
where every plate is separately
[SS examined and clas and
ee CE packed in boxes for market as
aie J hereafter described,
. The tests Fl mg for tin-
lates are—ductility, strength,
1996 oat colour. To obtaya Raia
= iron must be of the best quality,
| and the manufacture must be
uae conducted with proportionate
skill. This necessity will ex-
plain to some extent the cause
why nearly all the improvements
= in working iron during the past
century have been either origi-
nated or first adopted by the tin-
} plate makers, and a sketch of
the processes used at different
Wa times, in working iron for tin-
plates, will be, in fact, a history
of the trade.
The process of preparing the
best or charcoal iron seems to
have undergone but little change
from 1720 to 1807. The finery,
the chafery, and the hammer,
were the modes of bringing the
iron from the pig to the state
of finished bars. The finery was
of the exact form of the jigs.
1995, 1996, 1997, but less in size
than those now used, The
chafery or hollow fire was, in
fact, the same as the present
smiths’ forge fire, but on a larger |
scale; and the ‘ hollow, or
chamber, in which the bloom
was heated, was made by coking
the coal in the centre with the
blast, and taking care not to
disturb the mass of coal above,
which was used to reverberate
the heat produced. Both the finery and chafery were worked by blast.
The hammers were of two descriptions: “the forge hammer, a heavy mass for
aa ng the blooms, and the tilt hammer, much lighter and driven quicker, for shaping
6 bars,
The charge for the finery was about 1} cwt, of pig-iron; this, under the first
TIN-PLATES 1013
process, was reduced to 1} cwt. It was, when ready, put under the forge hammer,
and shaped into a ‘bloom,’ about 2 feet long and 5 inches thick ; this was then heated
1998
F
| oa een ER ESSE T od ant C
in the chafery, and under the tilt hammer drawn out to a ‘bar,’ 3 to 4 inches wide,
and half an inch thick.
The manufacture up to this point was formerly carried on by the iron-masters,
and the iron in this state was sold under the name of ‘tin bars’ to the plate-makers.
The average price for these bars, from 1780 to 1810, was 211. per ton. The sheet
and cold rolls wete then in use nearly as at the present time.
In 1807, Mr. Watkin George, whose
position had been established as one . 1999
of the first engineers of his time, ~ Fol
by the erection of the great water-
y the ar
wheel and works at Cyfarthfa, re-
moved to Pontypool, and undertook
the remodelling of the old works
rah
there. He clearly saw that the secret = ————
of the manufacture was to produce H
the largest possible quantity with cS
least possible machinery and labour. eR 2) NR t
His inventions, to this end, worked _| ote tt 1 "41H
a complete change in the trade. His
plans were: to first reduce the pig-
iron in a finery under coke, and then bring this ‘refiners’ metal’ (so termed) into
the charcoal finery. The charcoal finery was built as shown in figs. 1995, 1996, and
1997 : fig. 1995 being a front elevation, fig. 1996 a horizontal, and fig. 1997 a vertical
section.
A charge of 3 ewts. of iron was used in this, and as it became malleable it was
reduced under the hammer to what he termed a ‘stamp:’ this was a piece of iron
about 1 inch thick, and of any shape horizontally. It was next broken in pieces of a
convenient size, and about 84 Ibs. were ‘piled’ on a flat piece of tilted iron, with
1014 | TIN-PLATES
a handle about 4 feet long. This rough shovel, or holder, was called the ‘ portal,
or the ‘staff’ To re-heat this ‘pile’ in the chafery would be a work of great
cost and difficulty, and the brick hollow fire (as shown in figs, 1998 to 2003; jigs.
1998 and 1999 being elevations, and jigs, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 sections)
was invented. This is, the writer believes, one of the inventions which, although
in work during the past fifty years, still points to very great improvements in
2008 ee papa ‘a oe It is fo.
I substance the plan of using the
\ \\ \ \ \ gases produced by the decompo-
S S sition of fuel for the working of
iron,
\ The charcoal finery is also worked
by the use of the gases to a much
T greater extent than is generally
CPt rat m1 known. ‘The workman sends his
or at oy tt + blast directly into the mass of iron,
Att \ and the charcoal seems to be simply
\\ \ the means by which he is better
\\ \ enabled to manipulate the iron in
\ WOW K\\ the finery, and keep it covered, so
; as to revive the oxidised metal, and
thus prevent waste. A few hours spent with any intelligent workman at the side of
his charcoal finery would show the wasteful and expensive character of the so-called
new schemes for converting cast- into wrought-iron by the use of air alone, The
late belief in these schemes, by men of high repute and practical knowledge in the
trade is a direct proof of the deficiency in knowledge of exact. science as at present
applied to the manufacture of iron.
The pile was now placed in the hollow fire, and brought to a soft welding or
washing heat; again hammered out to ‘slabs,’ 6 inches wide and three-quarters
of an inch thick; these wero
re-heated, cut up, and after-
wards passed through rolls,
reducing them to ‘bars, 6
inches by half an inch. These
were known in the trade as
‘hollow fire iron,’ or ‘ tin-
bars.’ The result of Mr.
Watkin George’s improve-
ments was, to reduce the
cost and double the produc-
tion with the same outlay
in machinery. All the tin-
plates made at this time had
the great defect of a rough
and smooth side. In the
year 1820, Mr. Wm, Daniell
found a mode to remedy this
defect. Himself a maker of
tin-bars and plates, he had
observed that the smooth side
of the plate was always that
corresponding to the flat part
- of the ‘ portal,’ or ‘ staff;’ he
at once, having ascertained
this cause, remedied the de-
fect by hammering out the
pile, notching it, and doubling
it over, so that the tilted
blade of the ‘staff’ was on
the top as well as the bottom
of the pile. This was the
invention of ‘tops and bot-
toms,’ and the writer need
not remind practical men of
the immense sums made by
this discovery during the past
fifty years.
Anotherimprovement since
1807, is the use of the run-
ning-out fire ; it is still adopt-
ed in only a few works.
This is represented by jigs.
2004, 2005, and 2006. Fig.
2004 is a vertical section ;
. 2005 a horizontal sec-
tion; and fig. 2006 a front ele-
vation. This process saves
waste of heat and labour, by
running the refined metal
at once into the charcoal-
finery.
The ‘tin-bars’ before re-
ferred to, 6 inches by half
an inch, are heated and run
through rollers until they
form a sheet of sufficient
width ; this sheet is then
doubled and passed through
the rolls, and this repeated
until this sheet is quad-
rupled,—the laminee are then
cut to size, and separated as
before described. The writer
asks careful attention to the
fact, that the last part of the
rolling is done when the iron
TIN-PLATES
1015
2005
ee
2005 — sane
eo
= i yo
So 1
c= it 1 ESS 5 RF
ct : oe |
ba! tt i —
1016 . TIN-PLATES
is nearly cold, These sheets are next annealed, and were formerly bent separately by
hand, into a saddle, forming two sides of a triangle, thus A, and placed in a.reverber-
atory furnace, so that the flame should play amongst them, and heat them to redness;
they were then plunged into a bath of muriatic acid, or sulphuric acid and water, for -
a few minutes, taken out, and drained on the floor, and again heated in a furnace ;
after which, a scale of oxide of iron separates from the plate during the work of
bending them again straight, on a cast-iron block.
The plates should be now free from rust or scale, and are then passed cold through
the chilled rolls: this last process is most important, as the ductility and the strength
and colour of the tin-plate depend upon this; at this point bad iron will crack or
split, and any want of quality in the iron, or skill in the manufacture, will be shown.
A great improvement in the process of annealing was made in 1829 by Mr. Thomas
Morgan: the plates were piled on a stand, and covered with a cast-iron box, now
termed an ‘annealing pot;’ in this they were exposed toa dull red heat in a reverber-
atory furnace for 24 hours. This annealing pot with its stand is represented by
Jig. 2007, in plan and vertical section.
2007
A very important invention in the manufacture of iron for tin-plates, was made by
Mr. William Daniell in 1845. About 23 ewts. of refined metal is placed in the char-
coal-finery ; this is taken out in one lump, put under the hammer and ‘nobbled,’ then
passed at once through the balling rolls, and reduced to a bar 6 inches square and
about 2 feet 6 inches long. This bar is either cut or sawed off in pieces 6 inches long,
and these rolled endways to give a bar about 6 inches wide, 23 inches thick, and 12
inches long, and in this state the inventor calls it ‘a billet.’ This is heated ina
small balling furnace and rolled down to a bar one-quarter inch thick and eleven
inches wide, and will be about six feet long. This is taken at once to the tin-plate
mill, and the process saves great expense in fuel and machinery.
By the old method of annealing, a box of tin-plates required about 13 Ibs, of tin.
This is now done with about 9 lbs. for charcoal and 8 lbs. for coke plates.
In referring to tin-plates the standard for quotation is always taken as 1 C.
(Common, No. 1.) This is a box containing 2265 plates, which should weigh exactly
112 Ibs. :
The following arethe Marks, Weights, and Measurement of the Tin Plates now in
COMNON USE -—
: No. in Weight of ks 0
Names Sizes a box each box brs pre
Inches cwt. qrs. Ibs.
Common,No.1 . «. «|18% by 10 225 1 (6. Da
GEESE ge |, CaaS EEE 0 3 21 |011
s No.3 . * . {122 ,, 98 » 0 3 16 | C111
Cross, No.1 . ‘ . | 18% ,, 10 + dh vceds bees X1
Two Crosses, No. 1. y oh By “0 tears ce Ba) ai ee. © Nis
Three ” 2” . ° ” ” ” 1 2 14 XXX 1
Four ,, » * : + | oy ” ” 13 7 | XXXX1
Common Doubles . . ~~ | 163 by 123; 100 0 3 21 |CD
Cross ” . . . ” ” ” 1 0 14 XD
Two Cross ,, : d i Poe * os L233 2 | eee
Three ,, a : - Pi Fa " 5 walls 2° (0.2) SO
Four ,, * > ; » Nae ” 1.2. 23 | XXRxeO
Common Small Doubles . - | 15 by 11 200 12 0j4CS8SD
Oross 3 . 5 b AAS = *, 1 2° 28)" he
Two Cross ,, a - rl Pe ” 9 1 3 14 | XXSpD
Three ,, 4 by the «| o» ” ” 20 7 | XXXSD
Four ” ” ” e 2 ” ” ” 2 1 0 XXXX Ss D
Waster’s Common, No. 1 - | 138} by 10 225 10 0 j;WCl1
” Cross e BT As, o 1.3.20 WxX1
—.°
TIN-PLATES - 1017
One of the great items of expense in the manufacture of best iron, as before described,
is the cost of charcoal for the fineries. About 1850 the attention of Mr. Rogers
was directed to the use of a substitute for charcoal in the finery. Careful thought and
experiment led him to the conclusion that some coals could be charred in such a way
as to produce a mechanical structure analogous to charcoal, and at the same time when
deprived of sulphur might be used in the finery. These experiments resulted in the
manufacture of ‘ charred coal.’ This material has been worked at several of the prin-
cipal manufactories in South Wales, and declared equal in every respect to charcoal.
The preparation of the ‘charred coal’ is very simple. The coal is first reduced to
small, and washed by any of the ordinary means : it is then spread over the bottom
of a reverberatory furnace to a depth of about 4 inches; the bottom of a furnace is
first raised to a red heat. When the small coal is thrown over the vottoma great
volume of gases is given off, and much ebullition takes place : this ends in the produc-
tion of a light spongy mass which is turned over in the furnace, and drawn in about
one hour and a half. To completely clear off the sulphur, water is now freely
sprinkled over the mass until all smell of the sulphuretted hydrogen gas produced
ceases. The result is ‘charred coal.’ The quantities of ‘charred coal’ hitherto
produced have been made on the floor of an ordinary coke oven, whilst red hot after
drawing the charge of coke. :
Tin Coating of Iron and Zine, by Mr. Morries Stirling’s patent process. For this
purpose the sheet, plate, or other form of iron, previously coated with zinc, either
by dipping or depositing from solutions of zinc, is taken; and, after cleaning the
surface by washing in acid or otherwise, so as to remove any oxide or foreign matter
which would interfere with the perfect and equal adhesion of the more fusible metal
or alloy with which it is to be coated, it is dipped into melted tin, or any suitable alloy
thereof, in a perfectly fluid state, the surface of which is covered with any suitable
material, such as fatty or oily matters, or the chloride of tin, so as to keep the surface
of the metal free from oxidation; and such dipping is to be conducted in a like
manner to the process of making tin-plate or of coating iron with zinc. When a fine
surface is required, the plates or sheets of iron coated with zine may be passed be-
tween polished rolls (as already described) before and after, or either before or after
they are coated with tin or other alloy thereof. It is preferred in all cases to use for
the coating pure tin of the description known as ‘ grain tin.’
Another part of the invention consists in covering, either wholly or in part, zinc
and its alloys with tin, and such of its alloys as are sufficiently fusible. To effect
this, the following is the process adopted:—A sheet or plate of zine (by preference
such as has been previously rolled, both on account of its ductility and smoothness)
is taken, and after cleaning its surface by hydrochloric or other acid, or otherwise, it
is dried, and then dipped or passed in any convenient manner through the melted tin,
or fusible alloy of tin. It is found desirable to heat the zinc, as nearly as may be, to
the temperature of the melted metal, previous to dipping it, and to conduct the
dipping, or passing-through, as rapidly as is consistent with thorough coating of the
zinc, to prevent as much as possible the zine becoming alloyed with the tin. It is
recommended also that the tin, or alloy of tin, should not be heated to a higher tem-
perature than is necessary for its proper fluidity. The metal thus coated, if in the
form of sheet, plate, or cake, can then be rolled down to the required thickness; and
should the coating of tin or alloy be found insufficient or imperfect, the dipping is to
be repeated as above described, and the rolling also, if desired, either for smoothing
the surface or further reducing the thickness.
Another part of the invention consists in coating lead or its alloys with tin or
alloys thereof. The process is to be conducted as before described for the coating of
zine, and the surface of lead is to be perfectly clean. The lead may, like the zine,
be dipped more than once, either before or after being reduced in thickness by rolling.
Lead and its alloys may also be coated with tin or its alloys of greater fusibility
than the lead to be coated.
Crystallised Tin-plate. See Morrie mérarxrigur. It would seem that the acid
_ merely lays bare the crystalline structure really present on every sheet, but marked
by a film of redundant tin. Though this showy article has become of late years vul-
garised by its cheapness, it is still interesting in the eyes of the practical chemist.
The English plates marked Fr, answer well for producing the Moire, by the following
process :—Place the tin-plate, slightly heated, over a tub of water, and rub its surface
with a sponge dipped in « liquor composed of four parts of aquafortis and two of
distilled water, holding one part of common salt or sal-ammoniac in solution. When-
ever the crystalline spangles seem to be thoroughly brought out, the plate must be
immersed in water, washed either with a feather or a little cotton (taking care not to
rub off the film of tin that forms the feathering), forthwith dried with a low heat, and
coated with a lacquer-varnish, otherwise it loses its lustre in the air. If the whole
1018 eas TOBACCO
surface is not plunged at once in cold water, but if it be partially cooled by sprinkling
water on it, the crystallisation will be finely variegated with large and small figures.
Similar results will be obtained by blowing cold air through a pipe on the tinned
surface, while it is just passing from the fused to the solid state; or a variety of
delineations may be traced by playing over the surface of the plate with the pointed
flame of a blowpipe.
Export of Tin Plates in the Year ending 1872 and the two previous years.
Quantities Value
Countries to which exported
1871 1872 : 1873 1871 1872 1873
Tons Tons Tons £ & £
France . F ° 2,123 3,842 3,941 48,683) 97,769) 138,569
United States . . | 86,929 | 87,360 | 85,531 |2,075,600\2,770,332)2,745,916
British North America 4,200 4,003 3,343 | 109,463) 142,782) 117,276
Australia . . > 5,141 5,094 4,326 | 137,878) 188,015) 156,969
Other countries . . | 21,212 | 18,284 | 23,327 | 529,001) 608,075) 794,111
Total . - | 119,606 1 118,083 120,468 |2,900,625'3,806,973|3,952,841
TITANIUM (Sym. Ti; At. wt. 25) is a rare metal, discovered by Klaproth, in
Menaccanite, in 1794. Small cubes of a copper-red colour, and so hard as to scratch
quartz, which have been found in some of the blast-furnaces in Yorkshire, Wales, and
Cumberland, were thought to be titanium; they have recently been shown to bea
cyano-nitride of that metal, represented by TiCy,3Ti*N (TiCy?.3Ti8N’). This metal
is very brittle, so hard as to scratch steel, and very light, having a specific gravity of
only 5-3. It will not melt in heat of any furnace, nor dissolve, when crystallised,
even in nitro-muriatic acid ; but only when in fine powder. According to Hassenfratz,
it presence in small quantity does not impair the malleability of iron. By caleination
with nitre, it becomes oxygenated, and forms titanate of potash. Traces of this
metal may be detected in many irons, both wrought and cast. The principal
minerals containing titanium, are sphene, brookite, anatase, rutile, iserine and menac-
canite. Rutile has been used, with doubtful advantage, in the preparation of steel.
TOAD’S-EYE TIN. A pale hair-brown variety of wood-tin, found near
Tregarthy Moor in Cornwall. ;
TOAST. When bread in thin slices is held in front of a bright fire it is converted
into ‘toast,’ and acquires a characteristic flavour. This appears, according to the
experiments of Piesse, to be a product of the destructive distillation of diastase, which
all bread contains. When diastase is obtained from bread by alcoholic infusion and
ee with water, and then heated to 380°, an intense odour of ‘toast’ is
roduced.
“ TOBACCO. It is said that the name ‘ tobacco’ was given by the Spaniards to the
plant, because it was first observed by them at Tabasco, or Tabaco, a province of
Yucatan in Mexico. Others derive the name from Tabac, an instrument used by the
natives of America in smoking this herb. In 1560, Nicot, the French ambassador to
Portugal, having received some tobacco from a Flemish merchant, showed it, on his
arrival in Lisbon, to the grand prior, and on his return to France, to Catherine of
Medicis, whence it has been called Nicotiana by the botanists. Admiral Sir Francis
Drake, having on his way home from the Spanish Main, in 1586, touched at Virginia,
and brought away some forlorn colonists, is reported to have first imported tobaeco
into England. But, according to Lobel, this plant was cultivated in Britain before
the year 1570; and was consumed by smoking in pipes by Sir Walter Raleigh and
companions, so early as the year 1584.
Tobacco is prepared as follows:—The plants are hung up to dry during four or five
weeks ; taken down out of the sheds in damp weather, for in dry (ey would be apt
to crumble into pieces; stratified in heaps, covered up, and left to sweat for a week or
two, according to their quality and the state of the season; during which time they
must be examined frequently, opened up, and turned over, lest they become too hot,
take fire, or run into putrefactive fermentation.
Respectable tobacconists are very careful to separate all the damaged leaves before
they proceed to their preparation, which they do by spreading them in a heap upon a
stone pavement, watering each layer in succession with a solution of sea-salt, of spec.
grav. 1:107, called sauce, till a ton or more be laid; and leaving their principles to
react on each other for three or four days, according tothe temperature and the nature
of the tobacco. It is highly probable that ammonia is the volatilising agent of many
TOBACCO 1019
odours, and especially of tobacco, If a fresh green leaf of tobacco be crushed between
the fingers, it emits merely the herbaceous smell common to many plants; but if it
be triturated in a mortar along with a little quick-lime or caustic potash, it will
immediately exhale the peculiar odour of. snuff. Analysis shows the presence of
ammonia in this plant, and fermentation serves further to generate free ammonia in it.
Tobacco contains a great quantity of an azotised principle, which by fermentation
produces abundance of ammonia; the first portions of which saturate the acid juices
of the plant, and the rest serve to volatilise its odorous principles. The salt water is
useful chiefly in moderating the fermentation, and preventing it from passing into the
putrefactive stage; just as salt is sometimes added to saccharine worts in tropical
countries, to temper the fermentative action. The sea-salt, which contains some
muriate of lime, tends to keep the tobacco moist, and is therefore preferable to pure
chloride of sodium for this purpose. Some tobacconists mix molasses with the salt
sauce, and ascribe to this addition the violet colour of the macouba snuff of Martinique ;
and others add a solution of extract of liquorice.
The fermented leaves, being next stripped of their middle ribs by the hands of
children, are sorted anew, and the large ones are set apart for making cigars. Most
of the tobaecos on sale in our shops are mixtures of different growths: one kind of
smoking tobacco, for example, consists of 70 parts of Maryland and 30 of meagre
Virginia ; and one kind of snuff consists of 80 parts of Virginia and 30 parts of either
Mumesfort or Warwick. The Maryland isa very light tobacco, in thin yellow leaves ;
that of Virginia is in large brown. leaves, unctuous or somewhat glucy on the surface,
having a smell somewhat like the figs of Malaga; that of Havannah is in brownish
light leaves, of an agreeable and rather spicy smell; it forms the bestecigars. The
Carolina tobacco is less unctuous than the Virginian; but in the United States it
sym next the Maryland. The shag tobacco is dried to the proper point upon sheets
of copper.
Tobacco is cut into what is called ‘ shag tobacco’ by knife-edged chopping stamps.
For grinding the tobacco-leaves into snuff, conical mortars are employed, somewhat
like that used by the Hindoos for grinding sugar-canes; but the sides of the snuff-
mill have sharp ridges from the top to near the bottom. ie
Mr. L. W. Wright introduced a tobacco-cutting machine, which bears a close
resemblance to the well-known machines with revolving knives for cutting straw into
chaff. The tobacco, after being squeezed into cakes, is placed upon a smooth bed
within a horizontal trough, and pressed by a follower and screws to keep it compact.
These cakes are progressively advanced upon the bed, or fed in, to meet the revolving
blades. The speed of the feeding-screw determines the degree of fineness of the
sections or particles into which the tobacco is cut.
Snuff is sometimes largely drugged with pearlashes, and thereby rendered pungent,
and absorbent of moisture.
Refuse leaves and roots, such as those of senna, rhubarb, and the like, after their
medicinal properties have been extracted in the manufacture of infusions, extracts, and
tinctures, by the druggists, were formerly ground, coloured with burnt sienna or yellow
ochre, made pungent with ammonia, and then sold in large quantities to the snuff-manu-
facturers. We have reasons for believing that this fraud is but rarely practised now.
According to the analysis of Posset and Reimann, 10,000 parts of tobacco-
leaves contain 6 of the peculiar chemical principle nicotine ; 1 of nicotianine; 287 of
slightly bitter extractive; 174 of gum, mixed with a little malic acid; 26°7 of agreen
resin; 26 of vegetable albumen; 104°8 of a substance analogous to gluten; 61 of
malic acid; 12 of malate of ammonia; 4°8 of sulphate of potass; 6°3 of chloride of
potassium ; 9°5 of potassa, which has been combined with malice and nitric acids;
16°6 of phosphate of lime; 242 of lime, which had been combined with malic acid ; 8°8
of silica ; 496'9 of fibrous or ligneous matter ; traces of starch ; and 88°28 of water.
In ‘ Silliman’s Journal,’ vol. vii. p. 2, a chemical examination of tobacco is given by
Dr. Covell, which shows its components to have been but imperfectly represented in
the above German analysis. He found, 1, gum; 2, a viscid slime, equally soluble in
water and alcohol, and precipitable from both by subacetate of lead; 3, tannin; 4,
gallic acid; 5, chlorophyll (leaf-green); 6, a green pulverulent matter, which dis-
solves in boiling water, but falls down again when the water cools; 7, a yellow oil,
possessing the smell, taste, and poisonous qualities of tobacco; 8, a large quantity of
a pale yellow resin; 9, nicotine; 10, a white substance, analogous to morphia, soluble
in hot, but hardly in cold, alcohol; 11, a beautiful orange-red dye-stuff, soluble only in
acids: it deflagrates in the fire, and seems to possess neutral properties ; 12, nicotinine.
A strict royal monopoly exists, or existed, in Austria Proper, France, Sardinia, the
Duchies of Parma and Lucca, and the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany, and in Portugal,
Spain, Naples, and the States of the Church ; the license to manufacture is periodically
sold to companies, which regulate the prices of tobacco as they please. It will be
1020 TOBACCO-PIPES
found that the situation of all these countries where the monopolies and high prices
are kept up, is nearly the same, as to illicit trade in tobacco, as in England.
Tobacco Imported in 1873 :—
is WE Value,
Unmanufactured “ : ‘ - 81,882,783 2,618,7997.
lbs.
Entered for Home consumption . 7 3 3 . 44,719,756
Deduct Exported on drawback, &. . A a 535,146
Toth] Maile Be ou, okt, an NEE CIbe
Duty : containing 10 lbs. or more of moisture in every 100 lbs. 3s. 144d. per Ib.
Containing less than 10 Ibs. of moisture in every 100 lbs. 3s. 6d. per lb.- This was
fixed March 27, 1863. The gross amount received in 1873 was 6,949,8361.
The total quantities of tobacco retained for home consumption in 1842 amounted
to nearly 17,000,000 Ibs. Professor Schleiden gives a singular illustration of the
quantity of tobacco consumed. North America alone produces annually upwards of
200,000,000 lbs. of tobacco, The combustion of this mass of vegetable material
would yield about 340,000,000 Ibs. of carbonic acid gas, so that the yearly produce of
carbonic acid gas, from tobacco-smoking alone, cannot be estimated at less than
1,000,000,000 lbs. : a large contribution to the annual demand for this gas made upon
the atmosphere by the vegetation of the world.
It has been observed by Lane, the learned annotator of the ‘ Arabian Nights,’ (and
the observation was confirmed by the experience of Mr. Layard, M.P., the explorer of
Assyria), that the growth and use of tobacco amongst Oriental nations has gradually
reduced the resort to intoxicating beverages; and Mr. Crawford, in a paper ‘ On the
History and Consumption of Tobacco,’ in the Journal of the Statistical Society for
March 1853, remarked, that simultaneously with the decline in the use of spirits in
Great Britain, there had been a corresponding increase in the use of tobacco.
Year Population Tobacco consumed per head
1821 . - 21,282,960 . - 15,598,152 .
1831 . « 24,410,489 . + 19,533,841 *
1841 . « 27,016,972 . - 22,309,360 . are 5} Hae
1851 . - 27,452,262 . - 28,062,978 . @ | AOR ag
The actual quantity now consumed is not easily obtainable. It has certainly
greatly increased, and all medical evidence goes to show that it acts injuriously on
the health of the people.
TOBACCO-PIPES are made of a fine-grained plastic white clay, to which they
have given the name. It is worked with water into a thin paste, which is allowed to
settle in pits, or it may be passed through a sieve, to separate the siliceous or other
stony impurities ; the water is afterwards evaporated till the clay becomes of a doughy
consistency, when it must be well kneaded to make it uniform. Pipe-clay is found
chiefly in the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorsetshire, and at Newton Abbot, in Devonshire.
It is distinguished by its perfectly white colour, and its great adhesion to the tongue
after it is baked, owing to the large proportion of alumina which it contains. See Cray,
A child fashions a ball of clay from the heap, rolls it out into a slender cylinder
uponta plank, with the palms of his hands, in order to form the stem of the pipe. He
sticks a small lump to the end of the cylinder for forming the bowl; which haying
done, he lays the pieces aside for a day or two, to get more consistency. In propor-
tion as he makes these rough figures, he arranges them by dozens on a board, and
hands them to the pipemaker. '
The pipe is finished by means of a folding brass or iron mould, channelled inside,
of the shape of the stem of the bowl, and capable of being opened at the two ends.
It is fesse of two pieces, each hollowed out like a half-pipe, cut as it were length-
wise ; and these two jaws, when brought together, constitute the exact space for making
one pipe. There are small pins in one side of the mould, corresponding to holes in
the other, which serve as guides for applying the two together with precision.
The workman takes a long iron wire, with its end oiled, and pushes it through the
soft clay in the direction of the stem, to form the bore, and he directs the wire by
feeling with his left hand the progress of its point. He lays the pipe in the groove
of one of the jaws of the mould, with the wire sticking in it; applies the other jaw,
brings them smartly together, and unites them by a clamp or vice, which produces
the external form. A lever is now brought down, which presses an oiled stopper
into the bowl of the pipe while it is in the mould, forcing it sufficiently down to
form the cavity; the wire being meanwhile thrust backwards and forwards so as to
pierce the tube completely through. The wire must become visible at the bottom of
TODDY 1021
the bowl, otherwise the pipe will be imperfect. The wire is now withdrawn, the
jaws of the mould opened, the pipe taken out, and the redundant clay removed with
a knife. After drying for a day or two, the pipes are scraped, polished with a piece
of hard wood, and the stems being bent into the desired form, they are carried to the
baking kiln, which is capable of firing 50 gross in from 8 to 12 hours, A workman
and a child can easily make 5 gross of pipes in a day. Lia
No tobaceo-pipes are so highly prized as those made at Natolia, in Turkey, out
of meerschaum, a hydrous silicate of magnesia, of a soft greasy feel, which is formed
into pipes after having been softened with water. It becomes white and hard in the
kiln. See Mrerscuacm. - ea 5 :
A tobacco-pipe kiln should diffuse an equal heat to every part of its interior, while
for the circulation of the flame. There are 12 supports or
ribs between the cylinder and the furnace lining, which form
so many flues, indicated by the dotted lines «, in fig. 2009 (the L
dotted circle representing the cylinder). These ribs are per-
forated with occasional apertures as shown in jig. 2008, for
the purpose of connecting the adjoining flues; but the main
bearing of the hollow cylinder is given =
by five piers, 3, 5, c, formed of bricks [4 2009
projecting over and beyond each other. [7 | SEI =
it excludes the smoke of the fire. The crucible, or large sagger, A, 4, figs. 2008
and 2009, is a cylinder, covered in with a dome x, Itis placed
over the fireplace n, and enclosed within a furnace of ordinary 7
brickwork p pb, lined with fire-bricks 8, £. Between this lining ; }
and the cylinder, a space of about 4 inches all round is left x) 2008
One of these piers, ¢, is placed at the
back of the fireplace, and the other four |p
at the sides },. These project nearly A
into the centre, in order to support and be == ae
strengthen the bottom; while the flues H Vee a
Ut
pass up between them, unite at the top MN Lett WOES
of the cylinder in the dome 1, and dis-
charge the smoke by the chimney n.
The lining x, z, of the chimney is
rf
HHH HHA HEA
HH
open.on one side to form the door, by
which the cylinder is charged and discharged. The opening is permanently closed as
high as #, fig. 2008, by an iron plate plastered over with fire-clay ; above this it
is left open, and shut merely with temporary brickwork while the furnace is going.
When this is removed, the furnace ean be filled or emptied through the opening, the
cylindric crucible having a correspondent aperture in its side, which is closed in the
following ingenious way, while the furnace is in action. The workman first spreads a
layer of clay round the edge of the opening: he then sticks the stems of broken pipes
across from one side to the other, and plasters up the interstices with clay, exactly like
the lath-and-plaster work of a ceiling. The whole of the cylinder, indeed, is constructed
in this manner, the bottom being composed of a great many fragments of pipe-stems,
radiating to the centre; these are coated at the circumference with a layer of clay.
A number of bowls of broken pipes are inserted in the clay; in these other frag-
ments are placed upright to form the sides of the cylinder. The ribs round the out-
side, which form the fiues, are made in the same way, as well as the dome 1; by
which means the cylindric case may be made very strong, and yet so thin as to
require little clay in the building, a moderate fire to heat it, while it is not apt to split
asunder. The pipes are arranged within, as shown in the figure, with their bowls
resting against the circumference, and their ends supported on circular pieces of clay,
7, which are set up in the centre for that purpose. Six small ribs are made to project
inwards all round the crucible, at the proper heights to support the different ranges
of pipes, without haying so many resting on each other as to endanger their being
crushed by the weight. By this mode of distribution, the furnace may contain 50
gross, or 7,200 pipes, all baked within eight or nine hours; the fire being gradually
raised, or damped if occasion be, by a plate partially slid over the chimney-top.
TODDY, Sura, Mee-ra, ‘sweet juice.’ The proprietors of cocoa-nut plantations in
the peninsula of India, and in the Island of Ceylon, instead of collecting a crop of
nuts, frequently reap the produce of the trees by extracting sweet juice from the
flower-stalk, When the flowering branch is half shot, the toddy-drawers bind the
stock round with a young cocoa-nut-leaf in several places, and beat the spadix with a
short baton of ebony. This beating is repeated daily for ten or twelve days, and
about the end of that period a portion of the flower-stalk is eut off. The stump then
begins to bleed, and’ an earthy vessel (chatty) or a calabash is suspended under it, to
receive the juice, which is by the Europeans called toddy,
1022 TOOTH, ARTIFICIAL MANUFACTURE ©
A thin slice is taken from the stump daily, and the toddy is removed twice a day.
A cocoa-nut frequently pushes out. a new spadix once a month; and after each spadix
begins to bleed, it continues to produce freely for a month, by which time another is
ready to supply its place. The old spadix continues to give a little juice for another
month, after which it withers; so that there are sometimes two pots attached to a tree
at one time, but never more. Each of these spadices, if allowed to grow, would pro-
duce a bunch of nuts from two to twenty. Trees in a good soil produce twelve
bunches in the year; but when less favourably situated, they often do not give more
than six bunches. The quantity of six English pints of toddy is sometimes yielded
by a tree daily.
Toddy is much in demand as a beverage in the neighbourhood of villages, especially
where European troops are stationed. When it is drunk before sunrise, it is a cool,
delicious, and particularly wholesome beverage; but by eight or nine o'clock fermen-
tation has made some progress, and it is then highly intoxicating.!
TOL is a brownish-red balsam, extracted from the stem of the Myroxylon tolui-
Jerum, a tree which grows in South America. It is composed of resin, oil, and benzoic
acid. Having an agreeable odour, it is sometimes used in perfumery. It has a place
in the Materia Medica.
TOLUIDINE. C'H®N (C’H°N). A volatile base isomeric with lutidine,
formed from toluole, by processes analogous in all respects to those by which aniline
is produced from benzole. é
TOLUOLE. C'H® (C’H'), Syn. Hydruret of toluenyle. A hydrocarbon pro-
duced in the destructive distillation of the resin of tolu. It is also produced by the
decomposition of toluylic acid by baryta at a hightemperature. Coal-naphtha contains
it in large quantity. For its physical properties, see Carno-Hypripgs.
TOMBAC, or White Copper. An alloy of copper and zine, containing 85 per cent.
of the former and 15 of the latter.
TON. An English weight of 20 cwts., according to the statute, or 2,240 Ibs, It
varies in different districts :—
South Wales, from 2,400 ibs. to 2,618 lbs,
Ayrshire, from 2,464 lbs. to 2,520 lbs,
North Staffordshire, coal, 2,400 lbs.
Do. do. stone, 2,520 lbs.
Copper ores are sold by the ton of 21 ewts. of 112 lbs. or 2,352 Ibs,
In Neweastle the leases are by the ton of 440 bolls of 86 gallons each =48 tons,
11 ewts. 2 qrs. 17 lbs. statute.
TONKA or TONQUIN BEAN. The fruit of the Dipteryr odorata affords a
concrete crystalline volatile oil (stearoptene), called Cowmarine by the French. It is
extracted by digestion with alcohol, which dissolves the stearoptene and leaves a fat
oil. It has an agreeable smell, and a warm taste, It is fusible at 122° Fahr., and
volatile at higher heats.
TOOTH, ARTIFICIAL MANUFACTURE. Teeth should be made of the
best ivory. The following, however, is one of the processes adopted for the artificial
manufacture of teeth. Pure quartz is calcined by a moderate heat. When taken
from the fire it is thrown into cold water, which breaks it into numberless pieces,
The pieces of calcined quartz are ground into fine powder. Next fluor-spar, free from
all impurities, is ground up in like manner into a fine powder,
The next step is to mix together nearly equal parts, by weight, of the powdered
spar and quartz. This mixture is again ground to a greater fineness, Oxide of tin
is now added to it, for the purpose of producing an appropriate colour, and water and
china clay to make it plastie and give it consistency. This mixture resembles soft
paste, which is transferred to the hands of females, who are engaged in filling moulds
with it. After the paste has been moulded into proper shape, two small platina
rivets are inserted near the base of each tooth, for the purpose of fastening it (by the
dentist), toa plate in the mouth, They are now transferred to a furnace, where the
are ‘cured,’ as it is technically called ; that is, half-baked or hardened. ‘The tee
are now ready to receive the enamel, which is applied by women ; it consists of spar
and quartz which has been ground, pulverised, and reduced to the state of a soft paste,
which is evenly spread over the half-baked body of the tooth, by means of a delicate
brush. The teeth must be next subjected to an intense heat. They are put into
ovens, lined with platina and heated by a furnace, in which the necessary heat is
obtained. The baking process is superintended by a workman, who occasionally
removes a tooth to ascertain whether those within have been sufficiently baked, This
is indicated by the appearance of the tooth.
+ Acer to the History of the Cocoa-nut Tree. By Henry Marshall, Esq., Deputy Inspector
of Hospitals,
TORTOISE-SHELL 1023
TOPAZ. Tho fundamental form is a scalene 4-sided pyramid; but the secondary
forms have a prismatic character, and are frequently observed in 4-sided prisms,
terminated by 4 planes, The lateral planes of the prism are longitudinally striated.
Fracture conchoidal, uneven; lustre vitreous ; colours, white, yellow, green, blue,
generally of pale shades. Hardness, 8; spec. gray. 8°5. Prismatic topaz con-
sists, according to Berzelius, of alumina, 57°45; silica, 34°24 ; fluoric acid, 7°75. In
a strong heat the faces of crystallisation, but not those of cleavage, are covered with
small blisters, which however immediately crack. With borax, it melts slowly into a
transparent glass. Its powder colours the tincture of violets green, Those crystals
which possess different faces of crystallisation on opposite ends acquire the opposite
electricities on being heated. By friction it acquires positive electricity. ,
. Most perfect crystals of topaz have been found in Siberia, of green, blue, and white
eolours, along with beryl, in the Uralian and Altai mountains, as alsoin Kamtschatka ;
in Brazil, where they generally occur in loose erystals, and pebble-forms of bright
yellow colours; and in Mucla in Asia Minor, in pale straw-yellow regular crystals.
They are also met with in the granitic detritus of Cairngorm in Aberdeenshire. The
blue varieties are absurdly called oriental aquamarine by lapidaries. If exposed to
heat, the Saxon topaz loses its colour and becomes white; the deep yellow Brazilian
varieties assume a pale pink hue, and are then sometimes mistaken for spinelle,
to which, however, they are somewhat inferior in hardness. Topaz is also dis-
tinguishable by its double refractive property. Tavernier mentions a topaz, in the
possession of the Great Mogul, which weighed 157 carats, and cost 20,000/. sterling.
There is a specimen in the Museum of Natural History at Paris which weighs 4 ounces
2 gros. Topazes are not scarce enough to be very highly valued. See Gems,
TORBANITE, or Torbane-Hill mineral. See Bocunan Coat,
TORBITE. A preparation of Peat, for which works were established at Hor-
wich, in Lancashire. It does not appear that this manufacture was attended with
success.
TORREFACTION. Roasting ores to deprive them of sulphur, arsenic, or other
volatile substances, :
TORTOISE-SHELL, or rather scale; a horny substance that covers the hard
strong covering of a bony contexture, which encloses the Testudo imbricata, Linn.
The lamellz or plates of this tortoise are thirteen in number, and may be readily
separated from the bony parts by placing fire beneath the shell, whereby they start
asunder, They vary in thickness from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch, ac-
cording to the age and size of the animal, and weigh from 6 to 25 Ibs, The larger
the animal, the better is the shell. This substance may be softened by the heat of
boiling water; and if compressed in this state by screws in iron or brass moulds, it
may be bent into any shape. The moulds being then plunged in cold water, the shell
becomes fixed in the form imparted by the mould, If the turnings or filings of
tortoise-shell be subjected skilfully to gradually increased compression between
moulds immersed in boiling water, compact objects of any desired ornamental figure
or device may be produced. The soldering of two pieces of scale is easily effected,
by placing their edges together, after they are nicely filed to one bevel, and then
squeezing them strongly between the long flat jaws of hot iron pincers, made some-
what like a hairdresser’s curling tongs. The pincers should be strong, thick, and just
hot enough to brown paper slightly without burning it. They may be soldered also
by the heat of boiling water, applied along with skilful pressure. But in whatever
way this process is attempted, the surfaces to be united should be made very smooth,
level, and clean: the least foulness, even the touch of a finger, or breathing upon them,
would prevent their coalescence. See Horn.
Tortoise-shell is manufactured into various objects, partly by cutting out the shapes
and partly by agglutinating portions of the shell by heat. "When the shell has become
soft by dipping it in hot water, and the edges are in the cleanest possible state without _
grease, they are pressed together with hot flat tongs, and then plunged into cold
water, to fix them in their position. The teeth of the larger combs are parted in
their heated state, or cut out with a thin frame saw, while the shell, equal in size to
two combs with their teeth interlaced, as in jig. 2010, is bent like an arch in the
direction of the length of the teeth, as in fig. 2011. The shell is then flattened, the
points are separated with a narrow chisel or pricker, and the two combs are finished,
while flat, with coarse single-cut files and triangular scrapers. They are finally
warmed, and bent on the knee over a wooden mould, by means of a strap passed round
the foot, just as a shoemaker fixes his last. Smaller combs of horn and tortoise-shell
are parted while flat, by an ingenious machine, with two chisel-formed cutters placed
obliquely, so that each cut produces one tooth. See Rogers’s Comb-cutting Machine,
‘Trans. Soc, Arts,’ vol. xlix. part 2, since improved by Mr. Kelly. In making the
frames for eye-glasses, spectacles, &e., the apertures for the glasses were formerly cut
1024 TRASS.
out to the circular form with a tool something like a carpenter's centre-bit, or with a
crown saw in the lathe. The disks so cut out were used for inlaying in the tops of
boxes, &e. This required a piece of shell as large as the front of the spectacle; but
a piece one-third of the size will now suffice, as the eyes are strained or pulled. A
long narrow piece is cut out, and two slits are made in it withasaw. The shell is
then warmed, the apertures are pulled open, and fastened upon a taper triblet of the
-
2011
pen a ‘Ki
2012
LL
Yo
Lo al
1 2017 fl eee
ey, =
appropriate shape; as illustrated by jigs. 2013, 2014, and 2015. The groove for the
edge of the glass is cut with a small circular cutter, or sharp-edged saw, about three-
eighths or half an inch in diameter; and the glass is sprung in when the frame is
expanded by heat.
In making tortoise-shell boxes, the round plate of shell is first placed centrally over
the edge of the ring, as in fig. 2010; it is slightly squeezed with the small round
edgeblock g, and the whole press is then lowered into the boiling water ; after immer-
sion for about half an hour, it is transferred to the bench, and g is pressed entirely
down, so as to bend the shell into the shape of a saucer, as at jig. 2018, without
cutting or injuring the material ; and the press is then cooled in a water-trough. The
same processes are repeated with the die d, which has a rebate turned away to the
thickness of the shell, and completes the angle of the box to the section, jig. 2017,
ready for finishing in the lathe. It is always safer to perform each of these processes
at two successive boilings and coolings. Two thin pieces are cemented together by
pressure with the die e, and a device may be given by the engraved die f (fig. 2016).
TOSSING or TOZING. A process in dressing ores, by which they are kept
suspended in water by agitation. See Dressine or Orzs.
TOUCH-NEEDLES and TOUCH-STONE are means of ascertaining the
quality of gold trinkets. The touch-needles are bars of known composition, and the
touch-stone is black basalt; according to the streak made by the article to be tested,
as compared with that made by the needles, its quality is inferred.
TOURMALINE. A silico-borate of alumina and several other bases, usually
with fluorine. This mineral is used in the construction of polariscopes, The black
varieties are known as Schorl, the red as Rubellite, and the blue as Indicolite,
TOUS-LES-MOIS. A name given to a kind of starch obtained from the Canna
edulis, one of the Marantacee, or Arrowroot order.
TOW. See Frax.
TRAGACANTH, GUM, (Gomme adracante, Fr.; Traganth, Ger.) See Gum.
TRASS or TARRAS. A German term fora tertiary earth, probably volcanic,
which occupies wide areas in the Eifel district of the Rhine, Its basis appears to be
pumice-stone, mixed with fragments of basalt and calcined slate. When powdered it
is used, like the pozzolano of Italy, as an hydraulic cement,
;
a
TROMPE, THE 1025
TRAVERTIN. A white concretionary limestone deposited from springs holding
carbonate of lime in solution. Travertin is compact; tufa is a porous body,
TREACLE is the viscid brown uncrystallisable syrup which drains from the sugar-
refining moulds, Its spec. gray. is generally 1:4, and it contains upon an average 75
per cent. of solid matter. See Sugar.
TREFOIL, BITTER. One of the clovers which possesses a bitter taste.
TRENT SAND or WHARPE. A river sand found in some parts of the Trent,
and also in the Severn, and some other places; used for polishing German silver.
TRIPOLI (Terre pourric, Fr.; Tripel, Ger.) is a mineral of an earthy fracture, a
yellowish-grey or white colour, composition impalpably fine, meagre to the touch,
does not adhere to the tongue, and burns white.
M. Khrenberg has shown that those friable homogeneous rocks, which consist
almost. entirely of silica, are actually composed of the exuvie or rather the skeletons
of Infusoria (animaleule), of the family of Barcellarie, and the genera Cocconema,
Gonphonema, &e. They are recognised with such distinctness in the microscope, that
their analogies with living species may be readily traced, and in many cases there is
no appreciable difference between the living and the fossil forms. The species are dis-
tinguished by the number of partitions or transverse lines upon their bodies. The
length is about ;i,th of a line. M. Ehrenberg made'his observations upon the tripolis
of Billen in Bohemia, of Santafiora in Tuscany, of the Isle of France, and of Francisbad,
near Eger.
Tripoli is said by Brooke and Miller to be found near Prague in Saxony, in France,
Tripoli, Corfu. Tripoli has been confounded by many writers with the English
Rottenstone. Mr. Kirwan, in his ‘Elements of Mineralogy,’ says, ‘Mr. Haase who
has lately analysed it found 100 parts of it to contain 90 of silicious earth, 7 of argill,
and 8 of iron; but the red sort probably contains more iron,’
TROMPE, THE. The zrompe, or water-blowing engine, figs. 2019, 2020, 2021,
is employed in some of the great metallurgical works of the Continent. Fig. 2019 is
——
2019
the elevation ; fig. 2020 is a vertical section, made at right-angles to the elevation.
The machine is formed of two cylindrical pipes ; the bodies of the ¢rompe, b b, set up-
Vox, ITI, ; 8U
1026 ; TUBES
right, called the funnel, which terminate above in a water-cistern @, and below in a
close basin under ¢, called the tub or drum. The conical part p of the funnel has
been called ééranguillon, being strangled, as it were, in order that the water discharged
into the body of the trompe shall not fill the pipe in falling, but be divided into many
streamlets. Below this narrow part, holes, gq, are perforated obliquely through the
substance of the trompe, called the vent-holes or nostrils, for admitting the air, which
the water carries with it in its descent. The air afterwards parts from the water, by
dashing upon a cast-iron slab, placed in the drum upon the pedestal-d. An aperture,
at the bottom of the drum, allows the water to flow away after its fall; but to prevent
the air from escaping along with it, the water as it issues is received in a chest,
Zmon, divided into two parts by a vertical side-plate between mm. By raising or
lowering this plate, the water may be maintained at any desired level within the drum,
so as to give the included air any determinate degree of pressure, The superfluous
water then flows off by the hole 0. See AsprraTor,
The nae ef, fig. 2021, is fitted to the upper part of the drum: it is divided, by ©
the point f, into three tubes, of which the principal one is destined for the furnace of
cupellation, whilst the other two, gg, serve, for different melting furnaces. Each of
these tubes ends in a leathern pocket, and an iron nose-pipe, %, adjusted in the tuyére
of the furnace. At Pesy, and in the whole of Savoy, a floodgate is fitted into the
upper cistern, a, to regulate the admission of water into the trompe; but in Carniola
the funnel is closed with a wooden plug, suspended to a cord, which goes round a
pulley mounted upon a horizontal axis, as shown in fig. 2020. By the plug a being
raised more or less, merely the quantity of water required for the operation is admitted.
The plug is pierced lengthwise with an oblique hole, ¢c, in which the small tube ¢ is
inserted, with its top some way above the water level, through which air may be ad-
mitted into the heart of the column descending into the trompe p q.
The ordinary height of the trompe apparatus is about 26 or 27 feet to the upper level
of the water-cistern ; its total length is 11 meters (364 feet), and its width 2 feet, to
give room for the drums. It is situated 10 meters (333 feet) from the melting furnace.
This is the case at the smelting works of Jauerberg, in Upper Carniola,
TRONA. A name given by the Africans to Natron.
TROUBLES. Disturbances in the strata, interfering with the progress of work
in a coal mine,
TRUFFLES. A mushroom-like vegetable production, found underground in
Northamptonshire and elsewhere, but imported as a luxury from Italy.
TUSES. The manufacture of iron tubes for gas, water, and other purposes has
become one of extreme importance. Mr. Russell, of Wednesbury, patented a process
which has been carried out on a very large scale. In this process plate-iron, previously
rolled to a proper thickness, is cut into such strips or lengths as may be desirable,
and in breadth corresponding with the width of the tube intended to be formed.
The sides of the metal are then
bent up with swages in the usual
way, so as to bring the two edges
as close as possible together. The
iron thus bent is then placed in
an air or blast furnace, and
brought to a welding heat, in
which state it is withdrawn and
placed under the hammer. Fig.
2022, a, is the anvil having a
block or bolster, with a groove
suited to and corresponding with a
similar groove B, in the face of the
block, c is a wheel with projecting
knobs, which, striking in succes-
sion upon the iron-shod end of the
hammer-shaft, causes it to strike
rapidly on the tube. In this pro-
cess the tube is repeatedly heated
and hammered, until the welding
is complete from end to end. A
mandril may be inserted or not during the operation. When the edges of iron have
been thus thoroughly united, the tube is again heated in a furnace, and then passed
through a pair of grooved rollers similar to those used in the production of rods, fig.
2022. Suppose a tube p, to be passing through these rollers, of which jig. 2023
represents a crose-section, immediately upon its being delivered from the groove it
receives an egg-shaped core of metal fixed upon the extrémity of the rod x, over
TUBES 1027
which the tube sliding on its progress, the inside and outside are perfected together.
Mr. Cort patented a similar process for tho manufacture of gun-barrels.
Brass or copper tubes are formed of rolled metal, which is cut to the required
breadth by means of revolving disks: in the large sizes of tubes the metal is partially
curved in its length by means of a pair of rolls; when inthis condition it is passed
through a steel hole or a die, a plug being held in such a position as allows the metal
to pass between it and the interior of the hole. Oil is used to lubricate the metal ;
the motion is communicated by power, the drawing apparatus being a pair of huge
nippers, which holds the brass, and is attached to a chain and revolves round a wind-
lass or cylinder. The tube in its unsoldered state is annealed, bound round at
intervals of a few inches with iron wirs, and solder and borax applied along the seam.
The operation of soldering is completed by passing the tube through an air-stove,
heated with ‘cokes’ or ‘breezes’, which melts the solder, and unites the two edges
of the metal, and forms a perfect tube ; it is then immersed in a solution of sulphuric
acid, to remove scaly deposits on its surface, the wire and extra solder having been
previously removed; it is then drawn through a ‘finishing hole plate, when the tube
is completed.
Mandril-drawn tubes, as the name indicates, are drawn upon a very accurately
turned steel mandril; by this means the internal diameter is rendered smooth; the
tube formed by this process is well fitted for telescopes, syringes, small pump-
eylinders, &e.
The manufacture in all its details is described by Mr. W. C. Aitken, of Birmingham,
in the following article :—
_ Manufacture of Tubes in Lead, Tin, Iron, Stcel and Brass, whether soldered,
plain, taper, ornamental, solid, or seamless.
The introduction of water into public and private establishments as provision for
heating and ventilating, the use of tubes for the conveyance of gas, the large demands
for tubes also required in the construction of locomotive and marine engine-boilers,
have been the means of developing what is now an important branch of national in-
dustry. Tubes or pipes are essential requisites of the day, and may be said to have
originated in the practical application of science to the wants of thepresent and coming
generations: as pipes to let pure water in and carry foul water out, pipes for warming,
ventilating, and drainage, pipes to bring in gas, and to carry away the results of its
combustion, pipes for the rich man’s marble or earthenware bath, pipes for the poor
man’s brick kitchen, pipes for fountains and cesspools, for arresting conflagration
and pestilence, for the locomotive on the iron road, and the steamboat as it cleaves the
ocean-wave. This brief allusion to the multifarious uses to which pipes or tubes
are applied may be accepted either as introductory to the modus operandi or means by
which tubes are produced from various metals. There is every reason to believe
that in the early stages of tube-manufacture tubes generally were formed by casting,
the.aperture being produced by means of a core of sand laid ina print in a mould.
They were cast in short lengths, and soldered together, or they were turned up from
flat sheet-metal and the edges united by means of soldering if lead or brass; or if of
iron, they were welded ; the methods of manipulation now adopted arising from the
increasing demand for such forms of metal.
Lead-pipes were formerly produced by being cast in sand-moulds, a cylinder or ‘ core’
of sand being laid in corresponding to the internal diameter of the aperture. These
2029 2025 2026
See N ae
N EEE
M
Co}
were cast in short lengths and soldered together, or they were produced from milled
or rolled sheet lead and. soldered together with soft or plumber’s solder at the seam or -
junction of the two edges of the sheet lead: then followed the process by which the
38u2
1028 TUBES
tube was elongated from a thick cylinder, or billet of lead, by means of the
drawbench, the ‘illet in its interior being supported by a mandril of steel; and in
that condition it was drawn through a succession of wortles or tools which diminished
the external diameter of the billet until the desired external diameter of the tube
was arrived at. As, however, the drawbench is an important machine in the
production of tube formed of every kind of metal, a cut is here introduced to show its
construction.
In fig. 2025, an elevation of drawbench, a a a 4 represents the frame of the draw-
bench; c the pinion connected with the driving shaft of the engine; B the toothed
wheel; D DD D, the endless chain; x the clip to which the plyers are attached ; F the
two snags or standards against which the die mis held in the process of drawing.
Fig. 2026, represents an end section of the drawbench at F;
2033 fig. 2028, representation of a section of endless chain; jig,
Y; 2029, section of wheel and pinion. xu represents the driving
y shaft, and @ the pulley or sheaf in which the chain moves,
y Fig. 2030, x shows hook which is inserted into interstices
Z of endless chain at n, into which the plyers or nippers are
U
Z
2034 A
Lp RE ™
Crs
D D ;
WY MEL EEC ECE MEAEA ELL Lada «2.085
attached in which the spit, mandril, or metal is placed and held in the process of
drawing the tube. Fig. 2027 represents the ‘snags’ or standards against which the
tool mis held, Fig. 2031 represents section of tool a; jig. 2032 section through ¢
showing projections which catch the interstices or apertures in chain, jig. 2028,
and drag it along ; a corresponding pulley or sheaf is placed at 1, fig. 2025. .
Reverting to the manufacture of lead-tube, the billet was cast in metal moulds or chills,
thus, fig. 2033, aarepresents metal mould and 8 the steel mandril ; into the space co, the
lead was poured; the result was a casting or‘ billet,’ when the mould was opéned, and the
mandril B withdrawn. The.result was a hollow cylinder, jig. 2034, in section. Into
the space 8 B a mandril was introduced, jig. 2035, in form corresponding to its internal
diameter, the parallel part of mandril p p being of the length of the intended tube.
The ‘ billet’ alluded to was passed on to the mandril pp; and held by the shoulder of
the diminishing part thereof m front of the nose of the billet, and on the reduced
2036 portion of the mandril a series of ‘wortles’ or ‘dies’
were placed, diminishing in diameter to the required
» external size of the tube ; in this condition the mandril
F and billet was taken to the drawbench, the largest die
, placed against the snags or rest for the die, and the
billet drawn through and thereby reduced in diameter
and elongated: then followed: drawing through the
other and smaller or diminishing dies in succession as
described ; the last operation consisted in withdrawing
the spit or mandril: an easy operation, and simply
effected by reversing the billet and using a die, the full
size of the mandril to be withdrawn, the drawbench
assisting in the operation. . By a similar process,
Brock Tix tube, now so largely used in gas-fitting, for
liquor-fountains, and other purposes, is still made; its
brightness being produced in the process of drawing
by a cutting-die, which shaves off a thin portion of the
metal and exposes its brilliancy: the polish is given by
the dies which follow in succession. It will, however,
be evident that the process alluded to is a slow one, and
but imperfectly adapted to supply the great demand for
lead-pipes now existing. An exceeding rapid process
for its production is now adopted, in which an hydraulic
press, operating on a molten mass of lead, forces it in
its melted state through a suitably-formed annular
space, and produces lengths of tube limited only in
their length by the quantity of liquid lead operated
upon. The process will be best understood by reference
to the cut, fig. 2036, which consists of a double-ended piston, operated upon by a
hydraulic apparatus, a lead furnace, and a nosel or exit from which issues the pipe.
TUBES 1029
made. Supported on pillars x x stands an arrangement of metal in which is inclosed
an annular furnace under oc, represented by a a, with provision for introducing fire. In
centre, marked o, is the melted lead contained in a cylinder fitted with piston, con-
nected with that of the hydraulic press, p; the lead is introduced at the spout or
feeder, B ; on the cylinder, c, being filled, the feeder, B, is unscrewed, and a solid plug
introduced. The white line ascending through the space, c, is a mandril, which is
the size of the interior of the intended tube. x represents suitably-formed dies, the
size of the external diameter of the tube required; the space between the interior of
the die and the exterior of the mandril is that through which the melted lead is forced
which forms the tube, it being formed, congealed, or solidified at the point where it
. comes in contact with the external atmosphere, the forcing up of the lead being pro-
duced by the water in gate-pipe @ being connected with the pump which, set in motion,
forces the water. under the packing of the piston u; this raises it, and it in turn,
operating on the piston, which works up in the interior of the cylinder containing the
fluid, or melted lead, presses it out from the space between the die and the mandril.
As the tube is made it is wound into coils on a revolving drum r, which is placed over
the press ; the size of the mandril and the die may be changed, and tubes of lead of
any size and length can be produced by this ingenious process, alike simple and
speedy in its operation.
The. Manufacture of Wroughi-iron Tube. There isan immense demand for wrought-
iron welded tube now universally used in conducting gas for lighting, water, steam
for heating, or for boilers for locomotive- and marine-engine purposes (though there
are reasons for believing that for the last two purposes the application of good
brass tubes as a substitute is on the increase). The first impetus given to the
manufacture of welded iron tube arose immediately after the practical demonstration
of William Murdock as to the possibility of lighting public establishments by means
of gas, consequent on the experiments made by him at Redruth in Cornwall in the
year 1792, the facility afforded by iron of being united by welding naturally sug-
gested iron tubes as a means of conveying the new lighting agent. No doubt the idea
of applying iron-pipe for the purpose arose from the very great quantity of gun-
barrels made for the construction of the ‘Brown Bess’ guns used in the continental
wars terminating in the year 1815. Great quantities of barrels, incapable of
standing the necessary charges in proving, were thrown on one side, and when the
introduction of gas began to be favourably entertained, these waste barrels were
united together by means of screwing the ends of the barrels, and connecting them
by means of ferrules of iron screwed internally; they were thus converted or
made into long lengths; the ordinary length of gun-barrels permitted of their
being readily welded up the joint or seam, when the two edges of the ‘skelp,’ as
the piece of iron was called from which the barrels were made, were brought in
contact. Of course the kind of gun-barrels referred to were not of the first class; but
for ordinary use, simply a skelp of iron beaten in a groove, or partially turned up by
a hammer in a grooved tool placed on the anvil until they formed a half- closed tube
of iron, and they were finally lap-joint-welded, i.c. the two edges of the skelp, when
in a position that they overlapped each other, such operation being performed entirely
by manual labour. Tho. next step consisted in application of the tilt-hammer
or hammer worked by power, see jig. 2022, and eventually the welding and
reduction of the billet or turned-up skelp was effected by rolls, see jigs. 2023,
and 2024. However much and numerous the various patents for the manu-
facture of iron-tube may have operated in improving the production of iron
tubing, it is very evident, that of the number many have been abandoned as
worthless or too complicated and expensive in their operation. Thus Cook in
1808 suggested three several processes for the making of barrels or tubes: i.e. to
drill a hole through a solid cylinder of iron, introduce a mandril and then reduce
the external surface by drawing down by grooved rolls; to weld up a strip or
skelp as already described; or to force a flat disk of iron into a cup-like form, and
elongate the same by drawing down or rolling out. In 1811 a patent was taken out
in which the turned-up skelp was welded on a grooved anvil or swage, the
hammer being moved by power, an internal support being used. Osborne in 1817
used grooved rolls for ‘turning up’: the mandril was stationary, and held by means
of a shield. Russell in 1824 welded by means of a hollow-faced hammer and a
tool; the latter held the tube while the operation of welding was being proceeded
with: this patent was unsuccessful, and was abandoned. Whitehouse in 1825
suggested the idea that an internal support might be got rid of altogether, and the
weld effected in a ‘butt’ jointed tube by external pressure only; this is the method
now generally adopted as being the simplest and best for the production of iron-tubes
for purposes of gas-fittings. In 1831, Royl attempted to evade Whitehouse’s patents
of welding without’ internal support by using rolls instead of bell-mouth plyers, or
10380 TUBES
compressible tools or dies. In 1826, Harvey and Brown used a long-ended mandril
with bit attached thereto, corresponding to the internal diameter of the iron tube
which was to be welded. Russell in 1836 attempted to ey the production of
iron tube by tarrling up the end of the skelp to a tube-like form, and when the iron
was at welding heat, on being drawn through the tool, the entire length of the skelp
was turned up, and welded by one operation or heating, either by means of rollers or
bell-mouthed plyers, as already described. Prosser in 1840 followed in intention
the last-deseribed process, using, however, a tool composed of four pulleys, operated —
upon by pinions, and a long-shanked mandril with a thick end: the end of theskel
was in this process turned up to enter the combined roller die; it was heated a
welded, passing over the thick part of the mandril when being welded. A united
patent of Russell and Whitehouse, taken out in 1842, and specially adapted for the
production of locomotive- and marine-engine boiler tubes, consisted in introducing a
mandril of smaller diameter into the turned-up tube, the edges of which were
thinned ; the mandril lay immediately under the overlapping edges of the joint: the
tube being heated, was then passed under rollers, which pressed the laps or edges of
the skelp together on the internal support and produced a firm, strong, and substantial
joint or weld. In 1844-5; Russell, instead of passing the tube through the tools, used
a moveable bed on which the tube to be welded was laid; the mandril in this
process was either placed in the interior of the tube, or was held stationary at the
point of welding, or immediately at the point of contact or pressure of the rolls, and
the tube passing under it was welded: the tube in this process required two heatings to
weld it into its entire length. It will be evident that the majority of these patents
ring the changes on the roller alternating with the ‘plyer’ mode of tvelding; the
former method having been used by Mr. Bush in 1780, not for welding purposes as
regards tubes, but for the production of lead-tube, being used by him for rolling down
the thick billet of lead in order to elongate and reduce it in its external diameter.
Of the patents noticed, the majority depend on the use of rollers as a means of
welding in connection with an internal mandril, pointing to the conclusion that,
previous to the introduction of the amended Patent Law in 1852, such arrange-
ment of tools or welding machines included therein must have formed, as they did,
fertile sources of litigation. A somewhat ingenious process for making tubes to be
applied for locomotive and marine-engine boiler purposes was carried into execution
by the late Mr. Richard Prosser in the years 1852-3. In this process the welding of
the tubes was attempted to be got rid of altogether by a process dependent entirely on
the accuracy of the preparation of the skelp, and the closing of its edges ; the skelp,
being placed on the bed ofa planing machine, had its two outer edges planed down to
half the thickness on the opposite sides of the sheet, thus; see , fig, 2087, a stationary
2037 2039
4 Wide
cast-iron grooved bed die, the entire length of the intended tube, with corresponding
convex tool, which descended and converted the flat metal into the form represented at
B, fig. 2037. In this condition a concave die, descending in a similar manner, turned over
the edges of the metal, which was eventually forced down, and assumed the cylindrical
form as represented at c, as the tightness of the tube was dependent on the accuracy
of the planing of the edges of the skelp and the closeness with which these edges were
brought together, the only means of retaining these firmly being the cohesion of the
joints arising from the pressure of the water in the interior of the boiler. Perfect as
these joints were made, the vibration of the engine speedily opened them, and the tube,
it is almost unnecessary to add, was not a success,
The manufacture of welded ‘edge and edge’ or ‘ butt’ and ‘lap’ jointed iron tube
is practised as follows:—Theiron of which the tube is made is received from the manu-
facturer of iron in the form, thickness, and breadth required for the tubes of the
various diameters and thicknesses of metal necessary for the purposes intended: it is
cut into lengths, and then heated to a red heat in a reverberatory furnace of sufficient
length to heat the iron at one operation. This furnace js similar in construction to a
soldering stove, shown at fig. 2047; the heat is also regulated by dampers; it ean,
however, be raised to a higher temperature. When heated the ‘sketp’ at its end is
beaten into a semi-tubular form, and after passing it through the tool, it is taken hold
TUBES 1031
of with the plyers of the drawbench and drawn through its entire length, the tool
either being a pair of rolls, as in fig. 2040, or a two-part conical pair of dies united
together as a pair of plyers ; see ig. 2038. In fig. 2039 the operation of the die, &c.,
is shown in welding, after a second heating: a is section of bell-mouthed tool; the
unwelded tube; c, the portion drawn through the tool or die, and welded in passing
through ; this completes the manufacture of a ‘butt or jump-joint welded tube for gas
or the transmission of a fluid in which the pressure is not. great.’
In the manufacture of a ‘lap’ welded tube, the manipulation is more complicated,
as the edges of the iron to be welded require to be thinned preparatory to welding, and
this is effected by drawing the edge of the sheet against a suitably-formed cutter,
which cuts away the desired metal from the opposite sides of the metal, which come
- 9040 together, and form the ‘lap’ to be welded; see fig. 2041
2041, The fiat strip is then worked into an oval form
in its entire length, the lap being in the centre of the
longest diameter of the oval in a transverse section; -
see jig. 2042. Down the centre of this oval-formed
tube or unwelded cylinder, a mandril is introduced, a, GR
which forms an internal support: the tube being QW G
heated, and the mandril inserted, the tube is passed CSS 4
through rolJs to effect and complete the weld. The
tube is brought into a cylindrical form by passing through rolls, the reverse or largest
diameter being compressed or converted thereby into a cylindrical tube; the rolls are
operated upon by screws which permit of their being pressed down into closer con-
tact, and to convert an oval opening in the rolls when asunder or not screwed down
into a cireular opening, when the rolls are brought into closer contact.
The Manufacture of Steel Tubes for Ordnance, Gun-barrels, and other purposes, has
recently been carried into practical usefulness, and more particularly so since the
extensive application of the Bessemer process. Ingots of iron produced by the process
named are reheated, and hammered in every direction, so as to ensure perfect homo-
geneity of substance and material, and the ingot reduced in thickness and increased
in breadth. To form a cylinder for a heavy gun or rifle, the centre of the blank of
steel is operated upon by a punch moved by machinery, which not only condenses the
metal operated upon, but in moving radially forms or raises the disk-like mass into a
partially-formed solid-ended crude cup, eventually into a steel billet: into the centre
of the billet a mandril is inserted, and it is elongated and compressed until the
desired length and dimensions of the tube required are arrived at. The lightness and
strength of steel in a tubular form suggests its applicability to large-sized shafting
hitherto made of solid iron, and to other purposes where great masses of steel were
forged solid and bored out. When this process of manufacture is perfected, and
consequently cheapened by being more generally applied, steel tubes, cylinders, and
hollow shafts will supersede the use of tubes, large solid shaftings, and many tubular
articles now made of iron.
The Manufactureof Brass Tube of the ordinary kind, known as Soldered.—This
variety of brass tube, so largely used in the manufacture of gas-fittings, cornice-poles,
and other articles in which brass tube is employed in the construction, is made from
brags cast in thick strips, and rolled out into sheets of the thickness required. These
sheets are cut into ribbons in breadth corresponding to that necessary to produce, when
turned up, tubes of the various diameters required. This is done by means of revoly-
ing disks of steel, or cutters fitted into a frame, and operated
upon by a winech-handle when worked by hand, or attached to
a shaft in connection with an engine when moved by power,
see fig. 2043: uB, represents a cast-iron frame; cc, the re-
volving disks of steel, or cutters; a, a moveable gauge, in
order to determine the breadth and guide the edge of the
sheet brass to be cut; BB are pinions which are attached to the
spindles which carry the cutters, and p the winch-handle to
move the cutters when worked by hand.
When the metal of which the tube is made is thin, and the tube is small in dia.
moter, it is readily formed into a cylinder by simply converting the end of the ribbon
into a tange by hammering together the metal which forms the end of the ribbon, in
order to allow it to enter the drawing tool, using also an additional funnel-shaped tool
to gather up or concave the ribbon in its width. This is assisted by a tapering iron
plug held in the funnel-shaped gathering-up tool already alluded to. This arrange-
ment is represented in fig. 2044: a representing the snag of drawbench against which
the tool rests; 3, the tool or die; c, the trumpet-shaped or ‘gathering-up’ die; », an
iron tapering plug; D, a wedge, in order to prevent ufrom being drawn in and stopping
the metal being turned up in its passage through the ‘ gathering-up’ tool and die, thus
20438
1032 TUBES
converting the ribbon of brass into a tubular form, the edges of the ribbon forming a
longitudinal opening down the entire length of the partially-formed tube : this longi-
tudinal opening or slit and the edges of the metal are brought closer together by re-
moving the wedge p, and checking the passage of the ribbon, when the pull of the
drawbench brings the two edges of the partially-formed tube closer together. Tubes
of larger diameter and of thicker metal, however, require the breadth of metal neces-
sary for their construction to be rendered concave in their entire length, to facilitate
the operation of turning the metal up; and this is done by means of a pair of rolls,
one of which has on it a series of projecting beads of varying diameters in convexity ;
the corresponding roll has corresponding concave grooves, as shown in fig. 2045. The
2044 2045
exis 6
width of metal is presented to that portion of the roll which will impart the necessary
degree of concavity to the strip in its entire length. It is then passed through the
rolls, and in passing through is converted into a concave trough-like piece of sheet
metal. As in former descriptions in reference to thin metal, the end of the metal is
beaten intoa tange to be caught by the plyers of the drawbench. This tange is passed
through the drawing tool, laid hold of by the plyers, and drawn through the tool; its
edges are drawn together by a final pinch or pull of the drawbench. The next opera-
tion is that of soldering or uniting the two edges of the metal together: previous to
this the partially-formed tube is annealed, and immersed in a solution of weak acid,
which removes the scale and grease used in lubricating the metal to facilitate its pas-
sage through the tool in turning up from a ribbon to its tube-like form.. After the
acid is removed by immersion in pure water, the open-jointed tube is in a condition to
be soldered at the joint; previous, however, to this it is necessary to bind the tube
round with wire at greater or less distances, in order to prevent the seam from opening
in the fire when the metal becomes relaxed with the heat of the soldering stove. The
wire used is annealed or soft-iron wire; it is passed round the tube, and its ends
twisted together; see fig. 2046. Along the open joint is laid granulated brass solder,
mixed with borax, the latter acting as a flux, at the same time keeping the edges of
the jointclean. The solder fuses at a lower temperature than the tube to be soldered.
When the solder has been distributed along the seam of the tube (this and the pre-
ceding operation usually being performed by women and girls), the tube is in a con-
dition to be passed into the hands of the solderer. The soldering furnace or stove
has a provision for a fire 6 or 7 feet long, which burns in a firebrick square tunnel,
open at both ends for the introduction of the unsoldered tube at one end, and when
soldered to remove it at the opposite end. The fuel used is small coke or ‘ breezes ;’
coal until reduced to coke would prevent by its smoke and consequent low heat the
fusion of the solder. Fig. 2047 shows a section through length of a soldering stove,
and fig. 2048 a perpendicular section of the same. AAAAA, fig. 2047, is brickwork;
DD, dampers, to regulate the draught of fire and increase or diminish its intensity ;
2047 2048 cc are iron bars, on which those rest
; on which the fire is placed ; and nx,
the tube which is to undergo the
. soldering process. ‘The pipe is in-
serted at one end; the fire playing
under and over it, speedily heats the
tube ; the necessary heat to fuse the
solder arrived at, it fuses and unites
the two edges of the metal, and the
a operation of soldering is completed.
: If the tube has been bound round
with wires, these are untwisted and taken off, and in order to get rid of the borax, the
tubes are immersed in long troughs of wood, lined with lead and filled with a ‘pickle,’
composed of a solution of oil of vitriol and water. After remaining in this bath for a
limited period, and being rinsed out in water, the superfluous solder is filed off, and
the tube is in a condition to receive its final finish in the drawbench, which is effected
by placing a drawing-tool so formed that its internal diameter has more friction on the
tube than the one used for ‘turning up’ the tube from the ribbon, the tange of the tube
_<_ i
TUBES 1033
is passed through the tool, and laid hold of by the plyers attached to the chain of the
bench, the wheels are thrown into gear, and the tube is drawn through and receives in
the operation the fine smooth surface apparent on well and carefully drawn brass tubes.
The Ornamentation of Tubes in Brass, §e.—The action of the drawbench being, as
its name indicates, to draw or pull a partially-formed cylinder through a steel tool or
die, the tool or die being placed at right angles, the aperture in the centre of the tool
being placed parallel to the surface of the top of the drawbench, suggests that if the
tube is cylindrical, reeded, fluted, square, oval, hexagonal, polygonal, or angular in
its entire length, any of these forms may readily be produced, by simply substituting
a draw-plate, the aperture of which corresponds to the external configuration of the
desired form of the tube. Tubes which have spiral, concave, or convex twists or
threads, traversing their entire length, however, require pecu-
liarly formed tools or dies, and an arrangement in their use to
meet the requirements of the desired style of ornamentation.
Tubes shown in jig. 2049, a Bc, are produced from metal,
first ornamented by the introduction of perforated sheet zinc
between two sheets of metal, and in that position the three
sheets are passed through a pair of rolls, the perforated zine,
by the pressure in rolling, being forced into the surface of
the brass to be ornamented ; the raised portions of ornament
in relief; as the quatrefoils, disks, and diamonds, correspond-
ing to the perforations in the zinc introduced between the
two sheets of brass to be ornamented. This style of orna-
mentation of flat’ metal was introduced by R. F. Sturges, of
Birmingham, in the year 1852, and is identical with the pro-
cess employed in the production of the plates used to produce
impressions from natural objects, and known as Nature-
Printing. The same effect would be produced by steel rolls cut with ornamental
devices on their outer circumference, but the expense of such rolls being very great, the
perforated zinc, considering the limited character of the demand for such tubes, is more
economical. The ornamental metal being cut up into the breadth required, is made
into tube by the process already described as that by which ordinary soldered cylindrical
brass tube is made.
Another variety of ornamental tube is produced by a very ingenious process intro-
duced also in the year 1852, by Mr. Fearn. Inthis process the ornament is impressed
on the surface of the tube after it is made: the tool used is formed by a construction
of rolls as shown at fig. 2050, the internal or hollow surface of the rollers which press
2052
e eye
nu
-
i
Bi
(2 SB AE SES:
Sw, AS ot cy a
AEE ate a
=]
= A= Rees Kee.
aE:
ny
H
| aig
hin
!
up
M@
tly
|
Ni Mh
kee
=)
upon the tube being eut with the necessary design, the cylindrical or other tube to be
ornamented is supported internally by a mandril, and in passing it through the com-
bined tool or die, the rollers, A A A A, revolve and indent the design cut on their cir-
cumference into the surface of the plain tube to be ornamented. ig. 2051 shows the
style of ornament produced by this process: A being produced on a steel mandril as an
internal support; in B and c the convexity or relief of the ornamental beads being
greater, it is produced by substituting for the incompressible steel mandril a filling of
pitch and resin; the number of rolls may be diminished, or the designs on the
concave surface of the rollers may be varied according to the style of ornament
desired. It is unnecessary to state that the rollers are formed of the best steel, and
are carefully tempered after the die-sinker has cut the design thereon.
When the ornamentation desired consists of series of reeds or flutes traversing
spirally and screw-like, familiarly known as ‘twisted tube,’ and largely used in the
construction of medieval and other gas-fittings, &c., the tool represents a serew-nut,
1034 TUBES
which is madé to reyolve by attachment to a hollow spindle; the cylindrical tube is
firmly held by the artizan when passing through the tool, and the thread is impressed
into the tube, or rather is indented in its passage through the tool or die, the tube
being lubricated with oil or tallow to aid the indentation and prevent the projecting
thread in the die from cutting or tearing the metal of the tube subjected to its opera-
tion. These tools or dies are not made of steel, but of chilled cast iron, their produc-
tion by the process of casting being more easily effected than by their being cut in
cast steel; the friction being reduced to a minimum by the hollow tube yielding
readily to the pressure of the convex threads of metal in the die: the characters of such
tubes are represented in jig. 2052. a and Bare the result of once passing the tube
through the tool; c showing a diamond raised in centre, is produced by first passing
the tube through a tool with the thread right-handed, and then through a tool in which
the thread is left-handed, or in the reverse direction or
2053 inclination to that through which it was previously passed.
The tubes, fig. 2058, are formed of three separate tubes
united together, each component tube being first drawn as a
separate tube: A being composed of three six-fluted tubes,
produced by being drawn through a correspondingly shaped
die; B by ordinary separately drawn plain tubes; and in c
the three tubes, in addition to the ordinary process of
drawing, are subjected to the operation of twisting as
already described in the last paragraph (under the head of
twisted tubes); the three tubes, eventually forming one
united tube, are then arranged parallel to each other and
the rope-like appearance of the tube, when finished, is pro-
duced by uniting them together by twisting, as strands in an
ordinary rope, each tube being filled with pitch and resin 1o
preserve its primitive tube-like form, and prevent its col-
lapsing in the process of uniting the three tubes into the
rope-like appearance when finished. 1
The Manufacture of Mandril-drawn Tubes, or Tubes perfectly cylindrical in their
internal and external diameters.—This variety of tube, is chiefly made in brass or
copper: in the former material principally used in the manufacture of optical instru-
ments, more particularly telescopes, dependent for their perfection in working on
tubes of the utmost degree of accuracy and perfectly cylindrical form, to ensure
steadiness when in work; large quantities of mandril-drawn tubes are also used
for the barrels of garden and other syringes, telescopic hearth-brushes and toasting-
forks, &c.; while ordinary soldered jointed brass tube could not be successfully used,
or if used, would require an amount of labour to fit it for the purpose, obviously out
of place with the expeditious modes of working now in existence. The elasticity
resulting from the process of mandril-drawing, is another advantage in connection
with this process, arising from the condensation of the particles of the brass of which
the tube is made, these being foreed down or compressed by the action of the un-
yielding steel tool, and the equally unyielding mandril or spit, which internally
supports the ordinary brass tube subjected to the process. An ordinary brass tube
is unequal in thickness internally throughout its entire length; the two edges of the
strip from which it is made and where it is soldered, are clearly seen; and it is
evident that anything working piston-like therein, would do so only imperfectly. The
manufacture of light brass mandril-drawn tube is practised as follows: A carefully
seleeted and well-forged cylinder of steel is turned to a perfect cylinder by means of a
slide rest, and carefully polished ; the.brass tube made in the way already described,
is slipped on the mandril: in this position the mandril and sheath of brass is pre-
sented to the dio in the drawbench, and is drawn through the tool which forms the
outside surface of the tube, compressing the metal, reducing the thickness, and com-
pelling it to embrace the steel mandril or internal support. The result is an elastic
brass tube, suitable for the purposes already enumerated. The air being expelled
between the tube and the mandril, considerable difficulty arises in releasing the tube
from the mandril, and this is effected by means of a collet or collar a little larger
than the steel mandril, but less in aperture than the tube: the collet is placed in
position of the drawing tool, the reverse end of the mandril being operated upon, as
in drawing the tube, the result is that the tube is withdrawn from its internal support,
and if the mandril has been correctly turned, a perfectly cylindrical tube is the result
of the preceding operations. In jig. 2054 the arrangement of mandril and tube to be
drawn, and tool, are shown: AA, represents the mandril ; BB, the brass to be operated
upon; cc, section of the tool; the thickness of line to the left of the tool cc indicates
that part of the brass which has not been subjected to the operation of the drawing
tool. The release of the drawn tube is shown in jig. 2055; the collar or collet c is
TUBES 1035
substituted in the drawbench for the tool shown in tho preceding jig.; the thick end
of mandril a, passed through this, is taken hold of by the plyers of the drawbench;
2054 2055
AS F
R i ’
aA preieae LEELA @-
the end of the metal of tho tube prescnts a resistance, while the force of the draw-
bench drags out or releases the mandril from the drawn tube. Mandril, or drawn
‘inside’ and ‘ out’ tubes, as they are familiarly called by the ‘ users,’ may be made of
any form or size. _When of extra thick metal, very powerful, slowly moving draw-
benches are required.
The Manufacture of Patent Brass-cased Tube, or iron tube, cased with brass.—This
variety of tube-—largely used in the construction of articles in which the external
appearance of brass is desired with the strength of iron, as in balustrades for stairs,
tailings of various kinds, picture-rods, window and other rods, and bedsteads, chairs,
and other articles of furniture made in metal of a portable character, and otherwise—
was introduced to the brass-foundry trade of Birmingham in the year 1803, and is
stated to have originated in the observation of the difficulty of removing a man-
dril-drawn brass tube from the steel mandril on which it was drawn. The inventor,
Sir Edward Thomason, was largely engaged in the silver and plated ware manufac-
tures in Birmingham. Asa manufacturer of sliding hearth-brushes, toasting-forks,
and other articles telescopically formed, he used large quantities of mandril-drawn
tubes, and in the production of such tubes, and the difficulty of getting these off the
internal support, the manufacture of patent tube originated. Thomason first also
originated the idea of covering solid iron rods with copper and brass, with the
intention of their being used instead of solid copper bolts for ship-building purposes.
Though unsuccessful as regards the application of iron-eased bolts for the purpose,
solid iron rods cased with brass became, and have become, an article of large con-
sumption in the form of the rods which retain the carpetings on stairs. Eventually
an iron tube took the place of the solid iron rod, and the manufacture of cased tube
took its place as an article of extensive demand for the purposes already named. The
manufacture of patent eased brass or iron tube is thus practised :—Sheet iron of good
quality, if for articles which do not require to be bent in manufacture, as in rods for
pictures, straight railings, &c. ; but if the tube is to be bent, charcoal-iron is selected ;
the sheets of iron are cut up with circular cutters,as shown at fig. 2043; and the
ribbon arising from the cutting or slitting of sheet iron is concaved in its entire
length by passing it through rolls, as shown in jig. 2044. It is drawn into tube at
the drawbench, in this state: if the tube is intended for articles which are to remain
straight, the iron tube is in a condition to allow of its receiving its case of brass ;
if it is intended that the tube should be bent, the iron tube is soldered together at
the seam, as already described in the manufacture of soldered brass tube, the brass
sheath intended to cover the iron tube or to case it with, is made of such an internal
diameter as will slide over the iron tube it is intended to ‘ case’ or cover, the brass
case being turned up, made, and soldered, as already described in the manufacture
of soldered brass tube. The brass sheath is then slid over the iron tube, and in this
position the end of the two united tubes of iron and brass is passed through the
drawing tool: the pressure resulting from the action of the drawbench causes the
external brass sheath or tube to embrace firmly the iron tube in its interior, and
an externally brass and internally iron tube is produced thereby. During the
many years this branch of tube manufacture has been practised, no change or
improvement has been made in its manipulation—if we except that, within the last
few years, hoop-iron has been substituted in the manufacture of second-rate cased
tube, instead of cutting up the broad sheet-iron as formerly.
Taper Tubes of Brass or Iron.—This form of tube, formerly made entirely by hand,
is now drawn with ease and facility. The old method of production consisted of
cutting out the metal from the sheet requisite to produce the desired taper tube, It
was then malleted into a taper tubular form, and the metal soldered together at the
junction ; then, after the extra solder was removed, it was hammered on a tapor
mandril or stake, as in use among tinmen. Many ingenious drawing tools were made
for the purpose of producing taper tubes. These consisted of dies made in sections, or
various pieces; they were united in frames, and when used in the drawbench the
parts of the die were operated upon by springs, which permitted of their expansion as
the taper increased -in the tube and mardril intended to be drawn, Such teols,
1036 . TUBES
however, never produced good taper tubes, ‘ An after invention consisted in using a
pair of rolls with diminishing grooves on their diameter or circumference, and
presenting the taper mandril with its sheath of metal at its smallest diameter to the
narrowest part of the groove; the revolution or partial revolution of the rolls com-
pressed the metal sheath to the mandril and produced a taper, but still irregular.
taper tube. This method was patented by Henry Osburn so far back as the year
1813. It, however, seems to have been lost sight of, from the limited demand for
taper tubes at the period, and the same process was revived by Church and Harlow in
1841. Though great numbers of taper tubes so made are still produced, it is obvious
that, from the very nature of the action of the rolls, the production of taper tubes is
limited to those of a purely tapering, externally smooth cylinder; and it would be
impossible to produce either reeded, fluted, or twisted tapering tubes by the rolling .
process. The means, however, by which nearly every variety of tapering tubes can
be produced, was effected in 1850 by John Ward, who in that year suggested, instead
of an expanding tool made up of a complication of segments of steel, operated upon
by springs, or that of the rolling process as already described (see fig. 2056), the pro-
2056 duction of a tool, draw-plate, or die formed in one piece, and of
block tin cast ina metal mould. This tool, placed in the posi-
; tion of a ‘die’ in the drawbench, by the expanding yet com-
pressing property of the metal of which it is made, forces the
metal of the sheath to be converted into a taper tube, and into
every groove or reed in the internal mandril or support on
which the sheath or case to form the taper tube is placed. By the
same process, also, tapering tubes with convex or concave twist-
ings, threads, or reeds on the outer diameter can also be produced by the application
of a swivel 6n the drawbench chain, which permits the mandril and its case of metal
. to revolve inits passage through the tool, the tool remaining stationary. The process
may be described as follows :—The die or mould to produce the block-tin tool is formed
of metal; the aperture in its centre is tapering—cylindrical if for a plain round
taper tube—or if reeded, fluted, or twisted, a metal core with its requisite reeds, flutes,
threads, or twists is introduced into the centre of the mould, and the tin poured in:
’ the result is a cast, the interior of which is a copy of the mandril, and also of the
external contour of the desired tube. Fig. 2057 shows external appearance of the tool
when cast, and fig. 2058 its internal configuration, depending on the plain or orna-
2057 2058 2059
A EP aS
. A
mental character of the tube. The sheet brass or iron, being cut to the required
diminishing breadth, is turned up and soldered at the joint, after the removal of the
wires which held the edges of the partially-formed tube together, and the extra solder,
the case to form the intended taper tube, &c., is placed on the mandril. In Fig. 2069,
AA represents the sheath of brass to form the taper tube; BB, the mandril; the tool
is then placed in the proper position in the drawbench, the end of the mandril forced
through it, and taken hold of by the plyers attached to the chain; the tool expands
and compresses the sheath against the internal mandril, clinging, yet expanding
with the increased diameter of the taper of the tube and mandril it is drawn
through. ‘The result is a perfectly-formed taper tube, a perfect copy externally of
the mandril on which the tube is placed. If the mandril is of an ornamental spira’
construction, provision is made, as has been already stated, to admit of a screw-like
revolution to indent the metal case into the concavities or threads cut on it externally,
i.c., the tool representing a stationary nut, and the mandril and its covering a screw
in motion.
Finish of Cased and other Brass Tubes.—As regards the mode of finish adopted for
tubes of which immense quantities are sent out in long lengths, especially of the iron
cased with brass variety, it has been the custom of the trade to finish such by means
of hand-labour only ; the artizan engaged in the process using ‘floats,’ or files cut
in one direction only, for the purpose of the removal of the external skin preparatory
to polishing. One house only has applied or substituted a machine for the purpose
of finishing tube. 7c. that of W. Tonks and Sons, Birmingham. Their machine
is self-acting. The tube to be floated is attached to a horizontal bed: the floats,
five in number, move parallel, and in a longitudinal direction. Each in its operation
passes a little into the space previously floated ; the tube is turned by the machine,
TUBES 1037
and a new surface is exposed to be operated upon. The next operation after‘ floating’
is polishing, which is either effected by hand with list passed round the tube, the
tube being lubricated with rotten-stone and oil, or (in the finish of large-sized
tubes) an internal buff or hole lined with list or felt, revolves by machinery:
the tube being passed in, is polished by the rovolution of the buff; the final
polish is given by dry list, with powdered dry rotten-stone. Brass tube when
finished by burnishing is floated, then scoured with wet pounded clay crucible;
then burnished by steel burnishers, gall being applied to hinder their scratching,
The last method gives the most brilliant style of finish; by either mode of finish,
they are protected from oxidation by a lacquer applied with a camel’s-hair brush when
the tube is heated, which is dono either by laying the tube to be lacquered on a hot
iron plate, or by passing through its interior a jet of steam. On cooling, the protec-
tion is perfect and the finish completed.
Solid Brass Tube, i.e. brass tube drawn without seam, as used for locomotive- ana
marine-boiler purposes, &c.
In 1780, Matthew Bolton suggested the introduction of tubes into steam-engine
stationary boilers, Trevithick in 1814, in his experiments on engines for locomotive
purposes, suggested and applied pipes or tubes, but placed them perpendicularly.
Gurney, Summers, and Ogle, in their experiments used also tubes; and George
Stephenson in his ‘rocket’ engine, adopted the almost present arrangement of the
tubular boiler. By the ordinary, or soldered brass-tube process, the tubes so produced
not unfrequently leaked at the joint or seam from imperfect running of the solder,
and the production of a ‘solid’ or seamless tube became a desideratum, Iron tubes
speedily become corroded by the surrounding water in the boiler, and the necessity
for finding a substitute in a tube of a material not liable to oxidise and of sufficient
strength to resist the exigencies of wear and tear, became a desideratum. Economi-
cally, also, the brass tube is in the end cheaper, as the old tubes are taken back by the
manufacturers in exchange for the new at a trifling advance in order to cover expense
of re-manufacture. Up to the year 1838, tubes for locomotive- and marine-engines
were either formed of welded iron, or of brass tube produced by soldering at the
joints. In that year, however, Mr. Green of Birmingham conceived and carried
into practice the production of seamless brass tubes, in a manner akin or similar to
that already described in the production or manufacture of lead and block-iron tube ;
i.e. he cast the brass or copper ‘ billet,’ from which the future tube was to be made
in moulds, inserted a mandrilinto the aperture produced by the sand ‘core,’ made
an alteration in the drawbench, increasing its strength, and operated on its motion
by reducing the speed, thereby increasing its power, in order to overcome the stubborn
nature of the brass or copper billet operated upon. By reference to cut of drawbench,
fig. 2025, the large wheel is not operated upon in the manufacture of solid brass tube,
by a pinion as shown, but by an endless screw which worked into corresponding
threads on the outer surface of the large wheel, and the die was formed not of one,
but four parts, 7.e. as four revolving pulleys placed at an angle to each other, forming
a round hole or die in the centre; the brass billet or copper with its mandril similar
in form to that already shown. It was then subjected to the action of the drawbench,
and gradually reduced by the action of the four-roll tool to the desired external size
and the strength of metal desired. Repeated annealings are required in the process
of drawing, in order to restore the ductility of the metal of the partially-drawn billet,
- which is eventually converted into the finished locomotive tube. The metal or brass
of which these tubes are composed is made from the best eopper and zinc or spelter,
as such tubes are replaced every three years; when worn out they are sold to manu-
facturers for reconversion into similar tubes, or command. good prices for raw material,
to be used for other purposes in the brass foundry trade.
Another method or process for the manufacture of solid brass tube is also in use,
which was introduced in 1852 by G. F. Muntz, junior, and made from the metal
familiarly known as ‘ Muntz’s’ metal, which possesses the property of being worked,
rolled, or manipulated at a low red heat. (See Mountz Merat and Surarue.) In
this, as in Green’s process, the raw material is presented in ‘ billet’ form for manu-
facture into finished tube. This process may be described as follows :—
The ‘ billet’ out of which the future tube is intended to be made is cast in an iron
mould with a sand-core: the billet is oval in form, the metal being thickest on the two
largest surfaces of the oval. The billet being cast, and the, sand removed from its
interior, the interior is coated with a wash of lime-water and salt. This prevents the
adhesion of the interior surfaces of the metal together in the process of rolling the
billet to the length of the intended tube. This is effected by means of rolls grooved in
their circumference. In the ordinary process of rolling metal, it will be observed that
it is simply elongated by the thickness being reduced, but its breadth is not increased ;
the thickness of the metal of the ‘ billet’ in the upper and under side therefore provides
1038 TUGMUTTON
for this, and the result of the first rollings is to reduce the metal on the upper cr
under side to the same thickness as the sides. The oval billet being rolled into a
flat strip or bar, has then one end opened to thelength sufficient to admit of the intro-
duction of a thick-ended mandril. With this introduced, the opened end of the tube
is presented to the rolls ; the thick part of the mandril retained in the tube at the point
of pressure; the tube is drawn on and opened throughout its entire length. The
position of the tube in the opening-up of the bar is the reverse of the previous operation,
being presented in its largest diameter to the action of the rolls, or at right angles to
the preceding operation. ‘The adhering webs or fins consequent on this mode of produc-
tion being removed, the tube is again passed through rolls, to produce it in form per-
feetly cylindrical, a mandril in the interior assisting the operation. All the operations in
this variety of solid tube are conducted when the metal is at a low red heat, the metal
of which these tubes are made, or Muntz’s metal, consisting of copper, with a large per-
centage of zinc or spelter, imparting to it the property of being rolled at the temperature
named, much facilitating the rapidity of production.
It may not be uninteresting to know that nearly all the locomotive-engines in
use on the railroads of the United Kingdom are fitted up with seamless brass
tubes. If to these are added the quantity of seamless brass tubes in use in the steam-
boats of the United Kingdom also, the united weights of these tubes gives a total of
upwards of 20,000 tons of solid or seamless brass tubes in use by the various
railway companies, steam-boat proprietors, &c., of this country. The production of
solid brass tube in Birmingham, for these purposes alone, amounts to upwards of
8,000 tons annually.
A very admirable variety of solid or seamless copper tube is now produced from
the worn-out copper rollers used by calico-printers for printing cotton fabrics. The
old roller, with the rib which holds the roller on the printing spindle, in the
operation of printing, taken out forms the billet; it is reduced in outer diameter, its
internal diameter depending on the size of the internal mandril used, the
reduction being effected as in the manufacture of Green’s tube by powerful draw-
benches. As in Green’s tube, also, repeated annealings are required in the opera-
tion of reduction or drawing down to the size of tube required. This method
of producing seamless copper tube from previously waste material was intro-
duced in 1850, by the late Thomas Attwood: the density of the material of which
the tube is formed, good at first, as being formed of wrought copper, is further
solidified by the modus operandi in converting the worn-out roller into a tube
for steam purposes, When subjected to great pressure it is unequalled in service.
In conclusion, as regards the manufacture of brass and copper tube but little
remains to be stated. Messrs. Alexander and Henry Parkes patented the addition of
phosphorus and manganese to the alloy of brass and zine, out of which locomotive
and marine boiler-tubes are made, which they state improves the metal, imparting
to it superior cohesive properties, and also solidity. The direction recently given
for locomotive and marine engine-tubes is towards tubes containing a larger pro-
portion of copper than even in those of ‘Green’s’ mixture. It is stated, if the
percentage of copper is increased, the tubes may be made lighter in material, and
will be less likely to be operated upon by the sulphates in the fuel. Finally, if
certain preliminary details as to the casting of the ‘ billets,’ from which the solid or
seamless tubes are drawn, or in raising the ‘ billets’ up from thick disks of rolled
metal, but little remains to be recorded as respects the improved manipulatory opera-
tions in the manufacture of brass or copper tubes.
TUBULAR BRIDGES. In the fourth edition—the last published during the life-
time of Dr, Ure—there was a long article bearing the heading of Farrparrn’s Tusvrar
Brwwces. This article no longer appears. In the first place, it ought never to have
found a place in a work which has nothing whatever to do with Engineering Science.
Such was the introduction to the article as it appeared in the fifth and sixth editions of
this Dictionary, The article, which was written with great care by the Editor himself,
after several interviews with both Mr. Robert Stephenson and Mr. Fairbairn, was
acknowledged by both these eminent engineers to give the most correct account of the
merits of each of them, in the construction of these remarkable works. ‘Those who
may be interested in this question are referred to the last edition of the Dictionary:
the article having been withdrawn from this edition to make room for matter which
belongs more especially to Art, Manufactures, or Mines,
TUE-IRON, also Tuiron and Tuarn, The old name for the blast-hole, or twyer,
or tuyére of a blast-furnace.
TUFA. A deposit of calcareous carbonate from springs and streams, Also, a
voleanie product. See Mortar, Hypravric.
TUGMUTTON. A wood resembling box, which was imported and used for
making ladies’ fans, It does not appear to be now known in the trade.
TUNGSTEN 1039
- TULA METAL is an alloy of silver, copper, and lead; made at Tula in
ussia.
TUNGSTEN or WOLFRAM. (Tungsténe, Fr.; Wolframium, Ger.) Symbol
Ts or W; at. wt. 92. Its name is derived from the principal mineral from which it is
obtainable—Tungsten (Swedish zung, ‘heavy,’ sten, ‘stone,’) or Wolfram. This metak
was discovered by the Brothers De Luyart, about 1784, shortly after the discovery of
tungstic acid by Scheele, from whom it has been sometimes called Scheelium. Itis never
found in the native state, but is produced by a variety of processes. First, and most
easily, by mixing the dried and finely-powdered tungstate or bitungstate of soda with
finely-divided charcoal, such as lamp-black ; placing the mixture in a crucible lined with
charcoal, covering it with charcoal in powder, and then exposing the whole to a steady
red heat for two or three hours. On removal of the crucible and cooling it, a porous
mass is found, from which the soda is removed by solution in water, and the uncon-
sumed carbon is separated by washing it off, the metal being left asa bright, glistening
blackish-grey metallic powder. It may also be obtained by treating tungstic acid in a
similar manner, or by exposing the acid at a bright red heat, in an iron or glass tube,
to a current of hydrogen gas. ‘Tungsten is one of the heaviest metals known, its
specific gravity being 17°22 to 17:6. It requires such a very high temperature for
fusion that it has never yet been obtained in mass, more commonly as a fine powder,
but sometimes in small grains. It is not magnetic. It is very hard and brittle.
Alone it has not been rendered available for any useful purpose, but it has lately been
employed for the manufacture of certain alloys. Tungsten is comparatively a rare
substance, and is remarkable for the very limited extent to which in nature it is found
to have been mineralised by combination with other substances. In none of these
does it exist as a salifiable base, but as an acid, as in wolfram, Scheelite, yttrotantalite,
and the tungstate of lead.
The most. common ore of this metal is wolfram, known also to the Cornish miner
as ‘eal’ or ‘callen.’ It is most commonly found associated with tin ores, which contain
besides the black oxide of tin or cassiterite, the metallic minerals, arsenical iron,
copper, lead, and zine sulph‘des: but its peculiarly characteristic associate is the
metal molybdenum, for the most part mineralised as a sulphide. This metal is
remarkable in connection with tungsten as producing isomeric compounds, and as
having both its equivalent and its specific gravity equal to about one-half that of
tungsten, they being, respectively, as follow: equivalents, W 92, Mo 49; sp. gr.
W 16°22, Mo 8°616.
Amongst miners wolfram has the reputation of being an abundant mineral, but
it is comparatively rare, schorl, specular and other iron ores, and gossan being often
mistaken for it. From its association with tin ores, it has been until lately the
source of great loss to the miner, as it was found quite impossible to separate it from
the ore in consequence of its specific gravity, 7:1 to 7°4, being so near to that of black
tin, 6:3 to 7-0.
Pryce, in his ‘ Mineralogia Cornubiensis, 1778,’ says : ‘ After the tin is separated from
all other impurities by repeated ablutions, there remains a quantity of this mineral
substance (gal), which being of equal gravity cannot be separated from the tin ore by
water, therefore it impoverishes the metal and reduces its value down to 8 or 9 parts
of metal for twenty of mineral, which without its brood, so called, might fetch twelve
for twenty.’ This description of tin ores containing wolfram was still applicable until
a very recent period, whe a new process was invented by Mr. Robert Oxland, of
Plymouth, and by him successfully introduced at the Drake Walls Tin Mine, at Gunnis
Lake, on the banks of the Tamar, where it was continued in operation until the mine
was closed. At this mine, although the tin ore raised was of excellent quality, it was
left associated with so much wolfram that the ore fetched the lowest price of any
mine in Cornwall. By Oxland’s process, it was brought up to the price of the
best black tin. The process is now employed at East Huel Rose, near Cam-
borne,
At the time of the introduction of the process the greater portion of the ore was
sold for 421. per ton. The improvement effected by it was so great that the same sort
of ore fetched the price of the best black tin.
The process consists in taking tin ores mixed with wolfram, dressed as completely
as possible by the old process, and having ascertained by analysis the quantity of
wolfram contained therein, then mixing therewith such a quantity of soda-ash of
known value as shall afford an equivalent of soda for combination with the tungstie
acid of the wolfram, which is the tungstate of iron and manganese; the object of the
process being by calcination to convert the insoluble tungstate of iron and manganese
into the soluble tungstate of soda, leaving the oxides of iron and manganese in a very
finely-divided state of low specific gravities, so that they can be easily washed off with
water, ,
‘
1040 _TURBA
The mixture, in charges of five to ten cwts.,is roasted in a reverberatory furnace on
a cast-iron bed of the construction shown in the annoxed engraving. ‘The use of the
cast-iron bed is attended with considerable economy in the consumption of fuel, and it
is admirably well adapted for
the calcination of the raw ores,
2060 for the evolution of the sulphur
and arsenic contained in them,
but it is especially necessary,
instead of fire-brick or tile, to
avoid the loss which would ac-
crue from the reaction of the
soda-ash on the silica of the
brick, and the formation of soda
sili-ate of tin which would con-
Y seqaently take place. The mix-
Hy ture is introduced to the bed
AYA through a hole in the crown of
CSS} 2 U7, tho furnace; from a side door
Lia Hp it is equally distributed over
j, the bed, and from time to time
YA it is turned over by the furnace-
“man until the whole mass is of
a dull red heat, emitting a slight
hissing sound, and in an in-
cipient pasty condition, In sue-
cessive. quantities the charge is
Y fh then drawn through a hole in
My OE the bed of the furnace into the
wrinkle or arch beneath, whence
itis removed tocisterns, in which
it is lixiviated with water, and
the tungstate of soda is drawn
A A TUNTRNAHE TMV Z Hy off in solution. The residuary
U, Za mass left in the cisterns,—the
whole of the soluble matter
i
|
moved to the burning-house
Z floors, and is there dressed over
again in the usual manner, the
H7, final product of the operations
, being very nearly pure black
: “ oxide of tin. The liquid ob-
tained is either evaporated sufficiently for crystallisation when set aside to cool, or is
It has been proposed to use this substance as a mordant for dyeing purposes, as a
source of supply of metallic tungsten for the manufacture of alloys, for the manu-
facture of the tungstates of lime, baryta, and of lead to be used as pigments; and
still more recently it has been found to be preferable to any other substance, for
rendering fabrics non-inflammable, so as to prevent the terrible accidents constantly
occurring from the burning of ladies’ dresses. For this purpose a patent was obtained
by Messrs. Versmann and Oppenheim,
For the manufacture of metallic alloys a patent has been obtained by Mr. R.
Oxland, as acommunication from Messrs. Jacob and Koeller. Itis prepared by simply
melting with cast steel, or even with iron only, either metallic tungsten, or preferably,
what has been termed the ‘native alloy,’ of tungsten, in the proportion of two to
five per cent. Tho steel obtained works exceedingly well: under the hammer.
It is very hard and-fine grained, and for tenacity and density is superior to any
other steel made. The ‘native alloy,’ is obtained by exposing to strong heat in a
charcoal-lined crucible a mixture of clean powdered wolfram with fine carbonaceous
matter, A black steel-grey metallic spongy mass is obtained resembling metallic
tungsten,
The tungstate of soda is used in dyeing. Metallic tungsten is also used for the
manufacture of packfong or Britannia metal, by alloying with copper and tin.
TURBA. This is a mere local word cing
precise designation, Zwrba, in Portiguese and Spanish (like Zourbe in French), is
having been washed out,—is re-_
in the want of knowledge of a more .
TURBINE 1041
Tourbe in French), is a general term signifying any peat-like or earthy deposit formed
in swamps and afterwards dried, and is also applied to peat, itself.
TURBINE. Numberless are the varieties, both of principle and of construction,
to be met with in the mechanisms by which motive power may be obtained from falls
of water. The chief modes of action of the water are, however, reducible to three, as
follow :—First: The water may act directly, by its weight, on a part of the mecha-
nism which descends while loaded with water, and ascends while free from load. The
most prominent example of the application of this mode is afforded by the ordinary
bucket water-wheel. Second: The water may act by fluid pressure, and drive before
in some part of the vessel, by which it is confined. This is the mode in which the
water acts in the water-pressure-engine, analogous to the ordinary high-pressure
steam-engine. Third: The water, having been brought to its place of action, subject
to the pressure due to the height of its fall, may be allowed to issue through small
orifices‘ with a high velocity, its inertia being one of the forces essentially involved in
the communication of the power to the mechanism. Throughout the general class of
wheels called Turbines, which is of wide extent, the water acts according to some of
the variations of which this third mode is susceptible. The name Turbine is derived
from the Latin word turbo, ‘a top,’ because the wheels to which it is applied almost
all spin round a vertical axis, and so bear some considerable resemblance to the top.
In our own country, and more especially on the Continent, turbines have attracted
much attention, and many forms of them have been made known by published de-
scriptions.
Turbines for Mining Purposes.—Although the horizontal water-wheel has been
known and employed under various forms from the highest antiquity, and has latterly
been improved by Fourneyron, Fontaine, Jouval, and others, so as to rank among the
most perfect of hydraulic motors, it has only recently been applied to mining uses
(pumping, loading, &c.), and where so employed its success can scarcely be said
to be yet decided. The failures may be attributed to the following causes :—First :
The plan of causing the water to flow simultaneously through all the buckets
necessitates the use of wheels of small dimensions, making a very great number of re-
volutions per minute, and thus requiring a considerable train of intermediate gear to
reduce the speed to the working rate. Second: The complex nature of the ring sluices
2062
Bedieng ydeee sles
Vissi
employed between the guide curves and the mouths of the buckets, renders them
uncertain in action, and from their small dimensions liable to be easily choked by any
Vor. ITI. ro eS
or
Ti 7
a
1042 TURBINE
mechanical impurities in the water ; and lastly, the lubrication of the foot spindle of
the vertical wheel, revolving at very great velocity, is attended with considerable dif-
fieulty and inconvenience, especially where the engine-room is at a considerable distance
below the surface of the earth, and it is requisite, as in the case of pumping wheels,
to keep the machinery in action continuously for long periods of time. The
form of wheel of which a notice is here appended, was introduced into the Saxon
mines about the year 1849 by Herr Schwamkrug, inspector of machinery at the
Royal Mines and Smelting Works at Freiberg, and since that time several have been
introduced for pumping, winding, driving stamp-heads, &c. The example selected for
illustration was built to take the place of two overshot water-wheels, employed in
pumping water at the mine ‘ Churprinz Friedrich August’: it differs from the usual
form of turbine in having the wheel seer vertically, and in having the water sup-
plied through a small number of guide-curves near the lowest part. In this latter
respect it resembles the tangential turbine of General Poncelet, with this difference that
the water flows from the inner to the outer cireumference, instead of the reverse way, as
is the case in Poncelet’s wheel, : The construction of the wheel is as follows» a, jig.
2062, is the tubular axle of cast iron which carries the seating for the arms, s, which is
similar to that usually used for large water-wheels; to the ends of the arms is attached
the wheel w, which is formed of two brags or shroudings of sheet iron, each 13 inches
deep, measured radially, and of a total height of 10 feet 2 inches ; these two rings are
maintained at a distance of 6 inches apart, by means of 44 sheet-iron buckets of the
form shown in the smaller detailed figure, fig. 2063; the driving water is admitted
through the pressure pipe, p, in which is placed the
admission throttle, ¢, and turned through a pipe of
rectangular section (shown in the smaller figure)
into the sluice box, s, which contains the two guide-
curves, v, v’, which are moveable about the centres,
ce, ¢’, by means of the levers, J, i’; by means of these
guide-curves when fully opened, as shown in the
figure, the water is admitted into the buckets in two
parallel streams or jets of 53 inches in breadth, and
13ths in. in thickness ; the power is transmitted from
the axle of the wheel by a pinion with 28 teeth,
which draws the large toothed wheel, 7, which acts
on a third shaft carrying the pump-cranks. The
2 wheel is constructed to work under a head of 147 feet,
and makes about 130 revolutions per minute, with a maximum quantity of 550 cubic
feet, of water, equal to nearly 175 horse-power. A series of dynamometrical experi-
ments on a wheel of similar construction of 7 feet 9 inches in diameter, with a discharge
varying from 39 to 134 eubie feet, with a head of 103 feet, gave an available duty of
from 58 to 70 per cent., the number of revolutions varying from 112 to 148 per minute.
In conclusion, it may be remarked that the vertical turbine may be employed with
advantage where the available fall of water is too great to be employed on a single
overshot water-wheel ; and although a less perfect machine than the water-pressure
engine, it is of simpler construction, and may be preferred where, from the hardness
or yielding nature of the rock, it becomes difficult to construct large machine-rooms
or wheel-pits underground. In practice it is found necessary to surround the wheel
with a casing of wood, in order to prevent the affluent water from being projected to a
distance: by centrifugal action.
A fine model of one of these turbines, with two sets of buckets, constructed for the
purpose of winding (Z'wrbinengdpel), may be seen at the Museum of Practical Geology,
Jermyn Street.
For further information on this subject, we may refer to the Polytechnisches Central-
blatt, Nos. 8, 9, for 1845, and No. 3 for 1850; to the Jahrbuch fiir den Berg- und
Hiittenmann, for 1850 and 1858. The subject of turbines is treated in great detail in
Weisbach’s ‘Mechanics of Machinery and Engineering.’ Redlenbache’s Theorie und
Bau der Turbinen und Ventilatoren, Mannheim, 1844, is the best and most complete
work on the subject. Notices of Fourneyron’s, Jouval’s, and Fontaine’s turbines are to
be found in Glyn’s ‘ Rudimentary Treatise on Water-Power,’ in Weale’s Series. The
original notice of Fourneyron’s turbine is published in the Bulletin de la Société
@ Encouragement, for 1834, and several new forms are noticed in the various volumes
of Armengaud’s Publication Industrielle.
The name of Vortex Wheel has been given to a modification of the turbine by Mr.
James Thomson of Belfast. In this machine the moving wheel is placed within a
chamber of a nearly circular form. The water is injected into the chamber tangen-
tially at the circumference, and thus it receives a rapid motion of rotation. Retaining
this motion, it passes towards the centre, where alone it is free to make itsexit, The
SS)
pe ty
vi Se x
i S
Rep Ss)
pi
Yi,
Sao S
TURBINE 1043
wheei, which is placed within the chamber, and which almost entirely fills it, is
divided by thin partitions into a great number of radiating passages. Through these
passages the water must flow in its course towards the centre; and, in doing so, it
imparts its own rotatory motion to the wheel. The whirlpool of water, acting within
the wheel-chamber, being one
principal feature of this tur-
bine, leads to the name
Vortex, as a suitable desig-
nation for the machine as a
whole. Y SEE EE tame SK A WG
The vortex admits of seve- @& Siieces Za/N) > ell
ral modes of construction ; 7 se AN age 8h
but the two principal forms ‘aialitl
are the one adapted for high
falls, and the one for low
falls. The former may be
called the high-pressure \ F
vortex, and the ladies the as
low-pressure vortex. An ex-
ample of each of these two
kinds is delineated in the
accompanying figures.
Figs. 2064 and 2065 are
respectively a vertical sec- e
tion and a plan of a vortex constructed for employing a very high fall near Belfast
to drive a flax-mill.! aa is the water-wheel. It is fixed on the upright shaft ,,
which conveys away the power to the machinery to be driven. The water-wheel
oceupies the central part of the upper division of a strong cast-iron case cc. This
part of the case is called the wheel-chamber. vv is the lower division of the case, and
is called the supply-chamber. It receives the water directly from the supply pipe,
of which the lower extremity is shown at x, and delivers it into the outer part of
the upper division by four large openings Fr, in the partition between the two divisions.
This outer part of the upper division is called the guide-blade chamber, from its con-
taining four guide-blades, a, which direct the water tangentially into the wheel-
chamber. Immediately after being injected into the wheel-chamber, the water is
received by the curved radiating passages of the wheel, which are partly to be seen
in fig. 2065, at a place where both the cover of the wheel-chamber and the upper plate
of the wheel are broken away Kee 2065
for the purpose’ of exposing £
the interior to view. The 25
water on reaching the inner
ends of these curved passages,
having already done its work,
is allowed to make its exit
by two large central orifices,
shown distinctly on the figures
at or adjacent to the letters
LL, the one leading upwards
and the other downwards.
Close joints between the case
and the wheel, to hinder the
escape of water otherwise
than through the radiating
passages, are made by means
of two annular pieces 1, 1,
called joint-rings, fitting to ©
the central orifices of the case, and capable of being adjusted, by means of studs
and nuts, so as to come close to the wheel without impeding its motion by friction.
The four openings u, H, fig. 2065, through which the water flows into the wheel-
chamber, each situated between the point or edge of one guide-blade and the middle
of the next, determine, by their width, the quantity of water admitted, and conse-
quently the power of the wheel. ‘To render this power capable of being varied at
pleasure, the guide-blades are made moveable round gudgeons or centres near their
points; and a spindle x, worked by a handle in any convenient position, is connected
ppttttttDd ZN
1h}
Mie.
tts
WY
tty
: Y. il A pany
lila
r
“Ny
Nw :
SSIs SL, Y MLE LL
eee i]
aamenaead N
o
* In these figures, as also in jigs. 2066, 2067,some unimportant modifications are made for the pur-
pose of simplifying the drawings, and rendering them more easily understood than they would
otherwise be.
3x2
1044 TURBINE
with the guide-blades by means of links, cranks, &c. (see the figures), in such a way
that when the handle is moved, the four entrance orifices are all enlarged or contracted
alike. The gudgeons of the guide-blades, seen in jig: 2064, as small circles near the
points, are sunk in sockets in the floor and roof of the guide-blade chamber, and so
they do not in any way obstruct the flow of the water. a is the pivot-box of the upright
shaft, and is constructed with peculiar provisions for oiling the pivot, which, by reason
of its being under water, does not admit of being oiled by ordinary means. Nisa
hanging bridge which forms the mixture of the pivot.
This vortex is calculated for 50 horse-power, with a fall varying from 90 to 100 feet.
On account of the great height of the fall, the machine comes to be of very small
dimensions ; the diameter of the water-wheel itself being only about 15 inches, and
2066 he extreme diameter of the case
3 feet 9 inches. The speed for
which the wheel is calculated, in
accordance with its diameter and
the velocity of the water enter-
ing its chamber, is 768 revolu-
tions per minute.
A low-pressure vortex con-
structed for another mill near
Belfast,is represented, in vertical
section and plan, in figs. 2066
and 2067. This is essentially
the same in principle as the
vortex already described, but it
nL S differs in the material of which
A Efi colt Billie SS the case is constructed, and in
ys a Oa Sasi the manner in which the water
“ i. S is led to the eklaihiadh rae
IY Ze ber. In this the case is ost
WU Yio entirely composed of wood. The
vi eae dee water flows with a free upper
surface ww, into this wooden’ ¢use, which consists chiefly of two tanks aa, and BB,
one within the other. The water-wheel chamber, and the guide-blade chamber, are
situated in the open space between the bottom of the outer and that of the inner
tank, and will be readily distinguished by reference to the figures. The water of the
head race having been led all round the outer tank in the space, cc, flows inwards
over its edge, and passes downwards by the space p p, between the sides of the two
tanks. It then passes through the guide-blade chamber and the watér-wheel, just in
the same way as was explained in respect to the high-pressure vortex already de-
scribed ; and in this one likewise it makes its exit by two central orifices, the one
discharging upwards and the other downwards. The part of the water which passes
2067 downwards flows away at once
to the tail race, and that which
passes upwards into the space 8,
within the innermost tank, finds
a free escape to the tail race
through boxes and otherchannels,
F and @, provided for that pur-
pose. The wheel is completely
submerged under the surface of
the water in the tail race, which
is represented at its ordin
level at y y, fig. 2066, although
in floods it may rise to a much
greater height. The power of
the wheel is regulated in a simi-
lar manner to that already de-
scribed, in reference to the high-
= pressure vortex. In this case,
weer. ie F however, as will be seen by the
figures, the guide-blades are not linked together, but. each is provided with a hand-
wheel x, by which motion is communicated to itself alone.
The foregoing descriptions are sufficient to explain the principal points in the
structural arrangements of these water-wheels.
And now a few words more in respect to their principles may be added. In these
machines the velocity of the circumference of the wheel is made the same as the,
TURKEY RED 1045
velocity of the entering water, and thus there is no impact between the water and the
' wheel; but, on the contrary, the water enters the radiating conduits of the wheel gently,
that is to say, with scarcely any motion in relation to their mouths. In order to
attain the equalisation of these velocities, it is necessary that the circumference of the
wheel should move with the velocity which a heavy body would attain in falling
through a vertical space equal to half the vertical fall of the water, or, in other
words, with the velocity due to half the fall; and that the orifices through which the
water is injected into the wheel-chamber should be conjointly of such an area, that,
when all the water required is flowing through them, it also may have the velocity due
to half the fall.
Thus one half only of the fall is employed in producing velocity in the water; and,
therefore, the other half still remains, acting on the water within the wheel-chamber
at the circumference of the wheel, in the condition of fluid pressure. Now, with the
velocity already assigned to the wheel, it is found that this fiuid pressure is exactly
that which is requisite to overeome the centrifugal force of the water in the wheel,
and to bring the water to a state of rest at its exit, the mechanical work due to both
halves of the fall being transferred to the wheel during the combined action of the
moving water and the moving wheel. In the foregoing statements, the effects of fluid
friction, and of some other modifying influences, are, for simplicity, left out of con-
sideration. .
TURBITH’S MINERAL or TURPETH MINERAL. The yellow sub-
sulphate of mercury, called Queen’s Yellow.
TURF (Peat, Scotch; Zourbe, Fr.; Torf, Ger.) consists of vegetable-matter,
chiefly of the Moss family, in a state of partial decomposition by the action of water.
Cut, during summer, into brick-shaped pieces, and dried, it is extensively used as fuel
by the peasantry in every region where it abounds. The dense black turf, which
forms the lower stratum of a peat moss, is much contaminated with iron, sulphur,
sand, &c., while the lighter turf of the upper strata, though nearly pure vegetable-
matter, is too bulky for transportation, and too porous for factory fuel. These defects
have been removed, several processes having been patented for converting the
lightest and poorest beds of peat-moss, or bog, into the four following products: 1. A
brown combustible solid, denser than oak; 2. A charcoal, twice as compact as that of
hard wood; 3. A factitious coal; and 4. A factitious coke: each of which possesses
very valuable properties.
Mr. D’Ernst, artificer of fireworks to Vauxhall, proved, by the severe test of
coloured fires, that turf-charcoal is 20 per cent. more combustible than that of oak.
Mr. Oldham, engineer of the Bank of England, applied it in softening his steel plates
and dies, with remarkable success. A prospect was thus opened up of turning to
admirable account the unprofitable bogs of Ireland; and of producing, from their
inexhaustible stores, a superior fuel for every purpose of arts and engineering.
The turf is treated as follows :—Immediately after being dug, it is triturated under
revolving edge-wheels, faced with iron plates perforated all over their surface, and is
forced by the pressure through these apertures, till it becomes a species ef pap, which
is freed from the greater part of its moisture by squeezing in a hydraulic press between
layers of caya-cloth ; then dried, and coked in suitable ovens. (See Cuarcoar, und
Coxz.) Mr. Williams, by his patent, makes his factitious coal by incorporating with
pitch or resin, melted in a cauldron, as much of the above charcoal, ground to powder,
as will form a doughy mass, which is moulded into bricks in its hot and plastic state.
It has been found preferable to all other fuel for case-hardening iron, tempering steel,
forging horse-shoes, and welding gun-barrels. Since turf is partially carbonised in its
native state, when it is condensed by the hydraulic press, and fully charred, it affords
a charcoal superior: in calorific power to the porous substance obtained from wood.
For recent modes of utilising peat, see Pra.
TURKEY RED is the name given to one of the most beautiful and durable of
known dyes. The art of dyeing cotton with this colour seems to have originated in
India. In his ‘Philosophy of Permanent Colours, Bancroft has given a detailed
account of the process as practised in that country; and this process will be found to
agree in all essential particulars with that pursued by the Turkey-red dyers of
Europe, except that in India the chaya-root is employed as the dyeing material in the
place of madder. In the middle ages the art was practised in various parts of Turkey
and Greece, especially in the neighbourhood of Adrianople, and hence this colour is
often called Adrianople Red, Even as late as the end of last century the manufacture
of Turkey-red yarn seems to have been extensively carried on at Ambelakia and
other places in the neighbourhood of Larissa. An interesting account of the manufac-
tnres and trade of this then flourishing district, by Felix, will be found in the Annales
de Chimie, t. xxi, 1799. About the middle of last century the art of Turkey-red
dyeing was introduced into France by means of dyers brought over from Greeco, The
1046 TURKEY RED
French were also the first to dye pieces with this colour, the art having previously
been applied merely to the dyeing of yarn. The first establishments for dyeing this
colour in Great Britain were founded and conducted by Frenchmen. At the present
day Turk>y-red dyeing is carried on in various parts of France and Switzerland, at
Elberfeld in Germany, in Lancashire, and at Glasgow.
Turkey-red dyeing is essentially distinguished from other dyeing processes by the
application previous to dyeing of a peculiar preparation consisting of fatty matter
combined with other materials. Without the use of oil or some fatty matter it
would be impossible to produce this colour, of which indeed it seems to form an essen-
tial constituent. If the colour of a piece of Turkey-red cloth be examined in the
manner described under Mapper, it will be found to consist of red colouring-
matter and fat-acid, combined with alumina and a little lime. The colouring-matter
thus obtained is so little contaminated with impurities as to appear on evaporating its
alcoholic solution in yellowish-red crystalline needles. What part the fat-acid plays,
whether it merely serves to give to the compound of colouring-matter and alumina
the power of resisting the action of the powerful agents used after the operation of
dyeing, or whether it also modifies and imparts additional lustre to the colour itself, is
quite unknown. The formation of this triple compound of colouring-matter, fat-acid,
and alumina, seems at all events to be the final result which is attained. Nevertheless,
this apparently simple result can only be arrived at by means of a long and compli-
cated process, each step of which seems to be essential for its final success, Tho
details of the process vary considerably both in their nature and number, in different
countries and different dyeing establishments. They may, however, be described in
general terms as follow :-—
The goods, after being passed through a soap-bath or weak alkaline lye, are oiled.
For this purpose a mere impregnation with oil would not be sufficient. The oil must
be mixed with a solution of carbonate of potash or soda, to which there is often added
a quantity of sheep- or cow-dung, the ingredients being well mingled, so as to form a
milky liquid or emulsion. Olive or Gallipoli oil is the kind generally used, and an
impure, mucilaginous oil is preferred to one of a finer quality. Drying oils are not
adapted for the purpose. In this liquid the goods are steeped for a short time, so as
to become thoroughly impregnated with it. In the case of pieces the liquid is
generally applied by means of a. padding machine. After being taken out of this
liquid the goods are often left to lie for some days in heaps, and if the weather is fine,
they are then exposed on the grass to the action of the air; otherwise, they must be
hung up in a hot stove. This process of steeping and exposing to the air is repeated
a number of times, until the fabric is thoroughly impregnated with fatty matter.
During this part of the process there can be no doubt that the oil undergoes a
partial decomposition and oxidation, so as to become capable of uniting, on the one hand,
with the vegetable fibre, and, on the other hand, with the colouring-matter, with
which it is subsequently brought into contact. The dung, by inducing a state of fer-
mentation among the ingredients probably promotes the decomposition of the oil into
fatty acid and glycerine, and the alkali serves to convey the fatty acid into every part
of the fabric, and to assist in its oxidation on exposure to the air. The process of
oxidation which takes place is sometimes so active as to produce spontaneous com-
bustion of the goods in thestove. It might be supposed that by previously saponifying
the oil, impregnating the goods with the soap, and after sufficient exposure, decom-
posing the latter by means of an acid, the same object might be more easily attained
than by the long process usually employed. This is, however, not the case, which
proves that we are still ignorant of the exact chemical nature of the change which
takes place during the oiling process. The supposition formerly entertained, that the
effect of the oiling consisted in a so-called animalisation of the vegetable fibre, is quite
untenable. In some establishments, the goods, after being oiled and stoved, are passed
through a bath of very dilute nitric acid, and then exposed tothe air before being oiled
again, the process being repeated after every oiling. The nitric acid is supposed to
contribute to the oxidation of the oil. Several years ago a patent was taken out by
Messrs. Mercer and Greenwood for preparing the oil, previous to its being applied to
the cotton, by treating it with sulphuric acid, and then with chloride of soda, but
their invention, though apparently of some importance, has not generally been adopted
by Turkey-red dyers.
After being oiled, the goods are steeped for some hours in a weak tepid solution of
carbonate of potash orsoda. This operation, which is called by the French dégraissage,
serves to remove the excess of fatty acid, or that portion which has not thoroughly
combined with the vegetable fibre. The liquid thus obtained is carefully preserved
for the purpose of being mixed with the liquid used for the oiling of fresh goods, the
quality of which it serves to improve.
To this operation succeeds that of galling and mordanting. The goods, after
TURNBULL'S BLUE 1047
being washed, are passed through a warm solution of tannin, prepared by extracting
galls or sumac with boiling water and straining, after which they are impregnated
with a solution of alum, to which sometimes a little chalk or carbonate of potash is
added, or with a solution of acetate of alumina, prepared by double decomposition
from alum and acetate of lead. Sometimes the alum is dissolved in the decoction of
galls, and thus the two operations are combined into one. The goods, after being
dried in the stove, passed through hot water containing chalk, and rinsed, are now
ready to be dyed. It has been asserted that the galling is not an essential part of
the process, that it merely serves to fix the alumina of the mordant, and may be
dispensed with when acetate of alumina is used instead of alum. It is certainly
difficult to conceive how it can permanently affect the appearance of the colour, since
the tannin of the galls is undoubtedly removed from the fibre during the subsequent
stages of the process. sattiac
The dyeing is performed in the usual manner. (See Mapper and Carico-Print-
ING.) The materials employed are madder, chalk, sumac, and blood, in various rela-
tive proportions. The heat of the dye-bath is gradually raised to the boiling point,
and the boiling is continued for some time. The part played by the chalk in dyeing
with madder has been explained elsewhere. (See MappEr.) It was formerly supposed
that the red colouring-matter of the blood contributed in producing the desired effect
in Turkey-red dyeing; but to the modern chemist this supposition does not appear
probable. Nevertheless, it is certain that the addition of blood is of some benefit,
though it is uncertain in what the precise effect consists. Glue is occasionally em-
ployed in the place of blood. Sometimes a second mordanting with galls and alum,
and a second dyeing, is allowed to succeed the first mordanting and dyeing.
After being dyed the goods appear of a dull brownish-red colour, and they must
therefore be subjected to the brightening process, in order to make them assume the
bright red tint required. For this purpose they are first treated with a boiling solu-
tion of soap and carbonate of potash or carbonate of soda, and then with a mixture of
soap and muriate-of-tin crystals. This operation is usually performed in a close vessel
under pressure. The alkalis remove the brown colouring-matters and the excess of
fat-acid contained in the colour, and the tin salt probably acts by extracting a portion
of the alumina of the mordant, and substituting in its place a quantity of oxide of tin,
which has the effect of giving the colour a more fiery tint. The last finish is given
to the colour. by treating the goods with bran or with chloride of soda.
The chief objects which the Turkey-red dyer seeks to attain are, 1st, to obtain the
desired effect with the least possible expenditure of time and material; 2nd, to pro-
duce a perfect uniformity of tint in the same series of dyeings; and $rd, to impart to his
goods a colour which, though perfectly durable, shall be fixed as much as possible on
the surface of the fabric. The last point is one of importance in the case of calicoes
dyed of this colour, since this kind of goods is much employed for the production of a
peculiar style of frints, in which portions of the colour are discharged, in order either
to remain white or to be covered with other colours. (See Caxico-Printine.) And
if the red dye is too firmly fixed, or too deeply seated, it becomes more difficult to
discharge it. In this respect the art has in modern times attained to such a degree of
perfection, that the interior of each thread of Turkey-red cotton will be found on
examination to be perfectly white. This is particularly the case with the Turkey-
reds from the establishment of Mr. Steiner, Accrington, Lancashire, whose productions
in this branch of the art of dyeing are also unrivalled for the brilliancy and purity of
their colour.—E. 3.
TURMERIC (Curcuma, Terra merita, Souchet or Safran des Indes, Fr.; Gelb-
wurzel, Ger.) is the rhizome of the Curcuma longa and C. rotunda, a plant which grows
in the East Indies, where it is much employed in dyeing yellow, as also as a condiment
in curry sauce or powder. The root is knotty, tubercular, oblong, and wrinkled ;
pale-yellow without, and brown-yellow within; of a peculiar smell, a taste bitterish
and somewhat spicy. It contains a peculiar yellow principle, called Curcwmine, a
brown colouring-matter, a volatile oil, starch, &e. The yellow tint of turmeric is
changed to brown-red by alkalis, alkaline earths, subacetate of lead, and several
metallic oxides ; for which reason, paper stained with it is employed as a chemical
test. aa
Tarmeric is employed by the wool-dyers for compound colours which require an
admixture of yellow, as for cheap browns and olives. As a yellow dye it is employed
only upon silk. It is a very fugitive colour. A yellow-lake may be made by boiling
turmeric-powder with a solution of alum, and pouring the filtered decoction upon
pounded chalk.
TURNBULL’'S BLUE. Ferricyanide of iron, obtained by precipitating a solu-
tion of a salt of protoxide of iron with ferricyanide of potassium. See Brvz Pra-
MENTs and Prussian Bron.
1048 TURQUOISE
TURNER'S YELLOW. An oxychloride of lead. See Parent YuLtow.
TURNSOLE. Seo Arcum and Lirmus. ;
TURPENTINE. (Zérébenthinc, Fr.; Terpentin, Ger.) The term Turpentine
is applied to a liquid or soft solid product of certain coniferous plants, and of the
Pistachia Terebinthus. ‘
The following varieties are those which are usually found in the market :—
American or White Turpentine ; Bordeaux Turpentine; Venice Turpentine ; Strasburg
Turpentine ; Canadian Turpentine, or Canada Balsam; Chio Turpentine; Frankincense.
In nearly all cases the processes of collecting are similar. A hollow is cut in the
tree yielding the turpentine, a few inches from the ground, and the bark removed for
the space of about 18 inches above it. The turpentine runs into this hollow for
several months, especially during the summer months. In general character these
turpentines have much in common; being oleo-resins, varying slightly in colour,
consistency, and smell. They enter into the composition of many varnishes.
TURPENTINE, OIL OF. This is obtained by distilling American turpen-
tine (which has been melted and strained) with water in an ordinary copper still.
The distilled product is colourless, limpid, very fluid, and possessed of a peculiar
smell, Its specific gravity, when pure, is 0°870; that of the oil commonly sold in
London is 0°875. It always reddens litmus-paper, from containing a little succinic
acid. According to Oppermann, the oil which has been repeatedly rectified over
chloride of calcium, consists of 84°60 carbon, 11°735 hydrogen, and 3-67 oxygen.
Rectified oil of turpentine is known as spirits or essence of turpentine. When oil of
turpentine contains a little alcohol, it burns with a clear flame ; but otherwise it affords
a very smoky flame. (See Campnine.) Chlorine inflames this oil; and hydrochloric -
acid converts it into a crystalline substance, like camphor. Itis employed extensively
in varnishes, paints, &c., as also in medicine. ‘
TURQUOISE. This gem is a compound of phosphate of alumina, with oxide of
copper. The Silesian turquoise, according to John, consists of:—alumina, 44°50;
phosphoric acid, 30-90; water, 19°00; oxide of copper, 3°75; oxide of iron, 1°80: while
the blue Oriental turquoise was found by Hermann to consist of alumina, 47°46;
phosphoric acid, 27°34 ; water, 18°18 ; oxide of copper, 2°02 ; oxide of iron, 1-10; man-
ganese, 0°50; and phosphate of lime, 3:41. ;
Turquoise occurs in the mountainous ranges of Persia, and when finely coloured it
is highly esteemed asa gem. The Shah of Persia is said to retain for his own use all
the more remarkable specimens. It is also found in Thibet.
Major Macdonald discovered a new locality for the turquoise in Arabia Petrea. Of
the discovery of these, he gives the following account :—
‘In the year 1849, during my travels in Arabia in search of antiquities, I was led
to examine a very lofty range of mountains composed of iron sandstone, many days’
journey in the desert, and whilst descending a mountain of about 6,000 feet high by
a deep and precipitate gorge, which in the winter time served to carry off the water,
I found a bed of gravel, where I perceived a great many small blue objects mixed
with the other stones ; on collecting them I found they were turquoises of the finest
colour and quality. On continuing my researches through the entire range of moun-
tains, I discovered many valuable deposits of the same stones, some quite pure, like
pebbles, and others in the matrix. Sometimes they are found in nodules varying in
size from a pin’s head to a hazel-nut ; and when in this formation they are usually of
the finest quality and colour. The action of the weather gradually loosens them from
the rock, and they are rolled into the ravines, and, in the winter season, mixed up by
the torrents with beds of gravel, where they are found. Another formation is, where
they appear in veins, and sometimes of such a size as to be of immense yalue. They
also occur in a soft yellow sandstone, enclosed in the centre, and of a surpassing bril-
liancy of colour, Another very curious formation is where they are combined with
innumerable small coloured quartz crystals, and which has the appearance of a mass
of sand, small pebbles, and turquoise, all firmly cemented together. This formation
is one of the most peculiar in the whole collection.’
Mr, Harry Emanuel, speaking of the Persian turquoise, says that, ‘small clear
stones bring from 6d. to 20s. each, whilst fine ring-stones will realise from 10/. to
401’... ‘A perfect stone of the size of a shilling, and of good depth, was sold not
long ago for 400/.’ ‘A good turquoise, sky blue and oval cut, five lines long and four
and a half lines broad, was sold in France for 241 franes ; and a light blue, greenish
lustre, and oval cut, five and a half lines long and five broad, was sold for 500 franes;
whereas an occidental turquoise, four lines long and three and a half broad, brought
only 121 franes,’—VFeuchtwanger.
The occidental sauiacbas; Asaileeil? called the ‘bone turquoise, or Odontolite, is
said to be fossil bone, ivory, or teeth, coloured with phosphate of iron. .
Turquoise is imitated by adding to the ammonia sulphate of copper, or oxide of
TYPE 1049.
copper dissolved in ammonia, finely-powdered calcined ivory. They are allowed to
remain together for about a week, at a moderate heat. The coherent mass is dried
and exposed to a gentle heat.
TUSSILAGO. The herb Coltsfoot (Twssilago farfara).
TUTENAG or TUTENAGUE, sometimes called Chinese silver. It is the
Packfong of the East Indies. A white metal of the Chinese, frequently stated to be
an alloy of copper and zinc. It is, in fact, a compound resembling German silver:
nickel, in combination with zine and copper, is found in most specimens
TUTONITE. Sco Expiostve AGENTS.
TYMP, in metallurgy, a rectangular casting of iron, placed upon the tymp-arch at
the top of the hearth of a blast-furnace. When it has a wrought-iron tube in its
interior through which cold water circulates, it is then called a ‘ water-tymp.
TYPE. (Caractére, Fr.; Druckbuchstabe, Ger.) The first care of the letter-
cutter is to prepare well-tempered steel punches, upon which he draws or marks the
exact shape of the letter, with pen and ink if it be large, but with a smooth blunted
point of a needle if it be small; and then, with a proper sized and shaped graver and
sculpter, he digs or scoops out the metal between the strokes upon the face of the
punch, leaving the marks untouched and prominent. He next works the outside with
files, till it be fit for the matrix. Punches are also made by hammering down the
hollows, filing up the edges, and then hardening the soft steel. . Before he proceeds
to sink and justify the matrix, he provides a mould to justify them by. wes
A matrix is a piece of brass or copper, about an inch and a half long, and thick in
proportion to the size of the letter which it is to contain. In this metal the face
of the letter intended to be cast is sunk, by striking it with the punch to a depth
of about one-eighth of an inch. The mould, fig. 2068, in which the types are cast, is
composed of two parts. The outer part is made of wood,
the inner of steel. At the top it has a hopper-mouth, a,
into which the fused type-metal is poured. The interior
cavity is as uniform as if it had been hollowed out of a
single piece of steel; because each half, which forms two
of the four sides of the letter, is exactly fitted to the other.
The matrix is placed at the bottom of the mould, directly
under the centre of the orifice, and is held in its position
by a spring, d. Every letter that is cast can be loosened
from the matrix only by removing the pressure on the
spring.
A good type-foundry is always provided with several
furnaces, each surmounted with an iron pot containing the
melted alloy, of 3 parts of lead and 1 of antimony. Into
this pot the founder dips the very small iron ladle, to lift
merely as much metal as will cast a single letter at a time.
Having poured in the metal. with his right hand, and
returned the ladle to the melting-pot, the founder throws
up his left hand, which holds the mould, above his head,
with a sudden jerk, supporting it with his right hand.
It is this movement which forces the metal into all the interstices of the matrix; for
without it, the metal, especially in the smaller moulds, would not be able to expel
the air and reach the bottom. The pouring in the metal, the throwing up the
mould, the unclosing it, removing the pressure of the spring, picking out the cast
letter, closing the mould again, and reapplying the spring to be ready for a new
operation, are all performed with such astonishing rapidity and precision, that a skilful
workman will turn out 500 good letters in an hour, being at the rate of one every eighth
part of a minute. A considerable piece of metal remains attached to the end of the
type as it quits the mould. There are nicks upon the lower edge of the types, to
enable the compositor to place them upright without looking at them.
From the table of the caster the heap of types turned out of his mould is trans-
ferred from time to time to another table, by a boy, whose business it is to break off
the superfluous metal, and this he does so rapidly as to clear from 2,000 to 5 000 types
in an hour; a very remarkable despatch, since he must seize them by their edges,
and not by their feeble flat sides. J'rom the breaking-off boy the types are taken to
the rubber, a man who sits in the centre of the workshop with a grit-stone slab on a
table before him, and having on the fore and middle finger of his right hand a piece
of tarred leather, passes each broad side of the type smartly over the stone, turning
it in the movement, and that so dexterously as to be able to rub 2,000 types in an hour.
From the rubber the types are conveyed to a boy, who with equal rapidity sets them
up in lines, ina long shallow frame, with their faces uppermost and nicks outwards.
This frame containing a full line is put into the dresser’s hands, who polishes them
1050 | ULTRAMARINE
on each side, and turning them with their faces downwards, euts a groove or channel in
their bottom, to make them stand steadily on end. It is essential that each letter be
perfectly symmetrical and square: the least inequality of their length would prevent
them from making a fair impression ; and were there the least obliquity in their sides,
it would be quite impossible, when 200,000 single letters are combined, as in ove side
of The Times newspaper, that they could hold together as they require to do, when
wedged up in the chases, as securely as if that side of the type formed a solid plate
of metal. Each letter is finally tied up in lines of convenient length, the pro-
portionate numbers of each variety, small letters, points, large capitals, small capitals,
and figures, being selected, when the fount of type is ready for delivery to the printer.
The sizes of types cast in this country vary, from the smallest, ealled Diamond, of
which 205 lines are contained in a foot length, to those letters employed in placards,
of which a single letter may be several inches high. The names of the different
letters and their dimensions, or the number of lines which each occupies in a foot, are
stated in the following table :—
Double Pica . 413 | Small Pica : . 83 | Minion » tee Or)
Paragon . . 444] LongPrimer . . 89 | Nonpareil . . 148
Great Primer . 651; | Bourgeois - - 1024 | Pearl 4 178
English. . 64 | Brevier .. ‘ -112} | Diamond . » (205
Pica . - es gE
TYPE METAL. An alloy of 3 parts of lead and 1 of antimony. Small type,
however, usually contains tin, in proportions varying from 13 to 20 per cent.
TYRIAN PURPLE. A costly dye obtained froma mollusc, which was employed
by the Tyrians in dyeing wool. See Crookes’s ‘ Handbook of Dyeing.’
TYRITE. A Norwegian mineral, containing columbic acid and yttria, discovered
and analysed by David Forbes. ;
TYROLINE. See Anmine VIOLET. -
TYROLITE. An arsenate of copper found in the Tyrol.
TYROSINE. See Anne.
U
ULEXITE. A native borate of lime and soda, known also as Boronatrocalcite.
It occurs at Iquique, in Peru; and in the Province of Tarapaca. See Boron.
ULLMANNITE. An antimonio-sulphide of nickel, occasionally containing
arsenic. It occurs at Freusberg, in Nassau.
ULTRAMARINE (Outremer, Fr.; Ultramarin, Ger.), is a beautiful blue pig-
ment, obtained from the blue mineral called /apis-lazuli, by the following process :—
Grind the stone to fragments, rejecting all the colourless bits, calcine at a red heat,
quench in water, and then grind to an impalpable powder along with water, in a mill,
or with a porphyry slab and muller. The paste being dried, is to be rubbed to
powder, and passed through a silk sieve. 100 parts of it are to be mixed with 40 of
resin, 20 of white wax, 25 of linseed oil, and 15 of Burgundy pitch, previously
melted together. This resinous compound is to be poured hot into cold water;
kneaded well first with two spatulas, then with the hands, and then formed into one
or more small rolls. Some persons prescribe leaving these pieces in the water during
fifteen days, and then kneading them in it, whereby they give out the blue pigment,
apparently because the ultramarine matter adheres less strongly than the gangue, or
merely siliceous matter of the mineral, to the resinous paste. MM. Clément and
Desormes, who were the first'to divine the true nature of this pigment, thought that the
soda contained in the lapis-lazuli, uniting with the oil and the resin, forms a species of
soap, which serves to wash out the colouring-matter. If it should not separate ©
readily, water heated to about 150° Fahr. should be had recourse to. When the water
is sufficiently charged with blue colour, it is poured off and replaced by fresh water ;
and the kneading and change of water are repeated till the whole of the colour is
extracted. Others knead the mixed resinous mass under a slender stream of -water,
which runs off with the colour into a large earthen pan. The first waters afford, by
rest, a deposit of the finest ultramarine; the second a somewhat inferior article, and
soon. Kach must be washed afterwards with several more waters before they ae-
quire the highest quality of tone ; then dried separately, and freed from any adhering
particles of the pitchy compound by digestion in alcohol. The remainder of the mass
being melted with oil and kneaded in water containing a little soda or potash, yields
—-
——-
UMBER 1051
an inferior pigment, called wltramarine ashes. The best wltramarine is a splendid blue
pigment, which works well with oil, and is not liable to change by time.
Analyses of lapis-lazuli ultramarine will be found in the following article.
ULTRAMARINE, ARTIFICIAL. For many years every attempt failed
to make ultramarine artificially. At length, in 1828, M. Guimet resolved the pro-
blem, guided by the analysis of MM. Clément and Desormes, and by an observation
of M. Tassaert, that a blue substance, like ultramarine was occasionally produced on
the sandstone hearths of his reverberatory soda-furnaces. M. Gmelin, of Tiibingen,
— a prescription for making it; which consisted in enclosing carefully in a
essian crucible a mixture of 2 parts of sulphur and 1 of dry carbonate of soda,
heating them gradually to redness until the mass fuses, and then sprinkling into it by
degrees another mixture; of silicate of soda and aluminate of soda; the first con-
taining 72 parts of silica, and the second 70 parts of alumina. The crucible must be
exposed after this for an hour to the fire. The ultramarine will be formed by this
time ; only it contains a little sulphur, which can be separated by means of water
M. Persoz likewise succeeded in making an ultramarine, of perhaps still better quality
than that of M. Guimet. Lastly, M. Robiquet has announced, that it is easy to form
ultramarine by heating to redness a proper mixture of kaolin (China clay), sulphur,
and carbonate of soda. It would therefore appear, from the preceding details, that
ultramarine may be regarded as a compound of silicate of alumina, and silicate of soda,
with sulphide of sodium, and that to the reaction of the last constituent upon the
former its colour is due.
The constituents used in the different methods of making ultramarine vary in
character and in quantity. It is said that a good mixture may consist of :—dried
kaolin, 100 ; calcined Glauber salt, or sulphate of soda, 41; calcined soda, 41; pul-
verised charcoal or coal, 17; and sulphur, 13. When such a mixture is heated
without access of air it yields a product from which a white substance may be obtained,
known as white ultramarine. Calcined in crucibles at a high temperature, with a very
limited supply of air, the mixture affords a semi-fused greenish mass termed green
ultramarine. By carefully roasting this with sulphur at a low temperature, with free
access of air, the ordinary blue wltramarine is obtained; and this when powdered,
lixiviated, and dried, is ready for the market.
It appears that potash-salts cannot be substituted for soda-salts in the manufacture
of ultramarine, but it is said that those of baryta may be so employed. In some
eases, silica is added to the ultramarine mixture in the proportion of from 5 to 10 per
cent.
Both native and artificial ultramarine have been examined very carefully by several
eminent chemists. The following are a few specimens of these analyses :—
Analysis of Ultramarine, by Warrentrap.
Lapis-laguli. priests from
eissen, Blue. Green.
Potash : 3 1°75
Soda . ‘ a 9°09 21:47 ~~. 4 « 400 25°5
Alumina. Le Od 23°30. i « 29°5 30°0
Silica . , : 42°50 45°00. r . 40°0 39°9
Sulphur. ~~ 095 TGS cvs . - 40 4-6
Lime . ‘ ‘ 3:52 0°02
Tron .. F 5 0°86 LOG iss * gt tee 0-9
Chlorine . > 0°42
Sulphuric acid, 5°89 BBS, % és is ee 0-4
Water . . 0:12
Parisian artificial ultramarine,
by C. G. Gmelin.
Soda and potash , . . - 12863
Lime . s : “ 3 ‘5 - 15546
Alumina . - - ‘ Fy . 22-000
Silica . : s : : ‘ - 47°306
Sulphuric. acid F f 4 - 4679
Resin, sulphur, and loss. 3 - 12218
Notwithstanding the many investigations which have been made of ultramarine, its
chemical composition is by no means thoroughly understood ; and the German Asso-
ciation of Ultramarine Makers have recently (1874) offered a prize for the best essay
on this subject, from which, it may be hoped, more light will be thrown upon the
constitution of this compound.
ULVA. A seaweed used in the preparation of Green Laver. See Atom.
UMBER. A mechanical mixture of limonite (brown hematite) and hydrated oxide
1052 USQUEBAUGH
of manganese and clay. It occurs in beds with brown jasper in the island of Cyprus.
It is used by. painters as a brown colour, raw or burnt.
UNGUENTS. The name given by engineers to the greases applied to the bearing
parts of machinery. Unguents should be thick for heavy pressures, that they may
resist being forced out; and thin for light pressures, that their viscidity may not add
to the resistance to motion.—Rankine.
UNION GOODS. Cloths of a mixed character, as of flax and jute, or cotton and
jute.
: UPAS TREE. The Anxiiaris toxicaria, one of the order to which the bread-fruit
tree belongs. Fabulous tales have been told of its poisonous nature; if wounded,
a juice exudes which, when introduced into the human system, produces vomiting,
purging, and finally death.
URANITE. Two varieties of this mineral are known: the one is Copper-uranite,
or Torbernite, a phosphate of uranium and copper; and the other, Lime-uranite; or
Autunite, a phosphate of uranium and lime.
URANIUM. is one of the rare metals, and was first discovered by Klaproth in
1786 inthe mineral called pechblende, which was, previously to this, mistaken for an ore
of zinc. He called it Uranium after the planet discovered by Herschel about the same
time. The ores of uranium are few; the principal being, Pechblende (piichblende), a
brownish or velvet-black mineral, which is essentially a proto-peroxide of uranium.
It occurs in veins with ores of lead and silver in Saxony, and with tin in Cornwall.
Uranite, a phosphate of copper and uranium, occurs in France; and is found of great
beauty near Callington and near Redruth in Cornwall. Samarskite and urano-
tantalite contain oxide of uranium with yttria and niobic acid. Johannite, uran-vitriol,
or sulphate of uranium. Zippeite, sulphate of sesquioxide of uranium. Uranochre,
an earthy yellow impure oxide of uranium.
The metal itself can‘only be obtained by the intervention of potassium or sodium,
in the same manner as magnesium. It is a black coherent powder, or a white mal-
leable metal, according to the state of aggregation. Itis not oxidised by air or water,
but very combustible when exposed to heat. It unites also with great violence with
chlorine and with sulphur: M. Peligot admits three distinct oxides of uranium, and
two other compounds of the metal and oxygen, which he designates as suboxides.
Protoxide, UO.—This is a brown powder, sometimes highly erystalline.
Proto-sesquioxide ; black oxide; U*05, or 2U0 + U?0%,—This oxide was formerly
considered as the protoxide, and is produced whenever either of the other oxides are
strongly heated in the air.
Sesquioxide, U?0*,—This is the best known and most important of the oxides. It
forms a number of beautiful yellow salts; its colour, when prepared by heating the nitrate
to 480° in an oil-bath till no more nitrous fumes are disengaged, is a chamois yellow.
It may be obtained from pitchblende.
The only application of uranium.is to enamel-painting and glass-staining ; the prot-
oxide giving a fine black colour, probably by absorbing oxygen and becoming black
oxide, and the sesquioxide a delicate yellow. - .
Uranium has been found in a German blue pigment used by paper-hanging manu-
facturers: it contained both copper and uranium,
URANIUM YELLOW. Uranate of soda, used as a yellow colour for porcelain
painting. :
URAO. See Natron.
UREA. This is one of the principal constituents of urine, being always present
in it, but in variable quantities; the average quantity in healthy urine is about 14 or
15 parts in 1,000 of urine, but of course this varies from several circumstances, as
in disease, drinking a large quantity of liquid, &e. The urine passed the first in the
morning gives a fair estimate of the quantity of urea yielded by the urine of an
individual, It seems to be the principal form in which the waste nitrogenous com-
pounds of the body are eliminated from the system. As this animal product has no
direct use in the arts, the reader may be referred to Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry,
or to any modern treatise on Animal Chemistry.
USQUEBAUGH (/rish). A name given to whisky occasionally, but usually
applied to a liqueur prepared from whisky, or some other ardent corn-spirit. The
following liqueurs, as being of a similar character, are named here. Kirschwasser is
obtained in Switzerland and in some parts of France, from bruised black cherries
fermented and distilled. Maraschino is a similar liqueur, prepared also from a
peculiar kind of cherry growing in Dalmatia. Noyaw and several analogous liqueurs
are flavoured with an essential oil, containing more or less hydrocyanic acid and
often with that derived from bitter almonds, the kernels of peaches, apricots, &c.,
or from the leaves of laurels. Some of these compounds come under the denomina-
tion of tinctures; such, for instance, as Curagoa, which is prepared by digesting
*
thie
.
ee
VANADIUM BRONZE 1053
orange-berries (the immature fruit) and bitter orange-peal, with cloves and cinnamon,
in brandy. When this tincture is distilled and afterwards sweetened, it constitutes
White Curagoa. The compounds are frequently called Ratafias: a term derived, like
the word ‘ ratify,’ from ratwm and fio, ‘to make firm,’ ‘or confirm. By Ratafia, there-
fore, was originally meant a liquid drank at the ratification of an agreement.
Vv
VAALITE. A name recently given by Prof. Maskelyne to a variety of
vermiculite, occurring in the diamond-bearing rocks of South Africa. It takes its
name from the Vaal River.
VACUUM PAN. For a description of it, see Sucar.
VALONTIA is a kind of acorn, imported from the Levant and the Morea, for the
use of tanners, as the husk or cup contains abundance of tannin. See Lzearuer.
Valonia Imported in 1873 :—
; Tons Valne
From Austrian Territories Perry Ce eG) £20,793
» Greece . ‘ ‘ . 3,098 58,699
» Turkey . 4 F « 24,2388 443,899
,, Other countries " a 5 99
Total niet caislenciale| oOeOte 524,490
Valonia Exported in 1873 :—
Tons " Value
To Germany . ; : : . 196 £3,848
» Belgium . : : d « 202 8,927
» Other countries é 5 . 208 4,034
Total 3 F 2 - 606 11,809
VALUE. Two methods have been adopted for ascertaining the value of our
exports; one by means of the official value, the other according to the declared value.
In Lowe’s ‘ Present State of England’ (1822), there is a very succinct and clear account
of these methods, which is here extracted :—
‘The official value of goods means a computation of value formed with reference,
not to the prices of the current year, but to a standard, fixed so long ago as 1696, the
time when the office of Inspector-General of the Imports and Exports was established,
and a Custom-house ledger opened to record the weight, dimensions, and value of the
merchandise that passed through the hands of the officers. One uniform rule is
followed, year by year, in the valuation, some goods being estimated by weight, others
by the dimensions, the whole without reference to the market price. This course has
the advantage of exhibiting, with strict accuracy, every increase or decrease in the
quantity of our exports.
Next as to the value of these exports in the market:—In 1798 there was imposed
a duty of 2 per cent, on our exports, the value of which was taken, not by the official
standard, but by the declaration of the exporting merchants. Such a declaration may
be assumed as a representation of, or at least an approximation to, the market price
of merchandise, there being on the one hand no reason to apprehend that merchants
would pay a percentage on an amount beyond the market value, while on the other
the liability to seizure afforded a security against under valuation.’ See Imports and
Exports,
VANADINITE. A vanadate of lead, with chloride of lead, occurring at Wan- ~
lock Head, in Dumfriesshire, and in Siberia and Mexico.
VANADIUM is 2 metal discovered by Sefstrém, in 1830, in a Swedish iron
extracted from the iron ores of Taberg, not far from Jénképing. Its name is derived
from Vanadis, a Seandinavian idol. This metal has been found as vanadate of lead,
in the mineral Vanadinite, and it has been detected in the copper-bearing sandstone
of Alderley Edge, in Cheshire. Vanadium is white, and when its surface is polished
it resembles silver or molybdenum more than any other metal. It combines with
oxygen to form four oxides. The compounds of vanadium have recently been studied
by Prof. Roscoe.
The vanadate of ammonia, mixed with infusion of nutgalls, forms a black liquid,
which is a very excellent writing-ink.
VANADIUM BRONZE. Sco Bronze Powpers,
1054 VARNISH
VANILLA, or VANILLE, is the oblong narrow pod of various species of
Vanilla (as V. aromatica and V. planifolia), of the natural family Orchidee, which
grows in Mexico, Columbia, Peru, and on the banks of the Oronoco.
The best comes from the forests round the village of Zentila, in the Intendancy of
Oaxaca. The vanilla plant is cultivated in Brazil, in the West Indies, and some other
tropical countries, but does not produce fruit of such a delicious aroma as in Mexico,
It clings like a parasite to the trunks of old trees, and sucks the moisture which their
bark derives from the lichens, and other cryptogams, but without drawing the nourish-
ment from the tree itself. The fruit is subeylindric, about 8 inches long, one-celled,
siliquose, and pulpy within. It should be gathered before it is fully ripe.
When about 12,000 of these pods are collected, they are strung like a garland by
their lower end, as near as possible to the foot-stalk ; the whole are plunged for an
instant in boiling water to blanch them ; they are then hung up in the open air, and
exposed to the sun for a few hours. Next day they are lightly smeared with oil, by
means of a feather, or the fingers; and are surrounded with oiled cotton, to prevent
the valves from opening. As they become dry, on inverting their upper end they
discharge a viscid liquid from it, and they are pressed at several times with oiled
fingers, to promote its flow. The dried pods lose their appearance, grow brown,
wrinkled, soft, and shrink into one-fourth of their original size. In this state they
are touched a second time with oil, but very sparingly; because, with too much oil,
they would lose much of their delicious perfume. They are then packed for the
market, in small bundles of 50 to 100 in each, enclosed in lead-foil, or tight metallic
eases. As it comes to us, vanilla is a capsular fruit, of the thickness of a swan’s
quill, strait, cylindrical, but somewhat flattened, truncated at the top, thinned off at
the ends, glistening, wrinkled, furrowed lengthwise, flexible, from 5 to 10 inches long,
and of a reddish-brown colour. It contains a pulpy parenchyma, soft, unctuous, very
brown, in which are embedded black, brilliant, very small seeds. Its smells am-
brosial and aromatic; its taste is hot, and rather sweetish. These properties seem to
depend upon an essential oil, and also upon benzoic acid, which forms efflorescences
upon the surface of the fruit. The pulpy part possesses alone the aromatic quality.
The kind most esteemed in France is called éeg vanilla: it is about six inches long,
from + to 4 of an inch broad, narrowed at the two ends, and curved at the base,
somewhat soft and viscid, of a dark-reddish colour, and of a most delicious flavour,
like that of balsam of Peru. It is called vanilla givrées, when it is covered with
efflorescences of benzoic acid, after having been kept in a dry place, and in vessels not
hermetically closed.
The second sort, called vanilla simarona, or bastard, is a little smaller than the
preceding, of a less deep brown hue, drier, less aromatic, destitute of efflorescence. It
is said to be the produce of the wild plant, and is brought from St. Domingo.
A third sort, which comes from Brazil, is the vanillon, or large vanilla of the
French market ; the vanilla pamprona or bova of the Spaniards. - Its length is from 5
to 6 inches ; its breadth from 3 to # of an inch. It is brown, soft, viscid, almost
always open, of a strong smell, but less agreeable than the leg. It is sometimes a
little spoiled by an incipient fermentation. It is cured with sugar, and enclosed in
tin-plate boxes, which contain from 20 to 60 pods.
Vanilla, as an aromatic, is much sought after by makers of chocolate, ices, and
creams; by confectioners, perfumers, and liquorists, or distillers, It is difficultly
reduced to fine particles ; but it may be sufficiently attenuated by cutting it into small
bits, and grinding these along with sugar. The odorous principle can, for some pur-
poses, be extracted by alcohol.
Some researches recently conducted in Dr. Hofmann’s laboratory at Berlin, by MM,
Tiemann and Haarmann, have led to the successful preparation of a substance which
appears to be identical in chemical and physical properties with vanillin or the aromatic
principle of vanilla, The cambium of coniferous trees contains a crystallisable
glucoside called coniferin; submitted to the action of ferments, eoniferin is resolved
into glucose and a crystalline product, which, under the influence of oxidising agents,
such as a mixture of bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid, gives rise to the forma-
tion of vanillin, or the aromatic principle of vanilla, The manufacture of artificial
vanillin on a commercial scale is about to be commenced (1874).
VAPOUR (Vapeur, Fr.; Dampf, Ger.) is the state of elastic or aériform fiyidity
into which any substance, naturally solid or liquid at ordinary temperatures, may be
converted by the agency of heat. A visible fluid floating in the atmosphere, as distin-
guished from a gas which is ordinarily, unless it be coloured as chlorine gas, invisible.
The vapour of water is Srram.
VAREC. The name of kelp made on the coast of Normandy. See Kerrand Vriac.
VARNISH (Vernis, Fr.; Firniss, Ger.) is a solution of resinous matter, which
is spread over the surface of any body, in order to give it a shining, transparent, and
VARNISH 1055
hard coat, capable of resisting, in a greater or less degree, the influences of air and
moisture. Such a coat consists of the resinous parts of the solution, which remain in
a thin layer upon the surface after the liquid solvent has either evaporated away, or
has dried up. When large quantities of spirit-varnish are to be made, a common
still, mounted with its capital and worm, is the vessel employed for containing the
materials, and it is placed in a steam- or water-bath. The capital should be provided
with a stuffing-box, through which a stirring-rod may pass down to the bottom of
the still, with a cross-piece to its lower end, and a handle or winch at its top. After
heating the bath till the alcohol boils and begins to distil, the heat ought to be lowered,
that the solution may continue to proceed in an equable manner, with as little eva-
poration of spirit as possible. The operation may be supposed to be complete when
the rod can be easily turned round. The varnish must be passed through a silk sieve
of proper fineness ; then filtered through porous paper, or allowed to clear leisurely
in stone jars. The alcohol which has come over should be added to the varnish, if
the just proportions of the resins have been introduced at first.
The building or shed wherein varnish is made, ought to be quite detached from any
buildings whatever, to avoid accidents by fire. For general purposes, a building about
18 feet by 16 is sufficiently large for manufacturing 4,000 gallons and upwards annually,
provided there are other convenient buildings for the purpose of holding the utensils,
and warehousing the necessary stock.
Procure a copper pan made like a common washing-copper, which will contain from
50 to 80 gallons, as occasion may require ; when wanted, set it upon the boiling furnace,
and fill it up with linseed oil within 5 inches of the brim. Kindle a fire in the
furnace underneath, and manage the fire so that the oil shall gradually, but slowly,
increase in heat for the first two hours; then increase the heat to a gentle simmer;
and if there is any scum on the surface, skim it off with a copper ladle, and put the
skimming away. Let the oil boil gently for three hours longer; then introduce, by
a little at a time, one quarter of an ounce of the best calcined magnesia for every
gallon of oil, occasionally stirring the oil from the bottom. When the magnesia is all
in, let the oil boil rather smartly for one hour ; it will then be sufficient. Lay a cover
over the oil, to keep out the dust while the fire is withdrawn and extinguished by
water; next uncover the oil, and leave it till next morning; and then while it is yet
hot, ladle it into the carrying-jack, or let it out through the pipe and cock ; carry it
away, and deposit it in either a tin or leaden cistern, for wooden vessels will not hold
it; let it remain to settle for at least three months. The magnesia will absorb all the
acid and mucilage from the oil, and fall to the bottom of the cistern, leaving the oil
clear and transparent, and fit for use. Recollect when the oil is taken out not to
disturb the bottoms, which are only fit for black paint.
General Observations and Precautions to be observed in making Varnishes.—Set
on the boiling-pot with 8 gallons of oil; kindle the fire; then lay the fire in the
gum-furnace ; have as many 8lb.-bags of gum copal all ready weighed up as will bo
wanted ; put one 8lb. into the pot, put fire to the furnace, set on the gum-pot : in three
minutes (if the fire is brisk) the gum will begin to fuse and give out its gas, steam,
and acid; stir and divide the gum, and attend to the rising of it, as before directed.
8 lbs. of copal take in general from sixteen to twenty minutes in fusing, from the
beginning till it gets clear like oil, but the time depends very much on the heat of the
fire and the attention of the operator. During the first twelve minutes while the gum
is fusing, the assistant must look to the oil, and bring it to a smart simmer; for it
ought to be neither too hot nor too cold, but in appearance beginning to boil, which he
is strictly to observe, and when ready to call out, ‘Beara hand!’ Then immediately
both lay hold of a handle of the boiling~pot, lift it right up so as to clear the plate,
earry it out and place it on the ash-bed, the maker instantly returning to the gum-pot,
while the assistant puts three copper ladlefuls of oil into the copper pouring-jack,
bringing iv in, and placing it on the iron plate at the back of the gum-pot to keep hot
until wanted. When the maker finds the gum is nearly all completely fused, and that
it will in afew minutes be ready for the oil, let him call out, ‘Ready oil!’ ‘The assis-
tant is then to lift up the oil-jack with both hands, one under the bottom and the other
on the handle, laying the spout over the edge of the pot, and wait until the maker
ealls out ‘Oil!’ ‘The assistant is then to pour in the oil as before directed, and the
boiling to be continued until the oil and gum become concentrated, and the mixture
looks clear on the glass; the gum-pot is now to be set upon the brick-stand until the
assistant puts three more ladlefuls of hot oil into the pouring-jack, and three more
into a spare tin for the third run of gum. There will remain in the boiling-pot still
34 gallons of oil. Let the maker put his right hand down the handle of the gum-pot
near to the side, with his left hand near the end of the handle, and with a firm grip.
lift the gum-pot, and deliberately lay the edge of the gum-pot over the edge of the
boiling-pot, until all its contents run into the boiling-pot. Let the gum-pot be held,
1056 VARNISH
with its bottom turned upwards for a minute, right over the boiling-pot. Observe,
that whenever the maker is beginning to pour, the assistant stands ready with a thick
piece of old carpet without holes, and sufficiently large to cover the mouth of the
boiling-pot should it catch fire during the pouring, which will sometimes happen if the
gum-pot is very hot; should the gum-pot fire, it has only to be kept bottom upwards,
and it will go out of itself; but if the boiling-pot should catch fire during the pouring,
let the assistant throw the piece of carpet quickly over the blazing pot, holding it
down all round the edges; in a few minutes it will be smothered. The moment the
maker has emptied the gum-pot, he throws into it half-a-gallon of turpentine, and
with the swish immediately washes it from top to bottom, and instantly empties it into
the flat tin jack : he wipes the pot dry, and puts in 8 lbs, more gum, and sets it upon
the turnace ; proceeding with this run exactly as with the last, and afterwards with
the third run. There will then be 8 gallons of oil, and 24 lbs. of gum in the boiling-
pot, under which keep up a brisk strong fire until a scum or froth rises and covers
all the surface of the contents, when it will begin to rise rapidly. Observe, when it
rises near the rivets of the handles, carry it from the fire and set it on the ash-bed,
stir it down again, and scatter in the driers by a little at a time; keep stirring, and if
the frothy head goes down put it upon the furnace, and introduce gradually the
remainder of the driers, always carrying out the pot when the froth rises near the
rivets. In general, if the fire be good, all the time a pot requires to boil from the
time of the last gum being poured in, is about three and a half or four hours ; but
time is no criterion fora beginner to judge by, as it may vary according to the
_ weather, the quality of the oil, the quality of the gum, the driers, or the heat of the
fire, &c. ; therefore, about the third hour of boiling, try it on a bit of glass, and keep
it boiling, until it feels strong and stringy between the fingers; it is then boiled
sufficiently to carry it on the ash-bed, and to be stirred down until it is cold enough
to mix, which will depend much on the weather, varying from half an hour in dry
frosty weather to one hour in warm summer weather. Previous to beginning to mix,
have a sufficient quantity of turpentine ready, fill the pot, and pour in, stirring
all the time at the top or surface, as before directed, until there are 15 gallons, or five
tins of oil of turpentine introduced, which will leave it quite thick enough if the gum
is good, and has been well run; but if the gum was of a weak quality, and has not
been well fused, there ought to be no more than 12 gallons of turpentine mixed, and
even that may be too much. Therefore, when 12 gallons of turpentine have been
introduced, have a flat saucer at hand, and pour into it a portion of the varnish, and
in two or three minutes it will show whether it is too thick; if not sufficiently thin,
add a little more turpentine, and strain it off quickly. As soon as the whole is stored
away, pour in the turpentine washings with which the gum-pots haye been washed,
into the boiling-pot, and with the swish quickly wash down all the varnish from the pot
sides; afterwards, with a large piece of woollen rag dipped in pumice-powder, wash,
and polish every part of the inside of the boiling-pot, performing the same operation
on the ladle and stirrers; rinse them with the turpentine washings, and at last rinse
them altogether in clean turpentine, which also put to the washings; wipe dry with a
clean soft rag the pot, ladle, stirrer, and funnels, and lay the sieve so as to be com-
pletely covered with turpentine, which will always keep it from gumming up. The
foregoing directions concerning running the gum and pouring in the oil, and also
boiling off and mixing, are, with very little difference, to be observed in the making
of all sorts of copal varnishes, except the differences of the quantities of oil, gum, &c.,
which will be found under the various descriptions by name, which will be hereafter
described.
The choice of linseed oil is of peculiar consequence to the varnish-maker. Oil
from fine full-grown ripe seed, when viewed in a phial, will appear limpid, pale, and
brilliant ; it is mellow and sweet to the taste, has very little smell, is specifically
lighter than impure oil, and, when clarified, dries quickly and firmly, and does not
materially change the colour of the varnish when made, but appears limpid and
brilliant.
Copal Varnishes for fine paintings, §c.—Fuse 8 lbs. of the very cleanest pale African
gum copal, and, when completely run fluid, pour in two gallons of hot oil, old measure ;
let it boil until it will string very strong; and in about fifteen minutes, or while it is
yet very hot, pour in three gallons of turpentine, old measure, and got from the top of
acistern. Perhaps during the mixing a considerable quantity of the turpentine will
escape ; but the varnish will be so much the brighter, transparent, and fluid; and will
work freer, dry more quickly, and be very solid and durable when dry. After the
varnish has been strained, if it is found too thick, before it is quite cold, heat as much
turpentine, and mix with it, as will bring it to a proper consistency.
‘abinet Varnish.—Fuse 7 lbs. of very fine African gum copal, and pour in half a
gallon of pale clarified oil; in three or four minutes after, if it feel stringy, take it out
VARNISH 1057
of doors, or into another building where there is no fire, and mix with it three gallons
of turpentine ; afterwards strain it, and put it aside for use. This, if properly boiled,
will dry in ten minutes; but if too strongly boiled, will not mix at all with the tur-
pentine; and sometimes, when boiled with the turpentine, will mix, and yet refuse to
incorporate with any other varnish less boiled than itself: therefore it requires a nicety
which is only to be learned from practice. This varnish is chiefly intended for the
use of japanners, cabinet-painters, coach-painters, &c.
Best-body Copal Varnish, for coach-makers, §c.—This is intended for the body parts
of coaches and other similar vehicles, intended for polishing.
Fuse 8 lbs. of fine African gum copal; add two gallons of clarified oil (old measure) ;
boil it very slowly for four or five hours, until quite stringy; mix with three gallons
and a half of turpentine ; strain off, and pour it into a cistern. As they are too slow
in drying, coach-makers, painters, and varnish-makers have introduced to two pots of
the preceding varnish one made as follows :—
8 lbs. of fine pale gum animé; 34 gallons of turpentine.
2 gallons of clarified oil; __ To be boiled four hours.
The more minutely the gum copal is run, or fused, the greater the quantity, and the
stronger the produce. The more regular and longer the boiling of the oil and gum
together is continued, the more fluid or free the varnish will extend on whatever it is
applied to. When the mixture of oil and gum is too suddenly brought to string by too
strong a heat, the varnish requires more than its just proportion of turpentine to thin
it, whereby its oily and gummy quality is reduced, which renders it less durable ;
neither will it flow so well in laying on. The greater proportion of oil there is used
in varnishes, the less they are liable to crack, because the tougher and softer they are.
By increasing the proportion of gum in varnishes, the thicker will be the stratum, the
firmer they will set solid, and the quicker they will dry. When varnishes are quite
new made, and must be sent out for use before they are of sufficient age, they must
always be left thicker than if they were to be kept the proper time. Varnish made
from African copal alone possesses the most elasticity and transparency. Too much
drier in varnish renders it opaque and unfit for delicate colours. Copperas does not
combine with varnish, but only hardens it. Sugar of lead does combine with varnish.
Turpentine improves by age; and varnish by being kept in a warm place, All copal-
or oil-varnishes require age before they are used.
All body-varnishes are intended and ought to have 1} 1b. of gum to each gallon of
varnish, when the varnish is strained off and cold; but as the thinning up, or quantity
of turpentine required to bring it to its proper consistency, depends very much upon
the degree of boiling the varnish has undergone, therefore, when the gum and oil
have not been strongly boiled, it requires less turpentine for that purpose ; whereas,
when the gum and oil are very strongly boiled together, a pot of 20 gallons will
require perhaps 3 gallons above the regular proportionate quantity ; and if mixing
the turpentine be commenced too soon, and the pot be not sufficiently cool, there will
be frequently above a gallon and a half of turpentine lost by evaporation.
Pale Amber Varnish._—Fuse 6 lbs. of fine picked very pale transparent amber in
the gum-pot, and pour in 2 gallons of hot clarified oil. Boil it until it strings very
strong. Mix with 4 gallons of turpentine. This will be as fine as body-copal, will
work very free, and flow well upon any work it is applied to: it becomes very hard,
and is the most durable of all varnishes.
Fine Mastic, or Picture Varnish.—Put 5 lbs. of fine picked gum mastic into a
new 4-gallon tin bottle; get ready 2 lbs. of glass, bruised as small as barley ; and
put it into the bottle with 2 gallons of turpentine that has settled some time; put a
piece of soft leather under the bung ; lay the tin on a sack upon the counter, table, or
anything that stands solid; begin to agitate the tin, smartly rolling it backward and
forward, causing the gum, glass, and turpentine, to work as if in a barrel-churn for at
least 4 hours, when the varnish may be emptied out. If the gum is not all dissolved,
return the whole into the bottle, and agitate as before, until all the gum is dissolved ;
then strain it through fine thin muslin into a clean tin bottle: leave it uncorked, so
that the air can get in, but no dust; let it stand for nine months at least before it is
used, for the longer it is kept the tougher it will be, and less liable to chill or bloom.
Common Mastic Varnish.—Put as much gum mastic, unpicked, into the gum-pot as
may bo required, and to every 23 lbs. of gum pour in 1 gallon of cold turpentine ;
set the pot over.a very moderate fire, and stir it with the stirrer ; be careful, when the
steam of the turpentine rises near the mouth of the pot, to cover it with the carpet,
and carry it out of doors, as the vapour is very apt to catch fire. A few minutes’
low heat will perfectly dissolve 8 Ibs. of gum, which will, with 4 gallons of
turpentine, produce,when strained, 43 eee? of yarnish; to which add, while yet
Vor. III. 3
1058 _ VARNISH
hot, 5 pints of pale turpentine varnish, which improves the body and hardness of the
mastic varnish,
Crystal Varnish.—Procure a bottle of Canada balsam, and set the bottle of balsam
at a little distance from the fire, turning it round several times, until the heat has
thinned it; then have something that will hold as much as double the quantity of
balsam ; carry the balsam from the fire, and, while fluid, mix it with the same quantity ~
of good turpentine, and shake them together until they are well incorporated: in a
few days the varnish is fit for use. This varnish is used for maps, prints, charts,
drawings, paper-ornaments, &c.; and when made upon a larger scale, requires only
warming the balsam to mix with the turpentine. -
White Hard Spirit of Wine Varnish.—Put 5 lbs.of gum sandarae into a 4-gallon
tin bottle, with 2 gallons of spirits of wine, 60 over proof, and agitate it until dissolved,
exactly as directed for the best mastic varnish, recollecting if glass is used that it is
convenient to dip the bottle containing the gum and spirits into a copperful of hot
water every 10 minutes—the bottle to be immersed only 2 minutes at a time—which
will greatly assist the dissolving of the gum; but, above all, be careful to keep a firm
hold over the.cork of the bottle, otherwise the vapour will drive it out. The bottle,
every time it is heated, ought to be carried away from the fire; the cork should be
eased a little, to allow the rarefied air to escape ; then driven tight, and the agitation
continued in this manner until all the gum is properly dissolved. After it is strained
off, put into the varnish 1 quart of very pale turpentine varnish, and shake and mix
the two well together. Spirit varnishes should be kept well corked: they are fit to
use the day after being made.
Brown Hard Spirit Varnish is made by putting into a bottle 3 lbs. of gum san-
darac, with 2 Ibs. of shellac, add 2 gallons of spirits of wine, 60 over proof; pro-
ceeding exactly as before directed for the white hard varnish, and agitating it when
cold, which requires about four hours’ time, without any danger of fire; whereas,
making any spirit varnish by heat is always attended with danger. No spirit varnish
ought to be made either near a fire or by candle-light. When this brown hard is
strained, add 1 quart of turpentine varnish, and shake and mix it well: next day itis
fit for use.
The Chinese Varnish comes from a tree which grows in Cochin-China, China, and
Siam. It forms the best of all varnishes.
Gold Lacker.—Put into a clean 4-gallon tin, 1 Ib. of ground turmeric, 14 ounce
of powdered gamboge, 34 lbs. of powdered gum sandarac, 4c a fpound of shellac,
and 2 gallons of spirits of wine. After being agitated, dissolved. and strained, add 1
pint of turpentine varnish, well mixed,
Red Spirit Lacker. Pale Brass Lacker.
2 gallons of spirits of wine ; 2 gallons of spirits of wine ;
1 lb. of dragon’s blood ; 3 ounces of Cape aloes, cut small ;
3 Ibs. of Spanish annotto ; 1 Ib. of fine pale shellac ;
3} Ibs. of gum sandarac ; 1 ounce gamboge, ¢ut small.
2 pints of turpentine. No turpentine varnish. Made exactly as
Made exactly as the yellow gold lacker. before. :
White Spirit Varnish—Sandarac, 250 parts ; mastic in tears, 64; elemi resin, 32;
turpentine (Venice), 64; alcohol, of 85 per cent., 1,000 parts by measure.
The turpentine is to be added after the resins are dissolved. This is a brilliant
varnish, but not so hard as to bear polishing.
Varnish for the Wood Toys of Spa.—Tender copal, 75 parts; mastic, 12°5; Venice
turpentine, 6°65; alcohol, of 95 per cent., 100 parts by measure; water ounces, for
example, if the other parts be taken in ounces.
The alcohol must be first made to act upon the copal, with the aid of a little oil of
lavender or camphor, and the solution being passed through a linen cloth, the mastic
must be introduced. After it is dissolved, the Venice turpentine, previously melted
in a water-bath, should be added ; the lower the temperature at which these operations
are carried on, the more beautiful will the varnish be. This varnish ought to be very
white, very drying, and capable of being smoothed with pumice-stone and polished.
The Varnish of Watin, for Gilded Articles——Gum lac, in grain, 125 parts; gam-
boge, 125; dragon’s blood, 125; annotto, 125; saffron, 82. Each resin must be dis-
solved in 1,060 parts by measure of alcohol of 90 per cent.; two separate tinctures
must be made with the dragon’s blood and annotto, in 1,000 parts of such alcohol ; and
a proper proportion of each should be added to the varnish, according to the shade of
golden colour wanted.
For fixing engravings or lithographs upon wood, a varnish called mordant is used in
France, which differs from others chiefly in containing more Venice turpentine, to
VENETIAN CHALK 1059
make it sticky; it consists of—sandarac, 250 parts; mastic, in tears, 64; resin, 125;
Venice turpentine, 250; alcohol, 1,000 parts by measure.
Milk of Wax is a valuable varnish, which may be prepared as follows :—Melt in a
porcelain capsule a certain quantity of white wax, and add to it, while in fusion, an
equal quantity of spirit of wine, of sp. gr. 0°830; stir the mixture, and pour it upon a
large porphyry slab. The granular mass is to be converted into a paste by the muller,
with the addition, from time to time, of a little aleohol; and as soon as it appears to
be smooth and homogeneous, water is to be introduced in small quantities successively,
tothe amount of four times the weight of the wax. This emulsion is to be then
passed through canvas, in order to separate such particles as may be imperfectly in-
corporated. The milk of wax, thus prepared, may be spread with a smooth brush
upon the surface of a painting, allowed to dry, and then fused by passing a hot iron
(salamander) over its surface. When cold, it is to be rubbed with a linen cloth to
bring out the lustre,
Black Japan is made by putting into the set-pot 48 lbs. of Naples or any other of
the foreign asphaltums (except the Egyptian). As soon as it is melted, pour in 10
gallons of raw linseed oil; keep a moderate fire, and fuse 8 lbs. of dark gum
animé in the gum-pot; mix it with 2 gallons of hot oil, and pour it into the set-pot.
Afterwards fuse 10 Ibs. of dark or sea amber in the 10-gallon iron-pot; keep
stirring it while fusing; and whenever it appears to be overheated, and rising too
high in the pot, lift it from the fire for a few minutes. When it appears completely
fused, mix in 2 gallons of hot oil, and pour the mixture into the set-pot ; continue the
boiling for 3 hours longer, and during that time introduce the same quantity of driers
as before directed: draw out the fire, and let it remain until morning; then boil it
until it rolls hard, as before directed: leave it to cool, and afterwards mix with
turpentine. ‘
Best Brunswick Black.—In an iron pot, over a slow fire, boil 45 Ibs. of foreign
asphaltum for at least 6 hours; and during the same time boil in ancther iron pot
6 gallons of oil which has been previously boiled. During the boiling of the 6 gallons
introduce 6 lbs. of litharge gradually, and boil until it feels stringy between the
fingers ; then ladle or pour it into the pot containing the boiling asphaltum. Let the
mixture boil until, upon trial, it will roll into hard pills; then let it cool, and mix it
with 25 gallons of turpentine, or until it is of a proper consistency.
Iron-work Bilack.—Put 48 lbs. of foreign asphaltum into an iron pot, and boil
for 4 hours. During the first 2 hours introduce 7 lbs. of red lead, 7 lbs. of
litharge, 8 Ibs. of dried copperas, and 10 gallons of boiled oil; add 1 eight-pound
run of dark gum, with 2 gallons of hot oil. After pouring the oil and gum,
continue the boiling 2 hours, or until it will roll into hard pills like japan. When
cool, thin it off with 30 gallons of turpentine, or until it is of a proper consis-
tency. This varnish is intended for blacking the iron-work of coaches and other
carriages, &c.
A cheap Brunswick Black—Put 28 lbs. of common black pitch, and 28 Ibs. of
common asphaltum made from gas-tar, into an iron pot; boil both for 8 or 10 hours,
which will evaporate the gas and moisture; let it stand all night, and early next
morning, as soon as it boils, put in 8 gallons of boiled oil; then introduce, gradually,
10 Ibs. of red lead and 10 Ibs. of litharge, and boil for 3 hours, or until it will
roll very hard. When ready for mixing, introduce 20 gallons of turpentine, or more,
until of a proper consistency. This is intended for engineers, founders, ironmongers,
&e. It will dry in half an hour, or less, if properly boiled.
VEGETABLE BUTTER. A fatty substance expressed from the seeds of an
Indian tree, the Bassia butyracea, Roxb. It is said to make good soap.
VEGETABLE ETHIOPS. A charcoal prepared by the incineration in a
covered crucible of the Fucus vesiculosus, or common sea-wrack.
VEGETABLE FIBRE. Mostof the useful vegetable fibres are described under
their proper heads, as Frax, Hemp, &c. See also Fires, and Fisrn, VEcrraBie.
VEGETABLE IVORY. See Corosa Nots, and Ivory, Vecerase.
VEGETABLE PARCHMENT. Sce Parcument, VEGETABLE.
VEINS (Filons, Fr. ; Génge, Ger.) aze the fissures or rents in rocks, which are
filled with peculiar mineral substances, most commonly metallic ores, See Murnzs,
Mintne, &e.
VEIN-STONES are the mineral substances which accompany, and frequently
enclose, the metallic ores. See Mines, Minine, &ce.
VELLUM is a fine sort of parchment. See PARCHMENT.
VELVET (Vélowrs, Fr.; Sammet, Ger.). A peculiar stuff, the nature of which is
explained under Fustran and Textire Fasrics,
VENETIAN CHALK. is Srearire. Z
3 38x
1060 _ VENTILATION OF MINES
VENETIAN WHITE. A carefully-prepared carbonate of lead. See Wurrr Lean,
VENICE TURPENTINE. A turpentine obtained from the larch (Larix
Europea).
si es eg OF MINES. In our subterranean operations, especially
where quantities of carbonic acid are constantly being produced by respiration and
combustion, and where, as especially in our coal-mines, the workmen are constantly
exposed to the efflux of a gas—light carburetted hydrogen, which, when mixed with
air, becomes explosive, it is necessary to adopt the means of removing, as rapidly as
possible, the atmosphere by which the miner is surrounded.
The production of noxious gases renders ventilation a primary object in the
system of mining. If an air-pipe has been carried down the engine pit for the purpose
of ventilation in the sinking, other pipes are connected with it, and laid along the
pavement, or are attached to an angle of the mine next the roof. These pipes are
prolonged with the galleries, by which means the air at the forehead is drawn up the
pipes and replaced by atmospheric air, which descends by the shaft in an equable cur-
rent, regulated by the draught of the furnace at the pit-mouth. This circulation is
continued till the miners cut through upon the second shaft, when the air-pipes become
superfluous ; for it is well known that the instant such communication is made, as is
represented in fig. 2068 a, the air spontaneously descends in the engine-pit a, and passing
along the gallery a, ascends in a steady current in the second
20684 pits. The air,in sinking through 4, has at first the atmospheric
wb temperature, which in winter may bé at or under the freezing-
| point of water; but its temperature increases in passing down
through the relatively warmer earth, and ascends in the shaft 3,
| warmer than the atmosphere. When shafts are of unequal
depths, as represented in the figure, the current of air flows
pretty uniformly in one direction. If the second shaft has the
same depth with the first, and the bottom and mouth of both be in the same horizontal
plane, the air would sometimes remain at rest, as water would do in an inverted
syphon, and at other times would circulate down one pit and up another, not always in
the same direction, but sometimes up the one and sometimes up the other, according
to the variations of temperature at the surface, and the barometrical pressures, as
modified by winds. There is in mines a proper heat, proportional to their depth, in-
creasing about one degree of Fahrenheit’s scale for every 50 feet of descent.
There is a simple mode of conducting air from the pit-bottom to the forehead of the
mine, by cutting a ragglin, or trumpeting, as it is termed, in the side of the gallery, as
2069 represented in jig. 2069, where a exhibits the gallery in the coal,
; = and sthe ragglin, which is from 15 to 18 inches square. The coal
“< itself forms three sides of the air-pipe, and the fourth is composed of
thin deals applied air-tight, and nailed to small props of wood fixed
between the top and bottom of the lips of the ragglin. This mode is very generally
adopted in running galleries of communication, and dip-head level galleries, where
carbonic acid abounds, or when from the stagnation of the air the miners’ lights
burn dimly.
When the ragglin or air-pipes are not made spontaneously active, the air is some-
times impelled through them by means of ventilating-fanners, having their tube placed
at the pit-bottom, while the vanes are driven with great velocity by a wheel and
pinion worked with the hand. In other cases, large bellows like those of the black-
smith, furnished with a wide nozzle, are made to act in a similar way with the fanners.
But these are merely temporary expedients for small mines.
Ventilation of mines and collieries has been likewise effected on a small scale, by
attaching a horizontal funnel to the top of air-pipes elevated a considerable height
above the pit-mouth. The funnel revolves on a pivot, and by its tail-piece places its
mouth so as to receive the wind. At other times, a circulation of air is produced by
placing coal-fires in iron grates, either at the bottom of an upeast pit, or suspended
by a chain a few fathoms down.
In all great coal-mines the aérial circulation is regulated and directed by double
doors, called main or bearing doors. These are true air-valves, which prevent tlie
current of air moving in one direction from mixing with another moving in a different
direction. Such valves are placed on the main roads and passages. Their functions
are represented in the annexed jig. 2070: where a shows the downcast shaft, in which
the aérial current is made to descend ; 8 is the upcast, shaft, sunk towards the rise of
the coal; and c the dip-head level. Were the mine here figured to be worked without
any attention to the circulation, the air would flow down the pit a, and proceed in a
direct line up the rise mine tothe shaft 8, in which it would ascend. The consequence
would therefore be, that all the galleries and boards to’the dip of the pit a, and those
lying on each side of the pits, would have no circulation of air; or, in the language
VENTILATION OF MINES 1061
of the collier, would be laid dead. ‘To obviate this result, double doors are placed in
three of the galleries adjoining the pit; viz. at @ and 0, ¢ and d, ¢e and f; all of which
open inwards to the shaft a. By this plan, as the air is not suffered to pass directly
from the shaft a to the shaft , through the doors @ and 8, it
would have taken the next shortest direction by ¢d and 2070
ef; but the doors in these galleries prevent this course, Bl
and compel it to proceed downwards to the dip-head level [==
©, where it will spread or divide, one portion pursuing. | \ % N i
a route to the right, another to the left. On arriving at ex: 2-0)
the boards g and &, it would have naturally ascended
by them; but this it cannot do by reason of the build-
ing or stopping placed at g and h. By means of such :
stoppings placed in the boards next the dip-head level, the air can be transported to
the right hand or to the left for many miles, if necessary, provided there be a train or
circle of aérial communication from the pit a to the pit B. Ifthe boards ¢ and & are
open, the air will ascend in them, as traced out by the arrows; and after being diffused
through the workings, will again meet in a body at ¢, and mount the gallery to the
pit B, sweeping away with it the deleterious air which it meets in its path. Without
double doors on each main passage, the regular circulation of the air would be con-
stantly liable to interruptions and derangements ; thus, suppose the door ¢ to be re-
moved, and only d to remain in the left-hand gallery, all the other doors being as
represented, it is obvious, that whenever the door d is opened, the air, finding a more
direct passage in that direction, would mount by the nearest channel J, to the shaft 8,
and lay dead all the other parts of the work, stopping all circulation. As the passages
on which the doors are placed constitute the main roads by which the miners go to
and from their work, and as the corves are also constantly wheeling along, were a
single door, such as d, so often opened, the ventilation would be rendered precarious
or languid. But the double doors obviate this inconvenience; for both men and
horses, with the corves, in going to or from the pit-bottom a, no sooner enter the door
d, than it shuts behind them, and encloses them in the still air contained between the
doors d and ¢; ¢ having prevented the air from changing its proper course while d was
open. When dis again shut, the door c may be opened without inconvenience, to
allow the men and horses to pass on to the pit-bottom at a: the door d preventing
any change in the aérial circulation while the door ¢ is open. In returning from the
pit, — same rule is observed of shutting one of the double doors before the other is
opened.
When carbonic acid gas abounds, or when the fire-damp is in very small quan-
tity, the air may be conducted from the shaft to the dip-head level, and by placing
stoppings of each room next the level, it may be carried to any distance along the
dip-head levels; and the farthest room on each side being left open, the air is suffered
to diffuse itself through the wastes, along the wall faces, and mount in the upcast pit.
But should the air become stagnant along the wall faces, stoppings are set up through-
out the galleries, in such a way as to direct the main body of fresh air along the wall
faces for the workmen, while a partial stream of air is allowed to pass through the
stoppings, to prevent any accumulation of foul air in the wastes.
In very deep and extensive collieries more elaborate arrangements for ventilation
are introduced. The circulation is made active by rarefying the
air at the upeast shaft, by means of a large furnace placed either at
the bottom or top of the shaft. The former position is generally pre-
ferred. Fig. 2071 exhibits a furnace placed at the top of the pit, A
little way below the scaffold, a passage is previously cut, either in a
sloping direction, to connect .the current of air with the furnace, or
it is laid horizontally, and then communicates with the furnace by
a vertical opening. If any obstacle prevent the scaffold from being
erected within the pit, this can be made air-tight at top, and a brick
flue carried thence along the surface to the furnace.
The furnace has a size proportional to the magnitude of the
ventilation, and the chimneys are either round or square, being from
50 to 100 feet high, with an inside diameter of from 5 to 9 feet at bottom, tapering
upwards to a diameter of from 23 feet to 5 feet. Such stalks are made 9 inches thick
in the body of the building, and a little thicker at bottom, where they are lined with
fire-bricks.
The plan of placing the furnace at the bottom of the pit is, however, more advan-
tageous, because the shaft through which the air ascends to the furnace at the pit-
mouth, is always at the ordinary temperature ; whereas, when the furnace is situated
at the bottom of the shaft, its sides get heated, like those of a chimney, through its
total length, so that, though the heat of the furnace be accidentally allowed to declina,
1062 - VENTILATION OF MINES
or become extinct for a little, the circulation will still go on, the air of the upeast pit
being rarefied by the heat remaining in the sides of the
To prevent the annoyance to the onsetters at the bottom from the hot smoke, the
plan has been adopted, as shown in the wood-eut, fig. 2072, where a represents the
lower part of the upcast shaft; 4, the furnace, built of brick, arched at top, with its
sides insulated from the solid mass of coal which surrounds it. Between the furnace
wall and the coal-beds a current of air constantly passes towards the shaft, in order
to prevent the coal catching fire. From the end of the furnace a gallery is cut in a.
rising direction at c, which communicates with the shaft at d, about 7 or 8 fathoms
from the bottom of the pit. Thus the furnace and the furnace-keeper are completely
disjoined from the shaft ; and the pit-bottom is not only free from all incumbrances,
but remains comfortably cool. To obviate the inconveniences from the smoke to the
banksmen in landing the coals at the pit-mouth, the following plan has been contrived
for the Newcastle collieries. Fig. 2073 represents the mouth of the pit: @ is the up-
cast shaft, provided with a furnace at bottom; 8, the downcast shaft, by which the
supply of atmospheric air descends; and d, the brattice carried above the pit-mouth.
A little way below the settle-boards, a gallery, c, is pushed, in communication with
the surface from the downcast shaft, over which a brick tube or chimney is built from
60 to 80 feet high, 7 or 8 feet diameter at bottom, and 4 or 5 feet diameter at top.
On the top of this chimney a deal funnel is suspended horizontally on a pivot, like a
turn-cap. The vane f, made also of deal, keeps the mouth of the funnel always in the
same direction with the wind. The same mechanism is mounted at the upcast shaft
a, only here the funnel is made to present its mouth in the wind’s eye. It is obvious
— the figure, that a high wind will rather aid than check the ventilation by this
plan.
The principle of ventilation being established, the next object in opening up a
colliery, and in driving galleries, is the double mine or double headways course; on
the simple but ingenious distribution of which, the circulation of air depends at the
commencement of the excavations.
The double headways course is represented in fig. 2074, where a is the one heading
or gallery, and 4 the other; the former being immediately connected with the upcast
side of the pit c, and the latter with the downcast side of the pit d. The pit itself is
made completely air-tight by its division of deals from top to bottom, called ‘the brat-
tice wall’; so that no air can pass through the brattice from d to c, and the intereourse
betwixt the two currents of air is completely intercepted by a stopping betwixt the pit-
bottom and the end of the first pillar of coal; the pillars or walls of coal, marked ¢,
are called ‘ stenting walls ;’ and the openings betwixt them, ‘ walls’ or‘thirlings’ The
arrows show the direction of the air. The headings a and 6 are generally made about
9 feet wide, the stenting-walls 6 or 8 yards thick, and are holed or thirled at such a
distance as may be most suitable for the state of theair. The thirlingsare 5 feet wide.
When the headings are set off from the pit-bottom, an aperture is left in the
brattice at the end of the pillar next the pit, through which the circulation betwixt
the upeast and downcast pits is carried on; but whenever the workmen cut through
the first thirling No. 1, the aperture in the brattice at the pit-bottom is shut; in con-
sequence of which the air is immediately drawn by the power of the upeast shaft
through that thirling as represented by the dotted arrow. Thus a direct stream of
fresh air is obviously brought close to the forehead where the mines are at work.
The two headings a and 6 are then advanced, and as soon as the thirling No. 2 is cut
through, a wall of brick and mortar, 43 inches thick, is. built across the thirling
No. 1. This wall istermed ‘a stopping ;’ and being air-tight, it forces the whole cireu-
lation through the thirling No. 2. In this manner the air is always led forward, and
caused to circulate always by the last-made thirling next the forehead ; care being had,
that whenever a new thirling is made, the last thirling through which the air was
circulated be secured with an air-tight stopping. In the woodcut, the stoppings are
placed in the thirlings numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and of consequence the whole cir-
culation passes through the thirling No. 7, which lies nearest the foreheads of the
————
+
VENTILATION OF MINES 1063 ©
headings, a, 4. By inspecting the figure, we observe that on this very simple plan a
stream of air may be circulated to any required distance, and in any direction, how-
ever tortuous. Thus, for example, if while the double headways course a, 6, is pushed
forward, other double headways courses are required to be carried on at the same
time on both sides of the first headway, the same general principles have only to be
attended to as shown in fig. 2075, where a is the upcast and } the downcast shaft.
The air advances along the heading ¢c, but cannot proceed farther in that direction
than the pillar d, being obstructed by the double doors ate. It therefore advances
in the direction of the arrows to the foreheads at f, and passing through the last
thirling made there, returns to the opposite side of the double doors, ascends now the
heading g to the foreheads at 4, passes through the last-made thirling at that point,
and descends, in the heading ¢, till it is interrupted by the double doors at k. The
aérial current now moves along the heading /, to the foreheads at m, returns by the
last-made thirling there, along the heading », and finally goes down the heading 0,
and mounts by the upcast shaft a, carrying with it all the noxious gases which it
encountered during its cireuitous journey. This woodcut is a faithful representation
of the system by which collieries of the greatest extent are worked and ventilated.
In some of these the air courses are from 30 to 40 miles long. Thus the air con-
ducted by the medium of a shaft divided ‘ WU
by a brattice-wall only a few inches thick, agey Y (i Y
after descending in the downcast in one Hy,
compartment of the pit at 6 o'clock in the YrtY
morning, must thence travel through a a7
cireuit of nearly 30 miles, and cannot arrive YU Ag/
‘ : Yo
at its reascending compartment on the other = - Y
pe = Re ciarone or pit Lip till 6 Y fide Vy} s: Z
o'clock in the evening, supposing it to move 7777» on (uaa WIA WEY
all the time at the rate of 2} miles per G YY
hour. Hence we see that the primum wobile Vi. Yj 7 YYW)
of this mighty circulation, the furnace, must @
be carefully looked after, since its irregu-
larities may affect the comfort, or even the
existence of hundreds of miners spread over
these vast subterraneous labyrinths. On tke
principles just laid down, it appears, that if
any number of boards be set off from any
side of these galleries, either in a level, dip, ey
or rise direction, the circulation of air may be advanced to each forehead by an ingoing
and returning current. ,
Yet while the circulation of fresh air is thus advanced tothe last-made thirling next
the foreheads f, h, and m, fig. 2075, and moves through the thirling which is nearest
to the face of every board and room, the emission of fire-damp -is frequently so
abundant from the coaly strata, that the miners dare not proceed forwards more than a
few feet from that aérial circulation, without hazard of being burned by the combustion
of the gas at their candles. To guard against this accident, temporary shifting
brattices are employed. These are formed of deal, about # of an inch thick,
3 or 4 feet broad, and 10 feet long; and are furnished with cross-bars for binding the
deals together, and a few finger-loops cut through them, for lifting them more ex-
peditiously, in order to place them in a proper position. :
The mode of applying these temporary brattices, or deal partitions, is shown in the
accompanying figure (2076), which shows how the air circulates freely through the
thirling d, d, before the brattices are placed. At 5 and c, we see two 2076
heading boards or rooms, which are so full of inflammable air as to be
unworkable. Props are now erected near the upper end of the pillar e,
betwixt the roof and pavement, about 2 feet clear of the sides of the
next pillar, leaving room for the miner to pass along between the pillar
side and the brattice. The brattices are then fastened with nails to the
props, the lower edge of the under brattice resting on the pavement,
while the upper edge of the upper is in contact with the roof. By this
means any variation of the height in the bed of coal is compensated by
the overlap of the brattice boards; and as these are advanced, shift-
ing brattices are laid close to and alongside of the first set. The miner base
next sets up additional props in the same parallel line with the former, and slides
the brattices forwards to make the air circulate close to the forehead where he is
working ; and he regulates the distance betwixt the brattice and the forehead by
the disengagement of fire-damp and the velocity of the aérial circulation. The props
are shown at dd, and the brattices at ff. By this arrangement the air is pre-
S
D>?CMW'EK
PS
Sy
®
1064 _ VENTILATION OF MINES
vented from passing directly through the thirling a, and is forced along the right-
hand side of the brattice, and, sweeping over the wall face or forehead, returns by
the back of the brattice, and passes through the thirling @. It is prevented, however,
from returning in its former direction by the brattice planted in the forehead.c, where-
by it mounts up and accomplishes its return close to that forehead. Thus headways
and boards are ventilated till another thirling is made at the upper part of the pillar.
The thirling @ is then closed by a brick stopping, and the brattice-boards removed
forward for a similar operation. _
When blowers occur in the roof, and force the strata down, so as to produce a large
vaulted excavation, the accumulated gas must be swept away; because, after filling
that space, it would descend in an unmixed state under the common roof of the coal.
The manner of removing it is represented in jig. 2077, where a is the bed of coal,
6 the blower, c the excavation left by the downfall of the roof, d is a passing door,
and ¢ a brattice. By this arrangement the aérial current is carried close to the roof,
and constantly sweeps off or dilutes the inflammable gas of the blower, as fast as it
issues. The arrows show the direction of the current; but for which, the accumu-
lating gas would be mixed in explosive proportions with the atmospheric air, and
destroy the miners,
There is another modification of the ventilating system, where the air-courses are
traversed across; that is, when one air-course is advanced at right angles to another,
and must pass it in order to ventilate the workings on the farther side. This is
accomplished on the plan shown in jig. 2078, where a is a main road with an air-
course, over which the other air-course 4, has to pass. ‘The sides of this air-channel
are built of bricks arched over, so as to be air-tight, and a gallery is driven in the
roof strata as shown in the figure. If an air-course, as a, be laid over with planks
made air-tight, crossing and recrossing may be effected with facility. The general
velocity of the air in these ventilating channels is from 3 to 4 feet per second, or about
23 miles per hour, and their internal dimensions
2077 2079 vary from 5 to 6 feet square, affording an area of
as from 25 to 36 square feet.
The hydraulic air-pump deserves to be noticed
among the various ingenious contrivances for
ventilating mines, particularly when they are
of moderate extent. a is a large wooden tub,
nearly filled with water, through whose bottom
the ventilating pipe 4 passes down into the re-
cesses of the mine, Upon the top of 4 there is
a valve e, opening upwards. Over 3, the gaso-
meter vessel is inverted in a, having a valve
also opening outwards at d. When this vessel
is depressed by any moving force the air con-
tained within it is expelled through d ; and when
it is raised, it diminishes the atmospherical pressure in the pipe }, and thus draws
air out of the mine into the gasometer; which cannot return on account of the valve
at ¢, but is thrown out into the atmosphere through d at the next descent.
Struve’s Mine Ventilator—This ventilator has been constructed in some of the
mines of South Wales upon a very large scale. Although in principle a pump of the
simplest form, some of the pistons have been made 20 feet in diameter, and two
pumps were constructed 21 feet in diameter. See jig. 2080.
In some mines to which the machine has been applied, the rarefaction and ventila-
tion has proved so strong as to prevent single doors being opened, unless protected
by supplemental doors. The circumstance of the air not being compressed in the
machine admits of large valve spaces, so that there is scarcely any appreciable
resistance to the passage of the air through the machine.
The annexed drawing, fig. 2080, represents the machine in operation at the Governor
and Company’s large collieries at Cwm Avon, Glamorganshire. ;
The sectional view explains the interna! construction, the darts showing the air-
currents ascending the upcast pit a, from the interior of the mine into the machine.
The general plan of distributing the air in all cases is to send the first of the
current that descends in the downcast shaft among the horses in the stables, next
among the workmen in the foreheads, after which the air, loaded with whatever
mixtures it.may have received, is made to traverse the old wastes. It then passes
through the furnace with all the inflammable gas it has collected, ascends the upcast
shaft, and is dispersed into the atmosphere. This system, styled coursing the air,
was invented by Mr, Spedding of Cumberland.
The piston 8, is shown immersed in water, which forms an air-tight packing.
The front or-outlet valyes », are shown in the external view of the yentilator. The
VENTILATION OF MINES 1065
end of the machine is represented open in the drawing, for the convenience of showing
the inlet valves x, and of explaining the internal construction.
$ 2080
D
a
Bs SN
« 4
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1 2081
G
A, The upeast pit.
B. Hollow pistons, made of wrought iron.
c. Wrought-iron tanks, resting on two blocks of masonry, and on six iron pillars.
D. Beam work, resting on three blocks of masonr
y-
E, The valve work and framing, fastened to sixteen upright pieces of timber, 9 inches square.
¥. Crank-wheel of steam-engine,
G. Piston-rods.
In ventilating the very thick coal of Staffordshire, though there is much inflammable
gas, less care is needed than in the North-of England collieries, as the workin are
very roomy, and the air-courses of comparatively small extent. The air is conducted
down one shaft, carried along the main roads, and distributed into the sides of work.
A narrow gallery, termed ‘the air-head,’ is carried in the upper part of the coal, in the
rib walls, along one or more of the sides, Lateral openings, named ‘ spouts, are led
from the air-head gallery into the side of the work; and the circulating stream, mixed
with the gas in the workings, enters by these spouts, and returns by the air-head to
the upeast.pit.
The means adopted. in the South Staffordshire coal-mines, which have seams vary-
1066 _ VENTILATION OF MINES
ing from 25 to 30 feet in thickness, are well worthy of consideration ; since a solid
mass of that magnitude must be peculiarly difficult to drain of its imprisoned gas. In
excavating such coal large masses must be detached, and pockets or hollows must be
formed, which are immediately filled with carburetted hydrogen ; whilst a thin vein,
for which a level roof can be generally secured, can be kept tolerably free from such
accumulations.
According to the ordinary system adopted in the collieries of the South Staffordshire
district, two shafts are sunk, near together, about 7 to 73 feet in diameter, each to the
bottom of the coal, say about 180 yards depth, the two shafts commencing at the same
level, and terminating at the same level. One of these becomes the ‘downcast pit’
down which the air descends, and the other the ‘ upeast pit’ up which the air ascends,
when a communication is made between them at the bottom; but the only determining
causes for the motion of the air being accidental, it is unknown beforehand what
direction the current will take, and which will become the downcast pit. It is always
found that a current of air does take place without any other means being employed ;
but the determining power is so faint, that, issuing from the upcast pit with such
trifling velocity, it is hable to be deranged by the action of the wind, or by atmospheric
changes ; and it sometimes happens that the air becomes quiescent, or an unsteady
column, alternately ascending and descending the same shaft; and then, in miner's
language, the pits ‘ fight,’ and the air will neither ascend nor descend with regularity
in one direction.
_. When the two pits are sunk down through the stratum of coal 30 ft. in thickness, a
‘ gate-road’ or horse-way is next driven in the bottom of the coal, from 8 to 9 ft. high,
and about the same width, commencing from the bottom of the downcast pit.
At the same time an air-head is driven about the middle of the coal, or 15 feet higk
‘from the ‘ floor’ or the bottom of the coal, commencing from the downcast pit. The
gate-road and air-head are then driven in parallel lines, at the same level upon which
they commence, for the distance of 100 to 500 yards, or more, according to the quantity
of coal intended to be cleared by the pits.
A series of ‘spouts’ or openings are driven upwards from the gate-road into the
air-head, at intervals of 10 or 15 yards to carry off the gas formed, and produce a
current of air for the workmen,—each spout being closed up when a new one is made
in advance. The excavation of the whole thickness of the stratum of coal, 30 feet
thick, is then proceeded with, by opening right and left from the end of the gate-road,
and excavating a ‘ side of work,’ which forms a rectangular cavity, say about 90 yards
long by 50 yards wide, or about an acre, the whole of the coal being taken away as
far as practicable, excepting the pillars of coal (generally 10 yards square and 10 yards
distant from each other) which are left to support the superincumbent strata.
The air descending the downcast pit, and travelling along the gate-road into the
workings, ascends to the air-head, and traversing that, ascends the upcast pit, carrying
with it the gas and impure vapours, as far as such imperfect and interrupted means
will effect, and delivering them into the open air.
By this plan the mine is ventilated, until the lower 15 feet of the coal is excavated ;
but where the whole thickness of the coal above the air-head has been removed, by
undergoing the coal from the bottom, and dropping it down in large masses, the upper
portion of the cavity, being above the level of the air-head, forms a reservoir for gas,
which gradually accumulates, and has no means of escape,—a reservoir of the capacity
of some hundred thousand of cubic feet, which may be wholly or in part occupied by
gas. An accidental change in the direction of the current of air would turn the course
of the air along the air-head into this reservoir of gas, and from thence into the gate-
road, and render an explosion very probable. After the coal is extracted, a solid wall
or ‘rib’ of coal, from 6 to 10 yards thick, which is commonly termed a‘ fire-rib,’ is left
all round the chamber, separating it from the next workings; and the entrance from
the gate-road is securely walled up, to exclude the air, and prevent spontaneous com-
bustion, which would otherwise, in a short period, take place. When an explosion
occurs, it is generally followed by a second, or more, as portions of the gas become
successively charged with the due proportions of air; and the liability to these terrible
explosions will always remain in mines thus worked, till, by some efficient means, the
gas can be allowed a continuous eseape, and a current of air can be ensured to move
always in one direction, with sufficient power to overcome all extraneous disturbing
forces, either of the wind or any atmospheric changes.
In fig. 2082 the system adopted and carried into operation by the late Benjamin Gib-
bons is shown. One pit a, is sunk, instead of two ; and in the side of the shaft a smaller
shaft 5 is cut, to form an ‘air-chimney,’ and is afterwards separated from the main
shaft ; this air-chimney is circular, and may be made about three feet diameter inside,
or moro, as may be required. The air-chimney is bricked at the same time with the
VENTILATION OF MINES — 1067
shaft,—the circular brickwork of each forming a partition of double thickness and
secure strength, from the two arches abutting against each other.
The gate-road ¢, is driven from the shaft at the bottom of the coal, as in the ordinary
SAGE,
close, in succession, when a fresh one is made in advance, so as to make the current
of air traverse the whole extent of the gate-road before it rises up to the air-head and
passes away to the air-chimney.
In the ordinary system of ventilation, it is manifest that only a very slight deter-
mining power compels the air to travel constantly in the same direction. Its current
is, at all times, weak and insufficient, and liable to be deranged by the action of the
wind, or atmospheric changes; and it is under no command whatever. To ensure
safety a constant current of air is indispensably necessary ; it should be a current, too,
maintained by natural causes, as far as possible, and never interrupted, for the reasons
already assigned ; and should be one that would not vary or fail.
To effect this, the ascending column of air must be rendered specifically lighter
than the air of the descending column, which circulates through the workings; and
this difference of specific gravity must be maintained constantly free from disturbance
by accidental causes, ae such an extent as to produce under all. circumstances
a total amount of propelling power that is found sufficient for the complete ventilation
of the mine. This is accomplished by conducting the whole of the gas in a continuous
ascending column, free from interruption or disturbance, up the separate air-chimney ;
and this ascending power is further increased by erecting a ventilating chimney
(shown by dots in the vertical section), of a sufficient height, on the surface of the
ground, into the base of the air-chimney is continued so as to form one uninterrupted
air-flue, from the top of the ventilating chimney down to the air-head in the seam
of coal.
Ventilation is nowhere exhibited to such advantage as in the coal-mines of
Northumberland and Durham, where they have carried well nigh to systematic perfec-
tion the plan of coursing the air through the winding galleries.
In Mr. Spedding’s system the whole of the return air came in one current to his
rarefying furnace (see letter c, fig. 2084), whether it was at the explosive point or not.
This distribution was often fraught with such danger, that a torrent of water had tobe
kept in readiness, under the name of ‘ the waterfall,’ to be let downto extinguish the fire
in a moment. Many explosions at that time occurred, from the furnaces below, and
also down through tubes from the furnaces above ground.
About the year 1807 Mr. Buddle had his attention intensely occupied with this
most important object, and then devised his plan of a divided current, carrying that
portion of the air which, descending in the downcast pit a, coursed through the
clean workings, through the active furnace c, fig. 2084, and the portion of the air
from the foul workings up the dumb furnace , till it reached a certain elevation in B,
the upeast pit, above the fireplace. The pitmen had a great aversion, however, at first
to adopt this plan, as they thought that the current of air by being split would
lose its ventilating power; but they were ere long convinced by Mr. Buddle to the
contrary. He divided the main current into two separate streams, at the bottom of
the pit a, as shown by darts in the figure ; the feathered ones representing that part of
the pit in which the course of the current of air is free from explosive mixture, or
1068 _ VENTILATION OF MINES
does not contain above one-thirtieth of carburetted hydrogen, as indicated by its
effect upon the flame of a candle. The naked darts denote the portions of the mine
where the air, being charged to the firing-point, is.led off towards p, the dumb furnace,
which communicates with the hot upcast shaft, out of reach of the flame, and thence
derives its power of draught. By suitable alterations in the stoppings (see the various
transverse lines, and the crosses) any portion of the workings may, by the agency of
the furnace, be laid out of, or brought within, the course of the vitiated current, at
the pleasure of the skilful mine-viewer; so that, if he found it necessary, he could
confine, by proper arrangements of his furnace, all the vitiated currents to a mere gas-
pipe or drift, and direct it wholly through the dumb furnace. During a practice of
twenty years Mr. Buddle had not met with any accident in consequence of a defect in
the stoppings preventing the oo division of the air. The engineer has it thus
within his power to detach or insulate those portions of the mine in which there is a
great exudation of gas, from the rest; and, indeed, he is continually making changes,
borrowing and lending currents, so to speak; sometimes laying one division or panel
upon the one air-course,.and sometimes upon the other, just to suit the immediate
emergency. As soon as any district has ceased to be dangerous, by the exhaustion
of the gas-blowers, it is transferred from the foul to the pure air-course, where gun-
_ may be safely used, as also candles, instead of Davy’s lamps, which give less
light.
Till the cutting out of the pillars commences (see the right end of the diagram),
the ventilation of the several passages, boards, &c., may be kept perfect, supposing
the working, extending no farther than a or 6; because, as long as there are pillars
standing, every passage may be converted into an air-conduit, for leading a current
of air in any direction, either to c, the burning,-or p, the dumb furnace. But the
first pillar that is removed deranges the ventilation at that spot, and takes away
the means of carrying the air in the further recess towards c. In taking out the
pillars, the miners always work to windward, that is to say, against the stream of
air; so that whatever gas may be evolved shall be immediately carried off from the
people at work. When a range of pillars has been removed, as at d, e, f, no power
remains of dislodging the gas from the section of the mine beyond a, d; and as the
pillars are successively cut away to the left hand of the line ad, 6, the size of the goaf,
or void, is increased, This vacuity, or goaf, is a true gas-holder, or reservoir, con-
tinually discharging itself at the points g, 4, é, into the circulating current, to be carried
off by the gas-pipe drift at the dumb furnace, but not to ke suffered ever to come in
contact with flame of any description. The next range of working is the line of
pillars to the left of a, b ; the coal having been entirely cleared out of the space to the
right, where the place of the pillars is marked by dotted lines. The roof in the
waste soon falls down, and gets fractured up to the next seam of coal, which, abound-
ing in gas, sends it down in large quantities, and keeps the goaf below continually
replenished.
Description of the Ventilating Fan at the Abercarn Collieries.—The late Mr. E. Rogers
having occasion to ventilate the workings in some extensive and very fiery coal-seams
won at Abercarn in South Wales, under circumstances where the furnace-ventilation
could not be applied, came to the conclusion that a plan of machine proposed for the
purpose by Mr. James Nasmyth would be the most suitable and effective. After con-
VENTILATION OF MINES , 1069
sultation with Mr. Nasmyth, it was resolved to test the principle and plan by actual
practice; and the ventilating fan described was erected at the Abercarn Collieries.
The general arrangements of the top of the shaft and the ventilating fan are shown
in figs. 2085 and 2086. Fig. 2087 is a side elevation of the fan and engine, to a larger
scale; and fig. 2086 a vertical section of the fan.
The fan a A, fig. 2087, is 13} feet diameter, with 8 vanes, each 3 feet 6 inches wide
and 8 feet long. It is fixed.on a horizontal shaft B, 8 feet 7 inches in length from
centre to centre of its bearings, which are nine inches long by 4} inches diameter. The
vanes are of thin-plate iron, and carried by forked wrought-iron arms secured to a centre
disk c, fixed upon the shaft x. The fan works within a casing, D D, consisting of two
fixed sides of thin wrought plate, entirely open round the circumference and connected
together by stay-rods ; the sides are 3 inches clear from the edges of the vanes, and
have a circular opening 6 feet diameter in the centre of each, from which. rectangular
wrought-iron trunks, zn, are carried down for the entrance of the air, the bearings
2085 Atal
mre
+
Kien) ef 1 AE je
TENN NN
S.
D—>;OUC[WA MW
y SS
CSMMOAMAM{
\
N
>
ML
CHM Mile WW WWHU Yd eda
for the fan-shaft B being fixed in the outer side of these trunks, which are strengthened
for the purpose by vertical cast-iron standards Fr bolted to them, and resting upon the
bottom foundation-stone «. :
The two air-trunks B 2 join together below the fan, as shown in fig. 2085, and com-
municate with the pit # by means of a horizontal tunnel 1, which enters the pit at 21
feet depth from the top.
The fan is driven by a small direct-acting non-condensing engine K, which is fixed
upon the face of one of the vertical cast-iron standards Fr, and is connected to a crank
on the end of the fan-shaft 8. The steam-cylinder is 12 inches diameter and 12 inches
stroke, and is worked by steam from the boilers of the winding engine of the pit, at a
1070 - _ VENTILATION OF MINES
pressure of about 13 lbs, per square inch. The excentric x for the slide valve is
placed just inside the air-trunk x, and works the valve through a short-weight shaft m,
with a lever on the outside.
The pit u, fig. 2085, is of an oval form, 10 feet by 18 feet, and divided near the
centre by a timber brattice n, the one side forming the upeast shaft and the other the
downeast. Both of these are used for winding, and the cages 0, in which the trucks,
2086 ;
é }
&e., are brought up, work between guides fixed to the timbering of the pit. The
pumps P are placed in the downcast shaft.
In order to allow of the upeast shaft being used for winding, the top is closed by an
air-valye x, which is formed by simply boarding up the underside of the ordinary
guard upon the mouth of the shaft, leaving only the hole in the centre through which
the chain works. This air-valye R is carried up by the cage o on arriving at
2087
the top of the shaft, as in jig.
2085, and then drops down again
flat upon the opening when the
A cage is again lowered. During
the time that the valve is lifted,
D yy? its place is oceupied by the close
bottom of the cage o, which nearly
fills the rectangular opening left
at the top of the shaft. By this
simple means it is found practi-
cally that a complete provision is
e for keeping the top of the
upeast shaft closed, and main-
taining a uniform current of air
up the shaft ; for the leakage of air
downwards through the top whilst
the cage is in the act of opening or
closing the air-yalve, and through
the small area that always remains
open, is found to be quite imma-
terial, and the surplus ventilating
power of the fan is amply sufficient
to be against it.
ess n the original construction a
more perfect air-valve was supposed
to be requisite, and was provided by the inclined flaps s s, which are fixed just above
the horizontal tunnel 1. ‘These are fitted closely together, leaving only a small opening
in the centre for the chain to pass throngh, and were intended to be opened by the
ascending eage coming in contact with them, closing again directly by means of
balance weights before the air-valve x at the top of the shaft was opened, so as to pre-
VERDIGRIS 1071
serve a thorough closing of the top of the shaft. The flaps were to be opened again
by a lever from the top to allow the cage to descend. However, it was found on trial
that the valve Rr at the top was amply sufficient; and consequently, although the
other yalves were also provided, they were never put into use.
The total depth of the pit is nearly 300 yards, and at a depth of 120 yards a split
of air is taken off, and coursed through workings from which coal and fire-clay are
got; the larger portion of the air descends to the bottom of the pit, and is there split
into many courses, to work two separate seams of coal and a vein of ironstone. The
total length of road laid with plates or rails in the workings is about 7 miles, and the
working faces amount to nearly double that distance. The longest distance that is
traversed by any single course or split of air in passing from the downcast to the
upeast shaft is nearly 2 miles. The quantity of materials raised from the pit is about
500 tons daily.
The following Table gives the results of a series of experiments made with this
ventilating fan by Mr. R. 8. Roper, showing that the quantity of air delivered at the
velocities of 60 and 80 revolutions of the fan per minute is 45,000 and 56,000 cubic
feet per minute, with a velocity of current of 782 and 1,037 lineal feet per minute
respectively, or about 9 and 12 miles per hour; and the degree of vacuum or ex-
haustion in the upeast shaft is *6 and -9 inch of water respectively.
Synopsis of Experiments on Fan Ventilation.
Height of Temperature by 2
barometer | Fahrenheit’s thermometer |, 2 Pe 2 bn
: SBlo}] se ws 2 au
re a4| Pls] $8 |2 less
2) 23] 5. leeds] @l ee ge |e 22:
54/3 SE | 22) fy EERE 2 (28 oe legleee
“B/E | SESS |ReSE So a] eg 3 ag
Eia8|85 |55/38 \ceclea/e |£8| 23 Bses3
ins, | ins.| deg. | deg. | deg. | deg. ins, Ibs.| Ibs
Mean of twelve experi-
ments, Natural Ven-
tilation . . » |29°61/30°60| 41°10 | 51°73 | 55°56 | 48-00] .. | 15 | 446-0) 24°325
Mean of four experi-
ments, Fan Ventila-
tion . + «© « |29°85}30°85} 38°10 | 50°10 | 53°93 | 47°30 | 60 | 50 | 781°8| 45°187 |13-0) 17-4
Mean of five experi-
ments, Fan Ventila-
tion . «© « — « |29°65/30°61) 41°40 | 50°70 | 55°10 | 48°70 | 80 | +90 /1087°0)| 56:555 |19°3| 23-2
The speed at which the ventilating fan is usually worked is about 60 revolutions per
minute, giving a velocity at the circumference of the fan of 2,545 feet per minute ;
45,000 cubic feet of air per minute are then drawn through the mine, nearly one-third
of which ventilates the upper workings, and the rest passes through the lower
workings,
' The Guibal fan especially has been used in several collieries.
Several modified forms of fan ventilation have been introduced, but the principle
involved is essentially the same in all,
VERANTINE. Seo Mapper.
VERATRINE. ©%HN’0' (C%H?w°’O'), An alkaloid contained in white
hellebore (Veratrum album); and in cevadilla (V. Sabadilla). It is exceedingly
poisonous, and if introduced into the nostrils excites violent and prolonged sneezing.
In the form of ointment it has been found a valuable remedy in neuralgic disorders.
VERDIGRIS. (Vert-de-gris, Fr.; Griinspan, Ger.) The copper used in this
manufacture is formed into round sheets, from 20 to 25 inches diameter, by one-
twenty-fourth of an inch in thickness. Each sheet is then divided into oblong squares,
from 4 to 6 inches in length, by 3 broad; and weighing about 4 ounces. They are
separately beaten upon an anvil, to smooth their surfaces, to consolidate the metal,
and to free it from scales. The refuse of the grapes, after the extraction of their
juice, formerly thrown on to the dunghill, is now preserved for the purpose of making
verdigris. It is put loosely into earthen vessels, which are usually 16 inches high,
14 in diameter at the widest part, and about 12 at the mouth. ‘The vessels are then
covered with lids, which are surrounded by straw mats. In this situation the materials
soon become heated, and exhale an acid odour; the fermentation beginning at the
bottom of the cask, and gradually rising till it actuates the whole mass. At the end
of two or three days the manufacturer removes the fermenting materials into other
vessels, in order to check the process, lest putrefaction should ensue. The copper-
1072 VERDIGRIS
plates, if new, are now prepared, by rubbing them over with a linen cloth, “inpet in
a solution of verdigris ; and they are laid up alongside of one another to dry the
plates are not subjected to this kind of preparation they will become black, instead of
green, by the first operation. When the plates are ready, and the materials in a
fermenting state, one of them is put into the earthen vessel for 24 hours, in order to
ascertain whether it be a proper period to proceed to the remaining part of the process,
If, at the end of this period, the plate be covered with an uniform green layer, con-
cealing the whole copper, everything is right; but if, on the contrary, liquid drops
hang on the surface of the metal, the workmen say the plates are sweating, and con-
elude that the heat of the fermented mass has been inadequate; on which account
another day is allowed to pass before making a similar trial. When the materials
are finally found to be ready, the strata are formed in the following manner ;—The
plates are laid on a horizontal wooden grating, fixed in the middle of a vat, on
whose bottom a pan full of burning charcoal is placed, which heats them to such
a degree that the women who manage this work are obliged to lay hold of them
frequently with a cloth when they lift them out. They are in this state put into.
earthen vessels, in alternate strata with the fermented materials, the uppermost and
undermost layers being composed of the expressed grapes. The vessels are covered
with their straw mats, and left at rest. From 30 to 40 lbs. of copper are put into
one vessel,
At the end of 10, 12, 15, or 20 days the vessels are opened to ascertain, by the
materials having become white, if the operation be completed.
Detached glossy crystals will be perceived on the surface of the plates; in which
case the grapes are thrown away, and the plates are placed upright in a corner of the
verdigris cellar, one against the other, upon pieces of wood laid on the ground. At
the end of two or three days they are moistened by dipping in a vessel of water, after
which they are replaced in their former situation, where they remain seven or eight
days, and are then subjected to momentary immersion, as before. This alternate
moistening and exposure to air is performed six or eight times, at regular intervals
of about a week. As these plates are sometimes dipped into damaged wine, the work-
men term these immersions one wine, two wines, &c.
By this treatment the plates swell, become green, and covered with a stratum of
verdigris, which is readily scraped off with a knife. At each operation every vessel
yields from 5 to 6 lbs. of verdigris, in a fresh or humid state; which is sold to
wholesale dealers, who dry it for exportation. For this purpose they knead the
paste in wooden troughs, and then transfer it to leathern bags, a foot and a half long
and ten inches in diameter. These bags are exposed to the sun and air till the ver-
digris has attained a sufficient degree of hardness. It loses about half its weight in
this operation ; and it is said to be knife-proof when this instrument, plunged through
‘the leathern bag, cannot penetrate the loaf of verdigris.
Verdigris is a mixture of the crystallised acetate of copper and the subacetate, in
varying proportions. According to Vauquelin’s researches, there are three compounds
of oxide of copper and acetic acid: 1, a subacetate, insoluble in water, but decom-
posing in that fluid, at common temperatures changing into peroxide and acetate ;
2, a neutral acetate, the solution of which is not altered at common temperatures, but
is decomposed by ebullition, becoming peroxide and superacetate ; and 3, superacetate,
which in solution is not decomposed, either at common temperatures or at the boiling
point ; and which cannot be obtained in crystals, except by slow spontaneous evapora-
tion, in air or in vacuo. The first salt, in the dry state, contains 66°51 of oxide; the
second, 44°44; and the third, 33°34.
Distilled Verdigris, as it was long erroneously called, is merely a dinacetate or super-
acetate of copper, made by dissolving, in a copper kettle, one part of verdigris in two
of distilled vinegar; aiding the mutual action by slight heat and agitation with a wooden
spatula. When the liquor has taken its utmost depth of colour, it is allowed to settle,
and the clear portion is decanted off into well-glazed earthen vessels, Fresh vinegar
is poured on the residuum, and if its colour does not become deep enough, more
verdigris is added. The clear and saturated solution is then slowly evaporated, in
a vessel kept uniformly filled, till it acquires the consistency of syrup, and shows a
pellicle on its surface ; when it is transferred into glazed earthen pans, called oulas in
the country. In each of these dishes two or three sticks are placed, about a foot long,
cleft till within two inches of their upper end, and having the base of the cleft kept
asunder by a bit of wood. This kind of pyramid is suspended by its summit in the
liquid. All these vessels are transported into erystallising rooms, moderately heated
with a stove, and left in the same state for 15 days, taking care to maintain an uniform
temperature. Thus are obtained very fine groups of crystals of acetate of copper,
clustered round the wooden rods; on which they are dried, taken off, and sent into
the market, They are distinctly rhomboidal in form, and of a lively deep blue colour.
VERDITER, BLUE 1073
Each cluster of crystals weighs from five to six pounds; and, in general, their total
weight is equal to about one-third of the verdigris employed.
VERDINE. One of the aniline colours, prepared by M. Eusebi.
VERDITER, or Bremen Green, This pigment is a light powder, having a blue
or bluish-green colour. The first is most esteemed. When worked up with oil or
glue, it resists the air very well.
The following is, according to M. J. G. Gentele, the process of fabrication in Bremen,
Cassel, Eisenach, Minden, &c. :—225 Ibs. of sea salt, and 222 lbs. of blue vitriol, both
free from iron, are mixed in the dry state, and then reduced between mill-stones with
water to a thick homogeneous paste. 225 lbs. of plates of old copper are cut by
scissors into bits of an inch square, then thrown and agitated in a wooden tub con-
taining 2 lbs. of sulphuric acid, diluted with a sufficient quantity of water, for the
purpose of separating the impurities; they are afterwards washed with pure water
in casks made to revolve upon theiraxes. The bits of copper being placed in oxidation-
chests, along with the magma of common salt and blue vitriol previously prepared in
strata of half an inch thick, they are left for some time to their mutual reaction. The
above chests are made of oaken planks joined without iron nails, and set aside in a
cellar, or other place of moderate temperature. The saline mixture, which is partially
converted into sulphate of soda and chloride of copper, absorbs oxygen from the air,
whereby the metallic copper passes into a hydrated oxide, with a rapidity propor-
tioned to the extent of the surfaces exposed to the atmosphere. During the three
months that the process requires, the whole mass must be turned over once every
week, with a copper shovel, transferring it into an empty chest alongside, and then
back into the former one. At the end of three months. the corroded copper scales
must be picked out, and the saline particles separated from the slimy oxide with the
help of as little water as. possible. This oxidised Schalmm or mud is filtered, then
thrown by means of a bucket containing 30 lbs., in a tub, where it is carefully
divided or comminuted, For every six pailfuls of sehaimm thus thrown into the large
tub, 12 lbs. of muriatic acid, at 15° Beaumé, are to be added; the mixture is to
be stirred, and then left at rest-for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. Into another
tub, called the ‘blue black,’ there is to be introduced, in like manner, for every six
pailfuls of the acidified schalmm, fifteen similar pailfuls of a solution of colourless
clear caustic alkali, at 19° Beaumé. When the back has’ remained long enough at
rest, there is to be poured into it a pailful of pure water for every pailful of schalam.
When all is thus prepared, the set of workmen who are to empty the. back, and
those who are to stir, must be placed alongside of each. The first set transfer the
schalmm rapidly into the latter back, where the second set mix and agitate it all the
time requisite to convert the mass into a consistent state, and then leave it at rest.
from thirty-six to forty-eight hours. The whole mass is to be now washed; with
which view it is to be stirred about with the affusion of water, allowed to settle, and
the supernatant liquor is drawn off. This process is to be repeated till no more traces
of potash remain among the blue. The deposit must be then thrown upon a filter,
where it is to be kept moist, and exposed freely to the air. The pigment is now
squeezed in the filter-bags, cut into bits, and dried in the atmosphere, or at a tem-
perature not exceeding 78° Fahr. It is only after the most complete desiccation that
the colour acquires its greatest lustre.
VERDITER, BLUE. This is a precipitate of oxide of copper with lime, made
by adding that earth, in its purest state, to the solution of nitrate of copper, obtained
in quantities by the refiners, in parting gold and silver from copper by nitric acid.
The cupreous precipitate must be triturated with lime, after it is nearly dry, to bring:
out the fine velvety blue colour. The process is delicate.
The Cendres bleues en pate of the French, though analogous, are in some respects a
different preparation. To make it, dissolve sulphate of copper in hot water, in such
proportions that the liquid may have a density of 1:3. Take 240 pound measures of
this solution, and divide it equally into four open-headed casks; add to each of these
45 pound measures of a boiling-hot solution of muriate of lime, of spec. gray.
1:317, whereby a double decomposition will ensue, with the formation of muriate of
copper and sulphate of lime, which precipitates. It is of consequence to work the
materials well together at the moment of mixture, to prevent the precipitate agglome-
rating in unequal masses. After leaving it to settle for 12 hours, a small quantity of
the clear liquor may be examined, to see whether the just proportions of the two salts
have been employed, which is done by adding either sulphate of copper or muriate of
lime. Should either cause much precipitation, some of the other must be poured in
till the equivalent decomposition be accomplished ; though less harm results from an
excess of sulphate of copper than of muriate of lime.
_ The muriate of copper is to be decanted from the subsided gypsum, which must
bap Fe and washed in a filter; and Paes blue liquors are to be added to the
ou iit, 3
1074 VERMILION
stronger; and the whole distributed as before, into four casks; composing in all 670
pound measures of a green liquor, of 1°151 spec. gray.
Meanwhile, a magma of lime is to be prepared as follows :—100 Ibs, of quicklime
are to be mixed up with 300 lbs. of water, and the mixture is to be passed through a
wire-gauze sieve, to separate the stony and sandy particles, and then to be ground in
a proper mill to an impalpable paste. About 70 or 80 lbs. of this mixture (the beauty
of the colour is inversely as the quantity of lime) are to be distributed in equal por-
tions between the four casks, strongly stirring all the time with a wooden spatula. It
is then left to settle, and the limpid liquor is tested by ammonia, which ought to ocea-_
sion only a faint blue tinge: but if the colour be deep blue, more of the lime-paste
must be added. The precipitate is now to be washed by decantation, employing for
this purpose the weak washings of a former operation; and it is lastly to be drained
and washed on a cloth filter. The proportions of material prescribed above furnish
from 500 to 540 Ibs. of green paste.
Before making further use of this paste, the quantity of water present in it must be
determined by drying 100 or 200 grains. If it contain 27 per cent. of dry matter, 12
lbs. of it may be put into a wooden bucket (and more or jess in the ratio of 12 to 27
per cent.) capable of containing 173 pints; a pound (measure) of the lime-paste is
then to be rapidly mixed into it ; immediately afterwards, 1} pint of a watery solution
of the pearlash of commerce, of spec. gray. 1°114, previously prepared ; and the whole
mixture is to be well stirred, and immediately transferred to a colour-mill, The
quicker this is done, the more beautiful is the shade.
VERIJUICE, (Verjus, Fr.; Agrest, Ger.) A harsh kind of vinegar, containing
much malic acid, made from the expressed juice of the wild crab apple.
VERMICELLYI, a paste of wheat-flour, drawn out and dried in slender cylinders,
more or less tortuous, like worms—whence the Italian name. ‘The flour of Southern
countries is best suited for its manufacture.
It may be made economically by the following prescription :—
Vermicelli, or Naples flour . a ? F sk +23) Tha:
White potato-flour . F : 3 . 14
Boiling-wateris oi) «!) « pel, certs edd
Total . 5 4 + 3 « 47 lbs,
Affording 45 lbs. of dough and 30 of dry vermicelli,
VERMICULITES. A group of minerals resembling the chlorites, remarkable
for their exfoliation before the blowpipe.
VERMILION, or Cinnabar, is a compound of mercury and sulphur in the pro-
portion of 100 parts of the former to 16 of the latter, which occurs in nature as a
common ore of quicksilver, and is prepared by the chemist as a pigment, under the
name of Vermilion. It is, properly speaking, a bisulphide of mercury. This artifi-
cial compound being extensively employed, on account of the beauty of its colour, in
painting, for making red sealing-wax, and other purposes, is the object of an import-
ant manufacture. When vermilion is prepared by means of sublimation, it concretes
in masses of considerable thickness, concave on one side, convex on the other, of a
needle-form texture; brownish-red in the lump, but when reduced to powder it is of
a lively red colour. On exposure to a moderate heat, it evaporates without leaving a
residuum, if it be not contaminated with red lead ; and at a higher heat, it takes fire,
and burns entirely away, with a blue flame. |
The English vermilion is now most highly prized by the French manufacturers of
sealing-wax. .
The humid process of Kirchhoff has of late years been so much improved, as to
furnish a vermilion quite equal in brillianey to the Chinese. The following process
has been recommended :—Mercury is triturated for several hours with sulphur, in the
cold, till a perfect ethiops is formed; potash-lye is then added, and the trituration is
continued for some time. The mixture is now heated in iron vessels, with constant
stirring at first, but afterwards only from time to time. The temperature must be
kept up as steadily as possible at 180° Fahr., adding fresh supplies of water as it
evaporates. When the mixture, which was black, becomes, at the end of some hours,
brown-red, the greatest caution is requisite to prevent the temperature from being
raised above 114°, and to preserve the mixture quite liquid, while the compound of
sulphur and mercury should always be pulverulent. The colour becomes red, and
brightens in its hue, often with surprising rapidity. When the tint is nearly fine,
the process should be continued at a gentler heat, during some hours. Finally, the
vermilion is to be elutriated, in order to separate any particles of ruzning mercury.
VINEGAR 1075
The three ingredients should be very pure. The proportion of product varies with
that of the constituents, as we see from the following results of experiments, in which
800 parts of mercury were always employed, and from 400 to 450 of water :—
Vermilion Vermilion
Sulphur Potash obtained Sulphur Potash obtained
114. . 75. . 3830 120 F a ieaO” 6 . 245
af: eae f° STR . 33l 100.—, 7 LeU. . 244
120°) :. = £20) -5 « 9821 60. wueoo: *. . 142
150. « 152-5 - 3882
VERT DE GUIGNET. See Mirrrzr’s Green,
pe VICUNA or VICUGNA. Llama vicugna, A variety of the Llama of South
merica. |
VINE BLACK. A black procured by charring the tendrils of the vine and
levigating them.
VINE DISEASE. Otdiwm Tuckeri. The disease which has recently ravished
the vines of the South of France is attributed to the Phylloxera vastatrix. Seo Wrens,
VINEGAR. All liquids which are susceptible of the vinous fermentation are
eapable of yielding vinegar. A solution of sugar is the essential ingredient, which is
converted first into aleohol, and subsequently into acetic acid. The liquids employed
vary according to circumstances. In this country the vinegar of commerce is obtained
from an infusion of malt, and in wine countries from inferior wines. ;
The oxidation of alcohol is remarkably facilitated by the presence of nitrogenised
organic bodies in a state of change, called ferments ; hence the process is frequently
termed acetous fermentation. Now, although in most cases the presence of these fer-
ments curiously promotes the process, yet they have no specific action of this kind; for
we have already seen that, by exposure to air in a condensed state, alcohol, even when
pure, is converted into acetic acid; and, moreover, the action of oxidising agents, such
as chromic and nitric acid, &c., is capable of effecting this change.
However, in the presence of a ferment, with a free supply of air, and at a tem-
Bereta of from 60° to 90° Fahr., alcohol is. abundantly converted into acetic
acid.
At the same time that the alcohol is converted into acetic acid, the nitrogenised and
other organic matters undergo peculiar changes, and often a white gelatinous mass is
deposited,—which contains wibriones and other of the lower forms of organised beings,—
and which has received the name of mother of vinegar,' from the supposition that the
formation and development of this body, instead of being a secondary result of the
process, was really its exciting cause. :
1, Wine Vinzcar. (Vinaigre, Fr.; Weinessig, Ger.) Wine vinegar is made of the
best quality, and on the greatest scale, at Orléans in France, out of wines which have
become more or less acidulous, and are, therefore, of inferior value. When the
vinegar is made from well-flavoured wines, it is preferable to every other for the use
of the table. The old method pursued in the vinaigreries consists merely in partially
filling a series’ of large casks placed in three or four ranges over each other, in a
cellar warmed with a stove tothe temperature of 85° Fahr., with the wine mixed with
a certain proportion of ready-made vinegar as a ferment. Low-roofed apartments are
the most suitable ; when there isa high ceiling it is necessary to elevate the ‘ mothers,’
in order that they may oceupy the higher strata of warm air. This trouble is dis-
pensed with when the roofs are low. Experience has proved that in high-roofed
apartments, where the tuns are placed at different levels, the uppermost work off
quicker and better than the others. More wine is added, in successive small portions,
as fast as the first has become acetified, taking care that a free ventilation be main-
tained, in order to replace the carbonic acid produced by fresh atmospheric oxygen.
In summer, under a favourable exposure of the windows and walls of the fermenting
room to the sun, artificial heat is not needed. Each cask is of about 60 gallons’ capa-
city, and into each cask of the set is poured 4rd its capacity of vinegar, to which 2 galls,
of wine are added, and weekly, afterwards, 2 galls. more. About 8 galls. are drawn
off at the end of four weeks as vinegar, and then successive additions of wineare made
as before to the casks. These are laid horizontally in rows upon their gawntrees, and
are pierced at the upper surface of the front end with two holes: one, called the eye, is
two inches in diameter, and serves for pouring in the charges through a funnel; the
other is a small air-hole alongside. The casks should never be more than 3rds full,
otherwise a sufficient body of airis not present in them for favouring rapid acetification.
At the end of a certain period, the deposit of tartar and lees becomes so great that the
2 This substance has been supposed by some to be a fungus, and has been described by Mulder
under the name of Mycoderma aceti, or vini. 922
. Z
1076 VINEGAR
casks must be cleared out. This renovation usually takes place every 10 years; but
the casks, when made of well-seasoned oak and bound with iron hoops, will last 25
years. The wine, as well the vinegar produced, should be clarified by being slowly
filtered through beech-chips, closely packed ina large opentun. When wines are new,
and somewhat saccharine or too alcoholic, they acetify reluctantly, and need the addi-
tion of a little yeast, or even water, to the mixture ; and when they are too weak, they
should be enriched by the addition of some sugar or stronger wine, so as to bring them
to a uniform state for producing vinegar of normal strength. To favour the renewal
of fresh air into the upper part of the hogsheads, it would be advisable to pierce a
two-inch hole near to the upper level of the liquid when the cask is fullest, by which
means the heavy carbonic acid would fall out, and be replaced by the atmospheric air
at the superior apertures.
Wine vinegar is of two kinds, white and red, according as it is prepared from white
orred wine. White wine vinegar is usually preferred, and that made at Orléans is
regarded as the best.
Dr. Ure found its average specific gravity to be 1°019, and to contain from 6} to 7
per cent. of real acid; according to the Edinburgh Pharmacopeia, its specific gravity
varies from 1°014 to 1°022.
2. Marr Vinecar. (British Vinegar; in Germany called Malz-Getreide- or Bier-
essig.) In England vinegar is chiefly made from an infusion of malt, by first ex-
citing in it the alcoholic fermentation, and subsequently inducing the oxidation of the
alcohol into acetic acid.
For details of the processes of malting and brewing the alcoholic liquor, we must
refer to the special articles on these subjects, confining our attention here more es-
pecially to the latter stages of the operation.
From 6 bushels of malt, properly crushed, 100 gallons of wort may be extracted
by due mashing, the first water of infusion being of the temperature of 160° Fahr.,
and the next two progressively hotter, for exhausting the soluble saccharine matter.
When the wort is cooled to 75°, from 3 to 4 gallons of good yeast are stirred into it in
the fermenting tun, and when it has been in brisk fermentation for about. 40 hours,
it is ready for transference into fhe vessels in which the acetification is to be accom-
plished.
The transformation of the fermented wort into vinegar was formerly effected in two
ways, which were entirely opposite in their manner of operation. In one case the
casks containing the fermented malt infusion (or gyle) were placed in close rooms,
maintained at a uniform temperature, as already described in the preparation of wine
vinegar; in the other, they were arranged in rows in an open field, where they re-
mained many months. As regards the convenience and interests of the manufacturer,
it appears that each method had its respective advantages, but both are now almost
entirely abandoned for the more modern processes to be described: a short notice of
the fielding process is, however, retained.
When fielding is resorted to, it must be commenced in the spring months, and then
left to complete itself during the warm season. The fielding method requires a
much larger extent of space and utensils than the stoving process. The casks are
placed in several parallel tiers, with their bung-side upwards and left open. Beneath
some of the paths which separate the rows of casks are pipes communicating with
the ‘back’ at the top of the brewhouse; and in the centre of each is a valve,
opening into a concealed pipe. When the casks are about to be filled, a flexible
hose is serewed on to this opening, the other end being inserted into the bung-hole
of the cask, and the liquor in the ‘gyle back’ at the brewhouse, by its hydrostatic
pressure flows through the underlying pipe and hose into the cask. The hose is
so long as to admit of reaching all the casks in the same row, and is guided by a
workman.
After some months the vinegar is made, and is drawn off by the following
operation :—A long trough or sluice is laid by the side of one of the rows of casks,
into which the vinegar is transferred by means of a syphon, whose shorter limb is
inserted into the bung-hole of the cask. The trough inclines a little from one end to
the other, and its lower end rests on a kind of travelling tank or cistern, wherein the
vinegar from several casks is collected. A hose descends fromthe tank to the open
valve of the underground pipe, which terminates in one of the buildings or stores, and,
by the agency of a steam-boiler and machinery, the pipe is exhausted of its air,
and this causes the vinegar to flow through the hose into the valve of the pipe, and
thence into the factory buildings. By this arrangement the whole of the vinegar is
speedily drawn off. From the storehouse, where the vinegar is received, it is pumped
into the refining or rape vessels.
These rape vessels are generally filled with the stalks and skins of grapes or raisins
(the refuse of the British wine manufacture is generally used), and the liquor being
VINEGAR 1077
admitted at the top, is allowed slowly to filter through them ; after passing through,
it is pumped up again to the top, and this process is repeated until the acetification is
complete. Sometimes wood-shavings, straw, or spent tan, are substituted for the
grapes refuse, but the latter is generally preferred.
By this process, not only is the oxidation of the aleohol completed, but coagulable
. nitrogenous and mucilaginous matter is separated, and thus the vinegar rendered
bright. It is finally pumped into store vats, where it is kept until put into casks for
sale.
8. Sugar, Criper, Fruit, anp Brrr Vinecars. An excellent vinegar may be made
for domestic purposes by adding, to a syrup consisting of one pound and a quarter of
sugar for every gallon of water, a quarter of a pint of good yeast. The liquor being
maintained at a heat of from 75° to 80° Fahr., acetification will proceed so well that
in 2 or 3 days it may be racked off from the sediment into the ripening cask, where
it isto be mixed with 1 oz, of cream of tartar and 1 oz. of ernshed raisins. When
completely freed from the sweet taste, it should be drawn off clear into bottles, and
closely corked up. The juices of currants, gooseberries, and many other indigenous
fruits, may be acetified either alone or in corhbination with syrup. Vinegar made by
the above process from sugar should have fully the Revenue strength. It will keep
much better than malt vinegar, on account of the absence of gluten, and at the
present low price of sugar will not cost more, when fined upon beech-chips, than 1s.
per gallon.
The sugar-solution may likewise be replaced by honey, cider, or any other alcoholic
or saccharine liquid. An endless number of prescriptions exist, of which the following
example may suffice :—100 parts of water to 13 of brandy, 4 of honey, and Ll
of tartar.
Messrs. Neale and Duyck, of London, patented a process, in 1841, for the manu-
facture of vinegar from beet-root.
The saccharine juice is pressed out of the beet, previously rasped to a pulp, then
mixed with water and boiled; this solution is fermented with yeast, and finally
acetified in the usual way, the process being accelerated by blowing air up through
the liquid, which is placed in a cylindrical vessel with fine holes at the bottom.
In some factories large quantities of sour ale and beer are converted into vinegar ;
but it is usually of an inferior quantity, in consequence of being liable to further
fermentation.
Dr. Stenhouse has shown that when sea-weed is subjected to fermentation, at a
temperature of 96° Fahr., in the presence of lime, acetate of lime is. formed, from which
acetic acid may be liberated by the processes described under the head of Prrotignrous
Acrp. Although such large quantities of sea-weed are found on all our coasts, it does
not yet appear that it has hitherto been utilised in this way, although it would.
still be, to a certain extent, valuable as manure after having been subjected to this
process,
4, Tun German or Quicx-Vinecar Process. (Schnellessighereitung, Ger.)—In
the manufacture of vinegar it is highly important that as free a supply of air should
be admitted to the liquid as possible, since if the oxidation take place but slowly,
a considerable loss may be sustained from much of the alcohol, instead of being |
completely oxidised to acetic acid, being only converted into aldehyde, which, on
account of its volatility passes off in the state of vapour. ‘This is secured in the
German process by greatly enlarging the surface exposed to the air; which, however,
not only diminishes or prevents the formation of aldehyde, but also greatly curtails
the time necessary for the whole process. In fact, when this method was first intro-
duced, from the supply of air being insufficient, very great loss was sustained from
this cause, which was, however, easily remedied by increasing the number of air-holes
in the apparatus.
This guick-vinegar process consists in passing the fermented liquor (which generally
contains about 50 gallons of brandy of 60 per cent., and 37 gallons of beer or malt-
wort, with ;2,;th of ferment), two or three times through an apparatus called the
Vinegar Generator (Essigbilder).
This apparatus consists of an oaken tub (fig. 2088), narrower at the bottom than at the
top, furnished with a loose lid a, with a funnel, through which the liquids for charging
the graduator are supplied ; below this is a perforated shelf, 8, having a number of small
holes, loosely filled with packthread, about six inches long, and prevented from falling
through by a knot at the upper end. Through this lid there likewise pass some glass
tubes, open at both ends, c, which, having their apertures above and below the shelf,
act as air-vents. At a distance of about eighteen inches from the bottom is placed
another perforated diaphragm, at p; and two inches above this the tub is perforated
with eight or ten equidistant holes, # u, an inch to an inch and a half in diameter,
which serve to admit atmospheric air. The space F, between the diaphragm and the
1078 VINEGAR
perforated lid, is-filled with shavings of beechwood; by percolating through which, the
solution is exposed, over a very considerable surface, to the oxidising infiuence of the
2088 air, which passes in a current upwards through
the apparatus. One inch above the bottom is.
A A a syphon-shaped discharge pipe G, the upper
B pep g curvature of which stands one inch below the —
eS ec air-holes in the side of the tub; so that, when
the liquid in the bottom of the generator,
which has passed through the shavings, collects
E up to this level, it runs off into any vessel
placed beneath to receive it.
The analogy between acetification and ordi-
nary processes of decay, and even combustion,
Tht) is well seen in this process; for, as the oxida-
tion proceeds, the temperature of the liquid
rises to ]00° or even 104° Fahr.; but if the
eaten p temperature generated by the process itself be
| | | not sufficient, the temperature of the rooms in
which the tuns are placed should be artificially
raised.
By this methed 150 gallons of vinegar can
ix] ys ee be manufactured daily in ten tuns, which one
; man can superintend; and the vinegar, in
purity and clearness, resembles distilled vinegar.
It is better to avoid using liquors containing much suspended mucilaginous matter,
which, collecting on the chips, quickly chokes up the apparatus, and not only impedes
the process, but contaminates the product.
- The chips and shavings may with advantage be replaced by charcoal in fragments,
which, by the oxygen it contains condensed in its pores, still further accelerates the
process. The charcoal would of course require re-igniting trom time to time,
Processes for the rapid formation of vinegar have likewise been adopted in this
country. So long ago as the year 1824, Mr. Ham obtained a patent for the following
method, which is still in operation at several works :— r
The apparatus consists of a large vat, in the centre of which is placed a revolving
pump, having two or more shoots pierced with holes, so as to cause a constant shower
of wash—fermented wort—to descend. ‘The lower part of the vat is charged with
wash, the upper part with birch-twigs, piled as high as possible, but without inter-
fering with the revolution of the shoots. Between the surface of thegwash and the
joist which supports the birch-twigs, a space of three or four inches is unoceupied, and
holes are perforated in it, to admit a current of air, either from the atmosphere or from
a blowing apparatus, ;
- If the wash be maintained at a temperature of from 90 to 100° Fahr., and the supply
of liquid duly proportioned to the mass of the twigs, a charge is generally acetified
in about a fortnight. The acetification can of course be arrested at any moment, and
the current of air increased or diminished at will.
Generally in England much larger tuns are used than in Germany, the larger mass
of matter thus undergoing oxidation generating so much heat that no artificial eleva-
tion of temperature is required ; and in consequence of the promotion of the process in
this way, one of these large tuns, fifteen feet wide at the bottom, fourteen at the top,
and thirteen high, turns out as much vinegar as in Germany is obtained from six tubs
eighteen feet high and four feet wide.
By the quick process of Ham, when the fermentation is finished, the greatest
care ought to be taken that all access of air is excluded from the wash, and that its
temperature be reduced to, and maintained at, a heat below the point where acetifica-
tion commences. Those who, like Messrs. Hill, Evans, and Co., of Worcester, attach
great importance to the fabrication of the best-keeping vinegars, are in the habit of
filtering the fermented wash, and also of storing it away for many months in a cool
situation cre it is passed through the acetifier ; and there cannot be a moment's doubt
concerning the great value of this practice, not only as regards the appearance and
flavour of the resulting vinegar, but also in respect to its dietetic and sanitary pro-
perties,
All recently-fermented wash contains a quantity of partially-decomposed gluten,
some of which is mechanically suspended merely, but by far the larger portion exists
in a state of solution through the agency of carbonic acid gas.
A filter will remove the former, but time alone can dissipate the carbonic acid, and
lead to the deposition of the soluble gluten. At all events, time is the only available
remedy, for though heat would expel the carbonic acid, yet it would at the same time
———————
VINEGAR 1079
drive off the alcohol ; and agitation in contact with air, though it removed the carbonic
acid, would tend to the formation of acetic acid, by which the gluten would be kept in
solution more decidedly than before, and thus lead to the production of a turbid, ropy,
and impure vinegar, extremely liable to decompose and undergo the putrefactive
fermentation. It is obvious, therefore, that the theoretical conditions needed in the
treatment of fermented wort by the vinegar-maker are precisely those which we have
shown to be in use at Worcester. That is to say, the gluten, when insoluble, should
be removed by a filter, and when held in solution by carbonic acid gas, this must be
slowly expelled by keeping at a temperature too low for acetification to take place,
and which may be assumed at less than 55° Fahr. Fermented wort stored away at this
temperature for six months will flow to the acetifier perfectly limpid and bright; it
will cause no deposition of gluten upon the birch-twigs, and thus secure complete oxida-
tion; it will rapidly take on the grateful flavour of acetic ether, and never become
tainted by the formation of that noxious product aldehyde, which so frequently con-
taminates ill-made vinegar.
'Presuming, however, that all the necessary precautions with respect to care in
washing, fermenting, and keeping the wort, have been attended to, we may now pass
on to the acetifier, that is to say, Ham’s acetifier.
This is a wooden vat or vessel (figs. 2089, 2090) about 12 feet in height and from
2089 2090
fo Pent oes T™ e
(TTT
eds * P iy
had ood
WE
a Pi? (1 ol hy ig ti)
we [hit oy
‘: {u.4] LGA | Z| Ke
7 to 8 feet in diameter, closed at top and bottom, except at the opening for the introduc-
tion of the wash and the exit of the vinegar. The sides are perforated by a few small
holes for the admission of air, and within are three floors or partitions perforated with
numerous holes for the passage of the wash through them. Upon these floors are laid
bundles of birch-twigs, to favour the dispersion and division of the fluid which passes
through the acetifier, and is thus brought into the most immediate contact with the
oxygen contained in the vessel, or admitted through the openings in its sides, The
fluid or wash is admitted at the top of the acetifier, and suffered to trickle slowly
through the masses of birch-twigs and through the partitions, thus causing a
rapid absorption of oxygen, and consequent production of vinegar, which with any
undecomposed wash flows out at the bottom of the vessel, and is again pumped up to
the top, and so on until the process is finished. If we examine the circumstances
connected with the formation of vinegar in this way, we shall perceive that it is a
case of partial combustion, or, in other words, an example in which an organic com-
pound undergoes oxidation at a temperature and under conditions which prevent the
completion of the change.
Every one must have observed that when common coals are thrown upon a fire, a
volatile portion immediately bursts into flame; while copious particles of soot or carbon
are thrown off unburnt,; though of the other constituent of the coal, that is to say, the
hydrogen gas, no particle escapes unoxidised. This arises from the fact, that, except
at very high temperatures, hydrogen has a greater affinity for oxygen than carbon
has ; consequently, as the supply of oxygen from atmospheric air in the immediate
(2)
1080 VINEGAR
neighbourhood is limited, the hydrogen seizes upon its equivalent to the exclusion of —
the carbon, which, therefore, remains, and constitutes soot. Exactly in the same way
the hydrogen of the alcohol in the wash oxidises to the exclusion of the carbon, and
vinegar is formed from the remaining or carbonaceous element, which becomes itself
slightly oxidised.
From this explanation it follows that, as the oxidation of the hydrogen generates
heat, there ought to be a very appreciable rise in the temperature during the pas-
sage of the wort through the acetifier. And, in practice, this is found to be the
case; so that precautions are needed to prevent the heat from rising so high as to
vaporise the remaining alcohol of the wash. The temperature sought to be ob-
tained is about 90° to 92° Fahr., at which oxidation goes on freely, and the loss of
alcohol is moderate. In using the word ‘moderate,’ we speak practically rather than
chemically: for, in reality, the loss is very serious with strong worts. From practical
results, conducted with more than ordinary care, it has been ascertained that about
one-third of all the extractive matter of the malt and grain is lost or dissipated during
the processes of fermentation and acetification. Thus, a wort having a specific gravity
of 1:072, or, in technical language, weighing about 26 lbs. per barrel, affords vinegar
containing 5:4 per cent. of pure acetic acid, and a residuary extract of 10 lbs. from
86 gallons. The former of these would indicate 35 lbs. of sugar or 13°7 lbs. per
barrel of gravity; whilst the latter shows 3°8 lbs. per barrel ; the two united being
only 17°5 lbs. instead of 26, the original weight. The loss, therefore, has been 8°5 lbs.,
or from a specific gravity of 1°072 to less than 1°050. This prodigious destruction of
extract seems to imply that great improvements may yet take place in the manufacture
of vinegar.
The manufacture of vinegar, by Ham’s process, is an extremely interesting opera-
tion, and, when conducted with proper care, furnishes results of the most satisfactory
and uniform character. These, however, are not to be obtained without a vast
amount of experience and the most vigilant attention on the part of the manufacturer.
Thus a difference in the water, in the malt, in the mode of washing, in the cooling of
the wort, or in the fermentation of the wort, will each give rise to modifications in
the acetifying process which no subsequent skill or labour can rectify. There
seems no doubt that the most important points in Ham’s method are the cooling
and fermentation of the wort; though, where perfection is sought for, no one of
the other conditions can be omitted or neglected with impunity, We shall, therefore,
proceed to treat of these conditions seriatim, rather than in the order of their import-
ance. At first sight it might be supposed that the purer the water the better; that is
to say, the less the amount of earthy or saline constituents, the more valuable the
water would be for making vinegar. Experience, however, teaches us the contrary ;
and science confirms the truth of this teaching, by pointing out the real nature of the
operation. When pure water is made to act at a high temperature upon the ordinary
ingredients of a vinegar-maker’s mash-tun, it is not alone the sugar, gum, and starch
of the grain which enters into solution, for, under such circumstances, the gluten is
also dissolved; but this gluten is composed of vegetable albumen and vegetable
gelatine, the former of which, as is well known, is capable of being decomposed and
precipitated by many earthy and metallic salts, of which the sulphate of lime is one.
If, therefore, this salt exists in the water employed for the fabrication of vinegar, or of
ale or beer, the wort will contain little or no vegetable albumen; consequently, the
vinegar or beer made with such water never becomes cloudy or ropy, as happens
when pure water is used, for these defects arise from an excess of albuminous
matter. The water used for making the celebrated Burton ale contains a great deal
of sulphate of lime; and the spring-water of Worcester, which is employed by the
extensive firm of Hill, Evans, and Co., in that city, vinegar-makers, contains also a
very large amount of sulphate of lime, and no doubt contributes much towards
maintaining the well-established reputation of that firm. Whenever, therefore, much
sulphate of lime exists in water, without the erage of any noxious ingredient, such
water may always be relied upon as favourable for the production ef good beer and
vinegar.
As regards the malt, or rather the mixture of malt and grain, employed for the pro-
duction of wort, the common Scotch distillers’ formula is the best, containing, as it
always does, a considerable percentage of oats, for the long husk of the oat greatly
facilitates the operation of draining, and thus secures the thorough separation of the
wort from the spent grains.
Tn practice it is found necessary to ferment only two gravities, a high and a low,
all the other qualities of vinegar being made by mixing or diluting these after
acetification. ‘The most common, and unquestionably the best, gravity for fermenta-
tion is that which in technical language weighs about 20 lbs., or has a specific gravity
of 1056; tho other, or that intended for strong or proof vinegar, being of specific
VINEGAR — 1081
gravity in this latter affords a vinegar containing about 5} per cent. of anhydrous
acetic acid.
In every instance the fermentation must be carried to its utmost limit, or to zero at
least ; and in cooling the wort prior to fermentation, great care must be used to pre-
vent the accession of the acetous fermentation before tlie yeast is added; for if this
happens to any considerable extent, the nitrogenised matter of the yeast is then per-
manently retained in solution by the acetic acid, and this may give rise to the incon-
venience called the ‘ mother,’ To secure a perfect vinegar by Ham’s process, as much
attention is required during the cooling and fermentation as for the finest ale ; and this
axiom cannot be too strongly inculcated into the minds of vinegar-makers. The heat
of the fermenting tun should not exceed 76° Fahr., as the alcohol formed by the process
is apt at a higher temperature to pass off in considerable quantity with the carbonic
acid, and thus give rise to a loss of vinegar. Presuming that the fermentation has been
well conducted, and that the specific gravity of the wash is as low as water, or 1:000,
the next step is to pass it through that apparatus which constitutes the great peculiarity
of Ham’s process. This process is called ‘the acetifier.— Ure.
Impurities and Adulterations.:
In order to prevent the putrefactive change which often takes place in vinegar,
when carelessly prepared by the fermentation of malt-wine, &c., it was at one time
supposed to be necessary to add a small quantity of sulphurie acid. This notion has
long since been shown to be false ; nevertheless, since the addition of 1 part. of sul-
phurie acid to 1,000 of vinegar was permitted by an Excise regulation, and thus the
practice has received legal sanction, it is still continued by many manufacturers. So
long as the quantity is retained within these limits, and if pure sulphuric acid be used
(great care being taken that there is no arsenic present in such oil of vitriol, as is not
unfrequently the case in inferior varieties), no danger can ensue from the habit; but
oceasionally the quantity is much overpassed by dishonest dealers.
Dr. Ure mentions having found by analysis in a sample of vinegar, made by one of
the most eminent London manufacturers, with which he supplied the public, no less
than 175 grains of the strongest oil of vitriol per gallon, added to vinegar containing
only 3,$ths per cent. of real acetic acid, giving it an apparent strength after all of only
4 per cent., whereas standard commercial vinegar is rated at 5 per cent.
The method of determining sulphuric acid has already been given, under the head
of Acrprmetry, and the same remark applies to hydrochloric acid and others.
Hydrochloric acid is rarely intentionally added to vinegar ; but it may accidentally
be present when the pyroligneous acid has been purified by Vélckel’s process. It is
detected by the precipitate which it gives with solution of nitrate of silver in the pre-
sence of nitric acid.
F Nitric acid is rarely found in vinegar. For its method of detection, see Nirric
cID.
- Wine vinegar generally contains tartaric acid and tartrates ; but it is purified from
them by distillation.
Sulphurous acid is occasionally met with in pyroligneous acid. This is recognised
by its bleaching action on delicate vegetable colours, and by its conversion, under
eng os of nitric acid, into sulphuric acid, which is detected by chloride of
arium.
Sulphuretted hydrogen is detected by acetate of lead giving a black colouration or
precipitate.
Metallic Salts. —If care be not taken in constructing the worm of the still of silver
or earthenware, distilled acetic acid is frequently contaminated with small quantities
of metal from the still, copper, lead, tin, &c. These metals are detected by the addi-
tion of sulphuretted hydrogen, as is fully discussed under the head of the individual
metals, Copper is the most commonly found, and it may be detected in very minute
quantities by the blue colour which the solution assumes on being supersaturated with
ammonia.
It is not uncommon to add to pyroligneous acid, a little colouring-matter and acetic
ether, to give it the colour and flavour of wine or malt vinegar; but this can hardly
be called an adulteration,
The presence of the products of acetification of cider may be detected by neutral-
ising the vinegar with ammonia, and then adding solution of acetate of lime. Tar-
trate of lime is, of course, precipitated from the wine vinegar, while the pearly
malic acid of the cider affords no precipitate with the lime, but may be detected by
acetate of lead, by the pearly scales of malate of lead, hardly soluble in the cold.
For a description of the manufacture of Wood-vinegar, see Acetic Acip and Prxo-
LIGNEOUS AcID,
1082 VINEGAR
The Imports of vinegar were :—_ ; tld
re aa 1870 1873
* Computed fies f
Gals. real value Gals. Valued at
From France . 3 . 46,146 4,230. ' 46,168 4,2711.
» Otherparts . . 7,049 4691. 13,394 1,434/.
_ Of the quantity for 1873 54,956 gallons were entered for Home consumption, paying
687/. as duty. f
The average price fixed for the value has been 1s, 10d. for the Fronch vinegar, and
1s. 4d, for the other sorts. Since July 6, 1856, the duty on all vinegar imported has
been 3d. per gallon. ;
That the importation of this article varies considerably is shown by the following
statement :—
In 1843 we Imported 21,784 gallons; in 1845, 195,967 gallons; in 1856, 35,516
gallons; and in 1869, 49,316 gallons. :
. Of the vinegar made in the United Kingdom, the Exports for the three years ending
1870 were as follow :—
d £&
. 1868 - « Gallons, 6,903, computed real value, 647
1869 : . ” 735 of «64
1870 : . 9 1,660 : 9 137
1874 at » 8,450 . oa 261
VINEGAR, AROMATIC. Strong acetic acid combined with certain aromatics.
See Acetic Acip.
VIOLET DYE is produced by a mixture of red and blue colouring-matters
which are applied in succession. Silk is dyed a fugitive violet with either archil or
brazil wood; but a fine fast violet, first by a crimson with cochineal, without tartar
or tin mordant, and, after washing, it is dipped in the indigo-vat. A finish is some-
times given with archil. A violet is also given to silk, by passing it through a
solution of verdigris, then through a bath of logwood, and, lastly, through alum-
water. A more beautiful violet may be communicated by passing the alumed silk
through a bath of brazil wood, and, after washing it in the river, through a bath of
archil. Now, all the violets are produced from the aniline series. See ANnANE,
Mvrexinr, Purpre.
VIOLINE. Sce Aniine VIOLET.
' WIRIDINE. See Carzoric Acw.
Pht rs ram COLOURS. See Enamets, Pasres, Porrery, and Sramep
LASS.
VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS. The art of painting with vitrifiable pigments
has not kept pace with the progress of science, and is far from having attained that
degree of perfection of which it is capable. It still presents too many difficulties to
prove a fertile field to the artist tor his labours; and its products have, for this reason,
never held that rank in art which is due to them from the indestruetibility and bril-
liancy of the colours. Tho reason of this is attributable to the circumstance that the
production of good yitrifiable pigments is mere chance work ; and, notwithstanding the
numerous papers published on the subject, is still the secret of the few. The diree-
tions given in larger works and periodicals are very incomplete and indefinite; and
even in the otherwise highly valuable Ziaité des Arts Cérdmigques of Brongniart, the
chapter on the preparation of colours is far from satisfactory, and is certainly no
frank communication of the experience gathered in the Royal Manufactory of Sévres.
The branch of painting with vitrifiable pigments which has acquired its greatest
development is the art of painting on porcelain. The glaze of hard felspar porce-
lain, owing to its,difficult fusion, produces less alteration upon the tone of a colour of
the easily fusible pigments than is the case in painting upon glass, enamel, faience,
&c. The colours for painting upon porcelain are all of them, after the firing, coloured
lead-glasses throughout; but before this operation, most of them are mere mixtures
of colourless lead-glass, the flux, and a pigment. In the so-called gold colours, purple,
violet and pink, the pigments are preparations of gold, the production of which has
hitherto been considered as especially difficult and uncertain. The following are the
processes recommended.
Light Purple—5 grammes of tin turnings are dissolved in boiling nitromuriatie
acid, and the solution concentrated in the water-bath until it solidifies on cooling. The:
perchloride of tin prepared in this manner, and which still contains a slight excess of
muriatic acid, is dissolved in a little distilled water, and mixed with 2 grammes of
solution of protochloride of tin of 1-700 sp. gr., obtained by boiling tin-turnings in
excess with muriatic acid to the required degree of concentration. This mixed solu-
VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS 1083
tion of tin is poured into a glass vessel, and gradually mixed with 10 itres of distilled
water. It must still contain just so much acid that no turbidness results from the
separation of oxide of tin; this may be ascertained previously by taking a drop of the
concentrated solution of tin upon a glass rod, and mixing it in a watch-glass with
distilled water. A clear solution of 0°5 gramme gold in nitromuriatic acid, which
must be as neutral as possible, is poured into the solution of tin diluted with 10 litres
of water, constantly agitating the whole time. The gold-solution should have been
previously evaporated nearly to dryness in the water-bath, then diluted with water,
and filtered in the dark,
On adding the gold-solution, the whole liquid acquires a deep red colour, without,
however, any precipitate being formed; this instantly separates upon the addition of
50 grammes of solution of ammonia. But if no precipitate should result, which may
happen if the amount of ammonia was too great in proportion to the acid contained
in the liquid, and in which case the liquid forms a deep red solution, the precipitate
immediately results upon the addition of a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid.
It subsides very quickly. The supernatant liquid should be poured off from it as
soon as possible, and replaced 5 or 6 times successively by an equal quantity of fresh
spring water. When the precipitate has been thus sufficiently washed, it is collected
upon a filter: and as soon as the water has drained off completely, removed while
still moist with a silver spatula, and mixed intimately upon a ground plate of a glass
by means of a spatula and grinder with 20 grammes of lead-glass, previously ground
very fine upon the same plate with water. The lead-glass is obtained by fusing
together 2 parts of minium with 1 part of quartz-sand and 1 part of calcined borax.
he intimate mixture of gold-purple and lead-glass is slowly dried upon the same
glass plate upon which it had been mixed in a moderately warm room, carefully pro
tected from dust, and, when dry, rubbed to a fine powder, and mixed with three
grammes of carbonate of silver.
In this manner we obtain 33 grammes of light purple pigments from 0°5 gramme
of gold. :
The above proportion of lead-glass and carbonate of silver to the gold precipitate
holds good only for a certain temperature, at which the colour must be burnt-in upon
the porcelain, and which is situated very near the fusing-point of silver.
To obtain the colour with a less degree of heat, the amount of lead-glass added to
the gold must be greater, but that of the carbonate of silver less. The same holds
good with respect to the preparation of the purple pigment for glass-painting.
The best purple may be spoiled in the baking in the muffle. When this is done at
too low a temperature, the colour remains brown and dull; but if the right degree of
temperature has been exceeded, it appears pale and bluish. Reducing, and especially
acid vapours, vapours of oxide of bismuth, &c., have likewise an injurious effect
upon it.
Dark: Purple.—The clear and neutral solution of 0°5 gramme gold in nitromuriatic
acid is diluted in a glass vessel with 10 litres of distilled water, and mixed under con-
stant agitation with 7'5 grammes of the solution of protochloride of tin of 1°700 sp. gr.
prepared in the manner described above. The liquid is coloured of a dark brownish-
red; but the precipitate is only deposited on the addition of a few drops of concen-
trated sulphuric acid. The supernatant liquid is poured off, and replaced five or six
times successively with an equal amount of spring water. The precipitate, which is
sufficiently washed, is collected on a filter; and after the excess of water is drained ~
off, removed while still moist with a spatula, and mixed, exactly as described for the
light purple, upon a glass plate with 10 grammes of the above lead-glass, dried, then
reduced to a fine powder, and mixed with 0°5 gramme carbonate of silver; it fur-
nishes about 13 grammes of dark purple pigment. Thestated proportion of lead-glass
and carbonate of silver to the gold is for the same temperature of firing as given
for the mixture of light purple; for a lower temperature, and also for painting
upon glass, the quantity of lead-glass must be increased, and that of the silver salt
diminished.
Red Violet.—The gold precipitate from 0°5 gramme gold is prepared in the same
manner as for the dark purple, and whilst moist taken from the filter, and mixed inti-
mately upon the plate of glass with 12 grammes of a lead-glass prepared by fusing 4
parts of minium with 2 parts of quartz-sand and 1 part calcined borax; it is then
dried as above, and reduced to a fine powder upon a plate of glass, but without any
addition of silver, The proportion of lead-glass to gold applies likewise for the same
degree of temperature as in the case of the light and dark purple pigments ; a lower
temperature requires a larger proportion of lead-glass. A slight addition of silver to
this pigment converts the red violet into a dark purple: and when employed alone
for painting upon glass, it gives a very excellent purple.
. Blue Violet,—This same gold precipitate of 0°5 gramme gold is mixed, while still
1084 VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS
moist, upon the glass plate with 10°5 grammes of a lead-glass obtained by fusing 4
parts of minium with 1 of quartz-sand, drying it slowly in the manner above men-
tioned, and then reducing it to a fine powder upon the glass plate. When the pigment
is burnt-in at a lower temperature, a larger addition of lead-glass is required. This
blue-violet pigment is more especially adapted for mixing with blue pigments. It is
not applicable to glass-painting. The most important requisite in the preparation of
good purple and violet vitrifiable pigment is the very minute state of division of the
gold in the gold precipitate, and of the latter in the lead-glass, which is accomplished
by mixing the moist precipitate with the glass.
By mixing the light purple with the dark purple or with the red-violet, or the red-
violet with the dark purple, in different proportions, the artist is able to produce every
possible tint of purple and violet. The light purple, without any additional silver,
furnishes an amaranth-red colour, like that seen upon the porcelains of the pre-
ceding century, when the peculiar property of silver, of converting the amaranth-
red into a rose-red colour, does not appear to have been known. Dr. Richter, who
at the commencement of this century prepared the pigments for the Royal Berlin
manufactory of porcelain, appears, however, to have employed it for his purple, as a
very beautiful rose colour may be seen upon the painted porcelain of that time.
Pink.—One gramme of gold is dissolved in nitromuriatie acid ; the solution mixed
witb one of 50 grammes of alum in 20 litres of spring water; then mixed, constantly
agitating, with 1:5 gramme solution of protochloride of tin of 1°700 spec. grav., and
so much ammonia added until all the alumina is precipitated. When the precipitate
has subsided, the supernatant liquid is poured off, and replaced about 10 times suc-
cessively by an equal amount of fresh spring water; the precipitate is then collected
on a filter, and dried at a gentle heat. It weighs about 13°5 grammes; and to pre-
pare the pigment is mixed with 2°5 grammes carbonate of silver, and 70 grammes of
the same lead-glass, described under light purple (2 minium, 1 quartz-sand, 1 calcined
borax), and reduced to a fine powder on the glass plate.
This colour is adapted only for the production of alight pink ground upon porcelain,
and must only be applied in a thin layer; when laid on in a thick layer the gold
separates in a metallic state, and no colour is produced.
All the gold colours above described do not furnish, when fused alone in a crucible,
red or violet glasses, as might be expected, but dirty brown or yellowish glasses, which
appear troubled from the separation of metallic gold and silver ; this peculiar beauti-
ful tint is only developed when they are fused upon the porcelain glaze in a layer,
which must not be too thick; they then colour it through and through, as a piece of
porcelain painted with it shows distinctly in the fracture. If the layer exceeds a
certain thickness, the gold. and silver separate in a metallic state; and they produce
either a liver colour, as for instance the purple and violet pigments, or no colour at all,
as is the case with the more fusible pink pigment.
Yellow Pigments for painting upon Porcelain.—The yellow vitrifiable pigments are
lead-glasses, coloured either by antimonic acid or oxide of uranium. The antimoniate
of potash is prepared by igniting 1 part of finely-powdered metallic antimony with
2 parts of nitre, in a red-hot Hessian crucible, and washing the residue with water.
The oxide of uranium is obtained in the fittest state, by heating the nitrate, until the
whole of the nitric acid is expelled.
Lemon Yellow.—8 parts of antimoniate of potash, 2} parts of oxide of zine, 36 parts
of lead-glass (prepared by fusing together 6 parts minium, 2 parts of white sand, and
1 part of calcined borax), are intimately mixed, and heated to redness in a porcelain
crucible, which is placed in a Hessian crucible, until the mixture forms a paste; it is
then taken out with a spatula, pounded after cooling, and ground upon a plate glass.
If the pigment is fused longer than requisite for the perfect union of the ingredients,
= colour is converted into a dirty grey by the destruction of the antimoniate
of lead.
Light Yellow.—4 parts of antimoniate of potash, 1 part of oxide of zinc, and 36 parts
of pcs oar (prepared by fusing together 8 parts of minium and 1 part of white sand
are well mixed, fused in a Hessian crucible, and after cooling, pounded and ground.
In the dyes gets of this colour, long fusion is less injurious than with the preceding
one, owing to the absence of the borate of soda in the lead-glass, The colour itself is
more apr po than the preceding one, and is extremely well adapted for
mixing with and brown pigments ; but it does not furnish such pure tints as
that when mixed with green; owing to its higher specific gravity, it flows more
awed from the brush, and may be laid on in a thicker layer, without sealing off after
é firing.
Dark Yellow, 1.—-48 parts minium, 16 parts sand, 8 calcined borax, 16 antimoniate
of potash, 4 oxide of zine, and 5 parts peroxide of iron (caput mortuum), are intimatel
mixed and fused in a Hessian crucible, until the ingredients have perfectly cambitied,
VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS 1083
‘but no longer; otherwise, the golden-yellow colour is converted into a dirty grey, as
in the case of the lemon-yellow pigment.
Dark Yellow, 2.—20 parts minium, 2} white sand, 4} antimoniate of potash, 1 part
peroxide of iron (caput mortuum), and 1 part oxide of zine, are well mixed and fused
in a Hessian crucible. Long fusion is less injurious in this case than in the preceding.
Iron-red pigment may be laid on and near this dark yellow 2, without its being
destroyed, or the harmony of the tints injuriously affected.
For landscape and figure painting, the above-mentioned yellow pigments should be
made less readily fusible, in order to paint with them upon or beneath other colours,
without any fear of what has been painted being dissolved by the subjacent or super-
posed pigment. This property is given to it by the addition of Naples yellow, which
is best prepared for this purpose by long-continued ignition of a mixture of 1 part
tartar-emetic, 2 parts of nitrate of lead, 4 parts of dry chloride of sodium, ina Hessian
crucible, and washing the pounded residue with water. Very useful yellow colours
are likewise obtained by mixing this Naples yellow with lead-glass ; they are, how-
ever, more expensive than those above given. A very excellent yellow for landscape-
painting may be prepared, for instance, by mixing 8 parts Naples yellow and 6 parts
lead-glass (obtained by fusing 2 parts of minium with 1 of white sand and 1 of cal-
cined borax).
The yellow pigments obtained with antimony, after being burnt-in upon the
porcelain, appear under the microscope to be mixtures of a yellow transparent sub-
stance (antimoniate of lead?), and a colourless glass, and not homogeneous yellow
lasses.
< Uranium Yellow.—1 part oxide of uranium, 4 parts lead-glass (prepared by fusing
8 parts minium with 1 part white sand), are intimately mixed and ground upon a
glass plate. This colouris not adapted for mixing with others, with which it produces
discordant tints. It may be shaded with dark purple or violet.
Uranium Orange.—2 parts oxide of uranium, 1 par‘ chloride of silver, and 3 parts
bismuth glass, (prepared by fusing 4 parts of oxide of bismuth with 1 part of erystal-
lised boracic acid), are intimately mixed and ground upon a plate glass. This orange
is not adapted, any more than the yellow pigment, for being mixed with other colours,
When examined under the microscope, after being burnt-in upon porcelain, the ura-
nium pigments appear as pale yellow-coloured glasses, in which unaltered oxide of
uranium is suspended. Only a small portion, therefore, of the oxide of uranium has
dissolved in the fusing. :
Green Pigments for painting upon Porcelain. Blue Green.—10 parts of the chromate
of protoxide of mercury and 1 part of chemically pure oxide of cobalt are ground upon
a glass plate, in order to produce as intimate 4 mixture as possible; the mixture is
then heated in a porcelain tube, open at both ends, until the whole of the mercury is
expelled. The beautiful blueish-green powder thus obtained is then transferred into
a porcelain crucible, and the lid cemented to it with glaze. The full erucible is
exposed to the highest temperature of the porcelain furnace during one firing, the
crucible carefully broken after the cooling, and the pigment washed with water, to
remove & small quantity of chromate of potash. In this manner a compound of oxide
of chromium and oxide of cobalt is obtained in nearly equivalent proportions, which
possesses the bluish-green colour of verdigris.
The blue-green pigment consists of a mixture of 1 part of the above compound of
oxide of chromium and oxide of cobalt, $ part of oxide of zinc, and 5 parts of lead-
glass (prepared by fusing together 2 parts minium, 1 part white sand, and 1 part
calcined borax), which are mixed and ground upon the glass plate. By mixing this
blue-green with lemon-yellow, any desired intermediate tint may be produced. 1 part
of blue-green to 6 parts of lemon-yellow furnishes a beautiful grass-green.
Dark Green.—The chromate of mercury is treated separately in the same way as
the mixture of it with oxide of cobalt for the blue-green; and 1 part of the beautiful
green oxide of chromium thus obtained is mixed with 3 parts of the same lead-glass
as given under blue-green, and ground upon the glass plate.
Green for Shading.—8 parts chromate of mereury and 1 part oxide of cobalt are
intimately mixed, and exposed in a shallow dish to the strongest heat of the porcelain
furnace, during one of the bakings. In this manner a compound of oxide of chromium
and oxide of cobalt is obtained, of a greenish-black colour, which, mixed with twice
the weight of the lead-glass directed for the blue-green, furnishes a very infusible
blackish-green colour, for shading other green colours,
When thin splinters of the green pigments of chromium, burnt-in upon porcelain,
-are examined under the microscope, it is distinctly seen that particles of the oxide of
chromium, or of the oxide of chromium and cobalt, are suspended, undissolved, in the
colourless lead-glass,
Blue Pigments for painting upon Porcelain. Dark Biue—1 part chemically pure
1086 ‘VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS
oxide of cobalt, 1 part oxide of zine, 1 part lead-glass (prepared by fusing together
2 parts of minium and 1 of white sand), are well mixed and fused in a porcelain
crucible, for at least 3 hours, at a red heat: then poured out, reduced to powder, and
ground upon the glass. When this pigment cools slowly, it solidifies to a mass of
acicular crystals. Long-continued fusion, at not too high a temperature, is requisite
to obtain a beautiful tint ; this is best attained by fusing it, during one of the bakings,
in the second floor of the porcelain furnace; this is also the cheapest and best way of
fusing the lead-glasses.
Light Blue:—1 part oxide of cobalt, 2 parts oxide of zine, 6 parts lead-glass (pres
pared by fusing together 2 parts of minium and 1 of white sand, and 14 part lead-glass
(prepared by fusing together 2 parts of minium, 1 part white sand, and 1 part calcined
borax), are well mixed and fused, as directed for the dark blue.
Blue for Shading.—10 parts oxide of cobalt, 9 parts oxide of zine, 25 parts of lead-
glass (obtained by fusing 2 parts of minium and 1 of white sand), and 5 parts of lead-
glass (prepared by fusing together 2 parts of minium, 1 part of white sand, and
1 part of calcined borax), are mixed and fused, as directed for the dark blue. The
colour is only used for shading, or to be applied upon or beneath the two preceding
blue pigments, for which purpose it is admirably suited, from its being very difficult
of fusion.
Sky Blue—2 parts of dark blue, 1 part oxide of zinc, and 4 parts of lead-glass
(prepared by fusing 4 parts minium with 1 of white sand), are intimately mixed and
ground upon the glass plate: This pigment is employed, either alone, or mixed with
other colours, only for painting the sky in landscape.
The blue pigments described likewise appear under the microscope, after haying
been burnt-in upon the porcelain, not to be homogeneous blue glasses, but mixtures
of a transparent blue substance (silicate of cobalt and zine?) and a colourless glass.
Turquoise Blue-—38 parts of chemically pure oxide of cobalt, and 1 part of pure
oxide of zinc, are dissolved together in sulphuric acid ; then an aqueous solution of
40 parts ammonia-alum added, the mixed solutions evaporated to dryness, and the
residue heated to expel the whole of the water ; then reduced toa powder, and exposed
in a crucible to an intense red heat for several hours. The colour is most beautiful,
when it has been exposed, during one firing, to the heat of the porcelain furnace. It
is a combination of nearly 4 equivs. alumina, 3 equivs. oxide of cobalt, and 1 equiv.
oxide of zine, and is of a beautiful turquoise-blue colour. When the oxides are mixed
in other proportions than those above given, they do not furnish such beautiful
coloured compounds. To impart to it a slightly greenish tint, a little moist recently-
precipitated protochromate of mercury is mixed with the above-described solution of
ammonia, alum, zinc, and cobalt ; with the above quantities, jth part of the chromate,
calculated in the dry state, suffices.
The turquoise-blue vitrifiable pigment is prepared by mixing one part of the
compound of alumina-oxide of zine and cobalt with 2 parts of bismuth glass (prepared
by fusing 5 parts of oxide of bismuth with 1 part of crystallised boracie acid).
The receipt for the preparation of the turquoise-blue pigment, communicated in the
Traité des Arts Céramiques by Brongniart, is incorrect ; for a lead-glass of the com-
position there given (3 parts minium, 1 part sand, 1 part boracie acid) destroys the
turquoise-blue pigment entirely on fusion, and only a dirty bluish-grey colour is pro-
duced. On examining under the microscope the turquoise-blue pigment burnt-in upon
porcelain, it appears to be a mixture of a transparent blue substance and a colourless
glass. The transparent blue substance in all probability is the above-described
compound of oxide of cobult and alumina, which is of itself transparent under the
microscope, but the transparency of which is increased by the surrounding fused glass
of bismuth, just like the fibres of paper by oil. This is probably the case also with
the microscopic blue constituent of the other blue vitrifiable pigments, and which is
probably silicate of zine and cobalt ; for this, when prepared separately, forms a pure
blue transparent powder.
Black and Grey Colours for painting upon Porcelain, Iridium Black,—Iridium, as
obtained in commerce from Russia in the state of a fine grey powder, is mixed with an
equal weight of calcined chloride of sodium, and heated to a faint red in a porcelain
tube, through which a current of chlorine is passed. In this manner a portion of the
iridium is converted into the bichloride of iridium and sodium, which is dissolved out
with water from the ignited mass. The aqueous solution of the double salt is eva-
porated to dryness with carbonate of soda, and then extracted with water, which
furnishes black sesquioxide of iridium, This is dried and mixed with twice its weight
of lead-glass (prepared by fusing together 12 parts of minium, 3 parts of white sand,
and 1 part of calcined borax), and ground upon a plate of glass. ‘The iridium, which
remained undecomposed in the first treatment with sea-salt and chlorine, is again
submitted to the same treatment, _ er Die
VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS 1087
Iridium Grey.—1 part of the sesquioxide of iridium, 4 parts of oxide of zine, and
22 parts of lead-glass (prepared by fusing together 5 parts of minium, 2 parts of sand,
and 1 part of calcined borax) are intimately mixed and ground fine upon a plate of
zlass. On microscopical examination of the iridium pigments after they have been
aoe iti upon porcelain, the sesquioxide of iridium is seen to be suspended in the
transparent fused lead-glass. It is owing to the unalterability of the sesquioxide
vf iridium that it admits ef being mixed with all other vitrifiable colours without
injuriously affecting the tints, as is the case with all the other vitrifiable grey and
black pigments.
Black from Cobalt and Mangancse.—2 parts of sulphate of cobalt deprived of its
water of crystallisation, 2 parts of dry protosulphate of manganese, and 6 parts of nitre,
are intimately mixed, and heated to redness in a Hessian crucible until the whole of
the nitre is decomposed. The calcined mass, exhausted with boiling water, furnishes
a deep black powder, which consists of a combination of oxide of cobalt and oxide of
manganese. 1 part of this compound is mixed with 2} parts of lead-glass (prepared
by fusing together 5 parts of minium, 2 parts of sand, and 1 part calcined borax), and
ground fine upon a plate of glass.
Grey from Cobalt and Manganese,—2 parts of the above compound of the oxide of
cobalt and manganese, 1 part oxide of zine, and 9 parts of lead-glass (prepared by.
fusing together 5 parts of minium, 2 parts of sand, and 1 part of calcined borax) are
mixed and ground fine.
These black and grey pigments are far less expensive to prepare than those from
iridium, and are not inferior to them in colour; but they do not mix so well with
other colours, and when baked several times they vary their tint somewhat, which
renders their application less certain. When these colours burnt-in upon porcelain
are examined under the microscope, it is seen that the oxide of cobalt and manganese
is not dissolved by the lead-glass, but merely suspended in it.
Besides these colours, a very infusible black is used in painting, which is not acted
upon by the superposed colours in the fusion ; it is the—
Ground Black, which consists of 5 parts of blue violet (gold-purple), 1grds part of
oxide of manganese and cobalt, and 12rds part of oxide of zine; these are intimately
mixed and ground fine upon a plate of glass.
White for Covering.—1 part minium, 1 part white sand, and 1 part. crystallised
boracic acid, are well mixed, and fused ina porcelain crucible. This white enamel has
the peculiarity of forming a colourless clear glass when quickly cooled, for instance, when
poured into water; while, when slowly cooled, it remains perfectly white and opaque,
On heating the clear glass to its melting point, it loses its transparency, and becomes
opaque as before. This property it possesses in common with the enamels, the opacity
of which is produced by arsenic or tungstic acid; probably the opacity in the present
ease is produced by the separation of silicate of lead, as in the white enamels by
arseniate or tungstate of potash, or by oxide of zine, It is, however, of excessive
minuteness ; for under the microscope, even with the highest power, the glass merely
exhibits a yellowish turbidness, and no individual particles are visible.
This white serves for marking the lightest part of the pictures, where it is impos-
sible to produce them by exposing the bare surface of the white porcelain; it is also
frequently mixed in small quantity with the yellow and green pigments, to make them
cover well.
Lead Flux.—A_ colourless lead-glass. for touching-up those parts cf the painting
which have remained dull, and for mixing with those pigments which are not easy
of fusion, is obtained by mixing together 5 parts of minium, 2 parts of white sand,
and 1 part of calcined borax.
Red and Brown Vitrifiable Pigments derived from Peroxide of Iron for painting upon
Porcelain. Yellow-Red.—Anhydrous sulphate of the peroxide of iron is heated to
redness on a dish in an open muffle, and constantly stirred with an iron spatula until
the greater portion of the sulphuric acid has been expelled, and a sample mixed with
water upon a glass plate exhibits a beautiful yellowish-red colour; after cooling, the
peroxide of iron is fread by washing with water from any undecomposed sulphate,
and dried. To prepare the pigment, 7 parts of the yellowish-red peroxide of iron
are well mixed with 24 parts of lead-glass (prepared by fusing together 12 parts of
minium, 3 parts of sand, and 1 part of calcined borax), and ground fine upon a plate
of glass,
Brown Red.—When the persulphate of iron is heated to redness until the whole of
the sulphuric acid is expelled, and a sample exhibits a dark red colour, the peroxide
of iron is well suited for a brownish-red pigment, which is prepared in the same
manner as directed for the yellowish-red. : 7
Bluish Red (Pompadour),—When the persulphate is heated still more strongly, it is
deprived of its loose consistency, becomes heavier, and acquires a bluish-red colour.
1088 _ WITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS
To hit this point exactly when the oxide of iron has assumed the desired carmine
tint is not so easy, as it shades very rapidly at these temperatures,
The pigment is prepared by mixing 2 parts of the purple-coloured peroxide of iron
with 5 parts of lead-glass, obtained by fusing together 5 parts of minium, 2 parts of
sand, and 1 part of calcined borax.
Chestnut Brown.—This colour of various shades, even to black, is acquired by the
peroxide of iron, at still higher degrees of heat than required for the preparation of
red colours; the pigments are prepared by mixing 2 parts of the chestnut-brown per-
oxide of iron with 5 parts of lead-glass, prepared by fusing together 12 parts of minium,
8 parts of sand, and 1 part of calcined borax.
Chamois.—1 part of the hydrate of the peroxide of iron, prepared by precipitating
the peroxide of iron with ammonia is mixed with 4 parts of the lead-glass, described
in the preceding, and the mixture ground fine on a plate of glass. ‘This colour is laid
on very thin, and serves to produce a yellowish-brown ground.
Flesh Colour.—1 part of peroxide of iron, 4 parts of dark yellow 2, and 10 parts of
lead-glass, prepared as described under chestnut-brown, are well mixed and ground
fine upon a plate of glass. This colour can also only be employed in a thin layer.
Various tints may be given to it by mixing it with a red peroxide of iron, sky-blue,
or dark yellow 2, The red of the cheeks and lips are painted upon it with Pompadour-
red
When the above colours are burnt-in upon porcelain, it is distinctly seen under the
microscope that the peroxide of iron is suspended unaltered in the clear lead-glass ; at
least the quantity dissolved by the fused lead-glass is so small that it is not perceptibly
coloured.
Various Brown Pigments for painting upon Porcelain, Light Brown, 1.—6 parts of
dry protosulphate of iron, 4 parts of dry sulphate of zinc, and 13 parts of nitre are well
mixed, and heated to a redness in a Hessian crucible, until the whole of the nitre is
decomposed. When cold, the crucible is broken, the residue removed, and separated
by boiling with water from soluble matters. A yellowish-brown powder remains, which
is a combination of oxide of zinc with peroxide of iron. The pigment is made by
mixing 2 parts of this compound with 5 parts of lead-glass, prepared by fusing to-
gether 12 parts of minium, 3 parts of sand, and 1 part of calcined borax.
Light Brown, 2.—2 parts of dry sulphate of iron, 2 parts of dry sulphate of zine,
and 6 parts of nitre, are treated in the same manner as described for light brown 1.
The resulting compound of oxide of zine and iron is of a lighter tint; the pigmentis
prepared from it as above.
Light Brown, 3.—1 part of dry sulphate of iron, 2 parts of dry sulphate of zine, and
4 parts of nitre are treated as directed for 1 and 2.
The light brown colours, after having been burnt-in upon porcelain, exhibited, under
the microscope, the transparent particles of the yellowish oxide of iron and zinc sus-
pended in the colourless lead-glass.
Bistre Brown, 1.—1 part dry sulphate of manganese, 8 parts of dry sulphate of zine,
12 parts dry sulphate of iron, and 26 parts nitre, are treated as directed for light
brown 1, and the resulting dark brown powder (a combination of the oxides of zine,
iron, and manganese), mixed with 2} times its weight of lead-glass of the same compo-
sition as for light brown 1.
Bistre Brown, 2.—1 part dry sulphate of manganese, 4 parts dry sulphate of iron, 4
parts dry sulphate of zine, 12 parts nitre, are treated as for bistre brown 1. The colour
is somewhat darker.
Sepia Brown, 1.—1 part dry sulphate of iron, 1 part dry sulphate of manganese, 2
parts dry sulphate of zine, and 5 parts nitre, are treated as directed for light brown 1,
and the greyish-brown pigment thus obtained mixed with 23 times its weight of lead-
glass of the above composition. ~
Sepia Brown, 2.—1 part calcined sulphate of iron, 2 parts calcined sulphate of man-
ganese, 6 parts calcined sulphate of zine, and 10 parts nitre, are treated as for sepia 1.
Dark Brown.—1 part dry sulphate of cobalt, 4 parts dry sulphate of zinc, 4 parts
dry sulphate of iron, and 10 parts of nitre, are mixed and treated as directed for light
brown 1. The resulting beautiful dark reddish-brown combination of the oxides of
cobalt, zinc, and iron is mixed with 24 times its weight of the same lead-glass as for
the preceding colours.
Chrome Brown.—1 part of hydrated peroxide of iron is intimately mixed with 2 parts
of the chromate of the protoxide of mercury, and then heated to redness in a dish, in
an open muffle, to expel the whole of the mercury. The dark reddish-brown compound
of the oxides of chromium and iron is mixed with 3 times its weight of lead-glass,
—— by fusing together 5 parts of minium, 2 parts of sand, and 1 part of calcined
Trax,
When examined under the microscope, after being burnt-in upon porcelain, these
VITRIFIABLE PIGMENTS 1089
different brown colours also show that the dark compounds are simply suspended in
the lead-glass, and not, or merely to a small extent, dissolved. The direction above
given for preparing the coloured combinations of the oxides in the dry way, for the
bodies which constitute the different brown pigments, is cheaper and more certain
than the precipitation of the mixed solutions by carbonate of soda and calcination of
the washed precipitate, which also answers. If, however, the several oxides were to
be mixed with the lead-glass separately, instead of combined, the colours would not
be pure, that is to say they would exhibit after the firing different tints in a thick and
thin layer; they would moreover possess a totally different colour before the burning
from that which they acquire after that operation, and would thus contribute to deceive
the artist.
Gold purple is obtained, according to the process of Ladersdorff, by mixiug a solu-
tion of 1 part ducat gold, in 4 parts agua regia, with 1 drachm of tin-salt dissolved in
4 oz. distilled water, and a solution of 1 drachm of gum in 8 oz. of water, in the fol-
lowing proportions :—
Distilled water . ~ ‘ « . a Om
Solution of gum arabic = tS - 28 grs
” of tin-salt . . . * * 14 ”
» ofgold . ? J . RAY): mes
and adding alcohol of 0°863 spec. gray., until the liquid begins to grows turbid. The
purple is deposited and washed with spirit of 0°958. The dried precipitate has a
brownish colour, and furnishes, when all the gum has been carefully removed by
washing, a very beautiful purple after the firing.
According to Fuchs, 1 oz. lig. ferri muriat. oxydati, Ph. bor., is mixed with 3 oz.
of distilled water, and a solution of 1 oz. protochloride of tin in 6 oz. distilled water,
and 10 drops of muriatic acid added until the whole has acquired a greenish colour,
when a further addition of 16 oz. of distilled water is made.
On the other hand, some ducat gold is heated to boiling with pure nitric acid, until
all the gold is dissolved. An excess of acid should be avoided. 360 parts of distilled
water are added to this solution of gold; and then the above solution of iron and tin
gradually poured into it until the whole of the purple is precipitated. This precipi-
tate has likewise a brownish tint after drying, but furnishes a beautiful purple after
burning.
It has been found, however, that purple prepared according to the following
process is preferable, especially as regards the external appearance. A mixture of +
parts pure nitric acid of 1:24 spec. grav., and 1 part pure muriatic acid, which is mixed
with half as much pure alcohol of 0°863, and chemically pure tin, gradually added in
small portions until no more is dissolved; the solution must be effected slowly, on
which account the vessel containing the mixture should be placed in snow or cold
water, The carefully decanted solution is diluted with 80 times its weight of distilled
water, and mixed with a solution of gold, prepared according to the above directions.
The precipitate is purple-red, and remains so after drying. The tin-solution for this
purpose cannot be preserved long, otherwise nitric ether is formed; and the higher’
oxidation of the tin-salt no longer furnishes such beautiful precipitates with gold as
the recently-prepared solution.
For mixing with the purple in order to produce a rose colour, the author does not
employ a carbonate of silver, but the metal ina very minute state of division, obtained
by mixing the finest silver-leaf with honey and a few drops of ether, and well grinding
it, when the honey is washed out with water. Mr. Waechter uses as a flux for the
purple colours a lead-glass, consisting of 6 parts minium, 2 parts silica, and 2 parts
calcined borax.
With respect to the chrome colours, he observes, that the expensive method for their
preparation by means of the chromate of the protoxide of mercury is still the only one
by means of which a fine colour can be obtained.
Cobalt Colours.—In purifying the cobalt for porcelain colours, the removal of the
whole of the arsenic is of less consequence than that of the iron. Cobalt ores from
various localities, Tunaberg, Saxony, and Thuringia, are treated in the following
manner. The mineral is reduced to a fine powder\in’ an iron mortar, kept for the
purpose, and mixed with ith its weight of charcoal-powder; then exposed in Hessian
crucibles to a red heat under a chimney with a good draught or in the open air, and
roasted as long as arsenical vapours escape, a very disagreeable operation, which lasts
several hours. The ore thus prepared is now boiled over the fire with a mixture of
4 parts nitre and 1 part muriatic acid, 1 part of which is diluted with 3 parts of water,
This operation is repeated about 8 times, with less acid. The liquids are allowed to
settle, the clear portion decanted, the remainder diluted with water and filtered, and
the solution evaporated to dryness, The dry mass is mixed with some water, heated,
Vor, IIT, 4A
1090 ene WAFERS
and separated by filtration from the residue of arseniate of iron. The green liquid,
which now contains more or less cobalt, iron, nickel, and manganese, is mixed with a
filtered solution of pearlash, until the dirty red precipitate begins to turn blue.
Care and experience in this operation are requisite, otherwise a loss of cobalt might
result. The precipitate of arseniate and carbonate of iron, which at the same time
eontains nickel and manganese, is separated by filtration, and the beautiful red
liquid mixed with more of the solution of pearlash until the whole of the cobalt is pre-
cipitated ; the precipitate is carefully washed and dried. This hydrated oxide of cobalt
is sufficiently pure for technical purposes, and answers just as well as that prepared
from oxalate of cobalt or by caustic ammonia. ..
For painting, the oxide of cobalt is heated in a Hessian crucible with 1 silica,
and 1} part oxide of zine for two hours in a blast-furnace, then reduced to a fine
powder in a porcelain mortar, and mixed with an equal weight of lead-glass.
Yellow Colour,—A beautiful yellow is obtained from 2 oz. minium, $ oz. Stib. oxydat.
ab. abl. 2 drms. oxide of zinc, 2 drms. 2 scruples calcined borax, } oz. silica, 4 drm,
dry carbonate of soda, and 1 scruple ferr. oxydat. fuscum, which are well mixed, fused
in a crucible, and then ground fine.—Waechter..
VITRIOL, from Vitrum, ‘glass,’ is the‘old chemical, and still the vulgar appellation
of sulphuric acid, and of many of its compounds. which in certain states have a glassy
appearance : thus :—Vitriolie acid, or oil of vitriol, is sulphuric acid; blue vitriol, is
sulphate of copper; green vitriol, is green sulphate of iron; vitriol of Mars, is red
sulphate of iron; and white vitriol, is sulphate of zinc.
VIVIANITE. A blue iron ore, phosphate of iron. Some fine examples have
been found in the mines of Cornwall and Devon. See Iron OrzEs,
VOLCANIC GLASS. See OxssmIAn.
VORTEX WATER-WHEEL. Seco TuRBINE.
VRIAC. A name given to kelp by the French makers; wriae venant, drift weed ;
vriac scié, cut weed. The same as VAREC,
VULCANITE. Vulcanised india-rubber. See CaourcHouc.
VULPINITE. A siliceous variety of anhydrite, containing 8 per cent. of silica.
The vulpinite from Vulpino, near Bergamo in Italy, takes a fine polish, and is used
for ornamental purposes. It is known to artists as the Marmo Bardiglio di Bergamo.
W
WACKE is an obsolete name for a rock intermediate between clay-slate and
basalt. It is generally an earthy decomposing igneous rock.
‘WAD, or WADD, is the provincial name of plumbago in Cumberland ; and also
of an ore of manganese in Derbyshire and elsewhere, which consists of the peroxide
of that metal, associated with nearly its own weight of oxide of iron, &e.
WADDING (Ouate, Fr.; Watte, Ger.) is the spongy web which serves to line
ladies’ dresses, &c. Ouate, or Wat, was the name originally given to the glossy
down tufts found in the pods of the plant commonly called Apocyn, and by botanigts
Asclepias Syriaca, which was imported from Egypt and Asia Minor for the purpose of
stuffing cushions, &c. Wadding is now made with a lap or fleece of cotton prepared
by the carding-engine (see Carding, Corron Manuracturr), which is applied to
tissue-paper by a coat of size, made by boiling the cuttings of hare-skins, and adding
a little alum to the gelatinous solution. When two laps are glued with their faces
together, they form the most downy kind of wadding.
WAFERS. There are two manners of manufacturing wafers: 1, with wheat-
flour and water, for the ordinary kind; and 2, with gelatine. 1. A certain quantity
of fine flour is to be diffused through pure water, and so mixed as to leave no glotty
particles. This thin pap is then coloured with one or other of the matters to be par-
ticularly described under the second head; and which are, vermilion, sulphate of
indigo, and gamboge. The pap is not allowed to ferment, but must be employed
immediately after it is mixed. Wafers are now but little used, adhesive envelopes
having almost superseded them.
The colouring-matters ought not to be of an insalubrious kind.
For red wafers, carmine is well adapted, when they are not to be transparent; but
this colour is dear, and can be used only for the finer kinds. Instead of it a decoction
of brazil-wood, brightened with a little alum, may be employed.
For pele. an infusion of saffron or turmeric has been prescribed; but a decoction
of weld, fustic, or Persian berries, might be used.
WASHING COAL 1091
Sulphate of indigo, partially saturated with potash, is used for the blue wafers; and
it is mixed with yellow, for the greens. Some recommend the sulphate to be nearly
neutralised with chalk, and to treat the liquor with alcohol, in order to obtain the
best blue dye for wafers.
Common wafers, are, however, coloured with the substances mentioned at the be-
ginning of this article ; and for the cheap kinds, red lead is used instead of vermilion,
and turmerie instead of gamboge.
Three new methods of manufacturing wafers were made the subject of a patent by
Peter Armand De Comte de Fontainemoreau, in April 1850; the chief feature of
which is a layer of metal-foil. In the first of the three forms described, the metal
slip or band is to be coated with the ordinary farinaceous paste used for making
waters, for which purpose the slip is laid on one of the jaws of the ordinary iron
mould, then a spoonful of paste is poured on it, the mould is shut, and the paste
baked as usual. The metal band is lastly punched into wafers, either plain or orna-
mental.
te second method is to stick these slips to paper with paste, then to dry and punch
em out. :
By the third plan, strips of gummed paper are fixed to the slips, and a resinous
cement is put on the other side. The first two methods require moistening, the third
heating. ‘This contrivance is susceptible of much variety of decoration.
WALNUT HUSKS, or PEELS (Brouwi des noix, Fr.), are much employed by
the French dyers for rooting or giving dun colours.
WALNUT OIL. See Ons.
WANGEES, or Japan Canes. A cane imported from China.
WARP (Chaine, Fr.; Kette, Anschweif, Zettel, Werft, Ger.) is the name of the
longitudinal threads or yarns, whether of cotton, linen, silk, or wool, which being de-
cussated at right angles by the woof or weft threads form a piece of cloth. The warp
yarns are parallel, and continuous from end to end of the web. See Weravine, for a
description of the warping-mill.
WASH is the fermented wort of the distiller.
WASHING COAL. M. Berard is the inventor of a very successful apparatus
for purifying small coal. He exhibited his arrangement at the Great Exhibition of
1851, receiving the Council medal. The decoration of the Legion of Honour and a
gold medal was also awarded to him at the Paris Exhibition in 1855. This appa-
ratus, to be presently described, effects, without any manual labour, the following
operations :—
Ist. The sorting the coal by throwing out the larger pieces.
2nd. Breaking the coal, which is in pieces too large to be subjected to the operation
of washing.
8rd. Continuous and perfect purification of the coal.
4th. Loading the purified coal into waggons.
5th. Loading the refuse (pyrites or schist) into waggons for removal.
The power required for the apparatus is that of from four to five horses, and the
machine can operate upon from 80 to 100 tons of coal in about twelve hours, if fitted
up near the colliery. The expense of the operation of purifying is stated to consist
solely in the wages of the workmen charged to conduct the labour of the machine.
The following description of the figs. 2091 and 2092, will render the arrangements
of M. Berard’s machine readily intelligible.
The coal is carried from the mine on a staging, for example, and the tram-waggon, B
(fig. 2091), is unloaded into a hopper, c, either by opening the bottom or by tilting it (as
in the position represented by the dotted lines b), by means of a lever. It falls after-
wards either on to a table or a moveable grating, p, formed of frames, or of a series
of stages, of sloping perforated plates, which immediately sorts it into as many sizes
as there are perforated plates.
This grating is suspended out of perpendicular by four chains or iron rods, ¢ ¢,
fixed to the framework of the staging a. It is moved by means of a cam motion (an
arrangement of a cam and tongue mentonnet), c’, and falls back by its own weight
against the stops, which produce concussions or vibrations favourable to the clearing
out of the holes and to the descent of the materials. The motion communicated to the
grating admits of a much less inclination being given to it than would be the case if
it were fixed: the sorting is effected quicker and more perfectly, besides which, the
differences of level which it is necessary to preserve are maintained.
The larger pieces rejected by the first plate reach the picking-table n, where a
labourer picks out the largest stones and extraneous substances, as fragments of cast-
ings, iron, &e.
The fragments which have passed through the upper plate, and are retained
by that below, descend direct to the crushers F ¥, situated below. Lastly, the fine
4a2
1093 WASHING COAL
portions of the coal which have passed through the second perforated plate, fall on to
a solid bottom, a’, whence they are thrown, delivered direct into the pit by means of
a fixed shoot, ¢.
The crushing-cylinders, r r, are made with a covering of cast iron, mounted on an
iron shaft. This covering can be easily replaced when worn out. It has on its sur-
face small grooves, which are usually placed longitudinally, parallel with the axis of
the cylinder, in order to avoid the slipping of the substances operated on. But it is
also necessary to crush fragments of slate which gain admission with the coal, and
these consisting of thin, flattened lamine, it would be necessary to bring the crusher
2091 seek
a P
5 Bt en
B xs. nf \ y T
B ae ". vt,
2 a zt a A
\ Vi A 62 G us aes A
NY Ofes re? = =
y eer y - SPER
cafe | - Zz = T
peR50, 02°) Shs x & fi
om Sree é = ae a K
a iz -
ie et g y , 5 of \
op,
peace 3 =<
“= » . M
e; ‘ : ———S
Pas ci gt y SS9
vd SSN
RES ;
4 K
closer than would be required to reduce the coal, which is of a more cubical form, to
the proper size,
In order ‘to obviate this difficulty, another series of grooves are formed on the sur-
faces of the crusher transversely to those already described, the intersection of the
two producing projections in the form of quadrangular pyramids, with slightly
rounded tops. In coming between the projections of the crushers, the fragments of
slate, being unable to pass, are broken up without reducing the coal to a smaller size
than is required.
2092 "
a n a ’
FA 4 aus
i! 7 em 3’
fo 0008) Loe, 4
enass % pes r J ails 4 5 u
eee OY
Petco foe omni eod | |’
oO
7 o = +7 +
i
; 2
@ « = H
When the coal has undergone a preliminary sifting, which has removed all the
pieces exceeding 6 or 7 centimeters in size, one pair of crushers is sufficient. In
that case the grating may be dispensed with altogether by discharging the coal direct
into the pit, and returning from the sifter to the washer the pieces of coal which hare
not been able to pass beyond the first perforated plate.
The small coal resulting from the washer, or from the sifter, by means of the
jigger, is delivered into a common pit placed under the washers. The pit is shaped
like an inverted quadrangular pyramid, the three faces of which are inclined to one
another at an angle of 45°, to facilitate the descent of the substance, and the fourth
is usually vertical. It is on the latter that an opening is made, which is regulated by
a flood-gate.
An elevator, formed of an endless chain, with buckets, raises the coal from the
bottom of the pit, and places itself sufficiently high to allow of the final discharge,
which may take place into the waggon.
The rate of ascent of the buckets and their capacities are calculated so as to raise
160 to 200 tons of coal in the working hours; but this quantity may be diminished
by means of the flood-gate in the pit.
The coal discharged by the elevator falls on the sorter, which ought immediately to
divide it, according to size, and distribute it to the ferry-boats,
WASHING COAL 1093
The classifier is formed of a kind of oblong rectangular chest, made of iron
plates, in the inside of which are placed stages of perforated plates, the apertures in
which decrease in a downward direction, Sufficient space is allowed between each
plate for the motion of the materials. .At the bottom of the perforated plates are
disposed inclined planes for throwing on one side the product of the sifting, which
escapes through a slope made on the side of the sifter. A bottom fixed to the
classifier itself, and like it moveable, receives the dust in the finest numbers, if the
sifting has been effected in the dry way, or else this bottom is immoveable and fixed
to longerons which support the classifier, if the sifting take place in water, as we are
about to point out.
The classifier is suspended by two or three pairs of articulated handles turning
on axles fixed to longerbns: by that means it enjoys an extreme freedom of motion
in a longitudinal direction. A rapid reciprocating motion is communicated by a
‘ bielle,’ which receives the action of a bent axle firmly established on a foundation
fixed on the principal wall of the chamber of the machine. The motion of rotation
is communicated to the axle by the disposition of an iron pinion dangle working
into a.
The bac is formed of a rectangular chest in cast iron, t’, one part of the bottom of
which is inclined at 45°, the other lower parts remaining horizontal.
Opposite one of the lesser sides of the rectangle is placed a cylinder o, opening
into the oblong chest at about half its height. The chest x’ is prolonged under the
cylinder, in order to increase the stability of the system and the capacity of the
drain-well (puwisard).
A cast-iron box, m m’, is firmly fixed in the interior of the bac, on flanges of cast
iron with vertical faces. This box has a slight inclination from m towards m’. It is
covered with a perforated plate, usually of copper, fastened to the frame by a number
of iron pins or bolts easy of replacement. The size of the holes varies according to
that of the matters brought into the bac.
A cast-iron door, n, traverses, opening outward, is fixed at a slight height above the
frame, serving as a kind of partition dividing the materials in the bac, and against it
a fiood-gate n’, by means of which the opening beneath the cast-iron door may be
closed at pleasure.
A counter flood-gate, x’, is placed at the lower extremity of the frame; in raising it
a barrier is formed of variable height, by means of which the substances between the
flood-gate and counter flood-gate may be arrested.
A piston, c, receives from the machine a sufficiently rapid reciprocating motion.
Everything being thus arranged, if the bac is supposed to be filled with water to
the level of the front face at n’; and that the substances to be washed fill the space in
the bac between this level and the perforated plate of the frame, the piston working
upwards and downwards will press the water in the body of the cylinder, and will
force it by its incompressibility to pass through the holes in the perforated plate ; it
will establish above this plate an ascending current, which, if of sufficient. power, will
raise the substances submerged.
The resistance to the rise of each body will be in proportion to its specific gravity,
and the height it will be carried will follow an inverse law, supposing the fragments
to be of nearly equal sizes.
The slates which fall over the counter fiood-gate fall into a pocket or reservoir, N,
whence they are discharged on opening a flood-gate, x’. Pressed by the upper column
of water, they slide with a slight admixture of water on the inclined plane, x’ N’,
which can be pierced with holes; the water escapes, and the slate only falls directly
into the waggon of discharge.
The bent axle of transmission, s s, moves in a groove turning on a pivot at its ex-
tremity. The rotation of the axle communicates an oscillating motion to it.
The deposit formed in the drain-well is emptied through an opening of the flood-
gate placed at the lower part. An opening serving as a man-hole is reserved for
effecting internal repairs without the necessity of raising the frame.
All coal contains a portion of earthy matters or impurities which, in the form of
bands or scales, are generally in some degree apparent to the eye, and constitute the
ashes and clinker left by combustion. The small coal which is sent out of mines
necessarily contains a still larger proportion, frequently exceeding 10 per cent., con-
sisting chiefly of shale and iron pyrites derived from the roof or floor of the seam of
coal, or from the bands of impurities interstratified with it. Generally these impurities
are so incorporated with the mass of the coal that it must be crushed in order suffi-
ciently to detach them. The pyrites, which contain nearly the whole of the sulphur
found in coal-seams, is well known to be very injurious either in a heating or smelting
furnace, in the manufacture or working of iron, in gas-making, in coking, and other
processes, a
1094 WATER
Many seams of coal already sunk to, or portions of seams in work, ate left under-
ground as unsaleable in consequence of the impurities they contain. Small coal sells
at a low price chiefly in consequence of its impurities and the defective coking pro-
perty which they occasion. It has been estimated that an amount not far short of
the quantity of coal sold is sacrificed in producing a commercial article of adequate
quality and description. The enormous consumption of coal in this country, amount-
ing to 127 millions of tons per annum, renders the utilisation of a larger portion of
the more valuable seams now in course of being exhausted, and the bringing into the
market of other seams, objects of national importance.
The differences between the specific gravities of coal and its impurities, allow of
their being separated by the action of water when sufficiently crushed. The water
process hitherto most commonly ado is that known as ‘jigging,’ which consists in
forcing the water alternately up and down through the mass of coal. The downward
current of water in ‘jigging’ is prejudicial, and entails a large sacrifice of the finer
particles of the best coal ; whilst the upward current, from its rapidity and irregularity,
is costly both in time and power, besides failing to effect the more perfect separation
which is obtained by a slow, continuously ascending or pulsating current, regulated
to the proportion of shale in the coal, and to the size of the particles to be acted
upon.
Several coal-washing machines have been from time to time introduced, but the
machine described sufficiently represents their general character. ;
Machines have been established in Scotland, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Gloucester-
shire, and Wales, to purify from 20 to 100 tons of coal per day, at a cost not exceed-
ing 3d. per ton, and with a loss not exceeding 2 per cent. of coal.
WATER. (Lau, Fr.; Wasser, Ger.) There is no substance so extensively used
in the operations of nature on our globe, as well as in the workshops of men, as water.
To speak of its numerous relationships. even briefly, would demand. too much space,
and it will be needful to confine ourselves strictly to a consideration of its physical
conditions.
A few analyses of river water will convey some idea of the compgasition of the solid
matter held in solution, given in grains per gallon of this fluid :—
?
eC,
Z § g = se Cy
3 os > gq s
fe | ga (2 2] 2, | a2 |e] a
22 | 23 |282| 22] ge | ga| at
aa BS |je2s| BA BE | am | ae
Carbonate of lime . . | 15°10 1°28 1:22 |12°79 8°37 6°98 | 11°3
e magnesia . 1°84 0:09 oy 1:35 1°50 0°39 O-4
Silica rs i , A 1:09 trace 0:20 | 0-21 0°49 0°54 0-5
Peroxide ofiron . .| 0:49 ‘ s+ | trace | 0201) o.79
5 manganese, ode Ren ¥ ae cae os 2"
Alumina . . 4 te trace ‘
Sulphate of lime . .| 426! 434 | 017/154 | 0291] gro |f36
magnesia .| «+ 0-23 | 0-46 | 0°39 1°57
”
> soda. J) eos ges 0°18
a ee potash . 7 ws O11 ee = t 0'20
oride of sodium . .| 2°84} 6:05 : ee g
+ potassium : ye. trace 0-96" /'O"16 ae 3°94 | 1:10
a calcium . ‘ na 5 de va oe ate
magnesium . hes 091 ins én are sey 08
Phosphate of limeandiron |... aah Hol de eng 44 soil bale
Nitrates . : . ; 0°50 0°23 esa ini one ses | trace
Organic matter ‘ ~ | 2°20}, 2°30 | 2°60 | 0°33 ove es. | trace.
Rain is the probable source of all water, It is almost absolutely pure water if it
falls through uncontaminated air. Water is almost colourless, brilliant, without taste
or smell, and very transparent. When seen through great depths it has a slightly
blue shade of colour. It weighs 252°45 grains per cubic inch at 60° Fahr. in the air.
The specific gravity of all substances liquid and solid are taken by their relation to
water, which is called 1:000 or 1. Its boiling point at 29°92 bar. prossure is 212°
Fahr. ; it freezes at 32°, and it evaporates at all temperatures. Its boiling point at
760 meters pressure is called 100° Cent. ; freezing point 0°. It assumes, therefore, the
gaseous, liquid, and solid states with great facility. The specific heat of water at 32°
OO ————— _
|
*
LE wy *
WATER-METER 1095
Fahr, is taken as 1000. Water is taken to measure amounts of heat also. The heat
required to raise 1 gramme of water 1° Cent. is a unit of heat. The amount of heat
required to raise 1 lb. of water, one degree of Fahr., requires for its evolution the
expenditure of a mechanical force equal to the fall of 772 lbs. through the space of
1 foot. Or 1 gramme of water is heated 1° (Cent.) by an amount of heat represented
by the fall of 423-55 grammes through the space of 1 meter. The latent heat of
water and the amount required to convert ice at the freezing point into water is 144°,
or 144°6° Fahr. (80°-80°34° Cent.) The refractive power of water, or its index of refrac-
tion of light, is 1386; that is, the sine of the angle of incidence is to the sine of the
angle of refraction as 1°336 to 1. Refractive power increases below 39°, although
density diminishes. Water expands when heated or cooled beyond 39° Fahr., or 3°°9
Centigrade: Playfair and Joule give 39:1; Fraukenhein, 38°85; Pliicker and Gessler,
38°8. Hope, who discovered the property. gave 39'5. Water freezes in crystals ; one
form is not unlike Iceland spar, a rhomboid. Hail erystallises in six-sided pyramids,
base to base; snow frequently with various stellar radiations.
Specific gravity of the vapour of water is 0°622; it is nine times heavier than
hydrogen. Water itself is 812 times heavier than the atmospheric air, Water ex-
pands by heat, between 32° and 212°, 1 in 21°3 volumes. It expands in cooling below
32°, even if it be not allowed to crystallise. The expansion may be prevented by
using smooth vessels and preventing disturbance. It may be cooled in this way to
about 7° Fahr. A slight agitation, or the presence of a rough substance, rapidly causes
it to shoot out crystals in all directions. The spec. gr. of ice is 0°916, it therefore
floats on water. It expands with irresistible force, bursting asunder iron vessels,
however strong, in which it may be confined, water-pipes of whatever substance,
porous stones which may have absorbed it, and vegetable-cells in which it may
be enclosed.
Water heated to 212° Fahr. boils. Long before this period, and even in heating it
only a few degrees, it gives off bubbles, which are those of air, from which it is never
found free in nature. At 212° the bubbles of vapour are formed and rise to the sur-
face. These bubbles form more readily on certain surfaces ; on metals easily, especially
if they are not polished, Gay-Lussac gave the difference of the boiling point in metal
and glass as two degrees. M. Marcet found it raised to 221° when a glass flask had
its inner surface coated with a thin film of shell-lac. When water has ceased to boil
in a glass or porcelain vessel, it will begin again instantly if a metallic wire is intro-
duced. Rough glass and porcelain vessels allow water to boil better than smooth.
The boiling of water depends on the pressure of the air as well as temperature, as the
following shows :—
Barometer, inches Water boils at degs, Fahr.
27-74. . ‘ < : : = >, 208°
28°29 . . . P . . : = 209°
28°84 . : : . . » ° . . 2102
29°41. : : F . . . : . a DELS
29°92 . . . < < ° . ° . OL) Oia
306. . . . - Fy “ ° é ‘248°
This change of boiling point is used to ascertain the height of mountains, 550 feet
making a difference of 1 degree. In a vacuum water will boil at 67°. In a Papin’s
digester it is raised to 300 or 400 without boiling.’
WATER-GLASS. See Grass, WATER.
WATERING OF STUFFS (Moirage, Fr.) is a process to which silk and other
textile fabrics are subjected, for causing them to exhibit a variety of undulated reflec- ©
tions and plays of light. See Mores.
WATER-METER. An apparatus by which the quantity of water supplied to a
manufactory or to a house can be satisfactorily measured. As a description of gas-
meters has been. given, it appears requisite that some notice should be taken of an
equally important instrument for measuring water. These may be, and are, variously
constructed. The principle upon which they are made is in all cases that which we
see in action in a water-wheel, a given quantity of water in flowing performs a given
quantity of work,
Siemens and Adamson’s water-meter is shown in the following figures :—
Fig. 2093 is a plan of a meter, looking on tho dial and dial-cap.
Fig. 2094 is a section of meter, filter, and unions, complete.
Fig. 2095 is a perspective view of drum or measuring medium, showing the
adjusting or regulating vanes « a a, and water-ways 6 4); letters of reference refer
to similar parts in all the drawings.
Tn fig. 2094, a is the inlet union of meter for connecting to the Water Company’s
supply pipe, 3B is the filter-case. c is a filter, which is for the purposé of preventing
1096 | WATER-METER
foreign and injurious substances passing into the drum of meter. Dis a filter-case screw,
which connects it with the meter, and is for the purpose of attaching to and detaching
from the meter-case, to cleanse the filter c when required. Ex is an inner filter, for the
purpose of preventing any foreign and injurious matter which might pass the first filter,
c (whether from being broken or from any other cause) from entering into the drum,
2098
=
cpaneevaany
F is an inlet chamber of the meter-case x, into which the water enters, and is con-
ducted into the measuring drum u by means of the conducting tube Gc. G is the inlet
or conducting tube into drum. is the drum or measuring medium of meter, which is
regulated so as to give uniformity of measurement by the adjusting vanesaa, sis
an oil-cup attached to bottom of drum, which encloses and lubricates the bottom of
spindle x, At the upper end of the oil-cup there is a steel boss, which the drum revolves
upon. X is the bottom spindle, which has a steel pivot, on which the drum revolves,
and is enclosed by the oil-cup or chamber 3. 1 1 is the outlet chamber of the meter-
2094
—_ a |
—-
WATER-METER 1097
German silver bush p. Q is a screw attached to the top of the drum spindle, for the
purpose of giving motion to the wheels of dial-work, and so indicating on a graduated
dial the number of feet or gallons of water passed through the meter. pR is the
dial work. ss is an oil chamber, which is for the purpose
of lubricating and protecting the wheels of the dial-work
from the action of the water, and so preventing any
foreign substance getting upon and injuring them. T is
the dial-plate, used for the purpose of making, along with
the india-rubber washer v, a sealed or water-tight joint
between the oil chamber, where the bottom wheels work,
and the upper portion or chamber, where the top or
differential wheels and dial work. v is a dial-cap, screwed
on to the top of meter-case. w is a glass plate, covering
dial. x is an outside metal-case, in which the drum revolves.
¥ is a bottom plate, for putting in and taking out the drum.
The annexed drawing, fig. 2096, shows the arrangement
of the meters to measure large quantities of water in con-
nection with town supply or district mains. The plan
shown admits of the regular and periodical examination
=| “~» lov
and repairs, when necessary, without in-
terfering with the constant supply. A
dirt box is attached to each end of the
meters, so as to protect them from in-
jury arising from anything (such as
sticks, stones, shells, &c.) which might
be in the pipes, and which if allowed
to pass might, without this precaution,
destroy the accuracy of the measure-
ment, and damage the meter. The
sluice valve at each end provides for
the periodical examination of the meter
and cleaning the dirt box, and when
2098
7 - ’ = re > « ae Se s 4 iy Z Ae a. ee ee Te! ay gt
Vs oe , ytd? ka ea M ey eo ae OAT Se Dee ee
1098 WATERS, MINERAL
necessary (for the purpose of repairs) the taking-out of the meter. As it is arranged
that any two of the meters are of sufficient capacity to deliver the quantity required,
it will be apparent that this can be done while the regular supply is going on.
Messrs. Walker and Son’s duplex water-meter, figs. 2097 and 2098, is somewhat
different from this. The water passes into an annular chamber A, in which is a rotator
arbor, on which are fixed two measuring screws c, with their blades at contrary angles,
and on the same arbor, between these screws, are two cones, which serve to guide the
water smoothly on to the screw-blades, and likewise to lift the rotator off its lower
pivot-and keep it suspended in its bearings whilst in action, thereby preventing end-pres-
sure. The water, by means of a partition, is divided as it enters, and it passes over
the screws at opposite sides in two streams of equal force. In the central compartment
the water is again divided into two streams, the one descending and passing between
the blades of the lower screw, and the other ascending and passing between the blades
of the upper screw ; these two currents join, and the water passes off by the outlet.
The first example given, in some respects resembles a Barker's Mill; while in the
other the revolutions of the screws are made to measure the quantity of water passing
through the meter.
WATERS, MINERAL. Those waters which contain such a proportion of foreign
matter as render them totally unfit for ordinary purposes, and give them a sensible
flavour, and a specific action upon the animal economy, are called mineral waters.
They are various in their composition, temperature, and in their effect upon the
system. In regard to temperature they are divided into warm, thermal, and cold.
They are generally so far impregnated with acid or saline bodies as to derive from
them their peculiarities, and are commonly divided into four classes. Acidulous or
carbonated waters are characterised by an acid taste, and by the disengagement of
gas. They contain five or six times their volume of carbonic acid gas; their
salts are muriates and carbonates of lime and magnesia, carbonate or sulphate of
iron, &c. Saline waters contain, in general, salts of soda and lime, or of magnesia
and lime, with carbonie acid and oxide of iron. Chalybeate or ferruginous waters
have a decided styptic taste; the iron is sometimes in the state of an oxide, held in
solution by carbonic acid, sometimes exists as a sulphate, and sometimes both as a
sulphate and carbonate. Sulphureous waters are easily recognised by their disagree-
able smell, and their property of tarnishing silver and copper.
Dr. Gairdner, in his ‘ Natural History of Mineral and Thermal Springs,’ has en-
deavoured to generalise the connection between the composition of mineral waters
and the rock-formations from which they flow:—1. ‘The salts held in solution in
mineral waters have no connection with the acid, saline, or earthy matter which enter
into the composition of the rocks which they traverse in their passage to the surface
of the earth. 2, The mineral waters of the primitive formations are almost all
thermal, and generally possess a very high temperature. Their predominant im-
pregnation is sulphuretted hydrogen gas, free carbonic acid gas, carbonate of soda,
and, in general, salts with a base of soda, silica, few calcareous salts, except carbonate
of lime in some peculiar situations, and but a small quantity of iron. 3. The waters
of the palzozoic and older secondary formations participate in those belonging to the
primitive rocks. They are generally of a lower temperature, though some of them
are still very hot ; free carbonic acid is much less common, and sulphuretted hydrogen
is almost entirely absent. Salts of soda still predominate, but carbonate is not so
common; sulphate of lime is found in the greater number of these waters; silica
exists in but two or three examples. 4. The waters of the newer secondary and
tertiary formations are as distinctly characterised as those of the primitive rocks,
placed at the other extremity of the series. They are all cold. Free carbonic acid is
almost entirely absent. Their predominant ingredients are the carbonate and sulphate
of lime, sulphate of magnesia, and oxide of iron. 5. The trachytic and basaltic
formations, and modern volcanic rocks, present in their mineral waters many of the
circumstances of temperature and composition which are found in the waters of granite
and other primitive rocks. Sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonic acid, carbonate of soda,
carbonate of lime, and silica reappear, and many contain the free sulphuric and
hydrochloric acids. The sulphate of lime, magnesian salts, and oxide of iron, are again
wanting. 6. It is often found that the mineral waters of a district have almost the
same composition, in which case they generally issue from the crystalline and
independent formations. In other cases they are subject to great varieties within a
comparatively limited space, so that waters of a totally different composition rise close
to each other when they emerge from sedimentary rocks.
Sir Charles Lyell, in his Address at the meeting of the British Association at Bath,
stated that, ‘ Notwithstanding the general persistency in character of mineral waters
and hot springs ever since they were first known to us, we find on enquiry that some
few of them even in historical times have been subject to great:changes. ~ These have
Ne ee re ae eA eT ng ore
' WATERS, MINERAL 1099
happened during earthquakes which have been violent enough to disturb the sub-
terranean drainage and alter the shape of the fissures up which the waters ascend.
Thus, during the great earthquake at Lisbon, in 1755, the temperature of the spring
called La Source de la Reine at Bagnéres-de-Suchon, in the Pyrenees, was suddenly
raised as much as 75° Fahr,, or changed from a cold spring to one of 122° Fahr., a heat
which it has-sinee retained, It.is also recorded that the hot springs at Bagnéres-de-
Bigorre, in the same mountain-chain; became suddenly cold during a great earthquake
which in 1660 threw down several houses in that town. It has been ascertained that
the hot springs of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and many other regions, are situated in lines
sings with the rocks have been -rent,-and usually where they have been displaced or
aulted.’ = : . ; ; ; ; ‘
In the regions. where voleanic- eruptions still occasionally occur, hot-water springs
are found in great abundance; sometimes the water of these springs attains a boiling
temperature, and some emit steam considerably above boiling point. These springs
are most conspicuous in districts where, as in Central France, and the Eifel in Ger-
many: there are indications that the internal fires have comparatively recently become
ormant.
At Carlsbad, in Bohemia, there are some very important mineral springs: one of
these is a very copious stream, gushing forth with great vehemence. Its temperature
is 165° Fahr. The analysis of Berzelius shows the water of this spring to contain :—
Sulphate of soda - : . F - 268714
Carbonate of soda . ; : 2 : . 1:25200
Chloride:of sodium*:* .° 9 .* .° 4°). * 104898
Oarbongie of hme’ =.) SO ee OAS
Fluoride of calcium. .° . : ; . 0°00331
Phosphate oflime . : : F - 0°00019
Carbonate of strontia. . . : . «+ 0:00097
5 of magnesia . f . F . 0°18221
Phosphate of alumina. ; : : - 0:00034
Carbonate of manganese . : : : . 2a trace
Silex \ . : 2 ; : : » 0°07504
Total . ‘ F r . . - 3°46232
Berzelius found that the substances dissolved by carbonic acid in this spring crystal-
lise out, when the carbonic acid escapes, independently of the diminution of the
liquid, but that the magnesia and silicic acid were not deposited until the evaporation
had taken place.
There are many celebrated mineral springs in England; amongst the most im-
portant may be enumerated those of Buxton, Harrowgate, Cheltenham, Leamington,
Tunbridge, Epsom, and Bath.
Sir Charles Lyell stated (in the same Address before alluded to) that :—‘ The
thermal waters of Bath are far from being conspicuous among European hot springs
for the quantity of mineral matter contained in them in proportion to the water
which acts as a solvent.’ ‘Dr. Daubeny, after devoting a month to the analysis of
the Bath waters in 1833, ascertained that the daily evolution of nitrogen gas amounted
to no less than 250 cubic feet in volume. This gas, he remarks, is not only charac-
teristic of hot springs, but is largely disengaged from volcanic craters during eruptions.
Carbonic acid is another of the gaseous substances discharged by the Bath waters.’
The temperature of the Bath waters varies in different springs from 117° to 120°
Fahr. Prof. Roscoe analysed the Bath waters, more particularly the: water of the
King’s Bath spring: he found it contained strontium, lithium, sulphate of calcium,
magnesium, and a small quantity of copper.
Dr. Muspratt, in a letter addressed to the Editor of the Chemical News, said :—
‘The thermal springs of Buxton issue from fissures in the calcareous rocks, and
are attended by often-repeated but suspended volumes of gas, which escape partly
as large bubbles, and partly in countless minute vesicles of water, giving to the
liquid freshly collected in glass vessels all the appearance of aérated water. As it
gurgles up, the water is clear, sparkling, and almost tasteless. The temperature
is a little above 32° Fahr., and the specific gravity 1°000339. The most remark-
able feature of the Buxton water is the very large quantity of nitrogen which it
eviscerates.’
Cubic inches
; . per gallon,
Nitrogen % : : ‘ 8 - 204-00
Free Carbonic acid. |. Saduemnh tehot> perl nd vas 8-50
t
1100 WATER, PURIFICATION OF
The analysis made by Dr. Muspratt of the Buxton water is as follows :—
. Carbonate of lime, Ca0CO? ‘ é ‘ he > . 8541
Carbonate of magnesia, MgOCO? . : ‘ . emg |
Carbonate of iron, FeQCO? 2 re ° - 2 . - » 0:082
Chloride of calcium, CaCl ; ee or | etgimine de: i 1d ROE
Chloride of magnesium, MgCl . e ose . ‘ - . 0°463
Chloride of sodium, NaCl F ’ . i ‘i " - «+ 2404
Chloride of potassium, KCl . 3 ai, wis ° ead Psu v6) 0'260
Sulphate of lime, CaOSO* . diate suse ° : ‘ «7 ue 10°880-.
Silicie acid, SiO? ‘ : ; . 4 : . se, eee
Organic matter 3 : fi0 torn el
Phosphate of lime and alumina, fluoride of calcium, nitric
acid, &e. . re ‘ * 4 FS " < e wos AeRe
19°510
The celebrated Geysers of Iceland are the hottest known springs in the world.
From experiments made by Prof. Bunsen, we leara tnat at the depth of only 74 feet,
at the bottom of the tube a column of water may be in a state of rest, and yet possess
a heat of 120° Cent. or 248 Fahr. What then will be the temperature of such water
at the depth of a few thousand feet? The Geyser water contains in 10,000 parts :—
Forchhammer. Pfaff,
Silicie acid ° ° oS Fin ° - 4:09 8-00
a . . . . . . . . . 1°32 ke
Chloride of sodium . . : : . - 1°68 1°68
Sulphate of soda (and magnesia) to Sate 1:32
Sulphate oflime . . . : " : . 0°34 —-
7°96 11-00
By cooling alone about one-tenth of the silicic acid separates; for the water
which Forchhamme’® received in sealed flasks became cloudy, and left that quantity
of silica.
WATER-PRESSURE MACHINERY FOR MINES. Sce Hypravtic
MAcuHINERY.
WATER-PROOF CLOTH. See Caoutcnouc.
WATER, PURIFICATION OF. This subject has been already dealt with to
some extent while on the subject of filters, and when speaking of the influence of
animal-chareoal. Spencer, the discoverer of the electrotype process, appears to have
made a discovery proving that magnetic oxide of iron and the protocarbide possess the
property of purifying water.
After trying a number of experiments with various descriptions of rocks and
minerals, Mr. Spencer found that those containing protoxide of iron (even where it
was chemically combined with other substances) effected the filtration of water from
even suspended impurity better than any others. Acting on the idea thus suggested,
he found that the same oxide, when isolated in the state of ‘ magnetic oxide,’ not only
freed water from turbidity more effectually than an equal thickness of sand, but
effected its decolouration with marvellous rapidity. On the other hand, the earthy
substances entering into the composition of the same rocks, such as silica and alumina,
when isolated, were, in the latter respect, perfectly izert. From this it was evident
that the protoxide of iron, as magnetic oxide—a substance which enters into the com-
position of so many rocks—was one of nature's chief agents of purification. A most
striking experiment was made with some bog-water, darker in colour than ordin
porter, which had been procured from the soakings of an Aberdeenshire peat-bed.
When brought into contact with the magnetic oxide, it was deprived of its colour almost
instantaneously, and carbonic acid substituted in its place.
Perhaps the most extraordinary circumstance is that the magnetic filtering medium
itself suffers no deterioration after any period of operation. Of course, if its surface be-
comes fouled with slimy impurity, it requires washing. Its province is confined to
forcing the oxygen, always present in the water, into combination with the impure
organic matter, and thus converting it into carbonic acid, which gas conferred freshness
and salubrity on all waters in which it was found. In these results the occult action of
catalysis was, for the first time in the history of science, brought at will into artificial
every-day operation.
The magnetic oxide was not to be understood as ordinary oxide (rust) of iron. It
was, on the contrary, a black crystalline body, hard but brittle, and analogous, in
perhaps all respects, to’the body’ fornterly ‘termed ‘loadstone.” Below ess it
.
=" tie 3
ots
WATER, SEA | 1101
never oxidised. Though not plentiful as a natural body, Mr, Spencer had succeeded
in forming it artificially, from several iron ores, at a very reasonable rate. Though
the magnetic oxide he had obtained from the white carbonate of iron was very effective,
yet it had a tendency to be reduced to fine powder by attrition. He became apprehen-
sive, therefore, that this circumstance might ultimately interfere with the rapidity of
his filtering operations. This led him to seek some mode of procuring an equally
effective though less friable body. After various experiments, he succeeded be-
yond his anticipations. By very simple means, he had obtained a magnetie body
_ combined with carbon from the hitherto refractory Cumberland hematite. This new
compound body, which is thus added to metallurgical chemistry, consists of iron,
oxygen, and carbon—an equivalent of each; its atomic number is therefore 42. It
is very hard, and when polished, has a black metallic lustre. It is highly magnetic,
and was said to be as incorrodible as gold or platinum. Its purifying powers were
stated to be very great. It can be manufactured cheaply. Mr. Spencer named
it protocarbide of iron. He stated that it was not always necessary in practice to
have an equivalent of carbon combined with the oxide, as a smaller proportion con-
ferred the requisite hardness, in which case it was prepared more quickly ; but, in
making, if kept at a low red heat along with uncombined carbon for a longer time,
the combination took place in equivalent proportions.
WATER, SEA—rendered fresh. The analyses of sea water. which have been
made at various times, and the results of which will be found elsewhere, prove that
that liquid contains from 33 to 4 per cent. of saline substances,
two-thirds at least of which are common salt, and also a certain
quantity of organic matters, all of which substances impart to
it its well-known taste and odour, and render it unfit for drink-
ing or other domestic purposes.
-To render sea water drinkable, and thus avoid the accidents
resulting from an insufficient supply, or from an absolute want
of fresh water, in sea-voyages, is a problem which may be said
to have engaged the attention of men from the very moment
they ventured to lose sight of the friendly shore and became
navigators ; gradually, as the enlargement of commercial opera-
tions extended the length of sea-voyages, the difficulty of pre-
serving in a pure state the fresh water taken in store, the
necessity of putting up at stations for procuring a fresh supply
of it when it is exhausted, the great gain to be realised by
being enabled to devote to the stowage of cargo the valuable
space occupied by water-tanks and water-casks, have induced
many people at various times, and for many years past, to
contrive apparatus by means of which sea water would be
rendered fit to drink, or by’ means of which good fresh water
could be obtained therefrom.
Fresh water can be obtained from sea water in two ways:
the one by distillation, the other by passing it through a layer
or column of sand, or of earth, of sufficient thickness or length.
In effect, if sea water be poured at a (jig. 2099), into a pipe 15 feet
high, and full of clean dry sand, the water, which will at first
flow at B, will be found pretty fresh and drinkable, but as the
operation is continued, the water which flows at B soon becomes brackish; the
brackishness gradually augmenting, until, in a very short time, the water which
flows at B is actually more salted than that poured at a; because the latter dissolves
the salt which had been first retained by the sand, which must then be renewed, or
washed with fresh water, a process evidently useless for the purpose in question.
This phenomenon, according to Berzelius, is due to the interstices between the grains
of sand acting as capillary tubes; and as, at the beginning of the operation, the effect
depends more on the attraction than on the pressure of the liquid poured in one of the
branches of the tube, the salt is partly separated from the water which held it in
solution, the latter lodging itself into the interstices of the sand, and filling them; if,
when the mass of the sand is completely wetted, a greater quantity of sea water is
poured upon it, the weight of the said sea water first displaces and expels the fresh
water; but assoon as the interstices of the sand have thus been forcibly filled up with
sea water, the water flowing at B becomes more and more salted; wherefore this filtra-
tion cannot yield more fresh water than can be contained in the interstices of acolumn
of sand of a certain length, and proportionate to the saltness of the sea water.
Howbeit, the removal of the salt from sea water, so as to obtain fresh water there-
from, is, practically speaking, an impossibility, except by evaporation,
At first sight one would think that it is sufficient to submit sea water to distilla-
is ; - a 2 yn + ahh
- 1102 fe WATER, SEA
tion to convert it into fresh water, and that the solution of the problem is altogether
dependent upon a still constructed so as to produce, by evaporation, a great quantity
of distilled water, with a consumption of fuel sufficiently small to become practicable.
Distillation at a cheap rate is doubtless an important item, and fuel being a cum-
brous and expensive article on board ship, it is superabundantly evident that, sup-
posing all the apparatus which have hitherto been contrived for the purpose to answer
equally well, that one would clearly merit the preference which would produce most
at least cost ; but there are, besides, other desiderata of a no less primary importance,
and it is from having neglected, ignored, or been unable to realise them, that all the
apparatus for obtaining fresh water from sea water, which have been from time to
time brought before the public, have hitherto, without exception, proved total
failures, or, after trial, have been quite discarded, or fulfil the object in view in a
way so imperfect or precarious, that, practically speaking, the manufacture of fresh
water at sea, or from sea water, may be said to have been, until quite lately, an un-
accomplished feat. In order to understand the nature of the difficulties which stood
in the way of success, a few words of explanation become necessary.
When ordinary water, whether fresh or salt, is submitted to distillation, the con-
densed steam, instead of being, as might be supposed, pure, tasteless, and odourless,
yields on the contrary a liquid free from salt, it is true, but of an intolerably nauseous
and empyreumatic taste and odour which it retains for many weeks; it is, moreover,
insipid, flat, and vapid, owing to its want of oxygen and carbonic acid, which water
in its natural state possesses, and of which it has been deprived by the process of
distillation. In the absence of ordinary fresh water, this distilled water, however dis-
agreeable and objectionable it may be, is of course of use so far as it is fresh, but the
crews invariably refuse it as long as they can obtain a supply from natural sources.
With a view to remedy the defects just alluded to, various means have from time to
time been proposed and employed: such as the addition of alum, sulphuric and other
acids, chloride of lime, &.; but it is evident that chemical reagents cannot effect the
object ; but if even they did, their use is always unsafe, for their continuous and daily
absorption might, and doubtless would, cause accidents of a more or less serious
nature, not to speak of the trouble and care required in making such additions.
Liebig said, with both authority and reason, that, as a general rule, the use of chemicals
should never be recommended for culinary (or food) purposes ; for chemicals are
seldom met with in commerce in a state of purity, and are frequently contaminated
by poisonous substances. On the other hand, the percolation through perforated
barrels or coarse sieves, porous substances, plaster, chalk, sand, &c., the pumps,
ventilators, bellows, agitators, which have been proposed to aérate the distilled water
obtained, and render it palatable, are slow in their action, of a difficult, inconvenient,
or impossible application; and as to leaving the distilled water to become aérated by
the agitation imparted to it in tanks or casks by the motion of the ship, this must be
continued for a length of time, proportioned of course to the vigour of the oscillations
imparted to the ship by the violence of the waves, and the time thus required is
always considerable; yet in this way, and finally by pouring the water several times
from one glass’to another before drinking it, it may become fully aérated, but without
entirely losing its vapid and nauseous taste and odour.
But before proceeding further, it may not be amiss to say a few words respecting
another condition in the construction of marine condensing machines, which, from not
being sufficiently taken into account, frequently puts them suddenly out of service, or
necessitates constant repairs.
The question which had hitherto been left unanswered, and yet which must be in-
tegrally solved before success could be hoped for, is the following :—
To obtain, with a small proportion of fuel, large quantities of fresh, inodorous,
salubrious, aérated water, without the help of chemical reagents, by means of a self-
acting and compact apparatus capable of being worked at all hours, under all latitudes,
in all weathers and conditions compatible with the existence of the ship itself, and
incapable of becoming incrusted, or of otherwise going out of order.
How this complex and difficult problem was solved by Dr. Normandy we now pro-
ceed to explain :—
It is a known property of steam that it becomes condensed into water again,
whenever it comes in contact with water at a temperature lower than itself, no matter
how high the temperature of that condensing water may be.
It is known that the sea and other natural waters are saturated with air containing
a larger proportion of oxygen and of carbonic acid than the air we breathe. In effect,
100 volumes of the air held in solution in water contain from 32 to 33 volumes of
oxygen, whereas 100 volumes of ordinary atmospheric air contain only 24 volumes of
oxygen. Again, ordinary atmospheric air contains only ;4,; of carbonic acid, whereas
the air held in solution in water contains from 40 to 42 per cent, of carbonic acid.
a ——
—— ee
————
oe
—
a
WATER, SEA 1103
Experiments undertaken with a view to determine the amount of these gases pre-
sent in water, showed that this amount varied with the state of purity of the water ;
that whilst ordinary rain-water contains, on an average, 15 cubic inches of oxygenised
air per gallon, it was constituted as follows :—
Carbonic acid 4 ‘“ 4 : 3 ° P . - 6:26
Oxygen p : 3 ° é < ° . 5°04
PULSOGCH | ee |g sect guano eng o 8°70
15°00
Sea water, owing to the various substances which it holds in solution, contains only
on an average 5 cubic inches of gases, more than one-half of which is carbonic acid;
or, in other words, 1 gallon of sea water contains about two-thirds less gases than
ordinary rain-water, and one-half less gases than river water.
_ It has been ascertained that air begins to be expelled from such natural waters
when the temperature reaches about 120° Fahr.; and we know that, when the tem-
perature reaches 212° Fahr., all the air which it contained has been expelled, and it
is for this reason that distilled water contains no air.
‘Fhe apparatus invented by Dr. Normandy is represented in jigs, 2100, 2101. It
consists of three principal parts—an evaporator, a condenser, and a refrigerator—
joined so as to form one compact and solid mass, screwed and bolted, without sol-
dering or brazing of any kind. The evaporator is a cylinder, partly filled with sea
water; into which a sheaf of pipes is immersed, so that on admitting steam at a cer-
tain pressure into these pipes it is condensed into fresh, though non-aérated water by
the sea water by which the pipes are surrounded, that sea water being thus heated and
a portion of it evaporated at the same time; for it is one of the properties of steam to
be condensed by water, no matter how high the temperature of that water may be, if
it be only inferior to that of the steam. This non-aérated water becomés aérated, as
will be explained below. On board steamers, the steam is obtained directly from
the boilers of the shfp; in sailing-vessels it is procured from a small boiler which
may, or may not be connected with the hearth, galley, or caboose.
The steam at a pressure being, of course, hotter than ordinary boiling water, serves
to convert a portion of the water contained in the evaporator into ordinary or non-
pressure steam, which, as it reaches the pipes in the condenser, 8, is resolved into fresh
aérated water. By thus evaporating water under slight pressure, one fire performs
double duty, and thus the first condition, that of economy, is completely fulfilled, for
while, in the usual way, 1 lb. of coal evaporates at most 6 or 7 lbs. of water, the same
quaxtity of coals, put under the same boiler, but in connection with this apparatus, is
thus made to evaporate 12 or 14 lbs. of water; or, in other words, from the same amount
of coals or of steam employed, the machine which is described will produce double the
quantity of fresh water that can be obtained by simple or ordinary distillation ; that
is to say, double the quantity obtained by the ordinary condensers. ;
The comparative trials made in 1859 on board H.M. ships the Sphynx, Erebus,
and Odin, at Portsmouth, before the Commissioners of the Admiralty, most con-
clusively proved the perfect accuracy of that statement.
The steam issuing from the evaporator, and which is condensed by the water in
the condenser, imparts, of course, its heat to the sea water in it; and as this water is
admitted cold at the bottom, whilst the steam of the evaporator is admitted at the top
of the condenser, the water therein becomes hotter and hotter gradually as it ascends,
and when it finally reaches the top its temperature is about 208° Fuhr.
It has been already stated that water begins to part with its air at a temperature of
about 130° Fahr., therefore the greater portion of the air contained in the water
which flows constantly and uninterruptedly through the condenser is thus separated,
and led through a pipe into the empty space left for steam-room within the evaporator,
where it mixes with the steam.
Now, as about six gallons of sea water must be discharged for every gallon of fresh
water which is condensed, and as each gallon of sea water contains, as was said before,
5 eubie inches of air, and whereas the utmost quantity of it that fresh water can
naturally absorb is 15 cubic inches per gallon, it follows that the steam in the evapo-
rator, before it is finally condensed, has been in contact with twice as much air as
water can take up, the result being a production of fresh water to the maximum of
aération, that is, containing as much air as in pure rain-water.
This aération of the water to the maximum and with the air naturally contained
in the water in its original state, though a condition of the utmost importance, Dr.
Normandy having failed in removing the odour and taste in question, it became neces-
sary to try to discover whence came that flavour which no aération could destroy,
except after a considerable length of time, and even then never perfectly. That water
a4 J wal 7 ~ >» ; ee lh Ee *
” al) rae = ‘ By onal ta Me Mae TS: 7.
,. PA =A - oy eh Ee pth is a
he ol Can
‘ > or wae Sys
my e ‘ Gar
1104 WATER, SEA
has the power of absorbing and dissolving organic matter is, of course, well known,
but it may be illustrated in a very simple manner, as follows :—If water, from whatever
source, be distilled, the distillate will, of course, be fresh water, pure fresh water, but
it will have a peculiar, nauseous, and empyreumatic taste and odour, stronger in pro-
portion as the heat applied to evaporate it has been more elevated ; it is that smell and
taste which render it undririkable for a while. If, whén it has become sweet again
by long standing, which period may be hastened by agitation in the atmosphere, that
distilled water be then re-distilled, the distillate will bé found to have acquired again
the same empyreumatic taste and odour as when it was first distilled. How is this ?—
Because it will, by standing or agitation, have re-dissolved a portion of the air in the —
room in which it was kept, and along with that air it will have absorbed whatever sub-
stances were present, dissolved or suspended in it, and those substances by their con-
tact with the heated surfaces of the still, yield an empyreumatic product, which taints
the distillate. On board ships, the water which is stored in for the use of crews in the
usual way, in the course of about a fortnight becomes putrid and almost undrinkable,
because the organic matter which that water contains is undergoing putrefactive fer-
mentation. But about a month or so afterwards the water gradually becomes sweeter
and sweeter, until at last it becomes drinkable again; because, eventually, all the
organic matter which it contained becomes decomposed, carbonic acid and water being
the result, and although the air of a ship’s hold is none of the sweetest, such water, as
just said, generally remains afterwards perfectly good and palatable ; because, the tanks
in which it is kept, being covered up, it is sheltered from fresh pollutions, and because
it is now saturated with pure air, and therefore cannot absorb that of the atmosphere.
When the natura] waters supplied to our habitations are obtained from impure
sources, as is unfortunately too often the case, the evils resulting from their use may
in some degree be remediéd by putting in practice the recommendation which has
been sometimes made, of boiling such water previous to employing it as a beverage ;
unfortunately, the water being thereby deprived of air is, like distilled water, though
in a less degree, unpalatable and vapid and heavy; it is, in fact, of difficult digestion ;
but there is something worse than that; water which has been boiled, or which has
been distilled, by reason of its containing no air, has a great tendency to absorb or to
take that of the media where it is kept, so that if distilled water which contains no
air be kept in a ship’s hold, or in an impure and confined place, it will absorb pre-
cisely the quantity of air which it can absorb, namely, 15 cubic inches per gallon, and
if that air be loaded with organic particles or impure emanations, it will soon become
foetid and putrid. The experiments of Dr. Angus Smith have proved that if a stream
of air which has already been breathed be passed through water, the latter will retain
a peculiar albuminoid matter which undergoes putrefaction with extraordinary
rapidity; and the water which condenses on the cold exterior surfaces of vessels in
crowded rooms possesses the same character, and acquires in a short time an offensive
odour ; now this is to a great extent the case with the water of ordinary condensers
when allowed to become spontaneously aérated on board ship. Thus water, though
distilled, if kept in tainted rooms, will soon become foul. The only condition neces-
sary for distilled water not to become putrid or offensive is to saturate it with pure
air, because in that case there is no room left for other gases to impregnate it (at
least, practically speaking, and in the ordinary conditions of domestic or of ship
economy) and to keep it in covered vessels or tanks.
Fig. 2100 isa section, all on the same plane, showing the mode of action of the appa-
ratus, without reference to the real position of its constituent parts. Fig. 2101 is a
correct front elevation of the apparatus.
1 shows the large entrance tube for the sea water: this tube is connected to a large
cock, communicating with the sea through the side or bottom of the ship ; or else flanged
toa much smaller pipe connected with a pump, by means of which the apparatus is
supplied with water from the sea, which thus penetrates into the refrigerator 3, through
the tube of communication 4, and thence passes round the sheaf of pipes 16, in the
said refrigerator, through another communication tube 5, into the condenser 6, as
shown by the arrows, and up the large vertical tube 8, whence the surplus sea water
pumped up flows away through the pipe 9, in the direction indicated by the arrows.
The condenser, 6, being thus completely filled up with sea water, on opening the cock
10, the sea water passing through pipe 11 falls into the feed and priming box 12, and
thence through pipe 13 into the evaporator 14, filling it up to a certain level, regulated
by opening or shutting the cock 10 so as to maintain the sea water at the proper
level in the evaporator 14,
3, Refrigerator, It is a horizontal case pervaded with pipes 15, placed horizon-
tally in it. The sea water being Shteoaasea into this refrigerator, circulates round
a sheaf of pipes 15, held between the caps 16, at each end of the said refrigerator, so
that the fresh water which has been condensed in the pipes 23, of the evaporator 14,
r a OS wag
WATER, SEA 1105
and in the pipes 17 of the condenser 6, is thereby cooled down to the temperature of
the sea water outside,
Ue
Us
3 .
Vor, III. 4B
1106 3 WATER, SEA
4, large pipe connecting the pipe 1 with the refrigerator 3.
5, large pipe connecting the refrigerator 3 with the condenser 6,
6, Condenser. It is a cylinder containing a sheaf of pipes 17, into which the non-
aérated steam from the evaporator is condensed by the sea water which surrounds
them.
7, large outlet tube, used only when the apparatus is put below the level of the
sea,
8, large upright tube, which, when the apparatus is placed on deck is turned
upwards, and is of such a length that the sea water which is forced through the appa-
ratus by means of the pump, or otherwise, may be raised a few feet above the whole
apparatus, so that there may be in the large tube 8, a column of sea water higher than
the condenser 6, in order to keep it quite full.
9, overflow pipe for the escape of the excess of sea water.
10, cock of the feed pipe.
11, feed pipe, one end of which is inserted in the condenser 6, and the other end in
the feed and priming box 12. It is through this feed pipe 11, that the sea water is led
from the top of: the condenser into the feed and priming box 12, by opening the cock
10 to a suitable degree, as said before 1,
12, feed and priming box, It isa box into which, on opening the cock 10, the sea
water supplied from the condenser 6, by pipe 11, passes through pipe 13 into the
evaporator 14, which is thus fed with the proper quantity of sea water. This feed
box receives also any priming which might be mechanically projected by or carried
along with the steam through pipe 22. In such a case the priming is then returned
to the evaporator 14, through pipe 13.
13, feed-pipe leading to the sea water to be evaporated in the evaporator 14,
14, Evaporator, It is a cylinder containing a sheaf of pipes 23, with their caps, 24,
at each end, immersed in the sea water, part of which is to be evaporated,
15, sheaf of pipes of the refrigerator 3, for the purpose of cooling the fresh water
produced ; has been already described under No. 3. ;
16, caps of the refrigerator 3,'so arranged that by means of the divisions reserved in
the said caps, the steam from the boiler, and that evolved from the evaporator 14, are both
made to travel to and fro through the different pipes 15 consecutively, so as eventually
to flow out in a mixed and cold state through the cock 32 in the filter 33, and finally
through the tube 34 in a perfect state.
17, sheaf of pipes placed between the two caps 18 of the condenser 6, for the purpose
of condensing theaérated steam from the evaporator 14.
18, caps covering the end of the sheaf of pipes 17 placed in the condenser 6.
19, aérating pipe leading the air which separates from the sea water round the
pipes 17 of the condenser 6 into the steam-room or chamber of the evaporator 14, It
is by means of this aérating pipe that the fresh water condensed in the condenser 6
becomes aérated, and this aération is accomplished as follows :-—-
As the steam from the evaporator-14 enters the pipes within the condenser 6 at the
top thereof, through the pipe 21, it follows that the sea water at the top of the con-
denser 6 is brought, as was already said under No. 11, to a temperature which, at the
top of the said condenser, is as high as 206° or 208° Fahr.; this temperature, as we
also said of No, 11, gradually diminishes from the top downwards, but at a zone corre-
sponding to about the point marked by No. 7, the temperature of the sea water round
the sheaf of pipes 17 is reduced to about 140° Fahr. As the air naturally contained
* in sea water begins to separate therefrom at about 130° Fahr., that in the sea water
round the sheaf of pipes 17, between No, 7 and the top of the condenser, becoming
entirely liberated, ascends, by virtue of its lighter weight, to the top of the said con-
denser 6 ; it then passes through the aérating pipe 19, and is then poured into the steam-
room 37 of the evaporator 14, wherein it mixes with the secondary steam therein pro-
duced by the evaporating pipes 23. This mixture of air and steam passes then through
pipes 22 into the feed and priming-box 12, and thence through pipe 21 into the sheaf
of pipes 17. The air being there absorbed during the condensation of this secondary
steam, with which it was mixed, the condensed fresh water resulting therefrom
becomes thus super-aérated, and in passing subsequently through the cock 89 of
pipe 30 into a portion of the pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3, it mixes there with
the non-aérated fresh water, resulting from the steam of the boiler, which has
condensed in the pipes 23 of the evaporator 14, which condensed water flows through
pipe 25 into the steam-trap 26, thence along pipes 29 and 31, and through the
cock 41, into the other portion of pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3. The condensed
water from the pipes 23 of the evaporator 14 becomes aérated by the excess of air
contained in the condensed water of the pipes 17 of the condenser, in its
with the latter through the pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3, in traversing which the
combined waters are cooled down to the temperature of the sea water round the said
WATER, SHA. 11.07
sheaf of pipes in the refrigerator. And the result is, that after passing through the
filter it flows at 34 in the state of perfectly cold fresh water, thoroughly aérated, and of
matchless quality.
20, level to which the sea water rises in the aérating pipe 19.
21, pipe conducting the mixture of steam and air from the feed and priming-box 12
into the sheaf of pipes 17 of the condenser 6.
22, pipe leading the mixture of steam and air from the evaporator 14 into the
feed and priming-box 12, where any salt water, with which it may be mixed, is
arrested and returned to the evaporator 14, through pipe 13, while the pure steam,
oat through pipe 21, is next condensed in the sheaf of pipes 17 of the con-
enser 6, —
23, sheaf of pipes immersed in the sea water 36 of the evaporator 14, and in which
pipes the steam coming from the boiler through the steam-pipe 35 is condensed, after
which it flows as distilled but xon-aérated fresh water into the lower cap 24, and
thenee through pipe 25 into the steam-trap 26, thence through the pipes 29 and 31
and cock 41 into the sheaf of pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3.
24, upper and lower caps covering the two extremities of pipes 23 of the evaporator
14, into which pipes the steam from the boiler diffuses itself, and is condensed, after
which it flows in the state of distilled but non-aérated fresh water, through pipe 25
into the steam-trap 26. and thence through pipes 29 and 31 into the pipes 15 of the
refrigerator 8, in which it mixes with the aérated water coming through pipe 30, and
passing through pipe 32 into the filter 33, finally issues at pipe 34 in the state of cold,
matchless, aérated fresh water, immediately jit for consumption.
25, pipe for the exit of the condensed non-aérated fresh water from the sheaf of
pipes 23, of the evaporator 14, which water, after entering the steam-trap 26, issues
therefrom through pipe 29, and then enters the refrigerator as already said.
26, steam-trap. It is a box containing a float 28, provided with a plunger
acting in such a way that when the box contains only steam, or a quantity of con-
densed water, not sufficient to buoy the float, it (the plunger) closes the exit pipe 29 ;
but as soon as the condensed water has accumulated in quantity sufficient to buoy the
float up, the plunger, of course, rising with the float, no longer obstructs the exit
pipe 29, and accordingly the condensed water may then escape as fast as it is
produced.
27, small pet cock on the top of the cover of the steam-trap 26.
28, float already described (26).
29, pipe leading the condensed non-aérated water from the steam trap 26, through
pipe 31, into the pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3, in which it mixes with the aérated
fresh water from the condenser.
30, pipes leading the condensed aérated water from the pipes 17 of the condenser 6,
into the pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3, in which it mixes with the non-aérated water
from the steam.26. This pipe is provided with two cocks, 38 and 39, for the purpose
of cleaning the condenser 6.
81, pipe leading the condensed non-aérated water from pipe 29 into the pipes 15 of
the refrigerator, in which it mixes with the aérated water from the condenser.
$2, exit-pipe and cock, through which the mixed distilled waters (aérated and non-
aérated), after passing through the pipes of the refrigerator, enter the filter 33.
38, filter for receiving the condensed water from both the evaporator and the con-
denser, as they issue in a mixed and cold state from the pipes 15 of the refrigerator
8, through cock and pipe 82.
34, pipe for the final exit of the perfect aérated fresh water.
85, steam-pipe and cock leading the steam more or less under pressure from any
description of boiler to the pipes 23 of the evaporator 14. It is connected at one end
with the steam-boiler, and at the other with the upper cap, 24, of the evaporating
ipes 23. .
~ 36, sea water, to be evaporated by the steam-pipes 23, of the evaporator 14.
37, steam room, or space into which the air naturally contained in the sea water used
for condensation in the condenser 6, is poured through the aérating pipe 19, so as to
mix with the steam generated by the pipes 23 of the evaporator.
38 and 39, two cocks on pipe 30, placed between the condenser 6 and the refrige-
rator 3, for the purpose of clearing the pipes 17 of the condenser 6.
40 and 41, two cocks placed on pipe 31, for the purpose of clearing the pipes 28 of
the evaporator 14, and steam-trap 26.
42, cock placed between the cap 16 of the refrigerator 3, and the cock 32, for the
purpose of cleaning the pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3.
43, glass water-gauge,
44, breathing-pipe. It is a small pipe, one end of which is in communication with
the lower cap 18 of the condensing-pipes 17, and the other end is open to the atmo-
4B2
1108 WAX
sphere, The object of this pipe is not only to remove pressure from the cylinders, but
likewise to afford an exit for the excess of air generated,
45, brine cock.
46, opening reserved in the feed and priming-box.
The first thing to be done is, of course, to charge the apparatus with sea water,
This is done by establishing a communication between the apparatus and the sea
water round the ship, This is easily effected by turning on the large cocks, or Kingston
valves, connected with the large orifices 2 and 7 (see the figures), whereupon the salt
water immediately fills up both the refrigerator 3 through the passage 4 and the con-
denser 6 through the passage 5, up to a certain point 20 of the aérating pipe.
Opening now the cock 10 of the feed pipe 11 the sea water will pass from the con-
denser 6 into the feed and priming-box 12 and thence through pipe 13 into the evapo-
rator 14, where it should be allowed to rise up to about one third of the glass gauge,
48, when the cock 10 should be shut up. The apparatus being thus charged with its
proper quantity of sea water; the steam-boiler being ready to furnish the necessary
steam; and admitting, of course, that the steam-pipe 35 is in communication with
the said boiler, the next thing to be done is to open the steam-cock, 35, shutting at
the same time the cocks, 39, 41, and 32, and opening cocks, 38, 40, and 42, and like-
wise the small pet cock 27 of the steam-trap 26. On opening thesmall pet cock 27
nothing but air will at first rush out; but, presently, steam will issue from it; it
should then be closed more and more gradually as the steam is seen issuing from it
with rapidity ; and it should eventually be left almost, but not altogether, shut up, so
as to leave only room for the smallest possible wreath of steam slowly toissue from its
As soon as the steam-cock 35 is open, and the steam from the boiler will rush through
that cock into the sheaf of pipes 23 of the evaporator 14, in which pipes it will be
condensed by the sea water which surrounds them, and it will then flow in the state
of condensed non-aérated distilled water through the pipe 25 into the steam-trap 26;
lift up the float 22, and passing through pipe 29, will flow through cock 40, its further
progress being intercepted by cock 41, which is shut, as said before. As soon as the
condensed water flows out in a clear state from cock 40, shut it, and open cock 41, so
that it may pass into the pipes 15 of the refrigerator 3, and out at cock 42, Ina few
moments the condensed water will flow out in a clear state trom that cock, 42, which
should then be closed, opening at the same time cock 32, so that it may pass into the
filter 33. i
But the steam within the sheaf of pipes 28 of the evaporator 14 soon brings the sea
water round them to the boiling point, and converts part of it into steam. This
pure secondary steam from the evaporator, issuing then from the priming-box 12,
passesthrough pipe 21 into the pipes 17 immersed in the salt water of the condenser 6,
and being condensed in the said pipes, is allowed to flow out at the cock 38 (which
has been opened at starting), as long as it is not clear. Ina short time, however, it
will flow out from that cock 38, in a perfectly clear state ; when this takes place shut
this cock 38, and open cock 39, whereupon it will flow into the pipes 15 of the refrige-
rator 3, in which pipes it will mix with that coming from the pipes 23 of the evaporator
14, and flow with it through the said pipes 15, and thence into the filter 33 ugh
the cock 32, the whole issuing finally from the filter 33 through pipe 34, in the state
of perfectly aérated fresh water.
From this brief description of Dr. Normandy’s marine fresh-water apparatus it may be
seen that a quantity of fresh water is produced always double that which can be evapo-
rated from any boiler whatever, and indeed by increasing the number of evaporators
1 lb. of coals may thus be made to yield 30 or 40 lbs. of fresh water of matchless
quality. The small volume of the apparatus, the large quantity of fresh aérated water
which it produces, at an extremely small cost, its perfect safety, permanent order,
and the ease with which it can be disconnected, and all its parts reached, not only
render it pre-eminently suited to naval purposes, but likewise to such stations or
places as are deficient in one of the first necessaries of life, salubrious fresh water, or
where it cannot be obtained at all, or only in an insufficient, precarious, or expensive
manner,
WATTLE BARE. Sco Bark.
. WAX (Cire, Fr.; Wachs, Ger.) is the substance which forms the cells of bees.
It was long supposed to be derived from the pollen of plants, swallowed by these
insects, and merely voided under this new form; but it has been proved by the expe-
riments, first of Mr. Hunter, and’ more especially of M. Huber, to be the peculiar
secretion of a certain organ, which forms a part of the small sacs situated on the sides
of the median line of the abdomen of the bee. On raising the lower segments of the
abdomen these sacs may be observed, as also scales or spangles of wax, arranged in
pairs upon each segment. There are none, however, under the rings of the males
and the queen, Each individual has only eight wax sacs, or pouches; for the first
WAX . , 1109
and the last wing are not provided with them. M. Huber satisfied himself by precise
experiments that bees, though fed*with honey or sugar alone, produced nevertheless
a very considerable quantity of wax; thus proving that they were not mere collectors
of this substance from the vegetable kingdom. The pollen of plants serves for the
nourishment of the larvee.
But wax exists also as a vegetable product, and may, in this point of view, be
regarded as a concrete fixed oil. It forms a part of the green fecula of many plants,
' particularly of the cabbage; it may be extracted from the pollen of most flowers, as
also from the skins of plums and many stone-fruits. It constitutes a varnish upon
the upper surface of the leaves of many trees, and it has been observed in the juice
of the cow-tree. The berries of the Myrica angustifolia, M., latifolia, as well as the
M. cerifera, afford abundance of wax.
Bees’ wax, as obtained by washing and melting the comb, is yellow. It has a
peculiar smell, resembling honey, and derived from it, for the cells in which no honey
has been deposited yield a scentless white wax. Wax is freed from its impurities, and
bleached, by melting it with hot water or steam, in a tinned-copper or wooden vessel,
letting it settle, running off the clear supernatant oily-looking liquid into an oblong
trough with a line of holes in its bottom, so as to distribute it upon horizontal wooden
cylinders made to revolve half immersed in cold water, and then exposing the thin
ribbons or films thus obtained to the blanching action of air, light, and moisture. For
this purpose the ribbons are laid upon long webs of canvas stretched horizontally
between standards, 2 feet above the surface of a sheltered field, having a free
exposure to the sunbeams. Here they are frequently turned over, then covered by
nets to prevent their being blown away by winds, and watered from time to time, like
linen upon the grass field in the old method of bleaching. Whenever the colour of
the wax seems stationary, it is collected, re-melted, and thrown again into ribbons
upon the wet cylinder, in order to expose new surfaces to the bleaching operation.
By several repetitions of these processes, if the weather proves favourable, the wax
eventually loses its yellow tint. entirely, and becomes fit for forming white candles.
If it be finished under rain, it will become grey on keeping, and also lose in weight.
In France, where the purification of wax is a considerable object of manufacture,
about 4 ounces of cream of tartar or alum are added to the water in the first
melting-copper, and the solution is incorporated with the wax by diligent manipula-
tion. The whole is left at rest for some time, and then the supernatant wax is run
off into a settling cistern, whence it is discharged by a stopcock or tap over the
wooden cylinder revolving at the surface of a large water-cistern, kept cool by passing
a stream continually through it.
The bleached wax is finally melted, strained through silk sieves, and then run into
circular cavities in a moistened table, to be cast or moulded into thin disk pieces,
weighing from 2 to 3 ounces each, and 3 or 4 inches in diameter.
Neither chlorine nor even the chlorides of lime and alkalis can be employed with any
advantage to bleach wax, because they render it brittle, and impair its burning quality.
Wax purified as above is white and translucent in thin segments; it has neither
taste nor smell; it has a specific gravity of from 0-960 to 0°996; it does not liquefy
till heated to 1543° Fahr.; but it softens at 86°, becoming so plastic that it may be
moulded by the hand into any form. At 32° it is hard and brittle.
It is not a simple substance, but consists of two species of wax, which may be easily
separated by boiling alcohol. The resulting solution deposits, on.cooling, the waxy
body called cerine. The undissolved wax being once and again treated with boiling
alcohol, finally affords from 70 to 90 per cent. of its weight of cerine. The insoluble
residuum is the myricine of Dr. John, so called because it exists in a much larger pro-
portion in the wax of the Myrica cerifera. It is greatly denser than wax, being of the
same specific gravity as water; and may be distilled without decomposition, which
cerine undergoes. Professor B. C. Brodie made an extensive series of researches
into the constitution of wax. He applies the name cerotic acid to cerine, and repre-
sents its formula as C4H54O* (C*"—07), Pure myricine he considers to be repre-
sented by C*H*O* (C'"E0"), Myricine is a palmitate of myricyl.
Wax is adulterated sometimes with starch ; a fraud easily detected by oil of turpen-
tine, which dissolves the former and leaves the latter substance: and more frequently
with mutton-suet.. This fraud may be discovered by dry distillation ; for wax does
not thereby afford, like tallow, sebasic acid (benzoic), which is known by its ocea-
sioning a precipitate in a solution of acetate of lead. It is said that 2 per cent. of
a tallow sophistication may be discovered in this way.
Wax is sometimes adulterated with stearine, which can be detected, according to’
Lebel, even when only in 1-20th part. It may be recognised by dissolving the speci-
mens in two parts of oil, agitating with water, and adding acetate of lead, The pre-
cipitate thus obtained is said to exhibit a yery high degree of solidity,
1110 ile WEAVING
Wax Imported in 1873 :—42,689 tons; value, 221,9512,
Wax Exported in 1873 :—20,260 cwts. ; value, 104,600/.
‘WAX CANDLES. Wax contains 81°75 parts of carbon in 109, which generate
by combustion 300 parts of carbonic acid gas. Now, since 125 grains of wax constitute
the average consumption of a candle per hour, these will generate 375 grains of car-
bonie acid ; equivalent in volume to 800 cubie inches of gas, According to the most
exact experiments on respiration, a man of ordinary size discharges from his lungs
1,632 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas per Lour, which is very nearly the double of —
the quantity produced from the wax candle. Hence the combustion of two such
candles vitiates the air much the same as the breathing of one man. A tallow candle,
three or four in the pound, generates nearly the same quantity of carbonic acid as the
wax candle; for though tallow contains only 79 per cent. of carbon, instead of 81°76,
yet it consumes so much faster, as thereby to compensate fully for this difference,
When a tallow candle of 6 to the lb. is not snuffed, it loses in intensity, in 30
minutes, 80-hundredths, and in 89 minutes, 86-hundredths; in which dim state it
remains stationary, yet still consuming nearly the same proportion of tallow. A wax
candle attains to its greatest intensity of light when its wick has reached the greatest
length, and begins to bend out of the flame. The reason of this difference is, that
only the lower part of the wick in the tallow candle is charged with the fat, so as to
emit luminiferous vapour, while the upper part remains dry; whereas, in the wax
candle the combustible substance being less fusible and volatile, allows a greater
length of the wick to be charged by capillary attraction, and of course to emit a longer
train of light. .
WEAVING (Tissage, Fr.; Weberei, Ger.) is performed by the implement called
loom in English, métier a tisser in French, and Weberstuhl in German. The process of
warping must always precede weaving. Its object is to arrange all the longitudinal
threads, which are to form the chain of the web, alongside of each other in one
parallel plane. Such
a number of bobbins,
filled with yarn, must
therefore be taken as
will furnish the quan-
aS A tity required for the
=F el lies ental > HA bees ae Bo length - Se
es = ae Vf Joe dhs = piece of cloth. ne-
B tie The | Yi, sath of that number
Ton wl a of bobbins is usuall
ia f " mils = Yj mounted at once in the
warp mill, being set
loosely in a horizontal
direction upon wire-
skewers, or spindles, in
a square frame, so that
they may revolve, and
give off the yarn freely.
The warper sits at A,
. 2102, and causes
the reel B to revolve,
by turning round with
! his hand the wheel 3,
with the endless rope or band p, The bobbins filled with yarn are placed in the
frame £. There is a sliding piece at r, called the heck box, which rises and falls
by the coiling and uncoiling of the cord a, round the central shaft of the reef x. By
this simple contrivance the band of warp-yarns is wound spirally from top to bottom
upon the reel. 1, 1,1, are wooden pins which separate the different bands. Most
warping-mules are of a prismatic form, having twelve, eighteen, or more sides. The
reel is commonly about 6 feet in diameter and 7 feet in height, so as to serve for
measuring exactly upon its periphery the total length of the warp. All the threads
from the frame £ pass through the heck r, which consists of a series of finely-polished,
hard-tempered steel pins, with a small hole at the upper part of each to receive and
guide one thread. The heck is divided into two parts, either of which may be lifted
by a small handle below, while their eyes are placed alternately. Hence, when one of
them is raised a little, a vacuity is formed between the two bands of the warp; but
when the other is raised, the vacuity is reversed. In this way the lease is produced
at each end of the warp, and it is preserved by appropriate wooden pegs. The lease
being carefully tied up affords a guide to the weaver for inserting his lease-rods. ‘The
warping-mill is turned alternately from right to left, and from left to right, till a
WEAVING 1111
sufficient number of yarns are coiled round it to form the breadth that is wanted ; the
warper’s principal care being to tie immediately every thread as it breaks, otherwise,
deficiencies would be occasioned in the chain, injurious to the appearance of the web,
or productive of much annoyance to the weaver.
‘ Fig. 2103 shows another form of warping-mill, known as the beam-warping machine,
and generally in use for yarns above 20s. in counts, as by its use more perfect work
can be produced, and at a less cost than on the vertical warping-mill. It is supplied
with a letting-back motion, whereby, when a thread is broken, the motion of the wind-
ing-on beam, or drum, is reversed, and by the aid of a simple arrangement of falling
iron rods, the thread may be easily found and reunited. It has also a self-acting mea-
suring and stopping motion, by means of which the machine is promptly stopped the
2108
Pe
— "
5 I x
7s
AT On
Lov
ae BR
ore IN
1
aii
ah
= =
moment the proper length of yarn is wound on to the weavers’ warp-beam, The drum
on which the weavers’ beam revolves, is so constructed as to suit any length of beam,
by being expanded or contracted. A comb or raithe, on the expanding or contracting
principle, guides the threads with precision on to amy length of beam. As a rule,
young women are preferred to men for working this machine.
When a warp has been made, it requires to be sized before it is ready for the
zoom; for that purpose, it is taken as a ball from the vertical warping-mill, fig.
2102, and sized in a sizing-trough, and then dried by being passed over a number of
hot cylinders, when it is wound by the beamer into the weavers’ beam, and then,
having been drawn in or twisted in to the healds and reeds, is ready for the loom.
In the case of a warp made in the horizontal or beam-warping machine, it is at
once wound on a beam, and thence taken to the slasher sizing-machine, where,
forming one of six or eight beams, its yarn is passed through the operations of
sizing and drying, in one passage, and at once wound on to the weavers’ beam, and is
then ready to have attached the healds and reeds in the ordinary manner.
Fig. 2104 shows the slasher sizing-machine, as made by Messrs. Harrison and Sons,
machinists, Blackburn. This machine is sufficient to size for 300 shirting-looms,
and is managed by one man, The yarn is taken from the weavers’ (8) beams shown
in fig. 2108, and passed through boiling size, and then over the two cylinders,
which are heated by steam, and having been dried by them, is at once wound on
to the weavers’ beam. The stand on which the warpers’ beams are placed, is made
so as to be adjustible to any length of beam. The flanges of the beams are of
lined iron, and are convex on the inner side, to allow the yarn to leave the beam
freely. The boiling box through which the yarn passes, is lined with copper to
prevent oxidisation. The rollers in the box are hooped at the ends with brass,
and run upon brass pullies, thus saving the roller ends, and producing a smooth
motion. ‘The size roller, or squeezer, is of heavy copper, without a seam, being
cast solid, afterwards: bored, and then expanded on a mandril to the proper dia-
~
1112 WEAVING
meter. By being made seamless, the acid in the size does not effect any brazed
part, and by being thick
2104 and heavy, the rollers last
longer and squeeze better.
The machine is supplied with
an apparatus which pre-
vents any undue tension on
the yarn while in a wet state;
the elasticity of the yarneis
thus retained, and broken
threads in weaving largely
prevented, thus securing
quantity and quality in the
loom. By the introduction
of syphon-boxes and a self-
acting apparatus to admit
only a definite and certain
quantity of steam into the
cylinders, economy is effected
in the consumption of steam.
The machine itself gives no-
tice, by ringing a bell, when
a given length of yarn is
sized, and also marks the
length of a cut: an expanding
comb guides the even and
* sheet-like threads on to the
weavers’ beam.
The simplest and probably
the most ancient of looms
now to be seen in action is
& ai that of the Hindi ‘anty,
O shown in fig. 2105. It con-
ee Y sists of two bamboo rollers:
oe one for the warp, and another
@ for the woven cloth; with a
1 pair of heddles, for parting
‘the warp, to. permit the weft
to be drawn across between
its upper and under threads.
The shuttle is a slender rod,
like a large netting-needle,
\ _ rather longer than the web
| 1 is broad, and is made use of
2 S as a batten or lag, to strike
| SF} - home or condense each suc-
| cessive thread or weft, against
a the closed fabric. The Hindu
= : SS carries this simple imple-
ment, with his water pitcher,
rice pot, and hooka, to the
BN foot of any tree which can
a afford him a comfortable
shade ; he there digs a large
hole, to receive his legs,
along with the traddles or
lower part of the harness;
he next extends his warp, by
fastening his two bamboo
rollers at a proper distance
from each other, with pins,
ce into the sward ; he attaches
- ge the heddles to a convenient
SAIS branch of the tree overhead:
— inserts his great toes into
two loops under the gear, to
serve him for treddles ; lastly,
—
a
WEAVING 1113
he sheds the warp, draws through the weft, and beats it close up to the web with
his rod shuttle or batten.
2105
The European loom is represented in its plainest state, as it has existed for several
centuries, in jig. 2106. A is a warp-beam, round which the chain has been wound; B
represents the flat rods, usually .
three in number, which pass across 2106
between its threads, to preserve the
lease, or the plane of decussation
for the weft; c shows the heddles
or healds, consisting of twines
looped in the middle, Firouph which
loops the warp-yarns are drawn,
one-half through the front heddle,
and the other through the back
one; by moving which, the decus-
sation is readily effected. The
yarns then pass through the dents
of the reed under p, which is set in
a moveable swing-frame £, called
the lathe, lay, and also batten, be-
cause it beats home the weft to the
web, The lay is freely suspended
to a cross-bar F, attached by rulers,
called the swords, to the top of the lateral standards of the loom, so as to oscillate
upon it. The weaver, sitting on the bench «, presses down one of the treddles at ,
with one of his feet, whereby he raises the corresponding heddle, but sinks the alternate
one; thus sheds the warp, by lifting and depressing each alternate thread through a
little space, and opens a pathway or race-course for the shuttle to traverse the middle
of the warp, upon its two friction rollers mM. For this purpose, he lays hold of the
picking-peg in his right hand, and with a smart jerk of his wrist drives the fly-shuttle
swiftly from one side of the loom to the other, between the shed warp-yarns. The
shoot of weft being thereby left behind from the shuttle pirn or cop, the weaver brings
home, by pulling the lay with its reed towards him by his left hand, with such force
as the closeness of the texture requires. The web, as thus woven, is wound up by turn-
ing round the cloth beam 1, furnished with a ratchet-wheel, which takes into a holding-
tooth. The plan of throwing the shuttle by the picking-peg and cord, is a great im-
provement upon the old way of throwing it by hand, It was contrived upwards of a
century ago, by John Kay, of Bury, in Lancashire, but then resident in Colchester,
and was called the ‘ fly-shuttle,’ from its speed, as it enabled the weaver to make double
the quantity of narrow cloth, and much more broad cloth, in the same time.
The cloth is kept distended during the operation of weaving, by means of two
pieces of hard wood, called ‘a’templet,’ furnished with sharp iron points in their ends,
which take hold of the opposite salvages or lists of the web. The warp and web are
kept longitudinally stretched by a weighted cord, which passes round the warp-beam,
and which tends continually to draw back the cloth from its beam, where it is held
fast, by the ratchet-tooth. See Fustian, Jaceuarp Loom, Ree, and Textire Famarics,
The greater part of plain weaving, and much even of the figured, is now performed
1114 WEAVING
by the power-loom, called métier mécanique a tisser in French. Fig. 2107, represents
the cast-iron power-loom of Sharp and Roberts. , a’, are the two side uprights,
or standards, on the front of the loom, pb, is the great arch of cast iron which binds
the two sides together. x, is the front cross-beam, terminating in the forks e,¢; whose
K
3
2107
a'Se Sy ;
: sé pm PE POT 1 “ea
mee aes
MN HY en 7
me hae
Ly
a
F
+
\ ‘
Mi MW |
3 |
& J
re
— zo
ends are bolted to the opposite standards A, a’, so as to bind the framework most firmly
together. «’, is the breast beam of wood, nearly square ; its upper surface is sloped
a little towards the front, and its edge rounded off for the web to slide smoothly over
it in its progress to the cloth beam. ‘The beam is supported at its end upon brackets,
and is secured by the bolts 9’, g’. 1, is the cloth beam, a wooden cylinder mounted
WEAVING BY ELECTRICITY 1115
with iron gudgeons at its ends, that on the right hand being prolonged to carry the
tooth winding wheel x’, #, is a pinion in gear with n’. uu’, is a ratchet-wheel,
mounted upon the same shaft 4’”, as the pinion 2’. h”,is the click of the ratehet-wheel
xn”, h'’, is along bolt fixed to the frame, serving as a shaft to the ratchet-wheel x”,
and the pinion 4’, 1, is the front heddle-leaf, and 1’, the back one. 4, J, 3’, 3’, jacks or
pulleys and straps for raising and depressing the leaves of the heddles. 3”, is the
iron shaft which carries the jack or system of pulleys, J, J, 3’, 3’. xk, a strong wooden
ruler, connecting the front heddle with its treddle. x1, 1’, the front and rear marches
or treddle pieces for depressing the heddle-leaves alternately, by the intervention of
the rods & (and /’, hid behind /). M, M, are the two swords (swing bars) of the lay or
batten, N, is the upper cross-bar of the lay, made of wood, and supported upon the
squares of the levers 2, n’, to which it is firmly bolted. yn’, is the lay-cap, which
is placed higher or lower, according to the breadth of the reed; it is the part
of the lay which -the hand-loom weaver seizes with his hand, in order to swing it
towards him. 2’, is the reed contained between the bar n, and the lay-cap n’. 0, 0,
are two rods of iron, perfectly round and straight, mounted near the ends of the
batten-bar nN, which serve as guides to the drivers or peckers 0, 0, which impel
the shuttle. These are made of buffalo-hide, and should slide freely on their guide-
rods. o’, o’, are the fronts of the shuttle-boxes; they have a slight inclination
backwards ; Pp is the back of them, (See figs. 2108 and 2109.) 0”, 0”, are iron plates,
forming the bottom of the shuttle-boxes, p, small pegs or pins, planted in the
posterior faces P (jig. 2107) of the boxes, round which the levers Y’ turn, These
levers are sunk in the substance of the faces p, turned round pegs p, being pressed
from without inwards, by the springs p’. P”, fig. 2107 (to the right of x), is the whip
or leyer-end ; Q”, its centre of motion (corresponding to the right arm and elbow of
the weaver), which serves to throw the shuttle by means of the pecking-cord p”,
attached at its other end to the drivers 0, o.
On the axis of Q’, a kind of excentric or heart wheel is mounted, to whose concaye
part, the middle of the double band or strap 7, being attached, receives impulsion ; its
two ends are attached to the heads of the bolts +’, which carry the stirrups 7’, that
may be adjusted at any suitable height, by set screws.
s (see the left-hand side of fig. 2107) is the moving shaft of wrought iron, resting
on the two ends of the frame. s’ (see the right-hand side), is a toothed wheel,
mounted exteriorly to the frame, upon the end of the shafts. 8s” (near s’), are two
equal elbows in the same direction, and in the same plane, as the shaft s, opposite to
the swords m, M, of the lay.
z, is the loose, and z’, the fast pulley, or riggers, which receive motion from the
steam-shaft of the factory, z/,a small fly-wheel, to regulate the movements of the
main shaft of the loom.
T, is the shaft of the excentric tappets, cams, or wipers, which press the treddle-
levers alternately up and down; on its right end is mounted 1, a toothed wheel in
gear with the wheel s’, of one half its diameter. 1’, is a cleft clamping collar, which
serves to support the shaft 'r,
t, is a lever which turns round the bolt «as well as the clink 2”, wv’, the click of
traction, for turning round the cloth beam, jointed to the upper extremity of the lever
v; its tooth w’, catches in the teeth of the ratchet-wheel x”. «” isa long slender rod,
fixed to one of the swords of the lay m, serving to push the lower end of the lever v,
when the lay retires towards the heddle-leaves.
x, is a wrought-iron shaft, extending from the one shuttle-box to the other, supported
at its ends by the bearings, «, x.
Y, is a bearing, affixed exteriorly to the frame, against which the spring bar z rests
near its top, but is affixed to the frame at its bottom. The spring falls into a notch
in the bar y, and is thereby held at a distance from the upright A, as long as the band
is upon the loose pulley 2’; but when the spring bar is disengaged, it falls towards a,
and carries the band upon the fast pulley z, so as to put the loom in gear with the
steam-shaft of the factory.
Weaving, by this powerful machine, consists of four operations : 1, to shed the warp
by means of the heddle-leaves, actuated by the tappet-wheels upon the axis Q’, the
rods k, xk’, the cross-bar 5, and the eyes of the heddle-leaves 1, 1’; 2, to throw the
shuttle (see jig. 2107), by means of the weft lever Pe’, the driver cord p, and the
pecker 0; 3, to drive home the weft by the batten n, n’; 4, to unwind the chain from
the warp beam, and to draw it progressively forwards, and wind the finished web upon
the cloth beam u, by the click and toothed wheel mechanism at the right-hand
side of the frame,
See Corton, Frax, Textinm Fasrics, &e.
WEAVING BY HLECTRICITY. So long ago as 1852, M. Bonelli con-
structed an electric loon., which was exhibited at that time in Turin ; but the first trial
1116 WEAVING BY ELECTRICITY
to which the machine was submitted gave but small hope to those who saw it that the
inventor would succeed in his object. The public trial at Turin, in 1853, in the
presence of manufacturers, was not so successful as to remove all doubts as to the
merits of the novel apparatus, In the following year it was submitted to the judg-
ment of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, who appointed a committee to examine it,
but it is believed that no report was ever made. In 1855, a model of the loom had a
place at the Universal Exhibition of Paris, but the lateness of its arrival there prevented
any official report being made in reference to its merits. M. Bonelli afterwards
devoted much time and attention in endeavouring to remedy its defects and to perfect
its working, so as to render it capable of holding its place in the factory. This
M. Bonelli believed he had at last accomplished, and he brought over to this country
not merely a model, but a loom in complete working order, which he submitted to
the judgment of manufacturers, as a machine, which, from its economy and efficiency,
might be put in favourable comparison with the Jacquard loom.
In the first place, it must be understood that the special object of M. Bonelli’s
machine was to do away with the necessity for the Jacquard cards used to produce the
pattern at the present time, the source of delay and very considerable cost, more
especially in patterns of any extent and variety of treatment. M. Bonelli used an
endless band of paper, of suitable width, the surface of which is covered with tin-foil.
On this metallised surface, the required pattern is drawn, or rather painted with
a brush in black varnish, rendering the parts thus covered non-conducting to a current
of electricity. This band of paper, bearing the pattern, being caused to pass under a
series of thin metal teeth, each of which is in connection with a small electro-magnet,
it will be readily conceived that as the band passes under these teeth, a current of
electricity from a galvanic battery may be made to pass through such of the teeth as
rest on the metallised or conducting portion of the band, and from such teeth, through
the respective coils, surrounding small bars of soft iron, thus rendering them temporary
magnets, while no current passes through those connected with the teeth resting on
the varnished portions. Thus, at every shift of the band, each electro-magnet in
connection with the teeth becomes active or remains inactive according to the varying
portion of the pattern which happens to be in contact with the teeth. Ina moveable
frame opposite the ends of tke electro-magnets, which, it should be stated, lie ina
horizontal direction, are a series of small rods or pistons, as M. Bonelli termed them,
the ends of which are respectively opposite to the ends of the electro-magnets. These
pistons are capable of sliding horizontally in the frame, and ~ through a plate
attached to the front of it. When this frame is moved so that the ends of the pistons
are brought into contact with the ends of the electro-magnets they are seized by such
of them as are in an active state, and on moving the frame forward, those are retained
while the others are carried back with it, and, by means of a simple mechanical
arrangement, becomes fixed in their places ; thus there is in front of the frame a plate,
with holes, which are only open where the pistons have been withdrawn, and this
plate, as will be readily understood, acts the part of the Jacquard card, and is suitable
for receiving the steel needles which govern the hooks of the Jacquard in connection
with the warp threads as ordinarily used,
The ordinary Jacquard cards are shown in the following woodcut, jig. 2110.
Instead of this arrangement, which will be understood by reference to the article
Jacquarp, M. Bonelli, as we have said, instead of the cards prepares his design on
metal foil, in a resinous ink, which serves to interrupt the current, and thus effect the
object of the machine.
PR. a 2110 and 2111 explain generally the arrangements by which the process is
effected,
A, fig. 2110, represents the plate pierced with holes, which plays the part of the card.
Each of the small pistons or rods, 6, forming the armatures of the electro-magnets
c, have a small head, d, affixed to the end, exactly opposite the needlos, e, of the
Jaequard, and are capable of passing freely through the holes of the plate, a. At a
given moment the plate is slightly lowered, which prevents the heads of the piston¢ ,
passing, and the surface of the plate then represents a plain card. The pistons
are supported on a frame, f f, which allows them to move horizontally in the
direction of their length. At each stroke of the shuttle, the frame, carrying with it
the plate a, has, by means of the treddle, a reciprocating motion backwards and for-
wards, and in its backward movement presents the end of the pistons to one of the
poles of the electro-magnets, and, by means of certain special contrivances, contact’
with the magnets is secured. When the frame, ff, returns with the plate a towards
the needles of the Jacquard, the electro-magnets, which become temporarily mag-
netised by the electric current, hold back the pistons, the heads of which pass through
the plate a, and rest behind it. On the other hand, the electro-magnets which are
not magnetised, owing to the course of the current being interrupted, permit the other
WEAVING BY ELECTRICITY 1117
pistons to be carried back, their heads remaining outside the plate and in front of it.
At this moment, the plate, by means of an inclined plane beneath it, is lowered
slightly, thus preventing the heads of the pistons passing through the holes, by the
edges of which they are stopped, so as to push against the needles of the Jacquard ;
‘Ns
Sy
aaa
==
on the other hand, the heads of the pistons which have passed within and to the back
of the plate, leave the corresponding holes of the plate free, and the needles of the
Jacquard which are opposite to them are allowed to enter.
The electro-magnets are put into circuit in the following manner: One of the ends
of the wire forming the coil of each of the magnets is joined to one common wire in
connection with one of the poles of a galvanic battery, The other end of the coil-
wire of each magnet is attached to a thin metallic plate, m, having a point at its lower
extremity. All these thin metallic plates are placed side by side, with an insulating
material between them, formed like the teeth of a comb, 2. At a given time, these
thin plates rest with their lower extremities on the sheet: bearing the design Pp, which,
in the form of an endless band, is wrapped round and hangs upon the cylinder, @, and
according as the thin metal-plate rests on a metallised or on a non-conducting portion
of the design, the corresponding electro-magnet is or is not magnetised, and its corre-
sponding piston does not or does press against the needle of the Jacquard. The wire
from the other pole of the battery of course communicates with the band bearing the
design, by being attached to a piece of metal, which lies in constant contact with the
metallic edge of the band, At B is a contact-breaker, which is put in motion by the
movement of the frame. Besides this, by means of a mechanical arrangement con-
nected with the treddle, which raises or depresses the griff frame, the band bearing
the design is carried forward at each stroke, and the rapidity with which it is made.
to travel can readily be regulated, by means of gearing, at the will of the workman,
By regulating the speed of the band, and by the use of thicker or thinner weft, an
alteration in the character of the woven material may be made, whilst the same
design is produced, though in a finer or coarser material,
Such are the arrangements by which the loom will produce a damask pattern, or
one arising from the use of two colours, one in the warp, and the other in the weft.
The method adopted by M. Bonelli for producing a pattern where several colours are
required will now be explained.
The design is prepared on the metallised paper, so that the coloured parts are
1118 WEAVING OF HAIR-CLOTH
represented by the metallised portion of the band, but each separate colour is, by
removing a very thin strip of the foil at the margin, insulated from its neighbouring
colour. Then all the pieces of foil thus insulated, which represent one colour or
shade, are connected with each other by means of small ane of tin-foil, which pierce
through the paper and are fastened at the back, and are conducted to a strip of tin-foil
which runs along the edge of the band, there being as many such strips of tin-foil as
there are colours. Thus each special colour of the pattern, in all its parts, is con-
nected by a conductor with its own separate strip of tin-foil, and by bringing the wire
from the pole of the battery successively into contact with the several strips, a current
of electricity may be made to pass in succession through the several parts of the
design on the band representing the separate colours of the design. Thus, assuming
four colours, 1, 2, 3, 4, there would be four strips of tin-foil running the length of the
band, insulated from each other, each of which would be in connection with its own
separate colour only. At any given moment, the thin plates of metal resting on the
pattern would touch in a line which, as it passes over the width of the pattern,
would run through all, or any one or more of the colours, but the electric current
would pass only through those plates which rest on the one colour represented by
the strip with which the pole of the battery at that instant was in contact.
The inventor claims the following as the results of his invention :-—
First—The great facility with which, in a very short time, and with precision,
reductions of the pattern may be obtained on the fabric by means of the varying
velocity with which the pattern may be passed under the teeth.
Second.—That without changing the mounting of the loom or the pattern, fabrics
thinner or thicker can be produced by changing the number of the weft, and making
a corresponding change in the movement of the pattern,
Third.—The loom and its mounting remaining unchanged, the design may be
changed in a few minutes by the substitution of another metallised paper having a
different pattern.
Fourth.—The power of getting rid of any part of the design if required, and of
modifying the pattern.
WEAVING OF HAIR-CLOTH. In addition to the description of this art
under Harr, a short notice is required of the best kind of shuttle for weaving hair,
Fig, 2113 shows in plan 4, and in longitudinal section B, a shuttle which differs from
that of the common cloth-weaver only in not having a pirn enclosed in the body of
the box-wood, but merely an iron trap @, which turns in the middle upon tlie pin 3.
This trap-piece is pressed up at the one end, by the action of the spring ¢, so as to
bear with its other end upon the cleft of the iron plate d, which is intended to hold
fast the ends of the hair-weft : d and ¢ together are called ‘the jaws’ or ‘mouth,’ whence
the popular name of this shuttle. The workman opens this jaw by the pressure of
his thumb upon the spring end of the trap a, introduces with the is hand one or
more hairs (according to the description of hair-cloth,) into the mouth, and removing
his thumb, lets the hairs be seized by the force of the spring. The hairs having one
end thus made fast are passed across the warp by the passage of the shuttle, which is
received at the other end by the weaver’s left hand. The friction rollers, «, x, are
like those of fly-shuttles, but are used merely for convenience, as the shuttle cannot
be thrown swiftly from side to side. The hand which receives the shuttle opens at
the same time the trap, in order to insert another hair, after the preceding has been
drawn through the warp on both sides and secured to the list. A child attends to
count and stretch the hairs, This assistant may, however, be dispensed with by
~~ 7 ==> »
“
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1119
means of the following implement, represented in fig 2112. c,c is the view of it
from above, or the plan; p is a side view; © a longitudinal section, and f an oblique
section across, The chief part consists in a wooden groove, or chamfered slip of
wood, open above, and rounded on the sides. It is about 21 inches in length, about
as long nearly as the web is broad, therefore a little shorter than the horse-hairs in-
serted in it, which project about an inch beyond it at each end. They are herein
pressed down by elastic slips, e, of india-rubber, so that the others remain, when
one or more are drawn out by the ends, The ends of the grooves are flat where the
india-rubber spring exerts its pressure, as shown by the dotted line f. The spring
is formed by cutting out a double piece from the curvature of the neck of a caoutchoue
bottle or flask, fastening the one end of the. piece by a wire staple in the groove of
the shuttle, whereby the other end, which alone can yield, presses upon the inlaid
hair. Wire staples like f (in the section 2) are passed obliquely through two places
of the groove or gutter, to prevent the hairs from springing up in the middle of the
shuttle, which is suitably charged with them. The workman shoves the tool across
the opened warp with the one hand, seizes with the other the requisite number of
hairs by the projecting ends, and holds them fast. while he draws the shuttle once
more through the warp. The remaining hairs are retained in the groove by the
springs, and only those for the single decussation remain in the web, to be secured to
the list on either side. A weaver with this tool can turn out a length of cloth double
of what he eould do with the mouth-shuttle. .
WEBSTERITE. A hydrous subsulphate of alumina, found at Newhaven and
Brighton, in Sussex ; at Halle ; and in several French localities.
WEFT (Trame, Fr.; Hintrag, Ger.) is the name of the yarns or threads which
run from selvage to selvage in a web.
WEIGHING MACHINE. Sce Batance.
WEIGHTS and MEASURES. Metrical and Imperial. The metrical system
originated with the government of Louis XV., who named a commission to pursue
the investigations necessary to decide the principles upon which such a system could
be carried out. An extensive series of observations were conducted during the reign
of Louis XVI. Under his consent the Academy of Sciences decided that all the
different weights, measures, and coinages should be established. accessory to certain
definite relations to the dimensions of the globe itself.
Delambre and Méchain ascertained the length of the earth’s meridian in the portion
between Dunkirk and Barcelona, and Arago and Biot that between Barcelona and
Formentera. The length of the meridian from the Pole to the Equator, passing
through Paris, was then divided into 10,000,000 parts, and one of these parts, called
the métre, became the basis of the new system,
Maupertuis had, in the year 1736, measured a portion of the are of the meridian
passing through the North Cape. His observations were therefore combined with the
others by the commission. The distance from the Equator to the Pole, which is really
10,000,738, was fixed at 10,000,000. This standard is, therefore, the ten-millionth
part of the quadrant of the terrestrial meridian; and from the measurements and
calculations which were made at that period on the are of the meridian which ex-
tended from Barcelona to Dunkirk, it was reckoned to be 89°371 inches of the
English standard yard, which contained 86 inches. Thus the French métre, which
is longer than the English yard by 34 inches, or more accurately by 332 inches, is
the standard of all the measures and weights of France. Its decimal multiples
are successively denoted by the prefixes decw, heca, kilo, &e., which signify 10, 100,
1000, &c., times respectively ; and its decimal submultiples or fractions successively
by the prefixes deci, centi, milli, &c., which signify 3, 45, joo &e., parts respectively.
The métre itself was made the unit of lineal measure and itinerary distances.
A bar of platinum was constructed representing the length of the métre as aceu-
rately as possible ; and this bar, or others directly or indirectly copied from it, is the
standard unit of length throughout France, and in many other countries which have
herein followed her example. It is equal to 39°371 English inches, and is about 4 of
an inch longer than a pendulum vibrating seconds at the level of the sea in London,
The métre is divided decimally downwards, into décimétres, centimétres, and milli-
métres (fig. 2114); and multiplied decimally upwards into décamétres, hectométres,
kilométres, and myriamétres; the latter being, as is implied by its name, equal to
10,000 métres of the scale,
1120 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
A décimétre, as its name implies, is the tenth part of a métre.. In like manner
a centimétre is the hundredth part, and a millimétre is the thousandth. part, of a
métre.
A square formed upon a line of ten métres is the unit of superficial or land measure ;
and a cube which has a décimétre (or one-tenth of a métre) for its measuring line, is
ealled a litre—the unit of capacity. Each of these is increased or diminished by mul-
tiples or submultiples of ten; but for the convenience of those who prefer halves and
quarters to tenths, each may be, and often is, divided in this manner, though all arith-
metical caleulations are performed decimally. The fundamental unit of weight is the
kilogramme, which is the weight of a litre of distilled water, at its greatest density,
which is a little above the freezing-point. The thousandth part of a kilogramme is
called a gramme.
To recapitulate :—
The multiples of the métre are the décamétre= —_—-10 métres.
” te hectométre= 100 métres,
9 oe kilométre= 1000 métres.
” % myriamétre = 10,000 métres..
The submultiples of the métre are the décimétre=the 10th part of a métre.
centimétre=the 100th part of a métre.
_ millimbtre = the 1000th part of a métre.
” ”
” ”
The unit of surface is the are, which is the square of 10 métres on a side, or 100
superficial métres. The usual multiples and submultiples are the hect-are, a square
of 100 métres on a side, and the centi-are, the métre superficial. These terms are
employed in the sale of land, and in agricultural discussions.
The unit of weight is the gramme, which is the equivalent of a cube of distilled
water, at the zero of the Centigrade scale (32° of Fahrenheit), measuring a centimétre
every way. The multiples are:—
The Décagramme ere ar ae = 10 grammes,
» Hectogramme ° ate ae : . = 100 grammes.
» Kilogramme. . «© 2» «© «¢ = 1000 grammes,
The submultiples are :— '
The Décigramme . . - « =the 10th part of a gramme,
», Centigramme . , . - =the 100th part of a gramme.
&e &e.
A thousand kilogrammes will form a cube measuring a métre on every side, and it
is made the legal ton for heavy weights.
The unit of capacity is the litre, which is the equivalent of a cube measuring one-
tenth part of a métre every way. The multiples are the décalitre, the hectolitre, the
kilolitre, and the submultiples, the décilitre, the centilitre, &e. The litre is usually
employed in expressing the quantities of liquids. A thousand litres of water are
equal to a métre cube every way, and one ton in weight. The hectolitre is used in
expressing the measures of grain,
The following Tables, constructed by Mr. Warren De La Rue, and published in his.
‘Diary and Almanack,’ are reproduced here by his obliging permission :—
French Measures of Length,
In English In English
In English |In English feet} In English
tomes By fathoms= miles=1760
inches = 12inches | yards=3 feet feet yards
Millimétre . ‘ 0°03937 0003281 0°0010936 00005468 00000006
Centimétre . 0°39371 0°032809 0°0109363 0°0054682 00000062
Décimétre . . 3°93708 0°328090 01093633 0-0546816 0°0000621
Métre. ° 89°37079 3°280899 1°0936331 0°5468165 0*0606214
Décamétre . 393°70790 82°808992 10°9363310 54681655 0°0062138
Hectométre 3937°07900 828089920 109°3633100 54°6816550 0°0621382
Kilométre . 89370°79000 3280°899200 | 1093°6331000 | 546°8165500 0°6213824
Myriamétre 893707-90000 | 32808992000 | 10936°3310000 | 5468+1655000 6*2188244
ws. linch = 2°539954 centimétres. 1 yard = 0:9143835 métre.
1 foot = 3-0472449 décimétres, 1 mile = 1°609149 kilométre..
ae
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1121
French Measures of Surface.
In English | In English | In English In English
te sq. yards | poles=272-25 | roods=10890 | acres=43560
: = 9 sq. feet sq. feet sq. feet sq. feet
Centiare or sq. métre 10°764299 1°196033 0°0395383 00009885 | 0°0002471
Are or 100 sq. métres 1076°422984 119°603326 39538290 00988467 | 0°0247114
Hectare or 10,000 sq. d
métres . e + | 107642°993418 | 11960°332602 | 895°3828959 9°8845724 | 2°4711431
1 square inch=6°4513669 square centimétres.
1 square foot =9°2899683 square décimétres,
1 square yard=0°83609715 square métre or centiare.
1 acre ~=0°40467102 hectare,
French Measures of Capacity.
In gallons In bushels
In cubic feet In pints ae se
Incubicinches| =1728 =aereno2s |) See | co gallons.
cubic inches | cubic inches cubic inches’ | cubic inches
Millilitre, or cubic ‘
centimétre . . 006103 0°000035 000176 0°0002201 0°0000275
Centilitre, or 10 cubic
centimétres . F 0°61027 0°000353 0°01761 0°0022010 0°0002751
Décilitre, or 100 cubic
centimétres . ‘ 610271 0°003532 0°17608 0°0220097 0°0027512
Litre, or cubic déci-
métre . . . 61°02705 0°035317 1:76077 0*2200967 0°0275121
Décalitre, or centi-
stére « . . 610°27052 0°353166 17°60773 2°2009668 0°2751208
Hectolitre, or déci-
stére . é ° 6102°70515 3°531658 176°07734 22°0096677 2°7512085
Kilolitre, or stére, or
cubic métre , - | 61027°05152 35°316581 1760°77341 220°0966767 27°5120846
Myriolitre, or déca-
stére . + | 610270°51519 | 353°165807 17607'73414 | 2200°9667675 | 275°1208459
1 cubic inch=16'386176 cubic centimétres,
1 cubic foot=28'315312 eubic décimétres.
1 gallon=4*543458 litres,
French Measures of Weight.
In English [In troy ounces/In avoirdupois i Mert oy Tons=20 cwts,
grains =480 grains |lbs.=7000 grs. eats =15680000 grs,
er.
Milligramme . ‘ 0°01543 0000032 0°0000022 00000000 0°0000000
Centigramme . Fr 0°15432 0°000322 0°0000220 0:0000002 0°0000000
Décigramme , . 1°54323 0°003215 0°0002205 0°0000020 0-0000001
Gramme . . - 15°432385 0°032151 0°0022046 00000197 0°0000010
Décagramme ,. 4 154°32349 0°3215C7 0°0220462 0°0001968 0-0000098
Hectogramme , . 1548°23488 3°215073 0°2204621 0°0019684 0°0000984
Kilogramme , + | 15482°34880 82°150727 2°2046213 0°0196841 00009842
Myriagramme . + | 154823°48800 | 321°507267 22°0462126 6°1968412 0°0098421
1 grain=0°064799 gramme, 1 troy ounce=31'103496 gramme.
1 1b. avoirdupois=0°453593 kilogramme. 1 cwt.=50°802377 kilogrammes.
Troy Weight, so called from Troyes, a town in the province of Champagne in France,
now in the department of Aube, where a celebrated fair was held, appears to have
come into general use in England about the time of Henry IV. The first mention of
the term Avoir du pois occurs in a charter of 81 Edward I, ‘Pound’ is derived from the
Latin pondus ; ‘ ounce,’ from wacia, or twelfth part, being the jth part of a lb. Troy.
Al measures of capacity were first taken from Troy weight; and several laws were
passed in the reign of Henry III., enacting that 8 lbs. troy of wheat, taken from the
middle of the ear, and well dried, should make 1 gallon of wine measure; and 8 such
gallons made a bushel,
Avoirdupois Weight was first made legal in the reign of Henry VIL., and its par-
ticular use was to weigh provisions and coarse, heavy articles. Henry fixed the stone
at 14 lbs., which has been confirmed by a recent Act of Parliament.
Agreeably to the Act of uniformity, which took effect 1st January, 1826, the term
‘measure’ may be distinguished into eight kinds : viz., length, surface, volume, specific
gravity, eapecity, space, time, and motion. ‘
OL, 4
ew) — ON, Oe ee eee ray
we + mY a:
1122 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Troy Weight. —
Marks Cunces Dwts. Grains
dwt. Pennyweight . : sou oes ‘ 24
0Z. Ounce , . : . ose 20. 480
th. Pound. : . . 12 240 5760
Troy weight is used for money, precious metals, and jewels. Also in philosophical experiments,
though the more convenient decimal divisions of the French gramme are almost universally pre-
ferred by scientific chemists of the present time,
Apothecaries’ Weight,
Marks Ounces Drams Scruples Grains
3 Seruple . 3 “ a ok ee 20
3 Dram . . . toe eee 3 60
K3 Ounce . ° . aes 8 24 480
ib Pound , F ° 12 96 288 5760
The ounce and pound are the same as in Troy weight, but differently subdivided, ‘ ws 4 9
Yard . . . 4 16 36
mi. ‘thal 5 20 45
French ell. . 5 6 24 54
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1123
Long Measure.
Inches Links Feet Yards ee Chains | Furlongs Mile
7°92 1 eee ee one !
12 1515 1 wee . . “
36 4°545 3 1 vee tne tee a
198 25 16°5 55 1 one *e “
792 100 66 22 4 1 eee vee
7920 1000 660 220 40. 10 1 one
63360 8000 5280 1760 320 80 8 1
In Ireland the perch contains 7 yards, and the mile 2240.
Scotch and Irish linens, all sorts of woollen cloths, muslins, ribbons, cords, tapes,
&e., are measured by the yard. Dutch linens, called Hollands, are bought by the
Flemish ell, and sold by the English ell.
The yard in Cloth Measure is the same as in Long Measure, but differs in its
divisions and subdivisions, as under :—
21 inches make 1 nail . nl, 3 quarters make 1 Flemish ell FI. ell,
4 nails » 1 quarter qr. 5 quarters 1 English ell Eng. ell.
4 quarters , 1 yard, » ya 6 quarters 1 French ell . Fr, ell,
Linear Measure.
Furlongs | Chains Poles Yards Feet Inches
Foot . e i : wee 12
Yard . ‘ . : ‘ me 3 36
Pole or Rod ‘ ; Gas 5} 163 198
Chain of 100 links aes + 22 66 792
Furlong. “ . ae 10 40 220 660 7920
Mile . ° ‘ . 8 80 320 1760 5280 63360
A League is 3 miles, A Hand (used in measuring horses), 4 inches. A Fathom, 2 yards, or 6
feet, or 72 inches. : .
A pendulum, which vibrates seconds of mean time in the latitude of London, at the level of the
sea and in a vacuum, measures 39°1393 inches. It is by an accurate subdivision of the length of
such a pendulum that an inch, the foundation of all other measures and weights, is obtained,
Land or Square Measure.
| Roods Chains Poles Yards Feet Inches
Square foot. . . ay ae ie 144
Square yard bei ve wes 9 1296
Square pole orrod sa o's 30} 2723 | 39204
Chain of 10,000 links . Bee 16 484 4356 627264
‘ ° . < oe 23 40 1210 10890 (1568160
Acre . ‘ : 4 10 160 4840 43560 (6272640
A square mile is 640 acres or 3,097,600 square yards.
Cubic or Solid Measure.
Feet Inches
Cubie foot. , A . - oes 1728 .
Cubic yard ’ 27 46656
A ton of shipping is 42 cubic feet. 4 A barrel’s bulk is 5 cubic feet.
4C
1124 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Liquid Measure.
Gallons Quarts ‘ Pints
Gill * . . . . - eee 3
Quart a. ‘* . . oo oee eee 2
Gallon . * > ° aoe 4 8
Firkin or quarter barrel. 9 36 72
Kilderkin or half barrel . 4 18 72 144
Barrel . ‘ “ ° 36 144 288
Hogshead of ple fi. (Boks 54 216 432
Hogshead of wine +. Vos 63 252 504
Puncheon . s 5 P 84 336 672
Butt ofale . ‘. ; 108 432 864
Pipe of 2 hogsheads spaten 126 © 504 1008
Tun or 2 pipes oa ifne coc ie 252 1008 2016
Dry Measure.
Quarters _ Bushels Pecks Gallons
Peck . “ u Ps ene teh +s 2
Bushel. , . F ote i 4 8
Quarter . : K sae 8 SENS 64
Load or wey : 4 5 40 160 320
The imperial gallon is the legal standard measure both for dry goods and liquids. It contains
277°274 cubic inches of distilled water when the barometer stands at 30 inches and thermometer
at 62° Fahr. Under the same conditions an imperial — of water weighs 10 avoirdupois pounds
or 70,000 grains, A cubic inch of water weighs 252°458 grains, A cubic inch of air weighs 0°310
grain.
.
Time Table.
Days Hours Minutes Seconds
Minute 2 > pat ao a 60
Hour . ° ° ose 60 3600
DOS Siig hme su1% ose 24 1440 86400
Week . . ° 7 168 10080 604800
Acommon year is 52 weeks 1 day, or 365 days. Every year which will divide by 4 without
leaving any remainder is a leap year, and contains 366 days, except 1900, 2100, &c, A century
contains 36,524 days,
Memoranda connected with various Irregular Weights and Measures.
A barrel of beer, 36 gallons,
Fe ale, 32
A butt of sherry, 108 gallons, or 52 dozen
bottles,
Hogshead of French wine, 48 to 46 gals,
Aum of hock, 30 gallons,
Pipe of madeira, 92 gallons,
” port, 115 ” or 573 dozen
(Hogsheads one half, and quarter-casks.
one fourth part of that quantity.)
Pipe of Teneriffe, 100 gallons,
5 Seb bOnS "17's oo
” Malaga, 105 ”
Tun of wine, 252 gallons.
Hogshead of claret, 46 gallons.
Puncheon of brandy, 100 to 115 gallons,
Puncheon of rum, 90 to 100 gallons,
whisky, « 120 Se
A dicker of hides, 10 skins.
A last of hides, 20 dickers.
A dicker of gloves, 10 dozen mee
A box of raisins,. 56 lbs,
Cask of rice, 7 to 8 ewts.
Chest of congou tea, 80 to 100 Ibs,
Chest of hyson tea, 60 to 80 lbs.
Drum of figs, 6 to 14 lbs.
Pocket of hops, 14 to 2 ewts.
A bag of hops, nearly 33 ewts,
Firkin of butter, 56.1bs.
Load of hay or straw, 86 trusses.
‘Truss of hay, old, 56 lbs.
» "new, 60 Ibs.
» Straw, 36 lbs,
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1125
Load of bricks, 500. A last of gunpowder, 24 barrels, or
», _ plain tiles, 1000. 2,400 lbs,
Sack of ftour, 280 lbs. . A last of wool, 4,568 Ibs,
Tierce of sugar, 9 to 12 ewts. A tod of wool is 28 Ibs.
» coffee, 4 to 9 ewts, i A pack of ditto, 364 lbs.
Barrel of tar, 26} gallons. 48 solid feet of timber, a ton.
Fodder of lead, 193 cwts. A stone of fish, 14 lbs., and of wool, 14
Gross, 144, or 12 dozen. Ibs. The same for horseman’s weight,
Quire of paper, 24 sheets. hay, iron, shot, &c.
Ream » 480 sheets, or 20 quires, | A stone of glass, 5 lbs., and a seam of
Roll of parchment, 60 skins. ditto, 24 stone.
A weigh of cheese, 236 lbs. A cade of red herrings, 500, and sprats,
5 quarters, a weigh or load. 1000.
A last of corn or rape-seed, 10 quarters, | A load of timber unhewed, 40 feet.
or 80 bushels. Flour, peck or stone, 14 lbs.
A last of potashes, cod-fish, white herrings, » boll of 10 pecks or stones, 140. lbs.
meal, pitch, and tar, 12 barrels, » sack of 2 bolls, 280 lbs.
A last of flax and feathers, 17 cwts. » barrel, 196 lbs.
Measures of Length.
A line is one-twelfth part of an inch. A military pace is 2} feet.
A nail is 2} inches (used in measuring | An itinerary pace is 6 feet.
cloth). A cable length is 120 fathoms, or 240
A palm is 3 inches. yards,
A hand is 4 inches (used in measuring | A league is 3 miles,
the height of horses). The knot, or nautical mile, 2,000 yards.
A span is 9 inches. The old Scotch and Irish miles are 1
A cubit is 14 foot. and 13, English.
Coal Weights and Measures.
‘From and after January 1, 1836, all coals, slack, culm, and cannel of every de-
scription shall be sold by weight and not measure, under a penalty of forty shillings,’
? 5 & & William IV.
The Chaldron. By this measure coal was formerly sold; it was 36 bushels or 12
sacks of coal.
The London imperial chaldron is about 25 cwts.
The Newcastle chaldron . -° yx 68 ewts., or as about 11 to 21,
The relation of the chaldron to the ton in London is shown by the following results :—
ewts. qrs. aa
1 chaldron of Russell’s Hatton’s Wallsend weighed 25 0
i Lambton’s Wallsend 19 25 3 9
a Russell’s ie iv 25 0 O
> Northumberland % 25 1 +25
a3 Tanfield Moor se 26 0 17
ie Stewart’s Wallsend 5; 26 0 18
by Killingworth Ps 25-0 18
Mean, 25 ewts. 2 qrs. 4 lbs.
" oe 2: a cae } make a Newcastle chaldron, which is only 52}.
4 ”
The Keel is 8 chaldrons or 21 tons 7 cwts. (sometimes 4 ewts.), or 8 tubs =21 tons
4 ewts.
The Bolis or Boults. In 1600, at a ‘Courte of the Hostmen,’ wains were ordered to
be marked and measured. ‘For time out of mind it hath been ordered that all coal
wains did usually carry and bring 8 boults of coals to all staithes upon the river Tyne.
Pecks Boll Chaldron tons cwts, Ibs.
8 1 ease P « O 4 232
24 Bev - oat ES OD
440 183 or 1 ten - 48 Il 74
The Ten. A local customary and arbitrary weight, being usually 440 coal bushels
of 36 gallons Winchester, or 48 tons 11 ewts. 2 qrs. 17 lbs. 9 ozs. The Dean and
Chapter of Durham, to avoid fractions, make the Ten 432 bushels, or 47 tons 14 ewts,
420 bolls, or sometimes 440 bolls make 1 Ten,
1126 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
A Lodd of Coals.
ton of 20 ewts.
ton.
to
At heer is.
», Morpeth . }
” ” (cart Joad) P 1
» Lancashire . ; . ota
A Waggon.
The Newcastle chaldron, 53 ewts, At Whitehaven, in 1826, 24 Carlisle bushels,
weighing a little more than 2 tons.
About 25 years since the weight was 48 ewts, and it was increased to 50 ewts.
6 ewts.
:
2
3
5)
5 ewts,
The Tub. In the Wear the best coal is put into tubs, these are waggons without
wheels, containing each 53 ewts.
The Basket.
West Lancashire 6 ewts.
East fn 8 ,, sometimes 4 ewts., according to the thickness of the ‘ mine.’
The Room. Coal-barges are divided into rooms, containing 180 bushels and 1 yat
more, or 5 chaldrons and a yat.
The Vat, a quarter of a chaldron.
The Creel, sold in Ayrshire =8 ewts.
An Acre of Stratum 1 foot thick is 81 tens.
An Acre of Coal =1,510 tons.
A Fother of Coal=17 ewts.
The Bushel.
Carlisle, 8 streaked Winchester weighing from 1 ewt. 2 qrs. 21 lbs. to 1 ewt. 3 qrs
Cornish , ° s, lbs. (Lean’s Engine Report).
London . OLE G5
Standard. . 86 ,, avoirdupois onan art
Imperial . . 79 to 82 lbs. contains 215042 C.L
Winchester . és SNe are,
In Gutch’s ‘ Literary and Scientific Register and Almanack’ for 1872 the following
statement of measures was given, which is so curious that it deserves proservation :—
‘The Winchester bushel contains 2150°42 cubie inches, or 4 pecks; the Waterside
measure contains 5 pecks, The old standard Scotch pint or, sterling jug contains
about 104 cubic inches, or 3 imperial pints ; and the Scotch gallon contains 3 imperial
gallons. The Scotch wheat firlot contains 24} Scotch pints; and the Scotch barley
firlot, 31 Scotch pints. In Chester wheat is sold at 75 lbs. the bushel, or 9°23-28
gallons, In Cornwall (Launceston and Callington) the customary bushel is 16 gallons;
at Helston, Falmouth, St. Austell, and Truro, the bushel consists of 24 gallons; at
Redruth it is sold per 196 lbs. Cornish bushel; at St. Columb, 186 lbs., and at Bodmin, :
62 lbs., per imperial bushel. In Devon a sack contains 40 gallons, a bag 16 gallons
(in some parts 32 gallons); at Hereford wheat is sold sometimes by the bushel of 8
gallons, sometimes by the old bushel of 10 gallons, sometimes by weight, varying from
62 lbs. imperial, or 64 lbs. Winchester, to 80 lbs. old 10 gallons; in Norfolk, by the’
coomb of 4 bushels; in Northumberland (Alnwick, Morpeth, and Hexham markets), ;
per new boll of 16 gallons; in Bedford and Wooller markets by the old boll of 48 4
gallons ; in Salop the bushel is 75 lbs. net ; York (North Riding), 63 lbs. per bushel ; 3
West Riding, at Wakefield corn exchange, per bushel of 60 lbs.; at the farmers’ .
th
market, per the load of 3 bushels-or 24 gallons measure, or load weighing 12 stone 12
Ibs. (or 180 Ibs.) to 14 stone (or 196 Ibs.) ; at Leeds, Barnsley, Pontefract, Doncaster,
Selby, Otley, Knaresborough, Ripon, Skipton, and Snaith, the same as at one or the
other of Wakefield markets ; Wales (Anglesea), at 63 lbs. per bushel; at Brecon, by
the bushel of 8 gallons and the bushel of 10 gallons; Cardigan, 63 lbs. ; Carmarthen,
64 lbs.; Flint, by the hobbet of 21 gallons, or 168 lbs.; Glamorgan (borough of
Swansea), by the bushel or stack of 24 gallons, or by a measure called ‘a peck,’ con-
taining 6 gallons. In the eastern part of the county there is also a bushel measure in
use, called ‘the Welsh bushel.’ In Montgomery and Radnor the bushel is 10 gallons,
or 80 Ibs. weight. All local weights and measures are abolished, and a standard
adopted that all grain, meal, flour, butter, and potatoes shall be sold by the Avoirdu-
pois, by the score of 20 Ibs., by the ewt. of 100 Ibs., and by the ton of 2,000 lbs.; and
that all hay, straw, turnips, and mangold-wurtzel shall be sold by the Avoirdupois, by
the score of 20 lbs., by the ewt, of 100 Ibs,, and by the ton of 2,000 Ibs.’
WHEAT 1127
The Zon varies in a similarly unfortunate manner :—
The Statute ton called short ton . . 20 ewts, of 112 lbs, = 2240 lbs
», Staffordshire ton ,, longton . 526) %,'' 120, = 2400-4,
” ” 9 » boatton . . 24 “4 120 ,, = 2880 ,,
» South Wales ,, ‘ ¥ - é j . from 2400 ,, to 2618 ,,
» Ayrshire H 4 é ‘ » 2464 ,, to 2620 ,,
WELD, or Dyer’s Weed (Gande, Fr.; Wan, Ger.) A biennial plant, native of
Britain, Italy, and various parts of Europe ; the Reseda luteola of botanists. Weld is
preferred to all other substances in giving the lively green-lemon yellow to silk.
Although the quercitron bark has almost superseded it in calico-printing, weld is still
largely used in dyeing silk a golden yellow, and in paper-staining.
WELDING (Souder, Fr.; Schwweissen, Ger.) is the property which pieces of
wrought iron possess when heated to whiteness of uniting intimately under the
hammer without any appearance of junction. See Iron,
WELLS, ARTESIAN. Seo Artesian WELLs.
WHALEBONE (Baleinc, Fr.; Fischbeine, Ger.) is the name of the horny
laminee, consisting of fibres laid lengthways, found in the mouth of the whale, which,
by the fringes upon their edges, enable the animal to allow the water to flow out, as
through rows of teeth (which are absent), from between its capacious jaws, but to catch
and detain the minute creatures upon which it feeds. The fibres of whalebone have
little lateral cohesion, as they are not transversely decussated, and may, therefore, be
readily detached in the form of long filaments or bristles. The blades, or scythe-
shaped plates, are externally compact, smooth, and susceptible of a good polish. They
are connected, in a parallel series, by what is called the gum of the animal, and are
arranged along each side of its mouth, to the number of about 300. The length of
the longest blade, which is usually found near the middle of the series, is the gauge
adopted by the fishermen to designate the size of the fish. The greatest length
hitherto known has been 15 feet, but it rarely exceeds 12 or 18. The breadth, at the
root end, is from 10 to 12 inches; and the average thickness, from four to five tenths
of an inch. The series, viewed altogether in the mouth of the whale, resemble, in
general form, the roof of a house. They are cleansed and softened before cutting, by
boiling for 2 hours in a long copper. ‘
Whalebone, as brought from Greenland, is commonly divided into portable junks
or pieces, comprising ten or twelve blades in each ; but it is occasionally subdivided
into separate blades, the gum and the hairy fringes haying been removed by the
sailors during the voyage. The price of whalebone fluctuates from 501. to 150/. per
ton. The blade is cut into parallel prismatic slips, as follows :—It is clamped hori-
zontally, with its edge up and down, in the large wooden vice of a carpenter's bench,
and is then planed by the following tool, fig. 2115. a, B, are its two handles; ¢, D, is
an iron plate, with a guide-notch 2; F, is a semicircular knife, screwed firmly at each
end to the ends of the iron plate c p, having its cutting p
edge adjusted in a plane, so much lower than the 2116
bottom of the notch x, as the thickness of the whale-
bone slip is intended to be for different thicknesses :
the knife may be set by the screws at different levels,
but always in a plane parallel to the lower guide
surface of the plate cp. The workman, taking hold
of the handles a, B, applies the notch of the tool at
the end of the whalebone blade furthest from him, and
with his two hands pulls it steadily along, so as to shave off a slice in the direction
of the fibres; being careful to cut none of them across. These prismatic slips are
then dried, and planed level upon their other two surfaces, The fibrous matter
detached in this operation, is used, instead of hair, for stuffing mattresses.
From its flexibility, strength, elasticity, and lightness, whalebone is employed for
many purposes; for ribs to umbrellas or parasols; for stiffening stays; for the frame-
work of hats, &. When heated by steam- or a sand-bath, it softens, and may be
bent or moulded, like horn, into various shapes, which it retains if cooled under
compression. In this way, snuff-boxes, and knobs of walking-sticks, may be made
from the thicker parts of the blade. The surface is polished at first with ground
pumice-stono, felt, and water; and finished with dry quicklime spontaneously slaked,
and sifted. Whalefins Imported in 18783—177 tons; valued at 64,6187. Exported in
1878—960 ewts.; valued at 18,7100.
WHALE OIL, Sce Ons.
WHARPE. See Trent Sanp,
WHEAT. Triticum vulgare, Linn.; (Froment, Fr.; Waizen, Ger.) See Brean,
Guten, and Srarcu.
1128 WHITE LEAD
Wueat-Frour; Zo detect Adulteration of. Potato-starch is insoluble in cold water,
unless it be triturated in thin portions in a mortar. If pure wheat-flour be thus _
triturated, it affords no trace cf starch to iodine, as the former does, because the
particles of wheat-starch are very minute, and are sheathed in gluten.
Bean-flour digested with water at a heat of 68° Fahr., and triturated, affords on
filtration a liquid which becomes milky on the addition of a little acetic acid, by its
reaction on the legumine present in the beans.
British Wheat returned as sold in various (150) Market Towns of England and Wales
in each month.
1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873
ars. qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs.
January . | 221,792) 198,080) 312,654) 241,043) 267,828) 194,721) 166,472
February . | 203,902) 259,963) 254,916) 231,919) 309,377) 193,911) 202,979
March . . | 280,880) 176,768) 217,452) 259,539) 298,965) 245,614) 238,127
April . . | 205,283) 173,122) 204,521) 308,798) 371,536) 191,523) 159,269
May . . | 221,069) 193,994) 249,080) 280,789) 222,005) 231,783) 277,881
June . - | 197,017; 97,184) 213,005) 230,572) 191,126) 268,628) 167,467
July . - | 109,831) 106,814) 204,293) 217,370) 158,780) 109,545) 101,103
August - | 128,249) 260,269) 172,221) 201,789) 123,891) 168,955) 131,180
September .| 289,727) 358,663) 220,167) 351,231] 371,592) 253,592) 232,664
October . | 849,789) 350,377| 308,310) 424,616) 367,673) 264,936) 265,123
November .| 337,170) 267,845) 218,513) 298,408) 269,354) 248,832) 264,925
December . | 280,014) 248,329) 195,974) 352,631) 322,758) 210,068) 234,753
Total . |2,742,673)2,679,908)2,816,106|/3,398,655/3,274,885 2,582,106)2,441,943
WHEEL CARRIAGES. This articleis omitted from this edition to make room
for articles more directly connected with the subjects legitimately belonging to it.
WHEEL ORE. See Bournonite.
WHETSLATE is a massive mineral of a greenish-grey colour; feebly glimmer-
ing; fracture slaty or splintery ; fragments tabular; translucent on the edges; feels
rather greasy ; and has a spec. grav. of 2°722. It occurs in beds, in primitive and
transition slates. Very fine varieties of whetslate are brought from Turkey, called
honestones, which are in much esteem for sharpening steel instruments. See Hones.
WHEY (Petit lait, Fr.; Molken, Ger.) is the greyish-green liquor which exudes.
from the curd of milk. Scheele states, that when a pound of milk is mixed with a
spoonful of proof spirit, and allowed to become sour, the whey filtered off, at the end
of a month or a little more, is a good vinegar, devoid of lactic acid.
WHISKY. A spirit obtained by distillation from corn, sugar, or molasses, though
enerally from the former. It is extensively manufactured and used in Scotland and
in Ireland, See Usquepaven,
WHITE LEAD, Carbonate of lead, or Ceruse. (Blanc de plomb, Fr.; Bleiweiss,
Ger.) This is the principal preparation of lead in general use for painting wood and
the plaster walls of apartments white. It mixes well with oil, without having its
bright colour impaired, spreads easily under the brush, and gives a uniform coat to
wood, stone, metal, &c. It is employed either alone, or with other pigments, to serve
as their basis, and to give them body. This article has been long manufactured with
much success at Klagenfurth in Carinthia, and its mode of preparation has been
described with precision by Marcel des Serres. The great white-lead establishments
at Krems, whence, though incorrectly, the term white of Kremnitz became current,
on the Continent, have been abandoned.
In Germany the manufacture of white lead is conducted as follows :—
The lead mostly comes from Bleiberg ; it is very pure, and particularly free from
contamination with iron, a point essential to the beauty of its factitious carbonate. It
is melted in ordinary pots of cast iron, and cast into sheets of various thickness, ac-
cording to the pleasure of the manufacturer. These sheets are made by pouring the
melted lead upon an iron plate placed over the boiler; and whenever the surface of
the metal begins to consolidate, the plate is slightly sloped to one side, so as to run off
the still liquid metal, and leave a lead sheet of a desired thickness. It is then lifted
off like a sheet of paper; and as the iron plate is cooled in water, several hundred-
weight of lead can be readily cast ina day. In certain white-lead works these sheets
are one twenty-fourth of an inch thick; in others half that thickness; in some, one
of these sheets takes up the whole width of the conversion-box; in others, four sheets -
are employed, It is of consequence not to smooth down the faces of the leaden
GE ee |
WHITE LEAD 1129
sheets; because a rough surface presents more points of contact, and is more readily
attacked by acid vapours than a polished one.
These plates are now placed so as to expose an extensive surface to the acid
fumes, by‘folding each other over a square slip of wood. Being suspended by their
middle, like a sheet of paper, they are arranged in wooden boxes, from 43 to 5 feet
long, 12 to 14 inches broad, and from 9 to 11 inches deep. The boxes are very
substantially constructed ; their joints being mortised, and whatever nails are used,
being carefully covered. Their bottom is made tight with a coat of pitch about an
inch thick. The mouths of the boxes are luted over with paper in the works where
fermenting horse-dung is employed as the means of procuring heat, to prevent the
sulphuretted and phosphuretted hydrogen from injuring the purity of the white lead.
In Carinthia it was formerly the practice, as also in Holland, to form the lead sheets
into spiral rolls, and to place them so coiled up in the chests; but this plan is not to
be recommended, because these rolls present obviously less surface to the action of
the vapours, are apt to fall down into the liquid at the bottom, and thus to impair the
whiteness of the lead. The lower edges of the sheets are suspended about two inches
and a half from the bottom of the box; and they must not touch either one another
or its sides, for fear of obstructing the vapours in the first case, or of injuring the
colour in the second. Before introducing the lead, a peculiar acid liquor is put into
the box, which differs in different works. In some, the proportions are four quarts
of vinegar, with four quarts of wine-lees; and in others a mixture is made of 20
pounds of wine-lees, with 8} pounds of vinegar, and a pound of carbonate of potash.
It is evident that in the manufactories where no carbonate of potash is employed in
the mixture, and no dung for heating the boxes, it is not necessary to lute them.
The mixture being poured into the boxes, and the sheets of lead suspended
within them, they are carried into a stove-room, to receive the requisite heat for
raising round the lead the corrosive vapours, and thus converting it into carbonate.
This apartment is heated generally by stoves, is about 9 feet high, 30 feet long,
and 24 feet wide, or of such a size as to receive about 90 boxes. It has only one door.
The heat should never be raised above 86° Fahr.; and it is usually kept up for 15
days, in which time the operation is, for the most part, completed. If the heat be too
high, and the vapours too copious, the carbonic acid in a great measure escapes, and
the metallic lead, less acted upon, affords a much smaller product.
When the process is well managed, as much carbonate of lead is obtained as there
was employed of metal; or, for 300 pounds of lead, 300 of ceruse are procured, besides
a certain quantity of metal after the crusts are removed, which is returned to the
melting-pot. The mixture introduced into the boxes serves only once; and if carbon-
ate of potash has been used, the residuary matter is sold to the hatters.
When the preceding operation is supposed to be complete, the sheets, being
removed from the boxes, are found to have grown a quarter of an inch thick, though
previously not above a twelfth of that thickness. A few crystals of acetate of lead
are sometimes observed on their edges. The plates are now shaken smartly, to cause
the crust of carbonate of lead formed on their surfaces to fall off. This carbonate is
put into large cisterns, and washed very clean. The cistern is of wood, most commonly
of a square shape, and divided into from seven to nine compartments, These are of
equal capacity, but unequal height, so that the liquid may be made to overflow from
one to the other. Thereby, if the first chest is too full, it decants its excess into the
second, and so on in succession.
The water poured into the first chest passes successively into the others, a slight
agitation being meanwhile kept up, and there deposits the white lead diffused in it
proportionally, so that the deposit of the last compartment is the lightest and finest.
After this washing, the white lead receives another in large vats, where it is always
kept under water. It is lastly lifted out, in the state of a liquid paste, with wooden
spoons, and laid on drying-tables to prepare it for the market.
The white lead of the last compartment is of the first quality, and is called on the
Continent ‘silver white.’ It is employed in fine painting.
When white lead is mixed in equal quantities with ground sulphate of baryta, it is
known in France and Germany by the name of ‘Venice white.’ Another quality,
adulterated with double its weight of sulphate of baryta, is styled ‘Hamburgh white ;’
and a fourth, having three parts of sulphate to one of white lead, gets the name of
‘Dutch white. When the sulphate of baryta is very white, like that of the Tyrol,
these mixtures are reckoned preferable for certain kinds of painting, as the barytes
communicates opacity to the colour, and protects the lead from being speedily dark-
ened by sulphurous smoke or vapours.
The high reputation of the white lead of Krems was byno means due to the barytes,
for the first and whitest quality was mere carbonate of lead, The freedom from silver
of the lead of Villach, a very rare circumstance, is one cause of the superiority of its
/
1130 WHITE LEAD
earbonate; as well as the skilful and laborious manner in which it is washed, and
separated from any adhering particle of metal or sulphide.
In England, lead is converted into carbonate in the following way :—The metal is
east into the form of a network grating, in moulds about 20 inches long, and 8 or 9
broad. Several rows of these are placed over cylindrical glazed earthen pots, about
6 or 7 inches in diameter, containing some wood-vinegar, which are then covered
with planks and spent tan; above these pots another range is piled, and so in suc-
cession, to a convenient height. The whole are imbedded in spent bark from the
tan-pit, brought into a fermenting state by being mixed with some bark used in a
previous process. The pots are left undisturbed under the influence of a fermenting
temperature for 8 or 9 weeks. In the course of this time the lead gratings become,
generally speaking, converted throughout into a solid carbonate, which when removed,
is levigated in a. proper mill, and elutriated with abundance of pure water. The
lan of inserting coils of sheet lead into earthenware pipkins containing vinegar, and
imbedding the pile of pipkins in fermenting horsedung and litter, has now ceased to
be used; because the coil is not uniformly acted on by the acid vapours, and the sul-
phuretted hydrogen evolved from the dung is apt to darken the white lead.
In the above processes, the conversion of lead into carbonate seems to be effected by
keeping the metal immersed in a warm humid atmosphere, loaded with carbonic and
acetic acids,
Another process has been practised to a considerable extent in France, though
it does not afford a white lead equal in body and opacity to the products of the pre- -
ceding operations. M, Thénard first established the principle, and MM. Brechoz and
Lesseur contrived the arrangements of this method, which was subsequently executed
on a great scale by MM. Roard and Brechoz.
A subacetate of lead is formed by digesting a cold solution of uncrystallised acetate,
over litharge, with frequent agitation. It is said that 65 pounds of purified pyrolig-
neous acid, of specific gravity 1'056, require, for making a neutral acetate, 68 pounds
of litharge ; and hence, to form the subacetate, three times that quantity of base, or
174 pounds, must be used. The compound is diluted with water as soon as it is
formed, and being decanted off quite limpid, is exposed to a current of carbonic acid
gas, which, uniting with the two extra proportions of oxide of lead in the subacetate,
precipitates them in the form of a white carbonate, while the liquid becomes a faintly
acidulous acetate. The carbonic acid may be extricated from chalk, or other com-
unds, or generated by combustion of charcoal, as at Clichy; but in the latter case
po g y
it must be transmitted through a solution of acetate of lead before being admitted into
the subacetate, to deprive it of any particles of sulphuretted hydrogen. When the
precipitation of the carbonate of lead is completed and well settled down, the superna-
tant acetate'is decanted off, and made to act on another dose of litharge. The deposit
being first rinsed with a little water, this washing is added to the acetate: after which
the white lead is thoroughly elutriated. This repetition of the process may be inde-
finitely made; but there is always a small loss of acetate, which must be repaired,
either directly or by.adding some vinegar.
It is customary on the Continent to mould the white lead into conical loaves before
sending it into the market. This is done by stuffing well-drained white lead into
unglazed earthen pots, of the requisite size and shape, and drying it to a solid mass
by exposing these pots in stove-rooms. The moulds being now inverted on tables,
discharge their contents, which then receive a final desiccation; and are afterwards
put up in pale-blue paper, to set off the white colour by contrast.
It has been supposed that the differences observed between the ceruse of Clichy and
the common kinds, depend on the greater compactness of the particles of the latter,
is 2116 F produced by their slower ag tion ;
rer - as also, according to M. Robiquet, on
= the former containing considerably less
=f carbonic acid.
t Mr. Ham proposed, in a patent dated
3 June 1826, to produce white lead with
es the aid of the following apparatus. a, a,
Be e s fig. 2116, are the side-walls of a stove-
\2 a is ‘room constructed of bricks; % is the
s floor of bricks laid in Roman cement;
¢e,¢, are the side-plates, between which
and the walls a quantity of refuse tan-
ners’ bark, or other suitable yegetable-
matter, is to be introduced. The same
material is to be put also into the lower
part at @ (upon a false bottom or grating ?), The tan should rise to a considerable
YYW)
_———
‘
4
1
:
:
5
WHITE LEAD 1131
height, and hayo a series of strips of sheet, lead, e, e, e, placed upon it, which are
kept apart by blocks or some other convenient means, with a space open at one
end of the plates, for the passage of the vapours; but above the upper plates, boards
are placed, and covered with tan, to confine them there. In the lower part of the
chamber, coils of steam-pipes, f, f, are laid in different directions to distribute heat ;
g is a funnel-pipe, to condnet vinegar into the lower part of the vessel; and / is a
cock to draw it off, when the operation is suspended. The acid vapours raised by the
heat pass up through the spent bark, and on coming into contact with the sheets of
lead, corrode them. The quantity of acid liquor should not be in excess; a point to
be ascertained by means of the small tube i, at top, which is intended for testing it by
the tongue. & is a tube for inserting a thermometer, to watch the temperature, which
should not exceed 170° Fahr. We are not aware what success attended this patented
arrangement.
A factory was many years since erected at West Bromwich, near Birmingham, to
work a patent obtained by Messrs. Gossage and Benson, for making white lead
by mixing a small quantity of acetate of lead in solution with slightly-damped litharge,
contained in a long stone trough, and passing over the surface of the trough currents
of hot carbonic acid, while its contents were powerfully stirred up by a travelling-wheel
mechanism. The product was afterwards ground and elutriated, as usual. The car-
bonic acid gas was produced from the combustion of coke, This factory has long
been abandoned.
Messrs. Button and Dyer obtained a patent for making white lead by transmitting a
current of purified carbonic acid gas, from the combustion of coke, through a mixture
of litharge and nitrate of lead, diffused and dissolved in water, which was kept in con-
stant agitation and ebullition by steam introduced through a perforated coil of pipes
at the bottom of the tub. The carbonate of lead was formed here upon the principle
of Thénard’s process upon the subacetate; for the nitrate of lead formed with the
litharge a subnitrate, which was forthwith transformed into carbonate and neutral
nitrate, by the agency of the carbonic acid gas. It is known that all sorts of white lead
produced by precipitation from a liquid, are in a semi-crystalline condition; appear,
therefore, semi-transparent when viewed in the microscope; and do not cover so well
as white lead made by the process of vinegar and tan, in which the lead has remained
always solid during its transition from the blue to the white state ; and hence consists
of opaque particles,
A patent was obtained in December 1833, by John Baptiste Constantine Torassa,
and others, for making white lead by agitating the granulated metal or shot, in trays
or barrels, along with water, and exposing the mixture of lead-dust and water to the
air, to be oxidised and carbonated. The whole of these projects for preparing white
lead are inferior in economy and quality of produce to the old Dutch process, which
may be so arranged as to convert sheets of blue lead thoroughly into the best white
lead, within the space of ten weeks, at less expense of labour than by any other
lan,
. The composition of the different yarieties of white lead has been carefully examined
by J. Arthur Phillips.’ The result of this investigation shows that those specimens,
which are obtained by precipitation from solutions of the nitrate by means of an
alkaline carbonate, contain very variable quantities of oxide of lead, whilst in white
lead prepared by the ordinary Dutch process, the relations existing between the
amounts of carbonate and oxide, although definite, are usually very simple. The
most usual composition of the white lead of commerce is represented by the formula
2(PbO.CO?) + PbO.HO (2PbCO’.PbH’O?), although specimens represented by the
formule 3(PbO.CO?)+PbO.HO (3PbCO*.PbH’O*), and 6(PbO.CO?) + PbO.HO
(5PbCO'.PbH’O") are also occasionally met with.
On examining the ordinary corroded leads in a finely-divided state, by the aid of a
powerful microscope, no traces of a crystalline.structure will be perceived, but when
precipitated specimens are subjected to a power of 300 diameters, distinct hexagonal
plates become visible. These vary from ggqgth to zgigqth of an inch in diameter, and
appear slightly yellow by transmitted light.
Mr. Thomas Richardson, of Newcastle, obtained a patent in December 1889, for a
preparation of sulphate of lead, applicable to some of the purposes to which the car-
bonate is applied. His plan is to put 56 lbs. of flake litharge into a tub, to mix it
with 1 lb. of acetic acid (and water) of spec, grav. 1:046, and to agitate the mixture
till the oxide of lead becomes an acetate. ‘But whenever this change is partially
effected, he pours into the tub, through a pipe, sulphuric acid of spec. grav. 1°5975,
at the rate of about 1 lb. per minute, until a sufficient quantity of sulphurie acid has
been added to convert all the lead into a sulphate; being about 20 parts of acid to
1 Journal of the Chemical Society, p, 145,
1182 WHITE LEAD
112 of the litharge. The sulphate is afterwards washed and dried in stoves for the
market, but is very inferior to ordinary white lead.
Mr. Leigh, surgeon in Manchester, prepared his patent white lead by precipitating
a carbonate from a solution of the chloride of the metal by means of carbonate of
ammonia. On this process, in a commercial point of view, no remarks need be made,
A patent was granted to Mr. Hugh Lee Pattinson, in September 1841, for improve-
ments in the manufacture of white lead, &c. This invention consists in dissolving
carbonate of magnesia in water impregnated with carbonic acid gas, by acting upon
magnesian limestone, or other earthy substances containing magnesia in a soluble —
form, or upon rough hydrate of magnesia in the mode hereafter described, and in
applying this solution to the manufacture of magnesia and its salts, and the precipi-
tation of carbonate of lead from any of the soluble salts of lead, but particularly the
chloride of lead; in which latter case the carbonate of lead so precipitated is tri-
turated with a solution of caustic potash or soda, by which a small quantity of chloride
of lead contained in it is converted into hydrated oxide of lead, and the whole rendered
similar in composition to the best white lead of commerce. The manner in which
these improvements are carried into effect is thus described by the patentee :—
‘I take magnesian limestone, which is well known to be a mixture of carbonate of
lime and carbonate of magnesia in proportions varying at different localities ; and on.
this account I am careful to procure it from places where the stone is rich in magnesia,
This I reduce to powder, and sift it through a sieve of forty or fifty apertures to the
linear inch. I then heat it red-hot, in an iron retort or reverberatory furnace, for two
or three hours, when the carbonic acid being expelled from the carbonate of magnesia,
but not from the carbonate of lime, I withdraw the whole from the retort or furnace,
and suffer it to cool. The magnesia contained in the limestone is now soluble in water
impregnated with carbonic acid gas, and to dissolve it I proceed as follows :—I am
provided with an iron cylinder lined with lead, which may be of any convenient size,
say 4 feet long by 2} feet in diameter; it is furnished with a safety-valve and an
agitator, which latter may be an axis in the centre of the cylinder, with arms reaching
nearly to the circumference, all made of iron and covered with lead. The cylinder is
placed horizontally, and one extremity of this axis is supported within it by a proper
carriage, the other extremity being prolonged and passing through a stuffing-box at
the other end of the cylinder, so that the agitator may be turned round by applying
manual or other power to its projecting end. A pipe, leading from a force-pump, is
connected with the under side of the cylinder, through which carbonic acid gas may
be forced from a gasometer in communication with the pump, and a mercurial gauge
is attached, to show at all times the amount of pressure within the cylinder, in-
dependently of the safety-valve. Into a cylinder of the size given I introduce from
100 to 120 lbs. of the calcined limestone with a quantity of pure water, nearly filli
the cylinder; I then pump in carbonic acid gas, constantly turning the agitator, an
forcing in more and more gas, till absorption ceases under a pressure of five atmospheres.
I suffer it to stand in this condition three or four hours, and then run off the contents
of the cylinder into a cistern, and allowit to settle. The clear liquor is nowa solution
of carbonate of magnesia in water impregnated with carbonic acid gas, or, as I shall
hereafter call it, a solution of bicarbonate of magnesia, having a spec. grav. of about
1-028, and containing about 1,600 grains of carbonate of magnesia to the imperial
gallon.
‘I consider itthe best mode of obtaining a solution of bicarbonate of magnesia from
magnesian limestone, to operate upon the limestone after being calcined at a red heat
in the way described; but the process may be varied by using in the cylinder the
mixed hydrates of lime and magnesia, obtained by completely burning magnesian
limestone in a kiln, as commonly practised, and slaking it with water in the usual
manner: or, to lessen the expenditure of carbonic gas, the mixed hydrates may
be exposed to the air a few weeks till .the lime has become less caustic by the absorp-
tion of carbonic acid from the atmosphere. Or the mixed hydrates may be treated
with water, as practised by some manufacturers of Epsom salts, till the lime is wholly
or principally removed ; after which the residual rough hydrate of magnesia may be
acted upon in the cylinder, as described; or hydrate of magnesia may be prepared
for solution in the cylinder, by dissolving magnesian limestone in hydrochloric acid,
and treating the solution,:or a solution of chloride of magnesium, obtained from sea-
water by salt-makers in the form of bittern, with its equivalent quantity of hydrate
of lime, or of the mixed hydrates of lime and magnesia, obtained by completely
burning magnesian limestone, slaking it as above. When I use this solution of
bicarbonate of magnesia for the purpose of preparing magnesia and its salts, I
evaporate it to dryness, by which a pure carbonate of magnesia is at once obtained,
without the necessity of using a carbonated alkali, as in the whole process; and
from this I prepare pure magnesia by calcination in the usual manner; or, instead”
WHITE LEAD 1133
of boiling to dryness, I merely heat the solution for some timo to the boiling
point, by which the excess of carbonic acid is partly driven off, and pure carbonate
of magnesia is precipitated, which may then be collected, and dried in the same way
as if precipitated by a carbonated alkali, If I require sulphate of magnesia, I
neutralise the solution of bicarbonate of magnesia with sulphuric acid, boil down,
and crystallise; or I mix the solution with its equivalent quantity of sulphate of iron,
dissolved in water, heated to the boiling point, and then suffer the precipitated car-
bonate of iron to subside; after which I decant the clear solution of sulphate of
magnesia, boil down, and erystallise as before, When using this solution of bicar-
bonate of magnesia for the purpose of preparing carbonate of lead, I make a saturated
solution of chloride of lead in water, which at a temperature of 50° or 60° Fahr.,
has a specific gravity of about 1008, and consists of 1 part of chloride of lead dis-
solved in 126 parts of water. I then mix the two solutions together, when carbonate
of lead is immediately precipitated ; but in this operation I find it necessary to use
certain precautions, otherwise a considerable quantity of chloride of lead is carried
down along with the carbonate. These precautions are, first, to use an excess of the
solution of magnesia ; and secondly, to mix the two solutions together as rapidly as
possible. As to the first, when using a magnesian solution containing 1,600 grs.
of carbonate of magnesia, per imperial gallon, with a solution of chloride of lead
saturated at 55° or 60° Fahr., 1 measure of the former to 84 of the latter is a proper
proportion; in which case there is an excess of carbonate of magnesia employed,
amounting to about an eighth of the total quantity contained in the solution. When
either one or both the solutions vary in strength, the proportions in which they are to
be mixed must be determined by preliminary trials. It is not, however, necessary to
be very exact, provided there is always an excess of carbonate of magnesia amount-
ing to from one-eighth to one-twelfth of the total quantity employed. If the excess
is greater than one-eighth, no injury will result, except the unnecessary expenditure
of the magnesian solution. As to the.second precaution, of mixing the two solutions
rapidly together, it may be accomplished variously; but I have found it a good
method to run them in two streams, properly regulated in quantity, into a small
cistern, in which they are to be rapidly blended together by brisk stirring, before
passing out, through a hole in the bottom, to a large cistern or tank, where the
precipitate finally setties. The precipitate thus obtained is to be collected, washed
and dried in the usual manner. It is a carbonate of lead, very nearly pure, and
suitable for most purposes; but it always contains a small portion of chloride of
lead, seldom less than from 1 to 2 per cent., the presence of which, even in so small
a quantity, is somewhat injurious to the colour and body of the white lead. I decom-
pose this chloride, and convert it into a hydrated oxide of lead by grinding the dry
precipitate with a solution of caustic alkali, in a mill similar to the ordinary mill
used in grinding white lead with oil, adding just so much of the lye as may be
required to convert the precipitate into a soft paste. I allow this paste to liea
few days, after which, the chloride of lead being entirely, or almost entirely, decom-
posed, I wash out the alkaline chloride formed by the reaction, and obtain a white
lead, similar in composition to the best white lead of commerce, I prepare the
caustic alkaline lye by boiling together, in a leaden vessel, for an hour or two, 1 part
by weight of dry and recently-slaked lime, 2 parts of crystallised carbonate of soda
(which being cheaper than carbonate of potash, I prefer), and 8 parts of water. The
clear and colourless caustic lye, obtained after subsidence, will have a specific gravity
of about 1:090, and when drawn off from the sediment, must be kept in a close vessel
for use.’
More recently Mr. Peter Spence, of Manchester, has patented a process for obtaining
white lead directly from the ores.
As we have before stated, the manufacture of white lead by the Dutch process is
one the nature of which seems yet enveloped in considerable obscurity. So far as ap-
pearances go, the action would seem to consist: first, in the oxidation of metallic lead
by the atmosphere, under the influence of the vapour of acetic acid; secondly, in the
production of acetate of lead, by the combination of the oxide of lead with the acetic
acid; and thirdly, in the displacement of the acetic acid from its union with the
oxide of lead, by the action of carbonic acid, and the consequent formation of white
lead. But this in no way accounts for the fact, that, when acetate of lead is decom-
posed by carbonic acid, it is carbonate of lead, and not white lead, which is formed,
Nor can we conceive how an acid like the acetic is capable of being wholly expelled
from a metallic oxide by a quantity of another acid incapable of completely saturating
the oxide. In other words, as white lead contains free or uncombined oxide of lead,
how happens it that the free acetic acid does not remain united to this? We confess
our inability to reconcile the facts of the case with the preceding hypothesis, and
therefore pass on to another, in which we will assume that acetate of lead, but not the
1134 WHITE LEAD
neutral acetate, is formed as we have already supposed, Now there are two sub-
acetates: one composed of six molecules of oxide of lead to one of acetic acid; and
the other consisting of three molecules of oxide of lead to one of acetic acid, We select,
in preference the former, as it is the one which forms naturally when acetic acid acts,
at common temperatures, on an excess of oxide of lead, The composition of this
salt is such, that, if we can conceive slow combustion to take place, or that its acetic
acid combining with the oxygen of the air is resolved into water and carbonic acid,
then the carbonic acid produced would be exactly sufficient to saturate four atoms of
the oxide of lead, and leave a compound of the precise composition of white lead,
On this view, the first action in a white lead scan would be the production of sex-
basic acetate of lead ; and the next would be the destruction of this by eremacausis,
and the formation of white lead,
The apparatus employed in the manufacture of white lead is extremely simple, and
consists merely of certain large enclosures or spaces, called ‘ beds,’ in which the stacks
are built up, together with the carthenware-pots needed for holding the vinegar, and
the machinery used in casting the lead and grinding the white lead, so as to fit it for
the market, The metallic lead was formerly used in the shape of sheets or coils, which
were placed perpendicularly over the vinegar pots ; but this practice has been almost
everywhere abandoned, and at present the lead is generally cast into what are called
‘crates’ or ‘grates,’ and having the appearance of lattice-work; the object being to
expose as large a surface as possible of metallic lead to the action of the vapour of the.
vinegar. The beds are of considerable size; and, in this respect, some diversity of
opinion prevails amongst practical men; but it seems pretty certain that no advantage
is gained when the area of a bed comes to exceed 300 square feet ; and there are many
reasons for believing that, with beds of twice this area, the gain, in point of diminished
labour, is much more than compensated for by the reduced produce in white lead.
Nevertheless, each manufacturer seems to entertain an opinion of his own in respect
to this matter; and there are even some pretensions to secresy concerning it. In fact,
everything depends upon the construction of the bed, for it is this which regulates
the production of white lead; and, as a proof of the great importance connected with
this circumstance, we may here mention, that, whilst one manufacturer has produced
as much as 65 per cent. of corrosion during a long course of years, another in his im-
mediate neighbourhood has never been able to exceed 52 per cent. The beds of the
former are 16 feet square, whilst those of the latter are 19} feet square; and, in
dwelling upon the details of this operation, we shall find that theoretically, a bed may
be too large, as the above practical fact indicates.
In forming a stack, it is necessary to begin by laying, in the first instance, a bed of
spent tanners’ bark, 3 feet in thickness, over the surface of the bed; and upon this
are placed the earthenware-pots containing the vinegar. These are arranged side by
side, and filled to about one-third of their contents with vinegar, of a strength equal
to 6 per cent. of anhydrous acetic acid. Upon these pots are placed the crates of
lead, and over all a series of boards are arranged, which form a floor for the next
layer of spent tan. Such an arrangement as we have described is denominated ‘a
bed,’ but there is this difference between the beds, viz. that the lowest or bottom bed
has a bed of tan 8 feet in thickness, whereas but one foot only is needed in the others,
Having finished the lowest bed, 12 inches of spent tan are now placed upon the
boards, and a similar arrangement of pots, crates, and boards takes place, which con-
stitutes the second bed ; this is followed by a third, a fourth, and so on, until at last
the uppermost bed is finished; when a layer of spent tan, 30 inches in thickness, is
placed over the whole, and the operation may be said to commence. In six or eight
days the tan begins to ferment and evolve heat ; and this goes on increasing for some
weeks, when it gradually diminishes, and at the end of about three months the whole
has become cool, and the stack is fit to be taken down. When examined, the pots,
which formerly contained vinegar, will now be found to be quite empty, or to hold a
little water merely, but no acetic acid; the leaden crates will be discovered to have
increased sensibly in bulk, to have become coated with a thick and dense incrustation
of white lead, and in some places even to have become altogether converted into this
substance; whilst the tan, having lost its fermentative quality, is now useless, except
as fuel.
The successive beds constituting the entire stack are next carefully removed, so as
to obtain the white lead with the least possible admixture of the tan; and as a portion
of this substance always adheres to the crates, these are washed in a kind of wear or
trough, by which the whole of the tan is thoroughly separated. When this is seen
to be complete, the corroded part of the plate or ‘white lead’ is detached from the
uncorroded or ‘ blue lead,’ either by means of rollers or with a mallet. The blue lead
is weighed, and, for the most part, remelted and again cast into crates; whilst the
white lead is first crushed, and afterwards ground in water into-a fine powder, when
Ee
WINE 1135
it is collected by elutriation and deposition, and dried in stoves, a little below the
boiling point of water, Formerly this grinding was performed in the dry way, and
much injury to the health of the workmen thus resulted; but for many years past
the wet mode of grinding has been general, and is greatly to be preferred.
WHITING. Chalk levigated and carefully washed, after which it is formed into
balls,
WICK (Méche, Fr.; Docht, Ger.) is a spongy cord, usually made of soft spun
cotton threads, which by capillary action draws up the oil in lamps, or the melted
tallow or wax in candles, in small successive portioris, to be burned. In common wax
and tallow candles the wick is formed of parallel threads; in the stearine candles the
wick is plaited upon the braiding machine, moistened with a very dilute sulphuric acid,
and dried, whereby as it burns it falls to one side and consumes without requiring to
be snuffed ; in the patent candles of Mr. Palmer one-tenth of the wick is first imbued
with subnitrate of bismuth ground up with oi! ; the whole is then bound round in the
manner called gimping; and of this wick, twice the length of the intended candle is
twisted double round a rod, - This rod with its coil being inserted in the axis of the
eandle-mould is to be enclosed: by pouring in the melted tallow; and when the tallow
is set the rod is to be drawn out at top, leaving the wick in the candle. As this
candle is burned, the ends of the double wick stand out sideways beyond the flame ;
and the bismuth attached to the cotton being acted on by the oxygen of the atmo-
sphere causes the wick to be completely consumed, and therefore the trouble of snuffing
it is saved, See Canprss.
WINCING MACHINE is the English name of the dyers’ reel, which he sus-
pends horizontally, by the ends of its iron axis in bearings, over the edge of the vat,
so that the line of the axis, being placed over the middle partition in the copper, will
permit the piece of cloth which is wound upon the reel to descend alternately into
either compartment of the bath, according as it is turned by hand to the right or the
left. See Dyzine,
WINE is the fermented juice of the grape. This beverage has been in use from
the earliest periods of man’s history. We have, however, only space to deal with
wine in its modern relations,
In the reign of Elizabeth the wines chiefly in use in England were those of Gas-
cony, Burgundy, and Guienne, which, with Canary, Cyprus, Grecian Malmsey,
Italian Vernage, Rhenish Tent, Malaga, and others, were ‘accompted of, because of
their strength and valure.’
In the time of Charles II. ‘the consumption of French wines was two-fifths that
of the whole of England. The favourite wines were then Bordeaux, Burgundy, and
Hermitage. Champagne, although known in England in the reign of Henry VIIL,
did not come into use till that of Charles IT.
The strong wines of Burgundy, the white wines of Spain (Sherris-sack or Sec), and
the red wines of Portugal, first came into use about 1690 a.p. Port wine was at
first a much lighter wine than it afterwards became. According to Baron Forrester,
the first Port wine introduced into this country was not from the Douro, or even
shipped at Oporto. It was a wine resembling the Claret of Burgundy.
The wine-growing countries are especially the more southern states of Europe,
where the grapes, being very saccharine, afford a more abundant production of
alcohol, and stronger wines, as exemplified in the best Port, Sherry, and Madeira.
In the more temperate climates, such as the district of Burgundy, the finer-flavoured
Wines are produced; and there the vines are usually grown upon hilly slopes fronting
the south, with more or less of an easterly or westerly direction, as on the Céte-
d’Or, at a distance from marshes, forests, and rivers, whose vapours might deteriorate
the air. The plains of this district, even when possessing a similar or analogous
soil, do not produce wines of so agreeable a flavour. The influence of temperature
becomes very manifest in countries further north, where, in consequence of a few
degrees of thermometric depression, the production of generous, agreeable wine be-
comes impossible.
The land most favourable to the vine is light, easily permeable to water, but some-
what retentive by its composition ; with a sandy subsoil, to allow the excess of moisture
to.drain readily off. Calcareous soils produce the highly-esteemed wines of the Céte-
d’Or; a granitic débris forms the foundation of the lands where the Hermitage wines
are grown; siliceous soil interspersed with flints furnishes the celebrated wines of
Chateau-Neuf, Ferté, and La Gaude; schistose districts afford also good wine, as that
ealled da Malgue. Thus we see that lands differing in chemical composition, but
possessed of the proper physical qualities, may produce most agreeable wines. As a
striking example of these effects, we may adduce the slopes of the hills which grow
the wines of Montrachet. The insulated part towards the top furnishes the wine,
ealled Chevalier Montrachet, which is less esteemed, and sells at a much lower price,
1136 WINE
than the delicious wine grown on the middle height, ealled true Montrachet, Bencath
this district and in the surrounding plains the vines afford a far inferior article, called
bastard Montrachet. The opposite side of the hills produces very indifferent wine,
Similar differences, in a greater or less degree, are observable relatively to the dis-
tricts which grow the Pomard, Volnay, Beaune, Nuits, Clos-de-Vougeét, Chambertin,
Romanée, &. Everywhere it is found that the reverse side of the hill, the summit
and the plain, although generally consisting of like soils, afford inferior wine to the
middle southern slopes.
In the district of Médoc the soil is mainly a quartzose gravel, with a subsoil of
argillaceous sand, sometimes compacted by brown iron.ore, known as alios, which in
the neighbouring or southern district of Graves becomes more sandy, and marly, over-
lying the limestones which form considerable cliffs in the neighbouring department of
Dordogne. These latter are known as the Cotes, the thin soils above them producing
the generous wine of St.-Emilion. Other examples of limestone soils are furnished by
the Céte-d’Or, the great wine-producing district of Burgundy, a chain of limestone
hills which extends for about 36 miles, from Dijon to Chélons-sur-Saéne, and include
the famous vineyards of Clos-de-Vougedét, Chambertin, Nuit-sur-Ravier, &c., which -
are situated on their eastern slope. In Champagne the soils are mainly a clayey and
sandy alluvium above chalky limestones, very usually barren when too exclusively
sandy or calcareous, so that it is necessary to dress the soils with clay, in order to
produce the fertility required for vine-growing. On the Rhine and the tributary
vine-growing valleys of the Maine, Moselle, Lahn, and Ahr, the soils are generally
decomposed clay-slate, more or less quartzose, of Devonian age, The vineyards are
situated on the steep hill-sides, the soil being fetained by terrace-walls, the wash of
the winter rains being received by earth carried up in baskets every spring. In the
Sherry-producing districts, of the neighbourhood of Cadiz, the finest wines are pro-
duced from an argillaceous calcareous soil known as albariza, while a lighter and less
valuable wine is given in the lower sandy soils or arenas. On the southern slopes of
the Sierra Nevada, in Spain, the vines grow in a deep natural soil produced from the
decomposition of clay-slate, without terracing up to a height of about 3,000 feet above
the sea-level. The produce is a sweet wine used in the production of Sherry and
Malaga at various places in the south of Spain.
For the vine, a manure supplying azotised or animal nutriment may be used with
great advantage, provided care be taken that it may not, by absorption in too crude
a state, impart any disagreeable odour to the grape, as sometimes happens to the
vines grown in the vicinity of great towns, like Paris, and near Argenteuil. There
is a compost used in France called animalised black, of which from } to 3 of a litre
(old English quart) serves sufficiently to fertilise the root of one vine when applied
every year or two years, An excess of manure, in rainy seasons especially, has the
effect of rendering the grapes large and insipid.
The famous vineyards of Steinberg and Johannisberg, on the Rhine, and Chateau-
Margaux, in Médoe, are heavily manured, each consuming the whole of the manure pro-
duced on a large grazing farm of about 600 acres, or from 6 to 8 times its own area.
The ground is tilled at the same time as the manure is applied, towards the month
of March ; the plants are then dressed, and the props are inserted. The weakness of
the plants renders this practice useful ; but in some southern districts the stem of the
vine, when supported at a proper height acquires, after a while, sufficient size and
strength to stand alone. The ends of the props or poles are either dipped in tar, or
charred, to prevent their rotting. The bottom of the stem must be covered over
with soil after the spring rains have washed it down. The principal husbandry of the
vineyard consists in digging or ploughing, to destroy the weeds, and to expose the soil
to the influence of the air during the months of May, June, and occasionally in August.
The fruit of the same plant when transferred to a different soil loses its iar
characteristics ; thus one and the same vine produces Hock upon the Rhine, Bucellas
in Portugal, and Sercial at Madeira. It has been found that vines from Germany,
France, Portugal, and Spain transplanted to the Cape of Good Hope and Australia,
have in no one instance produced wine assimilating to the peculiarities of the original
plant ; and no European vine has hitherto succeeded when transplanted to the United
States, although wine is made at Cincinnati from American grapes.
The finest known wines are the produce of soils the combination and proportions
of whose ingredients are extremely rare and exceptional; and co-operating with
these they require the agency of peculiar degrees of light, moisture, and heat. The
district of Xeres, which has so long supplied us with Sherry, is mapped out so accu-
rately by the line of its peculiar soil that its dimensions are known by the acre. The
vine which produces Port on the hills above the Douro yields a totally different wine
in the vicinity of the Tagus. The wine district of the Rhinegau, between Mayence
and Rudesheim, is but 9 miles in length by half as much broad, The south side of a
WINE 1137
single hill produces Johannisberg; and Steinverg is the vineyard of a suppressed
monastery. The numerous wines of Burgundy and the Garonne take their names
respectively from circumscribed spots ; and so narrow and apparently so capricious are
the respective limits, that a ditch divides portions which from time immemorial have
been sought with avidity, from others which in the market will uniformly bring but
one-fifth the price. The produce of the celebrated vineyard of Lafitte, near Bordeaux,
for the year 1848, was sofd at 4,000 francs per tun, while the wines of the immediate
neighbourhood realised only 200 francs. The proprietor of a vineyard which is only
separated from that of Lafitte by a narrow gully, a few years since expended a large
sum of money in endeavouring, by improved cultivation, to assimilate his wines-to
that of Lafitte. To some extent he improved the quality, but the wines never ap-
proached the peculiar character of the Lafitte, while the expense incurred was so enor-
mous that the enterprising proprietor was ruined. The costly Clos-de-Vougedt grows
in a farm of 80 acres. Romanée-Conti is but 64; and the famous Montrachet of the
Céte-d’Or is distinguished into three classes, of which one sells at one-third less than
the other two, ‘yet these qualities are produced from vineyards only separated from
one another by a footpath; they have the same aspect, and apparently the same soil,
in which the same vines are cultivated and managed in precisely the same manner.’—
(Henderson on Wines.) One small valley in Madeira alone produces the finest Malmsey.
(See Sir Emerson Tennent On Wine, its Uses and Taxation.) Art and horticultural
science have, he remarks, been applied to extend the limits thus circumscribed by nature,
but with such unsatisfactory results, that, as a rule, it may be stated that the higher
class wine of any known district has not been successfully reproduced beyond it.
The red wines of Portugal grown in the Alto Douro can no more be made in the ad-
joining provinces of the Minho or Beira than the white wines of Spain could be suc-
cessfully imitated on the Rhine,
Vine Diseases.—The Oidiwn Tuckeri is the name given to one of the diseases,
Mr. Tucker having first carefully observed the growth of this destructive microscopic
fungus. In connection with the cultivation of the vine, and the manufacture of wine,
it is necessary that the peculiar, characteristics of this disease should be described.
It is stated that the epidemic first showed itself in a hothouse in England in 18465.
White efflorescences were remarked, which covered the vine; the grapes were soon
after attacked, and, hindered from swelling, the skin burst, and at last they became
rotten and fell off. In 1847 it appeared in France; attacking first the hothouses, it
spread rapidly to the trellised vines, and to those cultivated near the ground. Itthen
invaded Spain, which it devastated ; and finally, in 1851, made its appearance in Italy.
This fungus attacks the hinder parts of the vine, and rarely the stems. The leaves
and tendrils also become more or less affected, the green colour of those parts
becoming paler, and marked with a dark yellow, as if burnt, and emitting an offensive
smell, It was fancied at first that the fungus was produced by the puncture of an
insect, and its presence was actually ascertained in the seed of the grape,.and on the
hinder side of the leaf. This insect established itself on the leaves, and formed a
cobweb-like film, rising like a blister on the upper part of the leaf. The birth of it
is, however, now generally admitted to be posterior to the invasion of the oidio,
The ‘ Reports of Her Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and Legation on the Effects
of the Vine Disease on the Commerce of the Countries in which they reside’ all point
to sulphur as the only reliable remedy for this disease. The most practical method of
applying sulphur to the vines was that introduced by Dr. Ashby Price. By boiling
sulphur and lime together in water we obtain a brilliant yellow solution, which is a
sulphide of lime ; with a diluted solution of this the vines are washed over every part.
By the action of the carbonic acid of the plant it is speedily decomposed, and over
every part a thin white film of sulphur is produced, which effectually destroys the
parasite without injuring the vine.
Within the last few years the vines of the south of France have been ravaged. by a
new disease due to the invasion of a parasitic insect named by M. Planchon Phylloxera
vastata. The first appearance of the disease was in 1865, when it was observed in
the neighbourhood of Avignon, Dep. of the Gard. In the following year it spread
from this centre, and also appeared in several localities in the Deps. of Vaucluse and
the Bouches-du-Rhéne, Spreading at first gradually, but afterwards with alarmin,
rapidity, the disease has extended to such an extent that in 1873 it had establish
itself in no fewer than twelve departments. The dreadful destruction which it causes
may be seen by comparing the statistics of the grape-crops of recent years with those
_of the same localities prior to the appearance of the Phylloxera. For example, in the
Commune of Graveson the mean crop just before the year 1865 was 10,000 hectolitres ;
this amount then became reduced year by year, until in 1873 it reached only 50 hecto-
litres. In some Communes the crops have been almost entirely destroyed. The
Phylloxera, which is undoubtedly the ee of all this mischief, is a very minute
Vor, ITI, 4
1138 WINE
insect, measuring not more than 1-33rd of an inch in length. From April to October
it continues active, but during the rest of the year it hybernates. When the Phylloxera
attacks a vine, the rootlets exhibit peculiar swellings, and the insects multiply so
rapidly as soon to overrun all the roots, and by absorbing nourishment from the plant,
reduce it to a totally exhausted state. Soon after the disease appeared, the French
Academy of Sciences appointed a commission to investigate the subject. Although a
large number of abedice have been suggested and tried, it can hardly be said that
any of them have as yet (1874) been successful in coping with the difficulty. Perhaps
the best means of eradicating the parasite is to place the vineyard under water as soon
as the disease appears; but such means evidently admit of only local application.
Viniage.—The vintage, in the temperate provinces, generally takes place about the
end of September, and it is deteriorated whenever the fruit is not ripe enough before
the 15th or 20th of October ; for, in this case, not only is the must more acid and less
saccharine, but the atmospheric temperature is apt to fall so low during the nights,
as to obstruct more or less its fermentation into wine. The grapes should be plucked
in dry weather, at the interval of a few days after they are ripe; being usually
gathered in baskets, and transported to the vats in dorsels, sufficiently tight to prevent
the juice from running out. Whenever a layer about 14 or 15 inches thick has been
spread on the bottom of the vat, the treading operation begins, which is usually
repeated after macerating the grapes for some time, when an incipient fermentation
has softened the texture of the skin and the interior cells. When the whole bruised
grapes are collected in the vat, the juice, by means of a slight fermentation, reacts,
upon the colouring-matter of the husks, and also upon the tannin contained in the
stones and the fruit-stalks. The process of fermentation is suffered to proceed without
any other precaution, except forcing down from time to time the pellicles and pedicles
floated up by the carbonic acid to the top.
With whatever kind of apparatus the fermentation may have been regulated, as
soon as it ceases to be tumultuous, and the wine is not sensibly saccharine or muddy,
it must be racked off from the lees, by means of a spigot, and run into the ripening
tuns. The marc being then gently squeezed in a press, affords a tolerably clear wine,
which is distributed among the tuns in equal proportions ; but the liquor obtained by
stronger pressure is reserved for the casks of inferior wine.
In the south of France the fermentation sometimes proceeds too slowly, on account
of the must being too saccharine: an accident which is best counteracted by main-
taining a temperature of about 65° or 68° Fahr. in the tun-room. When the must,
on the other hand, is too thin, and deficient in sugar, it must be partially concentrated
by rapid boiling before the whole can be made to ferment into a good wine. By
boiling up a part of the must for this purpose, the excess of ferment is at the same
time destroyed. Should. this concentration be inconvenient, a certain proportion of
sugar must be introduced, and immediately after racking it off.
The specific gravity of must varies with the richness and ripeness of the grapes
which afford it; being in some cases so low as 1:0627, and in others so high as 1:2838.
This happens particularly in the south of France. In the district of the Necker in
Germany, the spec. grav. varies from 1050 to 1:090; in Heidelberg, from 1°039 to
1-091, but it varies much in different years.
After the fermentation is complete, the vinous part consists of water, alcohol, a
colouring-matter, a peculiar aromatic principle, a little undecomposed sugar, bitartrate
and malate of potash, tartrate of lime, chloride of sodium, and tannin ; the latter sub-
stances being in small proportion.
It is known that a few green grapes are capable of spoiling a whole cask of wine,
and therefore they are always show to become completely ripe, and even sometimes
to undergo a species of slight fermentation before being plucked, which completes the
development of the saccharine principle. At other times the grapes are gathered
when they are ripe, but are left for a few days on wicker-floors, to sweeten, before
being pressed,
In general the whole vintage of the day is pressed in the evening, and the resulting
must is received in separate vats. At the end usually of six or eight hours, if the
temperature be above 50° Fahr., and if the grapes have not been too cold when
plucked, a froth or scum is formed at the surface, which rapidly increases in thickness.
After it acquires such a consistency as to crack in several places, it is taken off with
a skimmer, and drained; and the thin liquor is returned to the vat. A few hours
afterwards another coat of froth is formed, which is removed in like manner, and”
sometimes a third may be produced. The regular vinous fermentation now begins;
characterised by air-bubbles rising up the sides of the staves, with a peculiar whizzing
as they break at the surface. At this period all the remaining froth should be quickly
skimmed off, and the clear subjacent must be transferred into barrels, where it is left
to ripen by a regular fermentation. 4
WINE 1139
The white wines, which might be disposed to become stringy, from a deficient
supply of tannin, may be preserved from this malady by a due addition of the foot-
stalks of ripe grapes. The tannin, while it tends to preserve the wines, renders them
also more easy to clarify, by the addition of white-of-egg or isinglass.
The white wines should be racked off as soon as the first frosts have made them
clear, and at the latest by the end of the February moon. By thus separating the
wine from the lees, the fermentation which takes place on the return of spring, and
which, if too brisk, would destroy all its sweetness by decomposing the remaining
portion of sugar, is avoided or rendered of l:ttle consequence.
The characteristic odour possessed by all wines, in a greater or less degree, is pro-
duced by a peculiar substance, which possesses the characters of an essential oil. As
it is not volatile, it cannot be confounded with the aroma of wine. When large quan-
tities of wine are distilled, an oily substance is obtained towards the end of the
operation. This may also be procured from the wine lees which are deposited in
the casks after the fermentation has commenced. It forms 1-40,000th part of the
wine, and consists of a peculiar acid, and ether, each of which has been ealled the
enanthic. The acid is analogous to the fatty acids, and the ether is liquid, but in-
soluble in water. The acid is perfectly white when pure, of the consistency of butter
at 60°, melts with a moderate heat, reddens litmus, and dissolves in caustic and car-
bonated alkalis, as well as in alcohol and ether. (Eénanthic ether is colourless, has an
extremely strong smell of wine;.which is almost intoxicating when inhaled, and a
powerful disagreeable taste.—Liebig and Pelouze.
Portucay.—Port wine is the produce of a single well-defined district in the north
of Portugal, extending 8 leagues west and east from the Serra do Mario, an elevation
of 4,400 feet above the level of the sea, to the Quinta da Baleira, near San Joiio da
Pesqueira, and 4 leagues north and south between Villa Real and Lamego, The
returns of the vintages in this area, known as the Alto Douro, from 1843 to 1851, show
the average production of qualities fit for use in ordinary years to be 63,568 pipes, in
addition to which there are 20,633 pipes of refuse, fit only for distillation; in all
84,211 pipes.
The alcoholic contents of Port wine, as given by Brande, are :—The maximum
quality, 23:92 ; the minimum, 19°82.
Dr. Christison gives the alcoholic contents of Port wine in volume as :—Weak, 18 ;
average of seven kinds, 20; strong, 21:
Red wine of a good character is grown in the vicinity of Figueira, and sometimes
shipments have taken place from that port and from Aviero for the English market.
Portugal, in addition to Port wine and its congeners, yields a variety of other wines
of a sound and good character; and at one time England consumed, though never
very largely, the white wines of Lisbon and Bucellas, and the red wines of the Minho
and Beira; but the taste for them changed; it was transferred to the drier and
stronger-bodied wines of Spain, and their importation came to an end.
Spramy.—tThe Sherries of Spain have long been favourite wines in England and the
United States. In 1840, Sir E. Tennent informs us the consumption attained an
average of 2,500,000 gallons, and in 1854 it had risen to 2,751,230 gallons. The more
recent imports into this country will be seen in the Table at the end of this article.
In the Basque Provinces a light wine, called Chacoli, is produced, but not in large
quantities. Mr. Lumley gives the value of the wines of this district as 17,0720.
Alicante produced about 21,116 pipes of wine in 1857.
Valencia produced about 150,000 pipes of 100 gallons each.
Cadiz produces annually from 60,000 to 70,000 butts of new wine (Mosto) at about 77.
per butt. The Sherries exported from this district are never under three to four years old.
Barcelona is stated to produce 85,000,000 gallons.
Tarragona exports by sea about 35,000 butts, and a large portion is consumed in the
rovince.
‘ Malaga.—Many kinds of grapes are cultivated in this province. The Pedro Ximenes,
Doradillo, and Don Bueno are cultivated entirely for the manufacture of wine. The
Uvas de Parra or trellis vine, the Passa larga or bloom raisin grape, and the Loja,
which is shipped green for England for table use, are cultivated for exportation as
fruit. Of Malaga wine the annual produce is on the average about 20,000 butts.
Three butts of Malaga wine yield one of brandy, while ten butts of French wine are
required to produce the same quantity of spirit. This brandy is used to cure the wines.
Aragon produces a large quantity of wine, those which are most preferred being the
wines of Campo de Carifiena. Many of the wine districts of Old Castile produce also
large quantities of wine.
‘At present many of the Spanish wines are not only so badly made that they will
not keep for two years, but their quality is much injured from their being kept and
transported in pig-skins,— interes of tg Secretary of Legation at Madrid,
D
“ea
1140
Spain produces an enormous quantity of wine which is not suitable for the English
market. Mr. Porter estimated that, good, passable, and bad, it amounted to
120,000,000 gallons; but (says Sir E. Tennent) the testimony is concurrent that,
except in Andalusia and a few other minor localities, its manufacture is so imperfect,
its qualities so peculiar, and its flavour so extraordinary, from carelessness, dirt, and
other causes, that it is not presentable in the English market. Dr. Gorman, in his
evidence before the House of Commons Committee, says :—‘ No natural Sherry
comes to this country; no wine house will send it; the article you get is a mixed
article; if they gave you the natural produce of Xeres it would not suit you; in all
probability you would say it was an inferior wine ; our taste is artificial, because we
are not a wine-drinking people.’
Brande gives the alcohol in Sherry 18°37 the maximum, and 17-00 the minimum,
while Dr. Christison gives the following result from his examination :—Weak, 17 in
volume; average of 13 old wines, 18; strong, 20; Madre de Xeres, 21.
The Montillado of Spain is a wine which appears to depend for its character on the
soil, which is a white soil called albariza, containing 70 per cent. of carbonate of
lime, with alumina, silica, and a little magnesia. The Manzanilla is the produce of
the barros, or red earths, somewhat sandy.
Sicrzy, as producing the celebrated Sicilian Marsala, is perhaps next in importance.
Marsala resembles ordinary sherry in many respects; it ts, when good, a wholesome,
and, as it is technically described in the trade, a clean wine.. Of Marsala, Sicily pro-
duces not less than 2,143,370 gallons. Sicily also produces red wine, but of a very
coarse quality.
Maverra and the Canaries produce a wine, the former under the name of the
place of its production, being well known. Its consumption has never, however, been
very large. The produce of the island has rarely exceeded 25,000 pipes. In 1854
we imported 42,874 gallons. :
Carr or Goop Horr.—Cape wine has never found much favour in this country.
In 1854 we imported 275,382 gallons, whereas in 1825 we obtained 670,000 gallons,
This wine is used to some extent in the manufacture of ‘ British wines.’
South African Port and Sherry were at one time sent to the English market ; and,
as the price was remarkably low as compared with the Portuguese and Spanish
wines, a large demand was created ; but on the abolition of the differential duties in
their favour on the conclusion of the Treaty of Commerce with France, they were
unable to compete with the better qualities of wine produced in Europe.
The only Cape wine of any reputation is Constantia, a red liqueur wine produced
on the farm of J. P. Kloete.
AusTRALiA.—Vine-growing and the manufacture of wine is practised in each of the
three southern colonies of Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
The total produce being about 1,500,000 gallons annually. Tho wines are of different
qualities, mainly red, and resemble Burgundy or the fuller wines of the South of
France. The white wines resemble Sauternes or Muscatel, but all are more or less
disguised ‘by the addition of alcohol. Lately, however, this practice has been to a
great extent discontinued. '
Before we proceed to the more important wines of France and Germany, we must
say a few words on—
Unirep Srates.—Catawba Wine.—About the year 1826, ‘the Catawba,’ a native
American grape, was first brought into notice by Major Adlum, who had found it
growing in a garden at Georgetown, near Washington. This vine, which is derived
from the wild fox grape, has gradually supplanted all others, and is now adopted,
almost universally, throughout the United States for making wine. It imparts a very
peculiar musty flavour to the wine, displeasing when first tasted to many palates; but
this dislike is easily removed by habit, and the wine is much relished in Ohio and
Missouri, where it sells readily at good prices. ;
About 3,000 acres are cultivated as vineyards in the state of Ohio; 500 in Kentucky ;
1,000 in Indiana; 500 in Missouri; 500 in Illinois; 100 in Georgia; 300 in North
Carolina ; and 200 in South Carolina. It is calculated that at least 2,000,000 gallons of
wine are now raised in the United States, the value of which may be taken at a dollar
and half the gallon. This is in addition to a large amount produced in California.
In the United States the wine-press is constructed much on the same principle as
the ordinary screw cider-press. It has an iron screw 3 or 4 inches in diameter, ina
strong, upright frame. A box platform, 6 or 7 feet square, of 3-inch plank, is wedged
into heavy timbers, and in this a box to contain the mashed grapes is placed, the box
being perforated with holes. Bands to fit loosely inside the box, and pieces of-scantling —
to receive the pressure, complete the implement. The power is applied by a strong
lever, and the juice runs out through a hole in the floor, and is led into the cellar
beneath by means of india-rubber pipes, Before being subjected to pressure, the
oe ese.
WINE 1141
grapes are bruised in a small wooden mill. Whenit is intended to make red wine, the
grapes mashed by this process are allowed to stand for two or three days, and are then
pressed, in order that the colouring-matter in the skins may be absorbed by the grape
juice or ‘must.’ A sample of good Catawba wine examined by Dr. Chapman was
found to contain 11°5 per cent. of alcohol.
Large quantities of sparkling wine are made at Cincinnati, and at St. Louis, and
sold as sparkling Catawba.
Gurmany.—The principal wine-producing districts of Germany are situated in the
Rhine valley and its tributaries ; the chief vineyards being in the narrow portion of the
river known as the Rheingau, between Mainz and Assmannshausen. The generic name
of Hock, given to the produce of this district in England, is derived from Hockheim,
which is, however, not on the Rhine, but on the north bank of the Main, about 3 miles
east of Mainz. The fine wines of the Rheingau are among the most perfect products
of the wine-grower’s skill; being remarkable for their delicate flavour and bouquet.
The first place is held by the low vineyards of Steinberg, belonging to the Prussian
Government and Schloss Johannisberg, the property of Prince Metternich. The prac-
tice of allowing the grapes to become dead ripe before gathering prevails here, in the
same manner as described in the picking of the fine wines of Sauternes. The other
principal centres of production in the Rheingau are at Rudesheim, Marcobrunn, and
Geisetheim. - At Assmannshausen and Ingelheim, red wines are produced from a Bur-
gundy grape. Other red wines are made at Runkel, on the Lahn, and more particue
larly in the valley of the Ahr, which, under the names of Walportzheimer and Ahr-
bleichart, is in considerable demand for local consumption at Bonn, Cologne, and other
towns on the lower Rhine.
The principal vineyards of the Moselle are situated between Trier (Treves) and
Coblentz, the villages giving their names to the best known growths, being Zeltingen,
Piesport, and Brauneberg. The wines resemble those of the Rhine valley, but are lighter,
and have less flavour. They mature quickly, but will not keep for any length of time.
A considerable amount of effervescing. wine is produced at various manufactories
(Schaumweinfabrik), at Coblentz, and other places on the Rhine; both Rhenish and
Moselle wines being so treated. The natural deficiency of saccharine matter in the wine
is supplied by the addition of sugar. The so-called muscatel flavour of the sparkling
Moselle and Hock is mainly derived from the alcoholic infusion of elder-flowers.
Austria.—tThe total average vintage in Austria is estimated at 158,986,000 florins
= 3,974,650/., while the value of the wine production amounts only to 40,000,000
florins, or about 1,000,000/. sterling.
The Austrian wines are on the average but of middling quality; yet there are some
which can bear comparison with all but the very best Rhine, French, and Spanish
wines. The principal wines of Austria and Hungary are—
‘ Red gine grown at Erlan, Carlowitz, Szeksard, Buda, Adelsberg, Villau, and
St. André ;
‘ Schiller wines, a pale, reddish-coloured wine, grown at Erlan and Carlowitz ;
‘ White wines, grown at Pesth, Steinbruch-Berg, Totfaln, Moor, Teting, Véslan,
and Rust ;
‘ Wines of the first press, grown at Rust and Oedenburg.
France.—The chief wine-growing districts of France are Provence, Languedoe,
Roussillon, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Saintonge, and Champagne, the rich valleys of the,
Gard, Hérault, Garonne, Dordogne, the Loire and the Rhéne, and the neighbouring
departments as far as the Pyrénées, the Hautes-Pyrénées, and the Pyrénées-Orientales.
The average production of wine per annum is between 40,000,000 and 42,000,000
heetolitres (of 22:0096 gallons English).
The following account of the principal French wines is condensed from Viscount
Chelsea’s Report on the Effects of the Vine Disease. He divides France into six
principal districts :—
Ist. The southern, including Corsica, Roussillon, Languedoc, and Provence.
(a.) Corsican. Corsica produces both dry and sweet wines, but in quantities too
small for exportation.
(0.) Roussillon. These wines are produced exclusively in the Department of the
Pyrénées-Orientales, which contains about 125,000 acres of vineyards. Sweet, dry,
and ordinary wines are equally abundant. Strong, rich in colour, and being generous,
they keep long, travel well, and are good for mixing with others. There are three
recognised varieties, lst, those of Banyuls, of Collioure, and of Port Vendres, red
wines which generally improve with age: 2nd, those of Rivesaltes ; the greater portion
being ordinary wines of commerce, deep and brilliant in colour; 200 acres alone
produce fine wines, as Muscat, Manabes, Grenache, Malvoisie, and Raneio: 3rd,
Perpignay ;, the wines of this district will keep an indefinite time, and are sent to
North and South America.
1142
(c.) Languedoc. Under this name are included all the wines of the Hérault, Aude,
and a part of Gard. The most important of these districts is that of Hérault,
producing two kinds of wine; those for conversion into spirit and ordinary wines,
which may be subdivided into red and white ordinary wines, fine red wine, white
wines, dry and sweet, and Muscats.
Aude. This district produces a red wine at Limoux, and a white wine known by
the name of Blanquette, which is nearly double the value of the preceding. Hérault
is the most important wine country in the south of France; it is the largest producer —
of raw spirits in Europe. The red wines of Hérault are produced in the vineyards
of St.-Georges-d’Orques; these are generally heady.
The white wines of Picardan include both dry and sweet. .
Muscat, Frontignan, and Lunel. The cultivation of these wines has considerably
diminished of late years; they have less flavour and do not keep so well as those of
Rivesaltes.
The vineyards of St.-Gilles (Gard) produce a less delicate wine than those of
Roussillon, but which serves to bring up the colour of other wines.
(d.) Provence. The wines of Provence have not the importance of those of Rous-
sillon or of Languedoc. The chief growths of the region are:
ist. In the Var, that of Gande producing a fine wine, at first highly coloured and
heady, but becoming dry with age. ,
yor” pet of Malgue, producing a wine which does not mature, but that bears the
sea well.
8rd. That of Bandol, an excellent wine for export, improving much with age: it
is sent to India, Brazil, and California,
In the Basses-Alpes, the vineyards of Mées yield a generous wine. In the Bouches-
du-Rhéne, Cassis produces the finest wines in the region, both red and white, much
sought after by foreigners. The sour and flat wines of Roquevaire are little appre-
ciated. The methods of cultivation are nearly the same in all the districts of the
south of France. The soil is generally dug up before the vines are planted ; in Rous-
gillon only is this omitted, when the ground has been previously cultivated. In the
latter, the operation of planting is carried on in January and February ; in Languedoc
it is put off until April.
With those varieties of the vine which produce the Muscat, it is the custom to rub
off part of the buds. The vines are dressed four times during the first year, but
afterwards only twice. They commence bearing in from three to four years. The
grapes are pressed by the feet or between channelled rollers without being picked off
the bunches. The wine is slightly sprinkled with lime or plaster-of-Paris when it is
intended for commerce. It is allowed to ferment for ten, twenty, or even thirty days.
2nd. The south-eastern, including Gard, Vaucluse, Ardéche, Dréme, and Rhéne.
This region embraces all the lower part of the basin of the Rhéne ; the wines produced
are generally known as wines of the Céte-du-Rhone.
(a.) That part of Gard which is included in this region produces, 1st, the red
wine of Zuvel—very dry, and improving much by age—and the red wine of Lirac.
2nd. The sweet wines of Chusclan, wines of the finest quality, and those of Orsan
and St.-Geniez, of the second. The Gard also produces the ordinary wines of St.-
Laurent-des-Arbres and Roquemaure.
(4.) Vaueluse. The chief growths are the Chdteau-Neuf-du-Pape, a very celebrated
wine, and the growth of La Nerthe, which is decreasing both in quality and deg
it is sent to Bordeaux and Burgundy, for the purpose of colouring other wines. In
Vaucluse also are the vineyards of the Chdteau-Vieux, of Nettes, and of Htret.
(c.) Ardéche includes the famous vineyards of St.-Peray. This white wine, when
in a state of effervescence, almost equals Champagne, which, however, has more
lightness, delicacy, and softness. It is sent to England, Germany, Belgium, and
Holland, The best sparkling sort sells at 2 francs 50 centimes the bottle. There
are also the vineyards of St.-Jean, Comas, and St.-Joseph. The sparkling wine of
St.-Peray is produced in the same way as Champagne.
(d.) Dréme. The Hermitage, the most ‘famous vineyard in the Céte-du-Rhéne,
consists only of 140 hectares, It produces red wine, white wine, and ‘vins de paille’
(straw-coloured); the other vineyards are Larnage, Rochegude, Crozes, and Mereurol,
all of which wines are esteemed.
(¢.) Rhéne. The southern part of the Rhéne produces wine very similar to the
preceding, The best known are of those of Condrieux and St.-Michel.
The vineyards of the Hermitage are managed with great care ; the soil is dry tothe
depth of a meter (39 inches) ; the leaves are picked off the vine, and it is dressed and
tended five times a year during the first two years; the grapes are stripped off the
stalks, and the fermentation lasts ftom fifteen to twenty days.
3rd. The eastern region is formed principally of the Valley of the Sadne.
-
WINE 7 j 1143
(a.) Beaupolais, the Maéconnars, and the Céte-Chalonnaise. These wines are delicate,
light, well-flavoured, but not highly-coloured ; they are principally consumed in the
interior of France. The principal growths are of Chénas and that of Fleury. The
Maconnais produces the highly-esteemed white wine of Powilly, a dry wine which
‘keeps badly, and the red wine of Romanéche. The wines of Céte-Chalonnaise are
common wines, amongst which the Mercurey alone is remarkable.
(b.) Haute-Burgogne, consisting of the Cdte-d’Or, produces the most famous wines
in Burgundy. The white wines of the Céte-d’Or, most known are those of Montrachet,
very superior wines ; of Meursault, very delicate, light, and with a delicious ‘ bouquet ;’
and those of Blaquy. Itis the red wines, however, which give pre-eminence to this
district. Here grow the renowned Volnay, Pomard, Beaune, Nuits, more spirituous
than the others, and which require to be kept five or six years in the wood; Vosne,
Romanée-Conti, Clos-de-Vougeét, and Chambertin.
(c). Basse-Burgogne. The wines of Lower Burgundy are brisk, delicate, and light,
but too spirituous. The Zonnerre is fit for drinking after the third year, and the
wines of Auxerrois, which ars sooner matured. In Auxerrois‘also are the vineyards of
Chablis; these white wines, so much esteemed for their lightness, are: made in the
early part of October, under the name of Chablis, A large quantity of other white
wine from the neighbouring vineyards finds its way into the market. The wines of
Avallonais, and those of Joigny are sent to Flanders and Belgium.
(d.) Jura. The wines of this district are in general dry, heady, brisk, but with
some acidity, which arises from their bad cultivation and the unskilful mixture of the
vines, and reduces their reputation. In addition to the inferior wines, the Jura
produces also rose-coloured wines (‘ Vins Jtosés’); these are sparkling wines, and the
luscious wine known under the name of ‘ Vin de Garde du Chateau Chalons,’ This
vineyard only comprises 96 hectares. The wines produced there require to be kept
from twelve to fifteen years in the cask. All these wines are consumed where they
are grown, or sent to Switzerland.
At Seyssel, and other places, in the neighbourhood of Lyons, and in Savoy, a
pleasant white sparkling wine is produced and known locally as Vin-des-Asphaltes,
the vineyards being situated on the asphaltic limestones now so extensively used as a
paving material in Paris and London. ;
(e.) Alsace produces only common wine, with the exception of the Turehemi and
Ribeauviller.
(f.) Lorraine. The principal growths are those of Thiancourt, Pagny, and Sey.
(g.) Champagne. The wines of the Department of the Marne, known under the
name of Champagne, have a universal reputation.
Champagne Wines are divided into four categories :—-Sparkling Granot, Ordinary
Sparkling, Half Sparkling, Tisane de Champagne.
The following are the principal growths:—
On the Marne By the Avise On the Mountains of Rheims
Mareuil. Avise. Bouzy.
Ay. Cramant. Ambonnay.
Hautvillers. Oger. Maiily.
Epernay. Mesnil. Sillery.
Romont.
The most esteemed kinds are the Sillery, Ay, Cramant, and Bouzy. In good
seasons this district does not. produce less than 15,000,000 bottles of white wine.
The average produce is 7,000,000, of which 6,000,000 are sent to England, Russia,
and Germany.
The methods employed in Lower Burgundy and Champagne are nearly the same.
It is not as respects the cultivation of the plant, but in the methods adopted in making
the wine, that the latter is remarkable. J
In the manufacture of Champagne black grapes of the first quality are usually
employed, especially those gathered upon the vine called by the French noirien,
cultivated on the best exposures. As it is important, however, to prevent the colour-
ing-matter of the skin from entering into the wine, the juice is squeezed as gently and
rapidly as possible. The liquor obtained by a second and a third pressing is reserved
for inferior wines, on account of the reddish tint which it acquires. The mare is then
mixed with the grapes of the red-wine vats. }
The above nearly colourless must is immediately poured into tuns or casks, till
about three-fourths of their capacity are filled, when fermentation soon begins. This
is allowed to continue for about 15 days, and then three-fourths of the casks are filled
up with wine from the rest. The casks are now closed by a bung secured with a piece
of hoop-iron nailed to two contiguous.staves. The casks should be made of new wood,
but not of oak ; though old white wine-casks are occasionally used.
1144 ve WINE
In the month of January the clear wine is racked off, and is fined by a small quan-
tity of isinglass dissolved in old wine of the same kind. Forty days afterwards a
second fining is required. Sometimes a third may be useful, if the lees be considerable.
In the month of May the clear wine is drawn off into bottles. Viscount Chelsea
says, ‘ The wine is bottled between April and August. Warm weather is necesssary
to produce the sparkling wine. The effervescence is the result of carbonic acid gas
produced by fermentation, which being interrupted in the cask, reproduces and
developes itself in the bottles. For this a temperature of from 70° to 75° Fahr. are
required. The bottles, as soon as they are filled, which process is effected by women,
are handed over to men called “ boucheurs,” who add a certain quantity of a mixture
of brandy and sugar-candy (in the proportion of 15 to 16 per cent. for those wines
intended for the English market), taking care to leave about 24 to 3 inches space
between the cork and the wine; they then introduce by a machine a moistened cork,
and pass the bottle on to other men called ‘‘maillochers,” whose business it is to
drive the cork home with a mallet, who again transfer them to those who fasten them
with a string or wire; sometimes this is done by a machine. It takes an hour to
bottle a tun of 88 gallons. The bottles are ranged against the cellar-walls in hori-
zontal layers, each being reversed as it regards the previous layer. Light or ten days
afterwards a deposit, called ‘ griffe, is found at the bottom of the bottle. This indicates
the time for removing the bottles to the second or permanent cellar; this is the period also
when breakage commences. This loss can neither be foreseen nor prevented, and is often
dangerous ; it happens mostly at the season when the vine blossoms. The bottles are
first placed in the coldest cellars and afterwards removed to warmer temperatures.
In the second winter means are taken to remove the deposit formed in the summer;
the bottles are placed with their mouths downwards, and are shaken for twenty days,
to cause the sediment to fall into the neck. At the end of this time the bottle is
uncorked, the sediment thrown out, and a. fifth part of the contents replaced by the
sweetened liquor, when the bottles are again corked, tied, and stacked as before.’
The bottles being filled, and their corks secured by packthread and wire, they are
laid on their sides, in this month, with their mouths sloping downwards at an angle of
about 20 degrees, in order that any sediment may fall into the neck, At the end of
8 or 10 days the inclination of the bottle is increased, when they are slightly tapped,
and placed in a vertical position; so that after the lees are all collected in the neck,
the cork is partially removed for an instant, to allow the sediment to be expelled by the
pressure of the gas.. If the wine be still muddy in the bottles, along with a new dose
of liquor, a small quantity of fining should be added to each, and the bottles should be
placed again in the inverted position. At the end of two or three months the sediment
collected over the cork is dexterously discharged ; and if the wine be still deficient in
transparency, the same process of fining must be repeated,
Sparkling wine (Vin mousseux), prepared as above described, is fit for drinking
usually at the end of from 18 to 30 months, according to the state of the seasons. It
is in Champagne that the lightest, most transparent, and most highly flavoured wines
have been hitherto made. The breakage of the bottles in these sparkling wines
amounts frequently to 30 per cent., a circumstance which adds greatly to their cost of
production. The tension of the carbonic acid gas in the best quality of champagne is
from 4} to 5 atmospheres. If higher, the greater part of the gas is liberated on
drawing the cork, and the wine is in great part lost. About 7 or 8 atmospheres is the
highest pressure that the bottles will bear without bursting ; this is about the working
pressure of a high-pressure steam-boiler, from 105 lbs. to 124 lbs. per square inch.
(4.) Central Region. In the five departments comprised in this district the common
wines alone are produced ; the white wine of Powilly being the only celebrated one.
(5.) Western Region. The two departments lying on the banks of the Loire,
Indre-and-Loire and Maine-and-Loire, possess 40,000 hectares of vineyards; the
principal growths are those of Joué, Bourgueil, Vouvray, and the white wine of
Saumur. More than 2,000,000 hectolitres of wine are annually devoted in Aunis,
Saintonge, and Angoumois, to the distillation of brandy, so well known as :
the 200,000 hectares of vineyards in the Charente and Charente-Inferior, only one-
third is cultivated for home consumption or exportation, the remaining two-thirds being
employed in making brandy. This is divided into two classes, that which is pro-
duced in the plain of Champagne in the arrondissement of Cognac, which is again
divided, according to the quality, into Champagne fine and common Champagne de Bois,
ry Eau de Vie de Bois, and that of Aunis, produced from the vines on the banks of
6 river. ‘
(6.) South-Western District. The Gironde and Jurangon are the only localities
of any special interest. Although the wines of the Gironde. have a common origin,
they are divided in commerce into five great classes: Médoc, De Grave, Des Cétes
Palus, and ‘ D’Entre Deua-mers?
we
——
WINE 1145
The district known as Médoc, or the promontory between the left bank of the Gironde
and sea to the west and north of the city of Bordeaux, is remarkable for the great
value and extent of its wine production, the produce of the vineyards of this district
being estimated at a value of 11,000,000/. in ordinary years. ‘The centre of the trade
is at Bordeaux, where the following classification of the different growths is adopted :
Ist class. Premiers Crus. This includes only three growths: those of Chateau-
Lafitte, Chateau-Margaux, and Chateau-Latour.
2nd class. Twelve growths: includes Mouton, Leoville, Larose, and Braue
Cautenac.
3rd class. Fourteen growths: including Kirwan, Cautenac, Lagrange, and Giscours.
4th class. Twenty-eight growths: including St.-Pierre, Beycherille, and others in
Pauillae and St.-Estéphe districts.
Besides the above, there is a fifth class of named wines, below which the qualities
are distinguished as Bourgeois, superior and inferior, and Paysans, the latter being the
lowest class,
The proportional scale of prices in an average year may be taken as follows :—
. & £
Ist class . : . < . 80 to 200 per tonneau,
Ind" sao " é ‘ - 48,, 56 3
55) beg : ‘ ; - 382,, 36 a
nS ee a 3 , é‘ .. 28 5, 36 9
Ste eee Ss : . 24 ,, 28 x
Bourgeois, superior . 3 - “16°20 x
ue ordinary . : Se aAS 16 =
Paysans . ; : 9? 92-57 18 af
Much of the red wine exported from Bordeaux is fortified with red Hermitage,
Spanish red, or other similar Southern wine, for the purpose of increasing its alcoholic
strength. The demand for Bordeaux wines is so large and constantly increasing that
it would be difficult to meet it without having recourse to sources of supply not lying
within the district.
White Wines of the Gironde.—The principal white-wine producing districts in the
Gironde are those of Graves and Sauterne, which are on the left bank of the Garonne
above Bordeaux.
The most celebrated vineyards are those of Chateau-Yquem and Chateau-Latour
Blanche. The treatment of the grapes differs from that in other districts, for they are
allowed to remain on the vines until they are rotten ripe, and are then gathered berry
by berry, care being taken to reject such as may be too far gone, or not sufficiently
ripe. By this means a greater amount of saccharine-matter and higher flavour is
obtained in the must than is the case in any other wine. Each picking is crushed
separately, and the process is so arranged that the vintage of each day is kept apart.
The first seven days’ collection gives the so-called head wines, vins de téte, which are
the sweetiest and heaviest; the second or vins de milieu, contain less sugar, while the
third or queues, which are made by pressing all the grapes remaining from the former
selections, are the driest. From their great sweetness and strength the highest class
of Sauternes require to be kept for several years before their peculiar fineness and
fichness of flavour is developed. The wines of Chéteau-Yquem when five years old,
are valued on the spot at from 400/. to 600/. per tonneau, according to the vintage.
Such is a somewhat concise statement of the varieties of wines known in commerce.
It is not possible to enter into all the details of the manufacture, varying as it does in
every locality, the numerous .peculiarities. being due in some cases to the conditions
of the grape itself, and in others to the methods pursued with regard to the fermen-
tation and the subsequent treatment of the wine.
There are many persons who confound the ‘ flavour’ of wine with the ‘bouquet.’
The differences are well determined by the writer on wine in the ‘ Penny Cyclopedia.’
‘The flavour of wine, called by the French séve, indicates the vinous power and the
aromatic savour which are felt in the act of swallowing the wine, embalming the mouth,
and continuing to be felt after the passage of the liquor. It seems to consist of the
impression made by the alcohol and the aromatic particles which are liberated and
volatilised as soon as the wine receives the warmth of the mouth and stomach. The
séve differs from the bouguet, inasmuch as the latter declares itself the moment the
wine is exposed to the air; it is no criterion of the vinous force or quantity of
alcohol present (being, in fact, greatest in weak wines), and influences the organ of
-smell rather than of taste.’
The bouguet-of wine is a new product, and in no way dependent on the perfume of the
grape from which the wine is made. Red wines scarcely ever retain a trace of the odour
cof the grapes ; the white muscadine wines do in some degree, especially Frontignan.
1146 . WINE }
Liebig, in his ‘Organic Chemistry,’ has the following remarks on the bouquet :—‘ Itis
well known that wine and fermented liquors generally contain, in addition to alcohol,
other substances which could not be detected before their fermentation, and which
must therefore have been formed during that process. The smell and taste which
distinguish wine from all other fermented liquids are known to depend upon an
ether of a volatile and highly combustible acid, which is of an oily nature, and to
which the name of enanthic ether has been given.’ f
On the Rhine an artificial bouquet is often given to wine, by hanging orris-root in
the casks, or by the use of aromatic herbs. .
The volatile substance existing in wine which imparts to it, conjointly with
cenanthie ether, its vinous aroma, is partly alcohol. There are other odoriferous
sukstances developed in the course of time; these are compounds of oxide of ethyl,
amyl, or propylene, with acetic, propionic, pelargonic, butyric, caproic, eaprylic, or
eapric acids. Acetic ether is present in all aromatic wines, and fraudulent dealers will
add acetic ether in small quantities to their artificial compounds. sell
Butyric ether is much used by confectioners, who call it ‘pine-apple oil.’ Caprylic
ether has a similar flavour; these are slowly developed in some wines by time. In
Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry’ the other, chemical compounds will be found fully
described. , : ’ ,
Wine produced from grape-juice alone is perfectly colourless or white; but as the
whole mass of the grapes is pressed together, it is impossible but that some admixture
of the components of the grape-skins should occur. White wine may be prepared from
purple grapes, but if the skins are allowed to ferment, red or yellow wine will be
obtained. The Italian wine, Vino Cebedino, is about the most colourless of wines.
The colour in wines appears to be due to the presence of extractive matter, which,
when oxidised, assumes a red or brown colour. This colouring-matter has been
called apothema by Berzelius, but it is, in fact, humic acid, retaining traces of the sub-
stance from which it has been derived.
‘Whilst the juice of grapes ferments, the skins being present, the wine which is
in process of formation extracts tannic acid from the skins, and this gives the yellow
colour—when by oxidation it is converted into apothema—to Muscadel, Champagne,
Teneriffe, and Madeira. : ;
What we call Red wines are prepared from either black, purple, or red grapes, the
juice of which is colourless, and the skins of which are allowed to ferment. During
fermentation the weak spirit which is formed extracts not only tannic acid but blue
colouring-matter from the skins. This blue colouring-matter is tinged more or less
red by the tartaric acid of the wine, and may afterwards be rendered more decidedly
red by the formation of acetic acid. In the change of colour undergone by
red wine, five periods, according to Mulder, must be distinguished. As soon as
alcoholic liquid is formed during fermentation, blue colouring-matter begins to be
extracted from the skins. As the small amount of blue colouring-matter is brought
into contact with grape-juice, which has an acid reaction, it becomes red. The
fermentation and formation of alcohol proceed, as does also the solution of blue
colouring-matter, and. the young wine is rather blue than red, and may be called ‘ dark
violet.’ This new wine now undergoes fermentation, during which a great deal of
colouring-matter and red tartar, as well as apothema of tannin and albumen, is preci-
pitated. The loss of the colouring-matter causes the wine to become lighter. In the
meantime the formation of acetic acid begins, and at a later period increases; the
amount of nyse sonar is not thereby diminished, but the larger proportion
of acid in the liquid reddens its colour. Another period now begins, during which
the tannic acid is slowly converted into apothema,,whereby red colouring-matter
is again precipitated out of the liquid, for example, in Port wine; it thus gradually
diminishes, and finally, after a length of time, disappears entirely from the wine,
which then remains what is called ‘yellow.’ This will explain the alterations pro-
duced by keeping wines.
According to the character of the wine, as already stated, is its power of enduring
unchanged, or of improving by age. Weak wines of bad growths ought to be consumed
within twelve or fifteen months after being manufactured ; and should be kept mean-
while in cool cellars. White wines of middling strength ought to be kept in casks
constantly full, and carefully excluded from contact of air, and the racking off should
be done as quickly as possible. As the most of them are injured by too much fermen-
tation, this process should be so regulated as always to leave a little sugar undecom-
posed. - It is useful to counteract the absorption of oxygen, and the consequent tendency
to acidity, by burning a sulphur-match in the casks into which they are about to be run.
This is done by hooking the match to a bent wire, kindling and suspending it within
the cask through the bung-hole. Immediately on withdrawing the match, the cask
should be corked, if the wine be not ready for transfer. If the burning sulphur be
‘WINE 1147
extinguished on plunging it into the cask, it is a proof of the cask being unsound, and
unfit for receiving the wine; in which case it should be well cleansed, first with lime-
water, then with very dilute sulphuric acid, and lastly with boiling water.
Wine-cellars ought to be dry at bottom, floored with flags, have windows opening
to the north, be so much sunk below the level of the adjoining ground as to possess
a nearly uniform temperature in summer and winter; and be at such a distance from
a frequented highway or street as not to suffer vibration from the motion of carriages.
Wines should be racked off in cool weather; the end of February being the fittest
time for light wines. Strong wines are not racked off till they have stood a year or
eighteen months upon the lees, to promote their slow or insensible fermentation. A
syphon well managed serves. better than a faucet to draw off wine clear from the
sediment. White wines, before being bottled, should be fined with isinglass; red
wines are usually fined with white-of-egg beat up into a froth, and mixed with two
or three times their bulk of water. But some strong wines, which are a little harsh
from excess of tannin, are fined with a little sheep or bullock’s blood, Occasionally
a small quantity of sweet glue is used for this purpose.
For further information, see ‘ Chemistry of Wine,’ by G. J. Mulder, edited by H.
Bence Jones, M.D. F.R.S.; and Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry.’ Also 4 ‘ Treatise
on Wine,’ by Thudicum and Dupré, London, 1872. This is the most comprehensive
work on the subject in the English language.
The pigeon | Maladies of Wines are certain accidental deteriorations, to which
remedies should be speedily applied :-—
La-Pousse (‘ pushing out of the cask’), is a name given to a violent fermentative
movement, which occasionally supervenes after the wine has been run off into the
casks. If these have been tightly closed, the interior pressure may increase to such
a degree as to burst the hoops, or cause the seams of the.staves or ends to open. One
remedy is, to transfer the wine into a cask previously fumigated with burning sulphur ;
another is, to add to it about 1000th part of sulphite of lime; and a third, and perhaps
the safest, is to introduce $ 1b. of mustard-seed into each barrel. At any rate the
wines should be fined whenever the movements are allayed, to remove the floating
ferment which has been the cause of the mischief. ;
Turning Sour.—The production of too much acid in a wine is a proof of its con-
taining originally too little alcohol, of its being exposed too largely to the air, or to
vibration, or to .too high'a temperature in the cellar. The best thing to be done in
this case is, to mix it with its bulk of a stronger wine in a less advanced state, to fine
the mixture, to bottle it, and to consume it as soon as possible, for it will never prove
a good keeping wine.
Taste I.
100 measures con- ’ 1100 measures con-
tain at 60° Fahr. N f the wi tain at 60° Fahr.
Name of the wine |Sp. grav.|” BENS OF UG ADEs Ish. gray.
: spirit, &c. SaaS RASA FLSA
z 7 ‘Alcohol |Absolute Alcohol |Absolute
of 0°825 | alcohol of 0°825 | alcohol
Port wine . - | 0°97616 | 21°40 19°82 Frontignan . + | 0°98452 | 17°79 11°84
” . - | 0°97200 | 25°83 23°92 Céte-Roti . - | 0°98495 | 12°27 11°38
Mean | 0°97460 | 23°49 21°75 “|| Roussillon . - | 0°98005 | 17°24 15°96
Madcira ° « | 0°97810 | 19°34 17°91 Cape Madeira - | 0°97924 | 18°11 16°77
” . - | 0°97333 | 21°42 22°61 Muscat . . - | 097913 | 18°25 17°00
Sherry . . - | 0°97913 | 18°25 17°00 Constantia . 0:97770 | 19°75 18°29
0°97700 | 19°83 18°37 Tinto . 0°98399 | 13°36 12°32
Bordeaux, Claret. | 097410 | 12°91 | 11°95 || Schiraz: - 098176 | 1552 | 4:35
So
©
a
S
S
bs
_
>)
isc)
ts)
_
on
. ‘.
_
ari
i
.
i ae ee Oe |
% . , 0°98200 | 15:28 4°15
Calcavella . - | 0°97920 | 18°10 16°76 Nice . « 0°98263 | 14°63 13°64
Lisbon . a - | 097846 | 18°94 17°45 Tokay 0°98760 9°88 915
Malaga. z - | 098000 | 17°26 15°98 Raisin wine . « | 0°97205 | 25°77 23°86
Bucellas : . | 0°97890 | 18°42 17°22 Drained grape wine | 0°97925 | 18-11 16°77
Red Madeira - | 0°97899 | 18°49 17°04 Lachryme Christi a «
. ws i. ix ‘ *
1148 WINE
Ropiness or Viscidity of Wines.—The cause of this phenomenon, which renders
wine unfit for drinking, was altogether unknown, till M. Francois, an apothecary of
Nantes, demonstrated that it was owing to an azotised matter, analogous to gluten;
and, in fact, it is the white wines, especially those which contain the least tannin, which
are subject to this malady. He also pointed out the proper remedy, in the addition
of tannin under a rather agreeable form, namely, the bruised berries of the mountain-
ash (sorbier) in a somewhat unripe state; of which 1 lb. well stirred in, is sufficient
for a barrel. After agitation, the wine is tobe left in repose for a day or two, and then
racked off. The tannin by this time will have separated the azotised matter from the
liquor, and removed the ropiness. This wine is to be fined and bottled off.
The taste of the cask, which sometimes happens to wine put into casks which haye
remained long empty, is best remedied by agitating the wine for some time with a
spoonful of olive oil. An essential oil, the chief cause of the bad taste, combines with -
the fixed oil, and rises with it to the surface.
The quantity of alcohol contained in different wines has been made the subject of
elaborate experiments by Brande and Fontenelle, and several others; but as it must
evidently vary with different seasons, the results can be received merely as approxi-
mate. ‘The proportion given by Brande (Table I. page 1147), has been reduced to the
standard of absolute alcohol by Fesser; and that by Fontenelle(Table II.), to the same
standard by Schudarth, as in the following Tables. Table III. gives the alcoholic
strength of the Rhine wines.
Taste II,
Name of the wine te a ; . Name of the wine eee
Roussillon (Eastern Department of 0 Hérault.
Pyrenees.) Nissau . . Q9yearsold | 7-896
Rivesaltes - 18 years old | 97156 ants 4 2 ‘ - a ioe
“Banyuls . - 18 ae 9,389,367 3,033,113
» Canary Islands. é t ‘ Fi 6,691 1,946
Italy ee A i 639,514 130,266
» Channel Islands ‘ ; : 3 33,605 16,500
» Gibraltar . 14,975 8,519
yy SHS é . ; ; A 22,819 6,711
», British Possessions in South Africa . 17,878 10,957
» British India 2 ; 24,167 15,847
» Australia . - : > . 37,142 11,949
; Other countries. ri " 37,056 19,899
Total . 3 , 21,682,356 8,267,326
Of this, of Red wine there were 10,049,255 gallons.
af White . 11,688,101 _,, *
The quantity entered for home consumption was 18,027,308 gallons, and the amount
received for duty was 1,775,903/.
The following shows the quantity entered for home consumption and the amount of
duty received, so far as regards the importations from France, Portugal and Spain.
Red White
Gallons £ Gallons £
France , 4,099,799 216,426 1,614,637 83,535
Portugal 3,451,740 430,857 22,629 2,779
Spain 1,057,257 130,266 6,034,257 748,807
Wine Imports in 1874.
. ’ Gallons Value
Red wine . - - 9,012,696 £2,619,889
White wine . 9,261,442 4,248,252
Entered for Home Consumption.
Red wine . : 8,461,705 gallons ‘
White wine Pe . 8,822,680 ,,
_ WINE-STONE is the deposit of crude tartar, called ‘ argal,’ which settles on the
sides and bottoms of el See Wine.
WIRE-DRAWING. (Trifileric, Fr.; Drahiziehen, Drahtzug, Ger.) When an
oblong lump of metal is foreed through a series of progressively diminishing apertures
in a steel plate, so as to assume in its cross-section the form and dimensions of the last
hole, and. to be augmented in length at the expense of its thickness, it is said to be
WIRE-ROPE 1151
wire-drawn. The piece of steel called the draw-plate is pierced with a regular grada-
tion of holes, from the largest to the smallest; and the machine for overcoming the
lateral adhesion of the metallic particles to one another is called the draw-bench. The
pincers which lay hold of the extremity of the wire, to pull it through the successive
holes, are adapted to bite it firmly, by having the inside of the jaws cut like a file. For
drawing thick rods of gilt silver down into stout wire, the hydraulic press has been
had recourse to with advantage.
Fig. 2117 represents a convenient form of the draw-bench, where the power is ap-
plied by a toothed wheel, pinion, and rack-work, moved by the hands of one or two
men working at a winch; the
motion being so regulated by a
fly-wheel, that it does not proceed
in fits and starts, and cause in-
equalities in the wire. The metal
requires to be annealed, now and
then, between successive draw-
ings, as otherwise it would become
too hard and brittle for further
extension. The reel upon which
it is wound is sometimes mounted
in acistern of sour small beer,
for the purpose of clearing off, or loosening at least, any crust of oxide formed in the
annealing, before the wire enters the draw-plate.
When, for very accurate purposes of science or the arts, a considerable length of
uniform wire is to be drawn, a plate, with one or more jewelled holes, that is, filled
with one or more perforated rubies, sapphires, or chrysolites, can alone be trusted to,
because the holes even in the best steel become rapidly wider by abrasion. Through
a hole in a ruby 0:0033 of an inch in diameter, a silver wire 170 miles long has been
drawn, which possessed at the end the very same section as at the beginning : a result
determined by weighing portions of equal length, as also by measuring it with a
micrometer. The hole in an ordinary draw-plate of soft steel becomes so wide, by
drawing 14,000 fathoms of brass wire, that it requires to be narrowed before the ori-
ginal sized wire can be again obtained.
Wire, by being diminished one-half, one-third, one-fourth, &c., in diameter, is aug-
mented in length respectively four, nine, sixteen times, &c. The speed with which it
may be prudently drawn out depends upon the ductility and tenacity of the metal;
but may be always increased the more the wire becomes attenuated, because its par-
ticles progressively assume more and more of the filamentous form, and accommodate
themselves more readily to the extending force. Iron and brass wires, of 0°3 inch in
diameter, bear drawing at the rate of from 12 to 15 inches per second; but when of
0°025 (34) of an inch, at the rate of from 40 to 45 inches in the same time, Finer
silver and copper wire-may be extended from 60 to 70 inches per second.
By enclosing a wire of platinum within one of silver ten times thicker, and drawing
down the compound wire till it be 4; of an inch, a wire of platinum of 545 of an inch
will exist in its centre, which may be obtained apart, by dissolving the silver away in
nitric acid. This pretty experiment was first made by Dr. Wollaston.
The French draw-plates are so much esteemed, that one of the best of them used to
be sold in this country for its weight in silver. The holes are formed with a steel
punch ; being made large on that side where the wire enters, and diminishing with a
regular taper to the other side.
WIRE-ROPE. The manufacture of ropes made of wire has, of late years, become
a most important one. Not only are ropes of this description now employed in the
most extensive coal mines of this country, and for winding generally, but they are
used for much of the standing rigging of ships, and for numerous ordinary purposes.
Perhaps the most important application of wire-rope has been, however, in the con-
struction of the electric cables. See Exxcrro-TELEGRAPHY.
The Tables on the following page show the relative values of ropes of hemp, iron,
and steel,
The applications of wire are extraordinarily numerous and interesting, Many
thousands of lives are every day trusted to wire in the form of wire-rope for
collieries and mines, and the lives of the men ascending and descending a coal pit
literally depend from these iron threads. The standing rigging of ships is now gene-
rally made of wire-rope. The introduction of telegraphy has given great development
to the manufacture of wire. The conducting portion of submarine electric tele-
graph cables is simply a wire-rope made of copper wires, while the outside pro-
tective sheathing generally consists of iron wire. One of the most important appli-
cations of wire of late years is that of steel wire in the form of the wire-rope used for
Pa 1152
Tasrw'T, othe Lilie: xe Bo 3 ze Ti
Round Wire Rapes, for inclined planes, mines, collieries, ships’ standing rigging, $e. ae
Hemp Iron ‘Steel ‘Equivalent strength
i F i - |Lbs. weight} Cireum- . weight or Breaking
: roan a rie per fathom ference fathom Ligeia strain
Cwts. . Tons
23 2 1 1: Se ar 6 2
reas ces 1h 13 1 1 9 ae
33 4 1 2 << +H 12 4
oe ay 1 24 14 1}. 15 5
4} 5 1 3 oes ret 18 6
ee a : 3 1 2 21 ae.
5} 7 4 1 23 24 8
¥ + 23 4} ty at 27 9
6 9 23 5 13 3 30 10
; fa 23 5} Me 33 11
64 10 2 6 2 34 36 12
; é 2 64 23 4 39 13
7 12 ot 24 4} 42 14
8.45. 74 Sse + 45 15
7k 14 3 8 23 5 48 16
. 3 sh ie. pes 51 17
2 8 16 3 9 2 53 54 18
“x3 34 10 28. 6 60 20
84 18 3 WE _ 64 a ae
ow a 3 . 12 os a 72 24
94 22 3 ae 3} 8 78. 26
10 26 4 14 oe on 84 28
ae ee " 44 15 33 9 90 $0. °°!
11 30 4 16 ae ne 96 32
sab ph ble ihe 18 3h 10 108 eee
- 12 34 4 20 33 12 120 3 eae
Round rope in pit-shafts must be worked to the same load as flat ropes,
Tape IT,
Flat Wire Ropes, for pits, hoists, §c. Fc.
Hemp Tron Steel Equivalent strength |
Sizein | Lbs. weight} Sizein | Lbs, weight! Sizein |Lbs. weight} Working Breaking |
inches | per fathom} inches | perfathom| inches | per fathom load - strain
: “a
; Cwis. Tons
4 xi} 20 21x} ll cor re 44 200 .
5 xl 24 2h x 13 che ni 52 ae Nee
54x i 26 23x $ 15 ee ae - 60 27°
5x1 28 3 x 16 2x} 10 64 23
; 6 xl} 30 34 x 18 ‘Qaxdh 11 72 $9
° 7x1 36 34 x 20 ia 12 80 36
; 8} x 2 40 38x22 | 22 23 x 13 88 40" 2
8hx2] 45 4 x 25 23 x 15 110 Ab iqom
9 x2h 50 41x38 28 3 x 16 112 50
94 x 28 55 44x 32 33x 18 128 56
10 x24 60 48 x 34 34 x 20 136 60
. - te
steam ploughing, and it may safely be said that steam ploughing would have remained
an impossible project without the steel wire-rope. The very great distances, often
reaching to 300 yards or more, to which the power is ¢arried by means of the wire- —
Tope in steam ploughing, would seem to point to its application to other purposes in
which power is required to be transmitted to great distances, Many and varied ws
WIRE-ROPE 1153
what may be termed the domestic applications of wire. Wire fences, bell-pulls, and, in
the form of gauze, to ventilators, are only a few of these. Another most interesting
employment of wire, even in a strictly scientific sense, is for tho strings of pianofortes.
Steel wire is now solely used for this purpose. Professor W. Pole, at the request of
the Messrs. Broadwood, the pianoforte-makers, some time ago made a number of
experiments on this kind of wire; of which he gave a short account at the Birmingham
Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Some of the steel wire he tested, which was
made in Germany, bore as much as 110 and 120 tons to the square inch, or about
double the breaking strength of good steel. Suspension bridges, a few years ago, used
to be made very extensively of wire. The two most celebrated erections of this kind
are those of Niagara and Freiberg; the wire of the first was made in Manchester,
and broke at 40 tons to the square inch, while that of Freiberg was made in Switzer-
land, and stood 50 tons to the square inch. The carding of wool and cotton is also
effected by means of wire. Brushes of all kinds are now made of steel and iron in this
form, even hair-brushes. It is more than probable that wire would be much more used
for constructive purposes if some good and generally applicable means for preventing
the corrosion of iron and steel could be brought forward. In fact, that is, for all
applications of iron, almost the problem of the day. It has been noticed by careful
observers that, though Swedish charcoal iron-wire has about the same ultimate
breaking tensile strength as other wire, it is nevertheless much more economical
than common wire for rope and other purposes in which elasticity and supple-
pa are required—another proof that breaking strength alone is a very unreliable
quality.
The ultimate strength of wire generally, and especially that of iron and steel
wire, almost always decreases as the diameter increases—as is also the case with
forged and rolled bars, in which the metals are united in greater bulk. Some
very small kinds of charcoal wire only break with loads of about 100 tons to the
square inch; while the average strength of wire may be taken as double that
of rolled bar. Rolled bars, of various qualities, possess breaking strengths ranging
from 20 to 40 tons to the square inch, and iron wire will, on an average, be
also found to vary from 40 to even 80 tons to the square inch. The most extensive
series of experiments on wires has been due to M. Leblane, who built a rather con-
siderable ‘bridge of wire at Roche-Bernard, in France. Amongst other important
inquiries, he also investigated the question whether wires of a great length did not
give less resistance than shorter lengths on account of the probable greater number
of flaws. He thus took from twelve sets of different wire twelve pieces two meters
long and twelve pieces twenty-six meters long, and submitted them to tensile loads,
The wire was rather more than one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The resistance
of the short pieces was found to be almost the same as that. of the long lengths. By
. Means of some experiments extending over a lengthened period, M. Leblanc also
found that a wire can support during three months a tension at least equal to nine-
tenths of that which would break it without diminishing its ultimate breaking strength,
though undergoing elongations of 0:00596 of its original length. General Morin
also carried out, some years ago, a number of experiments on long lengths of
wire, in order to determine the important question whether wires take a permanent
set with the smallest loads: a fact maintained by Mr. Hodgkinson, and which would
appear to militate against the doctrine of the elastic limit. The trials were conducted
with very great nicety, and their results seem to show that the permanent sets ob-
served by Mr. Hodgkinson were due to the bends taken by the wire when coiled, and
which afterwards get stretched out under the loads, as also partly to variations of
temperature, In general it may be observed that wire, as compared with bar iron,
seems to be better for undergoing impulsive forces, as it is perfectly elastic under
loads which, cross-section for cross-section, would break rolled or forged iron. Both
rolled iron and wire seem to be able to support for a length of time static loads of an
amount very near that which would produce rupture. The elongations are also in
proportion to the loads, but this proportionality seems to cease sooner with wire
than with wrought iron. The irregularity of the elongations begins with wrought
iron with loads of about half the breaking loads, and with wire at about one-
third or one-fourth of the load that would cause rupture. Annealing, or cooling
down slowly from a red heat, has the same effect on wire as on wrought iron; that
is to say, the ductility, and the softness, of both is increased, but their elasticity,
and also breaking strength, are considerably diminished. But few experiments
have yet been published on the strength and other mechanical qualities of steel wire.
It may, however, be taken to have, on an average, twice the ultimate strength of iron
wire, and a proportionately greater elasticity, comparing diameter with diameter.
These qualities allow steel wire-rope to be mado little more tham half the weight. of
iron wire-rope, with the same ultimate breaking strength. The additional elasticity
Vor, III, 4E
1154 | WOAD
of steel wire and of steel wire-rope renders it much more supple, and less liable to’
injury through heing bent over a drum. A steel rope easily straightens of itself after
being bent even toa small angle, which is not the case with iron wire-rope. The
duration of all ropes is very greatly influenced by the many bendings to and fro
to which they are subjected, and these influences are intensified by corrosion. Both
the mechanical and the chemical sources of deterioration act in a less degree on steel
wire, as it is stronger, and is, at the same time, less subject to corrosion, as the
carbon it contains, however slight, greatly impedes the action of rust. It has been
proved that wire-rope which is made of soft annealed wire cannot stand one-quarter
or one-sixth of the bending to and fro that it can stand if made of the same wire after
it has been hardened. It is to be noticed that, although it can matter but little as
regards absolute length whether a wire-rope elongates or takes a permanent set, in
practice this is not the case as to its cross-section or the arrangement of its strands,
which is injured if the material too easily takes a permanent set. It is easy to imagine
cases in which this very softness and ductility is of great value. In the same way we
should imagine that the best pianoforte-wire ought to have a certain elastic limit
or a limit up to which it will elongate temporarily without taking a permanent
set, and a certain amount of ductility or power of elongation without rupture, while
it should have a certain ultimate breaking strength. The same is the case with the
other many applications of wire; most of which, however, will be best suited by
a high limit of elasticity, or the power of elongating temporarily without taking a
permanent set. The principal seat of the iron wire manufacture in England is
Birmingham, The most important improvement to be looked for in the wire manu-
facture is some easy and cheap means of drawing very long lengths of wire.
WOAD (Gude, Pastel, Fr.; Waid, Ger. ; Guado, It.), the Isatis tinctoria, Linn.,
is almost the only plant growing in the temperate zone which is known to produce
indigo. It is an herbaceous, biennial plant, belonging to the natural order Crucifere,
and bears yellow flowers and large flattened seed-vessels, which are often streaked with
purple. The leaves, which are the only part of the plant employed in dyeing, are
large, smooth, and glaucous, like cabbage-leaves, but exhibit no external indication
of the presence of any blue colouring-matter, which indeed, according to modern
researches, is not contained in them ready formed. The plant called by the Romans
glastum, with which, according to Pliny, the Britons, dyed their skins blue, is sup-
posed to be identical with woad. ‘Before the introduction of indigo into the dye-houses
of Europe, woad was generally used for dyeing blue, and was 7. cultivated in
various districts of Europe, such as Thuringia, in Germany ; guedoe, in Franee ;
and Piedmont, in Italy. To these districts its cultivation was a source of great
wealth. Beruni, a rich woad manufacturer of Toulouse, became surety for the pay-
ment of the ransom of his king, Francis I., then a prisoner of Charles V., in Spain.
The term Pays de cocaigne, denoting a land of great wealth and fertility, is indeed
supposed to be derived from the cireumstance that the woad balls, called in French
cocaignes, were manufactured chiefly in Languedoc.
The woad-leaves were not employed by the dyer in their crude state, but were
previously subjected to a process of fermentation, for the purpose of eliminating the
colouring-matter. The seed having been sown in winter, or early spring, the
plants were allowed to grow until the leaves were about a span long, and had assumed
the rich glaucous appearance indicative of maturity, when they were stripped or cut
off. The cropping was repeated several times, at intervals of five or six weeks, until
the approach of winter put a stop to the growth of the plant. ‘The leaves set up in
the suceeedifg spring yielded only an inferior article (called in German Kompso-
waid), and it was therefore customary to keep only as many plants until the following
year as were required for obtaining seed, which, the plant being biennial, is onl
produced in the second year. The leaves, after being gathered, were slightly dled
and then ground in a mill to a paste. In Germany it was usual to lay this paste into
a heap forabout twenty-four hours, and then form it by hand into large balls, which
were first dried partially in the sun, on lattice-work or rushes, and then piled up
in heaps a yard high, in an airy place, but under cover, when they diminished in
size and became hard. These balls, when of good quality, exhibited, on being
broken, a light blue or sea-green colour. They are usually sold in this state to
manufacturers, by whom they were subjected to a second process in order to render
them fit for the use of the dyer, This process was conducted in the following
manner :—The woad balls were first broken by means of wooden hammers, and the
triturated mass was heaped up on a wooden floor, sprinkled with water, sometimes
with a little wine, and allowed to ferment or putrefy. ‘The mass became very hot,
and emitted a strong ammoniacal odour, and much vapour. In order to regulate the
rocess, it was frequently turned over with shovels. and again sprinkled with water,
hen the heat had subsided, the mass, which had become dry, was pounded, passed
WOOD-PRESERVING * 1155
through sieves, and then packed in barrels ready for use. It had the appearance of
pigeons’ dung.
In France the paste obtained by pounding the woad-leaves was taken to a room
with a sloping pavement, open at one end, laid in a heap at the higher end of the
room, and allowed to ferment for a period of twenty or thirty days. The mass
swelled up and often showed cracks or fissures, which were always carefully closed as
goon as they appeared, whilst a black juice exuded and ran away in gutters constructed
for the purpose. When the fermented heap had become moderately dry, it was ground
again and formed into cakes, called in French cogues, which were then fully dried, and
in this state brought to market. In France and Italy a second fermentation was not
generally thought essential, but when performed it was conducted exactly in the manner
just described.
At the present day woad is nowhere employed alone for the purpose of dyeing
blue, since it is found more economical to use indigo, and the cultivation of the plant
has therefore declined considerably, and has even become nearly extinct in districts
where it was formerly carried on extensively. By woollen dyers, however, it is still
used, but only as a means of exciting fermentation, and thus reducing the indigo blue
in their vats; indeed, the woad employed by them contains little or no blue colouring-
matter. See Inpico.
Numerous attempts have been made to extract the blue colouring-matter from
woad, in the same way that indigo is extracted from the leaves of the Jndigofera in
the East Indies and other countries. At the commencement of the present century,
when the price of indigo on the Continent of Europe was very high, a prize of
100,000 franes was even offered by the French Government for thé discovery of a
method of obtaining from the Jsatis tinctoria, or some other native plant, a dyeing
material, which, both in regard to price and the beauty and solidity of its colour, should
form a perfect substitute for indigo. The experiments which were made in gonse-
quence served to prove that it was quite possible to obtain genuine indigo from woad-
leaves, but that the process could never be carried on profitably on account of the
very small proportion of colouring-matter contained in the plant. Nine parts of fresh
leaves yield only one part of the prepared material or pastel, and the latter does not
afford more than 2 per cent. of its weight of indigo. According to Chevreul, the
leaves of the Indigofera anil, even when grown in the neighbourhood of Paris, con-
tain 30 times as much indigo-blue as those of the Jsatis tinctoria, and, when cultivated
in tropical countries, the amount is probably still higher. The comparatively high
price of land and labour would probably itself prove a sufficient obstacle to the suc-
cessful manufacture of indigo in most European countries, even if the yield were equal
to what it is in the tropics.
In 1808 Chevreul published the results of his analysis of woad and pastel. It has
more recently been made the subject of chemical investigation, for the purpose of
ascertaining the state in which indigo-blue exists in plants and other organisms, See
Invico.—E. 8.
WOOD-PRESERVING. ‘The preservation of wood from decay depends upon
the combination of the vegetable albumen with some metallic salt or some powerful
antiseptic agent. Bethell’s invention, which was much employed, consists in im-
pregnating wood throughout with oil of tar and other bituminous matters containing
ereosote, and also with pyrolignite of iron, which holds more creosote in solution
than any other watery menstruum.
The wood was put in a close iron tank, like a high-pressure steam-boiler, which
was closed and filled with the tar oil or pyrolignite. The air being exhausted by
air-pumps, afterwards more oil or pyrolignite was forced in by hydrostatic pumps,
until a pressure equal to from 100 to 150 lbs. to the inch was obtained. This pres-
sure was kept up by the frequent working of the pumps during six or seven hours,
whereby the wood became thoroughly saturated with the tar oil, or the pyrolignite of
iron, and weighed from 8 to 12 pounds per cube foot heavier than before.
In a large tank 20 loads of timber per day could be prepared. The atmospheric
action on wood thus prepared renders it tougher, and infinitely stronger. A post
made of beech, or even of Scotch fir, is rendered more durable, and as strong as one
made of the best oak; the bituminous mixture with which all its pores are filled
acting as a cement to bind the fibres together in a close tough mass ; and the more
porous the wood is, the more durable and tough it becomes, as it imbibes a greater
quantity of the bituminous oil, which is proved by its increased weight. The materials
which are injected preserve iron andgmetals from corrosion ; and an iron bolt driven
into wood so saturated remains perfectly sound and free from rust, It also resists the
attack of insects.
The effect produced is that of perfectly coagulating the albumen in the sap, thus
preventing its putrefaction, For penton will be much exposed to the weather, and
E
1156 ie wool
alternately wet and dry, the mere coagulation of the sap is not sufficient; foralthough
the albumen contained in the sap of the wood is the most liable and the first to putrefy,
yet the ligneous fibre itself, after it has been deprived of all sap, will, when exposed
in a warm damp situation, rot and crumble into dust. To preserve wood, therefore,
that will be much exposed to the weather, it is not only necessary that the sap should
be coagulated, but that the fibres should be protected from moisture. ;
Wood prepared with petroleum for sleepers, piles, poles, fencing, &c., is not affected
by alternate exposure to wet and dry; it requires no painting, and after it has been
exposed to the air for some days it loses every unpleasant smell.
For railway sleepers it is highly useful, as the commonest Scotch-fir sleeper, when
thus pre , will last. Posts for gates or fencing, if prepared in this manner, may
be made of Scotch fir. The processes which have been introduced for impregnating
wood with the protosulphate of iron, corrosive sublimate, chloride of lime, and
similar substances, are also much employed, and many of them have been found
to be very useful as preservative agents. The tungstate of soda has been found to be
a useful preservative of wood.
WOOF is the same as WErt.
wootk. In reference to textile fabrics, sheep's wool is of two different sorts, the
short- and the long-stapled; each of which requires different modes of manufacture in
the preparation and spinning processes, as also in the treatment of the cloth after it is
woven, to fit it for the market. Each of these is, moreover, distinguished in commerce
by the names of ‘ fleece wools ’ and ‘ dead wools,’ according as they have been shorn at
the usual annual period from the living’animal, or are cut from its skin after death.
The latter are comparatively harsh, weak, and incapable of imbibing the dyeing prin-
ciples, more especially if the sheep has died of some malignant distemper. The
annular pores, leading into the tubular cavities of the filaments, seem, in this case
to have shrunk and become obstructed. The time of year for sheep-shearing most
favourable to the quality of the wool, and the comfort of the animal, is during the
month of June—the period when Lord Leicester holds his celebrated rural féte for
that interesting purpose.
The wool of the sheep has been surprisingly improved by its domestic culture. The
mouflon ( Ovis aries), the parent stock from which our sheep is undoubtedly derived,
and which is still found in a wild state upon the mountains of Sardinia, Corsica,
Barbary, Greece, and Asia Minor, has a very short and coarse fleece, more like hair
than wool. When this animal is brought under the fostering care of -man, the rank
fibres gradually disappear; while the soft wool round their roots, little conspicuous in
the wild animal, becomes singularly developed. The male most speedily undergoes
this change, and continues ever afterwards to possess far more power in modifying
the fleece of the offspring than the female parent. The produce of a breed from a
coarse-woolled ewe and a fine-woolled ram, is not of a mean quality between the
two, but half-way nearer that of the sire. By coupling the female thus generated
with such a male as the former, another improvement of one-half will be obtained,
affording a staple three-fourths finer than that of the grandam. By proceeding in-
versely, the wool would be as rapidly deteriorated. It is, ‘therefore, a matter of
the first consequence in wool husbandry, to exclude from the flock all coarse-fleeced
rams.
Long wool is the produce of a peculiar variety of sheep, and varies in the length of
its fibres from 8 to 8 inches. Such wool is not carded like cotton, but combed like
flax, either by hand or appropriate machinery. Short wool is seldom longer than 3
or 4 inches; it is susceptible of carding and felting, by which processes the filaments
become densely matted together. The shorter sorts of combing wool are used princi-
pally for hosiery, though of late years the finer kinds have been extensively worked
up into merino and mousseline-de-laine fabrics, The longer wools of the Leicester-
shire breed are manufactured into hard yarns, for worsted-pieces, such as bombazines,
poplins, crapes, orleans, &c. : : 3
The wool of which good broad-cloth is made should be not only shorter, but,
generally speaking, finer and softer than the worsted wools, in order to fit them for
the fulling process, Some wool-sorters and wool-staplers acquire by practice great
nicety of discernment in judging of wools by the touch and traction of the fingers,
The filaments of the finer qualities vary in thickness from 5,45 to yy, of an inch;
their structure is very curious, exhibiting, in a good achromatic microscope, at
intervals of about zg}; of an inch, a series of serrated rings, imbricated towards
ae other, like the Joints of Lgwisetwm, or rather like the scaly zones of a serpent’s
Rin,
The fleece of an average English sheep contains five distinct long sorts and three
short sorts. The short sorts grow on the belly of the sheep, the finest being under
the neck and the fore-legs, Of the long sorts, the finest is on the shoulders. The
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1157
next occupies a position almost semicircular round the finest sort, commencing at the
_ head, and extending to the belly. The third sort adjoins the second, and is of a some-
what triangular shape, the base being on the top of the back. The fourth adjoins the
third on one side, the other side of it being the fifth, which covers the rump, and
8 “ey almost straight, 3 or 4 inches wide, to where the wool terminates on the
ind-legs.
The harshness of wools is dependent not solely upon the breed of the animal, or the
climate, but is owing to certain peculiarities in the pasture, derived from the soil. It
is known, that in sheep fed upon chalky districts, woo] is apt to get harsh; but in
those upon a rich loamy soil, it becomes soft and silky. The ardent sun of Spain
renders the fleece of the Merino breed harsher than it is in the milder climate of
Saxony. The Angora, or Angola, or Angona wool, from Agnolia, 39° 53’ N. lat.,
32° 52’ E. long., owes its beautiful character to the place of its growth. This wool
is the same as Mohair. Smearing sheep with a mixture of tar and butter is deemed,
in cold countries, favourable to the softness of their wool.
All wool, in its natural state, contains a quantity of a peculiar potash-soap, secreted
by the animal, called in this country the yolk; which may be washed out by water
alone, with which it forms a sort of lather. It constitutes from 25 to 50 per cent. of
the wool, being most abundant in the Merino breed of sheep; and, however favour-
able to the growth of the wool on the living animal, should be taken out before or
soon after it is shorn, lest it injure the fibres by fermentation, and cause them to be-
come hard and brittle. After being washed in water, somewhat more than lukewarm,
the wool should be well pressed, and carefully dried. See Sunt.
Mr. Hicks, of Huddersfield, obtained a patent some years ago for a machine for
cleaning wool from burs. It consists of 4 rotatory beaters, which act in succession.
The wool having been opened and spread upon a feeding-cloth, is carried by it to the
drawing-rollers, and is then delivered to the action of the beater, by which it is carried
along a curved grating to the feed-cloth of another beater, so as to be made eventually
quite clean.
WOOL DYEING. See Dyrrne.
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. In this branch of business, a short-stapled
soft wool is required capable of being milled or felted, so that in the after-processes a
finer finish may be brought upon the cloth.
When the wool is brought into the woollen factory, it is first of all washed by men
with soap-and-water, who are paid for their labour by the piece, and are each assisted
by a boy, who receives the wool as it issues from between the drying sgucezers (see
Breacuine). The boy carries off the wool in baskets, and spreads it evenly upon the
floor of the drying-room, usually an apartment over the boilers of the steam-engine,
which is thus economically heated to the proper temperature. The health of the boys
employed in this business is not found to be at all injured.
The wool, when properly dried, is transferred to a machine called the plucker,
which is always superintended by a boy 12 or 14 years of age, being very light work.
He lays the tresses of wool pretty evenly upon the feed-apron, or table covered with
an endless moving web of canvas, which, as it advances, delivers the ends of the
long tufts to a pair of fluted rollers, whence it is introduced into a fanning apparatus,
somewhat similar to the willow employed in the cotton manufacture, which see. The
filaments are turned out at the opposite end of this winnowing machine, straightened,
cleaned, and ready for the combing operation. According to the old practice of the
trade, the wool was carded and combed by hand, but this is now entirely superseded
by machinery., This was far more severe labour than any subservient to machinery,
and was carried on in rooms rendered
close and hot by the number of stoves
requisite to heat the combs, and so enable
them to render the fibres soft, flexible,
; and elastic. This was a task at which
Pf only robust men were engaged. They
use three implements : 1, a pair of combs
for each person ; 2, a post, to which one
of the combs can be fixed; 3, a comb-
pot or small stove for heating the teeth
of the combs. Each comb is composed either of two or three rows of pointed tapering
steel teeth, b, fig. 2118, disposed in two or three parallel planes, each row being a
little longer than the preceding. They are made fast at the roots to a wooden
“__ stock or head ¢, which is covered with horn and has a handle d, fixed into it at right
angles to the lines of the teeth. The spaces between these two or three planes of
teeth is about one-third of an inch at their bottoms, but somewhat more at their
tips. ‘The first combing,’ when the fibres are most entangled, is performed with
1158 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
the two-row toothed combs; the second or finishing combing, with the three-row
toothed.
In the workshops a post, fig. 2119, is planted upright, for
resting the combs occasionally upon, during the operation.
An iron stem g, projects from it horizontally, having its
end turned up, so as to pass through a hole in the handle
of the comb. Near its point of insertion into the post, there
is another staple point, 2, which enters into the hollow end
of the handle; which, between these two catches, is firmly
secured to the post. The stove is a very simple affair, con-
sisting merely of a flat iron plate, heated by fire or steam,
and surmounted with a similar plate, at an interval sufficient
to allow the teeth to be inserted between them at one side,
which is left open, while the space between their edges, on
the other side, is closed to confine the heat.
In combing the wool, the workman takes it up in tresses
of about four ounces each, sprinkles it with oil, and rolls
it about in his hands, to render all the filaments equally
unctuous. Some harsh dry wools require one-sixteenth of
their weight of oil, others no more than a fortieth. He
next attaches a heated comb to the post, with its teeth
ig ie pointed upwards, seizes one-half the tressof wool in his
hands, throws it over the teeth, then draws it through them,
and thus repeatedly: leaving a few straight filaments each time upon the comb.
When the comb has in this way collected all the wool, it is placed with its points
inserted into the cell of the stove, with the wool hanging down outside, exposed
to the influence of the heat. The other comb, just removed in a heated state from
the stove, is planted upon the post, and furnished in its turn with the remain-
ing two-ounce tress of wool; after which it supplants the preceding ‘at the stove.
Having both combs now hot, he holds one of them with his left hand over hiv knee,
being seated upon a low stool, and seizing the other with his right hand, he combs
the wool upon the first, by introducing the teeth of one comb into the wool stuck in
the other, and drawing them through it. This manipulation is skilfully repeated, till
the fibres are laid truly parallel like a flat tress of hair. Itis proper to begin by comb-
ing the tips of the tress, and to advance progressively, from the one end towards the
other, till at length the combs are worked with their teeth as closely together as is
possible, without bringing them into collision. If the workman proceeded otherwise,
he would be apt to rupture the filaments, or tear their ends entirely out of one of the
combs. The flocks left at the end of the process, because they are too short for the
comber to grasp them in his hand, are called noyls. . They are unfit for the worsted
spinner, and are reserved for the coarse cloth manufacturer.
The wool finally drawn off from the comb, though it may form a uniform tress of
straight filaments, must yet be combed again at a somewhat lower temperature, to
prepare it perfectly for the spinning operation. From ten to twelve slivers are then
arranged in one parcel.
To relieve the workman from this laborious and not very salubrious task has been
the object of many mechanical inventions. One of these, considerably employed in
this country and in France, is the invention of the late Mr. John Collier, of Paris,
for which a patent was obtained in England, under the name of John Platt, of Sal-
ford, in November 1827. It consists of two comb-wheels about ten feet in diameter,
having hollow iron spokes filled with steam, in order to keep the whole apparatus at
a proper combing heat. The comb forms a circle, made fast. to the periphery of the
wheel, the tecth being at right angles to the plane of the wheel. The shafts of the
two wheels are mounted in a strong frame of cast iron; not, however, in horizontal
positions, but inelined at acute angles to the horizon, and in planes crossing each
other, so that the teeth of one circular comb sweep with a steady obliquity over the
teeth of the other, in a most ingenious manner, with the effect of combing the tresses
of wool hung upon.them., The proper quantity of long wool, in its ordinary state,
is stuck in handfuls upon the wheel, revolving slowly, by a boy, seated upon the
ground at one side of the machine. Whenever the wheel is dressed, the machine is
made to revolve more rapidly, by shifting its driving-band on another pulley ; and it
is beautiful to observe the delicacy and precision with which it smooths the tangled
tress. When the wools are set in rapid rotation, the loose ends of the fleece, by the
centrifugal force, are thrown out, in the direction of radii, upon the teeth of the
other revolying comb-wheel, so as to be drawn out and made truly straight. The
operation commences upon the tips of the. tresses, where the wheels, by the oblique
posture of their shafts, are at the greatest distance apart; but as the planes siowiy
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1159
approach to parallelism, the teeth enter more deeply into the wool, till they pro-
gressively comb the whole length of its fibres. The machine being then thrown out
of gear, the teeth are stripped of the tresses by the hand of the attendant; the noy/s,
or short refuse wool, being also removed, and kept by itself.
__ This operation being one of simple superintendence, not of handicraft effort and skill,
like the old combing of long wool, is now performed by boys or girls of 13 and 14
years of age; and places in a striking point of view the influence of automatic
mechanism, in so embodying dexterity and intelligence in a machine, as to render the
cheap and tractable labour of children a substitute for the high-priced and often
refractory exertions of workmen too prone to capricious combinations. The chief
precaution to be taken with this machine, is to keep the steam-joints tight, so as not
to wet the apartments, and provide due ventilation for the operatives.
The machine patented by James Noble, of Halifax, worsted-spinner, deserves
particular notice, as its mode of operation adapts it well also for heckling flax.
In fig. 2120, its internal structure is exhibited. The framework, a, a, supports the
axle of a wheel, 4, d, in suitable bearings on each side. To the face of this wheel
is affixed the excentrie or heart-wheel cam, c,c, On the upper part of the peri-
2120
RI 77
. <=
phery of this cam or heart-wheel, a lever, d, d, bears merely by its gravity; one
end of which lever is connected by a joint to the crank, « By the rotation of
the crank, e, it will be perceived that the lever d, will be slidden to and fro on
the upper part of the periphery of the excentric or heart-wheel cam, c, the outer
end of the lever, d, carrying the upper or working comb or needle-points, f, as
it moves, performing an elliptical curve, which curve will be dependent upon the
position of the heart-wheel cam, c, that guides it. A moveable frame, g, carries
a series of points, , which are to constitute the lower comb or frame of needles,
Into these lower needles the rough uncombed wool is to be fed by hand, and to be
drawn out and combed straight by the movements of the upper or working comb.
As it is important, in order to prevent waste, that the ends of the wool should be
first combed out, and that the needle-points should be made to penetrate the wool
progressively, the moveable frame, g, is in the first instance placed as far back as
possible ; and the action of the lever, d, during the whole operation, is so directed by
the yarying positions of the cam-wheel, as to allow the upper comb to enter at first a
very little way only into the wool; but as the operation of combing goes on, the
frame with the lower combs is made to advance gradually, and the relative positions
of the revolving heart cam-wheel ¢, being also gradually changed, the upper or
working needles are at length allowed to be drawn completely through the wool, for
the purpose of combing out straight the whole length of its fibre. i
In order to give the machine the necessary movements, a train of toothed wheels
and pinions’ is mounted, mostly on studs attached to the side of the frame; which
train of wheels and pinions is shown by dots in the figure, to avoid confusion. The
driving power, a horse or steam-engine, is communicated by a band to a rigger on
the short axle i; which axle carries a pinion, taking into one of the wheels of the
train. From this wheel the crank ¢, that works the lever d, is driven; and also, by
gear from the same pinion, the axle of the wheel 4, carrying the excentric or heart
wheel cam, is also actuated, but slower than the crank-axle,
At the end of the axle of the wheel 4, and cam ¢, a bevel-pinion is affixed, which
gears into a corresponding bevel-pinion on the end of the lateral shaft &. The re-
verse end of this shaft has a worm or endless screw @, taking into a toothed-wheel m
and this last-mentioned toothed-wheel gears into the rack at the under part of the
frame g.
It will hence be perceived, that by the movements of the train of wheels, 2 slow
1160 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
motion is given to the frame g, by which the lower needles carrying the wool are pro-
gressively advanced as the operation goes on; and also, that by the other wheels of
the train, the heart-wheel cam is made to rotate, for the purpose of giving such vary-
ing directions to the stroke of the lever which slides upon its periphery, and to the
working comb, as shall cause the comb to operate ery & upon the wool as it is
brought forward. The construction of the frames which hold the needles, and the
manner of fixing them in the machine, present no features of importance; it is there-
fore unnecessary to describe them further, than to say, that the heckles are to be
heated when used for combing wool. Instead of introducing the wool to be combed
into the lower needles by hand, it is sometimes fed in, by means of an endless feeding-
cloth, as shown in fig. 2121. This endless cloth is distended over two rollers, which
are made to revolve, for the purpose of carrying the cloth with the wool forward, by
means of the endless screw and pinions.
SAGE 2121
-> VZ
A slight variation in the machine is shown at jig. 2122, for the purpose of combing
wool of long fibre, which differs from the former only in placing the combs or needle-
points upon a revolving cylinder or shaft. At the end of the axle of this shaft, there
is a toothed wheel, which is actuated by an endless screw upon a lateral shaft. The
axle of the cylinder on which the needles are fixed, is mounted in a moveable frame
or carriage, in order that the points of the needles may, in the first instance, be brought
to act upon the ends of the wool only, and ultimately be so advanced as to enable the
whole length of the fibres to be drawn through. The progressive advancement of this
carriage, with the needle-cylinder, is effected by the agency of the endless screw on the
lateral shaft before mentioned.
Some combing-machines reduce the wool into a continuous sliver, which is ready
for the drawing-frame; but the short slivers produced by the hand-combing, must be
first joined together, by what is called planking. These slivers are rolled up by the
combers ten or twelve together, in balls called ‘tops,’ each of which weighs a half
pound, At the spinning-mill these are unrolled, and the slivers are laid on a long
plank or trough, with the ends lapping over, in order to splice the long end of one
sliver into the short end of another. The long end is that which was drawn off first
from the comb, and contains the longer fibres; the short is that which comes last
from the comb, and contains the shorter. The wool-comber lays all the slivers of
each ball the same way, and marks the long end of each by twisting up the end of the
sliver. It is a curious circumstance, that when a top or ball of slivers is unrolled and
stretched out straight, they will not separate from each other without tearing and
breaking, if the separation is begun at the short ends; but if they are first parted at
the long ends they will readily separate.
The machine for combing long wool, for which Messrs. Donisthorpe and Rawson
obtained a patent in April 1835, has been found to work well, and therefore merits a
detailed description.
Fig. 2128 is an elevation, fig. 2124 an end view, and fig. 2125 a plan, in which
a, a, is the framing ; 4, the main shaft, bearing a pinion, which drives the wheel and
shaft c, in gear with the wheel d, on the shaft e. Upon each of the wheels c and d,
there are two projections or studs f, which cause the action of the combs g, g, of
which h, h, are the tables or carriages: These are capable of sliding along the upper
ide-rails of the framing a, Through these carriages or tables h, i there are open-
ings or slits, shown by dotted lines, which act as guides to the holders 3, i, of the
combs g, g, rendering the holders susceptible of motion at right angles to the course
omega by the tables h, The combs are retained in the holders ¢, 7, by means of the
ever-handles J, 7, which move upon inclined surfaces, and are made to press on the
surface of the heads of the combs g,g, 80 as to be retained in their places; and they
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1161
are also held by studs affixed to-the holders, which pass into the comb-heads, From
the under side of the tables, forked projections i, é, stand out, which pass through the
- Openings or slits formed in the tables 2, 4; these projections are worked from side to
side by the frame /, &, which turning on the axis or shaft /, /, is caused to vibrate, or
rock to and fro, by the arms m, moved by the
excentric groove 2, made: fast to the shaft e. The
tables 4, are drawn inwards, by weights suspended
on cords or straps 0, 0, which pass over friction
pulleys p, p; whereby the weights have a constant
UIC Ea ay
i
= ees
5
Lid; REE Oe Lee
tendency to draw the combs into the centre of the machine, as soon as it is released by
the studs f, passing beyond the projecting arms g, on the tables. On the shaft ¢,a
driving-tooth or catch r, is fixed, which takes into the ratchet-wheel s, and propels one
of its teeth at every revolution of the shaft c. This ratchet-wheel turns on axis at ¢;
to the ratchet the pulley v is made fast, to which the cord or band w is secured, as
also to the pulley z, on the shaft y. On the shaft y, there are two other pulleys, 2, z,
having the cords or bands
A, A, made fast to them, and
also to the end of the gauge-
plates s, furnished with gra-
duated steps, against which
the tables h, h, are drawing
at each operation of the ma-
chine. In proportion as these
gauge-plates are raised, the
nearer the carriages or tables
h will be able to advance to
the centre of the machine,
and thus permit the combs
9: g, to lay hold of, and comb,
additional lengths of the .
woolly fibres. The gauge- ?
plates B, are guided up by the bars c, which pass through openings, slots, or guides,
made in the framing a, as shown by p.
To the ratchet-wheel s, an inclined projection ¥, is made fast, which in the course
of the rotation of the ratchet-wheel, comes under the lever f, fixed to the shaft c, that
turns in bearings n. To this shaft the levers 1 and J, are also affixed ; 1 serving to throw
out the click or catch x, from the ratchet-wheel, by which the parts of the machine
will be released, and restored to positions ready for starting again. The lever g,
serves to slide the drum upon the driving shaft b, out of gear, by means of the forked
handle 1, when the machine is to be stopped, whenever it has finished combing
a certain quantity of wool. The combs which hold the wool have a motion upwards,
in order to take the wool out of the way of the combs g, g, as these are drawn into
A Shiai
1162 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
the centre of the machine; while the holding combs descend to lay the wool among
the points of the combs g, g. For obtaining this upward-and-downward motion, the
combs M, M, are placed between the frame nN, and retained there just as the combs
9; g, are upon the holders i, 7. The framing n, is made fast to the bar or spindle o,
which moves vertically through openings in the cross-head Pp, and the cross-framing
of the machine q; from the top of which there is a strap passing over pulleys with a
suspended weight to it; the cross-head being supported by the two guide-rods R, fixed
to the cross-framing @. It is by the guide-rods r, and the spindle 0, that the frame .
N is made to move up and down; while the spindle is made to rise by the studs f,
as the wheels c and d come successively under the studs s, on the spindle o. ‘
A quantity of wool isto be placed on each of the combs g, g, and , Mm, the machine
being in the position shown in fig. 2125. When the main-shaft 0, is set in motion, it
will drive by its pinion the toothed wheel ¢, and therefrom the remaining parts of the
machine. The first effect of the movement will be to raise the combs m, m, sufficiently
high to remove the wool out of the way of the combs g, g, which will be drawn towards
the centre of the machine, as soon as they are released by the studs f, passing the pro-
jecting arms g, on the tables 4; but the distance between the combs g, g, and the
combs M, M, will depend on the height to which the gauge-plates B have been raised.
These plates are raised one step at each revolution of the shaft ¢; the combs g, g, will
therefore be continually approaching more nearly to the combs m, a, till the plates z,
are so much raised as to permit the tables 4 to approach the plates B, below the lowest
step or graduation, when the machine will continue to work. Notwithstanding the”
plates B continuing to rise, there being only parallel surfaces against which the
tables come, the combs g, g, will successively come to the same position, till the
inclined projection u, on the ratchet-wheel s, comes under the lever r, which will stop
the machine. The wool which has been combed, is then to be removed, and a fresh
quantity introduced. It should be remarked that the combs g, g, are continually
moving from side to side of the machine, at the same time that they are combing out
the wool. The chief object of the invention is obviously to give the above peculiar
motion to the combs g, g, and M, M, which may be applied also to combing goat-hair.
_ For the purposes of the worsted manufacture, wool should be rendered inelastic to a
considerable degree, so that its fibres may form long lines, capable of being twisted
into straight level yarn. Mr. Bayliffe, of Kendal, has sought to accomplish this
object, first, by introducing into the drawing machine a rapidly revolving wheel,
in contact with the front drawing roller, by whose friction the filaments are
heated, and at the same time deprived of their curling elasticity; secondly, by
employing a moveable regulating roller, by which the extent of surface on the
periphery of the wheel that the lengths of wool is to act upon, may be increased or
diminished at pleasure, and, consequently, the effect regulated or tempered as the
quality of the wool may require; thirdly, the employment of steam in’ a rotatory
rum or hollow wheel, in place of the wheel first described, for the purpose of heating
Se in the process of drawing, in order to facilitate the operation of straightening
e fibres, ,
These objects. may be effected in
several ways; that 1s, the machinery
may be variously constructed, and still
embrace the principles proposed. Fig.
2126, shows one mode :—a, is the frie-
tion wheel ; 2, the front drawing roller,
placed in the drawing-frame in the
same way as usual; the larger wheel
a, constituting the lower roller of
the pair of front drawing rollers; ¢
and d are the pair of back drawing
rollers, which are actuated by gear
connected tu the front rollers, as, in
the ordinary construction of draw-
ing machines, the front rollers apie
very considerably faster than the
rollers, and, consequently, drawing or oxtending the fibres of the sliver of wool,
as it passes through between them; ¢ is a guide-roller, bearing upon the periphery
of the large wheel; \f is a tension roller, which presses the fibres of the wool down
upon the wheel a.
Now, supposing the back rollers ¢ and d, to be turaed with a given velocity, and
the front roller 4 to be driven much faster, the effect would be, that the fibres of woo!
constituting the sliver, passing through the machine, would be considerably extended
between 4 and d, which is precisely the effect accomplished in the. ordinary drawing
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1163
frame; but’ the wheel a, introduced into the machine in place of the lower front
drawing roller, being made to revolve much faster than 4, the sliver of wool extended
over the upper part of its periphery from 4, to the tension roller f, will be subjected to
very considerable friction from the contact ; and, consequently, the natural curl of the
wool will be taken out, and its elasticity destroyed, which will enable the wool to
proceed in a connected roving down to the spindle or flyer 2, where it becomes twisted
or spun into a worsted thread. é
In order to increase or diminish the extent to which the fibres of wool are spread
over the periphery of the wheel a, a regulating roller is adapted to the machine, as
shown at g, in place of the tension roller f. This regulating roller g, is mounted by
its pivots in bearings on the circular arms /, shown by dots. These circular arms turn
loosely upon the axle of the wheel a, and are raised or depressed by a rack and a
winch, not shown in the figure; the rack taking into teeth on the periphery of the cir-
cular arms. It will hence be perceived, that by raising the circular arms, the roller g,
will be carried backward, and the fibres of wool pressed upon the periphery of the
wheel to a greater extent. On the contrary, the depression of the circular arms will
draw the roller g, forward, and cause the wool to be acted upon by a smaller portion
of the periphery of the wheel a, and consequently subject it to less friction.
When it is desired to employ steam for the purpose of heating wool, the wheel a,
is formed as a hollow drum, and steam from a boiler, in any convenient situation, is
conveyed through the hollow axle to the interior of the drum, which, becoming heated
by that means, communicates heat also to the wool, and thereby destroys its curl and
elasticity.
Breaking-frame.—Here the slivers are planked, or spliced together, the long end of
one to the short end of another; after which they are drawn out and extended by the
rollers of the breaking-frame. A sketch of this machine is given in fig. 2127. Itcon-
2127
©
sists of four pairs of rollers a, B,c,D. The first pair a, receives the wool from the
inclined trough », which is the planking-table. The slivers are unrolled, pavted,
and hung loosely over a pin, in reach of the attendant, who takes a sliver, and lays
it flat in the trough, and the end is presented to the rollers 4, which being in motion,
will draw the wool in; the sliver is then conducted through the other rollers, as
shown in the figure: when the sliver has passed half through, the end of another
sliver is placed upon the middle of the first, and they pass through together ; when
this second is passed half through, the end of a third is applied upon the middle of it,
and in this way the short slivers produced by the combing are joined into one regular
and eyen sliver. .
The lower roller c, receives its motion from the mill, by means of a pulley upon the
end of its axis; and an endless strap. The roller which is immediately over it, 1s borne
down by a heavy weight, suspended from hooks, which are over the pivots of the
upper roller. The fourth pair of rollers p, moves with the same velocity as ©, being
turned by means of a small wheel upon the end of the axis of the roller c, which
turns a wheel of the same size upon the axis of the roller p, by means of an inter-
mediate wheel d, which makes both rollers turn. the same way round. The first and
second pair of rollers, a and 3, move only one-third as quick as c and D, in order to
draw out the sliyer between B and o, to three times the length it was when put on the
planking-table. The slow motion of the rollers 4, is given by a large wheel a, fixed
1164 ~ WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
upon the axis of the roller a, and turned by the intermediate cog-wheels }, c, and d;
the latter communicates between the rollers c and p. The pinions on the rollers c and
p, being only one-third the size of the wheel a, c and p turn three times as fast as A,
for 6, c, and d are only intermediate wheels. The rollers 5 turn at the same rate as
a. The upper roller c is loaded with a heavy weight, similar to tho rollers 4 ; but the
other rollers, Bp and p, are no further loaded than the weight of the rollers.
The two pairs of rollers a, B, and ©, D, are mounted in separate frames ; and that
frame which contains the third and fourth pairs c, p, slides upon the cast-iron frame F,
which supports the machine, in order to increase or diminish the distance between the
rollers B andc. There is a screw f, by which the frame of the rollers is moved, so
as to adjust the machine according to the length of the fibre of the wool. The spaco
between B and c should be rather more than the length of the fibres of the wool.
The intermediate wheels 5 and ¢ are supported upon pieces of iron, which are moveable
on centres; the centre for the piece which supports the wheel } is concentric with
the axis of the roller a; and the supporting piece for the wheel c is fitted on the centre
of the wheel d. By moving these pieces the intermediate whecls 6 and ¢ can be
always kept in contact, although the distance between the rollers is varied at times.
By means of this breaking-frame, the perpetual sliver, which is made up by planking
the sliver together, is equalised, and drawn out three times in length, and delivered
into the can eG.
Drawing-frame.—Three of these cans are removed to the drawing-frame, which is
similar to the breaking-frame, except that there is no planking-table x. There are
five sets of rollers, all fixed upon one common frame F, the breaking-frame, which we
have described, being the first. As. fast as the sliver comes through one set of rollers
it is received into a can, and then three of these cans are put together and passed
again through another set of rollers. In the whole the wool must pass through the
breaker and four drawing-frames before the roving is begun. The draught being
usually four times at each operation of drawing, and three times in the breaking,
the whole will be 8x4x4x4x4=748; but to suit different sorts of wool the three
last drawing-frames are capable of making a greater draught, even to five times,
by changing the pinions; accordingly the draught will be 3x4x5x5x5=1500
times.
The size of the sliver is diminished by these repeated drawings, because only three
slivers are put: together, and they are drawn out four times ; so that in the whole the
sliver is reduced to a fourth cr a ninth of its original bulk.
The breaking-frame and drawing-frame which are used when the slivers are pre-
pared by the combing-machines, are differently constructed ; they have no planking-
table, but receive three of the perpetual slivers of the combing-machine from as many
tin cans, and draw them out from ten to twelve times. In this case all the four rollers
contribute to the operation of drawing: thus the second rollers p mcve 24 times as
fast as the rollers A; the third rollers c move 8 times as fast as a; and the fourth
rollers move 10% times as fast as a. In this case the motion is given to the different
rollers by means of bevelled wheels, and a horizontal axis, which extends across
the goes of all the four rollers, to communicate motion from one pair of rollers to
another.
There are three of these systems of rollers, which are all mounted on the same
frame ; and the first one through which the wool passes is called the ‘ breaking-frame’ ;
but it does not differ from tho others, which are called ‘drawing-frames.’ The slivers
which have passed through one system of rollers are collected four or five together,
and put through the drawing-rollers. In all the slivers pass through three drawings,
and the whole extension is seldom less than 1,000 times, and for some kinds of wool
much greater.
After the drawing of the slivers is finished, a pound weight is taken, and is mea-
sured by means of a cylinder, in order to ascertain if the drawing has been properly
conducted ; if the sliver does not prove of the length proposed, according to the size
of worsted which is intended to be spun, the pinions of some of the drawing-frames
are changed, to make the draught more or less, until it is found by experiment ' that
one pound of the sliver measures the required length.
Roving-frame.—This is provided with rollers, the same as the drawing-frames : it
takes in one or two slivers together, and draws them out four times. By this exten-
sion the sliver becomes so small that it would break with the slightest force, and it is
therefore necessary to give some twist; this is done by a spindle and flyer, See
Roving, under Corron Sprxnina.
Spinning-frame.—This is so much like the roving-frame that a short description
will be sufficient. The spindles are more delicate, and there are three pairs of rollers,
instead of two; the bobbins, which are taken off from the spindles of the roving-
frame when they are quite full, are stuck upon skewers, and the roving which proceeds
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1165
from them is conducted between the rollers. The back pair turns round slowly; the
middle pair turns about twice for once of the back rollers ; and the front pair makes
from twelve to seventeen turns for one turn of the back roller, according to the degree
of extension which is required.
Tho spindles must revolve very quickly in the spinning-frame, in order to give the
requisite degree of twisttothe worsted. The hardest twisted worsted is called ‘ tammy
warp’; and when the size of this worsted is such as to be 20 or 24 hanks to the pound
weight, the twist is about 10 turns in each inch of length. The least twist is given
to the worsted for fine hosiery, which is from 18 to 24 hanks to the pound. The
twist is from 5 to 6 turns per inch. The degree of twist is regulated by the size of
the whirls or pulleys upon the spindle, and by the wheel-work which communicates
the motion to the front rollers from the band-wheel, which turns the spindles.
It is needless to enter more minutely into the description of the spinning machinery,
because the fluted roller construction, invented by Sir Richard Arkwright, fully
described under Corron SprNnine, is equally applicable to worsted. The differ-
ence between the two is chiefly in the distance between the rollers, which in the
worsted-frame is capable of being increased or diminished at pleasure, according to
the length of the fibres of the wool; and the draught or extension of the roving is
far greater than in the cotton.
Teeling.—The bobbins of the spinning-frame are placed in a row upon wires before
a long horizontal reel, and the threads from 20 bobbins are wound off together. The
reel is exactly a yard in circumference, and when it has wound off 80 turns it rings
a bell; the motion of the reel is then stopped, and a thread is passed round the 80
turns of folds which each thread has made. The reeling is then continued till another
80 yards is wound off, which is also separated by interweaving the same thread ; each
of these separate parcels is called ‘a ley, and when 7 such leys are reeled it is called ‘a
hank,’ which contains 560 yards. When this quantity is reeled off, the ends of the
binding thread are tied together, to bind each hank fast, and one of the rails of the
reel is struck to loosen the hanks, and they are drawn off at the end of the reel.
These hanks are next hung upon a hook, and twisted up hard by a stick; then
doubled, and the two parts twisted together to make a firm bundle. In this state the
hanks are weighed by a small index-machine, which denotes what number of the
hanks will weigh a pound. And they are sorted accordingly into different parcels,
It is by this means that the number of the worsted is ascertained as the denomination
for its fineness: thus No, 24 means that 24 hanks each containing 560 yards will
weigh a pound, and so on.
This denomination is different from that used for cotton, because the hank of
cotton contains 840 yards instead of 560; but in some places the worsted hank is
made of the same length as the cotton.
To pack up the worsted for market, the proper number of hanks js collected to
make a pound, according to the number which has been ascertained ; these are weighed
as a proof of the correctness of the sorting, then tied up in bundles of one pound each,
and four of these bundles are again tied together. Then 60 such bundles are packed
up in a sheet, making a bale of 240 lbs, ready for market,
Of the treatment of short wool for the cloth manufacture.—Short wool resembles cotton
not a little in the structure of its filaments, and is cleaned by the willy, as cotton is by
the willow, which opens up the matted fleece of the wool-stapler, and cleans it from
accidental impurities. Sheep’s wool for working into coarse goods must be passed
repeatedly through this machine, both before and after it is dyed; the second last
time for tho purpose of blending the different sorts together, and the last for imbuing
the fibres intimately with oil. The oiled wool is next subjected toa first carding opera-
tion called scribbling, whereby it is converted into a broad thin fleece or lap, as cotton
is by the breaker-cards of a cotton-mill. The woollen lap is then worked by the
ecards proper, which deliver it in a narrow band or sliver. By this process the wool
expands greatly in all its dimensions; while the broken or short filaments get entan-
gled by crossing in every possible direction, which prepares them for the fulling opera-
tion. See Carding, under Corron Sprnnine.
The slubbing machine, or billy, reduces the separate rolls of cardings into a con-
tinuous slightly-twisted spongy cord, which is sometimes called a roving, Fig. 2128
is a perspective representation of the slubbing machine in most common use. A, A,
is the wooden frame; within which is the moveable carriage p, p, which runs upon
the lower side rails at a, a, on friction wheels at 1, 2, to make it move easily back-
wards and forwards from one end of the frame to the other. The carriage contains
a series of steel spindles, marked 3, 3, which receive rapid rotation from a long tin
drum r, by means of a series of cords passing round the pulley or whorl of each
spindle, This drum, 6 inches in diameter, is covered with paper, and extends across
the whole breadth of the carriage. The spindles are set nearly upright in a frame,
1166 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
and about 4 inches apart; their under ends being pointed conically, turn in brass
sockets, ealled ‘steps,’ and are retained in their position by a small brass collet, which
embraces each spindle at about the middle of its length. The upper half of each
spindle projects above the top of the frame. ‘The drum revolves horizontally before
the spindles, having its axis a little below the line of the whorls; and receives
motion, by a pulley at one of its ends, from an endless band which passes round a
wheel £, like the large domestic wheel formerly used in spinning wool by hand, and
of similar dimensions. This wheel is placed upon the outside of the main frame of
the machine, and has its shafts supported by upright standards upon the carriage p.,
It is turned by the spinner placed at Q, with his right hand applied to a winch r,
which gives motion to the drum, and thereby causes the spindles to revolve with
great velocity.
. Each spindle receives a soft cylinder or carding of wool, which comes through
beneath a wooden roller c, c, at the one end of the frame. This is the Jilly roller, so
much talked of in the controversies between the operatives and masters in the cotton-
factories, as an instrument of cruel punishment to children, though no such machine -
has been used in cotton-mills for half a century at least. These wooden rolls
proceed to the series of spindles, standing in the carriage, in nearly a horizontal
plane. By the alternate advance and retreat of the carriage upon its railway, the
spindles are made to approach to, and recede from, the roller c, with the effect of
drawing out a given length of ‘the soft cord, with any desired degree of twist, in the
following manner :— '
The carding-rolls are laid down straight, side by side, upon the endless cloth,
strained in an inclined direction between two rollers, one of which is seen at B, and
the other lies behind c. One carding is allotted to a spindle; the total number of
each in one machine being from 50 to 100. The roller c, of light wood, presses gently
with its weight upon the cardings, while they move onwards over the endless cloth,
with the running-out of the spindle carriage. Immediately in front of the said roller,
there is a horizontal wooden rail or bar G, with another beneath it, placed across the
frame. The carding is conducted through between these two bars, the moveable
upper one being raised to let any aliquot portion of the roll pass freely. When this
bar is again let down, it pinches the spongy carding fast; whence this mechanism is
called the ‘clasp.’ It is in fuct the clove, originally used’ by Hargreaves in his cotton-
jenny. The moveable upper rail G, is guided between sliders, and a wire 7, descends
from it to a lever c. When the spindle carriage D, p, is wheeled close home to the
billy roller, a wheel 5, lifts the end 6 of the lever, which, by the wire 7, raises the
upper bar or rail @, so as to open the clasp, and release all the eard-rolls, Should the
- carriage be now drawn a little way from the clasp bars, it would tend to pull a
corresponding length of the cardings forward from the inclined plane n,c. There
18 a small catch, which lays hold of the upper bar of the clasp eG, and hinders it from
falling till the carriage has receded to a certain distance, and has thereby allowed
—
—_ |
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 4167
from 7 to 8 inches of the cardings to be taken out. A stop upon the carnage then
comes against the catch, and withdraws it ; thus allowing the upper rail to fall and
pinch the carding, while the carriage, continuing to recede, draws out or stretches
that portion of the roll which is between the clasp and the spindle-points, But during
this time the wheel has been turned to keep the spindles revolving, communicating
the proper degree of twist to the cardings in proportion to their extension, so as to
prevent them from breaking.
It might be imagined that the slubbing cords would be apt to coil round the spin-
dles; but as they proceed in a somewhat inclined direction to the clasp, they receive
merely 4 twisting motion, continually slipping over the points of the spindles, without
getting wound upon them. Whenever the operative or slubber has given a due
degree of twist to the rovings, he sets about winding them upon the spindles into a
conical shape, for which purpose he presses down the faller-wire 8, with his left hand,
so as to bear it down from the points of the spindles, and place it opposite to their
middle part. He next makes the spindles revolve, while he pushes in the carriage
slowly, so as to coil the slubbing upon the spindle into a conical cop, The wire 8,
regulates the winding-on of the whole series of slubbings at once, and receives its
proper angle of depression for this purpose from the horizontal rail 4, which turns
upon pivots in its ends, in brasses fixed on the standards, which rise from the
carriage D. By turning this rail on its pivots, the wire 8 may be raised or lowered
in any degree. The slubber seizes the rail 4 in his left hand, to draw the carriage
out; but in returning it, he depresses the faller-wire, at the same time that he pushes
the carriage before him.
The cardings are so exceedingly tender, that they would readily draw out, or even
break, if they were dragged with friction upon the endless cloth of the inclined plane.
To save this injurious traction, a contrivance is introduced for moving the apron. A
cord is applied round the groove in the middle part of the upper roller, and after
passing over pulleys, as shown in the figure, it has a heavy weight hung at the one
end, and a light weight at the other, to keep it constantly extended, while the heavy
weight tends to turn the rollers with their endless cloth round in such a direction as
to bring forward the rovings, without putting any strain upon them. Every time
that the carriage is pushed home, the larger weight gets wound up; and when the
carriage is drawn out, the greater weight turns the roller, and advances the endless
apron, so as to deliver the carding at the same rate as the carriage runs out; but
when the proper quantity is delivered, a knot in the rope arrives at a fixed stop,
which does not permit it to move any further; while at the same instant the roller 5
quits the lever 6, and allows the upper rail «, of the clasp to fall, and pinch the carding
fast; the wheel , being then set in motion, makes the spindles revolve; and the
carriage being simultaneously drawn out, extends the slubbings while under the
influence of twisting. In winding up the slubbings the operative must take care to
push in the carriage, and to turn the wheel round at such rates that the spindles will
not take up faster than the carriage moves on its railway, or he would injure the
slubbings. The machine requires the attendance of a child, to bring the cardings
from the eard-engine, to place them upon the sloping feed-cloth, and to join the ends
of the fresh ones carefully to the ends of the others newly-drawn under the roller,
Slubbings intended for warp-yarn must be more twisted than those for weft; but each
must receive a degree of torsion relative to the quality of the wool and of the cloth
intended to be made. In general, however, no more twist should be given to the
slubbings than is indispensable for enabling them to be drawn out to the requisite
slenderness without breaking. This twist forms no part of the twist of the finished
yarn, for the slubbing will be twisted in the contrary direction, when spun afterwards
in the jenny or mule,
It may here be remarked, that various machines have been constructed of late years
for making continuous card-ends, and slubbings, in imitation of the carding and
roving of the Corron Spryntxc; to which article therefore the reader may be ‘re-
ferred. The wool slubbings: are now spun into yarn, in many factories, by means
of the mule. Indeed, in France the finest yarn, for the mowsseline-de-laine fabrics, is
beautifully spun upon the self-actor mule of Sharp and Roberts,!
. Tentering—When the cloth is returned from the fulling-mill it is stretched upon
the tenter frame, and left in the open air till dry. ;
. In the woollen manufacture, as the cloth suffers, by the operation of the fulling-
mill, a shrinkace of its breadth to well-nigh one-half, it must at first be woven of
nearly double its intended width when finished. Superfine six-quarter broad cloths
must therefore be turned out of the loom twelve-quarters wide.
‘2? See this admirable machine fully described and delineated in Dr. Ure'’s Cotton Manufacture of
Great Britain, vol, ti, : s 4 : 3
1168 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
Burling 1s the name of a process, in which the dried cloth is examined minutely im
every part, freed from knots or uneven threads, and repaired by sewing any little
rents, or inserting sound yarns in the place of defective ones.
Teasling,—The object of this operation is to raise up the loose filaments of the
woollen yarn into a nap upon one of the surfaces of the cloth, by scratching it either
with thistle-heads, called ‘ teasels,’ or with teasling-cards or brushes, made of wire. The
natural teasels are the balls which contain the seeds of the plant called Dipsacus ful-
lonum; the scales which form the balls, project on all sides and end in sharp elastic
points, that turn downwards like hooks. In teasling by hand, a number of these balls
are put into a small wooden frame, having crossed handles, eight or ten inches long,
and when thus filled, form an implement not unlike a curry-comb, which is used by
two men, who seize the teasel-frame by the handles, and scrub the face of the cloth,
hung in a yertical position from. two horizontal rails, made fast to the ceiling of the
workshop, First, they wet the cloth and work three times over, by strokes in the
direction of the warp, ‘and next of that of the weft, so as to raise all the loose
fibres from, the felt, and to prepare it for shearing. In large manufactories, this
dressing operation is performed by a machine called a ‘ gig-mill,’ which originally
consisted, and in most places still consists of a cylinder bristled all over with the
thistle-heads, and made to revolve rapidly while the cloth is drawn over it in a
variety of directions. If the thistle be drawn in the line of the warp, the points
act more efficaciously upon the weft, being perpendicular to its softer spun yarns.
Inventors who have tried to give the points a circular or oblique action between the
warp and the weft, proceed apparently upon a false principle, as if the cloth were
like a plate of metal, whose substance could be pushed in any direction. Teasling
really consists in drawing out one end of the filaments, and leaving the body of them
entangled in the cloth; and it should cease and pull them perpendicularly to their
length, because in this way it acts upon the ends, which being least implicated, may
be most readily disengaged.
When the hooks of the thistles become clogged with flocks of wool, they must be
taken out of the frame or cylinder, and cleaned by children with a small comb,
Moisture, moreover, softens their points, and impairs their teasling powers; an effect
which needs to be counterbalanced, by taking them out, and drying them from time to
time. Many contrivances have, therefore, been proposed, in which metallic teasels of
an unchangeable nature, mounted in rotatory machines, driven by power, have been
substituted for the vegetable, which being required in prodigious quantities, become
sometimes excessively scarce and dear in the clothing districts. In 1818, several
schemes of that kind were patented in France, of which those of M. Arnold-Merick,
and of MM. Taurin fréres, of Elbcuf, are described in the 16th volume of ‘ Brevets
dInvention Expirés,’ Mr. Daniell, cloth-manufacturer in Wilts, renewed this. inven-
tion under another form, by making his rotatory cards with two kinds of metallic
wires, of unequal lengths ; the one set long, thin, and delicate, representing the points
of the thistle; the other, shorter, stiffer, and blunter, being intended to stay the cloth,
and to hinder the former from entering too far into it. But none of these processes
have suceceded in discarding the natural teasel from the most eminent manufactories.
The French Government purchased in 1807, the patent of Douglas, an English
mechanist, who had, in 1802, imported into France, the best system of gig-mills then
used in the west of England, A working set of his machines having been placed in
the Conservatoire des Arts, for public inspection, they were soon introduced into most
of the French establishments, so as generally to supersede teasling (lainage) by hand.
A description of them was published in the third volume of the ‘ Brevets qInvention’
The following is an outline of some subsequent improvements :—
1, As it was imagined that the seesaw action of the hand-operative was in some
respects more effectual than the uniform rotation of a gig-mill, this was attempted to
be imitated by an alternating movement.
2. Others conceived that the seesaw motion was not essential, but that it was advan- -
tageous to make the teasels or cards act in a rectilinear direction, as in working by
hand ; this action was attempted by placing the two ends of the teasel-frame in grooves
formed like the letter D, so that the teasel should act on the cloth only when it came
into the rectilinear part. Mr, Wells, machine-maker, of Manchester, obtained a patent,
in 1882, for this construction,
3. It was supposed that the teasels should not act perpendicularly to the weft, but
oblique _or circularly upon the face of the cloth. Mr. Ferrabee, of Gloucester,
patented in 1830, a scheme of this kind, in which the teasels are mounted upon two
endless chains, which traverse from the middle of the web to the selvage or list, one to.
the right, and another to the left hand, while the cloth itself passes under them with
such a velocity, that. the effect, or resultant, is a diagonal action, dividing into two
equal parts tho rectangle formed by the weft and warpyarns, Three patent machines:
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE, 1169)
of Mr. George Oldland—the first in 1830, the second and third in 1832—all proceed
upon this principle. In the first, the teasels are mounted upon disks made to turn flat
upon the surface of the cloth ; in the second, the rotating disks are pressed by cork-
screw spiral springs against the cloth, which is supported by an elastic cushion, also
pressed against the disks by springs; and in the third machine, the revolving disks
have a larger diameter, and they turn, not in a horizontal, but in a vertical plane.
4, Others fancied that it would be beneficial to support the reverse side of the cloth
by flat hard surfaces, while acting upon its face with cards or teasels. Mr. Joseph
ee Daniell, having stretched the cloth upon smooth level stones, teasels them by
and.
5. Messrs. Charlesworth and Mellor obtained a patent, in 1829, for supporting the
back of the cloth with elastic surfaces, while the part was exposed to the teasling
action.
6. Elasticity has also been imparted to the teasels, in the three patent inventions of
Mr. Sevill, Mr. J. C. Daniell, and Mr. R, Atkinson.
7. It has been thought useful to separate the teasel-frames upon the drum of the
gig-mill, by simple rollers, or by rollers heated with steam, in order to obtain the
combined effect of calendering and teasling. Mr. J. C. Daniell, Mr. G. Haden, and
Mr. J. Rayner, have obtained patents for contrivances of this kind.
8. Several French schemes have been mounted for making the gig-drum act upon
the two sides of the cloth, or even to mount two drums on the same machine,
Mr. Jones, of Leeds, contrived a very excellent method of stretching the cloth, so
as to prevent the formation of folds or wrinkles. (See Newton’s ‘ Journal, vol. viii.
2nd series, page 126). Mr. Collier, of Paris, obtained a patent, in 1830, for a greatly
improved gig-mill, upon Douglas’s plan, which is now much esteemed by the French
clothiers. The following figures (jigs. 2129, 2130) and description exhibit one of the
latest and best teasling machines. It is the inventionof M. Dubois & Co., of Louviers,
and is now doing excelient work in that celebrated seat of the cloth manufacture,
In the fulling mill, the woollen web acquires body and thickness, at the expense of
its other dimensions ; for being thereby reduced about one-third in length, and one-
half in breadth, its surface is diminished to one-third of its size as it comes out of the
loom ; and it has, of course, increased threefold inthickness. As the filaments drawn
forth by teasling, are of very unequal lengths, they must be shorn to make them level,
and with different degrees of closeness, according to the quality of the stuff, and the
appearance it is desired to have. But, in general, a single operation of each kind is
insufficient ; whence, after having passed the cloth once through the gig-mill, and once
through the shearing-machine (tondeuse), it is ready to receive a second teasling,
deeper than the first, and then to suffer a second shearing. Thus, by the alternate
repetition of these processes, as often as is deemed proper, the cloth finally acquires
its wished-for appearance. Both of these operations are very delicate, especially the _
first ; and if they be ill conducted, the cloth is weakened, so as to tear or wear most
readily. On the other hand, if they be skilfully executed, the fabric becomes not only
more sightly, but it acquires strength and durability, because its face is changed into
a species of fur, which protects it from friction and humidity.
Figs. 2129, 2180, represent the gig-mill in section, and in front elevation. A, 8, ©, D,
a’, B’, c’, p’, being the strong frame of iron, cast in one piece, having its feet enlarged
a little more to the inside than to the outside and bolted to large blocks in the stone
pavement. «The two uprights are bound together below by two cross-beams a”, being
fastened with screw-bolts at the ears a”, a’; and at top, by two wrought-iron
stretcher-rods p, whose ends are secured by screw-nuts at D, p’, The drum is mounted
upon a wrought-iron shaft ¥, which bears at its right end (fig. 2130), exterior to the
frame, the usual riggers, or fast-and-loose pulley, ff”, /, which give motion to the
machine by a band from the main shaft of the mill. Onits right end, within the frame,
the shaft r, has a bevel-wheel ¥, for transmitting movement to the cloth, as will be
afterwards explained. Three crown wheels @, of which one is shown in the section,
fig. 2129, are, as usual, keyed by a wedge to the shaft ry. Their contour is a sinuous
band, with six semi-cylindrical hollows, separated alternately by as many portions of
the periphery. One of these three wheels is placed in the middle of the shaft r, and
the other two, towards its extremities. Their size may be judged of, from inspection
of fig. 2129. After having set them so that all their spokes or radii correspond exactly,
the 16 sides are made fast to the 16 portions of the periphery, which correspond in
the three wheels. These sides are made of sheet-iron, curved in. a gutter form,
Jig. 2129, but rounded off at the end, jig. 2130, and each of them is fixed to the three
felloes of the wheels by three bolts 4. The elastic part of the plate iron allows of their
being sufficiently well adjusted, so that their flat portions furthest from. the centre
may lie pretty truly on a cylindrical surface, whose axis would coincide with that of
the shaft r.
Vor, IIT. 4
1170
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
2130
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1171
Between the 16 sides there are 16 intervals, which correspond to the 16 hollowings
of each of the wheels. Into these intervals are adjusted, with proper precautions, 16
frames bearing the teasels which are to act upon the cloth. These are fitted in as
follows :—Each has the shape of a rectangle, of a length equal to that of the drum,
but their breadth enly large enough to contain two thistle-heads set end to end, thus
making two rows of parallel teasels throughout the entire length (see the contour in
Jig. 2129). A portion of the frame is represented in fig. 2131. The large side 1, against
which the tops of the teasels rest, is hollowed out in a semi-cylinder, and its opposite
side is cleft throughout its whole length, to receive the tails of the teasels, which are
seated and compressed in it. There are, moreover, cross-bars i, which serve to
maintain the sides of the frame 1, at an invariable distance, and to form short
compartments for keeping the thistles compact. The ends are fortified by stronger
bars &, k, with projecting bolts to fasten the frames between theribs. The distance of
the sides of the frame 1, 1, ought to be such, that if a frame be laid upon the drum,
in the interval of two ribs, the side 1 will rest upon the inclined plane of one of the
ribs, and the side 1’ upon the inclined plane of the other (see fig. 2129) ; while at the same
time the bars &, of the two ends of the frame rest upon the flat parts of the ribs
themselves. This point being secured, it is obvious, that if the ends of the bars & be
stopped, the frame will be made fast. But they need not be fixed in a permanent
manner, because they must be frequently removed and replaced. They are fastened by
the clamp, jigs. 2132, 2133, which is shut at the one end, and furnished at the other
with a spring, which can be opened or shut at pleasure. 2 and 4, in fig. 2130 (near
the right end of the shaft Fr), shows the place of the clamp, figs. 2132, 2133. The bar
of the right hand is first set in the clamp, by holding up its other end; the frame
is then let down into the left-hand clamp.
21382
2131 ——
bag
2133
bog
The cloth is wound upon the lower beam aQ, fig. 2129; thence it passes in contact
with a wooden cylinder 1, turning upon an axis, and proceeds to the upper beam Pp,
on to which it is wound; by a contrary movement, the cloth returns from the beam
P tog, over the cylinder T ; and may thus go from the one to the other as many times
as shall be requisite. In these successive circuits it is presented to the action of the
teasels, under certain conditions. In order to be properly teasled, it must have an
equal tension throughout its whole breadth during its traverse; it must be brought
into more or less close contact with the drum, according to the nature of the cloth,
and the stage of the operation; sometimes being a tangent to the surface, and
sometimes embracing a greater or smaller portion of its contour, it must travel with a
determinate speed, dependent upon the yelocity of the drum, and calculated so as to
produce the best result: the machine itself must make the stuff pass alternately from
one winding beam to the other,
In jig. 2130, before the front end of the machine, there is a vertical shaft 1, as high
as the framework, which revolves with great facility, in the bottom step 7, the middle
collet /’, and top collet 2’, in the prolongation of the stretcher p. Upon this upright
shaft are mounted—1, a bevel-wheel 1’; 2, an upper bevel-pinion m, with its boss mw’ ;
8, a lower bevel-pinion n, with its boss yn’, The bevel-wheel 1’ is keyed upon the
shaft 1, and communicates to it the movement of rotation which it receives from the
pinion f, with which it is in gear; but the pinion /, which is mounted upon the shaft
F of the drum, participates in the rotation which this shaft receives from the prime
moyer, by means of the fast rigger-pulley f’. The upper pinion m is independent
upon the shaft 1; that is to say, it may be slidden along it, up and down, without
being driven by it; but it may be turned in an indirect manner by means of six curved
teeth, projecting from its bottom, and which may be rendered active or not at pleasure ;
these curyed teeth, and their intervals, correspond to similar teeth and intervals upon
the top of the boss a’, which is dependent, by feathered indentations, upon the rotation
of 1, though it can slide freely up and down upon it. When it is raised, therefore, it
comes into gear with m. .The pinion n, and its boss, have a similar mode of being
thrown into and out of gear with each other. The bosses m’ and yn’, ought always to
be moved simultaneously, in order to throw one of them into gear, and the other out
ef gear. The shaft 1 serves to put the a in motion, by means of the bevel-
4F
1172 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
wheels Pp” and Q”, upon the ends of the beams P and q, which take into the pinions
m and N.
‘The mechanism destined to stretch the cloth is placed at the other end of the
machine, where the shafts of the beams, P, Q@, are prolonged beyond the frame, and
bear at their extremities P’ and q’, armed each with a brake. The beam P (fig. 2129),
turns in an opposite direction to the drum ; consequently the cloth is wound upon P, ~
and unwound from a. If, at the same time as this is going on, the handle r, of the
brake-shaft, be turned so as to clasp the brake of the pulley q’ and release that of the
pulley P’, it is obvious that a greater or smaller resistance will be occasioned in the
beam @, and the cloth which pulls it in unwinding, will be able to make it turn only
when it has acquired the requisite tension; hence it will be necessary, in order to in-
crease or diminish the tension, to turn the handle r’ a little more or a little less in the
direction which clasps the brake of the pulley Q’; and as the brake acts in a ve
equable manner, a very equable tension will take place all the time that the clot
takes to pass. Besides, should the diminution of the diameter of the beam @ render
the tension less efficacious in any considerable degree, the brake would need to be un-
clamped a very little, to restore the primitive tension.
When the cloth is to be returned from the beam Pp to the beam Q,z must be
lowered, to put the shaft 1 out of gear above, and in gear below ; then the cloth-beam
Q, being driven by that vertical shaft, it will turn in the same direction as the drum,
and will wind the cloth round its surface. In order that it may do so, with a suitable
tension, the pulley @’ must be left free, by clasping the brake of the pulley P’ so as to
oppose an adequate resistance.
The cloth is brought into more or less close contact with the drum as follows :—
There is for this purpose a wooden roller 1, against which it presses in passing from
the one winding beam to the other, and which may have its position changed rela-
tively to the drum. It is obvious, for example, that in departing from the position
represented in fig. 2129, where the cloth is nearly a tangent to the drum, if the roller
1 be raised, the cloth will cease to touch it; and if it be lowered, the cloth will, on
the contrary, embrace the drum over a greater or less portion of its periphery. For
it to produce these effects, the roller is borne at each end, by iron gudgeons, upon the
heads of an arched rack 1” (fig. 2129), where it is held merely by pins. These racks
have the same curvature as the circle of the frame, against which they are adjusted by
two bolts; and by means of slits, which these bolts traverse, they may be slidden up-
wards or downwards, and consequently raise or depress the roller 'r. But to graduate
the movements, and to render them equal in the two racks, there is a shaft v, sup-
ported by the uprights of the frame, and which carries, at ‘each end, pinions v’, 0”,
which work into the two racks 1, rT”: this shaft is extended in front of the frame,
upon the side of the head of the machine (jig. 2130), and there it carries a ratchet-
wheel w, with a handle w’. The workman, therefore, requires merely to lay hold of
the handle, and turn it in the direction of the ratchet-wheel, to raise the racks, and
the roller t, which they carry; or to lift the click or catch, and turn the handle in
the opposite direction, when he wishes to lower the roller, so as to apply the cloth to
a larger portion of the drum.
Crotu CRoprrnc.
Of machines for cropping or shearing woollen cloths, those of Lewis and Davis haye
been very generally used. |
Fig. 2184 is an end view, and jig. 2185 is a side view, of Lewis’s machine for
shearing cloth from ‘list to list. Fig. 2186 is an end view of the carriage, with the
rotatory cutter detached from the frame of the machine, and upon a larger scale: @ is
a cylinder of metal, on which is fixed a triangular steel wire; this wire is previously
bent round the cylinder in the form of .a screw, as represented at a, a, in fig. 2184,
and, being hardened, is intended to constitute one edge of the shear or cutter..
The axis of the cylindrical cutter a turns in the frame 8, which, having proper
adjustments, is mounted on pivots ¢, in:the standard of the travelling carriage d, d;
aid ¢ is the fixed or ledger blade, attached to a bar f, which constitutes the other edge
of the cutter; that is, the stationary blade, against which the edges of the rotatory
cutter act; f and g are flat springs, intended to keep the cloth (shown by dots) up
against the cutting edges. The form of these flat springs fg is shown at figs, 2137
and 2138, as consisting of plates of thin metal cut into narrow slips (fig. 2138), or
perforated with long holes (fig. 2187). ‘Their object is to support the cloth which is
intended to pass between them, and operate as a spring bed, bearing the surface of the
cloth against the cutters, so that its pile or nap may be cropped off or shorn as the
carriage d is drawn along the top rails of the standard or frame of the machine h h,
by means of cords,
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1173
_ The piece of cloth to be shorn is wound upon the beam &, and its end is then con-
ducted through the machine, between the flat springs f and g (as shown in jig. 2136),
to the other beam /,
and is then made fast ; bo
the sides or lists of the
cloth being held and
stretched by small
hooks, called ‘habit-
ing hooks.’ The cloth
being thus placed in
the machine, and ms
drawn tight, is held
distended by means of
ratchets on the ends
of the beams # and
Z, and palls. In com-
mencing the opera-
tion of shearing, the
carriage @ must be
brought back, as in
Jig. 2136, so that the
cutters shall be close to the list; the frame of the cutters is raised up on its pivots
as it recedes, in order to keep the cloth from injury, but is lowered again previously
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{ so a4 MER ee N oe AXIS 7
iJ : L
to being put in action. A band or winch is applied to the rigger or pulley 2, which,
by means of an endless cord passed round the pulley z, at the reverse end of the axle
of m, and round the other
pulleys o and p, and the small 2137 2138
pulley g, on the axle of the 2 +7 2136
cylindrical cutter, gives the : :
cylindrical cutter a very rapid ie A
rotatory motion; at the same
time a worm, or endless screw,
on the axle of m and x, taking
into the teeth of the large
wheel 7, causes that wheel. to
revolve, and a small drum s,
upon its axle, to coil up the
cord, by which the carriage d,
with the cutters @ and e, and
the spring bed f and g, are
slowly, but progressively, made
to advance, and to carry the :
cutters over the face of the i
cloth, from list to list; the Ge
rapid rotation of the cutting
cylinder a, producing the operation of cropping or shearing the pile.
Upon the cutting cylinder, between the spiral blades, it is proposed to place strips
of plush, to answer the purpose of brushes, to raise the nap or pile as the cylinder
goes around, and thereby assist in bringing the points of the wool up to the cutters.
The same contrivance is adapted to a machine for shearing the cloth lengthwise.
Fig. 2139, is a geometrical elevation of one side of Mr, Davis’s machine. Fig. 2140,
@ plan or horizontal representation of the same, as seen at top; and jig. 2141, a sec-
tion taken verticaliy across the machine near the middle, for the purpose of display-
[ caer)
Pt ty
1174 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
ing the working parts more perfectly than in the two preceding figures. These
three figures represent a complete machine in working condition, the cutters being
worked by a rotatory motion, and the cloth so placed in the carriage as to be cut
from list to list. «@, a, a, is a frame or stantaga: of wood or iron, firmly bolted —
together by cross braces at the ends and in the middle. In the upper side-rails of the
standard, there is a series of axles carrying anti-friction wheels, 6, b, 5, upon which
2139
3
=
\
LS
° a f : BS |
P cm ,.
A
the side-rails ¢, c, of the carriage or frame that bears the cloth runs, when it is pass-
ing under the cutters in the operation of shearing. The side-rails c, c, are straight
bars of iron, formed with edges v, on their under sides, which run smoothly in the
grooves of the rollers }, 5, 6. These side-rails are firmly held together by the end
stretchers d,d. The sliding frame has attached to it the two lower rollers é, e, upon
which the cloth intended to be shorn is wound ; the two upper lateral rollers f, f, over
which the cloth is conducted and held up; and the two end rollers g, g, by which the
habiting rails h, h, are drawn tight.
2140 2 atte, _—=
‘ ¢| b) y 4 | ‘
Ald I 2 te faba: Sotaalperon ; i
ime i
i]
v
a2 SS a SSS eS ES ee ee
u
2
et
Ss
Fre — =
In preparing to shear a piece of cloth, the whole length of the piece is, in the first
place, tightly rolled upon one of the lower rollers e, which must be something longer
than the breadth of the cloth from list to list. The end of the piece is then raised
and passed over the top of the lateral rollers f, f, whence it is carried down to the
other roller e, and its end or farral is made fast to that roller. The hooks of the
habiting rails h, h, are then put into the lists, and the two lower rollers e, e, with the
two end rollers g, g, are then turned, for the purpose of drawing up the cloth, and
straining it tight, which tension is preserved by ratchet-wheels attached to the ends
of the respective rollers, with palls dropping into their teeth. The frame carrying
the cloth is now slidden along upon the stop standard rails by hand, so that the list
shall be brought nearly up to the cutter 7, i, ready to commence the shearing ope-
he the bed is then raised, which brings the cloth up against the edges of the
shears,
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1175
The construction of the bed will be seen by reference to the cross-section fig. 2141.
‘It consists of an iron or other metal roller, /, #, turned to a truly cylindrical figure,
and eovered with cloth or leather, to afford a small degree of elasticity. This roller
is mounted upon pivots in a frame, /,/, and is supported by a smaller roller m,
similarly mounted, which roller m, is intended merely to prevent any bending or
depression of the central part of the upper roller or bed &, %, so that the cloth may be
kept in close contact with the whole length of the cutting blades.
2141
F
q
(aie
In order to allow the bed & to rise and fall, for the purpose of bringing the cloth up
* to the cutters to be shorn, or lowering it away from them after the operation, the frame
1, 7, is made to slide up and down in the grooved standard m, 7, the moveable part en-
closed within the standard being shown by dots. This standard 2, is situated about
the middle of the machine, crossing it immediately under the cutters, and is made
fast to the frame.a, by bolts and screws. There is a lever, 0, attached to the lower
eross-rail of the standard, which turns upon a fulerum-pin, the extremity of the
shorter arm of which lever acts under the centre of the sliding-frame, so that by the
lever 0, the sliding-frame, with the bed, may be raised or lowered, and when so raised,
-be held up by a spring-catch 7.
It being now explained by what means the bed which supports the cloth is eon-
structed, and brought up, so as to keep the cloth in close contact with the cutters,
while the operation of shearing is going on; it is necessary, in the next place, to
describe the construction of the cutters, and their mode of working; for which pur-
pose, in addition to what is shown in the first three figures, the cutters are also repre-
sented detached, and upon a larger scale, in jig. 2142.
In this figure is exhibited a portion of the cutters in the same situation as in fig.
2136; and alongside of it is a section of the same, taken through it at right angles
to the former; p, is a metallic bar or rib, somewhat of a wedge form, which is
fastened to the top part of the standard a a, séen best in fig. 2135. To this bara
straight blade of steel g, is attached
by screws, the edge of which stands
forward even with the centre or axis
of the cylindrical cutter 7, and forms
the ledger blade, or lower fixed edge
of the shears. This blade remains
stationary, and is in close contact
with the pile or nap of the cloth, when the bed /, is raised, in the manner above
described.
The cutter or upper blade of the shears, is formed by inserting two or more stri
of plate steel, 7, 7, in twisted directions, into grooves in the metallic cylinder ¢, é, ie
edges of which blades 7, as the cylinder ¢ revolves, traverse along the edge of the
fixed or ledger-blade g, and by their obliquity produce a cutting action like shears;
the edges of the two blades taking hold of the piled or raised nap, as the cloth
passes under it, shaves off the superfluous ends of the wool, and leaves the faco
smooth.
Rotatory motion is given to the cutting cylinder ¢, by means of a band leading
ftom the wheel s, which passes round the pulley fixed on the end of the cylinder #,
the wheel s being driven by a band leading from the rotatory part of the steam-
1176 “WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
engine, or any other first mover, and passed round the rigger ¢, fixed on the axle s.
. Tension is given to this band by a tightening pulley, «, mounted on an adjustable
sliding-piece v, which is secured to the standard by a screw; and this trigger is
thrown in and out.of gear by a clutch-box and lever, which sets the machine going,
or stops it. - ohvles . inh ee bus
In in to give a drawing stroke to the cutter, which will cause the piece of cloth
to.be shorn off with better effect, the upper cutter has a slight lateral action, pro-
duced by the axle of the cutting cylinder being made sufficiently long to allow of its
sliding laterally about an inch in its bearings; which sliding is effected by a cam w,
fixed at one end. This cam is formed by an oblique groove, cut round the axle
(see w, fig. 2142), and a tooth, 2, fixed to the frame or standard which works in it, as
the cylinder revolves. By means of this tooth, the cylinder is made to slide laterally,
a distance equal to the obliquity of the groove w, which produces the drawing stroke
of the upper shear. In order that the rotation of the shearing cylinder may not be
obakzeoted
afford a small degree of elasticity.
The manner of passing the cloth progressively under the cutters is as follows:—
On the axle of the wheel s,and immediately behind that wheel, there is a small rigger,
from which a band passes to a wheel y, mounted in an axle turning in bearings on the
lower side-rail of the standard a. At the reverse extremity of this axle, there is an-
other small rigger 1, from which a band passes to a wheel 2, fixed on the axle 3, which
crosses near the middle of the machine, seen in fig. 2141. Upon this axle there is a
sliding pulley 4, round which a cord is passed several times, whose extremities are
made fast to the ends of the sliding carriage d; when, therefore, this pulley is locked
to the axle, which is done by a clutch box, the previously-described movements of the
machine cause the pulley 4 to revolve, and by means of the rope passed round it, to
draw the frame, with the cloth, slowly and progressively along under the cutters.
It remains only to point out the contrivance whereby the machinery throws itself
out of gear, and stops its operations, when the edge of the cloth or list arrives at the
cutters.
At the end of one of the habiting rails; 2, there is a stop affixed by a nut and screw
5, which, by the advance of the carriage, is brought up and made to press against a
leyer 6 ; when an arm from this lever 6, acting under the catch 7, raises the catch up,
and allows the hand-lever 8, which is pressed upon by a strong spring, to throw the
clutch-box 10, out of gear with the wheel 8; whereby the revolution of the machine
ipstantly ceases.. The lower part of the lever 6, being connected by a joint to the top
of the leyer 7, the receding of the lever 6, draws back the lower catch 7, and allows the
sliding frame /, 7, within. the bed %, to descend. By now turning the lower rollers ¢, ¢,
another portion, of the cloth is brought up to be shorn; and when it is properly
habited and strained, by the means above described, the carriage is slidden back, and
the parts being all thrown into gear, the operation goes on as before.
Mr. Hirst’s improvements in manufacturing woollen cloths, for which a patent was
obtained in February 1830, apply to that part of the process where a permanent lustre
is given usually by what is called roll-boiling ; that is, stewing the cloth, when tightly
wound upon a roller, in a vessel of hot water or steam. . As there are many disadvan-
tages attendant upon the operation of roll-boiling, such as injuring the cloths, by over-
heating them, which weakens the fibre of the wool, and also changes some colours, he
substituted, in place of it, a particular mode of acting upon the cloths, by occasional
or intermitted immersion in hot water, and also in cold water; which operations may
be performed either with or without pressure upon the cloth, as circumstances may
require,
The apparatus which he proposed to employ for carrying on his improved process
is shown in the accompanying drawings. ig. 2148, is a front view of the apparatus,
an and in working order ; fig. 2144, is a section, taken transversely through the
middle of the machine, in the direction of jig. 2145; and jig. 2145 is'an end view of
the'same, 4, a, a, is a vessel or tank, made of iron or wood, or any other suitable
material ; sloping at the back and front, and perpendicular at the ends. This tank
must be sufficiently large to admit of half the diameter of the cylinder or drum, 4, d, },
being immersed into it, which drum is about four feet in diameter, and about six feof
long, or something more than the width of the piece of cloth intended to be operated
upon. This cylinder or drum, 2, 3, is constructed by combining segments of wood cut
radially on their edges, secured by screw-bolts to the rims of the iron wheels, having
arms, with an axle passing through the middle.
The cylinder or drum being thus formed, rendered smooth on its periphery, and
mounted Spon its axle in the tank, the piece of cloth is wound upon it as tightly as
possible, which is done by placing it in a heap upon a stool, as at ¢, fig. 2144, passing
its end over and between the tension rollers d, ¢, and then securing it to the drum;
by friction, the tooth x, is made of two pieces, set a little apart, so.as to -
.
oe a ea ell
St ge ee
“ 7
rial 2
~ +f _.
me a at Oe
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1177
the cloth is progressively drawn from the heap, between the tension-rollers, which
are confined by a pall and ratchet, on to the periphery of the drum, by causing the
* 2143 is
oo af
Fat T Tc I r — T y-—
drum to revolve upon its axis, until the whole piece of cloth is tightly wound upon the
drum; it is then bound round with canvas or other wrappers, to keep it secure.
2144
FS)
|
eI
@ = a
to blow through the pipe, and discharge
itself at the lower end, by which means
the temperature of the water is raised
in the tank to about 170° Fahr. Before
the temperature of the water has got
up, the drum is set in slow rotatory
motion, in order that the cloth may
be uniformly heated throughout; the
drum making about one rotation per
minute. The cloth, by immersion in
the hot water, and passing through the
cold air, in succession, for the space of
about 8 hours, gets a smooth soft face,
the texture not being rendered harsh,
or otherwise injured, as is frequently
the case by roll-boiling.
Uniform rotatory motion to the
drum is shown in fig, 2143, in which
an endless screw or. worm is placed
horizontally, and driven by a steam-engine or any other first mover employed in the
factory. This endless screw takes into the teeth of, and drives, the vertical wheel 2,
1178 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
upon the axle of which the coupling-box 4, é, is fixed, and, consequently, continually
revolves with it. At the end of the shaft of the drum, a pair of sliding clutches
k, k, are mounted, which, when projected forward, as shown by dots in fig. 2143, pro-
duce the coupling or locking of the drum-shaft to the driving-wheel, by which the
drum is put in motion; but on withdrawing the clutches %, /, from the coupling-box ~
i, i, as in the figure, the drum immediately stands still.
After operating upon the cloth in the way described, by passing it through hot
water for the space of time required, the hot water is to be withdrawn bya cock at the
bottom, or otherwise, and cold water introduced into the tank in its stead; in which
cold water the cloth is to be continued turning, in the manner above described, for the
space of 24 hours, which will perfectly fix the lustre that the face of the cloth has
acquired by its immersion in the hot water, and leave the pile or nap, to the touch, in
a soft silky state.
In the cold-water operation he sometimes employs a heavy pressing-roller /, which,
being mounted in slots in the frame or standard, revolves with the large drum, rolling
over the back of the cloth as it goes round., This roller may be made to act upon the
cloth with any required pressure, by depressing the screws m, m, or by the employ-
ment of weighted levers, if that should be thought necessary.
Pressing is the last finish of cloth to give it a smooth level surface. The piece is
folded backwards and forwards in yard-lengths, so as to form a thick package on the
board of a screw or hydraulic press. Between every fold sheets of glazed paper aro
placed to prevent the contiguous surfaces of the cloth from coming into contact; and
at the end of every 20 yards, three hot iron plates are inserted between the folds, the
plates being laid side by side, so as to occupy the whole surface of the folds. Thin
sheets of iron not heated are also inserted above and below the hot plates to moderate
the heat. When the packs of cloth are properly folded, and piled in sufficient number
in the press, they are subjected to a sévere compression, and left under its influence
till the plates get cold. The cloth is now taken out and folded again, so that the
creases of the former folds may come opposite to the flat faces of the paper, and be
removed by a second pressure. In finishing superfine cloths, however, a very slight’
pressure is given with iron plates but moderately warmed. The satiny lustre and
smoothness given by strong compression with much heat is objectionable, as it renders
the surface apt to become spotted and disfigured by rain.
Ross's Patent Improvements in Wool-combing Machinery, March 13, 1851.—The first
improvements described have relation to the machine for forming the wool into sheets
of a nearly uniform thickness, technically known as the ‘ sheeter,’ and consists chiefly
in combing with the ordinary sheeting-drum or cylinder-rollers, designated, from
their resemblance to porcupine quills, ‘ porcupine rollers ;’ these rollers having their
teeth or quills set in rows, and the rows of one roller gearing or taking into the spaces
between the rows of the other.
2146 2
“Seen Jt
IL
Fig. 2146 is an elevation of a sheeting-machine thus constructed :—F F is the
general frame-work upon which the several working parts of the machine are mounted.
A is the main or sheeting-drum or cylinder, which is studded with rows of comb or
‘ porcupine’ teeth a, a, a, the length and fineness of which are varied according to
the length of the staple of the wool or cther material to be operated upon. Instead of
the rows consisting each of a single set of teeth, two. three, or more sets may be
4 “ea Rea eS bate ats -
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1179
combined together. The number of wires which may be placed on one line shonld
vary with the quality of the wool or other material. In long-staple machines, the
number may vary from four to ten or more, and in short-staple machines from five
to twenty and more per inch. 8B, B, are two fluted feed-rollers; c, c, two poreupine
combing-rollers, by which the wool is partly combed while passing from the feed-
rollers to the surface of the sheeting-drum; an end elevation of the porcupine
eombing-rollers on an enlarged seale is given at jig. 2147. The teeth ¢, ¢, are set in
rows, and the rows of oné roller take or gear into the spaces between the rows of the
other. p is a grooved guideé-roller for preventing the wool or other material escaping
the combining action. The wool or other material is laid by the attendant evenly upon
the upper surface of an endless wed c, which works over the under feed-rollers, and
a plam roller u, which is mounted in bearings on the front of the machine. The
feed-rollers gradually supply the wool thus spread upon the endless ‘web to the two
porcupine combing-rollers, where it is partly combed and separated, and being so
prepared, it is laid hold of by the teeth of the sheeting-drum, by which it is still
further drawn out on account of the greater velocity with which the surface of the
sheeting-drum travels. When a sufficient quantity of the wool or other material has
been thus collected on the surface of the drum, it is removed by the attendant passing
a hooked rod across the sutface of the drum, and raising up one end of the sheet,
when the whole may be easily stripped off and removed, being then in a fit state for
being supplied to the comb-filling machine, next to be described.
2148
“
A modification of this sheeting-machine is represented in figs. 2148, 2149, whick
differs from it in this, that it is fed from both ends, In this modification a double set
of feeding rollers is employed, so that the machine may be fed from both ends,
These rollers are grooved and gear into poteupine combing roilers, similar to those
before described, which are followed by brush-cylinders or grooved guide rollers. A
© pee Dea Se a ig ee en as ee rn ern cee
pe | pt Sie a: oct ee a
to EST. a: Ca
1180 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE |
is the sheeting drum as before; 8, B, the fluted feed-rollers; c, c, the poreupine
eombing-rollers, which gear into the fluted ones ;.p, D, are the grooved guide-rollers ;
¥, F, are brush-cylinders, which may in the case of long work be dispensed with ; 6, c,
are the endless. webs upon which the wool is laid. The framing and gearing by
which the several parts are put in motion are omitted in the drawings, for the purpose
of clearly exhibiting the more important working parts ofthe machine. The arrange-
ment of sheeting machines just described, so far as regards the employment
of a fluted feed-roller in conjunction with a porcupine combing-roller, mat grooved
guide-roller, is more especially applicable to sheeting fine short wool, but may also
be applied with advantage to wool or other material of a longer staple. In the caso
of fine short wool, the sheet may be drawn off by means of rollers, in the manner
represented in jig. 2149. u, Hu, are, the drawing or straightening rollers, and 1 the
receiving roller. During the operation of drawing the wool and winding it on the
receiving roller, the sheeting cylinder must have a motion imparted to it in the
reverse direction. , ated
The next head of Mr. Ross’s specification embraces several improvements in comb-
filling machines, which have for their common object the partial combing of the wool
while it is in the course of being filled into the combs. ‘We select for exemplification
what the patentee regards as the best of these arrangements: jig. 2150 is a sido
elevation of a comb filling machine as thus improved. a, A, is a skeleton drum,
which is composed of two rings @ a, affixed to the arms 4, 6, which last are mounted
upon the main shaft of the machine, which has its bearings upon the general fram :
F, F; B', B* are the porcupine combing rollers, and c', c* brushes by which the por-
cupine combing rollers are cleansed from the wool that collects upon them, ane be
which the wool is again delivered to the combs e, ¢; D, D, are the feed-rollers, and F
an endless web which runs over the lower feed-roller and the plain roller e, which is
situated at the front of the.machine; u, H, are the driving pulleys, by which the
power is applied to the machine, and 1, 1,1, the wheel gearing by which motion is
communicated to the different parts. The wool which has undergone the process of
sheeting in the machine first described is spread upon the endless web £, and in
passing between the feed-rollers, and between or under or over the sa as combing
rollers, is taken hold of by the combs e¢, e, as they revolve, and, being drawn under
the first poreupine roller n' and the brush c', the continued revolution of the drum
and combs causes the wool to be brought into contact with the other porcupine
combing roller »? and brush c®, As the combs get filled, the wool is thus continuously
being brought under the action of the porcupine combing rollers and brushes ; and
each new portion of the wool taken up is instantly combed out. For some purposes
the combing will be found carried so far by this operation that the wool will require
no further preparation previous to being formed into slivers in the machine ps
described, and which is calculated for filling the combs and combing the wool or
other fibrous material, when the staple is some considerable length (say from 4 to 16
inches), there are two porcupine comb rollers with their brushes employed; but the
patentee did not confine himself to that number, as in some cases a single porcupine
combing roller and brush will be found sufficient for the purpose of facilitating the
process of combing and filling the combs; three or more rollers and brush cylinders.
eat ¥
a
pst oe
. -
he
‘ mea py
= “e ines
‘ . a
a re a
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1181
may be used with advantage ; such as where the staple is short, or where the fibrous
material operated upon is very close, and separated with difficulty.
Mr. Ross next describes some improvements in the combing machine of his inven-
tion patented in 1841, and now extensively used. The following general description
will indicate with sufficient distinctness to those familiar with the machine, the nature
of the improvements :—
‘First, I give to the saddle combs in the said machine a compound to-and-fro
and up-and-down movement, whereby they recede from and advance towards the
comb gates, and simultaneously therewith alternately rise and fall, so that éach time
the comb gates pass the saddle combs, they do so in a different plane, and thus the
position of the combs in relation to each other, as well as to the hold they take of the
wool or other material, is constantly being changed. Secondly, I employ a fan to
lash tho wool in the. comb gate or flying comb up against the saddle comb, which
renders it impossible for the wool to pass by the saddle comb without being acted
upon by it. Thirdly, 1 attach the- springs by which the gates are actuated to the
lower arms of the combing gates, instead of their being placed parallel to the upright
shaft of the machine as formerly, whereby a considerable gain in space and com-
pactness is effected ; and fourthly, I use breaks to: prevent the sudden jerk which is
caused when the wool in the comb gate leaves its hold of the saddle comb or incline
plane, and also to counteract -the sudden recoil of the springs by which the comb
gates are pressed i in when these perings are released from the grip or pressure of the
incline plane,’
Mr. Ross concludes with a description of an impenwe method of heating the combs
which has for its object ‘the economising of fuel, the better heating of the combs, and
the prevention of mistakes in removing the combs before they have been a sufficient
- time exposed to the heat.’
The body of the heating box or stove is divided by a partition into two portions,
which communicate together at the back or further end of the stove, so that the flame
and heated vapours, after having circulated under and along the sides of the
two lower comb chambers, ascend into the upper portion of the stove, where they
have to traverse along the sides-and over the top of the two upper chambers,
ultimately escaping into the chimney through a pipe. The length of the heating box,
or the chambers, should be about double the length of the eombs. The cold
combs are inserted at one end, and on -being put-into-their places push the more
heated combs towards the other end of the chambers, from which they are Temored,
See Arpaca; Monair.
Few of our manufactures have been more stationary than- that of woollen Liat
Our ancestors appear to have given much-attention to the weaving of woollen loth, and
- to have produced a fabric of much excellence. All thatthe moderns have done is: to
quicken the process of production by the application of steam-power to the machinery
employed, and they have introduced, in consequence of: this-application, a few new
and ingenious machines. The sophistication of many woollen fabrics, especially
carpets, with the fibre of jute, is destructive of one branch of our woollen manu-
facture,
' Exports.
British Manufactures, 1873.
Value
. Ibs, ° 5 iy
Sheep and lambs’ wool, British . ; 7,034,735 620,848
Other sorts, including foreign dressed in the United
Kingdom, and flocks and ragwool . : 2 4,677,983 132,909
Woollen and worsted yarn:
Woollen (carded) . . ea ‘ oe OT oe 696,704 101,608
Worsted (combed). oy cura ees A .» 384,047,808 §,291,885
Woollen and Worsted Manufactures.
Value
lbs. &
Broad cloths, coatings, duffels, &c., plain, all wool - 12,960,428 3,093,736,
Do. do. "wool mixed with other materials 9,933,214 1,503,993
Sted cloths, coatings, duffels, &c., plain, all wool .. 6,315,355 945,654
do. wool mixed with other materials* © 9,424,841 1,056,252
Worsted stuffs, all wool re -” .*° =225761,815 1,532,783
wool mixed with other material : . 260,182,877 12,744,599
Blankets and blanketing .° . ‘ “ seine 6,202,382 629,677
Flannels - . o . Tad “ Phas * mS . 8;244,931 ; 460,187
wie Bes “i
xt a. . Ys, . eS i yar e> oa ,
1182 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE
Woollen and Worsted Manufactures (continued). aS :
Carpets, not being rugs 4 : - . Ibs. 9,921,100 1,597,383
Woollen shawls .. 4s > al, Soa So. pai byte 4
» rugs, wrappers, . . . . No, - 4 183,012
» hosiery . : F ‘ 5 - ate 288,821
” small wares, &e. . . . . . . owe 1A 28,609
” yarn, &e, . . . . . . . oe 484,548
Foreign and Colonial Produce,
Valine
_ Ibs, £
Wool :—
Alpaca, vicufila,and lama . «wll 136 27
Sheep and lambs’ . ‘ ¥ é F ‘ . 128,246,068 8,889,898
Other kinds and flocks . P ‘ F ‘ 347,362 17,902
Woollen yarn sf <:stey osee Sat a ems be ee 34,777 6,066
= for weaying . : ‘ \ 31,554 4,241
unenumerated . F > : . re 2,186
Woollen manufactures ; —
Cloths and stuffs gest * waht ee 68,054 - 223,096
Unenumerated . wi ure Sh tis ta biele aad 5a 85,753
Imports,
Sheep or Lambs’ Wool, 1873.
Value
Ibs, &
From Russia, northern ports ‘ : " ; 2,721,598 142,492
K » southern ports > ia Te lepilesigtenc ack ok al 466,603
», Denmar ‘i ; ‘ ; 5 R 2,110,361 128,633
” Germany . . . . . . . . 8,294,628 565,784
” Holland . . . . . . . . 646,097 : 44,161
» Belgium ., : iy R A * 1,594,761 | 92,977
» France : A * ‘ . 1,557,165 110,622
» Portugal . y Cece wee rer et 141,258
” Italy , . . . . . . . 252,432 14,1538 pm
,, Austrian Territories P ‘ 3 1,624,591 75,825
» Turkey $ ° ; : ” ‘ 8,234,491 388,347
ss Egypt eae pcrtiece "by chvbethiier sh goike a > anaa 211,048
it orocco 2 . ° > » 4 : 816,955 48,581
,, United States of America . 4 i 4 ‘. 3,505,387 160,261. —
yy eka. > > e ; ; . . ; ‘. 2,307,919 130,463 -
~ OMe ° P : : ° 4 5 588,265 30,810
oe eS ee eee ww 842,742 117,784
, Argentine Republic . . . b ; . 10,783,762 412,158
» Gibraltar . “ A . 928,880 44,181
» British Possessions i in Soath "Africa i A - 42,057,187 2,868,250
» British India: ee and Scinde . x - 19,858,268 878,285
» Australia , ° . ; P ‘ . 186,664,946 11,851,054
» British North America . Ps ; 7 A é 299,384 18,663
» #alkland Islands . oy Ree 3 : ; 246,828 16,327
» Other countgies 5 = 6. ee ow et 625,391
Total. ° ° ° - 813,496,742 18,983,876
Value
Ibs, £
Other kinds and wool flocks . 4 ; . . 712,121 18,318
Woollen yarn for fancy purposes . . .« + 325,259 69,194
- weaving . - 3 a - - 18,169,662 1,496,463
Unenumerated . . 3 . ‘: : ‘ . nap * 28,467
Woollen manufactures :
Cloth and stuff (ployee) . ee ee a 345,408 1,428,156
Unenumerated « tap. Le RsS 7 gore Me ose 2,418,506
30,156
WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 1183
Table showing Quantity of Wool consumed in United Kingdom, 1868-71.
1868 1869 1870 1871
, lbs. Ibs. lbs. Ibs.
Production of English wool . |165,549,735|155,591,096)149,516,679)144,985,712
Export of os 9,806,180) 11,686,238) 10,613,482) 10,625,366
Retained for home consumption . |155,743,555|143,904,858/138,903,197|134,360,346
Imports retained for home con-
sumption :—
Foreign and colonial . - . |180,714,423)164,328,794|145,968,091/196,814,906
Alpaca and mohair . . ; 7,505,556) 7,970,418) 8,083,749) 11,249,464
Total. . . |298,963,534/816,199,065/292,955,037/342,424,716
Export of foreign and colonial
wool for 12 months ending
August 31. ° . 94,801,847/1 10,208,369 121,171,030)117,478,482
From the following Table some idea may be gathered as to the difference in weight
of English wool :—
Production of British Wool in 1872,
No. of sheep Weight per fleec
Counties ae are Pie isis «i Lbs.
Ibs
Bedford, West and North Ridings, York. | 1,508,226 63 9,803,469
Berkshire, Bucks, Cambridge . Z 822,109 63 5,138,181
Chester, Essex, Monmouth Bi 628,776 43 2,986,686
Cornwall, Huntingdon, Kent, Northamp-
ton, Liciooater " 2,339,008 7 ’ 16,373,056
Cumberland, Dorset, Norfolk, Salop,
Westmoreland . 3 2,453,951 54 13,496,730
Devon, Gloucester, Nottingham P . | 1,609,649 73 11,322,367
Durham, Rutland . : 283,734 5+ 1,489,604
Hants, Hereford, Hertford, "Lancaster,
Oxford, Stafford . A ‘ 7 . | 1,981,701 6 11,590,206
Derby, Warwick, Worcester . 5 . 793,581 52 4,568,091
East Riding, York. - E Z > 482,150 8 3,857,200
Lincoln . . i y : . | 1,488,827 83 13,027,236
Middlesex, Suffolk. e Semi ot 3 460,001 5 2,300,005
Northumberland . = . ‘ 4 853,172 6 5,758,911
Somerset 639,215 7 4,634,309
Surrey, Sussex, Wilts, Isle of ‘Man,
Channel Islands. . | 1,891,517 4 5,913,947
Wales . r ‘ _ P . | 2,706,415 ; 12,855,471
Scotland . - aie’ . | 6,882,747 5 36,134,422
Treland . F , ; Z «| 4,228,721 6; 26,429,506
31,403,500 187,674,397
Deduction for rs at between. 1871
and 1872 . ‘ ‘ ; . 110,650,577 3} 31,951,731
Net clip of wool, 1872 , ; - {155,722,666
There is some variation every year in the weight per fleece, according to the season.
Probably the clip of 1872 is slightly above the average in weight though not in number,
Pdicdee ome WO!
See ela
Sard "4 4 No
‘
1184 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE ; oe
Imports of Foreign and Colonial Sheep and Lambs Wool, Alpaca, §o.
(000’s omitted).
. ’ i
S| gp 2 b 2] « 33 f
al af a a]. 1-8 Bl ae lBal a |e rt
= 3 — £- 2 2
g| 38 =a 23/416 | a 1Bee! Bs 25 € 12% e4| 8
Rl aeel|4qagn}/ on] a] os a |Oms| aa |p a aR 145 &l
Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | 1 Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs.
1796] 3,484| .. .. [3,339] 14] ., 4, | acd eT ee 1796
1800] 8.608 | ;. 1. leo63 | 421} 3. | 1995] - 2! Mel pee 1800
1801] 7,361 | <: :. |5395 |, 196] “BL }aasr| :. |. :. |. 2. | 558) 8 — jason
1806] 6.757| .. > 15444 | 715 oy po | 191 FS — fag0s
1811| 4.730 -.. ELT Ol, Pee Soa 1 104] fasta
1812} 6,979 | .. -» (1,666] °.. wen LS e CS ae ‘33 | 3 {1812
1814] 15,479 38] ... |6,723| 3,581} 687|4413| .. | .. | .. 42| Bey 1814
1815| 13,634 73 | 23 |6.930 | 3243] 298| 3013); 41 ze 4| 22 {isl
1816| 7,516 14| - 10 |2:959 | 2833 | 299] 1.211| 206| 43| .. 2 | 39 [181
1817] 14,051 | ., 12 |6289 | 4924 | 14] 9698] 93} 149 1} 20] 28 jisiz
1818] 24°718 87| 14 |8,761 | 8,674 | 772 | 5,838 | 300 | 269 2 1 23 1818
1819| 13,736 71| 18 |4,999| 4.163] 45913111] 876| 24] .. 16 | 23 (181
1820| | 9:776 99 | 14 [3,536 | 5.921| 76} 732} ° 69|° 1 8} 20| 42 lise
1821| 16,622 | 175| 12 |6,969 | 8; 67| 712 ee 18| 15 Ep 1821
1824| 29'564 | 383} 25 |5,021 [15,483 | 261 | 1,429 3) 1 7 2| 2B ligos
1825| 43817 | 324 | 28 |8,206 |28.931 | 1,992 | 3.910 | 331] 80 15 a3 182
1826] 15,989 | 1,106 4 |1619 {10,599 | "697 | 1;307| 205] 5| i98| sis| $$ lise
1831| 31,652 | 2493 | 48 |3'475 |23,046 | 264 | 2 12} 16)-.<. SA (1831
1836| 64,240 |. 4.997 | 332 (2,818 |32,098 | 5,415 |13-250 | 1,073 | 633 | 1,086 | 2,607 | ©
1841| 56,180 | 12399 | 1,080 |1,088 |21.124 | 4,132 | 3,562 | 5,106 | 59 | 3,009 | 4,621
1844| 65,070 | 17,602 | 2:197 | "919 |227119 | 5,402 | 8,447 | 2,186 | 29 | 2:766 | 3,410
1845] 75,552 | 24,177 | 8,513 [1,074 |18,681 | 8,709 | 8,686.| 2,934 | 885 | 3,975 | 2.966 | 4
1863|180,812 | 77,173 |20,167 | 256 | 8,801 |18,483 |12,893.|10,457 | 678 |20,670 | 9,897 | 6,837
1864/211,210 | 99,037 [19,881 | 712 | 9,628 |15,400 |17,609 |11,303 | 891 |20,425 | 8,921 | 7,401
1865/217,609 |109,734 |29,220 | 116 | 7,138 |15,050 {13,420 [10,388 | 45 (17,105 | 7,202 | 8,196
1866)243,751 113,773 |29,249 | 123 |11,402 {16,908 |15,160 |11,747 |1,256 |25,680 |10,443 | 8,010
1867/286,351 {183,108 |36,127 | 494 | 4,185 | 8,065 | 9,317.|11,084 | 656 |15,235 |11,953 | 6,127.
1868|259,811 |155,745 |85,994 | 663'| 5,812 | 8,273 | 8,059 | 8,368 | 827 |17,602 | 9,586 | 8,882
1869|262,847 [158,478 |34,308 | 274 | 7,309 | 7/423 {10,368 | 8,027 | 59 [18,797 |10,120 | 7,7
The final 000’s are omitted in this table, pend must be ‘added to thesums given: thus, the total
quantity of wool, &c., imported in 1869 was 262,847,000 lbs,
Imports of Wool in 1874.
Lbs. Value
Sheep and lambs’ . r. z s : 3B doe . {338,800,481)20, 489, 055 J
Alpaca, vicufia, and llama J ; e = ~ | 4,186,881 “557,586
Goats’ hair or wool . F : 2 . ." : «| 8;018,706| 1,046,178
Woollen yarn . : “ : ~ ‘ S ana” «| 18;114,180 1,492,715
eames ar : ‘ : - 7 » «+ «| 57,861,920) 547,279
Woollen Manufacture : ‘nt
Of goats’ wool, mixed or not with other materials . . ae 48,404
Of wool other than goats’, or of wool mixed with cotton, | Pieces’
cloth, and stuffs . 4 F - . * 4 205,222 | 1,083,581
Unenumerated. AAR aS { fs ; A ; ‘ i 2,940,684
XYLOL 1185
_ Exports of Wool in 1874.
—_——
Yards Lbs, Value
&
Sheep or lambs’ . a ; > : . | 1,047,333 " 918,879
Woollen and worsted yarn. : ; ‘ fee 34,999,602 | 5,658,963
Woollen and Worsted Manufactures :
Woollen cloths, &c. 5 i a : 40,177,001/37,983,903 | 3,499,409
Worsted stuffs, &c., all wool . ' : . | 22,720,919} 8,822,948 | 1,474,628
38 wool mixed with other materials |238,438,689/55,065,952 |10,412,855
Blanketing . $ 2 4 - 4 2 7,225,102} 8,701,200 850,399
Flannels * A * a 5‘ i ; 8,764,597| 3,044,017 484,454
Carpets, not being rugs . : 6 A - | 9,188,604/15,066,473 | 1,474,881
Hronrety of Wool; Be 5 OE Pe Tes 289,777
Small wares . : 7 ; : 2 . See ave 1,183,659
Total of woollen and worsted manufactures aM Bf 22,794,977
WOOTZ, is the Indian name for Steel. The Indian wootz is prepared in very
rude furnaces, in a most primitive manner, from hematite and magnetic iron ore;
charcoal being the fuel employed. See Srzet.
WORMWOOD (Ariemesia Absinthia). An intensely bitter herb, used medici-
nally; and it is said to be sometimes employed as a substitute for hops, in brewing
inferior kinds of beer.
WORSTED. Yarns made of long wool drawn out into long filaments by passing
it, when oiled, through heated combs, as described under Woorren Manvracture.
Numerous machines have been introduced for combing wool, and may now be said to
have entirely superseded the old fashion of hand-combing.
xX
XANTHINE, the name given by Kuhlmann to the yellow dyeing-matter of
madder. See Mapper. The name has also been applied to an animal product.
XANTHORRHGA. Several species of this genus of Liliacee are known ia
Australia as ‘grass trees.’ They yield ‘ Botany-Bay resin’ and ‘ Black-boy gum.’
XYLOIDINE—WNitramidine. By acting on starch with fuming nitric acid, a
transparent jelly is formed, and on adding water, xyloidine is precipitated as a white
granular substance,
This name has been given to some preparations of collodion which have been pre-
pared by acting on some variety of woody fibre with nitric acid, until it became sus-
ceptible of solution in sulphuric ether. Many photographers are of opinion that
collodion thus prepared is in many respects superior to that obtained by dissolving
gun-cotton in ether. Our own experience does not enable us to pronounce on this,
but we have heard some very intelligent operators express a very opposite opinion.
Chemically the collodions will be the same, but it is possible that there may be a
physical difference, and few, except those who have had much experience in the
changes produced by light on chemical compounds, can form any correct idea of the
differences in actinic power of producing change in bodies physically different, though
chemically the same. Xyloidine, or rather sawdust treated with a mixture of nitric
acid and sulphuric acid, until rendered explosive, has been proposed for use in blasting
rocks. Another modified form of the same kind of blasting powder has been made
by saturating deal sawdust with nitrate of potash, and then mixing the preparation
with some sulphur and yellow prussiate of potash. Neither of these explosive powders
has, however, come into use. They are dangerous, as being liable to spontaneous
combustion. See Cornoprion ; Gun-Corron.
XYLOL. A hydrocarbon found in coal-naphtha and in the oils which separate
when crude wood-spirit is mixed with water.
Vor, IIL. 4G
1186 YOTRIA |S -.aeo. ee
YARN. (Fil, Fr.; Garn, Ger.) Wool, cotton, or flax, spun into thread.
YVEAST. See Beer, and FeRMENTATION. ‘
YEAST, ARTIFICIAL. Mix 2 parts by weightof fine flour of pale barley-malt, ~ aa
with 1 part of wheat-flour; stir 50 lbs. of this mixture gradually into 100 quarts
of cold water, with a wooden spatula, till it forms a smooth pap. Put this pap into
a copper over a slow fire: stir it well till the temperature rise to fully 155° to 160°
Fahr., when a partial formation of sugar will take place, but this sweetening must not
be pushed too far ; turn out the thinned paste into a flat cooler, and stir it from time
to time. As soon as the wort has fallen to 59° Fahr., transfer it to a tub, and add for
every 50 quarts of it 1 quart of good fresh beer yeast, which. will throw the wort _
into brisk fermentation in the course of 12 hours. This preparation will be good
yeast, fit for bakers’ and brewers’ uses, and will continue fresh and active for three
days. It should be occasionally stirred. - : ;
The German yeast imported into this country in large quantities, and employed by
our bakers in baking cakes, and other fancy bread, is made by putting the Unterhefe
(see Brzr, Bavarian) into thick sacks of linen or hempen yarn, letting the liquid
part, or beer, drain away; placing the drained sacks between boards, and exposing
them to a gradually increasing pressure, till a mass of a thin cheesy consistency is
obtained. This cake is broken into small pieces, which are wrapped in separate linen
cloths ; these parcels being afterwards enclosed in waxed cloth, for exportation. The —
yeast-cake may also be rammed hard into.a pitched cask, which is to be closed air-
tight. In this state, if kept cool, it may be preserved active for a considerable time.
When this is to be used for beer, the proportion required should be mixed with a
quantity of worts at 60° Fahr., and the mixture left for a little to work, and send up
: Beely froth ; when it is quite ready for adding to the cooled worts in the fermenting
ack,
YEAST, PATENT. Boil 6 ounces of hops in 3 gallons of water 3 hours; strain
it.off, and let it stand 10 minutes ; then add half a peck of ground malt, stir it well up
and cover it over; return the hops, and put the same quantity of water to them again,
boiling them the same time as before, straining it off to the first mash ; stir it up, and
let it remain 4 hours, then strain it off, and set it to work at 90°, with 3 pints of
patent yeast; let it stand about 20 hours; take the scum off the top, and strain it
through a hair-sieve; it will be then fit for use. One pint is sufficient to make a
bushel of bread. .
Dried Yeast Imported in 1873.
Cwts. Value
From Germany a ’ . 28,060 £79,669
» Holland. ‘; - - 114,446 281,469
» Belgium. = . * 4,711 13,182
» Other countries . ‘ 10 27
Total. 7 - 147,226 » 874,347
Dried yeast Imported in 1874: 153,808 ewts.; value 396,067.
YELLOW COPPER ORE. Sce Copper Pyrirss.
YELLOW DYES. (Teintures jaunes, Fr.; Gelbfirben, Ger.) Annotto, dyer's-
broom (Genista tinetoria), fustic, fustet, Persian or French berries, quercitron bark,
saw-wort, (Serratula tinctoria), turmeric, weld, and willow-leaves, are the principal ij
“yellow dyes of the vegetable kingdom; chromate of lead, iron oxide, nitric acid (for
silk), sulphide of antimony, and sulphide of arsenic, are those of the mineral kingdom.
Un er these articles, as also under Caxico-Printinec, Dyerne, and Morpants, ample
instructions will be found for communicating this colour to textile and other fibrous
substances, Alumina and oxide of tin are the most approved bases of the above vege- —
table dyes. A nankin dye may be given with dablah, especially to cotton oiled prepa-
ratory to the Turkey-red process. See Mappzr.
YELLOW, KING'S, is a poisonous yellow pigment. See Arsenic and ORPIMENT.
YELLOW METAL. See Muntz’s Merat,
YEBw. Taxus baccata, the common yew, yields a durable timber, and was the
favourite wood for the old long-bows.
¥TTRIA js a rare earth, extracted from the minerals gadolinite and yttrotantalite,
It is an oxide of the metal yttrium,
ZINC 1187
ZAFFRE. See Coparr.
ZEA. .lndian corn or maize is obtained from an American grass, the Zea mays.
It is now largely cultivated in the East Indies and in Northern Africa, and is grown
to some extent in the south of Europe. ‘Popped corn’ is prepared by heating the
grains on a hot metal plate, when they open and expose their starchy contents ; sweet-
ened and coloured, they form a sweetmeat known as ‘ cornball.’
ZEDOARY. (Zédoaire, Fr.; Zittwer, Ger.) The root of a eucurbitaceous plant
imported from Ceylon, Malabar, and Cochin-China, employed sometimes medicinaliy,
It occurs in wrinkled pieces, externally ash-coloured, internally brownish-red ; possessed
of a fragrant odour, and of a pungent, aromatic, bitterish taste.
ZEOLITES. A group of minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of alumina and
other bases. They gelatiniso with acids, and intumesce when heated, whence their
name (¢€w, z¢o, to boil). They are found in the cavities of amygdaloidal rocks, and a
_ few also occur in mineral veins. None of them is of any use in the arts.
ZINC (Atomic weight, 32°5; symbol, Zn) is a metal of a bluish-white colour, of
considerable lustre when broken, but easily tarnished by the air; its fracture is hackly,
and foliated with small facets, irregularly set. It has little cohesion, and breaks in
thin plates before the hammer, unless it has been previously subjected to a process of
lamination, at the temperature of from 220° to 300° Fahr., by which it becomes
malleable and ductile. On this singular property a patent was taken out by Messrs.
Hobson and Sylvester, of Sheffield, many years ago, for manufacturing sheet zine for
covering the roofs of houses, and sheathing ships ; but the low price of copper at that
time, and its superior tenacity, rendered their patent ineffective. The specific gravity
of zine varies from 6°9 to 7'2, according to the degree of condensation to which it has
been subjected. It melts under a red heat, at 773° Fahr. When strongly heated
with contact of air, the metal takes fire, and burns with a brilliant bluish-white light,
while a few floceuli of a woolly-looking white matter (zi/ albwm) rise out of the cru-
“cible and float in the air. The result of this combustion is a white powder, formerly
called ‘ flowers,’ but now oxide of zine.
The principal ores of zine are, the sulphide called dlende, the carbonate called cala-
mine, and the silicates of zinc.
1. Blende erystallises in rhombic dodecahedrons ; its fracture is highly conchoidal ;
lustre, adamantine; colours, black, brown, red, yellow, and green; transparent or
translucent ; spec. grav. 4. It is a simple sulphide of the metal (ZnS) ; and, therefore,
consists in its pure state, of 32°5 of zinc and 16 of sulphur. It dissolves in nitric acid,
with disengagement of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. It occurs in beds and veins, ac-
companied chiefly by galena, iron pyrites, copper pyrites, and heavy spar.- There is
a radiated variety found at Przibram, remarkable for containing a large proportion of
cadmium. Blende is found in great quantities in Derbyshire and Cumberland, as also
in Cornwall and many other localities. It is frequently termed ‘ black jack.’
2. Calamine is a mineral occurring usually in coneretionary forms and compact
masses, yellowish-white when pure, but frequently brown through the presence of iron.
It erystallises in rhombohedra, and has a spec. grav. of about 4°4. It is a normal
carbonate of zine (Zn0.CO?=ZnCO') containing, when pure, about 52 per cent. of
zinc. Itis an abundant ore in Derbyshire, Cumberland, Belgium, Sardinia, Silesia,
&e. The carbonate is termed by some writers Smithsonite, a name applied by others
to the hydrous silicate. See CaramIne.
3. Smithsonite or Electric calamine is an ore occurring in compact masses, and in
mammillated, botryoidal, and fibrous forms. It is found in Carinthia, Hungary,
Belgium, New Jersey, &c. It is a hydrous silicate, containing 2Zn0.Si0?+ HO
(Zn*Si0‘+H’O). Many writers term this ore calamine.
4. Willemite. An anhydrous silicate of zine, containing 2Zn0.Si0? (Zm*sio'). It
is found at Vieille Montagne, near Aix-la-Chapelle, and at Franklin and Stirling, in
New Jersey. :
5. Zincite, Spartalite, or Red zinc ore oceurs at Mine Hill and Sterling Hill in New
Jersey, where it is associated with franklinite. It is an oxide of zinc (ZnO) containing
alittle oxide of manganese. An artificial oxide of zinc is sometimes found crystallised
among blast-furnace products. *
The zine ores of England, like those of France, Belgium, and Silesia, occur in two
geological positions. The first is in the carboniferous or mountain limestone. The
blende and the calamine most usually accompany the veins of galena which traverse
that limestone ; though there are many lead mines that yield no calamine ; and, on the
other hand, there are veins of calamine alone, as at Matlock.
462
1188 ZING
In almost every part of England where metalliferous limestone appears, there are
explorations for lead and zine ores. The neighbourhood of Alston-moor, in Cum-
berland, of Castleton and Matlock, in Derbyshire, and the small metalliferous. belt
of Flintshire, are peculiarly marked for their. mineral riches. On the north’ side
of the last county, calamine is worked in a fich mine of galena at Holywell, where it
presents the singular appearance of occurring only in the ramifications that the lead-
vein makes from east to west, and never in those from north to south; while the
blende, abundantly present in this mine, is: found indifferently in all directions.
The second locality of calamine is in the magnesian limestone formation. The
calamine is disseminated through it in small contemporaneous veins, which, running
in all directions, form the appearance of a network. These veins have commonly a
thickness of only a few inches; but in certain cases they extend to 4 feet, in conse-
quence of the union of several small ones into a single mass. There were formerly
explorations for calamine in the magnesian limestone, situated chiefly on the flanks of
the Mendip Hills, a chain which extends in the north-west and south-east direction,
from the Canal of Bristol to Frome. Calamine was chiefly worked in the parishes of
Phipham and Roborough, as also near Rickford and Broadfield-Doron, by means of a
great number of small shafts. The miners paid for the privilege of working a tax of
1, sterling per annum, to the Lords of the Treasury ; and they sold the ores, mixed
with a considerable quantity of carbonate of lime, at Phipham, after washing it
slightly in a sieve. Very little is at present worked in this district. Calamine is
now largely imported into this country from ‘Spain and the United States of America.
Meratturey or Zinc.
Roasting of Ores.—Blende, or sulphide of zine is, previous to its treatment for
metal, carefully roasted in a reverberatory furnace, over the bottom of which it is
spread in a layer of about 4 inches in thickness. A strong heat is necessary for this
purpose, and during the operation the charge is frequently stirred with a strong iron
rake, with a view of exposing fresh surfaces to the gases of the furnace. The appa-
ratus most commonly employed in this country for roasting sulphide of zinc consists
of a reverberatory furnace about 36 feet in length and 9 feet in width, provided with
a fireplace of the usual construction. The sole or hearth of this apparatus is divided
into three distinct beds, of which that nearest the fire-bridge is 4 inches lower than
that which is next it, which is again 4 inches lower than that nearest the chimney.
In addition to the heat derived from the fireplace, the gases escaping from the re-
ducing furnaces are usually introduced immediately before the bridge, and a consider-
able economy of fuel is thereby effected.
When the furnace has been sufficiently heated, a charge of 12 ewts. of raw blende
is introduced into the division nearest the chimney, and equally spread over the
bottom, care being taken to stir it from time to time by means of an iron rake, as
before described. After the expiration of about eight hours this charge is worked on
to the floor of the compartment forming the middle of the furnace, and a new
charge is introduced into the division next the chimney. About eight hours after
this charging the ore on the middle bed is worked on to the first, whilst that on the
hearth next the chimney is equally spread on the middle one and a new charge intro-
duced into the division next the stack. After the expiration of another period of
eight hours the charge on the first hearth is drawn, the ore on the middle and third
hearths moved forward, and a fourth charge introduced as before. In this way the
operation is continuous, and each furnace will effect the calcination of about 36 ewts.
of ordinary blende in the course of 24 hours, '
Calamine is usually prepared for smelting by calcination in a furnace resembling
an ordinary lime-kiln, the heat being often supplied by means of four fireplaces
arranged externally, and so placed that the heated gases may be drawn into it, and
regularly distributed through the interstices existing between the masses of ore. Cala-
mine subjected to this treatment commonly loses about one-third of its weight, and is
at the same time rendered so friable as easily to admit of being reduced to fine powder
by an ordinary edge-mill. ;
Belgian Process.—-When this method of treating zine ore is employed, the furnace
represented in fig. 2151 is commonly used.
Fig. 2151 represents, on the left hand, a front elevation of the furnace, and on —
the right a sectional elevation through the ash-pit and fireplace. F is the fireplace,
whilst a is the cavity into which are introduced the retorts destined for the distillation
of the metal. The pence of combustion escape by the openings @ into a flue, by
which they are conducted into ‘the calciner for the purpose of economising the waste
heat. These furnaces are either arranged in couples, back to back, or in groups of —
four, for the purpose of rendering the structure more solid, and economising heat,
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ZINC 1189
In the arched chamber a are placed 48 cylindrical retorts, 3 feet 6 inches in
length from + to d, and 7 inches internal diameter. .These are made of refractory
fire clay, well baked and supported behind by ledges of masonry a, }, fig. 2152,
whilst in front, at cd, they rest on fire-clay saddles let into an iron framing. Short
conical fire-clay pipes, 10 inches in length from d to ¢, are fixed in the mouths of
these retorts by means of moistened clay, and project for a short distance beyond
the mouth of the furnace. To these are adapted thin wrought-iron cones 18 inches
in length from e to f, tapering off to the smaller extremity to an orifice of about three
quarters of an inch in diameter. The inclined position of the retorts, the method |
of adjusting the pipes, and the general arrangement of the apparatus are shown in
_ fig, 2152, in which 7, 7, 7, 7, represent the nozzles of thin wrought iron. When a new
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Y
SISISISISISIstcs
furnace is first lighted the retorts are introduced without being previously baked, but
care must be taken that they be perfectly dry and seasoned, and for this reason it
is necessary to keep a large stock constantly on hand, in a storehouse artificially
heated by means of some of the flues of the establishment. The heat is gradually
increased during three or four days, at the end of which period charges of ore are
introduced, the clay cones are luted in their places, and the furnace is brought into full
working order. The charge of a furnace consists of 1,680 lbs. of roasted blende, or
calcined calamine, and 840 Ibs. of coal-dust. The ore and coal-dust, after being finely
divided and intimately mixed, is slightly damped and subsequently introduced into the
retorts by means of a semi-cylindrical scoop, by the aid of which an experienced work-
man will effect the charging without spilling the smallest quantity of the mixture.
In this country the retorts in the lower tier are usually not charged, as they are
extremely liable to be broken, and are therefore only employed to moderate the heat
of the furnace, On the Continent, however, the fireplace is frequently covered by a
hollow arch, and in that case every retort requires a charge of ore.
The mixture introduced into the retorts varies, to a certain extent, with their
position in the furnace, for in spite of every precaution to prevent inequality of
temperature, it is found impossible to heat the whole of them alike, and those next
the fire, therefore, from being the most strongly heated, are liable to work off first.
As soon as the retorts have been charged the clay cones are luted into their places,
and carbonic oxide gas, which burns with a blue flame at the mouth of the cones,
quickly makes its appearance. The quantity of this gas gradually diminishes, and as
soon as the flame assumes a greenish-white hue, and white fumes are observed to be
evolved, the sheet-iron cones are put on, and the furnace at once enters into steady
action. From time to time, as the iron cones become choked with oxide, they are
taken off and gently tapped against some hard substance, so as to remove it, and
then replaced. The oxide thus collected is added to the mixture prepared for
the next charge. . After the expiration of about six hours from the time of charging
the wrought-iron tubes are successively removed, and the metallic zine seraped from
the clay-pipes into an iron ladle. This, when full, is skimmed, and the oxide added
1190 ZINC
to that obtained from the nozzles, whilst the pure metal is cast into ingots, weighing
about 28 lbs. each. At the expiration of twelve hours from the time of charging, the zinc —
is again tapped, and the residue remaining in the retorts withdrawn. The retorts are
immediately recharged, and the operation of reduction is conducted as above described.
The residues obtained from the retorts, after the first working, are passed through
a crushing-mill, mixed with a further quantity of small coal, and again treated for the
metal they contain. The earthen adapters or cones, when unfit for further service,
are crushed and treated as zinc ores, or
In order to work these furnaces with economy, it is of the greatest importance that
they should be constantly supplied with a full number of retorts, since the amount of
fuel consumed, and the general expenses incurred for each furnace, will be the same if
the apparatus has its full complements of retorts, or if one half of them are broken
and consequently disabled.
It is therefore necessary, in all zinc-smelting establishments, to keep a large stock
of well-seasoned retorts, which, before being introduced into the furnace, to make good ©
any deficiency caused by breakage, are heated to full redness in a kiln provided for
that purpose. The Belgian process of zinc smelting is that which is at present most
employed in this country. The principal localities in which zinc ores are treated are
Swansea, Wigan, Llanelly, and Wrexham.
WG
maracas BE
KM QU eS
Silesian Process.—In the zine works of Silesia the furnaces employed differ con-
siderably ftom those used in the Belgian process. ;
Fig. 2153, represents an elevation, and fig. 2154, a vertical section of the Silesian
furnace. The distillation is effected in a sort of muffle of baked clay, m, jigs. 2155
and 2156; these are each about 3 feet 3 inches in
2155 length, and 20 inches in height. The front of this
muffle is pierced with two apertures. ‘The lower open-
ing, d, serves to remove the residues remaining in the
process of distillation by a small door of baked clay,
firmly luted in its place. In the upper opening is
introduced a hollow clay arm, bent at right angles,
E a, b, c, and which remains open atc. An opening at
| : s 6, permits of charging the retort by means of a proper
M
6 scoop, and this, during the operation, is closed by a
Tuted clay-plug. From six to ten of these muffles or
retorts are arranged in rows, on either side of a fur-
7 nace provided with suitable apertures for their intro-
duction, They are securely luted in their places, and the openings closed by sheet-'
retorts after each operation, and is closed during the =
ZINC 191
iron doors, by which the too rapid cooling of the pipe a, 2, c, is prevented. The fuel
. employed is coal, which is burnt on the grate a, situated in the centre of the furnace,
The retorts are charged with a mixture of calamine and small coal, or more frequently
coke-dust, since, when coal is employed, the products of distillation are found to be
liable to choke the pipe a, 3, c.
The zine escapes by the opening ¢, of the adapter, and is received into the cavities
o, of the furnace.
The furnace shown in figs. 2157, 2158, 2159, is for remelting the metallic zinc.
Fig. 2157, is a front view; fig. 2158, is a trans-
! ry verse section ; fig. 2159, a view from above: a, is
2157 @ ti the fire-door; 6, the grate; c, the fire-bridge ; d,
the flue; e,the chimney; f, f, f, cast-iron melting-
pots, which contain each about 10 cwts. of metal,
The heat is moderated by the successive addition
of pieces of cold zine. The inside of the pots
is sometimes coated with loam, to prevent the iron
being attacked by the zinc.
In some establishments, and particularly those
2160
Cc
2159
at Stolberg in Prussia, the retorts have the form represented by p, fig. 2160, cis an
adapter also of fire-clay; B a cone of wrought iron, and a a small vessel of the same
material for the collection of the oxide, and furnished in the bottom with an aperture
for the escape of the gases generated. P
These are arranged on either side of a grate as represented, fig. 2161; an internal
opening serving for two retorts, and of which there are usually twelve in each
furnace. is the fire-door; F grate; @ chamber in masonry of furnace; x dia-
phragm of fire-brick supporting adapter, in the depressed part of which the metallic
zine is collected and subsequently removed by a scraper, as in the case of the
cone of the Belgian retort. The wrought-iron vessel a, is supported by a chain or
wire J.
Fig. 2162 represents a longitudinal elevation of the roasting furnace employed,
2162 imal
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Old English Process.—The English furnaces formerly used for smelting zine ores
were sometimes quadrangular, sometimes round ; the latter form being preferable.
1192 ZINC
They were mounted with from 6 to 8 crucibles or pots (figs. 2163, 2164), arched over
with a cupola a, placed under a conical chimney }, which served to give a strong®
draught, and to carry off the smoke. In this cone there were as many doors, ¢, ¢, ¢,
as there were pots in the furnace; and an equal number of vents d, d, d, in the
cupola, through which the smoke might
escape, and the pots be set. . In the
surrounding wall there were holes for
taking out the pots when they became
unserviceable ; after the pots were set,
these holes were bricked up. The pots
; were heated to ignition in a reverbera-
mz 2 Gi tory furnace before being set, and were
putin by means of iron tongs supported
|
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It 1
il
Ni) Ne upon gus wheels, oe is the case with
St glass-house pots. s. 2163, 2164, e,
Za is the grate; f, the ane for fuel; g, the
ash-pit. The pots, h, h, h, have a hole
in the centre of their bottom, which is
closed with a wooden plug, when they
are set charged with calamine, mixed
with coal; which coal prevents the
mixture from falling through the orifice,
when the heat rises and consumes the
plug. The sole of the hearth i, i, upon
which the crucibles stand, is perforated
under each of them, so that they can be
reached from below; to the bottom
orifice of the pots, when the distillation
begins, a long sheet-iron pipe, &, is
joined, which dips at its end into a vessel, 2, for receiving in drops the condensed
vapours of the zinc. The pot is charged from above, through an orifice in the lid,
which is left open after the firing until the bluish colour of the flames indicates the
volatilisation of the metal, immediately whereupon the whole is covered with a fire-
tile, m. The iron tubes are liable to become obstructed during the distillation, and
must therefore be occasionally cleared by means of an iron bar. "When the operation
is terminated the pipes must be removed, and the carbonaceous and other residual
matters extracted from the pots. In this figure, 1, 2, is the level of the upper floor ;
8, 4, level of the lower ceiling of the lower floor. Fig. 2164 isa ground plan on
the level of 1, 2; only one half being here shown.—J. A. P.
The general consumption of Spelter throughout the world is about 67,000 tons per
annum ; of which about 44,000 tons are made to take the shape of rolled sheets, and
tiene are estimated to be applied as follows, each quantity being somewhat below the
truth :— ‘
Tons.
Roofing and architectural purposes. ; «+ 23,000
Ship-sheathing . ; ; ‘ ° ‘ : 3,500
Lining packing-cases . _ . ‘i " : > 2,500
Domestic utensils . ; : : SRA teeta Ke 12,000
Ornaments . “| - A e : ee i 1,500
Miscellaneous ; : ; 3 - : A 1,500
44,000
Five-and-tweuty years ago the quantity used for roofing did not exceed 5,000 tons ;
none was employed for ship-sheathing or lining packing-cases ; and stamped ornaments _
in zine date only from 1852. '
From the low temperature at which zine fuses, and from the sharpness of im-
pressions possessed by castings in this metal, it is much employed on the Continent for
the production of'statues and statuettes. The uses of this metal in the preparation of
alloys has already been noticed under the head of Attoys. It is also employed like
tin for coating iron, producing what is known as ‘ galvanised iron.’ (See GaLvaNIsED
Iron.) The disinfectant liquor of Sir W. Burnett is chloride of zine, and the oxide
of this metal is much employed as a pigment in place of white lead. (See Burnett's
Fivm, and Ze Wurrz.)
ZIRCONIA | 1193
Imports of Zine in the Year 1873 and three previous Years (as per Board of Trade
. Returns).
Crude Zinc Zine manufactures
Years
Quantities | Value Quantities Value
Tons F Tons £
1870 19,921 366,461 9,360 220,394
1871 20,968 431,309 8,792 207,855
1872 14,874 302,329 12,417 840,827
1873 20,038 | 478,628 12,470 367,935
Zine Imported in 1874.
f Quantities Value
Crude, incakes . . 22,216 tons £492,874
Manufactures . * . 252,607 cwts. 372,176
British Zine or Spelter Exported in the Year 1873 and four previous Years (as per
Board of Trade Returns).
Years Quantities Value
Tons £
1869 10,145 207,840
1870 7,845 141,281
1871 6,452 115,281
1872 5,047 101,812
1873 3,439 85,739
ZINCING OF IRON. Iron may be conveniently coated, in the humid way, by
a solution of sulphate of zine, or one of the double salts of chloride of zinc and sal-
ammoniac, aS now used in soldering and welding. To secure success, the zine
solution should be weak, and only a weak galvanic current should be used, otherwise
the zine precipitated will again separate from the iron in scales. With proper pre-
cautions, the deposit may be made as thick as strong paper. Thearticle must he well
cleansed before undergoing the operation. See GatvanisEeD Iron.
ZINC PRINTING. If this art be not calculated to supersede wood engraving,
it can be applied with great advantage for certain purposes in the etching style, for
maps, plans, drawings of machines, &c. A zine plate is covered with an etching
ground, the drawing etched in the usual manner with the needle, and bitten in. The
etching ground is now removed, the deep lines cleaned with acid, and then the whole
plate, in a warm state, covered with an easily fusible metal, with which, of course,
the lines of the drawing are filled up. When the metal thus laid on is cold and firm,
the whole plate is planed until the zinc appears again, and only the lines of the
drawing remain filled with the fusible metai, which is easily distinguished by its
white colour from the gray of the zinc. The whole plate is now etched several
times ; the former lines of the drawing, filled with easily fusible negative metal, are
not affected by the acid, while the pure zinc is eatenaway. In this manner a drawing
for printing in the copper-plate press can be converted into one in relief for use in
ordinary printing press.
ZINC WHITE. Under this name oxide of zinc is now largely used as a sub-
stitute for white lead. For this purpose it is prepared by heating metallic zine in
earthenware retorts, and bringing the zinc-vapour into contact with a current of air,
whereby it becomes oxidised. Instead of using metallic zinc, the reduction of the ore
and oxidation of the metal may be performed at one operation. Thus, at the New
Jersey Works and the Lehigh Zine Works a mixture of ore and charcoal is treated in
muffie-furnaces, and the oxide obtained is blown into chambers, in which it is collected
in large muslin bags. In some Continental works the metallic zine is exposed to the
action of superheated steam, when oxide of zinc is formed, whilst hydrogen is liberated,
the gas being applied in some cases to illuminating purposes.
ZIRCON. Sce Hyacinru and Gems.
ZIRCONIA is a rare earth, extracted from the mineral zircon, which is a silicate
of zirconia, Zirconia itself is an oxide of zirconium. It has lately been proposed to
ie So aay ce A > mh
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1194 yy ZOSTERA Seah * ten Seat We
oxyhydrogen light. AF; ¥
ZIRCONIUM may be prepared in an amorphous form by passing the vapour of
chloride of zirconium over heated sodium, or by heating the double fluoride of zirconium
and potassium with an alkaline metal, and treating the product with dilute nitric acid.
Thus prepared, it appears as a dull brown powder, combustible in the air at a tem-
perature below redness.
M. Troost wished to determine whether zirconium, already found in this amorphous -
state by Berzelius, was a metal similar to magnesium, or aluminium, or a metalloi
not unlike carbon, boron, or silicon. He obtained crystallised zirconium by heatin
the fluoride of zirconium and potassium with excess of aluminium, and removing the
aluminium by solution from the insoluble residue. The zirconium thus obtained
ac in hard brittle crystalline lamine, of specific gravity 4°15. ;
irconium in its chemical properties approaches near to silicium, and perhaps even
nearer to titanium. Crystalline zirconium withstands the action of oxygen at a
heat, becomes slightly oxidised at a white heat, and burns only when subjected to the —
oxyhydrogen-flame. It burns in chlorine, however, at a dull heat. Cold acids have
no action upon it, and warm acids affect it but slightly. Its true solvent is hydro-
fluoric acid. Like silicium, zirconium presents three different physical conditions, viz.
the amorphous, graphitoid, and crystallised, Zirconium forms only one oxide, known
as zirconia.
ZIZANIA. It has recently been suggested to employ Canada Grass (Zizania
aquatica) as a paper-making material. This plant grows abundantly on the shores
of Lakes Erie, Ontario, and St. Clare, and is known to the Indians as Tuscarora. The
fibre is said to be easily bleached and comparatively free from silica, while it yields
a paper of good colour and texture, well adapted to the printer’s use. It is asserted
that a supply of 100,000 tons per annum may be readily obtained from Canada.
ZIZYPHUS. Several species of this genus of the Buckthorn order (Rhamnacee)
yield edible fruits. Z. Jujuba, and some others, furnish the fruit known as jujube.
ZORGITE. A sclenide of lead and copper, from Zorge and Tilkerode in the —
Hartz. 5 -
ZOSTERA. The Grass-wrack (Zostera marina) is a marine plant common on
oe of Britain. It is collected and dried for use as a substitute for hay in
packing. . sel
f
LONDON : PRINTED BY
BPOTTISWOODE AND 00., NEW-STREET SQUARE
AND PARLIAMENT STREET
7m
employ zirconia, instead of lime or magnesia, in the preparation of cylinders for the .
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